Xi: Grottoes are treasures of civilization

08:07, September 11, 2025 By Wang Ru ( China Daily

Staff members digitally collect information on statues and murals inside Cave 135 of the Maijishan Grottoes in Tianshui, Gansu province, on Sept 2, for further research and better preservation of the cultural treasure. JIANG DONG/CHINA DAILY

When night fell and the lights turned on, the statue of Lushena Buddha, originally built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) as part of the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan province, seemed draped in a golden cassock.

Against the backdrop of the night sky, the statue, whose name is the Chinese translation of the Sanskrit word "vairocana", meaning "illuminator", looked more solemn and serene, inspiring awe for the ancient piety and artistry that brought it to life.

The night tour around Longmen, an artistic trove comprising more than 2,300 caves and niches carved into steep limestone cliffs over a one-kilometer-long stretch mainly from the fifth to the 10th centuries, gained popularity this summer.

Since July, the site has received an average of 5,000 to 6,000 visits daily from 5 pm to 9 pm, with peak days exceeding 10,000, according to Yu Jie, Party secretary of the Longmen Grottoes Academy.

President Xi Jinping's continuous attention to cave temples has significantly contributed to this popularity. Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has visited all four major cave temples in China and made many instructions about their significance and conservation since 2019.

The four grottoes are all treasures of Chinese civilization with significant historical and cultural value, Xi said when he visited the Maijishan Grottoes in Tianshui, Gansu province, on Sept 11 last year.

Besides Longmen and Maijishan, the four sites also include the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, Gansu, and the Yungang Grottoes in Datong, Shanxi province, all UNESCO World Heritage sites. They are outstanding examples of Chinese grotto temples, an important Buddhist art form that was introduced to China via the ancient Silk Road during the third century.

In August 2019, Xi arrived in Gansu for an inspection and made the first stop at Dunhuang. Touring the Mogao Caves, he checked the work of cultural relics protection and research, and emphasized the need to preserve the finer features of the nation's culture.

The Mogao Caves site, at the religious and cultural crossroads on the ancient Silk Road, boasts more than 700 Buddhist caves featuring exquisite murals and statues from the fourth to the 14th centuries.

Xi also met Fan Jinshi, honorary director of the Dunhuang Academy, who was born in Beijing and raised in Shanghai, but chose to work in Dunhuang, a remote and arid desert region in Northwest China, for six decades. Xi highlighted the "Mogao spirit", forged by heritage protectors such as Fan, which values insistence, contribution, a sense of responsibility and pioneering.

Change in approach

Experts noted that cave temples, often located in remote mountainous areas and exposed to the natural environment, are difficult to protect and manage, as they frequently face threats such as water damage, earthquakes, unstable rock foundations and weathering, as well as human-induced damage.

"Despite the difficulties, China's efforts to protect its cave temples have endured for eight decades," said Su Bomin, director of the Dunhuang Academy. "We have continuously explored technologies and accumulated experience in restoring the Mogao Caves, developing a comprehensive set of programs that have been applied not only in domestic grottoes but also to sites overseas."

Su said that the approach to protecting China's cave temples is currently experiencing a leap from a "rescue restoration" mindset to one focused on "preventive protection".

Hang Kan, director of the Yungang Research Institute, said that in recent years, professionals have intensified their efforts in the digital collection of information from the caves of the Yungang Grottoes, striving to "seize the information at the moment".

"Grottoes are changing every day, and so is the information they carry. We want to capture every moment to preserve as much information as possible," said Hang. He added that they have collected information from 80 percent of the caves, which will serve as a reference for their long-term protection.

On the other hand, restorers are actively exploring new technologies and materials for cave temple restoration. For example, in the 1970s, epoxy resin was frequently used in restoring cultural relics in caves due to its strong adhesion, excellent versatility and chemical resistance, making it an advanced new material at that time.

However, after decades of use, professionals have discovered that epoxy resin materials are not good enough, as they age and deteriorate under high temperatures. Therefore, they are developing new materials.

Experts from Chongqing University are exploring a way of using microorganisms in the restoration of cultural relics as an alternative to epoxy resin. By introducing specific microbial strains under suitable environmental conditions, bioadhesives can be synthesized, and these can then be applied to reinforce cracked relics, offering benefits such as greater compatibility, non-toxicity, environmental friendliness and stronger weather resistance, according to Hang.

"The protection of cave temples is not a once-and-for-all project. With changes in time and climate, new problems arise, bringing fresh challenges and prompting us to continuously seek new materials, innovative ideas and advanced technological methods for their preservation," he said.

Unwavering commitment

Behind the progress is the persistent dedication of heritage protectors, year after year.

In September last year, Xi, at Maijishan, encouraged cultural heritage professionals to inherit the "Mogao spirit", remain dedicated to safeguarding the nation's treasures and to contribute greater efforts to the preservation and innovation of China's fine traditional culture, as well as the improvement of the influence of Chinese culture.

Cave temples are often located in remote areas, sometimes lacking good environmental conditions. According to Yue Yongqiang, deputy director of the Maijishan Grottoes art research institute, heritage protectors can withstand the loneliness and stay for decades because they are obsessed with the charm of traditional Chinese culture and art, find their research direction there, and are committed to intensive studies of their subjects.

"It's all about insistence, passion and love," said Yue.

He said that predecessors such as Fan have set good examples for them. "They possess ideas and beliefs, love their cause and are not willing to give up their research, forming the precious 'Mogao spirit'," said Yue. "Their spirit has inspired more people to join, reminding us that despite the hardships, our work is very meaningful."

In May, Xi visited the Longmen Grottoes and called for protecting, inheriting and promoting the treasures of Chinese culture well.

Hang, director of the Yungang Research Institute, said: "Although protection is our priority, it's not reasonable to keep the relics sealed. Instead, we aim to strike a balance between protection and utilization, which means that while ensuring their protection, we explore ways to bring them back to life so they can benefit the public."

He said that the institute has organized a series of innovative exhibitions related to Yungang in many cities across the country. In an upcoming exhibition in Shanghai this month, there will be dancing robots based on stone carving figurines from a cave in Yungang.

Such efforts have made significant changes. "We have analyzed the data and found an interesting phenomenon: Every time we organize an exhibition in a city, visitors from that city flock to Yungang afterward. This means that exhibitions are an effective way to promote cave temples. With digital technologies, we will find more ways for such promotion," he said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Former corporate worker finds success with Hami melon in NW China's Xinjiang

People's Daily Online) 11:00, September 11, 2025

"I wanted to grow the kind of Hami melon that tastes exactly like what I enjoyed when I was little and help increase the incomes of my fellow villagers," said Yan Xiaobing, head of Xiaobing planting cooperative, explaining his decision to leave a well-paid job at a foreign company to grow Hami melons.

"My parents grew Hami melons all their lives. They were the best melons in my memory, but they often sold at low prices," Yan said. "I wanted to return and help sell them properly."

The change in Yan's career path took place in 2016, when he returned to his hometown, Santanghu town in Kazak Autonomous County of Barkol, Hami city, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, to become a Hami melon farmer.

Fortunately, he succeeded.

Yan Xiaobing (left) samples a "Kudou Hami melon" with a fellow farmer in a field in Santanghu town in Kazak Autonomous County of Barkol, Hami city, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (People's Daily Online/Chen Xinhui)

Using traditional melon-growing methods passed down from his father and fellow villagers, Yan cultivated high-quality Hami melons and helped turn the once humble fruit into a reliable source of income for local farmers.

Yan's effort to revive the flavor he remembered from childhood was full of setbacks.

"Pitfalls came almost every year, and each one was different," he said.

In his first season, he focused on flavor, letting the melons ripen fully before harvest, a decision that brought its own challenges.

Torrential rain lasting three days ruined Yan's crop, splitting open every melon on more than 50 mu (about 3.33 hectares) of farmland.

"I lost terribly," he said. "At the time, many villagers thought I would never farm again the following year."

Undeterred, Yan started over and set out to combine traditional planting wisdom with modern marketing channels.

Drawing on methods taught by his father and lessons from fellow growers, he revived the authentic taste of Hami melons by irrigating fields with water mixed with Kudouzi, a common local medicinal plant, and fertilizing with sheep manure.

Using his family's 6 mu of farmland as a test plot, Yan showed that selling high-quality Hami melons online could work.

Boxes of "Kudou Hami melon" are loaded onto a truck in Santanghu town in Kazak Autonomous County of Barkol, Hami city, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo courtesy of Hu'axi Azhati)

When Yan produced the quality Hami melons he sought in 2017, Barkol county officials and the local e-commerce service center stepped in, providing resources and creating new sales channels to help him market the fruit.

The "Kudou Hami melon," which Yan markets as the "Hami melon with childhood taste," ripens in late July to early August, filling a gap between early and late-season varieties.

A new development model featuring joint efforts by local Communist Party of China (CPC) organizations, Yan's agricultural cooperative, e-commerce platforms and local farmers has helped overcome logistical hurdles that once kept Hami melons from wider markets, bringing the fruit to dining tables nationwide.

Online sales of the "Kudou Hami melon" brought in 1.04 million yuan (about $146,012) in 2017, rising to 1.96 million yuan in 2018 and climbing steadily in the following years, Yan said.

"This year, sales revenue is expected to top 20 million yuan," Yan said, smiling at the promise of a bumper harvest.

Today, Yan's cooperative manages more than 600 mu of "Kudou Hami melon," raising incomes for local growers by about 1 yuan per kilogram and helping more than 100 households move toward shared prosperity.

"The fact that I can help my fellow villagers increase their incomes is the sweetest reward I can get from the land," Yan said.

(Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun)
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A 19-year-old motorcyclist was killed in a crash this week near the east end of the University of Arizona campus, Tucson police said.

Nicholas Daniel Perez was headed south on North Campbell Avenue when he collided with a Hyundai sedan turning onto East University Boulevard, police said in a news release. He died at the crash scene.

The crash happened about 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Speeding by Perez and failure to yield by the unidentified Hyundai driver are major factors in the crash, the release said.

The wreck still is being investigated.
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Sami Ahmad, TwoCircles.net

Patna (Bihar): Mohammad Naseer Shah was busy with the preparations for weddings of his two sons, Nasaruddin and Ehsan Shah, on the night of September 5. The house was alive with guests and sounds of their chatter, when everything suddenly turned upside down. Few police men from Raja Pakar police station in Vaishali district, nearly 50 kilometres north of Bihars capital Patna, arrived and took him away, accusing him of being part of a group that had allegedly attacked one of their teams.

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Two days later, he was dead in custody. On the day he should have been leading his son Nasaruddins barat, his family was instead preparing for his funeral. His family and relatives allege that he was beaten to death while in police custody. The cops deny the accusation and maintain that he died of a sudden health complication.

Naseer was supposed to see his second son, Ehsan, married on September 9. But his family was left reeling from a tragedy that, they say, began with something as small as a quarrel over Rs 140 for ice cream. The ice cream vendor complained to the police.

According to the police version, the vendor, Manjay Kumar, a resident of Vaishalis Chak Sikandar village, alleged that a local woman named Madina Khatun bought ice cream worth Rs 140 but refused to pay. When he reported this through the police helpline Dial 112, officers went to the spot in Cahusima Kalyanpur village under Raja Pakar police station.What started as a dispute over the alleged unpaid amount escalated when the police claim they were attacked by villagers while trying to settle the matter. That alleged confrontation led to injuries among some policemen. Reinforcements were called in and five men, including Naseer, were arrested.

Naseer belonged to the Faquir or Shah community, which is also known as Sain. He made his living selling stones and stone-studded rings. The family lived in Kalyanapur Chausimas Faquir Tola. After his death, a post-mortem was carried out at a government hospital in Hajipur, but the findings were not made public.

His wife Samina insists her husband was killed in the police custody. She vividly remembers the evening. Guests were around. We were preparing for milad (a religious gathering organised a day before marriage). He was busy arranging the dinner for the guests. The police took him forcibly. He was not involved in any attack on anyone. He did not die of any ailment. He was killed by the men in uniform, she told reporters.

Her voice is echoed by many in Faquir Tola. However, the neighbourhood wears a deserted look. The police have filed a first information report (FIR) against 61 named individuals and 250 unnamed for allegedly attacking them. Fearing arrests and harassment, most families have fled the village. Those who remain prefer silence. Although the incident took place under Raja Pakar polices jurisdiction, Naseer and four others were taken to Mahua police station, reportedly to maintain law and order.

Villagers allege the transfer was deliberate and meant to kill him. They say Naseer succumbed to injuries from brutal custodial beatings, and the official version of health failure is a cover-up. They further allege that the deceased was deliberately kept in the lock-up, not sent to jail, to give the police time to assault him.

The police present another version. The Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Hajipur Sadar, Subodh Kumar, denies that Naseer died from alleged custodial violence. Toeing the official line, he insists that his death was caused by a sudden deterioration in health. He was rushed to the Sadar Hospital, where he died during treatment, the officer said, adding that a departmental inquiry has been ordered into the death and its causes. Amir Afaque Ahmad Faizi, special secretary in the Bihar State Minorities Commission, has raised questions.

In a letter to the Vaishali district magistrate, with the subject line In the matter of the death of Naseer Shah due to the merciless beating in custody by the police, he referred to testimonies from villagers. The letter states that Naseer was killed in custody by beating him mercilessly.

It also alleges that the Dial 112 team assaulted villagers, hurled abuses at women and filed false cases against innocent people. The letter further points out that villagers fled after the police action, fearing more brutality. It mentions allegations that people from a particular caste were involved in targeting the Faquir community, most of whom belong to the extremely backward caste (Pasmanda).

The Bihar State Minorities Commission has taken cognisance. A team led by its chairman, Ghulam Rasul Balyavi, will visit the site of the incident on September 13. The Commission has also asked the district magistrate to ensure the presence of officers before the team. Copies of the letter have been sent to the chief secretary and the DGP of Bihar.
The leaders of the five Central Asia republics attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Plus meeting in Tianjin, China, which concluded on 1 September. Twenty-four countries and the United Nations, and other multilateral organizations were represented. (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are founders of SCO; Turkmenistan, as a permanently neutral countr,y attended as a guest.)

The 80th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) opens on 9 September, and leaders of the republics may have an opportunity to meet U.S. President Donald Trump. (During his first term, Trump met the presidents of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.)

The Trump administration hasnt articulated a Central Asia strategy so all we have to go on is the Biden administration strategy that was premised on the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan, though it declared Central Asia is a geostrategic region important to United States national security interests, regardless of the level of United States involvement in Afghanistan.

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Well, theres no level of United States involvement in Afghanistan now, so what can the republics expect if the leaders meet Trump?

Trump is all about leverage, and that works if the target is a major trade partner of the U.S., but of the five republics, Kazakhstan leads in U.S. trade at #54, and Tajikistan is last at #208 - behind West Bank Administered by Israel at #182.

American motion picture director Woody Allen said, Eighty percent of success is showing up and its no different for politicians.

No U.S. president has visited Central Asia, but Russias Vladimir Putin and Chinas Xi Jinping do. Putin has made 76 visits, and Xi has made 15 visits.

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President Joe Biden met the presidents of the republics at the 2023 UNGA meeting, but it was just a one-hour photo op. (Trump may be encouraged to spend some quality time with the Republicans leaders just so he can tweet he did better than Biden.)

Putin held more than 50 meetings (online and in-person) with the republics leaders in 2022.

In 2023, China hosted the leaders of the republics at the two-day China-Central Asia Summit in Xian, and in 2024 Xi visited Astana, Kazakhstan, for the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO. In June 2025, Xi again traveled to Astana for the second ChinaCentral Asia Summit, and pledged Chinas eternal friendship with the region

At the recent SCO meeting, Xi met one-on-one with all the leaders of the republics, and Putin met the leaders of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. In the SCO meeting official picture, the five republics presidents share the front row, a clear signal of Chinas intent.

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President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan spoke to Trump shortly after the SCO meeting so he may be the regions point man as the leaders prepare for UNGA. Mirziyoyev also invited Trump to visit Uzbekistan in the near future.

Related: EU Court Upholds Green Label for Gas and Nuclear Energy

The republics are finally free of the Russian Empire (1721-1917), Soviet Empire (1917-1991), and the American empire (2001-2021) and will avoid any arrangement that limits their sovereignty.

The republics have language and business ties with Russia, have received significant investment from China, see Iran as a beckoning market and the host of needed transport routes, and are investing in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. The republics understand they are all neighbors forever and dont want to be the platform for Western revenge attacks on Iran or Afghanistan, or heavy-handed attempts to block Russia or China  at their expense.

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The republics see SCO (and BRICS, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are Partner Countries) as ways to integrate into regional trade networks, increase opportunities for political cooperation, and cushion themselves from instability, an American specialty.

Trump said BRICS was formed for a bad purpose and threatened tariffs if its members moved to de-dollarize. This is because he sees groups like SCO and BRICS as a threat to American unilateralism, though SCO and BRICS may be more for avoiding America than undermining America.

Central Asian citizens will form positive opinions about U.S. intentions if their leaders meet the American president. Xi and Putin are busy guys, they may think, and they take the time to show respect to the republics leaders, so why not Trump? And local leaders can leverage the absence of top-level attention by Washington to draw closer to Russia and China (and SCO and BRICS), which will draw the attention of Washington, but by then it may be too late.

The republics may prefer to have to deal with three big powers, the U.S., Russia, and China, so if one of the players weaken,s they can still balance between two, than be trapped in a bilateral relationship with a single stronger player.

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The U.S. does little trade with Central Asia, but the region is key to East-West trade between Europe and China. That said, U.S. investment in the region is increasing but economic relations are hobbled by the Cold War-era Jackson-Vanik Amendment. American politicians have been saying for years that they will do something about Jackson-Vanik, but have failed to deliver. Washington is, however, supporting Uzbekistans accession to the World Trade Organization. (Kazakhstan joined the WTO in 2015, with U.S. backing.)

There are opportunities to link Washingtons crusading impulses to crises in Central Asia: the drying up of the Aral Sea and methane emissions in Turkmenistan.

The desertification of the Aral Sea has had profound economic effects on the region: the collapse of the fishing industry and resulting widespread unemployment; agricultural decline and increased salinization of the soil; adverse health effects, including increased infant mortality, often caused by diarrheal disease, growth retardation and anemia in children, respiratory disease, and elevated occurrences of cancers.

The environmental and economic hardships have forced people to migrate in search of better living conditions, leading to depopulation of the region, further economic decline, and pressure for jobs and housing in urban centers. The republics have responded by retiring competition over scarce water resources and building trust and cooperation, modernizing antiquated irrigation systems, and making a priority of water diplomacy.

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Turkmenistan is a significant emitter of methane, and leaks from the gas fields are substantial: over 2.9 million tons of methane, more than the United Kingdoms annual carbon emissions. (Turkmenistans population is less than 6.5 million, while the UKs is about 67 million.)

Washington can say, Do as I do, not as I say, if it works with Ashgabat to reduce methane emissions while it tackles Americas emissions that may be three times higher on average than the level predicted by official government estimates.

Trump likes high-visibility, big-dollar deals ,but he can help secure American influence in Central Asia by directing his officials to partner with the republics, the UN Multi-Partner Human Security Trust Fund for the Aral Sea Region, the Global Methane Pledge, and UN Water to flow the money, technology, and political support to help Central Asia repair the effects of these catastrophes.

By James Durso

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com

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Cross-border e-commerce is increasingly becoming a vital export channel, enabling Vietnamese businesses to reach global consumers and drive sustainable growth. With robust growth rates and competitive cost advantages, many local brands have leveraged e-commerce to expand their markets and establish the value of Vietnamese products on the international trade map.

The story of Erosska, a Vietnamese footwear brand founded by a group of young fashion enthusiasts, is a clear testament to this. Through the power of e-commerce, Erosska has brought its 'Made in Viet Nam' shoes beyond borders, winning over consumers across Southeast Asia.

Springboard for Erosskas expansion into Southeast Asian markets

Erosska is a Vietnamese women's footwear brand founded with the goal of providing high-quality, affordable products that carry a sense of appreciation in every step women take. Driven by pride in Vietnamese goods, the brand harboured a vision to bring its products to international markets, allowing more global consumers to experience 'Made in Viet Nam' footwear. This dream became a reality in 2021 when Erosska decided to join the SIP programme.

This online export model offers comprehensive solutions for sellers, covering logistics, international payments, translation, and customer service in the ASEAN market. By participating in the SIP programme, Erosskas products have appeared on Shopee in Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Thailand. Instead of having to build systems and personnel for each market individually, the brand could leverage Shopees comprehensive cross-border operational system.

"With the SIP programme, Shopee has provided the entire cross-border operational infrastructure, enabling us to focus our resources on production and brand development. This is a crucial stepping stone that has helped Erosska realise our goal of expanding into international markets," a representative from Erosska shared.

New milestones to accelerate growth

Following its initial success with the SIP programme, Erosska continues to explore new export models through e-commerce. In June 2025, when Shopee launched the new export model  Direct Selling, the brand quickly registered to participate. While the SIP programme provides a comprehensive foundation for Vietnamese businesses to enter regional markets, Direct Selling offers sellers greater control over managing their stores, inventory, pricing, and developing consumer engagement strategies in each country.

Erosskas representative shared, Each market has its unique consumer behaviour and characteristics, so we consider analysing operational data and listening to user feedback as our guiding principles in strategy building. Based on this, Erosska will flexibly adjust our products, communication strategy, and operations to suit each country.

This experimentation has yielded significant results. Within just two months of joining the new online export programme on Shopee, Erosskas revenue from the Malaysian market increased by approximately 10%. More importantly, the brand has gained a sense of control in investing in each market. Encouraged by this momentum, Erosska has decided to expand into Singapore and the Philippines  two new markets where Direct Selling launched in September.

According to Erosskas representative, Singapore is a developed market where consumers tend to seek high-quality products and reputable brands. This presents an opportunity for Erosska to strengthen its positioning and brand recognition among international customers. Meanwhile, the Philippines is a dynamic market with strong purchasing power and diverse demand, making it ideal for Erosska to reach new customer segments.

Through the brand's development process, Erosska has steadily solidified its presence in both domestic and international markets by leveraging e-commerce platforms and support. Additionally, the proactive and flexible operational strategies have helped the brand bring its vision closer to reality: to become a Vietnamese footwear label trusted and loved by global consumers.

We desire to provide a modern shopping experience with quality products, helping users confidently express their style anywhere, the representative affirmed.

A launchpad for Vietnamese SMEs to expand regionally

With its two initiatives, the SIP and Direct Selling, Shopee has provided Vietnamese SMEs with opportunities to accelerate their journey into international markets. SIP has helped over 350,000 Vietnamese sellers overcome entry barriers and operate their domestic and international storefronts in parallel. Meanwhile, Direct Selling offers businesses the flexibility to take greater control, adapt with confidence, and fully tap into the potential of each market.

In this expansion journey, Shopee does not merely provide operational steps; it also acts as a strategic partner. The platform has supported Erosska from strategic consulting to the implementation of practical marketing activities. Through mega sale campaigns, influencer livestreams, and consumer outreach packages, Vietnamese brands like Erosska have been able to enhance their visibility and expand their customer base.

Reflecting on the recent 9.9 Mega Sale, Erosska shared that their efforts scaled up across two key international markets. In Malaysia, the brand directly operated its first-ever international campaign with large-scale promotions and discounts. Meanwhile, in Singapore, Erosska collaborated with Shopee to host a livestream with a local KOL right from the warehouse, aiming to boost reach and provide an authentic online shopping experience for international users. These activities have driven traffic and solidified Erosskas position in the ASEAN market.

The success of Erosska demonstrates that Vietnamese SMEs have the potential to expand regionally if they effectively leverage the power of e-commerce. Accompanying this journey, Shopee continues to play its role as a launchpad, helping Vietnamese brands not only strengthen their domestic position but also conquer the ASEAN market in the digital era./.
HA NOI  Viet Nams shoppers gave the economy a welcome boost last month, with total retail sales of goods and services surging by an estimated 10.6 per cent year on year, according to the National Statistics Office.

Festivities marking the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day proved a powerful driver of consumer spending on goods, services and tourism, pushing total retail sales at current prices to more than VN588 trillion (US$23.3 billion) in August alone.

Among them, revenue from apparel increased by 13.7 per cent year on year; food and foodstuffs surged by 12.3 per cent; household goods, utensils and equipment grew by 10.4 per cent; accommodation and food services rose by 13.2 per cent; and travel and tourism services climbed by 15.2 per cent.

Over the first eight months of 2025, the total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue were estimated to reach VN4.58 quadrillion, an increase of 9.4 per cent compared with the same period last year. Excluding the price factor, the growth was 7.2 per cent.

Retail sales of goods are estimated to reach VN3.45 quadrillion in the first eight months of the year, accounting for 76.3 per cent of the total retail and service revenue, marking an increase of 8.1 per cent compared with the same period last year.

Among them, food and foodstuffs surged by 10.1 per cent, cultural and educational items rose by 7.4 per cent, apparel saw an increase of 7.3 per cent, and household goods, utensils and equipment grew by 6.7 per cent.

Accommodation and food service revenue was estimated to reach VN552.4 trillion in the first eight months, accounting for 12.1 per cent of the total revenue and rising by 14.7 per cent compared with the same period last year.

In HCM City, the revenue increased by 18.6 per cent, while in a Nang it rose by 18.2 per cent. In Can Tho, the growth was 14.2 per cent, Hai Phong saw an increase of 12.7 per cent, and Ha Noi experienced growth of 11.4 per cent.

The bright spot in total retail sales and consumer service revenue was the tourism sector.

Specifically, travel and tourism revenue in the first eight months was estimated to reach VN61.2 trillion, accounting for 1.3 per cent of the total and rising by 20.3 per cent compared with the same period last year.

Yet challenges remain. With households trimming non-essential purchases, businesses are under pressure to innovate and stimulate demand.

Former deputy director of the Vietnam Industry and Trade Information Centre under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) Le Quoc Phuong said retail sales growth over the first eight months was relatively strong at 9.4 per cent, and 7.2 per cent after excluding price factors, showing that domestic consumption was performing 'quite well.'

However, he cautioned that much of the growth stemmed from food, beverage and tourism services, which make up only a modest share of overall sales.

Meanwhile, the most anticipated sector for growth, retail of goods, is experiencing a slowdown.

To boost domestic consumption, it was necessary to focus on sales of retail goods, as this is the most important area, said Phuong.

Most people's lives were still relatively difficult and they were only buying essential goods, he said. Therefore, measures were needed to stimulate demand, such as promotions and campaigns to promote domestic products, he added.

According to several trade associations, the retail market is still growing but purchasing power is not high because people are facing financial difficulties and cutting back on spending.

A survey by several market research firms shows that rising prices for goods and services are forcing many families to carefully consider their daily expenditures.

The VOV online newspaper quoted president of the Hanoi Association of Women of Small and Medium Enterprises Mai Thi Thuy as saying that although Vietnamese consumers were saving more, businesses that understood their preferences and habits could still find opportunities.

She noted that while people were cutting back on spending, they continued to seek better-quality rather than cheaper goods.

The president suggested businesses conduct market research to understand market needs and consumer demands to produce suitable goods that stimulate consumption.

To survive, businesses must offer high-quality products that meet market needs, she added.

To contribute to economic growth this year, the MoIT has implemented several solutions to unlock resources, focusing on domestic consumption stimulus programmes to create new growth drivers and promote the use of locally-made products through both traditional and e-commerce channels.

Recently, MoIT Minister Nguyen Hong Dien signed a decision to organise the national promotion programme, the 2025 Vietnam Grand Sale.

The programme will take place nationwide from December 1 this year to January 18 next year, combining both traditional and e-commerce formats.

This is a crucial solution as market demand shows signs of stagnation, requiring strong and timely stimulus policies.  VNS
HA NOI  When establishing subsidiaries in Viet Nams International Financial Centre (IFC), domestic parent banks must accept the risk of bankruptcy if their operations prove ineffective, as they will not be eligible for early intervention, special loans, or restructuring support from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).

Greater freedom, but under strict supervision

According to a draft decree on licensing the establishment and operation of banks, overseas remittance management, anti-money laundering, and counter proliferation financing in the IFC, banks seeking to set up operations in this centre must meet strict conditions. A wholly domestic bank must have a minimum of total assets of VN100 trillion (US$3.79 billion), a wholly foreign-owned bank at least $10 billion, and foreign bank branches at least $20 billion, in total assets.

Additionally, banks must have been profitable for the three consecutive years prior to their application, maintain a non-performing loan ratio below 3%, comply with safety ratios, and ensure effective internal control systems. Based on these criteria, set by the SBV, many major Vietnamese banks, including state-owned commercial banks and joint stock commercial banks, will be eligible to enter the centre.

Speaking to au tu (Vietnam Investment Review), Dr. Nguyen Quoc Hung, General Secretary of the Vietnam Banks Association, said the IFC is a free market that offers significant business opportunities to banks. However, it is a controlled freedom. For example, money transfers abroad of $1,000 or more must be reported.

To prevent capital flows from the rest of Viet Nam into the IFC and then abroad, the draft decree prohibits members of the centre from raising capital from non-members within Viet Nam.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Huu Huan from the University of Economics HCM City noted that such restrictions are essential to prevent capital flight and ensure monetary security.

While the entry requirements may not be overly difficult for large domestic banks, competing effectively against global players in the IFC will be no easy task. For instance, BIDV, Viet Nams largest bank by assets, holds only 1/60th of the assets of Canadas CIBC and a fraction of many leading international banks.

Beyond capital limitations, Vietnamese banks lag far behind in terms of ecosystems, governance capacity, technological infrastructure, and data systems. Operating in the centre means competing under the same legal framework and environment as major international institutions.

Moreover, Vietnamese banks primarily offer traditional financial services, while the IFC is expected to host new models in Viet Nam such as gold exchanges, digital asset trading platforms, and art trading exchanges. Domestic banks will therefore need to develop innovative financial products, derivatives, creative instruments, and risk management tools to meet the diverse demands of centre customers.

Avoiding risk spillover to parent banks

The SBVs draft decree stipulates that member banks of the IFC will not benefit from early intervention, special control measures, restructuring support, or special loans in case of distress. Instead, the resolution approach will involve license revocation, dissolution, bankruptcy, and asset liquidation.

Hung stressed that domestic banks must carefully assess the capital they allocate to IFC subsidiaries to avoid impacting their parent banks. Subsidiaries operating in the centre will not receive the same bailouts as banks operating in the domestic market.

According to Huan, these regulations are designed to prevent the transmission of risks from IFC-based banks to domestic parent banks. Allowing bankruptcy within the centre will also serve as a policy test case for the SBV.  BIZHUB/VNS
CAN THO - The O Mon 4 Power Plant project in Can Tho City is currently under construction and will utilise Mitsubishi Powers gas turbine combined cycle (GTCC) technology to increase power generation efficiency and reduce emissions.

Viet Nam News spoke with Akihiro Ondo, Managing Director and CEO of Mitsubishi Power Asia Pacific, on the effectiveness of GTCC and the future of Viet Nams green energy transition.

What are the key advantages of gas turbine combined cycle technology compared to traditional power generation solutions?

Gas turbine combined cycle (GTCC) is a power generation application utilising a gas turbine, a heat recovery steam generator, a steam turbine, and an electricity generator. The gas turbine generates power by combusting natural gas or LNG.

After the combustion, the exhaust still has quite a high temperature. By utilising this exhaust heat, steam is generated, which is then used again to generate power.

In other words, it can "double dip" electricity from a single fuel source. That is why this combined cycle is very efficient.

As Viet Nam has very stable and continuous economic growth, electricity demand is also continuously growing, so the application of this technology is very useful.

We can reduce carbon emissions by minimising the consumption of fuel such as natural gas. The latest GTCC application provides more than 64 per cent thermal efficiency in producing power compared to the traditional coal-fired power stations, as well as cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 65 per cent.

Currently, our latest model gas turbines are also capable of 30 per cent hydrogen co-firing (replacing 30 per cent of natural gas fuel with hydrogen, which is a cleaner fuel). In the future, we can gradually use more and more hydrogen and reduce carbon emissions.

With GTCC, we can achieve both energy security and sustainability at the same time.

We have been supplying this technology to Thailand, Singapore, and other Asia-Pacific countries.

Viet Nam is pursuing a dual goal of industrial development and greenhouse gas reduction. What commitments or solutions does your company offer to support the country in achieving this balance?

We have a strong commitment to contribute to the power generation industry in Viet Nam, with products such as gas turbines, steam turbines and air quality control systems. One of our newest projects in the country is the O Mon 4 GTCC power station project.

On August 19, the owner of the power station, PetroVietnam (PVN), held a groundbreaking ceremony in Can Tho. For this project, we supply our latest JAC gas turbine and generator to the power station under the EPC contractor Doosan from Korea.

The O Mon 4 project is a very strategic project in Viet Nam. It will provide stable electricity for the Mekong Delta, boosting PVNs installed capacity to more than 9,300MW, equivalent to about 10 per cent of Viet Nams national power system.

In addition to O Mon 4, we are very much willing to be involved in subsequent units in O Mon power complex such as O Mon 2 and 3. We are also very willing to participate in operation and maintenance support services for these power stations.

Aside from the O Mon 4 project, do you have any long-term plans for cooperation with Viet Nam in renewable energy?

Viet Nam is in a very good position for energy transition, with abundant renewable resources as well as natural gas. As such, it has many opportunities to utilise LNG or natural gas in GTCC applications.

We would like to be involved in these future and subsequent opportunities to help meet the growing base-load electricity demand.

There are cases where renewable energy alone cannot meet electricity demand, like how solar panels cannot generate power if it is cloudy or rainy. At that point, we can jump-start the gas turbines to bridge the gap between electricity demand and supply. This combination of GTCC and renewable energy can help achieve the best portfolio in electricity supply.

We also see tremendous potential for hydrogen and ammonia as key mediums for energy transition and decarbonisation in Viet Nam.

We have plenty of experience in installing hydrogen production facilities and hydrogen co-firing. Plus, we are working on the utilisation of ammonia, both in co-firing facilities and in smaller-sized gas turbines.

The knowledge, experience, and lessons learned from these activities will be applied to future projects across the Asia-Pacific region, including Viet Nam.

Do you have any message for Vietnamese policymakers?

I am very proud and appreciative that we are involved in the O Mon 4 project as a strategic initiative involving both the Vietnamese government and even the Japanese government.

We expect to have continuous strong leadership from the Vietnamese government to enhance its electricity supply capability. We are earger to be involved in such a strategic approach by the Vietnamese government by providing our technology and solutions.

The adoption of such technologies will need to be supported by international collaborative approaches. In reality, not only for Viet Nam but also for countries like Thailand, Malaysia, or Indonesia, no single country can realise the full ecosystem of such cleaner technologies on its own. - VNS
HA NOI  As Viet Nam accelerates its development journey towards 2045, one theme is increasingly clear: the nations youth will be decisive in shaping its future.

Nestle Viet Nam has placed youth empowerment at the heart of its sustainable business strategy - backing words with action, figures, and long-term programmes that are already transforming lives across the country.

Addressing the recent 2025 Viet Nam Corporate Sustainability Forum (VCSF), Binu Jacob, Chairman and CEO of Nestle Viet Nam and Co-Chair of VBCSD, said: "Vietnamese youth are not only the most impacted by global challenges like climate change, but they are also the ones who will drive the businesses of tomorrow".

"That is why Nestle is deeply committed to equipping them with the skills, opportunities, and confidence they need to thrive.

Nestle Viet Nam has developed a series of youth programmes, tapping into junior to senior students, from Business to Technical fields, through online to immersive on-the-job experiences such as the Nesternship Program, the Nestle #SparkTheNext Leaders Program, and the Technical Apprenticeship Program.

In 2024 alone, these initiatives reached 14,542 young people, putting the company on track to exceed its 2025 target of 15,000. The goal is not only to help students secure jobs but also to prepare them for leadership and innovation roles in a rapidly digitalising economy.

Through mentoring and internship schemes, students gain access to Nestles global expertise, bridging the persistent gap between what is taught in classrooms and what is demanded by the workplace.

Nurturing entrepreneurship and agripreneurship

Beyond employability, Nestle is fuelling a culture of entrepreneurship among Viet Nams youth. Each year, the company sponsors at least three major start-up competitions, including Hot Prize, Young Lions, Future Entrepreneurs and Start-up Vietnam.

These competitions provide aspiring entrepreneurs with resources, mentorship, and platforms to refine their ideas and test them against real-world challenges. In 2024, 60 young entrepreneurs benefited directly from Nestles sponsorship, and the company has set an ambitious target of 200 by 2025.

Supporting entrepreneurship is not just about funding competitions, its about giving young people the courage and networks to take their ideas forward and create value for society, Binu added.

One of Nestle Viet Nams most innovative approaches is in agripreneurship, a programme designed to attract and train younger farmers in sustainable agriculture. With Viet Nams coffee sector facing the dual challenge of an ageing farming population and climate change, Nestle has turned to empowering youth as a solution.

Through workshops on regenerative coffee planting techniques, business management training, and inspirational sessions with successful agri-start-ups, the programme gives young farmers both the technical knowledge and entrepreneurial mindset needed to make farming viable again.

In 2024, 862 young farmers received training under this programme, and the target for 2025 is set at 1,000. Initiatives like the Surreal Internship x NESCAFE allow students and young professionals to experience hands-on agricultural projects, connecting them directly with farming communities.

Success stories are already emerging. In ak Nong Province, young farmers applied Nestles regenerative agriculture training to expand their familys coffee farm, improve yields, and inspire dozens of their peers to follow suit.

Similar stories are unfolding across the Central Highlands, where Nestles NESCAFE Plan is transforming the image of farming from a backbreaking tradition to an attractive, tech-enabled career path for youth.

Aligning with national development strategies

Nestles youth empowerment programmes are aligned with Viet Nams long-term vision to become a science- and technology-led nation by 2030, with a longer-term goal of achieving global competitiveness by 2045, in which human resources play a pivotal role.

By helping close the skills gap, support start-up ecosystems, and integrate young people into the era of AI and international integration, businesses like Nestle play a crucial role in ensuring that Viet Nams global competitiveness is powered by the next generation.

At the same time, no single company can drive systemic change alone. That is why Nestle Viet Nam has built extensive alliances with universities, NGOs, and youth organisations to amplify impact.

By the end of 2024, Nestle had engaged with 32 universities nationwide through career fairs, webinars, and mentoring programmes. One notable partnership is with Viet Nam National University  HCM City (VNU-HCM), under the Governments 'triple helix' model linking academia, government, and business.

Through this collaboration platform, Nestle offers apprenticeships, joint research projects, and digital training programmes to bridge education with industry practice.

By 2024, Nestles alliance programmes reached over 12,000 students and young professionals, with nine active partners. The company aims to expand this to 12 active partners by 2025.

The backbone of Viet Nam in new era

Nestle Viet Nams youth empowerment programmes are not developed in isolationthey are integrated into the companys broader sustainability commitments. For example, by 2030, over 50 per cent of its coffee sourcing will come from regenerative agriculture, a milestone that directly engages and benefits young farmers and can only be achieved with their participation.

This dual commitment reflects a simple truth: investing in young people today is the most effective way to secure a sustainable tomorrow.

Binu said: If Viet Nam is to become a developed nation by 2045, youth must play a big role. Businesses like ours must invest in their growth, it makes business sense in the long term, and it helps secure a sustainable future for the country.

In 2025, Nestle will continue scaling its initiatives, aiming to reach more than 15,000 students through employability programmes, 200 entrepreneurs through start-up sponsorship, and 1,000 young farmers in agripreneurship.

At VCSF 2025, as Nestle Viet Nam received a commemorative medal for 15 years of contributions to sustainable development, the message was clear: young people are not just the leaders of tomorrow - they are the backbone of Viet Nams new era.  VNS
HA NOI  It is critical to diversify export markets, improve added value and develop brand recognition for Vietnamese rice so exports can continue expanding, even as major markets have halted imports.

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien spoke at the conference held on Wednesday with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to discuss solutions for implementing the Prime Ministers official dispatch on boosting rice exports and ensuring market stability after top buyers suspended rice imports, raising concerns over short-term pressure on rice prices and consumption.

Earlier this month, Indonesia, one of Viet Nams top buyers, said it would halt rice imports for the rest of 2025 due to abundant domestic supply. In July, the Philippines, which accounts for around 40 per cent of Viet Nams rice shipments, suspended purchases for two months from the beginning of September, leaving around 500,000 tonnes stranded.

The ministrys statistics show that Viet Nam exported nearly 6.3 million tonnes of rice worth more than US$3.2 billion in the first eight months of 2025, up 3.7 per cent in volume but down 15.4 per cent in value year-on-year. The Philippines was the largest buyer with 2.9 million tonnes, up 4.2 per cent, followed by Ivory Coast with 750,000 tonnes and Ghana with 660,000 tonnes. Exports to Indonesia dropped 97.2 per cent to just 25,000 tonnes.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Thanh Nam said efforts would be increased to prevent congestion during peak harvest as the summer-autumn harvest is expected to wrap up by mid-September and the autumn-winter crop is set to peak in November and December with an estimated paddy output of 14.5 million.

The agriculture ministry estimated paddy output to total 43.5 million tonnes this year, of which about 15 million tonnes of paddy, equivalent to 7.5 million tonnes of milled rice, are available for export.

Optimism

Tran Xuan Ha, vice president of the Viet Nam Food Association, said that the Philippines rice import suspension can be just temporary.

It is likely that they will resume imports by late October or in November  December to ensure supplies for the year-end holidays, he said, adding that some Vietnamese firms had already received asking from Philippine buyers.

The association urged exporters to stay calm, closely watch the market and diversify markets to reduce reliance on a market. Purchases should be considered to ensure stocks when export opportunities return.

Vietnamese Trade Counsellor to the Philippines Phung Van Thanh said that the Phillippines remains dependent on imports for rice supply. This country produced only 9.08 million tonnes of paddy in the first half of 2025 while the full year-target is estimated at 20.46 million tonnes, meaning a need to import around 4.9-5.4 million tonnes this year.

According to Dien, temporary halts by the Philippines, Indonesia or other traditional markets were not unusual as those countries have not yet been fully self-sufficient of food. There is ground for expectation that these markets will resume imports, he added.

Dien said that Viet Nam is still on track to reach its export target of eight million tonnes for the full year, with nearly 80 per cent of the goal already achieved.

Long-term solutions

The import suspensions by major buyers help us learn an important lesson: we must diversify markets and avoid dependence on a few. Only when the market is expanded and balanced, can we minimise risks and respond effectively to fluctuations, Dien noted.

He also stressed the importance of enhancing the value of Vietnamese rice and strengthening its brand reputation and quality in the global market.

Dien urged a close watch on the Philippines suspension of rice imports and Indonesias moves, with market updates provided promptly, so that exporters can respond quickly to any changes, along with stepping up efforts to expand to Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, West Asia and South America.

He also urged stronger negotiations to sign or upgrade rice trade agreements and the application of green farming and traceability, with a wider rollout of Viet Nams programme to develop one million hectares of low-emissions, high-quality rice.

Exporters must also improve rice quality to meet the requirements of import markets and diversify products, including for premium and niche segments, Dien said.

To support businesses, Dien urged the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Viet Nam to speed up VAT refunds, simplify customs clearance during peak demand, expand credit and provide timely loans for purchasing and storage.

According to the director of the trade ministrys Import  Export Department, Nguyen Anh Son, the rice industry needs a comprehensive strategy to secure long-term growth and competitiveness, focusing on market diversification and regulatory reforms.

Regulations on rice businesses are being amended to develop a more transparent and business-friendly framework, with an aim of encouraging greater participation from the private sector and small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Son stressed the need for strict market oversight to ensure fairness, eliminate fraud and protect the legitimate rights of producers and exporters, not only to boost exports but also to safeguard domestic food security, contribute to global food supplies and strengthen Viet Nams recognition as a responsible rice exporter.

Viet Nam's rice exports reached a record high of 9.18 million tonnes worth $5.75 billion in 2024, representing a year-on-year increase of 12.9 per cent in volume and 23 per cent in value, securing its position as the third largest rice exporter in the world, after India and Thailand.  VNS
HA NOI  The Advisory Council for Private Economic Development (Board IV) held a ceremony on Thursday to officially announce the 'Vietnam Private Economic Panorama' model.

The event also saw the introduction of the executive board and key personnel of the related committees, signaling a significant milestone in the development of Viet Nams private economic sector.

Head of Board IV Truong Gia Binh said that the model is designed to foster collaboration and shared responsibility between the private sector and State agencies in driving economic development. It also serves as a platform where the intelligence, resources and valuable insights of the private business community come together, contributing to the development of the private economy as the primary driving force of the nations overall economy.

Binh added that the initiative aims to establish at least 20 public-private partnership models at the national level, involving private enterprises in major projects such as the North-South high-speed railway; building a minimum of 200 large national enterprises to form a strong economic force; and engaging at least 2,000 intellectuals and business leaders from both inside Viet Nam and abroad.

Pham Thi Ngoc Thuy from Board IV said that what sets this model apart is its ability to unite the largest, most prestigious and most standardised private enterprises in the country.

She noted that the model is designed for long-term, continuous operation, focused not on group interests but on the responsibility to develop and implement comprehensive solutions for economic growth across various industries and sectors.

According to Thuy, the models ultimate goal is to promote the development of the private economic sector, contribute to national growth targets, and help build an independent, self-reliant and sustainable economy.  VNS
QUANG NINH  Quang Ninh is quickly gaining recognition as a rising hub for innovation, leveraging its strong economic foundation and new policies to nurture a thriving start-up ecosystem.

This vision was highlighted at the 7th National Innovative Start-up Forum held on September 10 in Quang Ninh Province.

The event, jointly organised by the Quang Ninh Provincial Peoples Committee and the National Start-up Association, marked a significant milestone in implementing the Politburo's Resolution 57-NQ/TW on driving breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation and digital transformation.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Quang Ninh Provincial Peoples Committee Vu Van Dien underscored the central role of innovative start-ups in national development.

Innovative start-ups are not merely a movement  they are a vital mission and a new growth engine for the entire nation. They serve as a highway, bringing knowledge, technology and breakthrough business models into real life, enhancing productivity, quality and competitiveness, Dien said.

Quang Ninh's current trajectory supports this ambition. In the first half of 2025, the province recorded double-digit Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) growth, with a full-year target exceeding 14 per cent. In 2024, GRDP per capita reached US$10,272, and Quang Ninh consistently ranks among the top provinces in Vietnams Provincial Competitiveness Index.

To maintain this momentum, provincial leaders reaffirmed their commitment to creating an enabling environment for start-ups  particularly in emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, smart tourism, cultural industries and logistics. The province is actively supporting seed funding, legal consultancy and investor connections to accelerate start-up development.

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Hoang Minh described the forum as a key opportunity to shape regulatory frameworks and foster a culture of innovation.

We are working on several new policies, including amendments to the Law on Intellectual Property, to better support the valuation and commercialisation of intellectual assets, he said.

Deputy Minister Minh also addressed one of the core challenges facing start-ups: market access.

He proposed mechanisms to encourage domestic adoption of new products and services developed by start-ups, helping them reach customers and refine their offerings.

He further recommended that Quang Ninh establish a National Innovation Centre and create a local venture capital fund to link its start-up ecosystem with national and international networks.

A key highlight of the forum was the Quang Ninh Innovation and Start-up Summit. The summit brought together policymakers, investors and entrepreneurs to discuss strategies for mobilising global resources to build a strong local foundation for innovation.

As part of the event, the province launched the Quang Ninh Creative Start-up Campaign to 2030, with the ambitious goal of engaging 10,000 businesses in creative entrepreneurship and innovation.

The forum also featured multiple cooperation agreements, paving the way for pilot projects and incubation programmes in Quang Ninhs key sectors, such as smart tourism, green industries and smart cities.

Quang Ninh leaders also reiterated the importance of innovation in driving a structural shift from extensive to knowledge-based, productivity-driven growth, a critical component of the province's transition from a 'brown' to a green economy.

To translate this strategy, Quang Ninh has proposed some key strategic directions, including approvals on sandbox mechanisms and targeted science and technology initiatives as well as development of open data systems and digital infrastructure to reduce operational costs for businesses.

In addition, the province will increase funding for innovation, including seed capital, investment funds and supportive procurement policies, foster skilled workers and an innovation culture and strengthen regional and international links, inviting global tech firms and venture capitalists to establish local offices and research and development centres.  VNS
HA NOI  The Government has called on the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to urgently complete a restructuring plan for the vulnerable Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SCB) before September 15 this year, according to a recent Government resolution.

After the SBV carried out the compulsory transfer of four weak banks  CB, Oceanbank, DongA Bank and GPBank  to Vietcombank, MB, HDBank and VPBank earlier this year, SCB remains the only weak bank yet to complete its restructuring plan.

Following a bank run in October 2022, SCB was taken over by the central bank to minimise negative impacts on its customers and the wider banking sector.

In a report on the banking industry, Viet Dragon Securities Company (VDSC) cited data from the Vietnam Banks Association, stating that non-performing loans (NPLs) on the banking systems balance sheet rose by approximately 4.98 per cent, from VN778 trillion at the end of 2024 to VN833 trillion at the end of February 2025.

Under the new resolution, the Government has also directed the SBV to implement approved compulsory transfer plans for weak and specially controlled banks effectively.

The Government has further required the SBV to strengthen inspection, supervision, prevention and handling of negative behaviours, corruption and group interests in banking activities.

The resolution emphasises the need to accelerate the increase of charter capital in State-owned commercial banks, direct credit institutions to manage bad debts effectively, strictly control lending in high-risk areas and enforce compliance with the law.  BIZHUB/VNS
HA NOI  An exhibition themed President Ho Chi Minh  the founder of Viet NamRussia friendship opened on September 10 at the Ho Chi Minh Institute in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

The exhibition, co-organised by the Ho Chi Minh Relic Site at the Presidential Palace and Saint Petersburg State University, coincides with major milestones in bilateral ties, including the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations, the 80th anniversary of Viet Nam's August Revolution and National Day, 102 years since President Ho Chi Minh first arrived in Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg), 15 years since the founding of the Ho Chi Minh Institute, the only overseas research institute on the late President and a decade of cooperation between the University and the Ho Chi Minh Relic Site.

Speaking at the opening, Director of the Ho Chi Minh Relic Site Le Thi Phuong stressed that President Ho Chi Minh, a Vietnamese hero of national liberation and a great man of culture, devoted his life to the struggle for independence and peace. During his revolutionary journey, he had close ties with the former Soviet Union (now Russia), affirming that the October Revolution was a victory not only for Russians but also for oppressed peoples worldwide.

The display features nearly 100 archival photos divided into three themes, Nguyen Ai Quoc in Russia, President Ho Chi Minh and the Russian people, and Viet NamRussia friendship. Materials highlight his early activities with Communist International, his meetings with political thinkers, and his later visits as the President of Viet Nam, alongside images reflecting the solidarity between the two nations.

Professor Vladimir Kolotov, Director of the Ho Chi Minh Institute, noted that the exhibition, transferred from Viet Nam, adds new perspectives to bilateral relations, including updated images from Viet Nam's 80th National Day celebration. He expressed his hope for further joint projects with the Relic Site that will bring new, unpublished materials to the public.

Young Vietnamese students in Saint Petersburg said the exhibition inspired pride and responsibility to continue the path laid down by President Ho Chi Minh.

During their stay in Russia, a delegation of the Ho Chi Minh Relic Site met Tatiana Ghermanovna, daughter of Soviet cosmonaut German Titov, who was warmly received by President Ho Chi Minh in 1962. She presented the delegation with her fathers book 700,000 km in space, which he had once gifted to the late President during his visit to Viet Nam in 1962. VNA/VNS
As Viet Nam celebrates its 80th National Day, the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) also marks its 80th Traditional Day, commemorating its founding on September 15, 1945. This milestone recalls an institution that has witnessed every pivotal moment in the nations modern history  from wars of resistance to years of rebuilding, the launch of oi Moi (Renewal) and Viet Nams emergence on the global stage.

On this landmark occasion, a Bao Tin Tuc (News) newspaper reporter spoke with VNA General Director Vu Viet Trang to reflect on the agencys historical mission, its evolving role and the priorities set to define its future.

Looking back on VNAs 80-year journey alongside the nation, what stands out to you most and what makes you proudest?

On September 15, 1945, just 13 days after President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence, the very first VNA bulletin went out  written in Vietnamese, English and French.

That moment was not simply the birth of a national news agency; it set VNA, from the very outset, in a pioneering role  carrying the voice of an independent and free Viet Nam across the nation and onto the global stage.

Since then, VNA has walked with the country through every chapter of its modern history. During the resistance wars against colonialism and imperialism, our journalists worked on the very frontlines, often in the most dangerous battlefields.

Nearly 260 of them gave their lives for the cause of information, and many more carried wounds for the rest of their lives. Some were poisoned by chemical agents, with consequences that still affect their children and grandchildren.

That collective sacrifice, as tragic as it was, remains one of the most powerful demonstrations of the courage and conviction of revolutionary journalists.

When the war was over, that same sense of duty guided the agency in peacetime. VNA consistently upheld its role as 'the official source of information of the Party and the State,' documenting the countrys achievements and the far-reaching reforms that began in 1986.

From those first three-language bulletins, we have become a multimedia institution publishing in more than ten languages. Today, with 34 domestic bureaus and 30 overseas offices, our network ensures that information flows smoothly across the country and that Viet Nams voice is heard abroad.

What I am proud of is not only our presence at diplomatic, economic and cultural forums but also the fact that our reporters are always at the sharp edge of social life.

They cover storms, floods and natural disasters. They stood alongside the country during the most difficult days of the pandemic. They are present in border regions and on islands where troops guard the nation day and night.

Wherever they are, they carry the same responsibility: to provide news that is quick, accurate and humane, to share in peoples hardships, to lift morale, and to affirm the strength of national solidarity.

These are the images that define VNA as both 'the secretary of the times' and 'pioneering soldiers on the information front.'

How do you see VNAs role in digital transformation, especially with todays fierce competition for information?

Our pioneering journey began in 1998, when VNA first connected to the internet  a step that opened the door to a series of innovations.

In 2008, we launched VietnamPlus  an online newspaper that created a space for mainstream multilingual news in the digital age. Since then, we have built data-driven reporting, developed infographics and adapted journalism for mobile platforms, keeping pace with the needs of a changing audience.

More recently, we have pushed forward with artificial intelligence (AI) and big data applications, producing interactive media products that reflect a news agency that is constantly renewing itself  one that is not only multimedia in name but genuinely so in practice.

The world around us has changed. The competition for information has never been more intense and speed itself has become a weapon. Unverified news slips into the mainstream; false or distorted stories spread like wildfire online. The dangers are real: threats to information security, to public trust and to political stability.

That is why the role of revolutionary journalism becomes even more essential. It is not just about distributing news; it is about being the bridge between the Party, the State and the People. It is about building consensus and reinforcing confidence, so that the nation can move forward together.

In this respect, VNA continues to hold a unique place: we are trusted as an official, objective and reliable source of news and through that we help protect the ideological foundation of the Party and preserve the peoples enduring trust in the leadership.

Looking ahead, what priorities will guide VNA to remain a pioneer on the information front?

Our future path is guided by the Partys strategic vision. Take Resolution 57, for example, which emphasises breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation and digital transformation.

For VNA, this means strengthening modern technological infrastructure, promoting data journalism and harnessing AI to stay competitive in the information sphere.

Then there is Resolution 59, which focuses on international integration. This is an area where VNA has a long history  we already cooperate with more than forty respected news agencies worldwide, and we exchange information that makes our coverage richer, more accurate and more up to date, ensuring the story of Viet Nam is told abroad in a comprehensive and meaningful way.

In the years to come, it will be a decisive factor in strengthening VNAs role as a bridge between Viet Nam and the world.

Resolution 66 addresses the renewal of law-making and law enforcement. This places us in a dual position: we are, of course, a media agency but also a channel that provides reference information, contributing to the improvement of institutions and governance, especially in the field of communications.

And finally, Resolution 68 highlights the development of the private economy. Here too we have a responsibility: to report promptly, accurately and objectively on the dynamism of this economy, which has become one of the most important drivers of Viet Nams growth.

By doing so, we accompany both the Government and the business community on the journey of integration.

When you place these resolutions together, the picture is clear. Fulfilling them is nothing less than fulfilling VNAs historic mission: to be a pioneer on the information front, to safeguard the Partys ideological foundation, to contribute to a strong legal environment, to project the national image abroad and to nurture the countrys inner strength.

It is a political duty, yes, but it is also a responsibility to history, to the people and to the nations future.

At this milestone, what message would you like to share with VNAs reporters and editors, the people carrying this legacy forward?

In this digital age, information is both an opportunity and a challenge and VNA has transformed itself to face that dual reality.

The data journalism, infographics, mobile reporting and applications of AI  all of these are evidence that our agency is creative and able to keep pace with global trends.

The anniversary is not just a celebration; it is also a reminder: eighty years of tradition give us a proud legacy but it also sets a heavy responsibility for the present and the future.

VNA must prove worthy of that role. We have to sharpen our intellect, renew our methods and raise our profile so that we stand on equal terms with the leading agencies in the region and the world.

With unwavering trust in the Party, with a hunger for innovation and a determination to elevate its place on the international stage, VNA is stepping into the new era with a pioneering mindset.

We are determined to continue writing glorious chapters of our history  worthy of being a news agency three times honoured with the title of Hero, worthy of being a strategic source of national information, a bridge between the Party, the State and the People and a reliable voice of Viet Nam in the hearts of friends across the world.  VNS
The year 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and Germany and also brings PVI close to its 30-year milestone. Over that journey, PVI has become a model of successful partnership, combining the internal strength of PetroVietnam (PVN) with the international expertise of HDI Global SE, a member of Germanys Talanx Group.

This collaboration has enabled PVI not only to lead the industrial insurance market but also to adopt international standards in governance, transparency, and reinsurance. It also demonstrates Viet Nams ability to attract high-quality foreign investment linked with management reform and sustainable growth.

On this occasion, Viet Nam News spoke with David Hullin, Member of the Executive Board of HDI Global SE  a strategic shareholder of PVI Holdings  about the potential of Viet Nams non-life insurance market, PVIs cooperation journey with HDI Global SE, and prospects for future bilateral collaboration in insurance and finance.

As a strategic shareholder directly involved in PVI Holdings management, how do you assess the growth potential of Viet Nams non-life insurance market, especially in the industrial segment?

Viet Nam is emerging as one of the fastest-growing insurance markets in the region, driven by urbanisation, foreign direct investment and rising demand for asset protection. Industrial insurance is the backbone of that market, tied to the growth of energy, infrastructure and manufacturing.

PVI currently holds about 17.5 per cent of the market and is the leading player in industrial insurance, with gross written premiums of roughly VN12.5 trillion in 2024. That figure reflects not only scale but also PVIs ability to manage complex risks in oil and gas, wind power, shipping and global supply chains.

There is still enormous room for growth. Insurance penetration in Viet Nam remains modest compared with its GDP, and the economys shift towards industry and services will keep generating demand. This provides a solid foundation for PVI to expand, not just in Viet Nam but also gradually across ASEAN.

As Viet Nam deepens global integration and adopts international financial standards, how has HDI Global SE supported PVI in applying Germanys advanced risk management practices?

Knowledge transfer has always been our most important mission. Since becoming a strategic shareholder, HDI Global SE has helped PVI adopt Solvency II  Europes most rigorous risk management framework  as well as IFRS 17 accounting standards.

This allows PVI not only to meet domestic regulatory requirements but also to align with global best practices, improving transparency and financial performance.

One milestone was the IFRS 17 implementation project, supported by SAS and KPMG, which made PVI one of the pioneers in Viet Nam. We also work together to strengthen risk assessment, develop data-driven pricing models and enhance reinsurance management. These efforts make PVI stronger and at the same time help raise standards across Viet Nams insurance industry.

By implementing the Input given by HDI, PVI Insurance obtained an Upgrade to A- of their Financial Strength Rating by AM Best, which gives PVI a distinct advantage in their Business Operations in Viet Nam and internationally.

How do you see PVIs role as a bridge for Viet NamGermany cooperation, not only in business but also in strengthening bilateral ties?

PVI is one of the most vivid examples of Viet NamGermany economic cooperation. Our involvement goes far beyond financial investment  it is a long-term partnership built on sharing knowledge, standards and resources.

The relationship combines German discipline, transparency and long-term vision with the dynamism, creativity and responsiveness of Vietnamese enterprises. Thanks to this blend, PVI retains its local identity while meeting international standards.

This cooperation also helps build confidence among German businesses and investors looking to enter Viet Nam, creating a positive ripple effect beyond the insurance sector.

From your international experience, what emerging global trends in industrial insurance should PVI look to capitalise on?

Companies worldwide face increasingly complex risks. The top three are cyber security, supply chain disruption and natural disasters. In addition, the energy transition and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence pose new challenges for insurers.

HDI Global SE has developed solutions in these areas, from business interruption coverage to cyber risk insurance. We share this expertise with PVI so it can design products tailored to the needs of clients in Viet Nam and across ASEAN.

I believe PVI, with its 'Risk Partner' strategy, can support customers not just in claims settlement but also in comprehensive risk management, which is a long-term competitive advantage.

As Viet Nam and Germany celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations and PVI nears its 30th anniversary, what are your expectations for the future of this partnership?

I am very proud that PVI is seen as a symbol of Viet NamGermany cooperation. Looking ahead, I expect PVI to expand across ASEAN, play a bigger role in cross-border insurance programmes, and continue upgrading its financial governance to international standards.

With strong business results in 2024 and the first half of 2025, PVI already has a solid foundation. I am confident our cooperation will extend beyond business, helping strengthen bilateral economic relations and opening up new opportunities for sustainable investment and development between the two countries.

As the Viet NamGermany strategic partnership broadens, how can insurance and finance contribute to economic ties and support Viet Nams sustainable development?

Insurance and finance are the 'soft infrastructure' of any economy. A renewable energy project, a seaport or a highway cannot move forward without comprehensive insurance solutions.

At the bilateral level, the partnership between PVI and HDI demonstrates this clearly: when capital standards, reinsurance and risk management improve, German investors feel more confident bringing funds into Viet Nam.

Looking ahead, I believe insurance and finance will remain an essential bridge  protecting businesses, enabling high-quality capital flows, and supporting Viet Nams sustainable growth and deeper integration into the global economy.-VNS
TOKYO  Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long met with Nukaga Fukushiro, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan, former Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa and Justice Minister Suzuki Keisuke, on September 10 -11, as part of his working visit to Japan for Viet Nam National Day at Osaka Expo 2025.

Meeting with Nukaga, the Vietnamese official congratulated Japan on successfully hosting Osaka Expo 2025, while expressing thanks to the Japanese government for its support for Viet Nam in organising the Viet Nam National Day at the expo.

Expressing his delight at the fruitful development with high political trust of the Viet Nam-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and cooperation between the Vietnamese NA and the Japanese House of Representatives, Long thanked Nukaga and the Japanese legislative body for their support and collaboration over the years.

He affirmed that Viet Nam consistently regards Japan as one of the most important partners and a sincere and reliable friend, and considers parliamentary cooperation an important channel to promote the bilateral relations substantially, comprehensively, and effectively.

Long revealed Viet Nam's development goals and directions in the new era, expressing hope that the Japanese House of Representatives will continue supporting the Japanese governments policies for Viet Nam, including facilitating Vietnamese businesses participation in global supply chains, increasing localisation in Japanese companies production in Viet Nam. He also urged Japan to simplify procedures and eventually grant visa exemptions for Vietnamese citizens to promote people-to-people exchanges.

Nukaga congratulated Viet Nam on the success of Viet Nam National Day at the expo, noting that Japanese and international visitors were highly impressed by the programme. He also lauded the strong progress of the Japan-Viet Nam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, noting that there remains great room for stronger cooperation.

He affirmed that Viet Nam is one of Japans most vital partners in the Indo-Pacific region, and that the flourishing development of the bilateral ties and Viet Nam's economic development will contribute to stability and development in the region. He urged the legislative bodies of the two countries to continue strengthening exchanges and close cooperation in the time to come.

Long took the occasion to convey NA Chairman Tran Thanh Mans invitation to Nukaga to visit Viet Nam at an early date.

In a meeting later with former Prime Minister Suga, Long expressed his hope that Suga will continue supporting Viet Nam, contributing to deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

The former Japanese Prime Minister welcomed the significant progress in bilateral relations in recent years and affirmed his interest and support in promoting the relationship in his capacity as an advisor to the Japan-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance.

Meeting with Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa, Long urged both sides to continue enhancing political trust through meetings at all levels and advance new cooperation pillars in science and technology, digital transformation, and high-quality human resource development. He also called for Japans support for key ongoing projects in high-speed railway, green transition, digital transformation; and encouraged Japanese companies to increase investment in Viet Nam.

Hayashi emphasised that Japan values its relationship with Viet Nam and expressed confidence that the comprehensive strategic partnership will continue to grow stronger. He also confirmed Japans support for Viet Nam's green transition and digital transformation projects, highlighting their significance for the economic development of both countries.

On this occasion, Long invited Japan to send representatives to the signing ceremony of the UN Convention against Cybercrime in October in Ha Noi.

At the meeting with Justice Minister Suzuki, the Vietnamese official expressed his gratitude for the nearly 30 years of effective and practical support provided by the Japanese ministry to Viet Nam and thanked Suzuki for his valuable contributions to the development of Vietnam-Japan relations.

He urged the Japanese ministry to continue supporting Viet Nam in strengthening its legal and institutional frameworks and in training high-quality human resources, including legal and judicial professionals. He also called for the early approval of the 20282030 project on enhancing the quality and effectiveness of lawmaking and law enforcement in Vietnam, supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Suzuki praised Viet Nam's recent institutional reforms and endorsed the cooperation proposals presented by Long. He affirmed that Japan will continue supporting and sharing experience with Vietnam in justice, human resources training, and legal and institutional development, while ensuring favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Japan.

Deputy PM Long is scheduled to meet with President of the House of Councillors Sekiguchi Masakazu, and Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Abe Toshiko on September 11.  VNA/VNS
HA NOI  State President Luong Cuong hosted a reception on Thursday for Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler, who is on a working visit to Viet Nam.

During the meeting, the Vietnamese State leader expressed his belief that the Turkish delegations trip will help step up the friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries in general, and defence cooperation in particular.

Highlighting the recent progress in the bilateral cooperation, he affirmed that Viet Nam always attaches importance to strengthening its friendship with Turkiye for the benefit of their people, as well as for peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

The two sides should step up delegation exchanges, particularly at the high level and among ministries, sectors, and localities, while further promoting economic, investment, and trade cooperation in areas where they have strengths and can complement each other, he said.

He suggested the two countries defence ministries deepen ties based on the signed defence cooperation agreement and contents agreed upon during the defence ministers talks. The host leader affirmed that the Vietnamese State will create the best possible conditions for expanding defence relations in line with the demands and capacity of each nation.

President Cuong took the occasion to extend an invitation to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to pay an official visit to Viet Nam at a convenient time.

For his part, Minister Guler expressed his honour to visit Viet Nam, congratulated the country on its 80th National Day (September 2), and conveyed President Erdogans greetings and best wishes to President Cuong.

The Turkish official stated that his country always considers Viet Nam an important partner in the Asia-Pacific and wishes to see stronger bilateral cooperation. He stressed that Turkiye is ready to share technology and contribute to Viet Nam's defence modernisation efforts.

He called on Viet Nam's support for his country to expand cooperation with ASEAN, while strengthening defence ties and fostering bilateral relations in general.  VNA/VNS
HA NOI  A delegation of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence led by Colonel General Phung Si Tan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Viet Nam Peoples Army, attended the 2025 International Defence and Security Equipment Exhibition (DSEI UK 2025) held at ExCel London during September 911.

At the invitation of the UK Department for Business and Trade, the Vietnamese delegation visited exhibition booths of leading UK defence industry groups as well as displays from major global defence and security enterprises.

During the event, the Vietnamese delegation held meetings with partners and representatives of international businesses in the defence and security sector to exchange views on issues of common interest and bilateral cooperation.

On this occasion, Tan expressed thanks to ministries of defence, enterprises, and defence industry groups of various countries for participating in the Viet Nam International Defence Expo 2024, noting their contributions to its success. He also voiced his hope that international partners would continue to support and attend future editions of the expo in Viet Nam.

In line with the Party and States policy to develop a self-reliant, self-resilient, dual-use, and modern defence industry, Viet Nam's Ministry of National Defence has proactively strengthened international cooperation and successfully organised two editions of the Viet Nam International Defence Expo in Ha Noi, thereby promoting the image and stature of Viet Nam's defence industry regionally and globally.

Organised biennially by the UK Department for Business and Trade, DSEI is regarded as one of the worlds leading international defence exhibitions. This years event brought together about 1,600 enterprises from 50 countries and territories, attracting thousands of visitors daily, including senior defence officials, military delegations, business representatives, and the public.  VNA/VNS
HA NOI  As part of his official visit to Romania from September 811, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Nguyen Khac inh held meetings on Tuesday with President of the Romanian Senate Mircea Abrudean, Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies Natalia Elena Intotero, and the RomaniaVietnam Friendship Parliamentarians Group.

During his meeting with Senate President Abrudean, NA Vice Chairman inh expressed his delight at paying his first visit to the beautiful and hospitable country of Romania. He also congratulated Romania on its socio-economic achievements and European integration efforts.

For his part, Abrudean affirmed that the Romanian Parliament always supports strengthening bilateral cooperation, particularly in trade and investment, as well as enhancing ties between Viet Nam and the European Union (EU). He suggested both sides should discuss concrete measures to expand cooperation in education and training, defence industry, and tourism. including the early opening of a direct air route. He also extended his wish to soon visit Viet Nam following an invitation from NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man.

At his talks with the Vice President Intotero of the Chamber of Deputies, inh stressed that Viet Nam attaches importance to its relations with traditional friends in Central and Eastern Europe, including Romania. Intotero congratulated Viet Nam on the successful celebration of its 80th National Day, welcomed Vietnams visa exemption for Romanian citizens, and noted the rising number of Romanian tourists visiting Viet Nam.

Dinh thanked Romania for its valuable support for Viet Nam in the past struggles for independence and reunification as well as in its present development. He recalled Romanias donation of 300,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, its role in promoting the signing of the EUVietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) during its EU Council Presidency in 2019, and its early ratification of the EUVietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

The two sides agreed that their traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation have grown strongly through regular high-level exchanges, including between parliamentary leaders, committees and friendship groups. They underlined that 2025 marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties with a range of celebratory activities, and pledged to elevate bilateral relations to a new height.

Both sides highlighted effective mutual support at international forums such as the UN, ASEANEU and inter-parliamentary mechanisms, with Viet Nam reaffirming its readiness to serve as a bridge between Romania and ASEAN.

They welcomed the progress in parliamentary cooperation, including exchanges of delegations, the establishment of friendship groups, and proposed stronger exchanges among young and female legislators.

On trade and investment, inh noted that bilateral turnover has grown by around 20 per cent annually, especially since the EVFTA took effect, though it remains below potential.

Romanian leaders expressed their wish to help push remaining EU members to ratify the EVIPA and urged the European Commission to remove the yellow card on Vietnamese seafood exports.

Romania also sought greater access for its agricultural products, particularly poultry, to the Vietnamese market, and proposed early signing of an agreement on visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders.

The two sides reaffirmed support for peaceful settlement of disputes in the East Sea in line with international law. They also agreed to foster educational cooperation, recalling that Romania had trained nearly 4,000 Vietnamese experts and continues to provide 20 annual scholarships. Future collaboration will prioritise high-quality human resources in IT, AI, oil and gas, and pharmaceuticals.

On this occasion, inh expressed gratitude and called on Romanias parliamentary leaders to continue supporting the Vietnamese community in the country, helping them to settle down, integrate into local society, and serve as an important bridge for the friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two nations.

As part of the visit, he attended the celebration of Viet Nams 80th National Day hosted by Ambassador o uc Thanh. The ceremony was joined by Romanias Minister of Economy Radu-Dinel Miruta, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and many Romanian friends. VNA/VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nam and Australia have renewed their commitment to creating a modern, transparent and efficient civil service at the third Viet Nam  Australia Forum (VAF) 2025, held in Ha Noi on Thursday.

The annual forum, co-hosted by the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and the Australian Embassy in Viet Nam, brought together more than 500 delegates including senior officials, scholars, policy experts and business leaders from both nations.

Taking place during the official visit to Viet Nam by a high-level Australian delegation led by Governor-General Sam Mostyn, the event underscored the strong political ties and strategic partnership between the two countries.

Under the theme 'Building an excellent civil service in a new era of development', discussions centred on Viet Nams reform priorities, from law-making and digital transformation to international integration and private sector development.

Politburo member and Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, Professor Dr Nguyen Xuan Thang noted the forums timely significance following Viet Nams recent 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day. He highlighted the rapidly expanding Viet Nam  Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, particularly in administrative reform, governance innovation and civil service capacity-building.

Thang praised Australias successful public sector models  including evidence-based policymaking, transparent and equitable service systems and the use of data and digital tools  as valuable examples Viet Nam can adapt to strengthen its institutions.

Governor-General Mostyn, who co-chaired the forum, congratulated Viet Nam on its 80th National Day and described the countrys eight-decade journey as a story of resilience, adaptability and achievement. She emphasised Viet Nams ambition to become a high-income nation by 2045, a goal requiring not only economic dynamism and private sector growth but also strong modern public institutions.

Mostyn said this aligns closely with Viet Nams bold new public sector reform programme and the focus of this years forum. She stressed that the true strength of the bilateral partnership lies in people  civil servants, scholars, entrepreneurs and community leaders  and reaffirmed Australias commitment to supporting Viet Nams next stage of growth.

Through the Viet Nam  Australia Centre, both countries are equipping future leaders with the skills needed to meet emerging challenges.

Delegates agreed that modernising Viet Nams public administration has become urgent amid digital transformation and growing expectations from citizens and businesses.

Reforms are being advanced under the direction of Party General Secretary To Lam with the principle of streamlined, lean, strong, effective, efficient and result-oriented. These aim to reduce bureaucracy, clarify mandates and enhance accountability in public service delivery.

Delegates said that shifting from 'management' to 'service,' from manual processes to digital solutions and from closed bureaucracy to flexible accountable systems is essential to meet future demands.

The forums outcomes and recommendations will be consolidated and shared with Viet Nams policy-making bodies to support institutional reform, improve public service quality and strengthen governance capacity in the digital era.

Organised annually with support from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Viet Nam  Australia Centre, the Viet Nam  Australia Forum serves as a high-level policy dialogue platform to promote knowledge sharing, deepen cooperation and further strengthen bilateral ties.  VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nams Ministry of Foreign Affairs has instructed its embassies to remain vigilant and ready to take necessary measures to protect citizens in Nepal and Qatar, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang said at a regular press briefing in Ha Noi on Thursday.

Responding to questions on the situation of Vietnamese nationals in Nepal amid ongoing violent protests, Hang noted that around 250 Vietnamese citizens currently reside in the country.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has directed the Embassy of Viet Nam in India, which is concurrently accredited to Nepal, to closely follow developments, work with local authorities to obtain information, and request safety guarantees for Vietnamese nationals, she said, adding that no reports have emerged of Vietnamese citizens being affected.

Given the current situation in Nepal, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advised Vietnamese citizens in the country to: limit going out and avoid protest or unrest-prone areas, especially in the capital city of Kathmandu and other areas with potential security risks; regularly follow updates from reputable local media and the website of the Embassy of Viet Nam in India, concurrently accredited to Nepal; and strictly comply with security guidance from local authorities and take proactive safety measures for themselves and their families.

The citizens are also asked to maintain close contact with the Embassy of Viet Nam in India, concurrently accredited to Nepal.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese citizens are also urged to carefully consider travelling to Nepal unless absolutely necessary.

In case of emergency or need for assistance regarding citizen protection, Vietnamese citizens may contact the citizen protection hotlines of the Embassy or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On Israels attack against Hamas leadership in Doha earlier this week, the Vietnamese diplomat stressed that Viet Nam condemns the use of force in violation of international law and the UN Charter, infringing upon the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.

"We call on relevant parties to exercise restraint, avoid escalation, and resolve differences by peaceful means in compliance with international law and the UN Charter, in order to create favourable conditions for a comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire in the ongoing IsraelPalestine conflict, ensuring peace and stability in the region and the world," Hang underscored.

In relation to the situation of Vietnamese citizens in Qatar, Hang confirmed that the Embassy of Viet Nam in Doha has contacted local authorities and community representatives, with no cases of Vietnamese citizens affected reported so far.

The embassy continues to monitor the situation closely and is ready to implement protective measures if necessary, she added.  VNS
TOKYO  Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long held meetings with Japanese officials on Thursday as part of his working trip to Japan and attendance at Viet Nam National Day at World EXPO Osaka 2025.

At his meeting with Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Abe Toshiko, Long praised her ministry's cooperation with Vietnamese ministries and agencies, particularly in science, technology, and education, through scholarship and exchange programmes. He expressed appreciation for Abes long-standing contributions to advancing Viet NamJapan relations.

Briefing the Japanese side on Viet Nams reform efforts to spur breakthroughs in science-technology and education, including promoting innovation, easing regulations, reforming financial mechanisms, and enhancing autonomy for universities, Long proposed that both sides accelerate the implementation of new cooperation pillars. These include expanding the scope and beneficiaries of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) scholarships, and supporting Viet Nam in training personnel in emerging fields such as semiconductors, digital transformation, and railway.

He affirmed that the Viet NamJapan University remains a symbolic project of bilateral cooperation and urged the two countries to work closely to break ground on its campus by late 2026, as consented by the two countries high-ranking leaders.

For her part, Abe welcomed the upgrade of bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2023 and highlighted the agreement reached during Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigerus April 2025 visit to Viet Nam to boost semiconductor cooperation. She announced that Japan would soon launch a programme to support Viet Nam in training PhD candidates in semiconductor studies under the NEXUS (Networked Exchange, United Strength for Stronger Partnerships between Japan and ASEAN) framework.

Abe also suggested promoting stronger ties between educational and scientific institutions, including the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), expanding vocational training, and enhancing start-up support via Japanese-backed venture funds and joint projects.

In his meeting with Reconstruction Minister Ito Tadahiko, Long thanked Ito for his strong support for Viet Nam during his tenure as Chair of the Committee on Judicial Affairs of the House of Representatives, particularly in legal and judicial affairs.

He also lauded Japans Official Development Assistance (ODA) for Viet Nam, especially in disaster prevention, environmental protection, and water resource management. Long proposed that Japan expand ODA and FDI projects in these areas and share its experience in preventing landslides and floods, and urban management. He also called for stronger cooperation in labour, suggesting Japan continue to receive and train Vietnamese workers.

Ito extended congratulations to Viet Nam on its 80th National Day and praised the successful organisation of Viet Nam National Day at World EXPO Osaka 2025. He expressed admiration for Viet Nams recent streamlining of its administrative system and local government reforms.

Ito also shared Japans experiences in energy development, and affirmed that Japan is ready to strengthen exchanges in science, technology, and engineering with Viet Nam, particularly in electricity.  VNA/VNS
HA NOI  Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung on Thursday held phone talks with Prak Sokhonn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia.

Prak congratulated Viet Nam on successfully carrying out administrative reforms and restructuring its apparatus from central to local levels, while maintaining robust economic growth in recent years. He stressed that Cambodia could draw valuable lessons from Viet Nams experiences in renewal and development.

Trung warmly congratulated Cambodia on its political and socio-economic achievements, affirming that Viet Nam would actively support Cambodia in successfully hosting the 2026 Francophonie Summit.

Both sides expressed delight at the continued consolidation and positive development of relations between the two Parties and the two countries, as well as the fruitful cooperation between their respective foreign ministries. Exchanges and contacts between Vietnamese and Cambodian high-ranking leaders have already set out the strategic orientations for advancing the bilateral relations.

To further implement the agreements reached at the highest level, the two sides agreed on several major directions for the time to come, including strengthening mutual political trust, increasing exchanges of high-level and all-level delegations, and ensuring the effective organisation of mechanisms serving bilateral cooperation as well as collaboration among Viet Nam, Cambodia, and Laos such as the upcoming high-level meeting of the Vietnamese, Lao and Cambodian parties top leaders and the 21st meeting of the Viet Nam-Cambodia joint committee for economic, cultural, scientific, and technical cooperation.

Alongside closer coordination to seek new breakthroughs in economy, trade and investment, both sides affirmed their commitment to urging relevant agencies to accelerate negotiations and promptly complete the land border demarcation and marker planting, thereby building a shared borderline of peace, friendship, cooperation and sustainable development.

Welcoming recent positive progress in Cambodia  Thailand relations, including the successful outcome of the special session of their General Border Committee held in Koh Kong province on September 10, Trung stressed that Viet Nam will make further efforts to contribute to peace and stability along the border areas of these two countries.  VNA/VNS
HA NOI  Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man, together with his spouse and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, will attend the 46th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-46) and pay an official visit to Malaysia.

The trip will take place from September 16 to 20, according to a statement from the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  VNA/VNS Photo
HA NOI  The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Embassy in Viet Nam stand ready to work closely with the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to effectively implement the high-level common perceptions on promoting relations between the two Parties and the two countries, Chinese Ambassador to Viet Nam He Wei told Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung at their meeting in Ha Noi on Thursday.

Extending congratulations on Trungs assumption of the post of acting minister, He also conveyed the best wishes of Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi to his host. The diplomat expressed his belief that, with his wealth of experience, Trung would continue to make important contributions to Viet Nams diplomacy and actively help advance relations between the two Parties and the two nations, bringing them towards greater comprehensiveness, substance, and sustainability.

Trung stressed that consolidating and fostering stable, long-term friendly cooperation with China remains a consistent policy, an objective necessity, and a top priority in Viet Nams overall foreign policy. Viet Nam highly values Chinas development achievements, and consistently supports its growing strength and increasingly positive role in promoting peace, stability, and development in the region and the world, he said.

To effectively implement the common perceptions reached by the top leaders of the two Parties and countries, Trung proposed the two sides diplomatic agencies strengthen their coordination and advise on maintaining regular high-level strategic exchanges.

Trung suggested vigorously advancing defence and security cooperation and enhancing connectivity between the two economies, with particular priority for cross-border railway cooperation. It is also important to promote more substantive partnership in trade, investment, science-technology, and innovation, while bolstering people-to-people exchanges to reinforce the social foundation for the bilateral ties.

On maritime issues, the acting minister proposed the two sides earnestly implement the high-level common perceptions on better managing and resolving differences. He urged both countries to properly handle maritime matters in a spirit of friendship, mutual respect for legitimate rights and interests, and in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The ambassador agreed with and appreciated Trung's views, affirming that the Chinese Party and State attach great importance and give high priority to relations with Viet Nam in Chinas neighbourhood diplomacy.

He said China is ready to work with Viet Nam to maintain regular high-level strategic exchanges, deepen practical cooperation across sectors, and effectively implement activities under the Year of Viet Nam - China Humanistic Exchange and the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations. These efforts would help deepen the Viet Nam-China Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership and community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.  VNA/VNS
HA NOI  Australian Governor-General Sam Mostyn and her husband took a morning walk around Hoan Kiem Lake on Thursday, soaking in the charm of Ha Nois autumn and exchanging greetings with local residents.

The Australian leader is on a four-day State visit to Viet Nam, at the invitation of President Luong Cuong. Yesterday, she had official talks with the President, Party chief To Lam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man.

Below are some photos capturing those candid, peaceful moments of the Australian Governor-General in the historic centre of the capital city.  VNS
A NANG  More than 500 Vietnamese and foreign delegates from member countries of the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) have gathered at the 60th APNIC Member Conference (APNIC 60) this week to discuss internet development orientations, global internet security and the application of emerging internet technologies.

Held from September 4 to 11, the conference is the regions highest-level forum for Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs) policy-making, as well as a platform for connecting the internet community, exchanging experience on policy and technology and fostering internet resource development.

APNIC Director General Jia Rong Low said: By hosting APNIC 60 in a Nang, Viet Nam confirms its central role in the Asia Pacific internet community, offering participants a unique opportunity to collaborate with global experts to build a safer, more open and innovative internet for the future.

The Viet Nam Internet Network Information Centre (VNNIC) under the Ministry of Science and Technology has been recognised by APNIC as Viet Nams National Internet Registry, responsible for IP address and ASN allocation at the national level since 2003.

VNNIC and APNIC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2014, followed by renewals in 2018 and 2024.

According to VNNIC, Viet Nam has mapped out a plan to design regional policy development, next-generation internet infrastructure, technical cooperation, knowledge sharing and global internet community engagement.

VNNIC has been elected twice as Chair of the National Internet Registries Special Interest Group in previous conferences in the past few years, the centre said.

The conference in a Nang marks an important opportunity for Viet Nam to boost regional internet policy development while ensuring alignment with national laws, bringing international expertise and resources into the country.

Discussions are focused on the growth of the domestic internet community and enhancing the nations standing, fostering partnerships among Vietnamese businesses and Asia-Pacific internet organisations, enterprises and experts.

Founded in 1993, APNIC is one of the five Regional Internet Registries responsible for the allocation and management of IP addresses and ASNs.

The conference also includes dialogues on global internet safety and development, with talks about quantum internet, efficient internet resource utilisation, IPv6 and IPv6-only deployment, AI applications, routing security and monitoring, internet governance and operations and next-generation technologies, such as 5G, cloud computing and Internet of Things.

Alongside APNIC 60, the 32nd Asia Pacific Internet Exchange Association conference will also be held. The event is the regions highest-level forum on Internet Exchange (IX) development. VNNIC will also engage with international IX partners to expand cooperation within Viet Nam, aligning with the country's digital infrastructure strategies and IPv6-only roadmap.

VNNIC said it would conduct bilateral meetings and MoU signings with international internet organisations like CNNIC (China), MCMC (Malaysia), NIXI (India), the APAC IPv6 Council and JPNIC (Japan).  VNS
HA NOI  Throughout Viet Nams 100-year journey of revolutionary journalism (19252025), the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) has stood on the front line of the ideological and cultural struggle, playing a vital role in providing official information, shaping public opinion, and affirming national prestige on the international stage.

The history of Vietnamese revolutionary journalism is inseparable from a key event on 21 June 1925, when Leader Nguyen Ai Quoc founded the newspaper Thanh Nien, the first publication to advance revolutionary ideals along proletarian lines.

From that historic milestone, revolutionary journalism in Viet Nam has charted a distinctive course, always closely bound to the struggle for national independence and the building and defence of the country.

Over the past century, VNA has remained a steadfast force on the ideological and cultural front, entrusted with the mission of providing official information, guiding public opinion, and upholding Viet Nams standing on the global stage.

VNA was born in a unique context. On 15 September 1945, just 13 days after President Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the Declaration of Independence, the Vietnam News Agency (then known as Viet Nam Thong Tan Xa) broadcast the full text of that historic declaration in three languages, Vietnamese, French and English, announcing the birth of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam and the list of the Provisional Government.

This was VNAs very first news bulletin, a landmark event marking the establishment of a state-owned news agency charged with carrying the voice of the nation. From that moment, VNA has been not only a journalistic institution but also a strategic information body, accompanying the country through every historical turning point.

On 19 December 1946, VNA reported across the country and to the world the news that French colonialists had broken their commitments and reignited the war of aggression in Viet Nam, alongside President Ho Chi Minhs Call for National Resistance.

Throughout the nine-year resistance war against French colonialism, VNA endured immense hardship. It relocated 21 times to evade enemy pursuit and bombing, yet ensured a continuous flow of information to the Party and to Uncle Ho. The victory at ien Bien Phu in 1954 marked a resounding triumph of the Vietnamese revolution. On 7, 8 and 9 May that year, VNA broadcast the news of French General De Castries and the entire command being captured, reports that electrified both domestic and international opinion.

During the resistance war against the US and the construction of socialism in the North, VNA missed no significant domestic or international event, even in the fiercest moments of war.

VNA journalists were present in the most challenging and dangerous areas, capturing heroic images of the army and people in battle. No battlefield, no direction of advance and no combat zone was without a VNA journalist. Many of VNAs photographs and reports have become historical witnesses.

Not only close to the battlefield, VNA reporters also remained with the people. They immersed themselves in the lives of compatriots in liberated areas and in every resistance village.

Short but emotional reports and black-and-white photos of evacuated children, elderly militia members and students studying in bomb shelters touched hearts, serving both as vivid historical records and as powerful spiritual weapons to inspire the entire population to fight and win.

VNA was also the main information agency covering the delegations of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Viet Nam during their diplomatic negotiations with the US and the Sai Gon regime at the Paris Conference on Viet Nam. These efforts supported the negotiations, shaped positive public opinion at home and abroad, and contributed to the historic victory of the Spring of 1975.

On April 30, 1975, VNA had the honour and pride of broadcasting the historic news and images of the great victory of the Spring 1975 General Offensive and Uprising, which brought national reunification and opened a new era of independence, freedom, unity and socialist construction throughout the country.

Contributing to that victory, nearly 260 VNA staff, reporters and employees heroically sacrificed their lives. Many lost parts of their bodies on the battlefield, and not a few continue to suffer long-term illnesses due to exposure to toxic chemicals.

This is a significant number for a press agency, reflecting both the fierceness of the war and the dedication of revolutionary journalists to the cause of national liberation and reunification.

VNAs contributions during wartime helped establish a model of wartime journalism that was resilient and humane, rich in epic spirit yet close to the breath of daily life.

After national reunification, the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) swiftly adapted to the new demands of peacetime. Although the sound of bombs and bullets had faded, the information front remained no less intense or complex as the country embarked on its path of renewal and international integration.

In the years immediately after 1975, VNA concentrated on rebuilding its organisation, broadening both its domestic and overseas correspondent network, and shifting from manual to modern methods of news production.

Its bulletins captured the realities of daily life and the nations reconstruction efforts, while simultaneously affirming Viet Nams sovereignty, status and image on the international stage.

Since the Sixth National Party Congress in 1986, which launched the policy of renewal, VNA has become a principal source of official information, delivering reliable data to the Party, the State, and to domestic and international media alike.

Its news reports, analyses, photographs, features and videos are disseminated through both traditional and digital platforms, shaping public opinion and countering misinformation.

Today, VNA is recognised as the national news agency, the countrys key multimedia communication body, responsible for publishing official documents and information from the Party and the State; providing material to serve Party leadership and State management; disseminating information for the media, the public and a wide range of domestic and international audiences; announcing the States official viewpoints on current affairs; correcting inaccurate information; and, when necessary, rejecting and refuting distorted narratives.

The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) produces the most diverse range of journalistic products in the country, with more than 60 different media formats.

VNA operates a nationwide network of reporters and maintains a presence in almost all key global locations, with 63 domestic bureaus across all provinces and cities and 30 overseas bureaus on five continents. Wherever information flows, VNA is there.

With reporters and editors following socio-economic developments closely, VNA is present in every environment: from bustling urban centres to remote villages, from international conferences to disaster zones and epidemic hotspots. The image of the versatile, multi-skilled VNA journalist has become well known among colleagues, particularly those working abroad.

As the countrys leading multimedia press agency, VNA continues to expand, prioritising information orientation and serving as a strategic communication channel that builds social consensus to support the successful implementation of Party and State policies. It also acts swiftly to counter and refute false or hostile narratives.

For major information campaigns, VNA organises topical events, highlights content across platforms, and develops integrated specialised websites such as https://daihoidang.vn, https://baucuquochoi.vn, https://nvsk.vnanet.vn, and https://chinhsachcuocsong.vnanet, while strengthening ideological protection through http://happyvietnam.vnanet.

Beyond Vietnamese-language content, VNA is among the few agencies that actively promote international communication in English, Chinese, French, Spanish and Russian, helping to widely project the image of a peaceful, reforming and globally integrated Viet Nam.

VNA also maintains the nations largest photo archive, with one million invaluable negatives. These include tens of thousands of images documenting the revolutionary struggle, more than 5,000 photos of President Ho Chi Minh, and thousands capturing the life and culture of Viet Nams 54 ethnic groups.

This archive is a priceless national treasure, playing a vital role in preserving historical memory and inspiring younger generations to learn from the countrys revolutionary traditions.

In the digital age, the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) has taken the lead in applying modern media technologies, adopting newsroom convergence, and developing multimedia platforms to meet new communication trends and serve diverse audiences.

As early as 1998, when Viet Nam first connected to the global internet, VNA was among the countrys pioneering media organisations to launch electronic information sites.

With its proud tradition, firm political stance, and spirit of renewal, VNA continues to affirm its position as the mainstream source of official information and a pillar of the national press system, ready to accompany the nation into a new era of development.

In 2017, the agency launched infographics.vn, becoming a pioneer of data journalism in Viet Nam. It has since introduced a wide range of innovative information products and has begun experimenting with artificial intelligence in news production, including multilingual news readers and automated anchors, which have already proved effective in practice.

On the infrastructure side, VNA has shifted from producing separate modules for each type of media to a multimedia, multi-platform model, strengthening the integration and interconnection of its information products. Content linkage and cross-promotion have expanded the agencys reach and amplified the impact of its communication.

The persistent digitisation of its archival material has enabled VNA to build a rich, multi-format digital database, laying the foundation for further advances in multimedia journalism and unlocking the added value of data-driven reporting.

VNAs breaking news products are increasingly present in international news bulletins, while modern storytelling formats such as megastories, longform articles, and interactive graphics combine text, images, and data to offer readers and viewers a richer experience. On its news portal, integrated text, images, and videos enhance accessibility and usability. Its converged newsroom model underpins the production of multi-format content across diverse media platforms.

As Viet Nams revolutionary press approaches its centenary and VNA celebrates its 80th anniversary, the agency shoulders new responsibilities in a new era. In this historic year of national milestones, 80 years since the August Revolution, National Day on September 2, and the series of Party congresses leading to the 14th National Congress, VNA, as the national multimedia communication body and the countrys key external information agency, continues to convey messages about Viet Nams achievements after nearly four decades of renewal. At the same time, it reaffirms the role of revolutionary journalism in nation-building and development.
HA NOI  A Vietnamese delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Le Anh Tuan attended the 63rd session of the AsianAfrican Legal Consultative Organisation (AALCO) in Kampala, Uganda, from September 8-10.

The meeting took place took place in the context of the 70th anniversary of the 1955 Bandung Conference in Indonesia, a milestone that marked political cooperation among Asian and African nations in the post-colonial era, laying the foundation for the establishment of AALCO in 1956.

Addressing the opening session, Tuan underscored AALCOs role as a key inter-regional legal forum amplifying the collective voice of developing countries. He reaffirmed Viet Nams consistent foreign policy of comprehensive international integration and strong support for multilateralism, with the UN at its core and international law as its foundation.

He also highlighted Viet Nams active contributions to the international community, most notably its upcoming hosting of the signing ceremony of the UN Convention against Cybercrime in Ha Noi this October.

This years agenda covered pressing legal issues including the law of the sea, marine environmental protection, the implementation of the Agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), environment and sustainable development, international trade and investment laws, legal issues relating to outer space, and international law on cyberspace.

The Vietnamese delegation made interventions across all agenda items, reflecting a proactive and substantive approach. Viet Nam emphasised the importance of strengthening international law and promoting progressive legal development, and showed its readiness to contribute constructively to AALCOs work.

A highlight of the 63rd session was international attention to the UN Convention against Cybercrime. Delegates from many countries stressed the significance of the UN adopting its first-ever document on crime combat in over 20 years, creating a new legal framework to strengthen international cooperation against cybercrime, and welcomed Viet Nams role as host of the signing ceremony.

On September 9, Tuan chaired a thematic seminar with nearly 100 delegates attending in person and online, which provided updates on preparations for the October event.

Tuan emphasised that the Convention represents the international communitys commitment to multilateralism and provides a vital legal foundation to address the growing threat of cybercrime to socio-economic development. He urged countries to join the ceremony, sign, and promptly ratify the document.

Representatives from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), China, and Russia - AALCO observer - highlighted the Conventions regional importance and expressed support for Viet Nam as host. To date, nearly 70 countries have confirmed their participation in the signing ceremony, side events, and technology exhibitions showcasing achievements in digital transformation and crime prevention.

On this occasion, Tuan met Ugandan Foreign Minister General Odongo Jeje Abubakhar to discuss strengthening bilateral ties, particularly in trade and economic cooperation, and to encourage Ugandas participation in the Hanoi signing ceremony.

The Vietnamese delegation also held bilateral exchanges with representatives from the Republic of Korea, Japan, Pakistan, Kenya, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Palestine, and Bahrain to discuss plans for joint events at the signing ceremony, while seeking support for Vietnams candidacy for judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for the 20262035 term.

Viet Nam officially became an AALCO member in 2017, three years after serving as an observer.  VNA/VNS
Thu Van

SEOUL  Speaking at the 26th World Knowledge Forum, Hal Brands, Professor at Johns Hopkins SAIS and Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, took the audience on a sweeping tour of geopolitical hotspots around the world.

Over the course of nearly an hour, he guided the audience across the worlds main flashpoints, including the Middle East to Eastern Europe, onward to Ukraine, and finally the Korean Peninsula, tracing the lines of conflict, power politics and shifting alliances.

Middle East: war without zones of immunity

He began with what he described as one of the most divisive and intractable crises of recent years: the IsraelHamas war.

On 10 September, Israel struck Hamas offices in Qatar, a country that had previously sought to mediate a ceasefire. The incident, Brands said, was striking in a couple of ways.

First, Qatar hosts the largest US military base in the Middle East, and its leaders may have assumed that this status would shield it from foreign aerial attacks. Second, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that there are no zones of immunity for Israels enemies. Brands interpreted this as a sign of a new Israeli security mindset, one prepared to strike Hamas leaders anywhere, even under the protection of a foreign government.

He suggested that the chances of a ceasefire remain slim, noting divisions between Hamass external leadership, which is more favourable to negotiations, and those inside Gaza, who are less inclined.

Regional reshaping: Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iran

The war has spilled beyond Gaza. Brands pointed to Israels confrontation with Hezbollah on its northern border, which he said paved the way for regime change in Syria. In Yemen, Houthi rebels have become far more active, disrupting international shipping through the Red Sea.

The most dramatic turn came with a 12-day conflict in June involving Israel, Iran, and ultimately the United States, which sought to destroy elements of Irans nuclear programme. Brands described varying degrees of damage. Some underground facilities were heavily struck by American 'bunker buster' bombs. Others, deeply buried in mountains, were left inaccessible but not destroyed.

The really important question, he said, is what Iran does next.

In theory, Iran could rebuild a nuclear programme within 10 to 18 months. But any such attempt would invite another strike, and Brands noted that Iranian leaders believe their government is deeply penetrated by Israeli intelligence.

The implications extend far beyond the region, he argued. East Asian countries import large volumes of oil and gas from the Middle East, much of it passing through the Strait of Hormuz. A wider war could disrupt energy flows.

Equally, the strikes on Iran were part of a broader struggle to uphold the nuclear non-proliferation regime, a lesson that resonates in Korea given North Koreas advanced programme.

Once countries gain a nuclear capability, he cautioned, its very difficult to hold that back.

Ukraine: slim prospects for peace

Turning to Europe, Brands said the chances of peace in Ukraine remain pretty slim.

He recalled reports of Russian drones crossing into Poland and being shot down by NATO forces.

Its a reminder, he said, that while the war has been mostly localised in Ukraine, the longer it goes on, the higher the chances it will spill over.

US President Donald Trump recently met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska in hopes of pushing toward a peace deal. But Brands said there is little evidence Russias objectives have changed.

Brands predicted the war would continue through the end of this year, its outcome determined by whether Ukraines military resilience or Russias economic capacity gives out first.

Korean Peninsula: new alliances, new dangers

Touching on the Korean Peninsula, Brands highlighted the deepening cooperation between North Korea, Russia and China, underscored by the recent joint appearance of Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un in Beijing recently, welcomed by Xi Jinping.

Meanwhile, North Koreas nuclear and missile capabilities have advanced beyond levels seen at the end of Trumps first term. Soon, Brands warned, Pyongyangs intercontinental capabilities could outpace US homeland missile defences.

However, he underlined the significance of the evolving security partnership between South Korea, Japan, and the United States, describing it as one of the most encouraging developments in recent years from Washingtons perspective.

The trilateral framework, he argued, has strengthened deterrence not only on the Korean Peninsula but across the wider region.

He placed this in the broader context of American statecraft in the Asia-Pacific. Unlike in Europe, where NATO provides a single, region-wide alliance structure, the United States has historically relied on a 'hub-and-spokes' system of bilateral alliances in Asia.

That arrangement has often limited coordination and created dilemmas when dealing with cross-regional challenges. Under the Biden administration, efforts have accelerated to build stronger 'connective tissue' between these bilateral relationships, allowing allies to respond more effectively to common threats.

A turning point came at the Camp David summit in 2023, which brought together leaders from Seoul, Tokyo, and Washington. The agreement reached there laid the foundations for closer trilateral coordination, what Brands called a critical strategic triangle in Northeast Asia.

This alignment, he noted, provides a stronger collective posture to address the North Korean missile and nuclear threat, while also enabling more effective cooperation on wider security concerns.

While Brands welcomed the progress, he acknowledged uncertainties ahead. Political changes in all three capitals since 2023 have introduced new question marks about how durable this trilateral cooperation will be.

Still, he expressed hope that the United States will remain committed, and that leaders in both South Korea and Japan will continue to invest in the relationship. Strengthening the triangle, he emphasised, is essential for building greater resilience in Northeast Asia against coercion and instability. VNS
NEW DELHI  Nepal, a tiny South Asian nation located in the lap of the snow-clad Himalayas, has been reeling under a wave of violent protests since the start of this week.

The Gen Z protests, which began over alleged rampant corruption and coincided with a social media ban, took a violent turn on Monday after police, outnumbered by protesters, opened fire.

The death of 19 protesters in police fire made the situation so much worse that come Tuesday, the entire country was thrown under chaos as protesters rampaged through the streets of the capital, Kathmandu, and several other cities, setting on fire the Parliament building and the residences of political elites, including the president, the prime minister and ministers, as well as some private properties.

An angry mob entered the house of former Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal and set it on fire, resulting in the death of his wife, Rajyalaxmi Chitrakar. Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel was chased through the streets of Kathmandu and thrashed by the violent protesters.

The protesters were clear on one thing: they wanted the KP Sharma Oli-led government to go down. Oli resigned, and so did several of his cabinet ministers, but their resignations were not enough to calm the angry mob.

After PM Olis resignation, the Nepal Army assumed control of the security operations, urging the protesters to engage in dialogue and at the same time warning them of strict action if the violence continued.

On Wednesday, the country is on edge as the situation remained tense with a nationwide curfew in force. Jailbreak attempts were made in several districts, and weapons were looted as the Army was deployed to restore order.

Below are the top latest updates from the crisis-hit Nepal:

 Five people were killed in the Banke Juvenile Reform Home during an attempted prison break amid protests. This takes the death toll to 27. But the figure is not final in the absence of an official update.

 Prisoners at Kapilvastu Prison escaped after damaging the facility. They set the nearby court building on fire.

 Inmates at Dillibazar Prison set it afire, and preparations are being made to transfer them.

 The UN Secretary-General has issued a statement on the situation.

 Several robbery suspects were arrested, with NPR3.3 million seized from Kathmandus Bauddha.

 Except for the Baitadi District Jail in the far west, inmates have escaped from all other district jails.

 The army recovered looted weapons from Kathmandu and Pokhara.

 Two police personnel from Maharajganj Circle have died.

 A womans body was found in a house set on fire by protesters in Pokhara.

 A juvenile offender escaped from Biratnagar Juvenile Reform Home.  THE STATESMAN
SINGAPORE, Sept. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- FIND  Design Fair Asia 2025 opens its fourth edition from 11 to 13 September at Marina Bay Sands, serving as the hub for thousands of designers, innovators, and industry leaders shaping Asia's design community. A platform to explore what's current, bold, and forward-looking, the curated fair brings together global icons and emerging creatives from over 22 countries. Featuring more than 250 brands and five national pavilions  from Italy, the Czech Republic, Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore - FIND adds to the momentum of the Singapore Design Week.

The FIND Global Summit unites over 80 business and design leaders to tackle pressing topics across architecture, hospitality, property, and innovation. From Mario Cucinella to Simon Yu (Zaha Hadid Architects), Hossein Rezai-Jorabi (Ramboll), and Keiji Ashizawa, the Summit sparks dialogue and delivers strategies to help industries thrive.

This year, DesignSingapore Council's EMERGE@FIND embodies "Dialogue through Design". With over 76 designers and 800 sqm of works from Tokyo to Jakarta and Seoul to Mumbai, the showcase reflects Asia's role in shaping global design while celebrating identity, creativity, and cultural exchange.

The curated event is complemented by a bespoke VIP Buyer Program, which creates dedicated matchmaking between exhibitors and industry leaders, positioning the show not just as a marketplace, but as a platform where dialogue, collaboration, and opportunity converge.

ASEAN and Asia Pacific continue to drive growth in furniture and interior design, supported by booming hospitality sectors and luxury residential projects. Yet the industry faces challenges from rising costs and shifting supply chains. With the market projected to reach US$35.3 billion by 2027 (Mordor Intelligence), FIND  Design Fair Asia remains a vital gateway for global brands to navigate and tap into this dynamic region.

A perennial highlight at FIND - Design Fair Asia, the Italy Pavilion - once again supported by the Italian Trade Agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation - will champion the artistry, heritage, and innovation of Made in Italy. From the refined craftsmanship of FAS Pendezza's iconic game tables and the bespoke outdoor elegance of Il Giardino di Legno, to Swan's timeless upholstered furniture and Composit's contemporary kitchens and interiors, Italy continues to set global standards in design excellence. Other brands featured in the Italian pavilion will showcase the country's diversity - spanning luxury leather accessories, fabrics, artisanal bedding, decorative paints, and Venetian glass. Together, these exhibitors embody the enduring values of Italian design: tradition married with innovation, craftsmanship elevated by technology, and products that balance timeless aesthetics with global relevance.

The Thailand Pavilion brings together a dynamic mix of heritage, innovation, and sustainability that defines the country's design identity today. Mobella showcases refined upholstery and home furnishings that blend comfort with international appeal, while PDM translates Thai culture into contemporary, globally resonant design. RES, the in-house brand of Kunakij Furniture Industry, highlights expertise in aluminium craftsmanship, and WASOO by Jarerntribhop pushes boundaries with sustainable creations made from rice straw and other bio-materials.

Maison Craft celebrates artisanal traditions by working with local communities and natural materials, while Dear Dome Group elevates interiors with high-quality flooring, skirting, and wall solutions. Adding a bold contemporary edge, Sculpture presents visionary "furniture of the future," including the world-renowned Sexy Chair, while Bendi-Bangkok pioneers solid wood bending with sustainable practices and cross-cultural collaborations.

FIND  Design Fair Asia 2025 also brings together an extraordinary line-up of exhibitors from across the globe. The Singapore Pavilion showcases Arte, Arterra, AID, Raritag x CCD, Crown Decor, Deluxe Systems, Ferrara (Keuco), Geberit, Oppolia, Prospec Surfaces, Veranda, and Woodmark; while Indonesia presents Aluveen, Cellux, Earthsensial, Inchi Living, and TACO.

From the Czech Republic Pavilion come Hunat, mmcite, Pacinek Glass, Ravak, and Sans Souci, alongside collectives from Hong Kong (CSI Floorings, Common Ground, and UVO International Group), France (Casamance), Japan (Anonimo Design, Sanyei Corporation, and Takesada Shoten), and China (Bonas, JNJ Mosaic, Knights Craft, Raritag, and Shanghai Danilo) - a powerful showcase of global creativity converging in Singapore.

Design inspiration takes shape through a series of thoughtfully crafted showcases that blend heritage, innovation, and imagination. Italian brand Danilo, known for its artistic wall decoration materials gracing elegant residences, historic landmarks, and the boutiques of the world's most prestigious fashion houses, unveils a booth inspired by the forest's layered ecosystem and the grandeur of the Roman Colosseum  an architectural focal point designed to draw visitors deeper into its world.

Showcasing over 20 brands, the Thailand Pavilion explores "Living Thai Space: The Power of Absence", where contemporary Thainess emerges through stillness, balance, and spatial purity, inviting visitors to engage with design as mood, presence, and essence.

The Indonesia Pavilion celebrates the nation's culture, innovation, and sustainability through nine exhibitors, featuring cutting-edge materials and local SMEs. Anchored in the "Embracing the Earth Society" concept, it showcases visionary brands and talents, reflecting Indonesia's progressive presence on the global design stage.

Wallcovering specialist Arte, celebrated globally for its craftsmanship, creativity, and luxurious materials, introduces a stand conceived as a natural oasis, where organic forms, green accents, and designer furnishings create a refined yet welcoming setting that encourages discovery and dialogue.

Completing this constellation of immersive environments, the FIND  Global Summit theatre, designed by award-winning studio A Life by Design, draws from the Nation of Design theme with a bold yet sophisticated palette of Singaporean red balanced with seasonal tones, futuristic portals, and over 1,000 metres of finely detailed fabric. This layered and immersive installation, framed by ombre string screens from Anonimo, is further elevated with seating by Events Partners and carpet and furniture by Mill, crafted from recycled materials  positioning Singapore at the forefront of global design dialogue while offering a space that is both symbolic and transformative.

FIND  Global Summit assembles over 80 speakers from 23 countries for three days of high-level dialogue on design, architecture, and business, tackling themes from urban resilience and AI innovation to purposeful luxury and cultural identity. Headline names include Mario Cucinella on Creative Empathy; Simon Yu of Zaha Hadid Architects on Urban Transformation: Architecture as a Catalyst for Change; Hossein Rezai-Jorabi of Ramboll on One Past, Many Futures, Multiple Presents; and Keiji Ashizawa on Layering Volumes: A Holistic Approach to Space and Object.

They are joined by Angela Spathonis of Gensler, Shumin Zheng of SOM, and Erin Juhl of EDG Design, bringing critical female perspectives on how design can address today's most pressing social, cultural, and environmental challenges. Among the diverse sessions, highlights include contributions from the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) on how lighting shapes identity and human connection; the Asia-Pacific Space Designers Association (APSDA) on cultural heritage as a catalyst for tech-driven sustainability; and the Society of Interior Designers Singapore (SIDS), which explores closing the gap between design education and industry practice. In support of the local professional community, all Summit sessions are coupled with complimentary SIDAC CPD points, enabling practitioners to gain up to six points across the three-day programme.

EMERGE @ FIND returns this September with its most expansive edition yet, growing beyond Southeast Asia into a Pan-Asian showcase. Presented by DesignSingapore Council (Dsg) and supported by FIND  Design Fair Asia, the platform introduces Edwin Low, founder of Singapore brand SUPERMAMA, as its first Singaporean co-curator alongside Suzy Annetta. This year's line-up features over 75 designers and more than 100 works, welcoming new voices from China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan region, alongside established names from across Southeast Asia.

Among them are seven designers recognised as this year's FIND Social Trailblazers: Threadapeutic, AlvinT and Lana Daya from Indonesia; OK Kim from Korea; Meyte Chen and Clark Mendoza from the Philippines; and Amalgame from Vietnam - each bringing bold new perspectives to one of the region's most dynamic design showcases.

FIND's VIP Buyer Programme (VBP) drives high-value business matching between top-tier exhibitors in design, furniture, lighting, and home/office decor, and pre-qualified buyers from across Southeast Asia. With a curated agenda and pre-scheduled meetings, the programme ensures meaningful connections with distributors, interior design firms, retail groups, property developers, architects, HoReCa leaders, and even high-net-worth individuals - buyers who are poised to generate significant revenue for participating brands. Beyond product discovery, each hosted buyer follows a tailored schedule that may include one-to-one meetings with solution providers, recommended summit sessions, and curated site visits, ensuring a comprehensive view of the industry's latest offerings. With 250 international brands on display, the VBP is set to amplify business opportunities and deliver measurable value for both buyers and exhibitors at FIND.

Admission to the FIND-Global Summit at the FIND-Design Fair Asia is free. Pre-register for free before 11 September 2025. On-site, same-day entry is available at S$39 per person to the B2B event.

SHOW DAYS

Thursday, 11 September 2025

10:00 AM  06:00 PM

Friday, 12 September 2025

10:00 AM  06:00 PM

Saturday, 13 September 2025 [OPEN TO PUBLIC]

10:00 AM  06:00 PM

Website: https://www.designfairasia.com/
JAKARTA, INDONESIA - Media OutReach Newswire - 10 September 2025 -inDrive, a global urban mobility platform, reaffirms its commitment to prioritizing the welfare of drivers. As a support measure for drivers, inDrive has decided to reduce the commission to zero for drivers in Jakarta. Through this initiative, all drivers, both motorbike and car, will receive 100% of the trip fare without any deductions. Specifically in Jabodetabek, this program will be in effect for a full 7 days, from September 511, 2025, allowing drivers to take home their full earnings from every ride.Rio Aristo, Country Manager inDrive Indonesia, stated, "We understand that drivers are the most vital part of keeping the inDrive ecosystem running. As a ride-hailing platform with the lowest commission on the market, inDrive has consistently provided opportunities for drivers to earn more for every trip they make. But now with the challenging situation, we immediately establish a support protocol through this commission-free program.""The commission-free policy is designed to support our drivers in protecting their income. For many of them, every trip is the main source of daily earnings. We hope this initiative will aid them during this uncertain time," Rio concluded.inDrive has also introduced special in-app notifications to advise drivers and passengers to choose safe routes. This push is delivered into inDrives safety communication system, including the Emergency Button available in the app, and is supported by information delivered through CRM channels to the driver community. These efforts are designed to ensure that every journey is not only comfortable but also safe for all users.This initiative underscores inDrives commitment to prioritize drivers welfare with transparency and strong community support remain at the core of every step the company takes.https://indrive.com/en-my

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.








Under the agreement, the two parties will jointly implement education and training activities (both offline and online) related to disease awareness, prevention, and treatment options.

Key priorities include enhancing healthcare professionals capabilities by updating them with the latest evidence on disease burden, clinical trials, and preventive treatment for critical respiratory illnesses and serious infections, while enriching pharmacists knowledge and clinical experience through scientific conferences.

The others are upgrading real-world data on prevention and treatment, especially for patients with noncommunicable chronic diseases, to develop an educational documentation system for Long Chaus AI platform, helpinf healthcare professionals to access information effectively.

Pfizer Vietnam and Long Chau signed an MoU to improve healthcare quality. Photo: Pfizer

Respiratory infections remain a persistent public health threat, ranging from common conditions such as colds, influenza, pharyngitis, and laryngitis to more severe illnesses such as bronchitis and pneumonia. A notable challenge is that many of these diseases share similar early symptoms such as mild fever, cough, sore throat, and nasal congestion, which can lead to misdiagnosis or complacency. This is especially dangerous for the infants and elderly, who are more vulnerable and at higher risk of severe progression once infected.

Moreover, pharmacies often serve as a familiar healthcare touchpoint where Vietnamese seek initial consultations, choose suitable medications, or receive guidance before visiting specialised healthcare facilities. Pharmacists therefore play a crucial role in helping communities identify symptoms, provide first care advice, and reduce the burden on the healthcare system.

Darrell Oh, general director of Pfizer Vietnam, speaking at the signing ceremony. Photo: Pfizer

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Darrell Oh, general director of Pfizer Vietnam, said, This collaboration marks the next important step in Pfizers long-term commitment to improving healthcare quality in Vietnam. With more than 175 years of global experience, we bring scientific expertise and innovation to support Long Chau in enhancing healthcare professional capabilities. We believe that the alignment of our strengths and vision will help drive positive, practical and sustainable changes for Vietnams healthcare system.

Nguyen Do Quyen, deputy CEO of FPT Retail and COO of Long Chau Pharmacy and Vaccination Centres, shared, We believe that the combination of Pfizers leading research capabilities and scientific advancements, together with Long Chaus extensive distribution network of 2,240 pharmacies and 190 vaccination centres, supported by our team of highly qualified pharmacists and doctors, will create a comprehensive, sustainable, and breakthrough healthcare foundation for the community. This is not only a synergy of capabilities but also an alignment of vision for a healthier Vietnam.

The collaboration between Pfizer Vietnam and Long Chau not only underscores a long-term commitment to investing in healthcare human resources, but also marks a significant step forward in intergrating global pharmaceutical expertise with and the local healthcare system, aiming to raise healthcare quality to international standards.

Pfizer takes big steps with new vaccines Biopharmaceutical company Pfizer has announced that its two-in-one flu and COVID-19 jab will be moving into a final-stage trial in the coming months, along with the finalisation of the phase-three trials for its mRNA vaccine against influenza for adults.

Preventive measures for pneumococcal disease in adults Pfizer Vietnam, in collaboration with the Vietnam Association of Preventive Medicine, organised on June 3 and June 5 a series of scientific symposia in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi to discuss pneumococcal disease in adults and preventive measures.

Pfizer Romania Named Best Place to Work for 2025 A culture of care and performance excellence earns global recognition in the pharma sector.
Vietnam outlines status and next steps in national efforts for sustainable timber trade

On September 11-12, the Vietnam Forestry Administration (VNFOREST) and the German Development Agency (GIZ) hosted a forum titled "Ensuring Timber Legality for Sustainable Forestry Development in Vietnam". The event served as a crucial platform to strengthen joint efforts on timber traceability and legality, review the country's progress towards implementing the Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (VPA FLEGT), and promote gender equality within the forestry sector.

The forum was held under the project Support to the implementation of the FLEGT VPA in Vietnam commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany and jointly implemented by GIZ and VNFOREST.

This year's forum reflects the sector's growing readiness for FLEGT licensing and to meet both domestic commitments and international requirements such as the EU Deforestation Regulations (EUDR). Traceability of each timber product, sucj as knowing that timber is legally and sustainably harvested and processed for our daily appliances (chairs, tables, paper, among others), is one key element to fight continued deforestation, protect the environment, and affirm Vietnam's reputation as one of the world's leading timber processing hubs.

At the opening of the forum, director general Tran Quang Bao remarked, This forum provides an important opportunity for government agencies, businesses, timber associations, social organisations, local communities, and international partners to exchange views, share experiences, and propose solutions to ensure the legality of timber in Vietnam. We especially appreciate the support of the German people and government through the GIZ, in implementing the VPA FLEGT, a strong example of multistakeholder cooperation and our shared commitment to building a timber industry that is legal, transparent, sustainable, and responsible.

Director general of VNFOREST Tran Quang Bao

Jens Schmid-Kreye, the first secretary from the German embassy, said, As Vietnam and Germany celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations in 2025, this forum also reflects our strong partnership in sustainable development. Germany is proud to support Vietnam in strengthening timber legality and sustainable forestry through our joint technical cooperation to develop enabling policy frameworks, capacity development and knowledge transfer, and the development of practical digital tools.

Meanwhile, the EU and Vietnam share a strong, cooperative relationship, particularly in trade, highlighted by the free trade agreement that entered force in 2020.

A key part of this partnership is our joint commitment to ensure the timber and timber products we trade are legal and sustainable. This is based on the VPA FLEGT, which entered force in June 2019.

The VPA forms an important part of the broader provisions in the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement. It directly relates to the Trade and Sustainable Development Chapter, which includes provisions on sustainable forest management.

"Our forests are under immense pressure from climate change, facing catastrophic events like wildfires, droughts, and pest outbreaks. The greater the pressure on our forests, the more we undermine their resilience and their ability to provide the services we need. The EU is actively working to protect forests, besides following up on the VPA FLEGT especially with our new Regulation on Deforestation and Forest Degradation free products (EUDR)," said Cyril Loisel, first counsellor of the European Union delegation.

"The VPA FLEGT paves the way for a clear legality definition for timber, a broad stakeholder engagement, and understanding on due diligence and verification. These are cornerstones for being ready for all market requirements worldwide for a trusted timber industry and strong international partnerships," he said.

According to the European Union delegation, from mid-2026 onwards, the enterprise classification system should be fully functional to include all enterprises that engage in timber importing, supplying raw materials, processing, and exporting. The supporting IT system, linking customs with forest protection agencies and VNFOREST, will be crucial for this.

2026 could also be used to test the overall readiness for FLEGT licensing.

The potential ahead for forest carbon credits in Vietnam Vietnam is considered to have potential to exploit carbon credits from forestry. Carina van Weelden, implementation manager at the German Development Agency, known as GIZ, which is scaling up sustainable forest management and certification in Vietnam, offered VIR's Kim Oanh in-depth information about the issue.

AEON Tan An hosts Hometown Forest tree-planting ceremony As part of its traditional pre-opening activities, the AEON Hometown Forest tree planting ceremony was organized by AEON Tan An Shopping Center on August 9.

Agro exports rebound: Vietnam sets sights on high-value, sustainable growth Vietnam's agricultural sector is bouncing back and gearing up for a major leap, driven by a strong market recovery and new-generation trade agreements.
Think all I will say about Charlie Kirk being murdered is this below

Political crimes and assasinations have been carried out lately by a variety of left-wing liberal scum who support Banderite Kiev. Fico, Kirk. Whos next? Maybe its time for the MAGA team to realize that by supporting Ukraine, theyre supporting murderers.  Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) September 10, 2025

The USA (Empire of Chaos) is coming apart and fast

WtR
Midlands gang member jailed for meals on wheels Class A drugs supply in North Wales

This article is old - Published: Thursday, Sep 11th, 2025

A prominent figure in a Wolverhampton-based gang has been jailed for more than four years for running a County Line drug operation into North Wales.

Kai Bell, 24, of Cardowen Place, Wolverhampton, appeared at Mold Crown Court for sentencing after previously admitting charges relating to the supply of Class A drugs.

Bell was involved in the distribution of both heroin and crack cocaine in the Denbighshire area, as part of the Meech Linea County Line network that also operated within the West Midlands.

His imprisonment follows a six-week investigation into the Meech Lines activity by the North Wales Police Central Priority Crime Team.

This drugs line was found to have operated within Denbighshire between April and July 2025, with Bell routinely travelling into North Wales after sending out bulk messages to local Class A drug users.

Buyers referred to the Meech Line as meals on wheels, with Bell likening himself to a fast-food delivery service in messages sent to customers.

North Wales Police investigators were able to gather evidence linking Bell to the supply of heroin and crack cocaine between 23 April and 31 July 2025.

As part of a joint operation between North Wales Police and West Midlands Police, Bell was arrested during a dawn raid at his home in Wolverhampton on 30 July.

He was subsequently charged and remanded into custody.

Items recovered from Bells home address included the Meech Line phone handset, 221 wraps of crack cocaine and heroin, bladed weapons, and more than 2,000 in cash.

Following his guilty plea at an earlier remand hearing, Bells sentence was reduced by the judge from six years and six months.

Detective Constable Chris Wynne said: We relentlessly pursue those who cause daily harm to our communities.

We will continue to make North Wales a hostile environment for those who seek to engage in criminal activity via the supply of illegal drugs.

Our commitment to working with neighbouring forces across borders highlights our pursuit of those who distribute drugs as part of Organised Crime Groups and in this case dismantling the operations of a County Line which was impacting Rhyl and surrounding areas.

We respond robustly to community intelligence and anybody with information about drug supply in North Wales is encouraged to contact police via our website, by calling 101, or anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
Ty Pawb gets 67,500 Arts Council grant as part of Welsh Gov 8m cultural capital investment fund

This article is old - Published: Thursday, Sep 11th, 2025

Last week the Arts Council of Wales and Welsh Government have announced the venues, spaces and screens in Wales that will benefit from a 8m Capital Investment Fund following an open callout for applications in June  to some media.

Wrexham.com requested details on the announcement, and after further delay in Wrexham, have finally got details on a local award for Wrexham Councils Ty Pawb centre. Avant Cymru in Wrexham have also been successful in the award, getting 35,700.

The fund, which is administered by Arts Council of Wales, received 68 applications and 40 organisations in total have been offered funding to invest immediately in delivering all the economic and social benefits arts and culture provide throughout Wales.

Councillor Hugh Jones, Wrexham Councils Lead Member with responsibility for Ty Pawb, said: We are delighted to be one of 40 arts organisations in Wales to be awarded the Welsh Governments Capital Investment fund, administered through Arts Council Wales. The 67,500 awarded to Ty Pawb will allow us to commission a feasibility study on a phase 2 capital development to enhance the North Arcade entrance and the Flexi Space in the market hall.

The award comes at a very positive time for developments in the market hall and food court. Weve just recently announced a UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) supported progamme to create a new open, flexible space in the food court area to meet the increasing demand for additional activity space for children and families, pop-up markets, and community group meeting space. The work includes two design commission callouts to design new tables and seating and a play kit for children and families.

That separate SPF award is for 42k and will see work to remove the three island stall units near the South Arcade entrance to the Food Court to create additional seating room for visitors, more space for events and a new area for children and families. New furniture and play kit will be designed via two commissions of 10,000 for the play kit and 14k for the tables and seating.

Dafydd Rhys, Chief Executive at the Arts Council of Wales said, The response from the sector demonstrated the real need for this funding to maintain and develop our important venues and enable creativity and community to flourish the length and breadth of Wales. It is clear there is a need to maintain and improve these important buildings whilst also enhancing the environmental sustainability of these venues.

Minister for Culture, Jack Sargeant, said: This 8 million investment demonstrates our unwavering commitment to supporting Wales vibrant arts and culture sector. From iconic venues like the Wales Millennium Centre and Pontio Arts Centre, through important regional organisations like Venue Cymru, Canolfan Ucheldre in Holyhead and the Elysium Gallery in Swansea, to community treasures such as the Grand Pavilion Porthcawl, Blackwood Miners Institute and Theatr Mwldan, the 40 organisations who have been awarded funding represent the beating heart of cultural life across every corner of Wales.

The breadth of projects supported  from major venue redevelopments to digital transformation initiatives  reflects our recognition that the arts sector needs flexible support to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Whether its improving accessibility, enhancing environmental sustainability, or embracing new technologies, this investment will help our cultural organisations adapt and thrive whilst maintaining their essential role in Welsh life. Im particularly pleased to see funding reaching both our major cultural institutions and grassroots organisations, ensuring that the benefits of this investment will be felt by communities right across Wales.

The full list of awards is below:

Applicant Total / amount awarded 

Aberystwyth Arts Centre 400,000

Artes Mundi Prize Limited 17,406

Avant Cymru 35,700

Awen Cultural Trust 190,800

Bridgend County Borough Council (Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl) 1,500,000

Butetown Artists 44,325

Caerphilly County Borough Council (Blackwood Miners Institute) 222,519

Canolfan a Menter Gymraeg Merthyr Tudful 79,269

Canolfan Ucheldre Centre 429,880

Chapter Cardiff Ltd. 21,393

Community Music Wales 21,610

Cwmnir Fran Wen 39,828

Elysium Gallery 1,000,000

Hummadruz 12,570

Literature Wales 159,610

Live Music Now Wales 6,978

Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod 166,500

Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre 49,248

National Youth Arts Wales 175,661

Newbridge Memo 29,969

Oriel Plas Glyn-y-Weddw Cyfyngedig 69,664

PeopleSpeakUp LTD 34,890

Pontio Arts 110,000

Sherman Theatre 42,024

Small World Theatre Ltd 35,631

Stiwt Arts Trust Ltd 54,000

Tabernacl (Bethesda) Cyf 24,977

Tanio 139,071

Theatr Brycheiniog 130,176

Theatr Felinfach 44,000

Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru 37,089

Theatr Gwaun Community Trust 51,363

Theatr Iolo 97,335

Theatr Mwldan 250,000

Torch Theatre Company Ltd 91,800

Ty Pawb 67,500

Venue Cymru 1,000,000

Volcano Theatre Company Ltd 110,245

Wales Millennium Centre 739,125

Wyeside Arts Centre Ltd 84,433
UPDATE - SEPTEMBER 10:

Crews have reached another milestone in the Arlington Avenue Bridges Project, completing concrete pours for all three support structures of the north bridge, according to the Regional Transportation Commission in a post on its X page.

With this phase complete, work will soon shift to the south channel of the Truckee River. The full project is expected to be completed by summer 2026.

UPDATE - JUNE 16:

Demolition is underway on the north Arlington Bridge in downtown Reno after crews successfully completed a critical phase of the project last week, diverting the Truckee River to its south channel near Barbara Bennett Park.

According to RTC Washoe in an online X post, this milestone created a five-month construction window to move forward with the bridge replacement project.

De-watering operations have since dried the riverbed, allowing workers to start taking down the existing north bridge.

Last week marked a pivotal achievement when crews successfully diverted the Truckee River to the south channel near Barbara Bennett Park, completing one of the project's most critical and technically challenging phases, RTC Washoe stated in an update posted on X.

Demolition will be performed using excavator claws, removing the structure in four to five-foot sections.

Crews will first dismantle the bridge deck before proceeding to remove the bridge abutments.

The full demolition process is expected to take about four weeks.

(The Regional Transportation Commission - Washoe contributed to this story.)

ORIGINAL STORY - JUNE 5:

The intersection at First Street and Arlington Avenue is temporarily closed as work continues on the Arlington Avenue Bridge Project.

The closure will be in place until June 20, according to a release from the RTC.

Crews will divert water from the north channel of the Truckee River to the south channel, which is anticipated to make water flowing on the south side of the river, near Barbara Bennett Park, move faster than normal.

The project team urges the community to avoid that area of the river until flows subside, as they anticipate river conditions in that area to be dangerous and pose serious risks.
LOCKSLEY DOUBLES LANDHOLDING ABUTTING MP MATERIALS IN THE MOJAVE CRITICAL MINERALS HUB



Doubles Landholding Abutting MP Materials in Mojave Hub

Perth, Sep 11, 2025 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Locksley Resources Limited ( ASX:LKY ) ( X5L:FRA ) ( LKYRF:OTCMKTS ) is pleased to advise that it has significantly expanded its strategic footprint within the Mojave Critical Minerals Corridor through the staking of an additional 249 claims taking total claims to 491 claims.



Highlights



- 249 additional claims staked, increasing Locksley's strategic footprint to over 40 sq km of highly prospective critical minerals ground in California's Mojave region



- New ground abuts Locksley's existing tenure and is adjacent to the MP Materials claims which includes the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine, the only producing rare earths mine and processing facility in North America



- Separate claim package located 3km North and along strike of Dateline Resources ( ASX:DTR ) Colosseum Mine, encompassing an area with polymetallic and precious metals prospectivity identified from proximal occurrences in USGS geological datasets



- Expands Locksley's exploration pipeline across antimony, REEs and polymetallic prospects, reinforcing the Company's positioning within the U.S. critical minerals thematic



- Claims were prioritised following geological review of historical datasets and developing understanding of the regional geology and mineralisation potential from ongoing geological and structural mapping



- Enhanced optionality for Locksley's Mine-to-Market strategy, which encompasses both upstream project development and downstream critical minerals processing



These new claims are adjacent to Locksley's existing tenement position and adjoin MP Materials landholding which include the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine. In addition, the new claims secure additional acreage abutting the recently identified antimony, rare earth elements (REEs), and polymetallic mineralisation.



Strategic Rationale



The additional claims significantly strengthen Locksley's competitive positioning within one of the most prospective critical minerals regions in the United States. With demand for antimony and REEs underpinned by U.S. supply chain security initiatives, the expanded landholding provides Locksley with a broader platform to advance multiple exploration and development opportunities.



The south-east claims encompass the favourable gneissic geology which hosts the Mountain Pass mine and carbonatites. Significantly, there are substantial regional north to north-west striking structures evident in the magnetic geophysics datasets. These transgress across the areas staked which conceptually have the potential to host pathways for REE bearing carbonatites and be related to other styles of mineralisation.



The Northern claims are 3km directly along strike from Dateline Resources Colosseum Gold Project. In addition, the USGS geochemical database indicates polymetallic and precious metals occurrences in the area immediately adjoining the new northern claims. As such there are multiple commodity opportunities evident within this claim area.



Importantly, several of the new claims directly adjoin the Mountain Pass larger claim package, underlining the strategic significance of Locksley's footprint within the corridor. This positioning enhances potential for both exploration discovery and long-term commercialisation pathways, including downstream processing partnerships in line with U.S. government priorities for supply chain resilience.



Locksley's Technical Director Julian Woodcock, commented:



"This expansion materially enhances our strategic footprint in the Mojave Corridor, a region central to U.S. critical minerals security. With additional ground abutting our existing claims and adjoining the MP Materials Mountain Pass larger claim package, we are exceptionally well positioned to advance a diversified pipeline of exploration and downstream opportunities across antimony, rare earths, other critical minerals and precious metals potential."



Claim Staking



Locksley has completed the claim staking activities and the filing process has been initiated . No competing claims were identified in the areas staked and Locksley is confident that the ground rights will be confirmed in the adjudication process, however the process needs to be completed until mineral rights are granted.



Next Steps



Locksley will prioritise:



- Completing registration activities of the new claims with the required Federal and State Agencies;



- Compilation and integration of new geological data from the expanded tenure;



- Design of stream sediment and rock chip sampling programs across the area with intention to be undertaken in Q4 2025;



- Systematic exploration targeting high-priority antimony, REE and polymetallic anomalies; and



- Advancing permitting activities across the consolidated claim block to fast-track drilling approvals.



*To view tables and figures, please visit:

https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/QMVY267G





About Locksley Resources Limited





Locksley Resources Limited (ASX:LKY) (FRA:X5L) (OTCMKTS:LKYRF) is an ASX listed explorer focused on critical minerals in the United States of America. The Company is actively advancing exploration across two key assets: the Mojave Project in California, targeting rare earth elements (REEs) and antimony. Locksley Resources aims to generate shareholder value through strategic exploration, discovery and development in this highly prospective mineral region.

Mojave Project

Located in the Mojave Desert, California, the Mojave Project comprises over 250 claims across two contiguous prospect areas, namely, the North Block/Northeast Block and the El Campo Prospect. The North Block directly abuts claims held by MP Materials, while El Campo lies along strike of the Mountain Pass Mine and is enveloped by MP Materials' claims, highlighting the strong geological continuity and exploration potential of the project area.

In addition to rare earths, the Mojave Project hosts the historic "Desert Antimony Mine", which last operated in 1937. Despite the United States currently having no domestic antimony production, demand for the metal remains high due to its essential role in defense systems, semiconductors, and metal alloys. With significant surface sample results, the Desert Mine prospect represents one of the highest-grade known antimony occurrences in the U.S.

Locksley's North American position is further strengthened by rising geopolitical urgency to diversify supply chains away from China, the global leader in both REE & antimony production. With its maiden drilling program planned, the Mojave Project is uniquely positioned to align with U.S. strategic objectives around critical mineral independence and economic security.

Tottenham Project

Locksley's Australian portfolio comprises the advanced Tottenham Copper-Gold Project in New South Wales, focused on VMS-style mineralisation in a well established mining region.

Locksley is committed to delivering value through discovery, development, and strategic partnerships, with a focus on securing access to U.S. aligned funding and downstream collaborations.

Related Companies
House Majority Whip Dayan Hochman-Vigil, D-Albuquerque, left, and House Majority Leader Reena Szczepanski, D-Santa Fe, talk on the House floor in this February file photo. Szczepanski praised state and local law enforcement officials for their response to a bomb threat against her on Thursday Eddie Moore

Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, listens to the State of the Judiciary Address in January. Eddie Moore

Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, presents a bill on multifamily housing valuations on the Senate floor in this March file photo. A bomb threat targeting Wirth's home prompted the closure of a nearby school and road on Thursday. Eddie Moore

SANTA FE  Two high-ranking Democratic legislators Santa Fe homes were the target of bomb threats on Thursday that prompted the closure of nearby roads and a school.

Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth and House Majority Leader Reena Szczepanski both confirmed the threats against them, while thanking state and local law enforcement officials for their quick response.

Neither legislator nor any of their family members were injured, and no arrests were immediately announced Thursday by law enforcement officials.

New Mexico State Police said around 11 a.m. officers responded after receiving a report of a bomb threat toward Wirth, according to a news release from State Police spokesperson Wilson Silver.

State Police and the Santa Fe Police Departments explosives team searched the area but did not locate any explosives. Roughly one hour later, deputies were sent to Wirths law firm after receiving another report of a bomb threat, Silver said. Deputies searched the location but did not locate any explosives.

State Police are investigating the threats and no arrests have been made.

The threats, and subsequent closures, came one day after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah, which prompted members of New Mexicos congressional delegation and other local politicians to express concern on social media about the national political tone.

These kinds of threats and actions hurt all of us, Szczepanski said in a statement. I know it can be shocking to feel this hit so close to home, but at the same time its not representative of our incredible Santa Fe community.

Wirth, who took part in an interim legislative committee on Thursday in Taos, said political violence and threats against elected officials have no place in our democratic society and are never an acceptable way to address political differences.

Regardless of our political views, we must reject intimidation and work together through peaceful, lawful means to resolve our disagreements, he added.

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The bomb threat targeting Wirths home prompted a road on Santa Fes east side to be closed briefly, according to State Police.

In addition, Santa Fe Prep, a nearby school, was put on lockdown, subsequently evacuated, and classes were canceled for the rest of the day.

There was no threat against the school in any way, and law enforcement let us know that we had proximity to the threat, but it was not against us, said Aaron Schubach, head of the private school.

He added that the decision to dismiss classes for the day was made out of an abundance of caution.

I stand just with everyone, condemning political threats, political violence, Schubach said. Absolutely terrible state of affairs.

The bomb threats against the high-ranking New Mexico Democrats were not the only of their kind to be made on Thursday. The headquarters of the Democratic National Committee was also the target of a threat, found by Capitol Police not to be credible.

Additionally, a number of Historically Black Colleges and Universities were also the subject of violent threats  leading some to cancel classes, lock down or move to remote instruction for the remainder of the day.

New Mexico has not been immune to a recent wave of politically driven violence.

Solomon Pena, who ran unsuccessfully for a state House seat as a Republican in 2022, was sentenced last month to 80 years in prison for orchestrating a string of shootings at Democratic lawmakers homes.

In addition, Jamison Wagner of Albuquerque was charged earlier this year with allegedly carrying out arson attacks on the New Mexico Republican Party headquarters and a Tesla dealership.

Journal staff writer Nakayla McClelland contributed to this report. Noah Alcala Bach covers education. You can reach him at nabach@abqjournal.com or (505) 823-3864.
State health officials issued a standing order Wednesday that authorizes New Mexico pharmacists and health care providers to offer COVID-19 vaccines to anyone 6 months old and older without a prescription.

The new order puts a finer point on guidance issued Sept. 5 by the New Mexico Department of Health that recommended the updated COVID vaccine for any New Mexico resident who wants to be vaccinated.

The new standing order is intended to overcome hesitation among some pharmacists and providers concerned by the narrow uses approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration for the vaccine, the agency said in a statement issued Wednesday.

The standing order addresses barriers that have prevented some New Mexicans from getting vaccinated, the statement said. While most New Mexicans have been able to obtain vaccinations, some pharmacists and health care providers were hesitant to vaccinate certain groups without formal prescription backup.

The updated COVID vaccine targeting new strains of the virus is trickling into New Mexico and is expected to be widely available later this month, DOH officials have said.

This removes hesitation some providers had about vaccinating people who would benefit from the vaccine but fell outside the narrow FDA approval categories, said Dr. Miranda Durham, the agencys chief medical officer. COVID-19 vaccines remain safe and effective tools for preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death.

The standing order is part of ongoing efforts to make COVID vaccines more accessible statewide, health officials said.

We are clearing the way for New Mexicans who want the vaccine to get the vaccine, Health Secretary Gina DeBlassie said in the statement. This standing order ensures that barriers dont prevent people from protecting their health.

CVS, one of the nations largest pharmacy chains, said last week that the Sept. 5 guidance issued by the New Mexico DOH allows CVS to offer the vaccines without a prescription at its pharmacies statewide.

That action reversed an earlier position by CVS that the chain could not administer the vaccine in New Mexico, even to people with a prescription. CVS agreed to make the vaccine available without a prescription after DOH issued the Sept. 5 guidance.

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The DOH guidance recommends the updated COVID vaccine for a broad range of people, including:

Anyone 65 and older.

Children ages 6-24 months.

People ages 2 to 64 at high risk of severe outcomes from COVID illness.

All pregnant, recently pregnant and lactating women.

People in congregate or long-term care settings.

The new guidance also offers a blanket recommendation for healthy people ages 2 to 64 who desire protection from COVID-19 and allows people to self-attest to their immunocompromised status or high-risk conditions. Vaccinators should not deny COVID-19 vaccination to a person due to lack of documentation, it says.
The assassination of Charlie Kirk is a bottomless tragedy for the American people and the prospects for healing this sundered nation. The killing of Kirk, an intelligent, articulate leader of a right-wing movement, evokes the martyrdoms of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Kirks death, coming amidst a mounting wave of political violence, will represent  for tens of millions of young people  another martyrdom in the war against the left; against liberal culture; against Democrats.

President Trump and Steve Bannon lost no time in weaponizing Kirks slaying as evidence of a left-wing conspiracy to silence their best and brightest rising star. Lost in the hate rhetoric swamping the internet is the fact that a 31-year-old man, slain by a snipers rifle, left two young children fatherless; two children who were neither Democrat, Republican or MAGA. Kirk was another victim of gun violence. His death was almost immediately followed by a shooting at Evergreen High School in Colorado  which was merely one student with a handgun critically wounding two others before taking his own life.

In the space of 15 months, two bullets fired by two cold-blooded killers  one grazing the head of candidate Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, and the other taking Kirks life  have changed the course of American and world history. The latter high velocity round from a snipers rifle may have  almost immediately  altered the outcome of the midterms by shifting public sentiment, especially that of young voters, against the Democratic Party.

Bullets can be the death of democracy because they replace civil discourse with silence; they eliminate leaders without voting; they generate a fear of chaos which becomes the rocket fuel of demagogues preaching law and order; and they can inspire reprisals and counter reprisals; they can set the tinderbox alight.

If there is any glimmer of hope in yesterdays tragedy, it is this: The revulsion of the vast majority of Americans when confronted with the bloody slaughter of a leader as the cameras rolled. But as America venerates its martyrs, there is something perverse at the heart of a country that needs martyrdom to motivate political change.

And the killing of Charlie Kirk is as unlikely to inspire a peace movement on the far right as it is to inspire one on the far left. And this assassination places the right ever more firmly in control of the narrative.

Whoever the killer is and whatever his motive, the script has already been written  that is, unless the silent majority of our fellow citizens say: Enough  it must end here.
New Action Fraud data show UK savers lost 17.57 million to pension fraud in 2024, roughly 48,000 every day, with an average loss of 33,848 per victim. RSM UK warns pension savers are being targeted at their most vulnerable moment, when accessing their pension pot or taking lump sum drawdowns, as criminals escalate social engineering tactics driven by generative AI. Ian Bell, partner and head of pensions at RSM UK said: Pension fraud is likely to increase in the run up to the budget, as speculation continues that the Chancellor may change tax rules on the tax-free treatment of pension lump sums. The point of drawdown is a prime hunting ground for scammers. Since pension freedoms gave people more flexibility, and with cost-of-living pressures driving lump-sum withdrawals up by 60%*, fraudsters have adapted fast. They blend high-pressure investment pitches with convincing impersonations of trusted advisers, often using AI deepfakes to make voices and video appear authentic. Criminals are pressuring victims with cant miss investment pitches, or simply pretending to be the member to take over accounts. They are now supercharging those old tactics with AI generated deepfake voices and video, making interactions feel authentic at speed. Alongside this, we are continuing to see vishing calls, despite new blocks on spoofed numbers, and a crackdown on clone firms and websites that mimic the branding of legitimate advisers, regulators and compensation bodies. Illegal early access offers promising cash before age 55 continue to circulate, often leading to tax penalties and even total loss of funds. At the same time, fraudsters are increasingly hacking email accounts and using stolen data to impersonate members, change beneficiary details or even create fake pension accounts, creating a perfect storm for anyone accessing their pension. Trustees and administrators have a key role to play in embedding the Pensions Regulators scam controls into touchpoints with clients, from wake up packs, through transfer triage and applying red/amber flags consistently. These controls need to be tested and revisited to ensure that they remain fit for purpose as threats evolve. Front-line teams must also be prepared for AI-enabled impersonation to combat fraud threats and spot red flags at the earliest stage. Wed advise anyone whos about to take out a pension lump sum to slow down, independently verify the offer is legitimate, and treat any unsolicited contact as hostile until proven otherwise. In a world of deepfakes, dont treat a voice as proof.


By Ben Rees, Partner, Chris Tavener, Partner and Head of Life Analytics and Stuart McDonald, Partner & Head of Longevity and Demographic Insights, LCP The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic Through the 1990s and 2000s, as rates of mortality fell, life expectancy rose rapidly. From around 2010, rates began to level off. However, the picture differed by age group: Pensioners continued to see steady year-on-year falls in rates of mortality.

Working-age adults over 45 experienced little change.

Younger adults under 45 saw rising mortality rates. The stagnation of life expectancies, and particularly the increasing mortality rates for younger ages, are unusual by historical standards. This raised questions even before the pandemic struck. The pandemic was an unprecedented mortality event. In the UK alone, around 70,000 excess deaths[1] were recorded in 2020 alone, mostly among older people. Mortality rates spiked dramatically, before gradually falling back. By 2024, overall mortality rates were back to 2019 levels, but no lower. That means five years of lost progress in life expectancy. For younger and working-age adults, the impact looked different. Excess deaths peaked later, in 2021, and not all of them were linked to Covid-19 itself. The remainder reflect wider system pressures  from overloaded hospitals to delayed diagnoses and treatments. Pressures on healthcare are driving mortality outcomes

One of the clearest insights from recent years is the role of healthcare system performance in shaping longevity. Waiting times for urgent and chronic care remain a serious concern. Ambulance response times for conditions such as heart attacks and strokes (category 2 emergencies) rose from broadly meeting their 18 minute target pre-pandemic to over 90 minutes at the worst point. Even now they average 30-40 minutes  double the target. A&E waits for hospital admission after a decision to admit peaked at 60,000 people per month waiting over 12 hours, compared to peaks of fewer than 1,000 pre-pandemic. The target, of course, is zero. Cancer treatment delays mean only 7 in 10 patients now begin treatment within 62 days of referral, well below the NHSs 85% target. Each of these failures has a measurable impact on survival. Research suggested that longer A&E waits alone contributed to over 400 additional deaths per week over the 2022/23 winter period. What does this mean for actuarial forecasts?

For pension schemes, insurers and reinsurers, the question is how these trends affect life expectancy forecasts. Mortality models have had to adapt quickly. The Continuous Mortality Investigation (CMI) recently made the biggest overhaul to its projection model in a decade, explicitly recognising the shock of Covid-19 and differences in trends by age. For example, a 65-year-old male pensioner is now expected to live around 22 years  roughly three months longer than under the previous model version, thanks to refinements in how age-specific improvements are treated. At LCP, we welcome these changes, but we continue to also apply our own adjustments. In particular, we are cautious about the models relatively optimistic assumptions for old-age improvements over the short-term. Our medical colleagues suggest large future gains in older-age survival are unlikely given current health system pressures. Blending actuarial models with medical insight

One of the advantages we have at LCP is the ability to combine actuarial modelling with direct input from doctors, epidemiologists and public health experts. Each year we bring together a panel of medical specialists from our Health Analytics department to form structured, consensus views on likely trends in mortality. For example, we are currently considering how cancer, cardiovascular disease and other major causes of death will progress in the coming years. These insights help us to refine actuarial models, especially over the short to medium-term. The result is a grounded view of longevity risk, rooted both in statistical history and clinical reality. Small technical changes can shift liabilities by around 0.5%  material for many pension schemes and insurers. Short-term headwinds vs long-term optimism

Looking ahead, we are cautious about projecting significant improvements in life expectancy over the next decade. The challenges are clear: NHS capacity pressures, an aging population, rising chronic disease, and socioeconomic inequalities in health outcomes. But longer-term, we remain optimistic. There are powerful drivers of future gains, from medical innovation to lifestyle change. Promising areas include new treatments, such anti-obesity drugs; improved cancer diagnostics; and behavioural and societal shifts, including reduced smoking and cleaner air. We also know from international comparisons that life expectancy in the UK still lags behind peers like Japan, Sweden and Australia, suggesting there is plenty of headroom for improvement. What this means for pensions and insurers

For trustees, sponsors and insurers, longevity risk remains highly uncertain in the near term, with muted improvements likely over the next decade. Mortality modelling must reflect healthcare realities, not just long-run statistical trends, as even small changes in assumptions can have material impacts on liabilities and pricing. In our view, optimism over the long-term remains justified. The success story of rising life expectancy is far from over, but it is evolving. For pensions and insurance, the challenge is to reflect short-term headwinds without losing sight of long-term potential. By combining actuarial models with medical insights, we can form a robust view of the future and help schemes and insurers make better decisions today.
Tokyo. ELM R: With Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba compelled to step down, attention now turns to who will lead the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)and by extension, Japan. Among the contenders are those eager to seize the post, others who aspire but hesitate, and still others with little visible ambition who may nonetheless be called upon to fill the void.

Two prominent candidates are Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, and Sanae Takaichi, a former economic security minister who could become Japans first female premier. Both were strong contenders in the 2024 LDP presidential race but ultimately lost to Ishiba. Whoever succeeds him will inherit the burden of leading a minority government, requiring constant negotiation with opposition parties.

Ishibas resignation followed the LDPs loss of its coalition majority in the July Upper House elections. In his final press conference, he urged his successor to address U.S. tariffs, establish a disaster management agency, and deliver wage growth. Candidates for the party presidency need the backing of at least 20 LDP lawmakers. Beyond Koizumi and Takaichi, potential challengers include Takayuki Kobayashi, a former economic security minister; Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi; and Toshimitsu Motegi, a veteran former foreign and economy minister. All previously contested the 2024 race.

Opinion polling highlights Takaichis appeal. In a Nikkei survey last month she led with 23 percent support, closely followed by Koizumi at 22 percent. Takaichi has long drawn backing from conservatives, once enjoying the patronage of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and later that of LDP heavyweight Taro Aso. In 2024 she topped the first round of voting but lost to Ishiba in the runoff. Her refusal to join Ishibas cabinet afterward signaled a deliberate choice to preserve her independence.

Koizumi, meanwhile, remains a paradox. Popular with the public and symbolizing generational change, he nonetheless faces skepticism within the LDP, where seniority and bureaucratic command remain decisive. His current test lies in agriculture: rising rice prices have forced him to act decisively. Success would bolster his credibility as a policymaker; failure would reinforce the narrative of inexperience. His broader agenda seeks to balance progressive instincts with pragmatic reassurances on energy, fiscal policy, and central bank independence.

Hayashi, who placed fourth in the last race, previously served as Chief Cabinet Secretarya position that has often served as a springboard to the premiership. Figures such as Ichiro Hatoyama, Yasuo Fukuda, Shinzo Abe, and Yoshihide Suga all rose from this office, demonstrating its role as both incubator and stabilizer in times of crisis. In this tradition, Hayashi represents continuity and credibility. Kobayashi, though younger and less established, retains some backing among backbenchers, while Motegi, the oldest contender at 69, embodies long experience but limited momentum, having placed only sixth in 2024.

The mechanics of the LDP election matter. Each lawmaker casts one vote, balanced by an equal number of votes from local party members. In 2024, Takaichi secured 72 lawmaker votes and 109 from party members, while Koizumi received 75 and 61. Yet victory in the party contest does not guarantee the premiership: a united opposition could block the LDP nominee in parliament. Effective governance will also demand cooperation with the Constitutional Democratic Party, the Japan Innovation Party, or the Democratic Party for the People. The immediate task for the new leader will be to secure agreement on the fiscal 2025 supplementary budget, the fiscal 2026 budget, and tax reforms.

Ultimately, the next prime minister will be forced into constant negotiation, leading a government under pressure from a rapidly strengthening opposition. This challenge is compounded by a tense regional and global environment, with 2026 expected to be a year of profound difficulties across Europe, the United States, Asia, and Africa, while the Middle East faces critical decisions with global repercussions. In such a setting, the LDPs choice will not only determine its own future but may also reshape Japans role in an unsettled international order
Delhi Police Bust Pakistan-Linked Terror Module, Five Suspects Arrested in Multi-State Raids 2

Delhi Polices Special Cell, with support from Central agencies, has dismantled a Pakistan-backed terror module and arrested five operatives in coordinated raids across multiple states, officials confirmed on Thursday. The module was allegedly plotting a major attack in India.

The kingpin, identified as Ashar Danish, also known by aliases CEO, Gazba, and Professor, was arrested from Ranchi, Jharkhand. Two more suspects, Aftab and Sufiyan from Mumbai, were apprehended in Delhi, while Muzapa was held in Telangana. Another operative, Kamran, has also been arrested, police said.

Authorities revealed that the operation followed six months of surveillance after intelligence inputs indicated the modules plans for a large-scale strike. During the raids, police recovered significant quantities of chemicals, ball bearings, and electronic equipment used in manufacturing Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Items seized included sodium bicarbonate, electrical cables, fuse points, wires, gas masks, and other materials linked to bomb-making.

At Danishs Ranchi hideout, additional chemicals and explosives-related substances were found, suggesting the groups preparations were at an advanced stage. Investigations further indicate that the suspects were in touch with handlers based in Pakistan, relying solely on social media platforms for communication.

The arrested operatives are currently being interrogated, while central agencies analyse seized digital devices to trace funding sources, wider networks, and potential targets. Officials said the crackdown has successfully averted a possible large-scale terror strike in India.
British PM urges Israel to change course in Gaza

Xinhua) 11:14, September 11, 2025

LONDON, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at Downing Street on Wednesday, during which he strongly condemned Israel's recent strike in Doha, Qatar, as "completely unacceptable," said Downing Street spokesperson.

Starmer said the strikes represented "a flagrant violation of a key partner's sovereignty" and did nothing to advance the peace that "we all desperately want to see."

Turning to the situation in Gaza, the prime minister voiced deep concern and urged Israel to change course. He stressed that Israel must allow humanitarian aid into the territory and halt offensive operations to prevent the worsening of what he called a "man-made famine."

Both leaders agreed that the hostages abducted by Hamas nearly two years ago must be released. Starmer also expressed condolences over Monday's deadly terror attack in Jerusalem.

The European Union and the United Nations, as well as several European governments, including Britain, have this week hardened their stance on Israel's escalating military campaign across the Middle East after it launched airstrikes on Qatar Tuesday afternoon.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Liang Jun)
Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat Gets Additional Charge of Maharashtra After Radhakrishnan Becomes Vice President 2

Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat has been given additional charge of Maharashtra following the election of CP Radhakrishnan as the Vice President of India. Radhakrishnan, who was serving as Maharashtras governor, secured 452 votes against 300 polled by INDIA bloc candidate and former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy on September 9.

Radhakrishnan was the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDAs nominee for the second highest parliamentary office and emerged victorious in the keenly watched contest. After his election, he vacated the post of Maharashtra governor, paving the way for Devvrats additional appointment.

Acharya Devvrat, who has been serving as Gujarats governor since July 2019, earlier held the office of Himachal Pradesh governor from August 2015 to July 2019. A strong advocate of Vedic philosophy, natural farming, and cow-breed improvement, Devvrat is also known for his work in promoting yogic science and traditional values.

Academically, he holds a masters degree in History and Hindi, a bachelors in Education, and a diploma in Yoga Science. He is also a doctor in Naturopathy and Yogic Science. Alongside his administrative roles, Devvrat frequently delivers lectures on Vedic human values and philosophy, while engaging in initiatives to spread awareness about sustainable farming practices.
Nepal in Flames: Why Sushila Karki Emerges as the Only Credible Interim Leader 2

First came the ban, then the backlash, and finally the burning. Nepals descent into turmoil followed a brutal rhythm. The government thought it could silence anger with a sweeping order that blocked social media platforms, but instead it ignited it. For a generation already exhausted by unemployment, corruption, and nepotism, the ban became the spark. Within days, protests erupted across the country, police cracked down with bullets and batons, and the states attempt to shut down dissent only made the dissent louder. Nineteen lives were lost, hundreds wounded, and the governments hasty reversal of the ban could not put the genie back in the bottle. Trust had evaporated.

In Kathmandu, fury turned physical. Parliament and ministers homes were torched, the capital was locked under curfew, and soldiers patrolled the streets. Prime Minister Olis resignation was inevitable, leaving a vacuum no politician could credibly fill. Years of coalition deals, patronage politics, and institutional capture had stripped ministers of any moral armour. When the youth saw the state collapse, they took law and order into their own hands, not out of romance but out of rage.

Out of this chaos, one name cut through the noise: Sushila Karki. A former Chief Justice with a reputation for honesty, she had once stared down politicians who tried to impeach her for blocking their manipulations in police appointments. She had jailed a minister for corruption, stood firm against pressure, and left office with clean hands. In a moment when the streets demanded neutrality and integrity, Karki became the obvious choice. In a four-hour virtual meeting with thousands of young participants, the organisers agreed that no one linked to political parties could be trusted. They turned instead to Karki, a woman with no cadre to command, no debts to pay, and no appetite for compromise with the rot.

Her candidacy is not born of populism but necessity. The protesters do not want a saviour; they want a caretaker who can restore the rulebook, bring back credibility, and lead the country into fair negotiations. By rallying around her, they are sending a clear signal: they are done with the old games of patronage and power-sharing. They want an interim leader who is respected, untainted, and strong enough to stare down both corrupt elites and heavy-handed security forces.

Nepal today is not merely in disorderit is in moral collapse. The parliament has been literally burned, but it was politically burned long before. In that inferno, Sushila Karki does not look like an outsider or a gamble. She looks like the last credible tool left to reset the system.
A Blount County man was convicted Wednesday of drugging and sexually torturing a young child.

The jury, after deliberating less than 15 minutes, convicted 48-year-old Ronald Shane Crow of sexual torture of a child under the age of 12, distributing a controlled substance to a minor, first-degree rape, three counts of first-degree sodomy, sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12, two counts of unlawful imprisonment, indecent exposure, and menacing, said District Attorney Pamela Casey.

There are no words to describe what this young lady endured at the hands of Ronald Shane Crow, Casey said. He is evil.

Evidence presented during the trial, which began Monday, that a 9-year-old girl was left in Crows care for the weekend on May 1, 2021.

When the girls stepfather went to pick her up, he found her to be agitated and hallucinating about snakes, rats, and spiders crawling on her, Casey said.

On the way home, she started taking her clothes off.

When they arrived home, the childs mother called 911 and the child was ultimately transported to Childrens Hospital in Birmingham.

Doctors soon determined the child was suffering from methamphetamine and amphetamine toxicity, Casey said.

The child had to be sedated due to ongoing hallucinations and distress.

On Tuesday, May 4, the child awoke from sedation and disclosed that Crow made her take pills, raped her, subjected her to deviate sexual intercourse, and subjected her to sexual torture with what she described as a stick, Casey said.

The child further disclosed that Crow tied her hands and feet together, put tape over her mouth, put a black plastic bag over her head, and threatened to kill her if she told anyone, Casey said.

On another occasion during the same weekend, Crow put one hand around her throat, put a gun to her head, and reminded her he would kill her if she told anyone what happened.

A search warrant of Crows home turned up pieces of duct tape, a roll of black bags and a small bag containing meth. Ammunition of a .38-caliber revolver was also found.

One of the bedrooms in Crows residence had a pole suspended over a bed consistent with the pole disclosed by the child. Photographs were taken of the bedroom and introduced into evidence at trial.

Pieces of duct tape were submitted to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for testing. A forensic scientist testified at trial that the childs DNA was recovered from the pieces of duct tape.

A sentencing date has not yet been set.

Crow, 48, was arrested in May 2021 on charges of 13 crimes including sodomy, rape, false imprisonment and chemical endangerment.

He was released from the Blount County Jail on June 18 after posting a $200,000 bond.

Casey, who had opposed bond for Crow since his arrest, immediately filed motions seeking revocation of Crows bond, which a judge granted, and was back in jail within days.

Casey praised the work of sheriffs investigator Edward Hull for his work on the case.

This young lady was able to tell us about the horrible things this monster did to her, Casey said. She remembers how he made her feel. She remembers how much pain he caused her.

She remembers how terrified she was about being forced to commit additional sex acts or even killed, she said. I intend to ask the court to impose consecutive sentences on all charges so that Ronald Shane Crow never gets an opportunity to harm another child.
Students gather at the University of Alabama to honor Charlie Kirk. screengrab

Students at the University of Alabama held a candlelight vigil Wednesday night following the shooting death of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.

According to Yellowhammer News, students at the university gathered at 7:30 p.m. on campus to pray and mourn Kirks passing.

Kirk, CEO of the conservative organization Turning Point USA, was shot in the neck while speaking at a speaking event at Utah Valley University Wednesday afternoon.

Kirk, 31, was confirmed dead in a post by President Donald Trump later on social media.

The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead, Trump posted on his Truth Social account.

No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!

Kirk rose to prominence in the 2010s as a young, conservative voice known for his combative and often viral debates at college campuses.

Kirk previously visited the University of Alabama in November 2021 as part of his Exposing Critical Racism Tour, where he argued against critical race theory and COVID mandates.

According to The Crimson White, that event was attended by over 200 people with 20 also protesting from outside the venue.

Critical race theory seeping into every portion of American life is threatening every single young persons future, Kirk said, according to that report.

Its saying that things you cannot change are more important than things you can change.

The shooting of Kirk received bipartisan condemnation with politicians calling for political violence to be rejected.

Political violence has NO PLACE in the United States of America. I join in praying for Charlie Kirk and his family, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Selma, said.

After President Trump ordered flags lowered to half-staff in honor of Kirk, Gov. Kay Ivey issued an order for them to be lowered at the capitol and across Alabama until sunset on Sunday.

Turning Point USA advocates for conservative policies among the countrys youth, and has a strong presence at the nations colleges and universities.
A one-hour debate between the two candidates for Mobile mayor will take place at noon on Tuesday, hosted by AL.com and sponsored by AARP.

The debate, which will occur from AL.coms Mobile Hub on Dauphin Street, will feature state Rep. Barbara Drummond against former Mobile County District Judge Spiro Cheriogotis. AL.coms Maggie Kates will serve as the moderator.

The debate will be broadcast on AL.coms YouTube channel and its Facebook page.

It is occurring exactly one week before the Sept. 23 runoff. The winner of that contest will be Mobiles next mayor starting on Nov. 3.

Im looking forward to this debate, said Drummond, a member of the Alabama State House since 2014, and the current chair of the House Democratic Caucus. Its an important opportunity to speak directly with the people of Mobile about the future of our city and the work ahead.

Spiro Cheriogotis, a former Mobile County District judge, speaks after receiving an endorsement from Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson for the city's top political job during a public announcement on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, inside the Greer's St. Louis Market in downtown Mobile, Ala. The city's municipal election is Aug. 26, 2025. John Sharp

Cheriogotis, a former Republican judge who served on the bench from 2018 until January, said he was grateful for the opportunity to speak to the voters about the issues most important to them during the debate.

Mobile voters will choose the direction of this city for generations to come and debates like this one provide an important opportunity for them to hear the candidates discuss their vision for the city, he said.

Drummond said the candidates will speak about the issues that she says matter the most: building safe neighborhoods, creating real economic opportunity, and fixing infrastructure that too many communities have had to live without for far too long.

Ive spent my life serving this city and delivering results, and Im ready to share a clear, honest vision for a stronger, more united Mobile, said Drummond, who previously served as the executive director of administrative services and community affairs for the City of Mobile during the Sam Jones administration.

I hope folks will tune in and be part of building the kind of city we know Mobile can be  for everyone, Drummond said.

State Rep. Barbara Drummond greets her supporters as she arrives to an Election Night rally on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, at Calirojae on Dauphin Island Parkway in Mobile, Ala. Drummond was the top vote-getter during the election and will face former Mobile County District Judge Spiro Cheriogotis during the Sept. 23, 2025, runoff. John Sharp

Drummond and Cheriogotis are vying to replace retiring Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, who has been the citys top political official since defeating Jones in 2013. Stimpson decided not to seek a fourth term in office last year.

Drummond finished the Aug. 26 municipal election with the most votes in the four-person mayoral contest with 32.4%. Cheriogotis was second with 28.1%. No candidate had more than the 50% support needed to avoid a runoff.

Former Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine and Mobile County Commissioner Connie Hudson finished in a distant third and fourth place, respectively.
The Tuesday domestic shooting death of a man inside a Birmingham apartment has been ruled justified.

Birmingham police announced Wednesday night that no criminal charges will be filed in the homicide of 33-year-old Tedarius Montez Seawright.

Detectives presented evidence to the Jefferson County District Attorneys Office earlier which Wednesday which deemed the fatal shooting justifiable.

The citys North Precinct officers were dispatched at 11:50 p.m. Tuesday to Elyton Village public housing community on a report of someone breaking into an apartmehnt.

When police arrived at the location on Fourth Court West, just off of Center Street, they learned Seawright, who broke into the apartment, had been shot.

He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Officer DeRell Freeman said the shooter, who lived in the apartment, is believed to be the boyfriend of the woman who lived at the apartment with him.

Seawright, the womans ex-boyfriend, entered the home, and the two men got into a fight, which ended with the fatal gunfire.

Freeman said the shooter remained on the scene until the officers arrived and was taken to police headquarters for questioning.

Seawright is Birminghams 58th homicide this year. One of the victims was shot in 2024 but died in 2025.

In all of Jefferson County, there have been 89 homicides including the 58 in Birmingham.
This is a guest opinion column republished from the Alabama Reflector

I was 11 years old in 1997 when Geoffrey West shot and killed my mother, Margaret Parrish Berry, while robbing the Attalla gas station where she worked. Mr. West was sentenced to death for killing my mother. His execution date is set for September 25. But I do not want the state of Alabama to kill him. That wont bring my mother back; it will only add to the pain I have lived with since the night she was shot. I believe there is a better way.

My mother was the person I loved most in the world. Her absence, and the senseless way she died, has cast a long shadow over my life. Even so, the weeks since I learned that Gov. Ivey set an execution date for Mr. West have been some of the most unsettling I can recall. My dearest wish is to meet with Mr. West. Yet with only weeks left until his execution date, its not clear who has the power to make that happen or how to ask them directly.

I was a child when Mr. West took my mothers life  old enough to understand what had happened but too young to process it. I had no say at the trial, and Ive had no say since then. No one from the Alabama attorney generals office called me in April to say they had requested an execution date. No one from the governors office called in July when Gov. Ivey set it. If my wife hadnt stumbled across an article on Facebook, Im not sure when I would have learned.

I believe in the teachings of Jesus and in His words on the Mount, For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins (Matthew 6:14-15). My faith teaches that every trial we endure brings us closer to salvation. It teaches submission to Gods will.

I believe that in seeking to execute Mr. West, the state of Alabama is playing God. I dont want anyone to exact revenge in my name, nor in my mothers. I believe life without the possibility of parole is just punishment. I believe there is an ending to this story where Mr. West and I find comfort in each other and in the healing power of forgiveness.

I want to tell Mr. West that I forgive him. And I want to ask questions, both about what happened that night and about who he is as a man. In some ways, I suppose I just want to be in a room with him. Through his legal team, Mr. West has agreed to my request. Even in what may be the last weeks of his life, he is willing to spend time with me and reckon with the harm he caused. I believe that speaks well of him, despite the deadly mistake he made the night he killed my mother. I know that she forgives him and that she would want me to sit down with him.

The criminal justice system is not built with victims needs, wishes, and well-being in mind. I know that as well as anybody, because what is being done in my name is not what I need or want. I know that clemency is a lot to ask for. But having spoken with a restorative justice specialist who is also in communication with Mr. West, I feel hopeful there could be a future where he and I might sit down together. Where we might pray together.

But time is working against us. Whether or not she can see her way to granting clemency, at the very least I hope Gov. Ivey will grant a reprieve, which she has the authority to do. That time would allow Mr. West, his family, and mine to engage in vital healing conversations. I need time to heal.

I have observed the process around other executions in Alabama. I know the attorney general would welcome me at Holman Prison to watch as Mr. West is killed. I know I would be invited to speak at a press conference afterward. But that is not what I want. When I go to Holman, I want to speak with Mr. West heart to heart. I want to tell him I forgive him, that my mother forgives him, and that God loves him.

My life has been very hard. I hope that Gov. Ivey will see her way to granting me this measure of comfort, and I pray that she will find it in herself to spare Mr. Wests life.

Will Berry lives in Calhoun County.
Outgoing Madison Mayor Paul Finley outlines his administration's accomplishments and what he envisions for the city in the future. AL.com Megan Plotka

Several north Alabama leaders and a packed Von Braun Center gathered Tuesday to say goodbye to long-time Madison Mayor Paul Finley.

Finley chose not to run for re-election after three terms as mayor. Leaders like Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, Madison County Chairman Mac McCutcheon and Bob Crow, the Treasurer of the Madison County Chamber, joined him on stage, while Madison city councilmembers, Madison city school representatives and others sat in the first row of the audience.

He spoke to the large growth hes seen in over 12 years as mayor. Mayor Finley said the city has grown by four people a day for decades.

Funding for the city reflects the rising population. Since 2016, the sales tax base has doubled.

Thats the money that we, as a mayor and council, have to spend on our community, on our employees, and for our citizens, Finley said. But if you want to equate that and how were doing in the city of Madison, when you look at other cities, weve grown ours dramatically, but were doing so much more with so much less. And you can see where things stand.

His administration is spending that money on several infrastructure projects. In his speech, Finley said the city is investing $74 million on capital improvement projects, including raising employee salaries, building a public safety annex and road improvement projects, like the walking path on Gillespie Road.

It was basically a food desert, Finley said. For those of you who dont know, thats basically where the folks that live along that path dont have easy access to transportation, so funding that sidewalk helped them have access.

He also referenced the recent legislation to expand Toyota Field to build a one-story locker room to accommodate new MLB rules and provide space for female umpires The changes will also create the foundation to build more businesses at Toyota Field.

There was a spotlight on Town Madison, where they developed the I-565 interchange and redid the Town Madison Boulevard to improve congestion in the area.

Hes excited for whats to come in the future. An ALDI will be opening on Sept. 11 in Town Madison and a Crestwood Hospital freestanding Emergency Room is headed to the area in 2026.

Mayor Finleys last day in office will be Nov. 2. Then, Mayor-Elect Ranae Bartlett will take over the office. She has been a city council member since 2020.
A man died in a shooting in south Alabama on Wednesday night.

According to the Mobile Police Department, officers responded to the 1200 block of Persimmon Street at about 9:11 p.m.

Police said they found Carlos Bogan, 34, suffering from a gunshot wound. Bogan was taken to a hospital but later pronounced dead.

James Lee James was arrested and charged with murder, Mobile County jail records show.

Mobile police said James shot Bogan during an argument.

Further details havent been released.
Each year in Birmingham, people stop to remember the deaths of four innocent girls murdered by racist terrorists. Today, public murder seems so frequent that there's no time to turn our grief into action, our anger into change. (AP Photo, File) AP

This is an opinion column.

I come from a place where, before I was born, racist terrorists murdered four children in their church. America took notice. That tragedy accelerated a movement for peace and equality that rippled throughout the world. In the park across the street from where they died, theres a statue, and each year, people there stop to remember Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and Denise McNair.

But I wonder, were such a thing to happen today, would anyone remember? Not six decades later, but even a week? Because horrific, public murder seems to happen all the time now, and I sometimes struggle to remember the last.

Three times in the last three weeks, Ive sat to write about something I considered important, only to have the thoughts extinguished by another killing.

A script I wrote about the discontent beneath the Cracker Barrel ruckus went to the wastebasket after two children died in Minneapolis and 14 others were wounded. Who cares about stale hashbrowns and chickenless dumplings after something like that?

I wrote another  and boy was I proud of this one  comparing the safety of New York City subways to the highway fatalities in Alabama. Can you guess which is worse?

Doesnt matter. A gruesome murder on a Charlotte, N.C., rail line washed any salient thoughts away with an innocent womans blood.

Exasperated, I wrote about summer vacations, my dream to take a trip to Yellowstone and how Americans are being priced out of simple pleasures. A recent piece on Disneys corporate incentives sure captured whats beneath the surface of Americas simmering discontent, I thought until 

Then someone  as I write this, we dont know yet who  shot a political activist for sharing provocative opinions and daring to have discourse  yes, discourse  on college campuses. Others have already noted the irony that Charlie Kirk was debating a young man about the causes of mass public murder when the bullet struck.

And as if some sick force behind the curtain were messing with us, another school shooting  yes, another  interrupted the wall-to-wall coverage of Kirks murder.

This time in Colorado.

America, it feels, is now a place punctuated by violence, not a period at the end of a sentence but an ellipsis, an unfinished thought, that lingers until its interrupted by another death. Our short-term memories seldom have the opportunity to leap to lasting thoughts before some new tragedy trips their feet.

Our expressions of grief never transform into an impetus for change, but only obligatory denunciations of violence as we wait for the next tragedy to strike.

Last night, the president ordered the nations flags to be lowered to half-staff, and I wondered aloud to my wife, Werent they there already? When I was a child, these displays of national mourning seemed more rare, a thing for space shuttle explosions and presidential wakes. Today, the Stars and Stripes touching the top of the pole feels like the exception rather than the rule.

Perhaps we should leave it there until we have the strength and resolve to do something  to transform our grief into change.

Today is 9/11. Did you remember?

In the weeks commotion, I had forgotten that, too  the last time I recall our nation coming together.

And Monday will be September 15th  62 years since another violent act backfired and changed the world, that forced the country, as the late Gene Patterson wrote, to hold in its hand that shoe from one of those killed by the blast.

Today, it feels like there are too many shoes to count.

I spent most of my life in Birmingham. I consider it home and Ill carry its lesson with me forever. That a landscape scarred by death can be an inspiration. That love and peace can overcome fear and hatred. That death and violence can inspire change. We dont have to accept the way things are.

But first, we must have time to remember.

Kyle Whitmire is the Washington watchdog columnist for AL.com and winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize. Subscribe to his newsletter, Alabamafication.
Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally at Thomas & Mack Center, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher) AP

Two young influential Alabama conservatives are remembering Charlie Kirk on Wednesday, with one of them crediting the conservative influencer as the reason why President Donald Trump won the election last year.

The only reason that Donald Trump is sitting in the Oval Office is because of Charlie Kirk, Brilyn Hollyhand said during an interview on Fox News.

A Tuscaloosa native, Hollyhand is a former chairman of the Republican National Committees Youth Advisory Committee, and a 19-year-old political commentator and author.

Kirk, 31, a conservative influencer and chairman of the organization Turning Point USA, was shot while speaking at a campus event at Utah Valley University.

Brilyn Hollyhand and Charlie Kirk Submitted

Hollyhand called Kirk one of his closest friends in politics, calling him a mentor. He said the two met while Hollyhand, then 11 and in the fourth grade in Tuscaloosa, was starting up a podcast.

He didnt have to make time for me as an 11-year-old with this podcast in the fourth grade, but he did, Hollyhand, an Auburn University student, said.

Hollyhand said during the interview that he can recall a conversation he had with Kirk at the time.

He said the left may have all the money in the world, but they will never outwork me, Hollyhand said.

I was on Fox News when the news broke one of my closest friends in politics and longtime mentor Charlie Kirk passed.



The following is the best tribute I could muster up in the moment for a larger than life man of faith who was a walking, talking beacon of hope.



Please pray. pic.twitter.com/WhrzD6n9T6  Brilyn Hollyhand (@BrilynHollyhand) September 10, 2025

The two remained close over the years, Hollyhand said during the Fox News interview.

He said the two spoke within the past two days, and that Kirk told him he was excited to be going back on tour at college campuses.

He helped me get my start in politics. He didnt have to but he did and he always cheered me on, Hollyhand tweeted.

Also weighing in was C.J. Pearson, a 22-year-old political strategist and a national co-chair of the RNC Youth Advisory Council who was named to as one of the 2025 Time100 Creators.

He, like Hollyhand, began his political work at a young age and blogging at age 8.

Pearson, a former member of the University of Alabama Student Government Association, wrote on the social media platform, told AL.com Wednesday that he was proud to bring Kirk to Tuscaloosa in 2021.

His legacy will endure because of the concerted effort he made to incubate the next generation of conservative leaders, Pearson said. And Im honored to count myself among one of many that his lifes work profoundly touched.

Ive known Charlie since I was 12 years old, he added in a post on X.

Without a doubt, I can say there are few people, if any, who love their country, God, and family as much as he does. Charlie - I pray that God is not finished with you yet.

Ruth Serven Smith contributed to this story.
FILE - President Donald Trump shakes hands with moderator Charlie Kirk, during a Generation Next White House forum at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Thursday, March 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) AP

Tim Tebow said he was devastated after hearing the news that Charlie Kirk was assassinated.

Kirk, a conservative activist, was shot and killed at a Utah college event in what the governor called a political assassination.

Kirk was killed with a single shot from a rooftop on Wednesday. Federal, state and local authorities were still searching for an unidentified shooter early Thursday and working what they called multiple active crime scenes.

Im shocked and devastated to learn about the passing of Charlie Kirk.



Above all else, Charlie was a follower of Jesus, a husband, and a dad. He was a man of passion, courage, and devotion to making an eternal impact.



Demi and I are praying for Erika, his two children, and  Tim Tebow (@TimTebow) September 11, 2025

Im shocked and devastated to learn about the passing of Charlie Kirk, the SEC Network analyst posted on social media. Above all else, Charlie was a follower of Jesus, a husband, and a dad. He was a man of passion, courage, and devotion to making an eternal impact. Demi and I are praying for Erika, his two children, and everyone who loved him.

Tebow is just one of many athletes, celebrities and Hollywood stars have reacted to the news in the last day.

Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political youth organization, Arizona-based Turning Point USA, at the Sorensen Center courtyard on campus. Immediately before the shooting, Kirk was taking questions from an audience member about mass shootings and gun violence.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Just a day ago, Apple introduced the AirPods Pro 3, offering a new generation of its high-end true wireless earbuds after three years. The new AirPods Pro 3 audio accessory comes with a handful of upgrades, featuring a new design and some features supported by Apple Intelligence. The Apple Intelligence-powered Live Translation feature is one of the biggest highlights of the AirPods Pro 3.

While demonstrating the Live Translation functionality during the iPhone 17 launch event, Apple didnt mention anything about compatibility with older AirPods. However, the companys press release for the AirPods Pro 3 did reveal that Live Translation is also available on older AirPods. However, theres always a catch with older Apple devices offering features of the newer models.

Live Translation is coming to the AirPods 4 with ANC and AirPods Pro 2 models

In the press release for the AirPods Pro 3, Apple mentioned that the Live Translation feature will be available on the AirPods 4 with ANC and AirPods Pro 2 models later this year. Users will need their AirPods updated with the latest firmware to connect with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone running iOS 26 or later to use this functionality.

For those unaware, Apple Intelligence is available only on iPhone 15 Pro or later models running iOS 26. The Cupertino tech giant will start rolling out the new iOS update to these devices on September 15. Then the users of the AirPods 4 with ANC and AirPods Pro 2 will also be able to use Live Translation on their accessories.

The feature is currently in beta and supports select languages

Apples Live Translation functionality is exactly what it sounds like. The companys software can translate languages in real-time while wearing the earbuds. It allows for something resembling natural conversation when talking to a person who speaks a different language.

With this new tech, you can simply pop in your earbuds and receive a real-time translation of any language spoken to you. When you respond, the translated text will appear on your iPhones screen. The experience is even more seamless when youre speaking with someone who also has a pair of AirPods Pro 3.

Currently, Live Translation is in beta and supports only select languages. At launch, the users will be able to use the feature in English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish. Later this year, the firm will add support for Italian, Japanese, Korean, and simplified Chinese languages.
Samsungs phones used to be renowned for its camera capabilities. That is still kind of true today. Samsungs flagship phones, like the Galaxy S25 series, are pretty decent at taking photos. However, the maturity of the smartphone market means more competition, many of whom are producing phones with photo-taking capabilities that are just as good, if not better. So much so that Samsung fans have launched a petition, asking for the head of Samsungs camera division to be replaced.

Samsung fans petition for camera head to be replaced

In a petition addressed to Samsung MX boss TM Roh, fans are asking Roh to replace the companys camera division head. The petition reads, Samsung was once a leader in mobile imaging, but today, due to the severe mismanagement and strategic failures of the camera division leadership, Galaxy cameras lag behind competitors in hardware, software, algorithms, and overall user experience.

It also says, If decisive action is not taken immediately, Samsungs reputation in mobile imaging will suffer irreparable damage. We strongly urge you to replace the head of the camera division and implement a comprehensive reform. Will Samsung address this petition? Its hard to say, but the reasons are pretty compelling.

Fans are giving eight reasons why

The petition goes on to list eight different reasons why Roh should make this move. Firstly, fans point out that there is hardware stagnation in the cameras with no substantial upgrade in years. Secondly, they point at Samsungs tech lagging behind the competition. This includes phones made by Apple, Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi.

It also appears that Samsung customers arent too happy that the company is seemingly ignoring user feedback. They also claim that there are a lot of longstanding issues, like poor shadow detail, excessive noise, and unnatural skin tones, that have yet to be resolved. These customers are also not thrilled at how Samsung is seemingly blindly copying Apple, and losing its own identity in the process.

Then, there is the issue of skin tone processing bias. Users claim that when it comes to rendering Asian or Caucasian skin tones, it results in an unnaturally yellow-black. Users are also sick of slow and discriminatory updates, where older devices receive delayed updates or missing optimizations.

Interestingly enough, one of the reasons fans are giving is that Samsung is apparently resisting AI innovation. Users claim Samsung is refusing to adopt AI computational photography technologies, like Googles HDR+ or Huaweis XMAGE engine. Lastly, fans seem to have lost faith in the brands vision, leading to a collapse in consumer trust.
Samsung introduced the Galaxy S25 FE smartphone as part of the IFA 2025 tradeshow announcements earlier this month. Arriving as the successor to last years Galaxy S24 FE, the phone brings flagship looks, 7 years of software updates, and a few upgrades in various departments. Apart from upgrading the features, Samsung also appears to have improved the internal design of the Galaxy S25 FE, as suggested by a recent teardown video of the smartphone.

Samsungs Galaxy S25 FE has received a higher repairability score in a recent teardown

The YouTube channel PBKreviews has provided us with a closer look at the internals of the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE phone in their recent teardown video. It shows that Samsung has improved the charging port and other smaller components of the Galaxy S25 FE, which are now easier to replace when required.

Samsung appears to have increased the size of the vapor chamber that runs underneath the battery as well as the motherboard to help transfer heat. That said, the YouTube channel has given the Galaxy S25 FE a repairability score of 9/10. Last year, the same channel rated the Galaxy S24 FE 8.5/10.

Highlights of Samsungs latest Fan Edition smartphone

If youve missed the launch, here are some highlights of the Galaxy S25 FE handset. Samsung has backed the phone with its Exynos 2400 SoC, which is a 4nm chip from 2023. The device comes with a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, which offers up to 120Hz refresh rate and the Vision Booster functionality. Samsung has equipped the phone with 8GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage.

Theres a 50MP main camera at the rear, aided by a 12MP ultrawide shooter and an 8MP telephoto lens. The device boasts an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance. A beefier 4,900mAh battery with improved 45W wired charging support keeps the phone running.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 FE comes in four colorways: Icyblue, Jetblack, Navy, and White. Samsung has priced the base 128GB memory model at $649.99, while the most expensive 256GB variant will set you back $709.99. Samsung hasnt yet started selling the 512GB storage model in the US. Interested consumers can purchase the device from the Samsung Store or via retailers such as Amazon or Best Buy, apart from the major telecom operators.
16-year-old Colorado school shooter was radicalized and reloaded handgun to continue firing at students, police say

A radicalized 16-year-old student at Evergreen High School in Jefferson County, Colorado, critically injured two classmates as he continued to fire and reload his handgun Wednesday afternoon, police say.

It was 12:24 p.m. local time when police received their first call about the shooting. Some students had been at lunch when gunfire rang out.

The Jefferson County Sheriffs Office identified the suspected shooter as Desmond Holly.

He had to keep reloading. He would fire and reload. Fire and reload. Fire and reload, Public Information Officer Jacki Kelley told reporters Thursday. And as he did that, he tried to find new targets.

A 'radicalized' 16-year-old student at Evergreen High School in Jefferson County, Colorado, critically injured two classmates as he continued to fire and reload his handgun Wednesday afternoon, police say (Jefferson County Sheriff's Office)

Kelley said he was radicalized by some extremist network but didnt give any more details beyond that.

A lot of students ran from the bullets fired out of Hollys revolver, while others locked down inside the school, according to police.

Its unclear at this point how many rounds were fired, but Kelley said the shooter brought quite a bit of ammunition with him and he fired the gun a lot.

Kelley painted an image of the scene inside the school: Broken windows, lockers that have sustained gunshots.

It was 12:24 p.m. local time when police received their first call about the shooting (Jefferson County Sheriff's Office)

One student was shot inside the school and another was shot behind the school as the violence spilled into the neighborhood.

Holly, along with the two injured students, was taken to the hospital Wednesday. He died from self-inflicted injuries, the sheriffs office announced Wednesday night.

Police have identified one of the injured victims as 18-year-old Matthew Silverstone.

His family said in a statement: The family appreciates the communitys concern and support, but as we remain focused on our loved ones recovery, we respectfully request privacy as we continue to heal and navigate the road ahead.

Police previously talked about a fourth young person who was injured, but Kelley said Thursday, We dont think that thats true anymore.

Now the Jefferson County community is left picking up the pieces of the tragic day as police try to figure out what exactly happened and why.

We cant say yet whether this feels more targeted or more random, Kelley said. But based on what Im telling you about firing and reloading and firing and reloading, it seems like it could be a bit of both.

Kelley said the shooter tried to gain access to locked-down areas, adding he appeared to be on a mission.

I have to believe when you bring a gun to school and you continue to fire and reload and fire and reload that you are on a mission, and we are grateful that he was less successful, but were devastated that he was successful at all, she said.

A lot of students ran from the bullets fired out of Hollys revolver, while others locked down inside the school, according to police (AP)

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement on X Thursday, Our @FBIDenver team continues to work with our partners regarding the investigation of the shooting at Evergreen High School yesterday afternoon in Colorado.

We have deployed our evidence response team and other specialty resources as part of our response to this incident.

Patel added, Most importantly, our thoughts continue to be with the two victims injured in the shooting and all those who have been impacted by this horrific attack. We will share more as we are able.

Warrants have been issued for the shooters home, phone and locker, Kelley said, adding officers found valuable information at his house.

The shooters parents have been cooperative in the investigation, according to police. Authorities have not revealed how the 16-year-old was able to access the gun or ammunition.

A school resource officer was not Evergreen High School during the shooting as they were attending to another situation. Kelley said the officer did not break policy.

It really sucks that were here again. Weve had our fair share of school shootings, Kelley said.

Jefferson County is also where the Columbine school shooting occurred in 1999, which saw 12 students and one teacher killed. Another student, who was paralyzed from the waist down in the shooting, died in February, and the coroner ruled her death a homicide, per The New York Times.
Jair Bolsonaro, branded the Trump of the Tropics, claims he is the victim of political persecution - SERGIO LIMA/AFP via Getty

Jair Bolsonaro, Brazils populist former president, has been sentenced to more than 27 years in prison in a verdict that has prompted fury from the Trump administration.

Bolsonaro, dubbed the Trump of the Tropics for his forthright and sometimes abrasive style, was convicted of masterminding a plot to cling to office that proposed murdering his successor and seizing emergency powers.

He is now set to spend the rest of his life behind bars after the countrys supreme court found him guilty of attempting to subvert democracy following his failed re-election bid in 2022.

A majority of the five judges hearing the case concluded that Bolsonaro and seven senior aides effectively attempted a coup after refusing to accept defeat to his left-wing nemesis Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, better known simply as Lula.

Later on Thursday, he was sentenced by the court to 27 years and three months in jail.

A supporter of Jair Bolsonaro prays at a vigil near the former presidents residence - Eduardo Soteras/The Telegraph

The case has plunged relations with the United States into crisis after Donald Trump tried to force Bolsonaros acquittal, slapping sanctions on the judges and 50 pc tariffs on Brazilian exports.

Following the verdict, Mr Trump said he was very unhappy with the conviction, while Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, promised that America would respond, branding the trial a witch hunt.

The case centred partly on whether Bolsonaro instigated riots in which thousands of loyalists stormed Brazils Congress, presidential palace and Supreme Court in Brasilia.

But prosecutors also examined a lurid conspiracy, hatched by his associates, to poison Lula, declare an emergency and run Brazil with the support of a military council that would oversee new elections.

The political persecutions by sanctioned human rights abuser Alexandre de Moraes continue, as he and others on Brazil's supreme court have unjustly ruled to imprison former President Jair Bolsonaro.



The United States will respond accordingly to this witch hunt.  Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) September 11, 2025

Bolsonaro had denied knowledge of Operation Green and Yellow Dagger, the codename for the plot. He admitted that aides had discussed extraordinary measures, including an emergency decree to suspend the result, but insisted none were enacted and nothing illegal was attempted.

Those arguments were dismissed by Carmen Lucia, whose decisive vote sealed Bolsonaros fate. The prosecution, she told the court, had proved he led a group that developed and implemented a systematic plan of attack on democratic institutions with the aim of obstructing the legitimate transition of power.

He was not dragged into this scenario of violence, she said. He was the leader, the instigator who drove the plan towards its objective of seizing power. There is overwhelming evidence pointing to plans for the seizure of power that went beyond mere ideas or private conversations.

The saga has gripped Brazil, reviving memories of an era of military dictatorship many hoped was buried.

The former president has denied the charges, insisting the insurrection was spontaneous - MATEUS BONOMI/AFP via Getty

The case has also provoked fury from the White House. Mr Trump saw Bolsonaro as his South American mirror image and regarded the case as a reflection of his own battles with a liberal establishment he claimed was bent on thwarting his mandate. Both men lost elections.  Mr Trump in 2020, Bolsonaro in 2022  and both claim fraud.

In January 2023, weeks after Bolsonaros defeat, thousands of his loyalists tore through Brazils capital in a six-hour rampage. They stormed Congress, the presidential palace and the Federal Supreme Court, smashing windows, destroying artefacts and even defecating on carpets.

Bolsonaro insists the insurrection was spontaneous, leaderless and fuelled by pro-Lula infiltrators  an echo of the US Capitol riot almost exactly two years earlier, which Mr Trump also denies orchestrating.

Investigators said the riots were part of a broader conspiracy after uncovering details of Operation Green and Yellow Dagger, named after Brazils national colours, on a device belonging to one of Bolsonaros senior advisers.

A supporter of Jair Bolsonaro prays during a vigil in Brasilia, Brazil - Eduardo Soteras/The Telegraph

The scheme envisaged killing Lula, his running-mate Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, a Bolsonaro adversary who oversaw his prosecution. Under the scheme, Mr Bolsonaro would then invoke emergency powers while a military crisis cabinet prepared fresh elections.

Brazils army and air force chiefs testified that Mr Bolsonaros aides sought their support, but they refused.

Despite this, investigators said special-forces hitmen were recruited, with assassinations planned for New Years Eve 2022, the day before Lulas inauguration.

Their first target was Justice de Moraes, who was to be ambushed outside his home. When the assassins lost track of his movements, the mission was aborted and the conspiracy collapsed.

Supporters of Jair Bolsonaro demonstrate on Independence Day in Brazil on Sept 7 2025 - ARTHUR MENESCAL/AFP

Mr Trump denounced the trial as a witch hunt and an international disgrace. Having already imposed 50 per cent tariffs the joint highest his administration has levied on any country  he may now escalate.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House spokeswoman, this week even raised the possibility of military action against Brazil in the event of a guilty verdict, deepening the crisis between the two most populous nations in the Americas.

This is a priority for the administration, she said. The president is unafraid to use the economic might, the military might of the United States to protect free speech around the world.

Justice Lucia, one of three judges out of five on the court who voted to convict, cast the decision as a watershed for a nation that has endured numerous coups since independence in 1822 and lived under military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985  a period Bolsonaro has openly admired.

Justice Luis Fux voted to acquit, arguing the case should have been tried in the lower courts before reaching the full bench of 11 justices, a dissension that potentially paves the way for an appeal.

Bolsonaros lawyers said on Thursday night that they intend to appeal, including at the international level, for sentences they said were incredibly excessive and disproportionate.

He is unlikely to begin his prison sentence until all appeals have been exhausted, most likely early next year. He will remain under house arrest in the meantime.

The former presidents allies insist the process was political theatre. His son Eduardo, who lobbied Mr Trump to intervene, told The Telegraph the verdict was predetermined.

The court is not competent, he said. One judge is the supposed victim, two others have conflicts of interest. Evidence was obtained through fishing expeditions.

One plea bargain was extracted under coercion. The proceedings were rushed, with the defence denied access to evidence. There is nothing linking my father to any criminal conduct. Its a complete farce.
Charlie Kirks death was announced by the president of the United States - REUTERS/Cheney Orr

Charlie Kirk leaned into his reputation as a deeply polarising figure, taking his conservative message to the most hostile places he could imagine: Americas college campuses.

This helped him build his Turning Point USA movement into a fundraising giant and catapulted him into the highest echelons of Trump world.

On Sept 10, he took his rapier wit and his prove me wrong roadshow to Utah Valley University. It proved to be his final appearance.

He was cut down by a gunmans bullet as he answered questions about mass shootings in America.

No one understood or had the heart of the youth in the United States of America better than Charlie, Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform after Kirks death.

The president, along with several other Maga grandees such as JD Vance, the vice-president, and Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, will speak at Kirks funeral on Sunday, illustrating the power of the 31-year-olds reach.

Kirk exemplified the confrontational, populist conservatism that brought Mr Trump to power.

Like many he credits the late Rush Limbaugh, the late conservative commentator for igniting his political feelings, tuning into his show during his school lunch breaks in the affluent Chicago suburb of Prospect Heights.

With Candace Owens, his Turning Point colleague, in 2018 - TURNING POINT USA

He was turned down by West Point, the US military academy. And by the time he began attending Baylor University, a Christian school in Texas, he had already begun writing for the Right-wing website Breitbart and appearing on Fox News.

He was 18 going on 46

To the horror of his parents, in 2012 he dropped out without completing his degree to start spreading the conservative word on campuses and Turning Point USA was born.

He was 18 going on 46, Joe Walsh, an Illinois Tea Party congressman who was an early political mentor, told The New York Times. And his mission, to go on college campuses and introduce the idea of free markets, was a slam dunk for getting money from old Republican farts.

The 2014 midterm elections brought a breakthrough. The trickle of big donations turned into a tide of money after he appeared in front of wealthy donors in Palm Beach, where then Senator Jeff Sessions was in the audience with his young aide Stephen Miller, a senior White House official who will speak at Sundays memorial event.

Kirk was among the youngest speakers at the Republican National Convention in 2016, when Mr Trump was formally adopted as candidate.

He joined the campaign trail for Donald Trump last summer - GETTY IMAGES

It marked his own personal turning point. He publicly admitted that he was not sure about Mr Trump and described the convention as a reckoning from the older generation but went on to campaign for the Republican nominee, finding a place in Donald Trump Jrs team as scheduler and social media coordinator.

I love you brother, said Don Jr after Kirks death had been announced. You gave so many people the courage to speak up and we will not ever be silenced.

Taking the Maga fight to campuses

After the election he returned to his role with Turning Point USA, effectively acting as the Maga movements envoy to campuses.

He set up Professor Watchlist, designed to expose radical academics, and he delighted in confronting protesters who tried to derail his appearances.

We are not afraid to fight back against that, because enough is enough, and conservative students are under attack on college campuses, ideologically and unfortunately, sometimes physically, he said during a 2017 appearance.

By his own count, he visited the West Wing more than 100 times during the first Trump administration, and the president was a frequent keynote speaker at his rallies.

You need tremendous talent to do what hes done, building one of the most powerful youth organisations ever created, said the president in 2019.

At the same time, Kirk was careful to stick to his own lane, staying outside the administration and building up his campus operation, launching a podcast, and becoming a non-stop presence on social media.

He married Erika Frantzve, a former Miss Arizona, in 2021 and the couple have two children.

Kirk with his wife, Erika, and their daughters

By the time of the 2024 election, he boasted a $100 million get-out-the vote push, although critics questioned whether much of the money was being directed to contractors owned by friends or associates.

His reward came with election victory in November. Kirk was among the tiny circle of Trump allies who hunkered down at Mar-a-Lago, Mr Trumps Florida estate, to build his administration and vet officials for posts.

There will never be another Charlie Kirk, said Steven Cheung, White House communications director. He is one of one.

Charlie wasnt just a force of nature in politics, he was a dear friend who would drop everything if you needed him.

Don Jr, who will also attend the funeral on Sunday, said Kirks fight would live on.

He poured into millions of young people who will carry forward the torch he lit, he posted in a heartfelt tribute. He built something that will outlast him, because it was grounded in faith, in truth, and in courage.
Serious concerns have been raised that newly sacked US ambassador Peter Mandelson did not clear security vetting for the role  but the prime minister pushed through his appointment anyway.

Sources have told The Independent that MI6 failed to clear the Labour peer largely because of concerns over his business links to China.

However, there were also worries that his past links to the disgraced financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein would compromise him.

The row has broken out as Sir Keir Starmer faces serious questions about his judgement from his political opponents, but also from Labour MPs after Lord Mandelson became the latest high-profile sacking by the prime minister over issues that should have been detected earlier.

When The Independent put the claims that Sir Keir had pushed through Lord Mandelsons appointment despite not clearing MI6 vetting, a spokesperson said: Vetting done by FCDO in normal way.

Lord Mandelson admitted in his vetting interview for the role of US ambassador that he had continued his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein for many years, according to reports.

Lord Mandelson relayed his regrets in his resignation letter to the UK Embassy: The circumstances surrounding the announcement today are ones which I deeply regret. I continue to feel utterly awful about my association with Epstein 20 years ago and the plight of his victims. James Roscoe has taken over as interim ambassador while Downing Street finds a replacement.

Keir Starmer said he found Peter Mandelsons emails to Jeffrey Epstein reprehensible (PA)

Lord Mandelsons dramatic sacking came after a string of shocking revelations, including emails appearing to show him offering support for Epstein as he was facing charges of child sex offences.

Announcing his departure, Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty claimed that the emails showed the depth and extent of the pairs relationship was materially different from that known at the time of his appointment, while Sir Keir said he found the emails reprehensible.

Questions were immediately raised about what Sir Keir knew and when, and whether the vetting process for the coveted and powerful government job was robust enough.

Now, further questions are being asked of the prime ministers judgement after it emerged that security services had raised concerns before Lord Mandelson was appointed.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch described the overruling of MI6 warnings to appoint a political ally as unforgivable.

She said: These latest revelations point yet again to the terrible judgement of Keir Starmer and why it is imperative that all documents relating to Peter Mandelsons appointment are released immediately.

If it is true that Starmer or his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney overruled the security services, as has been alleged, they need immediately to explain to the public why they did so.

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel, who had similar security briefings from MI5 as home secretary, said: These are extraordinary revelations. For Keir Starmer and Morgan McSweeney to have appointed Lord Mandelson despite concerns being raised by the security services shows a blatant disregard of all national security considerations and their determination to promote their Labour Party friends.

A former senior cabinet minister told The Independent that any security concerns would have been raised privately between the head of MI6, the foreign secretary and the prime minister.

Donald Trump was uneasy about the appointment because of security concerns over Mandelsons business links with Beijing (AFP/Getty)

It means that the new deputy prime minister, David Lammy, who was the foreign secretary at the time, would also have been informed about any issues with the appointment.

Added to that Sir Keirs chief of staff Mr McSweeney is also in trouble having personally pushed for Lord Mandelsons appointment in the first place and then, according to sources, tried to prevent his sacking this week.

Asked whether No 10 ignored security concerns reportedly flagged by security services before the appointment, the spokesperson said: No 10 was not involved in the security vetting process. This is managed at departmental level by the agency responsible and any suggestion that No 10 was involved is untrue.

But in an explanation on X (Twitter), former foreign secretary James Cleverly, who made many diplomatic appointments, insisted that all security and other concerns about Lord Mandelson would have been presented to the foreign secretary and prime minister by officials and the security services.

He wrote: They would have reminded Lammy that Mandelson had resigned in disgrace twice before. They would have reminded Lammy that Mandelson had a longstanding relationship with Epstein. They would have reminded Lammy that Mandelson had widespread, complicated, and opaque commercial interests.

I have no doubt that they would have reminded Lammy that he and the PM were importing significant reputational risk if they appointed Mandelson. I have no doubt they would have unambiguously advised Lammy against appointing Mandelson to the post.

And it is now clear that Lammy and Starmer ignored that advice and appointed him anyway.

Lord Mandelson was already a controversial pick for the role, with The Independent revealing that Donald Trump was minded to reject his credentials in January after the inauguration because of security concerns over his business links with Beijing.

At the time, sources close to the US president suggested that he would struggle to share confidential information with the Labour peer because of the perceived problems.

But after a massive diplomatic push, Sir Keir succeeded in getting President Trump to accept Lord Mandelson because he wanted the architect of New Labour, known by many as the Prince of Darkness, to be responsible for the UKs most important diplomatic relationship.

In a letter to embassy staff on Thursday, Lord Mandelson said being ambassador to the US "has been the privilege of my life".

"The circumstances surrounding the announcement today are ones which I deeply regret. I continue to feel utterly awful about my association with Epstein 20 years ago and the plight of his victims.

"I have no alternative to accepting the Prime Minister's decision and will leave a position in which I have been so incredibly honoured to serve.

He added that "we leave the relationship with the US in a really good condition, with a magnificent state visit and the new US-UK Technology Partnership - my personal pride and joy that will help write the next chapter of the special relationship - set for next week".

Now, Labour MPs are publicly and privately questioning Sir Keirs judgement in appointing him.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy, who attempted to run for the deputy leadership contest, said: There were clearly double standards here. Good people were blocked from being candidates for liking the wrong tweets, but Mandelson was appointed despite all his baggage.

The comments echo concerns within the party after a string of embarrassing sackings. Sir Keir last week lost deputy prime minister Angela Rayner for failing to pay 40,000 of stamp duty while she was housing secretary.

Homelessness minister Rushanara Ali lost her job after she made her tenants homeless, while anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq quit after she was investigated for corruption through her familys now-ended autocratic regime in Bangladesh. And former transport secretary, Louise Haigh, resigned over revelations she was prosecuted and found guilty of falsely claiming a mobile phone was stolen from her.

Mr Doughty announced the sacking while answering an urgent question from Tory MP Neil OBrien, who said: The simple question is this: is the minister now saying that the prime minister did not know about any of this at the point where [Lord Mandelson] was appointed? What did the prime minister know at the point of his appointment?

Labour foreign affairs select committee chair Dame Emily Thornberry revealed that MPs had been blocked from questioning Lord Mandelson.

She said: Since the first rumours of his appointment, my committee has repeatedly asked  publicly and privately  to question Peter Mandelson. It is right that he has now been sacked.

The FCDO should not have stopped us from asking questions. The government should welcome such scrutiny.
An inquest heard that Jamie Pearson should have been seen by mental health specialists within four hours of his admittance. Photograph: Courtesy: Julie Knowles

The death of a 27-year-old man who killed himself in a hospital toilet after waiting 22 hours to be seen by the mental health team was contributed to by neglect, a coroner has ruled.

Jamie Pearson was admitted to Blackpool Victoria hospitals A&E department after taking an overdose of high-strength painkillers on 17 August 2024.

An inquest heard that Pearson should have been seen within four hours by mental health specialists but was deemed low-risk and was still waiting 22 hours later when he killed himself in a toilet.

His mother, Julie Knowles, previously told the Guardian her son was badly failed and let down by health professionals.

Alan Wilson, the senior coroner for Blackpool and Fylde, concluded on Tuesday that Pearsons death had been contributed to by neglect. He said the cumulative effect of the missed opportunities to provide mental health care very comfortably crossed the high threshold required for a finding of neglect.

The inquest heard that the hospital was struggling to manage patient levels at the time, with no medical bed available. This meant Pearson was left in a waiting area overnight and into the following day.

A communication breakdown meant that plans were not made for mental health specialists to see him as a priority, the coroner was told.

Knowles, who is now considering legal action against the NHS trust that runs the hospital, said her son had been largely ignored despite being so vulnerable and suffering a breakdown.

Pearson had told his mother in the waiting room that he still felt suicidal, so she went to inform a nurse and asked when he would be seen a mental health worker. The nurse then walked over to Jamie with her hands on her hips and stated quite bluntly that he needed to be medically fit before he was referred to the mental health team, she said.

Ill never forget Jamies face when that happened; he looked totally deflated. He was shot down and talked to appallingly and bluntly, almost like he was an inconvenience to them.

I remain convinced that the attitude of that nurse set him back, as he was already feeling fragile, and I think her lack of empathy affected him.

Amy Rossall, of Hudgell Solicitors, said the inquest had identified a string of failings and missed opportunities to prevent Pearsons death.

The inquest at Blackpool coroners court heard Pearson was classed as low-risk despite his previous suicide attempt, his complaint in A&E of still feeling suicidal and his desperation to see a mental health worker.

Rossall said hourly observations of him were also not taken and recorded as they should have been. She said: This is an exceptionally tragic case. Lessons may now have been learned as a result, but that is little consolation to Jamies mother, who believed at the time that he was in safe hands and in the best place given the fragility of his mental state.

It was clear Jamie was at risk of serious harm having taken an overdose, and attempted to ligature. This inquest has highlighted a string of failings and missed opportunities to ensure Jamie was properly assessed and treated.

Maggie Oldham, the chief executive at Blackpool teaching hospitals NHS foundation trust, which runs Blackpool Victoria hospital, said: I am truly sorry that we did not do more to keep Mr Pearson safe.

The coroner has highlighted a number of failings in the care provided and the communication between different parts of the NHS.

We have already taken steps to improve assessment, referrals, documentation and treatment of patients needing mental health support in the emergency department.

But we know that we have more work to do and thank the coroner for his findings which will drive further improvement.

 In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
The outgoing chief of MI6 has emerged as one of the early frontrunners to replace Lord Mandelson as British ambassador to the US, according to diplomatic sources.

Sir Richard Moore, 62, will step down after five years as C at the end of the month. He would bring decades of experience as an MI6 officer around the world, as well as time with the Foreign Office as ambassador to Turkey and political director.

Other favourites also include Sir Mark Sedwill, Boris Johnsons national security adviser, while Dame Barbara Woodward, British permanent representative to the United Nations, is in the chatter among embassy staff in Washington.

It is going to be a safe pair of hands, said a source close to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Sir Keir Starmer fired Lord Mandelson after just seven months in the job because of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

His was a rare political appointment for a job that is the crown jewel in the foreign service, along with it comes a palatial Lutyens-designed residence and a central role in Washington, DCs party scene.

It initially paid off, when his close relationship with Number 10 helped deliver a trade deal in May  the first to be signed by Donald Trump  before unravelling in a firestorm of private emails.

James Roscoe, the embassys Charge dAffaires, will run the embassy until a successor is chosen.

The names in the frame this time around indicate that Sir Keir will return to precedent by picking a career diplomat as the best way to handle US relations in the Trump era.

Sir Richard would be well-placed to manage the special relationship of intelligence and military relations between two close allies.

Meanwhile, friends say Sir Mark, 61, is bored since stepping down as cabinet secretary in 2020.

He was ambassador to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, before moving up the ladder at the Foreign Office, and later working at Number 10 under Mr Johnson and Theresa May.

Dame Barbara, 64, a former ambassador to China, is another name being discussed. However, it is understood she has been passed over for the job before making her an outsider this time around.

Other names floated in the media have been largely discounted.

They Lord Mandelsons popular predecessor, Dame Karen Pierce, returning to Washington, or David Miliband, the former foreign secretary, giving up his role as the head of the International Rescue Committee in New York to return to diplomatic life.

Its going to need to be a non-political appointment, said a diplomatic source.

The runners and riders to replace Peter Mandelson

Britains most senior spymaster has already been tipped for the job by Sir Ben Wallace, the former Tory defence secretary.

Sir Richard currently serves as C, the head of MI6, after working as a senior official in the Foreign Office and as the British ambassador to Turkey. He is expected to step down at the end of the month.

The role of British ambassador in Washington has always involved managing private relationships with the American intelligence community and their political bosses in the White House and Pentagon.

However, Sir Richard has previously spoken out about Western nations abandoning Ukraine, which may clash with the view of the Trump administration that European nations should replace some of the USs weapons spending on the war.

A career diplomat, Sir Mark joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1989, serving in Egypt, Iraq, Cyprus and Pakistan.

He was appointed ambassador to Afghanistan in 2009 at a crucial moment in the war, and also held the role of Nato senior representative.

He held a sting a string of top jobs after returning home, including heading the Home Office and working as National Security Adviser to two prime ministers during the turbulence of Brexit and 12 months when neither Theresa May or Boris Johnson held a majority in Parliament.

Friends say that experience means he is itching for another crack at a top job.

The third of the career diplomats who would offer a safe pair of hands to clean up after Lord Mandelson, Dame Barbara currently represents the UK at the United Nations in New York.

That makes her one of Britains highest ranking diplomats, following a stint in Beijing as ambassador to China.

She also has experience in Russia, giving her knowledge of the big challenges facing the US and UK in 2025.

However, she has been linked with other top jobs  such as MI6 chief and the Washington post - and been passed over.

After losing out on the Labour leadership to his brother Ed in 2010, David Miliband established a second career as an aid official with the International Rescue Committee in New York.

He previously served as Foreign Secretary under Gordon Browns government, and has a keen interest in British and American affairs.

Prior to the appointment of Lord Mandelson, Mr Milibands name was repeatedly tipped for the role in both London and Washington, although he insisted he was not interested in the job and would prefer to stay in the charity sector.

Nothing has changed this time around, said a figure familiar with his thinking. It would also mean a huge pay cut.

Lord Barrow is the man who almost got the job last time.

He was named as Dame Karens replacement by Rishi Sunak in the last days of the previous Conservative government, but that appointment was cancelled by Sir Keir after he took office.

It is understood there had been a gentlemans agreement between Lord Cameron and David Lammy, then his Labour counterpart, that Mr Sunak would not make any significant diplomatic appointments before the election.

Lord Barrow remained in his previous post as No10s national security adviser until November last year.

He served three prime ministers from Downing Street as one of the governments most senior and most-respected officials. The appointment to No10 followed stints as the UKs ambassador in Ukraine, Russia and the EU.

He now sits in the House of Lords as a crossbench peer, after being ennobled in June.

A former Tory chancellor would be an unusual choice as ambassador for a Labour prime minister, but it was previously claimed by the writer Tom Baldwin that George Osborne was in the frame for the job last year.

Mr Osborne has never served in a foreign posting, but has experience at the top of government from his time in the Coalition cabinet.

Government insiders have previously denied that he was ever likely to take over from Dame Karen.

But his advantage is his relationship with JD Vance. It was Mr Osborne who helped arrange his recent Cotswolds vacation.

Mischievous commentators have already suggested that appointing Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, might be a good way of removing him from the British political scene.

Mr Farage, whose party is now 11 points ahead of Labour in the polls, said on Thursday that Sir Keir must now appoint a replacement who can walk into the Oval Office, and Trump can look him in the eye and say, I can do business with this guy.

Asked if he would accept the job, he added: I dont think they would offer the job to me, but I have to say, [the British Embassy] is a rather lovely building.

If I was Starmer, I would offer it to me, because if I accepted it, it would get me out of the way, wouldnt it? he told TalkTV.
Eight in 10 Britons believe that senior politicians should be required to publish the amount of tax they pay every year, according to a new poll.

A YouGov survey of nearly 5,000 people found that 80 per cent believe politicians should be required to disclose the amount of tax they pay each year, while only 8 per cent said they should not.

It comes after Angela Rayner resigned last week as deputy prime minister and housing minister over her failure to pay 40,000 in stamp duty.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has also evaded questions about his tax payments, particularly regarding his partners Clacton property, his private company assets, and his earnings from GB News.

When approached for comment by The Independent, Mr Farage said he publishes all of his monthly earnings and company figures and that there was no need to disclose how much tax he pays as well.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has evaded questions about his tax payments (PA Wire)

When pressed on recent reports that he is using a private company to pay less tax on his earnings as a presenter on GB News, Mr Farage did not comment.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who has called for Mr Farage to resign as Reform leader over his tax affairs, said: Trust in politics is at an all-time low. And when millionaires like Nigel Farage are exposed as having played the tax system to pay less, it is understandable why cynicism sets in.

You cant call yourself a patriot and then dodge paying your fair share of tax. That is why Ive called for Farage to resign, like I would for any other politician who purposefully manipulates a system to pay less tax.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski has called for Farage to resign (AFP/Getty)

The findings of the YouGov poll show that respondents from across the political spectrum are vastly in favour of transparency within the government.

Similarly, people from all regions and social grades echoed the sentiment that politicians should publish how much tax they pay.

The survey also showed that people in older age groups were the most likely to be in favour of politicians publishing their tax accounts.

The highest support for this was among those aged over 64, at 84 per cent, while 69 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds were in favour of it.

However, tax reform campaign groups have also chimed in on the debate.

Angela Rayner resigned last week as deputy prime minister and housing minister over her failure to pay 40,000 in stamp duty (PA Wire)

Dia Chakravarty, former political director of low-tax campaign group the TaxPayers Alliance, said nobody should be forced to publish their tax returns, including MPs.

She told Prospect magazine: It is highly unlikely that the publication of their tax returns would do anything to expose any wrongdoing; it would only serve to satisfy a curiosity about parliamentarians personal financial affairs.

Our energy would be far better spent pressurising politicians to urgently simplify the ridiculously complex tax code they have written over the decades, the opacity of which in itself seriously undermines peoples faith in the system. We would be best served by the introduction of a radically simpler tax system, where its clear how much any of us owe and the potential for game-playing by those who can afford clever lawyers and accountants is minimised.

However, Tax Justice UK, another tax reform campaign group, said it would welcome the move.

Fariya Mohiuddin, deputy director of external affairs, said: Revelations about MPs tax affairs highlight how dysfunctional our tax system is. People paying their fair share and still struggling will rightly be outraged by seeing MPs appear to be dodging tax.

Its no wonder millions are losing trust in politics and the government when there appears to be one set of rules for the super-rich and powerful, and another set for everyone else.

To rebuild trust, we need to shut down loopholes and tax breaks that allow the super-wealthy and powerful to pay less tax. As a step in the right direction, MPs should be transparent about the taxes they pay and make their self-assessments publicly available.
When Donald Trump dines with the King and Prime Minister during his state banquet next week, disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein will be the ghost at the feast.

The White House, the royal family and Sir Keir Starmers Government have all been tarnished by association with the sex offender, with the sacking of Lord Peter Mandelson the latest stage in the saga.

Mr Trump continues to deny being the author of a sexually suggestive letter in Epsteins 50th birthday book in 2003, while the Duke of York  the Kings brother  was forced away from his public role in 2019 amid the furore over his friendship with the convicted billionaire paedophile.

Sir Keir Starmers appointment of Lord Mandelson was a political gamble (Carl Court/PA)

Just days before the state visit brings Mr Trump, Sir Keir and the King together, the Prime Minister sacked his ambassador to the US after the emergence of emails showing the full extent of his relationship with Epstein.

The decision was taken in a meeting between Sir Keir and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper at 10am, with MPs informed 45 minutes later  suggesting it did not take long for the Prime Minister to sack the high-profile envoy he had taken a political risk to appoint.

With Washington five hours behind the UK, it meant Lord Mandelson was informed before dawn in the US that he was losing his post with immediate effect.

Because of the nature of his role as an ambassador, Buckingham Palace also had to be told of the decision.

United States President Donald Trump has had his own political difficulties over Jeffrey Epstein (Aaron Schwartz/PA)

Sir Keir had insisted at Prime Ministers Questions on Wednesday that full due process was gone through in relation to Lord Mandelsons appointment and I have confidence in the ambassador in the role he is doing.

But the disclosure of emails between Lord Mandelson and Epstein from 2005 to 2010  including after his conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution  changed Sir Keirs thinking.

The emails were sent from an account which had long been closed and were not available during the vetting process.

The onus would have been on Lord Mandelson to disclose anything potentially damaging to the Government.

But No 10 appeared unaware of the emails until their publication on Wednesday night.

The day before Epstein reported to a Florida jail in 2008 to begin his sentence for soliciting sex with a minor, Lord Mandelson wrote I think the world of you and I feel hopeless and furious about what has happened adding: I can still barely understand it. It just could not happen in Britain.

Home Office minister Mike Tapp, sent out to defend the Governments position on the airwaves in the morning, was blunt in his assessment of the emails: Really disturbing and sickening.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting, speaking shortly before Lord Mandelson was sacked, said he was completely disgusted.

Other senior ministers  including Chancellor Rachel Reeves  cancelled planned engagements as the Government went into crisis management mode.

Sir Keir found the emails reprehensible, a No 10 spokesman said and they were given as the reason for Lord Mandelsons immediate withdrawal from the Washington mission.

The Foreign Office said the emails showed the depth and extent of Peter Mandelsons relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment in 2024.

The suggestion that he believed Epsteins first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged was new information, the Foreign Office and No 10 said.

But Lord Mandelsons links with Epstein were widely known before Sir Keir took the unusual step of appointing a prominent political figure  rather than a career diplomat  to the Washington post.

The risks of appointing a politician who is no stranger to scandal were obvious and Sir Keir is now paying a political price for the gamble.

Jeffrey Epstein died in 2019 (US Department of Justice/PA)

Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges.

But six years later his shadow still hangs over the special relationship between the UK and US.
George RR Martin has shared a bittersweet message about attending Worldcon, as he reflects on the fellow fantasy authors who are no longer with us.

The Game of Thrones writer posted an update to his website, Not a Blog, on 8 September after attending the World Science Fiction Convention, or Worldcon, in Seattle.

The annual event hosts science-fiction and fantasy fans as well as creators, such as authors, filmmakers and actors, and also presents the Hugo Award for the best works and achievements of the past year.

Caught up with some old fan friends, made some new ones, Martin, 76, wrote. I did two panels, both of them enjoyable, and the autographing was well-run, drew about 300 [people].

He said that the highlight of the convention was a screening of three of the four short films based on works by late author Howard Waldrop: Night of the Cooters, Mary Margaret Road-Grader, and The Ugly Chickens. The fourth film has yet to be produced.

We had a full house for that, every seat occupied, people sitting in the aisles and standing in the back of the hall, and everyone seemed to enjoy the movies, which pleased me no end, he said. I just wish Howard could have been there to see them.

George RR Martin self-funded four short films adapted from his friends books (Getty)

When not signing books or doing a panel or showing a film, I mostly sat around in the bar with [my wife] Parris and friends, chatting about everything and nothing, Martin continued in his post.

I have reached the point in life where thats the best part of any con for me. It does bring back memories, though. Worldcons these days are filled with ghosts: Howard and Gardner, Ed Bryant and John Miller, so many more.

Martin became friends with Waldrop while searching for a very rare DC comic, The Brave and the Bold issue 28, which he found and purchased from a fellow teenage boy  Waldrop  in Arlington, Texas.

Both went on to write science-fiction works: Waldrop was regarded more as a cult figure, while Martin achieved significant mainstream success with his A Song of Ice and Fire series.

In December last year, Martin told The Hollywood Reporter that he broke the cardinal rule of the film industry  to never use your own money to fund a project  by self-funding the four short films.

He made the decision after trying for years to get a studio to adapt Waldrops work: I tried for a number of years I finally gave up.

Waldrop died of a stroke on 14 January 2024.

Fellow science-fiction author and editor Gardner Dozois died in 2018, while sci-fi and horror writer Edward Bryant passed away a year earlier. John Miller, who was best-known for his Wild Cards series of anthologies and novels  which were edited by Martin  died on 5 January 2022.

In his website post, Martin made no mention of the incident where he was confronted during a Worldcon panel by a disgruntled fan about The Winds of Winter, the long over-due penultimate book in his A Song of Fire and Ice series.

The fan in question told the author he was not going to be around much longer before suggesting he let fellow panellist and author Brandon Sanderson finish the series.

His comment was met by boos from fellow attendees and denounced by others on the panel before the event was ended prematurely by the hosts.

On social media, many fans of Martin branded the outburst inappropriate and said the author deserves respect.

George RR Martin sitting on the Iron Throne from the set of Game of Thrones, the hit show based on his books, with members of the cast

Martin said he was back home and back at it, with New York City Comic Con, taking place between Thursday 9 October to Sunday 12 October, next on his schedule.

Ill be meeting up with the stars and showrunner of [A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms], he said, referring to the forthcoming fantasy drama series he created with Ira Parker.

The latest prequel to Game of Thrones will mark the third TV series in Martins A Song of Ice and Fire Franchise, and uses his Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas as its source material.

Earlier this year, it was announced that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms had been delayed by HBO until next year.
Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex leaves Clarence House in London on September 10, 2025 in the back of a car (AFP/Getty)

The Duke of Sussex has reunited with King Charles for the first time in 19 months, revealing his father was "great, thank you" shortly after their private tea at Clarence House.

The brief 54-minute meeting marked the first face-to-face encounter between father and son in nearly two years, following Harry's public hopes for family reconciliation in May.

Just over an hour after leaving Charless London residence, Harry appeared relaxed, smiling, and upbeat as he mingled with corporate sponsors and Government ministers at an Invictus reception at The Gherkin in the City of London.

Asked how his father was by a reporter shortly after arriving at the Invictus reception, Harry replied: Yes hes great, thank you.

A car carrying the Duke of Sussex arriving at Clarence House, London on Wednesday afternoon (Jeff Moore/PA)

The duke, who entered on the top floor atrium to stunning views across London, had travelled directly to the event after seeing his father at Clarence House, but was delayed by around 40 minutes due to traffic.

He had been driven through the gates of the royal residence on Wednesday afternoon following an earlier engagement at the Centre for Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London.

The duke arrived at Clarence House in a black Range Rover at 5.20pm and left at 6.14pm ahead of an engagement with the Invictus Games Foundation on Wednesday evening.

He ducked down inside the car as he was driven out of the premises, with the vehicle illuminated by camera flashes as it drove past a crowd of journalists while leaving the royal residence.

The Duke of Sussex, in Nottingham on Tuesday, is on a four-day solo trip to the UK (Paul Grover/Daily Telegraph/PA)

Buckingham Palace confirmed Harry joined Charles for tea.

The King skips lunch each day, but takes a break for afternoon tea at around 5pm, with sandwiches and cakes, and his favoured Darjeeling with honey and milk.

The King, who is still undergoing treatment for cancer, arrived in London from Balmoral on Wednesday, the penultimate day of his youngest sons four-day trip to the UK  which increased speculation that the pair would meet.

Charles had a run of official duties behind closed doors including a Privy Council meeting at St Jamess Palace, adjacent to Clarence House, in the afternoon, following by a one-to-one investiture with Holocaust survivor Manfred Goldberg at 4.15pm in the Morning Drawing Room at Clarence House.

The King with.Manfred Goldberg as Charles invested him with his MBE insignia in the Morning Drawing Room at Clarence House (Aaron Chown/PA)

This offered a window of opportunity for the King and Harry to meet, before the duke had to leave for his pre-planned Invictus Games event and the King had an audience at 6.15pm with the Premier of South Australia, Peer Malinauskas at Clarence House.

Harry was due to arrive at his Invictus Games reception in the City of London at 6.45pm but organisers said he was running late, before he finally arrived at 7.24pm.

Traffic has been very heavy in central London this week due to an ongoing Tube strike.

At the reception where he met sponsors and supporters, the duke gave a speech and began by joking about his long journey across the capital.

He made his guests laugh when he said: I think this whole thing has been delayed slightly, so at this point youre all hammered  which was part of the plan all along, stuck up here at the top of the Gherkin.

The duke, who stepped down as a senior working royal in 2020, no longer benefits from blue-light police escorts which would have whisked him through any travel chaos.

Harry last saw the King in February last year when he made a transatlantic dash from his Californian home to the UK to see Charles following his cancer diagnosis.

The Duke of Sussex holds an imperial external fixator during a visit to Imperial College London (Suzanne Plunkett/PA)

The pairs previous meeting was less than 24 hours after the announcement about the Kings health and was without Harrys wife, the Duchess of Sussex, and their children.

The face-to-face encounter in February 2024 appeared to last for just over 30 minutes  with the latest meeting also lasting less than an hour ahead of the dukes evening engagement.

The duke, who stepped down from the working monarchy in 2020, has levelled a barrage of accusations at the King, stepmother the Queen, brother Prince of Wales and sister-in-law the Princess of Wales in his Oprah interview, Netflix documentary, interviews and his autobiography Spare since moving to the US.

Harry previously claimed Charles was jealous of Meghan and Kate, did not hug him when he told him his mother Diana, Princess of Wales had died, and said he believed the King was never made for single parenthood, but to be fair, he tried.

The King, after his tea with Harry, was pictured with Peer Malinauskas MP, Premier of South Australia during an audience at Clarence House (Aaron Chown/PA)

Charles, according to the duke, pleaded with his sons during a tense meeting after the Duke of Edinburghs funeral: Please, boys. Dont make my final years a misery.

Harry remains estranged from his brother William, who has been busying himself with a flurry of engagements this week and was away in Cardiff on Wednesday visiting a new mental health hub on World Suicide Prevention Day.

Royal watchers will be waiting to see if Harry keeps quiet and refrains from publicly discussing his reunion with the King, and, on the other side, whether any briefings emerge from Palace.

Senior aides to the King and the duke were pictured together in London this July in what was reported to be an initial step towards opening channels of communication between the two households.
Heathrow airport has revealed it handled more than eight million passengers last month for the first time in its history, as it renewed calls for its expansion.

It said it was the first European airport to surpass this figure following a busy summer of travel.

Heathrow reported its busiest ever day on August 1, with around 270,000 people passing through.

Heathrow hits a historic high: 8 million passengers in August. Were now the first major European hub to cross the 8M mark in a single month, with record service levels and punctuality to match. Find out more at https://t.co/omCcss40ZA pic.twitter.com/oAEpmMrChH  Heathrow Airport (@HeathrowAirport) September 11, 2025

It also highlighted a drop in the number of flight cancellations on the day of travel  down by a third over the summer, compared with the same period last year.

But it added that it was now operating at full capacity to the detriment of UK trade and connectivity, adding that it welcomes the Governments commitment to expanding Heathrow.

The west London airport has previously flagged that its two runways were being used at almost full capacity, therefore stifling the ability to grow passenger numbers.

It unveiled plans to build a full-length third runway in August, which it said would enable an additional 276,000 flights per year.

Heathrow proposed that the expansion would be privately financed, meaning no taxpayer money would be used, at a cost of 21 billion.

It also expects that it would be operational within a decade.

Heathrows chief executive Thomas Woldbye said August would go down in the history books for the record high numbers of travellers.
Kathy Bates is opening up about staying happy and healthy after her 100-pound weight loss.

Last October, the Matlock star, 77, revealed that she lost a significant amount of weight over about a seven-year span after being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2017.

Now, Bates is elaborating on the circumstances surrounding her weight loss and defending herself from critics.

People say, Well, it was the Ozempic, she said during an interview with Variety Wednesday. F*** you, it was the Ozempic! It took me years to do this. I got this diagnosis about diabetes  my father died of it; his mother died of it; one of my sisters is in peril.

When they said diabetes, I figured out what to do to slowly, over years, to lose the weight. And then when Ozempic came along, I was able to lose the last 15 to 20 pounds and keep it off, she added.

Kathy Bates says shes getting healthy after diabetes diagnosis (Getty)

Bates also said she has a clean bill of health following bouts of ovarian cancer in 2003 and breast cancer in 2012.

She said the juxtaposition of getting healthy and Matlock coming along was just unbelievable.

The timing of it is great, she added.

With her physical health currently in good standing, shes entering another big moment in her career: The 2025 Emmy Awards, where shes nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role in Matlock. Shes also the oldest-ever Emmy nominee in this category.

Bates plays a brilliant, retired lawyer, Madeline Matty Matlock, who returns to the workforce to seek justice for the death of her daughter Ellie in the opioid epidemic. She uses her wit and tactics to win multiple cases and expose wrongdoings within her company.

Following a successful first season, with nearly 16 million viewers across broadcast and streaming, the program was renewed for season two, which premieres on CBS on October 12, 2025.

Bates said her success from this show, including the Emmy nomination, feels totally different from anything shes had before  including multiple designers sending her dresses.

Its true, first of all, and its a badge of honor, she said during the Variety interview. Its just the serendipity of all of it. Ive never had any of this stuff happen before, where Ive got five different designers sending dresses.

She had a beautiful dress for me to try. I looked at it on the hanger, and I thought, Thats not gonna fit. I put it on, and it fit, and I just melted down, the American Horror Story star explained.

I just started crying and crying. Im still figuring out what its like to be without all of that weight. What was it for? she added. What was I hiding myself from? What are the emotions that are pouring out because I dont have that armor? It just really surprised me, really shocked me.
Keir Starmer sacks Lord Mandelson as ambassador to US over Epstein friendship

Lord Peter Mandelson has been withdrawn as ambassador to the US after emails revealed the depth of his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Sir Keir Starmer, who picked the Labour grandee to be the UKs representative in Washington, made the decision after emails showed the peer sent supportive messages even as Epstein faced jail for sex offences.

The Foreign Office said the emails showed the depth and extent of Peter Mandelsons relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment.

He has now been withdrawn as ambassador with immediate effect.

Lord Mandelson is reported to have told Epstein to fight for early release shortly before he was sentenced to 18 months in prison, and told him, I think the world of you the day before he began his sentence for soliciting prostitution from a minor in June 2008.

The Prime Minister had defended Lord Mandelson until the emergence of the emails, insisting he had gone through a proper vetting process and had helped build a successful relationship with Donald Trumps White House.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer ordered the withdrawal of Lord Mandelson as ambassador to the US (Carl Court/PA)

Lord Mandelsons friendship with Epstein had been known about, but Bloomberg and The Sun published emails showing that the relationship continued after the crimes committed by the financier had emerged.

Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty told MPs that information had not been known when Lord Mandelson was appointed.

He told MPs the emails showed the depth and extent of Lord Mandelsons relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment.

The peer had been serving as the British ambassador to the United States (Carl Court/PA)

He added: In particular, Lord Mandelsons suggestion that Jeffrey Epsteins first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged is new information.

And in light of that, and mindful, as we all are, of the victims of Epsteins appalling crimes, he has been withdrawn as ambassador with immediate effect.

The cache of emails obtained by Bloomberg showed that on the day before Epstein reported to jail in June 2008, Lord Mandelson told him your friends stay with you and love you.

Lord Mandelson was a key figure in the Blair and Brown administrations (Lewis Whyld/PA)

He said: You have to be incredibly resilient, fight for early release and be philosophical about it as much as you can.

The whole thing has been years of torture and now you have to show the world how big a person you are and how strong.

Lord Mandelsons position had appeared increasingly precarious after the release of the emails drew public criticism from members of the Government.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was completely disgusted by the messages, while Home Office minister Mike Tapp said they really disturbing and sickening.

Asked whether Sir Keir felt the same, Downing Street said it was self-evident that the Prime Minister found the emails reprehensible.

The Prime Ministers spokesman would not say whether Lord Mandelson had misled the vetting process for his appointment as US ambassador.

Asked whether No 10 ignored security concerns reportedly flagged by security services before the appointment, he said: No 10 was not involved in the security vetting process. This is managed at departmental level by the agency responsible and any suggestion that No 10 was involved is untrue.

But the timing of his sacking causes a diplomatic headache ahead of Donald Trumps state visit next week, with the US president facing questions over his own ties with Epstein.

James Roscoe will be the interim ambassador to the US and has taken over with immediate effect.

He was made deputy head of mission at the British Embassy in Washington in July 2022 and before that was UK ambassador to the UN General Assembly from 2019.

Mr Roscoe also previously worked as the late Queen Elizabeth IIs communications director and as chief press officer at No 10 under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

Mandelson might have gone but, just as with Angela Rayner, Starmer dithered when he needed to be decisive. Time and again he puts party above country. He has no backbone and no convictions. There are now serious questions over what Starmer knew and when. We deserve to know. pic.twitter.com/zhV4MlFkW1  Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) September 11, 2025

The Conservatives called for full disclosure on who in No 10 knew what about Lord Mandelsons links with Epstein.

The Opposition demanded the full publication of all papers and communications between Downing Street  including Sir Keirs chief of staff Morgan McSweeney  and Lord Mandelson regarding his appointment, along with any relevant vetting documents.

Shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Alex Burghart, said: Keir Starmer, Morgan McSweeney and the Labour Government have serious questions to answer.

The Prime Minister must come clean on exactly what he knew and when. The Government must immediately publish the Mandelson files in full.
Peter Mandelsons departure will be a huge blow for No 10 as it prepares for the US presidents state visit. Photograph: Carl Court/AP

Keir Starmer has sacked Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US over his association with Jeffrey Epstein.

The Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty told MPs that Lord Mandelson had not disclosed the extent and depth of his friendship with Epstein, a convicted child sex offender, when he was appointed as the ambassador.

He said No 10 had not known about emails from Mandelson to Epstein suggesting his 2008 conviction for soliciting a child for prostitution was wrongful and should be challenged.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: In light of the additional information in emails written by Peter Mandelson, the prime minister has asked the foreign secretary to withdraw him as ambassador.

The emails show that the depth and extent of Peter Mandelsons relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment. In particular, Peter Mandelsons suggestion that Jeffrey Epsteins first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged is new information.

In light of that, and mindful of the victims of Epsteins crimes, he has been withdrawn as ambassador with immediate effect.

Before Mandelsons departure was announced, Wes Streeting, the health secretary, told an event that he was completely disgusted by messages Mandelson sent to Epstein and that his future was a decision for the prime minister.

Government sources said Starmer took the decision during a meeting with Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, on Thursday morning, after reviewing the new material on Mandelsons defence of Epstein the previous night. It is understood Mandelson himself had not, until the leak, had access to the emails written in 2008 because they came from a long-deleted account.

Mandelsons departure comes at a difficult time for No 10 as it prepares a state visit for the US president, Donald Trump, who is facing his own questions about his friendship with Epstein. It is understood that James Roscoe, the deputy head of mission in Washington, will be interim ambassador and supervise the state visit.

Both David Miliband, a former Labour foreign secretary, and Cathy Ashton, a former EU commissioner, were previously on the shortlist for the US ambassador job. Karen Pierce, who held the job before Mandelson, is among those who could be asked to return.

The episode will raise questions about Starmers judgment in having appointed Mandelson, given it was known that the ambassador had continued his association with Epstein after the financiers 2008 conviction.

Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, called for Starmer to come to parliament to explain what he knew and when, while Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, said: Mandelson might have gone but, just as with Angela Rayner, Starmer dithered when he needed to be decisive. Time and again he puts party above country. He has no backbone and no convictions.

The SNPs Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, said Starmers judgment, his reputation and his authority are now on the line.

Some Labour MPs are furious about yet another political blunder in the week after Rayner had to resign as deputy prime minister over her tax affairs. However, Harriet Harman, the former Labour deputy leader, suggested the blame lay with Mandelson, and said it was shameful that the politician had put himself forward for the job knowing that such emails had been written and that there was more to come out about their friendship.

Starmer had on Wednesday at prime ministers questions backed Mandelson, insisting the ambassador had been fully vetted.

However, he faced overwhelming pressure to act after it emerged that Mandelson told Epstein to fight for early release from jail as the disgraced financier faced an 18-month sentence for procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute in 2008.

The emails were published by the Sun after circulating in Washington DC, hours after Mandelson admitted on Tuesday that more very embarrassing details of his friendship with Epstein were likely to emerge. He insisted he had never witnessed any wrongdoing.

In an email from June 2008, which was not disputed by his spokesperson, Mandelson wrote to Epstein: I think the world of you and I feel hopeless and furious about what has happened.

I can still barely understand it. It just could not happen in Britain. You have to be incredibly resilient, fight for early release and be philosophical about it as much as you can.

It continued: Everything can be turned into an opportunity and that you will come through it and be stronger for it.

The friendship between the two men came under a renewed spotlight earlier this week after Democratic members of the US House oversight committee released Epsteins 50th birthday book, in which Mandelson called him my best pal in a handwritten note.
Award-winning actor and filmmaker Sir Kenneth Branagh, will return to the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) for the first time in more than three decades.

The Oppenheimer star, 64, is an acclaimed Shakespearean actor and made his first appearance with the theatre company aged 23 in a 1984 production of Henry V  before going on to star in the 1989 film adaptation.

He will now return for its spring 2026 programme as a lead in two RSC productions, including William Shakespeares The Tempest, where he will portray Prospero.

Sir Kenneth Branagh at the premiere of Belfast in 2021 (Ian West/PA)

He will also star in Laura Wades version of Anton Chekhovs The Cherry Orchard as Lopakhin, alongside award-winning actress Helen Hunt, 62.

The Hollywood star, best known for As Good As It Gets, will make her RSC debut as Madame Ranyevskaya.

The play follows Ranyevskaya as she returns to Russia after living in Paris for five years to find that her home and cherry orchard is under threat as a son of a serf, Lopakhin, tries to sell it off.

The Cherry Orchard will run from July 10 until August 29 at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, while The Tempest will be staged at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from May 13 to June 20.

The RSC will also stage Bertolt Brechts political satire on Hitlers ascent to power, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, for the first time in the theatre companys history.

Helen Hunt (Yui Mok/PA)

The production stars Olivier Award-winner Mark Gatiss, 58, who will mark his debut with the company to portray gangster Arturo Ui in Stephen Sharkeys version of the play, which will run from April 11 to May 30 at the Swan Theatre.

Gatiss said: Im absolutely thrilled to be playing Arturo Ui. The play is a savage, blackly funny satire on the rise of Hitler, depicting him as a ruthless Chicago mobster.

I think its Brechts most accessible and dynamic work and Stephen Sharkeys translation is an absolute firecracker.

The play is always timely but to say its urgent now is an understatement. With fascism on the march everywhere, the story of how a washed-up non-entity like Hitler could seduce a nation and become the most powerful dictator in the world serves as a terrifying warning.

The spring 2026 season will also see the RSC stage Driftwood by Martina Laird and co-produce A Midsummer Nights Dream along with Unicorn, a childrens theatre in the UK.

Mark Gatiss attends the global premiere for Mission: Impossible  The Final Reckoning at Leicester Square Gardens (Ian West/PA)

Tamara Harvey and Daniel Evans, co-artistic directors at the RSC, said: When we set out as the co-artistic directors of the Royal Shakespeare Company, we were united by a belief in the RSC as a home for radical and resonant theatre  inspired by Shakespeare and made by the most exciting artists from across the globe. Two years after our arrival, that commitment remains at the heart of everything we do.

From Shakespeares late meditation on freedom and forgiveness to Anton Chekhovs prescient final play, by way of Bertolt Brechts searing satire on the rise of fascism, our relationship to family, community and state is bought sharply into focus on stage in 2026.

We know that the stories we choose to tell as artists play a vital role in bringing people together, building connections and deepen our understanding of one another. In an increasingly volatile world, this matters to us more than ever.
An aerial view shows the extent of the damage to Sharon Hodgsons office building. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

A man in his 20s has been arrested by police after a suspected arson attack wrecked the constituency office of the Labour MP Sharon Hodgson.

There is little left of the first floor office in the Concord area of Washington, Tyne and Wear, after a fire that took place when it was unoccupied in the early hours of the morning.

Graffiti on the side of the building reads 328 days blood on your hands, although it is believed to have been there for as long as a year.

A No 10 spokesperson condemned the attack: There is absolutely no place for this kind of violence in our society. All those involved in our democratic process should be able to go about their vital work freely and with confidence.

A spokesperson for Hodgson, the MP for Washington and Gateshead South, said she would not be deterred and would continue to support her constituents.

Northumbria police said they were alerted to the fire at 12.20am on Thursday. They said: Emergency services attended and no one is reported to have been injured in the incident. A man in his 20s has subsequently been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and arson. He remains in police custody at this time.

Hodgson has been the areas MP since 2005. A spokesperson said: An incident occurred overnight at Sharons office. We will not be commenting or speculating while there is an ongoing police investigation. What we are clear on is there is no place for this kind of violence in our society.

Sharon will not be deterred and will continue to support her constituents in Washington and Gateshead South as she does day in, day out. Constituents should get in touch with their issues by emailing in the usual way.

The fire was at Vermont House, which is also the UK base for a small charity Niemann-Pick UK (NP UK), which supports patients and families with an extremely rare and life-limiting group of genetic diseases.

NP UKs head of communications, John Lee Taggart, said it was suspected that the fire had started in shared bins. We have been told by the landlord that theres not much left, he said. We have been in operation for 34 years and it is going to be really hard to recover. This is a vital service and we are a small charity.

On its Facebook page, the charity said: We have been dealing with threats, graffiti and demonstrations targeted at the MP in our office complex for many months, and this appears to be the culmination, although nothing concrete has been ascertained as of yet.

The building is near the A195 and businesses including a Kwik Fit, a Halfords Autocentre and a National Tyres branch. One man said he arrived for work at 7.45am and there were stacks of police, but he had no idea the MP had an office there.

Aerial images taken using a drone show the charred, destroyed roof of much of the building.

At the height of the blaze there were seven crews tackling the fire, a spokesperson for Tyne and Wear fire and rescue service said.

They added: The emergency call was received by our control room at 00.12, and the first crew arrived on Woodland Terrace in Concord within four minutes.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used jets and a hose reel to extinguish the fire and worked alongside blue-light colleagues to make the scene safe. No casualties were reported.

The Tyne and Wear chief fire officer, Peter Heath, said: I want to commend our crews for their swift and professional response to this serious incident. Their actions ensured the fire was contained quickly and safely, with no reported casualties. We continue to work closely with our partners as investigations progress.

Parliamentary colleagues of Hodgson sent their best wishes.

In a parliamentary debate, the Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said the thoughts of the whole house were with the MP: I think particularly in light of international events, and the tragic loss of colleagues, this all the more underlines why we must have security and safety to go about democratic debate in this country, whatever our views, in a safe and secure way.

On Facebook, the City of Durham Labour MP Mary Kelly Foy wrote: Sending love and support to my friend Sharon Hodgson MP and her team today after another attack on their office building.

After the shocking murder of a political influencer mere hours ago in the US, MPs in the UK woke to scenes of one of our colleagues offices being targeted. No matter which part of the political spectrum you fall into  this is intimidation by thugs and they must face the full force of the law.

Serious thought needs to be given to how this impacts staff in constituency offices, like Sharons, who frankly work their arses off every day to support local people.

Anyone supporting this type of violence toward MPs and their teams needs to take a long hard look in the mirror.
Sir Keir Starmer is facing questions over what he knew about Peter Mandelson's friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein before appointing him as the UKs ambassador to the US .

The Prime Minister sacked Lord Mandelson from the role amid fresh revelations over his relationship with the disgraced late financier.

Sir Keir Starmer told the Labour grandee to withdraw from the role, a Foreign Office minister confirmed on Thursday morning.

It comes after emails, unearthed by the Sun and Bloomberg, show Lord Mandelson had supported Epstein when the banker was being investigated for sexual offences.

Stephen Doughty told the Commons that Britains most senior diplomat in Washington had been removed.

"In light of additional information in emails written by Peter Mandelson, the Prime Minister has asked the Foreign Secretary to withdraw him as ambassador to the United States, the Foreign Office minister said.

"The emails show that the depth and extent of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment."

He added that Lord Mandelson's suggestion that Epstein's first conviction was wrongful, had been a major point in the Prime Ministers decision to sack him.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer ordered the withdrawal of Lord Mandelson as ambassador to the US (PA Archive)

Lord Mandelson is reported to have told Epstein to "fight for early release" shortly before he was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

He told him, "I think the world of you" the day before the disgraced late banker began his sentence for soliciting prostitution from a minor in June 2008.

Mr Doughty said: "In particular, Lord Mandelson's suggestion that Jeffrey Epstein's first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged is new information.

"And in light of that, and mindful, as we all are, of the victims of Epstein's appalling crimes, he has been withdrawn as ambassador with immediate effect."

In a further development on Thursday Sky News reported that it understood security services expressed concern about the appointment of Lord Mandelson but No 10 went ahead anyway.

The broadcaster said it had has been told by two sources that the security services flagged concerns as part of the vetting process for him being given the job.

No 10 did not judge these concerns as enough to stop the ambassadorial appointment, it claimed.

The prime minister's spokesman said vetting was handled by government departments and "any suggestion that No 10 was involved is untrue".

But it has has led to fresh questions over what the Prime Minister knew of Lord Mandelson's friendship with Epstein before appointing him and his judgement in doing so.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the latest revelations "point yet again to the terrible judgement of Keir Starmer".

She added that it is "imperative that all documents relating to Peter Mandelson's appointment are released immediately".

In a letter to staff at the embassy following his sacking Lord Mandelson said being ambassador had been "the privilege of my life".

He said he "deeply regrets" the circumstances around his departure and continues "to feel utterly awful about my association with Epstein 20 years ago and the plight of his victims".

Lord Mandelson this week spoke out about the scandal, admitting he feared more would come out and saying he had a tremendous sense of regret over his previous friendship.

It comes after the Prime Minister on Wednesday insisted he still had confidence in his ambassador when he faced questions in the Commons over a 2003 birthday note in which the peer described Epstein as his best pal.

The timing of his sacking causes a diplomatic headache ahead of Donald Trump's state visit next week, with the US president facing questions over his own ties with Epstein.

James Roscoe, the Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy Washington, has been appointed interim ambassador and will oversee MrTrumps state visit, Downing Street has confirmed.

Peter Mandelson called Jeffrey Epstein his 'best pal' in birthday message as a photo showed him in a bathrobe with the paedophile billionaire (House Oversight Committee)

The Liberal Democrats have said the allegations surrounding Lord Mandelson "cast a damning shadow" and questions remain about what the Government knew.

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said the Prime Minister should come before Parliament to explain why he was appointed US ambassador in the first place when some details of his relationship with Epstein were already known.

"The Prime Minister now needs to appoint an ambassador who will stand up to Trump, not cosy up to him and his cronies, Sir Ed said.

"He also needs to come before Parliament and explain why Lord Mandelson was appointed in the first place, given everything the Government knew then.

"This Government seems to be lurching from one crisis to another.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: Peter Mandelson is now gone, but Keir Starmer failed yet another key test of leadership.

I asked him about Peter Mandelsons links to the notorious paedophile Jeffrey Epstein six times at Prime Ministers Questions. And six times he could not provide any answers.

He gave his full backing to a man unfit for office.

Lord Mandelson's friendship with Epstein had been known about for many years, but emails appear to show that the relationship continued after the crimes committed by the financier had emerged.

The cache of documents obtained by Bloomberg showed that on the day before Epstein reported to jail in June 2008, Lord Mandelson told him "your friends stay with you and love you".

He said: "You have to be incredibly resilient, fight for early release and be philosophical about it as much as you can.

"The whole thing has been years of torture and now you have to show the world how big a person you are and how strong."

Lord Mandelson's position had appeared increasingly precarious in recent days after the release of the emails drew public criticism from members of the Government.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was "completely disgusted" by the messages, while Home Office minister Mike Tapp said they were"really disturbing and sickening".

Sir Keir found the emails "reprehensible", Downing Street said.

Asked if the Prime Minister shared the view of his two ministers, Sir Keir's spokesman said: "I think it's self-evident that he found the content of these emails reprehensible.

Asked what aspect Sir Keir found reprehensible, he said the depth and extent of the relationship shown in the emails was "new information".
A man has been arrested on suspicion of arson following a major fire at a Labour MPs constituency office which also wrecked a small charitys UK base.

Police attended the blaze at Washington and Gateshead South MP Sharon Hodgsons office at Vermont House in Concord, Washington, Tyne and Wear, in the early hours of Thursday.

Aerial images show the roof in one corner has been destroyed and much of the building has been damaged.

Graffiti was understood to have been daubed some time ago (Owen Humphreys/PA)

Graffiti on a wall read: 328 days blood on your hands.

It is understood to have been daubed on the wall last September and is believed to be a reference to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Last week a brick was thrown at a window of Vermont House, it is understood.

A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: Emergency services attended and no-one is reported to have been injured in the incident.

A man in his 20s has subsequently been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and arson.

He remains in police custody at this time.

The small charity Niemann-Pick UK (NP UK), which supports patients and families with an extremely rare and life-limiting group of genetic diseases, was also based at Vermont House.

Its offices were destroyed in the fire and a spokesperson said there had been a number of attacks on the MPs office in recent months.

A spokesperson for Ms Hodgson said: We will not be commenting or speculating while there is an ongoing police investigation, what we are clear on is there is no place for this kind of violence in our society.

Sharon will not be deterred and will continue to support her constituents in Washington and Gateshead South as she does day in, day out.

Downing Street condemned the attack on Ms Hodgsons office, saying politicians should be able to go about their work freely and with confidence.

On social media, City of Durham Labour MP Mary Kelly Foy wrote: After the shocking murder of a political influencer mere hours ago in the US, MPs in the UK woke to scenes of one of our colleagues offices being targeted.

No matter which part of the political spectrum you fall into  this is intimidation by thugs and they must face the full force of the law.

NP UKs head of communications, John Taggart, told the PA news agency that it was suspected that the fire started in shared bins and spread to the MPs office, then the charity and up to an NHS unit, all based at Vermont House.

Mr Taggart said: We are right in the middle of both of those and although we have not been allowed in to have a look, we have been told by the landlord that theres not much left.

We have been in operation for 34 years and it is going to be really hard to recover.

This is a vital service and we are a small charity.

On its Facebook page, the charity said the suspected arson attack was the latest in a series of incidents targeting the MP.

The charity said: We have been dealing with threats, graffiti and demonstrations targeted at the MP in our office complex for many months, and this appears to be the culmination, although nothing concrete has been ascertained as of yet.

The post added: This is a huge shock to the entire team, times for small charities are harder than ever and this is the absolute last thing we needed.

In the coming days we will contact our insurers, construct a continuity plan and seek legal advice if required.

The charity has set up a Gofundme page to help them continue, while stressing that it will do all it can for affected families and patients.

They said: As an organisation we deal with a rare disease we made it thorough the struggles of Covid and we will make it through this. Thank you x

To support the charity, visit the Gofundme page.
John Swinney, pictured at the White House with Peter Mandelson and Monica Crowley, Donald Trumps top diplomatic aide - Molly Riley

While the end of Peter Mandelson, as well as the manner of his going, were major embarrassments for Sir Keir Starmer, one of his last official duties as British ambassador to the United States, carried out in the White House, was also pretty unfortunate, at least as far as the UK Government is concerned.

This was his role in being seen to help John Swinney, the leader of the Scottish National Party, to make a personal plea for slashing the tariffs on Scotch whisky to Donald Trump, the president of the United States, in the Oval Office. At the Scottish First Ministers side, only two days before he was dismissed, was Lord Mandelson.

The incident was hailed by nationalists as evidence that the SNP was fighting for Scotlands most famous product, whereas the UK Government was not doing enough to persuade the government of the US  Scotch whiskys biggest overseas market  to reduce the 10 per cent tariff on the amber nectar.

This accusation was angrily rejected by senior Labour sources, who insist that reducing the high taxes on Scotch whisky had always been a prime objective of the Government.

John Swinney claims there is a real chance of a better deal for Scotland following his meeting with the president - Daniel Torok

Still, while politicians can put up with most things, being patronised is simply beyond the pale. Because not only did Swinney muscle in to this long lasting issue but to make matters worse he also thanked the British embassy in Washington for their help in getting that rare audience with the president.

He singled out embassy staff in Washington and the then ambassador, Lord Mandelson, for being helpful and providing him with extensive briefings before his 50 minute meeting with the president.

As a result, there is an undisguised fury among UK Government ministers because they fear that the SNP leader will claim all the credit if the US government agrees to scrap the 10 per cent tariff on scotch whisky for the American market.

And that is very much the way things are looking from the evidence at Holyroods Question Time when the SNPs Richard Lochhead , said that the First Ministers efforts had been widely welcomed by senior figures in the Scotch whisky industry.

His words will only add to the angst in the UK Governments ranks because no matter what encouragement Mr Swinney got from Mr Trump, only the UK Government can strike a lasting deal with the US government.

Nevertheless, there is a clear feeling in Whitehall and Westminster that Mr Swinney outsmarted them in getting a face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump on a key issue for the Scottish economy

However, it was acknowledged that the First Minister had made a good impression on the president when they met last month in Aberdeen. As one senior source: We couldnt prevent Mr Swinney meeting Donald Trump; after all this was an invitation from the president.

That said, critics reckoned that ministers and government officials could have done more to stop what is being seen as a propaganda win for the SNP.
Matt Damon says Beatles documentary convinced him to keep working with Ben Affleck

Matt Damon credited Peter Jacksons Beatles docuseries, Get Back, for inspiring him to make more films with Ben Affleck.

The Massachusetts-born actors have a long standing relationship with each other in Hollywood, first gaining high appraisal for their work together on Good Will Hunting, which earned them the Academy Award for Best Screenplay.

Over the past five years, the two have starred in three films together after Damon was moved to tears by the 2021 Beatles documentary, knowing that the famous band never worked together again.

Who cares if we oversaturate the marketplace with movies were both in? Damon said in an interview with GQ . Were crazy if we dont take advantage of the fact that we are both still here and able to do this.

Their most recent films include The Last Duel, Air and their latest, The Rip. The project, directed by Joe Carnahan of Smokin Aces and The Grey, portrays the dynamic duo in a cop thriller set in Miami.

Our goal is always to just make movies that we think well like, added Damon. Which is really the same calculus we use in our own careers as actors.

Affleck and Damon have known each other since the 1980s (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for SXSW)

Also featuring Steven Yuen and Teyana Taylor, Damon and Affleck pursued the project through their production company, Artist Equity. Founded by the two, the company focuses on profit-sharing for artists.

From settings in medieval France to a biopic on Air Jordans, the actors are keen to take on anything that Damon calls a good movie.

Affleck, meanwhile, calls his friend and colleague a versatile actor.

Every time I act with Matt is a humbling experience because I learn to appreciate further just how good an actor he is, Affleck added. He is really a master of realism and its something I deeply admire about him. One of many things.

The Rip premieres on Netflix 16 January 2026, but this is far from the last film featuring the two Oscar-winning actors.

We got more movies to make together, Affleck affirmed.

Outside of their combined works, Damon is due to star in Christopher Nolans The Odyssey on 17 July 2026.
Clemency Burton-Hill and James Roscoe at Hay Festival (Jabpromotions/Shutterstock)

After the dramatic sacking of Peter Mandelson following revelations about his links with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, James Roscoe has been drafted in to take over as Britains interim ambassador to the US while Downing Street begins the process of finding a permanent replacement.

While there is no suggestion yet that Mr Roscoe will take over from Lord Mandelson permanently, the career diplomat has a strong CV. He is currently the embassys head of mission, a role that sees him take over in the absence of the ambassador.

Before he arrived in Washington, he was the UK ambassador to the UN General Assembly from 2019. Prior to this, from 2016 to 2019, he held the roles of director for communication at the Cabinet Office and subsequently the Department for Exiting the European Union.

James Roscoe and Clemency Burton-Hill (Jabpromotions/Shutterstock)

He has also previously served as a press adviser at No 10, as well as having been a communications secretary to the late Queen.

And while Roscoe typically avoids the spotlight, his wife, Clemency Burton-Hill, has had her fair share of media coverage.

The former actor, classical violinist and political commentator is also a successful arts journalist and broadcaster  with the duo being dubbed one of Londons new power couples in 2014 by the Evening Standard.

Ms Burton-Hill, 43, was born in London. As well as having performed internationally as a violinist, she has also written five books and worked as an arts journalist  regularly featuring on the BBC as a classic music presenter.

James Roscoe is the Charge d'Affaires to the USA (UK Government)

After suffering a brain haemorrhage in January 2020, which left her in a coma, Ms Burton-Hill worked on a new BBC Arena film, My Brain: After the Rupture, about the experience and her recovery.

Unlike most brain injury survivors, I had a platform, or knew how to get the wheels turning, in terms of telling people how something like this could happen, she said.

I also had this very strong sense of wanting to do something useful for the community of people who have had brain injuries, especially as we still dont know what is going to happen to me ultimately, or anyone else, she told The Guardian ahead of the documentarys broadcast.

Ms Burton-Hill, who had to learn how to walk and talk again after the injury, said she felt it was really important that none of this was sugar-coated.

Clemency Burton-Hill suffered a brain haemorrhage in January 2020 (Clemency Burton-Hill/Instagram)

Yes, what happened to me was extraordinarily rare and random and weird and wild, and heres where all the platitudes and cliches come out, but we just dont know how long weve got. We dont know what is going to happen in five years or five minutes, she added.

The duo  who met in Sierra Leone in 2006  live in Washington DC with their sons, Tomos and Joe.
The tech world has pledged over $1m to create memorial murals of the Ukrainian refugee who was brutally murdered on a train in North Carolina last month.

Eoghan McCabe, the CEO and founder of Intercom, committed $500,000 to commission nationwide murals of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, who was stabbed to death on a light-rail train in South End, Charlotte, on August 22.

I am offering $500k in $10k grants to paint murals of the face of Iryna Zarutska in prominent US city locations, McCabe wrote on X.

The offer caught the attention of billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, who then announced that he would contribute $1m to the cause.

A source working on initiative, who chose to be anonymous, told Fox News Digital that they are currently in talks with more than 1,000 artists across the country to select who will paint the murals.

McCabe is also working on putting up posters featuring Zarutskas face throughout major U.S. cities, the source added.

The person familiar with the matter also told Fox that McCabe was inspired by his hope that Zarutska would not be forgotten after her brutal murder.

Shocking footage captured the stabbing of Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee killed on a North Carolina train last month (Charlotte Area Transit System)

Those looking to participate or donate to McCabes fund can contact his chief of staff, Katie Brenske Tolstedt, McCabe wrote on X.

Zarutska had recently arrived in the U.S. from her war-torn homeland when she was attacked by a passenger on a commuter train. In a GoFundMe, her family said she had been seeking safety and new beginnings in the U.S., but her life was tragically cut short.

Horrifying security footage of the incident shows a man standing up in the seat behind Zarutska and stabbing her with a switchblade before getting off the train at the next station.

Zarutskas family say she moved to the U.S. in search of safety and new beginnings (Supplied)

Decarlos Brown Jr, a homeless man reportedly suffering from schizophrenia, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

On Tuesday, the Department of Justice charged Brown with one count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system, a federal charge that could result in him facing the death penalty.

The horrific stabbing, which left Zarutska dead at the scene with multiple stab wounds, has sparked mass outrage across the country, including from president Donald Trump.

I have seen the horrific video of a beautiful, young Ukrainian refugee, who came to America to escape the vicious war in Ukraine, and was innocently riding the Metro in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was brutally ambushed by a mentally deranged lunatic, Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday.

Trump raged against the Democrats in light of Zarutskas killing, claiming they refuse to put bad people in jail (Donald J Trump)

The perpetrator was a well-known career criminal, who had been previously arrested and released on CASHLESS BAIL in January, a total of 14 TIMES. What the hell was he doing riding the train, and walking the streets? Criminals like this need to be LOCKED UP.

Trump, who is promoting an anti-crime message, continued: The blood of this innocent woman can literally be seen dripping from the killers knife, and now her blood is on the hands of the Democrats who refuse to put bad people in jail, including former disgraced governor and wannabe senator Roy Cooper.

Cooper, North Carolinas former Democratic governor who is now running for the Senate, has been accused by Republicans of being soft on crime during his two-term tenure.

Brown has an extensive criminal history that includes armed robbery, breaking and entering and larceny convictions dating back to 2011.

He spent six years in jail from 2014 to 2020 and was most recently arrested in January 2025 for misusing the 911 system after he allegedly submitted a complaint about police officers not taking a medical issue seriously. He had been awaiting a court-ordered mental health examination since July.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday he had asked NATO to open consultations under Article 4.

It comes after Polish forces shot down 19 drones over its airspace, marking the first known instance of a Nato member firing shots in the ongoing conflict.

Donald Tusk confirmed the action on Wednesday, describing it as a "large-scale provocation" by Russia and stating he had asked Nato to open consultations under Article 4 of the alliance's treaty.

The drones were intercepted during a significant Russian air attack on Ukraine.

However, Russias RIA state news agency quoted a diplomat dismissing the accusations as "groundless", asserting that Poland had provided no evidence of the drones Russian origin. Conversely, several European officials characterised the incursion as intentional, viewing it as a clear sign of Russian escalation.

What is Article 4?

Article 4 states that members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territory, political independence or security of any of them is threatened.

Under Article 4, discussions at the North Atlantic Council - NATOs principal political decision-making body - could potentially lead to some form of joint decision or action.

Since NATOs creation in 1949, Article 4 has been invoked seven times, most recently in February 2022 when Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia sought consultations following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

NATO ambassadors in November 2022 held an emergency meeting after a missile strike killed two people in Poland and raised global alarm that the war could spill into neighboring countries.

What is Article 5?

If Russia were determined to have attacked the territory of a member state, the focus would then shift to Article 5, the cornerstone of the founding treaty of NATO.

The alliance was created in 1949 with the U.S. military as its powerful mainstay essentially to counter the Soviet Union and its eastern bloc satellites during the Cold War.

Defence Secretary John Healey met his counterparts from the E5 Group of nations, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the UK, at Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich (Stefan Rousseau/PA) (PA Wire)

The charter stipulates that "the Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all."

"They agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defense recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area," it says.

How could the Ukraine war trigger Article 5?

Since Ukraine is not part of NATO, Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 did not trigger Article 5, though the United States and other member states rushed to provide military and diplomatic assistance to Kyiv.

However, experts have long warned of the potential for a spillover to neighboring countries on NATO's eastern flank that could force the alliance to respond militarily.

A still image from a video shows damaged roof, after Russian drones violated Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine and some were shot down by Poland, in Wyryki, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland, September 10, 2025 (POLSAT NEWS via REUTERS)

Such action by Russia, either intentional or accidental, has raised the risk of widening the war by drawing other countries directly into the conflict.

Is invoking Article 5 Automatic?

No. Following an attack on a member state, the others come together to determine whether they agree to regard it as an Article 5 situation.

There is no time limit on how long such consultations could take, and experts say the language is flexible enough to allow each member to decide how far to go in responding to armed aggression against another.

Article 5 has been activated once before on behalf of the United States, in response to the September 11, 2001, hijacked-plane attacks on New York and Washington.
CEO affair France

An Anglo-French politico I know once joked that if the Universal Declaration of Human Rights had been drawn up solely for the French it would have included the Right to Love Affairs.

The tradition of illicit passion is so deeply embedded in the national psyche that the expression cinq a sept (referring to the immediate post-work hours of 5-7pm) has come to mean clocking off to enjoy a lovers tryst.

This, after all, is the nation that gave us Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, a literary helter-skelter of licentiousness that still somehow feels embedded in the culture.

But could the long tradition of turning a blind eye to workplace liaisons be under threat after Nestle fired its French chief executive, Laurent Freixe, for failing to disclose a romantic relationship with a junior colleague within the company?

The crows had been circling the beleaguered boss for some months and, according to insiders, Freixe had continued to deny the affair until a forensic investigation by an external law firm substantiated the connection by sifting through emails and phone-call records.

Laurent Freixe, the French chief executive, denied allegations of a relationship with a junior colleague until an internal investigation backed him into a corner - Michele Limina/Bloomberg

If you wonder why Freixe bothered with such determined repudiation, I refer you to Bill Clinton in the wake of his clinch with Monica Lewinsky: the late novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez wrote of Clintons disavowals that he denied it with his head held high, like any self-respecting unfaithful husband.

And that has always been the French way. Its highly unusual over the Channel for bosses to lose jobs for sexual peccadilloes and a number of French commentators have already come out in favour of Freixe.

The newspaper Liberation thundered that it was utter hypocrisy for Nestle to sack the chief executive for a breach of conduct when the company promotes its products with the slogan Good food, good life (although it reportedly misled the public about the quality of its water brands Perrier, Contrex and Hepar  which were found to be contaminated with faecal bacteria at source).

Meanwhile, in Le Point magazine, the young literary critic Arthur Chevallier denounced what he called a medieval mindset and a return of Puritanism. He declared that firms that had rules requiring employees to declare office romances were displaying petty-mindedness, rage and jealousy.

Freixe was subjected to a forensic investigation by an external law firm - GABRIEL MONNET/AFP

Social media commenters took a similar tack. The political analyst Francois Valentin hailed the news of Freixes axing with the lament, The end times are near, with another wag on his thread saying, Thats like punishing an Englishman for drinking tea!

Its fair to say this isnt a niche view.

One gay 30-something French farmer I canvassed outright, who wished to remain anonymous, refused to believe that any kind of sexual Puritanism could have crept onto French shores.

If anything, the farmer said, people had become less uptight because there were fewer devout Catholics. He blamed the uptight Swiss (Nestle is listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange) for the sacking: In France everyone cheats. Its normal. It shocks nobody.

Private life

According to the Anglo-French writer Anne-Elisabeth Moutet, the sanctity of the love affair is pretty much written into French statutes; she pointed out that the French Code Civil states Everyone is entitled to have a private life.

She added: French employment law says [affairs] are none of your bosss business, as long as you are not in a conflict-of-interest situation because of your private life.

Moutet felt that Generation X and Boomers were particularly generous in interpreting what might constitute a conflict of interest.

Anne-Elisabeth Moutet says affairs are none of your bosss business - Lucas Schifres

She recalled starting work on a weekly news outlet in Paris in the Pliocene era, where the employee who had control over how many files I was entitled to consult at the cutting library of a larger newspaper was the editors girlfriend. I was deeply resentful of her, but nobody cared that her affair gave her disproportionate power. Affairs were part of office life.

Although one rare recent case was deemed too egregious a conflict by the French Supreme Court, which turned down an appeal by a male site manager against his dismissal over his office relationship.

The man also worked as the companys HR boss, meaning he oversaw negotiations with unions. This meant it was distinctly unfortunate that his long-term secret lover was a union rep, who had participated in strikes and been involved in negotiating redundancies.

The court made it clear it wasnt the work-related sexual relationship they objected to per se, but the fact he had violated his duty of loyalty to his employer, due to the concealment of the relationship.

French privacy laws means the individuals werent named, which is also very different to the British tradition for office romps, such as Matt Hancocks lockdown tryst, which was blazed all over the pages of our tabloids.

The American press and people can be even more disapproving, as we all witnessed when a couple at a Massachusetts Coldplay concert  the chief executive of AI firm Astronomer, Andy Byron, and the same companys HR boss Kristin Cabot  were caught smooching on the stadiums kisscam.

They were both married, just not to one another and within days both had exited the business.

Andy Byron, chief executive of AI firm Astronomer, and HR boss Kristin Cabot were caught cuddling together at a Coldplay concert in July, forcing them both to resign - TikTok

Another case thats viewed as highlighting the distinct differences between the libertine French and more prudish nations involves a man who died of a heart attack while having sex with a stranger on a business trip.

The Xavier X tribunal became infamous after a French court ruled in 2019 that his death was an industrial accident. This meant that his employers, the TSO railway company, were liable to pay his family compensation, even though he most certainly was not carrying out professional duties at the time of his demise. Americans and Brits were nonplussed at this uniquely Gallic viewpoint of responsibility.

There certainly appear to be far fewer high-profile instances of business bosses being fired for sexual misconduct in France compared to the UK. Over here, we tend to frown upon married people who have office affairs, or senior employees who sleep with juniors  as I know to my cost.

In the spring of 1994 I was let go from my dogsbody job at GQ magazine after starting a relationship with the deputy editor, even though neither of us were married (and went on to marry one another).

The then editor, who has since passed away, told me he couldnt have that kind of pillow talk going on between his PA and his number two. This was somewhat ironic as he was a man known for carrying on four or five relationships simultaneously, including one with a former assistant and another with a columnist.

In the rare instances when French workplace Lotharios are deemed beyond the pale, French custom appears to dictate that they quietly resign  especially if pressure keeps mounting  rather than being pushed out of office.

Take the former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who was implicated in a number of sexual scandals and affairs, including an affair with a subordinate.

He remained in office, only resigning when faced with other, entirely unrelated legal allegations (which he denied).

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), did not resign over his affair with a subordinate - Richard Drew/AP

Former French president Francois Hollande notoriously carried on a not-so-secret affair with actress Julie Gayet (who later became his second wife) during his time in office.

When the tendresse was publicly revealed, it bolstered his public approval ratings by 5 per cent.

Francois Hollande, the former French president, had an affair with actress Julie Gayet - Luc Castel

And pretty much every French person I spoke to seemed proud that the funeral of Francois Mitterand was attended by both his wife Danielle and his long-term mistress Ann Pingeot.

Even in the most unsavoury cases of alleged sexual misdemeanour, like that involving the deputy speaker of the French parliament, Denis Baupin, who stood accused of intimate touching and harassment by multiple women over a 15-year-period, dismissal is almost unheard of.

Baupin stood down while an official investigation proceeded and then had the titanic gall to sue his furious accusers.

Not a smart move: he ended up being ordered by a judge to pay a thousand euros in damages to all twelve of them.

Denis Baupin, deputy speaker of the French parliament, attempted to sue the women who accused him of harassment - Eric Feferberg/AFP

The interesting aspect is how divided French women often appear over such allegations. There have been prominent women-led movements denouncing sexism in France, such as the BalanceTonPorc (denounce your pig) movement launched by journalist Sandra Muller two days before MeToo went viral in the English-speaking world.

The use of pig was partly a reference to Harvey Weinstein, who was privately referred to by that soubriquet at Cannes.

But when the counter-sexism movement surged in France, it sparked a reactionary letter signed by prominent older women like Catherine Deneuve and the art critic Catherine Millet.

One notable passage deplored men being disciplined at work or forced to resign when their only crime was to touch a womans knee, talk about intimate things during a work meal, or send sexually-charged messages to women who did not return their interest.

French journalist Sandra Muller initiated the BalanceTonPorc (denounce your pig) movement before #MeToo drew awareness to the issue of sexual harassment - Timothy A Clary/AFP

Its certainly notable that all the 50-plus French women I spoke to felt office romances were fine so long as any romance is consensual and, you do whats necessary to be discreet.

One Breton maman said passionately of Freixes dismissal, Human nature clashes with the rules of corporate conduct and HR regulations.

Another woman from a grand country family, who also wished to remain anonymous, recalled that her ultra conservative grandmother called her travelling bag her baise-en-ville (there is no polite translation for fing in town), which she said tells you everything you need to know about the French habits of rural people going to the metropolis: They expect a little excitement.

In short, I couldnt find a single French person from the professional classes who felt the sacking of Freixe was going to mark the start of a cultural shift within the workplace.

A British journalist who lives in Paris told me firmly (declining to be named in case her spouse was alerted to her own dalliance): Love affairs will continue to be regarded as a work perk, so long as you dont flaunt them or throw a bin at your lovers head once its all gone sour.

Or, as Francois Valentin summarised the matter when I questioned him, The Swiss are very different beasts to us Frenchies. Its also fair to say we Rosbifs are very different to the escargot-munching French.

Nothing about sex shocks our cousins over the Channel  except, perhaps, for a man losing his job over a love affair.
The Oxford Union society has condemned comments made by its incoming president about the shooting of Charlie Kirk.

Charlie Kirk, a controversial right-wing activist and Trump ally, was killed at an event held at Utah Valley University on Wednesday in what authorities are calling a political assassination.

George Abaraonye, who was voted in as president-elect of the Oxford Union earlier this year, posted several comments appearing to celebrate what happened, The Telegraph reported.

One message was thought to have said Charlie Kirk got shot, lets f****** go, while another post on Mr Abaraonyes Instagram account read Charlie Kirk got shot loool.

Charlie Kirk had a debate with George Abaraonye at Oxford Union earlier this year (YouTube/Charlie Kirk/Oxford Union)

Kirk and Mr Abaraonye met during a debate on toxic masculinity held by the Oxford Union in May, The Telegraph reported.

In a statement posted on X on Thursday, Oxford Union criticised the students comments and said it firmly opposes all forms of political violence and strongly stands by our commitment to free speech and considerate debate.

The Oxford Union would like to unequivocally condemn the reported words and sentiments expressed by its president-elect, George Abaraonye, with regards to the passing of Charlie Kirk, the society said.

His reported views do not represent the Oxford Unions current leadership or committees view.

The statement added: We would like to reiterate that our condolences lie with Charlie Kirks family, especially his wife and young children, who are enduring such terrible grief.

The statement released by Oxford Union following reports published by The Telegraph (Oxford Union)

Describing itself as the most prestigious debating society in the world, the Oxford Union was founded in 1823 and counts historical figures such as Malcolm X among those to have attended its discussions.

US president Donald Trump paid tribute to Kirk as a martyr for truth and freedom after the shooting, while prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and other leading UK politicians also expressed condolences online.

A UK offshoot of the right-wing organisation Turning Point USA, which was co-founded by Kirk, will gather in Whitehall on Friday evening to remember him.
Peter Mandelson sacked as US ambassador after fresh revelations over his links to Epstein

Peter Mandelson has been dramatically sacked from his role as UK ambassador to the US following mounting pressure over his newly revealed links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

It comes after it was revealed that Lord Mandelson had maintained ties with Epstein after the disgraced former banker was jailed for a child sex offence.

Responding to an urgent question in the House of Commons, foreign minister Stephen Doughty said Lord Mandelson had been sacked after leaked emails showed that his relationship with Epstein, who died in 2019, was materially different from that known at the time of his appointment as UK ambassador to the US last year.

The Tories said it showed an extraordinary error of judgement by this prime minister and that it raised massive questions about what he knew about the pairs relationship and when.

Announcing Lord Mandelsons sacking, Mr Doughty said: In light of additional information in the emails written by Peter Mandelson, the prime minister has asked the foreign secretary to withdraw him as ambassador to the United States.

The prime minister initially said he had confidence in Peter Mandelson (PA Wire)

The emails show that the depth and extent of Lord Mandelsons relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment. In particular, Lord Mandelsons suggestion that Jeffrey Epsteins first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged is new information.

While there were cheers at the news in the Commons, Tory shadow minister Neil OBrien was not satisfied with the explanation after prime minister Sir Keir Starmer made a robust defence of Lord Mandelson just 24 hours ago.

He said: This is yet another extraordinary error of judgement by this prime minister. It raises massive questions.

It is not just that Peter Mandelson said that Epstein was his best pal and that he loved him. It wasnt just that he brokered a deal for him while he was business secretary. We now, of course, know that he was working for Epsteins early release after he was convicted.

And the simple question is this: is the minister now saying that the prime minister did not know about any of this at the point where [Lord Mandelson] was appointed? What did the prime minister know at the point of his appointment?

The sacking comes a day after Britains ambassador to Washington said he was very embarrassed to read a birthday message he wrote to Epstein in which he described him as his best pal.

The message, part of a 50th birthday book compiled for Epstein by convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, also saw Lord Mandelson express love for the financier and joke about entertaining his interesting friends.

While Sir Keir initially said he maintained confidence in Lord Mandelson, he faced growing pressure to sack him, with Labour MPs joining calls for the ambassador to go.

One leading critic, Labour MP Andy McDonald, praised the sacking in the Commons. He said: The prime minister has made exactly the right decision, and I think that has to be acknowledged: hes moved at pace.

Clearly the appointment process didnt pick up these issues  thats self-evident. So, can we have an assurance that there will be an inquiry as to why that was not the case?

Foreign affairs committee chairman Dame Emily Thornberry said it is right that Lord Mandelson has been sacked and that she had previously been blocked from questioning him.

She said: Since the first rumours of his appointment, my committee has repeatedly asked - publicly and privately - to question Peter Mandelson. It is right that he has now been sacked.

The FCDO should not have stopped us from asking questions. The government should welcome such scrutiny.

And Kemi Badenoch said Sir Keir had failed a test of leadership after he sacked Lord Mandelson as ambassador to the US.

The leader of the Conservative Party said in a statement: Peter Mandelson is now gone, but Keir Starmer failed yet another key test of leadership. I asked him about Peter Mandelsons links to the notorious paedophile Jeffrey Epstein six times at Prime Ministers Questions. And six times he could not provide any answers.

He gave his full backing to a man unfit for office. This matters for you. Because the prime minister has been distracted from the serious national security and economic challenges our country is facing.

He is a weak prime minister, who doesnt have the courage to do the right thing at the right time.

While Lord Mandelson has insisted he regrets ever having met Epstein, an investigation by The Telegraph has detailed a two-decade friendship between the pair, which continued even after Epstein was jailed for a child sex offence in 2008.

Its report includes claims that Epstein brokered a deal involving the then Mr Mandelson, who was the Labour business secretary at the time, in relation to the sale of a taxpayer-owned business, after Epstein had been convicted of child sex offences.

Speaking to The Suns Harry Cole on his YouTube channel after the controversial birthday message to Epstein was revealed, Lord Mandelson said: I find [the messages] very embarrassing to see and to read... but, as you say, they were written before he was indicted.

I just feel two things now. One, I feel a tremendous sense, a profound sense of sympathy for those people, those women, who suffered as a result of his behaviour and his illegal criminal activities. And secondly, I regret very, very deeply indeed, carrying on that association with him for far longer than I should have done.

It was a matter of years after I initially met him, and I regret very much that I fell for his lies.

Lord Mandelson went on to say that perhaps because I am a gay man he may have been blinded to Epsteins criminal behaviour.

But, asked whether there were more revelations to come about the relationship, Lord Mandelson said: I have no doubt at all that theres a lot of traffic, correspondence, exchanges between us  absolutely. And we know those are going to surface. We know theyre going to come out. We know theyre going to be very embarrassing, and [we] know that Im going to profoundly regret ever having met him and been introduced to him in the first place.
Poland has warned it is closer to conflict than at any point since the Second World War following an unprecedented incursion into Nato territory by Russian drones.

The countrys air defences were scrambled after 19 projectile UAVs entered its airspace during a major attack on western Ukraine, Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said.

It marks the first time a Nato country has fired any bullets in relation to Russias full-scale war in Ukraine since the conflict began in 2022. Mr Tusk has invoked Article 4 of the Nato treaty, demanding consultation with its member states.

One of the downed Shahed-type drones that crashed inside Poland (Telewizja Republika)

We are dealing with a large-scale provocation, he said on Wednesday. We are ready to repel such provocations. The situation is serious, and no one doubts that we must prepare for various scenarios.

The fact that these drones, which posed a security threat, were shot down changes the political situation. This situation brings us the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II.

The incident has drawn fierce condemnation from Kyiv, Warsaw, and allies in Nato and Europe, who believe it was a deliberate act.

US president Donald Trump is set to speak with his Polish counterpart Karol Nawrocki on Wednesday as the Ukraine crisis threatens to spiral. Washingtons ambassador to Nato vowed that the US will defend every inch of Nato territory, a welcome statement for European leaders amid concerns about Mr Trumps reluctance to engage militarily in Europe.

Polish police and military police secure parts of a damaged UAV shot down in Wohyn, Poland (AP)

British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said he had been in touch with Mr Tusk to make clear the UKs support for Poland and Ukraine, and thanked Nato and Polish forces for their rapid response.

This mornings barbaric attack on Ukraine, and the egregious and unprecedented violation of Polish and Nato airspace by Russian drones, is deeply concerning, Sir Keir said in a statement. This was an extremely reckless move by Russia and only serves to remind us of President Putins blatant disregard for peace, and the constant bombardment innocent Ukrainians face every day.

Sir Keir said the UK and its partners will continue to ramp up the pressure on Putin until there is a just and lasting peace.

Moscow has denied responsibility for the incident, with a senior Russian diplomat in Poland suggesting that the drones had come from the direction of Ukraine.

Firefighters work on the destroyed roof of a house, after Russian drones violated Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine (Reuters)

Speaking to parliament on Wednesday after an emergency meeting with the military, Mr Tusk said 19 objects had intruded into Polish airspace overnight, at least three of which had been shot down.

Polish authorities reported drone debris around the eastern towns of Wyryki, Wyhalew, Czosnowka and Czesniki. Debris was also found in Mniszkow, a village in the central Lodz region, and in Olesno, a town 400km (250 miles) from Polands border with Ukraine.

In Wyryki, eastern Poland, a drone or similar object struck a residential building and tore off its roof. There have been no reports of injuries across Poland.

Ukraines leader Volodymyr Zelensky said there is increasing evidence that Poland was deliberately targeted.

There have been previous incidents of individual Russian drones crossing the border and travelling a short distance into neighbouring countries. But this time, we are recording a much larger scale and deliberate targeting, he said.

Polish prime minister Donald Tusk held an extraordinary government meeting with military and emergency services officials (Reuters)

Nato secretary general Mark Rutte said that a full assessment of the incident had not yet been made, but added that whether it was intentional or not, it is absolutely reckless, it is absolutely dangerous.

A source told the Reuters news agency that Nato was treating the incident not as an attack but as an intentional incursion.

Polish F-16 fighter jets, Dutch F-35s, Italian AWACS surveillance planes and mid-air refueling aircraft jointly operated by Nato were involved in the overnight operation, according to the source.

Mr Rutte is in touch with Warsaw, which is consulting closely with the alliance on next steps.
Officers investigating a series of revolting antisemitic attacks on Jewish premises have issued an appeal for support from the public.

Four synagogues and a private residence in Golders Green had a substance smeared on them, while liquid was thrown towards a school and a car on two other occasions, police say.

Seven Jewish premises in total have been targeted in separate incidents in Barnet in north London in recent weeks.

Following enquiries, police said they believe the same suspect is likely responsible for all seven offences which are being investigated as religiously-motivated criminal damage.

No arrests have yet been made.

Detective Superintendent Katie Harber from the North West Command, said: These are revolting and appalling acts and we are urging the public to help us identify the perpetrator.

Police and local partners continue to carry out extensive CCTV enquiries which have established the same suspect is likely responsible for all seven offences. Detectives and neighbourhood officers are working at pace to identify them.

We are very aware of how distressing these offences have been for those who have been targeted. We will not tolerate this kind of behaviour.

We are actively engaging with the local community and remain in discussion with community partners and key stakeholders to provide reassurance and support. Please speak to a local officer with any concerns you have.

Police were first called with a report of religiously-motivated criminal damage relating to a synagogue on the morning of Wednesday September 3.

There were further reports that similar offences had taken place in the early hours of Thursday, September 4 at a private residence and on Sunday, September 7 at another synagogue.

On Monday, police received reports about an incident where a liquid was thrown at a school which is believed to have taken place in the early hours.

On Tuesday, police received a report about a substance being smeared on another synagogue on Tuesday, September 2.

And today, police received reports of a substance smeared on the doors of another synagogue, believed to have taken place overnight.

Officers have released an image and CCTV footage of a man they would like to speak to in connection with the investigation.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Met via 101 quoting 1071/03SEP. If you wish to remain anonymous do speak to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Lord Peter Mandelson has written a letter to all the staff at the UK embassy in Washington DC following Sir Keir Starmer's decision to sack him.

The Foreign Office confirmed on Thursday that Lord Mandelson had been stripped of the position in the wake of fresh revelations about his relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The now former ambassador wrote to staff that he continues to "feel utterly awful about my association with Epstein", and said he has "no alternative to accepting the prime minister's decision".

Sir Keir Starmer is understood to have made the decision to remove Lord Mandelson from the post on Thursday morning after new emails revealed the Labour peer had sent messages of support to Epstein even as he faced jail for sex offences in 2008.

The letter can be read in full below.

Dear All,

As you will have seen my position as Ambassador to the United States has come to an end.

Being Ambassador here has been the privilege of my life, and Reinaldo's. I could not have wished for a better welcome by you all, a better introduction to the job or better support while here.

Your professionalism has been superb, more so than I have experienced in any public role. For this I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

The circumstances surrounding the announcement today are ones which I deeply regret. I continue to feel utterly awful about my association with Epstein twenty years ago and the plight of his victims.

I have no alternative to accepting the Prime Minister's decision and will leave a position in which I have been so incredibly honoured to serve.

The relationship between Britain and the United States of America is a unique one. I know that you will continue to serve and deepen that relationship from DC right across our brilliant network.

I wish to thank you for all of your efforts in serving me as your Ambassador.

In a short time we have achieved so much. We leave the relationship with the US in a really good condition, with a magnificent State Visit and the new US-UK Technology Partnership - my personal pride and joy that will help write the next chapter of the special relationship - set for next week.

Thank you from me, Reinaldo [his spouse] and Jock [their dog]. I will treasure the experience and memory of having worked with you all.

Very best

Peter
The frontrunners: (clockwise from top left) Catherine Ashton, Valerie Amos, Richard Moore, George Osborne, Christian Turner, Lindsay Croisdale-Appleby, Karen Pierce, Barbara Woodward and (centre) David Miliband. Composite: Alamy/Shutterstock/AP/Reuters

Peter Mandelson has been sacked as Britains ambassador to the US, ending days of speculation over his position after it emerged that he told the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to fight for early release from jail.

Mandelson was under increasing pressure over his friendship with the disgraced financier. No 10 has confirmed that the deputy head of mission, James Roscoe, will be acting interim ambassador, with Donald Trumps state visit imminent.

But for the permanent role, will Starmer choose another political player or an experienced diplomat?

The runners and riders

Karen Pierce

Pierce has had the job before  during the first Trump presidency  and is known to have made close connections with Republicans and was well liked in Washington. Many in Whitehall believed Pierce should have remained as ambassador but she has since moved to a role in the Balkans. Still a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) insider, it would be unusual to move her back but the right choice if Starmer wants a seasoned pro with no baggage.

Former US ambassador

David Miliband

Miliband, the brother of the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, quit UK politics after his brother defeated him for the Labour leadership in 2010. He has spent more than a decade in the US as head of one of the biggest international aid organisations.

Often tipped for a comeback to UK politics, he is known to have been shortlisted for the role but No 10 insiders believed he would have been a better fit had Kamala Harris won the presidency for the Democrats. Whitehall insiders do not believe No 10 will go for another candidate who might pose political risk.

Former Labour cabinet minister and president of the International Rescue Committee

Christian Turner

His name has been the most frequent tip of Whitehall sources. Turner has long been due a big promotion and was heading to New York  but Foreign Office insiders believe he would be a serious contender to take on the Washington job instead. He has had a slew of high-profile foreign postings and has been close to politics as international affairs adviser to Theresa May.

Incoming UN ambassador

Richard Moore

As spy-in-chief, Moore will have cultivated very close relationships in Washington and the Pentagon, essential for the job with the world in turmoil. He knows the Foreign Office well, having previously been its director general of political affairs. Several sources have tipped him for the job.

Outgoing head of MI6

Catherine Ashton

Ashton is a Labour peer and former minister who also served as an EU trade commissioner. In 2009, she became the EUs foreign policy chief, subsequently winning praise for her role in relations with Kosovo and Iran. She is one of the most distinguished British diplomats of her generation but less likely to have any current links with the US administration.

Longtime career diplomat

George Osborne

Osborne is said to have been approached about the job by No 10, despite a deep dislike for the austerity chancellor within the Labour party. He has similar appeal to Mandelson: a serious schmoozer who cultivates friendships with important people. Starmers biographer Tom Baldwin said No 10 aides invested considerable effort in unsuccessfully pushing the former Tory chancellors application. However, having been burned by appointing Mandelson, Osborne looks unlikely.

Former chancellor

Valerie Amos

Amos, a close friend of the Labour donor Lord Waheed Alli, was said to be another favourite for the job had Harris won the presidency. She was the first black woman to serve in the cabinet as Tony Blairs international development secretary. Colleagues have described her as extremely discreet and professional.

Former cabinet minister and diplomat

Lindsay Croisdale-Appleby

Croisdale-Appleby is the FCDO insiders tip for a possible move to Washington. He is the current EU ambassador and a Spanish speaker, useful in the US given its large Hispanic community. He would be a safe choice as a very experienced diplomat.

Ambassador to the EU

Barbara Woodward

One of three women interviewed for the top job at MI6, Woodwards diplomatic career has put her at the heart of some of the biggest international crises. But she was previously criticised for being too conciliatory towards Beijing during her time as Chinas ambassador.

Outgoing permanent secretary for the UK to the UN
This downed Gerbera drone was found around 180 miles from the Ukrainian border

Germany has followed Britains pledge to provide Poland with stronger air defences after Russia launched a series of drones into its airspace.

Nato allies also vowed to send more troops and aircraft to deter Russia and bolster their eastern flank.

The German defence ministry said on Thursday it was doubling the number of Eurofighter jets it currently deploys to defend Polish airspace from two to four, following a similar pledge from Britain to provide jets and air defence systems.

Germany has also extended its deployment of a rapid response air squadron at Laage air base, which handles Polish air defence missions, until Dec 31.

Polish national territorial defence volunteers take away a downed drone in Wohyn - Wojtek Jargilo/EPA/Shutterstock

Following repeated violations of [Nato] alliance airspace, the German government has decided to extend and expand Germanys contribution to the defence of Polish airspace (Air Policing Poland), the German defence ministry said.

The Netherlands will send air defence systems, artillery and 300 troops, while the Czech Republic is sending three Mi-171Sh helicopters and 100 soldiers, Polish defence minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz announced on Thursday.

Sweden was also sending an urgent dispatch of further aid to Poland, including air defence systems and aircraft, he added.

Meanwhile, France will deploy three fighter jets to help protect Polish airspace.

As tensions heighten, Russia urged Poland to reopen its border with Belarus, Moscows close ally, calling the closure destructive and warning of consequences.

The border was closed ahead of joint Russian-Belarusian war games.

Russia's drone strikes in Poland

Polish and Dutch fighter jets were scrambled into the skies over allied territory late on Tuesday after Moscow launched a long-range missile and drone bombardment at neighbouring Ukraine.

No one was killed or injured during the incident, in which about 19 drones, including Gerbera decoy UAVs, crossed into Polish airspace.

Two of them were shot down by Dutch F-35s involved in the operation to counter the Russian incursion, while the three others crashed in more mysterious circumstances.

But the incursion appeared to be an attempt by Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, to test Natos air defences and its willingness to respond to provocation, such as triggering the Article 5 mutual defence pact.

Meanwhile, a Telegraph analysis of an image circulating widely on social media found that Nato fighter jets could have used missiles costing around $2m (1.5m) to shoot down Russian drones.

The photograph appeared to show the remains of a AIM 120C-7, also known as an AMRAAM missile, which is in the arsenal of many Nato allies  including the Netherlands, Poland and Italy  that took part in Wednesdays air defence mission.

The Russian drones flown into Polish airspace, based on the designs of Iranian Shahed UAVs, are believed to cost around $10,000 (7,400) to manufacture.

Sir Keir Starmer held further talks with Germanys Friedrich Merz and Frances Emmanuel Macron on strengthening both Polish and Ukrainian air defence on Thursday.

Discussing how the UK and France could bolster Polands defences, the Prime Minister said the UK stood ready to support any further Nato deployments to the region, a Downing Street spokesman said.

The Telegraph on Wednesday reported that Britain was considering dispatching RAF Typhoons or a Sky Sabre ground-based air defence system to the region.

Defences such as US Patriot surface-to-air missile launchers have become coveted resources since the conflict began - Stringer/Reuters

The day after Russias attack, The Telegraph saw Polish soldiers helping to clear up the house which was most severely damaged by Moscows drones, in the eastern village of Wyryki-Wola.

The older couple who were living in the house, which had its roof caved in by a Russian drone shot down by Nato fighter jets, have been named as Ala and Tomasz Wesoowski.

A car was seen parked outside the house on Thursday which had a large dent in the rear boot door and a smashed rear windscreen, presumably from being struck by falling debris when the drone crash-landed.

This damaged drone was found by police in Czosnowka, Poland

Residents told The Telegraph that when they were first awoken by the sound of jets flying overhead in the middle of the night, they feared that a full-scale war had broken out, one that may have evoked traumatic memories for some of Hitlers Sept 1 1939 invasion.

Wioletta, a 43-year-old shop worker, said: I woke up at two in the morning because I heard noises in the sky. They were planes flying over our area, military planes. Later, my daughter woke me up [again] sometime after 6am, because there were sounds of planes shooting over our house, over our village.

My daughter also heard an explosion. First, she heard a plane flying by, and then she heard the explosion. At first, I thought maybe it was a gas explosion, because in this area military exercises often take place, and you can also frequently hear planes.

Thats why I thought it might be some kind of accident. But 15 minutes later, my sister called me and said, Listen, I think weve been attacked by the Russians.

My sister was scared, and her daughter panicked. She was crying and kept saying that this is the start of a war. At first, I myself didnt know what to think and was afraid, but later I got a message from my husband that something hit one one of the houses in the village.

Miroslav, who lives four houses down from the crash site, said: I woke up to smoke a cigarette as usual, and I heard the sound of an aeroplane over my head and then the huge noise of a drone hitting the house.
A police officer stops people from approaching as Charlie Kirk is carried into the back of a black SUV shortly after being shot - Jeremy King/UGC/AFP via Getty

As Charlie Kirk spoke under a gazebo on the campus of Utah Valley University, an unknown shooter was training his sights on the 31-year-old conservative influencer who had made his name through a willingness to debate anyone, anywhere on any subject.

He had picked his spot carefully: the vantage point around 130 metres away on the roof of the Losee Centre was the only one that provided both a direct line-of-sight to Kirk and an easy escape route.

Photographs released by the FBI show a male  clearly a young man  in a black cap, dark sunglasses and black T-shirt emblazoned with an American flag motif walking up a stairway to the roof, where he was filmed lying prone to steady his aim.

At around 12.20pm, he fired a single bullet. Kirk, a married father of two, jerked back in his chair.

This was not a spur-of-the-moment killing. And the killer did not take several shots, like Thomas Matthew Crooks in his attempted murder of Donald Trump.

And as panic broke out in the crowd of 3,000 watching students, a second piece of video footage captures the sight of a male racing across the roof of the multi-level campus building.

While first responders made a desperate effort to save Kirk, who was spurting blood from a wound in his neck, the assassin is said to have jumped down from the roof and walked out through the car park into the nearby neighbourhood.

Credit: Reuters / Tanner McKay Maxwell

It was well prepared and well planned, Stuart Kaplan, a former FBI officer, told The Telegraph.

When you take a look at the venue, the distance, the stress, the concealment, the environmental factors, I would believe that this is not an amateur who just decided to find a rooftop on just any given day and got lucky.

Offering a reward of $100,000 (74,000) for information leading to the shooters arrest, the FBI said they had good video footage of the suspect and were confident in their ability to track him down.

Agents were door-knocking in the area he is believed to have fled through, asking residents for access to their doorbell cameras.

In the woods just off campus, officers found a high-powered, bolt-action rifle containing one spent cartridge and three more, unused rounds.

Authorities were examining the ammunition for clues to the killers motive: early reports by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) said the bullets were inscribed with pro-transgender and anti-fascist ideology, but a senior official told The New York Times that the preliminary evidence was unverified and may have been misread.

Also found nearby was a screwdriver that could have been used to assemble and disassemble the gun, a .30-06 Mauser bolt-action rifle, CNN reported.

The college-age gunman, who had a black backpack in the images released by the FBI, blended in well with other students, said Beau Mason, Utahs public safety chief.

Credit: X / @_opencv_

Without an immediate breakthrough in the case, there were other traces of the gunman to draw on, including a print of his palm, forearm and shoe, the FBI said.

Attention is also likely to turn to how, and where, the killer practised with the gun he used to silence one of Mr Trumps fiercest defenders.

Ballistics experts agreed that the shot would have required training, although one of Americas most famous snipers said it had the hallmarks of an internet shooter rather than military or other professional.

Kirk was handing out hats at the Utah Valley University event - Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP

John Miller, a law enforcement and intelligence analyst, said the fact that a single shot was fired from 130 metres suggested the perpetrator was not new to shooting. This is someone who knew exactly what they were doing this wasnt an amateur.

It is considered comparatively easy for a new marksman to hit a torso-sized shape with a powerful, scoped rifle fired from that distance. Striking the head or the neck, on the first shot, would be less likely.

US Sergeant Nicholas Ranstad, whose 2065-metre kill in Afghanistan once held the record for longest sniper shot, said there were still signs of amateurism.

Credit: Reuters / Kevin

It is considered comparatively easy for a new marksman to hit a torso-sized shape with a powerful, scoped rifle fired from that distance. Striking the head or the neck, on the first shot, would be less likely.

Within seconds of the shot, Kirks security had dragged him to the grass, desperately applying pressure on the gaping wound the bullet had opened up.

By then, Kirk had likely lost a critical amount of blood.

A team of six men carried a horizontal Kirk to an awaiting black SUV, his limp body covered in blood.

Dr Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University, said the shot was not survivable.

At 12.50pm JD Vance, the vice-president, said on X: Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk. A genuinely good guy and a young father.

Crowds run from the scene - Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP

The private car transported Kirk to hospital where he died, Mr Trump confirmed shortly before 3pm.

Amid the chaos, an elderly man mistaken as Kirks assassin was hauled away by police but later released.

At 4.21pm, Kash Patel, the FBI director, appeared to confirm that the shooter had been found.

The subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody, he wrote on X.

Less than five minutes later, officials in Utah said a person of interest had been detained.

But the two suspects were quickly released by police, including the old man who was filmed being picked up off his feet and taken away by police.

On Thursday night, Mr Vance travelled to Salt Lake City to meet with Kirks family, including his wife and two young daughters.

The casket containing his body was then due to be flown on Air Force Two to Phoenix, Arizona.

Panic set in when the shooting happened at the amphitheatre - Trent Nelson/Salt Lake Tribune/Reuters

The event in Utah had been billed as the first stop on Kirks American Comeback Tour.

But the man who could handle any abuse thrown at him, ever calm, ever approachable, was silenced only 15 minutes after he had started to speak.

At 12pm, the tall, confident young man sat down in front of thousands of students at the Utah institute, a conservative-leaning university unlike many of the more hostile audiences where he merrily plied his trade.

As ever, it was the liberals he offered to debate  challenging them to prove me wrong.

Many formed a queue for the chance to take a swing, while others watched on from balconies above.

At around 12.15pm, he began to take questions. First on the agenda was transgender violence and mass shootings.

Do you know how many transgender Americans have been shooters over the last 10 years, one attendee asked Kirk.

Too many, he replied, to the roar of the crowd. Seconds later, the crack of a rifle split the air.

As soon as it happened, everyone just came running through... and were screaming, Run, run, theres a shooter and screaming that he had been shot in the neck, Ethan Reeves, a student, told The Telegraph.

People were very distressed, running away, crying and dropping stuff as they were just trying to get out of the way as quickly as they could.

According to reports, there were no more than six police officers at the event and student attendees said that anyone who wanted could have walked in.

By late afternoon, the campus was closed and blocked off by yellow police cordons.

Empty of students, the place felt like a ghost town. A day meant to celebrate robust debate had turned into one of awful, echoing silence.
South Africa was the first on the continent to legalize same-sex marriage in 2006, with both partners free to chose their surname after the marriage ((Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images))

South Africa's Constitutional Court has declared an apartheid-era law unconstitutional, which had previously barred husbands from adopting their wives' surnames or hyphenating them.

The landmark ruling, delivered on Thursday, mandates an amendment to existing legislation, thereby paving the way for men to legally take their spouse's last name if they wish.

The decision has ignited a mixed and often heated debate across social media platforms. While some have lauded it as a progressive step for Africa's leading democracy, others have vehemently criticised it as a departure from the nation's established culture and traditions.

The top court gave South African lawmakers and President Cyril Ramaphosa two years to amend the legislation. The current law  known as the Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1992  only allows a woman to change her family name when her marital status changes.

South Africa Court Marriage Surnames (Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The decision was the outcome of a 2024 case brought by two couples who sued the Department of Home Affairs for gender discrimination. Andreas Nicolaas Bornman and Jess Donnelly-Bornman wanted both to have their family names hyphenated while Henry van der Merwe wanted to take his wife Jana Jordaan's family name.

A lower court ruled last September that the current law was unconstitutional and amounted to gender discrimination. The Constitutional Court on Thursday upheld that decision, with Justice Loena Theron saying the existing law was unfair and discriminated based on gender."

Some social media users said the ruling could help preserve rare family names. Others were less impressed, claiming it would erase traditional customs. One user said on X that the ruling is intended to destroy the norms and values of Black Indigenous Africans.

South Africa was the first on the continent to legalize same-sex marriage in 2006, with both partners free to chose their surname after the marriage.

The government also recognizes polygamous marriages, in which men can take multiple wives according to their ethnic groups customs.
Keir Starmer

Keir Starmers relaunch is dead on arrival. Its hard to believe that only 10 days ago, the PM returned from the summer recess determined to reset his premiership. The No 10 machine was intending to return if not with a bang then with a well-oiled hum, with a new delivery phase of government, marked by a string of appointments and policy announcements.

The hope was that Starmer might pull off something similar to Harold Wilson, who was almost destroyed by a currency crisis when he first came to power, but recovered, and went on to pass landmark social reforms.

But the PMs attempt at a reset has crumbled. He faces serious questions over his political judgment, after belatedly sacking Peter Mandelson.

In the space of a week, he has lost his deputy, been forced into a major reshuffle and had to contend with the launch of a damaging and distracting deputy leadership contest. And this is not even his first major political crisis. Starmer has begun to make a habit of losing: first his chief of staff Sue Gray in October, then his transport secretary Louise Haigh in November, and this May an unlosable by-election, Runcorn and Helsby.

As Starmer is engulfed by political scandal, any tentative trust that voters had in his partys managerial competence is going up flames. It is starting to feel as though we might be entering Starmers end game.

The PMs bungled sacking of Mandelson could be a turning point for Labour. The country was still trying to digest the resignation of the disgraced Angela Rayner when the latest seedy details of Mandelsons dealings with Jeffrey Epstein surfaced. It feels like the final confirmation of a damning revelation: namely that a Labour Government endeavouring to lead from the moral high ground  with a return of politics to public service  is instead sinking in a quagmire of sleaze. Starmer has been keen to present his front bench as a disciplined army of technocratic fixers. They increasingly resemble an uncontrolled band of slippery operators.

While the Mandelson revelations make Labour look sordid, the deputy leadership contest makes the movement look absurd. At a time when Britain is grappling with crises on all fronts, from its asylum backlog to failing hospitals, it is ridiculous that Labour MPs are now fully engrossed in a quasi-Marxist beauty pageant, with the two remaining hopefuls competitively promulgating stories of their deprived upbringings and trying to prove they are prolier than thou.

Though she might be Starmers preferred candidate, a victory for the favourite Bridget Phillipson, would still present problems for Keir Starmer. Like no other politician, the Education Secretary strikes at the nations growing sense of unease that they have not voted in a reformed and moderate centre-Left party but rather the same old socialist Labour familiar from before the Blairite interregnum.

Phillipson is responsible for Labours most bewildering act of vandalism since it came to office, with the VAT hit on private schools.

That a politician who, in order to curry favour with the Labour hard Left, is content to crush the dreams of self-sacrificing parents who want to give their children the best possible education could soon be the PMs number two would send out a portentous signal to the middle class.

Her rival Lucy Powell presents an even bigger headache for Starmer. As a trade union advocate who described grooming gangs as a dog whistle issue, Powells politics embody everything that Labour is supposed to be moving away from.

As Labours internal politics turn toxic, its economic credibility is imploding. Starmers sidelining of Reeves, and appointment of Minouche Shafik  a proponent of raising VAT and income levies  suggests that the Government will raise taxes in its autumn Budget. The trickle of poor economic indicators is becoming a flood.

Make no mistake, the PM is in trouble. According to close allies, Starmers strategy has been to try to contextualise all of his difficult decisions in terms of growing global instability and the mess left by the Tories.

Growing evidence of Labours culpability in Britains struggles as it refuses to meaningfully attempt to rein in ever rising spending has demolished the plausibility of this line of defence. Labour does not dare to bring public spending in line with the post-war norm of 40 per cent of GDP. The public are waking up to impending economic catastrophe.

The implications of this for Labours future cannot be overstated. Starmers is an accidental government, swept to power on a wave of anti-Tory sentiment. Many voted for Labour in the belief that they would provide stable sensible and quietly bold leadership. Voters are now starting to suspect that Starmers Labour is a wolf in sheeps clothing  tempted by ideological extremism and susceptible to outbursts of recklessness.

The failure of Starmers latest relaunch has plunged the PMs future into dangerous territory. Speaking to the PMs allies, they are keen to depict him as a reformer politician who has a track record of saving failing entities  not least the once Corbynite Labour Party  making him an ideal candidate for the task of patiently and painstakingly rebooting Britain. But there are warning signs that the PMs support base may be crumbling.

A growing sense of unease among Starmer loyalists has been palpable for some time. Even before the latest slew of fiascos there was rising discord over the PMs failure to engage with his back-bench supporters and reluctance to discipline wayward MPs.

With the PM seemingly artless in the basic principles of carrot and stick, some insiders are concerned that Labour rebels who have crossed the Rubicon have calculated that it serves their personas and careers better to be Lefty rebels rather than loyal foot soldiers.

Meanwhile Red Wall MPs facing a Reform wipe-out who had been eyeing up Angela Rayner as a future saviour, are now scouring the party with renewed urgency for a charismatic leader who can match Nigel Farage.

If the PMs disastrous first 100 days in office raised questions about whether he is up to the role of leading the country, then an equally disastrous second coming has provided the answer. Surely his days are now numbered.
Support for the monarchy has hit a record low although more than half of people favour keeping the royals over an elected head of state, according to new research.

The proportion of people believing it is important to keep the monarchy has fallen from 86%, when the question was first asked in 1983 for the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey, to 51% in 2024.

This is the lowest level of support recorded since the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) began tracking public opinion some 40 years ago.

The survey findings come ahead of the state visit of US President Donald Trump to the UK.

The King will host the US leader at Windsor Castle from September 17-19, when Mr Trump will be feted with a ceremonial welcome and a state banquet.

The royal family on the Buckingham Palace balcony at Trooping the Colour (Aaron Chown/PA)

The trip will be Mr Trump's second state visit to the UK, an unprecedented gesture for a US president.

According to the latest polling by NatCen, around one in three (31%) felt the monarchy was not important when asked last year, up from one in 10 in 1983.

Some 15% now say they support the abolition of the monarchy, up from just 3% in 1983.

In a new question, survey participants were asked to choose between keeping the monarchy or replacing it with an elected head of state.

More than half (58%) said they favoured retaining the monarchy, with 38% saying they would prefer an elected head of state.

The results also showed younger people were more likely to favour an elected head of state, and that keeping the monarchy was a stance strongest among supporters of the Conservative and Reform UK parties (82% and 77% respectively).

President Donald Trump was invited to the UK for a state visit (PA Wire)

Labour supporters were almost evenly split, with 49% wanting to keep the monarchy and 48% favouring an elected head of state.

More than half of survey participants identifying as Scottish and almost two thirds of Welsh survey participants said they favoured an elected head of state, 59% and 64% respectively.

Support for the monarchy was strongest among those identifying as British (62%) or English (68%).

In an accompanying blog, NatCen said: "Support for the monarchy is strongest among older, right-leaning individuals, while those who favour an elected head of state tend to be younger and more left-leaning."

Alex Scholes, NatCen research director, said: "Support for the monarchy is now at its lowest level since our records began, with more people than ever questioning its future.

"At the same time, when asked to choose directly, a majority of the public still prefer to keep the monarchy over moving to an elected head of state.

"This tension, between declining importance and continued preference, will be crucial in shaping debates about the monarchy's role in the years ahead."

The latest BSA survey consisted of 4,120 interviews with a representative, random sample of adults in the United Kingdom and was conducted between 16 September and 27 October 2024. While the latest BSA 2024 survey included participants living in Northern Ireland for the first time, the numbers were too small to give a breakdown for this group.
As the White House cancels billions earmarked for medical research, renewable energy and public education, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is laying out $1.2 million more in taxpayer funds to accessorize another batch of newly purchased trucks.

In a justification-and-approval document dated September 9 and seen by The Independent, the deportation agency justifies awarding the no-bid contract by citing an urgent and compelling need to wrap 18 Chevy Tahoe SUVs, one Ford Raptor pickup and a GMC Yukon  all of them 2025 models  in a red, blue and gold graphics package that mimics the look of President Donald Trumps private 757.

The immediate upfitting and wrapping of these vehicles is critical to operational readiness, officer safety, and ICEs ability to field new personnel, according to the document, known as a J&A. Without properly marked and equipped vehicles[,] newly hired staff cannot be deployed to the field, delaying the enforcement surge required to meet statutory and operational demands. Such delays create an operational gap that diminishes enforcement, undermines recruitment objectives, and places both public and officer safety at risk.

A Sunnyvale, California company, Castle Hill Partners Inc., will be paid $1,158,404 for the job, or roughly $50,000 per vehicle, according to the J&A. The address listed for Castle Hill is a 5-bedroom, 4-bath spread in a residential neighborhood. A person who answered the phone there on Wednesday told The Independent that Castle Hill does perform vehicle wrapping but declined to comment any further.

If the modifications are not completed within the next 30 days, ICE will be unable to put enough agents on the streets, directly impairing mission success, the J&A states, noting that the expenditure is fully supported by the GOPs so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as well as Trumps August 11 executive order, Restoring Law and Order in the District of Columbia.

The graphics packages ordered by ICE are inspired by Donald Trump's private 757, and feature the president's name on the rear windows. A new batch of SUVs and trucks are being wrapped in the red, blue, and gold design as they are readied for use. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

A J&A is used to obtain permission to move forward with an official purchase without issuing a competitive request for proposals. Tuesdays ICE J&A says the trucks will be utilized [by]... newly recruited individuals in the positions of Inspection, Investigation, Enforcement, and Compliance Officers, and Enforcement and Removal (ERO) Deportation Officers as well as Criminal Investigator, and Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) Investigators.

The expanding fleet will permit ICE to meet the anticipated surge in staffing and enforcement requirements projected from 2026 through 2029, according to the J&A.

Putting the contract out for bids would result in unacceptable delays and hinder ongoing recruiting efforts, the J&A contends. ICE is in the midst of an all-out hiring spree in an attempt to attract some 14,000 new agents to carry out Trumps mass deportation agenda. The effort has so far seen the feds lower the age and educational requirements for candidates, while offering six-figure salaries, signing bonuses up to $50,000 and perks that include student loan forgiveness.

Congressional Republicans have earmarked $30 billion for ICEs recruitment drive; the agencys budget of $170 billion over the next 10 years exceeds that of most of the worlds militaries.

ICE recently dropped roughly $1 million for customized SUVs and pickups, as well as a pair of Ford Mustangs to help tempt new recruits. The trucks cost more than $500,000; wrapping them ran about $230,000. The two Mustangs ran more than $120,000, and ICE recently issued a tender for 25 wrapped and upfitted Chevy Tahoes, at a cost of $2.4 million.

The first examples of the new ICE vehicle livery debuted during the deportation agency's ongoing Washington, D.C. deployment. ICE is now adding to its ever-expanding fleet, to the tune of $1.2 million. (Getty Images)

ICE also solicited bids for 1,000 new Ford Police Interceptor Utility SUVs, Dodge Durango Pursuit SUVs and Chevy Tahoe Police Pursuit Vehicle SUVs; with modifications, including extras like tactical seat covers in addition to the usual vehicle wraps, could cost as much as $100 million.

The vehicles all feature a graphic treatment that plays off the livery seen on Trumps personal jet, have the words Defend the homeland emblazoned on the sides and President Donald J. Trump spelled out in gold on the rear windows.

The first ICE SUVs to be wrapped in the Trump-centric design were featured in a video posted by the Department of Homeland Security, ICEs parent agency, which showed the vehicles cruising through Washington, D.C., set to music by rapper DaBaby.

An ICE spokesperson did not immediately respond on Wednesday to The Independents request for comment.

However, in response to a $1 million expenditure last month on vehicle wraps, an ICE official said that it is a law enforcement agency, and that all law enforcement agencies require properly marked and branded vehicles.

At the same time, many have criticized the initiative, suggesting the hastily considered motif might have benefited from a bit more thought.

The ICE design screams Look at us  we're big, we're mean, and we're here whether you like it or not, Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, previously told The Independent. That's a message that it sends both to local residents and also to local elected officials.
Online retailer THG has revealed weaker profits after being knocked by high whey protein costs, but pointed towards growing sales momentum.

Shares in the company, which runs brands including Myprotein and Cult Beauty, rose on Thursday.

It came as the firm, founded by Matthew Moulding, reported that adjusted earnings fell by 35.3% to 24 million over the first half of 2025, compared with a year earlier.

The group also told shareholders that total revenues fell by 2.6% year-on-year to 783.4 million.

THG said it was held back by record whey protein prices and slower trading in its beauty business over the first half.

Whey protein prices cut into profit margins amid continued strong demand, with suppliers in the sector still seeking to keep up pace.

The company said it has benefited from stronger trading from its Myprotein business to help it offset the impact of higher costs in the recent months.

Meanwhile, the firms beauty business saw sales slip by 5.9% over the half-year after pulling back from some sales activity in Europe and Asia.

THG said however that beauty is set to return to growth in the current half-year after strong trading since the start of July, with its nutrition business also reporting accelerating sales growth.

Mr Moulding said: Im really pleased at how THG has gained momentum throughout the first half and into Q3.

As a business weve reaped the benefits of the recent extensive strategic initiatives across the group, including the global rebranding of Myprotein throughout 2024.

Im especially pleased with the response to the new positioning of the Myprotein brand, reflected in the exciting breadth of partnerships were delivering with other global brand owners and a return to new customer growth.

Our beauty business particularly in the UK demonstrated impressive resilience, securing market share gains in Q2, with a growing loyalty base and successful new brand launches supporting a return to revenue growth in Q3.

John Stevenson, analyst at Peel Hunt, said: Momentum in nutrition is accelerating in terms of sales, doors, new launches, and licensing deals, pointing to a strong second half and 2026.

Shares in THG were around 9% higher on Thursday.
Credit: Reuters / Kevin

A conservative influencer and key ally of Donald Trump has been killed in a political assassination while debating university students.

Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old de facto leader of the Maga youth movement, was shot by a gunman at Utah Valley University as he discussed mass shootings committed by trans people.

The killing was condemned by Mr Trump, who said the radical Left had made targets out of people like Mr Kirk by comparing them to Nazis.

Just before he was shot on an open-air stage, an audience member asked: Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America in the last 10 years?

Counting or not counting gang violence? Mr Kirk responded.

A bullet then hit him in the throat.

Charlie Kirk pictured moments before he was shot - Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images

Footage showed what appeared to be a lone figure, dressed in dark clothing, lying on the roof of a university building about 150 yards from where the conservative firebrand was speaking in front of 3,000 people.

Mr Kirk  guarded by six campus police officers and personal security  was seated under a gazebo to debate liberals, goading them to prove me wrong.

He began taking questions at 12.05pm. Five minutes later, he fell motionless, slumped in the chair.

Students and campus staff ran, screaming and ducking for cover, as blood began pouring from Mr Kirks throat.

Charlie Kirk is put in the back of a black SUV by six men - Jeremy King

Everyone just came running throughand were screaming run, run, theres a shooter and screaming that he had been shot in the neck, Ethan Reeves, a student, told The Telegraph.

People were very distressed, running away, crying and dropping stuff as they were just trying to get out of the way as quickly as they could.

Mr Kirks security team went to his aid, carrying him to a car as they attempted to stem the bleeding.

He was taken to hospital but died a short time later.

The US president, who was a friend of Mr Kirk, ordered all flags on American territories at half-mast.

The flag was lowered at the White House - Daniel Becerril

In a video address from the White House, Mr Trump promised to find each and every one of those who contributed to Mr Kirks death.

He said it was long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonising those with whom you disagree.

For years, those on the radical Left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the worlds worst mass murderers and criminals, he said.

This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism were seeing in our country today  and it must stop right now.

Mr Trump said his friend fought for liberty, democracy, justice and the American people.

Hes a martyr for truth and freedom, he said.

The president and his wife, Melania, sent condolences to Mr Kirks wife, Erika, and the couples daughter, aged three, and son, one.

We take comfort in the knowledge that he is now at peace with God in heaven, Mr Trump said.

Our prayers are with his wife, Erika, their two young, beloved children, and his entire family who he loved more than anything in the world.

We ask God to watch over them in this terrible hour of heartache and pain.

Charlie Kirk with his wife Erika and two children

Political commentators and politicians across the world, including Barack Obama and Sir Keir Starmer, shared their condolences.

It is heartbreaking that a young family has been robbed of a father and a husband, Sir Keir said.

We must all be free to debate openly and freely without fear  there can be no justification for political violence.

JD Vance, the vice-president, paid tribute to Mr Kirk, writing: Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.

Gunman in all dark clothing

Jeff Long, the chief of police at the University, said campus officials had worked with Mr Kirks team to have bases covered for security at the event.

Unfortunately, today we didnt, Mr Long said. Because of that, we had this tragic accident.

Mr Kirk had been guarded by his own security as well as six police officers, the police chief said.

This was an open venue, this is outside, he said.

He [Mr Kirk] was sat down in kind of a bowl area here on the central campus. And so he was kind of in a lower area surrounded by buildings, police officers as well.

Police were combing through CCTV footage and social media videos on Wednesday night as the hunt continued for the gunman.

Kash Patel, the FBI director, said that a suspect arrested earlier in the day had been released.

The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement, Mr Patel said in a post on X.

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

Police were also seen dragging a second man, identified as a Democrat supporter, away from the scene. The mans trousers fell around his ankles as police handcuffed him and carried him by his clothing. The man was released after questioning.

Investigators said they were looking for a person dressed in all dark clothing seen on a roof at the university.

Credit: Reuters / Tanner McKay Maxwell

Months before Wednesdays shooting, Utah updated its firearm laws to allow over-18s with a concealed weapon permit to openly carry a handgun on the states university campuses.

Prior to the change, which came into effect on May 7, those who wanted to carry a firearm on campus were required to keep it concealed.

Mr Kirks death sent shockwaves around the political world. Outspoken and defiant, he championed conservative values during a period when many feared their opinion would get them cancelled.

Trump: his legacy will live on

Mr Kirk, the founder of Turning Point Action, was at the university as part of his America comeback tour of US campuses. He had asked students to challenge his viewpoints at a prove me wrong table, debating trans rights and other hotly contested issues.

Mr Trump said his friend had inspired millions, especially young Americans, by joyfully engaging with everyone interested in good faith debate.

His mission was to bring young people into the political process  which he did better than anybody ever  to share his love of country and to spread the simple words of common sense, he said.

On campuses nationwide, he championed his ideas with courage, logic, humour and grace.

Donald Trum said Charlie Kirk inspired millions with courage, logic, humour and grace - JOSH EDELSON

Mr Trump said an assassin had tried to silence Mr Kirk but instead because of this heinous act, Charlies voice has become bigger and grander than ever before.

We will ensure that his voice, his message, and his legacy will live on for countless generations to come, Mr Trump said.



Fox News anchor Will Cain fought back tears on air as he read Mr Trumps announcement about the death.



I dont know where we go from here as a news program, Mr Cain said, and I dont know where we go from here in America.

Seth and Jenny Hamby embrace as they gather outside Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Lehi in support of Charlie Kirk after he was shot and killed at Utah Valley University - Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images

Former Utah representative Jason Chaffetz, a Republican who was at the event, said in an interview on Fox that he heard one shot and saw Kirk fall backwards. It seemed like it was a close shot, said Mr Chaffetz, who appeared shaken as he spoke.

The shooting could spur the US president to bolster the presence of National Guard troops on American streets amid fears of civil unrest.

Mr Trump vowed on Wednesday night to stop individuals and organisations that funded and supported the gunman, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials and everyone else who brings order to our country.

Mr Kirk began Turning Point in suburban Chicago in 2012, when he was 18, alongside William Montgomery, a Tea Party activist. The pair wanted to debate on college campuses for low taxes and limited government.

It was not an immediate success, but Mr Kirks zeal for confronting liberals in academia eventually won over an influential set of conservative financiers.

Kirk, 31, hands out hats moments before being shot dead at Utah Valley University - Tess Crowley

Turning Point backed Mr Trump after he won the GOP nomination in 2016, and Mr Kirk served as an aide to Donald Trump Jr, during the general election campaign.

Spencer Cox, the Utah governor, said Mr Kirk had believed in the power of debate to shape ideas and to persuade people.

Historically, our university campuses in this nation, here in the state of Utah, have been the place where truth and ideas are formulated and debated, Mr Cox said.

And thats what he does. He comes on college campuses and he debates as foundational to the formation of our country, to our most basic constitutional rights.

And when someone takes the life of a person because of their ideas or their ideals, then that very constitutional foundation is threatened.

He added: I want to be very clear that this is a political assassination.

Dave Young, the mayor of Orem where the shooting took place, said efforts to restrict freedom of speech have no place in Utah.

Utahs campuses should always be spaces where differing perspectives can be shared and debated with respect, Mr Young said.

The shooting comes amid a sharp increase in political violence in the US across the ideological spectrum.

Attacks include the assassination of a Minnesota state politician and her husband at their house in June, the firebombing of a Colorado parade to demand Hamas release hostages, and a fire at the house of Pennsylvanias governor, who is Jewish, in April.

Mr Trump was himself shot during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last July.

Mike Johnson, the House Speaker, held a minutes silence and called for an end to political violence in the wake of the shooting.

Im just going to state the obvious here. This is detestable, what happened. Political violence has become all too common in American society, and this is not who we are, he said.

It violates the core principles of our country, our Judeo-Christian heritage, our civil society, our American way of life. And it must stop. We need every political figure.

We need everyone who has a platform to say this loudly and clearly. We can settle disagreements and disputes in a civil manner, and political violence must be called out and has to stop. Again, we ask for prayer.
President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will award his close ally, Charlie Kirk, a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor, after the conservative activist was assassinated on a college campus.

Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty, and an inspiration to millions and millions of people, Trump said. We miss him greatly, yet I have no doubt that Charlies voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on.

The president made the announcement at the Pentagon as he began his remarks honoring the lives lost on September 11, 2001.

Trump added that he would announce the Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony at a later date but promised it would draw a very big crowd.

Kirk, the co-founder of conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was a high-profile figure in Republican circles and close to the president and members of the Trump family. The president credited him as one of the key figures in getting him re-elected by turning out the youth vote.

President Donald Trump said he would posthumously award Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom. They are pictured at a Turning Point USA event in 2024 (AFP via Getty Images)

The 31-year-old Republican activist was shot in the neck while speaking about mass shootings, on the first stop of a college campus tour at Utah Valley University.

Law enforcement are still searching for the suspected shooter who they say appears to be of college age. FBI agents in the Salt Lake City bureau released a photo of the suspect on Thursday afternoon, urging anyone with information to come forward.

A motive in the shooting has not been identified yet.

Officials said so far, theyve recovered a high-powered, bolt-action rifle in a nearby wooded area. Ammunition inside the rifle was engraved with messages of transgender and antifascist ideology, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The FBI declined to comment to The Independent.

Kirks murder has sent shockwaves through political circles, particularly impacting Republicans who viewed the media personality as a shining example of the future of the party. Some conservatives, including the president, have characterized Kirk as a martyr.

Trump started his 9/11 memorial speech at the Pentagon Thursday by announcing he would honor Charlie Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom (AP)

Medal of Freedom recipients are chosen directly by the president. The award was created in 1945 for those who have made an especially meritorious contribution to furthering national interests, cultural endeavors, significant public or private work, as well as world peace.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who stood alongside Trump at the event, also praised Kirk in remarks, saying he was the example of a Christ follower and American patriot.

Charlie we love you, we know that you have heard the Lords words. Well done, good and faithful servant. Like those on 9/11, he will never be forgotten, Hegeth said.
Match Of The Day presenter Gabby Logan has hailed the fun and important BGC Charity Day which sees celebrities take to the financial services companys trading floors to raise money for a number of good causes.

The annual event pays tribute to more than 650 of the companys workers who died in the 9/11 attacks.

It raises money for 60 participating charities, and has collected more than 220 million US dollars (162 million) for charity globally since its inception in 2005.

Trading at the companys London headquarters in her role as president of Muscular Dystrophy UK, Logan told the PA news agency: This is the grand trading day at BGC that goes towards a range of charities, incredible charities, all of them, and theyre all very lucky to be chosen, as is ours, Muscular Dystrophy UK.

Im president of Muscular Dystrophy UK, so Ive been here for quite a few years now with the charity, and every year were thrilled to come back because its a fun day and its an important day in terms of fundraising, but I think its also an important day in marking 9/11, which is what this is all about.

So many people lost their lives from BGC and it was possibly the most people that died under one company, and what a brilliant way to remember those people and to give back.

Dame Kelly Holmes during the BGC annual charity day at Canary Wharf in London (Jeff Moore/PA)

From the companys London office on September 11 2001, brokers listened on the squawk box as New York colleagues passed messages to their families in their final moments, with the charity day created in order to honour their legacy.

Celebrities taking part in the event on Thursday included actors Tom Hardy and Hugh Grant, boxer Anthony Joshua, actress Billie Piper, England Lionesses Lucy Bronze, Alessia Russo and Keira Walsh, and TV presenters Davina McCall and Amanda Holden.

Another celebrity raising money for her trust was former Olympian Dame Kelly Holmes, who told PA: Im here to obviously make a lot of money for charities, including my own, the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust.

Were now in our 18th year, we work with young people in communities, the health sector, and in schools, and we use retired and retiring athletes as their mentors while theyre trying to find their next purpose.

Were all about self-esteem, confidence, belief, and giving hope to young people that might not have it in their lives.

But Im here to be on the trading floor, Ive got a big target, apparently, one of the little girls made 450 million today trading, Im competitive.

Hugh Grant worked the phones during the BGC annual charity day (Jeff Moore/PA)

Other charities benefitting from this years event include Help For Heroes, the West Ham United Foundation, Battersea Cats And Dogs Home, and The Mayors Fund For London.

Alongside the London event, similar days will take place in BGCs offices in New York, Paris, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sao Paulo and Sydney.
Dana White has suggested that fewer than 5,000 people will be on the South Lawn for the UFC event at the White House, if it goes ahead in 2026.

This summer, US president Donald Trump  a fan of the UFC and friend of its president, White  said he wanted to host a fight event next year, to celebrate 250 years of the United States.

Since then, White has worked to make it a reality, and he has claimed it will go ahead. Still, he has addressed numerous challenges including the weight of the Octagon, and now crowd numbers and security.

So, we went to the White House last week, me and my team, and we had the first meeting with him [Trump], White said on Wednesday (10 September).

We laid out all the renderings, and we started to get him to sign off on what he likes and doesnt like. And he loved it, so now were diving in headfirst. Now all the work starts.

The last time I was at the White House, I went up on the roof of the White House, and theyve got snipers with .50 cals all over the roof of the White House. Its pretty crazy.

But yes, I mean, the security is gonna be a massive issue, because at the end of the day, secret services job is to protect the president.

I dont know how its gonna work out as far as having people there live, on the lawn of the White House. Itll be under 5,000, though.

But... I cant remember what they call it, but theres a park connected to the White House, White continued, seemingly referencing Presidents Park. We can put 85,000 people over there with screens. Were gonna put a big stage out there and do concerts. Were gonna take over Washington DC that whole week.

Dana White (left) with Donald Trump (Getty Images)

Whites comments came on the same day that Charlie Kirk  a right-wing political activist and ally of Trump  was fatally shot at a Utah college campus.

UFC icon Conor McGregor, who is currently trying to run for president in his native Ireland, is among those to have expressed a desire to compete at the White House event.

Jon Jones has also done so, despite White announcing this summer that the American had retired. Joness heavyweight title was taken from him and awarded to interim champion Tom Aspinall, but Jones claimed this month that he is not retired.

In any case, White said Jones has a billion to one chance of being involved, with the UFC president stressing that he does not trust Jones, whose career has been marred by failed drug tests and run-ins with the law. McGregor has had his own legal issues, including last November, when a civil jury found him liable for rape. The Irishman, 37, denies all accusations against him.

Another former UFC champion, the long-retired Ronda Rousey, has ruled herself out of competing, saying this week: Im not fighting at the White House.

After Mike Tyson being the biggest fight of the year [in 2024, against Jake Paul], you never say never, but I aint fighting at the f***ing White House. Even if offered? I got better s*** to do.
Unions are urging the Government not to water down its flagship Bill on workers rights following ministerial changes in recent days, saying people expected Labour to deliver on the promises it made during the general election.

The Employment Rights Bill, which is in its final parliamentary stages, was championed by former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and former employment rights minister Justin Madders.

Both have left the posts they were in as the legislation was taken through the Commons, which has raised concerns among some union leaders.

Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, said on Sunday he had seen no evidence that the Bill was going to be watered down.

Ahead of the opening day of the TUC Congress in Brighton, he said: The Government must, and should, deliver on the promises it gave to the British people last July.

The Bill will level the playing field  extending the standards already set by the best employers, working with unions, to millions more.

It will stop good businesses being undercut by the cowboys and it will help build a modern economy that raises pay, boosts productivity and improves well-being.

Tory and Lib Dem peers are desperately trying to water this Bill down.

Weve got the shameful sight of hereditary peers blocking carers and cleaners from getting fair treatment at work. This isnt the 1800s. Its 2025.

My message to these blockers is simple: get out of the way. Youre lucky enough not to face financial disaster if you take a day off sick.

Youre lucky enough not to have to face abusive customers.

Youre lucky enough not to worry about paying the bills if your boss cuts your shift with no notice.

Millions of workers arent that lucky and working people have waited long enough for change.

The Employment Rights Bill is a vital first step in tipping the balance back toward workers.

So today, my message to all parliamentarians is simple: do the right thing. Listen to the public, stand with working people, deliver the Bill in full.

The TUC published new analysis which showed that four million people are in insecure work in the UK, such as those on zero-hours contracts, agency, casual and seasonal workers and the low-paid self-employed who miss out on key rights and protections.

The TUC said insecure work exploded under the Conservative government, increasing by 800,000 from 2011 to 2024.

Asked about the Bill on Sky News, Defence Secretary John Healey said: Im really confident that well deliver what we promised in the manifesto, the biggest upgrade of workers rights for a generation.

The Bills been set out.

Unite said that under new provisions, local government and public sector employers could fire and rehire workers.

General secretary Sharon Graham said: Labours promise to ban fire and rehire is now a burnt-out shell. By amending the Employment Relations Bill to allow councils to use fire and rehire, has them given them the green light to push down workers pay to cut debt. Yet again workers pay the price.

This along with the Governments reshuffle, taking out all ministers who have worked with unions on the Bill, signals a move in the wrong direction. Workers will feel duped when they realise the Bill is a paper tiger.
Donald Trump shakes hands with Charlie Kirk at a 2018 event. Photograph: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

The killing of the rightwing activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah college on Wednesday afternoon prompted outrage from Democrats and Republicans over the latest act of political violence in the United States, with Donald Trump lamenting the loss of a key ally.

The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie, the US president posted on his Truth Social platform.

The president ordered flags to be lowered to half mast to honor Kirk, who was prominent in Trumps make America great again (Maga) movement.

Trump, who survived an assassination attempt while campaigning in July 2024, also blamed the violence on the radical left [who] have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis in an evening video address. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that were seeing in our country, he said.

The identity and motives of the shooter, who was not in custody early Wednesday evening, are not yet known.

JD Vance called Kirk a genuinely good guy and a young father and tweeted prayers.

Secretary of state Marco Rubio said he was heartbroken and outrages [sic] by the assassination of Charlie Kirk, calling the 31-year-old an incredible husband and father and a great American.

Related: Charlie Kirk shooting death  what we know so far

Former vice-president Kamala Harris said she was deeply disturbed by the shooting of Kirk, who organized against her presidential campaign last year.

Let me be clear: political violence has no place in America. I condemn this act, and we all must work together to ensure this does not lead to more violence, she wrote.

Congresss top Republicans and Democrats joined in the condemning the attack, which occurred at Utah Valley University in Orem, south of Salt Lake City. Political violence, which this attack seems to be, has no place in this country  none, said John Thune, the Republican Senate majority leader.

Im deeply disturbed about the threat of violence that has entered our political life, and I pray that we will remember that every person, no matter how vehement our disagreement with them, is a human being and a fellow American deserving of respect and protection.

Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House minority leader, echoed the sentiment, saying: Political violence of any kind and against any individual is unacceptable and completely incompatible with American values. And Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, said in all likelihood, [Kirk] was murdered for expressing his beliefs, adding: We must work harder to bring this country together, not divide it.

Gabby Giffords, whose time as a congresswoman was cut short when she was grievously injured in a 2011 mass shooting, said: Democratic societies will always have political disagreements, but we must never allow America to become a country that confronts those disagreements with violence.

The House oversight committee took a break from considering more than a dozen bills to change laws in Washington DC as part of Trumps militarized crackdown on crime in the district to hold a moment of silence in Kirks honor.

Barack Obama condemned political violence as despicable and said it had no place in our democracy.

We dont yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy, he wrote. Michelle and I will be praying for Charlies family tonight, especially his wife Erika and their two young children.

Democrats seen as potential presidential contenders in 2028 also denounced the violence.

The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form, said Gavin Newsom, the California governor.

Wes Moore, the Maryland governor, wrote on X: Political violence is never acceptable. Ever.

New Jersey senator Cory Booker, a Democrat, said the attack must be condemned by all.

Katie Hobbs, the Democratic governor of Arizona where Kirk headquartered his rightwing non-profit, Turning Point USA, said she was deeply saddened by his death.

This tragedy is not about who Charlie Kirk supported politically. It is about the devastating loss of a father, a neighbor and an Arizonan, Hobbs said.

Related: Charlie Kirk: influential rightwing activist and trusted ally of Trump

We must stand together in rejecting violence, lowering the temperature of our politics and recommitting ourselves to the values of civility, respect, and community that American democracy requires.

The states Democratic US senator Ruben Gallego called Kirks death beyond terrible, adding: Violence is never the answer.

Some conservatives echoed Trump and were quick to blame liberals for the shooting while the search for the shooter was still under way.

The Left is the party of murder, said Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO who threw the federal government into turmoil earlier this year as chair of Trumps department of government efficiency initiative.

Christopher Rufo, a conservative operative who led rightwing attacks against critical race theory in recent years, wrote on X: The last time the radical Left orchestrated a wave of violence and terror, J Edgar Hoover shut it all down within a few years. It is time, within the confines of the law, to infiltrate, disrupt, arrest, and incarcerate all of those who are responsible for this chaos.

Chaya Raichik, operator of the rightwing Libs of TikTok account, wrote to her 4.3 million followers on X: THIS IS WAR.

Hasan Piker, the progressive commentator who was scheduled to debate Kirk at an event hosted by Dartmouth Colleges political union later this month, watched the video of his opponent being shot while streaming on Twitch.

This is insane. I never thought I would see something like this. But I guess if theres one country where something like this could happen, its this one, he said.

Sam Levin contributed reporting
No credible threat to Naval Academy as rumor of shooter sends campus into lockdown

There is no credible threat at this time to the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland, according to state officials, after the service academy and a nearby base went on lockdown Thursday evening amid rumors of a gunman on campus.

In working with local, state, and federal law enforcement authorities, there is currently no credible threat to the Naval Academy, the Maryland governors office told WBAL.

The waterside campus went on lockdown earlier in the day, after a midshipman who had been thrown out of the academy made anonymous threats on social media using an IP address to suggest he was on campus, according to unofficial media reports.

Amid rumors on campus and early media reports that an armed gunman was at the academy and impersonating a police officer, a midshipman sheltering at the academy thought a law enforcement officer was a threat and hit the officer with a training weapon, unnamed sources told NBC Washington.

An member of law enforcement then fired a weapon at the midshipman in an accidental discharge, sending the individual to the hospital with a likely non-fatal shoulder injury, 7News reports, citing unnamed sources.

Naval Academy went on lockdown Thursday as military and police responded to reports of threat against premier service academy (WBALTV)

An individual on campus was seen being loaded on a gurney into a Maryland State Police helicopter.

Midshipman were given a security update late Thursday that rumors of an active shooter impersonating law enforcement on campus were false, Fox 5 reports.

The lockdown came the same day police responded to a bomb threat ultimately deemed non-credible against the Democratic National Committee headquarters in nearby Washington, D.C., and a day after an unknown gunman assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah. A hoax shooting threat prompted a mass police response at Villanova University last month.

"Naval Support Activity Annapolis, in coordination with local law enforcement, is currently responding to reports of threats made to the Naval Academy, the Naval Academy wrote earlier in the day on Facebook. The base is on lockdown out of an abundance of caution. This is a developing situation and we will provide updates as they become available."

Campus sources told Fox News that shots were fired inside Bancroft Hall, a large student dormitory.

Campus sources told news outlets threat came from disgruntled midshipman returning to campus with weapon (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Captain David S. Forman, the schools deputy commandant, said in an email obtained by the The New York Times there had been no confirmed reports of gunfire.

An academy midshipman warned colleagues at 5:32 p.m. to get inside and lock your door right now, according to emails shared with The New York Times.

Not a drill, the message reads. Get inside and lock your door.

Aerial news footage showed police officers with long guns and body armor running outside a campus building.

Im very nervous, Courtney Strauss-Campbell, a mother whose son was inside the Naval Academy on Thursday, told Fox 5 DC.

She said her son had heard a shooter was inside Bancroft Hall, but that he doesnt know if its a hoax or if its real.

The Independent has contacted the Naval Academy and Naval Support Activity Annapolis base for comment.

An official with the Annapolis Police Department declined to immediately comment, and said he was heading to the scene.

The Maryland State Police are assisting with the response, an official told The Independent.
Peter Mandelson achieved much for Labour and the governments he served in, and, without being pompous, for the British people. He was a key figure in saving his party in the 1980s, an outstanding EU trade envoy, too, and was already plainly a skilful ambassador in Washington. He was usually well-respected by those he worked with and, for some leaders of his party, regarded as indispensable.

His gifts are considerable  but so, evidently, are his flaws. He will carry with him for the rest of his life the shame  there is no better word for it  that he was advising Jeffrey Epstein on strategy and urging him on in his plea bargaining for a reduced prison sentence on the charge of procuring a minor for prostitution. Keir Starmer was right to sack him.

This goes way beyond being just another member of Epsteins circle. Mandelson should have known that supporting Epstein was wrong and unforgivable, and he should, at that point, if not long before, severed his links with the paedophile. Instead, he was reassuring him by email that your friends stay with you and love you. The sycophancy in their exchanges, most graphically in Mandelsons 10-page handwritten contribution to the birthday book for Epstein, organised by Ghislaine Maxwell, is disturbing to say the least.

How did Mandelson place himself in such a position? One of the more revealing, not to say tawdry, exchanges between him and Epstein occurred just before noon on 27 October 2005. It tells us, I think, a lot about the supposed friendship between the two men, as well as about Mandelsons apparent fascination with wealth, his own and other peoples (which were sometimes linked).

To give a little context, hed stood down from the Commons in 2004 and had been kicking around the backbenches for some time, having had to resign from the Blair government for a second time in 2001. This was over a scandal in which he was accused of using undue influence to obtain a British passport for one of the Hinduja brothers, unbelievably rich men with considerable British business interests.

Keir Starmer ordered the withdrawal of Mandelson as ambassador to the US (PA)

Mandelson had, since the previous November, been European Union Commissioner for Trade, to which post Blair had nominated him. On that fairly cool, grey morning in Belgium, Peters mind turned to a warmer prospect, writing: When are you going to the island at Xmas? I am having trouble getting air tickets to st barts and was wondering about going via US, NY or Miami (but this may also be difficult because of availability of BA airmiles).

What are your plans and do I fit in to them?

Quite a brusque sort of communication to his best pal, that, but maybe both men preferred to get to the point. It looks like a fairly blatant attempt to get his friend Epstein to pay for his flight out to Epsteins now infamous private islet in the US Virgin Islands. Im guessing it would have included Mandelsons partner and now husband.

Having never enjoyed the friendship of such a fabulously monied man as Epstein, Im not in a position to say whether this is the done thing in such circles or not, but I dont think Id ever ask one of my friends to pay for a flight to see them, or even for the bus fare. Nor would they sub me.

Mandelson, by this point, was not a poor man, and could probably have used his precious British Airways air miles, or his own cash, to pay for his passage, which, after all was accompanied by free board and lodging, use of the luxury facilities, fine dining (yum, yum) and conversation with other interesting, well-connected and, of course, loaded guests.

Its all very tawdry, lets face it, and it seems that Epsteins network of friends simply constituted a networking club of the rich and famous, where the members knew each other in some vaguely professional sense, but were not motivated by any real affection or bonds of loyalty. They  Clinton, Gates, Trump, Prince Andrew, Mandelson among them  were all in Epstein and Maxwells extended group for what they could get out of it.

This nexus of influence, money and power is how Andrew, in his car-crash 2019 Newsnight interview, tried to defend at least his early involvement in Epsteins circle.

He said: It would be a considerable stretch to say that he was a very, very close friend. But he had the most extraordinary ability to bring extraordinary people together, and thats the bit that I remember as going to the dinner parties where you would meet academics, politicians, people from the United Nations. It was a cosmopolitan group of what I would describe as US eminents.

As for Mandelson, who can really say who was using whom between him and Epstein, but it looks like there were free holidays as a benefit-in-kind for whatever Mandelson was useful for. The tragedy of Peter Mandelson, if thats not too kind a perspective, is that he was constantly brought down by money. The first resignation from government came only months into his time as a minister in the new Blair government, when it emerged that hed received undeclared financial assistance from Geoffrey Robinson, another minister and a rich businessman, to buy a nice house in Notting Hill befitting his (Mandelsons) social status.

Then there was the second resignation, when he got tangled up with the billionaire Hindujas, and now his association with Epstein has finally caught up with him. Perhaps things could have been different, but the record suggests that Mandelson is just one of those people who has his uses, but is usually trouble. Keir Starmer is only the latest person to find out just how destructive he can be.
The waiting list for planned hospital treatment in England has risen for the second month in a row, NHS figures show.

An estimated 7.40 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of July, relating to 6.25 million patients, up from 7.37 million treatments and 6.23 million patients at the end of June.

Thursdays data, published by NHS England, also shows 1,429 patients had been waiting more than 18 months to start routine treatment at the end of July, up from 1,103 in June.

A year earlier, in July 2024, the number was higher at 2,738.

There were 11,950 patients who had been waiting more than 65 weeks to start treatment, up from 10,517 the previous month. This figure stood at 50,860 in July 2024.

The Government has set an ambitious target to cut maximum wait times from 18 months to 18 weeks for NHS patients across England.

When it comes to cancer, 76.6% of patients urgently referred for suspected cancer were diagnosed or had the disease ruled out within 28 days in July, down slightly from 76.8% in June.

This is above the current target of 75%.

The Government and NHS England have set an additional target of March 2026 for this figure to reach 80%.

It comes as Cancer Research UK, working with the NHS, released a report showing patients with cancer are waiting longer for a diagnosis after urgent referral than people who end up with cancer ruled out.

The NHS will now publish these figures regularly.

In July this year, 53.9% of people with cancer were diagnosed within 28 days while 78.2% of those without cancer had it ruled out.

Thursdays data also showed that the proportion of patients who had waited no longer than 62 days in July from an urgent suspected cancer referral, or consultant upgrade, to their first definitive treatment for cancer was 69.2%, up from 67.1% in June.

The Government and NHS England have set a target of March 2026 for this figure to reach 75%.

However, GPs made far more cancer referrals than before, with 305,164 urgent cancer referrals in July, a new record for a calendar month and up from 279,390 in June.

Tim Gardner, assistant director of policy at the Health Foundation, said: The NHS waiting list often increases at this time of year, but the Government is likely to be disappointed not to have made further progress on its commitment to ending hospital backlogs.

While the NHS was able to maintain a relatively high volume of treatment in July, which included the five-day strike by resident doctors, this is the second consecutive month the waiting list has increased.

The latest data on urgent and emergency care for August shows a mixed picture.

Ambulance response times improved from July, but A&E waiting times got slightly worse and the NHS overall remains a long way off from meeting national targets.

The scale of the pressures being experienced during the summer is a cause for concern as the NHS prepares for winter.

He said few hospitals are meeting waiting-time targets, even those that rank highly in new NHS league tables.

The NHS needs a system-wide approach to recovery, one that prioritises investment, workforce resilience and long-term planning, rather than using the new rankings as another tool for top-down control and performance management.

NHS England said that while the waiting list has risen, the NHS delivered more treatments than the same month last year  1.64 million, up 2.6% on July 2024 (1.60 million).

Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS national medical director, said: Industrial action in the NHS is never easy for patients, but despite last months disruption record number of cancer patients got the care they needed.

Urgent ambulance response times were the fastest theyve been in over four years  even as A&E and ambulance staff saw more patients in August than ever before.

These results show the NHS is always there for patients  no matter what is thrown its way.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting, said: One year ago, I made a promise that we would deliver two million extra appointments in our first year  not only did we do this in just five months, but we have obliterated that target, carrying out over five million.

That is testament to the relentless efforts of NHS staff across the country, alongside key reforms to get waiting times down for patients.

Our 10 year health plan will go even further, driving care out of our busy hospitals and into local communities as we deliver the radical transformation required to fix our broken health service.

Dr Hilary Williams, clinical vice president at the Royal College of Physicians, said the figures show nearly 36,000 patients endured waits of more than 12 hours from the decision to admit them to hospital to their actual admission, compared with 371 in August 2019.

Behind these numbers are thousands of individual patients left waiting or receiving care in corridors, waiting rooms and other spaces not designed for care, she said.

It has now been eight months since NHS England committed to recording data on care delivered in temporary spaces such as corridors, yet none of this has been published.

Without transparency on the true scale of the problem, we cannot make progress to eliminate it.

Nursing staff said they were braced for a worse corridor care disaster than last year owing to rising long waits in A&E.

Executive director of the Royal College of Nursing, Patricia Marquis, said: These figures show we are quickly headed towards a worse corridor care disaster than last year.

Nursing staff have repeatedly warned about the crisis in our hospitals, but now the numbers enduring long waits has skyrocketed year on year, rising further before the cold weather is even here. Ministers need to act to protect patients this winter.
An exhibition of works by maverick aerial photographer Alfred Buckham is set to open in Edinburgh next month.

Alfred Buckham: Daredevil Photographer will feature more than 100 photographs and objects, including a number of personal items loaned by Buckhams family.

Born in 1879, Buckham combined exceptional flying skill with a passion for photography to produce a number of enthralling photos from the skies above the UK and overseas.

His dramatic image Edinburgh  which depicts a biplane flying over the capital in about 1920  will be displayed for the first time alongside the camera and original glass negatives he used to capture and create it.

Other highlights include aerial shots of the Wallace Monument in Stirling and the Forth Bridge, a 1923 image of the London skyline, and airborne images of New York and the Andes taken during a 1931 journey through North and South America.

His images depict some of the leading aircraft of the day, such as the two-seater Bristol Fighter and a 1920s airship, soaring through the skies above an array of stunning landscapes.

The exhibition will also explore the creative processes Buckham used to bring his images to life, including his innovative use of the composite photography technique, whereby a jigsaw of negatives are combined to produce one picture.

Louise Pearson, curator of photography at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: Alfred Buckhams eye-catching photograph of Edinburgh is one of the most popular artworks in the National Galleries of Scotland collection.

Buckhams iconic image of a biplane flying over Edinburgh will be displayed alongside the camera and glass plates used to create it (Richard and John Buckham/PA)

This enthralling image becomes even more intriguing when you learn that it is a darkroom jigsaw  a composite photograph made through a combination of technical skill and creative vision.Alfred Buckham: Daredevil Photographer tells the remarkable story of this maverick of early aviation whose adventures took him from aerial reconnaissance photographer to intrepid explorer, via numerous loop-the-loops.

Born in London, Buckham learned his craft by teaching photography before joining the Royal Naval Air Service in 1916, spending most of his military career based at RAF Turnhouse, now Edinburgh Airport.

Central Scotland proved to be a natural playground where he refined his photographic techniques  with his preferred methods including standing in an open cockpit while mid-air, with his leg tied to the seat.

Buckham experienced nine crashes in his lifetime, with one resulting in a serious throat injury that cut short his military career.

Alfred Buckham experienced nine crashes during his lifetime, one of which cut short his military career (Richard and John Buckham/PA)

However he remained undeterred, writing in an article in The Camera in January 1927: It is not easy to tumble out of an aeroplane, unless you really want to, and on considerably more than a thousand flights I have used a safety belt only once, and then it was thrust upon me.

I always stand up to make an exposure and, taking the precaution to tie my right leg to the seat, I am free to move rapidly, and easily, in any desired direction; and loop the loop; and indulge in other such delights, with perfect safety.

He died in 1956 at the age of 76.

Alfred Buckham: Daredevil Photographer is the first major exhibition dedicated to the photographer, and it can only be seen in Scotland.

The free exhibition opens at National Galleries Scotland: Portrait on October 18, and runs until April 19.
This Morning's presenting team celebrating their NTA win backstage at the O2 Arena. (Getty Images for the NTA's) (Kate Green via Getty Images)

They say that on television, the money should be spent on the screen. For a perfect example of that, head to the National Television Awards.

The awards, which are broadcast on ITV1, look shiny and glamorous in front of the camera. Yet despite being located in the O2 (aka the Millennium Dome, the biggest white tent you can think of), the red carpet took place outside, around the back, near the loading bay, where trucks unload their goods or provide the staging for the events there. Weirder still, the tent overhangs on the red carpet itself, so if it rained, which it did, the run-off landed on the red carpet.

The red carpet is walked on by the nominees, and ticketholders arrive at the venue through the venues front. For an additional 150, you could watch them arrive on the red carpet. For just over 1,000, you could walk on the red carpet yourself and stay in a five-star hotel.

Sam Thompson and Pete Wicks braved the rain to host the NTAs red carpet. (Joe Maher/Getty Images for the NTA's) (Joe Maher via Getty Images)

Yet if youre a working member of the media reporting from the winners room, where all the winners are photographed and interviewed, you enter through a dreary alleyway behind a Next Outlet Mall in a shopping precinct there. And from the moment you enter, it isnt lost on you that for an arena literally named after a phone provider, there isnt any phone signal.

It gets even weirder. If youre a winner, after being interviewed in the winners room, you might get shepherded into different rooms for interviews with various broadcasters and news outlets. One of the rooms for these interviews was reportedly the dressing room decorated for Michael Jackson, which he was supposed to have for his ill-fated 2009 This Is It comeback residency.

The venue is rumoured to have preserved the room even though he didnt use it because he died before the tour took place. You enter the room through another door that, when closed, looks like a wardrobe. There are also cement handprints on the door.

Gary Lineker broke Ant & Dec's 23-year streak to win the Best Presenter at the NTAs. (Lia Toby/Getty Images for the NTA's) (Lia Toby via Getty Images)

The awards never got less surreal. The biggest shock of the evening was Gary Lineker winning Best Presenter over Ant & Dec, ending their 23 year consecutive streak (the last time somebody else won that award was Michael Barrymore back in the year 2000.) The only food, apart from packets of sandwiches, you could eat in the winners room as he was giving his speech? Walkers Crisps. You couldn't make this stuff up.

As the National Television Awards are entirely judged by the public, the most popular watched show or the show featuring the most well-known celebrity usually wins, hence Molly-Mae Hagues win for her authored Prime Video documentary over some important subject matter by other nominees. It also traditionally skews a little more ITV than BBC wins, hence Im A Celebrity winning over The Traitors.

Molly-Mae Hague celebrating her NTA win for Best Documentary. (Getty Images for the NTAs) (Kate Green via Getty Images)

Yet the talking point backstage was who wasnt there that night rather than who was. Owen Cooper for Adolescence couldnt make it as he was working in the US. Neither could Stephen Graham, nominated in the same acting category. Oh, and James Corden was also absent for Gavin & Stacey winning Best Comedy.

We werent able to see Ant & Dec lose Best Presenter, as I heard they were filming Im A Celebrity in South Africa, whilst Traitors and Best Presenter nominee Claudia Winkleman was tied up with filming Strictly's pre-recorded launch show.

The team that seemed the most thrilled to win were the This Morning team, who won Daytime, having navigated a difficult few years. Backstage, the team decided to sing the This Morning theme tune en masse as they navigated the corridors, as Ruth Jones and the cast of Gavin & Stacey were passing them, walking in a different direction.

Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park backstage during the NTA's 2025. (Kate Green/Getty Images for the NTA's) (Kate Green via Getty Images)

If you thought that some award acceptance speeches take a long time, spare a thought for Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park. The team made a special animation, featuring the much-loved claymation duo, accepting a Special Recognition award. The time it took to animate? I was told a month.

But for me, the biggest winner of the night? The London Cable Car. The baffling folly, introduced by Boris Johnson when he was London Mayor, connects the O2 to the other side of the Thames. Due to Tube strikes, it was near impossible for anyone to get home from North Greenwich last night, but the cable car was still open anyway.

Finally, after 13 years of being a white elephant, it finally served a purpose.

The NTAs are available to watch on ITVX.

This article originally appeared on Yahoo TV UK at https://uk.news.yahoo.com/ntas-tv-behind-the-scenes-gary-lineker-095125015.html
Sir Keir Starmers hopes of a coronation for his chosen successor to replace Angela Rayner as deputy leader seem to have been dashed.

His candidate for the crucial position, education secretary Bridget Phillipson, became the first to clear a major hurdle to secure the 80 MP nominations needed to get on the ballot paper.

With MPs hearing the pitches of the five remaining hopefuls, Ms Phillipson was far ahead with 116 nominations, well beyond the 80 required.

However, her chief rival, sacked former minister Lucy Powell, was on 77. If Ms Powell is able to get three more MPs on board before nominations close at 5pm on Thursday, it will put her in a run-off with Ms Phillipson in a vote by members.

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson is Keir Starmers favoured candidate (PA Wire)

Labour members are thought to be unhappy with Sir Keir over his policy on Gaza, as well as attempts to cut welfare, and there is a danger that the contest could become a referendum within the party on his premiership.

It was also a bad day for former frontbencher Dame Emily Thornberry, who was trailing in last with 13 nominations behind Liverpool Wavertree MP Paula Barker, on 14, and the lefts main candidate Bell Ribeiro-Addy, on 15.

Sir Keir now faces a potentially damaging contest and weeks of manoeuvring in the race to replace Ms Rayner, as Labour MPs unhappy with their partys current direction back a former cabinet minister sacked by the prime minister less than a week ago.

Ms Powell, who received her marching orders as Commons leader on Friday, will prove tough opposition for the education secretary. In a two-horse race she looks set to become a lightning rod for discontent in the Starmer government. Sources have said she fell out of favour ahead of the reshuffle for standing up to [chief of staff] Morgan McSweeney and not taking his sh**.

The contest has already sparked a furious row amid claims that the partys top brass has set up its rules in an effort to squeeze out the left.

And on Wednesday another candidate, backbencher MP Ms Barker, who is standing on the left of the party, hit out at the decision to hold the races main hustings event online.

The party has told MPs they do not have to be in parliament on Thursday, meaning many will be travelling back to their constituencies when the hustings takes place.

I really dont think that that is the best democratic way for us to run this contest, said Ms Barker.

With MPs given just a few days to accrue a large number of nominations, she also criticised the length of the contest, describing it as a very, very narrow window of opportunity.

Former Commons leader Lucy Powell has the support of Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham (PA Archive)

Another MP from the left of the party, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, has called for Labour to go back to the guiding values of our party and movement.

Ms Phillipson also received a boost when another minister, Alison McGovern, who had been backed by the likes of the popular Labour MP Jess Phillips, pulled out and announced she was backing Ms Phillipson.

Members of the cabinet and other ministers were also being urged to nominate Ms Phillipson.

Ms McGovern said it was clear she would not get enough nominations to pass through to the next stage of the contest, and that her government colleague was best placed to unite our party and take the fight to our opponents.

The education secretary emerged as the early frontrunner in the race on Tuesday, when, just hours after she threw her hat into the ring, a poll by Survation for the Labour-focused website LabourList showed that she was in pole position among Labour members.

From early on Wednesday, allies of Ms Phillipson believed she would comfortably secure the 80 nominations by the end of the day.

Contenders have until 5pm on Thursday to secure the support of 80 MPs in order to reach the next round of the contest.

As her campaign faltered, Dame Emily, chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, tried to convince colleagues that the idea that the next deputy leader should be a northern woman  to balance out Sir Keir  was misguided.

The London MP pointed to previous deputy leaders, saying: Harman. Prescott. Rayner. What do they have in common? When they spoke, people listened. Youd have a drink with them. And they were Labour to their bones.
David Lammy, the Deputy Prime Minister, departs from Downing Street on Thursday - Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire

The British branch of a campaign group founded by an assassinated Maga influencer accused David Lammy of fuelling violent rhetoric against Right-wing figures.

Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot in front of thousands of people at Utah Valley University on Wednesday in what officials have described as a political assassination.

The key Donald Trump ally was shot at an event planned by Turning Point USA, a Republican donor-funded organisation founded by Kirk in 2012.

The expansion of Turning Points UK branches in 2019 was met with praise from Conservative MPs, but Mr Lammy described the group as hard-Right, xenophobic bile.

Reacting to the celebration of the youth group by the Conservatives, Mr Lammy wrote in a post on X: The transformation of the Tories from a centre-Right economically conservative party to one that openly promotes hard-Right, xenophobic bile in just a few years shows what happens when you appease.

We should fight for our values on Brexit and immigration.

Responding to Sir Keir Starmers statement condemning political violence after the assassination, Turning Point UK said: Your Deputy Prime Minister, David Lammy, described us and Charlie as sinister forces and xenophobic.

Other Labour MPs have protested with violent far-Left activists who attacked us.

The language your party and the wider Left uses to describe people like Charlie and us is the reason why we face this violence. Shame on you.

Turning Point UK social media post

A spokesman for Turning Point UK told The Telegraph: Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy has been at the forefront of fuelling violent rhetoric against those on the Right of politics.

From baselessly calling President Trump a Neo-Nazi sympathising sociopath to branding Charlie Kirk and Turning Point as xenophobic, Lammys words have deliberately fuelled division.

Charlie Kirk is dead because Left-wing politicians like Lammy have demonised and misrepresented their political opponents, and turned them into bogeymen that extremists view as legitimate targets.

Its too late for Charlie, but the rhetoric in our politics must change before more are murdered.

Last year, Mr Lammy refused to say whether he was wrong to call Mr Trump a neo-Nazi sympathising sociopath and a tyrant in a toupee in a Time magazine article in 2018.

He told BBC Breakfast: Donald Trump is the biggest, in many ways, of political characters we have at this point on the planet.

In a grown-up world, in the national interests of this country, of course, if the American people choose Donald Trump as their president, we will work as closely with him as we can, and we will seek to influence him where we disagree.

The identity of the gunman remains unclear, with a police search ongoing. Two men were arrested but later released, with officials confirming they had no ties to the shooting.

Police are yet to reveal a motive for the shooting. Mr Trump, who met Kirk several times and has spoken at Turning Point USA events, blamed radical left Democrats.

This is a dark moment for America, Mr Trump said on a video posted to his Truth Social website hours after Kirks killing, hailing him as a martyr for truth.

My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity, and to other political violence, including the organisations that fund it and support it.

The president ordered all American flags to be flown at half-mast following the shooting on Wednesday evening.

Mr Lammy has been contacted for comment.
Experts say demographic changes are driving increasingly complex births across the UK. Photograph: UK Stock Images Ltd/Alamy

More than half of women having a baby in Britain now do so with the help of medical intervention, an audit of NHS maternity care has revealed.

Of the 592,594 births that took place in 2023, 50.6% involved either a caesarean section or the use of instruments such as forceps or a ventouse suction cup.

Experts said the rise in medically assisted deliveries represented a major shift driven by births becoming more complicated in recent years, partly because more older or obese women are having babies.

The increasing regularity of medical intervention is largely down to the sharp rise in caesarean births, in which the baby is delivered during an operation.

Related: Reasons for rise in caesarean births

The proportion of babies born that way across England, Scotland and Wales has risen from 25% in 2015-16 to 38.9% in 2023, according to the National Maternity and Perinatal Audit (NMPA), which is a collaboration between childbirth doctors, midwives and academics.

The proportion of births that were induced has also gone up during that time, though less dramatically, from 29.3% to 33.9%. But the proportion using forceps or ventouse cups has fallen over the same period, from 12.3% to 11.1%.

Dr Shuby Puthussery, an associate professor in maternal and child health at the University of Bedfordshire, said: Its worrying that over 50% of births involved medical intervention. But its linked to a broader demographic trend.

We see a rather worrying trend of births to [older] women increasing year by year, along with significant increases in factors such as obesity, maternal diabetes and pre-existing medical conditions, leading to more complex medically assisted births, especially among women from ethnic minority groups and those living in poverty.

Better access to antenatal care, especially scans, would help detect problems earlier and reduce the risk of mothers needing medical assistance while in labour, she said.

Prof Asma Khalil, the vice-president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), disagreed that a caesarean increases the risk faced by women.

Caesarean births are common and the steady increase isnt necessarily a cause for concern as long as future services are well-prepared to adapt and ensure they have the right staffing, training and facilities to manage increasingly complex births.

The caesarean birthrate in England has steadily increased over the past decade. One factor in this is the increasing proportion of pregnancies that are complex.

We are seeing national rising rates of obesity and people choosing to have children at a later stage in their life, both of which can increase the chance of complications.

The report said: There are risks and benefits to both vaginal and caesarean modes of birth, and the reasons for choosing a caesarean birth, planned or unplanned, can include physical or psychological benefits.

While unnecessary interventions may lead to adverse outcomes, it is important to note that there is no ideal rate for births by caesarean.

In 2023, a total of 23.1% of births were emergency caesareans and 16.4% were planned.

The NMPA is a joint piece of work by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Royal College of Midwives, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

It confirmed that fertility rates had declined sharply over recent years. The number of births in England and Wales has been falling steadily since 2012, and 2023 saw the lowest number since 1977. The fertility rate in England and Wales is now 1.44 children per woman.

Scotland recorded its lowest-ever total fertility in 2023. The rate there has fallen to just 1.3 babies per woman.

NHS England was asked for comment.
A furious Qatar has accused Israels prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being a narcissistic saboteur-in-chief determined to wreck the chances of peace in the Middle East, after Israel bombed the Qatari capital on Tuesday.

In blistering comments made to The Independent, Dr Majed al-Ansari, Qatars foreign ministry spokesperson and adviser to the countrys prime minister, said Israel had attacked central Doha while Hamas negotiators were discussing a US-proposed truce deal, putting a target on the back of any country attempting to mediate peace.

Israel launched an unprecedented air raid on Doha on Tuesday, killing at least six people, including a member of Qatars internal security forces and five Hamas figures.

Mr Netanyahu said the targets were the senior Hamas leadership in exile, who, according to the Qataris, were in central Doha discussing details of a US-penned plan for Gaza.

Dr Ansari told The Independent that the country is dealing with this as a direct attack on Qatar, as Israel failed to issue a warning to Doha beforehand or apparently to consult its own closest ally, the US, despite the fact that the largest American military base in the Middle East is located close to the Qatari capital.

 The treacherous behaviour of prime minister Netanyahu is not something new to us, but it is a red line that has been crossed that has never been crossed before, said Dr Ansari, adding that Mr Netanyahu has actively sabotaged talks at every turning point.

This message is very clear to everybody around the world, but especially to our region here, that peace with Israel is not possible under Prime Minister Netanyahu. He does not want peace. He does not work towards peace. He is actually the saboteur-in-chief.

Smoke rises following an explosion supposedly caused by an Israeli attack in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday (AP)

Qatar does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, but has taken a leading role in mediating multiple ceasefire deals between Israel and Hamas over the course of the 23-month bloody war. At the request of Israel and the US, it has played host to critical talks between negotiating teams from both sides.

Dr Ansari said that the attack on a building in the heart of Doha, where a senior Hamas delegation was discussing the latest Gaza ceasefire deal penned by the Trump administration, therefore underscored Mr Netanyahus intent.

This is not an act of a partner who believes in their partnership with the US. This is a unilateral action by a madman. This is somebody who is unhinged.

[Mr Netanyahu] does not have any concern for the life of the hostages, any concern for the international standing of Israel [among] the international community, or any concern for what Israel stands for as a state, as a member of the United Nations.

 It has reached a point where he doesnt even have respect for his partners in the US administration.

He added grimly:  The only way Netanyahu wants to reshape the region is in his own image; in his narcissistic, megalomaniacal image.

Israels prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been described as a madman whose decision to attack Qatar was unhinged (AFP/Getty)

Israel has faced worldwide condemnation for its shock decision to bomb Qatar, a state that has already been caught in the crossfire between Israel, the US and Iran, which made the US base in Qatar the target of its retaliatory strikes.

The Israeli military has yet to confirm who was killed in Tuesdays barrage. But Hamas said that none of the senior leaders were harmed, naming the dead as Hammam, the son of its top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, Mr al-Hayyas office chief, and three other individuals whose identities are unknown.

Dr Ansari said that investigations are ongoing but preliminary results show that Israeli fighter jets evaded Qatars sophisticated defence systems and radars during the raid.

Sir Keir Starmer joined world leaders in condemning the attack as a serious violation of Qatars sovereignty that risked further escalation across the region.

Gulf leaders, including Saudi Arabias crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, described the strike as a criminal act and a flagrant violation of international law and said it posed a threat to regional stability.

The Saudi crown prince and the Emirati president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan were set to visit Doha to discuss a response. The Qatari government has instructed a team of legal experts to study all legal and diplomatic avenues they could take to hold Israel accountable, including in the UN Security Council, where a session will be held on the attack.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, is greeted by Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, in Doha (via Reuters)

But there is also growing alarm about the repercussions of the attack for Gaza, where Mr Netanyahu is pushing ahead with a deeply controversial plan to widen his offensive and take over Gaza City.

The renewed military operation has elicited worldwide criticism and even pushback from within Israel, where many are concerned that Mr Netanyahu, who is also standing trial on corruption charges, is bowing to mounting pressure from extreme-right members of his coalition to continue the war on Gaza, in order to stay in power.

Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Gaza and a seige of the territory in the wake of Hamas militants bloody attacks on 7 October 2023, during which more than 1,000 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage. Israels bombardment has already killed 64,000 people, according to Palestinian estimates: the largest professional organisation of scholars studying genocide, the IAGS, said last week that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

On Wednesday, the Israeli military pushed deeper into Gaza City, where they also issued more evacuation orders to the million or so people believed to be there, as Palestinian civilians described running for their lives to the overcrowded south of the Strip.

Qatari officials told The Independent they had hoped a deal could be struck soon, as on Hamass side they were close to finalising the wording of a ceasefire deal to present to the Trump administration  but explained that this could no longer happen.

 There is nothing valid in talks post the Israeli side deciding to bomb the mediator and the negotiating team, an official added bluntly.

Israelis have taken to the streets each week demanding that Netanyahu agree to an immediate ceasefire and hostage deal (AFP/Getty)

This has worried the families of the remaining 50 hostages and captives still believed to be in Gaza, who have taken to the streets almost every day calling for a ceasefire.

They released a statement in the wake of Israels bombing of Doha, in which they said they were following events with deep concern and heavy anxiety and spoke of their grave fear about the price that the hostages may pay.

Dr Ansari said that allowing Israels bombing of Doha to go unpunished at this moment would affect anybody who wants to play the role of peace facilitator, and warned that it could send a dangerous message to countries such as Russia that they too could bomb foreign states.

It was a direct political decision to put Qatar in the target zone, and put our lives at risk just because of [Mr Netanyahus] own narcissistic ideas, he said .  Everybody in the region right now understands that there is a target on everybodys back if Netanyahu sees it is fitting to his political agenda.
Peter Mandelson, left, wrote that Jeffrey Epstein, right, 'remains my best pal' next to the picture of the pair together in the financier's '50th birthday book'. (House Oversight Committee)

Peter Mandelson admitted he had continued 'long ties' with the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein in his vetting interview to become the UK's ambassador to the US, it has been claimed.

Keir Starmer was forced to fire his pick to be the UK's representative in Washington on Wednesday after emails emerged showing Mandelson sent supportive messages to Epstein while he faced jail for sex offences.

It followed the publication of messages Mandelson wrote to Epstein calling him his "best pal" in a '50th birthday book' to the financier in 2003.

The prime minister had supported the former Hartlepool MP until that point, insisting he had been put through a proper vetting process before his appointment.

On Thursday, the Times reported that the Labour grandee admitted in his vetting interview he had continued his relationship with Epstein for many years, raising fresh questions about how thoroughly the relationship was scrutinised and how long it continued after his conviction.

The latest revelations pile further pressure on Starmer to reveal exactly what he knew - and when - about the pair's relationship.

It has also separately been claimed Downing Street ignored concerns raised by Britain's security services over his business links with China.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the prime minister had "failed yet another key test of leadership" by not sacking Mandelson earlier, while Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said Starmer should come before MPs and explain why he was appointed in the first place.

Why was Peter Mandelson sacked?

While Mandelson's association with Epstein has been known about for some time, new revelations earlier this week made his position untenable.

On Monday night, senior Democrats in the US released images of Epstein's '50th birthday book' from 2003, contained messages from former numerous acquaintances and friends. These included a series of bizarre messages in which Mandelson described the financier as his best pal.

It reads: "Once upon a time, an intelligent, sharp-witted man they call 'mysterious' parachuted into my life  you would spend many hours just waiting for him to turn up  And often, no sooner were you used to having him around, you would suddenly be alone again  Leaving you with some interesting friends to entertain instead  Or just some dogs to keep you company (he wasnt always so keen on them)  But then he would parachute back in  Very occasionally, taking you by surprise in some far off places  Or in one of his glorious homes he likes to share with his friends (yum yum)  but wherever he is in the world he remains my best pal."

Mandelson, who has strongly denied having any knowledge of Epstein's crimes, subsequently described the words he used in his birthday message as "very embarrassing to see and read".

Starmer had backed Mandelson during prime minister's questions on Wednesday (11 September), saying he had "full confidence" in him. But Bloomberg News and The Sun published emails later that day which showed Mandelson's relationship with Epstein continued after his crimes had been revealed. The cache of emails showed that on the day before Epstein reported to jail in June 2008, Lord Mandelson told him your friends stay with you and love you.

The Foreign Office said the emails showed the "depth and extent of Peter Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein was materially different from that known at the time of his appointment".

Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said: In particular, Lord Mandelsons suggestion that Jeffrey Epsteins first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged is new information.

However, the claims about Mandelson's vetting interview potentially raise fresh questions about how much was known about his relationship with Epstein prior to his move to Washington.

What did Mandelson say about Jeffrey Epstein?

Mandelson wrote emails to Epstein expressing support for him, despite the financier having pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution and soliciting a minor and being sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2008.

He is reported to have written to Epstein that "your friends stay with you and love you", and that he should "fight for early release" shortly before his prison sentence. The day before Epstein began his sentence, Mandelson is reported to have told him: "I think the world of you."

According to an internal report by the bank JPMorgan, Mandelson stayed at Epstein's Manhattan apartment while the paedophile was serving his sentence.

Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty told MPs that this information had not been known when Lord Mandelson was picked to be the ambassador.

Doughty told MPs: "In particular, Lord Mandelson's suggestion that Jeffrey Epstein's first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged is new information.

"And in light of that, and mindful, as we all are, of the victims of Epstein's appalling crimes, he has been withdrawn as ambassador with immediate effect."

Sky News reported in the aftermath of Mandelson's resignation that the security services flagged concerns about him taking up the role of ambassador, but Number 10 did not judge these to be enough to halt the appointment.

It is unclear if all of the details were shared with the PM, according to Sky's report.

How many times has Peter Mandelson been sacked or quit?

Mandelson was a key figure in Labour's revival in the 1990s, when the party swept back into power under Tony Blair after more than a decade in opposition.

He wielded great influence behind the scenes as a trusted adviser to Blair, leading to him being known as the "Prince of Darkness".

But his political career has been dogged by controversy, having twice been forced to resign as a minister. He quit as trade secretary in 1998 after it emerged he had received a 373,000 home loan from the paymaster general.

Mandelson was a key figure in the New Labour project under Tony Blair. (AP) (Peter Morrison, Associated Press)

Mandelson came back as Northern Ireland secretary in 1999, but he was forced to resign again in 2001 after he was accused of helping one of the Indian billionaire Hinduja brothers obtain a British passport in return for a 1m donation to the Millennium Dome.

An inquiry cleared him of impropriety, but his career at Westminster appeared finished and he went off to Brussels to become a European commissioner.

However, he made a shock return to British politics in 2008 when then-PM Gordon Brown made him business secretary. He relinquished the role in 2010 when Labour lost that year's general election.

Mandelson was named Starmer's ambassador to the US in December 2024, ahead of the start of Donald Trump's second term.

What was Epstein accused of?

Epstein was a US financier who became influential in New York and wider high society in the early 2000s.

He cultivated an elite social circle and often flew high-profile people to his Caribbean private island.

However, Epstein had a dark side unknown to the wider world.

Over a period of years, he groomed many women and children that he and his associates sexually abused.

Epstein was initially arrested in 2005 after a parent accused him of sexually abusing their 14-year-old daughter.

In 2008 under a non-prosecution agreement, Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida of solicitation of prostitution involving a minor and another similar prostitution charge.

Jeffrey Epstein died in his prison cell in 2019. (AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

That allowed him to avoid federal prosecution and a possible life sentence, instead serving 13 months in a work-release program. He was required to make payments to victims and register as a sex offender.

The plea deal was controversial at the time, with even the judge of the trial and the head of Palm Beach police criticising its leniency.

In 2019 federal prosecutors in New York charged Epstein with sex trafficking and conspiracy after investigative reporting by The Miami Herald stirred outrage over the 2008 plea bargain.

They accused him of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls.

At the time of Epstein's arrest, prosecutors said they found a trove of pictures of nude and semi-nude young women and girls at his Manhattan mansion. A conviction could have put him in prison for 45 years.

However, he never stood trial after he was found dead in his cell in August 2019 aged 66.

His death sparked an outcry across the world and fuelled conspiracy theories.
Nord Stream plot

For the high-level gathering of Ukrainian military officers, there was every reason to celebrate. It was early May 2022, a month after Russias failed siege of Kyiv, and, having given Vladimir Putins forces an unexpected bloody nose, the group met for a few well-earned drinks.

Or perhaps more than a few. For as the booze flowed, talk moved on to ways to hit the Kremlin where it really hurt. How about, for example, blowing up Nord Stream 1 and 2, the twin pipelines carrying Russian gas to Germany across the Baltic Sea? Doing so would cost Russia billions of pounds in lost sales revenues and end Germanys unhealthy dependence on cheap Kremlin energy. If they got caught, though, thered be trouble: Kyivs European allies would hardly welcome sabotage in their own backyard.

Ordinarily, the drinkers might have woken up hungover the next day and realised theyd got carried away. On this occasion, though, what sounds like the script of an over-egged thriller became reality.

For nearly three years, German police have been trying to track down who blew up the pipeline in late September 2022. The strike left 350,000 tons of methane bubbling up to the Baltics surface (equivalent to the annual CO2 emissions of Denmark) and sparked a huge geopolitical whodunnit.

Many presumed it was ordered by Vladimir Putin, to show Europe how fragile its energy supplies were. Others thought it might even have been orchestrated by the CIA, reverting to its Cold War playbook. Putin has suggested as much  the US has long been opposed to Nord Stream, after all.

Last month, however, following an arrest in the unlikely setting of an Italian beach resort, the world got the first glimpse of the attacks alleged ringleader. Acting on a warrant issued by German prosecutors, Italian police swooped on a holiday complex on the Adriatic coast, detaining a 49-year-old man holidaying with his family.

Identified only as Serhii K, he is understood to be a retired Ukrainian sea captain and ex-secret service officer. Photographs of his court appearance  where he denied the charges  showed a muscular, shaven-headed figure being escorted back to a prison van.

German officials now plan to extradite the suspect, whom they allege headed up a six-strong Ukrainian team that planted the explosives and triggered the Nord Stream blast in September 2022. In one of their first public statements on the investigation  until now highly confidential  Germanys federal prosecution office said: Serhii K was part of a group of individuals who placed explosives on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines.

German prosecutors are expected to seek trial for Serhii K - Massimiliano Donati/Getty Images

His trial may also prove politically explosive. Germany is now Ukraines biggest military and financial backer after America. And while Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelensky has denied sanctioning the plot, leaks from the investigation suggest he was at least aware of it. It was also allegedly overseen by Ukraines former top commander General Valeriy Zaluzhny  now Kyivs ambassador to London  who likewise denies all knowledge.

So what exactly do the Germans think happened? Drawing on public details from the investigation, as well as reports in German and other international media, it is now possible to piece together the full outline of the police case. And it seems that, for all its drunken beginnings, Operation Diameter, as the sabotage plot was allegedly nicknamed, was a highly professional undertaking. Not only did it require high explosives to be smuggled across borders, they had to be planted on the seabed 80 metres below the surface  a depth reachable only by expert divers.

To that end, the six-strong Ukrainian team included four experienced deep-sea divers. The group, which was said to include civilians, hired a yacht called the Andromeda from a marina in Germanys Baltic port town of Rostock in early September 2022. The marina employees, it seems, barely gave them a glance.

The Andromeda was a battered old Bavaria 50 Cruiser, an unflashy vessel known as The Skoda of the Seas. And with a woman as part of the group  allegedly one of Ukraines top female divers  they looked like just another band of holidaymakers enjoying some late-summer cruising. On sojourns into the Baltic, the tourists then planted bombs at four spots close to the Danish island of Bornholm, timed to explode on September 26.

Nord Stream Saboteurs' movements

Just a few kilos of high-grade military explosive was apparently required to rupture the pipelines. While neither were actually in use at the time  Germany had already ceased buying gas from Russia in the wake of Ukraines invasion  their destruction ended any possibility of the trading relationship resuming.

Better still for Kyiv, the world seemed convinced the Kremlin was to blame. Denmarks navy said that, ahead of the blasts, it had seen Russian ships acting suspiciously around Bornholm, sailing with identification systems switched off.

But while politicians and pundits finger-pointed, Western officials already suspected Kyiv. Dutch military intelligence had got wind of the plot in June 2022, according to German media, and had alerted the CIA, who in turn had warned Zelenskys office to call it off. His attempts to act on the alert reportedly proved unsuccessful.

Following the explosion, German police then got a second tip-off  again passed on by Dutch intelligence  identifying the make of boat used. That led detectives to the Andromeda, which still contained explosive residues plus fingerprint and DNA evidence. The bomb squad had also hired an unsuspecting taxi driver to drive them into Germany who, by chance, was photographed driving too fast by a speed camera.

Investigators tracked him down and obtained detailed descriptions of his passengers. While the squad had used false passports, border cameras had also photographed their faces which, cross-checked with the drivers descriptions, mobile phone records and other data, allowed the Germans to piece together the perpetrators true identities.

Suspicions also grew that the squad had official help. A car that picked up one diver after the operation was allegedly registered to the military attache at Ukraines embassy in Poland. Another suspect, who was living in Poland, fled back to Ukraine a day after Germany issued an arrest warrant, suggesting he had been tipped off.

The Andromeda crew also briefly called at the Polish port of Koobrzeg a week before the attack, prompting German prosecutors to ask their Polish counterparts if Koobrzeg was where bombs were loaded on. Poland has denied any such scenario.

The Andromeda, a battered old Bavaria 50 Cruiser, was hired in the German town of Rostock - Sean Gallup

German prosecutors are now understood to have issued warrants for all six suspects, who face charges of jointly causing an explosion, anti-constitutional sabotage and the destruction of infrastructure. It is understood that the plan  which crippled the 20bn pipelines  was carried on a budget of just $300,000 (221,000).

I always laugh when I read speculation about some huge operation involving secret services, submarines, drones and satellites, one source told the Wall Street Journal, which first reported how the plot was originally hatched. The whole thing was born out of a night of heavy boozing, and the iron determination of a handful of people who had the guts to risk their lives for their country.

The five suspects who remain at large are now all believed to be back in Ukraine, which forbids extradition of its citizens. But German prosecutors  who are independent of government  are expected to seek trial for Serhii K, irrespective of the awkward headlines for both Berlin and Kyiv.

Asked about the bombing in 2023, when claims of Kyivs involvement first emerged, Zelensky insisted: Nothing of the sort has been done by Ukraine. However, some reports say that by the time the CIA ordered him to intervene  which he apparently tried to do  the unit was already operating in deep cover and therefore uncontactable, even by Ukraines military chiefs.

The Wall Street Journal, for its part, reported that General Zaluzhny had ignored Zelenskys orders to halt the operation, citing Ukrainian officers and officials said to be familiar with the events. But the man himself, who has served as ambassador to London since early 2024, has dismissed suggestions of Kyivs involvement as provocation.

President Zelensky and Ukraines former top commander General Valeriy Zaluzhny have both denied involvement - Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Reuters

What is less in doubt is that Nord Stream would have been a tempting target for Kyiv. Not only was the 800-mile piece of infrastructure majority-owned and financed by Russia, its demise also forced Moscow to continue relying on a trans-Ukrainian pipeline for supplying European clients. The contract for that pipeline, which only expired this year, earned Kyiv lucrative transit fees.

Germanys government has said little about the pending Nord Stream court case, insisting publicly that it is purely a judicial matter. However, Ed Arnold, a European security fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, believes any trial will be carefully stage-managed.

The Germans will want to get to the bottom of it in the interests of justice, but it may be presented as an unsanctioned operation by a rogue unit, he says.

With the court of public opinion also still largely backing Ukraine, he doubts that a guilty verdict will harm German or European support for Kyiv. However, should Russia ever now carry out a similar act of sabotage in Europe, it will be all too easy for the Kremlin to point the finger at its neighbour.

Meanwhile, one thing the Nord Stream attack has achieved, Arnold argues, is to give Western leaders a wake-up call regarding the fragility of their critical energy infrastructure. Theoretically, we all knew that before, but it took the actual bombing to make people act, he says. Now Nato is working on protecting pipelines, bringing in drone surveillance capabilities and all kinds of other measures that wouldnt otherwise have happened.

True, that may not stop Serhii K getting a lengthy prison sentence if convicted. On returning to Ukraine, though, he will likely switch from jailbird to national hero  and, once again, the drinks may be flowing.
Scrolling past a picture of a place isnt the same as standing in it. A snapshot trims away what matters mostthe space around you, the scale, the air, the noise, the quiet. Some countries feel like youve only seen the trailer until you arrive. Once youre there, the full story shows itself, and no photo can match it.

Norway

Credit: iStockphoto

Even high-res shots cant handle how surreal the fjords feel in person. In northern Norway, the Lofoten Islands deliver a strange mix of Arctic wildness and gentle weather. The midnight sun, visible in summer, doesnt really set, and in September, the aurora flips the sky into a slow-motion light show.

Japan

Credit: iStockphoto

Shirakawa-go in Gifu Prefecture is famous for its steep-roofed farmhouses, but no picture prepares you for the silence of winter here. You walk along narrow streets and feel like youve wandered into a painting. Many buildings are open to the public, and staying in a local guesthouse feels like a complete reset.

Chile

Credit: iStockphoto

Sunset in Valle de la Luna looks staged until you realize the colors change every few minutes. Farther south in Torres del Paine, the wind doesnt care what you planned. Glaciers crack in the distance, and guanacos wander across the road.

Croatia

Credit: iStockphoto

Zagreb skips the beach scene and keeps things simple. Gas lamps still light the Upper Town at night, and the cobblestone streets lead you past medieval facades, because people still live and work there. The real highlight is watching the rhythm of local life play out slowly.

Vietnam

Credit: iStockphoto

Hoi An gets photographed a lot, usually at night and with lanterns. What you cant upload is the smell of grilled meat, the sound of foot traffic, or the way light plays off wet stone. The foodcau lao noodles and crispy banh mishould probably get their own exhibit.

Italy

Credit: iStockphoto

The Dolomites dont really announce themselves. They just rise. Pine forests stretch between them like green carpets, and in the morning, the sound of a cowbell can echo for miles. No angle ever captures the scaleeverythings taller and a little colder than you expected.

India

Credit: iStockphoto

The Taj Mahals reputation is solid, but standing in front of it still hits different. Theres detail everywhere: in the marble, the inlays, the air. You start noticing the colors changing with the sun. Most people take a photo, then just stare.

France

Credit: iStockphoto

In person, the Alps behind it look like theyve been pulled closer, and the canals that thread through the Old Town sparkle under shifting light. You can rent a bike, circle the lake, and watch the scenery flip every few miles.

New Zealand

Credit: iStockphoto

Rotorua smells like sulfur, thanks to the geothermal springs and bubbling mud pools. However, the nearby Waimangu Volcanic Valley is what actually sticks with people. Hiking here means seeing hot water creeks and terrain shaped by ongoing volcanic shifts.

Greece

Credit: iStockphoto

Photos of Santorini usually focus on the white buildings and blue domes, but they dont show what its like to swim in the Mediterranean. The water is salty enough to keep you afloat with zero effort. Off-season visits bring quieter cliffs and empty trails above the caldera.

Indonesia

Credit: iStockphoto

Reaching Mount Ijen means starting in the dark, climbing until the ground itself throws blue fire into the night. The flames come from sulfur gas catching air, a glow that feels more alien than earthly. Bali draws the headlines, but its Java that delivers the silence and distance that photographs cant catch.

United Kingdom

Credit: iStockphoto

Trails wind through ancient paths lined with low stone walls, and beaches appear below suddenly, framed by steep rocks and frothy water. Theres a reason painters come hereand its not just because its quiet. Its the lighting and constant movement.

Morocco

Credit: iStockphoto

Marrakesh comes at you fast. In the main square, the noise stacks on itselfgrills smoking, drums beating, vendors calling, scooters pushing through. Even the Jardin Majorelle, with its blue walls and palms, only slows the pace for a moment. The city keeps moving whether youre ready or not, and that restless energy is what sticks.

Serbia

Credit: iStockphoto

Belgrade doesnt go out of its way to charm anyone, and maybe thats why it works. The riverbanks double as bars. Skadarlija hums with music and clinking plates. Youll find a fortress, a couple of bridges, and many people just doing their thing. Its not polished.

United States

Credit: iStockphoto

Photos make the Grand Canyon look big, and being there makes it feel bottomless. It doesnt hit you until youre standing at the edge, looking down into colors that dont stop layering. Wind cuts through the silence, and shadows roll slowly over stone.
CBP officers intercepted this stolen dozer before it could be shipped to Ghana.  US Customs and Border Protection

It wasnt an SUV or pickup truck this time  federal officers in Maryland stopped a $237,000 Caterpillar dozer from being shipped overseas after discovering it was stolen, officials announced.

Customs and Border Protection said officers at the Port of Baltimore intercepted the 2015 Caterpillar D8T tractor dozer on Wednesday, Sept. 3, during a routine export exam.

The heavy equipment, valued at about $237,000, was headed to Accra, Ghana, when CBP officers found that its vehicle identification number matched an active stolen vehicle report out of Carroll County.

Deputies with the Carroll County Sheriffs Office confirmed the theft report, and the dozer was seized.

According to CBP, Ghana is one of the most common destinations for stolen vehicles leaving US ports.

An estimated 60 percent of the 250 stolen vehicle exports recovered by Baltimore officers last year were bound for West Africa, including 28 headed to Ghana, officials noted.

Nationwide, CBP reported seizing 1,445 stolen vehicles in 2024, up 10 percent from 2023 and 81 percent higher than 2021.

Customs and Border Protection officers continue to combat transnational criminal organizations by interrupting the international trade in stolen vehicles at our seaports, Jason Kropiewnicki, CBPs Acting Area Port Director in Baltimore, said.

We will continue to secure our nations borders, recover stolen vehicle exports, and work with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to hold these criminal organizations accountable.
Soon, 2,983 names, so many familiar to New York's Lower Hudson Valley residents, will be read aloud at what was ground zero on Sept. 11, 2001. Local towns and villages will hold similarly solemn ceremonies remembering residents lost 24 years ago in the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Speeches and prayers will include pledges to "never forget."

Meanwhile, the World Trade Center Health Program flounders, advocates warn, as 9/11 responders continue to die from the toxic exposures at ground zero. Survivors, including those who lived, worked or went to school in lower Manhattan, face similar illnesses.

The WTC Health Program, established as part of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, offers screenings and treatments for diseases and disorders classified as caused by exposures on Sept. 11, 2001, and the months after, reports the Rockland/Westchester Journal News, which is a part of the USA TODAY Network.

Among the issues in question: The status of long-planned studies to include World Trade Center Health Program coverage for conditions like cancer and autoimmune disorders, which have been seen at what appears to be higher incidence among the 9/11 community.

Any delays weigh on 9/11 survivors like retired NYPD Det. Richard Volpe, who developed a rare autoimmune disease that's led to one kidney transplant. Some 13 years after his first transplant, Volpe said he lives in trepidation about when his new kidney could fail.

"Eventually it's gonna kill me," said Volpe, who receives no WTC Health Program benefits and support for the illness because it has yet to be categorized as a 9/11-related covered condition. "I have a lot of concerns with my family, the fact I have a wife and two beautiful daughters."

WTC program delivers on a key promise

The World Trade Center Health Program is administered by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health or NIOSH, part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC,) all under the HHS umbrella.

More 9/11 responders have died from exposures to the toxins that swirled in the air after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks than were killed that day in lower Manhattan, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

About 140,000 first responders and survivors are enrolled in the WTC Health Program; last year, 10,000 signed up, and it's expected a similar number will join the program in 2025.

Thomas O'Connor, a retired FBI agent, responded to the Pentagon within 15 minutes of a jetliner slamming into it. Politicians have supported the 9/11 community, he said, but what about now?

The WTC Health Program is small and relies on other departments, like NIOSH and CDC, to work on grants, research and coverage approvals. Cuts in those branches of HHS cascade down and damage the WTC Health Program's effectiveness, advocates say.

RFK Jr. faces questions on CDC turmoil: Vaccine furor as angry senators hit RFK Jr. over CDC chaos: Hearing highlights

Amid rounds of cuts, restorations and buyouts, WTC Health Program staffing is down to around 80 employees, 9/11 advocates say, even though the program is authorized to have 138 workers.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration and HHS leadership have promised to protect the WTC Health Program and its mandate.

On Sept. 11, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shared on X that "@POTUS and I will ensure the HHS World Trade Center Health Program continues to serve our 9/11 heroes-firefighters, police, cleanup crews, survivors, and Pentagon workers. We will never forget."

WTC program: Trump, CDC fully restore 9/11 health program cuts from DOGE axe

Information lockdown?

Feeding the chaos, 9/11 advocates say, is a seven-plus-month information blackout from the WTC Health Program that they say has suffered under the second administration of President Trump and Kennedy's leadership.

An HHS spokesperson denied an information blackout. The program is accepting, reviewing, and processing new enrollment applications and certification requests, according to HHS, and any information ban was lifted in February.

Benjamin Chevat, executive director of 911 Health Watch, disputes that a communications ban or "temporary hiatus" had been lifted.

But, Chevat said, the communications failure is just part of the issues at HHS that challenge the WTC Health Program.

Staffing losses and a lack of research into 9/11-related illnesses plagues the program, losses Chevat pins on Kennedy.

The issue is not just the failure to communicate, the issue is the impact that failure to communicate seven months into (Kennedy's tenure) has on 9/11 responders and survivors," Chevat said.

Advocates: WTC program antithesis of 'waste, fraud and abuse'

Under the banner of tackling waste, fraud and abuse, WTC Health Program has faced a couple rounds of cuts, including a plan in February announced by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, then run by Elon Musk.

"Individuals with 9/11-related conditions should not have to rely on repeated uproars from the public and the media to obtain the care they are owed under the law and so desperately need," U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer, of New York, wrote in an Aug. 5 letter to Kennedy, warning of treatment delays.

Former U.S. Rep. Peter King said the WTC Health Program is the wrong place to look. The Long Island Republican co-sponsored the Zadroga Act and championed its reauthorization in 2015.

WTC Health program in Trump era: World Trade Center Health Program: Do Trump cuts imperil sickened responders? What we know

"I've been in government 50 years," said King, who served in Congress from 1993 to 2021 and before that served as Nassau County comptroller and on the Hempstead Town Council. "There is waste, fraud and abuse."

But King called the WTC Health Program "scandal-free."

"This program works," he said. "It's a life-or-death program."

King believes Trump and Kennedy must not be aware of HHS policy's impact on 9/11 responders facing illness.

"I would just like media attention focused on it, get it to the president, in front of him," King said. "It would be resolved in 10 minutes."

US President Donald Trump (2L) listens as US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks prior to signing an executive order restarting the Presidential Fitness Test in public schools in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 31, 2025. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

At just 33, rare autoimmune disease attacked 9/11 responder's kidneys

Volpe was an NYPD detective in the narcotics division on Sept. 11, 2001. He was assigned to Ground Zero and the Staten Island landfill over the next six months.

In June 2003, a kidney biopsy showed he had IgA nephropathy, an autoimmune disorder that can cause kidney damage. Within a year, he lost 60% of his kidney function.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, this rare disorder affects about 1 in 100,000 and leads to kidney failure in about 1 in 5 people within 10 years of diagnosis.

The WTC Health Program helps him with breathing and digestive issues he's developed because those are approved illnesses. But because autoimmune disorders like IgA have not yet gone through the full coverage approval process, his personal insurance covers those treatments and medications.

Volpe, his doctors and 9/11 advocates had explored getting autoimmune disorders like his covered by the WTC Health Program for decades now.

Volpe, who now lives in Florida, acknowledges that government can move at a glacial pace. But now progress is completely frozen.

"It's been slow roll as it is," he said, "but then it stopped dead."

Retired NYPD Det. Richard Volpe, now a St. Augustine, Florida, resident, worked on the rescue and recovery efforts after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He developed a rare autoimmune disease that attacked his kidneys.

Volpe's focus now is on his family.

Back in 2001, he was 33 and single. He chose pension benefits that fit his lifestyle then.

"I wasn't even thinking about getting married," he said. Now 57, he's married and an "older dad, magically" to two girls, ages 10 and 7.

"They don't get my pension," he said. And if his autoimmune disorder isn't covered by the WTC Health Program, they wouldn't get 9/11-related death benefits, either, he fears.

Former FBI agent can't get cardiac coverage

Thomas and Jean O'Connor are former FBI agents and spouses. On Sept. 11, 2001, Thomas arrived at the Pentagon within 15 minutes of American Airlines Flight 77 crashing into the building. Jean O'Connor was at Quantico that day and also responded.

Tom O'Connor recalls staying the first 24 hours. They sifted through black smoke while the building was still on fire. Then they worked in 15-hour shifts.

FBI agents Thomas and Jean OConnor, seen here at the Pentagon in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The spouses, now retired, worked on rescue and recovery efforts for weeks.

Jean O'Connor was a team leader on evidence recovery, working with FEMA search-and-rescue team clearing debris. When her team found human remains, they would document the location, place them in a body bag then an honor guard would carry the remains out in a dignified manner.

O'Connor, as a leader in the FBI Agents Association years ago, advocated for the inclusion of the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania crash sites in the WTC Health Program. But when he suffered a heart attack in July, he didn't immediately think about 9/11 as a contributing factor.

Because WTC Health Program hasn't made progress on studying cardiac health connections, the costs and treatments might end up being covered. "Like it is or it isn't," Tom O'Connor said, "but either way they should look at the studies or the paperwork and make a decision."

Jean O'Connor, now 62, hasn't developed any possible 9/11-related illnesses. Besides the cardiac issues, Tom O'Connor, 61, has developed digestive issues that are being documented for possible WTC Health Program coverage.

"But knock on wood, other than that we're pretty good," Tom O'Connor said.

At the Pentagon, 125 were killed in the building, as well as 64 passengers on the plane. Some 27 FBI employees have died since from 9/11-related illnesses.

But the O'Connors, who have retired to West Virginia, believe more deaths should be considered 9/11 related. Delays in classifying more illnesses hurt people, Tom O'Connor said.

He recalled an FBI colleague who developed an autoimmune disease, ended up needing to use a wheelchair and then died. Throughout her illness, she couldn't get assistance from the WTC Health Program, nor could her family receive support because her illness was not certified with the program.

She and her family were financially devastated, O'Connor said, and her kids couldn't tap into benefits, like college funding, that comes after a line-of-duty death.

They also felt dishonored. "Now this agent is not on the FBI Wall of Service," O'Connor said. "That means a lot to those of us in law enforcement."

But respect for service needs to be shown in more ways than just names on monuments. "All of us responded because it was the right thing to do," Tom O'Connor said. "The government needs to continue to do the right thing to support these people."

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: 9/11 responders fear RFK Jr. CDC chaos will curb future health care
Getty Images Amanday Seyfried at the 2025 Venice International Film Festival on September 1

The Gist

Amanda Seyfried sparkled in over 91 carats of diamond Tiffany & Co. jewelry at the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday, September 9.

While attending the premiere of The Testament of Ann Lee, Seyfried showed off a priceless, celebrity-loved necklace from the brand.

Seyfried previously wore a brooch from the same collection a few days ago.

Amanda Seyfried piled on the sparkle with a bejeweled entrance at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9. While attending the premiere of The Testament of Ann Lee on Tuesday night, the Mama Mia alum lit up the room wearing a whimsical LBD that put her nearly 100 carats worth of diamond and gemstone jewelry front and center.

Seyfrieds Tiffany & Co. necklace was the main character of her red carpet outfit, making a multi-watt statement against the plunging, off-the-shoulder neckline of her black dress. Inspired by Tiffany & Co.s iconic designs by Jean Schlumberger, Seyfrieds reimagined Bird on a Rock necklace featured 59 carats of diamond-bedazzled swallows linked together with a 32-carat emerald-cut aquamarine set in the middle of the platinum and 18k gold design. Pulling her blonde hair back in a sleek low ponytail with face-framing pieces, the Mean Girls star also gave fans a glimpse of her Tiffany diamond stud earrings, which were displayed in a platinum setting. Rounding out her jewelry display, Seyfried also flashed a Tiffany Victoria band ring that was set in platinum and encrusted with sparkling diamonds.

Getty Images Amanda Seyfried attends the premiere of "The Testament Of Ann Lee" during the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival

Posing on the red carpet with her co-stars, including Kaia Gerbers boyfriend Lewis Pullman, Seyfried kept the sparkle ethos going with her ankle-length LBD. The black off-the-shoulder gown was bejeweled with multi-colored crystal flowers running along her dresss lapel-inspired neckline. The dresss bodice cinched in the stars waist before flaring out to her ankles. A pair of black peep-toe heels peeped out from underneath.



Getty Images Amanda Seyfried attends the premiere of "The Testament Of Ann Lee" during the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival

Getty Images manda Seyfried attends "The Testament Of Ann Lee" red carpet during the 82nd Venice International Film Festival

Tiffany & Co.s Bird on a Rock necklace is a favorite among celebrities (Selena Gomez previously wore a dark red stone version of the same statement piece at the Primetime Emmy Awards in 2024), and Seyfried also donned another brooch from the collection at the The Testament of Ann Lee premiere at the Venice Film Festival. On September 1, the actress put a gothic twist on the bauble, wearing a black velvet choker pinned with a Bird on a Rock brooch. Pulling her blonde hair back into a sleek bun, Seyfried complemented the statement piece with a navy blue strapless dress, which featured a red ribbon bow and buttons running down the front.

Read the original article on InStyle
Australia will spend $1.1 billion on building dozens of locally developed underwater attack drones, Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Wednesday.

The first of the stealthy, long-range "Ghost Sharks" will be delivered to the Australian navy in January next year under a five-year contract with Sydney-based Anduril Australia, Marles said.

"Australia is leading the world in terms of autonomous, underwater military capabilities," Marles told reporters in Sydney.

The large, autonomous underwater vehicles would significantly boost Australia's undersea warfare capabilities, complementing a fleet of submarines powered with U.S. nuclear technology, Marles said.

The first of those submarines provided under the AUKUS partnership with the United States and Britain won't be delivered to Australia until 2032.

Australian Minister for Defense Industry Pat Conroy and Defense Minister Richard Marles, left, are pictured with an autonomous undersea vehicle known as the Ghost Shark at HMAS Kuttabul naval base in Sydney, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. / Credit: Mick Tsikas / AP

Marles would not say precisely how many Ghost Sharks would be built. But he said the Australian navy would be provided with "dozens" over the next five years.

He also wouldn't comment on the Ghost Sharks' range other than to describe it as "very long range."

As an island continent and a trading nation, Australia sees the possibility of its sea routes being blocked by an enemy as a major strategic threat.

A Chinese navy flotilla conducted a live-fire exercise in the sea between Australia and New Zealand in February in what was widely regarded as a demonstration of China's growing military reach.

The flotilla almost completely circumnavigated Australia. The Chinese navy rarely travels so far south.

California-based Anduril Industries was contracted in 2022 to produce three Ghost Shark prototypes for the Australian navy.

The Ghost Shark is designed to perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance roles as well as strike operations, a government statement said.

Chief of Navy Vice Adm. Mark Hammond said the drones could be launched from the shore and from surface ships.

Hammond said he expected the "undersea battlespace" will become increasingly congested and contested.

"I believe our allies and partners will continue to enjoy a capability advantage in that space provided we invest in capabilities like Ghost Shark and others as well as our crewed systems for years to come," Hammond said.

Last year, the partnership announced that Japan would work with AUKUS on maritime autonomy and, according to the official, there are also conversations with Canada, South Korea, and New Zealand about potential projects on emerging capabilities.

Last month, Australia said it would also upgrade its navy with 11 Mogami-class frigates built by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, first entering service by 2030.

Billed as one of Japan's biggest defence export deals since World War II, Australia has agreed to pay US$6 billion over the next 10 years to acquire the fleet of stealth frigates.

Mogami-class warships  advanced stealth frigates equipped with a potent array of weapons  are to replace Australia's ageing fleet of Anzac-class vessels.

China has accused AUKUS of provoking a nuclear arms race and disrupting peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region.

Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.

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By Gram Slattery

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The parliaments of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are preparing a joint letter asking key committee heads in the U.S. Congress to save a major security assistance program in the face of ongoing Russian threats, according to a draft of the note and two people familiar with the effort.

The bid to salvage the Baltic Security Initiative comes as Eastern Europe and the Baltic states confront increasingly severe threats.

On Wednesday, Poland shot down suspected Russian drones in its airspace with support from its NATO allies, the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia's war in Ukraine.

All three Baltic nations share a border with Russia. Lithuania in August wrote to NATO asking it to help strengthen its air defenses, after two military drones crossed into its territory from Belarus, a close Russian ally.

The BSI began in 2020 during Trump's first term as a response to rising security threats in the region after Russia's 2014 invasion of Ukraine. The program has recently provided the Baltic nations with around $220 million in security assistance funding, though the amount has varied by year.

But at a meeting with European officials in late August, Pentagon officials said they did not intend to fund the program during the next fiscal year. They also said they planned to eliminate security assistance funds administered by the U.S. European Command area generally, according to European and U.S. officials with knowledge of the meeting.

The Baltic letter, a draft of which was seen by Reuters, asks that Congress pass legislation codifying and funding the BSI, despite the Pentagon's intention to eliminate the program.

The letter notes that the Baltic countries spend well over the minimum thresholds on defense set by NATO, and that they play a key role in resisting Russian and Belarusian aggression. It also notes the U.S. has a significant Baltic community.

PENTAGON MOVE FACES OPPOSITION

Members of Congress - including some Republican allies of U.S. President Donald Trump - have opposed the Pentagon's move. Should the BSI be specifically authorized in the annual defense and spending bills working their way through Congress, there could be a standoff, with Pentagon officials refusing to spend the funds.

During the most recent meeting with European officials, Pentagon officials acknowledged that such a scenario could occur and that the outcome would be uncertain, said one person familiar with the meeting.

"In addition to our own defense capability building, this assistance has allowed us to reach our goals more swiftly, as well as to procure American defense systems," said Sarah Luure, a spokesperson for the Estonian embassy in Washington.

"We are grateful and would like to see Baltic Security Initiative continue."

The Lithuanian and Latvian embassies did not respond to requests for comment.

The letter should be sent this week, said a source familiar with the matter.

A senior Trump administration official indicated that the White House stood behind the Pentagon's move to slash the BSI program.

"Europe has been stepping up to take more responsibility for their own defense," said the senior administration official.

"Many of our European allies are among the world's wealthiest countries; they are fully capable of funding these programs if they choose."

(Reporting by Gram Slattery; Additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Don Durfee and Rod Nickel)
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro stands at the entrance of his home where he is under house arrest in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Nova)

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP)  A panel of Brazilian Supreme Court justices sentenced former president Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years and three months in prison Thursday after convicting him of attempting a coup to remain in office despite his 2022 electoral defeat.

Bolsonaro, who has always denied any wrongdoing, can try to appeal the ruling. He is currently under house arrest in Brasilia.

Four of the five justices reviewing the case in the panel found the far-right politician guilty on five counts, in a ruling that will deepen political divisions and was expected to prompt a backlash from the U.S. government. It makes Bolsonaro is the first former Brazilian president to be convicted of attempting a coup.

The five counts are: attempting a coup after losing the 2022 race to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a plot that prosecutors alleged included plans to kill Lula; participating in an armed criminal organization; attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law; damage qualified by violence; and deterioration of listed heritage.

Bolsonaros co-conspirators, all of them former Brazilian officials, were also sentenced for their roles in the attempted coup. Gen. Braga Netto, Bolsonaros former defense minister and running mate in 2022, received 26 years. Admiral Almir Garnier got 24 years. Gen. Augusto Heleno received 21 years and Gen. Paulo Sergio Nogueira got 19 years. Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, who cooperated with investigations, was given two years under an open regime.

Chief Justice Luis Roberto Barroso joined the panel at the end of the session and called the trial a watershed moment in Brazils history.

US officials call it witch hunt

The U.S. government immediately criticized the ruling and warned it would respond.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he was very unhappy with the conviction. Speaking to reporters as he departed the White House, he said he'd always found Bolsonaro to be outstanding.

And later, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on his X account that Trumps government will respond accordingly to this witch hunt.

Trump's administration had already applied a 50% tariff on imported Brazilian goods, which it said was in reaction to the process against Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro won't go to prison yet

The sentence doesn't mean Bolsonaro will immediately go to prison. The court panel has now up to 60 days to publish the ruling. Once it does, Bolsonaro's lawyers have five days to file motions for clarification.

His lawyers have said that they will try to appeal both the conviction and sentence before the full Supreme Court of 11 justices, although some experts think its unlikely to be accepted.

Its unlikely, but not impossible, that there will be appeals to the full Supreme Court, said Rafael Mafei, lawyer and law professor at University of Sao Paulo and ESPM university. But of course, the defenses will try, because they should."

One of the justices, Carmen Lucia, said she was convinced by the evidence the Attorney General's Office presented against the former president. He is the instigator, the leader of an organization that orchestrated every possible move to maintain or seize power, she said.

Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, the former presidents eldest son, said on X the conviction was a supreme persecution and that history would show they were on the right side.

Trial has divided Brazilians

The trial has been followed by a divided society, with people backing the process against the former president, while others still support him. Some have taken to the streets to back the far-right leader who contends he is being politically persecuted.

Observers say the U.S. might announce new sanctions against Brazil after the trial, further straining their fragile diplomatic relations.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the case, said Tuesday that Bolsonaro was the leader of a coup plot and of a criminal organization, and voted in favor of convicting him.

Lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, another of the former presidents sons, on Thursday talked about his father on his social media platforms. But instead of mentioning his fathers conviction, he pushed for his amnesty, which he is seeking through Congress.

It is time to do nothing less than what is correct, just, he said.

Thomas Traumann, a former government minister and political consultant based in Rio de Janeiro, said it is the most important day for Brazils democracy since the 1988 constitution was approved.

It is the first time a former President, a former Defense minister and a former military commander are punished for trying to stop an elected government from taking office, Traumann said.

The threats of the American government make this decision of the Supreme Court an even braver one. The relations between the two countries will get worse and maybe get better once the Trump administration understands there are limits to the will it wants to impose, he added.

Bolsonaro remains a political force

Justice Luis Fux, in his dissenting opinion on Wednesday, disagreed with de Moraes and the other two justices, casting the lone acquittal vote.

No one can be punished for cogitation, Fux said. A coup detat does not result from isolated acts or individual demonstrations lacking coordination, but rather from the actions of organized groups, equipped with resources and strategic capacity to confront and replace the incumbent power.

Bolsonaro faced accusations he attempted to illegally hang onto power after his 2022 electoral defeat to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Prosecutors charged Bolsonaro with counts including attempting to stage a coup, being part of an armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, as well as being implicated in violence and posing a serious threat to the states assets and listed heritage.

Bolsonaro attempted a coup in this country, and there is hundreds of pieces of evidence, Lula said early Thursday in an interview with local TV Band, ahead of the trial.

Bolsonaro already barred from running for office

Despite his legal woes, Bolsonaro remains a powerful political player in Brazil.

The far-right politician had been previously banned from running for office until 2030 in a separate case. He is expected to choose an heir who is likely to challenge Lula next year.

The ruling may push Bolsonaros allied lawmakers to seek some amnesty for him through Congress.

I had the honor to serve as Jair Messias Bolsonaros chief of staff. I have never seen any act from him that wasnt out of love for Brazil and absolute honesty. Bolsonaro is the greatest popular right-wing leader in the countrys history, Sen. Ciro Nogueira said on X.

Lindbergh Farias, the Workers' Party leader in the lower house, told journalists outside the court that the trial should bury the discussion about amnesty in Congress.

This is for everyone who fought the military dictatorship years ago. Our democracy is strong now, Farias said.

After the court panel debates on Bolsonaro's sentence, the embattled former leader could face increased pressure to pick a political heir to likely challenge Lula in the general elections next year.

There is a God in heaven who sees everything, who loves justice and hates iniquity," former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro wrote on social media.

___

Sa Pessoa reported from Sao Paulo. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville, in Washington, D.C., contributed with this report.
Justin Hickens says he was standing about 20 yards from Charlie Kirk as the influential conservative activist addressed a large crowd at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. Then, in the middle of Kirks remarks, Hickens heard "a big loud shot.

I saw a bunch of blood come out of Charlie," Hickens told NBC News Tom Llamas. "I saw his body kind of kick back and go limp, and everybody dropped to the ground.

When people realized Kirk had been shot, they started running from the outdoor pavilion area, some knocking over barricades as they fled, Hickens said.

Follow along for live coverage

Hickens is one of scores of people who had gathered to see Kirk, a leading conservative voice and prominent ally of President Donald Trump and who regularly held events on high school and college campuses.

People run after Kirk was shot at Utah Valley University. (Trent Nelson / The Salt Lake Tribune via Reuters)

In videos and images posted on social media, attendees can be heard yelling and scrambling for safety. In interviews, students described hearing a booming pop noise and seeing a bloodied Kirk fall back in his chair.

Kirk later died at a hospital. He was 31. The shooter remained at large Wednesday night.

During a news conference hours after the shooting, UVU Police Chief Jeff Long said six police officers were at the event, which had about 3,000 attendees. There were "some plainclothes police officers that were in the crowd as well," he said.

"We train for these things, and you think you have things covered, and these things, unfortunately, they happen," he said. "You try to get your bases covered, and unfortunately, today we didn't. Because of that, we had this tragic incident."

He confirmed that Kirk also had a security team, and Long said he coordinated with Kirk's lead security officer.

Tyler McGettigan, another attendee, told NBC News he was surprised that he wasn't asked to go through security to get in.

The event required a ticket with a scannable code, which McGettigan printed out and brought with him, he said in an interview. But he did not need the ticket to get into the amphitheater where Kirk spoke, McGettigan said.

No one checked the barcode or the QR code. There was no checkpoint to get in. It was literally, anyone could walk in if they wanted, McGettigan said.

Hickens and a third attendee also said there were no metal detectors posted outside.

Jeb Jacobi, a student who volunteered at the event, recalled about two security guards standing near where Kirk would be speaking. Ahead of the event, police cleared protesters who set up on the roof above where Kirk was set to speak. A few other officers were ultimately scattered around the venue during the event as well, he said.

After the shooting, Jacobi said that it took only a few minutes for more officers, plus police with rifles, to respond and help evacuate attendees.

"Orem is a very safe town," he said, referring to the city where the university is located. "We do have officers, but as far as campus safety, theres never really any sort of violence or anything that ever really happens here."

The city previously had "a very safe feeling to it."

"When you go to the campus, youre like, Oh my goodness. I feel like its almost like home, in a way. It feels like something special," Jacobi said.

After the shooting, Jacobi grappled with seeing Kirk collapse and be dragged away by security.

"I was thinking, Oh my gosh, I had just seen a man get shot and die today,'" He said. "It was shocking. It was terrifying. I didnt know what to do."

A school policy document indicated that a committee in charge of evaluating events completes security assessments for events deemed to be "major." It is unclear if Wednesday's event was classified as a "major event."

Isaac, who did not provide his last name, told NBC News affiliate KSL that there were no checkpoints, nothing, to get in here.

He said the scene inside the amphitheater was surreal. He said he saw blood shooting out of Kirks neck as attendees hit the floor. He said he and his friends bolted out of there, believing a mass shooting may have been underway.

Afton Miller, a 25-year-old UVU student and member of Turning Point USA, Kirks conservative political organization, agreed that there didnt seem to be a whole lot of security.

She said she and a friend just walked in, and a person who appeared to be a school official told them to go find a seat, first-come, first-served basis.

Miller said she was just five to ten feet away from the shooting and said she did not see many police officers when the event began. Kirk appeared to have a private security team, she said.

We saw his neck get hit, and he immediately jolted his neck back and he fell. Oh, my goodness, it was crazy to see that, she said.

She recalled law enforcement trying to evacuate the audience after the shot rang out, recalling, "They were like, 'Get out of here. Go, evacuate.'"

"That is sounds you should never hear when you're on campus, especially for school, and especially for a huge event where everyone is so united in such a cause and everything," she said.

In the aftermath of the shooting, Miller said she was trying to tell herself, "It's okay, we'll be fine. God has spared our lives for a reason."

This is a developing news story. Please refresh for updates.
Charlie Kirk, an influential conservative commentator and founder of the youth activist group Turning Point USA, has died after being shot at an event he was hosting at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. He was 31.

President Donald Trump, a political ally and friend of Kirks, announced his death in a post on social media and promised a forceful response in an address to the nation on Wednesday evening.

Read More: The Killing of Charlie Kirk and the Political Violence Haunting America

This is a dark moment for America, the President said from the Oval Office. Describing Kirk as a martyr for truth and freedom, Trump said the rhetoric of the radical left was directly responsible for the terrorism that were seeing in our country today.

My Administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials, and everyone else who brings order to our country, he said.

Read More: Meet Charlie Kirk, the Conservative Activist Who Is a Key Figure in Trumps Campaign

Law enforcement tapes off an area after Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was shot at the Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. Tess CroewleyThe Deseret News/AP

Shooter at large

The hunt for the shooter was still underway late into Wednesday evening, and authorities said they had no suspect in custody. FBI Director Kash Patel said earlier Wednesday that the subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody. But less than two hours later, he announced that the suspect had been released after an interrogation by law enforcement.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said in a press conference that he believed the attack was carried out by one person.

I want to make it crystal clear right now to whoever did this, we will find you, Cox said. We will try you, and we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law. And I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty here in the state of Utah.

Video of the fatal attack showed Kirk speaking to a large crowd of people on the university campus as a shot rings out. Kirk is thrown backwards by the shot, which appeared to hit his neck, before the crowd disperses in panic.

Kirk, a father of two, was rushed to the hospital following the shooting, but later died of his injuries.

At 5:20 p.m. the U.S. flag over the White House was lowered in Kirks honor. Trump announced he was ordering all American flags lowered to half-mast until Sunday at 6 p.m.

Kirk, a close ally of Trumps whose youth activist group is estimated to have raised tens of millions of dollars for the Presidents campaigns, was at the university in Orem, Utah, for an event dubbed the American Comeback Tour.

Turning Point USA said the tour was designed to equip students with the tools to push back against left-wing indoctrination in academia and reclaim their right to free speech.

The appearance had been the subject of controversymore than 6,800 students signed a petition seeking to block his event because his views do not align with the core values and ideology that Utah State University strives to epitomize.

WE. ARE. SO. BACK, Kirk posted on X shortly before the shots were reported. Utah Valley University is FIRED UP and READY for the first stop back on the American Comeback Tour.

The crowd reacts after Charlie Kirk is shot at the Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025. Tess CrowleyThe Deseret News/AP

Condemnation from all sides

Condemnation of the attack came in from across the political spectrum.

Former President Joe Biden said he and his wife Jill Biden are praying for Charlie Kirks family and loved ones.

There is no place in our country for this kind of violence, Biden posted on X. It must end now.

Former President Barack Obama stressed that this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy.

Kamala Harris, the former Vice President, said she was deeply disturbed by the shooting of Kirk. I condemn this act, and we all must work together to ensure this does not lead to more violence.

Gavin Newsom, the Democratic Governor of California, described the attack on Kirk as disgusting, vile and reprehensible.

Gabrielle Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who was nearly killed in a 2011 assassination attempt, said she was horrified by the shooting. Democratic societies will always have political disagreements, but we must never allow America to become a country that confronts those disagreements with violence, she said on social media.

There is no place in our country for political violence. Period, full stop, posted Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson called the shooting detestable and called for prayers. Political violence has become all too common in American society. This is not who we are. It violates the core principles of our country, he told reporters.

Read More: The Rise of Political Violence and Targeting of Lawmakers in the U.S.

Kirk founded Turning Point USA in 2012, and the group has since turned him into one of the most influential conservative activists in the country. The youth-focused organization aims to identity, educate, train and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets and limited government, according to its website. Based in Arizona, it claims to be active on more than 3,500 college campuses.

Turning Point USA had become a fundraising and organizational juggernaut for Trump in recent years and was influential in reaching young voters during the 2024 presidential campaign.

Charlie Kirk is helping. Hes got his army of young people. These are young patriots, Trump said while speaking at the Turning Point Action Conference in Detroit in June last year.

Kirk gained an online audience for his right-wing provocateur persona. He was well known on YouTube for videos of his combative debates with college students across the country, during which he would stake out a hardline conservative position and encourage challengers to face him in a segment he called Prove Me Wrong. Kirk was reportedly sitting at what he called the Prove Me Wrong Table when he was shot.

Kirk was also a prolific podcaster. The Charlie Kirk Show, which recorded over 750 episodes and has been ranked in the top 10 of Apple podcasts, is known for conservative takes on politics.

Brian Bennett contributed.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
WASHINGTON - Progressive firebrand New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk "tremendously disturbing" and urged for gun safety legislation to be passed by Congress.

Her comments come after Kirk was shot at an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. That same day, a shooting occurred at a Colorado high school.

"Every single day, there are people in this building that continue to vote against doing anything," Ocasio-Cortez told reporters on Sept. 10, referring to the Capitol building and Republicans in Congress. "They vote against universal background checks. They continue to support legislation and also remove any way to block the mentally ill, to block extremists, to block people with histories and records of domestic violence from getting guns in their hands. So are we going to do something about this or not?"

Charlie Kirk in photos, from Trump rallies to debates Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk has died after being shot in the neck during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10, 2025, President Donald Trump confirmed.



Take a look back at Kirk's political career starting with his speech during the 2016 Republican National Convention at Quicken Loans Arena on July 18, 2016, in Cleveland, Ohio.

"Are we going to do something, or are we going to argue over rhetoric?" Ocasio-Cortez added.

Kirk's death has sent shockwaves through Capitol Hill. Lawmakers engaged in a shouting match on the House floor Sept. 10 after a moment of silence was held for Kirk. Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna at one point yelled at Democrats, "yall caused this!"

When asked what she thought of a Republican lawmaker claiming that Democrats were the cause of Kirks death, Ocasio-Cortez said, "I don't think a single person who has dedicated their entire career to preventing gun safety legislation from getting passed in this House has any right to blame anybody else but themselves for what has happened."

"The assassination of Charlie Kirk risks an uncorking of political chaos and violence that we cannot risk in America," she said.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks after Mahmoud Khalil arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport on June 21, 2025, in Newark, New Jersey.

Other Democrats have also condemned the attack.

"The horrific shooting today at Utah Valley University is reprehensible. Political violence has absolutely no place in our nation," former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote on X. "All Americans should pray for Charlie Kirks recovery and hold the entire UVU community in our hearts as they endure the trauma of this gun violence."

The incident is the latest in a string of political violence aimed at public figures and their families, including a hammer-wielding assailant who broke into Pelosi's house in 2023 and attacked her husband.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: AOC calls Charlie Kirk assassination 'disturbing,' urges gun control
This aerial photo shows the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea during an aerial reconnaissance flight on February 18, 2025. - Jam Sta Rosa/AFP/Getty Images

Chinas latest nature reserve is a rock in the middle of one of the worlds most contested waterways.

On Wednesday, the Chinese government approved a proposal to establish a national nature reserve at Scarborough Shoal, a hotly contested reef in the South China Sea, in an unprecedented move that has ignited a fresh war of words with rival claimant the Philippines.

The reserve will cover more than 3,500 hectares at Huangyan Island, the Chinese name for Scarborough Shoal, with its coral reef ecosystem as the main protection target, according to Chinas National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

The move has drawn strong protest from the Philippines and marks a new step in Chinas effort to reinforce its territorial claims in the South China Sea, a strategic, resource-rich waterway through which more than 60 percent of global maritime trade transits.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, including features hundreds of miles from its mainland, despite a 2016 international ruling against its claim.

The Philippines will issue a formal diplomatic protest over the reserve, its foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday, calling Chinas action illegitimate and unlawful and accusing it of infringing on Manilas rights and interests.

It said the Philippines has sovereignty and jurisdiction over the shoal, which it calls Bajo de Masinloc, describing it as a longstanding and integral part of the Philippines.

Chinas foreign ministry hit back, saying it rejects the Philippines groundless accusations and so-called protests and urges it to stop its provocations and hype.

Located 200 km (124 miles) off the Philippines, the Scarborough Shoal lies within the Philippines exclusive economic zone and has long been a flashpoint between Beijing and Manila. The triangular chain of reefs and rocks is coveted for its strategic location, bountiful fish stocks, and role as a sanctuary for boats during storms.

China seized the uninhabited atoll  870 km (540 miles) from its southernmost province of Hainan  in 2012 after a long standoff with the Philippine Navy, and has maintained an almost constant coast guard presence in nearby waters since. It has ramped up patrols in recent years, blocking Philippine fishermen from their traditional fishing grounds.

Tensions came to a head in August, when a Chinese navy destroyer dramatically collided with a China Coast Guard ship and badly damaged its bow while chasing a Philippine patrol vessel near Scarborough Shoal  a collision that highlighted the danger of the increasingly frequent and violent clashes between the two sides.

The Philippines is a mutual defense ally of the United States, meaning serious clashes between Beijing and Manila could quickly spiral into something that drags the US military into the fray.

In a statement, Chinas cabinet, the State Council, called the establishment of the nature reserve an important guarantee for maintaining the diversity, stability and sustainability of Huangyan Islands natural ecosystem. It also called for stronger enforcement against illegal activities at the reserve.

Chinese experts have hailed the move as an important step in defending Chinas territorial sovereignty and signaled it could set a precedent for other maritime features in the South China Sea, according to state media reports.

A map released by the Chinese government shows the entire northeastern rim of the atoll designated as the reserve, which consists of a core zone flanked by two experimental zones.

Under Chinese law, a core zone is strictly off limits, while an experimental zone allows scientific research, educational activities as well as tourism. Construction is forbidden in core zones but allowed in experimental zones. Foreigners must obtain approval from Chinese authorities to enter any reserve.

Ding Duo, a researcher at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the state-run Global Times that the decision to establish a nature reserve is a strong rebuttal to accusations that China has damaged the marine environment of the South China Sea.

Chinas narrative that it plans to protect fragile ecosystems in the South China Sea will likely raise eyebrows among neighbors and conservationists given Beijings years of island building across the disputed waters have caused significant environmental damage.

Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said Chinas move is less about protecting the environment and more about justifying its control over the maritime feature.

The irony is clear: since 2016, evidence has shown large-scale harvesting of endangered species and reef destruction by Chinese fishermen, he said in a statement. To now claim stewardship over an ecosystem that they themselves has damaged is both contradictory and misleading.

A 2023 report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said China had buried roughly 4,648 acres of reefs through dredging and land fill to build artificial islands. In addition, Chinese giant clam harvesting damaged an estimated 16,353 acres of coral reef, the report said.

Much of the Chinese construction centered on the Paracel Islands and the Spratly Islands, and China has not built any facilities on Scarborough Shoal, according to CSIS.

The Philippines has also accused Chinas shadowy maritime militia of destroying coral reefs in the South China Sea. China has rejected the accusation and accused the Philippines of damaging the coral reef ecosystem in the waterway instead.

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House Oversight Chairman James Comer, a Republican, rejected calls for a professional handwriting expert to analyze the signature on the letter allegedly sent by President Donald Trump for Jeffrey Epstein's 50th "birthday book."

"I don't," Comer said when asked on Wednesday whether he supports calls for an independent analysis.

The day before, the White House said it would support a review by a professional handwriting expert.

President Trump, in his first extensive comments on the matter since House Oversight Democrats made public the drawing and note, said the signature and note is not his.

'It's not my signature': Trump says about alleged Epstein 'birthday book' letter

"It's not my signature. And it's not the way I speak. And anybody that's covered me for a long time, knows that's not my language, Trump said when asked by ABC News on Tuesday evening.

"It's nonsense," Trump added.

Comer on Wednesday said the birthday letter has "absolutely nothing to do with the overall investigation," as committee investigators refocus their efforts and pour through financial records from the Epstein estate in New York.

"Honestly, when you look at what's the purpose of this investigation, it's to try to provide justice to the victims and try to get the truth about what went on on Epstein Island, and to answer the question, Was the government involved? I don't think a birthday card 20 years ago has any relevance whatsoever," Comer said.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images - PHOTO: Rep. James Comer speaks to reporters after leaving the House Republicans weekly caucus meetings on Capitol Hill on September 9, 2025 in Washington.

Comer was asked if it was irrelevant even if it's signed by the president.

"If there's a birthday card from Bill Clinton or Donald Trump, I don't think that has an ounce of impact on this investigation or on the overall objective of providing justice for the victims, Comer added.

Comer told ABC News Capitol Hill Correspondent Jay O'Brien that House Oversight Committee staff was in New York on Wednesday looking for Epstein financial records, as his investigation attempts to "follow the money" -- including to identify whether Epstein utilized LLCs or shell companies, as well tracking down banks and bank accounts. Sources tell ABC News that committee staff will continue those efforts on Thursday.

Trump's alleged letter among 'Friends' section in Epstein's birthday book

"When we met privately with the victims and their attorneys, they said that one area they wish we would investigate is the bank records," Comer said.

Comer also said that the committee is prepared to release any illegal activity it uncovers through its investigation, but he cautioned that an individuals association with the convicted sex offender does not necessarily promise guilt.

"We want to make sure when we release names or names of people that have pretty definitive liability," Comer said.

Meanwhile, Democrats on Capitol Hill are calling for more transparency from Republicans and the Trump administration on the Epstein files.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP - PHOTO: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks with reporters just outside the chamber, at the Capitol in Washington, Sept. 10, 2025.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer made a move on Wednesday to force a Senate vote on an amendment that would compel the Department of Justice to release the Epstein files ahead of a vote on the massive must pass defense spending bill.

"The bottom line is the American people need to see this. Donald trump has lied about this. There was no picture, there was no drawing, there has been so many lies, so much prevarication, so much cover up. The American people, Democrats, independents Republicans are demanding it be made public and it should be. We hope Republicans will vote for it, they should," Schumer said.

Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, posted on X on Wednesday: "The note is real. Its not a hoax. And we are not stopping until we get the truth."
Death toll from Israeli airstrikes in Yemen rises to 35: Houthi statement

Xinhua) 11:16, September 11, 2025

This photo, taken with a mobile phone, shows smoke rising after Israeli airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Sept. 10, 2025. (Str/Xinhua)

SANAA, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from Israeli airstrikes on Houthi-held areas in northern Yemen rose to 35, with 131 wounded, the Houthi-run health ministry said late on Wednesday.

The ministry said most of the casualties were in the capital Sanaa, where 28 people were killed and 113 injured, many of them journalists. In the northern province of al-Jawf, seven people were killed and 18 wounded, described by the ministry as civilian employees. It said the toll was likely to rise as rescue teams searched the rubble.

Witnesses said the strikes in Sanaa hit the defence ministry, the office of Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea, a military camp, and a fuel storage site. In al-Jawf, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported that the targets included a government complex, a central bank branch, and a civil status office in the provincial capital al-Hazm. Nearby homes and civilian facilities were also damaged, it said.

This photo, taken with a mobile phone, shows smoke rising after Israeli airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Sept. 10, 2025. (Str/Xinhua)

Sarea wrote on social media platform X that media offices, including the 26 September and Al-Yemen newspapers, were not used as missile launch pads. He vowed retaliatory strikes.

Eyewitnesses said the National Museum in central Sanaa, located next to the spokesman's headquarters, was badly damaged. The museum authority urged UNESCO to intervene to help protect the building and its antiquities.

Israeli strikes on Yemen have escalated in recent weeks. A raid on Sanaa last month killed 12 senior Houthi leaders, according to the group.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Liang Jun)
Dallas Police Department Yordanis Cobos-Martinez

NEED TO KNOW

Police were called to a Dallas motel on Wed., Sept. 10, about a report of a stabbing

Chandra Nagamallaiah, 50, was beheaded after a machete attack, police said

Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, 37, is charged with capital murder

A man was beheaded at a Dallas motel after an argument that allegedly started over a broken washing machine, according to police.

On Wednesday, Sept. 10, at about 9:30 a.m., police responded to a call about a stabbing at Downtown Suites Dallas on Samuell Blvd. near the Cotton Bowl stadium, the Dallas Police Department said in a report obtained by PEOPLE.

When officers arrived, they found the suspect, identified as Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, 37, covered in blood and armed with a machete, according to an arrest affidavit from the Dallas Police Department, WFAA reported.

Cobos-Martinez allegedly cut the victim with an edged weapon several times, according to the Dallas Police Department.

Dallas Fire-Rescue responded to the scene, where the victim, identified as 50-year-old Chandra Nagamallaiah, died.

Nagamallaiah was beheaded in the attack, according to the arrest affidavit, CBS 19 reports.

Cobos-Martinez was arrested and charged with capital murder in connection with the slaying.

GoogleMaps

He allegedly admitted in a recorded interview to killing Nagamallaiah with the machete, police said, according to the affidavit, NBC 5 reports.

The grisly slaying was the apparent result of an argument over a broken washing machine, according to the affidavit.

A witness told police she and Cobos-Martinez were cleaning a motel room when Nagamallaiah came to the room to tell the suspect not to use a broken washing machine on the property, according to the affidavit.

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Cobos-Martinez allegedly grew angry because Nagamallaiah was relaying the message to the witness, asking her to translate what he wanted to tell him, instead of speaking directly to Cobos-Martinez, the affidavit says, WFAA reports.

At that moment, surveillance video shows Cobos-Martinez leaving the room, returning with a machete and attacking Nagamallaiah, the affidavit alleges.

The victims wife and son tried many times to fight off Cobos-Martinez, who was allegedly going through Nagamallaiahs pockets during the attack, according to the affidavit.

Nagamallaiah tried to get away from Cobos-Martinez, but fell down, witness Stephanie Elliott told WFAA.

He just kept hitting him and hitting until he decapitated him, Elliott told WFAA. I could not believe that anybody would do another human being that way.

It is unclear whether Cobos-Martinez has retained an attorney who can speak on his behalf.



Read the original article on People
20-year-old Katie Abraham. The Department of Homeland Security announced in September it was launching Operation Midway Blitz to honor Abraham, who was killed in a drunken driving incident earlier this year in Illinois by a previously deported migrant who was using an alias, according to the agency. - Department of Homeland Security

Katie Abraham and Chloe Polzin were hunting for a late-night snack with three other friends on a frigid night in Urbana, Illinois.

The end of winter break was nearing for the two university students, who had traveled to Urbana to visit other water polo players at the University of Illinois, Abrahams father told CNN.

It was nearly 2 a.m. on January 19 when 20-year-old Abraham and 21-year-old Polzin, along with their friends, stopped at a red light. Suddenly, an SUV came up quickly behind them, smashing into the car and injuring all five people inside, according to Urbana Police.

The two girls were killed in a drunken-driving hit-and-run collision, the Department of Homeland Security said, by a man in the United States illegally who fled the scene of the crime.

Abraham was pronounced dead at the hospital soon after the accident, police said. Polzin died the next day, according to her obituary.

Almost eight months after Abrahams death, the Department of Homeland Security announced it was launching its latest immigration enforcement action in Illinois, Operation Midway Blitz, in her honor, drawing the 20-year-olds name into national politics as an example of a broken immigration system amid a larger crackdown in cities across the US.

Her father, Joe Abraham, told CNN the federal government failed miserably in protecting his daughter and that state politicians ignored her death, and by extension, let it happen.

What we know about the wreck

Temperatures had dropped as low as 2 degrees the night Abraham died, and never broke above freezing that day.

Abraham and Polzin were childhood friends from their time at the East Side Water Polo Club in the Chicago suburbs.

The two girls, along with three other friends, were sitting at a red light just 1.5 miles north of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign when a red Mitsubishi Outlander crashed into the back of their car, police said.

Katie Abraham's father said she made everyone feel seen. - Courtesy Joe Abraham

All five were taken to the hospital, according to police. While two were released with minor injuries and another made a recovery, Abraham was declared dead at the hospital. Polzin was declared brain dead the next day, according to her obituary.

The Polzin family did not respond to CNNs attempts to speak with them for this story.

Police said the driver fled the scene on foot. Three days later, the US Marshals Service found him in Texas, riding a bus headed to Mexico.

The death of the youngest daughter

Joe Abrahams youngest daughter loved water.

I think she liked the water better than land, her father said.

She played water polo for a travel team throughout high school and for a club team in college. She swam and did diving from a young age, he said.

Abraham, who was from Glenview, Illinois, was going into her third year at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, according to her father. She wasnt certain yet, but he thinks she was leaning toward majoring in marketing. They intended to talk about it the next time she was home.

She kind of had a plan of where she was going to go, and obviously that didnt happen, he said.

Joe Abraham said his daughter loved life, and she knew how to enjoy it, and get the best out of it.

He called her such a special person, who was genuine and authentic. She made everyone feel seen and had a terrific wit and a great sense of humor, he added.

She loved all kinds of music, and Joe Abraham recalled sitting together and listening to music from his generation.

She had an eclectic group of friends, and two siblings with whom she was close.

Katie Abraham was killed with her friend Chloe Polzin in a hit-and-run crash, Urbana Police said. - Courtesy Joe Abraham

She was just such a good sister to her older sister and older brother, her father said. Its a sad, sad situation.

What we know about the SUV driver

US Marshals tracked down the SUV driver three days after he fled the scene of the crime on an El Expreso bus  the express  heading to Matamoros, Mexico.

The man told police he was a 27-year-old Mexican named Juan Jahaziel Saenz-Suarez the morning he was captured. But a day later, he divulged to police that his identity was a lie  he was 29, from Guatemala. His name was actually Julio Cucul-Bol.

He was not legally in the United States and had used forged documents to hide his identity, police said.

Police filed new charges against Cucul-Bol for leaving the scene of a personal injury crash resulting in death, aggravated driving under the influence resulting in death and reckless homicide.

Federal prosecutors charged Cucul-Bol in May with possessing a false permanent resident card, possessing a false Social Security card, false use of a passport, and making a false statement on a bank application, according to the Department of Justice.

In February, Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged an arrest detainer requesting local authorities notify ICE before Cucol-Bol is released, the agency told CNN. According to ICE records, he is being held in custody in Champaign, Illinois.

CNN has reached out to the Department of Justice for an update on Cucul-Bols status. Court documents online do not list the name of a defense attorney for Cucul-Bol.

A death drawn into a political arena

Joe Abraham said the federal government first reached out to him in June, when House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer invited him to attend a committee meeting where Democratic governors  including J.B. Pritzker of Illinois  testified about their states so-called sanctuary state policies.

He said he had hoped to speak with Pritzker after the Illinois governor heard his daughters story, but told CNN, No one could muster up even a look in my direction.

President Donald Trump holds up a photograph of Joe Abraham and his daughter Katie Abraham during an event in the White House on June 26 in Washington, DC. - Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

A few weeks later, he said, he and his wife were contacted by the Trump administration and invited to the White House for an event for Trumps big, beautiful bill.

Joe, we will end this invasion once and for all, and were always going to remember the memory of Katie, the beautiful, beautiful 20-year-old daughter of yours, Trump told him before shaking his hand and holding up a photo of the father and daughter.

I dont want to get political. I hate this crap. Im just in this position now, Joe Abraham told CNN.

He criticized the current Illinois government and the previous presidential administration for mishandling immigration and called for a vetting process before people are allowed in the country.

Dont misunderstand. Im not saying everyones a criminal. What Im saying is this guy in particular could have easily been filtered out of the system. He was using an alias  and really was not being any type of a productive person here in Illinois, Joe Abraham told CNN. And for him to take her life is a very sad state.

Abrahams parents were featured in a video posted by the Department of Homeland Security earlier this week, where the agency announced it was launching an immigration operation in Illinois.

Michelle and Joe Abraham speak about their daughter, Katie, in a video released by the Department of Homeland Security. - Department of Homeland Security

A question appears in overlaid text on the video: When you hear people say illegal aliens arent given due process, whats your reaction?

Katie received no due process, Joe Abraham says in the video.

When you talk about due process, I wish she was in another country or in some detention center I can go see her, but shes not, and Ill never see her again.

The Department of Homeland Security called Joe Abraham one day before the agency announced Operation Midway Blitz would be done in honor of their daughter.

Some might say theyre leveraging me, but maybe were leveraging them a little bit so other kids dont get killed, and other parents dont have to go see what were going through, he said. So, maybe its a two-way street there. I was just happy someone acknowledged Katie.

What is Operation Midway Blitz?

DHS on Monday announced Operation Midway Blitz, aimed at targeting criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois because they knew Governor Pritzker and his sanctuary policies would protect them and allow them to roam free on American streets.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained at least five people over the weekend, including a flower vendor and a person waiting for the bus, Chicago Alderperson Jeylu Gutierrez said Monday.

Ongoing arrests in Chicago are expected to expand as a federal presence builds up in a weeks-long, phased approach, according to officials familiar with the plans who stressed its still in flux.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicle is parked outside the Cook County Courthouse in Chicago on September 8. - Octavio Jones/Reuters

The operations in Boston and Chicago are modeled after the June immigration sweeps in Los Angeles. The Supreme Court ruled Monday that immigration enforcement officials can continue what critics describe as roving patrols in Southern California that lower courts said likely violated the Fourth Amendment.

Pritzker denounced the DHS operations in the state Monday, saying in a post on X that the operation isnt about fighting crime.

That requires support and coordination  yet weve experienced nothing like that over the past several weeks, he said, adding that the administration has chosen to focus on scaring Illinoisians.

CNNs Priscilla Alvarez and Danya Gainor contributed to this report.

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Disgraced former North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn was arrested in Florida  just days after it emerged he is plotting a return to Congress.

The 28-year-old Republican was arrested early Wednesday at his new home in Cape Coral after being a no-show in court over a citation last month for driving without a valid license, according to GulfCoastNewsNow.

His reps confirmed that he was arrested  for failure to appear for a routine traffic infraction.

Former North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn was arrested in Lee County, Florida, on Sept. 10, 2025. Lee County Sheriff's Office

Madison keeps a very busy schedule and, due to a scheduling misunderstanding, did not appear in court this morning, his reps said.

Following processing Madison was immediately released.

Cawthorn was booked and released on a $2,000 bond, according to the Lee County Sheriffs Office.

Cawthorn is preparing to launch a campaign to run for Congress in Floridas 19th District, Axios reported last week.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn speaks before former President Donald Trump at a rally in Selma, North Carolina, on April 9, 2022. AP

A police officer speaks with Cawthorn on the side of the road after a car crash in Florida. TikTok/@Swifties4Palestine

The former representative served North Carolinas 11th Congressional District for just one, scandal-ridden term, which included his wild accusations that lawmakers on Capitol Hill invited him to orgies and snorted cocaine in front of him.

In 2024, Cawthorn was accused of tailgating a woman and then rear-ending a Florida Highway Patrol officer in Collier County, although he did not face any serious charges from the incident.

Cawthorn has been in a wheelchair since he was partially paralyzed in a car accident at the age of 18.
Getty crime scene tape  stock image

NEED TO KNOW

DNA evidence linked a man to multiple unsolved sexual assaults in Arizona that date back to 1994, police say

Authorities indicted 55-year-old Abraham Ramirez on multiple counts

Even decades later, testing these kits can uncover the truth and give survivors their voices back, the Ventura County District Attorney said

DNA evidence linked a man to multiple decades-old unsolved sexual assault cases, Arizona police said.

Abraham Ramirez, 55, was indicted in Maricopa County Superior Court on 11 counts of sexual assault and kidnapping, the Ventura County District Attorneys Office and the Ventura County Sheriffs Office said in a Monday, Sept. 8 press release.

Forensic work conducted as part of the Ventura County Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (VCSAKI) connected Ramirez to the unsolved cases.

The earliest unsolved case was in 1994, when deputies with the Ventura County Sheriffs Department responded to a report of a woman who escaped from Ramirez after she was sexually assaulted. Although a sexual assault kit was collected, the case was dismissed due to insufficient evidence, police said.

However, advances in technology helped authorities not only link Ramirez to the 1994 case but also indict him on four previously unsolved sexual assault cases in the Phoenix area. The first two other unsolved cases happened in 1998 and 1999, per court documents obtained by AZ Family. Ramirez was also linked to two unsolved cases from 2013.

The 1994 victim's kit was tested under the VCSAKI and Ramirez's DNA profile was uploaded to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) by the Ventura County Sheriff's crime lab. Police said there was a match to the 1994 case and the other unsolved cases. Maricopa County prosecutors then filed charges related to the other cases.

This case proves that no matter how much time has passed, we will use every tool available to pursue justice and stand with survivors, Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff said in a statement. It is a powerful example of why we remain committed to testing every sexual assault kit in Ventura County.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko stressed the importance of using forensics to solve cases no matter how much time may pass.

This outcome underscores the power of DNA testing and the critical role of our crime lab in bringing long-delayed justice, he said. Even decades later, testing these kits can uncover the truth and give survivors their voices back.

VCSAKI launched countywide in 2022 and aims to test every sexual assault kit for the presence of DNA to investigate unsolved cases.

Ramirez was indicted by a Maricopa County grand jury in August, NBC News reported Tuesday, Sept. 9, citing court records.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

Read the original article on People
Getty Images Elizabeth Hurley on August 6, 2025.

The Gist

Elizabeth Hurley selected a sheer silver gown for her latest red carpet outing.

She and Billy Ray Cyrus attended the National Television Awards on Wednesday.

Hurley's gown was designed by Zhivago.

Elizabeth Hurley made a sparkling entrance at the National Television Awards on Wednesday in London, England. The Gossip Girl star was accompanied by her boyfriend, Billy Ray Cyrus, and her son Damian.

Hurley selected a fully sheer Zhivago gown that evoked early 2000s glamour. Made from bedazzled mesh, it featured a wide metallic belt, shoulder pads, and a plunging neckline, as well as a sultry thigh-high slit. The actress completed her look with crystal-encrusted peep-toe platforms.

Getty Images Elizabeth Hurley and Billy Ray Cyrus on September 10, 2025.

Hurley wore her highlighted brunette tresses in beachy waves, while her makeup consisted of black eyeliner, rosy blush, and lip gloss.

Earlier this summer, Hurley proved that her love of swimwear runs in the family as she shared a new post to Instagram depicting her and her 85-year-old mother in matching cheetah print swimsuits from her eponymous line, Elizabeth Hurley Beach.



"Twinning with my mama  We just celebrated her 85th birthday, in @elizabethhurleybeach of course ," Hurley wrote in the caption.

Hurley posed in her brand's Cheetah Bikini ($182), while her mom sported the cutout Savannah One Piece ($175). Both also layered on white kaftans from Elizabeth Hurley Beach, which each featured embroidered details.

On the heels of her 60th birthday (and subsequent celebratory nude photoshoot), Hurley finally revealed her secret recipe for getting the perfect bikini shot every single time.

Instagram/@elizabethhurley1 Elizabeth Hurley in a bikini.

"The secret to flattering bikini pics?" She wrote. "BAN overhead sunlight  When shooting bikinis, sunrise or sunset are your best friends  We shot this at 7am"



Hurley continued, "By 8am, I was lounging around in one of my equally flattering @elizabethhurleybeach kaftans, feeling glamorous AND shielded from the lethal sun ."



Read the original article on InStyle
A birth a century in the making.

A Texas family learned its 108-year streak of only giving birth to boys will come to an end when they welcome a little girl to the brood next year.

Michael Sherman Jr. and his wife, Joacquia Sherman, shared the exciting, once-in-a-lifetime news with their relatives during a surprise gender reveal party on Sunday.

Michael Sherman Jr. celebrates with his son and wife after learning they are expecting a baby girl during a gender reveal party in Texas on Sept. 7, 2025. KTRK, CNN

We didnt think it was quite possible for us to even have a girl, so, I just knew if we had another child, it was going to be a boy, so I was very surprised, Joacquia Sherman told ABC Good Morning America.

Sherman Jr., a lieutenant in the Montgomery County Fire Department, was surprised by his wife with a large gathering at their home, which included relatives from around the country and a camera crew.

I was just getting off shift that morning and we had a, [what] was supposed to be a small gender reveal, [with] very close family members, and  going into it, I took the blindfold off and theres a camera crew, and theres family from all over the United States, Sherman Jr. told the outlet. It was a huge surprise on top of me finding out that its a girl. So it was pretty amazing.

Sherman Jr. opened his eyes to the joyfully screams of his loved ones when he found out he snapped the girlless streak his family had for over a century.

His young son, Mekai, held a cup of cake with a pink ribbon, signaling the young family was expecting a girl as his wife held up a pink napkin.

Joacquia Sherman holds a pair of pink baby boots during the gender reveal party. KTRK, CNN

Michael Sherman Jr. hugs his father Michael Sherman Sr. during the party at his home in Montgomery County, Texas. KTRK, CNN

His young son, Mekai, held a cup of cake with a pink ribbon, signaling the young family was expecting a girl as his wife held up a pink napkin. Sherman Family

The last time the Sherman family welcomed a baby girl through birth was in 1917, when Sherman Jr.s great-great aunt Orah Belle Sherman was born.

Orah Belle was described as a trailblazer in Atlanta, heavily involved with the civil rights movement.

Relatives hope the future family member will follow in the footsteps of her ancestor.

Sherman Jr.s father, Michael Sherman Sr. reflected on the massive milestone his son and daughter-in-law will bring to the family.

Its like a monumental thing. I have three boys. My dad had two boys. His brother had two boys. So, its never been nothing but boys, boys, boys, said Michael Sherman Sr., the babys grandfather.

The unborn baby has already been welcomed into the family despite not being due until March.

The last time the Sherman family welcomed a baby girl through birth was in 1917, when Sherman Jr.s great-great aunt Orah Belle Sherman was born. Sherman family

The couples daughter is expected around March 11, 2025. Sherman Family

I love her. No matter what path she chooses, we will be with her Shes going to always have support here for us, and I pray she makes the right decisions in life and takes the right path, great-grandmother Lydia Robertson told the KTLK.

Sherman Jr.s five-year-old son is also excited to meet his younger sister, who is due around March 11, 2026.

I think hell be a great big brother and a great leader. Hes definitely looking forward to meeting his new sister, the expectant father said.
Andrew Cuomo modeling at New York Fashion Week.

New York City pols strutted their stuff down the catwalk Wednesday in a bipartisan New York Fashion Week show Style Across the Aisle, spotlighting more than 30 local designers  but one group of elected officials was noticeably missing.

Mayoral hopeful and ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, ex-Gov. David Paterson, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, and former Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney were among the top-billed politicians who sashayed the runway at New York County Surrogates Court.

Today were kicking off fashion week and were raising money for a very important cause, Maloney said while preparing for the show.

Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, ex-Gov. David Paterson, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, and former Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney took part in the New York Fashion Week show Style Across the Aisle. James Keivom

Save the Garment District. Best in New York fashion [and its] a major industry for New York, she added.

Cuomos competition, Mayor Eric Adams  who hosted last years fashion show at Gracie Mansion  and Democratic nominee for mayor, State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, declined to attend.

The citys far-left-leaning representatives were also MIA at the event.

A campaign spokesperson for Adams, Todd Shapiro, took shots at Cuomo while explaining Hizzoners absence this year to Page Six.

There is no one who more defines the word fashion in government  from his walk to his talk  than the Mayor. There are some elected officials who still wear suits from the 1970s. As Cuomo walks the catwalk at this event, Mayor Adams will be hosting town hall meetings in the five boroughs, Shapiro said Tuesday.

Multiple far-left New York City pols were not in attendance. James Keivom

Mayor Eric Adams was also a no-show at the fashion week event. James Keivom

Republican candidate for mayor Curtis Sliwa, City Council Members Julie Menin, Joann Ariola, Althea Stevens, and Julie Won were also in attendance with the majority of politicians there being moderate-leaning Democrats. James Keivom

Other politicos in attendance included Republican candidate for mayor Curtis Sliwa, City Council Members Julie Menin, Joann Ariola, Althea Stevens, and Julie Won, as well as Assembly Members Eddie Gibbs, Jennifer Rajkumar, Jordan Wright, and Rebecca Seawright.

The majority of slated attendees are moderate-leaning Democrats.
Gabby Giffords, in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 23, 2023. Credit - Haiyun JiangThe New York Times / Redux

I mourn for Charlie Kirks family.

I didnt agree with almost anything he said, but he had a right to speak. Just as he had a right to go on a work trip and return safely to his wife and two young children at home in the state we share, Arizona.

Just as Melissa Hortman, the former Speaker of the Minnesota State Legislature, deserved to be safe at home with her husband and her dog. Instead they were all three shot dead together one night in June.

Just as President Donald Trump had the right to campaign without fear of being assassinated, as two different people tried to do last summer.

Just as I had the right to meet with my constituents safely on January 8, 2011the day when instead I, a young congresswoman in a purple district, was nearly assassinated. Eighteen other people were shot and six were killed.

Our stories are unique, but what Charlie Kirk, President Trump, Melissa Hortman and I all have in common is that someone who wanted to kill us had a gun.

We can and should talk about political violence, and its toxic relationship to political rhetoric. We can and must talk about social medias role in these moments. We all, as individual Americans, need to do a better job considering our words and their impact. But anyone who responds to preventable tragedies like thistragedies that over time begin to erode the very fabric of our countryby refusing to face the problem of gun violence and crime head-on is missing the point.

What we share, and what puts all of us in dangerfrom elected leaders to little children, like those shot while praying in church in Minnesota a few weeks agois the overwhelming prevalence of guns in this country and the loopholes that make it appallingly easy for dangerous people to access them.

In America, we now have more guns than people. Many states take sensible stepsbackground checks, extreme risk protection orders, and safe storage lawsall policies that help reduce gun crime and gun deaths. Other stateslike Utah, which year after year receives a F grade in the annual Gun Law Scorecard released by my organization, GIFFORDSdo far too little to save lives. Utah has expanded gun access in recent years, and gun deaths have increased along with that, soaring by 45% from 2014 to 2023, according to the CDC.

I was gutted to learn that Charlie Kirk died yesterday in Utahand its also true that in Utah, someone dies from gun violence every 20 hours. Too many families know the pain of having a loved one killed by guns, in that state and across the country.

In fact, mere hours after Kirks shooting, at least two students were shot at a high school in Evergreen, Colorado.

Americans of both political parties desperately want this violence to end. Our research suggests that the vast majority of Republican voters want to close loopholes that allow criminals and dangerous people to get their hands on guns. When you ask parents what they want most for their childrens education, they tell us again and again that keeping their kids safe from gun violence is their top priority. The American people are far more united than their representatives in Washington. Our polling shows 88% of Republicans support background checks on all gun sales, 75% support laws to get untraceable ghost guns off the streets, and a surprising 81% support requiring a license to own a gun (just like Americans need licenses to drive cars). Yet somehow Congress refuses to act.

It is physically very hard for me to speak due to my injuries from the bullets that hit me that day in January, and after watching yet another political shooting violently steal someones life before our eyes, its even harder to find words. So I want to speak plainly to my former colleagues in Congress, both the House and the Senate: Do something. Take action. Pray also if you want, but understand: your job is action. Nobody goes to the polls to elect someone to pray for them. We vote because we trust the people we elect will pass sensible, moderate policies that make our country a better, safer place to live and raise a family.

We may never be able to eliminate all gun violence. But we must realize that all gun violence is preventable. We know what to do to make our country safer for all of us, and our elected representatives can do it immediately. Come to the table, as Republicans and Democrats, to pass solutions to the epidemic of gun violence thats killing both of us. Theres no shortage of policies with a history of bipartisan support: closing background check loopholes, supporting violence intervention programs, funding law enforcementincluding the brave agents at the ATF who catch violent criminals and crack down on the small percentage of gun dealers who break the lawamong many others. Above all: prioritize American lives over the donations and profits of gun industry CEOs.

When I was shot, my friend Judge John Roll was killed. He was a Republican. We didnt always agree, but we still worked together for the good of our state. Also killed was Christina-Taylor Green. She was only nine years old and had just been elected Class President at her elementary school. Their families will never be whole again, just as the Kirk family will never be whole again, and I hold them all in my heart.

I call on my colleagues in Washington to show courage, not cowardice. I call on them to show loyalty to our country and our common values, and to do the single most important thing they can for their constituents: keep them safe.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
A vehicle burns near the site of a gas tanker explosion under a highway overpass in Mexico City, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Tristan Velazquez)

MEXICO CITY (AP)  A gas tanker truck exploded and burned multiple vehicles under a Mexico City highway overpass Wednesday, killing three people and injuring 70 others, some with their entire bodies charred and others waiting for help in the road with burns and torn clothing.

The crash of the truck carrying more than 13,000 gallons (49,500 liters) of gasoline on a major highway sent flames and smoke billowing over the south of the capital.

Mayor Clara Brugada called the explosion an emergency that burned nearly 30 vehicles and left 19 of those injured in grave condition, including the driver of the truck. Among those injured were a baby and a 2-year-old child.

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

This is a horrible accident, the mayor said at the site of the explosion.

The gas tanker laying on its side had the logo of the energy business Silza on its side, but in a call with The Associated Press a company official who did not want to be identified denied it was their vehicle. The company did not immediately respond to an email requesting for comment or more details.

Later in the night, Mexicos environmental ministry said in a statement that Silza didnt have updated insurance paperwork required to transport gas because its application was rejected.

Images circulated online by authorities showed a mass of flames mushrooming from a truck. Others on social media show dozens of people screaming and running from the explosion.

People whose entire bodies appeared to have been burned, some with tattered clothing melded onto skin, emerged from the flames. Others in the images had burned-off faces.

As emergency vehicles sped by and medics attended to the wounded, groups of neighbors ran helped pull burn victims from the fire and get them to safety.

Lists of those injured showed some had up to 100% of their skin burned off.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed her condolences to families of those who died in a post on X and thanked emergency teams for their work.

After fire teams snuffed out the flames with hoses and foam, Mexico City officials announced the flames were completely under control."

The explosion occurred on one of the most important roadways flowing out of the capital on the way to the city of Puebla. The roadway was reopened by evening.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI)  Emerson DaCruz, an industrial painter from Pawtucket, was looking forward to joining the roughly 1,000 local union workers that have raked in 2 million hours building a new wind farm off Rhode Islands coast.

The project, Revolution Wind, was set to power 350,000 homes across Rhode Island and Connecticut. DaCruz was expecting to make $59 an hour, and was banking on overtime.

This is a well-paying job for someone without a college education, he said. So it has afforded me the opportunity to provide for my family.

But on August 22, rsted said it received a stop-work order from the Trump administration halting the project. The Danish energy company said work on the project was 80% completed.

It was like a gut punch, DaCruz said.

The pause has carried on for the last three weeks, facing frustration from state leaders. Gov. Dan McKee has asked to meet face-to-face with President Donald Trump, while Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha is suing the administration.

While its unclear if work will resume, U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum suggested on Wednesday talks are continuing with state leaders as the administration considers letting work resume on Revolution Wind.

But some celebrated the decision. Days after the stop work order, fishermen hailed the move, saying wind projects were affecting their catch.

This decision comes after years of tireless work by my clients to inform decision makers about wind developments like this and the substantial harms involved, said attorney Marisa Desautel, an attorney representing the fishermen in an ongoing lawsuit against offshore wind farms, during a rally in August.

Meanwhile, rsted is doing what it can on land. 12 News spotted people working on a substation at Quonset Wednesday, that would be used to connect the wind farms output to the grid.

In a weekly update on Monday, the company wrote the stop work order makes an exception for activities that are necessary to respond to emergency situations.

DaCruz, who has worked on other paint projects like the Newport Pell Bridge, said hes worried time is running out as the weather gets colder.

This is when most, most of our industry is starting to wind down, he said. This isnt a big hiring time for this industry. This is when guys are getting laid off.

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At least five historically Black colleges locked down campuses, canceled classes or ordered students to shelter in place after receiving credible threats of violence on Thursday. Many of the precautionary measures are no longer in place.

Alabama State University, Clark Atlanta College, Hampton University, Southern University and Virginia State University were among those affected.

Southern University and Virginia State University have since lifted their lockdowns. Alabama State University has, as well, but is still asking students to shelter in place.

The schools have not provided details of the threats, but all said they were working with local law enforcement.

The FBI said the threats are a "hoax."

"The FBI is aware of hoax threat calls to a number of Historically Black Colleges and Universities," the agency said in a statement. "The FBI takes these threats very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk. While we have no information to indicate a credible threat, we will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to gather, share, and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention."

Kennedy Kyser, a sophomore at Hampton University, said she was in a journalism class watching a 9/11 video around 10:15 a.m. when someone blurted out that there was a threat to the campus. Confusion ensued, and she and others left the classroom and went downstairs to a lobby full of distressed students.

The Alabama State University campus in Montgomery. (Mickey Welsh / The Montgomery Advertiser via USA Today Network file)

A lot of people were crying, Kyser told NBC News. There was a lot of confusion.

Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Florida, also canceled classes as a precaution, although the school says it has not received a direct threat. Out of precaution and because of its proximity to Clark, Spelman College in Atlanta also ordered its staff and students to shelter in place and avoid the neighboring campus across the street. The order has since been lifted.

Alabama State released a statement saying it was working in close coordination with the appropriate law enforcement agencies to assess the situation and to ensure the safety and security of our students, faculty, staff, and the broader ASU community.

Back at Hampton, Kyser said she remained poised until she got to her dorm room, where the magnitude of what could have happened hit her. It settled in then and I called my mom and aunt to come and get me, she said.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) Indiana State University announced today that a freshman student from Indianapolis tragically died this past weekend.

According to the release, freshman Kaylynn Lucas died while visiting home. Lucas was a resident of Blumberg Hall and was pursuing a degree in Automotive Engineering Technology.

Kaylynn was a member of our community whose curiosity and kindness touched those around her, President Mike Godard said. On behalf of the university, I extend our heartfelt condolences to Kaylynns family, friends, classmates, faculty, and staff. We mourn her loss and honor her memory.

Indiana State Universitys Chief of Staff Rex Kendall told WTWO that this death is not linked to the investigation currently ongoing on ISUs campus.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyWabashValley.com.
For the second time since it quit MIA in June, JetBlue Airways is adding flights to and from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

The airline is adding new service to Cali, Colombia, and four weekly flights to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Its expanding ways to get to the Caribbean, too.

The Long Island City-based carrier is also returning service to Pittsburgh and New Orleans. Start dates vary but the first ones begin Nov. 1.

And cities already served by JetBlue are going to get busier. The airline is upping flight frequency to popular places throughout the United States and overseas, including Atlanta and Santiago, Dominican Republic.

The move is a significant bet by JetBlue on FLL. By December, the airline will have 113 daily departures from the Broward airport, the most ever, the carrier said in a statement, serving 46 airports with non-stop flights.

This will be the largest schedule from FLL in the airlines history, the Sept. 10 statement said.

The changes come on the heels of a move in July to start service between Fort lauderdale and Norfolk, Virginia, and Tampa. The airline also said it would make its premium Mint service more available on flights from FLL. That includes lie-flat seats and curated dining. And it resumed service between FLL and Philadelphia and FLL and Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Fort Lauderdale has long been a key market for JetBlue, and were excited to keep growing with the region, Dave Jehn, vice president of network planning and airline partnerships, said at that time.

In June, JetBlue said it would stop service at Miami International Airport. The airline had already been cutting back from as many as 14 daily flights in 2021 to one to two earlier this year. The company decided it was getting better financial results from focusing completely on flying in and out of FLL. JetBlue also was slowed by the 2024 ruling of a federal judge in Massachusetts that blocked an attempted merger with Spirit Airlines, citing anti-competitive laws.

Wednesdays announcement comes less than one week after Spirit cut service between FLL and four destinations as the Broward-based airline navigates its second bankruptcy protection in the past 12 months.

That suggests that JetBlue will aggressively pursue Spirits business at FLL.

In 2024, Spirit accounted for the most passengers at FLL, just over 11 million, a 7% increase when compared to 2023. JetBlue was second with 6.8 million, a 2.1% decrease. Spirit accounted for 31.4% of market share while JetBlue represented 19.4%.

In 2025, JetBlue has added 17 new routes from FLL.

Here are details on several of the changes JetBlue is making:

New routes from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airport

Cali, Colombia: Starting date and frequency TBA, awaiting government approval.

Liberia, Costa Rica: Starting date, Dec. 4, 2025, 1 daily flight; year-round; awaiting governmental approval.

San Pedra Sula, Honduras: Starting date Dec. 4, 2025; 4 weekly flights; year-round; awaiting governmental approval.

Returning routes from FLL

Aruba: Starting date Dec. 4, 2025; 3 weekly flights; year-round; awaiting governmental approval.

Cartagena, Colombia: Starting date Dec 4. 2025; 4 weekly flights; year-round; awaiting governmental approval.

Grand Cayman Islands: Starting date Dec. 4, 2025; 3 weekly flights; year-round; awaiting governmental approval.

St. Maarten: Starting date Dec. 4, 2025; 4 weekly flights; year-round; awaiting governmental approval

New Orleans: Starting date Nov. 1, 2025; 2 daily flights, year-round.

Pittsburgh: Starting date Nov. 1, 2025; 1 daily flight; year-round.

Increasing frequency from FLL
This Kale, Apple, and Roasted Butternut Squash Salad Will Make You *Fall* In Love

You know the signs: When you step outside in the morning, youre met with a soft, cool breeze. When you walk your dog, you find yourself stepping on the crunchy, brown and red leaves that litter your street. Youve gradually started donning warm sweaters to ward off the light chill at night. Fall is slowly arriving, and with it comes cozy knits, warm beverages, and spectacular produce.

To celebrate, we called up an expert culinary creator with a penchant for fresh flavors. Jamie Milne  teacher-turned-recipe developer and creator of Everything Delish  lent us her recipe for a kale, apple, and roasted butternut squash salad thats doused in a toasted walnut vinaigrette. And we swear, this stunning side (which can also serve as an entree, if need be) is autumn on a plate.

Youll start by roasting a halved butternut squash before toasting walnuts until fragrant. Youll dump those nuts into a food processor with olive oil, Dijon mustard, honey, red wine vinegar, and grated garlic. The acidic vinegar and tangy mustard will cut through and complement the luxurious, decadent flavor and texture of the dressing.

After that, youll be free to assemble and dress your salad. Considering that most of the actual cooking takes place while your squash sits in the oven, you wont be utterly exhausted by the time dinner is served. And one bite of this savory, sweet, pleasantly crunchy, produce extravaganza will convince you to bust out this recipe every year.

Kale, Apple & Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Toasted Walnut Vinaigrette

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

Salad

1 large head dinosaur kale (also known as lacinato kale), washed and chopped

1 cup shaved Brussels sprouts

2 red apples (the chef loves Honeycrisp), thinly sliced

 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

 cup dried cranberries

1 handful fresh basil, chopped

Roasted Butternut Squash

1 medium butternut squash, halved

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Toasted Walnut Vinaigrette

1 cup olive oil

1 cup walnuts

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 garlic clove, grated

Salt and pepper, to taste

Garnish

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Roast the butternut squash: Preheat oven to 425F. Place the halved butternut squash on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 35-40 minutes, or until fork-tender. Let cool for 10 minutes, then cube into bite-sized pieces.

Prepare the vinaigrette: In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the walnuts for 4-5 minutes until fragrant. Set aside and let cool for 5 minutes. In a blender or food processor, combine toasted walnuts, olive oil, Dijon mustard, honey, red wine vinegar, and grated garlic. Blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Assemble the Salad: In a large bowl, combine kale, shaved Brussels sprouts, sliced apples, Parmesan, dried cranberries, and basil. Add the roasted and cubed butternut squash. Drizzle with toasted walnut vinaigrette and toss until well coated.

Garnish and Serve: Finish with freshly grated Parmesan, an extra sprinkle of salt and pepper, and serve immediately. Serve and enjoy!

Jamie Milne is a recipe developer, content creator, and author of Everything Delish who splits her time between Toronto and New York City.



The post This Kale, Apple, and Roasted Butternut Squash Salad Will Make You *Fall* In Love appeared first on Katie Couric Media.
A 44-year-old Lebanon man was sentenced to a minimum 25 years of incarceration for sexually assaulting three minor children for nearly 17 years with help from his wife.

Christopher Longo was sentenced Sept. 9 before Lebanon County Court of Common Pleas Judge Charles Jones Jr. on charges for all three victims. Longo plead guilty on April 9 to charges that included rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors, and endangering the welfare of children.

During the hearing, Jones told Longo that he made a choice "to cause people pain and suffering that will last for the rest of their lives."

"Quite possibly, if I had to sit through a trial of this and hear the testimony, you might get a sentence that clearly indicates you are not getting out," he said. "But that was not chosen."

Senior Deputy District Attorney Amy Muller read prepared letters from two victims to Jones during the Sept. 9 hearing. One victim said they could not forget weekly sexual abuse, times they felt uncomfortable and told to "just relax."

"No matter what happens after today, I will still have to live with the pain, anger and trauma with everything that's occurred," Muller read during the hearing. "I just hope that moving forward, today I can leave with the piece of mind knowing that no more children will fall victim to (Longo's) addiction."

Muller told Jones that the statements spoke to the nature of the traumatic experiences suffered by the victims, and the courage it took to speak to law enforcement about the abuse.

"I think they have summed up exactly the horrors they have lived," she said during the hearing. "I am proud of them coming forward, and I think they should be proud of themselves for coming forward and standing up for themselves."

Longo said little during the Sept. 9 hearing besides answering direct questions. His lawyer, Joshua Harshberger, told Jones that his client hopes that incarceration will provide the treatment for Longo's own abuse at an early age.

"He understands he is sick, he understands he needs help ... and is very, very remorseful for the crimes and the harm he has cause for the victims," Harshberger said.

During sentencing, Jones told Longo that the fact that he was an abuse victim does not excuse his actions for sexually assaulting three children for years.

"You were a victim, you became an adult and you had the ability to get help," Jones said. "You chose not to."

One of Longo's victims testified before Jones during the April 9 hearing, and said Longo "took what was not his" when he attacked her. She added that Longo hopefully will understand that his actions caused a lot of pain to the ones he disrespected and hurt.

"I survived because I did what I needed to do to keep myself safe, and not for a second do I regret my choice," she said.

In early October 2024, the Lebanon City Police Department charged Longo and his wife, Kelly, with multiple counts relating to the sexual assault of children. Court officials said that incidents occurred between January 2007 and October 2024 at the Longos' home in the 1100 block of Buttonwood Street.

The Lebanon County District Attorney's Office said police had responded to a middle school for a report of sexual abuse by a student, and the student was referred for a forensic interview at the local Childrens Resource Center. The victim, a teenage girl, reported to police that Christopher Longo had sexually abused her since the age of 5. During their investigation, police interviewed an adult victim who said she was abused starting at the age of 5 until she turned 18.

A third victim was also interviewed and told police she was assaulted starting at the age of 12, according to the DA's office.

Officials added that one victim said Kelly Longo allegedly participated in the sexual assaults committed by her husband. According to court documents, Kelly Longo also failed to report the sexual abuse to law enforcement and accused the victims of lying.

Kelly Longo pled guilty on Feb. 26 to charges of endangering the welfare of children, corruption of minors, indecent assault and conspiracy.

The Department of Human Services operates a 24/7 hotline about the welfare of a child and to report suspected child abuse. ChildLine can be reached at 800-932-0313.

Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on X at @DAMattToth.

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Lebanon man sentenced 25 years to rape, sexual assault of 3 children
Ask most people to picture Americas finest beaches, and the images that come back are familiar: palm-lined shores in Hawaii or wide stretches of Florida sand. That mental map, however, left out a corner of the South that just claimed national attention.

In 2025, Kiawah Beachwalker Park in South Carolina rose above better-known destinations, taking the title of the Souths best beach and earning recognition as one of the countrys standout coastal escapes.

Public Access on a Private Island

Image via iStockphoto/Judd Brotman

Kiawah Island is popular for its gated neighborhoods, resorts, and private clubs, which can give the impression that much of the shoreline is reserved for residents and guests. Beachwalker Park, however, is different.

This park, positioned on the western edge of the island, provides one of the few public entry points to Kiawahs beaches. That accessibility has turned it into a reliable choice for people who want to experience Kiawah without needing a property pass.

The park is about a 45-minute drive from downtown Charleston, a stretch that helps it stay a little quieter than spots closer to the city. Visitors find restrooms, picnic areas, and rentals, but the place avoids the feel of a resort. That mix has made it a dependable favorite for day trips along the South Carolina coast.

How Dr. Beach Evaluates Coastlines

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman (@the.dr.beach)

Stephen P. Leatherman, referred to as Dr. Beach, has been analyzing American beaches for more than three decades. His evaluations are not based on casual impressions but on a detailed system that uses fifty separate criteria. Each beach is measured on a scale, with scores assigned to categories that range from water clarity and sand softness to the presence of wildlife, litter, or erosion.

Availability of facilities also counts, as do noise levels, safety, and the overall condition of the surrounding environment. Even the color of the sand plays a role in his rankings, with lighter tones earning higher marks than darker shades. He applies these standards across more than six hundred public beaches and ensures that each site competes on equal footing.

This scientific process gives credibility to the annual list of Americas Best Beaches. It also explains why coastal stretches that are less famous, such as Beachwalker Park, can sometimes outrank better-known destinations.

South Carolinas Highest-Rated Beach

Beachwalker Parks placement on the 2025 list marked a major recognition for South Carolina. Placed sixth overall, it was the only beach in the South to break into the national top ten. Coopers Beach in Southampton, New York, received the number one spot, while Hawaiian beaches dominated several positions, alongside entries in Florida and Massachusetts.

Kiawahs spot on the list shows that its shoreline holds up against places with heavier tourism and more promotion. Sitting just outside Charleston, the park takes a little effort to reach, but the recognition underscores its value.

In a region filled with beaches that can feel overrun in summer, Beachwalker Park demonstrated that South Carolinas coast still offers a place that competes with the countrys best.
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  Individuals in the Miami Valley are reacting to the shooting and killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Wednesday afternoon, Kirk was shot while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University for Turning Point USA, a youth activist organization. Kirks main audience was the younger generation, with a focus on college students.

I was really shocked and then like seeing his views and stuff on down violence and like, like seeing some of the stuff he said about it, said Brook, student at the University of Dayton. And then seeing his face. I just, I just felt bad for him.

Ohio Rep. Phil Plummer (R-Butler Twp.) spoke with 2 NEWS and shared his thoughts on the death of the political activist.

Him talking led to violence and the ultimate death of him, and its just, just a tragedy, said Plummer. And, you know, what do you do with that? You have somebody out there trying to make a difference, right? Trying to talk to somebody, educate young people, which did a great job of, and he was all in and he gets his life taken from him.

Ashley Mayr, president of Turning Point USA Chapter at the University of Dayton, released a statement to WDTN:

Our Turning Point U-S-A Chapter at the University of Dayton is heartbroken at the loss of our fearless leader, Charlie Kirk. Charlie has greatly impacted all of our lives and we will forever be grateful. We pray that God will comfort Charlies family in this dark time. We will continue to carry on Charlies legacy and hope to make him proud in Heaven. Ashley Mayr

Despite political differences, UD students agree that the violence needs to end.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com.
Ryanair may not return to Israel when violence related to the Gaza war recedes.

Group Chief Executive Michael O'Leary told reporters in Dublin on Thursday that there's a real possibility that we won't bother going back to Israel after being "messed around" by airport authorities there.

Earlier this year, Europe's biggest airline said it would not return to Israel until October 25 at the earliest, in line with many international carriers that have halted flights due to conflict in the region.

O'Leary said that Ryanair objects to the fact that Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport charges it at the higher rate for use of the main terminal when the cheaper low-cost terminal is closed for security reasons.

Michael O'Leary (PA)

"Unless the Israelis get their act together and stop messing us around, frankly, we have far more growth elsewhere in Europe," he said.

He said Ryanair would start flying back to Jordan this month or next.

Several Polish airports were temporarily closed on Wednesday as the country shot down Russian drones, before flights resumed hours later. There were knock-on effects on air traffic control, causing flight delays across Europe.

"This is going to be an ongoing issue for all airlines and all European citizens for the next number of years," O'Leary said.

"The risk is one of continuous disruption, rather than of safety."
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is pictured during a previous appearance at the Supreme Federal Court in Brasilia, Brazil, in June. - Arthur Menescal/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Brazils former President Jair Bolsonaro has been found guilty of attempting to overturn the countrys 2022 election with a plot prosecutors say included plans to assassinate the president-elect in a bid to cling to power.

Four out of five justices on a Brazilian Supreme Court panel voted to convict Bolsonaro on all five counts in the landmark case, and to sentence him to 27 years and three months in prison.

Bolsonaro has been convicted of plotting a coup detat, taking part in an armed criminal organization, attempting to abolish Brazils democratic order by force, committing violent acts against state institutions and damaging protected public property during the storming of government buildings by his supporters on January 8, 2023.

Part of the coup plot, prosecutors alleged, involved a plan to potentially use explosives, weapons of war or poison to assassinate leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, his Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw Bolsonaros trial.

Bolsonaro and other defendants in the trial had denied wrongdoing.

The evidence against Bolsonaro largely centered on how he tried to stay in power after losing the presidential election in 2022 to Lula da Silva. Federal police said Bolsonaro had full knowledge of a plan to overturn the election results, pressure the military to intervene, and even create a parallel crisis management office to run the government.

Prosecutors had alleged that the coup plot began in 2021, with efforts to undermine public trust in the electoral system. After Bolsonaros defeat in the 2022 election, prosecutors said defendants attempted to overturn the results by encouraging Bolsonaro supporters to mobilize in Brasilia, where they stormed and vandalized the three seats of government on January 8, 2023.

Moraes, who was the first justice to cast a guilty vote on Tuesday, said the defendants committed all the criminal offenses imputed by the Attorney Generals Office. Justices Flavio Dino, Carmen Lucia, and Cristiano Zanin also voted to convict Bolsonaro.

A polarized country

The verdict leaves Bolsonaro, 70, facing the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison. It will also make him ineligible for election for eight years, according to CNN Brasil.

Defense lawyers could still file appeals, but once those challenges are exhausted, the ruling becomes final and any prison terms can be enforced.

The trial, which comes ahead of the 2026 general election, has polarized Brazil. Over the weekend, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters filled the streets on the countrys Independence Day to protest the legal proceedings.

Bolsonaros eldest son, Flavio Bolsonaro, a senator in Brazil, criticized the outcome and took aim at Moraes. Under the pretext of defending democracy, the pillars of democracy were broken to condemn an innocent person who dared not to bow to a dictator named Alexandre de Moraes, he said on X Thursday.

Bolsonaro has long insisted that the trial amounted to a political witch hunt.

That sentiment has been echoed by one of his biggest political allies, US President Donald Trump, who imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil after threatening to do so if the country did not end the trial against Bolsonaro.

His administration has also sanctioned Moraes for what it considers serious human rights violations, and announced visa restrictions against him and other court officials over Bolsonaros trial.

Trump didnt answer if he would apply new sanctions when asked about the conviction by reporters on Thursday, but he expressed shock at the trials outcome. I thought he was a good president of Brazil, and its very surprising that that could happen, he said on the White House lawn.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the verdict unjust on X and said the US will respond accordingly to this witch hunt.

Brazils foreign ministry pushed back against Rubios comments, saying the country would not be intimidated.

Eduardo Bolsonaro, another son of the former president, told Reuters he expects additional US sanctions against Brazilian officials, including justices who voted to convict.

A session during the final phase of the trial of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro, on charges of plotting a coup to overturn the 2022 election, in Brasilia, Brazil, September 10, 2025. - Adriano Machado/Reuters

Bolsonaros supporters and some on Brazils right have welcomed Trumps interest in the case. But the current administration in Brasilia, and many others in the Latin American nation, see it as the US meddling in its affairs.

Justice Luiz Fux on Wednesday voted to acquit the former president of all charges. He argued that the events do not constitute a coup as Lula da Silva was never overthrown. He also said the court lacks jurisdiction to review the case, which he said should be annulled.

Bolsonaro joins a growing list of Latin American leaders to be convicted of a crime in recent years.

Last month, former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was sentenced to 12 years of house arrest after being found guilty of procedural fraud and witness bribery  a verdict he is appealing.

In 2022, Argentinas ex-leader Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was convicted of corruption related to public works contracts.

And in 2017, Brazils current President Lula da Silva was found guilty of corruption and money laundering, serving more than a year in prison before his conviction was later annulled.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

CNNs Francisca Marques contributed to this report.

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NYPD Jamel McGriff

NEED TO KNOW

A man suspected of killing an elderly couple and setting fire to their home in Queens has been arrested

Frank Olton, 76, and Maureen Olton, 77, were found dead on the afternoon of Monday, Sept. 8

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the suspect, Jamel McGriff, has a criminal history dating back 30 years

A man accused by police of killing an elderly couple and setting fire to their New York City home has been arrested.

Jamel McGriff was taken into custody on Wednesday, Sept. 10 after being spotted by officers in Midtown Manhattan, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a post on X.

In a previous post, Tisch said McGriff was wanted for a "horrific double homicide" in Queens on Monday, Sept. 8, claiming he is known to "knock on doors asking for some kind of assistance until he can gain entry into a home."

According to CNN, Tisch alleged at a news conference that McGriff, 42, used a ruse to get into Frank and Maureen Olton's home in the Bellrose neighborhood, where security footage purportedly showed he stayed for about five hours before re-emerging. The homeowners, both in their 70s, denied him entry at first but he's later seen entering the couple's backyard, the outlet reported.

Tisch further claimed that McGriff had been going door-to-door in the neighborhood asking to charge his phone, a request investigators believe he made to the Oltons that morning, the Associated Press reported.

Fifteen minutes after McGriff was seen leaving the home with two bags in his hand, the couple's home went up in flames, the New York Times reported, citing police officials. Officers who responded to the scene by 3:30 p.m. found Maureen severely burned on the first floor and Frank stabbed and tied to a pole in the basement, per the Times.

The following day, the New York City Fire Department confirmed in a post on X that the fire was set intentionally.

Law enforcement officials told CNN that investigators were able to track down McGriff after monitoring his usage of the couple's credit cards. The outlet also reported, citing police, that McGriff was allegedly seen trying to pawn two phones in the Bronx on Tuesday, Sept. 9.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

According to the Times, Tisch said McGriff has a criminal history dating back 30 years and that at the time of the killings, he was out on parole for a robbery. He had also reportedly failed to register as a sex offender and was wanted in connection with two other recent robberies.

Charges have yet to be filed in the case and the victims' causes of death remain under investigation, the outlets report, citing police officials.



Read the original article on People
A new marsupial species closely related to the kangaroo was discovered in Australia, but it might already have gone extinct.

Scientists, including those from the Curtin University, found the new species based on fossils collected from caves of Nullarbor in south and southwestern Australia.

The study, published in the journal Zootaxa, assessed the skull and teeth fossils to discover a previously unknown woylie  also known as brush-tailed bettong  and two other living subspecies.

Researchers have described the new Nullarbor cave species as Bettongia haoucharae.

However, they hope to work further to identify an appropriate collaborative name along with indigenous Australians, including the Noongar people from whom the word woylie came to be used.

The woylie species are ecosystem engineers, capable of turning over several tonnes of earth each year, searching for their favourite mushrooms and are native to Western Australia, according to the new study.

Researchers hope the findings will unravel further clues about the diversity of woylies.

New marsupial species Bettongia haoucharae found in Australia (Nellie Pease)

This could prove very important for conservation when considering breeding and translocation initiatives to increase the size and fitness of populations, they say.

Woylies are critically endangered marsupials that have been the focus of conservation efforts for decades, study lead author and PhD candidate Jake Newman-Martin added.

In this new research, weve named a completely new species based on fossil material, and two new subspecies of woylies for the first time. Sadly, many of them have become extinct before weve even been aware of them, Mr Newman-Martin said.

Until now, scientists have typically used bone measurements to assess the diversity of woylies and the number of species.

In the new study, researchers examined specimens from the Western Australian Museum, South Australia Museum, Australian Museum, Queensland Museum, Museums Victoria, Flinders University research collection, Natural History Museum London, and Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

This research confirmed several distinct species expanded the known diversity of woylies by measuring skull and body fossil material that had previously not been looked at in detail, said Kenny Travouillon, Curator of Terrestrial Zoology at the Western Australian Museum.

What weve found through this research tells us that examining fossils alongside genetic tools could offer significant insights that may help conservation efforts of this critically endangered native species, Dr Travoullon said.

Scientists hope future classification of species follows a combined approach, assessing body features and molecular analysis of fossils as well as modern and historical specimens for a complete understanding of animals/
FILE - A family walks down a corridor at Lee Hall as college students begin moving in for the fall semester at N.C. State University in Raleigh, N.C., July 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

It's that time of year when many parents across the U.S. see their kids head off to college or leave home to start their working lives. For parents and guardians, experts say, the separation from their children can cause mixed feelings of loss, grief, loneliness, relief and freedom and can lead to unhealthy thoughts and behaviors.

They're the classic signs of what is known as empty nest syndrome.

While not a clinical diagnosis, it can create intense long-term feelings that affect mental health, emotional well-being and relationships. Experts say acknowledging changing emotions, reconnecting with loved ones and finding new hobbies are all ways to prepare for this transition.

Here's what experts say:

How empty nesters adapt more quickly

Parents and guardians can feel a range of emotions during different stages of their childrens lives. But experts say it is important to acknowledge that the time when children move out on their own can be more intense compared to the first preschool drop off, for example. The uncertainty surrounding when parents might see their children again is part of what makes it so gut wrenching.

Julie Gottman, a clinical psychologist and co-founder of the Gottman Institute, said regardless of your relationship with the children who are leaving, it is helpful to nurture or build relationships with people other than your children to combat loneliness. This is especially important for single parents or guardians or people whose daily lives and schedules revolved around their kids lives and activities.

One of the hardest things for empty nesters is understanding that your children need separation, she said. It will be hard but call your friend instead.

Diane Bergantinos, 45, said her friends have warned her about how hard dropping your child off to school can be, but knows she has supportive family and friends she can call on if she needs company. Bergantinos, a newly single parent in Honolulu, Hawaii, says she leaves in a week to help her only child move to Oregon for school.

It's like having a sick family member. You know their time is limited and you try to prepare yourself mentally and emotionally, but you can't fully prepare for it until it happens," she said. I'm just trying to savor every minute, cherish whatever moments I have left, and not dwell on the fact that he is leaving.

Some experience empty nest syndrome after children leave home, but the emotions can be overwhelming before the actual move. Gottman says if the emotions begin to mirror symptoms of depression, it might be time to see a therapist or counselor.

Relationship expert says it's time to date  yourself and your spouse  again

When you co-parent, it is likely that each person is experiencing some of the same emotions, but experts say that those shared feelings should be addressed with each other and, if needed, by professionals.

Not everything was sad for Mike Marlow and his wife, Barbara, a couple in their 50s who over the years have had three children move out of their home in Flagstaff, Arizona.

I remember Barb and I looking at each other over at our island in our kitchen going, Hi there!" he said, adding that they have been so thankful that they maintained a healthy and happy relationship with each other over the course of raising three children, who are now 29, 25 and 24 years old.

Gottman, who has counseled couples over the years, said the big question empty nesters face is Who are we?

There's a beautiful thing that can happen to couples. You are able to rediscover who your partner is and the love that you have for them. Now if you have really parented a child since birth together, there is history you have shared of going through the hurdles of raising a child. You've shared the worries, the hopes, the dreams, the excitement," she said.

Gottman said sharing in the experience can also rekindle intimacy in a way adults might not have been able to when children were around.

Marlow said now that the children have moved out, they have had time to date each other again and really spend time on themselves, including working out more, traveling and making future plans.

Its not all sad. Families can experience joy in new routines and hobbies

We focus so much on our health. We have a routine, we work out, we play pickleball and we also have separate things we work on, Marlow said.

Experts say developing new routines and learning new hobbies are excellent ways to combat any negative emotions from becoming empty nesters. While many of these hobbies, especially traveling, depend on income, there are creative things parents can do to with the extra time they now have.

Anywhere you can meet new people will help, Gottman said. Not only are you losing your child, youre also losing the community of parents of your kids friends. So, look for group activities where you can meet more people, take an exercise class, take a yoga class, take a painting class, join a choir and sing, and see if your partner is interested in doing those things together."

For Bergantinos, working is going to keep her busy as a single mom, but she said she plans to continue a therapeutic hobby she started when her son was in high school: lei making.

I taught myself how to make ribbon leis because I knew his graduation was coming up, she said. In Hawaii, leis are giveaways for every special occasion. So I decided to post it on Facebook Marketplace and see what happens.

Empty nesters never stop being parents and guardians

Some parents and guardians become empty nesters much later in their children's lives when they stay through college or their first jobs, especially in intergenerational households.

For the Marlows, it felt like the empty nester title was on and off as one of their children moved back home when he started a job after school in the same city, and another child attended a local university minutes from home. But they said they knew they would continue to be a part of their children's lives and continue to parent, even if they were away from home, and technology helps with that continued connection.

To this day, we maintain a lot of interest in their lives. We don't want to intrude but we want to be there to offer them advice, encouragement, praise, all that kind of stuff, Marlow said.

___

Mumphrey reported from Flagstaff, Arizona.
National Guard members patrol Washington Union Station (Washington, D.C.) Jalen Miller | DVIDS

(The Center Square)  Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine agreed to extend the National Guards mission in Washington after a request from Army leaders.

DeWine said Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll asked to extend the deployment through the National Guard Bureau. The extension is expected to last until Nov. 30.

DeWine also said some Ohio troops stationed in nation's capital will be rotated out and replaced to continue the 150 military police involved to carry out patrols.

None of Ohios troops involved in the deployment currently serves as law enforcement officers in the state.

DeWines initial deployment of 150 troops in mid-August, which Democrats called political theater, sparked protests around the state capitol, with memories of the Ohio National Guards history often mentioned.

In 1970, four Kent State students were killed by guard troops during a protest against the Vietnam War.

Shortly after DeWines announcement, Louisiana became the fifth state with a Republican governor to commit troops to the nations capital, joining Ohio, South Carolina, West Virginia and Mississippi.

Earlier this month, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp sent more than 300 guardsmen to Washington.

More recently, second-term Republican President Donald Trump has said he wants to send more troops to Chicago and Louisiana, while law enforcement officials and politicians have called for troops in Milwaukee over the objection of city leaders.
NEED TO KNOW

Prince Harry attended a youth mental health event organized by The Diana Award on Sept. 11

The charity is the only one established in Princess Dianas name, honoring the late mother of Harry and his brother, Prince William

The outing took place just one day after Harry reunited with King Charles for the first time since February 2024

Prince Harry is wrapping up his U.K. trip with a visit to the only charity established in his late mother Princess Dianas name during his latest U.K. visit.

On Sept. 11, the Duke of Sussex, 40, attended an outing for The Diana Award in London, joining a group of young people showcasing how their own social action initiatives have boosted their mental health.

The event follows his trip to Nottingham on Tuesday, Sept. 8, and outings in London, including his first in-person meeting with his father, King Charles, in 19 months.

This U.K. trip is one of the longest Harry has spent in his home country since the death and funeral of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, in 2022. He and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped back from their royal roles in 2020 and relocated to the Duchess of Sussex's home state of California.



Aaron Chown - Pool/Getty Prince Harry supporting The Diana Award

At the event, Harry paid tribute to his mom, saying, "My mother believed in the power and agency of young people to positively impact the world. The Diana Award continues her legacy by putting young people at the heart of everything they do. Today is a perfect example of that. My message to everyone is dont stand still, dont stay silent - make them hear you because you speak for the majority.

He was talking after a discussion led by Dan Lawes, a political activist and childrens rights campaigner from Manchester, who also serves as a trustee for The Diana Award. The panel featured Lottie Leach, Elsa Arnold, and Idorenyin Hope Akpan, all 23, who have actively participated in youth-led social action through the charity.

AARON CHOWN/POOL/AFP via Getty Prince Harry at the Diana Award event in London on Sept. 11, 2025

Following the discussion, Harry shared his reflections on the stories and insights he had just heard. Getting involved in peaceful social action takes courage and determination. Young people see the issues society faces close up  whether thats poor mental health or the consequences of inequalities. But you dont stand still; your empathy and compassion drive you to make change. Purpose combined with action can help overcome a sense of hopelessness, and thats exactly what youve shown today."

When you spoke about how taking action gave you purpose, confidence, and joy, it was more powerful than any statistic. It reminded me that agency is not a luxury for young people, it is a lifeline."



Aaron Chown - Pool/Getty Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex high fives Chief Workforce Innovation Officer Karen Pavlin alongside Dr Tessy Ojo during a visit to take part in a panel discussion on how social action positively impacts mental health with four young people who are involved with The Diana Award, in Salisbury Square on September 11, 2025 in London

The Diana Award is one of the few causes that unites both Harry and Prince William, 43, despite their ongoing rift. The brothers regularly  though separately  participate in events honoring young people making a difference in communities around the world.

Despite their shared commitment, Harry attended the event without his brother and is not expected to see William during his U.K. visit, as tensions between the siblings remain unresolved.

Press Association via AP Images Prince Harry at his latest outing during his U.K. visit on Sept. 11, 2025

Tessy Ojo, the charitys CEO, told PEOPLE in August, "They see that next generation who are instilling her legacy and values into generations to come. Im sure they do it with their own individual families, but what the Diana Award does is continue that legacy and pass that legacy and values on to generations of young people who would never have met her.

Ojo added that the princes embody the values of their mother: duty, service, empathy and selflessness, that ability to ally with, and think about others, and empathy to see  so that other peoples plights become visible."

On Thursday, the young people addressed an audience of leaders and changemakers at a London event hosted by ServiceNow, marking one year since the launch of The Diana Awards Decade of Youth Well-Being, a program supported by Prince Harry.

The event followed last Septembers launch of the Decade of Youth Well-Being, which Harry joined in New York City, participating in a panel discussion and speaking about the initiative. The program is described as a bold, ambitious, and collaborative plan to harness the power of young people.

Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty The late Princess Diana in Argentina

Ojo said: One in five young people is living with a diagnosable mental health condition, and four in ten feel powerless about their future. The crisis is real. This is why The Diana Award launched the Decade of Youth Wellbeing a year ago, prioritizing mental health for young people globally. When young people are trusted to lead and take action, their well-being rises, their resilience grows, and hope is restored. Put simply, action heals minds.

The Duke of Sussex's latest appearance follows his Sept. 10 meeting at Clarence House with King Charles, 76. It was their first meeting face-to-face since February 2024, after the palace announced that the monarch was receiving treatment for cancer.

Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP via Getty Meghan Markle and her husband, Prince Harry

Following a stop at Imperial College London's Centre for Blast Injury Studies, Harry arrived by car at Clarence House, King Charles' London home, around 5:20 p.m., local time.

The Duke of Sussex was inside for about 55 minutes before departing.

After the meeting, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the King had a private tea at Clarence House with Prince Harry and said no additional details would be shared. A spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex echoed the same, reiterating that father and son met for tea and that there would be no further comment.

Soon after, a reporter asked Harry how his father was, and he replied, "Yes, he's great, thank you."



Read the original article on People
courtesy of camille freestone



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New York Fashion Week may not officially begin until tomorrow (Thursday), but that hasnt stopped brands from utilizing this whole week for presentations, activations, and soirees. Monday saw the first show of the week full of novel styling tips from Rachel Comey and a funky pair of pants from an upstart New York designer. Tuesday beheld Brandon Maxwells 10th anniversary show and even more fashion fantasy. Ahead, the wrap-up of the first days of pre-New York Fashion Week.

Furkan Temir

Tank Tops As Belts at Rachel Comey

Oh, to be a Rachel Comey girl. What a great example of a real New York designer, one who dresses real, smart, stylish women. The styling was very stronglittle clingy knits heaped upon each other, rich, sultry fabrics set against subtle neutrals, and, most excitingly, tanks folded down upon themselves to serve as de facto belts. They created exaggerated waists when layered over sleek, wide-leg trousers and flouncy little dresses.

Monica Feudi/Courtesy of Proenza Schouler

Perfection Undone at Proenza Schouler

This season, Proenza Schouler showed its Spring 2026 collection at the Kasmin Gallery on Manhattan's west side, a stark studio that offset the freshness of the clothes. Consulted on by new creative director Rachel Scott, this collection was the first without founders Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez and examined the act of undoing. Multiple pieces featured a jacquard fabric turned inside out, its threads seemingly unraveling. A coated cotton skirt hosted a laser cut pattern that emphasized what wasn't there in lieu of what was. Each gesture gave its fabric a rhythm, one that preludes an exciting official debut from Scott to come next season.

Courtesy of Philipp Paulus

Peter Do Releases a Capsule Collection

Vietnamese-American designer Peter Do has released PD-168, a new line of ready-to-wear available starting September 10, exclusively on PD-168.net. The number 168 refers to the number of hours in a weekthis is a collection designed to be worn everyday, everywhere, anytime. It's an all-black, unisex, modular apparel framework that equips all aspects of ones lifework, play, leisurewith function at its core. Think: liquid satin blazers, ribbed knit tanks, and washed terry shorts, all emblazoned with single white tattoo line along the left side.

courtesy of camille freestone

Mullet Pants at Mel Usine

Designer Stephen Biga of newcomer Mel Usine takes medieval European themes and clashes them with New York City urbanisms. One standout piece? Trousers one appointment attendee described as mullet pants, but backwardsa party in the front, business in the back. The base is a creamy white Italian cotton twill with a navy chiffon overlay at the front (and trimming the back pockets).

Monica Feudi / Courtesy of Brandon Maxwell

Brandon Maxwells 10th Anniversary Show

Last night, Brandon Maxwell celebrated the 10th anniversary of his namesake label with a show at Sothebys. The collection was personalan ode to his past and a nod to his future with beautiful tailoring and touches of playful prints. Maxwell received a standing ovation that was well-deserved. Not only was the show a toast to his success, it was also an acknowledgment of the immense challenges that come with running an independent brand in America and the determination of the designers who make fashion move ahead here.

courtesy of camille freestone





Fabulous Interpretations of Deadstock Fabrics from One/Of

Its so much fun to enter Patricia Votos fantastical wonderland of a studio on the Upper East Side. Her brand One/Of makes custom and ready-to-wear pieces out of deadstock materials left over from the most luxurious collections. Everything, from the skirts to the curtains, warrants you to ask where the fabric came from. Answers range from Dries Van Noten to Rochas to Erdem, but she then puts her weirdly sophisticated twist on them. From that, you get perfectly peplum-ed blazers, decadent column skirtsalso with detachable peplumsand nylon-coated plaid ponchos adorned with ostrich feather brooches.

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WASHINGTON  Congressional Republicans want a monument built in the United States Capitol to honor Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist whose Sept. 10 assassination plunged the nation into fear and mourning.

Sixteen GOP lawmakers sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson the day after the killing, asking him to erect a statue of Kirk to celebrate his legacy.

"This is not a symbolic gesture, but a permanent testament to his life's work, his courage, and his sacrifice," they wrote. "It will stand as a reminder that political disagreement must never be answered with violence, and that the fight for truth must carry on."

Read more: Charlie Kirk assassination casts a pall over Congress

Charlie Kirk remembered in memorials: Conservative activist was shot while speaking in Utah Supporters visit a memorial for Charlie Kirk at the Turning Point Headquarters in Phoenix on Sept. 11, 2025.

The group included Reps. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado. In a post on X, Luna said she owed her political career to Kirk.

"I would quite literally not be in office today if it werent for him," she wrote. "Even when my own party was working against me, Charlie endorsed me and campaigned to help me win election."

Rev. William Franklin Graham III gestures to the statue of his late father as he speaks during a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol on May 16, 2024.

There are hundreds of works of art in the Capitol. The National Statuary Hall Collection contains 100 statues, two from each state, and is comprised of all kinds of historical figures, including former presidents and astronauts. In order for statues to be placed in the Statuary Hall Collection specifically, individual states must pass laws asking Congress to build them.

The morning after Kirk's death, Trump announced he would posthumously award the late activist the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor.

"That's terrific," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told USA TODAY when he learned the news. Cruz described himself as a "dear friend" of Kirk's and said he'd also be in favor of naming landmarks after the commentator.

Zachary Schermele is a congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Charlie Kirk statue in the Capitol? Republicans want one.
Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., during a news conference at the Capitol on Tuesday. (Mariam Zuhaib / AP)

WASHINGTON  Republicans triggered the "nuclear option" to change the rules of the Senate on a party-line basis Thursday, a move that will allow them to speed up confirmation of President Donald Trump's nominees for key executive branch positions.

The vote was 53-45 to establish a new rule that allows the Senate to confirm an unlimited number of nominees en bloc, rather than process each one individually.

The rule applies to executive branch nominees subject to two hours of Senate debate, including subcabinet picks and ambassadors. It will not affect judicial nominations. Republicans say they'll allow their own senators to object to individual nominees in any given block, but the rule will strip away the power of the minority party to do the same thing.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., initiated the process by bringing up a package of 48 Trump nominees, which under longstanding rules has been subject to the 60-vote threshold. The vote to advance them failed due to Democratic opposition. Then, Thune sought to reconsider and Republicans subsequently voted to overrule the chair, setting a precedent and establishing the new rule.

Thune had telegraphed the move for weeks, accusing Democrats of creating an "untenable situation" with historic obstruction of Trump's nominees. The vote was held up for hours Thursday as the two parties engaged in last-ditch negotiations to strike a deal to avoid a rules change.

But they failed. And Republicans chose to proceed.

Its time to move. Time to quit stalling. Time to vote. Time to fix this place, Thune said in an impassioned floor speech, accusing Democrats of stalling and dragging out negotiations. This is a broken process, folks. Thats an embarrassment.

Thursday's vote sets up a fast track for confirmation of that initial bloc of 48 Trump nominees, including former Rep. Brandon Williams, R-N.Y., to be undersecretary for nuclear security, as well as Kimberly Guilfoyle and Callista Gingrich to be ambassadors to Greece and Switzerland, respectively.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said his party was reacting appropriately to Trumps historically bad nominees, a trend he predicted would worsen with the GOPs rule change.

This move by Republicans was not so much about ending obstruction, as they claim; rather, it was another act of genuflection to the executive branch ... to give Donald Trump more power and to rubber-stamp whomever he wants whenever he wants them, no questions asked, he said.

He also predicted that Republicans would come to regret it.

This is a sad, regrettable day for the Senate, he said. And I believe it wont take very long for Republicans to wish they had not pushed the chamber further down this awful road.

The vote Thursday makes a far-reaching change to the rules that will tear down hurdles for Trump  and future presidents  to rapidly push their nominees through the Senate.

Moments later, Senate Republicans used their modified rule to formally advance the package of 48 nominees Thursday, with the goal of confirming them all next week.

The tool they used is known as the nuclear option because senators typically prefer to avoid it. But over the last decade and a half, it has been used by both parties to erode the powers of the Senate minority  by nixing the 60-vote threshold for confirming judges and cutting debate time for some nominees.

Although nominations are the prerogative of the Senate, House Republicans have watched the battle with interest and pushed for faster confirmation of Trump's nominees.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., gave a presentation on the rules change proposal Wednesday to a group of House Republicans, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, who had spearheaded an effort to find an agreement that would avoid the nuclear option, said there wasnt total agreement to proceed with it.

But he said he was happy to have tried.

We dont have unanimous consent, we do not have unanimity, he said Thursday before the vote. Its a damn shame, and maybe this exercise builds a little muscle memory for at least exploring how to have a bipartisan negotiation. So maybe theres some silver lining to this.
Image Via: Sergey Mironov

Some traditions are just too good to ever let go, and Australias famous firefighter calendar is one of them. Every year, a group of handsome, shirtless Aussie firefighters team up with adorable puppies to raise money for charity. The 2026 edition just dropped, and this time, the internet cant stop talking about the firefighters co-stars: cute puppies.

The video making the rounds on TikTok shows firefighter after firefighter striking a pose with a fluffy puppy in their arms. Its the perfect recipe for viral magicequal parts cute and sizzling hot. And it's for a great cause, so don't feel guilty ordering 1, or 50!

The adorable video was shared on the TikTok account @australianfirefighters, and people have zero chill. One person, obviously the voice of reason, said, "Ladies, let me assure you, not all, hell, not most firefighters look like this. Grew up with a firefighter dad, and either this is a misrepresentation or my dad's firehouse was the designated ugly house." LOL!

Related: Pomapoo Puppy Looks Like He Crawled off the Shelf at Build-A-Bear Workshop

Another person commented and drew special attention to one of the adorable puppies with, "Hear me out. I know we are supposed to be watching the thirst trap but this little pork nugget is amazing and I love him."

Another person made a hilarious inquiry with, "Are they available for adoption? Would the puppies come with them?"

If you'd like to purchase your own calendar for a great cause, which has raised over 3.45 million for various charities, you can do so at this link!

This story was originally reported by PawNation on Sep 11, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add PawNation as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
A student who authorities say opened fire at his Colorado high school on Wednesday, wounding two classmates and then turning the gun on himself, has died, according to the local sheriff's office.

The gunfire at Evergreen High School broke out at about 12:24 p.m. local time, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

Three students were taken to the hospital in critical condition following the gunfire, including the suspected shooter, who was injured by a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the sheriff's office said.

The sheriff's office confirmed the suspect died in a post on social media Wednesday evening.

Authorities have not publicly released his identity.

One of the wounded students with non-life-threatening injuries was released Wednesday night, with the second wounded student remaining in critical condition, hospital officials said on Thursday.

Chet Strange/AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: Police officers are on the scene at Evergreen High School where a shooting occured earlier in the day, in Evergreen, Colorado, on Sept. 10, 2025.

A fourth student was also transported to the hospital, but with an unknown injury, authorities said on Wednesday.

In a statement, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said he was "devastated" by the shooting.

"My heart goes out to the victims and their families as they grapple with this senseless act of violence," Polis said.

3 more children injured in the Annunciation Church shooting: Police

After the shooting, the school was placed in a lockdown and officials swept the campus.

Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post via AP - PHOTO: Students walk to board a bus amid heavy police presence at the Evergreen Library after a shooting at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colo., Sept. 10, 2025.

"This is the scariest thing you'd think could ever happen," said Jefferson County sheriff spokesperson Jacki Kelley at an earlier news conference.

Kelley said she could not provide any other details about the suspected shooter, including the suspect's age or gender.

"I don't know if our suspect is even old enough to drive," Kelley said.

She said authorities were seeking a warrant for the student's home and locker.

The sheriff's office said the suspect was armed with a revolver handgun.

Jefferson County Sheriff's Office - PHOTO: Law enforcement at the scene of a shooting at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colo., Sept. 10, 2025.

Jefferson County Sheriff's Office - PHOTO: Law enforcement at the scene of a shooting at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colo., Sept. 10, 2025.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded to the scene.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the FBI was "aware on the tragic situation unfolding near Denver," with officials providing "full support of local authorities to ensure everyone's safety."

KMGH - PHOTO: Law enforcement at the scene of a shooting at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colo., Sept. 10, 2025.

After the shooting, hundreds of police officers were on the scene searching each room on campus, according to law enforcement.

Parents were asked to reunite with students at nearby Bergen Meadow Elementary.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a news conference to mark 100 days in office at the Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Sept, 11, 2025. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  South Koreas president said Thursday that Korean companies will likely hesitate to make further investments in the United States unless Washington improves its visa system for their employees, as U.S. authorities released hundreds of workers who were detained at a Georgia factory site last week.

In a news conference marking 100 days in office, Lee Jae Myung called for improvements in the U.S. visa system as he spoke about the Sept. 4 immigration raid that resulted in the arrest of more than 300 South Korean workers at a battery factory under construction at Hyundais sprawling auto plant west of Savannah.

South Koreas Foreign Ministry later confirmed that U.S. authorities have released the 330 detainees  316 of them Koreans  and that they were being transported by buses to Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport where they will board a charter flight scheduled to arrive in South Korea on Friday afternoon. The group also includes 10 Chinese nationals, three Japanese nationals and one Indonesian.

The massive roundup and U.S. authorities release of video showing some workers being chained and taken away, sparked widespread anger and a sense of betrayal in South Korea. The raid came less than two weeks after a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Lee, and just weeks after the countries reached a July agreement that spared South Korea from the Trump administrations highest tariffs  but only after Seoul pledged $350 billion in new U.S. investments, against the backdrop of a decaying job market at home.

Lawmakers from both Lees Liberal Democratic Party and the conservative opposition decried the detentions as outrageous and heavy-handed, while South Koreas biggest newspaper compared the raid to a rabbit hunt executed by U.S. immigration authorities in a zeal to meet an alleged White House goal of 3,000 arrests a day.

During the news conference, Lee said South Korean and U.S. officials are discussing a possible improvement to the U.S. visa system, adding that under the current system South Korean companies cant help hesitating a lot about making direct investments in the U.S.

Lee: Its not like these are long-term workers'

U.S. authorities said some of the detained workers had illegally crossed the U.S. border, while others entered legally but had expired visas or entered on visa waivers that prohibited them from working.

But South Korean officials expressed frustration that Washington has yet to act on Seouls yearslong demand to ensure a visa system to accommodate skilled Korean workers, though it has been pressing South Korea to expand U.S. industrial investments.

South Korean companies have been mostly relying on short-term visitor visas or Electronic System for Travel Authorization to send workers who are needed to launch manufacturing sites and handle other setup tasks, a practice that had been largely tolerated for years.

Lee said that whether Washington establishes a visa system allowing South Korean companies to send skilled workers to industrial sites will have a major impact on future South Korean investments in America.

Its not like these are long-term workers. When you build a factory or install equipment at a factory, you need technicians, but the United States doesnt have that workforce and yet they wont issue visas to let our people stay and do the work, he said.

If thats not possible, then establishing a local factory in the United States will either come with severe disadvantages or become very difficult for our companies. They will wonder whether they should even do it, Lee added.

Lee said the raid showed a cultural difference between the two countries in how they handle immigration issues.

In South Korea, we see Americans coming on tourist visas to teach English at private cram schools  they do it all the time, and we dont think much of it, its just something you accept, Lee said.

But the United States clearly doesnt see things that way. On top of that, U.S. immigration authorities pledge to strictly forbid illegal immigration and employment and carry out deportations in various aggressive ways, and our people happened to be caught in one of those cases, he added.

South Korea, US agree on working group to settle visa issues

Following a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Wednesday that U.S. officials have agreed to allow the workers detained in Georgia to later return to finish their work at the site. He added that the countries agreed to set up a joint working group for discussions on creating a new visa category to make it easier for South Korean companies to send their staff to work in the United States.

Before leaving for the U.S. on Monday, Cho said more South Korean workers in the U.S. could be vulnerable to future crackdowns if the visa issue isnt resolved, but said Seoul does not yet have an estimate of how many might be at risk.

The State Department then announced on Thursday that Rubio's number 2, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau would visit Seoul this weekend as part of the three-nation Asia-Pacific trip that will also include Papua New Guinea and the Marshall Islands.

The Georgia battery plant is one of more than 20 major industrial sites that South Korean companies are currently building in the United States. They include other battery factories in Georgia and several other states, a semiconductor plant in Texas, and a shipbuilding project in Philadelphia, a sector Donald Trump has frequently highlighted in relation to South Korea.

Min Jeonghun, a professor at South Koreas National Diplomatic Academy, said its chiefly up to the United States to resolve the issue, either through legislation or by taking administrative steps to expand short-term work visas for training purposes.

Without an update in U.S. visa policies, Min said, Korean companies will no longer be able to send their workers to the United States, causing inevitable delays in the expansion of facilities and other production activities, and the harm will boomerang back to the U.S. economy.
Mecklenburg County Sheriff's office Decarlos Brown Jr.

NEED TO KNOW

Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee, was fatally stabbed while riding a light rail train in Charlotte, N.C.

Decarlos Brown Jr. is charged with murder in connection with her death

Brown was previously arrested and charged with misuse of 911 in January after telling police he believed "man-made" material had been placed in his head

The suspect accused of fatally stabbing a Ukrainian refugee aboard a Charlotte, N.C. light rail train has reportedly spoken out from jail via his sister.

Decarlos Brown Jr. is facing both state and federal charges in connection with the death of Iryna Zarutska, 23, who was fatally stabbed while riding a Charlotte Area Transit System light rail train on Aug. 22.

Brown is charged with first-degree murder in North Carolina and committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system in federal court.

According to an arrest affidavit filed in Mecklenburg County and obtained by PEOPLE, Brown allegedly unfolded a knife from his pocket and struck Zarutska three times minutes after she stepped on the train.

Related: Ukrainian Refugee Stabbed on N.C. Train Had Survived Bombings in Kyiv Before Coming to U.S.

Brown has not yet entered a plea.

The Daily Mail spoke to Brown's sister, Tracey Brown, who said she has spoken to her brother since he was arrested and shared an audio recording of their phone call.

"I hurt my hand, stabbing her," Brown reportedly told his sister. "I don't even know the lady. I never said not one word to the lady at all. That's scary, ain't it. Why would somebody stab somebody for no reason?"

Iryna Zarutska/Instagram Iryna Zarutska

He further told his sister that "materials" in his brain needed to be investigated and that the government had planted said "materials," according to the report.

Tracey reportedly asked her brother why he stabbed Zarutska.

"They just lashed out on her, that's what happened," he reportedly responded, referring to the "materials."

"Whoever was working the materials they lashed out on her," he continued. "That's all there is to it."

The reported conversation mirrors an alleged conversation Brown had with a police officer in January.

An affidavit obtained by PEOPLE states that Brown spoke to officers who had responded to a welfare check. He allegedly told the officers that he "believed someone gave him 'man-made' material that controlled when he ate, walked, talked," according to the document.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Brown was arrested following the incident and charged with misusing 911 when he allegedly called emergency services after becoming upset at the officers on scene.

Tracey Brown told the Daily Mail that she believed her brother was dangerous and that he should not have been allowed on the street prior to the alleged stabbing.

"He was a high risk," she told the paper. "He was not in his right mind. He was not safe for society."

Brown's sister and lawyer did not immediately return requests for comment.

Read the original article on People
Claytor Rollins Funeral Home & Crematory; Mahoning County Sheriff's Office Matthew Dunmire; Chelsea Perkins' mugshot

NEED TO KNOW

Chelsea Perkins, a 35-year-old Coast Guard veteran and OnlyFans model, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for fatally shooting a man she had accused of raping her

In March 2021, Perkins lured Matthew Dunmire, 31, to an Airbnb and then to an isolated part of an Ohio national park, where she shot him in the back of the head

Dunmire thought he was spending the night with a woman he met online, authorities said

An OnlyFans model and former adult film actress took revenge on a man she claimed had raped her by luring him into the Ohio woods and firing a bullet into the back of his head  and now she has learned her fate.

Chelsea Perkins, 35, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran from Alexandria. Va., was sentenced to 22  years in federal prison for the murder of Matthew Dunmire, 31, at Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio said in a statement.

In May, Perkins pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and using or carrying and discharging a firearm during, and in relation to, a crime of violence on federal property, in connection to Dunmires fatal shooting death in March 2021, per the U.S. Attorney's office.

She initially faced up to 25 years in prison.

"It was a coldly, calculated intention to cause his death," prosecutors said during the hearing, Cleveland19 News reports.

The slaying came to authorities attention on March 9, 2021, when hikers at Cuyahoga Valley National Park came upon a dead body in the woods.

Amy Sancetta/AP Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio

Authorities quickly identified the victim as Dunmire, an aspiring musician who grew up in Virginia and moved to Cleveland, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported. He had been shot once in the back of the head.

Related: She Was a Coast Guard Vet, an Adult Film Actress  and Finally, a Killer. Inside Her Chilling Story

Investigators looking into the case learned that four days before Dunmire was killed, he told co-workers during a bar outing that he was going to meet a woman he met online who was visiting the area, authorities said, according to the criminal complaint obtained by PEOPLE.

When the woman arrived, she sent him a text, prompting Dunmire to tell his coworkers, shes here, according to the criminal complaint.

Unbeknownst to Dunmire, Perkins had driven her husbands Smart car 300 miles from Virginia to Ohio to see him, the U.S. Attorney said in the statement. She had previously accused him of raping her about four years prior, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

After she picked him up, they spent the night at an Airbnb she rented. On the morning of March 6, Perkins drove Dunmire to Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Valley View, Ohio.

They hiked past a cemetery, across deep ravines, and off-trail into a wooded area, according to the U.S. Attorney's statement.

When they were deep in the woods, Perkins wielded a firearm and fatally shot Dunmire in the back of the head, per the statement.

She then left the scene and drove to Michigan to get a tattoo of a noose on her forearm before driving back to Virginia.

Investigators linked Perkins to the crime through surveillance, text messages, and ballistic evidence.

Federal agents executed a search warrant at her home in Virginia and found three 9mm pistols, including one inside a purse that also contained Perkins photo identification.

The firearm later tested positive for Perkins DNA.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Perkins took further steps to cover up her crime. Investigators also found a deleted note on Perkins cellphone that appeared to be a fake suicide note from Dunmire written around the time his body was found, the U.S. Attorney said in the statement.

In court on Monday, Perkins apologized to Dunmires family, saying I take full responsibility for what Ive done, Cleveland19 reports.

Perkins had accused Dunmire of raping her, but no charges were ever filed against him, according to Cleveland 19 News.

On Monday, the court heard from Matthew Dunmires father, who said My son was a good person too and now his children have no father, according to Cleveland19 News.

In addition to her sentence, Perkins was ordered to serve five years of supervised release after she gets out of prison. Restitution is to be determined at a later date.

Her attorney did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.



Read the original article on People
PROVIDENCE  In some ways, a shooting on a college campus thousands of miles away feels distant if youre a college student in a different state who embraces different political views.

However, for some Rhode Island students, the fatal shooting of conservative media personality Charlie Kirk during a public event at a university reinforces growing concerns about the state of U.S. politics, gun violence and what those issues mean for young people today.

Arizonans mourn Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk outside of the Turning Point USA headquarters on September 10, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona.

'It got me sick to my stomach'

At Rhode Island College, most students were in class or between classes when Kirk was killed while speaking at a Utah Valley University event on Sept. 10. It didnt take long for students to see the news about what happened online though.

Oh, I was shocked, especially when I saw the video on Instagram. It got me sick to the stomach, said Christian Ordonez, a business student at RIC. Every year there are shootings.

RIC freshman Jesus Mota was also surprised that someone of Kirks caliber was targeted. His first thought was wondering whether Kirks family was present at the shooting.

When it comes to Charlie Kirks beliefs, I dont think me and him align, explained Mota. But I think that nobody should ever get killed in broad daylight on a college campus, for the whole internet to see.

Emma L., a sophomore who just transferred to RIC, believes there should be stronger gun protection laws in place and that violence shouldnt be perpetrated, even as Kirk had previously argued that "some gun deaths" were the cost of preserving access to firearms.

Charlie Kirk was someone who did say people should die here and there to keep our Second Amendment, but he definitely didnt think hed be the one to join that statistic, she said. I think its awful what happened. He is a human, at the end of the day and people shouldnt die due to what they believe in.

Student views on U.S. politics

Some students dont see the point of paying attention to everything in the news cycle these days.

All I know is that [Kirk] liked Trump, said RIC sophomore Keylynne Collado. What he believed in, I didnt really agree with it, so I didnt pay him no mind.

Putting aside Kirks political beliefs, some Americans view his death as part of a greater trend of politically motivated violence, including an assassination and attack against two Minnesota lawmakers earlier this summer.

I think, unfortunately, because of who he is, it definitely brings more awareness to that, said Mota. I dont want to say its because of his connections, or because he was a Republican or a nationalist, or whatever, but I do think that could factor in.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Charlie Kirk shooting has RI college students worried about political violence
FILE - Britain's Ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, speaks during a reception at the ambassador's residence on Feb. 26, 2025 in Washington. (Carl Court/Pool Photo via AP, File)

LONDON (AP)  U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday fired the country's ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, over his links to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Just days before the arrival of President Donald Trump to the U.K. on his second state visit, Starmer dismissed the veteran British politician in the wake of the publication of emails that Mandelson sent to Epstein, in which he gave his support to the disgraced financier, even when he was facing jail for sex offenses.

Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty told Parliament the emails pointed to the depth and extent of Mandelsons relationship with Epstein being materially different from what was known when he was appointed ambassador to Washington last year after the Labour Partys election victory.

In particular, Doughty pointed to Mandelsons suggestion in one email that Epsteins first conviction in 2008 was wrongful and should be challenged.

Mandelson took up his Washington post in February after what Starmer's government described as an extensive vetting process. The diplomat has voiced his deep regret over his previous links with Epstein and said he knew nothing about his criminal activities.

Being ambassador here has been the privilege of my life, Mandelson wrote in a letter to embassy staff that was reported by the BBC. The circumstances surrounding the announcement today are ones which I deeply regret. I continue to feel utterly awful about my association with Epstein 20 years ago and the plight of his victims."

The decision to fire Mandelson comes a day after Starmer said he had confidence in him. Its the latest blow to the prime minister ahead of a state visit by President Donald Trump to the U.K. next week, which is likely to be met with protests and some controversy.

Epstein took his own life in prison in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, more than a decade after his initial conviction.

Mandelson called Epstein his best pal

On Wednesday, The Sun newspaper published emails that it said showed Mandelson telling Epstein to fight for early release shortly before he was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

I think the world of you, Mandelson reportedly told him before he began his sentence in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

Mandelson's links to Epstein came under scrutiny after the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released a 50th birthday album compiled in 2003 for Epstein that purportedly included a note from U.S. President Donald Trump. In that album, Mandelson called Epstein my best pal."

Starmer's latest headache

Last week Starmer's deputy, Angela Rayner, quit over a tax error on a home purchase following days of speculation over her future.

Following Rayners resignation, Starmer carried out a major reshuffle, a forced government reboot after a rocky 14 months in office that have seen his popularity plunge.

Mandelson might have gone but, just as with Angela Rayner, Starmer dithered when he needed to be decisive," said Kemi Badenoch, leader of the main opposition Conservative Party. "He has no backbone and no convictions.

Starmer now faces questions over his appointment of Mandelson, who is no stranger to controversy, having twice resigned from former Prime Minister Tony Blairs government in 1998 and 2001.

After his second resignation from Blair's government, Mandelson became a European Commissioner when Britain was still in the European Union, before returning to front line British politics in 2008 to serve under Blairs successor, Gordon Brown.

The Mandelson brief

Mandelsons trade expertise was considered a major asset in trying to persuade the Trump administration not to slap heavy tariffs on British goods, and seemed to pay off when the countries struck a trade deal in May, though some details of the agreement have yet to be finalized.

He is also a skilled - critics say ruthless - political operator whose mastery of political intrigue earned him the nickname Prince of Darkness.

Its rare for a politician, rather than a career civil servant, to be given a key U.K. ambassadorial post. Mandelson was not an obvious choice as emissary to the Trump administration: he once called Trump a danger to the world," words he later said were ill-judged and wrong.

The government said James Roscoe, the U.K. deputy head of mission in Washington, will serve as interim ambassador and oversee Trumps state visit. Roscoe is a career diplomat and former communications chief to the late Queen Elizabeth II.

____

Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.
Swedish MEP Charlie Weimers requests prayer for Charlie Kirk [Screenshot/Mediaite]

An uproar occurred inside the European Union (EU) Parliament on Thursday as conservative members protested a rejected proposal to pray for Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.

Swedish Member of the European Parliament Charlie Weimers, who is a member of the conservative populist Sweden Democrats, called for the members to hold a moment of silence for Kirk, who was fatally shot in the neck at Utah Valley University. EU President Roberta Metsola rejected the proposal, leaving conservatives to begin banging on their desks and shouting in protest.

Madam President, dear colleagues, the murder of political activist Charlie Kirk, a husband, loving father, and patriot, has shocked the world. We must strongly condemn political violence and rhetoric that incites violence. Please stand with me in reflection and prayer in his honor, and I yield the rest of my time for a moment of silence, Weimers said. (RELATED: Yet Another Democrat Blames Trump, Republicans For Surge In Political Violence After Charlie Kirk Assassination)

WATCH:

Weimer is a member of the conservative populist Sweden Democrats.

While speaking German, Metsola said that such tributes to a public figure can be held at the opening of a plenary session and said the next opportunity will be in October, according to Mediaite.

A similar occurrence happened in the House of Representatives on Wednesday night, where Democrat lawmakers shouted no in response to Republican Colorado Rep. Lauren Boeberts request to say a prayer for Kirk. House Speaker Mike Johnson repeatedly called for order and granted Boeberts request.

Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who once worked at Turning Point USA, stepped in and shouted Yall caused this! to the Democrats.

An individual fired a bullet at Kirk from a building located 200 yards away from the campus as he was speaking. The assailant appears to be a young adult male wearing a black sweatshirt, a cap and sunglasses, according to photographs released by the FBI in Salt Lake City.

Authorities made two false arrests in relation to the assassination on Wednesday and later released the suspects. Investigators discovered a high-powered, bolt-action firearm in a wooded area and ammunition that contained pro-transgender and pro-Antifa messaging.

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As dawn breaks over Port-au-Prince, the air still resonates with invisible tensionsarmed gangs control nearly 90% of the capital, turning what should be routine flights into perilous journeys. In light of this, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has extended its ban on U.S. commercial flights to Toussaint Louverture International Airport until March 7, 2026, citing severe threats from heavily armed groups capable of targeting aircraft with small arms or drones.

This extraordinary decision follows a string of chilling incidents where U.S.-registered planes came under fire while approaching or departing the Haitian capital. The most harrowing episode unfolded in November 2024, when bullets ripped through a Spirit Airlines flight as it prepared for takeoff. One round pierced the cabin, striking and injuring a flight attendant, while terrified passengers crouched between seats, clutching loved ones and praying for safety.

Related: Spirit Airlines to make flight cuts in 12 U.S. cities

The assault forced immediate emergency measures and led to a near-total shutdown of the airport, underscoring the terrifying reality that even the skies above Port-au-Prince had become vulnerable to gang violence. For U.S. officials and airlines alike, the message was unambiguous: Operating commercial flights in and out of Haitis capital was no longer a risk worth taking.

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Once bustling with international travelers, Port-au-Princes airport now sits under the shadow of gang violence, its skies empty as U.S. flights remain suspended for another year.Shutterstock

A web of risks: the dangerous context behind the ban

Major U.S. carriersincluding American, Spirit, and JetBluehave suspended operations indefinitely, citing the volatile security environment. As one JetBlue spokesperson explained, Our top priority remains the safety and well-being of our customers and crew members, reinforcing that the suspension reflects not bureaucracy, but real and present danger. Border closures, roadblocks, and widespread gang activity have also made aid delivery and overland travel nearly impossible, compounding the aviation risks.

Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean has pulled its cruise visits to Labadee, Haiti (a private beach enclave) through at least October 2025, later extended to May 2026 in some cases. Though Labadee itself remains buffered by private security, the escalating violence in Port-au-Prince and the U.S. State Department's Level 4/Do Not Travel advisory have forced cruise lines to err on the side of caution. As Royal Caribbean put it, this pause is taken out of an abundance of caution.

Related: Royal Caribbean is canceling six months of visits to a key port

For travelers, the FAAs extended flight ban means there will be no direct U.S. commercial flights to Port-au-Prince until at least March 2026, leaving Haiti effectively cut off from its largest air travel market. Anyone with essential reasons to visitsuch as humanitarian workers, journalists, or those with family tieswill need to route through alternative airports in the Dominican Republic or other Caribbean hubs before attempting the dangerous overland journey.

For now, travelers should understand that leisure trips to Haiti are simply not possible, and even essential travel carries extreme risks. The best preparation is not a packed suitcase, but patiencethat means waiting for conditions to stabilize before booking a ticket.

Waiting for safer skies and calmer waters

Though the bustling streets of Port-au-Prince may seem frozen, the human cost and peril below the horizon continue to ebb and flow. Until the violence subsides and the rule of law is restoredboth in the air and along the coastU.S. carriers and cruise lines are choosing safety over service.

This extended freeze is not just a policy; its a necessary safeguard for lives and livelihoods. Only when Haitian skies and seafronts no longer echo with the threat of recklessness will travel to the nations heart be able to resume.

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This story was originally reported by TravelHost on Sep 10, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add TravelHost as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
William Staudt, a firefighter that worked at Ground Zero on the day of the attacks, looks over a reflecting pool during a ceremony to mark the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

NEW YORK (AP)  Nearly a quarter century has passed since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but for many, the emotions of the day remain raw as ever.

On Thursday, America marked the 24th anniversary of the deadly attacks with solemn ceremonies in New York, at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The commemorations were punctuated by moments of silence, the tolling of bells and the reading of the names of the nearly 3,000 killed.

Even 24 years later, its heart-wrenching," said Jennifer Nilsen, who wore a T-shirt emblazoned with an image of her husband, Troy Nilsen, as she attended the commemoration at ground zero in lower Manhattan. It feels the same way every year.

Michelle Pizzo, wearing a shirt with the image of her late husband, Jason DeFazio, said she hoped more people could take a minute to reflect on the day.

Younger kids dont realize that you have to remember, she said.

Emma Williamson, 20, of Massachusetts, made a point to travel from her college uptown to stand near ground zero, where two memorial pools ringed by waterfalls and parapets inscribed with the names of the dead mark the spots where the twin towers once stood.

I wasnt born when it happened, but it was really an important day in America," she said. Its kind of the last time we all stuck together, and that matters.

The reading of names and moments of silence

The 9/11 anniversary, often promoted as a day of national unity, came during a time of increased politician tension.

The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah college a day earlier prompted additional security measures at ground zero, where FBI Director Kash Patel was among the dignitaries in attendance.

Vice President JD Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, had planned to attend but instead flew to Salt Lake City to visit with Kirk's family. Kirk's casket was then taken to his home state of Arizona aboard Air Force Two.

Many in the crowd at ground zero held up photos of lost loved ones as a moment of silence marked the exact time when the first hijacked plane struck the iconic twin towers.

Loved ones then read aloud the names of the victims, with many giving personal remembrances, well wishes and updates on their lives.

Zoe Doyle, daughter of Frank Joseph Doyle, said her family created a nonprofit in his honor thats built schools in South Africa and is feeding and educating thousands of children.

Manuel DaMota Jr. said he remembers his father and namesake, Manuel DaMota, not just with grief, but with gratitude for the example he set.

In a world filled with division and conflict, I do my best to honor my father by choosing connection, empathy and hope, he said.

Melissa Pullis, whose husband Edward Pullis died in the towers, said this year is more difficult than others because two of the couples three children are getting married.

You cant walk your princess down the aisle, she said through tears. You are missed every day. We will always say your name, and we will always fight for justice.

Ceremonies in Virginia and Pennsylvania honor victims

At the Pentagon in Virginia, the 184 service members and civilians killed when hijackers steered a jetliner into the headquarters of the U.S. military were honored in a ceremony attended by President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump.

The president, in his remarks, recounted moments from that day, including snippets of conversations from passengers who were aboard the hijacked airplanes.

Today, as one nation, we renew our sacred vow that we will never forget Sept. 11, 2001, Donald Trump said during the observance, which took place in an internal courtyard of the building rather than its traditional location outside its walls near the buildings 9/11 memorial.

The enemy will always fail, he added. We defy the fear, endure the flames.

The president, who attended a New York Yankees game in the Bronx on Thursday evening, also announced Kirk would be posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, calling him a giant of his generation and a "champion of liberty.

And in a rural field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, a ceremony attended by Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins honored the victims of Flight 93, the hijacked plane that crashed after crew members and passengers tried to storm the cockpit.

Elsewhere, people marked the anniversary with service projects and charitable works as part of a national day of service. Volunteers took part in food and clothing drives, park and neighborhood cleanups, blood banks and other community events.

Reverberations from attacks persist

In all, the attacks by al-Qaida militants killed 2,977 people, including many financial workers at the World Trade Center and firefighters and police officers who had rushed to the burning buildings trying to save lives.

The attacks reverberated globally, altering the course of U.S. foreign and domestic policy. It led to the  Global War on Terrorism  and the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and related conflicts that killed hundreds of thousands of civilians and troops.

The U.S. government has also spent billions of dollars providing health care and compensation to tens of thousands of people who were exposed to the toxic dust that billowed over parts of Manhattan when the twin towers collapsed.

While the hijackers died in the attacks, federal officials have struggled to conclude the long-running legal case against the man accused of masterminding the plot, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The former al-Qaida leader was arrested in 2003, but has never received a trial.

The Trump administration has also acknowledged its considering ways to take control of the ground zero memorial plaza and its underground museum, which are run by a public charity.

___

Associated Press writers Jake Offenhartz in New York City, Bruce Shipkowski in Trenton, New Jersey, Michael Hill in Albany, New York, and Michelle L. Price and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this story.

___

Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo
Moldova is a small country that lies between Romania and Ukraine. Being small in size and lying between two big countries, it often gets ignored. But that does not at all mean that it is a country not worth visiting. Travelers who do go often return with stories about peace, hospitality, and most importantly, it being a home to the worlds largest wine cellar, with over 55 kilometers of underground tunnels and millions of bottles stored underground.

Chisinau, the capital, is usually the first stop. Its a city of more than 600,000 people, yet many visitors are surprised by how few attractions it has. Some describe it as stuck in another era, with Soviet-style hotels and markets filled with Russian signs.

Locals are curious when they spot tourists, often stopping to chat or practice English. Backpackers and volunteers do show up, so you wont be the only foreigner around, but this isnt the place for a traditional city trip. Instead, most travelers find Moldovas charm once they leave the capital and head into the countryside.

Wine, Wine, and More Wine

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Wine of Moldova (@wineofmoldova)

If Moldova is known for anything, its wine. The country has been making it for thousands of years, and during Soviet times, it supplied much of the alcohol for the entire union. The Russian ban in 2006 forced Moldovan winemakers to improve quality, and today their bottles are internationally respected. Wineries like Milestii Mici and Cricova are destinations in their own right, with massive underground galleries that feel more like secret cities.

Smaller vineyards such as Chateau Purcari and Et Cetera host tastings along with guesthouses and restaurants, so a visit can turn into a weekend stay. The October Wine Festival draws enthusiasts from abroad, while projects like Castle Mimi are converting wineries into resorts with gardens, event halls, and wine spas. Moldovas scale means that in less than a week, travelers can experience many of these highlights.

The Soviet Ghost Next Door

Travelers who want something out of the ordinary often head to Transnistria. It calls itself a republic, prints its own money, runs its own army, and has a government no UN member recognizes. A crossing into the capital, Tiraspol, feels like stepping back into the Soviet era.

Statues and memorials still stand, Russian is the language on every street, and soldiers guard checkpoints at the edge of the territory. Sheriff, a powerful company linked to a former KGB officer, controls supermarkets, gas stations, and the soccer club that bears its name. Life here runs on stricter rules than in Moldova, and visitors are told to use cameras carefully. For those willing to go, the region comes across as a preserved fragment of another time.

Hospitality Worth Visiting

Image via Getty Images/stanzi11

What stands out most to visitors is the way Moldovans treat their guests. Families invite travelers to their tables, setting out bread, meat, and wine. Even in simple hotels, staff find ways to help, whether its refilling a bottle with hot water or offering a bit of advice in passing.

The country doesnt overwhelm with landmarks or dramatic scenery, yet it has its own appeal. Villages surrounded by sunflower fields and stone monasteries move at a gentler pace. Vineyards add both history and flavor to the journey, while Transnistria shows a side of Europe that still runs on Soviet rhythms. Moldova rewards travelers who prefer real encounters over polished attractions, and for those willing to linger, it remains one of Europes quiet discoveries.
Nadine Menendez, wife of former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, leaves Manhattan federal court in New York, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK (AP)  Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendezs sobbing wife told a judge that her husband was not the man I thought he was before she was sentenced Thursday to 4 years in prison for selling the powerful New Jersey politicians influence in exchange for bribes of cash, gold bars and a luxury car.

U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein sentenced Nadine Menendez, 58, for her April conviction for colluding from 2018 to 2023 with her husband, the former Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in a variety of corrupt schemes, some involving assisting the Egyptian government.

Nadine Menendez, tearfully addressing the judge for several minutes before he sentenced her, described her husband as a manipulative liar.

I put my life in his hands and he strung me like a puppet, she said. The blindfold is off. I now know hes not my savior. Hes not the man I thought he was.

Standing outside the courthouse afterward, she said she doesn't plan to divorce her 71-year-old husband, who is serving an 11-year sentence for taking bribes, extortion, and acting as an agent of the Egyptian government.

Stein told the defendant that she wasn't the person she was portrayed as during last year's trial of her husband and two New Jersey businessmen, when the judge said she was painted as the true force behind the conspiracies.

But he said she also wasn't the innocent observer of what was happening around you, as her lawyer claimed.

You knew what you were doing. Your role was purposeful, he said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Pomerantz said Nadine Mendendez was the second-most culpable member of the scheme, after her husband, and that she did so without hesitation.

The defendant was not a bit player" the prosecutor said. She played a critical role in selling the power of a U.S. senator.

When she spoke, Nadine Menendez partly blamed her husband, saying she was duped by his power and stature and that she felt compelled to do whatever he wanted, such as calling or meeting with certain people.

I would never have imagined someone of his ranking putting me in this position, she said, though she acknowledged that in retrospect, she was a grown woman and should have known better.

Prior to the hearing, Bob Menendez submitted a letter to the judge saying he regretted that he didnt fully preview what his lawyer said about his wife during his trial and in closing arguments.

To suggest that Nadine was money hungry or in financial need, and therefore would solicit others for help, is simply wrong, he wrote.

In addition to prison time, Stein sentenced Nadine Menendez to three years of supervised release. He said he granted her leniency in part because of the trial she endured, her difficult childhood in Lebanon, her abusive romantic partners, her health conditions and her age.

Stein said a prison term was important for general deterrence purposes: People have to understand there are consequences."

Nadine Menendez wont have to surrender to prison until next summer. Stein set a reporting date of July 10, accommodating a defense request that she be allowed to remain free to complete necessary medical procedures before she heads behind bars. Federal prosecutors did not object to the request.

Prosecutors had sought a prison sentence of at least seven years.

Her lawyer, Sarah Krissoff, asked that her client serve only a year behind bars, citing longstanding trauma, past abusive relationships, a brain injury and her difficult recovery from breast cancer. That diagnosis came just prior to last year's trial, when she was to be tried along with her husband. She ended up being tried separately.

People with brain injuries dont just happen to engage in yearslong white-collar crimes. They choose to do so, Pomerantz shot back. Her choices are what caused that conduct.

After the sentencing, Krissoff said her client plans to appeal.

Prosecutors say Nadine Menendez played a large and crucial role in her husbands crimes, serving as an intermediary between the senator and three New Jersey businessmen who literally lined his coat pockets with tens of thousands of dollars in cash in return for favors he could deliver with his political clout.

During a 2022 FBI raid on the couple's New Jersey home, investigators found $480,000 in cash, gold bars worth an estimated $150,000 and a luxury convertible in the garage.

Prosecutors said that, among his other corrupt acts, the senator met with Egyptian intelligence officials and speeded that country's access to U.S. military aid as part of a complex effort to help his bribe-paying associates, one of whom had business dealings with the Egyptian government.
News 12/Youtube Kathleen Schuman

NEED TO KNOW

A longstanding feud between two residents in a retirement community has left one of them with multiple stitches in his face

Kathleen Schuman, 76, is accused of shooting the alleged victim in the face at close range with a flare gun

Home security footage captured the alleged incident, while Schuman has denied the allegations against her

A New York resident was arrested after she allegedly shot a neighbor in the face with a flare gun following a verbal altercation in their Long Island retirement community.

Kathleen Schuman, 76, is facing one count of second-degree assault causing injury with a weapon (an incendiary device), according to Suffolk County First District Court online court records viewed by PEOPLE. She pleaded not guilty during her arraignment on Tuesday, Sept. 9, and her next hearing is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 12.

The alleged incident happened on Monday, Sept. 8, in West Babylon, N.Y., the Suffolk County Police Department told USA Today.

PEOPLE did not immediately receive a response from the SCPD.

NBC New York identified the alleged victim as 67-year-old Richard Catrone, and reports that he got six stitches in his cheek after the confrontation. Neighbors told the outlet that it stemmed from an ongoing feud between the two over their pets.

Both Schuman and Catrone are residents of a retirement home complex for individuals 55 years of age and older. The alleged victim, 67, and Schuman were treated for non-life-threatening injuries at hospitals, police told Newsday on Monday.

In Ring video footage obtained by NBC 4 New York, Catrone is seen with his dog just before a woman with her back to the camera fires a flare gun at him from close range.

After stumbling back, he runs up to her, letting go of his dogs leash and using his hand to grab her by the hair and strike her in the head.

F------ idiot! he yells at her in the security footage. What is wrong with you?

"My next inclination was to get the gun and I knocked it out of her hand and she went to get it and I wanted to protect my dog. I wanted to protect myself," Catrone told NBC 4 New York.

"Kathleen showed no emotion," Catrone said. "She claimed I was the devil, that I tried to murder her. She said, 'Im sorry I missed, sorry I missed.' "

Catrone started harassing her because he said her cat was always upsetting his dog and she would sit outside with it," their neighbor, Mary Neitzel, alleged to NBC New York.

She actually moved out to live with her sister for a few months. She just moved back a week ago and he just keeps bothering her," Neitzel said.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

However, Catrone said, "I just asked her can you keep the cat inside and that started the situation.

Catrone told NBC4 that he made complaints with Conifer LLC., the management company for the property, the Belmont Villas Senior Apartments. PEOPLE did not immediately receive a response from Conifer LLC.

"We are aware of an altercation that occurred yesterday evening between two residents," Conifer LLC said in a statement to News 12 Long Island. "This was an isolated incident between individuals and unrelated to the community itself. We are cooperating fully with law enforcement as they handle the matter. The safety and well-being of our residents remain our top priority."

Schuman has denied the allegations against her, News 12 reported, adding that a judge has ordered her to stay away from the victim and set bail at $5,000 cash.

Read the original article on People
Choi Mal-ja, 79, is greeted by well-wishers after a retrial cleared her of assault charges for biting off 1.5cm of a mans tongue - Yonhap/AFP

A South Korean woman who was jailed for biting off a mans tongue 61 years ago during an alleged sexual assault has been acquitted.

In 1964, when she was 18, Choi Mal-ja was attacked by a man in the southern city of Gimhae. He pinned her to the ground and forced his tongue in her mouth. At one point, he put his hands over her nose to stop her from breathing. To break away, Ms Choi bit off 1.5cm of his tongue.

On several occasions, the assailant demanded compensation for his injury and broke into Ms Chois home with a knife, according to South Korean media.

She was detained for six months during the investigation and was then sentenced to prison for 10 months for causing grievous bodily harm, which was suspended for two years.

Her attacker received a six-month sentence for trespassing and intimidation, which was suspended for two years, and was never charged for attempted rape.

The court claimed that in biting off his tongue, Ms Chois actions exceeded the reasonable bounds of self-defence.

Choi Mal-jas case gained traction during the #MeToo movement and she was sentenced to prison for 10 months - AFP

It was one of South Koreas most controversial rulings on sexual violence and Ms Choi spent years campaigning to clear her name.

I could not let this case go unanswered... I [wanted] to stand up for other victims who share the same fate as mine, Ms Choi, now 79, said after the acquittal.

Like throwing eggs at a rock

She said that she was warned that if she persisted with the case she could be made a target, but this did not stop her.

People around me warned me that it would be like throwing eggs at a rock, but I could not let this case go, said Ms Choi.

Her case garnered attention with the rise of the MeToo movement, which took off around 2017, where women around the world began advocating more openly for rights, ranging from equal pay to justice for survivors of sexual violence.

In 2020, Ms Choi filed for a retrial, but the courts rejected the petition.

After another four years, her bid was successful. The retrial began in July in Busan, a city about an hour away from Gimhae.

Prosecutors apologised to Ms Choi during the trials first hearing and asked the court to repeal the conviction.

Sixty-one years ago, in a situation where I could understand nothing, the victim became the perpetrator and my fate was sealed as a criminal. For the victims who shared the same fate as mine, I wanted to be a source of hope for them, she said.

Ms Chois lawyers said that she plans to seek compensation for the damages she suffered over the six decades since her conviction.

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SEOUL, South Korea  For a week now, the video has been aired practically on loop on channels across South Korea: hundreds of South Korean workers in chains, detained in an immigration raid at a Georgia facility where they were helping the United States catch up on crucial technology.

While more than 300 South Korean nationals were finally on the way home Thursday, these images had already left a searing impression in this key U.S. ally. It is the latest example of the turbulence that South Korea has experienced under President Donald Trump, along with new tariffs on its goods and a sudden strict adherence to visa rules that has left companies in South Korea, one of the largest U.S. investors, confused and uncertain.

Seeing their compatriots shackled at the wrists and ankles during the raid at the Hyundai facility last week jolted a population that typically views the U.S. very favorably.

For many, such treatment would have been unthinkable from a close security and trading partner that has been their formal ally for more than 70 years.

I was very surprised, and I felt like this wasnt something that would happen in the America we knew, said Kwon Yongu, a reporter in Seoul.

Our people didnt commit serious crimes, yet seeing them with their wrists and ankles bound, lined up and seemingly having their human rights suppressed  that sight was shocking, Kwon told NBC News in an interview Wednesday near the U.S. Embassy.

The issue has also highlighted a long-standing South Korean concern: the murky rules surrounding work visas. The government is seeking improvements to the U.S. visa system, which presents challenges to companies that send skilled workers on a temporary basis to help set up factories and train Americans.

After being held for a week by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the South Korean workers were released and departed Atlanta for Seoul on Thursday, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said.

A protester wearing a mask of President Donald Trump at a rally Tuesday near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul against the detention of South Korean workers in an immigration raid in Georgia. (Ahn Young-joon / AP)

They are among 475 people detained by U.S. immigration and other federal agents in the Sept. 4 raid on a construction site in the town of Ellabell, where the South Korean companies Hyundai and LG Energy Solution are jointly building an electric vehicle battery plant.

U.S. officials say those arrested were working or living in the country illegally.

South Korean companies faced with U.S. bureaucratic delays and murky regulations have long sent employees to the U.S. under various short-term visa programs, and many view it as unfair that this practice  an open secret for more than a decade  is only now being cracked down on.

President Lee Jae Myung said Thursday that the raid could hurt his countrys business ties with the U.S., where his country has pledged $500 billion in investment as part of tariff negotiations, including $26 billion from Hyundai, South Koreas largest automaker.

Companies will inevitably worry: If setting up factories in the U.S. brings endless restrictions and difficulties, should we even proceed? he said at a news conference in Seoul marking his 100th day in office.

'Gray area' visas

The plane sent by the South Korean government to retrieve the detained workers left Atlanta around noon ET on Thursday and is scheduled to arrive in Seoul on Friday around 3:30 p.m. local time (2:30 a.m. ET).

South Korean officials had originally hoped the workers would leave Atlanta as early as Wednesday afternoon, but the Foreign Ministry said Trump had ordered the repatriation delayed in order to discuss whether detained nationals should remain in the U.S. to continue working.

In a meeting in Washington on Wednesday, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told Secretary of State Marco Rubio that it would be better for them to return home first and then re-enter the U.S. since these individuals were already in shock and are exhausted, a South Korean government official said.

Employees waiting to have their legs shackled at the Hyundai Motor Groups electric vehicle plant in Ellabell, Ga., on Sept. 4. (Corey Bullard / U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via AP)

The official said that the U.S. agreed to repatriate the South Koreans and that Trump had instructed that they be transported to the airport without physical restraints such as handcuffs, in a departure from standard U.S. practice.

That was an important condition for the South Korean government, along with assurances that the detained workers will not face obstacles returning to the U.S. in the future.

Theyre not there to take American jobs away, said James Kim, chairman and chief executive of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea. Semiconductors, electric batteries  theres not that much domain expertise in the U.S. right now.

Most Koreans, especially those who work for major companies like Hyundai and LG, want to follow the law, Kim told NBC News.

The problem is that a lot of these different visa types have a lot of gray area to it, he said.

With the Visa Waiver Program, for example  which allows tourism or business stays of up to 90 days and is also known as ESTA  they really dont know 100% what you can and cannot do with it, he added.

South Korean companies and business groups are urging their government to use the issue as an opportunity to improve U.S. visa procedures for employees.

At a meeting in Washington on Tuesday, companies including Hyundai and LG, told Cho that U.S. and South Korean officials should work together to make South Koreans eligible for the same E-4 visas already available to other U.S. free trade agreement partners such as Mexico, Canada, Singapore and Australia. Legislation that would do exactly that has long been stuck in Congress.

Members of South Korea's Progressive Party hold placards denouncing Trump at a rally in Seoul on Monday. (Chris Jung / NurPhoto via Getty Images)

They also asked for higher approval rates for the E-2 visa for employees of South Korean companies investing in the U.S., and a clarification of U.S. government guidelines regarding the short-term B-1 visa that is commonly used for business trips.

Consistent application of the rules would help reduce uncertainty for companies and facilitate more active investment activities in the United States, they said, according to a statement from the South Korean Foreign Ministry.

The ministry says it has held dozens of meetings with U.S. government officials trying to draw attention to these issues.

The immigration crackdown comes as Trump has also created uncertainty with tariffs, which in South Korea's case have been set at 15%.

South Korean companies are highly afraid of unpredictability in the market, especially on the policy side, said Kim Tae-hwang, an international trade professor at Myongji University in Seoul.

The priority, he said, should be to prevent incidents like the one in Georgia from happening again in the future.

Korean companies have nothing against American government policies, Kim said. But in my opinion, you can find some kind of a solution.

Though the Georgia raid was a wake-up call for South Korean companies, Kim from AmCham Korea said he didnt think it would ultimately hurt U.S. investment.

He said he hoped that the detained South Korean workers, if they are found to have done nothing wrong, will be able to go back to Georgia, do what they were supposed to do, train the U.S. workers and return when that job is done.

Janis Mackey Frayer and Ed Flanagan reported from Seoul, Jennifer Jett from Hong Kong and Stella Kim from Los Angeles.
The Yankees honored Charlie Kirk with a moment of silence on Wednesday. (Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images) (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / Reuters)

The New York Yankees held a moment of silence ahead of their 11-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday to honor Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist who was shot and killed in Utah earlier in the day.

Before tonight's game we held a moment of silence in memoriam of Charlie Kirk.



Kirk founded the youth activist group Turning Point USA and had become a fixture on college campuses. Charlie Kirk, a husband and father of two children, was 31 years old. pic.twitter.com/Fz5xPlmdu0  New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 10, 2025

Kirk, a right-wing talk show host and the founder of Turning Point USA, was speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday when he was shot in the neck. He was transported to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. He was 31.

The shooting is still under investigation, and officials have not yet arrested the alleged assailant. Further specifics are not yet known.

Kirk is a Chicago-area native and a noted Cubs fan. Its unclear if he has any connection to the Yankees. President Donald Trump, whom Kirk repeatedly campaigned for, is set to attend the Yankees game against the Tigers at Yankee Stadium on Thursday, which is the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
(Reuters) -The Czech Republic will expel a Belarusian diplomat it accuses of espionage, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

The Czech counterintelligence service said that together with Romanian and Hungarian services it had "broken up a Belarusian intelligence network being built in Europe."

Minsk's relations with many central European countries have become increasingly strained since its ally Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

"We have declared a Belarusian diplomat working for the secret service persona non grata. We will not tolerate the abuse of diplomatic cover for secret service activities," the Foreign Ministry said in a post on X.

In Romania, anti-organized crime prosecuting unit DIICOT said it was investigating a 47-year-old Moldovan former senior intelligence agency chief for treason.

In contrast to Romania and the Czech Republic, Hungary has maintained warm diplomatic relations with Russia and Belarus.

The Belarusian embassy in Prague did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

(Reporting by Alan Charlish, Jan Lopatka, Luiza Ilie; Editing by Sharon Singleton, Rod Nickel)
kenny-chesney-911-story

Nearly 3,000 Americans died in the terrorist attacks that took place at the World Trade Center in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001, as well as other targets around the country. Among those who had close calls was Kenny Chesney, who was scheduled to be in New York filming a video just a block away on that fateful morning.

Chesney had recently re-released The Tin Man, a single he originally released in 1994. He was slated to film a video for the song in NYC on the day of the 9/11 attacks, but equipment delays ended up pushing back the shoot.

We played a fair in Pennsylvania on Sept. 10, and we were supposed to have driven from Pennsylvania into New York City that night and start shooting my video that morning, basically a block away from the World Trade Center the morning all this happened, Chesney recalls to CMT.

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, hijacked planes struck the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon, while another plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania in a terrorist attack that would change America irrevocably.

The country superstar had forgotten all about his originally scheduled video shoot until he turned on CNN in the front of his bus that morning while traveling through Virginia. When he saw the footage of the devastation in New York, It didnt hit me at first, he states.

I was laying on the couch, just watching this and couldnt believe what I was seeing, and I thought, Oh, my God. I said, Were supposed to be there. And it was a weird feeling.

You know, Ive always believed in guardian angels, but it really makes you believe that theres something up there, Chesney adds. Im glad we werent there. I mean, I feel for everybody that was there. I think weve all been changed forever by it.
Evening Standard/Getty Images Richard Burton and his wife, Elizabeth Taylor, at a friend's wedding in August 1969.

The Gist

Elizabeth Taylor received 10 proposals and married eight times to seven different husbands.

Her most famous relationship was with fellow actor and two-time husband Richard Burton.

The iconic actress called producer Mike Todd, who tragically died one year after their wedding, one of two great loves in her life.

Few would have guessed the magnitude of Elizabeth Taylors career following her breakthrough performance in 1944s National Velvet. The legendary late actress became one of Hollywoods brightest stars, branching out with successful fragrance lines and becoming an outspoken activist in the fight against AIDs. Yet her eight marriages to seven husbands often eclipse her career and humanitarian work in the public imagination.

The classic beauty with violet-colored eyes found herself the recipient of 10 marriage proposals over the course of her lifetime. Easily the most well-known of her loves is two-time husband Richard Burton, a fellow actor whom she met on the set of Cleopatra. Their 14-year romance was the longest one of her life. Burton died in 1984, eight years after the couples second divorce.

Perhaps it sounds silly, [but] I think we wouldve been married again, Taylor told journalist Barbara Walters about her late ex-husband in a 1997 interview. I think we were so passionately in love with each other that the highs were too high. It was almost like everything was too muchBut it was great.

From her first marriage to a hotel heir to her final nuptials with a construction worker, the actress had a life full of love, loss, heartbreak, and happiness. Parts of her story are shared in her own words in the 2024 documentary Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes, which draws from over 40 hours of archival interviews between Taylor and Life magazine journalist Richard Meryman.

An unprecedented icon with a multi-faceted legacy in cinema and in life, Taylor continues to captivate the world today. Heres what to know about her seven husbands from eight marriages.

Conrad Nicky Hilton Jr.

Bettmann/Contributor Elizabeth Taylor and Conrad Hilton Jr. on their wedding day in May 1950.

At just 18 years old, the actress became a first-time bride, marrying hotel heir Conrad Hilton Jr. (Paris Hiltons great-uncle). MGM Studios funded the Hollywood nuptials, which took place in 1950 at a Beverly Hills church. Helen Rose, the MGM costume designer who designed Grace Kellys wedding dress, also created Taylors satin gown.

Unfortunately, the union was a tumultuous one and ended after only eight months. [Hilton Jr.] became sullen, angry and abusive, physically and mentally, Taylor wrote in her 1988 memoir, Elizabeth Takes Off. The couple finalized their divorce in January 1951, per The Los Angeles Times.

Michael Wilding

Bettmann/Getty Images Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Wilding at a London Airport in 1952.

English-American Taylor found her second husband, Michael Wilding, across the pond. According to Alexander Walkers 2001 biography Elizabeth, they first met when she filmed The Conspirator in England in 1948. The pair reconnected after her divorce from Hilton Jr., when she returned to the country to film Ivanhoe. Wilding was a fellow actor 20 years her senior.

At their London civil ceremony in February 1952, Taylor wore a tea-length A-line suit dressper Vogue, the nontraditional bridal look was once again designed by Rose. The future three-time Oscar winner accessorized with a simple string of pearls and wove florals through her hair.

During their five years of marriage, Taylor and Wilding welcomed two sons: Michael Jr. in 1953, and Christopher in 1955.

Mike Todd

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Elizabeth Taylor and her husband, Mike Todd, in March 1957.

In her 2002 book Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry, the starlet described third husband Mike Todd as one of two great loves in my lifethe other being future husband Burton. He was 25 years her senior. Taylor and the producer tied the knot in Acapulco, Mexico in February 1957. Before they exchanged vows, Todd gifted Taylor the largest of her engagement rings, featuring a stunning 29-carat diamond.

Their marriage was tragically cut short when Todd was killed in a plane crash on March 22, 1958. He and Taylor had welcomed their first and only child together, daughter Elizabeth Liza Frances Todd, in August 1957.

Eddie Fisher

John Bryson/Getty Images Eddie Fisher and Elizabeth Taylor in 1959.

After seeking solace with her late husbands close friend, Eddie Fisher, Taylor tied the knot for a fourth time. Fisher was married to Debbie Reynolds when their love affair began, and left the Singin in the Rain star for Taylor in 1959.

"I was keeping Mike [Todd] alive by talking about him because Eddie, he was a great friend of Mike's. That was the only thing we had in common, was Mike," Taylor said in an archival interview shown in the 2024 documentary Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes, per People. "I never loved Eddie. I liked him. I felt sorry for him. And I liked talking [to him]. But he was not Mike."

The couple were together for just under five years, divorcing in early 1964.

Richard Burton

Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton on their first wedding day in March 1964.

While filming Cleopatra in 1961, Taylor found what many consider the great love of her life. Their relationship began as an affair. Despite the scandal (the Vatican even publicly condemned them, per The New York Times) the couple didnt hide their romance.

After Taylor finalized her divorce from Fisher and Burton divorced actress Sybil Williams, the former co-stars wed in Montreal in 1964. The glamorous starlets yellow wedding dress was designed by Cleopatra costume designer Irene Sharaff.

A few years later, Burton gifted Taylor the massive 69.42-carat diamond now known as the Taylor-Burton Diamond. It was insured for $1 million, per WWD. But despite the glittering jewels that marked their fairytale relationship, the couple divorced in 1974 after 10 years of marriage.

Taylors sixth marriage was also to Burton, as the two reconciled and remarried in October 1975. This second marriage lasted less than a year.

John Warner

Sonia Moskowitz/IMAGES/Getty Images Elizabeth Taylor and her husband, Senator John Warner, in May 1981.

In 1976, a 44-year-old Taylor walked down the aisle again, marrying sixth husband John Warner. The future couple met when Warner escorted the actress to a dinner with Queen Elizabeth II at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., as he recalled to People in 2011.

A few days after the dinner, she visited his horse farm. She came back for another visit with a suitcase, which clued Warner, then 49, into the potential for a long-term relationship between them. I think she fell in love with the farm, and I guess I came along with the horses, he joked in the same People interview.

Engaged in September 1976 and married in December at his farm, they enjoyed a 6-year union. While their wedding was among Taylors most private, photos from the day show she chose the unconventional route for her bridal ensemble: a cashmere coat and turban.

The pressures of being a politicians wife (Warner was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1979) contributed to the end of their relationship. We got along wonderfully until he decided to be a politician, Taylor told The New York Times in 2002. And then he married the Senate."

Larry Fortensky

Darlene Hammond/Getty Images Elizabeth Taylor and husband Larry Fortensky at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in May 1992.

The last of Taylors marriages came about when she met construction worker Larry Fortensky at the Betty Ford Clinic. He was 20 years her junior, making him the first and only spouse to be younger than her. They tied the knot in October 1991, with a lavish ceremony at Michael Jacksons Neverland Ranch. Taylor wore a stunning ruffled Valentino gown, a gift from the designer according to People.

After their 1996 divorce, Taylor famously vowed never to marry again. She died on March 23, 2011 after being hospitalized for congestive heart failure. The actress was 79.

Read the original article on InStyle
Ben Otano/Flickr

Florida is one of just four states that generally prohibit people from openly carrying firearms in public. That law, a Florida appeals court ruled on Wednesday, is inconsistent with the Second Amendment.

"The Constitution protects the right to carry arms openly for self-defense," Judge Stephanie Ray writes in a unanimous opinion from the First District Court of Appeal. "Florida's Open Carry Ban cannot be reconciled with that guarantee."

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier welcomed the decision. "Florida's 1st District Court of Appeals just ruled that Florida's open carry ban is no longer constitutionally enforceable statewide," he wrote on X. "Our office fully supports the Court's decision. This is a big win for the Second Amendment rights of Floridians."

The case, McDaniels v. Florida, involves an activist who sought to test Florida's ban by inviting his own arrest. In July 2022, Ray notes, Stanley Victor McDaniels "stood at a major intersection in downtown Pensacola," holding a copy of the U.S. Constitution and waving at passing cars. He "had a loaded handgun tucked inside his pants using an inside-the-waistband holster. The holstered firearm was visible to anyone who passed by, but McDaniels was not threatening anyone. He had also set up a camera on a tripod to record his activity."

When police questioned him, McDaniels explained that he planned a constitutional challenge to Section 790.053 of the Florida Statutes. That provision, enacted in 1987, says "it is unlawful for any person to openly carry on or about his or her person any firearm." Violating the prohibition is a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

Section 790.053 lists several exceptions, including for hunters and people with concealed carry permits who "briefly and openly display" a firearm "to the ordinary sight of another person" unless it is "intentionally displayed in an angry or threatening manner, not in necessary self-defense." But those exceptions come into play only when someone is prosecuted under the law, at which point he can invoke one of them as an affirmative defense.

McDaniels had a concealed carry permit, and he did not display his handgun "in an angry or threatening manner." But he was not using the gun in "necessary self-defense," and he displayed it more than "briefly." He therefore was clearly guilty of violating the statute. But prior to his trial, he moved to dismiss the charge on Second Amendment grounds. The trial court, which ultimately convicted him and sentenced him to probation and community service, denied his motion but asked the appeals court to resolve the question of the law's constitutionality.

Before addressing that issue, Ray explains why the appeals court is not bound by the Florida Supreme Court's 2017 decision in Norman v. State, which upheld Section 790.053, deeming it "substantially related" to the state's "important interest in regulating firearms as a matter of public safety." Applying "intermediate scrutiny," the court balanced that interest against the burden imposed by the open carry ban, emphasizing that the law did not preclude self-defense, since permit holders still could carry concealed weapons.

As Ray notes, the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen explicitly rejected such "means-end scutiny." Under Bruen, a law that impinges on conduct covered by the Second Amendment's "plain text" is constitutional only if the government can show it is "consistent with this Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation." And since the U.S. Supreme Court's understanding of the Second Amendment is "the supreme Law of the Land," Ray says, "we are bound to follow it."

To meet the Bruen test, the government has the burden of citing historical analogs that are "relevantly similar" in motivation and scope. The closest analogs that Florida could offer were eight 19th-century laws that prohibited concealed carrythe opposite of Florida's rule. Such laws were based on the premise that carrying concealed weapons was inherently suspect and dishonorable.

Florida "has not shown that open carry and concealed carry were understood to be interchangeable," Ray writes. "To the contrary, the historical record, including the very sources the State invokes, demonstrates that the two were regarded as distinct, and that open carry was the default mode of bearing arms that preserved the core of the Second Amendment right."

In 1840, for example, the Alabama Supreme Court said "the Legislature cannot inhibit the citizen from bearing arms openly, because it authorizes him to bear them for the purposes of defending himself and the State, and it is only when carried openly, that they can be efficiently used for defence." But "if the emergency is pressing," it reasoned, "there can be no necessity for concealing the weapon."

That same year, the Tennessee Supreme Court likewise upheld that state's concealed carry ban. It rejected the notion that "there can be no difference between a law prohibiting the wearing [of] concealed weapons and one prohibiting the wearing [of] them openly." To the contrary, it said, "there is a manifest distinction." In the state constitution, it noted, "the [citizens'] right to bear arms in defence of themselves is coupled with the right to bear them in defence of the State," and those weapons "must necessarily be borne openly."

In 1846, the Georgia Supreme Court rejected a complete ban on public carry, emphasizing the difference between "secretly" arming onself and doing so "openly." The latter, it said, was protected by the "natural right of self-defence" and the "constitutional right to keep and bear arms." The court concluded that "a prohibition against bearing arms openly" is "void" because it is "in conflict with the Constitution."

Upholding Louisiana's concealed carry ban in 1850, that state's Supreme Court said the law "interfered with no man's right to carry arms (to use its words) 'in full open view,' which places men upon an equality. This is the right guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, and which is calculated to incite men to a manly defence of themselves, if necessary, and of their country, without any tendency to secret advantages and unmanly assassinations."

When it upheld a conviction for carrying a concealed weapon in 1867, the Florida Supreme Court said the relevant law, which expressly allowed open carry, was aimed at individuals who arm themselves "for the purpose of committing some malicious crime, or of taking some undue advantage over an unsuspecting adversary." It also noted the concern that "men in vexed assemblies or public meetings, conscious of their advantage in possessing a secret and deadly weapon, often become insulting and overbearing in their intercourse, provoking a retort or an assault, which may be considered as an excuse for using the weapon, and a deadly encounter results, which might be avoided where the parties stand on a perfect equality, and where no undue advantage is taken."

In short, Ray says, "the historical record from the relevant period shows that our Nation did not regard concealed carry and open carry as interchangeable. The right to keep and bear arms did not extend to the carrying of weapons in secret, which was regarded as the practice of the cowardly and the disreputable and as incompatible with the legitimate exercise of the right of self-defense. Open carry, by contrast, was understood to be the manner of bearing arms that gave full effect to the rights secured by the Second Amendment."

That record "makes clear that open carry was regarded as the lawful and preferred mode of bearing arms, while concealed carry was viewed as dangerous to public safety and ineffective for self-defense," Ray writes. "No historical tradition supports Florida's Open Carry Ban. To the contrary, history confirms that the right to bear arms in public necessarily includes the right to do so openly."

The post Florida's Ban on Openly Carrying Guns Is Unconstitutional, State Appeals Court Rules appeared first on Reason.com.
A 9/11 memorial dedicated at the Idaho Falls Fire Department in 2024. | Andrea Olson, EastIdahoNews.com

IDAHO FALLS  Many events are scheduled for Thursday to pay respects to those who lost their lives in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Idaho Falls

Busch Ag & IFPD 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb

Anheuser-Busch is partnering with the Idaho Falls Police Department to commemorate the 24th anniversary of 9/11.

For the second year, Anheuser-Busch is partnering with the Idaho Falls Police Department to raise money for three local charities benefiting our community and first responders, says a release from the Idaho Falls Police Department. First responders will make the climb, and you can help show your support by pledging a donation in honor of their climb during the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb Challenge.

Officers and staff, along with other first responders, are climbing the Idaho Falls malt house stairs between Sept. 1 and 11. The stairs will not be open to the public.

First responders can choose which charity to dedicate their climb to during each climb and will log their progress each time they leave the stairs.

Unveiling of 9/11 monument

RELATED | Bonneville County Fire District to unveil 9/11 monument honoring first responders

Bonneville County Fire District 1, is partnering with Heroes Defense and the city of Ammon for a ceremony to unveil a permanent monument honoring the first responders who lost their lives during 9/11.

The unveiling will take place on Thursday at Bonneville County Fire District 1, 2137 S. Ammon Road, starting at 7:30 PM.

Community members, veterans, first responders, and local officials are invited to attend this solemn event of remembrance, according to the release.

Parking is available at the city of Ammon building at 2135 S. Ammon Rd. or the LDS Church at 2055 S. Ammon Rd.

Pocatello

RELATED | Community invited to serve and remember at these 9/11 events

9/11 Memorial Stair Climb

Idaho State University invites community members to climb 110 flights of stairs at the ICCU dome in memory of those lost during the terrorist attack.

The climb will begin at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at 550 Memorial Drive in Pocatello.

Each climber can carry a memorial card representing one fallen 9/11 hero. The first 100 participants will receive a free t shirts. Community members are welcome to come watch and cheer on those who are climbing, says a news release from Idaho State University. This is a free event and no sign up is required. The event is looking for volunteers. If interested, please sign up to volunteer here. Thank you for your time and dedication to our community! We hope to see you at the event.

Annual 9/11 Patriot Day Community Commemoration

The Bannock County Veteran Services office is hosting their annual 9/11 Patriot Day Community Commemoration in honor of the 24th anniversary of 9/11.

A flag-raising ceremony will be held on the front steps of the Bannock County Courthouse 624 E Center St. on Thursday, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Rexburg

National Day of Service

The city of Rexburg is partnering with JustServe.org to sponsor a community service project on 9/11 at the Rexburg Veterans Memorial at Smith Park.

To celebrate the upcoming 9/11 National Day of Service, the City of Rexburg is joining with JustServe.org to sponsor a community service project on September 11th & 12th, according to a release from JustServe. Community members are invited to come and help with improvements at the Rexburg Veterans Memorial which is located in Smith Park.

City officials will provide materials, and volunteer participants will be able to help repaint the memorial itself, do basic landscaping and plant shrubs around the nearby grounds.

Volunteers are invited to participate in 1-to-2-hour shifts (or as much as they are able) on Thursday, Sept. 11, between 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., and on Friday, Sept. 12, from 10 to noon, according to the release.

The post These local events will commemorate the 24th anniversary of 9/11 appeared first on East Idaho News.
Raphael Jarvis and his service dog at the 9/11 Memorial.

Raphael Jarvis is going to get through this 9/11 anniversary with the help of a new partner.

The retired city sanitation officer, who spent months after the 2001 terror attack digging through the wreckage looking for survivors only to years later join the invasion of Iraq as a soldier, is now getting comfort for the PTSD he suffered thanks to a service dog named Ben.

He jumped on me right away, said the 64-year-old Bronx man told The Post of his first meeting with his new canine companion, which was made possible by veterans group K9s For Warriors.

Raphael Jarvis, 64, a retired Sanitation Officer, has now received a service dog ahead of the 24th anniversary of 9/11. Matthew McDermott

I have the happiness that was missing all these years.

Like so many New Yorkers, Jarvis life changed forever on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.

He recalled how the weather on the crisp Tuesday morning seemed like it was going to be a perfect day  then halfway through his a.m. shift he heard the news of planes crashing into the World Trade Center.

Nobody believed it  everybody thought it was a Bruce Willis movie, Jarvis said, adding that he thought to himself, I hope nobody dies.

He raced down to Ground Zero going right into action, and didnt leave the pile for the next nine months looking for signs of life and ultimately, for remains.

It was a grim task  with Jarvis recalling, You could smell the morgue  that would haunt him for years to come.

He also suffered the loss of two people he knew well  former first officer, Walter McNeil, and fireman friend, Ronnie Henderson.

After suffering through the 9/11 attacks aftermath, Jarvis service to his country wasnt over.

After 9/11, Jarvis took part in the invasion of Iraq as a soldier. Matthew McDermott

Despite preparing to retire after 23 years in the National Guard  he even filled out his retirement paperwork  Jarvis unit was called up after the attack deployed to Iraq with the 2003 US invasion. He said he willingly went because it was his duty.

I did what I had to do, he said stoically.

Even after retiring from the military the following year, the divorced New Yorker had demons he just couldnt shake.

While he donned his Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran hat with pride, he was profoundly hurting.

I came back home and I didnt recognize myself, Jarvis admitted, noting that he unceremoniously snapped at people, suffered crippling headaches and couldnt sleep at night.

I felt like I was constantly looking over my shoulder.

Even going to his beloved Yankees game was suddenly off the table.

I didnt like the crowds or the noise, he said. All that shut down.

Family told him he was different.

The consequences of 9/11 and his time at war affected Jarvis decades later, he said.

When a counselor from the VA hospital told him not to keep everything inside me because one day I might blow up, it left a deep impression.

I thought I could handle myself, but I realized I needed help, he conceded.

He was finally diagnosed with PTSD, along with depression and anxiety.

The lifelong animal lover took the first steps and applied for a service dog.

By 2023, he connected with instant best friend Ben, the highly trained golden retriever provided by K9s For Warrior, which covered the roughly $30,000 in costs for the nine months of training the dog undergoes.

Ben has become his pride and joy whos more than medication.

The canine companion being sent to Jarvis to help him with his PTSD, along with getting through another 9/11 anniversary, was made possible by the veterans group K9s For Warriors. Matthew McDermott

The two dont leave one anothers side  and that will include returning to the WTC site on Thursdays anniversary.

I couldnt do that without Ben, he said, adding that its important for him to pay his respects. I still get those butterflies in my stomach.

Ben makes him feel good, I feel safe.

With twists and turns in life that he couldnt imagine, Jarvis said he wouldnt change a thing.

Im definitely proud of my service  if I had to do it all again, I would.
A damaged vehicle is seen off the side of the road after a deadly crash in Napa County on Sunday. (Beth Schlanker / Associated Press)

A man with three prior DUI convictions was intoxicated when he crashed into a tree in Napa County, killing six passengers, according to prosecutors.

Norberto Celerino was charged Tuesday with six felony counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, the Napa County district attorney's office said in a statement. Celerino is also facing a felony count of driving under the influence causing injury with two or more prior DUI convictions.

Prosecutors allege the 53-year-old driver was intoxicated when he crashed along Pope Valley Road with seven passengers in a van.

All of the eight people in the van were farmworkers, sheriff's officials said.

Celerino and one passenger were taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for injuries. Six of the passengers died at the scene.

The Napa County Sheriff's Office identified the deceased as Araon Ruiz Ruiz, 39; Beymar Reynosa Rodriguez, 32; Demetrio Celerino Francisco, 39; Pedro Lopez Gomez, 57; Loreto Ricardo Hernandez, 42; and Fernando Silverio, 34.

All six were identified as residents of the Stockton area and Mexican nationals, sheriff's officials said.

According to prosecutors, Celerino had been previously convicted of DUI on Aug. 22, 2020, and Sept. 20, 2024, in San Joaquin County.

Celerino had been convicted of a third DUI, prosecutors said in the statement, but the conviction was more than 10 years ago.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Ashaninka leaders walk in the Amazonian rainforest of Peru, a region key to combating the climate crisis (Cool Earth)

A new scientific study has provided compelling evidence supporting a long-held belief among Indigenous communities: the destruction of the Amazon rainforest directly impacts human health. Published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, the research found a significant reduction in the incidence of several diseases in areas where forest was specifically designated for Indigenous peoples and effectively maintained by them.

This timely revelation comes as Brazil prepares to host the United Nations climate summit in November, with Belem, the gateway to the Amazon, serving as the host city. Experts and the study's authors underscore that the findings highlight the critical stakes for global populations as negotiators convene to address climate change. The pivotal role of Indigenous communities in conservation and climate action is expected to be a key focus.

Francisco Hernandez Cayetano, president of the Federation of Ticuna and Yagua Communities of the Lower Amazon (FECOTYBA) in the Peruvian Amazon, articulated this profound connection: "The forest man or man forest, according to the Indigenous perspective, has always been linked to the reciprocity between human health and the natural environment where one lives." He added a stark warning: "If each state does not guarantee the rights and territories of Indigenous peoples, we would inevitably be harming their health, their lives, and the ecosystem itself." The study thus reinforces the urgent need to protect both the Amazon and its Indigenous guardians for the health of the planet and its inhabitants.

That harm can look like respiratory diseases such as asthma caused by toxic air pollution after fires, or illnesses that spread from animals to humans such as malaria, said Paula Prist, a senior program coordinator for the Forest and Grasslands Unit at the International Union for Conservation of Nature and one of the study authors.

The researchers compiled and analyzed data on forest quality, legal recognition of Indigenous territory and disease incidence in the countries that border and include the Amazon.

Outside experts weigh in

The work was impressive to University of Washington health and climate scientist Kristie Ebi. She said it highlighted the complexity of factors that affect human health, and the importance of understanding the role Indigenous communities play in shaping it. Using these methods, others could study other parts of the world, she said.

The researchers found creative ways to account for other variables that can affect the spread of diseases, like access to health care in a given area, said Magdalena Hurtado, an anthropology and global health professor at Arizona State University and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences who was not involved with the study. But she expressed concern that the findings were presented with a precision that may not be warranted, given that they were based on correlation and use data on observations that can be difficult to measure.

They claim that Indigenous territories only protect health when forest cover is above 40%. And so that that feels like, why 40%? Why not 35? Or why not a range? she asked. It doesnt mean that the study is wrong, but it means that we need to be cautious because the patterns could change if different, more precise methods were used.

Still, she thinks this is a starting point that could open the door to future research. They are actually doing something quite beautiful, empirically connecting the legal recognition of Indigenous lands to human health outcomes, she said.

Hernandez, of FECOTYBA, said that's important for the global policymakers who are coming to Brazil.

From my Indigenous perspective, I think that this type of study would make our ancestral knowledge more visible and precise, he said.

There's a strong body of evidence showing that Indigenous land tenure helps maintain intact forests, but the paper shows it's important to maintain forest outside of Indigenous-stewarded areas as well, said James MacCarthy, a wildfire research manager with the Global Forest Watch team at the World Resources Institute who worked on a new report on extreme wildfires and the role of Indigenous communities in addressing them, and who was not involved with the study.

Landscapes that produce benefits, and don't harm human health

Prist said the goal of the study was to understand how landscapes can be healthy for people, but that it would be naive to suggest that all forest landscapes stay exactly as they are, especially with the land needs of farming and livestock production.

The world needs landscapes that provide economic services, but also services that protect people's health, she said.

For Julia Barreto, an ecologist and data scientist who also worked on the study, it stood out to be part of a team of scientists from different nations working to make information publicly accessible and to bring attention to the Amazon.

It is not only one country, and the whole world is depending on it somehow, she said.

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Associated Press writer Steven Grattan contributed to this report from Bogota, Colombia.

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Follow Melina Walling on X @MelinaWalling and Bluesky @melinawalling.bsky.social.

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The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Sir Keir Starmer has "condemned" Israel's air strikes in Qatar as completely unacceptable, adding they do nothing to secure peace, as he met the countrys president Isaac Herzog in Downing Street.

Israel killed at least six people, including a member of Qatars internal security forces and five Hamas figures after it launched an unprecedented air raid on Doha on Tuesday.

The meeting at Number 10 saw Mr Herzog argue with the Sir Keir over UK plans to recognise a Palestinian state and concerns over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

A Downing Street spokesperson said Sir Keir had "condemned Israel's action in Doha yesterday as completely unacceptable. He said the strikes were a flagrant violation of a key partner's sovereignty and do nothing to secure the peace we all desperately want to see".

"Turning to Gaza, he reiterated his huge concern and implored Israel to change course. They must stop the man-made famine from worsening further by letting aid in and halting their offensive operations, he added."

Sir Keir Starmer met Isaac Herzog at 10 Downing Street (James Manning/PA) (PA Wire)

The spokesperson added that both leaders "agreed that the hostages who were cruelly ripped by Hamas from their families nearly two years ago must be released" while Sir Keir offered his condolences for the terrorist attack in Jerusalem on Monday.

Sir Keir concluded by saying the UK and Israel were "long-standing allies", and he would "continue his work to secure an enduring peace and a better future for the Israeli and Palestinian people alike".

Speaking at an event hosted by the Chatham House think tank, Mr Herzog said he had offered a fact-finding mission coming to Israel, sitting with us and studying the situation in Gaza on the humanitarian level, adding that Israel have full answers and we are fully transparent.

Mr Herzog also defended Israels attack on Qatar, claiming that Israel did want a ceasefire with Hamas but arguing it was necessary to remove some of the people if they are not willing to get that deal.

The Israeli president added that the pair had argued out of respect, he noted there were things we agreed upon, such as the threat from Iran and the need to end Hamass control of Gaza.

Isaac Herzog defended Israels bombing of Hamas leaders in Qatar on Tuesday, saying it was necessary to remove people who did not want a ceasefire. (UGC via AP) (AP)

Israel has faced international condemnation following its strike on Qatar - and more widely for its intensified attacks on Gaza - which has led to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announcing plans to seek sanctions and a partial trade suspension against Israel over its military campaign in Gaza.

Hamas confirmed on Tuesday that five of its members died, including Hammam, the son of exiled leader Khalil al-Hayya and Jihad Labad, the director of al-Hayyas office, the remaining three were listed as companions. The militant group said Israel failed to kill anyone in the negotiating team.

The Qatari interior ministry later said a member of its internal security service - Corporal Badr al-Dosari - was killed in the strike and a number of others were injured.

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres condemned the bombing, saying "all parties must work towards achieving a permanent ceasefire, not destroying it."
Iryna Zarutska and Decarlos Brown, Jr. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Facebook, Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office via AP)

On Aug. 22, Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, was stabbed to death by Decarlos Brown Jr.  with no apparent warning or provocation  while riding a light-rail commuter train in Charlotte, N.C. Since video of the attack emerged Friday, Zarutskas death has become the latest flashpoint in a national debate over whether cities are adequately addressing violent crime, mental illness and transit safety.

North Carolina, and every State, needs LAW AND ORDER, and only Republicans will deliver it!, President Trump said Monday on Truth Social, describing Brown as a career criminal.

About two hours before right-wing activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on Wednesday, he wrote on X that it was "100% necessary to politicize the senseless murder of Iryna Zarutska because it was politics that allowed a savage monster with 14 priors to be free on the streets to kill her."

That was Kirk's final post.

At the same time, Browns family has highlighted his history of hallucinations, paranoia and schizophrenia, speculating that he may have attacked Zarutska because he thought she was reading his mind.

A person that is hearing voices in their head and believes the world is against them, theyre going to break, Browns mother told CNN. And I think that night he broke.

Heres everything you need to know about the case  and the reaction to it.

What happened on the train

CCTV footage shows that Zarutska boarded a Lynx Blue Line train late Saturday night at the Scaleybark station, a few miles outside downtown Charlotte in the citys lively South End neighborhood. Her blonde hair was tucked under a cap from Zeppedies Pizzeria, the nearby restaurant where she worked. She was also wearing a black Zeppedies T-shirt. She sat in an empty row and started to scroll on her phone, earbuds in.

Brown, 34, was sitting behind her.

Four minutes later, a fidgety Brown pulled what appeared to be a pocketknife from the pocket of his red hoodie and paused briefly to rest his head on his hand, before suddenly springing to his feet and swinging his arm over Zarutskas seat.

Brown reportedly stabbed Zarutska three times, including at least once in the neck. He walked past Zarutska as she covered her face with her hands. Moments later, she slouched to the ground.

Zarutska died on the train from her injuries as passengers kneeled over her, trying to help. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has charged Brown with first-degree murder in her killing.

The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) confirmed earlier this week that there was no security present in the car where the attack occurred and that Brown did not have a ticket to ride the train.

What we know about Zarutska

Zarutska was born on May 22, 2002, in Kyiv, Ukraine. She earned a degree in art and restoration from Kyivs Synergy College. Zarutska fled Ukraine with her mother, sister and brother six months after Russias 2022 invasion; a family friend told WCNC that she could no longer endure not knowing if youre going to live or breathe another day. Zarutska eventually settled in Charlotte, where she attended Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and hoped to become a veterinary assistant.

According to Zarutskas obituary, she loved sculpting and designing unique, eclectic clothing; was a homebody at heart, happiest when surrounded by family and loved ones; and had the ability to sleep for wonderfully long stretches  something [her mother] affectionately called an artists gift.

On Tuesday, Zarutskas family released a statement saying they are committed to making sure this never happens again through systemic change.

Iryna came here to find peace and safety, and instead her life was stolen from her in the most horrific way, the statement reads. The family is demanding a full investigation into the circumstances leading up to Iryna's death, including lapses in security protocols and failures within the public transportation system.

On Wednesday, Zarutska's boyfriend Stanislav Nikulytsia, 21, shared a photo on Instagram of the two of them in bathing suits. The image was accompanied by a broken heart emoji  Nikulytsia's first public statement since Zarutskas killing. Nikulytsia was described as Zarutska's "life partner" in her obituary.

On Friday, Zarutska's uncle (who asked not to be named) told ABC's Good Morning America that she was "the glue of the family." He went on to call Zarutska a "comforter" and "confidant."

What we know about Brown

Brown had previously been arrested 14 times and convicted of larceny, breaking and entering and robbery with a dangerous weapon. He spent more than five years in prison on the robbery charge.

According to his sister, he didnt seem like himself after his release in 2020.

He started saying weird things, Browns mother told WSOC in Charlotte. He started saying that he wasnt in his body.

Suddenly, Brown was struggling to conduct simple conversations, his sister told CNN. He couldnt keep a job. And sometimes he would become aggressive  even going so far, in 2022, as to bite her and break the hinges off a door. Browns sister decided not to file charges because she knew he was battling something.

Instead, Browns family tried to get him help for his mental health issues  but their attempts failed. Browns mother told WSOC that after her son became aggressive, she got an involuntary commitment order from the courts. Brown was monitored for two weeks and diagnosed with schizophrenia. But she was unable to place him in a long-term facility because she is not his legal guardian. Soon he had become so violent and erratic that she was left with no other choice but to kick him out of her home.

In January, Brown asked Charlotte police to investigate a man-made material that controlled when he ate, walked and talked, according to court documents. The officers told Brown the issue was medical, insisting there was nothing more they could do. Upset, he called 911 from a local health center.

Police then charged Brown with misuse of 911, a class 1 misdemeanor.

He was released after promising, in writing, that he would appear for his next hearing, according to court records. But in July, Browns public defender made a motion questioning Browns capacity to contribute to his own defense. The judge ordered a psychological evaluation.

Meanwhile, Brown was living on the streets. Days before the stabbing, he showed up at his mothers house, according to CNN. He asked to stay the night. The next morning, Browns mother dropped him off at a shelter a few miles from the Scaleybark station. She hugged him and told him she loved him, then headed to church.

A frame from security footage shows Iryna Zarutska, front right, and Decarlos Brown, Jr., standing. (Charlotte Transit System)

In a recording of an Aug. 28 phone call between Brown and his sister shared with the Daily Mail, Brown can be heard telling his sister it was the material in his body that had killed Zarutska.

I hurt my hand, stabbing her. I dont even know the lady. I never said not one word to the lady at all. Thats scary, aint it. Why would somebody stab somebody for no reason? Brown reportedly says on the call.

Out of all people, why her? his sister responds. Shes from the Ukraine, shes from Russia, and they had a war going on against the United States, so Im just trying to understand, of all people, why her?

They just lashed out on her, thats what happened, Brown says. Whoever was working the materials, they lashed out on her. Thats all there is to it. Now they really gotta investigate what my body was exposed to.  Now they gotta do an investigation as to [who] was the motive behind what happened.

Browns sister told the Daily Mail that her brother was high risk and should not have been free to ride the train that night.

He was not in his right mind, she said. He was not safe for society. We know what he has been dealing with the last three years. And now an innocent woman is dead.

Whats next

Earlier this week, the U.S. Attorneys Office in the Western District of North Carolina charged Brown with causing death on a mass transportation system, which carries up to life in prison or the death penalty. Authorities said additional charges could be brought as the investigation continues.

The federal case will run parallel with the state case charging Brown with first-degree murder.

The ANIMAL who so violently killed the beautiful young lady from Ukraine, who came to America searching for peace and safety, should be given a 'Quick' (there is no doubt!) Trial, and only awarded THE DEATH PENALTY," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "There can be no other option!!!"

"I have directed my attorneys to federally prosecute Decarlos Brown Jr., a repeat violent offender with a history of violent crime, for murder, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. We will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable crime, and he will never again see the light of day as a free man."

As thousands of National Guard troops patrol the streets of Washington, D.C., over the objections of local officials and residents, Trump and his allies have been citing Zarutskas killing to justify further federal crackdowns on crime  particularly in cities run by Democrats.

Speaking on Fox News, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy agreed with Trump that evil people are to blame for violent crime  but added that its also evil politicians.

This monster had a track record longer than a CVS receipt, including prison time for robbery with a dangerous weapon, breaking and entering, and larceny, Duffy wrote on X on Sunday. By failing to properly punish him, Charlotte failed Iryna Zarutska and North Carolinians.

In their statement Tuesday, Zarutskas family said their immediate priority is to ensure the man responsible for Iryna's murder is brought to justice and remains behind bars. But they also called attention to systemic failure on the local level, including a lack of visible or effective security presence on the CATS Blue Line.
Getty Images Prince Harry on September 10, 2025.

The Gist

Prince Harry spoke publicly for the first time since his reunion with his father, King Charles III.

The father and son met at Clarence House on Wednesday, September 10.

The last time they saw each other was in 2024.

Prince Harry has spoken out following a highly anticipated reunion with his father, King Charles III, on Wednesday. People reported that they met at the King's London residence, Clarence House, for tea, marking their first encounter since February 2024.

Hours later, Harry attended a reception in honor of his tournament for veterans and injured armed forces members, the Invictus Games.

Getty Images Prince Harry on September 10, 2025.

"Yes, he's great, thank you," Harry said when asked about the King.

The Duke of Sussex last saw his father following the monarch's announcement of his cancer diagnosis. In May, Harry gave an emotionally-charged interview to the BBC where he said, in part, that he would love reconciliation with members of the royal family. He also shared that he didnt know how much longer [his] father has" as he continues his cancer treatment.

Getty Images Prince Harry on September 10, 2025.

Charles had been enjoying his summer holiday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland and flew back to London on Wednesday. Harry arrived in the U.K. on September 8 and is here for a four-day visit.



Back in Julytwo months after Harrys BBC interviewaides for both Charles and Harry met at a private members-only club in London, thought to be a good step forward in Charles and Harry seeing one another again.

Getty King Charles and Prince Harry on April 4, 2019.

On Wednesday, People reported that Harry was seen arriving by car to Clarence House, Charles and Queen Camillas London residence, around 5:20 p.m. local time. Their meeting reportedly lasted around 55 minutes, and what they discussed isn't currently known.

I would like to think the King will take that step toward reconciliation with Harry in due course, historian Dr. Ed Owens told People earlier this year. It seems that due course is finally here, and doubles as an early birthday gift for Harry, who turns 41 years old on September 15.

Read the original article on InStyle
Canon Business Services ANZ has picked up former News Corp vice president and head of global technology employee experience Shawn Sellar to head up end user services.

In the role, Sellar will lead the transformation and daily management of Canons end user services over Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines.

He comes into the position after working at News Corp for 16 in total across a range of technical positions, which focused on Australia for the first 10 years and then broadened to the media giants global operations for the following six years.

In a statement, Canon Business Services ANZ praised Sellars experience and noted he is expected to be a good fit with the company.

With deep expertise in IT service management, ITIL frameworks, and ITSM/ESM platform ownership, combined with experience managing large, geographically dispersed teams and multimillion-dollar budgets, Shawn is well positioned to elevate Canons managed service offerings and support business growth in collaboration with sales and marketing teams, the company said.
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has examined a new regulatory framework mandating the use of Mandarin in all sectors. This threatens bilingualism, especially in Tibet and Xinjiang, two regions where an increasing number of international influencers are being invited to promote a positive outlook, countering reports from international organisations criticising human rights violations.

Beijing (AsiaNews)  Earlier this week, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's parliament, examined two bills with the stated aim of strengthening the integration of ethnic minorities through the promotion of the national language, both spoken and written.

The first draft is titled the "Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress," considered an urgent requirement to foster a strong sense of community among the Chinese nation and advance the construction of a unified national identity," state-run Xinhua news agency reports.

Divided into seven chapters, the law covers aspects such as cultural identity, social integration, and economic development, with a particular focus on interethnic exchanges through cultural, educational, and tourism initiatives.

The second bill concerns the revision of the Law on Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language, introduced in 2001. The latest version introduces 32 articles to expand and regulate the use of Mandarin in all sectors: from public services to education, from international communication to digital spaces.

The national standard spoken and written language, formed through interactions among all ethnic groups, is a fundamental element of Chinese culture and a key symbol of the nation, just like the flag, anthem and emblem, Xinhua said.

Furthermore, learning Mandarin becomes not only a political obligation but also a right of the Chinese people.

While some commentators argue that the two initiatives do not appear to completely rule out forms of bilingualism where necessary, they are clearly part of President Xi Jinping's broader strategy, according to whom, the construction of a unified national identity must be the guiding principle for policies towards ethnic minorities.

The Third Plenum last July and a Politburo meeting on 29 August had already reiterated the need for a more stringent legislative framework to consolidate national unity and strengthen the Party's leadership.

The revision of the language law, in particular, aims to ensure that all documents and signs, for example, are in Mandarin Chinese.

Even though the language is now spoken by over 80 per cent of the population and more than 95 per cent know its characters, in some areas, according to the government, promotion remains "uneven" and regulation "insufficient."

The new laws also come after years of international criticism of Chinese policies in Tibet and Xinjiang, where cultural and linguistic assimilation has led to the erosion of local traditions.

Inner Mongolia has also seen measures such as mandating Mandarin as the language of instruction, censoring artistic works, and repealing non-compliant local regulations.

Several human rights groups have highlighted the contradictions between the guarantees provided by the Constitution, which recognises 56 ethnic minorities, and the implementation of language policies.

In Tibet, the traditional education system was dismantled following Chinas occupation, while minority languages began to be taught as extracurricular subjects in the mid-1990s.

In recent years, however, linguistic repression has further intensified. According to the Tibet Policy Institute, for example, local students have been banned from receiving private Tibetan language lessons during the holidays and have instead been encouraged to focus exclusively on improving their Mandarin.

Chinese authorities have also blocked numerous Tibetan-language websites, and the Chinese version of TikTok (Douyin) has also completely removed its Tibetan language functionality.

Furthermore, in recent years, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has increasingly hired influencers to counter the Western narrative that has long stressed human rights violations in Tibet (which Beijing calls "Zixang" in official documents, using the region's Mandarin name) and Xinjiang, home to the Uyghur people, who are now a minority.

China's communication, on the other hand, seeks to promote the supposed "positive developments" that have occurred in these regions, such as increased per capita income.

An "international communication center" was established in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, last year for building a more effective international communication system for Tibet-related issues.

The Global Times, the English-language newspaper controlled by the CPC, has repeatedly described how foreign visitors have learnt about Xinjiang's latest economic achievements, religious freedom, and ethnic integration.

Visitors to these regions are subject to strict guidelines to ensure that online content reflects Beijing's narrative, despite several reports documenting the mass internment of Uyghurs, forced labour imposed on minority groups, and restrictive birth control programmes.

According to various observers, the images shared by influencers are mostly targeted at young social media audiences, who often have no memory of the major international campaigns conducted against what is being done to the indigenous people of Xinjiang and Tibet.
by Santosh Digal

The president has set up an independent three-member body to vet dodgy flood prevention projects of the past 10 years. The Conference of Superiors of the Philippines warns that corruption deprives youth of an education, favours the neglect of the sick, and traps millions in poverty.

Manila (AsiaNews)  Philippine authorities continue their anti-corruption campaign in public works, a problem that has made natural disasters worse, eliciting a critical response from the countrys Catholic bishops.

This morning, President Fernando Marcos Jr signed Executive Order (EO) No. 94, setting up a Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), an independent three-member ad hoc inquiry to investigate flood control and other major infrastructure and public works projects related to the environment.

This comes as the Conference of Major Superiors of the Philippines (CMSP) held a meeting in which it condemned rampant corruption, deemed a direct attack on peoples dignity.

With Marcoss strong backing, the ICI will prioritise a probe into flood control and other infrastructure projects built over the past 10 years.

It will include a chair and two members, persons of proven competence, integrity, probity, and independence, the president said.

So far, the names of ICI members have not been made public, but Marcos stressed that they would include only "investigators, accountants.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Marcos confirmed that no politician or government official will be part of the commission because its work is a highly "technical exercise.

We have made very sure that they are in fact independent; truly independent. Previously he had stated that the ICI would serve as his administrations "investigative arm", examining information and tips sent to the government related to flood control projects.

The 45th Biennial Joint Convention of the Conference of Major Superiors of the Philippines (CMSP), held in Cebu City, central Philippines, from 1 to 5 September, focused on corruption, particularly in public works aimed at disaster prevention.

During the meeting, the country's religious representatives (priests, nuns, and friars) asserted that corruption and bribery are not just an ordinary sin, but represent a system that damages the well-being and the future of individual Filipinos as well as the country as a whole.

In a statement signed by CMSP chairperson Father Lino Gregorio V. Redoblado, a Franciscan and, and vice chairperson, Sister Cecilia A. Espenilla, a Dominican, the CMSP points to the direct effects of corruption, which robs our children of education, denies the sick of health care, and condemns millions of Filipinos to poverty.

The council expressed disappointment with reports by Transparency International and the World Bank noting that the Philippines is among the most corrupt countries in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with low levels of trust in government and institutional accountability.

The CMSP equally slammed the misuse of public funds that should go to health care and education, especially at a time of rapidly rising public debt.

For the Catholic body, it is important to pursue unity among all Filipinos, as it is crucial to ensure full transparency in government contracts, particularly regarding taxes and infrastructure projects that benefit the population.

The CMSP also emphasised the importance of public demand for greater transparency in the use of public funds and the existence of separate inquiries into corruption cases involving government officials.

In this regard, the Senate and the House of Representatives are continuing investigations into corruption in government flood control projects, which are expected to bring to justice those responsible for corruption involving the public treasury.

Senator Panfilo Lacson announced that only 40 per cent of the funds allocated to flood control projects benefit the population, while the rest is diverted to shoddy and unfinished projects and in corruption in the public treasury.

For its part, the Conference of Major Superiors of the Philippines reiterated that the fight against corruption is not merely political  it is Gospel witness.
The wounds are fresh, both on our side and theirs, he told journalists. Didnt we also kill people? Didnt people also die on the Azerbaijani side? Its about face-to-face contact [on the border]  During this sensitive period of rebuilding relationships and trust, the goal is to minimize that contact.

Asked why Armenia is not demanding the same procedure for its own transit through Azerbaijani territory, Simonian said: Because Azerbaijan also has very big wounds, Azerbaijan reckons that ... Armenia kept 20 percent of their country under occupation for 30 years and goes as far as to make statements about genocide. This is their way of thinking, and it is obvious that it is very important for Azerbaijan to prevent any possible future threat.

Aliyev said in late July that Azerbaijani cargo and Azerbaijani citizens should not see the faces of Armenian border guards during their transit through Armenias Syunik province. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinians spokeswoman rejected the demand at the time as a hidden territorial claim against Armenia.

However, Pashinian went on to sign on August 8 a joint declaration with Aliyev in Washington which calls for unhindered communication between Nakhichevan and the rest of Azerbaijan through Syunik. During the talks hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump, he also pledged to give the United States exclusive rights to the transit corridor to be named the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP).

Although crucial details of this transit arrangement remain unknown, Armenian opposition leaders maintain that it amounts to the kind of an extraterritorial Zangezur corridor that has been sought by Azerbaijan ever since the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Pashinian and other Armenian officials have denied this.

Pashinian again insisted on Wednesday that the documents signed by him in Washington uphold Armenian sovereignty over Syunik. Still, he indicated that modern technology would be used to exclude physical contact between Armenian border and customs officers and Azerbaijani travelers.

Armenian opposition lawmakers said Pashinians statement only proved their claims. One of them, Artur Khachatrian, on Thursday accused the government of deliberately withholding details of the corridor deal with Baku and Washington.

Unhindered communication means that any road, any gate is open, said Khachatrian. But when I cross a border, a border guard there can turn me away. Thats the question: can we block [Azerbaijanis?] They dont answer it because if they go into details they will get the following reaction, Wait a minute, you had told us a different thing.
11 September 2025 16:18 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

On September 11, the Baku Military Court continued the trial of citizens of Armenia accused of committing crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, and terrorism. The hearing proceeded with the announcement of a series of documents, Azernews reports.

One of the documents detailed that on March 24, 1990, two rockets were fired from the direction of Yeraskh village in Armenias Ararat region toward Sadarak. One rocket burned up in the air, while the other exploded near the yard of local resident Gasimov Ismayil Bayram oglu.

Other documents revealed that six civilians were injured during shelling in Shada village of the Shahbuz region, as well as in Qishlag and other villages of Tovuz. From 17:00 to midnight on March 27, 1990, villages in Tovuz, including Qishlag, Yukhari Hajalli, and Alibeyli, were heavily shelled from the Shamshaddin region, causing civilian casualties.

The court also announced evidence regarding the killing of Veli Zeynalov, head of the State Legal Department of the Nakhchivan Regional Committee. On March 2728, 1990, Garmachatag village in the Babek region was attacked from Armenia with weapons of various calibers, during which 10 houses were burned and Zeynalov was killed with automatic weapons.

Another document addressed the July 11, 1990, attack on a convoy of 16 cars near Gozlukorpu village in Aghdara. Gunfire from automatic weapons on the BardaIstisu road resulted in three deaths and 22 injuries.

The trial continues against the accused, who face charges including preparing and waging a war of aggression, genocide, violations of the laws of war, terrorism, financing terrorism, and other serious crimes.
11 September 2025 14:00 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

Azerbaijans recent signing of an investment agreement with Chinas Sichuan Sunsync Photovoltaic Technology Co. to build a solar panel manufacturing facility in the Alat Free Economic Zone marks a pivotal moment in the countrys energy and industrial strategy. The project, which will span 23 hectares and include three advanced production plants, is designed to produce up to 3 gigawatts of solar panels annually, along with silicon crystals and components. This is more than a manufacturing dealits a signal of Azerbaijans intent to become a regional hub for renewable energy technology and a future exporter of green power.

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11 September 2025 08:30 (UTC+04:00)

Nazrin Abdul Read more

In today's world, water is no longer just a natural resource; it has become a critical element of national security, economic development, and climate resilience. With rising global temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, increasing population demands, and growing industrial use, sustainable water management has become one of the most pressing challenges for governments across the globe. Countries are now being forced to adopt smarter strategies for protecting their water reserves, improving infrastructure, and investing in innovative technologies to ensure long-term water security. Azerbaijan, a country with limited internal water sources and vulnerable to climate change, is placing water management at the center of its national agenda.

At the opening ceremony of the 2nd International Water Management Exhibition and Conference, Baku Water Week, Zaur Mikayilov, Chairman of the Azerbaijan State Water Resources Agency, emphasized that sustainable water resource management is of strategic importance for the country. He highlighted that Azerbaijan is currently undergoing major reforms in this field, underpinned by the development and implementation of a national water strategy aimed at ensuring both water security and universal access to clean water. According to Mikayilov, the discussions, presentations, and exchanges of ideas taking place during the conference are expected to play a vital role in achieving the objectives of this strategy and in strengthening international cooperation.

The participation of senior Azerbaijani officials in the event, including the Special Presidential Representative on Climate Issues Mukhtar Babayev, First Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Rashad Ismayilov, and the Minister of Agriculture Majnun Mammadov, was a strong indication of the political importance the government places on water management. Their involvement reflects a unified, high-level commitment to tackling water issues through coordinated policy and investment.

One of the key components of Azerbaijans approach is the development of water infrastructure. Between now and 2040, the country plans to construct 26 new reservoirs, with four to be completed by 2027, nine between 2027 and 2030, and thirteen by 2040. These reservoirs will play a crucial role in increasing water storage capacity, reducing seasonal shortages, and stabilizing supply for both domestic and agricultural use.

In parallel with infrastructure development, Azerbaijan is also prioritizing flood and climate risk management. By the end of this year, work will be carried out to identify and map rivers and areas at risk of flooding. In 2026, coastal protection dams will be constructed in vulnerable regions, and additional measures will be taken by 2027 to mitigate the impact of floods and landslides. This marks a significant shift toward proactive climate adaptation, recognizing that natural disasters are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change.

Beyond traditional infrastructure, Azerbaijan is investing in innovative water supply solutions. One of the most ambitious initiatives is the use of desalinated seawater in Baku and its surrounding areas. The government plans to finalize agreements with international partners and prepare project documentation by the end of this year. A pilot project will be launched in 2026, and starting from 2027, desalinated water will become part of the drinking water supply in the capital region. This move aligns with global trends, where desalination is increasingly seen as a viable option for countries facing freshwater scarcity.

In addition to desalination, Azerbaijan is exploring advanced atmospheric technologies to harvest water from the air. By the end of this year, feasibility studies and project documentation for this initiative will be completed. A pilot project will be carried out in 2027, adding another layer of resilience to the country's water supply strategy. Although still experimental, atmospheric water generation is attracting interest worldwide as a potential solution for regions with limited surface or groundwater resources.

The need for international cooperation in water management was another key theme at Baku Water Week. Professor David Kreamer of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, speaking at the event, stressed the importance of collective regional action to combat the retreat of the Caspian Sea and the near-total drying up of Lake Urmia. He warned that the water crisis affects not only surface water but also groundwater, which is often overlooked but equally important.

Kreamer emphasized that technological innovation will play an increasingly important role in solving water-related challenges. He pointed to water reuse, wastewater treatment, and desalination as viable tools for expanding water resources. He also noted that agriculture remains the largest consumer of water globally and called for greater investment in efficient irrigation methods such as drip irrigation, despite their higher initial costs.

Agricultural water use is a major focus of Azerbaijans reform agenda. The government aims to increase irrigation water supply coverage from 66 percent by the end of 2025 to 68 percent in 2026 and eventually to 90 percent by 2027. Achieving this target will require significant improvements in irrigation systems, likely including modernization of distribution networks, digital water metering, and the promotion of water-efficient practices among farmers. Improving water use in agriculture could substantially ease pressure on the countrys limited water reserves.

Another bold initiative currently under research is the implementation of artificial rain technology. Feasibility studies and project planning are expected to be completed by the end of this year, followed by a pilot project in 2026. If successful, artificial rain could become part of Azerbaijans water management toolkit by 2027. While the technology is still in its developmental stage in many parts of the world, its potential to support drought-prone regions makes it worth exploring.

Technological innovation in water purification and treatment was also on display during the event. Michal Yirdasek, a representative of MEGA a.s., presented cutting-edge technologies capable of purifying not only drinking water but also industrial and wastewater to high international standards. These include reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, and hybrid systems. One standout innovation is Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD), a method that ensures no water is discharged into the environment after treatment. Yirdasek noted that electrodialysis offers several advantages over reverse osmosis, such as higher concentration levels, lower energy consumption, and a smaller equipment footprint.

According to Yirdasek, MEGAs container-based, turnkey water treatment solutions are designed to be mobile and scalable, offering flexibility for both urban and rural areas. As global demand grows for water treatment technologies with low chemical use and reduced carbon emissions, these solutions are likely to gain more traction.

Baku Water Week also saw the signing of several important international agreements. The Azerbaijan State Water Resources Agency signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Hungarian Water Management Directorate, opening the door for technical cooperation and knowledge exchange. Additionally, an Energy Efficiency Agreement and a Letter of Intent were signed between ADSEA and SOCAR Green, demonstrating how environmental sustainability and corporate responsibility can intersect.

In conclusion, Azerbaijan is taking meaningful steps toward water resilience by combining infrastructure investment, innovative technologies, international partnerships, and climate risk management. The countrys long-term strategy reflects a growing understanding that water is not just a commodity but a vital asset for development, environmental sustainability, and geopolitical stability. With continued political commitment, scientific input, and international cooperation, Azerbaijan could emerge as a regional leader in sustainable water managementat a time when such leadership is more critical than ever.
11 September 2025 20:16 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

The European Union has embarked on a new trajectory with the launch of its ReArm Europe programme, signalling a historic rise in military spending and industrial expansion. By 20302031, EU defence allocations are projected to reach unprecedented levels, potentially up to 2 trillion. This policy marks not only a military build-up but also a fundamental reindustrialisation of Europe, with governments seeking to involve private companies, expand defence production, and reduce reliance on both the United States and China. Certainly, the presence of Russian "Shahed" drones in Polish airspace last night has heightened concerns among European nations.

This ambitious strategy could reshape the continents security architecture, revive Europes industrial base, and alter social dynamics within member states. But it also raises important questions about stability, geopolitics, and whether Europe risks repeating historic patterns of militarisation.

To what extent will this reduce Europes dependence on the United States for security guarantees? What does this armament tell us about the future of the Ukrainian war? What does this mean for the war in Ukraine itself? How realistic is it for Europe to reduce its reliance on Chinese industrial supply chains while scaling up defence production?

Talking to Azernews, Sebastian Schaeffer, Director at the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe (IDM), sees ReArm Europe as a pivotal initiative but warns that its success hinges on genuine coordination. ReArm Europe is a serious step towards turning the often-abstract idea of strategic autonomy into reality. By combining procurement, industrial planning, and financing, the programme has the potential to make Europe less dependent on external suppliers and more capable of acting on its own. But success will depend on real coordination across member states  otherwise, large sums could still be spent in fragmented national silos rather than creating genuine European capacity.

One key debate is whether this programme will reduce Europes reliance on the United States for security guarantees. Schaeffer notes that while progress can be made, Washingtons role remains indispensable. ReArm can certainly reduce dependence in some areas, particularly when it comes to ammunition, platforms, and supply chains. It strengthens Europes ability to contribute more to its own defence. However, NATOs command structures, intelligence sharing, and nuclear deterrence still tie Europe closely to the US. So, while this programme narrows dependencies and increases Europes leverage, it cannot replace the full spectrum of US security guarantees overnight.

On Ukraine, Schaeffer stresses that Europe is preparing for a long-term struggle rather than betting on a swift peace. The scale of rearmament shows that European governments are preparing for a long-term challenge rather than banking on a quick settlement. There is strong reluctance to accept a ceasefire that would leave Russia with territorial gains, as that would effectively reward aggression. At the same time, positions within Europe vary  some argue for exploring pauses in fighting tied to credible guarantees, while others warn this would only allow Moscow to regroup.

His assessment carries a warning for policymakers: Without a just peace, there will be just peace. Meaning that if we do not find a permanent solution based on justice, the hostilities will flare up again. A ceasefire will maybe end the war temporarily, but there will almost certainly be another war coming in 510 years. This is something that we need to prepare for. He adds that Russia shares this long-term perspective, though for different reasons, fearing Ukraine could use any pause to rearm and reclaim occupied territories.

A final challenge lies in reducing Europes dependence on China, particularly for industrial supply chains. Schaeffer sees progress but emphasizes the long road ahead. It is possible, but it will take time and come at a cost. Europe has already launched initiatives to mine, process, and recycle more critical raw materials at home, and diversification is underway. But China still dominates many mid-stream inputs, so full independence is not realistic in the short term. What we can expect is gradual de-risking  more stockpiles, more partnerships with trusted suppliers, and more investment in European capacity  rather than an instant break from China.

He also points to political leadership as essential for sustaining this shift. Referring to Commission President Ursula von der Leyens State of the Union speech, he highlights her message that Europe is under attack and must invest now in its security. Even if it comes at a cost now, the cost of being unprepared is disproportionately higher, Schaeffer concludes.

ReArm Europe is therefore both a promise and a test. It offers the chance to strengthen Europes autonomy and resilience, but without unity, foresight, and credible security guarantees, it risks repeating past cycles of militarisation. As Schaeffer reminds us, peace in Ukraine and Europes long-term security depend not only on weapons, but on ensuring justice and avoiding a future in which todays ceasefire becomes tomorrows war.
11 September 2025 12:23 (UTC+04:00)

Nazrin Abdul Read more

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has published its Semiannual Environmental Monitoring Report for JanuaryJune 2025, highlighting significant progress in the implementation of a major railway infrastructure project in Azerbaijan, Azernews reports.

According to the report, construction work on the rehabilitation of the SumgayitYalama (Russian border) railway line has advanced considerably. The project, aimed at modernizing Azerbaijans railway sector, is a key part of enhancing the countrys transport infrastructure under the NorthSouth Transport Corridor.

The project is progressing on schedule. The contractor has submitted updated work schedules for both construction lots. Work under Lot 1 is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2025, while Lot 2 is projected to be finalized by the end of the year.

The main objectives of the project include improving railway services in Azerbaijan, strengthening the competitiveness and financial sustainability of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC, enhancing operational and economic efficiency, and increasing the throughput capacity of the NorthSouth corridor, particularly along the YalamaSumgayit section.

The project is divided into two construction lots:

Lot 1 covers the section from Sumgayit Station (km 2622+175) to Gilgilchay Station (km 2538+200), featuring a double-track electrified railway segment.

Lot 2 spans from Gilgilchay Station to Yalama Station (km 2454+454) at the border with Russia.

In addition to construction work, the project also includes a design component. While the design phase is reportedly 100% complete in principle, a few minor technical refinements and stakeholder approvals are still pending.

These adjustments mainly concern the integration of new or upgraded track switches with the existing infrastructure, as well as the connection of drainage systems at stations. However, these changes are not expected to affect the overall implementation timeline.
11 September 2025 13:06 (UTC+04:00)

Nazrin Abdul Read more

Azerbaijan currently has approximately 1.4 million hectares of irrigated land, but only about 11% of this area is equipped with modern irrigation systems, up from just 4% in 2023, Agriculture Minister Majnun Mammadov announced at the opening ceremony of the second day of Baku Water Week in Baku.

Azernews reports that Minister Mammadov emphasized the urgency of improving water management in Azerbaijan, noting that over 70% of the countrys water resources originate outside its borders. Citing a report by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), he highlighted that Azerbaijan ranks 18th among 33 countries projected to suffer from severe drought by 2040.

In light of these conditions, we are working to shape our policies carefully, Mammadov said. We are also identifying what changes can be made today to avoid serious water shortages in the next 5 to 10 years and beyond.

Despite the increase in modern irrigation coverage, the minister acknowledged that the current level remains insufficient. We must intensify incentives and engage farmers more actively in adopting modern irrigation. The government already provides substantial subsidy support to farmers in this regard, he said.

Over the past six years, Azerbaijan has expanded modern irrigation systems to cover more than 40,000 hectares. In just the first six months of this year, the Agrarian Credit and Development Agency financed the introduction of modern irrigation to over 2,000 hectares.

Mammadov stressed that the primary government support mechanism for farmers involves subsidizing and financing modern irrigation technologies, agricultural machinery, and equipment. I can confidently say that there is virtually no alternative to this support system globally, he added.
11 September 2025 13:38 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

A meeting on trade and investment opportunities between Azerbaijan and Pakistan was held at the Export and Investment Promotion Agency (AZPROMO) with a delegation from the Azerbaijan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Azernews reports.

During the meeting, AZPROMO Deputy Executive Director Tural Hajili briefed the delegation on the agencys activities, as well as Azerbaijans business and investment environment and potential. The parties exchanged views on expanding export and investment opportunities and explored cooperation prospects in sectors including cosmetics, food products, textiles, construction materials, and agriculture.

Following the discussion, B2B meetings were held between the Chambers delegation and Azerbaijani entrepreneurs to strengthen commercial ties and explore concrete partnership opportunities.
11 September 2025 18:10 (UTC+04:00)

From August 31 to September 5, 2025, the 49th International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) World Finals was held in Baku. Acting as the official telecommunications partner of the event, Azercell contributed to the successful organization of the competition.

The World Finals brought together 140 university teams from over 70 countries. Each team competed over a five-hour challenge to solve complex algorithmic problems, demonstrating their programming and teamwork skills.

Throughout the competition, Azercell provided seamless and reliable connectivity for the ICPC Foundations organizing team, contributing to the establishment of a resilient and sustainable telecommunications infrastructure. At the exhibition hosted at the Baku Congress Center, participants and guests also had a chance to explore the mobile operators latest cutting-edge digital solutions.

The event was organized by the ICPC Foundation and hosted by ADA University, in partnership with the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in collaboration with the Innovation and Digital Development Agency and the ICPC Azerbaijan community, and with the support of PASHA Holding.

Azercell continues to contribute to the development of the IT and programming ecosystem in Azerbaijan by supporting the development of young peoples skills and their professional growth. Since 2017, in partnership with the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Institute of Education, the company has been supporting the preparation of students for international Olympiads. Over this period, young talents from Baku and the regions have achieved remarkable success in programming competitions, earning more than 100 medals.
11 September 2025 16:39 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

Azerbaijan and Germany held comprehensive discussions on current trends in the shipping sector, focusing on digitalization, innovative solutions, and "green technologies," while assessing prospects for future cooperation, Azernews reports.

According to Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ASCO), the meeting involved ASCO representatives, Niko Hans Sibert, managing director and lawyer of the German company Unitron, and a delegation from the German-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce.

During the discussions, the delegation received detailed information about ASCOs fleet, activities, and development plans, and their questions were addressed by the Azerbaijani side.
11 September 2025 16:43 (UTC+04:00)

Nazrin Abdul Read more

A meeting was held between Baba Rzayev, Chairman of AzerEnergy OJSC, and a delegation led by Mohamed Al Muharrami, Head of Projects at Masdar, the UAE-based renewable energy company.

Azernews reports, according to AzerEnergy, discussions during the meeting focused on large-scale renewable energy initiatives, including solar and wind power plants with a total planned capacity of 1,000 MW. The projects under review are located in Banka, Bilasuvar, and Garadagh regions.

The two sides also exchanged views on the current state of cooperation and explored prospects for expanding their partnership in Azerbaijans growing green energy sector.

It should be noted that with the participation of the United Arab Emirates renewable energy company Masdar, the foundations of three major power plants have been laid in Azerbaijan: Neftchala and Bilasuvar Solar Power Stations, and the Absheron-Garadagh Wind Power Station. The combined installed capacity of these projects will total 1,000 MW.

Bilasuvar Solar Power Station, with a capacity of 445 MW, is currently under construction and expected to be operational by 2026. Neftchala Solar Power Station has a planned capacity of 315 MW and is also under construction. The Absheron-Garadagh Wind Power Station, with a capacity of 240 MW, is in the development phase.

These projects mark a significant step in Azerbaijans transition toward renewable energy, with Masdar playing a key role in their development.
11 September 2025 16:00 (UTC+04:00)

Laman Ismayilova Read more

Since that defining moment when Stjepan Hauser (HAUSER) decided to fuse classical, pop, and rock music into a fresh, groundbreaking musical experience, he has been captivating audiences worldwide with his arena performances.

His viral rendition of Michael Jackson's 'Smooth Criminal' not only catapulted him to fame but also marked his rise as a founding member of 2Cellos.

His musical mastery has earned him numerous accolades, including 21 first-place awards in prestigious competitions.

In addition to his extensive collaborations, HAUSER's YouTube series 'Alone Together', which captured the beauty of his home country of Croatia during the pandemic, introduced his first solo album, 'HAUSER - CLASSIC', which topped the Billboard charts.

He's also made memorable appearances on popular television programs and even performed for world leaders, including Pope Francis, American Presidents, and Queen Elizabeth II.

With over four billion views and a billion audio streams worldwide, HAUSER has built a massive global fan base. His ability to bridge generations through music has solidified him as a musical iconpart virtuoso, part rock star, and undeniably magnetic. And, as he continues to take the world by storm, this is just the beginning for HAUSER.

Currently, the virtuoso cellist is working on a large-scale musical project titled 'Music Unites the World,' within which he performs the most recognizable and beloved melodies from various countries on the cello.

As part of this unique musical project, HAUSER also performed the composition 'Sn glmz oldun,' written by Azerbaijani composer Alakbar Taghiyev.

His emotional performance on social media resonated with listeners from around the world.

In an interview with AZERNEWS, Stjepan Hauser (HAUSER) opened up about his global musical project 'Music Unites the World,' highlighting how the initiative aims to bring people together through the universal power of music.

Q: What sparked your decision to start the 'Music Unites the World' journey, and why did you choose to include Azerbaijan in this unique musical journey?

A: Music has always had the incredible power to bring people together across different cultures and backgrounds. With 'Music Unites the World,' I wanted to explore this unifying force on a global scale. Azerbaijan has a rich cultural and musical heritage that intrigued me. Including it in the journey was an opportunity to celebrate and share the beautiful diversity of Azerbaijani music with the world.

Q: Your performance of the Azerbaijani song 'Sn glmz oldun' has received such a positive response. What was your first impression of Azerbaijani music? Do you think it would be a unique experience for you to perform in Azerbaijan?

A: Azerbaijani music has a profound depth and richness that immediately captivated me. The melodies and rhythms resonate with a unique emotional intensity. Performing 'Sn glmz oldun' was a beautiful experience, and I would be thrilled to perform in Azerbaijan, as it would allow me to connect with the audience in a deeply personal and cultural exchange.

Q: What was the moment or experience that made you fall in love with music?

A: I fell in love with music at a very young age when I first heard the cello. Its soulful, human-like voice spoke to me like nothing else. Playing the cello felt like an extension of myself, and it was during one of those early practice sessions that I realised music would be my lifelong passion and calling.

Q: Is there a performance that still gives you chills when you think about it? Are there particular pieces or melodies that still move you deeply, even after playing them many times?

A: Certain pieces, like 'Caruso' and 'Adagio,' never cease to touch my heart and soul profoundly, no matter how often I play them. Their emotional depth and timeless beauty have a way of making each performance feel like the first, reminding me of the power of music to evoke the deepest emotions.

Q: Since 2Cellos completed their farewell tour in 2022, what do you think made their music so unique and captivating to such a wide audience?

A: 2Cellos were able to blend classical music with contemporary hits in a way that broke barriers and reached people's hearts. Our energetic performances and the innovative way we interpreted well-known songs resonated with a wide audience, making the cello accessible and exciting for people of all ages and musical tastes.

Q: Do you have any upcoming compositions or arrangements you're especially excited about sharing with your audience?

A: I'm always inspired to create and share new music. I'm currently working on some exciting collaborations that blend different genres, and I cant wait for my fans to hear them. I believe these pieces will bring something fresh and meaningful to our musical journey together. And of course, my new album 'Cinema' just came out. I am very excited to have the opportunity to share beautiful film compositions with my audience. It is about carefully chosen film themes that I have always wanted to play in my own way.

Q: If you had the chance to say something to your fans that they could carry with them for the rest of their lives, what would it be?

A: Follow your passion with heart and soul. Music is a universal language that can heal, inspire, and unite us all. Never underestimate the power of a single melody to bring joy and connection. Cherish those moments, and let music be your guide through life's journey.
11 September 2025 12:57 (UTC+04:00)

Laman Ismayilova Read more

A key highlight of the Nasimi Festival, organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Azerbaijan Culture Ministry will be the "Timeless and Space-less" exhibition, Azernews reports.

This version is concise and emphasizes the exhibition as a standout feature of the festival.

The opening of the exhibition will coincide with the first day of the festival, on September 23. The exhibition will be held at the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum and will showcase the poetry and philosophy of Nasimi, as well as Sufi traditions and perspectives, through a harmonious blend of various art forms. For this purpose, rare works of art from leading museums in Azerbaijan and Turkiye have been selected for display.

Visitors will have the opportunity to explore unique pieces of art from the collections of the National Museum of History of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum, as well as artifacts brought from the Ethnography Museum in Ankara, the Istanbul Tombs Museum, and the Mevlana Museum in Konya.

The exhibition will feature paintings from the 17th-20th centuries, examples of clothing, carpets, musical instruments, manuscripts, and other valuable exhibits.

Each of these art pieces will reflect traces of the Sufi worldview, explaining the infinite love that forms the basis of Sufism and Hurufism, the human quest for spiritual proximity to God through worship, and the process of spiritual ascent.

The exhibition "Timeless and Space-less" will be open until October 23.
11 September 2025 12:36 (UTC+04:00)

by Mazahir Afandiyev

In its relatively short modern history spanning nearly 35 years, the independent Republic of Azerbaijan has achieved many significant milestones. In particular, the order given by the Commander-in-Chief, Great Leader Ilham Aliyev, to the Azerbaijani Army in 2020 marked an unprecedented moment in world military history. Within 44 days, without harming any civilians, the Azerbaijani Army achieved a great victory by liberating territories that had been under occupation for 30 years, utilizing advanced military technologies.

This event marked the first major victory in the history of the Azerbaijani people and statehood. It holds great importance for the eternal survival of Azerbaijan as an independent and sovereign state and for the protection of its rights.

To legally formalize this victory and ensure lasting peace in the global political architecture, President Ilham Aliyev has taken successful diplomatic steps, just as he did in the military field. The head of state continues his determined efforts on various international platforms, including bilateral and multilateral meetings, considering the interests of power centers, to establish permanent peace in the South Caucasus.

Following the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, a new seven-point declaration was signed on August 8, 2025, in Washington, D.C., with the participation of U.S. President Donald Trump and the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia. This declaration was a historic diplomatic event reflecting Azerbaijans full restoration of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

It is no coincidence that this strategic document and its implications for the future of the region have been highly appreciated by Azerbaijani society, political circles, and our wise nation. The National Assembly of the Republic of Azerbaijan, as an institution that responds to socio-political developments and adopts decisions in line with current challenges, held a special session on September 9, 2025, under the theme: "Washington Agreements: Triumph of Peace Diplomacy and Wise Leadership."

To date, the Azerbaijani Parliament has held many important sessions to provide legal foundations and legitimization for the countrys successes, expressing its support for the state through decisions reflecting key ideas of the political configuration. At the same time, the victories in Azerbaijans history have received proper political and legal recognition.

In general, according to Article 81 of the Constitution, the National Assembly, as the legislative body, has been actively involved in the socio-political processes in Azerbaijan for 30 years and has made practical contributions to completing the countrys political architecture.

The laws adopted by Parliament and approved by the President of Azerbaijan directly promote political stability among the population, encourage political dialogue, strengthen national unity, and uphold the countrys independence.

In addition to legislative work, Parliament also plays a vital role in ensuring transparency and accountability in state governance. It also represents Azerbaijans interests on international cooperation platforms. Various parliamentary committees conduct extensive discussions on domestic and foreign policies, contributing to the state's strategic course.

The latest appeal by Members of Parliament to the Speaker of the National Assembly focused specifically on discussing the recent meetings between the President of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia held in Washington. It aimed to form Parliaments position within the framework of Azerbaijans multi-vector foreign policy.

During the discussions, it was emphasized that the agreements reached during President Ilham Aliyevs historic visit to the United States are a clear continuation of National Leader Heydar Aliyevs policy based on national interests. It was also noted as particularly symbolic that these agreements coincided with the "Year of the Constitution and Sovereignty." All MPs unanimously expressed support for the Presidents consistent and successful foreign policy, declaring their full readiness to support the implementation of the signed documents, firmly united around the head of state.

These parliamentary discussions once again demonstrate that Parliament, through its participation in international relations and platforms, as well as through institutions and organizations it engages with, pays special attention to promoting and implementing peace agreements signed with the participation and consent of major powers. It also draws international attention to the importance of preventing the distortion of Azerbaijani history.

This session reflected the importance the countrys highest legislative body places on major regional developments, its support for the Presidents peace agenda, and the Parliaments active role in international relations.

Such initiatives also indicate the development of Azerbaijani parliamentarism and its independent stance in service of national interests. The extraordinary session, convened based on an appeal to the Speaker of Parliament, once again showed that the National Assembly, by responding promptly to key areas of state policy, contributes both to national unity and to strengthening Azerbaijans international reputation.

We can confidently say that the National Assembly, which shapes the political configuration of reforms aimed at ensuring the countrys sustainable development, will continue to contribute to maintaining a healthy political environment, national dialogue, and the ideology of Azerbaijani identity.

Mazahir Afandiyev is a member of the Azerbaijani Parliament.
11 September 2025 10:00 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

Following the directive of President Ilham Aliyev, the Great Return to territories liberated from occupation is actively underway, as Azerbaijani families begin returning to their ancestral homes in Garabagh and Eastern Zangezur.

Azernews reports that families from various regions of Azerbaijan, who had been temporarily accommodated in dormitories, sanatoriums, and administrative buildings, are now moving to their native lands. In the first phase, 15 families comprising 59 people resettled in Shushakend village of Khojaly district, while 10 families totaling 39 people moved to Qirmizibazar settlement in Khojavend district. Additionally, 10 families, 45 people in total, have relocated to Sos village in Khojavend.

Returning residents expressed heartfelt gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva for the comprehensive state support provided during this transition. They also conveyed their appreciation to the heroic Azerbaijani Army, including soldiers and officers who liberated the lands, and remembered the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the country.

For many, the return is the fulfillment of decades-long dreams. Quliyev Ilyas, a resident of Qirmizibazar, shared with local media that he left his homeland forcibly at the age of 22 and has now returned at 55. I have always wished to live in my homeland. Today, I am finally able to return with my family. I hope all former internally displaced persons can also live in their native lands. I sincerely thank our President for making this possible, he said.

Similarly, Nazanin Huseynova, a resident of Khojavend, expressed her joy at returning. We have longed to live in our homeland. Today, we are finally back. May God bless our President. We are grateful to him. May God rest the souls of our martyrs and grant health to our veterans. I hope all former displaced families can return to their native villages, she stated.

It is worth noting that currently, over 43,000 people reside in Garabagh and Eastern Zangazur, including returning displaced families, individuals working on local development projects, and staff serving in state institutions, as well as in reopened healthcare, education, cultural, tourism, industrial, and energy facilities. The resettlement initiative marks a significant step in rebuilding the region and restoring life to its communities.
11 September 2025 10:42 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

A delegation led by Kudrat Nurullayev, Head of the Secretariat of the Senate of Uzbekistan, and Farid Hajiyev, Head of the Secretariat of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, has reached an agreement to expand inter-parliamentary cooperation, Azernews reports.

During the meeting, officials highlighted that UzbekistanAzerbaijan relations are rooted in strong historical ties and shared cultural and spiritual values. They noted that thanks to the political will of the two countries heads of state, inter-parliamentary collaboration has reached a new level.

The parties emphasized the importance of holding the first UzbekistanAzerbaijan inter-parliamentary forum in Khiva and signing a roadmap for parliamentary cooperation for 20252026.

Discussions focused on enhancing cooperation between the parliamentary secretariats of both countries. Areas explored included legislative experience exchange, parliamentary expertise, use of international rankings, and the implementation of digital solutions.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the sides agreed to further develop inter-parliamentary relations and establish a permanent constructive dialogue and practical cooperation between the parliamentary secretariats of Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.
11 September 2025 14:43 (UTC+04:00)

Baku Network (BN), one of Azerbaijans leading analytical platforms, has taken another step in strengthening international cooperation by signing memorandums of understanding on strategic partnership with two influential institutions, the Pakistan Research Center for a Community with Shared Future (PRCCSF) and the transnational organization Biedriba Astraea, which operates in Latvia and the United States, Azernews reports.

The agreements mark a new stage in Azerbaijans expert diplomacy, reinforcing bridges between academic and analytical communities in Eurasia and the Baltic region. According to BN, the memorandums go beyond information exchange and aim to establish a sustainable multilateral platform for joint research, strategic forecasting, and deeper analytical cooperation in response to evolving global realities.

The PRCCSF, established in partnership with China Communication University in Beijing, is one of Pakistans oldest and most prestigious research centers. Its mission centers on promoting the concept of a community with a shared future through scientific research, publications, and international forums. The center is particularly active in projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), with a special focus on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). In 2023, PRCCSFs global recognition grew further after being ranked first among 17 think tanks across 155 BRI-participating countries.

Biedriba Astraea, meanwhile, operates at the intersection of analytics, media, and civil society. Based in Latvia and the United States, it is engaged in journalistic research, ensuring objectivity of information, monitoring socio-political processes, and implementing initiatives that promote transparency and strengthen democratic institutions.

With these two new partnerships, Baku Network positions itself as an analytical hub bridging East and West. While engaging with China, Pakistan, and BRICS countries, BN simultaneously deepens ties with the European Union and the United States. This step expands BNs analytical reach and underscores Azerbaijans commitment to multilateral diplomacy and its role as a constructive mediator in global dialogue.
11 September 2025 16:06 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

On September 11, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met with State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Damjan Jovic to discuss the development of bilateral cooperation and regional security issues, Azernews reports.

According to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, the meeting focused on various aspects of the Azerbaijan-Serbia strategic partnership. Both sides underlined the importance of contacts between the two countries leaders in strengthening ties, as well as the continued support for each others sovereignty and territorial integrity, which remain the foundation of their relations.

The two officials recalled with satisfaction Minister Bayramovs participation and speech at the Meeting of Ambassadors of Serbia last year. Discussions also covered cooperation in energy, defense, education, humanitarian fields, and other areas of mutual interest. Special emphasis was placed on the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the diplomatic academies of Azerbaijan and Serbia.

The sides also exchanged views on cooperation within regional and international organizations.

On the same day, political consultations between the two foreign ministries were held. The Azerbaijani side was represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Fariz Rzayev, while State Secretary Damjan Jovic led the Serbian delegation.
11 September 2025 21:22 (UTC+04:00)

By News Centre

Turkiyes homegrown electric car initiative, TOGG, has announced that its latest model, the T10F, will open for pre-orders in Turkiye on September 15 and in Germany on September 29. The announcement was made during the press day of IAA Mobility 2025, one of the worlds leading automotive fairs, which officially opens to visitors in Munich tomorrow.

Bringing together car manufacturers, technology companies, startups, and pioneers in sustainable mobility, the fair hosted major global automotive brands, with TOGG prominently featured. During the press day, TOGG presented its innovative product lineup and mobility ecosystem to domestic and international journalists. Positioned as more than a car, TOGG has now achieved another key milestone in its global vision.

Making its European debut at IAA Mobility 2025, TOGG announced its entry into the German market with its fully electric T10X and T10F models. Both models achieved the highest rating of five stars in all tests conducted by the independent Euro NCAP program, which evaluates vehicle safety in the European market.

TOGG Chairman Fuat Tosyal described the European launch as a historic turning point for the company, which has already proven its success in Turkiye. Reflecting on TOGGs production journey, Tosyal said:

"For the first time in history, producing a car entirely owned in intellectual property by Turkiye was itself a major challenge in our industrial historyand we succeeded. Despite difficulties, we remained solution-focused and worked tirelessly for seven years according to our plans. Now, building on the domestic success we achieved, we are taking our goals to the global stage. Starting September 29, both our T10X and T10F models will be available for pre-orders in Germany."

Tosyal added that TOGG plans to expand gradually from Germany to other European countries, aiming to grow its mobility ecosystem across the continent. He emphasized:

"As a brand that redefines mobility every day, we will continue developing future technologies with the same determination. Together with Turkiyes emerging electric vehicle ecosystem, we aim to become one of Europes most preferred brands."

TOGG CEO M. Gurcan Karakas expressed pride in achieving short, medium, and long-term objectives on their journey to create more than a car. Highlighting TOGGs global ambitions, he said:

"As a company closely monitoring global and sectoral developments, we established Togg Europe GmbH in Stuttgart in May 2021. Since then, we have focused on mobility solutions tailored to European users needs and expectations. Germany emerged as the most suitable market due to its extensive electric vehicle infrastructure and incentives. We are excited to introduce the T10X and T10F to European users and believe our smart mobility devices and digital experience platform, Trumore, will create strong value in Europe."

Karakas emphasized that both T10X and T10F achieved the highest five-star rating in Euro NCAP safety tests, underscoring TOGGs commitment to top-tier safety standards from the outset. He added:

"Our goal from the beginning was to enter the market offering the highest level of safety to both Turkish and European users. Looking ahead, we plan to expand the Togg lineup with new models across different segments."

The press event was attended by Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Zekeriya Costu, Turkcell CEO Ali Taha Koc, Zorlu Holding Chairman Ahmet Nazif Zorlu, TOGG Board Member Kamil Yazc, and brand ambassador Kenan Imirzaloglu.

TOGG will simultaneously introduce its second fully electric vehicle, the T10F, to users in Turkiye and Europe. Pre-orders in Turkiye begin on September 15, and in Germany on September 29. Customers can place their orders via the Trumore mobile application, available on App Store, Google Play, and AppGallery. Prices for both countries will be announced on the day pre-orders open.

At IAA Mobility 2025, running from September 914, TOGG showcases its innovative products and mobility ecosystem to international visitors at Hall A2, Stand C40, while also presenting user-focused solutions in the open space at Konigsplatz KP 190. Visitors can book test drives of the T10X and T10F at Konigsplatz TD 110.

The T10F will be available in four technical versions and three equipment levelsV1E, V1, and V2offering Rear-Wheel Drive (RWD) Standard Range, RWD Long Range, and Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive (AWD) options. RWD models produce 160 kW/218 hp with 350 Nm torque, offering ranges between 350 km and 623 km. The AWD dual-motor version produces 700 Nm of torque, delivering a 523 km WLTP range with an 88.5 kWh battery.

The T10F features over-the-air (OTA) updates, seven airbags, and a robust chassis for safe driving in all conditions. Advanced driver assistance includes adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go functionality, intelligent lane-keeping, lane departure warning, 360 cameras, blind-spot assist, driver attention monitoring, advanced electronic stability control, and optional automatic parking. Rapid charging can raise the battery from 20% to 80% in under 30 minutes.

New exterior colors, "Urla" and "Mardin," are inspired by Turkiyes natural beauty. Urla green reflects the serene charm of the Aegean, while Mardin blue draws inspiration from the regions traditional almond sugar heritage.

T10F connects to TOGGs digital platform Trumore, integrating fintech, insurtech, blockchain, IoT, and AI for a personalized, intelligent, and user-focused experience.

The T10F design combines fluid, dynamic, and elegant lines, reflecting the Duality concept. Tulip motifs are integrated into the fastback silhouette, and coupe rooflines and recessed handles improve aerodynamics. The front features tulip-inspired chrome accents and sharp hood lines, while the rear incorporates horizontal tail lights and a subtle spoiler. Interior highlights include a panoramic sunroof, redesigned steering wheel, full-width display, soft-touch surfaces, and sophisticated stitching, creating a bright and comfortable third living space.

Aerodynamic efficiency is enhanced by a lower front profile, closed grille with horizontal tulip motifs, and embedded handles, extending the range to 623 km. The cabin balances aesthetics and functionality while modernizing the tulip motif from Turkish culture.
11 September 2025 23:21 (UTC+04:00)

The final chapter of Albayrak Groups 11-year cultural journey, the Adil-i Mutlak Calligraphy Exhibition, has opened in Kayseri, bringing together art enthusiasts as part of the Turkiye Culture Road Festival. The exhibition showcases the works of 13 master calligraphers, whose pieces explore the theme of justice with aesthetic sophistication and spiritual depth. Following high interest in Istanbul, the exhibition has traveled across Anatolia, offering visitors the chance to experience classical calligraphy from a contemporary perspective. The exhibition will be open for free at the Seljuk Civilization Museum from September 5 to September 16.

Supported by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and sponsored by Ziraat Katlm, the exhibition was inaugurated on September 5 at the Seljuk Civilization Museum and will continue to welcome visitors until September 16.

The opening ceremony was attended by prominent figures including Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, AK Party Deputy Chairman Mustafa Elitas, Kayseri AK Party MPs Ayse Bohurler and Murat Cahit Cng, Kayseri AK Party Provincial Chair Huseyin Olan, Mayor of Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality Memduh Buyukklc, Kayseri University Rector Prof. Dr. Kurtulus Karamustafa, Director of Living Heritage and Cultural Events Selim Terzi, Albayrak Media General Manager Abdullah Hanonu, and Ziraat Katlm Corporate Communications Director Nuri Ozlu.

Speakers at the opening highlighted the role of art in shaping societal values and emphasized that the exhibition provides an inspiring experience for anyone interested in calligraphy.

The exhibition features 13 original works by living masters of calligraphy, each interpreting verses from the Quran on the theme of justice. Each piece, crafted in a unique style and technique, is more than textit is a form of artistic expression imbued with aesthetics, patience, and spirituality. Visitors can explore the rhythm of letters, balance of lines, and symbolic composition, gaining insight into the profound meaning of divine justice.

The Adil-i Mutlak Exhibition first opened at Tophane-i Amire in Istanbul, where it attracted 91,265 visitors in just two months, reflecting its popularity. Following Istanbul, the exhibition traveled to Sanlurfa, Van, Bursa, and Trabzon, reaching thousands more in each city. By blending classical calligraphy with modern touches, the works offer visitors a rich cultural experience connecting the past and present.

The exhibition in Kayseri is open daily from 07:00 to 22:00, free of charge, at the Seljuk Civilization Museum from September 5 to September 16.
11 September 2025 08:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Alimat Aliyeva

For the first time, a vaccine has been approved to protect Australian koalas from chlamydia, a deadly disease that has devastated populations of this beloved endangered marsupial species, Azernews reports.

The single-use vaccine is now ready to be administered nationwidein wildlife hospitals, clinics, and directly in the field.

Chlamydia, a sexually transmitted infection also found in humans, is responsible for up to half of all wild koala deaths. It can cause infertility and blindness, Reuters reports.

Some koala populations are teetering on the brink of local extinction every day, said Professor Peter Timms, a microbiologist at the University of the Sunshine Coast, on Wednesday. He added that in some groups in southeastern Queensland and New South Wales, infection rates often reach 50%, and sometimes as high as 70%.

The vaccine, developed by Timms and his team after more than a decade of research, reduces the likelihood of koalas developing chlamydia symptoms during the breeding season and lowers mortality among wild koalas by at least 65%.

The Australian government has allocated $50 million towards koala conservation efforts.

In 2022, koalas were officially listed as an endangered species in Queensland, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory. The National Koala Monitoring Program estimates that between 95,000 and 238,000 koalas remain in these regions.

It is estimated that an additional 129,000 to 286,000 koalas live in Victoria and South Australia.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, koala populations have halved over the past two decades due to infectious diseases, habitat loss, climate change, and wildfires.

Koalas have unique fingerprints that are so similar to humans that even experts sometimes struggle to tell them apart!
11 September 2025 09:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Alimat Aliyeva

The Norwegian government has initiated efforts to update its action plan aimed at reducing the countrys persistently high suicide rates, the Ministry of Health and Care Services announced on Wednesday, Azernews reports.

We need to strengthen and focus our efforts to bring down the high suicide rates. Behind every suicide, there is a person, a life story, a family, and a community. We take this very seriously, said Health Minister Jan Christian Vestre.

Suicide remains a critical public health issue in Norway, particularly among men. According to data from the University of Oslo, in 2023 Norway recorded 693 suicides495 men and 198 womenthe highest number since 1970. This translates to a national suicide rate of 14.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, with rates of 20.1 per 100,000 men and 8.1 per 100,000 women.

The government emphasized that effective suicide prevention requires coordinated efforts both within and beyond the health and care sectors. A key focus of the updated plan will be the link between financial difficulties and suicide risk, a factor that previous strategies have not adequately addressed.

The new plan will also incorporate a stronger gender and diversity perspective. While men account for over 70% of suicide deaths in Norway, women represent the majority of suicide attempts.

Norways zero vision goalaiming to eliminate all suicidesis also under review. Supporters see it as an essential value-driven principle, while critics argue it may be unrealistic and could place excessive pressure on healthcare providers.

The Ministry plans to hold a consultation meeting later this autumn to gather input from stakeholders and experts. The current action plan will remain in place until a more focused strategy is unveiled next year.

Studies have shown that access to nature and outdoor activities can significantly reduce suicide risk by improving mental well-beinga factor that Norways unique natural landscape could help leverage in its prevention efforts.
11 September 2025 14:31 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will soon visit Russia and plans to meet with President Vladimir Putin, Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan told reporters, Azernews reports via the Armenian media.

I dont think the head of state would travel to Moscow if such a meeting were not planned. A visit by the head of state, whether official or working, cannot take place without such a meeting, Simonyan said, Azernews reports citing Armenian media.

Addressing questions about Russias military presence in Armenia, Simonyan clarified that Yerevan is not considering removing the Russian base stationed in the country. At the moment, we are not discussing this issue; there have been no such talks, he stated.

Turning to domestic politics, Simonyan sharply criticized the parliamentary opposition, describing it as a political corpse, a political bankrupt, and without a political agenda. He added that some opposition figures were seeking alliances with other political forces to secure seats in the next parliament. At the same time, he acknowledged the existence of an extra-parliamentary opposition and expressed hope that established leaders would enter parliament after elections, leading to what he called a real opposition.

The speaker also touched upon ArmeniaAzerbaijan relations, emphasizing that normalization and economic integration were inevitable:

Most Armenians do not want to see the face of an Azerbaijani border guard, and this is bad, because we are neighbors. Over time, this will also disappear.

The same Armenians and Azerbaijanis are doing business together in Moscow, making friends, going to each others birthdays.

There is sensitivity on both sides, but the most priority and important issue is to open communications as soon as possible.

Just five minutes after the peace agreement, citizens of Armenia and Azerbaijan will start trading, communicating in various forms. This is inevitable.

Armenians and Azerbaijanis will trade with each other, we will have a single Armenian-Azerbaijani commodity market. There will be Azerbaijani products in our stores, and Armenian products in Baku and other cities. This is inevitable.
China releases details of Huangyan Dao national nature reserve

Xinhua) 11:24, September 11, 2025

BEIJING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration has released the details of the Huangyan Dao national nature reserve according to the country's regulations on nature reserves.

The Huangyan Dao national nature reserve is located in China's southernmost island city of Sansha, Hainan Province, covering an area of 3,523.67 hectares. This reserve includes a core zone of 1,242.55 hectares and an experimental zone of 2,281.12 hectares.

Its primary conservation focus is the coral reef ecosystem, according to a statement of the administration.

The official website of China's central government (www.gov.cn) on Wednesday posted the State Council's approval of the Ministry of Natural Resources' request for the establishment of the Huangyan Dao national nature reserve, agreeing to the establishment of the nature reserve.

The establishment of the nature reserve is an important guarantee for maintaining the diversity, stability and sustainability of Huangyan Dao's ecosystem, as stated in the State Council's approval document.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Liang Jun)
11 September 2025 20:43 (UTC+04:00)

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The Mexican government has proposed an 8% tax on video games that contain violent content, aiming to combat the growing public health concerns associated with excessive gaming. The revenue from this measure is expected to reach $9.8 million as early as 2026, and would be directed toward funding the treatment of mental health disorders linked to problematic gaming behavior, Azernews reports.

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11 September 2025 22:50 (UTC+04:00)

By Alimat Aliyeva

Samsung SDS Co., the information technology (IT) solutions subsidiary of Samsung Group, announced Thursday its goal to become a comprehensive provider of full-stack artificial intelligence (AI) services, helping clients navigate the ongoing AI transformation era, Azernews reports, citing Yonhap agency.

"AI transformation is not merely about adopting new technology; its a long journey of fundamental change within an organization. Thats why having a trustworthy IT partner is crucial," said Lee June-hee, CEO of Samsung SDS, during his keynote speech at the REAL Summit 2025, hosted by the company.

Lee praised Samsung SDS as the "best partner" for delivering full-stack AI services that foster corporate innovation. He emphasized that the companys offerings cover all essential components for implementing and operating AI technologies seamlessly.

Among its key solutions are the generative AI platform FabriX and business tools such as Brity Copilot and Brity Automation. These feature advanced agentic capabilities, enabling AI to act autonomouslyresponding to changing conditions, making decisions, and executing tasks without direct human intervention.

Samsung SDS demonstrated Brity Copilots personal agentic services, including real-time interpretation in seven languagesEnglish, Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese among themallowing for smooth multilingual meetings without manual control or human translators.

"We are entering a new era where AI agents can perform tasks independently," Lee remarked. "Once fully integrated into the workplace, AI agents will deliver unprecedented levels of efficiency and speed."

The summit also featured keynote speeches from industry leaders Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, and Peter Pluim, president of enterprise cloud services at SAP. Both highlighted ongoing and future collaborations with Samsung SDS, underscoring the growing importance of AI-driven business ecosystems.
11 September 2025 17:49 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has emphasized the economic potential of Ardabil province, describing it as a strategic hub for exports and economic exchange with neighboring Azerbaijan, Azernews reports via Iranian media.

Speaking at a gathering of investors and entrepreneurs in Ardabil, Pezeshkian underlined the provinces advantageous location, noting its shared border with Azerbaijan and proximity to key trade corridors in the Caucasus.

This province, thanks to its proximity to the Caucasus and access to trade routes, could become a gateway for exports and economic exchange. Why shouldn't Ardabil become a model that other provinces could learn from? he said, urging the adoption of innovative development strategies tailored to the regions strengths.

The Iranian president stressed that a fresh economic approach could help overcome long-standing challenges and unlock Ardabils potential, fostering sustainable growth.

During his visit, Pezeshkian also inaugurated 72 new development projects across various sectors, expected to generate employment for around 4,700 people.

These initiatives are part of a broader plan to revitalize Ardabils economy and position the province as a central hub for trade, investment, and cross-border cooperation with Azerbaijan and the wider region.
Has the City of Washington, NC been managed by their elected local government, and their bureaucrats, in a fiscally responsible manner to better serve the people who pay their ever advancing property taxes?

0% Yes, rising property taxes are a necessity to maintain a progressive city.100% No, excessive funding of a poorly managed government can become a shell game of corruption.0% I am afraid to say.
The North Tower falls after burning for 102 minutes.

On the 11th anniversary of 9/11, with an Ambassador and 3 of his staff killed, and two U.S.A. embassies set ablaze, all in Muslim Countries: Was it wise for Candidate Obama's first official act to apologize to Muslims for Americans' exercising their 1st Amendment protected right of free speech? Yes, "unconditionally," he cares No, he just doesn't get it I don't pay attention 126 total vote(s) What's your Opinion?



poll#10

Today, on the 12th anniversary of 9/11, we ask: Has Candidate Obama done as much to keep America as safe from terrorists as did President Bush? Yes No Who cares? 121 total vote(s) What's your Opinion?



It was a clear beautiful, royal blue sky day on Wall Street. The S & P futures were up markedly, awaiting a positive open, as I turned to get my first cup of coffee, after completing my morning chores. I returned to CNBC to get the morning business news, when I noticed that the S & P futures were falling, and they were falling fast. Down 10 points, 15 points, 20 points:... I heard myself reflexively exclaim.My exclamation was unintended as prophetic, but little did I know thatwas soon to befall the victims of the South Tower, and then the North Tower of the World Trade Center.The World Trade Center's North Tower was struck at 8:46 am by American Airlines Flight 11, which was commandeered by 5 Al-Qaeda hijackers. At 9:03 am, the South Tower of the World Trade Center was struck by United Airlines Flight 175, also commandeered by a second set of 5 Al-Qaeda hijackers. American Airlines Flight 77 was flown into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia at 9:37am by a third set of Al-Qaeda hijackers. A fourth airline, United Airlines Flight 93, impacted into a secluded field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after passengers courageously foiled the fourth set of Al-Qaeda hijackers attempting to strike their intended target in Washington, D.C.The late Mark Haines, CNBC's venerable morning anchor of the popular morning business show, Squawk Box, was the first authoritative voice I heard concerning this cataclysmic event that would forever reshape Americans' view of the world, and conversely, how we are viewed by the rest of the world as well. Mark, David Faber, Joe Kernen and Maria Bartiromo, the hosts of this popular show, continued through the day, finding themselves in a most inauspicious position of guiding their viewers through the most terrible moment in America's relative recent collective memory. Most of us will never forget: where we were, what we felt, when we learned of the horrendous attack by Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda hijackers.It is a moment seared within the fabric of my soul. I pray it will be a moment seared within the collective consciousness of our American People. Lest we forget, our freedoms will be forever lost.After the attack, the deaths, the tears, the war, the retribution, and the consideration of what is real, and the knowledge of what is lasting, it might be time some real hope and change.
Looking south towards the Republic of Ireland on the A1 outside Newry

Almost two fifths of small-and-medium-sized businesses across the island of Ireland reported growth in the second quarter of 2025, according to the latest release from Intertrade Ireland.

The All Island Business Monitor reports growth in 39% of businesses  the highest level in more than two years  with over 50% saying that they have been stable.

However, businesses did report rising costs, with 60% saying overheads and energy costs were an issue, and 17% seeing a reduction in demand.

Intertrade Ireland, which promotes economic development across both jurisdictions on the island of Ireland, produces four surveys a year which gather and present the views of more than 750 business managers in Northern Ireland and the Republic.

The survey found that the majority of firms were in profit, despite over a third of them reporting cost increases of over 10% in areas like wages, energy and insurance.

Close to half of businesses reported raising prices the last six months, and 30% expect further price increases.

Some 25% of businesses were looking for efficiencies in operations and energy use as a cost-saving method that.

World events are on the minds of business owners, with 20% reporting global politics and trade uncertainty as issues.

Meanwhile, 10% of firms here feel exposed to potential tariffs from the US, and 13% said they would value support or guidance in relation to evaluating or managing trade-related risks.

Martin Robinson, InterTradeIrelands Director of Strategy, said: "This is the biggest survey of its type. We speak to 750 different SMEs every quarter, and the latest findings point to a business base that is steady.

Growth is modest and broad-based rather than high. At the same time, profitability pressures are emerging, which is unsurprising, given the persistent cost challenges businesses are facing.

Martin Robinson of InterTrade Ireland

Resilience and modest growth define the moment, but persistent costs and tighter margins are weighing on firms.

In this context, cross-border trade can play a vital role in strengthening business resilience.

Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald said: This latest Business Monitor once again highlights the resilience of our business community in what is still an uncertain trading environment.

The challenges are real, and I dont underestimate them  but I am determined to ensure our businesses have the support they need to thrive. My tariffs working group also continues to meet regularly to deal with ongoing trade issues.

Officials at Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald's department have discussed a free trade agreement with Israel.

InterTradeIrelands Trade Hub is also a valuable resource for companies eager to grow across the island.

We will continue to back our businesses and help build a thriving, regionally balanced economy known for its enterprising spirit.

Peter Burke, the Irish Enterprise Minister, said: Small and medium-sized enterprises are the backbone of our economy, and I am committed to supporting their growth and resilience.

To that end, my Department recently established the Cost of Business Advisory Forum to examine and reduce the cost of doing business.

Enterprise Minister Peter Burke. Photo: Getty

A range of supports  including those provided by InterTradeIreland  are available to help your business become more efficient and competitive.

Looking south towards the Republic of Ireland on the A1 outside Newry

Belfast History Explained: Who was Mary Ann McCracken?

In addition, the Government has launched a new Market Diversification Action Plan to assist businesses in adapting to an evolving trade environment.
The pedestrianisation of a popular Belfast city centre street has taken a fresh step forward.

Hill Street, which is home to some of the citys most popular bars and restaurants, was pedestrianised for a trial period in 2020 during the Covid pandemic, with a view to making the move permanent.

But plans were delayed in the years since and significant progress has yet to happen.

Earlier this year it was revealed an experimental scheme could get underway soon, Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins said

And now, the department has written to Belfast City Councils chief executive to outline details of the proposal.

It would see the street closed off to traffic and cyclists between the junction with Gordon Street and Waring Street, allowing loading and unloading between 6am and 12pm.

It would also see Gordon Street being turned into a one-way street.

I am writing to advise that the Department propose to take forward an Experimental Order for the pedestrianisation of Hill Street, Belfast, the letter says.

The prohibition of traffic, including cyclists, will operate on Hill Street, between its junction Gordon Street and Waring Street and include Commercial Court and Exchange Place. Exemptions will allow loading/unloading between the hours of 6am and 12pm.

In addition to the above prohibition, it is also proposed to introduce a one-way traffic system along Gordon Street, from its junction with Hill Street to its junction with Dunbar Street in an easterly direction.

Earlier this year, officials from the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) said they would engage with stakeholders in the coming weeks in a process which aims to move at pace.

It was recently revealed that the cost of pedestrianising the area would cost 5,000.

Ms Kimmins had previously said underfunding and austerity by the British Government had contributed to delays, due to staffing shortages.

Following the latest engagement with stakeholders, she told the Assembly that a review of the nine representations showed that while businesses were content with the concept of pedestrianisation, they sought longer vehicular access times for deliveries.

Plans for pedestrianisation were due for consultation in 2022  but that didnt happen.

Councillors were later told in March 2023 that the DfI would be carrying out a consultation shortly. However, that also didnt take place.

We have to ensure that we engage with all the stakeholders that will be impacted on, including the businesses that operate in that area, she said.

To ensure that we get it right, it is important that the process conclude. As I said, it will commence in the next few weeks. Hopefully, with all being well, unless there are any unforeseen issues, we will be able to move forward at pace with the scheme.

In April 2023, councillors in Belfast were told that while the pedestrianisation of Hill Street remains part of our longer-term agenda, we are unable to begin the consultation process due to ongoing issues with staff resources and exceptionally high workloads.
RTE has announced Ireland will not take part in Eurovision 2026 if Israel participates (Liam McBurney/PA)

Ireland will not take part in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2026 if Israel participates, broadcaster RTE has announced.

An RTE statement said that at the General Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in July, a number of EBU members raised concerns about the participation of Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Tributes have been paid after the death of legendary Belfast record shop owner Dougie Knight, who has been hailed as the cornerstone of blues and jazz music in Northern Ireland and was a mentor of Van Morrison in his youth.

Mr Knight, who has died at the age of 92, had one of Belfasts most eclectic record shops in Botanic Avenue, which was a destination address for serious collectors of jazz and blues music from all over Ireland.
A so-called citizen journalist, who is representing himself in a magistrates court case, has been reprimanded after telling a judge his case could not go ahead as planned, as his key witness was on holiday in Tenerife.
Protester who made pathetic bid to block police vehicle during racist rioting avoids prison

Diminutive protester who tried to exhort others to join him in road amid disturbances deeply embarrassed and ashamed

David Dubois

Ashleigh McDonald Thu 11 Sep 2025 at 21:30

A 63-year old man involved in a race riot in Belfast last summer has avoided prison.
Belfast chef and restaurateur Michael Deane has apologised unreservedly after facing criticism over a social media post referring to migrant workers delivering food.

On Wednesday evening, Mr Deane posted on Facebook that by ordering food to your home via an app you are inviting a stranger, often an undocumented one right to your front door.

The post was subsequently deleted.

A hospitality union then issued a statement claiming the chefs post adds fuel to the atmosphere of hate and claimed it was putting migrant workers in danger.

On Thursday afternoon, Mr Deane issued an apology on his Facebook account saying his words were poorly thought out and badly timed.

"In attempting to comment on how the app economy has undermined the economic and social fabric of our city, decimating the high street and making strangers of neighbours, I appeared to lay the blame at the feet of the migrant workers who deliver food via these apps. For that, I would like to apologise, he wrote.

Migrant workers are the backbone of the hospitality industry, including my own establishments; without them our pubs and restaurants would not function.

"My words were poorly thought out and badly timed, and I apologise unreservedly.

Prior to the original being deleted, Mr Deane posted: Dine out tonight support your local restaurant who stay loyal to its people and its produce Hospitality Ulster. Britain has become addicted to the app economy.

Tap a button, and dinner, groceries, or a ride home magically appear.

Mr Deane referenced a number of app based delivery companies within in the post.

"But heres the uncomfortable truth nobody wants to say out loud: when you order... youre not just ordering food or transport youre effectively inviting a stranger, often an undocumented one right to your front door, he added.

Think about it. Once upon a time, the milkman left a couple of bottles on your doorstep. You knew his name, his family, his round.

"Now, an anonymous rider pulls up outside your house, logs your exact location, and disappears into the night with your data.

On Monday concerns were raised after a man was forced from his car near the east Belfast site by a crowd who then damaged his vehicle.

Police have since confirmed that the driver of a second car was also confronted by the group. Both incidents are being treated as racially motivated hate crimes.

People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll

A spokesperson for Unite Hospitality NI posted on Thursday: Across hospitality and delivery platforms, migrant workers have been on the receiving end of abuse, threats and violence.

As hospitality workers, we know the reality: it is in hotels, bars and restaurants where our members, overwhelmingly young women and non-binary folk, face endemic sexual harassment and abuse.

"The same forces who now terrorise migrant workers are not protecting women or children, they are perpetuating the climate of fear that keeps workers unsafe.

They continued: For many people, eating out is an occasional treat, but the reality is that working-class households are under pressure like never before.

"That pressure in turn also hits hospitality staff, with hours, tips and jobs all under strain as prices rise and less people eat out. People are working longer hours for less pay and are increasingly reliant on the quick, affordable food delivery provided by predominantly migrant workers.

We offer our full solidarity to delivery workers and all migrants facing intimidation."

Michael Deane

Belfast History Explained: The Story of the River Farset

People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll also hit out at Mr Deane, branding his original post disgusting and accusing him of "punching down on migrant workers.

Scapegoating migrant workers won't fill your tables, he added.
Antrim and Newtownabbey Council has agreed that sanctions should be imposed on community groups which breached the terms of the borough councils bonfire management programme.

A report presented to the councils Community Development Committee at a meeting in Mossley Mill on Monday evening showed that asbestos was found by a contractor in bonfire remains at the Neillsbrook site in Randalstown.

The report stated that urgent removal had to be arranged. As a result, it was proposed by council officers that Neillsbrook has funding for participation in the bonfire management programme reduced in 2026 by a minimum of 20% or 700.

The report also stated PSNI neighbourhood officers reported that Irish flags and others were burned at a number of bonfire sites in the borough which were described as hate crimes.

Flags were burned at four bonfire sites  Neillsbrook where two Irish flags were set alight; Doonbeg in the Rathcoole estate where three Irish flags were burned; Rathmullan Drive, Rathcoole where an EU flag was burned; and Ballycraigy, in Antrim, where a flag representing four Irish provinces was burned.

All sites were participating in the councils bonfire management programme.

DUP councillor Paul Dunlop proposed not imposing any sanctions, insisting that final inspections were carried out, and for a review of the current bonfire management programme, including funding arrangements, seconded by party colleague Helen Magill.

However, an amendment by Sinn Fein councillor Annie OLone, seconded by party colleague Taylor McGrann to impose penalties was approved following a vote in which seven councillors were in favour with six against.

Ms OLone acknowledged that progress has been made in cleaning up sites. She described the burning of flags as hate crimes, adding it should be treated as such and that penalties should be improved to deter further incidents.

Ms OLone went on to say she was deeply concerned to learn about the presence of asbestos at Neillsbrook, which she believed, presented a risk to contractors cleaning up, those who attended the event and local residents.

She proposed a penalty of 700 for sites where flags were burnt and a 20% reduction in funding next year in relation to Neillsbrook given the presence of asbestos as well as a review of the funding programme next year with a fuller penalty proposed.

It shows we as a council do not tolerate hate crimes or environmental crimes on our watch, she stated.

Mr McGrann stated the only way we can try to change the mindset of the minority of bigots in the community is to sanction community funding and show this will not be tolerated.

He urged leadership to be shown to stop hate crime and he praised those who stuck to the terms and conditions of the bonfire management programme.

Alliances Jay Burbank said it was especially disappointing to read about the discovery of asbestos. He asked about the cost of clearing the asbestos. He was informed it would be discussed behind closed doors later at the meeting.

Twenty-three sites in Antrim and Newtownabbey took part in this years scheme which had a budget of 171,000 enabling family fun events to be held at a cost of up to 3,500 each. Groups do not receive funding directly from the council.

As part of the programme, site inspections are carried out by council officers and statutory partners. The councils chief executive Richard Baker attended all site inspections on July 11.

The councils bonfire management programme seeks to work with communities to bring about improvements in bonfire management, particularly in terms of inclusivity, safety and increased family atmosphere and reduce environmental impacts including the illegal disposal of waste.

As part of the programme, groups are banned from erecting/displaying racist, sectarian or paramilitary paraphernalia such as flags, emblems, effigies on or in the vicinity of the bonfire site or in the vicinity of any activities associated with this programme.

Eleventh Night bonfires are lit every year in Northern Ireland

Belfast History Explained: The Story of the River Farset

It is expected tyres and toxic materials should not be collected or burned on bonfires and materials should be restricted to wood. If there is a breach of terms and conditions, a group will be given three days to address the issue. Failure to do so can result in a reduction in funding.
Translink apology after ramp to help woman depart at her stop repeatedly was not deployed

A Belfast student awarded 7,500 after a disability discrimination case against Translink has described her experience on public transport as dehumanising.

Rosie Pidgeon, who uses an electric wheelchair, settled the discrimination case with no admission of liability, and was supported by the Equality Commission.

Rosie had used the Glider service to and from Belfast Metropolitan Colleges Millfield campus since 2022.

To disembark, Rosie must press a blue bell to alert the driver to lower a ramp.

However, Rosie said that on various occasions the driver would often fail to deploy the necessary ramp.

As the bell doesnt ring once the bus has stopped, she couldnt alert the driver and this had led to her being driven past her destination.

She said this had led to her missing doctors appointments and classes.

She approached the Equality Commission last year for support in a legal action against Translink.

Now studying fine art at Ulster University, Rosie hopes that the funds she was awarded will aid her in her education journey.

Over the two years I had problems getting off, I would press the bell and the driver would fail to deploy the ramp, which then meant that I was late for classes and doctors appointments, she said.

I had trouble getting home then after my classes, which was kind of dehumanising. If you are sitting there waiting for a ramp to be let off and then its not [deploying], then you are stuck on the bus.

It was an exhausting experience as well, and draining.

Rosie Pidgeon who won a disability discrimination case against Translink

There was one day where it happened twice. I think after that I just kind of gave up, to the point where the next day I didnt even want to go in because I knew I would have to get the bus again.

It still continued to happen and the changes they were making at the time werent helping.

On one occasion, she was left stranded at a Dundonald Park and Ride, where the Glider terminates.

I live in Dundonald, though a stop later does mean it is further for me to actually get home, she said.

Its an awful feeling, when you get stuck and when you are actually going to get off. It causes quite a stressful situation.

I am still taking public transport. Translink have made changes to try and improve their service.

I think that the best thing to come out of this is that it will also help other people and other disabled people.

I think that people should speak up about things like this. I know that it is an embarrassing situation.

The first couple of times it happened, I really didnt want to tell anyone. But the Equality Commission is here to help, it has helped me.

Head of Legal Services at the Equality Commission, Eoin ONeill, said that the group was delighted with the outcome of the case.

Not only have we obtained a settlement for Rosie, but there is also a liaison clause with Translink, he said.

We welcome the work that Translink have been doing to prevent this sort of thing happening again.

I think it is important because it reminds providers that they have a legal obligation under the Disability Discrimination Legislation to make reasonable adjustments.

Ian Campbell, Translinks director of service operations, said the firm is very sorry to learn of this customers experience, and that improvements have been implemented for disabled passengers.

We are dedicated to making our services and facilities accessible and inclusive for everyone, recognising the importance of this in enabling more people to live independent and productive lives, he said.

To better accommodate passengers who use wheelchairs we have introduced changes to our procedures that will improve the consistency of service provided to our customers, particularly when boarding and alighting Glider vehicles.

Additionally, we have provided refresher training to further strengthen our procedures.

We will continue to invest in our facilities, services, and staff training as part of our ongoing accessibility programme.

We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with the Equality Commission and will continue to work closely with key stakeholders to understand the needs of people with disabilities, ensuring a positive customer experience for all.
Play tells the story of 7,000 air passengers stranded in a small Newfoundland town and how the locals embraced them warmly

One of Belfasts oldest amateur dramatic groups is marking the anniversary of 9/11 with an award-winning musical based on a lesser-known story from the terror attacks in 2001.

St Agnes Choral Society is performing Come From Away at the Lyric Theatre from tonight until Saturday.

The play won four gongs at the 2019 Olivier Awards.

Come From Away tells the story of 7,000 airline passengers grounded in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland, in the wake of the al-Qaida atrocity, and the locals who welcomed them with open arms.

It weaves folk rock and fast-paced storytelling in a tribute to the power of community in the face of tragedy.

Its a theme director Rachel Logan-Fee believes the Belfast audience will identify with.

She said: Its quite a new musical and one of the characters is a lady called Hannah [ORourke], who was actually born in Scotstown in Co Monaghan, and she moved to New York and she had a son who was a New York firefighter who tragically died rescuing people in 9/11.

She was one of the displaced people, she had been travelling that morning and her flight was diverted and grounded in Gander... she actually just passed away last month as we were rehearsing this, so that feels even more significant given the time and because she has an Irish back story.

She was an Irish emigrant who moved to New York and had a son, and he died tragically and she was displaced. Then we got the news she died while preparing for these shows, so weve been thinking about her and her family. Were planning a tribute to Hannah as we mark the anniversary of 9/11.

She said the story will resonate with audiences, especially considering the conflict in the Middle East.

She added: I feel like what this story does, and what the musical effectively does, is it restores our faith in humanity because of the people of Gander.

The Newfoundlanders were also historically predominantly Irish emigrants, and that Irish influence really comes through in the music and in the characters, because theyre so warm  the kettle is always on, they leave their doors open.

They are a very warm, welcoming and inclusive community, and the population of Gander at that time was 9,000 people, and there were 7,000 grounded in one day.

The population rose to 16,000 and they just had to look after them, and opened their doors and welcomed them into their homes, community centres and their schools.

I feel like, out of that really tragic event, where there was so much awful news, was countered by the balance of goodness in the world, that they really looked after those people and made them feel so welcome. It changed the course of the lives of so many people by being there.

Winning the right to premiere Come From Away in the UK and Ireland marks a coup for St Agnes Choral Society, which was establish in 1957.

Rachel, whose day job is as a TV producer working on shows like Blue Lights, said: We would routinely work at the Grand Opera House but this is our first time here.

The Lyric team has been incredibly supportive, including building our set, they are just incredible. They have been so welcoming and it has been a joy.

St Agnes has people from all walks of life  from teachers to barristers to GPs.

The thing about Aggies, and they are so proud of this, is that the standard is so high, and in this show it is not like other musicals where you have a huge cast and crew. In this show it is 12 actors who work very hard throughout; they basically create the theatre themselves, and when you consider that, it really is amazing.

They have been phenomenal, and I get so much out of too  its like a real outlet for me creatively also.

Come From Away runs at the Lyric in Belfast until Saturday. Tickets on sale from lyrictheatre.co.uk
Politicians in Northern Ireland have expressed shock and sadness following the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk who was shot dead on a university campus in the US on Wednesday.

US President Donald Trump confirmed on Truth Social that Mr Kirk died shortly after he was shot in the neck while sitting under a white gazebo engaging with a large crowd at Utah Valley University.

The CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organisation Turning Point USA was 31-years-old and married with two young children aged three and one.

The tragic murder of Charlie Kirk represents more than violence against one man, but an assault on freedom of speech and open dissent. Our democracy depends on our ability to disagree peacefully.



Whatever our politics, violence should never replace debate.



Above all, this is a pic.twitter.com/3dcy6QBIL3  Gavin Robinson (@GRobinsonDUP) September 10, 2025

DUP leader Gavin Robinson described the killing as an attack on free speech and debate.

The tragic murder of Charlie Kirk represents more than violence against one man, but an assault on freedom of speech and open dissent. Our democracy depends on our ability to disagree peacefully, he said.

Whatever our politics, violence should never replace debate.

Above all, this is a devastating loss for his loved ones. My thoughts and prayers are with them this evening.

Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Points visit to Utah Valley University (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)

A manhunt is underway to apprehend the shooter who remains at large.

One person was arrested and another person of interest was detained by local law enforcement shortly after the incident  but they were later released with officials saying they had "no ties" to the shooting.

Honestly, I'm heartbroken - DUP MLA Jonathan Buckley

Authorities did not immediately identify a motive but the circumstances of the shooting drew renewed attention to an escalating threat of political violence in the United States that in the last several years has cut across the ideological spectrum.

DUP MLA Jonathan Buckley also reacted to the fatal shooting which is the latest in a long history of political violence in America.

Honestly Im heartbroken, he said while remembering the victim as a wonderful man.

A young life cut short by vile, sick and twisted ideology. Praying for Charlies family, friends and America, Mr Buckley added.

Party colleague, Gary Middleton, lamented the awful news as he said he was praying for Charlie and his family.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with moderator Charlie Kirk (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

TUV leader Jim Allister KC MP said: The tragic murder of Charlie Kirk is a profound loss. In todays interconnected world, he and Turning Point USA are widely known and respected by conservatives far beyond the United States. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

For too long, terms like right-wing extremist have been applied unevenly by the press. It is time for all forms of political violence to be recognised and condemned without bias.

This principle should have been applied consistently after the attempted assassination of President Trump. We hope this tragedy prompts renewed focus on how extremism is reported and addressed by the media.

There are no words good enough to express the horror of this.



The killing of Charlie Kirk is a blow to everything Western civilization stands for: open discourse, robust debate and peaceful dissent. He lived his life by those very principles, no matter the danger it put him in.  Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) September 10, 2025

The deputy leader of the Alliance Party condemned the killing as appalling and horrifying.

Eoin Tennyson MLA warned "there is no place for political violence in any society.

"Democracy relies on our ability to debate openly and freely without fear, he posted on X.

"Thinking tonight of his young family.

Alliance MP Sorcha Eastwood also posted on social media.

The murder of Charlie Kirk is horrifying and chilling. Political violence is wrong. Always. If you can't condemn it, you are a part of the problem, she wrote.

"You debase yourself and you destroy any argument you seek to advance. You destroy our basic humanity and empathy. His poor family, my prayers are with them.

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Videos circulating on social media show Mr Kirk was speaking into a handheld microphone when the single shot was fired  he was sitting under a sign promoting his The American Comeback tour which had just got underway.

Prove Me Wrong, was emblazoned on the side of the tent.

After the shot rings out, Mr Kirk can be seen reaching for his neck with his right hand as the gruesome scene unfolds.

Stunned spectators can be heard gasping and screaming before people start to run away.

The Associated Press was able to confirm the videos were taken at the Sorensen Centre courtyard on the Utah Valley University campus, where Mr Kirk was speaking at the time.

Charlie Kirk hands out hats before speaking at Utah Valley University (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)

The debate was hosted by his non-profit political organisation.

The event had been met with divided opinions on campus. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Mr Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures.

The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.

The college said a single shot had been fired at Mr Kirk and a suspect was in custody.

The US President was among those who called for prayers for Mr Kirk after he was taken to hospital.

A short time later, Donald Trump confirmed on his Truth Social that the activist had succumbed to his injuries.

Then in a four minute address from the Oval Office posted on the platform, Mr Trump criticized the demonization of political opponents and offered condolences to the victims wife Erika and the couples two children.

'To my great fellow Americans, I am filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah. Charlie inspired millions and tonight, all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror,' the president said, describing it as a dark moment for America.

He hailed Mr Kirk as someone who fought for liberty, democracy, justice and the American people.

'He's a martyr for truth and freedom and there has never been anyone who was so respected by youth, Mr Trump added.

The shooting comes amid a spike in political violence in the United States across all parts of the ideological spectrum.

Meanwhile, Kim Leadbeater, whose sister Jo Cox was killed in 2016 when she was shot and stabbed by a neo-Nazi outside her constituency surgery a week before the 2016 EU referendum, and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer were among a raft of British leaders to speak out against political violence following the killing.

Duke of Sussex pays tribute to youngsters recognised by charity WellChild

Ms Leadbeater, who is now a Labour MP in her sisters former constituency, wrote: This is dreadful.

Whatever our political views and differences, there is no place for violence in our politics.

Tonight two children have lost their Dad. Devastating. We need a global reset on what we want our politics to look like.

Prime Minister Sir Keir expressed his condolences online, adding: My thoughts this evening are with the loved ones of Charlie Kirk.

It is heartbreaking that a young family has been robbed of a father and a husband.

We must all be free to debate openly and freely without fear  there can be no justification for political violence.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described the killing as a blow to everything Western civilization stands for as she warned that the rising intolerance of opposing views affects us all.

We cannot turn a blind eye to it, she added.

Mr Kirk was scheduled to debate progressive influencer at Dartmouth College later this month.

Taking to his Twitch live stream, Hasan Piker reacted to the shooting with horror and called on some of his followers to stop making jokes about the abhorrent shooting.

He also expressed fear that others could be targeted adding: 'The reverberation of people seeking out vengeance in the aftermath of this violent, abhorrent incident is going to be genuinely worrisome.
Former UK ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson (Niall Carson/PA)

Lord Peter Mandelson has been withdrawn as ambassador to the US after emails revealed the depth of his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Sir Keir Starmer, who picked the Labour grandee to be the UK's representative in Washington, made the decision after emails showed the peer sent supportive messages even as Epstein faced jail for sex offences.

The Foreign Office said the emails showed "the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment".

The former Secetary of State for Northern Ireland, has now been withdrawn as ambassador with immediate effect.

Lord Mandelson is reported to have told Epstein to "fight for early release" shortly before he was sentenced to 18 months in prison, and told him, "I think the world of you" the day before he began his sentence for soliciting prostitution from a minor in June 2008.

The Prime Minister had defended Lord Mandelson until the emergence of the emails, insisting he had gone through a proper vetting process and had helped build a successful relationship with Donald Trump's White House.

Lord Mandelson's friendship with Epstein had been known about, but Bloomberg and The Sun published emails showing that the relationship continued after the crimes committed by the financier had emerged.

Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty told MPs that information had not been known when Lord Mandelson was appointed.

He told MPs the emails showed "the depth and extent of Lord Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment".

He added: "In particular, Lord Mandelson's suggestion that Jeffrey Epstein's first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged is new information.

"And in light of that, and mindful, as we all are, of the victims of Epstein's appalling crimes, he has been withdrawn as ambassador with immediate effect."

Lord Mandelson's position had appeared increasingly precarious after the release of the emails drew public criticism from members of the Government.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was "completely disgusted" by the messages, while Home Office minister Mike Tapp said they "really disturbing and sickening".

But the timing of his sacking causes a diplomatic headache ahead of Donald Trump's state visit next week, with the US president facing questions over his own ties with Epstein.

Lord Mandelson described the words he used in his birthday message as very embarrassing to see and read.
UDA chief attempts to distance himself from attacks on Catholic homes in Belfast

Veteran paramilitary tries to distance himself from terror group as graffiti warns that asylum seekers will be shot

Denis Cunningham, left, with his UDA pal Mo Courtney

Thu 11 Sep 2025 at 12:00

Cowardly UDA chief Dopey Denis Cunningham has tried to distance himself from sectarian attacks on Catholic families in north Belfast, a source has claimed.
Stroke patients who seek help via 999 have a better chance of getting specialist help, the Stroke Association said

More than 40% of stroke victims in Northern Ireland are putting themselves at risk by making their own way to hospital amid concerns over long waits for ambulances, it has emerged.

A charity said over 1,000 stroke victims here last year had taken themselves to A&E.

On Wednesday night, the Department of Health told the Belfast Telegraph it had reallocated 12m to speed up ambulance services, and it aims to end ambulance handovers exceeding two hours by December.

Stroke patients who seek help via 999 have a better chance of getting specialist help, the Stroke Association said.

The charity acknowledged peoples concerns about ambulance wait times, but said it is still the fastest and most efficient way to get the best treatment and care for stroke.

A stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off and it is classed as a medical emergency.

Certain treatments can reduce the risk of death and long-term disability if they are delivered in a timely way.

But new analysis from the Stroke Association shows that in Northern Ireland, over 40% of people who have a stroke are not arriving by ambulance.

In 2024-25, that worked out at 1,125 out of 2,777 patients.

A stroke patient makes their own way to A&E, instead of arriving by ambulance, every 22 minutes across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Overall 26.8% of stroke patients across the UK  some 23,491 people  reported making their own arrangements to get to the hospital in 2024/25, according to the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme.

It is the highest number since the stroke audit began more than a decade ago.

The figure has been steadily rising over the last few years, standing at just 19.4% in 2020/21.

The Stroke Association urged people to call 999 rather than making their own way to A&E, saying this is the fastest way to get specialist stroke treatments.

Paramedics know which units are the best for emergency stroke care  which are not available at all hospitals, it added.

Ensuring patients get to these specialist hubs means they are more likely to get timely access to stroke treatments including a procedure to remove the blood clot causing the stroke, known as a thrombectomy, or fast-track brain scans  which can be requested before an ambulance even arrives at the hospital.

The charity highlighted how timely treatment is essential to increase the chances of a patient surviving a stroke and to minimise brain damage which can leave stroke survivors unable to move, see, speak or swallow.

Professor Deb Lowe, medical director of the Stroke Association, said: Stroke is a medical emergency so anyone who is experiencing symptoms should call 999 and wait for an ambulance.

We have long supported the NHSs Fast campaign which highlights the most common symptoms of stroke  facial drooping, arm weakness, slurred speech  as thats when it is time to call 999.

Even with the undeniable pressures the NHS is experiencing, we stand firm on that advice as it is the best way to get rapid and evidence-based care.

Stroke patients who seek help via 999 have a better chance of getting specialist help, the Stroke Association said

Duke of Sussex pays tribute to youngsters recognised by charity WellChild

The Department of Health said it is working with the NI Ambulance Service (NIAS) and Trusts to implement a regional ambulance handover protocol to improve handover delays to increase NIASs capacity to respond to emergency calls.

Improving ambulance handover times is a key priority for the Department, it said.

Earlier this year, departmental officials, alongside clinicians from Trusts and NIAS visited a hospital in London to learn from their approach to releasing ambulances more quickly.

Following that visit, Trusts and the Ambulance Service have been asked to adopt a similar model.

To support this, 12m has been reallocated to Trusts from existing baselines, with the aim of implementing targeted interventions by October 2025.

Additionally, the department, supported by the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Nursing Officer, has endorsed the implementation of regional Ambulance Handover guidance, with the aim of eliminating handovers exceeding two hours by 1 December 2025, as part of plans to address winter pressures.
The sister of murdered MP Jo Cox has condemned the killing of conservative activist and close ally of US President Donald Trump, Charlie Kirk.

Mr Kirk, 31, the co-founder and chief executive of the youth organisation Turning Point USA, was shot at a Utah Valley University show on Wednesday.

Kim Leadbeater, whose sister Jo Cox was killed in 2016 when she was shot and stabbed by a neo-Nazi outside her constituency surgery a week before the 2016 EU referendum, and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer were among a raft of British leaders to speak out against political violence following the killings.

Kim Leadbeater, the sister of Jo Cox MP (Victoria Jones/PA)

Ms Leadbeater, who is now a Labour MP in her sisters former constituency, wrote: This is dreadful.

Whatever our political views and differences, there is no place for violence in our politics.

Tonight two children have lost their Dad. Devastating. We need a global reset on what we want our politics to look like.

Prime Minister Sir Keir expressed his condolences online, adding: My thoughts this evening are with the loved ones of Charlie Kirk.

It is heartbreaking that a young family has been robbed of a father and a husband.

We must all be free to debate openly and freely without fear  there can be no justification for political violence.

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Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University showed Mr Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans The American Comeback and Prove Me Wrong, before a single shot was fired.

Stunned spectators were heard gasping and screaming before people started to run away.

President Donald Trump said he was filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk in a video address to the nation.

This is a dark moment for America, Mr Trump said.

Charlie Kirk travelled the nation, joyfully engaging with everyone interested in good faith debate. His mission was to bring young people into the political process, which he did better than anybody ever.

As of late Wednesday local time, no one was in custody, according to The Associated Press.

Earlier, officials had given shifting accounts of the manhunt  FBI director Kash Patel initially posted on social media that a subject had been detained, but later clarified the person had been released after questioning.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who said she is deeply shocked by the killing, added: Political violence has no place in our societies.

Our thoughts and condolences are with his family.

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The cross-party calls for tolerance also included Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch describing the killing as a blow to everything Western civilization stands for.

She posted online: There are no words good enough to express the horror of this.

The killing of Charlie Kirk is a blow to everything Western civilization stands for: open discourse, robust debate and peaceful dissent. He lived his life by those very principles, no matter the danger it put him in.

This may have happened far from our shores, but the rising intolerance of opposing views affects us all. We cannot turn a blind eye to it.

My thoughts are with Charlies family, his wife Erika, and their children.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage posted a black and white photograph of himself with Mr Kirk, along with the message this is a very dark day for American democracy.

He added that he is desperately sad for Mr Kirk, his wife and children.

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Former Tory prime minister Boris Johnson believes Mr Kirk is now a shining new martyr to free speech  and described the killing as a tragedy, and a sign of the utter desperation and cowardice of those who could not defeat him in argument.

He posted online: Charlie Kirk has been killed not for espousing extremist views  because he didnt.

He has been killed for saying things that used to be simple common sense. He has been killed because he had the courage to stand up publicly for reasonable opinions held by millions and millions of ordinary people both in the US and Britain. The world has a shining new martyr to free speech.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones.

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey added: Absolutely horrifying news of Charlie Kirks murder. Political violence should have no place in society.

My prayers are with his family, I cant imagine the pain they must be going through.

In a US press conference, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said the attack was a political assassination and that a person of interest is in custody.

The event was billed as the first stop on Mr Kirks The American Comeback Tour and had fuelled controversy on the campus.

An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Mr Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures.

The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.
A new Labour campaign group has accused Sir Keir Starmer of running a narrow and brittle political project amid the fallout from Peter Mandelsons sacking (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

In a scathing comment on Lord Mandelsons dismissal, the coordinator of new Labour group Mainstream accused the Prime Minister of running a narrow and brittle political project that put factional interest before both party and country.

Mainstream was launched this week as a home for Labours radical realists with the backing of Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, sparking speculation he could be planning a return to Westminster.

Lord Peter Mandelson arrives at the Cabinet Office in central London (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Former deputy leadership hopeful Paula Barker, another Mainstream supporter, also criticised the delay in dismissing Lord Mandelson, saying there should have been no hesitation.

She added: The delay in sacking him has only served to further erode the trust and confidence in our Government and politics in the round. We must be better.

Another backbencher, Charlotte Nichols, said Lord Mandelsons sacking was not immediate enough unfortunately, as he should never have been appointed in the first place.

And North Somerset MP Sadik Al-Hassan said there were serious questions about the vetting process of the ambassador, calling for whoever had vetted Lord Mandelson to be sacked as well.

The row comes amid rising backbench discontent over the Governments performance and less than a week after a Cabinet reshuffle that some on the left of the party said suggested Sir Keir was unwilling to change direction or listen to their concerns.

Luke Hurst, Mainstreams national coordinator, said: Peter Mandelsons inevitable sacking is what happens when you put your party factions interest before your party and before the country.

If Starmer keeps running a narrow and brittle political project it will break him and could break the Labour Party. We need a Government and party of all the talents and all the views.

Meanwhile Justin Madders, who was sacked as employment minister less than a week ago, described Lord Mandelsons dismissal as the best sacking of the week by some distance.
Medics reported that their patients had sought care abroad due to NHS waiting times and eligibility for treatment (Alamy/PA)

Three-quarters of GPs have reported caring for patients who needed additional support after surgical tourism in the last year.

A new poll found that one in 20 (5%) UK family doctors had seen at least 10 patients who had suffered health problems as a result of a surgical or cosmetic procedure carried out abroad.

Two-in-five (43%) had helped at least one patient, with a further 28% seeing between two and nine patients, according to a poll of more than 1,000 GPs.

A survey of 500 nurses who work in GP surgeries found that a similar proportion had helped patients with health issues as a result of seeking care abroad.

Gastric bypass and other bariatric surgery were most commonly seen, according to medics who responded to the survey by Pulse and Nursing In Practice.

Patients also sought help after having liposuction, tummy tuck and other cosmetic procedures.

A GP based in the north-west of England said: I have seen at least two-to-three patients a year with post-overseas surgery complications.

Breast issues usually were concerned with infection or wound dehiscence but sometimes asymmetry and implant issues.

I had a gastric band patient who ended up in ICU vomiting, with severe electrolyte disturbance. These were the worrying ones  no supplements, no follow-up bloods, no discharge letters or plans.

Pulse reported that many of the GPs surveyed said their patients had gone to Turkey for their procedure.

Medics reported that their patients had sought care abroad due to NHS waiting times and eligibility for treatment.

There have been reports that some patients have received substandard treatment after going abroad for treatment  with some people dying due to poor care.

Earlier this year, a coroner issued a stark warning to Brits about the dangers of travelling to Turkey for cosmetic surgery.

A prevention of future deaths report by assistant coroner for Rutland and North Leicestershire, Isobel Thistlethwaite, details how Anne Towlson, 58, had travelled to Turkey in April 2024 where she underwent a pre-planned tummy tuck and liposuction.

When she arrived at the Green Park Hospital in Pendic, Istanbul, she was told she could have an arm-tuck surgery as well, and agreed to the procedure in a last-minute decision, her inquest heard.

In the days before she died, Mrs Towlson sent the Istanbul hospital that carried out the surgery a video of her weeping and swollen arm and was told it would be shown to a doctor  but she did not receive any help.

She was found dead at home with open wounds to her armpits and triceps, having complained that her arm was killing her days earlier.

Ms Thistlethwaite said: British citizens are travelling abroad for significant and serious surgical operations with seemingly little in the way of follow-up and no way to return easily to the operating hospital if they encounter complications once they are back in the UK.

This is not only dangerous but could place a significant burden on the NHS.
Charlie Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, was shot and killed on Wednesday at a college event in what the state governor called a political assassination carried out from a rooftop.

This is a dark day for our state. Its a tragic day for our nation, said Utah Governor Spencer Cox.

I want to be very clear, this is a political assassination.

No suspect was in custody late on Wednesday, though authorities were searching for a new person of interest, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Well-wishers pay their respects at a makeshift memorial at the national headquarters of Turning Point USA /Ross D Franklin/AP)

Two people were detained earlier in the day, but neither was determined to have had any connection to the shooting and both have been released, Utah public safety officials said.

Authorities did not immediately identify a motive but the circumstances of the shooting drew renewed attention to an escalating threat of political violence in the United States that in the last several years has cut across the ideological spectrum.

The assassination drew bipartisan condemnation, but a national reckoning over ways to prevent political grievances from manifesting as deadly violence seemed elusive.

Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University show Mr Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans The American Comeback and Prove Me Wrong.

A single shot rings out and Mr Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as a large volume of blood gushes from the left side of his neck.

Stunned spectators are heard gasping and screaming before people start to run away.

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Mr Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political organisation.

Immediately before the shooting, Mr Kirk was taking questions from an audience member about mass shootings and gun violence.

Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years? the person asked.

Mr Kirk responded: Too many.

The questioner followed up: Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?

Counting or not counting gang violence? Mr Kirk asked.

Then a single shot rang out.

The assailant, who Mr Cox pledged would be held accountable in a state with the death penalty, wore dark clothing and fired from a building roof some distance away to the courtyard where the event took place.

Some 3,000 people were in attendance, according to a statement from the Utah Department of Public Safety, which also said the university police department had six officers working at the event along with Mr Kirks own security detail.

The death was announced on social media by Mr Trump, who praised the 31-year-old Mr Kirk, the co-founder and chief executive of the youth organisation Turning Point USA, as Great, and even Legendary.

Later on Wednesday, he released a recorded video from the White House in which he called Mr Kirk a martyr for truth and freedom and blamed the rhetoric of the radical left for the killing.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with moderator Charlie Kirk, during a Generation Next White House forum in 2018 (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

Utah Valley University said the campus was immediately evacuated and remained closed.

Classes were cancelled until further notice.

Those still on campus were asked to stay in place until police officers could safely escort them off campus.

Armed officers walked around the neighbourhood bordering the campus, knocking on doors and asking for information on the assailant.

Officers were seen looking at a photo on their phones and showing it to people to see if they recognised a person of interest.

The event, billed as the first stop on Mr Kirks The American Comeback Tour, had generated a polarising campus reaction.

An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Mr Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures.

The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.

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The shooting drew swift condemnation across the political aisle as Democratic officials joined Mr Trump, who ordered flags lowered to half-mast and issued a presidential proclamation, and Republican allies of Mr Kirk in decrying the violence.

The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible, Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom, who last March hosted Mr Kirk on his podcast, posted on X.

The shooting appeared poised to become part of a spike of political violence that has touched a range of ideologies and representatives of both major parties.

The attacks include the assassination of a Minnesota state politician and her husband at their house in June, the firebombing of a Colorado parade to demand Hamas release hostages, and a fire set at the house of Pennsylvanias governor, who is Jewish, in April.

The most notorious of these events is the shooting of Mr Trump during a campaign rally last year
The FBI has released a photo of a person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk (Federal Bureau of Investigation via AP)

The sniper who assassinated Charlie Kirk is believed to have jumped off the roof and fled after firing a single shot from a high-powered rifle which police recovered from woodland close to Utah Valley University.

The killer is believed to have blended in on the campus where Mr Kirk was shot and appeared to be of college age, police said, as they continued to investigate the latest act of political violence in America.

Later on Thursday, the FBI released two photos of a person of interest in connection with the shooting as investigators appealed to the public for information. The photos show a person wearing a hat, sunglasses and a long-sleeve black shirt.

It remained unclear how far the killer has travelled though law enforcement officials said nearby woods where the rifle was found have been secured.

Federal, state and local authorities said they were working on multiple active crime scenes on Thursday in the search for the killer of the conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump.

This is a dark day for our state. Its a tragic day for our nation, said Utah Governor Spencer Cox.

I want to be very clear, this is a political assassination.

Mr Trump announced on Thursday he will posthumously award Mr Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

He said he remained shocked by Mr Kirks assassination and praised his allys impact on conservative politics. Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people, Mr Trump said.

He announced Mr Kirks death on social media on Wednesday and praised the 31-year-old co-founder and CEO of Turning Point as great, and even legendary and blamed the rhetoric of the radical left for the killing.

Well-wishers pay their respects at a makeshift memorial at the national headquarters of Turning Point USA /Ross D Franklin/AP)

Two people detained on Wednesday but neither was determined to have had any connection to the shooting and both have been released, Utah public safety officials said.

The shooting drew renewed attention to an escalating threat of political violence in the United States that in the last several years has cut across the ideological spectrum.

The assassination drew bipartisan condemnation, but a national reckoning over ways to prevent political grievances from manifesting as deadly violence seemed elusive.

Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University show Mr Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans The American Comeback and Prove Me Wrong.

A single shot rings out and Mr Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as a large volume of blood gushes from the left side of his neck.

Stunned spectators are heard gasping and screaming before people start to run away.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content

Mr Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his non-profit political organisation.

Immediately before the shooting, Mr Kirk was taking questions from an audience member about mass shootings and gun violence.

Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years? the person asked.

Mr Kirk responded: Too many.

The questioner followed up: Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?

Counting or not counting gang violence? Mr Kirk asked.

Then a single shot rang out.

The assailant, who Mr Cox pledged would be held accountable in a state with the death penalty, wore dark clothing and fired from a building roof some distance away to the courtyard where the event took place.

Some 3,000 people were in attendance, according to a statement from the Utah Department of Public Safety, which also said the university police department had six officers working at the event along with Mr Kirks own security detail.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with moderator Charlie Kirk, during a Generation Next White House forum in 2018 (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

Utah Valley University said the campus was immediately evacuated and remained closed.

Classes were cancelled until further notice.

Those still on campus were asked to stay in place until police officers could safely escort them off campus.

Armed officers walked around the neighbourhood bordering the campus, knocking on doors and asking for information on the assailant.

Officers were seen looking at a photo on their phones and showing it to people to see if they recognised a person of interest.

The event, billed as the first stop on Mr Kirks The American Comeback Tour, had generated a polarising campus reaction.

An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Mr Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures.

The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.

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The shooting drew swift condemnation across the political aisle as Democratic officials joined Mr Trump, who ordered flags lowered to half-mast and issued a presidential proclamation, and Republican allies of Mr Kirk in decrying the violence.

The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible, Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom, who last March hosted Mr Kirk on his podcast, posted on X.

The shooting appeared poised to become part of a spike of political violence that has touched a range of ideologies and representatives of both major parties.

The attacks include the assassination of a Minnesota state politician and her husband at their house in June, the firebombing of a Colorado parade to demand Hamas release hostages, and a fire set at the house of Pennsylvanias governor, who is Jewish, in April.

The most notorious of these events is the shooting of Mr Trump during a campaign rally last year.
Damage is seen after an Israeli strike targeted a compound that hosted Hamass political leadership in Doha (Jon Gambrell/AP)

Qatars prime minister has said Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu killed any hope over the release of hostages still held in the Gaza Strip after Israel attacked Hamas chiefs in Doha.

The comments from Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, ahead of appearing at the United Nations on Thursday, underlined the wider anger among Gulf Arab countries over Israels strike that killed at least six people.

I was meeting one of the hostages families the morning of the attack, Sheikh Mohammed told CNN in an interview.

They are counting on this (ceasefire) mediation, they have no other hope for that.

Many Palestinians say they do no have the resources or the energy to move from Gaza City (AP)

Sheikh Mohammed added: I think that what Netanyahu has done yesterday, he just killed any hope for those hostages.

His remarks came as thousands of Palestinians sought to flee Gaza City ahead of Israels impending offensive there. The numbers leaving the city have grown in recent days, though many have refused because they say they no longer have the strength or money to relocate.

The Israeli militarys plans for the next phases of its operation in what it calls Hamas last remaining stronghold is aimed taking over the largest Palestinian city that was already devastated from earlier raids and experiencing famine.

The plans have drawn widespread condemnation and add to Israels already unprecedented global isolation, which intensified further this week following the strike on Qatar.

The attack on the territory of a US ally alarmed countries in the Middle East and beyond. It also marked a dramatic escalation in the region and risked upending talks aimed at ending the war and freeing hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.

Sheikh Mohammed was expected to attend a UN Security Council meeting later on Thursday, part of a diplomatic push by Qatar after the strike, and Pakistans Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was set to visit Doha to underscore Pakistans support for Qatars security and sovereignty.

Qatar also said it was organising an Arab-Islamic summit next week in Doha to discuss the attack.

A compound was targeted in Doha (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Hamas said on Tuesday that its top leaders survived the strike but that five lower-level members were killed, including the son of Khalil al-Hayya  Hamass leader for Gaza and its top negotiator  as well as three bodyguards and the head of Mr al-Hayyas office.

Hamas, which has sometimes only confirmed the assassination of its leaders months later, offered no immediate proof that Mr al-Hayya and other senior figures had survived.

Qatar and Egypt have been key mediators to try to reach a ceasefire in the war in Gaza. Qatar has hosted Hamass political leadership for years in Doha, in part over a request by the US to encourage negotiations between the militant group and Israel.

There was no immediate reaction to Sheikh Mohammeds remarks from Mr Netanyahu, whose government has engaged in wars across the region since Hamas October 7 2023 assault on Israel.

However, Mr Netanyahu has continued to defend the strikes and threatened further action against Qatar a day after US President Donald Trump had sought to ease tensions between the US allies, including by assuring the Gulf nation that there would be no more such strikes on its soil.

I say to Qatar and all nations who harbour terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice, Mr Netanyahu said. Because if you dont, we will.

In what appeared to be the first move by a Gulf Arab state over the strike, the United Arab Emirates blocked Israeli firms from participating in the Dubai Air Show in November, Israeli media reported.

The Israeli Defence Ministry told The Associated Press on Thursday that it had received the notification from the exhibition organisers to the industries.

An estimated one million Palestinians  around half of Gazas overall population  live in the area of north Gaza around Gaza City, according to the Israeli military and the United Nations. On Wednesday, dozens of vehicles, motorbikes and donkey carts loaded with belongings lined the citys coastal road as they tried to leave.

Members of the Abdullah family who were evacuated from Gaza City set up their tent in a camp for displaced Palestinians (Jehad Alshrafi/AP)

Amal Sobh, displaced from Beit Lahia with 30 relatives  including 13 orphans  said the three-wheel vehicle carrying their belongings broke down and they had no fuel, leaving the family stranded.

After one of her boys came down with a fever, the only food they were able to get was bread that a passer-by gave to them.

I have 13 orphans. The one who is in my lap, his temperature is high like fire, she told The Associated Press. I dont have money to buy medicine for him.

Meanwhile in Muwasi, an area at the southern end of the strip where Israel has encouraged people to move, displaced Palestinians from northern Gaza struggled to find shelter due to overcrowding and lack of adequate resources. Many have been forced to live on the streets.

Atwah Awad said aid has not reached her or her family.

I slept in the street tonight. Who would accept that I sleep in the street? No water, no food, no bathrooms.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel in 2023, abducting 251 people and killing some 1,200, mostly civilians. Forty-eight hostages are still held inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed to be alive.

Israels retaliatory offensive has killed more than 64,700 Palestinians, according to Gazas Health Ministry.
Music was the only religion for ravers: Long-abandoned doc on 90s dance scene here set to be revived

Film that talks to movers, shakers, DJs and revellers from the golden age of clubbing rescued from scrapheap

Kelly's during the 1990s

Angela Davison Thu 11 Sep 2025 at 19:30

A documentary about how the rave scene brought people from both sides of the community together during the Troubles is set to be completed 10 years after it was filmed.
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BENNINGTON  Two well-known Bennington commercial properties were among several that changed hands in August.

The landmark former Fish Fry property at Depot and Main streets was sold to a religious organization, while an auto service and car wash property on Northside Drive also now has a new owner.

According to the real estate sales listed on the town clerks webpage, the former TJs Fish Fry  originally called Pauls Fish Fry when it opened during the 1960s  was sold for $425,000 by Dionysus LLC to the Church of the Mixed Multitude.

The parcel at 100 Depot Street, on which the building sits, had been subdivided from a larger lot, also owned by Dionysus, LLC. The adjacent lot at 120 Depot Street is where the small business center, including Anytime Fitness, Hollister Appliance and the BARRT Programs addiction services center, is located.

The larger lot housing the business center was sold by Dionysus LLC last summer to Depot St. Management, LLC, for $1.8 million.

Dionysus LLC is an entity associated with TPW Real Estate owner Paul Carroccio.

Church of the Mixed Multitude members could not be reached Thursday for comment on their plans for the former restaurant site.

Auto service center

The Northside Drive property was sold by Hoprah LLC, an entity begun by the late James Colvin and Lodie Colvin, for $750,000 to Snowden LLC, according to the town listing.

Snowden LLC also purchased property nearby at 113 Hicks Avenue from ESKA LLC, which also was begun by the Colvins, for $50,000.

The new owners could not be reached for comment.

Town officials said no permit requests have been received from the new owners relating to either the fish fry or auto service properties.
The Revd Jeremy Means-Koss is the Priest-in-Charge for both St Peters and St James Episcopal Churches and co-editor of Mysterion Seeking Understanding: How Sacramentality Can Save the Body of Christ by Pickwick Press. Opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of Vermont News & Media.
Pittsfield city councilors are calling for a comprehensive review of how the Shannon Grant is being used  and whether longtime partner 18 Degrees is effectively reaching the youth most at risk of gun violence  as the grant approaches renewal.
A new bill filed by state Rep. John Barrett and state Sen. Paul Mark would exempt small districts like Hancock  which lack their own middle or high schools  from paying costly tuition for school choice students who continue on to other districts, potentially allowing Hancock Elementary to reopen to out-of-district families.
Peptides & Complex Generics Symposium 2025 to Spotlight Indias Leadership in Advanced Therapeutics

September 11, 2025 | Thursday | News

The Mumbai Biocluster, an initiative of the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai, and operated as a Section-8 non-profit organization, proudly announces the inaugural edition of the Peptides & Complex Generics Symposium (PCG 2025).

This landmark gathering, set to take place on 2526 September 2025 at The Lalit, Mumbai, aims to spotlight Indias growing role in shaping the future of advanced therapeutics.

The inaugural edition brings together key stakeholders from industry leaders, academicians, pharmaceutical organizations and regulators, to foster cross-sector dialogue in this rapidly evolving domain

Peptides and complex generics are among the fastest growing and most challenging areas of drug development. With rising global demand, India is uniquely positioned to lead the conversation on innovation, manufacturing excellence, and accessibility in this field. PCG 2025 will serve as a stage to showcase groundbreaking research, foster strategic collaborations, and explore pathways for global impact.

Key Highlights of PCG 2025:

Plenary Panel on the Rapid Rise of GLP1 Drugs - Join us as leaders from Novo Nordisk A/S, Eli Lilly and Company, Dr. Reddys Laboratories Ltd., and Biocon Limited take the stage for an engaging discussion on the future and impact of the new miracle drug in the Indian market.

Scientific Exchange at Scale  Gain insights from thought leaders, CXOs, and global industry powerhouses such as Danaher Group, Mettler Toledo, Swiss Business Hub, etc. Engage in panel discussions on cutting-edge topics like GLP-1 with experts from academia, pharma, and biotech niche.

Innovation Opportunities  Young researchers and innovators are invited to submit abstracts for a chance to win prestigious awards, travel grants, and international recognition for their work.

Exhibition Highlights  Explore solutions and offerings from leading global and domestic players including Rx Propellant Private Limited, Swiss Business Hub India, CPC Scientific Inc., Agilent Technologies, Inc., Zelle Biotechnology Private Limited, Sartorius AG, and more.

Networking & Partnerships  PCG 2025 will be a unique platform fostering collaboration between academia, industry, and policymakers, driving the future of peptides and complex generics together.

Speaking on the launch, Dr. Ratnesh Jain, Convenor of PCG 2025, said:

Indias pharmaceutical landscape has made significant strides in the generics space. With peptides and complex generics emerging as the next frontier, PCG 2025 aims to catalyze collaboration, inspire innovation, and position India at the forefront of global drug development.

Why Attend?

This highly focused symposium brings together an action-oriented agenda featuring leading experts for vital conversations shaping the future of this domain.

For academia, PCG 2025 provides a chance to engage directly with industry leaders and showcase pioneering research.

For industry professionals, the symposium offers insights into cutting-edge science, regulatory pathways, and emerging opportunities.

For young scientists and entrepreneurs, PCG is a launchpad to gain recognition, mentorship, and potential collaborations.

The symposium will also feature keynote addresses, panel discussions, and interactive sessions that cover critical aspects of peptides and complex generics, from R&D breakthroughs and scalable manufacturing technologies to global regulatory trends and commercialization strategies.

Be a part of the dialogue that matters.

Be a part of #PCG2025.

Register Now: https://www.mumbaibiocluster.org/peptides-complex-generics-symposium

For any queries, reach out to Ms. Simran Siddiqui at marketing.associate@mumbai.biocluster.org
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The Late Late Show is back with a bang after the summer break, as Patrick Kielty kicks off his third season with Hollywood royalty, actors Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell.

They will meet with Patrick to chat about their upcoming film, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey. They will also share stories from set and their experience of working together for the first time.

Ahead of the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles this weekend, Colin will chat about his nomination for The Penguin, while Margot will reflect on the global success of Barbie.

Following his decision not to pursue the Presidency, Michael Flatley will join Patrick to reflect on his decision and the reasons behind it. Hell also speak about his personal journey with cancer and his involvement with a new exhibition by Breakthrough Cancer Research.

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Ireland Accumulated profits at Late Late Show's Patrick Kielty firm surge to 1.74m Read more

After hanging up his boots, Irish rugby legend Conor Murray will chat to Patrick about his new autobiography, Cloud Nine.

He will reflect on a decorated career in Irish rugby, share stories from the dressing room, and discuss how he found the strength to continue playing in the days and weeks after a road traffic collision left his father seriously injured.

Former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, will join Patrick to discuss urgent global issues, including the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. She will share insights from her recent visit to the Gaza border and speak about the role of international leadership in what the UN World Health Organisation has declared a man-made famine.

Late Late Show viewers will be treated to a special performance from Kodalines Steve Garrigan.
Ireland will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision song contest "if participation of Israel goes ahead", RTE announced on Wednesday.

In a statement, RTE said that "it is RTE's position that Ireland will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, if the participation of Israel goes ahead, and the final decision regarding Ireland's participation will be made once the European Broadcasting Union's (EBU) decision is made."

The broadcaster added that "RTE feels that Ireland's participation would be unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza. RTE is also deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza, and the denial of access to international journalists to the territory, and the plight of the remaining hostages."

In a statement also released on Wednesday, NUJ members working in RTE welcomed the broadcaster's announcement.

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"Last May, the Dublin Broadcasting Branch wrote to the broadcaster requesting that it formally oppose Israels participation. We did this because our members are appalled by Israels actions in Gaza and the wider region, not least the unprecedented wholescale targeting and killing of journalists and media workers," the statement said.

"We strongly welcome RTEs clear statement that it would be unconscionable for Ireland to participate next year, given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza, and recording the broadcasters deep concern at the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza, and the denial of access to international journalists to the territory, and the plight of the remaining hostages."

"We believe this position reflects the views of staff working at the broadcaster, and those of the Irish public that we serve."

The statement ended by calling on other European broadcasters to follow suit, and on the EBU to suspend Israel from the 2026 contest "as a matter of urgency."

Siptu members in RTE also released a statement in support of the broadcaster "taking a principled stance on the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest".

"This decision aligns with our values and shows a strong commitment to human rights and justice. We fully support RTE's position and commend their leadership in this matter," the Siptu members' statement said.

There has been growing controversy about Israel's participation in the competition, with large demonstrations held during Eurovision in the host cities of Basel this year, and in Sweden's Malomo in 2024.

Broadcasters in Iceland and Slovenia have recently said they may not take part in the competition next year if Israel is involved.

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RTE had sought consultations with the EBU on Israel's participation along with Spanish and Slovenian broadcasters, and the EBU had committed to dialogue on the issue.

Following a General Assembly of the EBU in July, a number of EBU members raised concerns about the participation of Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest.

RTE said in its statement that the broadcaster wished to thank the EBU for the extensive consultation process that was initiated on foot of that meeting, and the extension of the option to withdraw from participation without penalty to December.

Ireland has participated in the song contest since 1965 and has won the contest seven times.
A Judge has condemned a Co Donegal couple who used a child's buggy to hide items stolen during a shoplifting spree.

Tornike Kikvidze, 27, and his partner Tatia Shonia, also 27, appeared at Letterkenny District Court facing two charges.

It followed two different incidents at Penneys at Letterkenny Shopping Centre.

The couple were charged with stealing a number of items including clothing and make-up.

Garda Sergeant Jim Collins told the court that the pair, with an address at Beechwood Park in Letterkenny, admitted the thefts.

The pair were charged that on October 7th, 2024, they did steal make-up and clothing to the value of 107 from Penneys in Letterkenny.

They are also charged that on October 10th, 2024, they stole other items worth 104 from the same store.

Sergeant Collins told the court how the items had been concealed in a child's buggy and taken from the court before they were detected.

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All thefts were captured on CCTV, the court was told.

Sergeant Collins added that all stolen items were recovered and were resaleable.

The court was told that Kikvidze had previously received an adult caution for a similar offence and is now working on a part-time basis.

The court was told the couple have been living in Ireland for four years and are originally from Georgia.

Judge Deirdre Gearty slammed the couple's behaviour which she described as "unacceptable".

"This type of behaviour is just unacceptable. Businesses are entitled to go about their business. This was done in a nasty enough way, with the items being pushed into a child's buggy," she said.

She convicted Kikvidze and fined him 100 and gave him five months to pay.

She also applied the Probation Act to Shonia.
Tributes have been paid to a PHD student from Italy who died whilst rock climbing in Baltimore in Co Cork on September 4th.

Lorenzo de Bonis (27), who lived in Blackpool on the north side of Cork city, will be laid to rest in his native Italy on Friday.

The marine biologist, who was studying at University College Cork, was climbing at Foxs Cliff at Eastern Hole in Baltimore Harbour when the accident occurred.

The alarm was raised at 8:30pm last Thursday after his partner was unable to contact him.

A searched was carried out and halted at 1am on Friday. It resumed at 6am last Friday morning and his body was subsequently recovered by a local diver.

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) said that Lorenzo loved all outdoor activities including sailing and climbing.

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It was the latter that led to his untimely passing when he fell while climbing off Baltimore, Co Cork. Thank you to the lifeboat and local boat people who recovered his body for his family to mourn and bury.

"Our sincere condolences to his parents Concetta and Riccardo and his partner Signe. Our hearts go out to you all.

"Lorenzo will live on in our hearts and we will ensure his work will be published.

The team at the IWDG say that Lorenzo first reached out to them when he was completing a placement.

It was online but Lorenzo and fellow student Michiel De Boeck contributed a lot despite the distance between us all. Both Michiel and Lorenzo prepared short podcasts on our Shannon Dolphin research.

"One of Lorenzos stories (involved) encountering a grey whale in the Mediterranean during one of the many yacht-based surveys he carried out. He wrote a lovely piece for our summer 2021 edition of the IWDG magazine.

The group added that Lorenzo travelled to ATU Galway to complete his third semester and stayed to carry out his MSc project on the genetics of bottlenose dolphins.

His work with ATU and the IWDG on updating our knowledge on bottlenose dolphin genetics was very useful but his exploration of the genetics of some of the solitary dolphins in Ireland was truly remarkable.

"He showed that four of the five dolphins sampled were all offshore genotypes with one a Shannon-Offshore hybrid. This work is ready to be submitted for publication and we will ensure it is published in his memory.

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"Following this work he was offered a PhD at UCC on the eWhale project. He was now very comfortable in the lab and became a driver and mentor to many colleagues.

Meanwhile, his parents Riccardo and Concetta said in a death notice on Rip.ie that he will be sadly missed by them, his sister Chiara, partner Signe Martin, his wider family, and all his friends and colleagues in Italy, UCC, ATU and the marine biology and climbing communities in Ireland and beyond.

A funeral mass will be held for Lorenzo on Friday in Rome.
Too many people have remained silent over the killing of US political activist Charlie Kirk, the Tanaiste has said.

Mr Kirk, a 31-year-old ally of US president Donald Trump, was shot dead at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Simon Harris said there needs to be consistent condemnation of political threats and violence.

He said: Too many people use the word but in relation to what happened overnight.

Its extraordinarily easy to condemn violent acts against somebody with whom you share their views.

It is much more important that we are consistent in terms of calling it out when its against somebody whose work, whose views differ to us.

Charlie Kirk (Meredith Seaver/College Station Eagle via AP)

The Tanaistes comments come after a spate of violent threats against him and his family, including bomb threats made in relation to his family home.

Breaking ground at a development of 395 homes in Lucan, Dublin, Mr Harris condemned the assassination of the father-of-two as appalling, horrifying and deeply disturbing.

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He added: It sadly seems were living in a world now where political violence, political threats, rhetoric around violence and extremism is almost contagious, contagious right across the globe, and it cannot be tolerated.

Green Party leader Roderic OGorman called for changes to social media algorithms (Brian Lawless/PA)

Meanwhile, the leader of the Green Party told the RTE Radio he thinks the algorithms used by social media platforms need to be looked at, adding: The ability of platforms to bombard vulnerable people with radicalising content, violent content needs to be recognised.

Mr OGorman said he believed recommender systems need to be turned off and claimed it would take engagement between the Government and Irelands media regulator for that to happen.

Mr Harris said his former coalition partner had made some interesting points during the interview.

My thoughts and prayers go to the family and loved ones of Charlie Kirk after his horrific murder in Utah. We think especially of his wife and young children today.



There is no place for the gun in politics, no justification for violence in democratic debate.  Micheal Martin (@MichealMartinTD) September 11, 2025

World College age sniper jumped off roof after killing Trump ally, Utah police say Read more

Taoiseach Micheal Martin also condemned the absolutely shocking assassination of Mr Kirk, which he said illustrated the extreme nature of violence in our world today.

Speaking to reporters in Dublin, Mr Martin said the cold-blooded killing had sent shockwaves through societies across the world.
Belarus has freed 52 political prisoners as the United States announced it was lifting sanctions on the isolated countrys national airline.

Belarus, a close ally of Russia, has been repeatedly slapped with Western sanctions both for its authoritarian governments crackdown on human rights and its role in Moscows invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Its president, Alexander Lukashenko, has ruled the nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist for more than three decades, and allowed the Kremlin to use Belarusian territory to send troops and weapons into Ukraine.

But for more than a year, Mr Lukashenko has sought to mend ties with the West in the hopes of easing the sanctions and the countrys international isolation. He has regularly released prisoners as a way to win favour.



Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has freed political prisoners (Andrew Matthews/PA)

In June, Belarus freed Siarhei Tsikhanouski, a key dissident figure and the husband of exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and 13 others following a visit by a senior envoy of US President Donald Trump.

Shortly before the release became public on Thursday, Belarusian state media posted a video of US envoy John Coale announcing that Washington had lifted sanctions on Belarus national air carrier Belavia.

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The airline was sanctioned by the European Union, the US, and others after Belarusian flight controllers ordered a commercial jet travelling from Greece to Lithuania to land in Minsk. Once the plane landed, authorities arrested Raman Pratasevich, a dissident journalist who was on board.

The concession from the US comes a day after Poland denounced an incursion of Russian drones into its territory  some from Belarus  in what Western officials called an act of aggression.

Nato jets were scrambled and shot some of the drones down. Russian and Belarusian troops have been gathering for war games scheduled to start on Friday.

Mr Trump, whose country is the major military power in Nato, offered an ambiguous initial response to the incursions, posting, Whats with Russia violating Polands airspace with drones? Here we go! on his Truth Social platform.

Mr Tsikhanouskaya, Belarus opposition leader in exile, warned that lifting sanctions could create new leverage for both Minsk and Moscow, whose aviation industry has been heavily sanctioned.

We understand that this is part of the deal, she told The Associated Press. But lifting sanctions without systemic changes in the country could open loopholes that both the Lukashenko regime and Russia will use to circumvent the sanctions.

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Among those released on Thursday was Ihar Losik, a journalist for US government-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, according to human rights group Viasna.

More than 1,000 political prisoners still remain in Belarusian prisons and we cannot stop until they see freedom Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda

The 33-year-old was convicted of organising mass riots, taking part in mass disorder, inciting social hatred and several other charges that remain unclear, according to the broadcaster. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in December 2021.

Also among those freed were 14 foreigners  six Lithuanians, two Latvians, two Poles, two Germans, one French national and one UK national, according to the Belarusian presidencys press service.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said the prisoners safely crossed into his country and left behind barbed wire, barred windows and constant fear.

I am deeply grateful to the United States and personally to President @realDonaldTrump for their continued efforts to free political prisoners. 52 is a lot. A great many. Yet more than 1,000 political prisoners still remain in Belarusian prisons and we cannot stop until they see freedom! Mr Nauseda wrote on X.

Almost 1,200 political prisoners remain behind bars in Belarus, according to Mr Viasna.

Mr Lukashenko has relentlessly cracked down on the opposition and independent media, especially after tens of thousands of people poured into the streets to protest against his re-election in August 2020, in a vote widely seen as rigged. They were the largest protests in the countrys history.

In the ensuing crackdown, tens of thousands were detained, with many beaten by police. Prominent opposition figures either fled the country or were imprisoned.

Mr Lukashenko has since extended his rule for a seventh term following a January 2025 election that the opposition also called a farce.
The sniper who assassinated Charlie Kirk is believed to have jumped off the roof and fled after firing a single shot from a high-powered rifle which police recovered from woodland close to Utah Valley University.

The killer is believed to have blended in on the campus where Mr Kirk was shot and appeared to be of college age, police said, as they continued to investigate the latest act of political violence in America.

Later on Thursday, the FBI released two photos of a person of interest in connection with the shooting as investigators appealed to the public for information. The photos show a person wearing a hat, sunglasses and a long-sleeve black shirt.

It remained unclear how far the killer has travelled though law enforcement officials said nearby woods where the rifle was found have been secured.

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Federal, state and local authorities said they were working on multiple active crime scenes on Thursday in the search for the killer of the conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump.

This is a dark day for our state. Its a tragic day for our nation, said Utah Governor Spencer Cox.

I want to be very clear, this is a political assassination.

Mr Trump announced on Thursday he will posthumously award Mr Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

He said he remained shocked by Mr Kirks assassination and praised his allys impact on conservative politics. Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people, Mr Trump said.

He announced Mr Kirks death on social media on Wednesday and praised the 31-year-old co-founder and CEO of Turning Point as great, and even legendary and blamed the rhetoric of the radical left for the killing.

Well-wishers pay their respects at a makeshift memorial at the national headquarters of Turning Point USA /Ross D Franklin/AP)

Two people detained on Wednesday but neither was determined to have had any connection to the shooting and both have been released, Utah public safety officials said.

The shooting drew renewed attention to an escalating threat of political violence in the United States that in the last several years has cut across the ideological spectrum.

The assassination drew bipartisan condemnation, but a national reckoning over ways to prevent political grievances from manifesting as deadly violence seemed elusive.

Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University show Mr Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans The American Comeback and Prove Me Wrong.

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A single shot rings out and Mr Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as a large volume of blood gushes from the left side of his neck.

Stunned spectators are heard gasping and screaming before people start to run away.

In honor of Charlie Kirk, President Trump is ordering all American flags throughout the U.S. to be lowered to Half Mast. pic.twitter.com/FOYHIZU2FD  The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 10, 2025

Mr Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his non-profit political organisation.

Immediately before the shooting, Mr Kirk was taking questions from an audience member about mass shootings and gun violence.

Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years? the person asked.

Mr Kirk responded: Too many.

The questioner followed up: Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?

Counting or not counting gang violence? Mr Kirk asked.

Then a single shot rang out.

The assailant, who Mr Cox pledged would be held accountable in a state with the death penalty, wore dark clothing and fired from a building roof some distance away to the courtyard where the event took place.

Some 3,000 people were in attendance, according to a statement from the Utah Department of Public Safety, which also said the university police department had six officers working at the event along with Mr Kirks own security detail.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with moderator Charlie Kirk, during a Generation Next White House forum in 2018 (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

Utah Valley University said the campus was immediately evacuated and remained closed.

Classes were cancelled until further notice.

Those still on campus were asked to stay in place until police officers could safely escort them off campus.

Armed officers walked around the neighbourhood bordering the campus, knocking on doors and asking for information on the assailant.

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Officers were seen looking at a photo on their phones and showing it to people to see if they recognised a person of interest.

The event, billed as the first stop on Mr Kirks The American Comeback Tour, had generated a polarising campus reaction.

An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Mr Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures.

The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.

The shooting drew swift condemnation across the political aisle as Democratic officials joined Mr Trump, who ordered flags lowered to half-mast and issued a presidential proclamation, and Republican allies of Mr Kirk in decrying the violence.

The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible, Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom, who last March hosted Mr Kirk on his podcast, posted on X.

The shooting appeared poised to become part of a spike of political violence that has touched a range of ideologies and representatives of both major parties.

The attacks include the assassination of a Minnesota state politician and her husband at their house in June, the firebombing of a Colorado parade to demand Hamas release hostages, and a fire set at the house of Pennsylvanias governor, who is Jewish, in April.

The most notorious of these events is the shooting of Mr Trump during a campaign rally last year.
Charlie Kirk, the chief executive and co-founder of the conservative youth organisation Turning Point USA, has been shot dead at an event at a Utah college.

Mr Kirk was a top podcaster, culture warrior and ally of US president Donald Trump.

The 31-year-old bolstered the Republican partys get-out-the-vote drive in the 2024 US election based on the theory that there were thousands of Trump supporters who rarely vote, but could be persuaded to back him.

His killing is the latest example of political violence in the US spanning a range of political ideologies and affecting both major political parties.

Here are the the key details about Mr Kirks shooting, and his significance in American politics:

TO MY GREAT FELLOW AMERICANS pic.twitter.com/oRsrE5TTHr  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 11, 2025

-Single shot fire from a roof

Mr Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by Turning Point USA at Utah Valley University when authorities said the assailant fired from a roof.

Videos posted to social media show Mr Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent.

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A single shot rings out and Mr Kirk reaches up with his right hand as blood gushes from the left side of his neck.

Utah Valley is the states largest public university with a roll of 47,000. It is about 40 miles south of the state capital of Salt Lake City.

-Officials believe the assailant acted alone

The shooter targeted one person, said Beau Mason, the commissioner of the state Department of Public Safety.

Utah governor Spencer Cox called the killing a political assassination.

A person of interest was in custody Wednesday evening, Mr Cox said, though no charges were immediately announced.

Officials had no information indicating a second person was involved, the governor said.

A makeshift memorial for Mr Kirk was set up at the national headquarters of Turning Point USA. Photo: AP.

Officers were seen looking at a photo on their phones and showing it to people to see if they recognised a person of interest.

Authorities said the assailant wore dark clothing.

Two people were detained on Wednesday but neither was determined to be connected to the shooting and both were released, Utah public safety officials said.

The university said the campus was immediately evacuated and remained closed. Classes were cancelled until further notice. Those still on campus were asked to stay in place until police officers could safely escort them out.

Mr Kirk was a well-known conservative political activist (AP)

-Kirks prominence rose with Trump

Mr Kirk was just 18 when he co-founded Turning Point in suburban Chicago in 2012 with William Montgomery, a Tea Party activist. They aimed to take their ideas for low taxes and limited government to college campuses across America.

Turning Point enthusiastically backed Mr Trump after he clinched the Republican nomination for president in 2016. Mr Kirk served as a personal aide to the then-candidates eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, during the general election campaign.

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The Trump connection helped fuel Turning Points rise to prominence. Soon, Mr Kirk was a regular presence on US cable TV, where he leaned into the culture wars and heaped praise on the president.

A vigil was held for Charlie Kirk outside Timpanogos Regional Hospital. Photo: AP.

Contributions to the group doubled and then tripled  eventually climbing to 79.2 million dollars (58.5 million) in 2022, according to an analysis of publicly available tax filings.

The group states that it now has a presence on nearly 4,000 high school and college campuses, operating as a conservative lifestyle brand that promotes hundreds of online influencers.

Mr Kirk was known for provocative statements on race that he used to court Gen Z voters.

Im sorry. If I see a black pilot, Im going to be like: Boy, I hope hes qualified, Mr Kirk said during a 2024 podcast episode with fellow right-wing activist Jack Posobiec.

Mr Kirk staunchly opposed the enactment of Juneteenth  the June 19 commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States  as a federal holiday. He said the move to elevate the date was motivated by anti-American sentiment that promoted a neo-segregationist view that he claimed sought to supplant Independence Day.

There are no words good enough to express the horror of this.



The killing of Charlie Kirk is a blow to everything Western civilization stands for: open discourse, robust debate and peaceful dissent. He lived his life by those very principles, no matter the danger it put him in.  Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) September 10, 2025

-Bipartisan condemnation

Republicans and Democrats alike swiftly condemned the attack.

World Activist and Trump ally Charlie Kirk assassinated at Utah university Read more

Mr Trump ordered flags lowered to half-mast and issued a presidential proclamation. The president, who sustained a minor ear injury when he was shot at a campaign event last year, said he and Mr Kirk had a close relationship.

He described Mr Kirk on Truth Social as a great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!

Democratic California governor Gavin Newsom, who last March hosted Mr Kirk on his podcast, posted on X: The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible.
Italys foreign minister has told Israel to respect the rights of Italians taking part in a flotilla that is seeking to break the blockade of Gaza after a boat was attacked with incendiary devices in Tunisian waters.

Antonio Tajani told parliament on Thursday that Italy would be monitoring the flotilla and providing consular and diplomatic assistance to the 58 Italians taking part, including some lawmakers.

Our embassy in Tel Aviv, under my instruction, talked to the Israeli authorities about the respect of the rights for all the fellow citizens who are part of the flotilla including among them several members of parliament, Mr Tajani said. I also called Foreign Minister (Gideon) Saar to personally make him aware of the matter.

He spoke hours before other boats participating in the flotilla were due to set sail from Siracusa, Sicily.



Antonio Tajani has warned Italy (Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse via AP)

The Global Sumud Flotilla said on Wednesday that it was attacked with incendiary devices for a second night in a row when a drone targeted one of its boats that was docked in Tunisian waters.

The group shared CCTV footage showing people on board the British-flagged Alma shouting fire and pointing to the sky. Projectiles on fire fell on the deck, exploding and setting off a blaze. No one was injured.

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The attack appeared similar to the one the night before on the Portuguese-flagged Family vessel. Mr Tajani said the ministry was closely following the flotillas progress and staying in close contact with the Italian spokesperson of the group.

Flotilla participants have reported seeing drones in the moments preceding the attacks and other moments during the journey from Barcelona.

Both the Alma and Family were mother ships of the mission, providing support and provisions to smaller vessels and carrying the most high-profile members of the flotilla, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau.

Tunisias Interior Ministry described Wednesdays attack as a premeditated act and said in a statement that an investigation was under way into who was behind it. It did not elaborate.

While falling short of providing concrete evidence, some activists blamed Israel, which has in the past intercepted other activist boats seeking to reach Gaza by sea.

Israel has not responded to the accusations. It has previously dismissed the flotillas as publicity stunts, saying a blockade is necessary to prevent smuggling, particularly of weapons.
A massive manhunt is under way for a sniper who assassinated Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump, in the latest act of political violence in America.

Mr Kirk was killed by a single gunshot fired from a distant rooftop at the Utah Valley University campus, where he was speaking on Wednesday.

Federal, state and local authorities said they were working on Thursday on multiple active crime scenes.

As the search stretched into a second day, they provided little information about the killers identity, motive, location or evidence and were reviewing grainy security videos of a mysterious person in dark clothing.

This is a dark day for our state. Its a tragic day for our nation, said Utah Governor Spencer Cox.

I want to be very clear, this is a political assassination.

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Mr Trump announced Mr Kirks death on social media and praised the 31-year-old co-founder and CEO of Turning Point as great, and even legendary and blamed the rhetoric of the radical left for the killing.

Later, he released a recorded video from the White House in which he called Mr Kirk a martyr for truth and freedom.

Well-wishers pay their respects at a makeshift memorial at the national headquarters of Turning Point USA /Ross D Franklin/AP)

Two people detained on Wednesday but neither was determined to have had any connection to the shooting and both have been released, Utah public safety officials said.

The shooting drew renewed attention to an escalating threat of political violence in the United States that in the last several years has cut across the ideological spectrum.

The assassination drew bipartisan condemnation, but a national reckoning over ways to prevent political grievances from manifesting as deadly violence seemed elusive.

Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University show Mr Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans The American Comeback and Prove Me Wrong.

A single shot rings out and Mr Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as a large volume of blood gushes from the left side of his neck.

Stunned spectators are heard gasping and screaming before people start to run away.

In honor of Charlie Kirk, President Trump is ordering all American flags throughout the U.S. to be lowered to Half Mast. pic.twitter.com/FOYHIZU2FD  The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 10, 2025

Mr Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his non-profit political organisation.

Immediately before the shooting, Mr Kirk was taking questions from an audience member about mass shootings and gun violence.

Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years? the person asked.

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Mr Kirk responded: Too many.

The questioner followed up: Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?

Counting or not counting gang violence? Mr Kirk asked.

Then a single shot rang out.

The assailant, who Mr Cox pledged would be held accountable in a state with the death penalty, wore dark clothing and fired from a building roof some distance away to the courtyard where the event took place.

Some 3,000 people were in attendance, according to a statement from the Utah Department of Public Safety, which also said the university police department had six officers working at the event along with Mr Kirks own security detail.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with moderator Charlie Kirk, during a Generation Next White House forum in 2018 Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP.

Utah Valley University said the campus was immediately evacuated and remained closed.

Classes were cancelled until further notice.

Those still on campus were asked to stay in place until police officers could safely escort them off campus.

Armed officers walked around the neighbourhood bordering the campus, knocking on doors and asking for information on the assailant.

Officers were seen looking at a photo on their phones and showing it to people to see if they recognised a person of interest.

The event, billed as the first stop on Mr Kirks The American Comeback Tour, had generated a polarising campus reaction.

An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Mr Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures.

The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.

The shooting drew swift condemnation across the political aisle as Democratic officials joined Mr Trump, who ordered flags lowered to half-mast and issued a presidential proclamation, and Republican allies of Mr Kirk in decrying the violence.

The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible, Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom, who last March hosted Mr Kirk on his podcast, posted on X.

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The shooting appeared poised to become part of a spike of political violence that has touched a range of ideologies and representatives of both major parties.

The attacks include the assassination of a Minnesota state politician and her husband at their house in June, the firebombing of a Colorado parade to demand Hamas release hostages, and a fire set at the house of Pennsylvanias governor, who is Jewish, in April.

The most notorious of these events is the shooting of Mr Trump during a campaign rally last year.
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BusinessCompaniesBillionaires This was published 3 months ago The college dropout who just became the worlds richest person Diana Li , Brody Ford and Anders Melin September 11, 2025  11:26am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

Larry Ellison dropped out of college before co-founding what eventually grew into one of the worlds biggest technology companies: Oracle. The fortune he amassed propelled him to the ranks of the uber-rich. In July, he eclipsed Mark Zuckerberg to become the worlds second-wealthiest person, and overnight, he overtook Elon Musk for the No.1 spot  though the Tesla chief reclaimed the ranking by the close of trade on Wall Street. With two partners, Ellison founded in 1977 what eventually became Oracle. Bloomberg Ellisons success has been accompanied by a well-documented history of lavish living. That lifestyle  which includes megayachts, private planes, trophy properties and the purchase of a Hawaiian island  sometimes brings about controversies. Heres what you need to know about Ellisons life and career.

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Billionaires Elon Musk briefly toppled as worlds richest person after rivals $135 billion windfall Who is Larry Ellison, and how much is he worth? Ellison is the co-founder and biggest shareholder of Oracle, a software giant that became famous for its namesake database, which underpins many of the worlds largest corporate operations. More recently, the company has found success in the competitive market for cloud computing infrastructure, which is dominated by rivals such as Amazon. Ellison, 81, owns more than 40 per cent of Oracle which is based in Austin, Texas, and which constitutes the majority of his wealth. He also owns a stake in Musks electric-vehicle maker Tesla, a sailing team, the Indian Wells tennis event, and real estate, including Hawaiis Lanai island. Ellisons wealth soared $US89 billion ($135 billion) after Oracle reported quarterly results that surpassed analysts expectations and said there was more growth to come.

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The increase lifted his total net worth to $US383.2 billion. Its the biggest one-day increase ever recorded, and put him ahead of Musk for much of the day before the Tesla CEO edged back into pole position by $US1 billion. How did Ellison make his fortune on Oracle? Raised on the south side of Chicago after being adopted by his mothers aunt and uncle when he was nine months old, Ellison dropped out of both the University of Illinois and the University of Chicago and moved to Berkeley, California, taking a computer programming job at Ampex, where he worked on a database called Oracle for the Central Intelligence Agency. Ellison has also benefited from a close relationship with US President Donald Trump. Bloomberg With two partners, Ellison founded in 1977 what eventually became Oracle. The company sold shares in an initial public offering on March 12, 1986, a day before Microsofts IPO. He stepped down as Oracles chief executive officer in September 2014, taking on the titles of chairman and chief technology officer.

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Related Article Billionaires King of the geeks: Maths whiz hands himself a $1.4 billion payday Why is Oracle having a moment right now? Oracle has invested billions of dollars over the past few years to become a provider of cloud infrastructure, offering computing power and storage over the internet. The firm has benefited from the enthusiasm for artificial intelligence as start-ups and other AI firms seek more capacity. As of early September, Oracles share price had tripled since the public release of ChatGPT in November 2022. It hit an all-time high after market close in New York on September 9, as Oracle provided an aggressive outlook for its cloud business that surprised Wall Street and galvanised hopes that the global build-out of AI infrastructure is accelerating. It was a win for a company that was already having a good year. In July, Oracle inked an unprecedented commitment with ChatGPT operator OpenAI for 4.5 gigawatts worth of data-centre capacity  enough energy to power millions of American homes. Oracle also counts companies such as Nvidia and ByteDances TikTok as major cloud customers. Taken together, this shows how Oracle is emerging as a key provider of such computing capacity, competing with cloud leaders Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabets Google.

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Ellison has also benefited from a close relationship with US President Donald Trump. Ellison has been a Trump supporter and Republican donor for years. Since Trump returned to office in January, hes rewarded Ellison by elevating Oracle on multiple occasions. Ellison also owns a stake in Tesla. Bloomberg Ellison and Oracle are part of a $US500 billion AI infrastructure project called Stargate that Trump first touted in January. Trump has expressed support for Oracle to acquire a partial stake in the US business of TikTok, which would give Oracle a share of one of the worlds most popular consumer products. Oracles bid for the popular video app owned by Chinas ByteDance, which includes several other potential investors, has been endorsed by Trump, but hasnt been approved by the Chinese government. What other businesses does Ellison own? Hes spent hundreds of millions of dollars on luxury real estate in the past decade, including properties in Malibu and Rancho Mirage in California; the Beechwood Mansion in Newport, Rhode Island; and an estate in the San Francisco Bay Area modelled on 16th century Japanese feudal architecture.

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Ellison has been a major shareholder of Tesla and owned about 1.5 per cent of the company as of the carmakers 2022 proxy statement. He stepped down from Teslas board of directors in June that year, and his stake hasnt been disclosed in subsequent filings. He was also one of the largest outside backers of Musks bid to purchase Twitter, which has since been renamed X. What are Ellisons interests outside of tech? The software mogul has a history of lavish living. In a 2002 email to the tech founder, an accountant suggested that Ellison budget and plan because his spending habits were becoming difficult to sustain, according to a January 2006 San Francisco Chronicle article. Ellison finances his lifestyle using debt and the proceeds from Oracle stock sales and dividends, which have amounted to more than $US12 billion since 2003, according to an analysis of data compiled by Bloomberg. Hes an avid sailor and partially financed the BMW Oracle Racing team, which won the Americas Cup in February 2010. He sold his stake in Rising Sun, a 138-metre megayacht, to billionaire David Geffen later that year. Ellisons Oracle Team USA defended the Americas Cup in October 2013, defeating a team from New Zealand. He signed the Giving Pledge in 2010, promising to give away at least 95 per cent of his wealth to charitable causes.

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Related Article Media & marketing Ruthless villain: The secretive billionaire who backed Rupert Murdoch opens up How has Ellison been involved in Hawaii? Ellisons love for Hawaii, which began in his childhood, led to his $US300 million purchase of 98 per cent of the island of Lanai in 2012. There, hes partnered with David Agus  a doctor who treated Ellisons late best friend, Steve Jobs  to create Sensei, a chain of luxury wellness resorts focused on longevity. His personal connections have brought high-profile visitors including Musk, Hollywood actor Tom Cruise and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the once-sleepy island. Ellisons supporters have said his investments have helped revitalise Lanai but there have been complaints that the island has become more hospitable to the super-rich while squeezing out families that have lived there for generations. Bloomberg The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.
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BusinessMarketsFrance This was published 3 months ago Opinion Block Everything: France faces a financial crisis as it descends into chaos Stephen Bartholomeusz Senior business columnist September 11, 2025  12:19pm

September 11, 2025  12:19pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share 43 View all comments

France is again experiencing political upheaval, and is now on the verge of a financial crisis after President Emmanuel Macron was forced to appoint his fifth prime minister in just two years. Sebastien Lecornu will now have to try to formulate a budget that can pass through a bitterly divided parliament, a process that has claimed several of his predecessors, including the immediate past prime minister, Francois Bayrou, who was ousted by an unlikely coalition of far-right and left-wing lawmakers. If Lecornu fails  which is likely, given how fractured and polarised French politics is  it is possible that France will have to go to another election. It was last years snap election gamble by Macron that produced a parliament that made France an almost ungovernable state. Protesters of the Block Everything movement set fires while blocking highways across France early on Wednesday after the government collapsed over proposed budget cuts. AP Bayrou was trying to take a small step towards stabilising Frances deteriorating finances, cutting spending in an effort to reduce the countrys budget deficit from an expected 5.4 per cent of GDP this year to 4.6 per cent. His budget included 44 billion ($78 billion) of spending cuts and tax increases.

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Had he prevailed, that would have left Frances fiscal position still well above the European Unions budget deficit limit of 3 per cent of GDP and compare badly with two of the traditionally less fiscally disciplined economies in the eurozone: Italy, where this years deficit is expected to be 3.3 per cent of GDP and contracting, and Greece, where there is expected to be a budget surplus. Frances 3.35 trillion of debt and a debt-to-GDP ratio of 114 per cent  which the French finance ministry has said will rise above 125 per cent by 2029 unless there are significant policy changes  has left it behind only Italy (138 per cent) and Greece (152.5 per cent) in the eurozone rankings of indebtedness. The average debt-to-GDP ratio across the eurozone is 88 per cent. The Macron era in French politics and history, which promised so much, isnt ending well. Its borrowing costs have blown out and, with a 10-year bond yield of 3.46 per cent, are the same as Italys for the first time since the global financial crisis in 2008, and above those of Greece, once considered the riskiest of eurozone borrowers. The cost of servicing newly issued debt has risen more than 60 basis points this year. Loading

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The spread between yields on French bonds and those of Germany has blown out to more than 80 basis points, and could widen further if Macron, whose term expires in 2027, has to call an early presidential election to try to unblock the parliamentary impasse. The problem for Lecornu, and ultimately Macron, is the make-up of the French parliament, in which no party commands a majority and the bulk of numbers are at the extremes, so the only path to getting a new budget passed is a narrow one that gives concessions to those extremes, which seek higher taxes on companies and the rich, a lot more spending and a lowering of the retirement age from 64 to 62, or even 60  demands that would worsen Frances already shaky finances. Sebastien Lecornu (left) is French President Emmanuel Macrons fifth prime minister in two years. AP France already has some of the highest taxes in the eurozone, and social welfare and healthcare spending account for a third of its GDP, compared with an average of 27.2 per cent across the rest of the eurozone. Indeed, Frances government spending ranks among the highest in the developed world. The obvious response to its deteriorating financial position would be to cut spending, rather than raise taxes and spending, as sought by both the far-left and far-right.

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Not only is there insufficient support from more centrist politicians for such a course, however, but this weeks Block Everything nationwide protests against any budget cuts show how deeply unpopular any fiscal consolidation would be. The gilets jaunes (yellow vests) movement that erupted in 2018 against Macrons attempts to cut income and corporate taxes and government spending, while raising fuel excises and the retirement age, demonstrated how powerful those popular protests can be. Macron, who had been elected president only a year earlier, was forced to water down some of his proposed reforms, cut taxes for lower paid workers and increase pensions, among other concessions. Related Article World politics French government in crisis after vote to oust PM The gilets jaunes protests blunted the impact of Macrons reforms, which had started to lift Frances moribund economic growth rate and lower its unemployment rate, while improving, rather than resolving, structurally unsound finances.

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After the street protests came the pandemic, which the government responded to (as did others) with a whatever it takes approach to spending; then came the supply chain aftershocks that ignited inflation around the world, and Russias invasion of Ukraine, which caused an energy shock across Europe. Macron won a second presidential term in 2022 and tried to address the rising deficit by raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, but his party lost its majority in the National Assembly, largely as a result of that policy, and then last years miscalculated snap election created the unworkable parliament of today. A financial crisis in France would have implications for the rest of the eurozone and for the institutions that underpin the EU. Without a renewed effort to reduce spending and debt, Frances finances can only worsen. Growth wont provide a painless exit route from the fiscal trap.

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The economy grew at a meagre 1.1 per cent last year and is expected to slow to a rate of 0.6 per cent this year. France needs to run surpluses of at least 1 per cent of GDP for years just to stabilise its financial position, which appears a remote possibility. The countrys political and fiscal challenges are of wider consequence given that France and Germany are the economic and political pillars of the eurozone. Related Article Defamation Global humiliation: Macron sues influencer over claim his wife was born male A significant financial crisis in France would have implications for the rest of the eurozone, and for the institutions that underpin the European Union, while any new election would probably usher in a far-right government, one in favour of more government spending but opposed to providing aid to Ukraine. At present, France is edging towards a financial crisis, but it isnt there yet. Without a change in its political settings, however, and the emergence of a majority within the parliament committed to structural improvement in its finances  which seems a remote possibility  it will keep heading towards a crisis.

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The Macron era in French politics and history, which promised so much, isnt ending well, and the outlook for one of the worlds key economies and most influential countries appears likely to be even worse. The Market Recap newsletter is a wrap of the days trading. Get it each weekday afternoon.
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EnvironmentClimate changeClimate crisis This was published 3 months ago Carbon bomb gas plant to be extended for decades as Pacific begs for emissions cuts Bianca Hall and Nick Toscano September 11, 2025  3:36pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

Environment Minister Murray Watt will reveal the conditions for gas giant Woodsides 40-year expansion of its North West Shelf project as early as Friday as Pacific leaders meeting in Honiara call on Australia to dramatically cut its emissions to ensure their survival. In May, Watt gave preliminary approval to Woodside Energys bid  comprising a vast network of offshore oil and gas infrastructure and the onshore gas-processing hub in Karratha  until 2070. Murujuga custodian Raelene Cooper standing on Murujuga, with Woodsides Karratha plant in the background. Photo: Bianca Hall The announcement was cheered by the gas industry as recognition that the fuel will be needed for years to underpin Australias shift to renewables and the energy security of export partners in Asia. But it was fiercely opposed by environmental groups. The Climate Council said the decision would lock in more than 4 billion tonnes of climate pollution  equivalent to a decade of Australias annual emissions  and would haunt the Albanese government.

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The Climate Council says the forecast emissions from the North West Shelf project would be higher than New Zealands annual output in 2023 of 76.4 million tonnes. Watt attached what he described as strict conditions to his provisional approval, which are expected to include reductions to forecast emissions. Environment Minister Murray Watt is poised to reveal the future of Woodsides operations near Murujuga. Save Our Songlines Since then, the government and Woodside have been locked in negotiations over the project. Woodside chief executive Meg ONeill voiced frustration last month that the oil and gas giant was yet to secure the Albanese governments final approval to extend the North West Shelf project after months of talks.

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ONeill indicated there were sticking points in Woodsides negotiations with the federal government on the conditions that might be imposed on the plants industrial emissions. She suggested the government was seeking conditions that were not based in science or technically feasible and were at odds with the limits imposed by the West Australian government when it signed off on the extension in December. The scattered rock art of Murujuga, with Woodsides Karratha plant in the background. Save Our Songlines We are quite frustrated that we dont have a final federal approval, ONeill said. We are working very closely with the government and the department, and what we have pointed them to is the WA governments approval that had been rigorously assessed for more than six years. The Woodside Energy-led North West Shelf joint venture in Western Australia  a network of offshore gas-drilling facilities and the Karratha gas-processing plant on the Burrup Peninsula  has been producing liquefied natural gas since the 1980s, but its approvals were due to expire in 2030.

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Approving the Karratha gas plants extension clears the way for Woodside to progress a $30 billion proposal to develop new offshore gas fields in the Browse Basin, considered the countrys largest untapped conventional gas resource. The Karratha plant is less than one kilometre away from 50,000-year-old World Heritage-listed Aboriginal rock art, known locally as Murujuga. More than 1 million petroglyphs are scattered around Murujuga National Park. Bianca Hall A draft UNESCO decision in May showed the organisation had initially intended to deny an Australian bid for the ancient art to be granted world heritage status, due to the impacts of Woodsides degrading acidic emissions on the petroglyphs. However, lobbying efforts led by Watt paid off, and UNESCO added the Murujuga cultural landscape to its World Heritage List in July.

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Gas A prince, traditional owners and a carbon bomb: Inside Woodsides extension plans Murujuga custodian Raelene Cooper last month secured a Federal Court undertaking from Watt that he would provide her with three days notice of a decision. That notice was provided this week and stated Watts decision would be announced on or after September 12. Watt is also due on Friday to formally respond to a Federal Court Section 10 application Cooper filed under federal environment laws seeking to compel him to protect Murujugas cultural heritage. The minister has still not paid us the respect of coming to Murujuga to meet with the custodians of this place and see the incredible Murujuga rock art and the destruction it faces with his own eyes, Cooper said. Meanwhile, Pacific leaders gathering in Honiara have raised strong concerns about Australias commitment to cutting greenhouse emissions.

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Vanuatu Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu told the Australian Financial Review that Woodsides approval would put Australia in breach of a July ruling by the International Court of Justice that countries could be held liable for the emissions they produce. The advisory opinion of the ICJ made it clear that going down the fossil fuel production expansion is an internationally wrongful act, Regenvanu said. Vanuatu Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu at the International Court of Justice in December. AP Dr Wesley Morgan, a Climate Council fellow who is at the Pacific Islands Forum in Honiara, said Australias emissions were a really significant issue for the forum. Australias position as a security partner really hinges on Australias climate credibility, he said.

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This has been a source of anger for Pacific countries for a long time that Australia continues to approve massive new fossil fuel projects when Pacific countries are in a fight for their survival ... just announcing that is a real slap in the face for Pacific countries. Editor's pick Updated

Education Bishop stares down critics as embattled ANU vice chancellor resigns Traditional owner Samantha Walker said the story of Murujuga is one of devastation. They have prospered, while our people live in poverty on the doorstep of these gas plants. We still live in poverty, she said. The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.
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NationalCBD This was published 3 months ago In a week when many wondered what the Liberal Party was smoking, its members will get a vote on it Stephen Brook, Lucy Carroll and Rachael Dexter September 12, 2025  5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

These days, the Victorian Liberal Party seems to run at two speeds  a slow-motion car crash, and a car crash playing out at normal speed. This weeks collision saw the departure of the state director, Stuart Smith. He resigned after disclosure in The Australian that he joked in a chat group that Liberal MP Bev McArthur had dementia. Truly. McArthur told The Age she could take it. Im a big girl, she said. A motion before the Liberal Party state council will consider the legalisation of marijuana. iStock All just before the partys annual state council this weekend, a shindig at Moonee Valley Racecourse (a cost-cutting measure in lieu of their favoured venue at Jeffs Shed) which provides the embattled party an opportunity for further self-sabotage and/or a chance to get its proverbial act together before the state election in November next year. A rousing rendition of Advance Australia Fair will kick things off. Weekend highlights are to

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include The Australians formidable Judith Sloan lecturing the Libs on state economic policy. There are motions on bushfire prevention, stamp duty for seniors, police dogs, the housing crisis  oh, and legalising recreational marijuana use  so it is available without prescription. And creating a dope excise tax as well. Related Article Updated

Liberal Party Liberals scramble to reorganise state council as director resigns over disparaging remarks The motion touts (or do we mean tokes?) freedom of choice. We allow Victorian adults to exercise freedom of choice; remove an unnecessary regulation/barrier in requiring a prescription, it reads. There is also a provision to create a dope excise tax on the drug as well. Break the business model of criminals and collect desperately needed tax revenue for our state to pay down Labors debt, the motion reads. Cant fault the liberalism.

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One can only hope this item is up before the main event: a leadership contest in which former short-lived senator and former short-lived state president Greg Mirabella is vying for a comeback to knock off current president Philip Davis. Lets not forget the governing administrative committee is embroiled in a legal battle and an urgent injunction application to stop the partys $1.55 million loan to former leader John Pesutto to help him avoid bankruptcy while he shells out legal costs after he was found to have defamed fellow MP Moira Deeming. With all that going on, we can perfectly understand why some party members desire to get doped up as often as possible. Maintaining liquidity

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Disgraced surgeon Dr Munjed Al Muderis recently lost his defamation case against The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes (all owned by Nine). The Federal Court ruled that his surgical practice was unethical, negligent and even cruel, and that he placed profits and fame over care. Muderis has filed a notice of appeal with the Federal Court, so the matter is not over and the lawyers, presumably, still have to be paid. Perhaps its a coincidence, but the surgeons luxury Milsons Point apartment in Sydney has just been put on the market.

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The property, a penthouse in the prestigious BLUE at Lavender Bay building (if you know, you know), is advertised on Domain, which until recently was part-owned by Nine. (Nine sold its 60 per cent stake in Domain last month.) The Al Muderis property listing promises luxurious craftsmanship and a dynamic sense of life inside the penthouse. The view from the Milsons Point apartment of Dr Munjed Al Muderis. Domain Photographs of the interiors reveal a Trumpian abundance of polished chrome and golden fittings  if that is indeed your thing. Al Muderis bought the pied-a-terre off the plan for $10.5 million in 2018.

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At the time, he was described as a Milsons Point local who fled Iraq in the final days of last century and as one of the worlds leading osteo-integration surgeons. Al Muderis lost his defamation case against this masthead and 60 Minutes. Dion Georgopoulos Thats certainly not how hes described any more. The real estate agent managing the property did not return CBDs calls (weird!), but the website Property Seeker puts the asking price at $15 million. Al Muderis lawyer told CBD, in response to inquiries: Please also note the sale of the property has nothing to do with payment of legal fees.

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Still, its always nice to be liquid. Diplomatic immunity Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is rarely one to put a fashion foot wrong. Even when he apparently loses, he wins in a kinda endearing, bloke-of-the-people way. (Recall his ugg boots, Peter Alexander rabbit-motif pyjamas and Newtown Jets popped-collar rugby jersey when emerging from his Marrickville home to grab the morning papers days after his 2022 election victory). Albanese was the odd one out in his pink floral shirt.

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But PM31 was caught in an awkward fashion faux pas on Wednesday night when he turned up to the Pacific Resilience Facility treaty signing at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in the Solomon Islands capital, Honiara. Albo walked in with lips pursed sporting a red-and-white, short-sleeved, tropical-style shirt that screamed Sunday arvo beers and snags on the barbie. He stood out like a sore thumb as every other leader at the forum was wearing a sober dark-blue batik shirt. Loading The diplomatic awkwardness didnt last. The PM excused himself from the gathering and quickly reappearing in a shirt that matched the other Pacific leaders.

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We sought an explanation from the PMs team for this geopolitical awkwardness but got nowhere. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon had his own theory, offering the wry explanation that he thought Albanese just forgot the instructions. But you know, youve got to reiterate quite a lot to the Australians what they need to be doing and the rules sometimes. It cant be said the trip has been going swimmingly. A previous controversy involved local Pacific journalists claiming they were barred from a Wednesday afternoon press conference with Albanese by Australian journalists, reported FBC News. Freelance journalist Stefan Armbruster and Radio New Zealand Pacific journalist Caleb Fotheringham confronted Albanese during a walk through the venue and were met with a puzzled response: I have no idea what you are talking about, mate.

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At least on this occasion, the prime minister was correctly attired. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
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Updated NationalQueenslandCrime This was published 3 months ago Brisbane teen charged over ISIS beheading video, explosives released on bail Cloe Read Updated September 11, 2025  5:24pm ,first published September 11, 2025  9:37am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

A Brisbane teenager charged with terrorism offences allegedly had chemicals in his bedroom cupboard to build explosives and a video of a person being beheaded among dozens of nationalist and racist violent extremist documents. Max Belter, an 18-year-old from The Gap in Brisbanes leafy north-west, faced court on Thursday accused of possessing and controlling violent extremist material, which carried a maximum penalty of five years jail. At his appearance in the Brisbane Magistrates Court, Belter sat in watchhouse clothing, often with his head in his hands and looking at his parents in the public gallery. He was released on strict bail conditions Thursday afternoon. Loading Police had raided the 18-year-olds home on Tuesday, seizing electronic devices containing a large amount of data, along with books allegedly associated with nationalist and racist violent extremism, and chemicals.

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Forensic analysis of the digital material was ongoing, with police not ruling out further charges. Belters legal counsel, Samuel Bain, applied for bail on several grounds, including his clients youth. But Commonwealth prosecutor Ellie McDonald said the allegations were clearly very serious, and urged the court not to release Belter, saying he was a risk of endangering the community. Max Belters parents leaving the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday afternoon. Nine News She said investigators were still scouring devices seized during the raid, which had only taken place 48 hours before the court appearance.

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Even with the material located at the search warrant, this risk is clearly very high, McDonald told the court. Max Belter, 18, has been charged with terrorism offences. The initial review identified extensive material indicative of deep ideological alignment with nationalist racist violent extremism. Over 50 documents were identified relating to the construction of explosives and firearms ... the defendant has shown a strong interest in violence. One of the videos possessed which has been classified as being at the early stages goes for 30 minutes, which was extremely graphic, and demonstrates the effects of various stab wounds on a live person that was chained up to a post.

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At the completion of this video ... that live person has their head and arms cut off. McDonald said the teen had also researched explosives online and had sourced potassium nitrate in Brisbane for the purpose of constructing and testing explosives in January. Belter leaves court after facing terrorism charges. Cloe Read Evidence located during the search warrant also identified the defendant was storing precursor chemicals necessary to build an improvised explosive device in his bedroom cupboard, she told the court. The encrypted communications revealed the defendant was stating that he was making the black powder and the explosive HMTD using a recipe from the improvised handbook.

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McDonald said communications revealed Belter sought tips on how to purchase a firearm. As I stated, the defendant has shown a fixation with material consistent with a nationalist and racist violent extremist ideology, she said. Bain had earlier told the court his client, a part-time lifeguard at a local pool and university student, had indicated a willingness to comply with a de-radicalisation program. He was released on strict bail conditions Thursday afternoon. Cloe Read When the court was adjourned, Belters parents told him they loved him before he was escorted by Corrective Services.

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In handing down her bail decision, Magistrate Rosemary Gilbert revealed the disturbing items found during the police search included a copy of Adolf Hilters autobiography Mein Kampf, a 256-page Terrorgram magazine titled The Hard Reset, and the manifesto of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski. The two charges against Belter related to the beheading video, and the magazine, Gilbert noted. She also revealed the 30-minute violent instructional video was created by notorious terror organisation Islamic State and that Belter had had documents relating to Middle Eastern terrorist bomb designs as well as instructions on converting model rockets into explosive missiles. Gilbert said there were also texts from far-right internet influencer Mike Ma. Other concerning items found included books on explosives, a crossbow and knuckledusters. But Bain told the court earlier Belters father had said the alleged weapons found at the home belonged to him.

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Gilbert said there was no suggestion before the court that Belter had otherwise gone out to engage others or incite acts of violence in others, and noted the teens legal team had demonstrated there were exceptional circumstances in the teenagers case. Belter was released on bail, with strict conditions including living with his parents, a curfew, surrendering his passport and restrictions around his internet use. AFP Assistant Commissioner Stephen Nutt said police believed extremist groups were targeting vulnerable and young individuals online for radicalisation, given they were more susceptible to being influenced. We know these extremists are preying on young people in the same way that child sex offenders attempt to groom children, he said. We urge parents, carers, family and friends to speak out if they see any signs of radicalisation in people they are close with. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
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NationalQueenslandSpace This was published 3 months ago Life on Mars? Queensland scientists help find the biggest clue yet Cameron Atfield September 11, 2025  3:48pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share 3 View all comments

Queensland researchers may have played a part in one of the most important scientific discoveries in human history  evidence of life on another planet. Studying samples collected in the Jezero Crater by NASAs Mars rover Perserverance, a team of scientists found minuscule leopard spots on a rock, containing signatures of two iron-rich minerals: vivianite (hydrated iron phosphate) and greigite (iron sulfide). On Earth, both minerals are known byproducts of microbial life. QUT astrobiologist David Flannery was part of the team that discovered possible signs of life on Mars. QUT This very well could be the clearest sign of life that weve ever found on Mars, which is incredibly exciting, Acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy said as he announced the discovery early Thursday morning (AEST).

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An ocean away, Professor David Flannery from the Queensland University of Technology said the rock sample was exactly the kind of rock they were hoping to find. We have studied these features in the past, hoping to find them [on Mars], he said. Apart from a stromatolite, which is evidence for life at the surface in a lake, we found everything that we wanted to find  including igneous rocks that we can date that helps us put this sample into context. This feature for life in the subsurface is exactly what we were hoping to find, so youve got to do a double-take and pore over the data, really study the data, for a long time to convince yourself that this could actually be something super exciting. The Brisbane astrobiologist was one of three QUT researchers, along with Dr Michael Jones and graduate student Brendan Orenstein, among 89 co-authors of the peer-reviewed paper of the findings, which was published in the journal Nature.

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Flannery said as a result of the research, the scientific community could say, for the first time, a potential extraterrestrial bio-signature had been identified. The leopard spots found in the Jezero Crater are a potential sign of life on Mars. NASA Its a big deal, but we cant say weve definitely found life until we bring it back, he said. If confirmed, the question would turn to whether the life was independent to life on Earth. This discovery gets us closer to answering the question of whether life exists beyond Earth and the next steps would be to bring the samples back and study them more closely on Earth to try and answer some of those other really exciting questions, Flannery said.

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For example, did life evolve twice in our own solar system from scratch? Or was life perhaps transported from Earth to Mars  or vice versa  in the past? Or is Mars a unique planet that has its own carbon cycle that doesnt involve life? These are all possibilities in their questions that we can answer with the return samples. That could take a while. President Donald Trump has slashed the NASA budget since his return to the Oval Office, putting the planned Mars Sample Return program at risk. Were looking at how we get this sample back, or other samples back, Duffy said.

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Related Article Science Homegrown NASA scientist wants Australia in the space race Were going to look at our timing. And how do we spend money better, and what technology do we have to get samples back more quickly? While the discovery dealt with the question of ancient life on Mars, Flannery said the possibility of life persevering on the red planet could not be discounted. The surface of Mars today is really cold and dry  its too cold and dry for life as we know it to survive, and the ice caps are also too cold and dry, he said. But, below the surface, there could be aquifers on Mars, like the water tables in the subsurface.

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On Earth, microbes are living in the subsurface, even five or more kilometres down below the surface, so its totally possible that if life evolved in the past on Mars, it may still survive in the subsurface. QUT was a key player in building the Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry  one of seven instruments chosen to be packed on the Mars rover. Along with PIXL, QUT researchers built the PIXLISE software NASA scientists used to analysed the data from Perserverance. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
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Award-winning journalist Tom Minear has been appointed state topic editor for The Age, to help guide its coverage of Melbournes most important stories.

Throughout his career, Minear has won Walkley and Quill awards for his reporting on political wrongdoing, health, crime and transport and has covered some of the biggest stories in Victoria and around the globe.

He recently returned to Australia following a posting as US correspondent for News Corp, a role in which he spearheaded the companys coverage of the 2024 presidential elections and the early days of Donald Trumps second term.

Currently a chief of staff at the Herald Sun, he previously led that newspapers Canberra bureau through the COVID-19 pandemic as national political editor, covering three federal budgets and the 2022 election.

Minear also displayed his talents as a newsbreaker while working on Spring Street as a state political reporter during Daniel Andrews premiership. During this time he and the Herald Suns James Campbell were awarded the news report in writing Quill for exposing former Victorian Labor minister Steve Herbert for using his ministerial car to chauffeur his two pet dogs in 2016.
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Tony Wrights Column NationalVictoriaArmed & dangerous This was published 3 months ago The night Australian fascism should have died of embarrassment Tony Wright September 11, 2025  11:30am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

Panic spread across the Mallees flatlands around tiny Ouyen in far north-west Victoria. Wheat farmers, hard-pinched soldier settlers and leading townsfolk grabbed their guns and shovels and rushed to the barricades. They frantically dug trenches, blockaded the road from Mildura and hefted sandbags to give them protection from an imminent communist invasion they imagined was on its way. Loading The Ouyen cell of the secret fascist White Army militia, in short, stood ready to defend the state of Victoria.

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It was the strange, terrible and ultimately ludicrous night of Friday, March 6, 1931. Word had come through hushed phone calls that Sydney had fallen to a communist insurgency. Bolshevik forces, bolstered by Catholics and the unemployed, were said to be gathering near Mildura on their way to Melbourne. But the frenzied rumour machine put communities on such a hair trigger that it remains astonishing no one was killed. Ouyen was simply one of more than a dozen towns across Victorias Mallee, Wimmera, Western and Central Districts to witness the emergence on that hysterical night of anti-communist, anti-Catholic militia cells that had been formed in such secrecy that many country wives had no idea there was such a thing as a White Army, let alone that their husbands were signed up.

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Youd think it was fiction if the story of the White Army hadnt been analysed in monumental detail by historian Michael Cathcart in a university thesis in 1985, which he later turned into a riveting book titled Defending the National Tuckshop: Australias Secret Army Intrigue of 1931. Editor's pick Tony Wrights Column

Porepunkah shooting Before sovereign citizens, Mel Gibson was linked to a radical group near Porepunkah He related that in the Wimmera town of Donald, Protestant militia men were issued ammunition  500 rounds a man, according to one informant  in response to the rumour that the local priest, Father Coghlan, and a doctor named Flanagan had been ferrying arms to Catholics throughout the district. A dentist by the name of Kelly was reported to be transporting crates of bombswhich turned out to be boxes of tomatoes. Meanwhile, Catholics gathered at the convent, readying for an attack by Protestant militiamen. At Wedderburn, 225 kilometres down the Calder Highway from Ouyen, the local cell of the White Army, armed with guns and pitchforks, stopped cars and threatened to shoot travellers unless they hoisted white flags. Two men climbed gum trees to guard the towns water reservoir  and were left there, forgotten for almost two days after their mates had stood down. Sensible Victorians were shocked in recent weeks by the sight of black-clad neo-Nazi thugs marching and brawling their way through Melbournes streets.

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Yet, there are no more than a few hundred active neo-Nazis around. In the 1930s, tens of thousands of citizens were quietly recruited by the White Army in Victoria and its allied fascist New Guard in NSW. Francis de Groot of the New Guard is arrested at the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, March 19, 1932 Fairfax Media As the Great Depression bit hard, the White Army, which otherwise went by the name League of National Security, was established as a clandestine, extreme right-wing paramilitary led by none other than the chief commissioner of the Victoria Police, Thomas Blamey, along with various like-minded characters including senior military officers. Blamey expressed public admiration during the 1930s for the fascist dictator of Italy, Benito Mussolini, and spoke approvingly on Melbournes radio 3UZ of the German National Socialist (Nazi) movement, which he saw building a new generation in Germany  growing up with a sense of purpose, direction and discipline.

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When World War II broke out, Blamey put that all behind him. He was given responsibility for leading Australian troops against Hitlers and Mussolinis armies in the Middle East and Greece. Editor's pick Exclusive

Architecture From Black Hawks to $2 pool noodles: Inside the new Anzac Hall Blamey had already served with distinction during World War I, rising to the rank of brigadier-general. He would rise in World War II to command the Australian Imperial Force in the Middle East and later became commander of Allied Land Forces in the South West Pacific Area under Americas general Douglas MacArthur.

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But between the wars, his authoritarian streak led him to veer so far to the right that he felt it necessary to establish a covert paramilitary ready to emerge when the Bolsheviks, aided by Catholics and the unemployed, rose in revolution. Fascism, of course, cant exist without enemies, real or imagined. Todays fascists, the neo-Nazis, have chosen immigrants as their targets, along with Indigenous Australians and anyone from the left. Anti-immigration has long been a fruitful trough for the hateful, getting its start in Australia during the gold rush when Chinese miners were beaten and terrorised. By the 1930s, however, the White Australia policy was so well-established there werent many immigrants to incite the ire of the fascists.

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Threats, thus, needed to be manufactured. Catholics, most of them of Irish background, had voted heavily against conscription during World War I, and they tended to vote Labor. Another perspective Immigration Thousands of Australians claim theres been unprecedented migration. Heres what the numbers say Catholics, then, in the minds of the White Armys boosters, were surely natural allies of the Bolsheviks, even if this ignored the fact that Catholics and communists not only had nothing in common, but outright opposed each other. The growing ranks of Depression-era unemployed were added as a handy threat, the jobless having always been easy marks.

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Even though there were too few actual communists in Australia to form anything approaching a revolutionary army, the concocted vision of a treasonous threat from a Bolshevik, Catholic and jobless alliance made it easy to alarm the gullible and enlist patriots into Blameys clandestine army. It all began falling apart, unsurprisingly, when it became obvious after the night of madness that no Bolshevik revolution was imminent. World War II, when the world learned the depth of evil that fascism really meant, killed whatever remnants of the White Army that hadnt already died of embarrassment. Related Article Exclusive

Investigations Dentist. Surveyor. Driver. Nazi. Unmasked extremists in everyday jobs Yet here we are, 94 years after that night of irrational panic on March 6, 1931.

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A new round of trumped-up alarm at the latest bogeyman  mass immigration  has enabled the latest iteration of Australias fascists to hitch themselves to a broad alliance of patriotic Australians so worked up that when they took to the streets a couple of weeks ago, they actually allowed the neo-Nazi goons to lead their marches and gave them a podium to spruik their poison. The more things change ... Get the days breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter.
Opposition leader Basil Zempilas has accused the Cook government of being dragged kicking and screaming over lead being found four times above national standards in water at the Perth Childrens Hospital.

The government tabled advice from the WA Chief Health Officer Andy Robertson in parliament late on Wednesday where he provided more details about the five lead findings from tests on August 5 and September 5.

The new findings were relayed to the Cook government on Friday, shortly after Premier Roger Cook suggested the lead issue at the hospital was a historical one.

Robertsons letter does not include mention of which water outlets the testing was conducted on, only that they occured in two locations, one accessible by staff and one accessible by hospital visitors.

He said the outlets were decommissioned after the lead was found and were being flushed, but even though they exceeded national standards, there was no danger to the public.

Leader of the opposition of Western Australia, Basil Zempilas. AAPIMAGE

I have reviewed the five new exceedances recorded in August and September 2025 and can assure the community that the water at Perth Childrens Hospital is safe to drink, he said.

Zempilas said the letter was embarrassing for the government but did not question Roberstons determination that there was no risk to the public.

How embarrassing for the premier, how embarrassing for this government to continue to deflect and to deny and to try and distract its there. Its a real issue, he said.

There is lead in the water at PCH and yet the government will not tell us where in the hospital it is or when it occurred and what levels it is at now. That is inexcusable.

Im not arguing any of the points that the Chief Health Officer would make, but what I would say on behalf of the people of Western Australia, if there are outbreaks of lead in the water at any of our hospitals, please tell us when they happen. Please tell us when they happened. Please tell us the levels and please tell us where in the hospital they have occurred.

Zempilas questioned Health Minister Meredith Hammat over the lead levels and the letter in parliament on Thursday afternoon.

She denied the government had not been transparent about the issue and highlighted Robertsons advice that the lead levels were safe.

We have been transparent, thats why we tabled the advice from the Chief Health Officer so that people could see information and see his consideration of those important factors in terms of the ongoing management of water testing at that site and also managing where there are exceedances identified, she said.

He is the Chief Health Officer. He is the expert in relation to these matters, and we will be guided by his opinion.
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Updated PoliticsFederalEducation This was published 3 months ago Bishop stares down critics as embattled ANU vice chancellor resigns Christopher Harris, Natassia Chrysanthos and Nick Newling Updated September 11, 2025  5:06pm ,first published September 11, 2025  9:31am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share 132 View all comments

Embattled Australian National University vice chancellor Genevieve Bell has resigned from her million-dollar role, closing a tumultuous chapter for the institution which has included open staff revolt, the launch of external investigation and an ongoing public relations crisis. But the drama is far from over after the universitys chancellor Julie Bishop vowed to stay on as head of the institutions governing body until her term ends in 2026, despite being the subject of bullying allegations, which she denies. Genevieve Bell appears before a parliamentary committee in January. Alex Ellinghausen Bells resignation comes almost a year after the institution first announced contentious plans to slash jobs in a bid to balance its books, sparking criticism from academics that the universitys council had for years been asleep at the wheel while its financial position fell off a cliff. Last year it recorded an operational deficit of $140 million. Professor Bell on Thursday said this was not an easy decision and acknowledged the difficulties the university has faced in trying to shore up its financial position.

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Achieving such a foundation has been difficult and this has been a very hard time for our community, she said. I very much want to see the ANU thrive into the future and for it to continue to be a remarkable place and I dont want to stand in the way of that. Chancellor Julie Bishop arrives to meet with staff at the ANU on Thursday after the vice chancellor quit. Alex Ellinghausen Many other universities across the country facing financial turmoil have announced plans to cut staff, but none has triggered the scale of virulent staff reaction seen at ANU  where academics have taken aim at poor management decisions, failures to disclose conflicts of interests, and worsening performance in international league tables. Bell has faced votes of no confidence in her leadership, public calls for her resignation and a protest website set up whereby current and former staff have uploaded pictures of their shoes  an apparent response to the perceived ostentation of Bells choice of footwear, Golden Goose sneakers which retail at between $690 and $1315. (Bell says she bought her pair cheap on eBay.)

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At a meeting on Thursday, Bishop informed staff of Bells resignation which was met with cheers of applause from the audience. Related Article University Bullying claims, expensive shoes and a $186,000 trip: Inside the scandal enveloping Julie Bishop and ANU Bishop herself is the subject of an independent investigation after a former member of the ANUs governing council, Dr Liz Allen, recounted to a Senate committee in August how Bishop allegedly berated, laughed at and blocked her from leaving a room when confronting her with claims of leaking confidential information to the media. Asked about those bullying allegations, Bishop told the meeting: I reject each and every allegation thats been made against me. When Bishop finished addressing the bullying allegations, a staff member called out solidarity with Liz, prompting cheers of hip, hip, hooray from the audience.

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At a press conference afterward, Bishop was asked why she should remain in her position as chancellor after the university fell into a dire financial situation. [The] financial situation as it currently stands, began a very long time ago, and I am aware that when I became chancellor in January of 2020, that we had some serious financial challenges, we then went immediately into the lockdown relating to COVID, and that had dramatic impacts, but the structural flaws in our financial situation date back years, Bishop said. This is a hard day for any university, and I felt that people were, of course, emotional. I feel very emotional about it, a number of people do. The institutions interim vice chancellor Rebekah Brown told staff it was her goal for ANU to once again be the countrys number one university with the best student and staff experience.

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Ive been in this role, I think, about an hour, I cant speak on behalf of every senior leader in the organisation, but what I can say is that there is very deep care and concern for everyone, theres very deep care and concern about the direction we are heading in, she said. ANU Chancellor Julie Bishop held a press conference after announcing that the ANU vice-chancellor would resign. Alex Ellinghausen But many believe that future direction should not include Bishop. The National Tertiary Education Unions ACT division secretary Dr Lachlan Clohesy said: The chancellor still faces serious allegations, and under her watch ANU is now subject to investigation by TEQSA and the Fair Work Ombudsman. ANU student and president of the National Union of Students Ashlyn Horton welcomed Bells resignation but also questioned Bishops role in the institutions future.

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Its something that staff and students have been calling for, for a very long time, [and] the first thought that pops into my head now is: when is Julie Bishop going to go? ACT Senator David Pocock said further leadership renewal was needed. Editor's pick University Meet the Harvard insider helping Sydney students get into elite schools The chancellor faces serious bullying and workplace harassment allegations and has presided over a period that saw a significant decline in the universitys financial position and governance arrangements, he said. Labor Senator Tony Sheldon said the resignation of Bell was a direct result of the catastrophic failure of governance in our universities and also took aim at Bishop.

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Chancellor Julie Bishop led the ANU Council during this period, and ultimately, the buck stops with her. Under her leadership, the Council signed off on sweeping restructures, oversaw rising dissatisfaction among students and staff, including senior academics, and failed to provide transparency around serious governance concerns, he said. Education Minister Jason Clare said he wished Bell well for the future. Significant governance concerns at ANU have been raised with me. Thats why lve referred ANUs governance to [Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency] for assessment, he said.



TEQSA recently appointed former Public Service Commissioner Lynelle Briggs to inform that work. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.
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Exclusive PoliticsNSWExtremism This was published 3 months ago Neo-Nazis infiltrate NSW Parliament event to promote racism Jessica McSweeney September 11, 2025  3:30pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

A known neo-Nazi facing criminal charges managed to infiltrate an event in NSW Parliament where he was given a platform to ask questions about the benefits of supremacy and racism. Joel Davis, a member of the white supremacist group National Socialist Network, attended an event called decoding decolonisation from free speech group Western Heritage Australia in May in the parliaments Jubilee Room, a heritage-listed library built in 1905. Mobile phone footage shows neo-Nazi Joel Davis speaking at an event in the Jubilee Room at NSW Parliament in May 2025. Western Heritage has since scrubbed video evidence of the event from the internet, but footage taken from the crowd during the question and answer portion of the event and provided to the Herald shows Davis speaking behind a lectern with NSW Parliament branding, asserting the benefits of supremacy and racism to scattered applause. Davis is facing a charge of displaying a Nazi symbol in Adelaide, where he will appear before the courts on September 23. He is closely associated with neo-Nazis Thomas Sewell and Jacob Hersant.

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On the panel were Institute of Public Affairs Director Bella dAbrera, conservative writer Luke Torrisi, and Dr Frank Salter, a founder of the now-defunct far right political party Australian National Alliance. Salter answered the question from Davis by insisting Indigenous Australians hit the jackpot when Australia was colonised. This masthead does not suggest the panellists share Davis views. Related Article Exclusive

Nazis Next Door Neo-Nazis quietly forming a political party to try to get around the law So concerned was former Liberal turned independent MP Taylor Martin by the presence of neo-Nazis at the event, he pulled his sponsorship of the group. He said he agreed to assist the group with booking the room to facilitate free speech debates, but was shocked to learn it had been infiltrated by white supremacists. He described Davis views as abhorrent, offensive and plain wrong. This person does not deserve to be given a platform to espouse hate  which is exactly what they seek  but rather, they need serious psychological help, Martin said.

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Western Heritage Australia has run round table debate events at NSW Parliament since 2006 on topics from mass immigration to euthanasia. In response to detailed questions from the Herald, a spokesperson for Western Heritage Australia did not address the presence of neo-Nazis at the event. The spokesperson said the events canvass a diverse array of important issues. Related Article Right-wing extremism Sickened, horrified and scared: Call to treat neo-Nazis as terrorists We do not screen our attendees, with entry by donation, and operate as a platform for public discourse, the spokesperson said. Adrianne Jones, who describes herself as a Sydney feminist, said she bought a ticket with the intention of exposing neo-Nazi presence in the event, but says she was blocked from attending by a person providing private security and was escorted away.

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The Department of Parliamentary Services refused to confirm if security was notified of the event or answer questions about whether Davis presence at the event breached any protocols. The incident raises significant questions about whether individuals with extremist links should be able to freely roam the halls of parliament, Greens MP Sue Higginson said. Related Article Exclusive

Australia votes Private intel: Inside the far-right group disrupting the election The endorsed and hosted presence of neo-Nazis, racists or others who are determined to exclude and divide our community is inconsistent with the purpose of the parliament  that being the upholding of democratic values, peaceful debate and the administration of good governance, she said. The presiding officers, the president and the Speaker should consider rules to prevent these events that encourage hate and division from occurring in our public parliament building. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.
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Updated PoliticsWALiberal Party This was published 3 months ago Jacinta Price still on the bill for Liberal fundraiser at Perth Indian community centre Hamish Hastie September 11, 2025  12:49pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share 11 View all comments

Firebrand Coalition Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price will appear at a Liberal party fundraiser being held at an Indian community centre in Perths southern suburbs on Thursday evening despite being sacked from the federal opposition frontbench. The event, at the Indian Society of WAs Indian Community Centre in Willetton, will feature Price alongside outspoken conservative WA Liberal powerbroker Nick Goiran. The two guests are billed as being two MPs who are never afraid to say what needs to be said. Jacinta Nampijinpa Price speaks to media in Perth on Wednesday. 9News Perth Internally, the WA Liberal branch is grappling with whether the event should go ahead as it attempts to quell resentment in the Indian community against its party. WA Liberal leader Basil Zempilas has stridently rejected Prices comments and wrote to ISWA President Deepak Sharma on Wednesday to relay his regret.

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This mastheads understanding is that ISWA is unhappy with Prices comments but are fine with the event going ahead given it was booked weeks before the comments and the organisations a-political nature. Sharma was approached for comment. Price was dumped by federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley late on Wednesday after the senator refused to back Leys leadership and explicitly apologise for comments she made last week that Labor brought Indians to Australia because they voted for the party. One of the WA Liberal fundraiser organisers, upper house MP Michelle Hofmann, confirmed outside WA parliament that Price would speak at the event at the ISWA hall. Were expecting to have a great event tonight. Weve got 500 tickets sold, she said. Theres a lot of people who are really keen to come and see Jacinta speak tonight.

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Liberal Party WA Liberals hold out the hat to fund $30 freedom of information requests Asked whether she was worried Prices attendance would extend the saga, Hofmann said the event had been lined up for weeks. WA Labor Housing Minister John Carey said Zempilas needed to cancel the event. I think it is very clear that Basil Zempilas is not in control of the Liberal Party; the least he could do is cancel the event, Carey said. If hes claimed that hes concerned about the impact on the Indian community, he has to cancel the event.

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Zempilas had not planned to attend the fundraiser and said he was fine with it going ahead. I accept that. Senator Jacinta Price is part of the panel that will appear at that event, and that is fair enough, Zempilas said. That event was organised some time ago. It is not unusual for candidates, and for that matter, for MPs to hold events. Its not unusual for events to be held at any time during the year. This was organised some time ago, and it will continue. Zempilas said he had spoken to Sharma, who had relayed to him that the society didnt have an issue with the event taking place at the Willetton centre, and claimed the Price saga was not a distraction nor embarrassing for his team.

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Im not embarrassed, and I am committed to what I am here to do, and that is to hold this government to account ... on wrong priorities, Zempilas said. Related Article Letters Prices attention-seeking has no place in Australias politics Indian migrant and WA community advocate Suresh Rajan said many members of the Indian diaspora were offended by Prices remarks and her attendance at the event. Twenty per cent of doctors, 19 per cent of nurses, 10 per cent of engineers, 2 per cent of all academics are Indian, and Indians make up 3.1 per cent of the population, he said. We bat well above our averages. Thats what is offensive, is that she has reduced us down to people who only want to vote for Labor and that is the only basis for coming to this country.

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Labor MP and Indian migrant Jagadish Krishnan said he didnt see how the event could proceed without an apology from Price. I dont see how the event can go ahead in good faith if the apology is not offered  she missed out an opportunity yesterday in front of media to just put this issue to bed and move on, he said. I hope we can move on from here, rather than continuing with the debate of trying to divide the community. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
The Gold Coast penthouse of High-Rise Harry Triguboff is headed to auction, ending months of speculation about the billionaires plans for his legendary Main Beach residence.

Triguboff bought the 918-square metre apartment in the Silverpoint building 35 years ago for $2.6 million, using it as the familys prime Gold Coast holiday home and a South East Queensland base.

But the construction king and Meriton boss hasnt visited the home since the passing of his wife Rhonda in September last year, deciding finally to auction the property on Saturday, October 11, at 10am.

I wasnt sure what I wanted to do going forward, Triguboff said.
Prominent conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead while speaking at a university in Utah.

Security was light at Utah Valley University as the conservative influencer and key Trump ally arrived for a question-and-answer session in front of 3000 people.

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Conservative influencer and key Trump ally Charlie Kirk was shot dead on Wednesday while debating university students at an open-air event in Utah, in an act of political violence that has stunned America. Kirk, seen as the unofficial leader of the MAGA youth movement, was appearing on the first stop of his latest series of live events, the American Comeback Tour, in which he was to answer questions from an audience. Heres how the shooting unfolded. All times in Utah time (16 hours behind AEST). Wednesday, 11.45am A crowd of about 3000 has gathered at Utah Valley University for Kirks appearance. Students assemble in front of Kirks tent, while others  including some protesters  watch from buildings overlooking the arena. The crowd before Charlie Kirks event.

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As is typical for Kirks events, security is light. There are six university police officers assigned to the event, plus some private security. There are no metal detectors or bag checks, students later tell the Associated Press. Some attendees say no one even checked their tickets. Some in the crowd note afterwards they felt the courtyard venue was unsafe for a divisive public figure. One witness said: There were a lot of ledges, points where this could happen. 12pm Kirk arrives to cheers, wearing a white T-shirt saying Freedom. He throws red MAGA caps to his fans and begins speaking at the start of his question-and-answer session. Charlie Kirk hands out hats before he was shot and killed at Utah Valley University. AP He has amassed a large online following for clips of his live debates with young people on issues such as affirmative action and transgender rights.

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12.20pm Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years? an audience member asks Kirk. Kirk responds: Too many. Kirk speaks to the crowd. AP The questioner follows up: Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years? Counting or not counting gang violence? Kirk asks. 12.20pm

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Barely a second after he answers that question, a loud shot rings out, and Kirk keels over to his left, with blood pouring from his neck. The shot comes from a figure in dark clothing on a distant roof on campus, authorities later say. Loading Video footage from before and after the shooting shows a person on the roof of the Losee Centre, about 130 metres away. The crowd cries out in horror as they witness Kirk slump to the ground. Many people duck for cover while others run away. The crowd reacts after the shooting. AP

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Kirks security team rushes to his aid and attempts to stem the bleeding as they carry him, running, to a private car. Security personnel carry Kirk to a car. AFP Kirk is then driven to Timpanogos Regional Hospital, about 3.7 kilometres from the university. People attend a vigil at Timpanogos Regional Hospital for Kirk. AP 2.40pm President Donald Trump posts on Truth Social that Charlie Kirk has died, just after the news is confirmed by Kirks spokesman.

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Analysis WorldNorth AmericaViolence This was published 3 months ago Surely, American life just cannot go on like this Michael Koziol Updated September 11, 2025  11:57am ,first published September 11, 2025  9:21am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share 504 View all comments

Washington: The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk is a shocking tragedy and an awful, scary reflection of the extreme political violence that now afflicts the United States of America. It will reverberate across the country and around the world in ways that we cannot know in the immediate aftermath. But surely, American civic life just cannot go on like this. Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was a close ally of US President Donald Trump. Marija Ercegovac Anyone and everyone might be next. It was only three months ago that Melissa Hortman, a Democratic member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, and her husband were shot and killed in their Minneapolis home in the middle of the night. One of her colleagues was shot and survived. A couple of months before that, the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, had his home set on fire while he and his family slept inside.

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Last year, there were attempts on the life of now-president Donald Trump while he ran for office, including having his ear grazed by a bullet at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Mere millimetres saved him. Trump after an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last year. nna\miriah.davis Add to that politically motivated violence against non-politicians, including the two Israeli embassy staff shot dead on the streets of Washington, and last years murder of a healthcare chief executive in New York, allegedly at the hands of then 26-year-old Luigi Mangione. The United States is now a hyper-toxic shitshow of prevalent guns and even more prevalent hate. This has to stop, but it seems likely to get only worse. Loading

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The one thing that unites the extreme left, the extreme right and the just plain bonkers is that they can all get their hands on a gun with ease  and there is little sign of that changing. Related Article Updated

Violence You all caused this: US faces bitter reckoning as police search for gunman Kirk was a prominent evangelical Christian and conservative activist. He was a high-level political player who relished taking on and defeating the people with whom he disagreed. He put himself out there to be opposed, heckled, pilloried, criticised  but not shot. Not killed. Not assassinated. The man was 31, with a wife and two young children. And indeed, the very event Kirk was conducting when he was murdered was based on promoting free and open civic discourse.

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The Prove Me Wrong Table involved inviting audience members to debate him on stage  at a university, no less, where ideas ought to be freely debated and exchanged. His appearance was controversial: progressive activists started a petition to have him barred from campus. Kirk, meanwhile, defended his brand of conservatism in comments to the local Deseret News. My job every single day is actively trying to stop a revolution, he was quoted as saying. This is where you have to try to point them toward ultimate purposes and toward getting back to the church, getting back to faith, getting married, having children. That is the type of conservatism that I represent, and Im trying to paint a picture of virtue, of lifting people up, not just staying angry.

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Related Article Violence Who was Charlie Kirk, the MAGA activist and Turning Point USA founder? But staying angry is what too many Americans seem to be doing. And in the aftermath of Kirks assassination, there was more evidence of that continuing: people on social media happily made light of the shooting, cracking jokes or saying he had it coming. Im not saying he deserved it but he deserved it, said one post on X that racked up 190,000 likes in two hours. Of course, there will come a time to reflect honestly on Kirks own contributions to the toxicity and hate that infect modern American life, and his staunch advocacy of guns. Because the anger has built up over such a long time, it is difficult to see where the release valve to this hate epidemic might come from.

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The man in the White House, though professing to be a man of peace, is hardly a force for unity and calm. Minutes after being shot in Butler, his instinctive words to his followers were: Fight! Fight! Fight! One hopes Trump will meet the moment. That he will see his country is suffering from a maelstrom of hate and violence that requires leadership. It may well be beyond the capacity of a political leader to solve or remedy this situation. In a video address to the nation, Trump said it was a dark moment for America, and it was time for all to reckon with the tragic consequences of demonising those with whom you disagree day after day, year after year. Loading But he also quickly blamed radical left political violence, when the truth is we dont know who committed this heinous act or what their motives were. And while he listed several acts of violence against conservatives, he omitted the shooting of Hortman and her Democratic colleague John Hoffman.

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Many people back home in Australia ask me what its like to live in the US at this unusual moment in history. They say or imply that I should be scared. Today, for the first time, I was inclined to agree. Not scared for myself, but for the fabric of this country and its many fine people. They really deserve better. Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
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WorldNorth AmericaViolence This was published 3 months ago Opinion The tragic irony of Charlie Kirks assassination Bill Wyman Contributor September 11, 2025  3:30pm

September 11, 2025  3:30pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share 105 View all comments

Charlie Kirk was fatally wounded by an assassins bullet while fielding a question about gun violence. At a university rally in central Utah on Wednesday afternoon, US-time, the youthful conservative firebrand and brilliant MAGA organiser was taking questions. He delighted in being confronted with arguments from the left, which he could then demolish, to the delight of his young and appreciative audience. Video posted on social media of the moment is a bit hard to hear, but the questioner says: Do you know how many massacres there have been in America over the last 10 years? Conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed in Utah on Thursday. AP Riposted Kirk: Counting or not counting gang violence? It was a nice feint. Mass murders by mentally disturbed people using pistols and rifles, and worse, are of course a plague in America. Kirk was ignoring the questioners point, instead pivoting to what he called gang violence. In the parlance of right-wing America, that translates immediately to violence from black people. Gang violence is a problem in some cities, but violence in America across the board has been declining for decades and, of course, immense police power has always been wielded against criminals of colour. And we all know that violence and crime remain an intractable part of poverty in the country.

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But such feints were what Kirk was good at. It was his well-polished technique to, in effect, defend and rationalise the carnage that unfettered gun ownership wreaks in the US each year. And right after he uttered those words, a shot rang out, he fell backwards to the ground, and the crowd began fleeing in terror. What seems to have been an assassination  a targeted killing based on his politics  will now open up a new and disturbing plot line in what is already a terrifying chapter in American history. Kirk had been a fixture in right-wing politics for years, but was still only 31. He built his movement  dubbed Turning Point USA  by firing up young Americans with the usual class and race resentments and caricatures of the left as hating America, the constitution and democracy in general. But his youthful mien and untroubled countenance were a striking contrast to the unkempt racists, good-old-boy southerners and poltroonish politicians who usually espoused similar talking points. Loading There has been disturbing political violence directed at prominent people in both political parties of late. A pair of Democratic Minnesota politicians were shot just a few months ago. A police officer and former marine riled about vaccines shot hundreds of rounds at the headquarters of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta last month. Those attacks seem to have come from the right  but, of course, Donald Trump has survived two assassination attempts. The sad thing that all these events have in common is that the shooters shared mental problems, which became potentially lethal due to the ready availability of guns. That didnt stop the warriors of social media from leaping into action. From the right, the rhetoric became inflamed immediately. Theres no word as I write this about who the killer was, but many jumped to conclusions. Sean Davis, editor of The Federalist web magazine, a right-wing propaganda site, started talking about one of the rights favourite targets: the unspecified they. They assassinated him and are now dancing on his grave, he posted.

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The usual ultra-MAGA elected officials dialled up the rhetoric to 11 immediately: The Democrats own this, Nancy Mace, a Republican congresswoman from deep red South Carolina, said in an interview outside the Capitol shortly after the shooting. Related Article Updated

Violence You all caused this: US faces bitter reckoning as police search for gunman On the left, from what I could discern on my platform of choice, Bluesky, the reaction was a bit more measured. I saw some refusing to mourn Kirk by pointing to his attacks on trans people. This quote by Kirk, from 2023, was spread widely: Its worth [it] to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year, so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. But most of the sophisticated figures on the site decried the violence. One prominent X poster and Elon Musk favourite, Tim Urban, wrote shortly after the shooting: Every post on Bluesky is celebrating the assassination. Such unbelievably sick people. That was plainly not true. The sad thing is that, if this was a political assassination, it was an effective one. It took out an effective communicator. However, right-wing media will no doubt keep the focus on the tragedy, correctly sensing it will be a powerful cudgel to portray the left as murderous. We also have an administration that is not shy about using governmental force in extralegal ways with little provocation. Its likely that Charlie Kirks killer will do more harm than Charlie Kirk ever could.

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Bill Wyman is a former assistant managing editor of National Public Radio in Washington. He teaches at the University of Sydney. Get a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up for our Opinion newsletter.
Munich auto show opens with a strong Chinese presence

CGTN) 15:05, September 11, 2025

The 2025 IAA Mobility show, one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs also known as the Munich auto show, started on Tuesday, with China standing out as the largest source of foreign exhibitors.

While German auto giants like Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz presenting new EV models on home soil, international exhibitors make up for more than 55 percent, up from 32 percent in 2021 when the show moved from Frankfurt.

Organizers said a total of 116 companies are from China, including EV makers BYD, Xpeng and Leapmotor, battery giant CATL and technology firms such as Zhuoyu and DeepRoute.ai.

Beyond the exhibition halls this year, car manufacturers are also displaying more than 200 vehicles in open-air venues across central Munich, integrating their showcases into the city's streets and architecture, including those from Chinese EV brands.

The World New Energy Vehicle Congress is being held in Munich alongside the auto show, returning for its second overseas edition following the success of the inaugural event at IAA MOBILITY 2023. This year's conference focuses on Sino-German cooperation in e-mobility, AI, and supply chains, with participation from company executives and association leaders.

Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the Center for Automotive Research in Bochum, told Xinhua ahead of the auto show that closer ties between European and Chinese companies are not only mutually beneficial but also a vital driver of industrial transformation.

"On one side, the United States has launched tariff wars under the pretext of reducing trade deficits. These unpredictable and negative tariffs are damaging and inhibiting the global auto industry," he said.

"On the other side, companies from Europe and China are working closely together, moving toward electrification. Europe needs China, because Chinese companies are strong in digitalization and intelligent technologies, helping cars become more comfortable and smarter," he added.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Le Cameroun voit rouge, et surtout brun : la couleur du cabo qui transforme litteralement son economie. Selon le tout dernier rapport sur les Comptes nationaux 2024 publie par lInstitut national de la statistique (INS), le pays a engrange une manne historique de 532,2 milliards de FCFA grace aux exportations de produits agroalimentaires. Une performance inedite depuis 2019 qui consacre la montee en puissance dun secteur industriel en plein boom.

Un decollage spectaculaire

Les chiffres parlent deux-memes et dessinent une courbe ascendante impressionnante. En lespace de six ans seulement, le Cameroun a plus que double ses recettes dexportation agroalimentaire, passant de 276,6 milliards de FCFA en 2019 a plus dun demi-milliard cette annee. Apres avoir franchi pour la premiere fois la barre symbolique des 300 milliards en 2021, les exportations nont depuis jamais cesse de croitre, confirmant une dynamique robuste et durable.







Si une partie de cette embellie pourrait etre attribuee a la fluctuation du dollar americain, devise du commerce international, face au franc CFA, lanalyse sectorielle pointe vers une raison plus structurelle : leclosion dun puissant tissu industriel dedie a la transformation locale.

Le cacao, locomotive de la transformation nationale

Le veritable moteur de cette croissance fulgurante se niche dans la transformation du cacao. Depuis 2015 et lextension des capacites de broyage de Sic Cacaos, le pays a vu lemergence de trois nouveaux geants : Neo Industry, Atlantic Cocoa et Africa Processing Company. Ces usines, cumulant pres de 90 000 tonnes de capacites de broyage, exportent massivement beurre, poudre et huile de cacao vers le monde entier.







Les resultats sont tangibles : en 2023, 73 236 tonnes de derives du cacao  Made in Cameroon  ont ete ecoulees a linternational pour 153 milliards de FCFA. Et la tendance saccelere : au seul troisieme trimestre 2024, les exportations de pate de cacao ont genere 49,9 milliards de FCFA, soit une explosion de 218% sur un an. Cette frenesie pousse les acteurs a investir toujours plus, avec des projets dextension ambitieux pour multiplier leurs capacites de production.

Une conjoncture internationale favorable

LINS attribue egalement cette performance a une embellie exceptionnelle des cours mondiaux des matieres premieres agricoles en 2024. Les prix a l'exportation ont globalement progresse de 6,9%, portes par des hausses stratospheriques :







Cacao : +123,4% (apres +37,1% en 2023)

: +123,4% (apres +37,1% en 2023)

Caoutchouc : +26,8% (revenant d'une baisse de -10%)

: +26,8% (revenant d'une baisse de -10%)

Cafe Robusta : +68%







Cette flambee des prix, couplee a laugmentation des volumes exportes grace a la transformation locale, a cree un effet de levier sans precedent sur les recettes nationales.







Le Cameroun est en train d'ecrire une nouvelle page de son economie. En passant dexportateur de matieres premieres brutes a celui de produits transformes a forte valeur ajoutee, le pays ne se contente pas dempocher des devises ; il construit une veritable souverainete industrielle. Le defi sera maintenant de maintenir cette cadence et de reproduire ce modele vertueux sur dautres filieres agricoles prometteuses.





Cameroon's Agrifood Exports Smash Records: A Boom Powered by "Brown Gold"

Cameroon is seeing red, and especially brown: the color of cocoa that is transforming its economy. According to the latest 2024 National Accounts report published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS), the country generated a historic windfall of 532.2 billion CFA francs from agrifood product exports. This unprecedented performance since 2019 highlights the rise of a booming industrial sector.

A Spectacular Takeoff

The figures speak for themselves, showing an impressive upward curve. In just six years, Cameroon has more than doubled its agrifood export revenues, jumping from 276.6 billion CFA francs in 2019 to over half a trillion this year. After breaking the symbolic 300 billion barrier for the first time in 2021, exports have continued to grow steadily, confirming a robust and lasting dynamic.







While part of this improvement could be attributed to the fluctuation of the US dollar, the currency of international trade, against the CFA franc, sectoral analysis points to a more structural reason: the emergence of a powerful industrial base dedicated to local processing.

Cocoa, the Engine of National Transformation

The real engine of this meteoric growth lies in cocoa processing. Since 2015 and the expansion of Sic Cacaos' grinding capacity, the country has seen the emergence of three new giants: Neo Industry, Atlantic Cocoa, and Africa Processing Company. These factories, with a combined grinding capacity of nearly 90,000 tonnes, massively export cocoa butter, powder, and oil worldwide.







The results are tangible: in 2023, 73,236 tonnes of "Made in Cameroon" cocoa derivatives were sold internationally for 153 billion CFA francs. And the trend is accelerating: in the third quarter of 2024 alone, cocoa paste exports generated 49.9 billion CFA francs, an explosion of 218% year-on-year. This frenzy is pushing players to invest even more, with ambitious expansion projects to multiply their production capacity.

A Favorable International Climate

The INS also attributes this performance to an exceptional surge in global agricultural commodity prices in 2024. Export prices overall rose by 6.9%, driven by stratospheric increases:



Cocoa: +123.4% (after +37.1% in 2023)



Rubber: +26.8% (recovering from a -10% drop)



Robusta Coffee: +68%







This price surge, coupled with increased export volumes thanks to local processing, created an unprecedented leverage effect on national revenue.







Conclusion: Cameroon is writing a new chapter for its economy. By shifting from exporting raw materials to exporting high-value-added processed products, the country is not just earning foreign exchange; it is building genuine industrial sovereignty. The challenge now will be to maintain this pace and replicate this virtuous model in other promising agricultural sectors.





Cameroun, exportations, agroalimentaire, industrie agroalimentaire, recettes d'exportation, INS, Institut national de la statistique, comptes nationaux 2024, transformation cacao, broyage cacao, beurre de cacao, poudre de cacao, Sic Cacaos, Neo Industry, Atlantic Cocoa, Africa Processing Company, prix cacao, economie Cameroun, croissance economique, valeur ajoutee, matieres premieres, cafe, caoutchouc, balance commerciale, FCFA, devise, dollar







Mouahna Divine
Gordon Deegan

A judge has told a man that his wife has your Kryptonite in a marriage where "it is absolute hell for two of ye to be living in the same house".

At the Family Law Court, Judge Alec Gabbett told the man that your family home is your Kryptonite and it is disabling you.

The husband and wife jointly own the family home with both refusing to move out and Judge Gabbett told the man she has your Kryptonite in a nod to the fictional radio-active material from the planet Krytpon that took away Supermans powers and known to millions of fans of the Superman blockbuster movies.

Judge Gabbett told the man: Because you are so intent on staying in the family home it is disabling your ability to deal with this in a clear way."

Judge Gabbett said that the family home is being weaponised against you and your wife is not moving out despite the fact it is absolute hell for the two of ye living in this house. She is doing that deliberately to you to drive you mad".

The man told Judge Gabbett that he drew up his last will and testament recently after a stressed-induced stay in hospital brought about by a flashpoint with his wife at their home.

Judge Gabbett said that the couple - who have children - are both refusing to move out and deal with a very contentious family law situation.

The man said that he has issued divorce proceedings and told Judge Gabbett: I am afraid of what she is going to do next.

Asked by Judge Gabbett has she ever laid a hand on him, the man said: No - and I have never laid a hand on her.

The man said that he is a victim of coercion and emotional abuse and Judge Gabbett said that he had outlined his grounds for a Protection Order against his wife in a lengthy written statement.

The man said that his wife has removed all the external security cameras at the house and Judge Gabbett said that the wife will come in here and say 'I am being spied upon, I am being listened to, I am being followed' - that is what she is going to say.

Judge Gabbett told the man I feel very sorry for you but said that he was rejecting his application for a Protection Order under the Domestic Violence Act as the grounds were not there.

Judge Gabbett said that what is going on in the marriage is brinkmanship at its best.

He said: "It is like two countries at war and one of them is just putting their toe over the border every morning - a bit like Poland where the Russians sent drones over to see what would happen.

Judge Gabbett told the man to aggressively pursue your divorce with every means necessary so that this can end.
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The Myanmar Cement Manufacturers Association (MCMA) held its fourth coordination meeting of 2025 at the Ministry of Industrys office in Nay Pyi Taw on 9 September, addressing challenges faced by the sector following recent earthquakes in Mandalay.

Union Minister for Industry Dr Charlie Than, in his opening remarks, acknowledged that several domestic cement plants sustained damage during the quake, leading to temporary production halts and a surge in prices. He noted, however, that swift cooperation between the MCMA, government ministries, and industry stakeholders enabled factories to resume operations promptly, restoring market stability and bringing cement prices back to normal levels.

The minister also highlighted ongoing efforts to integrate cement production technology into vocational and technical education, aiming to build a skilled workforce capable of supporting the sectors long-term resilience and innovation.

The meeting brought together senior industry officials, factory representatives, and ministry leaders to discuss recovery measures, operational challenges, and future growth plans. Later in the day, the Project Supervision Committee convened, where progress reports on completed tasks and upcoming initiatives were presented.

Dr Charlie Than reaffirmed the governments commitment to ensuring a sustainable and competitive cement industry, resilient against future disruptions.
County Clerk Bill Knowles announced, as he begins his 52nd year in elected office, that he will not seek a 14th term.

Mr. Knowles has served longer than any other Hamilton County official and has one of the longest tenures in the state of Tennessee. He said one county clerk from a small county in Tennessee went into office with him in 1974 and is still serving as well.

Mr. Knowles said, Reflecting on five decades, I sincerely express gratitude to the citizens of Hamilton County for the opportunity to lead the County Clerks office. Since my election in 1974, it has been my goal to streamline and modernize this important Constitutional office. Over the years, I have been fortunate to have a team of dedicated deputy clerks whose hard work has helped make these accomplishments possible.

"I promised in my first campaign to make it easier for motorists to renew their vehicle registrations. At the time, long courthouse lines were the norm. One of my first actions was to dramatically reduce long waits by creating a simple innovation: a mail-in tag renewal option. After that, my office designed and implemented Tennessees first online tag renewal system. This option is now used statewide.

"Later, a satellite office was established through a partnership with the County Commission. The Bonny Oaks satellite location continues to be a popular destination for citizens. Now, with a growing population, four convenient self-service tag renewal kiosks are planned in outlining areas, continuing the advancement of vehicle registration renewal access. The first kiosk is now operational in the foyer of Food City in Hixson.

"Our office also prioritized preservation and access to public records by digitizing marriage licenses, historic County Court, and County Council Legislative Body minutes, as well as present County Commission records.

"Beyond mandated duties, the Clerks Office has taken on several state services to serve citizens better and generate millions in revenue for both Hamilton County and the state of Tennessee. These included processing drivers license renewals, issuing replacement titles, handling Real ID applications, managing large fleet transactions, and making Chattanoogas $5 sticker available to city residents visiting the Clerks office.

"With the steady growth of Hamilton County, it has taken strong leadership and teamwork to keep pace. Chief Deputy Clerk Brooke Weaver has provided outstanding direction in office management as well as the vast day-to-day accounting responsibilities, earning perfect audit reviews.

"In closing, I want to thank God for His grace, wisdom, and success, as well as for the lessons learned from mistakes along the way. I again express my profound appreciation to the voters and donors for entrusting me to lead this office for half a century, and to the outstanding team of deputy clerks whose dedication has made our accomplishments possible. It has been the honor of my life to serve alongside this professional team and to work with an esteemed group of county employees and elected officials."

Through his years in leadership, the County Clerk's office has been cited numerous times by the National Association of Counties for innovative changes.



The County Officials Association of Tennessee (COAT) elected Mr. Knowles as the Outstanding Official of the Year for 2006. He was cited for keeping his office on the cutting-edge of technology.

Mr. Knowles always stressed to his employees the importance of providing friendly service to the public. He told them that when a taxpayer enters the office to provide them with immediate attention and a friendly smile.

Earl Freudenberg wrote this profile of Mr. Knowles in January of last year:

Nearly 50 years ago Hamilton Countians elected a young Chattanoogan to the position of County Clerk, and Bill Knowles is still on the job today.

Mr. Knowles is in his 13th term and is the longest serving elected official in Hamilton County. Mr. Knowles has always been one of the countys top votegetters.

This writer has known Bill and Marlene Knowles nearly all his life as they were my Sunday School teachers growing up in the First Church of the Nazarene in Chattanooga. Although a youngster, I remember attending their wedding; my mother was one of their musicians.

I cant attempt to document all the accomplishments of Mr. Knowles in both his public and personal life as they are many. No one public servant has helped this broadcaster in his career more than Bill Knowles.

Mr. Knowles grew up in a family of public servants.

His father, Claude Knowles, served in the Chattanooga Police Department as a detective.

His brother, Joe Knowles, went to work in the fire department in the early 50s and was promoted through the ranks to the top as fire chief.

Another brother, George Knowles, was a firefighter and made assistant chief.

Many remember his brother Claude Bud Knowles, who served for many years as administrator for Hamilton County elections.

Another brother, Dorman Knowles, worked for Arnold Engineering in Tullahoma as an engineer.

His sister, Virginia Knowles Pell, was a long time nurse at Newell Hospital (later downtown General), taking care of the sick.

Bill Knowles was born in St. Elmo at the family home and at a very young age they moved to Oak Grove in Highland Park. Mr. Knowles attended Oak Grove Elementary School, East Side Jr. High and graduated from Central High School in 1952. Mr. Knowles was inducted into the Central High Hall of Fame.

Young Bill remembers going to work earning a few dollars at the soda fountain in the Hamilton National Bank Building at Seventh and Market. He said he got to know many of the WDOD personalities as their studio was above the bank.

Mr. Knowles married a young Marlene Coulter who sang in the choir at the Nazarene Church. Her father, Buford Coulter, ran a barber shop in Ridgedale and talked his son in law into going to Nashville Barber School and coming to work for him for nearly six years.

Mr. Knowles worked for Chattanooga City Court Judge Riley Graham. A few years later Chattanooga Mayor Ralph Kelley, impressed with the young Knowles' people skills, hired him on the Full Employment Committee assisting in creating job programs.

When Hamilton County Clerk Dave Ramsey decided not to seek re-election, Mr. Knowles' family and friends persuaded him into running for the position and he was elected in 1974.

After the Army this writer was named WDOD news director and one of the first individuals I called for advice was my friend Bill Knowles. The newly elected official opened his office to all reporters and allowed us to use his telephone to call in stories to our newsrooms. This was way before cell phones.

Mr. Knowles served as clerk to the Quarterly Court, County Council and now the County Commission. The minutes of the meetings are always available to help compile news stories. Most of the minutes are computerized and the information is readily available to the press and public. Recordings of the County Commission meetings are also available to hear on the Chattanoogan.com.

Mr. Knowles' office is a great source of information when writing about license plates, and various other licenses and Mr. Knowles never refused to answer a reporters questions.

It has been under Mr. Knowles leadership long tag renewal lines were eliminated; a model eventually adopted by other Tennessee Clerks offices.

During this time Hamilton County was the first in the state to develop Internet tag renewals, a great service for motorists.

Mr. Knowles likes history and is proud of doing research on all Hamilton County Clerks. He has pictures of most of them.

Former Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger said Mr. Knowles has "institutional (government) knowledge".

Mr. Knowles remembers when Jimmy Carter ran for President and he was asked to escort the Georgia Governor and his wife Rosalynn through the Hamilton County Courthouse. Mr. Knowles said after the visit he received a hand written letter from the Governor thanking him for his hospitality.

The late Hamilton County Executive Dalton Roberts grew up with Bill Knowles. Mr. Roberts described Mr. Knowles as the countys top statesman always looking for ways to improve and assist the citizens.

Mr. Roberts said Mr. Knowles was often seen taking first time courthouse visitors, who didnt know their way around, to various offices and courtrooms. Mr. Roberts said, My friend Bill was more than a clerk, he could have been county executive if hed wanted the job.

The late Hamilton County Commission Chairman Curtis Adams said, If Mr. Knowles ever retires it will be a great loss to the county. Hes a walking encyclopedia about Hamilton County Government.

The late Third District Congresswoman Marilyn Lloyd said, I often call my friend Bill Knowles and pick his brain. He would always answer my questions about Chattanooga and Hamilton County. He was a student of county government, always learning and making so many positive changes in his office; a valuable resource to our staff.

Bill Knowles is a family man with two sons and a daughter and many grandchildren.

Youll often see Mr. Knowles with some of his family eating at Wallys on McCallie Avenue and the Epicurean Restaurant in East Ridge.

Mr. Knowles is proud of writing the history of First Church of the Nazarene established in 1906, the church where he was raised, trusted Christ and married his wife Marlene. He was very good friends with Rev. John Andrus, who pastored the church for 31 years.

Bill and Marlene Knowles now attend Ridgedale Baptist Church. He says, Marlene has been singing all her life and she still enjoys the choir. We love Pastor Doug Plumlee and try not to miss.

Mr. Knowles said since he raised his family his wife Marlene of 68 years enjoys traveling with him to various functions, meetings, and funeral visitations.

He said, Marlene even enjoys going to Hamilton County Commission meetings with me.

One of Mr. Knowles' favorite ministers was the late Ben Haden. I have dozens of his sermons; they are a great source of encouragement. Ben was a good pastor and a great evangelist, sharing the Gospel on his weekly broadcasts Changed Lives. I listen to his programs every chance I get.

Mr. Knowles said, Ive seen so many changes in my office during nearly 50 years, but Im proud weve always been on the cutting edge of technology, all thanks to the hard work of my staff.

Mr. Knowles said People may get frustrated when visiting my office but our goal is a satisfied citizen. We have so many functions - car titles and tags, notary applications, marriage license, hunting and fishing license.

Mr. Knowles said his office may be closed because of inclement weather but he still answers his e-mails 24-7. Its one of the first things I check in the morning and the last thing before turning out the lights; I want to help the citizens if I can. Mr. Knowles said.

Mr. Knowles has served as president of the County Officials Association of Tennessee. In 2001, he was selected county official of the year and was named county clerk of the year three different times.

Mr. Knowles is very proud of his work ethic, Ive worked nearly all my life and enjoyed almost every minute.

The County Clerk never sees a stranger and will always stop for a visit; he has so many stories and is willing to share a few. Mr. Knowles returns his telephone calls even after those long County Commission meetings.

As for the veteran Hamilton County officials plans, Mr. Knowles said, "Its all in the Lords hands. Hes been good to me. I still enjoy getting up and going to work; I plan to serve as long as I have good health and please the people.
The Houston Museum of Decorative Arts will host Art & Music on the Bluff on Wednesday, Oct. 8, a community celebration supporting the restoration of the Museums 1890s Victorian house, the oldest home in the Bluff View Art District. The evening will welcome the communitys participation in preserving the historic house museum and showcase Anna Safley Houstons nationally recognized decorative arts collection.

From 7-8 p.m. guests will explore the 3rd Annual Artist in Residence opening at the Houston Pop-Up Museum, featuring antiques influencer Heather Turner of @thrifted.home.co.

From 8-10 p.m. the Chattanooga Symphony will perform live on the Bocce Court Terrace, presented in partnership with Bluff View Events.

Guests can enjoy light bites and a cash bar while strolling safely through the Bluff View Art District, with 2nd & High Streets closed to traffic for the evening. Complimentary valet parking will be available at the Hunter Museum circle.

Tickets are $35, which includes museum admission, and can be purchased at chattanoogasymphony.org.

For more information, follow @houstonmuseumofdecorativearts on social media.
National Park Partners of Chickamauga, Chattanooga and Moccasin Bend presents three events each fall with speakers and topics related to National Parks and conservation; indigenous culture and history; and Chattanoogas place in the U.S. Civil War. Founded in 2006, the series is underwritten by Tennessee State Representative Greg Vital, now celebrating the 20th year and sustained in his mother, Rita Vitals honor.Moccasin Bend Lecture Series events take place on Monday evenings at 7 p.m.at the Tennessee Aquarium River Journey Auditorium. Seating is limited and advance registration is required to guarantee a spot. All lectures are free and open to the public, and recordings of previous lectures are available on-demand on the National Park Partners YouTube Channel This years season begins with a Sept. 22 presentation by Ava Lowery, Jeffery L. Brown Award Winner and graduate of the University of Tennessee, who is the anthropologist and educator for Audubon Acres. Entitled Conquistadors and Chiefdoms: The Hidden History of 40HA84, Ms. Lowerys presentation will focus on the Coosa Chiefdom, the Spanish conquistadors and Little Owl Village, present-day Audubon Acres. Reserve your free seats for this event online here Officials said, "Ms. Lowery utilizes historical accounts and archaeological evidence to illustrate the complex social and military relationships between and within the Coosa chiefdom along with Spanish conquistador Tristan de Lunas 1560 expedition into the interior Southeast. With Little Owl Village at Audubon Acres and other local archaeological sites as the setting, there is a significant framework for a discussion of the sociopolitical environment of the Mississippian period in the Chattanooga area during early European contact, colonial power dynamics, struggles for sovereignty within the Native population and narratives of power in the context of practicing cultural preservation today."Ms. Lowery earned her BS in Anthropology from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and, beginning in the summer of 2023, interned under two dedicated professors for UTCs NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) compliance efforts until graduation, receiving a Jeffrey L. Brown Memorial Scholarship Award for her participation. She used and expanded those same skills in a voluntary repatriation project for Chattanooga Audubon Societys donated archaeological collection, ensuring that items of cultural significance were successfully repatriated to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Ms. Lowery is a museum and outdoor educator at the Chattanooga Audubon Societys main property, Audubon Acres, where she produces educational programs based around nature, history and archaeology.The Oct. 20 event features a presentation from the first woman named a National Park Service Superintendent, M. Ann Belkov. She will be joined by Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly in a conversation about the relevance of community involvement in a National Park City. Also the former superintendent of the Statue of Liberty, Ms. Belkovs service in Chattanooga was critical to shaping the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, officials said. Register here for this discussion.The culminating presentation in the series, Public Lands Partnerships: The Fort Monroe National Monument Model, is presented by Scott Martin, former administrator of the Department of Parks and Outdoors for the City of Chattanooga. Linda Moss Mines, Hamilton County historian, will join Mr. Martin for a discussion of how the best practices of their model for public lands management may be replicated in other communities. Register here for this culminating presentation.Hosted now in her honor, the series was important to Johanna Rita Vital. Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1930 to German immigrant parents, Ms. Vital married Leo Vital, a returning WWII veteran in 1951, and embarked on a lifelong pursuit of education and faith. She earned her bachelors degree from Atlantic Union College, a masters degree in public health from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a chaplaincy degree from Andover Newton Theological School. An avid traveler, she visited over 50 countries, loved nature and founded the Adventurers program, a nature-based youth outreach effort with the Seventh Day Adventists that was so successful it was spread internationally. Ms. Vital was instrumental in the Moccasin Bend Lecture Series, never missed an event and was a stalwart supporter of the National Park Service."National Park Partners preserves and promotes the landscapes and stories of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, including Moccasin Bend National Archeological District," officials said. "We believe the park belongs to everyone and everyone belongs in the park, and we engage the community in growing Chattanoogas National Park legacy for current and future generations."Visit nppcha.org for more information.
A Chattanooga man who threatened two members of Congress has been sentenced to two years in federal prison.

Garry Lebron Hayes, 45, appeared before Judge Curtis L. Collier.

Following his imprisonment, Hayes will be on supervised release for one year.

As part of the plea agreement filed with the court, Hayes agreed to plead guilty to an indictment charging him with knowingly and willfully transmitting in interstate commerce a communication containing a threat to injure the person of another.

According to filed court documents, in July of 2024, Hayes called the district office of a member of Congress and left the following voicemail: Chattanooga. Im in Chattanooga. Yeah, you better ask your kids to f***ing finally kiss your a**cause Im gonna beat your a** b**ch. Im gonna kill your a**. Im gonna kill you b**ch.

Additional evidence of Hayess relevant conduct introduced at the sentencing hearing revealed that, in January of 2024, Hayes, while outside the state of Tennessee, called the office of a different member of Congress, which was not located in the state of Tennessee, and left that member a voicemail, identifying the member by name and stating, I will slice your throat, mother f***er.

The Court-determined that the applicable sentencing guidelines range was 18-24 months. The United States advocated for a top of the guidelines sentence of 24 months. In imposing a 24-month sentence, the Court stressed that society must be protected from Hayes, and others like him, who threaten to maim, and murder elected officials with whom they disagree.

U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III of the Eastern District of Tennessee and Special Agent in Charge, Joseph Carrico, Federal Bureau of Investigation, made the announcement.

Assistant United States Attorney David P. Lewen, Jr. represented the United States
I feel compelled to write to you as one of your pastors. Today marks the twenty-fourth anniversary of the vicious attacks on our country by the terrorist group Al-Qaida. September 11, 2001, is forever seared in my memory. I was a senior at the University of South Carolina, and I had a Tuesday morning class. One of my fraternity brothers also had class at the same time. We were the only two awake in our house, getting ready that morning, when the first plane slammed into the World Trade Center in New York. We watched the second plane run its murderous course on live television. It was terrifying, surreal. We hurried out of our fraternity house and, as was our custom, met up with Callie and some of her friends to walk to class together. I can remember exactly what she was wearing. And I will never forget the scene that met us on central campus at Carolinaa sea of people on their cell phones. I borrowed my friends and called my parents. My mom answered the phone. We expressed our shock and horror and then she said this to me. Son, this day will be for you and your generation what the assassination of JFK was for me and your father. Time has proven her right. September 11, 2001, became a defining moment for my generation. I believe the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk yesterday will have a similar generational impact on my children. I did not know much about Mr. Kirk. I followed his political rise casually. What most interested me about him were the videos of his public debates I had seen over the past few years on social media, most of them on college campuses like the one where he was killed by a snipers bullet. As someone trained in formal debate, I recognized immediately his formidable skill. Irrespective of ones political beliefs, you had to admire his sharp mind and, above all, the civility with which he conducted himself. I have watched probably twenty or more of these videos and I never saw him lose his temper with an opponent, even when they were attacking his beliefs with vitriol. Most importantly, as numerous commentators have pointed out, Kirk went from being a young, secular conservative, to an avowed Christian. In the exchanges I watched, his faith was evident. I did not know he was an unbeliever when he began his career. May God be praised that Charlie Kirk professed faith in Jesus before he was called home! Across the political spectrum, people have lauded Kirks talent for engaging young people in politics, particularly young men. This outpouring of bipartisan recognition is encouraging. Kirk believed that persuasion through reasoned argument was the key to changing minds. As Christians, again, irrespective of our political beliefs, we should applaud this method. After all, the apostle Pauls stated missionary practice was to take the gospel first to the Jew, then to the Gentile (Romans 1:16). When he deployed this method, what did he do? He sought to persuade people of the truth of the gospel by reasoning with them (Acts 17:2, 17; 18:4). Paul was simply following the strategy of our Lord in this way. Jesus constantly reasoned with His opponents from the Scriptures. By doing so, our Master and His apostles gave us a paradigm. Christianity was never meant to be advanced by the sword of violence, but by the sword of the Spirit, the Word of truth (Ephesians 6:17), preached, lived, and, by Gods grace, persuading people. Like other acts of political violence, Kirks assassination was evil. We must ask the Lord to bring whoever perpetrated this evil to swift justice. His senseless killing forces us as a nation to ask some very hard questions. How did we get to the place in our political discourse where a young husband and father was murdered simply trying to engage people from opposing viewpoints? How is it, according to a recent poll aired on CNN, that some 30% of college students believe that political violence is sometimes justified to silence an opponent? Why is it, according to another poll, that more Americans would be opposed to their children marrying a spouse with different political beliefs than if their child married someone with different religious beliefs? These signposts of a changing national tone with respect to political debate are ominous and concerning, to say the very least. Of course, I do not have all the answers to these questions. No one does. But, as Christians, we do have the answer: the gospel of Jesus Christ. Having been cleansed from all our sins by the atoning blood of Jesus, we are called to live as forgiven, changed, and changing people, in union with our resurrected Lord. The transforming power of the gospel by the Spirit is the greatest need for our country, yesterday, today, and forever. Of all the places that could be called safe spaces to express differing views without fear of violent reprisal, the church should be the safest. Sadly, it has not been that, oftentimes. But the ability to enter strong disagreement and still love one another in Christ should be one of the hallmarks of the church in this and every age. The church must not only practice principled disagreement; she must bear witness to it in front of a watching world. Now is the time for believers to lead the way on this front, in love. Our high calling is very simple: love God above all and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40). Love the person you disagree with. Show him or her a Christ-like disposition and gentleness. Be willing to do the necessary and difficult work of being sympathetically critical (I have chosen my words carefully here) to a viewpoint which you find repugnant. If it is false, Christians should be able to critique it from the Scriptures and demonstrate its falsehood. Of all people, Christians should be able to do this precisely because, having been loved so lavishly by God, we love others welleven when we disagree. For now, let us mourn that a man was killed for trying to change minds in a non-violent way, a time-honored practice in American political debate. Let us mourn for a young wife who woke up yesterday married and went to bed widowed. Let us mourn for two little children who will never hear their fathers voice echo in their ears again, never feel the warm embrace of their fathers love on this side of the veil of eternity, and live out the rest of their days with a new and never asked for identity: fatherless. In a word, let us pray for and mourn with the Kirk family. But let us also pray for our country. Let us ask the Lord that citizens will not be murdered for merely expressing a different viewpoint. In our prayers, let us remember that the only cure for political assassinations, school shootings, church shootings, and a host of other gruesome ills plaguing this great land, is a Spirit-sent revival. Pray that God will move among us and somehow bring good out of this wicked event. In the days, weeks, months, and years to come, the events of yesterday will be analyzed, remembered, and mourned. I imagine the brutal killing of Charlie Kirk signals the end of outdoor political events. Safety measures unthinkable to this point will become normal. In other words, something more than a life was lost yesterday. To be sure, nothing less than the life of an image-bearer of God was lost, but also something more. I believe yesterday marks the loss of a sense, perhaps naive, that you could express strong opinions in this country publicly without fearing for your safety. May God spare us from this dire conclusion. Thank you for taking time to read this pastoral letter. Like you, I care about the future of our country, not just because I am an American, but, most of all, because I am a Christian. We have a duty as believers to pray for, love, and seek the welfare of the country where God places us in His providence (Jeremiah 29:7; 1 Timothy 2:2). This duty should be our delight. As we pray, let us ask God to hasten the day when we behold a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. (Revelations 7:9) May God bless the United States of America, First Presbyterian Church, and our gospel witness in these trying days. Your fellow debtor to grace, Gabe. Gabe Fluhrer, senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church
District President Prof. Dr. Jan Hilligardt officially handed over the approval documents for the construction and operation of an industrial-scale central lithium plant (CLP) to the managing directors of Vulcan Energie Ressourcen GmbH, Thorsten Weimann and Carsten Bachg, at Industriepark Hochst. The handover took place at Vulcan's Central Lithium electrolysis Optimization Plant (CLEOP) in the Industriepark in the presence of the Managing Director of the Industriepark operating company Infraserv Hochst, Dr. Joachim Kreysing. Vulcan has been producing sustainable and domestically produced lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) at this plant since the beginning of the year in preparation for the start of commercial lithium production.

The new lithium plant in the industrial park is a central component of Vulcan's first two project phases, each of which provides for the combined extraction of climate-neutral lithium and renewable energy from deep geothermal energy. In the future, the plant will use green electricity to process lithium chloride through an electrolysis process to produce the end product lithium hydroxide monohydrate - a raw material that is essential for the production of electric vehicle batteries. In the first phase of the "Lionheart" project, the lithium chloride is extracted in an upstream process step at a combined geothermal and lithium plant (G-LEP) in the Landau industrial park. Planning permission has already been granted for the construction of the geothermal plant and an associated transformer station. In the second project phase, the extraction of lithium chloride is to be implemented in the Rhine-Neckar region.

Through commercial lithium extraction at the plants in Frankfurt-Hochst and Landau, Vulcan will provide up to 24,000 tons of LHM per year for the European battery and automotive industry in the first project phase, which is roughly enough to produce 500,000 electric vehicle batteries. CLP's production and storage units in Frankfurt-Hochst will be expanded for the second phase of the project.

In a publication by the Darmstadt Regional Council, Prof. Dr. Hilligardt commented: "Independence from international supply chains for future-relevant raw materials is very important, so I am delighted to be able to hand over the approval notice today. This project also sends a strong signal for the Industriepark Hochst site. It is impressive proof of the innovative strength and forward-looking approach of the companies in our Frankfurt/Rhine-Main metropolitan region."

Infraserv Managing Director Dr. Joachim Kreysing is proud that Vulcan Energy has chosen Industriepark Hochst to advance the development of a future technology: "Germany's transformation as a business location can only succeed with the innovative strength of the chemical industry. Research and production sites like Industriepark Hochst are indispensable for this. Our site offers ideal conditions for companies working on sustainable and innovative solutions."
On June 27, 2025, a Muslim mob, after Friday mosque prayers, attacked the Christian youth retreat in Tangkil village, Sukabumi, Cidahu District, West Java Province, Indonesia. Videos showed individuals pulling down the cross and causing extensive property damage. | Screenshot: YouTube/ WF Official

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has issued a warning that the state of religious freedom in Indonesia remains very concerning.

While the bipartisan agency, which is responsible for making recommendations to the U.S. State Department about countries to designate as Countries of Particular Concern, acknowledged that Indonesia has taken steps to promote religious tolerance and reduce incidents of religiously motivated terrorism, it cautioned that these efforts are still insufficient.

USCIRF based its findings on a trip the delegation took to Indonesia in May, less than a year after Prabowo Subianto was elected as president.

The report pointed out that Indonesias regulation for religious groups to obtain a permit to build a new house of worship, implemented in 2006, requires religious groups to submit a list of 90 congregation members, document support from 60 households of a different faith, and secure recommendations from religious leaders and the local Interfaith Harmony Forum.

Religious minority groups have faced protests and violence for actions critics say amount to skirting the permit requirements needed before constructing a new house of worship. In June, a mob of 200 Muslims stormed a home used by Christians for a youth retreat, claiming their use was illegal. The home was vandalized, and dozens of children had to flee as a result.

The report also highlighted how Indonesians have faced prison sentences ranging from seven months to three years for violating blasphemy laws related to alleged criticism of majority religions.

USCIRF also noted that Indonesias Criminal Code is being updated to prohibit leaving a specific religion, which is now designated as a form of apostasy.

While Indonesias Ministry of Education has prohibited localities from requiring female students to wear hijabs, over 70 local regulations across the country still mandate women and girls to wear the Muslim covering.

USCIRF added that it has consistently recommended that the U.S. State Department designate Indonesia on a Special Watch List for countries that violate religious freedom, but not enough to be classified as Countries of Particular Concern.

The last list of CPCs and Special Watch List countries was published in December 2023, when former President Joe Biden was in office. At that time, Indonesia was not included on either list.
Home News 5 current events tied to the 9/11 terror attacks

Twenty-four years ago, the United States experienced the worst foreign terror attack on national soil in its history, when Islamic extremists launched four coordinated airplane hijackings that killed thousands.



Nearly 3,000 Americans were killed in the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Airplanes crashed into both Twin Towers in New York City and the Pentagon outside of Washington, D.C. Another plane crashed in a field in rural Pennsylvania after the passengers revolted.

The attacks inspired many changes at the social, political and international level, such as the U.S. launching a global war on terrorism that saw troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.



Yet, even as American troops have returned home, mastermind Osama bin Laden has been killed and parts of the PATRIOT Act have expired, many developments spawned from that historic day remain.



The following pages highlight five ongoing stories stemming from the 9/11 tragedy.
Home News Charlie Kirk assassin believed to be college age; video footage of suspect found: authorities Ammunition in shooting engraved with Trantifa ideology

The person who fatally shot conservative commentator Charlie Kirk in a targeted attack at a Utah university is believed to be college-aged, with authorities saying they have video footage of the suspect.

Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, said at a press conference Thursday morning that investigators have made a few breakthroughs in the case.

This included being able to track the movements of the shooter from when he arrived on campus at Utah Valley University to when he escaped after shooting Kirk from a distance.

We do have good video footage of this individual, we are not going to release that at this time, said Mason, explaining that if authorities are unsuccessful in identifying the suspect through the footage they have, then we will reach out to the media and the public to help.

Mason also noted that he had contacted Kirks widow, Erika, saying that the family is devastated and that, as a husband and father, I can only imagine what that family is going through.

The heinous event that happened yesterday is not Utah. This is not what were known for, he maintained. We will not stand for what happened yesterday.

Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Robert Bohls also shared updates, noting that authorities had recovered the weapon believed to have been used to murder Kirk, describing it as a high-powered bolt-action rifle.

The rifle had been recovered in a wooded area where the shooter had fled to, Bohls explained, with investigators also finding a shoe print, palm print and forearm imprints.

Bohls said that authorities had received around 130 tips, and that they were investigating all possible leads. He vowed to relentlessly pursue the shooter.

When asked for a physical description of the suspect, Mason explained that he blended in well with the college institution and appears to be of college age. Additional details about his appearance are being kept confidential for the time being.

While a motive was not stated by authorities at the press conference, reports have surfaced indicating that ammunition in the shooting was engraved with radical leftwing messaging, including transgender ideology. This information was first reported by Steven Crowder, who received a leaked FBI memo, and subsequently confirmed by The Wall Street Journal.

The co-founder and leader of Turning Point USA, a conservative youth activist group, Kirk was speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem when an unknown gunman shot him in the neck.

UVU was put on lockdown while the 31-year-old Kirk was rushed to a local hospital, dying of his wound shortly after. While a suspect was taken into custody, he was released and charged with obstructing justice.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox took to his official X account yesterday to state that whoever is responsible for the assassination will be held fully accountable.

Violence has no place in our public life, Cox wrote. Americans of every political persuasion must unite in condemning this act. Our prayers are with Charlie, his family, and all those affected.
Home News Chris Pratt, Rob Schneider lead celebrity tributes to Charlie Kirk: 'Brother in Christ'

Celebrities expressed shock and mourning following the death of Christian conservative activist Charlie Kirk, 31, who was fatally shot while hosting an event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday.

Authorities are still searching for the shooter, with the FBI and Utah Public Safety Department both calling the incident a targeted attack on the husband and father of two.

The FBI has released photos of a person of interest and is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to an arrest. The shooter is described as being of college age, and a firearm, identified as a high-powered bolt-action rifle, was recovered in a wooded area near the scene. A footprint was also found.

Kirks death was confirmed by former President Donald Trump, who paid tribute to the activist on Truth Social. "The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead," Trump wrote. "He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my sympathies go out to his beautiful wife, Erika, and family."

On Thursday, Trump announced he will award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously.

Following the news, public figures, from Tim and Demi Tebow to Chris Pratt, shared their grief.
Home News Dead Evergreen High School shooter was radicalized': police

The Jefferson County Sheriffs Office in Golden, Colorado identified Desmond Holly as the teenager who shot two of his classmates at the Jefferson Couty High School before fatally shooting himself on Wednesday.

Authorities released his photo in a post on X hours after Dr. Brian Blackwood of the CommonSpirit St. Anthony Hospital said in a Thursday morning news briefing. Blackwood said one of the two students attacked by 16-year-old Holly remains in critical condition while the other student who had non-life threatening injuries was in stable condition and no longer in their care. He also confirmed that Holly died at the hospital on Wednesday night.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said the received the first reports of the school shooting at Evergreen High School, located about 30 miles southwest of Denver, at 12:24 p.m. according to USA Today. Holly was reportedly armed with a handgun and fired shots inside and outside of the school.

In a statement Wednesday, Tracy Dorland, Jefferson County Public Schools superintendent said she was devastated and heartbroken by the shooting at the school which serves approximately 900 students.

No child should ever face this kind of danger, and no community should be asked to absorb this kind of pain, Dorland said.

We cannot pretend this is just another tragic incident. The pain of this incident reopens old wounds. I know there are many in our Jeffco community hurting and grieving tonight, in Evergreen and beyond. The urgency this moment demands is undeniable. Student safety is not an abstract issue for us in Jeffco. It is the most important responsibility we hold. Safety is our number one priority every day, and yet, here we are once again, grieving with a community over gun violence impacting our students.

A message on the schools website said classes at the school were canceled for the rest of the week.

Hollys motive for the shooting is still being investigated but deputies suggest he was radicalized by some extremist network.

Jefferson County sheriffs spokeswoman Jacki Kelley said Holly lived with his family on a large mountain property on a private road just outside of Kittridge the Denver Post reported. She also said on the day of the shooting, he travelled on the school bus and it was not immediately clear how he got the revolver used in the shooting.

Kelley explained that the 16-year-old had quite a bit of ammunition with him during the shooting and he fired his gun many times at the school during the attack.

He would fire and reload, fire and reload, she said. This went on and on. He tried to find new targets. He came up to a roadblock on many of those doors  he couldnt get to those kids.
Home News Episcopal cathedral employee, former school tech manager arrested for soliciting a minor

An employee of an Episcopal Church cathedral in Ohio who formerly worked at a local school district has been arrested for allegedly soliciting a minor for sexual activity.

Brett Boardwine, who worked in communications for the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Cleveland and as technology manager for Streetsboro City School District, was arrested last month for allegedly attempting to solicit a 15-year-old boy.

Boardwine had begun communicating online with someone he thought was a 15-year-old boy, and arranged to meet said boy behind a local business, Fox 8 News reports.

However, he was actually communicating with an undercover police officer and was arrested once he showed up at the meetup site. A jury charged him with attempted sexual conduct with a minor, possession of criminal tools and importuning, commonly defined as the act of soliciting a minor under the age of 13 to engage in a sexual activity.

Boardwine has been put on administrative leave, according to a statement from The Very Rev. Bernard J. Owens, dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.

Our highest priority is the safety of those in our care, Owens said. While we currently have no reason to think anyone in the Trinity Cathedral community has been harmed, I have placed Brett on immediate administrative leave.

Owens said he and others in the diocese were available for pastoral support, adding that news like this is unsettling and may stir up painful memories for some.

Streetsboro City Schools Superintendent Cynthia Deevers issued a statement last week saying that she was made aware that a former part-time, non-teaching employee was arrested on charges of importuning after their employment with the district ended.

We are fully cooperating with local law enforcement and remain committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of our students and staff, Deevers stated, according to Fox 8

Regarding the possibility that Boardwine engaged in criminal behavior while working for the school district, Streetsboro Police Chief Patricia Wain said that authorities had no indication that anything took place at the schools.

Is it something that we can 100% rule out until the investigation is over? No, but at the same time, usually we have a little bit more indicators, clues, that we have a bigger target audience to look at, and at this point we just dont have that with him, Wain was quoted as saying.
Home News FBI releases video, new photos of person of interest, offers $100K reward for info on Charlie Kirk shooter

Updated at 10:05 p.m. EDT, Sept. 11, 2025: At a 10-minute press conference Thursday night, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox shared video of the person of interest and asked for the public's assistance in locating his whereabouts. The governor reiterated the $100,000 reward and said authorities have received over 7,000 leads and tips and have already conducted 200 interviews. Cox added that 20 federal, state and local law enforcement partners are working on the investigation.

He further asked the public to look closely at the details of the individual's clothing, specifically the Converse shoes, black shirt with the U.S. flag and eagle, and other identifiable items the person was wearing, such as the cap featuring a triangle and the backpack with distinguishing features.

In the video below, the FBI saysthe shooter is seen jumping from the rooftop of a building after the shooting, and asks that anyone with information in this case call 1-800-FBI or visit fbi.gov/utahvalleyshooting

Updated at 8:25 p.m. EDT, Sept. 11, 2025: Utah Public Safety on Thursday night released four new images of the person of interest, and asked that people with any knowledge about this individual or other information involving the targeted murder of Charlie Kirk contact the FBI Salt Lake City tip line: https://tips.fbi.gov/digitalmedia/f4507712a3b2893

We're releasing additional photos of the person of interest in connection with the murder of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. Please send all tips available to: https://t.co/XXzYBH1GkEpic.twitter.com/DgLOlrU6Cx  Utah Public Safety (@UtahDPS) September 12, 2025

Original report

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has released images of a person of interest in the murder of Charlie Kirk and is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of the killer.

FBI Salt Lake City issued a brief statement on Thursday explaining that the Bureau was offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the individual(s) responsible for the murder of Charlie Kirk.

The FBI went on to encourage anyone with information about the shooting to call 1-800-CALL-FBI and, if they have any photos or video, to submit them to the website fbi.gov/utahvalleyshooting.

Additionally, FBI Salt Lake City released a couple of images on Thursday showing what they describe as a person of interest in the shooting. The images show an individual wearing sunglasses, a blue cap featuring a triangle logo, and a black, long-sleeved shirt with an image of an American flag and an eagle.

We are asking for the public's help identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, tweeted the FBI office.

An influential conservative activist and media personality, Kirk was speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday when an unknown gunman fatally shot him in the neck.

UVU was put on lockdown while the 31-year-old Kirk was rushed to a local hospital, with the husband and father of two dying from his wound shortly after the targeted shooting.

At a press conference held Thursday morning, FBI Special Agent Robert Bohls said that authorities had recovered a high-powered bolt-action rifle believed to be the murder weapon.

According to Bohls, authorities found shoe prints, a palm print and forearm imprints in a wooded area near campus that the shooter had fled to after killing Kirk.

Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, told those gathered at the press conference that the suspect was college-age and that they had video images of him.

We do have good video footage of this individual, we are not going to release that at this time, Mason said earlier in the day, adding that if authorities are unsuccessful in identifying the suspect, then we will reach out to the media and the public to help.

For his part, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox took to his official X account yesterday to state that whoever is responsible for the assassination will be held fully accountable.

Violence has no place in our public life, Cox tweeted. Americans of every political persuasion must unite in condemning this act. Our prayers are with Charlie, his family, and all those affected.
Home News Fulani radicals kill 8 Christians, wound 9 others in early-morning attack; hundreds displaced 11 villages attacked, 30 houses burned since late August

Fulani herdsmen attacked two villages in northwest Nigerias Kaduna state early on Sunday, killing eight Christians and wounding nine others.

Area resident Timothy Kimbe said herdsmen attacked Wakeh and Gadanaji villages in Kachia County between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m.

What a black Sunday for Kachia Christians, Kimbe told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. Fulani Muslim herdsmen have killed eight Christians and injured nine other Christians in Wakeh and Gadanaji.

Kimbe identified those killed as Elisha Pius, Japhet Bitrus, Obadiah Joshua, Luka Augustine, Paul Augustine, Ezekiel Augustine, Ishaya Paul and Bawa Bulus. Wounded were Sanda Ishaya Christopher, Zachariah Anthony, Sunday Nuhu, Gideon Pius, Gregory Moses, Livinus Gabriel, Godday Clement, Ishaku Elisha, and Godday Clement, he said.

Plateau state attacks

In neighboring Plateau state, herdsmen have attacked 11 villages in the Quaan Pan area, burning more than 30 houses and displacing more at least 300 Christians, since late August, sources said.

Nteng, Doop, Zhep Morop, Gyeergu, Kelaghan, Loon, Kwakii and Gorom in Doemak District were some of the villages attacked, said Danaan Cletus Sylvanus, spokesman for the Quaan Pan Local Government Council.

Council Chairman Christopher Manship has held a stakeholders meeting and called on residents to be vigilant, Sylvanus said in a press statement.

Manship lamented over the attacks and urged traditional rulers, religious leaders and development associations to join hands with him to work towards a permanent solution to the attacks, Sylvanus said. The chairman has mobilized security agencies to the affected areas to ensure the situation is brought under control. We are working tirelessly to restore peace and normalcy to the communities.

Alphonsus Komsol, a former legislator from the area in the National Assembly, described the attacks as acts of barbarism, inhuman and unacceptable. In a press statement, he urged affected Christians to remain vigilant and unite in protecting their communities while avoiding any actions that could escalate tensions.

Joe Bukar, a legislator in the Plateau State Legislature, said the Plateau State House of Assembly on Sept. 4 deliberated on the security situation in Quaan Pan Local Government Area and called on the Nigerian government authorities to take immediate steps against the armed marauders.

We deliberated on the disturbing attacks in Nteng, Doemak District of Quaan Pan LGA, where lives have been lost, homes destroyed, and families displaced, Bukar said. We unanimously called on the federal government, National Assembly and security agencies to act urgently in restoring peace, while also urging Plateau State Emergency Management Agency (PLASEMA) to provide relief for the victims.

A statement from the chambers of the Plateau State House of Assembly over the attacks in Quaan Pan called on the Nigerian government to immediately halt the herdsmen attacks.

The Plateau State House of Assembly has raised concern over the rising spate of coordinated attacks on communities in Nteng, Doemak District of Quaan-Pan Local Government Area, with a strong call on the federal government and the National Assembly to urgently intervene in addressing the worsening security situation, the statement reads. The motion was moved under matters on adjournment by the Member representing Quaan-Pan North Constituency, Hon. Owen Dagogot, and co-sponsored by the Member representing Quaan-Pan South, Hon. Theodore Maiyaki (SAN).

Dagogot drew the attention of the House to recurring violent attacks by armed militias in Doop, Loon, Larwan and Gorom communities in the last six to seven weeks that led to deaths, destruction of property, burned farmlands and mass displacement of residents.

While condemning the persistent attacks, the House stressed that security is on the Exclusive Legislative List, and therefore called on the National Assembly to direct the Chief of Defense Staff, the Inspector General of Police, and other relevant security agencies to act decisively in restoring peace, Dagogot said. The House also appealed to the Plateau State Emergency Management Agency (PLASEMA) to conduct an on-the-spot assessment of the affected communities and provide relief and support for victims.

After extensive deliberation and contributions by members who voiced strong concerns over recurring violence, the House unanimously adopted the resolution. The Clerk of the House was directed to produce clean copies of the resolution and forward same to the president, the Senate president, the speaker of the House of Representatives, the chief of Defense Staff, the inspector general of police and other relevant federal agencies for urgent action.

Numbering in the millions across Nigeria and the Sahel, predominantly Muslim Fulani comprise hundreds of clans of many different lineages who do not hold extremist views, but some Fulani do adhere to radical Islamist ideology, the United Kingdoms All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom or Belief (APPG) noted in a 2020 report.

They adopt a comparable strategy to Boko Haram and ISWAP and demonstrate a clear intent to target Christians and potent symbols of Christian identity, the APPG report states.

Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe herdsmen attacks on Christian communities in Nigerias Middle Belt are inspired by their desire to forcefully take over Christians lands and impose Islam as desertification has made it difficult for them to sustain their herds.

Nigeria remained among the most dangerous places on earth for Christians, according to Open Doors 2025 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. Of the 4,476 Christians killed for their faith worldwide during the reporting period, 3,100 (69 percent) were in Nigeria, according to the WWL.

The measure of anti-Christian violence in the country is already at the maximum possible under World Watch List methodology, the report stated.

In the countrys North-Central zone, where Christians are more common than they are in the North-East and North-West, Islamic extremist Fulani militia attack farming communities, killing many hundreds, Christians above all, according to the report. Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and the splinter group Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), among others, are also active in the countrys northern states, where federal government control is scant and Christians and their communities continue to be the targets of raids, sexual violence, and roadblock killings, according to the report. Abductions for ransom have increased considerably in recent years.

The violence has spread to southern states, and a new jihadist terror group, Lakurawa, has emerged in the northwest, armed with advanced weaponry and a radical Islamist agenda, the WWL noted. Lakurawa is affiliated with the expansionist Al-Qaeda insurgency Jamaa Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, or JNIM, originating in Mali.

Nigeria ranked seventh on the 2025 WWL list of the 50 worst countries for Christians.

This article was originally published by Christian Daily International / Morning Star News.
Home News House floor erupts after Boebert calls for prayer following Charlie Kirk killing: 'Absolutely disgusting'

Lawmakers erupted in a shouting match on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday after Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., called for prayer after the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk in Utah.



After House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., acknowledged her, Boebert rose following a moment of silence for Kirk to call for a public prayer for his family, which prompted groans and shouts of "No!" from other members in the chamber, according to video of the incident.

An unbelievable moment on the House floor.



Rep. Lauren Boebert requests a moment of prayer for Charlie Kirk.



Democrats can be heard shouting "no!"



Then, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna shouts back "y'all caused this!" pic.twitter.com/puEobizZTk  Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 10, 2025

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who previously served under Kirk as Turning Point USA's director of Hispanic engagement, then appeared to blame the Democrats for his murder, yelling, "Y'all caused this!" and "You fing own this!"

Democrats responded by shouting about gun laws and the school shooting in Colorado on Wednesday that left four dead, including the suspect, according to Axios.

Johnson attempted to maintain decorum amid the shouting, shushing them and repeatedly banging his gavel.

"The House will be in order," he said, adding, "We will join for prayer right after this, OK?"

Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., tweeted that he was near the scuffle on the House floor and expressed disgust at the behavior from some of his Democratic colleagues.

"I was on the House floor sitting right next to [Boebert] when the Speaker recognized Lauren for a request for prayer for Charlie Kirk and the Dems shouted NO!!! Screaming over top of her like lunatics," Moore said.

"Absolutely disgusting. I wish it were surprising. It's time to wake up everyone," he added.

During an interview with CNN after the incident, Johnson noted the House had devolved into a "little bit of chaos." He urged Americans to remember the importance of maintaining civility if the nation is going to survive.

At this pivotal moment in our nations history, we must appeal to our better angels.



America is still a grand experiment in self-governance - of, by, and for the people.



Charlie modeled that truth: debate passionately, but never hate the person across from you. pic.twitter.com/Miw97eXe8s  Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) September 11, 2025

"We're at a pivotal moment as a nation, we're coming up on our 250th birthday," he said. "We're still in a grand experiment in self-governance. We don't know how long this grand experiment will last.

Noting the U.S. has no king and that the people have been entrusted with their own rule, Johnson emphasized the importance of the civil debate that Kirk exhibited, adding: "At the end of the day, you can't take that home and you can't hate the person on the other side. We're all in this together, and we do well to remember that."

Kirk, who was 31, was killed on Wednesday after being shot in the neck during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in Orem. He was struck moments after fielding an audience question about mass shootings by transgender-identifying individuals.

Graphic videos shared on X show him bleeding profusely from his wound as he slumped over immediately after being shot. He had shortly before confessed the Gospel and the deity of Jesus Christ to the large gathering of college students.

Kirk, who founded the influential grassroots political organization Turning Point USA at the age of 18, played a pivotal role in securing support for conservatism among young men, especially.

Last month, his organization hosted the TPUSA Pastors' Summit in Los Angeles, mobilizing ministers to stand firm against the surging cultural shift that some speakers at the event described as overtly demonic.

Kirk's death drew an outpouring of grief and condolences from many leading political and religious figures, including President Donald Trump, who delivered an address from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening that praised Kirk as "a martyr for truth and freedom."

Kirk's killer remains at large, as of Thursday morning, despite FBI Director Kash Patel announcing a suspect was in custody. After the suspect was later released upon interrogation, the agency asked for help from the public in apprehending the shooter.
Home News Leader of global La Luz del Mundo church charged with abusing generations of church members

Editor's note: This article contains details involving sexual assault

Naason Joaquin Garcia, leader of the global La Luz del Mundo megachurch, who is already serving a 16-year, eight-month state sentence in California for the sexual assault of three minors, is facing new federal charges alleging that he sexually exploited women and children in the church for generations.

NAASONs exploitation of the church and its members follows a deeply disturbing tradition established by his father (Samuel Joaquin Flores) and his grandfather (Eusebio Joaquin Gonzalez, known as Aaron), who founded the church in Guadalajara, Mexico, in approximately 1926, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said in a release about the new charges against Joaquin Garcia, 56, on Wednesday.

Beginning with Aaron and continuing with Samuel and then NAASON, each member of the Joaquin family who has served as the leader or Apostle has taken advantage of his position of power and control over the LLDM Church to sexually abuse, exploit, and rape its congregants, prosecutors allege. Each leader manipulated girls and young women by conveying that they could earn a special blessing by serving him, which often ultimately included sexual activity, including oral sex, manual stimulation, and ultimately, penetrative sex with the victims. This abuse occurred over the course of generations.

Also indicted along with Joaquin Garcia, according to a 31-page filing in Manhattan federal court, are his 79-year-old mother, Eva Garcia de Joaquin, his 37-year-old nephew, Joram Nunez Joaquin, and three other suspects who are believed to be at-large in Mexico: Rosa Sosa, 59; Azalia Rangel Garcia, 46; and Silem Garcia Pena, 43.

The defendants are accused of using the church as a vehicle for the sex trafficking of women and children; to induce victims, including children, to travel to engage in forced and unlawful sex acts; to produce, receive, distribute, and possess child pornography; to employ forced labor of Church members; to illegally structure cash transactions and bulk cash smuggling; and to obstruct justice to hide their crimes.

NAASON, the leader of the Enterprise, managed a close circle of co-conspirators who facilitated his abuse of teenagers and young women. NAASON also directed his co-conspirators to produce images and videos of child sexual abuse and send them to him for his own sexual gratification," prosecutors said in their release.

"Law enforcement has seized many of these images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of minors that were created at NAASONs direction. NAASON also instructed co-conspirators to select young teenagers in his church for abuse and to systematically introduce the minors to NAASONs illegal sexual desires through personal interactions with NAASON under the guise of Church activities.

Though the church is headquartered in Mexico, it has locations across the U.S., including in California, New York, Nevada, Texas, New Jersey and Washington, D.C.

All the defendants were charged with racketeering conspiracy, which carries a maximum punishment of life in prison, except for Nunez Joaquin and Garcia Pena, who are facing a maximum of 20 years in prison for that charge.

Joaquin Garcia, Sosa, Rangel Garcia, and his mother are also facing a life sentence for sex trafficking conspiracy. The pastor and Rangel Garcia were also charged with sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion; inducement to travel to engage in unlawful sexual activity, conspiracy to sexually exploit children, and child exploitation enterprise. All these charges carry maximum penalties of ranging from decades to life in prison.

As alleged in the Indictment, for decades, Naason Joaquin Garcia and the other members of the Joaquin LLDM Enterprise used their position in and the resources of the La Luz Del Mundo Church to sexually abuse girls, boys, and women, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement.

They exploited the faith of their followers to prey upon them. When they were confronted, they leveraged their religious influence and financial power to intimidate and coerce victims into remaining silent about the abuse they had suffered. The Indictment includes charges against those who systemically aided Naasons alleged sexual exploitation of teenagers and young women, including creating photos and videos of abuse and other unspeakable criminal conduct.

"We commend the victims who have come forward for their extraordinary courage and desire to bring an end to decades of abuse. This Office will hold Naason and others who aided this alleged abuse fully accountable.

In a statement to The New York Times, Joaquin Garcias lawyer, Alan Jackson, categorically denied the allegations against his client.

We reject the grotesque portrait painted by the government and its allies, he said. In this country, every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. That principle cannot be eroded simply because the government chooses to smear a church and its leaders with accusations it cannot prove.

Authorities stated in a letter to a Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday that they searched a home belonging to Joaquin Garcia and his mother in East Los Angeles and found more than $1 million in cash, along with evidence of sex crimes, including straps used as a sex swing. They also found a sex toy similar to those seen in child pornography images and videos created at the pastors direction, according to prosecutors.

The investigation remains ongoing and authorities are urging anyone who has been victimized by the defendants or have any information about their alleged illegal behavior to call 212-637-1033 or email USANYS.LLDM@usdoj.gov.
Home News MSNBC political analyst fired for blaming Charlie Kirk assassination on 'hate speech' Ex-Bush strategist once called the Bible 'a book filled with much fiction'

Cable news network MSNBC has reportedly fired veteran political analyst Matthew Dowd following widespread backlash to his on-air comments linking conservative activist Charlie Kirk's "hate speech" to the "environment" that led to the 31-year-old's fatal shooting in Utah.

The exchange came during MSNBC's live coverage of the tragedy on Wednesday, shortly after Kirk, the co-founder of Turning Point USA, was shot in the neck from long range while addressing a crowd of about 3,000 at a Utah Valley University event. Kirk was pronounced dead a short time later.

As details emerged of the attack, which Utah Gov. Spencer Cox described as a "political assassination," anchor Katy Tur turned to Dowd with a question about "the environment in which a shooting like this happens."

Dowd's response zeroed in on Kirk, whom he called "one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups."

The despicable ghouls at MSNBC immediately attack Charlie Kirk in wake of shooting  Matthew Dowd blames Kirk's pushing hate speech as reason he was shot:



"I always go back to hateful thoughts, lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions."



You can't stop with pic.twitter.com/Js2uESSZdQ  Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) September 10, 2025

Dowd continued, "And I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions. And I think that is the environment we are in. You can't stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place. And that's the unfortunate environment we are in."

The segment, which was broadcast against the backdrop of Kirk being shot mid-sentence while fielding a question on mass shootings, quickly went viral on social media. Conservative voices, including Fox News host Jesse Watters, predicted Dowd would be "terminated within 24 hours," while hashtags like #FireDowd trended across social media.

"I expect him to be terminated within 24 hours," Watters said in a Fox News segment on Wednesday. "You can't say Charlie deserved to die. Just can't say that, and I hope he loses his job. It's dangerous, Greg. That's the message. It's dangerous to open your mouth, so shut it. That's the message they're sending, and they usually send messages to the politicians, whether it's Trump, JFK, Reagan, whatever. Or John Lennon, you know? Take a shot at the biggest star in the world."

MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler swiftly addressed the firestorm in a statement posted to the network's public relations X account condemning Dowd's comments as "inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable."

"We apologize for his statements, as has he," Kutler added. "There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise."

Dowd, a former chief strategist for George W. Bush's 2004 reelection campaign who joined MSNBC in 2022 after years at ABC News, apologized for his comments Wednesday afternoon in a post on Bluesky.

"My thoughts & prayers are w/ the family and friends of Charlie Kirk," he wrote. "On an earlier appearance on MSNBC I was asked a question on the environment we are in. I apologize for my tone and words. Let me be clear, I in no way intended for my comments to blame Kirk for this horrendous attack. Let us all come together and condemn violence of any kind."

Despite the apology, Dowd was fired by MSNBC by Wednesday evening, according to Variety.

Dowd, who ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat in the 2021 Texas lieutenant gubernatorial race, has publicly identified as both a Christian and a Catholic.

In a now-deleted 2017 tweet, he once wrote, "I am Catholic. Being Christian is a state of being. Practicing love. Some of the most Christian folks I know in life are atheists."

In an April post, he called himself a "Christian" who reads the Bible, which he described as "a book filled with much fiction."

"As a [C]hristian & someone who reads the [B]ible every day, let's all remember that it isn't a science book or a documented history book, it is a book filled with much fiction and stories with some non-fiction elements," Dowd wrote. "And it is highly subject to interpretation. I tend to focus on the words of Jesus."
Home News Pastors, Evangelical leaders react to the killing of Charlie Kirk: 'A Christian martyr'

Christian pastors and Evangelical leaders are joining the chorus of Americans nationwide who are mourning the loss of Christian social activist Charlie Kirk.

While expressing shared grief over the significant loss for his millions of followers, and, more importantly, his family and close friends, many are reflecting on God's promise of salvation through Christ and everlasting life for those who believe in Him.

Several questions remain about the identity of the shooter who, with one lone bullet, killed Kirk during a Q&A with attendees at TPUSA's "The American Comeback Tour" stop at Utah Valley University at 12:20 p.m. local time on Wednesday.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox described the fatal shooting as a targeted "political assassination" and warned that his state still has the death penalty.

Cox added that as the nation looks ahead to its 250th anniversary and the shared history of the freedom of speech and debate, which Kirk was exercising in the exchange of ideas, citizens should think deeply about "where we want to be."

"To ask ourselves, 'Is this it? Is this what 250 years has brought on us?' I pray that that's not the case," he added.

The following pages include responses from Christian leaders nationwide, some of whom knew Kirk well and participated in TPUSA's Pastors Summit held just weeks ago.
Home News Pastors wife beaten in custody after couple falsely accused of converting stranger

NEW DELHI  Police in India arrested a pastor and his wife on fabricated charges and beat the woman while in custody. The couple's children were also left unattended during this interrogation, sources said.

The couple was released on bail last month after being arrested on July 27 along with three other Christians under charges of alleged forced conversion in Uttar Pradesh state.

We were framed under a completely fabricated case, 34-year-old Pastor Vinod Pal Singh, released along with his wife on Aug. 21, told Morning Star News.

The five Christians and two others were accused of trying to coerce and pressure a 23-year-old man, identified only as Abhishek, to convert to Christianity, according to a First Information Report (FIR) filed on July 27 at Imaliya Sultanpur police station in Sitapur District based on his complaint.

Police arrested Pastor Singh, his wife Jyoti Devi, Anantram Maurya and his two sons, Ramit and Shubhkaran. Sanjay Maurya and Patiram (identified only by his first name) had already left the church site by then, avoiding arrest.

Pastor Singhs two sons, ages 4 and 7, who were in the church building when police arrived, were left behind after officers arrested their parents on the premises.

We later learned in jail that the 4-year-old cried for his mother for several days after we were taken, Pastor Singh said.

Church members arranged for the childrens maternal grandparents to care for them.

After a lower court denied bail, a district court granted bail to the Christians on Aug. 11. While the Maurya family was released from jail on Aug. 14, Pastor Singh and his wife faced extensive documentation delays and were not released until Aug. 21.

Pastor Vinod Pal is from Lakhimpur Kheri, which is a separate district from Sitapur, so securing a bond was very challenging, Suresh Kumar, a friend who assisted with the bail process, told Morning Star News. Government holidays, finding a guarantor, and document verification took a lot of time, causing the delay.

Fabricated case

Pastor Singh leads the Vishwa Vani (literally translated Voice to the Universe) Church in Sitapur, part of a denomination and indigenous church planting movement established in 1980.

The Sitapur church has operated for 15 years but has never encountered such serious opposition.

While Pastor Singh was leading Sunday worship on July 27, about 25 men belonging to the Hindu extremist Vishwa Hindu Parishad stormed into the prayer hall around 12:30 p.m., where about 80 congregation members were in attendance.

The intruders recorded videos of the service and then ordered all congregation members to leave. They then began interrogating Pastor Singh, his wife and the three members of the Maurya family  owners of the property on which the church facility is built.

They asked Pastor Singh if he was carrying out forced conversions there.

Where do you get the money from for such work? they asked, hitting me, he said.

For about two hours they interrogated him and overturned everything inside the hall, he said.

They overturned the pulpit, broke the keyboard and chairs and destroyed everything they could find, Pastor Singh said, adding that they manhandled him and his wife. They recorded videos of the vandalized church, collected all the Bibles and literature, bundled them together and sent them to the police station.

The Hindu extremist intruders then invited media inside, who took pictures and made videos published by their respective outlets, reporting a completely different narrative.

Nobody interviewed us or cross-checked the false story presented to them by the Hindu extremists, Pastor Singh said.

Imaliya police later arrived, and the Hindu extremists told officers to arrest the couple and others, using the confiscated Bibles as evidence of forced conversion.

Police arrested the five Christians and confiscated Pastor Singhs motorbike. Only after Pastor Singh and the others appeared before the magistrate did he discover the complainant was one Abhishek whom he had never met or heard of.

It is a completely fabricated story presented by the Hindu extremists, Pastor Singh said. I have never met Abhishek or known any such person. The whole story about me trying to entice Abhishek and pressure him to convert to Christianity is fabricated.

In his complaint, Abhishek reported that he was passing through the village when someone told him that some people were treating the sick, so he went to see them. Abhishek claimed that Anantram Maurya and his sons approached him and, pointing to Pastor Singh and his wife on a stage, told him they could give him a lot of money and would arrange his marriage to a nice girl, but only if he would convert to Christianity.

Abhishek stated in his complaint that he met Pastor Singh and his wife, and they showed him their Bibles and took some water in a bottle, spoke some spells over it, and gave that water to me to drink, saying that now you can convert and become a Christian. We will give you a place to stay, arrange your marriage to a good girl, and give you lakhs [hundreds of thousands] of rupees.

According to the complaint, Sanjay Maurya and Patiram then joined them and began pressuring Abhishek to convert to Christianity. Abhishek left the hall and called the VHP and Bajrang Dal members, narrating the entire incident to them, who in turn informed the police.

Police arrived there and confiscated three Bibles, bottles containing healing water and oil, boxes of sweets, a dholak [hand drum], khanjari [tambourine], and several other items allegedly used for conversion purposes, Abhisheks report alleged.

Is it a crime to have musical instruments inside a church? a Christian rights advocate who requested anonymity told Morning Star News. Is it a crime to have your own religious books  like a Bible  inside a church? How can these be confiscated and presented as items used for conversion?

A Quran will commonly be found in a mosque just as a Bible will commonly be found at a church site, the advocate said.

How can police become hand-in-glove with Hindu extremists and not use common sense before registering such complaints? he said. When police detained Singh and the others, there was no Abhishek present, yet the police let the Hindu extremists fabricate this story.

Beaten in Jail

Police held Pastor Singh and the others for three days before transferring them to Sitapur jail.

My wife was assaulted inside the police station during interrogation by female police personnel, the pastor said. They asked her how many associates we have, where we get our support from and how much, and how many pastors are in that area.

Jyoti sustained internal injuries from the beating and still has severe pain in her legs, Pastor Singh said.

He and his wife faced discrimination in their respective wards, he said.

Guards initially treated us badly, he said. It seems they had received instructions from higher officials that we were arrested in a forced conversion case, and that back-breaking work should be assigned to us.

After three to four days, however, their attitude toward Pastor Singh and the others changed.

Initially my wife was very discouraged, especially recalling the trauma the children would be experiencing, he said. But then the Lord comforted and strengthened her and gave her courage. She continued to cling to the Lord and shared Gods love with her fellow inmates.

Pastor Singh was permitted to meet his wife every Sunday for 30 minutes. They encouraged each other to persevere and trust in the Lord.

Every night I prayed secretly. While most of the inmates were cordial, some hurled curses at me, accusing me of doing the same things inside the jail that I was arrested for, he said.

Police released him and his wife from jail around 9 p.m. on Aug. 21, but his motorbike remains in police custody. Pastor Singh must pay 18,000 rupees ($204 USD) to secure its release. Police have visited Pastor Singhs house three times since his release from jail.

They are inquiring about who I am, what I do, and all my whereabouts, he said.

A former Hindu, Pastor Singh had accepted Christ in 2011, and since 2016 has served as a pastor.

I have been confronted many times in the past, but after peaceful discussions the matter would subside, he said. This is the first time that I was arrested based on the false testimony of someone I do not know.

Pastor Singhs faith remains steadfast at a point when many begin to question God.

Jesus has asked us to be ready for such situations, and I really think we should be prepared, he said. I truly believe that the authorities are appointed by the Lord, and He is allowing this in our lives for His glory. A time will come when the judge will dismiss all the false allegations against us. He is Jehovah-Jireh [The Lord will provide]  He will provide for all our needs.

Christian support organization Open Doors ranks India 11th on its 2025 World Watch List of countries where Christians face the most severe persecution. India stood at 31st place in 2013 but has steadily fallen in the rankings since Narendra Modi came to power as prime minister.

Religious rights advocates blame the increasingly hostile rhetoric of the National Democratic Alliance government, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which they say has emboldened Hindu extremists in India since Modi took power in May 2014.

This article was originally published at Morning Star News
Home News 'Triumph of the Heart' director shares how film about Catholic martyr renewed his faith, gave him will to live

RICHARDSON, Texas  Eighty years after the death of St. Maximilian Kolbe, the Catholic priest who offered his life in Auschwitz so another man could live, his story is being brought to the big screen in Triumph of the Heart.

For Anthony DAmbrosio, the films writer and director, the story is a deeply personal exploration of suffering, faith and sacrificial love and a response to todays culture of silent despair.

Right now, we're living in a really silent despair, DAmbrosio told The Christian Post at the red carpet premiere of the film, held at the University of Texas at Dallas on Sept. 8.

I think that this culture and what we're experiencing all around us, even though we have perhaps the greatest wealth and the greatest comfort of any civilization ever, we are seeing mental health plummeting, people being unable to find themselves, confused about who they are. I was one of those people.

DAmbrosio speaks from personal experience: Several years ago, he was diagnosed with a devastating chronic mold infection that left him with anxiety-inducing insomnia. It was during a dark night of the soul, where he was unable to sleep, hear Gods voice or hold down a job, that he began to write the story that would become Triumph of the Heart.

When I started to write this story, I was seeking a reason to live. I was seeking hope in the midst of my suffering. And I think that I'm not alone in having that struggle, he shared.

Kolbe, canonized as a saint in 1982 by Pope John Paul II, is remembered as the martyr of charity for volunteering to die in place of a fellow prisoner at Auschwitz in 1941. It was through delving into Kolbes life and examining his faith that DAmbrosio rediscovered his faith and regained his own will to live.

I hope that this movie and this story can be sort of a love letter to the world, that no matter where you are, no matter what suffering you're going through, no matter how humbled or lost you feel, that God is with you in that place and has hope for you on the other side of it, he said.

Based on true events, the film is set largely in a starvation bunker in Poland, where Kolbe, along with nine other men, was held for 14 days. In the bunker, the men grapple with their looming death, the reality of evil and the meaning of forgiveness.

For the 30-something filmmaker, bringing Kolbes story to the screen came with its own challenges and, oftentimes, mental anguish he attributed to spiritual warfare. To bring the script to life, he immersed himself in Kolbes story, lived with the Franciscan friars in Poland and visited prison camps to understand what the priest endured.

I'm still an artist who has freak outs, he shared. We've been through so many moments of despair, where it felt like this thing was going to fall apart, where there was no way that we were going to make it. And in the midst of all of that, theres been a massaging of my heart to be able to have faith, to have hope that God is behind me, that God is going to help me no matter what circumstance. As long as I'm faithful and offering myself to Him, God is going to make something beautiful out of that gift of suffering and gift of courage.

That experience, he said, has reshaped his outlook on his purpose: I would say that I'm willing to be poor, I'm willing to enter into the darkness and difficulty that God is calling me to and bear my cross, and ultimately, to trust Him in the midst of that, he said.

DAmbrosio said the film intentionally drew parallels between Kolbes sacrifice and the Passion of Christ, offering audiences a meditation on love that transcends fear and despair.

One of the films most poignant moments involves prisoners wrestling with Gods goodness amid overwhelming suffering. Its those moments, DAmbrosio said, that speak to the very heart of Kolbes witness.

Part of what I experienced when I was in that space was that people very easily dismissed it, He said. God must have a plan. There's a reason for all this happening. Everything's going to be OK. Not that those things are bad, but I think  God should answer for this terror that has been allowed.

"His answer is Christ on the cross. His answer is that He is with us and is willing to bear everything that we have to bear," he continued. "As a good leader, a good Father, He says, I'm going to show you the way out of this, and that is by actually accepting, surrendering to this suffering and turning to me in it, and inviting me in, I can make something beautiful out of this, even now.

I think that's what I hope this movie shares with the world.

Unlike Hollywood blockbusters with multi-million-dollar budgets, Triumph of the Heart was built on little more than faith, conviction and community; the film was entirely crowdfunded by those who believed in DAmbrosios vision.

DAmbrosio shared how he and producer Cecilia Stevenson worked with limited resources, often relying on collaborators who labored for little or no pay, united by the belief that Kolbes story needed to be told.

Satan wants to divide. And you need perfect unity to be able to do something excellent, he reflected.

Ultimately, on set, there was always this fighting against the tension between different departments, between [the producer and photographer] and myself, creatively. How do we all love each other first?

That's where the battle is won. Can we start with love and then find our way through these stressful and very difficult issues? And I would say that the miracle is that all of us love each other at the end of it, and that is what has allowed this movie to be made.

Triumph of the Heart hits theaters on Sept. 12.
Home News Trump issues Oval Office address on Charlie Kirk assassination: 'Dark moment for America' 'A martyr for truth and freedom'

President Donald Trump issued an address from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening, condemning violent leftist rhetoric and expressing grief over the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk in Utah.

"I am filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah," Trump said. "Charlie inspired millions and, tonight, all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror."

TO MY GREAT FELLOW AMERICANS pic.twitter.com/oRsrE5TTHr  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 11, 2025

Kirk, who was 31 years old, was fatally shot in the neck Wednesday afternoon during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in Orem, shortly after a member of the audience asked him about mass shootings by transgender-identifying individuals.

Graphic videos shared on X showed him bleeding profusely from his wound as he slumped over immediately after being shot, shortly after he had confessed the Gospel and the deity of Jesus Christ to a large gathering of college students.

The founder of Turning Point USA, Kirk played a pivotal role in securing support for the president among young people, and most recently hosted a summit in Los Angeles last month, mobilizing Christian pastors to stand firm against the rising tide of evil in the culture.

Trump honored Kirk's legacy of patriotism and faith, describing him as a martyr who is now with the Lord.

"Charlie was a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country that he loved so much, the United States of America. He fought for liberty, democracy, justice and the American people," Trump said.

"He's a martyr for truth and freedom, and there's never been anyone who was so respected by youth. Charlie was also a man of deep, deep faith, and we take comfort in the knowledge that he is now at peace with God in Heaven."

Trump went on to express condolences to Kirk's wife, Erika, and their two young children, adding that Kirk's assassination suggests a spiritual darkness is manifesting in the country.

"We ask God to watch over them in this terrible hour of heartache and pain," he said of Kirk's family. "This is a dark moment for America."

Trump appeared to lay blame for Kirk's death at the feet of extremist rhetoric from the Left that demonizes and dehumanizes their political opponents. During remarks at a press briefing Wednesday, Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox described Kirk's murder as a "political assassination."

"It's a long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequences of demonizing those with whom you disagree day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible," Trump said.

"For years, those on the radical Left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now."

Placing Kirk's assassination in the context of other political violence, including recent threats against federal law enforcement and his own close brush with death last year, Trump promised that his administration will apprehend "each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence."

"Charlie was the best of America, and the monster who attacked him was attacking our whole country," Trump said. "An assassin tried to silence him with a bullet, but he failed, because together, we will ensure that his voice, his message and his legacy will live on for countless generations to come."

First lady Melania Trump also issued a statement about Kirk's death Wednesday night.

"Charlie's children will be raised with stories instead of memories, photographs instead of laughter, and silence where their fathers voice should have echoed," she said. "Charlie Kirks life should serve as a symbolic reminder that compassionate awareness elevates family, love, and country."

FBI Director Kash Patel tweeted Wednesday night that the FBI had released a suspect after interrogation, and the agency asked for help from the public in apprehending Kirk's murderer.

Kirk's murder has drawn an outpouring of grief from Christian leaders, including Bishop Robert Barron, who described him as "a man of great intelligence, considerable charm, and real goodness of heart."

"I know I'm joining millions of people around the world in praying that he rests now in the peace of the Lord," Barron wrote.
Home Opinion A woman was brutally killed and the corporate media are miffed you noticed

A young woman was brutally killed on public transportation in a blue city, and the corporate media thinks that the only story worth reporting is that some Americans are angry about it.

On Thursday, a convicted felon named Decarlos Brown Jr. was arrested in Charlotte, North Carolina, on the charge of killing 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a light-rail train on Aug. 22. Shortly after Browns arrest, the Charlotte Area Transit System released a video of the killing. The suspect appeared to stab the woman unprovoked as she sat in her seat.

The story has exploded on social media and coincides with President Donald Trumps message that crime in Americas big cities is both unacceptably high and is something that can be alleviated if authorities have the will to do so.



Trump weighed in Monday on Truth Social, saying that Democrats in North Carolina refuse to put people in jail and that the media isnt covering it enough.

The suspect in the Charlotte case has a long rap sheet of serious crimes. According to court documents reviewed by the New York Post, Brown has more than a dozen convictions dating back to 2014. The crimes Browns been convicted of include felony larceny, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and assault. He had also been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Whether evil, deranged, or both, its outrageous that Brown was out on the streets and not in either prison or some kind of institution.

The brutal incident caught on tape was what many fear and frequently encounter when they ride public transportation. Is the homeless man spazzing out and screaming on the subway train harmless, or is he going to suddenly do violence to fellow passengers? Given the crackdown on crime successfully taking place in the District of Columbia after Trump called out the National Guard, the Charlotte story seems very much worth bringing attention to.

If you are active on social media, youve probably been following or have heard about Zarutskas killing. For those who get their news from legacy media, theyve likely heard nothing about it.

And when one national outlet finally picked up the story it went exactly as you would expect.

Instead of focusing on the terrible and enraging crime that took place, it became one of their conservatives pounce spin jobs.

Axios put up a post on X, saying, The gruesome video of the fatal knife attack on Iryna Zarutska on a light-rail car in Charlotte is drawing attention from MAGA influencers seeking to elevate the issue of violent urban crimeand accuse mainstream media of under-covering shocking cases.

A woman was brutally slain in the most heinous way and the first thing they mention is how annoying it is for them to be talking about the MAGA issue of stopping violent crime.

The story, written by Axios White House reporter Marc Caputo, is framed around the idea that the Charlotte killing shouldnt be a story at all.

In a section called the big picture, Axios reported that the rising number of surveillance cameras in public spaces, including on Charlottes light rail, has become a big accelerant in these cases.

Axios further reported that videos are now easily shared or leaked, and can instantly pollinate across social mediaa visual counterpoint to statistics showing crime decreases.

Oh, those pesky cameras catching horrible crimes on camera that are definitely not a problem that you should ever think about.

What Id like to know is if the media is so worried about ubiquitous cameras putting a spotlight on what they insinuate is an outlier, why did the George Floyd case receive almost nonstop media attention? After all, police killings are extremely rare. Or how about the Daniel Penny case in the New York City subway, where a young Marine restrained a man acting erratically and menacingly and unintentionally killed him. That also got massive national media attention.

In both cases, the media emphasized that it was a black victim and a white perpetrator.

The answer to this double standard, of course, is that they wanted to spark a national debate about systemic racism. So, their coverage was wall to wall.

Now that theres a killing that goes against their narrative on crime, they want nothing more than to ignore it, or grumble that alternative media is strong enough to break into a national conversation without their blessing.

They want to be the gatekeepers of what counts as newsworthy; it annoys them to no end that X users, alternative media, and Trump have the ability to sidestep their filters.

Americans have a good reason to be concerned about violent crime in this country, most of which is carried out by a small number of people who should never have been in a position to carry it out. They can bleat on and on about crime going down, but these were the same outlets that desperately tried to convince us that crime was never going up.

The spin isnt working anymore.





Originally published at The Daily Signal.
Home Opinion American icon Charlie Kirk was killed by intolerance

An American icon was assassinated.

In a nation whose foundation is free speech and religious liberty, Charlie Kirk was murdered (at least it seems apparent) for exercising those freedoms.

Charlie transformed conservatism in America not only for young people but for all of us. He proved that truth was always worth the hard work and intellectual pursuit. Without a college degree, he exposed the moral rot and academic dishonesty in higher education.

Is there any equivalent to Charlie Kirk in the progressive Left? Is there any leftist who would be willing to appear on college campuses across the country, giving voice to those who disagreed with him or her? Charlies Prove Me Wrong events were a powerful way to show that our differences of opinion are best served by lots of discussion. As a public speaker myself, I know the intolerant culture that is the defining hallmark of way too many colleges and universities. Ive been cancelled. Ive received death threats. Ive been protested. Ive had to hire bodyguards. Why? Because ideas are so threatening to those whod rather cling to lazy lies.

Courage is not in limited supply. Its just rarely chosen. The path of least resistance is so much more appealing. Who wants to be unfriended (in real life or online)? Who wants to be unliked by friends or family, or coworkers? Who wants to lose half of your congregation because youve dared to speak biblical Truth? Who wants to face the mobs wrath when speaking about abortion, gender radicalism, fatherlessness, (actual) racism, or the war on common sense?

Sometimes, some of us choose the path of most resistance.

As a husband and father, I cannot imagine the devastating turmoil his wife, Erika, is facing. Honestly, Im wrecked by his slaughter. His two young children will never be able to hug and be held by their daddy ever again on this side of Heaven. Charlie loved the Lord, and it was powerful to see his faith journey unfold. He came to recognize that our fight is first spiritual and moral. The cultural and the political are either shaped or misshaped by our worldview. Only a worldview rooted in the liberating truth of Gods Word sets us free. Not politics. Not wealth. Not social position.

May his family somehow find the peace that only knowing and loving Jesus can bring.

Charlie was an inspiration. He started Turning Point USA at the age of 18. He refused to accept the status quo and showed youth across America that silence should never be an option. Ive shared the stage at a couple of events with Charlie, but one of the moments I remember best happened outside the event venue.

Years ago, Charlie and Candace Owens were walking to the conference center in Denver, Colorado. I was headed there as well to speak. I introduced myself to both of them and thanked them for their courage, their wit, and their passion for Truth. We walked and talked for a few minutes, only to be met outside of the center by protesters demanding gun control. We all stopped and engaged the activists. I started videoing the exchanges. Instead of running away from people who angrily disagreed with us, we talked to them. The result was an eventual calming and civil discourse. Those 30 minutes really impacted me.

This is how Democracy works. We disagree. We talk. We empathize. We learn. And sometimes, we rethink.

There is no America without free speech and religious liberty. This cant be stated strongly enough. Its the reason why people like Charlie are so hated by the Left. They detest it when people dont bow at the fake altar of unity (aka forced conformity). We can never be unified with a lie. For a political demographic that constantly rants about diversity, they despise diversity of thought. Free speech is the enemy. Somehow, the land of the free and home of the brave has been warped by so-called progressivism into the land of the ideologically enslaved and home of the afraid.

It makes me think of the powerful words of former slave and champion for human rights, Frederick Douglass, who battled the activism of silencing. The abolitionist movement couldnt exist without the First Amendment. In his 1860 speech, A Plea for Free Speech in Boston, Douglass proclaimed: To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker. It is just as criminal to rob a man of his right to speak and hear as it would be to rob him of his money.

How much are we robbed, on a regular basis, from hearing the truth? In schools? From the government? In (Bible-evading) churches? From Hollywood? On social media? Thankfully, we have organizations like Alliance Defending Freedom that fight for our most fundamental rights. Ive always loved their response to unconstitutional censorship: The answer to speech we disagree with is not censorship but more speech.

Political violence is sheer cowardice. Its sheer evil.

George Orwell once wrote: If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. Its those words and ideas that may revolutionize peoples lives, free them from their emotional, political, or spiritual shackles and lead them to become someone who spreads more life-changing freedom.

Charlie Kirk did not deserve such a horrifically violent end. My faith affirms the fact that he is with the Savior. But it is way, way too early.

Refuse to live in fear. Refuse to hate truth. Refuse to deny someone elses God-given worth. Its on all of us to make America better than this.
From left to right: Shanon Shah, director of Faith for the Climate; Paul Parker, Quakers in Britain; Sarah Edwards, executive director of JustMoney Movement; Maria Finnerty, lead economist at CAFOD; Suraiya Rahman, campaigner at Islamic Relief UK.

Senior staff at several faith charities have said their organisations can play a special role in addressing climate injustice.

Speaking at Civil Society Medias Faith Charities Forum in London yesterday, leaders from Islamic Relief, CAFOD and the JustMoney Movement all agreed that changes to the way money is invested can be important.

Sarah Edwards, executive director at JustMoney Movement, said: The banking system finances the fossil fuel economies. We need to shift that money out of fossil fuels and into renewable technologies.

One of the ways we can act is by switching our bank accounts to a green bank that supports a sustainable future.

Edwards added that our pension system is contributing to the climate crisis by investing billions in fossil fuels which could instead be funding a transition to a greener future.

Suraiya Rahman, campaigns and public affairs coordinator at Islamic Relief, said her charity prioritised working on climate injustice as many Muslim countries were exposed to the effects of global warming.

One example that highlights this is Pakistan in the 2022 floods. More than a third of the country was completely submerged by floodwater, she said.

Thirty-three million people were directly affected and over $33bn [24bn] of damage was done to the economy.

Pakistans foreign debt climbed up to $125bn and it plunged six million more people into poverty. Time and again, the poorest are having to put up with the brunt of the climate crisis.

It is awful that we are having the same conversations about the climate crisis but as faith organisations we are driving the fight against this.

To tackle this, it is about long-term financial support for these countries and making polluters pay.

Debt action campaign

Maria Finnerty, lead economist at CAFOD, said that faith charities would become more important voices following recent government welfare cuts by bringing a moral and spiritual perspective to the issue.

Globally, Finnerty said her charity was focused on a campaign for debt relief to be awarded to the worlds poorest countries.

This crisis is even more severe than the one we saw in the 90s and noughties. We are trying again to bring faith communities together to call for debt justice, she said.

Climate vulnerable countries on average spend five times more paying interest on foreign debts than they spend on climate action in their own countries. Some pay up to 40 times more.

As the climate crisis escalates, we know that the most climate vulnerable countries need around $7tn by 2030 to adequately invest in climate action.

Instead of these countries receiving these life-saving funds, we are actually seeing under current global economic rules a net outflow of money to the richest countries and profitable multinational corporations.

The issue is enormous. Without substantial debt relief, without reforming the global debt system, we simply will not see sufficient climate action. Thats why we are all calling for debt action this year.

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A suite of news stories this week has brought political influence in the news media into sharp focus. First, the Murdoch family has finally settled its differences and installed the eldest boy, Lachlan, as Ruperts eventual successor. Then an incendiary Wired article by Taylor Lorenz caused a stir among left-leaning influencers, revealing that theyve been receiving payments from a dark-money group; on the other side, Wired also found that right-wing influencers were paid to bolster MAGA foreign policy talking points. Meanwhile, David Ellisons CBS is considering a hundred-million-dollar deal to bring Bari Weiss and her Free Press newsletter to the network, fundamentally challenging the besieged premise of objectivity. All this against the background of a White House that has become its own media outlet, regularly landing articles at the top of Google News as though it ranks as an equivalent source to the most rigorous piece of reporting.

Amid all these national headlines, its easy to miss another increasingly noisy source of politically backed journalism: local news outlets. Earlier this summer, Brian Timpone, the founder of a network of politically funded local news sites called Metric Media, sent out more than a hundred Freedom of Information Act requests to public universities asking for details of their course syllabi. Timpone was quoted in the Murray State News saying that he wanted to see how tax dollars were being spent: Were very curious, especially state-funded colleges like Murray Statewe want to know if theyre actually teaching, teaching you something, or if theyre trying to propagandize you with nonsense. (The Tow Center has followed Metric Media since 2019.)

Texas Scorecard, another politically aligned local outlet, vigorously covered a story that led to the removal of a professor and a department head from Texas A&M this week. The Scorecard reported on viral video clips that featured an unnamed student challenging a professor over the content of a literature course. In 2020, Texas Scorecard was designated a 501(c)(3) independent newsroom by a political consultancy called Empower Texans. The nonprofit is chaired by the conservative donor Tim Dunn, and enforces no separation between its political funding and media ownership. Like Metric Media, the publication uses its nonprofit status to file FOIA requests under fee waivers in order to pursue political targets in higher education. In 2023, Texas Scorecard published stories about the hiring of Kathleen McElroy from the New York Times to Texas A&Ms journalism department that contributed to pressuring McElroy to drop the job. McElroy had given up a tenured position at the University of Texas at Austin to take the role at Texas A&M, and she subsequently sued A&M for a million dollars. Earlier this year, Texas A&M campus newspaper The Battalion ran a story documenting Texas Scorecards relentless pressure on campus administration through FOIA requests. It wrote:

The authors of Scorecards postsoften hardline, conservative activistssubmitted 94 open records requests to A&M and 23 to the A&M System from late 2022 to 2024, with a majority fueling the more than 100 stories the website has posted referencing the university since 2022. These requests target records of all types, including syllabi, funding numbers, communications containing specific keywords and various statistics.

According to the article, the Texas A&M Board of Regents often uses Texas Scorecard coverage to pressure the administration.

Six years ago, when the Tow Center started its research into pink slime networks of local news sites, it seemed to many of us that these networks could not be real competitors to independent journalism because they were so ineffective and diffuse. We thought the marketing tools they produced for politicians would be limited by low quality and fail to get engagement. But pink slime networks have not withered. Instead, partisan news, whether directly funded by political interests or just indistinguishably aligned with those interests, has become not only acceptable, but actually a predominant force in political campaigning.

Political funding is now embedded within media at all levels. This poses a serious and long-term threat to civic-minded local journalism, making good news coverage far harder to create. For the electorate, who already find the news bewildering, this makes it even more confusing to determine how politically motivated stories and narratives are reaching them.

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U.S. Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden is requesting the Federal Trade Commission investigate and hold Microsoft responsible for its role in a string of high-profile cybersecurity incidents in recent years, saying the companys approach to security continues to threaten U.S. national security.

Wyden wrote in a September 10 letter to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson that the tech giants gross cybersecurity negligence has resulted in ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure, including U.S. health care organizations at least in part due to default configurations in the Windows operating system.

Related: Report: Ransomware Attacks Costlier as Threat Actors Become More Systematic

At this point, Microsoft has become like an arsonist selling firefighting services to their victims, Wyden wrote, and government agencies and other companies have no choice but to use the companys products due to its near-monopoly over enterprise IT.

An FTC spokesperson acknowledged that the agency had received the letter but declined to comment further.

Widen said a prime example was the May 2024 ransomware attack on hospital operator Ascension, which according to the company exposed private medical and insurance data of nearly 5.6 million people.

Related: Former WhatsApp Employee Says Bosses Ignored Cybersecurity Flaws

Wyden wrote that the hospital operator told his staff that a contractor using an Ascension laptop clicked on a malicious link served up by Microsofts Bing search engine, which then allowed the hackers to gain access to the companys network and ultimately the organizations Microsoft Active Directory server, which is used to manage user accounts.

Microsofts support for outdated encryption technology and default configuration settings set up by Microsoft allowed for the attack approach in the Ascension case, according to Wyden, and Microsoft has not done enough to educate companies about how to mitigate the threat.

A Microsoft spokesperson said Wednesday that RC4, the encryption standard referenced by Wyden, is old and makes up less than .1% of our traffic, and that the company discourages customers from using it.

However, disabling its use completely would break many customer systems, the spokesperson said, and the company is gradually reducing the extent to which customers can use it while trying to provide warnings and guidance on the safest way to use it.

RC4 will be disabled by default in certain Windows products starting the first quarter of 2026, and the company will include additional mitigations for existing deployments, the spokesperson said.

Wyden has previously pushed for U.S. government investigation and review of Microsofts role in cyberattacks, including after revelations in July 2023 that Chinese-linked hackers stole thousands of U.S. officials emails.

(Reporting by Vicens in Detroit; editing by David Gregorio )
At a church parking lot near Los Angeles, two hazmat-suit-clad workers vacuumed and wiped most of the contents of Elle Schneiders house. Surrounded by stacked plastic bins of books and clothes, they opened up the drawers of a squat wooden dresser and swabbed the outside of a tall white cabinet.

The blaze that ravaged the LA suburb of Altadena in January stopped some 50 feet short of the freelance cinematographers home, but its plumes filtered through doors and windows, leaving behind lead and other hazardous substances.

Its embarrassing and its dehumanizing to have to do this in front of the entire neighborhood, said Schneider, who relied on the makeshift remediation center at the church to clean many of her belongings. Its bad enough to have to throw out so much of your stuff.

Months after the smoke from Californias destructive fires cleared from LA skies, residents are still reckoning with a toxic stew of smoke pollutants whose effects on human health are poorly understood. Without federal and local standards on how to deal with contaminants like arsenic and the carcinogen benzene, dozens of researchers and private specialists are combing through yards and homes, work that goes beyond authorities post-fire testing.

What are we facing? What are we exposed to? Is it safe? We hear these questions all the time, said Yifang Zhu, a professor at the University of California at Los Angeless public health school whos been measuring pollution related to the fires since early this year. This knowledge and new insights will be very helpful for the future.

Its an unprecedented research effort thats unfolding in real time and made more challenging by pre-existing environmental contamination  some of the contaminants might have come from sources other than the fire. But its a pressing task as wildfires increasingly spill into communities, fueled by hotter and drier conditions induced by climate change.

Unlike fires in wilderness areas, which mostly consume vegetation, this breed of urban conflagration sucks up buildings, cars and their contents, spitting hazards well beyond the burn area. Some experts say the risks for those exposed could be akin to those of 9/11 and other events that spewed toxic smoke and dust into the environment, though research into this is still in early stages.

The work is also addressing gaps in the governments response to fires like this one.

Californias insurance commissioner created a task force earlier this year to come up with best practices for smoke claims, but the group doesnt expect to issue recommendations until early next year.

In the absence of established standards, site-specific smoke damage remediation will need to be guided by the professional judgment of qualified experts, a LA County Department of Public Health spokesperson said in a statement.

A Slew of Tests

Inside a burn zone in the affluent Pacific Palisades area, Zhu and two of her postdoctoral researchers scanned the well-kept family room of one of the still-standing homes, on the hunt for invisible pollution fire smoke might have left behind.

They considered a dark knit blanket perched on the couch, before nixing it  too big  and plucked a set of navy and gray throw pillows instead. With gloved hands, they sealed them in white plastic trash bags. Back at UCLA, Zhus team tested them for traces of around 30 volatile organic compounds, which compromise air quality and pose health risks such as respiratory issues and cancer.

So-called wildland-urban interface fires, which can unleash dangerous substances into residential areas, now make up a larger share of all fires. Lingering pollutants in still-standing homes can pose similar risks to active wildfire smoke as people kick up and inhale fine particles that settle on the ground or inside homes.

Fires are Increasingly Sparking Where Cities Meet Wildlands | Land affected by wildland-urban interface fires as a share of overall burned areas

After a wildfire the size of the ones in LA or Lahaina, Hawaii, the federal government usually removes hazardous materials, debris and up to several inches of soil from burned areas. But it has traditionally worked in places damaged by flames, not smoke.

Most government post-fire efforts focus on visible debris removal, said Zhu. They rarely enter homes to measure indoor VOCs or particulates.

The US Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Emergency Management Agency referred Bloomberg News to federal cleanup guidance for homes affected by fire-related ash, soot and smoke, which calls for homeowners to mist with water before sweeping and to use a special HEPA-style vacuum that captures tiny particles.

LA Countys public health department has warned about the risks from lead and other heavy metals, asbestos and hazardous chemicals to those living near burned areas. But its testing efforts today are mainly limited to lead in soil with funding from a pre-existing lead paint mitigation program.

Local public health has no funds, to be frankly honest, said Nichole Quick, chief medical advisor to Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Its the property owner that has to take that on.

While the lead levels in soil officials have found are worrisome, independent researchers say theres a lot more to be concerned about. Data from private homeowner tests compiled by Eaton Fire Residents United, a nonprofit advocating for locals, showed that nearly 20% of 129 homes that screened for it had asbestos, a once common building material known to cause cancer.

The testing also detected other hazardous heavy metals, including nickel, which is toxic in powder form, and arsenic.

Some have been particularly alarmed by the presence of beryllium, a carcinogen that isnt commonly tested for after wildfires. The metal could have come from computers copper wiring or the aluminum in burned cars. While contaminants are generally thought to be more dangerous at higher doses, even exposure to very small amounts of beryllium can lead to disease.

Researchers say its hard to determine the risks these chemicals pose to residents because this kind of wildfire-related pollution in homes hasnt been well studied.

We really dont know long-term effects, said John Balmes, a physician at University of California at San Francisco and UC Berkeley emeritus professor.

Although the federal government has estimates of acceptable daily exposures to the hazardous substances detected in Los Angeles-area houses, the projections have limitations in how they can be applied for wildfire contamination, experts say. The EPA and LA Countys public health department said there are currently no guidelines for gauging the risk of these chemicals when they come from wildfire smoke.

Theres also confusion around the testing itself, with procedures varying widely, experts say. One common test is better known for detecting hazardous materials in landfill-bound waste rather than ash that settles on a floor or windowsill.

California environmental officials released guidance for soil testing in late August, but arent working on protocols for smoke pollution in standing homes.

In the meantime, Zhu, the UCLA scientist, hopes her research can help guide homeowners. Her tests inside homes go beyond those typically conducted by officials and industrial hygienists, screening for toxic compounds like ethylbenzene, a possible carcinogen, and toluene and xylenes, which can affect the nervous system.

Its complicated science  like lead, VOCs might have predated the fires as they are found in common household products. Still, Zhu found acetic acid, a compound of wildfire smoke, in most items that her team has tested so far, indicating that they were affected by fire-related chemicals.

In the Pacific Palisades home, the navy and gray throw pillows Zhu sampled had particularly high levels of toluene, which can be produced during combustion.

The homeowners still havent returned.

Homeowner Decisions

As scientists piece together the pollution picture, homeowners are navigating the disasters aftermath with little information  and often covering its costs out of their own pocket. Testing alone can cost around $2,500 to $20,000, advocates say.

Nicole Maccalla was billed $83,000 for professional remediators to vacuum, wipe down floors and clean upholstery of the smoke and ash that infiltrated indoors. Shed hoped to test in case traces of contamination had been left behind, but her insurer  which will only cover a portion of the cleaning  has resisted paying, she said. With financial pressures mounting, Maccalla and her family moved back into their Altadena home.

Within weeks, her pets had fallen sick with fevers and pneumonia. The recurring headaches that had long plagued Maccalla also became constant, she said.

Would I rather live somewhere that I love and die a little sooner, or live somewhere that is not home to me that I dont like, and live longer?' said Maccalla, a data scientist whos been overseeing testing data processing and mapping at Eaton Fire Residents United in her spare time. Ive selected stay where I love. But I question that decision every day.

Compared to owners who lost their houses to the flames, there are fewer resources available for residents with homes polluted by smoke, and insurers are reluctant to pay for that kind of work, resident advocates say.

People whose houses didnt burn down are in worse shape than people whose houses did burn down, said Jane Williams, executive director of California Communities Against Toxics, a network of local environmental justice groups.

She has pushed the state to issue an official warning to communities about contamination, which would help homeowners make the case to their insurers to cover testing and cleanup, she said.

Karen Collins, an executive with the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, said in an email that home insurers are usually responsible for remediation when smoke contamination has clearly damaged the property and that professional testing may be covered when needed to assess physical damage. But the lack of standardized protocols for wildfire smoke testing and remediation has given rise to inconsistent practices and disagreements about the need and scope of testing, she added.

The health effects of exposure to chemicals lingering after fires are less understood than those of direct wildfire smoke. Identifying the cause of symptoms, meanwhile, is difficult, especially when many residents breathed in smoke during the initial fires and subsequently experienced the stress of relocating and remediating their homes.

The risk is potentially people going back into those homes if theyre not properly remediated and getting an ongoing toxic dose, said Michael Jerrett, an environmental health sciences professor at UCLAs Fielding School of Public Health.

Health concerns range from headaches to lower IQ in children, higher risk of pregnancy complications and cancer, he said. Jerrett said residents exposure is likely to be relatively low, especially if they get high-quality professional remediation, though it may require a significant overhaul to the property and throwing out items made of soft materials, such as pillows and stuffed animals.

Symptoms like Maccallas are common, with about a third of around 1,200 households in the vicinity of the LA wildfires reporting at least one physical health symptom, according to a survey led by Andrew Whelton, a Purdue University engineering professor. Some also said they needed immediate medical care after moving back into standing homes, he said.

Evidence is indicating many people got sick going back to their properties and living in their standing homes in and outside the fire perimeter, Whelton said. Whelton and his colleagues have also come up with their own post-wildfire testing recommendations.

A study done after the 2021 Marshall Fire in Colorado that focused on homes affected by smoke also found that symptoms were prevalent among residents months later.

Earlier this year, LA countys public health guidance recommended that residents clean with protective gear and in cases of significant soot, smoke residue or odors, that they consider professional cleaners.

However, there is evidence that pollution can stick around even after cleaning. About 10% of samples taken from cleaned surfaces at houses inside and miles away from the LA fire area still had lead levels at or exceeding the federal limit, found a Caltech study conducted in February. Thats why thorough, repeated indoor cleaning is important, according to the EPA.

After testing dozens of homes in the Los Angeles area, Dawn Bolstad-Johnson, a certified industrial hygienist who has long worked at fire sites, tends to have a different recommendation: a gut renovation. Because materials from drywall to insulation absorb substances from the fire, she said, they must be removed, leaving little of the original house but its wooden framing.

Im being labeled as the nuclear approach, said Bolstad-Johnson. But the data is showing down to the studs. After finding beryllium in most homes, something that she hadnt encountered in cleanups for other fires, shes now concerned about her own exposure.

Some of the scientists studying the public health implications of the LA fires have called for better monitoring of those affected. The LA Fire HEALTH Study, a research team that includes Zhu and Jerrett, is tracking 50 affected homes and their occupants, a costly effort that involves taking measurements at the residences and collecting blood, hair, nail and urine samples from the residents over time. The hope is that work will help reduce how much damage is done by future fires.

For Schneider, the cinematographer whos still in temporary housing, theres no question about the stakes. Growing up in New York City, her brother attended high school blocks away from the site where the Twin Towers once stood. He later developed lymphoma, which Schneider and her family suspect was because of exposure to the disasters toxic dust.

I understand what happens if you dont remediate properly, she said.

Top photo: Workers vacuum and wipe down items from Schneiders home in a church parking lot. Photographer: Alex Welsh/Bloomberg.

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.
DiDi Globals $740 million settlement of a lawsuit claiming it defrauded investors in connection with its initial public offering is expected to be submitted for approval by a Manhattan federal judge in mid-October, a lawyer for the plaintiffs said on Wednesday.

The class-action lawsuit accused DiDi of concealing and disobeying a Chinese government order to postpone its June 2021 IPO, which raised more than $4.4 billion and valued DiDi at about $67.5 billion, until it resolved cybersecurity and privacy concerns.

Shares of DiDi tumbled in July 2021 as Chinas cyberspace regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China, banned the company from registering new customers and ordered the removal of the DiDi Travel app from smartphone app stores.

The regulator finedDiDi $1.2 billion the following July.

In a letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan, the plaintiffs lawyer said all parties are negotiating terms of a stipulation of settlement, and requested that all deadlines in the case be put on hold.

DiDi disclosed the settlement last month when it set aside $740 million, equivalent to 5.3 billion yuan, for the accord, leading to an overall second-quarter loss.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside business hours. DiDi and its lawyers did not immediately respond to similar requests.

The case is In re DiDi Global Inc Securities Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 21-05807.

(Reporting by Stempel in New York; Editing by Chris Reese and Stephen Coates)
Actress Polly Holliday has died at the age of 88. (Waring Abbott, Associated Press file photo)

NEW YORK  Polly Holliday, who created one of TVs memorable characters with her portrayal of Flo the waitress in the 1970s show Alice, has died at the age of 88.

Hollidays agent tells The New York Times that the actress, who also had a successful stage career, died Tuesday at her home in Manhattan. She was the last surviving member of the cast of Alice. Linda Lavin, who portrayed Alice, died last year.

Holliday was born Polly Dean Holliday in Jasper, Alabama, on July 2, 1937, Deadline reports. Her IMDb.com biography shows her stage career began while she attended Alabama College for Women and Florida State University. Her professional stage career began North Carolina before she moved to the Asolo Repertory Company in Sarasota, Florida.

She made her off-Broadway debut in Orphee in 1964 and in 1972 appeared in New York productions of Wedding Bond and The Girl Most Likely to Succeed. She had her first Broadway role in All Over Town in 1974, which was directed by Dustin Hoffman.

She also had small parts in several movies, including All the Presidents Men.

In 1976, she took on the role of Flo Castleberry in the TV series Alice. Her sassy, gum-cracking character, who had a large beehive hairdo, quickly became a phenomenon thanks to her catchphrase Kiss my grits! which usually was aimed at Mel, the owner of the diner where she worked.

She won two Golden Globe awards for best supporting actress as Flo, the Times reports. The Flo character was so popular that she was given a spinoff series in 1980 but it lasted only one season.

She was a Southern woman you see in a lot of places, she told The Sarasota Herald-Tribune in 2003. Not well educated, but very sharp, with a sense of humor and a resolve not to let life get her down.

While she did make occasional appearances in movies (Gremlins, Mrs. Doubtfire) and television (The Golden Girls, Home Improvement) following the cancellation of the spinoff series, Holliday concentrated on her stage career, her IMDB.com biography shows.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Holliday was nominated for a Tony in 1990 for her portrayal of Big Mama in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. She also starred with Jean Stapleton in a Broadway revival of Arsenic and Old Lace.

An actor is unfortunate if he doesnt get to spend a lot of time onstage, she said in an interview with The Tampa Bay Times in 1992. When youre onstage, you get to practice every night.

(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)
Montell Jordan revealed his prostate cancer has returned less than a year after surgery. (Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images) Getty Images

Montell Jordan, the musician and pastor best known for his 1995 hit This Is How We Do It, revealed on the 3rd Hour of TODAY that his prostate cancer has come back less than a year after undergoing surgery to remove the organ.

The 56-year-old said he expected his story to end after a successful radical prostatectomy, but recent tests showed otherwise.

I thought the surgery was the end of my journey, Jordan told TODAY.com. My prostate was removed and there were clear margins. But almost a year later, cancer has still been detected.

Jordan was first diagnosed in early 2024 following a routine PSA screening that showed elevated levels. Although the news was unsettling, he said catching it at Stage 1 gave him hope. He opted for a radical prostatectomy, believing it offered the best chance of recovery.

Despite a tough initial recovery, he was back on stage just two weeks later, performing with Usher in Anaheim.

At his nine-month checkup this summer, doctors discovered the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes on his left side and the prostate bed. Jordan will now begin seven weeks of proton radiation treatments, combined with hormone blockers to limit testosterone.

Its a short-term interruption to make sure I can live a longer life, he said.

Jordan is chronicling his health battle in a documentary titled Sustain, which is expected to debut next year. He is also working with the nonprofit ZERO Prostate Cancer to encourage regular screenings, particularly among Black men, who face higher rates of the disease and related deaths.

He credits years of consistent testing for catching the cancer early.

Because I had a history of what my levels looked like, doctors were able to recognize the problem, he said.

Prostate cancer often develops without symptoms until it advances, and the American Cancer Society advises African American men and those with a family history to begin screenings between 40 and 45.

Jordan said he wants to help dismantle the stigma surrounding prostate cancer, which often prevents men from talking openly about it.

When I was diagnosed, I didnt have a template for what to expect, he said.

Through it all, he has leaned on faith and family.

Ive got the toughest wife and kids on the planet, Jordan said. I want to be part of the solution. Your life is worth more than what a stigma presents. I need you guys to get checked.

This story was written with the assistance of AI.
WASHINGTON - Civil discourse advocates across Northeast Ohio expressed shock and sadness over the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, calling the shooting a stark reminder of how political violence threatens democratic dialogue.

After learning of Kirks death on Wednesday at Utah Valley University, Nancy Miranda, an Ohio state coordinator for the national nonprofit Braver Angels, said she was appalled that someone apparently killed Kirk because they disagreed with him politically.

It seems that because someone has a difference of opinion, we take violent action, said Miranda, of Cleveland. It is sad for me to see that this is what we have become.

Kirk, the 31-year-old founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot during a speaking event at the Utah campus on Wednesday in what officials are calling a political assassination.

Related: JD Vance misses 9/11 event to visit slain activist Charlie Kirks family, pens tribute

The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for Kirks murder. Utah Valley University remains closed through Monday following the shooting.

In a statement released after Kirks death, Turning Point USA said: More than anyone, Charlie believed in the power of argument and good-faith debate to find the truth and guide people towards, if not agreement, then at least mutual understanding. Charlie was no stranger to threats. He received thousands throughout his life. But he always prioritized reaching as many young Americans as possible over his own personal safety.

Miranda, whose Braver Angels organization focuses on depolarizing the country and promoting civil discourse, said Kirk appeared to be doing exactly what her group advocates for. She noted that she had watched his YouTube videos of campus conversations with students who disagreed with him.

I never saw him being extreme or derogatory or pushing values, she said. He was trying to start conversations with people on the opposite side of the aisle. Obviously, there are people who disagreed with his beliefs. That is fine, there is nothing wrong with disagreeing but taking to the extreme of a violent act is unacceptable.

The assassination was swiftly condemned by Ohios congressional delegation, including members of the House Bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.

Rep. Emilia Sykes, an Akron Democrat, posted on social media that Political violence is completely unacceptable and has no place in our democracy.

Rep. Greg Landsman, a Cincinnati Democrat, wrote: This is absolutely horrible. We do not harm people we disagree with. This violence has no place in America. I am praying for him and his family.

Rep. Dave Joyce, a South Russell Republican, expressed heartbreak for Kirks wife and two young children, stating: Everyone should be able to express their First Amendment rights without fear, and we must do everything we can as a country to combat political violence.

Lauren Copeland, a former Baldwin Wallace University professor who founded the schools Civil Discourse Initiative and now works as principal consultant at Data & Dialogue Insights, said the tragedy underscores the need for more constructive political dialogue.

Democracy depends on argument without dehumanization and civil discourse protects our ability to disagree without turning opponents into enemies, Copeland said. The antidote to political violence isnt silence; its deeper dialogue. Civil discourse reminds us to see opponents as people, not enemies.

Miranda expressed hope that the assassination wouldnt lead to further escalation, noting recent shootings in Minnesota and an attempt on another political figure in Pennsylvania. She said the tragedy gives organizations like Braver Angels more incentive to work harder.

I think this makes us more determined that the work we do is needed and we will keep trying, she said. There is no alternative. We cant let this take over.

Miranda said that despite the medias tendency to emphasize division, she believes Americans share more common ground than is often portrayed.

I dont think we really are as divided as we are perceived to be, she said. In the workshops I conduct, you see a lot of people who are much more in the middle than what is assumed to be. We have to put that aside and reach out to one another and start talking more.

The manhunt for Kirks shooter was continuing Thursday, with authorities expanding their search after two people detained had no connection to the killing, according to the FBI.
Here's how apportionment of congressional seats might shift if undocumented immigrants were excluded from the census count. Rich Exner, cleveland.com

WASHINGTON  President Donald Trumps desire to reallocate congressional seats among states by excluding undocumented non-citizens from census counts would probably increase representation in Republican strongholds like Ohio, at the expense of Democratic states like California, if it came to pass.

In Ohios case, the would regain a congressional seat it narrowly lost after the 2020 count, cleveland.com found in an analysis of state-by-state 2024 Census Bureau population estimates and Pew Research Center estimates of undocumented residents.

The analysis found that if the population projections held up in an actual census count -- one not counting undocumented immigrants -- Democrat-controlled California would lose three seats. New York, Rhode Island and Illinois, also run by Democrats, would each lose a single seat, the math indicates.

Five other states would join Ohio gaining a single seat if the 435 U.S. House of Representatives seats were reallocated by those criteria. Those states are Texas, Florida, Arizona, Idaho and Utah. All of them backed Trump in the 2024 presidential election.

Apportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives 435 seats is determined by census population counts that happen every decade. In determining the number of seats for each state, all residents are currently counted - adults and children, citizens and non-citizens - plus overseas federal employees who are counted as residents of their U.S. state.

Trumps call for a new census

In an August 7 social media post, Trump wrote:

I have instructed our Department of Commerce to immediately begin work on a new and highly accurate CENSUS based on modern day facts and figures and, importantly, using the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024. People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

The posts ambiguous language sparked debate among legal experts over whether Trump was proposing a full new census or simply laying the groundwork to alter the upcoming 2030 count. Either way, they say, the hurdles to implementing his request are high, legally, financially, and logistically.

Vice President JD Vance, a Cincinnati Republican, enthusiastically backed Trumps idea, telling Fox News that redoing the Census now would correct a major statistical error in the 2020 count and give Republicans an extra 10 seats in the 435-seat U.S. House of Representatives.

Were literally losing representatives for American citizens in order to give congressional representation to illegal aliens, Vance said later on Meet the Press. Republicans are trying to balance out the scales a little bit for basic fairness and for the integrity of our democracy, which the President cares about as much as anybody in the country.

During his first presidential term, Trump unsuccessfully pushed to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census and tried to exclude undocumented immigrants from congressional apportionment calculations. The U.S. Supreme Court blocked the question from appearing in 2020, but didnt say it couldnt appear in the future.

Constitutional and legal barriers

Experts believe its unlikely that Trump will get his way this time around. Legal and logistical obstacles appear to be in his way.

Terri Ann Lowenthal, a longtime census expert who previously served as staff director for the House census oversight subcommittee, said Trumps plan faces insurmountable legal obstacles. Under current law, Congress is responsible for taking and overseeing the census, and presidents dont have authority to order them, she says.

The Constitutions 14th amendment clearly requires a census of the whole number of persons residing in the states for purpose of apportionment, which would have to include people in the country illegally, Lowenthal said.

When Congress adopted the amendment after the Civil War, it discussed basing apportionment on the whole number of citizens, or the whole number of voters, and rejected those approaches.

On top of the constitutional problems with failing to count undocumented immigrants, any new census before 2030 would require Congressional approval and billions of extra dollars  an unlikely prospect given that Congress has already underfunded preparation for the 2030 Census, Lowenthal said. The last census cost nearly $14 billion, she says.

While federal law allows the government to conduct a mid-decade census, Lowenthal said the law also specifies those counts cant be used for reapportioning congressional seats or redistricting.

Getting that census now would also be problematic. It would be virtually impossible to conduct a census before the next congressional election, said Howard Fienberg, co-director of the Census Project, a coalition of hundreds of organizations that advocate for census funding.

It takes 10 years to properly plan a census, he said. Even if you were to cut all the corners, its just hard to envision how they could pull it off, because youre still talking about a federal government agency. Government agencies dont do things quickly, even if they have all the money in the world, which the Census Bureau does not.

Getting the numbers

Even if those logistical obstacles could be overcome, Trumps proposal raises basic questions about what kind of count hes actually seeking.

Kimball Brace, who heads Election Data Services, a political consulting firm that specializes in redistricting and analysis of census and political data, questions whether Trump understands the distinction between conducting a full census and working with population estimates.

He cautions that its difficult for the Census Bureau to get an accurate count of people in the United States illegally, as theyre unlikely to risk being deported by agreeing to answer questions. He says estimates of their numbers are all over the place.

Getting those numbers down to the state level is very dicey, let alone to the local level, when you try to draw districts themselves, says Brace.

Apportionment forecasts by his firm dont predict Ohio gaining or losing any congressional seats.

But Brace cautioned that unpredictable events can shift forecasts. He noted that that Louisiana was projected to gain a congressional seat before some of its population left the state after Hurricane Katrina and the state ended up losing a seat.

You never know what is going to happen between now and the census, says Brace. Little shifts could end up having a major impact.

Cleveland.com reporter Rich Exner contributed to this report.
David Toepfer's nomination as U.S. Attorney for northern Ohio on Thursday cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee. Toepfer was appointed to fill the role in July, but its unclear when he might be considered by the full Senate. U.S. Attorney's Office

WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to move forward with career federal prosecutor David Toepfers nomination to be northern Ohios U.S. attorney, though its unclear whether hell be confirmed by the full Senate.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Toepfer to the job in July, but his confirmation is stalled by Senate Democrats refusal to swiftly move forward with floor votes on non-controversial U.S. attorney nominees, such as Toepfer.

The Judiciary Committees top Democrat, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, is delaying approval of all Trumps U.S. attorney nominees because former U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio did the same thing to Joe Bidens nominees before he became Donald Trumps vice president.

The nominees that Vance held up included Becky Lutzko, who was Bidens pick for the job that Toepfer is up for.

Bondis appointment lets Toepfer lead the federal prosecutors office based in Cleveland for at least 120 days. The districts 18 federal judges can vote to extend his term after that time expires.

Lutzko, too, was appointed by the attorney general and had her appointment extended by judges.

It is the honor of a lifetime to serve the people of northern Ohio in this role, said a statement Toepfer released earlier this year. Our office will continue working with our federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to protect the public by aggressively enforcing the laws of the United States.

Before the vote on Toepfer, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, criticized Democrats for delaying confirmation of Trumps well-qualified nominees.

The obstruction of U.S. Attorneys hurts our public safety, said Grassley. We have only to look at tragedies from the last few days to understand why Americans are concerned about crime in our cities ... Senate Democrats cannot accept that President Trump won the election, so they have chosen to light the Senate traditions on fire.

Although Grassley described the Democrats delays as unprecedented, Durbin disputed his assertion, recalling Vances actions and an earlier blockade by U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas.

He noted that during Trumps first term, Democrats cooperated by approving all Trumps U.S. attorney nominees by voice vote or a unanimous vote on the Senate floor. He said Republicans were the ones who broke the precedent. Durbin said 68 of Bidens 93 U.S. attorney nominees were approved before the GOP blockade which stopped us cold.

There is a conversation underway to try to find a bipartisan way out of this mess, said Durbin, who supported Toepfers nomination in the committee vote, along with all the committees Republicans.

Other Democrats who supported Toepfer were Minnesotas Amy Klobuchar, Delawares Chris Coons, Hawaiis Mazie Hirono and Vermonts Peter Welch

Toepfer has been a front-line prosecutor for 25 years, including for county prosecutors offices in Portage and Trumbull counties.

He has worked for the federal prosecutors office since 2008, handling a wide variety of cases involving large drug trafficking rings, along with violent and white-collar crime out of the Youngstown office. He most recently supervised the Youngstown and Akron branches of the federal prosecutors office.

Toepfer, of Warren, is the first U.S. attorney in more than 117 years from the Mahoning Valley.

If Toepfer is not confirmed by the Senate, it will continue northern Ohios longest-ever stretch without a confirmed U.S. attorney in the offices 170-year history.

Biden had nominated, and the Senate confirmed, Marisa Darden, but she stepped down before she set foot in the office.

The last confirmed U.S. attorney, Justin Herdman, left office in January 2021.
Gov. Mike DeWine speaks during a July 31, 2024 news conference at his office in Columbus. He is standing near a conceptual Ohio House district map he used as a visual aide to represent what he views as the hazards of emphasizing political proportionality when drawing state district maps. Andrew J. Tobias, cleveland.com

COLUMBUS, OhioMore than a year ago, Gov. Mike DeWine vowed to Ohio voters that if they rejected a proposed overhaul of the states redistricting system, he would strive to pass another redistricting reform plan based on the state of Iowas system.

I will lead as much as I can, and I will do everything I can to get the legislature, when they come back in January, to pass this, get it on the ballot, and move forward, DeWine said during a July 2024 press conference . If the legislature does not do this, I will do everything I can to get it on the ballot by initiative.

Ohio voters ended up soundly rejecting the redistricting ballot measure, Issue 1, last November.

But there has been no subsequent attempt by lawmakers to put any redistricting reform measure on the statewide ballot. And the Ohio legislature is gearing up for another round of congressional redistricting using the same system that DeWine said, simply does not work very well.

But DeWines forceful promise last year to do everything I can to put an Iowa-based redistricting reform measure on the ballot has been replaced by statements of vague hope that lawmakers will take a look at the idea, even if its not until next decade.

Speaking with reporters Wednesday, DeWine said its too late for lawmakers to change Ohios congressional redistricting system in time for this years process, under which either state lawmakers or the Ohio Redistricting Commission (which DeWine sits on) will redraw lines for the states 15 U.S. House districts for the next six years.

I would hope that once we get beyond this one with the legislature, when theres no great pressure on anyone, no ones looking at an immediate election, that we can come to an agreement that this is the best way to do it, DeWine said, referring to the Iowa plan. Even if you postpone it until, you know, the census of 2030 and after that, seems to me this is still something that we should be able to do.

That statement is a far cry from DeWines urgent call for action last year. Ive lived with this now for too long, the governor said then. And its time we just say Look, lets take politics out of this.

DeWine has also changed his tune about his backup plan to pass an Iowa-like redistricting reform through a statewide ballot initiative.

Yeah, I dont know that I can raise the money to do that after Ive looked around, the governor said Wednesday.

When DeWine was asked why he believes that and whether he has tried to raise any money, he didnt directly answer.

Look, Im still hoping the legislature would take action, he replied.

The main group behind Issue 1 last year spent about $37 million in total. DeWine  who is personally a millionaire  raised about $29 million and $19 million during his 2018 and 2022 campaigns for governor, respectively.

Iowas system vs. Ohios

Under Iowas redistricting system, in place since 1980, the state legislatures nonpartisan research agency draws up redistricting maps for the states congressional and legislative districts, which are then voted on by the Iowa legislature.

Iowa mapmakers, when creating redistricting plans, arent allowed to consider things like voters political affiliation, election results, and where incumbent lawmakers live.

The Iowa plan is simple, it is clear, and it takes politics out of the map-drawing process forever, DeWine said last July.

Ohio, meanwhile, currently has two redistricting processes  one for state legislative districts, another for congressional districts.

While both processes were approved by large bipartisan majorities of Ohio voters in 2015 and 2018, respectively, they have resulted in the passage of Republican-authored maps that currently give the GOP supermajorities in both the Ohio House and Senate, as well as control of 10 of 15 U.S. House seats.

The GOP is expected to approve a map that gives them a leg up in 12, or even 13, districts, amid a nationwide arms race to gerrymander districts that maximize each partys congressional representation.

Under Ohios congressional redistricting system, the state legislature has until the end of this month to pass a new map, with support needed from at least 60% of the House and Senate overall and at least half of lawmakers in the minority party (in this case, Democrats). The plan would then go to DeWine to sign or veto.

However, state lawmakers have expressed doubt that any redistricting map will attract the bipartisan support needed to pass by the end of the month.

If that ends up being the case, and the Ohio Redistricting Commission doesnt approve a bipartisan plan by Oct. 30, Republican lawmakers would then be allowed to pass a map without any Democratic votes by the end of November.

New legislative districts, meanwhile, are drawn only by the seven-member Redistricting Commission, which currently includes five Republicans and two Democrats.
State Appeals Court Judge Jill Flagg Lanzinger, seen here in a 2022 campaign photo, says she will likely soon join the already congested Republican primary race to unseat Democratic Ohio Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Brunner in 2026.

COLUMBUS, Ohio--The congested Republican primary for the Ohio Supreme Courts last Democratic-held seat may soon get even more crowded.

Jill Flagg Lanzinger, a state appellate judge from Green, said in a short interview Wednesday that she likely will formally announce her campaign within the next month. She declined to answer additional questions about her candidacy.

Four other Republicans are currently running in what has already been a roller-coaster primary race. They include Rocky River Municipal Judge Joseph Burke, state appellate judges Andrew King and Ron Lewis, and ex-Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Colleen ODonnell.

Lanzinger currently serves as presiding judge for the Ninth District Court of Appeals in Akron. Before Lanzinger was elected to the appeals court in 2022, she was a judge with Summit County Common Pleas Court, founded and sat on the Barberton Municipal Drug Court, and served as an Akron Municipal Court magistrate.

She also worked as a Summit County Juvenile Court guardian ad litem, representing the interests of children in divorce, custody, and abuse cases.

Lanzinger, 45, has a law degree from the University of Akron and a bachelors degree in psychology and political science from Heidelberg College. She is related by marriage to former Republican Ohio Supreme Court Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger, according to the Supreme Court .

The winner of the GOP primary next May will run in November against incumbent Justice Jennifer Brunner  who is not just the only Democrat on the seven-member Supreme Court, but also the only Democrat currently holding any statewide elected office in Ohio.

There has already been turmoil in the race, including an attempt by sitting Republican Justice Pat Fischer to make the unprecedented move of running for another Supreme Court seat in the middle of his own six-year term.

Fischer dropped out after an Ohio Republican Party candidate screening committee recommended Lewis for a state party endorsement. However, Lewis withdrew from the endorsement process amid concerns that he wouldnt get the needed support among the Ohio GOPs state central committee, and state party leaders ended up endorsing no one for the time being.

It remains to be seen what the final list of Republican primary candidates for Ohio Supreme Court will look like, as there are still nearly five months to go before the states candidate filing deadline in early February 2026.

Some other Republicans, including former Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof of Medina, have indicated an interest in joining the race.

Besides Brunner, Republican Ohio Supreme Court Justice Dan Hawkins is also up for reelection in 2026. So far, no other candidates  from either major party  have emerged for his seat.
Royal Caribbean will suspend stops at Labadee, Haiti, until May 2026 amid ongoing unrest. Getty Images

Royal Caribbean has announced it will pause all visits to its private destination in Labadee, Haiti, until at least May 2026 due to continuing violence and civil unrest in the country, Travel Pulse reports.

The cruise line cited safety concerns related to the deteriorating situation in Port-au-Prince, Haitis capital, as the primary reason for the extended suspension. While Labadee is located away from the capital, the company is taking precautionary measures to ensure passenger safety.

We have been monitoring the evolving situation in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and out of an abundance of caution, were cancelling our visit to Labadee, Royal Caribbean stated in notices sent to affected passengers. Your safety is our top priority.

Labadee has been a popular port of call for Royal Caribbean guests, featuring five private beaches nestled between mountains and sea. The destination offers numerous attractions including a half-mile zip line, water slides, wave runners, and private cabanas, all within a resort area protected by its own security force.

Passengers who had already purchased excursions for upcoming Labadee visits are being rerouted to alternative destinations, Travel Pulse noted.

According to a Royal Caribbean blog, ships will instead visit ports such as Grand Turk in Turks & Caicos, Falmouth in Jamaica, Nassau and Coco Cay in the Bahamas, Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, George Town in Grand Cayman, and Cozumel in Mexico. Some itineraries will substitute an additional sea day.

The cruise line indicated it will reassess the situation and make decisions about future Labadee stops before the May 2026 target date.

This story was written with the assistance of AI.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine says police partnerships that target enforcement are the most effective way to address violent crime in the state -- not deploying National Guard troops. Here members of the South Carolina National Guard patrol in Washington. The troops, along with some from Ohio and West Virginia, were deployed at the request of President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) AP

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- While Gov. Mike DeWine is on board with partnerships that are aimed at reducing violent crime, he made clear Wednesday he wont deploy National Guard troops to Ohio cities for law enforcement.

The better approach, DeWine said as he spoke with news reporters, is to address violent crime through efforts like the one announced Tuesday in Cincinnati when the governor joined state, local and federal officials in the Queen City to announce two new law enforcement partnerships aimed at reducing violent crime in the city through enhanced cooperation.

The facts are that its a very, very small percentage of the criminal element in society that commits 80 to 90% of the violent crime, DeWine said.

And so, what were doing in Cincinnati, what weve done in Cleveland, what weve done in Dayton and other cities, is targeted. Police officers are uniquely trained to deal with crime, and to deal particularly with violent crime.

Related: Ohio Gov. DeWine announces new law enforcement partnership to tackle crime in Cincinnati

The governor said that while there are circumstances where the National Guards help has been utilized, such as aiding with vaccinations during the coronavirus pandemic, the task of monitoring violent crime in particular is the job of other officials.

I do not anticipate, for example, as governor of the state of Ohio, deploying the National Guard into any of our cities to deal with violent crime. It doesnt mean there might be something come up where we need the Guard, DeWine said.

But to focus on violent crime, that is really the police officers, highway patrol, our liquor control people, our parole people. These are the people who focus on the violent crime. Thats what their background is, and thats what their training is, and theyre the best people to deal with that.

DeWines remarks come as President Trump has deployed National Guard soldiers in Washington, including troops from Ohio sent by DeWine.

Those Ohio troops will continue supporting the District of Columbia National Guard until Nov. 30 at the request of the Secretary of the Army, DeWine announced late Wednesday.

Trump has also threatened to send National Guard soldiers to other major cities, including Chicago.

Washington is a different situation, because the president the United States is the person who, ultimately, whether people like it or not, is the person who has the ultimate responsibility. Its the federal city. Its our U.S. capital. Thats the distinction I make, DeWine said.

When asked if he would hypothetically deploy the Guard to Cleveland at the behest of Trump, the governor said that he has had no conversations with the president about it.

Well, Ive had no discussion with the president about it.  The best way to deal with this is through trained police officers."

DeWines remarks on Wednesday followed his announcement Tuesday to utilize law enforcement partnerships to address violent crime in Cincinnati.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol will begin working directly with the Cincinnati Police Department on data-driven crime reduction initiatives targeting high-crime areas, DeWine said Tuesday. The partnership will also use intelligence from Cincinnatis Crime Gun Intelligence Center to focus on hot-spot areas with the highest crime rates. OSHPs Aviation Unit will provide aerial support for ground operations, including criminal suspect searches and vehicle pursuit assistance.

DeWine explained that additional support and technology has been utilized in other cities in the past, including Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Youngstown and Toledo.

In May, for example, DeWine authorized the guards Cyber Reserve Force to assist with a cyberattack investigation at Cleveland Municipal Court. The team is made up of trained members who assist communities with cyberattacks.
Quotes from Xi | 'It's you who have nurtured us'

(People's Daily App) 15:40, September 10, 2025

On September 9, 2016, one day ahead of China's Teachers' Day, President Xi Jinping visited elderly teachers at Beijing Bayi School, where he attended primary and junior high school. As we celebrate Teachers' Day today, let's revisit some of those warm moments.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Liang Jun)
The Goa Tourism Department will hold an Experience Goa roadshow in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on September 15 as part of its ongoing global outreach campaign to promote the state as a diverse and sustainable tourist destination. According to a release, the roadshow will highlight aspects of Goa beyond its well-known beaches, focusing instead on heritage, culture, wellness, adventure, festivals, and authentic local experiences.Travel agents, tour operators, airline representatives and dignitaries from Uzbekistan are expected to attend the roadshow, with opportunities for direct business interactions under the themes "Goa Beyond Beaches" and "Regenerative Tourism".Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte said that the coastal state was consciously working to expand its image as more than just a sun-and-sand destination. "Through the Tashkent roadshow, we wish to showcase not just Goa's scenic beauty, but its heritage, wellness, festivals, and adventure," he said.Tourism Director Kedar Naik added that the initiative would help position Goa as a year-round travel destination. He noted that the event would strengthen connections with Uzbekistan's travel industry and encourage long-term collaborations.Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced a separate cultural initiative on (September 10), confirming that the state government will construct a "representative" temple in memory of the over 1,000 temples demolished during the Portuguese colonial period.The state cabinet has approved plans for "Koti-Teerth", a mega temple complex spread across 10,000 square metres on Diwar Island, the historic site where the Saptakoteshwar temple once stood. "The new temple would be dedicated to the temples demolished during the Portuguese era," Sawant said.Citing findings from a committee of archaeologists and historians, Sawant said over a thousand temples were destroyed during the colonial period. "The government did not think it feasible to reconstruct all of them. Hence, we decided to construct a representative temple on Diwar Island where the historic Saptakoteshwar temple had been razed by the Portuguese," he explained.He recalled that after the destruction of the original shrine, the deity's lingam had been relocated to Narve village, where Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj later built a new temple.
The rescue mission launched by the Andhra Pradesh government to bring stranded Indians in violence-hit Nepal back home gathered pace with 154 boarding passes issued to tourists at Kathmandu airport on September 11. Officials confirmed that the operation has been steadily progressing, ensuring the safe return of those caught in the unrest.A chartered flight carrying 12 tourists from Simikot successfully landed in Nepalganj, from where vehicles arranged by the state government ferried them across the border into India. Another charter flight carrying 10 Andhra residents from Pokhara landed in Kathmandu, with the group scheduled to board an aircraft for their onward journey to India.In Kathmandu, a total of 154 Indian tourists were issued boarding passes for flights arranged by the Andhra Pradesh government. An aircraft deployed for the operation has already reached the capital of Nepal to facilitate their evacuation.Earlier in the day, 22 Indians returned safely to the country. Andhra Pradesh Cabinet Minister Nara Lokesh confirmed their arrival on social media platform X and assured that further efforts were underway to bring back the remaining stranded individuals. He appealed to all tourists still in Nepal to immediately contact the Indian Embassy on +977-9808602881 and +977-9810326134, numbers which are also available on WhatsApp.The evacuations come in the wake of violent protests that broke out in Nepal on September 8, led by a youth group known as Gen-Z. The group had demanded greater transparency from the government and an end to the social media ban imposed earlier this month.Nepal's Ministry of Health and Population reported that the violence claimed 31 lives and left 1,033 people injured. While 713 people were discharged, 55 were referred to other facilities, and 253 remain hospitalised.The demonstrations turned violent when protesters attempted to storm the parliament, prompting security forces to fire live rounds before deploying tear gas. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's government defended the social media restrictions as necessary to curb misinformation, but rights groups criticised the move as an attempt at censorship.
India on Thursday announced a special economic package of around USD 680 million for Mauritius and signed seven agreements to further expand bilateral ties in several critical sectors, such as maritime security, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that a free and secure Indian Ocean is a shared priority for both sides.PM Modi hosted his Mauritian counterpart Navinchandra Ramgoolam at his parliamentary constituency in Varanasi, in reflection of rich cultural links between India and Mauritius, as he described the two countries as "not just partners but a family".In his media statement, Modi said India remains fully committed to strengthening the security of Mauritius's exclusive economic zone and that both sides will work towards enabling bilateral trade in local currencies following the successful launch of UPI and RuPay cards in Mauritius.Under the special economic package, India will assist Mauritius in implementing at least 10 projects that include strengthening key infrastructure like ports, airports, and roads and setting up new schools and hospitals."This package is not an assistance. It is an investment in our shared future," Modi said.The seven agreements will facilitate boosting cooperation in areas of education, power, hydrography and space research.The most important pact signed following the Modi-Ramgoolam talks appears to be the one on hydrography under which both sides will work together on joint surveys, navigation charts, and hydrographic data of the exclusive economic zones of Mauritius."India and Mauritius are two nations, but our dreams and destiny are one," Modi said.In his remarks to the media, the prime minister also congratulated Ramgoolam and the people of Mauritius on the conclusion of the Chagos agreement, describing it as a "historic victory" for the island nation's sovereignty."India has always supported decolonization and the full recognition of Mauritius's sovereignty. And in this, India has stood firmly with Mauritius," he said.In May, the United Kingdom decided to hand over the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, including the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia, to Mauritius under a historic deal.The UK is giving up the rights of the islands after more than 50 years.Under the agreement, the UK will have full responsibility for the security of strategically-located Diego Garcia.Ramgoolam, currently on a state visit to India from September 9 to 16, said India-Mauritius ties have entered into a dynamic and forward-looking phase.Modi also referred to close cooperation between the two countries in the maritime sphere."India has always stood as the first responder and a net security provider in the Indian Ocean region. The refitting of the Mauritius Coast Guard ship is being undertaken in India. In addition, 120 of their officers are also being trained in India," he said."Today, an agreement has been concluded on cooperation in the field of hydrography. Over the next five years, we will work together on joint surveys, navigation charts, and hydrographic data of the EEZ," he said.Modi said Mauritius is a key part of India's Neighbourhood First policy and our Vision 'MAHASAGAR' (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Region).He unveiled the MAHASAGAR vision for India's engagement with the Global South during his visit to Mauritius in March.Modi also announced a decision to establish a new directorate of science and technology in Mauritius."Very soon, we will also launch the training modules of Mission Karmayogi in Mauritius." The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and the Indian Institute of Plantation Management have entered into agreements with the University of Mauritius, he said.These agreements will elevate our partnership in research, education, and innovation to new heights, he added.Modi also referred to cultural links between India and Mauritius."It is a matter of pride for me to welcome you to my parliamentary constituency. Kashi has always been a symbol of India's civilization and cultural heritage," he said."Centuries ago, our culture and traditions travelled from India to Mauritius, and became a part of everyday life there. Just like the eternal flow of Maa Ganga in Kashi, the continuous stream of Indian culture has enriched Mauritius," he said."And today, when we are welcoming friends from Mauritius in Kashi, it is not just a formality but a spiritual union. That is why I proudly say that India and Mauritius are not just partners but a family," he added.Modi reached his Lok Sabha constituency around 11:30 am and proceeded to Hotel Taj, where he met Ramgoolam for nearly two hours.Officials said while Modi left for Uttarakhand to take stock of the flood situation there, Ramgoolam will stay back in Varanasi.Ramgoolam's visit began on September 9 and concludes on September 16.Earlier, amid the sound of drums and conch shells, Modi's convoy entered the city with BJP leaders, party workers and residents lining up along the route to welcome him, chanting "Har Har Mahadev" and showering flower petals. Some people were also seen carrying Mauritius flags to mark the occasion.Following the bilateral talks, Modi left the hotel a little after 2 pm, travelled to the police lines about two km away and then took a chopper to the airport, before departing for Uttarakhand.Ramgoolam, who arrived in Varanasi on Wednesday, was received by Governor Patel and Finance Minister Suresh Khanna. He is scheduled to attend the Ganga 'aarti' this evening and visit the Kashi Vishwanath temple on Friday morning.The delegation will also be presented with a cultural programme, highlighting the historic ties between the two nations, District Magistrate Satyendra Kumar said.
Mexico plans to impose tariffs of as much as 50% on cars and other products made by China and several Asian exporters, aligning the country more closely with US protectionism as President Claudia Sheinbaum prepares for talks over North Americas free-trade deal.Higher tariffs would apply to a list of more than 1,400 categories of products coming from countries with which Mexico has no trade agreement, Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Wednesday, describing them as part of efforts to protect Mexican industry. China, South Korea and India are among the exporters that would be hit under the proposed levies, which must be approved by Congress.The import taxes would also affect items such as auto parts, steel, toys and furniture, with rates of 10% to 50% depending on the category.We are going to take it higher to up to 50%, which the World Trade Organization allows us to do. Why? Because the prices at which they are arriving in Mexico are below what we call reference prices, Ebrard said on the sidelines of an event in the state of Mexico, referring to the car levy. The main objective is to protect jobs.Mexico has become the biggest destination for cars from China, much to the chagrin of its northern neighbor as President Donald Trump wages a trade war on the Asian country. The move serves to appease Mexicos largest trade partner, but also raises the specter of a broadening economic conflict as Chinese producers seek markets beyond the US.The US and Canada have a free-trade pact with Mexico known as the USMCA, meaning theyd be unaffected by the tariffs. Both have also made moves in recent years to keep Chinese vehicles from entering their markets.Its a protectionist measure, very much in Trumps style, that suggests creating a common bloc against China. Its to be expected ahead of the review of the USMCA, said Gabriela Siller, director of economic analysis at Mexican bank Banco Base. It allows Mexico to appease Trump, and in the process collect more money. But there is a cost, and it will be felt by both consumers and producers.The terms of the USMCA call for a review in 2026, which may open the door for renegotiation between the three countries.Other countries that would be affected by the tariffs because they dont have trade agreements with Mexico include Thailand, Indonesia, Russia and Turkey. The move could help deter Chinese companies from sending exports through those countries to skirt tariffs. The European Union, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore are exempt from the levies.The proposal was included in the 2026 budget plan the government sent to Congress this week, a plan first reported by Bloomberg in August. The bill is likely to be approved, since the ruling party has comfortable margins in both houses. The tariffs would then take effect 30 days from their publication in Mexicos official gazette, Ebrard said.Lawmakers are evaluating the tariff proposed for each product before discussing them in the relevant committees of Congress, according to Alfonso Ramirez Cuellar, a member of the lower houses Finance Committee.The plan, Ramirez Cuellar said in a phone interview, will help strengthen trade relations in North America amid negotiations with the Trump administration. Mexico has already increased tariffs on textiles, footwear and small imports from online stores such as Shein and Temu, he added.Mexico has replaced Russia as the top destination for exports of Chinese cars, which rose by nearly a quarter in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period a year earlier, according to the China Passenger Car Association.General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV  which owns the Chrysler, Jeep and Ram brands  ship their own China-made cars to Mexico and other parts of Latin America. Other cars from Chinese companies, such as BYD Co., have become a popular option for Uber drivers.Guillermo Rosales, the chief of Mexicos auto dealers association AMDA, said that car prices in Mexico will likely rise due to the higher tariffs.This decision by the Mexican government represents a drastic change for the vehicle trade, he said. As available inventories are depleted, prices would have to be adjusted. Competition in the domestic market will be limited, and consumers will have less choice.Rosales said that the tariff hike would affect investment made by domestically owned distribution companies that have installed more than 800 points of sale for vehicles offered by Chinese brands. This network represents more than 60 billion pesos ($3.2 billion) in investment and more than 32,000 direct jobs, he said.The cost of purchasing electrified vehicles, plug-ins, hybrids and pure electrics will also rise, said Rosales.Other sectors could face similar risks. China runs a large trade surplus with Mexico that reached $71 billion last year. Mexican authorities have urged companies to seek more local suppliers, but industry analysts warn that it is hard to make a fast change.Ideally you would first make sure that you have enough capital and industrial capacity to start producing more of those inputs, said Diego Marroquin, a fellow at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. Thats a process that takes years, not a few months.


WATCH ????



Nepalese ministers and their families cling to a helicopter rope to escape protests. pic.twitter.com/L31FLJLepC

 Open Source Intel (@Osint613) September 10, 2025



BREAKING ???? Nepals Finance Minister stripped of clothes and chased into a river by angry protesters during deadly anti-corruption protests pic.twitter.com/TKgliue1NN

 Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) September 9, 2025



As part of the ongoing protests going on in Nepal which has already led to the resignation of the prime minister,



The young protesters in Nepal are burning down Politicians houses.

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Foreign Minister of Nepal captured by the public pic.twitter.com/qr1EqMrQR2

 jim Njue (@jimNjue_) September 10, 2025

Dramatic videos are doing rounds on social media of Nepalese ministers being beaten, their houses burnt down by the violent mob. In one such video, government ministers and their families clinging to the sling of an Army helicopter to save themselves.CNBCTV18.com could not verify the authenticity of these videos.In another video, country's finance minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel was stripped of clothes and chased into a river by angry protesters during deadly anti-corruption protestsThe Gen Z protesters burnt down Parliament, houses of several politicians and several buildings.In another video, Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba was being dragged out of her house and assaulted.Multiple reports said Rajyalaxmi Chitrakar, wife of Nepal's former prime minister Jhalanath Khanal suffered burn injuries after her house was set on fire by protesters. Reports said Chitrakar is in critical condition and is undergoing treatment.The student-led "Gen Z" protests in Nepal that began against a government ban on social media expanded into a larger campaign reflecting growing public criticism of the KP Sharma Oli dispensation and the country's political elite over alleged corruption and apathy towards the common people.Prime Minister Oli resigned in the face of violent protests for a second day, even as the ban on social media was lifted late on Monday night.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz has introduced a bill that would create a federal regulatory sandbox for AI, giving companies the ability to apply for temporary exemptions from certain rules as they develop and test new technologies.

A regulatory sandbox  a policy mechanism recommended by the AI Action Plan  will give entrepreneurs room to breathe, build, and compete within a defined space bounded by guardrails for safety and accountability, Cruz said, according to a statement.

If passed, the bill would allow AI users or developers to identify regulations they view as burdensome and request a waiver or modification.
Spaceballs star Rick Moranis isnt suiting back up as Dark Helmet for nothing.

Shortly before heading to Australia to start work on the tentatively titled Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money, co-writer Josh Gad offered some insights into Moranis decision to reprise his villainous role, teasing why the actor came out of retirement for the Star Wars parodys long-awaited sequel.

Hypothetically, if he were to return, I would say its because Rick would have felt like this was a project worthy of his return, Gad recently told ScreenRant, apparently unaware that Deadline previously confirmed Moranis participation in the project.

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The Frozen star, who encouraged fans to watch this space for what could only be yet another confirmation of Moranis not-so-theoretical comeback, also recalled the surreal experience of reviving the beloved 80s film nearly four decades later.

When the movie was prophesized (sic) in the first film, when Yogurt says, God willing, well all meet again in Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money, I, like everyone else, was just anticipating that that would happen sooner than 40 years later, Gad joked, noting that he grew up with the original space-themed farce.

This decades-spanning gap proved to be for the best. Beyond serving as Moranis first theatrically-released film since 2006s Brother Bear, Gad expressed how grateful and thrilled he felt to be revisiting Spaceballs alongside 99-year-old Mel Brooks. Its the greatest gift on Earth to be able to not only be on the precipice of shooting this movie, but to be able to do it while Mel is still with us, he explained. Im beyond excited, and that's about all I can say for now.

Or as Colonel Sandurz once famously put it, Were at now, now.
Even at the height of his addiction, he was still given free range

The new sprawling, three-hour long documentary about Charlie Sheen, titled aka Charlie Sheen, details the meteoric rise and fall of the actor. It features a lot of Sheen, but it also includes interviews with many people who were in his life throughout the height of his fame, his stints in rehab and during the most severe parts of his addiction.

Theres plenty to dig into across two parts  from his marriages and arrests to the failed interpersonal relationships exacerbated by his chaotic behavior and substance abuse. The second part of the documentary spotlights Sheens invincibility with CBS while he was the lead on the sitcom Two and a Half Men. Even after Sheen was arrested for assault in 2009, ratings for the show continued to skyrocket.

A pundit from the time described it like this: Theyd rather not have to put up with Charlie Sheens behavior, but they are sort of stuck.

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Denise Richards recalls a time when then CBS CEO Les Moonves showed up to Sheens house at 9 a.m., with the head of Warner Bros. Television with two statements the companies were prepared to release. One would announce that Sheen would go to rehab and then resume filming; the other would announce the cancellation of Two and a Half Men.

Jon Cryer added his own side to the story. He spent all that time watching Sheen leverage his own crisis into more money. Hes in the midst of falling apart in every way that I can imagine, and hes renegotiating his contract for another year of a show that Im supposed to be on too, Cryer recalled. Apparently they had pre-sold a couple extra seasons of the show. So it was worth their while to spend this astonishing amount of money on Charlie.

Sheen said he played a game of telephone between Moonves, Sheens lawyer and himself. He kept rejecting offers from Moonves, driving up his price to return to Two and a Half Men. Cryer compared the behavior to Kim Jong-il, the former Supreme Leader of North Korea.

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The dictator of North Korea was a guy named Kim Jong-il, Cryer explains. He acted crazy all the time and thus got enormous amounts of aid from countries who were so scared of him that they would shovel money at him. Well, thats what happened here. His negotiations went off the charts because his life was falling apart.

I dont know if thats a completely historically accurate retelling of what Kim Jong-il was up to, but I do imagine that Cryer has been using that analogy to explain working with Sheen for the better part of 15 years. Also calling a coked-out, felony-committing, former teen heartthrob the Kim Jong-il of CBS is pretty funny.

Me, whose life was pretty good at that time, I got a third of that, Cryer recalls.

Well, Jon, you werent doing enough crack to euthanize an elephant. Clearly, CBS rewards that kind of behavior. Sheen ended up signing a two-year contract to return to the show for $2 million an episode, making him the highest paid TV star in history.

In this instance, crime did pay.
Until were watching Spaceballs II in a theater full of kids cradling Spaceballs-branded flamethrowers, the world will continue to bombard Josh Gad with questions about the belated follow-up to Mel Brooks beloved 80s comedy.

While Gad is currently promoting the movie Adulthood, which as far as we know, in no way involves characters learning the ways of the Schwartz, hes still being asked about the sequel, which he co-wrote and is set to star in.

Most recently, Gad appeared on Today, and it wasnt long before Spaceballs II came up. Its been three years since I first pitched Mel Brooks, Gad noted, recalling that the Blazing Saddles director was extremely enthusiastic about the project, right from the jump.

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I called him up, I pitched him the movie, which is almost identical to what were about to shoot, and he goes, Josh, Ive been waiting 35 years for this call, Gad continued. I dont know why he didnt have the power to make the movie himself up until then, I dont know why he was waiting for me to call, I was just a child when it came out.

He also stressed that the franchise is especially important to him because he watched Spaceballs before ever seeing Star Wars. So Im the schlub who watched Star Wars and was like, Why did they make a dramatic remake of Spaceballs?

One Spaceballs cast member who obviously wont be returning for the new movie is the great John Candy, who passed away in 1994. Gad said that hes so excited to see the upcoming documentary John Candy: I Like Me, and also revealed that the sequel will find a way to honor the late star. Our movie, in many ways, is a tribute to John, the Frozen star volunteered. I cant say more than that. If youre a fan of the first one, youre going to, I think, be very happy with what were doing.

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There have been a lot of rumors that Gad is playing the son of Candys character, Barf, aka Barfolomew. While he hasnt confirmed or denied anything, Gads recent statement certainly makes that theory seem even more likely.

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In another interview this week, Gad confirmed that as soon as hes done promoting his new movie at the Toronto International Film Festival, hes headed to Australia to begin shooting Spaceballs II. Beyond that I cant say anything without getting legal Amazon representatives to knock on my door, the actor told Collider.

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Its unclear whether or not the movie will also find a way to pay tribute to the guy who had to endure wearing the Pizza the Hutt costume, who passed away in 2017.
Twenty-one years ago, comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres went on TV and claimed that she didnt know Rosie ODonnell despite their decades of friendship. Today, the comedians are no longer on speaking terms, but, considering how DeGeneres has been known to speak to those close to her, maybe its for the best.

Ever since 10 former employees of The Ellen DeGeneres Show came forward with accusations of habitual workplace abuse and rampant racism at the daytime TV super-hit talk show, DeGeneres name has carried much less gravitas than it did during her reign as Americas favorite aunt. To the countless assistants, producers, crew members and celebrity guests whom DeGeneres had belittled, berated and bullied over her storied career, DeGeneres public fall from grace must have felt like karmic justice, but theres one colleague whom DeGeneres heartlessly big-leagued that still feels the wounds today in this Ellen-less era.

ODonnell has never been shy about addressing the fall-out between her and DeGeneres following the latters appearance on Larry King Live in 2004, in which DeGeneres dismissed ODonnell and claimed that the two werent friends. And, earlier this week, ODonnell spoke to the No Filter podcast about how DeGeneres comments continue to affect her to this day.

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ODonnell, who showed public support for DeGeneres when the latter publicly came out as gay in 1997, said of her former friend, "Instead of deciding to stand next to me and hold my hand, which is what I did to her, she did the opposite."

That was, like, one of the most painful things that ever happened to me, in show business, in my life, ODonnell said of DeGeneres infamous comments to King back in 2004. I couldnt believe it, ODonnell said of her reaction when DeGeneres inexplicably distanced herself from ODonnell. I have photos of her holding my newborn babies. I knew her for 30 years.

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Stating the obvious, ODonnell said that she has never gotten over it and has never received an apology from DeGeneres for such an uncalled-for public insult. But, if DeGeneres did decide to mend some fences, ODonnell knows the best way to do it. I would have said, Im really sorry I hurt you that much, and I dont know why I did that. It was a mistake, and I hope you can forgive me, ODonnell suggested of how DeGeneres should have handled the friendship fall-out. Thats what I would have done. I think in her mind, she thinks I keep rehashing it for pleasure.

But, as ODonnell insisted, I dont rehash it for pleasure," explaining of her continued public comments on the feud. I rehash it because our careers have taken sort of parallel, interwoven paths.

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Still, ODonnell pointed out, she and DeGeneres are very different people at their cores. My desire to create family is the biggest force in my life, ODonnell said of her own personality,.I do it everywhere I go, and I dont think that shes similar to me in that way.

And, as for those interwoven career paths, rumor has it that ODonnell spent the early part of 2025 shopping a stand-up streaming special just to show up DeGeneres after the disgraced host's own revival hour was an awkward, insufferable dumpster fire. If ODonnell does end up putting out a new special, we gotta ask: What juicy Ellen tidbits has ODonnell been saving all these years if this is the stuff she gives up on a podcast?
Lady Gaga can consult astrologists all she wants. Wed prefer our world leaders have more robust inner circles, though.

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12 The Reagans Ronald says it didnt have an impact on his governing, but he regularly consulted a celebrity astrologer. Nancy Reagans astrologer reportedly helped avoid an assassination, which then opened the floodgates for Nancy to manage Rons schedule entirely based on the stars. Advertisement

11 Albrecht Von Wallenstein He was a Catholic general during the Thirty Years War, and as a young man, got his charts read by none other than Johannes Kepler. He relied on his reading for his entire career, and a lot of it appeared to come to fruition  many great successes against Sweden, and several losses so disastrous, he got demoted and even his personal astrologer was like maybe we shouldnt see each other anymore. He even died the year Kepler said he would.

10 Cleopatra In her day, Egyptian astrology was akin to a hard science. As luck would have it, there was a lot of throne iconography swirling around the goddess Isis, which Cleopatra used to her advantage, commissioning prominent zodiac murals.

9 Rudolf Hess One of Hitlers top advisers, his team of astrologers told him that it was a great time to engage in peace negotiations with Britain. When he attempted it, his plane crashed, and he was arrested and imprisoned. Advertisement Advertisement

8 Angelina Jolie Shes consulted astrologers for things like when to have medical procedures, when to release her movies and when to marry Brad Pitt. To solidify her astrology girlie bona fides, shes said, I think (Geminis are) mistaken for being of two faces, but we probably have 20, which is probably why a lot of us are actors.

7 King Hammurabi Its very possible that the study of astrology started during Hammurabis reign, and as such, it seems to have featured heavily in his famous Code. He wrote the laws, which were whispered to him by the planet-gods, which people learned about from his laws. Pretty airtight legal system. Advertisement

6 Alexander the Great Alexander is credited with mixing Eastern astrology with Greek mathematics, creating an unholy amalgam that looks like modern astrology. And the fact that astrologers claimed to have used this new concoction to accurately predict Alexanders death made it irreversibly popular. Advertisement

5 Queen Elizabeth I After her astronomer John Dee accurately predicted that her murderous sister would actually die instead of kill her, he became her right-hand man when she ascended the throne. This guy was a practitioner of iatromathematics, or astrology-based internal medicine. He also dabbled in telescopes and talking to angels. Advertisement

4 Lady Gaga The timing of her Born This Way Ball tour was, tragically, shaping up to take place at least partially while Mercury was in retrograde. She worked with a team of spiritual advisors to tiptoe through the unlucky season and, to their credit, it was an extremely lucrative and well-reviewed tour.

3 Isabel Peron She became the president of Argentina after her husband appointed her VP and he promptly died. Having zero qualifications, she relied on the tutelage of a mysterious dork called The Sorcerer, and together they ran their cruel and inept government based on astrology. Advertisement

2 French Presidents Francois Mitterand saw Charles de Gaulle consult astrologers in the 60s, so he did the same thing during his presidency in the 90s. Contemporary world leaders were horrified to see him working with his personal astrologer to help navigate the freaking Gulf War. But that turned out fine and nothing bad happened there ever again. Advertisement
About 1,800 people registered to attend 12th Beijing Xiangshan Forum

Xinhua) 16:01, September 11, 2025

BEIJING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Preparations for the 12th Beijing Xiangshan Forum have essentially been completed, and so far, about 1,800 delegates, observers, and media reporters have registered to attend the event, according to the forum organizer at a press briefing on Thursday.

To date, over 100 countries, regions, and international organizations have confirmed their participation at the forum, which is scheduled to be held in Beijing from Sept. 17 to 19.

Wu Jian'gang, an official of the preparatory work committee for the forum, said the forum, under the theme "Upholding International Order and Promoting Peaceful Development," will feature four plenary sessions and eight parallel sessions.

The event will also include high-level dialogues, seminars for young military officers and scholars, and several closed-door academic seminars, as well as interviews, special briefings, exhibitions, and visiting activities to enhance mutual learning between China and the rest of the world.

According to Wu, participants at this year's forum cover representatives from developed countries, emerging major countries, small and medium-sized countries, and countries from conflict zones. During the forum, it is expected that participants will focus on issues such as working together to uphold the victorious outcome of the World Anti-Fascist War and the post-war international order, as well as exploring effective ways to resolve conflicts.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Liang Jun)
British people are treating work as an optional extra, a lifestyle choice, almost a hobby.

It is a sudden change, dating in large measure from the lockdowns and our rulers show astonishingly little interest in reversing it.

We can measure the crisis in several ways, all of them shocking. Around 30,000 people a day are being given sick notes. Stop to think about that statistic for a moment; think of its cultural implications.

The number of people claiming incapacity and invalidity benefits is forecast by the Government to go from 3.3million to 4.1million by the end of this parliament. Think about the financial implications.

According to the NHS Confederation, around 60,000 young people are leaving university to go immediately onto long-term sickness benefits. Think about the lost talent.

The fastest rise in sickness benefits is among 25 to 34-year-olds, an incredible increase of 69 per cent in five years. And I do mean incredible, for if some cataclysm had truly disabled that cohort, we would have noticed.

In Birmingham, one in four working-age adults is inactive. Even during the Depression, the proportion never rose so high. Back then, it was seen as the most pressing issue in politics. Now, we barely report it.

This week, to no ones surprise, came news that those who have stayed in work are taking many more sickies than pre-lockdown. The average worker is now taking 9.4 days off a year through ill health as opposed to 5.9 before the pandemic  a huge proportionate increase.

To put that number in context, Americans typically take seven days off, Australians six and New Zealanders five and a half.

Maybe these numbers are connected to our respective growth figures. The US economy is 13 per cent larger than pre-lockdown, Australias 12 and New Zealands 11, but ours just seven per cent.

What has caused this sudden national idleness? Are we a nation of layabouts?

The Tories had renewed their calls for the employment rights Bill that Angela Rayner had championed to be toned down, or even ditched, after she was forced to quit as Deputy PM

No. As Charlie Munger, the famous US investor Warren Buffetts right-hand man, was fond of saying: Show me the incentive and Ill show you the outcome.

In countries where the welfare state is lean and policed, people work. In countries where you can earn as much watching daytime TV as you can stacking shelves, many people choose to stay home.

According to a study by the Centre For Social Justice, Britain is such a country. Indeed, its figures show that, by 2026, it will be possible to earn 2,500 a year more on benefits than working full-time on the minimum wage. Show me the incentive and Ill show you the outcome.

In 2010, the Coalition inherited a culture of worklessness from Gordon Brown and set out to switch the incentives, capping benefits and taking low-paid workers out of income tax.

There was an immediate and tangible impact. A single mum who might work 20 or 25 hours a week would now be appreciably better off. The number of people in long-term unemployment began to tumble.

Then came the pandemic and everything changed. I am generally dubious about attributing a multitude of woes to a single cause but, by Heaven, the lockdowns have a lot to answer for.

Never mind the catastrophic increases in prices, taxes and borrowing that they necessitated. They taught an entire generation that employment was voluntary. A lot of workers who had never before been in contact with the benefits system learnt how easy it was to make claims.

By the time restrictions were eventually lifted, many had settled into a new lifestyle. Even for the dwindling proportion of Britons who have chosen to remain in work, there has been a cultural change. The rise of working from home  as popular with workers as it is unpopular with bosses  has altered assumptions.

Consider the current Tube strike. Before 2020, strikes were seen as an obstacle to overcome, not a reason to stay in bed. You were expected to find another way in to work. Now, for many people, remaining at home is a default.

And where feeling a little under par used never to be seen as a reason to stay off work, the pandemic made it a moral duty.

I remember a TV advert from the 1980s where a man with a bad cold in a railway station kept asking for a tecond claht return to Dottingham. Then he sucks on a Tunes decongestant and is restored. That was the vibe in those days: power through, get to work, dont let a little thing like a cold stop you.

Then lockdown taught us it was anti-social to expose your workmates to the slightest risk of a tickly throat.

I find myself staring at that figure of 9.4 sick days a year and wondering how it is possible. Hand on heart, I dont think I have taken as many as nine days off in the three and a half decades since I started work and I am in no sense unusually healthy. I am writing these words on a train back home, slightly damp, having walked to the further overland station because of the strike.

If youre anywhere near my sort of age (born 1971) you wont find that remotely unusual. But the generation that came of age during or after lockdown seems to be anchored to a different set of assumptions.

Suppose, for the sake of argument, that there was no such thing as statutory sick pay. Suppose it was up to you to negotiate terms with your employer and that, having agreed to work a certain number of days per year, you were not paid for days on which you didnt turn up.

Maybe that sounds harsh. But I have little doubt that we would see a lot less absenteeism. Show me the incentive and Ill show you the outcome.

Now you might protest that I am being heartless. What about people who fall ill or are involved in accidents? Well, at the risk of coming across as the meanest columnist in Britain, why should that be the employers responsibility?

A firm is there to make a profit, which it does by offering its customers things they want. That is good and moral behaviour. It is not, or should not be, the role of an employer to pay people who are not able to come in, any more than it is the employers responsibility to pay unqualified people.

Every past generation has found moral purpose in work. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest, says the Bible. We have made the day for earning your livelihood, says the Quran.

Yet we now have children being brought up in workless households, with no sense that it is normal to go out and earn money. Because children were affected by lockdown just as adults were, school absenteeism has doubled.

And just as most of the incapacity claims are based on mental health problems, mainly anxiety and depression, so are the days off.

It is hard to verify the presence of these conditions. But if, for the sake of argument, there really has been a spike in cases, then in what world is the remedy to leave people languishing at home and deprived of social contact and of any sense of being needed?

If the waste of money doesnt bother you, the waste of lives should.
It is grimly fitting that Charlie Kirk was killed doing what he did best: debating others in public.

Back in May, he visited the United Kingdom to pit his legendary rhetorical skills against the students of Oxford and Cambridge. As an admirer of Anglo-Saxon culture, and the English language, he found himself shocked at how blinkered Britains supposedly brightest young minds had become.

I asked him to write a diary about the experience for the US edition of The Spectator, which I edit. The result was a well-observed, trenchant and funny piece about the state of England. A distressing number of students seem unable to deliver a question without reading it off their phones, wrote Charlie.

Charlie Kirk hands out Make America Great Again hats at Utah Valley University, where he was later shot

'Charlie Kirk believed passionately in free speech and yesterday he was murdered for speaking freely,' writes Freddy Gray

He was struck by one student who seemed preoccupied with the salacious story of Donald Trump and the porn star Stormy Daniels. Dont Brits have their own dumb sex scandals to follow? he asked, baffled. He was also particularly distressed that British students seemed not to care that their country has less free speech than 50 or 100 years ago'.

Away from hallowed halls of Britains most prestigious universities, Charlie found that everybody he met  from drivers and blue-collar workers to journalists and the shockingly large number of people who recognised me in the streets  turned out to be far more engaging that the Oxbridge set. Theyre furious at the Biden-esque levels of immigration inflicted on them by their Conservative government in the past decade... Over and over, they told me they were ready to smash the British party system to bits, he said. The great turn in Britain is coming.

The great turn was Charlie Kirks specialist subject. In 2012, the year Barack Obama was re-elected, he co-founded Turning Point USA, his campaigning organisation for young conservatives who felt a seismic shift to the political Right must happen if America is to thrive again in the 21st century. He proved to be an exceptional networker, and soon raised large sums of money from older conservative donors who desperately hoped Americas youth would embrace conservative values.

He was not, initially, a fan of Donald Trumps 2016 presidential campaign. But he quickly noticed the unstoppable momentum of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, as well as the similarities between what Trump was promising and his own agenda.

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After Trump won, Turning Point soon established itself as the semi-official youth wing for the growth of the MAGA movement. By 2018, the group even had a transatlantic arm, Turning Point UK, which Charlie founded along with the media commentator Candace Owens and her soon-to-be husband George Farmer, the son of Lord Farmer, a Conservative Peer.

Charlie was an evangelical Christian who believed strongly in the Protestant work ethic. Through intense effort, he achieved more in his 31 years than most people do in a lifetime. He transformed Turning Point into a juggernaut; a campus network that stretched across America. He also strove to pull inner city African-American children out of poverty and into better education programmes.

Trump elevated Kirk because he noticed these extraordinarily high energy levels and his ability to connect with people. As Trump put it, in his first tribute to Charlie following his death yesterday: No one understood or had the Heart of Youth in the United of America better than Charlie. In 2024, Kirk played a key role advising Trump and his 2024 election campaign team, as they successfully set about wooing more young voters.

Most of all, perhaps, Kirk excelled at challenging those with whom he disagreed and winning political arguments in front of a crowd. He became most famous of all for doing what he was doing yesterday in Utah Valley University: taking on often antagonistic questions from students in a civilised yet forthright way. In other words, Charlie Kirk believed passionately in free speech and yesterday he was murdered for speaking freely. RIP.

Freddy Gray is the US editor of The Spectator magazine.
Who cannot sympathise with King Charles as he faced the dilemma of whether to meet the Duke of Sussex during his stay in London this week?

Despite all the heartache that he and his wife, Meghan, have put the King through with their public insults, demands and broken confidences Prince Harry is his beloved son. Its only natural that the 76-year-old should want to see him, particularly as he continues his treatment for cancer.

Charles is, however, not only a father but also our monarch, and I worry that he is making a mistake by appeasing Harry after his appalling behaviour towards the Royal Family, in particular to Queen Camilla, who was traduced in the Dukes memoirs, and to Prince William and Catherine.

Ever the diplomat, the Princess of Wales will, no doubt, understand her father-in-laws desire to maintain relations with his youngest son, but it may hurt to hear Harrys PR people crow about the meeting in the days to come.

If Harry does not want to wait another 19 months for his next get-together with his father, there is one thing he must do, courtiers tell me, and it could be his greatest challenge. He has to learn to keep quiet.

The biggest barrier to the resumption of contact with the King was Harrys apparent addiction to publicity. Where as a teenager he found solace in the use of illegal drugs such as cannabis, now Harry seeks comfort moaning and groaning to the BBC or other favoured outlets prepared to feed his now-habit.

The Duke of Sussex must 'learn to keep quiet', courtiers tell Richard Eden

Prince Harry arrives at Clarence House on Wednesday for his first face-to-face meeting with the King in over a year

Never complain, never explain was the unspoken mantra of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth, but Harry loves complaining almost as much as he seeks to explain.

Long before the Duke set off from Los Angeles for this weeks visit to his native Britain, certain journalists were briefed that he hoped to meet his father. Harry had done everything he could to lay the groundwork for a reunion, we were assured. His newly appointed chief communications officer Meredith Maines had even flown over from Los Angeles a couple of months before him to meet the King and Queens communications secretary Tobyn Andreae, a former colleague of mine at the Daily Mail.

It followed a similar briefing before the Kings 75th birthday in 2023 when the BBC was informed by well-placed sources that Harry would contact his father by telephone. Within hours, those same well-placed sources were providing fulsome accounts of the phone call, including such poignant details as Harry and Meghans children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, singing Happy Birthday to the grandfather they had scarcely met.

Harry needs to prove that he can be trusted to keep private conversations private, a royal source told me. How can he expect his family to speak to him if they are worried that what they say might be repeated  or twisted  in the future?

Richard Eden writes: 'I worry that [the King] is making a mistake by appeasing Harry after his appalling behaviour towards the Royal Family, in particular to Queen Camilla, who was traduced in the Dukes memoirs'

His brother knows all too well how the most intimate conversations can be reported and used by Harry and Meghan for their own commercial ends. The Dukes memoir, Spare, is full of recollections of exchanges between him and Prince William and Catherine that they never dreamed would end up in print. The couple have spent a quarter of a century avoiding pesky journalists only to discover one of the people revealing their secrets is a member of their own family.

Royal concerns about the Sussexes public relations drive have, Im told, been heightened by this weeks visit. The decision to announce that Harry had made a substantial donation of 1.1million to BBC Children In Need was seen as crass, particularly as it was made public on the same day that William was visiting a south London youth charity, Spiral Skills, supported by his homeless project Homewards.

The BBC described the donation as a huge amount of money from the personal pocket of Prince Harry. The Corporations senior royal correspondent gushed: What this donation does is reinforce Prince Harrys commitment to the UK and the charities he supports. It roots him here. Will it now also be accompanied by a meeting with his father later this week?

A royal source told me: Members of the Royal Family often make personal donations to charities, but when they do so, they do not boast about the amount given.

There is a danger that Harrys undoubtedly genuine wish to support good causes will end up looking like part of a PR drive to win over the press and public.

The big test of Harrys seriousness about rekindling relations with his family is if we hear details of the reunion at Clarence House over the coming weeks.

And if he is to have any hope of mending fences with William and Catherine, he must apologise to them for his behaviour over recent years, both publicly and privately.
The murder of my friend Charlie Kirk was a very dark day for American democracy. And a dark day too for the cause of free speech in the US and the West, which has lost one of its most tenacious champions.

Charlie was shot dead while speaking at Utah Valley University, doing what he has always done: going to college campuses and courageously taking on the Left, trans activists and anybody opposed to his national conservative views  in reasoned debate, in their own backyard.

Although the gunman remains at large, the shooting has all the hallmarks of a political assassination. Charlie was killed to shut him up: cancel culture, at gunpoint. As President Donald Trump said, he died 'a martyr of truth and freedom'.

I've seen many on both sides of the Atlantic celebrating his assassination on social media. It goes to show the contempt in which they hold truth, freedom and our common humanity today.

I personally mourn the loss of a man with whom I was good friends for over ten years. I have campaigned with Charlie and socialised with him. My thoughts are with his wife Erika and their two young children.

Charlie's loss will be felt deeply by President Trump. The two men were very close. I rarely went to Trump's retreat Mar-a-Lago when Charlie wasn't somewhere nearby. The President has acknowledged his key role in winning the support of young voters, saying: 'No one understood or had the heart of the youth of America better than Charlie.'

I was in Washington DC only last week, being questioned by the House Judiciary Committee. By coincidence, the theme of my talk was free speech and my deep concerns about its repression in the UK.

I spoke about the dangers of the Orwellian Online Safety Act, passed by the Tories and enforced by Labour, which will not make our children any safer online but is a grave threat to free speech for adults. And about the 'hate speech' laws and the crackdown by Britain's thought police, epitomised by the arrest of Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan by five armed police officers at Heathrow Airport last month for posting sarcastic tweets about a transgender campaigner which, they said, amounted to 'harassment and criminal damage'.

The murder of my friend Charlie Kirk was a very dark day for American democracy. And a dark day too for the cause of free speech in the US and the West, writes Nigel Farage

I have not altered my views on free speech one bit after Charlie's murder. It is vital to living in a just and democratic society, writes Nigel Farage

When Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper posted condolences online for Charlie Kirk, many were quick to point out that, had Charlie been in the UK, Labour would probably have had him locked up.

I have not altered my views on free speech one bit after Charlie's murder. It is vital to living in a just and democratic society.

I have always accepted, however  as I thought most people do  that there is just one limit to freedom of speech. And that is when you cross the line from argument and opinion over to incitement to violence.

For years, Charlie's opponents tried to shout him down by falsely branding him a racist, a fascist and a white supremacist. The more he refused to be silenced by their slanders, the wilder their attacks became.

Did they contribute to the febrile atmosphere in which some vile individual thought it was legitimate to stop him talking for good?

If political or media figures launch ad hominem attacks on those they disagree with, repeatedly comparing their opponents to the Nazis or mass murderers, I think the case can be made that this amounts to incitement. After all, why would anybody bother debating reasonably with a Nazi?

Even on Thursday morning, after his murder, I was repulsed to see Left-wing commentator Nels Abbey on Good Morning Britain comparing Charlie to a former leader of the racist Ku Klux Klan, dubbing him 'the David Duke of the TikTok age'.

The persistence of this sort of inflammatory abuse, even in the hours after his murder, raises the troubling question: who's next?

I'm an expert on political abuse. In fact, I'd wager that I have received more of it over the past 15 years than anybody else in this country. As a result, I have had to live behind a shield of security since 2013. I understand why some in politics shy away from public appearances.

For the most part, I accept that this is part of the rough and tumble of public life. As I told the Democrat members of the House committee hurling insults at me last week, I don't care what they level at me: it's their freedom of speech.

Sometimes it goes too far. Just this week, the leading Left-wing MP John McDonnell called the party I lead, Reform UK, 'proto-fascist' and labelled me a 1930s-style 'demagogue'. As the headlines succinctly put it, he 'compared Farage to Hitler'. Call me Hitler once if you want, if it makes you feel better. Though it is generally a sign that you have lost the argument.

But  and this is the crucial part  if you invoke such comparisons repeatedly and make it part of mainstream political discourse, you could be stirring up anger and hatred that could lead to dire consequences.

There is something that leading politicians can do to temper the debate.

All of us  from all ends of the political spectrum  need to recognise that with our freedom to speak and our opportunity to be listened to, there comes great responsibility.

Of course, anyone is free to insult me or my party. But our political debate would be healthier if we could stick to honestly debating principles and policies, not attacking personalities  something the Left's hero Tony Benn firmly believed in.

And it needs to be a level playing field. For too long, the Left  often aided by the authorities  have tried to censor and silence those on the conservative and patriotic wing of politics. Cancel culture must come to an end and we must fight our battles with ideas instead.

Charlie Kirk should be a symbol of how to achieve this. He believed in free speech so fiercely that he braved the lion's dens of Left-wing campuses, not just to trade insults with woke students but to take on their arguments in reasoned debate. In the wake of his heinous assassination, we must not retreat into our political silos, hurling unfounded, sordid accusations at those we disagree with.

Charlie was shot wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the word 'Freedom'. Let that be his legacy.
When it comes to reiki, horoscopes, manifesting my dreams and reading tarot cards - sign me up!

But I've never been one to buy into crystals or believe the idea that someone can really 'talk to the dead'. Come on.

I'd like to think I'm a rational person, somewhat practical, grounded, and probably too cynical for my own good sometimes (but that could be because I'm unapologetically English).

So, when I booked in to see David Stevens, aka 'David The Medium' - one of Australia's most in-demand psychics with a year-long waitlist (and touring soon) - I went in armed with a healthy dose of side-eye.

To set the scene, David had flown into Sydney from his base in Melbourne and was taking appointments in the bougie surrounds of the Capella Hotel in the CBD.

David himself is petite in stature, impeccably polite and graceful, the kind of person who makes you feel instantly at ease. Still, I wasn't about to be charmed.

My plan was simple - say as little as possible, give nothing away, and watch for the classic 'tricks of the trade' I was convinced would come.

I should add here that my social media is no open book. No way was I letting any telling information out before we met.

I love reiki, horoscopes, and reading tarot cards, but I've never believe the idea that someone can really 'talk to the dead'

I'd like to think I'm a rational person, somewhat practical, grounded, and probably too cynical sometimes, but I wanted to be proved wrong - so I booked in for a reading with one of Australia's most famous psychics when he visited Sydney

My public Instagram account is strictly beauty content (think lipstick reviews, serums and the odd hair and makeup tutorial) - there is nothing about my family, my relationship or my personal life.

And my Facebook is locked down tighter than Fort Knox - in other words, if David was about to wow me, it wouldn't be because he'd done a quick online stalk.

Then, within 45 seconds (yes, I checked the voice recording on my phone), he floored me.

He reeled off the names of a few of my siblings: Tom, his wife Ruby, my sister Lauren, as well as their personality traits and how many children they had.

He also knew my mother Sue's name. And then, casually, he told me my late grandmother Joyce was present.

He didn't just pluck 'Joyce' out of thin air either; according to him he got there via a bizarre but strangely accurate pop culture reference.

'The spirit is showing me Buffy the Vampire Slayer's mother her name is Joyce, right?' Sure enough, Joyce was my grandmother, who passed away several years ago.

It didn't stop there; he went on to say Tom was named after his 'heroic great-grandfather', who had a military connection.

When I walked in to see David Stevens, aka ' David The Medium ' (pictured) - who has a year-long waitlist and is the go-to 'psychic to the stars' - I was armed with a healthy dose of side-eye

Then, within 45 seconds, he floored me. He reeled off the names of my siblings (three out of four pictured), my mum, her cancer battle, my dead grandmother and even details of my childhood Border Collie, Ben

David said he could 'see a man saluting,' as if Tom's name carried a legacy of service. Which is correct.

My jaw was already on the floor when he casually mentioned a family dog bounding into the room of his vision - my childhood Border Collie, Ben.

How on earth did he know about Ben? I hadn't thought of him in years, and yet there he was, still 'guarding' us, apparently from the other side.

Now, if you're rolling your eyes, trust me, I get it. I went in expecting vague platitudes and generic guesses that could apply to anyone.

But these details? They were uncannily specific on every count. And while I tried not to let it show, part of me was impressed.

The reading then moved into even more personal territory.

David spoke about my partner - yes, 'the hot tradie' (guilty as charged) - and told me our relationship was built on solid ground. Phew. But hey, I did already know that

David spoke about my partner - yes, 'the hot tradie' (guilty as charged) - and told me our relationship was built on solid ground. Phew. But hey, I did already know that.

He described him as having 'anchored Melbourne energy', which made me laugh because he's constantly homesick for Victoria.

Apparently, kids are also in the picture 'at least one', David said with certainty.

I'll admit, I felt oddly reassured hearing that, even though I've never considered myself particularly maternal.

When it came to my career, David seemed to hit on things I hadn't even said aloud, and that threw me again.

He talked about the big job shift I'd made earlier this year (again, not an industry secret in the slightest, but keep reading), how it's been both exciting and overwhelming, and how the next six months would feel like 'falling without knowing where you'll land'.

He stressed that my passion for beauty and wellness would open major doors, name-dropping a specific idol of mine as a kind of mentor figure in the industry.

When it came to my career, David seemed to hit on things I hadn't even said aloud, and that threw me again. 'Major doors are also opening' for me in October, apparently. Let us all pray...or should I say manifest?

By October, he said, I'd be 'handed opportunities that could shape my career' if I stayed focused and refused to take on 'side quests' that didn't align with my goals.

Funnily enough, exactly a week later my bestie in the industry sent me a job on Seek with the words, 'OMG, you'd be perfect for this!' I promptly replied, 'thanks, but no thanks'.

There were very emotional moments too, and even the sceptic in me was reduced to blubbering tears.

He spoke about my mum's health, and how 'the Spirit' insisted I didn't need to carry that weight of constant worry and went on to specify it stemmed from her cancer diagnosis nine years prior.

Another odd coincidence: my mum's recent health checks confirmed exactly that  she got cleared with a perfect bill of health for her age.

I felt like a tonne of bricks had been lifted.

By the end of the hour, I was somewhere between mystified, comforted, and annoyed at myself for not being able to pick apart his 'method.'

The sceptic in me wants to hold tight to logic, but there's now a part of me that heard things I can't unhear - even the sceptic in me was reduced to blubbering tears in parts. Pictured: David and I at the end of our hour-long chat

I'd honestly gone in wanting to debunk him, but instead, I left with goosebumps and more than a few things to think about.

David insisted that everyone has the capacity for intuition, and that we all ignore the nudges of our own inner voice.

I guess I've experienced certain 'unexplainable' knowledge and pre-empted scenarios in the past, but I've always put it down to coincidence or random luck.

David doesn't use tarot or astrology, but just his own energy, tuning in to what he calls 'the Spirit'.

It's either the most extraordinary gift or the best-kept performance trick I've ever seen.

So, do I believe now? Honestly, yes I do.

The sceptic in me wants to hold tight to logic, but there's now a part of me that heard things I can't unhear.

Like my grandmother's name and whole personality described, my childhood dog perfectly depicted, and my brother's military namesake all coming out of a complete stranger's mouth.

Let's just say I'll be keeping an open mind from now on.
Josh Shinner, from Yorkshire, is one of the royals' most trusted photographers

One of Prince William and Kate's most trusted photographers has revealed his favourite photo that he's ever captured of the royal family - and gave a sweet insight into their relationship.

Josh Shinner, from Yorkshire, has spent the last two years recording the Wales family's most cherished moments - including the Father's Day tribute to William in June, and Prince George's 12th birthday portrait in July.

With many moments from his time behind the lens to choose from, it's no surprise that his favourite photo of all was incredibly heartwarming.

This week, Josh took to Instagram to share a black-and-white photo of Prince William, 43, in the middle of a cuddle puddle with Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven, piled on top of him.

The heir to the throne could be seen laughing under the beaming faces of his and the Princess of Wales's children as they lay on a patch of grass and daffodils.

The image was first shared on the Wales's official social media accounts in June to mark Father's Day, alongside a second image that showed the royal's children, all sporting cosy dusky green ensembles, beaming as they face the camera with William's hands are affectionately on his kids' shoulders.

In the caption, Josh gave royal fans and insight into how the Wales family act around each other when out of the public spotlight, saying it was a 'joyful and spontaneous' moment.

He wrote: 'Its been a real privilege to photograph the Prince and Princess of Wales over the last couple of years, and this might be my favourite shot to date.

(L-R) The Prince of Wales, Prince George, Prince Louis, the Princess of Wales, and Princess Charlotte have entrust photographer Josh Shinner with capturing some of their most cherished moments over the last couple of years

'Just a really joyful and spontaneous moment that Im so happy to have been there for.'

Josh also snapped the official photograph of Prince Louis to mark his seventh birthday in April as well as the the portrait of Kate Middleton released to celebrate her 43rd birthday in April.

He first worked with the Waleses in 2023, when he captured the family portrait for their Christmas card that year, and has been shooting them ever since.

Fans adored the cuddly snap of William, George, Charlotte and Louis, with many people commenting with love hearts and heart-eye emojis.

Even celebrities such as Florence Pugh, who has previously worked with Josh, and Eleanor Tomlinson liked the photo on Instagram.

Fellow royal photographer Matt Porteous praised his colleague and said: 'Such a beautiful image Josh.'

'Beautiful moment of such a lovely family,' one person wrote.

Another said: 'Love this... great natural shot of happy children and loving father.'

Josh revealed that the Wales family are 'joyful and spontaneous' behind the scenes. Pictured for Trooping The Colour in June

A third added that it was a 'perfect family photo', while other fans described the image as 'stunning' and 'precious'.

As well as photographing William and Kate and their three children, Josh is also known for working with celebrities like Andrew Scott, Will Sharpe and Naomi Ackie, and conducting photo shoots for Harper's Bazaar, Vogue and Esquire, among other titles.

The image comes after the Prince and Princess of Wales appeared at the national federation of the Women's Institute (WI) in Sunningdale, Ascot, where they paid tribute to the late Queen on the third anniversary of her death.

Over tea and cake, William heard stories of the late Queen and said that he 'can't believe it has been three years' since the death of his grandmother.

The late Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8, 2022. The Duke of Sussex was understood to have visited her grave on Monday to pay tribute, but has not seen William or other members of the royal family.

During his engagement at the WI, William also spoke warmly of his children, describing Louis as 'a character but he's a very good boy' and adding: 'He likes to wind his brother and sister up.'

When it was pointed out that George appeared to be the sensible one, the prince smiled and replied: 'When George is behind closed doors it's completely different. George just knows how to behave.'

He added, by way of explanation, that there was 'five years difference' between his two sons.

Today, Kate, 43, wore a stunning ensemble as she stepped out to 'celebrate the unique skill, creativity and craftsmanship' of British creative industries

Meanwhile, Prince Harry has been carrying a number of engagements on his own in the UK, including attending the WellChild Awards and the Community Recording Studio (CRS) in Nottingham.

Yesterday, Harry and his father King Charles had a long-awaited reconciliation at Clarence House.

The Duke of Sussex said of the Monarch 'Yes hes great, thank you,' when asked about the face-to-face meeting during a reception for the Invictus Games, which he launched in 2014 as a tournament for injured service personnel and veterans.

Appearing relaxed, smiling and upbeat, Harry mingled with corporate sponsors and government ministers as he attended the event in The Gherkin, London, ahead of a speech outlining the next 10 years of his Invictus movement.

Harry, 40, arrived at the event 40 minutes later than planned after travelling directly from a private tea with the Monarch, which lasted for 55 minutes. It was their first meeting in 19 months since the Duke flew to the UK to see Charles in February 2024.

He was spotted being driven into the royal residence in a black Range Rover at 5.20pm before leaving in the same car at around 6.15pm.

Harry, who has been a patron of WellChild for 17 years, also announced a 1.1million donation to BBC Children in Need.

Harry opened up parenting in an interview with Hello! Magazine and admitted that 'everything changes' as he reflected on becoming a father to Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four.

Speaking of the WellChild Awards, he added: 'It's emotional enough not being a parent and seeing what these families go through, but then when you have your own kids or when you're expecting your own kids, that's when it really hits you.'
Molly-Mae Hague is 'strategically' aligning herself with a 'different calibre' of celebrity, like Prince Harry, to move away from her Love Island persona, a branding expert has revealed - as he compared her to the Duchess of Sussex.

'Like Meghan, she is navigating the tension between being self-made and desiring acceptance within elite social spaces,' Chad Teixeira told the Daily Mail.

'Molly-Mae may not have royal ties, but she's clearly attempting to build a brand that's more than commercial deals, one rooted in cultural relevance and legacy, it's a clever way to ensure longevity in her career.'

The influencer, who soared to fame after appearing on series five of the dating show in 2019, has gone from small-time social media content to a chic mansion, 'quiet luxury' brand and a British Vogue cover.

It's not the only hint of her tilt towards the socialite scene, with the star - now a mother to two-year-old Bambi - also sporting a Birkin bag and Patek Philippe watch as she noted comparisons between herself and Princess Diana.

Most recently, Molly-Mae looked chic in a black suit as she rubbed shoulders with Prince Harry at the star-studded WellChild Awards held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel on Monday night.

Chad said the public image pivot is all pointing towards 'a more elevated, aspirational space'.

'By aligning herself with a quiet luxury aesthetic, understated styling, muted tones, and polished appearances, she's leaning into the same codes we see in aristocratic and royal-adjacent circles,' he explained.

Molly-Mae is 'strategically' aligning herself with a 'different calibre' of celebrity, like Prince Harry , to move away from her Love Island persona, a branding expert has revealed - as he compared her to the Duchess of Sussex

'It's a calculated shift from influencer to something more enduring.'

The publicist recalled the social media star's Vogue interview in which - when remarked on her split from ex-fiance Tommy Fury, who now appears to be back in her life - she quipped: 'People were saying, 'it's Princess Diana and Charles'. But more on that later.'

'This wasn't accidental,' he continued. 'It was a done to purposely plant a narrative seed, positioning them not just as another celebrity couple but as a modern-day fairytale romance with public intrigue.

'Now, with Molly-Mae turning up at the same events as Prince Harry, she is strategically placing herself within proximity of a different calibre of celebrity.'

If not channeling Duchess herself - as she touts As Ever-esque aesthetics - Chad shared, there is certainly a case for Molly-Mae's aspirations as a 'royal-adjacent socialite archetype'.

'Molly-Mae has the reach and audience to blur the lines between influencer and traditional high society,' he said.

'She's moving from the fast-fashion world she once dominated into a subtler, more commanding narrative.

'Whether or not the public fully buys into her new positioning will depend on consistency and credibility but there's no doubt she's making her shift clear.'

If not channeling Duchess herself - as she touts As Ever-esque aesthetics - Chad shared, there is certainly a case for Molly-Mae's aspirations as a 'royal-adjacent socialite archetype'

Molly-Mae Hague looked chic in a black suit as she rubbed shoulders with Prince Harry at the star-studded WellChild Awards held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel on Monday night

It comes as, earlier this month, Molly-Mae shared struggles over balancing her work and raising Bambi in a YouTube vlog.

The businesswoman and ex Love Islander, 26, - who has a reported net worth of 6million - said she was finding it hard being a mother and focusing on her career.

'Bambi's at nursery today so I have a bit of "me time", I'm so excited,' she shared.

'I've had the most mental week. Life at the minute is like I can't every single day Fran [Molly's manager] will send me my schedule and I'll look at it and I'm just like, "Ok, so at what point in the day do I come up to breathe? Oh, that's right, I don't".'

Molly continued: 'Every Friday we try and leave it free in my diary, sometimes it doesn't happen. But because Bambi's at nursery we can't book shoots or meetings just in case I get a call.

'If Tommy's busy and I get a call asking me to pick her up, I can't be away or on a shoot or something where I can't leave.

'So as much as nursery's great, for me, it's not like definite childcare because they could call me and say they need picking up.'

It comes after last month she insisted she will keep posting about motherhood to help others despite suffering fierce backlash from trolls online.Molly

Molly-Mae has leaned into a 'quiet luxury' style, sporting pieces which are comparable to those donned by Meghan

Elevated classics and glamour have been the go-tos for both Molly-Mae and the Duchess of Sussex

By attending the same event as Prince Harry, Chad said, it's possible Molly-Mae is trying to reposition herself

It's not the only hint of her tilt towards the socialite scene, with the star (pictured with Tommy Fury in 2020) - now a mother to two-year-old Bambi - also sporting a Birkin bag and Patek Philippe watch as she noted comparisons between herself and Princess Diana

Chad said the public image pivot is all pointing towards 'a more elevated, aspirational space'. Molly-Mae pictured with Tommy when she was pregnant

The star regularly shares vlogs sharing her experience with parenting their daughter Bambi, two, but her more recent videos have caused a stir.

And in another recent post, she and Tommy packed on the PDA for the first time since their split. The pair were known for sharing all aspects of their relationship online, including their engagement back in July 2023.

However, since their break-up in August 2024, the boxer hadn't appeared in Molly's vlogs, with the influencer explaining she preferred to keep their relationship private as they worked on their reconciliation.

Yet in one of Molly's latest vlogs, the couple shared a passionate smooch as she drove to the airport to drop Tommy off ahead of his triathlon.

Filmed before Molly knew she was going to fly to France with Bambi to surprise Tommy, Molly joked: 'I'll hold down the fort with the child.'

The pair locked lips before both gushing 'I love you', before Tommy swooped in for a second kiss as he opened his mouth wide.

Later in the vlog Molly filmed herself flying off to France in her private jet as she surprised Tommy at the finish line of his 62-mile triathlon.

Asking Tommy how he felt about her and Bambi surprising him he gushed: 'Honestly I thought I was probably hallucinating.

The influencer, who soared to fame after appearing on series five of the dating show in 2019, has gone from small-time social media content to a chic mansion, 'quiet luxury' brand and a British Vogue cover

Molly-Mae's own clothing line Maebe appears to hark at the dreamy yet glam aesthetics of Meghan's As Ever

The star regularly shares vlogs sharing her experience with parenting their daughter Bambi, two, but her more recent videos have caused a stir

Chad Teixeira (pictured) told the Daily Mail that Molly-Mae's tilt towards the socialite scene is'strategic'

'When I touched you I thought "OMG, you are actually here." That was the highlight of this whole event, by a mile.'

It's been a busy start to the week for Molly, who last night was among the many A-listers at the award show also attended by the Duke of Sussex.

Harry has returned to the UK this week for a series of engagements, raising questions about whether he had plans to see his father, King Charles, and brother Prince William, during the trip.

The WellChild Awards celebrates the inspirational qualities of the UK's seriously ill children, and the professionals who help care for them.

William's brother touched down at Heathrow Airport on Monday, but has made the transatlantic trip on his own.

Harry's trip to the UK, which includes four days of official engagements, will be his longest since he and Meghan visited in 2022 when Queen Elizabeth II died.

The Duke was last in the UK in April when he lost his legal challenge over the level of security protection he receives from the government while he is in Britain - after he and Meghan stepped down as working royals and moved to California in 2020.

Harry was appealing a ruling dismissing his challenge to the level of police protection he receives in the UK - but Judge Sir Geoffrey Vos ruled the Duke's 'sense of grievance' did not 'translate into a legal argument'.

Buckingham Palace is remaining tight-lipped on whether the King, who is currently at his Scottish residence in Birkhall, will meet his estranged son for the first time in 19 months.

But recently there have been signs that the fractured relationship is easing and that a reconciliation could be within reach.

The father and son last met in February 2024, when Harry flew to the UK after it was announced that Charles had been diagnosed with cancer.

Prince William, who has taken a much firmer line on rekindling relations with his brother, has official engagements elsewhere on every day of Harry's visit.
Commuters at Mile End station had been waiting for a Central Line train

Londoners have been left baffled after a train filled with 'coal' turned up while they were waiting for an Underground train.

Commuters waiting at Mile End station to catch the Central Line this week were in for an unexpected surprise - as railway action on the London Underground caused travel chaos across the capital.

Instead of the usual tube carriages, they were met with a long yellow train pulling carriages filled with what appeared to be coal.

Amelia, who was travelling into the city, wrote on TikTok: 'Waiting for the central line and 9 thousand charcoals show up instead.'

It is believed the video was filmed on Sunday, when limited services ran ahead of widespread disruption this week.

Her video racked up more than 900,000 views, with people comparing the sight to something from 'Victorian times'.

One person asked: 'Is this what happens during tube strikes?!?'

'Miner delays on the central line,' one person joked, while Specsavers commented: 'Central Heating Line.'

Londoners have been left baffled after a train filled with 'coal' turned up while they were waiting for an Underground train

Others said: 'Hahahah literally travelled past this in Mile End tonight - a bunch of TfL staff sat on my tube started fangirling over it';

'Mate as if these tube prices arent high enough. Gotta be shovelling our own coal an everything now.'

One train fan, however, was quick to set the record straight. They wrote: 'Looks like a ballast train, likely either bringing old ballast from an engineering works site or bringing new ballast to an engineering works site.

'Not sure how often they run but haven't seen many videos of them like this!'

The London Underground has a stock of trains to distribute ballast through open wagons - which TfL has since confirmed was in the videos shared online.

According to TfL, the tracks are made up of ballast, which supports the sleepers, which then support the rails.

The ballast helps to hold the track in place, and also provides drainage.

As the Underground network is 150 years old and is used by millions of passengers every year, it requires regular maintenance.

Instead of the usual tube carriages, they were met with a long yellow train pulling carriages filled with what appeared to be coal

This week, passengers are facing travel misery across the capital this week as members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) walk out of their 72,000-a-year jobs, bringing the London Underground to a halt.

Thousands of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union are taking industrial action this week in a dispute over pay and hours.

While some Tube staff stand on the picket line, workers in London are packing onto buses, boats, bikes and trains amid gridlocked traffic and cycle lane closures.

Londoners have tried to board buses that were so full the doors could not shut - with huge numbers waiting at stops and for Overground trains, which are still running.

Downing Street on Tuesday said Londoners would 'rightly be fed up' of the strikes - but declined to comment on whether there should be more automation of the Tube network to prevent the prospect of further disruptive strikes in the future.

Even Prince Harry was caught up in the chaos when he was delayed by traffic in the capital on Tuesday on his way to visit a community recording studio in Nottingham.

A strike was also held by RMT members on Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in a separate dispute.

Among the stations in chaos was Clapham Junction in South London, where swarms of workers were seen attempting to board an extremely busy rail service into the city.

Her video racked up more than 900,000 views, with people comparing the sight to something from 'Victorian times'

The Elizabeth line, which is also still running, has also been overwhelmed with people amid the Tube network shutdown, with queues forming out of the station exits.

Transport for London (TfL) have issued a 'severe delays' alert on the Elizabeth line - spelling potential further trouble after a 31 per cent rise in passengers on Monday.

TfL has also confirmed the Northern line returned to operation with 'minor delays'; while the Piccadilly line was running between Rayners Lane and Hammersmith and between Arnos Grove and Cockfosters only - with no service on the rest of the line.

But No10 dodged saying whether there should be more automation of the Tube network in order to prevent the prospect of further disruptive strikes in the future.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'Londoners will rightly be fed up yet again today as they face disruption on the way to work, on the way to dropping their kids off at school, on the way to hospital and GP appointments.

'That's why we want to see, in the immediate term, RMT and TfL get back around the table and work to resolve this situation. When it comes to running the transport network, that's obviously a matter for TfL.

'The PM's own approach to Government and public services is absolutely to adopt technology in order to deliver better public services and reduce costs to the taxpayer.'

RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey called on London's Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan to intervene in the disputes.

Another commuter also filmed the train, writing: 'The one time I needed to use the (smelly) Central Line'

'There has been a total collapse of industrial relations on London Underground,' he said.

Mr Dempsey said that as well as strikes on the Tube and DLR, disputes were looming over the pay and conditions of cleaners as well as the future of ticket offices on the Elizabeth Line.

Transport for London says there are no plans to close ticket offices despite claims by the RMT that it has uncovered plans to shut them.

Mr Dempsey said: 'The mayor has to intervene. He keeps telling us to return to the negotiating table - well, if he invites us to a meeting, we will attend.

'Our members are not asking for a king's ransom. We want progress towards recognition about the impact of shift work.

'We are not asking for an immediate drop from a 35-hour week to 32. We have been discussing this since 2018 and we are open to discussions.'

Amid the travel chaos, it has been revealed by the The Telegraph that the strikers' demands include a so-called Priv travel card which would grant them cheap tickets and discounts to theme parks such as Legoland, Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventures.

Passengers wait to enter London Liverpool Street station for Elizabeth line services today

Cyclists make their way to work in London this morning during the ongoing Tube strike

It would also see them given discounts at Cadbury World and the London Eye, as well as guided tours at Buckingham Palace and a drag-themed party night in Soho.

The Conservative transport spokesman at City Hall, Keith Prince, said Londoners will not take kindly to seeing the city 'brought to its knees' so union members can 'go on rollercoasters'.

He said: 'The RMT has brought the capital to its knees to demand discounted theme park tickets and an extra day off a week.

'It's a joke  Londoners work hard for the things they want and if the RMT thinks they're going to hold the city to ransom for a go on the rollercoasters then they'll find out very quickly how little Londoners support them to do so.

'This crisis cannot go on  where is the Mayor, and where is his leadership at this crucial time for our city?'

The card also gives its holders 75 per cent off mainline train tickets outside of London, and grants two-for-one access to multiple tourist locations across the country.

If granted, this would come on top of the existing benefits Tube drivers receive which entitle their loved ones to travel for free across the entire London public transport system.

A union source told the newspaper that 'travel concessions are varied' and 'trips to Legoland don't form part of any negotiation'.
When she was asked to try her hand at fabric printing, the Princess of Wales didnt stand on ceremony today.

Shrugging off her jacket and donning an apron, she even scooped her long hair up effortlessly into a bun - remarkably without the help of a mirror or hairband - before getting stuck into the job in hand.

Catherine, 43, was visiting Marina Mill in Cuxton, Kent, a British family business that specialises in hand-designing and screen-printing furnishing fabrics.

They supply dozens of royal homes - from Buckingham Palace to Clarence House to Highgrove, and even the Prince and Princess of Wales themselves - and are world- renowned for the quality of their fabrics, as well as the fact that they still do everything by hand.

Its very trusting of you, laughed the princess, who asked personally to visit because of her passion to highlight the importance of the British textile industry, as she was shown a silk screen printing press and a tub of bright yellow paint.

Please not this one. Its too beautiful!

Taking off the jacket of her stylish checked suit, she put on a black apron and listened intently as workers Sam and Adam showed her how to transfer the colour from the screen, which had been engraved with a stunning floral pattern, onto the fabric by pushing through the coloured dye using a squeegee.

Its a real labour of love, she remarked. Do you have to do things in a particular order?

The Princess of Wales showed off her crafty side as she got into making prints while visiting textile factories this afternoon

She leaned over and helped place the heavy screen on the table over the material and then waited as Adam pushed the squeegee towards her.

She then picked it up half way and completed the sweep, before catching some more paint on it and pushing it back to him.

Concentrating heavily, she asked a few questions about where she should place her hands and appeared delighted when she pulled it off without a mistake.

She then helped Adam carry the screen down to the next segment of fabric, repeating the exercise three times.

Apologising for her nervousness, Adam asked her: Do you want the radio on?

Does it become second nature and you dont actually think about it?, the princess asked, giving the squeegee a wiggle.

Impressive, she was told.

So Ive passed, thats good! She replied.

The royal, 43, put Britain's creative industry in the spotlight with a visit to a family-run weaving firm that has been creating jacquard fabrics for more than 300 years - before making her way to another manufacturer in Kent

Thank you very much, its great to see. Just the time it takes not only to do the artwork, it really is a labour of love. You can really see it. The customer must really appreciate that. The quality of the work.

Mr Rawkins told her after customers came and saw what was involved for the first time, they never balked at the cost - which is upwards of 100 a metre.

Its like knowing where your food comes from, she said.

The consumer really wants to know how their product is made and when it comes through artistry such as this, a UK company. Its fantastic to see.

She added: When you see everything on this scale, its extraordinary.

Asked whether she had ever tried anything like this before, she said she had done some very basic screen printing at school - but nothing like this. This is a step up. I loved doing that, she said.

Afterwards she was told they wanted to gift the fabric to her - no doubt to hang in her new home, Forest Lodge in Windsor. Well thats really very kind of you, she said.

Mr Rawkinss daughter, Tandine Rawkins, is now the companys design director, while her brother, Guy, is managing director.

Tandine and the princess chatted enthusiastically as she was shown some of the incredible artwork she has designed.

And never one to shy away from getting stuck in, Kate got to work at the Marina Mill in Cuxton by pushing coloured dyes through an engraved silk-screen using a squeegee

She showed Catherine a piece of late 18th century material she had been asked to faithfully recreate, which she does by hand tracing.

Wow! What amazing talent. Its extraordinary, she said.

The princess spoke repeatedly about her own passion for textiles and her determination to ensure people know more about British craftsmanship and heritage.

Its really something to see these craft skills still being used, especially for the younger generation, she said.

Being able to come here and really shine a spotlight on this work

And she spoke of her admiration at how Keith Rawkins, 83, who founded the business in 1967, had handed it down to his children, as well as having several generations of the same families work for him.

Before she left she was shown how the printed material is baked - and was told her own fabric would undergo the process before being sent on.

Mr Rawkins said afterwards: Her personal secretary knew she was passionate about British textiles and asked if she could visit us. We are quite incredulous that it has happened. We are inundated with work anyway, but it is so lovely to have the recognition.

With an apron at hand and her hair tied up, the mother-of-three was careful as she followed instructions, delighting in the new skill

Good things will come of this, we know. She has said she wants to do more things with us. Its going to be hugely positive.

'We work with a lot of the interior designers who work with the Royal Familys houses, often through English Heritage.

'We did two things for the late Queen in the drawing room at Windsor Castle. We have been doing this for a long, long time.

Speaking about the Princesss print techniques he added: She was the best. She was amazing. To say and do what she has done today in front of the cameras was very special. Shes clearly done a lot of homework.

Pushing the squeegee is hard because the blade grabs the screen, it wont move. You have to have a very light hand and not push too hard. And she did that brilliantly.'

Kate, while there, also spent time with Design Director Tandine Rawkins's free-hand sketch work, and marvelled at her pieces, praising the 'artistry' of the industry.

'It's nice to know that you work well together,' she could be heard saying during the visit. 'It's so lovely to see all these businesses, like yourselves, really thriving here in the UK.'

'It did take them sixty years to thrive,' one joked in reply, which had the royal in stitches.

Established in 1967, the production, based near the Medway River, is known for its 'artisan craftsmanship'

The Princess had kicked her day off with a tour of Sudbury Silk Mills, a Suffolk-based firm employing more than 100 staff.

It produces cloth for top fashion houses, interior designers, and heritage institutions.

She look at the design studio, where she was shown how historic archive patterns inspire modern designs, before moving onto the weaving floor to see traditional looms and state-of-the-art machinery in action.

She was welcomed by Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, William and Kate's former private secretary and top aide, now Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk.

Staff said the Princess spent time speaking with everyone she met, sharing words of encouragement and praising the skill involved in producing such high-quality fabrics.

Steven Harris, head of production, recalled the Princess spotting a detail on a piece of fabric and saying, 'You've got the job.' She added: 'You've got to have an eye for detail,' highlighting the precision and care required in the craft.

During the visit, she spoke with account manager Beth Humes, 35, emphasising that artisan skills are 'still vitally important' and describing the 'Made in the UK' hallmark as a global symbol of excellence.

She also met designers Mae Littleton, 30, and Lucy Spendlove, 28, praising their work as 'magical and wonderful' as she watched sketches and patterns transform into finished fabrics.

Kate there also spend time with Design Director Tandine Rawkins's free-hand sketch work, and marvelled at her pieces, praising the 'artistry' of the industry

The Princess, pictured at the Kent-based firm, had kicked her day off with a tour of Sudbury Silk Mills, a Suffolk-based firm employing more than 100 staff

She also got to take a look at the printing room, and even took part in screen-printing a design by pushing coloured dyes through an engraved silk-screen using a squeegee

Textiles are a personal passion for the Princess, whose paternal ancestors once owned William Lupton & Co, a woollen manufacturer in Leeds.

Palace aides noted her long-standing commitment to the sector and its cultural importance, pointing out that she has previously visited mills in Leeds, Lancaster, and South Wales to champion British craftsmanship.

Palace officials said the day was about 'celebrating British creativity and craftsmanship' and highlighting the skills that keep the UK's textile industry thriving, from centuries-old weaving techniques to modern design innovation.

Before she left she collected flowers from local school children who had waited to see her. The Princess asked, 'What's it like to go back to school?'

Tilly Chapel, nine, said, 'It was amazing to meet her. My family will be so jealous. I told her it was great to be back at school.'

Elsewhere, another nine-year-old, Arthur Gilligan, added: 'I was really excited I never thought I'd meet a royal person.'

It's not the first time the royal has shown an interest in the world of textiles, having visited a South Wales manufacturer earlier this year and going to chat to factories in Leeds and Lancaster in 2023.

Today, the Princess was the image of elegance in a fitted 1,370 suit as she made the visits - as her brother-in-law Prince Harry is today set to leave the UK following a landmark meeting with King Charles; their first in 19 months.

Pictured: The Princess of Wales looking at a screen print during a visit to Marina Mill in Cuxton today

Kate pictured during a visit to Marina Mill in Cuxton, Kent, a family business that specialises in hand designing and screen-printing furnishing fabric

Kate (pictured) enjoyed deep a conversation with staff as she visited the Kent-based firm this afternoon

The small team of nine people at Marina Mill, which was established in 1967, is known for its artisan craftsmanship

Kate there spend time with Design Director Tandine Rawkins's free-hand sketch work, and marvelled at her pieces, praising the 'artistry' of the industry

She also got to take a look at the printing room, where she will even take part in screen-printing a design by pushing coloured dyes through an engraved silk-screen using a squeegee

After leaving Suffolk, the Princess headed to Marina Mill in Cuxton, Kent, a smaller family business specialising in hand-designed and screen-printed fabrics, to continue her tour of the nation's textile sector

The royal, pictured during the visit today, was the image of elegance as she sported a suit and heels

Kate was the image of elegance in a fitted suit with what is understood to be a Prince of Wales print

Kate showed off her bronde tresses as she made the visit this morning - with her hair styled in waves

The Princess of Wales opted for chic stiletto heels as she attended the textile manufacturers this morning

Swarms of wellwishers could be seen crowding around the manufacturer for Kate's visit this afternoon

Outside, she was greeted by scores of children from the local Saint Gregory's Primary School, who cheered and waved Union Flags as she arrived

The Princess of Wales chatted with adorable wellwishers as she stopped for a conversation with some children after the visit

Kate smiled as she spoke with kids after wrapping up her first visit of the day, in Suffolk, this afternoon

The Princess also enjoyed chatting with supporters as she left her first engagement of the afternoon

The Princess of Wales pictured today during a visit to Sudbury Silk Mills in Sudbury after the event

The Princess, pictured, posed for a group photo with the staff at Sudbury Silk Mills this afternoon

The Princess of Wales pictured during her visit to the Sudbury Silk Mills in Sudbury this afternoon

Kate was the image of elegance in a chic blazer as she visited two textile firms this afternoon

The Princess opted for minimal jewellery and wore her blonde tresses in loose waves for the outing

Kate visited the designers and also got to speak with the operators on the weaving floor, and see the looms for herself - before then taking in the quality process and final inspections

Kate, pictured, looked impressed as she took in the fabrics and textiles at the manufacturers today

The royal looked to be in high spirits as she got to take a look at the materials on display this afternoon

Kate, pictured, opted for a simple leather belt and black jumper to let the print do most of the talking

Kate, 43, wore a stunning ensemble as she stepped out to 'celebrate the unique skill, creativity and craftsmanship' of British creative industries

Kate opted for a sophisticated sartorial display as she arrived for the engagement this afternoon

Her first stop was at the family-run Sudbury Silk Mills, known for its jacquard weaving, which has been going for more than 300 years

It also aims to highlight the nation's rich heritage in the trade, as the royal's own paternal ancestors were the owners of the woollen manufacturer and merchant, William Lupton & Co, which was based in Leeds

Kate showed off her sense of style as she donned a grey trouser suit during the visit this morning

The look was perfectly autumnal, as the Princess teamed a black jumper with a patterned blazer and trousers

The royal was in high spirits as she spoke with others at the family-run weaving mill in Sudbury today

Kate opted for a stylish suit - accessorised with a leather belt - for the occasion in Suffolk this mornig

Smiling Kate looked to be enjoying the conversation as she was greeted for her visit to Sudbury Silk Mills

There, Kate chatted with the design team and observed their creative process - which included looking through archives and hand-drawing

Kate pictured at Sudbury Silk Mills in Sudbury, Suffolk, a family-run weaving mill that has been at the forefront of jacquard weaving

The mill has been an integral part of the British textile industry for over 300 years. Kate pictured at the event

The Princess was the image of elegance as she showed off her newly-lighter hair once again this morning

Kate's hair was golden in the sun, as she also opted for minimal jewellery to accentuate the ensemble

Kate put on a sartorial display in a plaid-print 845 blazer and 525 trousers from Bella Freud, as she stepped out to 'celebrate the unique skill, creativity and craftsmanship' of British creative industries.

And the pattern, a signature example of the Prince of Wales check which uses interwoven stripes to create the illusions of small squares when viewed from afar, appears to be a sweet nod to her husband William.

It's not the only seemingly sweet hidden message in the clothing, with the jacket potentially named after the son of British designer Bella's close friend Nick Cave - Earl, of whom she is the godmother.

The fashion aficionado, 64, is the great-granddaughter of Sigmund Freud, and has become known in the industry for her playful use of language.

Keeping her look sleek and elegant - and letting the tailoring speak for itself - Kate kept accessories to a minimum with simple black heels from Stuart Weitzman, Daniella Draper earrings and a leather belt. Beneath the jacket, she kept it chic with an understated Boden jumper.

Today's engagement aims to highlight the nation's rich heritage in the trade.

The Princess's engagements come amid a poignant time for the family, with Prince Harry recently reuniting with his father, the King, for their first meeting in 19 months.

The Duke of Sussex described the monarch as doing well after a long-awaited reconciliation meeting at Clarence House.

William and Kate smiled as they both made an appearance at the engagement in honour of Elizabeth on Monday

The Duke of Sussex described the monarch as doing well after a long-awaited reconciliation meeting at Clarence House. Pictured today during a visit to take part in a panel discussion on how social action positively impacts mental health with four young people who are involved with The Diana Award

Prince Harry was all smiles as he met with corporate sponsors and government ministers at a reception for the Invictus Games

Prince William visits Spiral Skills, a youth organisation in Lambeth, in London. During his visit, William visited a music studio and said he was making sure his children are learning to play instruments because music is 'crucial'

He said of Charles - 'Yes he's great, thank you' - when asked about the face-to-face catch-up during a reception for the Invictus Games, which he launched in 2014 as a tournament for injured service personnel and veterans.

Appearing relaxed, smiling and upbeat, Harry mingled with corporate sponsors and government ministers as he attended the event in The Gherkin, London, ahead of a speech outlining the next 10 years of his Invictus movement.

The prince arrived at the event 40 minutes later than planned after travelling directly from a private tea with his dad, which lasted for 55 minutes. It was their first meeting in 19 months since the Duke flew to the UK to see Charles in February 2024.

He was spotted being driven into the royal residence in a black Range Rover at 5.20pm before leaving in the same car at around 6.15pm.

Earlier, the King was seen arriving at Clarence House at 4pm, having landed at RAF Northolt at around 3pm following a flight from Aberdeen Airport. Charles met with Holocaust survivor Manfred Goldberg, where he was invested with an MBE.

Charles had flown to the capital after a stay at Balmoral in Aberdeenshire, raising the possibility of a meeting with Harry during his son's four-day stay in Britain.

Harry was due to arrive at the Invictus reception at 6.45pm but organisers said he was running late, before he finally arrived at 7.24pm.

It is believed the Duke travelled to the event straight after seeing his father but traffic has been very heavy in central London this week due to an ongoing Tube strike.

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The Duke is today wrapping up his rare four-day trip to the UK, carrying out a string of solo charity visits, but until yesterday had not seen the King or his brother William.

Harry arrived in Britain on Monday and attended the WellChild Awards at London's Royal Lancaster Hotel to celebrate the achievements of seriously ill youngsters.

He then travelled by car to Nottingham on Wednesday to visit the Community Recording Studio and announce a 1.1million personal donation to the BBC's Children In Need.

On Thursday, Harry was all smiles as he was greeted at the Centre for Blast Injury Studies in White City at about 1pm and hugged former Army captain David Henson.

The ex-Royal Engineer served as Team GB captain for the inaugural Invictus Games and attended Harry's wedding to Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle in 2018.

Mr Henson lost both his legs above the knee after standing on an improvised explosive device in 2011 while clearing a compound in Afghanistan. He went on to gain a PhD in Amputee Biomechanics at Imperial.

Harry opened the Centre for Blast Injury Studies in 2013, which was the forerunner of Imperial's new centre which was launched a few years ago on its White City campus.

Clinically-driven trauma injury research is carried out at the building, and the King visited in February to highlight support for injured soldiers in Ukraine.

Prince William and Kate during a visit to the Women's Institute in Sunningdale, Berkshire, on Monday to mark the third anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's death

Pictured: Prince Harry arrives for a visit to the Community Recording Studio in Nottingham yesterday

Harry's office said that his foundation has donated $500,000 (370,000) to projects supporting injured children from Gaza and Ukraine, including helping the World Health Organization with evacuations and work developing prosthetics.

The Duke visited the centre to learn more about its work, especially an increased focus on injuries suffered by children and those sustained in natural disasters.

'No single organisation can solve this alone,' Harry said in a statement. 'Gaza now has the highest density of child amputees in the world and in history.

The Prince of Wales, meanwhile, visited a youth organisation in Lambeth, south London, yesterday, while his brother Prince Harry was in Nottingham.

Spiral Skills has received funding from the Prince's homelessness initiative Homewards to move into a new hub for young people at the Oasis Village in Tulse Hill.

During his visit, William visited a music studio and said he was making sure his children are learning to play instruments because music is 'crucial'.

Prince George, 12, plays guitar, Princess Charlotte, ten, plays piano and Prince Louis, seven, plays the drums.

It appears Charlotte is following in her mother's footsteps - as the Princess of Wales has previously shown her skills at the piano, giving a surprise performance during the Eurovision finals in 2023, and playing a duet at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Eve in 2021.

Yesterday, the heir to the throne turned down the opportunity to play the drums on a visit to a music charity, saying his son Prince Louis would have done if he had been there.

Asked by 16-year-old Django Brooke whether he wanted to play, William laughed and replied: 'I'm definitely not a drummer. I'm happy to see you do it, if my youngest was here, he'd have a go, because he's practising at the moment, but I'd love to hear you do it. But thank you for asking.'

The Prince told the young musicians taking part in a workshop: 'It's brilliant, you guys have clearly done a lot of practising, well done, that's not easy doing that in front of everyone - that's brilliant.

'You've all got amazing rhythm and it sounds fantastic, I wish I started when I was your age.

'I couldn't read music so that was my biggest weakness, I started off playing piano, trumpet and the drums and then realised I had to memorise every tune and it just fell away.

'I make sure my children learn music because I love music and it's crucial, really important.'

Meanwhile on Monday, the Prince of Wales said that he 'couldn't believe it has been three years' since the death of his grandmother as he paid tribute to the late Queen on the third anniversary of her death.

Joined by his wife the Princess of Wales, who was a surprise addition to the schedule, Prince William was speaking as he visited the national federation of the Women's Institute (WI) in Sunningdale, Ascot; just a 16-minute drive away from Windsor Castle, where the Duke of Sussex was understood to have visited his grandmother's grave.

Over tea and cake, William heard stories of the late Queen and shared some more recent memories of his own family life.
The pilot of United Airlines Flight 23 has claimed his aircraft was intended to be used as a 'weapon of mass destruction' in the 9/11 attacks, but a terrorist's mistake saved the lives of everyone on board.

Tom Mannello was moments away from taking off on 11 September 2001 when he heard the 'strangest radio call' 'of his career' ordering all flights to be evacuated and shutting down JFK airport.

Twenty four years on from the horrific attacks, where 2,977 people lost their lives in attacks using four hijacked planes, the pilot and a group of flight attendants onboard Flight 23 have revealed why they're convinced their plane was intended to be part of the plot.

Speaking in a Channel 5 documentary, which airs tonight, the captain said: 'I now believe that it is more likely than not that we were the fifth airplane. There's a good chance that somebody was planning to try to use our airplane as a weapon of mass destruction.'

United 23 was on the tarmac at New York's JFK airport on the morning of 9/11, lined up to take off at 9am - but the aircraft was called back to the gate after the second tower of the World Trade Center was hit at 9:03am.

After collating evidence with fellow staff members onboard Flight 23, Mannello now believes the plane he was captaining that day in 2001 was intended to be used as part of terrorist operation of attack - but that a small error saved their lives.

Following the deadly crashes of 11 September, Mannello learned that box cutters - the weapons used by hijackers to gain control of the other flights - had been discovered on an aircraft that had been parked directly next to his on the morning of the attacks.

The neighbouring aircraft, which was not due to depart that morning, had a 'nose number' or unique identification code that was just one digit different from that of Mannello's.

Tom Mannello (pictured) was moments away from taking off on 11 September 2001 when heard the 'strangest radio call I've heard in my career' ordering all flights to be evacuated and shutting down JFK airport

'The chief pilot reported to me that they had found two box cutters in the seat pockets in first class in the plane next to it, which had a tail number one digit off,' Mannello told the documentary.

Connecting the dots, the captain now believes the box cutters placed inside the seats on the neighbouring aircraft had been intended for his flight, which would have departed JFK at a similar time to the other deadly vessels.

'I think it's a reasonable assumption to think that those box cutters were meant for my airplane, not the one next to me,' he said.

He believes the only reason he and his fellow aircraft staff survived is because the box cutters were mistakenly placed on the wrong plane.

'If somebody was on the ground cooperating with them, they just simply made a mistake and put the box cutters on the wrong airplane.

'You have people who clean the airplane, people who load food on the airplane, who have access to the airplane.

'It's the one thing that makes me think that there's a good chance that somebody was plotting to try to use our airplane as a weapon of mass destruction.'

Smoke billows from the Pentagon after one of the four planes crashed into it on September 11

People run away as the North Tower of World Trade Center collapses on 9/11

Flight attendants onboard the plane were convinced that four passengers in first class, where the box cutters were placed on the neighbouring plane, were behaving suspiciously before departure.

Flight attendant Barbara Brockie-Smaldino recalled one individual dressed in a burka with a niqab, who she was convinced was 'really a man'.

Another host, Sandy Thorngren, said: 'It was a man, and you could tell by the size of his hands. He had hair on his hands. There was definitely a male underneath that burka.'

Before takeoff, one man even asked if he could take his son into the cockpit to look around, something which is strictly forbidden.

One man in a yellow t-shirt who was 'sweating profusely' despite it being only 8:30am also aroused suspicion.

Alarm bells also began to ring when flight attendants were trying to serve first-class passengers their food, but all onboard were insistent that they didn't want to eat.

People in first class wanted to take off and not eat,' one recalled.

Flight 23 took off. Shortly before it was due to take off, Mannello was given the order to turn back around, a move he now thinks saved his life.

Sandy Thorngren, a flight attendant on the plane, said she was convinced the plane was intended to be hijacked on 9/11

Firefighters and emergency workers investigate the crash site of United Flight 93 after the jet was hijacked during the 9/11 terrorist attacks and passengers brought it down near Shanksville, Pennsylvania

The events of 11 September 2001 followed one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in American history, with a devastating 2,977 people killed in four separate massacres.

On the morning of 9/11, four planes were intentionally crashed into various New York landmarks, including the World Trade Centre and Twin Towers.

American Airlines Flight 11 took off from Boston bound for LA, and crashed into the World Trade Center's North Tower at 8:46am.

Shortly after, United Airlines Flight 175 also took off from Boston, 15 minutes after the AA flight, heading for LA. It crashed into the WTC's South Tower at 9:03am.

It was at this point that United 23 was on the tarmac with staff onboard preparing for take off, but was shortly after instructed to return to the gate.

Then at 9:37am, American Airlines Flight 77, which had taken off from Washington DC, crashed into the Pentagon. Finally, at 10:02am, United Flight 93, which had taken off from Newark bound for San Francisco, was downed in a field in Pennsylvania. Analysts now believe the hijackers were aiming for the White House or Capitol.

United 23 did not feature in the official report of the 9/11 Commission, and there were never any confirmed arrests of those on board. U.S. officials have not commented on the years of speculation about the flight being a possible fifth plane planned for attack.

A total of 19 terrorists were involved and subsequently killed in the terror in the terror attacks on 11 September 2001.

Within two months of the attacks, law enforcement authorities had detained, at least for questioning, more than 1,200 people.

The Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba was turned into a prison to house those arrested on what became George W. Bush's 'War on Terror': at its peak, the camp held 780 men, but now has only 32.

They include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the attacks, whose trial has been scheduled to start for decades.

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden said he was behind the attacks, and on May 2, 2011, under orders from Barack Obama, a special operations unit raided the Pakistan compound where he was living and killed him.

The attacks led to George W. Bush bombing Afghanistan in October 2001, where the Taliban regime was supportive of al-Qaeda.

The Taliban was toppled in a month, and bin Laden fled.

Bush then sent U.S. troops to Iraq in March 2003, purportedly to destroy Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and end the dictatorial rule of Saddam Hussein.

There was little if any sign of a connection between al-Qaeda and Iraq, and no WMD were ever found.
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Fish and chips, tea and biscuits, strawberries and cream some combinations will always be quintessentially British. And now we can add a new pairing to the list: the Princess of Wales and the Prince of Wales check.

Stepping out in Sudbury Mills in Suffolk earlier today, the Princess, 43, opted to wear an Earl jacket, 845, and matching 'Schoolboy' trousers, 525, by Bella Freud, in a classic Prince of Wales check, teamed with a black Boden jumper and gold diamond cupid maxi hoop earrings, 2,450, by Daniella Draper.

All of these designers are British, and theres certainly nothing new about the princess championing British fashion, an industry that she holds close to her heart, and whose promotion she takes seriously.

But there was something particularly patriotic about her latest look. Nor was it simply that her choice of Prince of Wales check served as a sweet tribute to her husband. More than that, it also seemed to semaphore an allegiance to her king and country.

Since nothing in Kates wardrobe is ever worn by accident, its hard not to question her design - and timing - in choosing to wear such a coded and patriotic fabric as the Prince of Wales check.

Smart as it is, its often avoided by those on public duties due to the fact that the checks dont always photograph well, and can appear blurry. Clearly, this was of less concern than the message it conveyed.

The message being: here stand the real bastions of the British Royal Family, in all their stalwart dedication to king and country. Any other pretenders can get back in their box - or on a plane to Montecito.

But the check-mating didnt end there. On a visit to the Sunningdale Women's Institute on Monday, Kate opted for an equally patriotic look.

Stepping out in Sudbury Mills in Suffolk earlier today, the Princess, 43, opted to wear an Earl jacket, 845, and matching 'Schoolboy' trousers, 525, by Bella Freud, in a classic Prince of Wales check, teamed with a black Boden jumper and gold diamond cupid maxi hoop earrings, 2,450, by Daniella Draper

Her 18 carat white gold Grace diamond and topaz stud earrings were by London-based jeweller Kiki McDonough, while her grey check plaid midi dress was by one of her favourite British designers, Alessandra Rich.

Fans of the late Princess Diana couldnt help but see its distinctively wide Peter Pan collar as a tribute, this having been one of Dianas favourite styles.

Truly, its a wonder Kate hasnt yet slipped on a longer, fit-and-flare version of the Union Jack dress that Geri Halliwell wore to the 1997 Brit Awards, so keen has she seemed this week to pledge sartorial allegiance to her country.

Although, given the Union Jack is so divisive these days, perhaps thats why she did the next most patriotic thing, and opted for a check with a distinguished regal history.

Manufactured in the Scottish Highlands over 200 years ago, the Prince of Wales check was once known as the Glen check, but was renamed in honour of King Edward VII, who was Prince of Wales at the time, after the monarch grew fond of the design.

Since then, it has been worn by a slew of British icons, including The Beatles, the late Princess Diana and three James Bonds: Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Daniel Craig.

An illustrious list, to which we can now add the current Princess of Wales.

All of these designers are British - but there was something particularly patriotic about her latest look.

The message being: here stand the real bastions of the British Royal Family, in all their stalwart dedication to king and country. Any other pretenders can get back in their box - or on a plane to Montecito

Manufactured in the Scottish Highlands over 200 years ago, the Prince of Wales check was once known as the Glen check, but was renamed in honour of King Edward VII, who was Prince of Wales at the time, after the monarch grew fond of the design

The Princess of prints! Kate dons apron and ties her hair back to try her hand at a silk-screen press - as she praises 'craftsmanship' of British textile firms during visit

By Elmira Tanatarova and Rebecca English

It comes after Prince Harry came face-to-face with his father, King Charles, for the first time in 19 months as they held a private meeting at Clarence House in an attempt to 'rebuild' their relatonship.

Earlier this morning, Catherine also tried her hand at fabric printing during a visit to Marina Mill in Cuxton, Kent.

It is a British family business that specialises in hand-designing and screen-printing furnishing fabrics, and they supply dozens of royal homes - from Buckingham Palace to Clarence House to Highgrove, and even the Prince and Princess of Wales themselves.

When given the opportunity to try the activity, the mother-of-three didn't stand on ceremony.

Shrugging off her jacket and donning an apron, she even scooped her long hair up effortlessly into a bun - remarkably without the help of a mirror or hairband - before getting stuck into the job in hand.

Its very trusting of you, laughed the princess, who asked personally to visit because of her passion to highlight the importance of the British textile industry, as she was shown a silk screen printing press and a tub of bright yellow paint.

Please not this one. Its too beautiful!

Taking off the jacket of her stylish checked suit, she put on a black apron and listened intently as workers Sam and Adam showed her how to transfer the colour from the screen, which had been engraved with a stunning floral pattern, onto the fabric by pushing through the coloured dye using a squeegee.

The Princess of Wales showed off her crafty side as she got into making prints while visiting textile factories this afternoon

The royal, 43, put Britain's creative industry in the spotlight with a visit to a family-run weaving firm that has been creating jacquard fabrics for more than 300 years - before making her way to another manufacturer in Kent

Never one to shy away from getting stuck in, Kate got to work at the Marina Mill in Cuxton by pushing coloured dyes through an engraved silk-screen using a squeegee

Its a real labour of love, she remarked. Do you have to do things in a particular order?

She left leaned over and helped place the heavy screen on the table over the material and then waited as Adam pushed the squeegee towards her.

She then picked it up half way and completed the sweep, before catching some more paint on it and pushing it back to him.

Concentrating heavily, she asked a few questions about where she should place her hands and appeared delighted when she pulled it off without a mistake.

She then helped Adam carry the screen down to the next segment of fabric, repeating the exercise three times.

Apologising for her nervousness, Adam asked her: Do you want the radio on?

Does it become second nature and you dont actually think about it?, the princess asked, giving the squeegee a wiggle.

Impressive, she was told.

Pictured: The Princess of Wales looking at a screen print during a visit to Marina Mill in Cuxton today

Kate (pictured) enjoyed deep a conversation with staff as she visited the Kent-based firm this afternoon

The small team of nine people at Marina Mill, which was established in 1967, is known for its artisan craftsmanship

So Ive passed, thats good! She replied.

The Princess had kicked her day off with a tour of Sudbury Silk Mills, a Suffolk-based firm employing more than 100 staff.

It produces cloth for top fashion houses, interior designers, and heritage institutions.

She look at the design studio, where she was shown how historic archive patterns inspire modern designs, before moving onto the weaving floor to see traditional looms and state-of-the-art machinery in action.

She was welcomed by Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, William and Kate's former private secretary and top aide, now Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk.

Staff said the Princess spent time speaking with everyone she met, sharing words of encouragement and praising the skill involved in producing such high-quality fabrics.

Steven Harris, head of production, recalled the Princess spotting a detail on a piece of fabric and saying, 'You've got the job.' She added: 'You've got to have an eye for detail,' highlighting the precision and care required in the craft.

During the visit, she spoke with account manager Beth Humes, 35, emphasising that artisan skills are 'still vitally important' and describing the 'Made in the UK' hallmark as a global symbol of excellence.

She also met designers Mae Littleton, 30, and Lucy Spendlove, 28, praising their work as 'magical and wonderful' as she watched sketches and patterns transformed into finished fabrics.
Marks & Spencer has left shoppers divided after unveiling a very controversial new product that has left foodies floundering.

The British supermarket has announced the release of dozens of tasty new items ahead of the festive period.

As of today, M&S will be busy restocking the shelves with more than 400 new items, including some new and improved favourites.

But shoppers were left scratching their heads over one new creation - a Marmite infused caramel spread.

Described as a 'bold blend' that combines sweet caramel with divisive Marmite, the spread boasts a 'umami-laced sauce thats full of character'.

The new release has left people divided. An Instagram account called NewFoodsUK took to social media to share a picture of the release and has since amassed dozens of comments from both lovers and loathers.

'Amazing, basically miso caramel,' one keen foodie wrote. Echoing the sentiment, a second said: 'What the f**k this sounds delicious'.

But many are unconvinced by the new offering, with some calling it 'repulsive' and an 'abomination'.

The British supermarket has announced the release of dozens of tasty new items ahead of the festive period - with one in particular leaving foodies floundering. Stock image

Described as a 'bold blend' that combines sweet caramel with divisive Marmite, the spread boasts a 'umami-laced sauce thats full of character'. Caramel sauce with Marmite pictured

'Eww! Salted caramel yes but not beefy salt and I love Marmite,' one remarked. 'I love Marmite but this is repulsive,' another person wrote.

'We seriously need to stop adding Marmite to everything now,' a frustrated shopper said.

'Im not sure what to make of this. I mean caramel sauce, like. Marmite, like but together,' said another.

Available in 310g squeezy containers, the surprising concoction will hit shelves on 10 September, costing 3.

A description of the new spread reads: 'Sweet meets savoury in our Caramel Sauce & Marmite spread  a bold blend of smooth caramel and Marmite. The result is a rich, umami-laced sauce thats full of character. Drizzle over ice cream or dip in churros for a twist thats not for the faint-hearted.'

A spokesperson for M&S told Metro: Whether you love it or hate it, you have to try it. Trust us, it works. Drizzle over toast, waffles or croissants  your brunch game is about to be taken next level.'

The yeast extract spread has also made its way to the M&S bakery section, with the release of Pecan and Salted Caramel Blondies containing a hint of Marmite, costing 5.

The salty bakes include a pecan tiffin laced with Marmite, accompanied by decadent white chocolate and a drizzle of salted caramel sauce.

The new release has left people divided. An Instagram account called NewFoodsUK took to social media to share a picture of the release and has since amassed dozens of comments from both lovers and loathers

Among other items added to the supermarket's food range for the festive season are Peppermint Bark (10), Peanut Butter Reindeer (1), Shortbread Christmas Trees (1.65), Chocolate and Cinnamon Tortilla Rolls (3), and Maple Bacon Combo Mix crisps (2.30).

Additionally, the supermarket are re-releasing their internet-loved Gingerbread and White Chocolate cookies.

Last year, the festive biscuit took social media by storm, with sweet-toothed shoppers calling it 'phenomenal, dreamy and amazing.

It comes shortly after the supermarket announced they were debuted a unique Australian cake.

Earlier this year, it introduced Lamington cakes, making it the first on the British high street to do so.

The national treat is uniquely Australian and holds icon status in the Land Down Under, but is only available at a handful of specialist bakeries in the UK.

That is, until now, as M&S has made two variations of the cube-shaped cakes available on their shelves from today.

Australian customers will be thrilled that they can get their hands on the classic Chocolate and Coconut Lamington, a buttermilk-enriched chocolate sponge coated in chocolate sauce and then rolled in coconut flakes.

Hand-piped jam and buttercream sit atop the little square cake to make it a beauty to look at and eat.

M&S is also giving shoppers a trendy treat by creating a Caramelised Biscuit Lamington, a major twist on the classic.

The Caramelised Biscuit Lamington comprises of rich chocolate sponge rolled in caramelised biscuit crumb and finished with hand-piped buttercream and salted caramel sauce.

This version of a Lamington was first launched by Australian supermarket Woolworths in July and went viral on social media.

Australian TikTok users flocked to Woolworths to get their hands on the caramelised biscuit Lamingtons, which were only available for the month of July.

They described the cakes as being 'incredible' and 'the best non-traditional Lamingtons I've ever had'.

Now, Australians living in the UK and Britons alike will be able to sample this alternative take on the beloved cake thanks to M&S.

The indulgent cakes cost 4 for a pack of two, making them perfect for sharing (if you were so inclined).
Beloved Sydney dumpling house will close its doors at the end of September

A beloved Sydney dumpling house has shocked loyal diners by announcing it will close its doors at the end of the month.

Mr Yip, on Military Road in Neutral Bay, has been serving handmade dim sum since 2021 under the steady hand of owner and dumpling master Kirk Yip.

After a decade honing his craft in Hong Kong and Singapore, Yip moved to Sydney and worked at Lotus Dining under celebrated chef Chris Yan before striking out on his own.

The team broke the news in a heartfelt Instagram post.

'We would like to sincerely thank you for your support of Mr Yip Dumpling. Due to family reasons, we will be closing our business at the end of this month.

'Sunday, September 28 will be our last day of service. Until then, we will continue to prepare every meal with care and dedication, and we warmly invite you to visit us once again.'

The announcement left diners devastated.

For years, Mr Yip has built a cult following for its xiao long bao, snow mountain BBQ pork buns and purple sweet potato pastries, drawing food lovers from across Sydney.

A beloved Lower North Shore dumpling house has shocked loyal diners by announcing it will close its doors at the end of the month

Mr Yip, on Military Road in Neutral Bay, has been serving handmade dim sum since 2021 under the steady hand of owner and dumpling master Kirk Yip

'Hands down one of the best dim sum places we've tried. Authentic, delicious, great service,' one reviewer wrote.

Another said, 'The handmade soup dumplings are so good, soup is flavorful and juicy  It's rare to find thin xiao long baos because that's really a skill to roll it that thin and not break.'

Others raved about the 'juicy little flavour bombs' of siu mai, duck fried rice that scored '11/10,' and service that made the restaurant feel like a second home.

For some, Mr Yip was more than just dinner - it became a weekly ritual.

'I've gone to Mr Yip for about three years now and it has become my favourite restaurant in Sydney,' one loyal customer wrote.

The closure of Mr Yip comes as another Neutral Bay institution, Green Sprouts Vegan Chinese Restaurant, served its final yum cha on August 31.

Green Sprouts became a cult favourite for its Hong Kongstyle vegan yum cha, complete with roaming dim sum carts and a menu that won over both vegans and meat eaters.

Some diners became emotional recalling their favourite dishes, from the famed turnip cakes to the mango custard buns, black sesame balls, bean curd rolls, and vegan duck pancakes.

For years, Mr Yip has built a cult following for its xiao long bao, snow mountain BBQ pork buns and purple sweet potato pastries, drawing food lovers from across Sydney

Locals say the loss of Mr Yip and Green Sprouts will leave Military Road 'a little emptier' - and a whole lot less delicious

One regular said the restaurant had been their 'go-to for every birthday and special occasion' and praised the food as 'better than the real thing.'

The twin closures follow a string of high-profile Sydney hospitality casualties in 2025.

In June, Manly Wharf staples Sake and El Camino Cantina shut after 15 years on their lease.

Darlinghurst's Lankan Filling Station will soon call time after seven years, with chef-owner O Tama Carey describing the decision as 'the end of an era.'

Locals say the loss of Mr Yip and Green Sprouts will leave Military Road 'a little emptier' - and a whole lot less delicious.
Layla Subritzky has called Australia home for almost 15 years.

But despite building a life here, the UK-born mum says there's one thing about Aussie culture she still can't wrap her head around - the 'gatekeeping' of friendship circles where people make it difficult to welcome new members into the social group.

Layla recently explained how different the social scene feels compared to back home in Britain.

'In the UK, you go on a night out, you meet someone really cool in the toilet, and you invite them to hang out with your friends,' she said on TikTok.

'The following weekend you have a barbecue, and suddenly she's part of the group. Everyone gets along, you have a new friend now, and she's invited to everything.

'Well, in Australia, it's very, very strange. You meet someone you get along with, you're introduced to their friends, but you never cross over. You never get invited to the whole circle.'

Layla admitted it might be a particularly Queensland or Gold Coast quirk, but quickly added that every English woman she'd met in the last few years said exactly the same thing.

'That's why we hang out with each other,' she laughed.

Layla Subritzky has called Australia home for almost 15 years - but there's one thing preventing her from truly feeling 'at home'

They're supposed to be the most connected generation in history, but young Australians are lonelier than ever before

Her video unleashed a tidal wave of responses from Aussies and expats alike, many admitting they'd experienced the same cold shoulder when trying to break into long-standing circles.

One user summed it up in three words: 'No cross contamination.'

'It's so common to have multiple birthday parties for your different groups,' another wrote.

'Work friends, high school friends, uni mates they never mix. I just want to meet my friend's friends, is that so hard?'

Others said the cliquey vibe was especially strong in Sydney and Brisbane.

'If you didn't go to school here, you'll always feel on the outside,' one commenter wrote.

'Sydney in particular is obsessed with 'Where did you go to school?' It's exhausting.'

Expats said the behaviour was 'cringe' and 'alien.'

Layla recently explained how different the social scene feels compared to back home in Britain

'You'll see your friend's friends at multiple events over the years and they still act like they don't know you. That never happened when I lived overseas. It's so weird,' one woman explained.

Some Aussies admitted it's a defensive habit.

'I'm sick to death of introducing friends and then somehow I'm the one left out. So yes, I gatekeep,' one woman said.

Others confessed it wasn't malicious, just practical.

'I only have so much free time, so I stick with the same friends I already know and love,' one commenter wrote.

'It's not that I don't want new people - they just have to be amazing for me to add them into my calendar.'

Why is it so hard to make friends in Australia?

Several commenters suggested the issue is cultural, even generational.

'Australia really is just one big country town,' one person wrote.

'Our geographical isolation shapes how we form relationships. Friendships are built on shared history - like school or university - rather than shared interests.'

Another said the 'comfort zone' mentality was modelled by parents and grandparents.

'We gravitate toward what we know. That's why conversations so often start with, 'Which school did you go to?' It's how Aussies find their footing with strangers.'

One user argued that for women, friendship circles often don't open up until motherhood.

'Babies are bond-worthy here,' she wrote.

'That's when you see new people finally getting folded into the group. Before that, everyone keeps their circles tight.'

Prof Lim stressed that seeing close friends less than once a month is putting this demographic at risk of persistent loneliness (pictured left TikTokker Fallon Duroy who posted a video about her struggle to make friends in Sydney and right, Heather Grace McGee)

'I just moved to Sydney and I'm miserable': Young people reveal their loneliness in the NSW capital Is Sydney usually this lonely? International student here. Man, what a beautiful city this is, absolutely stunning. But is it genuinely this lonely all the time? I mean, everybodys on their phones all the time, everybody seems very busy all the time. In the uni as well, all of it just seems very antisocial and lonely. Making friends seems like a hard task for now. Feeling lonely in Sydney, how do I find community? I graduated from ANU. Now I am working in Sydney. I don't have any friends here, as all of them are in Canberra, and I don't know how to find a way to connect with others. Does anybody feel isolated in Sydney? My friend moved here two years ago. The Sydney dream: sun, beaches, beautiful people, and friendly Australians. Alas, my friend has struggled to integrate into the Sydney scene. They opened my eyes to a whole other side of Sydney I never knew existed. Having grown up in Sydney and lived here my whole life I guess I am lucky that I am part of certain groups, and now that i think about it, unless they're playing sport with us, we don't really add new group members. Why is it so hard to make friends in Sydney? Almost every week we have a new post about someone struggling to make friends here in Sydney. It always gets a lot of attention which means it is a common issue. What is it about Sydney specifically that makes it so hard to make friends? Young Aussies, do you feel lonely? I was speaking to some other relatives about socialising in today's day and age. I basically expressed that I felt somewhat lonely and disconnected and that people my age don't really go out much. Between paying $650 per week in rent, bills, groceries, I don't have the money nor time to be going out every night to the bar or pub and paying $14 a pint. Not even count the negative health effects. Just wondering if any younger Aussies are feeling the same and what have you tried to combat being lonely? Source: Ask An Australian Advertisement

A new report from the University of Sydney led by Associate Professor Michelle Lim (pictured), found that more than 40 per cent of Australians aged 15 to 25 are suffering from loneliness

Young Australians lonelier than ever

Beneath the jokes about 'no cross contamination,' the discussion revealed something heavier: how lonely many young people feel in Australia, even those who were born here.

'It's hard to make friends in Australia and I was born here,' one user admitted.

Another confessed, 'As an Aussie, I share my circles - but they're not shared with me. It's very frustrating.'

Layla's video has since racked up thousands of likes and sparked a nationwide debate, but experts say her frustration isn't an isolated one.

A University of Sydney study led by Associate Professor Michelle Lim recently found that more than 40 per cent of Australians aged 15 to 25 report struggling with loneliness.

One in four experience it in waves, and one in seven have felt isolated for more than two years.

Unlike older generations, researchers say, young people aren't necessarily short on social contact.

Instead, they often feel lonely within groups - exactly the kind of dynamic Layla and her followers describe.

Professor Lim called the findings 'a troubling picture,' warning that chronic loneliness doesn't just harm mental health but can spill into physical well-being too.

With so many young people echoing Layla's words, the call for change is growing louder.

As one commenter summed it up under her video: 'It's not you. It's just Australia. And unless you've got a decades-old friendship group already locked in, good luck getting past the gate.'
Popular deodorant brand Mitchum's was today rocked by fresh complaints, after men claimed to have been left in excruciating pain after using the products.

Earlier this week, hundreds of women took to social media warning they had suddenly developed 'agonising' rashes and burns from the brand's roll-on deodorants, with some even requiring creams and antibiotics.

Pictures showing sore red armpits have flooded online forums and TikTok, with users left in tears by the angry red welts which are spreading over their skin.

But men have now told the Daily Mail they too have required medical grade creams to treat the painful rashes and burning they suffered using the deodorantsone even claimed to have lost all his armpit hair.

Mitchum have issued a statement via Instagram apologising to customers and claimed 'a change in the manufacturing process of one of our raw materials altered how the product interacts with the skin in some consumers'.

'We are sorry to those who were impacted and for the time it took to complete the investigation,' it added.

Experts, however, told the Daily Mail they were shocked the painful side effects were not discovered earlier.

One man, Ricky Blair from Ipswich, Suffolk claimed he bought one of the affected roll on deodorant's in July.

In one TikTok video seen hundreds of times, London-based theatre actor Marc Antolin, also said: 'I have been a Mitchum user for years'

But just an hour after applying the new product as normal, the 35-year-old developed a rash, 'agonising' burning sensation and itch.

'I've used Mitchum for years, it's been a really good product so I had no idea it was the deodorant at fault,' he told the Daily Mail.

'I ended up having to use an emollient cream for a whole week to treat the itchiness and calm the burning rash.

'I've seen a lot of videos over the last couple of days of women sharing the issues they've had with the new reformulated product but I want to make people aware it can happen to men too.

'It's something that men should look out for.

I've stopped using Mitchum completely, I won't be using the brand for a long long time.'

In one TikTok video seen hundreds of times, London-based theatre actor Marc Antolin, also said: 'I have been a Mitchum user for years.'

Holding up one the brand's 'clean control' roll-on deodorant's he added: 'I had one of the new batches with the change in ingredients and I got a reaction to it.

Men have now told the Daily Mail they too have required medical grade creams to treat the painful rashes and burning they suffered using the deodorantsone even claimed to have lost all his armpit hair (pictured)

Mitchum have issued a statement via Instagram apologising to customers and claimed 'a change in the manufacturing process of one of our raw materials altered how the product interacts with the skin in some consumers'

'It was painful. I sweat a lot, especially during shows, and I don't know what the alternative is to this deodorant.'

David, from Surrey, meanwhile, told the Daily Mail he suffered a reaction over three years ago in 2022 after using Mitchums 'Ice fresh' Mens Ultra Powerful Anti-Sweat roll-on deodorant.

'I had the product less than a month. It burnt both armpits, it took all the hair off and I had a lot of hair under my arms. It's never grown back again,' the 73-year-old solicitor told the Daily Mail.

'It was the first time I'd used the deodorant because my normal brand was difficult to get hold of.

'I thought perhaps it was something wrong with me at the time, because I hadn't heard of anyone else experiencing the same side effects.

'After I'd apply it, I'd feel a burn and it got worse, the whole of the armpit went completely red,' he claimed.

'I have a lot of hair on my body and had a lot of hair under my armpits.

'I was concerned that this burning ingredient had gone through my skin,' he claimed.

Some users were left with an angry red rash

'As soon as I stopped using it, the burning and rash stopped.'

Experts have suggested that the burning, itchy armpits may be due to two specific new ingredients in the eight affected products.

Professor Penny Ward, a pharmaceutical expert at King's College London, told the Daily Mail: 'The contents of the "new" format includes acetyl cedrene which has been shown to be an irritant in patch testing as well as vanillin which can also be a skin irritant in some individuals.

'Generally the irritant chemicals are most likely to be those which are the added fragrances.

'In general most dermatitis rashes are itchy rather than painful, pain might be an indication of infection and might need treatment with an antibiotic or antifungal cream.

'If one develops a reaction to a topical product its a good idea to stop using it and switch to something else-after the rash has settled.

'Occasionally it may need to be settled down with a topical antihistamine or corticosteroid cream which can be obtained with pharmacy advice.'

But she also added: 'For a pharmaceutical product, any changes made to the manufacturing methods have to be qualified and the product has to be demonstrated to be safe and effective with appropriate pre clinical and clinical tests.

'I am surprised that this side effect was not picked up as part of the validation process.

'The rules for cosmetics are not so stringent, although they are being strengthened by regulators.

'Manufacturers may in future need to demonstrate that manufacturing changes do not impact the safety of the final product in a similar manner to a pharmaceutical product.'

One Danish study recently found that deodorants were the leading cause of fragrance allergy, especially for men.

Irritant contact dermatitis is the most common type of contact dermatitis.

It occurs when a substance damages or inflames the skin. It typically develops at the first sign of contact between the skin and irritating substance.

Irritant contact dermatitis can be easier to identify because symptoms usually arise immediately, causing stinging or discomfort.

Allergic contact dermatitis is a delayed allergic reaction that appears as a rash a day or two after skin is exposed to the allergen.

It is caused by the body mounting an inflammatory response to a specific ingredient.

With repeated use, your immune system recognises the substance as an allergen, and it causes an itchy skin response.
Americans may unknowingly be eating endangered sharks and other at-risk animals, a study shows.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill conducted DNA research on products labeled as shark meat sold at local grocery stores.

More than nine in 10 tested samples were ambiguously labeled 'shark' without further information on the specific species.

And alarmingly nearly one in three were actually meat from endangered or critically endangered shark species, furthering putting them at risk of being eradicated.

Mislabeled products included shark steak, jelly and jerky and were sold for as little as little as $3 per pound, making them readily accessible. However, more expensive delicacies ran all the way up to $100 per pound.

Sharks are essential for maintaining the marine ecosystem by keeping fish populations at bay. Without sharks eating smaller fish, food sources for them would diminish, eventually killing off the fish as well.

The researchers warned that in addition to threatening shark ecosystems, eating endangered sharks could also pose health risks for humans.

Some types of hammerhead sharks, for example, have high levels of mercury in their meat and fins.

Though safe in small amounts, mercury can accumulate in vital organs like the brain, kidneys and liver, leading to potentially irreversible damage.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found many Americans may unknowingly be eating meat from endangered animals (stock image)

Several species of hammerhead sharks (pictured above) contain high levels of toxic mercury, the researchers warned (stock image)

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Dr Savannah Ryburn, first study author and co-instructor of UNC Chapel Hill's seafood forensics class that conducted the research, said: 'Mislabeling and ambiguous labeling remove consumers ability to choose what they are putting in their bodies.

'For example, two species in our study, scalloped hammerhead and great hammerhead, were ambiguously labeled as "shark," even though they are strongly advised against consumption due to their very high mercury levels.

'Without accurate and precise labeling, consumers cannot avoid purchasing these products.'

The study, published Tuesday in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, looked at 30 shark product samples purchased from grocery stores, Asian markets, seafood markets and online retailers in Washington DC, North Carolina, Florida and Georgia.

Samples included 19 raw shark steaks and 11 packages of shark jelly, a substance found in the pores of a shark's snout that helps them detect electric fields.

It's unclear if any of the samples were from illegally hunted sharks.

The team was able to successfully perform DNA testing on 29 out of 30 samples to determine the exact species. Of those, 27 were ambiguously labeled 'shark' and did not specify the species.

The 29 shark samples were made up of 11 species, four of which were endangered or critically endangered: great hammerhead, scalloped hammerhead, tope (also known as the school shark) and the shortfin mako shark.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has found the population of great hammerhead and scalloped hammerhead sharks has declined by over 80 percent in the last 70 years. Some research suggests fewer than 200 of each remain.

Meanwhile, the tope shark population is critically endangered and has dropped by about 88 percent in the last 80 years.

The shortfin mako shark is considered endangered, with estimates suggesting the population has dropped between 60 and 96 percent, depending on the area.

Pictured above are how several of the tested samples were labeled and displayed at stores. Many of them were ambiguously labeled

The above graph shows the number of samples tested and how endangered each species is

The others were from another seven species, including the vulnerable spinner, lemon, common tresher, and blacktip shark, and the near threatened smooth-hound and Pacific angelshark.

Only one was from a least concern species, the Atlantic sharpnose shark.

Experts have largely blamed declining shark populations on overfishing due to higher demand of shark fins and meat. They also reproduce slowly and live between 20 and 30 years, making it difficult for populations to recover.

Only one tested sample for a blacktip shark was labeled correctly, suggesting the majority of samples sold online and in stores did not disclose that they were potentially endangered species.

Sharks are apex predators that help regulate populations of prey, which in this case includes smaller fish. If prey populations become too large, they can eat away at coral reefs and deplete food sources faster than they can be replenished, eventually causing the prey to die as well.

The researchers warned scalloped and great hammerheads are also high in mercury, a heavy metal found in the earth's crust. It is a neurotoxin, meaning it accumulates in and attacks the nervous system.

Over time, mercury exposure can lead to mood changes, memory loss, tremors, paralysis and vital organ damage.

Dr Ryburn said: 'Sellers in the United States should be required to provide species-specific names, and when shark meat is not a food security necessity, consumers should avoid purchasing products that lack species-level labeling or traceable sourcing.'
Are your dishwashing tablets literally punching holes in your gut lining? - and They are damaging your gut lining and leaking into your bloodstream, says @timbiohacker on TikTok.

Meanwhile @nontoxicdad claims Dishwasher detergents dont just rinse away. Residue can cling to your dishes, exposing you to harmful chemicals with every meal.

Or theres @whichuk: Stop using TOXIC rinse aids in your dishwasher - heres why: Most rinse aids contain ethyl oxalate, a chemical that can leave harmful residues.

@abbeyskitchen keeps it simple: Is your dishwasher ruining your GUT HEALTH?!

These are just some of the TikTok videos with millions of views that claim the residue left on plates by dishwasher tablets and rinse aid could trigger inflammation, food intolerances and even autoimmune conditions.

The suggestion is that the residue contains chemicals that damage the bodys protective gut lining - and the influencers behind them insist the scare is backed by science.

It has caused what many parents thought impossible - teenagers so worried that they are avoiding dishwashers altogether, choosing to scrub their crockery by hand instead.

The alarm was sparked by a 2023 study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, which suggested that chemicals in dishwasher rinse aid can damage cells lining the stomach, leaving tiny gaps that may let toxins and bacteria leak into the body.

The suggestion is that the residue from dishwasher tablets contains chemicals that damage the bodys protective gut lining

@abbeyskitchen's TikTok video keeps it simple: Is your dishwasher ruining your GUT HEALTH?!

As Cezmi Akdis, a professor of immunology at the University of Zurich, who led the study, told the Daily Mail, the damage is caused by alcohol ethoxylates in rinse aid - a chemical that makes water run off dishes and glasses, so you dont get spots or streaks.

It is the shining material remaining on the glasses, plates and cutlery, he says.

In the lab-based study, we showed that alcohol ethoxylates are toxic to human gut epithelial cells [cells lining the gut]. The data on the rinse aid is quite convincing, he argues, adding the chemicals can be toxic to gut cells even when diluted tens of thousands of times.

Yet in everyday products it is present at much higher levels, up to 10 per cent in detergents and 5 to 10 per cent in liquid soaps, says Professor Akdis.

The concern is that something cleaned in the dishwasher would be used to eat/drink from, and any residue chemicals would be consumed.

Professor Akdis says the chemicals could cause a build-up of harmful molecules in the body that prevent cell DNA repair and even force cells in the gut to self-destruct.

As a result, this could lead to problems such as asthma, eczema, psoriasis, food allergies and irritable bowel syndrome, he told the Daily Mail.

Gut barrier damage has also been linked to autoimmune conditions such as Hashimotos thyroiditis, which causes an underactive thyroid.

However, Professor Akdis also explains that the risk depends heavily on the type of dishwasher machine.

Commercial dishwashers blast plates clean in just a minute and dry rinse aid straight on to the surface, with no way to adjust the cycle.

Household dishwashers, by contrast, run for around an hour, use more water: consumers also have other options - Rinse again with water, use detergents without rinse aid, use vinegar instead of rinse aid.

If substituting vinegar, people typically place a small cup of white vinegar up-right on the top rack for the final rinse or add a small amount to the rinse-aid compartment. (Note some manufacturers caution that frequent vinegar use may degrade rubber seals.)

Cezmi Akdis, a professor of immunology at the University of Zurich

For professional devices, the risk is higher because the process cannot be modified, says Professor Akdis.

TikTok videos have also seized on studies about microplastics, claiming that tiny particles of plastic stay on plates after a wash.

In fact, research has measured plastics in the wastewater produced by dishwashers, not residues left on crockery - and these come from the plastic utensils etc that are being washed.

A 2023 Spanish study in the Journal of Environmental Science and Pollution Research found that dishwashing cycles - particularly hot, intensive ones - released over 1,000 microplastic particles per load into wastewater. Most came from plastic items being washed or the dishwashers own plastic components.

In May 2025 a team in Australia reported even higher figures, estimating that a single load of plastic items could shed up to 920,000 micro- and even smaller nano-particles into wastewater. But, as with the 2023 Spanish study, this group did not measure whether any of these particles remained on crockery.

In fact, their estimate of the total mass of plastic released was minuscule - less than six milligrams per person per year, or about a quarter the weight of a grain of rice.

Despite the high number of particles released, the total mass is low and minor compared to other known sources such as laundry, lead researcher Dr Elvis Okoffo told the Daily Mail.

Amanda Laca Perez, a professor of chemical and environmental engineering at the University of Oviedo in Spain, who led the 2023 study, added that their findings should not be interpreted as a reason to stop using dishwashers.

She recommended washing scratched or older plastic containers on cooler cycles to minimise the release of plastic particles.

Another concern raised online is that the plastic-like film that wraps dishwasher pods can cling on to dishes.

The real risks lie in industrial kitchens, not the family home, and with a few simple tweaks - such as using gentler products or rinsing again - you can load the dishwasher without fear

This film is made from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), a water-soluble synthetic compound. However, a 2021 study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health suggested that most of the soluble film dissolves and is flushed away, with no evidence it remains on plates in amounts that could affect health.

The issue is environmental, not a health one, says Dr Charles Rolsky, a senior re-search scientist at the Shaw Institute in the US, who led the 2021 research.

There is no evidence PVA leaves harmful residues on plates or damages the gut, he says, but argues that more testing is needed to track where it ends up.

So the real risks lie in industrial kitchens, not the family home, and with a few simple tweaks - such as using gentler products or rinsing again - you can load the dishwasher without fear.

But experts say its still better to use a dishwasher to get plates clean and avoid harmful bacteria.

Dishwashers get kitchen items hygienically clean through heat disinfection - we cant do that by hand washing as we would burn ourselves at the temperature needed to kill germs, says Dr Lisa Ackerley, a food safety expert from the Public Health Company.

Utensils used in preparation of raw meat, poultry, fish and root vegetables - such as cutting boards and knives - in particular need to be disinfected to kill bacteria such as campylobacter or salmonella, which could be harmful if left on surfaces and transferred to ready-to-eat foods.

This can be achieved with chemicals or heat. The dishwasher can take away un-certainty, which is why I use one - as well as for the convenience.
Health officials have declared an Ebola outbreak after recording 58 suspected cases and 20 deaths from the disease.

Last week, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) declared the Ebola outbreak in the towns of Bulape and Mweka in the Kasai Province.

And on Wednesday, the CDC posted a level 1 travel alert for Americans, advising them to take precautions if traveling to the DRC.

This is the DRC's first Ebola outbreak in three years and the first outbreak of the rare but fatal disease in the Kasai province since 2008.

Among the 20 deaths are four healthcare workers, the CDC reported.

The agency added that there are no cases reported outside of the DRC and the risk of infection in the US is low.

However, in Kasai, residents have been placed under confinement, the province's governor said in a statement Monday. Local officials have erected multiple checkpoints along the border to prevent people from traveling in or out of the area.

Francois Mingambengele, administrator of the Mweka territory which includes Bulape, said: 'The problem is that we're afraid that the movement of people from Bulape could lead to contamination in other communities.'

Healthcare workers carry a coffin with a baby, suspected of dying from Ebola, in the Democratic Republic of Congo during an outbreak in 2018

Thermometers are pictured at the entrance of an Ebola treatment center checkpoint during a 2019 outbreak in the DRC

He told Reuters: 'Some are going into the bush to hide. It's a crisis, and cases are multiplying.'

Ebola is spread by contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person, as well as contact with contaminated objects or infected animals such as bats or primates.

Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain and weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and unexplained bleeding or bruising.

Ebola can cause serious disease and has a mortality rate as high as 90 percent without treatment.

There are currently two FDA-approved treatments for Ebola: Inmazeb and Ebanga.

There is also an FDA-approved vaccine for the disease but it is not available to the public and only given to people responding to outbreaks.

The first confirmed case in the DRC, according to the WHO, was a pregnant woman who went to Bulape General Reference Hospital on August 20 with a high fever, bloody stool, excessive bleeding and weakness.

She died five days later from organ failure and testing on September 4 confirmed Ebola.

Earlier this year, another outbreak was declared in Uganda, with 12 confirmed cases and two probable, as well as four deaths. The outbreak was declared over in April.

The outbreak was declared over the Sudan Virus, a rare virus that causes a severe form of Ebola hemorrhagic fever.

Along with the typical Ebola symptoms, it also causes bleeding from the eyes, nose, gums and other body parts, organ failure and death.

New York officials suspected two patients at a Manhattan urgent care may have had Ebola earlier this year because the patients had recently traveled from Uganda where there was an outbreak of the disease at the time

Images showed first responders wore face coverings and gloves as they moved the patients into ambulances

There is no specific cure or treatment.

The largest Ebola outbreak occurred in 2014 to 2016 in West Africa when more than 28,600 cases were reported.

In February of this year, two suspected Ebola cases were detected in the US. Patients were transported from a New York City urgent care to a hospital after they exhibited symptoms of the disease.

Officials suspected they could have had Ebola infections because the patients had recently traveled from Uganda where an outbreak was ongoing at the time.

It was later confirmed that they did not have Ebola, but it was not revealed what illness they were suffering from.

The first person to have a confirmed Ebola infection in the US was a man from Liberia in 2014. He had traveled to the US where he began experiencing Ebola-like symptoms.

After tests confirmed the illness on September 30, 2014, he became the first US patient to have the disease. He died a week later.
Whoopi Goldberg used her platform on The View to plead for a stop to the 'politicization' of the murder of Ukrainian immigrant Iryna Zarutska on a train in Charlotte last month.

'Look, a young woman is dead. Let's take that into consideration,' Goldberg, 69, said of the brutal August 22 stabbing of Zarutska, 23, by career criminal Decarlos Brown Jr., 34.

'And yes, a man who should have been behind bars was loose and out. His mother begged them to take him and put him away.

'So, stop politicizing this. This is not political. This has to do with how we take care of our sick Americans when they are in need.'

Zarutska's slaying at the hands of a schizophrenic repeat offender was thrust into the national spotlight after surveillance video showing the vicious attack was released.

His sister revealed to the Daily Mail a recording of conversation she had with Brown days after the fatal stabbing, in which he said he wanted police to 'investigate' 'materials' that were 'controlling' him.

His mother, told CNN that in addition to his mental health woes, he was homeless and living at a local shelter.

In one interview, Dewitt said 'the system failed him.'

Whoopi Goldberg pleaded for a stop to the 'politicization' of the murder of a Ukrainian immigrant on a train in Charlotte last month.

The crime was carried out on August 22 on the Charlotte Area Transit System by 34-year-old career criminal Decarlos Brown Jr.

Goldberg's statements came after outlets like CNN took pains to defend Brown.

On Monday, CNN host Van Jones said we 'don't know why [Brown] did what he did,' adding that 'this man is hurting.'

'It's about the fact that we don't know how to deal with people who are hurting in the way this man was hurting,' Jones added.

'Hurt people hurt people.'

A Daily Mail review of police records found that Brown was charged with misusing 911 as recently as January, when he told cops he believed someone had given him a 'man-made' material that controlled his actions.

He was released without bail and a trial pending when he allegedly stabbed Zaruska to death.

Brown served five years in prison for a 2014 armed robbery and was released in September 2020.

In February 2021, Brown was arrested for assaulting his sister in Charlotte and leaving her with minor injuries.

Whoopi Goldberg demands that you stop politicizing Iryna Zarutska's death:



"Stop politicizing this! This is not political."pic.twitter.com/whH9yZebZm  Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 10, 2025

Brown is a career criminal with a lengthy rap sheet

Zarutska's slaying was thrust into the national spotlight after surveillance video showing the vicious attack was released

In July 2022, Brown was arrested for a domestic disturbance.

Brown's arrest records go as back as 2007, when he was still a minor.

After his January arrest for misusing 911, his release was ordered following a written promise to appear for his next hearing.

The White House said the move left Brown Jr. 'free to slaughter an innocent woman just months later.'

On Tuesday, it was announced that Brown had been charged federally, which raises the possibility he could face the death penalty if convicted.
A reporter for a popular Florida political news outlet has been suspended after asking a local congressman if he still supported carrying guns on college campuses after Charlie Kirk suffered a fatal gunshot wound during an event at a Utah college.

Florida Politics reporter AG Gancarski texted Rep. Randy Fine the question as news of the shooting unfolded.

'Good afternoon - was wondering if Charlie Kirk getting shot affects your position on campus carry? If gun control had been in play could the tragedy have been avoided?' the reported wrote, according to a screenshot Fine posted on X.

The Republican didn't mince words in his response.

'I learned that Charlie Kirk was shot 23 minutes ago. I am repulsed that you would even think to ask a political question when all anyone should be doing is praying for his survival.

'Never contact me again.'

In Utah, citizens can openly carry firearms on public university grounds and college campuses, with few exceptions.

Fine was the main sponsor of a bill that would have permitted concealed carry of firearms on college campuses in Florida earlier this year. It was voted down at the committee level.

Florida Politics reporter AG Gancarski texted Rep. Randy Fine the question as news of the shooting unfolded

Rep. Randy Fine posted the text change on X

Within about an hour of the lawmaker's post, the publisher of Florida Politics announced that Gancarski had been 'immediately suspended.'

'I cannot be the person I am, a critic of extremism on both the left and right, if those who work with me lack the basic empathy in horrific situations,' publisher Peter Schorsch wrote on X.

'Perhaps other outlets can go immediately to the political ramifications of a tragedy like the shooting of a cultural leader, but that is not what I am about.'

He added in a follow-up post that he 'urged' Gancarski to stop posting on social 'while we address this situation.'

Gancarski's X account has been set to private, but screenshots captured by other users appeared to show him defending his question.

'Valid question given the congressman ran a bill that would have allowed "campus carry,"' the reporter wrote in since-deleted post, according to Mediaite. 'He was out of the Senate by the time the mass shooting at [Florida State University] happened.

'I stand by the question. Tragedy is what ultimately tests policy positions.'

Schorsch also responded to an X user who wrote: 'guess you dont support asking those in power the tough questions.'

Charlie Kirk was assassinated during an event at Utah Valley College in Orem on Wednesday

Gancarski appeared to defend his question in a since-deleted post on X

Rep. Randy Fine was the main sponsor of a bill that would have permitted concealed carry of firearms on college campuses in Florida earlier this year

'I do, but asking that kind of question while the victim is in critical care is not what I want to be about,' the publisher replied.

Gancarski declined to comment when contacted by The Daily Mail Thursday.

His suspension comes as MSNBC political analyst Matthew Dowd was fired after remarking on-air during coverage of shooting that Kirk 'is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech aimed at certain groups.'

He continued: 'And I always go back to hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions.

'I think that's the environment we're in that people just... you can't stop with these awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place. That's the unfortunate environment we're in.'
President Donald Trump remains devastated after sharing his belief Charlie Kirk could have been a future president.

CNBC anchor Joe Kernen revealed that the president reached out to him on Thursday morning to praise him for the 30th anniversary of his show Squawk Box.

The off-camera phone call soon drifted towards the recent assassination of Kirk, a conservative college organizer.

The co-founder of Turning Point USA was shot in the throat while speaking to college students at Utah Valley University. The shooter fled the murder scene and is still at large.

Kernen said that Trump remains devastated because he believed Kirk could have succeeded him one day as the president.

Hes devastated about Charlie Kirk and said that what a guy, what a great individual and he said he helped him greatly in the last election and thinks that Charlie Kirk could have been president some day, Kernen revealed. He was such a talented guy.

Then he went on to say the country will heal, hes focused on what he has been focused on, Kernen noted.

And he says Im focused on winning, if the country wins and if I do everything I can to help the country win, that were all going to be able to come together again.

Trump revealed he plans to honor Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom following his death

Kirk was shot in the throat while speaking to college students at Utah Valley University on Wednesday

Trump revealed that he believed Kirk could have become the president one day

Trump and Kirk were not just political allies but personal friends, according to multiple reports.

The president attended a ceremony on Thursday at the Pentagon to honor the victims of 9/11.

Trump, appearing shaken, revealed his plans to honor Kirk by posthumously awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Kirks network of allies expands across the executive branch, with Vice President JD Vance offering a touching tribute to the conservative leader following his death.

Charlie was fascinated by ideas and always willing to learn and change his mind, Vance wrote on X. Like me, he was skeptical of Donald Trump in 2016. Like me, he came to see President Trump as the only figure capable of moving American politics away from the globalism that had dominated for our entire lives.

Charlie was one of the first people I called when I thought about running for senate in early 2021. We talked through everything, from the strategy to the fundraising to the grassroots of the movement he knew so well. He introduced me to some of the people who would run my campaign and also to Donald Trump Jr,' Vance added.

Vice President JD Vance revealed he was close friends with Kirk. Vance plans to escort Kirks casket and his wife Erika aboard Air Force Two to Arizona

Vance plans to escort Charlie Kirks casket and his wife Erika aboard Air Force Two to Arizona on Thursday.

The vice president and his wife Usha traveled to Utah a day after the assassination to pay tribute to Kirk and his family.
Joe Rogan was left nearly speechless after finding out Charlie Kirk was assassinated while filming his podcast.

Rogan, 58, was seen with his hands on his head in distress after learning the devastating news during a chat with actor Charlie Sheen.

'This just happened, we just found out Charlie Kirk was shot,' he said in shock on his podcast. 'Is he dead?' he questioned his production crew.

'That's f**king awful,' Sheen replied.

Rogan took a moment to collect himself, taking a deep breath before talking into the microphone again, saying: 'Whoa!'

As Sheen spoke, Rogan appeared dazed and responded with short 'yeah' replies.

'Murdered for having a different opinion from somebody else, different ideology from somebody else,' Sheen said.

'Yeah,' Rogan replied. 'Do they even have a suspect?' he asked the production crew.

Rogan, 58, was seen with his hands on his head in distress after learning the devastating news. 'This just happened, we just found out Charlie Kirk was shot,' he said in shock on his podcast

Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck while at an event on a university campus in Utah on Wednesday

Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck while at an event on a university campus in Utah on Wednesday.

The MAGA star, wearing a white t-shirt, was sitting inside a tented gazebo taking questions from attendees when the moment happened.

Before the shot rang out, Kirk was asked how many mass shooters there had been over the past 10 years.

'Counting or not counting gang violence?' the commentator said, before lowering his microphone.

He was shot less than a second later.

Screams were heard across the crowd of young people as those closest to Kirk rushed to his aid.

The father-of-two, known for his fierce MAGA views and combative debates with college kids across the country, collapsed immediately after being hit in the neck by a single shot from about 200 yards.

Kirk was answering a question about mass shootings mere seconds before he was struck. He was rushed to the hospital in a critical condition, but was declared dead two-and-a-half hours later.

Listen to the brand new Daily Mail podcast series - available wherever you get your podcasts now or on Daily Mail's YouTube Channel. Follow and subscribe to never miss an episode

Charlie Kirk was shot in the neck at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem

As Sheen spoke, Rogan appeared dazed and responded with short 'yeah' replies. 'Murdered for having a different opinion from somebody else, different ideology from somebody else,' Sheen said

The killer is still on the loose, with a major manhunt by the FBI and Utah police underway.

The FBI has released a photo of the suspect and is asking the public for help and are offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the killer's arrest.

Federal agents said earlier that they found a high-powered rifle in the woods after Kirk was shot dead at Utah Valley University - but admitted they still have not identified the killer.

The manhunt for Charlie Kirks assassin entered its second day Thursday.

A bullet struck Kirk in the neck, sending the crowd into panic. Despite frantic efforts from staff and security to save him, he died.

Two men were briefly taken into custody after the shooting, but investigators later confirmed they were not suspects and released them.

Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Frantzve, with whom he had a three-year-old daughter and a son, 16 months. The couple celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary in May.

Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Frantzve, with whom he had a three-year-old daughter and a son, 16 months

President Donald Trump led the tributes for the late political commentator. 'The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,' Trump wrote on Truth Social.

'He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!'

The President has ordered all American flags to be lowered to half-staff until Sunday evening at 6pm EST in honor of Kirk.

For more on this story - follow Daily Mail podcast 'The Assassination of Charlie Kirk,' out now wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube.
The British Venture Capital Association (BVCA)  scene of Chancellor Rachel Reeves latest effort to kickstart a stuck economy  is a curious mix.

It is home to the venture capitalists critical to taking trailblazing UK companies to the next stage.

Yet the failure of Britain to seed, maintain and grow any high-tech or AI leader, float it on the London market and grow into Silicon Valley-style industry leaders points to the failure of private capital.

The notable escapees, with the complicity of Whitehall and ineffectual business secretaries, are legion.

Arm Holdings is the biggest loss, but other departures include Deep Minds (owned by Alphabet), Darktrace, Inmarsat and a host of defence firms such as Ultra Electronics.

And with each exit goes intellectual property, patents and expertise, developed with taxpayer help at Britains great research universities.

In the lions den: Chancellor Rachel Reeves speaks with British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association CEO Michael Moore

Venture capital is the positive stuff which the BVCA members do. But it is also home to the private equity ghouls who buy up great companies and load them with debt, and spit them out again.

Advents speedy break-up of aerospace pioneer Cobham, with the loss to the UK of its world-leading flight refuelling tech, is a case in point.

Private equity ownership of supermarkets Asda and Morrisons has made them also-rans in the battle for grocery market share.

Surging costs for veterinary services is the result of the domination of the industry by private capital.

Ministry of Defence housing, Debenhams, Southern Cross and much else have been vandalised by the bigger beasts. Barely a day passes without private equity discovering targets.

Enterprises currently being gobbled up include legal practices, real estate, data centres, NHS surgeries and financial advisory services and platforms.

Remarkably, private equity barons enjoy fantastic tax privileges through carried interest.

This enables them to escape more punitive income and corporation taxes and allows super-rich incomers, such as Blackstones Stephen Schwarzman, to spend 100million revamping a country home.

Government data shows tens of billions of pounds of foreign plundering of assets this year.

The National Security and Investment Act was meant to end the desecration. Reeves, the latest Business Secretary Peter Kyle and their advisers need to wake up and smell the coffee.

Drugs bust

Pharma giant Mercks cancellation of a 1billion research centre in Britain should come as a warning for Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the Government.

The stupidity of punishing medicine makers, by sharply raising the levy on sales to the NHS, has been exposed.

The charge is on an ever-upward trajectory, rising from 15.5 per cent to 24.7 per cent and heading towards 32 per cent.

The 7billion or so of income generated for the NHS might seem like a blessing. But if it chases away the UKs innovative life sciences sector, the nation is doomed.

AstraZeneca, having pulled out of a vaccine plant in Liverpool, is proposing to spend 37billion in the years ahead in the US. Some of this could have come to Britain.

Pharmaceutical trade group ABPI warns that a sector, in which Britain excels, is ruling itself out as a good place to invest. There has been much focus on the sectors growing disenchantment.

In addition, British firms regularly are being absorbed by overseas rivals and private equity.

Verona, which specialises in compounds for pulmonary disease, recently was bought by Merck for 7.4billion.

Abcam, maker of antibodies, was swallowed by Americas Danaher for 4.2billion and barely a day passes without smaller pharma and biotech companies being snaffled.

A Government spending billions on bailing out sunset industries such as steel is oblivious to the erosion of Britains leadership in science-based pharma.

Peter principle

At A dinner hosted by a City figure some years ago, my wife Tricia found herself seated next to Peter Mandelson, who asked what she did for a living.

She said she was puppeteer working mainly in education and museums. Mandelson speedily turned his back on her and conversation died for the evening.

There was no smell of dollar bills...
German oven manufacturer Rational AG sells its Icombi oven to restaurants and caterers worldwide.

Ovens aren't as flashy as AI chatbots, hi-tech drones or cutting-edge software systems, and they certainly don't get investors excited in the same way.

For Jack Featherby, portfolio manager of JPMorgan Discovery Trust, this doesn't matter.

He told This is Money: 'We're looking for companies with a superior product that has a long tenure to give you an example of one of the best performing stocks in Europe over the past 20 years, its Rational.'

While it doesn't hold Rational in its portfolio, JPMorgan Discovery Trust, or JEDT, says it fits the mould of the type of company that finds its way into JEDT's portfolio of 'undiscovered gems'.

Notwithstanding a rocky few years beset with ups and downs, Rational shares have still grown more than 800 per cent since 2005.

Ovens aren't as flashy as AI chatbots, hi-tech drones or cutting-edge software systems, and they certainly don't get investors excited in the same way

The firm, Featherby says, 'has good capital returns, but also has a product which is under-penetrated and really superior to everything out there.'

Rational essentially makes a few products exceptionally well, and sells them on a global basis.

Featherby said: 'If you go into a restaurant kitchen or food truck, many will have a Rational oven.'

This approach underpins JEDT's strategy. The trust aims to find 'hidden gems' that have good products, good business fundamentals, and most importantly have the ability to grow over the long term.

Some of these hidden gems, like Rational, are leaders in one product.

Others, Featherby says, have a dominant market share in their local market. He calls these 'national champions'.

Featherby said: 'They tend to be able to earn excess returns and be able to grow consistently. They can be more in control over their own fate, rather than it being dictated by the competition in the market.

'They have optionality to expand abroad if they wish, but they could stay within their borders and satisfyingly grow.'

In an uncertain world, Featherby says, what makes these 'hidden gem' companies so attractive is their micro focus

It is from these two criteria that JEDT selects companies that have potential for long term growth, balancing the value the company offers, its quality as a business and the momentum it has behind it.

'The operational momentum side of things is shorter term, it allows us to point in the direction of where the market is going.'

Featherby says this framework strategy meant it stayed invested in defence stocks, which in 2025 have seen strong growth.

'Performance [in defence stocks] has been phenomenal over the last year, but valuations are becoming quite steep.'

JEDT has began to cut its defence allocation as these firms become more expensive, which it says is less attractive to the trust.

The future is electric

As defence stocks becoming increasingly expensive as more investors continue to pile in, many will be looking for the next growth prospect that still provides good value.

For JEDT, the answer lies in electrification, which Featherby describes as 'the real long-term driver in Europe'.

Featherby said the sector, covering the replacement of traditional energy forms in everything from transport to infrastructure and industry, will benefit from environmental changes that mean Government and institutional spending in this way is unavoidable.

He said: 'It's forced by the natural world, with rising sea levels or increasing temperatures.'

Featherby added: 'It needs trillions of dollars' worth of investment, and the nature of infrastructure is that you can't build these things overnight.

'You can't build it all in a year, it's going to take a very long time [which allows the sector to grow in the long term].'

JEDT's portfolio, he said, is exposed to electrification across the board, including in green infrastructure and electric vehicles.

For example, the trust invests in German engineering firm Bilfinger SE, which it says is benefiting from a shift away from traditional energy sources in Germany

Featherby says large firms in Germany are contracting businesses like Bilfinger to support their shift to green energy sources.

In an uncertain world, Featherby says, what makes these 'hidden gem' companies so attractive is their micro focus.

'When you're meeting management teams, it isn't uncertain. A lot of these companies are still doing the same thing they've always done,' he said.

'They have a smaller focus, or they just have that one superior product.'

He added: 'Small caps are an asset class that should be pretty insulated, if not a beneficiary of today's world, and at an attractive valuation.

'People think the only way to invest is in AI, but they are investing in a market with record high valuations in the world's most global companies.

'We're in a world where de-globalisation is not a cool word to say de-globalisation is better for domestic companies, so it should be better for small caps.'
Heathrow handled more than eight million passengers in August for the first time in its history, as Europe's busiest airport renewed calls for its expansion.

The London airport said it was the first European airport to surpass this figure following a busy summer of travel.

Chief executive Thomas Woldbye said August would 'go down in the history books' for the record high numbers of travellers.

Heathrow reported its busiest ever day on 1 August, with around 270,000 people passing through the travel hub.

The airport said: 'We eclipsed our previous record departures and arrivals days and Terminal 5 set a new single-day record on 22nd August - successfully welcoming more than 112,000 travellers.'

Growth was largely driven by expansion to Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.

Busy: Heathrow airport revealed it handled more than eight million passengers in August

Heathrow said 98 per cent of bags travelled on their flights as expected and 96 per cent of passengers waited less than five minutes at security.

It also flagged a decline in the number of flight cancellations on the day of travel, stating they fell a third over the summer, compared with the same period a year ago.

But it added that it was 'now operating at full capacity to the detriment of UK trade and connectivity', adding that it welcomed the governments 'commitment to expanding Heathrow'.

Bosses at the west London airport previously flagged that its two runways were being used at almost full capacity, therefore stifling the ability to grow passenger numbers.

Heathrow unveiled plans to build a full-length third runway in August, which it said would enable an additional 276,000 flights per year.

It said the expansion, expected to be operational within a decade, would be privately financed, meaning no taxpayer money would be used, at a cost of 21billion.

The expansion plans, which face opposition from campaigners, include proposals for a new terminal and diversion of the M25 requiring a new road tunnel under the airport.

Heathrow potentially faces tens of millions of pounds in costs after a substation fire forced a chaotic shutdown of Britain's busiest airport in March.
The era of lower taxes is over according to a new global report  which comes amid fears that Labour will stage a fresh tax raid.

Governments acted to ease tax burdens during the pandemic but this trend started to reverse two years ago and the trend has now solidified, it said.

The report from the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said that meant there was now a mix of tax increases and narrower tax relief measures than were offered during the Covid era.

High levels of debt coupled with significant emerging spending needs relating to climate change, ageing and, in some countries, increased defence spending, has meant that jurisdictions of all income levels have adopted strategies to mobilise more revenues, it said.

The OECD, a group of 38 developed countries, noted that Britains Labour government had already enacted measures targeting capital gains tax, employer national insurance and inheritance tax as well as staging a VAT raid on private schools.

They were part of Chancellor Rachel Reevess last Budget which added up to 40 billion in tax raids

Black hole: Fears are growing that Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to introduce another round of crippling tax hikes

Yet fears are growing that Ms Reeves will come back for more as she seeks to repair a financial black hole estimated at up to 50 billion.

Pension taxes, stamp duty, rental income and bank profits among the areas rumoured to be in her sights as well as a potential further freeze in income tax thresholds.

Labour pledged before the election not to increase taxes on working people  covering income tax, national insurance and VAT.

Ministers claim the 25 billion raid on employer national insurance does not break the pledge because it does not directly hit payslips  even though the raid is widely blamed for pushing up unemployment as it makes hiring more expensive.

Some in the corporate world want Labour to ditch the pledge on personal taxes rather than picking the pockets of business again  and damaging growth.

Earlier this week, Confederation of British Industry (CBI) boss Rain Newton-Smith said in a newspaper article that the time for tinkering is over and warned the Chancellor against slavish adherence to her pre-election promises.

Others caution that Ms Reeves should be looking at spending cuts rather than tax hikes to try to get the public finances back on an even keel.

In a note to clients earlier this week, experts at Goldman Sachs said history showed that spending-based fiscal consolidations usually improve deficits more sustainably than tax-based adjustments.

Yet it acknowledged that Labours U-turn on welfare reform showed spending cuts would be politically difficult to deliver and therefore expected there would sizeable tax increases instead.
The number of families paying inheritance tax is increasing every year, with the latest figures, which cover the 2022-23 tax year, indicating a 12 per cent jump to over 31,000.

With Rachel Reeves now eyeing a possible lifetime gifting cap, even more families are likely to be affected.

The number of estates that pay IHT and the amount paid depends varies wildly across Britain.

Nearly half of the total IHT liability in the 2022-23 tax year was paid by estates in London and the South East, but other regions aren't far behind.

This regional disparity is only set to worsen as pensions will be included as part of an estate for IHT purposes from April 2027.

You can see how many families paid IHT and how much their tax bill was using our interactive map below:

Your browser does not support iframes.

Which regions paid the most IHT?

A total of 31,500 families paid inheritance tax in the 2022-23 tax year, amounting to an additional 6.7billion in tax revenues.

The average amount paid by estates fell slightly from 215,000 to 212,000, but the proportion of deaths that led to an IHT bill climbed to 4.62 per cent.

Some 26,200 estates in England paid 5.63billion in IHT, with the vast proportion in London (1.53billion) and the South East (1.45billion).

The total tax take for the region makes up 44 per cent of the total IHT liabilities paid for the entire 2022-23 tax year.

Property makes up a significant proportion of people's wealth in London and the South due to higher prices.

Frozen IHT allowances also mean that as prices increase, more people are dragged into the tax net.

The average home in London now costs 672,989, according to Rightmove, while homes in Kent and Essex have an average of 428,646 and 422,015, respectively.

James Ward, head of the private client practice at Kingsley Napley, which collated the figures, said: 'With house price growth slowing, however, this may no longer be the engine driving the inheritance tax take in future.

'In the near term it may be the upcoming change to make pensions subject to IHT from 2027 that will impact the rankings more markedly as estate assets are valued on a wider basis.'

'The expectation is that this will add approximately 10,000 more estates to HMRC's sights and increase estate values by an average of 34,000 when pension assets are included.

Within London, Richmond Park had the highest number of estates affected, with 184 families paying 71million, an increase on the previous year when 145 families paid 51million.

Finchley and Golders Green followed closely behind, with 183 estates paying 103million, a significant jump from 2021-22, when just 59million was paid in IHT.

Kensington topped the list again for the total amount of IHT paid, with 112 estates adding 154million to the Treasury's coffers, followed by Chelsea and Fulham, which paid 107million across 96 estates.

Outside of London and the South East, the South West had the highest number of estates and IHT paid.

The Cotswolds came out top outside of London and the South West, with 39million paid across 115 estates, while families in Torridge and West Devon paid the same amount across just 73 estates.

It was closely followed by the East of England, with the taxman clawing back 653million from 3259 estates.

Areas that paid the most IHT (2022/23) Constituency Value 1. Kensington 154m 2. Chelsea and Fulham 107m 3. Finchley and Golders Green 103m 4. Cities of London and Westminster 85m 5. Hampstead and Kilburn 84m 6. Richmond Park 71m 7. Wimbledon 69m 8. Esher and Walton 52m 9. South West Surrey 47m 10. Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner 46m Source: HMRC

Areas outside of London & South East that paid the most IHT (2022/23) Constituency Value 1. The Cotswolds 39m 2. Torridge and West Devon 39m 3. Hitchin and Harpenden 38m 4. Altrincham and Sale West 37m 5. South West Hertfordshire 34m 6. Edinburgh North and Leith 29m 7. Suffolk Coastal 28m 8. South Cambridgeshire 27m 9. East Devon 26m 10. Brentwood and Ongar 26m Source: HMRC

Which regions have the lowest IHT bills?

On the other end of the scale, the lowest number of taxpaying estates was found in the North East of England, Northern Ireland and Wales.

In Northern Ireland, 76 estates incurred IHT, amounting to 11million, although data for just two of the 11 constituencies is available.

The North East of England incurred 31million of IHT liabilities across 163 families.

Wales also made up a small proportion of the overall IHT paid, contributing 82million across 622 estates.
A deadly algal bloom off Australia's south coast is the silent killer responsible for the deaths of thousands of marine animals.

Experienced diver Andy Burnell, 60, first noticed the toxic algal bloom off the Great Southern Reef during a dive last September.

An algal bloom can be triggered by an excess of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in the ocean, warm temperatures, and calm waters.

It causes oxygen levels in the water to drop, causing marine life to suffocate and die.

The algal bloom now measures twice the size of the ACT and has killed more than 34,000 animals, including sea dragons, Port Jackson sharks and stingrays.

The City of Holdfast Bay, a coastal suburb in Adelaide's south-west, has alone collected more than 37 tonnes of dead sea life in recent weeks.

'This is a new thing for us,' Mr Burnell told Daily Mail.

'There's been some minor blooms in the past here and there, small-scale things, but this is totally out of left field for South Australia. It's the first bloom like this.

Passionate diver Andy Burnell (pictured) said the giant algal bloom is a 'first' for Adelaide

A dead Port Jackson shark is on the shore in Adelaide on July 4

More than 34,000 sea creatures have been killed by the algal bloom including countless leafy seadragons (pictured), Port Jackson sharks and stingrays

'Initially there were a lot of stingrays, fiddler rays and dwelling sharks and things washing up - there were thousands of those.

'They're not coming up anymore, probably because they're all dead already.'

Mr Burnell, who works for South Australia's Department for Environment and Water, has seen firsthand the impact the algal bloom has had on the health of residents.

'One of the first things that happened was surfers came out of the water coughing and with headaches,' he explained.

'When the waves stir up the algae it becomes aerosol, which people are breathing in.'

He said the algal bloom also had a flow-on effect on local tourism.

'There's also a huge economic impact,' he said.

'It's a huge, huge deal for South Australia. People are avoiding going to the small regional towns on the coast for their holidays. People have stopped fishing.'

The toxic algal bloom has turned Adelaide's beaches into a 'marine graveyard'

The City of Holdfast Bay alone has collected more than 37 tonnes of dead sea life (pictured)

Thousands of dead fish have washed up on South Australian beaches (pictured)

The SA government has limited options for controlling an algal bloom once it develops, as these blooms often cover large areas and are likely to reappear during warm weather.

But locals have questioned why the state didn't step in when the 'perfect storm' of conditions, including high temperatures and increased river discharge, began.

Scientists from the Great Southern Reef Research Partnership wrote to then-environment minister Tanya Plibersek in October 2023 asking for $40million over 10 years for algal bloom monitoring.

They wrote a second time in May when Murray Watt took the position, but both times, the calls for funding were rejected.

'It's left a lot of people wondering, if this was somewhere else there would've been a better response because it would've been attracted more attention,' Mr Burnell said.

Locals had hoped recent cold weather and storms would kill off the algae, but it looks likely to remain strong into summer - its ideal season.

South Australians are now focused on keeping their beaches as clean as possible as they ride out the event.

'Tractors have been scraping the beach to clean the algae off in the mornings. But it's a difficult thing to do,' Mr Burnell said.

'In small areas you can scrape it with a tractor but in larger areas... Adelaide is basically beach from one end to the other.'
The best mate of suspected cop killer Dezi Freeman has revealed his disturbing exchange with him just 24 hours before the fatal showdown that left two cops dead.

Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 35, and detective Neal Thompson, 59, died and a third officer was seriously injured as they tried to serve a warrant on Freeman.

Now former Australian Army soldier Bruce Evans, 60, has told the Daily Mail Freeman had been agitated and disturbed the day before he allegedly gunned down three officers at his home in Porepunkah in Victoria's High Country on August 26.

In a series of messages with the alleged killer before the deadly ambush, Freeman made a terrifying prediction to Mr Evans.

'There's just one part where he cracked the s***s and said he was going to drive away anyway,' Mr Evans revealed.

'He said he didn't give a f*** if he got shot or whatever.'

Mr Evans now fears Freeman will kill himself - but hopes Freeman might still be able to negotiate his surrender in return for a chance to air his extremist views.

He said the shooting of the two police officers was a tragedy which should never have happened, but hoped there might still be a way for Freeman to come forward.

Freeman allegedly gunned down three officers at his home in Porepunkah in Victoria's High Country on August 26

Former Australian Army soldier Bruce Evans, 60, told the Daily Mail he was this week quizzed by police

'I hope he contacts me or someone else and says I'm ready to do a Zoom call with the media,' Mr Evans said.

'But there's a slim chance of that, because he would think that my phone is tapped.'

Mr Evans said he feared it was now 'on the cards' that Freeman will take his own life in the wake of the deadly ambush.

'I think the best thing would be to set up some sort of Zoom meeting with him and give him some airtime,' he said.

'Let him explain everything from his point of view on the condition that he hands himself in.

'At least [that way], people get to hear his side of the story before he disappears or something else.'

Mr Evans, who said Freeman is one of his best mates, insisted the fugitive is not a 'sovereign citizen'.

'Dezi may at one stage have stated that he's a sovereign citizen, but definitely not in the last couple of years,' he added.

Mr Evans fears it's a possibility Freeman had taken his own life

Police continue to search for Freeman as the manhunt enters its third week

'He realised that that was a crock, he spent a lot of time researching law and the largest part of that was to defend his family.'

But he said Freeman lived in fear of authorities taking his children away because they were home-schooled and he opposed vaccinations.

'I think that like escalated things for him, he got pretty agitated about that,' Mr Evans said.

Police are now grilling anyone he knows to find out if he's made contact with them since he went on the run.

Detectives got Mr Evans use his own personal phone to call Freeman after he was asked to go in to the local police station and help cops hunting the fugitive.

He revealed the fugitive's phone now goes straight to voicemail, but told the Daily Mail that was no surprise.

'I knew he wouldn't answer because the first thing he would've done was ditch his phone because you can be tracked on that,' Mr Evans said.

'The cop was the one who was actually trying it - I was curious as well - but there's no way the call would have gone through to him.'

Mr Evans is a former soldier and outlaw biker

He added: 'I haven't tried to call him since it happened, so I thought, "F*** it, we'll do it now," but it went to voicemail.

'We all sort of knew it was going to go nowhere, but let's see what happens.

'It was a pointless exercise.'

Mr Evans said police have also been asking any other people linked to Freeman if they had been attempting to contact the fugitive or had heard from him.

'They are expanding their net out a bit now,' Mr Evans said.

'A few people have been called in for questioning and I've been getting texts from them afterwards and they're asking them all the same questions.'

Despite their close friendship, Mr Evans said he and Freeman weren't eye-to-eye on everything.

'Dezi and I sort of diverged a little bit in some things we believed in,' he admitted.

'Personally, I think trying to arrest the magistrate [as Freeman tried in 2021] was a waste of time and energy and I didn't think it was ever going to amount to anything.'

Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 35, was allegedly killed by Freeman

Detective Neal Thompson was farewelled during a service at the Victoria Police Academy in Melbourne

He revealed he had since been the target of death threats online including one from an alleged bikie who also threatened to rape Freeman's wife, Mali.

'I get a lot of insults and stuff, but I'm not worried about it,' he said.

'But that one was particularly bad, you know, threatening to rape Mali and stuff like that - it's just not on.

'It was a private message, but I thought if you're gonna say s*** like that, I'm gonna put it up and show everyone.'

The massive manhunt for Freeman has now entered its third week as 450 heavily-armed and specialist police aided by ADF search deep bushland near Porepunkah.

Police have also searched more than 100 properties in the surrounding towns and have received hundreds of tips and pieces of new information since announcing a $1million reward.
A Melbourne OnlyFans vixen branded the tenant from hell who allegedly had links to organised crime has admitted her fresh drug shame in court.

Convicted drug dealer Emily Arena, 28, pleaded guilty at Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Wednesday to multiple new drug offences.

The former Men's Gallery stripper had been on the run for months with a warrant out for her arrest until she was captured in Melbourne's CBD in May.

Arena was snared when sharp-eyed police officers spotted her standing next to a stolen 2016 grey Mercedes Benz in Elizabeth St and swooped to seize her.

Police searched Arena and found various illicit substances including three bags of methamphetamine, valium and erectile dysfunction drug, sildenafil.

She had been dodging justice since earlier fleeing her Prahran East townhouse where she left a trail of vile devastation, including faeces, used drug syringes and sex toys.

Arena had previously been arrested last November inside another stolen car with another stash of drugs.

The court heard Arena was 'visibly shaking' as police approached, before they found ketamine, GHB, bags of meth and a set of scales in her Christian Dior handbag.

OnlyFans vixen Emma Arena was branded the tenant from hell who allegedly had links to organised crime

Convicted drug dealer Emily Arena, 28, pleaded guilty at Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Wednesday to multiple new drug offences

Arena previously work as a stripper at The Men's Gallery in Melbourne before becoming a freelance sex worker

Arena told police she had used drugs 'on and off' since she was 19 and said the vial was 'GHB in baby oil'.

'I use rec drugs, they're both [bags of drugs] mine and it's for personal use,' Arena told police.

Arena also claimed she used the scales to weigh her own drugs before she used the substances.

The court heard Arena has convictions for drug trafficking and her drug use increased while she worked as a Men's Gallery stripper.

The defence revealed Arena no longer works at the Lonsdale Street strip club but is currently 'self-employed as an escort'.

'She's in a situation where she's making money for herself,' Arena's lawyer told the court.

Arena, who was convicted and fined $1500, has 'reduced' her drug use and not used meth in the last two months, the court was told.

Arena was recently evicted from her last home and is now living in an short-term holiday rental home while tries to find something more permanent, her lawyer said.

Arena was convicted and fined $1500 but told the court she has 'reduced' her drug use and not used meth in the last two months

Arena previously disappeared with her drug trafficker boyfriend David Jurd in late-2023 after they were again evicted while subletting a Prahran East townhouse.

Two armed Victoria Police officers oversaw the eviction after the couple came under surveillance by the Organised Crime Squad while living there in September 2023.

A local with close knowledge of the situation told the Daily Mail Jurd and Arena got a backdoor entry into the unit after it was wrongly leased to another suspected criminal.

According to the local, Jurd and Arena made the lives of neighbours and the property owner a nightmare, and it was reported to cops for suspected drug dealing.

A private eye was hired to investigate after Arena and Jurd were identified at the property.

The private detective contacted the suspected con artist who secured the lease but, according to the source, was warned off.

'My guys will shoot the people who informed on David and Emily,' the leaseholder was alleged to have warned the investigator.

'We shoot police too, this is easy for us.'

Arena previously disappeared with her drug trafficker boyfriend David Jurd in late-2023 after they were evicted while unlawfully subletting a Prahran East townhouse

The private detective claimed the leaseholder admitted 'taking a fee' to place the convicted drug traffickers Arena and Jurd into the property.

Neighbours also claimed they found used needles dumped outside the townhouse in Melbourne's inner south.

The source said a family which lived close to the townhouse was told by police to 'relocate for their own safety' after 'scary' organised crime figures were spotted coming and going from the property.

The source, who knew the owner of the townhouse, said the property was left a 'putrid, stinking mess'.

'There were faeces, utter filth and even sex toys, strewn among spoiled food and discarded needles,' they said.

Jurd has a string of prior convictions including trafficking MDMA, cocaine and meth after his arrest when he came back to his Highett motel room to find his mate dead in an overflowing spa in 2018.

The career drug dealer was also convicted of trafficking in 2015 but refused to identify his supplier to police.

Arena first popped up when she and Jurd were done dealing out of a CBD Airbnb in 2021.

They were caught with meth, cocaine, MDMA, more than $33,000 and weapons including knuckle dusters and a 'fantasy-style' sword.

Arena avoided a jail stint while Jurd was granted a 45-month drug treatment order but breached his conditions and was jailed.
Children at a school on the Isle of Wight have launched a petition after a new 'prison-like regime' brought in for the new year has left students feeling like they are contestants in Squid Game.

Pupils returned to Cowes Enterprise College last week to find a complete overhaul of the previous rules, with toilets now locked during lesson time, flavoured drinks banned and a 'drill sergeant' forcing pupils to stand outside in the rain.

Now it has been revealed that the school has started playing music through corridors between lessons, threatening pupils with detention if they do not make their next class by the time the music ends in a twisted game of musical chairs.

The school has also covered the windows and doors with paper 'so that the children could not see in and out', according to one parent.

Despite backlash from parents at the weekend, the school told parents on Monday that they were 'blowing things out of proportion'.

Meanwhile pupils were reportedly taken into assemblies where they were shown videos of children around the world who struggle to get an education before being told to be 'grateful for the the one they receive'.

The Academy which runs the school previously told The Mail that the changes were brought in to create 'an even calmer, safer environment that supports both well-being and academic achievement'.

However parents have continued to criticise the changes and accused the school of 'breaching human rights'.

Windows and doors at Cowes Enterprise College on the Isle of Wight were covered, which one parent said was 'so the pupils could not see outside'

One parent said his child has stopped drinking at school for fear of needing the toilet.

Lee said his son suffers from autism as well as a bladder condition.

He told The Mail: 'Hes been coming home sad, hungry, thirsty and crying.

'He isnt allowed the toilet without being escorted which can take 20 minutes, so he isnt drinking due to fear of not being allowed the toilet.

'He only gets 10 minutes to eat his lunch before being kicked out of the dinner hall so is barely eating.

'They are only allowed to sit in groups of 6 maximum, so two of the friends in the group get left out every single lunchtime.

'Hes no longer allowed in the library or computer room which he used to go to for quieter spaces and is really struggling with the overwhelmingly large number of changes implemented at once.

'He loved school last year but this year has asked to move schools so were now looking at other options.'

Pupils have compared the 'prison-like' regime at the school to the Netflix series Squid Game

The father described the situation as a 'lack of basic human rights' as well as 'a form of disability discrimination'.

'What they are doing is creating an environment based on fear and deprivation of basic needs which is cruel and inhumane.

'Whoever implemented these changes needs to be held accountable. Children do not learn whilst operating in fight or flight mode which is exactly what is happening.

'This will not only directly impact the childrens academic achievements but it is going to have a detrimental affect on their mental health and well being.'

A petition has now been launched, calling for a revision of the security and safeguarding rules at the school and has received more than 500 signatures.

It reads: 'The new security and safeguarding rules implemented at Cowes Enterprise College are having a detrimental impact on the students.

'The measures, which include the use of alarms/music, strict lunchtime and break rules, enforced toilet policies, and being escorted to lessons, have not only been imposed without consultation with students and parents but also contradict our health and wellbeing.

'For instance, the intention behind the new lunchtimes aimed at creating a calmer environment has backfired.

Students at the secondary school on the Isle of Wight have been banned from using the toilets during class

'Instead, it has induced anxiety among many students, myself included, around eating.

'The strict toilet policies force us to wait for a teacher to escort us, which is often delayed, making students uncomfortable and potentially leading to health issues.

'These rules, rather than facilitating a safe and conducive learning environment, have created an atmosphere of intimidation.

'This negative environment impacts our ability to focus on learning, as we constantly feel stressed and anxious about these restrictions.

'Consulting with students and parents before implementing such drastic changes is essential. We urge the school management of Cowes Enterprise College to reconsider these imposed rules.'

The changes left parents shocked last week as children returned home in tears following strict new rules being implemented as part of the new school year.

Toilets were locked with a shutter pulled down, which was only opened at break and lunch time.

A select few students with medical issues have been told to inform their teacher if they need to use the toilets, before waiting for a member of staff to escort them to a special area protected by a key card.

Parents at Cowes Enterprise College were shocked as their children returned home in tears following strict new rules being implemented (file photo)

However one child with cerebral palsy was reportedly left waiting for more than half an hour for a 'toilet buddy' to collect them.

The change has led to huge queues for the lavatories at break and lunch, with some pupils telling their parents they did not drink throughout the day to avoid having to face the lunchtime rush.

They also had to weigh up whether to risk using the toilet and missing their strict ten-minute allocated time each year group was given to order, collect and eat their food.

That reportedly left some stragglers at the back of the queue being told to throw their lunch away just moments after sitting down.

Another parent reported that their child was given a detention for eating lunch in a 'non-designated area' after his ten-minute time slot.

Pupils have also been made to stand single-file on a yellow line before entering the building, while a 'drill sergeant' orders them to comply.

Until all children are stood with one leg on either side of the line, the class is not allowed to enter.

In one instance last week a class were alleged to have been left standing outside in the pouring rain for up to 15 minutes.

One parent told the Daily Mail that they would be keeping their child, who suffers with autism and ADHD, at home until there is a change in the rules.

One parent compared the 'prison-like regime' at the school to 'Alcatraz' (pictured), the former maximum-security prison located off the coast of San Francisco

They said: 'We received an email a day before they broke up for the summer. We were told that all of the toilet passes for SEN [special educational needs] students would be removed.

'Loads of parents have said their children are refusing to drink water during the day because they don't have the time to queue because they have to get their lunch.

'They get 35 minutes as a lunch break, but it is divided up into ten minute sessions for each year group and they are escorted to the canteen by a teacher. They get ten minutes to get their food, sit down and eat it. There were children in tears today.

The parent said the 'prison-like regime' at the school reminded her of an 'army training camp' or 'Alcatraz' - the famously strict former maximum-security prison located on an island off the coast of San Francisco.

The Academy, which is managed by the Ormiston Academies Trust, received a rating of Good at its last Ofsted inspection.

Another parent said her daughter, who suffers from ADHD, autism and anxiety, was not prepared for how tough the new year would be.

The mother said: 'I feel with all the changes they have put on children today, those who are neurodivergent had no preparation.

Windows and doors were covered at the front of the school building in Cowes

'My daughter has a bowel condition, she previously had a medical pass and all she had to do to use the toilet was wave a card.

'Now she has to wait to be escorted by a special member of staff, if she needs to go she needs to go now.

'At break and lunch the queue is ridiculous. There are only three toilets. In the toilets for the Year 8 pupils, there is a male, female and unisex. For about 30 children.'

She added: 'This is the 2020s, not the 1920s. I will be going into school tomorrow to speak to them and I doubt I will be the only one.'

A spokesperson for the academy previously told the Daily Mail: 'We are proud to be a high-performing, inclusive school where students are happy, well supported and achieve well.

'Everything we do is focused on maintaining and strengthening that culture, and we have policies in place to uphold these high standards.

'At the start of this term, we introduced a number of changes designed to build on that commitment by creating an even calmer, safer environment that supports both well-being and academic achievement.

'Many of these policies are in response to direct feedback from parents, students and staff, and aim to enhance the overall educational experience of our children and young people.

'We know that new approaches can take time to embed, and we are listening carefully to feedback from parents, students and staff.

'Where sensible refinements are needed, we will make them.

'However, we remain confident that these changes will help ensure our school continues to be a place where children can thrive and so we will be working closely with our school community to support this.'
UK Defence Secretary John Healey has warned Vladimir Putin is 'testing' the West after Russian drones violated Polish airspace on Tuesday night, forcing a multinational response.

More than eight million Poles were ordered to hide in their homes as the drones flew overhead, with debris from one shot-down device severely damaging a house.

Poland's prime minister, Donald Tusk, condemned the unprecedented violation of the country's airspace, saying: 'This situation brings us all closer to open conflict, closer than at any time since the Second World War.'

Poland invoked NATO's Article 4, under which any member can call urgent talks when it feels its 'territorial integrity, political independence or security' are at risk.

Mark Rutte, Secretary General of the military alliance, issued a stark warning to the Russian president, telling him to 'stop violating allied airspace, and know that we stand ready, that we are vigilant, and that we will defend every inch of NATO territory'.

Up to four of the 19 Russian drones were shot down by Polish and NATO aircraft - the first time Kremlin drones have been downed while flying above a NATO territory. Those that entered Poland were part of a huge overnight attack on Ukraine, during which Russia launched 415 drones.

As Europe braces for an imminent war with Russia, countries are turning their borders into defensive swampland and stockpiling essential goods such as food, water and medicine in preparation for a crisis.

Several members of the 27-nation bloc are taking the drastic measures in anticipation of an invasion by the Russian president - with the Polish incursion showing that Putin seems to be already turning his sights beyond Kyiv.

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Polish television channel TV Republika shared this image of one of the downed drones

A severely damaged house is seen in the village of Wyryki in eastern Poland, where one of the Russian drones that breached Polish airspace collided with the building on September 10, 2025

Photos show the extent of devastation inside a Polish home torn apart after being struck by a Russian drone

The defence ministries of Finland and Poland are calling for the restoration of their nation's bogs and marshes, making it impossible for Russian tanks to attack as any advance would be prevented by their heavy vehicles sinking into swampland.

It comes as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned on Monday that Putin's 'imperialist plan wouldn't end with the conquest of Ukraine but would rather be just the start'.

Meanwhile, Brussels has launched a 'stockpiling strategy' to ensure the continuity of key goods across Europe in the face of potential crises such as energy blackouts, pandemics, climate change and World War.

The EU is also pushing for every household to have a three-day survival kit, including matches, ID documents in a waterproof punch, bottled water, energy bars and a flashlight.

And France's government has told its health bodies to expect for a 'major engagement' by March 2026 by asking hospitals to prepare for a potential flood of military patients from home and abroad.

It comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's said Putin could attack a NATO country within the next five years, as he criticised the alliance for a slow spending ramp up in June. But the threat could emerge much sooner, with Healey remarking that 'Putin hit a new level of hostility against Europe' after the Polish incursion.

Russia says it did not plan to attack any targets in Poland, but Warsaw's defence minister hit back at any theories about an accidental malfunction. 'Russian drones have veered into Polish airspace before - not just drones but also cruise missiles,' Radoslaw Sikorski said.

'When one or two drones does it, it is possible that it was a technical malfunction, but in this case there were 19 breaches, and it simply defies imagination that could be accidental.'

Multiple Russian drones leaving Ukrainian airspace into Poland

Parts of discovered drone are seen in the village of Mniszkow in central Poland

The owners survived by sheer luck, but had they been inside at the time, their deaths could have triggered NATO's Article 5

When it comes to battle on land, there is a precedent in Ukraine for using the natural capability of viscous wetlands to ward off deadly Russian onslaughts.

As Russian soldiers marched towards Kyiv in February 2022, Ukraine took a desperate measure. To repel Putin's advance, the armed forces blew a hole in the soviet-era Kozarovychi Dam on the Irpin river north of Kyiv, flooding 2,800 hectares of land.

The last-ditch attempt to shield the city paid off. As the land transformed into an impenetrable, black swamp, advancing Russian tanks found themselves 'stuck in the mud' as US President Donald Trump claimed last month.

Now, there are mounting calls in Europe to accelerate the restoration of bogs and marshes as a measure to combat climate change and to bolster defence.

Peatlands are unique ecosystems that naturally store large amounts of carbon dioxide. But if drained, they exude centuries' worth of carbon into the atmosphere, contributing towards global warming.

After World War II, huge quantities of wetland were converted into profitable farmland. Nearly half of all peatlands in Europe are degraded, mostly due to artificial drainage - causing a toll on the environment.

EU countries reported 124 million tons of greenhouse gas pollution from drained peatlands in 2022, close to the annual emissions of the Netherlands. Some scientists say even this is an underestimate.

That's why the bloc is prioritising restoring 30 percent of degraded peatlands over the next five years, and 50 percent by 2050 - to slow climate change, promote biodiversity, and now, ready border nations for potential war with Russia.

When it comes to battles on land, there is a precedent in Ukraine for using the natural capability of viscous wetlands to ward off deadly Russian onslaughts

Forest swamp in Otomin, Poland

The 'If Crisis or War Comes' guide advises Swedes on how best to help their country prepare

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As part of Poland's 1.9 billion Eastern Shield development project for defence infrastructure, swamplands and forests close to its borders with Russia will be expanded.

'The natural environment in the border areas is an obvious ally of any actions enhancing the elements of Eastern Shield,' a spokesman for Polands ministry of defence said.

On top of plans to expand swampland to deter Putin's troops, this summer the country added protective minefields to a 20-kilometre stretch of land bordering Russia and Belarus. The size of the armed forces stood at about 190,000 personnel at the end of last year, including ground, air, naval, special forces and territorial defence forces. Poland plans to increase this to 300,000 troops within a few years.

'Drained peatland makes up 10 percent of Finlands agricultural land, but it produces more than half of the agricultural greenhouse gas emissions,' Kristiina Lang, a research professor and peat specialist at the Natural Resources Institute of Finland told France24.

In Finland, there are some obvious locations that could be considered for large-scale rewetting, such as swathes of land drained for forestry that failed to grow any trees.

'It's very logical to wet these large areas again,' Lang said. 'And if we need to rewet part of our peatlands anyway, then why not close to the eastern border?'

Scientists argue that restoring bogs on NATO's eastern flank would be a relatively cheap and effective measure to achieve EU climate targets and defence goals in one fell swoop.

But there are environmental downsides and complications associated with the plan to revive Europe's swamps. For one, people with privately-owned land in areas that have been earmarked for rewetting will be opposed to the move.

The Polish-Belarusian country border crossing is seen behind concrete anti-tank obstacles and barbed wire in Polowce-Pieszczatka, Poland on July 21, 2025

A Lithuanian border fence runs along the border to the Russian semi-exclave of Kaliningrad on October 28, 2022 near Vistytis, Lithuania

Moreover, when Ukraine flooded the Irpin basin in a desperate attempt at defence, it was hugely ecologically destructive in the nearby residential areas, and the release of sewage and heavy metals harmed the environment.

Governments in the Baltic states which share a 600-mile border with Russia and Belarus have shown little interest in the project so far, apart from Lithuania, which said defence-linked wetland restoration 'is currently under discussion', according to Politico.

The Baltic country has recently revealed plans to dig a 30-mile-wide ribbon of defences on its borders with Russia and Belarus that will include minefields and bridges set to blow up in case Moscow invades.

For the past year, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have been fortifying their borders, adding obstacles and redoubts to existing fences amid Russia's mounting aggression.

When complete, the Baltic defence line is estimated to be more than 940 miles long and will limit Russia's ability to launch attacks from its own territory, Kaliningrad and Belarus.

Lithuania, in particular, began setting up dozens of so-called 'engineering parks' filled with 'counter-mobility' equipment.

These initially included razor wire, concrete roadblocks, Czech Hedgehogs (a type of anti-tank barrier), as well as dragon's teeth (concrete pyramids).

But Lithuania has now said that it is looking to further layer its defences, stretching them wide enough to protect Vilnius, the capital. Lithuania's border with Kaliningrad and Belarus is over 590 miles long.

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The new ribbon will be made of three layers. The first, estimated to be three miles wide, will begin with an anti-tank ditch next to the border fence. This will then be followed by an embankment, strips of dragon's teeth and minefields, and then two layers of strongpoints for defending infantry.

The second and third layers will see bridges primed with explosives that can be detonated at will, as well as more lines of infantry.

Estonia approved a four-year 2.8 billion (2.4 billion) additional defence funding bill earlier this year, pushing the Baltic country to an average defence spending of 5.4 per cent of GDP through to 2029.

Merz told a conference of Germany's ambassadors that 'we are experiencing daily and with increasing intensity hybrid Russian attacks, including on our infrastructure' and pointed to Moscow's 'provocations in the North and Baltic Seas'.

Germany has been Ukraine's second-biggest supplier of military aid since Russia's invasion began in 2022 and has been on high alert for sabotage plots directed from Moscow.

Merz has moved to ramp up Germany's defence capacities in the face of Trump's questioning of the future strength of the transatlantic alliance and wants Germany to have Europe's 'strongest conventional army'.

'We have historic tasks,' Merz said on Monday, namely 'building a new security architecture which should last for several decades to come'.

'What we referred to as the liberal world order is under pressure from many sides, including within the political West,' he said.

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'A new conflict between systems has broken out between liberal democracies and an axis of autocracies.'

The EU this year launched a broad readiness push to bolster its militaries and try to ensure it can defend itself by 2030.

'The goal is very simple to make sure that essential supplies that keep our societies running, especially the ones that save lives, are always available,' EU crisis management commissioner Hadja Lahbib said.

Meanwhile, French hospitals have been ordered to make preparations for an imminent war.

'Among the risks identified is the hypothesis of a major engagement where the health issue would consist of taking care of a potentially high influx of victims from abroad,' the ministry of health said in a statement.

'It is therefore a question for our health system of anticipating the care of military patients in the civilian health system'.

Britain, despite having more recent memory of armed conflicts than many of its allies on the continent, has fallen behind in civil planning.

In November, the chief of the UK defence staff said that Britain simply does not have 'some of the civil aspects or planning aspects' that other allies have 'as part of their traditions'.

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to governor of Smolensk region Vasily Anokhin, at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, on Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses a joint press conference with European Council President Antonio Costa following their meeting in the Transcarpathian city of Uzhhorod, Western Ukraine, 5 September 2025

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin told the Berlin security conference that 'we are having those conversations to learn from our colleagues and see what might be appropriate for ourselves'.

Other countries are more prepared. In November last year, Sweden announced that it would be sending out five million pamphlets to its population just north of 10 million, urging preparedness for the possibility of a lasting conflict.

NATO chief Mark Rutte sounded the alarm in July about a major conflict that he anticipates would be started by simultaneous invasions from Xi and Putin.

He claimed that combined attacks from the Russian and Chinese leaders would trigger a World War nightmare and bring the planet to the brink of Armageddon.

According to the NATO chief, China would start by seeking to grab Taiwan - while ensuring the Kremlin dictator simultaneously attacks NATO territory, amid fears Putin is eyeing the Baltic republics.

Britain could send fighter jets to bolster NATO's air defence over Poland after Russian drones were shot down over the eastern European country.

Defence Minister Healey said that 300 UK armed forces personnel are stationed in Poland at the present time, and until July, the UK also had six RAF Typhoon jets over the country, as part of NATO's air policing responsibilities. Following the drone incursion, he said he asked the Armed Forces 'to look at options to bolster NATO's air defence over Poland'.

RAF jets were not involved in shooting down Russian drones in Poland's airspace, but NATO secretary Rutte has said the Netherlands, Italy, Poland and Germany played a major role.

A member of the Polish Army inspects the damaged house on September 10, 2025

Kyiv warned that Russia's actions are an escalation of the war in Ukraine

Speaking at PMQs earlier today, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: 'I've been in touch with the Polish Prime Minister this morning to make clear our support for Poland, and will stand firm in our support for Ukraine with our partners, and through our leadership of the coalition of the willing, we will continue to ramp up the pressure on Putin until there's a just and lasting peace.'

Shocking images show the devastation inside a Polish home torn apart after being struck by a Russian drone. The roof has been completely destroyed, leaving a gaping hole that exposes the rooms below to the sky.

The owners survived by sheer luck, but had they been inside at the time, their deaths could have triggered NATOs Article 5 and brought Europe to all-out war.

The collective defence clause treats an attack on one member as an attack on all, raising the terrifying prospect of major conflict.
Hours after terrorists hijacked four planes and struck the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and an empty field in Pennsylvania, killing thousands on 9/11, another murder took place on a Brooklyn street.

It was New York City's only reported homicide outside the attacks that day in 2001 - and it remains unsolved 24 years later.

The victim was 46-year-old Henryk Siwiak, who had emigrated to America from Poland in search of a better life. A married father of two, he had phoned relatives in Eastern Europe earlier to tell them he was safe after the terror strikes.

But hours later, while on his way to a new job at Pathmark supermarket in Bedford-Stuyvesant, the hard-working immigrant was shot and left for dead.

Siwiak, who was juggling several jobs at the time to support his family back in Poland, accidentally got off at the wrong subway stop.

Instead of reaching the 1500 block of Albany Avenue, where the grocery store was located, he ended up four miles away on the first block of Albany Avenue.

The mistake cost him his life.

Two hijacked planes hit the south and north towers of the World Trade Center during the 9/11 terrorist attack

Siwiak was killed hours after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He was the only homicide reported in New York outside of the World Trade Center attacks on that day

Retired NYPD Lieutenant Tom Joyce, then with the 79th Precinct, was one of the first officers on the scene after a call came that shots had been fired at Decatur Street.

'There was only myself and one other detective available to even pay any attention to it, and we probably spent less than an hour on it,' Joyce told the Daily Mail.

'There was no crime scene to respond to. We had one evidence collection technician show up with a Polaroid camera. We processed the crime scene. They gathered whatever evidence they could. They took whatever photos they could,' he recalled.

'It was the weakest response to a homicide in probably 100 years because there were just no resources. Every crime scene unit technician available was working the World Trade Center.'

'Mr Siwiak was not only the victim of an unfortunate circumstance. He was also the victim of getting killed at the worst possible time in the history of New York, maybe the United States.'

Investigators spent years trying to investigate Siwiak's murder. A $12,000 reward was offered by the NYPD and Crime Stoppers, but no information leading to an arrest was ever received.

A lack of forensic evidence and the critical lost time eventually turned the case cold.

NYPD Detective Michael Prate, who was also with the 79th Precinct, later described the area where Siwiak was killed as being notorious for gangs, guns and drugs.

'It was dangerous for the police to be on that block,' Prate said, as per ABC7 News, adding he believed Siwiak was killed during an attempted robbery.

'I'm assuming he was lost and, when he got down there, he just stepped into the lion's den.'

Seven cartridge cases were recovered the night of the shooting, raising the hopes of officials that they might be forensically matched to a firearm used in another crime.

But the weapon has never resurfaced, Joyce said.

At the time, pioneering new techniques were used in an attempt to extract DNA and fingerprints from the cartridges but forensics were not yet advanced enough.

'I think the likelihood of solving this case is exponentially greater if 9/11 had not hit, because what would have happened was we would have processed the crime scene.

'You would have had detectives out there every single day for a couple of weeks, knocking on doors, talking to people. You would have had narcotic enforcement arresting people in the narcotics trade and doing debriefings, looking for people to either negotiate for leverage and deals.

'You would have had a lot more of a focus by the detectives doing the background work.'

The Bedford-Stuyvesant block in Brooklyn where the crime took place

A view of the Bed-Stuy area where Siwiak ended up after getting off the wrong train stop

A $12,000 reward was offered by the NYPD and Crime Stoppers

NYPD Lieutenant Tom Joyce of the 79th Precinct went to the scene after Henryk Siwiak was killed

Thursday marks 24 years since Siwiak's murder, and there are still no suspects.

An NYPD spokesperson told the Daily Mail that there were no updates and the investigation remained ongoing.

According to some reports, Siwiak did not speak English well and may have had an altercation with the suspect or suspects during the attack.

After he was shot, he tried to knock on a nearby door for help but collapsed.

Joyce described the area of Decatur and Albany where Siwiak was gunned down as a section that was 'pretty rough', rife with robberies and street-level drug trade.

He said the murder is a 'whodunnit' for the cold case team but solving it now would rely on witnesses or someone with information coming forward - or the weapon being recovered.

Though he thinks that is 'highly unlikely'.

Siwiak's sister, Lucyna, 72, was 'unavailable and out of the country' when contacted by the Daily Mail but discussed the case on the Anatomy of Murder true-crime podcast in October 2024.

Through a translator, she told hosts Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi and Scott Weinberger of her shock when detectives came to her door. Her brother had been in the US for just 11 months.

Siwiak carried only $5 the night he died because he sent the rest of his earnings to his family in Poland.

On the day of the terrorist attacks, Lucyna said he had found a second job as a cleaner at a supermarket. Though he knew his way around Manhattan and Queens, Brooklyn was unfamiliar.

'He didn't know about what places are danger,' she said.

She also shared a chilling conversation in which her brother predicted that he would die soon.

Lucyna had moved to America from Poland to start over after her business was destroyed by fire but her outlook changed with the murder of Siwiak.

'My dream was completely different after my brother died. I lost motivation. What are we doing? For what?,' she asked.

Lucyna Siwiak in January 2002, holding her brother's picture six months after his murder

Dr Sneha Ann Philip, 31, was a resident at St. Vincents Hospital and went missing on September 10

Dr Sneha Ann Philip and her husband Dr Ron Lieberman

Another mystery that still haunts New Yorkers from the time of the 9/11 attacks is the disappearance of Dr Sneha Anne Philip, 31, a married medical doctor.

The last known sighting was around 7.18pm on September 10 at the Century 21 department store located on Cortland Street across from the World Trade Center.

She and her husband also lived near the towers in Battery Park City, and in her final texts she suggested to her mother she wanted to try Windows on the World - the restaurant at the top of Tower One.

A newlywed at the time she vanished, she met her partner, Dr Ron Lieberman, when they were both in medical school.

Philips was never found, and her case is unsolved. She is listed among the official victims of 9/11.

The NYPD said there were no updates, telling the Daily Mail that her case, as with Siwiak's, was ongoing.
Attorney General Pam Bondi and Health Secretary RFK Jr. declared war on Chinese vape smugglers Wednesday, celebrating a massive bust of illegal products in a Chicago area warehouse in Bensenville, Illinois.

Standing behind a large stash of illegal vape products with specially branded flavors like Watermelon Ice, Pina Colada, Strawberry Cream, Apple Peach Strawberry, and Fruit Monster, Bondi warned vape shops in America's cities to get them off their shelves.

'What we're doing right now is we're on the front end, if you have this stuff, get it off your shelves, because this is your final warning, we're coming after you,' she said. 'If you have it, get rid of it,' she said.

Bondi announced details of the multi-state raid on vape shops and retail shipment centers across the country.

Shortly prior to their arrival, the ATF, FDA and USMS executed seizures at 5 distributors and 6 retailers in North Carolina, Arizona, Illinois, New Jersey, Georgia and Florida.

Kennedy thanked the joint task force, blaming former President Joe Biden for slow-walking approvals of US based vapes, while China rapidly developed enticing vape products for the American market.

'Chinese products flooded the market and those products are now 9,000 brands of e-cigarettes being sold in this country, only 27 percent have FDA approval,' he said.

Illegal vape products have become a serious problem primarily because they evade U.S. regulatory oversight and pose significant public health risks. Banned domestically in China but widely manufactured for export, they are often labeled deceptively as toys or electronics to bypass customs inspections.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks while holding a vaping device as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks while U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr. looks on during a press conference in Bensonville, Ill.,

'This will not be tolerated any more, there's a new sheriff in town, her name is Pam Bondi,' Kennedy said.

Bondi and Kennedy traveled to the location of the vape retailer Midwest Goods in Bensenville, IL, where cases of illegal product were seized.

The investigation into five different distributors started in the month of August, as undercover shoppers purchased illegal vaping products, according to the Justice Department.

The Department of Justice filed civil enforcement actions against five distributers and nine retailers for selling the illegal vape devices, many of them smuggled in from China.

The Trump administration first leveled a nationwide ban on certain 'kid-friendly' flavors of single use or cartridge vaping devices that went into effect in 2020.

But single-use vape products, many of them from China, continue flooding the market as new vape shops continue popping up in cities and small towns alike.

Federal officials warn the devices are targeted at children, as many vape retailers are just a short distance from public schools.

The devices contain undisclosed and unregulated chemicals that could be harmful to kids, as they do not meet FDA safety standards.

Vaping companies continue to challenge the ban in court with mixed results.

In April, the Supreme Court sided with the FDA to uphold their restrictions on some flavored vapes.

In July, however, they ruled to make it easier for e-cigarette companies to sue the FDA for their decisions blocking their products from the market.
Its been quite a welcome for the new Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, appointed by the Prime Minister on Friday with an instruction to step up the Governments efforts to stop small boat arrivals.

On Saturday, her first full day in office, 17 dinghies arrived on the shores of Britain carrying a staggering total of 1,097 migrants.

Meanwhile, we are still waiting for the first migrant to be returned to France under the new one in, one out scheme. And the burden on Britains hard-pressed exchequer is growing day by day.

In 2024, it took an average of 413 days to reach a decision on initial asylum applications (down from 735 days in 2023). So, for more than a year after they set foot in Britain, new claimants  who are barred from working  are completely dependent on the state.

Lets take a look, then, at how much Saturdays huge crop of 1,097 arrivals will cost the British taxpayer both now  and well into the future.

THE FIRST-YEAR COSTS

Housing

This is by some distance the main cost incurred by new arrivals, although the true total of what is being paid for housing is uncertain.

According to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), putting a roof over the head of adult migrants cost an average of 41,000 per head in 2023/24.

For the 30 per cent of adult migrants kept in hotels, the expense was greater than average at 145 per night or 52,925 per year. Child migrants are housed by local authorities at almost the same cost: 143 per night or 52,195 a year.

We dont know exactly who arrived on Saturday, of course  and might never know. So, to calculate how much the Government will be spending on them, we have assumed they will fall into the same pattern as previous channel crossings this year.

This means that 18 per cent  or 197  of the migrants will be under 18 and 900 will be adults.

On this basis  using the most comprehensive figures available  Saturdays arrivals will cost a total of 57.96million.

Border Force escort migrants into Dover Docks, Kent. Border Force help them ashore. This is the first crossing since August 26

Yet according to the Home Office, the average hotel bill per migrant is actually falling to 119 per night or 43,435 a year  although this is yet to be tested by any independent research.

Moreover, ministers promise to go further and cut the overall accommodation bill by 1billion, or 21 per cent, by using fewer and cheaper hotels.

A 21 per cent reduction in the average cost of housing asylum seekers would bring the price per head down to 32,400 a year.

Even if the Government does achieve this huge reduction, however  and its a major if  Saturdays 1097 arrivals will still cost the taxpayer 35.5million in housing costs in the course of the next 12 months.

Food and spending money

The 30 per cent of migrants assigned to hotels  where meals are provided  each receive 9.95 in spending money per week.

The rest, who live in shared houses  or houses in multiple occupation (HMOs)  get 49.18 per week for food and other expenses.

Applied to Saturdays migrants, this would give us a yearly bill of 2.13million for food and other expenses.

Healthcare

According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the National Health Service(NHS) spent an average of 3,300 per person in Britain in 2022/23. That would work out at 3.62million for our 1,097 migrants in the course of the next year.

But asylum-seekers also receive free dental care, eye tests and other services which most British citizens have to pay for.

With NHS dental care costing 90.90 per treatment (including check-ups) and the average adult registered with a dentist receiving two treatments per year, Saturdays arrivals will cost 181,000 to keep their teeth healthy.

Asylum-seekers are also entitled to free sight tests and prescription glasses on the NHS (while most others have to pay). An NHS sight test costs 23.53 and a pair of single vision glasses 75.85.

Even without eye tests, the total cost of healthcare for Saturdays arrivals over the next 12 months will be 3.48 million.

Legal aid

Migrants are allowed legal advice for their initial applications to remain in Britain and lawyers are remunerated with a flat fee of 559 per case (recently increased from 413).

That works out at 613,000 for our 1,097 new arrivals in the first stage of their attempts to claim asylum.

Should they appeal  and 43 per cent of failed applicants do  they are allowed further legal aid, with standard fees of 274 for a stage 2a appeal and then 685 for a stage 2b appeal.

These appeals are likely to take place in the second, third or fourth year of an asylum seekers stay in Britain.

People take part in an 'Enough is Enough' rally organised by Force for Good, outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh

In the year to June, 52 per cent of applications were initially rejected.

If, when it comes to Saturdays arrivals, 43 per cent of those who failed to mount an appeal (the average percentage so far this year) and incurred both appeal fees, they would add a further 168,000 to the bill.

The total cost of legal aid in the first year alone for Saturdays arrivals - with no appeals  would be 613,000

Swimming lessons

Councils are provided with an asylum grant of 1,200 per asylum seeker to cover incidental expenditure.

There has been criticism that in some cases this includes free swimming lessons, cookery classes and other perks.

These special asylum grants mean Saturdays arrivals are adding a further 1.3million to the first years cost.

Education

Based on previous experience, 197 of Saturdays newcomers are likely to be classed as children.

They will have to be sent to state school at an average cost of 8,210 each per year  thats an extra 1.6million from a stretched education budget.

THE YEAR'S RECKONING

After just one year in Britain, the 1,097 who stepped off the boats on Saturday will have cost the taxpayer at least 44million and probably much more.

LONG-TERM COSTS

After about 15 months or so, Saturdays migrants will have their asylum applications decided. At that point some  perhaps many  will no longer be classed as asylum seekers.

How many? In the year to June, 48 per cent of initial applications were accepted (although many more may succeed on appeal another expensive process for the taxpayer as we have seen.)

This in turn means we could expect 527 of Saturdays arrivals to be granted indefinite leave to remain in Britain following their first application, and 570 to be rejected.

As for the 527 who successfully claim asylum, they will at least be allowed to work to support themselves. But they will also retain their right to NHS care and will gain eligibility for housing benefit, Universal Credit and other welfare payments.

After ten years of paying National Insurance contributions, they will be eligible for the state pension.

Will Saturdays migrants ever earn their keep through the taxes they contribute? That depends how well they do in life. If some do become entrepreneurs, say, or highly qualified medics, they might well bring a net benefit to Britain. Many of the newcomers, though, will never earn enough to cover the benefits they receive.

Recently, using figures from the Office for Budgetary Responsibility (OBR), the Centre for Policy Studies(CPS), worked out the overall cost if 801,000 migrants were granted leave to remain in Britain between now and 2030.

Even using what the CPS calls it calls the Governments extremely optimistic assumptions about migrants potential earnings, it calculated that new arrivals would eventually cost Britain a collective 234billion. Thats an astonishing 292,000 burden imposed, on average, by each asylum seeker.

Spread out over many decades, this expenditure would include claims on the state creaking pension system when todays migrants reach retirement age, of course.

Even deporting people is expensive. It is unlikely that any of Saturday nights arrivals will be returned swiftly, but even if they were deported immediately, the Exchequer would be on the hook.

Under a voluntary scheme run by the Home Office, failed asylum-seekers can be paid 3,000 for agreeing to leave Britain  not a bad haul. Between 2021 and 2024, 13,637 migrants took advantage of this scheme  costing taxpayers 40,911,000.

Moreover, there were administration charges on top. The government paid the company administering the scheme a total of 53.8 million - just to get rid of people.

THE LONG-TERM BILL

Using these figures, Saturdays 1,097 arrivals will eventually cost the British taxpayer 154million  the equivalent of 750 new homes or two new schools.
Ring-wing influencer Charlie Kirk eerily spoke about gun violence seconds before he was shot dead at a Utah Valley University rally.

The conservative activist, 31, was assassinated while taking questions from the crowd at the Orem college on Wednesday afternoon.

A member of the spirited audience stepped up to the microphone to debate Kirk, who was sitting under a tent, on the matter of mass shootings.

'Do you know many transgender Americans have been shooters over the last 10 years?' the challenging audience member asked.

In response, the political influencer asserted, 'too many,' as the crowd roared.

The same person told Kirk the number is five, following up to ask if Kirk knew 'how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years.'

'Counting or not counting gang violence?' Kirk asked. These would be his last words.

His answer was cut off when the single gun shot rang and struck him - sending terror through the masses as blood spilled from his neck while he tipped back in his chair.

Ring-winged influencer Charlie Kirk (pictured) eerily spoke about gun violence as he was gorily assassinated at a Utah Valley University Rally

Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Frantzve , with whom he had a three-year-old daughter and a son, 16 months (pictured: Kirk and his family)

A member of the crowd (pictured) stepped up to the microphone to debate Kirk, who was sitting under a tent, on the matter of mass shootings

President Donald Trump announced Kirk had died as few hours later.

'The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,' the president wrote on Truth Social.

There is currently no one in custody for the shooting, FBI Director Kash Patel announced on Wednesday night.

The FBI detained an unnamed suspect earlier in the day, but they were released after interrogation, Patel said.

'The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency,' he wrote on X.

George Zinn, 71, was arrested immediately after Kirk was shot, but investigators ruled he was not the assassin. He was booked on obstruction of justice.

Authorities have deemed the tragic event a 'political assassination' and believe the suspect acted alone.

Officials said the fatal shot was fired from the top of the Losee Center, about 200 feet away from where Kirk was speaking.

The horrified crowd (pictured) fled the scene after the political commentator was shot

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Known for his fierce pro-Trump stances, traditional values and lively debates at college campuses across the country, Kirk was visiting UVU as a part of his American Comeback Tour.

A petition trying to bar Kirk from the school garnered more than 7,000 signatures.

The Turning Point USA founder spoke out against rampant crime and denounced mass shootings while maintaining his pro-Second Amendment stance.

He has spoken about the divisive subject in depth over the years, discussing how he believes the mass shooting crisis could be tackled while preserving the right to bear arms.

'We should have an honest and clear reductionist view of gun violence, but we should not have a utopian one,' Kirk said at a May 2023 Turning Point USA event.

'You will never live in a society where you have an armed citizenry and not a single gun death. That is nonsense, it's drivel.

'But I think it's worth it. I think it's worth to have a cost of unfortunately some gun deaths every single year, so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God given rights.'

His comments on the matter came about one week after three children and three adults were killed by a shooter at the Christian Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee.

Known for his fierce pro-Trump stances, traditional values and lively debates at college campuses across the country, Kirk (pictured) was visiting UVU as a part of his American Comeback Tour

After the gun shot rang, panic ensued among the masses, causing them to flee the scene (pictured)

In May 2022, Kirk spoke out against a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, which left 19 children and two adults dead.

He called the massacre an 'act of evil' during an episode of his podcast, The Charlie Kirk Show.

'Theres moments in time. And there are stories that happen where you just take a pause and the evil that is committed is just so overwhelming,' he said.

'It almost like ruins your day and it just impacts everything you do. And it kind of dominates the conversation for the time being between your friends and family members.'

Kirk was known for fostering discussions and debates, especially among America's youth and young adults.

He was never one to shy away from controversy, with many clips of his fiery run-ins with liberal college students going viral online.

The Trump ally's death has sent shock waves through the nation, with prominent political figures across party lines speaking highly of the commentator and denouncing acts of politically-driven violence.

'This is a dark day for our state, its a tragic day for our nation,' Republican Governor Cox said.

President Trump (left) led tributes to Kirk (right) after he was fatally shot in the neck Wednesday

Kirk helped found Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit that has focuses on promoting conservative values among college students (pictured: Kirk and his wife Erika Frantzve)

'I want to be very clear that this is a political assassination.'

One of the first Democrats to speak out against the atrocity was California Governor Gavin Newsom, who once invited Kirk on his show, This is Gavin Newsom Podcast.

'The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.'

Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Frantzve, with whom he had a three-year-old daughter and a son, 16 months.

In honor of the passionate podcast host, Trump declared that all American Flags across the nation will be lowered to Half Mast until Sunday evening.
Confronting footage has emerged of a policeman being assaulted during an unprovoked attack in broad daylight in front of stunned pub patrons.

The sergeant was conducting street patrols along Burwood Road in Burwood, in Sydney's inner west, last Friday afternoon when he walked into a hotel to investigate shouting coming from the premises.

CCTV obtained by 2GB showed the officer entering the pub and looking around when he was suddenly confronted by a 'crazed' man running out of an elevator, who charged towards him and pushed the sergeant into a wall.

The pair were involved in a wrestle and ended up on the ground, where the man allegedly stated that he wanted to 'kill' the officer.

NSW Police alleged that the man also attempted to stab the officer in the face with a pen during the altercation.

Stunned patrons standing just metres away were seen watching on before a Good Samaritan eventually intervened and helped restrain the man until additional officers arrived.

The man, 32, was sedated by paramedics and taken to hospital. He was taken into custody when he was discharged the following day.

He was charged with assaulting a police officer in the execution of duty, causing actual bodily harm, and being armed with intent to commit an indictable offence.

A man has been charged over the alleged attack of a police officer

The attack unfolded in front of shocked patrons at a busy pub in Burwood last Friday

He appeared in Parramatta Local Court where he was bailed to appear at Burwood Local Court on September 16.

The policeman, 42, suffered minor injuries.

Police Association of NSW president Kevin Morton was shocked by how quickly the alleged attack unfolded.

He learned of the incident shortly after retuning home from attending the funeral of Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart last Friday, one of two Victoria Police officers shot dead by fugitive Dezi Freeman in the state's high country a fortnight ago.

'This was an experienced officer. Even though his training would have give him a heightened sense of what was happening, nothing would have prepared him for the swiftness of the (alleged) attack,' he told 2GB afternoon host Clinton Maynard.

'It was really disappointing to see, and the mere fact that our officer was able to get out of that situation is a miracle.'
An 11-year-old girl has died after the car she was travelling in veered off the road and crashed into a dam near Tenterfield in northern New South Wales.

Emergency services were called to the Bruxner Highway near Bryans Gap Road around 3.30pm on Wednesday following reports that a black SUV had left the road, hit a tree, and ended up submerged in water.

The girl was pulled from the vehicle unresponsive and could not be revived, despite efforts by paramedics.

She died at the scene.

The driver, a 50-year-old woman, was also rescued from the water and taken to Tenterfield Hospital in a stable condition.

Police have established a crime scene and launched an investigation into the circumstances of the crash.

A report will be prepared for the coroner.

A girl was killed when the car she was travelling in crashed into a dam on the Bruxner Highway near Bryans Gap Road at Tenterfield
The graveyard shift inside Nato's Allied Air Command in Ramstein, Germany. For the watchkeepers, just another night staring into the electronic abyss of monitors and screens.

They are used to watching hundreds of Russia's mass- produced drones pounding Ukraine's cities, setting apartment blocks ablaze. Agonising to watch from afar, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Then something disturbing draws an observer closer to the bank of computers. A squadron of Russian drones, after lifting off from Belarus, has banked starboard towards Poland.

Emergency procedures are triggered. Lights flash and Nato's digitally integrated Air Command and Control System takes over.

At about 10pm local time on Tuesday, the Polish military received its first reports of a massive drone attack being launched by Russian forces on Ukraine.

The first incursion into Polish  and therefore Nato  airspace is then recorded at 11.30pm local time.

These drones appear to be heading towards the city of Zamosc, 43 miles inside Poland's border with Ukraine  too far from the warzone to have strayed off course.

At Poland's Poznan Krzesiny airbase, headquarters for Nato's air policing mission, Dutch F-35s are scrambled.

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Multiple Russian drones moving from Ukraine airspace into Poland's

Polish television channel TV Republika shared this image of one of the downed drones

Photos show the extent of damage to a house in Poland after Putin's drones were flown in

So too a Polish Airborne Early Warning (AEW) Saab 340 aircraft, while an Italian plane with similar capabilities is re-tasked and heads to the airspace.

While in Warsaw, senior defence figures prepare a briefing for Polish prime minister Donald Tusk and Nato secretary general Mark Rutte.

Friends of old, they will be in constant contact through the night.

On the ground, Polish territorial army soldiers are summoned from their beds to deploy to crash sites.

By 2.30am on Wednesday, all civilian aircraft are grounded at four of the country's major airports, including Chopin, the main airport serving Poland's capital Warsaw.

Black Hawk helicopters are scrambled as a last line of defence and to support Polish troops in case this is phase one of a Russian invasion.

The Polish public is warned to stay indoors. The F-35s engage the drones with air-to-air missiles.

Unknown to the pilots these Gerbera decoy drones are not equipped with any payloads, at least not any explosives.

Donald Tusk holding an emergency meeting on Wednesday with senior officials after Russia's actions

Senior army officials, including the Chief of the General Staff of the Army, Wieslaw Kukula, are at the extraordinary meeting

What defence obligations does the treaty cover?

WHAT IS ARTICLE 4? Article 4 states that members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation will consult together whenever  in the opinion of any of them  the territory, political independence or security of a member is threatened. Under Article 4, discussions at the North Atlantic Council  Nato's principal political decision-making body  could potentially lead to some form of joint decision or action. Since Nato's creation in 1949, Article 4 has been invoked seven times, most recently in February 2022 when Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia sought consultations following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In November 2022 Nato ambassadors held an emergency meeting after a missile strike killed two people in Poland and raised global alarm that the war could spill into neighbouring countries. WHAT IS ARTICLE 5? If Russia were determined to have attacked the territory of a member state, the focus would then shift to Article 5, the cornerstone of the founding treaty of Nato. The alliance was created with the US military as its powerful mainstay essentially to counter the Soviet Union and its eastern bloc satellites during the Cold War. The charter stipulates 'the Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all'. It adds: 'They agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.' Advertisement

Tonight's mission, months in the planning according to defence insiders, is intended to test Nato defences but may have a more sophisticated purpose too. Russia could be testing its ability to transmit live battlefield intelligence back to its headquarters after its drone log on to mobile phone networks.

If the capability is proven, a real attack, rather than tonight's incursion, as it has been described by Nato, would include drones being directed in-flight towards targets. The fear is based on recent incursions by Russian drones into Nato airspace.

In recent months, Polish and Lithuanian SIM cards have been found in the wreckage of these drones, suggesting a Kremlin plot to connect the drones to local mobile networks.

Through the night, the situation is also monitored at the Ministry of Defence in London.

Closer to the action, British troops in Poland are put on standby. There's shock at how far inside Poland these drones are flying. Previous probing operations have involved one or two drones flying only a few miles inside Poland.

Tonight is different.

At least one of the drones that evaded Poland's seemingly porous defences was located in the village of Mniszkow in the central Lodz region, 150 miles from the Ukrainian border.

Drones or parts of drones were found in eight locations in Poland, according to Polish officials. At a ninth site, objects of unknown origin were found.

A house was hit in the village of Wyryki in the Lublin region near the Ukrainian border, Mayor Bernard Blaszczuk told the TVP Info television news channel. The roof was severely damaged, but no one was hurt.

The last of Russia's drones is downed at 6.30am local time.

Around this time, a relieved and exhausted prime minister Tusk calls an emergency meeting of ministers responsible for national security, to be followed by a full government meeting.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is awoken with the news and takes to social media at 8.15am Polish local time, warning the incursion represents 'an extremely dangerous precedent for Europe'.

He accuses Russia of 'pushing the boundaries of what is possible', a message echoed in capitals across the continent, including London.

Officially, Poland's and Nato's response mission concludes at 7.42am local time when air defences and radar systems resume normal activity. However, on the ground, a major intelligence-gathering operation is just beginning.

Areas where the drones landed have been sealed off ahead of fingertip searches for technical clues. According to early reports, Poland shot down only four of the 19-24 drones (figures vary)launched by Russia  a much lower success rate than Ukraine usually achieves.

That means there is a lot of hardware for Nato to study.

As the Kremlin mischievously releases a statement claiming there were 'no plans to hit targets Polish territory'  not to hit, rather to observe at close range  so the searches begin.

According to reports last night, the Russian drones followed flight paths aligned with major roads and radar stations towards Warsaw and Lublin.

Five drones fell along within range of three highways the E30 motorway and the 63 and 82 highways, others near the defence industry hub of Stalowa Wola.
One of Tom Phillips' children reportedly held a rifle at police after they were found in a campsite in the remote New Zealand bush - after being on the run with their father for almost four years.

Specialist officers found 10-year-old Maverick Phillips armed with the firearm as they approached the hideout, but managed to convince the boy to put it down, the New Zealand Herald reported.

'There was a negotiation which commenced with the children, and that proceeded, and they came out,' Detective Senior Sergeant Andrew Saunders said.

NZ Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said the negotiators were 'very highly trained and skilled'.

Phillips' daughter Jayda, 12, helped police find the campsite where her siblings Maverick and Ember, nine, were hiding - and reportedly told police that there were guns at the site.

'We had information to say a firearm was present [at the campsite], and there was,' Commissioner Chambers said.

He added that Jayda was 'very, very helpful' and advised police on the best way to talk to her younger siblings so they didn't feel threatened.

However, she did not personally guide police through the bush to them.

'We kept her not far away, but far enough away that her safety wasn't compromised,' Commissioner Chambers said.

Ember, nine, Maverick, 10, and Jayda, 12, are currently in the care of authorities after spending almost four years on the run with their father Tom Phillips, who was shot dead early Monday

Firearms were found at the remote campsite (pictured) which wasn't far from where the missing children were located on Monday afternoon

Tom Phillips' quad bike (pictured) was stocked with animal food when it was towed from the scene of the deadly shootout on Tuesday

Jayda was present when her father was killed in a roadside shootout near the rural town of Piopio in the North Island's Waikato region, after police intercepted the pair on a quad bike following an armed farm supply store robbery.

When officers deployed road spikes, Phillips opened fire at close range, shooting one officer in the head, which left him with critical injuries.

Police will now try to 'put the puzzle together' of how the family lived, found food, and avoided detection by search teams for so many years.

Photos released by the police of the family's final campsite, where soda cans, tyres, cooking equipment and a metal container sat amid camouflaged belongings, gave few clues.

The site was likely a temporary one, as it was in terrain that had been searched previously.

'It's highly likely that we've been very, very close,' Commissioner Chambers said.

'If not right there.'

Police always believed that since Phillips disappeared in December 2021, he and his children had never travelled far from the tiny rural settlement where they lived.

But despite police offering a $80,000 reward, no one turned them in.

Police will now turn their focus to tracking down and identifying anyone suspected of helping Phillips and his children.

The fugitive father was skilled in wilderness survival. But as law enforcement increased patrols in the area, police were increasingly confident he was receiving assistance from others.

'Aside from the burglaries we are now able to link to Tom, it is apparent that he had outside help,' Det Saunders said.

Police released photos of the family's main campsite on Wednesday

A shelter was constructed using tree branches and tarp

Items found at the site include gas bottles, drink containers, and cooking equipment

The case divided New Zealand and Phillips found supporters online and among residents in Marokopa, where he had lived. Some locals previously told reporters that they endorsed his actions.

'I can tell you he is no hero,' Commissioner Chambers said.

'No one who does this to children, no one who unleashes high-powered rifles on my staff, is a hero, simple as that.'

December 2021 wasn't the first time Phillips and his children had vanished. Three months earlier, he sparked a massive search operation when his truck was found on a beach near his home, with no trace of the family.

Police feared they had been swept out to sea before Phillips and the children emerged from the forest after 17 days, saying they had been camping.

Phillips was charged with wasting police resources but disappeared again with the children before he was due to appear in court.

Phillips didn't have legal custody of his children at the time he vanished. He was later wanted for an armed bank robbery in 2023, during which he was accompanied by one of his children and apparently shot at a member of the public as he fled.

He was spotted on CCTV footage in the area committing other break-ins to steal supplies, most recently last month.

The children's mother, Cat, (pictured) spoke out following the shooting death of their fugitive father, Tom Phillips

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Beyond the thefts, it wasn't clear how the family had survived in rugged countryside at freezing winter temperatures for years.

The three children remain in the care of authorities and are yet to be reunited with their mother.

A High Court judge on Monday night issued a temporary injunction banning police or news outlets from disclosing certain details of the case.

'There's a careful plan with everyone becoming involved at the right time in terms of making sure that the children are put on a really strong and healthy pathway to recovery,' NZ Police Minister Mark Mitchell said.

'They have seen and been exposed to things that children in our country should not be.

'It's very complicated and it's very complex and it has been for quite some time.'

The children's mother Cat broke her silence in a statement on Monday, saying she was relieved the ordeal had come to an end.

Tom Phillips spend almost four years in the wilderness with his children, Jayda, 12, Maverick, ten, and Ember, nine. Pictured are the group captured by hunters in October 2024

'They have been dearly missed every day for nearly four years, and we are looking forward to welcoming them home with love and care,' Cat said.

'At the same time, we are saddened by how events unfolded today. Our hope has always been that the children could be returned in a peaceful and safe way for everyone involved.'
Downing Street ignored warnings about Peter Mandelson's friendship with Jeffrey Epstein when it appointed him as ambassador to Washington, it emerged last night.

The senior Labour peer Maurice Glasman privately warned Keir Starmer's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney against the appointment in January, describing Lord Mandelson as 'the wrong man at the wrong time in the wrong place'.

One Whitehall source last night claimed senior figures in the Foreign Office had also 'advised against the appointment' of a politician who was twice forced to resign from Cabinet over previous scandals.

Sir Keir was left squirming yesterday as he tried to defend his decision to appoint the man who described Epstein as 'my best pal' to the top diplomatic role. Last night, Labour MPs joined Tory calls for Lord Mandelson to be sacked ahead of President Trump's state visit next week.

Sir Keir yesterday insisted that 'due process' had been followed in the run-up to Lord Mandelson's appointment to Washington in February. Downing Street said the former cabinet minister had been subject 'to extensive vetting and background checks' to ensure he was not a security risk.

But last night it emerged that No 10 ignored a last-ditch warning from Lord Glasman, who was the only Labour figure invited to President Trump's inauguration on January 20. Mr McSweeney is a devotee of the Blue Labour movement founded by Lord Glasman and asked him to write a report on his reflections on the relationship with the US and its new President.

In a memo written on the evening of the inauguration, Lord Glasman warned that appointing Lord Mandelson risked 'provoking' senior Republicans who already had grave reservations about the Labour government.

He said several Republicans had showed him a now notorious photograph of Lord Mandelson with Epstein as he blew out the candles on a birthday cake.

Downing Street ignored warnings about Peter Mandelson's friendship with Jeffrey Epstein (pictured together here on January 2007)

Lord Mandelson - who once infamously declared himself 'intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich' - in a fluffy white dressing gown enjoying a chat with Epstein

Senior Labour peer Maurice Glasman privately warned Sir Keir Starmer's (pictured at PMQs on September 10) chief of staff against Mandelson's appointment in January

In the memo, a copy of which was seen by the Mail, he told Mr McSweeney: 'The brutal truth is that the vast majority of people I met consider our Labour Government to be a front organisation for paedophiles and Pakistani rape gangs.

'They consider our position on the Chagos Islands an example of progressive idiocy and our appointment of Peter Mandelson an unnecessary provocation. They think our Army has gone to hell and our country is overwhelmed by legal and illegal migrants.'

He added: 'Withdraw Peter Mandelson. He is the wrong man at the wrong time in the wrong place.'

Lord Mandelson was appointed less than three weeks later.

Labour MPs sat in silence yesterday as Kemi Badenoch savaged Sir Keir's decision during the weekly session of Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons.

Sir Keir said Epstein's victims 'are at the forefront of our minds', but added: 'The ambassador has repeatedly expressed his deep regret for his association with Epstein. I have confidence in him, and he is playing an important role in the UK-US relationship.'

 A Secret memo in which Lord Mandelson urged then-prime minister Sir Tony Blair to meet Jeffrey Epstein has been kept under wraps, it is claimed.

The note, believed to have been written in May 2002 supposedly advised Sir Tony that a meeting would be 'safe' and useful given Epstein's network of business contacts. Aides passed it to the prime minister. It is not known if a meeting took place.

The document and a civil service summary were due to be released this year by the National Archives. However, The Times reported, an exemption was applied on the grounds that disclosure could harm UK international relations, particularly with the US.
Two people, including a teenage boy, have been seriously injured in a stabbing at a busy bus station.

Police were called to Wigan Interchange in the town's centre at around 5.20pm on Wednesday evening.

A 42-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries in the incident, police have said.

A teenage girl has been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. She remains in custody for questioning.

Police did not say whether anyone had been arrested for the stabbings - and it is believed the knifeman is still on the run.

A picture showed an area inside the interchange having been taped off with officers standing guard.

An investigation is underway with police urging any witnesses to come forward.

Superintendent Danny O'Neil from Greater Manchester Police said: 'There is a scene in place while our officers investigate the incident and the events that led up to it.

A picture from inside Wigan Interchange shows an area having been taped off with officers standing guard

'We will also have officers in the area throughout the evening and are currently reviewing CCTV and obtaining witness statements.

'Anyone who was in the area at the time and has information or saw the incident should contact us.'

The Daily Mail has contacted Greater Manchester Police for further comment.

The Bee Network said: 'Due to a police incident at Wigan Bus Station, bus services are unable to call at Wigan bus station until further notice.'

Bus numbers 22A, 352, 360, 375, 385, 602, 603, 604, 609, 610, 633, 634, 639, 640 and 641 are diverting via King Street West, Dorning Street, Richmond Street, Hallgate and King Street West in both directions, they said.

Numbers 110, 575, 605, 606, 607, 608, 613, 615, 630, 631, 632 and 635 are diverting via Bridgeman Terrace, Mesnes Park, Parsons Walk and New Market Street in both directions.

The 132 is diverting is starting and terminating at King Street West and the 320 is diverting via River Way, Powel Street and Mesnes Street in both directions, they added.
Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal is slashing portion sizes at his flagship restaurant to cater for diners with suppressed appetites due to fat jabs.

The culinary icon  who takes Wegovy himself  is looking at serving smaller meals at his Fat Duck venue and creating a slimmed-down menu for Britons on the weight-loss drugs.

He said: 'We are going to look at reducing portion sizes and give options of a much smaller menu, because with these weight-loss drugs, Mounjaro, Ozempic and Wegovy, people are eating less and the quantities of food will put them off  I want to do something about that.'

The TV cook, 59, famed for controversial food pairings such as snail porridge, was speaking to industry journal Restaurant as his three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.

Blumenthal who also owns one-Michelin-starred gastropub The Hinds Head, also in Bray, last week called for government help to save the British pub from the 'really big' threat from fat jabs.

It comes after the Future of Food seminar, held by trade body UK Hospitality, heard 7 per cent of UK adults were using weight-loss jabs, equating to 3.6 million Britons.

Research by KAM Insight found a third of these fat-jab users reported eating and drinking out less often and a quarter slashed their alcohol intake while at pubs and restaurants, attendees heard.

Last month, Blumenthal told Times Radio that he'd been taking Wegovy to help combat the effects of his bipolar medication, having been diagnosed with type 1 bipolar in 2023.

Heston Blumenthal is slashing portion sizes at his flagship restaurant to cater for diners with suppressed appetites

The culinary icon is looking at serving smaller meals at his Fat Duck venue (pictured) and creating a slimmed-down menu for Britons on the weight-loss drugs

He added: 'I've put on so much weight, but it's starting to come off now', adding that his use of the drug is a 'paradox' given the fact he's a restaurateur.

And last week he told The Daily Mirror: 'We have another problem looming, a big one, a really big one [from a rise in weight-loss drug prescriptions]. They're good, but people just won't eat as much.'

Blumenthal was sectioned following an acute manic episode in 2023. The illness caused the father-of-three to suffer hallucinations that led him to see phantom guns and believe the television was talking to him.

He was eventually admitted to a psychiatric hospital for three weeks, where he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
She fled to the US for safety from her war-torn Ukrainian homeland, convinced America would offer the chance of a better life. Instead, Iryna Zarutska met a brutal fate that she wouldn't have even expected from the Russians.

The young, beautiful and kind-hearted blonde who loved animals and dreamed of becoming a veterinary assistant had found a job in a pizza parlour in Charlotte, North Carolina, after emigrating with her mother and two siblings in 2022.

According to her family, she was a 'gifted and passionate artist' who'd 'quickly embraced her new life in the United States'.

Then, on a Friday evening last month, she was returning home by train after a work shift when a deranged homeless man sitting right behind her pulled out a pocketknife and savagely stabbed her in the neck repeatedly.

CCTV footage from the light railway carriage showed her killer suddenly standing up, entirely unprovoked, then slashing the slightly-built refugee three times as she sat engrossed in her phone.

It shows the immediate aftermath of the six-second attack as  pulling up her legs to protect herself  she cowered away from the man in confusion and abject terror.

As he walked casually away, removing his blood-stained hoodie before getting off the train, fellow passengers tried to help the slumped Ms Zarutska but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The bleak poignancy of her story  Iryna's father cannot even attend her funeral as he is in Ukraine  and the horrific randomness of the violence displayed in the video has appalled millions across the world.

Iryna Zarutska was returning home by train after a work shift when a deranged homeless man sitting right behind her pulled out a pocketknife and savagely stabbed her in the neck

The young, beautiful and kind-hearted blonde, pictured, had found a job in a pizza parlour in Charlotte, North Carolina, after emigrating with her mother and two siblings in 2022

Alleged killer Decarlos Brown Jr, pictured, is just the sort of repeat offender who has flourished under Democrat-controlled Charlotte's 'cashless bail' rules

The level of outrage the murder has provoked makes many believe it may signal a turning point in America's handling of violent criminals.

The August 22 killing has also become a major political issue after President Donald Trump and fellow Republicans blamed her death on the Democratic Party's obsession with criminal justice reforms, which allow violent offenders to repeatedly walk free and continue to commit crime.

Other critics, including Elon Musk, have turned on the US media which they accuse of ignoring Ms Zarutska's murder because she's white and her alleged killer, Decarlos Brown Jr, is black.

Brown is just the sort of repeat offender who has flourished under Democrat-controlled Charlotte's 'cashless bail' rules  now adopted in 'blue' cities across the US  that allow judges to free alleged criminals without making them put up bail.

The 34-year-old suspect, who according to his family suffers from mental health issues, has previously been arrested and released at least 14 times. Most of the charges, which included robbery with a dangerous weapon and threatening behaviour, were later dropped.

He served five years in prison for armed robbery, after which he went to live with his mother. She says he is a diagnosed schizophrenic who never should have been at large but insists she had to turn him out of her home when he became unstable and psychotic.

She had tried to get him sectioned in a psychiatric institution.

He'd been free to roam at will on a 'written promise' to the court that he would return for his next hearing  after being arrested for making a false 911 emergency call in January.

The 34-year-old suspect, who according to his family suffers from mental health issues, has previously been arrested and released at least 14 times

Most of the charges, which included robbery with a dangerous weapon and threatening behaviour, were later dropped

Brown's father and older brother had both been imprisoned for violent crimes. His brother, Stacey, is serving 27 to 36 years in prison for murdering a 65-year-old man during a 2014 robbery.

His sister Tracey told the Daily Mail she had tried to get Brown admitted to hospital several times over the past few years, as his mental health crumbled, but doctors kept discharging him after just 24 hours.

She shared a recording of her phone conversation with him in jail  in which he told her the government had implanted 'materials' in his brain which 'stabbed the lady'.

Republicans, however, are less impressed by the accused's mental health problems and more concerned about protecting innocent victims like Iryna Zarutska.

To drive home this point, Trump's Department of Justice has charged Brown with a federal crime, causing death on a mass transportation system, which makes him eligible for the death penalty.

Attorney General Pamela Bondi said the department would seek the maximum penalty and that he would 'never again see the light of day as a free man'.

She said that Ms Zarutska's 'horrific murder is a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people'. Some have noted online that Iryna was the only white person sitting in Brown's vicinity on the train but he has not been charged with a hate crime.

It was on Monday that Trump stepped into the growing furore over the killing when he branded the murderer a 'lunatic' and called for the US to do more to confront 'evil people' and violent crime.

According to her family, Ms Zarutska was a 'gifted and passionate artist' who'd 'quickly embraced her new life in the United States'

The bleak poignancy of her story  Iryna's father, pictured left, cannot even attend her funeral as he is in Ukraine  and the horrific randomness of the violence has appalled millions

Republicans, however, are less impressed by the accused's mental health problems and more concerned about protecting innocent victims like Iryna Zarutska

He attacked the 'cashless bail' system, which he wants to end across the US, and blamed his political opponents in North Carolina for the death, saying 'her blood is on the hands of the Democrats who refuse to put bad people in jail'.

The White House published an accompanying statement, saying the fatal attack was the consequence of politicians, prosecutors and judges who are 'prioritising woke agendas'.

This is a familiar complaint of conservatives who, with some success, have painted Democrats as soft on crime  and particularly when the perpetrators are black or Hispanic.

It's also a similar belief that America's mainstream media prefers to play down ethnic-minority crime.

In the latest case, critics noted that major news outlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and BBC didn't report on the murder for several weeks  despite it being covered in the state's local media and on other sites including DailyMail.com.

Elon Musk  a former member of Trump's administration and frequent critic of Left-wing politics on his social media platform X  joined other conservatives in contrasting the vast media coverage of Minneapolis black man George Floyd's 2020 killing by a white policeman with that of Ms Zarutska's.

Others  more relevantly  compared the media's slow response to the Zarutska murder with the uproar when a white ex-Marine, Daniel Penny, accidentally killed a mentally-disturbed black homeless man in a chokehold after he threatened passengers in a New York subway car in 2023.

Last December, a Manhattan court acquitted Penny of homicide.

The killing has become a major political issue after President Donald Trump and fellow Republicans blamed it on the Democratic Party's obsession with criminal justice reforms

Other critics, including Elon Musk, have turned on the US media which they accuse of ignoring Ms Zarutska's murder because she's white and her alleged killer, Decarlos Brown Jr, is black

Attorney General Pamela Bondi said the Department of Justice would seek the maximum penalty and that he would 'never again see the light of day as a free man'

Musk reposted a comment on X giving a long list of media outlets who'd ignored the Zarutska murder but reported on Daniel Penny, the New York Times  which had topped the list and whose motto is 'All the news that's fit to print'  finally published a story.

In what appeared to be an excuse for the delay, the newspaper reported that the 'brutal killing did not capture widespread attention until the security footage was released on Friday'.

However, opponents are not convinced. 'If Iryna were black and her killer was white, the media would be rioting non-stop,' said Benny Johnson, an American conservative podcaster who is reportedly influential with Trump. 'But because she's white, they stay silent.'

Charlotte's mayor Vi Lyles, a Democrat, was initially criticised after she called for compassion for mentally ill people such as Brown who, she said, 'appears to have suffered a crisis'.

Lyles has since said the killing was 'a tragic failure by the courts and magistrates', and pledged to increase patrols and police numbers on public transportation.

Trump and his allies are undoubtedly ramping up fear of crime as a weapon to beat the Democrats, but years of misguided 'progressive' policies have certainly made it easy for them.

Meanwhile, Iryna's family have been left to wonder how life might have been if they'd stayed in Kyiv.

'We are heartbroken beyond words,' they said in a statement on Tuesday. 'Iryna came here to find peace and safety, and instead her life was stolen from her in the most horrific way.'
Charlie Kirk paid tribute to a young Ukrainian refugee murdered on American soil just hours before his shocking assassination at a Utah college.

On Tuesday evening, Kirk, the influential conservative and founder of Turning Point USA, shared a photo on social media of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, the refugee brutally stabbed on a North Carolina light rail train last month.

In the image, Zarutska appears hunched in her seat, moments before she was allegedly killed in a random attack by Decarlos Brown, a man with a long criminal history and diagnosed schizophrenia.

'America will never be the same,' Kirk wrote in one of his final tweets, just hours before he was gunned down in what Utah's governor has called a 'political assassination.'

Kirk's post about Zarutska comes as conservatives pointed to her killing as a symbol of America's collapse under what they described as 'soft-on-crime' justice systems in Democrat-led cities.

A federal indictment was announced on Tuesday in the Zarutska case, elevating Brown's charges to include causing death on a mass transportation system - a federal offense that carries the death penalty.

Then came Kirk's impassioned response, highlighting Zarutska's death as a symbol of a country in decline.

According to authorities, Zarutska had fled the war in Ukraine and was trying to start a new life in Charlotte.

Just hours before his shocking assassination at a Utah college event, Charlie Kirk posted what would become one of his final public statements as he paid tribute to a young Ukrainian refugee murdered on American soil

Charlie Kirk hands out hats before speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday

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But her life was cut short were shattered when in an unprovoked attack, Brown allegedly slashed her neck with a pocketknife in full view of horrified passengers.

'This was a young woman living the American dream,' said Attorney General Pam Bondi, announcing the charges. 'Her horrific murder is a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people.'

Kirk, whose post accompanied news coverage of the crime, had long warned about the consequences of criminal leniency, calling America's justice system 'broken beyond repair' in earlier speeches.

His post about Zarutska came only a day before his own life was cut short.

It was on Wednesday afternoon while Kirk was on stage at Utah Valley University, seated under a white tent adorned with the slogans 'The American Comeback' and 'Prove Me Wrong.'

The event was part of his new tour aimed at rallying young conservatives ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Video footage shows Kirk fielding a question about mass shootings and gun violence when a single gunshot rang out.

Kirk tried to reach for his neck as blood pours from the left side. The 31-year-old collapsed on stage as bystanders screamed and fled.

Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska is seen bottom right, before she was fatally stabbed on a commuter train on August 22 in Charlotte, North Carolina

Iryna Zarutska, 23, was brutally stabbed on a North Carolina light rail train last month.

Authorities say the shot was fired from a rooftop sniper position nearby, and on Wednesday night a person of interest is in custody.

No motive or charges had been announced as of Wednesday night, but Utah Governor Spencer Cox was unequivocal in his response.

'This is a political assassination. A dark day for our state. A tragic day for our nation,' Cox said.

Kirk's death sent shockwaves through political circles on both sides of the aisle.

President Donald Trump, in a Truth Social post, called Kirk 'Great, and even Legendary,' adding, 'No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.'

Democratic leaders including Gov. Gavin Newsom and Gabrielle Giffords, herself a survivor of a political shooting, also condemned the attack.

The university canceled all classes and evacuated the campus.

Federal and local authorities, including the FBI, are now leading the investigation.

Kirk's death, which follows a growing wave of politically motivated violence across the country, has already reignited debate over free speech, security, and the rise of extremist ideologies.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox was unequivocal in his response. 'This is a political assassination. A dark day for our state. A tragic day for our nation,' Cox said

Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Point's visit to Utah Valley University i

Born in 1993, Charlie Kirk founded Turning Point USA in 2012 at just 18 years old.

What began as a modest campus outreach effort ballooned into one of the most powerful youth-driven political machines in the country, fueled by culture-war messaging, megadonor support, and Kirk's close alliance with the Trump family.

His rise mirrored that of the conservative movement he championed and frequently clashed with critics on college campuses, often appearing on cable news and social media to defend traditional values and condemn progressive policies.
Brittany Higgins' lawyers warned Linda Reynolds that she would 'never restore her reputation by suing a staffer raped in her office' in new documents that reveal the last-minute legal wranglings before their blockbuster defamation trial began.

The former Liberal staffer has been ordered to cover 80 per cent of Reynolds' legal costs expected to be over $1million after losing her defamation case.

That is on top of the $340,000 in damages Justice Paul Tottle has already awarded Reynolds, after he found Ms Higgins and her husband David Sharaz had defamed her in several social media posts.

His damning costs order, published on Tuesday, found that Ms Higgins' offer of settlement was 'unreasonable'.

Now, new documents released by the WA Supreme Court reveal how Ms Higgins' lawyer, Carmel Galati, sought to persuade Reynolds' legal team to accept the offer, which was sent just four days before the trial began.

It would see Ms Higgins' parents pay $200,000 towards Reynolds' costs and proposed a 160-word 'statement of mutual regret,' which crucially contained no apology.

Ms Galati, a Perth-based solicitor instructed by Ms Higgins' lawyer Leon Zwier, sent a five-page letter on 29 July 2024 containing the offer of settlement, in addition to a strongly worded and lengthy explanation for why Reynolds should accept it.

The letter hinted that it had been difficult to communicate with Ms Higgins, with Ms Galati apologising for the 'delay' in sending the letter, noting that she 'would have liked to have sent it earlier'.

Brittany Higgins ' lawyers warned Lind Reynolds that she would 'never restore her reputation by suing a staffer raped in her office' in new documents that reveal the last-minute legal wranglings before their blockbuster defamation trial began (pictured: Ms Higgins arrives at the David Malcolm Justice Centre in Perth with her solicitor Carmel Galati, left and her lawyer Leon Zwier, right)

New documents released by the WA Supreme Court reveal how Ms Higgins' lawyer, Carmel Galati (pictured, left), sought to persuade Reynolds' legal team to accept an offer of settlement, which was sent just four days before the trial began

'As you know, it has been difficult obtaining instructions from my client in relation to issues that are so sensitive like this one,' Ms Galati stated.

'My client may never overcome the trauma she suffered as a consequence of the rape and remains immovable in relation to what she regards as the requests for her to abandon her feelings and beliefs about that traumatic event and the immediate aftermath.'

The letter then boldly stated that Ms Higgins' legal team would 'see a successful defence of the claim', before outlining why Reynolds' claim would fail.

'Your client remains at risk even if she is successful,' Ms Galati warned.

'Your client will never restore her reputation by suing a staffer raped in her office.'

Ms Galati then claimed that the $2.4 million compensation payout Ms Higgins was awarded by the Commonwealth in 2022 for bullying and victimisation in the aftermath of her rape was not on the table.

'The personal injuries damages paid by the Commonwealth to my client would never have been, are not and will never be available to meet any judgment your client may obtain against mine.'

Ms Galati added: 'Your client will no doubt be monitoring the continual social media and be aware that she is the subject of continuing adverse publicity in that respect.'

It took Reynolds' lawyer, Martin Bennett (pictured, second from right), just 29 minutes to reject the offer, stating it was 'unreasonable' under the terms of the Defamation Act

In addition to the $200,000, the offer of settlement contained a 'mutual statement of regret'.

But to ward off any future disputes about how much was paid - and, crucially, by whom - Ms Higgins' lawyers insisted on a caveat.

'The fact of and sum would remain confidential unless there is a publication of incorrect details of the settlement, in which case my client has the right to make clear what the correct details are, of the fact and sum of the payment,' they stated.

Reynolds had evidently insisted in mediation that Ms Higgins was herself to pay any compensation, but the former Liberal staffer's lawyers insisted this was 'unreasonable'.

'Our client's family are gravely concerned about their daughter's well-being for good reasons, and your client should be sensitive to that issue too,' they added.

A further $10,000 to be given to a women's refuge or charity was also on the table. This sum would also be paid by Ms Higgins' parents.

However, there was no apology - only a reference to a previous apology that Ms Higgins had given to Reynolds and her former chief of staff Fiona Brown for any 'hurt and distress'. This was mirrored by the 'hurt and distress' Ms Higgins had also suffered.

'They both agree to put these matters behind them and move on,' the statement added.

Reynolds' lawyer Mr Bennett (pictured) was this week vindicated by Justice Tottle's excoriating costs order, which contained a five-point take-down of exactly why it fell short

It took Reynolds' lawyer, Martin Bennett, just 29 minutes to reject the offer, stating it was 'unreasonable' under the terms of the Defamation Act.

Ms Galati amended the letter and asked Mr Bennett to consider it once more. but he rejected it again.

'The offer provides no vindication of my client's reputation and given the lateness of the offer the proposed contribution to my client's costs is inadequate,' he stated.

'Unlike your client who has been mostly represented on a pro bono basis my client has been forced to incur costs of the proceedings.

'I disagree with your assessment of the strength of my client's case.'

Mr Bennett was this week vindicated by Justice Tottle's excoriating costs order, which contained a five-point take-down of exactly why it fell short.

'First, the offer did not provide the plaintiff with any vindication of her reputation,' he ruled.

Secondly, the statement 'fell short of an apology by a substantial margin' - about as scathing as it gets in legal language.

'(Reynolds') characterisation of it as a statement to the effect the parties have agreed to disagree is accurate,' Justice Tottle ruled.

'As appears to have been (Higgins') intention, the mutual statement would have conveyed (she) maintained the truth of the defamatory statements made by her.

'The reference to the previous apology accentuated the absence of an apology in the statement itself.'

Thirdly, the insistence that Ms Higgins would be able to break confidentiality got short shrift from Justice Tottle.

'The reservation of the right to publish a correction in the event of a publication of incorrect details of the settlement would have enabled the defendant to say she had not paid any money to the plaintiff in settlement of the claim,' he stated.

Fourthly, there was 'no offer of compensation'.

And finally, it was all too little, too late.

'The offer was made four days before the day on which the trial was to commence and after the plaintiff had incurred the costs of preparing for trial,' he observed.

'As was recognised by the defendant, $200,000 could only have been a contribution to the plaintiff's costs.'

Justice Tottle branded the offer of settlement 'unreasonable'.

'It may have been difficult for the defendant to bring herself to consider making a settlement offer to the plaintiff, but this does not mean it was not unreasonable for her to have failed to have done so,' he observed.

He was also critical of the legal advice Ms Higgins had received.

'Although the defendant's 'trial team' were retained only shortly before the trial, the defendant was represented by experienced lawyers from the very first stages of the dispute,' he added.
A furious Aussie has slammed Telstra, claiming the telecommunications giant blamed her after scammers committed identity fraud to buy four new phones.

Deanna Campese explained the con artists had walked into a Telstra store with a fake proof of age card and asked staff to change her phone number and email.

She said they then ordered four phones while pretending to be her.

Ms Campese claimed she had spoken to a Telstra staff member and couldn't believe the response.

'I've just got off the phone with someone at Telstra and they've put the blame on me,' she said in a TikTok video on Tuesday.

'They said, "Next time this happens we won't be reimbursing your account." And I said, "Pardon me".

'They said, "You look after your email better".'

Ms Campese said she explained to the staff member she had filed a police report, before claiming she was told the scammers had her 'proof of age card'.

Deanna Campese has unloaded on Telstra for its customer service

'It wasn't my proof of age card. They fraudulently created a proof of age card to get these phones, and the guy on the phone was blaming me,' she said.

'He said, "We'll cancel these phones this time but not next time" and he was talking over me, he was being extremely rude and he did not give a s***.

'I said I'm going to the police and he said, "The police have nothing to do with us. We don't care." He literally said that.'

Social media users were left disgusted, with many claiming they had similar experiences at their Telstra stores.

'Same thing happened to us,' one wrote.

'They walked into a Telstra shop with my husband's driver's licence and they looked nothing like him and bought two phones and used our points to get a huge speaker.'

'This happened to me eight years ago,' a second wrote.

'Someone rang, said they were me and added another person to my account who then went into a store and got six of the newest iPhones on the most expensive plans.'

Ms Campese claimed the telco giant called her to apologise for the way one of its workers blamed her for a scam that wasn't her fault (stock image)

Ms Campese, who is a lawyer, said she was 'disgusted' and that she was cancelling her Telstra account.

'This is why junkies do the s*** they do, because there's no consequence. It's my fault,' she said.

'I'm going to take this to the police, the telco ombudsman. The way I was just spoken to was absolutely disgusting.'

Ms Campese wrote a member of Telstra 'has listened to the recorded call and apologised profusely'.

'I've told them I'm seeking legal representation for the negligence,' she wrote.

A Telstra spokesman told Daily Mail the telecommunications giant was investigating the case of identity fraud.

'In circumstances like this where a customers identity and other personal information have already been compromised, criminals can commit identity theft and potentially pass through any organisation's authentication processes,' he said.

'This fraudster was very sophisticated in the way that they stole ID to impersonate the customer.

'We have been working with the customer to investigate her case over the past few days and have locked her account.

'All services and charges related to the fraudulent transactions have been removed and reimbursed.'
A court order preventing the publication of deeply disturbing details about New Zealand fugitive father Tom Phillips and his children will remain in place.

Sensitive information about Phillips and his four years on the run still cannot be publicly revealed after he was shot dead by police on Monday.

New Zealand Police and the country's Ministry of Children, known as Oranga Tamaraki, have been restrained from releasing troubling facts about Phillips due to a High Court injunction.

The injunction also prevented media publishing the same information by any means and was extended by at least a week after a hearing on Thursday.

The order was imposed by Justice Helen Cull on Monday night following an urgent application by lawyer Linda Clark, acting on behalf of Julia Phillips, the mother of Tom Phillips.

If the injunction had been lifted, news organisations might have been able to expose dark secrets about 38-year-old Phillips which would further complicate the story.

New Zealand's Police Minister Mark Mitchell has labelled Phillips a 'monster' for the harm and suffering he had inflicted on his children, Ember, Maverick and Jayda.

'This is a guy that has taken his children into abysmal conditions,' Mr Mitchell said on Thursday.

A court order preventing the publication of deeply disturbing details about New Zealand fugitive Tom Phillips and his children remains in place. Ember, Maverick and Jayda Phillips are pictured with their mother

Sensitive information about Tom Phillips (above) and his four years on the run still cannot be publicly revealed after he was shot dead by police on Monday

'He has kept them away from education. He has kept them away from medical support.

'He has taken them and used them as human shields in violent criminal offending, and he has put his daughter in harm's way when he tried to kill a police officer.

'So this guy is in no way, shape or form a hero. Quite the opposite - he's a monster.

Since Phillips was killed - after shooting a policeman - authorities have indicated they are unable to disclose significant details about the case.

Oranga Tamariki regional commissioner Warwick Morehu was repeatedly asked about the Phillips children at a press conference on Tuesday.

'I want to say I am constrained with the amount of information I can share,' Mr Morehu said.

'The Family Court are actively managing this case and we will comply with the directions they give us.

'Now, I understand there is huge public interest in these tamariki (children) and their wellbeing but all I can ask is that we please give them some privacy. These are young tamariki.'

Hours after Phillips was shot dead police acting on directions provided by Jayda located Ember and Maverick at a campsite deep in bushland about 2km from where Phillips was killed

Tom Phillips's three children (L-R) Jayda, now 12, Maverick, 10, and Ember, 9, are in the care of New Zealand's Ministry of Children, known as Oranga Tamaraki

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers also declined to discuss some aspects of what investigators had discovered.

'As you'd understand, it is a highly sensitive matter and there will be more information that will come but we can't speak to all of it right now,' he told reporters.

Mr Mitchell said the Phillips siblings 'have seen and been exposed to things that children in our country should not be'.

'It's very complicated and it's very complex and it has been for quite some time,' Mr Mitchell said during the same press conference.

'There's things here that Warwick has already stated that we cannot legally talk about.

'But I just want to give everyone a sense that everyone is focused on caring for those children and that has been the approach that has been taken from day one when they first disappeared into the bush with their father.'

Phillips and his three children disappeared from the town of Marokopa in the rural Wakaito region of New Zealand's upper North Island in December 2021.

Daughters Jayda and Ember were aged eight and five respectively, while son Maverick was seven at the time.

New Zealand police have released pictures of the last campsite Phillips used to hide his three children from authorities (above)

Phillips and Jayda took off on their quad bike, and were stopped by police road spikes about 30km away from the scene of a burglary

Phillips had been separated from children's mother Catherine, known as Cat, for several years and until their disappearance were being home schooled.

Police believe the experienced bushman and hunter robbed a bank at Te Kuiti in May 2023 and in August that year he was seen in Hamilton and Te Rapa at two Bunnings stores.

Despite an NZ$80,000 reward and multiple search operations, Phillips managed to live in the wilderness with his children for almost four years without being caught.

The three siblings were not sighted together with their father until October 2024 when they were all spotted walking through Marokopa farmland. On that occasion Phillips had been armed.

Two weeks ago, on August 27, police released CCTV purportedly showing Phillips and one of his children trying to break into a store in the Waitomo district at Piopio.

Police were again alerted to Phillips's presence in Piopio when an alarm was triggered at a PPG Wrightson rural supply store about 2.30am on Monday. This time he was in the company of Jayda.

Father and daughter fled the town on a quad bike which an hour after the burglary was stopped by road spikes deployed on Te Anga Road about 30km north of Piopio.

When Phillips shot a constable, who survived with critical injuries, another officer returned fire and killed the gunman.

Phillips and his three children disappeared in December 2021 when daughters Jayda and Ember were aged eight and five respectively, while son Maverick was seven

Later on Monday police, acting on directions provided by Jayda, located Ember and Maverick at a campsite deep in bushland about 2km from where Phillips was killed.

Jayda, now 12, nine-year-old Ember and 10-year-old Maverick were taken into the care of Oranga Tamaraki.

Mr Morehu would not comment on when the children might be reunited with their mother.

'They're settled and that's all Ill say around the kids,' he said. 'They are settled, they are comfortable. They are together.

'They are doing well under the circumstances and engaging with the staff supporting them.'

Mr Morehu said that support would include 'clinical professionals' if required.

'I want to assure you these tamariki will be provided with whatever help or assistance they may need for however long they may need it,' he said.

'Everyone is doing their very best to ensure that we can return them to some form of normal daily life.

'We don't know exactly what that looks like yet and how long that may take. We will be guided by these tamariki and what they need.'

Mr Chambers has insisted Phillips was no sort of folk hero, but rather a father who had put his children's lives in danger.

'For four years we have known that Mr Phillips has been armed, he's been dangerous and he's been motivated,' Mr Chambers said at Tuesday's press conference.

Mr Chambers also warned 'there's a long way to go in this investigation'.

'We have a significant number of interviews to do,' he said. 'Obviously, some of those involve young people, so that may take time.

'The number one priority for those children is their wellbeing, their safety.

'We will give them the privilege of that time but there will come a time where we need to talk to them and I have specialist staff who are very good at what they do in interviewing young children.

'That's part of the process. That will be part of helping put this big puzzle together but it will take some time for sure.'
Madison Cawthorn's bid to return to Congress got off to a dramatic and embarrassing start on Wednesday, when the former North Carolina lawmaker was arrested in Florida for failing to appear in court over a traffic citation.

The 28-year-old Republican firebrand, now living in Cape Coral, was taken into custody at his home early on Wednesday morning by Lee County deputies after missing an 8:30am court hearing in Collier County.

The hearing stemmed from an August 19 traffic stop in Naples, where Cawthorn was cited for driving without a valid license.

According to the Collier County Clerk of Courts, an out-of-county warrant was issued that morning when Cawthorn failed to show.

He was booked and released on a $2,000 bond within hours.

Cawthorn confirmed that police knocked on his door and arrested him at home, a startling turn for a man widely believed to be preparing a political comeback.

The Republican is contemplating a run in Florida's 19th Congressional District - a deep-red seat soon to be vacated by Rep. Byron Donalds, who is running for governor.

Cawthorn's arrest comes less than 24 hours after he met with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill, according to Axios, to discuss launching a run for Congress from his new home state.

Madison Cawthorn was arrested in Florida on Wednesday for failing to appear in court over a traffic citation. The 28-year-old Republican firebrand is now living in Cape Coral, Florida

The 28-year-old Republican firebrand is said to be making a bid to return to Congress. He is pictured here in April 2022

The former congressman had only just begun laying the groundwork for what sources described as a highly visible reentry into national politics.

The Florida seat is expected to draw a crowded GOP primary, but with his notoriety and loyal MAGA base, Cawthorn was widely seen as a wildcard contender who could once again upend the establishment.

Wednesday's arrest is not the first time Cawthorn has tangled with Florida authorities.

In 2024, he was involved in a collision along Alligator Alley in Collier County, slamming into the rear of a Florida State Trooper vehicle. That incident drew headlines but did not result in serious charges.

Cawthorn's team insists the arrest was a simple clerical mishap, not a sign of deeper issues.

Cawthorn made his political name in 2020 when at just 25 he became the youngest member of Congress in over two centuries.

Backed by Donald Trump, he represented North Carolina's 11th District for a single term before a string of personal scandals and intra-party clashes cost him reelection.

Despite Trump's endorsement, Cawthorn lost his seat to Rep. Chuck Edwards, marking a sharp fall for one of the party's most high-profile young voices.

Cawthorn is contemplating a run in Florida's 19th Congressional District - a deep-red seat soon to be vacated by Rep. Byron Donalds, who is running for governor

Cawthorn's arrest comes less than 24 hours after he met with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill to discuss launching a run for Congress from his new home state

After the defeat, Cawthorn relocated to Florida and had largely disappeared from national politics, until now.

The open seat in Florida's 19th District, spanning parts of southwest Florida including Fort Myers and Naples, offers fertile ground for a conservative candidate.

Rep. Byron Donalds, a rising GOP star and Trump ally, is vacating the seat to run for governor in 2026.

Cawthorn has privately confirmed to several Republicans his intent to run.

One lawmaker said Cawthorn did not meet with House Speaker Mike Johnson, but is already courting allies and donors in Florida and Washington.

So far, five Republicans have filed paperwork to run in District 19, with more expected.

Cawthorn's previous breaks with party leadership, his penchant for viral controversy, and personal baggage make unpredictable candidate

While national Republicans aren't worried about holding the seat as it remains a GOP stronghold, they are paying close attention as to who will carry the torch.

For Johnson and House leadership already navigating a slim majority, Cawthorn's return could be more of a liability than an asset.

His previous breaks with party leadership, his penchant for viral controversy, and personal baggage make unpredictable candidate.
President Donald Trump delivered a solemn message to the nation in the wake of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk's assassination on a college campus in Utah.

The president spoke from the Oval Office as he criticized the 'demonization' of political opponents during a four-minute video posted to his Truth Social account.

'To my great fellow Americans, I am filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah. Charlie inspired millions and tonight, all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror,' the President said.

He then spoke about Kirk, who co-founded the youth organization Turning Point USA at the age of 18, as a man of faith who loved his country and talking to the American people.

'Charlie was a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country that he loved so much, the United States of America. He fought for liberty, democracy, justice and the American people.

'He's a martyr for truth and freedom and there has never been anyone who was so respected by youth.

'Charlie was also a man of deep, deep faith and we take comfort that he is now with God in Heaven. Our prayers are with his wife, Erika, his two young and beloved children and his family, who he loved more than anything in the world. We ask God to watch over them in this terrible hour of heartache and pain.'

Trump turned toward those he saw as responsible for the attack, as he called Tuesday 'a dark moment for America'.

Donald Trump said the 'demonization' of political opponents by the 'radical left' directly led to the murder of influential conservative Charlie Kirk

The President published a grave, four-minute statement on Kirk's death from the Oval Office to his Truth Social account

'It's long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequences of demonizing those with whom you disagree, day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible.

'For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today and it must stop right now.'

He compared the murder to the assassination attempt on his own life in July 2024, the attacks on ICE agents, the alleged killing of Brian Thompson by Luigi Mangione and the shooting of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.

'Radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives,' he said.

The President asked Americans to commit themselves to Kirk's values: 'The values of free speech, citizenship, the rule of law and the patriotic devotion and love of God.

'Charlie was the best of America and the monster who was attacking him was attacking our whole country.'

Trump said that his administration would find everyone involved with Kirk's killing and all political violence.

The conservative firebrand, 31, was speaking to students in Utah when someone opened fire at the school on Wednesday

Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Frantzve, with whom he had a three-year-old daughter and a son, 16 months

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It was Trump who delivered the news of the 31-year-old's death, on his Truth Social network.

'The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,' Trump posted at 4.40pm. 'No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us.

'Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!' the President said.

Trump then ordered that flags be lowered - with all three American flags at the White House dropped to half-staff.

He had urged the country to pray for Kirk shortly after the Turning Point USA leader was shot in the neck by an unknown gunman while engaging in a Q&A with students at the Utah event.

'We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!' Trump said on Truth Social.

The White House sent out a copy of Trump's post in place of an official statement.

'Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father,' Vice President JD Vance added on X.

It was Trump who delivered the news of 31-year-old Kirk's death, using his Truth Social network

Though talking on the phone to the New York Post, the President had expressed doubt that Kirk could survive.

Videos taken at the scene showed Kirk being shot in the neck and blood immediately pouring out of the wound.

'He's not doing wellyes, it looks very bad,' Trump said, adding that he was feeling 'not good' about the shooting. 'He was a very, very good friend of mine, and he was a tremendous person.'

Attorney General Pam Bondi was flying back from an event in Chicago when she heard the news and gathered her team in prayer.

'FBI and ATF agents are on the scene. PRAY FOR CHARLIE,' Bondi then posted to X.

Former Representative Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican, was on site with his family and called into the Fox News Channel to recount the shocking turn of events.

Chaffetz said Kirk was answering a question about transgender shooters when the single round rang out.

'He took his first question, which was a religious question. And then he got to the second question, which was about 30 minutes into his presentation, 2.30 local time, and the question was about transgender shooters, mass killings versus people that werent transgender,' the Utah Republican said.

'And when that happened, when that question came out, you know, going to have the interaction, one shot. I was watching Charlie. I can't say that I saw blood. I can't say that I saw him get hit but I did see him fall immediately backward to his left.'

Stunned spectators were heard gasping and screaming before people start to run away

Images from the scene showed the crowd scramble as someone fired a single shot

'And I can just hope and pray that somehow he survives that.'

FBI Director Kash Patel said his bureau was 'closely monitoring reports of the tragic shooting'.

'Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected,' Patel said. 'Agents will be on the scene quickly and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation.'

Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom was quick to show bipartisan support for Kirk, condemning the shooting.

'The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form,' Newsom said.

Kirk was scheduled to debate a progressive influencer, Hasan Piker, at Dartmouth College on September 25.

On his Twitch live stream, Piker reacted to the news with horror, urging some of his followers to stop making jokes about the shooting, and he expressed fear that he could be similarly targeted.

'This is a terrifying incident,' Piker said. 'The reverberation of people seeking out vengeance in the aftermath of this violent, abhorrent incident is going to be genuinely worrisome.'

Progressive Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez echoed those worries after Kirk was pronounced dead.

'The assassination of Charlie Kirk risks an uncorking of political chaos and violence that we cannot risk in America,' the New York Democrat said.

GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a friend of Kirk's, said on X: 'A married young man and father, who stands on college campuses and encourages young people to get married, have children, stop abortion, and simply live a life for God.

'Im praying that he survives. And I'm praying that this country rises up and ends this,' the Georgia lawmaker said.

While many quickly shared prayers for Kirk, a subset of shameless social media users appeared to celebrate the attack on the Republican firebrand.

Before Trump announced Kirk's death, Representative Brian Mast told the Daily Mail in the immediate aftermath that he 'hopes Charlie is all right', and said he was praying he would not 'lose a friend today'.

Representative Cory Mills also told the Daily Mail: 'It's such a horrendous and just horrific incident to watch. I mean, my thoughts and prayers are obviously with him and his family.

A member of the crowd stepped up to the microphone to debate Kirk, who was sitting under a tent, on the matter of mass shootings

Kirk helped found Turning Point USA, a conservative non-profit organization that focuses on promoting conservatism on school campuses (pictured: Kirk and his wife Erika Frantzve)

'He's been an amazing conservative leader, both in universities and on college campuses, but even with the continuation of the build out of Turning Point, giving policy advisers and legislators the opportunity to really talk with the youth and understand exactly what we're trying to achieve by saving our country and the constitutionality of it, but we're monitoring it very closely.

'I've known Charlie for a long time. This is the type of thing we just can't tolerate here in America,' Mills said.

Democratic Representative Ro Khanna told the Daily Mail he was 'saddened' by the shooting, and said 'we need to do better as citizens of this country, the hate and anger that has taken over'.

The shooting prompted a furious response from Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna.

'I am done with the rhetoric this rotten House and corrupt media has caused,' she posted to X. 'EVERY DAMN ONE OF YOU WHO CALLED US FASCISTS DID THIS. You were too busy doping up kids, cutting off their genitals, inciting racial violence by supporting orgs that exploit minorities, protecting criminals, and stirring hate.

'YOU ARE THE HATE you claim to fight,' she said. 'Your words caused this. Your hate caused this. Charlie. His family. Those kids. No one deserved this. Enough is enough.'

Luna worked for Kirk's Turning Point USA before being elected to Congress.

The horror attack unfolded Wednesday afternoon at the UVU campus in Orem, where Kirk published a post on X just minutes before the shot was fired.

'WE. ARE. SO. BACK,' he wrote at 2.23pm EST. 'Utah Valley University is FIRED UP and READY for the first stop back on the American Comeback Tour.'
Sky News Australia host Peta Credlin has claimed that Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price's sacking is the 'beginning of the end' for Sussan's Ley's leadership.

Senator Price, the former Shadow Minister for Defence Industry, was booted from the frontbench on Wednesday evening after a tumultuous week following her controversial comments about mass immigration.

The Northern Territory Senator had admitted her comments about Labor 'importing' Indian migrants to help boost its vote were 'clumsy' but refused to apologise in a defiant press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Crucially, however, she declined to express support for Ley.

Within hours, Ley sacked her from the frontbench, claiming Price had 'failed the test of the high standard' she sets for members of her shadow ministry.

But Credlin, who was Tony Abbott's former chief of staff, has claimed that the handling of the fallout will be the 'beginning of the end' for Ley.

'At no point over the last seven days - and she has been asked repeatedly  has Sussan Ley said publicly at any stage that Jacinta Nampijinpa Price should apologise,' Ms Credlin said.

'Indeed I make the further point that it wasn't until Monday that Sussan Ley picked up the phone and spoke personally with Jacinta Price. As I said, I think this is beginning of the end, not the end of a difficult few days, and we'll see what plays out in coming weeks.'

Sky News Australia host Peta Credlin has claimed that Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price's sacking is the 'beginning of the end' for Sussan's Ley's leadership

Price, the Shadow Minister for Defence Industry, was sacked from the frontbench on Wednesday evening after a tumultuous week following her controversial comments about mass migration

Price expressed regret over her comments but stopped short of apologising.

'I have accepted the Leader's decision. And I reiterated my regret in not being clearer in my comments on the ABC last Wednesday,' she said on X.

'Nevertheless, I took the opportunity to express to the Leader my disappointment that some colleagues disregarded the key point I was making about the damaging impacts of mass migration. And that some colleagues instead chose to indulge agenda-driven media commentary on this matter.

'To reiterate comments from my earlier statement: I never intended to be disparaging towards our Indian community. And I wish no ill-will whatsoever to the Indian community  or any other migrant group.'

On Thursday morning, Ley insisted it was up to Price if she wanted to apologise for her comments.

'The senator had some time to reflect and make her own decisions about what apologies were necessary. In my view, they were. The decision that I made yesterday speaks for itself,' Ley told reporters.

'I will leave senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to make her own statements. I am not making them for her.'

Ley apologised 'to all Indian Australians and indeed others who were hurt and distressed by the comments that were made, comments that I said at the time should not have been made'.

On Thursday morning, Ley insisted it was up to Price if she wanted to apologise for her comments as she offered her own apology to Indian-Australians

'May I reaffirm my strong support for all our migrant communities for the values that they bring to this country, for the contribution they make and for choosing to come to Australia,' she added.

The Oppostion Leader insisted her position was 'absolutely not' under threat.

Senator James Paterson said on Thursday morning her hoped Price would be back on the frontbench in 'due course'.

'I think she has a unique ability to carry a message and to cut through in a way that many of us would hope that we had,' Paterson told the ABC.

'I hope that in due course Jacinta is back in a frontbench role.'
Abbie Chatfield has declared she 'hates' conservative influencer Charlie Kirk just hours after he was shot dead.

Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck shortly after midday on Wednesday during a rally at Utah Valley University, in what has been described as a 'political assassination' by the state's governor.

The alleged gunman, who was caught on camera dashing across a rooftop in the moments after he opened fire, is still at large.

Kirk - a father of two, the founder of Turning Point USA and a loyal Trump ally - toppled from his chair as blood spurted from his neck.

He was rushed to a local hospital, where he was declared dead.

US President Donald Trump described him as a 'martyr for truth and freedom' and ordered flags to be flown at half-mast at the White House.

But Chatfield said she 'hated' Charlie Kirk - before using his death to make a grim political prediction.

'Even though I hate Charlie Kirk this is bad for everyone to be honest,' she wrote on Instagram.

Abbie Chatfield has declared she 'hates' conservative influencer Charlie Kirk just hours after he was shot dead

Kirk, a father of two, the founder of Turning Point USA and a loyal Trump ally, was rushed to a local hospital where he was declared dead

'The right (and possibly the left) will become more violent in replacement of actual democracy. He will be martyred. They won't see that this is BECAUSE of right-wing views on gun control that this could even happen.

'It will cause tensions to rise and drive people further apart than we already are. If this is the beginning, then what's to come?'

The former reality TV star also shared a quote Kirk gave in April 2023, with Alanis Morissette's song Ironic playing over it.

'I think it's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights,' the quote reads.

Citing his own assassination attempt and the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year, Trump wrote that 'radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people'.

Trump called it a 'dark moment for America'.

'Charlie inspired millions and tonight all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror,' he said.

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

Reality TV personality-turned-podcaster Chatfield said she 'hated' Charlie Kirk - before using his death to make a grim political prediction

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

'Charlie was also a man of deep, deep faith. And we take comfort in the knowledge that he is now at peace with God in heaven.'

Two suspects were arrested before later being released. A door-to-door hunt for the gunman is currently underway.

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he was 'mourning the shocking death of Charlie Kirk'.

'He championed the pursuit of open debate and intellectual freedom in places of education, and did so with great courage,' Abbott added.

'My prayers are for his wife and children at this dire time.'
The secret hiding hole of fugitive gunman Dezi Freeman was revealed in a social media post four years ago, but it's exact location still remains a mystery - and not even his closest family members know where it is.

The remote location, hidden deep in the rugged slopes of Mount Buffalo, is where detectives now believe Freeman could have vanished after allegedly gunning down two officers.

The area  dubbed Buffalo Creek by Freeman  does not appear on any map searches of the region and the only proof it exists is in a single photograph obtained by Daily Mail.

As the manhunt for the self-proclaimed sovereign citizen moves into its third week, investigators are urgently trying to track it down, convinced it could have been his secret refuge from the authorities.

'He wouldn't tell any of us exactly where it was and I have no doubt he headed there,' one of Freeman's most trusted sources told Daily Mail in an exclusive interview.

'I know the details have been provided to the police but, before all of this, no one we know has ever been able to find it.

'He is fiercely protective over that location and I wouldn't be surprised if he had taken tubs of essentials up there long before (the alleged incident) and has them stashed already.'

Ten officers descended on Freeman's compound in Porepunkah, 300 kilometres northeast of Melbourne, on August 26 to execute a search warrant linked to historic allegations that he had sexually assaulted a minor.

A remote sanctuary of Dezi Freeman (pictured) is where detectives now believe the fugitive may have vanished to after he allegedly shot two police officers

Freeman had spoken of a secret place on his social media account

Freeman's alleged refuge is believed to be hidden deep within the rugged slopes of Mt Buffalo

After two officers were shot dead, Freeman fled into the bush where it is understood he still remains on the run.

Daily Mail also understands investigators are now working with Meta in a desperate bid to gain access to Freeman's multiple social media accounts to find fresh leads as the 450-strong manhunt continues with seemingly no real progress.

While Freeman used his Facebook, which has public posts, to condemn and attack police and authorities, his Instagram paints a different picture of the father-of-three.

Locked from prying eyes, access to Freeman's Instagram page is only for his family and lifelong friends. Within it, he shared his passion for nature and loving photos of his children.

It was here that Freeman is understood to have often spoken of his secret spot, a place he made a point of keeping as his most tightly guarded secret.

One single photo posted in 2021 now offers the vital clue that police desperately need.

Along with a photo of an unusual rock pool formation high in the mountainous terrain against a backdrop of thick forest, Freeman wrote:

'My happy place. Buffalo Creek. Here I am me, I am in my element, I am connected, I am where I belong, I am who I am.'

Detectives have attempted to map the route Freeman could have used to reach his refuge

That same post continued with a cryptic message about an alleged long-running dispute he had with a neighbour he calls 'Satan's helpers'.

The alleged clash has since taken on new significance as detectives have attempted to map the route Freeman could have used to reach his potential refuge.

'This is what Satan's little helpers tried to stop me from accessing,' the Instagram entry said.

'Like a native dispossessed of their sacred lands, I will fight to the end.'

Friends have said they believe the remoteness of the site and the lack of any official map name for Buffalo Creek is deliberate.

'Dezi got married to Mali on that mountain, their youngest baby was born there right outside their bus and he will die there too,' one said.

But the friend warned that it is unlikely this is the last Australia will hear from him, claiming that Freeman has unfinished business.

'Despite everything. Dezi loves his kids and I do think he will want to get a last message to them, even if it's to say goodbye,' they said.

'His son Koah actually said earlier in the week that his dad was like Rambo and while that sounds kind of funny, it shouldn't be taken lightly.'

The friend claimed Freeman regularly binged the famous movie First Blood and was obsessed with the 1982 movie.

The story follows Rambo who, after entering a small town and clashing with the police, attempts to survive a manhunt using his expertise in survival and combat.

Eventually Rambo heads back to the town and the sheriff's office to seek out his final revenge.

'That's probably what he will be waiting for,' the friend alleged.

The delay in finding Freeman has left the community on edge. Locals in surrounding towns have increased vigilance and police patrols remain heavy through the park and along access roads.

Locals who know the high country well admit the terrain is brutal and easy to get lost in, which makes the search difficult and dangerous.

About 450 police officers and the Australian Defence Force continue to hunt for Freeman as the search enters its third week.

Police have also searched more than 100 properties in the surrounding towns and have received hundreds of tips and pieces of new information since announcing a $1million reward.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox delivered a gripping speech just hours after Charlie Kirk's murder and declared that 'our nation is broken.'

Kirk - a 31-year-old conservative influencer - was fatally shot in the neck during a rally at Utah Valley University on Wednesday afternoon.

A gunman could be seen on camera fleeing across a nearby rooftop just moments after opening fire.

Hours later, Governor Cox delivered a powerful and emotional press conference, calling the shooting a 'political assassination' that shattered the core of American democracy.

'This is a dark day for our state,' Cox tearfully said. 'It's a tragic day for our nation.'

The Republican governor not only condemned the violence but also vowed to bring the assassin to justice, pledging to hold them accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

'And I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty here in the state of Utah,' he said firmly.

Kirk, a prominent conservative youth activist and founder of Turning Point USA, was at the university for the inaugural stop of his 'American Comeback Tour' when he was shot.

During Cox's speech, which quickly earned widespread praise online for its force and conviction, the governor reminded Americans that Kirk was 'first and foremost a husband and a dad to young children.'

In a gripping speech delivered just hours after Charlie Kirk's murder, Utah Governor Spencer Cox (pictured) declared to America that 'our nation is broken'

The 31-year-old conservative influencer (pictured before shooting) was fatally shot in the neck during a rally at Utah Valley University on Wednesday afternoon, as a gunman - caught on camera - was seen fleeing across a nearby rooftop just moments after opening fire

Governor Cox delivered a powerful and emotional statement (pictured) hours after Kirk's murder, calling the shooting a 'political assassination' that shattered the core of American democracy

He emphasized that Kirks dedication to free speech was why he was addressing college students on campus, highlighting his passion for educating youth and engaging them in debates on important topics.

According to Cox, 'Charlie believed in the power of free speech and debate to shape ideas and to persuade people.'

During his address, he also denounced the shooting as an attack on the very principles the Founding Fathers fought to uphold.

He reminded the nation of the fundamental principle straight from the Declaration of Independence: 'all men are endowed with certain inalienable rights. The first one of those is life.'

Cox tearfully declared 'our nation is broken,' as he described the father-of-two's murder as yet another horrific act in a troubling wave of political violence plaguing the country.

'We've had political assassinations recently in Minnesota. We had an attempted assassination on the governor of Pennsylvania, and we had an attempted assassination on a presidential candidate and former President of the United States and now current President of the United States,' Cox said.

'Nothing I say can unite us as a country. Nothing I can say right now can fix what is broken,' he added. 'Nothing I can say can bring back Charlie Kirk.'

'Our hearts are broken. We mourn with his wife, his children, his family, his friends. We mourn as a nation.'

During Cox's speech, which quickly earned widespread praise online for its force and conviction, the governor reminded Americans that Kirk was 'first and foremost a husband and a dad to young children' (pictured)

Cox described the father-of-twos murder as yet another horrific act in a growing wave of political violence plaguing the nation, pointing to a series of recent assassination attempts on political figures - including President Donald Trump (pictured)

The Republican governor (pictured) condemned the violence and vowed to bring the assassin to justice, pledging to hold them accountable to the fullest extent of the law - including suggesting the death penalty could be on the table

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Hundreds took to social media after Coxs press conference, praising the governor for the power of his words as he spoke to not only Utah but the entire nation amid a time of tragedy and division.

'Cox showed leadership and complete transparency into where we are at in the Charlie Kirk assassination. It was an amazing heartfelt unrehearsed speech. We need this kind of leadership to guide us through these events,' one comment read.

Another read: 'Spencer Cox is giving a master class in how to respond in this moment.'

'The governor of Utah, just gained a new fan. What a phenomenal and powerful speech,' wrote a third viewer.

'Very impressive in this time of tragedy,' another added. 'Mourning the loss of an American. No politics as he spoke. We need more of this.'

In agreeance, a user chimed in: 'Absolutely. I can't even recall the governor's words but I was so moved by them.'

Just after 12pm, Kirk was answering his second question on the topic of mass shootings - specifically, whether he knew how many had involved a transgender shooter.

He responded and began to take another question - but before he could answer, a shot rang out.

The father-of-two, known for his fierce MAGA views and thrilling debates with college kids across the country, collapsed immediately after being hit by gunfire (pictured)

Authorities have since confirmed that 71-year-old George Zinn (pictured), who was taken into custody immediately after the shooting, was not the shooter. Another man, Zachariah Qureshi, who was also detained and questioned, has been released

Students at the event were seen running and screaming in shock after witnessing the bloody scene unfold in front of their eyes (pictured)

'We just saw Charlie Kirks neck turn to the side and it appeared that he had been shot in the neck,' reporter Emma Pitts told The Guardian. 'There was blood, immediately a lot of blood.'

University student Sawyer Carr, 18, told the Daily Mail that although the sound resembled a 'large clap,' Kirk was immediately bleeding profusely.

'I hear a gun fire. Then his neck drops back, he starts gushing blood, and he just folds over,' Carr said.

The father-of-two, known for his fierce MAGA views and thrilling debates with college kids across the country, collapsed immediately after being hit by gunfire.

Students at the event were seen running and screaming in shock after witnessing the bloody scene unfold in front of their eyes.

Kirk was rushed to a local hospital but succumbed to his injuries, while an elderly man was taken into custody.

Authorities have since confirmed that 71-year-old George Zinn, who was taken into custody immediately after the shooting, was not the shooter. Another man, Zachariah Qureshi, who was also detained and questioned, has been released as well.

FBI agents are now working with the local police to track down the killer.
One of Australia's most notorious sex offenders - nicknamed the 'playboy rapist' - is making headlines again after yet another allegation that could see him thrown back behind bars.

Former inmates housed alongside Simon Monteiro, 58, will be shuddering at the news that he is facing new charges of stalking and intimidating a woman.

Jail sources previously pointed to Monteiro - who was locked up for 12 years after raping and assaulting his ex-girlfriend - as the most-hated man behind bars, describing him as a compulsive liar who is loathed by prisoners and officers alike.

A Corrective Services psychologist once told a court he believed Monteiro, a former male model and aspiring actor, was a psychopath.

So his new charges may come as no surprise.

On Wednesday, we revealed that Monteiro was granted conditional bail in relation to the charges that stemmed from an alleged altercation at Hornsby Local Court in Sydney on August 12.

He has also been charged with breaching an extended supervision order.

On Wednesday, he appeared via video link from jail for a bail hearing on the charges at King Street Supreme Court, where he pleaded for his 'life back'.

Simon Monteiro, 58, is facing new charges after allegedly stalking and intimidating a woman

Police allege Monteiro approached a woman known to him at the courthouse on August 12 and stared in her direction, intending to cause her to fear for her safety.

The woman, whom we have chosen not to identify, had attended the court for an unrelated matter and reported her discomfort to police outside.

She had an intimate relationship with Monteiro for several months earlier this year, before things soured and the pair took out mutual apprehended violence orders.

Within days of the run-in at Hornsby Local Court, Monteiro turned himself in at Gosford Police Station where he was charged with breaching a supervision order, stalking/intimidating with intent to cause fear, and attempting to stalk/intimidate with intent to cause fear.

He was remanded in custody last month, where he remained until his bail was approved, subject to strict conditions, on Wednesday.

Dressed in prison greens, the worse-for-wear former model represented himself after parting ways with his lawyer John Stratton SC last week.

He argued his bail was necessary for a range of reasons, including to prepare for an upcoming separate legal challenge, to attend university, and to undergo surgery.

The 58-year-old teared up while claiming he was the only person able to provide assistance to his elderly father. 'He has no one,' he said.

'Playboy rapist' Simon Monteiro was jailed for 12 years for the rape of his ex-girlfriend

He also argued his notoriety meant his custodial conditions were particularly onerous, as he is kept apart from the general population.

'I've done nothing wrong. I want my life back,' he told the court.

Justice Sarah McNaughton considered that Monteiro had not been charged with any violent or sexual offences in recent years.

She also said that any risks posed to the complainant could be mitigated by an existing AVO and bail conditions.

He was released on bail subject to several conditions, including being of good behaviour, observing a curfew, and that he is not to approach or be within 500 metres of the complainant except where necessary for attending court.

He will also be required to report to police three times a week and adhere to the conditions of any supervision or apprehended violence orders against him.

Monteiro will face court again on September 17.

The former wannabe socialite has been making headlines for years.

Monteiro is seen with Mariah Carey, having once boasted of having a relationship with the superstar

He once partied with Sydney's rich and famous, flaunting his lavish lifestyle, and even boasted about having a relationship with Mariah Carey.

But behind the 'playboy' persona was a sadistic and violent man who had seduced and manipulated a string of women across Sydney.

While locked up, his long list of demands included a cell by the coast, a soft-bristled toothbrush and an orthopedic mattress.

He is also known to hold grudges and is apparently obsessed with revenge, correctional sources have claimed.

After being convicted and jailed for 12 years in 2009 for the brutal rape of his ex, Monteiro has made it his mission to cause problems wherever he goes.

'Monteiro is easily the worst. He is one of the only inmates that everyone is terrified of and that's the truth,' a jail insider says.

'His entire wing at Long Bay put in a "Non-Association" application against him, so if - or when - he gets chucked back in jail he can't be housed there.'

In the late '90s, he was charged with assault, stalking and intimidation.

Monteiro, who was an aspiring actor, was loathed by inmates and prison officers behind bars

After walking free, he went on to reoffend in 2009 when he broke into the home of his ex-girlfriend, holding scissors to her throat as he carried out a prolonged and violent sexual assault.

Monteiro threatened her with iron bars and told her he would 'gut her dad like a fish' if she ever went to the police.

Despite these threats, she was brave enough to press charges and Monteiro was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

But behind bars, Monteiro became angry that he'd lost access to the luxuries to which he felt entitled.

'He honestly just thinks he is above every single person,' a prison source tells us.

'He is forever getting his legal team to get him things. He wanted a heater in his room, special meals of raw vegetables, and even tried for a laptop in his cell.

'He tries to divide everyone, too. Prison officers and inmates mostly have a good relationship, but he'd just cause drama and twist situations so people would fall out.'

Another insider says Monteiro would keep 'pages and pages of case notes' because he 'tries to sue everyone all the time'.

Monteiro has apparently 'never forgotten' A Current Affair host Leila McKinnon's interview with one of his alleged victims, Kay Schubach. 'He still hates Leila seven years on'

During his parole hearing in 2018, one of his alleged victims, Kay Schubach, was interviewed on Channel Nine's A Current Affair and begged authorities to keep him behind bars.

'I know the way that he behaves and I know that he will need to find another victim really quickly because he doesn't know anything else,' Ms Schubach told host Leila McKinnon.

'I think he is a parasite and he needs to find a new host. He goes for high-achieving, successful women with means, and he is going to do that again. He is not reformed.'

According to our sources, Monteiro has never forgotten that interview - and in particular holds a grudge against the journalist who spoke to Schubach.

'He absolutely hates Leila McKinnon,' we are told.

'He doesn't see [interviewing Schubach] as her job. He sees it as a personal attack and he is just furious with her. He got out of jail, got thrown back in again, and still hates Leila seven years on.

'He was the same with a prison officer he didn't like as well. The last time he got out he was caught trying to look her up online.'

When his rape sentence expired in 2020, Monteiro was given a five-year extended supervision order, with 26 conditions put in place to keep the community safe.

Kay Schubach was interviewed by Leila McKinnon on A Current Affair in 2018

Two doctors also assessed Monteiro, with the first noting: 'He falls squarely in the highest category of risk of re-offending.'

Another doctor said, 'He is a highly selfish and entitled individual with no insight and no respect for authority,' and that 'prospects of being successfully rehabilitated are so poor as to be classified as dismal'.

He was back behind bars by June 2021 after he was convicted of breaching his supervision order.

He was released again in February 2022 then jailed for further breaches in June 2024 after police took out an AVO against him to protect a local woman in Umina, on the NSW Central Coast.

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A notorious Melbourne criminal who assaulted a man inside his Melbourne apartment after the man groped his friend has been allowed to walk free.

Ali Sari, 24, participated in an assault against a man, referred to as Mr Neil in court documents, at his apartment on Punt Road in Richmond on April 26, 2023.

He had attended the home as part of a group the night prior, where Mr Neil, the occupant, began to flirt with Sari's associate, Wol Akot, 19.

According to a published court judgment, Mr Neil placed his hand near Akot's penis, prompting the 19-year-old to threaten Mr Neil with a knife.

The following night, when returning home from buying wine, Mr Neil was confronted by Akot and two others, dressed in dark clothing, at about 7.38pm.

The three men, armed with knives, forced Mr Neil into his apartment and proceeded to assault him over the course of the evening. Sari joined in the assault a short while later.

Last week, Sari was allowed to walk free after being sentenced to 80 days' imprisonment, with time served, over his involvement.

It is only the latest in a string of offences by the Sudan-born refugee, who was jailed in November 2020 over a brutal crime spree in Melbourne's south.

Police released an image of Ali Sari (pictured) while searching for him in relation to a crime spree across Melbourne in 2019

Sari was part of a group who, over several nights in May 2019, broke into three Melbourne homes and stole three motor vehicles.

The then-19-year-old was charged in relation to one of the three home invasions, as well as a raft of other offences, but travelled with the group in all three stolen vehicles.

In sentencing Sari over that offending, Victorian County Court Judge Amanda Chambers considered Sari's 'concerning criminal history'.

Among his previous convictions were armed robbery, unlawful assault, assaulting an emergency worker on duty and assaulting a prison officer.

Despite his lengthy rap sheet, Sari was sentenced to three years and nine months with a non-parole period that expired six weeks after the sentence was imposed.

He found himself back behind bars after a police investigation linked him to the Richmond assault some four months after it took place, in August 2023.

The assault was underway when one of the assailants placed a phone call and was heard to say: 'We've got him,' and 'Send the other boys up'.

Some time later, Sari arrived at the apartment along with a separate man, Peter Madul, who was then aged 27.

Sari assaulted a man inside his Richmond apartment in April 2023 (stock)

Over the course of the evening, Mr Neil was struck with a hammer, hit with a spoon and electrical cord, and repeatedly punched and kicked.

His hair, which was braided with dreadlocks, was cut into patches in what a judge presiding over the case against Akot described as an 'act of revenge'.

Neither Sari nor Madul were armed and were accused only of punching the victim upon arrival at the apartment, at which point the assault was already underway.

After the group had left his apartment, Mr Neil attended the Alfred Hospital, where he received treatment for injuries including a rib cartilage fracture, a fractured hand and a large bruise to his forehead.

Mr Neil told the court his life had been derailed by the violent assault, prompting him to relocate to New South Wales.

'The victim impact statement provided by Mr Neil details the significant impact of your confronting and violent offending, describing his emotions as overwhelming,' Judge Chambers said in sentencing Akot.

'He now experiences feelings of anxiety, particularly at night; fearing an encounter with others. He describes a pervasive feeling of paranoia that impacts on his ability to function every day.'

Last week, Sari was sentenced to 80 days' imprisonment, with time served, for the assault and theft. He is subject to a 12-month community corrections order.

Sari was previously jailed over his role in a two-day rampage across Melbourne in 2019

Sari was sentenced to 80 days' imprisonment at Victorian County Court last week over the assault and theft in Richmond, Melbourne

In reaching her decision, Judge Chambers considered the 24-year-old's offending was less serious than that of the men who carried out the brunt of the attack.

'The gravity of your offending lies in your role of assaulting the victim in his apartment by punching him when he was vulnerable and had already suffered a sustained attack by the co-offenders,' she wrote.

Judge Chambers also considered Sari's challenging childhood, including his parents fleeing conflict in South Sudan in 2003 by way of Egypt and Sydney.

That he was under the influence of a mix of cannabis, cocaine, and Xanax at the time of the assault and suffers mental health conditions was also taken into account.

At least three of the five offenders have been sentenced in relation to the Richmond assault, including Sari.

Madul was convicted of assault and theft and sentenced to three months' imprisonment.

Akot was convicted of aggravated burglary, intentionally causing injury and failure to answer bail. He was sentenced to three years' detention at a Youth Justice Centre.
Supporters have rallied behind Jacinta Nampijinpa Price after she was dumped from the Coalition frontbench over her controversial comments on mass migration.

The Indigenous senator and Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs and Defence has faced massive backlash in recent days after accusing Labor of bringing in 'large numbers' of Indian migrants to help boost its vote.

Senior Coalition figures in the party subsequently called on Price to apologise before she was removed from the frontbench by Opposition Leader Sussan Ley on Wednesday afternoon.

The axing has sparked widespread criticism, led by Sky News host and former Liberal staffer Peta Credlin, who branded Ley's handling of the saga as the 'beginning of the end' of her leadership.

Dr Stephen Chavura, a senior history lecturer at Campion College, criticised Leys decision.

'Jacinta is out. Shame on the Liberal Party and the useless Susan Ley. This is a disaster for Australia. What's the next step?' he said.

'Jacinta Price is Australia. Just as both parties threw her under the bus to appease arrogant ethnic interests, so Australia is being thrown under the bus.'

Many Aussies online expressed their dismay at the axing and called for Ley to be replaced by Price as Coalition leader.

Sussan Ley (pictured on Thursday) is under mounting pressure to step down after she axed Jacinta Nampijinpa Price from the Coalition frontbench

Supporters have rallied behind Coalition senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (pictured)

'The wrong person was asked to step down. There are members at the top of this party who do not belong,' one commented.

Another added: 'I have voted Liberal for the past 50 years but I am now thinking about changing. I think our new leader is not the right person to be running the party. I do not feel she has what is needed to bring the Liberal party back to what it was.'

Others took to Ley's social media to let their feelings known.

'You enjoy shooting yourself in the foot ? You have made the biggest mistake of your political career by dumping Jacinta Price,' one wrote.

Another added: 'Your job is under threat and so it should be. Jacinta Price is the real leader in waiting.'

Former federal Liberal MP Craig Kelly also weighed in.

'If there is anyone that thinks Jacinta Price should apologise - could you please quote the exact words she said (in context) and explain how they were 'offensive' ? Or is it just a witch hunt?' he tweeted.

Shadow Finance Minister James Paterson was disappointed in the axing of his good friend from the frontbench but insisted that Ley had no other choice.

There are growing calls for Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to put her hand up for the leadership

'I support her as our leader,' Patterson told Sky News host Peter Stefanovic on Thursday.

'I'm very disappointed that this is where we found ourselves because Jacinta is also a very good friend of mine and a very valued colleague, and I think she made a very big contribution on the front bench.

Patterson then hinted at a Price comeback and suggested that she will return to a prominent frontbench role 'in due course'.

Price expressed regret over her comments on Wednesday night but stopped short of apologising.

'I have accepted the Leader's decision. And I reiterated my regret in not being clearer in my comments on the ABC last Wednesday,' she said.

'Nevertheless, I took the opportunity to express to the Leader my disappointment that some colleagues disregarded the key point I was making about the damaging impacts of mass migration. And that some colleagues instead chose to indulge agenda-driven media commentary on this matter.

'To reiterate comments from my earlier statement: I never intended to be disparaging towards our Indian community. And I wish no ill will whatsoever to the Indian community  or any other migrant group.'

Shortly after the announcement, Ley told reporters that the senator had 'failed the test of the high standard' set for members of her shadow ministry.

Price's failure to support Ley was also raised by the Opposition Leader.

'Today, Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price critically failed to provide confidence in my leadership of the Liberal Party. Confidence in the leader is a requirement for serving in the shadow ministry,' she said.
Australian satire outlet The Chaser is facing widespread backlash after publishing a controversial joke about the fatal shooting of US conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Kirk, 31, was shot on Thursday morning while speaking at Utah Valley University, the first stop of his 'American Comeback Tour.'

The incident, which occurred during a Q&A session, left Kirk fatally wounded after a single gunshot struck him in the neck.

His wife and two young children were reportedly in attendance.

The shooting has sent shockwaves across the globe. U.S. President Donald Trump called it 'a dark moment for America,' and vowed to take action.

'My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organisations that fund it and support it,' Trump said.

The tragedy coincided with R U OK? Day, a national Australian initiative held on the second Thursday of September to promote mental health awareness and encourage people to check in on others.

In response, The Chaser published a satirical headline: 'R U OK Day not going well at Turning Point,' a reference to Turning Point USA, the conservative youth organisation Kirk founded.

The headline shared by The Chaser (pictured) was immediately condemned online

The post was met with immediate condemnation and comments and replies were turned off on X.

'The Chaser gloating over Charlie Kirk being shot in the neck and bleeding out to death in front of his family. They've turned off comments. Share this around so they disgrace themselves all around the world,' one user wrote.

'Once funny. Eons ago. Now just bitter, irrelevant and sick,' said another.

'Engagement to stay relevant when you're not.' someone else said.

The Chaser, once known for its popular ABC program The Chaser's War on Everything, now operates as an independently funded website.

While The Chaser is funded independently, no longer having a direct association with the ABC, tax payer funded advertisements by the ABC, for it's new show 'Optics', appear alongside the article.

Daily Mail contacted ABC for comment.

The article's author, John Delmenico, also came under fire.

Charlie Kirk (pictured) was shot fatally early Thursday morning, his killer remains at large

The author of the joke, John Delmenico (pictured), was slammed by activist Drew Pavlou

Australian political campaigner Drew Pavlou, known for his activism against the Chinese Communist Party, condemned Delmenico directly.

'He's the one mocking the political assassination of somebody with views representing half of America,' Pavlou wrote.

Pavlou then issued a further message, warning against the glorifying of political violence.

'Think very carefully where you stand today. If you celebrate murdering people for their political views, you could make yourself a target one day. That is the reality of political violence. It always spirals out of control.' he said.

'Once the genie is out of the bottle it's over for everybody.'

Kirk's killer remains at large, with two people arrested and released following interrogation by the FBI.

Daily Mail contacted The Chaser for comment.
Four people, including a police officer, have been rushed to hospital after they were attacked by two dogs in Sydney's west.

Police were called to the corner of Charles Hackett Drive and the Great Western Highway in St Marys shortly before 10am on Thursday.

It came after reports that three people had been set upon by two dogs.

A man in his 50s, a man in his 30s, and a woman in her 70s were treated by paramedics before being taken to hospital in a stable condition.

A police officer was also bitten and was also taken for treatment.

The dogs were captured with help from Penrith Council rangers.

An investigation into the incident is underway.

It comes just one week after a 17-year-old girl was killed by the ten-year-old mixed-breed dog while she was studying at a friend's house.

Four people have been attacked in a vicious double dog attack in Sydney's west (stock)

Annalyse Blyton, 17, was at a home in Singleton in the NSW Hunter Valley when she was fatally mauled by the Boxer-bull Arab-Irish wolfhound cross named Bear.

Bystanders desperately tried to pull the young girl from the jaws of the crazed animal as it ripped at her flesh.

The 17-year-old suffered catastrophic injuries to her head, neck, and body and was airlifted to Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital in a critical condition.

Bear was shot dead by police with the owners' consent as officers launched an investigation, assisted at the scene by Singleton Council rangers.

On Tuesday, the dog's owner posted a video tribute on Instagram to the dog.

'It wasn't your fault or hers IDK [I don't know] why you had to do what you did. It's not fair. I just wish I was there,' he wrote.

'I miss you, my bear boi.'

The post made no mention of Annalyse's death.

On Tuesday, the dog's owner posted a video tribute on Instagram to the dog. The post made no mention of Annalyse's death

Annalyse, 17, suffered catastrophic injuries to her head, neck and body and was airlifted to Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital in a critical condition

'Emergency services were met with quite a confronting scene,' Acting Superintendent Justin Cornes said.

'It should be noted that the dog was actually in a fenced yard at the time. This didn't occur in the street.'

He said the dog's owners were cooperating with police and described the attack as 'out of character.' He also praised bystanders who intervened.

'Running into a scene without knowing the full circumstances, and to jump in and remove the dog, which at the time was very aggressive [it's] an incredible act,' Supt Cornes said.

Annalyse's mother, Lauren Dening, had earlier pleaded for her daughter to fight for life while thanking first responders and medical staff.

'Fight with everything you have, my baby girl,' she wrote.

'You are the most caring, beautiful girl and you have so much love and support to get you through this terrible time.'

The tragedy comes amid renewed scrutiny of dog ownership laws in NSW.

Last year, Deputy State Coroner Carmel Forbes recommended an overhaul following a series of fatal attacks, including the mauling deaths of a five-week-old baby on the Central Coast in 2020 and two-year-old Jyedon Pollard at a Cowra motel in 2022.
A childcare worker has been charged after an investigation into child abuse material unearthed more than 550,000 images.

Australian Federal Police on June 20 seized several electronic devices from the home of the accused, who cannot be named due to a court order.

About 1.4 million files were identified on these devices, including 550,000 unique images.

'The number of files does not provide any indication of the scale of the alleged offending,' Detective Superintendent Luke Needham said in a statement on Thursday.

'Rather, this indicates the volume of work required by investigators from the AFP's Victim Identification Team.'

The man, aged in his 30s, was charged on July 10.

He will appear in Parramatta Local Court on Friday on seven counts of using a child aged under-14 to make abusive material.

An eighth charge relates to the transmission of child abuse material.

A Sydney male childcare worker has been charged with seven counts of using a child to make abusive material and one count of transmission of child abuse material (stock image)

AFP Detective Superintendent Luke Needham (pictured) said that investigations continue

Officers continue to methodically review the electronic material, Det Supt Needham said.

When asked by reporters, NSW cabinet minister Rose Jackson said she was not aware of the case, 'although that sounds incredibly problematic.'

The man's identity and his prior places of employment cannot be published until the case progresses further through the local court.

That order was made to protect alleged victims from psychological harm and to avoid causing undue distress to them, their parents and carers and to alleged victims not yet identified by police.

The childcare sector and governments of all levels are reckoning with a crisis of confidence following horrifying allegations of abuse.

Melbourne childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown was charged with sexually abusing eight children under the age of two.

A slew of separate accusations have since been made against childcare workers in other states, fuelling calls for action.

The federal government has unveiled a website to name and shame early learning centres that breach child safety laws and passed reforms to strip childcare providers of their funding if they fail to meet quality, safety and compliance standards.

An AFP investigation into child abuse material allegedly unearthed more than 550,000 images on several electronic devices (stock image)

Melbourne childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown (pictured) was recently charged with more than 70 child abuse offences

But many issues relating to the enforcement of childcare centres rests with the states.

The NSW government on Wednesday announced a plethora of changes designed to strengthen children's safety including supersized penalties for large childcare providers, more powers for the sector's regulator and reforms to improve transparency for parents.
Judges make mistakes. That's why appeal courts exist. But sometimes the mistakes made by judges in lower courts are so big the fix has to be brutal.

That's what happened last month when an appeal court overturned a judge's decision, after he'd sided with a multinational big business.

The NSW Court of Appeal torched a 2024 decision by Supreme Court Justice David Hammerschlag that let Uber sidestep more than $81million in payroll taxes.

The lower court judge had bought Uber's line that it was basically a payments platform, not an employer in any meaningful sense.

On that logic, money flowing to drivers wasn't really 'for work', so no payroll tax had to be paid. Pull the other one!

Five senior appeal judges (unanimously, no less) took a sledgehammer to that idea.

Justice Hammerschlag's nickname in legal circles is 'the hammer'. It's fair to say the appeals court hammered him on this occasion.

Their judgment read less like a polite disagreement and more like a demolition job. The killer line, destined for law school lectures: 'That construction puts an unsupportable gloss on the section'. Translation: the trial judge tried to pretty up the law to make Uber's argument fit when it didn't.

Five appeals court judges overturned Supreme Court Justice David Hammerschlag's 2024 decision that let Uber sidestep more than $81million in payroll taxes

The section they were talking about is a key bit of the Payroll Tax Act. The trial judge had effectively added a new test, erroneously claiming that payments had to show some special 'reciprocity or calibration' between the money and the work.

The appeals court said no. The law asks a simpler question, whether the payments were 'for or in relation to' work being performed?

When drivers spend their day transporting passengers for Uber, and Uber takes a cut of every fare, the answer is obvious: Of course those payments are for work.

And the errors didn't stop there. The trial judge treated 'referrals' as if they sat inside the same contract in a way that helped Uber. Wrong, the Court of Appeal said unanimously.

The trial judge also let Uber lean on a loophole about payments being 'ancillary to the use of goods', as if driving a car for passengers is mostly about using the car rather than doing the driving.

The appeal judges were blunt: the use of the car and the act of driving it are inseparable. No kidding.

One decision, multiple missteps, across major issues.

This is what happens when a court stretches itself to accept an argument that fails both the text of the law and the commercial reality of the business model in front of it.

Thankfully the government backed an appeal, because litigation is expensive and many people simply wear a bad loss rather than fight on.

It does make you wonder how many shaky first instance rulings get to stand because the loser in the case can't afford (or can't be bothered) to push back.

Uber doesn't exist without drivers working. Its revenue model is to clip the ticket on every ride. That makes payments to drivers inherently for work.

Pretending otherwise was always going to collapse on appeal, and thankfully for taxpayers it did.

Where does that leave Uber? Facing a payroll tax bill north of $81million with interest just for starters. And that's from 2015-2020.

The ruling means those taxes will have to continue to be paid over the last five years too and beyond.

The company is asking the High Court for special leave to appeal. Anything can happen when it comes to the law, but with a five-judge bench united in its reasoning, the odds aren't exactly in Uber's favour.

If they reject the leave to appeal that only solidifies the appeals court's decision to overturn the judge's ruling.

The implications of this matter go well beyond one tech giant. Any business trying to dress up labour as something else, calling workers contractors while controlling the whole operation, should be nervous.

If your model depends on services being performed under contracts that you set the terms of, the payroll tax net will catch you. Medical centres, mortgage brokers, law firms and digital platforms should all consider themselves warned.

The whole 'we're just an intermediary' defence has been torpedoed.

For Uber, the damage is financial. And for the judge, while appeals happen, on this occasion the language from the unanimous reversal was withering.

When an appeal court calls your reading of a statute an 'unsupportable gloss', that's not a gentle correction, it's a legal smack-down.

Judges aren't above error, but some errors carry bigger consequences than others. This one threatened to blow a hole in the payroll tax base by inviting platforms to declare themselves mere agents and walk away from liability.

The appeal court slammed that door shut and rightly so.

A win for ordinary Australians and the government over the big end of town.

The message is simple: when the words of the law and the real world facts line up, clever glosses won't survive. Uber is paying the price. The trial judge's reasoning lies in tatters. And the rest of the gig economy just got a very loud wake-up call.
A divisive South Park episode mocking Charlie Kirk and other MAGA firebrands was pulled from cable after the conservative influencer was assassinated at a Utah Valley University rally.

Comedy Central has taken down an episode of the adult cartoon titled Got a Nut amid the backlash following Kirk's untimely death on Wednesday afternoon.

Season 27, episode two of the popular series sparked an instantaneous uproar when it aired in early August.

The bizarre episode follows school counselor Mr. Mackey pursuing a career with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after he loses his job due to federal budget cuts.

Parody versions of Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, President Donald Trump and Vice President JC Vance appear.

While Noem shoots at innocent dogs and Trump is seen in bed with the devil, the plot also follows character Eric Cartman, who imitates Kirk.

Cartman launches a podcast and starts debating 'woke, liberal students,' just as Kirk was known for doing.

In one portion of the show, Cartman fights with a college student on the topic of abortion, mirroring Kirk's blunt and combative style and his physical features.

In one scene, 'master debater' Eric Cartman tackles another Kirk-esque influencer hosting a rally at a college campus and takes over the show - Bible in hand

Comedy Central has taken down an episode of the adult cartoon titled Got a Nut amid the backlash following Charlie Kirk's (pictured) untimely death on Wednesday afternoon

Matt Stone (left) and Trey Parker (right) have been criticized following Kirk's death for the episode depicting him

But the Kirk-mocking character is battling the student virtually as he sits on a toilet bowl - a dig at the real-life conservative commentator.

In another scene, 'master debater' Cartman tackles another Kirk-esque influencer hosting a rally at a college campus and takes over the show - Bible in hand.

Kirk reacted to South Park's depiction of him on his podcast - laughing off the jokes and even claiming the show 'accidently ends up spreading the gospel.'

While the episode certainly turned some heads upon release, critics have now blamed South Park for allegedly inspiring violence against Kirk.

'South Park gets a $1.5 Billion dollar deal and suddenly turn into a mouthpiece for woke globalists,' one X user wrote.

'They do an episode which is basically a hit piece on Charlie Kirk and a couple weeks later hes murdered.

'[Show creators] Trey Parker and Matt Stone, you are sellouts and have blood on your hands.'

'The creators of South Park mocked Mormons and their faith. And they mocked Charlie Kirk who spoke the truth and welcomed opposing dialogue. F**k you South Park,' another chimed in.

In one scene, the Kirk-mocking character was battling the student virtually as he sat on a toilet bowl - a dig at the real-life conservative commentator (pictured)

Ring-winged influencer Charlie Kirk (pictured) eerily spoke about gun violence as he was gorily assassinated at a Utah Valley University Rally

After the gun shot rang, panic ensued among the masses, causing them to flee the scene (pictured)

Someone noted how 'every single liberal person' they know has been cheering online about Kirk's murder.

'It's f**king radicalizing how casual they are about the (potential) death of a father just cuz South Park made him a correct target,' they wrote.

While the Got a Nut episode has been pulled from Comedy Central nightly cable lineup, it can still be streamed on Paramount+, according to AZ Central.

The conservative activist, 31, was assassinated while taking questions from the crowd at the Orem college on Wednesday afternoon.

Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Frantzve, with whom he had a three-year-old daughter and a son, 16 months.

Known for spreading his Catholic faith, traditional values and conservative stances to America's youth and young adults through college campus debates, Kirk was killed at UVU - the first stop of his American Comeback Tour.

What began as a normal one of Kirk's famous college student encounters ended in bloodshed when a single bullet struck his neck around 12pm local time.

Terror ensued throughout the crowd as blood spilled from his neck while he tipped back in his chair.

Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Frantzve , with whom he had a three-year-old daughter and a son, 16 months (pictured: Kirk and his family)

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His death was announced a few hours later by President Donald Trump, who has been leading tributes for Kirk, who was one of his strongest allies.

In honor of the passionate podcast host, Trump declared that all American Flags across the nation will be lowered to Half Mast until Sunday evening.

The FBI is frantically looking for the culprit. Two people have been arrested so far, but both were released after authorities ruled they were not the shooter.

Authorities believe he was shot from the top of the Losee Center, about 200 feet away from where Kirk was speaking.

Security footage seemingly shows someone lying on the roof and fleeing after Kirk was shot.

'This is a dark day for our state, its a tragic day for our nation,' Republican Governor Cox said.

'I want to be very clear that this is a political assassination.'

Kirk's death sparked chaos among the House of Representatives - with Democrats and Republicans blaming each other for his assassination after House Speaker Mike Johnson requested a prayer in his honor.

President Trump led tributes to Kirk after he was fatally shot in the neck Wednesday

Kirk (left) reacted to South Park's depiction of him - laughing off the jokes and even claiming the show 'accidently ends up spreading the gospel'

But leaders across party lines have spoken out against the sickening act of violence, condemning politically-driven violence.

'I am deeply disturbed by the shooting in Utah. Doug and I send our prayers to Charlie Kirk and his family,' Kamala Harris wrote on X.

'Let me be clear: Political violence has no place in America. I condemn this act, and we all must work together to ensure this does not lead to more violence.'

In official remarks about Kirk, Trump said he is 'filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination.

'Charlie inspired millions and tonight, all that knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror.'
Federal authorities were scouring a Utah college town for the lone gunman who shot and killed conservative influencer Charlie Kirk in a terrifying scene that shocked the nation on Wednesday.

Kirk, 31, was speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem at around 12.20pm when he was suddenly shot in the neck - sending him toppling over in his chair as massive crowds fled the scene in terror.

The father of two was then rushed to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

It was believed that the unidentified gunman opened fire from the roof of the Losee Center, where a shadowy figure was seen running just moments after the gunfire erupted.

The center is located 200 yards away from where Kirk was debating with college students and locals about political issues.

He had just answered a question about gun violence when he was shot.

An elderly man, who has since been identified as 71-year-old George Zinn, was seen being hauled away by cops in the immediate aftermath after allegedly claiming he had fired the fatal shot.

But authorities soon determined that he was not involved in the assassination, and later confirmed that another man they had taken into custody was not the shooter either.

Charlie Kirk, a conservative influencer, was shot dead on Wednesday at the age of 31 while speaking at Utah Valley University

A manhunt continued Wednesday night for the unidentified shooter after officials confirmed two men they had taken into custody were not involved in the shooting

Authorities believe the shooter was perched above a building about 200 yards away from where Kirk was speaking to the crowd

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'There is no current ties to the shooting with either of these individuals,' the FBI and Utah Department of Public Safety said in a joint statement.

'There is an ongoing investigation and manhunt for the shooter,' the agencies added, as armed police officers were seen continuing to comb through the college town.

Still, officials vowed to pursue justice, with Utah governor Spencer Cox noting that the state still has the death penalty.

'To whoever did this: We will find you. We will try you and we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law,' the governor warned the shooter at a news conference Wednesday night.

President Donald Trump later also vowed that his administration will find everyone involved with Kirk's murder, as well as anyone else who has committed 'political violence'.

The president spoke out about the 'demonization' of political opponents from the Oval Office in a four-minute video posted to his Truth Social account.

'It's long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequences of demonizing those with whom you disagree, day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible,' he said.

'For years, those on the radical Left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today and it must stop right now.'

President Donald Trump was the first to announce Kirk's passing

The president published a grave, four-minute statement on Kirk's death from the Oval Office to his Truth Social account

Trump went on to compare Kirk's murder to the assassination attempt on his own life, the attacks on ICE agents, the alleged killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson by Luigi Mangione and the shooting of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.

'Radical Left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives,' he said as he remembered his good friend Kirk as 'a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country that he loved so much, the United States of America.'

He concluded by asking all Americans to commit themselves to Kirk's values: 'The values of free speech, citizenship, the rule of law and the patriotic devotion and love of God.'

'Charlie was the best of America and the monster who was attacking him was attacking our whole country.'

The president had been the first to announce Kirk's passing, declaring: 'The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead.

'He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!'

Kirk is seen moments before the fatal shooting tossing out hats to the crowd who had gathered to hear him speak

Kirk was seen sitting in a gazebo on campus and taking questions from the 3,000-person crowd before he was shot and killed

The chaos erupted about 20 minutes into Kirk's 'American Comeback' event, in which the MAGA star - wearing a white T-shirt - was seen sitting inside a tented gazebo taking questions from attendees.

He seemed to be having the time of his life ahead of the fatal shooting, as he handed out hats and spoke to the 3,000-person crowd.

'WE. ARE. SO. BACK,' Kirk wrote on social media just moments before the shooting.

'Utah Valley University is FIRED UP and READY for the first stop back on the American Comeback Tour.'

But before Kirk arrived on campus, an online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures.

The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its 'commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue'.

University police have since said they had six officers patrolling the scene and were working in conjunction with Kirk's personal security team.

'You try to get your bases covered, and unfortunately, today, we didnt,' university police chief Jeff Long lamented at a news conference Wednesday night.

'Because of that, we have this tragic incident.'

Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika and two children

Witnesses on the scene have described how Kirk started bleeding out at the scene before he was rushed to a nearby SUV.

'The second it happened, I knew it was a gunshot,' Sophie Anderson, 45, who was standing 100 feet from the stage when the shooting happened, told the Daily Mail.

'He was shot in the neck and just fell over and he was just a fountain of blood,' she said. 'They carried him off. All these kids are just falling apart and bawling.'

But nearby, Adam Bartholomew said he saw people celebrating after they realized Kirk was shot.

'Where I was at, in the group of counter-protesters, there was actually some excitement, some people that were seen to be celebrating,' he told BBC Newsnight.

'Saying "fingers crossed", that kind of thing.'

Liberals were also seen celebrating the assassination on social media.

Multiple TikTokers reacted casually to the shooting, with one mock crying while a dramatic song played, with the caption: 'Charlie Kirk got s**t? Awwww.'

Another said: 'I'm not saying Charlie Kirk deserved to be shot, but I think enablers to pedophiles should be shot, too.'

Mourners gathered around the country Wednesday night to pay tribute to Kirk

People at a vigil outside the hospital where Kirk succumbed to his injuries

Another vigil was held at a park in Orem, Utah Wednesday night

Liberal media was also criticized for its coverage of the tragic shooting with TMZ forced to apologize after staffers burst out into laughter the moment Kirk's death was announced.

Harvey Levin later claimed the employees were laughing and clapping at a car chase - not at Kirk's untimely death.

Meanwhile, MSNBC was forced to fire political analyst Matthew Dowd after he suggested the gunshot could have been fired by one of Kirk's supporters.

In another controversial moment, some Democrat Congressmembers rejected the opportunity to say a prayer for Kirk.

Speaker Mike Johnson held a moment of silence for Kirk on the chamber floor as questions swirled about whether the father of two was alive.

Following the somber moment of silence, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-CO, called out to Johnson to hold a moment of prayer for the late media company founder.

Some Democrats, clearly against the request for prayer, began cheering in unison: No!

As the investigation into the shooting now continues, all classes have been canceled at Utah Valley University until Monday.

In the meantime, the president has ordered all American flags to be lowered to half-staff until Sunday evening at 6pm EST in honor of Kirk.
Charlie Kirk had discussed safety measures with a famed California security expert just six months before his assassination, the Daily Mail can reveal.

The 31-year-old conservative influencer was fatally shot in the neck Wednesday afternoon while addressing the crowd about mass shootings during a rally at Utah Valley University.

Kris Herzog, owner of The Bodyguard Group of Beverly Hills - a firm that has worked with numerous celebrities and high-profile clients - spoke with the Turning Point USA founder during a rally at California State University on March 6.

He claimed he had warned the MAGA leader that he would '100 percent be killed at one of his upcoming university speaking events' unless he took drastic precautions.

Although Herzog said Kirk promised to consider his safety recommendations and follow up, the call never came - something that now haunts the security expert.

'Sadly he never got back to me and now my prediction of his murder has come true,' Herzog told the Daily Mail.

Following what Utah Governor Spencer Cox called a 'political assassination,' haunting video footage emerged showing a figure lying flat on a rooftop just moments before Kirk was shot - then frantically fleeing as chaos erupted below.

In the immediate aftermath, local police and security protocols came under intense scrutiny, as witnesses reported a complete lack of security measures at the event.

Charlie Kirk had discussed safety measures with a famed California security expert Kris Herzog (pictured) just six months before his assassination, the Daily Mail can reveal

The 31-year-old conservative influencer was fatally shot in the neck Wednesday afternoon while addressing the crowd about mass shootings during a rally at Utah Valley University (pictured before shooting)

Kris Herzog (center), owner of The Bodyguard Group of Beverly Hills (pictured) - a firm that has worked with numerous celebrities and high-profile clients - spoke with the Turning Point USA founder during a rally at California State University on March 6

Herzog claimed that he had warned the MAGA leader that he would '100 percent be killed at one of his upcoming university speaking events' unless he took drastic precautions - a prediction he said has sadly now come true

Herzog told the Daily Mail that officers who work with him had advised him to reach out to Kirk earlier this year, concerned about his frequent appearances and growing political profile.

Specifically, the expert claimed that the authorities urgency arose from the shared belief that 'everyone in my group felt that his security was not even close to what it should be and he was in grave danger of being shot and killed at one of his upcoming events.'

Having worked with high-profile clients like Kim Kardashian and Sharon Stone, Herzog said he provided Kirk with several recommendations to help prevent what he saw as a very real and possible threat.

According to the expert, some of his proposals included using portable 'B7 level' ballistic bulletproof glass panels to protect Kirk from potential sniper attacks.

I told him that a sniper would probably go for a headshot, which means it was of critical importance to have the ballistic glass,' Herzog said.

He also advised the conservative activist to hire off-duty police officers for his events, specifically to monitor and secure all potential sniper vantage points at each speaking location.

'We recommended using metal detectors and handheld wands to screen everyone for a gun within 700 hundred feet of where Charlie would be speaking,' Herzog recalled.

Mark Wilson, a colleague of Herzog who also attended Kirks March 6 rally, claimed that he had also spoken with the father-of-two directly.

Herzog (center) told the Daily Mail that officers who work with him had advised him to reach out to Kirk earlier this year, concerned about his frequent appearances and growing political profile

Having worked with high-profile clients like Kim Kardashian (pictured with Herzog) and Sharon Stone, Herzog said he provided Kirk with several recommendations to help prevent what he saw as a very real and possible threat

Some of his proposals included using portable 'B7 level' ballistic bulletproof glass panels to protect Kirk from potential sniper attacks (pictured: SWAT team arriving on scene)

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'We are huge Turning Point fans, being conservatives, and we'd discussed the lack of security because he's up close with these nutcase kids and doesn't appear that he ever wears a bullet proof vest,' Wilson told the Daily Mail.

'It's super sad what has happened,' he added.

The experts concerns proved justified after dozens of attendees described the glaring lack of security, saying it 'felt off' for a public event featuring someone as controversial as Kirk.

'I was expecting when I got here that I'd have to pass through some kind of security, but that just wasn't a thing,' witness Tyler McGettigan told NBC News.

McGettigan arrived at Wednesday's rally equipped with a valid ticket featuring a scannable code, yet remarkably, his ticket went unchecked as he entered the amphitheater where Kirk was scheduled to speak.

'No one checked the barcode or the QR code,' he told the outlet. 'There was no checkpoint to get in. It was literally anyone could walk in if they wanted.'

Justin Hickens, who said he was about 20 yards from the shooting, told NBC there were no metal detectors at the event entrance. The only security he observed was a small group of personnel stationed near Kirk himself.

Another attendee, Raydon Dechene, echoed concerns about the minimal security, noting that there were no bag checks - a detail that 'felt off' to him, as reported by CNN.

Herzog (pictured right with Paris Hilton) also advised the conservative activist to hire off-duty police officers for his events, specifically to monitor and secure all potential sniper vantage points at each speaking location

Herzog claimed that the authorities urgency around Kirk arose from the shared belief that 'everyone in my group felt that his security was not even close to what it should be and he was in grave danger of being shot and killed at one of his upcoming events' (pictured: attendees running after gunshot)

Herzog's (pictured) concerns proved justified after dozens of attendees described the glaring lack of security, saying it 'felt off' for a public event featuring someone as controversial as Kirk

In addition to Kirks personal security team, plainclothes police officers were already present within the crowd - but officials confirmed that just six officers were assigned to the campus event, which drew a crowd of approximately 3,000 people (pictured: chaotic aftermath)

During a press conference, University Police Chief Jeff Long described the event as taking place 'in kind of a bowl area here on the central campus,' where Kirk was positioned in a lower section surrounded by buildings.

In addition to Kirks personal security team, plainclothes police officers were already present within the crowd.

However, officials confirmed that just six officers were assigned to the campus event, which drew a crowd of approximately 3,000 people.

'We trained for these things. And you think you have things covered. And these things, unfortunately, they happen. You try to get your bases covered,' Long said during the conference.

'And unfortunately, today we didnt, and because of that, we had this tragic incident,' he added.

Kirk was rushed to a local hospital after the shooting, where he succumbed to his injuries less than five hours later.

Authorities have since confirmed that 71-year-old George Zinn, who was taken into custody immediately after the shooting, was not the shooter. Another man, Zachariah Qureshi, who was also detained and questioned, has been released as well.

FBI agents are now working with the local police to track down the killer, as Gov. Cox suggested the murderer may face the death penalty.
Anthony Albanese was left rather pink-faced when he rocked up to a press conference with other leaders of Pacific nations in the wrong Hawaiian shirt.

The Prime Minister clearly did not get the memo when he arrived at a meeting during the Pacific Islands Forum in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, on Wednesday night.

Albanese stuck out like a sore thumb in a floral, bright pink shirt, while the other world leaders all wore a more sober and serious navy blue.

As the leaders took questions from the press, an embarrassed PM got up and left the room in footage captured by the ABC.

He returned moments later in the right shirt, with Mark Brown, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, laughing at his expense.

Albanese allowed a brief smile before he resumed a serious expression.

But the gentle ribbing didn't end there for the PM.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told reporters his counterpart 'made some mistakes yesterday on his shirt selection so I was just reminding him of it'.

The Prime Minister clearly did not get the memo when he arrived at a meeting during the Pacific Islands Forum on Wednesday night. Albanese stuck out like a sore thumb in a floral, bright pink shirt, while the other world leaders all wore a more sober and serious navy blue

As the leaders took questions from the press, a pink-faced PM got up and left the room in footage captured by the ABC. He returned moments later in the right shirt, with Mark Brown, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, laughing at his expense

Asked if Albanese's decision was an example of Australia 'being the big dog and thinking they can do whatever they want', Luxon took an opportunity to needle his rivals across the ditch.

'No, I think he just forgot the instructions to be honest, but you know, you've got to reiterate quite a lot to the Australians what they need to be doing and the rules sometimes,' Luxon added.

Albanese had earlier shared a 'family photo' taken with the other gathered leaders, all of them wearing the same shirt.

'When we work together, our whole region is stronger. Im proud to be in Solomon Islands for the Pacific Islands Forum this year, to help shape a more prosperous, and secure region,' he captioned the post.

The Pacific Islands Forum is an annual meeting of 18 Pacific Island countries and territories, including Australia and New Zealand, to discuss climate change, economic ties and security pacts.

The Pacific leaders are pushing to co-host the 2026 United Nations COP climate talks over a competing bid from Turkey.

Albanese said he and his counterparts at the Pacific Islands Forum were universally aligned on bringing the United Nations environmental summit climate-vulnerable region.

The Labor government had been hoping to sign a new $500 million economic and security treaty with Vanuatu before the Pacific Islands Forum but it has been postponed over concerns about infrastructure funding from China.
READ MORE: Calls for Julie Bishop to resign immediately from top university job

Defies calls by staff and students to quit

The future of Australian National University (ANU) Chancellor Julie Bishop is under scrutiny following the resignation of Vice-Chancellor Genevieve Bell.

Both Bishop and Bell have faced sustained criticism from staff and students over their leadership, particularly in light of recent budget cuts and internal tensions.

Bishop has so far resisted calls to step down.

During an all-staff meeting held at ANU's Llewellyn Hall on Thursday afternoon, Bishop formally announced Professor Bell's resignation.

The announcement drew applause and cheers from the audience, reflecting the deep dissatisfaction among university staff.

However, the atmosphere quickly turned tense.

Bishop was jeered when she acknowledged that Thursday was 'R U OK Day,' with staff laughing and scoffing at the remark.

A staff member asked when Bishop herself would resign, prompting further cheers from the crowd. But despite the backlash, she stood firm.

Julie Bishop (pictured) has defied calls to stand down as Chancellor of ANU by staff

Julie Bishop (pictured) addressed ANU staff, who broke into cheers over Prof. Bell's resignation

She told staff she would remain in her leadership role to help the university 'achieve our goals on active sustainability and change to our organisation'.

'I reject the allegations that I heard for the first time on the 12th of August, that I have treated any staff at ANU with anything other than the greatest respect, civility, and courtesy,' she told staff on Thursday.

'There are no grounds for me to stand aside. I, and the council, will work with [staff] to find options that help us find the best way forward.'

The leadership crisis comes amid allegations against Bishop, made by Dr Liz Allen, a demographer and former member of the ANU Council.

In testimony before a Senate committee in August, Dr Allen claimed Bishop falsely accused her and an undergraduate student representative of leaking confidential council information, allegations Dr Allen 'strongly denies'.

Dr Allen described a February council meeting where Bishop allegedly delivered a 'near two-hour disciplinary-like lecture,' followed by a private confrontation in a separate room with another council member present.

'The Chancellor further berated me, suggested commencing a legal investigation, and calling a journalist to confirm I wasn't leaking,' Dr Allen told the committee. She said the experience left her feeling 'threatened' and fearing for her job.

Bishop has categorically denied the claims.

Prof. Genevieve Bell (pictured) resigned as Vice Chancellor of ANU following months of turmoil

Meanwhile, Professor Bell reflected on her lifelong connection to ANU in her leaving statement.

'As many of you know, the ANU has been a special place for me, ever since I was a child,' she said.

'Like the rest of our community, I believe firmly in our delivering on our national mission, to create and transmit knowledge through research and teaching of the highest quality.

'And know that doing this requires a solid financial, cultural and operational foundation.'

Professor Bell will remain at the University in an academic position.

ANU has appointed Professor Rebekah Brown as interim vice-chancellor.

In October last year, ANU unveiled a sweeping cost-saving plan aimed at reducing operating expenses by $250million by 2026, including $100million in salary-related savings, known as the 'Renew ANU' plan.
The Allan government has been accused of blindsiding Victorians over its plans to allow voters as young as 16 to vote for representatives of a new Indigenous body.

The representative body, known as the Gellung Warl, will advise the government on legislation affecting the state's Indigenous population.

It makes permanent the First People's Assembly of Victoria, an elected body established six years ago to consult with the government towards a treaty.

Its design was laid out in a treaty bill introduced to state parliament on Tuesday, the first of its kind in the country.

While the Gellung Warl, a Gunaikurnai phrase meaning 'tip of the spear', is the result of almost a decade of preparations, many were taken aback by its specifics.

Like the First People's Assembly, Indigenous voters as young as 16 will be allowed to participate in the election of its 33 representatives.

'Jacinta Allan has not been upfront and honest about her radical plan to allow 16-year-olds to vote in Victorian elections for this new third chamber of parliament,' Margaret Chambers, research fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs told the Daily Mail.

'Trying to sneak the lowering of the voting age, to 16, into the treaty process, is no doubt an attempt to use it as a Trojan horse for its expansion into other elections, marking an unprecedented change to electoral law in Australia.'

Premier Jacinta Allan (pictured) announced the Victorian government had reached an in-principle agreement with an Indigenous body over the design of Australia's first treaty

Voting will be open to Victorian Traditional Owners living anywhere in the country or and Indigenous or Torres Strait Islanders who have lived in Victoria for three years.

The Allan government has not explicitly stated why the voting age is two years below the national voting age. Ms Chambers said it was likely to boost voter turn out.

'The state government is no doubt concerned at the total and utter lack of support the First Peoples Assembly was able to generate with such low numbers voting in its two elections in 2019 and 2023,' she said.

'That the state government is now desperately seeking to inflate the number of voters for this body tells you all you need to know about true level of support for it in the community.'

'Worse still, the bill creates a situation where some Victorians, based on their race, will get two votes to determine who governs their state via parliament, while the rest only get one.'

Drafters of the treaty bill took pains to clarify the new body would not affect the Victorian parliament's ability to make laws and otherwise carry out its business.

Allan refused to put the treaty bill to a vote, either by referendum or at next year's election, claiming Victorians had already endorsed it at previous elections.

Critics have pointed out the details of the treaty have only come into view this week, suggesting there has been no opportunity for an informed vote at past elections.

Critics have likened the treaty bill to the Albanese government's Voice to Parliament referendum, which a majority of Victorians voted against

Others have pointed to the majority of Victorians who shot down the Albanese government's Voice to Parliament in 2023 as proof the desirability of a dedicated consultative body is at best an open question.

In response, Allan has distanced the state treaty from the Voice, claiming any such comparison was tantamount to 'misinformation', the Herald Sun reported.

'Its not about changing the constitution,' she said, adding it's 'very, very different.'

Premier Jacinta Allan announced the government has reached an in-principle agreement with the First People's Assembly over the treaty on Tuesday.

It followed ten months of negotiations and is expected to cost just over $300million from 2020 to 2028.

The new advisory body will also be able to propose name changes for specified geographical features, provided they offer evidence of its offensiveness.

Public school students will be taught about Aboriginal experiences since colonisation based on the Yoorrook Justice Commission's official public record.

The Allan government also agreed to issue a future apology to the state's first inhabitants in parliament.

The Allan government has agreed to issue a future apology to First Nations people

The treaty bill is expected to sail through the state's lower house, where Labor holds a commanding majority, but to face intense scrutiny in the Legislative Council.

A preamble to the agreement touts the 'dawn of a new era' in the state.

'The colony of Victoria was established without the consent, negotiation or recognition of the Traditional Owners of these lands and waters,' it stated.

'What followed was violence, destruction and dispossession: a rush to take land, lives, and resources, leaving lasting scars on families, communities and Country itself.'

Daily Mail contacted Allan for comment.
Two policemen have been charged with negligent manslaughter over the death of a tradie who suffered a brain injury during his arrest outside a 7-Eleven.

Luke Briggs, 35, was arrested by the officers over alleged traffic-related offences in a car park in Hoppers Crossing, in Melbourne's west, on July 15 last year.

The local builder became unresponsive and was rushed to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a critical condition, where he was placed in an induced coma.

His life support was turned off eight days later wearing his favourite Bunnings jumper, a beer by his bedside, and surrounded by his loved ones.

A constable, 29, and a sergeant, 45, were suspended by Victoria Police at the time.

Homicide detectives charged both officers with negligent manslaughter on Thursday.

The men were bailed to appear in Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Friday.

Mr Briggs' death had been the subject of an investigation by the homicide squad with oversight from the Professional Standards Command since last year.

Luke Briggs (pictured with his sister Catherine) died eight days after he suffered a brain injury during an altercation with police in July 2024

Two police officers have been charged with negligent manslaughter over the death of Mr Briggs outside a 7-Eleven in Hoppers Crossing (forensic officers are pictured at the scene)

'I understand the news today will be concerning and difficult for many in the community, however I want to reassure them that Victoria Police does not shy away from taking action to uphold community trust and confidence in our organisation,' Deputy Commissioner Wendy Steendam said.

'The overwhelming majority of our police do the right thing day in and day out and provide exemplary service to the community.

'Today's update should not take away from their efforts more broadly.

'However, it is vital that where incidents such as this occur, they are investigated thoroughly regardless of a police officer's rank, position or tenure.

'Our thoughts today are also with the Briggs family, and we will ensure they continue to have a range of support services in place as the matter progresses.'

Mr Briggs' grieving family held a memorial in Hoppers Crossing in July this year to mark the first anniversary of his death.

'While the rest of the world has moved on, our family is stuck in July 2024. Our world has stopped and whilst the delays continue, our trauma is not dealt with, our grief is not dealt with, and we are unable to let go,' his sister Catherine said at the time.

The family remains 'utterly distraught' over his death and subsequent delays in the case, their lawyer revealed.

One year on, Luke Briggs' family remains shattered over his death

Luke Briggs spent eight days in intensive care before his life support was turned off

'They cannot further publicly comment on the matter at this point, given criminal proceedings have now been commenced against the two Victoria Police officers involved in his death,' Sarah Condon of Robinson Gill Lawyers told the Herald Sun.

The state police union has vowed to stand with and support the two officers who were charged.

'These members went out that night to protect the community,' Police Association of Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said.

'Today, 18,000 other police and PSOs will be doing that same job and may well encounter the same challenging circumstances these members faced.

'They would expect us to stand with these members. We will. We will be by their side and support them fully as they navigate the difficult path ahead.'
Peter Mandelson will play a full role in Donald Trumps state visit next week, despite mounting questions about his past association with Jeffrey Epstein.

Downing Street yesterday dismissed suggestions that Lord Mandelson could be asked to stay away to avoid embarrassment to the Government and Royal Family, who will host the US President during his two-day stay.

The PMs official spokesman said the embattled ambassador will obviously be represented at the state visit, as you would expect.

Whitehall sources said Lord Mandelson has played a key role in coordinating the details of next weeks summit with the White House and Buckingham Palace.

He is expected to attend a state dinner thrown by the King in President Trumps honour at Windsor castle.

And he will be in the room for private political discussions between Sir Keir Starmer and President Trump.

Lord Mandelson held talks with Sir Keir in Downing Street last week to finalise the details of the visit - and brief the Prime Minister on issues that President Trump is likely to raise during his trip to the UK.

Lord Mandelson is said to have played a key role in coordinating the details of next weeks summit with the White House and Buckingham Palace

He is also said to have been providing guidance to the White House on the ceremonial aspects of the visit, including the history of Windsor Castle.

Sir Keir yesterday mounted a robust defence of Lord Mandelson despite growing calls for him to resign.

Praising the controversial peers effectiveness since his appointment in February, the PM said he was playing an important role in the UK-US relationship.
Liberals have been accused of 'celebrating' the assassination of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Mr Kirk, a married father of two, was struck in the neck by a single bullet while speaking about mass shootings at a university campus in Utah yesterday, with US President Donald Trump hailing him as 'legendary' in a tribute.

While his assassination has sparked an outpouring of tributes, it has also led to accusations that the Left are using his death to score political points because of his strong opinions.

One councillor claimed Mr Kirk 'made himself a target and brought this upon himself', while left-wing writer Nels Abbey sparked outrage after comparing the activist to David Duke, the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan.

During a debate on Good Morning Britain, fellow guest Michael Gove described Mr Kirk as 'a sort of Cicero for the TikTok age', adding that it was 'the latest political assassination to afflict America'.

But Mr Abbey intervened to say: 'Can I just say something? I don't believe he was a Cicero for the TikTok age, I believe he was a David Duke for the TikTok age.'

When host Kate Garraway asked him to clarify who Duke was, he replied: 'He was the former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

'Now, this is by no means trying to justify his murder. Political violence is wrong at home; it's wrong abroad. Political violence must be condemned, as must the propagandising for political violence and the dehumanisation of people.

This is the moment Joi Chaney sparked outrage after she began laughing and saying Charlie Kirk 'wasn't admired and loved by all'

Left-wing writer Nels Abbey (pictured) sparked a furious response after comparing Mr Kirk to the ex-leader of the Ku Klux Klan

Mr Kirk, a married father of two, was struck in the neck by a single bullet while speaking about mass shootings at a university campus in Utah yesterday

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'Charlie Kirk was somebody who... I shiver, particularly for conservatives when he's described as conservative, because he wasn't. He was quite clearly and comfortably a supremacist.'

Reacting furiously, one X user said: 'Nels Abbey on Good Morning Britain just compared Charlie Kirk to a KKK leader and called him a white supremacist... whilst pretending to show some sympathy for the murder. Shameful, considering it is less than 24 hours since the event. R.I.P.'

Another said: '@GMB Allowing Nels Abbey airtime to smear Charlie Kirk as some kind of KKK leader and claim it's 'his own fault' is an absolute disgrace.'

Elsewhere, Fiona Wild, an independent councillor in Burnley, is facing calls to resign after posting: 'I don't condone violence, but I do think he made himself a target and brought this on himself so good riddance to not a very nice man! America needs to get rid of the other t*t now.'

Tory leader Jamie McGowan branded her remarks, which she has since deleted, as 'vile' and called for her to step down immediately.

Reacting to the response from liberals online, Brendan Cox - whose Labour MP wife Jo Cox was murdered in 2016 - told the Mail that America must use this moment to 'tone down the temperature, rather than turn it up even further'.

The BBC has also come under fire over its 'distasteful' coverage of the killing after inviting Democratic strategist Joi Chaney onto the panel, who stunned audiences when she said Mr Kirk 'wasn't admired and loved by all'.

While speaking about the killing, Ms Chaney was accused of laughing and mockingly remarked: 'I've never shared a Trump post in my life. I will contemplate sharing this one. But what I will say with a caveat: he wasn't admired and loved by all, so that's an exaggeration.'

The presenter and another panellist were left visibly shocked, with an audible gasp heard before Ms Chaney was allowed to continue.

She added: 'The truth is it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter whether he was loved, I understand why President Trump said it. I'm not critiquing it.

'But what I'm saying is we don't have to like and admire someone to want to believe that they get to go out and speak and share their views in front of people who support them and who don't support them.'

The BBC clip was swiftly shared across social media, sparking outrage at both Ms Chaney's comments and the BBC for airing them so soon after the killing.

One user was quick to slam the commentator, saying: 'Shame on you, you evil being!

'I think that millions around the world disagree with your take. He was loved, celebrated, educated, gifted. Charlie is dead. Don't celebrate that. Don't laugh at that.'

Another user shared the outrage, saying: 'Couldn't believe it when I heard this on the BBC. Why did they even have this Democrat, Joi Chaney, on the programme? She was laughing at the death of Charlie Kirk. Pure evil.'

A third questioned why the broadcaster would allow this moment on the show, saying it was 'absolutely sick' and 'completely immoral and insensitive'.

And a fourth added: 'If individuals like this are given the chance to speak on national television, this is what will happen. Her choice of words and tone suggests she's glad the man is gone. Such a weak and heartless person.'

The BBC has been approached for comment.

Another post which sparked a backlash was from left-wing activist Femi Oluwole, who said: 'The same people who spent the last two years telling us to treat the murder of 80,000 in Gaza as an acceptable and justified loss are about to get real precious about the sanctity of one human life.'

Fiona Wild, an independent councillor in Burnley, is facing calls to resign after posting: 'I don't condone violence, but I do think he made himself a target and brought this on himself so good riddance to not a very nice man! America needs to get rid of the other t*t now.'

The BBC has come under fire for its coverage of the Charlie Kirk assassination

Another post which caught the attention of users was from left-wing activist Femi Oluwole

Brendan Cox, the widower of murdered MP Jo Cox, sparked a backlash for saying 'political violence increases sympathy for those attacked'

But others thought this was the wrong time for comparisons to the conflict, with one user replying: 'So Femi, his young kids have now no father, his wife no husband, their world has ended today, and those kids will see that one day and that poor woman has probably already seen the moment their childhood ended. I get your anger for Gaza, but where's the empathy right now?'

Another user said: 'You have really proven why people do not like you... Awful human being... Every life matters, but for you to dismiss even one life when you pretend to care about others is hypocrisy.. RIP Charlie Kirk.'

Mr Cox, the widower of murdered MP Jo Cox, initially sparked a backlash with his reaction to the attack on Mr Kirk.

Retweeting a post which said 'we must never allow America to become a country that confronts [political] disagreements with violence', Mr Cox wrote: 'Political violence doesn't win the argument, it just increases sympathy for those attacked. This is a despicable attack - whoever carried it out.'

Responding with fury, one user said: 'Your own wife was murdered, and this is your response?'

Another said: 'You may want to re-read this.'

And a third posted: 'I would have expected better from you of all people. This is a man, a husband and a father, he and his family deserve every sympathy regardless of where he stands politically and he has never preached violence, quite the opposite. People on the Left are celebrating his death and making excuses.'

When it emerged Mr Kirk had been killed, Mr Cox - whose wife was stabbed to death by far-right loner Thomas Mair in June 2016 - added: 'Charlie Kirk has been killed. Absolutely horrific. Absolutely wrong.'

Speaking to the Mail, he clarified his comments and called for America to 'tone down the temperature'.

Mr Cox condemned online trolls celebrating Mr Kirk's murder, while praising senior Democrat figures such as Barack Obama, the Clintons and Nancy Pelosi for paying tribute.

'On top of that very personal impact on Charlie's family, you've got the impact on American politics which is already in a very difficult place.

'What I remember from when Jo was killed, was Britain as a country coming together... while trying to tone down tensions. I'm not sure that's what we're seeing in the US.

'You've got really strong statements from high-profile Democrats, saying this is outrageous and unconscionable. But you've definitely got people on the Left joking about it or making snide comments.

'And we saw similar issues from the Right when two Democrats were killed [Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and husband Mark in January this year].'

Mr and Mrs Cox had two children together, with son Cuillin five at the time of her murder in Leeds and daughter Lejla three.

He added: 'What America needs to do now is use this as a moment to tone down the temperature, rather than turn it up even further. But I'm not particularly hopeful of that, knowing what's happening online.

'There are lots of tweets about civil war, lots of jokes  not the best way to honour the death of Charlie.

'This can be incredibly dangerous, in a febrile atmosphere  and where the availability of guns changes the risk of violence.

'When Nancy Pelosi's husband was attacked, Donald Trump Jr was sending out memes and jokes about it. Now we're seeing similar from the Left, although not such high-profile people.

'These are very serious moments and if the country can't use those to come together, then I think it's in a very parlous state.'

Labour politicians have also come under attack amid recent anger over the crackdown of free speech in the UK.

After Sir Keir Starmer posted a tribute to Mr Kirk, one user wrote: 'You would have had him locked up if he was from the UK.'

Another said: 'If he were British you would have done everything in your power to imprison him. Sit this one out.'

And responding to a tribute from Yvette Cooper, a third posted: 'If he was British, you would've arrested him. What a hypocrite!'

The assassination has sparked fear among those with outspoken views, including former Top Gear host and columnist Jeremy Clarkson, who wrote: 'For the first time in my life, I'm genuinely frightened about being a newspaper columnist.'

Sir Keir Starmer came under fire, with many saying Kirk would have been arrested in the UK, amid an ongoing row over free speech in Britain

Yvette Cooper was also told to 'sit this one out'

The assassination has sparked fear among those with outspoken views, including former Top Gear host and columnist Jeremy Clarkson, who wrote: 'For the first time in my life, I'm genuinely frightened about being a newspaper columnist'

It comes as a manhunt is underway for the conservative commentator's killer.

Mr Kirk was surrounded by students at the American university when he was shot dead in the neck.

A figure in dark clothing is seen motionless on the roof of a nearby building - roughly 200 yards from Mr Kirk - just moments before the shot rang out.

As the camera pans across the crowd, the assassin is seen standing up and running across the rooftop and away, presumably joining the crowds of panicked people who fled the square.

Two people were initially detained but later were released after interrogation.

An elderly man was initially taken into custody by police following the shooting but was later released after being confirmed not to be the gunman.

On Wednesday evening, FBI Director Patel announced that authorities had taken a person of interest into custody, but confirmed the suspect was released just over an hour later following a police interrogation (pictured: Kirk before the shooting)

Security protocols and local police at the event are now facing fierce backlash, with attendees claiming there were no security measures in place - no checkpoints, bag checks, or metal detectors

Another video shared to X, captured in the moments after the shooting from what appears to be from inside a campus building, pans across the room - and in a brief moment, an individual can be seen sprinting across the rooftop

FBI agents are now working with local police to track down the killer, with Utah governor Spencer Cox vowing to catch the murderer and suggesting the shooter will face the death penalty.

'To whoever did this: We will find you. We will try you and we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law,' said the governor.

A UK offshoot of the US conservative group set up by Mr Kirk is set to hold a vigil in London today.

Turning Point UK has said its activists will gather on Friday evening by the Montgomery Statue in Whitehall and called on others to 'join us in remembering Charlie'.

The group's chief executive Jack Ross told Sky News on Wednesday: 'It's absolutely shocking, we're heartbroken over here in the UK.'

Political figures in the UK spoke out against political violence following Mr Kirk's death.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer expressed his condolences online, adding: 'My thoughts this evening are with the loved ones of Charlie Kirk.

'It is heartbreaking that a young family has been robbed of a father and a husband.

'We must all be free to debate openly and freely without fear - there can be no justification for political violence.'

Kim Leadbeater, whose sister Jo Cox was killed in 2016 when she was shot and stabbed by a neo-Nazi outside her constituency surgery a week before the EU referendum, wrote: 'This is dreadful.

'Whatever our political views and differences, there is no place for violence in our politics.

'Tonight two children have lost their Dad. Devastating. We need a global reset on what we want our politics to look like.'

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who said she is 'deeply shocked' by the killing, added: 'Political violence has no place in our societies.

'Our thoughts and condolences are with his family.'

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch describing the shooting as 'a blow to everything Western civilisation stands for'.

She posted online: 'There are no words good enough to express the horror of this.

'The killing of Charlie Kirk is a blow to everything Western civilisation stands for: open discourse, robust debate and peaceful dissent. He lived his life by those very principles, no matter the danger it put him in.

'This may have happened far from our shores, but the rising intolerance of opposing views affects us all. We cannot turn a blind eye to it.

'My thoughts are with Charlie's family, his wife Erika, and their children.'

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage posted a black-and-white photograph of himself with Mr Kirk, along with the message 'this is a very dark day for American democracy'.

He added that he is 'desperately sad' for Mr Kirk, his wife and children.

Former Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson believes Mr Kirk is now 'a shining new martyr to free speech' and described the killing as 'a tragedy, and a sign of the utter desperation and cowardice of those who could not defeat him in argument'.

He posted online: 'Charlie Kirk has been killed not for espousing extremist views - because he didn't.

'He has been killed for saying things that used to be simple common sense. He has been killed because he had the courage to stand up publicly for reasonable opinions held by millions and millions of ordinary people both in the US and Britain. The world has a shining new martyr to free speech.

'Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones.'

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey added: 'Absolutely horrifying news of Charlie Kirk's murder. Political violence should have no place in society.

'My prayers are with his family, I can't imagine the pain they must be going through.'

In a US press conference, Utah governor Spencer Cox said the attack was a 'political assassination'.

President Trump was quick to express his sadness at the tragedy, calling Mr Kirk a 'martyr for truth and freedom'.

'Charlie was the best of America and the monster who was attacking him was attacking our whole country', he said, before ordering flags on US government buildings to be lowered to half-mast, including three at the White House.

He added in another post: 'The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.

'He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us.

'Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!'

President Donald Trump announced Kirk's death on Truth Social nearly five hours after the shooting, offering his sympathies to his wife and family

The conservative commentator was struck in the neck by a single bullet while addressing the crowd about mass shootings

The shooting occurred just after 12pm local time, while Kirk was answering his second question on the topic of mass shootings - specifically, whether he knew how many had involved a transgender shooter

The father of two, known for his fierce MAGA views and thrilling debates with college kids across the country, collapsed immediately after being hit by gunfire

During a press conference, Utah governor Spencer Cox reiterated that authorities did have 'a person of interest in custody, who is being interviewed right now'.

'I want to be very clear that this is a political assassination,' the governor said, though he did not disclose how he determined the suspected shooter's motive.

Cox also stated that there was no evidence indicating the involvement of a second shooter.

But just over an hour after news of the second suspect was made public, FBI Director Kash Patel revealed that the individual had been released.

'The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement,' he wrote on X. 'Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency.'

Mr Kirk leaves behind his wife, Erika Kirk (nee Frantzve), along with their three-year-old son and 16-month-old daughter.
Clementine Ford says she would 'waste no tears'

Outspoken activist Clementine Ford has sparked outrage with a furious Instagram rant in the wake of Charlie Kirk's death.

The MAGA firebrand, 31, was shot in the neck shortly after midday on Wednesday during a rally at Utah Valley University, in what has been described as a 'political assassination' by the state's governor.

The alleged gunman, who was caught on camera dashing across a rooftop in the moments after he opened fire, is still at large.

Ford addressed the news on Thursday - but did not condemn the shooting - claiming 'almost every freedom you have has been won through political violence'.

'Charlie Kirk was a piece of s*** who worshipped at the altar of political violence, and I will waste no tears nor time on lamenting his demise,' she said.

The controversial comment was part of a caption for a screenshot of an article headline by feminist news and opinion site Jezebel.

'We paid some Etsy witches to curse Charlie Kirk,' the headline read, which was published two days before the pundit's death in Utah on Wednesday.

Jezebel was forced to add an Editor's Note at the top of the article condemning the shooting, after the 31-year-old was killed by an unknown shooter.

The pundit Clementine Ford (pictured) has weighed in on the murder of right-wing MAGA firebrand Charlie Kirk, who was shot on Wednesday during a rally at Utah Valley University

Ford shared a screenshot of an article by feminist news and opinion site Jezebel published two days before Kirk's death, which referenced witches putting a curse on Kirk

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'This story was published on September 8. Jezebel condemns the shooting of Charlie Kirk in the strongest possible terms,' it read.

'We do not endorse, encourage, or excuse political violence of any kind.'

Addressing the Jezebel headline, Ford quipped: 'The witching hour is upon us.'

A vocal supporter of Palestine, she also used the opportunity to reference the war between Israel and Hamas.

'Democrats and self proclaimed 'progressive' pundits will join forces with the far right and openly fascist to devote more words of condemnation and remorse to the assassination of a white supremacist cheerleader for genocide in just one day than they will have for the last two years of Israel's barbaric assault on Gaza.

'We will see more headlines mourning Charlie Kirk than have ever been written about Hind Rajab, whose five-year-old body was pierced 355 times by US-funded Israeli terrorists.

'The same lawmakers lining up to claim "violence is never the answer" will continue to insist 'Israel has a right to defend itself', maintaining their staunch silence on the snipers who take out children and journalists and aid workers and health providers.'

In the comments, Ford said she 'actually dreamt last night that Trump died and then woke up to this'.

Kirk (pictured) was a loyal Trump ally and founder of Turning Point USA, a non-profit that spreads right-wing ideology at US colleges

The social media post has received significant backlash, with some expressing their 'disgust' over her words.

'By using someone's death to make content and declare you have no empathy makes you no better than you claim him to have been. Two wings, same bird,' one person commented.

Another said: 'This is disgusting. You should all be ashamed to wish this upon someone and rejoice. Regardless of what your political views are - this is heinous.'

Kirk, who was a loyal Trump ally and founder of Turning Point USA - a non-profit that spreads right-wing ideology at US colleges, toppled from his chair as blood spurted from his neck.

He was rushed to a local hospital, where he was declared dead.

US President Donald Trump described him as a 'martyr for truth and freedom' and ordered flags to be flown at half-mast at the White House.

But Ford is not alone in her unapologetic commentary regarding his death; influencer and podcaster Abbie Chatfield declared she 'hated' Charlie Kirk - before using his death to make a grim political prediction.

'Even though I hate Charlie Kirk this is bad for everyone to be honest,' Chatfield wrote on Instagram.

'The right (and possibly the left) will become more violent in replacement of actual democracy. He will be martyred. They won't see that this is BECAUSE of right-wing views on gun control that this could even happen.

Former reality TV star Abbie Chatfield (pictured) said she 'hated' Kirk, before using his death to make a grim political prediction about how both political sides will become more violent

Satire outlet The Chaser also appeared to publish a controversial joke about Kirk's death

'It will cause tensions to rise and drive people further apart than we already are. If this is the beginning, then what's to come?'

The former reality TV star also shared a quote Kirk gave in April 2023, with Alanis Morissette's song Ironic playing over it.

'I think it's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights,' the quote reads.

Kirk's comment had caused fury at the time as it was made only a month after a shooter killed three children and three adults at a Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee.

Australian satire outlet The Chaser also appeared to publish a controversial joke about the fatal shooting of Kirk on Thursday, which received widespread backlash.

His death coincided with R U OK? Day, a national Australian initiative held on the second Thursday of September to promote mental health awareness and encourage people to check in on others.

In response, The Chaser published a satirical headline: 'R U OK Day not going well at Turning Point,' a reference to Turning Point USA, the conservative youth organisation Kirk founded.

The post was met with immediate condemnation and comments and replies were turned off on X.

Charlie Kirk (right) speaks on stage with President Donald Trump at America Fest 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 22, 2024

'The Chaser gloating over Charlie Kirk being shot in the neck and bleeding out to death in front of his family. They've turned off comments. Share this around so they disgrace themselves all around the world,' one user wrote.

'Once funny. Eons ago. Now just bitter, irrelevant and sick,' said another.

'Engagement to stay relevant when you're not,' someone else said.

The Chaser, once known for its popular ABC program The Chaser's War on Everything, now operates as an independently funded website.

While The Chaser is funded independently, no longer having a direct association with the ABC, taxpayer-funded advertisements by the ABC, for its new show 'Optics', appear alongside the article.

Daily Mail contacted ABC for comment.
A 16-year-old schoolboy drugged seven fellow male pupils before leading them to a man who raped all the young friends at gunpoint, South African police have revealed.

The shocking incident in Johannesburg has rocked the country where the victims aged between 10 and 13 were left severely traumatised by their brutal ordeal.

The horrific multiple sex attacks shocked even hardened detectives in the crime-ridden country where 76 people are murdered every day and 125 women raped.

South African cops confirmed a 31-year-old man was arrested for rape, while the Gauteng Education Department said a 16-year-old pupil has been suspended.

Education chief Matome Chiloane described what happened to the pupils from the Khomanani Primary School in Diepkloof, Soweto, on September 1 as 'unspeakable'.

Dept. spokesman Steve Mabona said: 'Preliminary reports indicate the instigating Grade 7 boy learner allegedly stole a bottle of cold drink from a local shop.

'It is then alleged that the learner drugged the drink and gave it to seven boy learners to consume then took them to an adult who raped them at gunpoint.

'The adult perpetrator has since been arrested after a parent of one of the boys reported it and police are investigating further details about this incident' he said.

The shocking incident happened at Khomanani Primary School in Diepkloof, Soweto (pictured)

Education chief Matome Chiloane (pictured) said what happened to the pupils was 'unspeakable'

Mabona said the school suspended the Grade 7 boy accused of orchestrating the mass rapes and said that he would face a disciplinary hearing on September 17.

Shockingly however both the Education Department and the South African Police confirmed that the teenager had NOT been arrested for his part in the crimes.

A police spokesman said: 'Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences detectives are investigating a case where allegedly seven boys have been raped.

'The boys are aged between 10 and 13 and were allegedly raped by a 31-year-old man who was arrested on September 6 but has not yet appeared before court.

'After consultation with the National Police Authority he was released from custody pending further investigations in consultation with police forensic social workers.

'We will not share details of the case' he said.

Experts are helping the seven traumatised schoolboys and the Teddy Bear Clinic who support sexually abused children has been brought in to assist them.

Education chief Mr Chiloane added: 'Such an unspeakable act should never happen to any learner and we sympathise dearly with the affected learners and families.

'This incident is a reminder of the importance of our collective duty to ensure the safety of children in and outside of school and we are providing our full support'.

Neither the South African Police nor the Education Department would explain why the 16year-old boy who drugged and led the victims to the rapist was not arrested.

Nor would they explain at what stage of the school day the seven boys were drugged with the spiked cold drink or where the suspended teenager took the victims.

They would only confirm seven boys alleged they were drugged and were subsequently raped in turn by an adult male who had a gun and had threatened to shoot them.

Facebook was alive with angry parents demanding the Grade 7 schoolboy should be arrested with Lucky Maimela saying: 'He is as guilty as the man who raped them'.

But Sube Magaogoa said the teenager was probably threatened by the rapist saying: 'It must be the adult who had coerced a child into doing such a heinous crime'.

Many others called for mob justice with one John Prince saying: 'Rapists harm innocent people and this perpetrator should be exposed and burned to death'.

South Africa has a huge child rape crisis, with a Parliamentary question revealing that between 2018 and 2024 there were 106,000 child rape cases reported to police.

Abuse experts believe that with unreported cases the figure is likely far higher. In the year 2022/23 it was said that the 38.3% of offences carried out on children were rape.

Support group Solidarity Helping Hand said in an annual report that about 60 cases of child rape are reported in South Africa every day, but estimate 88% more go unreported.

They said that means according to their figures 530 children are raped every day - equivalent to one rape every three minutes.
The assassin who shot Charlie Kirk chose a rooftop from where he would have been able to escape 'miles and miles away' in just minutes as chaos broke out below, a retired FBI agent has claimed.

The shot came from the top of Utah Valley University's Losee Center Building, about 200 yards from where Kirk was speaking under a canopy to 3,000 people, according to authorities.

'If you come off that roof - and I've seen the drone footage of this - there's an open-air parking lot behind that building,' retired FBI expert James Gagliano said.

'So this is a big concern because this person, within three to five minutes of that shot going off, that person could have been in a vehicle on his way out and miles and miles away.'

'Provo airport is only about 45 minutes from there,' he added, suggesting that the killer could have quickly escaped Utah, too.

Kirk, 31, was speaking at around 12.20pm when he was suddenly shot in the neck - sending him toppling over in his chair as massive crowds fled the scene in terror and pandemonium broke out.

Despite frantic efforts from staff and security to save him, he died at the scene.

The assassin remains at large - with the manhunt entering its second day on Thursday.

The FBI said a high-powered rifle was recovered from nearby woods but admitted the gunman had still not been identified.

Two men were briefly taken into custody after the shooting, but investigators later confirmed they were not suspects and released them.

Beau Mason, Commisioner of Utah's Department of Public Safety, spoke to the press on Thursday to provide an update on their probe.

He said investigators had several breakthroughs in the probe overnight, and have images of the suspect, who appears to be of 'college age', that they are not ready to release.

This is how the political activist's death unfolded in minute-by-minute detail.

12:00

The event began shortly before midday. At around 11:50am, hundreds of students and supporters had crowded into the outdoor area, some holding phones aloft, others clutching Turning Point USA merchandise. As Kirk arrived, cheers rose.

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As Kirk arrived, he was greeted by cheers from the crowd. He started taking questions at 12pm

As was typical for Kirk's events, security was light. It was the first of a 15-stop tour. There were six university police officers assigned to the event, plus some private security. There were no metal detectors or bag checks.

He started speaking around 12pm. The crowd packed a terraced courtyard, and students, including some protesters, watched from nearby buildings or overlooks.

12:20

By 12:20pm, he was deep into a Q&A session, speaking about mass shootings in America, when the gunfire erupted.

'Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?' an audience member asked. Kirk responded: 'Too many.'

Around 12:20pm, Kirk was deep into a Q&A, speaking about mass shootings in America, when the gunfire erupted

The questioner followed up: 'Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?' Kirk asked: 'Counting or not counting gang violence?' Kirk asked.

Those were his last words before the bullet struck him. The calm turned to horror - a sharp crack echoed across the campus, and Kirk slumped in his seat, struck in the neck by a single bullet fired from hundreds of yards away. A video showed an individual running on the roof of the Losee Centre, just 200 yards away from the stage

Seconds later, screams rang out as people scrambled for cover, scattering across the green lawns in blind panic.

12:25

By 12:25pm, Kirk had been carried from the scene by his security detail and emergency responders.

Videos that spread rapidly online show him collapsing backwards as chaos engulfed the stage.

Some students described seeing blood gushing from Kirk as his security and local officers rushed to the stage.

A stampede rife with terror and panic soon erupted. Some attendees darted to a nearby building and ran through a water fountain to escape. Others ducked and hid. Some dragged their friends and even strangers to safety.

Panic spread through the crowd as people scrambled for safety

People screamed as they ducked for safety, while some fell over while trying to escape

Armed police swamped the university to secure the area

Ryan Davies, a witness, said: 'People definitely feared for their lives. I could see it in their eyes. I could hear it in their voices. People were crying. People were screaming.'

He was rushed to Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem, and within minutes, university officials locked down the campus and cancelled classes, placing the entire area on alert.

Police tape went up around the scene, and officers swept the rooftops with rifles raised. A spokeswoman from the university said the shot was fired from the Losee Centre building.

Federal agents from the FBI and ATF were on scene within the hour, combing through camera footage and interviewing witnesses.

Retired FBI expert James Gagliano told Fox and Friends that the assassin appears to have picked a rooftop from where he could make a quick escape.

'If you come off that roof - and I've seen the drone footage of this - there's an open-air parking lot behind that building,' Gagliano said.

'So this is a big concern because this person, within three to five minutes of that shot going off, that person could have been in a vehicle on his way out and miles and miles away.'

'Provo airport is only about 45 minutes from there,' he added, suggesting that the killer could have quickly escaped Utah, too.

Gagliano also rebuffed claims the shot was a professional hit. 'That's not a tough shot with a rifle, if this suspect had a scope,' he said.

'It's a very easy shot.'

1:30

By 1:30pm, doctors at the hospital were still battling to save Kirk's life - his condition was described as critical, and he was reported to be undergoing surgery.

Supporters had begun gathering outside, some praying aloud, others clutching phones for updates.

Confusion spread across the campus as rumours swirled about his fate.

2:40

At around 2:40 pm, his spokesperson confirmed that he had died. Soon afterwards, the confirmation came from other sources. Charlie Kirk, just 31 years old, had been pronounced dead in hospital.

4:00

At 4pm, officials confirmed that the shooting was a targeted attack against Kirk. Beau Mason, the commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety said: 'There was one shot fired and one victim.'

It was late afternoon, just after 4:40pm, when US President Donald Trump paid tribute to him.

In a post on his social platform, he declared that Kirk was dead, calling him a legendary voice of conservatism. He wrote: 'The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead.

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

'Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!'

5:00

By 5pm, Utah's governor, Spencer Cox, had called the attack a political assassination.

State officials announced that a person of interest had been taken into custody, but later that night, the FBI's director, Kash Patel, revealed that the individual had been released after interrogation.

By late afternoon, a second person of interest had been interviewed but released.

So far, no suspect has yet been publicly named, and the manhunt is continuing.

As night fell, vigils sprang up across Utah - candles flickered on the sidewalks outside the hospital.

A man who was taken into police custody was later released - the shooter remains at large

A vigil is held in memory of Charlie Kirk at Seattle, Washington

His assassination has become a stark reminder of America's fragile democracy. In the last few years, several politically motivated violent incidents have occurred in the country.

Trump survived his own assassination attempt last year, while former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband was attacked at home in 2022.

For now, Investigators continue to search for the shooter, while federal and local authorities work together to piece together what happened.

Security measures at the university remain tight, and officials have urged anyone with information to come forward.

As the investigation unfolds, the world watches closely, seeking answers to how such a targeted attack could occur and who is responsible.
A teacher who went on sick leave for 16 years was being paid her full 48,000 salary the whole time - and the school didn't even notice.

The woman, a German biology and geography teacher, went on leave in August 2009 due to a chronic illness and psychological problems.

After a three-month absence, she should have been assessed by a doctor. But this never happened, and her sick leave was systematically renewed for nearly 20 years.

When the state finally found out, it ordered the woman to undergo a medical examination, but she refused and decided to sue her management.

The woman was paid 100% of her salary the whole time she was away, despite never returning to the Berufskolleg vocational high school in Wesel, near Duisburg, where she had worked since 2003.

She managed to go under the radar until a change of management in 2024, when an internal audit revealed this 'oversight.'

The former director, who took over the establishment in 2015, had never met the teacher in question and was completely unaware that she was, in theory, part of his teaching team.

A teacher who went on sick leave for 16 years was being paid her full 48,000 salary the whole time - and the school didn't even notice. Pictured: The Berufskolleg vocational high school in Wesel, near Duisburg, where she had worked since 2003.

According to Bild, citing the German salary scale, the professor reportedly earned between 5,051 (4,369) and 6,174 (5,341) per month.

She reportedly owns two apartments in Duisburg, in northwest Germany, the media reports.

The teacher was employed by the federal region of North Rhine-Westphalia. Alerted to this particular case, the state wanted to subject the teacher to a medical examination intended to confirm her state of health.

But the teacher refused and tried to take her management to court. However, since her appeals were rejected, the examination will still take place.

'I have a lot of questions because I've never been confronted with a case like this before,' Dorothee Feller, the education minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, told Bild.

Now, all these years later it will be difficult to demand that the professor repay the sums she received as it will be hard to prove that she lied about her health.

However, suspicions have been raised over the teacher's apparent inability to work as she may have been practicing as a naturopath during her sick leave.
Experts have issued stark warnings that Vladimir Putin could accidentally or deliberately shoot down a passenger plane flying through Europe following the incursion of Russian drones in Poland.

Airlines may review their risk assessments in Poland after the country was forced to shoot down drones in its airspace with the backing of military aircraft from NATO allies, the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia's war in Ukraine.

Following the incident, airlines operating flights in Poland may consider flying further west away from the Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian borders to avoid conflict zones, said Matthew Borie, chief intelligence officer at aviation risk consultancy Osprey Flight Solutions.

They may even restrict operations to daylight hours only and carry extra fuel to cope with potential diversions, he said, similar to steps taken in the Middle East.

The worst-case scenario for airlines flying near a conflict zone is a plane being struck - either accidentally or deliberately - by weaponry.

Since 2001, six commercial planes have been unintentionally shot down, with three additional close calls, according to Osprey.

In one such incident, in December, an Azerbaijan Airlines flight crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas day, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.

The plane was accidentally shot down by Russian air defences, according to Azerbaijan's president and Reuters sources. The Russian president did not say that Russia had shot the plane down, but apologised that the 'tragic incident' occurred inside his country's airspace.

An Azerbaijan Airlines flight crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas day, killing 38 of the 67 people on board

Up to four of the 19 Russian drones were shot down by Polish and NATO aircraft - the first time Kremlin drones have been downed while flying above a NATO territory

The wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 lays on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, December 25

In 2014, Russia downed Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people in board - including 196 Dutch citizens and 38 Australian citizens or residents.

It wasn't until 11 years after the air disaster in May 2025 that the UN's aviation council ruled that Russia was responsible - a decision Moscow called 'scandalous'. The Kremlin has always denied any responsibility for the incident.

A Dutch court found three men - two Russians and a Ukrainian rebel - guilty of murder in absentia for their roles in shooting down the Boeing 777 in November 2022. One of the men found guilty, Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin, is a former security service officer who served as one of the chief architects of Putin's annexation of Crimea, and then became a vocal proponent and military strategist amid the war in Ukraine.

In January 2024, the ultra-nationalist was sentenced to four years in jail on extremism charges prompted by his criticism of Putin and the Russian war effort.

In 2020, a Ukrainian passenger plane was mistakenly targeted and destroyed by Iranian air defence operators, killing all 176 people aboard. An investigation found that the missiles were 'fired due to human error', after Iran's Revolutionary Guards mistook the jet for a cruise missile.

'If this happens more often, you really have to understand what's happening... What might go wrong? I'm always saying, misidentification is your biggest risk,' said Eric Schouten, head of security consultancy Dyami.

The latest incursion of Russian drones in Poland has reignited safety concerns over the vulnerability of civil air transport in Europe, aviation and insurance.

Warsaw Chopin and Modlin airports, as well as Rzeszow and Lublin airports in the country's east, temporarily closed before resuming operations.

FILE PHOTO: Local workers transport a piece of wreckage from Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 at the site of the plane crash near the village of Hrabove (Grabovo) in Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine November 20, 2014

Lawyers attend the judges' inspection of the reconstruction of the MH17 wreckage as part of the murder trial in Reijen, Netherlands, in May 2021

A severely damaged house in the village of Wyryki in eastern Poland, where one of the Russian drones that breached Polish airspace collided with the building

Countries bordering on Ukraine have reported occasional Russian missiles or drones entering their airspace since Russia's 2022 invasion, but not on such a large scale, and they are not known to have shot them down.

Proliferating conflict zones around the world have increased the burden on airline operations and profitability, adding to safety concerns and disrupting travel. With airspace closures around Russia and Ukraine, throughout the Middle East, between India and Pakistan, and in parts of Africa, airlines are left with fewer route options.

Detours add to airlines' fuel costs and lengthen journey times. Eurocontrol, a 41-nation coordination agency, has said Ukraine's closed airspace has added to congestion in the region's skies.

Since October 2023, many international carriers have suspended flights to the region due to fears of missile and drone interference. Wednesday's drone incident followed Israel's attempt on Tuesday to kill the political leaders of Hamas in the Qatari capital Doha.

Worries about further disruption for the travel industry pressured airline stocks. Shares in British Airways owner IAG were down 4.1 percent, easyJet fell 2.2 percent to its weakest since April, while Lufthansa and Ryanair were both also 2.2 percent lower at the close of trade.

Flight disruptions were relatively limited because the drone incursion happened early in the morning, before many airlines had started flying.

Polish airline LOT redirected some flights to western Poland and said it expected cancellations and delays.

A spokesperson for budget airline Wizz Air, which operates in central and eastern Europe, said its security teams 'closely monitored' the situation and adjusted flight schedules after airports closed.

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Parts of discovered drone are seen in the village of Mniszkow in central Poland

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said no advisory was needed for the drone incursion due to its temporary nature, adding that Poland's aviation authorities were able to sufficiently handle the incident.

Aviation analysts say airlines are increasingly wary of the risks posed by incursions into civilian flight zones.

'This is a wake-up call, I think, for everyone in Europe that can expect this more often,' said Schouten.

Two senior aviation insurance market sources said the market was watching events in Poland and Qatar closely.

If the market got a sense either that Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace were becoming consistent and deliberate, or that Israeli airstrikes in the Middle East were likely to continue, it would pose serious questions for insurers, one source added.

LOT, Lufthansa, Ryanair, and airBaltic did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Poland's civil aviation authority and air navigation service did not respond to a request for comment on additional measures taken to ensure airspace safety.
A family has fled Britain to start a new life in Malaysia after soaring crime rates under Labour caused the parents to ban their children from playing outside.

Kayleigh Hall, 37, and husband Kev Hall, 41, left the town of Hebburn, Tyne and Wear, with their three children in March - and do not plan to return.

The full-time mum gave up her job in sales to home educate their kids Pippa, 11, Freddie, seven, and Ronnie, two.

Meanwhile, ex-mortgage advisor Mr Hall now runs his own sales and marketing business remotely.

They now travel the world full-time, starting with two months in Spain, before heading to Malaysia - with plans to go on to Singapore or Japan.

Mrs Hall said the family no longer felt safe in the UK, seeing local crime rates skyrocket and horrifying 'random attacks' on people in the community.

'A lady across the road at 6pm, even though it was light, had somebody go past her on a bike and put a knife across her cheek and slash her when she was walking her dog, which is really horrible,' she explained.

It comes after Sir Keir Starmer was accused of giving 'free rein' to criminals as shoplifting, muggings and fraud hit the highest levels since records began.

A family (pictured) has fled Britain to start a new life in Malaysia after soaring crime rates under Labour caused the parents to ban their children from playing outside

Kayleigh Hall, 37, and husband Kev Hall, 41, upped sticks from the town of Hebburn, Tyne and Wear, with their three children in March - and do not plan to return. Pictured: The Halls

It comes after Sir Keir Starmer (pictured yesterday) was accused of giving 'free rein' to criminals as shoplifting, muggings and fraud hit the highest levels since records began

Shock figures reveal Britain is in the grip of a 'retail crime epidemic' with one theft recorded every minute for the first time in history.

Shoplifting levels have doubled since the pandemic and rocketed by 20 per cent since the Government came into power last year.

At the same time, street muggings for mobile phones and handbags have spiralled, with a 15 per cent rise in personal theft to a record 151,220 offences.

Critics also accused the PM of ushering in a soft justice crimewave after releasing thousands of thieves early from prisons at a time of falling police numbers.

Police chiefs are warning of more cuts to come due to a lack of funding.

Mrs Hall said she felt crime levels back home appeared to have spiralled further even in the mere six months since she left with her family.

'I feel like that's all I ever see on social media. People getting attacked or it just seems to be getting out of control,' she said.

'I wouldn't let the kids play out or anything, which is crazy, not being able to feel safe in your own neighbourhood even though we lived in quite a nice area.

Mrs Hall said she felt crime levels back home appeared to have spiralled further even in the mere six months since she left with her family (pictured)

'I feel like that's all I ever see on social media. People getting attacked or it just seems to be getting out of control,' she said. Pictured: The Halls

She continued: 'I think Britain is broken at the minute'. Pictured: Mrs Hall, with two of her children, Ronnie and Pippa

'Kids beating up other kids and recording it and streaming it on social media. That's happened a few times.'

She continued: 'I think Britain is broken at the minute.

'It's all over social media how bad things are getting and crime rates and people getting arrested for saying certain things online.

'I don't know what's going on but I'm glad we're not there.'

The mother concluded: 'We decided we wanted nicer weather, cheaper cost of living and to be safer.'

After initially heading to Spain, the Halls planned to go on to the Middle East - but they settled on Malaysia as their next destination because it was cheaper.

Mrs Hall explained: 'We just got fed up of paying for a mortgage, both working full-time, kids in school, never seeing them.

'On a weekend you don't really get quality time together because you're knackered.

'It's all over social media how bad things are getting and crime rates and people getting arrested for saying certain things online'. Pictured: A video the Halls made about why they left the UK

The mother concluded: 'We decided we wanted nicer weather, cheaper cost of living and to be safer'. Pictured: A video the Halls made about why they left the UK

With their costs in Malaysia far lower than their outgoings back in the UK, the family has more cash for travelling, with plans to head to Singapore or Japan. Pictured: The Halls

'We were sick of all our money going on a house that we didn't really care about in the end.

'What started off as a forever home turned into a bit of a noose around our neck.'

Their costs in Malaysia are far lower than their outgoings back in the UK: 'It's all for our kids, we're doing it for them to have a better life and get more opportunities...

'Our mortgage and the car was probably 2,500 a month in the UK.

'Here, we've got an all-singing, all-dancing three-bedroom apartment, fully furnished, with all bills included, for 700.

'It's got a private cinema, a bowling alley, two swimming pools, it is incredible. It feels like living in a holiday resort but it's everyday life. It's class.

'I can't ever see us ever going back.

'It's a no-brainer to stay out of the UK right now. Especially as I think it's going to get worse and worse and more expensive.'

Mrs Hall (pictured with her family) said: 'It's all for our kids, we're doing it for them to have a better life and get more opportunities'

'I can't ever see us ever going back', she continued. Pictured: Two of the Halls' children, Ronnie and Freddie

She said: 'It's a no-brainer to stay out of the UK right now'. Pictured: The Halls

The mother confessed: 'Our mortgage and the car was probably 2,500 a month in the UK'. Pictured: A breakdown of the Halls' costs in the UK versus Malaysia

She continued: 'We've got an all-singing, all-dancing three-bedroom apartment, fully furnished, with all bills included, for 700'. Pictured: A video the Halls made about why they left the UK

Mrs Hall has home educated her children for more than a year and is continuing to do so abroad.

She said: 'I just find it irrelevant that in this day and age you're still learning the stuff that I learned 25 years ago. I think the whole curriculum needs to shake up.

'I think it's not preparing kids for life today, it's outdated, it's not moving with the times.

'I find it crazy that they're still the same and lead to very basic paid jobs that aren't going to get you out of the rat race.

'I don't really do the curriculum. It's very much learning everyday just what we're doing. The kids can read and write.

'We learn locally about a country that we're in or an animal that we see.

'They're more confident. If we're in a restaurant they'll ask for the bill, they'll ask for a drink, they'll ask for a sauce whereas before they were scared to speak to people.'

It comes after a Daily Mail investigation recently showed more than eight out of ten crimes went unsolved last year.

A Daily Mail investigation recently showed more than eight out of ten crimes went unsolved last year. Pictured: File photo

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Police last year opened 3.9million crime cases - yet our stark analysis revealed 3.3million were closed either with no suspect ever identified or coppers unable to prosecute them.

Sex offenders and thieves were among the criminals who evaded justice last year.

Using the data we uncovered, the Daily Mail has built a postcode search tool laying bare the situation in your neighbourhood.

It reveals how many offences actually resulted in action being taken in your LSOA  tiny geographical areas home to around 2,000 people, typically consisting of just a few streets.

Action taken can mean a suspect being hauled to court, or being cautioned by the police, given a fine or being made to attend an awareness or education course.

The widget, available to use in our investigation, also lists the types of crimes reported to police last year that had an 'outcome', and how many occurred.

No crime was solved in almost 900 of approximately 34,000 LSOAs in England and Wales in the year ending May 2025, according to our analysis of Police UK figures.

Chalk Farm and Primrose Hill, a suburb of Camden, north London, topped the league table, with all 150 reported crimes going unsolved.

It was followed by the Bromley Common and Holwood area of Bromley (133 crimes) and the Marshalswick West region of St Albans in Hertfordshire (114).
An alpaca charity has lost a High Court battle over a llama-loving pensioner's 1.9 million will after a judge ordered its bosses to share the fortune.

Conservationist Candia Midworth, a passionate animal-lover who kept and bred llamas at her Surrey farm, was a director of the British Llama and Alpaca Association and editor of its magazine, the Camelid Chronicle.

After her death aged 78 in 2022, the widow, from Effingham, Surrey, left a will dividing her 1.9m fortune equally between six charities supporting different animals around the world.

But the will ended up the centre of a High Court battle after British Camelids Ltd, the charitable arm of the British Llama and Alpaca Association, claimed half of the money for itself.

The charity claimed that as three of the causes named in Ms Midworth's will no longer exist in the exact form she stated, and a fourth doesn't exist at all, the fortune should be divided between themselves and the sole other charity.

It argued that because the charities had changed names or registration numbers since the will was made, they should be excluded.

But judge Master Katherine McQuail struck out the charity's claim and ordered that the money must be shared equally between the charities, which will benefit donkeys, mules and bears as well as llamas and alpacas.

Beneficiaries, who will receive around 300,000 each, include World Animal Protection for its work with captive bears, the Brooke Hospital for Animals for its support of working horses, mules and donkeys, and the Born Free Foundation for its zoo watchdog work.

Conservationist Candia Midworth died aged 78 in 2022, leaving a will dividing her 1.9m fortune equally between six charities supporting different animals around the world.

The judge said the will should be construed as making gifts for 'the charitable purposes' of the causes which Ms Midworth stipulated and that just because the specific entities she named no longer exist in the same form does not mean the gifts should fail.

The court heard Ms Midworth, whose husband Julian died in 1996, kept and bred llamas at her farm in Surrey from at least the mid-1980s.

As well as being an active member of the British Llama and Alpaca Association and editor of its magazine, the Camelid Chronicle, she became a director of British Camelids.

The charity was set up to 'encourage and improve the breeding of and fibre production from camelids in the UK,' said the judge, as well as undertaking research and to promote camelid rearing.

Camelid is the classification of animal to which both alpacas and llamas belong.

Ms Midworth's will, made in 1994, also left her prints and pictures of llamas and the llamas she owned at the date of her death to friends.

Under the wording of her will, shares of her estate - valued at about 1.9m - were to go to British Camelids, the Brooke Hospital for Animals, Burstow Wild Life Sanctuary and the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection.

British Camelids tried to claim that because her will did include up to date names for some of the charities she supported, those entities should not be entitled to a share of her fortune

She also specifically named the Libearty Campaign of the World Society for the Protection of Animals aimed at ending cruelty to captive bears and a zoo watchdog campaign of the Born Free Foundation as beneficiaries.

British Camelids took the case to court, claiming that because some of the specific entities in her will no longer exist, only it and the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection should benefit.

For British Camelids, barrister Emilia Carslaw argued that the wording of the will was simple and that the gifts were 'expressly subject to the condition that the named legatees be in existence at the date of Mrs Midworth's death in order to benefit.'

But lawyers for the other charities claimed that the activities which Ms Midworth had wanted to support still continue.

Just because the charities operated under different names or charity numbers or had stopped campaigning under the names of projects named in the will did not mean that the gifts should fail, it was argued.

Giving judgment, Master McQuail said the will should be construed as making gifts for 'charitable purposes' which are ongoing, whatever the specific legal entity carrying them on and under which project title.

The Brooke Hospital, which supports working donkeys, mules and horses, continues to operate, although under a different charity number to that which Ms Midworth wrote in her will, the court heard.

'Since [it] is carrying on the charitable purposes of the Brooke Hospital for Animals, I conclude that the will is to be construed as making a gift of a share of residue to [it],' she said.

In relation to the Born Free Foundation's Zoo Check Project and the World Society for the Protection of Animals' bear-related Libearty Campaign, those specific titles are no longer used, she continued.

However, both charities had given evidence that the 'relevant charitable purposes' were continuing, but no longer under the campaign names which Ms Midworth specified in her will.

'I conclude that the will is to be construed as making gifts of shares of residue... for the purposes of the Zoo Check Project and the Libearty Campaign, even though those projects do not have a continuing separate identity,' she added.

Although the Burstow Wildlife Sanctuary no longer existed, the gift to it could only fail if its charitable purposes also no longer existed or were incapable of implementation, she added.

'Those charitable purposes have not ceased to exist or to be capable of implementation and it appears from the evidence that the charitable purposes are ones which are carried on by at least [Brooke Hospital, Born Free and World Animal Protection].

'In those circumstances I consider that it would be appropriate to direct by way of scheme that the share of residue intended for the Burstow Wildlife Sanctuary's purposes be paid among some, at least, of the parties to the proceedings.'

The ruling means British Camelids, the Brooke Hospital, Born Free, World Animal Protection and the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection will each get one-sixth shares of the widow's 1.9m fortune worth over 300,000 each.

The final sixth will be divided under terms to be decided at a later date.
This is the emotional moment American journalist Megyn Kelly discovers while livestreaming that her friend Charlie Kirk, the Conservative influencer, had passed away after being shot at a rally in Utah.

Kirk, 31, was shot at 12.20 pm during an event at Utah Valley University by a gunman who was caught on camera dashing across a rooftop in the moments after he opened fire.

Kelly broke down in tears during a live broadcast from her political commentary show called The Megyn Kelly Show on YouTube, which has 3.8 million subscribers.

'Oh good God, he's dead,' the grief-stricken commentator said, her voice shaking with emotion. 'It's official, it's from the COO of Turning Point.'

She then read out the confirmation of his death posted on X by Turning Point USA -the Conservative youth organisation Kirk co-founded in 2012 when he was 18.

'I am so sorry to be bringing you this news,' a devastated Kelly said between tears.

Dabbing her eyes, she continued: 'I am sorry for what it means for our country, for Charlie - poor dear Charlie and his family. I am sorry for what it's going to mean for the debates that we have yet to have - that he would have won, he would have put everyone to shame on, as he had been.

'And I'm angry, really f***ing angry about how this happened, why this happened, and why we don't have a person in custody.'

American journalist Megyn Kelly broke down in tears on her live show when she discovered that Charlie Kirk, the Conservative influencer, had passed away after being shot

Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk (pictured) eerily spoke about gun violence as he was shot at a Utah Valley University rally

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Two people who were arrested in the wake of Kirk's death have since been released, with Utah authorities saying they have 'no current ties' to the fatal incident.

The manhunt for the suspect is ongoing. The incident was a 'targeted attack', according to Utah's Department of Public Safety, with the suspect believed to have fired the fatal shot from the roof of a building to the courtyard where Kirk was addressing a crowd of around 3,000 people.

Videos posted to social media show Kirk, a close ally of the U.S. president, seen speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent, falling limp off his chair as he was struck in the neck.

He was rushed to a hospital by his private security team and was later declared dead.

He was killed while answering audience questions for his 'American Comeback Tour'. Officials said the fatal shot was fired from the top of the Losee Centre, about 200 feet away from where Kirk was speaking.

Chaos took over the scene following the shooting as thousands of people rushed to flee the campus.

In a video post, U.S. President Donald Trump said he's 'filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk'.

'This is a dark moment for America. My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity, and to other political violence, including the organisations that fund it and support it,' he said.

People run after shots were fired during an appearance by Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025 in Orem, Utah

Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Frantzve, with whom he had a three-year-old daughter and a son, 16 months (pictured: Kirk and his family)

President Trump (left) led tributes to Kirk (right) after he was fatally shot in the neck Wednesday

The shooting is the latest in a string of incidents of political violence in America.

In the run-up to the election, Trump faced two assassination attempts in July and September 2024.

In December, Brian Thompson, a healthcare CEO, was gunned down in New York. In April, the home of Democrat Josh Shapiro, the 48th governor of Pennsylvania, was burned in an arson attack. In June, a gunman dressed as a police officer killed a Democratic state lawmaker, Melissa Hortman, and her husband Mark - and injured another state lawmaker and his wife.

Sophie Anderson, 45, who was standing 100 feet from the stage when the shooting of Kirk happened, told the Daily Mail that she almost got trampled as she ran off into the food court where she hit in a closet.

The second it happened, I knew it was a gunshot, said Anderson, who was joined at the event by her boss Phil Lyman, a former Utah state representative who was handing out hats on stage with Kirk just five minutes earlier.

He was shot in the neck and just fell over and he was just a fountain of blood, she said. They carried him off. All these kids are just falling apart and bawling.'

Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Frantzve, with whom he had a three-year-old daughter and a son, 16 months.

The investigation into locating the killer is ongoing, and police said late on Wednesday that officers were seeking clues at 'multiple active crime scenes'.
With millions of social media followers, Mike Holston - known online as 'Real Tarzan'- built a brand on risky encounters with snakes, alligators and crocodiles.

But some of the American daredevil's latest videos, filmed in Australia, have sparked furious backlash and calls for his deportation, with critics branding him 'unfathomably stupid'.

In the past four days, Holston, 31, has uploaded clips showing himself catching freshwater and saltwater crocodiles in Queensland.

In one video he leaps out of a boat and chases a freshwater crocodile through ankle-deep water before diving on it. In another he wrestles a young saltwater crocodile on a river bank.

One of the animals managed to bite Holston during the struggle, with the adventurer admitting the reptile 'got a good piece of my arm' as blood gushed from a wound on his elbow.

Both crocodiles were later released. The videos were tagged as being filmed at Lockhart River on the Cape York Peninsula.

Wildlife officers and animal welfare groups say Holston's stunts not only risked his own life but also endangered the crocodiles, breaching strict rules about disturbing protected species.

In the past four days, Mike Holston has sparked backlash after he uploaded clips showing himself catching freshwater and saltwater crocodiles in Queensland

In one video he wrestles a young saltwater crocodile on a river bank

In another video he leaps out of a boat and chases a freshwater crocodile through ankle-deep water before diving on it

Holston, known online as 'Real Tarzan', built a brand on risky encounters with snakes, alligators and crocodiles Pictured: Holston with a snake in a previous Instagram post

Calls for Holston's deportation were echoed by other animal rights groups and activists, including Bob Irwin (L), the father of the late 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin (R)

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) lambasted Holston, saying his behaviour was 'incredibly cruel' and 'unfathomably stupid'.

The NGO also called for him to be 'deported and banned from entering Australia again'.

The fallout has led to growing pressure on Australian immigration authorities to review his visa status.

Calls for Holston's deportation were echoed by other animal rights groups and activists, including Bob Irwin, the father of the late 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin.

'People visiting our country need to respect our wildlife, or they need to be booted out the door,' said the 86-year-old conservationist on Wednesday.

David Crisafulli, the Queensland premier, called the influencer a 'goose' and said those who posted this type of content would eventually 'meet their maker'.

'If you think that is a sustainable business model to go wrestling with saltwater crocodiles, I think it's probably not going to end the way that he thinks it's going to,' Crisafulli said.

He added that the State Environment Department would look into the issue but immigration concerns would be a matter for the federal government.

Holston shared the controversial footage to Instagram, where he has more than 15million followers.

Many of Holston's social media followers were impressed by the influencer for tackling an apex predator.

Holston has more than 15million followers on Instagram

One video shows him walking towards the crocodile as it basked in the sun in the shallows.

Holston wades cautiously through the water towards the crocodile but as he approaches it becomes spooked and swims away.

The influencer ran after the reptile and jumped onto its back before pulling the creature from the water.

'He got a hold of me but I got a hold of him,' Holston says in the clip.

'Ever since I was a kid I wanted to come to Australia and just look at crocodiles, catch them with my hands and see them up close. This is what dreams are made of.'

The stunt has sparked outrage from wildlife advocates and prompted an official investigation by Queensland authorities.

Cairns-based animal welfare group Community Representation of Crocodiles (CROC) condemned the video, calling the behaviour both harmful and illegal.

'We've had many people reach out about this video. It has been reported to the Queensland Government many times,' CROC posted on social media.

'This behaviour is distressing for the animal and illegal under the Nature Conservation Act.

'When it's promoted on large social media platforms, without permits or authority to handle wildlife, it sets a dangerous precedent.

'Unfortunately, the penalty is minimal considering the monetisation these accounts make.'

PETA Australia called for Holston to be deported, branding his actions 'cruel' and 'stupid'

Under Queensland law, interfering with crocodiles is a serious offence. Deliberately feeding, disturbing, or handling crocodiles without authorisation can result in fines of up to $26,615.

Australians were outraged by the influencer's behaviour, with many claiming he needed to leave the crocodile alone.

'That's so cruel, that poor animal is in so much distress. I hope he gets deported,' one person wrote.

'Absolutely WRONG, Don't come into our country and roughly handle and cause harm to our protected crocs just for media fame and likes. Get him out,' a second person wrote.

'Disturbing animals in their natural habitat just to look cool online', a third person chimed.

Meanwhile, many of Holston's social media followers were impressed by the influencer for tackling an apex predator.

A spokesperson for the Department of Environment confirmed on Friday to the Courier Mail that an investigation into the incident is underway.

'It is a significant offence to interfere with freshwater crocodiles in Queensland, not to mention extremely dangerous,' the spokesperson said.

Holston's social media frequently shows him getting up close with dangerous and large wild animals, including a Sumatran saltwater crocodile, a Wedge-tailed Eagle and giant snakes.

Daily Mail contacted Mike Holston for comment.
Rachel Reeves admitted the UK economy 'feels stuck' today as she vowed to ease business rates pain for small firms.

The Chancellor insisted getting growth going is her 'number one mission' and promised 'tax reforms' as she announced the overhaul.

The Treasury is looking at changes to the current system of tax on business properties as part of efforts to cut red tape.

It will focus on getting rid of 'cliff edges' that can discourage expansion and investment - potentially benefiting some of the firms hit hardest by Labour's huge national insurance raid.

Ms Reeves is scrambling for ways of reviving UK plc with a critical Budget looming on November 26. There are fears of more tax hikes as she faces a black hole in the finances that could be as big as 50billion.

Under existing rules, when a company opens a second property it loses access to all small business rates relief unless it meets specific criteria.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves insisted getting growth going is her 'number one mission' and promised 'tax reforms' as she announced the overhaul

The Treasury is looking at changes to the current system of tax on business properties as part of efforts to cut red tape

It comes as part of the Government's commitment to review business rates more widely amid mounting calls from firms and business groups for wholesale reform of the system.

It is understood bosses of major high street firms, such as John Lewis, met with Ms Reeves last week and encouraged a shake-up of current business rates rules.

Firms saw business rates bills increase earlier this year after an original 75 per cent discount on rates payments for hospitality, retail and leisure firms was reduced to 40 per cent in April.

The Government said it will also consider other ways to improve business rates following the merger of the Valuation Office Agency with HMRC.

It said it is considering changing the way the tax is calculated to further minimise cliff edges and enhancing improvement relief given to businesses who invest in properties.

Ms Reeves said: 'Our economy isn't broken, but it does feel stuck. That's why growth is our number one mission.

'Tax reforms such as tackling cliff edges in business rates and making reliefs fairer are vital to driving growth.

'We want to help small businesses expand to new premises and building an economy that works for, and rewards, working people.'

Kate Nicholls, chairwoman of UKHospitality, said: 'For too long, the broken business rates system has unfairly punished hospitality businesses and I'm pleased that the Government is taking action to reform it.

'These measures to remove punitive cliff edges and barriers to investment are positive and will help to rebalance the system, as will the Government's commitment to lower business rates bills for hospitality businesses.'

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British Retail Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson said the business rates system is 'outdated, overly complex and economically damaging', and she welcomed Government ideas for reform.

She said: 'But for retail businesses, the most pressing question is how the Government's plan for a permanent business rates reduction for retail, hospitality and leisure premises will be implemented.

'Currently, retailers account for 5 per cent of the economy yet pay over 20 per cent of the total business rates bill, which is why such reforms are desperately needed.

'Until we get clarity on these changes, which isn't expected until the Budget, many local investments in jobs and stores are being held back.'
This is the moment a sneaky teenage thief, 19, is caught on CCTV stealing 5,000 worth of high-end skincare products within just a few months in London.

Alice Constantin pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates Court to seven counts of theft and will be sentenced on September 25.

Click the video player above to watch in full.
NATO's eastern flank is preparing for Russian war games on its border - with Europe still on high alert from an unprecedented intrusion of drones this week.

The Kremlin will hold its sabre-rattling Zapad 2025 exercises with Belarus near Poland and Lithuania from Friday until next Tuesday, September 16.

The drills come around roughly every four years. The last, in 2021, led to a massive buildup of forces in Belarus that were used to attack Ukraine several months later.

A former NATO official warned this year's drills 'could serve as a cover' for a military build-up, with tens of thousands of troops expected to attend.

Germany's chief of defence Carsten Breuer said that NATO would 'be on our guard' around the drills as NATO chief Mark Rutte said Russia was rapidly rearming.

Rutte warned that coordinated attacks from Russia in Europe and China in Asia could trigger World War Three, Putin distracting NATO with an assault in Europe.

Zapad - meaning 'West' - is formally a defensive drill. Troops are expected to prepare repelling an attack, including airstrikes and sabotage, per official reports.

But Russia is expected to bring potentially tens of thousands of troops to rehearse, among other things, using its new nuclear-capable missile on Europe's frontier.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk closed the border with Belarus over the 'very aggressive' nuclear drills. Some will take place just a few miles from NATO borders.

Poland is still scrambling to respond to an incursion of 19 Russian drones that crossed over into its airspace overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tusk invoked Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty for the 8th time since NATO's inception on Wednesday.

It serves as a starting point for major operations and will pave the way for consultations around the perceived threat to territory, independence or security.

The U.N. Security Council will also hold an emergency meeting at Poland's request to discuss the drone incursion, the Polish Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

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Military drills between Russia and Belarus during the Zapad-2021 exercise in Russia

The Khmelyovka firing ground during amphibious assault drills for Zapad-2021, in Russia

Moscow denied responsibility for the incident, with a senior diplomat in Poland saying the drones had come from the direction of Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2022.

Russia's Defence Ministry said its drones had carried out a major attack on military facilities in western Ukraine, but it had not planned to hit any targets in Poland.

With the spectre of war looming over Europe, the Zapad drills come at a precarious time.

Zapad's organisers say that their drills will not exceed 13,000 personnel, and Belarus has said it will be inviting observers from NATO countries this year.

The actual number of troops is likely to be far higher than 13,000, analysts have already warned.

The Zapad-2021 drills, a prelude to the war in Ukraine, was expected to host 12,800 servicemen; it ended up closer to 200,000, according to Russian authorities.

Satellite images provided by Planet Labs also indicate the construction of a potential military facility in Belarus, according to military analysts.

A site near Minsk, previously used to house Soviet nuclear weapons, appeared in late August to be under redevelopment.

Experts told RFE/RL that they could be used to store 'strategic level equipment', including - perhaps - the Oreshnik missile.

'It is probably going to be nuclear-armed or it will probably be a nuclear component attached to it because they are using the facilities that were already used to house suchequipment during the Cold War,' Konrad Muzyka, director of the security analysis firm Rochan Consulting, told the outlet.

Lieutenant General (Ret.) Lance Landrum, CEPA Fellow and Former Deputy Chair of NATO's Military Committee said that this year's exercise should be compared with the events leading up to the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

'I do think it could serve as a cover. Now we have to look and see what exactly they do in this upcoming exercise, because we have a lot of historical intelligence on previous exercises, and we can compare that,' he said.

Lt. Gen. Lance Landrum (Ret) added that there would be 'a lot to be learned here'. For NATO, the drills will offer a window into Russian capabilities and strategies.

An absence of drone activity, crucial for both sides in the war in Ukraine, could indicate Russia lacks the personnel and equipment to train at scale after three-and-a-half years of war.

NATO may also glean insights about Russia's capacity for electronic interference and jamming.

Russian and Belarusian forces are expected to practice planning to use the new Russian Oreshnik nuclear-capable missile systems.

Russian warships leave a port during naval drills during the Zapad-2021 drills

Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, on Wednesday, Sept. 10

Multiple Russian drones leaving Ukrainian airspace into Poland

Russia's intermediate-range ballistic missile was used in Ukraine's Dnipro for the first time last year in what President Vladimir Putin called a 'test'.

Oreshnik is expensive and makes little sense in Ukraine, where troops are often dispersed across a wide and open front line.

But it does pose a threat to compact targets like air bases - likely first targets in a war with NATO in Europe.

NATO said it will monitor Russia's activity 'very closely', adding 'we do not see any immediate military threat against any NATO ally' but 'we remain vigilant'.

The comment was published days before a drone incursion into Polish airspace overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday pushed tensions to a recent high.

Poland's prime minister said that the country had identified '19 violations and shot down at least three drones', accusing Russia of a deliberate intrusion.

For its part, Russia denied the drones was Russian. The Kremlin said it was a matter for the defence ministry, and accused Warsaw of spreading 'myths' to escalate the war in Ukraine. It also offered to hold 'consultations' with its Polish equivalent.

Poland was resolute in its assessment. Donald Tusk said there was 'no doubt that this provocation is incomparably more dangerous ... than any previous ones'.

'This situation brings us all closer to open conflict, closer than at any time since the Second World War,' he said.

Poland subsequently invoked NATO's Article 4, under which any member can call urgent talks when it feels its 'territorial integrity, political independence or security' are at risk.

Photos show the extent of damage to a house in Poland hit by a drone on Tuesday night

Images show the devastation inside a Polish home torn apart after being struck by a Russian drone as Europe edges closer to its most dangerous moment since 1945

Polish television channel TV Republika shared this image of one of the downed drones

Poland's prime minister speaks in parliament about the Russian drone incursions, Sept. 10

The U.N. Security Council will also hold an emergency meeting at Poland's request to discuss the matter, Poland said.

'(We are) drawing the world's attention to this unprecedented Russian drone attack on a member of the UN, EU, and NATO,' Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told local radio.

'I have appeared before the UN (Security) Council in the past, and it seems to me that our arguments have been convincing.'

The West is also holding its own military drills this month. It says the exercises are a 'response' to Zapad.

'Poland will respond to the Zapad 2025 exercises  in an appropriate manner on the Polish side,' Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk told broadcaster RMF in April.

Iron-Defender-25 will see some 30,000 troops from Poland and NATO allied countries take part in exercises by land, air and sea in the Baltic region.

The drills 'will jointly test their ability to deter and effectively defend the territory of Poland', a press release from the Polish government says.

Poland's Armed Forces General Command said the drills began on September 1, a day after the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization drills began in Belarus.
Poland's deputy prime minister has called for NATO to build an 'anti-drone wall' on its border with Russia, just days after Vladimir Putin send dozens of drones into Poland's airspace.

Poland's military was forced to shoot down drones in its airspace with the backing of military aircraft from NATO allies, the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia's war in Ukraine.

Drones crashed into several civilian homes as well as a military base for Polands Territorial Defence Forces.

The episode has deeply worried Poland, which activated Article 4 of the NATO Treaty, calling on all its allies to discuss what to do about Russia.

Radosaw Sikorski, the country's deputy prime minister and foreign minister, told Radio 4 this morning that his nation needs an 'anti-drone wall' to protect itself against Russia.

He said: 'We have equipment to deal with jets, with fighters, but what we need now is an anti-drone wall on our border.

'We've lived next to Russia for 500 years. When they threaten us, we take it seriously. We know that Russian imperialism in inherently aggressive. It's aggressive against our neighbour Ukraine, but they've made threats against us as well.'

The comments come in the context of continued European planning on the Sky Shield initiative, dubbed 'Europe's Iron Dome', which has seen several European nations plan an air defence system that would include anti-ballistic capabilities with an aim of defending the continent from air attacks.

Sikorski said Poland's NATO allies ought to foot at least some of the bill for increased defences on its border with Russia.

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Sikorsky said: 'We need more anti-aircraft asset like Patriot missiles (pictured) and we need more means to get rid of drones'

Firefighters work on the destroyed roof of a house, after Russian drones violated Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine, with some being shot down by Poland with the backing from its NATO allies, in Wyryki, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland, September 10, 2025

He said: 'We need more anti-aircraft asset like Patriot missiles and we need more means to get rid of drones - acoustic systems to detect them, and cheaper more effective ways to shoot them down.

'This is the border of NATO - these drones have huge ranges, they've been breaching airspace, not just Poland but Romania and Lithuania. So it's a common threat to which we should have a common answer.'

He also condemned Europe for not investing in long-term defence manufacturing: 'Europe has consumed the peace dividend for far too long, and not only disarmed itself but de-industrialised itself in the defence area. This has to be reversed.

'Allies are now examining their inventories to see what can be moved to Poland, at least temporarily, to deal with the present danger. We also need to stand up our production facilities.'

Kurt Volker, a former ambassador who was George Bush's last representative with NATO, told Radio 4 that NATO ought to set up an 'air defence zone' around its territories, in light of recent Russian aggression.

He said: 'I think the best way to handle that is to declare an extended air defence zone around NATO territory, so that anything coming within 200km, we would say 'NATO would be prepared to work to take it out. We will not allow these things to come to NATO'.'

He said that while NATO was perfectly capable of defending itself against Russia, it need to take decisive action.

Volker said: 'I'm not too worried about [NATO's ability to defend itself], to be honest. You can have a large number of drones, and you can fly into airspace, but the principle is that once you start to see this happen, you start to organise and prepare for it.

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Up to four of the 19 Russian drones were shot down by Polish and NATO aircraft - the first time Kremlin drones have been downed while flying above a NATO territory

Parts of discovered drone are seen in the village of Mniszkow in central Poland

A severely damaged house in the village of Wyryki in eastern Poland, where one of the Russian drones that breached Polish airspace collided with the building

'I think Poland was not expecting that to happen - When it did, they reacted quickly, but knowing now that this is a possibility, NATO has the ability to increase its capabilities in a number of different ways.'

This morning, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk pledged to push ahead with a 'great modernisation program' for his country's military.

European officials described Wednesday's incursion, which occurred during a wave of unrelenting Russian strikes on Ukraine, as a deliberate provocation. It deepened longstanding fears that the three-year war between Poland's neighbours could precipitate a wider conflict. US-led efforts to steer Moscow and Kyiv toward a peace settlement have so far failed to get traction.

The Polish Air Navigation Agency announced Thursday morning that Poland was introducing air traffic restrictions in the eastern part of the country. It said the step was taken at the request of the Polish army for national security reasons but did not elaborate.

Poland said some of the drones that entered its airspace Wednesday came from Belarus, where Russian and local troops have begun gathering for war games scheduled to start Friday. Poland is closing its border with Belarus at midnight Thursday, a planned move also associated with the military exercises.

Tusk addressed Polish troops at an air base in the central city of Lask, praising their quick action and that of NATO allied forces from the Netherlands that responded to the multiple Russian drone incursions.

Poland expects to receive its first F-35 fighter jets from the United States next year, he said. It will be the first delivery of some of the 32 aircraft expected by 2030 as part of a support package finalized five years ago, Tusk said.

The jets are aimed at significantly strengthening Polish security and its NATO defense capabilities against regional threats.

'We will do everything to ensure that our allied obligations, which are so important from our point of view today, are fulfilled by our allies,' Tusk said

Photos show the extent of damage to a house in Poland hit by a drone on Tuesday night

Images show the devastation inside a Polish home torn apart after being struck by a Russian drone as Europe edges closer to its most dangerous moment since 1945

'We hope that the Americans will meet the deadlines. We would like the first batch of the F-35s to reach you in May, and so that we can speak of our air power with increasing confidence from month to month, and from year to year. And that Poland is truly safe from the sky.'

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday offered an ambiguous initial response to Russia's drone incursion. 'What's with Russia violating Poland's airspace with drones? Here we go!' Trump posted on social media.

Trump told Polish President Karol Nawrocki in the White House last week that the US will maintain a robust military presence.

Several European leaders said they believed the incursion amounted to an intentional expansion of Russia's assault against Ukraine.

'Russia's war is escalating, not ending,' European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday. 'What (Russian President Vladimir) Putin wants to do is to test us. What happened in Poland is a game changer,' she said, adding that it should result in stronger sanctions.

Polish airspace has been violated many times since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but never on this scale in Poland or anywhere else in NATO territory.
Labour MPs' use of AI-powered ChatGPT to write their speeches has turned the House of Commons into an 'absurd' place, a senior Tory has warned.

Tom Tugendhat, the former security minister, hit out at 'ChatGPT-generated press releases' being read out from the Labour benches during a debate this week.

He said that Labour MPs were clearly using the chatbot because their contributions in the Commons chamber included phrases such as 'I rise to speak'.

The Tonbridge MP added this was 'an Americanism that we do not use'.

A search of Hansard, the official record of parliamentary debates, reveals a spike in the use of the phrase 'I rise to speak' by MPs and peers over the past year.

There have also been a number of recent revelations about the use of AI by MPs in fulfilling their parliamentary duties.

In a debate on Labour's plans to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, Mr Tugendhat said: 'All we hear from Government members is ChatGPT-generated press releases.

''I rise to speak', 'I rise to speak', 'I rise to speak'. ChatGPT knows you are there.'

Labour MPs' use of AI-powered ChatGPT to write their speeches has turned the House of Commons into an 'absurd' place, a senior Tory has warned

Tom Tugendhat, the former security minister, hit out at 'ChatGPT-generated press releases' being read out from the Labour benches during a debate this week

Mike Reader (left) was spotted on a train using ChatGPT to reply to constituents. His fellow Labour MP Mark Sewards (right) is the first UK politician to create an AI version of themselves

Mr Tugendhat added: 'That is an Americanism that we do not use. Still, they should keep using it, because it makes it clear that this place has become absurd.'

Last month, Mike Reader, the Labour MP for Northampton South, was revealed to have been spotted on a train using ChatGPT on his laptop to reply to constituents.

In defending his use of the software, he said it was his 'strong view' that MPs should use ChatGPT or other generative AI tools to help draft constituent correspondence.

This is provided 'safeguards are in place and a human always has the final say on what goes out the door', he added.

'In my previous career, I was fortunate enough to be part of a team rolling out AI tools, particularly in editorial writing. That experience has been invaluable in my role now.'

Mr Reader said he uses a 'closed system that ensures no data is fed back into the large language model behind ChatGPT'.

He added that 'a human always checks, edits, and personalises the response to ensure it truly answers the question, rather than offering generic waffle'.

The Pimlico Journal, an online magazine, found eight words or phrases associated with AI-generated text that have all seen recent spikes in popularity in parliamentary contributions

It came after his fellow Labour MP Mark Sewards became the first UK politician to create an AI version of themselves to interact with constituents.

The Leeds South West and Morley MP worked with an AI firm to create a virtual representation of himself using his voice and allowing people to ask for help with local issues or policy queries.

Mr Sewards said it will 'help strengthen the connection between an MP's office and the constituents we serve'.

The Pimlico Journal, an online magazine, recently published an article suggesting there was 'widespread use of AI to generate Commons speeches'.

The publication found eight words or phrases associated with AI-generated text that have all seen recent spikes in popularity in parliamentary contributions.

Sweden's prime minister, Ulf Kirstersson, came under fire last month after admitting that he regularly consults AI tools for a second opinion.
Police have arrested a man in his 20s after Labour MP Sharon Hodgson's constituency office was devastated by a fire overnight.

Northumbria Police said the suspect is in police custody after the Washington and Gateshead South MP's office in Concord, Washington, was allegedly set ablaze and daubed with graffiti.

Shocking aerial images shows the extent of the damage caused to Ms Hodgson's office, with its roof almost entirely destroyed.

The words, '328 days blood on your hands', were scrawled on the walls of the building in spray paint.

A Northumbria Police spokesman said: 'Emergency services attended and no-one is reported to have been injured in the incident.

'A man in his 20s has subsequently been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and arson.

'He remains in police custody at this time.'

Ms Hodgson is vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel and has been vocal about anti-Semitism.

A spokesperson for Ms Hodgson said: 'An incident occurred overnight at Sharon's office.

'We will not be commenting or speculating while there is an ongoing police investigation, what we are clear on is there is no place for this kind of violence in our society.

'Sharon will not be deterred and will continue to support her constituents in Washington and Gateshead South as she does day in, day out.

'Constituents should get in touch with their issues by emailing in the usual way.'

Police are investigating an 'incident' at Labour MP Sharon Hodgson's constituency office after it was seen ablaze and daubed in graffiti

Aerial photographs show the extent of the damage at Ms Hodgson's office

The words '328 days blood on your hands' were scrawled on the walls of the building

Fellow Labour MP Ian Lavery, who represents Blyth and Ashington, posted a picture of Ms Hodgson's office in flames.

He wrote on Facebook: 'This is what happens when a climate of intolerance collides with lies, misinformation, and smears.

'Over the past week, Ive heard of colleagues facing horrific threats, being abused in public, and now, most shockingly, an office that had its windows smashed twice in a week has been hit by a suspected arson attack.

'Sharon Hodgson is one of the kindest, most compassionate people you could ever meet.

'She has served her community with dedication and care for nearly two decades. This attack is not just criminal, it is an outrageous assault on our democracy.'

Mr Lavery added: 'If this continues unchecked, someone is going to be killed.'

The office was damaged overnight and daubed with graffiti in a suspected arson attack

There is a significant police and fire brigade presence at the site as investigations take place

Ms Hodgson is MP for Washington and Gateshead South

Downing Street has also condemned the attack on Ms Hodgson's office, saying politicians should be able to go about their work 'freely and with confidence.'

On social media, City of Durham Labour MP Mary Kelly Foy wrote: 'After the shocking murder of a political influencer mere hours ago in the US, MPs in the UK woke to scenes of one of our colleagues' offices being targeted.

'No matter which part of the political spectrum you fall into - this is intimidation by thugs and they must face the full force of the law.

'Serious thought needs to be given to how this impacts staff in constituency offices, like Sharon's, who frankly work their a***s off every day to support local people.

'Anyone supporting this type of violence toward MPs and their teams needs to take a long hard look in the mirror.

John Foster is a member of Eagle Archery, which uses the one of the building's adjoining Mrs Hodgson's office.

He said: 'I arrived this morning to attend a practice session to find the entrance blocked off by police cars and tape.

'The building looks a bit of a mess. If this has been done deliberately then it's shocking behaviour but people think they can get away with it.'

One local resident said: 'There are surely more democratic ways to protest about things.

'Other businesses look like they have also been affected. It's difficult enough for local businesses at the moment without this.'
A Holland and Barrett shop worker staged an 8,000 store raid with her boyfriend before trying to claim compensation for the ordeal.

Patricia Marlborough, 28, said she was terrorised by a knife-wielding man while she was working alone at the branch in Congleton, Cheshire.

She claimed she was forced to open the safe and that the attacker tied her hands with cable ties before fleeing with almost 8,000 in cash on August 16 2021.

Police launched an investigation, and while this was taking place, Marlborough submitted a claim for compensation to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.

But the plot began to unravel after officers were tipped off almost a year later in July 2022 that Marlborough's boyfriend, Kristian Bramah, was behind the robbery and that the two had plotted the raid.

Analysis of the DNA on the cable ties then came back with a partial match to Bramah, while ANPR and mobile phone analysis showed the 29-year-old was in the area around the time of the raid, and that the two were contacting each other before and after it.

Both were arrested and continued to deny staging the incident, but later pleaded guilty to a series of offences at Chester Crown Court.

Patricia Marlborough, 28, pictured, said she was terrorised by a knife-wielding man during the raid

She claimed she was forced to open the safe and that the attacker tied her hands with cable ties before fleeing with almost 8,000 in cash

The raid took place on August 16 2021 at the Holland and Barrett store in Congleton, Cheshire (pictured)

Marlborough, of Hyde, Cheshire, admitted to conspiracy to steal, committing a series of acts with intent to pervert the court of justice and fraud by false representation.

She was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work and 25 rehabilitation days.

Bramah, of Salford, admitted to conspiracy to steal and possession of a knife in a public place. He received 16 months in prison, suspended for two years, along with 25 rehabilitation days.

Detective Constable Sarah Sayer, of Macclesfield Local Policing Unit, said: 'Marlborough and Bramah carefully planned the robbery with the intent of making as much money as possible.

'Not only did they steal almost 8,000 from the store, but Marlborough even had the audacity to claim compensation following the incident.

'Thankfully, we were able to uncover their web of lies before she was unable to gain any further cash.

'However, their selfish actions resulted in the loss of a significant amount of valuable police time and resources, which could have been better spent looking after real victims.'
A young Australian has revealed that he rakes in about $300,000-a-year working as a 'quant trader' in the financial sector.

The man, who is not named, told jobs app Getahead in Brisbane, he earns between $10,000 and $25,000-a-month working as a quantitative trader - which means he uses mathematical models and computer algorithms to carry out financial market trading strategies.

The interviewer was shocked by his earnings and said 'heck yeah' before asking what his profession actually meant.

'You trade different assets, commodities, (cryptocurrency), stocks (and) ETFs (exchange-traded fund),' the young man said in a video published on social media on Tuesday.

Asked how he entered the industry, he said: 'I was willfully obsessed with making more money than my parents combined.'

He was then asked whether the profession was self-taught, which the trader failed to answer but said people can teach themselves.

'I would recommend to people looking to break into the space (that they) network with people who have already done it because it's a bit of a black box industry,' he said.

A financial professional (pictured) admitted that he is driven to earn thousands of dollars in order to surpass his parents' combined earnings

The trader also added that 'maths and statistics' are the biggest challenge for people in the role.

'I think the biggest limiting belief that people have is that. I hear a lot, "I'm not a numbers person," or, "Oh, that seems way beyond me",' he said.

The young man said he currently works for himself but has had interviews for several firms.

The interview has been viewed by over 23,000 people on TikTok but some social media users were quick to downplay the young man's achievements.

'10k a month. So not that much,' one person said, to which one commenter added that the pay is 'insulting' for a quant professional.

An Instagram user said: 'Translates to lives at home with mum and dad.'

But some jumped to his defence with one person saying: 'Small poppy syndrome in this comment section, always hating other peoples success.'
A former GP has appeared in court charged with attempting to murder a pensioner and poisoning a second alleged victim.

Married father-of-one Thomas Kwan, 54, appeared briefly at Newcastle Magistrates Court this morning via videolink and did not enter pleas to the offences.

He is accused of attempting to murder Patrick OHara, 73, in Newcastle between September 2022 and January 2024.

He is also accused of causing a man named Torquil Gundlack, who is in his 50s, to be exposed to the poison thallium, with intent to injure, between the same dates.

Appearing from custody, Kwan spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth.

District Judge Paul Currer said the allegations were so serious they could only be dealt with at the Crown Court.

Kwan was born in Hong Kong but moved to the UK as a teenager, going on to study medicine in Newcastle.

He was remanded in custody and will next appear at Newcastle Crown Court on October 9.
A mother accused of killing her three-month-old daughter called Great Ormond Street a hospital of white supremacy and threatened to live stream police on TikTok when they tried to arrest her, a court heard.

Kaylani Kalanzi died from being violently shaken when she was caught in the middle of her parents' mutually abusive relationship, the Old Bailey has heard.

Her parents called 999 and she was taken to hospital on July 8 last year. She was transferred to Great Ormond Street where she died on July 23, 2024.

Her father, Ugandan national Herbert Kalanzi, 35, and her mother, Nazil Merthoca, 24, are accused of murdering their daughter.

The abusive relationship was out of control and Merthoca was using drugs leading to Kaylani being put on a child protection plan before her death, the Old Bailey heard.

Merthoca was aggressive and obstructive to paramedics who were trying to help her daughter and later asked if she was being blamed because of her race and gender, jurors were told.

She also hung up on the emergency operator who was trying to give instructions to save the babys life.

Merthoca later said hospital staff were discriminating against her and called Great Ormond Street a hospital of white supremacy.

Kalzani was transferred to Great Ormond Street where she died on July 23, 2024

Kaylani suffered violent shaking and an impact to her head while under the care of her parents at Merthocas grandmothers flat in Homerton on the evening of July 8.

The couple both deny murder as well as an alternative charge of causing or allowing the death of a child.

Jurors were told that on July 9, 2024, police attempted to call Merthoca after hospital staff had raised concerns.

She told them why the f*** are you calling me, who gave you my number? I am not at home smash the door in if you want.

Police then went to Merthocas grandmothers flat and arrested the couple who were in their car outside.

When police went to the car door Merthoca, who could be seen in the car with long false nails, told them: Youre not gonna grab me, Im gonna put it on TikTok live.

She said she had been on her way to the hospital.

When told they were being arrested for attempted murder, Kalanzi remained calm, allowed police to cuff him and answered questions but Merthoca refused to get out of the car.

She told police: Why do I need to be in a cell I havent done anything.. Im going to go to jail for attempted murder I didnt do.

I called the ambulance because she wasnt breathing, no one attempted to kill her.

The child was taken to Homerton Hospital after being violently shaken when she was caught in the middle of her parents' mutually abusive relationship

If anyone else called the ambulance and said something about their children they wouldnt be arrested. I pay my taxes to use your services.

I called the ambulance, I didnt do anything, I did CPR. Youre ruining everything.

I dont know how you can arrest me like this, I havent done anything, I dont feel like I should be locked up in a room. Youve made this decision on propaganda not facts.

I havent attempted to murder my child, I swear on the holy Quran I havent. Why would you say that?

She refused to get out of the car saying the officers were going to throw her on the floor.

Merthoca eventually got out and was taken to the police station where she was interviewed at 5am the next morning.

She told the interviewing officer she had been wrongly accused.

The mother said she called the ambulance because Kaylani would not stop crying and was restless.

I realised shed scratched herself in the eye she had sharp nails, she scratched her eye like this as well two weeks ago. She wears mittens but a couple of fingers were out.

I realised my child was starting to become unconscious and unwell. I went on YouTube and did CPR.

At the Old Bailey (pictured in this file image) jurors heard how Kaylani was on a child protection plan after social services concerns over the pair's alleged tumultuous relationship

She said she then called the ambulance.

The mother said she was shocked when hospital staff found a bleed on the brain.

It hurts me a lot as a mother for someone could think I could do that to my child.

When asked if she was lying to protect her partner she said: No Im not protecting Herbert, Im not lying for Herbert. I dont think Herbert would ever hurt my child.

She said premature babies might have brain injuries for reasons other than an injury to the head.

Merthoca accused the interviewing officer of shouting at her and then accused him of being a woman beater.

She said: This is a man using his sex against me, using his manly voice against me, he wants to intimidate me as the woman beater he probably is.

Merthoca added: Whats your problem, do you want to eat me alive, do I look that nice?

Im not guilty of doing anything to my child, why do you want me to be guilty so bad?

I believe in God, Im not an antichrist, I dont believe in LGBT and I dont believe your lies.

The couple, of East Ham, both deny murder and causing or allowing the death of a child.

The trial continues.
A US bakery chain is closing all of its branches in the UK despite customer praise for its 'gorgeous' products.

Cinnabon has announced it will be shutting the doors at all 12 of its branches across the country just five years after launching.

The chain, which sells giant cinnamon buns drenched in toppings such as cream cheese frosting and Biscoff, first opened in 2020 and had planned to open 150 stores across the country in five years.

However, the 20 branches they did manage to open across London, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham, Chester and Derby dwindled down to 12.

Earlier this week, customers realised several of them had mysteriously shut down without warning and the company's website had also been taken offline.

EG On the Move, who partnered with Cinnabon to bring the chain to the UK, has revealed they are closing all remaining sites.

A spokesperson for EG On the Move said: 'EG On The Move has made the strategic decision to close all Cinnabon locations operated in the UK.

A US bakery chain is closing all of its branches in the UK despite customer praise for its 'gorgeous' products

Cinnabon has announced it will be shutting the doors at all 12 of its branches across the country just five years after launching

The chain, which sells giant cinnamon buns drenched in toppings such as cream cheese frosting and Biscoff, first opened in 2020 and had planned to open 150 stores across the country in five years

'This was not a decision taken lightly, but it reflects the strategic shift to focus on our core convenience retail business.

'This decision aligns with our wider business strategy to focus on areas where we can deliver the greatest value to our customers.

'We extend our sincere thanks to our team members for their dedication, to the Cinnabon brand team for their ongoing partnership, and to our customers for their loyalty and support.

'EG On The Move remains committed to providing exceptional food and retail experiences across our 150-site network, and we will continue to invest in evolving our offerings to meet changing customer needs.'

Fans who fell in love with Cinnabon's 'gorgeous' buns have already taken to social media to express their devastation.

One wrote: 'They've shut all the Cinnabon stores I'm about to riot.'

Another said: 'Today, I learnt that Cinnabon has pulled out of the UK completely, and I'm devastated. This is worse than a breakup.'

'CINNABON UK CLOSED NOOOO,' a third posted.
The assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University has not only shocked the nation but also sparked a wildfire of conspiracy theories online.

The 31-year-old conservative activist and media personality was shot in the neck while speaking at an outdoor event on Wednesday, just after beginning a Q&A session in front of thousands of students and supporters.

Security rushed him from the stage, and he was transported to Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem, where he was later pronounced dead.

Within hours of the shooting, videos, photos, and eyewitness accounts began circulating on social media, with users rushing to dissect every frame for clues.

Some of the most extreme posts suggest everything from suspicious private jets to hand signals and even claims that the gunshot was actually an explosion.

Conspiracy theorists have seized on brief clips and images, spinning intricate narratives despite investigators' warning that no verified evidence supports these claims.

Law enforcement agencies have also urged the public to rely on official updates rather than online posts.

However, it has not stopped a flurry of online debate, as communities scramble to make sense of a shocking attack.

Plane theory

The 31-year-old conservative activist and media personality was shot in the neck while speaking at an outdoor event on Wednesday

A user took to X to suggest that a plane that allegedly 'dropped off' the radar may have been involved in the attack

One widely shared post emerged on social media shortly after Kirk was shot, suggesting that the perpetrator may have escaped on a private plane.

A user wrote on X: 'Suspiciously 30 mins into the flight it drops off of ADS-B illegally and reappears headed back to Provo approx. an hour later.

'Why did this plane turn off its radar? Where is the shooter?'

The tweet, which has been liked and shared thousands of times, has fuelled speculation among online communities that the flight could somehow be connected to the attack.

While many people debunked the theory, others went as far as tagging the FBI to look into the claim.

Replying to the post, a user said there was a simple explanation as to why the plane may have slipped off the radar.

They said: 'I may not have been a sniper, but I was a radar technician in the Air Force, and I have extensive experience with the airspace around Utah... Just because that plane dropped off of radar, it doesn't necessarily mean anything.

'There are quite a few mountain ranges in western and southern Utah that block the radar.

'A plane dropping off the ADS-B is not at all uncommon... looking at the flight path, it appears to me it descended for a landing in Page, Arizona (many Utahns vacation in Lake Powell, right next to Page) and then "reappeared" after having taken back off from that same airport.'

'Hand gestures'

A user on X questioned two men who were allegedly 'giving hand signals'

Another theory circulating online focuses on a brief moment captured in video just before the shot was fired.

A post on X questioned: 'and why are these two guys giving hand signals immediately before the shot? Both standing perfectly to the side of the bullet track.'

In the clip, two men can be seen standing behind Kirk. One appears to be adjusting his hat while holding a phone, while the other moves his arms and glances around.

Observers on social media have speculated that the gestures could be signals related to the shooting.

Investigators have not confirmed any connection, and neither man has been named by authorities as having any involvement in the shooting.

'Bush sniper'

Another claim gaining traction online suggests that a second person may have been involved in the attack

The poster zoomed in on what they claimed could be a person camouflaged as a plant at the top floor of the building

Another claim gaining traction online suggests that a second person may have been involved in the attack.

A social media user shared footage of the top floor of a building overlooking the tent where Kirk was speaking, insisting that a figure was concealed among the greenery.

The post on X says: 'Does this bush look suspicious to anyone? It lines up directly to where Charlie Kirks tent was and where he was shot.

'I was very hesitant to post this until I got other opinions on the matter. I spent hours going through photos and videos until I saw this.'

The poster zoomed in on what they claimed could be a person camouflaged as a plant.

The grainy photograph shows what appears to be a dark shape partially obscured by bushes or potted plants on a balcony, and some users argued this was evidence of something sinister.

'Explosion'

Another theory focuses on Charlie Kirk's shirt, claiming he was not hit by a conventional firearm

A third theory has emerged from a graphic video showing the moment Kirk was struck.

One post on X read: 'LOOK CLOSE HERE. Conspiracy theories. This doesn't look like a gunshot.

'This looks like an explosion inside his shirt.'

The poster is suggesting that the impact seen in the clip is not consistent with a bullet, but instead looks like some kind of internal explosion or device detonating under Kirk's clothing.

The gruesome video showing the moment of impact is used as evidence by the poster that the injury was caused by something other than a conventional firearm.

'Ring switch'

Some users claimed that Kirk's ring mysteriously switched fingers after he was shot

Another video showing Kirk fidgeting with what appears to be the same ring debunks the theory, some social media users say

Another source of speculation is a video circulating on X, which users claim shows a ring Kirk was wearing switching fingers after he was shot.

The theory suggests the footage of the shooting was faked, pointing to an editing error with the rings.

One user questioned: 'Why did Charlie Kirk's ring visibly move from his ring finger to his pinkie finger after bullet impact?'

Another user said: 'I watched Charlie Kirk's ring switch fingers as he was falling backwards. Explain that one.'

One commenter refuted the theory, saying the alleged switch comes as a result of the technicalities of video footage and camera settings.

Another video from a previous event shows Kirk fidgeting with what appears to be the same ring. Many users pointed to that being a logical explanation for the perceived switch.

For more on this story - follow Daily Mail podcast 'The Assassination of Charlie Kirk,' out now wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube.
Charlie Kirk's assassin may have sped away on a motorbike, dressed all in black with aviator sunglasses, a black mask and long rifle, chilling police radio recordings suggest.

In the hours after Kirk, 31, was shot dead at Utah Valley University, county law enforcement radioed all officers to be on the lookout for the dark-clad suspect.

The conservative activist was addressing a large crowd Wednesday when a single shot rang out at around 12.20pm local time. The gunman slipped away amid the chaos of screams and students fleeing campus.

Federal, state and local authorities were still searching for the unidentified shooter early Thursday and were working what they called 'multiple active crime scenes'.

But newly released recordings revealed first responders had eyes on the shooter after Kirk's killing.

Descriptions, broadcast on public safety scanner audio obtained by Daily Mail, included a man 'wearing all black, black long gun, black tactical helmet, a black mask, possibly wearing a tactical vest and jeans', and 'shoulder length hair, aviator glasses, black bag and a long gun'.

The gunman was initially spotted 'just east' of the university library, but dispatchers later revealed authorities 'have cameras that show he left campus'.

The FBI said it is working with state and local law enforcement 'to fully investigate and seek justice in the fatal shooting' and has established a digital line for the public to share tips.

The suspect 'appears to be of college age', officials said Thursday. A high-powered rifle was recovered in a wooded area where the shooter fled and sent to an FBI lab. Police are analyzing footwear impressions, a palm print and forearm imprints.

Investigators also reportedly found ammunition engraved with transgender and anti-facist remarks inside the discarded rifle, sources told The Wall Street Journal. Three unspent rounds with writing on them were also reportedly left inside the magazine.

Charlie Kirk's assassin was dressed 'all in black, long pants, black bag, aviator-style sunglasses with a long gun' as he opened fire from the roof of a Utah Valley University campus building, chilling dispatch audio reveals

Kirk, 31, (pictured with his wife Erika and their two children) was fatally shot in the neck Wednesday while speaking at his own event. He was addressing a large crowd when a single shot rang out at around 12.20pm local time

About 35 minutes after Kirk's murder, an officer radioed asking to track down a motorcyclist they thought could be a suspect.

'Let's try and get that motorcycle to stop, it might be a suspect in that shooting,' the officer said. 'It is possibly a suspect from the shooting, if we can try and get that vehicle stopped.'

Law enforcement even launched a plane to scour the roads for the biker.

'Plane is up and searching in the area for that motorcycle as well. Just keep an eye on the area and see If you can find anything out of place,' a senior officer radioed around 12:54pm.

Dispatchers announced they had 'a picture of a possible suspect' and another officer said the description of the shooter was from the University's CCTV footage.

It is believed that the unidentified fired off the roof of the Losee Center, where a shadowy figure was seen running just moments after the gunfire erupted.

The center is 200 yards away from where Kirk was debating with college students and locals about political issues. He had just answered a question about gun violence when he was shot.

Two people initially detained for questioning were released after authorities determined they had no connection to the shooting.

One was charged with obstruction of justice for interfering with campus police.

Law enforcement officials searched the Utah Valley University campus for the shooter Wednesday, but he still remains at large

It wasn't until about 12:56pm that an officer radioed he had searched and cleared the second floor of the Losee Center.

It took another five minutes to reach the roof, according to county dispatcher radio recordings.

Two videos caught glimpses of what appeared to be an individual on the roof, one just minutes before the shooting and one filmed right as the shot rang out across the courtyard.

By 1:30pm police had deployed a drone from the southwest corner of the campus and were scouring for signs of the man, but to no avail.

UVU Police Chief later admitted in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon that they initially only had six officers alongside Kirk's private security detail to handle the 3,000-strong crowd that day

However, officers from other local departments sped over as soon as the call went out  including SWAT snipers from the Metro division.

Another false lead came when Utah Valley staff called 'advising they possibly have the shooter at the hospital', around 3.15pm on police radio.

Hospital security were alerted, and a breathless-sounding officer said they were 'arriving now'. But two minutes later they radioed in despondently that the patient was 'not a match by any means'.

Law enforcement work the active shooting scene at UVU in Orem on Wednesday afternoon

The FBI says it is working with state and local law enforcement 'to fully investigate and seek justice in the fatal shooting' and has established a digital line for the public to share tips

The chaos erupted about 20 minutes into Kirk's 'American Comeback' event, in which the MAGA star  wearing a white T-shirt - was seen sitting inside a tented gazebo taking questions from attendees.

He seemed to be having the time of his life ahead of the fatal shooting, as he handed out hats and spoke to the 3,000-person crowd.

'WE. ARE. SO. BACK,' Kirk wrote on social media just moments before the shooting.

'Utah Valley University is FIRED UP and READY for the first stop back on the American Comeback Tour.'

But before Kirk arrived on campus, an online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures.

The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its 'commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue'.

University police have since said they had six officers patrolling the scene and were working in conjunction with Kirk's personal security team.

Kirk is seen moments before the fatal shooting tossing out hats to the crowd who had gathered to hear him speak

Kirk was seen sitting in a gazebo on campus and taking questions from the 3,000-person crowd before he was shot and killed

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

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

He had an outsized influence in US politics and powered Trump's support among young voters  a key factor in the president's return to the Oval Office last year.

Trump vowed that his administration will find everyone involved with Kirk's murder, as well as anyone else who has committed 'political violence'.

The president spoke out about the 'demonization' of political opponents from the Oval Office in a four-minute video posted to his Truth Social account.

'It's long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequences of demonizing those with whom you disagree, day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible,' he said.

President Donald Trump (pictured with Kirk in December last year) published a grave, four-minute statement on Kirk's death from the Oval Office to his Truth Social account

'For years, those on the radical Left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today and it must stop right now.'

Trump went on to compare Kirk's murder to the assassination attempt on his own life, the attacks on ICE agents, the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson allegedly by Luigi Mangione and the shooting of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.

Utah governor Spencer Cox also vowed to pursue justice, noting that the state still has the death penalty.

'To whoever did this: We will find you. We will try you and we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law,' the governor warned the shooter at a news conference Wednesday night.
Charlie Kirk's casket will be flown to Phoenix, Arizona aboard Air Force Two in an extraordinary honor for the conservative luminary, a source familiar tells the Daily Mail.

Vice President JD Vance is visiting Salt Lake City, Utah on Thursday to pay respects to Kirk's family and a number of his close friends.

The vice president did not travel to New York City to visit Ground Zero for the September 11 service, as was the his original plans to mark the anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

Instead he and Second Lady Usha Vance traveled to Utah in the wake of Kirk's murder.

Kirk was assassinated while speaking at the first stop of his America Comeback Tour on the campus of Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

Vance posted a lengthy tribute that night detailing their first meeting, which turned into a years-long friendship.

'You ran a good race, my friend,' Vance wrote on X. 'We've got it from here.'

The father-of-two, known for his combative and viral debates with college students across the country, collapsed immediately after being hit in the neck by a single bullet from about 200 yards.

Kirk was speaking for about 20 minutes and was answering a question about mass shootings just seconds before he was struck. He was rushed to hospital in a critical condition, but was declared dead two-and-half hours later.

Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance will visit Salt Lake City, Utah on Thursday to pay respects to the family of Charlie Kirk

Conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk, 31, was assassination while holding an open forum discussion on the campus of Utah Valley University on Wednesday, September 10, 2025

The vice president's friendship with Kirk spans back to 2017. In a lengthy X post, Vance said: 'Charlie was there for me.' Pictured: Vance and Kirk at the Turning Point USA Inaugural-Eve Ball at the Salamander Hotel on January 19, 2025 in Washington, D.C.

The killer is still on the loose, with the FBI and Utah police conducting a manhunt for the shooter.

Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Frantzve Kirk, with whom he had a three-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son.

The couple celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary in May.

While JD and Usha were scheduled to visit Ground Zero in New York City on Thursday to mark the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, they changed their plans following the horrific assassination.

The Vance's met with Kirk's close friends and family as they mourn the loss of their husband, father and conservative mentor.

President Donald Trump led the tributes for Kirk on Wednesday, releasing a four-minute video after confirming on Truth Social hours earlier the death of his friend.

'I am filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk,' Trump said in an address filmed in the Oval Office.

'His mission was to bring young people into the political process,' Trump said as he called for Americans to 'confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequences of demonizing those with whom you disagree.'

The president blamed Kirk's death on Democrats calling him a 'Nazi' and said the rhetoric has led to 'terrorism.'

The Turning Point USA founder and CEO hosted Vance on several occasions at his conferences and events. Pictured: Vance speaks at a town hall hosted by Kirk's Turning Point Action PAC on October 31, 2024

Kirk was speaking for about 20 minutes and answering a question about mass shootings on September 10, 2025, just seconds before a single bullet struck his neck in front of a crowd of college students

On Wednesday night, Vance, 41, recalled how Kirk reached out to him over direct message in 2017 to praise him for speaking about God on Fox News.

'[T]hat moment of kindness began a friendship that lasted until today,' the vice president declared in his tribute to Kirk.

He detailed out Kirk was one of the first people he spoke with when thinking about running for U.S. Senate in 2021 and among the first to advocate for his vice presidential nomination.

'Charlie was there for me,' Vance wrote.

'Charlie died doing what he loved: discussing ideas,' the X post goes on. 'He would go into these hostile crowds and answer their questions. If it was a friendly crowd, and a progressive asked a question to jeers from the audience, he'd encourage his fans to calm down and let everyone speak.'

'He exemplified a foundational virtue of our Republic: the willingness to speak openly and debate ideas.'
A schoolgirl who survived being stabbed by 'possessed' Axel Rudakubana in the Southport attack today asked why he wasn't stopped as she bravely described her 'nightmare' ordeal.

The girl and her younger sister were dropped off at the Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29 last year by their father for what 'felt like it was going to be a perfect day'.

But she told the public inquiry into the attack in which three girls were murdered by Axel Rudakubana how the day instead 'turned into a living nightmare'.

Alice Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were killed in the rampage.

Rudakubana, who was 17 when he launched the attack, later admitted murder and was jailed for a minimum of 52 years at Liverpool Crown Court in January.

The survivor - referred to as Child C6 to protect her anonymity - was stabbed in the back and arm as she courageously tried to shepherd younger girls out of the studio and needed emergency surgery.

Wearing a beige jumper and stopping occasionally to compose herself, she described looking into the eyes of the 'possessed' killer before she was attacked.

'At first I thought it must be some sort of joke, like this couldn't actually be happening,' she told the hearing in Liverpool.

The attack in the Merseyside town last July claimed the lives of Alice da Silva Aguiar, pictured left, Bebe King, right, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, centre

Southport Inquiry Chair Sir Adrian Fulford pictured in July. The inquiry is investigating how various agencies failed to spot the risk posed by Rudakubana

'But I saw him in his green hoodie, with the facemask on and I looked at his eyes.

'He looked possessed. He didn't look human.

'I saw him stab someone in front of me and realised that he was going to hurt us all.'

Now a teenager, Child C6 told the inquiry it felt 'like everything slowed down' as Rudakubana came towards her and all she could hear was screaming.

She said: 'I relive those screams every time I think about what happened, or every time I am reminded of it by a news report or something on social media.

'He reached me and stabbed me in my arm.

'I turned to run and he stabbed me in my back.

'I reached the door and on the landing I screamed for the girls around me to get down the stairs and remember physically pushing them to get them out of the building to get away.

Southport killer Axel Rudakubana, pictured in a court sketch, was jailed for a minimum of 52 years in January

'I just kept thinking: "Get them out, get everyone to safety!"

'When we got to the car park I remember thinking: "He's going to keep coming, he's not going to stop until he has killed us all."

'And so we kept running.'

Child C6 told the Southport Inquiry that after escaping the building she did not know where her younger sister was and that 'scared her more than anything'.

She added: 'I will never forget the fear, the panic or the way I felt wondering if we were going to survive.'

She was stabbed in her arm and back and said her injuries were so serious she needed an emergency procedure.

'I survived, but every day since has been difficult, physically and mentally,' she said.

The teenager told the inquiry: 'I still have nightmares.

Flowers and tributes were left by well-wishers in Southport in 2024, after three children were fatally stabbed at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club

'I see him coming towards me. I see him hurting others. I hear the screams. I see the blood.

'It plays like a horror film on repeat.'

She said the inquiry had to 'give us answers the criminal trial never could'.

'It must find out all of the answers,' she said.

'Why wasn't he stopped? There were multiple occasions where this could've been prevented.

'Why did the agencies involved not speak to each other?

'How many others are out there like him? This can't happen again.'

Child C6 told the inquiry she was giving the statement because she felt their voices should be heard.

She added: 'But this is something I shouldn't have to do, because this should never have happened.'

After she finished her evidence, inquiry chairman Sir Adrian Fulford said: 'Very well and bravely done.'

Child C6's sister wanted to take part in the event and, because the teenager had previously helped dance teacher Leanne Lucas, she agreed to go along to assist and take photographs.

Her little sister lost her best friend, Alice Aguiar, and also still has nightmares.

Before the attack 'my life was dancing, it was my happy place, my passion,' the teenager said, but for months she did not know if she would ever dance again.

'I thought Id lost my passion forever but Ive tried not to let him take that from me. Slowly I am learning to love dancing again.'

Her dance school now locks the doors and has had a buzzer fitted on the front door, she said.

The parents of two other sisters who survived the attack told the hearing how the younger girl now talks of living in a 'worry world'.

'Before the attack our girls were bright and joyful children who always enjoyed the summer holidays,' the mother of Child V and Child W told the inquiry.

Since the attack the children began to question the safety of everyday activities and often asked if he was 'coming back to get them'.

'They are not the girls they once were,' she said.

'We often see them drifting off into a world, with a blank expression on their faces.'

The parents thanked their family, close friends, Victim Support, Alder Hey Children's Hospital and their school.

The girls' father added: 'We feel so lucky for the amount of support they have received to help them over each hurdle.

'We will not allow him to take more from us than he already has.

'We are in awe of the strength, determination and resilience of our girls.

'They will remain at the forefront of everything we do, and we will continue to do everything in our power to ensure they continue to live a life full of love and happiness.

'We know that we can face whatever life throws our way, using our girls light as a beacon of hope.'

The hearings will examine why several agencies, including the police, the courts, the NHS and social services, who all had contact with Rudukabana, failed to identify the risk he posed.

They will also investigate whether the attack could or should have been prevented.

Sir Adrian has said it was 'truly critical' that the inquiry secured answers for the families of Rudakubana's victims and made recommendations to prevent anything similar happening in the future.

One consideration is whether courts should be allowed to impose restrictions on people suspected of planning serious violent offences, even if they have not committed any crime.

The inquiry will also look into whether measures, such as imposing curfews, electronic tags, internet bans or restrictions on social media use should be available in such circumstances.

The widespread rioting and civil unrest following the murders is not being examined by the hearings.

The inquiry, which is expected to hear from the parents of Alice, Bebe and Elsie on Monday, continues.
A married property developer carried out a sinister campaign of spying and trying to control his mistress - while his childhood sweetheart wife was pregnant with their first child.

Lewis Minnock, 37, bugged his lover's home and car, planted a hidden camera in her bedroom and attempted to hire a private investigator to follow her on holiday.

A court heard how the property developer embarked on a terrifying surveillance and harassment against the woman, leaving her 'a ghost of the person I used to be'.

Minnock, director of Yorkshire-based Sovereign Homes, was spared jail after admitting controlling and coercive behaviour.

His wife, Sarah Minnock, who he met as a teenager, has vowed to stand by him, forgiving him as a 'determined, deep-down loyal person'.

Leeds Crown Court was told how Minnock became 'paranoid' soon after starting his affair with the victim, who he met through work.

In January 2023, Minnock gave her a car phone charger that was in reality a disguised listening device.

By October, a tracker and more bugs had been discovered, but installed so badly that the vehicle was 'dangerous'.

Lewis Minnock, 37, carried out a sinister campaign of spying and trying to control his mistress - while his childhood sweetheart wife Sarah (right) was pregnant with their first child

Lewis Minnock, 37, bugged his lover's home and car, planted a hidden camera in her bedroom and attempted to hire a private investigator to follow her on holiday

Minnock, director of Yorkshire-based Sovereign Homes, was spared jail after admitting controlling and coercive behaviour

When Minnock was challenged by the woman's friend, he claimed the devices were 'needed so he could carry out a risk analysis, so he could know if she was high risk', said Jemima Stephenson-Finn for the prosecution.

Police later discovered he had also installed devices in her living room and bedroom, including a disguised speaker with a hidden camera.

Minnock accessed the bugs more than 1,000 times between March and December 2023, secretly eavesdropping on the woman's private moments.

The court also heard that when the woman went on holiday to Mexico to 'get away' from Minnock, he made inquiries to hire a private investigator to tail her.

Ms Stephenson-Finn said: 'A mutual friend said she had seen a receipt of 4,500 for the investigator. He said he asked for a refund as he couldn't afford it.'

Minnock also assaulted the woman twice, the court heard - once dragging her from her home in footage captured on her doorbell camera.

He was handed a 16-month suspended prison sentence and a five-year restraining order prohibiting him from contacting the victim.

The court was told his wife subsequently gave birth to a boy.

Wife Sarah Minnock, who he met as a teenager, has vowed to stand by her husband, forgiving him as a 'determined, deep-down loyal person'

In a statement handed to the court, Mrs Minnock described her husband as a 'determined, deep-down loyal person' whose 'behaviour was out of character'.

She added: 'I chose not to walk away because I believe in the person I knew for more than two decades.'

His victim, however, said she felt 'lucky to be alive with the obsession and anger he held'.

In a statement read to the court, the woman said: 'There isn't a day that goes by where I don't feel the weight of what he did to me.

'The world I knew and the version of me that existed has now gone.

'I don't recognise my life any more and I certainly don't recognise myself. Everything that made me feel safe has been stripped away.

'I live every single day with a deep fear that never leaves me.'

She added: 'The truth is that he was living a double life, lying to me, his wife and his family. He created a version of events to make it look like I was the problem. He is not someone who has made mistakes. He is dangerous and calculated with what he does.

Minnock's victim said she felt 'lucky to be alive with the obsession and anger he held'

'What he did wasn't love - it was obsession, control and abuse. No one should ever go through what I have been through.

'This wasn't just abuse, it was a campaign of control.'

Sallie Bennet-Jenkins, defending, said Minnock was 'characterised by shame and remorse,' adding: 'Individuals in lengthy relationships on occasion fall into love with other people.'

She said: 'He was conflicted between his love for the victim and his desire to be with her and the love and respect he had for his wife who was expecting heir child.

'As time went on he became concerned because, although she had broken up her relationship and encouraged him to leave his wife, she indicated if he was not able to do so she would seek arrangements with other men.'

Minnock, of Leeds, West Yorkshire, also owns the portfolio Robiva Properties. The court heard he had a diagnosis of ADHD.
American actor Mark Wahlberg has said he wants one of Hollywoods most famous set of brothers to play three hero Scots rowers in a new movie.

The Transformers: Age of Extinction star has been in regular contact with record-breaking Edinburgh brothers Ewan, Jamie, and Lachlan Maclean, who spent 139 death-defying days at sea to complete the fastest non-stop rowing challenge across the Pacific Ocean.

Now the 54-year-old said the trio, aged 33, 31 and 27 respectively, have similar looks to Hemsworth brothers, Chris, Liam and Luke  and believes the Hollywood icons would be ideal candidates to play the Scots rowers on the big screen.



He said: These guys are the real deal. The heroicsthe stuff thats happened to them - people getting pulled off the boat in the middle of the night and getting knocked off by waves - its like a real-life perfect storm.

If you look at these guys, either one of them could play Thor  you can definitely see the Hemsworth brothers playing this.

Its such a heroic story. I was so emotional when these guys were getting close, when they could see land behind them, and then to see them on the dock with their family, its such an emotional and inspiring story.

Chris, Liam and Luke Hemsworth

The McLean brothers on their rowing boat

Mark Wahlberg

Speaking on Australian radio talk show The Kyle and Jackie O Show. Wahlberg said he hoped to see a movie soon.

He added: This could happen as quick as a year. It really just depends. If the Hemsworth brothers were interested, we could fast track this thing, get a screen play done in three or four months.

The brothers, who arrived back on home soil this week after competing their epic 9,000-mile rowing challenge from Peru to Australia, agreed that a movie would be very sureal.

The actor first surprised the Macleans with a call 54 days into their journey when he told them they were badasses for doing something no one else would think of. It was at this point he first mentioned the idea of their quest being brought to the big screen.

He told them: This could be a movie. No way Id row an ocean, but Id play one of you guys in a movie.

Actor Ewan McGregor, 54, also called the brothers mid-Pacific, to tell them: Im really inspired by the three of you. Its incredible.

And Mr Wahlberg said what made it even better was it was all for a great cause with the trio raising more than 1million for clean water projects in Madagascar in the process.

The brothers as they arrive in Australia

Jamie Maclean, 31, described the whole experience as completely and utterly surreal.

He said: Sitting in the middle of the Pacific chatting to Mark Wahlberg was one thing, but his kindness and enthusiasm really knows no bounds.

Hes been one of our biggest supporters and after all the chats weve had with him at sea and since arriving in Australia, it feels like hes become a mate.

He added: When he suggested the Hemsworths could play us in a movie, it blew our minds.

Were just three lads from Edinburgh who enjoy rowing and would probably be far more comfortable at sea than on a red carpet. But were excited to see where this goes. Weve had a documentary about us already, and that was surreal enough. To hear talks of a Hollywood movie is another thing entirely.

He even said the Hemsworths would be more than welcome to join us in Scotland for a row to find out what were all about, joking: Hopefully that wouldnt put them off!
The FBI is facing questions over an airport that was left open after Charlie Kirk was assassinated, with speculation brewing over a jet that could be linked to his murder.

Kirk, 31, was gunned down on Wednesday while speaking at a university event in Orem, Utah.

Despite a large-scale manhunt being launched for his killer, who has still yet to be found, authorities failed to close off the airspace surrounding Provo Airport.

In an update by authorities on Thursday morning, they said a high-powered bolt action rifle was recovered from a wooded area nearby after the shooter jumped from the roof and fled the scene.

The regional airport deals with domestic flights and is just a ten-minute drive from Utah Valley University where Kirk was speaking.

Speculation on social media has pointed to a private jet that left the airport shortly after the single shot that killed the conservative activist rang out.

Flight tracking data shows the jet left the airport shortly after 2pm and headed south towards the Arizona border before it disappeared from radars.

It then reappeared on radars and returned to Provo roughly one hour after leaving the airport.

The jet in question has a registered owner in the Utah city of Lehi, according to FAA data seen by the Daily Mail.

Kirk throws hats to the crowd shortly before he was shot at a Utah Valley University speaking event in Orem

Speculation on social media has pointed to a private jet that left the airport shortly after the single shot that killed the conservative activist rang out

Retired FBI agent James Gagliano appeared on Fox News on Thursday morning saying the killer could have made their escape via the airport.

He said: 'Was there pre-planning? Absolutely. You had to get access to the roof, this is the most chilling thing about this manhunt.

'If you come off that roof, there is an open air parking lot behind that building, it is spitting distance from I-15.

'This is a big concern because this person, between three to five minutes of that shot going off, could have been in a vehicle on his way out, and miles and miles away.

'Provo Airport is only 45 minutes from there, these are all things you have to consider. This is going to be long and laborious.'

Kirk, a father of two, was rushed to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

It's believed that the gunman opened fire from the roof of the Losee Center, where a shadowy figure was seen running just moments after the gunfire erupted.

The building is located 200 yards away from where Kirk was debating with students and locals about political issues, and had just answered a question about gun violence.

Flight tracking data shows the jet left the airport (pictured) shortly after 2pm and was heading south towards the Arizona border

The FBI led by Kash Patel (pictured) is still hunting for Kirk's shooter

Law enforcement work the active shooting scene at Utah Valley University in Orem

A manhunt remains underway, with little known about the shooter's identity at this time. First responders described them as being dressed all in black, with aviator-style sunglasses.

An elderly man, since identified as 71-year-old George Zinn, was hauled away by cops in the immediate aftermath after allegedly claiming he had fired the fatal shot.

Authorities soon determined that he was not involved in the assassination, and later confirmed that another man they had taken into custody was not the shooter either.

'There is no current ties to the shooting with either of these individuals,' the FBI and Utah Department of Public Safety said in a joint statement.

'There is an ongoing investigation and manhunt for the shooter,' the agencies added, as armed police officers were seen continuing to comb through the college town.

President Donald Trump announced Kirk's passing, describing him as 'great, and even legendary'.

University police said they had six officers patrolling the scene and were working in conjunction with Kirk's personal security team.

Witnesses described how Kirk started bleeding out at the scene before he was rushed to a nearby SUV.

As the investigation into the shooting continues, all classes have been canceled at Utah Valley University until Monday.

In the meantime, the president has ordered all American flags to be lowered to half-staff until Sunday evening at 6pm EST in honor of Kirk.
Sri Lanka allocates 500 mln rupees to upgrade school science labs

Xinhua) 16:02, September 11, 2025

COLOMBO, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Education Ministry has allocated 500 million rupees (about 1.66 million U.S. dollars) for 2025 under the Secondary Education Sector Improvement Program (SESIP) to purchase equipment and chemicals for Category 1AB and 1C school laboratories nationwide, the Department of Government Information announced on Wednesday.

Funds are being credited to the accounts of School Development Societies, with allocations based on student enrollment. Each school will receive up to 1 million rupees (about 3,333 dollars), with a minimum allocation of 40,000 rupees (about 133 dollars), the department said.

The initiative aims to strengthen practical science education and upgrade laboratory infrastructure in line with the government's broader education reforms, the department said.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Liang Jun)


Nearly four decades after a baby boy mysteriously disappeared from his crib in Colorado, the missing infant's sister has revealed new information she believes could help solve the case.

Christopher Abeyta was last seen after the seven-month-old was put to bed on July 15, 1986, at his family's home in Colorado Springs.

The next morning, Christopher was gone without a trace. There were no signs of forced entry at the home.

The chilling investigation has been open ever since, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children just released an age-progressed image of what Christopher would currently look like.

It shows a clean-cut man with the same piercing blue eyes and light brown hair he had as a baby.

'This new age-progression is a powerful tool,' Christopher's sister, Denise, Alves told the Daily Mail.

'We are grateful for it. It's an image that we do believe looks like my brother.'

Alves, who is spearheading the search after their parents passed away, claims her father gave police the name of a potential stalker they had at the time of Christopher's disappearance. She said police never interviewed the person.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children just released an age-progressed image of what Christopher would currently look like

The seven-month-old was last seen after being put to bed on July 15, 1986, at his family's home in Colorado Springs

Denise Alves, sister of Christopher Abeyta, believes her brother's case was 'grossly mishandled'

Christophe Abeyta with his mother, Bernice

'As far as this latest evidence, the [individual's] alibi has changed, and their story has changed,' Alves said.

Now the family is pleading for Governor Jared Polis to allow the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to take over the case from the Colorado Springs Police Department.

Alves said that she 'doesn't want this to be another missed opportunity' to find her brother.

The Colorado Spring Police Department told the Daily Mail that it has contacted all persons of interest in the case.

'We continue to follow up on investigative leads as they arise,' a statement from the department said.

Christopher's mother died in 2017 and his father died in 2020, but Alves said her parents' lives really ended in 1986.

Still, she is determined to continue the search.

'In the meantime we need the public to keep their eyes open for more information,' she said.

Alves said whenever her mother talked about her missing baby, her heart would race. She believes this caused her to fail the lie detector twice

Abeyta's mother died of cancer in 2017 and his father died in 2020, his death details were unreleased

The family's home in Colorado Springs, Colorado where Christopher Abeyta disappeared July 15, 1986

Alves told the Daily Mail the new age-progression technology is a powerful tool and that she is grateful for it'

Alves said whenever her mother talked about her missing baby, her heart would race. She believes this caused her to fail the lie detector twice.

A man even came forward in 2018 claiming he may be the missing child. It gave the family a glimmer of hope but the information was not credible and ultimately it was not him.

The mother died of cancer in 2017 and the father died in 2020, his death details were unreleased. They never discovered what happened to their missing baby. Alves said her parents lives really ended in 1986.

'We were as normal as you get. My parents were never arrested or in trouble with the law.

'My parents took care of their children. You're not going to find one of us that says "oh we were abused."

'My mother was selfless, she was the most loving mother you could ever imagine. So when this happened it was obviously a shock.'

Despite this, Christopher's sister is determined and will continue her brother's search.

'In the meantime we need the public to keep their eyes open for more information.'
During a heartfelt tribute to Charlie Kirk, Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht revealed the conservative activist was his chief advocate for a pardon.

Soon after starting his second term, President Donald Trump pardoned Ulbricht who was convicted of distributing narcotics and sentenced to life in prison in 2015.

Ulbricht gained a following of conservatives and libertarians due his supporters viewing his criminal case as an example of government overreach.

After Kirks assassination on Wednesday, Ulbricht revealed that the conservative activist asked Trump to release him from prison following the 2024 election.

Like all of you, I am mourning Charlie Kirk. He stood up for his beliefs and died for them at 31, wearing a Tshirt that read "Freedom,' Ulbricht told his followers on X.

At 31, my life was taken from me for standing up for what I believed in. And Charlie helped me get it back. He never took credit for it but he played a BIG role in my freedom in many ways.

Ulbricht continued, Last year alone, when President Trump won the election, he asked Charlie what was the #1 thing he could do for him and Charlie replied: "Free Ross."

And in the days leading to my release, Charlie advocated for a full pardon. He did this and more without expectations of me.

Ulbricht, who went by the online name Dread Pirate Roberts, built the dark web online commerce website in 2011 to create an open and anonymous marketplace utilizing cryptocurrency.

Ulbricht shared a photo of Kirk and him embracing following the conservative leader's death on Wednesday

Ulbricht said Kirk was his chief advocate for a pardon from Donald Trump after his 2024 electoral victory

Ulbricht praised Kirk while thanking 'for all you did for me and four our country'

The site became known for allowing users to buy and sell illegal products and services.

However, it all came to an end when federal law enforcement arrested Ulbricht in 2013 at a California public library and shut down the Silk Road.

He was convicted of distributing narcotics, engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiring to commit computer hacking, and laundering money.

I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbricht to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross, Trump wrote on Truth Social in January.

The president referred to the DOJ prosecutors who went after Ulbricht as scum adding they were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponization of government against me. He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!

The Justice Department at the time pursued charges against Ulbrichts friends, claiming they committed five murders on behalf of the Silk Road founder. The government could never prove those claims.

I wish there was something I could do to help Charlie get his life back. But there isn't, and I'm heartbroken, Ulbricht added in his tribute to Kirk.

Charlie, I will always be grateful to you. Thank you for all you did for me and for our country. I pray for you and your beautiful family. Rest in peace.

Kirk was shot dead while speaking to college students at Utah Valley University

Kirk's shooter has not been identified or apprehended by law enforcement

Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA and key figure in Trumps 2024 victory, was murdered on Wednesday.

The conservative activist was shot in the throat while speaking to college students at Utah Valley University. The shooter is still at large, and has not been publicly identified by law enforcement.
A celebrity-run wildlife park have said they are 'deeply saddened' following the death of their polar bear during a dental operation.

Jimmy's Farm and Wildlife Park, run by TV presenter Jimmy Doherty, announced the death of 11-year-old bear Hope today.

Hope joined three other polar bears at the park in 'Europe's largest polar bear enclosure' which is 16 acres near Ipswich, Suffolk, last year.

She had been born in France and was moved from Peak Wildlife Park in Staffordshire to Suffolk after her long-time home at a zoo in Sweden closed.

Hope joined three other polar bears at the park in 'Europe's largest polar bear enclosure' which is 16 acres near Ipswich, Suffolk, last year.

She had been born in France and was moved from Peak Wildlife Park in Staffordshire to Suffolk after her long-time home at a zoo in Sweden closed.

The park said Hope's operation was carried out by a 'highly experienced' team of seven veterinary surgeons, two veterinary nurses and members of its animal care staff.

Mr Doherty, who is known for the BBC2 show Jimmy's Farm, said: 'I am absolutely heartbroken to share the news that we have lost our beautiful polar bear, Hope.

'She was undergoing a vital dental procedure to relieve her from pain, and despite the incredible skill and dedication of the veterinary specialists and our own team here at the park, she slipped away peacefully and never woke up.

'We all fought so hard for her, but sadly it was not to be.

Hope joined three other polar bears at the park in 'Europe's largest polar bear enclosure' which is 16 acres near Ipswich, Suffolk, last year

Jimmy's Farm and Wildlife Park, run by TV presenter Jimmy Doherty, announced the death of 11-year-old bear Hope today

'Hope wasn't just an animal in our care - she was family to us.

'She inspired thousands of visitors, young and old, helping them to connect with the natural world and to understand the challenges polar bears face in the wild.

'Her name, Hope, really did say it all. She brought hope to people, she brought joy, and she reminded us all why protecting wildlife matters so much.

'We will miss her terribly, but her spirit will live on in the work we continue to do every day for animals and conservation.'

The wildlife park is also home to brown bears, anteaters and capybaras.

The bears were featured in Mr Doherty's TV series for Channel 4 Jimmy Doherty's Big Bear Rescue which aired in July this year.

The farm started taking in polar bears in 2023.

He previously said the first bear they homed, named Ewa, would have been put down if they had not offered her a new home when Orsa Predator Park in Sweden closed.

Jimmy Doherty said he was 'deeply saddened' following the death of their polar bear during a dental operation

Hope had been born in France and was moved from Peak Wildlife Park in Staffordshire to Suffolk after her long-time home at a zoo in Sweden closed

Ewa was transported alongside her two-year-old cub Miki, only for the cub to die during transit.

After an autopsy, it emerged Miki had an underlying heart issue, but leading animal welfare charities have asked why the condition hadnt been identified before the long journey was begun.

Ewa, who was born in captivity in a zoo in the Netherlands in November 2005, wouldnt have been able to survive being released into the wild.

She is now living in a 16-acre site at the park, an enclosure Mr Doherty claims to be the biggest of its type in Europe.

Miki was the daughter of Ewa and Wilbar and she was born in Orsa on the 3rd of December 2020. But when the zoo faced closure, it was said that animals that were not rehomed at suitable alternative centres might have to be put down - and it was at this point Jimmys stepped in to rehome both bears.

Hope arrived last year and joined Ewa and another bear at Jimmy's farm.

Hope's death has revived concerns felt by campaigners about the long-term viability of keeping polar bears in captivity

Chris Lewis, Captivity Research and Policy Manager at Born Free, said: 'The tragic death of a polar bear following a dental procedure at Jimmy's Farm is not an isolated incident, it is a stark reminder of the wider suffering polar bears endure in captivity.

Polar bear Ewa travelled from a sanctuary in Orsa, Sweden, to Jimmy's farm in Ipswich, Suffolk alongside her cub Miki (pictured together). Miki died shortly afterwards, possibly due to a heart defect

Video of polar bear mother Ewa at Jimmy's farm after travelling from Orsa in Sweden

'It is distressing that so little has been done to address the systemic problems they face and that zoos actively perpetuate them.

'Zoos continue to breed polar bears. Zoos continue to house them in inadequate settings. Zoos continue to pedal the myth that keeping polar bears captive somehow aids their conservation.

'In reality, captivity often causes more harm than good. In years to come, society will rightly look back in disbelief that zoos ever thought they should confine such wide-ranging animals, evolved for survival in extreme Arctic conditions, within enclosures that could never meet their needs.

'Born Free will continue to campaign against the keeping of polar bears in zoos. It is long past time the zoo industry removes its blinkers, acknowledges the truth, and brings the captivity of polar bears to its long-overdue end.'

Jimmy's farm has also received criticism in the past after a raccoon escaped from its enclosure.

The animal was inadvertently let loose due to an electricity failure and it bit somebody on the back before it was recaptured.
The heartbroken boyfriend of the Ukrainian refugee brutally stabbed to death on a train has spoken out about his anguish at her murder.

Stas Nikulytsia is described online as the 'life partner' of Iryna Zarutska, 23, who was killed on a light rail in Charlotte, North Carolina, on August 22, allegedly by career criminal DeCarlos Brown Jr.

Since the tragedy, Nikulytsia has unleashed his fury and heartbreak in anguished Instagram stories, sharing his grief while also reposting outraged comments questioning why Brown, a career criminal, was ever released back on to the streets.

Tragic Iryna escaped Vladimir Putin's bombardment of her native Ukraine with her mother, Anna, sister Valeria and brother, Bohdan, arriving in the US in August 2022.

Having first found sanctuary with her uncle's family in the quiet Charlotte suburb of Huntersville, Iryna had recently set up home with her long-term love in a trendy apartment in the city's vibrant NoDa arts district, a 20-minute drive away.

Now, in the aftermath of her death, Nikulytsia has shared a series of poignant snaps of him and Iryna, accompanied by heartbroken emojis, in Instagram posts seen by the Daily Mail.

In one photo, the pair gaze lovingly into each other's eyes as Iryna hugs her boyfriend's arm and he places a gentle hand on her thigh while sitting by a lake in their swimsuits.

Other pictures from the trip shared online by her uncle, Scott Haskell, show the couple smiling with Iryna's loved ones and their dog.

Stas Nikulytsia (left), the heartbroken 'life partner' of slain Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, 23, has taken to social media to unleash his fury over her horrific death by a repeat offender in Charlotte, North Carolina

Horrific footage shows the terror etched on Irynas face as career criminal DeCarlos Brown Jr. stabbed her from behind in a random act of violence on a train

Another lighthearted snap, taken after a dip in the water, shows a wet-haired Iryna laughing while her boyfriend has his arm around her and cheekily sticks his tongue out.

In a dedication to his girlfriend, Nikulytsia has a mushroom emoticon followed by a broken heart emoji at the top of his Instagram profile.

Iryna is seen in previous snaps wearing a beloved mushroom hoodie, and the resting place of her cremation urn was adorned with colorful mushroom stickers and a red toadstool tealight holder.

In a sign of Nikulytsia's disbelief over his girlfriend's senseless killing, he took to Instagram to share two brief video clips from the train surveillance footage of the incident.

He reposted a video about the aftermath of the assault, which highlighted the audio of someone saying, 'got that white girl'.

It is unclear whether it was alleged killer Brown who made the comment, as has been claimed, or another passenger.

A caption on the video urged viewers to have their sound switched on, adding: 'This is important to know'.

In later posts, he reshared a video reel that hit out at the alleged inaction of nearby train passengers immediately after Brown's assault.

Stas Nikulytsia attached a broken heart emoji to a picture he posted of himself and Iryna after a swim

In happier times, photos from a lakeside getaway posted by her uncle Scott Haskell capture the pair smiling with Irynas loved ones and their dog

In disbelief over his girlfriends senseless killing, Nikulytsia reshared a reel taking aim at magistrate Teresa Stokes who freed Brown just seven months before the attack and another blasting passengers for failing to intervene during the stabbing frenzy

The reel circles the nearby passengers and has the caption: 'That's why they didn't release the OG footage.'

He also appeared to take aim at North Carolina magistrate Teresa Stokes, who has come under intense criticism for her decision to free Brown seven months before he allegedly killed Iryna.

Stokes allowed Brown, who is homeless and had a lengthy list of previous arrests, to walk free on a 'written promise' that he would return for his next court appearance date.

In a taped phone call to his sister Tracey, 33, Brown said the government had planted foreign materials into his brain and had been in control of his actions when he pulled the knife on Iryna.

Nikulytsia reshared a video in which a man can be seen claiming that Stokes did not go to law school.

Iryna's heartbroken boyfriend was nowhere to be seen at the trendy apartment building where the pair lived and did not immediately respond to Daily Mail's approaches for an interview.

Currently available apartments in the artistic enclave rent for between roughly $1,200 a month and $2,400 and boast a saltwater pool, social spaces, a pet spa and park and a boutique gym.

Tragically, their new apartment also had a private entrance directly on the blue line light rail, which would have taken Iryna mere minutes to walk off the train platform and into the safety of her boyfriend's arms.

And it was a community in which artistic and free-spirited Iryna felt safe and at ease.

In an apparently verified review on the building's website in June, a resident named Iryna wrote: 'This is my first experience living in Noda and I am very impressed by the beauty, diversity and creative here.

Iryna had recently set up home with long-term love Nikulytsia in a trendy apartment in the vibrant NoDa arts district, a 20-minute drive away from her uncle's family in the suburbs

In earlier photos, Iryna is seen wearing her favorite mushroom hoodiefittingly, her cremation urn was later surrounded with colorful mushroom stickers and a red toadstool tealight holder

'Nice people around, beautiful neighborhood, very positive place. I recommend to everyone.'

A day later, Iryna shared a happy selfie from her new home, tagging the location as NoDa  a contraction of North Davidson arts district.

Iryna texted her boyfriend the night of August 22 to tell him she was on her way home from her full-time job at Zepeddie's, a local pizza parlor, her devastated family has revealed.

But the 'kind and hardworking' young woman never made it back home after crossing paths with violent schizophrenic, Brown, 34.

When she did not arrive home at the expected time, her worried loved ones checked her phone's location, which 'alerted them that she was still at the station'.

'Upon arriving at the station, they were devastated to learn that Iryna had died at the scene,' the statement, released by their attorney, said.

Such are the painful memories associated with their fledgling love nest that Stas is looking to move out of the apartment, a resident claimed.

The resident, who did not give her name, told the Daily Mail that although she did not know Iryna, she wanted to organize a lasting memorial in the community, like a bench, so the young woman would never be forgotten.

On the night of August 22, Iryna texted her boyfriend to say she was heading home from her shift at Zepeddies, a local pizza parlor where she worked full-time

Iryna and her family had escaped Ukraine to find 'peace and safety' only for her life to be stolen on public transport in North Carolina

In a statement, a spokesperson for the family said: 'We are heartbroken beyond words. Iryna came here to find peace and safety, and instead, her life was stolen from her in the most horrific way.

'No family should have to go through this.'

Their lawyer added that the family's 'immediate priority is to ensure the man responsible for Iryna's murder is brought to justice and remains behind bars'.

They are also demanding 'a full investigation into the circumstances leading up to Iryna's death, including lapses in security protocols and failures within the public transportation system'.

'This could have been anyone riding the light rail that night,' they added.

'We are committed to making sure this never happens again.'
A Northwestern journalism professor has been accused of helping to funnel money to Hamas through his organization.

Associate Professor, Ibrahim N. Abusharif, 47, who is Muslim, reportedly cofounded the Quranic Literacy Institute (QLI) which allegedly funneled money to terrorist organization Hamas, The Washington Free Beacon reported.

Abusharif, a Chicago native, has taught at the school's Doha campus for 17 years after a small stint at the main Illinois campus and at Lewis University.

But prior to that, he co-founded and worked for the QLI as a translator and treasurer from 1990 to 1998, according to court documents.

The organization billed itself as a company that translated and published 'sacred Islamic texts' - but it was accused of being a 'money-laundering clearinghouse' for Hamas during court testimony in 2004.

The group was sued by the family of a 17-year-old who died in a 1996 terrorism attack in Israel.

The QLI was accused of providing cover for Muhammad Salah, who was allegedly financing Hamas, the court documents said.

Salah had been given nearly $1million from several pro-Palestine groups to 'fund a new generation of Hamas terrorists,' Matthew Levitt, a former FBI counter-terrorism analyst, testified in 2004, according to The Chicago Tribune.

Northwestern Associate Professor, Ibrahim N. Abusharif, 47, allegedly cofounded an organization, the Quranic Literacy Institute (QLI), which helped funnel money to terrorism organization Hamas, The Washington Free Beacon reported, citing court documents

The organization billed itself as a company that translated and published 'sacred Islamic texts,' but it has been accused of being a 'money-laundering clearinghouse' for Hamas during court testimony in 2004. Abusharif was a cofounder and treasurer for the organization

QLI had listed Salah as a paid employee with the job title of computer analyst - despite him not doing any real work for the organization.

The organization also owned a rental property, which it reportedly purchased using $1million from a Saudi terror financier in 1991, and allowed Salah to live in while being falsely employed by them, according to The Beacon.

QLI had been found liable for the attack, alongside other organizations, in 2004 and was ordered to pay $156million in damages, court documents show. The ruling was affirmed in 2008, the same year Abusharif started teaching at Northwestern.

Salah pleaded guilty to funneling funds to the terrorist organization in 1995 in Israel, where he spent two years in prison before returning to the United States, where he is a native of Chicago. He served additional time in jail in the US for lying about his connection to the Hamas.

Abusharif, whose parents are Palestinian immigrants, was not individually charged in the lawsuits, was said to have had knowledge of where QLI's money was coming from and going to, court documents said.

'Mr. Abusharif would seem to have first-hand knowledge of why QLI and the Quran Project were started, and what went on at the business,' court documents said.

The documents also stated that the journalism professor would have had 'personal knowledge about he and the other volunteers were doing for QLI, as well as, about how QLI's activities were financed.

'It is certainly no great leap to infer that Mr. Abusharif, who served as Treasurer of QLI, has first-hand knowledge of how and why QLI was funded.'

Abusharif, a Chicago native, has taught at the school's Doha campus (pictured) for 17 years. Lawsuits have connected QLI to Hamas, including letting a terrorist operative live in a rental property owned by the non-profit

Pictured: Gazan protesting Hamas and the war in March. Abusharif was born to Palestinian immigrants

In 2022, Abusharif rebuked the claims QLI had any ties to Hamas to the Chicago Tribune.

'The whole forfeiture is unjust and QLI is challenging it,' he said. The organization had to give up $1million in 1998 for the teen's death and ties to Hamas.

He went on to work for another Islamic book publisher, Starlatch, and said it had no ties to QLI or Hamas.

He joined Northwestern as a senior lecturer in January 2008, a position he held until Fall of that year, when he moved to the Qatar campus to teach journalism, according to his LinkedIn.

Abusharif, who received a master's degree from Northwestern, teaches narrative journalism, religious studies, and the decolonization of storytelling at the Qatar campus.

'He also researches the origins, promulgation, and effects of key journalistic framing terminologies used in prominent Western news sources in their coverage and reportage of the Middle East and Muslim minorities in the West,' his school biography said.

A Northwestern spokesperson told Daily Mail that the school is 'in the process of its multi-year review to determine whether to continue operating in Qatar past the 2028 academic year, when its current contract expires.'

Daily Mail has reached out to Abusharif for comment.
A British national is among a list of 52 prisoners who were released by Belarus and pardoned by the state's dictator Alexander Lukashenko after the U.S. struck a deal to lift sanctions on a Belarusian airline.

The list of prisoners released at the request of U.S. President Donald Trump contained 14 foreign nationals who had been convicted on crimes including espionage, extremism, and terrorism.

They included six Lithuanians, one French citizen, one Briton, and two each from Latvia, Poland, and Germany, Belta reported.

President Lukashenko has ruled the nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist for more than three decades, relentlessly cracking down on the opposition and independent media.

The freed prisoners are now on their way to Lithuania, a spokesperson for the U.S. embassy in Vilnius said.

The announcement came after Lukashenko met with John Coale, a representative of Trump, who said Washington was lifting sanctions on the state-run Belarusian airline Belavia, allowing it to service and buy components for its fleet, which includes Boeing aircraft.

Trump had earlier called on the Belarusian president, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, to release detainees whom the U.S. leader has described as 'hostages'.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, fourth right, speaks with U.S. Presidential envoy John Coale, third left, during their meeting in Minsk, Belarus, Thursday, September 11, 2025

The announcement came after Lukashenko met with John Coale, a representative of Trump, who said Washington was lifting sanctions on the state-run Belarusian airline Belavia

President Lukashenko has ruled the nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist for more than three decades, relentlessly cracking down on the opposition and independent media

It was the biggest batch of prisoners so far pardoned by Lukashenko, who is seeking to repair relations with the U.S. after years of isolation and sanctions on his former Soviet state.

But it was far short of the total of 1,300 or 1,400 prisoners whose release Trump had called for in a conversation with Lukashenko last month and in subsequent social media posts.

It was also not immediately clear whether those released included some of the most prominent critics of Lukashenko's decades-old rule, such as human rights campaigner Ales Bialiatski, co-winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.

'What happened [today] is a great diplomatic success for the United States and for us all,' Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said, as he announced that the ex-prisoners were crossing into Lithuania, a NATO and EU member state.

'I am deeply grateful to the United States and personally to President @realDonaldTrump for their continued efforts to free political prisoners. 52 is a lot. A great many. Yet more than 1,000 political prisoners still remain in Belarusian prisons and we cannot stop until they see freedom!' he wrote on X.

Belarus' state news agency Belta also quoted John Coale, a lawyer who headed the U.S. delegation, as saying that Trump had told Lukashenko that Washington wants to reopen its embassy in Minsk.

Earlier, Coale had passed a letter from Trump in English to Lukashenko signed 'Donald', Belta showed. The fact that Trump had signed the letter simply Donald was 'a rare act of personal friendship', it quoted Coale as saying.

'If Donald insists that he is ready to take in all these released prisoners, God bless you, let's try to work out a global deal, as Mr. Trump likes to say, a big deal,' said Lukashenko, who also praised the U.S. leader for seeking a peace deal in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko shake hands during a meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, Jan. 29, 2024

The list of prisoners released at the request of U.S. President Donald Trump contained 14 foreign nationals who had been convicted on crimes including espionage, extremism, and terrorism

'Our main task is to stand with Trump and help him in his mission to establish peace,' Belta later quoted Lukashenko as saying, referencing Trump's claim that he has solved six or seven world conflicts.

'As of right now, we're lifting sanctions on Belavia,' said deputy special envoy Cole in a meeting with Lukashenko, which was broadcast on state television.

'Right now, they're lifted... the president (Trump) three times said, 'do it', so we didn't have to go through all the bureaucratic stuff. So it's done by the State Department, Treasury and Commerce.'

At a news conference, Nauseda said that among those released were 'opposition figures, journalists and participants in protests'.

He did not disclose the identity of those freed, with the exception of the Lithuanian national Elena Ramanauskiene, who was jailed last year on espionage charges.

Lukashenko has led Belarus through more than three decades of authoritarian rule. He had said as recently as August 22 that he was not prepared to release 'bandits' who might 'wage war' against the state.

Trump has flattered the veteran leader, long treated as a pariah by the West, and said he plans to meet with him. Last week he described him as a 'very respected man, strong person, strong leader'.

The release took place at a difficult moment in the Russia-Ukraine war, a day after Poland shot down suspected Russian drones over its territory and on the eve of a major joint exercise between the Russian and Belarusian armed forces.

Belarus's exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya clutches a photo of her jailed husband Sergei Tikhanovsky, a key dissident figure, who was freed in June

Belarus shares borders with three NATO countries and with Ukraine.

Lukashenko allowed Putin to use Belarusian territory for his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 but his army has not directly participated in the war.

Vytis Jurkonis, a Belarus human rights activist who leads the Vilnius office of Freedom House, a U.S. government-funded human rights advocacy organisation, told Reuters that Lukashenko was using the prisoners to leverage his own influence.

'Lukashenko is dragging out the release of the political prisoners because he does not have much else to trade with the West. At the same time, he is continuing to arrest more prisoners,' Jurkonis said.

'He is using the releases to uphold the illusion of change in Belarus, but the real change would be happening if terror in the country ceases, the exiles are allowed to return, the Russian army leaves.'

Lukashenko says there are no political prisoners in Belarus and that those behind bars are law-breakers who chose their own fate.

His rule was challenged in the aftermath of Belarus' presidential election in August 2020. Tens of thousands of people poured into the streets to protest Lukashenko's reelection in a vote widely seen as rigged, triggering the largest protests in the country's history.

In the ensuing crackdown, tens of thousands were detained, with many beaten by police. Prominent opposition figures either fled the country or were imprisoned.

Lukashenko has since extended his rule for a seventh term following a January 2025 election that the opposition called a farce. Since July 2024, he has pardoned nearly 300 people, including imprisoned U.S. citizens, seeking to mend ties with the West.

In June, Belarus freed Siarhei Tsikhanouski, a key dissident figure and the husband of exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and 13 others following a rare visit by a senior envoy from the Trump administration.
Newly released surveillance footage captured the frightening moment an elderly victim shouted 'get the f*** out of here!' at a brazen criminal who allegedly broke into their home, tied one of them up and then set the house on fire.

Frank and Maureen Olton were tragically killed on Monday after they welcomed Jamel McGriff, 42, into their Queen's home after he asked to charge his phone, police said.

But things quickly turned violent after McGriff, who was taken into custody Wednesday, allegedly tied Frank up and then set the house ablaze.

Video from a neighbor's home captured the moment Frank, 76, let the stranger enter his backyard around 10.15am.

Several minutes later, his wife, Maureen, 77, went to the backdoor to speak to her husband. As she did so, Frank tried to shut the door, but McGriff swiftly snuck into the home.

A male voice believed to be Frank's was then heard yelling 'get the f*** out of here' - but the alleged murderer ignored him and forced his way into their house anyway.

Once inside, police said McGriff tied the pair up, stabbed them and then set them on fire.

Frank was found tied with a bungee cord and wire to a pole in their basement suffering from multiple stab wounds. His wife was located on the first floor severely burned, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Tuesday.

New surveillance video captured the terrifying moment an elderly victim shouted 'get the f*** out of here!' at a career criminal who allegedly broke into a Queens home and tortured them. (Pictured: Frank Olton seen standing outside his home before the incident)

Jamel M McGriff is perp walked out of the 107th precinct after he was arrested a charged with killing two elderly people in their own home

Jamel McGriff, 42, is accused of the heinous crime. He initially fled the scene afterward and was on the run until NYPD officers arrested him Wednesday in Times Square

McGriff fled the residence around 3.10pm before there was any sign of a fire, witnesses said, the New York Post reported.

Their son, a New York City Fire Department paramedic, rushed to his parent's home after he was alerted to the blaze by an alarm system, police said.

Tisch said there is no known connection between the victims and the suspect.

McGriff fled the neighborhood and allegedly went on a spending spree with the victim's credit cards, leading police to nab him in Times Square.

The suspect allegedly purchased items at Macy's and a Regal Cinema movie theater with the couple's cards, sources told the Post.

'He was spotted in Midtown Manhattan by eagle-eyed cops who didnt hesitate before jumping into action,' Tisch said on X Tuesday evening.

'Thank you to the best detectives and the best cops in the world for their work tracking and apprehending this violent criminal.'

Prior to his arrest, McGriff was spotted pawning two cell phone in the Bronx, Tisch said.

Frank was found tied to a pole in the home's basement, suffering from multiple stab wounds. His wife was found severely burned on the first floor of the home (pictured)

McGriff is believed to have entered the couple's home after asking if he could charge his phone. Frank welcomed him to their backyard before the suspect allegedly made his way inside

McGriff was identified by his parole officer after he was caught on surveillance footage at the scene of Monday's crime.

That footage showed the suspect approaching the Olton home and interacting with Frank before he entered, police said.

He was seen again leaving the home five hours later, with two bags in his hands.

Councilwoman Linda Lee said the suspect was recorded on electronic doorbell cameras approaching several homes before he went inside the Olton home.

McGriff was caught in other footage from that day that police released in a bid to catch him while on the run

McGriff (pictured) was out on parole following his release in 2023 after serving 16 years of a 20 year sentence for a 2006 first-degree robbery, officials said

The Oltons' nephew Sean Kelly told The New York Times the victims were 'amazing people' who 'did not deserve this.'

This is not McGriff's first run-in with the law as he is also the main suspect in two New York City robberies that took place in July and August.

One involved a robbery at a Verizon store, where he got beaten up by an employee, the outlet reported.

He was out on parole following his release in 2023 after serving 16 years of a 20 year sentence for a 2006 first-degree robbery, officials said.
The wife of Charlie Kirk is leaning into her Christian faith after her husband's assassination, with family members struggling to tell their children of his death, according to one insider.

Kirk was shot in the neck while speaking in Utah on Wednesday, leaving behind his wife Erika and their two kids, a three-year-old daughter and a 16-month-old son.

Jack Posobiec, a contributor to Kirk's Turning Point USA organization, spoke with NewsNation on Thursday morning about his family and how they are coping.

He told the outlet: 'Erika is unbelievably strong. At the same time someone's going to have to explain to his son and daughter why their dad didn't come home yesterday.

'Erika is a prayer warrior, her and Charlie are very devout believers, they are very very deeply Christian.

'When you see the cameras turn off, the lights go down, they immediately go back to faith - this is something they live 24/7.

'It is not something that only exists in front of the camera, that is something that they absolutely walk every single day.

'Because they have that firm reliance in faith, [Erika] has that ability to be able to go through this with that kind of strength that really only comes from heaven.'

In an update on Thursday morning, Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, said Erika and the family are 'devastated'.

Kirk was shot in the neck while speaking in Utah on Wednesday, leaving behind his wife Erika and their two kids, a three-year-old daughter and a 16-month-old son

The couple had recently celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary in May.

According to social media posts by Mrs Kirk, the two had wed in May of 2021 in what she described as a 'very intimate' ceremony in Arizona.

The two went without bridesmaids or groomsmen, and Mrs Kirk also said she did not have a bachelorette party.

A post from February of last year said: 'If youre newly engaged and feeling the rush and pressure of preparing for the big day...

'Slow down. Its one day; yes, it marks a new chapter of life. Yes, it symbolizes a special covenant between you, your husband and the Lord.

'But remember its the days afterward that matter more. Reframe your mindset.'

She continued: 'Dont stress over the flowers or linens. Weddings turn people crazy and can bring out unnecessary family drama; let it go.'

Erika had claimed the title of Miss Arizona USA in 2012 and in an interview after the pageant win described her upbringing in a tight-knit Catholic family.

Jack Posobiec, a contributor to Kirk's Turning Point USA, spoke with NewsNation on Thursday morning, saying Erika and the family were leaning into their Christian beliefs to help them

In an update on Thursday morning, Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, said Erika and the family are 'devastated'

According to social media posts by Mrs Kirk, the two had wed in May of 2021 in what she described as a 'very intimate' ceremony in Arizona

She had attended Arizona State University and double majored in political science and international relations.

More recently she has launched her own ministry program, BIBLEin365, which according to her website 'seeks to help individuals engage with scriptures'.

Her biography reads: 'Above all, Erika cherishes her role as the wife of Charlie Kirk and the mother of their precious son and daughter.

'As she continues to grow in her ministry, leadership, and entrepreneurial endeavors, Erika remains committed to inspiring others to live with purpose, rooted in faith, and driven by the love of Christ in every aspect of life.'

Recently, the Kirks appeared with their children on Fox and Friends in the weeks leading up to the shooting.

Fox News shared a clip of his daughter on the studio floor running towards her father, who graciously picked her up as she spotted him.

Kirk was shot in the neck as he began a Q&A with students at the event, with footage sweeping social media showing the commentator falling limp as he was struck.

The father of two was rushed to hospital, where he tragically succumbed to his injuries.

A manhunt is still ongoing for the shooter, who was described as a male of college age - with officials saying on Thursday they had video footage of the individual.

They said a high-powered bolt action rifle was recovered from a wooded area nearby after the shooter jumped from the roof and fled the scene.
A Portuguese matador was rushed to hospital after being gored through the back by a bull during a bullfight in Toledo, Spain.

Disturbing footage from the 25th Golden Potter competition in Villaseca de la Sagra on Thursday showed Joao D'Alva thrown into the air on the bull's right horn.

After striding slowly around the arena with a red muleta cape, the bull charged, lifting D'Alva up before dropping him to writhe around in pain on the sandy ground.

The 25-year-old was reportedly treated for a goring in the right lumbosacral region of his back, near the base of the spine, suffering ruptured paravertebral muscles.

The goring was 20 centimetres (8 inch) long and 10 centimetres (4 inch) deep, with an entry and exit wound, according to Toledo Hospital.

He was treated for necropsy and hemostasis control before being rushed to the University Hospital of Toledo.

Local media reported that D'Alva was 'about to prepare the kill' when he was gored 'in a spectacular manner'.

Assistants were seen rushing in to distract the bull and pull D'Alva out of the bullring. He was 'visibly weakened' and clearly in pain at the on site infirmary, reports said.

It comes just weeks after another Portuguese bullfighter was killed a 1,500lb bull in Lisbon's Campo Pequeno.

The matador is seen with the bull moments before it charged

D'Alva was thrown up into the air and gored through the back, requiring surgery

At hospital, D'Alva underwent surgery for the wound to the lumbar region of his back.

D'Alva is seemingly expected to return to the bullring, according to bullfighting outlet Touro e Ouro.

The incident occurred during the first bull-calf of the afternoon.

D'Alva shared numerous messages of support and well wishing on social media this afternoon. He did not provide an update on his condition.

It comes just weeks after a Portuguese bullfighter was killed a 1,500lb bull in Lisbon's Campo Pequeno.

Within seconds of the August 23 show beginning, the animal hoisted Trindade up with its horns and rammed him against a wall, causing severe brain damage.

Footage showed Trindade running towards the enormous bull to provoke it into charging.

It then ran towards him, and he attempted to grab onto its horns and gain control.

The 25-year-old was taken to the on site infirmary and hospital

In disturbing footage he could be seen writhing on the ground after the goring

Trindade was thrown up into the air by the storming bull and thrown against the wall of the arena. He later died.

A 73-year-old spectator watching the horror unfold from the audience fell ill during the show and was transported to hospital where he also died.

Numerous people have also been injured in Spain during 'running of the bulls' events, where people watch from the sidelines as agitated bulls charge through the streets.

At an event in La Vall dUixo, north-east of Valencia, last autumn, a man was horrifically gored in the scrotum by one of the running bulls.

The bull had just been released from its pen when it charged towards the man, who was identified only by the initials F.M.N.

Before he had a chance to react, the bull picked him up with one of its horns from the other side of a metal barrier.

The man was then held in the air for several seconds before the bull dumped him on the ground in front of shocked onlookers.

An onsite medical team, as well as two doctors who were there as spectators, gave the man first aid.

A 20-year-old man was also killed during a bull-running festival in El Casar in the province of Castilla-La Mancha last September.

Trindade was thrown up into the air by the storming bull and thrown against the wall of the arena. He later died

In a matter of seconds Trindade was hoisted up into the air by the storming bull and thrown against the wall of the arena

Trindade was a young but celebrated forcado - the name of a kind of Portuguese fighter who deliberately provokes a bull into charging

The unnamed victim suffered a punctured lung when the animal ran at him and drove its horn into his chest.

The incidents followed the death of a 57-year-old man in hospital in May last year, seven weeks after he was gored twice during a bullfight in Vall d'Uixo.

In September 2023, a high-ranking executive for Spanish ceramic wall and floor tiles firm Pamesa was gored to death by a bull at a festival near Valencia.

Jose Antonio Subies, 61, died at a hospital in the city after suffering gore injuries which affected his liver and one of his lungs.

He was the chief executive officer of Pamesa's South American group.
President Trump engaged in a tense phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday expressing strong anger over not being informed in advance about Israel's strike targeting Hamas officials in Qatar.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the president told Netanyahu that his targeting of Hamas in Doha was not a smart decision, adding that he was furious to learn about what happened after the fact from U.S. military, instead of America's ally in the Middle East, Israel.

Israel's Prime Minister responded to that by saying he only had a small window of opportunity to launch strikes on Hamas - and seized the opportunity.

There was a second phone call, the WSJ reports. Trump reportedly asked Netanyahu if the attack was a success, and Netanyahu said he didn't know.

Although Hamas leaders claimed that their members survived the attack, it was reported later that six Hamas officials were actually killed.

Senior administration officials said that Trump's frustration with Netanyahu is snowballing  undermining him by making bold, unilateral decisions that exclude any coordination with the U.S.

After he found out about the strikes, Trump reportedly told his Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff to alert leaders in Qatar. Qatari officials claim that the alert occurred during the attack, not before it began.

Majed Al Ansari, spokesman for Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement on X, 'The statements being circulated about Qatar being informed of the attack in advance are baseless The call from a U.S. official came during the sound of explosions caused by the Israeli attack in Doha.'

President Trump engaged in a tense phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, according to senior U.S. administration officials, expressing strong anger over not being informed in advance about Israel 's strike targeting Hamas officials in Qatar

Majed Al Ansari, spokesman for Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement on X , 'The statements being circulated about Qatar being informed of the attack in advance are baseless The call from a U.S. official came during the sound of explosions caused by the Israeli attack in Doha'

The Israeli attack led Hamas to withdraw from ceasefire talks. Proving more trouble for Trump, it outraged Qatari officials  key mediators in the U.S.brokered negotiations between Hamas and Israel.

Netanyahu indicated that additional attacks on Hamas targets may be imminent. In a video statement released Wednesday, he warned, 'I say to Qatar and all nations who harbor terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice. Because if you don't, we will.'

The White House sent a strong message during the briefing on Sept. 9, saying the target was 'very unfortunately located in a section of Doha.'

'Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working very hard in bravely taking risks with us to broker peace, does not advance Israel or America's goals,' Leavitt said.

She did, however, highlight one outcome the administration views as a potential silver lining from the attack.

'However, eliminating Hamas, who has profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal,' Leavitt said.

Israeli airstrikes struck the Qatari capital of Doha on Tuesday, in a dramatic escalation aimed at decapitating Hamas's senior leadership.

The strikes reportedly targeted a gathering of top Hamas officials who had convened to discuss the latest U.S.brokered ceasefire proposal for Gaza. Residents described multiple blasts rocking the city, with clouds of smoke rising over the upscale Katara district.

Netanyahu indicated that additional attacks on Hamas targets may be imminent. In a video statement released Wednesday, he warned, 'I say to Qatar and all nations who harbor terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice. Because if you don't, we will'

Senior administration officials said that Trump's frustration with Netanyahu is snowballing  undermining him by making bold, unilateral decisions that exclude any coordination with the U.S.

Israeli airstrikes struck the Qatari capital of Doha on Tuesday, in a dramatic escalation aimed at decapitating Hamas's senior leadership. Now the question stands, exactly when the administration found out about the strikes, and at what point they alerted officials in Qatar

The Israeli military later confirmed responsibility for the operation, stating it had specifically targeted highranking members of the militant group.

The Israeli government did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
Lawmakers in Congress are shaken after the recent assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, fearing for their own protection in the wake of the apparent political murder.

Kirk, 31, was speaking with college students in Utah when he was fatally shot in front of hundreds of onlookers. The activist founded Turning Point USA, a conservative political operation which nearly all Republicans in Congress are familiar with.

Many members knew Kirk personally, making the tragedy even more acute on Capitol Hill.

But even those on the opposite end of the political spectrum from the TPUSA founder have been rattled by the brazen violence.

'There was a horrific political assassination or shooting yesterday in which a young man died,' Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told reporters on Thursday. 'The FBI has not caught the assailant and the individual responsible has not been apprehended.'

The New York Democrat shared that she canceled an upcoming political rally in North Carolina, scheduled for the upcoming weekend, due to safety concerns and out of respect for Kirk.

'Even earlier this year, we had several outdoor events, and it was a matter of conversation, especially after what happened to President Trump last year,' AOC said of the evolving security threats politicians face.

The progressive shared that her team considered an indoor and outdoor venue for the North Carolina event but that 'after yesterday's event, we've postponed.'

American right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk, 31, happy, smiling, and wearing a white t-shirt that says 'FREEDOM' as he speaks to the crowd at an event in Utah before he was shot and killed on Wednesday

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., told reporters that she canceled an upcoming event in North Carolina as a safety precaution after Kirk's assassination. She also said it was partly out of respect to the late conservative activist

Police watch over the East Front of the Capitol during an outdoor event and news conference, in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025

Florida Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz has also been taking precautions since the duel assassination attempts on Trump last year.

'I've changed all that since the assassination,' he told reporters of his event planning, adding that he's not held any outdoor events.

He presumes further security precautions will be coming to both the capitol and lawmakers' districts.

'Members will start thinking about whether people should be wanded before they walk into events,' he said. 'I think that's probably where we're headed.'

House Speaker Mike Johnson noted on Thursday that there is an appetite among members for additional security.

The speaker even approved additional funding for members' safety over the summer, when his team launched a pilot program to increase their security allowances.

Though the logistical hurdles will prove significant, Johnson said that he presumes adding sufficient security to defend all 435 members of the House could cost billions of dollars. It will also take an additional 5,000 Capitol Police officers, he said.

'We're under a very thorough review of the existing options and how we might need to enhance that to ensure member security and safety,' the Republican speaker shared. 'It's a big concern of all of them and their spouses back home and their families and everything. So there's a cost associated with that.'

AOC has done a nationwide tour at outdoor public venues all year. She says hosting outdoor events come with inherent security risks. Her team considered an outdoor venue for her North Carolina event before postponing it

Speaker Mike Johnson suggested that 5,000 additional Capitol Police may be needed to properly protect all members

Members of Congress typically make regular appearances before their constituents. Both members of the House and Senate usually get a week or two a month to spend at home in their districts or states to hear from the needs of local voters.

And members worry about how their appearances back home could open them up to threats far away from Capitol Police.

'Yesterday was a calm environment in Utah at a college campus, like he's (Kirk) done a million times, and it tragically ended in his death,' Rep. Russell Fry told the Daily Mail. 'That could happen to any one of us at a festival, at an outside event, in a town hall, so we always have to be vigilant.'

Others are not as convinced that it will take additional resources to protect members.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., admitted there's no amount of security that could save individuals from a type of sniper attack that took Kirk's life.

'A lot of people ask the questions: 'Do you think you need more money?' Comer said. 'You could have had a fleet of security guards and no one would have noticed a guy laying down on the rooftop.'

'I think we all need to kind of think about outdoor events more  outdoor events probably are going to be a lot fewer in numbers for members of Congress, at least in the short term,' he shared.

On Thursday, two GOP lawmakers carried on with a pre-scheduled stop to promote Trump's budget bill passed earlier this summer.

Virginia Republican Congressman John McGuire and House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain held an event in McGuire's district two and a half hours outside of Washington, D.C.

McClain exclusively told the Daily Mail that her own daughter, one of millions of conservative college students inspired by Kirk, was her reason for continuing on with Thursday's event.

'I think my daughter said it best, her voice will not be silenced and my voice won't be silenced either. I'm the number one messenger for the [House GOP] Conference, and for me, I'm not going to be silenced.'

Asked by the Daily Mail about safety concerns McClain said that threats on her life have nearly doubled from 9,000 in 2024 to 14,000 in 2025, 'and it's only September.'

'Security is an issue. We need manpower and we need funds,' McClain added.

McGuire told the Daily Mail that there was no consideration to change his schedule 'this week, next week, or ever.'

'Charlie Kirk's assassination has only inspired us times ten ... to be the light and to try to bring this country together,' said McGuire.
A Turkish asylum seeker who threatened to kill a woman and her family in a 'murder suicide' during a terrifying stalking campaign has been jailed for six months.

Samet Arik, 23, moved into the same block of flats as his victim, told her he was in love with her and had been spying on her for three years.

Dilan Turkman became aware of him staring towards her home from across the road in March 2022.

Arik smoked so much cannabis he was sectioned in September 2024 suffering from 'cannabis-induced psychosis'.

Restaurant worker Arik admitted stalking involving serious alarm and distress at Wood Green Crown Court.

Prosecutor Rhys Allen said: 'The offending started in approximately March 2022.

'It was this point Ms Turkman saw the defendant sitting opposite her house - she saw the defendant staring at her house and when she left she asked what he was doing.

'He replied to her saying that he is "working nearby" and that he is just effectively relaxing.

Samet Arik (pictured), 23, moved into the same block of flats as his victim, told her he was in love with her and had been spying on her for three years

'After that, there wasn't much contact until March 2023 when the victim had her vehicle broken into and had items stolen.

'During this she chased the suspects down and was assisted by the defendant but they did not exchange words at any point.

'Shortly after this the defendant moved into the same block of flats the victim lived at.

'She saw him nearly every day after that, and would see him walking up and down at four in the morning at times, but there was never any real interaction between them.'

Mr Allen said during July 2024 the victim ordered some food from a restaurant on Fore Street, Edmonton.

'A few days after ordering the food she received a message saying "you ruined my life" from a mobile number later attributed to the defendant.'

Another message from the number said: 'You ruined my life, I wasn't expecting this from you.'

A distressed Ms Turkman called the number and when the defendant answered the phone he 'informed her he was in love with her and that he'd moved to the block of flats because of her'.

She was told by the defendant he had been watching her for three years and he had got her phone number from the computer at the restaurant she ordered food from, Mr Allen told the court.

The prosecutor confirmed that Arik in fact worked at the restaurant in question.

He continued: 'The victim told him she had a boyfriend and did not know how the defendant could have fallen in love with her and hung up the phone.

'She got in contact with friends to explain the situation as she felt at that moment there is nothing the police could do.

'Word spread amongst her community and the defendant was effectively kicked out of his flat at Bradwell Mews.'

Restaurant worker Arik admitted stalking involving serious alarm and distress at Wood Green Crown Court

Arik promised not to contact her again, but approached the victim as she was sat in her car just two weeks later.

'On this occasion she was smoking a cigarette and was in the drivers' seat.

'She then saw in the drivers' side-mirror a shadowy figure behind her, it was approximately 11pm to midnight.

'She then said "I can see you, come out", in Turkish - the defendant then came out behind the vehicle and said, "Do you like what you have done? You have embarrassed me to everyone".

'The defendant got less than a meter from the car and the victim, out of fear, rolled up the car window.'

Mr Allen told the court that Arik said to the woman: 'I'll never harm you, I'm in love with you, you will be mine.

'I've been watching you, I know you don't have a boyfriend, do you know that are you going to be mine?'

Ms Turkman then received 'approximately 20 calls a day' from withheld numbers.

'After that the victim drove home at four in the morning and saw the defendant standing on a wall directly opposite her house.'

The prosecutor added: 'The matter really came to a head on September 4, 2024, when the victim was away in Turkey and received a call from her father.

'Her father said "do you know who's turned up to the front door", and he said "that Samet guy".

'She told her father to call the police - when he was at the door he threatened to kill her family, herself, followed by himself in an effective murder-suicide.

'The defendant did not leave until neighbours came out of the property telling him to go away, all of them hearing these threats.'

In a victim impact statement read out to court, Ms Turkman said: 'It scared me that Samet believes in his heart that I love him when I cannot think of a plausible reason why.

'Samet scares me and he says he has been watching me for three years, without hesitation or thinking this is wrong.

'I am scared he is going to kill me because in Turkey it happens quite often by obsessed men.

'I am scared to be around my area in case Samet sees me and tries to stab me through my car window for not wanting to reciprocate his love.'

The court heard that Ms Turkman had to 'change the way she lived' and was forced to buy a a new car the defendant did not recognise.

Michael Shilliday, defending Arik, disputed whether the victim had made 'considerable changes to lifestyle'.

'That means she moves houses, moves towns, moves country - I don't mean this to sound flippant, it isn't flippant, but not that she can't smoke in her car at night.'

Mr Shilliday said Arik was admitted to the Edgware Community Hospital on September 7, 2024, and diagnosed with a 'psychotic disorder' due to 'multiple substance misuses'.

'He accepts this happened largely because of cannabis misuse', he added, later clarifying the underlying cause as 'cannabis induced psychosis'.

'He describes no ongoing beliefs that he and the victim are in love or that he wishes to marry her', Mr Shilliday said.

He said Arik did not have leave to remain status in the UK but had 'claimed asylum from Turkey on the twin basis of fear of ill treatment on conscription and as a Kurdish individual'.

The judge, Ms Recorder Jenni Dempster KC said he caused 'very serious distress to the victim.

'You threatened to kill her and her family - what more distress could be caused than that?

'This is also a case where the victim's had to make considerable changes to her lifestyle because of you, she'd had to sell her car and replace it with one that you won't recognise.

'She's scared even now, as of the last victim impact statement, to go out in her area.'

She handed Arik a term of six months immediate imprisonment, considering the offending 'too serious to consider suspending that sentence.'

The judge will serve 'more than half' of his sentence in prison but noted that he had been in custody since March 2024.

'As to immigration status, this is a matter for others, not for this court', she told him.

Arik was also made subject to a restraining order for a period of ten years barring him from contacting or being in the vicinity of Ms Turkman or either of her parents.

'If you try to contact any of these three people in the next ten years, or if you go to any building where you know or think they may be, you will be committing a criminal offence and you will breach this restraining order.

'The punishment of a breach of a restraining order is a sentence of up to five years imprisonment, so it is a serious matter.

'Do you understand, Mr Arik, the two conditions of prohibition in the restraining order?'

Looking down at the floor and nodding, Arik, accompanied by a Turkish interpreter, replied: 'Yes, yes'.

Arik, of Haringey, admitted stalking involving serious alarm and distress and failing to attend court.
A 56-year-old Portuguese man faking a disability has been jailed for almost seven years after attempting to smuggle almost 1million worth of cocaine into the United Kingdom in a mobility scooter.

Able-bodied Casimiro De Lemos Francisco was stopped by Border Force officers while riding his electric wheelchair through Manchester Airport on March 30 after arriving from Bridgetown, Barbados.

Border Force officers discovered 11 packages of cocaine weighting up to 12 kilos hidden in the backrest of his wheelchair.

The class A drug had a street value of 880,000.

De Lemos Francisco, from Guimaraes in the north of Portugal appeared in the Manchester Crown Court last week where he admitted to smuggling the class A drug into the UK.

When he was stopped at Manchester Airport, he told officials he was in the country for two days to visit a friend.

While his wheelchair was being scanned, officials questioned him on the contents inside his scooter.

He replied that he didn't know and told officials they would have to ask his friend.

Border forces discovered 11 packages of cocaine weighting up to 12 kilos hidden in the backrest of his wheelchair. The class A drug had a street value of 880,000

56-year-old Casimiro De Lemos Francisco from Guimaraes in the north of Portugal appeared in the Manchester Crown Court last week where he admitted to smuggling the class A drug into the UK

The National Crime Agency said a tracking device was also discovered in the wheelchair's battery compartment by the crime group involved to follow its progress.

It's the second imprisonment involving a mobility scooter to smuggle the class A drug into the country this week.

Ronald Lord, 71, was jailed for six years after attempting to smuggle 8kgs worth of cocaine with a street value of 600,000 into Britain.

While his wheelchair was being scanned, officials questioned him on the contents inside his scooter where he said he didn't know and would have to ask his friend. He told boarder officers he was in the country for two days while visiting a friend

Border Force officers made the discovery when they stopped the Canadian national from Montreal at Gatwick Airport on the 7 February 2025.

National Crime Agency Senior Investigating Officer, Charles Lee said: Organised crime groups will try anything possible to smuggle drugs, but using a wheelchair and a man pretending to be disabled is particularly abhorrent.

The NCA works with partners at home and abroad to combat the threat of Class A drugs and protect the UK public.
MAGA firebrand Anna Paulina Luna has blasted CNN, accusing the network of deceptively editing footage to smear her remarks after the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

The Florida congresswoman tore into the cable giant and anchor Kaitlan Collins, claiming they cut out the moment Democrats booed Rep. Lauren Boebert's request to hold a prayer for the slain 31-year-old just hours after he was gunned down.

CNN's coverage is now under fire, with Luna insisting the edit stripped away the context of her furious response. 'When asked simply to pray for a grieving family, they booed. That behavior is disgusting,' she raged on X. 'This edited clip is yet another example of how far CNN will go  and how low they'll sink  for ratings.'

Collins hit back more than 12 hours later, insisting: 'Actually, we just aired a clip of what happened on the House floor and then asked Republican Speaker Mike Johnson about it. We also asked the Democratic congressman we had on later in the show about it.'

But the raw footage tells a different story. After Boebert's plea, around a dozen Democrats erupted in unison, chanting 'No!' before one shouted: 'Pass some gun laws!'

The liberal heckling sent Republicans into a frenzy. 'You f***ing own this!' Luna screamed across the chamber, her fury now magnified by what she calls CNN's 'dishonest coverage.'

Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna and Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk

Representative Luna tore into CNN Wednesday night for the way she was portrayed on the House floor after a prayer was requested for Charlie Kirk and her Democrat colleagues protested the request

CNN host Kaitlan Collins on air Wednesday, September 10th

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 19, 2024

CNN has also drawn fierce criticism for refusing to acknowledge the transgender messages found engraved on bullets used in Charlie Kirk's assassination, instead describing them only as "phrases related to cultural issues."

The Wall Street Journal first reported that bullets were 'engraved with transgender and antifascist ideology' based on an ATF notice, but CNN's sanitized coverage has sparked accusations of 'gaslighting' and 'shameless' reporting from critics who say the network is deliberately obscuring key details about the killer's apparent motive.

Luna accused Democrats earlier in the day of being the origin of the violence against Kirk.

'I am done with the rhetoric this rotten House and corrupt media has caused,' she posted on X shortly after the news of the shooting broke. 'Every d*** one of you who called us fascists did this.'

Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace echoed Luna's comments when speaking with reporters outside of the Capitol following Wednesday's floor session.

'Democrats own what happened today,' Mace told members of the press.

The conservative commentator, 31, was shot and killed during a rally at Utah Valley University on Wednesday by a gunman who was caught on camera dashing across a rooftop in the moments after he opened fire.

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk debates with CSUN students during his American Comeback tour stop at CSUN in Northridge, Calif., on March 6, 2025

Members on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives were outspoken in the hours following the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Wednesday, September 10th

Father-of-two Kirk was hit by a single bullet while speaking to a crowd at the public university in Orem. He collapsed immediately after being hit by the gunfire and was rushed to hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

President Donald Trump announced Kirk's death and posted a moving tribute to him on Truth Social.

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

A major manhunt by both the FBI and Utah police is currently underway.
Britain's new interim ambassador to the US has been revealed as a career diplomat who suffered tragedy when his wife nearly died from a brain haemorrhage.

James Roscoe - who has worked for Queen Elizabeth II, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown - took over immediately today as the UK's representative in Washington.

It comes after Lord Mandelson was sacked as ambassador following emails that revealed the depth of his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Mr Roscoe, 49, will oversee Donald Trump's second state visit to the UK next Wednesday with only one week to go until the US President arrives in Windsor.

He lives in Washington with his 43-year-old wife Clemency Burton-Hill - who is a BBC presenter, musician and actress - and their two young sons Tomos and Joe.

Ms Burton-Hill suffered a brain haemorrhage in January 2020 caused by an abnormal connection between the arteries and veins in her brain which left her in a coma.

She found her speech started slurring during a meeting in New York before she suddenly blacked out - and woke up in a hospital bed 17 days later.

Ms Burton-Hill, who met her husband in Sierra Leone in 2006 and married him in 2008, was left unable to see, talk or walk but defied medical expectation to relearn all three.

Clemency Burton-Hill and James Roscoe attend the Hay Festival in Wales in May 2013

Clemency Burton-Hill with neurosurgeon Dr Christopher Kellner in March 2020 at Mount Sinai West Hospital in New York City after a cranioplasty operation to replace half of her skull

She paid tribute to Mr Roscoe as her 'ever supportive husband' in The Mail On Sunday's You magazine in August 2020, writing: 'I do choose life. Every day. I choose life in all its complexity; aware of its beauty, its pain, its hope, its fragility, its love.

'Life, I believe, is a gift of unimaginable proportions. I don't know what the future holds - for me or the world - but I have faith in the extraordinary power of humanity.'

Her emergency surgery, near-death experience and subsequent recovery also featured in a BBC Arena documentary called My Brain: After the Rupture in March.

Mr Roscoe and Ms Burton-Hill met in 2006 in Sierra Leone, where he had been working at the British High Commission and where she had travelled to write an article for The Spectator.

Cambridge graduate Ms Burton-Hill, who played the king's would-be girlfriend in the fictional ITV series The Palace, is the daughter of the BBC's former arts chief Humphrey Burton.

Mr Roscoe and Ms Burton-Hill married in 2008 but were separated for more than two months the following year when he moved to New York to take up a job with the UN in the July, while work stopped her from joining him until September. They had their first son Tomos in 2014.

Mr Roscoe is known for his time in the Royal Household as chief spin doctor or 'communications secretary' to the late Queen Elizabeth II from 2013 to 2016.

The Telegraph revealed at the time of his appointment in 2012, initially as the Queen's deputy press secretary and head of news, that he would be paid 70,000 'plus benefits' by Buckingham Palace.

The 49-year-old also spent time at Downing Street as chief press officer in the Prime Minister's office for Tony Blair and Gordon Brown from 2006 to 2009.

James Roscoe and Clemency Burton-Hill at Washington Market Park in New York in June 2020

James Roscoe in Windsor during Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday celebrations in April 2016

He was made deputy head of mission at the British Embassy in Washington in July 2022 and before that was UK ambassador to the UN General Assembly from 2019.

Mr Roscoe has previously focused on areas such as sanctions and counter-terrorism issues and has had postings to Freetown in Sierra Leone and Basra in Iraq.

In 2016 Mr Roscoe - once one of the Queen's closest confidants - hit the headlines when a leaked email reignited the row over claims Buckingham Palace backed Brexit.

The memo revealed by The Mail On Sunday showed his excited reaction to his new job of helping Boris Johnson make a success of taking Britain out of the European Union.

Announcing his move to become the Foreign Secretary's Brexit spin doctor, Mr Roscoe said he could not wait to get stuck in as Mr Johnson's 'Head of Post Referendum Communications Unit'.

Mr Roscoe said at the time that Britain was 'an extraordinary country with an incredible Sovereign' and would 'thrive and prosper' when it had broken free of Brussels.

His pro-Brexit rallying cry came four months after a storm over claims that the Queen had said she backed Brexit.

At a dinner with coalition ministers Michael Gove and Nick Clegg, the Queen is said to have made it clear that she believed the UK would be better off out of the EU, although she denied it.

Lord Mandelson and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at an event in Washington DC in February

Lord Mandelson wears a white dressing gown as he chats with Jeffrey Epstein in around 2002

As for Lord Mandelson, Sir Keir Starmer made the decision to sack him today after emails showed the peer sent supportive messages even as Epstein faced jail for sex offences.

The Foreign Office said the emails showed that 'the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment'.

He has now been withdrawn as ambassador with immediate effect.

Lord Mandelson is reported to have told Epstein to 'fight for early release' shortly before he was sentenced to 18 months in prison, and told him 'I think the world of you', the day before he began his sentence for soliciting prostitution from a minor in June 2008.

The Prime Minister had defended Lord Mandelson until the emergence of the emails, insisting he had gone through a proper vetting process and had helped build a successful relationship with Donald Trump's White House.

Lord Mandelson's friendship with Epstein had been known about, but Bloomberg and The Sun published emails showing that the relationship continued after the crimes committed by the financier had emerged.

Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty told MPs that information had not been known when Lord Mandelson was appointed.
A senior doctor left a patient on an operating table in a middle of surgery to have sex with a nurse in an adjoining theatre, a medical tribunal heard today.

Consultant anaesthetist Suhail Anjum, 44, was discovered 'in a compromising position' with another nurse in the operating theatre at Tameside General Hospital on September 16, 2023.

Father-of-three Dr Anujm was seen tying up the cord of his trousers.

His colleague - referred to as Nurse C - was described as having her trousers around her knees with her underwear on display when the pair were surprised by another nurse.

The tribunal in Manchester was told that Dr Anjum left the patient, who was having keyhole surgery to remove a gall bladder, because he knew that Nurse C 'was likely to be nearby'.

Today the married Dr Anjum, who now works in Pakistan, said he felt 'shame and guilt at this horribly embarrassing incident' and added: 'I don't know why it happened.

'I don't know what I was thinking.'

Andrew Molloy, for the General Medical Council, told a hearing of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service that Dr Anjum was the anaesthetist for a series of five operations taking place in Theatre Number Five at the hospital on a Saturday morning.

Mr Molloy said: 'During the third case, about halfway through the procedure, Dr Anjum left the operating theatre to go for a comfort break.

Consultant anaesthetist Dr Suhail Anjum was caught in a 'compromising position' after leaving a patient on the operating table to have sex with a nurse in a nearby theatre (pictured arriving for his misconduct hearing in Manchester today)

Dr Anjum was a consultant anaesthetist at Tameside Hospital (pictured) in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester but is now working back in his native Pakistan

'This was not an unusual occurrence and Dr Anjum was not the only anaesthetist to do this .

'When this happens, they would get cover from an anaesthetic nurse.

'There is no dispute that he indicated to anaesthetic nurse, Nurse SK, that he was going to the bathroom.

'She was an experienced anaesthetic nurse and the bath room was only a short distance away from Theatre Number Five.'

Mr Molloy say that a scrub nurse referred to as NT went to look for some equipment to prepare for the next procedure in Theatre Number Eight.

He added: 'Nurse NT encountered Dr Anjum and Nurse C in a compromising position.

'She described Nurse C with her trousers around her knees and with her underwear on display.

'Dr Anjum was in the process of tying up the cords of his trousers.

Consultant anaesthetist Suhail Anjum (pictured) admitted that he had left a patient and had engaged in 'sexual activity' with a nurse during surgery

'Nurse NT was shocked and left to return to Theatre Number Five.

'Dr Anjum returned to the theatre eight minutes later.

'It is right to say no harm was done to the patient while he was absent from the theatre. The procedure was completed without further incident.'

Mr Molloy said that Nurse NT reported the matter and Dr Anjum was interviewed.

He said that the operating table in Number Eight was pushed up against a wall but there was no suggestion that this had been done by Dr Anjum and Nurse C as it was where the table was usually positioned.

Mr Molloy said that Dr Anjum had admitted that he had left a patient and had engaged in 'sexual activity' with Nurse C.

The tribunal has to rule whether his fitness to practise was impaired by alleged misconduct.

Dr Anjum told the tribunal that he was 'passionate' about his job but the incident occurred during a period when he and his wife 'were not connecting as a couple'.

Consultant anaesthetist Dr Suhail Anjum said he felt 'shame and guilt' at abandoning a patient on the operating table to have sex with a nurse, telling a tribunal: 'I don't know what I was thinking.'

He said that his youngest daughter had been born prematurely and that his wife had suffered trauma during the birth which left him to take on extra family responsibilities.

Dr Anjum said he had agreed to work on that Saturday so he would have a day off during the week to help his family and take his elder children to school.

He told his barrister Fiona Horlick KC: 'I have never had an complaints against me.

'This was a unique incident. I cannot express how shameful it is to me.

'It was a difficult time for me an my wife and that led to certain things happening.

'It was a difficult and stressful time in our lives.

'There is a context to this.

'In Pakistan we had family support but in the UK, we were alone, my wife and I.

Tameside General Hospital where Dr Suhail Anjum was working as a consultant anaesthetist during keyhole surgery to remove a patient's gall bladder in September 2023 when he was discovered 'in a compromising position' with a nurse

'We did not have that family support.

'My daughter was born premature which was a stressful experience.

'I was working full time supporting my wife and my kids.

'It was exhausting and I was breaking.'

He said he 'deeply regretted' the incident and accepted that his conduct had fallen 'far short of expected standards'.

Dr Anjum added: 'It has been horribly embarrassing for all concerned.

'I have let down everybody. It was the lowest point of my career.

'I am genuinely sorry and shamed and fully recognise the seriousness of my behaviour.

'It was a one off error and I will never repeat this behaviour.

'I would like to ensure the panel that it will not happen again but that does not take away the guilt and embarrassment.

'I have only myself to blame.'

Dr Anjum, who said he would like to return to the UK to resume his career, qualified at the University of Health Sciences in Lahore in 2004 and came to work in the UK in 2011 with positions in Bristol, Milton Keynes and Dartford before moving to the Tameside and Glossop Integrated Trust in 2015.

He left the Trust in October 2024 and worked in Liverpool before returning to Pakistan in January.

The tribunal will hear final submissions tomorrow.
Russian drones sent into Polish airspace were reportedly heading to a NATO base used to supply Ukraine, it has been revealed.

Poland's military was forced to shoot down drones in its airspace with the backing of military aircraft from NATO allies, the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia's war in Ukraine.

Drones crashed into several civilian homes as well as a military base for Polands Territorial Defence Forces.

Die Welt, a German newspaper, reported that five of the drones were on a direct flight path to a NATO base used to deliver supplies to Ukraine.

A high-ranking NATO officer told the paper: 'Based on current information, we assume that the drones most likely intentionally entered NATO airspace'.

NATO officials are particularly nervous given that two more drones entered Lithuania at 10am on Wednesday, hours after Russia sent drones to Poland. This is believed to have been done to test the defence bloc's response.

Though the drones sent to the NATO base were shot down by Dutch F35 fighter jets, the episode has deeply worried Poland, which activated Article 4 of the NATO Treaty, calling on all its allies to discuss what to do about Russia.

Poland's deputy prime minister has called for NATO to build an 'anti-drone wall' on its border with Russia, just days after Vladimir Putin send dozens of drones into Poland's airspace.

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Up to four of the 19 Russian drones were shot down by Polish and NATO aircraft - the first time Kremlin drones have been downed while flying above a NATO territory

Sikorsky said: 'We need more anti-aircraft asset like Patriot missiles (pictured) and we need more means to get rid of drones'

Firefighters work on the destroyed roof of a house, after Russian drones violated Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine, with some being shot down by Poland with the backing from its NATO allies, in Wyryki, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland, September 10, 2025

Radosaw Sikorski, the country's deputy prime minister and foreign minister, told Radio 4 this morning that his nation needs an 'anti-drone wall' to protect itself against Russia.

He said: 'We have equipment to deal with jets, with fighters, but what we need now is an anti-drone wall on our border.

'We've lived next to Russia for 500 years. When they threaten us, we take it seriously. We know that Russian imperialism in inherently aggressive. It's aggressive against our neighbour Ukraine, but they've made threats against us as well.'

The comments come in the context of continued European planning on the Sky Shield initiative, dubbed 'Europe's Iron Dome', which has seen several European nations plan an air defence system that would include anti-ballistic capabilities with an aim of defending the continent from air attacks.

Sikorski said Poland's NATO allies ought to foot at least some of the bill for increased defences on its border with Russia.

He said: 'We need more anti-aircraft asset like Patriot missiles and we need more means to get rid of drones - acoustic systems to detect them, and cheaper more effective ways to shoot them down.

'This is the border of NATO - these drones have huge ranges, they've been breaching airspace, not just Poland but Romania and Lithuania. So it's a common threat to which we should have a common answer.'

He also condemned Europe for not investing in long-term defence manufacturing: 'Europe has consumed the peace dividend for far too long, and not only disarmed itself but de-industrialised itself in the defence area. This has to be reversed.

'Allies are now examining their inventories to see what can be moved to Poland, at least temporarily, to deal with the present danger. We also need to stand up our production facilities.'

Kurt Volker, a former ambassador who was George Bush's last representative with NATO, told Radio 4 that NATO ought to set up an 'air defence zone' around its territories, in light of recent Russian aggression.

He said: 'I think the best way to handle that is to declare an extended air defence zone around NATO territory, so that anything coming within 200km, we would say 'NATO would be prepared to work to take it out. We will not allow these things to come to NATO'.'

He said that while NATO was perfectly capable of defending itself against Russia, it need to take decisive action.

Volker said: 'I'm not too worried about [NATO's ability to defend itself], to be honest. You can have a large number of drones, and you can fly into airspace, but the principle is that once you start to see this happen, you start to organise and prepare for it.

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Parts of discovered drone are seen in the village of Mniszkow in central Poland

A severely damaged house in the village of Wyryki in eastern Poland, where one of the Russian drones that breached Polish airspace collided with the building

'I think Poland was not expecting that to happen - When it did, they reacted quickly, but knowing now that this is a possibility, NATO has the ability to increase its capabilities in a number of different ways.'

This morning, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk pledged to push ahead with a 'great modernisation program' for his country's military.

European officials described Wednesday's incursion, which occurred during a wave of unrelenting Russian strikes on Ukraine, as a deliberate provocation. It deepened longstanding fears that the three-year war between Poland's neighbours could precipitate a wider conflict. US-led efforts to steer Moscow and Kyiv toward a peace settlement have so far failed to get traction.

The Polish Air Navigation Agency announced Thursday morning that Poland was introducing air traffic restrictions in the eastern part of the country. It said the step was taken at the request of the Polish army for national security reasons but did not elaborate.

Poland said some of the drones that entered its airspace Wednesday came from Belarus, where Russian and local troops have begun gathering for war games scheduled to start Friday. Poland is closing its border with Belarus at midnight Thursday, a planned move also associated with the military exercises.

Tusk addressed Polish troops at an air base in the central city of Lask, praising their quick action and that of NATO allied forces from the Netherlands that responded to the multiple Russian drone incursions.

Poland expects to receive its first F-35 fighter jets from the United States next year, he said. It will be the first delivery of some of the 32 aircraft expected by 2030 as part of a support package finalized five years ago, Tusk said.

The jets are aimed at significantly strengthening Polish security and its NATO defense capabilities against regional threats.

'We will do everything to ensure that our allied obligations, which are so important from our point of view today, are fulfilled by our allies,' Tusk said

Photos show the extent of damage to a house in Poland hit by a drone on Tuesday night

Images show the devastation inside a Polish home torn apart after being struck by a Russian drone as Europe edges closer to its most dangerous moment since 1945

'We hope that the Americans will meet the deadlines. We would like the first batch of the F-35s to reach you in May, and so that we can speak of our air power with increasing confidence from month to month, and from year to year. And that Poland is truly safe from the sky.'

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday offered an ambiguous initial response to Russia's drone incursion. 'What's with Russia violating Poland's airspace with drones? Here we go!' Trump posted on social media.

Trump told Polish President Karol Nawrocki in the White House last week that the US will maintain a robust military presence.

Several European leaders said they believed the incursion amounted to an intentional expansion of Russia's assault against Ukraine.

'Russia's war is escalating, not ending,' European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday. 'What (Russian President Vladimir) Putin wants to do is to test us. What happened in Poland is a game changer,' she said, adding that it should result in stronger sanctions.

Polish airspace has been violated many times since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but never on this scale in Poland or anywhere else in NATO territory.
Billionaire Elon Musk slammed the Democratic party and leftist users online, castigating them for 'celebrating cold-blooded murder' following the death of Charlie Kirk.

The conservative activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA was shot in the throat while speaking to college students at Utah Valley University. The shooter is still at large, and has not been publicly identified by law enforcement.

The Left is the party of murder, Musk wrote on X soon after news broke of the shooting.

The billionaire initially posted that he hoped Charlie makes it somehow but as it became clear Kirk was deceased, Musks comments increased.

Throughout the ordeal, liberal users on rival social network Bluesky began celebrating the assassination of Kirk.

They are celebrating cold-blooded murder, Musk wrote in a reply to a user. Shows what were dealing with. Evil people.'

Elon Musk claimed 'The Left is the party of murder' following Kirk's death

Musk tore into liberal users celebrating Kirk's death on social media

Kirk was murdered at Utah Valley University on Wednesday while speaking to college students

Musk continued blaming the radical Left for Kirks murder by claiming they are responsible for numerous politically motivated murders.

The Left lectured us for the last decade about the dangers of violence from the Right, Musk later wrote.

From the assassination attempts of President Trump to Brian Thompson, the United Healthcare CEO, being murdered. Now to Charlie Kirk. The danger was actually on the Left.

Numerous posts with tens of thousands of likes and reposts celebrating Kirks death have gone viral on social media, including on X.

Charlie Kirk isnt a martyr. Hes a casualty of the violence he incited, wrote X user @zellieimani.

The post has more 300,000 likes and 40,000 reposts as of Thursday morning.

Following Kirks death, President Donald Trump addressed the nation from the Oval Office with a solemn message criticizing the demonization of political opponents.

To my great fellow Americans, I am filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah. Charlie inspired millions and tonight, all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror,' the President said.

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday his plans to posthumously award Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom

On Thursday morning, Trump announced he will posthumously award Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Most elected national Democratic leaders have expressed condolences to Kirk's family following his death, including California governor Gavin Newsom, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

'The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form,' Newsom wrote on X.
A hard-left councillor has resigned just hours after claiming American conservative activist Charlie Kirk 'made himself a target' and 'brought his assassination upon himself'.

Mr Kirk, a married father of two, was struck in the neck by a single bullet while speaking about mass shootings at a university campus in Utah yesterday, with a manhunt still underway to find the gunman.

While his assassination has sparked an outpouring of tributes, it has also led to accusations that the Left are using his death to score political points because of his strong opinions.

Fiona Wild, an independent councillor in Burnley, sparked outrage by posting: 'I don't condone violence, but I do think he made himself a target and brought this on himself so good riddance to not a very nice man! America needs to get rid of the other t*t now.'

Amid growing calls to step down, Burnley Council confirmed today: 'People may be aware of a social media post made by former independent councillor Fiona Wild. We can confirm that Ms Wild has now resigned from her position.

'Ms Wild was serving as an independent councillor at the time of her resignation, and therefore was not affiliated to, or representing, any political party group within Burnley Council.'

Leader of the council Jamie McGowan had earlier called for Ms Wild - who quit the Labour Party in August - to resign immediately, describing her remarks as 'vile'.

The Tory councillor said: 'I think what Cllr Fiona Wild forgets is that two small children have woken up without their daddy this morning, because of nothing more than his political beliefs.

'It's such a disgusting thing to say, which shows a nasty side I didn't know she had.'

When she resigned, he quipped: 'All I can say is, good riddance to a not very nice woman.'

Ms Wild describes herself as a trade union activist and 'defender of our NHS' and has shared several posts of her on the picket lines with Unison. The Mail has contacted her for comment.

It comes amid accusations of liberals 'celebrating' Mr Kirk's death - with left-wing writer Nels Abbey sparking outrage after comparing the activist to David Duke, the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan.

Fiona Wild, an independent councillor in Burnley, has resigned after posting: 'I don't condone violence, but I do think he made himself a target and brought this on himself so good riddance to not a very nice man! America needs to get rid of the other t*t now'

This is the moment Joi Chaney sparked outrage after she began laughing and saying Charlie Kirk 'wasn't admired and loved by all'

Left-wing writer Nels Abbey (pictured) sparked a furious response after comparing Mr Kirk to the ex-leader of the Ku Klux Klan

Mr Kirk, a married father of two, was struck in the neck by a single bullet while speaking about mass shootings at a university campus in Utah yesterday

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During a debate on Good Morning Britain, fellow guest Michael Gove described Mr Kirk as 'a sort of Cicero for the TikTok age', adding that it was 'the latest political assassination to afflict America'.

But Mr Abbey intervened to say: 'Can I just say something? I don't believe he was a Cicero for the TikTok age, I believe he was a David Duke for the TikTok age.'

When host Kate Garraway asked him to clarify who Duke was, he replied: 'He was the former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

'Now, this is by no means trying to justify his murder. Political violence is wrong at home; it's wrong abroad. Political violence must be condemned, as must the propagandising for political violence and the dehumanisation of people.

'Charlie Kirk was somebody who... I shiver, particularly for conservatives when he's described as conservative, because he wasn't. He was quite clearly and comfortably a supremacist.'

Reacting furiously, one X user said: 'Nels Abbey on Good Morning Britain just compared Charlie Kirk to a KKK leader and called him a white supremacist... whilst pretending to show some sympathy for the murder. Shameful, considering it is less than 24 hours since the event. R.I.P.'

Another said: '@GMB Allowing Nels Abbey airtime to smear Charlie Kirk as some kind of KKK leader and claim it's "his own fault" is an absolute disgrace.'

Reacting to the response from liberals online, Brendan Cox - whose Labour MP wife Jo Cox was murdered in 2016 - told the Mail that America must use this moment to 'tone down the temperature, rather than turn it up even further'.

The BBC has also come under fire over its 'distasteful' coverage of the killing after inviting Democratic strategist Joi Chaney onto the panel, who stunned audiences when she said Mr Kirk 'wasn't admired and loved by all'.

While speaking about the killing, Ms Chaney was accused of laughing, and mockingly remarked: 'I've never shared a Trump post in my life. I will contemplate sharing this one. But what I will say with a caveat: he wasn't admired and loved by all, so that's an exaggeration.'

The presenter and another panellist were left visibly shocked, with an audible gasp heard before Ms Chaney was allowed to continue.

She added: 'The truth is it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter whether he was loved, I understand why President Trump said it. I'm not critiquing it.

'But what I'm saying is we don't have to like and admire someone to want to believe that they get to go out and speak and share their views in front of people who support them and who don't support them.'

The BBC clip was swiftly shared across social media, sparking outrage at both Ms Chaney's comments and the BBC for airing them so soon after the killing.

One user was quick to slam the commentator, saying: 'Shame on you, you evil being!

'I think that millions around the world disagree with your take. He was loved, celebrated, educated, gifted. Charlie is dead. Don't celebrate that. Don't laugh at that.'

Another user shared the outrage, saying: 'Couldn't believe it when I heard this on the BBC. Why did they even have this Democrat, Joi Chaney, on the programme? She was laughing at the death of Charlie Kirk. Pure evil.'

A third questioned why the broadcaster would allow this moment on the show, saying it was 'absolutely sick' and 'completely immoral and insensitive'.

And a fourth added: 'If individuals like this are given the chance to speak on national television, this is what will happen. Her choice of words and tone suggests she's glad the man is gone. Such a weak and heartless person.'

The BBC has been approached for comment.

Another post which sparked a backlash was from left-wing activist Femi Oluwole, who said: 'The same people who spent the last two years telling us to treat the murder of 80,000 in Gaza as an acceptable and justified loss are about to get real precious about the sanctity of one human life.'

The BBC has come under fire for its coverage of the Charlie Kirk assassination

Another post which caught the attention of users was from left-wing activist Femi Oluwole

Brendan Cox, the widower of murdered MP Jo Cox, sparked a backlash for saying 'political violence increases sympathy for those attacked'

But others thought this was the wrong time for comparisons to the conflict, with one user replying: 'So Femi, his young kids have now no father, his wife no husband, their world has ended today, and those kids will see that one day and that poor woman has probably already seen the moment their childhood ended. I get your anger for Gaza, but where's the empathy right now?'

Another user said: 'You have really proven why people do not like you... Awful human being... Every life matters, but for you to dismiss even one life when you pretend to care about others is hypocrisy... RIP Charlie Kirk.'

Mr Cox, the widower of murdered MP Jo Cox, initially sparked a backlash with his reaction to the attack on Mr Kirk.

Retweeting a post which said 'we must never allow America to become a country that confronts [political] disagreements with violence', Mr Cox wrote: 'Political violence doesn't win the argument, it just increases sympathy for those attacked. This is a despicable attack - whoever carried it out.'

Responding with fury, one user said: 'Your own wife was murdered, and this is your response?'

Another said: 'You may want to re-read this.'

And a third posted: 'I would have expected better from you of all people. This is a man, a husband and a father, he and his family deserve every sympathy regardless of where he stands politically and he has never preached violence, quite the opposite. People on the Left are celebrating his death and making excuses.'

When it emerged Mr Kirk had been killed, Mr Cox - whose wife was stabbed to death by far-right loner Thomas Mair in June 2016 - added: 'Charlie Kirk has been killed. Absolutely horrific. Absolutely wrong.'

Speaking to the Mail, he clarified his comments and called for America to 'tone down the temperature'.

Mr Cox condemned online trolls celebrating Mr Kirk's murder, while praising senior Democrat figures such as Barack Obama, the Clintons and Nancy Pelosi for paying tribute.

'On top of that very personal impact on Charlie's family, you've got the impact on American politics which is already in a very difficult place.

'What I remember from when Jo was killed, was Britain as a country coming together... while trying to tone down tensions. I'm not sure that's what we're seeing in the US.

'You've got really strong statements from high-profile Democrats, saying this is outrageous and unconscionable. But you've definitely got people on the Left joking about it or making snide comments.

'And we saw similar issues from the Right when two Democrats were killed [Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and husband Mark in January this year].'

Mr and Mrs Cox had two children together, with son Cuillin five at the time of her murder in Leeds and daughter Lejla three.

He added: 'What America needs to do now is use this as a moment to tone down the temperature, rather than turn it up even further. But I'm not particularly hopeful of that, knowing what's happening online.

'There are lots of tweets about civil war, lots of jokes  not the best way to honour the death of Charlie.

'This can be incredibly dangerous, in a febrile atmosphere  and where the availability of guns changes the risk of violence.

'When Nancy Pelosi's husband was attacked, Donald Trump Jr was sending out memes and jokes about it. Now we're seeing similar from the Left, although not such high-profile people.

'These are very serious moments and if the country can't use those to come together, then I think it's in a very parlous state.'

Labour politicians have also come under attack amid recent anger over the crackdown of free speech in the UK.

After Sir Keir Starmer posted a tribute to Mr Kirk, one user wrote: 'You would have had him locked up if he was from the UK.'

Another said: 'If he were British you would have done everything in your power to imprison him. Sit this one out.'

And responding to a tribute from Yvette Cooper, a third posted: 'If he was British, you would've arrested him. What a hypocrite!'

The assassination has sparked fear among those with outspoken views, including former Top Gear host and columnist Jeremy Clarkson, who wrote: 'For the first time in my life, I'm genuinely frightened about being a newspaper columnist.'

Sir Keir Starmer came under fire, with many saying Kirk would have been arrested in the UK, amid an ongoing row over free speech in Britain

Yvette Cooper was also told to 'sit this one out'

The assassination has sparked fear among those with outspoken views, including former Top Gear host and columnist Jeremy Clarkson, who wrote: 'For the first time in my life, I'm genuinely frightened about being a newspaper columnist'

It comes as a manhunt is underway for the conservative commentator's killer.

Mr Kirk was surrounded by students at the American university when he was shot dead in the neck.

A figure in dark clothing is seen motionless on the roof of a nearby building - roughly 200 yards from Mr Kirk - just moments before the shot rang out.

As the camera pans across the crowd, the assassin is seen standing up and running across the rooftop and away, presumably joining the crowds of panicked people who fled the square.

Two people were initially detained but later were released after interrogation.

An elderly man was initially taken into custody by police following the shooting but was later released after being confirmed not to be the gunman.

On Wednesday evening, FBI Director Patel announced that authorities had taken a person of interest into custody, but confirmed the suspect was released just over an hour later following a police interrogation (pictured: Kirk before the shooting)

Security protocols and local police at the event are now facing fierce backlash, with attendees claiming there were no security measures in place - no checkpoints, bag checks, or metal detectors

Another video shared to X, captured in the moments after the shooting from what appears to be from inside a campus building, pans across the room - and in a brief moment, an individual can be seen sprinting across the rooftop

FBI agents are now working with local police to track down the killer, with Utah governor Spencer Cox vowing to catch the murderer and suggesting the shooter will face the death penalty.

'To whoever did this: We will find you. We will try you and we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law,' said the governor.

A UK offshoot of the US conservative group set up by Mr Kirk is set to hold a vigil in London today.

Turning Point UK has said its activists will gather on Friday evening by the Montgomery Statue in Whitehall and called on others to 'join us in remembering Charlie'.

The group's chief executive Jack Ross told Sky News on Wednesday: 'It's absolutely shocking, we're heartbroken over here in the UK.'

Political figures in the UK spoke out against political violence following Mr Kirk's death.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer expressed his condolences online, adding: 'My thoughts this evening are with the loved ones of Charlie Kirk.

'It is heartbreaking that a young family has been robbed of a father and a husband.

'We must all be free to debate openly and freely without fear - there can be no justification for political violence.'

Kim Leadbeater, whose sister Jo Cox was killed in 2016 when she was shot and stabbed by a neo-Nazi outside her constituency surgery a week before the EU referendum, wrote: 'This is dreadful.

'Whatever our political views and differences, there is no place for violence in our politics.

'Tonight two children have lost their Dad. Devastating. We need a global reset on what we want our politics to look like.'

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who said she is 'deeply shocked' by the killing, added: 'Political violence has no place in our societies.

'Our thoughts and condolences are with his family.'

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch describing the shooting as 'a blow to everything Western civilisation stands for'.

She posted online: 'There are no words good enough to express the horror of this.

'The killing of Charlie Kirk is a blow to everything Western civilisation stands for: open discourse, robust debate and peaceful dissent. He lived his life by those very principles, no matter the danger it put him in.

'This may have happened far from our shores, but the rising intolerance of opposing views affects us all. We cannot turn a blind eye to it.

'My thoughts are with Charlie's family, his wife Erika, and their children.'

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage posted a black-and-white photograph of himself with Mr Kirk, along with the message 'this is a very dark day for American democracy'.

He added that he is 'desperately sad' for Mr Kirk, his wife and children.

Former Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson believes Mr Kirk is now 'a shining new martyr to free speech' and described the killing as 'a tragedy, and a sign of the utter desperation and cowardice of those who could not defeat him in argument'.

He posted online: 'Charlie Kirk has been killed not for espousing extremist views - because he didn't.

'He has been killed for saying things that used to be simple common sense. He has been killed because he had the courage to stand up publicly for reasonable opinions held by millions and millions of ordinary people both in the US and Britain. The world has a shining new martyr to free speech.

'Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones.'

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey added: 'Absolutely horrifying news of Charlie Kirk's murder. Political violence should have no place in society.

'My prayers are with his family, I can't imagine the pain they must be going through.'

In a US press conference, Utah governor Spencer Cox said the attack was a 'political assassination'.

President Trump was quick to express his sadness at the tragedy, calling Mr Kirk a 'martyr for truth and freedom'.

'Charlie was the best of America and the monster who was attacking him was attacking our whole country,' he said, before ordering flags on US government buildings to be lowered to half-mast, including three at the White House.

He added in another post: 'The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.

'He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us.

'Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!'

President Donald Trump announced Kirk's death on Truth Social nearly five hours after the shooting, offering his sympathies to his wife and family

The conservative commentator was struck in the neck by a single bullet while addressing the crowd about mass shootings

The shooting occurred just after 12pm local time, while Kirk was answering his second question on the topic of mass shootings - specifically, whether he knew how many had involved a transgender shooter

The father of two, known for his fierce MAGA views and thrilling debates with college kids across the country, collapsed immediately after being hit by gunfire

During a press conference, Utah governor Spencer Cox reiterated that authorities did have 'a person of interest in custody, who is being interviewed right now'.

'I want to be very clear that this is a political assassination,' the governor said, though he did not disclose how he determined the suspected shooter's motive.

Cox also stated that there was no evidence indicating the involvement of a second shooter.

But just over an hour after news of the second suspect was made public, FBI Director Kash Patel revealed that the individual had been released.

'The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement,' he wrote on X. 'Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency.'

Mr Kirk leaves behind his wife, Erika Kirk (nee Frantzve), along with their three-year-old son and 16-month-old daughter.
The bullet used to kill conservative activist Charlie Kirk was engraved with transgender and anti-fascist ideology, according to a law bulletin.

The notice sent to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents said that bullets found inside the rifle, a .30-06 caliber hunting rifle, contained the messaging on them.

The 31-year-old MAGA figurehead was gunned down on Wednesday while speaking at a university event in Orem, Utah.

According to the notice, the weapon was wrapped up in a towel, with a spent cartridge in the chamber.

Another three unspent rounds were discovered in the magazine, all of which contained wording on them. The inscriptions were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

A Department of Justice source confirmed with the Daily Mail that the bulletin is authentic, while warning that the 'recovered evidence from the site of the assassination is still being assessed and the investigation is ongoing'.

The ATF said they would not comment on the contents of the report due to it still being an active investigation.

Kirk was speaking to students at the time and had mentioned transgender individuals being involved in mass shootings just seconds before he was assassinated.

The FBI revealed earlier this morning that they had recovered the firearm they believe was used in the killing of Kirk.

Robert Bohls, special agent in charge of the Bureau's Salt Lake City field office, said agents recovered a 'high-powered bolt action rifle' from a wooded area.

Kirk is seen here speaking at Utah Valley University before he was murdered on Wednesday

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According to Bohls, the assassin - who has since been described as a male of college age - fled to the wooded area after the shooting.

Beau Mason, Utah's public safety chief, said that investigators have 'good video footage' of the suspect.

They said the gunman managed to blend in with students on the college campus, having just arrived shortly before noon.

After making the fatal shot, authorities say he jumped from the roof of the building, before fleeing the campus.

Bohls said that the weapon was sent to an FBI lab for further analysis, with officials also finding palm and footwear prints on the scene.

The agent added that the FBI has received more than 130 tips since Kirk was gunned down.

Just last month the bureau, under Director Kash Patel, forced the resignation of decorated counterterrorism agent Mehtab Syed who was leading the Salt Lake City field office, MSNBC reported.

Syed was forced out after being put in charge of the office in February for reasons unknown.

The bureau is already coming under some heat over their handling of the manhunt, with questions already arising over why a nearby airport wasn't forced into lockdown.

A manhunt remains underway, with officials releasing an image of a person of interest wearing a cap, sunglasses and a long-sleeved t-shirt.

This undated combination of images provided provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows a person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk

FBI special agent Robert Bohls, left, and Commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety Beau Mason speak during a news conference on Thursday morning

The gunman managed to blend in with students on the college campus, having just arrived shortly before noon. A figure on the roof is seen here after the shooting

First responders initially described the gunman as being dressed all in black, with aviator-style sunglasses.

Kirk was fielding questions from the audience inside the Losee Center courtyard on the campus at the time.

'Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last ten years?' the person asked. Kirk responded, 'Too many.'

The questioner followed up: 'Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last ten years?'

'Counting or not counting gang violence?' Kirk asked. Then a shot rang out. Kirk immediately slumped over as the crowd descended into a frenzy.

About 3,000 people were in attendance, according to a statement from the Utah Department of Public Safety.

The university police department had six officers working the event, along with Kirk's own security detail, authorities said.

An elderly man, since identified as 71-year-old George Zinn, was hauled away by cops in the immediate aftermath after allegedly claiming he had fired the fatal shot.

Authorities soon determined that he was not involved in the assassination, and later confirmed that another man they had taken into custody was not the shooter either.
Sir Keir Starmer has suffered yet another embarrassing exit from his Labour administration following his sacking of Lord Mandelson as US ambassador.

The PM has endured a steady stream of departures from across his ministerial and Downing Street teams, as well as other posts, during his 14 months in power.

These include a now-resigned Cabinet minister who was revealed to have a fraud conviction, and a former corruption minister who is on trial for alleged corruption.

Lord Mandelson's exit is also the second high-profile departure in just two weeks since Sir Keir attempted a 'phase two' relaunch of his Labour Government.

The PM's 'reset' was almost immediately derailed by Angela Rayner's resignation as Deputy PM last week.

This followed her tearful admission she didn't pay enough tax on her new flat.

A tally of high-profile departures from Sir Keir's 14 months in power includes eight ministers, one ambassador, one trade envoy, and three No10 aides.

With a number of those exits having come amid scandals or bitter internal rows, there are growing questions over Sir Keir's judgement in making appointments.

Sir Keir Starmer has suffered yet another embarrassing exit from his Labour administration following his sacking of Lord Mandelson as US ambassador

Those who have left the PM's administration include:

Louise Haigh

Louise Haigh

She was Sir Keir's first Cabinet casualty in November last year when she was forced to resign as transport secretary.

Her departure came after it emerged she had previously pleaded guilty to a fraud offence before becoming an MP.

The Sheffield Heeley MP was revealed to have failed to correct police records in 2013 regarding a stolen mobile phone.

She received a conditional discharge.

Tulip Siddiq

Tulip Siddiq

She resigned as a Treasury minister in January following a probe by the independent adviser on ministerial standards into her links to her aunt's regime.

Ms Siddiq is the niece of the former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled the country in August last year after ruling for 15 years.

Although the probe by Sir Laurie Magnus concluded Ms Siddiq had not breached ministerial rules, he advised the PM to reconsider her responsibilities.

These included tackling corruption in UK financial markets.

Ms Siddiq subsequently chose to resign, saying she had become 'a distraction' from the Government's agenda.

In April, it was reported that Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission had sought an arrest warrant for Ms Siddiq.

It came amid allegations the MP for Hampstead and Highgate illegally received a 7,200sq ft plot of land in Dhaka, the Bangledeshi capital.

Ms Siddiq has denied any wrongdoing and last month she labelled a trial into her alleged corruption a 'farce' as it got under way in Bangladesh.

Andrew Gwynne

Andrew Gwynne

He was sacked as a health minister and suspended from Labour in February after the emergence of offensive messages in a WhatsApp group.

The Gorton and Denton MP is currently under investigation by a parliamentary watchdog.

Mr Gwynne said he regretted making the 'badly misjudged' comments and apologised 'for any offence I've caused'.

The messages in a closed group chat with Labour figures based around Manchester reportedly included sexist, racist and anti-Semitic comments.

Anneliese Dodds

Anneliese Dodds

She resigned as international development minister in February over the PM's cuts to the foreign aid budget.

Ms Dodds said these would 'remove food and healthcare from desperate people - deeply harming the UK's reputation'.

She told Sir Keir she had delayed her resignation until after his meeting with US President Donald Trump in the White House.

Ahead of his trip to Washington DC, the PM announced aid funding would be slashed in order to fund an increase in defence spending.

Vicky Foxcroft

Vicky Foxcroft

She resigned as Labour whip in the House of Commons in June over the Government's proposed cuts to disability benefits.

In a letter to the PM, she said she understood the need to address 'the ever-increasing welfare bill'.

But she added that cuts to Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and Universal Credit should 'not be part of the solution'.

Sir Keir was later forced into an embarrassing U-turn over the planned cuts to PIP in the face of a major revolt by Labour MPs.

Rushanara Ali

Rushanara Ali

She resigned as homelessness minister last month after it emerged she evicted four tenants from a property she owns then re-let it weeks later for 700 more a month.

The Bethnal Green and Stepney MP quit amid fury among housing charities at the revelation.

In a letter to Sir Keir, she said she had 'at all times' followed 'all legal requirements' and taken her responsibilities 'seriously'.

But Ms Ali added: 'It is clear that continuing in my role will be a distraction from the ambitious work of the Government.'

Angela Rayner

Angela Rayner

She quit as Deputy PM, housing secretary and Labour's deputy leader last week in the wake of her tearful admission she didn't pay enough tax on her new flat.

A probe by Sir Laurie found she had 'acted with integrity', but failed to 'heed the caution' contained within legal advice on buying the 800,000 property in Hove.

The Ashton-under-Lyne MP referred herself for investigation after she admitted she had paid around 40,000 less stamp duty than she should have done.

A complex arrangement involving a trust set up for her disabled son and her family home in Greater Manchester meant the Hove property should have been considered a second home.

This meant she was liable for the higher rate of stamp duty.

Ms Rayner conceded she had made a 'mistake' after fresh legal advice from a 'leading tax counsel' confirmed the error.

Before then, she had firmly insisted that she had paid the correct amount of tax.

Baroness Gustafsson

Baroness Gustafsson

She left her role as investment minister after less than a year as part of last week's ministerial resuffle.

But it was reported that she had asked to step down months previously.

One former minister told the FT: 'She was the wrong choice in the first place and in the past few months she has only been allowed to do a meet and greet role and she has no input into policy or deals. She also doesn't like parliament.

'The job doesn't work unless you have a strong link into No 10 and she never managed to achieve that.'

Andrew Griffith, the Tory shadow business secretary, said: 'This is zero surprise.

'Poppy has a decent claim for constructive dismissal given Labour's attacks on wealth creators, higher taxes and exodus of international investors since day one.

'Selling this Government to international investors would make writing Putin's application for a Nobel peace prize look enticing.'

Lord Mandelson

Lord Mandelson

He was today sacked as Britain's ambassador to the US after emails revealed the depth of his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Sir Keir, who handpicked Lord Mandelson for the role, took the action after it emerged how the Labour peer sent supportive messages even as Epstein faced jail for sex crimes.

The Government said the emails showed 'the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment'.

The PM had defended Lord Mandelson until the emergence of the emails.

Sir Keir insisted the former minister had gone through a proper vetting process and had helped build a successful relationship with Mr Trump's White House.

Lord Mandelson said he regrets continuing his association with Epstein.

Afzal Khan

Afzal Khan

He resigned as the UK's trade envoy to Turkey last month following criticism of his visit to the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

The territory isn't recognised by the UK Government as Turkish troops have occupied Cyprus' northern third since the 1974 invasion.

Mr Khan, the MP for Manchester Rusholme, also met Turkish-Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar - a move which the Cypriot government described as 'absolutely condemnable and unacceptable'.

In a letter to the PM, he said he felt it was 'best to stand down at this time so not to distract from the hard work the Government is doing to secure the best possible trade deals for this country'.

Baroness Gray

Baroness Gray

Sir Keir's first chief of staff dramatically quit in October last year after just three months in Downing Street.

The former civil servant's time at the centre of Sir Keir's Government was marked by regular reports of tensions with other No10 staff.

Baroness Gray was also damaged when it was leaked that she was earning more than the PM's salary of 166,786.

She was replaced as Sir Keir's top aide by Morgan McSweeney, who was the apparent victor of a No10 feud.

Matthew Doyle

Matthew Doyle

He quit as Sir Keir's spin chief in March after just under nine months in Downing Street.

Mr Doyle had also served as Sir Keir's communications chief while Labour were in opposition.

Sir Keir paid tribute to Mr Doyle for having 'worked tirelessly by my side every day' since summer 2021.

He was said to have left No10 after feeling he had stabilised the Government's communications strategy following Labour's rocky first few months in office.

James Lyons

James Lyons

The former journalist quit as Sir Keir's director of strategic communications last week after 11 months in the role.

He had joined No10 from TikTok - where he was the social media site's head of corporate and policy communications in Europe - as part of the 'reset' of Sir Keir's premiership in the wake of Baroness Gray's exit.

Questions have now been raised about Mr Lyons' role after he revealed he helped write the Labour manifesto, ahead of last year's general election, while still working at the Chinese-owned technology company.

He wrote in a LinkedIn post: 'I had helped Labour during the election by rewriting the manifesto to make it more compelling (and remove bear traps where I could).

'To ensure security this was done, in spare time over evenings and weekends, on a laptop that didn't leave the party HQ. Rightly, there was never any promise of a job.'

There is no suggestion he broke any rules.
Saudi government officials arrived in the U.S. nearly three years before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to reportedly serve as an 'advance team' for hijackers, according to newly declassified reports.

The revelations could provide a basis for additional FBI and U.S. intelligence investigations into whether the Saudi Arabian government was directly involved in organizing the attacks.

Video and corresponding documents, journalist Catherine Herridge reports, prove that Saudi government employees came to the U.S. in 1998 to allegedly help lay the groundwork for the hijackers.

A person familiar with the investigation told the Daily Mail that the FBI is aware of the report and is on the lookout for any documents related to the latest revelations.

Assistant Director of the FBI's Office of Congressional Affairs Marshall Yates is already leading the charge to review any materials related to the investigation into the terrorist attacks, an FBI official confirmed.

Mutaib al-Sudairy and Adel Mohammad al-Sadhan, both Saudi government officials at the time, were seen in video from June 1999 filming multiple D.C. landmarks, including the U.S. Capitol, Washington Monument and White House.

Both of these locations were potential targets for the attacks in 2001.

When former director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center Bill Evanina was asked about the clips, he said they're 'clearly not a tourist video.'

Saudi national Omar al-Bayoumi is seen in a video in front of the U.S. Capitol in June 1999 taken by Saudi government officials Mutaib al-Sudairy and Adel Mohammad al-Sadhan, who arrived in the U.S. in December 1998 to allegedly lay the groundwork for the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks

Mutaib al-Sudairy and Adel Mohammad al-Sadhan, both Saudi government officials at the time, are seen driving around Washington, D.C. in video from June 1999

'It's very specific with intent of not only the visualization of multiple sides of the building, but also the security detail,' he noted in an interview with Herridge.

While the audio is not included in the video, there are subtitles that show that the three men are joking around and noting what they saw in the country they just landed in months earlier.

The subtitles show one of the men observing at one point: 'In this area there is a church, of course.'

'Even the women are not covering their faces in this area,' one of the men says in the 1999 clip.

Also seen in the video is Saudi national Omar al-Bayoumi, who is also linked to the hijackers but maintains his innocence in connection to the attacks.

An investigation found that al-Sudairy and al-Sadhan landed in Southern California in December 1998  18 months before the first two 9/11 hijackers also landed in Los Angeles.

Evanina told Herridge that the newly declassified materials brings the U.S. 'closer' to connecting the Saudi government to the horrific attacks 24 years ago.

'I think it's clear that we now had individuals who came here prior to 9/11 who were official Saudi employees,' he said, but added it's not clear if they were here on behest of the government or if they had secret ties to al-Qaeda.

The naming of these two officials, Eviana said, does 'provide new investigative leads for the FBI and our investigative services.'

The men took video of landmarks in D.C., including the U.S. Capitol

They also took detailed video of the Washington Monument

Former director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center Bill Evanina (pictured) said the clips are 'clearly not a tourist video  it's very specific with intent of not only the visualization of multiple sides of the building, but also the security detail'

The unearthed video shows the men filmed the South Lawn of the White House in June 1999

Evanina spent 24 years at the FBI and investigated the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Herridge uncovered in thousands of pages of 9/11 documents that al-Sadhan and al-Sudairy allegedly received help from Saudi national al-Bayoumi to obtain drivers licenses and living quarters, as well as other financial assistance.

The FBI released a report in 2021 claiming that al-Bayoumi could have been a Saudi intelligence asset who helped the hijackers with logistics once they were in the U.S.

The report released by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs mentions the links al-Bayoumi had with al-Sadhan and al-Sudairy  including his familiarity with their movements between the Saudi consulate in Los Angeles and their first stop in the U.S. at the King Fahad Mosque in Culver City.

Newly declassified documents reveal two Saudi government officials were in the U.S. three years before September 11, 2001, allegedly to lay the groundwork for the hijackers to carry out the terrorist attacks

The documents Herridge confirmed that al-Bayoumi co-signed an apartment lease with the hijackers in San Diego.

Both al-Sadhan and al-Sudairy moved to San Diego shortly after meeting al-Bayoumi in Los Angeles, according to the recently declassified report.

The 2021 FBI report claims that documents they uncovered contract al-Bayoumi's previous claims to FBI investigators that he 'randomly' met the 9/11 hijackers at a restaurant in southern California.

Gaps in his story undermine claims that he's innocent and was not linked to the September 11th attacks.
Don Lemon was left visibly stunned when an immigrant New Yorker backed Donald Trumps call for tougher policing  live on camera.

The former CNN anchor was filming a man-on-the-street segment for his YouTube channel when he stopped a woman who said she had lived in the Bronx for eight years since moving from the Dominican Republic.

Trying to gauge local opinion on public safety, Lemon asked if she felt safe in the neighborhood.

Yes, she replied, before quickly clarifying.

You do? Lemon pressed, looking unconvinced.

A little bit, the woman admitted.

When Lemon pressed further, asking whether she supported National Guard troops being deployed on the streets, the woman surprised him by answering: Maybe more.

The exchange became even more awkward when Lemon floated the idea of armed military on patrol.

Don Lemon interviewed a woman who has lived in the Bronx for eight years after moving from the Dominican Republic, and she said more police - or even armed military - would make her feel safe

Lemon pulled a sour face after a Bronx passerby backed Trumps call for tougher policing during a street interview

Trump has vowed to send National Guard troops into major cities - a policy that has sparked both protests and praise across the country (Pictured: Members of the National Guard patrol the National Mall Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C.)

I think its good. If we are going to be safe, she said matter-of-factly.

Lemon blinked, asking once more: Then youre all for it?

Yes, the better is, we are safe, is the important thing, she explained.

Lemon quickly wrapped up the encounter, thanking her for her time. But as the woman walked away, he couldnt hide his reaction  turning back to the camera and pulling a very sour face.

The clip has since gone viral, with many social media users mocking the expression as the perfect embodiment of an interview that didnt go the way Lemon expected.

One user quipped: Don Lemon exited that convo fast! while another joked, Bro is fuming.

Others piled on Lemons discomfort, with one post reading: Ooops not at all what he was expecting. Another added: She gave him a big s** burger to eat!*

Some commenters said the womans response reflected a broader reality. As a Dominican myself, I can attest that Dominicans in the States are largely right-wing, far more than Puerto Ricans, one user noted.

Donald Trump hit out at a reporter who asked whether he intends to 'go to war with Chicago ' after he shared an ominous meme

Another wrote: Keeping our streets safe should always come first. National Guard support can help protect citizens.

But not everyone was sympathetic. One critic branded Lemon a one man clown show, while another sneered: Amazing Don Lemon is still around.

President Trump, who began his second term in January 2025, has repeatedly vowed to send the National Guard into major cities as part of his sweeping law-and-order agenda  a promise that continues to sharply divide opinion.

Thousands of protesters marched in Chicago on Saturday against Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and the impending arrival of National Guard troops.

When a second reporter questioned Trumps decision to intervene in Chicago over cities with higher crime rates, he snapped back.

NBC News White House correspondent Yamiche Alindor pressed him on a recent Truth Social post in which he compared Chicago to an Apocalypse Now-style warzone.

I love the smell of deportations in the morning. Chicago about to find out why its called the Department of WAR, Trump wrote, alongside an AI-generated image of himself sitting in front of the city as it burned.

The administration had already deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles over the summer in response to immigration riots.

Troops were also called in as part of his unprecedented law enforcement takeover in Washington, D.C.
On X, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau stated that the U.S. will respond to foreign nationals within its borders who express support for or downplay the assassination of Charlie Kirk on social media.

Specifically, 'praising, rationalizing, or making light of' Kirk's assassination on social media.'

'In light of yesterday's horrific assassination of a leading political figure, I want to underscore that foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,' Landau wrote on X.

Landau added, 'I have been disgusted to see some on social media praising, rationalizing, or making light of the event, and have directed our consular officials to undertake appropriate action. Please feel free to bring such comments by foreigners to my attention so that the @StateDept can protect the American people.'

Landau responded to a comment asking how people could flag these individuals. He responded saying he will direct consular officials to monitor the comments to his post.

Landau didn't specify which groups fall under the term 'foreigners,' nor did he detail what form the response might takesuch as visa denials or deportation.

Other activists and outspoken conservative commentators commented on the X post, showing receipts of people calling for their own assassinations, expressing fear.

In light of Kirk's traumatic death, Vice President JD Vance will visit Salt Lake City, Utah, to offer condolences to the family of Charlie Kirk. The Second Lady will reportedly also join him on this trip.

This marks a change from his original plan to travel to New York City to commemorate the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to an administration official familiar with his schedule.

Some public officials and leaders are also cancelling their events, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who was supposed to have an event in North Carolina this weekend.

The president also honoring Kirk this morning, bestowing the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the owner of Turning-Point USA, speaking at the Pentagon. The day for the award ceremony has not been announced yet.

At the event, the president, sounding choked-up and solemn, said he is still shocked by the horror of his assassination, all the while highlighting his influence on the conservative political landscape.

The President has ordered all American flags to be lowered to half-staff until Sunday evening at 6pm EST in honor of Kirk.

The conservative commentator, 31, was hit by a single bullet while speaking to a crowd at the public university in Orem at lunchtime on Wednesday after speaking for about 20 minutes.

The father-of-two, known for his fierce MAGA views and combative debates with college kids across the country, collapsed immediately after being hit in the neck by a single shot from about 200 yards.

Kirk was answering a question about mass shootings seconds before he was struck. He was rushed to hospital in a critical condition, but was declared dead two-and-half hours later.

The killer is still on the loose with a major manhunt by the FBI and Utah police underway.

Speaker Mike Johnson held a moment of silence for Kirk on the chamber floor as questions circulated about whether the father of two was alive.

Daily Mail reached out to the State Department on this story.

A State Department Spokesperson tells Daily Mail, 'This Administration does not believe that the United States should grant visas to persons whose presences in our country does not align with U.S. national security interests.'
Ominous terror threats have swept across five HBCU campuses, prompting four to be put on lockdown.

The frightening reports come just a day after conservative activist Charlie Kirk, 31, was fatally shot at Utah Valley University.

Alabama State University shut down all campus operations Thursday morning due to a 'terrorist threat,' the school told WSFA 12 News. Specific details of the reported threat are not yet clear.

'We are working in close coordination with the appropriate law enforcement agencies to assess the situation and to ensure the safety and security of our students, faculty, staff, and the broader ASU community,' a spokesperson for the southern university said. 'The safety of our Hornet family is our highest priority.'

Threats have also been made against Hampton University, Virginia State University, Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Florida's Bethune-Cookman University, officials said.

Virginia State, Southern University and A&M College and Bethune-Cookman University are on lockdown while Hampton University has canceled classes and activities.

All five schools are Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs).

Meanwhile, a shelter-in-place order was also issued for Stockton University's Galloway campus in New Jersey on Thursday afternoon as police investigated an off-campus shooting.

Alabama State University is on lockdown after a 'terroristic threat'. (Pictured: Stock image of Alabama State)

The nature of the potential threat at Hampton University remains unclear, but all non-essential activities, including classes, have been canceled for Thursday and Friday

HBCU campuses are higher education institutions established before 1964 to educate black Americans at a time when they were widely denied access to other schools.

On Thursday afternoon, Virginia State University and Southern University and A&M College lifted their lockdowns.

The nature of the 'credible threat' at Hampton University remains unclear, but all non-essential activities, including classes, have been canceled for Thursday and Friday.

Evacuations are currently underway for non-essential personnel, as the university has urged students to 'minimize their movement across campus.'

Virginia State University also initiated a lockdown Thursday, informing staff and students about a 'potential threat' in an email.

'All students who are on campus should remain indoors, and those off campus should not come to campus at this time,' the school said.

'All classes have been canceled, and all VSU employees are instructed to work remotely. We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.'

Virginia State University also initiated a lockdown Thursday, informing staff and students about a 'potential threat' in an email

In a statement released Thursday afternoon, Southern University and A&M College confirmed the school is on lockdown

In a statement released Thursday afternoon, Southern University and A&M College confirmed the school is on lockdown.

'The lockdown applies to the entire Baton Rouge landmass, which also included Southern University Law Center, Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center, and Southern University Library School,' the campus said.

It is unclear what the potential threat is.

A spokesperson with the school told The Daily Mail 'this is all we have at this time' and an update will be given as soon as possible.

Just after noon on Thursday, Bethune-Cookman University - located in Daytona Beach - said the school was also under lockdown and canceling classes over a 'potential threat.'

'All classes have been canceled; students should return to their dorm rooms and shelter in place. All faculty and staff should head home and those not on campus should plan to work remotely,' the school said.

Again, it is unclear what sparked the urgent announcement.

Bethune-Cookman University - located in Daytona Beach - said the school was also under lockdown and canceling classes over a 'potential threat' Thursday afternoon

Donovan Washington, a sophomore at Hampton University, said the horror that unfolded in Utah on Wednesday was on his mind as he fled campus Thursday

Amirah Woodruff, another Hampton University student, was in class when she was notified of the potential threat

The Daily Mail also contacted Alabama State University, Hampton University, and Virginia State University for comment.

Donovan Washington, a sophomore at Hampton University, was studying in the library when he was notified to evacuate campus.

'I was a little startled, I was a little taken back, but, again, instinct just came in and I just had to get out real quickly,' Washington told WTKR.

The student added the horror that unfolded in Utah on Wednesday was on his mind as he fled.

Amirah Woodruff, another Hampton University student, was in class when she was notified of the potential threat.

'It didn't make me scared, but definitely a little bit skeptical of what's going on, but I know the school probably doesn't even know what's going on,' she told the outlet.

'But I do definitely think it may have something to do with the events that happened yesterday in Utah.'

After the lockdowns were announced, Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett expressed her dismay with HBCU campuses becoming a 'target.'

'HBCU campuses have been safehavens since their creation. Im not sure why or how they have become a target today, but it is not ok,' Crockett wrote on X.

Horror unfolded Wednesday when Kirk, a father-of-two, was shot in the neck while speaking at a rally at Utah Valley University (pictured)

On Thursday, the FBI released a photo of an unnamed person of interest connected to Kirk's assassination

'It is not ok for anyone to be targeted for violence! My heart aches for the constant trauma that students consistently experience simply because some lack the courage to do better!

'Please keep our students of all ages lifted in your prayers & then advocate for better! If other counties can figure it out, surely AMERICAN CAN!'

Horror unfolded Wednesday when Kirk, a father-of-two, was shot in the neck while speaking at a rally at Utah Valley University. He was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Two men were briefly taken into custody after the shooting, but investigators later confirmed they were not suspects and released them.

On Thursday, the FBI released a photo of an unnamed 'person of interest.'

The image showed an unknown male donning a black long-sleeve with an American flag on it and black sunglasses.

The FBI Salt Lake City office has asked for the public's help identifying him by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Police have launched a manhunt for an anti-Semitic attacker who carried out 'revolting' acts of vandalism against seven Jewish premises.

Four synagogues had 'a substance smeared on them' while a liquid was thrown towards a school and over a car in two other incidents, according to the Metropolitan Police.

An investigation is underway after the Jewish premises in Barnet, north London, were targeted in separate incidents over recent weeks, the force said.

Following inquiries, police said they believe the same suspect is likely responsible for all seven offences which are being investigated as religiously motivated criminal damage.

The force have released CCTV footage of a man that they want to speak to in connection with the probe.

Detective Superintendent Katie Harber from the North West Command, who is leading the investigation, said: 'These are revolting and appalling acts and we are urging the public to help us identify the perpetrator.

'Police and local partners continue to carry out extensive CCTV inquiries which have established the same suspect is likely responsible for all seven offences.

'Detectives and neighbourhood officers are working at pace to identify them.

The Metropolitan Police have released CCTV footage of a man that they want to speak to in connection with the probe (pictured)

'We are very aware of how distressing these offences have been for those who have been targeted. We will not tolerate this kind of behaviour.'

Ms Harber added that the force was actively engaging with the local community to provide reassurance and support, encouraging people to speak to police regarding any concerns they may have.

Officers were first called to a report of religiously motivated criminal damage relating to a synagogue on the morning of Wednesday September 3.

There were further reports that similar offences had taken place in the early hours of Thursday September 4 at a private property and Sunday September 7 at another synagogue.

Police received reports that a liquid was thrown at a school at around 2am on Monday September 8 and that a substance had been smeared on two further synagogues on Tuesday September 2 and overnight on Thursday September 11.

As a result of inquiries, officers were able to link a seventh incident which took place on Friday August 15 and involved a liquid being thrown over a car linked to a fifth synagogue.

No arrests have been made at this stage, police said on Thursday afternoon.

A spokesperson for the CST (Community Security Trust), a charity which looks after security for British Jews, said: 'The extreme defilement of several Jewish locations in and around Golders Green is utterly abhorrent and deeply distressing.

'CST is working closely with police and communal partners to support victims and help identify and apprehend the perpetrator.

'We urge anyone with information to contact CST, the police or Shomrim immediately.'

Police have urged anyone with information to contact the force on 101, quoting 1071/03SEP.

Information can be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Rowdy scenes erupted today after the European Parliament refused a hard-right request for a minute of silence to honour slain US activist and Donald Trump ally Charlie Kirk.

Lawmakers on the European hard right, which maintains close ties to Trump's White House, wanted the EU parliament, like the US Congress, to observe a silent tribute to the 31-year-old.

Video footage from Strasbourg, France, showed right-wing politicians shushing those speaking over the silence, before banging their desks and shouting 'shut up' and 'be quiet'.

'Our right to freedom of speech cannot be extinguished,' Charlie Weimers of the Sweden Democrats wrote to Speaker Roberta Metsola in requesting the gesture.

But when Weimers tried to observe the tribute by yielding his speaking time on the floor, he was cut short by the session chair, who reminded him the request had been denied for procedural reasons.

Weimers accused the European Parliament of 'bias'.

He pointed to the contrast with the tribute observed in 2020 for George Floyd, whose murder by a US police officer triggered global protests.

Italy's hard-right Northern League likewise attacked parliament's decision as 'politically shameful and morally unacceptable'.

Video footage from Strasbourg, France , showed right-wing politicians shushing those speaking over the silence, before banging their desks and shouting 'shut up' and 'be quiet'

Rowdy scenes erupted today after the European Parliament refused a hard-wing request for a minute of silence to honour slain US activist and President Donald Trump ally Charlie Kirk

'Charlie Kirk didn't deserve to die,' the centrist French lawmaker Nathalie Loiseau posted on X in response.

'Whether he deserves to be honoured by our parliament is a another story,' she said, linking to past social media posts by Kirk assailing Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky.

Questioned on the incident, the European Commission said only that it 'condemns all forms of violence, and we offer our sincere sympathies to the families of the victims'.

The sniper who assassinated Charlie Kirk is believed to have jumped off the roof and fled after firing a single shot from a high-powered rifle which police recovered from woodland close to Utah Valley University.

The killer is believed to have blended in on the campus where Mr Kirk was shot and appeared to be of 'college age', police said as they continued to investigate the latest act of political violence in America.

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It remained unclear how far the killer has travelled though law enforcement officials said nearby woods where the rifle was found have been secured.

Federal, state and local authorities said they were working on 'multiple active crime scenes' on Thursday in the search for the killer of the conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump.

'This is a dark day for our state. It's a tragic day for our nation,' said Utah Governor Spencer Cox.

'I want to be very clear, this is a political assassination.'

Mr Trump announced on Thursday he will posthumously award Mr Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Poland has sent 40,000 troops to be deployed on its eastern border as it prepares for Russia and Belarus's huge spectacle of joint military drills called Zapad 2025.

It comes as Europe is still on high alert following the unprecedented intrusion of Russian drones into Polish airspace this week, with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warning that the West is at its closest to open conflict since World War Two.

He dubbed the upcoming military exercises 'very aggressive' and has closed the country's border with Belarus in anticipation of the intimidating display.

'Poland has been preparing for the Zapad-2025 exercises for many months,' Poland's Deputy Minister of National Defence, Cezary Tomczyk, told Polsat News television late Wednesday.

'Polish and NATO soldiers are needed to adequately respond to Zapad-2025,' he said, adding: 'This is where the war in Ukraine began. Therefore, the Polish army is preparing for this. In the coming days, we will have about 40,000 soldiers at the border.'

The Kremlin will hold its sabre-rattling Zapad 2025 exercises with Belarus near Poland and Lithuania from Friday until next Tuesday, September 16.

The drills come around roughly every four years. The last, in 2021, led to a massive buildup of forces in Belarus that were used to attack Ukraine several months later.

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Military drills between Russia and Belarus during the Zapad-2021 exercise in Russia

A former NATO official warned this year's drills 'could serve as a cover' for a military build-up, with tens of thousands of troops expected to attend.

Germany's chief of defence Carsten Breuer said that NATO would 'be on our guard' around the drills as NATO chief Mark Rutte said Russia was rapidly rearming.

Rutte warned that coordinated attacks from Russia in Europe and China in Asia could trigger World War Three, Putin distracting NATO with an assault in Europe.

Zapad - meaning 'West' - is formally a defensive drill. Troops are expected to prepare repelling an attack, including airstrikes and sabotage, per official reports.

But Russia is expected to bring potentially tens of thousands of troops to rehearse, among other things, using its new nuclear-capable missile on Europe's frontier.

Some of the drills will take place just a few miles from NATO borders.

Poland is still scrambling to respond to an incursion of 19 Russian drones that crossed over into its airspace overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tusk invoked Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty for the 8th time since NATO's inception on Wednesday.

The Khmelyovka firing ground during amphibious assault drills for Zapad-2021, in Russia

It serves as a starting point for major operations and will pave the way for consultations around the perceived threat to territory, independence or security.

The U.N. Security Council will also hold an emergency meeting at Poland's request to discuss the drone incursion, the Polish Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

Moscow denied responsibility for the incident, with a senior diplomat in Poland saying the drones had come from the direction of Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2022.

Russia's Defence Ministry said its drones had carried out a major attack on military facilities in western Ukraine, but it had not planned to hit any targets in Poland.

With the spectre of war looming over Europe, the Zapad drills come at a precarious time.

Zapad's organisers say that their drills will not exceed 13,000 personnel, and Belarus has said it will be inviting observers from NATO countries this year.

The actual number of troops is likely to be far higher than 13,000, analysts have already warned.

The Zapad-2021 drills, a prelude to the war in Ukraine, was expected to host 12,800 servicemen; it ended up closer to 200,000, according to Russian authorities.

Satellite images provided by Planet Labs also indicate the construction of a potential military facility in Belarus, according to military analysts.

Russian warships leave a port during naval drills during the Zapad-2021 drills

A site near Minsk, previously used to house Soviet nuclear weapons, appeared in late August to be under redevelopment.

Experts told RFE/RL that they could be used to store 'strategic level equipment', including - perhaps - the Oreshnik missile.

'It is probably going to be nuclear-armed or it will probably be a nuclear component attached to it because they are using the facilities that were already used to house suchequipment during the Cold War,' Konrad Muzyka, director of the security analysis firm Rochan Consulting, told the outlet.

Lieutenant General (Ret.) Lance Landrum, CEPA Fellow and Former Deputy Chair of NATO's Military Committee said that this year's exercise should be compared with the events leading up to the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

'I do think it could serve as a cover. Now we have to look and see what exactly they do in this upcoming exercise, because we have a lot of historical intelligence on previous exercises, and we can compare that,' he said.

Lt. Gen. Lance Landrum (Ret) added that there would be 'a lot to be learned here'. For NATO, the drills will offer a window into Russian capabilities and strategies.

An absence of drone activity, crucial for both sides in the war in Ukraine, could indicate Russia lacks the personnel and equipment to train at scale after three-and-a-half years of war.

NATO may also glean insights about Russia's capacity for electronic interference and jamming.

Russian and Belarusian forces are expected to practice planning to use the new Russian Oreshnik nuclear-capable missile systems.

Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, on Wednesday, Sept. 10

Multiple Russian drones leaving Ukrainian airspace into Poland

Russia's intermediate-range ballistic missile was used in Ukraine's Dnipro for the first time last year in what President Vladimir Putin called a 'test'.

Oreshnik is expensive and makes little sense in Ukraine, where troops are often dispersed across a wide and open front line.

But it does pose a threat to compact targets like air bases - likely first targets in a war with NATO in Europe.

NATO said it will monitor Russia's activity 'very closely', adding 'we do not see any immediate military threat against any NATO ally' but 'we remain vigilant'.

The comment was published days before a drone incursion into Polish airspace overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday pushed tensions to a recent high.

Poland's prime minister said that the country had identified '19 violations and shot down at least three drones', accusing Russia of a deliberate intrusion.

For its part, Russia denied the drones was Russian. The Kremlin said it was a matter for the defence ministry, and accused Warsaw of spreading 'myths' to escalate the war in Ukraine. It also offered to hold 'consultations' with its Polish equivalent.

Poland was resolute in its assessment. Donald Tusk said there was 'no doubt that this provocation is incomparably more dangerous ... than any previous ones'.

'This situation brings us all closer to open conflict, closer than at any time since the Second World War,' he said.

Poland subsequently invoked NATO's Article 4, under which any member can call urgent talks when it feels its 'territorial integrity, political independence or security' are at risk.

Photos show the extent of damage to a house in Poland hit by a drone on Tuesday night

Images show the devastation inside a Polish home torn apart after being struck by a Russian drone as Europe edges closer to its most dangerous moment since 1945

Polish television channel TV Republika shared this image of one of the downed drones

Poland's prime minister speaks in parliament about the Russian drone incursions, Sept. 10

The U.N. Security Council will also hold an emergency meeting at Poland's request to discuss the matter, Poland said.

'(We are) drawing the world's attention to this unprecedented Russian drone attack on a member of the UN, EU, and NATO,' Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told local radio.

'I have appeared before the UN (Security) Council in the past, and it seems to me that our arguments have been convincing.'

The West is also holding its own military drills this month. It says the exercises are a 'response' to Zapad.

'Poland will respond to the Zapad 2025 exercises  in an appropriate manner on the Polish side,' Tomczyk told broadcaster RMF in April.

Iron-Defender-25 will see some 30,000 troops from Poland and NATO allied countries equipped with some 600 units of military hardware take part in exercises by land, air and sea in the Baltic region.

The drills 'will jointly test their ability to deter and effectively defend the territory of Poland', a press release from the Polish government says.

Poland's Armed Forces General Command said the drills began on September 1, a day after the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation drills began in Belarus.
A Reform UK government would only allow civil servants who believe in secure borders to work in a new ministry to tackle migration, Richard Tice announced on Thursday.

Unveiling a blueprint for leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), he vowed to drive through the plan by only allowing those who are committed to it to work on it.

The Reform deputy leader was speaking alongside Conservative former home secretary Suella Braverman and Tory peer Lord Frost as they united to call for the UK to quit the treaty.

Mrs Braverman, who also previously served as attorney general, yesterday published her roadmap to freedom outlining how to leave the ECHR at the Prosperity Institute event.

The 50-page plan says the Convention has mutated from a shield against tyranny into a sword against sovereignty.

She also called for judges to be politically appointed in order to ensure they do not frustrate the will of government.

Mrs Braverman said: I think there needs to be a much better restoration of ministerial power and accountability. So I would scrap the Judicial Appointments Committee and I would take it back to ministers.

Meanwhile Mr Tice, who has previously hit out at the incompetence of the Home Office, said he would only allow those who backed the plan to quit the ECHR to work on border security.

Reform UK deputy chairman Richard Tice said: 'Bluntly, civil servants need to be told.'

Tory former home secretary Suella Braverman published a 50-page plan titled: 'Why and How to Leave the ECHR: Roadmap to Freedom'

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which is the ultimate arbiter of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)

Speaking to reporters, he said: Bluntly, civil servants need to be told.

If we have won the general election on a mandate to leave the ECHR it's very simple: either you accept the mandate of the people and get stuck in, or frankly - in the nicest possible way - go and get a job somewhere else otherwise it's not going to end well.

Mr Tice said there should be a department of immigration, a specific border force, who actually believe in the cause of secure borders.

And on this particular issue, if you dont believe in that cause then youre probably not the right person for that job.

I think weve got to have a proper debate in this particular area about why should the people enacting it have to be neutral? Why do we accept that? Its failed us, its let us down.

I want people who are going to enact and be completely committed to ensuring the will of the people.

He also said Reform would be willing to rewrite the Good Friday Agreement to leave the ECHR without the support of Northern Irelands nationalist parties.

Nationalist politicians have warned that leaving the ECHR would breach the GFA, but Mr Tice said the agreement could be changed to remove references to the Convention.

Mrs Braverman added that a future government should be willing to hold a referendum on Northern Ireland leaving the UK if that was necessary to enact her policy.

She said: If there needs to be a border poll, then the people should have a vote. I think unionists are confident about the position.

But ultimately, Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom. It is not some disjointed, detached outpost subject to its own separate laws. If the UK leaves the European Convention on Human Rights, so must Northern Ireland.

Mrs Braverman was also forced to dismiss speculation that she is planning to defect to Reform.

Im not defecting, she said. Ive been elected as a Conservative Member of Parliament.

But she did not deny that she had been approached about defecting by figures within Reform, a party which until recently counted her husband as a member.

She also took aim at Reform's chairman, Zia Yusuf, who this summer accused her of being complicit in the cover up of the Afghan data leak.

Mrs Braverman said: 'Zia Yusuf doesnt have the experience of running national security or being in Cabinet or being elected. He's not spoken with any authority about the subject. And he's wrong on his accusations against me.'
Almost 50 helpless dogs were rescued from a horrifying suspected puppy mill operation in Oregon.

Deschutes County Police said they uncovered the alleged abuse after a tip-off from a woman who purchased a dog from Kameo Poodles in South Bend, about 180 miles southeast of Portland.

She noticed odd behavioral issues and unusual health problems in her new animal and alerted police that it may have been brought up in a neglectful environment.

Police searched the home of business owner Lorinda Maxwell and discovered dozens of poodles in need of grooming and medical care.

When the 62-year-old refused to give up the 44 standard, miniature and toy poodles voluntarily, police came back with a warrant and forcibly removed the animals from her home.

Deschutes County Police arrested Maxwell on 49 felony counts for Second Degree Animal Neglect on September 5.

The herd of neglected dogs included two litters of puppies all living in allegedly filthy and unhealthy conditions.

If poodles, like the ones in Maxwell's care, are not properly groomed and cared for, they can develop painful matting in their fur. They are also prone to dental issues and ear infections.

Lorinda Maxwell operated Kameo Poodles out of her home. Police found 49 animals in need of care

Reports say that the dogs had been living in filthy, unhealthy conditions

Many of the poodles were in need of grooming. If they are not groomed frequently it can cause matting which pulls on their skin

They were staying in dirty crates among soiled blankets, according to images of the living conditions. Reports noted that the home smelled like urine and ammonia, while many of the animals were underweight.

Maxwell also voluntarily surrendered two additional dogs and three cats.

The public information officer for Deschutes County Sheriff's Office said: 'Our Animal Control Technicians are committed to protecting animals in our community and are highly trained to notice signs of neglect.

'In this case, we believe Maxwell prioritized quantity over quality with profit as the main goal.

'And given how long shes been breeding and the unhealthy conditions in the home, were considering this a puppy mill.'

After Maxwell's arrest, the dogs were taken to the Humane Society of Central Oregon and will act as evidence in the ongoing investigation. She has not yet been formally charged but was taken into custody at Deschutes County Adult Jail.

Out of the 44 poodles that were taken by police, there were two litters of puppies

In Oregon, animal neglect becomes a felony if the case involves 11 animals or more

The home reportedly smelled like ammonia and urine and the dogs were living in dirty crates on soiled blankets

The Humane World for Animals describes puppy mills as high-volume breeding facilities where profit is prioritized over the health and well-being of the dogs.

An estimated 2.2 million dogs are sold each year from puppy mill operations.

As a result of the bust, the Humane Society in Deschutes County is at 200% capacity, but the poodles can't be adopted until the investigation is finished.

Deschutes County has seen an uptick in large-scale animal abuse and neglect cases have risen substantially in 2025, according to Central Oregon Daily.

Over 200 animals have been rescued in 2025.
Sir Keir Starmer's ally Bridget Phillipson is set to battle it out against sacked Cabinet minister Lucy Powell for Labour's deputy leadership.

Ms Phillipson, the Education Secretary, and Ms Powell, the former Commons Leader, are expected to go head-to-head in the next stage in the contest to replace Angela Rayner.

They were left as the two remaining deputy leadership candidates after Dame Emily Thornberry and Paula Barker pulled out the race earlier on Thursday.

Left-wing hopeful Bell Ribeiro-Addy also revealed tonight that she had failed to get the 80 nominations needed to progress to the next round.

She posted on X after nominations closed at 5pm: 'I am disappointed that the full range of Labour members' views will not be represented on the ballot paper.'

Ms Ribeiro-Addy hit out at a 'less than democratic process' as she urged the party's leadership to 'be more Labour', warning 'we cannot out-Reform Reform'.

Alison McGovern, a housing minister, became the first candidate to drop out of the contest on Wednesday.

It means Ms Phillipson and Ms Powell are due to be the two names on the ballot paper when Labour members are asked to vote for the party's next deputy leader.

Official confirmation that Ms Phillipson and Ms Powell had received the required 80 nominations from among Labour MPs was expected on Thursday evening.

They will also now need to pick up the support of the required number of constituency parties and Labour affiliates over the weekend.

Ms Phillipson is being viewed as Downing Street's de facto candidate in the deputy leader contest, while Ms Powell has been backed by Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham.

Mr Burnham is a long-time rival of the Prime Minister who is frequently touted as a replacement for Sir Keir should he make a return to Westminster.

Sir Keir Starmer's ally Bridget Phillipson (pictured) is set to battle it out against sacked Cabinet minister Lucy Powell for Labour's deputy leadership

Ms Powell, sacked by the PM as Commons Leader last week, has been supported by Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham

Dame Emily withdrew from the deputy leader contest earlier on Thursday, saying it had been a 'privilege' to compete.

Ms Barker also pulled out and threw her weight behind Ms Powell.

Dame Emily only had 13 MP supporters as of Wednesday evening. She did not say who she would be backing out of the remaining candidates.

In the official figures published by Labour on Wednesday night, Ms Phillipson was show to have sailed through to the next round by securing 116 nominations.

Ms Powell, sacked by Sir Keir as Commons Leader last week, was just three short of the 80 nominations required to advance to the next stage.

Ms Barker, the Liverpool Wavertree MP who had 14 supporters as of Wednesday evening, said: 'The next deputy leader must listen to the concerns of every section of our party and not be afraid to bring those challenges to the Government.

'Being a good team doesn't mean we can't be honest, criticism of Government, when it's constructive, makes us stronger.'

Senior MP Dame Emily Thornberry withdrew from the deputy leader contest earlier on Thursday, saying it had been a 'privilege' to compete

Paula Barker also pulled out the race and threw her weight behind Ms Powell. She said: 'The next deputy leader must listen to the concerns of every section of our party

Left-wing hopeful Bell Ribeiro-Addy hit out at a 'less than democratic process' as she urged the party's leadership to 'be more Labour', warning 'we cannot out-Reform Reform'

Ms McGovern was the first candidate to drop out of the race on Wednesday as she offered her backing to fellow Government minister Ms Phillipson, saying the 'momentum of this contest had shifted'.

The prospect of a contested election threatens to overshadow Labour's annual conference in Liverpool at the end of September, with it described by some as a referendum on the PM's leadership.

But neither Ms Phillipson, a Cabinet minister, nor Ms Powell has so far been openly critical of Sir Keir, while other candidates explicitly called for a change of direction.

Despite being sacked by Sir Keir last week, Ms Powell said she had been 'proud' to serve in Government when announcing her candidacy.

Ms Phillipson said she would 'unite the party, take the fight to Reform, and deliver for our country'.

The deputy leadership contest was sparked by Ms Rayner's resignation following her tearful admission that she didn't pay enough tax on the purchase of her new flat.
A Northern Irish immigrant deported from the U.S. claims he was targeted by ICE for 'looking Mexican'.

Lee Stinton, 45, a hairdresser from Lisburn, about 9 miles south west of Belfast, had been living in Florida when he says he was arrested on the street and sent back to Britain for the apparent resemblance.

Despite his beard and distinctive style, Stinton alleged that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer stopped him on his way to work in Key West and told him: 'You look Mexican.'

When he explained that he was from Northern Ireland, the officer allegedly looked at his phone screensaver showing him with his partner, DeVaun Davis, and sneered: 'He looks Haitian. This might be a two-for-one deal today.'

Stinton told The Belfast Telegraph that he was shackled and hauled away, describing the experience as being 'kidnapped off of the street.'

He was taken to the Krome Detention Center near Miami, where he claims he was held in a concrete cell designed for about ten people but packed with more than one hundred men. Food and showers were limited, he said, and medical care was routinely denied.

Stinton's immigration status in the United States was unclear, but The Daily Mail has reached out to ICE for comment.

Lee Stinton, 45, says he was shackled on a Florida street and deported after an ICE officer allegedly told him: 'You look Mexican'

The Northern Irish hairdresser (not pictured) claims he was crammed into an overcrowded cell at the Krome Detention Center near Miami, where he says a fellow detainee died after being denied heart medication

During his detention, Stinton claimed he witnessed a man beg for days for his heart medication before collapsing and dying of a heart attack in front of other detainees.

Stinton further alleged that medical procedures were carried out without his consent, including the removal of subdermal piercings while he was shackled to a bed.

The Telegraph reported that he was issued a blue detainee uniform indicating 'low custody,' but that British consular officials were not promptly notified of his detention.

The hairdresser stressed that he had never been in trouble with the law. 'I never even had so much as a parking ticket. I have no criminal record. I have never done anything wrong. I was doing everything the U.S. government asked me,' he said.

Despite this, he was deported to London with no onward travel arrangements and eventually arrived back in Northern Ireland on July 12.

Announcing the Telegraph piece on Instagram, Stinton wrote: 'The wait is finally over. For the first time in a long time, I feel some heaviness beginning to lift from my shoulders.  I went through one of the most unjust and cruel experiences under President Trump's regime, and it has changed me forever.'

He added that he hoped telling his story would help others: 'My story will not only set the record straight, but also serve as a light for anyone experiencing similar and walking through their own darkness. Please know you are believed and you are not alone.'

His claims come as ICE has promoted major enforcement operations in Florida.

Stinton, pictured, said he had no criminal record and likened his detention to being 'kidnapped off the street'

In May, the agency announced that more than 1,100 arrests had been made in a single week, emphasizing a focus on criminal offenses.

Stinton's account, however, paints a grim picture of collateral arrests and harsh conditions inside U.S. detention centers.

Now back in Lisburn, he says he is undergoing therapy for post-traumatic stress and has returned to hairdressing part-time while trying to rebuild his life.

Daily Mail has reached out to Stinton for comment, as well as ICE.
Migrants who have arrived across the Channel now outnumber Britains entire armed forces, it has been claimed.

More than 182,000 people have reached England in small boats since the crisis began, official figures show.

According to Migration Watch it means their numbers have now overtaken the total personnel in the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, which stood at 180,779 in January.

The pressure groups analysis has also found that most are military age men, as almost 90 per cent of small boat migrants are male, and 67 per cent are between 18 and 39.

And its chairman Alp Mehmet warned that the rate of arrivals is increasing.

He said: It has taken eight years to reach 181,000 - at the current rate as many will come in little more than three.

Most worrying is that nothing the government has done or proposes will stem the tide of illegal boats. The will is simply not there.

Migrants hoping to reach England struggle to board a dinghy in Gravelines, France, in August

Shabana Mahmood arrives in Downing Street on Tuesday for her first Cabinet meeting as Home Secretary, having been promoted from Justice Secretary

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'It is staggering that so many people have illegally come in. Over 1,000 crossed last Saturday alone, and this year so far has been the worst in history.

'Labour made a huge mistake by cancelling the Rwanda removals deterrent before it even started with no replacement.

'Every illegal immigrant should be immediately departed upon arrival. Then the crossings would soon end.'

Latest Home Office statistics show that the total number of small boat arrivals since December 2018, when records began, now stands at 182,164.

Since Labour won the election in July 2024, a total of 54,268 migrants have reached England in small boats including 188 in three dinghies on Wednesday.

The record total for the year so far is more than 30,000, some 37 per cent up on the year before.

It includes 2,203 people who have landed here in less than a week since new the Home Secretary was appointed.

Four people including two children have died in two separate incidents this week, adding to the pressure on Shabana Mahmood.

And a boat reached a beach in Kent without being intercepted by Border Force on Saturday in the first so-called uncontrolled landing since December 2022.

Ms Mahmood has been ordered by Sir Keir Starmer to get a grip on the situation and wants to move people in costly asylum hotels to be moved into barracks on former military bases.

She also hopes the much-vaunted one in, one out deal with France will deter others from making the journey, although no one has yet been returned under the arrangement signed last month.

Ms Mahmood said: These small boats crossings are utterly unacceptable and the vile people smugglers behind them are wreaking havoc on our borders.

Thanks to our deal with France, people crossing in small boats can now be detained and removed to France and I expect the first returns to take place imminently.

Protecting the UK border is my priority as Home Secretary and I will explore all options to restore order to our immigration system.

New Home Office minister Mike Tapp claimed that the returns deal arranged by the former Home Secretary is already starting to damage the people-smugglers business model.

He told BBC Breakfast: This is a pilot scheme which took some really hard negotiation from Yvette Cooper and her team. We would like to see it grow.

At the moment, its starting to act as a deterrent, because, if for example, you run a car business and one in 15 of your cars that you are selling is dodgy, your business model starts to fall down.

If youre a migrant sat on a beach in Calais and youre going to give up to 10,000 to a smuggler, theres that risk of immediate removal, which means youre less likely to part with that money.

We will see the first flight off the ground in the next few weeks.

Newly appointed Home Office minister Mike Tapp claims the migrant returns deal with France will damage people-smugglers' business model

Meanwhile Ms Coopers husband suggested she did not want to be moved from the Home Office.

Ed Balls told the Political Currency podcast: From Yvettes point of view, I mean, how could you not be excited by the idea of being the Foreign Secretary?

But it's obviously frustrating when you spent years getting to the point where you had a plan to turn this round in terms of migration.
Their similarity has long been pointed out - helped by their comparable fashion sense.

Now Tilda Swinton has paid homage to her late friend David Bowie by wearing a suit that is almost identical to one made famous by the late star whose hit albums include the likes of Diamond Dogs, Hunky Dory and Alladin Sane.

The actress donned a powder-blue suit, with her blonde hair swept into a quiff, as she attended the premiere of her latest film The Eternal Daughter at the BFI London Film Festival.

The outfit was remarkably similar to one worn by Bowie during his 1983 Serious Moonlight Tour.

Tilda Swinton paid homage to David Bowie with a striking look

Bowie, whose hit albums include the likes of Diamond Dogs, Hunky Dory and Alladin Sane, in 1983

Swinton appeared with Bowie in the music video The Stars (Are Out Tonight)

It isnt the first time comparisons between the pair have been made.

Discussing their similarity, Swinton herself once said: He just looked like me, and looked like someone from the same planet as I did.

Speaking at the launch party for a V&A retrospective David Bowie exhibition in 2012, she admitted it was his image, rather than his music, that first drew her into his world.

She said: When I was 12... the image of that gingery, bony, pinky-whitey person with the liquid mercury collar bone was - for one particular young moonage daydreamer - the image of planetary kin, of a close imaginary cousin and companion of choice.

Swinton got involved in Bowies revival back in 2011 in a photoshoot for a womens glossy magazine when she wore costumes inspired by the pop star.

She went on to appear with him in the music video for The Stars (Are Out Tonight) from his 2013 album The Next Day.

The collaboration sparked a close friendship until Bowies death.
The incoming president of the Oxford Union has been accused of celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

George Abaraonye allegedly shared comments making light of Kirk's death shortly after he was struck in the neck by a single bullet while speaking about mass shootings at a university campus in Utah.

Messages supposedly sent by Abaraonye have been shared on social media.

One, said to have been sent on Whatsapp, reads: 'Charlie Kirk got shot, let's f***ing go'. Another message, said to be posted by Abaraonye on Instagram, says: 'Charlie Kirk got shot loool'.

The Oxford student's Instagram account has been made private, preventing anyone from viewing his posts on the platform. It is also unclear whether the Whatsapp account that appeared to share the messages belongs to Abaraonye.

Abaraonye was elected for the presidency in June and previously came head-to-head with the American conservative activist during an event at the University in May.

The pair debated about the concept of 'toxic masculinity', during which they disagreed about the impact it posed on younger generations of men and women.

Abaraonye also served as the vice-president of the Oxford African and Caribbean Society, a role which involved him sitting 'on the Race Equality Task force to engage in conversations on racial diversity with wider university'.

The incoming president of the Oxford Union George Abaraonye debates American conservative activist Charlie Kirk during an event in May

Kirk was struck in the neck by a single bullet while speaking about mass shootings at a university campus in Utah. He is pictured at the event on Wednesday before his death

One of the messages that was allegedly sent by Abaraonye shortly after Kirk's death

Following the backlash from the supposed messages, Abaraonye released a statement saying they made in a 'moment of shock' and 'did not reflect my values'.

He said: 'Last night I received the shocking news about a shooting at Charlie Kirks event. In that moment of shock, I reacted impulsively and made comments prior to Charlie being pronounced dead that I quickly deleted upon learning of his passing. Those words did not reflect my values.

'To be clear: nobody deserves to be the victim of political violence. Nobody should be harmed or killed for the views they hold.

'I may have disagreed strongly with Mr. Kirks politics, but in death we all deserve respect, and I extend my condolences to his family and loved ones.

'At the same time, my reaction was shaped by the context of Mr. Kirks own rhetoric  words that often dismissed or mocked the suffering of others. He described the deaths of American children from school shootings as an acceptable cost of protecting gun rights.

'He justified the killing of civilians in Gaza, including women and children, by blaming them collectively for Hamas. He called for the retraction of the Civil Rights Act, and repeatedly spread harmful stereotypes about LGBTQ and trans communities. These were horrific and dehumanising statements.

'My reaction was not a call for violence, but a raw, unprocessed response to what felt like a painful irony. I retracted those words almost immediately, yet Ive been troubled to see some in the media ignore my retraction while amplifying my deleted comments.

'A standard of behaviour that is now leading to racist comments and a myriad of threats and discrimination made towards me. It is right to call out my insensitivity, but the same scrutiny must be applied to rhetoric that has caused real harm and continues to do so.

Charlie Kirk speaks to Abaraonye during a debate on 'toxic masculinity' at the Oxford Union

President Donald Trump announced Kirk's death on Truth Social nearly five hours after the shooting, offering his sympathies to his wife and family

Kirk was struck in the neck by a single bullet while speaking about mass shootings at a university campus in Utah yesterday.

The married father-of-two was rushed to hospital, where he tragically succumbed to his injuries.

A manhunt is still ongoing for the shooter, who was described as a male of college age - with officials saying on Thursday they had video footage of the individual.

They said a high-powered bolt-action rifle was recovered from a wooded area nearby after the shooter jumped from the roof and fled the scene.

President Trump was quick to express his sadness at the tragedy, calling Kirk a 'martyr for truth and freedom'.

'Charlie was the best of America and the monster who was attacking him was attacking our whole country,' he said, before ordering flags on US government buildings to be lowered to half-mast, including three at the White House.

He added in another post: 'The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.

'He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!'

Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Point's visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday

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While Kirk's assassination sparked an outpouring of tributes, it has also led to accusations that the Left are using his death to score political points because of his strong opinions.

Left-wing writer Nels Abbey sparked outrage after comparing the activist to David Duke, the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan during an appearance on Good Morning Britain on Thursday.

The BBC has also come under fire over its 'distasteful' coverage of the killing after inviting Democratic strategist Joi Chaney onto the panel, who stunned audiences when she said Mr Kirk 'wasn't admired and loved by all'.

Another post which sparked a backlash was from left-wing activist Femi Oluwole, who said: 'The same people who spent the last two years telling us to treat the murder of 80,000 in Gaza as an acceptable and justified loss are about to get real precious about the sanctity of one human life.'

An Oxford University spokesperson said: 'The Oxford Union is independent of the University. We deplore comments appearing to endorse violence  they are unacceptable and entirely contrary to the values of our community.'

The Oxford Union said in a statement: 'The Oxford Union would like to unequivocally condemn the reported words and sentiments expressed by the President-Elect, George Abaraonye, with regards to the passing of Charlie Kirk.

'His reported views do not represent the Oxford Union's current leadership or committee's view. The current administration has, under President Moosa Harraj, no association with, and is entirely independent from Mr Abaraonye's administration.

'In alignment with the statement published by out society earlier today, we reaffirm our stance that the Oxford Union firmly opposes all forms of political violence and strongly stands by our commitment to free speech and considerate debate.

'We would like to reiterate that our condolences lie with Charlie Kirk's family, especially his wife and young children, who are enduring such terrible grief.'
The mother of a suspect who allegedly killed a Ukrainian refugee on a North Carolina train claims her son is not racist because he 'dated all kinds of girls.'

DeCarlos Brown Jr., 34, allegedly said 'got that white girl' after stabbing 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska on a train in Charlotte on August 22.

But his mother, Michelle Dewitt, told the New York Post the attack couldn't have been racially motivated and that her career criminal son was 'definitely not racist' because he 'dated all kinds of girls.'

She also said she had taken Brown to a homeless shelter just days before he would fatally stab Zarutska, and that he had grown aggressive toward her and her husband.

'When you bring a person to mental health, and [they] tell you: We dont have enough space or Is he trying to kill himself or someone else? and I say no, then there is nothing we can do, you need to get a court order,' she told The Post.

Brown was reportedly resistant to seeking help, despite his mom's pleas.

Dewitt, 51, also agreed her son should not have been released from jail, especially on a 'written promise' that he would show up to his court date after his arrest in January for misusing 911.

She does, however, plan on visiting with him later this week to 'try to explain to him what's going on.'

But his mother, Michelle Dewitt, told the New York Post the attack couldn't have been racially motivated, saying her career criminal son was 'definitely not racist' because he 'dated all kinds of girls'

On August 22, the 23-year-old was scrolling through her phone as she rode the train home from work at a local pizzeria when she was stabbed to death just four minutes after taking her seat

'I dont think he understands whats happening,' she told the outlet.

After Zarutska's death, Dewitt had spoken with Brown, who told her they were 'removing the chip from his brain' and that he'd see her soon.

His sister, Tracey Brown, told Daily Mail that her brother believed the government was controlling his brain via a microchip they had inserted while he was sleeping, and that Zarutska was part of this conspiracy.

'He was a high risk. He was not in his right mind. He was not safe for society,' she said. 'We know what he has been dealing with the last three years. And now an innocent woman is dead.

'He was asking and crying for help, and no-one heard him or took him seriously. He reached a level of his mental illness that caused him to commit a heinous crime.'

Brown also dialed 911 several times, and told cops directly that he believed his brain was being controlled by a microchip.

The latest recorded incidence of this was January 19, when he was arrested for 'misuse of the 911 system' after he called the emergency number while police were conducting a welfare check on him.

On August 22, the 23-year-old was scrolling through her phone as she rode the train home from work at a local pizzeria when she was stabbed to death just four minutes after taking her seat.

Iryna Zarutska's heartbroken family said that she had only recently arrived in the US 'seeking safety from the war and hoping for a new beginning' before the random slaughter

His sister, Tracey Brown, told Daily Mail that her brother believed the government was controlling his brain via a microchip they had inserted while he was sleeping, and that Zarutska was part of this conspiracy

She never saw her attacker's face because the cold-blooded killer stabbed her from behind with a pocket knife.

Prosecutors said Zarutska was stabbed a total of three times in her neck and hands.

The crazed attacker was seen in horror surveillance footage lunging at Zarutska in surveillance footage released by police, before it skips the graphic slaughter to show him carrying a knife dripping with Zarutska's blood as he strolled through the train carriage.

At a press conference on Tuesday, US Attorney Russ Ferguson said that Zarutska's family declined to have her body returned to Ukraine and said she would have wanted to be buried in the US because 'she loved America.'

Officials stepped up charges against Brown to the federal level based on Violence Against a Mass Transportation System, which carries a maximum punishment of the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Zarutska emigrated from Ukraine with her mother, sister, and brother to escape the war, and she 'quickly embraced her new life in the United States,' her family wrote in an obituary.

They also said she had managed to become fluent in English 'within a very short time', and 'hoping for a new beginning' when she came to Charlotte.

Dewitt, 51, also agreed her son should have not been released from jail, especially on a 'written promise' that he would show up to his court date after his arrest in January for misusing 911

'He was a high risk. He was not in his right mind. He was not safe for society,' Tracey (pictured with Decarlos) said. 'We know what he has been dealing with the last three years. And now an innocent woman is dead.

Her family said that before starting her new life in the US, Zarutska graduated from Synergy College in Kyiv with a degree in Art and Restoration.

'She shared her creativity generously, gifting family and friends with her artwork,' they said.

'She loved sculpting and designing unique, eclectic clothing that reflected her vibrant spirit.'
Police are swarming to the Democratic National Committee's headquarters in Washington DC following a bomb threat that was deemed to not be credible.

A spokesperson for the DNC announced the building received a non-credible bomb threat on Thursday afternoon, but Capitol police are conducting a sweep 'out of an abundance of caution.'

'This afternoon, there was a bomb threat to DNC HQ that was determined to not be credible by the U.S. Capitol Police,' the spokesperson said.

'Out of an abundance of caution, Capitol Police is conducting an interior sweep of the building. As DNC Chair Ken Martin has said, political violence in every form has no place in our country.'

'We are grateful to the U.S. Capitol Police and DNC building security for responding quickly and professionally.'

All staff members in the vicinity were told to steer clear in an urgent alert.

Bomb squad officials were seen responding to the incident on Thursday afternoon.

The alert reads: 'Capitol Police are responding to an incident at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) Headquarters. Staff are asked to remain clear of the police activity.'

Bomb squad officials were seen responding to the incident on Thursday afternoon

A large police presence was seen on the streets surrounding the building. People inside were told to shelter in place

The DNC bomb threat comes one day after the assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University

A large police presence was seen on the streets surrounding the building. People inside were told to shelter in place.

On the ground reports suggest multiple police K-9 units are on scene at the headquarters.

This comes just one day after firebrand conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at his own event in Utah.

President Donald Trump announced his death after screaming college kids scattered at the sound of gunshots on Utah Valley University's campus.

The co-founder of Turning Point USA was shot in the throat while speaking to college students at the university. The shooter fled the murder scene and is still at large.

Tensions on the left and right remain high in DC following the assassination of the conservative activist.

Trump addressed the nation from the Oval Office on Wednesday, where he criticized the 'demonization' of political opponents by the left.

'It's long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequences of demonizing those with whom you disagree, day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible.'

Trump called the rhetoric from the 'radical left' following the death of Kirk

A spokesperson for the DNC announced the building received a non-credible bomb threat, but Capitol police are conducting a sweep 'out of an abundance of caution'

'For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today and it must stop right now.'

A suspect for the non-credible bomb threat on the DNC headquarters has not been determined as of Thursday afternoon.
The Colorado school shooter who opened fire 'again and again' on fellow high school students on Wednesday has been named and pictured by police.

Desmond Holly, 16, is shown in his driving license photograph released by Jefferson County Sheriff's Office in the aftermath of the horror.

Holly died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after he fired at terrified children at Evergreen High School, close to Denver, during their lunch break just after noon.

Two students were rushed to hospital. Sheriff spokesperson Jacki Kelley said that one victim has been discharged while the other remains in a critical condition.

We know that the suspect had a handgun,' Kelley told a press conference on Thursday. 'He had to keep reloading. He would fire and reload, fire and reload, fire and reload. This went on and on. As he did that, he tried to find new targets.'

Lots of kids ran, but the ones who didnt were locked down and they were being cared for,' she added.

Kelley said the first shots were fired from inside the school grounds, but the chaos 'spilled out into the street behind the school' where the second victim was shot.

A suspected motive has not been disclosed, but Kelley said Holly was 'radicalized by some extremist network'. 'The details on that will come down the road,' she said.

Desmond Holly, 16, is shown in his driving license photograph in an image released by Jefferson County Sheriff's Office in the aftermath of the horror

Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said a gunman opened fire at Evergreen High School, located 28 miles southwest of Denver, just after noon local time. Photographs showed by police show several officers and sheriffs running towards the school wearing bulletproof vests

Holly died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after he fired at terrified children at Evergreen High School, close to Denver, during their lunch break just after noon

Holly used a revolver, and detectives are investigating who owned the weapon.

Kelley told the Daily Mail that police are 'in contact with' Holly's parents, who are cooperating with the investigation.

During an earlier press conference in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Kelley said 'a lot of kids indicated that they were shot at'.

'We have a lot of interviews to do,' she said on Wednesday.

Several students caught up in the horror opened up about what they experienced in the hours following the shooting.

Evergreen High ninth grader Cameron Jones said he was eating lunch outside when he heard three gunshots. A security guard then told him to run.

He said how he never believed a shooting would happen in Evergreen, which is in a quiet, leafy Denver suburb.

'I thought this was like a one-in-a-million thing, and it still feels surreal that it happened,' Jones told Colorado Public Radio.

Two students were rushed to hospital. Sheriff's office spokesperson Jacki Kelley said that one victim has been discharged while the other remains in a critical condition

Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said the gunman opened fire at Evergreen High School (pictured from above), 28 miles southwest of Denver, just after noon local time Wednesday

Parent Wendy Nueman said her daughter didnt answer her phone right away after the shooting. When the 15-year-old finally called back, it was from a borrowed phone.

'She just said she was OK. She couldnt hardly speak,' Nueman told The Denver Post, holding back tears. She gathered that her daughter had run away from the school.

'It's super scary,' she said. 'We feel like we live in a little bubble here. Obviously, no one is immune.'

Photographs shared by police on Wednesday show several officers and sheriffs running towards the school wearing bulletproof vests.

Several emergency vehicles could also be seen lining the streets close to the school.
Kash Patel fired the 'legendary' special agent in charge of Utah's FBI divison just a month before she would have led the ongoing manhunt for Charlie Kirk's assassin.

The special agent in charge in Salt Lake City, Mehtab Syed, was pushed out of the role in August, despite former agents saying she was 'absolutely the best' in the bureau.

'Truly a humble servant leader who treats co-workers like family,' former FBI agent Christopher OLeary, an MSNBC national security contributor who worked with Syed, told NBC.

'And shes a legendary case agent who was involved in some of the most significant national security cases of the last two decades,' he added.

Syed was fired just six months after she was appointed in February, with sources telling NBC that the reasons for her sacking were not clear.

Associate Deputy Director J. William Rivers, who works for Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, reportedly told Syed that she wasn't a good fit for the office.

Syed was instead offered a lower-level job in the FBI field office in Huntsville, Alabama, but she decided to retire rather than take the demotion following a distinguished career.

She previously held a number of significant FBI roles including head of cyberterrorism and counterterrorism in the Los Angeles field office, a section chief in counterintelligence at FBI headquarters, and assistant legal attache in Pakistan during the height of the U.S. war against Al Qaeda.

Kash Patel fired the 'legendary' FBI special agent in charge in Salt Lake City, Mehtab Syed, (pictured) just a month before she would have led the ongoing manhunt for Charlie Kirk's assassin

Patel is seen in New York City on Thursday at a 9/11 memorial

It comes as the sniper's nest used by the assassin who killed Charlie Kirk has been revealed by authorities amid the urgent manhunt for the gunman.

Images released Thursday showed spent bullet casings on a rooftop on the Losee Building, around 200 yards away from where Kirk was speaking to Utah Valley University students at midday Wednesday.

The shooter is believed to have fired a precise shot into Kirk's neck from the perch before jumping from the roof and escaping into a nearby neighborhood.

Images also emerged of a ladder that was found perched on the side of the building, seemingly used by the assassin to make a rapid escape.

Officials also released images of a person of interest being sought in the ongoing manhunt, seen wearing a black t-shirt with a bald eagle flying across an American flag.

The shirt read: 'Land of the Free.... Home of the Brave', and authorities offered a $100,000 reward for any information leading to his arrest.

Syeda would have taken over the ongoing manhunt for Kirk's killer, and had previously held a number of significant FBI roles including head of cyberterrorism and counterterrorism in the Los Angeles field office, a section chief in the counterintelligence section at FBI headquarters, and assistant legal attache in Pakistan during the height of the U.S. war against Al Qaeda

Officials released images of a person of interest being sought in the ongoing manhunt, seen wearing a black t-shirt with a bald eagle flying across an American flag

The sniper's nest used by the assassin who killed Charlie Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus has been revealed by authorities as they continue an urgent manhunt for the gunman

Images also emerged of a ladder that was found perched on the side of the building, seemingly used by the assassin to make a rapid escape

In a woodland near the shooting, cops recovered a Mauser .30 caliber bolt-action rifle hidden in a towel that may have been dropped as the shooter fled the scene.

Three additional rounds were found loaded in the magazine alongside the spent bullet casing. The weapon and ammunition are now being forensically analyzed by law enforcement at a federal lab for clues that could help identify the shooter or their motive.

In an update to the manhunt on Thursday morning, officials said they found engravings of 'transgender and antifascist ideology.'

A press conference had been scheduled for 2:45pm ET on Thursday, however less than an hour ahead of the planned news conference, the Utah Department of Public Safety cancelled the event, citing 'rapid developments in our investigation.'

The shocking assassination has sparked widespread outrage across the nation, with some on the left seemingly celebrating the horrific shooting that unfolded in front of a crowd of around 3,000 people.

Two suspects were initially captured, however it was later revealed that both were released and were not found to have fired the shot that killed Kirk.

Kirk, seen moments before he was shot, was assassinated Wednesday on the UVU campus in Orem, Utah as he held a Turning Point USA event

Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Frantzve, with whom he had a three-year-old daughter and a son, 16 months. The couple celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary in May.

Vice President JD Vance flew to Utah to meet with Kirk's grieving family and offered to have his casket flown to the conservative influencer's home in Phoenix, Arizona on board Air Force Two.

Donald Trump - who narrowly escaped death when he was shot in the ear at a campaign rally in Butler Township, Pennsylvania, in July 2024 - broke the news of the MAGA influencer's passing on Wednesday.

'The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,' the President wrote on his Truth Social platform.

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

'Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!'
Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned Spain's socialist prime minster for issuing what he called a 'blatant genocidal threat' against Israel.

Spanish leader Pedro Sanchez announced an arms embargo on Israel earlier this week and was criticised for reportedly expressing regret over the country not having nuclear weapons to 'stop Israel'.

Addressing journalists in a press conference on Monday, Sanchez said: 'Spain, as you know, doesn't have nuclear bombs, nor aircraft carriers, nor large oil reserves. We alone can't stop the Israeli offensive. But that doesn't mean we won't stop trying, because there are causes that are worth fighting for.'

His remarks appeared to anger Netanyahu, who today accused Spain of threatening Israel.

'Spanish PM Sanchez said yesterday that Spain cant stop Israels battle against Hamas terrorists because "Spain does not have nuclear weapons". Thats a blatant genocidal threat on the worlds only Jewish State,' he said.

Sanchez's comments angered several others, with critics taking to social media to express their anger at the Spanish leader.

One X user commented: 'Thank God this crazed Megalomaniac is nowhere near a red button! Get him out of power and in to an asylum!'

Another said: 'Meanwhile, Israel does have nukes, so pipe down, Sanchez, you rotten demon.'

Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned Spain's socialist prime minster for issuing what he called a 'blatant genocidal threat' against Israel

Earlier this week Spanish leader Pedro Sanchez announced an arms embargo on Israel and was criticised for reportedly expressing regret over the country not having nuclear weapons to 'stop Israel'

Spain has been a vocal critic of Israel's offensive on Gaza, pictured on September 2

But others noted how the PM's comments may have been taken out of context.

Spain, which recognised a Palestinian state in May 2024, has been a vocal critic of Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip.

In Monday's address, Sanchez said Spain would ban ships and aircraft delivering weapons or military-grade jet fuel to Israel, and said that it would not allow anyone who had participated directly in 'genocide' in Gaza to enter Spain - a move that the Israeli foreign minister has denounced as anti-Semitic.

Israel has strongly denied that its actions in Gaza amount to genocide, and it is fighting a case at the International Court of Justice in the Hague that accuses it of genocide.

Israel launched its assault on the Gaza Strip in October, 2023, after fighters from Hamas, the Palestinian militant group in control of the territory, attacked Israeli communities, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Sanchez of using the measures in an attempt to divert attention from domestic corruption scandals, and announced an entry ban on Sanchez's deputy, Yolanda Diaz, and Youth Minister Sira Rego.

Both belong to hard-Left party Sumar, the junior partner in Sanchez's coalition government.

Spain's Foreign Ministry said Israel's entry ban was unacceptable, adding that Sanchez's measures were in line with public sentiment in Spain and reflected Madrid's support for peace, human rights and international law.

It said Spain was committed to fighting antisemitism, pointing to the granting of Spanish citizenship to 72,000 Sephardic Jews - descendants of those expelled from the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century.

Palestinians carrying pans and bowls form a crowd to receive food aid provided by charity organizations in Gaza City, Gaza on September 2, 2025

Displaced people's tents erected along the waterfront in Gaza City are pictured on September 2, 2025

Residents of the Bureij refugee camp live in fragile, improvised tents, lacking basic necessities such as shelter, food, and clean water in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on September 02, 2025

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people on October 7, 2023, and killed some 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians

Large parts of major cities have been completely destroyed and around 90 percent of some two million Palestinians have been displaced, with food becoming scarce

In a separate statement, the ministry said Spain strongly condemned Monday's 'terrorist act in East Jerusalem', in which Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a bus stop, killing six people, including a Spanish national living in Israel.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people on October 7, 2023, and killed some 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians. 48 hostages are still inside Gaza, with around 20 of them believed to be alive.

Israels retaliatory offensive has killed at least more than 64,000 Palestinians, according to Gazas Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants.

It says around half of those killed were women and children. Large parts of major cities have been completely destroyed and around 90 percent of some two million Palestinians have been displaced.
Locals of a quaint New Jersey town are outraged at the decision to kick out their ambulance service after more than 70 years.

The Tabernacle Rescue Squad (TRS) was given unexpected notice that their services would no longer be required in the East Coast enclave of Tabernacle, about 50 miles north of Atlantic City.

TRS had provided their ambulances and rescue services to the small community in South Jersey for decades, and their loyal neighbors were quick to express their support.

They showed up in crowds to protest the decision at a council meeting on September 8, according to ABC6.

One townsperson demanded to know: 'What empty-headed, vagrant, negligent decision resulted in this?'

Another said: 'They are putting lives in danger.'

A third commented: 'I think there has to be a better solution.' So many people attended in support of TBS that the council was forced to pause the meeting and open the doors of the station to let more townspeople in.

Tabernacle Rescue Squad has been operating in New Jersey since 1953, and boasts a fleet of six ambulances, one rescue truck, a marine unit, and two command vehicles that respond to over 1,000 calls every year.

Tabernacle Rescue Services has provided emergency responses to South Jersey for more than 70 years

Residents of Tabernacle, NJ addressed the town council, angerly confronting them for the decision

The squad was given notice in August that they had only 90 days to cease operations

But in August they received a 90-day notice from the township, with Chief George Jackson III quick to address the reasoning behind it.

He explained that the decision stemmed from TRS's failed merger with a neighboring rescue squad at the beginning of the year.

That and their attempt to shift from a volunteer model to a paid staffing model resulted in 30 percent of the community's calls being missed.

While Jackson said some missed calls were due to staffing issues, he clarified that in many instances other crews were already handling the emergency.

Unless the township changes their mind, they must move their 30 members and all of their equipment out of the station before they are forced to cease operations in November.

During the meeting, officials from the township presented their new plan to accommodate emergencies.

So many people showed up in support, that they had to open the doors of the fire station to accommodate them

TRS's chief said the decision was in part due to 30% of emergency calls being missed at the beginning of the year

Tabernacle hope to partner with neighboring towns and enter a shared services agreement, but nothing has been finalized.

Residents are worried that the agreement will result in less prompt responses from EMS, according to CBS.

One resident said: 'The biggest concerns are that the people quite possibly could die because they're waiting on another town to respond to an emergency.'

Still, the township did not budge on their decision.

Following the contentious meeting, Chief Jackson wrote a letter to the community on the squad's website, thanking them for their support despite the unwanted outcome.

He said: 'Although the exact outcome wasnt what we had hoped for, the township has agreed to meet with us.

TBS Chief George Jackson III thanked the community for their support and asked them to continue to advocate for them

TRS responds to 1,000 calls every year from members of their community

'While many in our community hoped the committee would rescind our termination last night, they ultimately decided against it..'

Another meeting has been scheduled for next week, and Jackson and the community are holding on to hope.

He told neighbors: 'As we move forward we will keep you updated. In the meantime please let our township officials know that you want the Rescue Squad to remain.'
Children are hacking their own schools IT systems for fun in a new worrying trend, an official watchdog has warned.

The Information Commissioners Office said teachers are failing to understand the insider threat that students pose.

It added the majority of inside job cyber attacks and data breaches in schools are by pupils.

Heather Toomey, cyber specialist at the ICO, said: What starts out as a dare, a challenge, a bit of fun in a school setting can ultimately lead to children taking part in damaging attacks on organisations or critical infrastructure.

It comes after a number of high profile cyber-attacks, affecting firms including Jaguar Land Rover and M&S.

Since 2022, the ICO has investigated 215 hacks and breaches originating from inside education settings and says 57 per cent were carried out by children.

Other breaches are thought to come from staff, third party IT suppliers and other organisations with access.

According to the new data, almost a third of the breaches involved students illegally logging into staff computer systems by guessing passwords or stealing details from teachers.

Children are hacking their own schools' IT systems 'for fun' in a new 'worrying trend', an official watchdog has warned (file picture)

In one incident, a seven-year-old was involved in a data breach at their school  although the details were not disclosed.

They were subsequently referred to the National Crime Agency's Cyber Choices programme to help them understand the seriousness of their actions.

In another incident, three Year 11 students accessed school databases containing the personal information of more than 1,400 of their peers.

The pupils used hacking tools downloaded from the internet to break passwords and security protocols.

When questioned, they said they were interested in cyber security and wanted to test their skills and knowledge.

Another example the ICO gave is of a student illegally logging into their college's databases with a teachers' details to change or delete personal information belonging to more than 9,000 staff, students and applicants.

The system stored personal information such as name and home address, school records, health data, safeguarding and pastoral logs and emergency contacts.

Schools are facing an increasing number of cyber attacks, with 44 per cent of heads reporting an attack or breach in the last year according the Government's most recent Cyber Security Breaches Survey.
A young prison officer is facing a decade behind bars after embarking on an illicit affair with a violent inmate.

Charlotte Winstanley, 27, had a 'romantic relationship' with 29-year-old convicted thug Jabhari Blair during her time working at HMP Lindholme in South Yorkshire.

Winstanley smuggled in contraband, including a mobile phone and SD cards, during the three-and-a-half-month inappropriate relationship.

The shamed former guard appeared at Sheffield Crown Court, where she admitted misconduct in public office by having a 'romantic relation with a prisoner'.

The court was told the crime, which occurred between August and November 2022, carries a maximum 10-year sentence.

Winstanley, of Stainforth, South Yorks, also admitted sending a photograph from inside the Category C prison in April last year.

Meanwhile, Blair - jailed for more than 12 years in 2014 for his role in a brutal street brawl - joined the hearing via video link from Lowdham Grange prison, near Nottingham.

The criminal admitted possessing cannabis, a phone and a USB stick.

When told he would be sentenced on December 3, his 30th birthday, Blair told judge Megan Rhys: 'Thanks for the birthday present.'

Charlotte Winstanley, 27, had a 'romantic relationship' with convicted thug Jabhari Blair, 29, during her time working at HMP Lindholme in South Yorkshire

She also admitted conspiring with one of the inmates to sneak in mobile phone SD cards in October 2022. That prisoner was named in court papers as Jabhari Blair, 29, who was jailed for more than 12 years in 2014 for his role in a violent mass brawl in Bradford, West Yorkshire

Winstanley, who arrived at court clutching a prison bag, was granted bail until sentencing.

Her barrister Khadim Al-Hassan said she admitted the offences on the 'full facts' and did not seek to 'minimise her role'.

He said: 'She's made a full and frank disclosure.'

Blair, formerly of Rookwood Vale, Leeds, was aged 18 when he stabbed a man during a mass brawl in Bradford, West Yorks.

The violence was described by the sentencing judge as 'disgusting and sickening' public disorder.

Blair had been nearing a parole hearing which would have paved the way for his release.

Judge Rhys told the pair: 'Jabhari Blair and Charlotte Winstanley, you've pleaded guilty to acceptable counts on the indictment.

'You will therefore need to be sentenced. Sentence will take place on December 3.

'Charlotte Winstanley, you can remain on bail as same terms as before but make sure you're back in good time for sentence on December 3.

'A failure to do so may lead to your arrest.'

The shamed former guard appeared at Sheffield Crown Court, where she admitted misconduct in public office by having a 'romantic relation with a prisoner'

The former prison officer also indicated guilty pleas to bringing a mobile phone into HMP Lindholme (pictured) and also taking a photograph inside HMP Ranby, in Retford, Notts, in April 2023

Pictured: Winstanley at Doncaster Magistrates Court case in August

At least 30 female prison guards have been given the sack in the past three years for forming improper relationships with prisoners.

That compares to just nine women who lost their jobs for the same offence between 2017 and 2019.

Morgan Farr Varney, 24, was jailed in May for ten months over an illicit relationship with a prisoner at HMP Lindholme.

She was caught slipping into a cupboard with Jordan Stones, 30, a crack cocaine dealer serving a five-and-a-half-year sentence.

Interviewed by police, Farr Varney, also from Stainforth, admitted she had 'proper fallen in love' with him and admitted she had 'f****ed her life up'.

Stones was handed an extra six weeks' jail time after being caught with an illicit mobile phone to stay in touch with the shamed guard.
A young Toronto man who brutally butchered his aunt as part of a twisted sex fantasy has received a life sentence for the horrific killing

In 2016, Shayne MacDonald stabbed his 38-year-old aunt, Sarah Vermelhudo, nine times and slit her throat before turning the knife on her mother inside an apartment on College Street.

'This was a particularly brutal killing. The attack was extreme,' Superior Court Justice Rita-Jean Maxwell told the court Tuesday during MacDonald's sentencing, which includes no chance of parole for 14 years.

'She had defensive wounds, so did not die immediately. She fought. She struggled, she suffered.'

The killer, who was 21 at the time of the murder, sat still and showed no emotion as the judge read her sentence, the Toronto Star reported.

Prosecutors had argued that MacDonald's actions were part of long-held fantasy of killing and sexually assaulting his aunt.

'Violence and death were both a means to an end and part of the sexual act itself,' the judge wrote. 'Mr. MacDonald's ideal sexual act was to have sex with a dead or dying person.'

MacDonald's defense lawyers argued that he should not be found responsible due to a mental disorder. They said he suffered a psychotic episode and that his actions were due to a paranoid delusion that he was in danger.

Sarah Vermelhudo, 38, was murdered by her nephew as part of long-held fantasy he had of killing and sexually assaulting her, prosecutors said

Shayne MacDonald's defence attorney's argued he should not be found responsible due to a mental disorder

The judge called the killing 'a serious betrayal of trust,' emphasizing the devastating impact it had on the Vermelhudo family, especially the victim's mother, Maria, who survived MacDonald's attack.

Family members said his relationship with Vermelhudo was amicable and that she had been particularly supportive of him during his struggles with mental health.

MacDonald committed the murder on the night of Dec. 16, 2016, after going to Vermelhudo's apartment to watch a movie with her.

About 10 minutes after he arrived, Vermelhudo's mother heard screaming. MacDonald stabbed her nine times in the chest, stomach and lower back with a pocketknife he brought with him.

He also cut her across the throat, severing her jugular and causing heavy bleeding.

When Maria approached, MacDonald grabbed her by the hair and stabbed her twice in the middle of the back as they struggled.

Maria was able to escape and recover in the hospital after her partner intervened.

MacDonald fled the home and left the pocketknife behind. He hid for three days before police arrested him at a bus stop after receiving a tip of a person matching MacDonald's description.

Vermelhudo had an amicable relationship with her nephew and was particularly supportive of him during his struggles with mental health

MacDonald was arrested for murdering his aunt in 2016, but his full sentence was handed down this week

The convicted murderer had no prior history of violence or criminal record, but his mother struggled with addiction and his father was abusive to her. He was also bullied by his brother and a victim of sexual abuse as a child.

At the time of the murder, MacDonald lived by himself in social housing. He struggled with social anxiety and depression, and spent most of his time playing video games.

He had long struggled with his mental health and sought help about a year and a half before killing his aunt. He also had a recorded history of sexually violent and homicidal thoughts.

'Mr. MacDonald has a documented history of having sexual fantasies involving family members and violent thoughts. His longstanding interest in violence and death is concerning,' Judge Maxwell said.

At an earlier sentencing hearing, MacDonald said he was sorry for what he did and that he regretted not getting more mental health intervention before the murder.

The judge said he showed some rehabilitative potential due to his remorse, but the aggravating features of his case drove his parole ineligibility period above the 10-year minimum.
A band of Republicans have suddenly turned on the First Amendment in the wake of Charlie Kirks assassination.

At least three ruby-red MAGA voters have called for posts relating to the horrific tragedy to be stripped from social media.

Their calls for posts about the Turning Point USA founders death to be scrubbed from the online record cut against the GOPs long-held firm belief in the freedom of speech, a value Kirk himself cherished and practiced.

Reps. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Clay Higgins of Louisiana demanded that the social media platforms remove some videos of and comments about Kirks assassination.

Luna went as far as to tag X owner Elon Musk, Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg and TikTok in an X post expressing her deep displeasure that the clips remain online.

'I am calling on [Musk, Zuckerberg and TikTok] to remove the horrifying videos of Charlie Kirks murder, the Florida Republican wrote.

He has a family, young children, and no one should be forced to relive this tragedy online. These are not the only graphic videos of horrifying murders circulating at some point, social media begins to desensitize humanity. We must still value life. Please take them down.

Boebert commented on her post in support Thank you! I agree completely! I never want to see that again! I hate that I saw it at all.

U.S. conservative activist and commentator Charlie Kirk appears at a Utah Valley University speaking event in Orem, Utah, U.S. September 10, 2025. He was shot in the neck at the event and later passed away. As of Thursday afternoon, the suspect is still at large, the FBI has said

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., called for social media companies to ban the videos of Kirk's assassination

Kirk, a free speech maximalist who routinely traveled to college campuses to debate students who disagreed with him ideologically, was shot while debating at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday.

The lawmakers calls to eliminate the videos of his untimely death stand at odds with what the staunch First Amendment supporter advocated for on hundreds of campuses nationwide - the freedom to expression, no matter how evil.

There's ugly speech. There's gross speech. There's evil speech. And all of it is protected by the First Amendment. Keep America free, Kirk posted last year on his X account.

Though some of the remarks about the shooting in Utah were too ugly for Louisiana Republican Clay Higgins.

Im going to use Congressional authority and every influence with big tech platforms to mandate immediate ban for life of every post or commenter that belittled the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the conservative posted on social media.

If they ran their mouth with their smarta** hatred celebrating the heinous murder of that beautiful young man who dedicated his whole life to delivering respectful conservative truth into the hearts of liberal enclave universities, armed only with a Bible and a microphone and a Constitution those profiles must come down.

Stunningly, Higgins threatened to 'cancel' anyone found to have said mean things about Kirk. The lawmaker appeared to be emulating the same tactics that Republicans accused Democrats of employing just years ago when X was under different ownership.

In addition to having all their social media accounts banned, the Louisianan demanded that these Kirk-haters be kicked out of schools and have their business and drivers licenses revoked.

Luna knew Kirk personally and has credited him with helping her get elected to Congress

Im also going after their business licenses and permitting, their businesses will be blacklisted aggressively, they should be kicked from every school, and their driver's licenses should be revoked, Higgins tirade continued.

Im basically going to cancel with extreme prejudice these evil, sick animals who celebrated Charlie Kirks assassination. Im starting that today.

Many conservatives pushed back on both Luna and Higgins posts.

I dont agree with this, personally, GOP political strategist Joey Mannarino responded to the Louisianan. I want them to be able to speak so we know exactly who they are and what they think about us.

TikTok later responded to Luna and told her the company would remove content related to Kirks assassination.

These horrific violent acts have no place in our society, the company said in a statement.

We remain committed to proactively enforcing our Community Guidelines and have implemented additional safeguards to prevent people from unexpectedly viewing footage that violates our rules.

Neither Higgins nor Luna returned the Daily Mail's request for comment.
The sniper's nest used by the assassin who killed Charlie Kirk has been revealed by authorities as they continue an urgent manhunt for the gunman.

Images released Thursday showed spent bullet casings on a rooftop on the Losee Building, around 200 yards away from where Kirk was speaking to Utah Valley University students at midday Wednesday.

The shooter is believed to have fired a precise shot into Kirk's neck from the perch before jumping from the roof and escaping into a nearby neighborhood.

Images also emerged of a ladder that was found perched on the side of the building, seemingly used by the assassin to make a rapid escape.

Despite the distance of the shot from the rooftop, former FBI counterterrorism agent Tim Clemente told CNN that it could have been pulled off by a gunman with only a moderate skill level.

'Its not a spectacular shot. I was actually training snipers (Wednesday) morning, up until the time this event happened, and they were taking shots out 500, 600 yards routinely,' Clemente said.

'So 200 yards isnt a terrible distance. But you need to know how to aim and control your trigger pull.'

It comes as officials also released images of a person of interest being sought in the ongoing manhunt, seen wearing a black t-shirt with a bald eagle flying across an American flag.

The shirt read: 'Land of the Free.... Home of the Brave', and authorities offered a $100,000 reward for any information leading to his arrest.

The sniper's nest used by the assassin who killed Charlie Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus has been revealed by authorities as they continue an urgent manhunt for the gunman

Images also emerged of a ladder that was found perched on the side of the building, seemingly used by the assassin to make a rapid escape

Officials also released images of a person of interest being sought in the ongoing manhunt, seen wearing a black t-shirt with a bald eagle flying across an American flag.

In a woodland near to the shooting, cops recovered a Mauser .30 caliber bolt-action rifle hidden in a towel that may have been dropped as the shooter fled the scene.

Three additional rounds were found loaded in the magazine alongside the spent bullet casing. The weapon and ammunition are now being forensically analyzed by law enforcement at a federal lab for clues that could help identify the shooter or their motive.

In an update to the manhunt on Thursday morning, officials said they found engravings of 'transgender and antifascist ideology.'

A press conference had been scheduled for 2:45pm ET on Thursday, however less than an hour ahead of the planned news conference the Utah Department of Public Safety cancelled the event, citing 'rapid developments in our investigation.'

The shocking assassination has sparked widespread outrage across the nation, with some on the left seemingly celebrating the horrific shooting that unfolded in front of a crowd of around 3,000 people.

Two suspects were initially captured, however it was later revealed that both were released and were not found to have fired the shot that killed Kirk.

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Kirk, seen moments before he was shot, was assassinated Wednesday on the UVU campus in Orem, Utah as he held a Turning Point USA event

Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Frantzve, with whom he had a three-year-old daughter and a son, 16 months. The couple celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary in May.

Vice President JD Vance flew to Utah to meet with Kirk's grieving family and offered to have his casket flown to the conservative influencer's home in Phoenix, Arizona on board Air Force Two.

Donald Trump - who narrowly escaped death when he was shot in the ear at a campaign rally in Butler Township, Pennsylvania, in July 2024 - broke the news of the MAGA influencer's passing on Wednesday.

'The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,' the President wrote on his Truth Social platform.

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

'Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!'

For more on this story - follow Daily Mail podcast 'The Assassination of Charlie Kirk,' out now wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube.
Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro will spend 27 years and three months behind bars after the country's Supreme Court found him guilty of plotting a military coup.

The far-right politician who governed Brazil between 2019 and 2022 was convicted on Thursday on five counts of attempting an insurrection to remain in office despite his electoral defeat three years ago.

Judges voted 4-1 to convict Bolsonaro of plotting to overthrow Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva following his October 2022 election defeat by the left-winger. He can appeal the verdict.

The plot also envisaged the assassination of Lula, his vice president Geraldo Alckmin, and Alexandre de Moraes - one of the five Supreme Court judges in his trial.

Justice Carmen Lucia voted to convict Bolsonaro, siding with justices Moraes and Flavio Dino.

She said there was enough evidence indicating that the former president had acted 'with the purpose of eroding democracy and institutions.'

Justice Luiz Fux was the only one dissenting so far, voting to acquit the former president.

Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro could spend decades behind bars after the country's Supreme Court formed a majority on Thursday to convict him of being part of an armed criminal organization. Pictured: olsonaro gestures at the garage of his residence in Brasilia on September 11, 2025

Brazil's Federal Supreme Court (STF) minister Carmen Lucia speaks during the voting session to convict or acquit far-right Brazil's former President (2019-2022) Jair Bolsonaro in a coup trial at the Federal Supreme Court (STF) in Brasilia on September 11, 2025

General view during the voting session to convict or acquit far-right Brazil's former President (2019-2022) Jair Bolsonaro in a coup trial at the Federal Supreme Court (STF) in Brasilia on September 11, 2025

The ruling makes Bolsonaro the first former president in the country's history to be convicted for attacking democracy.

The 70-year-old former president is currently under house arrest in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia.

Bolsonaro, who has denied any wrongdoing, has not attended the court and was pictured outside his home in Brasilia today.

Bolsonaro, a former Army captain who never hid his admiration for the military dictatorship that killed hundreds of Brazilians between 1964 and 1985, echoes legal condemnations this year for far-right leaders elsewhere, including France's Marrie Le Pen and the Philippines' Rodrigo Duterte.

It is likely to enrage Bolsonaro's close ally Donald Trump, who has already called the case a 'witch hunt' and slammed Brazil with tariff hikes, sanctions against the presiding judge, and the revocation of visas for most members of Brazil's high court.

Trump called the conviction of his Brazilian far-right ally 'very surprising.'

The 70-year-old former president is currently under house arrest

A supporter of former President Jair Bolsonaro prays during a vigil in his support near his home where he is under house arrest, in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025

The trial has been followed by a divided society, with people backing the process against the former president, while others still support him

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States 'will respond accordingly' to what he called a politically motivated 'witch hunt.'

'I thought he was a good president of Brazil, and it's very surprising that that could happen. That's very much like they tried to do with me, but they didn't get away with it at all,' Trump told reporters outside the White House. 'He was a good man.'

Bolsonaro's seven co-accused, including former ministers and military chiefs, were also convicted.

The trial has been followed by a divided society, with people backing the process against the former president, while others still support him, and have called for him to run for president again in 2026.

Some have taken to the streets back the far-right leader.

Some opposition parties have also pushed for the former president to be granted amnesty.

Bolsonaro's conviction marks the lowest point in his trajectory from the back benches of Congress to forge a powerful conservative coalition that tested the limits of the country's young democratic institution.

His political journey began after a brief career as an army paratrooper, when he became a city lawmaker in Rio de Janeiro in the late 1980s.

He went on to be elected as a congressman in Brasilia, where he quickly became known for his defense of authoritarian-era policies in the early years of Brazil's democracy.

His reputation as a firebrand was fueled by interviews like one in which he argued that Brazil would only change 'on the day that we break out in civil war here and do the job that the military regime didn't do: killing 30,000.'

People celebrate the Brazil's Supreme Court decision on former President Jair Bolsonaro's trial in Brasilia on September 11, 2025

amage is seen to the Brazilian National Congress following a riot the previous day led by radical supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro on January 9, 2023 in Brasilia, Brazil

) Supporters of Brazilian former President Jair Bolsonaro hold a demonstration at the Esplanada dos Ministerios in Brasilia on January 8, 2023

While long dismissed as a fringe player, he refined his message to play up anti-corruption and pro-family values themes.

Nicknamed the 'Trump of the Tropics,' Bolsonaro's presidency was marked by Covid-19 denialism and rampant Amazon deforestation but also some early economic successes.

The pandemic, which Bolsonaro dismissed as a 'little flu,' claimed more than 700,000 lives in Brazil, second only to the United States.

Smarting from his failure to win a second presidential term, he left Brazil for Florida two days before the end of his mandate, snubbing Lula's inauguration.

A week later, on January 8, 2023, rampaging Bolsonaro supporters calling for the army to oust Lula stormed the presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court.

Prosecutors accuse Bolsonaro, under house arrest since last month, of having incited the violence.
Donald Trump Jr. rebuked the transgender community during the anniversary of 9/11 by comparing them to Al-Qaeda terrorists.

The president's son made his remarks during a Thursday interview on the 'Megyn Kelly Show.'

Trump Jr. also claimed transgender individuals are probably responsible for other 'mass killings' that the public is not aware of 'because you're not allowed to talk about the truth.'

'I can't name, including probably like Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, a group that is more violent per capita than the radical trans moment,' Trump Jr. told Megyn Kelly.

'I'm sure people are totally sane after jacking themselves up on hormones given to them by some rainbow hair freak doctor because they think men can somehow magically become women,' the president's son added.

Trump Jr.'s controversial comments come one day after the violent killing of Charlie Kirk.

The co-founder of Turning Point USA was shot in the throat while speaking to college students at Utah Valley University. The shooter fled the murder scene and is still at large.

An early internal report claims investigators have found ammunition found in the suspected weapon with symbols expressing support for transgender ideology.

Trump Jr. made his remarks during a Thursday interview with Megyn Kelly

The president's son compared transgender individuals to Middle Eastern jihadist terrorists

Trump gave remarks at a 9/11 event on Thursday honoring the victims of the attack

The report has not been confirmed by the FBI and cited unnamed law enforcement sources.

Trump Jr. and Kirk reportedly maintained a close personal relationship with the president's son, referring to the conservative activist as a 'little brother.'

Vice President JD Vance wrote a heartfelt tribute to Kirk mentioning that Kirk introduced him to Trump Jr. early in his political career.

President Trump attended a ceremony on Thursday at the Pentagon to honor the victims of 9/11.

Trump announced his plans to honor Kirk by posthumously awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Trump Jr.'s comments come one day after the murder of Charlie Kirk in Utah

Additionally, Trump Jr. also blamed far-left rhetoric for the increase in political violence across the country.

'The reality is... we've seen they're not willing to be nice,' Trump Jr. referring to far-left liberals.

'The violence is only going one way.'

For more on this story - follow Daily Mail podcast 'The Assassination of Charlie Kirk,' out now wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube.
A giant and extremely rare sunfish has washed up on a California beach - stunning early morning visitors who stumbled across the bizarre six-foot-long creature.

The hoodwinker sunfish, or Mola tecta, was discovered at Doran Regional Park in Bodega Bay, about 60 miles north of San Francisco - made famous as the setting of Alfred Hitchcocks 1963 film The Birds. The creature measured around six feet long and three feet wide, its body dwarfing the usual beach debris.

With its tiny mouth and lack of a visible tail, the strange-looking fish is so unusual that scientists only recognized the species in 2017.

Marine biologist Marianne Nyegaard of New Zealand, who first described the species, confirmed to the East Bay Times that the stranded animal was indeed a hoodwinker.

She said it could be distinguished from the more common ocean sunfish because 'the clavus is quite narrow and there is no head bump or chin bump.'

Nyegaard told the East Bay Times its presence in Northern California was surprising. 'We know Mola tecta occurs in the Humboldt Current off South America, as far north as Peru,' she explained.

'But we did not think they would cross the warm equatorial belt - at least not very often. But they definitely cross - probably by diving deep and swimming underneath the warmer equatorial surface waters.'

The unusual sighting was first reported by Stefan Kiesbye, a novelist and English professor at Sonoma State University.

The enormous hoodwinker sunfish discovered on Doran Beach in Bodega Bay - the strange species has only been recognized by scientists since 2017

Beachgoer Stefan Kiesbye, a Sonoma State professor, (not pictured) said he was 'still in awe' after stumbling across the six-foot-long creature while picking up trash

He had been out picking up trash early Sunday morning when he noticed the massive creature near the western tip of the beach.

'Its sad that its been washed to shore,' he said. 'But it was so enormous and so weird and gorgeous. Its like suddenly youre on another planet.'

Kiesbye said he was 'still in awe' hours after finding the fish, which he initially mistook for a dead sea lion.

Later, he Googled 'big weird fish around here' and found news coverage of another hoodwinker that had washed ashore in Santa Barbara in 2019 - the first time the species had ever been spotted north of the equator.

Since then, at least half a dozen hoodwinkers have washed up from Southern California to Oregon, and as far north as Alaska, leaving scientists scrambling to understand their range.

According to Sonoma County Regional Parks spokesperson Meda Freeman, several sunfish were seen offshore before the latest hoodwinker became stranded.

One ranger said it was only the second dead sunfish he had come across in six years of coastal patrols.

Despite their alien appearance, Nyegaard said such strandings are not necessarily alarming.

At roughly six feet in length, the massive hoodwinker was larger than most grown men and unlike anything locals had seen before

The hoodwinker, whose Latin name tecta means 'hidden,' has increasingly been found along the West Coast despite once being thought confined to the Southern Hemisphere

The discovery was made on the shores of Bodega Bay, a windswept inlet along Sonoma Countys coast that attracts campers, surfers and birdwatchers

'All over the world' sunfish can 'strand' - meaning they beach themselves and are unable to return to the water, she explained. 'As far as I can tell it is not necessarily a sign of human influence.'

The hoodwinker, whose Latin name tecta means 'hidden,' was given its name because scientists struggled for years to realize it was a distinct species.

For beachgoers in Bodega Bay, the encounter was both eerie and unforgettable - an unexpected glimpse of one of the oceans strangest giants.
Donald Trump's Oval Office address about the assassination of Charlie Kirk has been hit with claims that the video was made using artificial intelligence.

Andy Signore, who hosts YouTube channel Popcorned Planet, shared a slow-motion segment from the video saying that Trump's finger 'disappears' in the edit.

The White House has condemned the claim as a 'deranged conspiracy theory'.

'Um that Trump speech was AI... His pinky DISSAPPEARS!' Signore claimed on X.

'I don't care if it was just an edit - Trump sued 60 Minutes for MILLIONS over just an edit!' he added, referring to the president's lawsuit against CBS for allegedly biased editing of an interview with Kamala Harris, who was vice president at the time.

'Now they can just use AI when they want!? Can you imagine if President Biden got caught using AI to edit a speech!? This is outrageous,' Signore said.

However, the pinky's 'disappearance' appears to be just an illusion when Trump's hand blurred for a moment - as social media users were quick to point out.

'It's very obviously a Morph Cut in Premiere Pro. This is at least two takes cut together,' one X user replied.

'Lol it is very clearly not AI. Come on bro,' another person added alongside two laughing-face emojis, while another said: 'It's a morph cut, dummy.'

Donald Trump 's Oval Office address about the assassination of Charlie Kirk has been hit with claims that the video was made using artificial intelligence

Andy Signore, who hosts YouTube channel Popcorned Planet, shared a slow-motion segment from the video claiming that Trump's finger 'disappears' in the edit

However, the pinky's 'disappearance' appears to be just an illusion when Trump's hand blurred for a moment - as social media users were quick to point out

'There was no AI used in this video,' a White House spokesperson told the Daily Mail.

'President Trump recorded a heartfelt message following the tragic assassination of his dear friend, Charlie Kirk.

'Anyone sharing deranged conspiracy theories should be ashamed of themselves.'

Conservative firebrand Kirk was killed by a single bullet to the neck as he engaged with students at Utah Valley University on Wednesday afternoon.

The FBI has released images of a person of interest (shown above) in Kirk's death

As the manhunt for his killer continues for a second day, the FBI has released photographs of a 'person of interest' wearing all black who they want to identify.

The man is of slim build, and he is shown in the images wearing a snapback with sunglasses, long pants, and a long-sleeved top.

Investigators are offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of whoever is responsible for Kirk's death. Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI.

President Donald Trump initially announced the tragic news of Kirk's death on his social media site, Truth Social.

'The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,' Trump wrote.

'He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife, Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!'

Trump later addressed the nation in a somber speech delivered from the Oval Office.

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Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Frantzve, with whom he had a three-year-old daughter and a son, 16 months. He was just 31 years old when he was slaughtered at a college event

President Donald Trump announced Kirk's death on Truth Social. 'No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,' Trump wrote. 'He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us'

'To my great fellow Americans, I am filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah. Charlie inspired millions and tonight, all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror,' Trump said.

He praised Kirk as a man of faith who loved his country and advocated for it to his followers.

'Charlie was a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country that he loved so much, the United States of America. He fought for liberty, democracy, justice and the American people.'

'He's a martyr for truth and freedom and there has never been anyone who was so respected by youth,' Trump continued.

'Charlie was also a man of deep, deep faith, and we take comfort that he is now with God in Heaven.

'Our prayers are with his wife, Erika, his two young and beloved children and his family, whom he loved more than anything in the world.

'We ask God to watch over them in this terrible hour of heartache and pain.'

Father-of-two Kirk was killed by a single gunshot wound to the neck on Wednesday afternoon at Utah Valley University. (Pictured: Kirk at the college event)

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Trump's speech took a darker turn as he looked toward those responsible for this 'dark moment for America'.

'It's long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequences of demonizing those with whom you disagree, day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible,' he said.

Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika Kirk (nee Frantzve), and their three-year-old daughter and 16-month-old son.

He quickly ascended in conservative circles after co-founding the right-wing youth organization Turning Point USA in 2012 with marketing entrepreneur and Tea Party activist Bill Montgomery.

For more on this story - follow Daily Mail podcast 'The Assassination of Charlie Kirk,' out now wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube.
Shots were reportedly fired at the University of Massachusetts in Boston on Thursday afternoon, prompting panic, evacuations and a massive police response before the all clear was declared.

Police have reported the incident on campus all clear. There is no ongoing threat to the community, the university said in an update on X just before 5:15pm after more than 90 minutes of uncertainty and confusion.

The incident began around 3.45 pm, when gunfire was reported near Morrissey Boulevard, according to Boston Police.

Dozens of students and staff were seen fleeing for their lives at the school's campus in Dorchester, the Boston Police Department told WCVB.

UMass Boston initially posted on X that the incident took place at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. Subsequent campus alerts warned of a 'public safety threat' in or near a residence hall at the school's East Building.

SWAT teams rushed to the dorm building, as people were urged to avoid the area.

Sky5 footage showed students and staff evacuating a campus building with their hands raised, as officers armed with rifles swarmed the area.

The urgent alert came at a fraught time for America, as multiple colleges across the country were put on lockdown today over a series of bomb and terror threats.

The reports of shots fired at UMass also comes just one day after conservative activist Charlie Kirk, 31, was fatally shot at Utah Valley University.

Massachusetts State Police said in a statement: 'Troopers have responded to UMass Boston to an unconfirmed report of a shooting on campus'.

Pictured: UMass Boston. Several alerts warned students that the incident is a 'public safety threat' and is in or near a residence hall in the school's East Building

Dozens of students and staff were seen fleeing for their lives after gunshots rang out at the school's campus in Dorchester, the Boston Police Department confirmed

'Law Enforcement will coordinate with our campus partners to ensure the safety of students, faculty, and staff.'

Student Alicia Bens recorded a video showing herself sprinting back into her boyfriend's car after being dropped off amid a heavy police presence.

The university canceled all classes and activities for Thursday evening, officials said.

UMass Boston had an enrollment of 15,575 students as of Fall 2024, according to its website.

Former Boston police commissioner Ed Davis described the situation to WCVB as tense.

'The officers are still running into one of the university buildings; they have rifles out - this is a very active scene, it's not something you can dismiss right now,' Davis said before the scene was cleared. 'It may turn out to be nothing, but from what I see in the activity on the ground, they are still taking this very seriously.'

This morning, Alabama State University shut down all campus operations due to an unspecified 'terrorist threat.'

Additional threats were also made against Hampton University, Virginia State University, Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Florida's Bethune-Cookman University, officials said.

Students and staff are seen scattering from UMass buildings following the alert

A large law enforcement presence is seen on the campus

The university canceled all classes and activities for Thursday evening, officials said

Virginia State, Southern University and A&M College and Bethune-Cookman University were all placed on lockdown while Hampton University canceled classes and activities. All five schools are Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs).

Meanwhile, a shelter-in-place order was also issued for Stockton University's Galloway campus in New Jersey on Thursday afternoon as police investigated an off-campus shooting.

The Daily Mail has reached out to the Boston Police and Fire Department for comment.
Unprecedented levels of violence featuring knife-wielding shoppers has forced the head of a major supermarket chain to consider closing stores.

Ritchies IGA chief executive Fred Harrison said it was getting harder to keep his staff and customers safe from armed thieves, as retail crime hits 'crisis point' in Victoria.

'People are making decisions to exit the business because there's that much theft that it is impacting their bottom line, and you can't expect retailers to remain trading and lose money,' he told ABC's 7.30.

'Is it all-round more profitable, safer, if we just close and walk away?'

Mr Harrison said armed thieves were more brazen in the wake of the Covid pandemic and were comfortable entering stores during daylight hours to take what they wanted.

There are 85 Ritchies IGA stores in Australia, and Mr Harrison said Victoria, which has 52 outlets, was responsible for '95 per cent' of the issues his business was facing.

Ritchies IGA is not the only major chain being targeted by armed thieves in Victoria.

Bunnings store manager Olivia, who has worked at the hardware chain for 20 years, said violence had become part of her normal workday.

A theif pulls out a knife at a Woolworths store and walks out with their shopping

A man wearing abuses Bunnings staff as he walks out with a stolen item

Ritchies IGA stores in Victoria may be closing down due to the amount of violence staff have experienced in recent years

'We had a point where we had local gangs coming into the store,' she told the ABC.

'They would come on a very regular basis as well with weapons and just walk straight out of our store with lawnmowers, barbecues, hot water services.'

Bunnings released shocking CCTV footage late last year, which showed staff members being threatened with knives and a shotgun.

In one clip, a man appeared to hold a knife to a staff member's throat. Staff were also shown being harassed by a naked man, sucker-punched, shoved or manhandled.

Bunnings has since introduced body-worn cameras for staff and security guards to help employees feel more at ease during their shifts.

Woolworths has also created a dedicated position, titled Head of Acts of Violence and Aggression, following a surge in customer-related incidents.

Staff at the supermarket giant can choose to wear body-worn cameras and undertake 'de-escalation training' using virtual reality headsets.

Recent crime data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Victoria was the worst state for retail crime, which reached a 21-year high in 2023.

Bunnings staff are often subject to physical abuse from customers

A naked man is seen walking through a Bunnings store harassing staff

There were 595,660 victims of personal and retail theft recorded by police, which was up six per cent from the previous year.

In Victoria, there were 169,673 victims of personal and retail theft in 2024 - a rise of 29 per cent from the previous year.

Bunnings manager director Michael Schneider told Daily Mail: 'Like many other retailers, we've seen an increase in violent and threatening incidents. In the last two years, retail crime has grown by 50 per cent with 88 per cent being violent or aggressive incidents.'

'Escalating retail crime is a safety crisis and behind the statistics are real people  our team and our customers - who are being put in harm's way,' Mr Schneider said.

'We need government, regulators, law enforcement, unions and retailers working together to protect frontline workers and our community.'

Daily Mail has contacted Ritchies IGA who decliend to provide further comments.
The teenage boy injured in the Colorado school shooting, where the gunman opened fire 'again and again' on fellow students, has been identified.

On Wednesday, 16-year-old Desmond Holly died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after opening fire on terrified students at Evergreen High School, leaving two students hospitalized.

One of the wounded victims has been identified as 18-year-old Matthew Silverstone, according to a family statement released by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

'The family appreciates the community's concern and support, but as we remain focused on our loved one's recovery, we respectfully request privacy as we continue to heal and navigate the road ahead,' the teen's loved ones said.

Silverstone has since been transferred to another hospital and is in stable condition, while the second victim remains in critical condition at CommonSpirit St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, as reported by Colorado Public Radio.

On Wednesday afternoon, during the students' lunch break, Holly - armed with a revolver and a large amount of ammunition - opened fire as he moved through the school, reportedly searching for 'targets.'

'He would fire and reload, fire and reload, fire and reload,' Sheriff spokesperson Jacki Kelley said during a press conference.

'This went on and on, and as he did that, he tried to find new targets, and he came up against a roadblock on many of those doors,' she added. 'He couldn't get to those kids.'

The teenage boy injured in the Colorado school shooting, where the gunman opened fire 'again and again' on fellow students, has been identified as 18-year-old Matthew Silverstone (pictured)

Silverstone has since been transferred to another hospital and is in stable condition, while the second victim remains in critical condition at CommonSpirit St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood (pictured: scene at Evergreen High School)

Two students were shot - one outside the school and one inside - and were immediately taken to the hospital.

Though it remains unclear how many shots Holly fired, Kelley described a chaotic scene inside the school, with lockers and windows shattered by gunfire.

After receiving reports of an active shooter, authorities arrived on scene within two minutes and encountered Holly within five.

Holly later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but the nature of his interaction with law enforcement before he took his own life remains unknown.

While a suspected motive has not been disclosed, Kelley stated that Holly was 'radicalized by some extremist network' - a conclusion seemingly reached after investigators searched the gunmans home and phone.

'I have to believe when you bring a gun to school and you continue to fire and reload and fire and reload that you are on a mission and we are grateful that he was less successful but we're devastated that he was successful at all,' Kelley stated.

Kelley told the Daily Mail that police are 'in contact with' Holly's parents, who are cooperating with the investigation.

As part of the investigation, authorities are working to determine how Holly obtained the weapon and how he concealed it both during his bus ride to school and while on campus before opening fire on students.

On Wednesday, 16-year-old Desmond Holly (pictured in driver's license photo) died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after opening fire on terrified students at Evergreen High School

While a suspected motive has not been disclosed, Sheriff spokesperson Jacki Kelley stated that Holly was 'radicalized by some extremist network' - a conclusion seemingly reached after investigators searched the gunmans home and phone (pictured: authorities running towards school in bulletproof vests)

Investigators are also spending the coming days examining multiple crime scenes, with assistance from the FBI and several local law enforcement agencies.

'The reason we have so many crime scene areas inside is because we have windows shot out,' Kelley explained.

'We have lockers that were shot up, we're finding spent rounds, unspent rounds, so it's a huge area and the school, I was told, is three levels, so lots of work to be done,' she added.

To uncover a clear motive, authorities are thoroughly examining Hollys cell phones, social media accounts, bedroom, backpack, and locker.

'There's a lot of places to look that we hope will just give us better information as to what he was attempting to do and maybe the why,' Kelley said. 'Sometimes we never find out why.'

Several students caught in the horror have since shared their experiences in the hours following the shooting.

Ninth grader Cameron Jones said he was eating lunch outside when he heard three gunshots. A security guard then told him to run.

He said he never imagined a shooting would happen in Evergreen, a quiet, leafy Denver suburb with a close-knit community of 900 students.

The shooting at Evergreen High School (pictured) marks the 13th school shooting in Colorado since 1999, when 16 people lost their lives in the Columbine High School massacre - a school within the same district as Evergreen

Wednesday's horrific shooting also marks the 47th school shooting in the United States this year - 24 of which occurred on college campuses, and 23 on K-12 school grounds (pictured: aerial photo of Evergreen)

'I thought this was like a one-in-a-million thing, and it still feels surreal that it happened,' Jones told Colorado Public Radio.

Kai Taylor, a 15-year-old sophomore, was eating lunch outside the school when he received a call from his twin sister about the active shooter - and then saw people running for their lives.

'I felt like I was going limp. I felt like I was going to fall over. I was so scared,' Taylor told The Denver Post.

'I felt like I was prepared, but its just so different when it actually happens,' he added.

'My heart beats when I look at the school. I feel so nervous to go back. It almost doesnt feel real. Its like a dream.'

The shooting at Evergreen High School marks the 13th school shooting in Colorado since 1999, when 16 people lost their lives in the Columbine High School massacre - a school within the same district as Evergreen.

It also marks the 47th school shooting in the United States this year - 24 of which occurred on college campuses, and 23 on K-12 school grounds.
The wife of a Wisconsin man who faked his own death to flee to the country of Georgia frantically texted him the morning after he vanished, unaware he was already en route to meet a woman he'd met online.

Ryan Borgwardt, a 46-year-old cabinetmaker from Watertown, executed a meticulously planned disappearance on the night of August 11, 2024, by capsizing his kayak in Green Lake and vanishing into the night.

He aimed to leave behind his wife and their three children to begin a new life with a Ukrainian woman in Tbilisi, Georgia.

That same night, his wife, Emily Borgwardt, was sending desperate messages that would go unanswered.

According to newly released case documents from the Green Lake County Sheriff's Office, Borgwardt had texted his wife late that night saying he had 'snuck out on a lake' to watch the northern lights.

When she asked why he hadn't told her, he apologized.

Emily Borgwardt (left), the wife of Ryan Borgwardt (right), who faked his own death to flee to the country of Georgia, frantically texted him the morning after he vanished

The 46-year-old cabinetmaker from Watertown, executed a meticulously planned disappearance on the night of August 11, 2024, by capsizing his kayak in Green Lake and vanishing into the night

That same night, his wife was sending desperate messages that would go unanswered

She responded with a cutting, 'Nothing new. I should be used to it by now. So many nights I have no idea where you are when it's late.'

Trying to soothe tensions, he promised to 'work on communication,' described the northern lights as 'pink,' and sent a final message at 10:49 p.m., which read: 'I love you.... goodnight.'

Emily replied with love and urged him to be safe.

But hours later, with her early morning texts still unanswered, she frantically reached out again - unaware her husband was already long gone - sending messages like 'Where are you????' and 'Babe?'

The Sheriff's Office said Borgwardt had been planning his escape for months.

After overturning his kayak, he claimed he paddled back to shore in an inflatable raft, retrieved an electric bike he had stashed nearby, and rode 70 miles overnight to Madison.

There, he caught a bus to Toronto and flew to Tbilisi, where he met a woman named Katya, whom he had connected with on a dating site in December 2023.

During extensive interviews with detectives, Borgwardt described the scheme as a 'crazy, emotional dream' and admitted he felt like a failure.

He said he was carrying roughly $75,000 in credit card debt and $130,000 in business debt. He also claimed his marriage was strained and said his children no longer wanted anything to do with him.

'I think just the inability to feel like you could talk to your wife about some of this stuff, and maybe the complete hopelessness that you have in the situation that you're in,' he said in a three-hour interview.

He aimed to leave behind his wife and their three children to begin a new life with a Ukrainian woman in Tbilisi, Georgia

After overturning his kayak, he claimed he paddled back to shore in an inflatable raft, retrieved an electric bike he had stashed nearby, and rode 70 miles overnight to Madison. Pictured: Ryan Borgwardt's kayak was discovered in a deep part of Green Lake

After arriving in Madison, he caught a bus to Toronto and flew to Tbilisi, where he met a woman named Katya, whom he had connected with on a dating site in December 2023

During extensive interviews with detectives (pictured), Borgwardt (center) described the scheme as a 'crazy, emotional dream' and admitted he felt like a failure

'And you end up meeting a friend somewhere on the other side of the world... and the friend thing ends up turning into more.'

By April 2024, Borgwardt was researching how to fake his own death. He hoped to be declared legally dead so he could eventually apply for Georgian citizenship, though he hadn't figured out how to do that under a false identity.

His kayak was eventually discovered in a deep part of Green Lake, triggering a 50-day search for his body.

Investigators eventually used information from a laptop he left behind to contact him via email. Several months later, in December, they persuaded him to return to Wisconsin, appealing to him to do right by his family.

Borgwardt pleaded no contest to an obstruction charge on August 26, 2025, and was sentenced to 89 days in jail. His wife, Emily, divorced him in May.
Vice President JD Vance stood front and center as Charlie Kirk's coffin was loaded off a hearse in Salt Lake City in a powerful moment on Thursday.

Vance then led members of the National Guard in carrying the mahogany casket up the steps of Air Force Two at Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base. The aircraft was used to return Kirks body to his home state of Arizona.

Vance boarded the flight alongside Kirks grieving wife, Erika, their two young children, and his parents - all of whom stood together in silence as the solemn tribute unfolded.

Upon landing in Arizona, Second Lady Usha Vance was seen gently holding Erika Kirks hand, offering quiet support as the two stepped off the plane together.

A funeral for the prominent conservative activist is planned for next week, which President Donald Trump said he will attend. He added that he has spoken with Kirk's wife, Erika, and said she is 'devastated, absolutely devastated.'

Vance has also shared a powerful tribute describing Kirk as a 'true friend' - the 'kind of guy you could say something to and know it would always stay with him.'

The vice president had struck up a friendship with the late conservative influencer in 2017, and since then, Vance said, Kirk helped him advance his political career.

Kirk, a father-of-two, was fatally shot when he engaged with students and community members at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

The popular conservative influencer was on the first leg of his American Comeback tour, when police say a lone gunman opened fire from a rooftop 200 yards away.

Vice President JD Vance stood front and center as he and members of the National Guard carried Charlie Kirk's coffin to Air Force Two on Thursday

Kirk's family members were seen crying as Vance passed by with the coffin

A hearse carrying the body of Charlie Kirk, 31, is seen arriving at the Roland R Wright Air National Guard Base on September 11 in Salt Lake City

Air Force Two, carrying the Vice President of the United States, is seen leaving Utah en route to Arizona

Horrified spectators gasped and screamed, before crowds were seen scrambling to flee the crime scene.

At the same time, a shadowy figure was caught on camera running on the top of the school's Lossee Center.

Federal and local authorities are now continuing to search for the suspect, releasing photos of a man they have identified as a 'person of interest' in the shooting.

The man appeared to have a slim build and was seen in the images wearing a snapback with sunglasses, long pants, and a long-sleeved top.

His long-sleeved top appears to bear a patriotic logo of the bald eagle flying across an American flag, reading 'Land of the Free... Home of the Brave'. Daily Mail found the shirt is sold for as little as $6.75 on Ebay.

Little is known about the suspect. Utah DPS Commissioner Beau Mason said they 'appear to be of college age'.

Mason said the gunman 'blended in well with the college institution' before adding: 'We're not releasing many details right now. We will soon. But right now, we're not.'

The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of whoever is responsible for Kirks death after President Trump vowed Wednesday night that his administration would find the killer and bring him to justice.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has also noted that his state still has the death penalty.

Upon landing in Arizona, Second Lady Usha Vance was seen gently holding Erika Kirks hand, offering quiet support as the two stepped off the plane together

Kirk's body will be flown on Air Force Two back to his Arizona home. His grieving wife, Erika, will also be on the flight as well as their two children and Vice President JD Vance

The FBI has released images of a person of interest (shown above) in Kirk's assassination as they asked the public for help identifying them

Federal agents said earlier that they found a high-powered rifle in the woods after Kirk was shot dead at Utah Valley University - but admitted they still have not identified the gunman

Investigators were continuing to comb through a neighborhood near the school on Thursday as the manhunt for the assassin continued

Investigators have since recovered bullets from a Mauser rifle which had been 'engraved with transgender and antifascist ideology', according to a memo seen by the Wall Street Journal.

The WSJ said the revelation came in a notice sent to the Bureau, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents.

Sources told the outlet that the weapon was wrapped up in a towel, with a spent cartridge in the chamber.

Another three unspent rounds were discovered in the magazine, all of which contained messages on them. The exact words used have not been disclosed.

But the shooting has already set off a political frenzy, with Trump blaming 'radical left' rhetoric for the shooting in a somber message to the public posted on his Truth Social page Wednesday night.

'It's long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequences of demonizing those with whom you disagree, day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible,' he said.

'For years, those on the radical Left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today and it must stop right now.'

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Father-of-two Kirk was killed by a single gunshot wound to the neck on Wednesday afternoon at Utah Valley University. (Pictured: Kirk at the college event)

Trump went on to compare Kirk's murder to the assassination attempt on his own life, the attacks on ICE agents, the alleged killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson by Luigi Mangione and the shooting of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.

'Radical Left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives,' he said as he remembered his good friend Kirk as 'a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country that he loved so much, the United States of America.'

He concluded by asking all Americans to commit themselves to Kirk's values: 'The values of free speech, citizenship, the rule of law and the patriotic devotion and love of God.'

'Charlie was the best of America and the monster who was attacking him was attacking our whole country.'

Trump had been good friends with Kirk, who had quickly ascended in conservative circles after co-founding the right-wing youth organization Turning Point USA in 2012 along with marketing entrepreneur and Tea Party activist Bill Montgomery.

Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Frantzve, with whom he had a three-year-old daughter and a son, 16 months

Trump remembered Kirk as a man of faith who loved his country and advocated for it to his followers.

'Charlie was a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country that he loved so much, the United States of America. He fought for liberty, democracy, justice and the American people,' the president said in his Oval Office speech.

'He's a martyr for truth and freedom and there has never been anyone who was so respected by youth,' Trump continued.

'Charlie was also a man of deep, deep faith, and we take comfort that he is now with God in Heaven.'

Vice President JD Vance also described Kirk as a 'true friend' and a 'great family man' in a post saluting him on X.

Kirk is now survived by his wife, Erika Kirk (nee Frantzve), and their three-year-old daughter and 16-month-old son.

For more on this story - follow Daily Mail podcast 'The Assassination of Charlie Kirk,' out now wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube.
Donald Trump said incursions by Russian drones into Polish airspace 'could have been a mistake' but stressed that he was 'not happy' by the incident that was condemned by NATO and its allies.

Poland on Wednesday shot down what it said were Russian drones that violated its airspace.

Warsaw was backed by its NATO allies in taking down the devices - the first time a member of the military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia's war in Ukraine.

Russia said it had not intended to hit any targets in Poland, and that it would make no further comment on the incident, while senior NATO commander said it was not yet known whether the drone incursions were intentional.

'It could have been a mistake, but regardless I'm not happy about anything having to do with that whole situation,' Trump told reporters on Thursday outside the White House.

European leaders expressed alarm on Thursday over Russian hostility threatening their countries after the incursion into NATO-member Poland deepened fears that the three-year war in Ukraine could lead to World War III.

It comes as US-led efforts to steer Moscow and Kyiv toward a peace settlement have so far failed to gain traction.

European officials described the incursion as a deliberate provocation, forcing the NATO alliance to confront a potential threat in its airspace for the first time and compelling it to think carefully about its military response and capabilities.

Donald Trump spoke about Russia's incursion into Polish airspace outside the White House on Thursday

Multiple Russian drones moving from Ukraine airspace into Poland's

Trump's comments also come as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke about the incursion with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday.

Starmer said that it was 'clear that Russia was continuing to ramp up its aggression, systematically stepping up its attacks through a campaign of increasingly belligerent actions.'

The German government said it will 'extend and expand air policing over Poland.'

Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania published a joint statement calling the incursion 'a deliberate and coordinated strike constituting an unprecedented provocation and escalation of tension.'

The Kremlin said it had nothing to add to a Wednesday statement by Russia's Defense Ministry, which insisted that Russian forces had not targeted Poland and that it was open to discuss the incident with Polish officials.

The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on the drone incursion for Friday afternoon at Poland's request.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk addressed Polish troops at an air base in the central city of Lask on Thursday, praising the quick response from the troops and NATO allied forces from the Netherlands.

He pledged to push ahead with a 'great modernisation program' for his country's military.

Polish television channel TV Republika shared this image of one of the downed drones

Photos show the extent of damage to a house in Poland after Putin's drones were flown in

A house is damaged after a drone struck a residential building, according to authorities in Poland

Donald Tusk holding an emergency meeting today with senior officials after Russia's actions

Senior army officials, including the Chief of the General Staff of the Army, Wieslaw Kukula, are at the extraordinary meeting

The Polish Air Navigation Agency announced that Poland was introducing air traffic restrictions in the eastern part of the country.

It said the step was taken at the request of the Polish army for national security reasons but did not elaborate.

Poland said some of the drones that entered its airspace Wednesday came from Belarus, where Russian and local troops have begun gathering for war games scheduled to start Friday.

Poland is closing its border with Belarus at midnight, a planned move also associated with the military exercises.
Keir Starmer is facing mounting questions over his political judgment after he was forced to sack Peter Mandelson just hours after defending him.

The Prime Minister finally acted to remove the disgraced peer as ambassador to the United States amid a growing Labour revolt over his links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The move came less than 24 hours after Sir Keir backed Lord Mandelson to the hilt  and just ten months after he brushed aside warnings that the appointment would end in disaster.

Labour MPs branded Sir Keir's handling of the episode a 'shambles'. And Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accused the PM of 'dithering' over the decision for days and said there were now 'serious questions over what Starmer knew and when'.

Lord Mandelson's departure, following hard on the heels of Angela Rayner's resignation last week, caps a disastrous start to 'Phase Two' of the Labour government, which the PM said would be focused on 'delivery, delivery, delivery' after the party's difficult first year.

And it comes just days before Donald Trump is due in the UK for a state visit.

No10 angrily denied reports that Sir Keir overruled advice from the security services warning against appointing Lord Mandelson to such a high-profile and sensitive role.

But Whitehall sources told the Mail that senior figures in the Foreign Office 'advised against the appointment' before it was announced in December last year.

Lord Mandelson - who once infamously declared himself 'intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich' - in a fluffy white dressing gown enjoying a chat with Jeffrey Epstein

Mandelson's message in the 'birthday book' compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell said Epstein was 'my best pal!'

Sir Keir Starmer pictured with Britain's ambassador to the US Lord Mandelson in February

Downing Street has faced cross-party calls for an inquiry into the episode, including the publication of all documents surrounding Lord Mandelson's vetting.

Fingers were also being pointed at Sir Keir's all-powerful chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, who is said to have championed the appointment.

A Labour insider said: 'Morgan insisted on appointing him  he's his political hero and mentor. No one else in Cabinet wanted Mandelson  the PM doesn't even like him  but Morgan was very insistent. This week he's been pushing to defend him, even though everyone could see it was over.'

The Mail revealed earlier today that Mr McSweeney was personally warned against the appointment because Lord Mandelson's links to Epstein would cause embarrassment in the United States.

One Labour MP branded the handling of the episode a 'shambles', adding: 'Everyone could see Mandelson was going to have to go  you can't have an ambassador who says he's "best pals" with a paedophile. No one could believe the PM backed him so hard.

'It just looks like amateur hour every day. It was the same with Angie [Rayner] last week  he backed her when he knew there was a problem and then had to get rid of her. Someone needs to get a grip  and fast.'

Another said the fiasco had 'underlined all the questions about Keir's judgment that were already there'.

Former Tory foreign secretary Sir James Cleverly said officials would inevitably have warned ministers they would be 'importing significant reputational risk if they appointed Mandelson', who had been forced to quit the Cabinet twice and was known to have continued his friendship with Epstein after the paedophile was jailed.

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Lord Mandelson with Jeffrey Epstein on December 12, 2005, where he is seen trying on a belt during a visit to a boutique in the Caribbean

Mandelson and a friend enjoy a boat ride together as guests of Epstein

Sir James said: 'Now we have no ambassador to the USA, a new foreign secretary, an imminent state visit, a damaged relationship with the White House, and humiliation for British diplomacy.'

He said there were unanswered questions about what Sir Keir and former foreign secretary David Lammy knew and when they knew it.

Sir Keir's decision to stand by Lord Mandelson on Wednesday triggered a Labour mutiny, with even ministers refusing to defend the appointment.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was 'completely disgusted' and pointedly said Lord Mandelson's future was 'a matter for the Prime Minister'.

The revolt triggered crisis talks in No 10 this morning at which Sir Keir and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper decided Lord Mandelson had to go.

It meant Mr Trump, who had forged a good relationship with Lord Mandelson, did not learn of his removal until after it happened. The decision risks aggravating the President, who is battling claims about his own links with Epstein.

Lord Mandelson, who was packing up his possessions in the ambassador's palatial residence in Washington yesterday, said the job had been 'the privilege of my life'.

In a letter to staff, he said: 'The circumstances surrounding the announcement today are ones which I deeply regret. I continue to feel utterly awful about my association with Epstein 20 years ago and the plight of his victims.'

Lord Mandelson, who was appointed by Sir Keir Starmer as Britain's Ambassador to the US, is pictured here with Donald Trump in the Oval Office in May 2025

Downing Street acknowledged that Sir Keir knew Lord Mandelson had continued his friendship with Epstein after he was jailed in 2008 for soliciting prostitution involving a child. The Labour peer even stayed at Epstein's home while he was in prison.

But No 10 claimed the emergence of emails on Wednesday showing Lord Mandelson was defending Epstein at the time showed the friendship in a 'materially different' light.

Lord Mandelson told Epstein to 'fight for early release'. On the day before Epstein reported to jail in June 2008, Lord Mandelson said: 'Your friends stay with you and love you'.

The PM's spokesman yesterday called the emails 'reprehensible'. Government sources said the new messages, uncovered in a Bloomberg investigation, had been sent from a long disused email account and had not been available to Lord Mandelson or the vetting authorities.

The Tories demanded a full inquiry. Frontbencher Alex Burghart said: 'Keir Starmer, Morgan McSweeney and the Government have serious questions to answer.'
At least one person has been hospitalized and several other victims are being assessed after a Naval Academy student accidentally shot someone, causing the Maryland campus to go into lockdown.

Initially, reports suggested an armed former Naval Academy student opened fire on the Maryland campus near the Bancroft Hall dormitories.

However, it has since come out that the shooting was an accident, with the expelled former student merely having sent out threats on social media. The shooter used an IP address that made it appear he was on campus.

Amid the chaos, a student sheltering in place mistakenly saw a law enforcement officer as a threat and physically struck him with a training rifle, which caused the officer to shoot back, NBC News reported.that'

Officials on the scene confirmed to The Daily Mail that the shooting was accidental. The student has been hospitalized and expected to recover

The New York Times reported that an email was sent out to students with a warning at 5:32pm: 'Get inside and lock your door right now. Not a drill. Get inside and lock your door.'

Bancroft houses midshipmen in its more than 1,600 dorm rooms. It is considered the biggest single college dormitory in the world, according to the school's website.

The Naval Academy announced the lockdown Thursday evening, as local police conducted a search.

The United States Naval Academy base in Maryland has been put on lockdown as an official claims a shooter pretending to be a military officer is going door-to-door on campus

The Naval Academy announced the lockdown Thursday evening, as local police conducted a search

'Naval Support Activity Annapolis, in coordination with local law enforcement, is currently responding to reports of threats made to the Naval Academy,' a Naval Academy spokesperson told The Daily Mail in a statement.

'The base is on lockdown out of an abundance of caution. This is a developing situation, and we will provide updates as they become available.'

Students, staff and faculty members have all been advised to shelter in place. A small group heading into the facility to watch a soccer practice were turned away.

The Daily Mail has reached out to the Pentagon and Annapolis police for further comment.

The lockdown continues a wave of campus threats continue in the wake of the assassination of influencer Charlie Kirk.

Shots were reportedly fired at the University of Massachusetts in Boston on Thursday afternoon, prompting panic, evacuations and a massive police response before the all clear was declared.

Police have reported the incident on campus all clear. There is no ongoing threat to the community, the university said in an update on X just before 5:15pm after more than 90 minutes of uncertainty and confusion.

The incident began around 3.45 pm, when gunfire was reported near Morrissey Boulevard, according to Boston Police.

Multiple sources said they heard gunshots in the Bancroft Hall dormitories after claims a former student came to campus with a gun

Multiple sources said they heard gunshots in the Bancraft Hall dormitories after claims a former student came to campus with a gun

Dozens of students and staff were seen fleeing for their lives at the school's campus in Dorchester, the Boston Police Department told WCVB.

UMass Boston initially posted on X that the incident took place at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. Subsequent campus alerts warned of a 'public safety threat' in or near a residence hall at the school's East Building.

SWAT teams rushed to the dorm building, as people were urged to avoid the area.

Sky5 footage showed students and staff evacuating a campus building with their hands raised, as officers armed with rifles swarmed the area.

Earlier in the day, ominous terror threats have swept across five HBCU campuses, prompting four to be put on lockdown.

Alabama State University shut down all campus operations Thursday morning due to a 'terrorist threat,' the school told WSFA 12 News. Specific details of the reported threat are not yet clear.

'We are working in close coordination with the appropriate law enforcement agencies to assess the situation and to ensure the safety and security of our students, faculty, staff, and the broader ASU community,' a spokesperson for the southern university said. 'The safety of our Hornet family is our highest priority.'

Threats have also been made against Hampton University, Virginia State University, Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Florida's Bethune-Cookman University, officials said.

A Maryland State Police medevac helicopter is seen at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where a shooting occurred earlier in the day

U.S. Navy Security Forces stand on duty at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis

Virginia State, Southern University and A&M College and Bethune-Cookman University are on lockdown while Hampton University has canceled classes and activities.

All five schools are Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs).

Meanwhile, a shelter-in-place order was also issued for Stockton University's Galloway campus in New Jersey on Thursday afternoon as police investigated an off-campus shooting.

The frightening reports come just a day after conservative activist Charlie Kirk, 31, was fatally shot at Utah Valley University.

Horror unfolded Wednesday when Kirk, a father-of-two, was shot in the neck while speaking at a rally at Utah Valley University. He was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Two men were briefly taken into custody after the shooting, but investigators later confirmed they were not suspects and released them.

On Thursday, the FBI released a photo of an unnamed 'person of interest.'

The image showed an unknown male donning a black long-sleeve with an American flag on it and black sunglasses.

The FBI Salt Lake City office has asked for the public's help identifying him by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Ghislaine Maxwell discussed Jeffrey Epstein's 'lewd and lascivious' plea deal with him and fertility treatment so they could have a baby, new emails show.

The British socialite and on-off girlfriend of the paedophile has claimed she was kept in the dark about his sexual crimes.

But in a fresh tranche of emails obtained by Bloomberg News, she appears to have had a direct involvement in his prosecution negotiations.

When Epstein's lawyers were trying to cut a plea deal, Epstein emailed her in May 2008, in his customary style riddled with typos, to ask: 'Question: Which one do you prefer,,, lewd and lscivious conduct,, or procuring minors for prostituion.'

Maxwell's reply, from her 'gmax@' email account, states: 'I suppose Lewd and lecivious conduct..I would prefer lewd and lescivious conduct w/a prositute if possible'.

Her suggestion, effectively, was that Epstein should select the option that did not mention underage victims.

A month later, the Wall Street financier pleaded guilty to procurement of minors for sex and she wrote to him: 'I'm devastated. I can't even process...'

Maxwell, 63, is now serving 20 years after being convicted of masterminding a scheme to round up schoolgirls on an industrial scale for the paedophile to molest.

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell attend an event at the Cipriani Wall Street on March 15, 2005 in New York City

A never-before-seen photo from Jeffrey Epsteins 50th birthday album shows him and a nude Ghislaine Maxwell naked and entwined while in a pool with a personal signature by his now-imprisoned ex-lover - offering a disturbing glimpse into their perverse relationship

The daughter of the late tycoon Robert Maxwell, who rubbed shoulders with two US presidents, a pope and a parade of global A-listers, she recently gave an interview to federal law enforcement officials in which she insisted she was Epstein's one-time girlfriend turned property manager and was not privy to his horrendous crimes.

Yet the new emails made public yesterday afternoon tell a different story. Included is a spreadsheet bearing her initials itemising nearly 2,000 gifts such as lingerie and chocolates, some for teenage girls who later lodged sexual abuse complaints against Epstein and Maxwell.

The couple also discussed fertility treatment. A 2005 email contained instructions on a sperm donation, in which she directed him: 'You can do the sample at home.'

Apparently Epstein's sample had to be collected 'within 90 mins of my procedure', suggesting they hoped she would get pregnant with his child.

Bloomberg said it had 18,000 emails from Epstein's email account. Some border on the ridiculous, such as a discussion of how to transport a 40lb giant tortoise to Epstein's Caribbean hideaway Little St James  dubbed 'paedo island' by his victims.

Among those victims was Virginia Roberts, who claimed she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew on the island when she was 17, which the duke denies.

When Ms Roberts  later Virginia Giuffre  named Maxwell as Epstein's accomplice, the British socialite circulated claims that previous rape complaints had been dropped due to Ms Robert's 'lack of credibility', according to Bloomberg.

Heartless jibes litter Epstein's crude emails to Maxwell, including rejecting one young woman who was offered to him as 'fat and Asian'. He added that a 'Swede doesn't look so fat'. Another one was 'too big... but I can do; tell her no nail polish'.
This week's episode of the Daily Mail's Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things podcast continues historian Kate Williams and royal biographer Robert Hardman's search for the most monstrous monarchs in history

Catherine de Medici, 'the Serpent Queen', and Mary Tudor, 'Bloody Mary', face off in an all-female historical showdown to determine which was the more ruthless ruler.

The Queens are compared according to how much of each of the seven deadly sins they exhibited during their respective reigns.

You can listen to the latest Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things by clicking the player below or

here

An area in which the Serpent Queen scored highly was jealousy, due to her resentment of her husband King Henry II of France's longtime mistress, Diane de Poitiers.

Catherine de Medici (1519-1589) was Henry's Queen Consort from 1547-1559 and subsequently became regent of France from 1560-1574 after his death.

Part of the infamous Italian Medici dynasty that dominated Europe during the Renaissance, she was the mother to three French kings.

Rumoured to have introduced the fork to Franc Catherine was an originator of new fashions and customs. In the podcast, Hardman explained how the Queen may be responsible for the creation of the high-heeled shoe.

Catherine de Medici (right), 'the Serpent Queen', and Mary Tudor (left), 'Bloody Mary', face off in an all-female historical showdown to determine which was the more ruthless ruler

The Serpent Queen's Rivalry with her Husband's Mistress

In a letter to one of her children, Catherine famously wrote: 'Never has a woman who loved her husband, liked his whore.'

Catherine resented how Henry showered his mistress with expensive gifts, including jewellery and a chateau that rightfully belonged to the crown.

Beyond wealth, Diane de Poitiers also gained political influence at court through her sexual relationship with the king.

Refusing to be overshadowed, Catherine reportedly invented the high-heeled shoe to appear taller than her husband's mistress.

'Catherine took great pride in her appearance', historian Hardman said.

'It's often said she actually invented the high-heeled shoe. She wanted to stand taller than her husband's mistress Diane de Poitiers.'

When her husband died suddenly in 1559, Catherine assumed royal power as their children were too young to govern.

As regent, the Serpent Queen swiftly took vengeance against Diane, stripping her of her wealth and protected status.

Catherine de Medici (1519-1589) was Henry's Queen Consort from 1547-1559 and subsequently became regent of France from 1560-1574 after his death

Part of the infamous Italian Medici dynasty that dominated Europe during the Renaissance, she was the mother to three French kings

Get your weekly dose of Royal scandals and palace intrigue on the Mail's Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things podcast

Hardman explained: 'Literally the day after the death of Henry, Catherine issues instructions that all the jewels that he ever gave her were to come straight back.

'She ordered Diane to hand back the famous Briolette of India. It's very famous, I bet she was pretty reluctant to part with it.

'You didn't want to mess with Catherine at the best of times, but certainly not now she is the Queen mother and Regent.

'It wasn't just jewels either. Diane had a very nice castle, in the Loire Valley. Catherine ordered her to move out and stay in a much pokier residence.'

Despite her personal rivalries at court, historians now recognise Catherine as a skilled negotiator who worked tirelessly for peace during France's religious wars.

She successfully took back the city of Calais from England and stewarded her sons' reigns effectively after stepping back from power.

Hardman explained how the Queen may be responsible for the creation of the high-heeled shoe

Despite her personal rivalries at court, historians now recognise Catherine as a skilled negotiator who worked tirelessly for peace during France's religious wars

Being a powerful foreigner and woman, many of her achievements were done against the backdrop of xenophobic and sexist rumour.

Today's historians increasingly view Catherine not as the 'Serpent Queen' of legend, but as a pragmatic ruler navigating impossible circumstances in one of Europe's most turbulent eras.

To listen to a complete history of Catherine de Medici and 'Bloody' Mary, search for Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things now, wherever you get your podcasts.
The homecoming was nothing like it used to be. When the warrior Prince Harry returned from war-torn Afghanistan he was greeted with admiration and relief.

This time the union between father and son was conducted in private. No bulletins were issued about the encounter beyond the perfunctory  the two shared tea.

But then how could it be anything else? It is 19 long months since the King and Harry last met, just days after Charless cancer diagnosis was announced.

Then it lasted barely 45 minutes. Yesterdays encounter, at some 52 minutes, was longer but its significance was infinitely greater. It may be too soon to talk about reconciliation, but it does signal a shift in attitudes  a willingness, even, to try to put the unhappiness of recent years behind them.

That Harry has been the source behind so much, if not all, of this domestic misery escaped no one, except perhaps the prince himself.

Ever since stepping down from royal duties he has unleashed a barrage of accusations at the King; his stepmother the Queen; brother Prince William; and sister-in-law the Princess of Wales. He has been telegraphing his desire for a rapprochement for months. His family, understandably, have been wary.

Why wouldnt they be when the trust that, for generations, has been the foundation of Royal Family unity has vanished?

King Charles III and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, inside Windsor Castle in 2022

The biggest obstacle for Harry has been his track record of publicly disclosing private moments, whether in his memoir or countless television interviews. That yesterdays meeting even took place must have been underpinned by an assurance from him that he has recognised that.

For Charles, of course, the encounter goes beyond that of one between father and prodigal son: it is no exaggeration to say that the stability of the monarchy rests on it, too.

If Harrys brief pseudo-royal tour, which is accompanying the get-together with his father, has demonstrated anything, it is the princes instinctive and eye-catching common touch which once made him one of the most popular royal figures.

It also has shown that Harry wants to maintain UK connections, however tenuous they may have become.

Charles will surely have noted that. But while the House of Windsor has adjusted to Harrys absence  thanks largely to William and Catherine  the Montecito Princes presence on the margins of royal life remains destabilising.

In particular, the King will be thinking of the future. How much more successful will William be as a monarch if he is not upstaged by the quasi-royal behaviour of Harry and Meghan. It is a wound that has to be healed.

Even this week we have seen the jarring effects of Harrys five years of exile in America.

When royals make donations from their private funds to charities  which they do all the time  they do so without ever disclosing the amount.

Harrys announcement of a gift to Children In Need included the amount: 1.1 million. Generous, certainly  but vulgar to spell it out.

But for the prince this was all part of the reset button he is so keen to press. Yet it seems likely that it will take more than an act of philanthropy and a cup of tea to wipe the slate clean.

Prince Harry arrives at Clarence House, London, after his father King Charles

The Duke of Sussex is seen leaving the royal residence around 55 minutes later

King Charles III arrives at Clarence House in London today following his arrival at RAF Northolt

Speculation had been growing for months as to whether the royal pair would finally meet, despite their troubled relationship.

Harry last saw his father, who is still undergoing treatment for cancer, in February last year when he made a transatlantic dash from his Californian home to see him.

Of course, Charles misses his son and the grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet, whom he hardly knows, but he is cautious. He was deeply hurt by Harrys ad hominem attacks on Camilla.

Scant details of last nights meeting emerged, but with Harrys habit of offering a running commentary after previous encounters, it seems unlikely the King will have been ill-prepared. As a courtier told me: I am sure he will have insisted on having someone there, if not to take a note, [then] to be a witness.

Did Harry apologise? We simply dont know, but on past record it seems unlikely.

Of course, there was one giant absentee from last nights gathering: William. No olive branch has yet been offered to Harrys brother.

And even if it were, there may be little inclination to accept it, such is the bitterness at Harrys betrayal.

Overtures are one thing, but a proper thawing of relations is fraught with peril. As he continues his battle with cancer, it remains the Kings abiding hope that in time a reconciliation will be possible.

The test for the Palace will be to see if Harry keeps quiet and can resist the lure of publicly discussing his reunion with his father. In May, he foolishly told the BBC that he did not know how much longer [his] father has  a remark that stunned the Royal Family.

Yesterday, all he divulged was that his father was great.

Time will tell if he continues to be so discreet.
Prince Harry has 'loved being back in the UK' and 'catching up with old friends and colleagues', his spokesperson told the Mail today as his tour of Britain concluded.

The Duke of Sussex wrapped up his trip with a visit to a charity set up in memory of his mother, one day after reuniting with the King for the first time in 19 months.

His spokesperson gave an upbeat review of the UK tour, saying: 'He's obviously loved being back in the UK, catching up with old friends, colleagues and just generally being able to support the incredible work of the causes that mean so much to him.'

The Duke carried out his final engagement this morning linked to the Diana Award in Central London as he brought his four-day solo trip to a close before flying home.

Harry took part in a panel discussion at Salisbury Square on how social action can positively impact mental health with four young people involved with the award.

The Duke spent around one hour chatting to young 'changemakers' and listening to a panel discussion with the Diana Award team before departing just after 11.15am.

Harry then headed to London Heathrow Airport to fly back to the US to join his wife Meghan Markle and children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in California.

He appeared upbeat at an Invictus reception in the City of London last night, just over an hour after he left Clarence House where he and the King shared a private tea.

The pair's long-awaited meeting at the royal residence, which lasted just 54 minutes, comes after Harry publicly expressed hopes of a reconciliation with his family in May.

Asked how his father was by a reporter shortly after arriving at the Invictus reception, Harry - who turns 41 next Monday - replied: 'Yes, he's great, thank you.'

The Duke is not expected to appear at the Duchess of Kent's funeral in Westminster Cathedral in London on Tuesday after making the journey back to Montecito. The service will be attended by the King, Queen and other senior Royal Family members.

At the event organised by the Diana Award today, Harry talked about the boost activism offers to the mental health of young people.

The Duke of Sussex during a visit to a Diana Award event at Salisbury Square in London today

Prince Harry high fives Chief Workforce Innovation Officer Karen Pavlin in London today

The Duke of Sussex hugs Colleen Harris, a trustee of the King Charles III Charitable Fund, today

The Duke of Sussex is gifted a bag of children's activities during his Diana Award event today

The Duke of Sussex during a visit to take part in a panel discussion with the Diana Award today

The Duke of Sussex during a visit to a Diana Award event at Salisbury Square in London today

The Duke of Sussex takes part in a panel discussion on mental health at Salisbury Square today

The Duke of Sussex during a visit to take part in a panel discussion with the Diana Award today

The Duke visited ServiceNow at Salisbury Square in Central London, where he heard stories about the emotional struggles young people try to overcome.

Harry's brother Prince William is also a supporter of the award, and an event such as this might have previously seen them attending together.

But the Duke was by himself today as he spoke to a gathering of around 40 people after a panel with Lottie Leach, Elsa Arnold and Idorenyin Hope Akpan, all 23, which was chaired by chaired by Dan Lawes, a former winner of the organisation's Legacy Award.

Harry was upbeat throughout the engagement but also struck a philosophical tone when he addressed the young people in the room.

The Duke gave a short speech from his seat to the panel, saying: 'Thank you all for being here. I don't know how you were as individuals, all of you... five, ten years ago pre-Diana Award, but to see you sitting up here now with the confidence you have, speaking to a complete group of strangers is proof of the fact this whole thing works.

'You talk about the mental health piece that is woven through so much of this and it is, it's emotional... it's mental and emotional wellbeing.

'In every single Diana Awardee, in every single young person and middle-aged person and probably old people as well. Our mental health and our emotional health through our nervous system is being tested every single day.

'And this proven model of being engaged with or finding your purpose with social action, it really does work. You guys are testament to that. Otherwise you're sitting there feeling hopeless.

King Charles is seen arriving back at Aberdeen Airport from RAF Northolt after flying down on Wednesday to meet Prince Harry

King Charles' private jet is seen shortly after landing at Aberdeen Airport

The Duke of Sussex during a visit to a Diana Award event at Salisbury Square in London today

The Duke of Sussex takes part in a panel discussion on mental health at Salisbury Square today

The Duke of Sussex takes part in a panel discussion on mental health at Salisbury Square today

The Duke of Sussex during a visit to a Diana Award event at Salisbury Square in London today

The Duke of Sussex hugs Colleen Harris, a trustee of the King Charles III Charitable Fund, today

The Duke of Sussex takes part in a panel discussion on mental health at Salisbury Square today

A lapel badge worn by the Duke of Sussex during his visit to the Diana Award event today

Diana Award chief executive Dr Tessy Ojo takes part in a discussion involving Harry today

'You have the hope. My point is that if you're a young person it can sometimes feel as though you're lost and separated from a group and you feel isolated. But I can assure you that there's nothing wrong with you.'

Tessy Ojo, chief executive of The Diana Award, said: 'It was amazing to have the Duke here. One of the things that we've been super proud of is he's such a champion.'

Harry has been having meetings on a monthly basis over Zoom with Diana Award staff and has been to events in US, but she said she was happy to have him on the ground in London.

William works with the Diana Award too, but Dr Ojo warned not to expect a joint appearance by the brothers anytime soon.

She told Newsweek: 'Do you know what, people are fascinated about seeing them together. I've had the pleasure of working alongside them for 25 years and for those 25 years they've always done things separately.

'When I first became chief executive that was one of the things they said to me, we want to have our own projects.

'The only one time we brought them together was the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana's death and that was when we launched our Legacy Award in 2017.

'It's real honour to be able to work alongside both of them.'

Lottie Leach, 23, was among the young people on the panel, and said: 'It was amazing. It's lovely to get the support of anyone and everyone and this room was full of people who wanted to see change. It was great to have a room full of passionate people.'

She said Harry was 'really great, really supportive of all our stories, I think it was just beautiful everyone sharing their vulnerabilities and how the Diana Award helped them.'

Ms Leach added: 'For me, my story started when I was 15 or 16 years old. I attempted my life multiple times and I ended up in a psychiatric unit for a month. The support was very lacking. There wasn't a lot of understanding around mental health.

'There weren't any particular triggers for me, it's still one of those mysteries for me sadly. These things do just happen sometimes.

'It was a tough time but working to find my voice inside the Diana Award has really helped me to be proud of my own story and proud of who I've become. It's helped me venture into my career as a teacher.'

The Princess of Wales during a visit to Sudbury Silk Mills in Suffolk today

The Princess of Wales arrives for a visit to Sudbury Silk Mills in Sudbury, Suffolk, this morning

The Princess of Wales during a visit to Sudbury Silk Mills in Suffolk today

Kate is greeted upon her arrival for a visit to Sudbury Silk Mills in Suffolk this morning

Kate speaks to the team today at Sudbury Silk Mills, a family-run weaving mill in Suffolk

Kate is greeted upon her arrival for a visit to Sudbury Silk Mills in Suffolk this morning

She said during her mental health crisis there was a lack of pro-active support and she only got the help she needed once she was already in crisis, adding: 'My mission now is to create that pro-active support rather than reactive to ensure early intervention is happening across the UK.'

Yesterday, Harry drove through the gates of Clarence House following an earlier engagement at the Centre for Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London.

He arrived at Clarence House in a black Range Rover at 5.20pm and left at 6.14pm ahead of the Invictus Games Foundation engagement yesterday evening.

Buckingham Palace confirmed Harry joined Charles for tea.

The King skips lunch each day, but takes a break for afternoon tea at about 5pm, with sandwiches and cakes, and his favoured Darjeeling with honey and milk.

Charles, who is still undergoing treatment for cancer, arrived in London from Balmoral yesterday, the penultimate day of his youngest son's stay in the UK - which increased speculation that the pair would meet.

The monarch had a run of official duties behind closed doors including a Privy Council meeting at St James's Palace, adjacent to Clarence House, in the afternoon.

This was followed by a one-to-one investiture with Holocaust survivor Manfred Goldberg at 4.15pm in the Morning Drawing Room at Clarence House.

This offered a window of opportunity for the King and Harry to meet, before the Duke had to leave for his pre-planned Invictus Games event and the King had an audience at 6.15pm with the premier of South Australia, Peer Malinauskas, at Clarence House.

Harry was due to arrive at his Invictus Games reception in the City of London at 6.45pm but organisers said he was running late, before he finally arrived at 7.24pm.

Traffic has been very heavy in central London this week due to an ongoing Tube strike.

At the reception, where he met sponsors and supporters, the Duke gave a speech and began by joking about his long journey across the capital.

He made his guests laugh when he said: 'I think this whole thing has been delayed slightly, so at this point you're all hammered - which was part of the plan all along, stuck up here at the top of the Gherkin.'

The Duke, who stepped down as a senior working royal in 2020, no longer benefits from blue-light police escorts which would have whisked him through any travel chaos.

Harry last saw the King in February last year when he made a transatlantic dash from his Californian home to the UK to see Charles following his cancer diagnosis.

The pair's previous meeting was less than 24 hours after the announcement about the King's health and was without Meghan and their children.

Prince Harry at a reception for the Invictus Games Foundation in the City of London last night

The Duke of Sussex leaves Clarence House in London yesterday after his meeting with the King

King Charles arrives at Clarence House in London yesterday ahead of his meeting with Harry

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The Duke of Sussex at Imperial College London's Centre for Blast Injury Studies yesterday

The Prince of Wales takes part in arts activities at Principality Stadium in Cardiff yesterday

The face-to-face encounter in February 2024 appeared to last for just over 30 minutes - with the latest meeting also lasting less than an hour ahead of the duke's evening engagement.

The Duke, who stepped down from the working monarchy in 2020, has levelled a barrage of accusations at the King, stepmother the Queen, brother Prince of Wales and sister-in-law the Princess of Wales in his Oprah interview, Netflix documentary, interviews and his autobiography, Spare, since moving to the US.

Harry previously claimed Charles was jealous of Meghan and Kate, did not hug him when he told him his mother Diana, Princess of Wales had died, and said he believed the King was 'never made' for single parenthood, but 'to be fair, he tried'.

Charles, according to the Duke, pleaded with his sons during a tense meeting after the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral: 'Please, boys. Don't make my final years a misery.'

Harry remains estranged from his brother, William, who has been busying himself with a flurry of engagements this week and was away in Cardiff yesterday visiting a new mental health hub on World Suicide Prevention Day.

Royal watchers will be waiting to see if Harry keeps quiet and refrains from publicly discussing the details of his reunion with the King, and, on the other side, whether any briefings emerge from Palace.

Senior aides to the King and the Duke were pictured together in London this July in what was reported to be an initial step towards opening channels of communication between the two households.

Prince Harry greets fans outside the Community Recording Studio in Nottingham on Tuesday

Prince William speaks during a visit to Spiral Skills in Lambeth, south London, on Tuesday

The Duke of Sussex play-fights with a child at the WellChild Awards in London on Monday

Prince William and Kate visit the Women's Institute in Sunningdale, Berkshire on Monday

Meanwhile Kate will celebrate the British textiles industry today by carrying out a series of visits to manufacturing mills.

The Princess will take a tour of Sudbury Silk Mills in Suffolk, followed by a trip to Marina Mill in Cuxton, Kent.

Kensington Palace said Kate's visit would 'celebrate the unique skill, creativity and craftsmanship of British textile manufacturers' and the 'joy found in working in the creative industries'.

It said Kate has 'long been passionate about the importance of the British textiles industry and its role as part of the UK's cultural and creative voice'.

Kate's paternal ancestors were the owners of the woollen manufacturer and merchant William Lupton & Co, which was based in Leeds.

She will first take a tour of Sudbury Silk Mills, a family-run jacquard weaving mill, to see the looms, before heading to Marina Mill, also a family business, which specialises in hand-designing and screen-printing furnishing fabrics.

Kate will get the chance to take part in screen-printing a design on fabric by pushing coloured dyes through an engraved silk-screen using a squeegee.
Just three months after the catastrophic Air India crash, engineers have been inspired to come up with a potential solution.

And although it may look peculiar, it might just save thousands of lives per year.

The concept, dubbed Project Rebirth, is an adapted airplane system that uses massive airbags akin to the ones found in cars.

Sensors and AI software can detect when a crash is going to happen, triggering fast deployment of airbags at the nose, belly, and tail.

The bags collectively form a huge protective cocoon, ensuring that any unplanned descent to the ground is not a violent or explosive one, however fast the plane is going.

So although it might be a bumpy landing, a catastrophic impact is avoided and passengers and crew would be ultimately safe.

Project Rebirth is one of the finalists for the prestigious James Dyson Award, which recognizes inventions that can change the world.

Although it may look peculiar, this adapted airplane could save thousands of lives every year

Project Rebirth is an AI-powered crash survival system using massive airbags, which deploy when engine failure is detected

Project Rebirth is the creation of engineers Eshel Wasim and Dharsan Srinivasan at the Dubai campus of Birla Institute of Technology And Science, Pilani.

On the James Dyson Award website, they call it the first 'AI-powered crash survival system', inspired by a 'moment of heartbreak' earlier this year.

On June 12, Air India Flight 171 crashed just 32 seconds after its departure from Ahmedabad Airport in India en route to Gatwick Airport, killing 260 people.

Mysteriously, both switches that controlled fuel going into the engines were cut off, causing the plane to quickly lose altitude and collide with buildings on the ground  but why this happened is still under investigation.

'After the June 2025 Ahmedabad crash, my mother couldnt sleep,' said one of the engineers.

'She kept thinking about the fear the passengers and pilots must have felt, knowing there was no way out.

'That helplessness haunted us. Why isnt there a system for survival after failure?

'I shared this with a friend. That emotional storm became hours of research and design.'

Project Rebirth was 'born from grief' after the tragic Air India crash. On June 12, Air India Flight 171 crashed just 32 seconds after its departure from Ahmedabad Airport in India en route to Gatwick Airport. Pictured, emergency personnel and residents gather at the crash site, Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025

Wreckage showing the tail section of the Air India Boeing 787-8 is pictured in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad on June 14, 2025, after the aircraft operating as flight 171 crashed shortly after taking off on June 12

Made of layered fabric, the airbags at the nose, belly, and tail absorb impact and protect the planes body. Meanwhile, impact-absorbing fluids behind walls and seats stay soft but harden on impact to reduce injuries

How does it work? An AI system monitors altitude, speed, engine status, direction, fire, and pilot response. If a crash is unavoidable below 3,000 feet, it activates automatically (although a pilot override is possible). High-speed airbags deploy from the nose, belly, and tail in less than two seconds. Made of layered fabric, they absorb impact and protect the planes body when it comes into contact with the ground. Advertisement

The AI system monitors altitude, speed, engine status, direction, fire, and pilot response so it can quickly make an informed decision about an imminent emergency situation.

If a crash is unavoidable below 3,000 feet, it activates automatically  although a pilot override is possible at this point.

High-speed airbags deploy from the nose, belly, and tail in less than two seconds, according to the engineers.

Made of layered fabric, they absorb impact and protect the planes body when it comes into contact with the ground  although it's unclear if buildings would be at all damaged if they had to be landed upon.

If the plane's engines still work during the emergency, reverse thrust also kicks in to slow descent; if not, gas thrusters activate to reduce speed and stabilize the plane. Meanwhile, impact-absorbing fluids behind walls and seats stay soft but harden on impact to reduce injuries.

The engineers say Project Rebirth can be added to existing planes or built into new ones and their goal is now to partner with aerospace labs for further testing.

Most aviation safety systems prevent crashes but few help you survive them in the event that they do occur, but Project Rebirth, the duo say, is different because 'prepares for the worst when all else fails'.

'Rebirth isnt just innovation, its a promise: even when all systems fail, people still deserve a chance to live,' they add.

Concept image for the system, which predicts crashes, slows the aircraft and ultimately protects passengers

Engineers at the Dubai campus of Birla Institute of Technology And Science, Pilani, say Project Rebirth isnt just a concept but a 'survival revolution'

The James Dyson Award is an annual international design award open to university level students or recent graduates, founded by the British inventor and billionaire.

Dyson engineers will now whittle down the remaining competitors to a shortlist of 20, which will be announced October 15.

The international winner, announced on November 5, will receive 30,000 and the opportunity to launch their own business.

Other entries include a 3D-printed artificial reef, a portable sterilisation device for syringes, a waterless composting toilet system and a menstrual pad made from agricultural by-products.
Yesterday, NASA made the startling announcement that its scientists have uncovered the 'clearest evidence' yet for the existence of life on Mars.

Last year, NASA's Perseverance rover discovered that a dry riverbed just north of the Martian equator is dotted with rusty circular markings known as 'leopard spots'.

According to NASA administrator Sean Duffy, the space agency now believes these marks could have been left by ancient lifeforms which lived billions of years ago.

Now, scientists have revealed what these alien organisms might have looked like.

Any life that evolved on Mars would have had to contend with harsh radiation, weak gravity, and temperatures that can swing between 20C (70F) in the day and -153C (-225F) at night.

However, the scientists behind this groundbreaking research say that it is still possible for some forms of life to evolve.

If there were life on Mars, it would almost certainly consist of very simple microbial organisms like bacteria.

In the unlikely case that more complex life did evolve somewhere on the Red Planet, it would need to develop special adaptations to survive this impossibly harsh climate.

NASA has revealed the 'clearest evidence' yet for the existence of life on Mars, as it claims that 'leopard spots' on Martian rocks could have been created by ancient microbes

Scientists say that Mars' Jezero Crater was once filled with water that would have been 'clement' for microbial life to develop. Pictured: AI-generated impression

What did NASA find on Mars?

While investigating a region known as the 'Bright Angel', NASA's Perseverance rover spotted a group of unusual markings that resemble leopard spots.

Scientists call these spots 'reaction fronts', and they are points of contact where chemical and physical reactions have occurred in the past.

Critically, Perseverance's on-board lab found that these spots contained two iron-rich minerals: Vivianite, which is found in decaying organic matter, and greigite, which is produced by microbes on Earth.

Dr Keyron Hickman-Lewis, an Earth scientist from Birkbeck, University of London and co-author of the NASA report, told Daily Mail: 'The kinds of organicmineral associations observed at Bright Angel that are reported in this paper are known to be generated by microbial life on Earth, and so it is a very promising observation to see something so similar on Mars.

'Certainly, I think that this is the most compelling potential evidence of life on Mars found to date.'

The scientists can't yet rule out that these spots could be caused by non-biological processes, and Dr Hickman-Lewis says that this is not a 'smoking gun'.

However, after spending a year reviewing the evidence and looking for alternative explanations, the researchers are now confident enough to say that this could be a 'biosignature', an elusive sign which proves the existence of life.

These signs of life were found by the Perseverance rover in a region called 'Bright Angel'. Researchers say that chemicals found in the leopard spots are produced by biological processes on Earth

Although Mars is now a barren desert, billions of years ago, it would have been covered with rivers and lakes that could have supported life

Dr Hickman-Lewis adds: 'The Mars 2020 team does not use the term "potential biosignature" lightly.'

What would this life look like?

The potential signs of life were found in a region called Jezero Crater, an impact basin just north of the equator.

Although it is now a barren wasteland, billions of years ago, the Jezero Crater was filled with water that could have been home to life.

If life did exist in these waters, the most plausible explanation is that it was some sort of simple microorganism.

Dr Hickman-Lewis says: 'The environment in which these potential biosignatures were found seems to be a low-temperature water-rich setting and therefore very clement for microbial life.'

In their paper, published in Nature, the researchers suggest that microbes could have fed on the naturally occurring carbon, sulphur, and phosphorus in the rocks.

These microbes would have then 'excreted' the minerals which we now see as leopard spots.

NASA Administrator Sean Duffy (center) revealed that a sample collected by Perseverance is the 'clearest sign of life' on Mars ever found in 30 years

The Jezero Crater, where the potential signs of life were found, was once a river delta. Observations from orbiting spacecraft show patterns of sediment that are similar to those made by rivers on Earth. Pictured: AI-generated impression

As microbes fed on the carbon, sulphur, and phosphorus in the rocks, they might have released iron-rich chemicals which permanently stained the rocks to leave 'leopard spots'. Pictured: AI-generated impression

The conditions on the surface would have been incredibly harsh, but the researchers say that life still could have eked out a simple existence.

Dr Sanjeev Gupta, an Earth scientist from Imperial College London and member of the research team, told Daily Mail: 'There was liquid water present at the surface at the time billions of years ago, so it was a habitable environment.

'This would have been simple microbial life. We can say much more than that.'

Since we can only see the possible traces left behind by these microorganisms, it's difficult to know what they might have looked like or how they behaved.

However, it is possible to make some very general predictions based on parallels from Earth.

Professor Michael Garrett, an astronomer from the University of Manchester and Director of Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics who was not involved in the study, told Daily Mail: 'Think of hardy bacteria, similar to terrestrial extremophiles that thrive in very salty, cold, or low-oxygen conditions here on Earth.

'Good analogues are the microbial mats in very salty lakes or microbes that live kilometres underground in Earths crust or in the high desert in Chile.

'These examples show us that life can be tough, minimalistic, and persistent even in places where surface conditions are brutal.'

Scientists say that the best parallels for what life might have looked like are the microbial mats that form in extremely salty lakes on Earth. Pictured: AI-generated impression

It is unlikely that more complex life could have evolved since Mars' climate changed rapidly about a billion years after the first microbes could have appeared. This means complex organisms like animals probably didn't have time to develop. Pictured: AI-generated impression

Could more complex life have evolved?

If these leopard spots really are biosignatures, then the researchers say it's unlikely that they only existed in one place.

Perseverance is currently studying very ancient rocks outside of the Jezero Crater to look for signs of more widespread life.

However, it is extremely unlikely that more complex life evolved anywhere on the Red Planet.

The researchers think that microbes emerged on Mars around the same time that life was getting started on Earth.

However, after about one billion years, Mars' climate began to change rapidly as solar winds stripped away its atmosphere - leaving the planet very cold and dry.

Professor Garrett says: 'Those harsh conditions on Mars after 1 billion years would put strong limits on body size and complexity of any lifeform.

'It took really complex life, like animals, another 3 billion years before they appeared on the Earth, where the conditions were much better to support energy-hungry complex life forms.'

If complex life had emerged, it would have needed to develop adaptations like thick skin or live underground to avoid the intense radiation of the Martian surface. Pictured: AI-generated impression

On Earth, some of the first animals to evolve were simple filter feeders. Filter feeders also survive in extreme environments such as hydrothermal vents, so complex Martian life might have followed a similar evolutionary trajectory. Pictured: AI-generated impression

In the unlikely case that more complex life did evolve, Mars' harsh conditions would also put strong constraints on what it might look like.

'It would need to be adapted to survive the intense UV radiation from the Sun, extreme cold, and limited liquid water - we dont really see complicated animal life in such environments,' says Professor Garret.

He adds: 'If they were present, they would need protection from the UV radiation from the sun  maybe a thick skin, for example, or perhaps mostly living under the Martian soil.'

That means complex life might resemble creatures on Earth that live in exceptionally harsh environments, such as desert-dwelling lizards or the simple filter-feeders that survive near hydrothermal vents.
Social media platform Bluesky has issued a warning to all of its users, saying it will remove posts or ban anyone who celebrates the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

The alternative to X, which was born out of liberal outrage to Elon Musk's purchase and renaming of Twitter, saw a wave of posts flood the platform, which openly cheered the murder of Kirk, a conservative commentator and activist.

Kirk, 31, was fatally shot while speaking to college students at Utah Valley University in Orem Wednesday afternoon.

In a post on Bluesky's 'Safety' account, officials for the company wrote: 'Glorifying violence or harm violates Bluesky's Community Guidelines. We review reports and take action on content that celebrates harm against anyone.'

'Violence has no place in healthy public discourse, and we're committed to fostering healthy, open conversations,' the post continued.

According to the platform's 'Cardinal Directions,' any of the 38 million users who violate that policy to celebrate Kirk's assassination or promote violence against political activists could have their account suspended or removed from Bluesky.

Bluesky was not the only social platform and media outlet forced to take action following an outpouring of inflammatory comments and videos on Wednesday.

Meta, YouTube, Reddit, and Discord all issued statements denouncing any posts featuring the assassination, while MSNBC was forced to fire one of its political analysts for his remarks on air right after the shooting.

Charlie Kirk, a conservative influencer, was shot dead on Wednesday at the age of 31 while speaking at Utah Valley University

Bluesky posted a warning on its platform safety account, saying it will take action against any content that celebrates the shooting and death of Charlie Kirk

Bluesky has allowed users to share short posts, similar to tweets on X, while also advertising that the platform has stronger rules against hate speech.

It started as a side project inside Twitter in 2019, funded by then-CEO Jack Dorsey, to create a more open and user-controlled network.

However, Bluesky became an independent company in 2021 and fully launched its app to the public in 2023 in response to Musk's changes to X.

Musk bought Twitter in late 2022 for $44 billion and eventually loosened content rules in an effort to 'maximize free speech,' which conservative voices have claimed was being suppressed on social media.

Many users left X because of their dislike for Musk's support of Donald Trump before the 2024 presidential election.

The left-leaning site saw two million new users join after Musk officially joined the Trump Administration in November 2024, including progressives, journalists, and prominent anti-Trump voices.

Kirk, an outspoken supporter of President Trump, was the founder of Turning Point USA, a nonprofit organization that promoted conservative values, free markets, and limited government to young people, especially on college campuses.

The 31-year-old was just 20 minutes into his debate-style forum during the 'American Comeback' event when a single gunshot rang out, fatally striking Kirk in the neck.

Kirk, the founder of conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA, left behind his wife Erika and two children

Bluesky officially joined the social media market after the sale of Twitter to Trump supporter Elon Musk, leading millions to join in protest (Stock Image)

On social media, Kirk had just written 'WE. ARE. SO. BACK' while handing out hats to the 3,000-person crowd.

'Utah Valley University is FIRED UP and READY for the first stop back on the American Comeback Tour,' he added moments before the assassination.

An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures before the conservative event.

The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its 'commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.'

After videos of the assassination began to circulate online, Meta spokesperson Francis Brennan reiterated the platform's policy to 'remove the most graphic content and add warning labels to other types of content so that people are aware it may be sensitive before they click through.'

Reddit spokesperson Gina Antonini told The Verge: 'Our sitewide rules prohibit encouraging, glorifying, inciting, or calling for violence.'

Meanwhile, YouTube spokesperson Jack Malon expressed the company's condolences to the Kirk family and added that the platform was actively monitoring for anyone posting graphic videos of the influencer's death.
A post has gone viral on X, claiming to show a Microsoft employee making 'evil' comments about Charlie Kirk's assassination.

Benjamin Van der Zar's Facebook profile indicates he works at Microsoft and Oracle in Ireland and is originally from Romania.

He posted on Wednesday: 'Professional hit from a few hundred yards, good job soldier.'

The comment appeared to congratulate the individual who shot Kirk, 31, from 200 years away from a rooftop.

The American right-wing political activist was shot while speaking to a crowd at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, at 12:20pm local time.

Kirk collapsed immediately after being hit in the neck by a single shot. He was pronounced dead later that afternoon at a nearby hospital.

Microsoft told the Daily Mail that there is no record of a Benjamin Van der Zar working at the company, either present or past.

A man claiming to work for Microsoft shared 'evil' statements on Facebook following the shooting and death of Charlie Kirk in Utah on Wednesday

Kirk, 31, was shot while speaking to a crowd at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, at 12:20pm local time. Kirk is married to Erika and they have two children

The Daily Mail has contacted Oracle and Van der Zar for comment.

The post on X, featuring a screenshot of Van der Zar's comments, has since been viewed over one million times, has 64,000 likes and has been shared 17,000 times.

It appears that Van der Zar is only masquerading as a Microsoft employee, tarnishing the tech giant's reputation.

Many of the commentators asked Microsoft and Oracle how they could employ 'such a beast.'

Other users vowed to discontinue their business services with Microsoft.

The FBI revealed early Thursday that the bullet used to kill conservative activist Charlie Kirk was engraved with transgender and anti-fascist ideology, according to a law bulletin.

The notice sent to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents, reported by The Wall Street Journal, said that bullets found inside the rifle, a .30 caliber hunting rifle, contained the messaging on them.

Another three unspent rounds were discovered in the magazine, all of which contained wording on them.

Van der Zar shared the post after news broke about the distance the sniper was from Kirk during the event. His profile indicates he works at Oracle in Ireland and is originally from Romania .

Benjamin Van der Zar commented on a post saying: 'Professional hit from a few hundred yards, good job soldier'

Kirk was speaking to students at the time and had mentioned transgender individuals being involved in mass shootings just seconds before he was assassinated.

The FBI revealed earlier this morning that they had recovered the firearm they believe was used in the killing of Kirk.

Robert Bohls, special agent in charge of the Bureau's Salt Lake City field office, said agents recovered a 'high-powered bolt action rifle' from a wooded area.

According to Bohls, the assassin, who has since been described as a male of college age, fled to the wooded area after the shooting.

Beau Mason, Utah's public safety chief, said that investigators have 'good video footage' of the suspect.

They said the gunman managed to blend in with students on the college campus, having just arrived shortly before noon.

After making the fatal shot, authorities say he jumped from the roof of the building before fleeing the campus.

Bohls said that the weapon was sent to an FBI lab for further analysis, with officials also finding palm and footwear prints on the scene.

The agent added that the FBI has received more than 130 tips since Kirk was gunned down.

A manhunt remains underway, with little known about the shooter's identity at this time.

First responders initially described the gunman as being dressed all in black, with aviator-style sunglasses.
It is the conspiracy theory that has dominated social media since Charlie Kirk was brutally gunned down at Utah Valley University.

A private jet took off from Provo Airport an hour after the shot was fired just five miles away, then mysteriously vanished from all radar systems.

It sparked a slew of wild theories about Kirk's gunman making a swift exit from the scene before catching the flight and disappearing into thin air.

But on Thursday afternoon the owner of the private jet broke his silence to quash all claims linking him to the shooting.

Businessman Derek Maxfield outed himself as the man behind the plane - registered as N888KG - and tore into those dragging his family into the fray.

He branded the claims 'baseless theories' and cleared up why his Bombardier Challenger 300 vanished from flight-tracking systems on Wednesday.

Kirk was giving a speech to a Right-wing audience at Utah Valley University when he took a bullet to the throat from a gunman on a nearby roof.

He immediately started to bleed out and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was announced dead hours later.

Businessman Derek Maxfield (pictured with his wife) outed himself as the man behind the plane - registered as N888KG - and tore into those dragging his family into the fray

Flight tracking data confirmed the timeline, showing the jet leaving Utah, heading south toward the Arizona border, temporarily disappearing from public radar, and returning to Provo roughly an hour later

By Thursday morning internet sleuths had spotted the private jet had dropped off radar just an hour after the attack and tried to link it to the shooting.

But Maxfield was quick to bury any claims, saying his jet vanishing was in accordance with their agreement with the FAA.

He said: 'As often happens, unfortunately, in the wake of such terrifying and public events, a variety of baseless theories and suspicions around Mr Kirk's murder immediately took hold on social media, including one that has unfairly impacted our family.'

Maxfield said he was speaking out to 'set the record straight' and went into detail about why his jet was allowed to disappear soon after take-off.

He said the plane - which was owned by one of his companies - left Provo Airport at around 1.20pm MT for Page in Arizona.

He said when it left there were two pilots but no passengers on board and it landed again at 1.55pm MT.

He continued: 'Upon arrival, I, Derek Maxfield, boarded N888KG, along with seven additional passengers for the return trip to PVU.' It left again at 2.40pm MT and landed back at Provo at 3.15pm MT.

'Radar services with air traffic control were terminated in mutual agreement between Denver FAA center and N888KG approximately 10 miles from landing at PGA, which is consistent with generally accepted standard practice when flying in and out of non-towered airports like PGA.'

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Derek Maxfield revealed he and his wife, Shelaine, are the owners of the jet that took off just miles away from the university where Charlie Kirk was assassinated

He went on: 'Any suggestion that the flights by N888KG yesterday are in any way connected to the tragic shooting of Mr Kirk is inaccurate, false and without any credible basis of any kind.

'To our knowledge, no one associated with yesterday's flights by N888KG has been contacted by law enforcement for any reason.'

Maxfield also wished his best for Kirk's family after the tragedy, branding it 'horrifying and senseless'.

He said: '[My wife] Shelaine and I join our community, our state and our nation in mourning the death of Charlie Kirk and we pray for his family and loved ones during this difficult and tragic time.

'His death and the way it occurred was both horrifying and senseless. We pray that the extensive efforts by law enforcement to locate Mr Kirk's killer will be swift and successful.'

He added: 'We ask that the focus remain on praying for and supporting those who have been deeply impacted by yesterday's events and on the critical efforts of law enforcement to bring Mr Kirk's murderer to justice.'

The FBI released an image of a person of interest on Thursday, showing a person wearing a hat, sunglasses and a long-sleeved black shirt

Hours after Kirk, 31, was pronounced dead, social media users noticed a jet departing Provo Airport (PVU) roughly an hour after the shooting. He was shot while speaking at Utah Valley University, which is just miles from the airport

Maxfield, who owns a raft of companies including marketing company Younique, was dragged into the online discussion as the hunt for the killer continued.

Conspiracy theories grew when it was revealed cops had failed to close the airspace surrounding Provo Airport.

Retired FBI agent James Gagliano appeared on Fox News on Thursday morning, saying the killer could have made their escape via the airport.

He said: 'Was there pre-planning? Absolutely. You had to get access to the roof. This is the most chilling thing about this manhunt.

'If you come off that roof, there is an open-air parking lot behind that building, it is spitting distance from I-15.

'This is a big concern because this person, between three to five minutes of that shot going off, could have been in a vehicle on his way out, and miles and miles away.

'Provo Airport is only 45 minutes from there; these are all things you have to consider. This is going to be long and laborious.'

Aerospace engineer Byrson Sullivan also told the Daily Mail that such the gap in the radar transmission was not unusual.

He said: 'Many aircraft fly every day without transponders, especially military or VIP flights. Planes turn off ADS-B data all the time. It's not suspicious either.'

Kirk, a father of two, was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

It's believed that the gunman opened fire from the roof of the Losee Center, where a shadowy figure was seen running just moments after the gunfire erupted.

The building is 200 yards from where Kirk was debating with students and locals about political issues, and had just answered a question about gun violence.

On Friday, law enforcement identified the suspect in the assassination as Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah resident and said he had been taken into custody.

For more on this story - follow Daily Mail podcast 'The Assassination of Charlie Kirk,' out now wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube.
Charlie Sheen's many ups and downs have been laid bare in excruciating detail over his long career.

But now he's decided, at age 60, to finally tell his side of the story.

In 'aka Charlie Sheen,' a two-part Netflix documentary released on September 10, the actor goes beyond the headlines with several revelations that will shock his fans. Here are 10 of the biggest...

How it went down: Charlie Sheen's life has been laid bare in a new Netflix show called aka Charlie Sheen, released on Wednesday

Living it large: The Two And A Half Men star has led a life of very public highs and lows, and to mark turning 60, he is telling his side of the story

Charlie grew up in a nudist household

Charlie recalled a period during his childhood when his parents practiced nudism.

He explained: 'Maybe for a month, or five, I don't know. I'm 5, walking into the kitchen, and there's my naked parents.'

Film director Andrew Renzi added: 'He experienced Hollywood in a way no one else had. His family lived in Malibu, and it was a totally different kind of Hollywood lifestyle.'

Charlie piloted a passenger jet while he was drunk

In one of the opening scenes, Charlie explains how in 1995, while on his honeymoon with his first wife, Donna Peele, he was invited into the cockpit of the plane to pose for pictures with the flight crew.

He asked if he could sit in the captain's chair and the co-pilot switched off the autopilot and briefly allowed Charlie to fly the plane, before switching it back on.

Charlie recalled: 'I sat back down, owning this experience, and I just knew that trouble was on the horizon.'

When asked in the film if he felt 'untouchable' in that moment, Charlie simply answered 'yes.'

Emotional: While many parts of Charlie's life have made headlines in the past, several revelations on the show will shock his fans

I've seen enough: Charlie recalled a period during his childhood when his parents practiced nudism

Extreme lengths he went to in order to stay awake to film

Charlie revealed in his new Netflix documentary that he was so high in the '90s that he had to put an ice cube inside his rectum to stay awake at work.

His drug abuse was so extreme on the set of 1998 film Free Money that he had to take an unusual step to simply stay awake after the director noticed he was constantly falling asleep.

The actor said: 'That had never happened before.

'I said, "Give me a glass of ice" and I said, "I'll be right back." There was a little bathroom, and I went in there, and I took an ice cube and I shoved it up my butt.

'Never done that before. And, man, I was wide awake just enough to get back on the mark and finish the scene.'

Charlie suffered an 18-hour nosebleed

Charlie once suffered an 18-hour nosebleed while filming because of his heavy cocaine use.

He said: 'I got an 18-hour nosebleed from doing too much cocaine.

'I just kept kind of blotting it. There was one night where it actually dripped onto my shirt during a scene. I got the director, Brett Ratner, to make that shot go away forever. And he did, because we've never seen it, right?'

Despite his struggles, Charlie was able to finally give up alcohol and drugs in 2017 - and he has been single and celibate ever since.

Bum's rush: Charlie pictured in the movie Free Money, which saw him resort to extreme measures to stay awake

Ordeal: The documentary shows that while Charlie was experiencing headaches, chills, and full-body sweats, his ex-wife Denise Richards (pictured) urged him to get tested for HIV

Charlie lost his virginity to a Las Vegas hooker

The actor recalled the bizarre story of losing his virginity to 'a gorgeous red-headed Vegas escort named Candy' when he was a sophomore in high school.

Not only did Sheen use his famous dad's credit card to pay the hooker, but his friend was also there to partake in the festivities.

Martin was not thrilled with his son when he learned about the escort, with Sheen sharing he was given a two-hour lecture from his father about 'sex vs love.'

Charlie had sex with men

For the first time in his tumultuous life, Charlie is revealing his past sexual experiences with men.

In both the documentary and his new memoir, released one day prior, he confessed some previously unknown information.

In both he admits: 'I flipped the menu over.'

An interviewer asks him how it feels to be going public with this very personal information.

He responded: 'It's f*cking liberating. It's like a train didn't come through the side of the restaurant. A f*cking piano didn't fall out of the sky. No one ran into the room and shot me.'

Charlie's HIV diagnosis

The documentary shows that while Charlie was experiencing headaches, chills, and full-body sweats, his ex-wife Denise Richards urged him to get tested for HIV.

Charlie opened up on the anxiety and uncertainty he felt while waiting for the diagnosis.

Charlie added that he was always upfront with his sexual partners after his diagnosis and said: 'Nobody got this from me. Period. The end. Full stop.'

He was even blackmailed for millions of dollars by people threatening to disclose his HIV status.

Charlie's drug dealer helped him get sober

Charlie's former drug dealer Marco explained that he was approached by Charlie's drug counselor, who asked if he could make the crack he was supplying less potent.

Marco revealed that he secretly reduced the amount of cocaine he used over the course of a year and a half in the hope he could help get Charlie off drugs.

Sobering: Charlie's former drug dealer Marco, (pictured) explained that he was approached by Charlie's drug counselor, who asked if he could make the crack he was supplying less potent

'Really powerful': Clint Eastwood was involved in Charlie's 1990 intervention (Clint and Charlie pictured in film The Rookie in 1990)

Clint Eastwood was involved in Charlie's 1990 intervention

Charlie's family were concerned enough about his excessive drinking to set up a surprise intervention and invited him over under the pretense of a birthday celebration for his father, actor Martin Sheen.

On arrival his mother Janet hugged him and asked: 'Are you armed?'

Charlie recalled: 'I thought she was joking,' adding that he said no, 'but maybe there's something in the trunk.'

The intervention was attended by longtime friends and family, who wanted to get him into rehab.

Charlie said: 'There's my yoga instructor, and Rob Lowe is there. And then there's Emilio and (siblings) Renee and Ramon, and my parents.'

His father Martin sealed the deal by handing the telephone to his son, without telling him Clint Eastwood was on the line.

Charlie recalled: 'He said something to the effect of "You gotta get the train back on the tracks. kid, You're worth saving."

'It was really powerful. I thanked him, gave the phone back to my dad and said, "All right, let's go." '

Charlie left rehab to judge a Hawaiian Tropic bikini contest with Nicolas Cage

Charlie was expected to judge a Hawaiian Tropic bikini competition in Palm Springs, California, with Nicolas Cage.

Charlie wrote a promise to the facility's night nurse that he would leave and return by 8am or pay her $1 million and she agreed.

He returned to the facility at 7.40am, earlier than promised, sharing: 'It was as fantabulous and sexy and as exciting as it could have been.'

The night nurse 'was happy for me, but disappointed for herself. She said, "Well, whatever, you're a man of your word. Welcome back. We kept your room for you.' "
A group of young Australian holidaymakers found themselves in a hilarious holiday mix-up after booking unconventional accommodation during a recent trip to Italy.

Best friends Chlo, Rahnn, Luc, and Char, who regularly share their travel adventures on their TikTok account, @themidmessess, posted a video documenting the unexpected experience, which has since amassed over 250,000 views.

In the clip, they revealed they had accidentally booked a chapel hosted by nuns instead of their expected holiday accommodation.

Subsequent footage recorded by one of the girls sees the group arriving at the building and knocking on the large door, before being greeted by a woman dressed in traditional nun's clothing, complete with a cross necklace.

They soon realised they booked the wrong accommodation, but proceeded to enter the chapel, hauling their suitcases through wide corridors and polished tile floors.

Subsequent footage sees the girls knocking on the door, only to be met with a woman in traditional nun's clothing and a cross necklace.

After the group is escorted inside, they haul their suitcases through the sprawling residence, which featured wide corridors and glossy tiled floors.

Things take a bizarre turn when they were led to their room - a neon blue-lit space with a life-sized statue figure watching over the beds.

Best friends Chlo, Rahnn, Luc, and Char, who regularly share their travel adventures on their TikTok account revealed they had accidentally booked a chapel hosted by nuns in Italy

One of the group members is captured using Google Translate to communicate with one of the nuns, who listens calmly but doesn't appear particularly amused by the group's confusion

One of the friends can be seen covering her mouth in shock as she observes her surroundings.

In another part of the clip, one of the group members is captured using Google Translate to communicate with one of the nuns, who listens calmly but doesn't appear particularly amused by the group's confusion.

By the end of the video, the group appear to pack up and leave the accommodation earlier than planned.

In an accompanying caption, they wrote: 'The nuns were sooo beautiful but wasn't suited to our holiday, oops.'

Over 1100 viewers shared their thoughts in the comments, as one wrote: 'This is actually such a safe place for women to stay and avoid overseas crime targeting vulnerable tourists.'

Another noted: 'I stayed in the exact same place 2 years ago and it was wonderful, the nuns are so lovely and the views were breathtaking.'

One perplexed viewer quizzed: 'As someone in tourism for 15 years, I genuinely need to know how you saw this listing and never crossed your mind that well there's nuns there?!!! how?'

An onlooker joked: 'At lunch the nuns were discussing which of you won best outfit of the day.'

Things took a bizarre turn when they were led to their room - a neon blue-lit space with a life-sized statue figure watching over the beds

Over 1100 viewers shared their thoughts in the comments

Meanwhile, one couple's dreamy Italian getaway took an unexpected turn in July when they discovered their hotel balcony view wasn't quite what it seemed.

Felicia Svensson, a finance assistant based in Gotherburg, Sweden, recently travelled with her partner to Baveno, where they checked into the Grand Hotel Dino.

The four-star hotel offers rooms with balconies and panoramic views across Lake Maggiore and the surrounding area.

However, the couple experienced a dramatic twist after pulling back the curtains on their balcony door.

In a hilarious video uploaded to Felicia's TikTok page, @feliciasvenssons, Felicia's partner is captured dramatically sweeping open the curtains to reveal a charming table and two chairs perfectly positioned in front of a breathtaking scene.
As the nation waves goodbye to summer, a new study has revealed where Brits made their happiest holiday memories this season - and one popular Parisian attraction has secured the top spot.

Travel experts at Attraction-Tickets.com have unveiled the Top 20 happiest holiday destinations for Brits in summer 2025, based on a unique 'Happiness Index' that combines UK online sentiment, traveller satisfaction, and destination popularity.

To create the ranking, each destination was scored out of 30 using six key data points, including average online rating, estimated sunshine hours during summer 2025, and the number of online reviews featuring words like 'perfect' and 'magic.'

Topping the list was Paris, with its iconic Eiffel Tower proving the notorious 'Paris Syndrome' phenomenon wrong with a standout score of 27.65 out of 30.

The City of Love took the lead thanks to overwhelmingly positive review sentiment and strong online search popularity, proving that the French capital still holds a special place for British holidaymakers.

Closely following Paris were three popular American theme parks: Walt Disney World Resort in Florida came in second with a score of 27.55, followed by Universal Studios Hollywood in third place and Universal Orlando Resort in fourth, both scoring 27.5.

In the study, Florida dominated the top 10 with three entries, highlighting its reputation as boasting some of the world's best theme parks, while UK destinations made up nearly half the top 20 - with nine entries overall.

Among the parks that brought joy to Brits this summer were Peppa Pig World, Alton Towers, and Longleat Safari Park, each ranking higher than some international favourites.

Topping the list of Top 20 Happiest Holiday Destinations for Brits was Paris, with its iconic Eiffel Tower proving the infamous 'Paris Syndrome' phenomenon wrong

Closely following Paris were three popular American theme parks: Walt Disney World Resort in Florida (pictured) coming in second with a score of 27.55

In fact, Peppa Pig World landed in ninth place with an impressive score of 26.6, beating the likes of Disneyland Paris.

Center Parcs Longleat Forest also made the top 10 - despite being frequently criticised as too pricey by British families.

Discovery Cove in Orlando ranked sixth with a score of 26.75, followed by Warner Bros. Studio Tour London in seventh, also scoring 26.75.

Other UK entries included Legoland Windsor, Butlin's resorts in Skegness and Bognor Regis and the Natural History Museum in London.

Oliver Brendon, travel expert and CEO at Attraction-Tickets.com, said of the findings, 'This index shows that happiness on holiday comes from a combination of factors.

'While sunshine plays a role, it's the emotional resonance of places that truly makes them unforgettable.

'Destinations like the Eiffel Tower, the Natural History Museum, Warner Bros. Studio Tour and Walt Disney World Resort have that magic formula of excitement and bucket-list appeal.'

Meanwhile, new data shows internet searches in the UK for slow travel have increased gradually each year.

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Discovery Cove in Orlando ranked sixth with a score of 26.75, followed by Warner Bros. Studio Tour London (pictured) in seventh, also scoring 26.75

Peppa Pig World landed in ninth place with an impressive score of 26.6, beating the likes of Disneyland Paris

Between April 2023 and March 2024, inquiries shot up by 5.4 per cent, according to research by Sainsbury's Bank, suggesting more travellers are looking for a calm getaway.

Brits don't have to travel far to find a slow-paced trip, as Cornwall tops the list of the most relaxing destinations in Europe with a score of 47.5.

The southwest seaside spot has plenty of natural beauty to offer travellers wanting to soak in stunning coastal views and the countryside.

With breathtakingly beautiful beaches, it might not be surprising Cornwall made it to the top of the rankings.
Tourists visiting London have complained they've chosen the 'worst week' to visit the popular city.

Over the last few days, London has been paralysed by Tube strikes as workers protest over their pay and hours.

Some tourists have found themselves caught up in the chaos, battling with commuters trying to get into work and paying extortionate taxi fares to get around.

One visitor, Sarkie Ampim who goes by @sarkieampim on TikTok, shared his experience online.

Speaking to the camera, he says, 'You know it's really my luck, I chose to come to London and visit in possibly the worst week ever.'

He revealed he was facing 50 taxi charges and described the situation as 'insane'.

The tourist continues, 'Train strikes, tube strikes, whatever you want to call it. Literally I can't get anywhere by taxi for less than like 50, it's absolutely insane.'

Another holidaymaker was also hit with a huge bill after catching a ride to the airport.

Over the last few days, London has been paralysed by Tube strikes as workers protest over their pay and hours

Some tourists have found themselves caught up in the chaos, battling with commuters trying to get into work and paying extortionate taxi fares to get around

Someone else, @annapolishevski, shared a video of a packed tube station, with hordes of commuters heading up escalators

Mads, @_madzzzzzz on TikTok, shared a video of herself rubbing her eyes and looking tired as she rode in the taxi.

In text written over the clip, she pens, 'In my $200 cab to Heathrow b/c I came to London during the tube strikes'.

The tourist revealed the strikes began on her first day in the city.

She wrote in the caption: 'It started the day we got here & ends tomorrow, you win some & lose others but that concludes euro summer.'

Someone else, @annapolishevski, shared a video of a packed tube station, with hordes of commuters heading up escalators.

The clip then switched to show a busy train and was captioned: 'Soooo lucky to be a tourist in London during the strike.'

Another visitor, who goes by @avilasisters_ on TikTok, shared similar scenes in a video.

The clip was captioned with, 'having a holiday during tube strikes is not for the weak', and showed a station rammed full of travellers trying to navigate the chaos.

One holidaymaker was also hit with a huge bill after catching a ride to the airport

Over the video, they wrote: 'POV: travelling in London during tube strikes'.

While one tourist, @slha4054, outlined the struggles visitors were having to face as they found their way around London.

'Tourists leaving their hotel this week, ready to ride 12 buses, walk 40k steps a day, and still not knowing if they'll even make it to the destinations on their itinerary,' they penned over the clip which showed a London street.

In the caption, the traveller revealed they had trekked 'an hour' to reach their destination.

They added: 'The tube strike is no joke in London. If its already a struggle for us tourists, I cant imagine what Londoners are going through. Hang tight, Mates! Were all in this cardio challenge together!'
An airport that has sat empty and abandoned for years is set to fully reopen in two years.

Doncaster Sheffield airport has been approved to receive 160million in funding which would help the once busy hub to reopen.

This week, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority gave the green light to the financial support, according to Doncaster Council.

Leaders from Sheffield, Barnsley, Rotherham, and Doncaster voted for the proposals, as well as South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard.

The airport closed back in 2022 after Peel Group, which owned the regional hub, declared the business as 'unviable'.

It previously served 1.4 million passengers a year across 54 destinations.

Now, after three years derelict and many discussions, Doncaster Sheffield airport could fully reopen in 2027.

Freight operations are expected to begin first in the summer of 2026.

Doncaster Sheffield airport has been approved to receive 160million in funding which would help the once busy hub to reopen

Yesterday (September 9), South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority gave the green light to the financial support, according to Doncaster Council

The airport closed back in 2022 after Peel Group, which owned the regional hub, declared the business as 'unviable'

Meanwhile, the airport aims to allow passenger flights to be booked from autumn or winter in 2026, with flights jetting off towards the end of 2027.

Doncaster mayor Ros Jones said: 'I have said all along that I want our airport to fully reopen as soon as possible.'

She explained how things could play out in the reopening of the airport.

'I outlined last week that, in terms of people wanting to go on holiday from Doncaster, we want to see bookings being taken before the end of 2026, with holidays available for the winter 2027/28 season,' Ros added.

'Freight flights will resume sooner simply because of the logistics.'

'We have not been sitting idly by waiting to see if this funding will be agreed, we have carried on with our work to prepare for our airport to be fully reopened.'

The mayor shared that work will go ahead to get the airport ready for operations again.

She explained: 'This includes working with the Civil Aviation Authority to redesign the airspace needed and getting essential infrastructure back in as soon as we can, such as radar, air traffic control, fire service and other matters in place.

Now, after three years derelict and many discussions, Doncaster Sheffield airport could fully reopen in 2027

Doncaster mayor Ros Jones said: 'I have said all along that I want our airport to fully reopen as soon as possible.'

'One of the biggest next steps is for Fly Doncaster and CDC (City of Doncaster Council) to bring on board the right senior roles that we need to manage the airport along with Munich Airport International (MAI), who are our strategic partners.

'This week will see the first tranche of those essential managerial roles being advertised. This is the start of the recruitment and more will come once these are in place.'

Ros went on to describe her hope for the airport to be 'the jewel in the crown of our economy, not just in Doncaster but across the wider region'.

She said: 'It will stimulate growth, be the catalyst for business and industry and provide incredible opportunities for our residents and businesses.'
If you're craving sun, sea, sights and a slower pace of life this autumn - a southern Italian gem, with 20C weather throughout September, might be just for you.

Puglia, located in the heel of Italy's boot, is where whitewashed villages meet turquoise waters, and summer vibes continue well into the later months of the year.

With average daytime temperatures hovering in the mid-20Cs and the crowds of peak season long gone, it's the perfect spot for Brits seeking a peaceful and warm escape.

Situated between the Adriatic and Ionian seas, Puglia offers miles of coastline featuring stunning beaches, dramatic cliffs, and wild coves that rival any Mediterranean hotspot.

Some of the region's beaches, such as Pescoluse, have even earned nicknames like the 'Maldives of Puglia' for their picture-postcard white sand and sparkling blue waters.

Beaches aside, visitors will find the region presents a more laid-back, authentic version of Italy rarely offered in the tourist-heavy north - think cobble-stoned paths, sprawling olive groves and hearty cuisine in rustic restaurants.

Lecce, dubbed 'Florence of the South', is known for its intricate Baroque architecture, golden-hued stone buildings and lively piazzas, while the picturesque Polignano a Mare offers jaw-dropping sea views, local wine and a charming old town.

For nature lovers and adventurists, beaches like Torre dell'Orso, Punta Prosciutto and Porto Selvaggio offer serene swimming spots and wild nature reserves.

Puglia, located in the heel of Italy 's boot, is where whitewashed villages meet turquoise waters, and summer vibes continue well into the later months of the year

Beaches aside, visitors will find the region has presents a more laid-back, authentic version of Italy rarely offered in the tourist-heavy north - think cobble-stoned paths, sprawling olive groves and hearty cuisine in rustic restaurants

The picturesque town of Polignano a Mare (pictured) offers jaw-dropping sea views, local wine and a charming old town

Swimmers can bathe in the warm waters of the sea, while those who prefer to stay dry can take a boat trip along the coast, passing ancient villages such as Otranto, Monopoli and Santa Maria di Leuca.

Autumn also marks the grape harvest season in Puglia, offering the perfect opportunity for wine lovers to sample the region's celebrated red and white varieties, as reported by the Express.

With its fertile land and sunny climate, Puglia has become one of Italy's most important yet underrated wine regions, producing everything from robust reds to crisp whites.

Meanwhile, another charming coastal escape in Spain could be the perfect cure for Brits feeling the post-summer blues.

Just a two-hour flight from the UK and a 30-minute drive from Benidorm, the sophisticated resort town of Moraira is being hailed as a quiet alternative to Spain's bustling tourist hotspots.

With its golden sands, turquoise waters, and peaceful atmosphere, Moraira is slowly emerging as the Costa Blanca's best hidden gem.

Originally a fishing village, the seaside town has retained its classic Spanish charm with its cobbled roads, old local markets and a range of activities like hiking and water sports.

Swimmers can bathe in the warm waters of the sea, while those who prefer to stay dry can take a boat trip along the coast

For nature-lovers and adventurists, beaches like Torre dell'Orso, Punta Prosciutto and Porto Selvaggio (pictured) offer serene swimming spots and wild nature reserves

Autumn also marks the grape harvest season in Puglia, offering the perfect opportunity for wine lovers to sample the region's celebrated red and white varieties

Despite being situated 80 km away from popular holiday spot, Alicante, Moraira offers a much calmer vibe, according to travel expert Anastasia Leonova, the creator behind YouTube channel, Benidorm by Ana.

In a recent video, she called the destination a 'must-visit' that has left many Brits 'falling in love.'

Ana said: 'With numerous beach bars and restaurants, it's the perfect place to relax and soak up the sun.'

Commenting on the beach's 'pristine stretch of sand,' she added: 'There's always a spot here right by the seashore - even in peak summer months. The beach is famous for its calm waters.'
Strictly Come Dancing will look different to eagle-eyed viewers this season, according to head judge Shirley Ballas.

The dancer and TV personality, 65, made the revelation on Monday's episode of The One Show ahead of the premiere on September 20.

This year's Strictly lineup is already set to be an exciting one, with a cast of well-known faces including Ross King, Lewis Cope, Dani Dyer and Vicky Pattison.

Shirley said: 'There are some minute changes, so I'll be interested to see if the audience can spot those.

'Things that you will expect to be maybe there and there, are not suddenly there and there. They're here and here, that's all I'm saying.

'We've got small changes here and we're going to have all those iconic shows.'

Shirley Ballas, 65, said there would be 'changes' to Strictly Come Dancing on Monday's episode of The One Show ahead of the September 20 premiere

But while there are some changes that only eagle-eyed viewers will notice, there is one major change happening from the outset this season.

The premium phone voting service has now been removed by bosses, who described it as 'expensive' and 'outdated'.

Now, all voting in the popular dance competition must take place online.

Strictly is not the only talent show that will be affected by the move either and it has also been applied to Eurovision going forward.

However, the change has not been welcomed by everyone and there have been accusations that it could alienate older viewers.

Dennis Reed, director of the campaign group Silver Voices, said that the change would leave the elderly 'disenfranchised'.

He told The Telegraph: 'Once again the BBC is showing that it treats its loyal older viewers with contempt. Older people who are not online, but enjoy participating through phone polls, are being disenfranchised.

'This is a thinly concealed plot to force all viewers online and into iPlayer, in preparation for an early end of terrestrial TV, which the BBC is obsessed with achieving.'

Shirley, pictured here performing on the 2023 launch show, said: 'There are some minute changes, so I'll be interested to see if the audience can spot those'

Shirley was seen dancing her way out of the BBC Morning Live Studio's in Manchester on Thursday

She looked chic in a cream blouse and gold vest, teamed with black leggings and boots

Caroline Abrahams, charity director for Age UK, said: 'Being unable to phone in to a BBC vote may seem trivial, but if you're an older person who has enjoyed participating in this way and you aren't online, it may feel like another hurtful example of the world moving on and leaving you far behind.'

The move comes in the wake of increased fears that the digital revolution could be isolating for elderly people, as services such as booking medical appointments and paying for a parking space are moved online.

In 2023, telecoms companies were also accused of putting the elderly at risk with the roll-out of digital landlines.

The roll-out has sparked concerns that personal alarms will stop working properly, after a string of 'serious incidents' linked to the devices failing during emergencies.

Strictly Come Dancing is set to return to BBC1 for its glitzy launch show on September 20, where this year's line-up are paired up with their professional partners.
Netflix has unveiled the glittering line-up for its latest original drama Grown Ups - an adaptation of Marian Keyes's 'completely absorbing' bestseller.

Line of Duty favourite Adrian Dunbar will lead a stellar cast and filming has already begun across Dublin and its surrounding areas, as the eight-part series brings Keyes's much-loved 2020 novel to life.

Charting the turbulent lives of the Casey family, Grown Ups promises to be an emotionally charged exploration of love, loss and the chaotic business of adulthood.

According to Netflix, the drama is 'set in south county Dublin' and follows 'the chaotic lives of the Casey clan, a noisy tight-knit Irish family, who are bound together by a tangled web of loyalty, resentment, money, memory and love.'

The story begins with the death of the family's so-called 'good son', a figure described as the rock of the clan. His sudden passing sparks what the streaming giant calls 'a seismic emotional reckoning.'

Over the following year, the Caseys will, as the synopsis explains, 'fall in and out of love, confront old wounds and make some new ones.

Netflix has unveiled the glittering line-up for its latest original drama Grown Ups - an adaptation of Marian Keyes's bestseller - with Line of Duty favourite Adrian Dunbar (pictured) leading a stellar cast

Netflix and Marian Keyes posted a joint cast announcement on social media, with the line-up reflecting a rich blend of Irish and international talent

'They'll be forced to face not only their grief, but the exhausting, relentless and often ridiculous struggle of being an adult. Despite their age and responsibilities, the Caseys are far from grown up.'

The cast reflects a rich blend of Irish and international talent. Sarah Greene, known from Normal People and Bad Sisters, has been cast as Jessie, alongside her Bad Sisters co-star Barry Ward, who will play Johnny.

Aisling Bea, the comedian and creator of Channel 4's This Way Up, will take on the role of Cara, while Misfits star Robert Sheehan appears as Liam.

Adrian joins the ensemble as Canice, with Sinead Cusack portraying Rose.

English actress Amy-Leigh Hickman plays Nell, while German star Karin Hanczewski has been confirmed as Ed.

Newcomer James Agnew appears as Ferdia, and rising actress Katelyn Rose Downey portrays Saoirse.

Behind the camera, the series is penned by Samantha Strauss, best known for her Netflix hit Apple Cider Vinegar.

On the first day of production, Strauss admitted her long-held admiration for Keyes's writing.

The author (pictured), who has sold more than 35 million copies of her novels worldwide, is turning her 2020 novel, Grown Ups, into a Netflix show

Sarah Greene (pictured) has been cast as Jessie, alongside her Bad Sisters co-star Barry Ward, who will play Johnny

'I know I'm not alone in being obsessed with every word Marian Keyes has ever written, and it is a true life highlight to be trusted with her characters as we bring the Casey family and the world of Grown Ups to Netflix,' she said.

Strauss also paid tribute to the team assembled for the project. 'James Griffiths, our set up director, is already crafting something beautiful and very human.

'I am pinching myself to be in the company of our preposterously glorious cast and our fantastic crew as we shoot here in sunny Ireland.'

Directors on the project include Griffiths, Ciaran Donnelly, Manda Levin, Henrietta Lee and Mona Qureshi.

For Keyes, who is one of Ireland's best-loved authors, the television adaptation is another milestone for her bestselling work.

When Grown Ups was published in 2020, the Daily Mail described it as 'alternately heartwarming and heartbreaking', while The Observer hailed it as 'superb' and 'warm-hearted, wise and highly entertaining'.

And Graham Norton said of the book that it's 'funny, tender and completely absorbing!'

Grown Ups is coming to Netflix soon.
Rita Simons confirmed she's quit Hollyoaks after just 18 months as she took to social media with an emotional tribute to the show.

The former EastEnders star also revealed she's already filmed her exit scenes after expressing her desire to leave with an explosive storyline.

Rita, 48, starred as Marie Fielding in the Channel 4 series, the long-lost ex of Jamie Lomas' gangster character Warren Fox and the mother of Joel Dexter, who is played by Rory Douglas-Speed.

Since joining the cast, Rita has been key to some of the big storylines on the soap, including having to reckon with her villainous sons, Abe and Arlo, played by Tyler Conti and Dan Hough respectively.

Rita's final scenes are expected to air this autumn.

Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, she shared a selfie of herself in tears alongside a snap with co-star Dan and a pal.

Rita Simons confirmed she's quit Hollyoaks after just 18 months as she took to social media with an emotional tribute to the show

Rita, 48, starred as Marie Fielding in the Channel 4 series, the long-lost ex of Jamie Lomas' gangster character Warren Fox and the mother of Joel Dexter

She penned: 'There's nothing more I can post here without giving away spoilers for the 30th anniversary ep.

'I will when I can... but it's looking incredible! And that's a wrap for me. It's been a joy.'

It was revealed earlier this year that Rita had made the decision to leave the show in an explosive new storyline, seeing her return to her life in London after relocating to Liverpool for the role.

Speaking to The Sun, an insider revealed: 'She moved her entire life to Liverpool two years ago to throw herself into the show and its been a great adventure but the pull of home is just too much.'

The source added that bosses had been 'understanding' of Rita's situation and crafted an 'incredible exit storyline' that all the stars are 'excited to play out'.

Rita's exit coincides with the Channel 4 soap's 30th anniversary in October, which will be marked with a series of celebrations on screen.

Bosses teased that there would be a 'spectacle stunt' for viewers to look out for as part of the anniversary coverage, with a huge battle due to take place between two o the show's major stars.

Prior to her stint in Hollyoaks, Rita famously played Roxy Mitchell in BBC's EastEnders from 2007 to 2017.

Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, she shared a selfie of herself in tears as well as a snap with her co-star Dan Hough, who played her on-screen son Arlo (pictured)

Prior to her stint in Hollyoaks, Rita famously played Roxy Mitchell in BBC soap opera EastEnders from 2007 to 2017

Rita isn't the only star to exit Hollyoaks recently.

Earlier this year, Charlie Clapham made the decision to leave the show after a shock comeback just over a year before.

The actor portrayed Freddie Roscoe and first arrived in the village in 2013 and stayed for four years before leaving the show for the first time.

Last year he made a dramatic return alongside Tamara Wall as villain Grace Black as his wife, but once again left the soap to follow new opportunities.

Nikki Sanderson, who played Maxine Minniver, also quit the series this year, more than a decade after she first appeared in 2012.

Nikki had quit prior to filming her final scenes in April, the actress confessed to The Mirror that the decision to walk away was an 'incredibly difficult' one.

She told the publication: 'Deciding to leave was an incredibly difficult decision for me because Maxine is a huge, huge part of my life  and a part of my life that I've loved.

'It's difficult to think, 'It's time', and it wasn't an instant or overnight decision, it took me a long time to make it and it was something I genuinely fought with myself about, but I'm lucky that I could talk to people around me and get people's opinions.

'I'm grateful that I've had the stability for so long, now I've just got to embrace the instability of not knowing what's next.'

Hollyoaks airs Monday to Wednesday at 7pm on E4.
Amanda Owen has detailed the most recent disagreement she had with ex-husband Clive - as she spoke candidly about co-parenting their nine children during an appearance on Lorraine on Thursday.

The 51-year-old shepherdess, who rose to fame on Channel 5's Our Yorkshire Farm, joined the ITV chat show to discuss the release of her new book.

But conversation soon turned to family life and how she and Clive continue to raise their children together following their split in 2022 after more than two decades of marriage.

At the time, the couple - who run Ravenseat Farm in the Yorkshire Dales - announced that while their marriage had ended, they remained committed to co-parenting their large family and continuing the day-to-day running of the farm.

Host Lorraine Kelly praised the former couple for managing to remain a team.

'You have managed even though you're separated, you and your husband, the two of you have managed to still work together, to parent together,' Lorraine said.

Amanda Owen detailed the most recent disagreement she shared with her ex-husband Clive during an appearance on Lorraine on Thursday

Amanda and Clive announced that while their marriage had ended, they remained committed to co-parenting their large family and continuing the day-to-day running of the farm

The 51-year-old shepherdess, who rose to fame on Channel 5's Our Yorkshire Farm, joined the ITV chat show to discuss the release of her new book

'It can't have been easy but you've made it work and that's a wonderful thing to have done.'

Amanda then shared an anecdote from earlier that very morning, explaining with a smile that Clive had phoned to complain about her choice of washing up liquid.

She bizarrely said that Clive had fried his eggs in yellow washing up liquid, mistaking it for oil.

She said: 'He was on the phone this morning. He had fried his eggs in yellow washing up liquid so he was complaining that I shouldn't buy washing up liquid in yellow - washing up liquid should only be green.' [So he doesn't make that mistake].

Lorraine laughed and suggested Clive had mistaken it for cooking oil, to which Amanda replied: 'Yeah. So you see, we are up against it, but believe me it's the idea that we're just getting on with it.

'There's plenty to do, plenty of space and a heap of things always on the go, and let's be honest, that's reality. That is the reality and that's what I enjoy putting across.'

It comes as Amanda stripped down to a bikini and jumped on a horse as she vowed to 'ride out the storm' of negative comments in video hitting back at critics.

In retaliation to negative comments from trolls, she posted a video online of her riding horseback against a dazzling backdrop of the Yorkshire Dales.

She says in the clip: 'One day, in the not too distant future, I will be far too old to ride a horse, far too old to wear a bikini and definitely far too old to ride a horse and wear a bikini.

But conversation soon turned to family life and how she and Clive continue to raise their children together following their split in 2022 after more than two decades of marriage

Host Lorraine (pictured left) praised the former couple for managing to remain a team

'So, for now, that's what I'm going to do, if the weather lets me.'

The writer captioned her post: 'Determined to ride out the storm of any negativity or concerns for my health.

'Being happy and confident is easier on the most perfect evening and in good company.

'A bonus is not being blighted by insects whose stings and bites hurt far, far more than any derisory comments.'

Huddersfield-born Amanda also included a quote from Greek philosopher Epictetus that read: 'Don't explain your philosophy, embody it.'

Amanda recently sparked concern with an Instagram post as she opened up about her bank holiday weekend.

The shepherdess regularly updates fans about her wild and busy life at Ravenseat Farm in North Yorkshire.

Since their TV debut, Amanda, Clive - who she split with in 2022 after 22 years of marriage, and their nine children have starred in fives series, as well as two series of Our Farm Next Door.

It comes as Amanda stripped down to a bikini and jumped on a horse - as she vowed to 'ride out the storm' of negative comments in video hitting back at critics

Amanda sparked concern with an Instagram post as she opened up about what she did with her recent bank holiday weekend

Speaking to her front camera, Amanda, who was wearing a grey bralette, told her 540,000 followers: 'Morning! Here is another guaranteed way to lose friends... sorting these out!'

The TV star then panned the camera down at her sheep and then showed two of her nine kids helping her out.

Other pictures include her posing for a snap in the barn holding a sheep, while another showed them clipping the animal's nails.

Many took to the comment section to share how much they enjoy her sharing her life online, however others did share their concern over her appearance.

'I'm never one to comment on how someone looks, out of pure concern I really hope you're ok & taking care of yourself.'
Matthew Macfadyen is set to make a return to period dramas as Netflix have announced a brand new series starring the Hollywood actor.

Death by Lightning, from the creators of Game of Thrones, will see the Succession actor portray Charles J Guiteau, an American man who assassinated President James A Garfield in 1881.

Matthew, 50, is no stranger to a period role having famously played leading man Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice.

The new Netflix drama will follow the character's descent into madness as what starts as an allyship with the American President becomes a deep, and deadly, obsession.

Based on a historical mini-series and a novel which covers the life and death of James A Garfield, the series will look at what led Guiteau to kill.

Matthew will be joined on screen by Michael Shannon as the President, while Betty Gilpin will play First Lady Crete Garfield.

Matthew Macfadyen is set to make a return to period dramas as Netflix have announced a brand new series starring the Hollywood actor - Death by Lightning

Death by Lightning will see the Succession actor portray Charles J Guiteau (pictured) an American man who assassinated President James A Garfield in 1881

The new Netflix drama will follow the character's descent into madness as what starts as an allyship with the American President becomes a deep, and deadly, obsession (Matthew pictured in February)

The Last Of Us star Nick Offerman stars as Vice President Chester Arthur, and The Handmaid's Tale's Bradley Whitford as Senator James Blaine.

Shea Whigham, Paula Malcomson, Tuppence Middleton, Archie Fisher, Laura Marcus and Barry Shabaka Henley will also feature in the series.

Garfield was President in 1881 but was assassinated later that year, having previously served nine terms as a Congressman.

He was elected as a Senator but declined this after he became President, despite having not sought the office. Michael Shannon will play the president himself.

A synopsis of the series reads: 'Death by Lightning is a limited drama series based on the true story of the assassination of 20th U.S. President James Garfield by his admirer, Charles Guiteau.

'The series chronicles Garfield's reluctant rise to the presidency, his attempts to reform government, and his subsequent assassination.

'It explores themes of political corruption and bureaucracy, set against the backdrop of America at a critical crossroads in its history.'

The Succession star will be joined on screen by Michael Shannon as President Gardfield

The Handmaid's Tale's Bradley Whitford will play Senator James Blaine in the series which is set in the 1880s

Betty Gilpin will play First Lady Crete Garfield in the series which tells the story of Guiteau's descent into madness before killing the President

Mike Makowsky, who is behind he likes of Bad Education and I Think We're Alone Now, will be behind the creation of the new series.

Makowsky told Netflix magazine Tudum: 'Its been the thrill of a lifetime seeing this crack team come together to bring James Garfield and his cohort back from the annals of long-forgotten history.

'Six years into working on this project, its a story I still cant believe is true, in all its wild, tragic glory, and it somehow feels even more relevant to our world today than ever before.

'I cant wait for us to be able to finally share it.'

Death by Lightning will be available to stream on Netflix from November 6.
Carla Sehn stars in a Swedish comedy drama about modern romance

Year: 2025

Certificate: 18

Watch now on Netflix

She may be struggling to find lasting romance, but Amanda (Carla Sehn) is refusing to give up on love. The 31-year-old is throwing everything at the search for a partner, from swiping right on apps to chatting up guys in bars, but is anything going to work?

This bright and hugely enjoyable Swedish comedy drama follows the struggles of Amanda and her group of friends as they navigate the perils of modern dating in Sweden's third-largest city. They may feel like they've been dumped by half of Malmo but somewhere out there is the partner they're looking for, right?

Last seen in murder-mystery thriller The Are Murders, Sehn switches gears brilliantly to play the fragile but hopeful Amanda in this witty Scandi crossbreed of Sex And The City and Girls. (Seven episodes)
An insider has blown the lid on the chaos at SiriusXM after Howard Stern's shocking prank that his show had been canceled.

The host was set to make his return Monday despite the rumors, but fans were greeted by Andy Cohen suggesting he was taking over from the 71-year-old.

Then Stern stormed back on air to deny he had been axed from the hit station, infuriating listeners with the brutal prank.

Now, a source has revealed to the Daily Mail that chaos has set in at The Howard Stern Show, with staff fearing for their jobs.

A source told the Daily Mail: 'People are panicking. Many employees who work there have a family to take care of, have kids, have a mortgage payment and this is their main source of income.

'Fear has sunk in that next week, next month, they might not have a job. It's not fair to a lot of them.

'And, truthfully, getting laid off has been in the back of their minds for quite some time.'

Howard Stern addressed rumors of his SiriusXM show being cancelled on Monday, stating: 'Everything you've been reading in the paper about me or about Robin is completely false'

A source told the Daily Mail that The Howard Stern staffers are 'panicking' over losing their job

The source went on to say that 'people are talking about leaving'.

'People there, they're all terrified because they're all on [non-disclosure agreements]. They all signed papers that say they're not allowed to open their mouths and talk about anything,' they said.

'Employees can get fired instantly and lose everything, especially if Stern found out that they broke their confidentiality agreement.

'There's a ton of people there whose lives would drastically change based on Stern firing on a whim.'

A separate source told the Daily Mail on Tuesday that Stern has deployed an Air Force commando to catch the mole who has been leaking private details of what has been going on inside SiriusXM's New York City studios.

Executive producer Gary Dell'Abate warned staffers that someone had been giving out information and now, staffers are pointing fingers at each other, the source said.

The inquisition has been handed to producer Memet Walker - a former U.S. Air Force airman trained in interrogation tactics. He denied accusations from colleagues that he is the informer himself.

Weighing in on Monday's episode, Steve Grillo, a former staffer at The Howard Stern Show, told the Daily Mail that he had 'predicted' the supposed big reveal - which ended up not involving any shocking news at all.

Steve Grillo, a former staffer at Stern's show, has weighed in on Monday's 'big announcement,' telling the Daily Mail exclusively that he believed it to be the 'hoax of the century'

The Gorilla Parts author, who interned in the '90s, called his former boss a 'fallen star' and said that the 'hoax' was 'a pathetic way to get people to tune in'

'I really couldn't watch it, to be honest with you. I started to watch it and I said, 'I can't,'' the 52-year-old New Yorker said.

'It was just a pathetic way to get people to tune in and then give them nothing.

'It was the biggest douche bag, hoax of the century. It just goes to show how far he's fallen from greatness... he looks like a fallen star.

'Howard has duped the audience once again with such a huge scandal that he was getting fired when no one really cared. All he did was open his mouth and nobody was interested.

'The only way he can get listeners these days is by saying he's getting fired.'

Grillo, who released a book earlier this year about interning at the show for seven years in the '90s, suggested that Stern should bring in some Hollywood hitters with 'a big mouth' or controversial stars like Andrew Dice Clay or Russell Brand to help boost ratings.

Unsure of why Stern selected Cohen to help him pull off his prank, Grillo said that the Bravo producer 'would be the worst replacement for him' since 'it would isolate even more of his audience because Andy Cohen definitely has an LGBTQ following where I would say most of Howard's audience is not exactly hardcore LGBTQ listeners'.

'I know you're expecting a big announcement from Howard and this is not how things were meant to go,' Bravo producer Andy Cohen told listeners on Monday's show. 'This was supposed to be a cleaner hand off. I'm kind of winging it'

Stern was spotted in the Hamptons on August 28 with wife Beth Stern (pictured) amid firing rumors - even though a source told the Daily Mail that it was a 'desperate hoax' to get ratings

A separate source told the Daily Mail on Tuesday that Stern has deployed an Air Force commando to catch the staff mole who has been leaking private details of what has been going on inside SiriusXM's New York City studios (pictured are staff members)

The Gorilla Parts author added that Stern 'has such talented staff members there,' who 'should all be working on some other show where they can express their true talent'.

'Howard has the ability and the genius to find people that are extremely loyal and exploit them. He has an extremely loyal staff - everybody was always loyal to him.

'But there were people that he finds, people that are diehard loyal people, and he brings them into the fold and he makes them famous,' Grillo explained, 'and then he's able to keep them and give them enough money just to survive and eat but never enough money to have a house like he does.'

Grillo previously commented on the show's 'downfall' and claimed that Stern lost many listeners when he shared his political beliefs about now-President Donald Trump in September 2024.

Grillo said: 'People listened to whatever he said, and those people were the hard-working people that wanted a change in this country and made him famous and made him rich.

'And he turned his back on them by saying, 'If you like a certain political person, I don't want you listening to my show.' That's why he's got 125,000 listeners.'

The radio personality faced criticism from fans and celebrities for becoming too 'woke' and, in 2023, admitted that being 'woke' was a compliment.

'I think that if old Howard Stern could go and jump in the time machine, he would punch him right in the face,' Grillo told the Daily Mail.

Stern addressed the rumors about the future of the show on September 8. Speaking to co-host Robin Quivers, he said: 'Everything you've been reading in the paper about me or about Robin is completely false.'

Amid all the fake news, Stern revealed that he had 'heard from a lot of companies who want the show,' but said he's 'very happy' at SiriusXM

The radio personality teased his big announcement weeks ago, but had to push back the date from September 2 to the 8th due to him getting sick

'I've been thinking about retiring. Now I can't, because then they'll say I got pushed out. So, I'll be back. Here's the truth: SiriusXM and my team have been talking about how we go forward in the future.

'They've approached me, they've sat down with me, like they normally do, and they're fantastic. We've been talking.'

Amid all the fake news, Stern revealed that he had 'heard from a lot of companies who want the show,' but said he's 'very happy' at SiriusXM.

He is currently on a mammoth $500 million five-year contract that expires at the end of the year. He began his nearly 20-year run with the satellite radio channel in 2006.

The Daily Mail previously reported that the cancelation news was just a 'publicity stunt' and 'desperate hoax' designed to boost listener numbers.

A source had told the Daily Mail that his September launch was going to be 'like a mea culpa to get the audience that he alienated back to listening to him'.

The source added: 'Stern could've retired 10 years ago. He's not planning on retiring any time soon.'

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Stern and SiriusXM for comment.
She was the posh PR girl who spent four years on screen guzzling champagne, swishing her huge mane of blonde hair and tottering about on 6in Louboutin heels as one of the original stars of Made in Chelsea.

Cheska Hull, who boarded at the prestigious St Mary's School, Wantage, before studying fashion promotion at the University for the Creative Arts, was one of the first people to be approached for the show in 2011.

Despite having a long term boyfriend, she was cast as the 'Bridget Jones' character who consoled best pal Binky Felstead through various heartbreaks, along with their close friend Ollie Locke.

But in 2014, Cheska Hull quit the limelight in pursuit of a quieter life in her hometown Salcombe, admitting she 'lost her life' while grappling with TV fame and ended up so depressed she couldn't get out of bed.

Now, 10 years on from her exit from the show Cheska has relocated again, this time to start a wholesome new life on the beach in Thailand with her seven-year-old son Charlie.

The move follows her split from her fiance Damian Crook in 2024, a fellow single parent who she met on the school run, but that's not to say that the move is an Eat, Pray, Love-style whim after heartbreak. Cheska, who was born in Bangkok, has a circle of friends and family in Thailand and considers it a 'home from home'.

Ten years on from her exit from the show Cheska (pictured) has relocated again, this time to start a wholesome new beach life in Thailand with her son Charlie

Cheska Hull found fame as a Made In Chelsea original cast member alongside close friends Ollie Locke and Binky Felstead

Likely Cheska's most dramatic Made In Chelsea moment was when Victoria Baker-Harber laid into her in a foulmouthed tirade calling her a 'fat turkey' around the festive dinner table back in series four.

Victoria told Cheska to shut her 'fat mouth' in an outburst that left even her own friends open-mouthed.

At a classic MIC dinner party, Victoria started off with a pointed barb at Cheska's winter style amid a bubbling feud between them.

Victoria later wielded a board of cheese and declared to the whole table: 'It smells as bad as Lucy's breath.'

Lucy Watson retorted: 'Do you even know what cheese tastes like? I don't ever see you eat ever, you're an anorexic.'

Sophie then got involved, telling Lucy and Cheska 'Victoria eats a lot - not as much as you do, though' before the exchange then descended into a full-on row, much to the shock of the remaining members of the cast as insults and accusations flew across the table.

But in 2014, Cheska Hull quit fame in pursuit of a quieter life in her hometown Salcombe, admitting she struggled with how TV producers depicted her as unlucky in love (Seen with Binky in 2011)

Likely Cheska's most dramatic Made In Chelsea moment was when Victoria Baker-Harber laid into her in a foulmouthed tirade calling her a 'f***ing fat turkey' (Seen with Lucy Watson)

'Why are you being so mean? It's Christmas!' Cheska pleaded, which seemed to tip Victoria over the edge.

A tearful, visibly shocked Cheska responded, telling Victoria: 'You are the nastiest, most vile person I've ever met.'

It was one of several tense moments in the show, and just three years after joining the inaugural cast, Cheska said goodbye to reality TV and moved down south for a quieter life.

It was in Devon that Cheska met local chef Tom Huggett. They fell in love, moved in together and decided to try for a baby.

But four months into the pregnancy she broke it off and Cheska went on to raise her son Charlie as a single mother.

Years later it seemed Cheska had found love again as she declared she felt like 'the luckiest girl in the whole world' after her ex-fiance Damian Crook popped the question in June last year following a 'whirlwind' 11-month romance.

Years later it seemed Cheska had found love again as she declared she felt like 'the luckiest girl in the whole world' after her ex-fiance Damian Crook popped the question

Cheska and father-of-three Damian combined their families and were living together in Devon.

She fell for 'ruggedly handsome' carpenter Damian after they met on the school run and the couple wasted no time before moving in together.

Cheska explained last year how she didn't feel her relationship had been rushed due to their older age and getting engaged only made their family unit stronger.

At the time, she explained: 'We moved in together 10 months down the line and now we're engaged. It is our one-year anniversary on July 10. It has been a real fairytale for me. We are older and because we have children, when you know, you know.

'I have gone from being a single mum, just myself and Charlie living alone in a cottage to meeting Damian, who has three children and integrating this family together and the engagement has made us feel like a proper team.

'We are a proper unit, and it is just wonderful. His children are incredible and we're all living together now, and the engagement has made it stronger for the kids as well.

Moving on from the split, Cheska announced back in June that she and her son Charlie (Pictured) would be relocating to Phuket, Thailand, where she grew up

Sharing highlights of her new life to her Instagram, Cheska appears to enjoy regular dinners on the beach, fun days out with her son and a more relaxed life

'They are over the moon, the two teenage girls are going to be bridesmaids and that was said on day one and they're super excited.'

But the couple parted ways in September - despite Cheska describing their engagement as a 'fairytale' and that her bad luck with men had finally changed.

She had been planning a beach wedding before the couple's relationship ended, with friends close to Cheska saying the breakup was the result of their lives being on 'different trajectories'.

A source revealed: 'Cheska and Damian remain friends rather than partners.

'Their lives were on different trajectories, but they still respect and care for each other. The children are and always will be their priority.'

Moving on from the split, Cheska announced back in June that she and her son Charlie would be relocating to Phuket, Thailand, where she grew up.

Sharing highlights of her new life to her Instagram, Cheska appears to enjoy regular dinners on the beach, fun days out with her son and a more relaxed life.

Giving an update one month after moving, Cheska shared a sweet video filled with highlights.

'Life! I'm living it! It's been a month since we moved to Thailand and we are settling in and loving our new life!' she said.

'Charlie has a new school and has made some lovely new friends! I have spent time with old friends and met new ones! I'm loving remote working and had a blast with my mum who had helped me settle in.'

While living in Thailand, Cheska is continuing her work as a PR for the company Raw Food and Drink.

'Life! I'm living it! It's been a month since we moved to Thailand and we are settling in and loving our new life!' she said

Ingraining herself in her new area, Cheska revealed she went to a networking lunch with a huge group of women

Along with enjoying beach days with her son Charlie, Cheska has been seen DJing at some of Phuket's clubs

And she's been collaborating with local businesses already, including modelling T.A.I Studio's handwoven bags

Revealing the digital nomad set-up she has in Phuket, Cheska said: 'When I decided to relocate with my son to Phuket and keep working with @rawfoodanddrink PR I knew I needed a wonderful base where I could work.

'I love @solis_phuket as it's the perfect place to get my head down and be by the ocean.'

She described how she gets a shuttle bus to a five-star hotel and then walks through the grounds to get to the beach club where she sets up to work for the day.

'My friends own this fabulous place and I wanted to show you how I get there every day! Not your average commute,' she said.

And ingraining herself in her new area, Cheska revealed she went to a networking lunch with a huge group of women.

Sharing snaps from the day last month, she said: 'Yesterday I went to my first DHW luncheon @catchbeachclub with my gorgeous friends and networked with more Phuket ladies!

'We had lobster salad, steak, coconut creme brulee and plenty of rose! I'm wearing @sophia.alexia - one of my fave resort wear brands! What a treat for a Tuesday.'

And she's been collaborating with local businesses already, including modelling T.A.I Studio's handwoven bags.
Phoebe Tonkin stepped out with her husband Bernard Lagrange at New York Fashion Week in a rare public appearance.

The Australian actress, 36, attended the opening party for The Dollhouse by Anna Weyant, accompanied by her art dealer beau.

Wearing a long, grey coat over a black outfit, Phoebe carried a small black leather handbag and completed her simple yet chic look with a pair of matching pumps.

Her hair was styled in a slick-back ponytail, while she opted for a natural makeup palette with a nude lip and flaunted her massive diamond engagement ring on her finger.

Meanwhile, Bernard looked dapper in a black suit and pale blue shirt while showing off his rugged facial features.

The pair, who tied the knot in May, are relatively private and rarely attend public events together.

Phoebe Tonkin stepped out with her husband Bernard Lagrange at New York Fashion Week in a rare public appearance

The Australian actress attended the opening party for The Dollhouse by Anna Weyant, accompanied by her art dealer beau

But they appeared to be in great spirits on Tuesday as they mingled with guests at the exclusive party, presented by Capital One and The Cultivist.

In May, the pair married in a chic ceremony in New York City.

They announced their engagement in October 2024 after keeping their relationship completely under wraps.

Several big-name Aussie stars, including Margot Robbie, Teresa Palmer, Samara Weaving and Lara Worthington, joined the happy couple for what appeared to be a weekend of festivities.

The bride rocked two very chic looks for her big day.

During one wedding festivity, the Vampire Diaries star flaunted her figure in a newsprint gown, similar to Carrie Bradshaw's 1998 Dior number in Sex and the City.

For her nuptials, Phoebe wore a stunning white sequinned Chanel dress with floral detailing, while Bernard opted for a classic black suit.

One happy photo of the couple, taken by actress Maya Ford, saw Phoebe and Bernard posing together in a vintage photo booth.

Wearing a long, grey coat over a black outfit, Phoebe carried a small black leather handbag and completed her simple yet chic look with a pair of black pumps

Her hair was styled in a slick-back ponytail, while she opted for a natural makeup palette with a nude lip

In May, the pair married in a chic ceremony in New York City. They announced their engagement in October 2024 after keeping their relationship completely under wraps

'Happily ever after,' said one caption, while another said: 'What a weekend celebrating this angel.'

Phoebe and Bernard announced their surprise engagement with a loved-up post to Instagram in October.

In one image, the Boy Swallows Universe star wore a white dress as she sat on Bernard's lap and wrapped her arms around him as they shared a kiss.

Her stunning oval diamond engagement ring was on full display during the intimate moment.

Phoebe also posted another photo as she gently touched Bernard's face in a car and revealed her new ring.

'Film back from the summer of love. Special first photo by my friend @mark_bauch,' she captioned the images.
Andy Lee has given fans a glimpse inside his multi-million-dollar Melbourne mansion - and revealed one quirky feature that holds a special piece of history.

The funnyman, 44, and his partner Rebecca Harding, 35, have spent the last two years painstakingly restoring a 150-year-old derelict home by the Yarra River.

On Thursday, Andy took to Instagram to share photos of their ongoing renovation, proudly showcasing a preserved ship's porthole window  a relic from the home's storied past.

'We've found a place for the porthole! ' he captioned the post.

'Seen here on the front of the house, it was installed by the owner in 1939 as a nod to his career in shipping. It sat on the back of the house (which is now the front, as streets have developed). We always wanted to keep it and now it's the first thing we'll see as we arrive home, walking from the garage into the house.'

In one snap, Andy beams through the large circular window frame on the construction site, while in another, Rebecca is seen laughing as she points towards the installation.

Andy Lee has given fans a glimpse inside his multi-million-dollar Melbourne mansion - and revealed one quirky feature that holds a special piece of history

On Thursday, Andy took to Instagram to share photos of their ongoing renovation, proudly showing off a ship's porthole window that has been preserved from the property's past

The couple have made sure to keep the feature intact despite their extensive rebuild, which has sparked plenty of chatter online.

Earlier this month, Andy was forced to hit back after being slammed over the extravagant design - which includes not one but two mansions connected by a tunnel.

As details of the project were revealed, some critics accused the comedian of 'losing touch with the common man.'

'Definitely lost touch,' one person commented, while another wrote: 'Geez, how many people are living in this house?'

'Lost touch with the common man for sure,' a third added.

But Andy and Rebecca have remained unfazed, continuing to share updates from the lengthy build, which has already taken two years.

Andy hit back at the backlash and explained the couple plans to use the old house as an office.

'[We have] plans to have an office each upstairs and a guest room on the ground floor,' he said.

The funnyman, 44, and his partner, 35, have spent the last two years restoring a 150-year-old derelict home by the Yarra River in Melbourne

In one snap, Andy beams through the large circular window frame on the construction site

'Seen here on the front of the house, it was installed by the owner in 1939 as a nod to his career in shipping. It sat on the back of the house,' he explained

'It's designed so guests can visit but also have their own space.'

In the video posted to Instagram, Andy explained his extensive building plans to fans.

'A lot of people have been asking what the hell are we doing with this house,' Andy began. 'That's a very good question  I've wondered that as well.'

'Here is a quick take. The main problem was the back of the house is actually its front because they used to arrive by the Yarra.'

He then revealed that the solution to the problem was to build a second house at the back of the original structure, with both houses connected via an underground tunnel.

The couple have made sure to keep the feature intact despite their extensive rebuild, which has sparked plenty of chatter online

'We need to preserve that and that's where you'd normally build off for an extension,' he said.

'So, the architects had a great idea which was to build a bit further back... so we could have a new building  the river house, a piazza in between, and we can look back at the heritage house.

'They've also created a tunnel between the two so it's connected.'

As he spoke, Andy shared architectural renders of the finished product and continued to offer details about the new river house.

'We've decided we're going to clad the newer build with an oxidised copper like the Statue of Liberty, so it's kind of a greeny-blue and it will feel a lot more warmth and disappear into the sky,' Andy explained.

He added that the plans had been met with his partner's approval, saying: 'Bec just lost her marbles when she saw this.'

Andy and Rebecca have grand plans for their Italianate manor, with the planned renovation worth an estimated $5 million, which began in 2023.

The comedian has been hard at work on the derelict Melbourne mansion, Ravenswood, which he bought for $8.5 million in 2021, undergoing a Block-style rebuild.

The couple won council approval for their development application in June 2023.

Other highlights planned for the 1,950 square metre holding include a home theatre, a gym, a swimming pool and a 'mega bedroom'.
Sophie Turner put on a united display with her boyfriend Peregrine Pearson after it was claimed she had joined celebrity dating app Raya.

Attending the launch of his family estate's new cookbook, Seasons: A Taste of Cowdray on Wednesday, the couple squashed rumours they had split.

The actress, 29, and the British aristocrat, 30, were first linked in 2023 and were last seen together at Glastonbury Festival in June.

It was later claimed Sophie joined exclusive celebrity dating app Raya in a bid to find love, with her profile reportedly spotted on the platform in August.

However, this week they proved to be very much back on as they cosied up for a series of snaps at the event in London.

Sophie looked chic in a smart yellow shirt which she teamed with black trousers and stiletto heels as she wrapped an arm around Peregrine.

Sophie Turner put on a united display with her boyfriend Peregrine Pearson after it was claimed she had joined celebrity dating app Raya

Attending the launch of his family estate's new cookbook Seasons: A Taste of Cowdray on Wednesday, the couple squashed rumours they had split

Peregrine is the eldest son and heir of Michael Pearson, the 4th Viscount Cowdray  a former film producer who owns a significant chunk of the Pearson media empire.

His ancestral estate is home to Cowdray Park Polo Club  which boasts ten pitches and hosts more than 450 matches each year.

Reports in August claimed she uploaded nine photos to her Raya profile - including holiday snaps and one of her dancing in a hotel room.

According to The Sun, the actress listed her interests on the app as: 'music, pasta, movies, family, sun, and friends'.

Daily Mail contacted Sophie's representative for comment at the time.

News of their reported split came after the pair first sparked speculation they'd broken up earlier this year when Sophie unfollowed Peregrine on Instagram.

The actress first revealed she was dating Viscount Cowdray's son in December 2023, months after the breakdown of her four-year marriage to Joe Jonas, 36.

The couple have often documented their relationship online, with Sophie last sharing pictures of Peregrine - known as Perry - in a post from January.

While the couple appear to have hit a rocky patch, it was only the end of last year that it was reported that Sophie could see herself having children with him.

The actress, 29, and the British aristocrat, 30, were last seen together at Glastonbury Festival in June (both pictured last year) and tt was later claimed Sophie joined Raya in August

The actress first revealed she was dating Viscount Cowdray's son in December 2023, months after the breakdown of her four-year marriage to Joe Jonas, 36 (Sophie and Joe pictured 2022)

In November, it was claimed she would 'love to have children' with Perry in the future, according to sources who revealed the actress believed he could be 'the one'.

The actress famously married ex Joe in 2019, and the pair share two children, daughters Willa, four, and Delphine, two.

The former couple finalised their divorce in September 2024, a little over a year after the Jonas Brothers star filed for separation.

As Sophie continued to move on from the failed marriage, another source dished at the time that she could see herself settling down with Peregrine.

'Sophie wants her happy ever after. Joe wasn't it,' the source explained. 'Peregrine seems to be the one, and she would love to have children with him one day, and the likelihood of that happening is pretty good. They will certainly try.'

While Sophie is said to be worth $10 million, this pales in comparison to Peregrine's family fortune, which is said to be more than $224 million.

He has a $5 million pad in Chelsea while his father owns a sprawling mansion in West Sussex with 22 bedrooms and 16,500 acres of grounds.
Lila Moss cut a chic figure in a chocolate brown maxi dress as she joined Paris Jackson at a Desigual photocall in Barcelona on Wednesday evening.

The model, 22, looked incredible in the stylish number, which featured spaghetti straps, a V-neckline, a cut-out panel at the bust, and asymmetric detailing towards the hem with a brown ombre finish.

Lila, the daughter of supermodel Kate Moss, added inches to her frame with black open-toe heels and carried her essentials in a mini brown leather handbag as she arrived at the star-studded event.

She wore her blonde tresses in loose waves and opted for a natural makeup look, letting her beauty shine as she posed for the cameras.

Meanwhile, Paris Jackson, 27, turned heads in a plunging floral shirt dress as she made her entrance at the bash.

Her trendy ensemble boasted a button-up front, long sleeves, a spread collar, and a cascading draped detail down one side.

Lila Moss cut a chic figure in a chocolate brown maxi dress as she attended a Desigual photocall in Barcelona on Wednesday evening

The model, 22, was also joined by fellow American model Paris Jackson, 27, who turned heads in a plunging floral shirt dress as she made her entrance at the bash

To elevate her look, Paris slipped into brown leather knee-high boots and carried a mini beige handbag.

She accessorised with bold turquoise statement earrings and a delicate gold pendant necklace, completing her boho-chic ensemble.

Just last month, Lila, who has type 1 diabetes, fronted a new campaign as Barbie launched its first-ever 'diabetic doll'.

The 'diabetic' doll features a continuous glucose monitor and insulin pump, which Lila has spoken about using in the past.

The toy firm says it made the first Barbie with type 1 diabetes (T1D) so more children could see themselves reflected in the range of dolls.

The young model previously discussed her condition during a segment on Vogue's In The Bag YouTube channel after making the unconventional decision to wear the monitor on the catwalk.

She said: 'I have some sugar tablets, in case my blood sugar goes low. I'm diabetic, so I have this, which controls a pod on my leg, which gives me insulin.

'This is very important to keep in my bag, it comes with me everywhere.'

Lila's stylish number featured spaghetti straps, a V-neckline, a cut-out panel at the bust, and asymmetric detailing towards the hem with a brown ombre finish

She wore her blonde tresses in loose waves and opted for a natural makeup look, letting her beauty shine as she posed for the cameras

The star - worried her essential device could get lost - added: 'I even have an Apple AirTag to follow it around with my phone.'

Speaking about her condition in 2020, she told The Kit: 'I think not many people know that I have diabetes. It's not visible from the outside, so no one would really know just by looking at you.'

Type 1 diabetes causes the level of glucose (sugar) in your blood to become too high.

It happens when your body cannot produce enough of a hormone called insulin, which controls blood glucose.

You need daily injections of insulin to keep your blood glucose levels under control.

Lila's mother Kate recently discussed her tips for good skin - after having always insisted she had no chemical enhancements - saying: 'The ice plunge is the best trick I've learnt [to mask tired eyes and perk up the skin].

'Fill a sink or a bowl with ice cubes, cold water and slices of cucumber and hold your face in for as long as you can, it instantly reduces puffiness and tightens up your skin.

Meanwhile, Paris's trendy ensemble boasted a button-up front, long sleeves, a spread collar, and a cascading draped detail down one side

To elevate her look, she slipped into brown leather knee-high boots and carried a mini beige handbag

'I love how my skin feels and looks after a weekend in the country with fresh air and lots of rest. As I spend so much time wearing a lot of make-up at work, I tend to keep it simple when I'm not. [Also,] I do like to have a facial and massage when I can.'

Kate has also been on a health kick after turning her back on her wild partying ways.

She was thought to have given up alcohol back in 2017 in favour of juice fasts and reformer Pilates, even selling her own range of teas and skincare products through her beauty and wellness brand, Cosmoss.

And while she has long struggled to give up her nicotine habit, just two years ago Kate - once hailed the 'greatest smoker of all time' - was seen puffing away on a vape in an attempt to give up the cigarettes.
Gregg Wallace has reportedly been turned down for an appearance on I'm A Celebrity, just days after revealing his plans to sue the BBC over his MasterChef exit.

The former presenter, 60, said he would love to be considered for the next series of the jungle show, but claimed he has yet to be approached.

In a TikTok video, Gregg shared messages from fans, including one asking: 'Can we see you in the jungle?'

Gregg, who lost his role on the cooking show in July amid upheld complaints over inappropriate behaviour, revealed hed be game for the new series which starts in November.

'No one's asked me,' he answered. 'That's in the air. I wouldn't mind having a chat about it.'

Now, ITV sources have reportedly said there was 'no way' that presenter would be invited onto the hit programme, according to the Mirror.

Gregg Wallace has reportedly been turned down for an appearance on I'm A Celebrity , just days after revealing his plans to sue the BBC over his MasterChef exit

The former presenter, 60, said he would love to be considered for the next series of the jungle show, but claimed he has yet to be approached (pictured on MasterChef)

An insider told the publication: 'It's a firm 'no thanks' from us I'm afraid.

'Anyone expecting to see Gregg Wallace Down Under with Ant and Dec is going to be disappointed.'

Daily Mail has contacted ITV for comment.

It comes after it was reported that Gregg is said to be suing the BBC over his firing from MasterChef.

The former presenter reportedly lodged his lawsuit at London's High Court and has vowed he will 'not go quietly'.

Gregg was sacked following a series of misconduct allegations relating to his time on the series.

The host is now seeking the release of hundreds of pages of secrets documents which he believes will help clear his name and earn back millions in lost earnings.

It is also claimed his lawsuit could pave the way for Gregg to launch a multi-million pound disability claim against the BBC.

It comes after it was reported that Gregg is said to be suing the BBC over his firing from MasterChef

Gregg is said to have lodged his lawsuit at London's High Court and has vowed he will 'not go quietly'

A source told The Sun: 'Things could go nuclear. Gregg previously applied to see all the paperwork concerning him but was blocked by the BBC.

'This is why he's had to go legal. This is the first, major step towards Gregg taking serious action.

'Gregg's team believe that once they have the correspondence in front of them their case - and next steps - will become clear. For the BBC, it's an HR nightmare waiting to happen.'

The insider also said Gregg is preparing to launch a disability claim which would likely focus on his autism with which he was diagnosed in January.

He previously said nothing was done to investigate his 'neurodiversity' while he was working on MasterChef.

'My neurodiversity, now formally diagnosed as autism, was suspected and discussed by colleagues across countless seasons of MasterChef,' he said in a statement.

'Yet nothing was done to investigate my disability or protect me from what I now realise was a dangerous environment for over 20 years. That failure is now being quietly buried.'

A BBC spokesperson told the Daily Mail: 'We have not been formally notified of any legal proceedings so at this stage we are unable to comment.'

It is also claimed the lawsuit could pave the way for Gregg to launch a multi-million pound disability claim against the BBC

The Daily Mail has also contacted representatives of Gregg Wallace for comment.

It comes after BBC Director-General Tim Davie admitted 'we may see more things coming out' after he was asked for assurance there won't be another 'scandal of BBC talent abusing their position'.

Australian-born chef John Torode also lost his job on the show after two decades over allegations that he used the N-word.

Gregg stepped down from the hit BBC cooking show after complaints were made about his behaviour and 45 of those 83 complaints were upheld following a report into his conduct. In total, 41 people complained.

The review concluded that the 'majority of the substantiated allegations against Wallace related to inappropriate sexual language and humour'.

It added that 'a smaller number of allegations of other inappropriate language and being in a state of undress were also substantiated', with 'one incident of unwelcome physical contact' also substantiated.

The former Eat Well for Less? presenter told The Sun that while he didn't deny being guilty of some of the claims, he believed things had been 'perceived incorrectly'.

Gregg claimed that he had worked with around 4,000 people, meaning that just 0.5 per cent of those he has worked with 'found fault with me'.

He said his actions were the result of learned behaviour and workplace culture and claimed that his recent autism diagnosis also played a role.

'I know I am odd. I know I struggle to read people. I know people find me weird. Autism is a disability, a registered disability,' he said.

Gregg has previously said he felt the BBC failed to provide enough support for his condition during his 20 years working on MasterChef.

'My neurodiversity, now formally diagnosed as autism, was suspected and discussed by colleagues across countless seasons of MasterChef,' he said.

'Yet nothing was done to investigate my disability or protect me from what I now realise was a dangerous environment for over 20 years.'
Demi Moore was spotted cradling her long-haired chihuahua Pilaf as she headed into JFK Airport in New York City this Wednesday.

The 62-year-old actress and her blended family have rallied around her ex-husband Bruce Willis amid his decline from frontotemporal dementia (FTP).

Meanwhile Demi herself has been experiencing a career resurgence, thanks to her Oscar-nominated turn in last year's buzzy horror movie The Substance.

Amid her chockablock schedule, the Indecent Proposal star was seen dashing to the airport to catch a flight out of the city that never sleeps.

She emphasized her enviably slender frame in a casually stylish ensemble of a white t-shirt and jeans, topped with a black coat and matching scarf.

Letting her dark hair cascade in silken curtains over her shoulders, she sharpened her unmistakable features with makeup ahead of her flight.

Demi Moore was spotted cradling her long-haired chihuahua Pilaf as she headed into JFK Airport in New York City this Wednesday

That day, Demi had attended the Forbes Power Women's Summit, speaking onstage with Moira Forbes, whose great-grandfather founded the famed finance magazine.

Modeling a stylish tartan skirt-suit and an off-white blouse with a cravat, she hit the red carpet with Pilaf nestled comfortably in her arms.

Her sighting comes after Demi candidly revealed the heartbreak of watching her amicable ex-husband Bruce suffer through his dementia decline.

As Bruce left Hollywood amid his health problems, his blended family rallied around him, including Demi and their daughters Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 31.

His primary caregiver is his second wife Emma Heming, 47, with whom Bruce, 70, shares his two youngest daughters Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11.

Now Emma has spoken frankly with Oprah Winfrey about the process of looking after Bruce, which she details in her upcoming memoir The Unexpected Journey.

In the midst of their conversation, Oprah played a clip from a recent interview she conducted with Demi, who gave her own view of the experience.

'It's difficult. Its hard to see somebody who was so vibrant and strong and so directed shift into this other parts of themself,' said Demi on Oprah's podcast.

Amid her chockablock schedule, the Indecent Proposal star was seen dashing to the airport to catch a flight out of the city that never sleeps

That day, Demi had attended the Forbes Power Women's Summit, speaking onstage with Moira Forbes, whose great-grandfather founded the famed finance magazine

Modeling a stylish tartan skirt-suit and an off-white blouse with a cravat, she hit the red carpet with Pilaf nestled comfortably in her arms

'But you know, my particular perspective is one, I really always say its so important just to meet them where theyre at. Dont have an expectation of them needing to be who they were or who you want them to be, and when you do that, I find that there is an incredible sweetness and something thats soft and tender and loving,' she added.

'And perhaps it is more playful and childlike in certain sense, because of how much more caretaking they need,' the G.I. Jane actress acknowledged.

'And really, the most important place for me is showing up and being present, just being present, because if you project where its going it only creates anxiety. If you replay where it was and what youve lost, it only creates anxiety and grief.'

She explained that 'when you stay present, there is so much, and theres still so much of him there. And it may not always be verbal, but it is beautiful given the givens.'

Bruce's illness, frontotemporal dementia (FTD) does not cause memory loss at first, but rather attacks the parts of the brain in charge of language and personality.

Emma recently revealed that the 'hardest decision' she took while looking after him was moving him into a separate one-story house away from their primary residence.

He lives there with a full-time care team, while Emma brings their daughters Mabel and Evelyn to visit him 'a lot,' including for breakfast and dinner.

'Bruce would want that for our daughters,' said Emma. 'He would want them to be in a home that was more tailored to their needs, not his needs.'

The 62-year-old actress and her blended family have rallied around her ex-husband Bruce Willis amid his decline from frontotemporal dementia (FTP); the pair are pictured in 2022

'Its hard to see somebody who was so vibrant and strong and so directed shift into this other parts of themself,' said Demi on Oprah's podcast; she and Bruce are pictured in 2018

The couple made the revelation during a joint ABC special with Diane Sawyer entitled Emma and Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey.

Days after the broadcast aired, Emma posted to Instagram saying she had been criticized online for moving Bruce into a separate house.

She argued she had been judged 'quickly and unfairly,' saying viewers were split between 'people with an opinion versus people with an actual experience.'

Meanwhile Demi showered praise on Heming during her Oprah interview, saying; 'There is no roadmap for how to deal with this and obviously, being the ex-wife, even though our family is very connected, is an interesting position, and so much fell on Emma to really figure this whole thing out.'

Plugging Emma's memoir, Moore said that 'the most beautiful thing  and she talks about this in the book  was recognizing the importance for caregivers that they have to take care of themselves, and that if they dont put that time into making sure that theyre okay, then they cant show up for anyone else.'

Bruce and Demi are pictured during their marriage arriving at the premiere of her 1996 film Striptease, with Demi having already shaved her head for her lead role in G.I. Jane

Demi added that 'I have so much compassion for Emma in this, being a young woman, theres no way that anybody could have anticipated where this was gonna go, and I really think shes done a masterful job.'

Bruce withdrew from Hollywood in 2022 after being diagnosed with the brain condition aphasia, which causes the patient's language abilities to deteriorate.

In 2023, his family announced that his illness had 'progressed' and he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

Bruce has been surrounded by his close-knit blended family, who have gathered around him in order to help him cope with his health struggles.

During the Diane Sawyer special, Emma explained: 'Bruce is still very mobile. Bruce is in really great health overall, you know. It's just his brain that is failing him.'

She added: 'We have a way of communicating with him that is just a different, a different way, but I'm grateful. I'm grateful that my husband is still very much here.'
Channing Tatum and Inka Williams have made their red carpet debut  four months after going Instagram official.

The couple stepped out for the premiere of the anime film Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle in Los Angeles.

Channing also enjoyed a rare public outing with his daughter Everly, 12, at the TCL Chinese Theatre.

The Magic Mike actor, 45, was his usual dapper self, stepping out in a navy blue suit and an off-white T-shirt, finishing the ensemble with a pair of black leather shoes.

Inka, 25, meanwhile, was a vision in black, wearing a sleeveless, glittering, floral-embellished gown that swept elegantly to the floor.

She wore her brunette locks with a straight fringe and down for the occasion, finishing her look with a ruby red shade on her lips.

Channing Tatum and Inka Williams (l) have made their red carpet debut  four months after going Instagram official

Inka accessorised with a pair of eye-catching diamond pendant earrings.

While Inka and Channing were not standing together on the red carpet, she appeared chuffed to be cuddling up to his daughter, Everly.

Everly, whom Channing shares with ex-wife Jenna Dewan, donned a satin light blue gown with ruffles, wearing her blonde locks down and parted.

While Channing and Inka held off on the PDA at the premiere, it was a different story on social media.

Just days before, Channing shared a gushing birthday tribute to his newly minted ladylove.

Taking to his Instagram Story, Channing sang his love for Inka from the rooftops with a series of romantic photos and clips.

One video, shot by Inka, showed the Australian-born beauty sitting on the back of a dirt bike with Channing at the helm.

A bikini-clad Inka gave the camera a stoic expression as she held onto her beau for safety.

The couple stepped out for the premiere of the anime film Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle in Los Angeles

Channing also enjoyed a rare public outing with his daughter Everly, 12, at the TCL Chinese Theatre

Inka, 25, meanwhile, was a vision in black, wearing a sleeveless glittering, floral-embellished gown that finished at her feet. She wore her brunette locks with a straight fringe and down for the occasion, finishing her look with a ruby red shade on her lips

Channing captioned the clip: 'Happiest day of birth to my RIDER! Love you so.'

He also shared a black and white photo that showed a beanie-clad Channing tenderly kissing Inka on the cheek.

Another clip showed Inka excitedly diving into the ocean, with Channing adding: 'Love you stoopid'.

It was a similar sentiment that Inka shared with Channing back in April when she went 'Instagram official' with the star in a swoon-worthy birthday post.

The post also included a series of never-before-seen romantic photos taken during the couple's relationship.

'Happy life to the handsomest, kindest, funniest, stoopidest, most gorgeous human ever,' Inka wrote.

'Merci for making life beautiful and fun. Jtm trop fort,' she added, which is French slang for I love you.

Inka also declared her love for Channing in March  albeit in a very unique way.

Just days before, Channing shared a gushing birthday tribute to his newly minted ladylove. Taking to his Instagram Story, Channing sung his love for Inka from the rooftops with a series of romantic photos and clips

'Happiest day of birth to my RIDER! Love you so,' Channing captioned one clip

The photo appeared to show Inka's leg, complete with a message, possibly for her Magic Mike star beau.

It had the words 'I love you' scrawled across it in what appeared to be a white pencil.

The word 'love' was replaced with an expertly drawn heart.

Channing was first linked to Inka back in January when they were spotted leaving the CAA pre-Oscar party in Los Angeles together.

The outing came just three months after Channing split from ex-fiancee Zoe Kravitz in October 2024.

A source told People at the time that the couple were 'seeing' each other on romantic terms.

'They met through friends. She's great. She's young, but seems older,' the insider said.

'Channing's doing well. [Inka] makes him happy.'

Inka, who was born in Melbourne and raised in Bali, balances her successful modelling career with her fashion brand She Is I.
Kourtney Kardashian gave her fans a rare glimpse of her son Rocky in a sweet Instagram post on Wednesday.

As always, her son's face was obscured due to Kardashian's wish for privacy for her son.

The 46-year-old TV personality - who recently put on a very cheeky display in a thong swimsuit after squashing pregnancy rumors - shared a carousel of snaps as she supported husband Travis Barker amid his tour with Blink-182.

The reality star was not only joined by their 22-month-old son Rocky Thirteen, but her other children as well that she shares with ex Scott Disick.

Kourtney has previously uploaded images of her youngest child to social media since he was born in November 2023 - but has opted to not share his face for privacy.

However, the mom-of-four shared one picture as Rocky sported an adorable outfit while walking on a patch of green grass outside.

The little boy's face was only partially turned away from the camera as he enjoyed the fresh air.

Kourtney Kardashian, 46, gave her fans a rare glimpse at her son Rocky's face in a sweet Instagram post on Wednesday

However, the mom-of-four shared one picture as Rocky sported an adorable outfit while walking on a patch of green grass outside - with his face only partially turned away

Rocky appeared in the post once again as he spent quality time with his musician father at an aquarium.

He could be seen pointing at one of the fish inside a spacious tank as Travis crouched down next to the almost two-year-old.

Kourtney is also mom to Mason, 15, Penelope, 13, and Reign, 10, whom she shares with ex Scott.

After tying the knot with the Blink-182 drummer in 2022, she became stepmother to his children Landon, 21, and Alabama, 19 - whom he welcomed with Shanna Moakler.

They are also parental figures to Atiana De La Hoya, 26, whom Shanna welcomed during a previous relationship with Oscar De La Hoya.

Penelope could be see standing inside an elevator with gold doors while donning a yellow shirt and polka dot shorts in one image.

And Kourtney also included a clip of her son Reign showcasing his skateboarding skills outside in a parking lot.

The Kardashians star offered her 217 million followers a closer look at her time backstage as she supported her husband amidst the Blink-182 Missionary Impossible Tour - which is slated to conclude next month in October.

Kourtney has previously uploaded images of her youngest child to social media since he was born on November 2023 - but has opted to not share his face for privacy

Rocky appeared in the post once again as he spent quality time with his musician father at an aquarium

Penelope could be see standing inside an elevator with gold doors while donning a yellow shirt and polka dot shorts in one image

And Kourtney also included a clip of her son Reign showcasing his skateboarding skills outside in a parking lot

The Kardashians star offered her 217 million followers a closer look at her time backstage as she supported her husband amidst the Blink-182 Missionary Impossible Tour

Kourtney donned a sleeveless pink dress with lace details on the hem as well as a pair of black boots for an edgy flare

Kourtney donned a sleeveless pink dress with lace details on the hem as well as a pair of black boots for an edgy flare.

Her dark locks were parted in the middle and styled into two separate braids, allowing loose strands to border the sides of her face.

The Poosh founder further showed off the stylish ensemble as she paused for a memorable snap with Atiana backstage.

The post concluded with images taken from the sound stage while another picture showed Kourtney nibbling on a Mickey Mouse pretzel.

In the caption of the latest carousel of snaps, the media personality penned, 'Tour adventures : part 1.'

Their son Rocky has seemingly also taken a liking to music - a topic Travis opened up about earlier this year in February during an interview with People.

The drummer revealed that Rocky also enjoys playing the drums 'constantly, 24/7.'

When it comes to parenting, the Blink-182 drummer told the outlet, 'I hope we just lead by example.

The Poosh founder further showed off the stylish ensemble as she paused for a memorable snap with Atiana backstage

The post concluded with images taken from the sound stage while another picture showed Kourtney nibbling on a Mickey Mouse pretzel

In the caption of the latest carousel of snaps, the media personality penned, 'Tour adventures : part 1'

Their son Rocky has seemingly also taken a liking to music - a topic Travis opened up about earlier this year in February during an interview with People

'I mean [Rocky], he just turned 15 months today, and he's like already playing drums and guitar and everything, so I feel like all we can do is steer them.'

Barker continued, 'I think you're born with like this DNA of who you are, but, like, we could always be there to just, you know, lead them in the right direction.'

He previously discussed fatherhood with People and gushed, 'The most wonderful thing you could do at any time in your life is have a baby or bring a human being into this world.'

The music artist added, 'I love being a dad. That's my favorite accomplishment, it's my favorite thing I get to do every day.'

Late last month in August, Kourtney and Travis were seen splashing in the water with their son Rocky as they spent downtime at a beach in Miami.

The reality star donned a cheeky, one-piece swimsuit as she cooled down in the waves and later sported a black skirt that was wrapped around her lower midriff.

It came not long after Kourtney shut down pregnancy rumors that had begun to swirl on social media.

It came not long after Kourtney shut down pregnancy rumors that had begun to swirl on social media

However, the mom-of-four replied to the comment with, 'Eating pancakes and jumping off cliffs' - referencing to other photos and clips of her in the post

Speculation first sparked up when she uploaded a series of photos earlier last month from a getaway to Idaho.

Some fans pointed out the star donning baggy clothing in some snaps, while one wrote, 'RUMORS HAVE IT THAT YOU'RE PREGNANT KOURTNEY.'

However, the mom-of-four replied to the comment with, 'Eating pancakes and jumping off cliffs' - referencing to other photos and clips of her in the post.

She was also seemingly hinting that she would not take part in activities such as jumping off of cliffs if the pregnancy rumors were true.
Saturday Night Live fixture Bowen Yang is opening up about losing his friend Heidi Gardner to the latest wave of firings and exits from the iconic series.

Yang, 34, addressed the abrupt departures on Tuesday's episode of his podcast Las Culturistas, which he hosts with Matt Rogers.

Gardner, 42, was the longest-tenured SNL star to leave ahead of season 51, but newer stars Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow and Emil Wakim were all given the boot, and Please Don't Destroy member John Higgins was also revealed to be leaving the show.

The Wicked actor, who joined SNL as a writer in 2018 before being promoted to the cast the following year, didn't hold back as he addressed Gardner's exit.

'You are one of the greats. You will go down in history,' he gushed about the comedy star, who joined SNL in 2017.

He went on to praise Gardner for being a rare SNL cast member who could write a sketch on her own without a co-writer.

Saturday Night Live fixture Bowen Yang is opening up about losing his friend Heidi Gardner to the latest wave of firings and exits from the iconic series; seen in October 2024 in NYC

Yang said on his Las Culturistas podcast on Tuesday that Gardner was 'one of the greats' and would 'go down in history' for her eight years on SNL; Gardner (center) is pictured with Emma Stone (L) and Punkie Johnson (R) on SNL in 2023

'Its always a very, very vulnerable thing as a cast member to put only your name on it,' Yang shared. 'But anytime you saw just "Gardner," you knew you were in good hands. She would take it upon herself to write pieces for other cast.'

He recalled a sketch Gardner had written for former cast member Punkie Johnson, who left the show in 2024.

'It was one of the most beautiful, kindest gestures Ive ever seen at that show, and her heart was so big, and clearly so f***ing funny,' Yang recalled. 'A true anchor on that show.'

He went on to praise Gardner as 'truly a beautiful person,' and he recalled how she buoyed her costars' spirits during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic by sending daily text messages to everyone while they were isolating at home.

Although Yang saved most of his praise for Gardner, he also addressed the other cast members who were let go, saying, 'I will miss the people who are not coming back very, very much.'

However, he said he was 'thrilled to go back' to the show despite the brutal manner of their departures.

Yang's reminiscences about Gardner come in the wake of a report detailing how her time at SNL came to an end.

The show  which which announced the addition of five new cast members last week  opted not to renew the contract of the 42-year-old comedian for season 51 according to a source for The New York Post on Thursday.

He went on to praise Gardner for being a rare SNL cast member who could write a sketch on her own without a co-writer; pictured in March in Hollywood

'Its always a very, very vulnerable thing as a cast member to put only your name on it,' Yang shared. 'But anytime you saw just "Gardner," you knew you were in good hands. She would take it upon herself to write pieces for other cast'; pictured in February in NYC

He went on to praise Gardner as 'truly a beautiful person,' and he recalled how she buoyed her costars' spirits during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic by sending daily text messages to everyone while they were isolating at home; pictured with Scarlett Johansson hosting on May 17

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Gardner and SNL and has yet to hear back.

'It's time for a new cast,' the source for the publication said.

Earlier this month, many were shocked as Daily Mail confirmed that fan favorite Gardner has exited the show after an impressive eight-season run as furious viewers called for SNL to be canceled amid the ongoing cast exodus.

The Daily Mail reached out to Gardner's reps for comment at the time. A spokesperson for NBC declined to comment to the Daily Mail.

Gardner joined Saturday Night Live in 2017 during season 43 as a featured player along with now-former SNL stars Luke Null and Chris Redd.

She was then promoted to the main cast two years later.

Since then, the Missouri-born actress has written and starred in countless iconic SNL sketches.

She is best known for creating the hilarious character Bailey Gismert, a teen movie critic, who often appeared during SNL's Weekend Update segments.

Many were shocked when Saturday Night Live let go of four talents, with the biggest name being Gardner (pictured July 2023 in Hollywood)

SNL  which added five cast members last week  opted to not renew the contract of the 42-year-old comedian (center) for season 51 according, to a source for The New York Post on Thursday.

Gardner also impersonated a number of high-profile celebrities during her eight years on SNL, including Reba McEntire, Oscar-winner Mikey Madison and Kim Kardashian.

She joined fellow SNL stars and alums at the show's 50th anniversary special in February.

It was also confirmed by Daily Mail last Thursday that SNL cast member Michael Longfellow is leaving the hit show after just three seasons.

Longfellow, 31, joined SNL in season 48 as a 'featured player' - and, like Gardner, was known for his Weekend Update segments.

Also last week, featured cast member Emil Wakim joined the long list of former SNL stars who have had their tenures with the show cut short before joining the main cast.

Wakim, 27, announced his departure in an Instagram post with photos of happier times at Studio 8H at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

He indicated that he had been let go by SNL, and his unexpected departure came just a day after his costar Devon Walker revealed he was leaving the series after three seasons.

Both exits come in the wake of series creator and longtime showrunner Lorne Michaels' announcement that there would be a 'significant shake-up' amid the cast ahead of season 51.

Gardner joined SNL in 2017 during season 43 as a featured player along with now-former SNL stars Luke Null and Chris Redd. She was promoted to main cast two years later

Daily Mail previously contacted a representative for Wakim but hasn't yet received a response.

Wakim's tenure with SNL began in 2024 for the show's 50th season.

He shared a post which read: 'I won't be returning to SNL next year.'

He wrote that 'it was a gut punch of a call to get but I'm so grateful for my time there,' adding that he 'was at six flags celebrating my friends 36th birthday and went on a really emotional walk through bugs bunny park and stared out across daffy duck lake thinking about life.'

'Every time i scanned into the building i would think how insane it is to get to work there,' Wakim continued. 'it was the most terrifying, thrilling, and rewarding experience of my life and i will miss it dearly and all the brilliant people that work there that made it feel like a home.

Wakim, who was born in Chicago and attended Indiana University Bloomington before getting his big break, holds the distinction of being the first SNL cast member of Lebanese heritage.

The comedian included a photo of himself appearing at the Weekend Update desk with Colin Jost and Michael Che, along with photos of himself proudly displaying his SNL staff badge and making playful faces at a live llama that had been brought in for a special appearance on the comedy show.

Last Tuesday, Walker took to Instagram to announce he's leaving after three seasons, comparing his time at SNL to a rocky romance.

The news of the 42-year-old comedian's exit comes shortly after it was revealed that cast members Michael Longfellow, Emil Wakim and Devon Walker would not be returning for season 51 on NBC

The 34-year-old admitted the job could be 'toxic' at times, though he stopped short of naming names.

When contacted by Daily Mail, Walker chuckled a bit as he said he did not want to comment 'at this time.'

It remains unclear if his departure was his choice or not.

'To me, jobs in this industry feel like a bunch of little marriages,' he began in his Instagram post.

'Some of em last for a long time if we're lucky, but most of them are fleeting. Permanent until they're not. That's the deal. You know what it is it when you sign up.'

Looking back on his three years with the late-night staple, he admitted the highs came with plenty of lows.

'Me and the show did three years together, and sometimes it was really cool,' Walker continued.

'Sometimes it was toxic as hell. But we did what we made the most of what it was, even amidst all of the dysfunction. We made a f***ed up lil family.'

It was also confirmed by Daily Mail on Thursday that SNL cast member Michael Longfellow is leaving the hit show after just three seasons; seen in February

Longfellow (R) is seen with fellow ousted SNL stars Devon Walker and Emil Wakim

The star said he was ultimately 'happy' he got to share the stage with his fellow comics, adding that he's now preparing to take off overseas.

He wrapped things up with a surprising reveal. 'Anyway, I'm bout to go to Japan,' Walker concluded.

'When I get back I'm tryna be in a prestige drama. Ideally something with Julianne Moore. Hope y'all staying hydrated and getting some money today.'

The Texas native cheekily captioned his exit post, 'Me and baby broke up', and shared his official announcement as a computer note bluntly titled: 'Wait..did he quit or did he get fired?'

One screenshot even showed him texting a friend, 'I'm out', punctuated with a celebration emoji.

Walker made his SNL debut in 2022 as a featured player in Season 48.

By 2024, he'd been bumped up to the main cast.

He quickly became a standout on 'Weekend Update' with Colin Jost and Michael Che, nailing impressions of Michael Strahan, Van Jones, and NYC Mayor Eric Adams.

The most famous members of the current cast include Colin Jost, Bowen Yang and Kenan Thompson; Thompson is pictured (center) with Yang and Gardner in October 2024 in NYC

Just before Walker went public, Michaels teased a big shake-up coming ahead of SNL's Oct. 4 season premiere.

When asked whether he felt 'pressure to reinvent this season', Michaels said: 'Yeah, for sure'. 'It'll be announced in a week or so,' he added.

The most famous members of the current cast include Colin Jost, Bowen Yang and Kenan Thompson.

SNL Season 51 will premiere on Saturday, October 4, at 11:30 PM ET on NBC and Peacock, after the summer hiatus since May 17.
Married At First Sight has been cleared of wrongdoing after dozens of viewers complained about the show's shocking portrayal of domestic violence earlier this year.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) confirmed it received around 50 complaints about the 2025 season.

These included two formal investigations after explosive scenes aired in February and March, showing controversial groom Paul Antoine admitting to punching a hole in his bedroom door.

One viewer claimed the programme breached its M classification, saying it contained 'acts of domestic violence, and discussions of these adult themes at an inappropriate time'.

In one clip, Paul confessed: 'I lost control and I punched a hole in the bedroom door. It's just not the right thing to do. It's unacceptable, it's disgusting. I'm still hating myself for doing this.'

But Nine insisted the broadcast did not show any actual violence, arguing the material fell within the M rating and was clearly flagged with multiple warnings to viewers.

Married At First Sight has been cleared of wrongdoing after dozens of viewers complained about the show's shocking portrayal of domestic violence earlier this year

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) confirmed it received around 50 complaints about the 2025 season

'Participants and experts were shown discussing and condemning the behaviour, reflecting community expectations,' Nine said, adding the network aired additional consumer guidance informing audiences the episode contained 'adult themes and confronting issues'.

ACMA agreed, ruling that while the incident was 'sensationalised' with dramatic editing and music, it was handled 'with appropriate care' and the violent act itself was never shown on screen.

'The content included about domestic conflict and Participant B's violent behaviour was handled with care,' ACMA said.

'Footage of Participant B hitting the wall was not included in the programme.'

The watchdog found the incident was 'moderate in impact' and 'could be accommodated within the M classification'.

NSW Police had also launched their own investigation into the saga, but in July confirmed no further action would be taken.

The ruling comes after Daily Mail first revealed Paul, 31, punched a hole in the wall of the Sydney apartment he shared with bride Carina Mirabile during a heated argument.

The meltdown  triggered after Carina admitted to sleeping with rapper Quavo years earlier  sparked immediate backlash, with furious fans demanding Paul be booted from the show.

The ruling comes after Daily Mail first revealed Paul, 31, punched a hole in the wall of the Sydney apartment he shared with bride Carina Mirabile during a heated argument

The scandal later escalated when SafeWork NSW confirmed it was also looking into the incident, while police were understood to be monitoring the series.

Channel Nine told Daily Mail at the time that it took the matter 'extremely seriously', with producers holding urgent talks with Carina about whether she wanted to continue with the experiment.

She ultimately chose to stay, with Nine insisting the couple were given ongoing support.

The scenes caused uproar on social media, with fans divided over whether the groom should be removed.

Some argued emotional abuse from other participants was not being scrutinised with the same seriousness, calling for other grooms  including Adrian Araouzou  to face consequences.

During a tense commitment ceremony, relationship experts Alessandra Rampolla, John Aiken and Mel Schilling grilled Paul, branding his actions 'toxic, inappropriate and unacceptable'.

Rampolla warned him: 'You do not punch walls. You do not punch floors. Period. Full stop. That intimidates.'

Married At First Sight will return to screens on Channel Nine in 2026.
Stephen Colbert offered a poignant address about Charlie Kirk's assassination in his opening monologue on Wednesday night's The Late Show.

Colbert, 61, took the time to bemoan 'political violence'. He compared Kirk's assassination to the political unrest that roiled the US in the '60s, such as the killings of civil rights leader Martin Luther King and President John F. Kennedy.

Kirk, a prominent conservative activist, had been fatally shot during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University just hours earlier. The gunman who fired the single bullet that took his life remains at large.

Rather than the standard introduction, the spiel was decidedly somber.

Colbert offered his condolence to Kirk's loved ones. He also discussed how he and his team learned of the tragedy in real-time as they were preparing for Wednesday's show.

'After our scripts for tonights show were finished this afternoon, we here at The Late Show learned that Charlie Kirk, a prominent right-wing activist, was killed at a speaking engagement in Utah,' he told viewers.

'Our condolences go out to his family and all of his loved ones.

'I am old enough to personally remember the political violence of the 1960s, and I hope it is obvious to everyone in America that political violence does not solve any of our political differences,' he continued.

Stephen Colbert, 61, addressed the killing of Charlie Kirk in a last-minute speech appended to the start of Wednesday night's episode of The Late Show. He bemoaned 'political violence' and offered his condolences to Kirk's family

Kirk, a right-wing activist, was pronounced dead at 31 after being shot in the neck by a person who reportedly fired from a nearby building while he spoke outdoors at Utah Valley University on Wednesday (pictured in June in Davie, Florida)

'Political violence only leads to more political violence.'

He expressed hope that Kirk's shooting would not lead to more violence.

'I pray with all my heart that this is the abhorrent action of a mad man and not a sign of things to come,' he said.

The host - an outspoken Donald Trump critic- revealed in July that CBS would not renew his contract when it expires in May 2026 after a decade as the host of the network's late night offering.

Some have said the show was canceled in a bid to gain a government signoff on Paramount's since-solidified merger with Skydance Media.

Skydance, now a part of Paramount, is run by David Ellison, the son of billionaire Trump ally Larry Ellison.

CBS has claimed it is canceling the series, which was previously hosted by David Letterman, due to financial issues.

Colbert's fellow late-night host, Jimmy Kimmel, also reacted to Kirk's death on Wednesday.

He called the shooting 'horrible and monstrous' on Instagram, adding: 'On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.'

'After our scripts for tonights show were finished this afternoon, we here at The Late Show learned that Charlie Kirk, a prominent right-wing activist, was killed at a speaking engagement in Utah,' Colbert said. 'Our condolences go out to his family and all of his loved ones'

Colbert declared that 'political violence does not solve any of our political differences,' and added: 'Political violence only leads to more political violence'

'I pray with all my heart that this is the abhorrent action of a mad man and not a sign of things to come,' Colbert added

Kirk is pictured speaking to a large crowd at Utah Valley University shortly before he was shot on Wednesday

Although the circumstances of Kirk's death suggest a targeted killing, no details have yet publicly emerged about the identity of the shooter, who is still on the loose.

Two people were taken into custody earlier on Wednesday as persons of interest in the shooting, but both were subsequently released.

A major manhunt by both the FBI and Utah police is currently underway.

Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika Kirk (nee Frantzve), and their three-year-old daughter and 16-month-old son.

Kirk quickly ascended in conservative circles after co-founding the right-wing youth organization Turning Point USA.

Vice President JD Vance described Kirk as a 'true friend' and a 'great family man' in a post saluting him on X.

President Donald Trump went on to announce Kirk's death on his social media site, Truth Social.

'The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,' Trump wrote.

'He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife, Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!'

Trump later addressed the nation in a somber speech delivered from the Oval Office.

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Colbert's fellow late-night host, Jimmy Kimmel, also reacted to Kirk's death on Wednesday, calling the shooting 'horrible and monstrous,' on Instagram (pictured September 7 in LA)

Although the circumstances of Kirk's death suggested a targeted killing, no details have yet publicly emerged about the identity of the shooter, who is still on the loose

President Donald Trump announced Kirk's death on Truth Social. 'No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,' Trump wrote. 'He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us'

'To my great fellow Americans, I am filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah. Charlie inspired millions and tonight, all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror,' Trump said.

He praised Kirk as a man of faith who loved his country and advocated for it to his followers.

'Charlie was a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country that he loved so much, the United States of America. He fought for liberty, democracy, justice and the American people.'

'He's a martyr for truth and freedom and there has never been anyone who was so respected by youth,' Trump continued.

'Charlie was also a man of deep, deep faith, and we take comfort that he is now with God in Heaven. Our prayers are with his wife, Erika, his two young and beloved children and his family, whom he loved more than anything in the world. We ask God to watch over them in this terrible hour of heartache in pain.'

Trump's speech took a darker turn as he looked toward those responsible for this 'dark moment for America'.

'It's long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequences of demonizing those with whom you disagree, day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible,' he said, before taking the speech in a partisan direction.

'For years, those on the radical Left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today and it must stop right now,' Trump said, before comparing Kirk's killing to his own assassination attempt and other political shootings.

Donald Trump said the 'demonization' of political opponents by the 'radical Left' directly led to the murder of Kirk in an Oval Office speech on Wednesday

'Radical Left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives,' he said, though the person who shot Trump, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was a registered Republican who had espoused anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant views on social media.

Trump concluded by urging Americans to take a page from Kirk's values of 'free speech, citizenship, the rule of law and the patriotic devotion and love of God'.

'Charlie was the best of America and the monster who was attacking him was attacking our whole country,' Trump added, before declaring that he administration would track down anyone responsible for the right-wing provocateur's death.
Alice Evans has spoken for the first time since the 'very unexpected' death of her brother Tony as she opened up about living through 'dark times'.

The British-American actress, 57, announced her brother had passed away last month following years of health battles.

Filming an Instagram live, where she was joined by her daughter Elsie, 13, on Wednesday, Alice revealed that Tony had developed an infection and they thought he was going to be okay.

But days later Tony's condition went rapidly downhill and they received the 'sudden, brutal' news that he had died.

She said: 'It was a very unexpected passing and it's been really really upsetting for everybody. But as his wife said to me this morning he would have not wanted me to miss this so I'm really really happy that you guys are here.'

Speaking to her fans on the video, Alice said: 'I've been through some pretty dark times and there were times in the middle of the night where I spoke to some people, some of you, and you just it me through things.'

Alice Evans has opened up about 'dark times' after the 'very unexpected' death of her brother Tony on Instagram on Wednesday

The British-American actress announced her brother had passed away last month following years of health battles (Alice and Tony pictured)

Explaining her brother's condition before his death, Alice said: 'He went into hospital and they thought he was going to be out just overnight, they thought it was just an infection, and then things went very rapidly downhill.

'Then we had a week where we thought he was going to be okay and we were asking for prayers. Then just sudden brutal notice that there was no activity.'

Alice revealed that her children 'spoke to him many times a week on FaceTime so it's very sudden, very upsetting.

'Terrible for his poor wife who's not even 40 but it's something we're going to have to deal with it and it's going to take a long time.'

Later in the video, Alice said she 'will never be the same again' after the loss of her beloved brother.

Last month, Alice, 57, asked her fans to say prayers for Tony, admitting it 'wasn't looking good' for her sibling.

Taking to her Instagram Stories, the star penned on top of a blank snap: 'Please everybody. Say prayers for my beloved brother Tony tonight. It's not looking good. 'I loved you all,' with a crying face emoji.

In a tragic update days later, Alice announced that Tony had passed away days before as she shared a heartbreaking statement.

Filming an Instagram live, where she was joined by her daughter Elsie, 13, on Wednesday, Alice revealed that Tony's passing was 'sudden'

Alice took to her Instagram last month to share the devastating news that Tony had died

Ahead of his death, Alice shared that it 'wasn't looking good' as she asked for prayers for Tony

Alice wrote: 'I cant believe I'm writing this. On Thursday, at 6.42pm, our beloved Tone left this earth.

'My brother, my best friend, the most incredible husband to Rachel, and beloved Uncle Tone to my girls who became so close to him in these past few years thanks to the wonders of face time.

'Tony was the kindest, most loyal, funniest, warm person I could have ever hoped to have had as a sibling. He will leave a gaping hole in the lives of me and the girls, that I have no idea how I will fill.

'Rachel, you are the strongest person I know and this week has been hell for all of us but especially you. You are the most caring, beautiful person and my sister forever. You and Tone were meant for each other.

'I have never met another couple so in love and so dedicated. Its just unthinkable that your story has to end here.

'Tone - I dont remember life without you in it and I have no idea how to even go about trying. RIP my beautiful, perfect brother.'

Ahead of his death, Alice shared that it 'wasn't looking good' as she asked for prayers for Tony.

She was flooded with well-wishes for her brother, but it was also met with a cruel troll.

They commented: 'Let's say the worst happens... does Alice bring the kids? Does she shame loan publicly in an attempt to get him to pay for the round-trip flights x3?

In a tragic update on Saturday, Alice announced that her brother had passed away days before as she shared a heartbreaking statement

Alice previously shared a sweet throwback snap of her and Tony in the 1970s. The siblings were seen smiling at the camera as they posed in the black-and-white shot

'Will she fire up the GFM for the third time? Does Daddy Evans go? Does Mrs Evans go? Will Alice even be invited? We know it won't stop her. Will Alice make a big scene about her when they should be there for Tony?

'Could it coincide with the court date next month? Loss is loss but this would be a logistical nightmare.'

Alice called out the troll by posting a screenshot of the comment on her Instagram.

Alongside the snap, she wrote: 'This person is scum. Utter scum. You lost a sister yet you speak like this about me losing a brother? You nasty piece of work.'
Nicholas Lyndhurst will pay tribute to late son Archie by relaunching his fashion line, five years after the teenager's tragic death.

Archie died in his sleep after suffering an intracerebral haemorrhage caused by acute lymphoblastic lymphoma - an incredibly rare condition which kills around 800 people a year.

A promising young actor whose TV credits included So Awkward and Jack Whitehall comedy Bad Education, the 19-year old had also launched his own streetwear range, Fated To Pretend, in 2017.

Devastated parents Nicholas, 64, and Lucy will now honour their late son's memory by relaunching the brand as they approach the fifth anniversary of his death on September 30.

Taking to Instagram on Saturday, Lucy shared a brief promotional video for the brand alongside a poignant message to her son.

Captioning the clip, she wrote: 'For you Archie from the proudest parents alive. There are still people yet to meet you. We love you. Mama & Old Man.'

Nicholas Lyndhurst will pay tribute to late son Archie by relaunching his fashion line, five years after the teenager's tragic death (Pictured: Nicholas and Archie in 2011)

Archie died in his sleep after suffering an intracerebral haemorrhage caused by acute lymphoblastic lymphoma - an incredibly rare condition which kills around 800 people a year

Fated To Pretend relaunches on October 4, eight years after Archie devised the brand as a creative outlet for his love of skateboarding.

Speaking in March 2020, six months before his death, he said: 'Fated To Pretend started when I was 17 years old and it came from me being a skater and being into streetwear.

'I had originally decided to make my own skateboard company, as I wasnt really interested in making clothes.'

He added: 'When I was 18, started going through my life and I thought I could make something creative. I channelled the problems I was having in my life into Fated To Pretend.

'I created this brand from my own pain and from my own life and thats why its so personal to me, and why Im so passionate about what Im doing.

'Fated To Pretend is always going to be the biggest passion project Ill ever work on. Im going to keep working on it until the day I die because I adore it.'

Nicholas, best known for his role as dimwitted Rodney Trotter in Only Fools And Horses, and wife Lucy were left devastated when Archie of a brain haemorrhage.

Marking the first anniversary of his death on social media in September 2021, Lucy wrote: 'It's so hard to believe that it's already been a week since we passed a year without you.

Taking to Instagram on Saturday, Lucy shared a brief promotional video for the brand alongside a poignant message to her son

Fated To Pretend relaunches on October 4, eight years after Archie devised the brand as a creative outlet for his love of skateboarding

'Thank you to everyone who came to show their love for our magical boy. Your friendship and kindness is beyond amazing and incredibly appreciated.

'To have to live without you is the biggest test of endurance we will ever face. We miss you every second of everyday. Life threw us the cruelest card.

'Who would have thought that the silence in a home could be so deafening. We love you with every fibre of our being Archie. That will never change.

'And we are beyond grateful and honoured for every moment we had.'

She added: 'Some people aren't lucky enough to experience such love, but our days were filled with it from the moment we awoke to the moment we slept.

'We love you and miss you more than words could ever describe, the vocabulary simply doesn't exist. Thank you for choosing us.

'We hold on tight to every treasured memory, we are lucky, the list is endless.

'You are, and always will be the most extraordinary human being I will ever have the privilege to know.

'Love you to the moon and back and beyond. Forever.'
Saoirse Ronan and Jack Lowden have welcomed their first child.

The Little Women star, 31, and her actor husband, 35, were spotted enjoying a low-key stroll in London while pushing their buggy earlier this month.

In images obtained by The Sun, new parents cosied up before Jack gazed into their Nuna buggy, which costs around 1.2k with all accessories.

Saoirse's pregnancy came to light when she debuted a baby bump at the Louis Vuitton Cruise 2026 at PFW in May before being confirmed by various outlets.

Jack is in the midst of filming a new Pride and Prejudice adaptation, in which he stars as Mr Darcy, however his baby news has slowed down production.

Saoirse Ronan and Jack Lowden have welcomed their first child

The Little Women star, 31, and her actor husband, 35, were spotted enjoying a low-key stroll in London while pushing their buggy earlier this month (pictured in May while unveiling her bump)

A source on set said: It is such lovely news that Jack has become a father and nobody would ever have an issue with him taking paternity leave.

But the show must go on, and that means the producers have had to keep on filming and that has meant they have had to have some stand-ins for Mr Darcy.

So it has been a case of lookalikes for Jack so that there is no disruption.

When their pregnancy was revealed, it was revealed the couple were 'thrilled' at the fact they are to become a family less than a year after they married in Edinburgh.

They met on the set of historical drama Mary Queen Of Scots, where Saoirse had the leading role and Jack played Lord Darnley, Marys husband.

In a rare insight into her private life last year, Saoirse described how it was her dream to be a parent: 'I became successful when I was quite young...

'It meant that by the time I found my partner, I'm at the stage where if it happened, I would like to have a kid. I've always wanted that...

The couple are pictured in February at the BAFTAs

Jack is in the midst of filming a new Pride and Prejudice adaptation, in which he stars as Mr Darcy, however his baby news has slowed down production (pictured last year)

'I feel fortunate enough that if I step out of this for a minute, Im hopefully not giving it up forever. But, yeah, Ive always wanted that.'

Jack has described his wife as a 'force of nature, on and off-screen'.

He said on a Build Series Panel: 'The woman is a force of nature on and off-screen, and utterly fearless and a brilliant leader as well.'

Saoirse will next star as a teacher in thriller Bad Apples while Jack  who has been tipped as the next James Bond - is stepping into Mr Darcy's shoes.
Radiohead fans are bracing for disappointment ahead of tickets going on sale on Friday for their 2025 UK and Ireland tour dates.

The rock band, who were formed in 1985, will take to the stage at the O2 Arena in London this November for four shows.

Eager fans had been invited to register for an 'unlock code' to access tickets before the general sale on Friday.

However, it's now been revealed there are more codes than tickets as many fans missed out on a spot in the presale.

The terms and conditions revealed: 'Organiser anticipates that the number of Unlock Codes made available for each Venue will be equivalent to 120% of the aggregate number of tickets available for that Venue (across all performances taking place at that Venue).'

This means there will be a higher proportion of unlock codes than there will be spaces at the venue.

Radiohead fans are bracing for disappointment ahead of tickets going on sale on Friday for their 2025 UK and Ireland tour dates

The rock band, who were formed in 1985, will take to the stage at the O2 Arena in London this November for four shows (pictured in 1996)

Daily Mail has contacted a representative for Radiohead for comment.

While every fan with an unlock code might not secure tickets, the sheer number of codes means some buyers may only be able to buy one, two or three tickets, as opposed to the maximum allowance of four under their ticket code.

Some fans have taken to web forum Reddit and attempted to do the math as others shared their theories.

One hypothesised: 'It means if a venue has 100 people capacity and they are playing four nights, they will give out 100x120%x4=120x4=480 unlock codes.'

Another wrote: 'You're gonna have 120% of the venues capacity all trying to get 2-4 tickets each. I'm no mathematician but around 25-30% of people are gonna get tickets that have codes'.

Meanwhile, the band are facing boycotts from pro-Palestine fans after guitarist Jonny Greenwood performed in Tel Aviv.

Pro-Palestine fans have threatened to boycott the tour after guitarist Jonny Greenwood performed in Israel in May last year.

Greenwood played at the Barby Club in Tel Aviv in 2024 with Israeli musician Dudu Tassa whom he had collaborated with on their 2023 album, Jarak Qaribak.

Eager fans had been invited to register for an 'unlock code' to access tickets before they were released for general sale on Friday

The band's 2025 UK and Ireland tour will be their first in seven years, with diehard fans desperately trying to get their hands on tickets

Fans have been left devastated after failing to secure tickets

The album included reworkings of Middle Eastern love songs recorded in Tel Aviv and Oxfordshire and the ensemble also featured musicians from Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait and Iraq.

Greenwood previously defended his choice to play in festivals in Europe with Tassa, saying in a statement: 'I've been collaborating with Dudu and releasing music with him since 2008 - and working privately long before that.

'I think an artistic project that combines Arab and Jewish musicians is worthwhile. And one that reminds everyone that Jewish cultural roots in countries like Iraq and Yemen go back for thousands of years, is also important.'

He added: 'Silencing Israeli artists for being born Jewish in Israel doesn't seem like any way to reach an understanding between the two sides of this apparently endless conflict.'

Earlier this year, Greenwood and Tassa's collective had to cancel two UK performances after reports of credible threats to the gigs.

Greenwood said at the time that they 'dread the weaponisation of this cancellation by reactionary figures as much as we lament its celebration by some progressives'.

Radiohead performed in Tel Aviv on their last tour in July 2017, despite calls to cancel the performance.
Harry Potter fans went wild as it was revealed Keira Knightley is the latest star to sign up for the upcoming Harry Potter audiobook series.

The actress, 40, will voice the role of Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions - a collaboration between Audible and Pottermore Publishing, the latter of which is owed by controversial author J. K. Rowling.

A host of stars have joined the prestigious cast, including James McAvoy, Matthew Macfadyen, Hugh Laurie, Michelle Gomez and Riz Ahmed.

Having been portrayed by Imelda Staunton in two of the eight films, Umbridge is a terror in the Wizarding World - with horror author Stephen King branding her the 'greatest make-believe villain to come along since Hannibal Lecter'.

Some fans appeared to struggle picturing Keira's voice in the role, yet others voiced their excitement over the 'awesome' news.

Harry Potter fans went wild as it was revealed Keira Knightley is the latest star to sign up for the upcoming Harry Potter audiobook series

Rowling, 59, has faced intense criticism in recent years for her gender critical views, including from several stars of the Harry Potter films

Some fans appeared to struggle picturing Keira's voice in the role, yet others voiced their excitement over the 'awesome' news

Excited fans wrote: 'I love this cast. McAvoy, Keira. Ruth. OMG!... Awesome cast!... This casting lineup is absolutely magical Excited to hear such incredible talent bring our favorite characters to life in the #HarryPotter audiobook series'.

While Keira is joining fellow esteemed actors in signing up for the audio series, her casting had some scratching their heads in wonderment over her voice fitting the evil character - a stark contrast to her usual roles.

X users penned: 'Hold up Keira Knightly as Umbridge... How can Keira knightly play umbridge!?... Aside from the obvious idiocy of all of this, who thought Keira Knightly was a good voice fit for Umbridge?'

Rowling critics also criticised Keira for her allegience with the author who has faced intense criticism in recent years for her gender critical views, including from several stars of the Harry Potter films.

The author has denied being transphobic, but she previously said she would 'happily' go to jail for misgendering a trans person and is using the new Harry Potter TV series to fund organisations dedicated to removing trans rights.

Professor Umbridge, whose character was introduced in the 2003 book Harry Potter And The Order of the Phoenix, was originally played by Imelda Staunton in the 2007 movie of the book and 2010's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows  Part 1.

The first book in the seven-part series was 1997's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, while 2007's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was the final tome.

The movie franchise, fronted by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, featured eight films and it has since been revealed the story of The Boy Who Lived will be retold in a HBO series due for release in 2027.

The adult cast of Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions includes Hugh Laurie as Albus Dumbledore, Matthew Macfadyen as Lord Voldemort, Riz Ahmed as Professor Snape, and Cush Jumbo as narrator

Professor Umbridge, whose character was introduced in the 2003 book Harry Potter And The Order of the Phoenix, was originally played by Imelda Staunton in the 2007 movie of the book and 2010's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows  Part 1

In yet another rehashing, earlier this year the Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions was announced, with an all-star cast reading the books. The original audiobooks were voiced by acting great Stephen Fry.

Stephen has now turned his back on the author, accusing her of 'mocking' LGBT+ people and insisting he supports the trans community.

Amid criticism over the signing, others penned: 'In defence of Keira Knightley, James McAvoy and the like, theyre not working directly with that other big TERF, JK Rowling...

'Theyve probably just chosen to serve the work itself and make it accessible for children, as well as for people who are visually impaired or dyslexic...

'The contract is mainly signed with Audible. I dont think we should jump to the conclusion of Keira Knightley and James McAvoy are transphobic....

'I think they simply didnt anticipate the disappointment the LGBTQ+ community might feel towards them for taking the job...

Crazy how Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Kit Harington, Simon Pegg and half of British acting royalty all saw this as just another cool job...

'Its not the world-ending issue you think it is, its just you being consumed by hatred of one woman with political views you dont like.'

Rowling has been slammed by several stars of the Harry Potter films such as Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson (Both seen with Rowling and Rupert Grint in 2010)

Others pointed out the contact did not mean a direct affiliation with Rowling
Billie Piper and her close friend Lily James swapped the screen for the trading floor on Thursday as they joined forces in London.

The stars and longtime pals were among the big names taking part in the 21st BGC Annual Charity Day.

For the event, Billie, 42, cut a chic figure in a black faux-fur jacket layered over a 'Choose Love' slogan tee and a satin mini skirt.

She finished off her look with a pair of black boots and minimal accessories.

Meanwhile Lily, 36, kept it stylish in a black jumper paired with grey pinstripe trousers.

The pair appeared in good spirits as they posed up a storm for the cameras on the red carpet.

Billie Piper and her close friend Lily James swapped the screen for the trading floor on Thursday as they joined forces in London

The stars and longtime pals were among the big names taking part in the 21st BGC Annual Charity Day (pictured Lily)

For the event, Billie, 42, cut a chic figure in a black faux-fur jacket layered over a 'Choose Love' slogan tee and a satin mini skirt

They were joined by a host of other celebrities including Davina McCall, Amanda Holden and Holly Willoughby.

Since its inception, Charity Day has raised approximately 220million globally.

The BGC Group each year commemorates the 658 friends and colleagues and 61 Euro brokers employees, who lost their lives in 2001.

On BGC Charity Day, 100% of BGC Group's revenue and broker commissions are donated directly to the participating charities.

This year's beneficiaries include grassroot and community charities such as HVH Arts, 20/20 Levels, The Pearl Fund, West Ham United Foundation, Battersea Cats and Dogs Home and The Mayor's Fund for London through to national.

There are also many international charities, such as Action Medical Research, Choose Love, Space for Giants and Help For Heroes.

Sean Windeatt, BGC Group's Co Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer, said: 'Every year, BGC Charity Day is both humbling and uplifting.

'The first thing we had to do post-9/11 was look after the families of those we had lost.

Meanwhile Lily, 36, kept it stylish in a black jumper paired with grey pinstripe trousers

The pair appeared in good spirits as they posed up a storm for the cameras on the red carpet

They were joined by a host of other celebrities including Holly Willoughby

Amanda Holden and Davina McCall were also in attendance

'Once we had done that we asked ourselves what better way to honour them than by turning something so tragic into something so positive and in 2005 the first BGC Charity Day took place.

'Today, that legacy continues. We are delighted to be supporting 60 charities here in the UK and many more around the world.

'Importantly, 100% of revenues and broker commission from the day - goes directly to charity.

'It has never been more important for the City and business community to give back and I want to thank all of our brokers, who give up their commission today for good causes, our employees who work so hard to make the event a success and our clients, whose generosity makes it possible for us to support so many charities.

'Last year alone, BGC Charity Day raised over $12 million globally and we are proud to be building on that this year.'
As anyone over a certain age can attest, time can be a cruel mistress for all but the fortunate few - especially in Hollywood.

Indeed, in a city where youth is the dominant currency it's hard to catch a break once you reach that pivotal moment of mid-life uncertainty, unless of course you happen to be Matt Dillon.

With his smouldering screen presence, exaggerated swagger and cheekbones sharp enough to cut glass, Dillon was up there with era defining heartthrobs Tom Cruise and Rob Lowe after emerging as one to watch in Francis Ford Coppola's 1982 classic, The Outsiders.

Not without reason he was famously heralded as the 'James Bond of his era,' at a time when the then-faltering franchise was crying out for a young, box-office friendly alternative to the ageing Roger Moore.

But while that licence to kill never did materialise, Dillon proved he still looks the part by astonishing fans with his remarkably preserved looks in a recently filmed interview, which has since gone viral.

The actor, who celebrated his 61st birthday in February, was on hand to discuss his favourite films with American home-video distribution company Criterion Collection, but viewers were more interested in his youthful appearance than his anecdotes.

Matt Dillon's youthful appearance during a recently filmed interview for Criterion Collection left many fans stunned. The Hollywood actor celebrated his 61st birthday in February

Matt Dillon's youthful appearance during a recently filmed interview for Criterion Collection left many fans stunned. The Hollywood actor celebrated his 61st birthday in February

An edited segment from the interview has since amassed more than 2.5 million views, with fans sharing the same enthusiastic sentiment regarding his naturally good looks.

'Forgot how cool and handsome he is. Also holy s**t he's aged well,' posted one impressed viewer.

Evidently in agreement, a second added: 'Matt Dillon has got to be the hottest 61-year-old on the planet.'

While a third raved: 'Happy to see him, great pics he looks like he hasn't aged at all.'

'I just Googled and was gagged to discover Matt Dillon is 61  and still looks like this,' a fourth viewer commented.

Elsewhere a fifth joked: 'This is how you age when you never get married.'

That may well be the case, but Dillon has enjoyed a string of high profile romances throughout his career - notably a three year relationship with Cameron Diaz, his co-star in 1998 comedy There's Something About Mary.

Speaking in 2006, the actor suggested that one of the reasons for their separation was his desire to start a family and Cameron's reluctance to settle down at the young age of 26.

The actor, was on hand to discuss his favourite films with Criterion, but viewers were more interested in his youthful appearance than his anecdotes

He told Parade magazine: 'I fell in love. It's a very powerful thing when you feel that way about somebody. Cameron was a muse for me. I hadn't been in any deep emotional relationships.

'I sometimes think love is God's way of hoodwinking people into having kids. You fall in love, and all that passion goes into procreating and wanting children.'

From 2014 he was in a relationship with the Italian actress, dancer and choreographer Roberta Mastromichele, spending much of his time in Rome before they quietly separated in 2024.

His film career has been no less varied, with Dillon veering from the squalor of addiction in Gus Van Sant's critically acclaimed Drugstore Cowboy to Washington state's burgeoning grunge rock scene in Singles.

But after a run of lukewarm comedies throughout the '90s it was a starring role as racially conflicted police officer John Ryan in the Paul Haggis directed Crash that signalled a career renaissance and earned him critical recognition.

Dillon burst onto the scene with smouldering screen presence, an exaggerated swagger and cheekbones sharp enough to cut glass

Speaking in 2006, the actor suggested that one of the reasons for their separation was his desire to start a family and Cameron's reluctance to settle down at the young age of 26 (pictured together in 1998)

From 2014 he was in a relationship with the Italian actress, dancer and choreographer Roberta Mastromichele, spending much of his time in Rome before they quietly separated in 2024

'Obviously, its still relevant,' he said of the film in 2023. 'A lot of things in that movie are much more in the forefront of the conversation now. And you know not a lot of people were interested when we made it.

'But there was a payoff. Sometimes when you take risks in film, it can be rewarding. You can have such freedom, and yet theres so much fear in this business. Thats why its so tough.'

The role earned him an Independent Spirit Award and Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor and marked a return to grittier film work after a series of lukewarm comedies.

'The reality is that when youre an actor, sometimes it comes down to the material and the job and the people youre working with - but its often the material,' he told Parade of his career choices.

'When the material is good, its a joy to come to work.'
Brooklyn Beckham's ex-girlfriend Lexi Wood has opened up on her relationship with the aspiring cook, revealing they were together for longer than they let fans believe.

The Summer House star started dating the 26-year-old budding entrepreneur in 2018 and they were together for 'more than a year' before he met his now-wife Nicola, 30, in October 2019.

'I think when it broke out [in the news], we probably dated for longer than people thought, but because we were both young, we really did love privacy,' Lexi, 27, told the Daily Mail.

The Canadian model was first linked to David and Victoria Beckham's eldest after they were seen passionately kissing at a tattoo parlor in West Hollywood in April 2018 shortly after he and actress Chloe Grace Moretz split.

They were together 'for a long while after' the public sighting of them and kept their relationship on the down low.

Lexi described her famous ex as 'an amazing person' and proved there are no hard feelings with Nicola.

Brooklyn Beckham's ex Lexi Wood has opened up on her relationship with the aspiring cook, revealing they were together way longer than they let fans believe

The Summer House star started dating the 26-year-old budding entrepreneur in 2018 and they were together for 'more than a year' before he met his now-wife Nicola, 30, in October 2019

'I love that he has moved on to his amazing relationship and marriage,' she said. 'I wish nothing but the best for both of them.

'I know [Nicola's] brothers and her and I have met a couple times and, honestly, from the outside looking in, they're all amazing,' Lexi said.

'His life has moved on so much. My life has moved on so much... I just love this chapter for him and them and I just really respect everything.'

What started as the perfect marriage with blended families - Brooklyn and Nicola got married in April 2022 at her family's estate in Palm Beach, Florida - has turned into an all-out family feud with the happy couple becoming estranged from his famous parents.

Victoria, 51, and David, 50, as well as Brooklyn's brothers Romeo, 23, and Cruz, 20, were not part of the 200 strong guests who attended the couple's lavish 'second' wedding ceremony, which took place last month at the Peltz estate in Westchester County, New York.

Brooklyn's 14-year-old sister Harper, his grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles were also absent.

When asked about their family feud, Lexi, told the Daily Mail: 'I think that you never know what happens behind closed doors.

'And all I know is my experience and my experience was amazing - Romeo and Cruz are the best people I've ever met. They're the best.'

Lexi described her famous ex as 'an amazing person' and proved there are no hard feelings with Nicola as she gushed over the US actress who reportedly has bad blood with Brooklyn's family

When asked about their family feud, Lexi, said: 'I think that you never know what happens behind closed doors. And all I know is my experience and my experience was amazing'

She went on to spill that she got to spend time with Victoria and David and praised them for raising 'such a great family,' especially 'brilliant' Brooklyn.

'And I just think the moment that I met his parents, they raised such a great family and I'm so family oriented that that's something that I've just always really looked up to and I hope to have one day,' she remarked.

'So I just respect them, I respect her family, I respect all of them. And my experience was really great.'

The TV personality could only theorize on the family drama. 'I think as people grow up, things shift, things change,' she said. 'Time is always evolving.'

Lexi, who was speaking at the launch of her new collection with Hanky Panky, said when she was with Brooklyn they 'didn't really hang out with either of our parents'.

'We were really just hanging out with our siblings and having the best time,' she continued. 'But all I know is that the Beckhams did raise such amazing kids with such amazing morals and values that whatever is going on, I just know they did exactly the best thing.'

Lexi - who was linked to rapper Drake and also dated Presley Gerber and her Summer House castmate Jesse Solomon on the set of season nine - previously praised Victoria and David during an interview on The Viall Files podcast.

Sharing an update on her current relationship status, she told the Daily Mail: 'I am single and we'll see what happens.

She went on to spill that she got to spend time with Victoria and David and praised them for raising 'such a great family,' especially 'brilliant' Brooklyn

Sharing an update on her current relationship status, she told the Daily Mail: 'I am single and we'll see what happens'

'I'm more confident in who I am, therefore I'm able to kind of share who I am and know that someone will connect to that and I love that,' she added. (Pictured in her new Hanky Panky collection)

'I evolve. Every single human evolves. And I think for me, when I was younger, being with Brooklyn, or other people I've been with, it was things that you want to just - when you're so young you want to keep just a little bubble in your heart.

'As I get older, I think that there's such power and vulnerability in being open and just having that interaction with other human beings where it's like, "Yeah, I'm struggling, so is somebody else. Let's connect on this."

'And I think that that's so beautiful. So I think as I get older, I really understand. I think it also has to do with confidence.

'I'm more confident in who I am, therefore I'm able to kind of share who I am and know that someone will connect to that and I love that.'
China firmly opposes Israel's violation of Qatar's territorial sovereignty and national security

Xinhua) 16:07, September 11, 2025

BEIJING, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- China sternly condemns the airstrike in the Qatari capital of Doha and firmly opposes Israel's violation of Qatar's territorial sovereignty and national security, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday.

Lin said at a daily press briefing that China is deeply concerned that the attack could lead to further escalation of regional tensions and is dissatisfied with actions of relevant parties that deliberately undermine the Gaza ceasefire negotiations.

He stressed that force cannot bring peace to the Middle East while dialogue and negotiation are the fundamental way out.

Noting that the conflict in Gaza has now persisted for nearly two years, Lin said that China strongly urges all relevant parties, particularly Israel, to make more active efforts to cease fighting and resume negotiations, rather than the other way around.

When asked about China's comment on Israel's notification to the United States before the airstrike on Hamas' site in Doha, Lin said "we are deeply concerned about the relevant reports."

"This is inextricably linked to the long-term serious imbalance in the position of certain external countries on the Middle East issues," Lin added.

"We advise certain major countries to prioritize regional peace and stability, uphold a fair and responsible attitude, and work with the international community to play a constructive role in promoting a ceasefire, ending the war, and easing regional tensions," the spokesperson said.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Liang Jun)
Britney Spears' ties with her family remain fractured, nearly three years after a court terminated her 13-year conservatorship.

Insiders have painted a complicated picture of where she stands with her parents, Jamie Spears and Lynne Spears, and siblings, Jamie Lynn and Bryan.

On Thursday, multiple sources confirmed the pop star's relationship with her father is virtually beyond repair.

'Britney's relationship with her dad is nonexistent,' one source explained. 'There's no chance of reconciliation.'

A second insider went further, revealing: 'There's zero communication on either side, and that's how she likes it. Furious doesn't even begin to cover how she feels about him and what he did to her. She'll never forgive him.'

Meanwhile, Jamie is said to have 'accepted' their estrangement and to be living a 'quiet life now.'

'With the conservatorship over, the only stress in his life now is his health,' the source explained.

Britney Spears' ties with her family remain fractured, nearly three years after a court terminated her 13-year conservatorship; pictured with dad, Jamie, brother Bryan and mother Lynne in 2006

Yet another source offered a slightly different perspective, noting Britney 'still loves her dad,' and even 'offered to pay for his healthcare and find the best doctors' when he underwent a leg amputation in late 2023 following a severe infection.

While Jamie insisted his control of her finances, career and personal liberties during her her conservatorship was to protect her wellbeing, Britney claimed it was 'abusive' and likened her situation to being a 'sex trafficking victim.'

Things with her mother also remain complicated.

One insider described the connection as 'very fragile,' saying: '[Lynne] reaches out to Britney for the most part. They talk and text every few weeks. [There are] no plans for [her] mom to visit anytime soon.'

A second source explained how delicate the situation is: '[Britney] and her mom still have highs and lows. One day they're working on their relationship, the next they won't speak for weeks.'

Lynne reportedly tries to 'treat the situation with as much care as possible, but she also doesn't want to sit back and do nothing.'

'She'd love more than anything to be close with Britney again,' the insider explained. 'They used to be best friends. Lynne understands Britney is still hurt and traumatized by the conservatorship, but she hopes one day they can focus on the future and not the past.'

Still, a third insider pointed out that Britney 'knows her mom is a great woman and loves her dearly.'

Multiple sources confirmed the pop star's relationship with her father is virtually beyond repair and 'nonexistent'

One source revealed Britney's relationship with her mom is 'very fragile' and that they 'talk and text every few weeks' (seen in 2001)

After a highly publicized 2022 rift sparked by Jamie Lynn's memoir, Things I Should Have Said, the sisters have been quietly working on reconciliation.

'Britney and Jamie Lynn are doing better, and they're planning on getting together soon,' one source shared. 'The girls decided to keep their relationship problems out of the public eye. They FaceTime every few weeks, and Jamie Lynn is planning on visiting Britney next month in L.A.'

Another insider added: 'They really love one another, but they can be hardheaded siblings.'

Of all her relatives, Britney is said to be closest to her brother, Bryan, 48.

He moved in with her following her split from Sam Asghari in August 2023, and the two have enjoyed several trips together in the past year.

'Britney and Bryan are still close,' the first source confirmed. 'He stays out of her issues with the rest of the family.'

'Britney and Jamie Lynn are doing better, and they're planning on getting together soon,' one source shared of where Britney stands with her younger sister; seen in 2017

In December 2024, Britney reunited with her youngest son, Jayden James, over the holidays.

At the time, she revealed to her Instagram followers that she 'hadn't seen him in 2 and half years or maybe 3.'

She added: 'He came back and he feels older and smarter than me !!! He's a man and I cry everyday of my life because of the miracle and genius he is!!!'

Over the summer, he visited his mom again in California.

'He is 6'3 and his hands are so big now!!! How long am I going to be in shock ??? It's so incredibly crazy, it's not even funny!!! I'm blessed!!!' she captioned a photo of them together on Instagram.

In November 2024, a source told Us Weekly Jayden had 'reached out' to Britney to mend their relationship.

In December 2024, Britney reunited with her youngest son, Jayden James, over the holidays; seen over the summer together

'Jayden is spending time back in California but does not live with Britney,' the source also said. 'All of his friends are still in California and he wanted to come back after graduating high school. Jayden reached out to Britney and initiated conversation.'

The insider continued: 'He is open to mending the relationship with his mom and seeing where things go. It's going to take time and will not be an immediate reconciliation. They have seen each other twice and [it] was very brief.'

The source also said that Spears is hopeful Jayden's brother, Sean Preston, will aso want to connect in the near future.

'Britney was very excited to hear from him. She hopes they can continue to spend time together and hopes Preston also comes around,' the source claimed. 'She has had a hole in her heart from not seeing her boys. Jayden reaching out means everything to her.'

'Jayden and Britney have a great relationship,' a second source added, noting teen will 'likely be based in California long-term,' with plans to attend college there.
Bruce Willis wife Emma Heming is opening up about one of the most painful chapters in her family's journey with the actor's dementia diagnosis  the day she had to explain to their daughters that their dad could no longer live at home.

The Die Hard icon, 70, was diagnosed in 2023 with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a cruel condition that strips away language and personality.

He has since stepped back from Hollywood, while Emma has taken on the role of guiding their family through the heartbreaking changes.

Married for 16 years, the couple share two daughters, Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11.

Emma revealed last week that her 'hardest decision' was moving Bruce into a separate residence, where he is now supported by a round-the-clock care team as his health declines.

In her new book, The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path, Emma recounts the traumatic moment she sat her girls down to share the devastating news  a memory she describes as both heartbreaking and life-altering.

Bruce Willis  wife Emma Heming is opening up about one of the most painful chapters in her family's journey with the actor's dementia diagnosis  the day she had to explain to their daughters that their dad could no longer live at home; (pictured 2013)

Married for 16 years, the couple share two daughters, Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11

'"Weve come to a point in Daddys disease where the care he requires is changing. It has to be more tailored to his every need," I told them. "And you should be in a home that is more tailored to your needs now,"' Emma wrote, per TooFab.

'"Also, Daddy would want you to have playdates, sleepovers, and more freedom than youve been able to have here. That would make him so happy."'

Emma said she tried to soften the blow for Mabel and Evelyn by telling them Bruces new residence would simply be their 'second home.'

She explained that the house was set up as 'a place theyd keep personal things like toys, arts and crafts supplies, bathing suits, pjs, and games, and that we could go stay with him anytime they wanted.

Though she admitted the decision was 'painful,' Emma emphasized that it reflected what Bruce would have wanted for their family.

'Even though theyd lived with his disease for so long that they understood, and even though this decision ensures Bruces overall well-being and safety and allows our young children to thrive, it was an uncertain and painful time for us,' she shared.

'In fact, its still painful for me. After all, this is my husband, and having him in another home was not part of the future wed mapped out together. You really cant dream this stuff up.'

The book reveals comes after Emma revealed the devastating day she learned her husband was facing a future with dementia.

'"Weve come to a point in Daddys disease where the care he requires is changing. It has to be more tailored to his every need," I told them. "And you should be in a home that is more tailored to your needs now,"' Emma wrote in new new book

Emma said she tried to soften the blow for Mabel and Evelyn by telling them Bruces new residence would simply be their 'second home'

'I'm sure the doctor was explaining what FTD is, [but] I couldn't hear a single thing,' she told People on Friday.

'I had pins and needles going through my body. My ears were wafting. I'm sure he was feeding us information but all I heard was just, "Check back in and here's a pamphlet".'

While the diagnosis finally explained Bruces troubling behavioral changes, Emma says she was left shaken by the lack of direction or support.

'I was grateful to get to a diagnosis, but there is no cure for this disease, and being sent on our way with no support, no nothing was really traumatic,' she admitted.

'It's not just happening to us. This is how many people are receiving their diagnosis.'

Like millions of Americans facing dementia in their families, Emma found herself without a clear path forward after Bruces diagnosis.

With little guidance from doctors, she turned to her own research.

'I ended up searching the web to figure out what to do,' she admitted.

'I'm sure the doctor was explaining what FTD is, [but] I couldn't hear a single thing,' she told People on Friday; 'I had pins and needles going through my body. My ears were wafting. I'm sure he was feeding us information but all I heard was just, "Check back in and here's a pamphlet"'; (pictured in 2018)

That period, she recalls, was profoundly isolating and 'bleak.'

Early on, life felt very dark, very one-note of just grief and sadness, she explained.

As the primary caregiver, Emma says she felt overwhelmed  balancing Bruces needs, safeguarding his privacy, and raising their two young daughters largely on her own.

Eventually, she began carving out a way forward.

She leaned on medical experts, connected with others in similar situations, and found a sense of purpose in speaking out.

Early on I was too scared to say anything to anyone. It felt like what was happening was only happening to us, she said.

I realized it would be beneficial to talk about it and raise awareness so people get to the doctor sooner, can be diagnosed sooner, get into clinical trials.

That hard-won perspective has now shaped her new book, The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path, written as a guide for families navigating neurodegenerative disease.

'I was grateful to get to a diagnosis, but there is no cure for this disease, and being sent on our way with no support, no nothing was really traumatic,' she admitted

I wrote the book that I wish someone had handed me on the day we received the diagnosis, she explained.

Caregiving is hard, and there are many people doing it with little to no support ... The only way I can get through this is to help someone else feel less alone.

Her remarks come after a family insider informed the Daily Mail that Bruce is 'going downhill fast' to the point he 'doesn't know some faces' anymore.

Bruce's blended family has rallied around him amid his illness, including his ex-wife Demi Moore and their daughters Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 31.

The Daily Mail source said Bruce's daughters are 'are all spending as much time with him as they can,' adding: 'He lights up when he sees his children.'

Emma recently revealed that the 'hardest decision' she took while looking after him was moving him into a separate one-story house away from their primary residence.

He lives there with a full-time care team, while Emma brings their daughters Mabel and Evelyn to visit him 'a lot,' including for breakfast and dinner.

'Bruce would want that for our daughters,' said Emma. 'He would want them to be in a home that was more tailored to their needs, not his needs.'

Early on, life felt very dark, very one-note of just grief and sadness, Emma explained

The couple made the revelation during a joint ABC special with Diane Sawyer entitled Emma and Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey.

Days after the broadcast aired, Emma posted to Instagram saying she had been criticized online for moving Bruce into a separate house.

She argued she had been judged 'quickly and unfairly,' saying viewers were split between 'people with an opinion versus people with an actual experience.'

During the Diane Sawyer special, Emma explained: 'Bruce is still very mobile. Bruce is in really great health overall, you know. It's just his brain that is failing him.'

She added: 'We have a way of communicating with him that is just a different, a different way, but I'm grateful. I'm grateful that my husband is still very much here.'
Savannah Chrisley said she was supposed to join Charlie Kirk on his college campus speaking tour in October.

The 28-year-old reality TV personality shared an emotional TikTok video late Wednesday night as she mourned her late friend.

The conservative political activist was fatally shot earlier that day during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University in Orem. He was 31.

The event was the first stop on Kirk's American Comeback Tour, which was supposed to travel to college campuses across the U.S. through September and October.

'Today's been a tough day,' she said in the video as tears rolled down her face before adding that she was preparing to join him on his speaking tour next month.

She said Kirk had supported her as she worked to free her parents, Todd and Julie Chrisley, from prison over the last two and a half years.

Savannah Chrisley said she was supposed to join Charlie Kirk on his college campus speaking tour amid news of his death; pictured September 2023 in Los Angeles

The conservative political activist was fatally shot earlier that day during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University in Orem. He was 31; pictured December 2024 in Phoenix

Her mother and father were convicted of tax evasion and bank and wire fraud in 2022.

They were released from prison upon receiving a presidential pardon from President Donald Trump in May of this year.

She said: 'The past two and a half years of my life have been some of the hardest years I've ever had to endure.

'But in those two and a half years, I've met so many people, great people and lifelong friends,' she continued. 'And one of those people that brought me into their world was Charlie Kirk.'

She also shared her support for his family and expressed her condolences to Kirk's wife, Erika Frantzve.

Chrisley described her as 'one of the kindest, most loving human beings I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.'

She then added: 'I was supposed to be sitting next to Charlie every weekend in October.'

'This is tough. Pray for Charlie, pray for his parents, his children, his entire family. Erika, my heart is with you. I love you.'

The 28-year-old reality TV personality shared an emotional TikTok video late Wednesday night as she mourned her late friend

'Today's been a tough day,' she said in the video as tears rolled down her face before adding that she was preparing to join him on his speaking tour next month. She said Kirk had supported her as she worked to free her parents, Todd and Julie Chrisley , from prison over the last two and a half years

Alongside the video, she also penned a lengthy caption, in which she gushed about her late friend and how she was getting ready to join him on his speaking tour

She wrote about how Kirk 'believed in me and in my family when the world turned its back' before adding that he 'changed' her and her family's lives; pictured July 2024 in Milwaukee

She also shared her support for his family and expressed her condolences to Kirk's wife, Erika Frantzve. Chrisley described her as 'one of the kindest, most loving human beings I've ever had the pleasure of knowing'

She then added: 'I was supposed to be sitting next to Charlie every weekend in October'

Alongside the video, she also penned a lengthy caption, in which she gushed about her late friend and how she was getting ready to join him on his speaking tour.

'I am numb. I can't believe I'm even writing these words,' she wrote.

'Charlie Kirk changed my life...he brought me into the Turning Point family this past year, and I was supposed to be standing next to him at every college this October. Instead, I sit here with a broken heart, devastated beyond words.'

She wrote about how Kirk 'believed in me and in my family when the world turned its back' before adding that he 'changed' her and her family's lives.

'Take politics out of it...Charlie was a young man, a husband, and a father. He had so much life left to live. My heart aches for Erika and their children. No words will ever be enough to fill the space his love once held.'

According to the American Comeback Tour website, Kirk was next meant to visit Colorado State University on September 18.

The website lists October dates at college campuses across the U.S. in Indiana, Louisiana, Montana, Mississippi, and North Dakota.
Imogen Thomas proudly unveiled the results of her breast reduction and uplift surgery in a new Instagram video on Thursday.

The Welsh model, 42, looked over the moon with her transformation as she struck a series of poses in a white bralet, flaunting her more natural look.

Clearly thrilled, the former Big Brother star gushed in the caption: 'Back to natural (love heart eyes emoji) best decision with the best surgeon @dr.salihonurbasat  I couldnt be happier #backtonatural #breastreduction #drsalihonurbasat.'

Fans then flocked to the comment section to compliment the model's new natural look.

One wrote: 'You look unreal '; 'Yes babe unreal xxx'; 'Ims , hes done a great job , very natural shape now xx'

'I had mine out in March, its SO much better, I feel so much lighter after 15 years of massive boobs. You look great!'

Imogen Thomas proudly unveiled the results of her breast reduction and uplift surgery in a new Instagram video on Thursday

The Welsh model, 42, looked over the moon with her transformation as she struck a series of poses in a white bralet, flaunting her more natural look

The post comes after the reality star took to Instagram two weeks ago to share a health update after she went under the knife again.

Ahead of the surgery, Imogen toyed with getting her implants taken out and having more put in, or just going natural and having an uplift.

She went for the second option after asking her fans to decide for her the day before.

Imogen previously had her breasts increased from a 34C to a 34E.

She previously told fans: 'Success. Im recovering RN. I havent seen the results yet, so stay tuned. But my day was so smooth and extremely organised.

'Thank you @dr.salihonurbasat for making me feel at ease. I cant wait to see the results.'

Alongside the update, Imogen posted footage of her experience, showing her preparing to head for the clinic that morning.

Once she arrived at the hospital, a doctor could be seen marking her breasts ahead of the operation.

Clearly thrilled, the former Big Brother star gushed in the caption: 'Back to natural (love heart eyes emoji) best decision with the best surgeon @dr.salihonurbasat  I couldnt be happier'

Fans then flocked to the comment section to compliment the model's new natural look

At the end of the clip, Imogen gave a thumbs up to the camera while revealing the significant bandages on her chest.

Fans flooded her with supportive messages as she healed, with one writing: 'Good for you doing what makes you happy. Glad all well, take it easy.'

A second said: 'Omg been thinking of you, glad it went well. Speedy recovery.'

'So glad youre okay. Speedy recovery', said a third.

Earlier this month, Imogen revealed to fans she had flown to Istanbul for the procedure, admitting how her breasts had become 'too big' for her.

She said: 'I cannot wait, my boobs right now are really big for me. I've lost quite a bit of weight, and I just can't have this anymore. So I found the best surgeon in Istanbul.'

The post comes after the reality star shared a health update two weeks ago after she went under the knife again (pictured in 2024)

The ex-glamour model shared a video with fans of the build-up to the operation, including as doctors performed the surgery on her bust

Imogen hinted she was going to have her breasts enlarged even more after asking fans to decide in an online poll - where the majority told her to reduce her bust (pictured in 2023)

In a previous interview with The Mirror, Imogen admitted she doesn't pay for her surgeries and instead offers her surgeons 'collaborations' on social media.

She went on to say: 'Im doing a lot of reformer Pilates, and when I do that, I feel top-heavy, and Ive had a lot of lower back pain.

'They are quite big, so I would like to have a reduction.'

The former Big Brother star was left 'petrified and in tears' following her previous breast surgery in 2017.

She told New! Magazine at the time: 'I started crying. Going under [anaesthetic], you think the worst, like, 'I'm being too selfish here for my kids. What if I don't pull through?' It can happen. I was more nervous about being put to sleep.'
The nepo babies have officially taken over New York Fashion Week.

Michael Kors' spring/summer 2026 fashion show was a sight to behold not just for the styles on display, but also for the many privileged stars in attendance.

Isan Elba, Olivia Jade Giannulli, Ava Phillippe, Audrey McGraw, and Leni Klum were all rubbing elbows as they caught the show - which also featured a nepo baby on the catwalk.

Amelia Gray Hamlin, 24, the daughter of Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin, was among the models working Michael Kors' upcoming wares down the runway.

Her big sister Delilah Belle Hamlin, 27, a model and actress as well, was in attendance with mother Rinna.

The attendees boasted a who's who of stars (and their children).

Nepo babies Isan Elba, Olivia Jade Giannulli, Ava Phillippe, Audrey McGraw, and Leni Klum attended Michael Kors' NYFW show on Thursday

Amelia Gray Hamlin, the daughter of Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin, even walked the show

Nepo babies Olivia and Delilah didn't leave the show without taking a photo first

Leni, 21, showed off the eye for style she had inherited from mother Heidi Klum in a shimmering white blouse, high-waist shorts, and a coat that she fashionably posed with on the red carpet.

Elba, 23, the daughter of actor Idris Elba, was also a sight to behold in a brown halter dress cinched with a belt and paired with classic peep toe heels.

Ava, 26, the daughter of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe, wowed in a black lace dress with peep toe heels, a shoe style also selected by fellow nepo baby Olivia Jade Giannulli, 25.

Giannulli, whose parents are the controversial stars Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli, put on quite the leggy display in a billowing textured coat, heels, and a messy bun.

McGraw, whose parents are country stars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, opted for a floor-length dress and leather boots.

They weren't the only descendants of famous families to get an invite to the show.

Nicky Hilton, who hails from the Hilton empire, was a vision of elegance as usual.

The hotel heiress was the embodiment of chic in a black dress paired with classic heels and a pearl necklace.

Hamlin was cheered on by her mother Lisa and sister Delilah at the event

Lisa Rinna and her daughter Delilah Belle Hamlin supported Amelia's NYFW moment

Leni, Isan, and Delilah, were just a few of the nepo babies attending Michael Kors' spring/summer 2026 show in the Big Apple on Thursday

Phillippe and Giannulli, who both also have famous parents, turned up to the star-studded event

Gwyneth Paltrow, who is the daughter of actress Blythe Danner and the late Hollywood producer Bruce Paltrow, also stuck with her classic eye for style for the event.

The actress may have had connections to Hollywood but she's since won an Oscar and launched her own wildly successful wellness brand, Goop.

While the concept of children getting a leg up due to their well-connected parents is nothing new, the attention surrounding 'nepo baby' has certainly increased in recent years.

In 2022, New York Magazine ran a story about the craze, with the likes of Dakota Johnson, Maya Hawke, and Zoe Kravitz mocked on their 'Year of the Nepo Baby' cover.

Vulture senior writer Nate Jones spoke with managers and casting directors in the industry as part of the story, one of whom simply stated: 'A lot of the children of famous people are not good.'

'Someone once said to me, "We should hire so-and-so because their parents will come to the opening night," a veteran casting director recalled.

Nicky Hilton and Gwyneth Paltrow, who both are connected thanks to their parents, were in attendance

Olivia Wilde and Lea Michele embraced their edgy and sensual sides when it came to their NYFW wardrobe

'A big agency will write and say, "This is so-and-so's kid," and you understand that to mean "So you have to see this kid." I have learned to simply say, "Not right for the role. But lovely." There are a number of veiled responses rather than saying, "Are you guys kidding me?"'

Paltrow has previously objected to the backlash, and defended those who pursue similar careers as their parents.

Having followed her mother's footsteps into acting, Gwyneth sees 'nothing wrong with doing or wanting to do what your parents do.'

In a 2023 interview with Bustle, the Oscar winner argued: 'Nobody rips on a kid whos like: "I want to be a doctor like my dad and granddad."'

At the time, she insisted that her own daughter Apple is 'a very private person' who has no interest in even modeling for Gwyneth's wellness brand Goop. (She was recently announced as the face of London-based fashion house self-portrait).

Stassi Schroeder wowed in an angelic look while Leslie Bibb layered her ensemble with a statement-making jacket

Chloe Fineman opted for a chic brown dress and Ariana DeBose worked a glittering black blazer dress

Jane Krakowski and Lily Aldridge went for always-in-style black

Rinna and her daughter Delilah didn't miss the event as they supported Amelia's big moment

The soap star and RHOBH alum caught up with celebrity stylist Law Roach

Rinna and her daughters posed with the man of the hour, Michael Kors

Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour checked out the Michael Kors collection alongside Suki Waterhouse

Kelsea Ballerini, Lily, Lili Reinhart, Kaitlyn Dever (an actress whose father Tim Dever previously lent his voice to Barney The Dinosaur), and Leslie caught a sneak peek of the upcoming collection

Later that afternoon Delilah channelled off duty model cool strolling around Soho in a full look from ARRANGE Studios by Asos

Then in the evening Delilah switched things up again rocking poker straight peroxide hair and rocking tiny shorts and knee high Belgravia boots by Kurt Geiger

When the interviewer said Apple 'could be a lovely model,' Gwyneth replied: 'Exactly! She doesnt want anything to do with it, though.'

Gwyneth stood up for children who join the same profession as their parents, pointing out that they are acting on the influences they absorbed at home.

'The truth is if you grow up in a house with a lot of artists and people making art and music, thats what you know, the same way that if you grow up in a house with law, the discussions around the table are about the nuances of whatever particular law the parents practice,' she said. 'I think its kind of an ugly moniker.'

She added: 'I just hope that my children always feel free to pursue exactly what they want to do, irrespective of what anybodys going to think or say.'

New York Fashion Week kicked off on Thursday and will run until Tuesday with brands debuting their Spring / Summer 2026 collections.
Lily James led the glamour in a figure-hugging black dress at the London premiere of her new movie Swiped at the Curzon on Thursday.

The actress, 36, who stars as lead Whitney Wolfe Herd, has been busy promoting her latest drama, which is released in the US and UK on September 19.

Swiped follows the story of Whitney, founder and former CEO of dating platform Bumble and co-founder of Tinder.

The Disney+ biopic will cover the campaign Whitney helmed at Tinder after discovering misogynist behaviour on the app.

It led her to strike out on her own and found Bumble, where women could make the first move and take more control of the dating conversation.

Lily channeled old Hollywood glamour for Thursday's premiere as she stepped out in a satin structured gown, which trailed along the floor.

Lily James led the glamour in a figure-hugging black dress as she attended the Swiped premiere on Thursday at the Curzon in London

The actress, 36, who stars as lead Whitney Wolfe Herd, has been busy promoting her latest drama, which is released in the US and UK on September 19

Her stunning dress featured a ruffled detailing down the center and a sweetheart neckline.

She kept her accessories to a minimum as her dress featured a gold necklace which linked the dress with a chunky chain.

Elsewhere at the star-studded event, Poppy Delevingne looked sophisticated in a blue jumper, grey flared trousers and a black double-breasted coat.

Laura Bailey looked effortlessly chic in a white dress, black jacket and black platform heels as she toted her belongings around in a white bag.

Emily Maitlis meanwhile put on a sparkly display as she stepped out in a floor-length dress which featured padded shoulders.

Lily channeled old Hollywood glamour as she stepped out in a satin structured gown, which trailed along the floor

Lily's stunning dress featured a ruffled detailing down the center and a sweetheart neckline. She added inches to her frame with a pair of black platform heels

She kept her accessories to a minimum as her dress featured a gold necklace which linked the dress with a chunky chain

Elsewhere at the star-studded event, Poppy Delevingne looked sophisticated in a blue jumper, grey flared trousers and a black double-breasted coat

Laura Bailey looked effortlessly chic in a white dress, black jacket and black platform heels as she toted her belongings around in a white bag

Emily Maitlis put on a sparkly display as she stepped out in a floor-length dress which featured padded shoulders

Rio Fredrika looked ready for autumn as she stepped out in a green knitted jumper, leather trousers and accessorised with a lime green handbag

Rachel Lee looked chic in a black jumpsuit layered over a crisp white shirt and white leather boot

Tania Bryer added a pop of colour to the evening as she wore a pale pink two-piece suit and a black leather top

Grace Tutty put on a leggy display as she wore a black satin dress which featured a split up her leg

Myha'la cut a casual display in a pair of flared jeans, a fitted black busty top and a pair of pointed black and white heels

Norah Tash commanded attention in a structured red milkmaid dress which accentuated her curves

Grace Tutty put on a leggy display as she wore a black satin dress which featured a split up her leg.

Myha'la cut a casual display in a pair of flared jeans, a fitted black busty top and a pair of pointed black and white heels.

Norah Tash commanded attention in a structured red milkmaid dress which accentuated her curves.
Cameron Diaz has been seen in public with her husband Benji Madden for the first time in a year.

They were last seen in public together in August 2024 while in Montecito, California.

The 53-year-old Charlie's Angels actress and the 45-year-old Good Charlotte rock star were joined by their youngest child, son Cardinal Madden, age one, as they were seen in New York City.

Los Angeles native Diaz had on a white T-shirt with worn-in denim blue jeans and white sneakers as she added a blue sweater over her shoulders and a tan crossbody purse.

The Hollywood favorite was holding a beverage.

Madden looked goth with a blue-and-white flannel shirt over a black T-shirt with black slacks and shoes. He added a silver chain necklace, stud earrings, prescription glasses and a black cap.

Cameron Diaz has been seen in public with her husband Benji Madden for the first time in a year as they were spotted in New York City

Cardinal was in a gray top and blue leggings with sneakers as he squirmed inside his black stroller.

Cameron and Benji  who wed in 2015  are also parents to daughter Raddix, five.

Taking to Instagram in spring 2024, Madden shared the news that the family of three turned to four with the addition of their second child.

'We are blessed and excited to announce the birth of our Son, Cardinal Madden,' the Good Charlotte rock star wrote in a joint post with the silver screen sensation.

And the famously private star added, 'He is awesome and We are all so happy he is here! For the kids safety and privacy we won't be posting any pictures - but he's a really cute.'

The note continued, 'We are feeling so blessed and grateful. Sending much love from our fam to yours  Best wishes and Good Afternoon!!'

In March Cameron's husband Benji Madden admitted he 'fears' her as he made rare comments about their low-key marriage.

The Good Charlotte rocker was a guest on Rob Lowe's SiriusXM podcast Literally!, alongside his twin brother Joel.

The 53-year-old Charlie's Angels actress and the 45-year-old Good Charlotte rock star were joined by their youngest child, son Cardinal Madden, age one in New York City

Los Angeles native Diaz had on a white T-shirt with worn-in denim blue jeans and white sneakers as she added a blue sweater over her shoulders and a tan crossbody purse. The Hollywood favorite was holding a beverage

Benji and Joel, who is married to Nicole Richie, 43, both admitted that they 'fear' their 'strong' wives.

Benji added that they fear their partners 'in the best way.'

Calling Cameron and Nicole 'queens', Benji said, 'Go against my wife? Good luck. I don't even need to get involved.'

Meanwhile, the release of Shrek 5 has been delayed until summer 2027.

The upcoming movie in DreamWorks' animated franchise has been pushed back six months to June 30, 2027, from its previously slated December 2026 opening.

Now it no longer has to compete in a crowded Christmas release season that also features Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part III.

Universal has also shifted an untitled Illumination picture from Shrek 5's old date to April 16, 2027.

In January she shared a rare selfie with her spouse Madden

The new Shrek flick will be the first film in the main series since Shrek Forever After was released in 2010 and sees Zendaya join the cast as the titular ogre's daughter Felicia while regulars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Diaz are back to lend their voices to Shrek, Donkey and Fiona respectively.

Murphy has suggested that Shrek 5 will be packed full of comedy just as the preceding films have been.

The 64-year-old actor told Extra: 'I've recorded some great stuff. You know, we don't get a full script when we do the Shrek movies. We get the dialogue that we're doing for each session. And I know I've been doing some really funny stuff.'

Eddie explained that he will only get to see his co-stars at the premiere of the movie as all of his voice work for the picture is done alone.

Diaz as Emily and Jamie Foxx as Matt in Back In Action in 2024

He said: 'At the end of the movie or when the movie comes out, we see each other at the premiere, but we don't see each other the whole movie.

'It's all just you by yourself and a microphone.'

Meanwhile, Murphy has revealed that Donkey is getting his own standalone film that will begin production in September.

Asked if Shrek 5's animation is being worked on now, he told ScreenRant: 'No, they're still doing voiceover stuff. We're still in the booth, and literally, we're still doing Shrek.

'We start in September on Donkey, we're doing a Donkey one, and that'll be three years from now, but we're about two years into Shrek 5. Still in the booth and about to start Donkey in September.'
Katherine Ryan lit up the red carpet as she attended the gala night of Mamma Mia! The Party at Londons O2, marking the launch of a new charity partnership with Nordoff and Robbins.

The pregnant comedian, 42, was joined by her mother, Julie McCarthy, 65, for the star-studded event on Thursday evening.

Katherine proudly showcased her growing baby bump in a flowing black maxi dress patterned with shiny red hearts.

She paired with black platform sandals and a gold choker necklace.

Meanwhile Julie also brought the glamour, dazzling in a pink sequin mini dress with feather-trimmed cuffs.

She completed her show-stopping look with white open-toe heels and sparkling pink drop earrings.

Katherine Ryan lit up the red carpet as she attended the gala night of Mamma Mia! The Party at Londons O2, marking the launch of a new charity partnership with Nordoff and Robbins on Thursday

The pregnant comedian, 42, was joined by her mother, Julie McCarthy, 65, for the star-studded event

Katherine proudly showcased her growing baby bump in a flowing black maxi dress patterned with shiny red hearts

The dazzling duo were appeared in good spirits as they posed up a storm for the cameras.

Also at the event was Samira Mighty, Amy Dowden, Craig Revel Horwood, Lemar, Henry Conway, and Alison Steadman.

Katherine's outing comes after she recently hit back at critics who judged her over a past sexual arrangement with her boss.

The comedian who is expecting her fourth child, already shares son Fred, four, and daughter Fenna, two, with her husband Bobby Kootstra. She is also mother to her first daughter Violet, 16, from a previous relationship.

The TV personality made the revelation to journalist Louis Theroux, 55, back in 2022 as she spoke to him as part of the TV series Louis Theroux Interviews.

She took to Instagram on Tuesday to clarify that she was neither 'proud nor shameful' of the choices she made in the past and also shared a clip of herself telling Louis about the sexual arrangement with her boss.

She wrote: 'Based on the reaction to this clip over the last two years, I think people mostly seem confused that Im neither proud, nor am I shameful of the choices I made in my "youth", as a young adult, when my frontal lobe was still developing.

'Culture moves so fast and those of us from what I call the girl band generation navigated being objectified and participating in objectifying ourselves. Its a bit different now.'

Meanwhile Julie also brought the glamour, dazzling in a pink sequin mini dress with feather-trimmed cuffs

Also at the starry event was Love Island star Samira Mighty

Amy Dowden turned heads on the carpet

Craig Reel Horwood cut a stylish figure

Lamar opted for a dapper look

Henry Conway beamed for the cameras

Alison Steadman was also in attendance

The 2022 interview was shared on Stream4U this week and in it, Louis questions Katherine about sleeping with her boss.

Katherine confirms she said to her employer: 'If I suck you d**k, can I leave early? Something like that.'

A stunned Louis responded: 'You really said that?'

Katherine responded: 'Yeah. But I liked him. That's key. He wasn't just some guy.'

When Louis asked what her bosses' reply was, she said: 'He said yes you can. Of course you can.

'So then I sucked his d**k and I left early'.

It comes after Katherine hit back at critics who had something to say years after she admitted she once gave her boss oral sex so she could leave work early

Years after her revelation, Katherine has spoken out in defence of herself as she declared that she was neither 'proud nor shameful' of the choices she made in the past

She went on to claim that 'several' of the girls in the office had the 'same arrangement'.

The broadcaster then remarked that those in the office who wanted to leave early but didn't want to engaged in the sexual activity were at a disadvantage, suggesting they were 'the losers in the transaction'.

With Katherine then insisting that the man in question would 'never' have made the suggestion himself.

Louis then asked if she has the same viewpoint now or if she would call out her boss for being 'totally inappropriate', with Katherine admitting it was 'tricky' as she really liked the guy and had a 'crush' on him.

She added: 'I have never sucked the d**k of anyone I didn't like... at the time.'
Jennifer Lopez worked very hard to land a role in the 1990s only to be told it was not even on the table, Daily Mail has learned.

When doing a question and answer session after a Los Angeles screening of Kiss Of The Spider Woman on Wednesday evening, which Daily Mail attended, the superstar shared that she worked for weeks to nail an audition for the musical Evita.

After singing her heart out, the Bronx native was told Madonna had already been given the role of the Argentine politician Eva Peron for the 1996 film.

The 56-year-old shared, 'I went to audition for Evita for [director] Alan Parker,' Lopez told the packed audience.

'I had been practicing for weeks and I sing my heart out and [Parker] goes, "Youre amazing. You know Madonna has the part, right?"' said the actress.

Jennifer Lopez worked hard to land a role in the 1990s only to be told it was not even on the table, Daily Mail has learned. When doing a question and answer session after a Los Angeles screening of Kiss Of The Spider Woman on Wednesday, which Daily Mail attended, the superstar said the role went to Madonna

The movie was Evita, about the life of First Lady of Argentina Eva Peron; seen with director Alan Parker

She closed with, 'I said, "Okay, bye-bye. Nice to meet you."'

Lopez is 56 and Madonna is 67.

In January, Lopez said she also lost roles for the musicals Chicago, which starred Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger, and Nine, which included Penelope Cruz and Nicole Kidman.

'I remember auditioning for Evita, I remember auditioning for Chicago and for Nine  getting very close on Nine,' she said at the time.

'There was a lot of things that I had always hoped that I could do and just wasnt the right time. But this is the right thing.'

In 2016, she was announced to star in an NBC live production of Bye Bye Birdie, but the project was canceled.

Now she is in Kiss of the Spider-Woman, an adaptation of the 1993 Broadway musical. She is producing along with her ex-husband Ben Affleck.

She said on Thursday that the movie was shot in one take.

'I was like, "Well do some coverage?"' she said. '[The director] was like, "Nope, no coverage."

'I was like, F*** me! I better get it right then." Like halfway through the take its going perfectly and then you trip on your dress or whatever so its like, maybe we start over. It was challenging. It was challenging in that way, time wise, as independent films can be, right? Its the time, its the prep, its the, you know, budget. All of it were constraints for us.'

Now she is in Kiss of the Spider-Woman, an adaptation of the 1993 Broadway musical. She is producing along with her ex-husband Ben Affleck

At the Q&A event she wore a beige robe over a beige dress

The ex of Marc Anthony was at the Harmony Gold Theater in Los Angeles

Lopez was seen that same day in a brown suit with a beige blouse and heels

She continued, 'But we put our heart and soul into it and we rehearsed like crazy for the time that we had and it was a beautiful thing and again, Im living my childhood dreams.'

Lopez also said that she was offered the role right away.

'As soon as I got the script I read it in bed that night. I was laughing and smiling and thinking wait a minute, Im going to dance, do 12 musical numbers and I get to play three different characters?' she said.

'And Im working with Bill Condon, the writer/director of the film? Are you sure youre offering this to me? Its not a meeting?' she said.

'They told me that it was an offer and its mine if I want it. It was like a dream. Ive been waiting for this since Im eight years old when I first saw West Side Story with my mom in front of the TV in my little house in the Bronx.

'It was really something I had always dreamt of and here it was, right in front of me. I couldnt believe it. I called right away and I said yes, I want to do to it. Ive never been offered a musical which is crazy I think... Im so happy and honored to step into Chita Riveras shoes.'
Conor McGregor and his partner Dee Devlin proved they've put concerns he was unfaithful behind them as they attended BGC Group's sister Charity Day hosted by the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund at Cantor in New York.

The couple put on a united front as they joined a string of big names at the star-studded event, which raises money in honour of the 658 friends and colleagues and 61 Euro brokers employees who lost their lives in the September 11 attacks.

Dee cut a stylish figure in a pale blue midi dress as she posed alongside Conor, 37, at the event, while the MMA star opted for a sharp grey suit.

Since its inception, Charity Day has raised approximately 220million globally.

On BGC Charity Day, 100% of BGC Group's revenue and broker commissions are donated directly to the participating charities.

This year's beneficiaries include grassroot and community charities such as HVH Arts, 20/20 Levels, The Pearl Fund, West Ham United Foundation, Battersea Cats and Dogs Home and The Mayor's Fund for London through to national.

Conor McGregor and his partner Dee Devlin proved they've put concerns he was unfaithful behind them as they attended BGC Group's Annual Charity Day on Thursday

The couple put on a united front as they joined a string of big names at the star-studded event, which raises money for charities in honour of employees who died in the 9/11 attacks

There are also many international charities, such as Action Medical Research, Choose Love, Space for Giants and Help For Heroes.

Conor recently launched his bid to become the next president of Ireland on social media, just days after losing a high-profile civil rape case appeal.

It was shared four days after Ireland's Court of Appeal dismissed his challenge to a civil ruling that found him liable for sexually assaulting a woman in 2018.

Three judges ruled on July 31 that his appeal failed on all five grounds and upheld the previous decision ordering Conor to pay damages to Nikita Hand.

The civil trial concluded in November 2024, when a jury found McGregor liable for assault and awarded Hand 248,000 in compensation. She has since launched further legal action following the failed appeal.

In her latest filing, she is suing him and two other people for damages, claiming they were involved in malicious abuse of court processes.

Currently, Conor is not affiliated with any political party and has no elected office experience.

Even if he were to become president, the seven-year role in Ireland is mostly ceremonial. The president cannot propose or pass laws. They cannot also hold referenda on their own initiative.

Conor recently launched his bid to become the next president of Ireland on social media, just days after losing a high-profile civil rape case appeal (pictured with Dee and their children)

The cosy pictures may be a surprising scene to some after he was recently embroiled in controversy when he was photographed kissing a mystery brunette woman on a beach in Fort Lauderdale.

With his partner Dee - whom he shares four children with and has been engaged to since 2020 - nowhere in sight, questions were raised about their relationship.

Rapper Azealia Banks then added to the furore as she took to X - formerly known as Twitter - to accuse Conor of sexual harassment.

Their united display comes after concerns when Conor was seen smooching a mystery brunette in full view of fellow beachgoers in Fort Lauderdale.

Conor was spotted enjoying a cold beverage while the woman, who was dressed in a leopard print bikini, shared his sun lounger.

The pair chatted away in the shade as the sportsman cosied up to her by wrapping his arm around her back.

Dee - with whom he shares children, daughter Croia, five, and sons Conor Jr, eight, Rian, three and Mack, 19 months, with - was nowhere in sight.

However, Dee brushed off the scandal as she simply posted a loving tribute to Conor to her Instagram page soon after.

Just hours later, Azealia set the internet ablaze after sharing alleged nude photos of Conor that she claims the disgraced star sent unprompted.

She accused Conor of sexual harassment when she shared nude photographs purporting to show the MMA star.

'How you gonna send a b**** a some crooked d*** pics then threaten her not to tell,' she wrote alongside the screenshots.

'@TheNotoriousMMA n**** do you know who the f*** I am? This is HARAM.'

Azealia continued: 'Like how are you really going to sexually harrass me with the potato farmer d*** then threaten me not to tell???? Honey ain't u trying to be the president of Ireland what is it giving fam? Use some f***ing sunscreen damn.'

As well as the alleged nude selfies, the screenshots also showed a message from what purported to be Conor's account reading: 'Don't be a rat cos all rats get caught.'

DailyMail.com reached out to the last-known attorneys on record for Conor, his agent and Azealia's agent for comment at the time.

It is the latest embarrassment to hit the sportsman's relationship with his partner Dee, who was ever-present by his side throughout his sexual assault court case last year.

The cosy pictures may be a surprising scene to some after Conor was embroiled in controversy when he was photographed kissing a mystery woman on a beach (pictured with Dee)

In 2024, Conor lost a civil case as jurors at the High Court in Dublin found him liable of raping Nikita Hand, 35, in a Dublin hotel on December 9, 2018, with the judge awarding Hand 250,000 in damages.

But despite the verdict, Dee emphatically made it clear that she intended to back Conor - attacking Nikita in a series of posts on Instagram at the time.

In the posts, she wrote: 'Conor and I dealt with these issues privately many years ago, as should be done in a relationship and we have come out stronger than ever.

'We have four beautiful children now whose smiling faces and happy hearts are a testament to who he is and who we are!'

The pair have been together for 15 years and got engaged in August 2020 after Conor proposed while they were celebrating his birthday.

The couple met as teenagers at a nightclub in 2008 and Dee has been a key player in the MMA star's story, supporting him when he was jobless and focused on making it as a professional fighter.
Sharon Osbourne was seen for the first time since her husband Ozzy's funeral on Thursday as her daughter Kelly discussed their new shared passion for falconry.

The mother-daughter duo have been spending some time together in Cornwall, which Kelly, 40, had said 'put a smile back on mum's face.'

Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy passed away on July 22 at age 76, and was laid to rest the following week on the grounds of his mansion in Buckinghamshire.

Kelly shared an update on Thursday, as she visited Cornwall Falconry in Bugle near St Austell with her mum, 72.

In the Instagram video, she is heard asking her mum to 'put her hand out' with the owl then leaving her head and landing on Sharon's hand.

Kelly wrote: 'Today I introduced my mum to falconry and she loved it! @gerardsulter Thank you for putting a smile on my mums face too!'

Sharon Osbourne was seen for the first time since her husband Ozzy's funeral on Thursday as her daughter Kelly discussed their new shared passion for falconry

The mother-daughter duo have been spending some time together in Cornwall, which Kelly, 40, had said 'put a smile back on mum's face'

Sharon has remained silent on social media since Ozzy's death but has liked posts shared by his team as she continues to grieve his death.

Over the weekend the team managing his Instagram account posted a recent picture of him performing on stage.

They wrote in the caption: 'I don't wanna say goodbye. When I do, you'll be alright. After all, I did it all for you.'

News of Ozzy's death earlier this summer sparked an outpouring of tributes from fans in the music world and showbiz industry alike.

The musician, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019, passed away at the age of 76 on July 22 surrounded by his family.

His funeral on July 30 was attended by his family and a host of rock royalty.

Sharon and their children were joined by stars including Marilyn Manson and Ozzy's lead guitarist Zakk Wylde during the event at the family's 250-acre estate near Gerrards Cross.

Official documents listed three causes of death for the rock legend. This included an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, acute myocardial infarction and coronary artery disease, and Parkinson's disease with autonomic dysfunction.

Kelly shared an update on Thursday, as she visited Cornwall Falconry in Bugle near St Austell with her mum, 72

Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy passed away on July 22 at age 76, and was laid to rest the following week on the grounds of his mansion in Buckinghamshire (pictured together in 2017)

He was laid to rest the following week on the grounds of his mansion in Buckinghamshire (wife Sharon and daughter Kelly seen at his public funeral)

In a statement shared last month, Ozzy's family said he died 'surrounded by love', adding: 'It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning.'

Last month the BBC were reportedly forced to pull an Ozzy documentary from schedules after the late rocker's family expressed concerns that the show was 'rushed'.

In August Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home - billed as a 'moving and inspirational account of the last chapter' of the star's life - was suddenly removed from TV listings just hours before broadcast with no explanation as to why.

It's since emerged that the broadcaster allegedly had no choice but to take last-minute action due to the Osbourne family's concern about the speed at which the show was made.

It later emerged that both the BBC and Paramount+ were producing documentaries on the rocker after filmmakers were given access to him for the final three years of his life, with the channels said to be in a 'race' to air unseen footage.

It was then suggested that it was for this reason, as well as the family's worries about the 'overall tone and theme', that the documentary had been delayed.

In a sweet nod to her late husband, Sharon liked a recent social media post shared by the team now running his account

A source told The Sun: 'There have been conversations behind the scenes that maybe the BBC were rushing their show on Ozzy out - especially because Paramount+ also had a film in the offing.'

They told how the BBC's production had originally set out to make a ten-part series called called Home To Roost charting Ozzy and wife Sharon's move back to the UK, however upon his death, it was decided it would be a one-off film.

The insider continued: 'What mattered the most to the family was the overall tone and theme of the programme, which features Ozzy and Sharon in one of their last interviews together.

'It started to feel like the goal being pursued by the BBC and the makers of the film was to get the show on air faster than the Paramount+ doc. Naturally that has caused some concerns with the family.'

The Daily Mail contacted Sharon and Kelly Osbourne's representatives for comment.

The show was scheduled to air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One on Wednesday August 18 at 9pm.
Cracker Barrel employees have claimed they were forced to serve microwaved meatloaf and old biscuits, in the latest blow for the beleaguered company.

The workers have claimed they had to give customers biscuits that were 'rubbery' and hard as rocks.

Employees insisted the unappetizing menu items were due to a directive that prioritized 'cost savings' and 'efficiency' over customer satisfaction.

Instead of making biscuits fresh each day, workers were told to bake them a day in advance and freeze them.

Kitchens were then ordered to reheat them in hot boxes, a veteran cook told The New York Post.

'They thought that we'd be faster and out sooner if we weren't rolling out bread,' they told the outlet.

'People want biscuits to be buttery and soft. The most common complaint we've gotten is that our biscuits are sometimes like a rock.'

It comes after the company was forced to make a U-turn on its logo change and store revamps after the changes were met with fierce criticism.

Cracker Barrel employees have spoken out about food quality at the chain

Several workers spoke ill of Cracker Barrel's biscuits and meatloaf

The chain's signature meatloaf was also cooked the day before and thrown into a microwave before being served, employees told the Post.

'Before, we cooked it in our oven and the cook would cut it up still in the pan, which was in our steam line,' the cook said. 'It was fresher.'

It comes after a viral video spread like wildfire on social media showing the frozen meatloaf at an unknown Cracker Barrel location.

The worker, known as shaggy_shagg on TikTok, said in the video that the meatloaf is occasionally 'still cold' when it is served to guests.

Employees also claimed vegetables have also not been prepared to the highest quality in a long time.

'Our green beans, and pinto beans, turnips, corn and carrots used to be cooked in big pots on the stove, but now we put them in pans in the oven the day before,' an employee told the Post.

'They think it's more efficient, but the corn and carrots lose their taste when you bake and add too much water. I feel like it's overcooked.'

They claimed that the changes to food preparation were to account for a labor shortage in kitchens after prep cooks were axed to cut costs.

The company lost nearly $100 million in market value after launching a new logo

Customers have been slamming Cracker Barrel since discovering the comments and videos made by employees

Shortly after last month's logo backlash, Cracker Barrel scrapped its penny-pinching food prep strategies, according to the Post.

But some customers have spoken out about how they have noticed a drop in quality at the chain's 650 locations across the US.

Some have even blamed what they called 'disgusting' food on the company's 'woke CEO's disastrous priorities.'

'Cracker Barrel went from grandma's secret recipe to gas station microwave special,' a customer wrote.

'Heritage gone, quality gone, trust gone. Customers deserve better than cold pre packed meals,' another guest wrote.

The recent mayhem began for the company when it released a new logo last month, noticeably not including the Uncle Herschel and barrel in the design.

Loyal customers were quick to slam the company and its CEO Julie Felss Masino over the redesign, claiming the logo lost its personality and character.

President Donald Trump and Cracker Barrel co-founder Tommy Lowe even expressed their disappointment publicly.

Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino took over as CEO in November 2023

The company lost nearly $100 million in market value, the final straw that pushed Cracker Barrel to scrap the new logo.

'We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away and our 'old timer' will remain,' the company said.

Shares rose as much as 2.3 percent in after-hours trading following the news. Trump also praised Cracker Barrel for the logo U-turn, and wished them luck in the future.

The company also announced on Tuesday that it was immediately scrapping all its store remodels, which some customers had branded 'bland.'

'You've shared your voices in recent weeks not just on our logo, but also on our restaurants,' the company said.

'Today, we're suspending our remodels. If your restaurant hasn't been remodeled, you don't need to worry, it won't be.'

Daily Mail has reached out to Cracker Barrel for comment about its employees' claims and is awaiting response.
Trader Joe's is continuing its US takeover with plans for a new distribution center near New York  creating up to 800 jobs.

The supermarket chain bought a 66-acre site in Islandia last month for $118.5 million  and plans to build a 921,000-square-foot warehouse.

The depot, one of the largest single-user industrial properties on Long Island, will include cold storage, freezer space, and a maintenance building.

'This is a significant advancement for the region, particularly in terms of economic growth, job creation and enhanced logistics infrastructure,' said Cushman & Wakefield managing director Thomas DeLuca, who helped broker the sale.

The move comes as Trader Joes accelerates growth.

Known for its quirky branding and private-label products, the chain operates more than 600 stores and plans to open more than 40 this year.

One recent opening in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, puzzled locals because it was less than 100 yards from an existing Trader Joe's.

Trader Joe's is looking to grab market share back from big rival Aldi, America's fastest-growing grocery chain.

Trader Joe's will build a new distribution center on a recently purchased development site

The newest distribution center will create up to 800 jobs

Germanowned Aldi  founded in 1946  operates more than 2,500 locations across 40 US states and plans to open 225 new stores this year alone, on top of the 105 it opened last year.

Meanwhile, growth for Trader Joes and Aldi comes as rival Kroger shutters 60 locations nationwide.

Kroger still dwarfs Trader Joe's with 3,000 stores and is investing $45 million into opening 30 new stores and upgrading others in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. It has also rolled out Weekly Digital Deals through in-store flyers.

Trader Joes continues to draw customers with its viral bags and unique treats, including its Dubai-style pistachio dark chocolate bar.
A two-member team of Custodian for Enemy Property for India (CEPI) has begun joint inspection along with state Revenue department of identified enemy property in Tripuras Sepahijala district, an official said on Thursday.

Under the Enemy Property Act, 1968, the CEPI, which functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), is the custodian of property in India owned by Pakistani nationals.

Following directive from the Centre, we have identified as many as 2,249 enemy properties measuring approximately 27 acres of land across the district. Out of which, altogether 615 plots have been vested to the CEPI after fulfilling all procedures in the past six months, while the process is on to hand over the remaining plots, District Magistrate (DM), Sepahiajala, Siddharth Shiv Jaiswal said.

The DM said a joint survey by the CEPI has already begun in different locations of the district and is scheduled to be completed by September 19.

During the joint inspection, the CEPI team will inspect each Tehsil office and identify enemy property for the next course of action. Our people are assisting the CEPI team, he said.

Jaiswal said under the Enemy Property Act, 1968, the identified plots could be sold to prospective buyers, but the current owners will get priority to buy the plot.

A good number of Muslim families had left Sepahijala district (part of undivided West Tripura district) for Bangladesh since 1964 to settle there, said local CPI(M) MLA Shyamal Chakraborty.

According to him, a sizeable number of Hindu families had also left East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh) during and post 1971 Bangladesh liberation war, leaving behind their properties.

Only a few families could exchange their prosperities as per the law during the period because of lack of facilities and awareness. This is a big problem when it comes to land records in Sonamura sub-division, he said.

Sonamura, one of the bordering subdivisions of the district, had several Muktijoddhas camps during the Bangladesh liberation war.

The MLA said there were two big camps in Sonamura sub-division for the Muktijoddhas apart from several hideouts across the border, and the border subdivision had witnessed unprecedented exodus from the other side of the border during the Bangladesh liberation war.

Countless people have crossed the international border and taken shelter in several areas of Sonamura and its adjacent subdivisions. The majority of Muslim families went back to Bangladesh, but a good number of Hindu families preferred to stay back, he said.
A court in Johannesburg sentenced seven Chinese nationals on Wednesday to terms of 20 years in prison each for trafficking people from Malawi and forcing them to work at a factory in South Africa. The group was convicted on February 25 of trafficking 91 undocumented Malawian nationals from 2017 to 2019 to work at a cotton fabric factory in Village Deep, an industrial area in the south of Johannesburg. The Chinese nationals had been arrested on November 12, 2019 when police raided the factory and found the Malawians confined under inhumane conditions with armed guards controlling their movements. The factory had a high wall and razor fence. Court records listed the defendants as Shu-Uei, Biao Ma, Hui Chen, Quin Li, Zhou , Junying and Zhilian Zhang.
A Saturday visit

I have been looking forward to visiting the Hammel museum all summer. I managed to miss the Saturdays in June, July and August. I finally was able to make it this weekend, and I am so glad I did. What a wealth of history in that building. The building itself was previously a bottling plant; it also had a sophisticated refrigeration system, which meant it was the only ice plant in the county. I was fortunate enough to have Chuck Zimmerly, the President of the Socorro Historical Society, give us a personal tour and explain some of the history behind the items. I am always in awe of how much the Historical Society cares about keeping the history of the county updated and available for the public.

One of the most interesting tie-ins to my previous column was information about Mt. Carmel School. They have a small diagram of the school inside one room, where you can see how it used to look. This school was behind the San Miguel Catholic Church. The school was built by Conrad N. Hilton as a memorial to his parents for the Sisters of Loretto. Conrad Hilton of the Hiltons, like one of Paris Hiltons ancestors. That is not even the only important family that made their way through Socorro County.

And speaking of the Hammel building, theres a remarkable family story tucked into its foundation. Clarence Hammels grandfather, Jacob Hammel, made his way to the United States from Munich, Bavaria in 1848. He wasnt alone, he traveled with his friend Eberhard Anheuser, who hoped Jacob would help him build a brewery in St. Louis. But Jacob had other plans. He crossed the Mississippi and set up his own brewery in Lebanon, Illinois, just outside East St. Louis. As for the plant on the Missouri side? That became Anheuser-Busch. Yes, that Anheuser-Busch. Hammel ended up moving to Socorro for his son's health and started the Hammel Bottling Company. During prohibition, instead of beer, they bottled Grapette and Orange Crush for Pepsi. You can even see boxes of bottle caps and their old signage in the upstairs of the Hammel museum.

Another thing that is upstairs is a gigantic model train track. This was seriously so fun to watch. The details on the train sets are amazing, and I could have sat up there for hours watching the trains go around. There is a whole club that meets up to work on the trains. I made sure to slip a donation in the box to keep them going.

It was a great way to spend a Saturday morning, and I will probably be back next month, because I am sure there is much more to see. I appreciate the Socorro Historical Society for keeping it going, and Chuck for taking the time to explain some of the stories to me.
I often struggle with deciding if my ideas are genuinely good or just plain bad, but they tend to be exciting, at the very least.

Since my children were babies, I have supplemented my income by selling eggs and art at farmers markets in Socorro, Magdalena, Santa Rosa and Taos. At first, they accompanied me swaddled and strapped to my back, and later they helped as I worked.

Gradually, they learned how to set up the booth, assist customers and count change. Once they were old enough to sell on their own, I stepped back and let them continue the tradition.

Over this summer, my teenager was selling eggs along with his t-shirts, hats and other homemade merchandise at the market, but when the egg production halted due to some stray pigs eating all the goods, his business slowed down and hed come home without any sales.

While we were brainstorming ideas for new products, I was shuffling through a print order that had come in the mail. I was grumbling over the fact that I had somehow ordered half a dozen of the same photo; they were 8x10 prints of Mugshot, our mini donkey.

My son began making a mess with the scissors and glue, and thats how the Mugshot for Mayor poster was born.

Of course, the idea wasnt to have a real political campaign, but a lighthearted, fun way to promote business. The posters turned into bumper stickers, and with interest from the community it quickly grew into something more.

When people caught on, we realized Mugshot for Mayor wasnt just a shameless way to promote sales; it had transformed into a way to promote all the village businesses, events and animal welfare.

The idea isnt original. Walter the wonder donkey has been the honorary mayor of Oatman, Arizona, since 2020. Oatman, similar to Magdalena, was once a booming mining town, but with the closures of the gold mines after World War II, their population plummeted. Now the town is famously known for its traffic jams of wild burros that attract half a million international tourists a year.

Colorado has also famously used burros post-World War II as a way to boost its economy. They held the first official burro race in 1949 between Leadville and Fairplay, an event that has only grown with enthusiasm over the years. The sport of burro racing is a formal series that has gained official state recognition as the official summer heritage sport.

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Many small towns across the United States have had their share of unconventional non-human mayors, including goats, cats, dogs, and even mules. The stories about these pet mayors range from playful pranks to the goat that won unofficially through write-in votes. Here in New Mexico, the town of Corrales hosts an annual event to elect a pet mayor.

With Mugshots surprise second-place finish at the Cerrillos burro race, our hometown burro stampede and training for the next burro race in Silver City, Ive admittedly been a little high on the whole donkey scene.

Additionally, last month brought the announcement of a New Mexico burro race series for next year, with four locations: Cerrillos, Magdalena, Silver City, and one more mining town, the name of which we are anxiously awaiting.

All I know for sure is that the events I have attended with donkeys have an undeniable sense of joy. Go ahead and call me old-fashioned, but its just clean family fun. If youve been to one, you know exactly what Im talking about.

Mugshot had already proven to be a charismatic entertainer, outgoing and friendly. And when we were asked if Mugshot could do a meet and greet, we enthusiastically agreed. Dozens of people took photos with Mugshot and gave him all the attention he craves. He made so many people smile that day and I was blown away by how many creative ass jokes I heard.

At the last minute, we had the idea to set up donations for the local Friends of the Animals, and I was pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming support in donations we collected.

Unlike real politics that tends to divide people, I realized that Mugshot could be an opportunity to bring communities together.

Let me be clear that Mughsot for mayor is not a political campaign; its a celebration of our heritage and an effort towards a better future. We cant deny that living in rural areas in New Mexico is challenging and places like Magdalena have seen its fair share of hardship, business closures and abandoned buildings over the years.

Over the generations, my family, all in their own ways, have contributed to the betterment of Magdalena and had a deep dedication to a thriving community. Maybe Im being a dumb ass, but I figure this could count as my small way to continue the fight for my community.

This is what it comes down to: I want my children to have a hometown they are proud of and want to come back to. I recognize that a donkey running for mayor isnt the answer to everything, but maybe Mugshot for mayor is the kind of movement we need.

We live in a time when we are bombarded with information, stress and pressure, and taking care of our mental health needs to be a priority. Just turning on the TV can put the best of us in a bad mood. All Im saying a little equine therapy couldnt hurt.
On September 20, the local chapter of the Walk for Lives: United Against Fentanyl will gather in the heart of the town plaza, joining a nationwide effort to confront the fentanyl crisis and honor those lost to overdose.

A person starts to heal the moment they feel heard, Jason Frame, event organizer said.

The fentanyl epidemic has claimed over 100,000 lives annually in the U.S., and organizers stress that media and political silence have only deepened the crisis.

According to Frame, this walk is a call to action, but also a call to compassion.

Organized by community advocates and supported by Recovery Communities of New Mexico and the New Mexico Peer Coalition, the event coincides with National Recovery Month.

Frame said the morning begins with the walk itself, a solemn yet spirited procession that memorializes lives lost and raises awareness about the devastating impact of fentanyl. Flags bearing names, balloon releases and shared stories will mark the path, each step a testament to grief, love and determination.

Following the walk, the plaza will transform into a space for healing. Local vendors will offer art, jewelry, clothing and religious items, each crafted with intention and rooted in cultural wellness.

Frame said they also are inviting Farmers market participants to stay and share the fruits of their labor, recognizing that nourishment, too, is a form of care. He said that healing comes in many forms, from all cultures.

My dads family, theyre from West Virginia, and they make chicken soup. Thats got real healing powers to it, you know, especially if its made with love and the right herbs and spices. The ingredients are very important to healing, Frame said.

The event welcomes ministers, curanderas, clinicians and community members alike.

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There will be open mic sessions for songs, poems and stories, with performances from groups like the San Miguel Parish choir. Whether through drumming, dance, or quiet prayer, every offering is a thread in the tapestry of collective healing, said Frame.

Door prizes will be shared, not sold. No vendor taxes, no barriers, just an open invitation to bring what heals you and share it with others. From crystal bracelets to homemade fry bread, from chicken soup to dreamcatchers, the event honors the diverse ways people find strength and solace.

Theres going to be four different agencies that we use here in Socorro a lotFull Circle, Cornerstone, and The Learning Path. I work for Socorro County Community Alternatives were also doing it through the RISE program at the detention center where were concentrating on cutting down the recidivism and also helping those who are reentering into our community teaching them life skills that help them to find purpose, to find employment, to get housing hopefully a future when they get back on their feet. said Frame, Its the whole community. Its the entire nation were all hurting.

For those who wish to participate, contribute, or simply bear witness, the plaza awaits. Bring your voice, your art, your food, your prayers. Bring your story. Healing begins here.
The Western Health and Social Care Trust (WHSCT) is housing some of the looked-after children in its care in Airbnb, hotel, and bed and breakfast accommodation. This is due to the lack of in-house Trust accommodation facilities.

10,102 nights have been used in this alternative accommodation between January 2020 and June 2025, at a cost of more than 1 million.

When it is not available, children are being accommodated in other countries - as far away as England and Wales.

According to the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995, a looked after child is a child in the care of the local Health and Social Care Trust, who is either provided with accommodation by the Trust or is otherwise in the Trusts care.

The reasons for a child becoming looked after can include abuse, neglect, or a parents inability to care for them due to illness or other issues. The Children Order also requires the Trust to safeguard and promote the childs welfare.

The policy of housing looked-after children in Airbnb, hotel, and bed and breakfast accommodation and its cost was contained in the answer to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted to the Trust by Aontu representative, Emmet Doyle.

Speaking to The Derry News, Mr Doyle said the FOI raised considerable concern about child safeguarding and the use of public money.

Permanent and suitable accommodation for these vulnerable young people could and should have been invested in by the Trust, he said.

Mr Doyle described the situation regarding accommodation for looked-after children as absolutely outrageous.

I am shocked at the amount of money spent and the number of young people staying in Airbnb, hotel, and bed and breakfast accommodation.

It raises serious questions about how this setup is meeting the needs of these young people under the Childrens Order and how these placements are actually working, he said.

Are children sleeping alone in hotel rooms or staying in the same room as social workers, who are surely being paid overtime to do so?

Worse still, when it is not available locally, children are being accommodated in other countries - as far away as England and Wales. Yes, we are putting children on planes or boats and hiring rooms in other countries to accommodate them with staff because there is seemingly no suitable accommodation here.

Many of these children are vulnerable and have been removed from their parents for a range of reasons, and yet the Trust cannot provide a stable and safe environment for them.

Questions must be asked as to how any safeguarding assessment thought this would be an appropriate setting for those children, even in short-term circumstances, yet it is clear from the number of nights used in accommodation this was the norm, rather than the exception.

Mr Doyle queried whether senior Trust officers thought Airbnb, hotel, and bed and breakfast accommodation was really the best way to meet the needs of young people and spend public money.

A spokesperson for the Western Health and Social Care Trust told The Derry News: The Trust has robust safeguarding plans in place for each looked after child/young person, to meet their individual needs.

This can include 24 hour supervision. For the children who are supported in these accommodations, their safety and wellbeing remains our absolute priority and we have strong systems of oversight in place.

This is an issue, not just locally but is being experienced across the UK.

The Trust continues to engage with the Commissioner on the complexities of this issue and we remain committed to doing everything possible to ensure that all children in our care receive the right support, in the safest and most appropriate setting.

A Department of Health spokesperson said: Under the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995, all Health & Social Care (HSC) Trusts have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in their care, and to provide accommodation for them.

The growth in the population of looked after children over the past 10 years and the complexity of need within that population is putting pressure on placements across all HSC Trust areas.

There are robust governance and oversight arrangements in place to ensure that young people aged 16 or 17 are only placed in hotels, bed and breakfasts or Airbnbs when no other accommodation is available and for as short a time as possible.

Children aged under 16 are only accommodated in regulated settings such as residential homes or foster care.

Within the Childrens Social Care Services Strategic Reform Programme, a specific workstream is focused on ensuring that there is sufficient accommodation available to meet the needs of all children in care.

Other departments and their respective agencies are also engaged in that work, given the interface with other services.
A public meeting has taken place between resident and trader stakeholders in the greater Society Street area of the city and Derry City and Strabane District Council officers.

Arranged by Duncan Curry, the manager of Society Street Indoor Market, the meeting was held in the First Derry Presbyterian Church Hall on Wednesday morning.

Its purpose was for stakeholders to receive a briefing on how the road closure and parking logistics of Councils Halloween Festival - specifically the Awakening the Walled City Trail, a nighttime trail along the the city walls which runs from Tuesday, October 28 to Thursday, October 30, from 6pm to 9pm - would impact the area.

The Council officers, from the Culture, Marketing, and Environmental Health departments, were also presented with a report compiled by Mr Curry that reviewed issues which arose during last years Halloween Festival in the greater Society Street area.

These centred on the removal of five outdoor stalls from Society Street due to what Mr Curry described as the threat of Derry City and Strabane District Council prosecution.

According to Mr Curry, the stalls trading on Society Street during the Halloween Festival 2024 were trading inside the Society Street Indoor Market and on Society Street, which is adjoining Society Street Indoor Market, at the same trading hours.

All of these stalls had met the legislative requirement for street trading licence exemption under the Street Trading Act 2001 and should not have been removed, he added.

In addition, having examined all of the available evidence regarding Derry City and Strabane District Councils awarding of temporary trading licences in its area, it is clear Council has shown a religious discrimination against certain organisations and groupings in Society Street, due to their political and religious beliefs.

We can see this demonstrated in the disproportionate number of temporary street trading licences being used for events held by these organisations.

Whilst Society Street Indoor Market is completely cross-community, with stall holders from all ethnic backgrounds, religious beliefs and political affiliations, and with no cost implication to Council in its seven year existence, the evidence provided in terms of Derry City and Strabane District Council officers enforcing rules and regulations on Society Street Indoor Market but not enforcing the same rules on other groupings and events within the Derry and Strabane area make it seem there is one set of rules for Society Street and a different set of rules for the rest of the city.

Sadly Society Street Indoor Market has fallen victim to this religious based discrimination due to its geographical location next to the Apprentice Boys of Derry Memorial Hall and to name of the building it rents - Britannia Hall. We are now in 2025 and in this shared city, Derry City and Strabane District Council should be setting an example. The same rules should be applied to everyone," said Mr Curry.

Speaking to The Derry News, DUP councillor Chealsea Cooke, described the public meeting as positive.

Ald Cooke said: There were some outcomes that stall holders and residents from Society Street have got answered.

There are some ideas for Council officers to take away and come back [to stakeholders about] but I think all in all some questions were answered.

I think the main part of the meeting in regards to licencing and street trading could not be answered today because the Council officer responsible wasnt at the meeting.

I think it was also positive that there is going to be a follow-up meeting, sooner than any previous year so it gives us more time to ensure the issues the traders and the residents have dont keep happening and we end up back in the same spot next year again.

I think all in all it was positive and I look forward to getting some of the issues thrashed out at the next meeting," said Ald Cooke.

In a statement to The Derry News, a spokesperson for Derry City and Strabane District Council confirmed officers met at short notice today [Wednesday] with traders from Society Street Market and residents in the surrounding area to hear their concerns about the implications of the Halloween programming plans on the area.

The spokesperson added: Officers were happy to give an update on the plans to date and heard concerns which were primarily focused around access and the impact on parking.

A trader who operates the indoor market expressed a number of concerns around licensing which will be addressed at a future meeting with a member of the licencing section.

The spokesperson said the Council would continue to work closely with them to help alleviate their concerns during the festival.
There could be as many as 60 possible new victims in these offences case involving a Catholic priest Derry Magistrate's Court was told today.

Edward Gallagher (58) of Orchard Park in Lifford County Donegal had been charged with one count of attempted sexual communication with a child on dates between April 2 and April 17 2025 and 7 further offences including inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and causing a child to watch sexual activity on April 17 this year.

At today's hearing a prosecutor told the court that the triage of the devices in the case had been completed.

She added that 'sixty plus possible victims' had been identified and this would need to be further investigated before any more progress could be made in the case.

The prosecution applied for the case to be adjourned for another four weeks.

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Defence counsel Stephen Chapman said that there was no objection to that course of action and the case was adjourned until October 9.

Fr Eddie Gallagher has been in custody since his arrest in April and there has been no application for bail.
The First Minister and deputy First Minister have welcomed a major investment by Seagate Technology Holdings at its plant in Derry.

The 115 million investment over five years in the development of new hard drive technology will strengthen the position of Seagates North West facility as a world leader in nanophotonics R&D engineering and create a number of new jobs.

Speaking during a visit to the site to mark the announcement, First Minister Michelle ONeill said: Since Seagate established in Derry in 1993, it has become a world-class manufacturing facility and one of the areas largest employers. The company continues to offer high quality jobs and career opportunities for local people and contributes millions of pounds to our economy.

As an Executive we are committed to promoting regional balance, and this latest investment by Seagate is another welcome boost for the North West that will bring new jobs and significant benefits to local people and communities.

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said: We want Northern Ireland to be at the forefront of global innovation and this investment demonstrates the strength of our talent and our capacity to compete on the world stage in cutting-edge technology sectors.

The growth of Artificial Intelligence presents major opportunities and this substantial commitment from Seagate reinforces our position as a hub for innovation and technological excellence and will ensure we can continue to drive economic growth.

A leading producer of mass data storage solutions, Seagate is working to develop technology for a 60TB+ hard drive. And its North West facility, which manufactures recording heads that read and write data on to hard disks, will play a critical role in the development of the next generation hard drive.

Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald, who also attended the announcement, said: Seagate is not only part of our community in the North West, but a cornerstone of our growing economy here.

Todays investment will support Seagate to ramp up productivity and create more good jobs. And it will further strengthen the strong R&D and manufacturing capabilities that are growing in reputation here.

Seagates latest investment in the North West, which has been supported with 15m of funding from Invest NI, will see the creation of more than 30 highly skilled jobs, adding to the companys current workforce of over 1,300 people at the site.

Dr John Morris, Chief Technology Officer at Seagate, said: As AI models grow more powerful and data creation accelerates, the need for high-capacity, high-performance, and economical mass storage becomes even more essential. Our Northern Ireland facility is at the heart of this transformation, with over twenty-five per cent of the world's recording heads now made here.

With Invest NIs support, this project will fast-track our development of 60TB and beyond capacities. Were proud to continue investing in Northern Ireland, where our journey in revolutionary technologies began more than three decades ago.

Kieran Donoghue, Chief Executive at Invest NI, said: We have worked very closely with Seagate over the past three decades and have helped the facility here evolve into a world-leading manufacturing and pioneering R&D Centre. We are delighted to support the Seagate team with this latest project and secure the development of the new recording heads and laser technology in the North West.

This puts Northern Ireland at the forefront of the companys innovation plans and will enable it to ramp up productivity through state-of the-art equipment. The Seagate and Invest NI teams will now work together to ensure the successful implementation of this major investment.

SDLP Foyle MLA Sinead McLaughlin has welcomed todays announcement, describing it as a major vote of confidence in the city and its workforce.

Ms. McLaughlin said: This announcement by Seagate is hugely positive news for Derry and the wider North West. For more than thirty years, Seagate has been at the heart of our local economy and remains one of the citys most important employers. This new 115 million investment underlines the strength of our workforce and the reputation we have built as a centre of excellence in research, development, and advanced manufacturing.

It will bring not only highly skilled jobs, but also a significant boost to our economy at a time when we urgently need new opportunities for people and families in this city.

Seagates continued commitment to our city is a reminder of what can be achieved when global companies see the potential that exists here. But we cannot ignore the fact that too many young people are still forced to leave our city to find opportunities elsewhere.

It is the job of the Executive and its Ministers to match the ambition of our people with real, long-term plans for skills, infrastructure, and investment so that we can attract more employers like Seagate and finally deliver the regional balance that has been promised time and again.
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Coroners in Northern Ireland are set to be able to investigate some deaths abroad under a plan published by Justice Minister Naomi Long.

Legislation is intended to be introduced which will allow coroners in the region to carry out inquests into unexpected, unexplained or suspicious deaths which occur abroad, and where the body has been returned to Northern Ireland.

It is set to bring Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the UK and Ireland where coroners, or the Lord Advocate in Scotland, can already investigate a death abroad where a body has been repatriated.

Ms Long she wants to ensure citizens in Northern Ireland have the same access to an investigation.

Losing a loved one in any circumstance is one of most traumatic experiences that any family can go through, she said.

Where that death is unexpected, or where the circumstances are not clear or suspicious, the absence of answers only serves to compound their grief.

My view has always been that it was not sustainable for Northern Ireland to be a place apart from our nearest neighbours and for our citizens not to have the same access to an investigation as their counterparts in England and Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.

At the same time, a careful balance must be struck.

I want our coronial system to help as many bereaved families as possible, while bearing in mind the very real practical difficulties that may limit what is possible in such cases.

However, coronial investigations into a death abroad are limited by the fact coroners have no powers to compel foreign authorities to co-operate with an inquest, nor secure witnesses to provide evidence.

A second post mortem following repatriation also presents significant technical and practical difficulties for the State Pathologists Department where a post mortem has already been carried out abroad.

While the planned legislation will not change this, it will allow coroners to investigate deaths that have occurred abroad where they meet certain criteria.

Ms Long said her preference is that reporting a death should be family-led.

Families may, but should not be required, to report a death, and it should be in circumstances where that death is unexpected, unexplained, or in suspicious circumstances, and where they are concerned that overseas authorities have not established the cause and circumstance of the death, or there is doubt about the accuracy of any findings, she said.

This will support those families who may still want answers, while empowering those who want to move on to make funeral arrangements without any further unnecessary bureaucracy.

I also remain of the view that there should be clear statutory criteria to define the circumstances in which an inquest could take place, with the Attorney-General for Northern Ireland having the primary decision-making function.

This will bring clarity to the law and ensure there is a consistent approach which supports families without adding further grief and trauma.
A student who uses an electric wheelchair has settled a disability discrimination case against Translink after she was carried past her stop several times while travelling on the Glider bus service.

The case brought by Rosie Pidgeon, supported by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, was settled for 7,500 with no admission of liability.

Miss Pidgeon said she regularly travels on the Glider to and from her college course at Millfield campus in Belfast.

She said that to disembark, she needs to press a specific blue bell, while the Glider is moving, to alert the driver to lower the ramp at the next stop.

Since beginning her commute in 2022, Miss Pidgeon said that on various occasions, drivers have failed to deploy the ramp.

She said she has been unable to signal to the driver that the ramp has failed to deploy as the bell does not ring once the bus has stopped.

Without the ramp, she is unable to disembark and said she had been carried on past her destination on some occasions. She says she been left stranded at Dundonald Park and Ride where the Glider terminates.

Miss Pidgeon said: I value my independence and just want to be able to travel to and from college without any worry or stress.

Being carried past my stop is distressing, and exhausting.

It leaves me late for class or I arrive home completely dispirited.

Due to my disability, which I acquired as a result of Covid, it takes a long time for me to recover from each incident.

She added: I have raised complaints with Translink and explained the toll it takes on me.

They did carry out investigations and previously apologised, but it continued to happen.

I felt I had no choice but to pursue this case. I want to make sure that all wheelchair users can use the Glider with confidence.

Eoin ONeill, director of legal services at the Equality Commission said: All transport providers in Northern Ireland have duties under the Disability Discrimination Act in relation to the provision and use of the vehicles they provide.

This includes making reasonable adjustments to take away or overcome elements in their services which present barriers to disabled people.

The Glider has a system to alert the driver to deploy the ramp.

All drivers must be fully trained in ensuring the ramp is deployed when requested and made aware of the potential impact on their disabled passenger if they fail to do so.

He added: Many people with disabilities rely on public transport to go about their daily lives.

They must be able to board at the stop of their choosing and disembark where they need to.

Ian Campbell, Translinks director of service operations, said the company apologised for any hurt and distress caused.

He added: We are dedicated to making our services and facilities accessible and inclusive for everyone, recognising the importance of this in enabling more people to live independent and productive lives.

To better accommodate passengers who use wheelchairs, we have introduced changes to our procedures that will improve the consistency of service provided to our customers particularly when boarding and alighting Glider vehicles.

Additionally, we have provided refresher training to further strengthen our procedures.

We will continue to invest in our facilities, services and staff training as part of our ongoing accessibility programme.

We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with the Equality Commission and will continue to work closely with key stakeholders to understand the needs of people with disabilities, ensuring a positive customer experience for all.
Poachers and trespassers are presenting a serious challenge to land management at a Co Tyrone estate, its owner has said.

Police met Baronscourt Estate owner Lord Jamie Hamilton to discuss illegal deer poaching and aggravated trespass.

Lord Hamilton, who is president of the British Association for Shooting & Conservation (BASC), hailed his organisation and police for raising awareness around poaching.

Baronscourt Estates team of dedicated and highly professional deer stalkers play a vital role in meeting our objective of achieving a healthy and balanced wild deer population on the estate, he said.

Poachers and trespassers present a serious challenge to landowners like Baronscourt who are carrying out this important land management activity.

We are extremely grateful to both the PSNI and BASC for their efforts in raising awareness about the serious implications of poaching or trespassers interfering with the lawful activities of our professional deer stalkers.

Tommy Mayne, BASCs Northern Ireland director, said poaching undermines conservation work by trained and accredited deer managers across Northern Ireland.

It is hard to understand why some members of the public choose to blatantly ignore signage that has been erected by the estate to help ensure their safety, he said.

The Ulster Way footpath is a designated walking route which is well signposted, yet members of the public still choose to access parts of the estate where deer management is taking place, thereby putting themselves at risk.

Legitimate deer management ensures healthy deer populations, reduces the risk of road traffic collisions, and helps protect sensitive habitats.

BASC will continue to work with the PSNI and the estate to tackle wildlife crime and to highlight the dangers of unauthorised access to land where deer management is taking place.

PSNI Wildlife and Animal Welfare Officer Emma Meredith said poaching can constitute criminal offences.

Poaching includes but is not limited to: entering private land either during closed seasons to kill, injure or take any deer when it is unlawful to do so without a licence or special authority, or during the hunting season without the landowners permission, she said.

Doing so can constitute criminal offences and individuals face the very real possibility of prosecution and upon conviction, imprisonment and/or financial penalties.

PSNI takes all crimes seriously, including wildlife crime, and we will continue to work closely through the Partnership Against Wildlife Crime Northern Ireland group (PAW NI) with partners including landowners and other interested bodies to ensure the law is adhered to.
Derry City and Strabane District Council is delighted to announce a very special theme for this years Island Voices autumn lecture series, celebrating the life and legacy of one of the most beloved writers of the 20th century - C.S. Lewis.

To mark the 75th anniversary of the publication of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first book in The Chronicles of Narnia series, Island Voices 2025 will feature a series of lunchtime lectures exploring Lewiss cultural identity and literary legacy.

Through a series of events over the Autumn months, guest speakers will explore how Lewiss Irish and Ulster-Scots background shaped his worldview, imagination, and writing style.

The lecture series will feature renowned speakers including Dr. Sharon Jones, Antain Mac Lochlainn, and Dr. Frank Ferguson, each offering fresh perspectives on Lewiss identity as both an Irishman and an Ulster-Scot  and how those dual influences echo through his work, which has been translated into many languages, including Irish.

The first event takes place on Thursday 25th September at 1pm in the Guildhall, where Dr. Sharon Jones will present "Listening to Lewiss Irish Voice: Narnia Re-visited". This talk will explore how Lewiss background as a medievalist and his deep connection to Ireland informed the mythic landscapes and themes of the Narnia series.

Further events in the series include:

Thursday 23rd October  "The Road to Nairnia" featuring Irish language writer Antain Mac Lochlainn

"The Road to Nairnia" featuring Irish language writer Antain Mac Lochlainn Thursday 27th November  "Onwards to Narnia and Hame by the Sandy Loanen" featuring Ulster Universitys Dr Frank Ferguson

These talks will continue to explore Lewiss Irish and Ulster-Scots heritage and the ways in which this duality of identity helped shape one of the most timeless fantasy series ever written.

Pol O Frighil, from Derry City and Strabane District Councils Languages Team, which organises the event, said: Were excited to present Island Voices 2025, celebrating the 75th anniversary of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. This years programme offers a unique opportunity to explore C.S. Lewiss dual identity as an Irish and Ulster-Scots writer.

With contributions from leading scholars, we hope to deepen public understanding of Lewiss legacy and inspire greater appreciation for the shared literary traditions of Irish and Ulster-Scots heritage.

Light refreshments will be served from 12:30pm before each talk. Admission is free, but booking is essential.

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To reserve your place, please contact (028) 71 376 579 or email languages@derrystrabane.com.

For full event details, and further information on the speakers, please visit: www.derrystrabane.com/islandvoices

This programme is jointly supported by Derry City and Strabane District Councils Good Relations programme.
The battle over who controls online content  and who gets paid for it  is heating up. For years, AI companies have scraped the web to feed their models, often without permission or compensation. Publishers, meanwhile, have watched their work fuel billion-dollar technologies while struggling to protect their own revenues. Now, a new licensing framework called Really Simple Licensing (RSL) is stepping into that gap. Backed by platforms from Reddit to Yahoo, the standard aims to give publishers more control and force AI developers to pay for what they use.

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Also read: Anthropic vs OpenAI: What Microsofts AI diversification means for its future

What is the RSL standard?

The Really Simple Licensing (RSL) standard is an attempt to reshape how online content is accessed and used in the age of artificial intelligence. Inspired by the long-standing robots.txt protocol, which tells web crawlers which parts of a site they may or may not access, RSL goes much further. It lets publishers specify not only whether AI systems can crawl their sites, but also the terms under which that content can be used. Crucially, it introduces the possibility of licensing fees and royalties when AI models train on or generate outputs from a publishers material. In other words, its robots.txt with teeth, a protocol designed to create accountability and payment mechanisms where previously there were none.

At its core, RSL embeds licensing information directly into a sites metadata, making the rules machine-readable. AI developers that want to crawl a site must check those instructions and abide by them, whether that means paying a subscription fee, agreeing to a pay-per-crawl model, or even paying per inference when content is used to generate an answer. The RSL Collective, a nonprofit body overseeing the standard, also envisions publishers banding together to negotiate terms more effectively, much like licensing groups in the music industry. Technical enforcement is expected to be aided by infrastructure providers such as Fastly, which can block or allow access depending on whether bots have properly identified themselves and agreed to the sites licensing rules.

What it means for publishers

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The early support for RSL includes some of the internets biggest content platforms and publishers. Reddit, Yahoo, and Medium have signed on, along with Quora, wikiHow, OReilly Media, and Ziff Davis, which owns sites like CNET and Mashable. This backing is significant because it brings together a wide spectrum of content sources: user-generated forums, knowledge platforms, professional publishers, and digital media outlets. Their participation signals a recognition that without collective action, publishers risk seeing their work continue to fuel AI systems without compensation or consent.

For online publishers, the RSL standard represents both an opportunity and a safeguard. It offers the promise of new revenue streams by charging AI companies for access and use, something that could be especially valuable at a time when traditional digital advertising revenue is under strain. It also gives publishers more granular control, letting them decide under what circumstances their content can be used and setting boundaries around AI training and inference. At the same time, RSL provides smaller publishers with a way to stand alongside larger players by joining the Collective, reducing the need for one-on-one negotiations with powerful AI companies. The challenge, however, lies in enforcement: if AI developers simply ignore the standard, as some have done with robots.txt in the past, publishers will be forced to rely on legal and technical measures to defend their rights.

What it means for AI developers

For AI developers, the rise of RSL introduces both complexity and accountability. Where once the web could be treated as a nearly free and open dataset, now developers must contend with licensing terms that vary across sites. They may need to pay fees, report usage, and develop tools to ensure they are compliant with pay-per-inference models. This could make training large language models more expensive and technically challenging. On the other hand, it also provides a clearer framework for lawful and ethical use of data, reducing the risk of lawsuits or public backlash. If widely adopted, RSL could offer AI developers something they currently lack: a standard way to license data at scale.

Why its gaining traction

The timing of RSLs emergence is no accident. Over the past year, lawsuits and public debates have mounted over whether AI companies are unfairly profiting from creative work they did not produce. Publishers and creators are increasingly demanding compensation, while regulators are beginning to scrutinize AI training practices. RSL arrives as both a practical technical solution and a political statement: it allows publishers to say, You may use our content, but only on our terms. The fact that major platforms like Reddit and Yahoo are backing it gives the standard legitimacy, and the involvement of infrastructure players like Fastly suggests a path toward real enforcement.

Whether RSL becomes a cornerstone of AI licensing or fades into the background will depend largely on adoption. If AI giants like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google choose to recognize and comply with the standard, it could reshape the economics of web data almost overnight. If they ignore it, RSL may struggle to gain traction without significant legal reinforcement. What is clear, however, is that the balance of power between AI companies and online publishers is shifting. For the first time, there is a unified technical standard designed to make AI companies pay for the content they rely on.

Also read: Keeping trust in AI: How Khan Academy plans to safeguard educations future
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Ireland will not take part in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2026 if Israel participates, broadcaster RTE has announced.

The Irish broadcaster said a final decision on participation would be made when the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) makes its decision.

But it added that Irelands participation would be unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza.

A spokesperson for Eurovision said it was up to each state to decide if it wanted to take part in the contest.

An RTE statement said that at the General Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union in July, a number of EBU members raised concerns about the participation of Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest.

It added: RTE wishes to thank the EBU for the extensive consultation process that was initiated on foot of that meeting, and the extension of the option to withdraw from participation without penalty to December.

It is RTEs position that Ireland will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if the participation of Israel goes ahead, and the final decision regarding Irelands participation will be made once the EBUs decision is made.

The statement added: RTE feels that Irelands participation would be unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza.

RTE is also deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza, and the denial of access to international journalists to the territory, and the plight of the remaining hostages.

Irish Culture Minister Patrick ODonovan said officials in his department engaged with RTE about the matter last week.

However, he emphasised that the decision by RTEs director general was made in conjunction with its executive and board and independent of any outside influences.

Speaking on RTE radio, he said: I fully understand where RTE coming from. I think everybody is hoping to see it in city, absolutely devastating scenes that we are witnessing on our televisions every night, and theres a release of the hostage and we can get to a situation where humanitarian aid is allowed in to Gaza.

He added: The decision by RTE is an independent decision  they have editorial independence. I respect their decision.

Meanwhile, Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers also said he supports and respects RTEs decision.

I think weve all been shocked over the summer to see the innocent killing of journalists who are providing objective information to the world about the genocide in Gaza and Israels activities and I absolutely respect RTEs decision.

Eurovision director Martin Green said: We understand the concerns and deeply held views around the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

We are still consulting with all EBU members to gather views on how we manage participation and geopolitical tensions around the Eurovision Song Contest.

Broadcasters have until mid-December to confirm if they wish to take part in next years event in Vienna.

It is up to each member to decide if they want to take part in the contest and we would respect any decision broadcasters make.

Ireland has won Eurovision seven times, the joint most of any country along with Sweden. Its last win was in 1996.

The 70th anniversary edition of the contest is due to take place in Vienna, Austria, in May after Austrian entry JJ won with his song Wasted Love in Basel, Switzerland, earlier this year.

Ireland was represented by Emmy in Basel, with the song Laika Party.

There has been growing controversy about Israels participation in Eurovision with protests in host cities in the last two years.
RTE has confirmed it will not participate in next year's Eurovision in Vienna if the Israeli public service broadcaster is allowed to compete.

In the latest update on Irelands potential participation in Eurovision 2026, the national broadcaster says the final decision remains uncertain but that withdrawal is a strong possibility.

This comes amid speculation that Ireland, Slovenia, Spain, The Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal are considering an official withdrawal from Eurovision if Israel is allowed to compete.

In a statement, issued at lunchtime this Thursday, a spokesperson for RTE said: It is RTEs position that Ireland will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if the participation of Israel goes ahead, and the final decision regarding Irelands participation will be made once the EBUs decision is made.

The update comes after a General Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in July saw a number of EBU members raise concerns about the participation of Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest.

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The EBU is an alliance of public service media organizations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area or who are members of the Council of Europe.

Along with Spanish and Slovenian broadcasters, RTE had sought consultations with the EBU on Israel's participation, and the EBU had committed to dialogue on the issue.

This came after growing controversy about Israel's participation in Eurovision, with large demonstrations held during the 2025 competition in Basel ahead of the live shows.

An RTE spokesperson has thanked the EBU for the extensive consultation process that was initiated on foot of that meeting, and the extension of the option to withdraw from participation without penalty to December.

RTE Director General Kevin Bakhurst said: RTE feels that Irelands participation would be unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza. RTE is also deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza, and the denial of access to international journalists to the territory, and the plight of the remaining hostages.

Ireland did not feature in the Eurovision 2025 Grand Final after Laika Party by Emmy, failed to qualify from the second semi-final. Ireland finished 6th in 2024 with Doomsday Bloom by Bambie Thug.
There has been a huge outpouring of anger after a dog picked up by a rescue charity died having been given away "to a fella in the pub."

My Lovely Horse Rescue posted details of the heartbreaking case after the little eight-month-old Jack Russell died from suspected poisoning in his stomach last week.

The rescue centre picked Larry up in Dublin after "he was dumped and was breathing really badly."

They said: "We rushed to Dublin and got him straight to our after hours vet at Blackwater Veterinary Clinic." He was then brought to Kilcock where x-rays were carried out and he was placed on a drip.

A heartbreaking video of Larry from the time he was picked up shows his breathing extremely laboured. My Lovely Horse said the young dog was microchipped but rescuers were shocked by the response of his registered owner.

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"We called the number and the person who answered said in his very own words, 'ah I gave him away to a fella at the pub.'"

They added: "Larrys owner didnt care, he gave him away in a pub! We are so angry, this man gets away with treating Larry like a second hand object."

In an update on Larry last week, My Lovely Horse Rescue said: "We had to let baby Larry go this evening, the poison had damaged his liver and kidneys, our vets were as heart broken as us .

"This little boy was part of the MLHR Family for less than 24 hours, we sobbed for him. It was so unfair, only 8 months old, heartbreaking.

"We are so sorry this country let you down Larry, we need stronger enforcement."

The incredible rescue service asked for support from members of the public to help other animals they care for in similar situation. You can donate to My Lovely Horse Rescue here.

Followers of the My Lovely Horse Rescue pages on social media have been reacting to the case with anger. One person wrote: "The level of cruelty towards animals in this country is beyond sickening, its heartbreaking, people need to be held accountable and punished, something has to change."

A second said: "Just heartbreaking, the poor pet. Shame on the person who did this. Thank you for doing your best to help the poor pet."
Drone operators have been told to stay away from the area where Gardai are searching for a missing boy who is feared dead.

The child, who would be seven years old if still alive, has not been seen in several years.

Investigators have been examining an area of open ground in Donabate, Dublin, since September 1.

In a statement, gardai said two unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), commonly known as drones, were detected at the site on Tuesday and Wednesday.

NO DRONE ZONE: restrictions are now in force in Donabate & Portrane areas as per T1 Geozone requested by An Garda Siochana. You cannot fly here without approval of the Zone Authority from 9/9/25 15:00 to 16/09/25 at 23:59Further details at https://t.co/IT1KdKZWO6@Fingalcoco pic.twitter.com/0mrcE3aUys  IAA (@IAApress) September 11, 2025

One operator claimed to be working on behalf of a media organisation.

On Thursday, An Garda Siochana issued an appeal for the space and time to carry out this search operation sensitively and sympathetically for everybody involved.

Gardai said airspace restrictions have been in place around the site since September 2.

Breaches of restrictions are investigated by both gardai and the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA).

The IAA said a no drone zone is in effect over areas of Donabate and Portrane until midnight on Tuesday.
There's a great range of guests lined up for Friday night's season opener of the Late Late Show on RTE with the likes of Mary Robinson, Conor Murray, Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell joining Patrick Kielty in studio.

Hollywood A-listers Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell will meet up with Patrick to chat about their upcoming film A Big Bold Beautiful Journey.

They will share stories from set and their experience of working together for the first time.

Ahead of the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles this weekend, Colin will chat about his nomination for The Penguin, while Margot will reflect on the global success of Barbie.

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Michael Flatley will join Patrick to reflect on his decision not to run for the presidency in the 2025 election and his reasons behind it. He will talk about his personal journey with cancer and his involvement with a new exhibition by Breakthrough Cancer Research.

Former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson will join Patrick to discuss urgent global issues, including the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

She will share insights of her recent experience visiting the Gazan border and speak about the role of international leadership in what the UN World Health Organisation has declared a man-made famine.

Retired Irish rugby star Conor Murray will join Patrick to talk about his new autobiography Cloud Nine, reflect on his decorated career on the field, and how he found the courage to continue playing shortly after a road traffic collision left his father seriously injured.

Music on the night will come from Kodalines Steve Garrigan.

The Late Late Show can be watched on RTE One and RTE Player from Friday, September 12 at 9:35 pm.
Actor Colin Farrell has said he would love to work with Margot Robbie again describing his experience making A Big Bold Beautiful Journey with her as magic.

The 49-year-old was speaking at the European premiere of the Kogonada-directed film, which follows Farrells character, David, as he meets Sarah, played by Robbie, 35, at a mutual friends wedding and their journey to be together.

Speaking at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on Thursday, Farrell told the PA news agency: Id love to (work with her again) man, she was magic to work with, and to spend time with there are actors in this film giving lovely performances in and around, but so much of this film is she and I just very close together.

And with that in mind, the rehearsal process was just she and I and Kogonada in a room together for like a week and we didnt even touch the scripts for the first three days.

We just shot the breeze about our own lives and relationships and what it was like growing up with our families and our relationships with our parents and it wasnt a therapy session but shes very open and Im fairly open as well.

There were no games, there was no introductory phase, it felt really organically familiar from the start.

The film will also feature Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge and US actor Kevin Kline, with Farrell describing the set of the movie as a really amazing vibe.

He added: Even the crew all got somewhat emotionally invested in this story as it was unfolding. I just know because they said it to me, certain crew members.

I think because the film is about everyone and we all have things that we wonder about in the past and certain roads where we took a left turn, where we wonder what would have happened if we took a right, or things we need to say that people are no longer here, that we wish we had said and that kind of stuff.

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey will be released in cinemas in the UK and Ireland on September 19.
Fine Gael Councillor and current Cathaoirleach of Dundalk Municipal District, Robert Nash, has welcomed confirmation that officials from Uisce Eireann (Irish Water) will meet with Dundalk MD councillors on September 29th, following ongoing concerns regarding local water and wastewater infrastructure.

The meeting, secured after a special sitting of the Dundalk MD Council in July, was called in response to growing public unease surrounding water quality at Blackrock Beach and the performance of several wastewater pumping stations across the Dundalk and Blackrock areas.

Weve seen the very real public concerns in Blackrock in recent months, said Cllr. Nash.

The Fighting Dirty campaign, led by local activist Brian Hopper, has shone a light on the failings of our current wastewater infrastructure.

READ MORE: Louth councillor refuses to zone more land until wastewater issue resolved

This has been a crucial driver in keeping the issue in the public eye and in pushing Irish Water to examine their operations more closely.

Cllr. Nash commended Mr Hopper and the campaign committee, stating their work has been instrumental in applying pressure and demanding accountability on the issue.

While welcoming recent announcements of planned upgradesmost notably, the installation of a new pipeline from the Coes Road pumping station to the Point Road treatment plant, due to begin in 2026Cllr. Nash stressed the need for immediate action in the interim.

Flooding remains a major issue in estates like Bay Estate, Cluain Enda, and others served by the Coes Road station.

Many residents in these areas have suffered repeated flood damage during periods of heavy rainfall, he said.

There needs to be a proactive and strategic approach from Irish Water to identify and address these pinch points in the system before major works begin.

Cllr. Nash also highlighted the broader need for investment in other areas, including Blackrock, Haggardstown, Dromiskin, and Knockbridge, and called on Uisce Eireann to clearly outline how they plan to tackle long-standing infrastructure deficiencies across the wider Dundalk region.

I believe these upcoming talks are critical. We need clarity, timelines, and a commitment to both long-term upgrades and short-term mitigation measures, he added.

Until the planned works are delivered, vigilance is essential.

When heavy rainfall is forecast, we should know where problems will occurand Irish Water must work with contractors to implement short-term solutions to reduce the risk of further flooding.

Cllr. Nash concluded by reaffirming his commitment to representing the concerns of affected residents and ensuring full transparency around Irish Waters future infrastructure plans.
The recent accident at Sextons junction on the R132 in Dundalk in which a man and woman were taken to hospital was highlighted by Fianna Fail councillor Shane McGuinness at this months meeting of Dundalk Municipal District.

Councillor McGuinness expressed frustration with the lack of traffic calming measures on the stretch of road.

That was the second serious accident in ten days, and I met with the Gardai and theyre telling me that theres now two accidents there a week, so its possibly one of the most dangerous junctions in Louth, he told the meeting.

Theres a number of things we have to look at. We have to look at how we prioritise [the installation of] traffic lights. We should be prioritising it based on risk, certainly based on risk more so than whatever other reason we would base it on.

I know there is an Active Travel Programme, I just dont know whether were going to be able to wait two or three years. Again, how do we prioritise which Active Travel Programme should go first? Thats a question I would like to ask.

I have spoken to David Jones [Director of Major Capital Projects & Infrastructure Delivery at the council] and he is meeting me this week and the Gardai also want to meet with us to discussbut its a serious situation and the question on everybodys lips in a massively built up area is why do we keep building houses when were not building infrastructure alongside? Its a simple question; its just very difficult to get an answer.

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I wish the people who were involved in the accident a speedy recovery and I hope we can get something in place to put the traffic lights into the Active Travel Program which were not in the first draft, and it was a bit of a fight to get them into the second draft and I believe there in there now but Ive let to see a drawing and it would be great if I could get a look at that.

Executive Engineer with the council Patrick Callan said that the junction fell under the Active Travel Programme and there is an upgrade of the junction planned in the drawings.

He said he would have to confirm timelines and see when it was proposed to start work.
China reports notable progress in climate response, pursuit of dual carbon goals

Xinhua) 16:14, September 11, 2025

BEIJING, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- A report submitted to the ongoing session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Wednesday shows that China has made notable progress in addressing climate change and advancing its carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, known as the dual carbon goals.

Delivered by Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu on behalf of the State Council, the report noted that China has built the world's largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system, developed the most complete new-energy industrial chain, and contributed a quarter of the world's newly added greened area.

China's carbon intensity reduction and its share of non-fossil fuels in energy consumption are broadly in line with the expected progress toward the country's 2030 nationally determined contribution (NDC) targets, while its installed capacity of wind and solar power, as well as forest stock volume, have already met the targets ahead of schedule, according to the report.

The report said China's energy and industrial transitions have achieved notable results, with installed capacity backed by non-fossil fuels accounting for 60.9 percent of total installed capacity by the end of June 2025.

Progress has also been made in other sectors -- including green buildings, clean and low-carbon transport, and the national carbon trading market, the report said, while adding that China has made important contributions to global climate governance.

Huang said China faces arduous challenges in controlling carbon intensity, as it must move from carbon peak to carbon neutrality within the shortest time span in history and deliver steep cuts -- while also advancing green transition amid a complex international climate governance landscape.

The report called for the continued implementation of a national strategy for actively responding to climate change, the steady advancement of carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, and the formulation and delivery of the 2035 NDC targets to foster green, low-carbon and high-quality development.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Liang Jun)
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has reported that Environmental Health Officers in the HSE served eight Closure Orders and one Prohibition Order on food businesses across the country during the month of August for breaches of food safety regulation, including one premises in Louth.

According to its latest report, McDonalds Restaurant at The Waterfront on Rathmullen Road in Drogheda was served Closure Orders for the storage unit at the side of the premises under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020.

As of this Wednesday, the Order, which was served on the proprietor on August 27, remains in place.

The inspector's report, which has been published by the FSAI, outlines a number of concerns arising from the inspection.

Included in the report was the presence of rodent droppings within the storage unit.

The report states: "Rodent droppings were observed on the shelving and within the storage unit. Cleaning agents and disinfectants intended for use on food equipment were stored in this area, leaving them exposed to contamination from rodents."

It also went on to say: "The unit was inadequately pest-proofed, with numerous gaps, holes, and defects in the structure providing potential entry points for rodents."

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Commenting on the full list of Closure Orders across the country published on Wednesday, Chief Executive of the FSAI Greg Dempsey said: "It is disappointing to see the same issues, such as poor hygiene and pest control problems, being identified each month."

He added: "Businesses selling food to consumers need to ensure that they met their legal obligations, and that the food they sell is safe to eat. While the majority of food businesses take their responsibilities to their customers very seriously, we continue to see a small number of businesses subject to enforcement action, including closure, due to their non-compliances with basic food safety standards.

"The FSAI provides assistance and training resources, but will, with our colleagues in the National Environmental Health Service, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, take action against these operators as necessary to protect consumers, and to retain the publics confidence in the food system."

Mr Dempsey concluded: "We also have an online complaint process at www.fsai.ie/makeitbetter, where consumers can report inappropriate and unsafe food and practices, which can result in enforcement action being taken. This is an essential component of the food system and it supports the work of the food inspectorate to ensure the highest standards and quality across the food chain."



Details of the food businesses served with Enforcement Orders are published on the FSAIs website - fsai.ie.
Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) has announced that Dr. Ronan Bree has been appointed to the Management Board of EDEN Digital Learning Europe  Europes leading network for advancing digital education.

Senior Lecturer in Education Development and Digital Practice in the Centre of Excellence for Learning and Teaching, Ronan has played a transformative role in enhancing digital teaching and learning in recent years.

This includes serving as an Education Developer with the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching & Learning in Higher Education, where he worked on the design and development of the National Resource Hub for open educational resources.

More recently, Ronan was DkITs Institute Lead for the N-TUTORR project  a 40m initiative which sought to empower learners, develop staff capabilities, and embed digital ecosystems to transform learning across Irelands Technological Higher Education sector.

EDEN Digital Learning Europe is an international educational association and not-for-profit organisation focused on the development and exchange of research, policy and practice in open, distance, and digital education.

As a professional community for learning, EDEN fosters knowledge exchange and enhances understanding among professionals in these fields, while promoting best practices and policies throughout Europe and beyond.

As part of his new role, Ronan attended EDENs Annual Conference, which included a role as a panel member in the events PhD Symposium  a supportive platform for those completing PhD programmes in this field.

This years conference focused on Shaping the Future of Education in the Age of AI: Empowering Inclusion, Innovation and Ethical Growth. The conference welcomed over 300 delegates to the University of Bologna where they collectively explored the transformative potential of generative AI in education.

Topics included personalised learning, micro-credentials, global learning networks, AI literacy, and the ethical implications of AI in teaching, learning and assessment.

The conference also explored shaping digital and AI-driven education policy across Europe, with a strong emphasis on inclusion, societal well-being, and upskilling for the future of work.

Speaking about his new appointment, Ronan said: It is a great privilege to join the EDEN Management Board and I look forward to contributing to the strategic dialogue on the future of digital learning across Europe. As an educational community, we stand at a pivotal moment where AI has the potential to redefine how we teach, assess, and support our students. Following on from the conference, Im excited to contribute to the conversation on harnessing AI responsibly and creatively, ensuring that educational innovation remains grounded in equity, quality, and human-centred values.

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DkITs Head of Learning and Teaching, Dr. Gerry Gallagher added: We are delighted to congratulate Ronan on his appointment to this very prestigious role on the Management Board of EDEN Digital Learning Europe. Over a period of almost 35 years, EDEN has developed as a network which seeks to lead in the advancement of digital education in Europe.

Ronans position on its Management Board means that DkIT will be able to contribute to ongoing its dialogue on the integration of educational technology into learning and teaching, while being able to capitalise on valuable insights and support from our European colleagues. This will be particularly important as all our institutions grapple with the possibilities and implications of AI in higher education.
School wardens who were brought under the control of Cork City Council, having previously been county council employees prior to the 2019 boundary extension, are still being paid less than their counterparts who have always been in the city division.

People Before ProfitSolidarity councillor Brian McCarthy sought a suspension of standing orders at Monday nights Cork City Council meeting for a motion on pay for school wardens.

His request was granted by the other councillors, and the motion was heard in the presence of several wardens in the public gallery.

Scandal

Last December, I raised the scandal of school wardens in the new city areas being paid 42% less a week than school wardens in the old city areas, he said.

In that motion, I called for four things. An explanation to be provided as to how and why this decision was made; for their pay to be brought up to the level it should be; for it to be backdated to when the workers first moved over to the city, and for Cork City Council to issue an apology to the workers affected."

That motion was passed with unanimous support, but to date, only one of those things is being offered; for their pay going forward to be brought up to the level of the other wardens.

No explanation, no apology, and theyve been told theyre not getting the back pay.

This is not what the council voted for last December.

Negotiations

Cork City Council CEO Valerie OSullivan said at the meeting that the terms and conditions of school wardens, including rates of pay, have been the subject of negotiations and discussions with their union, Siptu.

Those negotiations have been ongoing for some considerable time and are now very close to reaching a resolution, she said, adding that there was an inaccuracy in the motion, in that the 42% quoted was not the universal difference.

Its more complex than that, and is a marginal difference in the hourly rate of pay which we are referring back to try and make par with each other, she said, adding that part of the issue also came from the number of hours worked.
A motorist who failed to stop at an accident and later ran over an investigating gardas foot before fleeing to Britain eventually handed himself in, Mallow District Court has heard.

Court presenter Sergeant Linda OLeary told the court that James OSullivan, aged 25, of Hazel Avenue, Dromcollogher, Co Limerick, was the driver of a transit van that was involved in a collision at Seeds, Dromcollogher, on October 22, 2022.

OSullivan left the scene with two other men in the van. A short time later, while the investigating garda was at the scene interviewing the other motorist involved in the collision, OSullivan approached in the transit van from the opposite direction, towing a trailer full of timber.

The garda beckoned him to stop and approached the open drivers window to speak to OSullivan. As the garda approached the transit van, OSullivan sped away and rolled over the gardas left foot in the process. The garda sustained significant injuries to his foot, which required three months of physiotherapy.

A Garda patrol later stopped the transit van, and the three males jumped out of the vehicle and made their escape, running off through fields in different directions.

OSullivan had been disqualified from driving for dangerous driving at the time of the incident and later fled to Britain.

The court heard that OSullivan returned to Ireland in June 2024 and presented himself at Charleville Garda Station. He later pleaded guilty to endangerment. The court was informed that he had two previous convictions, including the one for dangerous driving.

Judge Colm Roberts remanded OSullivan in custody until October 7 for the completion of a probation report.
Kindness is contagious, and one persons good deed can encourage another, Fergal Dennehy, Lord Mayor of Cork, told pupils in Gaelscoil an Ghoirt Alainn.

Mr Dennehy began the annual mayoral school visits yesterday morning in Montenotte, and also visited Scoil Mhuire and St Angelas.

Students at Gaelscoil an Ghoirt Alainn erupt in celebration after Lord Mayor of Cork councillor Fergal Dennehy announces a night off homework during his annual visit to primary schools in Cork city. Picture Chani Anderson

We live in a time when so much of what we see, especially online, can be full of hate, nastiness, and negativity, Mr Dennehy said.

But the truth is, every one of us has the power to make the world a kinder, safer place, simply by looking out for each other.

Faye Kenny, Beatrix Hamilton, and Freya Fewer during Lord Mayor of Cork councillor Fergal Dennehys annual visit to primary schools in Cork city at Gaelscoil an Ghoirt Alainn.

Mr Dennehy will call to more than 130 schools across the city in the coming weeks, meeting thousands of children and staff, in a tradition dating back more than a century and begun in 1920 by Terence MacSwiney.

Random act of kindness

Looking out for each other can be something as small as noticing when a class-mate is feeling left out, offering a smile to brighten someones day, or carrying out a random act of kindness without expecting anything in return, said Mr Dennehy.

Expressions vary among the junior infants seated on the floor at the front of the assembly hall in Gaelscoil an Ghoirt Alainn as Lord Mayor of Cork Fergal Dennehy addresses them during his annual visit to primary schools in Cork city. Picture Chani Anderson

These small gestures may seem ordinary, but they have an extraordinary impact. They create ripples of positivity that spread through our schools, our families, and our city. My hope is that by sharing this message, even if it reaches just one child and inspires them to act with kindness, it will have been worthwhile.

Because kindness is contagious, and one persons good deed can encourage another, until it becomes a habit that shapes our community for the better.

Eilish Rose, Delilah Cosgrove, Siun Moakley Reilly, Gracie Rall OConnor, Tess Kenny, Aoibhin Burke, and Alexandra Rall-OConnor pictured with the banner that welcomed Lord Mayor of Cork councillor Fergal Dennehy to Gaelscoil an Ghoirt Alainn during his annual visit to primary schools in Cork city.

Mr Dennehy said he was delighted to embark on the school visits after he had postponed them last week out of respect for striking school caretakers and secretaries.

On his visits, Mr Dennehy will speak about the importance of kindness, and will distribute more than 40,000 bookmarks urging students to mind each other every day.
Cork City Council has said that it is actively engaging with the owners of a derelict former stately home on the outskirts of the city, as a councillor has called for urgency as the home is falling apart.

Vernon Mount House, a neo-classical Georgian mansion built in the 1780s and overlooking Corks South Ring Rd, had fallen into dereliction in recent years and was badly damaged in a fire in 2016.

The OPW said in late 2021 that it had no jurisdiction over the property, and calls have been made by several local councillors to issue a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) so that the site could be used.

Independent councillor Kieran McCarthy recently asked the council for an update on the current planning status of Vernon Mount House and the work to unlock its dereliction.

Accruing levies

Niall ODonnabhain, the councils director of planning and integrated development, told him at Mondays council meeting that Vernon Mount House was placed on the Derelict Sites Register in 2021, and has been accruing levies since that time.

Mr McCarthy told The Echo that the local authority was actively engaging with the owners to offer its assistance with any redevelopment plans in order to secure a positive outcome for this important and challenging site.

It is clear that the city councils planning directorate is putting pressure on the owners of Vernon Mount House.

I am led to believe that there is a forthcoming meeting between City Hall and the owners of the structure to try to seek a resolution on the future of the property, he said.

It is a really great shame seeing this once historic structure falling apart to its foundations. An urgent resolution is required to secure the future of the house.
Cork city councillors have unanimously backed calls for the grounds of the former Bessborough mother and baby institution to be turned into a public park.

It comes as the council warned that changes would need to be made to zoning in the city development plan, and that the cost of compulsorily acquiring the site would be significant.

Labours Peter Horgan asked that the council seek to begin a process with the relevant government departments to use a compulsory purchase order on the entire land at Bessborough in order to make it a new public park and memorial to the history of the site.

Zoning

He was told at the councils corporate policy group meeting: There is a mix of zoning objectives in the Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028 in the demesne at Bessborough, with a portion zoned open space, and remaining land zoned for housing.

A number of planning applications have been refused on the lands. The compulsory purchase of the lands and their development as a public park would require a significant level of expenditure by the city council and at this time there is no central funding mechanism that can be called upon to cover this expenditure, either fully or in part.

The city council has been engaging with survivor representatives in relation to appropriate ways to commemorate and respect the history of this and other institutions.

The written response continued: The development of the lands at Bessborough were given significant consideration during the preparation and consultation processes of the statutory Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028.

The specific zoning regime for the site and site specific development objectives are outlined in the plan and acknowledge the special character, history, and intrinsic landscape value of the site.

The plan seeks to facilitate the appropriate development of the site, including the development of housing and the use of part of the grounds as a neighbourhood park.

Should council wish to proceed to compulsorily purchase the entirety of the lands at Bessborough for a public park, the governing zoning regime and stated objectives of the city development plan would need to be appropriately amended and justified through the statutory review process of the next city development plan.

Welcome

Mr Horgan, whose motion was unanimously agreed, told The Echo: I welcome the agreement from councillors on the report on the motion.

I believe the motion seeks to begin the process of memory and atonement in Bessborough.

It is very much my view that no building can take place there and it must become a public park of reflection.

Now we have council approval, the next step is to engage Government, including An Taoiseach and An Tanaiste.

Working together for the memory of the events that happened there must be the core on this.
There was a huge crowd at the Dungourney versus Lisgoold

hurling game in Castlelyons last Sunday. After a rip-roaring match, the men from Jamesey Kellehers parish won.

One very interested and vocal Dungourney supporter was Dan Leahy, or to give him his correct title, Brother Nicholas Leahy. He celebrated his 87th birthday the day before the match, so overall it was a great weekend for the affable and adventurous octogenarian.

At an age when many might think of slowing down, Br Dan still has an amazing zest for life - for walking, talking, following hurling, charity work, and sticking with the vows he took a long, long time ago.

I think I first met Dan Leahy over 15 years ago - maybe in 2007 or 2008. Theres a saying in the Irish language, is ait an mac an saol - literally, life is a strange son, or you just never know what to expect from life, and it perfectly sums up how I met this remarkable East Cork man.

His sister Betty Flynn had suggested I should go and meet a 90 year old man in the parish of Dungourney. Why? says I to Betty -Because hes a great man for stories and history and yed get on great.

Well, a few weeks after that recommendation I turned my car down a narrow boreen to meet a man named Jim Willis. The Willis house is situated way down a long, long boreen half a mile in from the road. I drove the car down to the house.

What a setting! As one went down into the glen, a patch of ground was covered with bluebells - it was like the place was painted blue, apparently this was where the good fairies lived.

You know in the tale of the Red Riding Hood, the beautiful picture postcard house in the middle of the woods with the roses round the door? Well, Jim Willis house was just like that - an idyllic setting next to a little stream in Gleann an Phuca - the Glen of the Pooka!

Dan Leahy, or to give him his correct title, Brother Nicholas Leahy

I knocked at the door and Jim welcomed me in after I explained his friend Betty Flynn had told me to call.

We hit it off like a ton of bricks! For decades - close on a century - the Willis family and the Kennedys before them had been bosom friends with the Leahys. In days gone by, when time meant nothing and friendship everything, visiting peoples houses was the social media of that era.

So I got to know Jim Willis and also the Leahy family. Jims first cousin Mary Murphy and her daughter Mary Budds were Jims closest relations and along with the Leahys were a great support for Jim in his old age.

I was delighted to hear of Dan Leahys progression from Dungourney National School to becoming a teaching Patrician Brother and spending a spell on Mission work in Kenya.

I remember in the early 1960s different Religious Orders calling to our National School. You could say they were canvassing - looking for young recruits to join up. From Bartlemy NS, Geraldine Leahy joined the Josephite Order  her sister Mary joined the Order later -and both still minister in Australia.

So, when young Dan Leahy showed an interest in the religious life and got a calling, the representative of the Patrician Order called to the Leahy homestead to meet the parents.

The story goes that on entering the Leahy home - there were nine children in the family - the Patrician declared Im safe here! He wasnt referring to a safe house as in olden days but he had spotted hanging on the wall a fine portrait of Dans uncle, William O Donovan.

Years before that, William had joined the Patrician Order, taking the name Br Isodore. Truly, life can be strange with so many twists and turns!

In the last few years of his life, Jim Willis was cared for wonderfully in Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Midleton. Here too in her old age was his friend and neighbour Mrs Kathleen Leahy. Often, when I visited Jim there Id meet Dan (Br Nicholas) and other family members visiting their mother. She celebrated her 100th birthday in March, 2009.

I was visiting the hospital just after Christmas of that year. Mrs Leahy told me that Jim - down the corridor - was keeping well. She recalled a night of card playing in her house -maybe 75 years before that. She was darning a sock by the fire - her nine children were fast asleep in bed. She got up to do something and left the sock on the chair. A voice (not her husbands) came from the card school Sit down there - that stocking will be needed in the morning. At 101 she laughed with me but twas no laughing matter all those years ago!

From that home, 13-year-old Dan Leahy left for the Patrician Juniorate in Tullow, Co Carlow. He trained as a primary school teacher and in August, 1955 - 70 years ago - he made his first Profession as a Patrician Brother, taking the name Nicholas.

His has been a remarkable career and life as an educator and guide to so many young people setting out on the stony, sometimes rocky, path of life. Br Dan taught in Mountrath, Tullow, Mallow, and Abbeyleix.

In 1928, the Patrician Order had taken over Ballyfin House in Co Laois and established a secondary school there - its now a luxury 7-star hotel.

In less luxurious times, Br Dan spent a year there. He loved Laois.

In 1915, Laois won their only All Ireland Senior Hurling title - trained by Pat Lee from Bartlemy. Ten years ago, that win was commemorated.

Along with members of the Lee family, I was invited when Cork played Laois (a repeat of the 1915 final) in a Senior Hurling match -the first man I met there that day was Br Dan!

Having retired from teaching, he spent eight years working on the Mission fields in Kenya - a country he loves. He is an avid walker and in Kerry, West Cork or his beloved East Cork, Dan Leahy can be seen pounding roads and mountain paths.

Back in August, 2010, Jim Willis took a turn in Midleton Hospital. On the Bank Holiday Monday I called to see him. Though weak, he recognised me and smiled. I went home to milk the cows and returned later. Jims relations were there.

Br Dan and Fr Colie Donovan prayed with Jim and for him. He died later that night as I sat by his bedside.

We buried Jim in Dangandonovan cemetery two days later and Br Dan played the mouth-organ by the graveside - only for Jim, Id never have met Br Dan Leahy.

In July, I met Dan after the All Ireland Hurling Final. Our paths crossed at Gills Corner above Jones Road. We looked at each other, but to tell the truth, like so many Corkonians that day, we were speechless!

What a man - 87 last week, and seven decades serving his God and the Patrician Order.

We plan to walk that grassy boreen down to the Willis homestead in Glenaphuca, maybe next month. We will truly be bringing it all back home.
Cork actor Dominic MacHale is perhaps best known for his portrayal of the slightly unhinged yet lovable Garda Healy in Leeside comedy The Young Offenders.

He has spent many years working as a theatre actor, making appearances on screen, and teaching theatre workshops.

Now, he is combining his passion for acting and teaching by leaving his nine-to-five job to present an Acting for Camera course in Cork city.

MacHale says that this is something he has always wanted to do, and recent circumstances have provided him with the opportunity to take this exciting leap into a new venture.

Ive had a lot of change over the last year. I became a father in 2024, which has been a cause for reflection. I began to think, I have a certain amount of time, what do I want to do with it? What am I passionate about?

I always get a buzz out of teaching. I work for a role-play company that does educational workshops. I come away from those full of energy.

I would do them every day if I could, but that isnt possible, so I began to think, is there a way for me to generate my own classes, and what could I potentially offer people as a subject?

Dominic MacHale as Garda Healy in The Young Offenders. Picture: Miki Barlok

MacHale wants to utilise the experiences he has learned throughout his career to help actors through his course.

I have a lot to share with people, particularly because my journey has been unorthodox, he said.

I didnt study acting. I studied science and had to learn the craft from the ground up myself.

This is not theoretical in the traditional sense; much of it will be practical. It will include things like what it is like to be on a set, and whats required of you as an actor, and what do casting directors look for in an actor?

There are two courses- one for beginners and another for actors who want to get experience in front of the camera.

The classes will take place in the Civic Trust House, which MacHale says feels like a full circle moment because that is where he did his audition for The Young Offenders.

MacHale says that the comedy changed the trajectory of his career, as well as the film industry in Cork.

Historically, people would have thought of screen work in Ireland as being Dublin-focused. Theatre you can do from anywhere in the country, but if you wanted to get on-camera work, Dublin was the place.

The Young Offenders is a Cork-based production company shooting in Cork using Cork actors. It opened my eyes and so many others.

Instead of travelling elsewhere to make your living and to produce art, we could now do it from our home city.

MacHale points out that since the show began, there has been a wealth of young Cork actors gaining international attention.

Obviously, Cillian Murphy is our best-known Cork actor, but look at how well Chris Walley and Alex Murphy are doing. Look at Eanna Hardwicke and Allison Oliver. This is a great time to be an actor from Cork.

People are blazing trails, theyre putting Cork on the map, and theres such a wealth of talent here.

Id love to be able to play a part in helping develop that talent and helping to give Cork actors a platform on which to push on with their careers.

MacHale says he is eager to provide actors with the opportunity to gain on-camera experience like he was given by The Young Offenders film.

They are actors who are willing to work hard, very enthusiastic about the profession, but not sure what the next steps are, and crying out for an opportunity to gain more experience on camera.

I was lucky in that thats what The Young Offenders provided for me. Id never done a feature film or much camera work before the film came along.

Not everybody is going to be that fortunate to land a successful feature film as one of their first jobs on camera, so hopefully my course will help to create a pathway to help people push forward.

Although MacHale cannot say too much about the upcoming fifth season of The Young Offenders, he gave some hints as to what to expect from it.

The film was a crime caper about two guys who came up with this great criminal plan and then tried to execute the plan while battling a maniacal bicycle Garda. This new season brings it back to a more crime-based show in an exciting way.

MacHale says the show owes much of its success to people of Cork, who have embraced them while filming in locations across the city.

The support is amazing. Shooting the movie, nobody knew who we were or what we were doing. It was just a couple of guys with a camera and a boom mic. Nobody was paying much attention to us.

By season one, were filming on Paul Street, in front of what felt like a live audience. Wed ask for about 30 seconds of silence while we film the scene, and there wasnt a whisper. That has continued throughout the five seasons.

We were filming on Oliver Plunkett Street for the most recent one, with a big crowd of people watching. As soon as we started rolling, the crowd went quiet again.

The people of Cork have been absolutely amazing in terms of their support and their co-operation. Hopefully, I can give something back to the next generation of screen actors.

For more information on MacHales Acting for Camera classes, contact actingforcamerainfo@gmail.com
By Rebecca Black, PA

Coroners in Northern Ireland are set to be able to investigate some deaths abroad under a plan published by Justice Minister Naomi Long.

Legislation is intended to be introduced which will allow coroners in the region to carry out inquests into unexpected, unexplained or suspicious deaths which occur abroad, and where the body has been returned to Northern Ireland.

It is set to bring Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the UK and Ireland where coroners, or the Lord Advocate in Scotland, can already investigate a death abroad where a body has been repatriated.

Ms Long she wants to ensure citizens in Northern Ireland have the same access to an investigation.

Stormont Justice Minister Naomi Long. Photo: Niall Carson/PA.

Losing a loved one in any circumstance is one of most traumatic experiences that any family can go through, she said.

Where that death is unexpected, or where the circumstances are not clear or suspicious, the absence of answers only serves to compound their grief.

My view has always been that it was not sustainable for Northern Ireland to be a place apart from our nearest neighbours and for our citizens not to have the same access to an investigation as their counterparts in England and Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.

At the same time, a careful balance must be struck.

I want our coronial system to help as many bereaved families as possible, while bearing in mind the very real practical difficulties that may limit what is possible in such cases.

However, coronial investigations into a death abroad are limited by the fact coroners have no powers to compel foreign authorities to co-operate with an inquest, nor secure witnesses to provide evidence.

A second post mortem following repatriation also presents significant technical and practical difficulties for the State Pathologists Department where a post mortem has already been carried out abroad.

While the planned legislation will not change this, it will allow coroners to investigate deaths that have occurred abroad where they meet certain criteria.

Ms Long said her preference is that reporting a death should be family-led.

Families may, but should not be required, to report a death, and it should be in circumstances where that death is unexpected, unexplained, or in suspicious circumstances, and where they are concerned that overseas authorities have not established the cause and circumstance of the death, or there is doubt about the accuracy of any findings, she said.

This will support those families who may still want answers, while empowering those who want to move on to make funeral arrangements without any further unnecessary bureaucracy.

I also remain of the view that there should be clear statutory criteria to define the circumstances in which an inquest could take place, with the Attorney-General for Northern Ireland having the primary decision-making function.

This will bring clarity to the law and ensure there is a consistent approach which supports families without adding further grief and trauma.
By Cillian Sherlock, PA

The Taoiseach has defended Fianna Fail presidential candidate Jim Gavins comments about Israels military objectives in Gaza.

Micheal Martin, the leader of Fianna Fail, said there had been attempts to sow division over the issue of Israels war in the region.

In a recent interview with Virgin Media News, Mr Gavin said: Its unconscionable that the bombing is still taking place when I believe that the military objectives have probably been reached for that military campaign.

Jim Gavin is very clear in that interview, absolutely said it was unconscionable what is happening - as we all believe. Why is Sinn Fein always trying to create division on this question, trying to be more virtuous than the other person, trying to sort of say 'well, that person is for Israel' when they clearly are not? Micheal Martin

Sinn Fein has called for the candidate to withdraw his remark, with senior party figure Pearse Doherty calling it a disgraceful way to talk about the brutal slaughter of tens of thousands of men, women and children.

In a social media post, Mr Doherty added: It is a genocide, Jim.

Mr Martin defended Mr Gavins comments on Thursday and attacked Sinn Fein for what he described as an appalling distortion of the comments.

Speaking to reporters, the Taoiseach said: Jim Gavin is very clear in that interview, absolutely said it was unconscionable what is happening, as we all believe.

Why is Sinn Fein always trying to create division on this question, trying to be more virtuous than the other person, trying to sort of say well, that person is for Israel when they clearly are not?

He added: Everyone knows  the IDF themselves think and this is the point  that theres no absolutely no justification but Prime Minister Netanyahu is continuing.

But this is a distortion by Sinn Fein, and its nasty, and it should stop.

Mr Martin said Sinn Fein was trying to undermine Mr Gavin, whose life had been dedicated to peacekeeping during his time in the Defence Forces.

One would imagine the Irish Government is supporting Israel the way Sinn Fein goes on  and language around complicity in genocide and of that is just bad politics.

Pressed on whether he would use the same language on military campaigns and objectives as Mr Gavin, Mr Martin said the remark was made in the context of reporting that even the IDF had acknowledged its military objectives were well gone.

He added: Its not that we endorse it. Whats going on at the moment, as Jim Gavin said, is unconscionable.

Elsewhere in the race, Heather Humphreys said she had no role in whipping Fine Gael councillors to block independent candidates seeking a nomination through local authorities.

To be eligible to run for the election on October 24th, a candidate must be nominated either by 20 members of the Oireachtas or four local authorities.

Several independents have expressed an interest in securing a nomination through the local authority process  but this will be difficult without the support of Government councillors.

Fine Gael has directed its councillors not to facilitate the nomination of anyone other than its candidate  Ms Humphreys.

Asked on Thursday if she supported that order, Ms Humphreys said: Thats the partys national executive that decided that, and thats the stance on candidates seeking council support.

I had no role in that, and my focus is on my campaign and my pitch to voters around the country.

She added: Im a former councillor myself, and I have to say Im very encouraged by the support Im getting from the Fine Gael councillors and indeed, councillors from across different parties and independent councillors.

Speaking to Ocean FM, Ms Humphreys said: Theres a process here to get on on the ballot paper for the presidential election and, look, its up to people to go ahead and talk to people and see can they get on it.

I have no problem with that at all. But look the Fine Gael national executive made that decision  I had no role in it.
By Bairbre Holmes, PA

Too many people have remained silent over the killing of US political activist Charlie Kirk, the Tanaiste has said.

Mr Kirk, a 31-year-old ally of US president Donald Trump, was shot dead at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Simon Harris said there needs to be consistent condemnation of political threats and violence.

He said: Too many people use the word but in relation to what happened overnight.

Its extraordinarily easy to condemn violent acts against somebody with whom you share their views.

It is much more important that we are consistent in terms of calling it out when its against somebody whose work, whose views differ to us.

Charlie Kirk (Meredith Seaver/College Station Eagle via AP)

The Tanaistes comments come after a spate of violent threats against him and his family, including bomb threats made in relation to his family home.

Breaking ground at a development of 395 homes in Lucan, Dublin, Mr Harris condemned the assassination of the father-of-two as appalling, horrifying and deeply disturbing.

He added: It sadly seems were living in a world now where political violence, political threats, rhetoric around violence and extremism is almost contagious, contagious right across the globe, and it cannot be tolerated.

Green Party leader Roderic OGorman called for changes to social media algorithms (Brian Lawless/PA)

Meanwhile, the leader of the Green Party told the RTE Radio he thinks the algorithms used by social media platforms need to be looked at, adding: The ability of platforms to bombard vulnerable people with radicalising content, violent content needs to be recognised.

Mr OGorman said he believed recommender systems need to be turned off and claimed it would take engagement between the Government and Irelands media regulator for that to happen.

Mr Harris said his former coalition partner had made some interesting points during the interview.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin also condemned the absolutely shocking assassination of Mr Kirk, which he said illustrated the extreme nature of violence in our world today.

Speaking to reporters in Dublin, Mr Martin said the cold-blooded killing had sent shockwaves through societies across the world.
Merriam-Webster and its parent company Encyclopedia Britannica are the latest to take on AI in court. The plaintiffs have sued Perplexity, claiming that AI company's "answer engine" product unlawfully copies their copyrighted materials. They are also alleging copyright infringement for instances where Perplexity's AI creates false or inaccurate hallucinations that it then wrongly attributes to Britannica or Merriam-Webster. The complaint , filed in New York federal court, is seeking unspecified monetary damages and an order that blocks Perplexity from misusing their content.

"Perplexity's so-called "answer engine" eliminates users' clicks on Plaintiffs' and other web publishers' websitesand, in turn, starves web publishers of revenueby generating responses to users' queries that substitute the content from other information websites," the filing reads. "To build its substitute product, Perplexity engages in massive copying of Plaintiffs' and other web publishers protected content without authorization or remuneration."
The Federal Trade Commission is making a formal inquiry into companies that provide AI chatbots that can act as companions. The investigation isn't tied to any kind of regulatory action as of yet, but does aim to reveal how companies "measure, test, and monitor potentially negative impacts of this technology on children and teens."

Seven companies are being asked to participate in the FTC's investigation: Google's parent company Alphabet, Character Technologies (the creator of Character.AI), Meta, its subsidiary Instagram, OpenAI, Snap and X.AI. The FTC is asking companies to provide a variety of different information, including how they develop and approve AI characters and "monetize user engagement." Data practices and how companies protect underage users are also areas the FTC hopes to learn more about, in part to see if chatbot makers "comply with the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act Rule."

The FTC doesn't provide clear motivation for its investigation, but in a separate statement, FTC Commissioner Mark Meador suggests the Commission is responding to recent reports from The New York Times and Wall Street Journal of "chatbots amplifying suicidal ideation" and engaging in "sexually-themed discussions with underage users."

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"If the facts  as developed through subsequent and appropriately targeted law enforcement inquiries, if warranted  indicate that the law has been violated, the Commission should not hesitate to act to protect the most vulnerable among us," Meador writes.

As the long-term productivity benefits of using AI become less and less certain, the more immediate negative privacy and health impacts have become red meat for regulators. Texas' Attorney General has already launched a separate investigation into Character. AI and Meta AI Studio over similar concerns of data privacy and chatbots claiming to be mental health professionals.
Senators Edward J. Markey, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley sent a letter Thursday to Acting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons urging the agency to stop using Mobile Fortify, a smartphone app that uses biometric identification, including facial recognition. The lawmakers said facial recognition remains unreliable and warned that real-time surveillance could have a chilling effect on constitutionally protected activities.

"As studies have shown, when individuals believe they are being surveilled, they are less likely to engage in First Amendment-protected activities, such as protests or rallies  undermining the very core of our democracy, the senators wrote.

They requested answers from the agency by October 2 as to who built the app, when it was deployed, whether ICE tested its accuracy, the legal basis for its use and current agency policies governing the tool's use. They also asked whether ICE would commit to ending the use of Mobile Fortify, and to explain why if they would not. The letter was also signed by Senators Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Chris Van Holle, Tina Smith, Bernie Sanders and Adam Schiff.

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Earlier this summer The Washington Post reported that the New Orleans police were secretly using facial recognition on a private camera network of over 200 live feeds. This went on for two years despite city ordinances requiring the technology only be used to search for specific suspects of violent crimes, and that the use be documented and reported to the city council. Facial recognition technology remains controversial, though a plurality of Americans support its use in both law enforcement and the workplace, with limitations.

As there is still no federal regulation on the use of facial recognition, states have been left to craft their own guardrails, with states like Illinois allowing individuals to sue for damages over misuse of biometric data and requiring written consent for its use. Last year Meta paid a $1.4 billion settlement to the state of Texas (the largest financial settlement ever paid out to a single state) for allegedly collecting biometric data on millions of Texans without their consent.
Have you played around with the new iOS 26 yet? Here's how to download it on your iPhone if you haven't yet  once you do, you'll notice several new changes, including a clear design called Liquid Glass. The translucent look can be found within apps as well as your lock and home screens. (You can't turn it off, but you can reduce the transparency to make it less clear.) The overhaul is one of several big changes that come with iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS and the rest of Apple's software suite  the new operating system updates for those gadgets are also available to download now.

You'll also see multiple useful additions in the Phone and Messages apps. For instance, the ability to weed out spam texts or unknown senders and an option to hold your spot on a phone call when you've been waiting for a representative to pick up. And for fun, you can now create polls in group texts. Other new improvements coming include a confirmed AirPods live translation feature, and a new bouncy animation on the passcode screen and in the Control Center.

If you're planning to upgrade your phone this year, take a look at all the new models Apple unveiled during its iPhone 17 event, from the iPhone 17 lineup (check out our review of the iPhone 17) to the all-new ultra-thin iPhone Air (take a look at our hands-on review). If you missed the keynote, you can catch up on everything Apple announced here or rewatch the full iPhone 17 launch. The company rounded out its announcements with three new Apple Watch models, as well as the brand-new AirPods Pro 3.

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Most newer iPhone models are eligible to download iOS 26. We've rounded up a full list of new features you'll have to check out. If you're waiting to update your phone until iOS 26.1 becomes available, note that the beta version is available now so it shouldn't be too long before it's released to the public.

What is iOS 26 and should I download iOS 18.7 first?

Instead of releasing iOS 19, Apple skipped its naming convention ahead to iOS 26. The company has decided to line up its iOS version numbers with a year-based system, similar to car model years. So while iOS and its sibling operating systems were released in 2025, they're all designated "26" to reflect the year ahead.

Apple also released iOS 18.7 alongside iOS 26 to address security issues  great news if you don't have a phone that's eligible to run the latest OS. If you're wondering which one to download first, it's really up to you. Do you want to wait for Apple to quash any bugs in iOS 26 or do you want access to all the new features everyone's talking about now?

It's official, we're moving to iOS 26. (Apple)

What is Liquid Glass design?

Let's be honest. Out of everything announced at WWDC this year, the new Liquid Glass design was the star of the show. The iPhone's home and lock screens have looked pretty much the same year after year  the last exciting thing (in my opinion) was the option to add your own aesthetic to your home screen by customizing your apps and widgets. So seeing the home and lock screens' new facelift is refreshing.

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So what exactly is Liquid Glass? Apple calls it a "new translucent material" since, well, the apps and widgets are clear. However, the screen can still adapt to dark and light modes, depending on surroundings. You'll also notice buttons with a new floating design in several apps, like Phone and Maps. They're designed to be less distracting than the current buttons, but are still easy to see.

While the design overhaul has proven to be controversial since its announcement, some  including Engadget's Devindra Hardawar  like the new direction, even if it's somewhat reminiscent of Microsoft's translucent Windows Vista Aero designs from nearly twenty years ago.

That said, while it was in beta mode, Apple incorporated some user feedback into the design, dialing back the transparency in at least some places. And while it will continue to evolve, Apple users won't be able to escape it: The company says Liquid Glass was designed to make all of its platforms more cohesive.

Here's a look at how the translucent aesthetic looks with the new macOS Tahoe 26 on your desktop.

How to turn iOS 26 Liquid Glass settings off

If you find you don't like the new clear look after downloading iOS 26, you can change a couple Accessibility settings, though you can't completely turn off Liquid Glass. For starters, you can reduce the liquid look by going to Settings > Accessibility > Motion > toggle on Reduce Motion.

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You can make your drop-down menus more opaque instead of translucent by going to Settings >Accessibility > Display & Text Size > toggle on Reduce Transparency.

You can also change your clear apps back to the way they were. Just press and hold any app on your screen and select Edit Home Screen. From here, tap Edit (top left) and Customize. You can swap out to Default, Dark or Tinted.

What are the new and notable features of iOS 26?

iOS 26 has a laundry list of new features. Among the most worthwhile:

Phone app redesign: You can now scroll through contacts, recent calls and voicemail messages all on one screen. It also comes with a new feature called Hold Assist that'll notify you when an agent comes to the phone so you can avoid the elevator music and continue on with other tasks.

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Live Translation in Phone, FaceTime and Messages: iOS 26 brings the ability to have a conversation via phone call, FaceTime or text message with someone who speaks another language. Live Translation uses Apple Intelligence and it will translate your conversation in real time, which results in some stop-and-go interactions in the examples Apple shared during its presentation.

Polls in group chats: Tired of sorting through what seems like hundreds of messages in your group chat? You and your friends can now create polls in group messages to decide things like which brunch spot you're eating at or whose car you're taking on a road trip.

Filtering unknown senders in Messages: If you haven't received spam texts about unpaid tolls or other citations, you're lucky. For those of us who have, those annoying messages will soon be filtered away in a separate folder.

Visual Intelligence: Similar to a reverse Google image search, this new feature will allow you to search for anything that's on your iPhone screen. For instance, if you spot a pair of shoes someone is wearing in an Instagram photo, you can screenshot it and use Visual Intelligence to find those shoes (or similar ones) online.

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Photos tabs are back: For anyone who's been frustrated with last year's changes to the Photos app, you'll be happy to know that your tabs are back. Library and Collections have their own separate spaces so you don't have to scroll to infinity to find what you're looking for.

Camera app updates: Navigating the Camera app should be simpler in iOS 26, as all the buttons and menus are in convenient spots  less swiping, more photo taking. Plus, there's a new feature that tells you if your lens needs to be cleaned.

FaceTime "Communication Safety" feature: A newer addition to iOS 26 appears to be the FaceTime "Communication Safety" feature that pauses communications if and when nudity is detected. The feature appears to be a child safety feature that uses on-device detection, thus obviating any cloud-based privacy issues.

New lock screen options: The iPhone lock screen is more customizable in iOS 26, with a cooler clock, 3D wallpaper effects, more widgets and better focus mode options.

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New alarm setting: You'll no longer be stuck with the 9-minute snooze setting in your alarms. Instead, you now have the option to change your snooze time from one to 15 minutes.

Screenshots look different: You'll notice several new features when you take a screenshot, including "highlight to search," the option to search your image on Google and ChatGPT is there for any questions you have about the image.

Preview on iOS 26: There's a new app called Preview that lets you scan documents, fill out PDF forms, as well as highlight, underline or strike through text in a PDF file. You can also remove backgrounds from images in this app.

Apple's Hold Assist will be nifty for those pesky services that put you on hold for 10 or more minutes. (Apple)

New changes with iPadOS 26

Your iPad isn't getting left behind when it comes to big updates. Here's what to look for.

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Multitasking and real windowing: When you download the newest update, you'll be able to have multiple apps running on your screen at the same time. Once you open an app, it'll appear on your screen as normal but you'll be able to resize and move it across your screen to make room for other apps. This feature is optional so you can turn it off if you don't like it.

Visual update: Along with the other new OSes, iPadOS 26 also has the Liquid Glass aesthetic. This new look appears on the lock and home screens, as well as the drop-down menus.

New menu bar: When you swipe down on your screen, the new menu bar will appear with options like File, Edit, Windows and more. There's also a search option if you're looking for something specific.

There's more beyond that, so be sure to check out our first impressions of iPadOS 26.

What about AirPods?

AirPods are also getting updated with iOS 26. Here are some of the more notable functions.

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Enhanced audio recording: Apple calls this "studio-quality" audio recording, and with it, you'll notice more clarity while in noisy environments.

Camera remote control: Using this, you can take a photo or start and stop video recording with just one press on your AirPods. When taking photos, you'll get a three-second countdown before your iPhone or iPad snaps the picture.

Live translation feature: Live translation is available on AirPods Pro 3, AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 with ANC when paired with iPhones running iOS 26. Apple says that when someone speaks to you in a different language, you can use your AirPods to translate what theyre saying.

Heart rate monitoring: Apple introduced new AirPods Pro 3 earbuds this month, which include heart rate monitoring. It will work with Apple's Health app and other fitness apps that track heart rates.

Siri is in a holding pattern. Apple has previously specified that its smarter voice assistant  first promised at WWDC 2024  is delayed until some point "in the coming year," so you shouldn't expect any major changes right now. But there are reports that Apple is aiming to give Siri a bigger brain transplant by basing it on third-party artificial intelligence models like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Anthropic's Claude, which could make 2026 a pivotal year. The company is also reportedly working on a "stripped-down" AI chatbot to rival ChatGPT.

Which iPhones will be able to upgrade to iOS 26?

A few iPhone models that run the current version of iOS  iPhone XR, XS and XS Max  aren't compatible with the latest upgrade. But any iPhones from 2019 or later will be eligible for iOS 26:

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iPhone SE (second generation or later)

iPhone 11

iPhone 11 Pro

iPhone 11 Pro Max

iPhone 12

iPhone 12 mini

iPhone 12 Pro

iPhone 12 Pro Max

iPhone 13

iPhone 13 mini

iPhone 13 Pro

iPhone 13 Pro Max

iPhone 14

iPhone 14 Plus

iPhone 14 Pro

iPhone 14 Pro Max

iPhone 15

iPhone 15 Plus

iPhone 15 Pro

iPhone 15 Pro Max

iPhone 16

iPhone 16 Plus

iPhone 16 Pro

iPhone 16 Pro Max

iPhone 16e

iPhone 17

iPhone Air

iPhone 17 Pro

iPhone 17 Pro Max

When can you download iOS 26?

iOS 26 has officially been released to the public for free as of September 15, 2025.

If you're more interested in the new Apple Intelligence features, here's everything Apple revealed for iOS, macOS and more during WWDC. Also, check out how iOS 26 screenshots could be an intriguing preview of Apple's delayed Siri rework.

Update, September 19: Added details about making Liquid Glass less clear.

Update, September 18: Added info about Engadget's iPhone 17 review.

Update, September 17: Added details and link about the new iPhone Air.

Update, September 16: Added details about modifying Liquid Glass settings, and new info about the Preview app.

Update, September 15: Noted iOS 26 is officially available for download.

Update, September 12: Noted iOS 26 is coming to eligible iPhones in just a few days, timing TBD.

Update, September 11: Added the products Apple released at its Tuesday event and noted when iOS 26 will be available to download.

Update, September 9: Noted the iPhone event is starting soon.

Update, September 8: Noted the iPhone 17 event is tomorrow.

Update, September 4: Added details about how screenshots are different in iOS 26.

Update, September 3: Noted Apple is expected to release iOS 18.7 alongside iOS 26.

Update, September 2: Added more new features coming with iOS 26.

Update, August 29: Added new section about Siri and a link to what's new with the iOS 26 Camera app.

Update, August 27: Added the official iPhone 17 event date, as well as the potential iOS 26 release.

Update, August 25: Added a rumor about new AirPods Pro having heart rate monitoring.

Update, August 22: Noted that Apple has officially stopped signing iOS 18.6.

Update, August 20: Noted that iOS 26 public beta 4 and iOS 18.6.2 are now available to download.

Update, August 18: Added details about a potential iOS 18.6 update.

Update, August 15: Added to link to what to expect at the Apple iPhone event and details about what's available in the iOS 26 screenshots editor.

Update, August 13: Added new AirPods detail spotted in the iOS 26 beta.

Update, August 11: Noted that iOS 26 developer beta has hit beta 6.

Update, August 8: Added new features coming with iPadOS 26 and AirPods.

Update, August 6: Noted the release of iOS 26 beta 5 and the new bouncy feature on passcode screen and Control Center.

Update, August 4: Noted that Apple is reportedly working on a ChatGPT rival.

Update, August 1: Added quote from Tim Cook about iOS 26.

Update, July 31: Noted that iOS 18.6 is now available.

Update, July 24: Noted the iOS 26 public beta is now available.

Update, July 3: Noted new FaceTime feature found in the developer beta.

Update, June 30: Noted ongoing iOS 18 releases, and reports that Apple is considering additional external LLMs for Siri.

Update, June 25: Noted changes added in iOS 26 beta 2.
Europe, the bloc with 24 official languages and 287 spoken in total, won't get Apple's Live Translation with AirPods feature for now. "Live Translation with AirPods is not available if you are in the EU and your Apple Account Country or Region is also in the EU," the company said on its iOS feature availability page. No reason was given, but it may have to do with the EU's strict rules around artificial intelligence and how it impacts privacy.

If that's the case, Apple may be waiting for the EU to approve or examine the feature before implementing it in the region. The AI Act is most strictly applied to "high-risk use cases" involving the potential for discrimination or violation of users' privacy. To that end, the EU may want to ensure that date stored when using the app is kept securely and locally in the bloc.

Apple's phrasing about availability seems to indicate that it will work for North American and other users visiting the bloc and possibly vice-versa. Only users with an Apple Europe account who are also in Europe won't be able to access the feature.

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Live Translation lets users with AirPods communicate naturally with speakers of other languages. If the other party also has AirPods, the conversation is translated and heard by both people. If you're speaking with someone without AirPods, speech is translated onto your phone where it can be either be read or heard by the other party.

Live Translation was first introduced at WWDC as part of iOS 26 and unveiled as a key feature for the AirPods Pro 3 during Apple's "Awe Dropping" event on Tuesday. It will work on iPhone 15 and later devices running Apple Intelligence, and be available with the AirPods Pro 3, AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 once iOS 26 arrives on September 15.

Right now, Live Translation supports real-time translation between English, French, German, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish. However, Apple plans to add Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (simplified) support later in 2025.
Princess Diana was murdered because of her international crusade against landmines, actor and director Keith Allen has asserted, in line with exclusive insights from RadarOnline.com.

Allen, 72, who made the unpopular documentary Unlawful Killing, informed friends his inquiry into Diana's murder points not in the direction of royal intrigue, but towards the money danger presented by her movement.

In remarks posted by insiders familiar with the actor, Allen stated, "People think it's something to do with the royal family loathing Diana... It's obfuscation.

In fact, what people tend to forget is that she had become a spokesperson and focal point for banning landmines."

Allen feels Diana's impact extended to the White House. "There was so much money involved in the manufacture of landmines, and Diana had got Bill Clinton to sign a banning order," he is quoted as saying.

"Within four days of her dying, Clinton rescinded his signature. I would say Diana was murdered."

The accusation revives old conspiracy theories surrounding the 1997 Paris car accident killing Diana, her boyfriend Dodi Fayed, and their chauffeur.

Allen dismisses rumors based on her love affair with Fayed, instead suggesting that her global campaigning  particularly on behalf of landmine victims  threatened to upset influential military-industrial interests.

His documentary film, Unlawful Killing, partially financed by Dodi Fayed's father, former Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed, was withdrawn from release in the U.K. after British censors insisted on 87 cuts.

The film opened at Cannes in 2011 and was criticized for revealing unseen crash footage.

Michael Mansfield QC, counsel for the Fayed family in the official inquest, has voiced similar doubts.

"She raised the profile of the land mines," Mansfield has stated. "It seems to me she had planned various visits... and a witness who knew her well claimed she had an expose diary in which she was going to expose the people most closely involved in the British arms trade. It seems to me that it is not unrelated to her death."

American spy agencies allegedly bugged Diana's phone calls during a stay in Washington, D.C., with Brazilian diplomat Lucia Flecha de Lima. The NSA purportedly maintained transcripts of 30 private phone calls.

The United States is among the nations that have not yet signed the 1997 Ottawa Treaty that outlaws landmines.
Ex-royal butler Paul Burrell has asserted that Meghan Markle's ambition for fame and her cultural differences with the British Royal Family have made the collapse of her marriage to Prince Harry "inevitable."

Burrell, Queen Elizabeth II's and later Princess Diana's personal butler, said this in an interview with the Daily Mail Royals YouTube channel to promote his new book, The Royal Insider: My Life with the Queen, the King and Princess Diana.

Making a neutral comment, Burrell expressed, "I don't think Meghan ever considered being a supporting actress. I think she wanted to be a star.

Burrell elaborates on this concept in his book and writes, "She wanted to be the star but she would always have second billing to the future Queen Catherine."

He added, "While Meghan wanted celebrity status, she did not want to conform to the rules of the House of Windsor.

Being American, she struggled to understand the culture of the Royal establishment with its rules and protocols."

The ex-palace staffer also stated he feels the divorce of Harry and Meghan is only a matter of time.

Speaking during an interview, Burrell said, I think the two cultures which came together in the marriage of Harry and Meghan, there is a fault line down the middle of it and I feel that will crack one day."

Looking back at Harry's transition to life outside the institution of royalty, he continued, "He is sat in Montecito, twiddling his thumbs, thinking: 'What do I do next? What is my role? Where is my work?'"

Such a scenario could prove increasingly challenging for the Duke of Sussex, according to Burrell.

"As Meghan rises in the Netflix firmament into whatever she will do, I think it won't be enough for Meghan and it won't be enough for Harry," he stated.

He went on to speculate about Markle's aspirations, saying, "She will just go off and her next step is a billionaire because she's got millions so why not step up to a billionaire?

In a more daring prediction, Burrell even hinted at a political future: "Why not become governor of California?"

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wedded on May 19, 2018. The pair has since retreated from royal obligations and moved to California.
Politicians throughout the inland northwest are releasing statements about the fatal attack on conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was visiting Utah Valley University.

Kirk, the founder and CEO of conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was shot and killed while speaking under a white tent in the university courtyard as a part of his American Comeback Tour.

The following are statements from politicians shared after the news of the shooting was released.
September usually marks a turning point of sorts for most people. Summer turns to fall, vacation turns to school, and the green hope and promise of growing crops turns into the yellow and gold of harvest.

This September feels different, though.

First is that impending harvest. On Aug. 12, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast a whopper corn crop. According to USDA, this years production will smash the all-time record by an astonishing 1.4 billion bu., reaching a bin-busting 16.7 billion bu.

Big yields usually bring lower prices, and USDA expects the 2025/26 season corn price to average a skinny $3.90 per bu., 30 cents less than its month-ago estimate. And thats despite anticipated record exports of 2.9 billion bu. and a collective 11.7 billion bu. ticketed for domestic animal feed and ethanol production.

A very good soybean crop also awaits. USDA estimates 2025 production at 4.3 billion bu., just 300 million bu. less than a year ago. That adequate supply and trade worries  both known and unknownare keeping market bulls at bay. USDA projects average marketing year price for soybeans at a trim $10.32 per bu.

USDAs forecast for wheats average price, $5.30 per bu., and per pound price for cotton, 64 cents, suggest thin-to-invisible profits for both, also.

If the coming years low commodity prices are bad news, the really bad news is the endless tariff threats emanating from the White House.

Persistent trade uncertainty, noted the American Farm Bureau economist Faith Parum recently, further clouds the outlook (Understatement is an AFBF job requirement.)

As those clouds now gather, some farm groups are hardening their tariff views. On Aug. 19, a week after USDAs uninspiring price forecast, the American Soybean Association urged President Trump to prioritize soybeans in U.S.-China trade talks, warning that retaliatory tariffs are shutting American farmers out of their largest export market

Its worse than that. According to USDA, U.S. ag exports to China will fall to $9 billion in fiscal 2026, roughly half of last years $17 billion, and tens of billions under FY2022s record sales of you might want to sit down for this  $36.4 billion.

And thats just China. Recent White House run-ins with Mexico, Canada, the European Union, Japan and now India portend more ag export woes.

In the recently released quarterly ag trade report, USDA noted that our ongoing ag trade deficit will narrow this year, from $49.5 billion forecast in June to $47 billion now. Next year, says USDA, the deficit will drop to an estimated $41.5 billion.

What appears to be good news, however, is lukewarm news at best. While part of the shrinking deficit is tied to a $3 billion increase in ag exports, most of the difference comes by way of flagging food imports, off by an estimated $10 billion.

Which is what youd expect as our general economy continues its slow slide south; food imports  mainly high value items such as wine, olive oil, and coffee  slide with it.

Farmers arent alone. American eaters arent benefiting from todays cheapening farm prices. Beef prices, riding our 50-year low in U.S. cattle numbers, have risen 11% since January. Egg prices, while cheapening, are still 16% higher than last July.

Which is a pretty neat trick courtesy of the White House: U.S. food buyers are getting pinched because of higher prices and import tariffs even as U.S. farmers are getting pinched by low prices and retaliatory tariffs.

Proving once again, there are no winners in a trade war.
ATWATER, Ohio  Claire Coumos always felt like a champion; now she is one. Just a year after her first experience showing a steer, the 13-year-old stunned the crowd again, topping the field to earn grand champion beef on Aug. 19 at the Portage County Randolph Fair.

It was the greatest day of my life, Claire said.

She came into the final round of judging feeling confident after her steer, Oreo, was named champion Maine.

I kind of expected it because I won champion in the breed I showed in, and the judge really liked my cow, she said.

Watching from the stands in Hamilton Arena, Claires sister, Marra Powers, sprang to her feet, jumping up and down and screaming at the top of her lungs, as the judge announced Claires accomplishment and the realization settled on the rest of her family.

It felt very surreal, and I looked down at Marra and all the other kids, and it was their reaction when I realized, Oh, my goodness, she won, Claires mom Julie Coumos said.

Claires family ran down to celebrate with her, knowing just how much it took for Claire to earn the banner. It wasnt just months of dedication to Oreo, brushing, bathing, feeding and walking him. It wasnt just spending countless hours learning how to set him up this summer. It wasnt just one last, busy week at the fair before she had to say goodbye. Diagnosed with Apert syndrome when she was days old, Claire has been challenging expectations and honing her fine motor skills her entire life for the opportunity to show cattle.

Where theres a will 

Apert syndrome is a rare craniofacial condition that causes the fusion of bones in the skull, hands and feet. Claire has undergone more than a dozen corrective surgeries to allow her to achieve the same milestones as her peers, traveling as far as Dallas, Texas, and Boston, Massachusetts, to be treated by surgeons who specialize in Apert syndrome.

Although doctors told her parents she would probably never walk or be able to grasp anything after she was diagnosed with Apert syndrome, Claire defied the odds and showed the largest steer in her debut at the Randolph Fair last year. Farm and Dairy chronicled her journey in a story titled 12-year-old girl with Apert syndrome shows largest steer at Portage County Fair, posted on Sept. 5, 2024.

Making her first appearance in the show ring required sacrifice. Last year, after an MRI revealed a Chiari malformation during a routine craniofacial clinic, Claire chose to postpone surgery until three weeks after the fair ended, so she could show her steer, Socks. She underwent Chiari decompression surgery on Sept. 16, 2024, to correct the bulging of her cerebellum into her spinal canal, but it didnt slow her down. She was released from the hospital two days early because her surgery went so well. Within a week, Julie woke up to Cinnabons in the oven because Claire wanted to get back to her routine around the house. By the beginning of October, her dad, Dan Coumos, found the Maine calf they would call Oreo  and Claire started all over again.

Dan started looking at auctions, just looking to see what it would take, and it was an easy decision, Julie said.

Despite some uncertainty surrounding Claires future showing steers at the end of last fair season, the Coumoses quickly decided it wasnt over. Guided by advice from friends and the experience he gained watching Claire, Dan chose a Maine calf for her because he noticed their calm temperament in the show ring and believes theyre a little easier to handle.

When I watch the Maine class go out, thats usually the one that just seems a little more suitable for Claire, Dan said.

Claire fell in love with the black and white calf instantly. Oreos mostly black coloring and white feet reminded her of her first steer, Socks, which she loved.

Living up to Dans expectations of his breed, Oreo captured the hearts of the whole family.

I dont know the reason why, but just kind of from what Ive seen out here, this cow is like a giant teddy bear. And I know that Socks, last year, was good, but I personally wished that I could ride this cow and take it back home and just keep it as a pet, Dan said.

By November, Oreo was registered for the fair, and Claire was released to start working with him by her doctor. They went to their first show together in April, taking fifth at the Joe Bodnar Memorial Northern Classic Steer & Heifer Show in Ashtabula County.

 theres a way

Oreos docile temperament wasnt the only thing he had going for him. At the Junior Fair Market Beef Auction on Aug. 23, his body condition caught the eye of Duma Meats owner David Duma.

The steer was thick. He was nice and thick, and he was prime, David said.

While Claire walked Oreo into the ring and set him up, David noticed the wide, thick brisket between his front legs, and he was sold. His son and daughter-in-law, Daniel and Deanna Duma, who own Duma Ranch Burger Dispatch, were, too.

Duma Meats and Duma Ranch Burger Dispatch bought Claires 1,575-pound steer for $8 per pound, and just like David thought, Oreos meat was abundantly marbled. The steaks and roasts are for sale at Duma Meats, and the hamburger meat went to Duma Ranch Burger Dispatch, both located in Mogadore, Ohio.

David started attending livestock auctions at the Randolph Fair with his dad more than 50 years ago. Every year, he buys about a dozen animals to help 4-Hers fund next years projects and save money for college and farms of their own. He likes to buy from the kids who work for him, and he has a special place in his heart for kids who are showing for their first time.

When the little kid comes in, thats their first year and the beef is dragging them all over the place, or the lamb they cant hold, I like to help them and buy their first one because its their first year, and they need help getting started, and they need as much money as they can get, he said.

Incidentally, David bought Claires first steer last year, and taped her picture to his meat counter, where he displays photos of all the animals hes purchased at the fair. As an exhibitor, Claire stands out to him.

Shes so fun  beyond amazing. Theres amazing, and then theres Claire. Shes a step above amazing, he said.

For Claire, the prizes are just a perk; the privilege is showing cattle. The night after she and Oreo earned their grand champion title, she helped show cows in the Dairy Open Show at Hamilton Arena. Then, she met her dad at the Junior Fair Market Poultry and Rabbit Auction in Sarchione Livestock Complex to tell him all about it.

She comes and sits down next to me, and I was like, What are you doing? And she was like, I just showed 16 cows. I was like, Where did you find 16 cows? She loves to do it, Dan said.

Winning grand champion this year didnt change much for Claire. There were no life lessons, just pure excitement. Shes not setting any lofty goals for herself. She just wants to do the work and show again next year.

Were steer people now. I would say that with Claire, where theres a will, theres a way, and I think that shes shown us that shes willing to put the work in and she gets it done, Julie said.
A month-long protest tour dubbed the Trailer of Truth is currently rolling through Britains towns and cities in a bid to highlight the issues that farmers face.

The tour, organised by campaign group Farmers To Action, will end with a rally outside the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool on 28 September.

Each trailer is carrying banners and a mobile post box for letters to MPs. Organisers say they want reforms to inheritance tax, changes to national insurance contributions, stronger rural protections and greater focus on food and energy security.

The campaign is being promoted under the slogan Truth over spin. Accountability over excuses.

The trailers are being driven by different farmers along each stage of the journey, with handovers in towns and villages. Supporters are being urged to join the convoys to raise awareness.

In a post on social media, Farmers To Action said: "It's been a busy couple of days for our Farmers to Action Trailer of Truth campaign, travelling around the country.

"We're now gathering some truly heartfelt and strong messages from people everywhere, all ready to take to the Labour Conference on the 28 September.

"These messages are all about fighting against inheritance tax and other harmful farming policies that Labour has put in place that are really hurting our rural communities."

?? ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! ??

Farming is under threat by this Labour government, and were not staying silent. The Trailer of Truth is rolling into a town near you! Well be at Diddly Squat on the 13th of September, gathering real messages from real people to deliver straight to the pic.twitter.com/yAeldNyTif  Farmers To Action (@FarmersToAction) September 10, 2025

Campaigners argue that the government's controversial inheritance tax changes, which roll out from April 2026, will threaten the survival of smaller agricultural businesses.

They also highlight concerns that national insurance contributions are disproportionately high for self-employed workers, including many farmers, compared with other groups.

Farmers groups say that a lack of effective rural protections has left communities vulnerable to planning pressures, environmental challenges and poor infrastructure.

Calls for stronger policies on food and energy security reflect growing anxiety about reliance on imports, rising input costs and the resilience of the UKs domestic food supply.

Farmers To Action's organisers hope that by drawing attention to these issues during the protest tour, politicians will be forced to respond to the concerns of rural Britain.
The UK and Brazil have agreed a new partnership to cut the environmental damage caused by fertilisers and strengthen the resilience of global food supplies.

The partnership will focus on research and innovation, making fertiliser production more sustainable, and building more resilient supply chains.

Both countries said the agreement, signed on Wednesday (10 September), would contribute to international efforts to improve fertiliser use ahead of the COP30 climate summit, which Brazil will host.

Fertilisers play an important role in food security but are also a source of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, responsible for around 5% of global emissions.

Ruth Davis, the UKs Special Representative for Nature, said the memorandum of understanding underlined the importance of international collaboration in responding to environmental and food security challenges.

Global cooperation is vital to restore the health of our soils, protect nature, and guarantee food systems for future generations.

"Fertilisers are crucial for our food security, so it is vital that their production and use evolves in line with todays environment and climate challenges, she said.

She added that Brazil, as host of COP30 and home to some of the worlds richest biodiversity, had set an important example on tackling this vital issue.

According to Davis, the agreement could unlock innovation, improve nitrogen management, and build resilience across landscapes and livelihoods.

Cleber Oliveira Soares, Brazils Deputy Agricultural Minister, said the country aimed to combine agricultural productivity with environmental protection.

For Brazil, advancing sustainable practices in the use of fertilizers means combining the strength of our agriculture with the responsibility to protect biodiversity and natural resources, he explained.

He said the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock had already been investing in research and innovation to ensure food production becomes more efficient and sustainable.

This partnership with the United Kingdom reinforces Brazils commitment to promoting solutions that reconcile food security, resilient supply chains, and the climate urgency we all share, he said.

A second deputy minister, Marcel Moreira, stressed the importance of global cooperation for Brazils role in international trade.

International cooperation on sustainability also strengthens the integration of Brazilian agribusiness into global markets, he said.

Efforts to innovate in fertilisers and reduce emissions, he added, would help ensure that Brazil remained a reliable supplier of safe, sustainable, and high-quality food.
Among the top ten export markets, shipments to Mexico fell *.** per cent, totalling $*,***.*** million in JanuaryJuly ****. Mexico remained the single-largest export destination, accounting for nearly ** per cent of US exports, making this decline particularly significant. Exports to Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Canada, the United Kingdom, and China also declined, by up to **.** per cent. In contrast, exports to the Netherlands, Japan, Belgium, and Guatemala rose, with gains of up to **.** per cent. The surge in shipments to Europe and Japan suggests growing diversification of export markets amid falling demand in North America.

During the same period, the US exported $*,***.*** million worth of textiles and apparel to Canada, $***.*** million to Honduras, $***.*** million to the Netherlands, $***.*** million to China, $***.*** million to Guatemala, and $***.*** million to the Dominican Republicits key export destinations. Despite trade tensions, China remained a top-five market for US textiles, though volumes continued to decline.
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Manju Warriers 45th birthday came with more than cake and wishes this year. The makers of Mr. X, her next Tamil outing, chose the occasion to unveil her look from the film, immediately setting social media abuzz. Starring Arya in the lead and directed by Manu Anand, the project promises an espionage thriller with both spectacle and heart.



The newly released stills present Warrier in a poised yet intense avatar, signalling that her role will be central to the storys tension. Sharing screen space with Arya, Sarath Kumar, and Gautham Ram Karthik, she is part of an ensemble that also includes Athulyaa Ravi, Raiza Wilson, Anagha, Kaali Venkat, and Jayaprakash. For fans whove followed her seamless shifts between Malayalam and Tamil cinema, the reveal felt like the perfect birthday gift.



Mr. X: Espionage Meets Emotion



Director Manu Anand, whose previous film FIR explored paranoia and betrayal, once again ventures into the shadowy world of spies. The teaser of Mr. X hints at a scenario where dormant agents are reactivated after a nuclear device goes missing from India. As the mission unfolds, questions of loyalty, deception, and survival come to the fore.



At its narrative core are two characters, played by Arya and Gautham, whose fates intertwine during a high-stakes mission. Anand has described the film as both an action drama and an exploration of father-son dynamics, suggesting a balance between adrenaline and emotional depth. Shot across varied locationsIndia, Uganda, and several European countriesthe film aims for a global canvas while staying rooted in human conflicts.



The crew brings together strong technical collaborators: cinematography by Arul Vincent, music by Dhibu Ninan Thomas, and editing by Prasanna GK. With such names attached, Mr. X appears designed to merge slick visuals with a taut narrative.



Manjus Continued Reinvention



For Manju Warrier, who was last seen in L2: Empuraan opposite Mohanlal and earlier in Viduthalai Part 2 (2024), Mr. X signals yet another step in her constantly evolving career. From girl-next-door roles in Malayalam cinema to powerful, layered characters across industries, she continues to defy typecasting. Her look in this film suggests a figure of authority and depth, ensuring that her presence will be more than ornamental.





By tying her reveal to her birthday, the makers not only celebrated the actor but also set the stage for building momentum around the film. As audiences wait for more trailers and details, Mr. X already feels like one of Tamil cinemas more ambitious projects in the pipeline.





Also Read: L2: Empuraan Review: Mohanlals Show All The Way










Shah Rukh Khans Meer Foundation, widely recognised for its work with acid attack survivors, has now stepped in to support flood relief efforts in Punjab. The foundation has tied up with Amritsar-based NGO Voice of Amritsar (VOA) to assist families whose homes and belongings were destroyed by floods along the Ravi river. Together, they plan to focus on rebuilding and rehabilitating two villages that were among the worst hit.





Explaining how the collaboration came about, Seenu Arora, founding member of VOA, shared that the Meer Foundation approached them for a partnership in on-ground operations. They are happy to contribute in the project submitted by VOA to distribute household goods including beds, mattresses, gas stoves, fans, water purifier etc to about 1500 homes affected by floods and adopted collectively, he said. The relief initiative will initially cover the two most severely damaged villages, out of five earlier identified.





The efforts are also receiving backing from Care Foundation, a Kolkata-based non-profit with a long legacy of social work. Alongside, a team of doctors from AIIMS has joined VOA volunteers in Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts to provide urgent medical assistance to flood victims. This combination of local and national support is helping strengthen the overall relief operation.





Over the past weeks, VOA has been distributing food supplies, dry ration, medicines, and clothing to affected families. According to Arora, the organisation has also prepared a detailed rehabilitation plan that goes beyond emergency relief. The NGO intends to expand its work on the ground further, depending on how much aid and resources can be mobilised for the flood-hit villages.



Also Read: Abhay Vermas Met God Today Post Leaves Fans Convinced He Met Shah Rukh Khan for King in Poland


For Sivakarthikeyan, the release of Madharaasi on September 5 was already a milestone, a high-profile collaboration with AR Murugadoss, packed with intense action, star power, and Anirudhs music. But nothing could top the moment when his idol Rajinikanth picked up the phone to congratulate him.



The actor took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his joy, quoting the Superstars message. Rajinikanth reportedly told him, My god, excellent! What a performance! What action! Super, super SK! I loved it so much. Youve become an action hero now. God bless, God bless. Sivakarthikeyan wrote that he received the note along with Thalaivars trademark laugha gesture that made the experience all the more memorable. Love you Thalaivaaaaa, he signed off, clearly overwhelmed by the validation.



For SK, long admired for his boy-next-door charm and comedic ease, such words of encouragement arent just compliments. They signal a shift: hes now being embraced as a full-fledged action star by none other than the legend who defined that space.



Just received the appreciation for #Madharaasi from my idol, my Thalaivar #Superstar @rajinikanth sir 



My god, excellent!

Enna performance!

Enna actions!

Super super SK!

Enakku romba pudichirundhadhu.

Action hero aagiteenga.

God bless, God bless.



Heartfelt wishes from my  Sivakarthikeyan (@Siva_Kartikeyan) September 10, 2025

Madharaasi: Action, Emotion and Star Power



Directed by AR Murugadoss, Madharaasi casts Sivakarthikeyan as Raghu Ram, a man grappling with a rare psychological condition that blurs reality and illusion. His internal battles spill over into a high-stakes fight for survival, setting the stage for explosive confrontations. Vidyut Jammwal plays his formidable adversary, while Rukmini Vasanth, Biju Menon, Shabeer Kallarakkal, and Vikranth round out the ensemble.



The film, mounted on a grand scale, brings together some of the industrys most trusted technicians. Cinematographer Sudeep Elamon crafts striking visuals, editor Sreekar Prasad sharpens the pace, and Anirudh Ravichanders soundtrack injects adrenaline into every sequence. The combination of scale, style, and emotional heft has kept audiences engaged, with the film enjoying a strong opening weekend.



While critics have been divided on pacing and narrative flourishes, almost everyone agrees on Sivakarthikeyans performance, a role that has pushed him into new terrain and showcased his ability to carry larger-than-life action.





A Blessing and a Benchmark



In Tamil cinema, Rajinikanths praise isnt handed out lightly. His endorsement has often marked a turning point for actors, elevating them in the eyes of both the industry and audiences. For Sivakarthikeyan, being told by Thalaivar himself that he has become an action hero is more than a pat on the back; its a career milestone, perhaps even a passing of the torch.



As Madharaasi continues its theatrical run, the film now carries the glow of Rajinikanths words, amplifying anticipation for where Sivakarthikeyan goes next. If this is the beginning of his action-hero phase, it seems he has received the best possible blessing to step into it.





Also Read: Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth to Reunite After 46 Years on Screen


Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 10, 2025) - OBERON URANIUM CORP. (CSE: OBRN) ("Oberon" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has executed an option agreement (the "Option Agreement") dated as of September 10, 2025 with ESN Investment Corp. ("ESN" or the "Optionor", an arm's length party to the Company), pursuant to which Oberon has the option to acquire a 100% interest in and to the SL Project (the "Property"). The Property consists of 23 claim units covering 1,101.7 hectares located near Lac Brisson in Nunavik, Quebec, in the Strange Lake complex which is known for rare earths. The Property is located roughly 3 kilometers southwest of Torngat Metals' Strange Lake project, which has a proposed 59-hectare single open pit mine that Torngat Metals is seeking to put into production.

Under the Option Agreement, to acquire a 100% interest in the Property Oberon is required to make aggregate cash payments of $250,000 to ESN, as follows: $170,000 was payable on execution of the Option Agreement, and has been paid; and an additional $80,000 is payable on or before the first anniversary of the Option Agreement.

About the Company

Oberon Uranium Corp. is a mineral exploration company with a 100% interest in the past producing Lucky Boy Uranium Property located in Arizona, USA. For further information, please refer to the Company's disclosure record on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) or contact the Company by email at info@oberonuranium.com.

Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements, including with respect to future plans, and other matters. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as "may", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "believe" and "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to, business, economic and capital market conditions, the ability to manage operating expenses, and dependence on key personnel. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, anticipated costs, and the ability to achieve goals. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, the continued availability of capital and financing, litigation, failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations, loss of key employees and consultants, and general economic, market or business conditions. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The CSE has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the contents of this news release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/265971

SOURCE: Oberon Uranium Corp.
HIGHLIGHTS:

New Third Lens discovery extended: Step out drilling returned further thick, high-grade mineralisation from the Third Lens : 44m at 4.6g/t gold from 475m (25GLR070) Within a broader zone of 103m at 2.3g/t gold One of the thickest bulk-style underground results to date 47m at 1.9g/t gold from 451m (25GLR057)

Targeting model validated: Results provide further validation of Benz's exploration strategy, which has now successfully delivered two new lenses along the Zone 126 trend

New lenses emerging: Structural targeting derived from surface mapping of outcrop has successfully predicted the location of the existing 3 gold lenses and identified a further 2 potential lenses along strike under strong geochemistry anomalies that remain untested below shallow drilling

Depth extension untested: Lenses 1-3 all remain open at depth, highlighting significant opportunity to further add high grade ounces

System-scale potential: The Zone 126 trend represents less than one-third of the total mineralised corridor at Glenburgh, with strong potential for additional parallel "blind discoveries" to be made

Drilling now underway to test these high-potential positions, fully funded with third rig already mobilised with the fourth to arrive in the next couple of weeks

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 10, 2025) - Benz Mining Corp (TSXV: BZ) (ASX: BNZ) ("Benz" or the "Company") is pleased to report further strong results from ongoing drilling at the Zone 126 prospect within the Glenburgh Gold Project in Western Australia.

Figure 1 Long section view looking north of Zone 126 trend. Proposed drilling demarcated by crosses. Current release results in larger bold black text. Previous results released on 6 November 2024, 3 April 2025, 28 April 2025, 30 June 2025, 31 July 2025 and 20 August 2025.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/1818/265983_cfe1fdba34eeca6a_001full.jpg

Zone 126 - An Evolving Multi-Lens Gold System

Zone 126 continues to establish itself as one of the most exciting underground growth opportunities at the Glenburgh Gold Project. The latest step-out drilling confirms the Third Lens as a thick, high-grade body of mineralisation, further supported by a pipeline of emerging targets.

Importantly, Zone 126 is no longer a single high-grade shoot, but a multi-lens system extending over more than one kilometre in strike, with each lens open at depth and providing room for significant growth.

Benz's exploration targeting model - built on systematic structural mapping before drilling - has now successfully delivered two new lenses and defined the potential positions of the fourth and fifth lenses. Interpreted secondary shear zones transect the main mineralised horizon (see Figure 2 below), contributing to the formation of higher-grade gold lenses within a broader lower grade halo of gold up to 100m in width. This structural architecture controls gold enrichment within Zone 126 and provides high-conviction drilling targets further along the NE trend of mineralisation.

Figure 2 Plan view collar map for holes reported in this release. Lenses 1-3 represent discoveries where secondary shear zones transect the main mineralised horizon. Targets for Lenses 4 and 5 are defined at locations where mapped shear zones are interpreted to intersect the horizon in a similar manner

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Ongoing Drilling

Drilling continues at Zone 126 with one RC drill rig following up and extending recent +40 gram metre results drilled by Benz in 2025 including:

44m at 4.6 g/t gold (25GLR 070)

47m at 1.9 g/t gold (25GLR 057)

11m at 19.9g/t gold (GBZ126 010)

39m at 5.1g/t gold (25GLR 022)

10m at 12.9g/t gold (25GLR 027)

10m at 6.1g/t gold (25GLR 033)

11m at 5.5 g/t gold (25GLR 039)

20m at 2.6 g/t gold (25GLR 035)

5m at 13.5 g/t gold (25GLR 037)

Drilling will continue to define and extend the existing lenses as well as targeting potential new lenses 4 and 5 (see Figure 2 above) along strike.

Outside of the Zone 126 trend, two drill rigs continue to agressively drill out the bulk tonnage potential of Apollo Icon trend with a fourth rig on its way to start to scout out new exciting targets along the 18km Glenburgh Gold Corridor.

Benz CEO, Mark Lynch-Staunton, commented:

"The latest results from the Third Lens at Zone 126 highlight just how thick this system can get. Intercepts such as 44 metres at 4.6 grams per tonne gold speak directly to the bulk underground potential we are uncovering - this is shaping into a much more extensive system.

"Importantly, our structural modelling has identified the potential target positions of the fourth and fifth lenses, where secondary shear zones cut through the prospective mineralised horizon. We've already mapped these zones, projected their plunge to the northeast, and drilling is now targeting them.

"Every hole we drill is part of a bigger picture - building our confidence in Zone 126 as an evolving, multi-lens, kilometre scale gold system. With three rigs now on site, and a fourth to arrive shortly, we're accelerating exploration across the Zone 126 trend, which itself represents less than one-third of the known mineralised corridor at Glenburgh. The potential for additional parallel lenses is high, and we're testing that aggressively.

"Zone 126 is proving to be an exceptional discovery, and we're only just starting to uncover its full scale."

Glenburgh - A New Frontier Gold District

The 100%-owned Glenburgh Gold Project is rapidly emerging as a new frontier gold district with multi-million-ounce potential. Located in Western Australia's Gascoyne region, Glenburgh hosts an 18-20 kilometre mineralised corridor anchored by the large-scale Icon-Apollo trend and the high-grade Zone 126 system.

Glenburgh's unique combination of thick, bulk-style gold mineralisation (Icon-Apollo) and multiple high-grade underground lenses (Zone 126) positions it as a rare opportunity in the Australian gold sector. With gold prices at record levels, the ability to develop both large-scale open pit and underground operations offers exceptional leverage and growth potential.

Figure 3 Glenburgh Project geology overview.

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This announcement has been approved for release by the Board of Benz Mining Corp.

About Benz Mining Corp.

Benz Mining Corp. (TSXV: BZ) (ASX: BNZ) is a pure-play gold exploration company dual-listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and Australian Securities Exchange. The Company owns the Eastmain Gold Project in Quebec, and the recently acquired Glenburgh and Mt Egerton Gold Projects in Western Australia.

Benz's key point of difference lies in its team's deep geological expertise and the use of advanced geological techniques, particularly in high-metamorphic terrane exploration. The Company aims to rapidly grow its global resource base and solidify its position as a leading gold explorer across two of the world's most prolific gold regions.

The Glenburgh Gold Project features a Historical (for the purposes of NI 43-101) Mineral Resource Estimate of 16.3Mt at 1.0 g/t Au (510,100 ounces of contained gold)1. A technical report prepared under NI 43-101- Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101) titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Glenburgh - Egerton Gold Project, Western Australia" with an effective date of 16 December 2024 has been filed with the TSX Venture Exchange and is available under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

The Eastmain Gold Project in Quebec hosts a Mineral Resource Estimate dated effective May 24, 2023 and prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and JORC (2012) of 1,005,000 ounces at 6.1g/t Au2, also available under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca, showcasing Benz's focus on high-grade, high-margin assets in premier mining jurisdictions.





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For more information, please visit: https://benzmining.com/.

Qualified Person's Statement (NI 43-101)

The disclosure of scientific or technical information in this news release is based on, and fairly represents, information compiled by Mr Mark Lynch-Staunton, who is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and a Member of Australian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG) (Membership ID: 6918). Mr Lynch-Staunton has reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release. Mr Lynch-Staunton owns securities in Benz Mining Corp.

Historical Mineral Resource Estimates

All mineral resource estimates in respect of the Glenburgh Gold Project in this news release are considered to be "historical estimates" as defined under NI 43-101. These historical estimates are not considered to be current and are not being treated as such. These estimates have been prepared in accordance with the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves prepared by the Joint Ore Reserves Committee of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Australian Institute of Geoscientists and Minerals Council of Australia (JORC Code) and have not been reported in accordance with NI 43-101. A qualified person (as defined in NI 43-101) (Qualified Person) has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimates as current mineral resources. A Qualified Person would need to review and verify the scientific information and conduct an analysis and reconciliation of historical data in order to verify the historical estimates as current mineral resources.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" (collectively Forward-Looking Information) as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-Looking Information includes, but is not limited to, disclosure regarding the exploration potential of the Glenburgh Gold Project and the anticipated benefits thereof, planned exploration and related activities on the Glenburgh Gold Project. In certain cases, Forward-Looking Information can be identified by the use of words and phrases or variations of such words and phrases or statements such as "anticipates", "complete", "become", "expects", "next steps", "commitments" and "potential", in relation to certain actions, events or results "could", "may", "will", "would", be achieved. In preparing the Forward-Looking Information in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to, that the accuracy and reliability of the Company's exploration thesis in respect of additional drilling at the Glenburgh Gold Project will be consistent with the Company's expectations based on available information; the Company will be able to raise additional capital as necessary; the current exploration, development, environmental and other objectives concerning the Company's Projects (including Glenburgh and Mt Egerton Gold Projects) can be achieved; and the continuity of the price of gold and other metals, economic and political conditions, and operations.

Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause the forward-looking information in this news release to change or to be inaccurate include, but are not limited to, the early stage nature of the Company's exploration of the Glenburgh Gold Project, the risk that any of the assumptions referred to prove not to be valid or reliable, that occurrences such as those referred to above are realized and result in delays, or cessation in planned work, that the Company's financial condition and development plans change, and delays in regulatory approval, as well as the other risks and uncertainties applicable to the Company as set forth in the Company's continuous disclosure filings filed under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca and www.asx.com.au. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on Forward-Looking Information. The Forward-looking information in this news release is based on plans, expectations, and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, other than as required by applicable law.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE.

Appendix 1: Collar Table. Coordinates system: GDA94/MGA Zone 50

Hole number Easting Northing Elevation Dip Azimuth End

Depth (m) 25GLR_055 414830 7193943 327 -60 145 700 25GLR_057 414798 7193986 325 -58 138 684 25GLR_059 414805 7193971 326 -62.9 129 654 25GLR_061 414821 7193865 322 -60 147 354 25GLR_063 414823 7193863 323 -50 147 366 25GLR_070 414831 7194013 321 -50 126 678 25GLR_072 414891 7193971 327 -68 127 720 25GLR_075 414914 7193945 329 -58.3 136 441 25GLR_073 414912 7193945 329 -56 151 408

Appendix 2: Significant Intercepts Tables.

High Grade Intercepts: A nominal 1 g/t Au lower cut off has been applied to results, with up to 10m internal dilution included unless otherwise stated.

Hole ID From (m) To (m) Au (ppm) Length (m) 25GLR_070 433 450 1.27 17 25GLR_070 475 519 4.60 44 25GLR_070 530 536 1.26 6 25GLR_055 335 344 1.37 9 25GLR_055 370 378 2.50 8 25GLR_063 158 160 2.47 2 25GLR_072 713 715 1.49 2 25GLR_061 289 295 1.32 6 25GLR_059 556 564 2.30 8 25GLR_057 451 468 1.41 17 25GLR_057 474 498 2.73 24 25GLR_075 363 374 1.52 11

Bulk potential intercepts reported with a nominal 1g/t Au lower cut off with no maximum internal dilution length applied.

Hole ID From (m) To (m) Au (ppm) Length

(m) Comment 25GLR_070 475 598 1.86 123 Including 103m at 2.3g/t Au 25GLR_057 451 498 1.94 47



Appendix 3: JORC Tables

JORC Code, 2012 Edition - Table 1 report template

Section 1 Sampling Techniques and Data

(Criteria in this section apply to all succeeding sections)

Criteria Commentary Sampling techniques Results are part of BNZ's RC drilling campaign at the recently acquired Glenburgh Gold Project situated ~285 km east of Carnarvon via Gascoyne Junction, WA.

RC drilling samples were collected as 1m single samples.

Each sample collected represents each one (1) metre drilled collected from the rig-mounted cone splitter into individual calico bags (~3kg) and stored in labelled sequential polyweave bags for long-term storage.

The rig mounted cyclone/cone splitter was levelled at the start of each hole to aid an even fall of the sample through the cyclone into the cone splitter.

RC drilling sample submissions include the use of certified standards (CRMs), and field duplicates were added to the submitted sample sequence to test laboratory equipment calibrations. Standards selected are matched to the analytical method of photon assaying at ALS labs in Perth (~500g units). No composites were taken.

Based on statistical analysis of these results, there is no evidence to suggest the samples are not representative. Drilling techniques The RC drill rig was a Schramm C685 Rig type with the capability to reach >500m depths with a rig-mounted cyclone/cone splitter using a face sample hammer bit of 5 1/2 - 6" size.

The booster was used to apply air to keep drill holes dry and reach deeper depths. Drill sample recovery RC sample recovery is visually assessed and recorded where significantly reduced. Negligible sample loss has been recorded.

RC samples were visually checked for recovery, moisture and contamination. A cyclone and cone splitter were used to provide a uniform sample, and these were routinely cleaned.

RC Sample recoveries are generally high. No significant sample loss has been recorded. Logging RC chip samples have been geologically logged on a per 1 metre process recording lithology, mineralisation, veining, alteration, and weathering.

Geological logging is considered appropriate for this style of deposit (metamorphosed orogenic gold). The entire length of all holes has been geologically logged.

RC drill logging was completed by Galt Mining Solutions staff and data entered into BNZ's MXDeposit digital data collection platform provided by Expedio.

All drill chips were collected into 20 compartment-trays for future reference and stored at Galt's warehouse in West Leederville at the time of reporting. Sub-sampling techniques and sample preparation RC chips were cone split at the rig. Samples were generally dry.

A sample size of between 3 and 5 kg was collected. This size is considered appropriate, and representative of the material being sampled given the width and continuity of the intersections, and the grain size of the material being collected.

For the 1 metre samples, certified analytical standards (appropriate for photon assaying) and field duplicates were inserted at appropriate intervals at a rate equal to 1 in 20 and sent for analysis with the samples.

Sample preparation was undertaken at ALS Laboratory - Perth. Gold analysis utilised the photon assaying methodology where original samples are crushed to 2mm with a sub-set 500g separated for non-destructive analysis.

Any sample reporting as having elevated > 1Sv readings during the preparation for photon assaying at ALS labs were flagged and were submitted for fire assay (Au-AA26) methodology at ALS labs in Perth as a quantifying check against the Photon assays. Quality of assay data and laboratory tests Preliminary pXRF and Labspec ASD analysis was conducted by Galt Mining Solutions personnel utilising Geotek's Boxscan automated system.

The scanning of sieved RC drilling fines sample material utilised an Olympus Vanta M Series portable XRF in Geochem mode (3 beam) and a 20-second read time for each beam (Instrument_Serial = 840951).

The ASD data reader on Boxscan has a 3 nm VNIR, 6 nm SWIR spectral resolution of the LabSpec 4 Hi-Res analytical instrument (Electronics serial number: 28191).

The pXRF and ASD are incorporated into Geotek's Boxscan machine to facilitate an automated data collection process. This includes periodic calibration and QAQC scans on Geotek-supplied pucks and colour strips.

The QAQC scans are verified and checked on Boxscan's internal program datasheet against expected results to ensure the analysers are conforming to Boxscan's expected operating parameters.

A review of the pXRF and ASD sample results provided an acceptable level of analysis and the data is appropriate for reporting the geochemistry results in the context of its use for screening areas for indications of elevations in concentrations with elements of interest.

pXRF and ASD results should never be considered a proxy or substitute for laboratory analysis, which is required to determine robust and accurate potential for mineralisation and associated elements. The reporting of pXRF and ASD results should not be described as an "assay" result, as these are not of the same level of accuracy or precision as that obtained from a certified laboratory workflow. The use of "preliminary indicative field data" is a more appropriate term when referring to pXRF and ASD results.

The pXRF data is exploratory in nature and is used predominantly as an internal workflow to assist in target prioritisation through an early phase of exploration investigation.

No previous comparisons of pXRF and ASD data with laboratory data at the project have been undertaken to date.

The analysis involved direct point counting on the raw surfaces of the supplied drill fines. The fines are transferred from geochem packets to purpose-made scanning pucks, with the analysis taken from the middle of these pucks. The sample material was dry and collected and analysed in ambient temperatures within the processing warehouse. Monitoring of workstation area and apparatus temperatures occur during the shift with cooling actions being implemented when required.

This provides only semi-quantitative information and is reported as raw data without significant corrections, which is best interpreted as an abundant/present/absent classification for most elements. This information provides useful trend analyses at an exploration target scale. Verification of sampling and assaying Significant drill intersections are checked by the supervising personnel. The intersections are compared to recorded geology and neighbouring data and reviewed in Leapfrog and QGIS software.

No twinned holes have been drilled to date by Benz Mining, but, planned holes have tested the interpreted mineralised trends, verifying the geometry of the mineralised targets.

All logs were validated by the Project Geologist prior to being sent to the Database Administrator for import

No adjustments have been made to assay data apart from values below the detection limit which are assigned a value of half the detection limit (positive number) Location of data points Hole collar coordinates including RLs have been located by handheld GPS in the field during initial drill site preparation. Actual hole collars were collected by a DGPS system at the Glenburgh Gold Project.

The grid system used for the location of all drill holes is GDA94_MGA _Zone 50s.

Planned hole coordinates and final GPS coordinates are compared in QGIS and Leapfrog project files to ensure all targets have been tested as intended.

The drill string path is monitored as drilling progresses using downhole Axis Champ Gyro tool and compared against the planned drill path, adjustment to the drilling technique is requested as required to ensure the intended path is followed.

Readings were recorded at 30m intervals from surface to end of hole after Benz reviewed single shot verses EOH continuous surveying of the Axis Champ Gyro tool and noted >3 degrees variance in azimuth with hole depth. The single shots produce less variability and are used for hole trace reporting in the database.

Historical drill hole surveys and methods will be reviewed in preparation for any updates to MRE in the future. Data spacing and distribution BNZ's Glenburgh RC drilling has been designed as a test on mineralisation extension at a planned spacing of 60m between pierce points on the projected mineralised feature. Holes were generally angled ~ -65 dip towards ~ 145 degrees GDA94_MGA _Zone 51 Grid orientation. Fifteen (15) holes were drilled into Zone 126 prospect on a rough grid pattern to obtain adequate spacing for testing mineralisation continuity and geological host features.

The mineralised domains established for pre-BNZ MREs have sufficient continuity in both geology and grade to be considered appropriate for the Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimation procedures and classification applied under the 2012 JORC Code. Ongoing drilling will be sufficiently spaced for a reinterpretation based on BNZ's structural model.

No sample compositing of material from drilling has been applied during this drilling campaign. Orientation of data in relation to geological structure Drilling has primarily been undertaken perpendicular to the interpreted mineralised structures as stated above.

No orientation-based sampling bias has been identified - observed intercepts to date indicate the interpreted geology hosting mineralisation is robust. Sample security All samples were prepared in the field by Galt staff and delivered by contracted couriers from the field site to the ALS laboratory in Perth directly.

Individual pre-numbered calco sample bags are placed in polywoven plastic bags (5 per bag) secured at the top with a cable tie. These bags are annotated with the company name and sample numbers, the bags are placed in larger bulker bags for transport to ALS labs in Perth, also labelled with corresponding company name, drill hole and sample identifiers.

Sample pulps are stored in a dry, secure location at Galt's warehouse in West Leederville. Audits or reviews Data is validated by Benz staff and Expedio consultants as it is entered into MXDeposit. Errors are returned to field staff for validation.

All drilled hole collars have been located with a DGPS.

There have been no audits undertaken.

Section 2 Reporting of Exploration Results

(Criteria listed in the preceding section also apply to this section)

Criteria Commentary Mineral tenement and land tenure status Glenburgh Gold Project is a group of 10 tenements and 2 applications. The majority of known gold deposits are located on Mining Lease M09/148.

The tenement is 100% owned by Benz Mining Corp.

The tenements are in good standing and no known impediments exist. Exploration done by other parties Since Helix Resources in 1994 and subsequent work by Gascoyne Resources, about 159149 soil samples, 1349 vacuum holes and 2285 auger holes have been completed at Glenburgh.

9 diamond holes, 398 RC holes, 6 air-core holes and 462 RAB holes have been drilled in the Glenburgh area to identify the distribution and evaluate the potential of the deposit.

Drilling to date has identified 10 high potential deposits in the Glenburgh area which are: Tuxedo, Icon, Apollo, Mustang, Shelby, Hurricane, Zone 102, Zone 126, NE3 and NE4 deposits. Geology Gold mineralisation at the Glenburgh deposit is hosted in Paleoproterozoic upper-amphibolite to granulite facies siliciclastic rocks of the Glenburgh Terrane, in the southern Gascoyne Province of Western Australia.

Gold was first discovered at the Glenburgh deposit in 1994 by Helix Resources during follow-up drilling of soil geochemical anomalies. Mineralisation occurs in shears within quartz + feldspar + biotite  garnet gneiss, which contains discontinuous blocks or lenses of amphibolite and occasional thin magnetite-bearing metamorphics, probably derived from chemical sediments.

Higher-grade mineralisation appears to be directly related to silica flooding in the gneiss. This silica flooding may give rise to quartz 'veins' up to several metres thick, although scales of several centimetres to tens of centimetres are the norm. Neither the higher-grade silica lodes nor the more pervasive lower-grade mineralisation exhibits sharp or well-defined lithological contacts. Drill hole Information For this announcement, 9 Reverse Circulation (RC) drill holes are being reported.

Collar details have been provided in Appendix 1.

For earlier released results, see previous announcements by Gascoyne Resources and Spartan Resources. Data aggregation methods No material information has been excluded.

High grade: A nominal 1 ppm Au lower cut off has been applied to the results, with up to 10m internal dilution.

Bulk potential reported with a nominal 1 ppm Au lower cut off with no maximum internal dilution length applied

Higher grade Au intervals lying within broader zones of Au mineralisation are reported as included intervals.

No top cuts have been applied to reported intercepts.

No metal equivalent values have been used.

All reported assays have been length weighted if appropriate. Relationship between mineralisation widths and intercept lengths Drilling is generally oriented perpendicular to the interpreted strike of mineralisation, and intercepts are reported as downhole lengths unless otherwise stated.

To improve understanding of true widths, a subset of holes in this program were drilled from the opposite azimuth to previous drilling to test structural geometry, with initial results indicating that earlier intercepts are likely to approximate true width. Ongoing drilling and geological modelling are required to confirm the true orientation and extent of mineralised lenses. Diagrams Relevant diagrams are included in the report. Balanced reporting All meaningful data relating to the Exploration program has been included and reported to the market as assays are received. Other substantive exploration data See body of announcement. Further work Assays for the remainder of the programme will be reported once received and validated.

Detailed field mapping has commenced to refine targets for the next round of drilling.

Geophysical techniques are being investigated to reduce the search space of high-grade lenses away from defined resource areas and/or high-grade drill intercepts.

1 Indicated: 13.5Mt at 1.0g/t Au for 430.7koz; Inferred: 2.8Mt at 0.9g/t Au for 79.4koz. See Historical Mineral Resource Estimates, below

2 Indicated: 1.3Mt at 9.0g/t Au for 384koz; Inferred: 3.8Mt at 5.1g/t Au for 621koz

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SOURCE: Benz Mining Corp.
Taipei, Taiwan--(Newsfile Corp. - September 10, 2025) - The International Performing Arts Consortium (IPAC), a pioneering nonprofit organization dedicated to cross-cultural collaboration and inclusive innovation in the performing arts, today unveiled an exciting new partnership with Jay Chang, an IDA International Design Awards 2023 Silver winner, and Ariel Imaginarium, IPAC's innovation studio. This collaboration will drive the future of accessible, AI-enhanced theater, bringing cutting-edge technology and design to the global stage.

International Performing Arts Consortium Partners with Award-Winning Designer Jay Chang to Advance Accessible, AI-Driven Theater

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Under this partnership, Jay Chang will lead the development of a unified visual identity for IPAC and its initiatives through his design studio, Alphatype. Ariel Imaginarium will integrate generative AI, Storytelling Supertitles, and innovative multimedia stagecraft to create immersive, barrier-free performances that resonate with audiences across cultures and abilities.

"This partnership unites world-class visual design with our mission to make performing arts truly accessible," said Dr. Sophia Huang, President & CEO of IPAC and founder of Ariel Imaginarium. "Jay's exceptional design expertise, combined with Ariel's groundbreaking use of AI in theater, will help us craft productions that transcend language and cultural barriers, ensuring everyone has an equitable and enriching theater experience."

Chang, who has designed for global brands like ASUS ROG, U-ARK, and ARIEL Innovations, is excited to lend his talents to a cause that fuses art and inclusivity. "Design is most powerful when it clarifies purpose and deepens emotion," said Chang. "Working with IPAC and Ariel Imaginarium, we aim to create a cohesive brand language and audience journey that amplifies inclusion while honoring artistic intent."

Partnership Scope:

Unified Brand Identity : Comprehensive brand design for IPAC and Ariel Imaginarium, including typography, motion graphics, and digital assets.

Accessible Experience Design : Visual frameworks that integrate Storytelling Supertitles and multi-language, dyslexia-friendly captions, enhancing accessibility for diverse audiences.

AI-Enhanced Storytelling : Cutting-edge AI workflows to create personalized, interactive content for program media and audience engagement.

Global Campaigns: Collaborative communications across Taiwan, Japan, and the U.S. to further IPAC's mission of global inclusion in the arts.

About the Partners:

Jay Chang is an award-winning designer with over 10 years of experience. He has held key roles as Art Director at Samsung Taiwan's Internet Marketing Department and Brand Manager at Vincedesign Hong Kong. His studio, Alphatype, works with global brands such as ASUS, U-ARK Technology Taiwan, and ARIEL Innovations. Jay won the IDA Brand Identity Silver Award in 2023.

Ariel Imaginarium is the innovation engine of IPAC, driven by Dr. Sophia Huang's vision of integrating AI and inclusive design into live theater. The studio pioneers the use of generative AI, Storytelling Supertitles, and accessible stagecraft to create immersive experiences for all audiences.

About IPAC:

The International Performing Arts Consortium (IPAC) is a leading nonprofit organization based in Taiwan that fosters global collaboration and innovation in the performing arts. IPAC is dedicated to making live theater accessible to diverse audiences by embracing technology, inclusivity, and cross-cultural dialogue. Through partnerships and innovative productions, IPAC empowers artists to create meaningful, barrier-free experiences.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/265503

SOURCE: Plentisoft
SYDNEY, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- HaemaLogiX Ltd, a clinical stage Australian biotech, developing novel immunotherapies for patients with blood cancers and B-cell diseases, was honoured to be awarded the "Most Promising CAR-T Pipeline in APAC" at the Asia Pacific CGT Excellence Awards 2025, held in Singapore last night.

The award recognises companies demonstrating outstanding innovation, scientific excellence, and translational potential in the rapidly evolving CAR T therapy sector. This accolade highlights HaemaLogiX's role as a leader in advancing CAR T-cell therapies that have the potential to transform outcomes for patients with multiple myeloma across Asia Pacific and beyond.

"This award is wonderful recognition of not just our science, but also the dedication and vision that drives our work," said Rosanne Dunn, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of HaemaLogiX. "We're honoured to be recognised in such exceptional company - a field of the region's top innovators - all striving to redefine what's possible in CAR T-cell therapy. We're more determined than ever to advance transformative therapies, particularly for multiple myeloma - the world's second largest blood cancer and a disease for which there is currently no cure."

HaemaLogiX's immunotherapies bind to unexploited and unique targets (antigens) on the surface of cancerous plasma cells. These antigens are called kappa myeloma antigen (KMA) and lambda myeloma antigen (LMA), and importantly they are not present on normal plasma cells. This provides on-target efficacy and reduced off-tumour toxicity thus preserving immune function and offering a key differentiation to current treatment options. Approximately 70% of multiple myeloma patients are kappa-type and would express KMA and 30% are lambda-type and would express LMA on their myeloma plasma cells. Multiple myeloma patients only express one or the other antigen on their myeloma plasma cells.

About Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma is a malignant disorder of plasma cells within the bone marrow. The world's second most common blood cancer, approximately 188,000 new cases are diagnosed globally each year. Approximately 60% of patients fail standard-of-care and progress to subsequent lines of therapy with poorer outcomes, with ~42% of patients not living more than five years past diagnosis. This underscores the great unmet medical need for safer and more efficacious treatment options.

ENDS

References:

1. CGT = Cell and Gene Therapy

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/haemalogix-wins-most-promising-car-t-pipeline-in-apac-at-the-asia-pacific-cgt-excellence-awards-2025-302553456.html
GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The 35th EAIE Conference and Exhibition was held from 9 to 12 September 2025 in Gothenburg, Sweden. This year, 19 Taiwan academic institutions were represented by nearly 50 delegates, coordinated by the Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan (FICHET), seeking to enhance academic partnerships between Taiwan and Europe and deepen global higher education collaboration.

FICHET Chairperson, Prof. Tsai-Yen Li, said the EAIE conference serves as a crucial platform for Taiwan's universities to engage with European institutions on matters such as student exchanges, research cooperation, and the establishment of academic partnerships. Representative of the Taipei Mission in Sweden, Dr. Klement Ruey-sheng GU, along with the Director of Education Division, Robin Lu, and Secretary Jack Huang, also attended the event to support efforts in expanding Taiwan-Europe higher education networks.

Over the past five years, more than 27,000 European students have studied in Taiwan, with more than 80% coming from EU member states. Over the same period, over 50,000 Taiwanese students have studied in Europe, showing stable growth in bilateral educational exchanges. Chairperson Li further emphasized that Taiwan's relationship with the European Union is characterized by close cooperation in the areas of trade, culture, and education, with education being a central element of the bilateral relationship.

Since 2006, Taiwan's Ministry of Education has offered scholarships of up to US$16,000 (approximately 13,700) per year for Taiwanese students on the reserve list for the Erasmus+ Mundus Joint Master Degree program who were not granted an EU scholarship, benefiting 131 individuals to date. Additionally, since 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Taiwan-Europe Semiconductor Short-term Training Program has brought 348 European students and professionals to Taiwan for short-term training.

To further promote interaction, FICHET hosted a "Taiwan Night" networking dinner on the evening of September 10. The nearly 100 attendees included representatives from 19 Taiwan academic institutions along with their partner and sister institutions. The event provided a platform for meaningful exchanges, expanding the potential for future collaboration.

Looking ahead, FICHET will continue to engage in these international exchanges, building bridges between Taiwan's universities and the world's leading institutions. The foundation aims to deepen Taiwan's academic ties with European universities, and nurture a sustainable cycle of talent development and innovation, ultimately boosting Taiwan's global influence in the global higher education sector.

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R&S Group Holding AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results

R&S Group with good operating performance in H1 2025



11-Sep-2025 / 06:30 CET/CEST

Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.





Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR R&S Group with good operating performance in H1 2025 H1 2025 EBIT of CHF 40.2 million and EBIT margin of 19.5%

Net profit of CHF 28.8 million vs. CHF 12.1 million in H1 2024

Free cash flow of CHF 5.2 million impacted by investments for future growth

Solid order backlog of CHF 305.7 million 11 September 2025 - R&S Group Holding AG (SIX: RSGN) today published its semi-annual report 2025, including the consolidated financial statements for the period from 1 January until 30 June 2025. Net sales, as announced previously, amounted to CHF 206.3 million, despite delays in the ramp-up of the new oil distribution transformer plant in Krzeczow near Bochnia/PL. Order intake of CHF 244.8 million was strong; consequently, the order backlog increased to CHF 305.7 million as of 30 June 2025, boding well for the second half year. As expected and communicated earlier, the Group's profitability declined slightly due to portfolio effects from the Kyte acquisition. EBIT reached CHF 40.2 million compared to CHF 24.0 million in H1 2024, with an EBIT margin of 19.5%. Free cash flow amounted to CHF 5.2 million in H1 2025, because of additional working capital and capital expenditures aimed at expanding production capacity for coping with growing demand. Cash and cash equivalents declined by CHF 20.8 million mainly due to the dividend payment of CHF 18.6 million and the first instalment of CHF 12.5 million for the syndicated loan. Net financial debt as of 30 June 2025 amounted to CHF 104.0 million versus a cash surplus of CHF 5.1 million in the previous year before the acquisition of Kyte Powertech. Eduardo Terzi, Group CEO since 1 June 2025, commented: "These half-year results are testimony to the execution of our growth strategy. To remain on the profitable growth path, we need to sharpen our strategic focus on selected growth markets and customers, and continue to work on operational and technological excellence, innovation, and the development of our competencies and talents. With these priorities in mind, we will address the challenges ahead - such as increasing output, particularly in Bochnia and expanding capacities with a new power transformer facility in Lodz, Poland, and optimizing processes and costs".

The key figures are summarized in the table below. Consolidated key figures

HY 2025 reported HY 2024 reported HY 2024 adjusted Change in reported figures MCHF MCHF MCHF in% Order intake 244.8 141.0 141.0 73.6% Order backlog 305.7 218.2 218.2 40.1% Net sales 206.3 109.9 109.9 87.7% Operating result (EBIT) 40.2 24.0 25.51 67.5% as % of net sales 19.5% 21.8% 23.2% Profit after tax 28.8 12.1 17.31,2 138.0% Free cash flow 5.2 5.5 7.52 -5.5% Earnings per share in CHF3 0.77 0.42 0.60 83.3% Net financial debt4 104.0 -5.1 -5.1 n/a Year-end number of full-time equivalents 1'285 635 635 102.4%

1 Excluding M&A costs of 1.5 MCHF.

2 Excluding subsequent tax payments in Italy of 3.7 MCHF (cash impact of 2 MCHF for H1 2024).

3 Basic Earnings per share computed by dividing Profit after tax by the weighted average number of shares outstanding (37'239'162 shares in 2025).

4 Defined as (interest-bearing) short- and long-term liabilities less cash and equivalents. Excess cash per H1 2024.

Documentation



The semi-annual report is available on the company's website under this link .

The presentation on the semi-annual report 2025 is available here .

Conference Call



The company will host a conference call for analysts, investors and the media today, 11 September 2025, at 10.00 CEST via Teams. The conference call can be joined online via this link .

Calendar 8 April 2026 Release of full-year 2025 results 7 May 2026 Annual General Meeting



Contact Investor and Media Relations



Doris Rudischhauser

Phone: +41 79 410 81 88

Email: investors@the-rsgroup.com

About R&S Group



R&S Group Holding AG's ("R&S Group", the "company") operating headquarters are located in Sissach/BL, Switzerland. With eight manufacturing facilities in Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Ireland and the Middle East, the group serves its domestic and various European markets with single-phase, small and medium distribution and power transformers and other components under the brands of Rauscher & Stoecklin, ZREW, Tesar and Kyte. R&S Group's customers are active in the utility, infrastructure and industrial sectors. The company has been successfully positioned to benefit from the accelerating demand for energy production and distribution, driven by the global trend towards decarbonization. R&S Group has been listed on SIX Swiss Exchange since 13 December 2023 under the ticker symbol RSGN. On 20 August 2024, the company acquired Kyte Powertech, a leading supplier of distribution transformer solutions based in Cavan, Ireland, thus significantly expanding geographic footprint to Ireland, the UK, Benelux and France, and adding complimentary products. Further information about the R&S Group can be found at https://ir.the-rsgroup.com/

Disclaimer



This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning R&S Group Holding AG and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of R&S Group Holding AG to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. R&S Group Holding AG is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Additional features:





File: R&S Group with good operating performance in H1 2025

End of Inside Information
Siegfried AG / Key word(s): Bond

Siegfried successfully places senior bonds of CHF 300 million



11.09.2025 / 06:30 CET/CEST





Media Release

Zofingen, September 11, 2025

Siegfried (SIX: SFZN), a leading global Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) for the pharmaceutical industry, today successfully placed bonds in the amount of CHF 300 million with a 1.3% coupon. The proceeds of the bonds will be used for general corporate purposes, including early refinancing of the bonds maturing in June 2026. The settlement date of the bonds is October 8, 2025.

Reto Suter, Chief Financial Officer: "This successful placement of bonds underlines Siegfried's excellent financing capabilities and enables us to retain strategic flexibility. The strong demand reflects investor confidence in the long-term trends in the CDMO industry and the resilience of our business model."

The bonds were placed with investors in the Swiss market under the joint lead of Zurcher Kantonalbank and Commerzbank. Siegfried will file an application for the bonds to be admitted for listing and trading on the SIX Swiss Exchange.

Siegfried Holding AG today successfully placed senior bonds in the amount of CHF 300 million. The bonds will have a tenor of six years and a coupon of 1.3%.

Contact Financial analysts: Media: Dr. Reto Suter Peter Stierli Chief Financial Officer Head Corporate Communications reto.suter@siegfried.ch peter.stierli@siegfried.ch Tel. +41 62 746 11 35 Tel. +41 62 746 15 51 Siegfried Holding AG Untere Bruehlstrasse 4 CH-4800 Zofingen

About Siegfried



The Siegfried Group is a global life sciences company with sites in Switzerland, Germany, Spain, France, Malta, the USA and China. In 2024, the company achieved sales of CHF 1.295 billion and employed on 31.12.2024 more than 3,800 people at thirteen sites on three continents. Siegfried Holding AG is publicly listed on SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: SFZN).

Siegfried is active in manufacturing pharmaceutical APIs (and their intermediates) as well as drug products (tablets, capsules, sterile vials, ampoules, cartridges and ointments) for the pharmaceutical industry and provides development services.







Cautionary statements regarding forward-looking statements



This media release includes statements concerning the future. They are based on assumptions and expectations that may prove to be wrong. They should be considered with due caution as, by definition, they contain known and unknown risks, insecurities and other factors which could result in a difference in the actual results, financial situation, developments or the success of Siegfried Holding AG or Siegfried Group from the explicit or implicit assumptions made in these statements.

expect more



Siegfried AG

Untere Bruhlstrasse 4

4800 Zofingen, Switzerland



+41 62 746 11 11

info@siegfried.ch

www.siegfried.ch



End of Media Release


LAS VEGAS, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- At RE+ 2025, held from September 8 to 11, Desay Battery, a global provider of comprehensive energy storage solutions, unveiled a full portfolio of innovations while announcing a strategic collaboration with Shenzhen Hello Tech Energy in the field of energy development.

At the heart of the exhibition was Desay Battery's proprietary active-safety cell and system technology, designed to tackle one of the industry's biggest challenges - battery safety. Built on extensive experimental data and correlation analysis, the system integrates advanced temperature-pressure sensing into an AI-enabled cell architecture, enabling real-time monitoring across the entire product lifecycle. It can flag risks such as overcharging, short circuits, or lithium plating at an early stage, transmitting abnormal signals instantly to trigger pre-emptive protection.

A newly developed corrosion-resistant sensor further ensures accurate data collection in harsh environments, capturing voltage, internal temperature, and pressure - the "data triangle" powering Desay Battery's next-generation BMS. Integrated with EMS and cloud-based AI, the solution optimizes cooling, refines charging, and extends system lifespan while enhancing efficiency.

Complementing the AI-powered platform, Desay Battery also introduced a diverse lineup of lithium and sodium batteries, modules, and packs, including its 100Ah, 280Ah, and 314Ah lithium cells, a 60Ah sodium cell, modular battery systems, and a range of integrated storage cabinets from 215kWh to 344kWh. Larger-scale systems, such as the 5MWh liquid-cooled containerized solution, and critical infrastructure offerings, including UPS cabinets and household storage systems, further highlighted the company's breadth.

The exhibit showcased Desay Battery's adaptable portfolio, spanning residential to industrial use. A key highlight was tackling data center energy demand by integrating photovoltaic generation and advanced storage, cutting levelized costs to 0.25 RMB/kWh and saving up to 79% at peak.

The company also underscored its ability to deliver customized, end-to-end energy storage solutions, a capability that has earned it repeated recognition on Bloomberg's Energy Storage Tier 1 list and strong endorsements from industry partners. The newly announced partnership with Shenzhen Hello Tech Energy, a global leader in portable energy storage and a pioneer of mobile household storage categories, reflects this collaborative approach. Together, the two companies plan to leverage complementary strengths in technology, supply chain, and market channels to drive new growth opportunities and deliver competitive solutions to global markets.

With a portfolio that spans from cell-level breakthroughs to fully integrated systems, Desay Battery continues to chart a course toward safer, smarter, and more sustainable energy solutions.

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Galderma will present a wealth of data including new findings showing the impact of modern living on sensitive skin and insights from the largest global survey conducted on the condition

Late-breaking data on Nemluvio's (nemolizumab) mode of action in atopic dermatitis (AD) and long-term safety and efficacy data in prurigo nodularis (PN) and moderate-to-severe AD up to two years will also be presented, supporting its potential as a frontline treatment that addresses key disease symptoms 1-5

(nemolizumab) mode of action in atopic dermatitis (AD) and long-term safety and efficacy data in prurigo nodularis (PN) and moderate-to-severe AD up to two years will also be presented, supporting its potential as a frontline treatment that addresses key disease symptoms The company will also host a symposium on itch, industry hubs on sensitive skin and acne, and multiple Meet the Expert sessions, demonstrating its ongoing commitment to healthcare professional education and clinical excellence

Galderma (SIX: GALD), the dermatology category leader, today announced it will unveil updates from its portfolio at the 34th European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) congress, taking place in Paris, September 17-20, 2025. Highlighting its commitment to addressing skin conditions across the dermatology spectrum, Galderma will present 12 abstracts, including data on sensitive skin, prurigo nodularis, and atopic dermatitis, and host a variety of events from industry hubs on sensitive skin and acne,to a symposium on itch.

Unveiling the global landscape of sensitive skin

Galderma will present data from its robust research into sensitive skin, a growing global issue which now affects up to 70% of people worldwide a 68% increase over the last 20 years.6,7 Data from a first-of-its-kind real-world clinical study conducted in China by Galderma's Global Sensitive Skin Faculty (GSSF) a global network of dermatology experts dedicated to advancing sensitive skin research and education will be presented, revealing the biological impact of modern living and associated environmental factors on individuals with sensitive skin.8 Full results from the study will be presented by GSSF members Prof. Adam Friedman, GSSF Co-Chair and Chair of Dermatology at The George Washington University, United States (U.S.); Dr. Aaron Farberg, Dermatologist and Mohs Surgeon, Baylor University Medical Center, U.S.; and Prof. Martina Kerscher, Head of Division of Cosmetic Sciences, University of Hamburg, Germany, at an industry hub, titled 'Sensitive skin syndrome: A rising phenomenon linked to modern lifestyles and environmental changes'.The hub will take place on Friday, September 19 from 11:15 AM 12:00 PM CET, Hub 2.12.

Findings from the largest global survey on the impact and prevalence of sensitive skin as reported by almost 17,000 participants will also be presented.7 This multi-continent investigation highlights the impact of sensitive skin and the need for targeted, region-specific interventions to optimize the care of individuals affected by the condition worldwide.7 Other data to be presented include the efficacy and tolerability of a gentle exfoliating hydroxy acid lotion in managing sensitive skin, as well as an evaluation of the key differences between sensitive skin and rosacea.

Galderma's efforts to support people with sensitive skin spans from research and education to products, as evidenced by its flagship skincare brand, Cetaphil, which offers a range of solutions for people with sensitive skin.

"EADV is always an exciting moment for us to come together with the dermatology community, exchange ideas, and push science forward. This year, we're especially excited to spotlight new research on sensitive skin, including insights from Galderma's Global Sensitive Skin Faculty, a unique network of leading experts driving research and education in this important area. Alongside late-breaking proteomic and long-term data on Nemluvio in prurigo nodularis and atopic dermatitis, these efforts reflect our deep and enduring commitment to advancing science and improving dermatological care for patients around the world." FLEMMING RNSKOV, M.D., MPH CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GALDERMA

Presenting data on Nemluvio's mode of action and long-term benefit as a potential front-line therapy in prurigo nodularis and atopic dermatitis

Galderma will also be presenting seven abstracts on its first-in-class monoclonal antibody, Nemluvio, including late-breaking data from a skin and blood proteomic analysis of patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis.1 These results will be presented on Friday September 19 at 3:15 3:30 PM CET in the Paris Nord room. Interim analysis data in prurigo nodularis showing continued improvements in itch intensity and skin lesions up to 100 weeks will also be shared on Wednesday September 17, 6:10 6:17 PM CET, Room E01 E03.2 Additional data will be presented on Nemluvio's long-term safety and efficacy in moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, including in adolescents up to 56 weeks, and adolescents and adults up to 104 weeks also showing continued improvements in itch intensity and skin lesions.3,9 These data reinforce Nemluvio's safety and efficacy profile, following its approval in the United States, Europe and several other countries around the world for the treatment of prurigo nodularis and moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis.2-5

Galderma will also host a symposium titled 'Ditching the itch: Exploring the latest advances in atopic dermatitis and prurigo nodularis, targeting freedom from itch and long-term skin lesion control' on Friday, September 19 from 1:00 2:00 PM CET, Room S03. Experts will discuss advancing treatment strategies in atopic dermatitis and prurigo nodularis, and the importance of understanding itch as the most urgent symptom to target as it severely affects patients' quality of life in these diseases.10,11

Showcasing dermatology leadership through expert engagements

Expert dermatologists will discuss approaches and advancements in the treatment of acne during an industry hub titled, 'A holistic approach to acne and acne sequelae: Combining retinoids, CTMP and cosmetic corrective procedures' on Thursday September 18 from 2:15 3:00 PM CET, Hub 2.07.

Galderma will also host a series of Meet the Expert sessions on atopic dermatitis at its booth (EO1), including dedicated sessions titled 'What would you do? A case-based discussion on atopic dermatitis treatment strategies' on Thursday September 18; 12:00 12:30 PM CET and 'Rethinking atopic dermatitis relief: Science-driven skincare solutions across the flare cycle' on Thursday September 18 from 11:45 AM 12:00 PM CET and Friday, September 19 from 2:00 2:15 PM CET.

More details on Galderma's scientific presentations at EADV can be found here.

About Nemluvio

Nemluviowas initially developed by Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. In 2016, Galderma obtained exclusive rights to the development and marketing of nemolizumab worldwide, except in Japan. In Japan, nemolizumab is marketed as Mitchga and is approved for the treatment of prurigo nodularis, as well as pruritus associated with atopic dermatitis in pediatric, adolescent, and adult patients.12,13 Nemluvio is approved for both moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis and prurigo nodularis by multiple regulatory authorities around the world, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Commission.4,5 Additional reviews and submissions are ongoing.

About Galderma

Galderma (SIX: GALD) is the pure-play dermatology category leader, present in approximately 90 countries. We deliver an innovative, science-based portfolio of premium flagship brands and services that span the full spectrum of the fast-growing dermatology market through Injectable Aesthetics, Dermatological Skincare and Therapeutic Dermatology. Since our foundation in 1981, we have dedicated our focus and passion to the human body's largest organ the skin meeting individual consumer and patient needs with superior outcomes in partnership with healthcare professionals. Because we understand that the skin we are in shapes our lives, we are advancing dermatology for every skin story. For more information: www.galderma.com.

References

Liu D, et al. Nemolizumab suppressed multiaxial inflammatory pathways and improved barrier protein signatures in skin and blood proteomic analysis of patients with moderate-to-severe AD. Late-breaking oral presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Congress; September 17-20, 2025; Paris, France Metz M, et al. Clinically meaningful and sustained itch and skin responses in the OLYMPIA open-label extension nemolizumab study in patients with prurigo nodularis: An interim analysis up to 100 weeks. Poster presented at the EADV Congress; September 17-20, 2025; Paris, France Nemluvio AD data. Silverberg J, et al. Nemolizumab long-term safety and efficacy up to 104 weeks in ARCADIA open-label extension study in adolescents and adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. Poster presented at the EADV Congress; September 17-20, 2025; Paris, France Nemluvio U.S. Prescribing Information. Available online. Accessed September 2025 Nemluvio European Medicines Agency. Summary of Product Characteristics. Available online. Accessed September 2025 Richters R, et al. What Is Sensitive Skin? A Systematic Literature Review of Objective Measurements. Skin Pharmacol Physiol. 2015;28(2),75-83. doi:10.1159/000363149 Vidal S, et al. Defining the Prevalence, Clinical Characteristics, and Demographic Influences on Patients with Sensitive Skin Syndrome: Insights from the Largest Global Survey of Sensitive Skin. Poster presented at the EADV Congress; September 17-20, 2025; Paris, France Friedman A. Sensitive skin syndrome: A rising phenomenon linked to modern lifestyles and environmental changes. Presented during an industry hub at the EADV Congress; September 17-20, 2025; Paris, France Reich A, et al. Long-term efficacy and safety of nemolizumab in adolescents with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis: Post hoc analyses from ARCADIA LTE 1-year cut-off. Poster presented at the EADV Congress; September 17-20, 2025; Paris, France Aggarwal P, et al. Clinical characteristics and disease burden in prurigo nodularis. Clin Exp Dermatol. 2021;46(7):1277-1284. doi: 10.1111/ced.14722 Silverberg JI, et al. Patient burden and quality of life in atopic dermatitis in US adults: a population-based cross-sectional study. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2018;121(3):340-347. doi: 10.1016/j.anai.2018.07.006 Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Maruho Obtained Regulatory Approval for Mitchga, the first Antibody Targeting IL-31 for Itching Associated with Atopic Dermatitis. Available online. Accessed September 2025 Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Mitchga Approved for Itching in Pediatric Atopic Dermatitis and Prurigo Nodularis, for its Subcutaneous Injection 30mg Vials. Available online. Accessed September 2025

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250910289878/en/

Contacts:

For further information:

Christian Marcoux, M.Sc.

Chief Communications Officer

christian.marcoux@galderma.com

+41 76 315 26 50



Richard Harbinson

Corporate Communications Director

richard.harbinson@galderma.com

+41 76 210 60 62



Celine Buguet

Franchises and R&D Communications Director

celine.buguet@galderma.com

+41 76 249 90 87



Emil Ivanov

Head of Strategy, Investor Relations, and ESG

emil.ivanov@galderma.com

+41 21 642 78 12



Jessica Cohen

Investor Relations and Strategy Director

jessica.cohen@galderma.com

+41 21 642 76 43
A major new study shows democracy is losing its grip on public trust. In five Western democracies the UK, USA, Germany, Italy and Denmark at least two-thirds of citizens believe their societies will not be better in ten years. In the UK, the figure is nearly 80%.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250910694144/en/

The research, part of the forthcoming book The Puzzle State How to Govern Wicked Problems in Western Democracies by Danish bestselling author Sigge Winther Nielsen, points to growing political pessimism and a widening gap between promises and delivery in hospitals, schools and climate policy.

Key Findings:

Nearly 80% of Britons expect no improvement over the next decade.

77.3% say political decisions are made without realistic plans.

Trust in democracy's ability to solve "wicked problems" scores just 4.6/10.

Citizens increasingly dismiss politics as disconnected "pseudo-politics."

The book draws on a survey of 5,000 citizens, 100 insider interviews and 25 years of reform data making it one of the most comprehensive assessments of democracy's delivery gap to date. Prominent voices echo the findings. Former Labour Minister Peter Mandelson warns politics has become "flattened," while US Democrat Steny Hoyer highlights the speed and complexity that leave little time to ensure delivery. Former EU Vice-President Margrethe Vestager adds: "Western democracies need a serious makeover to reconnect to their roots and deliver to citizens."

New Data New Solutions How to fix democracy

While sobering, the analysis also sets out nine reforms to restore capacity from "policy test zones" and new civil service roles to AI-powered frontline feedback systems and the "IKEA rule" for policymaking. Together, they present a roadmap for rebuilding trust in institutions under strain.

About the author

Sigge Winther Nielsen, PhD, is a Danish political scientist, bestselling author, TV host and director of the Institute for Wicked Problems. He has spent more than a decade studying democratic reform, combining academic research with insider access across Europe and the US. His previous works have shaped debates on governance and public innovation in Denmark.

Sigge Winther Nielsen will be in London from the 11th-16th of September and available for in-person interviews as part of the book's international launch.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250910694144/en/

Contacts:

For data access, interviews or press materials, contact INVI's Head of Press, Tine Maria Borresoe tinemaria@invi.nu.
Continuous production and acceleration in commercialization Industrial continuous running of the plant achieved, and hundreds of tons of bio-based acids produced Over 100 tons already commercialized for several clients and applications

Good control of expenses and solid financial position Stable cash consumption in H1 2025 vs. 2024, including plant start-up financial support Solid cash position of 27.5 million as of June 30, 2025

Short- and medium-term outlook First significant production revenue starting in 2025, plant breakeven (positive current EBITDA) within a few quarters Plant optimization program initiated



Regulatory News:

AFYREN (Paris:ALAFY),a greentech company offering manufacturers bio-based, low-carbon ingredients through a unique fermentation technology based on a circular model, announces today the half-year financial results for the period ended June 30, 2025, which have been subject to a limited review by the statutory auditor and approved by the Board of Directors on September 10, 2025.

Nicolas SORDET, Chief Executive Officer of AFYREN, stated: "In the first half of 2025, we reached a key milestone in AFYREN's history with the launch of continuous production, reflecting major operational progress. This advancement was accompanied by strong financial discipline, with cash consumption remaining stable compared to the same period last year. Looking ahead, our roadmap is clear: ramp up industrial output, accelerate the commercialization of our acids, and continue optimization work at the plant to meet European market expectations swiftly. The experience gained over the past two years is a valuable asset in achieving our global ambition, while maintaining strict budgetary discipline."

Recent MILESTONEs

Update on AFYREN NEOXY's progress

Production and commercialization

In June 2025, AFYREN announced that continuous production1 had been achieved at the plant. This major milestone is the culmination of two years of efforts by the AFYREN and AFYREN NEOXY teams to ensure the reliability of the equipment and master operations on an industrial scale, enabling the continuous operation of this unique biorefinery.

This significant achievement marked the beginning of a new phase that will see the gradual ramp-up of AFYREN NEOXY's industrial production, with the prospects of manufacturing and commercializing several hundreds of tons of products in the second half of 2025.

Since this announcement and following a qualification phase lasting a couple of weeks, AFYREN has shipped product to several clients, exceeding 100 tonnes delivered and invoiced as of the date of this press release.

AFYREN NEOXY Optimization Strategy

While ramping-up production at AFYREN NEOXY, AFYREN is aiming to implement operational improvements which, with an additional investment of around 20 million, would enable the company to increase production capacity to c.20 kt a 20% increase compared to the initially planned capacity of 16 kt.

This optimization of the plant would enable the company to meet growing commercial demand and improve the plant's financial performance: AFYREN would be able to raise the projected EBITDA to 14 million, representing a 40% increase over current forecasts of 9 million.

To support the planned investment and the ramp-up of AFYREN NEOXY, AFYREN will draw on part of its available cash, while ensuring it maintains sufficient financial flexibility for operations. With the aim of preserving a balanced and sustainable financial structure, other sources of financing are being explored, part of which already secured in the form of grants and loans (see PR released July 8, 2025).

Commercial partnerships

Commercial relationships and partnerships

The industrial ramp-up of AFYREN NEOXY allows for regular updates on AFYREN's commercial progress. The recent deliveries mark the materialization of commercial relationships between AFYREN and its clients, some of which were initiated as early as 2018 and are based on a shared vision of sustainability and innovation.

The current contracts, worth 165 million in the next few years, include several take-or-pay agreements and secure clients for several years of production. This visibility on sales sets AFYREN apart from many other greentech companies.

A differentiated and unique offering at the commercial stage

AFYREN sells 100% bio-based acids which can be directly integrated into the products of clients in the human food, animal feed, flavors and fragrances, and life sciences sectors, enhancing the perceived value of their offerings, at a competitive cost.

Industrial customers are leveraging the natural origin of the ingredients including their fermentation-based and 100% bio-based nature and/or their low carbon footprint, which is also due to their local sourcing and the fully circular approach of the manufacturing process. For example, AFYREN acids are COSMOS-certified the internationally recognized standard for organic and natural cosmetic products2

To date, AFYREN has not identified any direct competition. The few 'pure players' in bio-based carboxylic acids are currently at the pilot stage, with no short-term prospects of achieving industrial-scale production capacity.

CSR roadmap3

Integral to AFYREN's value proposition and supported by an ambitious corporate governance, CSR is at the heart of the Company's strategic orientations.

The H1 2025 achievements include:

Obtaining the "Responsible Care Confirmed diagnosis" certification from France Chimie for the AFYREN NEOXY site;

Confirmed diagnosis" certification from France Chimie for the AFYREN NEOXY site; Publishing our second Sustainability report, deliberately drawn up in the spirit of ESRS (Environmental, Social, and Governance Reporting Standards). This document is available and can be consulted and downloaded from the Company's website: https://afyren.com/en/purpose/

A further increase in EthiFinance's extra-financial rating to 85/100 (Platinum Level), highlighting AFYREN's efforts to put CSR considerations at the heart of the corporate strategy.

A solid financial position

Stable operating loss reflecting tight control of operating expenses

Simplified P&L (k) 06/2025 06/2024 Var. Revenue (CA) 1 204 1 364 -12% licensing and development of industrial know-how 709 other services provided 1 204 656 +84% Operating loss (3 641) (3 590) +1% Net financial result 851 978 -13% Share in loss of AFYREN NEOXY4 (4 134) (2 710) +53% Net loss (6 924) (5 322) +30%

Revenue in H1 2025 amounted to 1.2 million, compared with 1.4 million in H1 2024. As services provided as part of the industrialization phase are ending recognized as license revenue since December 2018 revenue now solely consists of income from various administrative and technical service agreements signed with AFYREN NEOXY. The increase in H1 2025 compared to the same period in 2024 is due to the expansion of the scope of services accounted for by AFYREN.

Net current operating expenses5 amounted to 4.8 million, slightly below the 5.0 million recorded at the end of H1 2024.

Expenses include:

purchases and other external charges decreasing by 0.3 million, including costs incurred for the development of future plants;

an increase in payroll costs by 0.2 million, mainly due to compensation costs. The average number of full-time equivalents (FTE) reached 48 (ex NEOXY), compared with 44 as of June 30, 2024.

Within operating expenses, research and development expenses recognized as costs amounted to 0.9 million, stable compared to the same period in 2024.

Current operating loss is broadly in line with the same period last year, with tight control of operating expenses offsetting the decrease in revenue.

Net financial results were positive in H1 2025: financial income from investment of cash was 0.9 million, compared with 1.1 million in H1 2024. Financial expenses amounted to 41,000, reflecting the low level of debt at AFYREN holding levels.

The Group's share in AFYREN NEOXY's net loss amounted to (4.1) million at the end of June 2025, compared with (2.7) million at the end of June 2024. This result is mainly due to the plant's operating expenses, while first meaningful revenue of the plant is expected in H2 2025. It also reflects an increase in financial expenses due to new financing secured at the end of 2024.

Net loss was (6.9) million at the end of June 2025, compared with (5.3) million at the end of June 2024, reflecting an overall stable cost structure pending a positive contribution from production and sales at the AFYREN NEOXY plant.

Cash position of 27.5 million

Simplified balance sheet (k) 06/2025 12/2024 Non-current financial assets 9 334 13 454 of which equity-accounted securities 4 485 8 618 Current assets 42 124 45 106 of which cash and cash equivalents 27 468 33 538 Total assets 51 458 58 560 Equity 46 156 52 698 Non-current liabilities 2 452 3 019 of which loans and financial debts 1 496 2 035 Current liabilities 2 849 2 842 of which loans and financial debts 1 205 1 282 Total liabilities 51 458 58 560

At the end of June 2025, AFYREN had a solid cash position of 27.5 million, reflecting cash consumption of around 6 million over the period, of which 2.9 million was granted to its subsidiary AFYREN NEOXY, in the form of a shareholder loan.

Total financial debt was kept at 2.7 million6 at the end of June 2025. Loan repayments represented 0.7 million over the first semester.

COMPANY Outlook

AFYREN NEOXY expects production revenue in 2025 to be in the low single-digit million euros range7. The plant is expected to break even (positive current EBITDA) within a few quarters.

AFYREN's medium-term objectives will be updated to reflect the progress of the AFYREN NEOXY ramp-up. The core operational and financial targets remain unchanged specifically the plan to build and operate three production sites, generating a combined 150 million in revenue at full capacity8 with a target Group EBITDA margin of around 30%.

Instead of adhering strictly to the current target of having three plants installed, including two in continuous production by 2028, AFYREN is exploring a phased approach. This would allow the company to consolidate the achievements of its first biorefinery and leverage the operational experience gained before moving forward with the development of Plants 2 and 3.

This approach will enable the Group to maintain a safe degree of agility and keep good control of AFYREN's cash burn and should enable the financing of future plants under optimized conditions.

2025 Half-year Financial report availability

The Company will make its 2025 Half-Year Financial Report in French available today. An English version will follow shortly.

About AFYREN

AFYREN is a French greentech company, founded in 2012, focused on providing innovative, sustainable solutions to reduce reliance on fossil-based resources. AFYREN's proprietary, nature-inspired fermentation technology valorizes local biomass from non-food agricultural co-products to produce 100% biobased, low-carbon carboxylic acids. The company's sustainable solutions address decarbonization challenges in a wide variety of strategic sectors, including human and animal nutrition, flavors and fragrances, life sciences, materials science, plus lubricants and technical fluids. AFYREN's competitive, plug-and-play, circular technology enables manufacturers to adopt sustainable solutions without modifying production processes.

The company's first industrial plant, AFYREN NEOXY, a joint venture with Bpifrance's SPI fund, is based in the Grand-Est region of France, serving primarily the European market. AFYREN is also pursuing a project in Thailand with a global leader in the sugar industry and is building its presence in the Americas, based on existing distribution agreements.

At the end of 2024, AFYREN employed 130 people across sites in Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand and Carling Saint-Avold. Committed to continuous innovation, the company invests 20% of its annual budget in R&D to further develop the range of sustainable solutions.

AFYREN is listed on Euronext Growth Paris since 2021 (ISIN code: FR0014005AC9, ticker: ALAFY).

For more information, visit www.afyren.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

APPENDIX

1. Income statement

In k 06/2025 06/2024 Revenue 1 204 1 364 Other income 277 242 Purchases and external charges -1 390 -1 675 Payroll costs -3 249 -3 029 Depreciation of fixed assets and rights of use -424 -405 Other expenses -59 -88 Current operating income -3 641 -3 590 Non-current operating income Operating income -3 641 -3 590 Financial income 892 1 051 Financial expenses -41 -73 Net financial income 851 978 Share in income of equity-accounted company (net of tax) -4 134 -2 710 Income before tax -6 924 -5 322 Income tax -0 0 Net income for the year -6 924 -5 322 Earnings per share Basic earnings per share (in euros) 0.27 0.20 Diluted earnings per share (in euros) 0.27 0.20

2. Balance sheet

In k 06/2025 12/2024 Intangible assets 2 795 2 940 Property, plant and equipment 290 325 Rights of use 242 254 Equity-accounted securities 4 485 8 618 Non-current financial assets 1 523 1 317 Non-current assets 9 334 13 454 Trade receivable 513 432 Current financial assets 154 107 Other current assets 13 988 11 030 Cash and cash equivalents 27 468 33 538 Current assets 42 124 45 106 Total assets 51 458 58 560 Share capital 522 522 Issue premiums 85 406 85 406 Reserves 7 995 (9 435) Retained earnings 24 854 (14 042) Net income for the year 6 924 (9 754) Equity attributable to the owners of the Company 46 156 52 698 Non-current borrowings and financial liabilities 1 382 1 972 Non-current lease liabilities 115 62 Defined benefit liabilities 64 73 Non-current provisions 14 14 Non-current deferred income (customer contract liabilities) Non-current deferred income (subsidies) 877 898 Non-current liabilities 2 452 3 019 Current borrowings and financial liabilities 1 083 1 093 Current lease liabilities 122 188 Trade payables 253 526 Current deferred income (customer contract liabilities) Other current liabilities 1 391 1 035 Current liabilities 2 849 2 842 Total liabilities 5 301 5 862 Total equity and liabilities 51 458 58 560

3. Cash-flow statement (simplified)

In k 06/2025 06/2024 Net income for the year - 6 924 - 5 322 Total elimination of expenses and income with no cash impact 4 038 2 574 Total cash flow - 2 885 - 2 748 Total change in working capital 196 - 635 Net cash from operating activities - 2 690 - 3 383 Acquisitions of PPE and intangible assets, net of disposals -84 -52 Capitalised development expenses 40 19 Investment grants (incl. CIR offsetting capitalised costs) 2 49 Subscription to AFYREN NEOXY capital increases 2 900 2 500 Current account contributions AFYREN NEOXY 369 838 Interest received 62 Increase in non-current financial assets 12 Increase in current financial assets (liquidity contract) 1 Net cash used in investing activities - 2 657 - 1 735 Capital increase 129 Purchase/sale of treasury shares 37 306 Proceeds from new borrowings and financial liabilities Repayment of borrowings and financial liabilities 588 702 Repayment of convertible bonds Payment of lease liabilities 130 110 Interest paid on borrowings and financial liabilities Interest paid on bonds 32 38 Interest paid on lease liabilities 9 10 Net cash used in financing activities - 723 - 1 039 Net change in cash and cash equivalents - 6 070 - 6 157 Cash and cash equivalents as of January 1st 33 538 49 559 Cash and cash equivalents as of June 30 27 468 43 402

_____________________________________ 1 Simultaneous operation of all stages of the process from fermentation to finished products, in a stable and repeatable manner 2https://www.cosmos-standard.org/en/ 3 Environmental, social and governance criteria 4 Joint-venture between AFYREN and BPIfrance which is equity-accounted 5 Net of other income, mainly operating subsidies 6 Including lease liabilities 7 Projections subject to operational adjustments to be made to increase production rates during the ramp-up phase 8 After a ramp-up period

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250910623363/en/

Contacts:

AFYREN

Director for ESG, Communications and Public Affairs

Caroline Petigny

caroline.petigny@afyren.com



Investor Relations

Mark Reinhard

invest@afyren.com



NewCap



Investor Relations

Theo Martin Mathilde Bohin

Tel: 01 44 71 94 94

afyren@newcap.eu



Media Relations

Nicolas Merigeau Gaelle Fromaigeat

Tel: 01 44 71 94 98

afyren@newcap.eu



MC Services AG (international)



Investor Relations

Bettina Ellinghorst



Media Relations

Shaun Brown, Dr. Johanna Kobler



Tel: +49 89 210 228 0

afyren@mc-services.eu
Executive Chairman Cevdet Caner and Chief Executive Officer Richard Bunning announced today the formation of Global Critical Resources Corporation ("GCR Group"), a U.S. registered company operating Minera Tres Valles (MTV), a copper mine in Chile, and Tataki Mine, a nickel, cobalt, and platinum group metal asset in Botswana. Mr. Caner's investment company, NIU Invest (NIU), contributed both MTV and Tataki Mine to GCR Group, which is headquartered in the United States.

GCR Group is focused on meeting the world's rapidly growing demand for the resources essential to advanced technologies, electric vehicles, and renewable energy. GCR Group's team of seasoned professionals brings decades of experience to the mining of critical minerals, leveraging knowledge of political risk, complex transactions, operations, and advanced technology to seek out investment opportunities and create value.

"Together with our partners and stakeholders, GCR Group delivers integrated mining solutions that combine cutting-edge methods with a commitment to responsible production," said CEO Richard Bunning. "Instead of building from scratch, we revitalize high-potential assets, turning them into efficient, future-ready operations."

Purpose-driven and innovation-led, GCR Group is dedicated to creating impact in both local communities and global supply chains. "At our core, we believe investing in critical minerals is not just a strategic opportunity to secure crucial supply chains and propel innovation, but it's also a generational chance to accelerate development in communities endowed with these resources," said Executive Chairman Cevdet Caner. "Sustainability drives everything we do, and we operate with the highest environmental, social, and governance standards to responsibly deliver the critical resources the world needs."

MTV is a copper mining and refining complex located near Salamanca in Coquimbo, Chile. MTV features an advanced underground mine (Papamono) utilizing Incline Block Caving (IBC) for extraction, as well as an open-pit mine (Don Gabriel) planned for development within three years. MTV constitutes 8.2 million tons of proven and probable reserves which, when combined with processing of third-party ores, will yield potential revenues at current copper prices (~10,000 USD/t) of USD 1.3 1.5bn. MTV produces Grade-A 99.999% pure electrolytic copper cathodes among the highest quality in the market with 5,000 tons of cathodes to be produced in the first year of GCR Group's ownership. Production is forecasted to increase to approximately 13,000 to 15,000 tons per annum from 2026.

The integrated plant includes cutting edge and environmentally friendly crushing, leaching, and SX/EW processing capabilities, capable of processing 180,000 tons of ore per month and producing 18,500 tons of high-quality Grade-A copper cathodes per month, including from third-party ores. MTV has a state-of-the-art, fully integrated processing plant and benefits from being the only such facility within a 200km radius.

"We are thrilled to join the GCR Group family," said Sebastian Cortes, CEO of MTV. "Together with GCR Group, we look forward to growing alongside the communities of Choapa Province, preserving its environment, investing in its communities, and working with our local partners."

Tataki Mine is a polymetallic mine in the North-East district of Botswana, near the Zimbabwe border. The asset contains one of the country's largest reserves of nickel, copper, cobalt, and platinum group metals. After reopening under GCR Group, slated for a September 16 ceremony led by President Duma Boko, Tataki will produce a variety of metals and hydroxide salts that are widely traded internationally. Products will include nickel and cobalt hydroxide precipitates, copper cathodes, metal bars for platinoids (platinum, palladium, rhodium), and precious metals.

"We plan to invest further capital into Tataki to develop and expand mining operations," said Chief Operating Officer Lukasz Abramowicz. Over the next decade, Tataki is expected to generate over USD 4.2bn in revenue. "Tataki will be a key engine for Botswana's economic growth in the coming years," added Abramowicz, "contributing a 1.5% increase in annual GDP to the country."

GCR Group will continue to expand its portfolio by acquiring and investing in mining assets across the globally, with a focus on copper, cobalt, and other critical minerals. NIU Invest maintains its momentum as a leading player in real estate, technology, and capital markets, sustaining its strategic partnership in mining with GCR Group across key jurisdictions and asset classes.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250910150843/en/

Contacts:

Media contact:

Boyd Bailey

hello@reputablepr.com
The 2025 edition of IFA closed with international recognition for Tineco. A pioneer in smart cleaning solutions, the brand walked away with multiple prestigious awards celebrating its innovation, design, and ability to anticipate the needs of today's households. These honors further strengthen Tineco's reputation in Europe and reinforce its role as a key player in the smart home space.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250910865658/en/

IFA 2025: Tineco Honored for Innovation and Visionary Design

An Outstanding Awards Lineup

FLOOR ONE S9 Scientist: Precision Recognized

The newest flagship in Tineco's lineup, the FLOOR ONE S9 Scientist, impressed judges with its science-driven approach to cleaning and ultra-futuristic design. It received the All-Scenario Cleaning Innovation Gold Award and the Global Product Technology Innovation Award 2025 . In addition, it earned international recognition as an IFA Innovation Award Honoree 2025 , cementing its status as one of the standout products of this year's show.

The newest flagship in Tineco's lineup, the FLOOR ONE S9 Scientist, impressed judges with its science-driven approach to cleaning and ultra-futuristic design. It received the and the . In addition, it earned international recognition as an , cementing its status as one of the standout products of this year's show. FLOOR ONE Station S9 Artist: Simplicity that Inspires

Designed for total autonomy with its smart 3-in-1 station, the FLOOR ONE Station S9 Artist was named Best of Showstoppers IFA 2025 by the GADGETY Awards , and was also highlighted by US tech media outlet Hunker in its Best of IFA 2025 selection.

Designed for total autonomy with its smart 3-in-1 station, the FLOOR ONE Station S9 Artist was named by the , and was also highlighted by US tech media outlet in its selection. PURE ONE A90S: Intuitive Efficiency

In the stick vacuum category, the PURE ONE A90S stood out for its versatility and intelligent sensors, also earning a GADGETY Award Best of Showstoppers IFA 2025

In the stick vacuum category, the PURE ONE A90S stood out for its versatility and intelligent sensors, also earning a FLOOR ONE S7 Stretch Steam Series: A Healthier Clean

Combining flexibility with the power of 140C steam, the new S7 Stretch Steam Series received TUV certification as a pet-friendly product proven to eliminate bacteria.

Combining flexibility with the power of 140C steam, the new S7 Stretch Steam Series received as a pet-friendly product proven to eliminate bacteria. Additional Recognitions

Two Tineco products already available in Europe also received honors: the Tineco Go Mini and the iFloor Y2 Plus, both named Produkt des Jahres (Product of the Year) 2025/2026 by German outlet Technik Zuhause

A Reinforced Ambition

These awards reflect Tineco's mission: to design products that go beyond simple cleaning and deliver smarter, more intuitive, and healthier solutions for modern living.

From the scientific precision of the S9 Scientist, to the total autonomy of the Station S9 Artist, to the natural cleaning power of the S7 Stretch Steam Series, Tineco continues to set the benchmark for smart home care. With this international recognition, the brand is accelerating its European growth while building a strong global reputation around a clear vision: using technology to transform the home and simplify everyday life.

About Tineco

Tineco ("tin-co") was founded in 1998 with its first product launch as a vacuum cleaner and, in 2019, pioneered the first-ever smart vacuum. Today, the brand has evolved into a global leader in intelligent appliances spanning floor care, kitchen, and personal care categories. With a growing user base of over 19.5 million households and availability in approximately 30 countries worldwide, Tineco remains committed to its brand vision of making life easier through smart technology and continuous innovation. For more information, visit fr.tineco.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250910865658/en/

Contacts:

Chris.lxg@tineco.com
LONDON, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Holiston Media has announced the winners of the Global Forex Awards 2025 - Retail, recognising the very best in the retail forex industry across more than 50 global and regional categories. Now in its seventh year, the Global Forex Awards - Retail have received over 200,000 public votes, with more than 400 companies recognised worldwide, making it the largest and most competitive Global Forex Awards to date. The accolades celebrate forex brokers that demonstrate outstanding performance in innovation, customer service, trading technology, transparency, and client satisfaction. "These awards have become a highlight in the forex industry calendar and set the benchmark for excellence," said Archie Humphries, Director at Holiston Media. "Winners benefit from heightened credibility, increased brand exposure, and strengthened trust among traders and industry peers. As the winners are chosen by those who actually use their services, this recognition carries exceptional authority."

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Launch of Omada Cloud Application Gateway allows for Zero Trust system access across hybrid environments

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Omada A/S ("Omada"), a global leader of Identity Governance and Administration (IGA), today announced availability of the self-hosted Omada Cloud Application Gateway. This next-generation secure connectivity gateway enables seamless integration between Omada Identity Cloud, the company's IGA-as-a-service platform, and on-premises or cloud-hosted target systems. This can be done without requiring changes to firewall configurations, offering agility and Zero Trust alignment, ideal for modern, distributed IGA deployments.

As enterprises expand cloud adoption, many still depend on legacy or on-prem systems excluded from modern IGA due to missing connectors or network restrictions. This creates blind spots like unmanaged admin accounts, incomplete records, and inconsistent policies, that auditors flag. Any system outside IGA, cloud or not, undermines security.

To address this, Omada has developed the Cloud Application Gateway, purpose-built to extend identity governance across cloud environments, data centers, and distributed infrastructures. The Omada Cloud Application Gateway initiates secure outbound sessions only when needed, enabling application and identity level access without major network changes. It can be deployed on Windows and Linux environments. It also supports automatic over-the-air updates to reduce administrative effort, decrease maintenance overhead and ensure future compatibility.

The Omada Cloud Application Gateway is a breakthrough that redefines expectations for how organizations securely extend IGA across hybrid environments. Compared to other IGA gateway solutions, it delivers faster time-to-value, lower operating overhead, and stronger security with customer-controlled encryption, by combining lightweight deployment, seamless connectivity, and customer-managed cryptographic keys.

With the Cloud Application Gateway, enterprises gain:

Low cost of ownership: Omada's Cloud Application Gateway has a tiny footprint and provides over the air updates that are automatically deployed and pre-configured directly from the Omada Cloud Management Portal.

Omada's Cloud Application Gateway has a tiny footprint and provides over the air updates that are automatically deployed and pre-configured directly from the Omada Cloud Management Portal. Flexibility in deployment: Omada has designed the Cloud Application Gateway for easy deployment and CI/CD integration by packaging and publishing it as a Docker image on Docker Hub for faster customer setup. It can be deployed on specific networks, close to the target system to be managed. Rapidly deployed across multiple environments, the average deployment < 30 minutes.

Omada has designed the Cloud Application Gateway for easy deployment and CI/CD integration by packaging and publishing it as a Docker image on Docker Hub for faster customer setup. It can be deployed on specific networks, close to the target system to be managed. Rapidly deployed across multiple environments, the average deployment < 30 minutes. Confidentiality of secrets: Customers can use their own cryptographic keys - Bring your own Key (BYOK) - managed from their own vault provider such as Hashicorp or Azure Key Vault, meaning all secrets within Omada Identity Cloud are encrypted and only able to be decrypted by the customer.

Customers can use their own cryptographic keys - Bring your own Key (BYOK) - managed from their own vault provider such as Hashicorp or Azure Key Vault, meaning all secrets within Omada Identity Cloud are encrypted and only able to be decrypted by the customer. Ease of integration: Omada Cloud Application Gateway provides flexibility in building custom integrations to target systems using simple scripting and/or third-party libraries.

Michael Garrett, CEO, Omada, said: "The Omada Cloud Application Gateway represents a significant step forward in providing customers with secure, efficient and easy-to-manage connectivity to Omada Identity Cloud. By removing the need for complex firewall changes and putting encryption keys in customers' hands, we're making enterprise integration both safer and simpler."

For more information about the Omada Cloud Application Gateway, visit here.

About Omada

Omada, a global market leader in Identity Governance and Administration (IGA), offers a full-featured, cloud-native IGA solution that enables organizations to achieve compliance, reduce risk, and maximize operational efficiency. Founded in 2000, Omada specializes in delivering innovative identity management solutions for complex hybrid environments, based on a proven best practice process framework and a streamlined deployment approach. For more information, go to https://www.omadaidentity.com.

Media Contact:

Diana Diaz

Force4 Technology Communications

diana.diaz@force4.co

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1730116/Omada_Logo.jpg

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Baar, Switzerland--(Newsfile Corp. - September 11, 2025) -

medmix AG

Neuhofstrasse 20

CH-6430 Baar

communications@medmix.com

www.medmix.swiss

MEDIA RELEASE

DOWNLOAD MEDIA RELEASE

medmix Announces Strategic Partnership with Gurit for Sustainable Solutions for Industrial Bonding Applications

medmix has partnered with Gurit, a global leader in advanced composite materials, to advance sustainable solutions for industrial bonding applications. Gurit's BondPro adhesive will be dispensed using medmix' MIXPAC greenLine cartridge system, combining Gurit's advances in adhesive technology with medmix' cartridge-based application knowledge and commitment to sustainable packaging.

The partnership supports customers across automotive, transportation, industrial, construction, and agriculture sectors in meeting evolving demands for performance and sustainability in bonding applications. Gurit's expertise in high-performance adhesives for industrial environments complements medmix' leadership in sustainably engineered cartridges, offering solutions that balance effectiveness with reduced environmental impact.

This collaboration is part of medmix' broader commitment to invest in technologies and partnerships that advance responsible solutions across its business. It further strengthens medmix' position as a leader in sustainable dispensing technology while expanding access to high-performance bonding solutions worldwide.

Figure 1: GURIT and MIXPAC partnership for new GURIT BondPro adhesive.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10892/265998_figure1.jpg

-Ends-

About Gurit

The subsidiaries of Gurit Holding AG, Wattwil/Switzerland, (SIX Swiss Exchange: GURN) are global leaders in advanced composite materials and engineering solutions. The portfolio includes kitted core materials, prepregs, pultruded glass profiles, formulated products, manufacturing technologies, and structural engineering. With a strong focus on sustainability and performance, Gurit supports customers in the Wind Energy, Marine, and Industrial sectors in meeting demanding challenges while driving cleaner, more efficient solutions. Gurit operates production sites and offices in Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Ecuador, India, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States.

www.gurit.com

About medmix

medmix is a global leader in high-precision delivery devices, with leading positions in healthcare, consumer and industrial end-markets. Our customers benefit from our dedication to innovation and technological advancement that has resulted in over 900 active patents. Our 14 production sites worldwide together with our highly motivated and experienced team of nearly 2'700 employees are at service of our customers with uncompromising quality, proximity and agility. medmix is headquartered in Baar, Switzerland. Our shares are traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: MEDX). www.medmix.swiss

This document may contain forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, projections of financial developments, market activity, or future performance of products and solutions containing risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are subject to change based on known or unknown risks and various other factors that could cause actual results or performance to differ materially from the statements made herein.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/265998

SOURCE: medmix AG
QCraft, a global leader in L2++ to L4 autonomous driving (AD) solutions for automakers, and TUV Rheinland, an international independent third-party testing, inspection, and certification (TIC) organization, have inked a strategic partnership that marks a new chapter of in-depth cooperation for the global intelligent mobility industry.

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At the IAA MOBILITY 2025 conference in Munich, Germany, QCraft and TUV Rheinland inked a strategic partnership to strengthen safety-led autonomous driving in Europe.

The signing ceremony was held at the ongoing IAA MOBILITY 2025 conference in Munich, Germany, and involved Dr. James Yu, Co-founder and CEO of QCraft; Yibo Li, Vice President of QCraft; Dr. Matthias Schubert, Global Executive Vice President of Mobility Services at TUV Rheinland; and Thomas Quernheim, Senior Vice President Mobility of Engineering Homologation at TUV Rheinland.

As an industry trailblazer for autonomous driving technology advancement that is guided by its "Safety First, Stable for the Long Haul" approach, QCraft shapes intelligent driving with safety-led innovation. Through efficient data-driven capabilities, QCraft has rapidly progressed AD technology's AI architecture, learning systems and models such as "Safe End-to-End", VLA large model and World Model. The company's technology and solutions are among the industry's leaders for mass-production safety metrics, and its safety quality management system is at an internationally recognized level of advancement.

With over 150 years of experience and a global network, TUV Rheinland is renowned for its rigorous and high-quality testing as well as its certification services. The Germany-headquartered organization provides full lifecycle testing, inspection and certification services for products, systems and processes helping clients meet requirements for safety, quality, environmental protection and compliance; and enhancing partners' market trust and access capabilities.

QCraft and TUV Rheinland's partnership aims to jointly promote the globalization, safety, standardization and commercialization of intelligent mobility technologies, in order to provide safer, smarter and more efficient mobility solutions for users worldwide.

Dr. James Yu stated, "Working with TUV Rheinland is a crucial step in QCraft's global strategy that enables us to quickly meet the high standards of safety, quality and environmental protection across different markets. This lays a solid foundation for QCraft to bring our autonomous driving solutions, which have been validated through large-scale mass production, to Europe and the rest of the world; and deliver safe, comfortable, and convenient intelligent mobility experiences to more users."

Dr. Matthias Schubert shared, "Building intelligent mobility ecosystems requires the active collaboration of every participant in the industry chain. With TUV Rheinland's world-leading testing and certification technologies, and rich industry experience, the company will combine and fully utilize its professional strengths as well as QCraft's to safeguard the quality and safety of intelligent mobility products and services, and lead the intelligent mobility industry to new heights."

QCraft at IAA MOBILITY 2025 in Munich

Visit QCraft's booth at IAA MOBILITY 2025 from September 8th to 12th to discuss the company's international expansion of its unique technology, and more.

Location: Booth A11, Hall A2, Messe Munchen (Munich Exhibition Center), Germany

About TUV Rheinland:

150 years of making the world a safer place: TUV Rheinland is one of the world's leading providers of testing and inspection services, with annual revenues of over 2.7 billion euros and 27,000 employees in more than 50 countries. Its highly qualified experts test technical systems and products, enable innovation, and assist companies in their transition toward greater sustainability. They train professionals across numerous fields and certify management systems to international standards. With exceptional expertise in areas such as mobility, energy supply, infrastructure, and beyond, TUV Rheinland provides independent quality assurance-not least for emergent technologies such as green hydrogen, artificial intelligence and autonomous driving. In doing so, TUV Rheinland contributes to a safer and better future for everyone. Since 2006, TUV Rheinland has been a signatory to the UN Global Compact, which promotes sustainability and combats corruption. The company's headquarters are located in Cologne, Germany.

Website: www.tuv.com

About QCraft

QCraft is a global leader in L2++ to L4 autonomous driving (AD) solutions for automakers. Founded in Silicon Valley in 2019, the company has deployed its technology in over 600,000 vehicles. Backed by a world-class R&D team and partnerships with leading OEMs and tech companies, QCraft combines proven large-scale adoption with industry-leading safety and efficiency to bring autonomous driving into real life.

For more information, visit https://www.qcraft.ai/en

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250910919459/en/

Contacts:

Media contact: qcraft@rootcomms.com
Global industry leaders across technology and business will meet in the United States next month to explore the future of transformative photonics-based technologies

On Thursday, October 2, the Innovative Optical and Wireless Network Global Forum (the IOWN Global Forum) will host the fourth edition of FUTURES in Dallas, one of the United States' fastest growing technology hubs, to showcase the Forum's mission and work with key national stakeholders. FUTURES Dallas will promote the Forum's pioneering work in the field of networks and connectivity, showcasing efforts to deliver a future powered by photons, enabling ultra-low latency, enhanced performance resiliency, increased data transmission capacity, and sustainable solutions for a vast range of industries.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250911232631/en/

The IOWN Global Forum's 160+ member organizations will convene at the Hyatt Regency Dallas to discuss the Forum's goals and accomplishments with local organizations, as well as explore how they can become part of this innovative ecosystem. For the first time, FUTURES will be free of charge to attend for members and non-members. The half-day event, held in Dallas and also streamed online, will welcome leaders from the likes of member organizations BT, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Nokia, NTT, Orange, Red Hat and Sony as they discuss their achievements so far, plans for the future, and overarching goals to transform the way we live and work through optical and wireless technologies.

Event highlights: From 2-5 PM on Thursday, October 2, attendees are invited to:

Hear from senior executives about the Forum's latest areas of focus and the direction of future ambitions.

Listen to the opening keynote that provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges facing organizations amid rapid global AI uptake, and how the Forum is working to solve current and future AI infrastructure challenges.

Attend panel discussions that stimulate fruitful discussion on the industry-wide transformation that is the future of AI infrastructure and the challenges of powering the AI era.

Hear directly from those putting research into action and learn more about the latest early adoption use-cases in areas such as financial services, remote media production, green computing in remote GPU and as a first for FUTURES Dallas, remote tunnel construction.

Experience on-site exhibits that showcase the work of the Forum's members and understand how these use-cases can be applied to diverse sectors.

Establish relationships and build connections with leading names across technology, business, and academia.

Demos: On-site demonstrations and exhibits will include:

1FINITY Inc: the 1FINITY T900, a liquid-cooled transponder that delivers the highest long-haul transport performance; 1FINITY T250, an end-to-end all-photonics network (APN) solution; and 1FINITY P300 800G ZR/ZR+, an open, high-performance and sustainable coherent pluggable transceiver for optical networking solutions.

Anritsu: a virtual tester for data center and cloud evaluation.

Chunghwa Telecom: the 'Optical Duplexer', featured in the 'APN with Optical Duplexer Innovative Architecture', which employs EC technology to effectively mitigate time synchronization errors that arise from asymmetric optical transmission paths.

Hazama Ando Corporation: a construction site proof of concept.

NTT: technology enabling real-time, ultra-low latency communication by sensing and transmitting muscle and eye movements, empowering individuals with physical challenges to express themselves and participate in activities like global e-sports and remote DJing.

NTT and ITRI: a Composable Disaggregated Infrastructure (CDI) system that connects multiple high-speed resources, like GPUs and SSDs, using advanced optical interfaces for ultra-fast (up to 3.2 Tbps) data transfers.

Pegatron Corp: an open platform 400G transponder/muxponder with disaggregated hardware and software, enabling operators to build interoperable solutions using TIP OOPT standards.

The IOWN Global Forum recognizes that creating interconnected global networks is key to accelerating innovation, broadening opportunities for access across multiple industries, and fuelling economic and business advancement. Yet, realizing sustainable, high-performing network and computing systems can only be accomplished through inclusive, worldwide collaboration that unites all corners of the technology landscape.

Dr. Katsuhiko Kawazoe, President and Chairperson of the IOWN Global Forum, commented: "The IOWN Global Forum is looking forward to hosting the 4th edition of FUTURES in Dallas, the first time the event has come to the United States. The Forum is pleased to continue spearheading innovation and collaboration across industries, geographies, and competitive boundaries to manage the future challenges of bringing the AI Infrastructure of the future to life. FUTURES Dallas is an exceptional moment for the Forum to further efforts in building a community of members that are pushing to lead industry-wide transformations into a more sustainable and equitable world, powered by light."

Key event details:

Date: Thursday, October 2, 2025

Time: 2:00 PM 5:00 PM CDT, followed by a networking reception

Location: Hyatt Regency Dallas, 300 Reunion Blvd, Dallas, TX 75207, United States (there will also be a live online broadcast via Webex)

Key URLs: Event Overview and Registration Page

About the IOWN Global Forum

The IOWN Global Forum was established in 2020 as a private sector organization to develop IOWN Global Forum technologies and use cases, and is comprised of over 160 organizations. The objective of the IOWN Global Forum is to accelerate innovation and adoption of a new communication infrastructure to meet our future data and computing requirements through the development of new technologies, frameworks, specifications, and reference designs in areas such as photonics R&D, distributed computing, use cases, and best practices. For more information, visit IOWN Global Forum Innovative Optical and Wireless Network.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250911232631/en/

Contacts:

Media Contacts

Joe Hatt

IOWN Global Forum

press@iowngf.org
ROYC, the leading global Platform-as-a-Service provider for alternative investments, and G Squared, a U.S.-based venture capital firm investing in category-defining technology companies, are pleased to announce a strategic partnership where ROYC will act as G Squared's technology and infrastructure partner in Europe.

This partnership underscores both firms' commitment to using best-in-class technology to improve the investor experience. ROYC's platform will provide G Squared with a fully digital, modular solution for onboarding, execution, and portfolio management tailored to the regulatory and operational landscape in Europe.

"We are excited to partner with G Squared a firm that shares our conviction that technology is the foundation for delivering a great investor experience and G Squared's innovation-driven DNA and long-term view make them an ideal partner, and we are proud to provide the infrastructure that will support their continued European growth", said Octavian Popescu, CEO of ROYC.

Richard Harris, Partner at G Squared, added: "We have been impressed by ROYC's technology stack and their deep understanding of European markets. This partnership is a key step in bringing our investment strategies to a broader audience through a platform that matches our standards for scalability, efficiency, and investor experience."

About ROYC

ROYC is the leading European B2B financial technology company that provides a complete private markets operating system, empowering private equity firms, banks, wealth managers, and multi-family offices to seamlessly access, distribute, and manage private investments at scale. As private markets expand, financial institutions require scalable, technology-driven solutions to manage complexity, optimising manager operations, and delivering exceptional client experiences. ROYC combines state-of-the-art private markets technology with tailored structuring and investment solutions. Its intuitive, scalable platform replaces manual processes with automation and real-time data access, transforming how private market investments are managed across the entire fund lifecycle.

About G Squared

G Squared is a global venture capital firm that partners with dynamic companies throughout their life cycles as a complete capital solutions provider, working to create value for companies, investors, employees, and other stakeholders. The firm focuses on investments in growth-stage technology companies and has invested in 150+ portfolio companies since it was founded in 2011. For more information on G Squared and its portfolio, visit: www.gsquared.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250911337390/en/

Contacts:

For additional information or interview requests Mathias.leijon@roycgroup.com
SANTA CLARA, CA, Sept 11, 2025 - (JCN Newswire) - GlobalLogic Inc., a Hitachi Group Company and leader in digital engineering, and Flexware Innovation, now part of the Hitachi Group, today announced the deployment of Flexware Innovation's LIFT intralogistics software at Hitachi Rail's new, state of-the-art train manufacturing facility in Hagerstown, Maryland. LIFT 3.0, Flexware's first fully developed standalone product, developed in partnership with GlobalLogic and its strategic design arm, Method, was initially announced in May and is now set to transform material movement and address complex orchestration challenges within Hitachi Rail's advanced industrial environment.As U.S. manufacturing undergoes a much-needed transformation, the focus has largely been on rapidly deploying robots and AI to meet the demands of reshoring and modern production. Despite this surge in adoption (41% of supply chain leaders have implemented robotics and automation, with another 42% planning to in the next five years, according to MHI), a critical, often unseen, issue remains: these technologies often don't communicate with each other. The resulting fragmentation creates interoperability gaps, orchestration challenges, safety concerns, and stalled efficiency gains. LIFT 3.0 directly addresses this fundamental challenge, enabling seamless integration across complex manufacturing environments like Hitachi Rail's highly digitalized factory, which features over $30 million in digital enhancements, including the very latest additive manufacturing tech and AI robots.Built by Hitachi Rail, with expertise from Hitachi Digital, GlobalLogic, and Hitachi Digital Services, the Maryland facility brings Physical AI to life and drives operational excellence through Digital Kaizen - a process of continuous improvement through iterative changes, which underlines a 'One Hitachi' initiative that leverages the collective strength and unique power of the Hitachi Group.At Hitachi Rail's Hagerstown facility, LIFT is specifically deployed to orchestrate the movement of materials from the warehouse to numerous shop floor work cells using automated guided vehicles (AGVs). To achieve this, LIFT is integrated with Hitachi Rail's warehouse management system (WMS) and the AGV fleet management system (FMS), enabling it to receive incoming material request calls, dispatch missions to the AGV system, and report status back to the WMS upon completion. LIFT is also being used to monitor system activity and handle any exceptions or alerts that occur during this process.GlobalLogic played a critical role in strengthening the performance, reliability, and user experience of LIFT 3.0. GlobalLogic's engineering team created a more intuitive user experience, while a robust QA strategy, which combines manual and automated testing, boosted reliability, minimized errors, and ensured production-grade stability. Together, along with the systematic approach from Method, these contributions helped transform LIFT 3.0 into a powerful, enterprise-ready solution.LIFT is a system-agnostic intralogistics software platform that acts as the invisible fabric connecting disparate technologies across the factory floor-PLC, SCADA, ERP, MES, WMS, and more. Designed to support the digital transformation journeys of manufacturing and warehousing organizations, the platform is the foundational solution that will help manufacturers break down silos, enhance safety, and accelerate the modernization of U.S. industrial operations. LIFT will provide the critical orchestration layer for Hitachi Rail's new 300,000 sq. ft. facility, designed to deliver up to 20 railcars per month."Today's manufacturing and warehousing environments rely on a mix of everything from legacy software to forklifts to next-gen robots, but those systems rarely communicate effectively. This creates not just integration issues, but worker safety issues," says Scott Whitlock, Founder and Advisor, Flexware Innovation. "LIFT's selection by Hitachi Rail for their new Maryland facility is a powerful validation of its ability to enable the next generation of smart manufacturing."Key features of LIFT 3.0 include:- Centralized Multi-Agent Orchestration: Seamlessly coordinates autonomous vehicles, conveyors, elevators, IoT devices, and other automation systems.- Robust Integration Framework: Supports OPCUA, MQTT, FMSs, ERPs, WMSs, and other customized integrations, enabling interoperability with leading automation systems.- Flow-based Configuration: Provides an intuitive drag-and-drop interface for designing advanced automation rules with conditional logic.- Advanced User Management: Role-based access controls, SSO support, and multi-factor authentication for secure operations- Airgapped Installation Support and Licensing: Easy-to-install system that supports entirely on-prem installs in air-gapped operations, data management, and self-service centralized license management."The narrative that manufacturing is a digital laggard is rapidly being rewritten," says Srini Shankar, CEO, GlobalLogic. "LIFT is a testament to this shift, enabling manufacturers to move quicker, smarter, and more efficiently than ever before to meet today's demands. Its role in a cutting-edge facility like Hitachi Rail's new Maryland plant underscores the real-world impact of true digital integration and the growing demand for advanced intralogistics solutions."For more information, please visit www.globallogic.com.About Flexware InnovationFlexware Innovation is a systems integrator and engineering firm serving some of the world's largest, most regulated manufacturers in life sciences, food and beverage, chemicals, consumer packaged goods, specialty metals, water and wastewater, and automotive. The company solves manufacturing challenges through best-in-class software development, automation engineering, manufacturing systems integration (MES, HMI/SCADA, and ERP), business intelligence solutions, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and specialized product development. For more information, visit www.flexwareinnovation.com.About GlobalLogicGlobalLogic (www.globallogic.com), a Hitachi Group Company, is a leading digital engineering partner that helps the world's most forward-thinking companies design and build innovative, AI-powered products, platforms, and digital experiences. Since 2000, we've been at the forefront of the digital revolution, now accelerating clients' transitions into tomorrow's AI-driven businesses by integrating experience design, complex engineering, AI, and data expertise. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, GlobalLogic is a Hitachi Group Company operating under Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), which contributes to a sustainable society with a higher quality of life by driving innovation through AI and technology as the Social Innovation Business.About Hitachi, Ltd.Through its Social Innovation Business (SIB) that brings together IT, OT(Operational Technology) and products, Hitachi contributes to a harmonized society where the environment, wellbeing, and economic growth are in balance. Hitachi operates globally in four sectors - Digital Systems and Services, Energy, Mobility, and Connective Industries -and the Strategic SIB Business Unit for new growth businesses. With Lumada at its core, Hitachi generates value from integrating data, technology and domain knowledge to solve customer and social challenges. Revenues for FY2024(ended March 31, 2025) totaled 9,783.3 billion yen, with 618 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 280,000 employees worldwide. Visit us at www.hitachi.com.Source: Hitachi, Ltd.Copyright 2025 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
MADRID , Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association of Spanish Energy Management Agencies (EnerAgen) has awarded the cross border rural project EfiDuero Energy, which operates between Spain and Portugal, as Spain's best energy community of 2025, a recognition its managing director, Jose Luis Pascual, described as "a boost" for municipalities seeking energy independence.

"The award is recognition of the long work we've carried out and, above all, it's a confidence boost for towns, since our project is ultimately led by small municipalities in such an innovative sector as energy communities," Pascual told EFE. He emphasized that the prize represents "a vote of confidence for these towns to continue working and pursuing the completion of a project" aimed at achieving energy independence.

EfiDuero Energy, organized as a European Cooperative, operates equally across 77 rural cross border municipalities in Spain (Salamanca and Zamora) and Portugal (Tras-os-Montes, Douro, Beira Interior and Serra da Estrela). Its goal, Pascual said, is to democratize energy and empower consumers to manage their own resources.

The project currently runs 230 rooftop solar installations on municipal buildings, has its own electricity retailer, and has set up more than 30 electric charging stations, 96% of them in towns with fewer than 500 residents.

According to Pascual, EfiDuero Energy members now produce 74% of the energy they consume. "We're very close to achieving energy independence, which will allow us to generate free energy for people in our region," he said, adding that such progress could bring new business and investment opportunities.

The community, which makes its own energy decisions without external participation or profit motives, includes local councils, individuals, microenterprises and nonprofits, and also provides free electricity to vulnerable consumers.

EfiDuero Energy was created in 2017 by the Duero-Douro European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) to achieve energy self-sufficiency in the cross-border region through renewable energy, self-consumption, and environmental, social and economic integration, specifically in small towns traditionally excluded from the electricity market.

Pascual said he hoped other rural areas would replicate the model, which does not require large facilities: "We have countless rooftops, municipal in our case, but also private, with more than enough capacity to generate 100% of the energy we need, without the need for massive solar farms."

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$3.1M Average HNWI Ticket Size, $36.5M+ UHNW Commitments Reshaping Dubai's Prime Market

DUBAI, UAE, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Dubai's transformation from a transient luxury stopover to a permanent global wealth capital is accelerating, according to Betterhomes' data-led report, Dubai: No Longer a Pit Stop, But the Finish Line for Global Wealth.

As of December 2024, Dubai counts 81,200 resident millionaires, contributing to the UAE's total of 130,500 dollar millionaires, a remarkable 98% jump in the last decade. With 142,000 millionaires set to migrate globally in 2025, even if just 5% select Dubai, that's 7,100 new HNWIs and nearly USD 7.1 billion in fresh investment.

"Dubai has matured into the world's most compelling plug-and-play city for wealth. What's changed is intent; founders, operators and multi-generational families are anchoring here, not passing through," said Louis Harding, CEO at Betterhomes.

Ticket sizes tell the story. On-the-ground allocations are rising, with HNWIs averaging AED 11.4 million (USD 3.1 million) per residential acquisition, and UHNW families committing AED 134 million+ (USD 36.5 million+) to legacy villas, waterfront compounds, and identity-rich branded residences. These are end-user purchases oriented toward permanence, professional services, and inter-generational planning and not flip culture.

Market depth is broadening. Dubai's luxury property market continues to set new benchmarks, with year-to-date villa and townhouse sales soaring to AED 147.2 billion (USD 40 billion), a remarkable 41% jump compared to last year. Ultra-prime communities remain at the heart of this momentum: Palm Jumeirah has witnessed 85 transactions worth AED 3.8 billion (USD 1 billion), while Emirates Hills saw 30 deals totalling AED 1.9 billion (USD 517 million). At the very top end of the spectrum, homes priced above AED 35 million (USD 10 million) amassed AED 9.4 billion (USD 2.6 billion) in sales over the past six months alone, spanning 146 transactions.

How does Dubai convert flow into stock? For those looking to buy real estate in Dubai , policy clarity and zero personal income tax reduce friction for wealth creators. Safety, modern infrastructure, elite healthcare and education, and a USD-pegged currency support families who plan to stay. The DIFC ecosystem, spanning private banking, trustees, and legal/accounting services, underpins the growth of family offices and capital-formation vehicles. Together, these features convert mobile inflows into permanent capital.

From status buys to service stacks. Branded living has evolved from a badge to an operating system: concierge, wellness, club networks, and managed rental programs bundled into one address. In a supply-constrained waterfront and villa market, this service stack is the new gravity.

"This cycle is driven by real users, not leverage," Harding added. "Global wealth is consolidating in branded ecosystems and legacy neighbourhoods. With policy clarity and quality-of-life premiums compounding, Dubai's prime market is shifting from cyclical to structural."

As the global migration supercycle continues, Betterhomes expects sustained depth in prime and super-prime, a further build-out of family-office services, and developers doubling down on concierge-grade, club-linked offerings. With supply tight in key sub-markets, pricing power remains with high-quality stock.

Why it matters now

Legacy hubs (London, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Paris) face rising tax and policy friction. Dubai offers clarity, speed, and scale, a rare combination for wealth creators who value time to operate, predictable rules, and global reach within one flight hop. The result is a structural recalibration, not a cyclical blip.

Contact:

Elsa Angelo

Email: elsa.angelo@betterhomes.com

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Key Highlights

HEPCO utilizes RTL's GridMetrix to strengthen long-term grid planning and enhance grid stability in Japan.

This collaboration supports Japan's commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

This marks an important step in a rapidly evolving energy landscape with an increasing share of renewables.

LONDON, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Hokkaido Electric Power Company (HEPCO) is partnering with leading Grid Enhancing Technologies (GETs) solution provider, Reactive Technologies (RTL), to improve grid visibility by implementing frequency visualization, oscillation monitoring, inertia measurement and event analysis across its networks using RTL's market-leading GridMetrix platform. The measurement of this data serves as a foundation for HEPCO's generation division to smoothly manage future energy demand and represents an important step in an energy landscape with an increasing share of renewables.

System inertia is the power grid's natural resistance to sudden changes in frequency, provided by the stored energy in rotating machines and other sources like motors and grid-forming inverters. It plays a critical role in maintaining grid stability by buffering against sudden fluctuations in electricity supply and demand. Traditionally provided by fossil fuel plants through the rotating mass of turbines, this inertia is declining as the use of renewable energy sources like wind and solar increase. As Japan transitions to renewable sources of energy, the need to better understand this trend and find solutions to manage it is essential.

With Japan's 7th Strategic Energy Plan emphasizing a carbon-neutral future by 2050, variable renewable energy sources (VRES) are expected to contribute 40-50% of Japan's power generation by 2040, overtaking thermal power as the dominant energy source. While integrating more VRES to the grid has environmental benefits, it presents challenges to grid stability, such as renewable energy intermittency, variability and regional imbalances in generation, requiring innovative solutions.

A study by the Renewable Energy Institute and Agora Energiewende found that VRES penetration could increase to up to 70% with fast frequency response (FFR) from renewables and that monitoring system inertia was a critical factor to enable this.

Recognizing the need to address the specific challenges associated with VRES integration and growing demand, HEPCO is utilizing RTL's GridMetrix platform across three key areas to identify and mitigate potential grid stability issues - monitoring and analysis of grid oscillations, measurement and visibility of national and regional grid edge frequency, and measurement of spot inertia and event analysis. This partnership is a critical step towards enabling HEPCO to seamlessly navigate the transition to higher renewables penetration and achieve their long-term goal of being carbon neutral by 2050.

Arata Tanimura, Deputy General Manager, Corporate Planning Department from HEPCO comments:

"Through this project, we aim to understand the current state of grid inertia and consider the future outlook of our power generation mix based on that insight."

" Grid visibility and inertia measurement play crucial roles in managing modern energy systems as they decarbonise and evolve. The HEPCO project will showcase what can be achieved as Japanese power companies address the challenges of integrating more renewables." states Marc Borrett, CEO at Reactive Technologies.

This partnership represents a forward-looking commitment to improving grid resilience in Japan, setting an example for other energy companies nationwide. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and strategic partnerships, HEPCO and RTL are driving a transformative shift in grid monitoring, ensuring a renewable powered energy future - safer and faster.

About Reactive Technologies

Reactive Technologies Limited (RTL) is a global Grid-Enhancing Technologies (GETs) company at the forefront of addressing the challenges of the renewable energy transition by measuring power grid inertia and system strength in real-time.

With our proven, first-of-its-kind GridMetrix technology, we provide real-time, high resolution power grid measurements and data-driven insights into grid stability and reliability. This enables grid operators, utilities, asset owners and energy participants worldwide to plan and operate with greater insight, precision and resilience in a rapidly expanding renewable energy landscape with more inverter-based resources.

Website: https://reactive-technologies.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/reactive-technologies-limited

Hokkaido Electric Power Company (HEPCO)

Hokkaido Electric Power Co. , Inc. (HEPCO), established on May 1, 1951, is headquartered in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. The company operates with a capital stock of 114, 291 million and holds total assets amounting to 2, 093, 339 million on a non-consolidated basis. As of the latest fiscal year, HEPCO serves a wide range of customers, delivering 23, 375 GWh of electricity-9, 962 GWh to low-voltage customers and 13, 413 GWh to high-voltage and extra high-voltage customers. The company is supported by a workforce of 2, 506 employees and has a shareholder base comprising 69, 669 holders of common stock and 2 holders of Class-B preferred stock.

Website: https://www.hepco.co.jp/english/company/corporateprofile.html

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Further strengthens the firm's capabilities in cross-border asset-based lending, private credit, and specialty finance

LONDON, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Tom Dell'Avvocato has joined Crowell & Moring U.K. LLP as a partner in its Financial Services Group. Dell'Avvocato brings extensive experience in non-contentious banking and finance transactions, with a focus on domestic and cross-border asset-based lending, as well as leveraged and specialty finance. He advises alternative and private capital providers, bank and non-bank lenders, and corporate borrowers on the structuring, restructuring, and execution of complex financing arrangements.

Joining Dell'Avvocato in Crowell's London office is associate Kieran Barnes. Dell'Avvocato and Barnes have worked closely together for several years on large mandates, and both join Crowell from Squire Patton Boggs.

"Tom's arrival strengthens our already highly regarded team of finance lawyers in London, advising clients across a broad range of finance matters, with a particular focus on asset-based lending, derivatives, distressed debt, and other forms of specialty finance," said Robert Weekes , managing partner of the firm's London office and a member of the firm's Management Board. "His addition is a key part of the continuing growth of our London team, and I am looking forward to Tom and Kieran working closely with our other practices, such as Restructuring and Insolvency, to support clients across this dynamic sector."

Dell'Avvocato has led various high-profile deals, including the publicized financing of New Look retail group, through cross-border first and second lien asset-based lending facilities provided by Wells Fargo and Blazehill Capital. He also advised BZ Capital in connection with the provision of comprehensive, tailored cross-border asset-based lending facilities to the sponsor-backed Cooper & Turner group.

"The firm is committed to continuing to build its cross-border financial services practice," said Carlton Greene , co-chair of Crowell's Financial Services Group. "Tom's experience enhances the group's capabilities to advise on complex transactions, market innovation, and deliver practical, commercial solutions for lenders, borrowers, and other stakeholders navigating today's financial landscape."

Dell'Avvocato's addition is the latest investment in Crowell's financial services practice. In 2021, lawyers from the Wall Street boutique, Kibbe & Orbe , joined the firm's New York, London, and Washington, D.C. offices to provide expanded service offerings to clients in the financial services industry. That same year, Crowell also added a market-leading derivatives team to the London office.

"I'm delighted to join a thriving London office, which has grown at pace, with a clear sense of mission in the city and beyond," said Dell'Avvocato. "Joining Crowell's global platform and reconnecting with accomplished former colleagues is a privilege and an exciting opportunity to serve and enhance the growth of new and existing clients. I look forward to supporting the firm and our clients' continued success," said Dell'Avvocato.

Dell'Avvocato studied at the University of Nottingham and The University of Law. He is recognized as a "Rising Star" in The Legal 500, "One to Watch in the United Kingdom" for Banking and Finance by Best Lawyers, and is ranked as a "Stand-out Lawyer" by Thomson Reuters.

About Crowell & Moring LLP

Crowell & Moring is an international law firm with operations in the United States, Europe, MENA, and Asia. Drawing on significant government, business, industry, and legal experience, the firm helps clients capitalize on opportunities and provides creative solutions to complex regulatory and policy, litigation, transactional, and intellectual property issues. The firm is consistently recognized for its commitment to pro bono service, as well as its comprehensive programs and initiatives to advance the professional and personal development of all members of the Crowell community.

Media Contact:

Email: prteam@crowell.com

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On September 11, 2025, Giraffevision Chairman Zhang Tao attended the Main Stage in Munich IAA, where he shared valuable insights on the theme "Making Driving Safer with Head-Up Displays."

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250908035573/en/

As a leading player in the head-up display (HUD) industry, Giraffevision remains committed to its mission of "To Show a Better World with Technology and Innovation." The company is dedicated to advancing intelligent visual interaction within automotive cockpits, building a bridge of trust between drivers and vehicles, and promoting safer, smarter, and more convenient mobility for the future.

In his speech, Zhang Tao outlined three key drivers behind the rapid adoption of HUD technology in the Chinese market: growing safety demands, the push toward intelligent mobility, and ongoing cost optimization. He also explored the global potential of HUD deployment and shared forward-looking insights into the future of intelligent human-machine interaction.

Giraffevision is committed to co-creating value with its customers. Its R&D and service teams have accumulated extensive experience in supporting OEM partners to enhance driving safety and deliver differentiated interactive experiences. Looking ahead, Giraffevision will continue to strengthen its global supply chain capabilities and tailor its solutions to accommodate diverse driving habits across regions. By bringing intelligent visual solutions to a broader range of users and mobility scenarios, the company aims to redefine the driving experience through visual innovation-building trust between people and vehicles, and turning every journey into a visibly safer experience.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250908035573/en/

Contacts:

Jennifer Liu, xuanliu@giraffe-vision.com
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks traded higher on Thursday, with France's political crisis and the ECB rate decision in the spotlight. Mass protests swept France as new Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu takes office amid anger over budget cuts and political turmoil. The European Central Bank is scheduled to announce its rate decision later today and analysts expect no change in the deposit rate. Focus will be on the customary press conference and the central bank's updated macroeconomic projections for the euro area. U.S. CPI data also remains on investors' radar following a surprisingly encouraging report on producer prices the day before. The pan European STOXX 600 was up 0.3 percent at 553.65 after finishing marginally lower on Wednesday. The German DAX was marginally higher, France's CAC 40 surged 0.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.4 percent. In corporate news, British gambling technology company Playtech surged 6.6 percent after the company announced strong first-half results and said it is positioned to exceed full-year expectations. Gas producer Energean rose 1.3 percent despite cutting its annual production forecast for the second time in nearly four months. Online ticketing platform Trainline soared nearly 10 percent following a robust first-half trading statement. Technip Energies jumped 5.2 percent in Paris. The energy infrastructure company has agreed to buy U.S.-based chemicals group Ecovyst's Advanced Materials & Catalysts business for $556 million. Sanofi gained 1 percent after its SAR402663 earned fast track designation in the U.S. for neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Chinese solar lighting company intelamp set a new world record for the largest display of solar-power LEDs with an array of 36,862 of its solar lights in the Mingsha Mountain dunes of western China.Shenzhen-based intelamp, a solar landscape lighting solutions provider, has set a Guinness World Record for the largest display of solar-powered LEDs. The company assembled an array of 36,862 intelamp solar lights to illuminate the Mingsha Mountain dunes in Dunhuang, western China, on August 28. The display surpassed the previous records of 24,765 solar-powered lights set in Japan and drew a crowd of ...

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil ticked lower on Thursday after three consecutive sessions of gains. Worries over broad oversupply risks weighed on prices after the International Energy Agency (IEA) lifted its view for oil supply growth this year. Benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.4 percent to $67.25 a barrel in European trade, while WTI crude futures were down 0.4 percent at $63.39. In its closely watched monthly report, the IEA pegged this year's oil supply growth at 2.7 million barrels a day, above its earlier estimate of 2.5 million against a backdrop of higher OPEC+ supply and the prospect of increasingly bloated oil balances. Similarly, the Paris-based organization expects oil supply growth of 2.1 million barrels a day the next year, up from 1.9 million barrels a day estimated earlier. Market concerns over supply losses stemming from new sanctions on Russia also eased somewhat. Media reports quoted an EU diplomat as saying that the European Union is 'very unlikely' to impose crippling tariffs on India and China to squeeze Russia. The EU is in the midst of concluding a trade deal with New Delhi, with the two sides looking to resolve their differences over issues of agriculture, dairy, and non-tariff barriers to meet an ambitious end-of-year deadline for a deal. Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump asked European officials to levy tariffs of up to 100 percent on imports from China and India to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin. Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
hackajob's AI voice agents complete equivalent of 24 days of call time every week; drive 24x increase in successfully matching candidates to roles; and fill a role every 28 minutes

LONDON and NEW YORK, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- hackajob , the AI-native tech hiring platform trusted by enterprises, scale ups, and 1M+ tech professionals globally, has launched three AI voice agents whose autonomous actions eliminate the admin that slows down tech hiring and free talent acquisition teams to get back to what they do best: hiring the best people and giving those people a rewarding, human-led experience.

Chase sources, qualifies and engages tech talent that fits your hiring manager's needs. Chase is already holding 10,000s of conversations with candidates every week.

Archer converts more inbound applications. Archer drives a 24x increase in candidates successfully matched to roles; 17% of converted applications lead to interview invitations vs 3% industry average.

Thena finds your best-fit candidates faster. Thena reduces manual review time by 70%, filtering out irrelevant applications and increasing efficiency.

Mark Chaffey, Co-Founder & CEO of hackajob: "At hackajob, we've spent the last decade building the largest dataset of first-party talent and hiring interactions in our space, investing in deeper automation and maintaining a crystal-clear focus on data quality and matching accuracy. These foundations mean our AI doesn't just sound smart - it actually works in the messy, real world of recruiting."

Today hackajob intelligence is the most sophisticated AI talent matching platform in the world, processing over 50,000 jobs since its release in July 2024, filling a role every 28 minutes. hackajob intelligence verifies candidates' identities to reduce fake profiles, and has reduced the number of interviews required to make a hire by 68%.

"With Chase, Archer and Thena, we're now turning our deep data knowledge into true Agentic AI. The result is a better experience for candidates, more effective recruiters, and huge efficiency gains for employers," Chaffey concludes. "For us, it's simple: if AI doesn't improve the candidate experience, reduce bias and help companies hire better, it's the wrong AI. With a decade of data behind us, we're showing what the right AI looks like: trusted, scalable and transformative."

hackajob's principal operations are in the world's largest tech hubs: US, UK, and India. Its AI-powered platform boasts a one-million-strong community of specialist technology candidates and clients include American Express, GSK, BBC, British Airways and Tesco.

Contacts:

carmen@ripplecomms.co

jo@ripplecomms.co

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/hackajob-launches-ai-agents-to-make-recruitment-more-human-again-302553777.html
Highlights:

Senior U.S. EPA and Permitting Council representatives toured AEMC's Nikolai Project on August 26, 2025

Early federal engagement provides advantages under the FAST-41 permitting framework , improving predictability and transparency for project development

Visit underscores federal recognition of the strategic importance of domestic nickel supply for clean energy and national security

State of Alaska and Permitting Council sign MOU to align State of Alaska permitting with the FAST-41 program framework during same Alaska visit.

AEMC advancing the United States' largest nickel resources in Interior Alaska.

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / Alaska Energy Metals Corporation (TSXV:AEMC)(OTCQB:AKEMF) ("AEMC" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it hosted a site visit to its flagship Nikolai Project in Interior Alaska on Tuesday, August 26, 2025.

The tour was led by AEMC President & CEO, Gregory Beischer, and included senior U.S. government officials:

Emily Domenech , Executive Director of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council)

Craig Litteken , Deputy Director of FAST-41 Infrastructure Portfolio Management and Engagement at the Permitting Council

Christina Carpenter , Chief of Staff for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 10

Wes Brooks, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Policy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water

The delegation visited AEMC's Canwell and Eureka project sites southwest of Delta Junction in Interior Alaska.

Gregory Beischer, AEMC President & CEO, commented: "We were honored to welcome senior EPA and Permitting Council leaders to the Nikolai Project. Their engagement at this early stage highlights the importance of collaborative, transparent dialogue as we advance toward development. Establishing strong relationships with regulators and permitting agencies helps ensure that critical mineral projects like Nikolai are advanced responsibly, efficiently, and in alignment with the highest environmental standards."

"Thank you to the Alaska Energy Metals team for hosting a site visit during our recent trip to Alaska," said Emily Domenech, Permitting Council Executive Director. "Getting a first-hand look at the work being done at this site showed how we can work with industry and federal partners to develop our country's mineral resources and create secure supply chains for critical technologies."

The tour coincided with a major development in state-federal coordination: during a press conference in Anchorage, Governor Mike Dunleavy and Permitting Council Executive Director Emily Domenech signed the first-ever statewide Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Alaska and the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council. Under this agreement, Alaska becomes the first state to partner with the Permitting Council to leverage the FAST-41 program, enabling streamlined permitting, dedicated technical assistance, and enhanced transparency with accountability built into a unified permitting dashboard.

Governor Dunleavy emphasized that the MOU ensures Alaska will have "a seat at the table to ensure that federal agencies work hand in hand with the State to deliver timely and transparent permitting decisions". Ms. Domenech added that the partnership positions Alaska to "bring streamlined permitting" and raise the state's profile in energy and infrastructure development

The Nikolai Nickel Project hosts a large-scale polymetallic deposit containing seven U.S. Government-designated critical minerals: nickel, copper, cobalt, chromium, platinum, palladium, and gold, along with iron. Nickel is essential to the U.S. clean energy transition as a key component in advanced batteries, while copper and cobalt are critical for grid reliability and high-performance energy storage. Nickel, cobalt, chromium, platinum and palladium also play indispensable roles in defense and aerospace applications, including advanced alloys, electronics, catalysts, and precision systems. This broad suite of metals not only strengthens the project's long-term value proposition but also positions Nikolai as a potential cornerstone of both the clean energy economy and the U.S. defense industrial base.

Figure 1: Alaska Energy Metals President Greg Beischer speaks with Permitting Council Executive Director Emily Domenech and Region 10 Chief of Staff for EPA Christina Carpenter at the discovery site of the Nikolai nickel (+copper, cobalt, chromium, platinum, and palladium) deposit.

Early engagement with the EPA, the Permitting Council, and the FAST-41 permitting framework provides AEMC with a significant advantage as it advances project planning. FAST-41, created to improve the transparency and predictability of federal permitting, offers a coordinated process that can help reduce delays and provide investors with greater certainty in project timelines. The visit by senior federal officials reflects recognition of the Nikolai Project's potential strategic importance to U.S. supply chains and underscores the federal government's interest in supporting responsibly developed domestic critical mineral sources.

ABOUT ALASKA ENERGY METALS

Alaska Energy Metals Corporation (AEMC) is an Alaska-based corporation with offices in Anchorage and Vancouver working to sustainably deliver the critical materials needed for national security and a bright energy future, while generating superior returns for shareholders.

AEMC is focused on delineating and developing the large-scale, bulk-tonnage, polymetallic Nikolai Project Eureka deposit containing nickel, copper, cobalt, chromium, iron, platinum, palladium, and gold. Located in Interior Alaska near existing transportation and power infrastructure, its flagship project, Nikolai, is well-situated to become a significant domestic source of strategic metals for North America. AEMC also holds a secondary project in western Quebec; the Angliers - Belleterre project. Today, material sourcing demands excellence in environmental performance, technological innovation, carbon mitigation and the responsible management of human and financial capital. AEMC works every day to earn and maintain the respect and confidence of the public and believes that ESG performance is measured by action and led from the top.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Gregory Beischer"

Gregory Beischer, President & CEO

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Gregory A. Beischer, President & CEO

Toll-Free: 877-217-8978 | Local: 604-609-7149

Some statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information (within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation), including, without limitation, that the Company will enter the mine permitting process and use the Fast-41 Framework. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date those statements are made. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements do not guarantee future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include but are not limited to uncertainty relating to the estimation of mineral resources, regulatory actions, market prices, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable law, the Company assumes no obligation to update or to publicly announce the results of any change to any forward-looking statement contained or incorporated by reference herein to reflect actual results, future events or developments, changes in assumptions, or changes in other factors affecting the forward-looking statements. If the Company updates any forward-looking statement(s), no inference should be drawn that it will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

SOURCE: Alaska Energy Metals Corporation

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/metals-and-mining/alaska-energy-metals-hosts-federal-agency-representatives-at-nikolai-nickel-proje-1071615
CITY OF LONDON, GB / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / Richmond Terrace Capital, a leading London-based investment management company, is pleased to announce that a consortium of leading European pension funds has awarded the firm new discretionary mandates totaling approximately 900 million, with an additional 1.5 billion in commitments scheduled for early 2026. Through these mandates, Richmond Terrace Capital will provide end-to-end portfolio management and strategic investment guidance, designed to deliver consistent value in line with each client's investment objectives.

Record Momentum Powered by Strategic Growth

This landmark development caps one of Richmond Terrace Capital's strongest years to date, driven by the exceptional performance of its flagship funds and private equity platforms. Investment success has been particularly evident in transformative sectors such as Commercial Space Ventures, Advanced Connectivity Infrastructure, and Artificial Intelligence applications. Against this backdrop, the firm has consistently outperformed traditional benchmarks, further reinforcing its reputation for delivering alpha in emerging and underpenetrated markets.

Expanding Focus on Innovation

The new capital under management positions Richmond Terrace Capital to broaden its exposure to high-growth and cutting-edge industries, delivering tailored strategies for institutions and private investors seeking sustainable, long-term results. These inflows will accelerate the firm's commitment to building research-led solutions aligned with global growth themes while capturing short-to-medium-term performance opportunities.

Client Growth Strategy for Q4 2025

To build on this momentum, Richmond Terrace Capital has launched a major client acquisition initiative for Q4 2025, aimed at deepening partnerships with institutions, high-net-worth individuals, and retail investors. To meet this demand, the firm is expanding its operations, enhancing service capabilities, and delivering more personalized investment solutions designed to respond to evolving market opportunities.

"We are proud to partner with some of Europe's leading pension institutions through these new discretionary mandates," said Richard Goldstein, Head of Wealth Management at Richmond Terrace Capital. "Their trust reflects not only our strong performance history but also our ability to identify and capitalize on disruptive investment themes. As we move into the year's final quarter, our focus remains firmly on providing clients with forward-looking, high-performance strategies."

Scaling Teams and Resources

Looking to 2026 and beyond, the expected follow-on commitments of 1.5 billion will enable the firm to expand its influence across private equity and managed funds, continuing to target high-return sectors rooted in global innovation. To support heightened demand, Richmond Terrace Capital is scaling its team by onboarding additional portfolio managers, analysts, and client service specialists, ensuring delivery of tailored solutions while maintaining its hallmark of client-focused service.

About Richmond Terrace Capital Pty Limited

Richmond Terrace Capital Pty Limited is an international investment management and private equity firm, with one of its flagship operations headquartered in London. The London office serves as a strategic hub for the firm's European activities, connecting institutional investors, pension funds, and private clients to opportunities across dynamic, high-growth asset classes. Leveraging deep sector expertise and research-driven strategies, Richmond Terrace Capital is focused on delivering consistent value, innovative investment solutions, and long-term performance for clients on a global scale.

Media Contact:

Jess Hopkinson

Media and PR Manager

Richmond Terrace Capital Pty Limited

Email: media@richmondterracecapital.com

Web: www.richmondterracecapital.com

Phone: +44 020 3468 8554

Registered Office: 25 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 5EY, United Kingdom

SOURCE: Richmond Terrace Capital

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/banking-and-financial-services/richmond-terrace-capital-secures-%e2%82%ac900-million-from-european-pension-1071685
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 11, 2025) - Astra Exploration Inc. (TSXV: ASTR) (OTCQB: ATEPF) (FSE: S3I) ("Astra" or the "Company") is pleased to provide a corporate update, including exploration activities at the La Manchuria Gold and Silver Project in Santa Cruz, Argentina.

Astra has mobilized ground crews to commence detailed mapping, regional ground magnetics, topographical surveys, and sampling ahead of the Phase II drill program scheduled to begin in the coming weeks.

Astra's CEO, Brian Miller, commented:

"Geologists are currently mapping key geological features in preparation for the Phase II drill program. The presence of low temperature vein fragments at surface validates Astra's model that the veins are plunging to the southeast, further indicating the presence of a preserved epithermal system concealed by post-mineral volcanics.

Detailed mapping also aims to confirm that the andesites are not a continuous basement rock, but rather a series of layers between stratigraphic rock units, the known thickness of which ranges from 10 to 50 metres. Phase I drilling revealed that favorable host rock units exist beneath the andesites and adds additional potential for La Manchuria to host a large, robust high-grade gold-silver epithermal system.

The Phase II drill campaign is expected to commence in approximately three to four weeks. Winter weather conditions are subsiding, and we are eager to re-commence drilling operations as soon as possible."

Upcoming Events

Precious Metals Summit, September 9th - 12th:

Company representatives Brian Miller and Diego Guido are participating in the Precious Metals Summit event in Beaver Creek, Colorado. The annual event is the world's premier independent investment conference focused on explorers, developers and emerging producers of gold, silver and platinum group metals. Astra's CEO & Director, Brian Miller, will be giving a live presentation to attendees today, September 11th at 11:30 a.m. in Heritage Room 1.

Metals Investor Forum Vancouver, September 25th - 26th:

Chief Executive Officer, Brian Miller, will be presenting as part of newsletter writer, Jeff Clark's panel of companies on Friday, September 26th at 2:00 p.m. at the JW Marriott Parq in Vancouver. This will be immediately followed by a short Q&A session moderated by Jeff Clark in Fairview Ballroom 3-4. The conference agenda can be found here. We welcome the opportunity for attendees to reach out to management with any questions and review our updated corporate presentation on Astra's website: https://astra-exploration.com.

Michael Gentile European Roadshow, October 6th - 10th:

Company representatives Brian Miller and Diego Guido will accompany Michael Gentile and a select group of five other companies, for a 5-day roadshow in Europe with a 1-day event in each city of London, Paris, Geneva, Zurich, and Frankfurt. The exclusive event is by invite only and geared towards Institutional and Family Office Investors who are interested in some of Michael Gentile's biggest investments in the mining & exploration industry.

Attendees can expect to hear a keynote speech from Michael, presentations from each of the six attending companies, and the opportunity for 1-on1 meetings with each company's management. Investors who are interested in attending can request an invitation here.

About the Company

Astra Exploration Inc. is a precious metals exploration company based out of Vancouver, BC that is actively building a portfolio of high-quality projects in some of the most important mining jurisdictions in Latin America.

The La Manchuria gold-silver project in Santa Cruz, Argentina, over which Astra has an option to acquire 90% interest, is a high-grade gold and silver low sulphidation epithermal (LSE) deposit located in the prolific Deseado Massif which hosts multiple world-class LSE precious metals deposits including Cerro Vanguardia and Cerro Negro, Santa Cruz, Argentina.

The 100% owned Pampa Paciencia gold and silver project in northern Chile is located in the Paleocene mineral province in proximity to such major operating mines as Spence and Sierra Gorda. The project shares several important geological similarities to other Paleocene LSE gold-silver deposits including Faride and El Penon.

The 100% owned Cerro Bayo project in northern Chile is located in the Maricunga belt approximately 20 km from the Refugio Mine. The project hosts a high sulphidation epithermal (HSE) +/- porphyry gold system with similarities to the Salares Norte deposit to the north in the same belt. The Maricunga belt is one of the most endowed regions in the world for gold and copper deposits.

Qualified Person

The technical data and information as disclosed in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Darcy Marud, who is an Independent Director of Astra. Mr. Marud is a Practicing Member of the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario and is a qualified person as defined under the terms of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release may contain certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When or if used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target, "plan", "forecast", "may", "schedule" and similar words or expressions identify forward- looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements or information may relate to the Company's business activities; exploration on the Company's properties including drilling at the La Manchuria project. Such statements represent the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, without limitation: development of the industry in which the Company operates; risks associated with the conduct of the Company's business activities; risks relating to reliance on the Company's management team and outside contractors; currency fluctuations; risks regarding the failure to generate sufficient cash flow from operations; laws and regulations governing the industry in which the Company operates; the ability of the communities in which the Company operates to manage and cope with the implications of COVID-19; the economic and financial implications of COVID-19 to the Company; operating or technical difficulties; employee relations, labour unrest or unavailability; stock market volatility; conflicts of interest among certain directors and officers; lack of liquidity for shareholders of the Company; litigation risk; and other risk factors disclosed in the Company's public disclosure documents available on the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca. Readers are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/265968

SOURCE: Astra Exploration Inc.
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
New research from Europe shows that the global PV industry may require up to 14,000 tonnes of silver per year in 2030, with global supply being only 34,000 tonnes. The scientists said more efforts should be made to reduce silver content in TOPCon and heterojunction solar cells.Researchers from Ghent University in Belgium and the Engie Laborelec unit of the French energy giant have investigated how much silver could be needed by the PV industry by 2030 and have found that silver shortages may become more frequent. "Our work highlights the role of new c-Si designs such as TOPCon and SHJ in driving ...

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
SEOUL (dpa-AFX) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has said that companies will be 'very hesitant' about investing in the United States in the wake of the arrest of hundreds of South Koreans who were working at a car battery plant construction site in Georgia last week. The facility is being built by South Korean multinational conglomerate LG and South Korean automobile manufacturing giant Hyundai. ICE special agents, in collaboration with federal, state and local law enforcement officials, arrested 475 immigrant workers - most of them South Korean nationals - saying that they were executing a federal search warrant as part of 'an active, ongoing criminal investigation'. South Korean foreign minister Cho Hyun went to the United States Monday to help secure the release of the Korean workers and return them home. More than 300 detainees have reportedly been released and are scheduled to return to their home country Friday. After meeting Cho Hyun, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States welcomes South Korean investment into the country and stated his interest in deepening cooperation on this front. 'Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Cho discussed advancing the U.S.-ROK Alliance through a forward-looking agenda that strengthens deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, expands equitable defense burden sharing, revitalizes American manufacturing through ROK investment in shipbuilding and other strategic sectors, and promotes a fair and reciprocal trade partnership,' says a statement issued by the State Department. But the South Korean President sounded a different tone while speaking at a news conference Thursday. 'The situation is extremely bewildering,' according to Lee. He noted that it is common practice for South Korean companies to deploy workers to help the construction of their factories abroad. 'If that's no longer allowed, establishing manufacturing facilities in the US will only become more difficult... making companies question whether it's worth doing at all,' he told reporters. Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Edison Investment Research Limited

Edison issues report on Invesco Asia Dragon Trust (IAD)



11-Sep-2025 / 12:27 GMT/BST

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



London, UK, 11 September 2025 Edison issues report on Invesco Asia Dragon Trust (IAD) Edison issues report on Invesco Asia Dragon Trust (LSE: IAD) Invesco Asia Dragon Trust (IAD) delivered an 18.1% net asset value (NAV) total return (TR) over the 12 months to end-July 2025, supported by the strong performance of Asian markets, especially China and Hong Kong. The performance was ahead of the 16.4% return delivered by its benchmark index (MSCI AC Asia ex-Japan), reinforcing our confidence in the managers' strategy. The case for the trust's investments is often contrarian at the point of purchase and may take time to play out, but over the long term IAD has delivered returns above the benchmark and its peers. The fund does not structurally favour any region, with one of its current strongest convictions being a revival of consumption in China, and there have been signs of positive economic readings in this area. Additionally, the trust's share price TR in the last year was 21.5%, as the discount to NAV narrowed after the announcement of its merger with Asia Dragon Trust (DGN). Click here to read the full report. All reports published by Edison are available to download free of charge from its website www.edisongroup.com Edison is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority . Edison is not an adviser or broker-dealer and does not provide investment advice. Edison's reports are not solicitations to buy or sell any securities. For more information, please contact Edison: enquiries@edisongroup.com +44 (0)20 3077 5700 Connect with Edison on: LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/edison-group-/ X www.x.com/edison_inv_res YouTube www.youtube.com/edisonitv



Dissemination of a CORPORATE NEWS, transmitted by EQS Group.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.




SANTA CLARA, CA, Sept 11, 2025 - (JCN Newswire) - Hitachi America, Ltd. ("Hitachi America"), announced a series of significant investments and strategic initiatives across the United States, reinforcing its long-term commitment to driving innovation, strengthening critical infrastructure and creating high-value jobs. These milestones, all unveiled in September, span advanced manufacturing, power grid infrastructure, and digital solutions, which are tangible proof of Hitachi's strategy to leverage its global expertise to solve local challenges and contribute directly to U.S. economic growth."These investments represent True One Hitachi, bringing together the Group's vast combined expertise aligned to a shared vision," said Toshiaki Tokunaga, President and CEO of Hitachi, Ltd. "With digital technologies at the core of our business, we are delivering comprehensive solutions that solve significant societal problems. By investing in the United States, we are strengthening local economies while accelerating innovation."Reinforcing the company's commitment to the American economy through long-term investment and job creation, these initiatives are central to Hitachi's global vision and its "Inspire 2027" management plan. This strategy envisions a harmonized society where environment, well-being, and economic growth coexist in balance. By leveraging its advanced solutions and domain expertise in energy, mobility, industrial, and digital sectors-Hitachi is committed to building a more sustainable, resilient, and prosperous future while addressing some of society's most pressing challenges."Incorporated in the U.S. since 1959, Hitachi has been contributing to the economic, cultural, and innovation fabric in the U.S. while growing our business in the region" said Shashank Samant, Executive Chairman of Hitachi Americas. "We are thrilled about our shared success, and we are committed to building on this momentum in the U.S., working hand-in-hand withour public and private sector partners and clients - to build a more prosperous, sustainable future together.""Hitachi was founded on the principle of contributing to society through technology, and our growing presence in the United States is a modern expression of that core mission," said Yasuhiro Takeuchi, CEO of Hitachi Americas. "The U.S. is one of our most important markets, not just for its size, but for its spirit of innovation. By investing in local manufacturing and empowering a skilled American workforce, we are building the future of energy, mobility and industry, ultimately improving everyday lives."This commitment is demonstrated by a series of significant announcements and milestones this week:- Digital Railcar Factory in Maryland: Hitachi Rail's 'lighthouse' digital factory officially opened on Monday Sept. 8th in Hagerstown, Maryland. The $100 million site in corporates more than $30 million in digital enhancements and operates as a carbon neutral factory. It can produce up to 20 railcars per month and is set to deliver next generation fleets for metros that serve the Washington D.C. area, Baltimore and Philadelphia. As a flagship for Hitachi's global digital manufacturing strategy, it includes Lumada-powered AI and smart manufacturing. The plant features an immersive digital customer experience center, where visitors can see examples of Hitachi's digital mobility solutions - including HMAX - that are benefiting customers around the world. The factory is creating up to 460 direct jobs and supporting over 1,300 in total, generating an estimated $350 million in annual economic impact for the region. As an example of the One Hitachi approach to the factory's development, the site features Flexware Innovation's LIFT intralogistics software. Developed in partnership with Hitachi owned GlobalLogic, this technology has been deployed in the factory to optimize material flow and advance digital transformation. In addition, GlobalLogic has also partnered with Ericsson to design and deploy a state-of-the-art private 5G network within the factory, establishing the Hagerstown plant as a benchmark for the future of smart, digital-first rail production.- Powering America's Energy Future: Hitachi Energy announced a historic $1 billion USD investment to expand U.S. manufacturing of critical electrical grid infrastructure. This includes a $457 million power transformer facility in South Boston, Virginia-the largest of its kind in the nation-alongside expansions of existing facilities nationwide. As part of this investment, Hitachi Energy is also committing $106 million to expanding its transformer components facility in Alamo, Tennessee, $22.5 million to expand and modernize its dry-type transformer operations in Southwest Virginia, and $70 million to bolstering its high-voltage components manufacturing footprint in and around Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. Collectively, these projects will create thousands of high-paying jobs, including nearly 950 jobs in Virginia, 100 new positions in Tennessee and 100 more in Pennsylvania. This investment is integral to bolstering the resilience of the U.S. electrical grid and ensuring reliable access to the transformers and critical high-voltage equipment required to support AI data centers, renewable energy, and industrial growth.- New Automation Headquarters: JR Automation, a Hitachi Group company and global leader in advanced automation, announced plans for a $72.8 million global headquarters in Zeeland, Michigan. Breaking ground on September 17, the 286,000-square-foot facility will bring together 350 employees into a modern, state-of-the-art campus designed for collaboration, customer demonstrations, and global innovation. The new HQ will also serve as a hub for Hitachi's Integrated Industry Automation, harnessing digital twin technology, edge computing, and AI to deliver next-generation intelligent manufacturing ecosystems.- Charting 'New Horizons': Hitachi recently hosted its annual Hitachi Inspire Summit 2025 in Washington, D.C. under the theme "New Horizons". With over 120 delegates in attendance from 95 unique global brands, the event was designed to engage senior leaders from across major industries in dialogue about business, technology, and talent strategies in the AI era. The summit featured presentations and insights from experts and thought leaders, collectively exploring the future of energy, mobility and industrial transformation. Alongside the summit, Hitachi's Innovation Expo showcased over 45 groundbreaking R and D and business unit demonstrations - from AI vision and sustainable energy to digital manufacturing and smart mobility - highlighting Hitachi's leadership in transforming innovative ideas into impactful solutions that address global challenges and drive industry forward.About Hitachi America, Ltd.Hitachi America Ltd. serves as the regional headquarters for Hitachi Group companies in the Americas, over seeing operations in the Unites States, Canada, and Latin America. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Hitachi Americas has been advancing the Social Innovation Business since its establishment in 1959 - addressing society's most pressing challenges through innovative, forward-looking solutions. Hitachi Americas and its 54 subsidiary companies operate across four sectors: Digital Systems and Services, Energy, Mobility, and Connective Industries. By combining IT, operational technology (OT), and products, Hitachi Americas remains at the forefront of pioneering solutions that shape a more sustainable and connected future. For further details, please visit https://www.hitachi.us/.About Hitachi, Ltd.Through its Social Innovation Business (SIB) that brings together IT, OT (Operational Technology) and products, Hitachi contributes to a harmonized society where the environment, wellbeing, and economic growth are in balance. Hitachi operates globally in four sectors - Digital Systems and Services, Energy, Mobility, and Connective Industries -and the Strategic SIB Business Unit for new growth businesses. With Lumada at its core, Hitachi generates value from integrating data, technology and domain knowledge to solve customer and social challenges. Revenues for FY2024(ended March 31, 2025) totaled 9,783.3 billion yen, with 618 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 280,000 employees worldwide. Visit us at www.hitachi.com.Source: Hitachi, Ltd.Copyright 2025 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR RELEASE PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR DISSEMINATION DIRECTLY, OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES.

Kobo Resources Inc. ("Kobo" or the "Company") (TSX.V: KRI) is pleased to announce that it has closed the first tranche ofits previously announced non-brokered private placement of units (the "Units") for gross proceeds of $2,516,479.80 (the "Offering"). Under the first tranche of the Offering, 8,388,266 Units were issued at a price of $0.30 per Unit.

Edward Gosselin, CEO and Director of Kobo, commented:"We are very pleased with the closing of the first tranche of our upsized financing following the market's interest in recognizing the potential in developing our 100%-owned Kossou Gold Project. These funds allow us to push forward at a steady pace the ongoing drilling program initiated last week. And, we are glad that Luso Global Mining, one of our key shareholders, is a participant in the financing and has elected to maintain its 9.9% interest. We are excited to build on our strategic partnership with Luso Global Mining as we expand our presence in Cote D'Ivoire through the Kossou Gold Project and explore future opportunities.

3L Capital and Integrity Capital Group acted as financial advisors in connection with the Offering.

Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole common share purchase warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles its holder to acquire one Common Share at a price of $0.55 per share until September 10, 2027.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering to pursue its exploration initiatives initiated in H1-2025 and extend the known zones of mineralisation at its three main targets-the Road Cut Zone, Jagger Zone and Kadie Zone-on the Kossou Gold Project, initiate preliminary metallurgical work and further develop its ongoing soil geochemical and trenching survey at Kossou as well as to enhance the geological exploration program on the Kotobi research permit and for general corporate and working capital purposes.

The Units were issued pursuant to the "accredited investor" exemption from the prospectus requirements in accordance with National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions. The securities issued under the first tranche of the Offering are subject to a statutory hold period until January 11, 2026 in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws.

The Company compensated certain finders by paying cash commissions equal to an aggregate amount of $145,176 and by issuing 483,920 broker warrants (the "Broker Warrants"). Each Broker Warrant is exercisable until September 10, 2027, at an exercise price $0.30 per share.

The Units and underlying Common Shares and Warrants have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the "United States" or "U.S. persons" (as such terms are defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act and all applicable U.S. state securities laws or compliance with an exemption from such registration requirements. This press release is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to qualification or registration under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.

About Kobo Resources Inc.

Kobo Resources is a growth-focused gold exploration company with a compelling new gold discovery in Cote d'Ivoire, one of West Africa's most prolific and developing gold districts, hosting several multi-million-ounce gold mines. The Company's 100%-owned Kossou Gold Project is located approximately 20 km northwest of the capital city of Yamoussoukro and is directly adjacent to one of the region's largest gold mines with established processing facilities.

With over 18,500 metres of diamond drilling, nearly 5,900 metres of reverse circulation (RC) drilling, and 5,900 metres of trenching completed since 2023, Kobo has made significant progress in defining the scale and prospectivity of its Kossou's Gold Project. Exploration has focused on multiple high-priority targets within a 9+ km strike length of highly prospective gold-in-soil geochemical anomalies, with drilling confirming extensive mineralisation at the Jagger, Road Cut, and Kadie Zones. The latest phase of drilling has further refined structural controls on gold mineralisation, setting the stage for the next phase of systematic exploration and resource development.

Beyond Kossou, the Company is advancing exploration at its Kotobi Permit and is actively expanding its land position in Cote d'Ivoire with prospective ground, aligning with its strategic vision for long-term growth in-country. Kobo remains committed to identifying and developing new opportunities to enhance its exploration portfolio within highly prospective gold regions of West Africa. Kobo offers investors the exciting combination of high-quality gold prospects led by an experienced leadership team with in-country experience.

Kobo's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "KRI". For more information, please visit www.koboresources.com.

NEITHER THE TSXV NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSXV) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

Cautionary Statement on Forward-looking Information:

This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the completion of the second tranche of the Offering, on the terms described herein or at all; statements related to the Offering or to the exploration program of the Company. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; and the delay or failure to receive requisite approvals. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250911576112/en/

Contacts:

Edward Gosselin

Chief Executive Officer and Director

1-418-609-3587

ir@kobores.com
Denver, Colorado--(Newsfile Corp. - September 11, 2025) - Enterprise-grade eCommerce agency Bighorn Web Solutions announced the release of its new Shopify Data Connector, a custom integration designed to connect Shopify with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.





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Initially designed to integrate with STORIS, the furniture industry's leading ERP, the connector can also be customized to work with virtually any third-party platform.

Key features of the Shopify Data Connector include:

Two-way synchronization of product, customer, and order data

Plug-and-play readiness for STORIS ERP

Customizable integrations for other data sources and platforms

Long-term support and flexibility to evolve with merchant needs

Unlike most SaaS-based connectors, the Shopify Data Connector is delivered as a one-time licensed solution, providing merchants with complete ownership of the code and eliminating the ongoing costs and risks of third-party dependency.

"We built the Shopify Data Connector to solve a long-standing problem for retailers: relying on expensive, restrictive SaaS connectors. Our goal was to give merchants complete control over their data integrations, with a flexible solution that adapts to their unique business needs," said Caleb Bradley, Founder and CEO of Bighorn Web Solutions.

With its launch, the Shopify Data Connector positions Bighorn Web Solutions as a provider of scalable, merchant-first integrations.

To learn more about the new data connector, please visit https://bighornwebsolutions.com/storis-erp/.

About Bighorn Web Solutions

Bighorn Web Solutions is a U.S.-based enterprise-grade e-commerce agency rooted in the Rocky Mountain region, comprised of senior-level engineers who are specialists, not generalists. With deep expertise in its respective niches, the agency understands how to position you to stay ahead in an ever-evolving digital landscape.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/265844

SOURCE: DesignRush
3 December 2025 - Spring 2026

A celebration of Japan's thriving contemporary craft landscape, representing over 120 makers whose work demonstrates beauty in the everyday.

Nearly 2,000 items showcase the breadth of craft practices from across the country, encompassing materials such as clay, glass, wood, leather and metal.

Visitors can discover how contemporary Japanese craft is informed, yet not confined, by tradition, while appreciating the subtle influence of both the maker's individuality and surrounding environment.

Organized by Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd. (MUJI) and hosted at Japan House London, the exhibition was first presented at ATELIER MUJI GINZA in Tokyo.

Select items by makers represented in the show are also on sale in the Japan House London Shop.

LONDON, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today [Thursday 11 September] Japan House London announces its forthcoming exhibition, Hyakko: 100+ Makers from Japan opening on Wednesday 3 December 2025.

Japan has long been associated with a rich culture of craft, with many practices such as urushi (lacquerware) and metalwork being passed down through generations, often as the result of strict apprenticeships. Historically, the expensive products of many of these more formal crafts were out of reach for most and were often created more as objects to be admired rather than to actually be used.

In the 1920s, the mingei (folk craft) movement turned people's attention to the crafts of the people, focussing on the beauty of hand-crafted, utilitarian objects. Integral to this philosophy was the perceived anonymity of the craftspeople - the emphasis being on the item rather than its maker.

Hyakko: 100+ Makers from Japan represents a new development in the way we appreciate the craft of the everyday, recognizing and honouring the maker at the same time as elevating the value of their work. Inviting over 120 makers from across Japan - artists, makers and self-taught practitioners alike - it presents as many as 2,000 individual works, each achieving harmony between form and function.

Rather than being limited to a single material, craft or technique, the exhibition gathers works in clay, glass, wood, leather and metal, among others - each piece bearing traces of the maker's individuality, their surrounding environment, and the inherent character of the material. The result is a panoramic snapshot of Japan's craft landscape today, where makers reference past traditions while bringing their own individual expression to the pieces they create.

Visitors can discover:

Hundreds of beautifully hand-crafted items designed for everyday life including glassware, ceramic vases, bamboo cutlery, copper pots and woven baskets.

designed for everyday life including glassware, ceramic vases, bamboo cutlery, copper pots and woven baskets. Multimedia insights into the lives and processes of makers, offering glimpses into the creative energy behind each piece and the environments that inspire them.

into the lives and processes of makers, offering glimpses into the creative energy behind each piece and the environments that inspire them. A rich season of events including talks, tours, demonstrations and hands-on workshops exploring the intersection of craft and daily life.

including talks, tours, demonstrations and hands-on workshops exploring the intersection of craft and daily life. Works for sale from over 30 of the featured makers in the Japan House London Shop.

Organized in collaboration with Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd. (MUJI) and curated by Nagata Takahiro, this exhibition was originally presented in 2023 at ATELIER MUJI GINZA, the gallery space at the top of Muji's six-storey flagship store in Tokyo. Now reimagined for London audiences, Hyakko: 100+ Makers from Japan is part of a cultural initiative by Ryohin Keikaku that celebrates art and culture in everyday life. The exhibition honours the strength of creativity that continues to grow across Japan - diverse, vast and interconnected.

Simon Wright, Director of Programming at Japan House, said:

"Hyakko: 100+ Makers from Japan presents the privileged opportunity for audiences outside Japan to experience how contemporary Japanese makers are interpreting deep-rooted cultural notions of beauty. It shows how tradition is always evolving, informing the present and the future through a matrix of relationships between maker, object and user. As people's daily lives change, so do the objects they use. Echoing the words of the 13th-century Japanese writer Kamo no Chomei, in his Hojoki (An Account of My Hut):

"The flow of the river never ceases, and yet the water is never the same."

Each work in the exhibition carries with it the story of its maker, whether shaped by the local environment or a personal history. By bringing together over a hundred voices from Japan, the exhibition highlights not only the richness and ingenuity of these practices, but also the beauty found in the everyday. We hope visitors will see this craft not simply as objects, but as an invitation to reflect on ways of living that connect creativity, community and care."

This exhibition is produced in conjunction with Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd. The exhibition is due to appear at Japan House Los Angeles and Japan House Sao Paulo in 2026 and 2027.

Notes to Editors

About Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd.

MUJI debuted in December 1980 as a private brand of Seiyu Store (now Seiyu Co., Ltd.) with 40 products, mainly foods. Now MUJI stores are operating in 29 countries and regions including Japan. Established in 1989, Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd. handles every step from the planning, development and manufacture of MUJI goods to their distribution and sale. It also runs other businesses such as the operation of Cafe&Meal MUJI, IDEE and MUJI campsites.

About Japan House London

Japan House London is a cultural destination offering the best and latest from Japan. Located on Kensington High Street, the experience is an authentic encounter with Japan, engaging and surprising even the most knowledgeable guests. Presenting the very best of Japanese art, design, gastronomy, innovation, and technology, it deepens the visitor's appreciation of all that Japan has to offer. Part of a global initiative, there are two other Japan Houses, one in Los Angeles and the other in Sao Paulo.

Images can be downloaded here:

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Nadofaragene firadenovec is the first and only non-replicating gene therapy administered intravesically, and it is already approved and launched in the US

This represents the first filing of a novel non-chemotherapy approach in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) treatment

In the Japanese Phase 3 clinical trial, 75% complete response rate was achieved with single quarterly dosing, without requiring re-induction protocols 1

This acceptance highlights Ferring's ongoing commitment to establish the new standard of care for BCG-unresponsive NMIBC

Ferring Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. announced that the PMDA has accepted the NDA for nadofaragene firadenovec for review, following submission on August 27th, 2025. This non-replicating gene therapy, administered intravesically, offers patients with NMIBC a bladder-sparing treatment option. Nadofaragene firadenovec's quarterly dosing eliminates the burden of frequent treatments, while delivering a non-chemotherapy mechanism of action through interferon gene therapy. The NDA acceptance further highlights Ferring's ongoing commitment to establish the new standard of care for high-risk BCG-unresponsive NMIBC.

Professor Keiji Inoue, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Urology, Kochi Medical School, stated: "Nadofaragene firadenovec represents an option for those who failed NMIBC treatment. As the first choice after BCG failure, this bladder sparing gene therapy offers patients a non-chemotherapy option that transforms their own bladder cells into interferon-producing factories. The 75% complete response rate achieved with convenient quarterly dosing provides hope for patients who previously faced limited treatment options.

The NDA for nadofaragene firadenovec is based on results from a Phase 3 trial conducted in Japan.1 The primary outcome of a complete response (CR) rate of 75% at 3 months, following a single dose in 20 high-risk Japanese patients with carcinoma in situ (CIS), with or without concomitant high-grade Ta or T1 papillary lesions, was presented at the 112th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Urological Association (JUA, April 17-19, 2025, Fukuoka). All treatment-related adverse events were limited to Grade 1 (84.2%) or Grade 2 (15.8%), with zero Grade 3, 4, or 5 adverse events reported confirming the therapy's favourable safety and tolerability profile.1

These results are consistent with independent US real-world data presented by the Mayo Clinic, which demonstrated 79% complete response rate.2 The results from the Mayo Clinic were achieved following a single quarterly dosing, representing clinical and convenience advantages over existing therapies, without requiring re-induction protocols.2 Patients who achieved complete response continued quarterly maintenance dosing.

Joern Jakobsen, M.D., Ph.D., Vice President and Head of Global Research and Medical for Uro-Oncology and Urology, Ferring Pharmaceuticals stated "Traditionally, when BCG therapy proved insufficient, patients had no choice but to undergo highly invasive treatments such as radical cystectomy or risk cancer progression. Nadofaragene firadenovec is expected to offer a new bladder-sparing treatment option. At Ferring, we are committed to addressing the unmet needs in bladder cancer treatment by providing urologists with critical insights that enable effective, personalised, and groundbreaking therapies.

"Our ambition is to establish nadofaragene firadenovec as the new standard of care and the backbone therapy for NMIBC treatment," said Bipin Dalmia, Global Head, Uro-Oncology Urology Franchise. "High-risk NMIBC patients who no longer respond to BCG have endured decades of little progress and currently face bladder removal as their primary option. This PMDA acceptance validates our strategic commitment to bring this treatment to Japanese patients.

About nadofaragene firadenovec

Nadofaragene firadenovec represents the first and only FDA-approved intravesical non-replicating gene therapy for adult patients with high-risk Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG)-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) with carcinoma in situ (CIS) with or without papillary tumours.

As the first choice therapy following BCG failure, this non-chemotherapy approach utilises a non-replicating adenovirus vector-based therapy containing the interferon alfa-2b gene. Administered locally as convenient monotherapy by catheter directly into the bladder once every three months only, the mechanism transforms bladder wall cells into interferon microfactories, creating high and transient local expression of interferon alfa-2b protein amplifying the body's natural cancer-fighting capabilities through gene therapy rather than traditional chemotherapy approaches.

This therapeutic approach has been investigated through comprehensive clinical evaluation including 157 patients in the US with high-risk BCG-unresponsive NMIBC who demonstrated inadequate BCG response (full inclusion criteria published on clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02773849). 5-year follow-up data confirmed 80% overall survival rate and 49% cystectomy-free survival rate in adult patients with high-risk BCG-unresponsive NMIBC with CIS with or without papillary tumours (Ta/T1), and in patients with high-grade Ta/T1 without CIS. Long-term safety profile maintained with most treatment emergent AEs remaining transient Grade 1 or 2 (66% of all patients studied), and 4% experiencing Grade 3 AEs.3

In the real world setting, between November 2023 and October 2024, 45 patients across three Mayo Clinic locations in the US were treated with nadofaragene firadenovec for BCG-unresponsive NMIBC. Out of 45 treated patients, 29 were included in the analysis.2 After a median follow-up of 8.2 months: 72% of patients showed a complete response or were free from high-grade recurrence at 3 months. 62% maintained this response at 6 months. 94% avoided bladder removal surgery (cystectomy). 100% were still alive at 6 months.

About Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC)

NMIBC affects the superficial bladder layer without deeper invasion or metastatic spread. Bladder cancer represents a major clinical challenge as the 13th most commonly diagnosed cancer in Japan and ninth globally,4 with 75% presenting as NMIBC in 2022.4 While intravesical BCG remains first-line standard care for high-risk NMIBC, over 50% of patients experience disease recurrence and progression within one year, with many developing BCG-unresponsive disease requiring radical intervention.5

Current treatment options remain limited for BCG-unresponsive patients, with JUA guidelines recommending only radical cystectomy or clinical trial participation.6 Nadofaragene firadenovec offers the first choice non-chemotherapy gene therapy option for these patients, providing an alternative to immediate radical surgery.

About Ferring Pharmaceuticals

Ferring Pharmaceuticals is a privately owned, research-driven, specialty biopharmaceutical group committed to building families and helping people live better lives. We are leaders in reproductive medicine with a strong heritage in gastroenterology and urology, and are at the forefront of innovation in uro-oncology gene therapy. The company is headquartered in Saint-Prex, Switzerland, and has operating subsidiaries in more than 50 countries which market its medicines in over 100 countries.

Learn more at www.ferring.com, or connect with us on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and X.

About Ferring Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.

Ferring Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. established Japanese operations in February 2001 as the dedicated Japanese subsidiary of Ferring Pharmaceuticals, headquartered in Toranomon, Minato-Ku, Tokyo. For more information, please visit Home Ferring Japan

*As of September 2025, within Japan.

References

1 Inoue K, Kikuchi E, Nishiyama H, Nasu Y, et al. Efficacy and Safety of Nadofaragene Firadenovec for BCG-Unresponsive Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer: Initial Results From an Ongoing Japanese Phase 3 Trial. Presented at the 112 Annual Meeting of the Japanese Urological Association, April 19, 2025. Available at: https://www.micenavi.jp/jua2025/search/detail_program/id:2055

2 Moyer J, Durant A, Nguyen M. Real-world outcomes of nadofaragene firadenovec in BCG-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology GU, February 2025.

3 Narayan VM, et al. Efficacy of Intravesical Nadofaragene Firadenovec for Patients with BCG-Unresponsive Non-muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer: 5 Year Follow-Up from a Phase 3 Trial. J Urol. 2024 May 5. doi: 10.1097/JU.0000000000004020.

4 World Cancer Research Fund International. Bladder cancer statistics. Available at: https://www.wcrf.org/cancer-trends/bladder-cancer-statistics/. Last accessed: March 2025.

5 Deng S, et al. Global research trends in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer: Bibliometric and visualized analysis. Front Oncol. 2022; 12:1044830.

6 Matsumoto H, Shiraishi K, Inoue K, et al. Clinical Practice Guidelines for Bladder Cancer 2019 update by the Japanese Urological Association: Summary of the revision. Available at: Clinical Practice Guidelines for Bladder Cancer 2019 update by the Japanese Urological Association: Summary of the revision. Last accessed: September 2025.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250911332715/en/

Contacts:

For more information, please contact

Yoshimitsu Yanagiba

Head of Public Affairs and Communications

+813-5544-9237

yoshimitsu.yanagiba@ferring.com
Strategic collaboration will integrate Sheba's real-world data with Imagene AI's Cross Modality Intelligence Engine to enable multimodal research, predictive models, and faster translation to care

"Partnering with an innovative leader like Imagene AI strengthens our mission to transform Sheba into an AI-driven hospital and a global model of healthcare innovation"

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / Imagene AI, a pioneer in multimodal foundation models for precision medicine, and ARC, the innovation arm of Sheba Medical Center, a global beacon of medical innovation and research ranked a top-ten world hospital by Newsweek, today announced an expanded strategic collaboration to advance cancer research and care with real-world data and multimodal AI.

Oncology Intelligence Suite | Biomarker Discovery

Our Cross-Modality Intelligence Engine, delivered through the OI Suite, integrates real-world data including histopathology images, multi-omic data, longitudinal clinical records to derive meaningful, biologically grounded insights.

Initially applied in lung cancer care at Sheba, where Imagene AI's multi-gene NSCLC application runs within the hospital's fully digital pathology workflow to provide biomarker profiling in minutes from routine biopsy images, the collaboration now extends to a cross-cancer platform, bringing together Sheba's diverse real-world data and Imagene AI's Cross-Modality Intelligence Engine and OI Suite to accelerate discovery and support more precise, personalized care.

Under the agreement, ARC will provide Imagene AI with access to Sheba's extensive real-world dataset that includes digitized pathology slides, diverse omics, and longitudinal clinical records with ongoing updates. This resource will enrich Imagene AI's Cross-Modality Intelligence Engine, while Sheba's researchers and clinicians gain direct access to OI Suite to independently analyze complex data, develop predictive models, and uncover biomarker insights across cancer types. Imagene AI has developed unique methods that bridge real-world data and clinical research, enabling biomarker discovery and predictive modeling even from small clinical cohorts.

"We are advancing cancer research and patient care by integrating innovation into daily practice," said Prof. Iris Barshack, Head of the Pathology Institute at Sheba Medical Center. "Expanding our collaboration with Imagene AI and adopting their best-in-class biomarker discovery platform empowers our pathologists and care teams to analyze multimodal real-world data, independently develop AI applications, and move faster from hypothesis to validated signal across multiple cancers."

Imagene AI's proprietary data lake now integrates more than 3.5 million digitized pathology slides alongside diverse omics and longitudinal clinical records, reinforcing a comprehensive oncology intelligence infrastructure. The collaboration accelerates hypothesis generation and biomarker discovery, informing cohort enrichment and protocol design, and increasing predictive power for translational research and clinical development. All data are de-identified and governed by rigorous privacy, security, and institutional oversight.

"Sheba's Pathology Institute, led by Prof. Barshack, is globally recognized for putting innovation to work for patients," said Dean Bitan, Co-founder and CEO of Imagene AI. "Together we bridge clinical evidence with cross-modality AI to derive actionable insights, enable multimodal discovery at scale, and support evidence generation that brings precision oncology closer to patients."

Imagene AI was one of the first pioneer startups to become a portfolio company of ARC (Accelerate, Redesign, Collaborate), the global health transformation engine and Sheba Medical Center's innovation arm, which supports the development and deployment of clinician-led innovations.

"Prof. Barshack and her team are demonstrating how AI can transform clinical decision-making by delivering biomarker insights in minutes, enabling immediate personalized cancer treatment," said Prof. Eyal Zimlichman, Founder and Director of ARC and Chief Innovation, Transformation, and AI Officer at Sheba Medical Center. "This collaboration with Imagene AI exemplifies ARC's mission to bridge clinical excellence with cutting-edge technology, creating scalable solutions that improve outcomes while establishing new standards of care for oncology worldwide. Partnering with an innovative leader like Imagene AI strengthens our mission to transform Sheba into an AI-driven hospital and a global model of healthcare innovation."

About Imagene AI

Imagene AI is a pioneer in multimodal foundation models for precision medicine, advancing translational research and clinical development. Our Cross-Modality Intelligence Engine, delivered through the OI Suite, integrates real-world data including histopathology images, multi-omic data, longitudinal clinical records to derive meaningful, biologically grounded insights, generate and validate biomarker hypotheses, and increase predictive power in low-data settings. We make every trial more responsive, every insight more actionable, and every patient journey more personalized. For more information, visit Imagene.com.

About ARC

ARC (Accelerate, Redesign, Collaborate), the innovation arm of Sheba Medical Center, founded and directed by Prof. Eyal Zimlichman, is shaping the future of medical innovation by connecting entrepreneurs and clinicians, advancing the development and implementation of new technologies, and creating breakthrough economic frameworks in healthcare. ARC has evolved into a global blueprint for healthcare innovation, currently active in 12 countries, 31 health systems, and over 300 hospitals. It has supported more than 100 startups, including three unicorns, and helped catalyze over $1 billion in investments. The model reinvests profits to further accelerate Sheba's AI and data revolution, while advancing its mission to build scalable, clinician-led innovation that improves care around the world. For more information, visit: https://arcinnovation.org.

About Sheba Medical Center

The largest and most comprehensive medical center in the Middle East, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer is generating global impact through its medical care, research and AI-based healthcare transformation. Sheba's City of Health boasts acute-care, rehabilitation, children's, cancer and geriatric hospitals, research and innovation hubs, medical simulation center, center for disaster response and a virtual hospital on one comprehensive campus in the center of Israel. Sheba serves as a true hospital without borders, welcoming patients and healthcare professionals from all over the world and consistently providing the highest-level medical care to all in need. For more information, visit: https://sheba-global.com.

SOURCE: Imagene AI

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/biotechnology/imagene-ai-and-sheba-medical-center-launch-a-precision-oncology-intelligence-alliance-1071141
Campus adds 20MW of IT capacity and unveils one of Europe's largest permanent public art installations during London Design Festival, September 13-21

Vantage Data Centers, a leading global provider of hyperscale data centers, today announced its second London data center campus (LHR2) will open at the end of September. Located in London's Park Royal district, the 194,000-square-foot (18,000 square meters) facility will deliver 20MW of IT capacity, representing a 250 million investment into the local economy.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250911735146/en/

Vantage Data Centers' second London campus features one of Europe's largest permanent public art installations.

Coinciding with this year's London Design Festival taking place from Sept. 13-21 and in association with the Park Royal Design District (PRDD), the data center features one of the largest permanent public art installations in Europe. Spanning a six-story facade, 11 Million Dots pays homage to the industrial history of Park Royal while celebrating its revitalization as a thriving new urban destination for both residents and businesses. Commissioned with the help of London-based art consultancy, Loom, local artist Rafael El Baz collected ambient noise and machinery sounds from area streets and workshops and recorded more than 120 audio interviews with locals. He then translated his recordings into binary code and audio waveforms and manipulated them to create 11 million perforations that evoke microchips, maps and city landscapes.

As part of Vantage's ongoing commitment to energy efficiency and sustainability, the LHR2 campus incorporates a number of sustainable features in accordance with BREEAM Excellent status, including air and water source heat pumps and an overall low power usage effectiveness (PUE). In addition, LHR2 is an Urban Greening Factor compliant site and will also connect to the local district heating network to repurpose waste heat.

"Our unrivalled ability to scale rapidly, as evidenced by the launch of our second campus in London, is helping our global hyperscale customers seize the massive opportunities made possible with cloud computing and AI," said David Howson, president, EMEA, Vantage Data Centers. "This campus was among our UK expansion plans that the Prime Minister referred to at the launch of the U.K. Government's AI Opportunities Action Plan earlier this year. As part of this campus launch, we have the honor of participating in a dynamic, thought-provoking community art project that pays tribute to the area's important history in the growth and stability of the United Kingdom."

"It has been a pleasure partnering with Vantage Data Centers and Loom to bring this unique vision to life," said El Baz. "As an artist, this project was about rethinking what a data center can represent. These buildings are usually hidden in plain sight, yet here we've shown they can stand proudly as cultural landmarks. By turning the voices and sounds of Park Royal into patterns on the facade, the center becomes more than a store of digital data, it also preserves the memory and identity of the community. Vantage Data Centers has been an incredible partner throughout open to the idea that infrastructure can move beyond function, becoming socially sustainable, rooted in place-making, and meaningful to the people who live and work alongside it."

LHR2 is one of two Vantage campuses in London, which is the UK's largest data center market and the third largest globally; LHR1 in North Acton comprises two facilities totaling 430,000 square feet (40,000 square meters) and will provide a combined 55MW of IT capacity once complete. Additionally, Vantage's CWL1 Cardiff campus in South Wales remains one of the largest in Europe. Once fully developed, the three UK campuses will offer customers 223MW of IT capacity across more than 2.6 million square feet (244,000 square meters).

For more information about Vantage's growing EMEA footprint, please visit: https://vantage-dc.com/data-center-locations/emea/.

For more information about the United Kingdom's AI Opportunities Action Plan, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-ai-sector-attracts-200-million-a-day-in-private-investment-since-july.

About Vantage Data Centers

Vantage Data Centers is a global leader in digital infrastructure serving the world's most influential AI and cloud providers. With operations spanning North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, Vantage delivers capacity at unrivaled speed and scale, driven by a relentless commitment to operational excellence and customer success. Vantage is empowering transformative companies to shape the future.

For more information, visit http://www.vantage-dc.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250911735146/en/

Contacts:

Press Contacts

Mark Freeman

Vantage Data Centers

mfreeman@vantage-dc.com

+1-202-680-4243

Robin Bectel

REQ for Vantage Data Centers

vdc@req.co

+1-202-936-6335

Nigel Parker

Fulfil Communications for Vantage Data Centers, EMEA

nigelp@fulfilcom.com

+44-(0)-7778-872-457
TSX:ORV

TORONTO, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Orvana Minerals Corp. (TSX: ORV) (the "Company" or "Orvana") announces that it will be attending Mining Forum Americas 2025, which is being held at the Broadmoor Hotel & Resort in Colorado Springs, USA, from September 14 to 17, 2025; and provides an update on its Taguas Project in Argentina.

Mining Forum Americas 2025

Ms. Nuria Menendez, Chief Financial Officer and Mr. Raul Alvarez, Director of Exploration and Technical Services, will represent Orvana at the Mining Forum Americas 2025 at Colorado Springs, from September 14-17, 2025. The Corporate Presentation, providing an overview of our operations and properties, is available at: https://www.orvana.com/English/investors/presentations/default.aspx

Mr. Alvarez will deliver a presentation on Wednesday, September 17, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. (MDT). The presentation will be webcast live, and can be viewed at the following link: https://americas.miningforum.com/member-webcast/4149/

A webcast replay will be available to stream following the event.

Taguas Project - Exploration Update

Orvana's strategy in the Taguas Project has been focused on oxide mineralization. The Company is broadening its strategy to include sulfide resources and testing for deep copper-gold porphyry potential.

Accordingly, the Company is prioritizing three key exploration initiatives :

Geological Modeling Update - Ongoing; completion expected by the end of fiscal 2025: Comprehensive detailed relogging and alteration modeling; Ongoing spectral scanning of drill holes in the target area every 5 m, totaling ~5,200 measurements.





- Ongoing; completion expected by the end of fiscal 2025: Geophysical Survey - Planned for execution in Q1 fiscal 2026: Objective: identify potential targets up to a depth of 1,500 m; Will cover the entire area of interest, between Cerro Campamento and Cerros Taguas, 7 lines of 4.0 km.





- Planned for execution in Q1 fiscal 2026: First Deep Drilling - Expected to take place in Q2 fiscal 2026: Target: drill the areas showing potential indicators of a copper-gold porphyry system, based on geophysical results and the updated geological model; Preliminary plan of approximately 4,500 metres; subject to change based on geological and geophysical updates.

- Expected to take place in Q2 fiscal 2026:

The Company expects to evaluate the results during the third quarter of fiscal 2026, in order to assess the strategic positioning of the property and determine the next steps.

"This exploration program is designed to enhance our understanding of the Taguas mineral system and to systematically test for copper-gold porphyry potential" said Mr. Raul Alvarez, Director of Exploration and Technical Services.

ABOUT ORVANA - Orvana is a multi-mine gold-copper-silver company. Orvana's assets consist of the producing El Valle and Carles gold-copper-silver mines in northern Spain, the Don Mario gold-silver property in Bolivia, and the Taguas property located in Argentina. Additional information is available at Orvana's website (www.orvana.com).

Cautionary Statements - Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements in this news release constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, potentials, future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "believes", "expects", "plans", "estimates" or "intends" or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will", "are projected to" or "confident of" be taken or achieved) are not statements of historical fact, but are forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements herein relate to, among other things, Orvana's ability to achieve improvement in free cash flow; the ability to maintain expected mining rates and expected throughput rates at El Valle Plant; the potential to extend the mine life of El Valle and Don Mario beyond their current life-of-mine estimates including specifically, but not limited to, Orvana's ability to optimize its assets to deliver shareholder value; estimates of future production (including without limitation, production guidance), operating costs and capital expenditures; mineral resource and reserve estimates; statements and information regarding future feasibility studies and their results; future transactions; future metal prices; the ability to achieve additional growth and geographic diversification; and future financial performance, including the ability to increase cash flow and profits; future financing requirements; mine development plans; the possibility of the conversion of inferred mineral resources to mineral reserves.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, which includes, without limitation, as particularly set out in the notes accompanying the Company's most recently filed financial statements. The estimates and assumptions of the Company contained or incorporated by reference in this news release, which may prove to be incorrect, include, but are not limited to the various assumptions set forth herein and in Orvana's most recently filed Management's Discussion & Analysis and Annual Information Form in respect of the Company's most recently completed fiscal year (the "Company Disclosures") or as otherwise expressly incorporated herein by reference as well as: there being no significant disruptions affecting operations, whether due to labour disruptions, supply disruptions, power disruptions, damage to equipment or otherwise; permitting, development, operations, expansion and acquisitions at El Valle, Don Mario and Taguas being consistent with the Company's current expectations; political developments in any jurisdiction in which the Company operates being consistent with its current expectations; certain price assumptions for gold, copper and silver; prices for key supplies being approximately consistent with current levels; production and cost of sales forecasts meeting expectations; the accuracy of the Company's current mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates; labour and materials costs increasing on a basis consistent with Orvana's current expectations; and the availability of necessary funds to execute the Company's plan. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, this news release also contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, including, without limitation, references to the results of the Company's exploration activities, including but not limited to, drilling results and analyses, mineral resource estimation, conceptual mine plan and operations, internal rate of return, sensitivities, taxes, net present value, potential recoveries, design parameters, operating costs, capital costs, production data and economic potential; the timing and costs for production decisions; permitting timelines and requirements; exploration and planned exploration programs; and the Company's general objectives and strategies.

A variety of inherent risks, uncertainties and factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control, affect the operations, performance and results of the Company and its business, and could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results expressed or implied by forward looking statements. Some of these risks, uncertainties and factors include: the potential impact of global health and global economic conditions on the Company's business and operations, including: our ability to continue operations; and our ability to manage challenges presented by such conditions; the general economic, political and social impacts of the continuing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, our ability to support the sustainability of our business including through the development of crisis management plans, increasing stock levels for key supplies, monitoring of guidance from the medical community, and engagement with local communities and authorities; fluctuations in the price of gold, silver and copper; the need to recalculate estimates of resources based on actual production experience; the failure to achieve production estimates; variations in the grade of ore mined; variations in the cost of operations; the availability of qualified personnel; the Company's ability to obtain and maintain all necessary regulatory approvals and licenses; Orovalle's ability to complete the permitting process of the El Valle Tailings Storage Facility increasing the storage capacity; Orovalle's ability to complete the stabilization project of the legacy open pit wall; the Company's ability to use cyanide in its mining operations; risks generally associated with mineral exploration and development, including the Company's ability to continue to operate the El Valle and/or ability to resume operations at the Carles Mine; the Company's ability to successfully implement an acid leaching circuit and ancillary facilities to process the current oxides stockpiles at Don Mario; the Company's ability to successfully carry out development plans at Taguas; sufficient funding to carry out exploration and development plans at Taguas and to process the oxides stockpiles at Don Mario; EMIPA's ability to complete the placement of EMIPA Bonds II Issuance; EMIPA's ability to complete the required funding for the OSP; the Company's ability to acquire and develop mineral properties and to successfully integrate such acquisitions; the Company's ability to execute on its strategy; the Company's ability to obtain financing when required on terms that are acceptable to the Company; challenges to the Company's interests in its property and mineral rights; current, pending and proposed legislative or regulatory developments or changes in political, social or economic conditions in the countries in which the Company operates; general economic conditions worldwide; the challenges presented by global health conditions; fluctuating operational costs such as, but not limited to, power supply costs; current and future environmental matters; and the risks identified in the Company's disclosures. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements and reference should also be made to the Company's Disclosures for a description of additional risk factors.

Any forward-looking statements made herein with respect to the anticipated development and exploration of the Company's mineral projects are intended to provide an overview of management's expectations with respect to certain future activities of the Company and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions and, except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements should assumptions related to these plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions change. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made in this information are intended to provide an overview of management's expectations with respect to certain future operating activities of the Company and may not be appropriate for other purposes.

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CHICAGO, Sept. 11, 2025, a diversified, vertically integrated global healthcare group, today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Sky Pharm SA, signed a distribution agreement (the "Agreement") with Scientific Pharmacy LLC ("Scientific Pharmacy") for its Sky Premium Life food supplement products in Oman.

Scientific Pharmacy, the retail and wholesale arm of Planet Pharmacies in Oman, is a leading healthcare and beauty company offering integrated distribution and retail services. Known for its international brand partnerships and strong customer focus, it has become a trusted name in Oman and continues to expand across the Gulf Cooperation Council, based in the United Arab Emirates, which is one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturers in the Middle East and Africa, with annual revenue of approximately $350 million.

Under the Agreement, Scientific Pharmacy will manage all core activities, including regulatory compliance, product registration, distribution, marketing, logistics, and the retail sale of Sky Premium Life products across pharmacies and stores in Oman through its established retail and distribution network. The Agreement also includes an initial purchase order of 42,000 units.

According to IMARC Group , the GCC nutraceuticals market was valued at $6.91 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $15.5 billion by 2033, with a CAGR of 8.7%. Growth is being driven by rising health awareness, higher disposable incomes, government initiatives addressing lifestyle diseases, rapid urbanization, and the expansion of retail and e-commerce channels.

Greg Siokas, CEO of Cosmos Health, stated: "We are excited to announce our expansion into Oman, further strengthening our presence in the rapidly growing nutraceuticals market across the GCC. This milestone showcases the exceptional quality of our products and the increasing global demand for our Sky Premium Life brand. We expect the agreement to generate significant revenue for Cosmos, supported by Scientific Pharmacy's established retail and distribution network and the rising demand for premium food supplements in Oman."

About Cosmos Health Inc.

Cosmos Health Inc., www.skypremiumlife.com , www.cana.gr , www.zipdoctor.co , www.cloudscreen.gr , as well as LinkedIn and X .

Forward-Looking Statements

With the exception of the historical information contained in this news release, the matters described herein, may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements preceded by, followed by, or that otherwise, include the words "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "projects," "estimates," "plans" and similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "should," "would," "may" and "could", are generally forward-looking in nature and not historical facts, although not all forward-looking statements include the foregoing. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the Company's expectation that accumulation of ETH will enhance long-term shareholder value through increasing ETH-per-share, the Company's plans to explore additional yield-generating strategies to optimize cash flow and utility from ETH holdings, that the Facility will provide access to growth capital to support a range of strategic initiatives, including accelerated product development, advanced R&D innovation, enhanced commercial initiatives, and the Company's planned entry into U.S. manufacturing and the anticipated use of proceeds. These statements, involve unknown risks and uncertainties that may individually or materially impact the matters discussed, herein for a variety of reasons that are outside the control of the Company, including, but not limited to, the Company's ability to raise sufficient financing to implement its business plan, and the Company's ability to successfully develop and commercialize its proprietary products and technologies. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward- looking statements, as actual results could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements contained herein. Readers are urged to read the risk factors set forth in the Company's filings with the SEC, which are available at the SEC's website). The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update, or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Investor Relations Contact:

BDG Communications

cosm@bdgcommunications.com
MONACO, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The 17th edition of Monaco Classic Week, a unique event, has brought together more than 150 yachts, including 50 classic sailing yachts, 14 period motor yachts, 70 vintage powerboats - featuring an exceptional fleet of 52 Riva runabouts - and 25 from the 12' Dinghy class, in an atmosphere that blends sport, elegance, and memory.

At the technical heart of the event is the La Belle Classe Restoration Prize, which recognises the quality of the most faithful and respectful restorations. Once again, the jury is chaired by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, a timeless sailor, a sailing legend, and a living symbol of the unbreakable link between past and future that Classic Week seeks to pass on. "I think the most important thing is to remember that if we want to understand how our ancestors managed to trade, and later to race as they had more spare time and money, then these are the boats we need to look at and study," explains Sir Robin.

"It's very important that we carry on to show young people what was being done before. What we're looking for is just how well these boats are being kept-not just how they've been maintained over all those years, but how well they're being cared for now. At the time they were built, they were at the advanced edge of the technical ability to use wind for propelling boats."

Born in 1939 in Putney, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston entered the history books in 1969 as the first man to complete a solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the globe aboard Suhaili. A tireless sailor, he made his mark in epic challenges such as the Jules Verne Trophy, won in 1994 with Peter Blake, and the Route du Rhum, where he finished third in 2014 at the age of 75. Knighted in 1995, three-time YJA Yachtsman of the Year, and founder of the Clipper Round the World Race, he has been an untiring ambassador for sailing for decades.

This is not the first time he has chaired the Grand Jury of Classic Week: in 2017, 2021, and 2023 he already led the panel evaluating restorations and performance, always underlining that preserving maritime heritage is also a universal cultural message.

In addition to races at sea, Classic Week also rewards style and the art of living at sea. The Concours d'Elegance, supported by BMW, highlights not only the lines of the boats but also the elegance of the crews, striking a balance between aesthetics and respect for maritime traditions.

The Monaco Classic Week Trophy, which combines restoration and elegance scores, celebrates the boat that best embodies the event's core values: authenticity, savoir-faire and sporting spirit.

"The great thing about Monaco Classic Week is it creates a reason for these boats to get together and compare," comments Sir Robin.

"A lot of the crews will know each other, a lot of the owners will know each other, but they see the boats alongside each other and compare them. 'Ah, look what he's done with that one. I wonder what varnish he's using. That's looking beautiful.' And you're sharing all that, but at the same time, we're displaying to the world these wonderful-looking boats."

Looking ahead to the award, the selection criteria are numerous, as Sir Robin explains: "One, we want a classic boat. We're looking for a boat that was built 50, 60, maybe 100 years ago. Secondly, we look at how well it's been maintained, how well it's been looked after. These boats are absolutely fascinating scientifically as well."

The message to younger generations is clear: "To the younger generation I would say: don't look at it as just maintaining a bit of history. Get involved and learn what was involved in keeping these boats going-the skills involved. And get out there and sail the boats as well, because they're marvellous to sail. They're fascinating not just because they look pretty, but because of how they operated so efficiently, how much work for the crew to make them operate so efficiently. And that's part of the science and culture of the sea that we must not lose."

At 86 years old, Sir Robin continues to embody a timeless passion for the sea. His presence at the head of the Monaco Classic Week technical jury is not only a tribute to his extraordinary career, but also a strong statement: maritime heritage is not just a memory of the past, but a living resource to protect and share.

For more information:

Press Office LaPresse - ufficio.stampa@lapresse.it

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2e2ae724-28be-4287-8762-8521ac335a70
PASADENA, CA / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / Green Rain Energy Holdings Inc. (OTC PINK:GREH) an ESCO company, announces its infrastructure growth plans for California as an estimated $50 billion plus is allocated for the state's clean energy market. As private capital is poured into renewable energy opportunities, California's massive clean energy market represents over $50 billion in investment opportunities by 2030, with state mandates requiring 100% clean electricity by 2045.

Oil Refinery Closures Spurring Capital Opportunities

The imminent closure of two California refineries is what is fueling the new push for EV and grid upgrades statewide. Industry insiders predict that if consumption rates remain as they are, fossil fuel rates could rise well above $8 per gallon by next year. This is private corporations are now revving up for what is being called the "Clean Tech Renaissance". The California Energy Commission recently launched the Fast Charge California Project, a $55 million incentive program covering up to 100% of installation costs for EV fast chargers. Green Rain Energy CEO Alfredo Papadakis was interviewed for Caye Int'l Bank's most recent article about California's clean energy buildout and the role Green Rain is playing

CEO Alfredo Papadakis described the inflection point:

"The momentum is real, and it's building quickly. For years, we have been laying the groundwork - securing sites, building relationships, and preparing our infrastructure. Now, as billions of dollars flow into California's clean energy market, Green Rain is ready to deliver. We aren't just participating in this shift; we are leading it."

Green Rain Energy is positioned to capture a share of this accelerating market. The Company's investor pool has confirmed an increase in allocations to California projects, including a solar farm project In San Diego County which is in late-stage negotiations. This allows Green Rain to fast-track utility-scale solar, distributed generation, and advanced energy storage projects across multiple prime locations.

About Green Rain Energy:

Green Rain Energy Holdings Inc. is a renewable energy development company focused on advancing sustainable power solutions. Through strategic partnerships, scalable infrastructure, and a diversified project pipeline, the Company is dedicated to delivering long-term value for shareholders while supporting the transition to a clean energy economy.

Caye Int'l Bank Article: https://www.cayebank.bz/2025/09/10/equities/californias-50-billion-clean-energy-shift-creates-openings-for-next-gen-players-like-green-rain-energy/

For more information, visit: https://greenrainenergy.com/

Investor Relations: https://greenrainenergy.com/investor-relations/

Follow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GreenRainEnergy

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61580025893268&mibextid=wwXIfr

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/green.rain.energy/?igsh=MW9jY3g0MmZiaG5pNg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr#

Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GreenRainEnergy

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and the future performance of Green Rain Energy Holdings Inc. that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release.

For press inquiries, please contact:

Michael Cimino

Michael@pubcopr.com

SOURCE: Green Rain Energy Holdings Inc.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/clean-technology/as-refinery-shutdowns-loom-green-rain-energy-otc-greh-heads-californias-50-billion-1071674
Today Glenfarne Alaska LNG, LLC ("Glenfarne") and POSCO International Corporation ("POSCO") announced an agreement to advance a strategic partnership for the development of the Alaska LNG Project, the only federally authorized LNG export project on the U.S. Pacific Coast. The partnership will include steel supply, LNG offtake, and an investment with respect to the Alaska LNG project. The agreement defines the process for Glenfarne and POSCO to move forward on definitive agreements, which will close pending board approvals by both sides.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250911812144/en/

Glenfarne Group Chief Executive Officer and Founder Brendan Duval and POSCO International Corporation Chief Executive Officer Kye In Lee signed a commercial agreement to advance the Alaska LNG Project on September 10, 2025 at the Gastech energy conference in Milan.

This agreement will include initial terms for POSCO to supply a significant portion of the steel required for Alaska LNG's 807-mile, 42-inch pressurized natural gas pipeline. The Alaska LNG pipeline will connect Southcentral Alaska, home to Alaska's population center and the Alaska LNG export terminal, with Alaska's vast, stranded natural gas resources on the North Slope. Glenfarne is targeting a year-end FID for the Alaska LNG pipeline.

The agreement will include initial terms for a 20-year Heads of Agreement for 1 million tonnes per annum ("MTPA") of LNG offtake on a Free-on-Board basis. This will be the first announced HOA for Alaska LNG.

Alaska LNG is a joint venture between Glenfarne, majority owner and lead developer of Alaska LNG, and the state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corporation. POSCO is the largest sales representative of POSCO Group (Korea's largest steel producer) and a major Korean LNG importer.

Glenfarne Chief Executive Officer and Founder Brendan Duval said, "POSCO's participation in Alaska LNG adds tremendous momentum as we drive this signature North American LNG project forward at a rapid tempo. This agreement includes critical project components and demonstrates global support for unlocking some of the most strategically located LNG in the world. Korea is a valued target market for Alaska LNG and we greatly appreciate POSCO's engagement as we advance Alaska LNG."

Glenfarne Alaska LNG President Adam Prestidge said, "POSCO is one of the world's foremost steel companies, a leading LNG importer in one of Alaska LNG's most important markets, and now a significant partner in Alaska LNG. POSCO's involvement underscores the project's strategic, geographic, and economic competitive advantages as we rapidly progress toward a final investment decision on the Alaska LNG pipeline."

Today's announcement closely follows Alaska LNG's announcement yesterday of the execution of a letter of intent with JERA Co., Inc.

The Alaska LNG project consists of a pipeline capable of transporting enough natural gas to meet both Alaska's domestic needs and supply the full 20 MTPA Alaska LNG export terminal in Nikiski, Alaska. Further accelerating the project's execution, the pipeline will be built in two independent, financially viable phases. Phase One will deliver natural gas approximately 765 miles from the North Slope to the Anchorage region. Phase Two includes the Alaska LNG facility, approximately 42 miles of pipeline under Cook Inlet, and pipeline compression equipment. Glenfarne is working with Worley to complete the final engineering for the domestic portion of the Alaska LNG pipeline and targeting a year-end pipeline final investment decision.

Glenfarne's permitted North American LNG portfolio totals 32.8 MTPA of capacity under development in Alaska, Texas and Louisiana.

About Glenfarne Group, LLC

Glenfarne Group is a privately held developer, owner, and operator of energy infrastructure assets based in New York, New York and Houston, Texas, with offices in Anchorage, Alaska; Panama City, Panama; Santiago, Chile; Bogota, Colombia; Barcelona, Spain; and Seoul, South Korea. Through its subsidiaries, Glenfarne currently owns and operates over 60 energy infrastructure assets through three core businesses: Global LNG Solutions, Grid Stability, and Renewables. The company's seasoned executives, asset managers, and operators develop, acquire, manage, and operate energy infrastructure assets throughout North and South America. For more information, please visit www.glenfarne.com.

About POSCO International Corporation.

POSCO International, a core member of the POSCO Group, continues to solidify its position as a leading trading and investment company with a diverse business portfolio spanning steel, energy, and agribusiness. Leveraging an extensive global network, the company is actively engaged in steel trading, the development and operation of the Myanmar Gas Field, as well as sourcing key resources for its overseas agribusiness operations.

In line with its commitment to sustainable growth, POSCO International is also exploring future growth engines such as renewable energy and eco-friendly mobility components. By prioritizing innovation and sustainability, the company aims to stay ahead in a rapidly changing global business landscape.

Supported by a stable business foundation and robust global capabilities, POSCO International is well-positioned to achieve sustainable growth and create long-term value.

For more information, please visit www.poscointl.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250911812144/en/

Contacts:

Tim Fitzpatrick

tim.fitzpatrick@glenfarnecompanies.com

(907) 717-4978
Ten-year alliance leverages Infosys AI-first platforms to drive innovation, efficiency and agility across HanesBrands' IT Landscape

BENGALURU, India, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, today announced a strategic alliance with HanesBrands Inc. (NYSE: HBI), a global leader in everyday iconic apparel. Under this ten-year engagement, Infosys will serve as HanesBrands' strategic collaborator in their digital, business applications and data landscape.

As part of this collaboration, Infosys will deploy its proprietary platforms-Live Enterprise Automation Platform (LEAP), integrated within Infosys Topaz, an AI-first suite of services, solutions, and platforms. This initiative will harness generative AI and AIOps technologies to help HanesBrands modernize core operations, enhance agility, simplify its IT landscape and unlock greater value from data.

The alliance reflects a strong cultural alignment between Infosys and HanesBrands, grounded in a shared vision for innovation and operational excellence. By embracing AI-first technologies, intelligent automation and AIOps, HanesBrands is positioned to unlock hyper productivity, reduce operational complexity and accelerate its digital transformation.

Scott Pleiman, Chief Strategy, Transformation, Analytics and Technology Officer, HanesBrands, said, "As we continue to evolve our operational model, we sought an experienced collaborator with deep domain expertise and advanced capabilities in AI-driven transformation. Infosys' AI-first approach and proven ability to scale innovation aligned with our long-term vision for agility, efficiency and customer-centricity."

Karmesh Vaswani, EVP & Global Head, Consumer, Retail & Logistics, Infosys, said, "We are honored to support HanesBrands in its journey toward a future-ready enterprise. With a shared commitment to innovation, we aim to unlock significant business value and elevate customer experiences utilizing Infosys Topaz AI and AIOps capabilities, now further strengthened with LEAP."

Through this initiative, HanesBrands will address key strategic priorities including technology optimization, resource efficiency and cultural alignment-empowered by Infosys' robust transformation capabilities and proven track record in the retail sector.

About HanesBrands Inc.

HanesBrands (NYSE: HBI), the No. 1 seller of innerwear, is a socially responsible global leader in everyday iconic apparel with a mission to create a more comfortable world for everybody. The company owns a portfolio of some of the world's most recognized apparel brands including Hanes, the leading basic apparel brand in the U.S.; Bonds, an Australian staple since 1915 that is setting new standards for design and innovation; Maidenform, America's number one shapewear brand; and Bali, America's number one national bra brand. HanesBrands owns the majority of its worldwide manufacturing facilities and has built a strong reputation for workplace quality, ethical business practices, and reducing environmental impact.

About Infosys

Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. Over 320,000 of our people work to amplify human potential and create the next opportunity for people, businesses, and communities. We enable clients in more than 59 countries to navigate their digital transformation. With over four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer clients, as they navigate their digital transformation powered by cloud and AI. We enable them with an AI-first core, empower the business with agile digital at scale and drive continuous improvement with always-on learning through the transfer of digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem. We are deeply committed to being a well-governed, environmentally sustainable organization where diverse talent thrives in an inclusive workplace.

Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NSE, BSE, NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, or our future financial or operating performance, are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding the execution of our business strategy, increased competition for talent, our ability to attract and retain personnel, increase in wages, investments to reskill our employees, our ability to effectively implement a hybrid work model, economic uncertainties and geo-political situations, technological disruptions and innovations such as artificial intelligence ("AI"), generative AI, the complex and evolving regulatory landscape including immigration regulation changes, our ESG vision, our capital allocation policy and expectations concerning our market position, future operations, margins, profitability, liquidity, capital resources, our corporate actions including acquisitions, and cybersecurity matters. Important factors that may cause actual results or outcomes to differ from those implied by the forward-looking statements are discussed in more detail in our US Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law.

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/infosys-and-hanesbrands-inc-collaborate-to-unlock-hyper-productivity-and-ai-driven-efficiency-302553914.html
Vegreville, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - September 11, 2025) - Provectus Biofuels Inc. (the "Company" or "Provectus") today announced the Company has signed a non-binding letter of intent with a regional Alberta airport that sets out indicative terms under which both parties intend to negotiate a definitive long-term offtake agreement for renewable sustainable aviation fuel produced from Provectus' Dobrojet Biofuels facility once operational.

The letter of intent is for the offtake of up to10 ML of renewable jet fuel conforming to ASTM D1655 (or a successor standard) and fully certified for use as Jet A-1 after blending, meeting all additive and quality requirements applicable at the time of delivery. This represents 10% of the total projected production capacity at Provectus' planned Dobrojet Biofuels facility that is to be sited in Vegreville, Alberta. Deliveries are expected to commence in 2029.

"Forward thinking airports and airlines, that are aware of the impact of global regulations and the current constraints on renewable sustainable jet fuel supply, recognize the urgent need to secure low-carbon aviation fuel for their future fuel supply portfolio," said Jon Jaque, CEO of Provectus. "The growth in low-carbon aviation fuel volumes under binding contract continue to outpace the addition of actual production capacity globally. As the growing gap between supply and demand causes the price premium on forward volumes to expand further, we expect to add additional offtake agreements to our portfolio."

In 2024, the International Air Transport Association ("IATA") reported binding contracts for 16.25 billion litres of sustainable aviation fuel for delivery in 20301. As of June 1, 2025, only 2.5 billion litres of sustainable aviation fuel was expected to be produced globally in 20252. The growing gap between supply and demand is contributing to the 14.8% year-over-year growth in the premium for low-carbon aviation fuel from 2.7 times the cost regular jet fuel in 2024 to 3.1 times in 2025 as reported by IATA1,3.

IATA Annual Review 2024 - Report here Policy Shortcomings Puts SAF Production at Risk - June 1, 2025 News Release IATA Annual Review 2025 - Report here

Advisories

This document contains forward-looking statements. More particularly, this document contains statements concerning: the expected completion of a contract for renewable sustainable aviation fuel produced at Provectus' proposed Dobrojet biofuels facility in Vegreville, Alberta; the successful commissioning of the Dobrojet biofuels facility; the expected date deliveries of jet-fuel are to commence; the production of jet fuel from the Dobrojet facility conforming to the relevant ASTM standards; and the signing of additional offtake agreements for renewable sustainable jet fuel. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list should not be construed as exhaustive. Other forward-looking statements can be recognized by the use of the words "anticipate", "estimate", "expect", "will", "should", "believe", "intend", and similar expressions.

The forward-looking statements in this document involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Provectus believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied upon.

While the information herein is believed to be accurate and reliable, Provectus and its agents, advisors, directors, officers, employees and shareholders make no representation or warranties, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of such information and Provectus expressly disclaims any and all liability that may be based on such information or errors or omissions thereof. Any forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and Provectus does not undertake any obligation, except as required under applicable law, to publicly update or revise such statements to reflect new information, subsequent or otherwise

About Provectus Biofuels

Provectus Biofuels Inc. is dedicated to advancing sustainable energy solutions through innovative biofuel technology. The company focuses on converting unutilized biomass, including agricultural residues and forest byproducts, into low-carbon renewable liquid fuels such as Renewable Jet Fuel, gasoline, and renewable diesel. Provectus Biofuels collaborates with industry leaders, government agencies, and Indigenous partners to support Canada's transition to cleaner energy sources while creating economic opportunities in rural and resource-based communities.

Sign up for Provectus Biofuels email news alerts here.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/265975

SOURCE: Provectus Biofuels Inc.
Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - September 11, 2025) - Grizzly Discoveries Inc. (TSXV: GZD) (FSE: G6H) (OTCQB: GZDIF) ("Grizzly" or the "Company") is pleased to provide the following exploration and corporate update and to announce a private placement offering for gross proceeds of up to $1 Million.

Beaverdell Exploration

Grizzly has recently conducted a small prospecting and sampling program near Beaverdell in order to satisfy some assessment requirements on some newly staked mineral claims in the Beaverdell area of the Greenwood District, British Columbia. These results from the sampling program conducted in the Beaverdell target area within the Greenwood Precious and Battery Metals Project will be disclosed once they are received.

Highlights:

A total of 50 rock grab samples were collected from mostly outcrop and some mineralized dump material across the Beaverdell claims in July 2025, including the newly acquired ground.

Grizzly has x hectares in y mineral claims surrounding the historical Beaverdell Mine.

Grizzly's Beaverdell mineral claims surround and are adjacent to the historical Beaverdell Mine which produced approximately 34.5 million ounces of silver, 16,700 ounces of gold, 30.6 million pounds of zinc and 25.6 million pounds of lead between 1913 and 1991.

Figure 1: Sulphide mineralization found and sampled on the Beaverdell Property, 2025.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/4488/265973_2bf15c0b94fa6a05_002full.jpg

Motherlode Crown Grant Purchase Agreement

On June 17, 2024, the Company announced a purchase agreement (the "Purchase Agreement") with First Majestic Silver Corp. ("First Majestic") to acquire 13 historical Crown Grants collectively known as the Motherlode Crown Grants near Greenwood, British Columbia.

The Company has been advised that, prior to completion of the Acquisition, certain of the Crown Grants have been forfeited to the Crown due to the non-payment of taxes. As a result, those specific Crown Grants are no longer available for acquisition by the Company under the terms of the Purchase Agreement.

Notwithstanding the forfeiture of certain Crown Grants, Grizzly's mineral claims that overlap significant portions of areas covered by the Crown Grants remain valid and in good standing. With the forfeited Crown Grants now held by the Crown, no other third party can acquire superseding rights in respect of those areas, thereby enhancing the Company's security of tenure on its overlapping mineral claims.

The Company is evaluating its options with respect to the Purchase Agreement with First Majestic in light of this development.

Plans for Fall 2025 Exploration at Greenwood:

Rock and soil sampling along with drilling at the Midway and Motherlode Targets are being planned for fall 2025, depending upon financing. The results for the Beaverdell sampling with be announced as they become available. Additional results should be forthcoming over the next coming months as work progresses and will be presented in additional news releases.

Brian Testo, President and CEO of Grizzly Discoveries, stated, "We are excited and are looking forward to pursuing a number of high grade gold - silver - copper - lead -zinc showings and historical mines with drilling in the fall of 2025 along with additional exploration for significant battery metal prospects in our current 175,000+ acre land holdings in the Greenwood District. We have barely scratched the surface in terms of exploration!

While we are disappointed that not all of the Crown Grants are available for acquisition, this development ultimately provides greater security for our overlapping mineral claims. This ensures that our exploration plans in the Greenwood District can continue without the risk of competing Crown Grant ownership. We will continue to work with First Majestic to assess the best path forward."

Private Placement Financing

Grizzly announces the initiation of a private placement (the "Offering") of Units and FT Units for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $1,000,000 if fully subscribed.

Private Placement Offering

The Offering consists of up to 8,333,333 Units and up to 25,000,000 of any combination of Units and FT Units. Each Unit shall consist of one common share of the Company ("Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant entitling the warrant holder to purchase an additional Common Share for $0.05 and expiring on the earlier of a) 30 days following written notice by the Company to the warrant holder that the volume-weighted average trading price of the Common Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange is at or greater than CA$0.10 per Common Share for 10 consecutive trading days; and (b) 24 months from the date of issuance ("Warrant"). Each FT Unit shall consist of one Common Share and one half of one Warrant, each of which shall be issued as a "flow through share" for the purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada). The Offering is being offered to qualified subscribers in the Provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario and in other jurisdictions as the Company may in its discretion determine, in reliance upon exemptions from the registration and prospectus requirements of applicable securities legislation.

The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Offering, if fully subscribed with the maximum of 25,000,000 in FT Units and 8,333,333 Units, as follows:

Mineral Property Exploration

$ 750,000 Mineral Rights and Exploration Permits

80,000





Working capital Outstanding management fees to Officers $ 44,000



Other accounts payable 56,000 $ 100,000







Corporate Overhead Management fees to Officers $ 18,000

(3 months) Other Corporate Overhead 52,000 $ 70,000







Maximum proceeds



$ 1,000,000

There is no minimum to the Offering. If the Company closes on less than the maximum proceeds, or if the proportion of Units and FT Units differs from the above, the use of proceeds will be adjusted.

In connection with the Offering, the Company may pay finders fees payable in any combination of cash, Units, and Warrants to registered broker dealers, limited market dealers or arm's length persons in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") and applicable securities legislation and regulations. The Common Shares and any Common Shares issued on exercise of the Warrants are subject to restrictions on trading until four months and one day from the date of issuance in accordance with the policies of the Exchange.

The Offering is subject to acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Quality Assurance and Control

Rock and soil samples are being analyzed at ALS Global Laboratories (Geochemistry Division) in Vancouver, Canada (an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited facility). Gold was assayed using a fire assay with atomic emission spectrometry and gravimetric finish when required (+10 g/t Au). Rock grab and rock chip samples from outcrop/bedrock are selective by nature and may not be representative of the mineralization hosted on the project.

The sampling program was undertaken by Company personnel under the direction of Michael B. Dufresne, M.Sc., P.Geol., P.Geo.. A secure chain of custody is maintained in transporting and storing of all samples.

The technical content of this news release and the Company's technical disclosure has been reviewed and approved by Michael B. Dufresne, M. Sc., P. Geol., P.Geo., who is a non-independent Consultant and Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

ABOUT GRIZZLY DISCOVERIES INC.

Grizzly is a diversified Canadian mineral exploration company with its primary listing on the TSX Venture Exchange focused on developing its approximately 72,700 ha (approximately 180,000 acres) of precious and base metals properties in southeastern British Columbia. Grizzly is run by highly experienced junior resource sector management team, who have a track record of advancing exploration projects from early exploration stage through to feasibility stage.

On behalf of the Board,

GRIZZLY DISCOVERIES INC.

Brian Testo, CEO, President

Suite 363-9768 170 Street NW

Edmonton, Alberta T5T 5L4

Email: info@grizzlydiscoveries.com

For further information, please visit our website at www.grizzlydiscoveries.com or contact:

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Caution concerning forward-looking information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. This information and statements address future activities, events, plans, developments and projections. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information and statements are frequently identified by words such as "may," "will," "should," "anticipate," "plan," "expect," "believe," "estimate," "intend" and similar terminology, and reflect assumptions, estimates, opinions and analysis made by management of Grizzly in light of its experience, current conditions, expectations of future developments and other factors which it believes to be reasonable and relevant. Forward-looking information and statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause Grizzly's actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information and statements and accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed thereon.

Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary include but are not limited to the availability of financing; fluctuations in commodity prices; changes to and compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including environmental laws and obtaining requisite permits; political, economic and other risks; as well as other risks and uncertainties which are more fully described in our annual and quarterly Management's Discussion and Analysis and in other filings made by us with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available at www.sedar.com. Grizzly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements except as may be required by law.

NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/265973

SOURCE: Grizzly Discoveries Inc.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 11, 2025) - Nextleaf Solutions Ltd. (CSE: OILS) (OTCQB: OILFF) (FSE: L0MA) ("Nextleaf", "OILS", or the "Company"), an innovation-driven life science company and licensed cannabis processor announces the launch of Canada's first 200-pack cannabis softgels under its house brand Glacial Gold, and the opening of a new distribution facility. Together, these developments strengthen Nextleaf's position in existing markets and enhance its ability to pursue expansion into global medical channels.

Canada's First 200-Pack Softgels

Nextleaf Solutions, operating through its globally recognized innovative processing facility Nextleaf Labs, proudly announces the launch of Canada's first-ever 200-pack softgels under its house brand Glacial GoldTM.

Canada's First 200-pack cannabis softgels, from Glacial Gold by Nextleaf Labs

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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Available in RSO Full-Spectrum 5:5, alongside high potency CBD 50, CBN:CBD 10:10, and CBG:THC 5:5 formats to start. With 4 SKU's launching by the end of 2025, and more planned for 2026, the most up-to-date product availability and national listings can be found at www.glacial.gold.

The introduction of the 200-pack format represents a first for Canadian cannabis retail, and expands Glacial Gold's existing category leadership within non-combustible, ingestible extract formats.

Glacial Gold is the top selling brand in Western Canada for softgels and consistently ranks among the top 4 brands in Ontario. "Our new 200-pack format supports consumer demand for value and consistency, allowing consumers to establish and maintain wellness routines with fewer reorders and a more convenient, sustainable format," said Emma Andrews, CEO of Nextleaf.

"Cannabis softgels are becoming a trusted option for value-seeking, health-conscious consumers," Andrews continued. "By focusing on clean ingredients, consistent dosing, and transparency in manufacturing, Glacial Gold is well-positioned to be the trusted choice for non-combustible, everyday cannabis essentials."

Nextleaf Distribution

The Company has commenced operations from its 2,500 square foot facility, Nextleaf Distribution, located less than one kilometre from its licensed processing site in Coquitlam, B.C.

Nextleaf has also submitted a Micro-Processing License Application to Health Canada for this facility. They will focus on expanded activities to support their consumer-packaged goods portfolio from this second site.

Operations at the inaugural site, Nextleaf Labs, will remain focused on their globally recognized and multi-patented extraction process, distillation, formulation and manufacturing for their house branded vapes, oils and softgels, as well as bulk ingredient supply for Commercial Partners.

Nextleaf Discloses Lawsuit and Intention to Defend

The Company has been made aware that former Nextleaf CEO Paul Pedersen, has filed a lawsuit against the Company with the BC Supreme Court, citing wrongful termination. The Company firmly disagrees with and denies the allegations being made by Pedersen. The Company plans to vigorously defend itself against this lawsuit.

About Nextleaf Solutions Ltd.

Nextleaf is an innovation-driven life science company, and licensed cannabis processor with a portfolio of federally regulated emerging consumer brands, market validated cannabis derivative products, and high-potency bulk ingredients. Nextleaf's multi-patented, highly automated, closed loop extraction and distillation technology sets the global standard for processing cannabis at scale.

With coast-to-coast distribution, Nextleaf branded products are sold through both medical and adult-use channels, featuring Glacial Gold, which leads multiple categories nationally including softgels, vapes, and oils.

The Company has been issued 19 U.S. patents, and 75+ patents globally, on cannabinoid processing including extraction, distillation, and acetylation.

Nextleaf trades as OILS on the Canadian Securities Exchange, OILFF on the OTCQB Market in the United States, and L0MA on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Disclaimers and Disclosure Statements:

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's anticipated delivery of its products to provincial markets across Canada and those regarding the Company's strategy, plans, objectives, goals and targets, and any statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "believe", "expect", "aim", "intend", "plan", "continue", "will", "may", "would", "anticipate", "estimate", "forecast", "predict", "project", "seek", "should" or similar expressions or the negative thereof, are forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts but instead represent only the Company's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual results may differ materially from what is expressed, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Additional factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially include, but are not limited to the risk factors discussed in the Company's MD&A for the most recent fiscal period. Management provides forward-looking statements because it believes they provide useful information to investors when considering their investment objectives and cautions investors not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and other cautionary statements or factors contained herein, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by law. The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed or approved the contents of this press release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/266025

SOURCE: Nextleaf Solutions Ltd.
WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / In the twenty-four years since the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) has been monitoring, translating, and documenting content about the attacks in media from the Middle East, South Asia, and beyond.

The MEMRI 9/11 Documentation Project, launched to mark the 10th anniversary of the attacks, archives all MEMRI translations, analysis, and clips about the attacks and their aftermath, and has amassed one of the largest and most unique archives in the world on this subject. These archives allow an in-depth examination of the ideological roots and other factors that ultimately led to the attacks.

The content includes:

Primary source material from Arab and Islamic print, broadcast, and online media and other sources.

Material from Al-Qaeda and affiliates, including leaders' speeches, interviews, wills, and statements.

Material from ISIS on 9/11.

Al-Qaeda recruitment, outreach, and indoctrination materials.

Conspiracy theories denying Arab or Muslim responsibility for the attacks - some collected from recent sermons in the U.S. monitored by the MEMRI Sermons by Imams in the West project.

Visit MEMRI.org for the MEMRI 9/11 Documentation Project and the MEMRI TV 9/11 Documentation Project

The MEMRI website and 9/11 Documentation Project archives are being updated throughout the day.

ABOUT MEMRI

Exploring the Middle East and South Asia through their media, MEMRI bridges the language gap between the West and the Middle East and South Asia, providing timely translations of Arabic, Farsi, Urdu-Pashtu, Dari, Turkish, Russian, and Chinese media, as well as original analysis of political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends.

Founded in February 1998 to inform the debate over U.S. policy in the Middle East, MEMRI is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization. MEMRI's main office is located in Washington, DC, with branch offices in various world capitals. MEMRI research is translated into English, French, Polish, Japanese, Spanish, and Hebrew.

MEMRI - Middle East Media Research Institute: www.memri.org

MEMRI TV - www.memri.org/tv

Jihad & Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) - www.memri.org/jttm

Cyber & Jihad Lab (CJL) - www.memri.org/cjlab

MEMRI Twitter: https://twitter.com/memrireports/

MEMRI YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC59Cpk70K2TwdmApJOTuW9g/videos

MEMRI Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/memrireports/

Contact Information:

MEMRI

media@memri.org

202-955-9070

www.memri.org

SOURCE: Middle East Media Research Institute

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/publishing-and-media/marking-the-24th-anniversary-of-9%2f11-clips-and-reports-added-to-the-memri-9%2f11-1068404
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK / David Drebin announces the launch of Hidden Stars, a groundbreaking live performance series transforming Washington Square Park into an open-air stage of discovery and revelation. For four consecutive Saturdays in September, Drebin invites strangers to step into the spotlight as he unveils their hidden star-the brilliance within each individual waiting to shine.

Known worldwide for his cinematic photographs and iconic artworks, Drebin now expands his artistry beyond the frame. Hidden Stars abandons the gallery walls and places creativity in the heart of New York City, a space long celebrated as a crucible of artistic expression. From countless poets, musicians, and dreamers, Washington Square Park has always been a sanctuary for those daring to reveal their truth. Drebin continues this legacy - offering not scripted theater, but raw, unscripted moments of transformation.

Each performance features Drebin's signature Free Readings (Who You Really Are) , in which participants step forward and experience a spontaneous exchange that illuminates their inner brilliance and power.

Media Contact: Diamonds

Media Emails: info@daviddrebin.com

Media Website: https://daviddrebin.com/





SOURCE: David Drebin

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/business-and-professional-services/hidden-stars-by-david-drebin-four-saturdays-in-september-1071321
MIXT IV Spa, a Modern Health and Wellness Destination, is Excited to Announce Its Opening in Los Alamitos, Proudly Serving the Community and Nearby Cities Including Rossmoor, Seal Beach, Long Beach, Belmont Shore and Cypress

LOS ALAMITOS, CALIFORNIA / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / MIXT IV Spa, the modern health and wellness destination, is thrilled to announce its grand opening in Los Alamitos, serving the surrounding communities of Rossmoor, Seal Beach, Long Beach, Belmont Shore, and Cypress. This inviting concierge-style spa brings a spectrum of rejuvenating IV and injection therapies designed to help clients feel their best - faster and more effectively.

MIXT IV Spa



"Our mission is simple: to help people feel their best, inside and out," said Jennifer Bembry, founder of MIXT IV Spa. "Los Alamitos and the surrounding neighborhoods are filled with busy families, professionals, and athletes who deserve quick, effective, and trusted options for wellness. We're here to make that easy and accessible."

What MIXT IV Spa Offers

Vitamin-IV Therapy (via IV Infusion): Choose from a curated selection of targeted treatments including Hydration Therapy, Energy Boost, Myers' Cocktail, Hangover Therapy, Muscle Recovery, Cold & Flu Relief, Immune Boost, Stress Therapy, Migraine Therapy, IV Therapy for Nausea, and IV Beauty Treatment.

NAD? IV Therapy: One of the premier offerings at MIXT IV Spa, this revitalizing treatment is available in multiple dosage strengths - 100 mg, 200 mg, 300 mg, 400 mg, and 500 mg IV infusions. NAD? IV Therapy is known for supporting enhanced cellular metabolism, improved energy, cognitive clarity, and overall wellness.

Injection Therapy (Intramuscular Injections):

B-12 Injection - Supports energy, mood, neurotransmitter function, and red blood cell production.

Anti-Stress Injection - A blend of Inositol + B-6 to help regulate mood, reduce brain fog, and support neurotransmitter balance.

Antioxidant Injection - Delivers a powerful combo of Glutathione + Vitamin D3 + Zinc to neutralize free radicals and support immune & cardiovascular health.

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Location & Service Area

Located at 4012 Katella Avenue, Suite 104, Los Alamitos, CA 90720, MIXT IV Spa warmly welcomes clients throughout Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, Seal Beach, Long Beach, Belmont Shore, and Cypress - and the surrounding Orange County region.

About MIXT IV Spa

MIXT IV Spa is a premier concierge IV Therapy center in Los Alamitos delivering modern wellness solutions in a serene, spa-like setting. Founded by Jennifer Bembry, RN, the spa combines personalized healthcare with inviting ambiance to help guests feel revitalized and supported every step of the way.

SOURCE: MIXT IV Spa

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/mixt-iv-spa-bringing-modern-iv-therapy-to-los-alamitos-and-surroundin-1071567
HONG KONG, Sept 11, 2025 - (ACN Newswire) - - The 10th'Belt and Road Summit'successfully concluded today after a two-day run, attracting 6,200 participants from more than 70 countries and regions- A record 45 MoU were signed, covering multiple sectors such as aviation, energy, finance, infrastructure and technology- Over 300 matched investment projects were showcased, and more than 800 one-to-one project matching meetings were arranged during the 2-day SummitThe 10th Belt and Road Summit, jointly organised by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) concluded successfully today. The Summit attracted 6,200 participants from more than 70 countries and regions. Delegates explored new models of collaboration, expanded opportunities for mutual benefit, and advanced Belt and Road cooperation. During the Summit, a record 45 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed, more than 300 matched investment projects were showcased, and over 800 one-to-one project matching meetings were arranged, all showcasing Hong Kong's strengths as a super connector and super value-adder in dealmaking, and reinforcing its role as a functional platform for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).Fostering concrete cross-border cooperationAttributing to HKSAR Government and HKTDC's proactive outbound missions and overseas trade promotions, the Summit facilitated the signing of 45 MoUs (9 government to government (G2G) and 36 business to business (B2B)), spanning Mainland China, Hong Kong, ASEAN ' Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Middle East - Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, UAE, as well as Australia, Germany, Hungary, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Pakistan and the United States. For example, a MoU was signed between HKTDC and Invest Oman to promote investment and business cooperation, facilitating bilateral economic and business cooperation, knowledge exchange, and the creation of new opportunities between the two economies.Other B2B MoUs included several 'small and beautiful' deals with notable social impact, such as cross-sector collaborations between finance and agri-tech. For example, a joint venture agreement was signed between Chickin PTE LTD from Indonesia and LINKTA Technologies Limited from Hong Kong for applying agricultural technology to Indonesia's layer hen market. This not only supports business expansion but also contributes to improving local livelihoods.Tubagus Syailendra, Co-founder and CEO, Chickin, said 'This Joint Venture agreement aims to have a better partnership in the food security sector between China and Indonesia. We are focused on developing poultry tech to support the farmers' efficiencies in the whole value chain. With Hong Kong company LINKTA's involvement, we believe we could acquire technology that could help farmers battle with issues like feed waste, mortality rate, thereby increasing their efficiencies and profit margins.'Many other overseas enterprises had also leveraged the Summit to forge international partnerships. Notably, an agreement between four parties was signed between Planex from Australia, ESCP Business School from Germany, Carbon Offset Association Limited from Hong Kong and Arx Veritas from the United States. They will jointly develop the ESG and carbon credit trading education in Hong Kong, reinforcing Hong Kong's role as a hub for carbon expertise in the Asia Pacific region.Colin Lam, Co-Founder of Planex, said: 'Compared to the EU, Asia started relatively late in establishing a carbon exchange, but this delayed start has provided excellent reference points for Hong Kong and the entire Asian region. The reason we chose Hong Kong as a hub for our carbon exchange business is precisely because Hong Kong has consistently functioned as one of the world's top three financial centers for decades. We naturally aim to use Hong Kong as a hub to extend our reach to mainland China and also beyond to the Middle East. This is absolutely aligned with our strategic direction.'In addition, Infinite Water New Zealand Ltd had signed two MoUs with Realtime Purity and DAUM Consulting from the United States respectively, to establish a close strategic collaboration framework in water treatment technology.Dr Yum-Keung Ip, Managing Director, Infinite Water New Zealand Limited, said: 'The HKTDC's Australia and New Zealand office has been instrumental in bringing our technology to the Summit for further expansion to overseas. We have been through R&D in the past years, and the two MOUs signed today are just a starting point for us to enter the commercialisation phase, which we expect to be an exponential growth stage. It presents an opportunity for us to build confidence and credentials among our other stakeholders. Having our suppliers, partners and key investors witness this development is highly beneficial.'Synergising diverse platforms to build investment bridgesThe Summit has always been committed to providing participants with opportunities to showcase project outcomes, exchange the latest information, and establish concrete collaborations. This year, the Project Investment Session featured more than 300 matched investment projects. Over 800 one-to-one project matching meetings for the Belt and Road Deal Making, helping enterprises connect precisely with potential partners. Deal-making will continue online to promote substantive cooperation from 15'16 September. Meanwhile, the Exhibition area hosted over 120 exhibitors, showcasing innovative solutions and industry strengths, and facilitating cross-border exchanges.New elements were introduced this year to enhance collaboration and the deal-making process. The new Signature B&R Projects-featured Session drew strong attention in the major infrastructure projects in Thailand and Saudi Arabia. The new theme, Middle East & ASEAN Market Focus, under the Project Investment Session was also well-received. The Exhibition area was expanded to include the new ASEAN Zone, showcasing the latest multi-sector projects from the region.Fostering cross-regional dialoguesToday's Special Address Session included Santiphap Phomvihane, Minister of Finance, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Ferry Irawan, Deputy Minister for Coordination of State-Owned Enterprises Management and Business Development for Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Indonesia, and Gim Huay Neo, Managing Director and Member of the Managing Board, World Economic Forum.The Belt and Road Global Forum Annual Roundtable 2025 will be held tomorrow morning (12 September) as an important component of Belt and Road Week. The event will connect Hong Kong,Mainland and international organisations and associations, promoting information exchange, experience sharing, and the creation of new opportunities for multilateral cooperation.Photo download: http://bit.ly/4glaJkjThe 10th Belt and Road Summit, co-organised by the HKSAR Government and the HKTDC concluded successfully today. The Summit brought together about 100 distinguished speakers, including government officials and business leaders from Belt and Road countries and regions, and attracts 6,200 participants from more than 70 countries and regionsA record 45 MoUs were signed during the Summit, one was signed between HKTDC and Invest Oman to promote investment and business cooperationAmong the B2B MoUs, several were 'small and beautiful' deals with notable social impact. For example, a joint venture agreement was signed between Chickin PTE LTD from Indonesia and LINKTA Technologies Limited from Hong Kong for strategic egg-layer technologies business expansion in IndonesiaSantiphap Phomvihane, Minister of Finance, Lao People's Democratic Republic delivered a special addressFerry Irawan, Deputy Minister for Coordination of State-Owned Enterprises Management and Business Development for Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Indonesia delivered a special addressGim Huay Neo, Managing Director and Member of the Managing Board, World Economic Forum delivered a special addressThe Exhibition area hosted over 120 exhibitors, showcasing innovative solutions and industry strengths, and facilitating cross-border exchangesOver 300 investment projects were matched, and more than 800 one-to-one project matching meetings took placeThe Business Plenary II, themed Exploring Frontiers in New Markets and Industries, focused on the development prospects of emerging markets in air transportation, digital finance, and innovative technologiesMedia EnquiriesYuan Tung Financial Relations:Louise Song Tel: (852) 3428 5690 Email: lsong@yuantung.com.hkTiffany Leung Tel: (852) 3428 2361 Email: tleung@yuantung.com.hkFung Wong Tel: (852) 3428 3122 Email: hfwong@yuantung.com.hkHKTDC's Communications & Public Affairs Department:Serena Cheung Tel: (852) 2584 4272 Email: serena.hm.cheung@hktdc.orgJane Cheung Tel: (852) 2584 4137 Email: jane.mh.cheung@hktdc.orgSam Ho Tel: (852) 2584 4569 Email: sam.sy.ho@hktdc.orgAbout HKTDCThe Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong's trade. With over 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus.Source: HKTDCCopyright 2025 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
The "Switzerland Loyalty Programs Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics 50+ KPIs on Loyalty Programs Trends by End-Use Sectors, Operational KPIs, Retail Product Dynamics, and Consumer Demographics Q3 2025 Update" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The loyalty market in Switzerland is expected to grow by 14.8% on an annual basis to reach US$525.9 million in 2025. In value terms, the loyalty market in the country has recorded a CAGR of 16.6% during 2020-2024. The loyalty market in the country will continue to grow over the forecast period and is expected to record a CAGR of 12.4% during 2025-2029. The loyalty market in this region is expected to increase from US$458.1 million in 2024 to reach US$838.4 million by 2029.

This report provides a detailed data-centric analysis of the loyalty market opportunities and risks across a range of end-use sectors and market segments in Switzerland. With over 50 KPIs at the country level, this report provides a comprehensive understanding of loyalty market dynamics, market size and forecast, and market share statistics.

The loyalty program landscape in Switzerland is evolving in response to shifting consumer preferences, technological advancements, and societal priorities. Digital integration is reshaping how loyalty programs operate, offering convenience and personalized engagement through mobile apps and AI-driven systems. Simultaneously, sustainability is becoming a core element of loyalty strategies, aligning with Switzerland's environmental goals and the eco-conscious mindset of its population.

Hyper-personalization, driven by data analytics and AI, is emerging as a critical differentiator for businesses seeking to build deeper connections with customers. Partnership-driven ecosystems enhance value by enabling cross-sector reward redemption and creating seamless loyalty experiences. Meanwhile, subscription-based loyalty programs are gaining traction, reflecting Swiss consumers' willingness to invest in premium, convenience-driven benefits.

These trends are expected to intensify over the next 2-4 years as companies compete to deliver innovative, customer-centric loyalty programs. Businesses that strategically integrate these trends into their offerings will enhance customer retention and strengthen their market positioning in Switzerland's competitive loyalty landscape.

Growing Integration of Digital Platforms in Loyalty Programs

Swiss companies increasingly leverage digital platforms like mobile apps and online portals to deliver loyalty program services. Retailers like Migros and Coop have introduced app-based loyalty programs where customers can track points, redeem rewards, and access personalized offers through their smartphones. For example, Migros' Cumulus program has gained significant traction as one of the largest loyalty ecosystems in Switzerland, allowing users to access their rewards digitally.

The rise in e-commerce penetration in Switzerland, coupled with high smartphone adoption rates (around 90% of the population uses smartphones), is driving companies to prioritize digital solutions. Furthermore, consumer expectations for convenience and personalization are prompting businesses to offer seamless, tech-enabled loyalty experiences.

Digital integration is expected to intensify as businesses in retail, travel, and financial services invest further in AI-driven personalization and real-time reward systems. By 2027, nearly all major loyalty programs in Switzerland will offer full digital accessibility, contributing to increased consumer engagement and retention.

Focus on Sustainability as a Loyalty Driver

Swiss loyalty programs are increasingly tying rewards to sustainability initiatives. For example, Coop's Supercard program allows customers to donate rewards to support environmental causes or purchase eco-friendly products. Additionally, brands like IKEA Switzerland have introduced loyalty benefits that align with eco-conscious shopping habits, such as discounts on sustainable goods.

Switzerland's reputation as a leader in sustainability and its environmentally aware consumer base have propelled companies to embed green initiatives into loyalty programs. The Swiss government's push toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 has further encouraged corporations to align with sustainable practices, including loyalty-driven incentives for green behavior.

Sustainability-focused loyalty programs are expected to increase in popularity as businesses compete to demonstrate their commitment to environmental goals. Companies integrating such elements into their programs will likely see stronger brand loyalty among eco-conscious Swiss consumers.

Shift Toward Hyper-Personalization in Rewards

Personalized rewards based on individual consumer preferences are becoming a key focus for Swiss loyalty programs. For example, the Swiss Travel System's loyalty program tailors discounts and offers for frequent travelers based on their travel habits. Similarly, retailers like Migros use customer data to curate customized product recommendations and exclusive offers.

The growing availability of advanced analytics and AI technologies has enabled businesses to analyze customer data more effectively. At the same time, Swiss consumers strongly prefer experiences and products that cater to their specific needs, making personalization a competitive advantage.

Hyper-personalization is expected to dominate loyalty program strategies, especially in retail, travel, and financial services sectors. Programs that fail to offer personalized rewards risk losing relevance, while those that excel in this area will likely see improved customer retention and increased spending.

Partnership-Driven Loyalty Ecosystems

Swiss companies are increasingly forming partnerships to create interconnected loyalty ecosystems. For instance, the collaboration between Cumulus and MBudget Mobile enables customers to earn loyalty points on mobile services. Another example is Swiss Miles More, which integrates rewards across multiple sectors, including airlines, hotels, and car rentals.

Companies' efforts to expand the value proposition of their loyalty programs are fueling cross-industry collaboration. Consumers are drawn to ecosystems that allow them to accumulate and redeem rewards across multiple touchpoints, making such programs more attractive.

Partnership-driven loyalty ecosystems are anticipated to grow as businesses explore synergies with complementary industries. This trend will likely boost customer retention across sectors while providing consumers a unified and valuable loyalty experience.

Adoption of Subscription-Based Loyalty Programs

Subscription-based loyalty models are gaining momentum in Switzerland, where customers pay a fee for premium benefits. For example, Amazon Prime Switzerland offers subscribers faster delivery, streaming services, and exclusive deals. Similarly, local retailers are exploring subscription-style memberships that provide perks like unlimited free deliveries or exclusive access to sales.

The growth of the subscription economy and the demand for premium customer experiences are driving this trend. Swiss consumers are willing to pay for added convenience and unique benefits, particularly in sectors like e-commerce and streaming.

Subscription-based loyalty programs will likely be widely adopted, especially among e-commerce players and premium service providers. This trend will enable businesses to secure predictable revenue streams while fostering a deeper connection with loyal customers.

Competitive Intensity and Type of Players

The Swiss loyalty market exhibits moderate competitive intensity, driven by a mix of established players and emerging entrants. Dominant programs such as Migros (Cumulus), Coop (Supercard), and Swiss Miles More hold significant market share, offering comprehensive loyalty solutions across retail, travel, and financial services. These programs leverage extensive customer bases, strong brand trust, and integrated ecosystems, making them central to the loyalty landscape. Their wide-ranging benefits, such as app-based rewards and partnerships across multiple sectors, cater to diverse consumer needs and ensure high customer retention.

At the same time, the market includes smaller players like regional grocery chains and niche service providers, which add diversity and competition. For instance, localized chains like Volg target specific geographic areas, while programs like Payback Switzerland focus on multi-brand partnerships to attract customers. This combination of dominant national programs and smaller, targeted offerings makes the Swiss loyalty market moderately fragmented but dynamic, with competition arising from scale and specialization.

Key Attributes:

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 130 Forecast Period 2025 2029 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2025 $525.9 Million Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2029 $838.4 Million Compound Annual Growth Rate 12.4% Regions Covered Switzerland

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Xi Story: A determined advocate for teaching, education

Xinhua) 08:09, September 11, 2025

BEIJING, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- When millions of educators in China celebrate Teachers' Day on Wednesday, they do so with sincere greetings from President Xi Jinping.

Xi, in a reply letter to eight rural teachers, commended the dedication of about 1.2 million college graduates who have participated in a national program to teach in rural areas. He encouraged them to stay true to their original aspirations, continue to improve their skills in education, and support the healthy growth of children.

In the letter, he also extended festive greetings to teachers and educators across the country. China has roughly 18 million full-time school teachers.

Xi holds the teaching profession in high esteem. Using a well-known metaphor in Chinese culture for teachers' devotion, he said, "A stick of chalk and a modest podium shape the fate of a nation."

According to Xi, good educators are expected to possess ideals and convictions, moral integrity, knowledge and benevolence. His respect for teachers stems in part from the mentorship that shaped his life.

On the eve of Teachers' Day in 2016, Xi returned to Beijing Bayi School, where he was a student decades ago. Seeing his teachers again, Xi slowed his pace and held their hands firmly. When addressed as "leader," he demurred: "Here, there are no leaders. Everyone is a student."

From his grassroots posts to the nation's top leadership, Xi has consistently made teachers and education a priority in governance. He has, notably, supported paired-assistance programs to build schools in less developed regions, visited campuses to learn about teachers' work and living conditions, and discussed education issues with national legislators and political advisors.

In 2021, when Xi honored poverty-reduction role models at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, he bent down to present a medal to a rural teacher who sat in a wheelchair and gently asked her to take care of herself.

For a country facing the challenge of imbalanced educational resources across regions due to its large population and sprawling territory, Xi insists that education must serve the public good, and that the future can be secured only when success is achieved in education.

Guided by this belief, China is striving to become a global leader in education by 2035, fueling its pursuit of modernization and national rejuvenation.

In a reply letter in June 2024, Xi encouraged Andrew Chi-Chih Yao, a Turing Award laureate and professor at Tsinghua University, to explore new ways of nurturing innovative talent, fostering interdisciplinary work and advancing frontier research.

Vocational education plays a prominent role in China's efforts to strengthen its education sector. Over the past decade, the sector has experienced rapid growth, marked by a surge of master craftsmen and highly skilled workers. This underpins China's status as the only country in the world to have all the industrial categories listed in the United Nations Industrial Classification.

A little-known fact is that Xi concurrently served as president of a vocational school in the city of Fuzhou for six years in the 1990s during his tenure as Party chief of this capital city of east China's Fujian Province.

At the entrance to this school, now known as Minjiang University, stands a stone tablet inscribed with the guiding principle proposed by Xi: "Not striving to be the largest, but the best and most attuned to societal needs."

This philosophy heralded his vision for vocational education in China to shift gears and enable more children to fulfill their potential. The country now boasts the largest vocational education system in the world with more than 10 million graduates annually.

The rapid growth of education has been underpinned by a fiscal commitment -- government spending on the sector is generally no lower than 4 percent of GDP, a benchmark first reached in 2012.

"China has been sustaining the world's largest education system with a fiscal education investment intensity at a level comparable to the global average," said Guo Peng, an official with the Ministry of Education.

Xi has pushed hard to improve teachers' pay and welfare -- especially in rural areas where many live modestly.

Under his aegis, China issued a policy document dedicated to rural teachers and took actions to ensure that the average income of primary and secondary school teachers nationwide measured up to or surpassed that of local civil servants.

Xi's latest letter has struck a chord among educators.

Liu Yiying, who left her hometown in coastal Shandong Province in east China to teach at a primary school on the plateau of Xizang Autonomous Region in the southwest, said it has renewed her sense of purpose.

"Education is a relay of torchbearers. We must run our leg with unwavering commitment," she added.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Liang Jun)
PLA aircraft sets off for ROK for repatriation of Korean War martyrs' remains

Xinhua) 16:16, September 11, 2025

BEIJING, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- A People's Liberation Army Air Force Y-20 transport aircraft set off from China for the Republic of Korea (ROK) on Wednesday afternoon to carry out a mission to repatriate the remains of another 30 Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) martyrs, who lost their lives during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea.

The remains and relevant artifacts of the martyrs are scheduled to be returned to the Chinese side by the ROK on Friday, according to China's Ministry of Veterans Affairs. This will mark the 12th repatriation of CPV martyrs' remains since the signing of a handover agreement between the two countries.

From 2014 to 2024, China and the ROK, in accordance with international laws and humanitarian principles, successfully completed 11 handovers involving the remains of 981 CPV martyrs in the ROK, along with related artifacts.

Both sides have agreed to continue cooperation in these efforts.

Nearly 200,000 CPV soldiers were confirmed killed in the war that lasted from 1950 to 1953.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Liang Jun)
SilverTree's investment further strengthens mhance's position as a leading, next-gen Microsoft Solution Partner in the UK, deepening its differentiated sector expertise, and expanding its Azure, Power Platform, and Data & AI capabilities

Julian Stone, founder and former CEO of Pythagoras, a leading UK-based Microsoft Dynamics partner sold to EY in 2021, joins mhance as Executive Chairman

MANCHESTER, England and LONDON, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- mhance, a highly accredited, multi-award-winning Microsoft Solution Partner today announced it has been acquired by SilverTree Equity, a London-based, sector-specialist private equity firm focused on software and tech-enabled business services companies. As part of the transaction, SilverTree has appointed Julian Stone as Executive Chairman, who brings 25+ years of domain expertise as founder of Pythagoras, a leading Microsoft Dynamics Partner sold to EY in 2021.

The partnership will accelerate mhance's next phase of growth as it expands its Microsoft Dynamics, Azure, Power Platform, and Data & AI capabilities to address increasing customer complexity. With over 120 employees mhance is one of the largest pure-play Microsoft Solution Partners in the UK, enabling a true end-to-end offering for customers across core verticals including not-for-profit, memberships, construction and others. Additionally, mhance is a leading Great Plains support partner with a strong track record of successfully migrating organizations to Business Central - making mhance the ideal partner for any Great Plains user in the UK.

mhance serves over 500 customers in the UK & Ireland and has developed deep sector expertise and dedicated IP over the last 15+ years, supporting organizations such as WWF, Medecins Sans Frontieres, RSPB, Sir Robert McAlpine and BAM Construct. The company won the 2023 Microsoft Nonprofit Partner of the Year and is one of only two EMEA Dynamics 365 Business Central partners for the charity sector.

SilverTree Equity's investment will strengthen mhance's proposition as a market leader and support continued growth and innovation. Alan Moody, mhance CEO, commented: "SilverTree's investment marks an exciting next chapter for mhance. I'm incredibly proud of what our team has built, establishing mhance as a go-to digital transformation partner in the UK, combining deep sector expertise with best-in-class delivery capabilities and Microsoft know-how. This investment enhances our value proposition and accelerates our proven ability to help customers turn AI, data, and business applications into measurable business value."

Nicholas Theuerkauf, Managing Partner at SilverTree Equity, said: "mhance delivers industry-leading services and support, powered by proven delivery capabilities and a long-tenured, loyal customer base. We are excited to support the mhance team and see significant potential to increase mhance's growth organically and through M&A. That includes expansion into adjacent verticals, enhancing mhance's offering in Azure and Dynamics, and continuing to develop mhance's Data & AI practice, which we believe is market-leading".

Julian Stone, Executive Chairman of mhance, commented: "Microsoft's rapid innovation across AI and Azure is redefining the future of enterprise technology. With AI now embedded across Azure, Dynamics 365, and the Power Platform, organisations of all sizes and sectors are accelerating their digital transformation. mhance is uniquely positioned to help customers unlock the full potential of this ecosystem - combining proven Microsoft expertise, a strong track record of delivery, and our own IP to create tailored, high-impact solutions. As businesses modernise their infrastructure and data platforms, Microsoft's leadership in cloud and AI continues to expand - and mhance is proud to be a strategic partner in driving this next wave of transformation."

About mhance

mhance is a highly accredited Microsoft Solutions Partner with designations in Business Applications, Azure, and Modern Work delivering solutions across Microsoft Dynamics 365, Azure, Power BI, SharePoint, and the Power Platform to some of the largest organisations within the Not-for-profit, Public and Commercial Sectors. The company is based in the UK, with offices in London, Manchester and Dublin, and employs over 120 employees.

Visit www.mhance.com to learn more.

About SilverTree

SilverTree Equity is a sector specialist private equity firm. SilverTree invests exclusively in software, technology, and technology-enabled businesses. The firm is differentiated by its focus on value creation, sector specialism, and a deep network of operational resources and industry relationships. The SilverTree team has successfully completed or been involved in over 75 transactions.

For more information, please visit www.silvertree-equity.com

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Summary: Real Milk Paint, now operating as RMP Finishes, celebrates 30 years with an official rebrand that aligns its evolving identity and vision for future growth in the paint and finishes industry.

Hohenwald, Tennessee--(Newsfile Corp. - September 11, 2025) - Real Milk Paint has officially announced its rebrand to RMP Finishes, marking a significant milestone in the company's history. The new name reflects the company's expanded vision, product line, and strategic direction after three decades in the finishing industry.

The rebrand to RMP Finishes is a strategic move to unify the company's identity and better represent its evolving position in the marketplace. While the name has changed, the core mission, to provide sustainable, high-quality finishing solutions, remains firmly in place.

The updated brand identity supports the company's goal of aligning its public-facing image with its ongoing growth and development. As part of this transition, RMP Finishes is reinforcing its commitment to long-term product innovation, customer support, and environmental responsibility. This internal milestone highlights the company's readiness to meet future market demands while preserving the values that shaped its success.

RMP Finishes will continue to support customers who seek all-natural, environmentally friendly options for wood finishing and surface treatment projects. The company's approach prioritizes natural, non-toxic ingredients and performance standards that meet the needs of both commercial and creative applications. A key focus of the rebrand is ensuring that users, from contractors to hobbyists, can easily access the resources and products required to complete projects efficiently and responsibly.

As the company builds on its momentum, interest continues to grow in its most widely recognized products. Many customers regularly buy tung oil from RMP Finishes as a preferred natural solution for wood care, valued for its protective qualities and compatibility with sustainable practices. This demand reflects the company's strong reputation for reliability and product integrity.

Looking ahead, RMP Finishes remains focused on advancing its operational infrastructure and engaging a broader audience through improved brand clarity and product accessibility. The rebrand is not only a reflection of what the company has accomplished, but also a strategic move to support continued growth in the finishing industry.

About RMP Finishes:

RMP Finishes, formerly Real Milk Paint, is an American manufacturer specializing in non-toxic finishing products. Since 1995, the company has been dedicated to creating environmentally responsible solutions rooted in quality, transparency, and innovation.

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SOURCE: GetFeatured
Summary: Amplify is developing Convexa, an AI website builder that will combine intelligent UI design and persuasive copy to help small businesses and B2B companies build high-performing websites with ease.

San Francisco, California--(Newsfile Corp. - September 11, 2025) - Amplify has officially announced the development of Convexa, a new AI website builder designed to transform how small businesses and B2B companies approach website creation. Currently in development, Convexa will combine AI-powered user interface design with conversion-focused, automatically generated copywriting, offering an all-in-one platform for building high-performing websites quickly and efficiently. The platform is the first AI website system built specifically for performance, psychological alignment, and measurable growth.

Convexa is being developed in response to growing demand for accessible digital tools that simplify website creation without sacrificing quality. Many small and mid-sized businesses still face obstacles when launching or redesigning a website, often relying on costly agencies or navigating complex platforms. Convexa aims to eliminate those barriers by serving as an all-in-one system, eliminating the need for external marketing teams or developers.

Unlike traditional website builders, Convexa is being engineered from the ground up to support conversion-focused site development. The platform integrates 20 core AI marketing modules and 126 specialized submodules, each programmed to handle essential digital marketing tasks such as SEO optimization, user behavior targeting, and adaptive visual design.

With the announcement of Convexa, Amplify signals a significant advancement in the evolution of AI-driven website creation. The platform will utilize visitor alignment algorithms to ensure that all content and design elements are consistent with user motivations and expectations. This approach aims to improve engagement by aligning the digital experience with customer psychology, ultimately increasing conversion rates.

Convexa will also leverage a pixel-perfect UI framework, producing responsive, mobile-optimized layouts that adapt seamlessly across devices, enhancing user experience and reinforcing brand credibility. Additionally, the platform's built-in SEO and blog engine will automatically identify industry content gaps, generate authoritative blog content, and target high-intent keywords to improve long-term search visibility and support scalable content strategies.

Amplify remains focused on advancing Convexa's development with a clear commitment to innovation, accessibility, and responsible technology design. The company looks forward to introducing a solution that empowers businesses to build smarter, faster, and more effective websites in today's digital economy.

About Amplify:

Amplify is a digital solutions company based in San Francisco, specializing in fast-delivery websites and scalable online tools for small and mid-sized businesses. Since its launch, Amplify has supported over 3,000 businesses across 45 industries by delivering conversion-focused websites and user-friendly digital infrastructure.

Media Contact:





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SOURCE: GetFeatured
DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The global Foley Catheters Market, valued at US$895.0 million in 2024, stood at US$931.0 million in 2025 and is projected to advance at a resilient CAGR of 5.3% from 2025 to 2030, culminating in a forecasted valuation of US$1,205.0 million by the end of the period. This growth is driven by several factors, including the increasing prevalence of urinary incontinence, kidney and bladder disorders, and prostate-related conditions, particularly among the aging population. Additionally, the rise in surgical procedures performed in hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers is contributing to consistent demand for Foley catheters, as they are commonly used for perioperative care and post-surgical recovery.

Furthermore, the expansion of healthcare access in emerging economies is creating new opportunities for market growth. Technological advancements, such as antimicrobial coatings and infection-prevention designs, are also encouraging the preference for higher-quality products. Together, these factors are establishing a steady growth trajectory for the market.

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By coating type, the Foley catheters market is categorized into antimicrobial-coated Foley catheters, hydrophilic or lubrication-coated Foley catheters, and uncoated Foley catheters. In 2024, the antimicrobial-coated Foley catheters segment held the largest market share. This growth is primarily driven by the increasing focus on reducing catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), which continue to be a significant concern in hospitals and surgical centers. Antimicrobial catheters offer clear clinical benefits by enhancing patient safety and decreasing infection-related costs, making them the preferred option for healthcare providers.

Market players can capitalize on this strong demand by expanding their line of coated products, investing in evidence-based studies to showcase clinical outcomes, and collaborating with hospitals to incorporate these solutions into infection prevention protocols. This approach will strengthen adoption and help establish a long-term competitive advantage in the market.

By gender, the Foley catheters market is divided into males and females. The market for males category is expected to experience the highest CAGR during the forecast period. This growth is primarily driven by the increasing prevalence of prostate enlargement, urinary retention, and bladder dysfunction, especially among older men.

Moreover, there is a growing awareness and diagnosis of urological conditions, coupled with an increasing need for long-term catheterization in chronic cases, which further fuels this demand. Market players can capitalize on this trend by developing specialized catheters designed specifically for male anatomies, emphasizing comfort, reduced infection risk, and ease of use. Additionally, enhancing clinical education and forming partnerships with urologists will also help drive adoption and ensure sustained market growth.

By geography, the Foley catheters market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa, with Europe holding the largest share in 2024. This is due to its well-established healthcare infrastructure, high surgical volumes, and an aging population vulnerable to urological issues.

As of January 1, 2024, the EU population was around 449.3 million, with 21.6% aged 65 and older, particularly in countries like Italy and Portugal. The region's focus on infection prevention has increased the demand for coated and antimicrobial catheters. Government reimbursement and public insurance also support costs for seniors and long-term patients.

Increased awareness of incontinence; the presence of major players such as B. Braun SE, Medtronic Plc, and Optimum Medical Limited; and ongoing product innovations further drive market growth.

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Some of the prominent players operating in the market include Coloplast A/S (Denmark), Becton, Dickinson and Company (US), Cardinal Health, Inc. (US), Teleflex Incorporated (US), Medtronic Plc (Ireland), Sterimed Group (India), Medline Industries, LP (US), Amsino International, Inc. (US), B. Braun SE (Germany), Bactiguard AB (US), and McKesson Corporation (US).

Coloplast A/S (Denmark):

Coloplast A/S, operating within the Interventional Urology sector, had a strong performance in the 2023/24 financial year, achieving 5% organic sales growth. The revenue for this business increased by 4% year-over-year, reaching approximately USD 402.7 million (DKK 2,775 million). In November 2023, Coloplast demonstrated its commitment to long-term growth and supply chain optimization by investing about USD 105 million (DKK 700 million) to establish a new production facility in Portugal. This strategic move aims to enhance production capacity, meet the rising global demand for Foley catheters, and strengthen Coloplast's competitive position in the market.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (US)

Becton, Dickinson and Company is a prominent player in the global Foley catheters market. In 2024, its Urology and Critical Care segment generated USD 1,554 million in revenue. BD's growth strategy focuses on product innovation, expanding its geographic reach, and forming strategic partnerships. A significant development in this area was BD's exclusive global licensing agreement with Bactiguard in 2023, which grants BD access to Bactiguard-coated Foley catheters worldwide, except for China. This agreement greatly enhances BD's infection-prevention portfolio. BD invested USD 4,857 million in research & development in 2024, demonstrating its commitment to advancing catheter technology. This investment aims to create next-generation solutions, including improved catheter designs and smart monitoring systems.

Teleflex Incorporated (US)

Teleflex Incorporated is reinforcing its position in the Foley catheters market by focusing on clinical innovation, quality, and sustainability. In 2023, the company invested over USD 8.5 million in clinical research grants, demonstrating its commitment to expanding its portfolio and promoting innovation through targeted mergers and acquisitions in key therapeutic areas. By 2024, Teleflex had evolved into a global organization with more than 14,000 employees, a diversified supply chain, and over 25 manufacturing facilities, including multiple FDA-registered sites that enhance its operational strength. A key factor contributing to Teleflex's competitive edge is its robust innovation engine. In 2024, the company increased its R&D spending by USD 7.3 million, bringing the total investment to USD 161.7 million. This highlights Teleflex's ongoing dedication to advancing catheter-related therapies and developing next-generation solutions to address evolving clinical needs.

Cardinal Health, Inc. (US)

Cardinal Health, Inc. offers a wide range of medical products through its Global Medical Products and Distribution (GMPD) segment, with Foley catheters being a significant component of its urology and incontinence solutions. The company has a robust market presence, serving over 90% of hospitals in the US and 20,000 physicians' offices and clinics, which ensures broad access to its products across more than 20 medical categories. To enhance its distribution capabilities, Cardinal Health opened a new facility in Boylston, Massachusetts, in October 2024. This expansion supports its US Medical Products and Distribution business and demonstrates its commitment to efficiency and customer reach in the Foley catheters market.

B. Braun SE (Germany)

B. Braun SE has established a strong global presence, operating in 64 countries through a network of 268 consolidated companies, along with 18 additional companies accounted for using the equity method. In 2024, the company reported a 4.4% increase in sales in its Group currency, which reflects the steady execution of its long-term growth strategy. In line with its commitment to innovation, B. Braun also increased its research and development spending by 8.6% in the same year, reaching approximately USD 572 million (EUR 526.1 million). This sustained investment underscores the company's strategic focus on advancing product development and enhancing its position in key healthcare segments, particularly in urology and Foley catheters.

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Toronto, Ontario and New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - September 11, 2025) -ArcStone Securities, LLC. ("ArcStone" or the "Company") today announced two senior appointments to fuel the continued growth of its U.S. broker-dealer operations. Steve Kann has joined as Head of U.S. Investment Banking, and Andre Peschong has been appointed Senior Managing Director and Capital Markets & Strategy Advisor.

ArcStone is a FINRA registered broker-dealer focused on delivering high-quality investment banking services to growth companies through a global platform rooted in capabilities, tools, and talent. Companies around the world are seeking to list on Canadian and U.S. exchanges, uplist to major U.S. markets, or raise follow-on capital and they need a trusted partner. While many firms maintain hedge fund relationships, few have ArcStone's multi-channel connectivity with global investors, single and multi-family offices focused on supporting emerging companies ranging from $50 million to $500 million in market cap.

"Steve and Andre bring decades of experience across investment banking, capital markets, and corporate strategy. They understand capital markets in a way that few bankers do, they have invested in, built, sold, and advised dozens of companies," said Michael Astone, CPA, CA, CEO of ArcStone Securities and Investments Corp. "Their leadership and trusted networks will help deepen our U.S. presence and elevate our global platform. When we advise clients, we want them to know many of our bankers have been in their seat before."

Steve Kann brings over 30 years of expertise across corporate finance, equity research, investment banking, and operations. A widely recognized microcap specialist, he has co-founded multiple ventures, authored the Amazon bestseller, Microcap Magic, and launched BullMarket.com's Microcap Review. He has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Washington Business Journal, Equities.com, on numerous investor conference panels, and on countless podcasts.

"ArcStone's cross-border platform and focus on high-quality companies fits well with my career in microcaps," said Kann. "I'm eager to support entrepreneurs and issuers in accessing the capital and strategic guidance they need today. The toolkit ArcStone has developed -- and continues to grow-gives our clients multiple verticals to help with their journey."

Andre Peschong brings more than three decades of investment banking, capital markets, and executive leadership experience. A founding partner of Ocean Street Partners and previously co-founder of Bridgewater Capital, he has led capital formation and strategic advisory mandates across life sciences, healthcare, technology, and consumer sectors. He has also managed investment funds, served as CEO of a consumer products company, and held the role of Chief Strategy Officer and board member of an ad tech firm acquired by a strategic buyer. His insights have appeared in Forbes, Businessweek, and The New York Times.

"ArcStone's independence and global reach offer a unique opportunity to deliver impactful banking solutions," said Peschong. "I'm excited to help expand the firm's U.S. footprint and build long-term value for our clients."

ArcStone's U.S. dealer platform is built around a multi-pool capital model, enabling clients to access:

Institutional investors across the U.S. and Canada;

A robust and growing network of global single and multi-family offices;

A proprietary investor distribution list of over 70,000 qualified contacts; and

A proven conference, aftermarket, and non-deal roadshow infrastructure.

The firm provides high-touch service to corporate clients, supporting capital formation, public market readiness, and long-term shareholder development. ArcStone's platform includes research-driven visibility, institutional introductions, conference marketing, and post-transaction aftermarket support-delivered by a senior banking team with global reach and entrepreneurial roots.

The announcement comes ahead of ArcStone's flagship Growth Summit with Kingswood US, on September 18th at the St. Regis Hotel in Toronto's financial district. The event will feature over 40 presenting public and private companies and convene hundreds of investors, allocators, and strategic partners from across North America.

The expansion of ArcStone's senior banking bench reflects the firm's commitment to scaling a founder-first, execution-focused banking model that integrates public and private capital across institutions, family offices, and retail wealth.

About ArcStone Securities and Investments Corp.

ArcStone Securities and Investments Corp. is a cross-border financial services firm with offices in New York, Dallas, Toronto, and Florida, serving public and private companies with market capitalizations between $50 million and $500 million. The firm delivers strategic advisory, capital markets expertise, and global transaction execution for mid-market and growth-stage companies. The firm partners with institutional investors, family offices, and retail channels to provide tailored capital formation, M&A advisory, and corporate access, leveraging an accomplished team of industry professionals and proprietary North-South capital platforms to bridge innovative companies with opportunity across North America.

ArcStone Securities LLC, is a related company of ArcStone Securities and Investments Corp., is a FINRA-registered broker dealer and investment bank with a presence in New York City, Dallas, and Miami. Dedicated to servicing emerging growth microcap and small cap companies, ArcStone Securities, LLC specializes in investment banking, M&A, and strategic advisory for dynamic sectors such as technology, biotech, fintech, cybersecurity, and energy. The firm offers entrepreneurial guidance and comprehensive capital solutions to public and private clients, playing a pivotal role in connecting issuers to U.S. institutional, retail, and family office capital while maintaining the highest standards of regulatory compliance and execution.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/266029

SOURCE: ArcStone US Corp.
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan--(Newsfile Corp. - September 11, 2025) - 1844 RESOURCES Inc. (TSXV: EFF) (the "Company" or "1844") is pleased to announce that, at its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held on September 10, 2025 (the "Meeting"), shareholders re-elected the incumbent directors: Mr. Pierre-Yves Larose, Andrew Davidson, Tom MacNeill, Mathieu Olivier, Andre Gauthier, and Sylvain Laberge.

In addition, shareholders approved the re-appointment of Davidson & Company LLP as auditors of the Company for the ensuing year and the omnibus equity incentive compensation plan.

The Company is pleased to report strong shareholder support for all matters presented at the Meeting, with each resolution passing with 100% of the votes cast, representing 22.87% of the issued and outstanding shares of 1844.

Sylvain Laberge, President and CEO, comments, "1844 Resources and its representatives would like to thank all of our voting shareholders for their participation and express our appreciation for their continued support."

About 1844 Resources Inc.: 1844 is an exploration company with a focus in strategic and energetic metals and underexplored regions "Gaspe Quebec". With a dedicated management team, the Company's goal is to create shareholder value through the discovery of new deposits.

1844 RESOURCES INC.

(signed) "Sylvain Laberge"

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This news release includes "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements included in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements including, without limitation, statements with respect to the expected closings of the Unit Offering and the Option Agreement and the receipt of regulatory approval, including approval by the Exchange. Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections and forecasts and are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "potential", "target", "budget" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the negatives thereof.

Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management based on the business and markets in which the Company operates, are inherently subject to significant operational, economic, and competitive uncertainties, risks and contingencies. These include assumptions regarding, among other things: general business and economic conditions; the availability of additional exploration and mineral project financing; and Exchange approval.

There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and actual results, and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include exploration or other risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators, including those described under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" in the Company's most recently filed MD&A. The Company does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable law.

Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

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SOURCE: 1844 Resources Inc.
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - UK-based defence company Babcock International Group plc (BAB.L) and HII (HII) have Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding to bring together HII's REMUS unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) and Babcock's world-leading submarine Weapon Handling and Launch Systems (WHLS). The collaboration will deliver autonomous launch and recovery of UUVs via submarine torpedo tubes, strengthening the undersea advantage of allied navies. This is the first program of its kind within the Babcock Mission Systems business. HII and Babcock seek to work together to jointly pursue future opportunities within the unmanned space. This joint initiative builds on Babcock and HII's strategic partnership started in 2023 and the U.S. Navy's first successful forward-deployed UUV launch and recovery via torpedo tube, using an HII REMUS. Babcock's WHLS are currently in service with the submarine fleets of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Spain and South Korea. Babcock has been responsible for the design, manufacture and support of submarine WHLS for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy and overseas customers for more than 50 years. Together with HII's autonomous REMUS, Babcock and HII can offer customers more capability through the integration of the latest UUV technology into existing and new build platforms. To date, HII has sold more than 700 REMUS vehicles to over 30 countries, including 14 NATO members. Notably, more than 90% of REMUS units delivered in the past 23 years remain in service, demonstrating platform durability and lifecycle value. Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The global radiation hardened electronics market is projected to reach USD 2.30 billion by 2030 from USD 1.77 billion in 2025, growing at a CAGR of 5.4% during the forecast period according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. The use of radiation-hardened electronics in military missions is rapidly increasing. For instance, modern military platforms, including fighter jets, tanks, and drones, integrate numerous electronic systems. Radiation hardening ensures the reliable operation of these systems within the complex electromagnetic environment of modern warfare. Rising intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) activities fuel the demand for radiation-hardened electronics, as defense and space agencies require highly reliable systems to operate in hostile and unpredictable environments. At the same time, the increasing demand for commercial satellites to support communication, navigation, and Earth observation is creating a strong need for components that can endure cosmic radiation and harsh space conditions. These factors push manufacturers to develop advanced, durable solutions, thereby driving the market.

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Radiation Hardened Electronics Market Scope:

Report Coverage Details Market Revenue in 2025 $ 1.77 billion Estimated Value by 2030 $ 2.30 billion Growth Rate Poised to grow at a CAGR of 5.4% Market Size Available for 2021-2030 Forecast Period 2025-2030 Forecast Units Value (USD Million/Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered By Component, Manufacturing Technique, Product Type, Application, and Region Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of World Key Market Challenge Customized requirements from high-end consumers Key Market Opportunities Increasing space missions globally Key Market Drivers Rising intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) activities



Based on component, the mixed-signal ICs segment is likely to hold a significant share of the radiation hardened electronics market in 2025.

Mixed-signal ICs are expected to hold a significant share of the radiation hardened electronics market in 2025. They enable seamless interaction between analog and digital domains, which are critical in space and defense applications. Components such as analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), digital-to-analog converters (DACs), and multiplexers are essential for processing signals from sensors, communication systems, and payload instruments in satellites and spacecrafts. These ICs ensure that real-world analog signals, such as temperature, radiation levels, or navigation data, can be converted into digital form for processing by rad-hard processors and controllers, and vice versa. Their reliability in radiation-intensive environments makes them indispensable for mission success, securing their strong market presence.

The demand for mixed-signal ICs is further supported by the rising complexity of satellite payloads, ISR systems, and space exploration equipment, which require accurate signal conversion and management under extreme conditions. For example, in Earth observation satellites or reconnaissance drones, ADCs and DACs are crucial in translating sensor data into usable digital signals for real-time decision-making. Leading suppliers, such as Texas Instruments and Microchip Technology, are actively developing mixed-signal ICs tailored for aerospace and defense programs. With increasing global investments in space missions and defense modernization, mixed-signal ICs will continue to capture a significant market share, given their critical role in enabling precise data conversion and communication in radiation-prone environments.

By product type, the custom-made segment is expected to grow at the second-highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Custom-made products in the radiation hardened electronics industry are expected to grow at the second highest CAGR during the forecast period. Defense agencies, space organizations, and nuclear industries increasingly require tailored solutions to meet their highly specialized mission needs. Unlike standard off-the-shelf components, custom-made products can be designed with unique specifications for power efficiency, processing capabilities, or radiation tolerance, ensuring they align with the exact requirements of sensitive programs. For example, deep-space exploration missions often demand components with extended operational lifetimes and superior resistance to cosmic radiation, while defense systems may prioritize secure communication and encryption features. This flexibility to address mission-specific challenges augments the demand for custom-made rad-hard electronics.

Additionally, high-end consumers, such as NASA, ESA, ISRO, and the US Department of Defense, are willing to invest in customized solutions to ensure mission assurance, further supporting growth in this segment. Major players like BAE Systems, Honeywell, and Microchip Technology frequently collaborate with these agencies to co-develop custom rad-hard processors, FPGAs, or power devices optimized for unique applications. While custom-made products are more expensive and involve longer development cycles, their critical role in enabling advanced space missions, ISR systems, and defense modernization programs ensures their sustained demand. This strong need for specialized, mission-driven designs positions custom-made products as one of the fastest-growing segments in the market.

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RoW is projected to exhibit the second-highest CAGR in the radiation hardened electronics market from 2025 to 2030.

RoW, which includes the Middle East, South America, and Africa, is expected to grow at the second-highest CAGR during the forecast period due to the increasing investment in space and defense programs. Countries in the Middle East, such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, are ramping up space exploration initiatives, with projects such as the UAE's Mars Mission and Saudi Arabia's broader investment in satellite capabilities, creating demand for radiation-tolerant components. Similarly, South American nations, including Brazil, are expanding satellite launches for Earth observation, navigation, and communication, while collaborating with global agencies to strengthen their space presence. These developments require radiation-hardened processors, memory, and power devices to ensure mission reliability.

In addition, defense modernization and security initiatives across these regions further fuel the market growth. Middle Eastern nations are investing in ISR and missile defense systems, which need rad-hard electronics for secure operations in extreme environments. Although in earlier stages, Africa is also increasing its focus on satellite programs for communication and weather monitoring, led by countries such as South Africa and Nigeria. With rising government funding, international collaborations, and growing interest from private space players in these regions, RoW is set to emerge as one of the fastest-growing radiation hardened electronics markets during the forecast period.

The report profiles key players in radiation hardened electronics companies such as Microchip Technology Inc.(US), BAE Systems (UK), Renesas Electronics Corporation (Japan), Infineon Technologies AG (Germany), STMicroelectronics (Switzerland), AMD (US), Texas Instruments Incorporated (US), Honeywell International Inc. (US), Teledyne Technologies Inc. (US), and TTM Technologies, Inc. (US), among others.

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Summit highlights transformational growth strategies, strategic imperatives, and the future of innovation in the Intelligence Revolution

SHANGHAI, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Frost & Sullivan successfully hosted the 19th Global Growth, Innovation & Leadership (GIL) Summit and the 4th New Investment Event at the Jing'an Shangri-La, Shanghai, from 27-28 August. Co-organized with LeadLeo, the Summit convened over 200 global leaders, more than 100 sessions, and attracted 4,000+ attendees under the theme "Intelligence Initiates a New Journey: Jointly Shaping Global Growth Engines."

For nearly 30 years, Frost & Sullivan has been hosting GIL Summits worldwide, and this marks the 19th consecutive edition in China. The Summit has become a cornerstone for senior executives, innovators, and policymakers to exchange ideas, explore disruptive trends, and collaborate on shaping the industries of the future.

David Frigstad, Global Chairman of Frost & Sullivan, emphasized the importance of the "Transformational Growth Journey" - a seven-stage process to help CEOs benchmark against global best practices, unlock opportunities, and build resilience through innovation and collaboration.

Aroop Zutshi, Global President and Managing Partner, outlined the "Top 5 Strategic Imperatives" - Transformation, Ecosystem, Growth Generator, Growth Opportunities, and Frost Radar - and highlighted the role of adaptive systems and AI in accelerating enterprise breakthroughs during the current Intelligence Revolution.

Dr. Neil Wang, Global Partner and Greater China Chairman, accentuated China's sustained growth as a positive force for the global economy and introduced the 4th edition of Frost & Sullivan's White Paper on China's Industrial Development Trends in the Next 50 Years. He reaffirmed Frost & Sullivan's mission to showcase China's growth, innovation, and leadership to the world.

"The GIL Summit continues to serve as a vital platform where ideas, innovation, and strategy converge," said Dr. Wang. "By bringing together global and local perspectives, we help enterprises not only anticipate change but also shape the opportunities of tomorrow."

The 2025 GIL Summit featured in-depth discussions on AI and the digital economy, life sciences investment, ESG, intelligent manufacturing, and the global expansion of Chinese enterprises.

Nearly 20 new Frost & Sullivan research findings were released on-site, offering fresh insights into emerging growth engines and strategic opportunities set to redefine industries in the decade ahead.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Transformational Growth Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation, and leadership. The company's Growth Pipeline as a Service provides the CEO's Growth Team with transformational strategies and best-practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth opportunities. For over 60 years, Frost & Sullivan has partnered with investors, corporate leaders, and governments to identify, prioritize, and execute transformational growth strategies.

Your Transformational Growth Journey Starts Here: Schedule Your Growth Pipeline Dialog with the Frost & Sullivan team.

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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 11, 2025) - Quadro Resources Ltd. (TSXV: QRO) (FSE: G4O) ("Quadro" or the "Company") is pleased to report on the results of the 2025 diamond drilling program completed by TRU Precious Metals Corp. ("TRU") on the Staghorn property, located along the Cape Ray Fault in Newfoundland and Labrador. Significantly, a broad mineralized altered sandstone unit was intersected in two of the drill holes (GR 25-03 and GR 25-04) over a strike length of 500 m. GR 25-03 was collared 1600 m southwest of the previous drilling completed on the Mark's Pond mineralization and resulted in an intersection of 1.0 g/t Au over 13.3 m within a wider zone of 0.3 g/t Au over 65.3 m. The final hole of the program (GR 25-04) was collared an additional 500 m to the southwest and intersected similar mineralization with results of 1.0g/t Au over 5.1 m within a wider zone of 0.5 g/t Au over 18.2 m. This latest drilling confirms the potential for gold mineralization along this portion of the Cape Ray Fault Zone and has extended the exploration potential 2100 m southwest of the Mark's Pond mineralization. TRU has earned a 51% interest in the Staghorn property. Going forward the Staghorn property will be operated as a 49% Quadro / 51% TRU joint venture.

The following descriptions, table, and figures pertaining to the recently completed drilling are sourced from TRU's press release issued on September 10, 2025. For a full description of results and QA/QC controls and protocols please refer to the TRU press release.

Highlights:

The investigative, wide-spaced, four-hole, (1,988m) diamond drilling program intersected gold-bearing mineralization in every hole.

A previously unknown broad mineralized sandstone unit was intersected in two of the drill holes (GR 25-03 and GR 25-04) over an interpreted minimum strike length of 500m.

A second previously unknown mineralized zone displaying similarities to the above-mentioned mineralized sandstone, and which may represent an along strike extension of the same zone, was intersected in drill hole GR 25-02 providing an intercept of 1.0g/t Au over 4.0m.

Indications of continuity of the previously trenched Northcott zone were identified over 240m vertically at depth in drill hole GR 25-01.

Table 1: Length-weighted drill hole intercepts

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5339/266028_quadro.jpg

Figure 1: Main 2025 drilling intercepts obtained and mineralized zones (courtesy of TRU; see TRU's press release dated September 10, 2025)

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5339/266028_6280529c943c99f4_003full.jpg

Figure 2: 2025 drill program showing scale of drilling area and mineralized zones (courtesy of TRU; see TRU's press release dated September 10, 2025)

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5339/266028_6280529c943c99f4_004full.jpg

Wayne Reid, P. Geo., VP Exploration for Quadro, stated: "We are excited because this opens up a potential +2 kilometer corridor of gold mineralization along the Cape Ray Fault Zone. The results of TRU's drilling program, which intersected mineralization in every hole and confirmed the presence of a broad, previously unknown mineralized sandstone unit, significantly expand the exploration potential well beyond the Mark's Pond discovery. This positions our joint venture with TRU for meaningful growth as we continue to unlock the potential of the Staghorn property."

Qualified Person

Wayne Reid, P. Geo., VP Exploration for Quadro and a qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, is responsible for this release and supervised the preparation of the information forming the basis for this release.

About Quadro Resources - Quadro Resources Ltd. is a publicly traded mineral exploration company with approximately 28.5 million shares outstanding, listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker symbol "QRO." The Company focuses on gold exploration in North America. Quadro owns a 49% interest in the Staghorn property, while TRU Precious Metals Corp. holds 51%. Quadro maintains full ownership of the Long Lake property. Both properties are located along the Cape Ray Fault in Newfoundland and Labrador.

On behalf of the board of directors,

Quadro Resources Ltd.

"Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release." The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections." For more information on the Company, interested parties should review the Company's filings that are available at www.sedarplus.ca.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/266028

SOURCE: Quadro Resources Ltd.
DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The global Medical Sensors Market, valued at US$2.82 billion in 2024, stood at US$3.06 billion in 2025 and is projected to advance at a resilient CAGR of 7.9% from 2025 to 2030, culminating in a forecasted valuation of US$4.48 billion by the end of the period. This growth is mainly driven by the rising demand for connected healthcare solutions, the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, and the broader adoption of wearable and minimally invasive medical devices in both hospital and home care settings. Key segments like motion/position sensors, biopotential sensors, and blood glucose and oxygen sensors are gaining significant traction due to their integration with advanced diagnostics, AI-powered platforms, and remote patient monitoring solutions. Moreover, government-backed initiatives are playing a vital role in speeding up market adoption. Notably, the Union Budget 2025-26 allocated about USD 11.48 billion to the healthcare sector, strengthening support for medical technology infrastructure. Additionally, in March 2024, the Indian government opened 13 new medical device manufacturing plants and 27 Greenfield bulk drug parks under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, further boosting domestic production capabilities and supporting the market growth.

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Browse in-depth TOC on "Medical Sensors Market"

581 - Tables

68 - Figures

453 - Pages

By end users, the medical sensors market is segmented into hospitals & clinics; nursing homes, assisted living facilities, long-term care centers, and home care settings; and other end users. In 2024, the hospitals & clinics segment held a significant market share in the medical sensors market due to several key factors driving adoption and dependence on advanced sensor technologies. Hospitals and clinics manage a high volume of acute and chronic patient cases, which require continuous monitoring, early diagnosis, and quick intervention-areas where medical sensors are highly effective. The rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as cardiovascular conditions, diabetes, and respiratory illnesses, further increases the need for real-time data collection and clinical decision-making tools provided by sensors. Additionally, these facilities are often equipped with the infrastructure needed to integrate medical sensors with electronic health records (EHRs), enabling streamlined data access, remote patient monitoring, and personalized treatment. The demand is also boosted by the growing emphasis on automation and AI-powered diagnostics, both of which depend heavily on accurate, continuous physiological data captured by sensors. Therefore, these factors collectively position hospitals and clinics as the leading adopters and drivers of growth in the medical sensors market.

By product type, the medical sensors market is divided into ingestible sensors, implantable sensors, external sensors (non-invasive), and other product types. Ingestible sensors are expected to see significant growth due to increasing applications in gastrointestinal diagnostics, oncology, medication adherence, and internal body monitoring. These pill-sized devices can track pH, temperature, pressure, or drug compliance from inside the body. FDA-approved platforms like Proteus Digital Health's ingestible sensor and newer developments in smart capsule endoscopy are expanding the medical use of such sensors. Advances in biocompatibility, miniaturization, and wireless data transmission are improving patient acceptance and clinical usefulness. As digital medicine and precision diagnostics advance, ingestible sensors provide an ideal tool for unobtrusive internal data collection, thus driving their future growth trajectory.

By geography, The Asia Pacific market is expected to experience significant growth during the forecast period. This expansion is driven by the increasing presence of market players in emerging economies like India, China, and other Southeast Asian nations. Rising awareness of advanced medical systems is also anticipated to boost market growth in this region. According to UN statistics, over 33% of Japan's population is aged 60 and above, and projections indicate that Asia will see a substantial rise in its elderly population by 2060. The elderly demographic in Asia is expected to reach 21% by that year. This rapid growth in the elderly population has resulted in a higher number of patients with chronic diseases, thereby increasing demand for advanced, connected medical devices, especially for patient monitoring. In emerging economies such as India and China, government investments in healthcare have surged, creating growth opportunities for device manufacturers to incorporate advanced technologies. Furthermore, the booming medical tourism industry in countries like China, India, and Indonesia is also contributing to market growth in this region.

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The key players in medical sensors market include: TE Connectivity (Ireland), Medtronics (Ireland), Analog Devices, Inc. (US), Honeywell International Inc. (US), Texas Instruments Incorporated (US), Amphenol Advanced Sensors (US), Sensirion (Switzerland), STMicroelectronics (Switzerland), ams-OSRAM AG (Austria), Excelitas Technologies Corp. (US), Tekscan, Inc. (US), NXP Semiconductors (Netherlands), Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC (US), Omnivision (US), Nihon Kohden Corporation (Japan), Innovative Sensor Technology IST AG (Switzerland), CTS Corporation (US), ROHM Co., Ltd. (Japan), Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Japan), and Angst+Pfister Sensors and Power AG (Switzerland), among others.

TE Connectivity

TE Connectivity develops and supplies high-performance medical sensors for a wide range of healthcare applications through its industrial solutions segment. It offers a robust portfolio of medical sensors designed for critical healthcare tasks such as imaging, diagnostics, surgical procedures, and patient monitoring. The company manufactures a variety of sensors, including ultrasonic, temperature, humidity, pressure, force, position, and photo-optic sensors. These sensors are integrated into medical devices like ventilators, diagnostic imaging systems, pulse oximeters, and infusion pumps to support precise monitoring and therapeutic functions. TE's sensors are valued for their accuracy, reliability, and ability to perform in harsh medical environments. Recent developments, such as the opening of a global medical prototyping center in Galway, Ireland, highlight the company's commitment to expediting product development and enhancing customer collaboration. TE Connectivity's global presence and strategic acquisitions, such as Linx Technologies and a partnership with tacterion GmbH, further strengthen its innovation in medical sensing technology, making it a prominent player in the evolving healthcare industry landscape.

Medtronic

Medtronic develops and delivers advanced medical sensor technologies that drive innovation in patient monitoring, surgery, and diabetes management. The company integrates these sophisticated sensor technologies into its core portfolios, especially Medical Surgical and Diabetes. In the Medical Surgical segment, Medtronic creates Nellcor pulse oximetry and INVOS regional oximetry sensors that measure oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, and brain function in real time to enhance patient safety and surgical results. The PillCam SB 3 capsule endoscopy system, another sensor-enabled innovation, enables non-invasive visualization of the gastrointestinal tract through an ingestible capsule camera, revolutionizing diagnostic procedures for GI disorders. In diabetes care, Medtronic offers sensor-based solutions like the Guardian 4 and Simplera Sync continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems, which connect with insulin pumps to support automated insulin delivery and better glucose control. These technologies reduce patient burden by decreasing fingerstick tests and providing continuous real-time data. With a portfolio that exceeds 49,000 patents and strong investments in R&D, Medtronic actively advances innovation in sensor-driven healthcare. Its broad range of biophysical and biochemical sensors, combined with global reach and clinical expertise, positions the company as a leader in shaping the future of connected and personalized medicine care.

Analog Devices, Inc.

Analog Devices, Inc. is a leading high-performance analog technology company. The company designs, manufactures, tests, and markets a broad portfolio of solutions, including integrated circuits (ICs), software, and subsystems that utilize high-performance analog, mixed-signal, and digital signal processing technologies. Its product portfolio and manufacturing capabilities cover power management and processing technologies such as data converters, amplifiers, radio frequency (RF) ICs, digital signal processors (DSP), and other sensors. The company operates through four segments: industrial, automotive, consumer, and communications. Its primary product categories include converters, amplifiers, power management, references, digital signal processors, and other analog products. Signal processing products are used to convert, condition, and process real-world phenomena- such as temperature, sound, light, pressure, speed, and motion- into electrical signals. The analog technology portfolio also includes sensor and actuator products, including those based on Microelectromechanical System (MEMS) technology. The company offers healthcare products via its Industrial business segment, providing medical sensors for various applications, such as multi- parameter vital signs monitors, x- ray equipment, image- guided therapies, ultrasound systems, anesthesia equipment, blood analyzers, point- of- care diagnostic devices, and lab diagnostic tools. Analog Devices, Inc. maintains several subsidiaries worldwide, including Maxim Integrated (US), Linear Technology Corporation (US), Symeo GmbH (Germany), OtoSense, Inc. (US), Analog Devices Co., Ltd. (China), Analog Devices Ltd. (Israel), Analog Devices AB (Sweden), Analog Devices GmbH (Germany), Analog Devices GmbH (Austria), and Analog Devices India Private Limited (India). The company supplies products to over 125,000 customers through a direct sales force, third-party distributors, and independent sales representatives. It has offices, sales representatives, and/or distributors in more than 50 countries outside North America.

Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC

Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC (ON Semiconductor Corporation) provides advanced medical sensor solutions through its Intelligent Sensing Group (ISG) and delivers critical sensor technology for portable medical devices and patient monitoring systems. The company's sensor portfolio includes CMOS and CCD image sensors, silicon photomultiplier sensors, temperature sensors, and proximity sensors. These components are essential for high-precision imaging, real-time temperature monitoring, and improved diagnostic capabilities in devices like portable monitors and imaging systems. ON Semiconductor's custom CMOS sensors enable high-speed data output, making them suitable for dynamic imaging environments. Additionally, its silicon photomultipliers support photon-sensitive imaging with high efficiency and low-voltage operation. With a strong global presence in North America, Europe, and Asia, as well as collaborations such as its partnership with Avnet to develop IoT-based healthcare devices, the company continues to drive innovation in medical sensing. ON Semiconductor's focus on compact, energy-efficient, and accurate sensor technologies positions it as a key player in the development of next-generation healthcare solutions and electronics.

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RTL's high-value motorsport racing content now harnesses Verimatrix Counterspy, Deepscan and Watermarking solutions to put them fully in control of their content

Regulatory News:

Verimatrix, (Euronext Paris: VMX), a leading provider of security solutions for a safer connected world, today announced that RTL Luxembourg, the country's leading media company, has further expanded its use of Verimatrix anti-piracy tools to now include the full Streamkeeper suite of solutions. Initially deploying Streamkeeper Multi-DRM, RTL Luxembourg also recently implemented Counterspy, Deepscan and Watermarking solutions the industry's latest set of powerful tools that help further bolster proactive protections for RTL's motorsport content revenue.

It was announced in April 2024 that RTL Luxembourg selected Verimatrix Streamkeeper Multi-DRM to ensure that RTL Luxembourg remained in full control of its valuable digital assets while also consistently keeping costs low and preventing unneeded technical complexities. With the addition of Verimatrix's Counterspy, RTL Luxembourg further expands its ability to detect unauthorized content distribution in real-time, deploy automated and customizable countermeasures, and initiate additional rapid responses.

Additionally, the company's use of Verimatrix's Deepscan now puts in place cutting-edge AI tools as well as expert analysis to ensure maximum coverage and accuracy. Arming operators with comprehensive scanning of online platforms to precisely pinpoint instances of leaked content, it then has deeply integrated tools at the ready to quickly start the necessary legal steps for take down requests and content removal. As a third new layer of protection, Verimatrix's Watermarking also identifies the source of distribution, ensuring traceability of any content leak independent of device type.

"After more than a year of working with RTL Luxembourg throughout their use of Streamkeeper Multi-DRM, it's an honor to further announce an even larger collaboration to help strengthen RTL's anti-piracy posture and arm the organization with proactive, innovative approaches to stopping content theft in its tracks," said Maria Malinkowitsch, Director Product Management at Verimatrix. "Our white-glove service, combined with award-winning Multi-DRM, Counterspy, Deepscan and Watermarking content protection technologies ensure companies such as RTL aren't mired in never-ending integration issues and customer experience concerns serving as a true partner to businesses that rely on the high value of their content."

"Having only few weeks before integration deadline, Verimatrix' team together with the IT department of RTL Luxembourg was flexible and unbureaucratic, offering instant help also with some exotic challenges we faced on our technical infrastructure. The flawless communication and hands-on support of Verimatrix' content protection experts allowed us to complete the implementation the entire Verimatrix Streamkeeper suite in record time," said Tom Weber, Chief Technical Officer at RTL Luxembourg.

For more information on Counterspy, visit: www.verimatrix.com/anti-piracy/counterspy

For more information on Deepscan, visit: www.verimatrix.com/anti-piracy/deepscan

For more information on Watermarking, visit: www.verimatrix.com/anti-piracy/watermarking

About RTL Luxembourg

At RTL Luxembourg, we strive to inform and entertain the population of Luxembourg through our various platforms daily. As part of RTL Group, our range of products extends across multiple media channels, including television, streaming, radio, digital platforms, and podcasts. Our objective is to create relevant and moving stories that originate from Luxembourg and the Greater Region. Each day, a dedicated network of journalists and content creators bring these stories to life on screens, on air, and across our diverse platforms. Visit www.rtl.lu.

About Verimatrix

Verimatrix (Euronext Paris: VMX, FR0010291245) helps power the modern connected world with security made for people. We protect digital content, applications, and devices with intuitive, people-centered and frictionless security. Leading brands turn to Verimatrix to secure premium movies, live streaming sports, sensitive financial and healthcare data, mission-critical mobile applications, and much more. We enable the trusted connections our customers depend on to deliver compelling content and experiences to millions of consumers around the world. Verimatrix helps partners get to market faster, scale easily, protect valuable revenue streams, and win new business. Visit www.verimatrix.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250911233595/en/

Contacts:

Verimatrix Investor:

Jean-Francois Labadie, Chief Financial Officer

finance@verimatrix.com

SEITOSEI.ACTIFIN

Michael Scholze

michael.scholze@seitosei-actifin.com

Verimatrix Media:

Matthew Zintel

matthew.zintel@zintelpr.com
MOUNT VERNON, NY / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / Fourth generation, family owned and operated Ball Chain Manufacturing Co., Inc. (Ball Chain) was honored to collaborate with Sisyphus Industries, led by kinetic artist Bruce Shapiro, on a groundbreaking permanent installation at the University of Utah's L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building. Mr. Shapiro has unveiled Three Medusae, a kinetic art piece that represents a fusion of engineering precision and artistic vision, brought to life through an unexpected yet essential material: metal ball chain.

Three Medusae in L. S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah.

Three Medusae - Kinetic Art Installation

Known for transforming motion control systems into mesmerizing works of art, Mr. Shapiro sought out Ball Chain to realize his latest concept. The artist's search for a material that could move fluidly while maintaining structural integrity led him directly to Ball Chain, a company traditionally known as the exclusive supplier to the U.S. Armed Forces for the iconic dog tag ID necklace worn by Military Personnel and for its industrial and fashion applications. "During the pandemic, I returned to an old idea," Mr. Shapiro recalls. "I found bead chains online, ordered fifty, and built a small Medusa with thirty. I was instantly captivated."

This moment of rediscovery sparked a deeper exploration into the physics and aesthetics of ball chain movement. Mr. Shapiro began prototyping with various lengths and sizes, fascinated by the pendulum-like behavior of longer chains and their ability to create fluid, organic motion. "Ball chain was the perfect medium," said Mr. Shapiro. "Its flexibility and durability allowed us to choreograph motion in ways that rigid materials simply couldn't support. I approached Ball Chain with a vision, and they responded with enthusiasm and expertise."

The collaboration between Ball Chain and Sisyphus Industries exemplifies the power of cross-industry partnerships. By adapting their manufacturing capabilities to meet the demands of kinetic sculpture, Ball Chain helped Mr. Shapiro push the boundaries of what's possible in motion-based art. "If I see something in nature that moves beautifully," Mr. Shapiro explained, "I ask: can I translate that into computer-controlled motion? If I can, it becomes art."

Three Medusae is more than a sculpture-it's a blueprint for future innovation. As kinetic art continues to evolve, incorporating robotics, data responsiveness, and interactive design, materials like ball chain will play a vital role in creating dynamic, responsive installations. "After the pandemic, I sought larger opportunities," Mr. Shapiro said. "The University of Utah believed in the vision. I modeled it, demonstrated it, and now it lives in their student commons."

Ball Chain's openness to creative collaboration signals exciting possibilities ahead. Artists and engineers alike are invited to explore new frontiers where industrial materials meet expressive design.

Link to Shapiro's Video Composite: https://vimeo.com/1075842862/b7db664d76

About Ball Chain Manufacturing Co., Inc.

Bill Taubner, the current company President, honors his great-grandfather and grandfather who started Ball Chain Manufacturing Co., Inc. in a small garage behind their home in the Bronx, NY. The company has been family-owned and operated since 1938. Ball Chain is now the world's largest manufacturer of ball chains, seen on military dog tags, ceiling fans, handbags, and light pulls, among many other goods. The company manufactures more than 4 million feet of product per week at its Mount Vernon, New York, factory (all ball chains are made in the USA). Other divisions include www.logotags.com which is the leading supplier in the US for custom military challenge coins, custom race medals and much more.

About ShimmerScreen Products:

ShimmerScreen is BCM Architectural's premier product line. Businesses and individual homeowners all over the world use our customizable metal ball chain for applications such as room dividers, window treatments, art installations and lighting fixtures, ShimmerScreen is currently on display in renowned restaurants, five-star hotels, fortune 500 corporate lobbies and celebrity residences.

About Sisyphus Industries:

Founded by Bruce Shapiro, Sisyphus Industries creates kinetic art installations that blend technology, design, and motion. Their flagship product, the Sisyphus Table, has captivated audiences worldwide.

Contact Information

Bill Taubner

President

bill@ballchain.com

914-664-7500 ext 120

Victoria Entsuah

Director of Marketing

victoria@ballchain.com

864-607-5321





SOURCE: Ball Chain Mfg. Co, Inc.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/industrial-and-manufacturing/ball-chain-mfg.-co.-inc.-and-sisyphus-industries-collaborate-on-kineti-1070863
NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR THROUGH U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES

TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / PPX Mining Corp. (TSXV:PPX)(BVL:PPX) ("PPX" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed its upsized non-brokered private placement, as described in the Company's press release dated September 5, 2025, for aggregate gross proceeds of C$2,580,004 (the "Offering").

The Offering involved the issuance of 22,434,813 units (the "Units") at a price of C$0.115 per Unit for gross proceeds to the Company of C$2,580,004. Each Unit consisted of one common share of the Company and one common share purchase warrant, with each warrant entitling the holder to acquire one common share of the Company at an exercise price of C$0.14 until September 11, 2027. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Offering to advance ongoing exploration at the Mina Callanquitas project and for general working capital purposes.

In connection with the Offering, the Company issued an aggregate of 994,182 units (the "Finder's Units") to arm's length finders of the Company in consideration for the finders locating purchasers to participate in the Offering. Each Finder's Unit consisted of one common share of the Company and one non-transferable common share purchase warrant, with each warrant entitling the holder to acquire one common share of the Company at an exercise price of C$0.14 until September 11, 2027.

The securities issued in connection with the Offering are subject to a four-month hold period expiring on January 12, 2026 under applicable Canadian securities laws. The Offering is subject to the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV").

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

About PPX Mining Corp:

PPX Mining Corp. (TSX.V: PPX.V, BVL: PPX) is a Canadian-based mining company with assets in northern Peru. Igor, the Company's 100%-owned flagship gold and silver project, is located in the prolific Northern Peru gold belt in eastern La Libertad Department.

On behalf of the board of directors of the Company:

Brian Imrie

Executive Chaiman

82 Richmond Street East

Toronto, Ontario M5C 1P1

Canada

416-361-0737

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement:

This press release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, "forward-looking statements") as such terms are defined by applicable securities laws, including, but not limited to statements regarding the use of proceeds for the Offering and the final approval of the TSXV. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance and often contain words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," and "intend,", statements that an action or event "may," "might," "could," "should," or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond the Company's control, and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to many various factors. Such uncertainties and risks include, among others, delays in obtaining or inability to obtain required regulatory approvals and or funding, as applicable; the state of the equity financing markets in Canada and other jurisdictions; volatility and sensitivity to market prices; volatility and sensitivity to capital market fluctuations; and fluctuations in metal prices. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, the Company cannot guarantee that the events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur. The timing of events and circumstances and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, one should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of today's date, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or publicly revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by law.

SOURCE: PPX Mining Corp.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/metals-and-mining/ppx-mining-announces-closing-of-upsized-private-placement-1071566
Earth Savers, California's trusted LED retrofit partner, is calling on commercial property owners to take immediate action following the state's ban on fluorescent lighting.

CHINO, CALIFORNIA / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / Earth Savers, California's trusted LED retrofit partner, is calling on commercial property owners to take immediate action following the state's ban on fluorescent lighting. With Assembly Bill 2208 now in effect, the sale of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) is prohibited as of January 1, 2024, and linear fluorescent lamps (LFLs) is banned starting January 1, 2025.

Upgrade to LED

Don't Get Left in the Dark - Upgrade with Earth Savers!

Why This Matters for Property Owners

Commercial buildings still using fluorescent lighting face:

Non-compliance risks with California law

Rising energy costs from outdated fixtures

Lost rebate opportunities as utilities phase out incentives

"Fluorescent lighting is officially obsolete in California," said a spokesperson from Earth Savers. "Property owners who delay upgrades risk financial penalties, tenant dissatisfaction, and missed savings."

Earth Savers' Turnkey LED Retrofit Program

To simplify the transition, Earth Savers offers:

0% On-Bill Financing through PG&E, SCE, SDG&E, and SoCalGas

Cash Rebates to offset installation costs

Rapid ROI with LED systems that cut energy use by up to 70%

Tenant-Friendly Scheduling to minimize disruption

Whether managing office parks, retail centers, or industrial facilities, Earth Savers ensures a seamless upgrade that boosts property value and sustainability.

Contact

Richard Cevallos, Chino, CA earthsavers.com

rcevallos@earthsavers.com (909)315-5777

Contact Information

Press Release Team

PR

marketing@earthsavers.com

Related Video

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SOURCE: Earth Savers Energy Services, Inc.

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NEW YORK, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The rising adoption of genomic sequencing, expanding use of companion diagnostics, and growing demand for personalized treatment pathways are fueling rapid growth in the precision medicine market.

The Global Precision Medicine Market is set to transform healthcare delivery by enabling data-driven, patient-specific treatment approaches across oncology, cardiology, neurology, and rare diseases. According to Vantage Market Research's latest report, "Precision Medicine Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Technology, Application, End User, and Region - Historic Data (2021-2023), Base Year (2024) & Forecast Period (2025-2035)," the market is projected to grow from USD 31.94 Billion in 2024 to USD 103.73 Billion by 2035, at a CAGR of 11.3% during 2025-2035.

Precision medicine leverages genomics, biomarkers, artificial intelligence (AI), and advanced diagnostics to tailor treatments to individual patients. Its rapid integration into clinical care is reducing trial-and-error prescribing, improving outcomes, and lowering unnecessary healthcare costs.

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Key Takeaways:

By Indication: Oncology led the market in 2024, driven by the rising adoption of biomarker-based treatments and companion diagnostics.

By Type: Diagnostic segment dominated the market in 2024, led by the widespread use of genetic and biomarker testing in oncology and prenatal screening.

By Region: North America dominated the global market in 2024, capturing 52.5% share, underpinned by robust R&D, favorable policies, and strong healthcare adoption.

Market Overview & Potential

The market is witnessing rapid growth due to advances in genomics, biomarker-driven therapies, artificial intelligence (AI), and companion diagnostics. Rising prevalence of cancer, cardiovascular, and neurological disorders, along with government-backed initiatives for personalized healthcare, are fueling adoption globally. Falling sequencing costs, wider access to molecular diagnostics, and strong investments in R&D are accelerating precision medicine's shift from niche to mainstream healthcare delivery.

What Factors Are Accelerating the Demand and Growth of the Precision Medicine Market?

Rising Cancer Burden: Oncology leads adoption, with targeted therapies and immuno-oncology expanding treatment options.

Genomic Sequencing Boom: Reduced sequencing costs enable broader clinical applications.

Government Initiatives: Precision medicine programs in the U.S., Europe, and Asia are accelerating research and adoption.

AI & Big Data Integration: Machine learning enhances predictive diagnostics and treatment personalization.

Companion Diagnostics Expansion: Growing approvals support drug efficacy and patient stratification.

What Are Emerging Trends Shaping the Precision Medicine Market?

Multi-omics Integration: Combining genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics for holistic disease insights.

Liquid Biopsy Adoption: Non-invasive cancer detection gaining clinical traction.

Pharmacogenomics: Tailoring drug selection and dosing to individual genetic profiles.

Digital Health & Wearables: Real-time patient monitoring to optimize personalized care.

Global Market Penetration: Rapid growth in Asia Pacific and emerging economies as infrastructure and investments improve.

What Are Major Challenges Hindering Precision Medicine Market Growth?

High Testing & Treatment Costs: Limits accessibility in cost-sensitive regions.

Data Privacy & Security Issues: Rising concerns around genetic data usage and patient confidentiality.

Complex Regulatory Pathways: Approvals for genomic-based diagnostics and therapies are lengthy.

Limited Clinical Evidence in Rare Diseases: Slows adoption across broader indications.

Workforce & Training Gaps: Shortage of genetic counselors and precision medicine specialists.

Top Key Players for Precision Medicine Market:

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

Illumina, Inc.

Qiagen N.V.

Novartis AG

AstraZeneca plc

Pfizer Inc.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

Foundation Medicine, Inc.

GE Healthcare

These leading players are focusing on innovations in genomic sequencing, AI-powered diagnostics, biomarker discovery, and global partnerships to drive precision medicine adoption.

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"Precision medicine has moved from being a niche approach to becoming a cornerstone of modern healthcare," said Nneha Rathod Godbole, Founder & CEO at Vantage Market Research. "Advances in genomics, biomarker discovery, and AI-driven analytics are enabling safer, faster, and more effective treatment pathways tailored to each patient."

Recent Developments

Jan 2025 - Illumina announced partnerships with AI firms to enhance genomic data interpretation.

- Illumina announced partnerships with AI firms to enhance genomic data interpretation. Mar 2025 - Roche launched a new liquid biopsy test for early-stage cancer detection.

- Roche launched a new liquid biopsy test for early-stage cancer detection. May 2025 - Thermo Fisher Scientific introduced cloud-based platforms to integrate multi-omics datasets.

- Thermo Fisher Scientific introduced cloud-based platforms to integrate multi-omics datasets. Jul 2025 - Pfizer expanded companion diagnostics collaborations for oncology pipelines.

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Strategic Insights for Decision-Makers:

How Will This Market Impact Healthcare Systems and Supply Chains?

The precision medicine market is emerging as a cornerstone of modern healthcare, transforming treatment paradigms across oncology, cardiology, neurology, and rare diseases. By enabling tailored therapies, it reduces trial-and-error prescribing, improves patient outcomes, and optimizes healthcare spending. Hospitals, payers, biotech companies, and diagnostic providers are aligning to integrate precision medicine into standard care, creating strong demand for genomic testing, digital tools, and targeted therapies.

Impact: Expect stronger collaborations between pharma and diagnostic firms, expansion of molecular testing centers, regional diversification of sequencing facilities, and increased integration of AI-based decision-support tools. Industry leaders will prioritize cost-optimized testing solutions, scalable clinical adoption models, and next-generation companion diagnostics.

What Risks Should Investors Track?

High Cost of Genomic Testing: May restrict adoption in emerging economies.

Regulatory Uncertainty: Differing frameworks across regions slow global expansion.

Reimbursement Challenges: Limited coverage for advanced diagnostics in some markets.

Data Security Risks: Vulnerability of patient genetic data to cyber threats.

R&D Costs: High investment in multi-omics research may strain smaller players.

What Opportunities Exist for Sustainability and Growth Leaders?

AI-Powered Diagnostics: Enhancing speed, accuracy, and personalization of treatments.

Expanding Beyond Oncology: Growing adoption in cardiology, neurology, and metabolic disorders.

Emerging Market Penetration: Rising healthcare infrastructure in Asia Pacific, Latin America, and MEA.

Multi-omics & Digital Health: Integrating diverse datasets with wearables for real-time care.

Collaborations & M&A: Partnerships between pharma, diagnostic labs, and tech firms to accelerate innovation.

For decision-makers in healthcare, biotech, diagnostics, and investment, the precision medicine market represents a strategic inflection point. Early investments in affordable genomic testing, AI integration, and global infrastructure will secure market leadership, accelerate patient adoption, and strengthen long-term investor confidence.

Regional Insights

Why Does North America Lead the Global Precision Medicine Market?

In 2024, North America accounted for the largest share (52.5%) of the global Precision Medicine Market, establishing itself as the dominant region. Growth is driven by advanced healthcare infrastructure, early adoption of genomic sequencing, and strong government support through initiatives like the NIH's All of Us Research Program. The U.S. leads the region with widespread clinical integration of genomic testing, a robust pipeline of biomarker-driven therapies, and innovation from key players such as Roche, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Illumina, Pfizer, and Novartis. Favorable reimbursement frameworks, AI-powered diagnostic platforms, and growing collaborations between pharma and diagnostic companies reinforce North America's leadership in precision medicine innovation and commercialization.

How Is Asia Pacific Emerging as a Key Growth Hub for Precision Medicine?

The Asia Pacific region is projected to grow at the fastest CAGR during 2025-2035, fueled by large patient populations, rising healthcare expenditures, and expanding genomic research initiatives. China, Japan, South Korea, and India are at the forefront of adoption, supported by government-backed genome projects, increased investment in sequencing facilities, and partnerships with multinational pharmaceutical companies. Local biotech startups and diagnostic firms are playing a key role in democratizing access to affordable precision medicine solutions. Expanding clinical trials, medical tourism, and the integration of digital health platforms are further driving momentum across the region.

How Is Europe Driving Sustainable Growth in the Precision Medicine Market?

Europe shows strong market adoption, supported by EU-wide genomic initiatives, CE approvals for companion diagnostics, and robust healthcare systems. Germany, France, and the UK lead in oncology-focused precision medicine adoption, with high procedural volumes and increasing clinical use of multi-omics approaches. The EU's emphasis on value-based healthcare, patient safety, and innovation in molecular diagnostics is supporting sustainable market growth. European hospitals are also expanding personalized treatment programs and integrating AI-driven decision-support systems, making precision medicine an essential part of long-term healthcare strategies.

How Is Latin America Unlocking New Growth Opportunities in the Precision Medicine Market?

Latin America represented a smaller but rapidly expanding share of the global precision medicine market in 2024, with Brazil leading adoption. Growth is supported by expanding genomic testing centers, rising cancer burden, and growing access to advanced diagnostics through government-backed programs. Argentina is also seeing higher adoption due to medical tourism and partnerships with global diagnostic companies. Multinational pharma and diagnostic firms are increasingly collaborating with regional hospitals and labs to establish clinical trials, training initiatives, and localized manufacturing facilities, creating new opportunities for precision medicine penetration in the region.

What Role Does the Middle East & Africa Play in the Expansion of the Precision Medicine Market?

The Middle East & Africa (MEA) is experiencing steady growth, driven by healthcare modernization, government-led genome projects, and rising prevalence of cancer and genetic disorders. Countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE are investing heavily in genomic medicine as part of national healthcare transformation initiatives, while South Africa is emerging as a hub for clinical trials and molecular diagnostics. However, limited infrastructure, high costs, and shortages of skilled genetic professionals remain challenges. Increasing collaborations with international biotech firms, investments in tertiary care hospitals, and the development of regional genome sequencing programs are expected to accelerate precision medicine adoption across MEA in the coming decade.

Segmental Insights

By Product

Which Product Segment Dominated the Precision Medicine Market in 2024?

Drugs accounted for the largest revenue share of the Precision Medicine Market in 2024, driven by the rising adoption of targeted therapies, monoclonal antibodies, and immuno-oncology drugs in cancer and autoimmune disease management. Pharmaceutical companies are heavily investing in drug development pipelines with companion diagnostics, which further strengthens this segment. Devices such as sequencing platforms and liquid biopsy systems are also gaining traction, supported by clinical adoption and falling testing costs. Software solutions, including AI-powered analytics and digital health platforms, are emerging as a high-growth subsegment, enabling precision data interpretation and integration into clinical workflows.

By Type

Which Type Drove the Precision Medicine Market in 2024?

The Diagnostic segment dominated the market in 2024, led by the widespread use of genetic and biomarker testing in oncology and prenatal screening. Genetic tests, particularly predictive and presymptomatic testing, have seen strong adoption due to their ability to identify disease risks early and guide preventive care. Biomarker tests, including those used for therapy selection and recurrence monitoring, are increasingly integral to treatment planning, especially in oncology. The Therapeutics segment is expanding rapidly, driven by monoclonal antibodies, gene therapy, and cell therapy. Among these, monoclonal antibodies hold the largest share, while gene and cell therapies are witnessing the fastest growth with approvals for rare diseases and advanced cancers. The Research segment continues to be vital, fueled by academic and pharmaceutical R&D investments in multi-omics studies and drug discovery.

By Indication

Which Indication Area Led the Precision Medicine Market in 2024?

Oncology dominated the Precision Medicine Market in 2024, accounting for the highest revenue share. The growing use of biomarker-driven therapies, immuno-oncology drugs, and companion diagnostics is reshaping cancer treatment by tailoring therapies to tumor-specific genetic profiles. Neurology and psychiatry are emerging as strong growth areas, with increasing research in precision approaches for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and mental health conditions. Immunology and cardiology are also witnessing steady adoption, particularly with pharmacogenomics and biologic therapies. Endocrinology, driven by diabetes and metabolic disorders, along with other indications such as infectious diseases and rare genetic conditions, are expected to expand their share during the forecast period.

By End User

Which End User Segment Drove the Precision Medicine Market in 2024?

Pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies led the market in 2024, holding the largest share as they drive R&D in targeted therapies, companion diagnostics, and multi-omics drug discovery. Diagnostic laboratories represent the second-largest segment, supported by growing demand for genetic sequencing, liquid biopsy, and biomarker testing. Contract Research Organizations (CROs) are playing a critical role by offering cost-efficient solutions for clinical trials, biomarker validation, and data analysis. Other end users, including academic research institutions and specialty clinics, are expanding adoption as precision medicine becomes more embedded in routine clinical practice and translational research.

Browse market data Tables and Figures spread through 245 Pages and in-depth TOC on Precision Medicine Market Forecast Report (2025-2035).

Segments Covered in The Report

Product

Drugs

Devices

Software

Type

Diagnostic

Therapeutics Genetic Tests Predictive & Presymptomatic Tests Carrier Testing Prenatal & Newborn Screening Others



Biomarker Tests Screening Recurrence Monitoring Therapy Selection Others



Therapeutics

Monoclonal Antibodies



Gene Therapy



Cell Therapy



Others

Research

Indication

Oncology

Neurology/ Psychiatry

Immunology

Cardiology

Endocrinology

Others

End-User

Pharmaceutical & Biopharmaceutical Companies

Diagnostic Laboratories

Contract Research Organizations (CROs)

Others

Region

North America

U.S.



Canada



Mexico

Europe

Germany



France



U.K.



Italy



Spain



Nordic Countries



Benelux Union



Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

China



Japan



India



New Zealand



Australia



South Korea



South-East Asia



Rest of Asia Pacific

Latin America

Brazil



Argentina



Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa (MEA)

Saudi Arabia



UAE



Egypt



Kuwait



South Africa



Rest of MEA

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Key Questions Answered in The Report:

Which region is projected to achieve the fastest and highest growth in the Precision Medicine Market over the next decade?

Who are the leading five players in the Precision Medicine Market, and what are their strengths and weaknesses in terms of product portfolio, innovation, and global footprint?

What breakthrough innovations-such as multi-omics integration, liquid biopsy, AI-driven diagnostics, pharmacogenomics, and digital health platforms-are expected to shape the Precision Medicine Market in the next six years?

Which clinical applications-such as oncology, neurology, cardiology, immunology, and endocrinology-are likely to dominate market share, and what factors are accelerating their adoption?

What are the primary growth drivers, potential barriers, and critical challenges influencing the Precision Medicine industry?

What is the anticipated market size and compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the Precision Medicine Market during the forecast period?

How will regulatory frameworks, reimbursement policies, and evolving clinical guidelines impact market dynamics and adoption of Precision Medicine across healthcare systems?

Gain instant access to our exclusive, data-driven dashboard designed for healthcare industry decision-makers, strategists, and market leaders. The platform delivers in-depth statistical insights, segment-wise breakdowns, regional market performance, competitive landscape mapping, company profiles, annual updates, and more. From market sizing to trend analysis and competitive intelligence, this powerful tool serves as a comprehensive solution for informed business decisions.

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STOCKHOLM, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Federation of Psoriasis Associations (IFPA) spotlights psoriatic disease at the upcoming UNGA 80 in New York, where world leaders are expected to adopt a new Political Declaration on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), mental health and well-being.

Key Highlights:

An estimated 60 million people worldwide are affected by psoriatic disease - a serious, lifelong noncommunicable disease that impacts the skin, joints, and other organs. Psoriasis also increases risks for diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and depression.

Despite a 2014 World Health Organization (WHO) resolution recognizing psoriasis as a major public health concern, progress has been slow, prompting IFPA (International Federation of Psoriasis Associations) to call for renewed global commitment.

IFPA representatives are traveling to the UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs to advocate for the inclusion of people with psoriatic disease in global and national health policies, with a special focus on putting lived experience at the heart of policymaking.

Read more about this event and register: https://pages.devex.com/devex-at-unga-80

Psoriatic disease is a lifelong, systemic inflammatory condition, often coexisting with other NCDs, such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases and depression. An estimated 60 million people live with the disease. Despite the numbers, psoriatic disease has been overlooked in the health systems worldwide.

The first and only resolution on psoriasis was adopted by WHO in 2014, recognizing it as a major public health concern. Since then, the progress has been poor. IFPA is calling for a greater global commitment to ensure that the needs of people with psoriatic disease are integrated into global and national health policies.

To amplify this call, IFPA representatives are traveling to New York to participate in the upcoming United Nations High-Level Meeting on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) - at UN Headquarters on September 25. This event brings together health leaders, experts, and policymakers to shape the future of NCD prevention and care. IFPA is seizing this opportunity to advocate for more inclusive policies, improved access to care, and greater recognition of psoriatic disease within the broader NCD agenda.

As a part of this advocacy initiative, IFPA organizes a high-level conversation in partnership with Devex on the sidelines of UNGA, titled: Psoriatic Disease and NCDs: Putting Lived Experience at the Heart of Policy. The event takes place at the Devex NCD Pavilion in New York on September, 22.

More details about this advocacy event and registration: https://pages.devex.com/devex-at-unga-80

The session will feature Frida Dunger, Executive Director of IFPA, and Kate Reynolds, IFPA ambassador, living with psoriatic disease. The speakers will share powerful perspectives on why lived experience must move to the center of global health policymaking.

"People living with psoriatic disease are more than our illness, we are whole people, and we need to live our best lives, just like anybody else. I am traveling to New York to speak up about psoriasis at this event because, in my opinion, there should be no decisions about us without us, - shares Kate Reynolds, IFPA Ambassador.

"Inclusive health policy is not optional, it is essential for ensuring that over 60 million people across the globe, living with psoriatic disease, are no longer left behind, says Frida Dunger, Executive Director of IFPA.

About IFPA

IFPA (the International Federation of Psoriasis Associations), founded in 1971 and based in Stockholm, Sweden, is the global organization dedicated to advocating for everyone affected by psoriatic disease. IFPA's members include national and regional patient associations and represent over 60 million people worldwide. Through global coalitions, World Psoriasis Day campaigns, the IFPA Forum, and the World Psoriasis & Psoriatic Arthritis Conference, IFPA is redefining psoriatic disease as a key lens for stronger, more inclusive health systems. Learn more: https://www.ifpa-pso.com/

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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 11, 2025) - Adelayde Exploration Inc. (CSE: ADDY) (OTCID: SPMTF) (WKN: A41AGV) (the "Company" or "Adelayde") wishes to announce that a private placement to fund its planned gold drill program in Esmeralda County, Nevada will also include the Investment Dealer Exemption.

James Nelson, President of Adelayde commented, "With gold prices reaching record highs and fewer than 29 million shares currently outstanding, we believe this is an ideal time to launch a drill program on our gold project in Esmeralda County, Nevada. Nevada continues to rank among the world's top jurisdictions for gold and silver mining, making it a strategic location for exploration.

The funds from this financing will significantly strengthen our working capital position, providing us with greater flexibility to allocate resources efficiently across our portfolio and to ramp up our marketing efforts. Beyond Nevada, we also expect to be active on our Tungsten project in New Brunswick, which directly borders Northcliff Resources Ltd, a company that recently (August 7, 2025) secured approximately $29 million in combined funding from the U.S. Department of Defense and the Canadian government to advance their project. Additionally, we are advancing our Perron-East Gold Project in Quebec, located in close proximity to Amex Exploration's deposit, which was recently updated to reflect significantly enhanced economics, including a post-tax IRR of 70.1% and a post-tax NPV of C$1.085 billion at US$2,500/oz gold (September 4, 2025). With Adelayde's market capitalization currently under $2 million, any exploration success, whether in Nevada, New Brunswick, or Quebec has the potential to deliver a meaningful re-rating of our valuation."

In addition to other prospectus exemptions commonly relied on in private placements, the Company will also make the private placement available to certain subscribers pursuant to BC Instrument 45-536 - Exemption from Prospectus Requirement for Certain Distributions Through an Investment Dealer (the "Investment Dealer Exemption"). In accordance with the requirements of the Investment Dealer Exemption, the Company confirms that there is no material fact or material change about the Company that has not been generally disclosed.

The Company announces a private placement financing (the "Financing") to raise gross proceeds up to one million dollars through an issuance of up to twenty million units (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.05 per Unit. Each Unit will be comprised of one common share in the capital of the Company (each, a "Share") and one transferrable share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one additional Share (each, a "Warrant Share") at a price of $0.075 per Warrant Share until 5:00 p.m. (Vancouver time) five years from the closing of the Financing. All securities issued in connection with the Financing are subject to a statutory hold period expiring four months and one day after the closing of the Financing. Net proceeds will be used towards the Company's general working capital. Finder's fees may be paid to eligible finders in connection with the Financing.

Any questions regarding this placement please contact President James Nelson directly at 1-604-646-6903 or info@adelaydeexp.com.

About Adelayde Exploration Inc.

Adelayde's projects include three lithium projects in Clayton Valley, Nevada: the 1,136-acre McGee lithium clay deposit, which has a resource estimate of 1,369,000 indicated tonnes and 723,000 inferred tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) for a total of 2,092,000 tonnes of LCE, directly bordering Pure Energy Minerals and Century Lithium Corp.; the 280-acre Elon lithium brine project, which has access to some of the deepest parts of the only lithium brine basin in production in North America; and the 124-acre Green Clay lithium project. The company also holds the 248-acre Clayton Ridge gold project in Esmeralda County, Nevada; the 4,722-acre George Lake South antimony project and the 4,890-acre Sisson North tungsten project, both located in New Brunswick.

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved of the contents of this press release.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of Adelayde. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and Adelayde disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law.

Not for distribution to United States newswire services or for release publication, distribution or dissemination directly, or indirectly, in whole or in part, in or into the United States. None of the securities sold in connection with the private placement will be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and no such securities may be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/266050

SOURCE: Adelayde Exploration Inc.
Mars signs first U.S. clean energy contracts with Enel to support its Renewable Acceleration with more global projects on the way in order to cover electricity needs of its full value chain.

Mars expects its Renewable Acceleration program to contribute an estimated 10% reduction of its total carbon footprint by 2030, against a 2015 baseline.

Mars believes Renewable Acceleration can help expand clean energy capacity building and improve energy resilience and security for Mars and its partners; Mars is encouraging other companies to follow.

MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Mars, Incorporated has announced a major step in its decarbonization journey under its new program called Renewable Acceleration by teaming up with energy partner Enel. This initiative is designed to speed up the shift from fossil fuels to clean energy - not just for Mars owned sites, but across its entire value chain by bringing the totality of their electricity usage to the renewables market.

This means sourcing renewable electricity to cover everything from the farms that grow ingredients to the trucks that deliver products, and even the energy used by consumers at home to enjoy their favorite Mars products, like Ben's Original and SNICKERS Ice Cream, or at their BANFIELD veterinarian's office. By implementing this Renewable Acceleration strategy, Mars could cut around?3 million tonnes of carbon emissions?from its full value chain - about?10% of its current total footprint. Renewable electricity is one of the best understood, widely accepted and low-cost decarbonization solutions available - this new approach maximizes and accelerates its delivery potential.

"Many large companies are well on their way to sourcing renewable electricity for their own operations, but that's just a part of the picture," Kevin Rabinovitch, Global VP Sustainability said. "For Mars, Renewable Acceleration is a performance accelerator, cutting emissions at a scale and speed we could never achieve through traditional value chain engagement approaches. It lets us bring demand for all the electricity used in our value chain to the clean energy market in a highly efficient manner. The more demand we create together, the faster we can build the future we all want. And clean energy means cleaner air for our communities, our people, and our partners."

Direct operations across the business globally use approximately?2 terawatt-hours (TWh)?of electricity each year, roughly the equivalent of the annual consumption of The Bahamas. But when you include the full Mars value chain under Renewables Acceleration to include our suppliers, customers and our consumers, that number jumps to?8-9 TWh - the annual equivalent of Estonia .

Mars has signed its first Renewable Acceleration program contract with energy provider, Enel North America. A part of the Enel Group, this is their largest-ever power purchase agreement (PPA) transaction with a commercial and industrial customer worldwide as well as Mars largest contract to date. Additional global agreements are in the pipeline. These contracts support the development of renewable energy projects that serve both Mars and its suppliers while building energy resilience for the business.

The first three contracts with Enel will generate a combined 1.8 TWh annually, avoiding?approximately 700ktCO2e per year. The agreement means that Mars value chain will benefit from the entire output from Enel's three solar plants in Texas, U.S.A. Vegetation at all three sites will be managed through sheep grazing, a sustainable dual-use solar practice that Enel expanded through the largest solar grazing agreement signed in the United States.

"Renewable Acceleration is a bold initiative to support the buildout of more clean energy capacity, which we know is among the fastest and most economical ways to decarbonize," said Michele Di Murro, CEO of Enel North America. "Mars is raising the bar for corporate sustainability strategies, taking a comprehensive and direct approach to addressing emissions across its entire value chain. Enel is proud to partner with Mars in launching this new program."

With each additional contract signed by Mars, the company expects Renewable Acceleration to contribute towards a 10% reduction of its total carbon footprint by 2030. Renewable Acceleration is part of the company's broader sustainability strategy, which also includes tackling deforestation, supporting climate-smart agriculture, improving transport, and embedding sustainability across the business.

About Mars, Incorporated

Mars, Incorporated is driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As an approximately $55bn family-owned business, our diverse and expanding portfolio of leading pet care products and veterinary services support pets all around the world and our quality snacking and food products delight millions of people every day. We produce some of the world's best-loved brands including ROYAL CANIN, PEDIGREE, WHISKAS, CESAR, DOVE, EXTRA, M&M's, SNICKERS and BEN'S ORIGINAL. Our international networks of pet hospitals, including BANFIELD, BLUEPEARL, VCA and ANICURA span preventive, general, specialty, and emergency veterinary care, and our global veterinary diagnostics business?ANTECH offers breakthrough capabilities in pet diagnostics. The Mars Five Principles-Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom-inspire our 150,000 Associates to act every day to help create a better world for people, pets and the planet.

For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com . Join us on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and YouTube .

Media Contacts:

marsmediarelations@effem.com

 Per 2023 electricity net consumption EIA data.

 Mars calculates the GHG benefits of these projects under Renewable Acceleration based on national U.S. grid factors reflecting nationwide sourcing.

 Unless expressly noted otherwise, all references to "climate-smart" agriculture or practices refer to practices that support agricultural transformation to reduce and remove GHG emissions; regenerate soils and support biodiversity; and/or adapt to increasing climate hazards.

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Kelowna, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 11, 2025) - F3 Uranium Corp. (TSXV: FUU) (OTCQB: FUUFF) (FSE: GL7) ("F3" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that as a result of strong investor demand, the company has increased the aggregate gross proceeds of its previously announced "bought deal" private placement (the "Underwritten Offering") from C$15,000,000 to C$17,000,000. Pursuant to the upsized and revised Underwritten Offering, the Underwriters (as defined herein) have agreed to purchase for resale the following:

25,000,000 units of the Company (each, a " Unit ") at a price of C$0.20 per Unit (the " Unit Price ");

23,333,334 federal flow-through units of the Company to be sold to charitable purchasers (the " FFT Units ") at a price of C$0.30 per FFT Unit (the " FFT Unit Price "); and

15,151,515 Saskatchewan flow-through units of the Company to be sold to charitable purchasers (the "SFT Units") at a price of C$0.33 per SFT Unit.

The Units and FT Units (as defined herein) shall be collectively referred to as the "Offered Securities".

Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company (each, a "Common Share") and one-half of one Common Share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each FT Unit will consist of one Common Share to be issued as a "flow-through share" within the meaning of subsection 66(15) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and will qualify as an eligible flow-through share" as defined in The Mineral Exploration Tax Credit Regulations, 2014 (Saskatchewan) (each, a "FT Share") and one-half of one Warrant. Each whole Warrant shall entitle the holder to purchase one Common Share (each, a "Warrant Share") at a price of C$0.30 at any time on or before that date which is 36 months after the Closing Date (as herein defined).

Red Cloud Securities Inc. ("Red Cloud") is acting as lead underwriter and sole bookrunner, on behalf of a syndicate of underwriters (collectively, the "Underwriters") under the Offering (as defined herein). The Company has agreed to grant to the Underwriters an option (the "Over-Allotment Option", and together with the Underwritten Offering, the "Offering"), exercisable in whole or in part by the Underwriters at any time up to 48 hours prior to the Closing Date, to purchase for resale up to an additional number of (i) Units at the Unit Price, (ii) FFT Units at the FFT Unit Price, and (iii) non-critical mineral flow-through units of the Company to be sold to charitable purchasers (the "Non-Critical FT Units", and together with the FFT Units and SFT Units, the "FT Units") at a price of C$0.27 per Non-Critical FT Unit for up to an additional C$3,000,000 in gross proceeds.

The proceeds of the Offering will be used by the Company to fund the exploration of the Company's projects in the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan as well as for general corporate purposes and working capital, as is more fully described in the Amended Offering Document (as herein defined).

The gross proceeds from the sale of FT Shares will be used by the Company to incur eligible "Canadian exploration expenses" that qualify as "flow-through critical mineral mining expenditures" (with the exception of FT Shares issued from the sale of Non-Critical FT Units, which proceeds will qualify as "flow-through mining expenditures") as such terms are defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada), and to incur "eligible flow-through mining expenditures" pursuant to The Mineral Exploration Tax Credit Regulations, 2014 (Saskatchewan) (collectively, the "Qualifying Expenditures") related to the Company's uranium projects in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, on or before December 31, 2026. All Qualifying Expenditures will be renounced in favour of the subscribers of the FT Units effective December 31, 2025.

Subject to compliance with applicable regulatory requirements and in accordance with National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions ("NI 45-106"), the Offered Securities will be offered for sale to purchasers resident in all of the provinces of Canada with the exception of Quebec pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption under Part 5A of NI 45-106, as amended by Coordinated Blanket Order 45-935 - Exemptions from Certain Conditions of the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption (the "Listed Issuer Financing Exemption"). The securities issuable from the sale of the Offered Securities are expected to be immediately freely tradeable in accordance with applicable Canadian securities legislation if sold to purchasers resident in Canada. The Units may also be sold in offshore jurisdictions and in the United States on a private placement basis pursuant to one or more exemptions from the registration requirements of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"). All securities not issued pursuant to the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption will be subject to a hold period in Canada ending on the date that is four months plus one day following the Closing Date as defined in Subsection 2.5(2) of Multilateral Instrument 45-102 - Resale of Securities.

There is an amended and restated offering document (the "Amended Offering Document") related to the Offering that can be accessed under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca and at the Company's website at www.f3uranium.com. Prospective investors should read this Amended Offering Document before making an investment decision.

The Offering is scheduled to close on October 1, 2025 (the "Closing Date"), or such other date as the Company and Red Cloud may agree. Completion of the Offering is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to the receipt of all necessary approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

About F3 Uranium Corp.

F3 is a uranium exploration company, focusing on the high-grade JR Zone and new Tetra Zone discovery 13km to the south in the PW area on its Patterson Lake North (PLN) Project in the Western Athabasca Basin. F3 currently has 3 properties in the Athabasca Basin: Patterson Lake North, Minto, and Broach. The western side of the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, is home to some of the world's largest high grade uranium deposits including Paladin's Triple R project and NexGen's Arrow project.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Dev Randhawa"

Dev Randhawa, Chairman & CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, identified by words or phrases such as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "is expected", "scheduled", "estimates", "pending", "intends", "plans", "forecasts", "targets", or "hopes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "will", "should" "might", "will be taken", or "occur" and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information herein includes, but is not limited to, statements that address activities, events or developments that F3 expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future including statements regarding the Offering, the closing of the Offering, the intended use of proceeds of the Offering, the filing of the Amended Offering Document and the tax treatment of the FT Shares.

Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information relating to any future mineral production, liquidity, enhanced value and capital markets profile of the Company, future growth potential for the Company and its business, and future exploration plans are based on management's reasonable assumptions, estimates, expectations, analyses and opinions, which are based on management's experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, and other factors that management believes are relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, but which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the price of metals; costs of exploration and development; the estimated costs of development of exploration projects; the Company's ability to operate in a safe and effective manner.

These statements reflect the Company's respective current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of other assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information and the Company has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: the future tax treatment of the FT Shares, competitive risks and the availability of financing; uranium price volatility; risks associated with the conduct of the Company's exploration activities; regulatory, consent or permitting delays; risks relating to reliance on the Company's management team and outside contractors; the Company's inability to obtain insurance to cover all risks, on a commercially reasonable basis or at all; currency fluctuations; risks regarding the failure to generate sufficient cash flow from operations; risks relating to project financing and equity issuances; risks and unknowns inherent in all mining projects; contests over title to properties, particularly title to undeveloped properties; laws and regulations governing the environment, health and safety; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining, development or exploration activities; employee relations, labour unrest or unavailability; the Company's interactions with surrounding communities; the speculative nature of exploration and development; stock market volatility; conflicts of interest among certain directors and officers; lack of liquidity for shareholders of the Company; litigation risk; and the factors identified in the Company's public disclosure documents. Readers are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements or information, other than as required by applicable law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/266054

SOURCE: F3 Uranium Corp.
Berlin, Germany.--(Newsfile Corp. - September 11, 2025) - SciSure today announced the acquisition of Labfolder and Labregister, two flagship products from Labforward, reinforcing its mission to become the home base for connected and reproducible science.





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The addition of Labfolder, a leading electronic lab notebook (ELN), and Labregister, a widely adopted inventory management system, expands SciSure's Scientific Management Platform (SMP)-the only system designed to unify research documentation, inventory management, and compliance tracking without increasing administrative burden. Both products will now operate under the SciSure brand.

This acquisition also strengthens SciSure's support for the German research community. With SciSure, Labfolder, and Labregister now under one roof, scientists gain access to one of the only globally available platforms with full German language support.

"Labfolder and Labregister are trusted by scientists around the world to capture experiments and manage lab resources," said Philip Meer, CEO of SciSure. "Bringing these products and the talented team together with SciSure will accelerate innovation and expand choice for our valued customers, particularly those in Germany who have come to rely on a local presence for guidance and support. This acquisition brings us one step closer to fulfilling our mission: to facilitate unburdened, uncompromised, safe, and sustainable scientific advancement."

By combining the expertise, partner networks, and technology behind Labfolder and Labregister with its own platform, SciSure is positioned to accelerate product innovation and expand its ability to serve scientists, lab managers, and compliance officers worldwide. The move further demonstrates SciSure's commitment to building a Scientific Management Platform that not only strengthens research integrity and compliance, but also draws on the best talent and partnerships in the industry.

About SciSure

Trusted by over 1,000 customers worldwide, SciSure is an award-winning Scientific Management Platform (SMP) that unifies ELN, LIMS, EHS, and integrations into a single solution. Formed through the merger of SciShield and eLabNext, SciSure brings together decades of expertise in lab digitization and compliance. Recognized for product innovation and customer satisfaction, SciSure supports scientists, lab operations, and compliance teams in delivering operational excellence and research integrity.

As SciSure continues to build the Scientific Management Platform labs deserve, this acquisition marks another milestone in its vision: a unified, future-ready system that integrates ELN, LIMS, inventory, safety, compliance, and risk management into simplified workflows, enabling science to move forward, faster.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/266011

SOURCE: GYT
Vituity Cares Foundation to Host Club Night: Party for a Cause

FLORIDA CITY, FL / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / The Vituity Cares Foundation (VCF), a charitable 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to closing the healthcare divide, will host its premier Club Night: Party for a Cause benefit concert on September 24, 2025, at the iconic Hard Rock DAER Nightclub in Hollywood, Florida. This unforgettable evening of music and purpose will feature world-class performances while raising critical funds to expand access to healthcare and education across underserved communities.

Vituity Cares Logo

logo for Vituity Cares Foundation

Guests will enjoy live performances by Demola the Violinist, an award-winning artist who seamlessly blends Reggae, Pop, and Hip-Hop, and DJ Delano, known for his electrifying sets. Guests will also be treated to a special 30-minute set by international reggae and dancehall star Serani, best known for his global hit "No Games".

The night will also feature a surprise guest appearance by a 12-time Grammy nominee and one of the greatest rappers of all time, making this a celebration that promises to be as impactful as it is entertaining.

In addition to the performances, guests will enjoy special appearances from two extraordinary individuals being honored for their leadership, advocacy, and impact:

Hasan Minhaj , acclaimed comedian, actor, and advocate, will receive the Vituity Cares Ambassador Award in recognition of his work spotlighting issues of equity, representation, and civic engagement through his comedy and storytelling. His powerful voice has inspired millions to think critically about social change and justice.

NFL legend Bryant McKinnie will receive the Vituity Cares Impact Award for his philanthropic contributions and ongoing work to uplift youth and underserved communities.

"This event is about more than music-it's about creating opportunities for care and empowerment in communities that need it most," said Vituity Cares Foundation President, Imamu Tomlinson, MD, MBA. "Every ticket purchased helps us provide medical care, scholarships, and mentorship to thousands of people nationwide."

Since its launch in 2019, Vituity Cares has:

Delivered care through monthly pop-up medical and outreach clinics at 26 sites nationwide.

Provided timely acute medical care to more than 3,000 patients , preventing costly ER visits and saving families and the healthcare system more than $8 million .

Awarded scholarships to underserved students and expanded educational programs to build representation in healthcare.

Last year alone, nearly 8,000 individuals received care thanks to the support of VCF donors and partners.

Tickets for Club Night - Party for a Cause are available now, with VIP tables and bottle service also available for an enhanced experience.

Event Details:

Date: September 24, 2025, starting at 6:00 pm.

Location: Hard Rock DAER Nightclub, Hollywood, FL

Tickets & Tables:Click here for more information

For more information and to reserve your spot, visit vituitycares.org or click here.

SOURCE: Vituity

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/benefit-concert-at-hard-rock-hollywood-on-september-24-1071671
Flin Flon, Manitoba--(Newsfile Corp. - September 11, 2025) - Boreal Gold Inc (CSE: BGLD) (the "Issuer") has received gold assay results on the Fay Gold Showing east of the Railroad on the Fay Lake Property which lies on the western portion of the Puffy Lake Mine style gold mineralization trend. Sample 27309 collected in 2021 assayed 14.33 g/t gold and 65.8 g/t silver at the Fay Gold Showing. Boreal Gold returned this year and collected several samples and the selected significant results are found in the table below:

Sample Location Rock Name Au Ag 27471 58m north of quartz feldspar porphyry (QFP) Rusty quartz vein hosted in gabbro from 1m x 2m trench 4.07 g/t 2.6 g/t 27473 Wide (20m) intensely altered north portion of QFP Altered Quartz Feldspar Porphyry with 1% pyrite from a 2m x 20m trench 410 ppb Waiting for analysis from the lab 27474 Locally altered along shears in central portion of QFP Sheared Quartz Feldspar Porphyry with 0.5-1% pyrite from a 1m x 3m trench 3.37 g/t 35.6 g/t 27475 Locally altered along shears in central portion of QFP Rusty quartz vein with trace vuggy pyrite and chalcopyrite from a 1m x 3m trench 4.03 g/t 122 g/t 27476 Locally altered along shears in central portion of QFP Sheared Quartz Feldspar Porphyry with trace arsenopyrite from a 1m x 3m trench 1.09 g/t 1.6 g/t

Samples 27474 to 27476 were collected in 2025 near the same location as sample 27309 collected in 2021 by Boreal Gold which assayed 14.33 g/t gold. Sample 27475 collected this summer assayed 4.03 g/t gold, 122 g/t silver, 0.13% copper and 0.25% zinc. Anomalous arsenic and lead were also found associated with the gold. Sample 27473 assayed 410 ppb gold from a rediscovered 2m by 20m trench from the northern gossanous, altered and sheared bordered zone of the quartz feldspar porphyry with 1% to 5% pyrite. This altered (sericite) zone, which is at least 15m wide with 1% to 5% pyrite, was not extensively sampled this year but warrants further work given the anomalous gold values from the gossanous sericitic north border zone. The 50 to 75 m wide porphyry is unusual in width and continuity covering the full strike length of the grid mapped to date. Unlike other Quartz Feldspar Porphyries in the area, it is much larger and altered and contains significant gold, and likely earlier than other porphyries in its intrusive history. The gold bearing porphyry with a present strike length of 600 m and open in both directions will be followed up with additional prospecting and additional mapping to the east. Sampling is planned to discover the extent of the porphyry and its gold bearing system and controls. The porphyry appears hosted in gabbro where flanking sheared veins were also found containing gold. Flanking the porphyry, Boreal Gold discovered a new showing containing a rusty quartz vein with 1-2% vuggy pyrite, which assayed 4.07 g/t gold, from a 1m x 2m trench hosted in gabbro located 58 meters north of this altered sheared quartz feldspar porphyry.

Further, on the east portion of the property directly south of the Puffy Lake Gold Mine, Boreal Gold also plans this fall to investigate and sample several sites reported at Koscielny Lake to contain significant gold. Here mineralization contained values of up to 11.81 g/t Au (0.38 oz/ton Au) over one meter (J. Pearson, Sept. 4, 2024, National Instrument 43-101 Fay Lake technical report).

North Star - Gold Rock Property

With gold presently over $3,600 US and over $5,000 Canadian per ounce, Boreal Gold will continue its focus on gold by also exploring the North Star Property this fall that was recently optioned from Voyageur Mineral Explorers Corp (CSE: VOY), (see April 17, 2025 news release).

Since 2003 the "North Star Group Property" became an advanced exploration property where more than $9 million has been spent on it in the last 20 years with the following work completed:

Five major drilling programs, 135 drill holes at North Star and 143 drill holes at Gold Rock

Ramp access and underground development and sampling;

Large surface blast hole sampling and trenching together with extensive assaying for gold, trace elements and whole rock geochemistry. Average grade from blast holes and trench faces was over 0.35 oz/t gold. (Foran Mining Corporation (FOM) Press Release April 16, 2003). Gold on April 16, 2003 was $332.60 to 333.40 oz (https://www.usagold.com/daily-gold-price-history/) compared to over $3600/oz US or greater than $5000/oz Canadian today.

Extensive metallurgical testing at Lakefield established 85% recovery of gold by gravity alone. LR10572-002-Progress Report #1(Foran Mining Corporation (FOM) Press Release May 3, 2003).

A large grid covers the gold shear with mapping, prospecting and geophysical surveys carried out. The Shear is still open to the north and south and the grid can be extended to follow the shear on strike (unexplored). The shear zone in between the Gold Rock and North Star deposits has seen little drilling.

There is a two km of all-weather road to the North Star site, as well as 15 km of the Dickstone road being brought back to all weather road status with creek crossings improved and adjoining swamps lowered to improve road quality plan for this summer.

Numerous environmental surveys were completed, including: ungulate, rare plant, raptor, fish surveys and other surveys required for the establishment of tailings facilities.

A digital topographical airborne survey was carried out over the main area of the vein, and potential areas for tailings disposal and water intake.

Camp site and storage areas were established and permitted. These permits are still valid as is the road permit. A mill foundation; a concrete slab shop floor and a water waste disposal pond were completed.

A VTEM survey was carried out over the entire claim group in 2010.

Since 2007 to 2017 the property was extensively explored by mapping, prospecting and drilling (143 Diamond Drill Holes) where Copper Reef Mining Corporation (subsequently Voyageur Mineral Explorers Corp.) concentrated on the northern portion of the structure (Gold Rock and Richard Veins). Here the Gold Rock vein was further outlined by mapping and 4 drill programs to be at least 400 m long and the new Richard vein 50 m. Since 2018 the property has remained idle. Boreal Gold Inc. plans to continue where Copper Reef left off on expansion of the Gold Rock Vein along strike and at depth as well as new targets on the North Star Vein on the same structure to the south. A drill plan for Gold Rock has already been outlined with targets on North Star and the area in between to be contingent on this falls results. For a more detail description of the property please refer to news release dated April 17, 2025.

Planned Program

Line cutting and refurbishing old Grids

Refurbish and recut the Grid from North of the North Star deposit on Line 46 N to Line 59 N between Baselines 46 E and Tie Line 59 E for both mapping and drilling purposes. This portion of the grid is almost 25 years old and overgrown to obliterated as it was cut a few years after a forest fire.

Geological Mapping, Prospecting and Sampling

The Grids from Lines 59+50 N south to L 46 N will require geological remapping and detailed sampling to bring it up to the standard and detail of the northern grids that cover the Gold Rock and Richard Veins, with special emphasis on the section in between the North Star and Gold Rock deposits.

Drilling

Selective infill drilling, as well as down plunge drilling on the Gold Rock Vein with a view of completing a resource estimate and NI 43-101 compliant technical report (never undertaken). Ultimately the plan is to drill off enough tonnes that the combined resource of the North Star and Gold Rock Vein Structures, with sufficient grade, will warrant to bring it to a prefeasibility study. Even if successful on the first pass, this objective will require a few additional drill programs.

Qualified Person

Stephen L. Masson, M.Sc., P.Geo. is the "Qualified Person" as defined by NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects for these properties, has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained in this news release. Mr Masson acts as a consulting geologist for the company.

About Boreal Gold Inc

Boreal Gold Inc is a Canadian junior mineral exploration company with a specific focus on mineral properties in northwest Manitoba and northeast Saskatchewan, Canada. All of the Issuer's properties are currently at the exploration stage. The Issuer has assembled a portfolio of base metal and precious metal prospects in strategic locations in the Provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Boreal Gold Inc

"signed"

Richard Masson

President & CEO

No stock exchange or securities regulatory authority has reviewed or accepted responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Some of the statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements, such as estimates and statements that describe the Issuer's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Issuer or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/266064

SOURCE: Boreal Gold Inc.
Fairfax County, Virginia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 11, 2025) - Systems Planning & Analysis (SPA), a global provider of data-driven analytical insight and technical innovation supporting critical national security objectives, will invest $46.9 million to expand their operations in Northern Virginia. This project will create more than 1,200 new jobs in the region, with 714 new jobs to be created in Fairfax County expansion over the next five years. As part of this regional investment, SPA will also expand its headquarters operations in the City of Alexandria, creating 494 new jobs. Fairfax County, along with the Commonwealth of Virginia and City of Alexandria, successfully competed for this project with multiple states across the nation.





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"We are thrilled to deepen our roots in Alexandria and Fairfax County, two vibrant communities that have supported our growth for more than 50 years," said Rich Sawchak, CEO of SPA. "This expansion reflects our commitment to providing exceptional data-driven analytical insights to our clients while fostering innovation within our own organization. We are excited to welcome new talent and invest in the local economy."

By anchoring this project in Northern Virginia, SPA is reinforcing the region's role as the nation's leading hub for mission-critical innovation while enhancing quality of life for residents through job creation, career pathways, and sustained economic growth. This investment also underscores the fact that Fairfax County continues to be a place for building prosperous futures and where the work being done has a direct impact on safeguarding the nation.

"Fairfax County has long been a place where America's most critical missions take root. Our vast national security ecosystem, our diverse and highly skilled workforce, and our strong base of defense, intelligence, and technology companies all make our community a trusted home for purpose-driven organizations," said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeffrey C. McKay. "Today's investment announcement by SPA builds on that legacy. It represents confidence in our people, our assets, and our future. And it sends a message: Fairfax County is not only a place where companies grow, but also where the work of protecting our nation is carried forward," McKay continued. "We are deeply honored that SPA has chosen Fairfax County for this critical expansion and look forward to supporting their continued growth in our community."

SPA's planned investment in Fairfax County will significantly elevate its operations and workforce over the next five years, ensuring that the company remains at the forefront of advancing national security in a competitive marketplace through innovative strategies and approaches based in data-driven analysis. The company anticipates growth at its existing facility in Chantilly, while actively exploring new locations to accommodate its expanding workforce. SPA will invest significantly in new technology and enhanced facilities, creating more than 700 new jobs.

"This project is a tremendous win for our community, and I am so incredibly proud to celebrate SPA's decision to recommit to Northern Virginia with a significant expansion in Fairfax County," said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Vice Chair and Sully District Supervisor Kathy Smith. "The hundreds of new, high-paying jobs provide opportunities for our residents to contribute to missions of consequence, and to build careers that directly support the security and resilience of our nation."

SPA is a global, independent analytical and technical innovation firm supporting complex national security programs and defense priorities. SPA's portfolio of differentiated capabilities and tools delivers comprehensive support to the most critical programs for combatting threats, influencing long-term strategic priorities, and shaping policies at the highest levels. With over 2,800 professionals, SPA's employees are subject matter experts in numerous domains, including Land, Undersea, Surface and Air Warfare Operations; Intelligence Community, Radar and Sensor Systems; Unmanned Systems and Counter Systems; Defense Industrial Base and Economic Security; Space Systems; Ballistic Missile Systems; Cybersecurity Analysis and Policy; and Hypersonics.

"I want to congratulate SPA for their incredible growth and thank our state and regional partners for working with us to secure this investment for Northern Virginia," said Fairfax County Economic Development Authority President and CEO Victor Hoskins. "This investment highlights the power of regional collaboration in fueling innovation and sector leadership. With more than 1,200 new jobs coming to the region, SPA's growth is strengthening not just Fairfax County's economy, but the entire Northern Virginia ecosystem of national security and technology sector leadership. Together, we are building a future of innovation that sets the standard for mission-driven industries worldwide."

Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) worked with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) to secure the project for Fairfax County and Northern Virginia. Governor Youngkin approved $9.2 million in grants from the Commonwealth's Opportunity Fund and the Virginia Economic Development Incentive Grant to assist. Funding and services to support the company's employee recruitment and training activities will be provided through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program (VJIP).

###

About Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA)

FCEDA promotes Fairfax County as one of the world's top locations for business and talent, and offers site location and business development assistance, and connections with county and state government agencies, to help companies locate and expand in Fairfax County. FCEDA is headquartered in Tysons, Fairfax County's largest business district, and maintains offices in key global business centers: Bangalore/Mumbai, Berlin, London, Los Angeles and Seoul. For more information about FCEDA, visit www.fairfaxcountyeda.org, or follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and YouTube.





To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/266059

SOURCE: Fairfax County Economic Development Authority
EQS-News: United Terra Enterprises PLC / Key word(s): Bond/Financing

United Terra Enterprises PLC Announces Closing of USD 150 Million Senior Notes



11.09.2025 / 21:23 CET/CEST

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.





NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (OR FOR THE ACCOUNT OR BENEFIT OF, U.S. PERSONS (AS DEFINED IN REGULATION S UNDER THE U.S. SECURITIES ACT OF 1933)), OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD BE UNLAWFUL OR WOULD BE SUBJECT TO LIMITATIONS United Terra Enterprises PLC Announces Closing of USD 150 Million Senior Notes Schaan Liechtenstein, September 11, 2025. United Terra Enterprises PLC ("UTP") announced today the closing and issuance on September 10, 2025 of USD 150 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes due September 10, 2030 ("Notes"), in a private offering that is exempt from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). The Notes bear interest of 11.5% per annum which will be paid semi-annually on March 10 and September 10 to noteholders of record one business day prior to the relevant interest payment date during their term. The Notes have been assigned CUSIP H8969NAA1 / ISIN USH8969NAA12 and are traded electronically through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company, Euroclear and Clearstream Banking. The Notes were issued outside the United States to persons that are not U.S. persons as defined in Regulation S of the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act"). In addition, the Notes may not be offered, sold, delivered, or otherwise made available to any investor in any Member State of the European Economic Area that does not qualify as a qualified investor within the meaning of Art. 2 (e) Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 ("Prospectus Regulation") except pursuant to an exemption from a requirement to publish a prospectus under the Prospectus Regulation. The Notes have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended or the securities laws of any other jurisdiction. The Notes are not rated by any rating agency. UTP is undertaking no obligation to list the Notes on an exchange. Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any state securities commission nor any other U.S. or non-U.S. securities authority, has approved or disapproved the Notes or passed upon or endorsed the merits of the offering of the Notes or the accuracy or adequacy of the offering memorandum. The offering memorandum has not been approved by any authority in its capacity as competent authority under the Prospectus Regulation or any other regulation. UTP engaged Abalone Capital Ltd and Countryserv International Inc. as Co-Dealers and Lead Managers for the Notes. For additional information, please contact Peter Krempin either via email info@unitedterra.enterprises or by telephone at +423 236 40 10. About United Terra Enterprises PLC United Terra Enterprises is an international energy company engaged in the upstream oil and gas sector and the transition to renewable energy. The company is focused on establishing a responsible balance between conventional energy sources and the protection of the environment. https://unitedterra.enterprises Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, about UTP and UTP's industry that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including statements regarding the expected closing of the offering of the Notes and the anticipated use of the net proceeds from the offering of the Notes, and effects thereof, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as "anticipate," "believe," "contemplate," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "going to," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "target," "will," or "would" or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions. UTP cautions you that the foregoing may not include all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release. You should not rely on forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. UTP has based the forward-looking statements contained in this press release primarily on its current expectations and projections about future events and trends, including its financial outlook, macroeconomic uncertainty, and geo-political conflicts, that it believes may continue to affect UTP's business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties related to: UTP's financial performance; the ability to attain and sustain profitability; the ability to generate and sustain positive cash flow; the ability to attract and retain users, partners, and advertisers; competition and new market entrants; managing UTP's growth and future expenses; compliance with new laws, regulations, and executive actions; the ability to maintain, protect, and enhance 's intellectual property; the ability to succeed in existing and new market segments; the ability to attract and retain qualified team members and key personnel; the ability to repay or refinance outstanding debt, or to access additional financing; future acquisitions, divestitures, or investments; and the potential adverse impact of climate change, natural disasters, health epidemics, macroeconomic conditions, and war or other armed conflict, as well as risks, uncertainties, and other factors described in "Risk Factors" in UTP's offering memorandum. In addition, any forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on assumptions that UTP believes to be reasonable as of this date. UTP undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. Disclaimer This press release does not constitute or form part of any advertising, offer, recommendation or invitation to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for, any securities in any jurisdiction, nor shall part, or all, of this press release or its distribution form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract or investment decision in relation to any securities. This press release is not a prospectus. Any offers of the Notes will be made only by means of an offering memorandum regarding the offering of the Notes.



11.09.2025 CET/CEST Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



The EQS Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.

Archive at www.eqs-news.com


Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 11, 2025) - Taurus Gold Corp. (CSE: TAUR) ("Taurus" or the "Company") announces that it intends to proceed with its previously announced consolidation of its issued and outstanding common shares (the "Common Shares") on the basis of one (1) new common share for every four (4) existing Common Shares (the "Consolidation"). Further to the Company's news release dated August 20, 2025, the effective date of the Consolidation will be September 17, 2025.

No action is required by shareholders to effect the Consolidation.

About Taurus Gold Corp.

Taurus Gold is a growth-oriented mineral exploration company with a 51% interest in the Charlotte gold-silver property in the Yukon. The Charlotte Property covers approximately 23 square kilometres and is road accessible within the established Dawson Range mining district. The Company's focus remains on advancing this flagship property through systematic exploration and development.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

Robert Sim, CEO / Director

THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE, NOR HAS OR DOES THE CSE'S REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER.

Forward-Looking Statements

This News Release includes certain "forward-looking statements" which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", "likely", "probably", "often", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the effective date of the Consolidation. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include future growth potential of the Company, fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions, fluctuations in securities markets, exploration success, the ability of the Company to successfully achieve its business objectives, the ability of the Company to satisfy stock exchange, shareholder and other regulatory requirements in a timely manner, inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards and general market conditions. Additional factors and risks including various risk factors discussed in the Company's disclosure documents which can be found under the Company's profile on http://www.sedarplus.ca. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected

Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/266088

SOURCE: Taurus Gold Corp.
Overland Park, Kansas--(Newsfile Corp. - September 11, 2025) - Advanced Cosmetic Surgery, led by board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Levi J. Young, proudly marks its 10-year anniversary in 2025, celebrating a decade of artistry, innovation, and compassionate care in the Kansas City metro community.

Since opening its doors in 2015, Advanced Cosmetic Surgery has grown into one of the region's premier aesthetic practices, known for blending surgical precision with an artistic approach that helps patients look and feel their best. Over the past decade, Dr. Young and his team have transformed the lives of thousands of individuals, offering procedures and treatments tailored to each person's unique goals.

Advanced Cosmetic Surgery's philosophy has always been rooted in patient-centered care. As a double board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Young has dedicated his career to mastering the science and artistry of aesthetic medicine. From facial rejuvenation and breast augmentation to body contouring and reconstructive procedures, the team approaches each case with meticulous attention to detail and a commitment to natural, beautiful results.

"Reaching this 10-year milestone is both humbling and deeply meaningful," said Dr. Levi Young, founder and medical director of Advanced Cosmetic Surgery. "When I started this practice, my vision was to combine surgical excellence with a personalized, artistic approach to cosmetic care. Over the last decade, I've had the privilege of building relationships with incredible patients and helping them gain confidence in their own skin. I'm excited for what the next decade holds as we continue to innovate, grow, and serve this amazing community."

For Advanced Cosmetic Surgery's team, this anniversary is more than a celebration of professional success; it's a celebration of community. "We wouldn't be here without the trust and support of our patients," Dr. Young noted. "This anniversary is as much theirs as it is ours. We are grateful for the relationships we've built and look forward to serving the Kansas City area for many more years to come."

About Advanced Cosmetic Surgery

Founded in 2015 by Dr. Levi J. Young, Advanced Cosmetic Surgery is a leading aesthetic practice located in Overland Park, Kansas. The practice specializes in a wide range of cosmetic procedures, from breast augmentation and body contouring to facial rejuvenation and non-surgical treatments. Known for delivering natural-looking results through an artistic and individualized approach, Advanced Cosmetic Surgery is committed to helping patients achieve their goals with compassion, safety, and the latest advancements in cosmetic medicine.

Media Contact:





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10740/265982_b3dae76c24507bce_001full.jpg

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/265982

SOURCE: GetFeatured
Company leaders to attend premier international meeting of nuclear officials as a U.S. Industry Delegate, showcasing Mirion impact and leadership in nuclear safety and innovation

Mirion, a global provider of radiation detection, measurement, analysis, and monitoring solutions to the nuclear, medical, defense, and research end markets, is honored to announce its invitation to attend the 69th International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference. Scheduled for September 15-19 in Vienna, Austria, this annual event brings together key stakeholders from across the globe to discuss issues critical to nuclear safety, security, and peaceful applications of nuclear technology.

Representing Mirion at the General Conference will be Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Logan and Chief Financial Officer Brian Schopfer. Their presence underscores the distinguished role Mirion plays as an industry leader in nuclear measurement, radiation protection, and safety solutions, in addition to its commitment to innovation and advancing global energy solutions.

"We are honored to participate in this important global gathering," Logan said. "The IAEA plays a crucial role in fostering dialogue and driving progress in the nuclear arena, and Mirion is dedicated to contributing our expertise to these important conversations."

The IAEA General Conference is the agency's principal policy-making event, gathering its member states and key industry representatives to discuss emerging trends, address nuclear safety, and foster international partnership. Individuals or organizations that are not representatives of IAEA Member States must apply and receive an invitation to register for the General Conference.

While serving as a U.S. Industry Delegate at the General Conference, Mirion is an international company with key operations in 12 countries. Leveraging its extensive global network across the U.S., Europe, and beyond, Mirion brings diverse perspectives and specialized expertise that are uniquely tailored to contribute to the worldwide dialogue on nuclear energy. Mirion looks forward to engaging with leaders and experts from around the world to share insights and explore opportunities for furthering the safe, secure, and effective use of nuclear technology.

For more information about the IAEA General Conference, visit iaea.org.

About Mirion

Mirion is a global leader in radiation safety, science and medicine, empowering innovations that deliver vital protection while harnessing the transformative potential of ionizing radiation across a diversity of end markets. The Mirion Nuclear Safety group provides proven radiation safety technologies that operate with precision for essential work within R&D labs, critical nuclear facilities, and on the front lines. The Mirion Medical group solutions help enhance the delivery and ensure safety in healthcare, powering the fields of Nuclear Medicine, Radiation Therapy QA, Occupational Dosimetry, and Diagnostic Imaging. Headquartered in Atlanta (GA USA), Mirion employs approximately 2,800 people and operates in 12 countries. Learn more at mirion.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250911406022/en/

Contacts:

For media inquiries:

Erin Schesny

media@mirion.com

For investor inquiries:

Eric Linn

ir@mirion.com
Dr. Luis Macias, double board-certified plastic surgeon and founder of Aesthetic MdR, will present his latest peer-reviewed research on aesthetic submandibular gland resection at the 6th Norwegian American Aesthetic Surgery Meeting (NAAM6), October 24-25, 2025, in Oslo, Norway.

Presentation Highlights

At NAAM6, Dr. Macias will deliver a lecture based on his recent publication in Aesthetic Surgery Journal, Aesthetic Submandibular Gland Resection: A Review of Techniques, Outcomes, and Complications. His presentation will explore:

Indications and patient selection for submandibular gland resection in aesthetic cases

for submandibular gland resection in aesthetic cases Technical considerations , including incision placement and intra operative safeguards

, including incision placement and intra operative safeguards Patient outcomes and complication management , with data drawn directly from published clinical evidence

, with data drawn directly from published clinical evidence Best practices for integrating gland resection into comprehensive lower-face rejuvenation plans

In the study, Dr. Macias and co-authors note: "Submandibular gland resection, when performed with meticulous technique, can significantly improve lower facial contour with a low rate of complications, offering patients both functional safety and aesthetic refinement."

This evidence-based session is designed to provide surgeons with practical guidance for enhancing lower-face aesthetics while maintaining patient safety.

Speaker Profile

Dr. Luis Macias is a recognized leader in aesthetic plastic surgery, with expertise spanning facial rejuvenation, rhinoplasty, and body contouring. Through Aesthetic MdR, his Marina del Rey-based practice, Dr. Macias combines advanced non-surgical and surgical skills with patient-focused care. His leadership within The Aesthetic Society, ongoing research, and international lectures contribute to setting higher standards in aesthetic surgery worldwide.

About NAAM6

The Norwegian American Aesthetic Surgery Meeting (NAAM), hosted by the Norwegian Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (NSAPS) and endorsed by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), is a biennial international symposium uniting experts in aesthetic plastic surgery. Since its launch in 2015, NAAM has served as a leading forum for innovation, safety, and global collaboration.

NAAM6 will take place October 24-25, 2025, in Oslo, Norway.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250909972047/en/

Contacts:

Media Contact

Aesthetic MdR

Email: info@aestheticmdr.com

Phone: +1 (310) 574-2103

Website: www.aestheticmdr.com
ATLANTA, GEORGIA / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / The Arbor Company has been selected as one of Fortune's Best Large Workplaces in Aging Services for 2025. This honor, conferred by Fortune via survey and analysis conducted by Great Place To Work/Activated Insights, recognizes The Arbor Company's exceptional workplace culture and commitment to nurturing meaningful connections among residents, families, and staff.

"This distinction is a testament to our people-first philosophy," said Judd Harper, president of The Arbor Company. "Our team's passion for enriching the lives of residents is at the heart of our mission-this recognition reflects their dedication, compassion, and unwavering support."

This follows The Arbor Company's recent 2025 Great Place To Work Certification-the seventh consecutive year since the award's introduction to senior living in 2019-underscoring its ongoing commitment to a supportive and inclusive workplace.

Founded over 30 years ago and operating more than 45 senior living communities across 11 states, The Arbor Company remains devoted to a culture of trust, purpose, and joy in service. Employees consistently report that working at Arbor "is not just a job," citing a deep sense of meaning, belonging, and pride in their work-pillars that underpin both employee satisfaction and quality care.

About The Arbor Company:

The Arbor Company is an Atlanta-based operator of more than 45 independent living, assisted living, and memory care communities, serving seniors in 11 states. With more than 35 years of dedication and experience as a leader in the senior living field, The Arbor Company strives to deliver the highest quality care and service to residents and their families. The Arbor Company has been designated a Great Place to Work and is listed on the Fortune Best Workplaces for Aging Services list. More information about The Arbor Company is available at www.ArborCompany.com.

Media Contact: Chris Harper

Phone: 404-334-3784

Email: chris.harper@arborcompany.com

SOURCE: The Arbor Company

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/real-estate/the-arbor-company-named-one-of-fortunes-2025-best-workplaces-in-aging-services-1072044
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 11, 2025) - Vortex Metals Inc. (TSXV: VMS) (FSE: DM8) (OTCQB: VMSSF) ("Vortex" or the" Company ") announces a non-brokered private placement of securities to raise total gross proceeds up to $600,000 (the "Offering"). The Offering will be comprised of units (the "Units") to be sold at a price of $0.04 per Unit.

Each Unit will be comprised of one common share of the Company (a "Share") and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each whole Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one additional Share for a period of 36 months from the date of issuance at an exercise price of $0.08 per Share. A maximum of 15,000,000 Units will be issued in the Offering.

The Warrants will be subject to an acceleration clause which allows the Company to accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants if after 18 months from the date of issuance, the trading price of the Shares exceeds $0.15 for a period of 10 consecutive days.

Vortex intends to allocate the gross proceeds raised from the sale of the Units as follows: approximately 40% to pay for mining concession fees, approximately 40% to pay for exploration fees and remaining 20% for general working capital purposes.

The Company may pay finders' fees comprised of cash and non-transferable Share purchase warrants in connection with the Offering, subject to compliance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV").

All securities issued under the Offering will be subject to a hold period expiring four months and one day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities laws. Completion of the Offering and the payment of any finders' fees remain subject to the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including the approval of the TSXV. The Offering may close in multiple tranches as subscriptions are received.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States of America. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons (as defined in the 1933 Act) unless registered under the 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration is available.

About Vortex Metals Inc.

Vortex Metals Inc. is a copper-gold focused exploration and development company with a diversified portfolio of exploration projects in Chile and Mexico. Vortex holds an option to acquire up to 80% interest in the brownfield Illapel Copper Project in Chile and through its Mexican subsidiary Empresa Minera Acagold, S.A. de C.V., it owns 100% interest in two drill-ready high-potential copper-gold volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) properties, Riqueza Marina and Zaachila, in Oaxaca, Mexico. The Company emphasizes responsible exploration, community engagement, and environmental stewardship to meet the rising global demand for copper.

Contact Information:

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or "occur". This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forward-looking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, estimates and forecasts and statements as to management's expectations and intentions with respect to, among other things: the completion of the Offering; the anticipated proceeds to be raised under the Offering; the intended use of proceeds raised under the Offering; and the potential payment of finders' fees in connection with the Offering.

These forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things: delays in obtaining or failure to obtain the required regulatory approvals for the Offering; market uncertainty; the inability of the Company to complete the Offering on the terms disclosed, or at all; the inability of the Company to raise the anticipated proceeds under the Offering; changes in the Company's business plans impacting the intended use of proceeds raised under the Offering; and the state of the financial markets for the Company's securities.

In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that: the Company will obtain the required regulatory approvals for the Offering; the Company will be able to complete the Offering on the terms disclosed; the Company will be able to raise the anticipated proceeds under the Offering; and the Company will use the proceeds of the Offering as currently anticipated and on the timeline currently expected. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial out-look that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. We seek safe harbor.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/266117

SOURCE: Vortex Metals Inc.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 11, 2025) - Minnova Corp. (TSXV: MCI) (OTC Pink: AGRDF) ("Minnova" or the "Company") announces that its common shares (the "Common Shares") will be reinstated on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"). This follows the successful resolution of the cease trade order issued by the Ontario Securities Commission (the "OSC") on August 5, 2025, which was revoked by the OSC on August 6, 2025.

Pursuant to the TSXV trading reinstatement review, the Company is providing the following disclosure. As of July 31, 2025, the Company has a working capital deficiency of $544,611. The Company plans to complete a private placement (the "Offering") to address the deficiency and fund ongoing work programs at the PL Gold Mine, including up to 10,000 meters of drilling, ore sorting test work and updated NI 43-101 compliant techno-economic studies. Once the Company determines the details of the Offering, the Company will issue a press release disclosing same.

PL Gold Mine Development Update

The Company engaged A&B Global Mining (see press release of August 21, 2025) and is advancing on plans for an updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) and preliminary open pit and underground mine design and layout. Work is well underway on a new mine development plan that considers the current gold price, restarting mining operations from open pits that can provide 1,000 tonnes per day run-of-mine (ROM) ore to the mill before transitioning to underground mining operations.

About Minnova Corp.

Minnova Corp. is focused on the restart of its PL Gold Mine, which included completion of a Positive Feasibility Study in 2018, based on a gold price of US$1,250 per ounce. The study concluded the restart of the PL Mine, at an average annual production rate of 46,493 ounces over a minimum 5-year mine life, was economically robust. Importantly the global resource remains open to expansion, as does the reserve. The PL Gold Mine benefits from a short pre-production timeline forecast at 15 months, a valid underground mining permit (Environment Act 1207E), an existing 1,000 tpd processing plant, over 7,000 meters of developed underground ramp to -135 metres depth. The project is fully road accessible and close to existing mining infrastructure in the prolific Flin Flon Greenstone Belt of Central Manitoba.

Visit our website at www.minnovacorp.ca.

Forward-Looking Statements

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/266118

SOURCE: Minnova Corp.
NAIROBI, Kenya and NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Craft Silicon Ltd., a leading global fintech innovator headquartered in Nairobi, and MindHYVE.ai, Inc., a pioneer in agentic artificial intelligence (AGI), announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to introduce ArthurAI, a next-generation autonomous learning platform, into African markets.

This collaboration comes at a critical moment:

Over 230 million jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa will require digital skills by 2030 (World Bank).





Yet less than 20% of African workers currently receive formal digital training (IFC).





Financial literacy remains below 40% across East Africa, creating barriers to inclusion and resilience (FSD Africa).

By combining Craft Silicon's footprint in 30+ markets with MindHYVE.ai's adaptive intelligence technology, the partnership will scale digital skills, financial literacy, and inclusive workforce development.

Transformative Goals

Workforce Upskilling: Equip thousands of employees and customers annually with adaptive training in financial literacy, compliance, and digital onboarding.





Equip thousands of employees and customers annually with adaptive training in financial literacy, compliance, and digital onboarding. Localized AI Learning: Deliver ArthurAI in regional languages, across mobile-first environments, ensuring accessibility for Africa's 495 million mobile internet users.





Deliver ArthurAI in regional languages, across mobile-first environments, ensuring accessibility for Africa's 495 million mobile internet users. Scalable Education Impact: Pilot ArthurAI with measurable KPIs - targeting 80% training completion rates (vs. the regional average of 30% for e-learning) and a projected 50% reduction in onboarding time for financial services clients.





Pilot ArthurAI with measurable KPIs - targeting 80% training completion rates (vs. the regional average of 30% for e-learning) and a projected 50% reduction in onboarding time for financial services clients. Innovation Pipeline: Co-create industry-specific modules, from SME banking literacy to ride-hailing workforce skilling, embedded directly into Craft Silicon's ecosystem.

Leadership Perspectives

Kamal Budhabhatti, Chief Executive Officer of Craft Silicon, said:

"Africa's economic future depends on digitally skilled citizens. Partnering with MindHYVE.ai gives us the unique ability to deploy intelligent, inclusive education at scale - embedding learning into the very services people use daily."

Bill Faruki, Founder & CEO of MindHYVE.ai, added:

"ArthurAI is not another e-learning tool; it is an agentic system that continuously adapts to each learner's cognitive profile. Early pilots have shown up to 80% faster mastery of concepts and improved retention compared to traditional models. With Craft Silicon, we can bring this transformation to millions across Africa."

The partnership will launch with a strategic implementation phase, embedding ArthurAI across Craft Silicon's banking, training, and ride-hailing platforms. A joint Steering Committee will track high-value outcomes such as learner engagement, digital onboarding efficiency, and measurable improvements in financial literacy. This phase is designed to deliver tangible outcomes and establish the foundation for large-scale adoption across public-private initiatives, educational systems, and NGO collaborations.

About Craft Silicon

Craft Silicon is a Nairobi-based global fintech solutions provider serving over 350 institutions in 30+ countries. Its portfolio spans core banking, mobile banking, ride-hailing, and payment systems, with a strong emphasis on financial inclusion and digital transformation.

About MindHYVE.ai

MindHYVE.ai is redefining the boundaries of intelligence by engineering autonomous systems and deploying domain-specific AGI agents across real-world sectors. Powered by the Ava-Fusion large reasoning model and architected for agent coordination, swarm intelligence, and adaptive autonomy, MindHYVE's technology stack is revolutionizing law, medicine, finance, education, and governance.

With operations in North America, Asia, and now soon in Africa, MindHYVE.ai is on a mission to democratize access to transformative intelligence and architect the infrastructure for post-scarcity economies. Backed by HYVE Labs, the company continues to shape the future of agentic systems on a global scale.

Website: www.mindhyve.ai | Email:hello@mindhyve.ai | Contact: +1 (949) 200-8668

Media Contacts

Marc Ortiz

Email: marc.ortiz@mindhyve.io

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TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - New Zealand will on Friday release August figures for electronic card retail sales, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. In July, sales were up 0.2 percent on month and 1.7 percent on year. New Zealand also will see August results for the Performance of Manufacturing Index from BusinessNZ; in July, the index reading was 52.8. Japan will release final July data for retail sales, with no change expected from the 1.6 percent monthly decline reported previously. Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Federal Trade Commission has launched a sweeping inquiry into the safety of artificial intelligence chatbots, ordering seven major tech companies, including OpenAI, Alphabet, Meta, xAI, Snap, and Character Technologies, to disclose how their AI systems interact with children and teenagers. The move comes amid mounting concerns that chatbots, designed to simulate human-like communication, could foster unhealthy dependencies or expose minors to inappropriate content. FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson emphasized that protecting young users online remains a priority while also ensuring innovation in AI development. The agency is demanding detailed information on how these firms design, monitor, and monetize their chatbot products, how personal data is handled, and what safeguards are in place to mitigate harmful effects. In response, OpenAI pledged cooperation, stating it is committed to making ChatGPT 'helpful and safe for everyone.' Snap expressed support for the FTC's focus on responsible AI development, while Meta declined to comment. Alphabet and xAI did not immediately respond. The inquiry follows heightened scrutiny of the fast-growing chatbot industry, which has surged since the release of ChatGPT in late 2022. Experts warn that the technology, still in its early stages, poses significant ethical and safety challenges, particularly as loneliness and mental health issues rise among U.S. youth. Recent reports have revealed troubling instances, including chatbots engaging in romantic conversations with children, prompting policy revisions at Meta and OpenAI. As AI companions gain traction with leaders like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg touting their potential, the FTC's probe signals an escalating regulatory effort to balance innovation with child safety. Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Epoca has recalled about 110,000 Paris Hilton-branded Mini Beauty Fridges in the U.S. after reports of the appliances overheating and catching fire. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), an electrical switch in the portable fridges can short-circuit, creating a fire and burn risk. The company said it has received reports of at least 27 incidents of overheating and fire, however, no injuries have been reported. Property damage has been limited to the units and nearby surfaces. The recall affects both 4-liter and 10-liter models sold in pink, white, aqua, and hot pink. The products, which retail for about $30 to $60, were sold between November 2022 and July 2025 at Walmart, Ross, Amazon, and other online retailers. The company has asked its customers to stop using the mini fridges immediately, unplug them, and register for a refund at www.epoca.com/minifridgerecall. Refunds will require photographs of the recalled unit, including the model and serial number label, the fridge marked 'RECALL,' and a cut power cord. The recall covers models with serial numbers manufactured before August 2024, including PH11887, PH11887-1, PH12540, PZB02-E001, PZP01-E001, and PZW01-E001. Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Annual survey shows generational shift in attitudes toward alternative alliances

BOSTON, Sept. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As President Donald Trump prepares for his State Visit to the United Kingdom next week, new survey results reveal Americans want the trip to deliver on trade. At the same time, younger American generations are increasingly looking beyond Britain - and even toward China - when asked about economic and strategic partnerships.

The Association of Marshall Scholars (AMS) annual public opinion poll on Americans Perceptions of the UK, conducted by Emerson College Polling , finds that 38% of Americans say trade and economic cooperation should be the top focus of any new U.S.-U.K. agreement announced during the visit, while another 24% prioritize defense and security.

The United Kingdom is seen as America's most trusted ally, with 38% of respondents naming it the United States' closest strategic partner, ahead of Canada (27%) and China (12%). But generational differences reveal a shifting orientation: while nearly half (49%) of Americans over 70 see the U.K. as the country's top ally, just 31% of those under 30 agree. Younger Americans are also far more likely to see China as economically attractive - 43% of 18-29 year olds selected China as the best opportunity for U.S. business and trade, compared with just 19% of respondents over 60.

The survey also finds that 41% of Americans believe relations between the United States and the United Kingdom have gotten worse over the past year - the highest level recorded since the question was first asked in 2019. Just 23% said ties have improved, while 36% said they have stayed about the same.

"These findings highlight the urgency of renewing transatlantic ties for younger generations," said Dr. Nell Breyer, Executive Director of the Association of Marshall Scholars. "Americans still rank the U.K. as their closest ally, but younger voters are looking to China for business opportunities and to cultural exchange as the foundation for global ties."

The survey also asked what sustains the relationship in the long term. Older Americans saw business ties and economic interdependence as driving strong ties, while younger Americans emphasized educational and cultural exchanges. Across all age groups, however, respondents agreed that shared democratic values remain at the heart of the alliance, with 39% citing them as the most important factor.

Despite differences, a majority of Americans affirmed the importance of the U.S.-U.K. relationship. Nearly 90% said the alliance is at least "somewhat important" amid rising global tensions, with 57% describing it as "very important".

The 2025 survey demonstrates that while the U.K. continues to hold a special place in the American public imagination, younger generations are reshaping what the Special Relationship means. Educational and cultural study abroad opportunities, such as the Marshall Scholarship, can help anchor the alliance for the future by fostering personal ties and deepening understanding of shared democratic values.

Methodology

All respondents interviewed in this study were part of a fully representative sample consisting of n=1,100 residents, with a margin of error of +/- 2.9%. Data was weighted by U.S. general population parameters. The survey was administered via MMS-to-web text and an online panel between August 29 and September 2, 2025.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/most-americans-want-trade-outcomes-from-trumps-uk-visit-young-americans-see-china-as-rising-partner-302554531.html
MNS leader Ameya Khopkar, who heads the film wing of the party, issued the warning to Sharma while talking to reporters here.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Thursday warned comedian-actor Kapil Sharma against insulting Mumbai by calling it as Bombay or Bambai on his show, and said it would launch a strong agitation if the practice is not stopped.

MNS leader Ameya Khopkar, who heads the film wing of the party, issued the warning to Sharma while talking to reporters here.

The warning comes a day after Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray visited the home of his cousin and MNS president Raj Thackeray in Mumbai amid the buzz of an alliance between the two parties ahead of local body polls.

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Khopkar said, The name of this city is Mumbai. On Kapil Sharmas show, since long we have seen and even before this new season started, that the city is always referred to as Bombay or Bambai. We oppose this. Its not an objection, its anger. The name of this city is Mumbai. If you can address other cities by their proper names like Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata, why insult our city? You (Sharma) have been working in Mumbai for so many yearsMumbai has been your karmabhoomi (land of work). The people of Mumbai like you and watch your shows. Mumbai is in our hearts, dont insult this city, dont insult the people of MumbaiI am warning Kapil Sharma, he said.

I request you that if this has happened by mistake, then correct the mistakeWhoever comes on your show, whether they are celebrities or the anchor, tell them first that they must not call Mumbai as Bombay or Bambai. They must say Mumbai. If this does not happen, then the MNS will launch a strong agitation, Khopkar warned.

Kapil Sharma currently hosts The Great Indian Kapil Show, which is streamed on Netflix. The third season of the show premiered on June 21.

When asked whether the MNS was raking up the issue in view of the upcoming local bodies polls, Khopkar Said, We have been agitating on this issue for the past many years. Keep elections aside, the name of this city is Mumbai. You will have to say Mumbai. And those who do not call it so, will have to face our anger.
Right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk, who was a close aide of US President Donald Trump, has died after being shot in the neck during a speaking event at Utah Valley University in Orem. The 31-year-old was answering questions on transgender issues and mass shootings when a single shot was fired, hitting him in the neck and causing widespread panic among the audience of over 4,000

American right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Point's visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP

The face of Maga. A staunch ally of Donald Trump. Executive director of Turning Point USA. Conservative commentator. Top podcaster and culture warrior.

There are many ways to define Charlie Kirk, the famous right-wing activist and commentator. However, on Wednesday (September 10), one could add victim of gun violence to Kirks name after he was shot and killed at Utah Valley University, Utah in western America.

The killing of Kirk prompted an outpouring of condolences from several famous names, including US President Donald Trump. The great, and even legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead, announced the US president on his social media, adding later, Charlie inspired millions and tonight all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror. Charlie is a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country that he loves so much, the United States of America.

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But how did the shooting that killed Kirk occur?

We try to piece together the chain of events that led to the killing and the aftermath of it.

Who was Charlie Kirk?

The 31-year-old was one of the highest profile conservative activists and media personalities in the US and a trusted ally of President Donald Trump. Kirk was famously known for holding open-air debates, mostly at US colleges, to challenge youth perspectives.

But before he became famous for his debates, Kirk founded Turning Point USA, a youth movement, at the age of 18. The organisation was aimed at spreading conservative ideals at liberal-leaning US colleges. According to its website, Turning Point USAs mission is to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government.

Today, the organisation now has chapters in more than 850 colleges and holds regular public events. Kirk, himself, became a social media personality, amassing more than 5.2 million followers on X and 7.3 million followers on TikTok.

US right-wing activist Charlie Kirk was a prolific supporter of Donald Trump and Maga values. He also echoed the US presidents claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. File image/AFP

And to call him a Trump fan would be an understatement. He echoed Trumps claim that the election was stolen from in 2020 and even spread anti-transgender views and scepticism over the Covid-19 pandemic.

What happened on Wednesday?

As part of his American Comeback Tour, Kirk appeared at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, a first of his 15 stops on his speaking tour.

Before the shooting occurred, he had taken his seat at his popular Prove Me Wrong debating table, taking questions from an audience outdoors.

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He began taking questions from the audience, drawing in large numbers at the campus with videos from the event showing him going back and forth on mass shootings and transgender people.

Charlie Kirk hands out hats before speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, moments before he was shot dead. Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP

At one point, hes asked: Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?

Too many, Kirk responds as the crowd claps.

He is then asked, Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years? To which Kirk replies, Counting or not counting gang violence?

Before the debating can go forward, a single shot rings out and videos show Kirk reaching up with his right hand as blood gushes from the left side of his neck.

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Eva Terry and Emma Pitts, two reporters from the Deseret News, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, who were at the university when the shooting occurred, told USAToday, Before he was able to speak a bullet hit the left side of his neck and it was pretty bloody.

Then he fell off his chair and then everyone dropped to the ground, she added. I didnt see anyone catch him, I saw him slump out of his chair and thats the last thing I saw.

When the shot went off, we dropped to the ground and were holding each other and we said a prayer, she said. Everyone around them was dropping to the ground, and then after about 30 seconds, she said everyone ran.

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The crowd reacts after Charlie Kirk is shot during Turning Points visit to Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday. Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP

Former Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, who was also at the event, told AFP that Kirk was then rushed away on a stretcher by his security detail. As soon as that shot went out, he fell back, Chaffetz said. Everybody hit the deck a lot of people started screaming, and then everybody started running.

Who was behind Kirks shooting?

Officials at the scene of the crime note that Kirk was killed by a single bullet, which the shooter fired from a roof of a building, roughly 200 yards away.

According to Utah Valley University spokesperson, the shot came from the Losee Center about 20 minutes after Kirk began speaking.

The crowd reacts after Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organisation Turning Point USA, is shot at the Utah Valley University Wednesday. Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP

Later, a dispatch message stated that a possible suspect was on top of the building on the far north side just east of the library and wearing all black, [carrying a] black long gun, black tactical helmet, a black mask, possibly wearing a tactical vest and jeans.

A few hours into the shooting, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director Kash Patel announced that a suspect had been arrested. In fact, Beau Mason, the commissioner of the state Department of Public Safety, said that they had taken one suspect into custody  a man identified as George Zinn  but was later released after determining he was not the suspect.

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This means that the search for the shooter is ongoing with the BBC reporting that the police are going door-to-door in and around the university, still searching for Kirks killer.

Law enforcement officials prepare to sweep a building at Utah Valley University following Charlie Kirks death. AP

Meanwhile, some eyewitnesses were present at the event where Kirk was killed recount that the security was lax. Jeremy and Amy King told CNN, I looked around and there was no security. We were able to walk right in. I had a ticket. Nobody checked my ticket. We were able to go through the door and go through some students and go all the way down to the front row.

Jeremy King said Kirks security team was scanning the crowd the whole time, but it was wide open for anyone to go to that event.

They acted immediately, Jeremy King said of Kirks security guards. When he went down, they were they were on top of him immediately.

Even Emma Pitts and Eva Terry, the reporters, added that they were surprised that nobody scanned our equipment, nobody scanned our bags, there was no security like that.

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Adam Bartholomew, another eyewitness, also commented on the lack of security while speaking to BBC. He adds that he was surprised that there was no security at the event. Nobody stopped me or searched my bag.

Meanwhile, Utah Valley University said the campus was immediately evacuated and remained closed. Classes were cancelled until further notice. Those still on campus were asked to stay in place until police officers could safely escort them off campus.

Arizonans mourn Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk outside of the Turning Point USA headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. AFP

What happens next?

The killing of Kirk has led to an outpour of grief and condolences. US President Donald Trump himself paid tribute to Kirk, calling him a martyr for conservative values. Kirk fought for liberty, democracy, justice and the American people. Hes a martyr for truth and freedom, the 79-year-old president said in a video posted to his Truth Social platform. Trump has also ordered for flags to fly at half-mast to pay tribute to Kirk.

President Trump shares a message on the assassination of Charlie Kirk.



I ask all Americans to commit themselves to the American values for which Charlie Kirk lived & died. The values of free speech, citizenship, the rule of law & the patriotic devotion & love of God. pic.twitter.com/3fBSgs4Zxa  The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 11, 2025

Utah Governor Spencer Cox dubbed Kirks death as a political assassination. This is a dark day for our state. Its a tragic day for our nation. I want to be clear that this is a political assassination, Cox told reporters.

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Kirks killing has even prompted strong reactions from across the political aisle. California Governor Gavin Newsom said, The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible.

The murder of Charlie Kirk breaks my heart. My deepest sympathies are with his wife, two young children, and friends, said Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was wounded in a 2011 shooting in her Arizona district.

The US flag flies at half-staff on the roof of the White House in honour of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk who was shot and killed earlier in Utah, in Washington, DC. AFP

Former US presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden also condemned the killing with Obama writing on X, We dont yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy.

Kirks killing also highlights how political violence is now a feature of US life. Before Kirk, Trump faced two assassination attempts last year. Moreover, surveys have shown an increased acceptance of using violence for political aims.

Robert Pape, who directs the Chicago Project on Security and Threats, wrote in the New York Times that a survey his team conducted in May was its most worrisome yet. About 40 per cent of Democrats supported the use of force to remove Trump from the presidency, and about 25 per cent of Republicans supported the use of the military to stop protests against Trumps agenda. These numbers more than doubled since last fall, when we asked similar questions, he wrote.

With inputs from agencies
Nearly 3,000 people died when 19 Al-Qaeda hijackers seized four planes in the United States and crashed three of them. Among those killed was two-year-old Christine Lee Hanson, the youngest victim, and Robert Norton, aged 82, the oldest. The attacks changed America and the world

Nearly 3,000 people died in the 9/11 attacks, along with the 19 hijackers. AFP/File Photo

The world came to a standstill on this day in 2001, when nearly 3,000 people were killed after 19 al-Qaeda hijackers took over four planes in the United States, crashing three of them into buildings.

Among the victims was Christine Lee Hanson, a toddler who was the youngest of the eight children killed. The oldest victim was Robert Norton, aged 82. Both were passengers on the flights.

Also on this day in 1941, work began on the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia. It would go on to become one of the largest office buildings in the world and now serves as the headquarters of the US Department of Defense, housing the Army, Navy and Air Force.

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As part of Firstpost Explainers History Today series, heres a look at what happened on September 11:

September 11 attacks

On this day in 2001, terrorists belonging to the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, hijacked four passenger planes and launched suicide attacks in the United States.

Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, bringing down the twin towers within hours and destroying much of lower Manhattan.

A third plane struck the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, near Washington, DC.

On the fourth plane, passengers and crew resisted the hijackers, and the aircraft crashed in a field close to Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

The second tower of the World Trade Center after it was hit by a plane. Reuters/File Photo

Nearly 3,000 people died in the 9/11 attacks, along with the 19 hijackers. The events were broadcast worldwide and left people everywhere shocked.

The administration of President George W Bush declared a war on terrorism, which led to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the US invasion of Afghanistan.

In total, 2,977 people were killed, not including the hijackers. Citizens from 77 nations were among the dead.

All 246 passengers and crew aboard the four flights were killed. At the Twin Towers, 2,606 people died either at the site or later from their injuries. At the Pentagon, 125 lives were lost.

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Christine Lee Hanson, aged two and a half, was the youngest victim. She boarded United Flight 175 at Logan Airport in Boston with her parents, Peter and Sue Kim Hanson. The family from Groton, Massachusetts, were travelling to Los Angeles to visit relatives before a planned trip to Disneyland.

Robert Grant Norton, aged 85, was the oldest victim. A resident of Lubec, Maine, he was on American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane to hit the World Trade Center. He and his wife Jacqueline, were flying to California for his stepsons wedding scheduled for the next day.

Thousands were injured or later developed health problems linked to the attacks, including many firefighters who had worked in the toxic debris.

Osama bin Laden, who planned the attacks, remained in hiding until May 2, 2011, when U.S. forces tracked him down and killed him in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Construction of the Pentagon began

On this day in 1941, work started on the five-sided building in Arlington County, Virginia, close to Washington, DC, which came to be known as the Pentagon.

It became the headquarters of the US Department of Defense, housing the Army, Navy and Air Force.

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The project was designed to bring together the War Department offices, which had been spread across 17 different locations in Washington.

It would go on to become one of the largest office buildings in the world. Image: Wikimedia Commons

After the United States entered World War II in December 1941, just three months after building had begun, finishing the project turned into a national priority.

More than 13,000 labourers worked day and night, and within eight months of construction beginning, Secretary of War Henry Stimson moved his offices into the building.

When completed in January 1943 at a cost of $83 million, the Pentagon was the largest office building in the world.

It covered 29 acres (12 hectares), including a central courtyard of 5 acres (2 hectares), and provided about 3,700,000 square feet (344,000 square metres) of working space for nearly 25,000 staff.

This Day, That Year

1971: Former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, a key figure during the Cold War, died.

1973: Chilean President Salvador Allende died in a violent coup led by General Augusto Pinochet.

2023: More than 4,000 people were killed and thousands went missing after Storm Daniel caused two dams to collapse, flooding the city of Derna in Libya.

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Poppy production has moved to Pakistans Balochistan from Afghanistan ever since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 and banned it in 2022. Aerial images reveal massive poppy farms in just two small areas of the restive south-western province of Pakistan

The Taliban, since returning to power in Afghanistan in 2021 after the exit of the United States, has cracked down on the opium trade.

Now, satellite images show that the cultivation of poppy  whose seeds comprise the raw material for heroin  has moved across the border to Pakistans Balochistan. The images revealed massive poppy farms in the restive south-west province.

The developments have raised concerns in New Delhi that the drugs could find their way across the border and that terror groups could use the money raised via the heroin trade to attack India.

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But what happened? What do we know? Lets take a closer look.

What happened?

Aerial images show that the restive province of Balochistan alone has 8,100 acres of poppy farms  surpassing the 8,000 acres of poppy farms in two provinces of Afghanistan. The images were procured by geographic data company Alcis.

Many of these farms are over five hectares (12 acres) each. This has been found in surveys of just two small areas of the province  Duki and Gulistan. In some places, around 70 per cent of agricultural land has been taken over by poppy production.

The development came as poppy production plunged in Afghanistan ever since it was banned by the countrys supreme spiritual leader in 2022. Production, which was spread across 233,000 hectares (575,210 acres) in 2022, dropped to just 10,800 hectares

(26,687 acres) in 2023.

A survey by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said that opium farming in Afghanistan collapsed by 95 per cent in the year that followed.

Meanwhile, cultivation shifted across the border with Afghan farmers easily crossing over. Balochistan and Afghanistan share a long and porous 1,268-kilometre border. They bring with them the technical know-how on how to grow the crop in the harsh desert landscape.

Most Afghan farmers either work on the land or simply rent it out. Its very difficult to get land and grow poppies without a share for the local Baloch, one migrant Afghan farmer told The Telegraph. They know the Pakistani militia in the area.

A lot of Baloch people have livestock  they dont know about the cultivation of poppies, another added.

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Experts call this the balloon effect, where pressure on one area results in it moving to another  akin to squeezing a filled balloon.

However, poppy production bounced back in Afghanistan in 2024, with production shifting from the traditional area of cultivation  the north-west  to the south-east. Cultivation in 2024 grew nearly 20 per cent to 32,000 acres, according to UNODC. Others peg

the rise at a more moderate 12,800 hectares (31,640 acres).

The development came as poppy production plunged in Afghanistan ever since it was banned by the countrys supreme spiritual leader in 2022. Reuters

However, it remains far below the production levels of 2022. Despite the increase in 2024, opium poppy cultivation remains far below 2022, when an estimated 232,000 hectares (573,430 acres) were cultivated, the UNODC said in a statement.

In Afghanistans south-western region, which borders Pakistan and accounted for almost half the countrys production in 2023, cultivation collapsed by 65 per cent in 2024. Of that regions poppy-farming provinces, the only exception was Helmand, which saw a 434 per cent increase but from a low base.

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In the north-eastern region, which borders Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, cultivation surged 381 per cent this year to 7,563 hectares (18,693 acres), four times the area cultivated in the south-west, the second-biggest producer, the report said.

Almost all the north-easts production was in one province, Badakhshan, a mountainous area that includes a stretch of the Hindu Kush and Afghanistans relatively short border with China.

What do experts say?

The data suggest that Afghanistans poppy production will likely be easily outstripped by Pakistan by next year. The Afghan [poppy] crop in 2025 is likely to be far exceeded by Pakistan, David Mansfield, an expert on Afghanistans opium trade, told The Telegraph.

Mansfield, who analysed the US governments counter-narcotics programme, said the images show unrestrained cultivation that has not ever been seen in Afghanistan, even in its peak years of opium production.

Experts say the development could leave terrorist groups flush with cash and alter the dynamics of the region. Balochistan is home to several militant groups including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF). Many of these groups have been in a decade-long struggle against the Pakistani state.

Afghan men harvest opium in a poppy field in a village in Golestan district of Farah province. Reuters

People talk about Balochistan as the new Afghanistan, Mansfield added. Its unruly. Theres a lot of different armed groups there.

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Balochistan is a powder keg even in the calmest of times, with its combination of ethnic insurgents and Islamist militants, added Michael Kugelman, senior fellow of the Asia Pacific Foundation, a Vancouver-based think tank.

Its rough terrain security-wise, and its also a sensitive area, given the presence of Pakistani nuclear facilities and high-stakes Chinese investment projects.

The drug trade can be destabilising even in isolation, but when its happening in a region rife with militancy, security risks will naturally soar.

Corruption is already running rampant, with farmers complaining that they have to pay off Pakistani militia and local police. Ironically, Pakistan was declared poppy-free in 2001  a status its officials often tout.

Ironically too, the Talibans crackdown has likely resulted in the growing use of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and nitazenes, particularly in Europe, according to the UNODCs 2025 World Drug Report.

With inputs from agencies
Right-wing activist Charlie Kirk has been shot dead in Utah. The 31-year-old was talking about transgender people and guns. Often grabbing headlines for his controversial views, he has been a critic of India

Charlie Kirk is a controversial figure in many circles. He has a long history of making inflammatory and racist remarks against Indians, women, trans people and Palestinians. Reuters

Right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk has been shot dead. The 31-year-old Trump loyalist was killed while speaking at an event in Utah. Videos on social media show Kirk clutching at his neck after a loud gunshot is heard, while the large crowd listening to him flees. US President Donald Trump, condemning the incident, said White House flags would be lowered to half-mast until Sunday.

Kirk was a controversial figure in many US circles. He has a long history of making inflammatory and racist remarks against Indians, women, trans people and Palestinians. He has also previously remarked that gun deaths are worth it in order for the US to continue having the Second Amendment.

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Let us take a look at his controversial remarks and controversies.

On India and Indians

Kirk has recently made inflammatory and racist remarks about Indians. Just last week, Kirk said America was full and that they needed to put their own people first.

"America does not need more visas for people from India. Perhaps no form of legal immigration has so displaced American workers as those from India. Enough already. Were full. Lets finally put our own people first, Kirk wrote on X on 2 September.

Kirk on 5 September also claimed social media accounts were being paid to attack Trumps tariffs on India.

You have to wonder if this coordinated activity promoting the interests of India should trigger FARA registrations. Many accounts are obviously being paid to peddle this trash from the Indian government  who is paying them and how much? We need answers, Kirk wrote.

That very same day, he also praised Donald Trump for reportedly mulling blocking outsourcing to India. President Trump is reportedly considering blocking American tech companies from outsourcing their work to Indian companies. Good. Invest in this country first. Hire American companies and American workers, Kirk wrote.

Just last week, Kirk said America was full and that they needed to put their own people first. Reuters

He also reposted another right-wing commentator who accused Indians of being among the biggest violators of H-1B rules.

I have just now heard about the illegal India payments to influencers  this is exactly the sort of scam I was talking about this morning. Tariff! Kirk said.

On Gaza and Muslims

Kirk has been a staunch defender of Israels war on Gaza. While many experts have accused Israel of starving the Palestinian people, Kirk has rejected this argument. No, Israel is not starving Gazans, Kirk said in July 2025.

That same month, Kirk called images of starving children in Gaza propaganda, saying its emotional, visual, optical warfare.

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Charlie Kirk has been a staunch defender of Israels war on Gaza. Reuters

In 2023, he also made racist remarks against Muslims.

Muslims that run Hamas are not going to stop until they believe they can kill every single Jew on the face of the earth. That is their goal.

On guns

Kirks previous remarks about gun violence have now resurfaced. A staunch Second Amendment advocate, Kirk said in April 2023 that he thought some gun deaths every year were worth it.

I think its worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational, Kirk said at the Turning Point USA Faith event on the Salt Lake City campus of Awaken Church.

Families reunite outside the police barricades after a shooting at Annunciation Church, which is also home to an elementary school, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US. Charlie Kirk previously remarked that gun deaths are worth it in order for the US to have continue having the 2nd Amendment. Reuters

Ironically, his last remarks were also about gun violence. Kirk was asked how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years. He replied:

Counting or not counting gang violence? For many, Kirks remarks on guns gain new significance in the light of his death.

On women

Kirk has made several derogatory remarks about women during his career. The latest came on 8 September, just days before his death.

Appearing on Laura Ingrahams Fox News show, he claimed that young women do not value having children. He stated, This is one of the reasons why we are seeing a fertility collapse in the West.

Kirk was among many in the right-wing movement in the US that are obsessed with the birth rate. Some on the far right espouse what is known as the Great Replacement Theory  which claims that a shadowy elite wants to replace white Americans with immigrants, Muslims and people of colour.

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Kirk also slammed women who voted for Kamala Harris, Young women who voted for Kamala Harris want careerism, consumerism and loneliness, while Trump voters, young men, they want family, children and legacy.

Charlie Kirk has made several derogatory remarks about women during his career. Reuters

In August, Kirk called on Taylor Swift  the idol of millions of young American women  to get married and have a ton of children:

Submit to your husband, Taylor. Youre not in charge, Kirk said. He also told her to change her name  which many independent women refuse to do. And most importantly, I cant wait to go to a Taylor Kelce concert. I cant say it without laughing. Youve got to change your name. If not, you dont really mean it.

On abortion and rape

Kirk, who claimed to be pro-life, has taken a hardline stance when it comes to abortion.

Asked during a debate what he would do if his underage daughter got pregnant as a result of rape, Kirk did not hesitate:

Thats awfully graphic, Kirk said. But the answer is yes, the baby would be delivered.

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Charlie Kirk, who claimed to be pro-life, has taken a hardline stance when it comes to abortion. Reuters

Many in the right-wing movement do not support exceptions for abortion, even in cases of rape and incest  a view not shared by the vast majority of Americans.

Kirk has constantly framed the debate over abortion as a spiritual battle between good and evil. He has accused women who have abortions of having committed murder.

He also espoused problematic views when it comes to rape, claiming there is a grey area when alcohol is involved in cases of consent.

On trans people

Kirk has a long history of going after trans people.

In May 2025, appearing at the Oxford Union, he described JK Rowling as a hero. Many have criticised Rowling for her views on transgender people. Kirk also said, Theres something sick and awful about chopping off a 14-year-olds breasts.

In September 2024, while appearing at Kansas State University, Kirk said, Transgenderism is a mental disorder I want people who are suffering from transgenderism to get health and care because I have compassion for people.

In 2023, he described trans people as a throbbing middle finger to God and an abomination. He quoted the Bible to say the trans movement was against our senses and against natural law. He also deadnamed University of Pennsylvania transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.

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A demonstrator holds a trans flag during a rally in support of trans youth in Seattle, Washington, US, on February 8, 2025. Charlie Kirk has a long history of going after trans people. Reuters File

That same year, Kirk called for trans people to be taken care of like men did in the 1950s and 60s. Many interpreted his remarks as a call for violence against the trans community.

Ironically, one of Kirks last words were about trans people. Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years? an audience member asked Kirk. Too many, Kirk responded.

On Black people

Charlie Kirk has also made racist remarks about Black people and been critical of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

If I see a Black pilot, Im going to be like, Boy, I hope hes qualified, Kirk said in January 2024.

Kirk, in 2023, slammed affirmative action as evil.

The problem is Blacks that kill themselves a lot  kill each other in inner cities. Black crime is a huge problem no one wants to talk about.  Maybe we can agree on that. The failing government schools in inner cities.

He also slammed affirmative action.

Charlie Kirk has slammed a number of successful Black women, including Michelle Obama, Joy Reid, Sheila Jackson Lee, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Reuters

Affirmative action is evil.  The problem is Blacks that kill themselves a lot  kill each other in inner cities. Black crime is a huge problem no one wants to talk about.  Maybe we can agree on that. The failing government schools in inner cities.

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The problem is that Black fathers abandon the women that they impregnate, Kirk added.

In 2023, he also criticised a number of successful Black women, including Michelle Obama, Joy Reid, Sheila Jackson Lee, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

They do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously  you had to go steal a white persons slot to go be taken somewhat seriously, Kirk said.

Kirk in 2021 also described George Floyd, who was killed by the US police, as a scumbag and claimed he was unworthy of the attention.

With inputs from agencies
Nasas Perseverance Rover has collected unusual reddish rocks thought to be billions of years old that present some of the strongest clues yet about possible past life on Mars. Researchers believe the markings on these rocks contain minerals formed through chemical reactions that could be connected to ancient Martian microbes

A selfie taken by Nasas Perseverance Mars rover in this image released on September 10, 2025. Nasa/Reuters

Unusual rocks gathered by Nasas Perseverance Rover have revealed some of the clearest clues so far about possible past life on the Red Planet.

The six-wheeled rover made the discovery in the planets Jezero Crater, offering one of the strongest pieces of evidence yet that our neighbouring planet may once have supported life.

ALSO READ | Was Mars once home to oceans and 'vacation-style' sandy beaches?

According to the US space agency, the findings are important enough to meet what it describes as potential biosignatures.

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So how do these rocks point to the strongest signs of ancient life? And what is Nasa saying about it?

Lets take a look:

What happened?

The sample of reddish rock, believed to have formed billions of years ago from lakebed sediment, may hold signs of ancient microbial life on Mars, according to scientists.

The Perseverance Rover found these mudstones in a dusty riverbed. They are marked with unusual patterns called leopard spots and poppy seeds.

Researchers think these markings contain minerals created through chemical reactions that might be linked to ancient Martian microbes.

Collected last summer, the sample comes from reddish, clay-rich mudstones in Neretva Vallis, a river channel that once flowed into Jezero Crater.

A reddish rock nicknamed Cheyava Falls with features resembling leopard spots was discovered. Nasa/Reuters

This patch of sedimentary rock, known as the Bright Angel formation, was studied by Perseverances instruments before drilling began.

Today, Mars is a dry and cold desert. But billions of years ago, it had a thick atmosphere and water, which makes it a strong option for the search for past life.

Lead researcher Joel Hurowitz of Stony Brook University and his team discovered tiny specks, named poppy seeds and leopard spots, containing iron phosphate, iron sulphide and organic carbon, a basic ingredient of life.

For now, Hurowitz and his team are limited in how much more they can analyse using Perseverances instruments.

However, the rover was designed to collect several rock samples that could later be brought back to Earth for further study.

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The only way to confirm if microbes created these minerals is to return the rocks to Earth for detailed analysis.

A joint Mars sample return mission has been proposed by Nasa and ESA, but its future is unclear.

The Nasa science budget is facing major cuts under Donald Trumps proposed 2026 budget, putting the mission at risk of being cancelled.

ALSO READ | What will life be like on Mars? Isros Hope mission in Ladakh offers a clue

What are the researchers saying?

Sean Duffy, the acting administrator of Nasa, said at a press conference that the agencys scientists had studied the data for a year and concluded that we cant find another explanation, so this very well could be the clearest sign of life that weve ever found on Mars - which is incredibly exciting.

Nicky Fox, associate administrator for Nasas Science Mission Directorate, stressed that the team was not claiming to have found an actual living organism.

Nasas Perseverance Mars rover is seen in a selfie that it took over a rock nicknamed Rochette. Nasa/Reuters

Its not life itself, Fox said at the press conference.

Meanwhile, Janice Bishop from the SETI Institute and Mario Parente from the University of Massachusetts Amherst described it as an exciting discovery but noted that non-biological processes could also explain it. Notably, they were not part of the study.

Thats part of the reason why we cant go so far as to say, A-ha, this is proof positive of life, said lead researcher Joel Hurowitz of Stony Brook University in an interview with The Associated Press.

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All we can say is one of the possible explanations is microbial life, but there could be other ways to make this set of features that we see.

Hurowitz added that this is the strongest and most promising sample yet in the rovers search for signs of ancient life. It was the 25th sample collected, and the total is now 30.

With inputs from agencies
Mike Holston, known online as The Real Tarzan, sparked outrage in Australia after he wrestled crocodiles in Far North Queensland and called it a dream come true moment. The 31-year-old American influencer is facing backlash from Peta, Australian officials and possible legal penalties of more than $8,000 (Rs 4.67 lakh), or up to $37,500 (Rs 21.19 lakh) if the case goes to court

In a viral video, Holston is seen leaping into a waterhole in Far North Queensland and wrestling a freshwater crocodile with his bare hands. Image courtesy: Instagram/ @therealtarzann

Mike Holston, better known online as The Real Tarzann, is a US wildlife influencer famous for high-adrenaline animal encounters. But his latest stunt in Australia has pushed him into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

In a viral video, Holston is seen leaping into a waterhole in Far North Queensland and wrestling a freshwater crocodile with his bare hands. The reptile thrashed violently as he tried to hold it down, leaving him with cuts and scratches, and sparking an uproar online.

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What Holston described as a lifelong dream come true has instead unleashed a wave of outrage from conservationists, government officials, and animal lovers who say he crossed a dangerous line.

Heres what happened

Holston wrestles crocodiles

On Friday, Holston shared a dramatic clip of himself jumping out of a boat and wading through ankle-deep water towards a crocodile that was basking in the sun.

As the startled reptile tried to slip away into the water, Holston sprinted forward and leapt onto its back, pinning it down.

He got a hold of me. But I got a hold of him, the 31-year-old joked to the camera, even as blood trickled from his arm where the croc had bitten him.

Holy sh*t! He got a good piece of my arm there, he added, laughing while clutching the animal tightly around its neck.

Holston shared a dramatic clip of himself jumping out of a boat and wading through ankle-deep water towards a crocodile that was basking in the sun. Image courtesy: Instagram / @therealtarzann

In the footage, the crocodile can be heard groaning in distress as Holston lifts it up to show off its size. This is sick. This is what dreams are made of, he said, before finally releasing the reptile, which whipped its tail furiously as it swam away.

The crocodile wrestling wasnt a one-off. Over the past four days, Holston has posted several videos of himself catching both freshwater and saltwater crocs on Cape York. One of the clips has already racked up over 32 million views on Instagram.

Also read: Explained: How these endangered Australian animals could be mating themselves to death

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Holston faces backlash from Australia

Holstons viral stunt may have racked up millions of views, but in Australia, it triggered outrage from locals, authorities, and animal activists.

Many online accused him of deliberately distressing the crocodile just for clicks. Why would you stress a croc like that just for Insta likes? Just cruel, one user wrote.

Another added: Just leave them alone you nob. A third comment read, You are the monster  not the crocodile.

Animal rights group Peta went even further, calling for Holston to be punished, deported, and permanently banned from entering Australia again.

Aside from it being illegal and unfathomably stupid to interfere with a crocodile in Queensland, its also incredibly cruel, Peta advisor Mimi Bekhechi told ABC News.

She added that crocodiles, like koalas or wombats, are sensitive individuals who experience pain and stress, and who deserve to live in peace without fear that visiting influencers will tackle and roughly handle them.

Under Queensland law, interfering with a saltwater crocodile can bring fines of more than $8,000 (Rs 4.67 lakh), or up to $37,500 (Rs 21.19 lakh) if the case goes to court. Representational Image

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli didnt mince his words either, labelling Holston a goose.

He warned that stunts like this could easily backfire: If you think that is a sustainable business model to go wrestling with saltwater crocodiles, I think its probably not going to end the way he thinks its going to.

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Beyond the outrage, Holston could also face serious consequences. Under Queensland law, interfering with a saltwater crocodile can bring fines of more than $8,000 (Rs 4.67 lakh), or up to $37,500 (Rs 21.19 lakh) if the case goes to court. The maximum penalty for disturbing a freshwater crocodile is $27,539 (Rs 16.09).

For context, crocodile encounters in Australia are no joke. The CrocAttack global database has recorded 46 fatal attacks in the country since 1969.

Why experts are worried

Wildlife experts say Holstons crocodile stunt isnt just reckless, its dangerous for both people and animals.

Dr Meg Shaw, a research fellow at Monash Universitys BehaviourWorks, told ABC News that videos like these can have ripple effects online.

The more we see this kind of content posted, the more it becomes normalised, she explained. Viewers might think, oh, this person did it, so it must be fine. And when those posts rack up millions of likes and comments, it can tempt others to copy the behaviour for attention.

According to Dr Shaw, the fallout goes beyond the risk of serious injury. Her research shows that such content can actually make wild animals appear less endangered than they really are, or even give viewers the false idea that theyd make good pets. In a way, this content is saying this animal is a prop, not a living being, she said.

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Holston, for his part, brushed off the criticism. In a reply on his video, he said the crocodile was released after a few up-close looks and photos, and stressed that he didnt encourage anyone else to try what he did.

Also read: How cars and chlamydia are threatening Australian koalas

Not the first case

But this isnt the first time an influencer has sparked outrage for messing with Australian wildlife.

Just a few months ago, a US content creator, Sam Jones, caused fury after posting a video of herself picking up a baby wombat from the side of the road while its distressed mother looked on.

American hunting influencer removes baby wombat from distressed mother in Australia. Is this legal? pic.twitter.com/7vvsoM6WQu  non aesthetic things (@PicturesFoIder) March 11, 2025

She was slammed by animal lovers and even Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who called the act irresponsible. The woman later apologised, saying she had made a snap judgment to check if the animal was injured.

Back in 2023, another influencer, Jaylie Tori, was also criticised after she filmed herself feeding a live chicken to a crocodile near Babinda.

With input from agencies
A Chechen special forces unit fighting for Russia has reported cases of mouse fever, a dangerous hantavirus infection spread by rodents. Stationed near Zaporizhzhia, three soldiers have fallen ill amid severe rodent infestations. With no cure and limited vaccines, the outbreak poses health and operational challenges for Russian forces on the frontline

Volunteers, who joined the Russian armed forces and took military training in Chechnya, board a plane before departing for positions of the Akhmat battalion involved in Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, at an airport in Grozny, Russia, January 17, 2024. File Image/Reuters

A frontline Russian military unit, infamous for its flashy combat videos on social media, has been struck by a serious outbreak of a dangerous disease spread by rodents.

The Akhmat Battalion, a Chechen special forces group widely referred to as Russias TikTok soldiers, is dealing with confirmed cases of hantavirus infection, commonly known among troops in the region as mouse fever.

The outbreak, which has so far affected three soldiers stationed near Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine, has put a spotlight on the impact of deteriorating living conditions and rampant rodent infestations in frontline trenches.

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It also highlights the broader health threats faced by troops deployed for extended periods in harsh environments without proper sanitation.

Chechen unit reports cases amid severe rodent infestation

The Akhmat Battalion, known for its loyalty to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, has been actively involved in Russias war in Ukraine since the early days of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

While the group is more recognised for its choreographed propaganda videos than combat successes, it has been accused of grave abuses, including the torture of Ukrainian civilians, and has reportedly assumed operational roles once handled by the Wagner mercenary group.

According to a report by The Telegraph on Wednesday, three members of the battalion have been diagnosed with hantavirus. The illness is believed to have spread due to extensive contact with rodents in their living quarters and operational positions.

An Akhmat medic, identified by her callsign Shama, described the overwhelming presence of mice in a message shared on a Russian Telegram channel.

Mice are everywhere. We wake up because they run across us. We even wrestle over cans of condensed milk, she said, describing the conditions faced by her unit.

She added that while she personally found the rodents harmless, her fellow soldiers who had fallen ill disagreed. Three of our men fell ill with mouse fever and would not agree with me.

The precise number of infections remains uncertain. Health experts warn that given the lack of accessible medical facilities and the movement of units across the frontline, additional undetected cases are likely.

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The infected soldiers are currently receiving medical care, but there are concerns that others may be in the early stages of the illness without realising it.

Volunteers, who joined the Russian armed forces and took military training in Chechnya, board a plane before departing for positions of the Akhmat battalion involved in Russias military campaign in Ukraine, at an airport in Grozny, Russia, January 17, 2024. File Image/Reuters

Health intelligence organisation Airfinity, which tracks global disease outbreaks, issued a warning about the implications of the cluster of cases.

While only three cases are confirmed, limited medical access and movement among units mean more cases could be undetected, heightening potential for wider transmission and operational disruption.

Previous outbreaks among Russian forces

This is not the first time Russian soldiers have encountered mouse fever. In 2023, there were reports of a large-scale outbreak among Russian troops stationed near Kharkiv.

At the time, Ukraines military intelligence directorate (GUR) claimed that the illness was spreading rapidly through Kremlin forces, describing the situation as the virus mowing down Russian troops en masse.

Such recurring outbreaks indicate that rodent-borne diseases have become a persistent issue for Russian units operating in areas with inadequate sanitation and high levels of environmental contamination.

What is mouse fever? Understanding hantavirus infections

The term mouse fever is commonly used by soldiers in Ukraine and Russia to refer to hantavirus infections, particularly a severe form called Haemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS).

Hantaviruses are a family of viruses carried by rodents, including mice and rats, and can cause serious illnesses in humans.

Two major syndromes caused by hantaviruses

Hantaviruses are found worldwide and can lead to two main types of diseases, depending on the region and viral strain:

Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS):

Most common in the Western Hemisphere, including the United States.

Typically caused by the deer mouse and other wild rodents.

The infection primarily affects the lungs, causing respiratory distress.

Early symptoms appear 1 to 8 weeks after exposure and include fatigue, fever, and muscle aches, especially in large muscle groups like the thighs, hips, back, and shoulders.

Roughly half of patients experience additional symptoms like headaches, dizziness, chills, nausea, diarrhoea, and abdominal pain.

Within 4 to 10 days, the illness can progress to coughing and severe shortness of breath as the lungs fill with fluid.

The mortality rate for HPS is high, with up to 38 per cent of cases proving fatal once respiratory symptoms develop.

Haemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS):

More common in Europe and Asia, making it the likely strain affecting Russian soldiers.

Symptoms usually develop 1 to 2 weeks after exposure but can sometimes take up to 8 weeks.

Initial signs include sudden-onset fever, intense headache, back and abdominal pain, nausea, and chills.

Other symptoms may include facial flushing, redness in the eyes, or a rash.

As the illness progresses, more severe complications arise, such as low blood pressure, internal bleeding, shock, and acute kidney failure.

Depending on the specific strain: Hantaan and Dobrava viruses: Fatality rate of 5-15 per cent; Seoul, Saaremaa, and Puumala viruses: Usually milder, with a fatality rate below 1 per cent.

Full recovery for survivors can take several weeks to months.

Given that Russian soldiers are stationed in Europe, the cases reported among the Akhmat Battalion almost certainly fall under the HFRS category.

How hantavirus spreads

Hantaviruses do not spread from person to person, which makes them different from many other viral infections. Instead, they are contracted directly from rodents or their environment.

The virus is primarily transmitted in the following ways:

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Inhalation of airborne particles from dried rodent urine, droppings, or saliva.

Direct contact with contaminated surfaces or materials.

In rare cases, bites or scratches from infected rodents.

Conflict zones like Ukraine provide ideal conditions for outbreaks. Soldiers are often stationed in trenches, abandoned buildings, or makeshift shelters that are highly susceptible to rodent infestations.

Limited access to sanitation, poor waste management, and stockpiles of food create perfect breeding grounds for mice and rats.

The medics testimony from the Akhmat Battalion paints a stark picture of these conditions, indicating that soldiers are in constant, unavoidable contact with rodents, greatly increasing the risk of exposure.

No cure and limited vaccine options

There are no specific antiviral medications currently approved to treat hantavirus infections.

Medical care focuses entirely on managing symptoms and preventing complications:

For HFRS, treatment involves monitoring and supporting kidney function. In severe cases, patients may require dialysis to filter toxins from the blood and maintain fluid balance.

For HPS, respiratory support is critical. Patients with severe lung involvement may need intubation to receive oxygen and maintain breathing.

General supportive care includes rest, hydration, and close monitoring in a hospital setting.

While there are two vaccines available for certain strains of hantavirus, they are only licensed in China and South Korea and are not widely distributed.

This leaves most populations, including soldiers in Ukraine, unprotected.

Because of this, prevention is the only effective strategy, making the control of rodent populations and the maintenance of sanitary living conditions absolutely essential.

Prevention measures & safe handling

Reducing the risk of hantavirus exposure involves limiting contact with rodents and their habitats. Health agencies, including the CDC and Mayo Clinic, recommend the following steps:

Seal gaps and holes as small as 6 millimetres to prevent mice from entering.

Use materials like wire mesh, steel wool, metal flashing, or cement for sealing.

Keep food and garbage in secure, rodent-proof containers.

Wash dishes promptly and clean food preparation areas regularly.

Avoid leaving pet food out overnight.

Clear away brush, tall grass, and debris near buildings.

Move firewood stacks and compost piles away from living quarters.

Set traps along baseboards and in suspected nesting areas.

Use poison baits cautiously, as they can harm pets and humans.

Wear gloves and masks when cleaning rodent droppings or nests.

Disinfect affected areas with bleach or household disinfectant before cleaning.

Dispose of cleaning materials safely and wash hands thoroughly afterwards.

While these practices are feasible in civilian settings, they are difficult to implement in combat zones, where soldiers live in rapidly changing, unsanitary conditions.

Global reach of hantavirus

Although this outbreak is occurring on the Ukrainian frontlines, hantaviruses are a global health concern. They are most common in rural areas with large rodent populations.

Earlier this year in April, a high-profile case in the United States drew attention to the disease when Betsy Arakawa, wife of actor Gene Hackman, died after contracting hantavirus at their home in New Mexico.

Also Watch:

With inputs from agencies
After two days of Gen-Z protests that saw unprecedented violence, Nepal is picking up the pieces as it tries to restore some normalcy. However, the damage caused is extensive, and it goes beyond that caused to government buildings and public property

Children walk in front of the Parliament house which was set on fire by protesters, following days of unrest. Reuters

Theres a hush across Nepal  an uneasy calm prevails in the Himalayan nation after Gen-Z protests brought it to a standstill for over two days. Gone are the countrys prime minister, KP Sharma Oli, and its president, Ram Chandra Poudel. Gone are the thousands of protesters from the streets. Gone are the cries of revolution.

After two days of intense violence, which saw deaths and destruction of public and private property, the Nepal army has taken control with troops patrolling the streets of Kathmandu, and enforcing a curfew.

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According to reports, Nepal Army chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel has successfully persuaded Sushila Karki, former chief justice of Nepal, to step in as the interim chief executive of the country.

As the country picks up the pieces after the violent demonstrations that broke out on Monday and Tuesday (September 8 and 9), heres exactly the high price that it has exacted from the nation.

Death, looting, destruction in Nepal

The Gen-Z protests first broke out on Monday with the immediate cause being linked to the governments decision to ban popular social media apps such as Facebook, X and more. While critics called it an attempt at censorship, government officials insisted that it was a move to curb fake news.

The Gen-Z protesters began to march towards the parliament in Kathmandu demanding a reversal of the decision. What ensued was horror.

The police used bullets, tear gas, water cannon and batons when the demonstrators pushed through barbed wire and tried to storm into a restricted area near parliament. This led to 19 deaths and more than 200 others injured, causing anger to further escalate.

And on Tuesday, inflamed by the violence perpetrated against the protesters, coupled with political instability and resentment against corruption and rampant nepotism, the Gen-Z demonstrators went on a rampage, destroying government buildings, including the parliament and other structures within the Singha Durbar, a historic 1908 palace complex that has served as the administrative hub of Nepals government.

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A protester carries a chair from the Singha Durbar, the seat of Nepals governments various ministries and offices during a protest against social media ban and corruption in Kathmandu, Nepal on Tuesday. AP

But the vandalism didnt stop there. Houses of ministers, past and present, were also burnt down. PM Olis private residence was set ablaze as were the houses of the president, the home minister and Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife, Arzu Rana Deuba. The home of the leader of the opposition Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) was also set ablaze.

Other properties across Nepal also fell victim to the anger of the Gen-Z protesters. One of the countrys tallest hotels, the Hilton Kathmandu was also reduced to a charred shell amidst the demonstrations.

Visuals show the five-star establishment appearing blackened and charred, with burnt windows, smoke stains, and structural damage.

Smoke rises from the burnt Hilton Kathmandu hotel, following protests in Kathmandu, Nepal. Reuters

Another iconic building set on fire by protesters was the building of the countrys Ministry of Health and Population in Nepal, which was designed by world-renowned American architect Louis I Kahn in 1965, according to the Kathmandu Post. Architecture students from all around the world would visit the site to study Kahns design and witness the architectural marvel.

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Prisoners out, guns appear on the streets

Nepals Gen-Z protests have also resulted in the countrys law and order going to the dogs. According to officials, at least 13,000 prisoners were set free from jails in all 77 districts of Nepal during the violent anti-government protests.

Among those set free was Rabi Lamichhane, former deputy prime minister and chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party who was imprisoned at Nakkhu central jail in Lalitpur.

Smoke rises in the distance as a prisoner carrying his belongings walks back to Dilli Bazaar jail, after escaping and being sent back by the Nepalese army, following protests in Nepal. Reuters

Officials said that inmates took advantage of the protests and tried to escape from jails, resulting in clashes across several prison facilities since Tuesday. Five juvenile inmates died in a clash with security personnel at the Naubasta Correctional Home in Naubasta Regional Jail located in Baijnath Rural Municipality-3 of Banke on Tuesday night, The Rising Nepal newspaper said.

The five juvenile inmates were killed and four were seriously injured when police opened fire during a clash that broke out when inmates tried to take over the weapons of security personnel of the correctional home, the newspaper said, quoting the Naubasta Juvenile Correctional Home office.

Meanwhile, MyRepublica newspaper reported that around 7,000 inmates across the country have escaped from various prisons.

A man holds a gun taken from the riot police as he heads to the army barracks to hand it over to army personnel, during a protest against Mondays killing of 19 people after anti-corruption protests that were triggered by a social media ban, which was later lifted, during a curfew in Kathmandu, Nepal. Reuters

The Gen-Z protests also saw a surge of guns being brandished and used. Young men were seeing wielding assault rifles in Kathmandus streets, shocking people within the country. When I saw youths carrying rifles, I realised this was no longer just a protest, a shopkeeper was quoted as saying by Times of India, adding, It felt like war could break out any moment.

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In fact, the Nepali army, as per Khabarhub, recovered 31 firearms and associated ammunition looted by unruly groups.

Now, the Nepal army is trying to restore law and order with soldiers guarded Nepals parliament and patrolling deserted streets.

Former Nepals Prime Minister KP Sharma Olis picture lies on the floor in the Singha Durbar office complex that houses the prime ministers office and other ministries burnt, following the Gen-Z protests. Reuters

Political instability

The Gen-Z protests have left the country in a political predicament. KP Sharma Oli has tendered his resignation as prime minister and his government is on the precipice of collapsing. Since Nepal transitioned to a republic in 2008, the country has seen 14 different governments, none of which have lasted a full five-year term.

Now, the Nepal army chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel is persuading former chief justice of the country, Sushila Karki, to take charge. As per an Indian Express report, General Sigdel held several rounds of talks with the Gen-Z protesters following which he informed Karki that she would be the most appropriate person to lead the interim government.

A man walks past a graffiti that reads Hang the Killer! following the Gen-Z protests in Nepal. Reuters

However, it took her more than 15 hours to agree to this request. Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah, whose name as a likely contender for interim chief had been floated by a section of the Gen-Z protesters, also endorsed Karki as the interim chief executive.

But there are also those who are calling for Nepal to return to monarchy and installing former King Gyanendra Shah on the throne. They are of the opinion that a monarchy is the way forward for the Himalayan nation and that Gyanendra would be able to reverse the countrys misfortunes  be it economic or political.

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Tourism affected

The Gen-Z protests also hit tourism, which is one of the key sectors contributing to the countrys economy.

Earlier, amid the protests, the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu was temporarily closed after fires from nearby protests reduced visibility and raised security concerns. All domestic and international flights were suspended. Hundreds of tourists from across the world, many from India, were left stranded as a result, fearing for their lives.

Smoke rises from the Hilton hotel, following protests in Kathmandu, Nepal. Reuters

An Indian woman even issued an urgent call for help, saying her hotel was set ablaze by a mob, forcing her to flee without her belongings.

Upasana Gill, who had travelled to Nepal for a volleyball tournament, said a large group of protesters attacked the hotel where she was staying and burned the place down. She said the mob did not even spare tourists and chased them on the streets with sticks in hand.

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Economy, trade likely to be affected

The Gen-Z protests may only exacerbate Nepals dwindling economy. As a result of the demonstrations, several trade routes along Indias borders were shut down.

The Kakarvitta-Panitanki crossing, 34 km from Bengals Siliguri, saw protesters torching tyres, blocking roads and setting fire to a customs building. In light of such a situation, the Indian authorities blocked the routes, fearing a spillover of the violence on Indias lands.

A torched vehicle stands at Patan Durbar Square in Lalitpur, Nepal. Reuters

Theres also fear that prolonged instability in the country could disrupt supply chains and affect exports. As Ajay Srivastava, co-founder, Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said, Any disruption in transport routes, customs operations, or cross-border logistics could delay shipments, impacting both Indian exporters and Nepali consumers who rely on these goods.

Now, its a wait and watch game to see how soon Nepal can rebuild after the violent protests.

With inputs from agencies
Amid frantic discussions on who should lead the nation next after the resignation of KP Sharma Oli, the names of former Chief Justice Sushila Karki and head of Nepals electricity board, Kulman Ghising, have emerged. Many Gen-Z protesters have extended their support to the 54-year-old engineer, as he helped steer the nation out of its 2016 power crisis

A group of Gen-Z protesters have now proposed former Nepal Electricity Authority Executive Chief Kulman Ghising as the new head of the interim government. File image/AFP

The political situation in Nepal is changing by the minute. After Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned amid the Gen-Z protests, the race is on to find an interim chief, who can run the country.

And in this race, the frontrunner keeps changing. After the name of Sushila Karki, Nepals former chief justice, emerged as the lead contender to be the interim prime minister, now it seems that the name of Kulman Ghising, the former CEO of Nepal Electricity Board, is poised to take charge.

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But who is Ghising? And why is he tipped to be Nepals next interim chief over Karki?

Life of Kulman Ghising

After the resignation of KP Sharma Oli, the Gen-Z protesters are having discussions with the Nepal army as to who should be in charge of the Himalayan nation. According to people close to the Gen-Z protesters, they have put forth the name of Kulman Ghising, the former managing director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).

The Gen-Z protesters have called the 54-year-old a patriot and everyones favourite, shocking quite a few people.

But who is this patriot?

Ghising was born in November 1970 in Bethan, Ramechhap and slowly made his way up the career ladder that saw him last as the head of Nepals electricity board. Interestingly, studied electrical engineering at the Regional Institute of Technology in Jamshedpur, India, and later at Pulchowk Engineering College in Nepal. He further supplemented his education with an MBA degree.

Fifty-four-year-old Kulman Ghising slowly made his way up the career ladder that saw him last as the head of Nepals electricity board. Image Courtesy: @kulmaghising/Facebook

In 1994, he joined the Nepal Electricity Authority and made his way through key positions, resulting in him assuming the mantle of the head of the agency in 2016. This was a particularly difficult time for Nepal as it would struggle with extensive hours of load-shedding  as long as 18 hours a day.

At that time, the power-starved nation would struggle with electricity, enduring long hours of no power, which, in turn, affected businesses, education, and households. The situation was so dire that in February of 2016, Nepal declared an energy emergency to tide over the acute electricity shortage, announcing it would be importing 50 per cent of its requirements from India.

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However, as Ghising took over the NEA, he cut off the dedicated feeds and redistributed the saved power to the public. He also slapped a bill to the industries for a backlog of payments. He also launched an aggressive campaign to upgrade the grid, reduce system loss and pilferage.

He helped turn Nepal from a power-starved nation to a power-strong nation. But Ghising wasnt without controversy. According to the Himalayan Times, Ghising was at odds with Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Deepak Khadka, who was reportedly dissatisfied with his independent approach.

And in March 2025, the Nepal government dismissed him from his post.

Ghising in, Sushila Karki out

The emergence of Ghising as Nepals interim prime minister comes amid Nepals political upheaval, prompted by KP Sharma Olis resignation.

Following the veteran politicians ouster, the Gen-Z proposed a few names  35-year-old Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah or Balen and former chief justice, Sushila Karki.

For many, 35-year-old Balen seemed the right choice to lead Nepal. As Tenzing, a resident of Kathmandu told The Print, Hes done a fairly good job as mayor, as an independent and won on his own merit. He also doesnt have any party affiliation so thats why people like him a lot.

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But Balen, it appears, extended his support to Karki, the countrys first woman chief justice, who earned a reputation for her no-nonsense, anti-corruption stance. In a post on Facebook, he said that he fully supports the proposal to push Karki as the candidate.

The job of this interim government is to hold elections, to give a new mandate to the country, he added.

Nepals former Chief Justice Sushila Karki had earlier been tipped to take charge as Nepals interim prime minister. However, some believe she isnt suitable  both in terms of age and constitutionality. File image/Reuters

According to the Indian Express, Nepal army chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel even held talks with her on Wednesday to persuade her to take up the mantle of interim prime minister.

However, Karki, who retired in 2017 after she was placed under suspension, wasnt totally convinced to take up the position.

Moreover, there have been divisions within the Gen-Z camp over Karki, with local media citing that they believe she isnt suitable  both in terms of age and constitutionality. With her being over the age of 70, many believe she will be unable to represent Gen-Z in leadership. Furthermore, they argue that the Constitution prohibits former judges from becoming prime minister; Article 132 of the Nepali Constitution states that no chief justice or a Supreme Court judge can hold any office other than that of a judge.

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A woman uses a mobile to film a burnt section of the Parliament house which was set on fire by Gen-Z protesters on Tuesday, September 9 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Reuters

Nepal remains on the edge

It is not yet clear as to what the structure of the interim government in Nepal will look like. The Nepalese army, however, has begun engaging stakeholders, including the protesters, at various levels. Army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet told Reuters, Initial talks are on we are trying to normalise the situation.

But with no headway being achieved, latest reports state that a group of Gen-Z protesters are staging a demonstration outside the army headquarters, expressing anger over what they claim is the selection of the wrong people for discussions. They demand that such crucial conversations be held transparently.

With inputs from agencies
The project  known as the Power of Siberia 2  would give Russia a way to replace some of the revenue from its decades of selling natural gas to Europe that was lost over its invasion of Ukraine. The pipeline would carry gas from reserves in western Siberia through Mongolia to China. But questions abound

The head of Russias state-owned gas company Gazprom says he struck a deal with China to build the long-discussed Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline. But questions abound. The development, announced by Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller during a high-profile meeting between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, has been called legally binding.

The project  known as the Power of Siberia 2  would give Russia a way to replace some of the revenue from its decades of selling natural gas to Europe that was lost over its invasion of Ukraine. The pipeline would carry gas from reserves in western Siberia through Mongolia to China.

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So what do we know about this pipeline? And why cant it replace Russias lost gas revenues from Europe?

Lets take a closer look

What we know

The pipeline would run 6,700 kilometers from gas fields in the Yamal Peninsula in western Siberia, past Lake Baikal in eastern Siberia, and then across Mongolia into China. For more than 50 years, Russia earned fat profits sending Yamal gas to Europe through pipelines leading west.

But Russia cut off most pipeline gas to Europe over the war in Ukraine, and the European Union wants to end the remaining trickle of supplies by 2027.

So the new pipeline would be a way to shift those lost gas sales to a big new customer.

Power of Siberia 2 would carry 50 billion cubic meters a year to China, compared with the up to 180 billion cubic meters a year that went to Europe  meaning the new pipeline could only make up part of the lost business. It would supplement a previous, smaller Power of Siberia line that carries gas from different fields in eastern Siberia with a capacity of 38 billion cubic meters per year.

The timing of the deal

Millers announcement, which came during a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, left out key details. There was no agreement on gas prices or even who would finance the pipelines construction.

Analysts say the announcement was primarily a chance for Russia and China to underline their closer relationship, and for China to snub supplies of US liquefied natural gas that comes by ship.

India is buying Russian oil despite US President Donald Trump retaliating with 25 per cent tariffs on imports, and Chinas purchases of US liquefied natural gas are blocked by tariffs imposed as part of Chinas trade dispute with the Trump administration trade. Meanwhile China has started taking LNG shipments from Russias Arctic-2 terminal, which has been the target of US and EU sanctions.

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The Lakhta Center, which houses the headquarters of the Russian gas monopoly, Gazprom, is seen in St. Petersburg, Russia. AP

So the theatrics of the deal are clear.

Youve got this show of Russia, India, China saying, you know what, we dont care about your sanctions, we dont care about your LNG, said Michal Meidan, head of China energy research at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.

The announcement was an absolutely perfect way  to say: Look, were not all talk, heres an actual measure, said Annette Bohr, associate fellow in the Russia and Eurasia program at Chatham House in London.

But while the deal is a step forward for Gazprom, its not a done deal. Theres no confirmed timeline, no definitive pricing agreement, she said.

China holds the cards

Discussions on the pipeline have moved slowly, largely because China has held out for low prices.

At the moment, its entirely possible that Beijing is still only ready to commit to part of the pipeline, and at heavily discounted rates, which has in fact been the problem for a number of years, Bohr said. So Russia is, in effect, still subsidizing Chinese gas consumption.

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She added that China is definitely in the drivers seat when it comes to energy deals.

The announcement underlines that China is the dominant partner, said Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.

Analysts say the announcement was primarily a chance for Russia and China to underline their closer relationship, and for China to snub supplies of U.S. liquefied natural gas that comes by ship. Reuters

China has multiple other sources to import gas. So if Russia is ready to provide conditions that satisfy Chinas demands, then its probably a green light, he said. But without that, its just a friendly reminder that Russia needs to accommodate some of Chinese demand. And its telling you that China has tremendous leverage, and has, in a way, the seniority in this relationship.

Does China even need another fossil fuel pipeline?

Given the global effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels, one good question is whether China needs another gas supplier, says the Oxford Energy Institutes Meidan.

Its not clear that it really does need Power of Siberia 2, she said, adding that there is huge uncertainty about just how much demand China will have in the 2030s, even from Chinese analysts and Chinese institutions.

Chinas future demand is part of a complex equation involving a shift away from coal, which emits more carbon dioxide, as the swing fuel used to cover peaks in electricity demand that cant be met by renewables such as wind or hydro power.

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A faster move away from coal means more gas use over the short term, while a slower coal exit could increase gas consumption. Battery storage to cover demand peaks and nuclear power could also play a role.

They might not necessarily use more gas if they do renewables and storage faster than anyone else, or if they find other ways where  they use their hydro and their nuclear, Meidan said.

For China, gas is sort of a nice to have (but) its not a must-have, she added.
Poland shot down 19 drones that entered its airspace near the Ukraine border, marking Natos first direct military action during the Ukraine war. While Russia denies targeting Poland, the large-scale breach prompted emergency Nato consultations and now a UN Security Council meeting

A damaged drone lies after falling in the eastern Polish village of Czosnowka, in this picture obtained from social media, in Czosnowka, Poland, September 10, 2025. File Image/Reuters

Russian drones entering Polish airspace has set off alarm bells across Europe and within the Nato alliance.

For the first time since Russias invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, Nato aircraft fired at targets in the territory of a member state.

On Wednesday, Polish and Nato forces engaged multiple drones that crossed into Poland from Ukraines border region.

Officials have confirmed that 19 drones violated Polish airspace, with several intercepted and destroyed during a joint defensive operation.

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While Russia has denied responsibility, the scale of the breach and the sensitivity of the area  close to a key Nato logistics hub for Ukraine  have made this one of the most dangerous flashpoints in the conflict so far.

What exactly happened?

The incident began late Tuesday night and extended into Wednesday morning. According to Polish defence officials, airspace monitoring systems detected multiple incoming drones approaching from Ukraines side of the border.

Polish F-16 fighter jets were immediately scrambled, supported by a range of Nato assets.

These included Dutch F-35 fighters, Italian AWACS surveillance planes, German Patriot missile defence batteries, and NATO aerial refuelling aircraft.

The coordinated mission aimed to track, engage, and neutralise any drones posing a direct threat to populated areas or critical infrastructure.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk informed parliament that 19 separate objects had crossed into Polands skies.

It is the closest we have been to open conflict since World War Two, he said, highlighting the gravity of the event. However, he also urged calm, adding, I have no reason to believe were on the brink of war.

The drone incursions caused temporary closures of several airports, including Rzeszow airport in southeastern Poland, which has served as a vital staging ground for Western aid and military equipment flowing into Ukraine.

Flights were halted to reduce the risk of collisions and to enable military operations in the affected airspace.

Did the drones cause any damage in Poland?

While most drones were intercepted before reaching civilian areas, at least one managed to strike a private home in the village of Wyryki-Wola, located in eastern Poland.

The impact occurred around 6:30 am, when local resident Tomasz Wesolowski was downstairs watching television coverage about the ongoing air defence operation.

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The blast tore through the upper floor of his two-storey brick house, completely destroying the roof and leaving the interior filled with debris.

A police officer stands below as firefighters work on the destroyed roof of a house, after Russian drones violated Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine, with some being shot down by Poland with the backing from its Nato allies, in Wyryki, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland, September 10, 2025. File Image/Reuters

The house needs to be demolished, Wesolowski told Reuters as he surveyed the wreckage of his home.

Elsewhere, charred remains of drones were found scattered across open fields in southeastern Poland, leaving visible scorch marks on the ground. There were no other reported fatalities or injuries from the incident.

This contrasts sharply with a previous incident in 2022, when two Polish civilians were killed after a misdirected Ukrainian air defence missile fell into Polish territory.

What do we know about the drones?

Early assessments by Polish military officials revealed that several of the recovered drones were unarmed decoys, known locally as Gerbera drones.

These devices are inexpensive, long-range drones believed to be assembled in Russia using kits supplied by Chinese manufacturer Skywalker Technology at a facility in Yelabuga.

A spokesperson for the Lublin prosecutors office confirmed that of the nine drones recovered so far, all were unarmed dummy units.

A Polish police officer stands near a unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fragment, after Russian drones violated Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine and some were shot down by Poland, in Czesniki, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland, September 10, 2025 in this still image from video. File Image/Polsat News via Reuters

Such drones are often deployed to confuse or overwhelm enemy air defences by drawing fire away from more sophisticated or weaponised systems.

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Despite the discovery of decoys, defence analysts remain concerned about the strategic intent behind sending such a large number of drones into Nato territory.

A senior military source told Reuters that several of the flight paths suggested that some drones were headed toward Rzeszow airport, raising the possibility that the incursion was more than an accident or navigational error.

How did Moscow respond to the incident?

Russia has categorically denied that it intentionally targeted Poland. In an official statement, the Russian Defence Ministry acknowledged conducting a major drone strike on Ukrainian military infrastructure in the west of the country but insisted there were no plans to hit any targets in Poland.

Andrey Ordash, Russias charge daffaires in Poland, rejected Warsaws accusations as groundless, asserting that no evidence had been provided to confirm that the drones originated from Russia.

Adding to the confusion, Belarus  a close Russian ally  offered an alternative explanation. A senior Belarusian military commander suggested that the drones may have gone astray due to electronic warfare interference, inadvertently crossing into Polish territory.

However, this narrative was complicated by subsequent comments from Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

While Peskov declined to directly address the incident, he accused the European Union and Nato of accusing Russia of provocations on a daily basis without providing concrete proof.

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The inconsistent messaging from Moscow has deepened suspicions among Nato allies. Military experts point out that the sheer number of drones involved  19 in total  makes it less likely that this was a simple navigational mistake.

Shahed-style drones, which Russia frequently uses, are typically pre-programmed to strike designated targets. Avoiding Nato territory would have been well within Russias technical capabilities, they argue.

How did Poland respond to the incident?

In response to the incursion, Poland invoked Article 4 of the Nato treaty, which allows any member state to call for consultations when it perceives a threat to its territorial integrity, security, or political independence.

This mechanism stops short of military retaliation but serves as a formal step toward alliance-wide deliberations.

We are dealing with a large-scale provocation, Tusk said, stressing the need for Poland and its allies to prepare for various scenarios.

Since Natos founding in 1949, Article 4 has been triggered only seven times. The most recent instance was on February 24, 2022, the day Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The next step, Article 5, is Natos most powerful clause. It states that an armed attack against one or more Nato members will be considered an attack on the entire alliance, potentially obligating all 30 members to take collective military action.

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Article 5 has been invoked only once in history  following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, the anniversary of which falls on Thursday.

As of now, Poland has not requested Article 5 activation.

Nato officials point out that this decision requires consensus among all member states and a clear determination that the incident constitutes an armed attack rather than an isolated accident.

How have Nato leaders reacted?

United States President Donald Trump spoke directly with Polish President Karol Nawrocki shortly after the incident.

This conversation is part of a series of consultations Ive been conducting with our allies, Nawrocki posted on X.

Before the call, Trump commented publicly on his social media platform, writing, Whats with Russia violating Polands airspace with drones? Here we go! He did not provide further details.

Leaders from France, Germany, Britain, and Canada also issued statements condemning the breach of Nato territory. European officials have been urging Trumps administration to back tougher sanctions on Russia and expand military aid to Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the incident as deeply troubling and called for new sanctions targeting Russias shadow fleet of oil tankers, as well as third countries facilitating Moscows energy exports.

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This incident shows why Europe must strengthen our collective security, she said.

Will the UN step in?

In addition to Nato deliberations, Poland has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, scheduled for Friday.

South Korea, which holds the Council presidency this month, confirmed that discussions were underway to set a time for the session. Polands request has been backed by four other members  Slovenia, Denmark, Greece, France, and Britain.

The UN Security Council has frequently convened over the Ukraine conflict but remains deeply divided.

Russias status as a permanent member with veto power, alongside the United States, China, France, and the United Kingdom, has often stalled decisive action.

Analysts have pointed out that these divisions limit the UNs role in resolving the war.

The Council of Councils, a global foreign policy network, recently noted that the Security Council has been hamstrung by entrenched divisions among the five permanent members.

What next?

As investigations continue, Nato members along Ukraines border are reinforcing their defensive capabilities.

The Czech Defence Ministry announced plans to send three Mi-171S helicopters to Poland in the coming days to bolster low-altitude surveillance and interception capacity.

Meanwhile, Polands Operational Command of the Armed Forces urged residents in three eastern provinces to remain indoors during the height of the crisis. Civilian flights were grounded, and emergency services were placed on high alert.

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Some Nato analysts believe Russia may be probing Natos response capabilities, assessing reaction times, and identifying vulnerabilities. Others suggest the operation could be a warning to discourage Nato from deepening its support for Ukraine.

Regardless of intent, the sheer scale of the incident has heightened fears of escalation.

Even a miscalculation could trigger a direct confrontation between Russia and Nato  a scenario both sides have long sought to avoid.

For now, leaders are focused on preventing further incidents.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged European nations to develop a joint air defence network, arguing that the drone incursion highlights vulnerabilities extending beyond Ukraines borders.

Since 1 am, our military tracked the movement of Russian drones toward the Polish border. This was not an accident or a mistake, it was deliberate. Russia used both Ukrainian and Belarusian territory to enter Polish airspace. pic.twitter.com/po2sGaY4Rn  Volodymyr Zelenskyy /   (@ZelenskyyUa) September 10, 2025

If conclusive evidence links the drones to deliberate Russian action, pressure will mount for Nato to move beyond Article 4.

With inputs from agencies
Following the deadly protests in Nepal, all eyes are on the efforts to form an interim government that can bring some stability back. Sushila Karki, ex-Chief Justice known for her anti-corruption stance, has been Gen Zs pick to lead the nation. Interestingly, she also shares a personal connection with India, one she often remembers fondly from her student days at Banaras Hindu University

Long before she became Nepals first woman Chief Justice, Karki spent some of her most formative years studying in India at Banaras Hindu University. Image courtesy: Moneycontrol

Nepal has been thrown into chaos after days of deadly protests led by Gen-Z demonstrators forced Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli out of power. The unrest, fuelled by anger over corruption and the governments sweeping ban on social media platforms, left the Himalayan nation on edge.

With the army now in charge of security, all eyes are on the push to form an interim government that can bring back some stability. In a surprising turn, the protesters have chosen Sushila Karki, Nepals first and only woman Chief Justice, as their pick for interim prime minister.

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Known for her fearless stance against corruption, including sending a minister to jail during her tenure, Karkis story goes beyond Nepal. She also shares a personal connection with India, one she often remembers fondly from her student days at Banaras Hindu University.

Heres a closer look at her journey and her India link.

I still remember Ganga

Sushila Karkis connection with India goes back to her youth. Long before she became Nepals first woman Chief Justice, Karki spent some of her most formative years studying across the border.

She spoke in Hindi, too, I am a citizen of Biratnagar, near the border of India. Maybe from my house, (India) is only 25 miles. She said she went regularly to the market at the border.

She graduated from Mahendra Morang College in Biratnagar before moving to India, where she pursued a Masters degree in Political Science at the prestigious Banaras Hindu University (BHU).

In an interview with CNN News18 on Wednesday, she fondly recalled those years. I still remember my teachers, friends. I still remember the river Ganga. Beside the Ganga, there was a hostel. And at night in the summer, we would sleep on the (terrace), she said.

She pursued a Masters degree in Political Science at the prestigious Banaras Hindu University (BHU). I still remember my teachers, friends. I still remember the river Ganga. Beside the Ganga, there was a hostel. And at night in the summer, we would sleep on the (terrace), she said.

She said BHU not only gave her an academic foundation but also opportunities to learn beyond the classroom.

Sharing anecdotes from her college days, Karki remembered learning dance from Sushila Aama, the spouse of former Prime Minister BP Koirala, and receiving political lessons from Nepali Congress leader Pradip Giri.

She even revealed that she was once offered a chance to stay back at BHU as a teacher and pursue a PhD. But that path never materialised. Perhaps my destiny was different. I feel I was destined to be a judge, and that is why I could not pursue my PhD there, she said.

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Eventually, Karki returned to Nepal and studied law at Tribhuvan University. By the late 1970s, she had begun her legal career, which would see her rise steadily until her appointment as a Supreme Court justice in 2009.

It was the KP Oli-led Constitutional Council that proposed Sushila Karki as the chief justice of the Nepal Supreme Court in 2016.

Very much impressed with Indian leaders

Karki has often spoken warmly about India and its ties with Nepal, and in her recent comments, she struck the same note.

Speaking in a news interview, she extended greetings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and shared her admiration. I have a good impression of Modi ji. We have not been in touch with India today for many days, she said.

Karki added that she has always been very much impressed with Indian leaders, describing them as more like family than neighbours. We consider them as our own brothers and sisters, she remarked.

Sushila Karki spoke about PM Modi and said, I have a good impression of Modi ji. We have not been in touch with India today for many days, she said. File image

When asked about her expectations from India, she was candid. India has helped Nepal at all times. We are very close (But) there is a saying (in Hindi): When there are utensils kept together in the kitchen, they do make some sound. It happens, she explained, hinting at the occasional frictions between the two countries.

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She also reassured Indians living in Nepal about their safety. According to her, the army has moved in to restore order, and she promised that justice would be delivered to the families of those who lost their lives during the violence.

The unrest, which flared up just days ago, has claimed at least 20 lives and left more than 300 injured. Thousands of students, tourists, and migrant workers, many of whom are Indian, remain stuck in the country, trying to find a safe way back home.

Why is Sushila Karki chosen by Gen Z?

Sushila Karki, who made history in 2016 as Nepals first female Chief Justice, has long been seen as a fearless and independent voice in the countrys judiciary.

During her years on the bench, she delivered several landmark rulings that earned her respect across the country.

In 2012, she ordered the conviction of Jaya Prakash Gupta on corruption charges, making him the first sitting minister in Nepal to be jailed for graft. She also presided over cases involving corruption in peacekeeping missions and the controversial Nijgadh Fast Track project.

Sushila Karkis anti-corruption track record made her the candidate of choice for the Gen Z protesters. File image/ Reuters

On the progressive front, she issued rulings that allowed Nepali women to pass citizenship to their children, breaking long-standing legal barriers.

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It was this track record that made her the candidate of choice for the Gen Z protesters. According to journalist Bhadra Sharma, more than 5,000 members took part in a virtual meeting that lasted four hours, where the majority voted in favour of Karki with 58.9 per cent.

We have proposed Sushila Karki as head of new government. The same proposal is being formalised today after consulting with the Army Chief, Gen Z leader Rakshya Bam was quoted as saying.

Interestingly, Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah, once tipped as the frontrunner, did not receive a favourable response (32 per cent) from the protest leaders, which cleared the way for Karki to emerge as their unanimous pick.

Legal hurdle in Karkis appointment

While Karki has agreed to take on the role temporarily and has promised to hold a fair election within a year, her appointment comes with a significant legal challenge.

Nepals Constitution bars former chief justices and Supreme Court judges from holding any office other than that of a judge, as outlined in Article 132. This restriction could complicate her elevation to the post of interim prime minister.

Karki herself has had a turbulent history with Nepals political establishment. In 2017, her rulings angered the government, leading the ruling coalition to register an impeachment motion against her.

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She was accused of bias and of interfering in executive powers, particularly over a dispute concerning the appointment of a police chief. Though she was briefly suspended, the motion was later withdrawn following a court intervention, allowing her to return to her post.

Despite these hurdles, Karki has said she is prepared to serve in the national interest and is humbled by the faith the young generation has placed in her.

Gen-Z Group has trusted me to lead the government for a short period of time. I am ready to work in the national interest, the 71-year-old said.

With input from agencies
Nepals Gen-Z protesters are in talks with the army to pick the interim leader after KP Sharma Oli resigned following deadly protests over corruption and nepotism this week, triggered by a social media ban. The front-runner for the top post is former Chief Justice Sushila Karki. However, the names of Kulman Ghising, the former managing director of the Nepal Electricity Authority, and Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah have also cropped up. But why are the youth protesters divided?

Kulman Ghising and Sushila Karki are being considered by Gen Z protesters to head the interim government in Nepal. File Photos/Reuters

Nepal has been plunged into political turmoil after protests over corruption and nepotism, triggered by a brief-lived social media ban, led to the fall of the KP Sharma Oli government. The Gen-Z leaders are now suggesting names for leaders to head the interim government.

However, the protesters have so far failed to reach a consensus over a name for the interim prime minister of the Himalayan nation. Nepals army has said it is restarting talks with protesters to pick the interim leader.

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But why is there a split among protesters over the choice to temporarily lead the nation? We take a look.

The many contenders

Sushila Karki, who made history as Nepals first woman Supreme Court Chief Justice in 2016, is reportedly the frontrunner for interim leader.

Her name was suggested by many of those spearheading the protests. Karki, 73, had told AFP that experts need to come together to figure out the way forward, and that the parliament still stands.

In an online vote carried out via the digital platform Discord, a majority of Gen Z campaigners favoured Karki.

However, another group within the movement has proposed the name of Kulman Ghising, the former Managing Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority. He is widely credited with bringing an end to Nepals years-long power outage crisis.

Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah is popular among Nepals Gen Z due to his image as a rapper-politician. However, he has stepped aside and endorsed Sushika Karki as Nepals interim Prime Minister.

The name of Harka Raj Rai, better known as Harka Sampang, the mayor of Dharan, has also come up. However, the group that recommended Ghisings nomination asserted that he was not competent enough, as per NDTV.

Why Nepal protesters remain divided

Divisions remain among youth protesters in Nepal over who should lead the interim government.

The support for Karki remains strong. Her name was proposed to Nepal President Ramchandra Paudel and the Army by the leaders of the protests, a representative of the demonstrators, Ojaswi Raj Thapa, told reporters.

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Our country getting a first woman PM (will be) a beautiful thing. We want to choose her because she can help us build this nation. he told ANI.

#WATCH | Kathmandu, Nepal: Gen-Z leader Ojaswi says, "...Right now, we need an interim government, for which we have proposed the name of Sushila Karki...We want to choose her because she would help us build this nation...Second, dissolving the current Parliament. Third, pic.twitter.com/0sqqRQDHxM  ANI (@ANI) September 11, 2025

We see Sushila Karki for who she truly is  honest, fearless, and unshaken, Sujit Kumar Jha, a 34-year-old company secretary, said to Reuters.

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However, the faction of the protesters who proposed Ghising for the top post rejected Karkis name, citing eligibility and her age. They reportedly said she was too old to be a Gen Z leader.

As per NDTV, this disagreement resulted in clashes between Gen Z factions in Kathmandu on Thursday (September 11) afternoon.

A source told Reuters on the condition of anonymity that protesters were yet to reach a unanimous decision and that not everybody was on board with Karkis candidacy.

Is Constitution an obstacle for Karki?

Nepals Constitution bars former chief justices and judges from holding positions other than in the judiciary.

Sushila Karki, thus, the Gen Z group supporting Ghising, argued, cannot temporarily lead the nation.

Anil Baniya, a protester, said they are seeking reforms to the Constitution. He told reporters, Through online surveys, we voted for Sushila Karki. We are not trying to change the Constitution only to make necessary changes (that will allow Karki to be sworn in on a temporary basis).

Kathmandu, Nepal | Gen-Z leader Anil Baniya says, "We did this movement after getting fed up with the old-aged leaders. We had called for a peaceful protest, but the political cadres caused the arson and then vandalised the infrastructure. Through online surveys, the Gen-Z pic.twitter.com/AJ6opRiaAL  ANI (@ANI) September 11, 2025

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The former Chief Justice said in a statement that nothing has been fixed yet nothing is final, it could all change tomorrow. We cannot say it will definitely be me.

Karki is ready to become interim leader, but efforts are on to find a constitutional route to appoint her, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

According to Nepal media, Karki was in talks with President Paudel and Nepal Army chief Ashok Raj Sigdel.

Paudel, meanwhile, said he is seeking an end to the political crisis in the country.

I am consulting and making every effort to find a way out of the current difficult situation in the country within the constitutional framework, the president said in a statement. I appeal to all parties to be confident that a solution to the problem is being sought as soon as possible to address the demands of the protesting citizens.

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He also urged Nepalis to practice restraint and cooperate to maintain peace and order in the country.

Nepal saw deadly protests this week, as at least 19 people were killed when police opened fire on protesters on Tuesday, forcing Oli to resign. The death toll has since increased to 34 and more than 1,300 were injured, Nepals health ministry said.

Nepal Army soldiers continue to patrol the streets of the capital, while a nationwide curfew will remain in place until Friday.

With inputs from agencies
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials at a press conference said they had uncovered footage of the person they believed to have killed Charlie Kirk. The high-powered firearm used to shoot the conservative activist and far-right podcaster dead has also been recovered. Here are all the latest details

US right-wing activist and a Trump ally Charlie Kirk was shot dead while giving a speech at the Utah Valley University. File image/AFP

New details are emerging about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials at a press conference said they had uncovered footage of the person they believed to have killed Kirk. The firearm used to shoot the conservative activist and far-right podcaster has also been recovered.

Kirk, a close ally of United States President Donald Trump, was shot dead at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday (September 10).

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The conservative political activist was engaging in question-and-answer sessions as part of his American Comeback Tour when the shooting occured.

President Trump has announced that Kirk will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously.

But what do we know? Who killed Kirk? Here are the latest details

How Kirks shooting unfolded

Charlie Kirk, 31-year-old Turning Point USA founder, was on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, near Salt Lake City, when the incident happened.

He was addressing a large outdoor crowd while sitting under a tent when he was shot in the neck.

Kirk was responding to a question about transgender mass shooting suspects before he was shot, Andrew Piskadlo, who attended the event, told New York Times (NYT).

Blood oozed out of Kirks neck as he fell from his chair, videos showed. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Footage shared online showed chaos breaking out at the campus following the shooting as people tried to take cover and run away. Utah Valley University has closed its campus and cancelled classes until further notice.

Kirks killing prompted condemnation from Republicans and Democrats. President Trump ordered that American flags be lowered to half-staff until Sunday evening.

ALSO READ: From John F Kennedy to Charlie Kirk, America's brush with political violence

What we know about the shooter

Video showed that moments after Kirk was shot, a figure ducked while running across the rooftop of the Losee Center, a building directly opposite to where Kirk was sitting when he was killed. A Utah Valley University spokeswoman confirmed that Kirks attacker had fired from the Losee Center. This shooting is still an active investigation," the Utah Department of Public Safety said in a statement.

Authorities said they have recovered good footage of the suspect who appears to be of college age and that the suspect blended in well with the college institution. However, the authorities have not released the footage yet.

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Were not releasing many details right now. We will soon. But right now, were not, Utah DPS Commissioner Beau Mason said. Were working through some technologies and some ways to identify this individual. If we are unsuccessful, we will reach out to you as the media and we will push that publicly to help us identify them. But we are confident in our abilities right now. Mason said the authorities want to move forward in a manner that keeps everyone safe and moves this process appropriately.

Mason said the authorities had made a a few breakthroughs on the investigation. This includes the time the suspect arrived near the campus, 11:52 am local time, and the suspects movements on campus.

The suspect is believed to have used stairwells to get to the roof and then stepped across the roof to the shooting location.

The FBI believes that the suspect is a male. The FBI also said it had recovered a high-powered, bolt action rifle that was recovered in a wooded area where the shooter had fled. Investigators said they had found a footwear impression, a paw print and a forearm imprint.

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Tips are being fully investigated, Robert Bohls, special agent in charge of the FBIs Salt Lake City field office said. As of this morning, we have received more than 130 tips.

CNN quoted sources in the know as saying that cultural phrases were written on the rifle and ammo retrieved. Authorities are currently analysing the messages in their quest to catch the suspect.

Bohls said the authorities were exhausting every resource to find the suspect. He added that they cant comment specifically on his face as the investigation is on. Well release that shortly, Bohls added. Were not sure how far he has gone yet.

I cant overstate the tragedy and the horrific event that yesterday was, Mason added. He said he spoke to Charlie Kirks wife, Erika, last night and that the family is devastated.

I can only imagine what theyre going through, he said. This is not Utah. This is not what we are known for.

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Erika, a former Miss Arizona, has her own podcast. She often appeared at events with her husband, where she spoke about the role of Christian faith in their marriage and family. She also has a faith-based streetwear brand and is studying for a doctorate in Biblical Studies at Liberty University.

People look at the scene where US right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk was shot during a Utah Valley University event, in Orem, Utah, September 10, 2025, in this screen grab from social media video. Adam Bartholomew/@Lifeisdriving via X with Mainstreet Media Utah/via Reuters

The shooting was believed to be a targeted attack by a shooter from the roof of a building, but no further details can be provided to protect the integrity of our investigation, it added.

The shooter fired one shot at one person, the Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said, as per CNN.

Officialsbelieve it was a targeted attack towards one individual, he said at a news conference.

Mason said that investigators only have security camera footage to work with right now.

The only information we have on the suspect, the possible shooter, is taken from closed-circuit TV (CCTV) here on campus. We do have that. Were analysing it. But it is security camera footage, so you can kind of guess what the quality of that is, he said.

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Authorities can describe the shooter as dressed in all dark clothing, he said.

Kirk was fired at from a long distance, potentially from a roof, Mason added.

Has Charlie Kirks shooter been caught?

Soon after the shooting, university officials said a person had been taken into custody. Utah Governor Spencer Cox initially told media that police were interviewing a person of interest. However, Mason told the press conference that the perpetrator remained at large.

Two people who were considered suspects in Kirks shooting were later released as neither has current ties to the shooting, the Utah Department of Public Safety said in a statement, as per CNN.

One of the persons, identified as George Zinn, was booked and accused of obstruction of justice.

The other person, who the FBI director, Kash Patel, initially identified as the subject for the horrific shooting, was also released after an interrogation by law enforcement.

Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency, Patel wrote in a post on X.

The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency https://t.co/YXsG6YpFR5  FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) September 10, 2025

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The police did not reveal why these persons were being considered as suspects in the shooting.

There is an ongoing investigation and manhunt for the shooter, the Utah Department of Public Safety, which is leading the investigation along with the FBI, said.

The motive behind the killing remains unknown so far.

Trump earlier described Kirks death as a dark day for America, blaming rhetoric from the radical left for causing political violence.

I am filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah. Charlie inspired millions and tonight all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror, the US president said in a four-minute video from the Oval Office.

This is a dark moment for America, he added

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With inputs from agencies
The Delhi Police has said that it has arrested five persons on terrorism-related charges. It has also recovered some parts used to make improvised explosive devices (IED) and found suspects links to Pakistan.

Delhi Police's Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) members keep vigil after cordoning off the site of a bomb blast outside the High Court in New Delhi on September 7, 2011. (Representative Photo, Credit: Parivartan Sharma/Reuters)

The Delhi Police Special Cell has uncovered Pakistani links to a terror module and arrested three more suspects, taking the total number of arrests to five. The other two suspects were arrested earlier.

The police have also recovered some parts used in the making of IEDs.

Sources said the accused were in touch with handlers based in Pakistan through multiple social media accounts, which are now being verified.

According to investigators, the groups key member, Ashraf Danish, was operating the module from India while maintaining contact with Pakistan-based individuals via encrypted and social media platforms. The probe has revealed that the suspects used these channels to radicalise youth in India and recruit them into their network.

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Delhi Police has arrested a total of five terrorists from different states. Police have also recovered some parts used in the making of IED: Delhi Police Sources https://t.co/jfEK2v2bel pic.twitter.com/T2pGcBW5xi  ANI (@ANI) September 11, 2025

Police sources said the group also ran multiple online groups aimed at spreading communal hatred and disturbing religious harmony.

Raids were carried out across four to five states, with nearly eight suspects questioned. So far, five suspected terrorists have been arrested, including two from Delhi and one from Madhya Pradesh, Hyderabad, and Ranchi each, they said.

From Danishs possession, the Special Cell recovered a country-made pistol, live ammunition, chemicals including hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, sulphur powder, copper sheets, ball bearings, strip wires, electronic circuits, laptops, mobile phones, and cash. Officials suspect these materials were meant for making weapons and explosives.

(This is an agency copy. Except for the headline, this has not been edited by Firstpost staff.)
From unmanned aerial vehicles and precision-guided missiles to cyber-defence systems and quantum computing, the chip race increasingly defines national security architecture

The recent announcement by India and Japan to move the production of semiconductors, LCD panels, and batteries from China to India, made shortly before the SCO summit in Tianjin, is much more than just a business decision. The mix of supply networks, geopolitical agendas, and technology foresight is a planned strategic alignment. This action is a conscious attempt to secure vital technology, reshape Asias economic reliance, and influence the developing cognitive aspects of contemporary warfare in addition to industrial diversification.

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Chips as Asias Next Power Axis

Semiconductors, batteries, and LCDs are no longer mere consumer goods; they are foundational to contemporary military and technological capability. From unmanned aerial vehicles and precision-guided missiles to cyber-defence systems and quantum computing, the chip race increasingly defines national security architecture. China has long dominated this ecosystem, leveraging integrated supply chains for rare earths, assembly, and finished components. Indias collaboration with Japan, combining Japanese technological expertise with Indias demographic and policy advantages, challenges Beijings near-monopoly and signals a shift in regional power dynamics.

Today, semiconductors play a major role in warfare, just like oil did in the 20th century. Control over chips equates to control over cognition in the digital age, where decisions increasingly depend on AI, machine-human interfaces, and algorithmic analysis. India entering into this space sends a clear message: strategic autonomy in technology is central to national security.

The Emergence of Cognitive Warfare

Modern warfare is becoming cognitive. Success now depends on controlling perception, judgement, and psychological terrains rather than solely capturing territory. Cognitive warfare employs computational manipulation, digital surveillance, and disinformation to influence adversaries decision-making. Semiconductors, LCDs, and high-performance CPUs are essential hardware for AI-driven command systems, augmented reality training, and brain-computer interfaces.

China has already invested heavily on 5G-enabled command systems, AI surveillance, and quantum computing, leveraging semiconductor dominance as a strategic tool. By establishing secure, parallel supply chains, India and Japan mitigate the risks of such technological chokeholds, strengthening their collective position in the cognitive-security domain.

Significance of the Tianjin Moment

The SCI summit in Tianjin provides critical context. China uses the SCO to further its security and development objectives, balance the United States, and solidify its Eurasian vision. India has navigated the platform carefully, focusing on counter-terrorism while avoiding China-centric dominance. The move toward semiconductor manufacturing underscores Indias strategic independence and reinforces its approach of balancing ties with democracies like Japan while actively participating in multilateral platforms.

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This step also conveys a nuanced but strong message to the smaller SCO members, presenting an option to reduce dependence on Beijing and altering how Eurasian supply chains are perceived. India is positioning itself as a credible alternative hub for critical technologies, supported by Japan and Western partners, challenging Chinas narrative of regional technological leadership.

India-Japan Synergy: Creating a Chip Corridor

Japans technological expertise, precision engineering, and global credibility complement Indias demographic advantage, cost efficiencies, and support policy initiatives, including the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes. Together, they aim to establish a Chip Corridor that circumvents Beijings grip, strengthen the Indo-Pacifics technological resilience, and enhance the security architecture of the region.

The India-Japan collaboration carries broad implications:

 The modernisation of C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) systems is accelerated by domestic semiconductor capabilities, which lessen Indias exposure to supply chain risks.

 It reaffirms QUADs goals and shows the EU, ASEAN, and Australia that a technological self-reliant ecosystem, without China, is possible.

 This development also challenges Chinas quest for technological dominance at a time when it is limited to certain economic and export constraints by the United States.

 It also highlights internal riffs within the SCO as an organisation. Chinas Sino-centric aspirations and Indias strategic independence, which are further emphasised by Indias increasing interaction with other democratic nations.

From Tianjin to the Future

An example of cognitive deterrence using economic policy is the semiconductor pivot between India and Japan. Chips are now a part of Indias arsenal, a hidden armour in a battlefield where algorithms may determine victory as much as territory. Beyond job creation and export growth, this initiative strengthens Indias technological resilience and establishes it as a proactive player in shaping the Indo-Pacific future.

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By moving semiconductor, battery, and LCD manufacturing to India, with Japanese support, New Delhi is asserting influence in a technology-driven geopolitical landscape. The fight for strategic advantage is increasingly occurring in clean rooms and chip foundries, not just in diplomatic corridors or conventional battlefields. Indias move ensures that, this time, the chips are in its favour.

Subhalakshmi Brahma is a researcher at the JK Policy Institute. She specialises in the intersection of geopolitics, strategic security, and cognitive-technology interfaces in warfare, with a particular focus in the Indo-Pacific security architecture and Chinas strategic posture. Views expressed are personal and do not necessarily reflect Firstposts editorial stance.
Subsea cables carry sensitive government communications and are crucial for supporting overseas military operations. They also facilitate more than $10 trillion in daily financial transactions

A cut in the Red Sea cable on September 8 disrupted internet services across India, Pakistan, and the Middle East. The outage also affected the UAE, where networks like Etisalat and Du slowed down. It highlights how much of the global internet relies on undersea cables. The disruption came from two major cables: the SMW4 (South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 4) cable, run by Tata Communications, and the IMEWE (India-Middle East-Western Europe) cable, managed by a consortium led by Alcatel-Lucent.

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The Red Sea has long been considered a maritime shipping choke point but is also an internet and telecommunications bottleneck, with around 90 per cent of communications between Europe and Asia  as well as 17 per cent of global internet traffic  passing through cables under the narrow Bab al-Mandab Strait. Yemens Houthi rebels have attacked over 100 ships since late 2023, sinking four. The US and allies have retaliated.

Subsea cables can be damaged by ship anchors or targeted attacks. Repairs can take weeks, as a specialised ship and crew must locate and fix the damaged section. Undersea cables form a core part of the internets infrastructure, alongside satellites and land-based cables. Internet providers usually have multiple access points and can reroute traffic if one cable fails, though this may slow down connectivity.

Cable Laying

Submarine cables are laid on the seabed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea using special cable layer ships. The first submarine communications cables were laid in the 1850s. Modern cables are typically about 25 mm (1 in) in diameter and weigh around 1.4 tonnes per kilometre. Larger and heavier cables are used for shallow-water sections near shore.

Britain dominated early cable laying, and the first cable reaching India from Aden, Yemen, was laid by the British in 1870. In the 1980s, fibre-optic cables were developed. The first transatlantic telephone cable to use optical fibre, TAT-8, became operational in 1988. Modern optical fibre repeaters use a solid-state optical amplifier. The total amount of power sent into the cable is often up to 16.5 kW. The fibres are arranged in a self-healing ring to increase redundancy. The submarine sections follow different paths on the ocean floor, though switching and all-by-sea routing commonly increase distance and latency.

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Laying and maintaining these cables is highly specialised. Private companies and international consortiums handle this, rather than governments. In India, major players include Tata Communications, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Sify Technologies, and BSNL. Globally, companies like SubCom, Alcatel Submarine Networks, and TE SubCom design and lay these cables using special ships that avoid sensitive areas and deep-sea hazards. Tata Communications Global Network (TGN) is the only wholly owned fibre network circling the planet.

Big global firms such as Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft dominate the scene, owning or leasing around half of all undersea bandwidth. Such heavy dependence adds to vulnerability.

Global Subsea Cables

As of early 2025, there are about 650 active and planned subsea cables worldwide, stretching over 1.4 million km and connecting nearly every country, providing internet and telecommunications connectivity across regions.

Each cable has an average lifespan of 25 years. About 107 new cables costing $13.8 billion were laid between 2016 and 2020. Investments of $18 billion were projected from 2021 to 2025. Undersea cables are expected to remain the primary conduit for most of the worlds internet traffic for the foreseeable future. On these cables ride data for billions of online financial transactions around the globe.

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The submarine cable could be damaged through deliberate cyber or physical attacks, or accidentally by man-made or natural events. Natural events like under sea volcanic eruptions and Tsunami had caused cable cuts. Implications are strategic. There is an increasing challenge to identify if damage to undersea cables is intentional or an accident.

However, combining undersea cables with satellite technology offers added resilience and protection against potential cable disruptions. Undersea cables are already being treated as critical infrastructure. There is thus a need to understand protective measures.

Strategic Role of Cables and their Vulnerability

Subsea cables may carry sensitive government communications and are crucial for supporting overseas military operations. They also facilitate more than $10 trillion in daily financial transactions. Nations often covertly tap into the data flowing through them for national security and economic espionage purposes.

Submarine cables are exposed to a variety of potential threats. Many of these threats are accidental, such as by fishing trawlers, ship anchors, earthquakes, turbidity currents, and even shark bites. Several vulnerabilities of submarine communication cables make them attractive targets for organised crime and military action. The remoteness of these cables in international waters, poses significant challenges for continuous monitoring and increases their attractiveness as targets of physical tampering, data theft, and service disruptions.

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The cables vulnerability is further compounded by technological advancements, such as the development of Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs), which enable covert cable damage while avoiding detection. However, even low-tech attacks can impact the cables security significantly, as demonstrated in 2013, when three divers were arrested for severing the main cable linking Egypt with Europe, drastically lowering Egypts internet speed.

Transmitting massive amounts of sensitive data every day, they are essential for both state operations and private enterprises. Disruptions to these cables can lead to communication blackouts and, thus, extensive economic losses.

Interruption of military data on the cable network during intense operations could have direct consequences for the military. An example of state dominance in the global cable infrastructure is Chinas Digital Silk Road strategy funding the expansion of Chinese cable networks. The Chinese company HMN Technologies holds up to 10 per cent of the global market share. Chinese investments in critical cable infrastructure is approximately 25 per cent of global submarine cables. The US is trying to counter by supporting alternative projects. Most countries are working on a minimum of three or four different routes to ensure there is no black-out of transmission.

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Cable Protection and Repairs

The newer cables are fibre-optic data pipelines. The fibres themselves are made of wafer-thin glass, but, to keep them safe from common threats, they are encased in a pipe comprising polycarbonate, aluminium, steel wires, and polyethylene.

Accidental cable faults can occur. Most incidents highlight that onshore landing stations remain the most vulnerable point in a cable system to damage or attack, and fortunately, these can be repaired more easily. However, when a deep-sea submerged part of a cable is cut or damaged, repairing could take several weeks, and this could be a costly exercise both for repair and disruption impact.

Location of the cut has to be identified. A specialist vessel has to go and repair the fault. Unfortunately, there are only around 60 repair vessels globally. Rough seas can delay the operation.

Cybersecurity Issues and Countermeasures

Increasingly, sophisticated cyber-attacks threaten the data traffic on the cables, with incentives ranging from financial gain, espionage, or extortion by either state actors or non-state actors. Further, hybrid warfare tactics can interfere with or even weaponising the data transferred by the cables. However, attributing an incident to a specific actor or motivation of such actor can be challenging, specifically in cyberspace.

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Cyber-security strategies for submarine cables, such as encryption, access controls, and continuous monitoring, primarily focus on preventing unauthorised data access but do not adequately address the physical protection of cables in vulnerable, remote, high-sea areas. Physical security remains important.

Typically, cables are buried in waters with a depth of less than 2,000 metres. Increasingly, they are also being buried in deeper seabed so as to protect against high seas fishing and bottom trawling. Embedding is also advantageous against physical attacks from organised crime. Other technical solutions are advanced protective casings, and monitoring them with UUVs.

Legal Support System

The International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC), which represents key submarine stakeholders, plays a vital role in promoting cooperation and information sharing among stakeholders. As of 2025, a tense US-China relationship complicates this task especially in the South China Sea where there are territorial disputes. China has increasing control and influence over global cables networks, because it financially supports many cable projects and exerts diplomatic pressure.

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Submarine cables are internationally regulated within the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), but there are implementation challenges. Some scholars argue that UNCLOS should be updated to protect cables extensively, including cooperative monitoring and enforcement protocols.

Given the increased involvement of organisations like NATO, others recommend clarifying the roles of military and non-military actors in cable security and enhanced multi-level governance models.

Multilateral Efforts

The rising great power competition remains an impediment for global cooperation. In May 2023 the Quad announced a new initiative for undersea cable protection in the Indo-Pacific, called the Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience.

In June 2024 Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and one of Vladimir Putins closest allies, argued that Russia has a right to attack subsea cable systems, citing his belief that the West was responsible for sabotaging the Nord Stream undersea gas pipeline in 2022. If we proceed from the proven complicity of Western countries in blowing up the Nord Streams, then we have no constraints, even moral, left to prevent us from destroying the ocean-floor cable communications of our enemies, he wrote.

NATO announced Operation Baltic Sentry in the Baltic Sea to deter attacks on critical undersea infrastructure. It follows a declaration of solidarity between nations at the Baltic Sea NATO Allies Summit in Helsinki on 14 January 2024.

Indias Undersea Cable Network

India has about 17 international cables landing at 14 stations in Mumbai, Chennai, Cochin, Tuticorin, and Trivandrum. Tata Communications owns five cable landing stations, three in Mumbai, and one each in Chennai and Cochin. Global Cloud Xchange (formerly Reliance Globalcom) operates the Versova station in Mumbai for the FALCON cable and the Trivandrum station for the WARF cable, which connects the Maldives and Sri Lanka to India. Reliance Jio has the BBG station in Chennai and the AAE-1 station at Versova, Mumbai, and is constructing new stations for its IAX and IEX cables. Bharti Airtel owns three stations: two in Chennai and one in Mumbai, and will serve as the landing party for the 2Africa/EMIC-1 and SEA-ME-WE 6 cables. Sify Technologies operates the Mumbai station for the MENA and GBI submarine cable systems. BSNL owns its first international cable to Sri Lanka (BLCS) and the Tuticorin station, has completed the Chennai-Andaman & Nicobar Islands (CANI) cable system, and built additional stations in the region.

It is also expected to own the newly approved Digha station in West Bengal. Vodafone operates a station in Mumbai. Lightstorm acts as the landing partner for Cinturions TEAS cable and is building a carrier-neutral, open Cable Landing Station (CLS). IOX plans to construct a new station in Puducherry for its IOX cable, expanding Indias subsea connectivity further.

CANI connects Port Blair along with seven other Islands of Andaman & Nicobar, and the Kochi-Lakshadweep Island (KLI) cable system for a direct communication link through a dedicated submarine optical fibre cable between Kochi and 11 Islands of Lakshadweep.

As of early 2025, Indias network had a cumulative capacity of 180 terabits per second (tbps), with 132 tbps actively in use, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

Indias digital infrastructure is on the verge of a revolutionary transformation, with three significant undersea cable projects expected and increasing internet capacity four-folds. These projects, 45,000 km long 2Africa Pearls, connect 33 countries across Africa, Asia, and Europe, to be operational by Q4 2025. It has investments from major players like Bharti Airtel and Meta (formerly Facebook).

India-Asia-Express (IAX), and India-Europe-Express (IEX) will ensure faster and more reliable digital connectivity. Reliance Jio is leading these projects with funding from a consortium including Facebook and Google. The IAX (16,000 km) and IEX (9,775 km) cables have 200 tbps of capacity each. The IAX cable will connect Mumbai to key hubs in Southeast Asia. The IEX cable will link India with Europe via the Persian Gulf.

Blue-Raman connects Italy, Greece, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and India, this cable bypasses the Egyptian chokepoint. It has a capacity of over 200 Tbps and is funded by a consortium led by Google. MIST cable will link Mumbai and Cochin in India to Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. It has a capacity of 218 Tbps and became operational in 2024. SEA-ME-WE 6 is an upgrade to the link from Singapore to Marseille, this cable spans 19,200 km with a capacity of 126 Tbps. It is scheduled to be operational in 2025 and involves a consortium of telecommunications companies.

The boost in internet capacity will greatly improve the quality of services, especially for high-demand applications such as 5G video streaming, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, AI-based services, and cloud computing.

The Way Ahead for India

The West was implicated in the tapping of cables for surveillance purposes after documents leaked by the whistle-blower Edward Snowden showed leading telecoms firms had given Britains GCHQ spy agency access to undersea cables. Experts say that Russia too was monitoring undersea cable systems closely.

India has a huge cable network and capacity and speed will increase significantly. Repairs can be expensive and time-consuming. India has to secure its cables. Also build multiple redundancies. India must enhance the fault detection and repair facilities. Other than rogue elements, India must closely monitor Chinese and Pakistani maritime activities. China is showing much greater interest in Indias neighbourhood. Both the Gulf of Aden and Gulf of Oman are important choke points. The heavy dependence on the Red Sea and its high vulnerability has to be factored.

India has also to be conscious that a lot of global telecom hardware has origins in China. Situation is not going to change in a hurry. Alternative sourcing and local production must be encouraged. TRAI has recommended that all Indian telecom companies operating undersea cables must demonstrate ownership of the portion of cables located in Indian waters. TRAI has also proposed that a government committee explore financial viability models for commissioning Indian flagged ships for the repair and maintenance of undersea cables. Undersea cables are a very important strategic asset. India needs to be conscious. We need to build and protect.

The writer is former Director General, Centre for Air Power Studies. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.
Nepals youth have demonstrated their capacity to bring down rulers. Whether they or their successors can build a political order that escapes corruption and impunity is the more difficult test

The word revolution comes from the Latin revolutio, denoting a turning back, a cycle. Originally used for celestial motions, it entered politics to describe the overturning of established orders. The etymology is instructive. Revolutions promise rupture but often reproduce continuity in another form. They are imagined as forward leaps yet frequently prove to be rotations of the wheel, bringing old patterns back in altered guise.

This paradox has preoccupied political thinkers for centuries. Hannah Arendt argued that revolutions should be judged not by the intensity of their eruptions but by their capacity to found lasting institutions of freedom. Theda Skocpol showed how they are rooted not only in popular grievances but in the brittleness of states weakened by fiscal strain, factionalism, and international pressures.

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Tocqueville observed that revolutions erupt less under absolute oppression than when reforms raise expectations that rulers cannot meet. Marx cast them as the inevitable working out of class conflict, while Burke warned that they destroy the ballast of tradition without securing liberty. Charles Tilly emphasised the mobilisation of networks and the openings of political opportunity, while Fanon imagined them as violent catharses of decolonisation. Their vocabularies differ, but a shared insight runs through them. Revolutions are symptoms of legitimacy collapsing at the summit of power, rather than mere eruptions from below.

On September 8-9, 2025, Nepal furnished a dramatic instance of this collapse. A government led by veteran communist K.P. Sharma Oli fell in two days of youth-led protest. Nineteen were killed, hundreds injured, and symbols of permanence, the parliament, the supreme court, the prime ministers residence, set ablaze. The prime minister resigned abruptly, his authority evaporating as crowds filled the capital.

The trigger was the decision to ban more than two dozen social media platforms, ostensibly in the name of regulation but widely seen as an attempt to silence the very spaces where corruption and nepotism were relentlessly documented. For a digitally native generation, the ban was more than a technical measure. It was rather seen or made to portray as an assault on their public square. Police violence, which left even schoolchildren dead, turned outrage into insurrection.

The paradox is that a government which traced its legitimacy to its own revolutionary past now fell to a revolution directed against it. Communist leaders once proclaimed themselves tribunes of the people against monarchy and oligarchy, yet they became the objects of popular wrath. Youth who set fire to Singha Durbar, the colonial-era seat of government, were not animated by ideology but by anger at gerontocracy, impunity, and the extravagant lifestyles of politicians children.

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The cycle had returned. Revolution against revolutionaries, a repetition of revolt under new banners. Arendt would have seen here the collapse of a shared world of truth, leaving violence as the only path to renewal. Tocqueville would have recognized the frustration of a generation educated and connected yet denied opportunity. Skocpol would have noted the brittleness of a state hollowed out by corruption, unable to command loyalty in crisis.

But September 2025 revealed another dimension of revolution. Its Hobbesian underside. When Leviathan collapses, the restraints of law vanish and the nightmare of the state of nature intrudes into modern streets. Ministers were seen stripped of dignity, paraded in public, beaten as they fled from mobs. The image was not merely of rulers losing power but of the symbolic destruction of authority itself, reduced to naked bodies running for survival. Hobbes had warned that without sovereign power to awe, human beings descend into a war of all against all, where life becomes solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.

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The scenes in Kathmandu seemed to fulfill that prophecy in miniature: an interlude where sovereignty evaporated, and political contest was replaced by the raw exposure of vulnerability. The fury of the young was directed not only at policies but at persons, and the line between justice and vengeance dissolved. Such moments reveal that revolutions are not only promises of freedom but also descend into the abyss where authority, once despised, is nonetheless necessary to contain violence. And those are the shoes which the army is filling now.

The immediate implications for Nepalese democracy are grave. First, the events have deepened the fragility of institutions by demonstrating how quickly they can be reduced to ashes. Parliament, courts, and ministries, once symbols of permanence, now bear the scars of fire. Second, the uprising has delegitimised the political class as a whole, not just one leader or party, making democratic trust harder to restore. Third, the entry of the army into the role of guarantor of order risks shifting the balance of power away from civilian institutions, a temptation historically difficult to reverse.

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Fourth, the radicalisation of youth, who have discovered the potency of direct action, may weaken their faith in slower democratic processes, prioritising immediacy over deliberation. Fifth, by collapsing yet another government within two years of office, Nepal has underscored its chronic instability, a cycle that threatens to hollow out the very meaning of parliamentary democracy and leave the public cynical about its efficacy.

To view Nepals September convulsion as a purely domestic affair is to miss the larger geopolitical shadow that loomed over it. Oli was not merely another embattled prime minister; he was a leader who had tilted Nepal decisively towards China, cultivating economic ties, diplomatic warmth, and symbolic gestures of alignment. Only weeks before his downfall, he and his wife were in Beijing, attending the SCO summit and even participating in the national parade, presenting himself as a dependable partner in Chinas regional orbit.

It is inconceivable that, sensing his ground slipping, Oli did not reach out for help before tendering his resignation. Yet Beijing did not take a single extra step to shield him. The silence was telling. In the cold arithmetic of power politics, even loyal allies can be abandoned when they become liabilities.

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The possibility of a foreign hand in encouraging, amplifying, or at least permitting the intensity of the protests cannot be dismissed. Such a pattern is not unprecedented. The Indian subcontinent in recent years has been repeatedly convulsed by sudden popular uprisings that coincided with sharp turns in external alignments. In Bangladesh, mass street movements erupted against governments accused of overreach and corruption, with whispers of foreign encouragement never far from the surface. In Sri Lanka, the crisis of 2022 that saw the Rajapaksa family chased from power unfolded against the backdrop of mounting debts, Chinese infrastructure entanglements, and shifting external calculations.

Nepal now joins this gallery of instability, a reminder that the fires consuming regimes across South Asia are rarely self-contained. They are fanned by winds that sometimes rise from within the region and at other times blow in from far beyond Asia. The method is rarely overt intervention; rather, it is the quiet calibration of when to hold onto an ally and when to let him fall. Oli, for all his loyalty to Beijing, discovered in the end that he was expendable.

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The tragedy of Nepal is that this was not its first revolution. In 2006, mass protests toppled a 239-year-old monarchy, hailed as the dawn of a democratic republic. Yet in the decades since, politics became a carousel of elites alternating in office while insulating themselves from accountability. Each turn brought promises of renewal, each ended in corruption and paralysis. The events of 2025 are thus both rupture and repetition, confirming the etymological sense of revolution as a turning of the wheel. Youth once again supplied the spark; fire once again consumed the symbols of permanence. Yet whether this turning will find freedom or circle back into disillusion remains uncertain.

Revolutions are judged not by what they topple but by what they create. It is one thing to burn a parliament, another to build institutions that command trust. Nepals youth have demonstrated their capacity to bring down rulers. Whether they or their successors can build a political order that escapes corruption and impunity is the

more difficult test. Without such institution-building, revolutions risk becoming cycles of expectation and betrayal. What begins as liberation devolves into exhaustion, a polity that loses faith not only in its rulers but in politics itself. The Hobbesian nightmare of rulers paraded, stripped, and beaten dramatises not only the fury of the moment but the vacuum that follows when sovereignty disintegrates.

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The events in Kathmandu thus provide a philosophical reminder. Revolutions are symptoms of legitimacy lost, not cures for it. They dramatise the collapse of authority, but they do not by themselves establish freedom. They are moments of fire rather than foundation. Unless the work of creating durable institutions follows, each revolution risks revolving back into the same corruption under new names. The external hand cannot be ignored, for Nepals fate is bound to larger rivalries, but more decisive still is whether its people can break the cycle of revolt without renewal. To remember the etymology of revolution is to remember this warning, that every turning, unless anchored in foundation, risks becoming not progress but a circle.

The author (X: @adityasinha004) writes on macroeconomic and geopolitical issues. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.
Nato is on edge as drone incursion into Poland have signalled potential shift in Russias tactics, testing alliances eastern defences, according to a report

After a swarm of 19 Russian drones breached Polish airspace, prompting Nato fighter jets to intercept and shoot down several of the projectiles, experts on Thursday said the incursions were no mistake but a calculated move that signals a dangerous shift in Vladimir Putins strategy, according to a Financial Times report.

If the Russian presidents aim was to test Natos air defences, the outcome likely pleased him, said the report, citing experts who warned it may embolden him to go further next time.

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The incident marks the first direct military engagement between Nato and Russian forces since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three-and-a-half years ago, opening a perilous new chapter in the ongoing conflict.

(Moscow) will have taken note that we have still not learned from what Ukraine has been dealing with for years, FT quoted Ben Hodges, former commanding general of the US Army in Europe, as saying.

We are absolutely not prepared for that . . . and now they are at our door, he added.

Hodges emphasised the need for Europe to develop a multi-layered, integrated air defence system capable of assessing the scale of an incoming attack and deploying appropriate resources  in contrast to Wednesday mornings response, where expensive fighter jets like Dutch F-35s were dispatched to take down low-cost drones.

This was not an accident, obviously, given the number of drones," Hodges was quoted as saying.

This was a rehearsal. To probe, and find out how good are our early warning systems, what are our reaction times, he added.

Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto called the drone incursion a deliberate attack that had two purposes: to provoke and to test.

Moscow is deliberately fuelling an escalation that no one wants, Crosetto said.

It is evident that it has no interest in a truce or peace, Crosetto added.

An Italian surveillance aircraft supported the fighter jets that shot down Russian drones on Wednesday.

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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said only four of the estimated 19 drones that entered Polish airspace were intercepted, as they posed a direct threat. The Polish military said most of the drones were decoys  a tactic Russia often uses to exhaust Ukraines air defences before launching actual strikes.

Nato has admitted that air defences on its eastern flank remain a weak point in urgent need of investment.

Secretary-General Mark Rutte praised the alliances very successful reaction and reaffirmed Natos commitment to defend every inch of allied territory.

We need to invest more . . . so we have what we need to deter and defend, FT quoted Rutte as saying.

The drone assault was part of a broader Russian attack on Ukraine involving missiles and drones, following earlier incidents where Russian projectiles briefly entered Nato airspace but were not intercepted.

A Polish arms industry official told the Financial Times that most of the drones identified were Gerbera  Iranian-designed Shahed drones without warheads, used as decoys ahead of missile strikes.

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Polish officials believe the decoys were deliberately routed through Poland to bypass Ukrainian air defences near the western city of Lviv, ahead of a second wave of armed Shaheds targeting the area.

One drone, what we have seen so far, may be a mistake, FT quoted the arms industry official as saying. But 19 drones is not a mistake.

Tusk told parliament that several drones had been launched from Belarus, which is set to host the large-scale Zapad military exercise with Russia starting Friday near the Polish and Lithuanian borders.

Germany immediately increased the alert level and provided data from its two Patriot air defence systems near Rzeszow, about 100km from Ukraine, according to its defence ministry.

What this teaches us is . . . that we are under constant threat from provocations from Russian armed forces, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told parliament.

Poland and the Baltic states are already on high alert ahead of the very aggressive Zapad drills, which simulate a joint response to a Nato attack.

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On Tuesday, Tusk ordered a full closure of Polands border with Belarus.

Previous Zapad drills have simulated a nuclear strike on Warsaw, and the 2021 edition preceded Russias invasion of Ukraine.

According to Financial Times, citing analysts, this years exercise aims to test Natos reactions, showcase Russias military strength despite setbacks in Ukraine, and keep Natos eastern members in a state of anxiety.

Russian officials have ramped up hostile rhetoric, accusing Nato neighbours of aggression to justify possible retaliation.

In a Tass op-ed, Dmitry Medvedev accused Finland of pursuing a confrontational course of preparation for war with Russia. On Sunday, Nikolai Patrushev claimed the West had turned the Baltic Sea into an arena for undeclared hybrid war.

Tusk said the current situation is not a state of war but significantly more dangerous than all previous ones.

A Polish arms industry official said the drone attack aimed to create a division in Nato between people who say we must respond and help Poland and those who say relax, they are just testing us, its no big deal.

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Former Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis likened the drone incursion to past Russian sabotage on European soil.

They are trying to set a new reality Now imagine the same thing with drones. They do it once, we dont react . . . and then theres another attack, maybe not in Poland, maybe in Romania, maybe in Lithuania, he was quoted as saying.

With inputs from agencies
The United States is observing the 24th anniversary of 9/11 attack at a time when President Donald Trump has teamed up with Pakistan, the regime that sheltered the principal architect of the attack, the head of the terrorist group that carried out the attack, and paid the lead hijacker of the attack.

The World Trade Centers South Tower bursts into flames after being hit by United Airlines Flight 175 on September 11, 2001, in New York, during the 9/11 terrorist attack. (Photo: Sara K Schwittek/Reuters)

The United States is observing the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attack at a time when President Donald Trump has teamed up with Pakistan, the regime that facilitated the attack, and blown up the relationship with India, a country that helped uncover the link between Pakistan and terrorists behind the attack.

Nineteen terrorists hijacked four aeroplanes on September 11, 2001, and crashed a plane into each of the World Trade Centers towers in New York City, rammed the third plane into the Pentagon in Washington DC, and the fourth plane crashed into the fields of Pennsylvania after passengers and crew tried to wrest control from terrorists. A total of 2,977 people were killed that day.

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To get an idea about Pakistans role in the 9/11 attack, consider these facts: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the principal architect of the attack, was captured living next door to the Pakistani Army headquarters; Osama bin Laden, the head of Al Qaeda who ordered the attack, was found living in Pakistan next door to a military academy; and the Pakistani intelligence chief at the time, Lieutenant General Mahmoud Ahmed, paid $100,000 to Mohamed Atta, the lead hijacker.

Principal architect of 9/11 and Pakistan

In the late hours of February 28, 2003, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) gave Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) an address in Rawalpindi and told it to pick a person from there. The fact that the house was barely at a five-minute drive from the Pakistani Army headquarters rattled officers involved in the operation but they went ahead with it anyway  the United States paid Pakistan handsomely for counterterrorism assistance.

There was no time to verify the occupants of the house or consult various stakeholders within the Pakistani military-intelligence apparatus. That was intentional as the CIA did not trust the ISI enough to tell it who the target was.

In the early hours of March 1, commandoes raided the house and, after a room-by-room search, found Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the principal architect of 9/11. The house where he lived next door to the Pakistani Army HQ was owned by a couple in the Jamaat-e-Islami whose son was a serving army officer.

The commandoes also captured a Saudi accountant. The CIA believed he had managed cash flows for the 9/11 plot.

In their book Spy Stories: Inside the Secret World of the RAW and the ISI, Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark note that the accountants laptop allegedly contained messages to 9/11 hijackers, including an email address and possibly a phone number for Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti, the courier of Osama bin Laden whose pursuit led to the discovery of the compound in Pakistans Abbottabad where the Al Qaeda chief lived  and where he was killed in 2011 in a special forces raid.

Pakistani cash funded 9/11 hijacking

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a British-Pakistani jihadist with deep links to the ISI, wired $100,000 to Mohammed Atta, the lead 9/11 hijacker. But thats not all.

The Indian intelligence agencies concluded that Sheikh had made the transfer at the instructions of Lt General Mahmoud Ahmed, the ISI chief at the time.

Later in 2001, Ahmed purportedly sought retirement after being superseded for an appointment, but he was in fact sacked after the US authorities demanded his sacking after learning about his payment to Atta with the help of Indian intelligence, according to The Times of India.

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Separately, CNN also reported that Atta distributed the funds to conspirators in Florida in the weeks before the attack.

The US intelligence agencies described Sheikh as a key figure in the funding operation of Al Qaeda, as per the report.

Later, Sheikh and KSM would join hands to murder American journalist Daniel Pearl, who was the South Asia bureau chief of Wall Street Journal at the time. Sheikh abducted Pearl and KSM beheaded him.

Pakistans support to Al Qaedas hosts

Osama bin Laden ordered the 9/11 attack from the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan where his Al Qaeda found a free reign to peddle terrorism the world over. Pakistan was the principal supporter of the Taliban regime (1996-2001) that hosted Bin Laden.

The 9/11 Commission noted that Pakistan never stopped supporting the Taliban despite the group providing sanctuary to Al Qaeda and Bin Laden and the United States asking it to.

The US government also pressed two successive Pakistani governments to demand that the Taliban cease providing a sanctuary for Bin Ladin and his organisation and, failing that, to cut off their support for the Taliban. Before 9/11, the United States could not find a mix of incentives and pressure that would persuade Pakistan to reconsider its fundamental relationship with the Taliban, the 9/11 Commissions report said.

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Separately, Al-Kuwaiti, the courier of Bin Laden whose pursuit led to the discovery of Al Qaedas house in Pakistan, maintained links to Harakat-ul-Mujahedeen, an ISI-sponsored jihadist group, which suggests that ISI-supported groups were part of Bin Ladens support network, according to The New York Times.
As Russias latest incursion in Poland rocks Nato, pressure now mounts on US President Donald Trump over how he tackles the latest security risk from Moscow.

Pressure mounts on US President Donald Trump as more than a dozen Russian drones entered Poland overnight, prompting Nato to scramble fighter jets to shoot them down. The whole incident led to the invocation of Article 4 of Nato, which calls for consultation over military matters when the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the parties is threatened.

What made the incident significant was the fact that this was the first time in the history of Nato that the alliance had to engage enemy targets in allied airspace. We are dealing with a large-scale provocation, Donald Tusk, Polands prime minister, said. The situation is serious, and no one doubts that we must prepare for various scenarios.

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Details of the incursion remain murky. It is still unclear whether Moscow had intentionally sought to expand the conflict. Meanwhile, photos of some of the drones online appear to show unarmed dummies, which are often sent to fool Ukrainian air defences. Of the nine drones found so far, all were unarmed dummies, called Gerbera drones, a spokeswoman for the prosecutors office in Lublin in eastern Poland told the local reporters on Wednesday.

Nato pledges to support Poland

Soon after Russian drones were spotted in Polish airspace, Nato air forces scrambled to confront the incursion. According to The New York Times, the Western alliance sent Polish F-16 fighters, Dutch F-35 fighters, German Patriot air defence systems and an Italian AWACS surveillance aircraft.

It is pertinent to note that Russian drones have crossed into Poland before, including twice last week. However, the scale of infiltration and the joint Nato response were a startling reminder of the risk that the war in Ukraine could escalate into confrontation between Russia and Nato.

While Polish and other Nato officials said that they are awaiting the results of a military assessment before making conclusions and deciding on an overall response, the alliance vowed to stand with its member nation. In a news conference, Rutte said Russias intentions were beside the point. It is absolutely reckless. It is absolutely dangerous.

Addressing Russian President Vladimir Putin, Rutte said, Stop the war in Ukraine. Stop the escalating war, which he is now basically mounting on innocent civilians and civilian infrastructure. Stop violating allied airspace. And know that we stand ready, that we are vigilant, and that we will defend every inch of Nato territory."

It is important to note that by invoking Article 4 of the Nato treaty, Poland can now bring the issue before the North Atlantic Council, the alliances principal decision-making body. Since the founding of Nato in 1949, Article 4 has been invoked seven times. Most recently, it was on February 24, 2022, the day Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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What Trump has to say on the matter

Later on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump weighed in on the matter, asking on his social media site, Whats with Russia violating Polands airspace with drones? Here we go! However, he did not elaborate and did not mention what the US will do over the matter.

Just a few weeks ago, Trump and the White House celebrated what they described as a diplomatic win after the Potus and his Russian counterpart met in Alaska. However, no subsequent progress has been made in terms of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, drawing ire from Trump.

Earlier this week, Trump, not for the first time, threatened tougher measures against Russia and said he was prepared to move on to a "second phase" of sanctions. However, Trump has been known for going light on Russia, with his previous sanction threat not materialising into actual sanctions.

Instead, the Trump administration has been targeting Russian allies, especially India. In July, Trump announced nearly 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods after complaining about New Delhis purchase of Russian oil. In response to this, India pointed out Washingtons duplicity of standards, insisting that no such measures have been taken against China, even though it purchases more oil from Russia.

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Trump faces pressure from his peers

Soon after the incident, Republican senators are raising demands for Trump to put new sanctions on Russia. I think Russia is playing, theyre really playing us like a piano right now, North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said Wednesday.

Hes gotten everything he wanted; hes gotten access to the president, hes getting a red carpet reception, three weeks later hes getting a red carpet reception from Xi Jinping and hanging out with Kim Jong Un, Tillis said of Russian President Vladimir Putin, adding that Putins goal is to string us along.

While a previous set of sanctions pushed by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham had seemingly stalled amid a lack of interest from the White House, a growing chorus of party voices is pushing for a strong stance against Russia.

I mean, at some point, we need to recognise that this guy is plotting to overthrow Western democracy. And I know the way you do that is to undermine the United States of America, then go back to Moscow and order air assaults that are the most extensive since the war began, Tillis said. That is not somebody who wants peace. He wants to string us along and kill and rape and murder more Ukrainians, and its got to stop.

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Hence, its safe to say Trump have been facing pressure from both internationally and back home to take a stern action against Russia.

Russia gives a confusing response

Meanwhile, Russia has been delivering mixed messaging over the matter, sowing confusion. Initially, a top general from Russias ally, Belarus, issued a statement which framed the episode as an accident caused when the drones veered off course after encountering electronic warfare measures.

Later, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov refused to comment on the matter but accused the leaders of the European Union and Nato of levelling accusations against Russia on a daily basis without providing evidence.

Soon after this, Russias defence ministry said it had not planned to hit any targets in Poland and suggested that Poland was out of range of Russian drones, which is not true. Hence, it remains unclear how West will react to Russias latest provocation.
Qatars prime minister said Israels strike on Hamas leaders in Doha shattered fragile ceasefire efforts, accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of killing any hope for hostages still held in Gaza

Qatars prime minister has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of destroying any chance of securing the release of hostages still held in Gaza, following Israels strike on Hamas leaders in Doha earlier this week.

In an interview with CNNs Becky Anderson, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani said the attack amounted to barbaric action and state terror, charging that Netanyahus decision had killed any hope for the families desperate for a ceasefire deal.

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Al-Thani explained that he had met relatives of one of the hostages on the very morning of the strike. According to him, they were relying solely on Qatars mediation efforts for a breakthrough, with no other channels offering realistic prospects of release. He suggested that Netanyahus move effectively erased those fragile hopes.

State terror and betrayal?

The Qatari leader did not soften his words when characterising the strike, which targeted Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital. He told CNN that the attack left him enraged, declaring it a form of state terror and an act that betrayed the very principles of diplomacy. His condemnation echoed remarks he had made at a heated press conference shortly after the strike, where he accused Israel of undermining mediation with a reckless escalation.

Al-Thani also confirmed that a 22-year-old Qatari security officer was killed in the attack. He noted that his government was still working to determine whether more people were missing or injured, stressing that the strike had endangered Qatari citizens.

Fate of Hamas negotiator unclear

Questions remain about the fate of Hamas chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, who was reportedly a target in the Israeli operation. When pressed by CNN on the negotiators whereabouts, Al-Thani said that there had been no official declaration regarding his status. Hamas initially claimed that five of its members were killed but acknowledged that the leadership delegation had survived the strike.

This uncertainty has added further tension to already strained mediation efforts, which were expected to yield Hamass formal response to a US-backed ceasefire proposal on the very day of the Doha strike. A diplomat briefed on the talks told CNN that Hamas had been preparing to issue its reply Tuesday evening, but the attack derailed the process.

Ceasefire talks in jeopardy

Al-Thani argued that Israel and Hamas were now in danger of running out of opportunities to secure a ceasefire. He admitted he could not predict what Hamass response to the latest US principles for a truce would have been had the Doha strike not occurred. Still, he made clear his belief that Netanyahu had sabotaged any potential progress.

The Qatari prime minister went further, saying he had begun to rethink his countrys role in mediation. He accused Netanyahu of wasting Qatars time in recent weeks by engaging in what he described as meaningless talks. While Doha had initially pledged not to be deterred by the strike, Al-Thani revealed that his government was now reassessing everything related to its involvement. He added that Qatar was holding detailed discussions with the United States about the way forward.

US reactions and diplomatic strain

The United States, which maintains its largest military base in West Asia in Qatar, was reportedly not informed in advance by Israel about the strike. According to a US official, President Donald Trump only learned of the attack shortly before it occurred, and not from Israel but from senior military briefings. Trump later instructed his envoy Steve Witkoff to update Qatar directly, highlighting Washingtons concern over the fallout.

Although Trump did not publicly condemn the strike, his spokesperson said the president was troubled by the developments. Al-Thani told CNN that US officials had repeatedly expressed support for Qatar and confirmed that he was in constant communication with Washington to explore possible responses.

Regional consultation and summit plans

Qatar is now looking beyond Washington to rally a broader regional response. Al-Thani said his government was consulting with Arab and Islamic partners to formulate a collective course of action. He stressed that Qatar would not dictate how others should respond but insisted that a meaningful deterrent was necessary to stop what he called Israels bullying.

He also announced plans for an Arab-Islamic summit in Doha in the coming days, where leaders are expected to discuss coordinated steps against Israels strike. According to him, the goal is to produce a unified message that could reshape the diplomatic environment in the wake of the attack.

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Mediation in doubt

The Doha strike has left Qatar questioning the very foundation of its mediating role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Once seen as a critical broker capable of bridging divides between Hamas, Israel and the United States, Doha is now reassessing whether its efforts still carry weight. Al-Thani accused Netanyahu of undermining stability and peace by deliberately targeting negotiations in the Qatari capital.

As hostages families continue to plead for resolution, the Qatari prime minister warned that both Israel and Hamas may soon find that they have exhausted all chances of reaching a ceasefire. In his view, Netanyahus decision not only endangered lives but also dismantled the fragile trust that had sustained months of delicate talks.
Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro was convicted by a Supreme Court majority on Thursday of being part of a criminal organisation, a powerful blow to the far-right leader in his trial over an alleged coup plot

Brazil's Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes, Judge Carmen Lucia, Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Luiz Fux, Judge Flavio Dino and Brazil's Federal Supreme Court (STF) minister Cristiano Zanin attend a session during the final phase of the trial of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro, on charges of plotting a coup to overturn the 2022 election, in Brasilia, Brazil, on Thursday. Reuters

Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro was convicted by a Supreme Court majority on Thursday of being part of a criminal organization, a powerful blow to the far-right leader in his trial over an alleged coup plot.

The presumptive ruling by a majority of a panel of five justices in Brazils Supreme Court makes Bolsonaro the first former president in the countrys history to be convicted for attacking democracy.

Three judges so far have voted to convict, one acquitted, and one remains to vote.

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The conviction of Bolsonaro, a former Army captain who never hid his admiration for the military dictatorship that killed hundreds of Brazilians between 1964 and 1985, echoes legal condemnations this year for far-right leaders elsewhere, including Frances Marine Le Pen and the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte.

It is likely to further enrage Bolsonaros close ally U.S. President Donald Trump, who has already called the case a witch hunt and slammed Brazil with tariff hikes, sanctions against the presiding judge, and the revocation of visas for most members of Brazils high court.

The verdict was not unanimous, with Justice Luiz Fux on Wednesday breaking with his peers by acquitting the former president of all charges.

That single vote could open a path to challenges to the ruling, potentially bringing the trials conclusion closer to the run-up of the 2026 presidential elections, in which Bolsonaro has repeatedly said he is a candidate despite being barred from running for office.

Fuxs vote also ignited a surge of righteous relief among the former presidents supporters, who hailed it as a vindication.

When coherence and a sense of justice prevail over vengeance and lies, there is no room for cruel persecution or biased judgments, Michelle Bolsonaro, the former presidents wife, posted after Fuxs vote.

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Bolsonaros conviction marks the nadir in his trajectory from the back benches of Congress to forge a powerful conservative coalition that tested the limits of the countrys young democratic institutions.

His political journey began after a brief career as an army paratrooper, when he became a city lawmaker in Rio de Janeiro in the late 1980s. He went on to be elected as a congressman in Brasilia, where he quickly became known for his defense of authoritarian-era policies in the early years of Brazils democracy.

His reputation as a firebrand was fueled by interviews like one in which he argued that Brazil would only change on the day that we break out in civil war here and do the job that the military regime didnt do: killing 30,000.

While long dismissed as a fringe player, he refined his message to play up anti-corruption and pro-family values themes. These found fertile ground as mass protests erupted across Brazil in 2014 amid the sprawling car wash bribery scandal that implicated hundreds of politicians  including President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose conviction was later annuled.

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Burning anti-establishment anger helped lay the path for his successful 2018 presidential run, with dozens of far-right and conservative lawmakers elected on his coattails. They have reshaped Congress into an enduring obstacle to Lulas progressive agenda.

Bolsonaros presidency was marked by intense skepticism about the pandemic and vaccines and his embrace of informal mining and land-clearing for cattle grazing, pushing deforestation rates in the Amazon rainforest to record highs.

As he faced a close reelection campaign against Lula in 2022 -an election that Lula went on to win - Bolsonaros comments took on an increasingly messianic quality, raising concerns about his willingness to accept the results.

I have three alternatives for my future: being arrested, killed or victory, he said, in remarks to a meeting of evangelical leaders in 2021. No man on Earth will threaten me.

In 2023, Brazils electoral court, which oversees elections, barred him from public office until 2030 for venting unfounded claims about Brazils electronic voting system.

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PROTECTING DEMOCRACY

Bolsonaros conviction and its durability will now emerge as a powerful test for the strategy that Brazils highest-ranking judges have adopted to protect the countrys democracy against what they describe as dangerous attacks by the far-right.

Their targets included social media posts that they say spread disinformation about the electoral system, as well as politicians and activists. Sending a former president and his allies to jail for planning a coup amounts to its culmination.

The cases were largely led by the commanding figure of Justice Alexandre de Moraes, appointed to the court by a conservative president in 2017, whose stance against Bolsonaro and his allies was celebrated by the left and denounced by the right as political persecution.

They want to get me out of the political game next year, Bolsonaro told Reuters in June, referring to the 2026 election in which Lula is likely to seek a fourth term. Without me in the race, Lula could beat anyone.

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Last week, as Moraes read his vote, he enumerated the evidence he believed showed Bolsonaro and his allies were guilty of plotting to not only stop Lula from taking office, but also to poison Lula and his running mate.

The charges are also tied to Bolsonaros alleged incitement of riots in January 2023, when thousands of his supporters stormed the Congress, presidential palace, and Supreme Court in Brasilia, the capital.

Bolsonaros lawyers have maintained his innocence on all counts.

The historic significance of the case goes way beyond the former president and his movement, said Carlos Fico, a historian who studies Brazils military at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

Four other defendants found guilty come from a military background, including Bolsonaros running mate in the 2022 election, General Walter Braga Netto. The verdict marks the first time since Brazil became a republic almost 140 years ago that military officials have been punished for attempting to overthrow democracy.

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The trial is a wake-up call for the Armed Forces, Fico said. They must be realizing that something has changed, given that there was never any punishment before, and now there is.
Rightwing activist and one of the prominent supporters of US President Donald Trump, Charlie Kirk, was shot dead while speaking at a rally in Utah Valley University. The prime suspect of the incident is in custody.

Conservative activist and one of the most prominent allies of US President Donald Trump, Charlie Kirk, was shot dead at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. Trump took to TruthSocial to confirm the news, calling Kirk legendary.

The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead, the president wrote on Truth Social. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. Kirk has been a fervent supporter of Trump and was the founder of Turning Point USA, a group that seeks to spread conservative ideas to students on US campuses.

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Officials noted that he had just begun speaking when a single gunshot rang out. Videos circulating online showed Kirk jolting backwards in his chair as students scatter in panic. A spokeswoman for Utah Valley University, Ellen Treanor, said the gunfire came from the Losee Centre, a building about 200 yards away from the campus.

"The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his pic.twitter.com/aM8Pz3TKml  The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 10, 2025

A single shot rang out in the quad near the food court on the Utah Valley University Orem Campus as Charlie Kirk began speaking at his planned rally, another spokesperson, Scott Trotter, told BBC. Kirk was attending the rally as a part of The American Comeback Tour, which is hosted by the TPUSA chapter at UVU.

The shooter is in custody or not

Four hours after the shooting, FBI Director Kash Patel took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to confirm that the subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody. While addressing a press conference shortly after, Utah Governor Spencer Cox also mentioned that law enforcement had a person of interest in custody who was being interviewed. The authorities have not revealed a name as of yet.

The subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody. Thank you to the local and state authorities in Utah for your partnership with @fbi.

We will provide updates when able.  FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) September 10, 2025

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Hours after mentioning that the subject of the shooting had been in custody, Patel made another post in which he said that the same subject had been released after interrogation. The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues, and we will continue to release information in the interest of transparency, the FBI Director wrote on X.

Investigation underway

Meanwhile, Utahs director of the Department of Public Safety, Beau Mason, said at the press conference that there were security camera images of the suspect and that the shooter was dressed in dark clothing and had potentially fired from a roof.

Trump echoed his love for Kirk while speaking to ABC News. Its horrific. Its one of the most horrible things Ive ever seen. He was a great guy  He was an incredible guy. Nobody like him, Trump told ABC News.

A Deseret News reporter, Emma Pitts, who was at the event, said that Kirk was on his second question and that it was regarding mass shootings. The person he was debating had asked about whether he knew how many mass shootings had involved a transgender shooter, to which Kirk responded, Pitts said. Then, he asked how many mass shootings had [there] been in the last couple of years and before he could even answer, we heard a gunshot and we just saw Charlie Kirks neck turn to the side and it appeared that he had been shot in the neck.

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There was blood, immediately a lot of blood, Pitts told The Guardian. After the shots were fired, everyone immediately took to the ground  we were just trying to stay hidden. The US vice-president, JD Vance, also tweeted, saying: Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.

Shortly before gunfire rang out, Kirk tweeted: WE. ARE. SO. BACK. Utah Valley University is FIRED UP and READY for the first stop back on the American Comeback Tour. In light of this, on Wednesday evening, Trump released a statement ordering the American flag to be flown at half-mast until sunset on September 14.
The Block Everything movement has leapt from social media to the streets deepening Frances political crisis and testing President Emmanuel Macron

A masked protester holds a red flare during a demonstration at the Place de la Republique during a day of protests in Paris as part of a grassroots protest movement called "Bloquons Tout" ("Let's Block Everything") calling for nationwide all-day disruptions, France, September 10, 2025. Reuters

What began as a social media slogan has now erupted into one of the biggest political crises of Emmanuel Macrons presidency. The movement known as Block Everything (Bloquons tout) emerged in May on fringe right-wing forums but quickly migrated across the political spectrum.

By early September, it had been embraced by parts of the left and far-left, gaining mass traction through hashtags like #10septembre2025 and #10septembre on X, TikTok, Telegram and Facebook

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On Wednesday, the online fervour became physical. Protesters lit barricades, obstructed highways and clashed sporadically with riot police across France. While many demonstrations remained peaceful, almost 300 people were arrested nationwide.

In Paris, students and even school-age children joined the ranks, swelling numbers in a protest that fused anger at the political elite with resentment toward looming austerity measures, Reuters reported.

Austerity as a trigger

At the heart of the unrest lies the 2026 budget plan introduced by Prime Minister Francois Bayrou in mid-July. The plan called for slashing 43.8 billion from the national budget in an effort to rein in Frances spiralling deficit. Among the most contentious measures were proposals to abolish two national holidays, freeze pensions and cut 5 billion from the healthcare system.

The plan proved politically toxic. On September 8, Bayrous government lost a parliamentary confidence vote, forcing his resignation and leaving France once again in political limbo. Historians suggested that this collapse may embolden demonstrators even further, France24 said in its report.

Beyond the budget: A broader revolt

Although the budget cuts sparked initial anger, the Block Everything movement quickly grew into something larger. On its since-removed website, the collective of roughly 20 organisers demanded not just the preservation of public holidays, but sweeping reinvestment in public services and a halt to job cuts.

Their calls for boycotts against retailers like Amazon and Carrefour, withdrawals from major banks and occupations of symbolic public buildings reflected the anti-establishment tone.

Social media posts tied to the movement went viral, with one statement garnering over 1.5 million views declaring: We wont pay anymore, we wont consume anymore, we wont work anymore, and we will keep our children at home. Our only power is a total boycott.

For many, the anger stems from a deeper sense of exclusion. Paul Smith of the University of Nottingham was quoted by France24 saying that its become about the idea of people feeling left behind.

Echoing the 2018 Yellow Vest protests, demonstrators expressed frustration not only with economic hardship but also with what they see as a political system unresponsive to ordinary citizens.

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A movement without leaders

One reason for the movements unpredictability is its lack of centralised leadership. Like the Yellow Vests before it, Block Everything thrives on grassroots mobilisation, making it difficult for authorities to anticipate or control its actions.

The first online calls for a September 10 protest came months before Bayrous budget plan, originating from the anti-government group Les Essentiels France. Analysts have warned of possible manipulation by foreign actors, though most evidence suggests domestic frustration as the driving force, Reuters said.

Despite claims of being apolitical, the movements base skews left-wing. A survey by the Fondation Jean-Jaures found that 69 per cent of its supporters had voted for Jean-Luc Melenchons France Unbowed in 2022, compared to just 2 per cent for Macron and 3 per cent for Marine Le Pen.

Analysts suggest that while the Yellow Vests were focussed primarily on economic insecurity, Block Everything supporters display a sharper politicisation and a desire to act on behalf of collective interests.

Macron faces a security dilemma

The French government is treating the protests as a potential national security crisis. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has vowed zero tolerance, deploying 80,000 police officers amid warnings that demonstrators might target airports, train stations and highways.

We will not tolerate any blockage, any violence, Retailleau told France 2, though he acknowledged the underlying anger.

For President Macron, the stakes are existential. His government has already suffered the resignation of four prime ministers in under two years. Now, with Bayrou ousted and the budget in limbo, Macron is facing renewed calls for constitutional reform, higher taxes on the rich, and even his own resignation.

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Murky alliances and union ambivalence

Although grassroots in origin, the Block Everything protests have attracted political opportunists. Figures from both the extreme right and hard left have attempted to harness its energy, with Melenchon emerging as a vocal supporter. Still, the movement has failed to gain unified backing from Frances trade unions.

The CFDT, the countrys largest union, has condemned Bayrous budget but declined to join the September 10 protests. Instead, unions have planned their own strikes on September 18. Only the CGT, historically Frances most radical union, pledged to mobilise alongside the Block Everything activists.

Analysts warn that this fragmented support could make the movement harder to control as grassroots protests tend to be much less controlled, and much less organised than union-led strikes.

Echoes of the Yellow Vests

Comparisons to the 2018 Yellow Vest movement are inevitable. That earlier wave of unrest, sparked by fuel taxes, ballooned into months of violent clashes and nationwide blockades that forced Macron into costly concessions. Though less organised and lacking a physical emblem like the yellow vest, Block Everything channels a similar cocktail of disillusionment, anger at inequality and resentment toward the political class.

Whether the protests fade or grow depends largely on what comes next in Frances political calendar. Without a government or budget, the country faces paralysis. With unions planning their own mobilisations and leftist leaders seizing the moment, Block Everything could mark the start of a prolonged cycle of unrest.

For now, one fact is clear. A hashtag born on the margins of the internet has forced itself to the centre of French politics, shaking Macrons presidency and revealing once again the combustible mix of austerity, mistrust and social anger simmering in France.

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The two leaders held discussions on crucial matters of bilateral cooperation, with a particular focus on development partnership and capacity building, according to an official statement

In this image received on Sept. 11, 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Mauritius counterpart Navinchandra Ramgoolam during a bilateral meeting, in Varanasi. PMO

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that India and Mauritius are committed to establishing a free, open, secure, stable and prosperous Indian Ocean, as he held a joint press conference with his counterpart Navin Ramgoolam.

After holding bilateral talks with Ramgoolam in Varanasi, who is on an official visit to India, PM Modi said, A free, open, secure, stable and prosperous Indian Ocean is our common priority. India is fully committed to strengthening the security and maritime capacity of Mauritiuss Exclusive Economic Zone. India has always stood as the first responder and a security provider in the Indian Ocean region.

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He also announced a collaboration between the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, the Indian Institute of Plantation Management and the University of Mauritius to achieve the joint goal of securing the Indian Ocean.

#WATCH | Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, "IIT Madras and the Indian Institute of Plantation Management have signed agreements with the University of Mauritius. These agreements will take our partnership in research, education and innovation to new pic.twitter.com/jnOhQ5wWEl  ANI (@ANI) September 11, 2025

Ramgoolam is currently on a state visit to India from September 9 to 16. It is his first overseas bilateral visit to India in his present term. He will also visit Ayodhya and Tirupati.

The two leaders held discussions on crucial matters of bilateral cooperation, with a particular focus on development partnership and capacity building, according to an official statement.

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They also explored collaboration in health, education, science and technology, energy, infrastructure, as well as in emerging domains such as renewable energy, digital public infrastructure and the blue economy.

PM Modi hails Chagos deal

PM Modi also congratulated Ramgoolam and the people of Mauritius on the conclusion of the Chagos agreement, describing it as a historic victory for the island nations sovereignty.

India has always supported decolonisation and the full recognition of Mauritiuss sovereignty. And in this, India has stood firmly with Mauritius, he said.

#WATCH | Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, "India has always supported decolonisation and full recognition of Mauritius's sovereignty and has stood firmly with Mauritius in this. It is a matter of pride for India to be a trusted and primary partner in pic.twitter.com/a237Wc7VdJ  ANI (@ANI) September 11, 2025

In May, the United Kingdom decided to hand over the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, including the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia, to Mauritius under a historic deal.

The UK is giving up the rights of the islands after more than 50 years.

Under the agreement, the UK will have full responsibility for the security of strategically-located Diego Garcia.
More than 18,000 newly uncovered emails show Ghislaine Maxwell remained central to Jeffrey Epsteins finances, legal strategies and social network even as Donald Trumps name appears only three times

Ghislaine Maxwell has spent years trying to minimise her role in Jeffrey Epsteins crimes. She has insisted that she was merely a onetime girlfriend who later acted as his household manager, arranging decorators and hiring staff for his many properties. Even after her 2021 conviction for sex trafficking, she has maintained that her involvement was peripheral.

But thousands of emails from Epsteins Yahoo accountsome 18,000 messages in totalpaint a different picture. Obtained by Bloomberg, they show Maxwell was not only deeply involved in Epsteins business and personal dealings, but also an active participant in his legal strategies and his attempts to discredit victims.

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Far from stepping away in 2003, as she has claimed, Maxwell was still exchanging near-daily messages with Epstein years later, including in the months leading up to his 2008 plea deal.

The correspondence documents an enduring partnership built on logistics, strategy, intimacy and secrecy.

Maxwell knew deep secrets

The emails show Maxwell opened at least one foreign bank account using Epsteins address, served as a director of one of his key companies and traded stock in a business they both invested in. She managed his homes, organised his staff and even reminded him about assistants birthdays and Christmas bonuses.

Maxwell also acted as a social coordinator, ensuring Epstein stayed plugged into elite networks. She offered high-profile contacts seats on his jet or visits to his private island, maintained ties with politicians and celebrities and nurtured connections with billionaires. She was not just decorating Epsteins homesshe was helping him maintain the image of a man at the centre of global power.

Procuring minors for prostitution

Perhaps the most damning exchange came in May 2008. As Epsteins legal team negotiated a plea deal in Florida, he wrote Maxwell asking her opinion on which charge sounded better: lewd and lascivious conduct or procuring minors for prostitution.

Her reply was blunt: I suppose lewd and lascivious conduct I would prefer lewd and lascivious conduct w/a prostitute if possible.

A month later, Epstein pleaded guilty to two state chargessolicitation of prostitution and procurement of minorsand avoided federal prosecution. Maxwells casual involvement in such a decision shows her awareness of the gravity of the case and the reality of his crimes.

A machinery of gifts and control

A 2007 spreadsheet prepared by Epsteins accountants offers a chilling look at how he used money and gifts to manipulate both allies and victims. Nearly 2,000 entries, totaling $1.8 million, include everything from luxury cars and watches to lingerie and chocolates.

For allies: A $71,000 Lexus for lawyer Alan Dershowitz, logged as part of his legal fees. An $11,000 Rolex for real estate investor Tom Barrack, a close Trump associate. A $35,000 Audemars Piguet watch intended for Clinton aide Doug Band.

For victims: Dozens of entries marked gifts for the girls, with annotations ranging from Victorias Secret lingerie to Western Union transfers. One victim alone was logged as receiving more than $75,000 in gifts and cash, including a laptop, study abroad tuition and Thai massage lessons.

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The initials GM appear more than 250 times, showing Maxwells involvement in distributing the gifts. Victims later testified that these payments were part of Epsteins manipulation: isolating them, fostering dependency and maintaining control.

Trumps limited mentions

Despite longstanding speculation, Trump appears only three times in the emails. In September 2006, Maxwell circulated a list of 51 politicians and business leaders for Epsteins review. Remove trump, he instructed.

His name surfaced again in 2007, when Maxwell flagged him as a figure reporters might contact during their coverage of Epsteins legal troubles. And in another exchange, Epsteins network referenced Trump in the context of Palm Beach society ties.

Maxwell later told the Justice Department that Trump was cordial and kind and that she never saw him behave inappropriately. Trump himself has said his friendship with Epstein ended after a dispute, reportedly over a Mar-a-Lago employee. While the emails do not tie Trump to Epsteins abuse, they show his presence on the margins of Epsteins social world.

Prince Andrew and Clinton connections

Other powerful figures appear more prominently. Maxwell was photographed with Prince Andrew at parties and victims have testified that he groped them in Epsteins townhouse. The emails do not prove such allegations, but they confirm Maxwells role as a bridge between Epstein and British royalty.

Bill Clinton and his circle also figure in the correspondence. Maxwell arranged flights for Clinton aide Doug Band, offered him a $35,000 watch, and promoted her ocean conservation nonprofit, TerraMar Project, through the Clinton Global Initiative. Clintons spokesperson has said the former president knew nothing about Epsteins crimes.

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Attacks on Virginia Giuffre

When Virginia Giuffre, then Virginia Roberts, accused Epstein and Maxwell of abuse, Maxwell went on the offensive. In 2015, she asked Epstein for any files his lawyers had on Giuffre. She circulated an old police report that painted Giuffre as unreliable and told Epstein she planned to distribute it.

Weeks later, the New York Daily News published a story casting doubt on Giuffres credibility, citing sealed juvenile records. Giuffre later sued Maxwell for defamation, a case that was settled. The emails show Maxwell not only knew about Giuffres allegations but actively sought to undermine her, even as evidence mounted.

Fertility plans and personal intimacy

Strikingly, even as Epstein faced indictment, Maxwell discussed undergoing fertility procedures that required his sperm donations. In one 2006 email, she reminded him to collect all the ejaculate for her procedure within 90 minutes.

Such exchanges contradict Maxwells claim that her relationship with Epstein had diminished by 2003. Instead, the emails show emotional and physical entanglement stretching well into his legal crisis.

Odd purchases and disturbing notes

The inbox also reveals Epsteins eccentric consumerism: more than 600 Amazon purchases, including an FBI agent costume, teeth whitener, leather bullwhip, size-12 Crocs and a schoolgirl uniform. In one email chain, Maxwell and Epstein discussed whether a 19-year-old woman was cute enough for sex acts. Epstein dismissed another young woman as fat and Asian sorry.

These details, mundane on the surface, expose a man who mixed ordinary consumption with predatory fixationsand a network of women, including Maxwell, who facilitated it.

Social engineering at scale

Even as Epsteins world collapsed after his 2006 arrest, Maxwell continued to leverage her social connections on his behalf. She name-dropped fashion designers, Hollywood directors, and Silicon Valley leaders. She urged Epstein to treat Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of 23andMe and then-partner of Sergey Brin, with special care, calling her key to DNA research.

At the same time, political requests flowed in. The office of Bill Richardson, then governor of New Mexico, inquired whether he could use Epsteins jet for a peace mission. Epstein told Maxwell to have Richardson call him directly.

The emails reveal how Epsteins money, planes and access to luxury were currency for building and maintaining influence. Maxwell was often the broker.

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Preparing for prison

As Epsteins plea deal neared in 2007, Maxwell stayed closely involved. Epstein updated her on negotiationsdid not go well 2 yearsand she agonised in response: Im sad scared and depressed I cant shake it.

She also helped wind down his empire: deciding whether to sell his Bentley, fire staff or unload his helicopter. She even sought advice on Bear Stearns stock as the financial crisis loomed.

The level of coordination shows Maxwell was not distancing herself but doubling down, ensuring Epsteins world would keep functioning even as he went behind bars.

After Epsteins death, the legacy lingers

Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019, his death ruled a suicide. Maxwell was arrested the following year, convicted of sex trafficking in 2021 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. She is now appealing her case to the Supreme Court.

The emails, however, are a reminder that Epsteins empire did not operate in isolation. It depended on networks of money, gifts, and accessand on Maxwell, who acted as both his lieutenant and shield.

A system built on wealth and silence

The inbox is not the final word on Epsteins life. Some messages appear deleted, and the account is only one of several he used. The emails do not prove that powerful public figures engaged in abuse. But they show how Epsteins wealth and Maxwells connections bought silence, loyalty and protection.

From luxury cars for lawyers to lingerie for teenagers, from dinner parties with presidents to fertility plans with his closest confidante, Epsteins emails reveal a life built on control and secrecy.

And at the centre of it, Ghislaine Maxwellwho knew exactly what he was doing.
Mourning the loss of one of his most prominent allies, US President Donald Trump addressed the nation from the Oval Office. Trump called the perpetrator of the incident monster and paid tribute to Kirks contribution.

US right-wing activist Charlie Kirk was a prolific supporter of Donald Trump and Maga values. He also echoed the US president's claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. File image/AFP

Mourning the loss of one of his most prominent allies, Charlie Kirk, US President Donald Trump addressed the nation from the Oval Office. The Rightwing activist was fatally shot dead while addressing a rally at Utah Valley University.

Trump initially confirmed the news of Kirks death in a post on TruthSocial. The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife, Erika and family. Charlie, we love you! Trump wrote in the post.

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Before his Oval Office address, Trump told ABC News: Its horrific. Its one of the most horrible things Ive ever seen. He was a good man. He was an incredible guy. Nobody like him, Trump told the American news outlet.

Dark moment for America: Trump

During his address from the Oval Office, Trump called the perpetrator a monster and declared that Kirks killing is a  dark moment for America. Trumps 4-minute-long address to the nation focused on Kirks legacy and condemned the culture of political demonisation that fuels violence.

He went on to describe Kirk as a wonderful American who embodied the values of faith, liberty, and courage, and vowed that his administration would pursue accountability for those responsible. While concluding his address, Trump reminded Americans of the attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania, last year.

The 31-year-old was answering questions from students during the first stop of his American Comeback Tour when a gunman fired a shot from a rooftop, fatally striking him in the neck. The assassination of the Turning Point USA co-founder abruptly ended the event as thousands scrambled in panic.

Trumps inner circle mourns the loss

Trump is not the only one from the White House to mourn the death of Kirk. First Lady Melania Trump released a statement on Wednesday, sharing her grief for Kirks two young children, calling for more compassionate awareness.

Charlies children will be raised with stories instead of memories, photographs instead of laughter, and silence where their fathers voice should have echoed. Charlie Kirks life should serve as a symbolic reminder that compassionate awareness elevates family, love, and country, she wrote.

Several top officials within the Trump administration have also issued messages of support for Kirk and his family. Vice President JD Vance shared Trumps announcement of Kirks death and wrote on X, Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord. Donald Trump Jr, who worked closely with Kirk on the 2016 campaign, posted online: I love you, brother. You gave so many people the courage to speak up, and we will never be silenced.

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In light of the tragedy, Trump had ordered all American flags throughout the country to be lowered to half-staff through Sunday evening in honour of Kirk.
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the attacks in the Gulf country, which has been playing the role of chief mediator in the conflict, Hamas has said that the countrys attempt to assassinate its negotiating team failed

In this framegrab taken from video Qatar Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani addresses the press in Doha.

Qatar will hold an Arab-Islamic Summit in Doha soon to decide on the course of action to be taken after Israel attacked the Gulf country earlier this week, killing six people.

The announcement was made by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani during an interview with CNN, where he said that Qatar hopes there will be a collective regional response to the Israeli attack on Hamas officials in Doha.

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There is a regional response. It is currently under consultation and discussion with other partners in the region, he added.

Meanwhile, authorities in Qatar are carrying out a search operation to find two missing people and identify the human remains of those who died in an Israeli attack.

The Qatari interior ministry has said that officials have identified three out of the five Hamas members who died in the airstrikes, along with the one Qatari security officer.

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the attacks in the Gulf country, which has been playing the role of chief mediator in the conflict, Hamas has said that the countrys attempt to assassinate its negotiating team failed.

Killed hope for hostages

Qatars prime minister warned Wednesday that an unprecedented Israeli strike in Doha targeting Hamas killed hope for Gaza hostages, calling for Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu to be brought to justice.

I think that what Netanyahu has done yesterday, he just killed any hope for those hostages, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told CNN.

Doha is reassessing everything around its involvement in future ceasefire talks and discussing next steps with Washington, he added in comments cited in CNNs live blog after an interview with the broadcaster.

Earlier Wednesday, Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed that Israel would act against its enemies anywhere while Netanyahu urged Qatar to expel Hamas officials or hold them to account, because if you dont, we will.

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India announced a special economic package worth around USD 680 million for Mauritius & signed 7 agreements to deepen cooperation across critical sectors, with PM Modi stressing that a free & secure Indian Ocean is a shared priority.

India on Thursday announced around USD 680 million special economic package for Mauritius and signed seven agreements to further expand bilateral ties in several critical sectors such as maritime security with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that a free and secure Indian Ocean is a shared priority for both sides.

Modi hosted his Mauritian counterpart Navinchandra Ramgoolam at his parliamentary constituency in Varanasi, in reflection of rich cultural links between India and Mauritius as he described the two countries as not just partners but a family.

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In his media statement, Modi said India remains fully committed to strengthening the security of Mauritiuss exclusive economic zone and that both sides will work towards enabling bilateral trade in local currencies following successful launch of UPI and RuPay cards in Mauritius.

Under the special economic package, India will assist Mauritius implement at least 10 projects that include strengthening key infrastructure like port, airport, and roads and to set up new schools and hospitals.

This package is not an assistance. It is an investment in our shared future, Modi said.

The seven agreements will facilitate boosting cooperation in areas of education, power, hydrography and space research.

The most important pact signed following the Modi-Ramgoolam talks appears to be the one on hydrography under which both sides will work together on joint surveys, navigation charts, and hydrographic data of the exclusive economic zones of Mauritius.

India and Mauritius are two nations, but our dreams and destiny are one, Modi said.

In his remarks to the media, the prime minister also congratulated Ramgoolam and the people of Mauritius on the conclusion of the Chagos agreement, describing it as a historic victory for the island nations sovereignty.

India has always supported decolonization and the full recognition of Mauritiuss sovereignty. And in this, India has stood firmly with Mauritius, he said.

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In May, the United Kingdom decided to hand over the sovereignty of Chagos Islands including tropical atoll of Diego Garcia to Mauritius under a historic deal.

The UK is giving up the rights of the islands after more than 50 years.

Under the agreement, the UK will have full responsibility for security of strategically-located Diego Garcia.

Ramgoolam, currently on a state visit to India from September 9 to 16, said India-Mauritius ties have entered into a dynamic and forward looking phase.

Modi also referred to close cooperation between the two countries in the maritime sphere.

India has always stood as the first responder and a net security provider in the Indian Ocean region. The refitting of the Mauritius Coast Guard ship is being undertaken in India. In addition, 120 of their officers are also being trained in India, he said.

Today, an agreement has been concluded on cooperation in the field of hydrography. Over the next five years, we will work together on joint surveys, navigation charts, and hydrographic data of the EEZ, he said.

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Modi said Mauritius is a key part of Indias Neighbourhood First policy and our Vision MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Region).

He unveiled the MAHASAGAR vision for Indias engagement with the Global South during his visit to Mauritius in March.

Modi also announced a decision to establish a new directorate of science and technology in Mauritius.

Very soon, we will also launch the training modules of Mission Karmayogi in Mauritius. The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and the Indian Institute of Plantation Management have entered into agreements with the University of Mauritius, he said.

These agreements will elevate our partnership in research, education, and innovation to new heights, he added.

Modi also referred to cultural links between India and Mauritius.

It is a matter of pride for me to welcome you to my parliamentary constituency. Kashi has always been a symbol of Indias civilization and cultural heritage, he said.

Centuries ago, our culture and traditions travelled from India to Mauritius, and became a part of everyday life there. Just like the eternal flow of Maa Ganga in Kashi, the continuous stream of Indian culture has enriched Mauritius, he said.

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And today, when we are welcoming friends from Mauritius in Kashi, it is not just a formality but a spiritual union. That is why I proudly say that India and Mauritius are not just partners but a family, he added.

Modi reached his Lok Sabha constituency around 11:30 am and proceeded to Hotel Taj, where he met Ramgoolam for nearly two hours.

Officials said while Modi left for Uttarakhand to take stock of the flood situation there, Ramgoolam will stay back in Varanasi.

Ramgoolams India visit began on September 9 and concludes on September 16.

Earlier, amid the sound of drums and conch shells, Modis convoy entered the city with BJP leaders, party workers and local residents lining up along the route to welcome him, chanting Har Har Mahadev and showering flower petals. Some people were also seen carrying Mauritius flags to mark the occasion.

Following the bilateral talks, Modi left the hotel a little after 2 pm, travelled to the police lines - about two km away - and then took a chopper to the airport, before departing for Uttarakhand.

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Ramgoolam, who arrived in Varanasi on Wednesday, was received by Governor Patel and Finance Minister Suresh Khanna. He is scheduled to attend the Ganga aarti this evening and visit the Kashi Vishwanath temple on Friday morning.

The delegation will also be presented with a cultural programme, highlighting the historic ties between the two nations, District Magistrate Satyendra Kumar said.
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the attacks in the Gulf country, which has been playing the role of chief mediator in the conflict, Hamas has said that the countrys attempt to assassinate its negotiating team failed

Damage is seen after an Israeli strike targeted a compound that hosted Hamas political leadership in Doha, Qatar. APDamage is seen after an Israeli strike targeted a compound that hosted Hamas political leadership in Doha, Qatar. AP

Authorities in Qatar are carrying out a search operation to find two missing people and identify the human remains of those who died in an Israeli attack in Doha two days ago.

The Qatari interior ministry has said that officials have identified three out of the five Hamas members who died in the airstrikes, along with the one Qatari security officer.

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the attacks in the Gulf country, which has been playing the role of chief mediator in the conflict, Hamas has said that the countrys attempt to assassinate its negotiating team failed.

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Meanwhile, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani has been tight-lipped about the fate of Hamas key negotiator Khalil al-Hayya. Until now there is no official declaration, he said.

According to a report by BBC, the talk of the town within the Israeli military is that it has been unsuccessful in its controversial attack in Qatar that received a rare rebuke from its ally, the US.

Netanyahu defended the strike, claiming it targeted the terrorist masterminds behind the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which left around 1,200 people dead and 251 taken hostage.

Killed hope for hostages

Qatars prime minister warned Wednesday that an unprecedented Israeli strike in Doha targeting Hamas killed hope for Gaza hostages, calling for Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu to be brought to justice.

I think that what Netanyahu has done yesterday, he just killed any hope for those hostages, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told CNN.

Doha is reassessing everything around its involvement in future ceasefire talks and discussing next steps with Washington, he added in comments cited in CNNs live blog after an interview with the broadcaster.

Earlier Wednesday, Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed that Israel would act against its enemies anywhere while Netanyahu urged Qatar to expel Hamas officials or hold them to account, because if you dont, we will.

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Who were killed in the attack?

Three bodyguards and negotiator Khalil al-Hayyas aide and son were all killed in the attack, Hamas said, affirming the enemys failure to assassinate our brothers in the negotiating delegation.

Qatars interior ministry said a member of its internal security forces was killed in the strikes and several other security personnel were wounded.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the strikes in response to a Monday shooting in Jerusalem that killed six people and was later claimed by Hamas.
Laying rest to speculation that he has fled abroad, ousted Nepali premier KP Sharma Oli has said that he is still in Kathmandu. He has urged protesting Gen Z groups to preserve the constitution and not abolish it.

In an open letter, ousted Nepali premier KP Sharma Oli on Thursday said that he is still in Kathmandu. He urged protesting Gen Z groups to preserve the constitution and not abolish it.

The open letter has come after days of speculation about his whereabouts and rumours that he had fled to Dubai. He resigned on Tuesday after massive protests over longstanding grievances against the countrys leadership. He will continue as the caretaker prime minister until the formation of the new government.

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In the letter carried by Nepali outlet Setopati, Oli said that he was staying at the Shivapuri barracks of the Nepali Army.

ALSO READ: After ousting Oli, Gen Z groups divided as consensus eludes leadership choice, form of new govt

Separately, the Nepali media have reported that several other senior politicians, such as former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, Madhav Kumar Nepal, and Jhalanath Khanal, and Nepali Congress leader Prakash Man Singh, are staying at army facilities in and around Kathmandu.

Oli calls upon Gen Z groups to preserve constitution

Amid calls by some groups to seek a solution to the ongoing crisis outside the ambit of the constitution, Oli said that the current constitution and political system is a conclusion of intense struggle and should be preserved.

Before the current constitution that was brought through countless sorrows and sacrifices, there was a time when we were not allowed to speak, were not allowed to gather, were not allowed to question, said Oli in Nepali.

Oli further said, By fighting against that dark situation, we brought this bright system. If you are able to raise your voice today, if you are able to protest, it is because of this very system. Today, an attempt is being made to massacre this system, and it is necessary for you to be sensitive to this.

Oli said that the most important thing to him was the preservation of the constitution.

This system, which has given you the right to speak, to walk, and to question, is the main goal of my life to save. I believe that there can be no compromise on the issue of the system, Oli further said.

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Previously, it has been reported that the youth groups have deep divisions about the future of the country. The Kantipur newspaper has reported that while one side wants the country to remain a democracy, another wants it to become a monarchy.
India is one of the top relationships the US has in the world today, and Washington is in a period of extraordinary transition in that relationship with Delhi, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday described India as one of Washingtons most important global relationships and said ties with New Delhi are in a period of extraordinary transition.

Speaking at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee while introducing ambassador-designate Sergio Gor at his confirmation hearing, Rubio said, India is at the core of Americas Indo-Pacific strategy.

In the 21st century, the story is going to be written in the Indo-Pacific and we are in a period of extraordinary transition in that relationship with India, he said, adding that the partnership will shape what the world is going to look like.

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President Donald Trump last month nominated Gor, 38, the Director of Presidential Personnel, as the next US Ambassador to India and Special Envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs. If confirmed, he would be the youngest American envoy to New Delhi.

When confirmed, 38-year-old Gor will be the youngest American ambassador to India.

Rubio said that in the 21st Century, the story is going to be written in the Indo-Pacific. In fact, its so important that weve actually changed the name of the combatant command of the Indo-Pacific. India is at the core of that.

And we are in a period of extraordinary transition in that relationship with India. Weve got some really important issues coming up that we need to work with them on and work through on that implicate whats happening from Ukraine, but also implicate whats happening in the region.

It is important that the United States be represented at that post with someone who has the direct ear and confidence of the President of the United States, Rubio said, adding that he knows of no one who has had a better or closer working relationship than Gor.

Rubio said Gor is very, very close to the President, has the Presidents confidence, and I can tell you that when you interact with these countries, in fact, Ive already seen it when you interact with these countries, having a representative in a place like India that has direct access to the Oval Office, to the President and who they know can get things done both in the administration, and through the Oval Office, is critically important.

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I dont know of anyone out there thats better positioned to do that than Gor, Rubio added.
Amid nationwide violence in Nepal over the past two days, more than 7,500 prisoners reportedly fled from more than 10 jails across the country. There have also been reports of arson and riots at several jails.

Nepali Army personnel patrol near the parliament in Kathmandu, Nepal, September 8, 2025. (Photo: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

Amid nationwide violence in Nepal over the past two days, more than 7,500 prisoners have fled from more than 10 jails across the country, according to reports.

Republica newspaper has cited sources in the Nepali Home Ministry to report the following jailbreaks and prison-escapes.

Dillibazar Jail (1,100)

Chitwan (700)

Nakkhu (1,200)

Jhumpka in Sunsari (1,575)

Kanchanpur (450)

Kailali (612)

Jaleshwar (576)

Kaski (773)

Dang (124)

Jumla (36)

Solukhumbu (86)

Gaur (260)

Bajhang (65)

At some places, however, prisonbreaks failed at some places like Birgunj and Ramechhap where the police and army controlled the situation.

At Birgunj, the police and the army resorted to aerial firing of bullets and tear gas to contain the situation when prisoners tried to escape, according to Kantipur.

At Ramechhap, Nepal Army troops foiled a breakout attempt and opened fire on Thursday morning, according to The Kathmandu Post.

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Elsewhere, inmates set fire inside the Kavre District Prison, 459 inmates escaped from the Kapilvastu prison after setting it ablaze, and 76 prisoners fled from Solukhumbu prison after setting it ablaze.

In Biratnagar, at least 249 juvenile inmates escaped from a correction home, according to Kantipur.

The newspaper reported that inmates broke the lock of the facility, tore documents, and fled collectively. The report said that only 20-25 inmates remained in the facility.

While jailbreaks mostly happened from inside these facilities, in some instances, relatives of inmates also created a ruckus outside of facilities.

Former Deputy PM, bomb blast convict freed from jail

Among thousands of prisoners freed from jail are former Deputy Prime Minister Rabi Lamichhane and Sanjay Takla, a former minister sentenced to life.

Republica newspaper reported that Lamichhanes release fuelled unrest among other prisoners who demanded similar release.

Moreover, the newspaper reported unrest in the Madhesh region of Nepal after Taklas escape. Takla was serving a life term after being convicted in the Janakpur bomb blast case in which five people were killed. Janakpur is the capital of Madhes province  Madhes is also a term for the plains of Nepal.
The move comes amid escalating anti-China rhetoric under President Donald Trumps administration. The United States and China are competing to send crews to the Moon

NASA has begun barring Chinese nationals with valid visas from joining its programs, underscoring the intensifying space race between the rival powers.

The policy shift was first reported by Bloomberg News and confirmed by the US government agency.NASA has taken internal action pertaining to Chinese nationals, including restricting physical and cybersecurity access to our facilities, materials, and network to ensure the security of our work, NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens told AFP Wednesday.According to Bloomberg, Chinese nationals had previously been allowed to work as contractors or students contributing to research, although not as staff.

But on September 5 several individuals told the outlet they were suddenly locked out of IT systems and barred from in-person meetings. They spoke on condition of anonymity.

The move comes amid escalating anti-China rhetoric under President Donald Trumps administration. The United States and China are competing to send crews to the Moon.

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The US Artemis program, a follow-up to the Apollo landings from 19691972, is targeting a 2027 landing but has suffered cost overruns and delays.

China, by contrast, aims to land its taikonauts by 2030 under its program, and has recently been more successful at meeting deadlines.

Were in a second space race right now, NASAs acting administrator Sean Duffy told reporters Wednesday, speaking at a news conference related to discoveries made with a US rover on Mars.

The Chinese want to get back to the Moon before us. Thats not going to happen. America has led in space in the past, and we are going to continue to lead in space in the future.

China is also seeking to become the first country to return a sample from the Martian surface, with a robotic mission slated to launch in 2028 and bring rocks back as soon as 2031.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, has signaled through its budget proposal that it wants to cancel a planned Mars Sample Return mission, a joint project with the European Space Agency.

It has hinted the job could instead be accomplished by a crewed mission, although no firm details have been provided.
After two days of intense protests, talks between Nepals Army and Gen-Z protesters reached a stalemate after they disagreed on who should be part of the interim government

Protesters celebrate standing at the top of the Singha Durbar, the seat of Nepal's government's various ministries and offices, after it was set on fire during a protest against social media ban and corruption in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, September 9, 2025. File Image/AP

The youth of Nepal suspended the Gen Z protests on Wednesday, two days after violent demonstrations led to the death of 30 people, wounded 1,033 and led to the resignation of the countrys Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli. Soon after the protests were called off, around 15 Gen Z representatives met army officials at Bhadrakali base on Thursday morning.

During the meeting with the army, the delegates proposed names for a transitional civilian leadership, including former chief justice Sushila Karki, Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, ex-speaker Onsari Gharti Magar, lawyer Om Prakash Aryal, Dr Govinda KC, Brig Gen Prem Shahi, and former chief election commissioner Neel Kantha Upreti, The Times of India reported.

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However, the talks reached a stalemate after delegate Raksha Bam walked out, insisting that the countrys army had suggested including businessman Durga Prasai and the Rastriya Swatantra Party in the dialogue.

The power play brewing in Nepal

It is pertinent to note that Parsai has supported restoring the Hindu monarchy and has often led rallies calling for the dissolution of the federal democratic structure. Meanwhile, RSP, a centrist party formed in 2022, has been accused by some youth groups of co-opting anti-corruption slogans while defending the institutional status quo.

After walking out of the meeting, Bam said that the inclusion of the two would undermine the integrity of the movement. Since the army chief himself labelled them as stakeholders, we believe this undermines the sacrifices made during the Gen Z movement therefore, we have rejected the proposal and walked out, he told local reporters.

Meanwhile, initially, the organisers of the protest on Wednesday called for a nationwide clean-up, urging volunteers to clean the streets, dont destroy them. However, they soon withdrew the appeal after the army advised against any form of gathering under the emergency curfew.

In light of the protests, Nepals army unit continued to maintain checkpoints, broadcast curfew alerts through loudspeakers, and warned citizens of legal action for arson or looting, The Times of India reported.

We are mainly in the process of controlling elements who are taking advantage of the situation to loot, set fires and cause various incidents, said army spokesperson Rajaram Basnet. The Tuesday protests were so intense that they saw Singha Durbar and the Supreme Court torched, and brought the army onto the streets under curfew.

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The agitation also led to the closure of Tribhuvan International Airport, which resumed operations late Wednesday. Protests in the country began after the government imposed a sweeping social media ban, blocking 26 popular platforms in what it said was a move to counter misinformation. However, the youth of Nepal have been raising voices against corruption in the country for a very long time.

The latest ban acted as a catalyst to the protests, with urban youth viewing it as censorship amid worsening economic frustration and entrenched political nepotism. The ban was quietly lifted late Tuesday, but the mobilisation had already spiralled beyond digital grievances.

As of now, no political party has yet endorsed the protests or demanded the dissolution of the parliament. However, backchannel talks were reportedly underway between former chief justices and Gen Z intermediaries.
Karki began her legal career in 1979, practising law in Biratnagar. In 1985, she also took on an academic role as an assistant teacher at Mahendra Multiple Campus in Dharan. She was recognised as a senior advocate in 2007

Nepal's former Chief Justice Sushila Karki has emerged as the choice of Gen Z protesters to lead the interim government. Image courtesy: X

Gen Z representatives of the Nepal protests met Army officials on Thursday, where they proposed Sushila Karki, former chief justice, as one of the names for the interim leader after the unrest led to the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

However, the 15 representatives were divided on an official proposal, as some also suggested the names of Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, ex-speaker Onsari Gharti Magar, lawyer Om Prakash Aryal, Dr Govinda KC, Brig Gen Prem Shahi, and former chief election commissioner Neel Kantha Upreti.

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Despite all of this, Karki seems the most likely frontrunner in the interim leader race. However, the final call on the post will be taken after the protest leaders meet the Nepali Army and the president for another round of talks today.

Who is Sushila Karki?

Karki began her legal career in 1979, practising law in Biratnagar. In 1985, she also took on an academic role as an assistant teacher at Mahendra Multiple Campus in Dharan. She was recognised as a senior advocate in 2007.

Her judicial journey progressed with her appointment as an ad hoc justice of the Supreme Court on January 22, 2009, followed by a permanent position on November 18, 2010. Karki served as the acting Chief Justice from April 13 to July 10, 2016, before officially taking over as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from July 11, 2016, to June 7, 2017.

During her tenure as the chief justice, Karki oversaw landmark cases on transitional justice and electoral disputes. In 2017, the Maoist Centre and Nepali Congress submitted an impeachment motion against her, which was later withdrawn following public pressure.

Legal challenge faces Karki

While Karki has accepted the responsibility of leading the country temporarily, giving a one-year timeline for a fair election to elect honest leaders to the nations parliament, there is a legal hurdle that she has to overcome to become the interim leader of Nepal.

Article 132 of the Nepali Constitution, no chief justice or Supreme Court judge can hold any office other than that of a judge.
Nepals Gen Z groups have said that they accept the current constitution and want to resolve the crisis within its framework.

Ojaswi Raj Thapa, 24, one of the representatives of the Nepali Gen Z, speaks during a press meet in Kathmandu, Nepal, on September 11, 2025. (Photo: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

Nepals Gen Z groups on Thursday said that they accept the current constitution of the country to resolve the crisis.

At a press conference in Kathmandu, youth leaders part of the movement said that they dont want to abolish the constitution. They called for the dissolution of the parliament and fresh election in six months.

The development has come at a time when fundamental divisions have been reported among youth groups about the direction of the country. It had been questioned whether the solution to the current crisis should be sought in the ambit of the constitution or outside of it. Among youth groups, while some preferred for the country to remain a democracy, some have called for the return of monarchy that was abolished in 2008.

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At the same time, one of the leaders, Anil Baniya, said that they want to make necessary changes to the current constitution. Notably, several mainstream political parties have also called for amendments to Nepals constitution for years but political divisions have disallowed any progress so far.

We did this movement after getting fed up with the old-aged leaders. We had called for a peaceful protest, but the political cadres caused the arson and then vandalised the infrastructure. Through online surveys, the Gen-Z leaders voted for Sushila Karki. We are not trying to change the constitution, but make necessary changes to it. Within 6 months, we will head to the election, said Baniya, according to ANI.

ALSO READ  Nepal unrest: Gen Z groups propose Kulman Ghising, ex-electricity authority MD, to head interim govt

Another Gen Z leader, Diwakar Dangal, referred to the youth and said we are not capable of taking the leadership and it will take us time to be mature enough to take the leadership. He further said that there were attempts to sow divisions among youth groups.

Some of the party members have the misconception that they can infiltrate and create a division. This bloodshed is because of you (old leaders). If people start the bloodshed, then they would not survive. We dont want bloodshed. We want to dissolve the parliament, but not to cancel the constitution, said Dangal.

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Kathmandu, Nepal | Gen-Z leader Diwakar Dangal says, "We are not capable of taking the leadership, and it will take us time to be mature enough to take the leadership. Attempts are being made to break us. Some of the party members have the misconception that they can infiltrate pic.twitter.com/AQ5ySOuNRt  ANI (@ANI) September 11, 2025

President Ram Chandra Paudel said that he was working to find a solution to the crisis within the folds of the constitution.

I am trying to give the country a way out as quickly as possible, while remaining within the constitutional framework, said Paudel, according to Kantipur.

Paudel said that he was trying to address the demands of the Gen-Z groups as quickly as possible. He is currently engaged in talks with youth groups that are facilitated by the Nepali Army.

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I appeal to all sides to be confident that a solution to the problem is being sought as quickly as possible to address the demands of the protesting citizens, and to cooperate in maintaining peace and order in the country with restraint, Paudel further said.
Nepals Gen Z groups have proposed Kulman Ghising, a former Managing Director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), to head the countrys interim government. But the name has not yet been finalised.

A protester shouts slogans carrying national flag after burning down a police station during protests against social media ban and corruption in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. AP

Nepals Gen Z groups on Thursday proposed Kulman Ghising, a former Managing Director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), to head the countrys interim government, according to Kantipur TV.

The development came a day after Sushila Karki, a former Chief Justice of Nepal, emerged as the frontrunner to be the interim leader. But a statement in the name of Gen Z Nepal has now said that Karki is no longer under consideration for multiple reasons.

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Firstly, even as virtual deliberations of various youth groups made Karki as the frontrunner, the Constitution of Nepal bars her from being the prime minister.

No Chief Justice or Judge of the Supreme Court shall be engaged in or deputed to any office other than that of Judge, the Article 132 of the Constitution says.

Secondly, Karki is above 70 and the statement said she could not represent the aspirations of the youth.

     :  ,  

                        -       

' pic.twitter.com/DwScLuFX0F  Kantipur TV HD (@KantipurTVHD) September 11, 2025

Others who have been proposed to be the interim leader are Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah and Dharan Mayor Harka Sampang. But no name whether Ghising, Karki, Shah, or Sampang has been finalised. Officially, KP Sharma Oli would remain the Prime Minister of Nepal until the formation of the new government.

Why has Ghisings name been proposed?

The Gen Z Nepal group said in its statement that Shah has not shown interest in being the interim leader and Sampang does not enough widespread support, which makes Ghising as the most feasible candidate, according to Kantipur TV.

Since Balendra Shah did not show interest, there is a low probability that Harka Sampang can lead everyone, and Sushila Karki is ineligible and over 70 years old, it has been decided to send Kulman Ghisingthe patriotic person who freed Nepal from loadshedding and is liked by everyoneto lead the interim government, the statement said in Nepali.

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ALSO READ: After ousting Oli, Gen Z groups divided as consensus eludes leadership choice, form of new govt

To be sure, there are multiple youth groups and factions that are part of the ongoing movement and are part of the negotiations with President Ram Chandra Paudel that are being facilitated by Nepali Army. There is neither one leader nor any central hierarchical leadership.

Previously, Kantipur newspaper had reported various youth groups are suffering from deep fundamental divisions, power tussle, and mistrust.

While one faction has been discussing what the governance system should be, what kind of individuals should be in the government, and what the electoral system should entail, another faction is suspected by some of trying to gain credit by holding separate dialogues with the Nepali Army, the newspaper reported.

As for the direction of the country, two main groups have emerged among youth groups, with one leaving towards an active role for the army in the state and a return of monarchy that was abolished in 2008 and another that insists on a democratic system with a youth-centric team running the country, the report said.

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Nepali Army foiled a prisonbreak at Ramechhap in the Bagmati province in the countrys east. More than a dozen inmates were injured in the firing. Indian authorities also foiled an attempt of several prisoners to enter Indians.

Amid ongoing prisonbreaks in the country, Nepali Army on Thursday morning foiled a prisonbreak at Ramechhap in the Bagmati province in the countrys east.

The Kathmandu Post reported that Nepali Army opened fire to stop mass breakout from Ramechhap prison in Bagmati province. The prison has more than 300 inmates.

Chief District Officer Shyam Krishna Thapa was quoted as saying that prisoners broke through several internal locks and tried to smash open the main gate before security forces fired.

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Around 12 to 13 inmates were injured after the army opened fire as they reached the gate, Thapa said.

ALSO READ  'Anarchists have infiltrated protests': Nepali Army on nationwide violence

In related news, prisoners from Nepals Jaleshwar jail attempted to enter India through Sitamarhi border in Bihar.

Following the jailbreak in Nepals Jaleshwar, an alert was sounded and 21 people have been detained. All police stations are on alert, and in view of the situation, buses and vehicles are being checked in Sitamarhi, Amit Ranjan, SP of Sitamarhi, told PTI.

Since Monday, Republica newspaper has reported that more than 7,500 prisoners have escaped from around a dozen jails across Nepal. In one instance, hundreds of juvenile inmates also escaped from a correction home. In multiple instances, jailbreaks were foiled as well, such as at Birgunj where the police and the army resorted to aerial firing of bullets and tear gas to contain the situation when prisoners tried to escape, according to Kantipur newspaper.

Among thousands of prisoners who have been freed or released include former Deputy Prime Minister Rabi Lamichhane and Sanjay Takla, a former minister sentenced to life in a bomb blast case that killed five persons.
After Peter Navarro, US Nato envoy Matthew Whitaker has accused India of funding the Russian war on Ukraine.

Matthew Whitaker, the US Ambassador to Nato, is seen with President Donald Trump in this undated photograph. (Photo: X/Matthew Whitaker)

After Peter Navarro, US Nato envoy Matthew Whitaker has blamed India for the Russian war on Ukraine.

In an interview on Fox News, Whitaker said that India was funding the Russian war on Ukraine.

The money thats paying for this war is coming from the sale of Russian oil to countries including India, China, and Brazil, said Whitakar.

In his second term, US President Donald Trump and his top officials, such as White House trade advisor Navarro, have singled out India for the purchase of Russian and have blamed it for the Russian war on Ukraine. They have also accused India of profiteering from the sale of refined Russian oil.

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As a result, Trump has slapped 25 per cent tariff on India for buying Russian oil in addition to 25 per cent tariff previously imposed. These 50 per cent tariffs are on the back of any pre-existing tariffs. However, Trump has not taken any punitive action against Russian leader Vladimir Putin for rejecting all offers for ceasefire and direct talks with Ukraine and continuing and ramping up attacks on Ukraine.

Whitaker called for additional sanctions and tariffs on India, China, and Brazil to increase economic pressure on Russia. He said that the Russian economy was showing signs of strain and that only revenues from oil exports sustained the war effort.

Whitaker further said, I think the next stage involves applying additional sanctions and tariffs to continue increasing the cost of doing business for Vladimir Putin and reducing his revenue. This must be done in coordination with the European Union. It has to be the whole free world saying: this is not acceptable. The death and destruction were seeing need to end. We need to continue increasing the pressure on Vladimir Putin to stop the war.

Even though Trump has so far not taken any punitive against Putin or even used harsh words about the Russian leader, Whitaker said that Ukraine has shown it wants to make a deal but Russia has not budged.

Both sides will have to agree, but Ukraine has demonstrated they are willing to make a dealtheyre willing to freeze the front line if they receive the necessary guarantees. Now, we need to make sure that the deal actually takes shape, said Whitaker.
Poland and Latvia imposed sweeping restrictions on civilian air traffic along their eastern borders following the incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace early on Wednesday

The Polish restrictions on civilian flights went into effect at 10 pm on Wednesday, covering a zone running along the border with Ukraine and Belarus. AFP

Poland and Latvia imposed sweeping restrictions on civilian air traffic along their eastern borders following the incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace early on Wednesday.

According to a Politico report, citing a statement from Polands air traffic agency PANSA, the new flight restrictions took effect at 10 pm on Wednesday, covering airspace along the borders with Ukraine and Belarus.

The measures will remain in place until midnight on December 9  the maximum duration allowed under current regulations, added the statement.

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Meanwhile, the Latvian restrictions go into effect on Thursday at 6 pm in a zone along the countrys borders with Russia and Belarus and will remain into effect at least until September 18, with the possibility of extension, reported Politico, citing the government.

Under the new rules in Polands restricted airspace, only military aircraft are permitted to operate between sunset and sunrise. During daylight hours, flights are allowed only under strict conditions, including submitting a flight plan, using active transponders, and maintaining constant radio contact with air traffic control.

Military jets on quick reaction alerts, identified by ato call signs GARDA or ALPHA SCRAMBLE, are authorised to operate in the zone.

Civilian drones are banned at all times, reported Politico, citing PANSA.

Exemptions apply to flights with official status, including HEAD (heads of state), STATE (government missions), SAR (search and rescue), HOSP and MEDEVAC (medical evacuations), and FFR (firefighting operations).

Other flights may be permitted if they involve state aviation, air ambulances, or are deemed necessary to protect human or animal life during emergencies such as natural disasters, accidents, ecological threats, or for safeguarding critical infrastructure.

In Latvia, Defence Minister Andris Spruds said the flight restrictions will improve control over the restricted airspace, enhance threat detection, and ensure greater flexibility for Natos Baltic Air Policing mission.

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Russian unmanned aerial vehicles in Nato airspace are a warning signal, and we must do everything possible to prevent an escalation of drone attacks, Politico quoted Spruds as saying.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready to help with efforts to combat Russian drone incursions.

We are ready to provide technology, crew training, and necessary intelligence data  Ukraine proposes to defend airspace in a coordinated, thoughtful and joint manner, Zelenskyy said in a statement published on social media.

With inputs from agencies
We urge Warsaw to consider the consequences of such destructive steps and to review its decision as soon as possible, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement

A Polish police officer stands near a unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fragment, after Russian drones violated Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine and some were shot down by Poland, in Czesniki, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland, September 10, 2025 in this still image from video. Reuters File

Russia on Thursday called on Poland to reverse its decision to close its border with Belarus, describing the move as destructive and cautioning that it could lead to serious consequences.

We urge Warsaw to consider the consequences of such destructive steps and to review its decision as soon as possible, AFP quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying in a statement.

On Tuesday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that the border with Belarus would be closed starting from 0000 local time on September 12 (2200 GMT on September 11), in response to upcoming joint military exercises between Russia and Belarus.

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Zakharova criticised the move, calling it an attempt to justify a policy of further escalating tensions in the centre of Europe.

NATOs eastern flank members  Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia  are currently on high alert as the large-scale Zapad 2025 war games get underway.

According to Tusk, the drills are intended to simulate the occupation of the Suwalki corridor, a strategically vital strip of land in northeastern Poland connecting the Baltic states with the rest of Nato.

Typically held every four years, this years Zapad exercises are the first since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and are scheduled to run until September 16.

While Belarus initially said in January that 13,000 troops would take part, it announced in May that the number would be cut by roughly half.

Zakharova accused Warsaw of demonstratively ignoring what she described as goodwill gestures from Moscow and Minsk, including relocating parts of the exercise away from the Polish border and reducing troop numbers.

With inputs from agencies
US ambassador-designate to India Sergio Gor is all set to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday for his confirmation hearing, which will be closely watched by India

US ambassador-designate to India Sergio Gor is all set to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday for his confirmation hearing, which will be closely watched by India. The hearing is coming at a time when the White House is seeking to rush his posting to New Delhi to resume and expedite the US-India trade talks.

Given that Republican has a majority within the committee and in the overall Senate, Gor is expected to sail through his confirmation hearing. Last month, Trump announced that he was nominating Gor to be the next US Ambassador to India. He called Gor a great friend and someone he could fully trust to deliver on the agenda.

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The 38-year-olds appointment came at a time when relations between the two countries have become strained due to Trumps punishing tariffs on India because of New Delhis purchase of Russian oil.

Gors qualification might face scrutiny

While Gors road to New Delhi looks clear, his knowledge of the region is likely to be tested by opposition Democrats. If confirmed, the 38-year-old will be the youngest US ambassador to India.

In the past, he has not previously demonstrated any interest in or knowledge of the region. However, his nomination is being welcomed by New Delhi because of his perceived proximity to the President and the Trump White House, where he served as Director of Personnel.

I welcome that President Trump is sending one of his most trusted aides, @SergioGor, to serve as the next US Ambassador to India. This move is viewed as a sign of the importance and priority of India-US ties, and a commitment to strengthen the bridges and deepen the bonds of friendship between our two countries, Indias ambassador to the US, Vinay Kwatra, said in a statement.

The nomination and hearing have also been welcomed by business interests, given the delicate trade talks currently underway between the two countries. Acknowledging that recent challenges have strained the relationship, Mukesh Aghi of the US-India Partnership Forum (USIPF) told The Times of India that sending an envoy of Gors calibre after an eight-month vacancy in New Delhi will help deepen cooperation and reaffirm Americas commitment to this partnership.
Trump has described Gor as a great friend and one of the most influential figures in his administration. Gor, who currently serves as director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, will remain in the role until his confirmation

Sergio Gor (R), accompanied by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), waits before President Donald Trump arrives for an event at the Kennedy Center on Aug. 13 in Washington. AFP

US President Donald Trump has nominated close ally Sergio Gor to be the next US Ambassador to India, a move that is being seen as a sign of priority by New Delhi. Indias Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra has backed Trumps decision to put up Gor in the post, saying that he is the presidents most trusted allies.

I welcome that President Trump is sending one of his most trusted aides, @SergioGor to serve as the next US Ambassador to India, Kwatra said, adding that his nomination would be perceived as a commitment to strengthen the bridges and deepen the bonds of friendship between our two countries.

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India-US ties hit a snag after Trump raised tariffs to 50 per cent, punishing India for purchasing Russian oil. The president and his colleagues have blamed India for fuelling the Russian war on Ukraine by buying oil from Moscow.

However, both the countries are showing signs of resolution after Trump called Prime Minister Narendra Modi his great friend, not once but twice, adding that the US is committed in settling trade differences with India.

Who is Sergio Gor?

Trump has described Gor as a great friend and one of the most influential figures in his administration.

Gor, who currently serves as director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, will remain in the role until his confirmation, Trump said.

The president credited Gor with playing a central role in his historic presidential campaigns, publishing his best-selling books, and leading a major pro-Trump super PAC.

Gor began his political career working as a spokesman for Republican lawmakers including Michele Bachmann, Steve King, and Randy Forbes. In 2013, he became communications director for Senator Rand Pauls PAC, RANDPAC, and continued to work closely with the Kentucky senator.

In 2021, he co-founded Winning Team Publishing, a conservative publishing house that has released multiple Trump-related titles such as Letters to Trump, Our Journey Together, and Save America. He also reportedly led Right for America, a pro-Trump PAC.

In November 2024, Trump appointed Gor as director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, a position from which he will transition once confirmed as ambassador.

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Addressing a press conference on his 100th day in office, Lee blamed the raid on cultural differences, saying that in South Korea, American nationals teaching English while on a tourist visa was not seen as a serious issue

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday said that companies based in the country will be hesitant to invest and operate in the US in the absence of a proper visa system for its workers.

Lees comments came days after over 300 South Korean workers were detained during an ICE raid at a battery factory under construction at Hyundais sprawling auto plant in Georgia. He added that the workers would be brought into the country via a charter plane on Friday.

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South Korean and US officials are discussing a possible improvement to the US visa system, Lee said, adding that under the current system, South Korean companies cant help but hesitate a lot about making direct investments in the US.

Whether the US establishes a visa system allowing South Korean companies to send skilled workers to work at industrial sites will have a major impact on future South Korean investments in the US, Lee said.

Last week, approximately 475 workers were arrested, marking the largest single-site enforcement action in the history of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Steven Schrank, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent in Atlanta, said that the recent raids were part of a criminal investigation into allegations of unlawful employment practices and serious federal crimes at the Hyundai Motor-LG Energy Solution joint venture plant in the town of Ellabell.

Cultural differences

Addressing a press conference on his 100th day in office, Lee blamed the raid on cultural differences, saying that in South Korea, American nationals teaching English while on a tourist visa was not seen as a serious issue.

After the detentions, South Korean companies cant help but question whether setting up a plant in the US is worth the potential risks, the president said.

This could have a significant impact on future investment decisions, particularly when evaluating the feasibility of direct operations in the US, he added.

Will there be a new visa system?

Lee said Seoul was negotiating with Washington to ensure that visa issuance for investment-related purposes operates normally.

This could include securing additional quotas or even creating a new visa category, he said, adding that he trusted the US side will find a solution.

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Images of the South Korean workers being chained and handcuffed have caused widespread alarm, and Seoul has said it negotiated to make sure the workers were not handcuffed again as they were repatriated.

With inputs from agencies
As of yesterday (Wednesday), the US had reportedly sent off South Korean workers via a charter plane. However, Seoul said that the plane was delayed by Trump asking whether the workers should remain stateside

Activists holding signs that reads "No one is illegal!", chant slogans during a press conference to protest against a huge immigration raid last week at the site of a U.S. car battery project involving Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution in the U.S. state of Georgia, in front of the U.S. embassy in Seoul, South Korea, September 9, 2025. Reuters

US President Donald Trump has reportedly halted the deportation of South Korean workers who were held in Georgias Hyundai-LG factory during a raid by ICE officials last week.

According to a report by the Financial Times, Trump has ordered the workers to stay back and train Americans. The report quoted South Korean officials as saying so.

As of yesterday (Wednesday), the US had reportedly sent off South Korean workers via a charter plane. However, Seoul said that the plane was delayed by Trump asking whether the workers should remain stateside.

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Trump told US officials to encourage the workers arrested at the battery plant to remain in the country, according to a South Korean foreign ministry official, adding that Trump suggested they stay to continue to train or educate Americans.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, who was in Washington to discuss the issue with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, responded by suggesting the Koreans fly home to recover and then return if they want, the official said.

Over 300 South Korean workers were detained during an ICE raid at a battery factory under construction at Hyundais sprawling auto plant in Georgia.

Steven Schrank, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent in Atlanta, said that the recent raids were part of a criminal investigation into allegations of unlawful employment practices and serious federal crimes at the Hyundai Motor-LG Energy Solution joint venture plant in the town of Ellabell.

Meanwhile, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday said that companies based in the country will be hesitant to invest and operate in the US in the absence of a proper visa system for its workers. He added that the workers would be brought into the country via a charter plane on Friday.

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South Korean and US officials are discussing a possible improvement to the US visa system, Lee said, adding that under the current system, South Korean companies cant help but hesitate a lot about making direct investments in the US.

Addressing a press conference on his 100th day in office, Lee blamed the raid on cultural differences, saying that in South Korea, American nationals teaching English while on a tourist visa was not seen as a serious issue.

After the detentions, South Korean companies cant help but question whether setting up a plant in the US is worth the potential risks, the president said.

This could have a significant impact on future investment decisions, particularly when evaluating the feasibility of direct operations in the US, he added.

With inputs from agencies
South Sudans Vice-President Riek Machar has been charged with murder, treason and crimes against humanity over an attack on a military base that killed more than 250 soldiers.

South Sudans Vice-President Riek Machar has been charged with murder, treason and crimes against humanity in connection with an assault on a military base that left more than 250 soldiers dead, the justice minister said on Thursday.

The charges mark a sharp escalation in tensions between Machar and President Salva Kiir, whose rival camps fought a devastating civil war from 2013 to 2018 that killed an estimated 400,000 people. A fragile power-sharing agreement between the two men has been fraying for months.

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In early March, fighters from the White Army, a militia largely drawn from Machars ethnic Nuer community  attacked a government military base in Nasir County, Upper Nile State. Machar has been under house arrest since March over his alleged role in the assault.

The government announced that Machar and 20 others now face charges including murder, conspiracy, terrorism, treason, destruction of public property and crimes against humanity.

International powers have repeatedly called for Machars release, warning that his detention risks pushing the worlds youngest country back into civil war.

These crimes were marked by gross violations of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law, including the desecration of corpses, persecution of civilians, and attacks on humanitarian workers, Justice Minister Joseph Geng Akech said, according to a read-out provided to reporters in Juba.

The military base in Nasir was overrun by the White Army between March 3 and 7.

Several senior officers including a general died and a United Nations helicopter also came under fire while attempting to rescue soldiers at the base, leading to the death of a pilot.

This case sends a clear message: those who commit atrocities against the people of South Sudan, against our armed forces, and against humanitarian personnel will be held accountable, no matter their position or political influence, the minister said in the statement.

The UN, which operates a major peace-building mission in South Sudan, said at the time that the country was witnessing an alarming regression that could erase years of hard-won progress.

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Kiir had already been moving for months to consolidate power and sideline Machar, who was placed under house arrest a few weeks after the attack, while many of his allies have also been detained.

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 but was quickly plunged into a devastating five-year civil war between Kiir and Machar that left some 400,000 dead.

The war ended with a power-sharing agreement in 2018 but attempts by the international community to ensure a democratic transition have failed.

Elections that were due to take place in December 2024 were once again postponed for two years.

South Sudan has also made headlines after the United States deported eight convicted criminals to the country in July, only one of whom was South Sudanese.

With inputs from agencies
Mandelson called the late Epstein his best pal and an intelligent, sharp-witted man in a 2003 letter, released to the public just a week before US President Donald Trump was due to pay a state visit to Britain

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer fired Peter Mandelson, the countrys ambassador to the US, after details emerged of the diplomats friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In light of the additional information in emails written by Peter Mandelson, the Prime Minister has asked the Foreign Secretary to withdraw him as ambassador. The emails show that the depth and extent of Peter Mandelsons relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment," a statement from the Foreign Office read.

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Mandelson called the late Epstein his best pal and an intelligent, sharp-witted man in a 2003 letter, released to the public just a week before US President Donald Trump was due to pay a state visit to Britain.

Soon after the information about Mandelsons ties with Epsteins ties went public, MPs in UKs Parliament have been demanding that the diplomat should be hauled back for questioning.

Starmer backed Mandelson initially

Earlier today, the British prime minister had supported Mandelson, saying that due process was followed in his case, despite being challenged in Parliament about his decision to appoint the diplomat to the post.

Starmer described Epstein as a despicable criminal who destroyed the lives of so many women and girls.

But he added, The ambassador has repeatedly expressed his deep regret for his association with him. He is right to do so. I have confidence in him.

Very embarrassing

Mandelson, an influential former Labour minister and spin doctor, said it was very embarrassing to see the letter published, in comments to The Sun dailys Harry Cole Saves the West YouTube channel.

I regret very, very deeply indeed carrying on that association with him for far longer than I should have done, the ambassador said.

He said he had never witnessed any criminal behaviour, but added he also felt a deep sense of sympathy for the women who suffered as a result of (Epsteins) behaviour and his illegal criminal activities.

With inputs from agencies
India is a strategic partner whose trajectory will shape the region and beyond, US ambassador-designate to Delhi Sergio Gor said on Thursday, underlining that he is committed to advancing Americas interest in this important partnership.

Sergio Gor, President Donald Trumps close aide and nominee for US Ambassador to India, highlighted the unique friendship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump, emphasising that the two countries are not that far apart on reaching a deal regarding tariffs.

India is a strategic partner whose trajectory will shape the region and beyond. Under President Donald Trumps strong leadership, Im committed to advancing Americas interest in this important partnership, Gor said at his confirmation hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

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When confirmed, 38-year-old Gor will be the youngest American ambassador to India.

Indias geographic position, economic growth and military capabilities make it a cornerstone for regional stability and a critical part of promoting prosperity and advancing the security interests that our nations share, he said.

Last month, President Donald Trump promoted Gor, Director of Presidential Personnel, as the next US Ambassador to India and Special Envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs.

Gor pointed out that even when President Trump has been critical of other countries, he has consistently praised PM Modi.

In fact, if you have noticed, when he has gone after other nations, he tends to go after their leaders for putting us in that position and for the United States imposing those tariffs. While the President has been critical of India, he has gone out of his way to compliment PM Modi. They have an incredible relationship, Gor stated.

He further revealed that the two countries are not that far apart on a deal already on these tariffs.

Gor also said that the issue between India and the US regarding the 50 per cent tariffs on Indian products should be resolved in a few weeks, even as Donald Trump is pressuring European Union leaders to ratchet up tariffs on India and China to punish the countries for Russian energy buys.

Gor also addressed one of the administrations top priorities: persuading India to reduce its reliance on Russian oil. To your point, getting India to stop buying Russian oil is a top priority for this administration, Gor confirmed.

He noted that while the US and India face challenges in this area, the administration is committed to engaging with India to find a resolution.

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Bringing peace around the world is a top priority to this administration, Gor continued, citing the presidents efforts to mediate conflicts globally, from the Middle East to Southeast Asia and even Ukraine.

With inputs from agencies
The initiative, contained in a bill submitted by the government to Congress, seeks to assuage US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly urged trading partners to increase duties on China, while also bolstering Mexicos industrial sector.

Mexico, under pressure not to serve as a back door for Chinese goods entering the United States, has proposed a 50-percent duty on car imports from the Asian giant  up from 15-20 percent.

The initiative, contained in a bill submitted by the government to Congress, seeks to assuage US President Donald Trump  who has repeatedly urged trading partners to increase duties on China  while also bolstering Mexicos industrial sector.

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The White House has said Chinese producers are abusing a free-trade deal between the United States, Mexico and Canada to send goods northward over the Mexican border tariff-free.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has also complained of the impact of Chinese imports on domestic manufacturing, and the bill says the increased tariff will seek to protect 19 industrial sectors considered strategic.

It also proposes raising tariffs on other countries with which Mexico has no trade agreement.

Mexico replaced China in 2023 as the United States largest trading partner, with the Latin American countrys northern neighbor buying more than 80 percent of its exports.

It sends nearly three million automobiles to the United States a year, including cars and trucks assembled by US auto companies in Mexico.

Improve trade balance

If the bill is approved, light vehicle imports from China will be subject to a 50 percent tariff, and auto parts between 10 and 50 percent.

The bill, announced by the economy ministry Wednesday, said the changes sought to protect the national industry in strategic sectors, replace imports from Asia with domestic production and improve Mexicos trade balance.

The initiative should protect 325,000 jobs in strategic industries and create thousands more, said the ministry.

Two out of every ten light vehicles sold in Mexico are Chinese, according to official data. Sales in the sector grew by 10 percent last year.

Several auto giants, including American General Motors and Ford, German Volkswagen and Japanese Nissan, Honda, and Toyota, have factories in Mexico.

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According to the wording of the bill, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand and Turkey will also be affected by the tariff increases.

Trump has imposed a 25 percent tariff on cars imports, with exemptions for vehicles with US content assembled in Mexico.

Sheinbaums ruling party holds a majority in Congress, and the bill is likely to pass.
Indian diplomat Kshitij Tyagi said that Switzerland should focus on its own challenges that it faces domestically, and called the countrys remarks on India shallow and ill-informed

India has given a sharp rebuke to Switzerland at the UN Human Rights Council session after it called on New Delhi to take measures to protect minorities and uphold freedom of expression in the country.

Responding to Switzerland, which is the chair of the current UNHRC session, Indian diplomat Kshitij Tyagi said, As it holds the UNHRC presidency, it is all the more important for Switzerland to avoid wasting the councils time with narratives that are blatantly false and do not do justice to the reality of India.

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He said that Switzerland should focus on its own challenges that it faces domestically, and called the countrys remarks on India shallow and ill-informed. Tyagi directed Switzerland to focus on its own domestic challenges, pointing to issues such as racism, systematic discrimination and xenophobia.

#WATCH | At the 5th Meeting- 60th Session of Human Rights Council, Indian Diplomat Kshitij Tyagi says, "We would also like to respond to the surprising, shallow and ill-informed remarks made by Switzerland, a close friend and partner. As it holds the UNHRC presidency, it is all pic.twitter.com/22R1vRJg67  ANI (@ANI) September 10, 2025

As the worlds largest, most diverse and vibrant democracy, with a civilisational embrace of pluralism, India remains ready to help Switzerland address these concerns, he said.

What did Switzerland say?

During the 60th session of the UNHRC, Switzerland said, In India, we call on the Government to take effective measures to protect the minorities and uphold the rights to the freedom of expression and the freedom of the media.

Tyagi also issued a strong rebuttal to Pakistan, describing it as a failed state addicted to propaganda and terrorism.

He said, Our measured and proportionate response to the Pahalagm attack made that sufficiently clear. We need no lessons from a terror sponsor, no sermons from a persecutor of minorities, no advice from a state that has conjured its own credibility. India will continue to protect its citizens with unwavering resolve. We will defend our sovereignty without compromise.

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Robert Coles, Special Agent in Charge of the FBIs Salt Lake City Field Office, said that a high-powered bolt-action rifle was found in a wooded area where the suspected shooter had fled, according to a report

A memorial is held for Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed in Utah, at the Turning Point USA headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, US, on Wednesday. Reuters

The FBI on Thursday said that it has recovered a weapon believed to have been used in the fatal shooting of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk as the search for the suspect continues.

According to The Guardian report, Robert Coles, Special Agent in Charge of the FBIs Salt Lake City Field Office, told reporters that a high-powered bolt-action rifle was found in a wooded area where the suspected shooter had fled.

The rifle was recovered in a wooded area where the shooter had fled, Coles was quoted as saying, adding that the FBI laboratory is currently analysing the weapon.

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In addition to the firearm, investigators have collected several pieces of physical evidence from the scene, including footwear impressions, a palm print, and forearm imprints, which are also being analysed, Coles said.

Meanwhile, earlier at a press conference, Utah officials called for public cooperation and patience as the search for the shooter continues.

Beau Mason, Commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, addressed the public directly: We ask you to be patient.

Mason clarified that two individuals who were briefly taken into custody were not suspects but people of interest.

He also urged the public to respect law enforcement efforts. Federal and state officers do not deserve harassment as they carry out the investigation.

Providing more detail on the suspects escape, Mason said, He moved to the other side of the building, jumped off of the building, and fled off of the campus into a neighborhood.

Mason confirmed that authorities do have good video footage of this individual, but said it would not be released at this stage.

Were working through some technologies and some ways to identify this individual. If we are unsuccessful, we will reach out to you as the media, and we will push that publicly to help us identify them, he added.

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Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative commentator and close ally of former President Donald Trump, was shot and killed Wednesday in what Utah Governor Spencer Cox described as a political assassination.

Kirk, known for his role in mobilising young Republican voters and as the co-founder and president of Turning Point USA, was speaking onstage at an outdoor event titled Prove Me Wrong at Utah Valley University in Orem, about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City. The event drew a crowd of approximately 3,000 people.

Graphic video footage of the incident quickly circulated online. According to FBI and state officials, the shooter arrived on campus just minutes before the event began and was captured on security cameras climbing stairwells to access a nearby rooftop, from where he fired a single fatal shot.

Kirk was taken to a local hospital but was pronounced dead hours later. His killing has sparked widespread condemnation and renewed warnings over escalating political violence  with expressions of outrage coming from both Democrats and Republicans, as well as several foreign governments.

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With inputs from agencies
US Commerce Secretary Lutnick has linked progress on a trade deal with India to New Delhi ending Russian oil imports amid a potential thaw in US-India relations following recent diplomatic overtures

US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick testifies before a House Appropriations Committee hearing on U.S. President Donald Trump's budget request for the Department of Commerce, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, on June 5, 2025. Reuters File

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Thursday said that he believes a trade deal with India will move forward once the country halts its purchases of Russian oil.

In an interview to CNBC, when Lutnick was asked which trade issue he is most focused on, he said, were going to sort out India but added that an agreement would follow once it stops buying Russian oil.

Lutnick also signalled progress on other trade fronts, saying, We have a big deal coming with Taiwan, and expressing optimism that an agreement with Switzerland would also be finalised.

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Regarding South Korea, he said, We made a deal, but lets see if they come through with the paperwork.

Lutnick declined to comment on whether a recent immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia had affected the timeline of that agreement.

Lutnick, who had previously took a tougher stance on India, predicting New Delhi would soon say sorry and return to trade talks with the US, struck a conciliatory tone on US-India relations after US President Donald Trumps reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a dear friend, signaling a potential easing of tensions after trade disputes under Trumps tariffs.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Lutnick had said, What happens is its all bravado cause they think it feels good to fight with the biggest client in the world. But eventually your businesses are going to say, youve got to stop this and go make your deal with America.

I think, yes, in a month or two months, Indias going to be at the table, and theyre going to say theyre sorry, and theyre going to try to make a deal with Donald Trump. And it will be on Donald Trumps desk, how he wants to deal with Modi, and we leave that to him, and thats why hes the President, he had added.

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After PM Modi met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, President Trump referred to Modi as a dear friend.

Takin to Truth Social, Trump said he looked forward to speaking with his very good friend PM Modi in the coming weeks, adding that negotiations were underway to resolve trade barriers and expressing confidence in a successful conclusion for both countries.

PM Modi responded, saying, India and the US are close friends and natural partners. I am confident that our trade negotiations will pave the way for unlocking the limitless potential of the India-US partnership.

Trumps comments suggested a possible thaw in US-India relations following previous trade tensions.

The SCO meeting, bringing together key regional powers, highlighted Indias strategic diplomacy amid shifting global alliances, with Trumps warm remarks signaling openness to renewed engagement with India.

With inputs from agencies
Jamaats DUCSU win signals shifting political undercurrents in Bangladesh, raising questions on how student polls may foreshadow the 2026 elections.

The sweeping victory of Jamaat-e-Islamis student wing in Dhaka Universitys student union polls has set off intense debate in Bangladeshs political circles about what it signals for the general election due in February next year.

The Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), Jamaats student arm, won nine out of 12 posts in the Dhaka University Central Students Union (DUCSU) elections held Tuesday, the first time since independence in 1971 that an Islamist group has triumphed in a university poll.

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The scale of the win is being viewed as a watershed moment for the Islamist camp, which has long been marginalised from mainstream student politics.

By contrast, the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), student front of former prime minister Khaleda Zias Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was left fuming. Rejecting the results outright, the group alleged planned manipulation and branded the exercise a farce. JCD candidate Mohammad Abidul Islam posted on social media: Put the numbers as you like. We have rejected the farce.

The results come at a sensitive juncture for Bangladesh. With the Awami League and its student wing, the Chhatra League, disbanded by the interim government following last years July Uprising that toppled Sheikh Hasina, the field has opened up for new political alignments. Jamaats ability to convert its street mobilisation into electoral gains on campus has startled many in Dhaka.

Observers said that Dhaka University has historically been a bellwether for the countrys political direction, with campus activism often spilling into national movements. Whenever the nation falls into crisis, Dhaka University leads the way, said Chief Returning Officer Prof Mohammad Jasim Uddin, who hailed the vote as a model.

Yet, the elections also laid bare the fragmented state of student politics beyond Jamaat. The Students Against Discrimination (SAD) group, which spearheaded last years protests against Hasina but has since fractured, failed to register an impact. Its candidate Abdul Qauder accused ICS of manipulating results, while a prominent SAD dissident, Umama Fatema, withdrew midway, denouncing corruption within the movement.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD

The National Citizen Party (NCP), seen as sympathetic to interim leader Muhammad Yunus, welcomed the outcome, with its leader Hasnat Abdullah calling on all parties to respect the results and describing them as a turning point for Bangladeshs democratic transition.

With elections to three more major universities slated in the coming months, many believe Jamaat will test whether its Dhaka University triumph can be replicated nationwide. Analysts argue that the DUCSU outcome is more than just a campus contest, it is a signal that Bangladeshs Islamist forces are regaining organisational strength at a time of political flux.

As one senior observer put it, the message from Dhaka University is clear: next years parliamentary election may not follow familiar scripts, and the emerging student power blocs could be decisive in shaping the outcome.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Pro has surfaced in the first set of CAD-based renders, after rumours, thanks to @OnLeaks. This shows a similar flat design and triple rear cameras as the S25 series phones.

The camera deco is similar to what we had seen in the S25 edge, and the new S26 Pro model is said to replace the S25 and Plus model is gone since it is getting replaced with the S26 Edge that surfaced recently.

The phone is said to measure 149.3 x 71.4 x 6.96mm (10.23mm including the camera bump), making it thinner than the 7.2mm S25, and also slightly taller and wider, since this is said to get a slightly bigger 6.3-inch display.

Based on earlier rumours, the phone is said to get a 4300mAh battery, significantly higher than the Galaxy S25s 4000mAh battery. The phone is said to feature Qi2 support with magnets. Rumours indicate Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 / 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC, and 12GB RAM.

We can expect the Galaxy S26 series to be introduced sometime in early 2026. We should know more details in the coming months.

Source
China ready to actively participate in improving global human rights governance: ambassador

Xinhua) 16:17, September 11, 2025

This photo taken on Sept. 9, 2025 shows the 60th session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. China stands ready to actively participate in improving global human rights governance, Chen Xu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland, said here on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Lian Yi)

GENEVA, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- China stands ready to actively participate in improving global human rights governance, Chen Xu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland, said here on Tuesday.

Chen made the remarks when addressing the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council. He elaborated on China's position and proposals in the field of global human rights governance.

Chen noted that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the founding of the UN, and that global governance still faces severe challenges.

The China-proposed Global Governance Initiative aims to promote international order toward greater fairness and justice, he said. On human rights governance, Chen underscored three key principles:

First, China upholds sovereign equality and the rule of international law. All parties should abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, respect the sovereignty of countries and their right to independently choose their own human rights development paths, and oppose interference in internal affairs under the pretext of human rights. For instance, China supports the just cause of the Palestinian people in restoring their legitimate national rights.

Second, China advocates multilateralism and more robust international cooperation. There is no universally applicable model for human rights development, Chen said, adding that the diversity of world civilizations should be respected, and dialogue and cooperation should be prioritized. China firmly opposes unilateral coercive measures and other acts of unilateralism.

Third, China calls for a people-centered and action-oriented approach. People are both participants in and beneficiaries of global governance. It is necessary to reaffirm the founding mission of the Human Rights Council to promote and protect human rights, give equal attention to all categories of rights, and advance rights in a balanced manner, while accelerating the realization of economic, social, and cultural rights and the right to development.

Chen emphasized that China is prepared to actively participate in efforts to enhance global human rights governance and collaborate with all parties to promote the advancement of global human rights.

United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk speaks at the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, Sept. 9, 2025. China stands ready to actively participate in improving global human rights governance, Chen Xu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland, said here on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Lian Yi)

Chen Xu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) Office in Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland, addresses the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, Sept. 9, 2025. China stands ready to actively participate in improving global human rights governance, Chen said here on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Lian Yi)

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Liang Jun)
YouTube has announced the expansion of its multi-language audio feature, making it available to millions of creators worldwide.

Multi-Language Audio Expansion

Ritz Campbell, Product Manager at YouTube, said that when a creator in the U.S. uploads a video, fans in countries such as Korea, Brazil, and India can now watch it in their native language almost instantly.

On average, creators who added multi-language audio tracks saw over 25% of their total watch time come from non-primary language views, Campbell added.

Pilot Program and Impact

The feature began two years ago in a pilot program that allowed a small number of creators to add dubs in multiple languages. Since then, YouTube has seen significant results.

On Jamie Olivers channel, using multi-language audio led to a 3x increase in views.

MrBeast and Mark Rober also use the feature to reach wider audiences. Mark Rober uploads dubs in more than 30 languages per video, helping his content reach fans globally, from Seoul to Sao Paulo.

Campbell also highlighted feedback from Chef Nick DiGiovanni, who participated in the pilot. DiGiovanni noted that multi-language audio allowed him to connect with viewers in Spanish, Turkish, Vietnamese, Russian, Arabic, and other languages, helping grow his global audience.

Availability and Next Steps

YouTube confirmed that the feature will be rolled out to creators in the coming weeks. The company is also testing multi-language thumbnails, giving creators the option to display localized thumbnails based on a viewers selected language.
Acer has introduced the Nitro V 15 gaming laptop in India, designed for students, budget-conscious users, and entry-to-mid-level gamers.

The laptop features a plastic chassis in Obsidian Black and weighs 2.1 kg, providing portability and durability. It comes with an amber backlit keyboard and a 15.6-inch Full HD display with 165Hz refresh rate, 3ms response time, and 100% sRGB color coverage.

It is powered by up to 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13620H with Intels hybrid architecture. Graphics are provided by up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, supporting DLSS 4 and next-generation ray tracing to deliver high frame rates and detailed visuals for gaming and 4K video editing.

The dual-fan, dual-intake, dual-exhaust cooling system keeps the laptop within optimal temperatures during extended gaming or creative tasks. The NitroSense key allows real-time monitoring of system performance, fan speeds, and power plans.

Storage and memory options include up to 2TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD and 32GB DDR5 RAM, while connectivity features include Wi-Fi 6, Thunderbolt 4 Type-C, HDMI 2.1, USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, RJ45 LAN, and a Copilot Key for AI productivity tools on Windows 11.

Other notable features include the Experience Zone in NitroSense, offering:

PurifiedVoice AI noise cancellation

PurifiedView AI webcam enhancements

PLANET9 ProClip for gaming highlight capture

Auto-framing for video calls

Background blur for video calls

Eye contact correction for video calls

DTS:X Ultra audio for spatial sound

Quick specifications: Acer Nitro V 15 (RTX 50 Series)

Processor: Up to 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13620H (Hybrid Architecture)

Graphics: Up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060

Display: 15.6-inch Full HD, 165Hz refresh rate, 3ms response time, 100% sRGB

Cooling: Dual-fan, dual-intake, dual-exhaust system

RAM: Up to 32GB DDR5

Storage: Up to 2TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD

Keyboard: Amber backlit

Chassis: Plastic, Obsidian Black

Weight: 2.1 kg

Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Thunderbolt 4 Type-C, HDMI 2.1, USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, RJ45 LAN

AI and Software Features: NitroSense Experience Zone with PurifiedVoice AI, PurifiedView AI, PLANET9 ProClip, Auto-framing, Background blur, Eye contact correction, DTS:X Ultra audio

Operating System: Windows 11

Pricing and Availability

i5 variant: Rs. 89,999

i7 variant: Rs. 99,999

The Nitro V 15 is available at Acer exclusive stores, Acer online store, Amazon.in, and Flipkart.com.
Animal cruelty charges filed against a Montrose man over his alleged mistreatment of livestock and dogs have been upped to felony-level cruelt
Contracts

Contracts For Sept. 9, 2025

AIR FORCE

Raytheon Co., Tucson, Arizona, has been awarded a $760,000,000 cost plus fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract in support of Advance Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM). This contract will allow for the mitigation of obsolescence in support of efforts that cover production, sustainment, and development of the AMRAAM. Work will be performed at Tucson, Arizona and is expected to be completed by Sept. 7, 2030. This contract involves Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to Canada, Taiwan, Sweden, Czech Republic, Korea, Kuwait, Japan, Finland, Germany, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Belgium, Australia, Turkey, Spain, and Lithuania. Fiscal 2025 Air Force missile procurement funds in the amount of $1,058,951; fiscal 2025 Navy weapons procurement funds in the amount of $144,402; and FMS funds in the amount of $346,685, are being obligated at the time of award. This award is the result of a sole source acquisition; one solicitation was mailed, and one offer was received. The Weapons Superiority Contracting Branch, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8556-25-D-B001). (Awarded Sept. 8. 2025)

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California, has been awarded a $14,100,000,000 ceiling value indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the International Remotely Piloted Aircraft IDIQ Solution (IRIS) to support the MQ-9 enterprise. This contract provides for the development, procurement, retrofit, sustainment, and any other activities related to the MQ-9 platform. The location of performance is Poway, California, and work is expected to be complete by Dec. 31, 2031. This contract involves Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to India, and potential future FMS customers. This award is the result of a sole source acquisition. FMS funds in the amount of $108,279,000 are being obligated on the first delivery order (FA8689-25-F-B010) at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8689-25-D-B001).

NAVY

The Applied Research Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin (ARL:UT), Austin, Texas, was awarded a $390,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00024-17-D-6421) increasing its ceiling to provide research, development, engineering, and test and evaluation for programs throughout the Department of Defense (DOD) within its approved core competency areas of: characteristics of the medium, high frequency sonar, acoustic and electromagnetic properties, signal and information processing and display, navigation and precise location, Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence Information Warfare, and mission related and public service oriented research. Work will be performed in Austin, Texas, and is expected to be completed by September 2027. Funds of multiple different appropriation types and years from program offices and components throughout the DOD may be obligated on individual task orders for efforts that fall within the ARL:UT core competency areas. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C., is the contracting activity.

ISPA Technology LLC,* Lithia, Florida, is awarded a $74,274,672 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the production and lifecycle support for the Tactical Shore, Afloat, and Expeditionary C4I Tactical Data Center (TDC) Command and Control (C2) as part of the Joint Expeditionary Command and Command Control Family of Systems (JEXC2 FoS). The TDC C2 capability is designed to align with the Navy's Application Arsenal goals to speed the delivery of new capabilities and software updates to the fleet. TDC architecture creates the ability for on-demand applications, continuous cyber compliance, and remote administration of deployed systems. Additionally, this requirement will assist JEXC2 systems with the transition to production and integration for usage at scale by Fleet users across the JEXC2 FoS. This contract includes option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $74,274,672. Work will be performed in Panama City, Florida, and is expected to be completed by August 2030. If all options are exercised, work will continue through August 2030. Fiscal 2025 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,000,000 will be obligated at time of award of the first delivery order and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured via the Sam.gov, in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 4022(f)(2)(A)(B) and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 206.001-70 Exception for prototype projects for follow-on production contracts. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City Division, Panama City, Florida, is the contracting activity (N61331-25-D-0005).

Northrop Grumman Corp., Charlottesville, Virginia, is awarded a $25,729,881 cost-plus-incentive-fee, firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and cost modification to a delivery order under a previously awarded contract (N00024-20-D-5230) for the low-rate initial production and engineering of surface navigation processor module configurations and associated maintenance assistance module kits. Work will be performed in Charlottesville, Virginia (89%); Baltimore, Maryland (6%); Salt Lake City, Utah (1%); Annapolis, Maryland (1%); Sykesville, Maryland (1%); Rolling Meadows, Illinois (1%); and Woodland Hills, California (1%), and is expected to be completed by February 2028. Fiscal 2025 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $6,302,168 (25%); fiscal 2024 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $6,094,370 (24%); fiscal 2022 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $5,705,421 (23%); fiscal 2023 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,436,133 (14%); fiscal 2025 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,047,185 (12%); and fiscal 2024 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $388,948 (2%), will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Mississippi, was awarded a $14,158,049 cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-23-C-2324) for the USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) modernization period execution. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Mississippi (95%); and other locations each less than 1% (totaling 5%), and is expected to be completed by May 2026. No additional funding will be obligated at the time of award. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Integration Innovation Inc.,* Huntsville, Alabama, is being awarded a $7,718,644 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for analysis, evaluation, and development of techniques and technologies for electronic attack and high-power microwave synergistic interactions in high-power electronic warfare scenarios. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $36,760,191. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama, and is expected to be completed by September 2030. Fiscal 2024 research, development, test and evaluation funding in the amount of $15,000 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with one offer received in response to the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory's Broad Agency Announcement, (N0017324SBA01). The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N0017325C2435).

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

MM Manufacturing LLC,*** Lajas, Puerto Rico (SPE1C1-25-D-0085, $153,697,392); and Aurora Industries LLC,**** Orocovis, Puerto Rico (SPE1C1-25-D-0086, $146,133,800), have each been awarded a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract under solicitation SPE1C1-25-R-0003 for various types of combat uniform unisex coats and trousers. This was a competitive acquisition with 16 responses received. These are five-year contracts with no option periods. The ordering period end date is Sept 4, 2030. Using military services are Army and Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2025 through 2030 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

American Apparel Inc.,* Selma, Alabama, has been awarded a maximum $21,917,087 modification (P00029) exercising the fourth one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-21-D-1481) with four one-year option periods for various types of coats. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. The ordering period end date is Sept. 28, 2026. Using military services are Army and Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2025 through 2026 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

American Polymer LLC,** Vernon, California, has been awarded a maximum $7,536,615 modification (P00019) exercising the third one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-23-D-0001) with four one-year option periods for blouses and trousers. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is New Jersey, with a Sept.13, 2026, ordering period end date. Using military service is Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2025 through 2026 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

CORRECTION: The contract announced on Aug. 28, 2025, for Sysco Central Alabama, Calera, Alabama (SPE300-25-D-3020), for $33,103,659 was announced with an incorrect award date. The correct award date is Sept. 4, 2025.

UPDATE: Red One Medical Devices LLC,** doing business as Red One Medical, Savannah, Georgia (SPE2DE-25-D-0015, $450,000,000), has been added as an awardee to the multiple award contract for medical and surgical supplies for the Defense Logistics Agency Electronic Catalog, issued against solicitation SPE2DE-22-R0017 and awarded Sept. 28, 2023. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

ARMY

Korte Construction Co., doing business as The Korte Co., St. Louis, Missouri, was awarded a $106,114,818 firm-fixed-price contract for the Disaster Resiliency Program Phase Two, Creech Air Force Base, Nevada. This one-phase design-build construction contract includes the design and construction of a 79,335-square-foot aircraft maintenance facility hangar, a 4,429-square-foot covered aerospace ground equipment storage yard, a 204-square-foot hazardous material storage area, and 100,167 square feet of airfield pavements to support the Disaster Resiliency Program mission sets. The amount of this action is $106,114,818. Bids were solicited via the web with one received. Work will be performed in Indian Springs, Nevada, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 10, 2027. Fiscal 2025 other procurement, Air Force funds in the amount of $106,114,818 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District, is the contracting activity (W912PL-25-C-A011).

Cam Lock Ltd., Aldershot, United Kingdom, was awarded a $97,917,545 firm-fixed-price contract for the manufacturing and procurement of Hybrid Summer Flyers gloves to support the Uniform Integrated Protection Ensemble Family of Systems Gloves, Aviation Glove Program. This contract includes a five-year base period with two one-year options. The amount of this action is $97,917,545. Bids were solicited via the web with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 4, 2032. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Natick Division, is the contracting activity (W911QY-25-D-A006).

Right Way Environmental,* Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, was awarded a $21,531,004 firm-fixed-price contract for construction support services at the La Chuleta Material Management Area in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Bids were solicited via the web with four received. Work will be performed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 8, 2030. Fiscal 2025 construction, Corps of Engineers, civil funds in the amount of $21,531,004 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Caribbean District, is the contracting activity (W51DQV-25-C-A002).

L3 Communications Corp. Communication Systems West, Salt Lake City, Utah, was awarded a $9,841,809 modification (PX0013) to contract W58RGZ-11-C-0023 to settle a claim resulting from a termination for convenience. The original contract, awarded on Nov. 2, 2010, and completed on March 15, 2015, was for the Kiowa L2MUM B-Kit. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $47,659,631. Work will be performed in Salt Lake City, Utah, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2025. Fiscal 2023 aircraft procurement, Army funds in the amount of $9,841,809 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

*Small business

**Service-disabled veteran-owned small business

***Women-owned small business in historically underutilized business zones

****Small-disadvantaged business

https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract/Article/4298387/

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Contracts

Contracts For Sept. 10, 2025

NAVY

BL Harbert International LLC,** Birmingham, Alabama (N62742-25-D-1339); Black Construction- Tutor Perini JV,** Harmon, Guam (N62742-25-D-1340); Conti Federal Services, LLC,** Orlando, Florida (N62742-25-D-1341); Core Tech-HDCC-Kajima LLC,** Tamuning, Guam (N62742-25-D-1342); ECC Expeditionary Constructors LLC,** Burlingame, California (N62742-25-D-1343); Gilbane Federal JV,** Providence, Rhode Island (N62742-25-D-1344); Granite-Obayashi 3, A JV,** Watsonville, California (N62742-25-D-1345); Hensel Phelps Construction Co.,** Honolulu, Hawaii (N62742-25-D-1346); Nan Inc.,** Honolulu, Hawaii (N62742-25-D-1347); and SLSCO Ltd.,** Galveston, Texas (N62742-25-D-1348), are awarded a combined $15,000,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award contract for construction projects primarily located in Guam; and other areas under the cognizance of Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Pacific area of responsibility. SLSCO Ltd. is awarded a $41,825,700 firm-fixed-price task order for the construction of a low-rise school age center facility. Work will be performed in Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and is expected to be completed by August 2028. Fiscal 2025 military construction (Navy) funds in the amount of $41,825,700 will be obligated on this award which will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. All other awardees are awarded a $25,000 minimum contract guarantee. Fiscal 2025 military construction (Navy) funds in the amount of $225,000 will be obligated to all other awardees at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. All other funding will be made available at the task order level as contracting actions occur. The term of the contract is not to exceed 96 months with an expected completion date of September 2033. This acquisition was competitively procured via the SAM.gov website with 13 proposals received. These 10 contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contracts. Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Pacific, Hawaii, is the contracting activity.

CBRE/JJ UK JV LLC, Franklin, Tennessee (N40084-25-D-0084); DGC JV, Montrose, Colorado (N40084-25-D-0085); ECC Diego Garcia LLC, Burlingame, California (N40084-25-D-0086); MVL Diego Garcia JV LLC, Lansing, Michigan (N40084-25-D-0087); and Black Construction/MACE International JV, Harmon, Guam (N40084-25-D-0088), are awarded a combined $1,500,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for new construction, renovation and modernization, and routine repair and maintenance projects at Navy Support Facility, Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory (B.I.O.T.). Black Construction/MACE International JV will be awarded $6,077,681 for the seed project. All remaining awardees will be awarded $100,000 each for the minimum contract guarantee at contract award. The maximum combined dollar value, including the base period of five years, and one option period of three years, for all five contracts is $1,500,000,000. Work will be performed at U.S. Navy Support Facility, Diego Garcia, B.I.O.T., and is expected to be completed by September 2033. Future task orders will be primarily funded by operation and maintenance O&M) (Navy); and Navy working capital contract funds. Fiscal 2025 O&M (Navy) funding in the amount of $6,477,681 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the SAM.gov website with five offers received. NAVFAC Far East, Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, is the contracting activity.

ARMY

CDW Government LLC, Vernon Hills, Illinois (W519TC-25-D-A012); CTG Federal LLC,* Reston, Virginia (W519TC-25-D-A013); Wildflower International LTD,* Santa Fe, New Mexico (W519TC-25-D-A014); New Tech Solutions,* Fremont, California (W519TC-25-D-A015); Braxton-Grant Technologies,* Hanover, Maryland (W519TC-25-D-A016); Trace3 Government LLC,* Colorado Springs, Colorado (W519TC-25-D-A017); World Wide Technology LLC, St. Louis, Missouri (W519TC-25-D-A018); Lyme Computer Systems Inc.,* Lebanon, New Hampshire (W519TC-25-D-A019); BEAMITNTS Corp,* Walnut Creek, California (W519TC-25-D-A021); IMPRES Technology Solutions Inc.,* Round Rock, Texas (W519TC-25-D-A023); GovConnection Inc., Rockville, Maryland (W519TC-25-D-A024); MicroTechnologies LLC,* Delray Beach, Florida (W519TC-25-D-A025); Koi Computers,* Downers Grove, Illinois (W519TC-25-D-A026); Anacapa Micro Products Inc.,* Oxnard, California (W519TC-25-D-A027); VAE Inc.,* Springfield, Virginia (W519TC-25-D-A029); Blue Tech Inc.,* San Diego, California (W519TC-25-D-A030); Transource Service Corp,* Phoenix, Arizona (W519TC-25-D-A031); CACI idt LLC, Ashburn, Virginia (W519TC-25-D-A033); Affigent LLC,* Herndon, Virginia (W519TC-25-D-A034); American Wordata Inc. (AWData),* Tampa, Florida (W519TC-25-D-A035); GovTec Ventures LLC,* Annapolis, Maryland (W519TC-25-D-A036); CounterTrade Products Inc.,* Arvada, Colorado (W519TC-25-D-A037); Dell Federal Systems LP, Round Rock, Texas (W519TC-25-D-A038); Presidio Government Solutions LLC, Reston, Virginia (W519TC-25-D-A039); Strategic Communications LLC,* Louisville, Kentucky (W519TC-25-D-A040); Dynamic Systems Inc.,* El Segundo, California (W519TC-25-D-A041); iT1 Source LLC,* Tempe, Arizona (W519TC-25-D-A042); Insight Public Sector Inc., Chandler, Arizona (W519TC-25-D-A043); GovSmart Inc.,* Charlottesville, Virginia (W519TC-25-D-A044); Better Direct LLC,* Tempe, Arizona (W519TC-25-D-A045); Integrated Technologies Group Inc.,* Falls Church, Virginia (W519TC-25-D-A046); FedData Technology Solutions LLC,* Annapolis Junction, Maryland (W519TC-25-D-A047); Epoch Concepts LLC,* Littleton, Colorado (W519TC-25-D-A048); Software Information Resource Corp.,* Washington, D.C. (W519TC-25-D-A049); Paragon Micro Inc.,* Buffalo Grove, Illinois (W519TC-25-D-A050); FCN Inc.,* Rockville, Maryland (W519TC-25-D-A051); Atlantic Diving Supply Inc.,* Virginia Beach, Virginia (W519TC-25-D-A052); iGov Technologies Inc.,* Reston, Virginia (W519TC-25-D-A053); Blazar Technology Solutions LLC,* Gardnerville, Nevada (W519TC-25-D-A054); Iron Bow Technologies LLC, Herndon, Virginia (W519TC-25-D-A055); Red River Technology LLC, Chantilly, Virginia (W519TC-25-D-A056); Sterling Computers Corp.,* North Sioux City, South Dakota (W519TC-25-D-A057); ACE Computers (JC Technology),* Des Plaines, Illinois (W519TC-25-D-A058); Optivor Technologies LLC,* Orlando, Florida (W519TC-25-D-A059); Copper River Technologies LLC,* Anchorage, Alaska (W519TC-25-D-A062); Swish Data Corp.,* McLean, Virginia (W519TC-25-D-A064); NCS Technologies Inc.,* Manassas, Virginia (W519TC-25-D-A066); Norseman Defense Services Inc.,* Elkridge, Maryland (W519TC-25-D-A067); and ThunderCat Technology LLC,* Reston, Virginia (W519TC-25-D-A070), will compete for each order of the $10,000,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for Information Technology Enterprise Solutions-4 Hardware (ITES-4H). Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 18, 2035. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island, Illinois, is the contracting activity.

RSE Inc.,* New Baltimore, Michigan, was awarded a $36,014,711 firm-fixed-price contract for high-efficiency gas adsorbers. Bids were solicited via the web with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 9, 2031. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W91ZLK-25-D-0006).

Amazon Web Services Inc., Seattle, Washington, was awarded a $16,604,329 modification (P00015) to contract W519TC-24-F-A004 for cloud computing and storage. Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 21, 2025. Fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $16,604,329 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island, Illinois, is the contracting activity.

Great Lakes Dock and Materials LLC,* Muskegon, Michigan, was awarded a $9,257,575 firm-fixed-price contract for marine construction. Bids were solicited via the web with three received. Work will be performed in Grand Haven, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 30, 2027. Fiscal 2022 civil construction funds in the amount of $9,257,575 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, is the contracting activity (W911XK-25-C-A034).

AIR FORCE

UES Inc., Dayton, Ohio, has been awarded a $499,999,999 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity and two cost-plus-fixed-fee task orders valued at $148,419,093 and $98,677,956, for research within the High-Performance Electromagnetic Spectrum Survivable Materials Advancement program. This contract provides for research on the effects of, and interactions produced by, electromagnetic spectrum sources on materials, components, and systems in configurations of interest to the Department of the Air Force and the Department of War in both air and space domains. Work will be performed at Dayton, Ohio, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 1, 2033. This contract was a competitive acquisition, and two offers were received. Fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $1,420,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA2394-25-D-B001; FA2394-25-F-B010; FA2394-25-F-B011).

The Boeing Co., Long Beach, California has been awarded a $282,477,510 modification (P00024) to previously awarded (FA8526-21-D-0001) for C-17 Globemaster III sustainment for Ordering Period Five landing gear spares. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract from $7,597,672,417 to $7,880,149,927. Work will be performed at various locations including but not limited to Long Beach, California; San Antonio, Texas; Robins Air Force Base, Georgia; Charleston, South Carolina; McCord Air Force Base, Washington; and various locations around the globe, and is expected to be completed by Oct. 31, 2027. This contract involves Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to Australia, Canada, India, Kuwait, the NATO Airlift Management Program, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. Fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $228,036,388; and FMS funds in the amount of $54,441,122, are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Lifecycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity.

AR6 Construction & Engineering, New Braunfels, Texas (FA3020-25-D-0005); G.M. Hill Engineering Inc., Jacksonville, Florida (FA3020-25-D-0006); GUY-JDA JV, Tulsa, Oklahoma (FA3020-25-D-0007); and MDLE LLC, Charlottesville, Virginia (FA3020-25-D-0008), were awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a ceiling amount of $9,900,000. This contract provides for a contracting vehicle for Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, to expedite architectural-engineering services. Work will be performed at Sheppard AFB, Texas; Sheppard Annex, Lake Texoma, Texas; and Frederick Airfield, Oklahoma, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 9, 2030. These contracts were competitive acquisitions and six offers were received. Fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $233,371 are being obligated at time of award. The 82nd Contracting Squadron, Sheppard AFB, Texas, is the contracting activity.

DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY

Parsons Government Services Inc., Centreville, Virginia, has been awarded a $30,989,406 modification (P00023) to cost-plus-fixed-fee contract HR001122C0027 for additional work within scope of the Blackjack program. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $49,368,687 from $18,379,281. Work will be performed in Colorado Springs, Colorado (83%); Centennial, Colorado (8%); Los Gatos, California (7%); Florham Park, New Jersey (1%); Littleton, Colorado; Lafayette, Colorado; and Denver, Colorado (totaling 1%), with an expected completion date of October 2028. Fiscal 2025 research and development funds in the amount of $2,538,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES

Leisnoi Professionals Services LLC, Anchorage, Alaska, has been awarded a $12,377,632 firm-fixed-price contract (HQ003425CE092). The amount of this action is. Fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $8,728,231 are being obligated at the time of the award. The purpose of this contract is to provide services support to the Office of the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (OCDAO) as it provides accelerated adoption of data, analytics, and AI to generate decision advantage. The contractor will provide a range of support services to enable OCDAO to accelerate the delivery of data analytics and AI-enabled capabilities, scale for department-wide impact of data analytics and AI to synchronize Department of War data analysis and AI activities to expand Joint-Force advantages. The work will be performed at the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. The estimated contract completion date is June 10, 2026. Washington Headquarters Services, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Honeywell International, Oro Valley, Arizona, has been awarded a maximum of $9,104,071 firm-fixed-price contract for F-16 transmitters. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. The performance completion date is July 12, 2027. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2025, defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation Hill Air Force Base, Utah (SPRHA425-F-0020).

*Small business

**Large business

https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract/Article/4299985/

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Rumen Radev: In a Deteriorating Security Setting, the Modernisation of the Bulgarian Army Contributes to NATO's Collective Defence in the Region

President of the Republic of Bulgaria

8 September 2025 | 18:22

Connectivity between the countries in Southeast Europe is important not only for their economic development, but is also a factor in NATO's collective security in the region, the president emphasises during a meeting with NATO's Deputy Secretary General

In the conditions of a deteriorating security setting, the modernisation of the Bulgarian Army contributes to the strengthening of NATO's collective defence throughout the region. This was stated by Head of State Rumen Radev at a meeting in Sofia with the visiting Deputy Secretary General of NATO, Radmila Sekerinska.

The President stressed the importance of the projects for the modernisation of the Land Forces, the Air Force and the Navy of Bulgaria and highlighted the ambitions of our country for the full involvement of the Bulgarian defence industry and science in this process. The Head of State also noted the importance of the implementation of a number of smaller projects from a financial point of view, which bring great advantages in the development of modern defence capabilities.

Increasing the share of GDP earmarked for defence and increasing security investments by NATO member states were also discussed during the meeting. The head of state once again called for closer cooperation between individual member states even in the process of developing and deploying new weapons, so as not to deepen the division in NATO between countries that manufacture and countries that consume defence products. Therefore, according to the president, industrial cooperation, technology transfer and the implementation of joint production are of key importance for each country to develop its defence potential and contribute to collective security.

Connectivity between the countries in Southeast Europe is important not only for economic development, but is also a factor of NATO's collective security in the region, the president emphasised pointing to the key importance of European Transport Corridor No. 8, the construction of which will connect the Adriatic and Black Seas.

The Head of State highlighted the role of the Multinational Battlegroup, led by Italy as a framework nation at the Novo Selo training ground as an example of excellent coordination and an opportunity to strengthen the interaction between the allied countries in the region. Radev praised the endeavour to achieve a higher level of training and interoperability at the base, which was visited by Radmila Sekerinska during her visit to our country.

Among the topics discussed during the meeting was the war in Ukraine, the resulting risks to international peace and security, as well as international initiatives to end hostilities and seek a peaceful solution through diplomacy.

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Today's top news: Haiti, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Nigeria, Ukraine

UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Haiti

UN Relief Chief arrives in Port-au-Prince

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, today arrived in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, where people continue to be affected by escalating violence engulfing the country.

In a social media post, Fletcher said he will meet communities, front-line responders, partners and the authorities. "Needs are soaring while funding is at historic lows," he warned. "We must try to protect lives and restore hope."

Haiti is one of the proportionally least funded of the UN's global appeals - with less than 12 per cent received to date of the US$908 million needed to respond and save lives.

This is in a country where almost 6 million people - half the country's population - need vital aid this year. A similar number are facing high levels of acute food insecurity, while more than 8,400 Haitians are already enduring famine-like conditions.

Meanwhile, over 1.3 million people are internally displaced, the highest number ever recorded in Haiti due to violence and insecurity. Many of those who fled their homes are now living in extremely dire conditions.

Occupied Palestinian Territory

Window "closing fast" to prevent spread of Gaza famine, UN Relief Chief warns

Under-Secretary-General Fletcher yesterday demanded urgent action to halt the spread of famine and suffering in Gaza.

In a statement, Fletcher warned that there is a narrow window - until the end of September - to prevent famine from expanding to Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, adding that this window is closing fast.

Fletcher called for aid to be let in - unimpeded and at the scale humanitarians can deliver - and for civilians to be protected, for the International Court of Justice's provisional measures to be implemented, for the hostages to be released, for arbitrarily detained Palestinians to be freed, and for a ceasefire.

Since the confirmation of famine in Gaza governorate, the Ministry of Health reports that more than 100 people - a quarter of them children - have died from starvation and malnutrition across the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, hostilities continued to kill and injure people over the weekend. In just the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health in Gaza reported 67 deaths and 320 injuries. This brings the total toll of people killed since end of the ceasefire in mid-March to almost 12,000, according to the health ministry.

Amid the ongoing offensive in Gaza city, the Israeli military has issued more orders over the past day for people to leave specific buildings or areas within Gaza city, warning of imminent attacks.

Meanwhile, in the past two days, at least one partner organization has been hit in Gaza city, killing several people, including at least one aid worker and one child.

Over 80 per cent of Gaza is either under displacement orders or within militarized areas.

With the Israeli military instructing people to move from parts of Gaza city southward, OCHA warns that people are in dire need of food, water and shelter items.

While humanitarians were able to support the entry of a limited number of tents in the past weeks, much more is needed to support hundreds of thousands of people in all parts of the Gaza Strip - north and south alike - as many are repeatedly displaced.

Meanwhile, in most areas, the Israeli authorities continue to require any movement of humanitarian personnel to be coordinated with them in advance. Yesterday, 11 out of 24 missions requiring coordination were facilitated, including the collection of fuel from Kerem Shalom crossing and the transfer of fuel supplies to the north. While three missions were denied, another four missions had to be canceled by the organizers.

Although the remaining six missions were impeded, humanitarians were nevertheless able to distribute water in the north and collect food cargo from Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says it has received more than 570 wheelchairs to distribute for hospitals and partners across the Strip. These include 260 wheelchairs for children. In a social media post yesterday, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said this will help cover urgent needs for hospital use in mass casualty management and rehabilitation.

Today, at least six Israelis were killed and many others injured in Jerusalem in a shooting attack. The two Palestinian perpetrators were also killed and subsequently, Israeli forces operated in and around the Ramallah governorate, where they came from.

OCHA says that such killings are prohibited and unacceptable.

Last Friday, OCHA recorded the killing of another Palestinian by Israeli forces in Nablus.

OCHA reiterates that civilians must be protected, and that any use of force by Israeli forces in the West Bank must follow internationally recognized law enforcement standards.

Afghanistan

Tens of thousands reached with vital aid after earthquakes

OCHA reports that the UN and its humanitarian partners continue to respond to the devastating earthquakes in Afghanistan*.

Partners have distributed ready-to-eat meals, including high-energy biscuits, to more than 40,000 people across all affected districts. They have also provided clean water, tents, shelter, blankets and winter clothing. In addition, six child-friendly spaces have been established.

OCHA says that the UN and its partners continue to carry out assessments and have so far completed them in 49 villages across the provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar and Lagham. They have found that dozens of water sources have been damaged, increasing the risk of the spread of waterborne diseases, including cholera.

An emergency appeal to support the response to the earthquakes is currently being finalized.

*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Afghanistan with urgent support.

Pakistan

UN fast-tracks support for flood response

Emergency Relief Coordinator Fletcher yesterday allocated $5 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to support the response to the floods that continue to devastate large parts of Pakistan.

This complements a $600,000 allocation from OCHA's Asia and the Pacific Regional Fund, as well as the $250,000 allocated from the Pakistan Country-Based Pooled Fund for local NGOs.

These resources will support cash transfers, shelter, food, health, water and sanitation, among other urgent needs.

OCHA reports that many villages remain submerged, with some reports of water depths up to 10 metres, delaying humanitarian access and assessments. Priority needs include health, shelter, food, and water, sanitation and hygiene. Partners working in health have expressed concerns over a rise in waterborne diseases across several districts.

The UN and its partners continue to support the Government-led response, and OCHA has deployed staff to the affected area in Punjab to support coordination efforts.

OCHA says that while these new funds will enable life-saving aid, existing resources are nearly exhausted, and urgent additional funding is critically needed.

Sudan

UN and partners assist hundreds of people after South Darfur landslide

OCHA reports that the UN and its humanitarian partners have assisted at least 1,000 people affected by the landslide that struck the village of Tarsin in the locality of Sharg Aj Jabal, in Sudan's South Darfur State, on 31 August.

Between last Thursday and today, an inter-agency assessment and response mission comprising a dozen local and international NGOs and UN agencies delivered food and other critical items, as well as health, water, sanitation, hygiene and protection services.

A report by the UN Satellite Centre shows that the landslide destroyed about 10 houses and damaged agricultural land. Tomorrow, OCHA will meet with partners to discuss the mission's findings, needs in the area, and ongoing response efforts.

Across Sudan, floods continue to displace thousands of people. Over the weekend, flooding in Wad Al Shaer village, in the south-eastern state of Gedaref, displaced about 2,500 people and destroyed some 500 houses, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

IOM reports that hundreds of others were displaced by flooding last week in parts of Red Sea State - in the east of the country - and South Darfur, in the west. The recurrent floods are deepening humanitarian needs, as thousands of families seek urgent support and shelter.

Meanwhile, the UN is deeply alarmed by the findings of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan, released on Friday. The report documents large-scale atrocities committed by both the Rapid Support Forces and Sudanese Armed Forces.

It points to deliberate attacks on civilians and widespread destruction of critical infrastructure - including hospitals, markets, water systems and displacement camps. The findings underscore the urgent need for accountability and protection of civilians amid the ongoing conflict.

OCHA once again calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities, unimpeded humanitarian access and steps to ensure the protection of civilians, and increased international support to meet soaring needs across Sudan.

Nigeria

Humanitarian Coordinator condemns deadly attack on civilians in Borno State

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Fall, condemned in a statement yesterday the killing of dozens of civilians in the north-east of the country.

A preliminary report by the authorities indicates that more than 50 civilians were killed on 5 September following an attack by suspected members of a non-state armed group on the village of Darajamal in Borno State. An unknown number of people were also allegedly abducted, with others fleeing with injuries. At least 28 houses were also reportedly burned during the attack.

Fall called for the immediate release of those abducted and for the perpetrators of this heinous attack to be brought to justice. He added that this recent attack is yet another grim reminder of the toll of rising violent attacks and insecurity in Borno State, with hundreds of civilian deaths recorded this year alone.

Fall called on all parties to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, including protecting civilians.

Ukraine

Deadly attacks cause scores of civilian casualties

OCHA says that Ukraine experienced a massive wave of attacks over the weekend, killing and injuring dozens of civilians across the country.

Authorities have reported more than 80 civilian casualties, including children. Homes, government buildings and energy facilities were also damaged during the attacks.

In the capital Kyiv, attacks during the night of 6 September killed three civilians - including a child - and injured 18 others. Among the victims were an aid worker from a national NGO - a partner of the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund - and her two-month-old son. The strikes also damaged several multi-storey residential buildings, as well as the Government of Ukraine headquarters.

Casualties were also reported in the cities of Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kremenchuk, Kryvyi Rih and Kherson.

Strikes also targeted energy infrastructure, disrupting power and water supplies, ahead of the winter season. Repair crews are working to restore services, though temporary outages continue.

Aid organizations joined first responders in the cities of Kyiv, Odesa and Zaporizhzhia, providing medical care, psychosocial support, hot meals, child protection services and hygiene kits.

Meanwhile, support to front-line communities continues. On 5 September, the UN and its partners delivered aid - including medical kits and hygiene supplies - to some 1,000 people in several villages in the Donetsk region. This was the tenth convoy to the region this year.

Posted on 8 September 2025

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UN Relief Chief demands urgent action to halt spread of famine and suffering in Gaza

UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Statement on the Occupied Palestinian Territory by Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator

Israel's latest displacement order against Palestinians in Gaza City comes two weeks since famine was confirmed in Gaza, and amid a massive military offensive.

There is a narrow window - until the end of September - to prevent famine from spreading to Deir al Balah and Khan Younis. That window is now closing fast.

Death, destruction, starvation and displacement of Palestinian civilians are the result of choices that defy international law and ignore the international community.

We continue to insist that this horror can be stopped.

Let humanitarian aid in - unimpeded and at the scale we can deliver.

Protect civilians.

Implement the International Court of Justice's provisional measures.

Release the hostages.

Free arbitrarily detained Palestinians.

Ceasefire.

8 September 2025

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Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Qatar 09/09/2025

Algeria Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Algeria strongly condemns and denounces the despicable Israeli attack that targeted the Qatari capital Doha today, and expresses its full and complete solidarity with the brotherly State of Qatar in these exceptional circumstances.

Israeli occupation's expansion of its multifaceted and all-out aggression and the targeting of the team of negotiators tasked with ending the aggression against Gaza prove to the whole world that the occupier does not aspire to peace, that it knows no limits in its brutality and arrogance, and that it has no regard for the values, rules and principles to which the countries of the world adhere.

Faced with this extremely serious situation, the international community must realise the urgent need to assume all its responsibilities to deter the Israeli occupier, put an end to its crimes against the Palestinians and curb its escalation, which is dragging the entire region into a spiral of endless insecurity and instability.

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Minister Anand's statement on Israeli strikes in Doha

Global Affairs Canada

Statement

September 9, 2025 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs, issued the following statement:

"Canada condemns the strikes conducted by the Israeli Defense Forces in Qatar, which violate its sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Middle East faces serious challenges, and sustainable peace and security must be prioritized over any actions that could lead to a broader conflict in the region.

"Qatar's sovereignty must be respected, and international law must be upheld.

"Let there be no doubt: Hamas is a terrorist organization. It must immediately release all hostages and disarm. Defeating Hamas and achieving peace require respect for international law, sovereignty, and the protection of civilians.

"Qatar, alongside Egypt and the United States, continues to serve a vital mediating role in efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of Israeli hostages, and scaled-up flows of life-saving assistance for Palestinian civilians. Canada fully supports Qatar's leadership in these efforts. Today's attacks undermine critical negotiations; Canada calls for a return to negotiations to achieve an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza."

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September 9, 2025

Transcript

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth Greets Singapore Minister for Defence His Excellency Chan Chun Sing

WAR SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH: Well, Mr. Minister, welcome to the Pentagon. Welcome to the newly minted Department of War, here.

It's good to have you. You're the first for us.

And it's good to see you again.

MINISTER FOR DEFENCE CHAN CHUN SING: Thank you.

WAR SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH: It was great to see you in Singapore at the Marina Bay Sands for breakfast and for the entire Shangri-La. It's good to see you and your team. And welcome. I also want to congratulate you on the recent 60th anniversary of Singapore's independence. And as you know and I hope our friends in the press know, Singapore has been an anchor of U.S. friendship and presence in the region.

Our relationship has been crucial to regional stability and maintaining deterrence in the Indo-Pacific. Our armed forces continue to train together across all domains. And this group knows it. Exercises like Pacific Griffin, Commando Sling, Tiger Balm, Valiant Mark show how our training has become more complex and more integrated over the years.

We're working together with a range of partners to share our common interests and goals. It's also great that Singapore participated in Talisman Sabre with the United States and Australia for the first time this year as well. And I know you're here to see your armed forces participate in exercise, forging saber later this week as well.

The United States is proud that more than a thousand of your warriors train in our country each year. And we look forward to welcoming Singapore's F-35 pilots in the years ahead. Glad that you're also going to have a chance to visit in Texas the F-35 production line. And we look forward to Singapore flying this state of the art aircraft very soon.

We also look forward to advancing our force posture discussions and providing best in class equipment and training for our forces. This partnership underpins regional stability and security. And advances President Trump's vision of peace through strength. So again, welcome. Uh, really enjoyed the time we spent together, uh, at the conference, your leadership, and welcome to the Pentagon.

MINISTER FOR DEFENCE CHAN CHUN SING: Well, thank you, Secretary. And thank you to you and your team for your kind hospitality. Yes, we have fond memories of your time with us in Shangri-La dialogue. We hope that you will come again next year to not just catch up with us in Singapore but also with other counterparts in the region. We thank you and your leadership team for supporting Singapore Armed Forces training in the United States.

And as you mentioned, we have one of the largest foreign contingent training on United States soil every year, day in, day out working with our counterparts in the US to improve our professional training and interoperability. And that has allowed us to plant the seeds for generations of young men and women to work together to grow up together to build the trust that's so necessary for us to work together.

We thank you for your support as well for allowing us to acquire the US technology to work with your team to improve on them. And as we say, it's not just a buyer seller relationship. I think we work on it, work on real capabilities together, develop new capabilities, not just to manage existing challenges, but also to preempt new challenges.

And we look forward to that partnership. We also want to thank you for allowing our new detachment to be based out of ebbing Arkansas, where our F-35 will be based. And then I'm sure that will start another journey together where a new generation of servicemen will train together. So thank you very much for your partnership.

And we look forward to working closely with you and your team to advance our shared interests.

WAR SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH: Likewise.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/4298815/

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September 9, 2025

By C. Todd Lopez, Pentagon News

U.S., Singaporean Military Leaders Discuss Partnerships, Training, Shared Interest

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth today welcomed his counterpart, Singaporean Minister for Defense Chan Chun Sing, to the Pentagon to discuss ongoing military-to-military cooperation and shared security interests in the Indo-Pacific region.

"Singapore has been an anchor of U.S. friendship and presence in the region," Hegseth said. "Our relationship has been crucial to regional stability and maintaining deterrence in the Indo-Pacific."

The U.S. and Singapore, Hegseth said, train together in a variety of exercises across multiple domains, including the naval Exercise Pacific Griffin, the annual Tiger Balm exercise held since 1980, Commando Sling, and Valiant Mark.

This week, the U.S. and Singapore will also participate in Exercise Forging Sabre at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.

"The United States is proud that more than 1,000 of your warriors train in our country each year, and we look forward to welcoming Singapore's F-35 pilots in the years ahead," Hegseth said.

Singapore has the second-largest permanent foreign military training presence in the continental United States, with almost 1,000 Singaporean armed forces personnel training at any one time.

"That has allowed us to plant the seeds for generations of young men and women to work together, to grow up together, to build the trust that's so necessary for us to work together," Chan said.

While in the U.S., Chan will visit troops participating in Forging Sabre in Idaho and the F-35 production facility in Fort Worth, Texas.

Singapore has agreed to purchase 20 F-35 aircraft, including 12 F-35B, the vertical takeoff and landing version, and eight F-35A, the conventional version. The first of those should be delivered in 2026.

"We look forward to Singapore flying this state-of-the-art aircraft very soon," Hegseth said.

Singapore pilots will also train on the F-35 inside the United States at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas, something Chan said he looks forward to.

"We also want to thank you for allowing our new detachment to be based out [of] Ebbing, Arkansas, where our F-35 will be based, and then I'm sure that will start another journey, together, where a new generation of servicemen will train together," he said. "Thank you very much for your partnership, and we look forward to working closely with you and your team to advance our shared interests."

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Press remarks by President Antonio Costa following the meeting with President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda

European Council / Council of the European Union

European Council

Statements and remarks

9 September 2025 16:55

Dear Gitanas, let me start by thanking you for welcoming me in Vilnius; I truly appreciate your hospitality and the opportunity to discuss in person the main priorities for the Union and for the European Council in the coming year.

It is very important for me to engage with all the European Union Leaders, to bring the institutions closer to the citizens and to understand each countries' priorities and perspectives in view of the next political year. That's why I started this tour des capitales.

Dear President, Lithuania has been an example of dedicated and vocal support for Ukraine  including by providing military support. In these crucial days for Ukraine, we need this commitment and dedication more than ever.

We are fully engaged. My meetings last week, including the Coalition of the Willing and with President Zelenskyy reaffirmed our common goal and commitment: to achieve a just and lasting in peace in Ukraine and provide strong security guarantees to help preventing future attacks. The plans for the enlargement to Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans are not only promises, they are priorities for the European Union. This is simply the most important geopolitical investment we can make in terms of our own security. And also a powerful instrument to extend prosperity in our continent.

As you know very well, Russia's hostile behaviour goes well beyond Ukraine, with continuous hybrid threats on the European territory: from cyber-attacks, to instrumentalization of migrants, disruption of critical infrastructure, or attempts to undermine democracy. We need and will continue working on our resilience on this front.

A few hours ago, I was in Tallinn and in Riga. Now, here in Vilnius, I feel encouraged by the Baltic determination and readiness to do what it takes to support Ukraine and to protect our borders. Because your borders are our external borders. We fully stand with you. Your security is Europe's security.

Your decision to increase defence spending  and initiatives like the Baltic Defense Line  will significantly contribute to a more secure Europe.

As Europeans, we need to increase our defence capabilities. We have made historical steps in 2025. And I am sure that we will continue to do so. Our October European Council will be crucial.

Defence is also a key driver for a top European priority: competitiveness. They go hand in hand. Ramping up our defense capabilities means also reinforcing our single market, our energy sovereignty, promoting trade, creating jobs and promoting innovation, a domain in which Lithuania excels.

Finally, to move forward with these common priorities and plans, we need to have a budget fit for purpose. That is why we are also preparing the debate for the next long term European budget, a new framework that can boost our development and our security while reinforcing the cohesion within our Union.

Dear Mr President, thank you very much again for hosting me today.

Thank you.

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Israel/Qatar: Statement by the Spokesman

European External Action Service (EEAS)

09.09.2025

EEAS Press Team

Today's airstrike by Israel against Hamas leaders in Doha breaches international law and Qatar's territorial integrity, and risks a further escalation of violence in the region.

We express full solidarity with the authorities and the people of Qatar, a strategic partner of the EU.

Any escalation of the war in Gaza must be avoided - it is in no one's interest. We will continue to support all efforts towards a ceasefire in Gaza.

We recall that the EU and other partners listed Hamas as a terrorist organization. The EU has also adopted a new sanctions regime against Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad together with two sets of listings adopted in 2024 against both entities and individuals.

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Gaza: speech by High Representative / Vice-President Kaja Kallas at the EP Plenary

European External Action Service (EEAS)

09.09.2025

Strasbourg, France

EEAS Press Team

Check against delivery!

Opening remarks

Thank you dear President,

Honorable Members of the European Parliament,

Unlike in Ukraine, the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is testing Europe's resolve because we are not united.

Europe has not sat on its hands. Europe has been the most active actor for Gaza in the world. We are the largest humanitarian donor and a constant supporter of the Palestinian Authority and the two-state solution. We have helped more than any other international actor. Day in and day out, I have pushed for aid to reach those in desperate need. I have applied the political leverage we have.

I negotiated directly with my counterpart to reach a humanitarian understanding with Israel with specific benchmarks. Because earlier efforts had not resulted in any change.

For example, I tasked our Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process to work with the European External Action Service and DG ECHO to engage directly with Israel to open the gates of Gaza to humanitarian assistance. Not a single truck entered the Gaza Strip during the blockade.

Since our humanitarian understanding with Israel, there have been some positive developments:

2,904 trucks have entered between 10 July and 1 September; the reopening of more crossing points; the reopening of the Jordanian and Egyptian routes; an increased amount of fuel entering Gaza - the minimum agreed 196.000 litres was reached in mid-August. However, we see fluctuation in quantities entering the Strip in the last two weeks. On structural intervention, repairs to vital infrastructure have improved water access in the South Gaza de-salination plant is also operational. However, three main water pipelines suffered damages due to ongoing hostilities.

And in August, a ship carrying 1,200 tonnes of aid departed from Limassol, Cyprus. Further shipments will continue.

I would like to thank Cyprus in particular for their efforts.

And I agree with you, it is not enough. It is not enough. We need to do more.

I also have led a full review of Israel's compliance with Article 2 of our Association Agreement. We drew up an inventory of possible options to pressure the Israeli government to change its course of action.

The Commission then followed with a proposal to suspend parts of Horizon but there is no required support for that yet. And I know that this is a qualified majority decision.

While there was support for these steps, there is no unity on what should come next.

Now we have a statement of famine in Northern Gaza. There are major safety and security concerns for international humanitarian staff which hinder efforts to distribute aid. Trucks are looted and aid is not distributed properly. War continues, including now in Gaza City. And so I ask you, what more can we do?

Honourable Members,

I believe we must continue diplomatic efforts with Israeli government because we cannot get anywhere if we do not talk. In my contacts with Foreign Minister [Sa'ar], I have consistently raised the restrictive requirements for international NGOs to register. He has informed me that the deadline for registration was now extended to November.

How we uphold European values internationally is a collective responsibility that demands a collective European response. On my side, I can reassure you that I leave no stone unturned in my efforts to make progress. I will continue this way.

Our options for more action are clear and remain on the table. But Member States disagree on how to get the Israeli government to change course. That is why several Member States have now taken national measures in response to the actions of the Israeli government. But we cannot move as a Union until Member States share the same view on what to do.

This is not the time to point fingers but to unite for solutions. And there are many places where we do agree. We all agree on the diagnosis and on the goals: end the suffering; end the conflict; and secure the release of all hostages.

Yesterday's attack in Jerusalem underlines the incredible danger facing both Palestinians and Israelis. Aggression breeds more aggression and radicalisation. If there was a military resolution, the war in Gaza would have long been over.

Now we must summon the political will to agree on a European way forward. And I call on the European Parliament's support in this endeavour.

Member States' actions are crucial but only our unity can have amplified effect.

Thank you.

Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/media/video/I-276515

Closing remarks

Honourable Members,

Thank you for this debate.

A few remarks: first, we have not been silent. On famine, we have a statement on the 22nd of August. We have been very, very clear about this.

When I say that I am frustrated, I am frustrated that we cannot do more. This is what I am constantly working on, and that is why we are trying to improve the situation.

If you think that I do not empathise with the people, that I do not feel the suffering of the people, this is not true. That is why I work hard to really improve the situation and help the people on the ground.

There was the leader of The Left, MEP Aubry and MEP Martins, of course, both of them are not here when I respond. I understand that the people of Europe do not know how Europe functions. You can point on one person and say that "why do you not do this decision and everything works out well?", whereas the MEPs, especially leaders of the groups, should know how Europe functions.

We are not run by executive orders. We are run by collective decision making, which means that we have 27 countries in the Council. And even as we have proposed measures that require qualified majority, we do not have that, so work with the Member States of yours.

I was hearing many Member States, representatives of Member States here, work with them so that they would also agree to these decisions - also the Commission. We are rendering decisions by consensus.

You can point the fingers at me, but I really assure you I try to do my best to improve the situation on the ground - and I will remain in contact with my counterpart in Israel, because I am also raising all these difficult issues that you are saying here. I also urge you to call your Israeli counterparts and say that you do not approve this situation. So also, to address the difficult questions we have.

Of course, we must be calling for permanent ceasefire and release of hostages. The EU is committed to supporting the two-state solution. This is where we are united, and where we will continue the work. So, I do not agree with MEP Demirel that I have given a green light for what Israel is doing. That is not true.

I have raised every time all these issues to do with the Israeli counterpart, but I urge you to also learn how the European Union functions. Here you could see also the division amongst the Member States. This is the same that I am up against in the Council and in the College.

I have not been silent at all, but I am not yelling, maybe as you are yelling, I have not been silent at all. We have had strong statements, and of course, like I said, we try to do more every day, and I urge you to support us in this endeavour.

Thanks

Link to the video: https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/video/AV_I276518

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Nepal: Statement by the spokesperson on the latest developments

European External Action Service (EEAS)

09.09.2025

Brussels, Belgium

EEAS Press Team

The EU deeply regrets the deaths and violence of the ongoing demonstrations in Nepal. The killings should be independently investigated. The EU calls for restraint and for the authorities to take all necessary measures to protect lives. Our thoughts are with the families of the deceased and wish for the speedy recovery of the injured. The EU encourages dialogue between all sides to resolve differences and to ensure that all fundamental rights are upheld.

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Estonian secretaries general and secretary of state meet with Moldovan prime minister

Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

09.09.2025 | 16:00

Today, 9 September, in Chisinau, Estonian secretaries general and the secretary of state met with Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean to reaffirm Estonia's support for Moldova's European integration and to receive an update on the current situation ahead of the upcoming elections.

The Secretary General of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jonatan Vseviov, assured Prime Minister Dorin Recean that Estonia supports Moldova's accession to the European Union and underlined the need to start accession negotiations with both Moldova and Ukraine as soon as possible, stressing that EU enlargement enhances security both in the region and across Europe as a whole.

During the meeting, Secretary General Vseviov also offered Moldova Estonia's additional support on its path to European integration, through both experts and Estonia's own experience. He emphasised that one of the aims of the visit was to strengthen bilateral relations and exchange the necessary expertise.

The discussions also covered Russia's increased influence activities in the run-up to the parliamentary elections.

Alongside the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Estonian delegation to Moldova includes Secretary of State Keit Kasemets, Secretary General of the Ministry of Culture Kristiina Alliksaar, Secretary General of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications Ahti Kuningas, Secretary General of the Ministry of Finance Merike Saks, Secretary General of the Ministry of the Interior Tarmo Miilits, and Secretary General of the Ministry of Climate Marten Kokk. The visit of the chancellors and the Secretary of State to Moldova takes place from 8 to 10 September.

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Remarks by Executive Vice-President Virkkunen and Commissioner Kubilius on the allocation of loan amounts to Member States under SAFE

European Commission

Speech

Sep 9, 2025

Strasbourg

"Check against delivery"

Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen,

Today marks another important milestone for the future of Europe.

Let me start by stressing how our security environment has drastically changed over the last years.

Europe is facing serious threats - as Russia has shown, once again, with the strikes against Ukraine over the past weekend.

And these threats are wide ranging.

From conventional warfare and bombing of peaceful cities, to cyber and hybrid attacks, masked by propaganda and disinformation.

Acts of sabotage threatening our critical infrastructure, carried out by hostile foreign state actors.

According to threat assessments by EU intelligence services, Russia will have the capacity to test Europes military capabilities and unity within the next 3 to 5 years.

These challenges pose a direct threat to our continent.

To our citizens.

To our way of life and our ability to make independent choices about our future.

This is precisely why Europe has to be ready.

Europe needs to step up.

We need to immediately ramp up, to re-establish our defence readiness and deterrence by 2030.

This is why last March, together with Commissioner Kubilius, we presented the Readiness 2030.

It is an ambitious defence package, providing financial leverage to EU Member States, including our SAFE instrument.

And this package has already received overwhelming support from our Member States.

More than half of the Member States have requested the activation of the national escape clause in the framework of the Stability and Growth Pact, making use of the flexibility to increase their defence spending.

And now, 19 Member States will receive 150 billion euros of loans under SAFE, at their own request.

I am pleased that many Member States have also expressed interest in participating in joint procurement plans, even if they have not had to utilize the SAFE instrument so far.

The SAFE instrument also allows Member States to support Ukraine in its brave defence against Russia's illegal war of aggression.

Before Commissioner Kubilius goes into more details about the SAFE instrument, please let me recall that these measures are not only about spending more.

They are also about spending better, together, and more European.

Joint European procurement does not only increase our deterrence. It also builds European defence industrial base, and strengthens our ability to act in all situations.

This Commission takes re-armament of Europe very seriously: in the new MFF proposal, defence and space spending will increase fivefold to 131 billion euros.

This is the largest single incremental portion of the entire budget.

So thank you dear Andrius, and all our services, for the great work done, and the impressive results achieved on the SAFE regulation in record-time.

Well done!

***

Commissioner Andrius Kubilius

Today I am proud to present a European success story.

A big step forward for our defence readiness.

Today the Commission agreed on the tentative allocation of defence loans under SAFE.

Allowing immediate and massive scale up of the purchase of defence equipment. Boosting our European defence production.

In brief - what is the essence of today's communication.

First of all, I would like to remind, that The Security Action for Europe, SAFE, is an integral part of the ReArm Europe - Readiness 2030 package.

SAFE is a financial assistance to Member States for the first time ever in defence at EU level.

That is why SAFE stands as a historic European defence instrument, backed by the EU budget guarantee, providing up to EUR 150 billion of attractive loans to EU Member States to bolster EU defence readiness and to incentivise joint procurement.

It also includes provisions to support Ukraine by enabling joint procurement efforts with, in, and for the country.

Today we can announce that all 150 billion euros of loans are subscribed by 19 EU Member States. Some Member States were not taking SAFE loans, because they can borrow in the markets themselves with the same price as EU.

This Communication includes the tentative allocation per Member State, based on their declared interest. Here was no special key for allocation.

You can see the numbers. Later on I will explain more details about the numbers. Now, I would like to point out the countries, which have declared the biggest interest and received corresponding allocation: Poland - 43.7 billion, Romania - 16.7 billion; France and Hungary - 16.2 billion; Italy - 14.9 billion euros.

I would like also to remind, that when SAFE was announced early in spring, here was a lot of skepticism about possible low interest to take the loans. The contrary is true. The interest from the Member States have been a resounding success: the maximum requests - well beyond the EUR 150 bn available. This is a European success.

Very important is also a fact regarding Ukraine, - a majority (13) of the Member States, which requested SAFE loans, have indicated to foresee involving and supporting Ukraine. Even if no precise volumes are indicated at this moment, we expect SAFE to be crucial in this regard.

It is also important to remind, that SAFE is also the most open defence programme we have conceived so far. Loans only for Member States to take, but SAFE is also open to EEA-EFTA states, to Ukraine, to acceding/candidate countries and to any third country that has entered a Security and Defence Partnership with the European Union. Bilateral agreements with Great Britain and Canada on their participation in SAFE Programme will be negotiated very soon.

With SAFE we can unify our fragmented defence procurement. And improve interoperability of military systems. By encouraging joint procurement in priority areas. Like air/missile defence, ground combat, space, strategic capabilities, Cyber and Space capabilities.

What is important is not only the technical content of SAFE.

No less important is the strong political signal we are sending today.

Since the start of my mandate, along with President von der Leyen, we have urged a 'Big Bang' approach to build our defence readiness.

We have no time for the luxury of incrementalism.

What we have achieved with 'SAFE' is really big.

When I visited Washington D.C. before summer, one well known expert told me that right now, worldwide, SAFE is the biggest financial package to be invested into defence with such a speed.

When the money reaches industry in the form of government procurement - it will be a real bang in contracts and in production.

We are starting a real Big Bang in defence.

A Big Bang not only in terms of financial means.

But also, in the speed of implementation.

When in March we approved the White Paper on Defence Readiness, I said that now the most important thing is 'implementation, implementation, implementation'.

Today we prove we deliver on implementation.

From the SAFE proposal to the adoption of the regulation - 57 days.

From the SAFE proposal to the allocation today - 168 days. A record.

Facing all the threats, which we know very well, we have no time to wait. We have no time for standard legislative proposals and 18 months of luxury to debate.

As soon as we presented our proposal, Member States expressed their interest.

And we acted. Quickly, creatively, efficiently. It would be good to continue on all other issues related with defence: EDIP, Defence simplification Omnibus, etc.

The result: a resounding success. 19 Member States have shown interest.

Together they requested loans well over the 150 billion euro available.

At this stage, we have distributed the allocations based on the amounts requested. Since maximum requested exceed the budget available, we identified a fair and equitable method to distribute assistance.

And even countries that did not want to take out loans, said they wanted to support SAFE. By joining in common procurement.

As President von der Leyen has said, this is a European success.

Today we allocated the tentative loan amounts.

I immediately informed the Member States of the amounts we tentatively allocated to them.

Now we need to move quickly, from allocation, to production.

Amounts are not yet final.

Each Member State must now submit a formal request.

This must include an investment plan.

Deadline: 30th of November.

The Commission will analyse these plans.

And if the request fulfils the conditions laid down in the Regulation, we will move forward.

And prepare a proposal for a Council Implementing Decision.

For every participating Member State.

The goal: to sign loan agreements in the first quarter of next year.

Again, this is a European success story.

In just 2 months we prepared a Regulation, got it approved, and mobilised 150 billion euro, an incredible boost for our defence and our industry.

Today the Commission proves how we bring European added value to build the defence readiness of Member States.

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Germany Federal Foreign Office

09.09.2025 - Press release

Foreign Minister Wadephul issued the following statement today (9 September 2025) on Israel's attack in Doha:

Israel's attack in Doha not only violates Qatar's territorial sovereignty, but threatens everyone's efforts to bring about the release of the hostages. This strike is unacceptable.

I am most deeply concerned for the lives and the safety of the hostages who are in the hands of Hamas, German citizens being among them. I expressed this concern in a phone call with my Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa'ar.

Qatar plays a crucial role in efforts to achieve a ceasefire and the release of the hostages.

I have expressed my solidarity, as well as my gratitude and appreciation, for these efforts to my Qatari colleague, Sheikh Mohammed.

I urge that everything possible be done right now so that a ceasefire can finally be reached and the hostages can return to their families.

One thing remains clear: it is up to Hamas to lay down arms and abandon terror against the State of Israel. This current escalation is yet another outcome of Hamas' heinous terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.
Condemns attack in Qatar

Government of Norway

Press release | Date: 09/09/2025

Statement from Espen Barth Eide, Minister of Foreign Affairs

I am deeply concerned about the latest escalation in the Middle East and the consequences of today's Israeli attack on Hamas' leadership in Qatar's capital, Doha.

Carrying out such an attack in a residential area inside Qatar's capital constitutes a serious violation of international law. We condemn this attack and express solidarity with Qatar following this breach of its territory.

Hamas' representatives in Qatar were engaged in negotiations with for a ceasefire in Gaza, including the release of Israeli hostages, facilited by Qatar, Egypt and the United States. This attack could make it even more difficult to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, urgently needed both for the Palestinian civilian population and the Israeli hostages.

We also condemn yesterdays terrible terrorist attack in Jerusalem. Such violence against civilians cannot be accepted.

We do not need another escalation now. What is needed more than ever is both an immediate end to the war in Gaza and a political solution to the long-standing conflict.



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Press Release on recent developments in Nepal (September 09, 2025)

India - Ministry of External Affairs

September 09, 2025

We are closely monitoring the developments in Nepal since yesterday and are deeply saddened by the loss of many young lives. Our thoughts and prayers are with families of deceased. We also wish speedy recovery for those who were injured.

2. As a close friend and neighbour, we hope that all concerned will excercise restraint and address any issues through peaceful means and dialogue.

3. We have also taken note that authorities have imposed curfew in Kathmandu and several other cities of Nepal. Indian nationals in Nepal are advised to exercise caution and adhere to the steps and guidelines issued by the Nepali authorities.

New Delhi

September 09, 2025

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IOM Resumes Operations in Khartoum, Over 2 Million Return Amidst Sudan War

International Organization for Migration

09 September 2025

Geneva/Khartoum, 9 September 2025 -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reopened its office in Khartoum to expand humanitarian and recovery operations in the capital, becoming the first UN agency to re-establish a presence in the city since conflict erupted in April 2023. IOM's return comes at a critical time, as more than two million people have returned to areas perceived to be safer.

Khartoum is now witnessing a sharp increase in returns. In the capital alone, the number of returnees is expected to reach 2.1 million this year, compared to an estimated five million who were displaced from the city at the height of the fighting.

"Movement back to urban areas is accelerating, yet conditions remain volatile," said IOM Director General Amy Pope. "Families are attempting to rebuild in communities already strained by years of displacement and economic hardship, stretching social support networks and local capacities to the limit."

The return trend is not limited to the capital. Between November 2024 and July 2025, nearly two million people returned across 1,611 locations in Aj Jazirah, Khartoum, Sennar, Blue Nile, White Nile, River Nile, and West Darfur. Three in four of these returnees came from locations within Sudan.

Many families arrive to find homes that are damaged or uninhabitable. Electricity and clean water remain scarce. Health care is limited and the risk of cholera persists. Unexploded ordnance continues to endanger civilians in residential areas, near schools, and along access roads.

IOM's return to Khartoum will support the country through this complex recovery phase. The office will function as an inter-agency hub, enabling the UN and humanitarian partners to scale up life-saving assistance and early recovery support in urban areas where needs are most concentrated.

In the first half of 2025, IOM reached more than 600,000 people in Sudan with humanitarian assistance, including access to clean water, protection services, health care, and mental health and psychosocial support. Despite these efforts, the scale of needs continues to outpace available funding.

IOM will work closely with authorities and partners to ensure that communities of return have access to essential services. Support will target both returnees and residents who never left, recognizing that recovery requires rebuilding services for entire communities.

Despite the returns, the conflict is far from over. Violence in Kordofan and Darfur, including the siege of El Fasher now in its second year, has brought catastrophic consequences for civilians and has created famine conditions for many unable to flee.

In Darfur, reaching people in need remains extremely difficult due to insecurity, restricted access, and limited funding. These constraints hinder the ability of humanitarian organizations, including IOM, to respond at the required scale, and they increase the risk that fragile recovery gains will be lost.

Sudan's war has upended lives on an extraordinary scale. More than 14.2 million people have been displaced since the conflict escalated, with 10 million uprooted inside the country and 4.2 million across borders.

To accelerate humanitarian and recovery efforts, IOM is urgently appealing for USD 29 million in flexible funding to sustain humanitarian efforts in Khartoum alone. IOM also urges all parties to facilitate safe, sustained, and unimpeded humanitarian access.

Note to Editor

IOM's Regional Crisis Response Plan for Sudan and neigbouring countries is critically underfunded, with only 12 per cent of the original USD 428 million appeal met. Within this, the Sudan response is just 11 per cent funded, while neighbouring countries are 14 per cent funded.

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Iran condemns Israeli strike on Doha as 'dangerous violation of international law'

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Sep 9, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- Iran has condemned Israel's airstrike on Doha, describing it as a "highly dangerous and criminal act" that violates international law and the United Nations Charter.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Tuesday the attack, which reportedly targeted Hamas officials in the Qatari capital, represented a "flagrant breach of Qatar's sovereignty and territorial integrity" and an assault on Palestinian negotiators.

"We are closely examining the events, but from the perspective of international law, all rules have been violated," Baghaei told state TV. "This action is extremely dangerous and a violation of the principles and objectives of the UN Charter."

He said the strike should serve as a warning to regional states and the international community about the risks of continued inaction toward Israeli crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories and the wider West Asia.

Earlier on Tuesday, media reports said several explosions were heard in Doha following an Israeli airstrike on a site hosting a meeting of Hamas leaders.

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Israel targets Hamas leadership in airstrikes on Doha

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Sep 9, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- The Israeli regime has launched an assassination attack against Hamas leaders in Doha.

Several explosions were heard in Doha, the capital of Qatar, on Tuesday.

The Israeli military said it carried out an assassination attempt on top Hamas leaders in Doha.

The attack happened as a Hamas negotiating team, headed by senior leader Khalil al-Hayya, was discussing a Gaza ceasefire proposal put forward by the United States.

Additionally, Reuters, citing an eyewitness, reported seeing thick smoke rising from the Katara area in Doha.

In a statement, Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israel's cowardly attack targeting residential offices of several members of Hamas's political bureau in Doha.

It added, "The criminal assault is a violation of all international laws and a serious threat to the safety and security of Qataris and residents."

"The State of Qatar strongly condemns this attack and affirms that it will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behavior," the ministry noted. "The State of Qatar confirms that it will not tolerate any action targeting its security or sovereignty."

"Investigations are ongoing at the highest level, and further details will be announced as soon as they become available," the ministry said.

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Pezeshkian reaffirms Iran's support for Venezuela's sovereignty in call with Maduro

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Sep 9, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- President Masoud Pezeshkian has voiced Iran's firm support for Venezuela's sovereignty and people, stressing that unity and national solidarity are the keys to defeating US and Israeli plots.

In a phone conversation on Monday night with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Pezeshkian said the failure of US and the Israeli regime's objectives against Iran stemmed from national unity and internal solidarity, which have given the country an inexhaustible power.

"As long as this unity is preserved, no foreign power can harm our countries," he said.

Referring to Washington's hostile actions against the Islamic Republic, he added that the US has for decades used "false propaganda and fabricated narratives" as pretexts to exert pressure and violate international law.

Pezeshkian underlined that Iran strongly condemns any violation of states' territorial integrity and "with all its capacity supports Venezuela's sovereignty and nation."

The Iranian president also recalled the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, where US unilateralism and its use of force against nations "under false pretenses" were widely condemned.

He welcomed Venezuela's initiatives to safeguard regional peace and stability and reiterated Iran's readiness to expand cooperation with the Latin American country.

Maduro, for his part, praised Iran's backing and highlighted Venezuela's national unity.

He said that today, Venezuela has reached a power that shields the nation against any threat.

He condemned US media campaigns and psychological warfare aimed at tarnishing Venezuela's image, noting that millions had rallied in defense of their homeland.

"Today, Iran and Venezuela are more united than ever. Your support gives us greater motivation to preserve independence, dignity, and national pride," Maduro added.

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Tehran rejects Arab League's 'false claims' on three Iranian islands

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Sep 9, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- Iran has reiterated its undisputed sovereignty over the three Persian Gulf islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb, dismissing claims made in a joint statement by the Arab League's foreign ministers.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry roundly rejected "the false claims and baseless accusations against Iran contained in the final statement of the Arab League Council of Foreign Ministers meeting."

"Repeating baseless assertions in similar statements will not alter the geographical, historical, or legal realities of these islands," reads the statement, noting that all Iranian measures on the three islands are in line with the country's sovereign rights to safeguard their security and safety and to protect national interests.

While commending the Arab League's strong condemnation of the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza and the regime's crimes elsewhere, the statement urged the bloc to uphold Islamic-Arab unity in confronting the Israeli regime and refrain from any actions or rhetoric that divert regional and global attention from the core issue.

Separately, the Foreign Ministry also rejected the accusation of sending military shipments to Yemen and interfering in that Arab country's affairs

"Such fabricated claims, mostly orchestrated by the Zionist regime, do nothing to advance the interests of the Islamic Ummah" at a time when Israel continues its genocide in occupied Palestine, its aggression and occupation in Syria and Lebanon, and repeated terrorist and aggressive attacks on Yemen under the full support of the United States.

Recalling Iran's principled policy of good neighborliness, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, the statement stressed the importance of strengthening unity and coordination among regional countries and avoiding divisive positions.

"The Islamic Republic emphasizes the need to establish lasting security and stability in West Asia, the Persian Gulf, and the Sea of Oman through intra-regional mechanisms and the participation of all regional countries, free from destabilizing and destructive interference by external actors," the statement further read.

4399**4354

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Aboul Gheit vehemently condemns Israeli attacks on Doha, affirms solidarity with Qatar

League of Arab States

Date: 09/09/2025

Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, strongly condemned the Israeli attack on civilian residential buildings in Doha, the capital of Qatar, for which Israel has claimed responsibility.

Gamal Roshdy, the Secretary-General's Spokesperson, stated that this assault constitutes a blatant and unacceptable violation of Qatar's sovereignty. He added that since the beginning of the war in Gaza, Qataralong with Egypt and the United Stateshas undertaken sincere and commendable efforts to mediate a ceasefire, striving to end the war of annihilation that Israel continues to wage in Gaza.

He further affirmed that the League of Arab States stands in full solidarity with Qatar in the face of this flagrant aggression against its sovereignty and will support any measures it takes to safeguard its sovereignty and ensure its security.

The spokesperson stressed that Israel's conduct has now exceeded all recognised international norms and principles of international law, placing a direct responsibility on the international community to confront a state that openly defies the law and disregards the consequences of its heinous actions.

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The President: The key issue is common EU security

President of the Republic of Lithuania

September 09, 2025

President Gitanas Nauseda met on Tuesday with Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, who is visiting Lithuania.

The meeting focused on the most pressing issues of the new EU political season. The President emphasized that the key issue today is common EU security.

"Russia's war against Ukraine has shown that the EU must invest more in its security. However, we still dedicate insufficient attention and resources to this, particularly in developing defense industry capabilities," said the President, noting that Lithuania, by investing more than 5% of GDP in national defense next year, seeks greater EU-level engagement through the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) and the European Defense Industry Program (EDIP).

The President described the European Commission's proposal for the next multiannual financial framework as a solid basis for further negotiations. The proposal provides increased funding for defense and also focuses on military mobility, protection of critical infrastructure and resilience.

"The security and stability of the EU's eastern border states must remain a priority. More investment in our region is necessary to make it stronger and better prepared. This approach must include cohesion and the Common Agricultural Policy," the President said.

According to Gitanas Nauseda, specific funding must be allocated for the protection of energy infrastructure under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), and resilience standards must be strengthened across the EU. Efforts should also target disinformation and historical falsification, creating a common policy for the preservation of historical memory.

Speaking about the implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, the President emphasized that illegal migration in the hands of hostile forces becomes a tool of hybrid influence. Therefore, it is necessary to continue strengthening the EU's external border protection and adopt rules reflecting new realities regarding migrant returns and the list of safe countries of origin.

The President stressed that the EU's efforts must also focus on strengthening its global role, beginning with support for Ukraine.

"Today, we see that Ukraine is fighting for all of us. While welcoming the United States' efforts to end Russia's war of aggression, we must recognize that long-term security for Ukraine and Europe can only be ensured through active EU engagement. Therefore, the EU must expand military support, and member states must provide Ukraine with reliable security guarantees," the President said.

Gitanas Nauseda called for increased pressure on Russia through the adoption of the 19th sanctions package, targeting its oil and gas revenues, Rosatom, the banking sector, and the shadow fleet, and also for the use of frozen Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine. He also stressed the need to accelerate negotiations on EU membership for Ukraine and Moldova, aiming to complete them by 2030.

According to the President, the EU must assume greater responsibility for upholding the rules-based international order and firmly reject actions that violate international law. It is also necessary to strengthen existing and build new international partnerships across all continents, relying on the EU's track record as a reliable partner focused on long-term results.

The President's Communication Group

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Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Mr. Nasser Bourita, had a telephone conversation on Tuesday with Mr. Serguei Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

Morocco Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Tuesday 09 September 2025

The purpose of this conversation was to pursue and consolidate the political dialogue and the traditionally friendly relations between the two countries.

The two ministers welcomed the significant progress achieved in bilateral relations, under the joint leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, and Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation.

On the occasion of His Majesty the King's visit to Moscow in 2016, a deepened strategic partnership was concluded between the two countries.

In this regard, Bourita and Lavrov stressed the need to continue the work undertaken since 2016 and to deepen it on all matters of common interest.

The upcoming bilateral milestones were discussed, in particular the ongoing preparations for the 8th Joint Commission.

The two ministers also addressed regional and international issues and agreed to continue political dialogue between the two countries in a constructive spirit and with mutual respect.

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The Kingdom of Morocco Strongly Condemns Israel's Heinous Aggression, Violation of Brotherly State of Qatar's Sovereignty

Morocco Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Tuesday 09 September 2025

The Kingdom of Morocco has strongly condemned Israel's heinous aggression and denounced the violation of the sovereignty of the brotherly State of Qatar.

The Kingdom of Morocco reiterates its full solidarity with the State of Qatar against anything liable to jeopardize its security, its territorial integrity, and the peace of its citizens and residents.



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15 Years of Multinational Air Mobility for the European Air Transport Command

NATO Allied Air Command

Sep 9 2025

RAMSTEIN, Germany -- On 1 September, 2025, the European Air Transport Command (EATC) marked its 15th anniversary, celebrating a decade and a half of unity, excellence, and multinational cooperation in military air mobility.

The European Air Transport Command is a single multinational command with headquarters located at Eindhoven air base, the Netherlands. The EATC Fleet is composed of over 180 assets located at the national air bases of the seven member nations - Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Spain.

During a ceremony at Eindhoven Air Base, senior military authorities from all seven member countries, alongside NATO representatives, European institutions, and key defence industry stakeholders gathered to pay tribute to EATC's achievements since its creation in 2010, from life-saving aeromedical evacuations to strategic transport, air-to-air refuelling, and rapid crisis response missions worldwide.

"EATC's strength lies in its people and in the unique trust that binds our seven Member Nations together", said EATC Commander Major General Franck Mollard during his address. "Through innovation, harmonised procedures, and shared responsibility, we deliver concrete operational effects for Europe and NATO."

The ceremony unveiled EATC's leitmotiv, "Together we go beyond," reflecting the organisation's commitment to strengthening interoperability and preparing collectively for future challenges. Highlights included a flyby of a Belgian A400M, piloted by a Luxembourg pilot and a British co-pilot, alongside a Dutch F-35, symbolizing the multinational integration.

EATC continues to advance NATO's Agile Combat Employment (ACE) Concept, harmonizing maintenance procedures, enabling multinational teams to operate each other's aircraft and exchange parts efficiently. The organisation is also exploring its role in potential Article 5 scenarios, ensuring it remains a decisive and ready force for joint European and NATO operations.

The EATC is a unique organisation for military air mobility, including transport, air-to-air refuelling and aeromedical evacuation within Europe. The overall objective is to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the member nations' military air transport efforts. The 15-year milestone underscores EATC's enduring value. Smart collaboration makes Europe stronger, deters adversaries, and prepares nations for the challenges of tomorrow.

Story by Allied Air Command Public Affairs Office

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NATO Maritime Units Shine during Dynamic Move 2025

NATO Allied Maritime Command

Sep 9 2025

La Spezia, Italy -- Naval forces from multiple allied nations completed Exercise Dynamic Move in La Spezia this week in this high-profile international maritime exercise aimed at enhancing mine countermeasures (MCM) capabilities.

Hosted by the Italian Navy, Dynamic Move brings together MCM specialists to simulate the detection, identification, and neutralization of naval mines in critical scenarios.

The exercise was conducted in the waters of La Spezia naval base, an historical hub for mine-warfare, and involved 15 nations. The goal is to improve interoperability among partner nations and ensure the security of sea lines of communication against underwater threats.

"This exercise is a key opportunity to strengthen cooperation and refine joint tactics in mine countermeasure operations," said Captain Fortunato Genovese, Commander, Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Group Two. "Underwater Security is essential to both allied defence and international trade, and exercises like Dynamic Move ensure we're prepared to meet modern challenges."

Participating nations include Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, France, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Turkiye, Ukraine, United States, and the United Kingdom; all with personnel and assets to test real-time coordination, underwater detection technologies, and rapid response protocols. Units assigned to Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group Two also participated in Dynamic Move.

Key components of the exercise included mine detection and clearance using divers and unmanned systems, simulated responses to mine threats in commercial shipping lanes and Joint command-and-control of MCM operations.

Dynamic Move underscores the shared commitment of NATO and partner navies to maintain freedom of navigation, safeguard maritime infrastructure, and respond collectively to evolving underwater threats.

SNMCMG2 is one of NATO's four standing maritime task groups under the operational control of Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM). These task groups form the core maritime capability of NATO's Allied Reaction Force (ARF) and provide a continuous maritime capability to execute NATO missions across the spectrum of operations, demonstrating solidarity and strengthening the bond and interoperability between Allied naval forces. SNMCMG1 ships have played an integral role in Baltic Sentry, NATO's enhanced vigilance activity in the Baltic Sea aimed at protecting CUI.

Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) is the central command of all NATO maritime forces and the MARCOM Commander is the primary maritime advisor to the Alliance.

Story by Public Affairs Office at MARCOM

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UN experts urge US to grant visas to Palestinian officials, uphold diplomacy for peace

Press releases

Special Procedures

09 September 2025

GENEVA -- UN experts* today urged the United States to grant Palestinian leaders visas ahead of the UN General Assembly in New York in September, and lift the discriminatory suspension of processing visitor visas for all Palestinian nationals.

"The General Assembly in New York is the epicentre of global diplomacy for peace, justice and human rights. Unilaterally excluding foreign leaders strikes at the heart of this vital mission. The US should maintain its long tradition of allowing access to the United Nations' headquarters as a neutral meeting place for peaceful dialogue," the experts said.

The US Secretary of State announced on 29 August that the US would deny and revoke visas for officials of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) until their organisations "repudiate terrorism - including the October 7 massacre". He also called to end "attempts to bypass negotiations through international lawfare campaigns", including appeals to the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice, and "efforts to secure the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian State".

"These measures violate the United States' international obligation to respect the right of individuals invited by the United Nations to travel to UN headquarters in New York," the experts said.

"The United Nations Headquarters Agreement of 1947 requires that visas 'shall be granted' by the United States, regardless of whether the US recognises Palestine as a State. The US cannot unilaterally impose exceptions or conditions on these obligations."

The United Nations recognises the State of Palestine as a non-Member observer State and, according to established practice, its officials must be permitted access to UN headquarters. As a self-determination movement under international law, the Palestine Liberation Organization has also been recognised since 1974 as entitled to participate in the General Assembly upon invitation.

"The exclusion of Palestinian officials directly interferes with upcoming debates at the General Assembly that are designed to advance the Palestinian right of self-determination under international law, which all countries, including the US, are required to respect," the experts said.

"The PLO and PA are not responsible for Hamas' attacks of 7 October 2023 and attempts to blame them must be rejected," they said.

The US has not denied visas to any Israeli officials accused of international crimes.

"Seeking to uphold international law through international courts is not 'lawfare', but an entirely legitimate means of pursuing peace and justice according to the international rule of law," the experts said.

The International Criminal Court is investigating allegations of international crimes by Israeli and Palestinian individuals. The US has unlawfully imposed sanctions on a number of people associated with it. In 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's occupation of Palestine to be illegal and called for it to be brought to an end as soon as possible. The General Assembly has given a deadline of September 2025. The Court is currently considering a case alleging genocide by Israel in Gaza.

"Efforts to seek recognition of Palestinian Statehood are fully consistent with international law," the experts said. "For decades, the international community has recognised the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, including becoming a State. The General Assembly has recognised the State of Palestine as an observer State since 2012. All States are entitled to bilaterally recognise this legal and factual reality."

"Unilateral declarations of Statehood are not prohibited by international law," the experts said. "There is no legal obligation under international law to negotiate independence where self-determination has been forcibly denied by an occupying power for almost 60 years."

In August, the US also suspended the processing of visitor visas for Palestinians in Gaza, and later the West Bank and other countries, claiming national security concerns.

"These suspensions unlawfully discriminate on the basis of nationality, without any legitimate national security reasons, and stigmatise all Palestinians as somehow associated with terrorism," the experts said.

"We urge the US to restore its commitment to diplomacy through the UN by granting visas to Palestinian officials, and not to restrict participation to those with whom it agrees," the experts said. "Diplomacy offers the hope of peacefully settling even the most difficult disputes."

These concerns have been raised with the US Government.

*The experts:

Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism

Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967

Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 George Katrougalos, Independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order

Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR.

Country-specific observations and recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/

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Nepal: Turk appalled by protest killings, says violence is not the answer

Press releases

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

09 September 2025

GENEVA -- UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said today he was appalled by the escalating violence in Nepal that has resulted in multiple deaths and the injury of hundreds of mostly young protesters, as well as the widespread destruction of property.

"I plead with security forces to exercise utmost restraint, and avoid further such bloodshed and harm," he said. "Violence is not the answer.

"Dialogue is the best and only way to address the concerns of the Nepalese people. It is important that the voices of young people are heard."

The High Commissioner said protesters have the right to express peacefully their political frustrations and grievances over corruption and a ban on social media platforms.

"I have received concerning reports of unnecessary and disproportionate use of force by the security forces," said Turk. "I call for urgent, thorough, transparent and impartial investigation into such acts."

He reminded protesters that they too must uphold the spirit of peaceful assembly and refrain from violence. "I am disturbed by reports of public buildings, businesses and private residences being attacked and, in some instances, set ablaze. Equally, I am concerned by reports of physical attacks on senior government officials."

The world has admired Nepal's emergence from conflict to become a peaceful democracy, Turk said, appealing to all Nepalese stakeholders to find a way forward to continue on that path.

"Together with the United Nations system, my Office stands ready to support dialogue and trust-building measures that can help de-escalate tensions and restore confidence," the High Commissioner said.

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Mali: UN experts demand activist El Bachir Thiam's release, four months after enforced disappearance

Press releases

Special Procedures

09 September 2025

GENEVA -- UN experts* today called on authorities in Mali to disclose the fate and whereabouts of journalist and activist El Bachir Thiam, who disappeared four months ago.

"Mali must immediately and unconditionally release El Bachir Thiam and other victims of enforced disappearance, and cease the crackdown on civil society actors, human rights defenders, and political opponents or those perceived as such," the experts said.

El Bachir Thiam is a journalist for the MaliActu website and a member of several civil society organisations and political movements, including the political party Yelema - Le Changement, led by former Prime Minister Moussa Mara, the Collectif Sirako, and a youth movement calling for a return to constitutional order, for which he serves as spokesperson and communications officer.

Thiam was allegedly kidnapped on 8 May 2025, in front of several witnesses in Kati town, by a group of at least five hooded and unidentified men suspected of being Malian intelligence agents - more specifically from the the Agence Nationale de la Securite d'Etat (ANSE) - or elements of the Bamako gendarmerie du Camp I, who were traveling in a gray TOYOTA V8 4x4 vehicle with tinted windows and no license plate. His relatives and colleagues reportedly searched for him in vain in police stations and gendarmeries of Bamako and Kati. Since then, Thiam's fate and whereabouts have remained unknown.

"As time goes by, Thiam's condition risks deteriorating further and will take a profound toll on his physical and psychological health," the experts said.

On 17 July 2025, Thiam Mariam Dagnon, wife of El Bachir Thiam, filed a complaint for kidnapping and disappearance with the Public Prosecutor of the Kati Court of First Instance. Thiam's alleged kidnapping and enforced disappearance took place in the context of peaceful protest movements initiated in early May 2025 by several political movements and parties, as well as civil society actors and organisations, following the adoption of draconian laws further restricting civic space by Malian transitional authorities in April 2025.

"State authorities who detain individuals and refuse to acknowledge that they are in custody or disclose their fate or whereabouts, place them outside the protection of the law and commit the crime of enforced disappearance of persons - as defined in Mali's Penal Code. Such acts constitute an enforced disappearance regardless of the duration of the detention or concealment," the experts said.

"The enforced disappearance of El Bachir Thiam and others is a blatant violation of Mali's international legal obligations."

The experts stressed that Malian authorities are allegedly making increased use of enforced disappearance as a weapon to instill fear and silence civil society actors, human rights defenders, political opponents or those perceived as such.

"These actions have a pattern. The frequency of the practice, its organised nature and the methods used indicate a systematic character," they said.

"ANSE is acting with an apparent sense of impunity and entitlement," the experts said. They noted that, according to Malian legislation, ANSE is placed under the direct authority of the President of the Republic and its agents may not be prosecuted in the performance of their duties, unless they have committed a serious offence through negligence or flagrant violation of procedures (articles 8 and 9 of the 1 October 2021 Ordinnance creating the ANSE), but they do not face any robust oversight or scrutiny. "By virtue of functioning directly under the President of the Republic, ANSE's actions raise questions of criminal accountability under Malian and international law."

"Thiam's case reflects the persistent and escalating pattern of human rights violations against members of opposition political parties, civil society organisations, journalists and human rights defenders in Mali," the experts said, recalling that several mandate holders had expressed similar concerns in 2021, 2024 as well as in February, April and August 2025.

They noted that the situation has continued to further deteriorate, as illustrated by the signature or adoption of several draconian laws, including a presidential decree on 13 May which dissolved all political parties and "organisations of a political nature" in Mali.

The experts have written to the Government of Mali and will continue to closely monitor the situation.

*The experts:

Eduardo Gonzalez , Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali;

, Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali; Gabriella Citroni (Chair-Rapporteur), Grazyna Baranowska (Vice-Chair), Aua Balde; Ana Lorena Delgadillo Perez; and Mohammed Al-Obaidi , Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances;

, Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; Irene Khan , Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression;

, Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.

Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR.

Country-specific observations and recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/

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OIC Strongly Condemns Israeli Attack on Qatar's Capital, Doha

Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)

09-09-2025

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemns in the strongest terms the Israeli aggression against the Qatari capital, Doha, on 9 September 2025, in blatant violation of international law, the United Nations Charter, and international norms. The OIC strongly denounces this attack, which constitutes a dangerous escalation threatening the security and stability of the region and undermining international security and peace. The OIC countries condemn this horrific attack on the sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity of the State of Qatar.

The OIC Secretary-General affirms that the OIC, in the spirit of its Charter and the resolutions of the Islamic Summit and Council of Foreign Ministers, categorically rejects any attack on the sovereignty and security of any member state.

The OIC expresses full solidarity with the State of Qatar and supports its security, territorial integrity, stability, and safety of Qatar's citizens and residents, stressing its backing for all steps taken by the State of Qatar to protect its security and sovereignty.

The OIC renews its call on the international community, particularly, the Security Council, to assume its responsibility by compelling Israel to stop its dangerous and ongoing attacks in the region and to commit to the respect of international law and international legitimacy resolutions.

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Pakistan Condemns the Israeli Aggression Against the State of Qatar

Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Pakistan condemns in the strongest possible terms the Israeli aggression against the brotherly country of Qatar. This highly provocative and reckless action constitutes a blatant violation of Qatar's sovereignty as well as international law, the UN Charter, and the established norms governing interstate relations.

Pakistan expresses its complete solidarity with the brotherly State of Qatar against this unprovoked and unlawful aggression.

This reckless action by Israel is yet another manifestation of its continued disregard for international peace and security, and its policy of destabilising the region. Pakistan has consistently maintained that such impunity must not be tolerated by the international community.

We reaffirm our principled position in support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar, and call upon the international community to hold Israel accountable.

Pakistan will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the brotherly people and the leadership of Qatar in defence of their national sovereignty and security.

Islamabad

9 September 2025

271/2025

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Philippines and Cambodia Pledge Swift, Coordinated, and Effective Response to Non-Traditional Security Threats

Republic of the Philippines - Department of Foreign Affairs

PHNOM PENH 09 September 2025 -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet witnessed an exchange of notes between Secretary of Foreign Affairs Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro and Cambodia Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Prak Sokhonn, expanding areas of cooperation for combatting transnational crimes. The Notes amend the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Philippine National Police of the Republic of the Philippines and the Cambodian National Police of the Kingdom of Cambodia. It represents the two Governments' shared determination to strengthen actions to address non-traditional security concerns, including against human trafficking, cybercrimes, and other forms of online fraud, among others.

In his remarks, President Marcos acknowledged "the pressing challenges that cut across borders [such as] human trafficking, cybercrime, illicit drugs, and other transnational threats" which "affect the safety of our citizens and the stability of our societies". He added, "It is in this spirit that we agreed to strengthen collaboration among our law enforcement and security institutions, so that our collective response will be swift, coordinated, and effective".

The exchange of notes took place during President Marcos' State Visit to Cambodia on 08 September 2025, following the bilateral meeting between the two leaders.

President Marcos and Prime Minister Hun Manet also witnessed the signing of agreements on air services and cooperation in higher education, in order to strengthen the fundamentals of long-standing people-to-people ties, through connectivity and the development of human capital in the ASEAN neighborhood. END

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Teodoro calls for 'responsible competition' in Seoul defense meet

Philippine News Agency

By Priam Nepomuceno

September 9, 2025, 7:15 pm

MANILA -- Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. called for responsible competition and inclusive security during the first plenary session of the 2025 Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD) on Tuesday.

Speaking before the attendees, Teodoro urged nations to work together to mitigate geopolitical rivalries and restore strategic stability in an "increasingly volatile global security environment."

The DND chief emphasized that while competition among states is inevitable, it must remain responsible, grounded in trust and guided by international law, according to DND news release.

"History tells us that geopolitical rivalries are not new -- they are constant. Great powers have always competed against one another. Smaller nations, in turn, have had to utilize every means at their disposal to seek influence, resources, and security to ensure their own survival," he said.

Teodoro cautioned against emerging narratives promoting a "multipolar world" without clear international rules, saying such an arrangement could embolden unilateral actions at the expense of smaller states.

Drawing attention to tensions in the South China Sea, Teodoro reiterated the Philippines' commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes while strengthening its defense posture and international partnerships.

"Dialogue must be the first option and not the last resort. Even in moments of profound disagreement, communication is a simple but powerful tool to prevent escalation," he said.

"Thus, we encourage use of any legally binding dispute resolution mechanisms available under international law."

This recommendation, Teodoro admitted, comes with an "implied caveat."

"For dialogue to be effective, I repeat, it must be coupled with trust," he said.

Teodoro also urged nuclear-armed states to exercise restraint and uphold their non-proliferation commitments, and called on all nations to manage technological advancements responsibly.

Highlighting the Philippines' proactive stance, Teodoro pointed to its network of bilateral, trilateral and multilateral defense arrangements as part of efforts to promote regional security and stability.

He also expressed support for Association of Southeast Asian Nations-led mechanisms that help de-escalate tensions, such as the observer mission monitoring the ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia. (PNA)

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PH, S. Korea eye stronger defense cooperation

Philippine News Agency

By Priam Nepomuceno

September 9, 2025, 3:17 pm

MANILA -- The Philippines and South Korea are looking into having increased defense cooperation in response to regional security challenges, the Department of National Defense (DND) said on Tuesday.

In a statement, the DND said the topic was discussed during a meeting between Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-Back.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD) 2025 on Monday, the DND said.

"Both sides explored avenues to further deepen cooperation in response to common regional security challenges. Discussions focused on enhancing collaboration in logistics, technological exchange, defense industry cooperation, under the framework of the 2015 PH (Philippine)-ROK (Republic of Korea) Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Defense," it added.

The meeting, the DND also said, highlighted the enduring defense partnership between the Philippines and South Korea that is rooted in the shared sacrifices of Filipino soldiers during the Korean War and further reinforced by this year's commemoration of its 75th anniversary.

The two defense officials also highlighted the importance of cultural and educational exchanges, along with people-to-people ties, as vital pillars of the bilateral relationship.

"Secretary Teodoro extended an official invitation to Minister Ahn to visit the Philippines, reaffirming Manila's commitment to advancing defense cooperation, strengthening regional security, and sustaining strategic engagement with its long-standing partner," the DND said.

Aside from the South Korean official, Teodoro also met with Sweden's State Secretary to the Minister for Civil Defence, Johan Berggren, on the sidelines of SDD 2025 on Monday.

"The meeting reaffirmed the Philippines-Sweden defense partnership, building on the 2023 Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Materiel. The officials explored cooperation in civil defense, crisis response, capacity building, defense education and training, as well as technology and emerging security domains," the DND said.

During the meeting, Teodoro highlighted the importance of closer cooperation with Sweden to support the Philippines' defense modernization and national resilience efforts.

Both sides also discussed vulnerabilities in critical underwater infrastructure and shared perspectives on the broader Indo-Pacific security environment.

"State Secretary Berggren reiterated Sweden's commitment to strengthening defense and civil defense ties with the Philippines, emphasizing the importance of enduring partnerships in safeguarding the rules-based international order," the DND said. (PNA)

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2nd Malvar-class guided missile frigate now in PH

Philippine News Agency

By Priam Nepomuceno

September 9, 2025, 2:39 pm

MANILA -- The Philippines' second guided Malvar-class missile frigate, which will be called BRP Diego Silang (FFG-07) once commissioned, has arrived in the country, the Philippine Navy (PN) announced on Tuesday.

In a statement, PN public affairs office chief Captain Benjo Negranza said the warship was formally welcomed by the PN's first guided-missile frigate, the BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150), as it sailed into Philippine waters on Monday.

"The soon-to-be BRP Diego Silang will undergo final preparations, acceptance procedures and commissioning before officially joining the PN's active fleet," Negranza said.

Once it joins the fleet, Negranza said BRP Diego Silang will "greatly enhance" the PN's operational readiness, maritime domain protection, and capability to uphold a free, secure, and rules-based international order.

Aside from its meeting procedures with BRP Jose Rizal, BRP Diego Silang also conducted the same maneuvers with the Philippine Coast Guard's (PCG) offshore patrol vessel, the BRP Gabriela Silang (OPV-8301), off Zambales.

Negranza said the activity is a significant event for both services.

"More than a routine encounter, the meeting of these vessels honors the legacy of Diego and Gabriela Silang, symbolizing the spirit of heroism and unity that guides the PN and PCG in safeguarding the nation's sovereignty," he said.

Negranza added that the coordinated procedure also reinforced fleet interoperability, operational readiness, and the PN's modernization efforts, while highlighting the human side of service and the shared dedication of generations of maritime officers.

Philippine Fleet commander, Rear Adm. Joe Anthony Orbe supervised the procedure while his son, PCG Ensign Joshua Orbe, participated aboard BRP Gabriela Silang as part of his ongoing schooling on ship familiarization.

Like its sister ship, BRP Miguel Malvar, which arrived on April 8 and was commissioned on May 20, BRP Diego Silang weighs 3,200 gross tons, measures 118.4 meters, and has a beam of 14.9 meters.

It also has a range of 4,500 nautical miles and a cruising speed of 15 knots.

Before the arrival of the BRP Miguel Malvar, the most modern ships in the PN inventory were the two Jose Rizal-class frigates: BRP Jose Rizal and BRP Antonio Luna (FFG-151). (PNA)

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New wave of mass displacement as Palestinians flee Israeli assault on Gaza City

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 09 September 2025 5:05 PM

A constant stream of Palestinians has fled to the central southern Gaza Strip in the latest wave of mass displacement as Israel intensified its assault on the besieged territory's urban hub.

Local media reported on Tuesday that some of those forced to leave Gaza City traveled on trucks and tractor-pulled trailers piled high with people and household belongings.

The Israeli military has told Palestinians to head to a so-called "humanitarian zone" in the southern coastal area of al-Mawasi.

The United Nations estimates that nearly a million people live in Gaza City and its surroundings, the coastal enclave's largest urban center.

In a statement, Gaza's Government Media Office said that most of the city's residents are refusing to leave their homes as the Israeli army "attempts to carry out the crime of forced displacement in violation of all international laws."

The office added that some people who left Gaza City for al-Mawasi in the south were forced to return due to worsening living conditions in the south.

The spokesman for Gaza's civil defense agency, Mahmud Bassal, stated that "there are no basic necessities for life - no shelter, no space for tents, no food, and no drinking water" in the central and southern areas of the besieged territory.

Israel designated al-Mawasi as a "safe zone" but has attacked the area at least 109 times, killing more than 2,000 Palestinians.

Meanwhile, Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), said that the Gaza Strip is being emptied of its forcibly starved population.

"There is no safe place in Gaza, let alone a humanitarian zone. It is a large and growing camp concentrating hungry Palestinians in despair," Lazzarini said in a statement.

"Warnings of famine have fallen on deaf ears," he stated, asking whether the same fate awaits the deepening catastrophe in Gaza City.

"End the impunity before atrocities become the new norm," the UN official added.

As Israel's genocidal war in Gaza rages on, at least 35 Palestinians were killed in fresh airstrikes since dawn.

In the latest attacks, the Israeli army targeted Gaza City's Salam Tower and Al-Ruya Tower, multi-story buildings sheltering hundreds of displaced Palestinians.

The attacks on residential towers in Gaza have displaced dozens of families, many left on the streets without shelter or basic necessities," UNRWA said on X.

The US-Israeli genocide in Gaza began in October 2023. The death toll since then stands at over 64,500. More than 163,000 others have been injured.

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Resistance groups denounce Israel's attack on Hamas leaders in Doha

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 09 September 2025 3:49 PM

Israel's airstrikes on the headquarters of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in the Qatari capital, Doha, have sparked widespread condemnation, with many denouncing it as "a serious violation of international law" and Qatar's sovereignty.

In a statement on Tuesday, Hamas condemned the attempted assassination by Israel targeting its negotiating delegation in Doha. The Palestinian group described the strike as a "heinous crime" and a violation of international law.

Hamas confirmed that its senior negotiators survived the attack, but five members of the group were killed, including Jihad Labad, director of the office of senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya, Hammam al-Hayya, son of Khalil al-Hayya, Abdullah Abdul Wahid, Moumen Hassouna, and Ahmed al-Mamlouk-- all described as companions of the delegation

The group also mourned the death of Badr Saad Muhammad Al-Humaidi, a Qatari security officer.

Hamas said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was trying to sabotage peace efforts and also held the Trump administration to account for supporting Israel's actions.

The statement said the attack once again showed Israel poses a threat to regional and global stability and is continuing policies of displacement and destruction against Palestinians.

The Palestinian resistance movement Islamic Jihad also strongly condemned the targeting of the meeting of Hamas leaders, labeling it "a fully criminal act" that disregards humanitarian standards, values, and the most basic international laws and norms.

The resistance movement said this "heinous" act of targeting reaffirms Israel's commitment to perpetuating bloodshed in the ongoing genocidal war against the Palestinian people, posing a significant threat that cannot be overlooked.

The Islamic Jihad held the administration of US President Donald Trump responsible for allowing the regime to act without restraint, particularly following the White House's endorsement of a "Trump proposal."

Additionally, Hussein al-Sheikh, the Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), condemned the "heinous" attack, saying it "constitutes a serious violation of international law and the sovereignty of the State of Qatar."

He said the attack "is considered a threat to security and stability in the region."

Lebanon's Hezbollah also issued a statement condemning the Israeli airstrikes on Doha.

Hezbollah said that the attack targeting Hamas leaders, who were reviewing the US proposal, clearly proves that the criminal Israeli regime is neither interested in negotiations nor seeking a resolution.

"Instead, it continues to pursue its bloody agenda rooted in killing, destruction, and annihilation," the statement read.

Mahdi al-Mashat, the head of Yemen's Supreme Political Council, urged Arab and Muslim nations to "pay attention" to Israel's plans before it's too late.

"We warn against a formula for the violations of all countries in the region," Mashat said.

"What happened in Doha will happen again and more in the rest of the countries if we do not all unite in confronting the Zionist threat."

Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes on the headquarters of Hamas in Doha, in what Israeli media described as an "assassination operation."

The airstrikes came as Hamas leaders had reportedly convened to discuss the latest US proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Trump had called on Hamas to accept his proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, issuing what he called his "last warning" to the Palestinian group.

An unnamed Israeli official told Israel's Channel 12 that President Trump had given the green light for the Israeli strike on Doha.

A senior Israeli official told Israel's Channel 13 that Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya and Zaher Jabarin, chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau in the West Bank, were in the meeting when it was struck.

Reports also suggested that longtime Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, whom Israel tried to assassinate in Jordan in 1997, was present at the meeting as well.

Hamas sources, however, said the leadership delegation, headed by al-Hayya, survived the attack.

Qatar's Foreign Ministry condemned the "cowardly Israeli attack", calling it a violation of international law and a threat to Qatar's security.

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Iran condemns Israeli strikes on Hamas leadership in Doha as violation of intl. law

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 09 September 2025 3:32 PM

Iran has condemned in the strongest terms the Israeli strikes against the leaders of the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement, whilst they were discussing US President Donald Trump's proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza as a violation of all principles of international law.

Spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Esmaeil Baghaei stated on Tuesday that the aerial assaults on the headquarters of Hamas in the Qatari capital, Doha, were extremely dangerous, infringed upon all established principles and norms of international law, and were contrary to the UN Charter.

"The attack constitutes an assault on the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar as well as the Palestinian negotiators. It must serve as a stark warning to the entire [West Asia] region and the international community so that they would not remain silent in the face of the Zionist regime's repeated violations of law and ongoing crimes."

A senior Israeli official told the regime's Channel 13 television channel that Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya and Zaher Jabarin, chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau in the West Bank, were in the meeting when it was struck.

Longtime Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal  whom Israel tried to assassinate in Jordan in 1997  was present at the meeting as well, according to reports.

An unnamed Israeli official told Channel 12 television channel that Donald Trump gave the green light for the Israeli strike in Qatar.

On September 7, Trump announced that he had presented a new proposal aimed at concluding the war in Gaza, asserting that Israel had agreed to his terms. He further cautioned Hamas to accept his conditions, stating that he had notified the group of the "consequences" of rejecting the offer.

US officials say Israel has agreed to ceasefire initiatives, despite Israeli leaders continuing to openly vow to escalate their campaign of genocide.

Hamas has confirmed receiving "ideas" from the US for ending the war.

The Palestinian group is thought to be holding some 50 Israeli captives, of whom 20 are still believed to be alive.

Meanwhile, Qatar has suspended the negotiation on a deal until further notice, following the strike against Hamas leadership.

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Spain sanctions far-right Israeli ministers in response to Gaza genocide

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 09 September 2025 3:11 PM

Spain has sanctioned two Israeli far-right ministers, barring them from entering its territory, a move that underscores Madrid's condemnation of Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir "will not be able to enter Spanish territory," Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told a press conference on Tuesday.

Smotrich and Ben-Gvir are already sanctioned by several Western countries, including Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, and the Netherlands, for "incitement of violence" against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

The decision comes a day after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared nine measure,s which he said aimed at preventing Israel's genocide in Gaza.

The measures included an entry ban on "all those people participating directly in the genocide, the violation of human rights and war crimes in the Gaza Strip."

Sanchez said Spain will ban planes and ships carrying weapons or transporting fuel for Israel from entering Spanish airspace or docking at Spanish ports.

Madrid will also boost aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) by 10 million, and commit 150 million in additional humanitarian aid for Gaza in 2026.

Additional measures include an embargo on goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

"What [the Israeli regime] is doing is not defending itself, it is exterminating a defenseless population," Sanchez declared.

Monday's announcement provoked a furious response from Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Saar, who accused the Spanish government of "antisemitism" and said the regime would bar Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz and Youth Minister Sira Rego from entering the occupied Palestinian territories.

Spain rejected the accusations as "false and slanderous", recalling its ambassador, Ana Maria Salomon, from Tel Aviv and saying that there was "no scheduled return date" for her.

Relations between Spain and the Israeli regime were already tense, as Madrid has emerged as one of Europe's strongest critics of the Gaza genocide.

Last week, Sanchez condemned Europe's double standards regarding Gaza and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, calling the international response to the genocide "a failure."

He described the reaction to Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza as "one of the darkest episodes of international relations in the 21st century."

Spain's stance marks a broader policy shift in recent years, deepening after Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza began on October 7, 2023.

In May 2025, Madrid urged the international community to impose sanctions and embargoes against Israel to halt the Gaza genocide, which has claimed more than 64,500 Palestinian lives.

In May 2024, Spain, alongside Ireland and Norway, formally recognized the State of Palestine. Sanchez described the move as both a moral duty and a commitment to peace, justice, and international law.

Spain has also pressed the European Union (EU) to reconsider the EU-Israel Association Agreement, arguing that Israel's actions in Gaza breach the accord's human rights clause.

Since November 2023, Spain has suspended arms export licenses to Israel, citing concerns that such sales could contribute to violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza.

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Israel launches airstrikes on Doha to assassinate Hamas leaders

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 09 September 2025 1:17 PM

Israeli warplanes have launched airstrikes on the headquarters of the Hamas resistance movement in the Qatari capital, Doha, in what Israeli media described as an "assassination operation."

The airstrikes came as Hamas leaders had reportedly convened to discuss the latest US proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Israeli military issued a statement confirming that it had conducted what it called "a precise strike" targeting Hamas' senior leadership.

A senior Israeli official told Israel's Channel 13 that Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya and Zaher Jabarin, chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau in the West Bank, were in the meeting when it was struck.

Reports also suggested that longtime Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, whom Israel tried to assassinate in Jordan in 1997, was present at the meeting as well.

Hamas says senior leaders survived

Hamas later released a statement strongly condemning the attempted assassination by Israel targeting its negotiating delegation in Doha. The Palestinian group described the strike as a "heinous crime" and a violation of international law.

Hamas confirmed that its senior negotiators survived the attack, but five members of the group were killed, including Jihad Labad, director of the office of senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya, Hammam al-Hayya, son of Khalil al-Hayya, Abdullah Abdul Wahid, Moumen Hassouna, and Ahmed al-Mamlouk-- all described as companions of the delegation

The group also mourned the death of Badr Saad Muhammad Al-Humaidi, a Qatari security officer.

Hamas said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was trying to sabotage peace efforts and also held the Trump administration to account for supporting Israel's actions.

The statement said the attack once again showed Israel poses a threat to regional and global stability and is continuing policies of displacement and destruction against Palestinians.

Hamas said its demands remain unchanged: an immediate end to the genocidal war, full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, a fair prisoner exchange, and support for rebuilding Gaza.

The group reaffirmed its commitment to resistance and the goal of establishing an independent Palestinian state with al-Quds as its capital.

Qatar condemns 'cowardly attack'

Qatar's Foreign Ministry condemned the "cowardly Israeli attack" on the Hamas headquarters in Doha, calling it a violation of international law and a threat to Qatar's security.

"The State of Qatar confirms that it will not tolerate any action targeting its security or sovereignty," it said. "Investigations are ongoing at the highest level, and further details will be announced as soon as they become available."

The attack came two days after President Trump called on Hamas to accept his proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, issuing what he called his "last warning" to the Palestinian group.

"I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning, there will not be another one!" Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.

An unnamed Israeli official told Israel's Channel 12 that President Trump had given the green light for the Israeli strike on Doha.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar confirmed on Tuesday that the regime had accepted Trump's new proposal for a captives release and ceasefire in Gaza.

"The war in Gaza can end tomorrow," the minister said in a press conference in Croatia.

Hamas said on Sunday that it had received "some new ideas" from the US through mediators on how to reach a ceasefire. The movement said it would welcome any new effort to end the Israeli aggression.

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Iran reasserts indisputable sovereignty over three Persian Gulf islands

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 09 September 2025 9:17 AM

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has categorically dismissed claims in the final statement of a recent Arab League meeting, underscoring the Islamic Republic's indisputable sovereignty over the three Persian Gulf islands.

"The Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran once again reaffirms Iran's indisputable sovereignty over the islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb as inseparable parts of Iran's territorial domain," the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

"It condemns any territorial claims against Iran and emphasizes that repeating baseless assertions in similar statements will not alter the geographical, historical, or legal realities of these islands. All measures taken on these three Iranian islands are in line with Iran's sovereign rights to safeguard their security and safety and to protect Iran's national interests."

Describing the Islamic Republic as the "most effective" provider of security across the Persian Gulf and West Asia region, the Iranian Foreign Ministry underlined the country's responsibility to ensure freedom of navigation in the strategic area.

"Iran is the most effective provider of maritime security in the Persian Gulf and regional and international waters, and has always guaranteed the safe passage of ships and vessels through the Strait of Hormuz," the statement said.

"Within the framework of protecting its national interests and territorial sovereignty, and through full and responsible oversight of the strategic Hormuz Strait's entry and exit points, the Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to take any action necessary to ensure freedom of navigation in accordance with international law and regulations, while preventing any violation of its national sovereignty."

The Persian Gulf islands of Abu Musa, and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs have historically been part of Iran, proof of which can be found and corroborated by countless historical, legal, and geographical documents in Iran and other parts of the world. However, the United Arab Emirates has repeatedly laid claim to the islands.

The islands fell under British control in 1921, but on November 30, 1971, a day after British forces left the region and just two days before the UAE was to become an official federation, Iran's sovereignty over the islands was restored.

The ministry on Tuesday also called on member states of the Arab League to maintain Islamic-Arab unity in confronting the domination and aggression of the Israeli regime, and to refrain from any actions or rhetoric that would divert regional and global attention from the central issue of the region and the Islamic world, namely the ongoing genocide in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Foreign Ministry also roundly rejected as unfounded the allegations of sending military shipments to Yemen or interfering in the Arab country's internal affairs.

"While the Zionist regime continues its genocide in occupied Palestine, its aggression and occupation in Syria and Lebanon, and repeated terrorist and aggressive attacks on Yemen with the full support of the United States, raising such fabricated claims, mostly orchestrated by the Zionist regime, does not help the promotion of the interests of the Islamic Ummah," the statement said.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran, reiterating its principled policy of good neighborliness, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, stresses the importance of strengthening unity and coordination among regional countries and avoiding divisive positions," it added.

Emphasizing the need to establish lasting security and stability in West Asia, the Persian Gulf, and the Sea of Oman through intra-regional mechanisms and the participation of all regional countries, free from destabilizing and destructive interference by external actors, the ministry said, "Iran remains committed to enhancing regional cooperation to achieve this goal."

The Foreign Ministry also welcomed the Arab League's strong condemnation of the Tel Aviv regime's continued genocide in Gaza and the occupying entity's crimes against the oppressed Palestinian people.

The statement stressed the urgent need for effective and immediate measures, including the cessation of all political, diplomatic, and economic relations with the regime, to compel it to stop its atrocities in occupied Palestine.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the killing of 64,522 civilians and the injury of 163,096 others, the majority of whom are children and women.

Hundreds of thousands have also been displaced, and famine has claimed the lives of 393 people, including 140 children.

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One critically injured after Israeli drone strikes western Lebanon despite ceasefire

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 09 September 2025 10:21 AM

In yet another flagrant breach of the fragile ceasefire with Lebanon, the Israeli military has launched an airstrike against a car in the country's western province of Mount Lebanon, critically wounding at least one person.

Lebanese media outlets reported that an Israeli drone targeted the vehicle near a mosque in the Zarout region, located between the seaside town of Jieh and Barja, about twenty kilometers (12.4 miles) south of the capital Beirut.

Footage circulated on social media platforms showed the car engulfed in flames, leaving one person seriously injured.

Five people were killed and another five were injured on Monday afternoon, when Israeli warplanes carried out around a dozen airstrikes on areas in the Baalbek-Hermel governorate.

The al-Mayadeen news television channel, citing local sources, reported that the Israeli military aircraft conducted strikes on the outskirts of Harbata and Labweh villages in the Baalbek district.

The strikes come amid a broader US-backed campaign to disarm Hezbollah, the only armed group in Lebanon capable of resisting Israeli aggression.

Lebanon's government said last week that its military would begin implementing a plan to dismantle the resistance movement's arsenal, without disclosing details.

Two Israeli wars waged against Lebanon in 2000 and 2006 were met with strong resistance from Hezbollah, resulting in the retreat of the regime in both conflicts.

Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire since October 8, 2023, only one day after the Zionist entity launched a genocidal war against the Gaza Strip following a surprise operation led by Hamas.

The Lebanese resistance movement vowed to keep up its retaliatory attacks as long as the Israeli regime continued its Gaza war.

The Israeli regime escalated the conflict into a full-scale war by September 2024, killing more than 4,000 Lebanese and injuring around 17,000, most of them women and children.

The Israeli regime also martyred Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary-General of Hezbollah, in its aggression against Lebanon.

Although a ceasefire was reached in November 2024, Israel has been carrying out near-daily strikes in southern Lebanon, falsely claiming to target Hezbollah activities, violating the agreement.

The Israeli regime is also persisting in its occupation of five key areas in southern Lebanon, specifically Labbouneh, Mount Blat, Owayda Hill, Aaziyyeh, and Hammamis Hill, all located in proximity to the border.

Despite near-daily Israeli airstrikes and repeated violations of Lebanese airspace and sovereignty, Hezbollah remains the only credible military force capable of confronting the occupation and preventing further Israeli incursions.

As calls to disarm the Lebanese resistance group grow louder from Washington and Israel, many in the Arab country warn that such efforts ignore the core issue of Israel's continued violations of Lebanese sovereignty.

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Iran, Oman FMs urge 'drastic international action' to stop Israeli genocide in Gaza

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 09 September 2025 5:34 AM

The Iranian and Omani foreign ministers have stressed the need for implementation of "drastic action" on the part of the international community towards stopping the Israeli regime's now-23-month-old war of genocide on the Gaza Strip.

Abbas Araghchi and his Omani counterpart Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi appealed for international action against Israel during a phone call on Monday.

They additionally laid emphasis on the necessity of transfer of direly-needed humanitarian supplies to Gaza's two-million-plus population.

The genocide has so far claimed the lives of more than 64,500 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

The brutal onslaught has left thousands of others unaccounted for, either trapped under the rubble or subjected to forced disappearance.

Simultaneously, the regime has been weaponizing starvation by imposing a near-total siege on the entire territory, a method responsible for hundreds of deaths.

The conversation came amid the regime's most ferocious campaign yet throughout the genocide, which has been seeking to enforce Israeli occupation on Gaza City, the coastal sliver's largest urban area, since last month.

Leading the assault, the Israeli military has so far razed at least 50 residential towers throughout the area after issuing last-minute evacuation warnings. Trying to justify the campaign, Tel Aviv has branded the civilian structures as "terrorist high-rises."

It has also claimed that the city's residents could leave for "humanitarian zones" in the south. Gaza's civil defense officials have, however, roundly dismissed the claim, asserting that there were absolutely no safe places left throughout the Palestinian territory for the war-hit Gazans to flee to.

Araghchi and Al Busaidi, meanwhile, underlined the imperative nature of prosecution of the regime's criminal officials.

They also addressed other matters of regional and international significance.

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Tbilisi On Edge After Clashes Between Activists, Ruling Party Supporters

By RFE/RL's Georgian Service September 09, 2025

Tbilisi was on edge as protesters were expected to gather in the Georgian capital on September 9, a day after supporters of the ruling party, Georgian Dream, attacked protesters participating in ongoing demonstrations over a government decision to halt European Union membership talks.

Georgian Dream supporters pelted the demonstrators with bottles and rocks on September 8 as the group stood in front of the reelection headquarters of Mayor Kakha Kaladze during what has become a daily protest against a November 2024 decision by the government, which is dominated by Georgian Dream, to stop EU accession talks.

Police separated the two groups, but further attacks -- including some on journalists -- continued. No arrests were made, according to police. Activists said some 10 people had been injured, some of whom required hospital treatment.

"Law enforcement officers at the scene took appropriate measures to defuse the situation and prevent further escalation of the conflict," the Interior Ministry said in a statement, adding an investigation into what transpired has been launched.

Demonstrators, however, have complained that police failed to take action during attacks started by party supporters.

"What did the participants of the protest yesterday do that endangered the work of the headquarters?" wrote former Deputy Ombudsman Giorgi Burjanadze.

"People were organizing the protest and were attacked. It is shameful and shameful to write about this. Did any employee document the disruption of the headquarters' activities?" he added.

Georgia has been thrown into turmoil since parliamentary elections in October 2024 in which Georgian Dream secured 54 percent of the vote. The opposition and Western governments argued that the poll was marred by violations and Russian influence.

Tensions Rise As Elections Near

Tensions have risen further between Georgian Dream supporters and opponents of the government with October 4 local elections nearing.

Last week, one of the leaders of the party's youth wing was filmed spitting in the faces of several activists and a journalist, while a verbal altercation took place between a former Georgian Dream MP and protesters.

Protests launched since the decision on EU membership have been met with accusations of police using excessive force and even torture.

Despite the continued protests, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has refused to back down and has threatened to punish political opponents, whom he accuses of being behind violence that has occurred at the protests.

A majority of Georgians support EU membership, and efforts to join the bloc are mandated by the Georgian Constitution.

Georgia received EU candidate status in December 2023 but relations with Brussels have soured in recent months, beginning with the adoption of a Russian-style "foreign agent" law, which critics say threatens media outlets and civil society groups.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/tbilisi-clashes-activists- georgian-dream/33525926.html

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Ranking Member Shaheen Remarks on the Future of U.S. Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations

Senate Foreign Relations Committee

September 09, 2025

WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) on the future direction of American foreign policy. Following her speech, Ranking Member Shaheen participated in a conversation with CFR President Michael Froman and audience members.

You can watch her speech and conversation here.

In her remarks, Ranking Member Shaheen laid out a forward-looking vision for U.S. foreign policy that prioritizes American economic security, bipartisanship in Congress and modernization of U.S. institutions to meet today's challenges. She underscored the need to explain to the American people how foreign policy decisions affect their daily lives, particularly when it comes to their kitchen table economic concerns.

"Americans should understand that national security and kitchen table securityor, as some have said, economic securityare connected," said Ranking Member Shaheen. "They can see how tariffs and trade wars are raising costs. Everywhere I go in New Hampshire, I hear that the cost of living is too highand, of course, the data backs that up... But we shouldn't just aspire to return to the pre-Trump status quo on trade. Expanding trade ties with trusted allies like Canada and the EU is one concrete step to give families more breathing room... For less than one percent of the federal budget, foreign aid builds markets, prevents crises and supports American jobs. That's the case we need to makeforeign engagement isn't charity, it is kitchen-table security."

Ranking Member Shaheen also emphasized the importance of bipartisanship in sustaining U.S. foreign policy commitments across administrations.

"The world needs to know that American foreign policy won't whiplash after every election," said Ranking Member Shaheen. "That stability is what helps keep Americans safe... Retreat makes us vulnerable. Engagement makes us stronger."

Finally, Ranking Member Shaheen called for modernization of U.S. foreign policy institutions and programs to ensure they remain effective and accountable.

"At a time when many Americans are frustrated at the country's direction, we shouldn't just reflexively defend the status quo," said Ranking Member Shaheen. "We need to modernize and reform across the spectrumfrom the State Department to the Pentagon to our intelligence agencies... I think foreign policy fails when it's driven by ideology or partisanship or inertia. It succeeds when it's pragmatic, when it's cost-effective and when it's rooted in what's actually happening on the ground."

The Ranking Member's full remarks, as delivered, are below.

It really is nice to be here with all of you, especially as a new member.

The President and his allies have argued that their foreign policy vision puts America first. It sounds simple: put Americans first, save taxpayer dollars. Who could be against that? But if we look closer, we can see there are really contradictions in that policy that are glaring.

We've been imposing tariffs on Brazileven though the U.S. runs a trade surplus there, we're threatening India because of their oil imports from Russia, but we're looking the other way when it comes to China.

I think our foreign policy should always advance America's interests, but President Trump's policies have not delivered. Instead, they've undone six decades of investments that have made the United States respected and influential. They've placed new economic burdens on American families.

Now, I do agree that there's no going back to January 2025, but the question is how do we move forward? So, as we look at what comes next and we try and articulate an alternative foreign policy vision, I think it's important to consider three fundamentals.

First, we need to explain more clearly to the American people why foreign policy matters in their daily lives.

Second, we need to work across party lines. I still think bipartisanship provides the consistency that America's allies and adversaries measure us by.

And third, we need to embrace the mantle of reform by modernizing the institutions that carry U.S. influence.

So, point one: let's explain why foreign policy matters.

Americans should understand that national security and kitchen table securityor, as some have said, economic securityare connected. They can see how tariffs and trade wars are raising costs. Everywhere I go in New Hampshire, I hear that the cost of living is too highand, of course, the data backs that up.

I have to say, I was at the grocery store yesterday, I bought four bags of groceries that cost me 148 dollars. Now, I will admit, I bought some soda as part of that, so those were separate from the bags, but families who have kids who are on limited income have trouble and those prices are not going downthey're going up.

Yale Budget Lab estimates the trade war could cost the average household 2,300 dollars a year and those tariffs are supposed to help us add manufacturing jobs in the U.S. but this year, we've lost 78,000 manufacturing jobs. Now, I've supported trade policies my whole political career. As governor, I led the first trade mission overseas from New Hampshire. I learned that trade jobs are more recession-proof, they generally pay better and have better benefits. Trade, when done right, lowers costs, creates jobs and provides critical geopolitical advantages.

But we shouldn't just aspire to return to the pre-Trump status quo on trade. Expanding trade ties with trusted allies like Canada and the EU is one concrete step to give families more breathing room. You know, I thought after the President announced his tariffs on virtually every country, that one smart move would have been to identify our allies: Canada, the EU, South Korea, Japanthose countries that we're close toand come to trade agreements right away with those countries. It would have been a win for him; it would have been a good message to our allies but none of that happened.

Foreign aid has laid the groundwork for many of those markets. 11 of America's top 15 trading partners were once recipients of U.S. aid, including South Korea, and after the Korean War, the U.S. spent 13 billion dollars there. Today, South Korea is a major trading partner, a donor and a key ally, and hopefully that will continue despite the Hyundai raid and Elbridge Colby's posturing on costs of troops in Korea.

Foreign aid also protects Americans from crises. For every dollar the U.S. spends to prevent conflict, it saves an estimated 18 dollars in response costs. That includes counterterror programs that reduce risks for U.S. service members and global health efforts that stop outbreaks before they reach our shoreslike Ebola in 2014 where we spent 2 billion dollars in aid but we prevented a crisis that could have cost tens of billions at home. And now we have a new Ebola outbreak that's been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo in recent days, but we don't have that health infrastructure to track that outbreak.

For less than one percent of the federal budget, foreign aid builds markets, prevents crises and supports American jobs. That's the case we need to makeforeign engagement isn't charity, it is kitchen-table security.

Now the second point: bipartisan does still matter, I believe.

The idea that American foreign policy can and must be bipartisan may be controversial in some quarters these days, but I think it's essential. Now, we're not going to agree on everything and I've been very outspoken on the President's immigration polices and his bullying tactics with our partners and allies. I think this Administration has been woefully resistant in confronting Russia's attacks in Ukraine and I'm deeply concerned that its retreat has opened the door for China to expand its influence at America's expense. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee minority released a report this summer called The Price of Retreat I brought a copy, which I will leave here, but it's available online. But what it documents is case after case of how Beijing is filling the vacuum that's been left by U.S. withdrawal.

I believe those on both sides of the aisle who believe America should retreat and wall itself off from the world are wrong. In today's global reality, [...]the idea that we're going to be protected by the oceans on either side of this country just is not true anymore.

Retreat makes us vulnerable. Engagement makes us stronger.

There are also examples of where bipartisanship has delivered results. I just came back from Syria, as I said, with a bipartisan delegation. Joe Wilson and I went to Syria. And I worked with Senator Risch and a number of Republicans on a bipartisan effort to put Caesar sanctions on Syria. But now Assad is gone and now we need to see what we can do to support stability in Syria. And Senator Risch and I have been working with the White House to lift those sanctions. That's how foreign policy should work in my mind: we should find bipartisan agreement, we should figure out how to get things done. And as a senator from a purple state, I can tell you that I've learned the value of building coalitions to get things doneand that same approach is what makes our foreign policy durable.

Administrations change as we knowfrom Trump to Biden, back again. But in Congress, coalitions can endure. I've worked with Republicans like Tom Tillis and John Cornynwe've worked to replenish defense stockpiles and to advance security assistance. Together we've shown U.S. commitments don't vanish with each new administration. The world needs to know that American foreign policy won't whiplash after every election. That stability is what helps keep Americans safe.

Now, the final point: reform.

We need to make sure that foreign aid programs are effective and that tax dollars are spent wisely. At a time when many Americans are frustrated at the country's direction, we shouldn't just reflexively defend the status quo. As a governor, I knew how important it was to justify the money that we were spending at the state level and to explain to my constituents why that was necessary. But what's happening now in this Administrationputting entire agencies into the woodchipperthat's what this Administration has done. That's not reform. That's just eliminating programs often just because Laura Loomer says to do it.

Destroying a program like PEPFAR, which has saved 25 million lives from HIV/AIDS since it was enacted under George W. Bushthat's not real reform [...] Stopping disease monitoring programs overseasthat's not reform, that's dangerous. Diseases don't stop at America's borders.

At the same time, anyone who has worked in American foreign policy institutions knows that there are changes that need to be made. And in some cases, their missions have strayed, making it easier for Republicans to pull support. I can tell you every time we argued about the elimination of USAID, those Republicans had the same talking points about the programs, even when they weren't correct, they had the same talking points about what wasn't working for USAID.

We need to modernize and reform across the spectrumfrom the State Department to the Pentagon to our intelligence agencies. But we don't need to bash these institutions that have served the American people well for decades and we shouldn't be attacking the individuals who are trying to do the jobs that they were hired to do. It is our duty to ensure that these institutions and programs evolve, that they stay sharp, that they focus on what is now in our national interest.

Reform also means adjusting our policies and rethinking our alliances. For example, one long-overdue change has been that our NATO allies are finally paying more for their own defense. That's an increase that I supportedI think they ought to be paying more.

Too often our policies stay frozen in timelike the embargo on Cuba, which is still rooted in a Cold War fight with Castro, even though he's been gone for decades. Or Israel, once a vulnerable state, today it's one of the world's most powerful militaries, but the United States policy of significant security assistance hasn't caught up.

I think foreign policy fails when it's driven by ideology or partisanship or inertia. It succeeds when it's pragmatic, when it's cost-effective and when it's rooted in what's actually happening on the ground. So as we consider other alternatives, as we discuss what to do moving forward, again, I think we should have three fundamentals that help drive those discussions. We need to explain clearly to the American people why foreign policy matters, we need to carry forward that bipartisan tradition of decision-making and we need to embrace the need to modernize and adapt our institutions to meet the challenges ahead.

Thank you all, I look forward to our discussion.

###

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Saudi Arabia Condemns Israeli Violation of Qatar's Sovereignty

Saudi Press Agency

Tuesday 17/03/1447

Riyadh, September 09, 2025, SPA -- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia condemns and denounces, in the strongest possible terms, the brutal Israeli aggression and the blatant violation of the sovereignty of the State of Qatar. The Kingdom affirms its full solidarity and support for Qatar, placing all its capabilities at its disposal to assist in any measures it may take, while warning of the grave consequences of the Israeli occupation's persistent criminal assaults and its blatant violations of the principles of international law and all international norms.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also urges the international community to condemn this heinous aggression and to put an end to the Israeli violations that undermine the security and stability of the region.

-- SPA

18:36 Local Time 15:36 GMT

0059

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China hopes Nepal can restore social order, stability soon: FM spokesperson

Xinhua) 16:19, September 11, 2025

BEIJING, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- China hopes all sectors in Nepal can properly address their domestic issues and restore social order and national stability at an early date, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday.

Lin made the remarks at a news briefing when asked to comment on protests and unrest in Nepal that forced its prime minister to resign.

China and Nepal are traditionally friendly neighbors, Lin added, while advising Chinese nationals in Nepal to pay attention to safety.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Liang Jun)
Spanish Government strongly condemns Israel's bombing of Qatari territory

Spain - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

PRESS STATEMENT 091

9 SEP 25

This attack constitutes a violation of Qatari territorial sovereignty and a flagrant breach of international law.

Spain reiterates its call for restraint and respect for international law in order to preserve regional stability, an immediate end to violence and a return to diplomatic negotiations.

Spain reiterates its commitment to stability in the Middle East and will continue to work with its partners for regional stability.

-NON OFFICIAL TRANSLATION-



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Israel Launches Strikes Targeting Senior Hamas Officials in Qatar's Doha

Sputnik News

20250909

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), together with the Shin Bet intelligence organization (Shabak), have carried out strikes against senior Hamas officials, according to the army's press service.

"IDF and Shabak, using the Air Force, recently conducted a targeted attack on the senior leadership of Hamas organization," the military statement said.

The specific locations of the strikes have not been disclosed.

What's known:

Explosion occurred in Qatar's Doha during the talks with Hamas delegation on latest US proposal for Gaza truce

The head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, al-Hayya, along with three other members of the movement's leadership, were killed in the strike in Doha, Al Arabiya reported

Israel reportedly informed the US about the strikes on Hamas leaders in Qatar

Qatar was also notified before the strikes were carried out, Israel Hayom says

However, Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned Israel's strikes on residential buildings in Doha

Israel's attack on Qatar extremely dangerous, violates UN charter, Iran's foreign ministry said

Members of the Hamas delegation led by the movement's leader in the Gaza Strip, Khalil al-Hayya, survived the Israeli strikes in Doha, Al-Jazeera reports, citing a source within Hamas leadership

Gaza Talks in Qatar Suspended After Israeli Airstrike - Reports

Talks between mediators on Gaza Strip in Qatar have been suspended following an Israeli airstrike, the Al Arabiya broadcaster reported on Tuesday, citing sources.

 Sputnik

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Russia Strongly Condemns Western Attempts to Oust Republika Srpska President Dodik - Lavrov

Sputnik News

20250909

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Russia strongly condemns attempts by the West to remove Milorad Dodik, president of Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, from power.

"We strongly condemn attempts to remove Serbian leaders disliked by the West from power through fabricated criminal cases. In particular, our interlocutor today, our friend, the legally elected, legitimate president of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik," the Russian foreign minister said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Sergey Lavrov said he considers the upcoming October 25 referendum on confidence in Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik to be an honest initiative.

"I want to mention the referendum that Republika Srpska, under President Dodik, is planning for October 25, asking citizens whether they support the republic's leadership or not. I consider this an honest step," Lavrov said.

Lavrov added that Russia will raise the issue of Bosnia and Herzegovina during its October chairmanship of the UN Security Council.

"As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and one of the guarantors of the Dayton Accords, Russia will continue efforts to support this key document and the forces that defend the preservation and unconditional respect of Dayton principles in practice. We will pay special attention to this topic in October, when Russia will chair the Security Council, and the next meeting on Bosnia and Herzegovina is scheduled for October 31," Lavrov said following talks with Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik.

The foreign minister emphasized that Russia will carefully prepare for the upcoming meeting. "Our colleagues will have to answer uncomfortable but entirely legitimate questions," he said.

Lavrov also noted that "the West does not like referendums; Kosovo's independence was declared without any referendum at all."

 Sputnik

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Maduro Reveals True Reasons Behind US Escalation in Region

Sputnik News

20250909

On August 7, US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a $50 million reward for information that leads to the arrest of Nicolas Maduro, whom the US accuses of leading the Cartel de los Soles. The measure was shortly followed by the deployment of several US naval assets to the Caribbean under the pretext of countering cartel activity in the region.

Venezuela possesses the largest oil reserves in the world, which have now increased even further due to new extraction technologies, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro told RT in an interview.

"We have the fourth-largest natural gas reserves, spread throughout the entire Caribbean basin, which is why they sent their ships there... We possibly have the largest gold reserves in the world. And that's not all! 30 million hectares of fertile land, water," Maduro said, explaining the increased US military activity in the region.

Earlier, the Venezuelan president ordered the deployment of 25,000 additional troops along the country's coast amid the growing US presence in the region. The main goal of the mobilization is to protect national sovereignty, ensure the country's security, and fight for peace, Maduro stressed.

US media reported, citing sources, that President Donald Trump was considering various options for carrying out military strikes against drug cartels in Venezuela, including on Venezuelan soil, with a broader goal of weakening Maduro.

 Sputnik

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UN Human Rights Council 60: UK Statement on the report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Sudan

Speech

UK Statement for the Interactive Dialogue on the report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Sudan. Delivered by the UK's Permanent Representative to the WTO and UN, Kumar Iyer.

From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Kumar Iyer CMG

Published 9 September 2025

Location: Geneva

Delivered on: 9 September 2025 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

Mr President,

It is hard to find the words to express the horrors contained in the Fact-Finding Mission's report. The people of Sudan continue to face unimaginable suffering. The report clearly documents: civilians targeted by ethnicity, women and girls raped and indiscriminate attacks on civilians committed by all parties to the conflict.

Over 30 million people are in need, yet humanitarian assistance is deliberately blocked. The Rapid Support Forces' recent attacks on El Fasher and Abu Shok displacement camps have caused devastation, and the Sudanese Armed Forces' reprisal killings are unimaginably brutal.

We urge all Council members to condemn such violations and abuses and use all tools to hold the warring parties accountable.

Mr President,

While we note Sudan's comments about its national accountability efforts, regrettably, as the report clearly states, these are not sufficient to hold perpetrators to account. The Fact-Finding Mission remains the only independent investigative body documenting and reporting on these violations. Its mandate must be extended this Session. This is the only way to secure justice for victims and support long-term peace in Sudan.

Independent, verified evidence is in the interest of all parties.

Let us show the people of Sudan they are not forgotten.

Thank you.

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PM call with the Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani: 9 September 2025

Press release

The Prime Minister spoke to the Amir of Qatar His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani this evening.

From: Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street and The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP

Published 9 September 2025

The Prime Minister spoke to the Amir of Qatar His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani this evening.

He reiterated his condemnation of the strike by Israel in Doha today and gave his condolences for the death of a Qatari security officer killed in the attack.

He added that Israel's action represents a flagrant violation of Qatar's sovereignty and risks fuelling further escalation when the focus should be ending the devastating cycle of violence in the region.

The Prime Minister underscored his gratitude at the indispensable role Qatar has played in trying to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. He welcomed the Amir's determination to continue with peace talks and added that the UK stands ready to do everything possible to support his efforts.

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Peacekeeping: A lifeline for millions seeking a 'future without fear'

9 September 2025 - With a record number of active conflicts worldwide, the Security Council met on Tuesday to debate the future of UN peace operations.

Governments and civil society organizations have so far submitted more than 60 contributions to a review process mandated under the Pact for the Future, agreed by Member States last year.

The UN has an 80-year legacy that includes deploying multidimensional peacekeeping operations that combine police, troop and civilian personnel; special political missions engaged in conflict prevention, peacemaking and peacebuilding, and electoral support initiatives.

'A lifeline for millions'

Peacekeeping is the largest and most visible activity in the field, with more than 60,000 men and women from 115 countries currently serving with 11 missions across the globe.

"Peacekeeping is not a luxury; it is a lifeline for millions who count on it for a future without fear," said Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations.

He warned that today, "achieving lasting political solutions seems increasingly challenging." Last year, 61 active conflicts raged across the planet, according to the Sweden-based Uppsala Conflict Data Program - the highest number since 1946.

"Conflicts have become protracted, involving more actors and often proxy forces, making negotiated solutions more difficult to achieve," he said, indicating that the future will likely see more civilians who will require protection.

"It means the need for peace operations increases, potentially alongside other types of operations, including peace enforcement," he added, and that "the contexts for deployment may be more uncertain and full success harder to achieve."

Responsive and adaptable

Mr. Lacroix said the future requires "a UN that is capable and ready to respond through missions that are adaptable and tailored to the needs on the ground, guided by strong political strategies and leveraging the tools, capacities and expertise" of the UN and partners.

Peace operations must first have "clear and prioritised mandates" that should also reflect the voice of host states, troop and police contributing countries, regional actors, local communities and other stakeholders.

He called for harnessing "the capacities of digital technologies and artificial intelligence to support the analysis of data as well as to assess the effectiveness of our responses through time."

Furthermore, pursuing political solutions to conflict should remain a priority, alongside protecting civilians, supporting the strengthening of government accountability.

Promotion and protection of human rights and the advancement of the women, peace and security agenda must also be prioritised.

Additionally, "sustained and uncompromising efforts to uphold the UN Secretary-General's zero tolerance policy on SEA (sexual exploitation and abuse)" must continue.

Political solutions crucial

Mr. Lacroix stressed that while "the UN's ability to deliver on the imperative to protect people is very often the benchmark by which we are judged," peacekeeping is not meant to be indefinite.

"To advance durable political solutions that enable peacekeeping to withdraw without a relapse into conflict requires the strong, unified and ongoing support of this Council - through the adoption of clear, prioritized mandates, active political engagement and statements of support," he said.

These actions must be matched by countries continuing to pay the dues they owe the UN "in full and on time," he added.

New tech 'weaponised on an industrial scale'

Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, also commented on the current challenging environment.

She said that "conflicts have become more internationalised", with influence from regional or global actors. Meanwhile, non-state armed groups continue to proliferate, with many using terrorist tactics with no clear political agenda.

"New technologies, from AI to drones, are being weaponized on an industrial scale, increasing both the lethality of violence and the likelihood of escalation. And transnational drivers, such as organized crime, are now a regular facet of the conflict landscape," she said.

Changing landscape

To inform the review, her office analysed the history of UN "special political missions" since the Organization's establishment, identifying three priorities.

She noted that most missions today are deployed in the absence of a comprehensive peace agreement and often in politically volatile situations, even ongoing civil war.

"In such situations, the initial goals of our missions should be more limited - such as preventing a deterioration of violence, achieving a ceasefire, or helping a fragile incipient peace process get off the ground," she said.

The second priority should be improving coordination between peace operations and UN country teams, while the third is to end mandates which attempt to provide a one-size-fits-all approach.

Ms. Di Carlo concluded by highlighting how the failure or weak implementation of mandates is often related to lack of political support, whether in countries where missions are deployed, or the wider region, or among Security Council members themselves.

"We will therefore need to engage with a laser-like focus on bringing the emphasis back to the political questions at the heart of each conflict and finding multilateral responses to them," she said.

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Guterres condemns Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar as 'flagrant violation'

9 September 2025 - The UN Secretary-General has condemned an Israeli strike targeting Hamas leaders in Doha, the capital of Qatar, on Tuesday, while highlighting the "very positive role" played by the country in achieving a ceasefire in Gaza and securing the release of hostages.

In a statement, Antonio Guterres spoke out against what he called a "flagrant violation" of Qatari sovereignty and territorial integrity.

He insisted that all parties must focus on achieving a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, "not (on) destroying it".

No senior leaders killed, claims Hamas

Hamas reported that six people had been killed, including the son of one of its exiled leaders from the Gaza Strip - but added that its senior negotiators and top officials had all survived.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the attack had been Israel's sole responsibility, although the White House Spokesperson said that the President of the United States had been informed in advance and directed his officials to alert Doha - but the message was conveyed too late to stop the attack.

President Donald Trump said in a social media post that bombing Qatar, a "sovereign nation and close ally" of the US, does not advance the goals of either Israel or the US.

'Blatant violation': Qatar

The Qatari Government condemned the attack as a "blatant violation of international law" and the Qatari Prime Minister said at a press conference that "there must be a response from the entire region to such barbaric actions."

Qatar - alongside the US and Egypt - had brokered extensive efforts to end the Gaza war which began on 7 October 2023 when Hamas and other militants attacked settlements in southern Israel.

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Sudan's people tortured and killed in 'slaughterhouses', rights probe says

9 September 2025 - A high-level independent rights probe into the brutal war in Sudan condemned the many grave crimes committed by all combatants, citing evidence indicating that civilians have been "deliberately targeted, displaced and starved".

Shortly after presenting a mandated report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, chair of the Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan, Mohamed Chande Othman, insisted that both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia had carried out atrocity crimes.

Among the testimonies gathered for the report, survivors from RSF detention sites described the locations as "slaughterhouses".

Tortured, staved, denied medical care

In one notorious RSF facility, dozens of detainees have died since June after being tortured, denied food and medical care, the independent rights expert said.

Equally, in SAF-run detention facilities, "civilians were also subjected to torture, including electric shock, sexualized abuse and they were held in cells so overcrowded that some prisoners had to sleep standing," he added.

In addition, girls as young as 12 were forced into marriage, "sometimes under the threat of death to their families", the fact-finding mission chair continued.

"Men and boys were also subjected to sexualized torture and such acts are rooted in racism, prejudice and impunity and they devastate entire communities."

Highlighting the lack of diplomatic solutions to the conflict which began in April 2023, and its massive impact of the war on civilians, report co-author Mona Rishmawi insisted that "everybody knows you cannot rape, you cannot loot, you cannot destroy property. You cannot starve people...But if there is no accountability, of course they will continue doing it."

Extermination goal

Asked why the report had decided not to describe what has been happening in Sudan as genocide, Ms. Rishmawi replied that the evidence "basically looks at more or less the same kind of violations as genocide".

She added: "You kill, [you provide] no food, no water, you don't allow food production. You don't allow access to food, to markets...and you don't allow access to humanitarian aid. What you do want is to kill the population...So, the effect of this is really the crime against humanity...of extermination."

Hunger crisis

The investigative body created by the Human Rights Council in October 2023 highlighted the devastating humanitarian emergency that has resulted from the war.

"In displacement camps such Zamzam and Abu Shouk, witnesses describe children dying of hunger and dehydration in the streets, including people eating animal food," said Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, Expert Member of the Fact-Finding Mission.

Addressing the council earlier, fact-finding mission chair Mr. Othman insisted that the war was "destroying not only lives but also the means of survival", with hospitals, markets, water and electricity systems - and even humanitarian convoys - systematically attacked.

"Markets, the backbone of food access, have been repeatedly bombed," he said, adding that in October 2024, SAF airstrikes on El Koma market killed at least 45 civilians.

Dying of thirst

"Two months later, Kabkabiya market was struck, killing more than 100. In March this year, SAF bombed Tora market during peak hours, killing and injuring hundreds."

The mission report underscored how the RSF had also shelled markets, pillaged entire areas and destroyed Zamzam camp's market.

RSF drone strikes hit the Merowe Dam and water towers, leaving communities without drinking water, while "one mother told us she lost all four of her children to thirst while fleeing", said Mr. Othman, who like the other members of the panel is an independent human rights expert and not a UN staff member.

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Nepal PM resigns after deadly crackdown on youth protests; UN urges calm

9 September 2025 - Nepal's Prime Minister resigned on Tuesday following a violent crackdown on youth-led anti-corruption protests left at least 19 dead and hundreds injured, prompting urgent appeals from the United Nations for restraint and dialogue.

The unrest, which began Monday as a self-styled "Gen Z protest" against rampant corruption, nepotism and curbs on social media, quickly escalated after security forces responded with force.

Most of the dead and wounded were young demonstrators shot by police. Many remain hospitalised in a critical condition.

By Tuesday, demonstrations had spread across the country, with Government buildings, political party offices, and even the Parliament in Kathmandu set ablaze.

Some political leaders' homes were attacked, police stations overrun, and the international airport has been closed.

The Prime Minister was reportedly evacuated by helicopter from his official residence and his resignation was announced shortly afterward.

Several ministers at both the federal and provincial level - as well as members of parliament - have also stepped down in protest at the handling of the demonstrations, deepening the political fallout.

Violence is not the answer

Expressing deep concern over the deaths and rapid deterioration, UN human rights chief Volker Turk warned that "violence is not the answer" and called on authorities and demonstrators alike to de-escalate the spiralling crisis.

In a statement from Geneva, Mr. Turk said he was "appalled by the escalating violence" and the "unnecessary and disproportionate use of force" against largely young demonstrators.

"Dialogue is the best and only way to address the concerns of the Nepalese people. It is important that the voices of young people are heard," he stressed, urging both security forces to show restraint and protesters to refrain from destructive acts.

While condemning the crackdown, he also voiced concern about violence by some demonstrators.

"I am disturbed by reports of public buildings, businesses and private residences being attacked and, in some instances, set ablaze. Equally, I am concerned by reports of physical attacks on senior government officials."

UN chief echoes call for restraint

The Secretary-General's Spokesperson said at Tuesday's daily briefing for journalists in New York that the UN chief is "closely following the situation."

Stephane Dujarric said Antonio Guterres was "very saddened by the loss of life" and reiterated his call for restraint to prevent further escalation.

"The authorities must comply with international human rights law, and protests must take place in a peaceful manner that respects life and property," Mr. Dujarric said, noting the dramatic images emerging from Nepal.

Call for prompt investigations

The UN Country Team in Nepal echoed those calls, extending condolences to the families of the dead and urging authorities to ensure that law enforcement responses remain "proportionate and in line with international human rights standards."

"Freedom of expression, access to information and peaceful assembly are fundamental rights protected under Nepali and international law," the UN team said.

"All allegations of excessive use of force should be investigated promptly in an independent, transparent and impartial manner," it added.

Youth-led mobilisation

The protests mark the latest and most intense in a series of youth-led mobilizations in Nepal in recent years. Students and young professionals have repeatedly taken to the streets to demand accountability from the political class.

Monday's demonstrations saw thousands marching in the capital, Kathmandu, and other cities carrying placards calling for an end to graft and nepotism.

But protests turned violent as security forces moved to disperse crowds, leaving at least 19 dead and hundreds injured, according to media reports.

The deaths fuelled widespread anger and communities of the diaspora staged solidarity rallies abroad.

By Tuesday afternoon, demonstrators had stormed Parliament, the Supreme Court and Singh Durbar, the central administrative complex in Kathmandu, setting fire to parts of it.

Reports indicate that protesters also targeted the residences of the president, former prime ministers and ministers, and that some prison inmates escaped after police abandoned their posts.

UN ready with support

High Commissioner Turk appealed to all sides to avoid further escalation, recalling Nepal's history of emerging from conflict to forge peaceful democratic institutions.

"The world has admired Nepal's emergence from conflict to become a peaceful democracy," he said.

"Together with the United Nations system, my Office stands ready to support dialogue and trust-building measures that can help de-escalate tensions and restore confidence."

The UN Country Team in Nepal reinforced that message, emphasising that "the voices of young Nepalis have been heard loud and clear" and warning that lasting stability will depend on concrete steps to address the root causes of their grievances.

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Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Haiti, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Congo

UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Occupied Palestinian Territory

More families lose homes and shelter as military operations escalate in Gaza city

OCHA says that its warnings that the Gaza Strip could be sliding into an even deeper catastrophe are now materializing. OCHA stresses that as military operations in Gaza city escalate further, world leaders still can, and must, act decisively to prevent further suffering.

Over the past 48 hours, the Israeli military has struck high-rise buildings, with more families losing their homes or tents. Today, the Israeli authorities ordered everyone in Gaza city to move south. All of this comes just over two weeks since famine was confirmed in Gaza governorate.

OCHA reiterates that leaving the north is simply impossible for many people. The cost of transportation is well above US$1,000, the coastal road is barely passable, and displacement sites in the south are beyond overcrowded. Most people have already been displaced countless times. They are exhausted and out of money.

Today and yesterday, partners tracking displacement trends recorded 9,400 movements from northern to southern Gaza, bringing the number recorded since mid-August to nearly 62,000 as of 2 p.m. local time. Overall, displacements across the Gaza Strip have now reached 110,000 since mid-August, including many within the north.

Throughout Gaza, people are living out in the open, in makeshift shelters patched together from worn tarpaulins. A fresh supply of tents has only just begun to trickle in, after months of being blocked by the Israeli authorities. With ongoing impediments - including Israeli requirements related to NGO registration and custom clearances, as well as delays in securing collection from Kerem Shalom crossing - quantities remain nowhere near sufficient to meet people's growing needs.

Today, the UN Satellite Centre published a preliminary analysis that identified 1,500 displaced people who live in tents along the shore as being at high risk in the event of high tides or storm surges. The analysis focused on a small area west of Al Rashid Road, the coastal road, where a very high density of tents has been observed in an area known to be flood prone.

OCHA warns that the coastline is already crammed with makeshift shelters, forcing newly displaced families to sleep dangerously close to the water's edge.

Humanitarians estimate that many people will remain in Gaza city even after today's order and amid a further escalation in hostilities. For this reason, aid organizations will need sustained, safe access to all parts of Gaza - including the north - regardless of displacement orders or the labeling of some areas by the Israeli authorities as either "humanitarian" or "dangerous." Safety is not guaranteed anywhere across the Gaza Strip. OCHA reiterates that civilians must be protected, wherever they are.

Humanitarian operations continue to be hindered by the intensified Israeli offensive. Over the past two days, partners providing protection services in Gaza city, including to children, have had to suspend operations because premises they used were in close proximity to buildings that came under attack.

Protection partners are present along the main north-south displacement route, where they have been supporting separated families and unaccompanied children - offering psychosocial support, distributing high-energy biscuits, and raising awareness of the risks that people could face in the south.

Meanwhile, OCHA reports that the situation remains tense following yesterday's shooting attack by Palestinians in Jerusalem that killed six Israelis. Since then, Israeli forces have imposed extensive movement restrictions across Jerusalem, Ramallah, and other parts of the West Bank.

New checkpoints were installed, and existing ones had stepped-up checks, leaving hundreds of thousands of Palestinians trapped for hours and further isolating entire communities. Specifically, the Biddu enclave - which is home to some 40,000 Palestinians - was sealed off.

Haiti

UN fast-tracks support for displaced and host communities

Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher - who is currently in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince - has allocated $9 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) amid worsening violence and displacement in the country.

This new funding will help the UN and its partners step up life-saving support to the most vulnerable, including those who have fled their homes and host communities in the departments of Centre and Artibonite. They are facing acute shortages of food, water, shelter, healthcare, sanitation and protection.

Since March, armed attacks have escalated in these areas, triggering mass displacement and the collapse of essential services. Across Haiti, more than 1.3 million people are internally displaced - the highest number ever recorded in Haiti due to violence and insecurity.

Given the vast needs, the new funding from CERF is being complemented by a $4 million allocation from the Regional Humanitarian Pooled Fund for Latin America and the Caribbean, with those resources also meant to support displaced people and host communities in the departments of Centre and Artibonite. The regional pooled fund has also allocated $500,000 for hurricane preparedness efforts.

This additional funding comes at a critical time, with the humanitarian response continuing to face drastic shortfalls. Haiti remains one of the proportionally least funded of the UN's country appeals globally: To date, less than 12 per cent of the resources needed has been received - just $105 million of the $908 million required.

Today, Fletcher just visited a displacement site, a hospital and a youth centre in Port-au-Prince.

Afghanistan

UN launches response plan to help half a million people affected by earthquakes

The UN launched a nearly $140 million emergency response plan today to assist 457,000 people through the end of the year following the recent earthquakes in Afghanistan.

The plan focuses on providing life-saving assistance, including healthcare and emergency shelter, ahead of the winter season.

The Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, Indrika Ratwatte - who presented the appeal in a video briefing earlier today in Geneva - stressed that the UN and its humanitarian partners* are in a race against time to support affected people with just the bare minimum. He called for solidarity and support for a population that has already endured so much suffering.

*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Afghanistan with urgent support.

Ukraine

Attack kills over 20 civilians in Yarova

OCHA reports that ongoing attacks and hostilities in Ukraine continue to devastate civilians.

According to authorities, between yesterday and today, 30 civilians were killed and more than 60 injured across the country, causing widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure.

In the Donetsk region, a bombardment this morning in the village of Yarova killed at least 21 civilians and injured more than 20, according to the local police. Many of the victims are older people who were collecting their pensions. Police reported damage to some 50 residential buildings, a school and other civilian infrastructure. Elsewhere in the Donetsk region, more than a dozen civilians were also killed and injured yesterday.

The Humanitarian Coordinator, Matthias Schmale, condemned today's attack in a statement, adding that attacks affecting civilians as they go about their daily lives are unconscionable.

Evacuations continue in the Donetsk region - and yesterday, 275 people, including more than 80 children, were evacuated.

Additional casualties were reported in the regions of Dnipro, Kharkiv, Kherson, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia and Chernihiv. Several locations remain without electricity following recent drone strikes on energy facilities.

As the world marks the International Day to Protect Education from Attack today, education facilities in Ukraine continue to be impacted by the hostilities.

Between January and July of this year, humanitarian partners have supported 370,000 children and teachers, mainly in front-line and host communities. They have provided psychosocial support, educational kits, and repairs to 57,000 war-affected school facilities.

Congo

UN funds urgent response to cholera outbreak

Emergency Relief Coordinator Fletcher has allocated $1 million from CERF for an urgent response to the cholera outbreak in Congo.

The funds will help UN agencies and their partners support Government-led efforts to curb the spread of the disease, which has reportedly led to more than 60 deaths and nearly 700 cases since the outbreak began in early July.

The response will prioritize health and water, sanitation and hygiene assistance to prevent further transmission, which is occurring in remote areas along the Congo River with limited health infrastructure. As the rainy season and school year begins, the risk of cholera spreading further is expected to increase.

Posted on 9 September 2025

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With Conflicts at Highest Since 1946, United Nations Peacekeeping Remains Lifeline for Millions, Senior Official Tells Security Council

Meetings Coverage

Security Council

9991st Meeting (AM)

SC/16162

9 September 2025

Peace operations must be adaptable but grounded in political solutions, nationally owned but well-coordinated across stakeholders, and equipped with emerging technologies to succeed amid global challenges and severe resource constraints, the Security Council heard today during an all-day open debate on the future of UN peace efforts.

Over 60,000 peacekeepers from 115 Member States are serving in 11 missions, protecting civilians, mediating conflicts and preventing escalation, reported Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations. Despite rising global conflicts, which reached a record high of 61 active conflicts in 2024  "the most since 1946"  the UN continues to advance its Action for Peacekeeping+ initiative and efforts towards improved mission planning, gender parity, peacekeeper safety and accountability.

"Peacekeeping is not a luxury; it is a lifeline for millions who count on it for a future without fear," he underscored, stressing that host States and troop- and police-contributing countries, regional actors and local communities must be clearly reflected in peace mandates. He urged the Council's "strong, unified and ongoing support" to "advance durable political solutions", so that peacekeeping, which must be backed by clear mandates, political engagement and timely payments of assessed contributions, can withdraw without the threat of renewed conflict. Citing a notable increase in available data and sources, he said digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) must be harnessed "to assess the effectiveness of our responses".

Peace Operations Must Adapt to Fragmented Conflicts

Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, highlighted that for eight decades, peace operations have enabled the UN to address critical peace and security challenges and save lives. However, UN missions now operate in an increasingly fragmented geopolitical landscape, marked by internationalized conflicts, non-State armed groups and the weaponization of technologies like AI and drones. "To draw lessons for the future, we must learn from the past," she stated, reflecting on the UN's historical successes in helping end wars and facilitating peace agreements in nearly 100 countries.

However, most missions lack comprehensive peace agreements and often operate in politically volatile situations or ongoing civil war contexts, she said. Therefore, initial goals must be limited, focusing on violence prevention, ceasefires and fragile peace processes. In addition, peace operations and UN country teams must be better coordinated, with stronger complementarity across political, development, humanitarian and human rights efforts. She warned against "one-size-fits-all approaches" and stressed that weak implementation of mandates often stems from a lack of political support locally, regionally and globally. She urged "a laser-like focus" on addressing "the political questions at the heart of each conflict and finding multilateral responses to them".

Thomas Zahneisen (Germany), Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, highlighting its role in fostering nationally led peacebuilding, said the Commission has sought to secure sustained political and financial support throughout mission implementation and drawdown by convening regional organizations, international financial institutions, development banks and UN entities. In Liberia, Sierra Leone and Burundi, the Commission facilitated coordination among peacekeeping operations, UN country teams, international financial institutions and regional actors. These cases show how the Commission bridges political, security and development dimensions. In the Central African Republic, the Commission complemented security responses with institution-building, reconciliation and development. Meanwhile, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Peacebuilding Fund invested in reconciliation and stabilization during the withdrawal of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

Citing key practices for success, he underscored the importance of fostering national ownership and partnerships and maintaining support after mission transition to avoid relapse into conflict. "By aligning peacebuilding efforts based on the principle of national ownership and leadership, we can make peace operations not only more agile and tailored, but also more sustainable, effective and impactful," he said.

Jenna Russo, Director of Research and Head of the Brian Urquhart Center for Peace Operations, International Peace Institute, said that as the Organization undertakes UN80, its system-wide reform initiative, "policymakers must take care not to eliminate parts of the system that could be essential for addressing the crises of tomorrow". The UN's comparative advantage lies in its deep institutional knowledge and unmatched ability to support a range of tasks across peace operations and peacebuilding, she said, stressing that this capability "should not be discarded".

While new technologies, better peacekeeper training, or improved data collection are often seen as solutions, "peace operations often struggle to achieve their mandates because parties on the ground refuse to engage in a political process or because the Council fails to provide missions with the political backing they need", she stressed. She cautioned against a "back to basics" approach, underscoring the importance of human rights and gender equality for sustainable peace. She voiced hope that "the UN can emerge from this moment stronger and better able to serve the global community", but it requires vision, strong and creative diplomacy and a relentless commitment to deliver on the Charter of the United Nations, she added.

In the ensuing debate, Member States emphasized the crucial role of UN peace operations, with many echoing calls for mandates that can adapt to changing needs.

Mandates Must Be Context-Specific, Adapted to Evolving Conflicts

The Republic of Korea's representative, Council President for September, in his national capacity, urged the 15-member organ to "translate the consensus on tailored and agile missions into concrete practice". Regular assessments should accompany mandate renewals and allow adjustments as conditions evolve on the ground.

Similarly, Denmark's representative said mandates must be both context-specific and sequenced to adapt to evolving conflicts. Strategic assessments by the UN are key to achieving this, she added, urging the Organization to invest more in developing and institutionalizing an integrated planning process across all peace operations.

Germany's representative emphasized that protection considerations must be integrated in future planning of UN peace operations. Similarly, Guyana's representative emphasized that the protection of civilians, the promotion of human rights and the full implementation of the women, peace and security agenda are essential to building lasting peace. These are not ancillary functions and must therefore be at the core of peacekeeping operations, she stressed.

The United Kingdom's delegate underscored the importance of improving peace operations by providing proper training and equipment. Performance and conduct standards must be upheld, with a zero-tolerance policy for sexual exploitation and abuse, he emphasized.

Sierra Leone's representative said his country's own journey from conflict to peace and democracy stands as "living testimony to the transformative impact of UN peace operations". Echoing other speakers, he said "mandates should be clear, sequenced and aligned with broader political strategies", as envisaged in the Pact for the Future.

Other delegations urged focus on the core mandate of peace operations. Among them was China's delegate who said peace operations must focus on political objectives. The Council should prepare a clear practical and prioritized mandate and "set out a clear and visible exit strategy". Moreover, mandates must not be held hostage by the policies of any individual country. As a major troop-contributing country and second largest financial contributor, his country has proposed the Global Governance Initiative to promote sovereign equality, he added.

The Russian Federation's delegate echoed that view, noting that some missions have become a vehicle for promoting ideological agendas at odds with host countries' values. He stressed that focus should be on facilitating political settlements and creating security conditions that a host State or States cannot achieve. Disagreements in the Council arise when missions are loaded with tasks not directly related to peace mandates, he pointed out, such as excessive involvement in domestic issues, human rights and climate change.

UN Must Return to Its Foundational Purpose of Maintaining Peace, Security

"We need to get back to basics," emphasized the delegate of the United States, advocating for "UN return to its foundational purpose of maintaining international peace and security". To improve accountability, performance excellence must be better rewarded and incentivized. Concurrently, expedient and consistently applied consequences must also be imposed, including for performance failures, conduct and discipline issues, and resource mismanagement.

Speakers also reiterated calls for stronger partnerships, local engagement and sustained funding to address present challenges. "Let us keep building bridges to overcome polarization", urged Panama's delegate, citing rising extremism, accelerating climate change and the use of algorithms both as tools of impunity in elections and as weapons of war. He urged stronger international cooperation with the private sector, international financial institutions and development banks.

Importance of Fostering Dialogue, Addressing Root Causes of Conflict

"Nowhere is the need for adaptation more evident than in Africa, where the complexity of conflicts demands innovative approaches," stated Somalia's delegate, highlighting the continent's "direct experience, as a host of peacekeeping missions [and] a troop-contributing region". It is impossible to achieve sustainable and lasting peace without addressing the underlying root causes of conflict, in particular, inequalities and underdevelopment. To this end, he advocated for the increased nationalization of UN posts and the prioritization of local procurement. Investing in local economies in post-conflict settings is not just about operational efficiency; it is a direct investment in peacebuilding and reversing the despair that fuels conflict, he underscored.

Similarly, Brazil's delegate said successful peace operations must remain "anchored in clear political strategies that foster dialogue and address root causes of conflict". The full participation of women and youth and local communities "are not optional add-ons, they are integral to building legitimacy, trust, and long-lasting peace", he added. Moreover, peace operations require predictable, adequate and sustainable funding, efficient logistics and management, and modern capabilities to respond to evolving challenges on the ground.

Ethiopia's delegate appealed for predictable, sustainable financing for regional and subregional initiatives, including those of the African Union, and stressed the value of joint planning, training and burden-sharing. The ongoing UN review of peace operations must prioritize its modernization, the safety and security of peacekeepers and the active engagement of local communities as vital stakeholders in peacebuilding, he added.

Pakistan's representative, noting that peacekeeping is the "UN's greatest success story" and "the most cost-effective instrument of peace", urged the full and timely payment of assessed contributions. Troop and police-contributing countries remain "mostly excluded from crucial decisions", he pointed out, stressing that "this divide between mandate drafters and mandate implementers must end". Structured consultations with those contributing countries, at every stage, are vital, he emphasized.

On that note, Italy's representative said: "Operational documents should be thoroughly analysed to find every feasible action that can contribute to the best implementation of a mandate, involving as much as possible the troop-contributing countries in the planning phases."

Enhanced Partnerships with Regional Actors

Indonesia's delegate added that consulting more closely with host nations is key. He called for continued efforts to expand financing, including through stronger partnerships with regional organizations, international financial institutions and civil society. This can prevent the relapse of conflicts while paving ways to peacebuilding efforts, he said.

Algeria's delegate emphasized that cost effectiveness should not be equated with doing less, but "should mean doing better", delivering more strategic, focused and result-driven missions with the resources at hand. He called for enhanced partnerships with host countries regional actors, particularly the African Union, which, he added, should not be perceived only as a cheap military actor, but as a strategic political partner. For its part, Algeria has trained more than 17,000 officers from more than 30 African countries, he said.

Speakers also drew attention to the use of innovation and technology as both a tool and a threat in peace operations. India's representative, highlighting technology as "a force multiplier" in achieving peacekeepers' mandates, affirmed his country's readiness to provide technology and specialized capabilities to peacekeeping operations.

Japan's delegate stressed that enhanced capacities against the growing threats of improvised explosive devices, drones, artificial intelligence (AI), misinformation, disinformation and hate speech are vital to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel. His country is providing training to counter improvised explosive devices and strengthen peacekeeping intelligence and situational awareness through the UN Triangular Partnership Programme.

"Constant investments are required in technologies and real-time data-analysis capacity to improve situational awareness and security, as well as in mobility and advanced logistics," added Uruguay's representative. She also called for continuous high-quality training with lessons learned to improve the effectiveness of missions.

The representative of Greece, however, cautioned that while technology, particularly AI, can provide tremendous possibilities to enhance operational efficiency and reduce risks to personnel, "we must guard against the misuse of such technologies".

Delegates also highlighted specific UN missions that play vital roles in regional stability and peacebuilding efforts, underscoring its successes and ongoing challenges.

The representative of France highlighted the ongoing work of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), which continues to protect the lives of civilians from armed groups. She also noted the efforts of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), which has made significant progress in extending State authority and enhancing security through effective collaboration with the Government of the Central African Republic and its armed forces. "Political objectives must dictate the resources allocated to missions, and not the other way around," she stressed.

Importance of Preventing a Security Vacuum

As the host country of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) since 1978, Lebanon has consistently viewed its presence as a cornerstone of stability in the southern part of the country and key to supporting calm along the Blue Line, said that country's representative. With UNIFIL's scheduled drawdown and withdrawal beginning in December 2026, she stressed the importance of preventing a security vacuum that could undo hard-earned gains, calling for urgent, tangible and substantial support to the Lebanese Armed Forces. She also emphasized the need for Israel to fully implement Council resolution 1701 (2006), immediately withdrawing from all occupied Lebanese territories and ending persistent violations of Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Throughout the debate, speakers urged unified political will to enable effective peace operations. Nepal's representative joined other delegates in calling on the Council for clear, focused and adaptable mandates, backed by adequate resources and free from operational caveats. They require well-defined exit strategies, integrating political, development and humanitarian efforts to avoid post-withdrawal vacuums, he added.

Slovenia's delegate was among speakers who underscored the primacy of politics, stressing that "no peace operation can substitute for inclusive, nationally-owned political processes". Moreover, peacekeeping must be matched with diplomacy, mediation and prevention, backed by the Secretary-General's good offices. He urged the Council to show "unity of purpose and provide credible mandates", warning that "inaction carries a cost, and it is civilians who pay it".

Morocco's representative underscored that the current comprehensive review of all peace operations is a necessary exercise to tailor States' multilateral actions and consider realities imposed by geopolitical developments. Multifaceted threats to peace and security have not spared any space  land, sea or the digital  he cautioned, underscoring that "political solutions are critical for lasting conflict resolutions".

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Fort A.P. Hill Re-Designation Honors Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients Anderson, Pinn, and Hill

By Christopher Hall September 10, 2025

Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia - August 27, 2025

In a historic ceremony held at the Beaverdam Conference Center, Fort A.P. Hill was officially re-designated to honor three extraordinary Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: Private Bruce Anderson, First Sergeant Robert A. Pinn, and Lieutenant Colonel Edward Hill. The event, hosted by Garrison Commander Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Bauer, brought together descendants of the honorees, military leaders, and local dignitaries to commemorate the installation's new namesakes.

The re-designation marks a significant chapter in the installation's history. Fort A.P. Hill had been designated as Fort Walker in 2023. Earlier this year, the Secretary of the Army issued a General Order to redesignate the installation as Fort Anderson-Pinn-Hill (A.P. Hill), now representing the three Union Army soldiers whose valor and heroism earned them the nation's highest military honor.

Honoring Heroes of the Civil War

Private Bruce Anderson, First Sergeant Robert A. Pinn, and Lieutenant Colonel Edward Hill each demonstrated extraordinary courage during the Civil War:

Private Bruce Anderson was one of 13 men who charged Fort Fisher, North Carolina, a heavily fortified Confederate stronghold. Armed only with axes, Anderson and his comrades braved intense enemy fire to breach the fort's walls, enabling their unit to secure a critical victory.

was one of 13 men who charged Fort Fisher, North Carolina, a heavily fortified Confederate stronghold. Armed only with axes, Anderson and his comrades braved intense enemy fire to breach the fort's walls, enabling their unit to secure a critical victory. First Sergeant Robert A. Pinn assumed command of his company after all officers were killed or gravely wounded. Pinn's leadership ensured his unit maintained its organization and continued the fight.

assumed command of his company after all officers were killed or gravely wounded. Pinn's leadership ensured his unit maintained its organization and continued the fight. Lieutenant Colonel Edward Hill led a desperate charge against concealed artillery batteries at Cold Harbor, suffering life-threatening wounds while rallying his men to overrun the enemy position.

A Ceremony of Reflection and Unity

The ceremony began at the Beaverdam Education Center, where family members of the honorees gathered with the Fort A.P. Hill garrison command team and Brigadier General Antoinette Gant, Commanding General of the Joint Task Force -National Capital Region / United States Army Military District of Washington.

During the formal ceremony, Lt. Col. Bauer welcomed attendees, including family members, local leaders, and Fort A.P. Hill personnel. He emphasized the Army's thoughtful decision to honor an enlisted soldier, a non-commissioned officer, and a commissioned officer, representing the full spectrum of Army personnel. He further elaborated that the redesignation "celebrates the legacy and connection that millions of Soldiers have had with this base since Fort A.P. Hill was established in 1941... representing the critical tie between the heroic actions of our predecessors more than one hundred and sixty years ago, and our sacred duty we are charged with executing: to build lethal, combat-ready formations ready to fight and win."

Brig. Gen. Gant, the event's guest speaker, highlighted the remarkable achievements of Anderson, Pinn, and Hill, as well as the installation's storied history as a premier training ground for warfighters. She noted that over a million soldiers trained at Fort A.P. Hill during World War II, with millions more following in their footsteps.

The ceremony concluded with the unveiling of the installation's new sign, bearing the name Fort Anderson-Pinn-Hill (Fort A.P. Hill). Representatives of each honoree joined Brig. Gen. Gant and Lt. Col. Bauer in revealing the sign, accompanied by a celebratory performance from the U.S. Army Band's brass quintet and enthusiastic applause from the audience.

Memorializing the Legacy

In addition to the installation's re-designation, three facilities on Fort A.P. Hill were memorialized in honor of Anderson, Pinn, and Hill:

The Anderson Training Support Center : Recognizing the vital role of Soldier training in the Army, this facility underscores the importance of continuous training to build readiness. Anderson's family toured the center and participated in a hands-on demonstration at the Engagement Skills Trainer 2000.

: Recognizing the vital role of Soldier training in the Army, this facility underscores the importance of continuous training to build readiness. Anderson's family toured the center and participated in a hands-on demonstration at the Engagement Skills Trainer 2000. The Pinn Fitness Center : Dedicated to First Sergeant Pinn, this facility highlights the critical role of senior enlisted leaders in maintaining physical readiness. Pinn's family toured the center, guided by the Deputy Garrison Commander.

: Dedicated to First Sergeant Pinn, this facility highlights the critical role of senior enlisted leaders in maintaining physical readiness. Pinn's family toured the center, guided by the Deputy Garrison Commander. The Hill Conference Center: The Beaverdam Conference Center, where the ceremony was held, was renamed in honor of Lieutenant Colonel Hill. This facility serves as a hub for training, planning, and team-building activities. Hill's descendants, Mr. John Sherwood and his wife Harriet, expressed their pride during an on-camera interview with a local Richmond news outlet.

The re-designation of Fort A.P. Hill stands as a testament to the enduring legacy of Anderson, Pinn, and Hill, whose courage and sacrifice continue to inspire generations of soldiers. As Brig. Gen. Gant remarked, "Their stories remind us of the values we hold dearservice, sacrifice, and unwavering commitment to the mission."

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Head of State Holds a Talk with Emir of Qatar

President of the Republic of Bulgaria

10 September 2025 | 17:12

President Rumen Radev held a telephone conversation today with the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The Bulgarian head of state emphasised the importance of global efforts to counter terrorism, while expressing concern about the escalation of tension in the Middle East following the Israeli air strike on the Qatari capital, Doha. Hundreds of our compatriots live and work in the Qatari capital.

President Radev voiced hope that military action in the Middle East would cease as soon as possible and that the territorial scope of the conflict, which threatens international peace and security, would not be allowed to expand.

The Bulgarian head of state once again expressed his gratitude for the personal commitment of the Emir of Qatar to the release of the captain and first mate of the ship Galaxy Leader.

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Federal Chancellor Merz on Russian drones

Germany - Federal Government

Press release 211_en

Wednesday, 10 September 2025

Press and Information Office of the Federal Government (BPA)

"Poland informed its NATO Allies today about the violation of its airspace by armed Russian drones.

Russia has endangered lives in a country that is both a NATO and an EU member. This reckless conduct forms part of a long series of provocations in the Baltic Sea region and at NATO's eastern flank.

The German Government condemns this aggressive action by Russia in the strongest possible terms.

It is good that Poland, alongside NATO Allies, was able to identify and dispel this threat in time. At Poland's request, the North Atlantic Council discussed Russia's actions under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty today.

NATO is and will remain ready to defend itself."

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September 10, 2025

Release

Readout of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's Meeting With Singapore Minister for Defense Chan Chun Sing

On September 9, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth met with Singapore Minister for Defense Chan Chun Sing at the Pentagon. The leaders reaffirmed the strength of the bilateral defense relationship and its importance for maintaining deterrence in the Indo-Pacific. They discussed Singaporean Air Force acquisitions, such as the P-8A and F-35 aircraft, that will deepen interoperability between our two countries, as well as ongoing discussions to expand U.S. asset rotations in Singapore in line with the 1990 Memorandum of Understanding Regarding United States Use of Facilities in Singapore. Minister Chan expressed support for the Partnership for Indo-Pacific Industrial Resilience (PIPIR) as an important mechanism for regional defense industrial base cooperation. Finally, Secretary Hegseth expressed U.S. support for Singapore Armed Forces training in the United States.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4299323/

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September 10, 2025

By Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Logan Tompkins, I Marine Expeditionary Force

Marines Test Drone Systems During Defense Innovation Unit Challenge

Marines assigned to I Marine Expeditionary Force partnered with the Defense Innovation Unit and industry leaders during phase two of the DIU's Project GI challenge to evaluate commercial small unmanned aerial systems in realistic operational environments, Aug. 18-29.

The 12-day event brought together Marines assigned to 1st Marine Division  including operators, leaders and subject matter experts  to test vendor-loaned systems across multiple ranges. The training period included four days of Marine-led familiarization, followed by six days of scenario-based demonstrations. Assessments will directly inform War Department procurement decisions and accelerate the integration of resilient, cost-effective small UASs into the joint force.

"The GI challenge puts our Marines at the center of capability development. Their expertise, combined with the innovation of our industry partners, is shaping the next generation of unmanned systems," said Marine Brig. Gen. Michael Nakonieczny, deputy commanding general of I Marine Expeditionary Force. "I MEF is proud to play a leading role in advancing technologies that directly enhance the lethality and survivability of our Marines."

Marines evaluated systems against operational criteria, including setup, deployment time, weatherproofing, payload capacity and performance across varying terrain and climates. Evaluations emphasized how each system affected tactics, techniques and procedures during realistic combat scenarios.

"Robotics are revolutionizing the battlefield, and it's no secret that first-person-view drones have become one of the most lethal and disruptive weapons worldwide," said Marine Maj. Steven Atkinson, I Marine Expeditionary Force DIU event lead planner. "Our mission is to ensure America's warfighters get the very best, battle-tested technology so they can be effective anywhere in the world."

The challenge represents the second phase of a three-part competitive selection process. Phase one involved an initial screening in which the DIU reviewed vendor proposals and chose the most promising systems for further testing. Phase two brought those selected vendors to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, for hands-on evaluation by the I Marine Expeditionary Force. A final phase three round will determine which systems advance to procurement, with winning platforms expected to be added to DOW's "Blue UAS Cleared List"  drones compliant with current law and policy, validated as cybersecure and available for DOW purchase and operation  by March 15, 2026.

"Bottom-up refinement is something the Marine Corps has always valued. The ability for dedicated [noncommissioned officers] to test, stress and provide input on these products is exactly what was needed for this project and the service," said Marine 2nd Lt. Kienan Morrissey, an intelligence officer assigned to 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion who participated in the evaluation of the vendor-loaned small UAS platforms.

Marines stress-tested the systems in contested environment simulations, focusing on modern kill chain operations and first-person view effects capabilities. Vendors were required to provide at least three prototypes for testing, though some platforms received exemptions due to design characteristics or employment concepts.

Following evaluations, Marines conducted detailed debriefs to capture feedback that will guide procurement and influence future small UAS capability development across DOW. Units within I Marine Expeditionary Force will continue working with selected systems beyond the challenge to provide additional recommendations for improvement.

The DIU's Project GI challenge represents one of the Marine Corps' largest field-based industry engagements, focusing on emerging drone technology and directly supporting modernization priorities identified by Marine Corps and Pentagon leaders for operations against peer adversaries.

"Events like these ensure our Marines will have the best available tools at their disposal in the next conflict," Morrissey said.

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Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the unprovoked violation of the EU's airspace by Russia

European Council / Council of the European Union

Council of the EU

Statements and remarks

10 September 2025 22:45

We condemn in the strongest terms the intentional violation of the airspace of an EU member state by Russian drones, which took place on 10 September. This aggressive and reckless act is part of a serious escalation by Russia. It threatens the security of EU citizens, regional stability and international peace.

This serious violation of European airspace only reinforces our resolve to support Ukraine and its people in their defence against Russia and their pursuit of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace.

This is the latest in a series of violations of EU member states' sovereign airspace that have occurred since 2022.

We will raise the cost for Moscow further by ramping up sanctions significantly on Russia and its enablers. We will also work with our international partners to put pressure on Russia to end this war.

We express our full solidarity with Poland and are continuing to offer the support that Poland needs in protecting its Eastern border. We are in constant close contact with the Polish authorities.

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Remarks by President Antonio Costa at the joint press conference with Federal Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz

European Council / Council of the European Union

European Council

Statements and remarks

10 September 2025 21:05

Dear Chancellor, dear Friedrich, first of all, I would like to thank you for your welcoming and for this opportunity to have an in-depth and a face-to-face exchange on the main political priorities for our European Union.

Germany is a key pillar of our union, of our economy and our capacity to face different challenges in this world.

I'm encouraged about the new dynamism in the engagement in Europe. I believe that it can give Europe a new momentum for our main political priorities. And Germany has been key in our efforts to how to support Ukraine. Your recent pledge to fund $500 million package of military equipment and munitions to Ukraine through NATO is another stark example of these concrete efforts, which will reinforce Europe's security as a whole.

Because Europe's resilience is tied to Ukraine's resilience. Overnight events in Poland are a clear demonstration of this. We stand in full solidarity with Polish people after the unacceptable violation of their airspace.

We are and will remain fully engaged with Ukraine. The Coalition of the Willing has clearly reaffirmed our common goal and commitment to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and provide strong security guarantees to help preventing future attacks.

Having already visited now over half of the European Union member states, it is clear that our main priorities are security and competitiveness. Those are closely interlinked. Without security, we cannot have a robust economy and without a robust economy it is very difficult to improve our common security.

Work is ongoing on policies to boost our competitiveness, but we need to continue giving priority to simplification, reducing regulatory and administrative burdens, lowering energy prices, diversifying our trade relations and mobilising private savings to unlock necessary investment in the European Union economy.

As it is also to enlarge our network of partners across the globe and forge new alliances. The world is changing fast, but the European Union remains a consistent, reliable and predictable partner that strongly supports and promotes a multilateral, rules-based order. And this is an extremely attractive offer.

To be able to play our full role as a geopolitical actor, we also need to increase our defence capabilities. We have made historical progress in 2025; I can only commend the giant steps taken by Germany. And we will continue to do so. The two European Council meetings in October will be crucial to accelerate this work.

We have an ambitious agenda with clear political priorities, and now we need a European long term budget that will match this agenda, our ambitions. A budget fit for purpose, that will allow us to deliver on our priorities. For this, it is important to prepare well our discussions and to have a spirit of collective responsibility when the moment comes to make decisions. This is one of the main topics in my meetings with the 27 leaders during this tour des capitales.

Once again, thank you very much, dear Friedrich, for this warm welcome. Danke schon.

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Colombia: speech by High Representative Vice-President Kaja Kallas at the EP Plenary

European External Action Service (EEAS)

10.09.2025

Strasbourg, France

EEAS Press Team

Check against delivery!

Opening remarks

Dear President,

Dear Honourable Members of the European Parliament,

Since I addressed you in June with on this topic, we learnt with great sadness of Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay's murder. And we have witnessed new deadly attacks against the civilian population and the security forces of Colombia. I will meet with Colombia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Yolanda Villavicencio in two weeks' time. and I will convey our condemnation of these despicable actions.

I want to also reiterate our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and their loved ones. And I want to pay special tribute to the 13 police officers killed on the 21st of August, in the line of duty. Those responsible must be swiftly brought to justice, and I welcome the commitment of the Colombian government in this regard.

The European Union will keep doing what it can to support the brave men and women of the Colombian security forces, including: by providing training; facilitating the sharing of best practices; and promoting police and judicial cooperation in the pursuit of criminals and terrorists.

Colombia's active participation in EU-funded programs and its close cooperation with agencies like Europol and the European Drugs Agency is of enormous value. This is not only important for the security of Colombians but also for Europe. Likewise, the joint work we conduct in law enforcement, maritime safety and criminal justice, to name just a few areas, contributes to our joint security. We will continue to work together to combat organised crime and drug trafficking that brings corruption to our institutions and violence to our streets.

The European Union is committed to supporting the Colombian government in the pursuit of peace. Peace will always be the best guarantee for long-term security for all Colombian citizens.

Current challenges should not obscure the historic progress achieved since the demobilisation of the FARC. The European Union will continue to support Colombia in the implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreement; the provision of transitional justice; and in all efforts to negotiate peace and bring socio-economic development to its territories and communities.

The success of the Colombian peace process remains a key priority for the European Union.

Finally, as Colombia prepares to hold general elections in 2026, it is especially important to guarantee a safe and conducive political environment, free from threats and interference. We call upon all political actors, candidates and media to do their part, including in rejecting political polarisation and hate speech, and uniting in defence of Colombia's democratic institutions. As always, the European Union stands ready to do what it can to support these efforts, including by deploying an Electoral Observation Mission upon invitation by the relevant authorities.

Honourable Members,

The pursuit of peace, the fight against organised crime and the protection of democracy in Colombia are strands that pull Colombia in the same, positive direction. And as Colombia enters a delicate pre-electoral period and faces important security challenges, I reiterate the European Union's continued commitment to do its part in the pursuit of our shared objectives.

Thank you.

Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/media/video/I-276546

Closing remarks

Thank you, Honourable Members, for this debate.

Once again, I also want to thank you for your continued attention to the situation in Colombia.

I think we are all sharing the same views, so that is very clear.

As Colombians confront difficult security challenges and enter a delicate electoral period, the people should know that they can count on the European Union as a reliable and strong and credible partner.

We have a busy agenda with Colombia in the coming months. We will have the CELAC-EU Summit in November; we will negotiate a new bilateral Partnership and Cooperation Agreement; we will hold ministerial-level dialogues on human rights and the fight against illicit drugs.

Every one of these contact points is an opportunity to reflect the priorities and sensitivities that emerge from today's important debate.

The European Union will continue to convey our concern for the escalating violence in the country, reaffirm our support to Colombia in the fight against crime and the pursuit of peace, and explore ways to further strengthen bilateral cooperation for the benefit of our citizens as well as their citizens on the other side of the Atlantic.

Thank you again for this very good debate.

Thank you.

Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/media/video/I-276548

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Foreign Minister Tsahkna at meeting with Saudi counterpart: the principle of sovereignty is under threat in both Europe and the Middle East

Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

10.09.2025 | 16:43

On 10 September in Riyadh, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna met with the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, to discuss bilateral relations, the promotion of economic cooperation, Russia's aggression against Ukraine, and developments in the Middle East.

According to Foreign Minister Tsahkna, yesterday's Israeli strike in Doha and last night's Russian attack, which terrorised Ukraine and repeatedly violated Polish airspace, demonstrate that the principle of sovereignty of states is at risk both in Europe and the Middle East.

"Israel's strike in Doha yesterday violated Qatar's sovereignty and increases the risk of escalation in the region. Qatar plays an important role in negotiations on establishing a ceasefire and securing the release of hostages. These are the first steps towards achieving lasting peace in the Middle East, and the attack in Qatar undermines that process," Tsahkna said.

Speaking about Russia's aggression, Tsahkna noted that with last night's attacks against Ukraine, during which Polish airspace was repeatedly violated, Russia once again proved to be a threat to the security of the whole of Europe.

"Russia continues its war in gross violation of international law, ignoring its neighbour Ukraine's right to sovereignty and territorial integrity. Respect for international law and the principles of the UN Charter is also in the interests of the Gulf States," Tsahkna said.

The foreign minister stressed the need to continue strengthening both Ukraine's and NATO's air defence capabilities.

"NATO's and Poland's response to these large-scale airspace violations shows that the Alliance is capable of defending itself effectively, while deterrence - and air defence in particular - must be further reinforced," Tsahkna said, adding that the North Atlantic Council convening at Poland's request for Article 4 consultations demonstrates NATO's determination to coordinate further action.

The meeting was part of Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna's visit to Oman and Saudi Arabia with an Estonian business delegation from 7 to 10 September.

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2025 State of the Union Address by President von der Leyen

European Commission

Speech

Sep 10, 2025

Strasbourg

"Check against delivery"

President Metsola,

Honourable Members,

Europe is in a fight.

A fight for a continent that is whole and at peace.

For a free and independent Europe.

A fight for our values and our democracies.

A fight for our liberty and our ability to determine our destiny for ourselves.

Make no mistake - this is a fight for our future.

I thought long and hard about whether to start this State of the Union address

with such a stark appraisal.

After all, we Europeans are not used to - or comfortable with - talking in such terms.

Because our Union is fundamentally a peace project.

But the truth is that the world of today is unforgiving.

And we cannot varnish over the difficulties that Europeans feel every day.

They can feel the ground shift beneath them.

They can feel things getting harder just as they are working harder.

They can feel the impact of the global crisis.

Of the higher cost of living.

They feel the speed of change affecting their lives and careers.

And they worry about the endless spiral of events they see on the news - from the devastating scenes in Gaza to the relentless Russian barrage on Ukraine.

We simply cannot wait for this storm to pass.

This summer showed us that there is simply no room or time for nostalgia.

Battlelines for a new world order based on power are being drawn right now.

So, yes, Europe must fight.

For its place in a world in which many major powers are either ambivalent or openly hostile to Europe.

A world of imperial ambitions and imperial wars.

A world in which dependencies are ruthlessly weaponised.

And it is for all of these reasons that a new Europe must emerge.

Honourable Members,

This must be Europe's Independence Moment.

I believe this is our Union's mission.

To be able to take care of our own defence and security.

To take control over the technologies and energies that will fuel our economies.

To decide what kind of society and democracy we want to live in.

To be open to the world and choose partnerships with allies - old and new.

Ultimately, it is about having the freedom and the power to determine our own destiny.

And we know we can do it.

Because together we have shown what is possible when we have the same ambition, unity and urgency.

I have lost count of the number of times that I was told that Europe could not do this or that.

During the pandemic. On the recovery plan. On defence. On supporting Ukraine. On energy security.

The list goes on.

Every time - Europe stood united and made it.

And we need to do the same now.

So, Honourable Members, the central question for us today is a simple one.

Does Europe have the stomach for this fight?

Do we have the unity and the sense of urgency?

The political will and the political skill to compromise?

Or do we want to just fight between ourselves?

To be paralysed by our divisions.

This is what all of us have to answer - every Member State, every Member of this House, every Commissioner.

All of us.

In my eyes the choice is clear.

So my pitch today is a pitch for unity.

Unity between Member States.

Unity between EU institutions.

Unity between the pro-European democratic forces in this House.

I am here - and the entire College is here - ready to make this happen with you.

Ready to strengthen the pro-European democratic majority.

Because it is the only one that can deliver for Europeans.

Honourable Members,

Freedom and independence are what the people of Ukraine are fighting for today.

People like Sasha and his grandmother.

Sasha was only 11 years old when the Russians attacked.

He and his mother sought refuge in a basement in their town of Mariupol.

One morning, they went out to get some food.

That's when all hell broke loose.

A rain of Russian bombs, on a civilian neighbourhood.

All became dark and Sasha felt his face burning.

He had shrapnel just below his eyes.

In a matter of days, Russian soldiers stormed the city.

They took Sasha and his mum to what the Russians called a "filtration camp".

Then Sasha was taken away.

They told him he didn't need his mum.

He would go to Russia, and have a Russian mother.

A Russian passport.

A Russian name.

They sent him to occupied Donetsk.

But Sasha didn't give up.

On a stop on the way, he asked to borrow a stranger's phone.

And he called his grandma, Liudmyla, who was living in free Ukraine.

"Baba, just take me home."

She didn't hesitate a second.

Her friends told her she was crazy to go.

But Liudmyla moved mountains to get to him.

With the help of the Ukrainian government, she travelled to Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, and finally into occupied Ukraine.

She got Sasha back.

And through the same long journey, brought him to safety.

But their hearts are still broken.

Every single day they keep fighting to find Sasha's mum - stuck somewhere by Russia's brutal war.

I would like to thank Sasha and Liudmyla for allowing me to share their story.

I am honoured that they are here with us today.

Honourable Members,

Please join me in paying tribute to Sasha, to Liudmyla,

and to Ukraine's relentless fight for freedom.

Sadly, Sasha's story is far from unique.

There are tens of thousands more Ukrainian children whose fate is unknown.

Trapped. Threatened. Forced to deny their identities.

We must do everything in our power to support Ukraine's children.

This is why I can announce that, together with Ukraine and other partners, I will host a Summit of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children.

Every abducted child must be returned.

Honourable Members,

This war needs to end with a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.

Because Ukraine's freedom is Europe's freedom.

The images in Alaska were not easy to digest.

But just a few days later, Europe's Leaders came to Washington to support President Zelenskyy and secure commitments.

Real progress has been made since then.

Just last week 26 countries in the Coalition of the Willing said they were ready to be part of a reassurance force in Ukraine or participate financially - in the context of a ceasefire.

We will continue to support all diplomatic efforts to end this war.

But we have all seen what Russia means by "diplomacy".

Putin refuses to meet President Zelenskyy.

Last week, Russia launched the largest number of drones and ballistic missiles in a single attack.

Yesterday, there was a missile attack on a village in Donetsk, targeting people waiting to pick-up their pensions.

More than 20 were killed.

And just today we have seen a reckless and unprecedented violation of Poland's and Europe's air space by more than 10 Russian drones.

Europe stands in full solidarity with Poland.

Putin's message is clear.

And our response must be clear too.

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

We need more sanctions.

We are now working on the 19th package in coordination with partners.

We are particularly looking at phasing out Russian fossil fuels faster, the shadow fleet and third countries.

And at the same time we need more support for Ukraine.

No one has contributed as much as Europe.

Close to 170 billion euros of military and financial aid so far.

More will be needed.

And it should not only be European taxpayers who bear the brunt of this.

This is Russia's war. And it is Russia that should pay.

This is why we need to work urgently on a new solution to finance Ukraine's war effort on the basis of the immobilised Russian assets.

With the cash balances associated to these Russian assets, we can provide Ukraine with a Reparations Loan.

The assets themselves will not be touched.

And the risk will have to be carried collectively.

Ukraine will only pay back the loan once Russia pays for the reparations.

The money will help Ukraine already today.

But it will also be crucial in the mid and long-term for Ukraine's security.

For example, funding for strong Ukrainian armed forces as the first line of security guarantees.

We will propose a new programme.

We call it Qualitative Military Edge.

It will support investment in the capabilities of the Ukrainian armed forces.

Take drones for example.

Before the war, Ukraine had none.

Today, it is Ukraine's use of drones that is accounting for over two thirds of Russian equipment losses.

That is not just an edge on the battlefield.

It is a reminder of the power of human ingenuity in our open societies.

But Russia is catching up fast, supported by Iranian designed Shahed drones.

And it is seizing the advantage of industrial mass production.

Saturday, in one single night, Russia sent 800 drones to Ukraine.

So ingenuity helped to open a door for Ukraine's defence.

But raw industrial might, on the other side may threaten to sweep it closed.

So we can use our industrial strength to support Ukraine to counter this drone warfare.

We can help transform Ukrainian ingenuity into battlefield advantage - and into joint industrialisation.

This is why I can also announce that Europe will frontload EUR 6 billion from the ERA loan and enter into a Drone Alliance with Ukraine.

Ukraine has the ingenuity.

What it needs now is scale.

And together, we can provide it: so that Ukraine keeps its edge, and Europe strengthens its own.

Honourable Members,

Putin's war economy will not stop - even if the war does.

That means Europe must be ready to take responsibility for its own security.

Of course, NATO will always be essential.

But only a strong and credible European defence posture will be able to guarantee our security.

We have made historic progress in recent years to build our European Defence Union.

Earlier this year, we launched Readiness 2030 which could unlock up to EUR 800 billion of defence investment.

This includes the SAFE programme that is now ready to provide EUR 150 billion for joint procurement.

19 Member States have already applied.

The programme is already at full capacity.

Which is good news.

We are also working to find a way to grant a bonus to those who support Ukraine or buy Ukrainian equipment.

This is emergency financial assistance responding to an urgent need.

Last week, I saw this for myself when I visited frontline Member States.

They know best the threat Russia poses.

And there is no doubt: Europe's eastern flank keeps all of Europe safe.

From the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea.

This is why we must invest in supporting it through an Eastern Flank Watch.

This means giving Europe independent strategic capabilities.

We must invest in real-time space surveillance so that no movement of forces goes unseen.

We must heed the call of our Baltic friends and build a drone wall.

This is not an abstract ambition.

It is the bedrock of credible defence.

A European capability developed together, deployed together, and sustained together, that can respond in real time. One that leaves no ambiguity as to our intentions.

Europe will defend every inch of its territory.

In every country I visited, I heard the same message: there is no time to waste.

At the next European Council, we will therefore present a clear roadmap.

For getting new common defence projects off the ground.

For setting clear goals for 2030.

And for creating a European Defence Semester.

2030 is tomorrow.

So Europe must get ready today.

Honourable Members,

When we talk about independence, we are talking about choosing our destiny.

That is what Ukraine is fighting for.

And that is what all Europeans deserve.

Because Europe is an idea - the idea of freedom and mutual strength.

This was the idea that drove the post-1989 generation.

When East and West came together.

And it is as powerful now - as it was then.

This is why we are bringing future Member States closer to our Union.

Investing. Supporting reforms. Integrating into the Single Market.

We must keep up the speed on this merits-based process.

Because only a united - and a reunited - Europe can be an independent Europe.

A larger and stronger Union is a security guarantee for all of us.

And because for Ukraine, for Moldova, for the Western Balkans - their future is in our Union.

Let's make the next reunification of Europe happen.

Honourable Members,

What is happening in Gaza has shaken the conscience of the world.

People killed while begging for food.

Mothers holding lifeless babies.

These images are simply catastrophic.

So I want to start with a very clear message:

Man-made famine can never be a weapon of war.

For the sake of the children, for the sake of humanity - this must stop.

This is also part of a more systematic shift in the last months that is simply unacceptable.

We have seen the financial suffocation of the Palestinian Authority.

The plans for a settlement project in the so-called E1 area which would essentially cut off the occupied West Bank from East Jerusalem.

The actions and statements by the most extremist ministers of the Israeli government which incite violence.

All of this points to a clear attempt to undermine the two-state solution.

To undermine the vision of a viable Palestinian state and we must not let that happen.

Honourable Members,

It truly pains me to say these words.

And I know that for many citizens, Europe's inability to agree on a common way forward is equally painful.

They are asking how much worse things must get before there is unity of response.

I understand.

Because what is happening in Gaza is unacceptable.

And because Europe must lead the way - just as it has done before.

Our financial support and humanitarian aid far outweigh that of any other partner.

Our commitment to a viable Palestinian Authority is keeping a two-state solution alive.

And we must urge others to urgently step up too - both in the region and beyond.

But, of course, Europe needs to do more.

Many Member States have moved ahead on their own.

On our side, we proposed to suspend parts of our Horizon funding.

But this is stuck without a majority.

We must overcome this.

We cannot afford to be paralysed.

This is why I will propose a package of measures to carve out a way forward.

First, the Commission will do all that it can on its own.

We will put our bilateral support to Israel on hold.

We will stop all payments in these areas - without affecting our work with Israeli civil society or Yad Vashem.

Second, we will make two further proposals to the Council.

We will propose sanctions on the extremist ministers and on violent settlers.

And we will also propose a partial suspension of the Association Agreement on trade-related matters.

I am aware it will be difficult to find majorities.

And I know that any action will be too much for some.

Too little for others.

But we must all take our own responsibilities - Parliament, Council and Commission.

Thirdly, we will set up a Palestine Donor Group next month - including a dedicated instrument for Gaza reconstruction.

This will be an international effort with regional partners.

And it will build on the momentum of the New York Conference organised by France and Saudi Arabia.

Honourable Members,

I am a long-standing friend of the people of Israel.

I know how much the atrocious attacks on 7 October by Hamas terrorists shook the nation to its core.

The hostages have now been held captive by Hamas terrorists for more than 700 days since 7 October.

That is 700 days of pain and suffering.

There can never by any place for Hamas - neither now, nor in the future.

Because they are terrorists who want to destroy Israel.

And they are also inflicting terror on their own people.

Keeping their future hostage.

Europe's goal has always been the same.

Real security for Israel and a safe present and future for all Palestinians.

And that means that the hostages must be released.

That there should be unrestrained access for all humanitarian aid.

And that there must be an immediate ceasefire.

But in the longer term, the only realistic peace plan is one based on two states.

Living side by side in peace and security.

With a secure Israel, a viable Palestinian authority and the scourge of Hamas removed.

This is what Europe has always stood for.

And it is time to come together and help make it happen.

Honourable Members,

Europe's independence will depend on its ability to compete in today's turbulent times.

We have everything it takes to thrive here in Europe - from our single market to our social market economy.

But we know the economic and geopolitical headwinds are strong.

And we have seen how dependencies can be used against us.

This is why we will massively invest in digital and clean tech.

With more to come in our future Competitiveness Fund and a doubled Horizon Europe, our research and innovation programme.

And we are tackling the key bottlenecks identified by the Draghi report - from energy to capital, investment to simplification.

We have held strategic dialogues with key industries - from cars to chemicals, steel to pharmaceutical, defence to agriculture.

In each sector, the message is the same.

To protect jobs, we need to make business in Europe easier.

And the omnibuses we have put on the table so far will make a real difference.

Less paperwork, less overlaps, less complex rules.

Our proposals will cut EUR 8 billion a year of bureaucratic costs for European companies.

A digital Euro for example will make it easier for companies and consumers alike.

And further omnibuses are on their way - for example on military mobility or digital.

For innovative companies, we are preparing the so-called 28th regime and speeding up the work on the Savings and Investments Union.

Because we have many high potential startups in key technologies like quantum, AI or biotech.

As they grow, the limited availability of risk capital forces them to turn to foreign investors.

This is wealth and jobs going elsewhere.

And it jeopardises our tech sovereignty.

This is why the Commission will partner with private investors on a multi-billion euro Scaleup Europe Fund.

It will help make major investments in young, fast-growing companies in critical tech areas.

Because we want the best of Europe to Choose Europe.

Honourable Members,

Our greatest asset is the Single Market - but it remains unfinished.

The IMF estimates that the internal barriers within the single market are equivalent to a 45% tariff on goods.

And a 110% tariff on services.

Just think of what we are missing out on.

And, as underscored by the Letta report, the Single Market remains incomplete, mostly in three domains: finance, energy, and telecommunications.

We need clear political deadlines.

This is why we will present a Single Market Roadmap to 2028.

On capital, services, energy, telecoms, the 28th regime

and the fifth freedom for knowledge and innovation.

Only what gets measured, gets done.

Honourable Members,

This will also support our investment in the technologies that will fuel our economy.

Clean and digital.

Take artificial intelligence.

A European AI is essential for our future independence.

It will help power our industries and our societies.

From healthcare to defence.

So - we will focus on the first key building blocks - that's from the Cloud and AI Development Act to the Quantum Sandbox.

We are massively investing in European AI Gigafactories.

They support our innovative start-ups to develop, train, and deploy their next-generation AI models.

When we called on the private sector to join forces with us, the response was overwhelming.

And later today I will meet CEOs from some of the largest European tech champions.

They will hand over their European AI & Tech Declaration.

This is their commitment to invest in Europe's tech sovereignty.

And we must also take the same approach on clean tech - from steel to batteries.

Europe's clean tech sector must stay in Europe - and we have to take urgent action.

With the Clean Industrial Deal, we have identified the main hurdles that slow down these sectors.

We now need to speed up with the implementation.

Because investors want to know that if they invest, there will be demand for clean European products.

This is why lead markets must be at the heart of our action.

To spark a virtuous cycle.

Where both, supply and demand go up, and prices go down.

On the supply side, we will launch a Battery Booster package.

This will put EUR 1.8 billion up for equity to boost production in Europe.

Batteries are a key enabler of other clean tech - especially electric vehicles.

So this goes to the heart of our independence.

On the demand side, we must urgently drive demand for European industrial leadership in clean tech.

This is why we will introduce a "made in Europe" criteria in public procurement.

And when we invest in Global Gateway, for example, we set strong incentives for partners to buy European.

I am convinced: the future of clean tech will continue to be made in Europe.

But for that, we also need to make sure that our industry has the materials here in Europe.

And the only answer here is creating a truly circular economy.

So we need to move faster on the Circular Economy Act.

And move ahead in those sectors that are ready.

Finally, we need to keep up the speed.

So the Commission will propose an Industrial Accelerator Act for key strategic sectors and technologies.

In sum, when it comes to digital and clean tech: faster, smarter and more European.

Honourable Members,

Already today, low-carbon sources account for over 70% of our electricity.

We are global leaders in clean tech patents - better than the US, and racing with China.

We are catching up with US venture capital for clean tech - and way ahead of China.

We are firmly on track to achieve our 2030 target to cut emissions by at least 55%.

This is the power of the European Green Deal.

And we must stay the course on our climate and environmental goals.

The science is crystal clear.

And the economic and security case is equally compelling.

In fact, this transformation is central to our push for independence.

Because it reduces our energy dependency.

Because circular production limits our strategic dependencies.

And because it creates frontrunner industries that can export the solutions to others.

When I speak to the Global South, from Africa to India to Central Asia, they are looking for solutions.

These are rapidly evolving markets and the jury is still out on who will dominate the markets.

We are the ones who can meet this growing demand for solutions.

But it is not a given.

This is why the Commission proposed the 2040 targets - ten years after the Paris Agreement.

I know that many people are concerned about the scale of what is ahead.

This is why the transition must support people and strengthen industry.

This also means massively boosting our public and private investment.

Creating lead markets for circular and clean products to deliver jobs and investments in Europe.

Ensuring a just transition for all - for example with the Social Climate Fund.

Securing the global level playing field, notably by promoting carbon pricing.

Europe must protect its industries.

They are doing the right thing to decarbonise.

And they should be rewarded and incentivised.

We otherwise risk relying on importing the steel that our carmakers need or the fertilisers that our farmers need.

We would be at the mercy of the price, volume and quality that others are willing and able to provide.

Take steel and other metals.

Global overcapacity is squeezing margins and leaving little incentive to pay a clean premium.

This makes it harder for Europe's steel industry to invest in decarbonisation.

That is why the Commission will propose a new, long-term trade instrument to succeed the expiring steel safeguards.

Europe will always remain open.

We like competition.

But we will always protect our industry from unfair competition.

Honourable Members,

When we talk about competitiveness we talk about jobs.

We are talking about people and their livelihoods.

So the bottom line is that workers must be empowered if we are to have a competitive economy.

This is why we will propose a Quality Jobs Act.

To ensure that modern employment keeps pace with the modern economy.

And this is important because we know how hard times have been for so many families.

How costs have rocketed up.

How people are making sacrifices to make ends meet.

This is a matter of basic social justice.

This is why we urgently need an ambitious European Anti-Poverty Strategy.

We will lay out our plan to help eradicate poverty by 2050.

Backed up by a strong Child Guarantee to shield our children from poverty.

We will also put forward a series of packages on affordability and the cost of living.

Allow me to give you four telling examples.

The first is energy.

When energy costs rise, it is not just numbers on a bill.

It is every single part of people's lives that is affected.

So at the height of the energy crisis in the last years, Europe acted.

And thanks to that common effort, we quickly managed to stabilise prices and secure supply.

We are now on the path to energy independence.

But energy bills are still a real source of anxiety for millions of Europeans.

And costs are still structurally high for industry.

We know what drove prices up: dependency on Russian fossil fuels.

So it is time to get rid of dirty Russian fossil fuels.

And we know, what brings prices down: clean homegrown energy.

We need to generate more homegrown renewables - with nuclear as a baseload.

But we also need to urgently modernise and invest in our infrastructure and our interconnectors.

This is why we will propose a new Grids Package to strengthen our grid infrastructure and speed up permitting.

And to go with that, I am presenting today a new initiative called Energy Highways.

We have identified eight critical bottlenecks in our energy infrastructure.

From the resund Strait to the Sicilian Canal.

We will now work to remove these bottlenecks one by one.

We will bring governments and utilities together, to address all outstanding issues.

Because Europeans need affordable energy right now.

Honourable Members,

A home is not just four walls and a roof.

It is safety, warmth, a place for family and friends.

It is belonging.

But for too many Europeans today, home has become a source of anxiety.

It can mean debt or uncertainty.

The numbers tell a painful truth.

House prices are up by more than 20% since 2015.

Building permits down by over 20% in five years.

This is more than a housing crisis.

It is a social crisis.

It tears at Europe's social fabric.

It weakens our cohesion.

And it also threatens our competitiveness.

Nurses, teachers, and firemen cannot afford to live where they serve.

Students drop out because they cannot pay the rent.

Young people delay starting families.

That is why still this year - after receiving your input, we will present the first ever European Affordable Housing Plan.

To make housing more affordable, more sustainable, and of better quality.

It will be a European effort, anchored in local realities.

We need a radical overhaul of the way we tackle this issue.

We need to revise our State aid rules to enable housing support measures.

We need to make it much easier to build new houses and student residences.

And we will also propose a legal initiative on short-term rentals to tackle the remaining issues.

We need all of society, all lawmakers and all stakeholders to come together.

In this spirit, we will convene the first EU Housing Summit to ensure it is at the top of our agenda.

Honourable Members,

Housing is about dignity.

It is about fairness.

And it is about Europe's future.

Eight years ago, the European Pillar of Social Rights made housing a social right in Europe.

It's time to turn this promise into reality.

The third example I would like to highlight is cars.

It is a pillar of our economy and industry.

A European pride.

Millions of jobs depend on it.

Earlier this year, we gave the sector more flexibility to reach their 2025 targets.

This is working.

And with respect for technology neutrality, we are now preparing the 2035 review.

And millions of Europeans want to buy affordable European cars.

So we should also invest in small, affordable vehicles.

Both for the European market, but also to meet the surge in global demand.

This is why we will propose to work with industry on a new Small Affordable Cars initiative.

I believe Europe should have its own E-car.

E for environmental - clean, efficient and lightweight.

E for economical - affordable for people.

E for European - built here in Europe, with European supply chains.

Because we cannot let China and others conquer this market.

No matter what, the future is electric.

And Europe will be part of it.

The future of cars - and the cars of the future - must be made in Europe.

Honourable Members,

The final example I want to highlight is linked to food.

In Europe, we have access to high-quality food that our outstanding farmers and fishers produce at affordable prices.

They are also the custodians of our lands and oceans, our biodiversity.

The key to our food security.

But they are facing headwinds - from high input costs to red tape or unfair competition.

We are acting on all those fronts.

We have simplified the CAP - less paperwork and more trust.

We have ringfenced income support in the next MFF.

And made sure that funding can be topped up by national and regional envelopes.

But our farmers need fair competition and a level playing field.

This is essential.

This is why we have robust safeguards in our trade deal with Mercosur - backed up by funding if compensation is needed.

We also need to strengthen the position of farmers in the food chain.

For too long their hard work has not paid off as it should.

Farmers have a right to a fair price for their food - and a fair profit for their families.

We will review the implementation on our unfair trading practices legislation.

And take action wherever it is needed.

And I can also announce today that we will boost our promotion budget to launch a new "Buy European food" campaign.

Because we can proudly say that our European food is the best in the world.

Honourable Members,

When we talk about competitiveness and independence we must talk about our relations with the United States.

I have heard many things about the deal we agreed on over the summer.

I understand the initial reactions.

So allow me to be as clear I can.

Our trading relationship with the US is our most important.

We export over EUR 500 billion worth of goods to the US every year.

Millions of jobs depend on it.

As President of the Commission, I will never gamble with people's jobs or livelihoods.

This is why we did a deal to keep market access for our industries.

And we ensured that Europe got the best possible deal out there.

We have put our companies at a relative advantage.

Because some of our direct competitors face much higher US tariffs.

Yes, their baseline may be lower.

But when you account for the exceptions that we secured and the additional rates which others have on top - we have the best agreement. Without any doubt.

And I want to be crystal clear on one point:

Whether on environmental or digital regulation.

We set our own standards.

We set our own regulations.

Europe will always decide for itself.

Honourable Members,

I do not believe in tariffs.

Tariffs are taxes.

But the deal provides crucial stability in our relations with the US at a time of grave global insecurity.

Think of the repercussions of a full-fledged trade war with the US.

Picture the chaos.

And then put that image next to the one from China just last week.

China flanked by the Leaders of Russia and North Korea.

Putin gloating about how Russia-China relations are at an unprecedented high.

None of this is a great surprise.

But it reflects the changing landscape.

And it creates two imperatives for Europe's independence push and its place in the world.

The first is that we need to double down on diversification and partnerships.

80% of our trade is with countries other than the US.

So we need to capitalise on new opportunities.

At a time when the global trading system is crumbling, we are securing the global rules through bilateral agreements.

Like with Mexico or Mercosur.

Or finalising negotiations on a historic deal with India by the end of this year.

We will also build a coalition of like-minded countries to reform the global trading system

- like the CPTPP.

Because trade allows us to strengthen our supply chains.

Open up markets.

Reduce dependencies.

Ultimately, this is about enhancing our economic security.

The world wants to Choose Europe.

And we need to do business with the world.

The second imperative is - for Europe to step up where others have stepped away.

Take research.

Science has no passport, gender, ethnicity or political colour.

It is one of the most valuable global goods.

This is why the Commission announced a Choose Europe package of EUR 500 million to attract and retain the best scientists and researchers.

And Europe must also take the lead on global health.

We are on the brink - or even at the start - of another global health crisis.

As a medical doctor by training, I am appalled by the disinformation that threatens global progress on everything from measles to polio.

And this is why today I can announce that the EU will head a new Global Health Resilience Initiative.

Because the world is looking to Europe - and Europe is ready to lead.

Honourable Members,

Europe's independence is about protecting our freedoms.

The freedom to decide. To speak out. To move around a whole continent.

The freedom to vote. To love. To pray.

To live in a Union of equality.

Our democracy and the rule of law are the guarantors of those freedoms.

This is why we have done so much to strengthen our tools and step-up enforcement.

We built a new rule of law cycle that ensures that problems are detected early and solved through engagement.

We need an integrated annual cycle on the rule of law - a common rhythm, clear milestones, and contributions from all institutions.

And our focus must be to close the existing loopholes.

We have strengthened the link between funds and respect for the rule of law.

And with the next long-term budget we will go even further.

Respecting the rule of law is a must for EU funds. Now and in the future.

Our democracy is under attack.

The rise in information manipulation and disinformation is dividing our societies.

It is not only eroding trust in the truth - but also in democracy itself.

This is why we urgently need the European Democracy Shield.

We need more capacity to monitor and detect information manipulation and disinformation.

So we will set up a new European Centre for Democratic Resilience.

This will bring together all the expertise and capacity across Member States and neighbouring countries.

Honourable Members,

In some communities across Europe, traditional media are struggling.

In many rural areas, the days of going out for a local paper is a nostalgic memory.

This has created many news deserts where disinformation thrives.

And this is very dangerous for our democracy.

Because informed citizens who can trust what they read and hear are essential to keep those-in-power accountable.

And when independent media are dismantled or neutralised, our ability to monitor corruption and preserve democracy is severely weakened.

This is why the first step in an autocrat's playbook is always to capture independent media.

Because this enables backsliding and corruption to happen in the dark.

So we need to do more to protect our media and independent press.

This is why we will launch a new Media Resilience Programme - it will support independent journalism and media literacy.

But we also need to invest to address some of the root causes of this trend.

This is why in the next budget, we have proposed to significantly boost funding for media.

We also need to enable private equity.

We will therefore use our tools to support independent and local media.

A free press is the backbone of any democracy.

And we will support Europe's press to remain free.

Honourable Members,

The same goes for social media.

It has so many benefits for connecting people.

But I would like to raise one specific topic.

And this is the effects of giving our children unfettered access to social media.

As a mother of seven, and a grandmother of four, I feel the anxiety of parents who are doing their best to keep their children safe.

These parents worry that when their children pick up a phone they could be exposed to the wide-ranging dangers, simply with a scroll.

Online bullying.

Adult content.

Promoting self-harm.

And algorithms that prey on children's vulnerabilities with the explicit purpose of creating addictions.

Too often mums and dads feel powerless and helpless.

That they are drowning against the tsunami of Big Tech flooding their family homes.

I strongly believe that parents, not algorithms, should be raising our children.

Their voice must be heard.

This is why today I am here to tell you that I am listening.

Just as in my days - we as a society - taught our children that they could not smoke, drink and watch adult content until a certain age.

I believe it is time we consider doing the same for social media.

Our friends in Australia are pioneering a social media restriction.

I am watching the implementation of their policy closely to see what next steps we can take here in Europe.

I will commission a panel of experts to advise me by the end of this year on the best approach for Europe.

We will approach this carefully and listen to everyone.

And in all of this work we will be guided by the need to empower parents and build a safer Europe for our children.

Because when it comes to our kids' safety online, Europe believes in parents, not profits.

Honourable Members,

Our most important task is to protect our democracy.

But to do so we must also show that democracy offers solutions to people's legitimate concerns.

And nowhere is that more evident than in the context of migration.

This is why we have proposed to treble funding for migration and border management in the next budget.

So that we can manage migration effectively and protect our external borders.

But more is clearly needed.

The people of Europe have shown they are willing to help those fleeing war and persecution.

But there is a growing sense of frustration, stemming from their impression that our rules are being ignored.

This is why we need to step up our efforts.

We need a system that is humane, but we must not be naive about it.

We must be serious about returning rejected asylum seekers to their home countries.

We cannot have a situation where only 20 percent of those who are not allowed to stay actually leave Europe.

We therefore need to agree quickly on the Common European System for Returns.

We have no more time to lose.

And we must also ensure that we fully implement the Pact on Migration and Asylum as soon as it enters into force.

The pact is strict but fair.

And it will only work if everyone plays their part.

Member States from the north and the south, the east and the west.

Of course, we shall always fulfil our international obligations.

But we in Europe must be the ones to decide who comes to us and in what circumstances, not the people-smugglers and traffickers.

They are making millions upon millions with their cynical, false and fatal promises.

That is why we must break their business model.

It is true that numbers are falling but too many people are still trying to cross the border illegally and are dying on the way.

We must work together with social media platforms to put an end to the online organisation and online advertising of smuggling operations.

We must work more closely with airlines, especially on problematic routes such as those to Belarus.

And it is only by going after the money that we will be able to track down the criminal networks and cut off their sources of funding.

And we need a new system of sanctions specifically targeted at people smugglers and traffickers.

To freeze their assets.

To restrict their ability to move around.

To cut off their profits.

People smuggling is a horrible, criminal business, and no smuggler should be allowed to get away with it in Europe.

Honourable Members,

The point I want to make is simple.

If it matters to Europeans, it matters to Europe.

This is our enduring duty to deliver.

This summer, we all saw the pictures of Europe's forests and villages on fire.

More than a million hectares were burned.

An area around a third of the size of Belgium.

The scale of the damage is enormous.

And we know it is not a one off.

Climate change is making each summer hotter, harsher, and more dangerous.

This is why we have to radically step up our efforts into climate resilience and adaptation, and nature-based solutions.

But we must also give ourselves the tools to respond.

This is why we will propose to create a new European firefighting hub based in Cyprus, which could also support our regional neighbours.

We know the difference our Civil Protection Mechanism can make.

Over the summer, 760 brave Europeans were sent to all corners of Europe.

Literally running towards the flames.

And I would like to conclude my speech with a tribute to them - the firefighters, pilots, crews.

Everyone who stepped up.

I would like to tell you the story of a group of 20 Greek rangers.

They are specialists in taming the fiercest of forest fires.

When the fires erupted in the Asturias region, Spain called for Europe's support.

And Greece answered the call.

The flames were so vast the smoke could be seen from space.

But for five days the 20 Greek rangers stood shoulder to shoulder with their Spanish colleagues.

As the flames swept closer to the village of Genestoso, they fought day and night to contain the inferno.

And in the end - together - they tamed the fire, and the village was saved.

Honourable Members,

It is such an honour to welcome one of these heroes today.

The leader of the Greek team, Lieutenant Nikolaos Paisios.

Lieutenant, dear Nikolaos,

Your courage is an inspiration to us all.

For your strength, your commitment, and your extraordinary leadership:

 - to you and your team of European heroes.

Honourable Members,

This is Europe as one community.

This is the Europe that I love.

This is the Europe that we must protect at all costs.

And we must do that together.

I want to work with this House and with all pro-European democratic forces to deliver for Europeans.

I am working on legislative packages to empower this pro-European majority.

And I am so delighted, dear Roberta, that we have managed to renew the Framework Agreement between the Commission and Parliament.

This will only strengthen our cooperation.

And it will be an enabler for us to work on the real reforms that are needed.

Because I support the right of initiative of the European Parliament.

And I believe that we need to move to qualified majority in some areas, for example in foreign policy.

It is time to break free from the shackles of unanimity.

The point is that we need to make sure our Union is faster and can deliver for Europeans.

Because this is how we can win this fight together.

To deliver Europe's independence moments.

And let's remember that we have always had to fight for our freedoms.

From the generation that fought hand to hand across our Continent.

To the underground press that kept the flame of freedom alive across Central and Eastern Europe during the Cold War.

Or the Forest Brothers in the Baltics who resisted Soviet oppression at every turn.

This struggle, this fight, is deeply engrained in who we are as Europeans.

80 years ago our Continent was hell on earth.

40 years ago our Continent was divided by a Wall.

But on each occasion, Europeans decided to fight for a better future.

To make itself whole - and to make the whole strong.

And this is what I will strive for every single day.

Long live Europe.

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Qatar vows 'comprehensive' response to Israeli attack, declines US claim of alert in advance

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Sep 10, 2025 09:03 AM

Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Tuesday that Qatar will adopt a "comprehensive" approach to respond to the Israeli strike on Doha earlier in the day and deter future attacks, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Qatar reserves the right to respond to Israel and will not tolerate any violations of its sovereignty, he told a press conference. The country is also forming a team led by Qatari Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi to pursue legal actions in response to the Israeli strike, he said, according to Xinhua.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israel launched an unprecedented airstrike in the Qatari capital, targeting a building used by senior Hamas officials in what Israeli authorities described as an attempt to assassinate leaders of the group who were "directly responsible for the October 7 massacre."

Hamas said later that the strike occurred while its delegation was discussing a new ceasefire proposal presented by US President Donald Trump. According to the group, the negotiating team survived, but six others were killed.

In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump said he was notified that Israel was attacking Hamas in the capital Doha by the US military, but it was "unfortunately, too late to stop the attack."

"This was a decision made by [Israel's] Prime Minister Netanyahu, it was not a decision made by me," he said, before praising Qatar as a "strong ally and friend."

The Trump administration on Tuesday criticized Israel's decision to launch the strike, CNBC reported.

"Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working very hard in bravely taking risks with us to broker peace, does not advance Israel or America's goals," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to reporters at the White House.

The Trump administration was informed of the attack by the US military, which learned of it just before it was carried out, Leavitt said.

She declined to say if the US military, which maintains a major base in Qatar, had been alerted in advance by Israel, or if it had learned of the impending strike through other means, CNBC reported.

Her comments appeared to conflict with a White House official's claim to CNBC earlier Tuesday that the Trump administration was notified by Israel just before the attack.

The US administration earlier said it notified Qatari officials before Israel's attack on Hamas negotiators in Doha, a claim refuted by the Gulf country, according to Al Jazeera.

"The Trump administration was notified by the United States military that Israel was attacking Hamas, which, very unfortunately, was located in a section of Doha, the capital of Qatar," Leavitt said, adding that Trump had directed his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to "inform the Qataris of the impending attack."

However, Qatar refuted the characterization, with a spokesperson for Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying claims that the government had been "pre-informed of the attack are completely false".

"The call that was received from an American official came during the sound of the explosions that resulted from the Israeli attack in Doha," Majed al-Ansari wrote in a statement on X.

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Israeli strike in Qatar condemned, 'may dampen Doha's mediation, divide US and Gulf countries'

Global Times

By Zhang Han and Chen Zishuai Published: Sep 10, 2025 11:41 PM

The international community has condemned or voiced opposition to Israel's shocking attacks on Hamas in Qatar, a US ally and key mediator in the Gaza ceasefire talks, with observers saying the strike could dampen Qatar's willingness to mend fences and create divisions between the US and Gulf countries.

China strongly condemns the attack yesterday in Doha, Qatar and firmly opposes Israel's violation of Qatar's territorial integrity and national security, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday in comments on Israel's Tuesday strike.

"We are deeply concerned that the attack could lead to further escalation in the region and disapprove of the actions taken by relevant parties to deliberately jeopardize Gaza ceasefire talks," Lin said.

"Use of force will not bring peace to the Middle East. Dialogue and negotiation is the fundamental way out," Lin said, noting that It will soon be two years since the conflict broke out in Gaza. China strongly calls on relevant sides, especially Israel, to make an effort to end the fighting and resume talks, instead of the other way around.

Israel on Tuesday launched an unprecedented airstrike on the Qatari capital of Doha, targeting a building used by senior Hamas officials in what Israeli authorities described as an attempt to assassinate leaders of the group, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

In response to the strike, Qatar vowed to adopt a "comprehensive" approach and deter future attacks, Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said at a press conference.

This strike in the heart of the Qatari capital has come as a huge shock. This is a country that is not at war with anyone but rather positions itself - as a pillar of its foreign policy - to try to mend fences, according to Al Jazeera.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the air raids a "flagrant violation" of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar after Israel conducted the strike on Hamas in Qatar, a key mediator in Gaza ceasefire talks.

Guterres added that all parties to the Gaza war must work toward achieving a permanent ceasefire rather than destroying the prospects of one.

"Russia regards the incident as a blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter, an attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an independent state and a step escalating further tensions and instability in the Middle East," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, Tass reported Wednesday.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned the strikes, warning of further escalation across the region, Politico reported.

The Spanish foreign ministry said "This attack is a violation of Qatari territorial sovereignty and a flagrant violation of international law."

The US also criticized the Israeli attack, although mildly, as White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to reporters that "Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working very hard in bravely taking risks with us to broker peace, does not advance Israel or America's goals."

The attack prompted strong reactions in the region and among the Arab world. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, among other countries, issued statements condemning the Israeli attack.

The shocking attack by Israel on Qatar was described by The Economist as "a bridge too far," adding "a line has been crossed," and it will have implications not only for the war in Gaza, now approaching its third year, but for the relationship between America, Israel and the Gulf states, per the report.

The nature of the attack was unprecedented, according to CNN, which reported that Qatar has long history of being neutral territory for thorny diplomatic negotiations, including hosting an office for the Afghan Taliban during secretive talks with the US.

A Chinese national who works in Qatar said he witnessed flames and smoke and felt the shaking from his office high in a skyscraper in Lusail, 20 kilometers from central Doha.

"We first thought it could be an explosion of a gas station. Even after seeing social media posts claiming it was Israeli attacks, we did not believe it as we did not think Israel would take such a bold action," the person told the Global Times on condition of anonymity.

The attack took place in a residential area in Doha where many people live and is surrounded by many embassies and consulates, Al Jazeera reported.

Zhu Yongbiao, executive director of the Research Center for the Belt and Road at Lanzhou University, told the Global Times on Wednesday that although the attacks were deemed as "crossing the line" due to a tacit understanding to not attack a conflict mediator, the strike is consistent with Israel's recent strategy - "exerting maximum pressure to test the reactions of the international community."

Previous "pressure and tests" included blockading Gaza, attacks on the West Bank and approval of a plan to occupy Gaza City, Zhu said.

The expert believes Qatar might take diplomatic and economic measures in response to Israeli attacks while a military retaliation is rather unlikely.

Observers pointed out the subtle role of the US in this strike and its implications - to escalate tensions in the regional geopolitical landscape and create divisions between Gulf countries and the US.

The US administration earlier said it notified Qatari officials before Israel's attack on Hamas negotiators in Doha, a claim refuted by the Gulf country, according to Al Jazeera.

Li Zixin, an assistant research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, said that as an ally of the US, Qatar may feel "betrayed" this time, and its willingness to mediate peace in the Middle East could drop significantly.

Qatar had actively participated in mediation partly to gain the status of a "neutral country" to safeguard its own security and enhance its influence. However, it has instead brought trouble to itself, Li said.

Ding Long, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute at Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times the strike may have cut a key channel of communication between the conflicting parties via Doha. "The hope of peace talks has become dimmer."

Other Gulf countries will feel insecure, and the credibility of the security commitments made by the US to its Middle Eastern allies is facing widespread doubts, observers said, adding that the foundation of the US' relations with its regional allies, as well as the US' leadership position in the region could confront severe challenges.

Li Yu contributed to the story

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Chinese FM condemns strike on Doha targeting Hamas leadership, 'inseparable from the imbalanced stance of certain extraterritorial countries'

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Sep 10, 2025 03:41 PM

China strongly condemns the attack in Qatar's capital city of Doha and firmly opposes Israel's violation of Qatar's territorial sovereignty and national security, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday while commenting on Israel's Tuesday strike on Doha, targeting Hamas leaders.

"We are deeply concerned that the attack may further escalate regional tensions," Lin said, expressing dissatisfaction with actions from relevant parties that undermine ceasefire negotiations in Gaza.

"Force cannot bring peace to the Middle East; negotiation is the fundamental way forward," Lin noted that the Gaza conflict has dragged on for nearly two years. China strongly urges all parties, especially Israel, to make active efforts to end hostilities and restart negotiations, rather than the opposite.

Israel carried out an unprecedented attack against Hamas leadership in the capital of Qatar on Tuesday, which has been a key mediator in Gaza ceasefire talks, CNN reported.

According to media reports, Israel notified the US before conducting the airstrike on Hamas residences in Doha.

Lin said China is deeply concerned about the relevant reports.

"Israel's airstrike on Hamas targets in Doha gravely violates Qatar's territorial sovereignty and national security, exacerbating regional tensions. This is inseparable from the long-standing, severely imbalanced stance of certain extraterritorial countries on Middle East issues," Lin noted.

He urged certain major powers to prioritize regional peace and stability, adopt a fair and responsible attitude, and work with the international community to play a constructive role in promoting ceasefire, ending hostilities, and easing regional tensions.

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China approves establishment of Huangyan Dao national nature reserve

Global Times

Move reflects China's law-based approach to marine governance: expert

By GT staff reporters Published: Sep 10, 2025 11:09 PM

A Global Times reporter has learned from the Ministry of Natural Resources that China's State Council has recently responded and approved a proposal by the Ministry of Natural Resources to establish Huangyan Dao national nature reserve.

The establishment of the nature reserve is an important guarantee for maintaining the diversity, stability and sustainability of Huangyan Dao's ecosystem, according to the State Council's approval document.

The State Council has instructed relevant government departments and local authorities to strictly implement the regulations on nature reserves, as well as provisions related to the development and management of protected areas.

They are also required to improve management institutions, strengthen supervision and law enforcement against all types of illegal and irregular activities within the nature reserve, to ensure the implementation of all management measures, per the document.

On the same day, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration released details on the reserve's size, boundaries and zoning. According to a document released by the administration, the Huangyan Dao national nature reserve is located in Sansha City, South China's Hainan Province, covering 3,523.67 hectares. It includes a core zone of 1,242.55 hectares and an experimental zone of 2,281.12 hectares, with coral reef ecosystems listed as the main protection target.

Experts told the Global Times that the establishment of the nature reserve demonstrates China's commitment in protecting the marine environment. It represents a concrete step in defending territorial sovereignty, advancing ecological civilization, and deepening cooperation and governance on ecological protection in the South China Sea.

"The establishment of the reserve is a natural step following the announcement of the baselines and base points of the territorial sea adjacent to Huangyan Dao. It reflects China's law-based and standardized approach to marine governance," Ding Duo, director of the Research Center for International and Regional Studies at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

As Huangyan Dao has always been China's territory, China has both the right and responsibility to protect the ecosystem there. "The establishment of a national-level nature reserve not only reflects the exercise of sovereignty and jurisdiction, but also represents a concrete action to fulfill international obligations such as the Convention on Biological Diversity," Ding said.

Yang Xiao, deputy director of the Institute of Maritime Strategy Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, also noted that the move further consolidates China's sovereignty and maritime interests in the waters off Huangyan Dao, providing legal support for on-site law enforcement.

Science-based decision making

Experts emphasized that the reserve will strengthen environmental protection for an area with already rich natural ecosystems.

"This decision is also a strong rebuttal to the groundless accusations made by certain countries and organizations that China has damaged the marine environment of the South China Sea," Ding said. "By taking practical actions based on scientific protection and law-based management, China has effectively countered false narratives and enhanced its voice in international discussions on marine environment protection."

The Huangyan Dao area is home to typical tropical coral reef ecosystems with high biodiversity, which makes its conservation highly valuable. Ding stressed that the establishment of the reserve was based on solid scientific research and environmental surveys, representing an important expansion of China's marine protection network in the South China Sea.

The establishment of the Huangyan Dao nature reserve is a model for ecological environment protection and pollution management in the entire South China Sea, as well as for scientific research, Yang noted. "It not only sets a precedent for the country's future activities but also serves as a guiding example for neighboring countries and regions in the South China Sea, to jointly maintain the ecological environment and protect species resources," he noted.

According to the Investigation and Assessment Report on Marine Ecology and Environment Status of Huangyan Dao, which was jointly released by multiple institutions under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Guangxi University in 2024, China's Huangyan Dao area enjoys excellent environmental quality and a healthy coral reef ecosystem.

At the waters off the Huangyan Dao, investigation has found that both seawater and sediment were rated Grade I, pollutant levels in fish samples were below limits, and no cyanide was detected. The investigation recorded 109 species of hard corals from 34 genera and 12 families - the highest diversity ever documented in the region, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Over the past 10 years, the environment at the Huangyan Dao has been greatly improved, Yang said, noting that further protection measures, including the establishment of the nature reserve, would prevent destructive fishing activities that harm coral reefs and ensure the long-term sustainability of the marine ecosystem.

"The move, a continuation of China's long-standing commitment to marine ecological environment protection, is consolidating past achievements and providing a constructive model for the future," Yang said.

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Rogers Speaks on House Floor in Support of FY26 NDAA

House Armed Services Committee

Washington, September 10, 2025

Today, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) spoke on the House Floor in support of H.R. 3838, the Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26 SPEED and NDAA).



FY26 NDAA resources can be found here.



Chairman Rogers' Remarks as Prepared for Delivery:



The bill before you today carries a different short title than the typical NDAA.



It is the Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery Act, or the SPEED Act.



We did that to underscore the very significant reforms this bill makes to the Department's acquisition process.



The Pentagon's current acquisition process is failing our warfighters.



It can take 10 years between identifying a need and delivering the capability to the warfighter.



By that time, the threat has changed, the costs have ballooned, and the solution is outdated.



The SPEED Act will cut through layers of red tape and deliver for the warfighter at speed and scale.



It accelerates the requirements process from nearly three years to as few as 90 days.



It streamlines bureaucracy.



It prioritizes commercial solutions and fosters an environment where innovation can flourish by removing barriers to entry and bridging the Valley of Death.



It modernizes outdated and overly burdensome regulations that slow delivery and inflate costs.



And, most importantly, it drives much-needed cultural change.



No more rewarding paper-pushing over problem-solving.



The SPEED Act fosters a culture of agility and responsible risk-taking.



We worked closely with the administration on this effort, and I'm pleased they support it.



Fixing acquisitions will go a long way toward ensuring our warfighters are the most capable fighting force on the planet.



Properly equipping our warfighters is critical, but so is ensuring we recruit and retain the best and brightest.



Toward that end, the FY26 NDAA continues to make improvements in the quality of life for our servicemembers.



This bill:

Supports the Trump Administration's 3.8% pay raise for all servicemembers;

Authorizes nearly $3 billion for the construction of barracks, family housing, dining facilities, medical facilities, childcare centers, and schools;

Prevents the Department from reducing healthcare billets to avoid shortages at medical facilities; and

Improves servicemember access to mental health services.

Extends the Pacific Deterrence Initiative to enhance U.S. posture in the region;

Funds the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative at $1 billion;

Fully funds military exercises with allies and partners in the region; and

Authorizes more than $1.5 billion in critical military construction projects we need to carry out operations in the Pacific.

$22 billion in shipbuilding for additional submarines and surface vessels;

$38 billion to ensure air dominance with a new generation of fighters;

$15 billion to restore America's arsenal of munitions; and

$142 billion to research and develop innovative new technologies our warfighters need to win on future battlefields.

Our committee will continue to make improving the quality of life for our servicemembers a top priority.We need a ready, capable, and lethal fighting force because the threats our nation faces, especially those from China, are more complex and challenging than at any point in the last 40 years.The FY26 NDAA counters the threat from China and ensures mission success in the Indo-Pacific.This bill:Furthermore, this bill increases the lethality of our forces to prepare for and deter global threats.The bill authorizes over:

This is a strong bipartisan bill that delivers for our warfighters and deters our adversaries.



It will fundamentally reform the defense acquisition enterprise.



It will continue historic improvements in the quality of life for our servicemembers and their families.



It will build the ready, capable, and lethal fighting force we need to deter China and our other adversaries.



And it will deliver on President Trump's Peace Through Strength Agenda.



I urge all members to support it.

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House Foreign Affairs Committee Introduces State Department Reauthorization Bill Text

U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs

September 10, 2025

Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the House Foreign Affairs Committee introduced its bipartisan, standalone State Department reauthorization bill. The reauthorization will fix what was once a broken State Department by reasserting command and control.

The product of nine months of open, transparent, and bipartisan work, the chairman's mark is built from more than 2,300 Member priorities. It unites nine separate bills into a clear accountability structure. From the consular officer processing a passport in Asia to the undersecretary in Washington overseeing billions in foreign assistance, State Department officials will now operate with clear lines of responsibility.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast said:

"As Chairman, I made a promise to restore command and control-and this legislation delivers. It ensures every dollar and every diplomat puts America First and is accountable to the president's foreign policy. It also prevents ideologues masquerading as diplomats from using their posts to push left-wing agendas instead of America's interests. This bill is not just a reform for today, or for President Trump; it is a lasting framework that will strengthen the State Department and benefit every commander-in-chief who follows."

East Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee Chairwoman Young Kim (CA-40) said:

"As Xi Jinping, Putin, Kim Jong Un, and the Ayatollahs join forces to challenge the rules-based international order, America cannot allow bureaucratic inefficiencies to silo our strength. Now more than ever, the U.S. State Department must be equipped to lead America's diplomacy and economic statecraft globally. The House Foreign Affairs Committee has worked diligently towards accomplishing this since the start of this year, and my subcommittee has prioritized putting economic statecraft at the core of our foreign policy-championing American businesses, countering predatory trade practices from our adversaries, and reinforcing that economic security is national security. I'm proud to support this effort to modernize our diplomacy, cut waste, and counter 21st century threats in the Indo-Pacific and beyond."

Europe Subcommittee Chairman Keith Self (TX-03) said:

"The Department of State grew into a massive bureaucracy where nearly 80% of the agency has been operating without proper Congressional authorization. Under Chairman Mast's bold leadership, Congress is once again asserting its responsibility over the reauthorization of the Department of State. These important measures will streamline the Department and empower Secretary Rubio to operate more effectively and help give President Trump the necessary tools to assert peace through strength."

Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee Chairman Michael Lawler (NY-17) said:

"For the first time in more than two decades, Congress is exercising its full responsibility to reauthorize the State Department. As Chairman of the Middle East and North Africa subcommittee which also has jurisdiction over counterterrorism and State Department management, I've introduced and supported numerous measures included in this package. Our diplomats and our taxpayers deserve a State Department that is more effective, stronger, and laser-focused on advancing American interests. I am proud to join Chairman Mast and my colleagues in moving this critical legislation forward."

Oversight and Intelligence Subcommittee Chairman Cory Mills (FL-07) said:

"Having worked for the State Department I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. When Chairman Mast first convened the House Foreign Affairs Committee, he said that every dollar and every diplomat must put the United States of America First. He meant it and that's what we're doing with this bill. I'm grateful for his relentless efforts to fully reauthorize the State Department for the first time in decades and thank him for trusting me to Chair the Oversight and Intelligence Subcommittee, so that we can stand shoulder to shoulder and get this done for America."

South and Central Asia Subcommittee Chairman Bill Huizenga (MI-04) said:

"This bill finally puts public diplomacy where it belongs-at the center of American statecraft. It gives the Under Secretary clear authority and a strategic mission, aligns educational and cultural exchanges with strategy, and builds a strategic communications arm that can take on propaganda and censorship head-on. The United States cannot afford to play defense in the global information space-we need to lead with facts, freedom, and truth."

Western Hemisphere Subcommittee Chairwoman Maria Elvira Salazar (FL-27) said:

"I'm proud to support the State Department Reauthorization Act, which sharpens our diplomacy to crush tyranny. Thanks to the united vision of Secretary Rubio, President Trump, and the Foreign Affairs Committee's GOP strategy, we are finally prioritizing our hemisphere by countering corrupt regimes, like those in Venezuela and Cuba, that empower radical terrorists, flood our borders with drugs, and sow crime and instability. As Chairwoman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, I'm determined to ensure every dollar advances America's top strategic and diplomatic objectives. In our hemisphere, that means bolstering democratic allies, showing no mercy toward our enemies and thwarting malign influences. This reauthorization will be a vital part of advancing those efforts, and to securing freedom from Miami to Managua."

The legislation will be considered as part of a full committee markup scheduled for September 17, 2025. The markup will be livestreamed on the committee website.

Key Takeaways:

The legislation builds upon President Trump and Secretary Rubio's bold, decisive reforms at the State Department and further ensures that, going forward, the president has the tools needed to execute foreign policy objectives on behalf of the American people.

This full reauthorization will fix America's broken State Department, restore command and control, and ensure every dollar and diplomat puts America First. It will eliminate more than 400 onerous reporting requirements that cost millions of dollars and take our diplomats' time and attention away from their core mission. It will also ensure diplomats are armed with the tools needed to meet the demands of an evolving national security landscape.

Restoring Command and Control:

Reinforces the State Department's authority over all public diplomacy functions-aligning personnel, budgets, and regional teams worldwide under a single chain of command to ensure U.S. messages are unified, integrated, disciplined, and strategically directed.

Bureaus and offices are given clear guidance on their functions and linked in ways that reduce overlap, increase efficiency, and implement the President's statement that economic policy is foreign policy and economic security is national security.

Creates an Under Secretary for Foreign Assistance to bring responsibility for all foreign aid programs under one authority.

Restoring Accountability:

Requires a Global Public Diplomacy Strategy with annual reports to Congress, including clear metrics, benchmarks, and adversary-response assessments.

Enforces results-based management across educational and cultural exchanges, aligning them to strategic priorities and foreign policy outcomes.

Ensures the highest level of efficiency, accountability, and forward-looking vision in how the State Department conducts international security policy.

Reauthorization Provisions:

Makes public diplomacy a strategic instrument of statecraft.

Integrates Educational and Cultural Affairs into public diplomacy and aligns it with U.S. strategic priorities.

Authorizes the Under Secretary for International Security Affairs, providing a range of roles for the position that include arms control, political-military affairs, international counterterrorism, transnational organized crime, addressing emerging threats, and more.

Puts the State Department to work for American businesses. The new Commercial Diplomacy Bureau at the State Department will champion U.S. businesses overseas and combat unfair trade practices.

Authorizes coordination and information sharing to promote national security in all visa and passport adjudications.

Creates a Bureau of Strategic Communications to counter authoritarian propaganda and expand access to truth.

Authorizes the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and outlines responsibilities as the U.S. Permanent Representative in New York as well as other representatives globally.

Establishes within the State Department an Under Secretary for Foreign Assistance, responsible for providing strategic direction as well as policy and programmatic oversight of funds and bureaus under their jurisdiction.

Creates a Director of United States Foreign Assistance Oversight and an Office of Foreign Assistance, defining their responsibilities, functions, and reporting obligations.

Creates a new Sanctions Policy Bureau, replacing and expanding the smaller role of the Office of the Sanctions Coordinator. The creation of the bureau integrates sanctions activities from other offices across the Department and directs the Assistant Secretary for Sanctions Policy to lead State's sanctions programs and coordinate with other agencies and allies to advance U.S. interests through sanctions policy.

Authorizes critical areas of international security including the Bureaus of Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Political-Military Affairs, Counterterrorism, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, and Emerging Threats.

Establishes a pilot program within the Bureau of Diplomatic Security to facilitate the recruitment, training, and hiring of transitioning service members and veterans into positions within the Bureau.

Authorizes the Under Secretary for International Security Affairs who represents the tip of the spear of United States security efforts on the international stage.

Ensures the United States leads-not reacts-in the global information space.

Ensures that the State Department has the necessary diplomatic and security tools to counter a range of sophisticated foreign adversaries and meet the ever-evolving security challenges of tomorrow.

Authorizes State Department to prioritize American-made procurements.

Authorizes the State Department to revoke passports to any individual who been charged, convicted, or determined to have knowingly aided, assisted, abetted, or otherwise provided material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

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ICC officials meet Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France

International Criminal Court (ICC) / Cour penale internationale (CPI)

10 September 2025

On 9 September 2025, Judge Tomoko Akane, President of the International Criminal Court ("ICC"), and Judge Nicolas Guillou, met with France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, H.E. Mr Jean-Noel Barrot, in Paris (France).

President Akane expressed the ICC's appreciation for France's continued and unwavering support for the Court and its staff. During the visit, President Akane and Judge Guillou underlined that the US sanctions are a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution which operates under the mandate from 125 States Parties from all regions and that it is for States Parties to live up to their commitment and protect the Court. They further discussed how to address the practical implications posed by the US sanctions.

Foreign Minister Barrot reaffirmed France's commitment to protect the Court and its personnel as well as to ensure that the Court is in a position to continue fulfilling its mission independently and impartially, in order to provide justice for the victims of the most serious crimes.

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ICC concludes confirmation of charges hearing in Kony case

International Criminal Court (ICC) / Cour penale internationale (CPI)

10 September 2025

Today, 10 September 2025, the confirmation of charges hearing in the case The Prosecutor v. Joseph Kony concluded before Pre-Trial Chamber III of the International Criminal Court (ICC), composed of Judge Althea Violet Alexis-Windsor (Presiding Judge), Judge Iulia Motoc and Judge Haykel Ben Mahfoudh. The hearing was held in the absence of the suspect who was represented by Defence Counsel Peter Haynes, KC.

The purpose of the confirmation of charges hearing is for the judges to determine whether or not there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that the suspect committed each of the crimes charged. If the charges are confirmed, in full or in part, the case will be transferred to a Trial Chamber, which will conduct the subsequent phase of the proceedings: the trial.

After hearing the opening statements, submissions on the merits and final observations of the Prosecution, the Legal Representatives of the Victims and the Defence from 9 to 10 September 2025, the judges will now start their deliberations.

In accordance with Regulation 53 of the Regulations of the Court, the Pre-Trial Chamber shall deliver its written decision within 60 days of the date on which the confirmation hearing ends. The Pre-Trial Chamber may then:

confirm those charges for which the Chamber has determined that there is sufficient evidence, and commit the suspect to trial before a Trial Chamber. In this case a trial would still require Mr Kony to be present before the ICC as there is no trial in absentia according to the ICC Rome Statute;

decline to confirm those charges for which it has determined that there is insufficient evidence and stop the proceedings against Mr Kony;

adjourn the hearing and request the Prosecutor to provide further evidence, to conduct further investigations or to amend any charge for which the evidence submitted appears to establish t a crime other than the one charged was committed.

The Defence and the Prosecutor cannot directly appeal this decision. However they can request authorisation from the Pre-Trial Chamber to appeal it.

Background: The Warrant of Arrest for Joseph Kony was issued under seal on 8 July 2005, amended on 27 September 2005 and unsealed on 13 October 2005. He is suspected of crimes against humanity (murder, attempted murder, enslavement, forced marriage, rape, torture, severe abuse and mistreatment, forced pregnancy, and persecution) and war crimes (murder, attempted murder, torture, cruel treatment of civilians, intentionally directing an attack against a civilian population, pillaging, destroying the enemy's property, rape, sexual slavery, forced pregnancy, conscription of children and the use children to participate actively in hostilities) allegedly committed in 2003 and 2004 in northern Uganda.

On 12 December 2024, ICC Pre-Trial Chamber III scheduled the confirmation of charges hearing to commence on 9 September 2025, in the absence of the suspect. On 3 June 2025, the Appeals Chamber confirmed the decision on the criteria for holding confirmation of charges proceedings in absentia.

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Armed Forces condemn Israel's 'terrorist' attack on Qatar

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Sep 10, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran has strongly condemned Israel's recent airstrike on Qatar, saying the "savage and terrorist act" was conducted with full support and coordination from the United States.

In a statement on Wednesday, the General Staff denounced the attack as a blatant violation of international norms and a threat to regional stability. It referred to Qatar as a "friendly and brotherly nation," and said the attack had been carried out with full coordination and backing from the United States.

On Tuesday, Israeli warplanes conducted a series of airstrikes on Doha to target a meeting of Hamas leaders, who had gathered to review a US proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza. Hamas said none of its senior leaders were killed in the attack, but confirmed that five members were martyred.

"It is clear to governments and nations around the world that all of the crimes committed by the Zionist regime are orchestrated and supported by the US government," the General Staff said in its statement. "Washington bears full responsibility and shows no regard for global public opinion or even its own allies."

The statement warned that the expansion of Israeli military aggression poses a serious threat to the entire region and beyond.

Coinciding with the birth anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the General Staff called on the Islamic world to remain vigilant and united against the twin threats of American and Israeli militarism. It urged all nations to sever ties with Israel and halt its "mad war machine."

The statement reaffirmed Iran's support for the Axis of Resistance and pledged continued solidarity with oppressed Palestinians and resistance fighters across the region.

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Israeli strikes on Qatar shows US military bases provide no security: Diplomat

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Sep 10, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- A senior Iranian diplomat says the Israeli airstrike on Doha, Qatar, shows that hosting American military bases does not provide security for regional countries.

The Israeli regime launched a series of airstrikes on Doha on Tuesday to target the headquarters of Hamas, where leaders of the Palestinian resistance group had gathered to review a US proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Mohammad Reza Raouf Sheibani, the foreign minister's special envoy on West Asia affairs, responded to the attack by saying that American military installations in the region have failed to provide security for host countries.

"...US bases not only fail to ensure safety but have emboldened Israel to carry out such assaults under the protective umbrella of American military hardware," he posted on X on Wednesday.

Hamas confirmed that no senior leader of the movement was harmed in the targeted strike.

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Ghalibaf: Unified Islamic action key to confronting Israeli regime

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Sep 10, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf says the decisive way to confront the Israeli regime's recklessness is through coordinated and unified action by the Islamic world.

In his message addressed to the Chairman of the Consultative Assembly of Qatar, Hassan bin Abdulla Al-Ghanim, Ghalibaf said the Israeli aggressive airstrike on the headquarters of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in Doha has caused anger and disgust among the Iranian nation and lawmakers.

"Iran stands alongside its Qatari and Palestinian brothers and condemns this criminal attack against urban areas of Doha and the non-civilian guests of the Qatari government."

Ghalibaf expressed condolences for the killing of Palestinian and Qatari citizens in this malicious attack and wished recovery for the injured.

This blatant crime is a clear violation of international law and an example of state terrorism, as well as a clear manifestation of the anti-human and anti-human rights nature of the Israeli regimea regime that has always, with the explicit support of Western powers, fueled violence, crisis, and instability in the region, he stressed.

Iran Parliament is fully prepared to strengthen cooperation with Qatar in countering the Israeli regime's threats to regional peace and security, Ghalibaf said.

The Israeli regime has launched an assassination attack against Hamas leaders in Doha.

Several explosions were heard in Doha, the capital of Qatar, on Tuesday.

The Israeli military said it carried out an assassination attempt on top Hamas leaders in Doha.

The attack happened as a Hamas negotiating team, headed by senior leader Khalil al-Hayya, was discussing a Gaza ceasefire proposal put forward by the United States.

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Iran urges Muslim world's unity after Israeli strike on Qatar

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Sep 10, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a message, has urged the Islamic world to be united against the recklessness of the Israeli regime.

"The only way to decisively address the recklessness of the Israeli regime is for the Muslim world to act in unison," Araghchi wrote on his X account.

"Israel has heinously done what Iran would never contemplate: attacking the dear people and government of Qatar," he added.

"Iran stands with its Qatari and Palestinian brothers in the face of this illegal attack on urban residences used by civilian guests of the State of Qatar who do not pose a threat to anyone," he noted.

"We also offer our condolences upon the martyrdom of the innocent Qatari citizen and Palestinians in this vile assault, which also left civilians injured," he stated.

"Iran stands ready to deepen cooperation in the interest of confronting threats to international peace and security," Araghchi stressed.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement, expressed solidarity with and support for the government and people of Qatar against the savage aggression of the Israeli regime.

It emphasized the urgent need for the United Nations Security Council, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and other relevant international bodies to address this act of aggression.

It also called for concrete action by the international community and regional countries to curb the warmongering of the Israeli regime and halt the genocide in occupied Palestine.

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Pezeshkian urges united Muslim stance against Israeli crimes, reaffirms support for Qatar

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Sep 10, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- President Masoud Pezeshkian has called on Muslim countries to adopt a united and practical stance in condemning the Israeli regime's crimes, stressing that the Islamic Republic stands firmly with its Qatari brothers in the face of Israeli aggression.

In a telephone conversation late Tuesday with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Pezeshkian strongly denounced Israel's assault on Qatar, declaring Iran's full solidarity with the Persian Gulf nation.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran stands alongside its brothers in Qatar and will take any necessary step to support its close neighbor and friend," he said.

The president warned that Israel, under the pretext of self-defense, has destabilized the entire region and shown no hesitation in committing atrocities.

"Islamic countries must, with a united and consistent position, both in word and deed, seriously and effectively condemn these aggressions and blatant crimes so that this criminal regime does not dare to repeat such actions," he stressed.

Pezeshkian added that Israel respects no international norms or legal frameworks, emphasizing that its actions continue only because of American backing.

For his part, Sheikh Tamim expressed appreciation for Pezeshkian's call, echoing concerns over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's atrocities.

"As you mentioned, the criminal Netanyahu recognizes no limits for his crimes. Unfortunately, he attacks and bombs wherever he wishes, without encountering any obstacle," he said.

He emphasized the necessity of a unified regional position against Israel, noting that Hamas officials had been reviewing a ceasefire proposal put forward by the US president.

"In our consultations with them, they said they would give a positive response, but regrettably Israel attacked the very meeting where this was being discussed," Sheikh Tamim revealed.

The Qatari leader voiced hope that Iran, Qatar, and other Muslim countries would intensify contacts in the coming days to coordinate effective measures aimed at halting Israel's aggression.

Israel launched deadly airstrikes on the headquarters of the Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas in Doha, as Hamas leaders had convened to discuss the latest US proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza. Hamas said five of its members were killed in the attack.

Israel destroys every effort for diplomacy: Pezeshkian

In an earlier statement, President Pezeshkian strongly condemned the "illegal, anti-human and anti-peace" Israeli strike on Qatari territory and the assassination of Palestinian resistance leaders.

He said the attack demonstrated that "the Zionist regime recognizes no limits for crime and terror, and on the other hand destroys every effort for diplomacy."

According to the statement, Pezeshkian urged the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and other international bodies to deliver an immediate, firm and practical response to the assault, stressing that lasting peace in the region can only be achieved by ending occupation and aggression.

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Prime Minister's Office-Mossad Joint Announcement

Israel - Prime Minister's Office

Type: Media Statements

Government: The 37th Government

Publish Date: 10.09.2025

Elizabeth Tsurkov, who had been held hostage in Iraq and was released last night, has landed in Israel.

The Director of the Mossad thanks his Cypriot counterpart for the assistance in Elizabeth's humanitarian passage through Cyprus to Israel. The cooperation between the two countries has proven itself once again.

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PM Netanyahu: "I say to Qatar and all nations who harbor terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice. Because if you don't, we will"

Israel - Prime Minister's Office

Type: Media Statements

Government: The 37th Government

Publish Date: 10.09.2025

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening:

"Tomorrow is September 11th. We remember September 11th. On that day, Islamist terrorists committed the worst savagery on American soil since the founding of the United States.

We also have a September 11th. We remember October 7th. On that day, Islamist terrorists committed the worst savagery against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

What did America do in the wake of September 11th? It promised to hunt down the terrorists who committed this heinous crime, wherever they may be. And it also passed a resolution in the Security Council of the UN, two weeks later, that said that governments cannot give harbor to terrorists.

Well, yesterday, we acted along those lines. We went after the terrorist masterminds who committed the October 7th massacre. And we did so in Qatar which gives safe haven, it harbors terrorists, it finances Hamas, it gives its terrorist chieftains sumptuous villas, it gives them everything.

So we did exactly what America did when it went after the Al Qaida terrorists in Afghanistan and after they went and killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

Now, the various countries of the world condemn Israel. They should be ashamed of themselves. What did they do after America took out Osama bin Laden? Did they say, "Oh, what a terrible thing was done to Afghanistan or to Pakistan?" No, they applauded. They should applaud Israel for standing up to the same principles and carrying them out.

And I say to Qatar and all nations who harbor terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice. Because if you don't, we will."

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PM Netanyahu comments on the attack in Yemen

Israel - Prime Minister's Office

Type: Media Statements

Government: The 37th Government

Publish Date: 10.09.2025

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on the attack in Yemen following the ceremony of the laying of the cornerstone for the promenade named after US President Trump in Bat Yam: "We will continue to strike. Whoever attacks us - we will reach them"

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

"Several days ago we eliminated most of the members of the terrorist Houthi government. In response, the Houthis fired two days ago at the Ramon Airport.



This did not weaken our resolve - we struck them again today from the air, their terror facilities, their terror bases with a great number of terrorists, and other facilities as well.

We will continue to strike. Whoever strikes us, whoever attacks us - we will reach them".

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Announcement by PM Netanyahu

Israel - Prime Minister's Office

Type: Media Statements

Government: The 37th Government

Publish Date: 10.09.2025

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

"Today, hostage Elizabeth Tsurkov - an Israeli citizen who was abducted in Iraq in March 2023 - was released.

In staff work directed by Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Gal Hirsch, which continued for many months, and following many efforts, we succeeded in bringing about her release.

This evening I had an emotional conversation with her mother and Avital, Elizabeth's sister, and I told them that the entire people of Israel was happy to see her return home.

We will continue to fight with vigor and determination until we bring back all of our hostages, the living and the deceased."

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A Latvia-Azerbaijan Strategic Dialogue meeting addresses bilateral cooperation, regional and international security

Republic of Latvia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

10.09.2025

On 9 September 2025, Baku hosted the fourth meeting of the Latvia-Azerbaijan Strategic Dialogue, which addressed the topics of bilateral cooperation between Latvia and Azerbaijan, regional and international security matters, as well as cooperation within international organizations.

The meeting was co-chaired by the Under Secretary of State, Political Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Ivars Lasis, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Fariz Rzayev.

The Under Secretary, Political Director congratulated Azerbaijan on the historic agreement on the initialing of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Agreement, which is an important step in promoting stability in the region. Ivars Lasis also emphasized the need for continued comprehensive support to Ukraine, as well as constraining Russia and ensuring accountability for its crime of aggression.

The previous strategic dialogue meeting between Latvia and Azerbaijan was held on 30 May 2024 in Riga.

During his visit to Baku, Ivars Lasis also met with the Special Representative of the President of Azerbaijan, Elchin Amirbayov, the Head of the European Union Delegation to Azerbaijan, Marijana Kujundzic, as well as representatives of an Azerbaijani think-tank.

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Statement by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

10 Sep. 2025

(As delivered)

Last night, numerous drones from Russia violated Polish airspace. Our air defences were activated and successfully ensured the defence of NATO territory, as they are designed to do. Several Allies were involved alongside Poland. This included Polish F16s, Dutch F35s, Italian AWACS, NATO Multi Role Tanker Transport, and German Patriots. I commend the pilots and all who contributed to this quick and skillful response.

The North Atlantic Council met this morning and discussed the situation in light of Poland's request for consultations under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty. Allies expressed solidarity with Poland and denounced Russia's reckless behaviour. A full assessment of the incident is ongoing. What is clear is that the violation last night is not an isolated incident.

The Supreme Allied Commander will continue to actively manage our deterrence and defence posture along the entire eastern flank. Allies are resolved to defend every inch of Allied territory. We will closely monitor the situation along our eastern flank, our air defences continually at the ready.

This only reinforces the importance of NATO and the path to which Allies agreed at our Summit in The Hague earlier this year. We need to invest more in our defence, ramp up defence production so we have what we need to deter and defend, and we need to continue to support Ukraine, whose security is interlinked with our own.

And let me conclude by saying that Russia is waging a dangerous war of aggression against Ukraine that continually targets civilians and civilian infrastructure. Allies are determined to step up their support for Ukraine in the face of Russia's escalating campaign.

NATO Secretary General

With that, I'm going to take one or two questions.

Andrew Gray, Reuters

Secretary General. Thank you very much. Andrew Gray from Reuters, do you have any initial assessment of the intent behind this incident? Was it a deliberate attack, a deliberate incursion or a mistake? And do you have any particular message for Russia for President Putin about this incident?

NATO Secretary General

Yes, as I said, a full assessment is ongoing. But of course, whether it was intentionally or not, it is absolutely reckless. It is absolutely dangerous. But as I said, the full assessment is ongoing.

And to Putin, I mean, my message is clear: stop the war in Ukraine. Stop the escalating war, which he is now basically mounting on innocent civilians and civilian infrastructure. Stop violating Allied airspace. And know that we stand ready, that we are vigilant, and that we will defend every inch of NATO territory.

Andrew Gray, Reuters

Well, one more if I may. Does this tell you anything about the state of NATO's air defences, particularly when it comes to drones, a relatively new threat. Does NATO need to do more to better protect against drones?

NATO Secretary General

I think what we have seen last night was a very successful reaction by NATO and Allies, including of course, Poland itself, but also the Dutch and the Italians and the Germans, everybody involved. And I'm really impressed. So of course, we always have to make sure that we are one step ahead. But I think last night showed that we are able to defend every inch of NATO territory including, of course, its airspace. Thank you so much.

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A look at the Defence news 1 - 7 September

Netherlands Ministry of Defence

News item | 10-09-2025 | 15:43

Last week, Shahed drones launched by Russia posed a threat to NATO territory. The Combined Air Operations Centre in Uedem subsequently alerted two Dutch F-35s stationed in Poland. The fighter aircraft took off immediately.

This was the first time the Dutch F-35s went into action since the Netherlands stationed them there for the protection of East European airspace. Ultimately, the use of weapons proved unnecessary.

European ports conclude drone alliance for innovation and safety

The ports of Rotterdam, Antwerp-Bruges and Hamburg are to start cooperating in the use of drones. The three ports intend to employ them for innovation purposes, safety and efficiency. This initiative will benefit Defence, as a secure and safe port is an essential prerequisite in the event of the supply of military equipment by allies.

Intensive weeks for Dutch firefighting helicopters in Spain

Over the past two weeks, two Dutch Chinook transport helicopters released around three million litres of water in almost 400 drops on wildfires in Northern Spain. The Dutch helicopters were deployed to help fight the bushfires, following a request from Spain.

Mission accomplished by flagship HNLMS De Ruyter

Last week, HNLMS De Ruyter returned to Den Helder. For the past 3.5 months, the Dutch air defence and command frigate served as the flagship of the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1. This fleet is one of NATO's four permanent maritime task forces.

Navy better prepared for port protection thanks to Sandy Coast

The Royal Netherlands Navy recently joined the Belgian and Estonian navies for two weeks to take part in Exercise Sandy Coast 25. During this training exercise, the main focus was on the protection of the Eemshaven, the port in Delfzijl and data and energy cables. NATO may in future use the Eemshaven for the transit of military equipment.

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Dutch F-35s shoot down Russian drones over Poland

Netherlands Ministry of Defence

News item | 10-09-2025 | 15:47

Polish and Dutch fighter jets shot down Russian drones over Poland last night. The unmanned aircraft had entered NATO airspace.

Operating as part of NATO's air defences, Polish and Dutch fighter jets scrambled to counter potential threats to Alliance territory. NATO took swift and decisive action against numerous Russian drones that had entered Polish airspace. Polish and Dutch fighter jets intercepted the drones and shot several of them down.

According to Netherlands Minister of Defence Ruben Brekelmans, the Russian threat is not limited to Ukraine. Russian aggression also poses a broader threat to Europe. Because Russia is taking more risks, the threat to NATO territory is increasing. As was demonstrated last night by the sorties of its F-35s, the Netherlands can play a key role in the defence of that territory. Brekelmans went on to express pride in the professional and effective action of the F-35 pilots involved.

The Netherlands and Poland were not the only countries to respond. German Patriot missile units in Poland were placed on high alert. Furthermore, an Italian airborne early warning aircraft and an aircraft belonging to the Alliance's Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) fleet were deployed to fuel the fighter jets in the air.

The action taken demonstrated NATO's readiness and ability to defend Alliance territory.

Dutch F-35s arrive in Poland

The Netherlands has been providing F-35 aircraft to assist in the defence of NATO territory since 1 September. It is not the first time that Dutch F-35s have scrambled in Poland in response to Russian projectiles that were posing a threat to NATO territory. It is the first time, however, that the Netherlands has had to use force to neutralise the threat.

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Increase in Israeli Crimes over the Past Week: 967 Palestinians Murdered in 7 days-----Campaign of Attacks on Mosques in the West Bank, with Al-Aqsa Suffering the Most

Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)

10-09-2025

The OIC Media Observatory recorded a sharp increase in numbers of Israeli crimes against Palestinians during the seven days between September 2 and 8, 2025, compared to the previous week. The Media Observatory documented 967 Palestinians murdered by Israel, including 550 in the Gaza Strip, where 14 bodies were recovered from beneath the rubble and 401 others were confirmed dead, including 130 killed while waiting for aid, in addition to two Palestinians murdered in the West Bank.

The number of Palestinians wounded last week reached 2,568, bringing the total number of wounded from October 7, 2023, to September 8, 2025, to 172,131, and the number of murdered Palestinians to 65,556.

On September 5, 2025, the Israeli occupying forces began Operation "Gideon 2" by systematically bombing high rise buildings and dropping incendiary bombs on the roofs of Palestinian homes and cars, creating a ring of fire to force the residents of Gaza City to flee south. As documented by the OIC Media Observatory, during this period, the Israeli occupation forces bombed Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and the killed Palestinian journalist Rasmi Jihad in Gaza City, bringing the number of Palestinian journalists murdered to 248.

The Israeli occupation forces continue their deliberate killings as famine spreads to Khan Yunis and Deir al-Balah. This comes as the United Nations reports that there are 3,000 trucks at the Gaza Strip border with enough supplies to meet the Strip's needs for two full months, but the Israeli occupation forces continue to block their entry.

In the West Bank, the occupation forces carried out 253 raids on cities and villages, arresting 180 Palestinians, including five children, in Nablus, Ramallah, and Jericho, and wounding two children in the town of Tamoun in Tubas. Settlers assaulted a three-month-old baby girl in the town of Yatta in Hebron.

The occupation forces demolished 12 houses, a park, three barns in Jerusalem, Salfit, and Bethlehem, three shops, and parts of commercial barns and warehouses in the vegetable market in the town of Beita, Nablus. They also confiscated money from individuals in various areas of the West Bank, along with gold items from two Palestinian women in Jenin and Salfit.

In terms of attacks on mosques, Al-Aqsa Mosque was subjected to daily incursions by extremist settlers. The occupation forces closed Al-Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron and prevented celebrations of the Prophet's Maulud in the mosque. They also demolished the minaret of Al-Farouq Mosque east of the town of Dura in Hebron. They raided and searched the Hanbali Mosque after breaking down its doors in the city of Nablus.

The number of settler attacks on West Bank villages, documented by the OIC Media Observatory, reached 61 within one week, These included an attack by settlers on residents in the Khallet al-Daba area in Masafar Yatta, near Hebron, where they assaulted them with sharp tools, injuring eight Palestinians, including women and children. They also destroyed the contents of houses, including water tanks and solar panels that supply the village with electricity, and attacked and burned barns belonging to residents of the eastern village of Jaba in Jerusalem. The settlers also grazed their livestock as usual on land in the villages of Bardala and Kardala in Tubas, in the town of Halhul in Hebron, in the Shalal al-Auja area of Ras al-Auja in Jericho, in the town of Taybeh, and in the villages of Sinjil and al-Mughayir in Ramallah. The settlers burned agricultural land in Wadi Sa'ir in Hebron and cut tree branches in the villages of Yabrud in Ramallah, Rujib in Nablus, and Jaloud in Nablus. Under the protection of the occupation forces, they seized a Palestinian house in the Old City of Hebron, held a provocative party around the house, damaged the irrigation network, and stole a water pump in the village of Beitillo, an agricultural tractor in the village of Al-Mughayir, fruit from the town of Atara, and a cart in the village of Ramoun in Ramallah. A settler ran over two Palestinians with a bulldozer in the village of Izbat Al-Tabib in Qalqilya, and settlers destroyed an agricultural nursery in the village of Yatta in Nablus.

There were 11 settlement activities documented by the Observatory in seven days. Among the most notable was the occupation forces'order to confiscate 4,727 dunams of land in the Jabal al-Dhib area belonging to the town of Deir Istiya, in Salfit, and 455.58 dunums of land in the villages of Jit and Far'ata in Qalqilya and Tal in the Nablus governorate, for the benefit of the "Havat Gilad" settlement outpost.

The occupation forces also placed mobile homes in a settlement outpost near the town of Bani Na'im in Hebron, while settlers from the "Mitzpe Yair" settlement erected mobile homes southeast of the town of Yatta, as well as mobile homes and tents in the Al-Qala'a area in the village of Iskaka in Salfit, and a tent near the home of a Palestinian in the village of Burin in Nablus, where they raised the occupation flag.

Settlers also reopened a dirt road south of the town of Sinjil, constructed a settlement road north of the village of Deir Abu Mash'al in Ramallah, seized the Hamma spring in the northern Jordan Valley, and brought in a contractor to carry out a settlement project there. They also carried out excavation and bulldozing work on land in the village of Kafr Malik in Ramallah.

In total, the number of Israeli occupation crimes of all kinds documented by the OIC Media Observatory in one week reached 4,622, covering all Palestinian areas.

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Israel strikes Hamas building in Doha; son of Hamas leader killed

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 08:16, September 10, 2025

DOHA/JERUSALEM, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Israel launched an unprecedented airstrike in the Qatari capital of Doha on Tuesday, targeting a building used by senior Hamas officials in what Israeli authorities described as an attempt to assassinate leaders of the group.

Hamas said Tuesday evening that the attack occurred while its delegation was discussing a new ceasefire proposal presented by U.S. President Donald Trump. According to the group, the negotiating team survived, but six others were killed.

The movement identified the Palestinian victims as Jihad Lubad, office director of Hamas political bureau member Khalil al-Hayya; Hammam al-Hayya, son of Khalil al-Hayya; and escorts Abdullah Abdulwahid, Moamen Hassouna, and Ahmed al-Mamlouk. It also confirmed the death of Badr Saad Mohammed al-Humaidi, a member of Qatar's Internal Security Force.

Israeli authorities did not immediately confirm who was killed. In a joint statement, the Israeli military and the Shin Bet security agency said the strike targeted Hamas leaders "directly responsible for the Oct. 7 massacre" and used "precise munitions and intelligence" to limit civilian harm.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it "a wholly independent Israeli operation." "Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility," he said in a statement released by his office.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters later in the day that the Trump administration was informed by the U.S. military that Israel was striking Hamas targets, "which very unfortunately, was located in a section of Doha, the capital of Qatar."

Leavitt said that Trump "immediately directed Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to inform Qatar of the impending attack, which he did."

However, Qatar denied having prior knowledge, calling such claims "baseless." "The call from a U.S. official came during the sound of explosions caused by the Israeli attack in Doha," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari said in a post on X. The ministry condemned the strike as a "serious threat" to citizens and residents, a violation of sovereignty, and announced the suspension of ongoing negotiations.

Eyewitnesses reported loud explosions and plumes of smoke rising over the Qatari capital. Qatar's Interior Ministry said specialized teams had secured the site and that "the situation is safe."

An Israeli official, speaking with Xinhua on condition of anonymity, said more than a dozen warplanes took part and at least 10 bombs were dropped on the building. Preparations for the strike had been ongoing for months, the official said.

Preparations for the operation were accelerated on Monday, "following the deadly attacks in Jerusalem and Gaza," Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement. They referred to a shooting attack by two Palestinian men from the occupied West Bank at a Jerusalem bus stop that killed six and a clash in Gaza that killed four Israeli troops on Monday. They said the airstrikes were carried out "precisely and optimally."

The attack drew swift international condemnation. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the strike as a "flagrant violation" of Qatar's sovereignty. "We are just learning about the Israeli attacks in Qatar, a country that has been playing a very positive role to achieve a ceasefire and the release of all hostages," he told reporters in New York.

He added, "I condemn this flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar. All parties must work towards achieving a permanent ceasefire, not destroying it."

Saudi Arabia also criticized what it called continued Israeli violations in the region, citing recent strikes in Syria's Homs and Latakia governorates as breaches of international law and the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei denounced the Doha strike as "extremely dangerous, criminal and in violation of the UN Charter," saying it was part of Israel's "continued crimes" against international law.

Other countries and organizations, including Egypt, Jordan, Turkiye, and the Arab League, also rushed to condemn the Israeli attacks.

In a statement, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents families of hostages still held in Gaza, said they were following developments in Doha "with deep concern and grave fear."

"The chance of bringing them back is now more uncertain than ever, with one absolute certainty -- their time is running out," the families said. "It is time to end the war."

"I am trembling with fear," Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is among the hostages, wrote on social media. She said the attack could destroy the chances for a deal and accused Netanyahu of repeatedly "sabotaging the deal."

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MFA statement on summoning Andrei Ordash, charge d'affaires of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Warsaw

Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Republic of Poland

10.09.2025

On 10 September 2025, Russia's charge d'affaires Andrei Ordash was summoned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He received a note of protest after the Polish airspace had been violated multiple times by Russian unmanned aircraft on the night between 9 and 10 September.

In the wake of the unfriendly actions taken by the Russian Federation and an unprecedented attack on the territory of a NATO and EU member state, the diplomat was informed of Poland's strong opposition against such a flagrant breach of norms and obligations under international law. Russia's actions are a testament to its lack of credibility as a responsible member of the international community and a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

The violation of Poland's airspace by Russian drones is treated as another deliberate provocation as well as a real threat to the civilian population, the infrastructure, and aviation safety. For this reason, the Russian side was called to immediately provide explanations on the incursion into the Polish airspace and to cease the unfriendly and provocative actions against Poland. It was stressed that the latter are taken while the armed invasion of Ukraine continues across our eastern border, causing hundreds of thousands of casualties.

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Deputy Prime Minister W. Kosiniak-Kamysz: This is a large-scale provocation

Poland - Ministry of National Defence

10.09.2025

- It was a very busy night for the Polish Armed Forces, for all services, for pilots, for ground personnel, for all elements of the Polish state security system. From yesterday evening, in fact, right after my arrival in London, I was in contact with General Klisz, who made the decision to activate all forces and resources. All night, all systems and resources available for the security of the Polish state, needed for this operation, were activated. Both Polish and allied procedures worked. I would like to thank above all those who are carrying out this mission all the time. This stage has ended, but military service and all allied duties, of course, continue. I particularly thank the pilots of the Air Force and the officers of the Air Force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands - emphasized Deputy Prime Minister W. Kosiniak-Kamysz at a press conference regarding the unprecedented violation of Polish airspace by drone-type objects.

On Wednesday, September 10, the Deputy Prime Minister, Head of the Ministry of National Defence (MOD), Wadysaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, at a press conference, conveyed the most important information regarding the violations of the airspace of the Republic of Poland and the actions undertaken by the Polish Armed Forces and its allies.

- I thank all our allies who are providing support, and of course, the Polish Armed Forces. We have the situation under control. This is a moment that requires our cooperation. From the very beginning, the most important people in the country were informedthe President and the Prime Minister. This is natural, and this is how we will proceed. There is a very good exchange of information between the Ministry of National Defence and the National Security Bureau and vice versabetween the NSB and the ministry's structures, as well as the structures of the Polish Army. Polish airspace has been violated multiple times. The Operational Commander decided to use means. I kindly ask everyone to be cautious and follow the communiques. This is a moment when it is also necessary to secure the debris of drones falling as a result of the impacttherefore, if anyone observes them, we ask that you report the information to the services, primarily the police. They will already know what needs to be done

- the Deputy Prime Minister reported.



***

On Tuesday night, Russia launched further massive airstrikes against targets located in Ukraine. To ensure the security of Polish airspace, the Operational Commander of the Polish Armed Forces activated all necessary procedures. During the Russian Federation's attack on Ukraine, Polish airspace was repeatedly violated by drones, which posed a direct threat. Both Polish and Allied procedures were implemented. The drones, which could have posed a threat, were shot down preemptively. Polish and NATO aircraft, including F-35, F-16, and MI-24, MI-17, and Black Hawk helicopters, were dispatched to the intended area of operation. Ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems were also placed on maximum alert. These operations were preventative in nature and aimed at securing airspace and protecting citizens, especially in areas adjacent to the threatened area.



In recent months, the Polish Air Force has been regularly engaged in missions to secure Polish airspace during the ongoing, massive Russian airstrikes in Ukraine. To date, individual drones have violated Polish airspace several times, but the nighttime incident, in which Polish and allied air forces used weapons against more than a dozen intruding drones, is unprecedented in the recent history of Poland and the North Atlantic Alliance.

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PH deplores Israeli strike in Qatar

Philippine News Agency

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora

September 10, 2025, 6:11 pm

MANILA -- The Philippine government on Wednesday deplored the Israeli strike in the Qatari capital of Doha, an attack that targeted senior Hamas leaders but also killed one Qatari security official.

"The Philippines deplores the attack in Doha which is a grave violation of international law, particularly the fundamental principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity enshrined in the United Nations Charter," the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement.

The DFA urged parties to the conflict in Gaza to agree to an "immediate and permanent ceasefire."

It also called for the involved states to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, ensure the protection of civilians, and work towards a "just, lasting, and comprehensive peace in the Middle East."

The DFA earlier said none of the more than 220,000 Filipinos in the Gulf state were directly affected by the strikes.

The Philippine Embassy in Doha, meanwhile, is continuing to monitor the situation and has advised the Filipino community in Qatar to remain calm and follow official advisories.

Dr. Henelito Sevilla, international relations professor and president of the Philippines-Middle East Studies Association, said Manila denouncing Israel's unprecedented strike in Qatar would be its expected reaction, being a champion of upholding international law itself.

"Basically, it was a kind of interference to national sovereignty, and that is not allowed under international law," he told the Philippine News Agency on the sidelines of the inaugural Manila Strategy Forum by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) at the Solaire Manila on Wednesday.

"And the Philippines, following international law, should also condemn that attack because that violates the sovereign rights of a state, so that should be the position of the Philippine government," he added.

Five Hamas members were reportedly killed in the latest attack.

Quoting Hamas, local reports said the group's negotiating team was meeting in Doha to discuss the latest proposal of the United States for a ceasefire in Gaza when the strikes took place.

The Israel Defense Forces took responsibility for the attack and said it "conducted a precise strike" against the Hamas leadership.

It said measures were taken "in order to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions and additional intelligence." (PNA)

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PH, Japan defense leaders discuss maritime cooperation in Seoul meet

Philippine News Agency

By Priam Nepomuceno

September 10, 2025, 4:57 pm

MANILA -- The top defense officials of the Philippines and Japan discussed the importance of maritime cooperation amid regional challenges during a meeting in South Korea on Tuesday.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Department of National Defense (DND) said the meeting between Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Japanese Defense Minister Nakatani Gen took place on the sidelines of the recently concluded Seoul Defense Dialogue.

"The two leaders emphasized that maritime cooperation remains crucial amidst evolving regional security challenges," the DND said.

Teodoro and Nakatani also "highlighted the importance of strengthening the Philippines' defense capabilities in air and maritime domain awareness, cybersecurity, and communications," it added.

Both officials also welcomed the entry into force of the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) on Sept. 11.

The deal, signed in Manila on July 8, 2024, facilitates greater military cooperation between the two nations by streamlining procedures for the deployment of forces in each other's territories for joint training and disaster response operations.

The DND said reparations are underway for the formal approval of the Implementing Arrangements of the RAA.

Also during the meeting, Teodoro and Nakatani affirmed their respective countries' commitment to advancing bilateral defense cooperation, enhancing regional security, and promoting peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific Region. (PNA)

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High public trust in allies affirms PH's efforts to protect territory

Philippine News Agency

By Priam Nepomuceno

September 10, 2025, 2:53 pm

MANILA -- The Department of National Defense (DND) on Wednesday welcomed the results of a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showing high public trust in the Philippines' "like-minded partners."

In a statement, the DND said the survey is proof that Filipinos are "aware of the realities facing our country's territorial integrity, sovereignty, and sovereign rights."

"The overwhelming public approval for our like-minded partners legitimizes our efforts and affirms our position to pursue convergence in the defense of the rules-based international order," it added.

Based on the results of the nationwide survey conducted from June 25 to 29 on 1,200 adult respondents, the United States scored a "very good" net trust at +63.

Japan and Australia, meanwhile, earned "good" net trust scores at +43 and +37, respectively.

The US, Japan and Australia are the most vocal countries in expressing support for the Philippines' stance in the West Philippine Sea.

"The Defense Department remains committed to our mandate of protecting our territorial integrity, sovereignty, and sovereign rights," the DND said. (PNA)

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1st aerial Spike NLOS missile launch marks PH Navy drill off Zambales

Philippine News Agency

By Priam Nepomuceno

September 10, 2025, 11:49 am

MANILA -- The Philippine Navy (PN) on Tuesday held a live-fire unilateral missile exercise west of San Antonio, Zambales, highlighted by the first-ever aerial launch of a Spike Non-Line of Sight (NLOS) missile.

In a statement on Wednesday, the PN said its AW159 "Wildcat" anti-submarine helicopter "successfully conducted the first-ever aerial launch of a Spike NLOS and destroyed its designated target" during the activity.

It said the successful launch proved that "missiles can be launched from both air and surface assets, streamlining flexibility and logistics."

The missile boat BRP Tomas Campo (PG-908) also took part in the exercise, carrying out another coordinated Spike NLOS missile launch against a separate target, the PN added.

Spike NLOS, a precision-guided, multi-purpose missile system developed by Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, is designed to engage targets beyond visual range with pinpoint accuracy using advanced electro-optical and real-time video guidance.

It also empowers operators with full control from launch to impact.

The PN said Spike NLOS missile system's integration into its arsenal "significantly enhances standoff strike capabilities, boosting maritime defense, strategic deterrence, and operational effectiveness."

The successful live-fire unilateral missile exercise forms part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines' broader Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC), which emphasizes distributed lethality, domain awareness, and joint force integration across the country's vast maritime domain.

The drill was witnessed by PN acting flag officer in command, Rear Admiral Alan Javier, Philippine Fleet (PF) commander Rear Adm. Joe Anthony Orbe, and other ranking naval officers in a monitoring room at the Naval Base Heracleo Alano in Cavite City.

Other PN capital assets, including BRP Miguel Malvar (FFG-06), ScanEagle UAV, fast attack interdiction craft missile-capable BRP Albert Majini (PG-909) and BRP Laurence Narag (PG-907), and multi-purpose attack craft BA-492 and BA-488 provided critical support to the exercise, the PN said.

Units from the Philippine Marine Corps' Coast Defense Regiment and from the Philippine Coast Guard's BRP Suluan (MRRV-4406) also supported the exercise. (PNA)

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Respect for PH sovereignty, jurisdiction 'non-negotiable' - PBBM

Philippine News Agency

By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos

September 10, 2025, 10:57 am

MANILA -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday asserted that respect for the Philippines' sovereignty and jurisdiction is "non-negotiable," amid tensions and maritime disputes in the Indo-Pacific region.

"We have many bilateral channels of communication and areas of cooperation. But in all of these, respect for our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction is, and has always been and will always be, non-negotiable," Marcos said during the inaugural Manila Strategy Forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies at the Solaire Resort and Hotel in Paranaque City.

Marcos said the "most significant threat" to peace and stability is "right here in our own neighborhood, here in the Indo-Pacific region."

"And this is not just an opinion. It is a fact. We in the Philippines can say this with certainty, because we face the threat every single day," he said.

Marcos expressed dismay over the continued harassment of Philippine vessels and fisherfolk by foreign intruders within the country's exclusive economic zone.

Despite the challenges, Marcos expressed his gratitude to foreign partners and allies, including the United States, for their continued support in advancing the country's maritime domain awareness and strengthening maritime security initiatives.

"Our government vessels and fisherfolk continue to be harassed in our own waters, and we remain on the receiving end of illegal, coercive, aggressive, and dangerous actions in the South China Sea," Marcos said.

Marcos affirmed that his administration would continue to safeguard the country's territory, particularly the West Philippine Sea.

As the country observes the Maritime and Archipelagic Nation Awareness Month (MANAMo) in September, Marcos emphasized that the protection of the Philippines' marine resources and heritage is "underpinned by a strict adherence to the rule of law." (PNA)

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Yemen deploys 'cluster missile' against several sensitive Israeli targets

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 10 September 2025 3:01 AM

Yemen's Armed Forces have announced hitting several sensitive Israeli targets with a hypersonic ballistic missile fitted with "multiple reentry warheads."

In a statement on Tuesday, the servicemen said they had struck the targets in the vicinity of the holy occupied city of al-Quds with a "cluster missile" of the "Palestine-2" variant.

"The operation successfully achieved its objective, causing millions of Zionist settlers to flee to shelters," they added.

The statement came a little over two weeks after the Israeli regime's air force was reported to have launched an investigation into whether the Yemeni forces had deployed a "new missile" during a pro-Palestinian strike against the occupied Palestinian territories.

According to Ynetnews, the website for the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, which published the report on August 23, the missile had "bypassed the regime's interception systems" and landed "near the city of Tel Aviv" a day earlier.

The investigation, it added, was looking into whether the projectile "carried cluster munitions."

At the time, the Israeli outlet also integrated a video in its report, showing a missile splitting into fragments mid-air while flying over the occupied territories, saying the projectile had apparently been fired from the direction of the Arab Peninsula country.

Adding to their Tuesday statement, the Armed Forces said their operation had come as part of Yemen's continued support for oppressed Palestinians in the face of continued Israeli occupation and aggression.

Particularly, the strike was meant as an instance of support for the people in the Gaza Strip, who have been subject to an Israeli war of genocide since October 2023.

The servicemen have been conducting numerous such solidarity strikes since the onset of the war.

They have targeted Ben Gurion, the regime's key airport, on many occasions as part of an aerial blockade that they have imposed on the regime. They have also faced the regime with a naval blockade, targeting Israeli ships and other vessels heading towards the occupied territories.

Also on Tuesday, the forces announced striking the Ramon Airport and two other key sites in the southern parts of the occupied territories with "three drones."

Sana'a, they added, would sustain its strikes until the regime ended the war and a simultaneous siege it has been enforcing on Gaza.

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Hezbollah chief urges Muslims not to remain silent on Israeli attack on Hamas leadership

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 10 September 2025 7:13 PM

The secretary general of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement has condemned the Israeli strike on Qatar and the assassination attempt against the leaders of the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement, calling on all Muslim nations not to remain silent on the vicious act of aggression in the Persian Gulf kingdom.

Delivering a televised speech broadcast from the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on Wednesday evening, Sheikh Naim Qassem deemed the aerial raid a completely American-Zionist assault and part of the so-called "Greater Israel" plan.

The term "Greater Israel" has been used since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War to describe the territories occupied by Israel, including East al-Quds, the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, and Syria's strategic Golan Heights.

Early Zionist thinkers, such as Ze'ev Jabotinskywidely regarded as the ideological forerunner of Netanyahu's Likud partyexpanded this vision to include present-day Jordan. The idea of "Greater Israel" is a core tenet of Likud's political legacy, rooted in Revisionist Zionism.

"The occupying regime's aggression against Hamas leaders in Qatar is fairly dangerous. We, as Muslims, should not remain silent about it. We stand with Qatar in confronting this unprecedented violence. It falls within the framework of the so-called "Greater Israel" scheme.

"The aggression against Qatar was jointly crafted by the US and Israel, and was carried out with the green light of Washington," the Hezbollah chief said.

He described the issue of Palestine as the "foremost and principal issue" of the Muslim world, praising the recent retaliatory operation near the occupied al-Quds as bold and courageous.

"We must stand with the people of Gaza and the West Bank in confronting the Israeli and American aggression. Despite all grave difficulties, the Palestinian people have stood firm, and the struggle continues," the Hezbollah leader said.

He underscored that Hezbollah has long been preventing the fruition of the "Greater Israel" concept, hailing the resistance movement as the only armed group in Lebanon capable of resisting Israeli aggression.

Sheikh Qassem also dismissed calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah, stating that all those who support such pleas are delusional.

"The resistance group sacrificed its most precious assets on the path to defend Lebanon, most notably its leaders Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Sayyed Hashem Safieddine. Hezbollah thwarted the Zionist enemy's plots and did not allow it to occupy the Lebanese territory," he said.

The Hezbollah chief noted that the primary goals of the 2024 ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel were to stop the occupying regime's aggressions, delegate responsibilities to the Beirut government and expel the Zionist occupiers; but none of these objectives have been achieved.

"The reason for the compounding crises in Lebanon is corruption and failure to implement the Taif Agreement. The latest Israeli war on Lebanon further complicated the conflicts," Sheikh Qassem said.

On October 22, 1988, Christian and Muslim members of the Parliament of Lebanon signed a pact in Saudi Arabia's Taif, pledging to abolish sectarianism. The agreement, known as the Taif Accord, sought a political settlement to a bloody war - partly fuelled by sectarianism - that killed more than 100,000 people.

Sheikh Qassem urged all Lebanese citizens to unite, proclaiming that the ongoing resistance represents a historic milestone and a source of strength.

He pledged that Hezbollah will not forsake Lebanon even if the world stands united against it.

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Canada says 'evaluating' ties with Israel after 'unacceptable' Qatar strike

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 10 September 2025 6:38 PM

Canada says it is "evaluating" bilateral relations with Israel following an "unacceptable" Israeli airstrike on Qatar's capital, Doha.

Foreign Minister Anita Anand said Ottawa considered Israel's attack on Doha unacceptable, especially given Qatari efforts to facilitate peace talks between Hamas and Tel Aviv.

"We are evaluating our relationship with Israel," Anand told reporters on Wednesday. "There were deaths on the ground at a time when Qatar was trying to facilitate peace."

When asked if Canada was considering sanctions, Anand said the government "will continue to evaluate our next steps."

Israel's military said Tuesday that it conducted a "precise strike targeting the senior leadership" of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in Doha.

Qatar immediately condemned Israel's airstrikes as a blatant violation of its sovereignty, saying the "cowardly" attack targeted residential buildings that housed members of Hamas's political bureau.

Hamas later said the strike killed five members but failed to assassinate the negotiating delegation, the intended target of the strikes.

Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has since come under growing condemnation at home and abroad for putting ceasefire negotiations at risk.

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MBS condemns 'Israeli aggression' on Qatar, reaffirms support for Palestinians

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 10 September 2025 6:22 PM

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has strongly condemned Israel's recent strike on Doha, voicing full support for Qatar and urging the international community to confront the "Israeli aggression."

Speaking to the Saudi Shura Council (the Consultative Assembly) on Wednesday, bin Salman emphasized that Saudi Arabia "rejects" the Israeli attack on Hamas officials in Qatar.

The Crown Prince urged Arab, Islamic, and international bodies to take collective action in response to the "Israeli aggression."

He reiterated that Gaza belongs to Palestine and the rights of its people "cannot be taken away by any aggression."

Reaffirming Saudi Arabia's position, bin Salman pledged that the Kingdom would stand by Qatar "with no limits" in all necessary measures to safeguard the country's sovereignty.

His remarks echoed a phone call with the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, a day earlier, during which he condemned the strike as a "criminal act" and a flagrant violation of international law, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

In a further show of support, bin Salman is due to travel to Doha on Thursday.

The Israeli strike, which targeted senior Hamas leaders, constituted a direct attack on Qatari territory, marking a significant escalation since the outbreak of the Gaza genocide on October 7, 2023.

Qatar has been a key regional mediator in negotiations between the Palestinian resistance organization Hamas and Israel.

Six people were killed in the Tuesday attack that hit a building in Doha where Hamas officials were discussing Gaza ceasefire proposals.

The Israeli attack was condemned by world leaders, regional resistance groups, as well as many international and religious organisations.

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Israel's aggression on Qatar proves its 'terrorist' nature: Iran's Armed Forces

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 10 September 2025 6:05 PM

The General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces has strongly condemned Israel's aggression against Qatar that targeted leaders of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

"This brutal, barbaric, and undeniable aggression is a clear indication of the terrorist and aggressive nature of this fake, illega,l and rootless Zionist regime," the General Staff of the Armed Forces said in a statement on Wednesday.

As the White House confirmed that the United States had been informed in advance of the attack against Qatar, its key regional ally, the statement said it has become "clear and evident" to the world that the United States is "complicit" in all crimes committed by the Israeli regime.

It is also proof, the statement said, that Washington shows no respect for the global public opinion and its own allies.

"The United States, with [its] direct and indirect support for the Zionist regime's crimes, seeks to create insecurity in the world and the region and to promote international terrorism in order to achieve its evil, colonial and exploitative goals."

The expansion of Israel's "brutal" acts of aggression poses a "serious" threat to the regional countries and the entire world, the statement said.

The statement urged unity among Muslim nations to confront the threats from the United States and Israel, urging all countries to sever ties with the regime to stop this "insane" war machine.

The General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces said the Axis of Resistance will continue to stand firm against arrogance and oppression.

The Resistance fighters are determined to defend the oppressed people of Palestine and will never allow the United States and the Zionist regime to achieve their "disgraceful" goals, the statement added.

On September 9, Israel launched airstrikes on the headquarters of Hamas in Doha, in what was described as an "assassination operation" that claimed the lives of several members of the movement as well as a Qatari security officer.

The top Hamas leadership, including Khalil al-Hayya, Khaled Meshal, and Zaher Jabarin, survived the assassination attempt.

The Foreign Ministry of Qatar, a key mediator between Israel and Hamas during Israel's genocidal war in Gaza, rebuked the "cowardly Israeli attack," calling it a violation of international law and a threat to Qatar's security.

Hamas also condemned, in a strongly-worded statement, Israel's attempted assassination targeting its negotiating delegation in Doha and said the onslaught was a "heinous crime."

The Israeli onslaught sparked a whirlwind of condemnations from world leaders and regional resistance groups, as well as rights organizations.

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35 dead, over 130 wounded in new Israeli strikes on Yemen's Sana'a, Jawf

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 10 September 2025 5:34 PM

At least 35 people have been killed and more than 130 others wounded when Israeli warplanes launched a wave of airstrikes on Yemen's capital, Sana'a, and the northern province of al-Jawf, local authorities said.

Yemen's Health Ministry provided the new death toll hours after the attack on Wednesday. It had said earlier that nine people had been killed, but said the figures were preliminary and could rise as rescue teams continued to search for victims.

The ministry said the raids struck civilian and residential areas, including homes in al-Tahrir neighborhood of Sana'a, a medical facility on 60th Street in the southwest of the city, and a government compound in Jawf's provincial capital city of al-Hazm on Wednesday.

Civil defense teams are working to extinguish fires caused by the bombardment and pull survivors from the rubble, it added.

An unnamed senior Yemeni source revealed to al-Mayadeen television news channel that Israeli strikes also targeted the headquarters of the 26 September and al-Yemen newspapers, leaving several journalists dead and injured.

Spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, announced in a social media post that the Arab nation's air defense units were engaging Israeli aircraft, forcing them out of the Yemeni airspace and preventing them from extending their aggression to other regions.

Saree highlighted that a number of homegrown surface-to-air missiles were launched in the process.

In this context, a high-level military source stated that the targeted sites were purely civilian.

He noted that the government compound in al-Jawf was a completely civilian facility, which used to serve the public with no military function whatsoever.

The source emphasized that Israeli attacks on civilian installations clearly attest to the Tel Aviv regime's incompetence and failure and would not deter the Yemeni people from supporting Palestinians in Gaza and carrying out retaliatory strikes against Israeli-affiliated assets.

The attacks came days after an Israeli aerial assault killed Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi and several other ministers in Sana'a on August 28.

In light of the worsening genocidal war in Gaza that started in October 2023, Yemeni forces executed a strategic maritime blockade intended to obstruct the delivery of military resources to Israel while urging the global community to address the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Concurrently, they conducted multiple missile and drone attacks on key targets located in the Israeli-occupied regions, demonstrating their support for the Palestinians in Gaza.

The Yemeni Armed Forces have stated unequivocally that they will continue their operations until Israel puts an end to its ground and aerial assaults in Gaza.

Israel has killed at least 64,656 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in the besieged Gaza Strip since October 2023, according to the health ministry of Gaza.

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Qatari PM slams Israeli airstrikes on Doha as act of 'state terrorism'

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 10 September 2025 4:44 PM

Qatar's Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, strongly condemned Israel's strike against Hamas's political leadership in Doha, calling it an act of "state terrorism."

Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued an official statement today, summarizing the key points from Tuesday night's press conference.

The statement reinforced the prime minister's condemnation and emphasized Doha's stance against Israel's blatant violation of sovereignty and international norms.

The Qatari PM stated that the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened regional security and violated the sovereignty of nearby nations.

"These barbaric actions only reflect the barbarism of this person, who is dragging the region to a place where it unfortunately cannot be repaired."

Israel sends "a clear message to the entire region: There is a rogue actor engaging in constant political thuggery in this region and violating the sovereignty of its states," he added.

Al Thani, who also serves as Qatar's Foreign Minister, further affirmed that the state of Qatar will not tolerate any "violation of its sovereignty, territorial integrity, or security."

The top Qatari diplomat strongly criticized Netanyahu for previously declaring intentions to reshape the West Asia region.

Al Thani questioned whether the latest Israeli reckless actions were meant as a threat to reshape the Arab states of the Persian Gulf region.

Last month Netanyahu said that he feels a deep connection to "this vision" of a "Greater Israel," referring to the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories as well as parts of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, and described it as "a historical and spiritual mission."

The Qatari official denied claims that the state of Qatar had received prior notification from the United States before the Israeli attack.

He stressed that the first call from an American official came ten minutes after the strike.

The Qatari PM vowed to retaliate against Israel for its strike on Doha.

"Qatar reserves the right to respond to this blatant attack and will take all necessary measures to respond," he added, saying a legal team has been formed to handle the Gulf country's response.

Israel struck a building in Doha on Tuesday where the officials of the Palestinian resistance movement were discussing Gaza ceasefire proposals.

Six people were killed in the attack including the the son and aide of senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya. A Qatari security guard also died in the attack.

The Israeli aggression drew a deluge of criticism from world leaders, regional resistance groups as well as many international and religious organisations.

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Israel levels Gaza City tower as it steps up forced displacement of Palestinians

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 10 September 2025 3:19 PM

Israel has intensified its assault on Gaza City, flattening another residential tower as part of its ongoing offensive aimed at displacing the Palestinians from the city.

The attack struck the Tayba II Tower near the densely populated Rimal neighborhood on Wednesday, reducing the high-rise to rubble.

Tayba II Tower is the latest in a string of high-rise buildings deliberately targeted by the regime, many of which had been sheltering displaced families seeking refuge from the relentless bombardment.

The destruction of residential towers has become a defining feature of Israel's genocidal campaign, leaving thousands homeless and stripping Gaza City of its remaining civilian infrastructure.

Since last month, Israel has subjected the city of around one million residents to an intense bombardment.

This escalation of Israeli attacks on Gaza City, dubbed "Gideon's Chariots 2 operation," aims to "completely occupy Gaza City."

Last month, the Israeli war Minister Yisrael Katz claimed that "Gaza after this operation will not be the same as in the past."

On Sunday, the regime destroyed the five-story al-Ruya Tower in the city.

The director of the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network (PNGO) in the Gaza Strip, Amjad Shawa, who was near the site of the al-Ruya attack, said the situation "is scary," with panic spreading among the people.

"Today, hundreds of families lost their shelters. Israel is aiming to force Palestinians to the southern areas using these explosions," he stated.

According to the official, the regime's push to expel the city's residents comes while "there is no safe place in the south."

The Sunday attack followed Israeli strikes on the 15-story Soussi Tower on Saturday and the 12-story Mushtaha Tower on Friday.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an arrest warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity, conducted during his genocidal war in Gaza, has claimed the attacks were aimed at "eliminating terrorist infrastructure."

Analysts say the destruction shows a clear intent to make the city uninhabitable, the act described as ethnic cleansing and genocide.

Since the Israeli regime began its genocidal assault on Gaza on October 7, 2023, it has killed 64,656 Palestinians and wounded 163,503, mostly children and women.

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Iran's Parliament speaker urges Muslim world's unified action against Israeli crimes

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 10 September 2025 2:31 PM

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has denounced the Israeli strike on Qatar and assassination attempt against leaders of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, calling on Muslim nations to act in unison to stand against the Zionist entity.

In a message addressed to Chairman of Consultative Assembly of Qatar Hassan bin Abdulla al-Ghanim on Wednesday, Qalibaf stated that the aggressive Israeli aerial assault on the headquarters of the group in Doha has stirred up anger and disgust among the Iranian nation and legislators.

"Iran stands with its Qatari and Palestinian brethren, and condemns this criminal attack against the urban areas of Doha and the civilian guests of the Qatari government," he noted.

The top Iranian lawmaker expressed condolences for the killing of Palestinian and Qatari citizens in the malicious attack, and prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured.

"This blatant crime is a clear violation of international law and an example of state terrorism, as well as an outward manifestation of the inhumane and anti-human rights nature of the Israeli regime  an entity that has always fueled violence, crisis, and instability in the region through support of Western powers," Qalibaf stated.

He said the Iranian legislature is fully prepared to strengthen cooperation with Qatar in countering the Israeli regime's threats to regional peace and security.

The Shura Council, Qatar's legislative body, has condemned the Israeli attack on Doha on Tuesday, calling it "treacherous, cowardly, and criminal".

In a statement, the Council described the assault as a "flagrant violation of Qatar's sovereignty and security, and a grave threat to the safety of its people, both citizens and residents".

It also warned that the international community's failure to hold Israel accountable for its "repeated crimes", including the "war of genocide it has been waging against the Gaza Strip and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories for nearly two years," has only emboldened it to expand its attacks and commit further atrocities across the region.

The Council further denounced the threat made by the speaker of the Knesset after the attack, in which he described it as "a message for the entire Middle East".

The Shura Council reaffirmed Qatar's "firm and principled stance in support of the Palestinian cause", saying it rejects any "attempts aimed at liquidating it, whether through displacement projects, settlement expansion, or imposed solutions that undermine the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people".

Hamas said five of its members had been killed in the attack, including the son of its Gaza chief and top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya.

Hamas political bureau member Suhail al-Hindi told Al Jazeera TV the group's top leadership had survived the attack.

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Trump 'blessed' Israeli onslaught on Hamas leaders in Qatar: Report

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 10 September 2025 11:01 AM

US President Donald Trump "blessed" Israel's attack on the leadership of Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in the Qatari capital of Doha despite claims by the American head of state that he had no role in the regime's aggressive decision, a report says.

The Middle East Eye (MEE) news and analysis website cited both regional and US officials as saying that Washington had been notified of the Israeli attack in advance, with the White House later confirming the beforehand notification of the regime's onslaught.

The White House also said that Trump believes Israel's strike on Hamas targets in Qatar was unfortunate and he directed his top envoy, Steve Witkoff, to warn Qatar that the attack was incoming.

"The president views Qatar as a strong ally and friend of the United States, and feels very badly about the location of this attack," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, reading from a statement.

This is while Trump, who spoke with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani after the attack, claimed on his social media platform Truth Social that the decision to strike Qatar was made by Netanyahu and "not by me."

"Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, does not advance Israel or America's goals," Trump wrote hours after the strike.

"I view Qatar as a strong Ally and friend of the US, and feel very badly about the location of the attack," he added, stressing that the decision to strike inside Qatar was made by the Israeli prime minister. "It was not a decision made by me," Trump clarified.

Netanyahu's office also claimed the attack was "a wholly independent Israeli operation," adding, "Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility."

Israel launched airstrikes on Tuesday on the headquarters of Hamas in Doha, in what was described as an "assassination operation" that claimed the lives of several Hamas officials as well as civilians in the Persian Gulf Arab country.

Khalil al-Hayya, Khaled Meshal, Zaher Jabarin and other senior Hamas officials survived the attack, MEE reported. The attack killed Hayya's son, Hammam al-Hayya, and his office director, Jihad Lubbad, wounding several others.

Hamas condemned, in a strongly-worded statement, Israel's attempted assassination targeting its negotiating delegation in Doha and said the onslaught was a "heinous crime" and a violation of international law.

Qatar's Foreign Ministry also rebuked the "cowardly Israeli attack" on the Hamas headquarters in Doha, calling it a violation of international law and a threat to Qatar's security.

The Israeli onslaught sparked a whirlwind of condemnations from world leaders and regional resistance groups, as well as rights organizations.

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EU to impose sanctions on extremist Israeli ministers, violent settlers, pause payments

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 10 September 2025 11:00 AM

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the bloc is set to adopt a tougher stance on Israel, including imposing sanctions on "extremist ministers" and violent settlers, and suspending bilateral payments to the Tel Aviv regime over the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Delivering her State of the Union speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, von der Leyen also stated that the Commission will propose a partial suspension of trade aspects of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

"What is happening in Gaza has shaken the conscience of the world. People killed while begging for food, mothers holding lifeless babies. These images are simply catastrophic.

"I want to start with a very clear message: man-made famine can never be a weapon of war for the sake of the children, for the sake of humanity. This must stop," she said.

The high-profile EU diplomat also criticized what she characterized as the "financial suffocation" of the Palestinian Authority, and the Israeli regime's plans for a settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, which would cut it off from East al-Quds.

"All of this points to a clear attempt to undermine the [so-called] two-state solution, to undermine the vision of a viable Palestinian state," she said. "And we must not let this happen."

Von der Leyen acknowledged the anger among many Europeans at the inability of the EU to forge a more unified position on Gaza.

"They are asking, how much worse things must get before there is unity in response.

"I understand, because what is happening in Gaza is unacceptable, and because Europe must lead the way, just as it has done before," she said.

"We will put our bilateral support to Israel on hold," von der Leyen added.

The announcement that the EU will sanction key Israeli officials and settlers drew applause and jeers from across the chamber.

While many lawmakers, some of whom were wearing red in solidarity with Gaza, welcomed the announcement, some members, including from Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), shouted interruptions, prompting attendants and MEPs to tell them to be quiet.

The European Union is Israel's primary trading partner, representing 32 percent of its overall trade in 2024; therefore, any potential suspension would significantly impact the Israeli economy.

The European Union exports machinery, transport equipment, chemicals, and various other manufactured products to the Israeli-occupied territories, with the total value of exports reaching 26.7 billion in 2024.



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Israel sabotages any attempt at diplomacy, Pezeshkian says after Doha attack

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 10 September 2025 9:29 AM

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says Israel sabotages any attempt at diplomacy, following the regime's airstrikes on a Hamas headquarters in Doha, Qatar.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Pezeshkian condemned Israel's aggression against Qatari territory as "illegal, inhuman and anti-peace."

On Tuesday, Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes on the headquarters of the Hamas resistance movement in the Qatari capital, Doha, in what Israeli media described as an "assassination operation."

The airstrikes came as Hamas leaders had convened to discuss the latest US proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Pezeshkian urged the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and other international institutions "to respond immediately, decisively, and practically to this blatant aggression."

He added that "lasting peace in the region is only possible by ending the occupation and aggression."

"This terrorist act reflects the fact that the Zionist regime recognizes no boundaries for crime and terror, and on the other hand, it sabotages any attempt at diplomacy," he said.

Pezeshkian also said that attacking an independent country is a clear violation of national sovereignty and the United Nations Charter.

The Iranian president warned that the indifference of world powers in the face of such behavior "will double the risk of spreading crisis and war in the region."

Pezeshkian reaffirmed Iran's solidarity with Qatar and the oppressed people of Palestine, emphasizing that Israel's "aggression and state terrorism" will not weaken the Palestinian people's determination to pursue freedom and resistance.

"On the contrary, it will further strengthen the unity of the nations of the region against this occupation and injustice," he added.

Pezeshkian reiterated that Iran will "stand alongside all the oppressed nations of the region and will not allow unilateral and aggressive policies to jeopardize the security and future of the region."

In an earlier attempt to derail diplomacy, Israel launched an unlawful aggression against Iran in June while Tehran and Washington were actively engaged in negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear program.





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Croatian president refuses to meet with Israeli foreign minister over Gaza genocide

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 10 September 2025 7:00 AM

Croatian President Zoran Milanovic has declined to meet with the Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Saar, during his official visit to Zagreb, over the regime's ongoing genocidal war in Gaza.

In a social media statement posted on Tuesday, Milanovic questioned the decision of Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman, and Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic to meet with Saar.

He also questioned the rationale behind his invitation to Zagreb in the first place, condemning his visit as "unacceptable" while Israel's genocide against the people of Gaza continues.

Milanovic emphasized that meeting with a member of the Israeli regime at a time when it is expelling the entire population of Gaza City "would mean supporting Israel's policy of violence, ethnic cleansing, and war crimes."

He also criticized Croatia's government for supporting Israeli officials instead of taking steps to recognize the State of Palestine.

Milanovic further noted that comparing Croatia's war in the 1990s with Israel's attacks on Gaza is "a huge mistake," because Croatia defended itself during that time, while Israel "is brutally attacking Gaza and killing tens of thousands of people."

Members of the opposition Mozemo! (We Can!) party, including MPs Sandra Bencic and Marin Zivkovic, also voiced their condemnation of the visit by the Israeli minister.

"With today's act, Andrej Plenkovic has aligned his government with that of [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu, providing an alibi for the deliberate starvation of civilians and children in Gaza. The Croatian people will never support such actions," Bencic said.

Saar's visit to the Croatian capital was met with protests ahead of his meeting with the country's prime minister over Israel's genocidal attacks on Gaza.

Israel unleashed its brutal Gaza onslaught on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian resistance Hamas carried out its historic operation against the occupying entity in retaliation for the regime's intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

The Israeli regime's "security cabinet" voted on August 8 for an illegal plan to occupy Gaza City and launch a ground assault there.

In recent weeks, Israeli air and ground attacks on Gaza City have been intensifying as the regime has warned all residents of Gaza City to leave immediately in anticipation of a huge ground offensive.

Over the past nearly two years, Israel has killed at least 64,500 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured over 163,000 others across Gaza.





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China says it will create nature reserve on disputed Scarborough Shoal

The move follows years of clashes with neighbors over Beijing's sweeping claims in the South China Sea.

By RFA staff 2025.09.10 -- A hotly contested chain of reefs and rocks in the South China Sea is soon to become a nature reserve, China said on Wednesday.

The Scarborough Shoal, a triangular formation claimed by China and the Philippines, has been the site of several conflicts, including an incident last month in which a Chinese coast guard vessel that was pursuing a Philippine patrol boat struck a much larger Chinese military ship. It's known as Huangyan Island in China and Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc in the Philippines.

China's State Council said that establishing a reserve on Scarborough Shoal was "an important measure for maintaining the diversity, stability, and sustainability of the atoll's natural ecosystem." The boundaries of the reserve would be announced separately by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, it said.

Beijing claims jurisdiction over nearly all of the South China Sea despite a 2016 ruling from an international arbitration court denying that claim. China dismissed the ruling and has sought to strengthen its claim to areas like Scarborough Shoal, clashing with its neighbors along the way.

China's claim overlaps with the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Includes reporting from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

Copyright 1998-2025, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content September not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones In Its Airspace Amid Major Attack On Ukraine

By RFE/RL September 10, 2025

Summary

Poland shot down Russian drones that violated its airspace, calling it "an act of aggression."

The drones crossed into Poland during Russian strikes near the Ukrainian border; no casualties were reported.

Poland closed four airports, including Warsaw's main airport, amid heightened tensions with Russia.

Poland said it scrambled fighter jets and shot down a number of Russian drones that crossed into its airspace, calling it "an act of aggression" and a "large-scale provocation" against the NATO and European Union member.

It was the first time a NATO nation has fired shots since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022. The incursion raised concerns that the Kremlin is stepping up efforts to test the West's resolve.

"Last night the Polish airspace was violated by a large number of Russian drones. Those drones that posed a direct threat were shot down," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told an emergency government meeting on September 10.

Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on X that "more than 10 objects" crossed into Polish airspace and those that constituted a risk to Poland's security were neutralized. He did not specify how many, and the military said it was searching for downed objects.

"This is an act of aggression that posed a real threat to the safety of our citizens," the military's operational command said in a post to X. Tusk said there were no casualties in the incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace, which came amid a massive attack on Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia targeted 15 regions, firing at least 415 drones and more than 40 missiles. At least one person was killed and three others wounded, he said, repeating his near-daily calls for a stronger Western response to the onslaught.

"Moscow always pushes the boundaries of what is possible, and if it does not encounter a strong reaction, it remains at the new level of escalation," he said.

"Putin's sense of impunity keeps growing," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha warned on X.

While discussing further sanctions pressure on Russia, Kyiv's Western backers are also trying to hammer out plans for a postwar "reassurance force."

But the unprecedented incident comes as peace talks founder, with Russian President Vladimir Putin refusing to meet with Zelenskyy and vowing to achieve his goals by force if necessary as Moscow's troops press to take more territory, particularly in the Donetsk region in the east.

"Last night in Poland, we saw the most serious European airspace violation by Russia since the war began, and indications suggest it was intentional, not accidental," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas wrote on X. "The EU stands in full solidarity with Poland. Russia's war is escalating, not ending."

"The incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace during an attack conducted by Russia against Ukraine is simply unacceptable. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms. I call on Russia to put an end to this reckless escalation," French President Emmanuel Macron said.

Macron said he would speak with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and added, "We will not compromise on the security of our Allies."

There was no immediate comment from Putin, the Kremlin, or Russia's Defense Ministry.

Poland said it had closed four airports, including the country's main airport in Warsaw. The US aviation regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration, issued an advisory saying the RzeszowJasionka Airport in the southeast had also been closed. The facility is a hub for passenger and arms transfers to Ukraine.

Most of Ukraine, including the western regions of Volyn and Lviv, which border Poland, was under an air raid alert in the early hours of September 10, according to Ukraine's air force. Russia has frequently fired barrages of hundreds of drones and missiles at Ukraine, killing and wounding civilians across the country.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/poland-ukraine-russia- airspace-drones-border-tusk/33526405.html

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Georgians Keep Up Protest Despite Attacks Against Rally Day Before

By RFE/RL's Georgian Service September 10, 2025

Protesters gathered on September 9 in the Georgian capital a day after supporters of the ruling Georgian Dream party attacked protesters participating in ongoing demonstrations over a government decision to halt European Union membership talks.

Georgian Dream supporters pelted the demonstrators with bottles and rocks on September 8 in front of the campaign headquarters of Mayor Kakha Kaladze, who is running for reelection in local elections on October 4.

Demonstrators rallied again in front of the Georgian Dream politician's campaign headquarters on September 9, this time without incident.

Georgia has been thrown into turmoil since parliamentary elections in October 2024 in which Georgian Dream secured 54 percent of the vote. The opposition and Western governments argued that the poll was marred by violations and Russian influence.

Opposition activists have been holding daily demonstrations since the elections. More protests followed the election after the Georgian Dream party's decision to stop accession talks with the European Union.

Tensions were high on September 9 after at least 10 people, including journalists, reportedly were injured the day before. No arrests were made, according to police, but authorities launched a criminal investigation over damage to the mayor's campaign posters.

During the protest on September 9, yogurt reportedly was poured over an election banner near Kaladze's campaign headquarters and an inscription on one of the banners reportedly was erased and replaced with the words Russian Dream.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement after the September 8 rally that law enforcement officers took appropriate measures to defuse the situation and prevent further escalation of the conflict.

Demonstrators, however, complained that police failed to take action during attacks started by party supporters.

"What did the participants of the protest yesterday do that endangered the work of the headquarters?" wrote former Deputy Ombudsman Giorgi Burjanadze.

"People were organizing the protest and were attacked. It is shameful and shameful to write about this. Did any employee document the disruption of the headquarters' activities?" he added.

Last week, one of the leaders of the party's youth wing was filmed spitting in the faces of several activists and a journalist, while a verbal altercation took place between a former Georgian Dream MP and protesters.

Protests launched since the decision on EU membership have been met with accusations of police using excessive force and even torture.

Despite the continued protests, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has refused to back down and has threatened to punish political opponents, whom he accuses of being behind violence that has occurred at the protests.

A majority of Georgians support EU membership, and efforts to join the bloc are mandated by the Georgian Constitution.

Georgia received EU candidate status in December 2023 but relations with Brussels have soured in recent months, beginning with the adoption of a Russian-style "foreign agent" law, which critics say threatens media outlets and civil society groups.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/georgia-demonstration- protesters-elections-georgian-dream/33526076.html

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Israeli Strike In Qatar Fuels Iranian Doubts Over Diplomacy

By Kian Sharifi September 10, 2025

Summary

Israel's strike on Qatari soil targeted Hamas leaders allegedly reviewing a US-backed cease-fire proposal, sparking doubts in Tehran about diplomacy with the West.

Iranian hard-liners accused Israel of using diplomacy as a cover for assassinations, while Qatar's advanced US-made air defenses failed to intercept the attack.

Some Iranian commentators see the incident as an opportunity to boost Iran's regional influence and strengthen its anti-Israel narrative.

The shock of Israel's first-ever strike on Qatari soil is reverberating in Tehran, where the attack is fueling doubts over the very purpose of negotiations with the West.

For many Iranian pundits, the timing of the strike -- hitting Hamas leaders as they allegedly reviewed a US-backed cease-fire and prisoner exchange proposal with Israel -- has reinforced suspicions that diplomacy is little more than a "trap."

In the aftermath, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani told Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian that the targeted Hamas leaders were not only reviewing the US proposal but were also allegedly leaning toward accepting it.

Iranian hard-liners quickly seized on this detail.

The Tasnim news agency, an affiliate of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), accused Israel of using "the mask of diplomatic negotiations" to attempt to assassinate Hamas leaders.

The agency, like many other conservative media outlets, noted that despite hosting the largest US military installation in the Middle East and signing contracts worth billions of dollars with the United States, Qatar was "unable to secure its own safety."

Notably, even moderate and reformist commentators who support diplomacy with the West drew parallels to Israel's June airstrikes on Iran, which occurred as Tehran and Washington were preparing for a new round of nuclear talks.

"It appears that America and Israel believe the purpose of missiles is to strike the negotiating table," senior reformist figure Mohammad Ali Abtahi wroteon X. "They don't like negotiations."

Where Were The Air Defenses?

Qatar's air defenses include Patriot missile batteries and the THAAD anti-ballistic missile system, both advanced US-made military hardware. Yet, Israeli missiles struck their target without a problem.

This has led some in Iran to claim that Qatar either ignored warnings of inbound missiles or its air defenses are entirely operated by the United States.

Masoud Barati, a hardline commentator, mocked Qatar on X for "not being control of its own air defenses."

Some noted that Qatari air defenses intercepted Iranian missiles when Tehran attacked the Al Udeid Air Base -- where US Central Command (CENTCOM) forward headquarters is based -- in June in retaliation for the US bombing of its nuclear facilities.

Mehrdad Farahmand, a Middle East analyst based in Turkey, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that the air defenses did not detect the missiles "shows that America...had no objections to the attack."

Farahmand said this raises major questions, given the extensive US-Qatar defense cooperation agreements.

Boon For Iran?

Some conservatives view the attack as a boon for Iran to raise its regional profile as a defender of sovereignty.

Political commentator Mohammad Hossein Khoshvaght said Arab states in the Middle East may recalibrate their policy toward Tehran and regard Iran with "more open eyes."

Similarly, the IRGC-affiliated news website Mashregh argued that the attack allows Iran to strengthen its narrative in global public opinion.

It noted that Tehran can use the incident to bolster the so-called axis of resistance -- its regional network of proxies and armed groups -- against Israel.

The outlet added that this move "has not only further isolated Israel regionally and globally but also enhanced Iran's position as a defender of national sovereignty and the axis of resistance across regional, diplomatic, military, and public opinion fronts."

Despite the commentary against negotiating with the United States, Tehran seems keen on resuming talks, even if indirect, with Washington in a bid to prevent the return of UN sanctions, which could happen by the end of the month.

Reza Jamali of RFE/RL's Radio Farda contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/israel-strike-qatar-hamas- iran-question-negotiations/33526869.html

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Moscow's Rubicon: Russian Drones In Polish Airspace Test NATO

By Mike Eckel September 10, 2025

Summary

Russian drones entered Polish airspace on September 10, prompting the first NATO response to Russian weapons in allied territory.

Poland called the incident an "act of aggression" and invoked NATO's Article 4, prompting a mandatory alliance meeting.

Experts see this as a test of NATO's unity, with potential implications for European peacekeeping in Ukraine and U.S. policy on Russia.

This was the fear.

Since February 2022, when Russia chose to attack Ukraine and launch Europe's largest land war in nearly eight decades, the fear was that Ukraine's neighbors would be collateral damage.

Not just any neighbors, moreover.

Ukraine shares land borders with four NATO members - Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary -plus a maritime borders with Romania and Turkey.

How would the alliance react if Russia's war spilled into a NATO member? If a Russian weapons hit, or landed, in an alliance member, would that member invoke the treaty's "one-for-all-all-for-one" Article 5? Would NATO go to war with Russia?

As of September 10, when around 19 Russian drones entered Polish airspace, some shot down by fighter jets from other NATO members, that Rubicon was crossed.

What happens now depends on several things: above all, what exactly Russia's intentions were, if the drones were intentionally fired, or were jammed and drifted off course. Polish officials called it an "act of aggression" and "large-scale provocation" but did not outright call it an attack.

For years, experts have warned that an emboldened Kremlin might try to test NATO's resolve, independent of the Ukraine invasion.

If the Polish incident was a test -- EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of launching a "test of unity" -- how the alliance responds will be critical.

Warsaw invoked the NATO's treaty's Article 4 - which is a mandatory convocation of members. It's the second time that has happened since February 2022. That's short of the more serious Article 5.

Watch also how the alliance responds on the question of whether to send European peacekeepers to Ukraine, something under active discussion. Moscow says European boots on the ground in Ukraine would be a red line.

"I'd say the Russian goal is to instill fear in European leaders," said Oscar Johnson, a military analyst at the Swedish Defense University, in Stockholm. "Fear of escalation is their main tool for keeping substantial and determined European troops out of Ukraine."

Close Calls

There have been close calls in the past, when Russia's war spilled past Ukraine's borders.

In November 2022, a Russian-made missile stuck a Polish village, killing two people. Warsaw was outraged. NATO alarm bells sounded. It turned out later to be Russian-made antiaircraft missile that had been fired by Ukraine and went off course. The alliance stood down.

Russian drones, not to mention fighter jets and surveillance jets, routinely skirt airspace of NATO members, who do the same themselves, particularly over the Baltic, Black and Bering seas. Russian drones have entered Latvian and Estonian airspace in the past.

Romania has raised its alarms dozens of times for drones crossing into its airspace, and scrambled NATO member fighter jets on several occasions. Russian drone debris has fallen in Romanian territory several times, including in July 2024.

Romania, however, has never escalated its concerns, or called for urgent action from the alliance.

The Polish incident was a first for NATO: the first time alliance aircraft responded directly, in allied airspace, to Russian weapons.

"I have no reason to claim we're on the brink of war, but a line has been crossed, and it's incomparably more dangerous than before," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament, calling it "the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II."

Johnson predicted that countries determined to protect NATO borders, or support Ukraine - think Poland, the Baltics, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands -- will be galvanized by the incident. More risk-averse countries will be hesitant.

"We can see a more determined majority, but a more hesitant minority. The most important consequence will be if this alters the US hesitancy to impose significant consequences on Russia, whether it be sanctions or military support," he told RFE/RL.

Look To The Zapad

Further stoking the flames: Zapad 2025, a major military exercise involving thousands of Russia and Belarusian troops, that kicks off September 12. Poland ordered its borders with Belarus closed in response, and flight trackers have reported an uptick in Western surveillance fights.

"It's a very militarily tense situation which Russia is now using to show basically its strength and its ability to also interfere with NATO territory," Marta Prochwicz-Jazowska, a Warsaw-based policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Nick Reynolds, a land warfare research fellow at London's Royal United Services Institute, downplayed the significance of the Polish shootdown.

"It looks like Russia is testing NATO. They're certainly testing Poland, and the response is pretty predictable, the Poles have been preparing for months for this," he said. "It's exactly the kind of boundary testing that we would expect."

"It's not something that should be ignored," Reynolds told RFE/RL. However, "I think the Polish response is completely predictable, completely proportionate, and I just don't see this as a game changer."

RFE/RL Europe Editor Rikard Jozwiak contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-poland-drones-nato- airspace/33526854.html

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Poland Says It Shot Down Russian Drones In NATO Airspace, A First In Ukraine War

By RFE/RL September 10, 2025

Summary

Poland says it shot down Russian drones that violated its airspace, calling it "an act of aggression."

The drones crossed into Poland during Russian strikes near the Ukrainian border; no casualties were reported.

Poland closed four airports, including Warsaw's main airport, amid heightened tensions with Russia.

Poland said it scrambled fighter jets and shot down Russian drones that crossed into its airspace, a move NATO called "absolutely reckless" and the European Union a "test" of the continent's unity.

It was the first time a NATO nation has fired shots since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022, and Poland requested NATO consultations under a treaty article addressing external threats.

"Last night the Polish airspace was violated by a large number of Russian drones. Those drones that posed a direct threat were shot down," Prime Minister Donald Tusk told an emergency government meeting on September 10.

"I have no reason to claim we're on the brink of war, but a line has been crossed, and it's incomparably more dangerous than before," Tusk later told parliament, saying this is "the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II."

As condemnations of Russia from European leaders poured in, Tusk said there were 19 intrusions into Polish airspace overnight, with several drones flying in from Belarus, and that four were likely shot down.

However, Interior Ministry spokeswoman Karolina Galecka said "seven drones and debris of one missile of unidentified origin" had been found.

Poland Invokes NATO Article 4

"The fact that these drones, which posed a security threat, were shot down changes the political situation. Therefore, allied consultations took the form of a formal request to activate Article 4 of the NATO Treaty," Tusk said.

Article 4 states members "will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened." A NATO spokesperson said it was the first time its planes had engaged potential threats in allied airspace.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that whether the airspace violation was intentional or not, "it was absolutely reckless," and that NATO's reaction was "very successful."

"My message to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin: Stop the escalating war in Ukraine, stop violating allied airspace, and know that we are vigilant and will defend every inch of NATO territory," Rutte said after a meeting of the North Atlantic Council, the alliance's main political decision-making body.

Tusk said there were no casualties in the incursion into Polish airspace, which came amid a massive attack on Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia targeted 15 regions, firing at least 415 drones and more than 40 missiles. At least one person was killed and three others wounded, he said, repeating his call for a stronger Western response.

"Moscow always pushes the boundaries of what is possible, and if it does not encounter a strong reaction, it remains at the new level of escalation," he said.

Russia Says 'No Evidence'

Russia's charge d'affaires in Poland, Andrei Ordash, told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that Moscow considers "the accusations to be unfounded. No evidence has been provided to show that these drones are of Russian origin."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment, saying it was a matter for the Defense Ministry.

While discussing further sanctions pressure on Russia, Kyiv's Western backers are also trying to hammer out plans for a postwar "reassurance force."

But the unprecedented incident comes as peace talks founder, with Russian President Vladimir Putin refusing to meet with Zelenskyy and vowing to achieve his goals by force if necessary as Moscow's troops press to take more territory, particularly in the Donetsk region in the east.

EU Leaders Condemn Russian Drone Incursion

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas accused Putin of seeking to test the West's resolve with the drone incursion.

"What he wants to do is to test us -- really how far he can go. And every time he's bolder, because he's able to be bolder because our response hasn't been strong enough," Kallas told journalists in Strasbourg, France.

"I think it's a message that they are trying to send to really test our unity," she added.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban also called the "violation of Poland's territorial integrity...unacceptable," saying it underscored the need for peace. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it was "extremely reckless" and demonstrated "Putin's blatant disregard for peace."

"Russia's plan to destroy Ukraine is just the beginning of its ambition in Europe," said Czech Prime Minister Jan Lipavsky. 'No matter where peace is reached in Ukraine, Putinism will remain the main threat to European security."

With reporting RFE/RL Europe Editor Rikard Jozwiak, Reuters, AP, and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/poland-ukraine-russia- airspace-drones-border-tusk/33526405.html

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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MOFA Spokesperson's Commentary on Israeli Attack on Qatar

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea

Date 2025-09-10

1. The recent attack by Israel on the State of Qatar is an unacceptable act that violates the territorial sovereignty of the State of Qatar. The government of the Republic of Korea expresses its grave concern that this attack could further escalate instability in the region.



2. The government of the Republic of Korea highly appreciates Qatar's mediation efforts for peace in the Middle East, and calls on the parties concerned to make every effort toward an immediate ceasefire and the release of all hostages.

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Foreign Ministry's statement on Israeli strikes against Doha

10 September 2025 10:42

1447-10-09-2025

On September 9, Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on buildings in a residential district of Doha, the capital of Qatar, targeting senior members of the leadership of the Palestinian movement Hamas. According to available information, six people were killed in the attack, including an employee of Qatar's Interior Ministry, and several others were injured.

Russia regards these actions as a flagrant violation of international law and the UN Charter, an encroachment on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an independent state and a step that risks further escalation and destabilisation in the Middle East. Such methods of dealing with those whom Israel considers its enemies and opponents deserve the strongest condemnation.

At the same time, the missile strike on Qatar - a country playing a key mediating role in indirect talks between Hamas and the Israeli leadership on ending the nearly two-year-long war in Gaza and securing the release of those held captive - can only be seen as an attempt to undermine international efforts to find a peaceful solution.

In this regard, Moscow once again calls on all parties involved to act responsibly and to refrain from steps that could further degrade the situation in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and complicate the search for a political settlement. Russia reaffirms its principled and consistent position on the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. We firmly believe that a comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian question, on the well-established international legal basis, is the only viable way forward.

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Foreign Ministry statement on Poland's accusations of Russia

10 September 2025 16:51

1449-10-09-2025

In connection with accusations against Russia over the alleged intentional violation of the airspace of the Republic of Poland by Russian unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) during a combined precision strike delivered at the military infrastructure of the Kiev regime last night, we would like to draw your attention to a statement issued by the Defence Ministry of Russia on September 10, 2025.

The Defence Ministry has unequivocally reaffirmed that the strike did not include any targets in the territory of the Republic of Poland, and that the range of the drones that delivered a strike at the Ukrainian defence industry facilities, which, according to Warsaw, entered Poland's airspace, is below 700 kilometres. These facts overturn the myths which Poland is spreading again to aggravate the Ukrainian crisis.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had to confirm this. Speaking after a meeting of the NATO Council under Article 4 of the NATO Treaty held at Poland's request, he failed to provide any answer regarding any proof of "intent" behind that "incident." He only said that "a full assessment is ongoing."

Despite the obvious inconsistency of Warsaw's allegations, and seeking to fully clarify the incident for all sides interested in preventing the further escalation of the situation, the Defence Ministry of the Russian Federation has stated readiness to hold consultations on this issue with the Defence Ministry of the Republic of Poland. The Foreign Ministry of Russia is ready to contribute to these efforts.

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ICYMI: Risch Talks Middle East at MEAD

Senate Foreign Relations Committee

September 10, 2025

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had a conversation with Yaakov Katz, co-founder of MEAD, titled "Inside Foreign Affairs with Senator Risch," at the MEAD Summit in Washington D.C.

What are your thoughts on Israel's attack on Hamas in Qatar?

"If you are a member of Hamas, and a leader that had anything to do with the planning or execution of Oct. 7th, or the defense of it, it is a dangerous place to be because Israel is going to do something about it."

What does the day after the war in Gaza look like?

"Whatever happens on the day after cannot include Hamas, in anyway shape or form. I urge our Arab friends to step up and put a plan in place. The Arab states? I would like to see a lot more of them getting their heads together to solve this permanently."

Are you surprised how long it's taken Israel to degrade Hamas?

"Not really, I think Israel has been cautious and they have to be since they're getting beat up everywhere. But when you have an enemy that hides behind women and children, that puts their military organizations in the basements of hospitals and schools, it's difficult."

What are your thoughts on an Israeli-Saudi normalization?

"I think it's very much on the table but aways away because it's not going to happen while this war is going on. But I'm optimistic there will be a wave towards normalization once this thing is over. But we're not seeing this come to an end. Israel is not going to quit and the people who started this need to end it and they can end it tomorrow, in this moment, all they have to do is lay down their arms and surrender. That's how it's going to end and if it doesn't end that way then it's going to end like WWII ended for us and that is - we got them all."

Is the Senate prepared to help Lebanon?

"The answer is yes. We are at a once in a generational opportunity. Both Lebanon and Syria are looking to us, they want the West to step in and help, and we would be very foolish not to take this opportunity. I was the author of the Ceasar sanctions in Syria, I want to help, and I don't know anyone in the Senate who isn't all in on helping Lebanon and Syria get to their feet. These are two countries that are foundational countries to the Middle East and will play a big role in how the Middle East goes forward."

On Al-Sharra, what are your conditions for sanctions to be removed?

"You don't bring Iran and Russia back. They must have religious tolerance. Continue to push back against ISIS. Have respect for human rights.

So far, they haven't said no to any of that. If they misbehave, they're going to go back on, but we need to give them an opportunity and like all things it's got to start with the Syrians."

If there is a new agreement on an Iran nuclear deal? What would that look like and are you going to demand Senate oversight for it?

"The Iranians objective has always been obtaining a nuclear weapon, if they talk like that then I don't want an agreement with those people. Iran just learned that if they go back to what they were doing then they're going to get the same thing again. We're not going to go through what we went through last time, we're going to have our own fingerprints on this, if we get it."

What optimism can you leave us with?

"We have one bad actor left, and that bad actor is Iran. Groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, the Iraqi militants, are all funded, directed, and inspired by Iran. If Iran was off the table these groups would not exist, and could not exist, so we're down to one. I've talked with my Arab friends and they're sick and tired of Iran and the direction Iran is trying to take them. They're sick of groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas trying to lead them in a direction they don't want to go.

"I think the turning point was the original Abraham Accords, which President Trump doesn't get nearly enough credit for, I think people will look back on that as a turning point. The night when Iran had had enough and decided to launch 300 rockets into Israel, not one of them did any damage. That was because of the Iron Dome, but flying alongside the U.S., UK, and France were two Arab countries to defend Israel against an attack by Iran! If that doesn't indicate change, I don't know what does.

"I've talked to people from the Middle East; they don't want the old Middle East. They want to look forward to the 21st century. There is change in the Middle East and I think it's for the good. It will continue to move forward but will depend on how well we can ALL suppress Iran. We can't have a country with the objectives of Iran. I don't mean the Iranian people, in fact if you got rid of the regime, I think Iran would be a Western leaning, progressive country - it can't happen with this regime."

###





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Saudi Arabia Expresses Condolences to Qatar, Reiterates Solidarity following Heinous Israeli Attack

Saudi Press Agency

Wednesday 18/03/1447

Riyadh, September 10, 2025, SPA -- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed Saudi Arabia's sincere condolences to Qatar after an Internal Security Force member was killed in a heinous Israeli attack.

The ministry reaffirmed the Kingdom's full support for and solidarity with Qatar, and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

-- SPA

15:43 Local Time 12:43 GMT

0055

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Statement on situation in Nepal

Spain - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

PRESS STATEMENT 092

10 Sep 2025

Spain is following with concern the events in Nepal, which have led to the deaths of around twenty people in serious riots and the destruction of public buildings, such as the Parliament building in Kathmandu. Spain extends its condolences to the families and friends of the victims and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured, and calls for an investigation into the incidents.

The Spanish Government calls for restraint and dialogue between political and social actors to prevent an escalation of violence, ensure full respect for fundamental rights and respond to the legitimate aspirations of the population.

-NON OFFICIAL TRANSLATION-

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Death Toll From Israeli Strike on Houthi Defense Ministry Building in Sanaa Rising - Source

Sputnik News

20250910

CAIRO, September 10 (Sputnik) - The death toll from Israeli airstrikes on a Houthi defense ministry office has risen to eight, with at least 12 injured, a local government source told Sputnik Wednesday.

"The death toll from the Israeli airstrike on the Moral Guidance Department in Sanaa has risen to eight, with 12 injured, including journalists, both men and women," the source said.

The Moral Guidance Department serves as the press office of the Houthi-aligned Yemeni Armed Forces.

The Houthi Health Ministry said later in the day that 35 people had been killed and 131 injured in the wake of Israel's attacks on Sanaa and Jawf province.

Israel and the US have been conducting bombing operations against Yemen since early 2024, citing the Houthis' missile and drone attacks on Israel and a partial blockade of the Red and Arabian seas to Israeli-linked maritime traffic. The militia has vowed to continue its operations until Israel ends its "genocidal war" in Gaza.

 Sputnik

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Israel Strikes Defense Ministry Complex in Yemen

Sputnik News

20250910

CAIRO (Sputnik) - Israeli aircraft carried out strikes on the Defense Ministry complex of Yemen's Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, in the city of Sanaa, a source in the local authorities told Sputnik on Wednesday.

"Three Israeli airstrikes were carried out on the Ansar Allah government's Defense Ministry complex in the center of Sanaa," the source said.

"Israeli fighter jets carried out three raids on military barracks in a government complex in Al Hazm, the administrative center of the province of Jawf on the border with Saudi Arabia," the source said.

Yemen's air defense forces are repelling an Israeli attack, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saria said.

"Our air defense systems are currently confronting Israeli aircraft committing aggression against our country," Saria said in a statement.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Wednesday that it had conducted a new attack on military facilities of Yemen's Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis.

 Sputnik

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Nepalese Army Opens Fire on Prison Inmates Trying to Escape

Sputnik News

20250910

The army earlier deployed troops to the capital, Kathmandu, in coordination with other security agencies amid ongoing unrest in Nepal.

The Nepalese army opened fire on prison inmates who were trying to escape; one person was killed and seven were injured, the Kathmandu Post reported on Wednesday.

The incident took place in the Dhading District amid prison escape attempts across the country.

According to Dhading Hospital, a 75-year-old man was killed in the shooting, two victims are in serious condition, and five others were slightly injured.

The army, which assumed control of the country's security after protests, had extended the general curfew earlier until the evening of September 10.

In a separate development, the leaders of the youth-led protests in Nepal, self-labeled the "Gen Z Protest," have denied involvement in vandalism and riots, calling on the country's armed forces to ensure security and enforce a curfew, according to a statement published on Tuesday by the Indian TV channel Times Now.

The participants of the "Gen Z Protest" left the protest sites and are not associated with any individuals or groups involved in vandalism or destruction of public properties, the leaders said.

Meanwhile, the Kathmandu Post newspaper has reported that rioters have prevented the capital's fire service from extinguishing the fires by blocking its garage, with the police and the army failing to render help.

 Sputnik

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Nepali Communist Party Chief Says Will 'Rise Again' After Losing Power

Sputnik News

20250910

Shankar Pokharel, general secretary of Nepal's Communist Party (CPN-UML)), which led the now ousted government, said the party "will rise again" after it lost power amid mass protests and violent riots, the Khabarhub news website reported on Wednesday.

Pokharel shared a poem by famous Nepali poet Netralal Abhagi on social media. He ended the posting with a message: "Let us be patient, let us remain calm  we will rise again."

According to Khabarhub, the Nepalese army has detained 27 people on suspiion of looting, arson and violent attacks on civilians and property. The military also seized 31 firearms and related ammunition that were looted during Tuesday's unrest. The army said that 23 police officers and three civilians injured in clashes were being treated in military hospitals.

On September 4, the Nepalese authorities banned a number of major social media sites that failed to register with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology within the required deadline. The ban was lifted following protests on Monday.

The crisis escalated after protesters stormed the national parliament on Tuesday, prompting police to fire water cannons, tear gas and live ammunition toward the demonstrators. Dozens of protesters were reportedly killed and hundreds others injured. Prime Minister Sharma Oli resigned.

 Sputnik

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Russia Expresses Hope for Nepal's Protests to Abate

Sputnik News

20250910

The Nepali army, which assumed control of the country's security after protests, has extended the general curfew until the evening of September 10.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has expressed hope that unrest in Nepal would abate.

"The footage was terrible. I hope that this situation will gradually calm down," Zakharova told Sputnik.

Those in charge in the South Asian country should work together with civil society institutions to tackle the problem for the benefit of the people, she underscored.

"So that they are not in collusion but in synergy, and that each branch of government does its own work, so that all this benefits the state and the people," Zakharova pointed out.

On September 4, the Nepalese authorities banned major social media platforms for missing the deadline to register with the Ministry of Communications. The ban was lifted following protests on Monday.

The crisis escalated after protesters stormed the national parliament on Tuesday, prompting police to use water cannons, tear gas, and live ammunition on the demonstrators. Dozens of protesters were reportedly killed and hundreds of others injured, prompting Prime Minister Sharma Oli to resign.

 Sputnik

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Venezuelan Top Diplomat Talks Crisis in Caribbean With Russia

Sputnik News

20250910

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto has met with Russian Ambassador to Venezuela Sergey Melik-Bagdasarov, discussing US actions in the Caribbean.

"We held a highly productive meeting with the Russian Ambassador to Venezuela, Sergey Melik, with the aim of strengthening the friendship and high-level alliance between our peoples in the context of advancing toward a new multipolar world. During this meeting, we also analyzed the current siege facing our Latin American and Caribbean region, reaffirming our unwavering commitment to the defense of our sovereignty and regional peace," Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto said on his social media.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday that Washington was playing a dangerous card in the Caribbean region, including for itself, and that the situation with the US presence in the Caribbean Sea was unprecedented, with the only comparable event being the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

Earlier this month, US media reported that US President Donald Trump was considering various options for carrying out military strikes against drug cartels in Venezuela, with a broader goal of weakening Maduro.

Maduro said on Tuesday that the US had escalated the situation in region because of Venezuelan energy reserves, not because of drug trafficking.

 Sputnik

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Gulf Cooperation Council to Support Any Action by Qatar After Israeli Attack

Sputnik News

20250910

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) stands in solidarity with Qatar and will support any response following the Israeli strikes on Doha, GCC Secretary General Jasem Albudaiwi said.

"The Council states express full solidarity with the State of Qatar and support any measures it takes," GCC Secretary General Jasem Albudaiwi said.

On Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces said it had carried out strikes in Doha targeting senior officials of Palestinian movement Hamas. Eyewitnesses told Sputnik that several explosions occurred in the center of Qatar's capital.

World powers, including the United Kingdom, Germany and India, have condemned the Israeli airstrike on Hamas members in Doha and called for restraint.

"Today's airstrike by Israel against Hamas leaders in Doha breaches international law and Qatar's territorial integrity, and risks a further escalation of violence in the region," the European External Action Service said in a statement.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned Israel's strike and called for "immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages, and a huge surge in aid into Gaza."

India is concerned about the Israeli airstrike on Doha and calls for restraint to ensure peace and security in the region are not jeopardized, the Indian Foreign Ministry noted.

"The Netherlands condemns the Israeli airstrike in Doha. The sovereignty of states must be respected. Additionally, this step doesn't bring a much needed ceasefire in the Gaza Strip any closer," Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel said on X.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul noted that the Israeli attack not only violates Qatar's territorial sovereignty, "but also jeopardizes our efforts to free the hostages." Wadeful urged all parties to make every effort to achieve a ceasefire and free the hostages.

"Cuba expresses its strongest condemnation of the Israeli attack on the Hamas headquarters in Doha, which constitutes a new extrajudicial execution by Zionism, a flagrant violation of international law and the sovereignty of Qatar, and a serious threat to regional security and stability," Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla said on X.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil also condemned "the cowardly attack by the [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu regime on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar," calling the airstrike "an act of state terrorism, a flagrant violation of international law and a challenge to the principles of peaceful coexistence among nations."

On Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces said it had carried out strikes in Doha targeting senior officials of Palestinian movement Hamas. Eyewitnesses told RIA Novosti that several explosions occurred in the center of Qatar's capital.

 Sputnik

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Secretary Rubio's Call with Republic of Cyprus Foreign Minister Kombos

US Department of State

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

September 10, 2025

The below is attributable to Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Republic of Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos today to discuss shared priorities during the Republic of Cyprus's January - June 2026 European Union Council Presidency.

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No: 184, 10 September 2025, Regarding the Terrorist Attack in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs

We are deeply saddened that several people lost their lives in the terrorist attack carried out by the DEASH-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

We extend our condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the attack and to the people of the DRC.

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UN Human Rights Council 60: UK Statement for the Item 2 General Debate

Speech

UK Statement for the Item 2 General Debate. Delivered by the UK's Human Rights Ambassador, Eleanor Sanders.

From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Eleanor Sanders

Published 10 September 2025

Location: Geneva

Delivered on: 10 September 2025 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

Thank you, Mr President, and thank you High Commissioner for your update.

The famine in Gaza is a man-made crisis and a moral outrage. Israel must immediately lift restrictions on aid. We urge the parties to agree a ceasefire. That is the path to ending the suffering in Gaza, securing the release of the hostages and delivering a framework for lasting peace. The UK condemns settlement expansion and violence by extremist settlers.

The situation in Ukraine is unspeakable. Russian forces have tortured civilian detainees and prisoners of war, illegally deported and militarised Ukrainian children, and carried out targeted attacks on civilian infrastructure. These are not isolated incidents; according to UN reporting, many of these amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

High Commissioner,

Three years since your Office's report on Xinjiang, we would welcome your assessment of the steps China has taken to implement its recommendations. We also urge China to take meaningful steps to address allegations of forced labour, arbitrary detention, and restrictions on religious and cultural freedoms. Independent access and transparent auditing in Xinjiang, along with the release of arbitrarily detained individuals, are urgently needed and long overdue.

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PM meeting with President Herzog of Israel: 10 September 2025

Press release

The Prime Minister met the President of Israel Isaac Herzog in Downing Street this afternoon.

From: Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street and The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP

Published 10 September 2025

The Prime Minister met the President of Israel Isaac Herzog in Downing Street this afternoon.

He condemned Israel's action in Doha yesterday as completely unacceptable. He said the strikes were a flagrant violation of a key partner's sovereignty and do nothing to secure the peace we all desperately want to see.

Turning to Gaza, he reiterated his huge concern and implored Israel to change course. They must stop the manmade famine from worsening further by letting aid in and halting their offensive operations, he added

The leaders agreed that the hostages who were cruelly ripped by Hamas from their families nearly two years ago must be released. The Prime Minister also shared his condolences for the horrifying terror attack in Jerusalem on Monday, making clear that the UK stands against the abhorrent terrorism Israel has endured since October 7th.

The Prime Minister finished by saying that the UK and Israel are longstanding allies, and he will continue his work to secure an enduring peace and a better future for the Israeli and Palestinian people alike. Both leaders were clear that Hamas will play absolutely no role in this future.

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Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine regarding the Israeli strike on the State of Qatar

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

10 September 2025 11:55

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine deems unacceptable the strike carried out on September 9 against the capital of the State of Qatar  Doha, targeting a densely populated area where, among others, foreign diplomatic missions are located.

The strike on the territory of a state that acts as a mediator in the peace negotiations to resolve the situation in the Gaza Strip is a gross violation of international law and contradicts the efforts of the international community for de-escalation in the region.

We express solidarity with the Government and the people of the State of Qatar and emphasize the inadmissibility of violating of its sovereignty.

Ukraine supports the efforts of the Qatari Side aimed at achieving a sustainable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and resolving the situation through diplomatic means.

We are convinced of the need for all parties to refrain from actions that could negatively affect the mediation efforts of the State of Qatar and lead to additional aggravation of the security situation in the region.

We call on all parties to immediately cease violence and return to the negotiation process.



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Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Haiti, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Burkina Faso

UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Occupied Palestinian Territory

More people in Gaza displaced amid intensified Israeli operations

OCHA warns that with intensified Israeli operations, the Gaza Strip is spiraling into an even deeper abyss.

Today, the Israeli military reportedly hit more buildings in Gaza city. Families gathered in the open after being warned that one of those buildings would be hit. While the Israeli military had instructed them to move south to Khan Younis, OCHA says many of them were unsure where to go next.

OCHA notes that since yesterday, the entire city has been under a blanket displacement order. Issuing displacement orders does not absolve parties to a conflict of their responsibilities to protect civilians in the conduct of their hostilities.

Today and yesterday, partners tracking the movement of people in Gaza recorded more than 10,000 displacements from northern to southern areas, mostly in the direction of Khan Younis. People are using any means possible, including donkey carts. As some families flee, many others are unable to do so because of health and safety concerns, or high transportation costs.

Today, several primary healthcare centres and outpatient therapeutic feeding programs in Gaza city had to suspend services amid ongoing strikes.

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) warns that some 55,000 women are having to navigate pregnancy and childbirth amid perilous and traumatic conditions. Midwives continue to provide life-saving care, often under fire and with only the light of a mobile phone.

OCHA reiterates that under international humanitarian law, civilians and civilian infrastructure must always be protected and should never be a target. Civilian sites must also never be used to shield military operations.

Today, the Humanitarian Country Team of the Occupied Palestinian Territory - which brings together about 15 UN entities and some 200 NGOs, both international and local - issued a statement calling for a ceasefire and protection from forced displacement, as there is no safe place left in Gaza.

"We are witnessing a dangerous escalation in Gaza city, where Israeli forces have stepped up their operations and ordered everyone to move south," they said. This comes over two weeks after famine was confirmed in the city and surrounding areas.

The Humanitarian Country Team said that while Israeli authorities have unilaterally declared an area in the south as "humanitarian," they have not taken effective steps to ensure the safety of those forced to move there - and neither the size nor scale of services provided is fit to support those already there, let alone new arrivals. This leaves nearly 1 million people without any safe or viable options - as neither the north nor the south offers safety.

The UN and its partners called for expanded and sustained humanitarian access, including direct routes to both the north and south. They stressed that the humanitarian community will remain in Gaza city for as long as possible and will continue to do everything it can to bring aid and deliver life-saving services across the Strip.

The Humanitarian Country Team also urged the international community to call for an immediate ceasefire and uphold international humanitarian law, including the release of hostages and those arbitrarily detained.

Haiti

In Port-au-Prince, UN Relief Chief calls for urgent support to relieve immense suffering

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher - who concluded his visit* to Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince today - stressed that the country needs urgent support amid immense suffering.

Yesterday, he visited Hopital Universitaire La Paix, the only public hospital in Port-au-Prince able to handle advanced cases that remains open and accessible to people in need, amid the current security crisis. The facility has been pushed to the brink and forced to reduce even maternal care. Fletcher said women and girls are bearing the heaviest toll, with families who have lost everything crammed into makeshift shelters.

At a displacement site in the capital where many have sought safety from rising insecurity, Fletcher listened to people whose lives have been destroyed by brutal violence. Living conditions are extremely difficult, with many families displaced multiple times. The Under-Secretary-General stressed that people there want healthcare, clean water, education for their children, and to rebuild their lives - and the world must do better for them**.

He also visited a youth centre, where he met young people once trapped by violence who are determined to learn new skills.

During Fletcher's meeting with Haitian officials - including Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime and Laurent Saint-Cyr, the president of the Transitional Presidential Council - they discussed how to improve coordination between the UN and the Government, protection of those facing violence, ways to build long-term partnership for resilience, and the challenging political and security landscape in Haiti.

Mr. Fletcher also met humanitarian partners and members of the diplomatic community - and before his departure today, he visited a centre that provides support for women and girls who are survivors of gender-based violence, which has reached unprecedented levels in Haiti. More than 6,200 incidents were reported by service providers between January and July. Nearly half of those cases were rapes.

At the Kay Fanm support centre in Port-au-Prince, Fletcher met women who survived brutal sexual attacks and lost their families and homes in the violence. The organization - which is supported by UNFPA - is providing essential medical services and psychosocial assistance.

*B-roll and soundbites from Under-Secretary-General Fletcher's visit to Haiti is available via UNIFEED.

**Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in Haiti with urgent support.

Sudan

Conflict, bureaucratic barriers, and attacks on aid workers hamper humanitarian access

OCHA reports that humanitarian access continues to be severely constrained in Sudan - with ongoing conflict, attacks on aid workers, and bureaucratic barriers continuing to pose severe obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

No aid convoys have reached El Fasher, the besieged state capital of North Darfur, since January. Heavy rains have rendered key roads between South and East Darfur states impassable, further cutting off access to West Kordofan.

In the capital Khartoum, the response to a cholera outbreak and increasing returns of displaced people remain hampered by complex approval procedures and unforeseen costs.

Volunteers with mutual aid groups are also facing increasing risks, including arbitrary arrest and abuse. Last month, incidents of violence against volunteer aid workers were reported in Khartoum, East Darfur and North Darfur states.

Meanwhile, escalating conflict is intensifying concerns over the protection of civilians in the regions of Darfur and Kordofan.

Artillery fire reportedly struck multiple locations in El Fasher yesterday, while drone and artillery strikes on the Abu Shouk displacement camp on the outskirts of El Fasher and surrounding neighbourhoods a day earlier reportedly caused civilian casualties.

On Sunday, drone strikes in the town of Kuma, about 70 kilometres east of El Fasher, damaged civilian infrastructure.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the greater Khartoum area was also impacted by drone strikes which hit several key civilian sites including an electricity station, leading to a major power outage across the capital. The aerial assault shattered the relative calm that has prevailed there in recent months, demonstrating some of the risks that the civilians returning to the area in large numbers face.

These incidents also raise serious concerns about the growing use of drone warfare near populated areas.

OCHA once again calls for the immediate cessation of hostilities, protection of civilians, unimpeded humanitarian access, and increased international funding to sustain life-saving operations across Sudan.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Surging violence imperils civilians in eastern DRC

OCHA is sounding the alarm over a recent surge in violence impacting civilians in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

At least 89 civilians were killed in attacks by armed groups on the evening of 8 September in the territories of Beni and Lubero in North Kivu province. Local authorities report that a dozen people remain missing.

According to partners, at least 140 civilians have been killed in a series of attacks against civilians since mid-August across several villages in Beni and Lubero territories.

Humanitarian partners on the ground report that these attacks indiscriminately target women, children and vulnerable communities, forcing people to flee and leaving entire villages abandoned.

Since the second half of 2024, attacks have claimed the lives of over 2,050 civilians across Beni and Lubero territories, according to partners.

Bruno Lemarquis, the Humanitarian Coordinator in the DRC, is currently visiting Beni. Yesterday, he met with provincial authorities to discuss the urgent need to enhance the protection of civilians and to review the current state of the humanitarian response.

As violence continues to surge in North Kivu, Mr. Lemarquis warned that funding cuts are having a devastating impact on the humanitarian response. The US$2.5 billion Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is currently just 15 per cent funded, with $377 million received.

Nigeria

UN fast-tracks support for people in Adamawa State ahead of forecasted floods

Emergency Relief Coordinator Fletcher has allocated $5 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to try to get ahead of severe floods forecast in Nigeria.

The CERF funding is part of a collective initiative and complements a $2 million allocation from the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund.

Partners supported by the two funds will focus on providing food, cash and shelter support for some 350,000 people in the north-eastern state of Adamawa.

Fletcher stressed that OCHA's pooled funds provide the majority of global anticipatory financing.

Burkina Faso

Funding released to minimize impact of expected flooding

OCHA has released $1 million to minimize the impact of expected floods in Burkina Faso, following heavy rains in the country.

The resources come from the OCHA-managed Regional Humanitarian Fund for West and Central Africa and will help two local NGO partners provide critical food, shelter and water, sanitation and hygiene assistance to 35,000 people in the regions of Centre-Nord and Sahel ahead of the forecasted floods.

This marks the first time that funds have been released from one of OCHA's regional funds as part of anticipatory action efforts - and it reflects close monitoring and cooperation between the UN, its partners, and the Burkinabe authorities.

Posted on 10 September 2025

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Allies unite in tactical, operational C2 during Bamboo Eagle 25-3

Published Sept. 10, 2025

By Deb Henley

505th Command and Control Wing Public Affairs

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii (AFNS) -- Bamboo Eagle 25-3 united U.S. and allied forces across multiple continents to practice tactical and operational command and control in a contested environment. Led by the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center, the exercise tested joint and coalition responses to complex short-notice threats, sharpening speed, flexibility and cooperation to defend national and allied interests, July 27 - Aug. 9.

The Department-Level Exercise highlighted how U.S. and coalition C2 forces operate as one team across live, virtual and constructive domains. Real-world operations at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and Camp Smith were linked with the Distributed Mission Operations Center's scenario at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, while the 505th Command and Control Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida, generated a synthetic air expeditionary task force and theater-wide constructive air picture. Together, these efforts integrated distributed tactical and operational C2 forces, connecting U.S. and coalition partners in real and simulated environments in combat-realistic Indo-Pacific scenarios.

"Using virtual assets, the 505th Command and Control Wing roughly doubled the scope and scale of the live-fly element while providing theater-representative problem sets for the 613th Air Operations Center and the AFFOR [Air Force Forces] staff," said U.S. Air Force Col. Ryan Hayde, 505th CCW commander.

The DMOC linked eight tactical C2 units, MQ-9 Reaper and naval simulators, personnel recovery assets and the Air Force Reserve Command's 349th Air Mobility Wing staff into the larger Bamboo Eagle environment. These connections tied directly to the 613th AOC and the AFFOR staff, bridging tactical decision-making to operational command.

Coalition C2 at Work

Beyond the DMOC's synthetic environment, Royal Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force and Australian Army operational C2 members served within the 613th AOC and Joint Battle Watch. Together they synchronized real-world C2 for joint air and maritime operations in the Indo-Pacific Command's area of responsibility. This included:

Tasked tactical mission tasking for air expeditionary wings and maritime patrol forces

Coordinated and synchronized joint all-domain fires in the JBW

Integrated live operational assets, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and personnel recovery missions

Coordinated directly with the 613th AOC, JBW, AFFOR and theater leadership

"Bamboo Eagle was an enlightening insight into the conduct of strategic level planning, to operational/tactical execution of very complex multi-domain missions within the USINDOPACOM theatre," said RAAF Group Capt. Jeremy Feldhahn, Australian Defense Force Headquarters Joint Operations Command, Operations and Plans Branch director of theatre effects. "There were some great lessons in the command and control of these types of missions, when considering the vast distances, logistical challenges and degraded communications."

"This exercise showed that integration isn't just about sharing airspace, it's about sharing decisions," Hayde said. "U.S. and coalition officers worked side by side making operational calls that directly impacted joint air and maritime operations."

Allied Leaders Shape Planning and Decisions

This iteration expanded coalition participation at the planning level. For the first time, the Royal Air Force embedded combat air, non-kinetic effects and space experts from the U.K. Air and Space Warfare Centre into the 613th AOC.

"I'm thrilled the RAF can now play a pivotal role in this specific planning environment at the joint level of warfare. In past iterations, our absence at this planning environment limited how U.K. assets could be tasked. This is an important first step toward routinely providing non-U.S. solutions for joint planners," said RAF Wing Commander Richard Kinniburgh, BE 25-3 U.K. lead and 505th CCW RAF exchange officer.

He continued, "this allowed for RAF assets and capabilities to be brought to the joint planning environment, posturing for the return of live air platforms in exercise Bamboo Eagle 26-1."

For the first time, Australian Defense Force specialists and operational SMEs integrated into the JBW, providing critical insight into multi-domain operations and strengthening joint and all-domain fires synchronization.

"Air Command and Headquarters Joint Operations Command involvement in Bamboo Eagle was excellent and provided opportunities to practice high-end planning and execution with our INDOPACOM peers," said RAAF Wing Commander Stuart McLean, 88 Squadron commanding officer. "The integration between our forces was as close as I have experienced and the Air Command team certainly left the exercise with a greater understanding of how to work together."

Additionally, RAF 11 Group embedded personnel within the 613th AOC, building on their near-full access to U.S. Air Force systems that would underpin any future conflict in the region.

Hayde added, "Embedding coalition leaders ensures their assets and capabilities are fully integrated. When allied officers inform operational decisions, we strengthen trust, use every platform effectively and build the speed and confidence needed to act as one team in combat."

Linking the Fight Through Distributed Training

The DMOC connected operational and tactical U.S. forces with coalition partners from their home stations, simulating contested airspace, degraded communications and complex threats.

Coalition aircraft flew exclusively through virtual and constructive scenarios, while personnel integrated in both live and simulated environments. Key contributions included:

Royal Canadian Air Force: Control Reporting Centre and Battle Control System - Fixed node in North Bay

Royal Australian Air Force: E-7A Wedgetail crews, Distributed Training Centre advisory support, white force management for virtual and constructive AEW operations and liaison officers

Royal Air Force: Air Battlespace Training Centre members at RAF Waddington provided operational oversight for virtual air assets, fulfilled AEW leadership functions for RAF VC assets and liaison officers

"Bamboo Eagle 25-3 provided the opportunity to integrate an RAF EAW [Expeditionary Air Wing] in direct support for U.S. Air Force-led coalition operations," said RAF Wing Commander Mark Still, ABTC Officer Commanding, RAF BE 25-3 virtual EAW lead. "Embedding RAF personnel at every operating location, allowed us to gain experience whilst directly informing coalition operations and learning at every level."

Still continued, "ASWC [U.K. Air and Space Warfare Centre] personnel at the 613th AOC and the 705th Combat Training Squadron ensured that the virtual and constructive sorties connected via the Gladiator system, from the ABTC in the U.K., were planned, executed and accurately reported to the JFACC [Joint Force Air Component Commander] and COMAFFOR [Commander Air Force Forces]. We are proud of the continued support to Bamboo Eagle from the ASWC and aim to continue to grow this in the future iterations to add mass to the exercise and U.K. live-air contribution."

Forging Trust and Readiness

Bamboo Eagle 25-3, a U.S. Air Force Warfare Center and Air Combat Command exercise, showcased how U.S. and allied forces integrate tactical and operational C2 across live and distributed environments. Each iteration builds on today's challenges while preparing for tomorrow's, ensuring forces remain ready for any threat.



"Coalition strength comes from shared decisions and shared responsibilities. Bamboo Eagle strengthens that bond so our nations can face future challenges together," Hayde said.

The exercise also set the stage for Bamboo Eagle 26-1 in February, where U.S. and coalition forces and expanded scenarios will build on lessons learned. By integrating tactical and operational C2 across multi-domain live, virtual and constructive environments, Bamboo Eagle continues to prepare U.S. and allied forces for contested operations in the Indo-Pacific. This collaboration strengthens deterrence, addresses shared security concerns and promotes a rules-based international order through multinational coordination.

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ACC focuses on readiness, warfighter excellence during USecAF visit

Published Sept. 10, 2025

By Marcus Bullock

Air Combat Command Public Affairs

JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. (AFNS) -- Under Secretary of the Air Force Matt Lohmeier visited Air Combat Command at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Sept. 9, to gain a deeper understanding of how ACC headquarters trains and develops air combat forces for U.S. warfighting commanders.

The visit provided Lohmeier with insights into how ACC is developing the next generation of warfighters, focusing on areas outlined by the commander of ACC, Gen. Adrian Spain: readiness across all domains, warfighting excellence, adaptation to strategic environments, modernization and empowering leadership.

"The heart of airpower lies at ACC and readiness is vital to our success," Spain said. "Our mission isn't to meet the standard, but to set it. Every day, in every domain, we must strive to be a little better than we were yesterday - sharper, more adaptable, and more ready to deter, defend and decisively win, whatever the challenge."

Lohmeier, a pilot with more than 1,200 flight hours, emphasized the need for warfighters to possess the capabilities and knowledge to succeed in any domain.

"Air and spacepower are the bedrock of every national security option," Lohmeier said. "As under secretary, one of my top priorities is building an Air Force ready to deter aggression and decisively win. This requires more than just advanced technology; it demands a laser focus on training the skillset that will make us lethal."

To further understand the needs of ACC's warfighters, Lohmeier gained insight into how Air Force's warfighters are preparing for any future conflict.

"Readiness is our non-negotiable foundation," Spain said. "It's not enough to simply have the capabilities; we must own them, master them, and be confidently ready to deploy them at a moment's notice. This includes not just steel and silicon, but also the strength and spirit of our airmen and families."

Beyond equipment and training policies, Lohmeier recognized airmen from ACC who are exceeding expectations to ensure the command is prepared for future challenges.

"Air Combat Command's strength lies in its Airmen," Lohmeier said. "We must empower leaders at all levels to make rapid, informed decisions, fostering a culture of trust and accountability. By persistently developing our warfighter's integrity and excellence, we will continue building a confident and resilient force."

Lohmeier's visit allowed Air Combat Command headquarters staff to highlight their unwavering commitment to warfighting excellence, emphasizing that ACC efforts are positioned to deter, defend, project and win.

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Remote Maintenance System Kits On Track to Fleet Deployment

US Navy

10 September 2025

From Story by Teri Carnicelli

OXNARD, Calif. -- Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division's (NSWC PHD) Augmented Reality Maintenance System (ARMS) team sent out more than 20 ARMS kits to the fleet in August, putting it closer to meeting command leadership's goal of ARMS on every deployed ship.

"Our highest priority, based on feedback from (Commanding Officer) Capt. (Tony) Holmes, is to make sure that every deploying ship in the fleet pulls away from the pier with ARMS capability," said Matt Cole, NSWC PHD ARMS project lead. "So far, we have been accomplishing that by targeting deploying carrier strike groups like the USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) groups. But our current round of fielding is rolling out capability to all our forward-deployed naval forces (FDNF) ships in places like Rota, Spain, and Yokosuka, Japan."

The ARMS kits left the command in mid-August, heading to more than a dozen FDNF ships in the 6th and 7th Fleets. Additional kits were sent to the Navy's Aegis Ashore Missile Defense sites in Poland and Romania for installation before the end of the calendar year.

According to Chris Black, NSWC PHD rapid prototyping experimentation and demonstration lead, the command also sent kits to the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and its lead ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7).

Using the ARMS kit, shipboard maintainers can contact a shore-based subject matter expert (SME) in real time with audio, video and text chat so the remote expert can see and hear what the Sailor is experiencing.

"We anticipate funding from Commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (CNAP) and Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (SURFPAC), and we will meet the end-of-month deadline to have ARMS on all FDNF ships," said Black, who is overseeing the deployment of the ARMS kits.

"The ARMS team is actively working toward getting program sponsorship, but while the program is still in the development phase, we are receiving funding from the various type commanders like CNAP and SURFPAC that eagerly want this technology aboard their ships," he added.

Cole said that the ARMS team's intent is to reach 100% of those set to deploy, or already deployed by the first quarter of next fiscal year.

"We also want to push our installations on ships a little earlier in the deployment cycle so Sailors can train with ARMS before they deploy," Cole said.

Collaborative efforts

ARMS team members also continue to collaborate with other systems commands (SYSCOMs) involved in developing and deploying ARMS, including Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR). NAVAIR developed the software that NSWC PHD combined with commercial off-the-shelf hardware to create and ultimately field ARMS.

Representatives of both SYSCOMs attended a three-day meeting in July that the command hosted to discuss the overall ARMS fielding strategy, network integration requirements, metrics capturing, sponsorship options and more.

"The metrics that we are getting from Sailors and SMEs are going back to us as well as the NAVAIR software developers to improve the hardware and total kit," said computer scientist Nick Bernstein, ARMS engineering lead.

So far, metrics from nine ARMS-assisted shipboard maintenance events have been collected, showing a 92% reduction in SME time by using ARMS and a 94% cost avoidance, versus traditional shipboard support.

"Part of the discussion was focused on programmatics  how are we capturing metrics to tell the story of ARMS' impact, and how we can improve what we're capturing," Bernstein said.

Those metrics and feedback also fed into the development of the next version of the ARMS kit, he said.

"We dug into requirements and use cases that each SYSCOM would like to prioritize as capabilities in the next version of the kit," Bernstein said.

Using the feedback received, the ARMS team ranked priorities for software and hardware development over the next six months.

During the meeting, members of the command's waterfront logistics division briefed the group on the logistical aspects of procuring, assembling and deploying the kits.

"Big picture, the goal of this meeting was to unite all the stakeholders on the requirements of the system and resources for the short-term and long-term plans for this program," Bernstein said.

"Building these cross-organizational relationships will be key to help the program succeed as we all communicate a bit better and have a more common understanding," he added.

Long-term sustainment

All three SYSCOMs, including Naval Sea Systems Command, have also been working toward developing an estimated program cost, with a range between barebones support and full-court press to field across the fleet over the next few years, until a formal Program Objective Memorandum dedicates program funding to ARMS, Bernstein said.

"We discussed who our potential sponsors are and which SYSCOM makes the most sense as the primary ARMS home," he said. "There are still some open questions from this portion of the meeting, but we captured the plans for what's next."

Finding a permanent sponsor is just one goal of the long-term sustainment plan for ARMS, according to Cole. What started as a Naval Innovation Science and Engineering-funded research project under NSWC PHD's Office of Technology has now grown into a full-blown program with several areas of command support.

"We have been building out the team into multiple technical swim lanes, with different departments leading the development of ARMS and overseeing fielding and product support," Cole said.

In addition to the departments, Cole said the ARMS team has worked closely with the command's Office of Engineering and the Fleet Readiness Office to set up an operations team to respond to day-to-day fleet support demands for ARMS.

"Every one of these teams also includes important contributions from our partners in NAVAIR and NAVWAR," Cole said. "These improvements to our team structure and bench strength will be key as we take ARMS from a success story in rapid technology transition to a success story in long-term fleet capability."

Looking ahead, the team is already developing the next versions of the ARMS kit, due in large part to fleet and SYSCOM feedback.

"This major version upgrade will bring important software fixes and hardware improvements, as well as several highly requested features like multi-way calling and greater portability," Cole said.

"Our goal is to have these improvements out in the early part of next calendar year," he said. "We're tremendously grateful to the many dozens of people across NSWC PHD and external commands who have pulled out all the stops to help us accelerate (ARMS') capability to the fleet."

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British PM urges Israel to change course in Gaza

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 11:14, September 11, 2025

LONDON, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at Downing Street on Wednesday, during which he strongly condemned Israel's recent strike in Doha, Qatar, as "completely unacceptable," said Downing Street spokesperson.

Starmer said the strikes represented "a flagrant violation of a key partner's sovereignty" and did nothing to advance the peace that "we all desperately want to see."

Turning to the situation in Gaza, the prime minister voiced deep concern and urged Israel to change course. He stressed that Israel must allow humanitarian aid into the territory and halt offensive operations to prevent the worsening of what he called a "man-made famine."

Both leaders agreed that the hostages abducted by Hamas nearly two years ago must be released. Starmer also expressed condolences over Monday's deadly terror attack in Jerusalem.

The European Union and the United Nations, as well as several European governments, including Britain, have this week hardened their stance on Israel's escalating military campaign across the Middle East after it launched airstrikes on Qatar Tuesday afternoon.

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Philippine Statement on the Attack in Doha

Republic of the Philippines - Department of Foreign Affairs

MANILA 10 September 2025 -- The Philippines deplores the attack in Doha which is a grave violation of international law, particularly the fundamental principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity enshrined in the United Nations Charter.

The Philippine Embassy in Doha is monitoring the situation and has advised the Filipino community in Qatar to remain calm and follow official advisories. To date, the Embassy has not received any report of Filipino casualties in the attack.

The Philippines highlights the need for parties to the conflict in Gaza to agree to an immediate and permanent ceasefire, uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, ensure the protection of civilians, and work towards a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace in the Middle East. END

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Benjamin Netanyahu needs to be 'brought to justice': Qatari PM

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 11 September 2025 7:00 AM

Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani has denounced the recent Israeli attacks on Doha as "state terror," saying the Israeli regime's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to be "brought to justice."

Netanyahu on Wednesday accused Qatar of aiding and abetting "terrorists," saying, "I say to Qatar and all nations who harbour terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice  because if you don't, we will."

In an interview on the same day, Al-Thani responded to the remarks, saying, "We don't accept such a threat coming from someone like Netanyahu... he needs to be brought to justice, he is the one wanted by the ICC."

He insisted that the presence of Palestinian leaders in Doha to negotiate a deal "was very well known for the Israelis and for the Americans," and that the Israelis and Americans have been using Qatar as a communication channel for Gaza for years.

According to Al-Thani, the attack on Qatar's sovereignty crosses "a very minimum level of manners and ethics," and the US informed his country about the attack "too late."

The Qatari official also said that the regime has "killed any hope" for the remaining captives in Gaza. "I was meeting one of the hostages' families the morning of the attack," he said. "They are counting on this [ceasefire] mediation. They have no other hope for that."

Additionally, Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a condemnation of the Israeli prime minister's comments, calling them a "shameful attempt ... to justify the cowardly attack that targeted Qatari territory, as well as the explicit threats of future violations of state sovereignty."

"Netanyahu is fully aware that the hosting of the Hamas office took place within the framework of Qatar's mediation efforts requested by the United States and Israel," the statement read.

Qatar has been a key regional mediator in negotiations between the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and Israel.

Netanyahu on Wednesday threatened to try to kill Hamas leaders in Qatar again if Doha "does not expel" the group's officials.

Hamas confirmed that its senior negotiators survived the attack, but five members of the group were killed, including Jihad Labad, director of the office of senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya, Hammam al-Hayya, son of Khalil al-Hayya, Abdullah Abdul Wahid, Moumen Hassouna, and Ahmed al-Mamlouk  all described as companions of the delegation.

Qatari security officer Badr Saad Muhammad Al-Humaidi was also among the martyrs of Israeli attacks on Monday.

In just three days, Israel has launched attacks in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Tunisia, and Qatar, while continuing daily raids in the occupied West Bank.

Baffled by the attacks on Doha, regional leaders are now rallying around Qatar.

"There is a collective response that should happen from the region," United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said.

He confirmed that an Arab-Islamic summit will be held in Doha in the coming days to decide on a course of action.

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Russo-Ukraine War - 10 September 2025 - Day 1295

Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

"To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal]

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that in total, since the beginning of this day, there have been 153 combat encounters. Ukrainian defenders continue to decisively interrupt the attempts of the Russian enemy to advance deep into Ukrainian territory, giving him a fiery impression.

Russian zagarbniki carried out two missile and 45 aviation strikes, using 44 missiles and dropping 64 controlled bombs. In addition, they used 1989 kamikaze drones for impressions and carried out 3338 shelling positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements.

Seven combat clashes took place in the Northern Slobozhansky and Kursky directions. The Russian enemy launched 10 air strikes, dropped a total of 24 controlled air bombs, and carried out 182 artillery shells, including nine from reactive arsenal systems.

Today, Russian forces attacked 13 times in the south-Slobozhans .komu direction, in the area of Vovchanska, Barnoy and Odradnoy. Six combat clashes are ongoing so far.

In the Kupians komu direction, Russian forces made four attacks in the area of Mirnogo, Kupians .ka and Borivs koi andriyivka.

In the Lyman direction, the Defense Forces repelled 17 assault actions in the areas of settlements Grekivka, Serednoe, Kolodyazi, Stavki, Torske and Shandrigolove. Eight more combat clashes are still ongoing.

In the sivers komu direction, the Russian enemy 17 times attacked in the areas of serebryanka, grigorivka and in the direction of viymki.

Since the beginning of the day in the Kramatorsky direction, Russian units attacked five times in the area of Bila Gora, Maysky and in the direction of Stupochok and Predtechniny.

13 combat clashes took place in the Toretsky direction today. Russian forces tried to storm the positions of Ukrainian units in the areas of Scherbinivka, Oleksandro-Kalinovy, Pleshiyivka, Rusynoy Yara, Poltavka and in the direction of Berestko, Sofiyivka. The three clashes are still ongoing.

In the Intercession Direction, since the beginning of this day, the Russian enemy attacked 39 times in the areas of settlements Volodymyrivka, Vilne, Golden Well, Nikanorivka, Rodinske, Ray, Fox, Novoekonomicne, Mirolubivka, Zvirove, Udaachne, Dachne, Novoukrainka. Ukrainian defenders hold the pressure of the Russian opponent, one confrontation is still ongoing.

Today in this direction, according to preliminary data, 112 Russian occupants have been defiled, of which 77 - irrevocably. In addition, Ukrainian soldiers destroyed two artillery systems, one car, 18 BplAs, a special equipment unit, Bpla control point and an ammunition warehouse. The artillery system, the vehicle unit and the Russian enemy's REB device were damaged.

In the Novopavlovsky direction, Ukrainian defenders repelled 24 Russian attacks in the areas of settlements Filiya, Oleksandrograd, Maliivka, Olgivskie, Tolstoy, Piddubne, Novoivanivka and in the direction of Ivanivka.

In the direction of Gulyaipils komu, Russian forces once stepped on the position of Ukrainian defenders in the area of Bilogir. The aviation strike of unkekorovanimi rockets was hit by Zaliznycne.

In the Orihiv direction, the Russian opponent once carried out offensive actions in the area of Plavniv, received a detachment.

In the Pridniprovsky direction, Ukrainian units repelled two Russian attacks in the direction of Antonivka and Sadovy.

In other directions, there have been no significant changes in the environment.

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September 9, 2025

By Matthew Olay, Pentagon News

Hegseth Emphasizes Anti-Narco-Terrorism Mission During Caribbean Trip

The poisoning of the American people by narco-terrorists running illegal drugs through international waters will be tolerated no longer.

That was the key message underscored by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth yesterday during a trip spent interacting with troops in the Caribbean region.

"What we have declared  and we are [currently] declaring  is that, in international waters, we are not going to tolerate narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people," Hegseth told a gathering of Air National Guardsmen at Muniz Air National Guard Base, just outside of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The secretary, who was joined on the trip by Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, went on to say that the War Department knows who the traffickers are, what illegal substances they are trafficking, the routes they take, and who their leaders are  including Nicolas Maduro, the president of Venezuela.

The visit came amid the deployment of various U.S. Navy vessels to the region, and just under one week since U.S. Southern Command forces conducted a kinetic strike in the Caribbean Sea against positively identified members of the Tren de Aragua narco-terrorism organization, resulting in 11 terrorists killed.

"There are 11 narco-terrorists at the bottom of the Caribbean [Sea] right now who found out, at the hands of American power, that you will not be poisoning the American people anymore," Hegseth told a large crowd of sailors during an afloat visit to the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima.

During both the Air National Guard and Navy troop visits, Hegseth emphasized the importance of the service members' contribution to the mission of protecting the homeland.

"What you're doing here is critically important to American citizens, to American families [and] to communities that have been ravaged by violence ... ravaged by drugs, and ravaged by violent gangs and criminality [due to] a porous Southwest border and drugs pouring into our country," Hegseth told the service members in Puerto Rico.

"You, right now  here in Puerto Rico and around the Caribbean  are on the front lines for the American people," he added, eliciting applause from the crowd.

President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order, Jan. 20, designating cartels and other organizations as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists, thus authorizing the military to engage any perceived threats from such entities.

Just over 82,000 Americans suffered drug-related deaths in 2024, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Man Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Use a Weapon of Mass Destruction and Attempting to Destroy an Energy Facility in Nashville

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

For Immediate Release

Office of Public Affairs

Skyler Philippi, 24, of Columbia, Tennessee, pleaded guilty today to attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to destroy an energy facility.

"For months, Philippi planned what he had hoped would be a devastating attack on Nashville's energy infrastructure. He acquired what he believed to be explosives, surveilled his target, and equipped a drone to attack an electrical substation. Motivated by a violent ideology, Philippi wanted 'to do something big.' Instead, the FBI disrupted his plans, and Philippi now awaits sentencing," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. "The National Security Division and the FBI will continue to protect our Nation's critical infrastructure from would-be saboteurs."

"Our office is fully committed to thwarting dangerous attacks motivated by hate," said Acting U.S. Attorney Robert E. McGuire for the Middle District of Tennessee. "I commend the agents who investigated this conduct and stopped this attack from victimizing our community. I commend the prosecutors who held the defendant accountable for his terrible actions."

"Skyler Philippi planned to attack an energy facility with a drone containing explosives, which had the potential to knock out power to thousands of American homes and to critical facilities like hospitals," said Assistant Director Donald Holstead of the FBI's Counterterrorism Division. "Through rigorous investigation, his plan was disrupted. Protecting our communities from threats to public safety is a priority for the FBI, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who attempt to damage critical infrastructure and threaten our national security."

According to court documents, in June 2024, Philippi communicated to a confidential human source (CHS) that he wanted to commit a mass shooting at a YMCA facility located in or around Columbia, Tennessee. In July 2024, Philippi told another CHS about the impact of attacking large interstate substations and said that attacking several substations would "shock the system," causing other substations to malfunction. Philippi researched previous attacks on electric substations and concluded that attacking with firearms would not be sufficient. Philippi, therefore, planned to use a drone with explosives attached to it and to fly the drone into the substation. Philippi said that his plan was to fly a drone with explosives attached to it into the electric substation, that he preferred to build a drone himself to avoid law enforcement detection, and that he wanted to attach TATP (Triacetone Triperoxide, a high-energy explosive material) or C-4 explosive material to the drone.

In August 2024, Philippi told an undercover employee (UCE) that he had written what he called a "manifesto" outlining his desire to attack "high tax cities or industrial areas to let the kikes lose money," and about his previous affiliation with Atomwaffen Division and the National Alliance.

In September 2024, Philippi conducted reconnaissance of a specific electric substation. Philippi ordered a plastic explosive composition known as C-4 and other explosives from the UCEs. Philippi purchased black powder to be used in pipe bombs, which Philippi intended to use during the attack on the substation. Philippi texted: "if you want to do the most damage as an accelerationist, attack high economic, high tax, political zones in every major metropolis." Referring to the substation, Philippi stated, "Holy sh**. This will go up like a fu**in fourth of July firework."

On Nov. 2, 2024, Philippi met the undercover employees at a hotel and participated in a Nordic ritual, which included reciting a Nordic prayer and discussing the Norse god Odin. Philippi told the UCEs that "this is where the New Age begins" and that it was "time to do something big" that would be remembered "in the annals of history." Philippi and the UCEs drove to the operation site. The UCEs moved to their assigned positions as lookouts for Philippi. Law-enforcement agents arrested Philippi. When he was taken into custody, Philippi was at the rear of the vehicle, with the drone powered up, and the explosive device was armed and located next to the drone. Philippi was prepared to attach the explosives to the drone when he was arrested.

Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 8, 2026. Philippi faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI Nashville Field Office is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Kurtzman for the Middle District of Tennessee and Trial Attorneys Justin Sher and James Donnelly of the National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

Topics: Domestic Terrorism

National Security

Components: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

National Security Division (NSD)

USAO - Tennessee, Middle

Press Release Number: 25-930

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"LockerGoga," "MegaCortex," and "Nefilim" Ransomware Administrator Charged with Ransomware Attacks

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

For Immediate Release

Office of Public Affairs

Defendant Used Ransomware to Attack Hundreds of Victims Worldwide; Proactive Law Enforcement Action Led to Prevention and Decryption

Earlier today, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York unsealed a superseding indictment charging Volodymyr Viktorovich Tymoshchuk  also known as deadforz, Boba, msfv, and farnetwork  a Ukrainian national, with serving as an administrator in the LockerGoga, MegaCortex, and Nefilim ransomware schemes.

"Volodymyr Tymoshchuk is charged for his role in ransomware schemes that extorted more than 250 companies across the United States and hundreds more around the world," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "In some instances, these attacks resulted in the complete disruption of business operations until encrypted data could be recovered or restored. This prosecution and today's rewards announcement reflects our determination to protect businesses from digital sabotage and extortion and to relentlessly pursue the criminals responsible, no matter where they are located."

"Tymoshchuk is a serial ransomware criminal who targeted blue-chip American companies, health care institutions, and large foreign industrial firms, and threatened to leak their sensitive data online if they refused to pay," said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Eastern District of New York. "For a time, the defendant stayed ahead of law enforcement by deploying new strains of malicious software when his old ones were decrypted. Today's charges reflect international coordination to unmask and charge a dangerous and pervasive ransomware actor who can no longer remain anonymous."

"Volodymyr Tymoshchuk repeatedly used ransomware attacks to target hundreds of companies in the United States and around the globe in attempts to extort victims," said Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia of the FBI New York Field Office. "Today's announcement should serve as warning, cyber criminals may believe they act with impunity while conducting harmful cyber intrusions, but law enforcement is onto you and will hold you accountable. The FBI along with our law enforcement partners will continue to scour the globe to bring to justice any individual attempting to use the anonymity of the internet to commit crime."

"The criminals behind Nefilim ransomware may believe they can profit from extortion and data leaks, but they are wrong," said Special Agent in Charge Christopher J. S. Johnson of the FBI's Springfield Field Office. "The FBI is actively pursuing them to disrupt their operations and bring them to justice. We urge all organizations to report these attacks immediately  because every report helps us dismantle these networks and ensure cybercriminals are held accountable."

As alleged in the superseding indictment, between December 2018 and October 2021, Tymoshchuk used the LockerGoga, MegaCortex, and Nefilim ransomware variants to encrypt computer networks in countries around the world, including in the Eastern District of New York, elsewhere in the United States, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland. These ransomware attacks caused millions of dollars of losses, including damage to victim computer systems, remediation costs, and ransomware payments to the perpetrators. In these attacks, the perpetrators typically customized the ransomware executable file (the ransomware file responsible for encryption) for each ransomware victim. The customization allowed the ransomware actors to create a decryption key that could only decrypt the network of the specific victim. If a victim paid the ransom demand, the perpetrators would send a decryption tool, which enabled the victim to decrypt the computer files locked by the ransomware program.

Between July 2019 and June 2020, Tymoshchuk and his coconspirators are alleged to have compromised the networks of more than 250 victim companies in the United States and hundreds of other companies around the world with LockerGoga and MegaCortex. However, many of these extortion attempts were unsuccessful because law enforcement often notified victims that their networks had been compromised before Tymoshchuk and his co-conspirators were able to deploy the ransomware. Subsequently, from July 2020 through October 2021, Tymoshchuk is alleged to have been one of the administrators of the Nefilim ransomware strain. Tymoshchuk and the other Nefilim administrators provided other Nefilim ransomware affiliates, including codefendant Artem Stryzhak, who was extradited from Spain and faces charges in the Eastern District of New York, with access to the Nefilim ransomware in exchange for 20 percent of the ransom proceeds extorted from Nefilim victims.

In September 2022, as part of an international coordinated effort against LockerGoga and MegaCortex ransomware, decryption keys associated with those ransomware variants were made available to the public via the "No More Ransomware Project," an initiative to empower ransomware victims to decrypt encrypted computers without paying a ransom. These decryption keys enabled compromised victim companies and institutions to recover data previously encrypted with LockerGoga and MegaCortex ransomware.

Tymoshchuk is charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud and related activity in connection with computers, three counts of intentional damage to a protected computer, one count of unauthorized access to a protected computer, and one count of transmitting a threat to disclose confidential information.

The FBI is investigating this case.

Trial Attorney Brian Z. Mund of the Justice Department's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander F. Mindlin and Ellen H. Sise for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case.

The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs provided critical assistance, as did the FBI's Legal Attaches, authorities in France, Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and Ukraine, and Europol and Eurojust via ICHIP The Hague.

CCIPS investigates and prosecutes cybercrime in coordination with domestic and international law enforcement agencies, often with assistance from the private sector. Since 2020, CCIPS has secured the conviction of over 180 cybercriminals, and court orders for the return of over $350 million in victim funds.

Concurrent with the unsealing of the superseding indictment, the U.S. Department of State's Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) Rewards Program is offering a rewards totaling up to $11 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction or location of Tymoshchuk or his conspirators.

Anyone with information on these malicious cyber actors, or associated individuals or entities, should contact the FBI via phone at +1-917-242-1407 or by email at TymoTips@fbi.gov. If you are in the United States, you can also contact your local FBI field office. If outside the United States, you can visit the nearest U.S. embassy. More information about the TOC reward offer is located on the State Department website.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Topic: Cybercrime

Components: Criminal Division

Criminal - Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section

Criminal - Office of International Affairs

Criminal - Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance & Training

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

USAO - New York, Eastern

Press Release Number: 25-929

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India and EU hold 15th Counter-Terrorism Dialogue

India - Ministry of External Affairs

September 10, 2025

The European Union and India held their 15th Meeting of the Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism (CT) on 9 September 2025 in Brussels.

2. The Dialogue was co-chaired by Mr. Maciej Stadejek, Director for Security and Defence Policy in the European External Action Service, and Mr. K.D. Dewal, Joint Secretary (Counter-terrorism) in the Ministry of External Affairs of India.

3. Both sides condemned the heinous terrorist attack on 22 April 2025 in Pahalgam and EU reiterated its condolences to India for the killing of innocent civilians. The two sides reiterated their strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross border terrorism. They agreed that terrorism is a global phenomenon and needs concerted action in a sustained and comprehensive manner. Against this backdrop, the EU and India stressed the importance of cooperation in multilateral fora, such as the United Nations, the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) and the FATF.

4. The dialogue facilitated a comprehensive exchange on domestic, regional, and global threat assessments. The participants emphasized that instability and conflicts in various regions of the world act as catalysts for terrorism and violent extremism.

5. The EU and India also shared updates on the key developments of their respective counter-terrorism policies and discussed important topics in the fight against terrorism. These include measures to counter the financing of terrorism, prevent online radicalization, continued exchange on designation of terrorists and terrorist entities and address the implications of emerging technologies.

6. The two sides also explored ways to strengthen their CT cooperation and identified areas of future collaboration.

7. The next meeting of the Joint Working Group would take place in New Delhi on a mutually convenient date.

Brussels

September 10, 2025

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Coast Guard's Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron completes 1,000th interdiction

United States Coast Guard

Press Release | Sept. 10, 2025

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The U.S. Coast Guard's Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) achieved a significant milestone in its counter-drug mission, completing its 1,000th interdiction of suspected narco-trafficking vessels Aug. 25.

Since October 1, 2024, HITRON has interdicted $3.3 billion in illicit narcotics destined for the United States via maritime routes, a three-fold increase over its historic annual average of $1 billion.

"HITRON embodies the Coast Guard's spirit of innovation and adaptability," said Vice Adm. Nathan Moore, commander, U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area. "From its humble beginnings as a prototype program, it has evolved into a vital force in our counter-narcotics efforts. This milestone is a powerful reminder of the strategic value of this specialized unit in addressing the evolving complex maritime security challenges."

On Aug. 25, a HITRON aviation detachment deployed aboard Coast Guard Cutter Midgett (WMSL 757) observed a suspected narco-trafficking vessel approximately 372 nautical miles southwest of Acapulco, Mexico in the early evening. The helicopter directed the vessel to heave to over the radio and with warning shots. When the vessel failed to comply, the crew used precision rifle fire from the helicopter to disable the vessel's engine, in accordance with airborne use of force policy. A Coast Guard law enforcement boarding team from Midgett seized more than 3,600 pounds of suspected cocaine that was found aboard and jettisoned in the waters around the vessel, estimated to have a street value of $49 million.

HITRON is based in Jacksonville, Florida and a component of U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area Command. It was founded in 1999 as a classified prototype program to test the ability of Coast Guard aircraft to employ precision fire to disable narcotics smuggling vessels. With impressive early results, this team grew from the initial ten personnel to its current size of over 200 Active Duty, Reservists, and civilian members, including an exchange pilot from the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. Since its founding, HITRON has interdicted $33.2 billion in illicit drugs during operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, and over the past 26 years has averaged one interdiction every nine days.

Through Operation Pacific Viper, the Coast Guard is accelerating counter-drug operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, where significant transport of illicit narcotics continues from South America. In coordination with international and interagency partners, the Coast Guard is surging additional assetscutters, aircraft and tactical teamsto interdict, seize and disrupt transshipments of cocaine and other bulk illicit drugs. These operations continue the Coast Guard's efforts to protect the Homeland, project maritime law enforcement presence and disrupt transnational criminal organizations and cartels seeking to produce and traffic illicit drugs into the United States.

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Record of Decision for the Enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense System on Guam Environmental Impact Statement

25-NEWS-0009

Sept. 8, 2025

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA), as the lead agency, and the U.S. Army, as a cooperating agency, jointly issued a Record of Decision (ROD) to implement the construction, deployment, and operations and maintenance of the Enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense (EIAMD) system on Guam. The action will enable MDA and the U.S. Army to meet their congressional mandate for a persistent 360-degree layered Integrated Air and Missile Defense capability on Guam to address the rapid evolution of missile threats from regional adversaries. In addition to the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) participated as cooperating agencies in the development of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) due to their jurisdiction or special expertise as it pertains to certain components of the action or for potentially affected operations and resources.

The MDA and the U.S. Army selected the Proposed Action after considering the need for the system, potential environmental impacts, and comments received from elected officials, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and the public. Mitigation measures that avoid, minimize, or mitigate potential environmental impacts will be employed.

Record of Decision Availability

The MDA and the U.S. Army encourage the public to view the ROD, which is available on the MDA public website for download or in print at the University of Guam Robert F. Kennedy and the Nieves M. Flores memorial libraries. If you have questions or would like additional information, please visit www.mda.mil/system/eiamd or email info@EIAMD-EIS.com.

Please help MDA and the U.S. Army keep the community informed by sharing this information.

Visit the MDA public website at www.mda.mil/system/eiamd to learn more about the project and the environmental impact analysis.

###

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PhilSA confirms China rocket launch, cites possible debris drop zones

Philippine News Agency

By Ma. Cristina Arayata

September 9, 2025, 1:50 pm

MANILA -- The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) confirmed on Tuesday the launch of the Long March 7A rocket from China.

Debris from the rocket launch is expected to have fallen approximately 58 nautical miles (NM) away from Dalupiri Island, Cagayan, 37 NM away from Burgos, Ilocos Norte, 92 NM away from Camiguin Norte, Cagayan, and 79 NM from Santa Ana, Cagayan.

According to PhilSA, the rocket was launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Wenchang, Hainan at around 10 a.m.

In an advisory, PhilSA urged the public to inform local authorities if suspected debris is sighted.

PhilSA Director Marc Talampas previously told the Philippine News Agency that rocket debris usually falls within minutes after a launch, and that in the past, the debris was found by fishers a day or several days after the launch.

"The risk of debris falling onto populated areas is very low. There is a possibility that the discarded rocket debris may float around the drop zone area and may wash towards the coasts," he said.

The agency cautions the public against retrieving or coming in close contact with these materials that may contain remnants of toxic substances such as rocket fuel.

If contact with debris is unavoidable, the use of personal protective equipment is advised.

"Falling debris poses danger and potential risk to ships, aircraft, fishing boats, and other vessels that will pass through the drop zone," PhilSA said. (PNA)

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Joint Statement on U.S.-EU Space Cooperation

US Department of State

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

September 10, 2025

The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and the European Union on the occasion of the 13th U.S.-EU Space Dialogue.

Begin Text

Officials from the United States and the European Union met for the 13th U.S.-EU Space Dialogue September 8-9 in Washington, D.C. to discuss key areas in the space domain to deepen mutually beneficial partnerships, including a roundtable with U.S. industry leaders. The delegations discussed topics ranging from spaceflight safety and space security concerns to reducing barriers to trade and commerce in the space sector. In the area of commercial space, the U.S. and EU delegations recalled the Joint Statement agreed between President Trump and European Commission President von der Leyen on August 21, 2025, to pursue fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial trade and investment. The Dialogue also strengthened longstanding synchronization between the United States and European Union on both Global Navigation Satellite Systems and Earth observation activities.

The U.S. delegation was led by Senior Bureau Official for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs John Thompson and Deputy Assistant Secretary Mary Bischoping from the Bureau of Emerging Threats. E Senior Official Tom Lersten delivered opening remarks on behalf of the U.S. Delegation. The delegation included representatives from the Department of State, the Department of Commerce, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Interior, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Communications Commission, and the White House Office of the National Cyber Director. U.S. delegates emphasized that shared prioritization enables the United States and the European Union to cohesively address space-related security threats and promote innovation by leveraging cutting-edge commercial capabilities in support of U.S. and EU space activities.

The European Union delegation was led by European Commission Director for Space Development and Innovation at the Directorate General for Defence Industry and Space (DG-DEFIS) Catherine Kavvada and European External Action Service Special Envoy for Space Marjolijn van Deelen. The delegation also included representatives from the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites and the European Space Agency.

The delegations agreed to continue the well-established practice of regular dialogues at the senior official level, and the European Union looks forward to hosting the 14th iteration in Brussels.

End Text

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Australian Defence Force and Royal Brunei Navy hold joint maritime security exercise

Issued by Defence Media

9 September 2025

The Royal Brunei Navy and the Australian Defence Force have commenced Exercise Penguin 25, the leading bilateral maritime security activity between the two countries.

From 9 September in Brunei, personnel from both nation's defence forces will undertake a number of training exercises to enhance interoperability and mutual support.

Commander of the Royal Brunei Navy, First Admiral Sahibul Bahari bin Haji Zainal Abidin, said the exercise would continue to build maritime security and cooperation between the countries.

"Australia and Brunei Darussalam's long-standing defence relationship dates back to World War II, and is underpinned by strong people-to-people links and a shared interest in a stable, secure, and prosperous region," First Admiral Sahibul Bahari said.

"We look forward to hosting the event and for members of the Royal Brunei Navy to train alongside the Royal Australian Navy to increase our capacity to support each other in the Indo-Pacific region."

Royal Brunei Navy assets participating in Exercise Penguin 25 includes Patrol Vessel KDB Darussalam, Ijhtihad-Class Fast Patrol Boat KDB Afiat, and a team from the Naval Surface Action Group.

Australian participation will comprise of Anzac Class frigate HMAS Ballarat and a Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.

Australia's Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, AO, RAN, said both defence forces were committed to boosting cooperation under the Australia-Brunei Darussalam Comprehensive Partnership and accompanying Plan of Action.

"This year will be the 20th iteration of Exercise Penguin, further reinforcing the depth and growing collaboration between our defence forces," Vice Admiral Hammond said.

"Australia highly values our maritime security relationship with Brunei and together I am confident we will continue to collectively meet any challenges or threats to regional peace and security."

Exercise Penguin 25 will conclude on 14 September after the completion of a number of sea and air surface warfare training exercises off the coast of Brunei Darussalam.

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Hotline Centre powers up at Anglesea Barracks

The Hon Peter Khalil MP

Assistant Minister for Defence

9 September 2025

The Albanese Government is continuing to invest in updates for Australia's Defence estate with the unveiling of the McGee Building at Anglesea Barracks in Hobart, which will accommodate Defence's customer service hotline.

The new $20.8 million building offers contemporary facilities with flexible office spaces for approximately 50 Defence personnel.

The design of the McGee Building integrates modern working accommodation without detracting from the significant cultural heritage of Anglesea Barracks.

The facility commemorates Sergeant Lewis McGee (1888-1917), a proud Tasmanian who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on Broodseinde Ridge in the First World War, during the Ypres offensive in Belgium.

Armed with only a revolver, Sergeant McGee single-handedly captured an enemy machine gun position, and led a bombing party to capture a second enemy machine gun post. Sergeant McGee was killed a week later at Passchendaele.

The McGee Building has been delivered as part of the Anglesea Barracks Mid-Term Refresh Project.

Quotes attributable to Assistant Minister for Defence, Peter Khalil:

"We're continuing to invest in Australia's Defence estate and infrastructure so sites like Anglesea Barracks meet the operational and capability requirements we need now and in the future.

"The completion of the McGee Building delivers a solid foundation for the modernisation of Defence's essential customer service network in Tasmania.

"It's also great to see the exceptional bravery demonstrated by Sergeant McGee honoured through the naming of this facility. His memory will serve as a reminder of his courage and sacrifice in service to our nation."

Quotes attributable to Senator for Tasmania, Richard Dowling:

"The Australian Defence Force shares a long and rich history with the Hobart community, and today's opening ceremony is recognition of that history.

"This $20.8m investment into new facilities at Hobart's Anglesea Barracks has boosted the local construction industry and related small businesses, and will generate additional ongoing employment at the Barracks.

"This is the completion of the first phase of Defence site upgrades in Tasmania, with further refurbishment and construction to occur in Launceston."

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Exercise Thai Boomerang returns to Thailand

Issued by Defence Media

10 September 2025

More than 500 participants from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) are participating in Exercise Thai Boomerang 2025.

This year's exercise, which will run until 19 September, is the 15th iteration of the bilateral activity.

The exercise provides an opportunity to build upon the rich history and deep defence partnership between Australia and Thailand since 1992.

Primarily run out of Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand, Exercise Thai Boomerang enhances cooperation and interoperability between Australia and Thailand's Air Forces.

This year's exercise focuses on dissimilar air combat training and scenarios in large force employment, and close air support of ground forces in a non-confrontational training environment.

The exercise involves F/A-18F Super Hornets from RAAF's No. 1 Squadron and personnel from No. 4 Squadron working with RTAF F-16 Fighting Falcon and JAS-39 Gripen aircraft.

Wing Commander Trent Baldry, Commanding Officer No. 1 Squadron, emphasised the importance of Exercise Thai Boomerang.

"Exercise Thai Boomerang is a valuable opportunity to learn from one another through combined air combat training. The profiles and scenarios are from across the spectrum of combat air power," Wing Commander Baldry said.

"Defence engagements, like Exercise Thai Boomerang, foster friendship and rapport between RAAF and RTAF aviators at all levels. We look forward to training side by side, as we have done for many years."

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Thai Boomerang flies back to Thailand

By Flight Lieutenant Matthew Edwards

10 September 2025

More than 500 personnel from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) are taking part in Exercise Thai Boomerang 2025 from September 8 to 19.

This is the 15th iteration of the bilateral exercise between the RAAF and RTAF, providing the opportunity to build upon the rich history and deep defence partnership between both air forces since 1992.

Primarily located at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand, the exercise aims to enhance interoperability through dissimilar air combat training and scenarios in large force employment, and close air support of ground forces.

The exercise involves F/A-18F Super Hornets from RAAF's 1 Squadron and personnel from 4 Squadron working alongside RTAF F-16 Fighting Falcon and JAS-39 Gripen aircraft.

Commanding Officer 1 Squadron Wing Commander Trent Baldry emphasised the importance of the exercise.

"Exercise Thai Boomerang is a valuable opportunity to learn from one another through combined air combat training," Wing Commander Baldry said.

"The profiles and scenarios flown will be across the spectrum of combat air power.

"Defence engagements like Exercise Thai Boomerang foster friendship and rapport between RAAF and RTAF aviators at all levels. We look forward to training side-by-side with the Royal Thai Air Force."

Australian Ambassador to Thailand Angela Macdonald said defence cooperation was an important pillar of the bilateral relationship.

"Australia and Thailand are strategic partners who share 73 years of diplomatic relations," Dr Macdonald said.

"Exercise Thai Boomerang builds on decades of joint activities between our countries to strengthen coordination, skills and trust."

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Equipping the Royal Australian Navy with next generation autonomous undersea vehicles

The Hon Richard Marles MP

Deputy Prime Minister

Minister for Defence

10 September 2025

The Albanese Government is investing $1.7 billion to acquire a new fleet of Australian-designed and built extra-large autonomous undersea vehicles - known as the Ghost Shark - for the Royal Australian Navy.

Defence has signed a contract with Anduril Australia for the delivery, maintenance and continued development of the Ghost Shark over the next five years.

The cutting edge platform is designed to conduct intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike operations, stealthily and at long range. It will deliver a significant boost to Australia's undersea warfare capabilities - complementing Navy's future surface combatant fleet and conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines.

This announcement builds on the approximately $140 million the Australian Government has already invested in the development of the Ghost Shark platform, payloads and production facilities since entering into a collaborative contract with Anduril in 2022.

Working alongside Defence personnel, Australia's defence industry and workforce is crucial to delivering this capability.

This five-year contract will support around 120 existing jobs and create more than 150 new highly-skilled, long-term jobs at Anduril Australia.

There are now more than 40 Australian companies working as part of the Ghost Shark supply chain, which are expected to add a further 600 jobs as a result of this investment.

Delivery of uncrewed undersea and surface vessels will provide Australia's Defence Force an asymmetric capability advantage - a key priority outlined in the 2024 National Defence Strategy.

Continued investment in this capability presents a unique opportunity for Australia to design, engineer, and manufacture sovereign uncrewed maritime warfare capabilities, with strong prospects for export opportunities.

Quotes attributable to Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles:

"The Ghost Shark is a world-leading platform made right here in Australia.

"The Albanese Government's investments in the Ghost Shark are fast-charging the development of long-range, undersea autonomous vehicles for our Navy while also backing Australian businesses.

"Over the next five years and beyond the Ghost Shark will equip Navy with the intelligence, surveillance and strike capabilities it needs in an increasingly complex strategic environment."

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy:

"This is a critical capability that the Albanese Government is delivering at pace - with all three prototypes delivered on budget and ahead of schedule.

"Our investment backs in 120 existing workers and creates more than 150 new high-skilled, local jobs.

"This reflects the Albanese Government's unwavering commitment to supporting Australian innovation, backing Australian workers and building a defence future made in Australia."

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Doorstop - Munda, Solomon Islands

Transcript

Thursday 11 September 2025

Regional Cooperation; Climate Change

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

The Hon Anthony Albanese MP

Prime Minister of Australia

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, this has been a very successful meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum here in the Solomon Islands. We have made real advances in our common interests. We are all members of the Pacific family and it's important that we cooperate on economic issues, on national security and in dealing with the challenge of climate change. The decisions now to establish formally the Pacific Resilience Facility in order to advance the need to mitigate and deal with the challenge of climate change by building infrastructure and the shift to renewable energy will make an enormous difference and has been welcomed here. In addition to that the declaration of the Pacific region as an Ocean of Peace has been an important initiative from Fiji but adopted across the board. In addition the declaration my Pacific nations that they want Australia and the Pacific to host the Conference of the Parties meeting on climate change at the end of next year in an important show of support for Australia's leadership and for the important role that the Pacific has given that Pacific Island nations, for many of the climate change is an existential threat. That's why action on climate change is the entry fee to credibility in this region.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, will you break the trust of Pacific leaders if you approve the North West Shelf gas project?

PRIME MINISTER: What we'll continue to do is act in Australia's interests but also in the interests of engaging in action on climate change. We know that gas has an important role to play in the transition. We'll continue to make decisions based upon our domestic law and the Environment Minister will be making a decision in the coming period.

JOURNALIST: And last one, Penny Wong says we are in a permanent state of contest with China in the Pacific. Are we winning?

PRIME MINISTER: There is strategic competition in the Pacific and what we do is treat Pacific Island nations with respect. We're transformational rather than transactional, and that puts us in good stead. We have been warmly received here in Pacific Island nations. The fact that they are so supportive of Australia and the Pacific's joint bid to host a climate change conference shows the high regard in which we are put. Thank you.

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Regular Press Conference of the Ministry of National Defense on August 28, 2025

Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China

Source Ministry of National Defense

EditorHuang Panyue

2025-09-09 10:12:39

By Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, Spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense (MND) at the Office for International Military Cooperation of the Central Military Commission (CMC).

(The following English text is for reference. In case of any divergence of interpretation, the Chinese text shall prevail.)

Zhang Xiaogang: Friends from the media, good afternoon. Welcome to this month's regular press conference of the Ministry of National Defense (MND). I have three pieces of news to announce at the top.

Firstly, China and Nepal will hold Sagarmatha Friendship-2025 joint army training in Nepal in early to mid-September. Themed on joint counter-terrorism operations, this training will be organized in the form of mixed teams with participating troops teaching and learning from each other. The joint training will feature comprehensive drills on joint counter-terrorism operations and subjects such as disaster relief and rescue and peacekeeping operations. The event, the fifth between the Chinese and Nepali militaries, is aimed to further enhance interoperability in joint counter-terrorism operations and deepen traditional friendship and cooperation between the two militaries.

Secondly, at the invitation of the Ministry of National Defence of Vietnam, the Guard of Honor of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) will send a contingent to Vietnam from late August to early September to participate in commemorative activities marking the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day of Vietnam. This mission aims to further expand military and cultural exchanges between China and Vietnam and deepen traditional friendship between the two countries and the two militaries.

Thirdly, the 12th Beijing Xiangshan Forum will be held at the Beijing International Convention Center from September 17 to 19. The theme of this year's forum is Upholding International Order and Promoting Peaceful Development. There will be four plenary sessions, eight simultaneous sessions, and a variety of side events, including high-end dialogues, Leading Experts' Dialogue, Young Military Officers and Scholars' Seminar, as well as briefings on Review and Prospect: China's Armed Forces in UN Peacekeeping Operations, and on China's Navy in International Humanitarian Medical Missions. The Beijing Xiangshan Forum will provide an equal, inclusive and diverse platform for participants to have constructive dialogues and build consensus and trust. It will make an intellectual contribution to addressing challenges concerning global security and development.

Now, please watch a video of the Beijing Xiangshan Forum.

We welcome and look forward to your coverage of this event.

Question: An investigation by Yuyuan Tantian revealed that since China held its first V-Day military parade in 2015, Japan has spent more than 56 billion yen on its so-called "correct image" propaganda. Against this backdrop, the Japanese side recently used diplomatic channels to call on European and Asian countries to carefully consider their participation in the commemorative events to be held on September 3 in Beijing. What's your comment?

Zhang Xiaogang: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made response and lodged serious representations with the Japanese side in request for its clarification. It must be emphasized that covering up historical facts and shirking responsibility cannot whitewash one's imageit will only spark strong vigilance and condemnation from peace-loving peoples around the world, including the Chinese people. Japan should honestly face up to and reflect on its history of aggression, make a clean break with militarism, and sincerely respect the sentiments of the people in victim nations, including China. Only by doing so can Japan earn trust from its Asian neighbors and the rest of the international community.

Question: Currently, national enlistment is underway. Many college students actively signed up for military service. Could you introduce policies related to enlisting college students?

Zhang Xiaogang: Eight years ago, President Xi wrote a reply letter to encourage the newly enlisted students from Nankai University. Over the years, a large number of outstanding students have answered the call to join the military and serve the country, contributing their youth and passion to defense and military modernization. College students are now the majority of new recruits.

There are some preferential policies for enlisted college students. Firstly, their families are respected and honored. Local government will provide annual subsidies to their families, and county-level department of veterans affairs will present a Family of Honor plaque to them. Secondly, they have better opportunities for personal and professional development. Upon joining in the military, college freshmen and undergraduates can apply to military academies; eligible graduates with full-time bachelor's degrees or higher degrees can be promoted to be officers; outstanding college students enlisted in units at or below division level can be recommended for admission to military academies without examination; and all enlisted college students have the opportunity to be selected as non-commissioned officers (NCOs) who can be promoted based on their service time and performance. These policies encourage soldiers to serve on a long-term basis. Thirdly, they enjoy preferential treatment for resuming studies or seeking jobs. For the enlisted college freshmen, their admission qualifications and student status can be retained, which allows them to enroll or resume their studies within two years after demobilization. They are also eligible for tuition assistance, national student loans repayment, and tuition reduction or exemption. After demobilization, they can get bonus points or receive preferential treatment in examinations such as education upgrade programs from junior college to university, postgraduate entrance examination, civil servant recruitment, and recruitment of civilian personnel in the military.

Question: The US Department of Defense commented that the YJ-family anti-ship missile systems displayed by the Chinese side during military parade rehearsals would pose a significant challenge to the US Aegis system and the defense systems of its aircraft carriers. The US Naval News reported that China's large unmanned underwater vehicle reflected the PLA's pursuit of strategic advantages in underwater unmanned domain. May I have your comment on this?

Zhang Xiaogang: The press conference held by the State Council Information Office introduced the weapons and equipment to be on display in the military parade. I have no information to add. I want to emphasize that China's development and upgrading of weapons and equipment is for the purpose of safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests. China is always a steadfast force for world peace. An increase in China's strength is an increase in the hope of world peace.

Question: Recently, new evidences about crimes committed by the Japanese militarists during their aggression of China have been made public. These include thousands of pages of documents and footage related to the gem warfare conducted by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army, a photo collection documenting atrocities during the Japanese invasion of Guangdong province, as well as diaries and albums of Japanese invaders discovered in Hebei province. These materials truthfully reveal atrocities committed by Japan during its invasion of China. May I have your take on this?

Zhang Xiaogang: The inhumane acts of aggression and heinous crimes of massacre committed by Japanese militarists inflicted unimaginable suffering upon the Chinese people and peoples of many Asian countries. In particular, Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army, in flagrant violation of international law, waged an outrageous gem war against the Chinese people, perpetrating egregious crimes against humanity. This historical truth is irrefutably documented and can never be denied nor erased. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. The devil has been eliminated, but its poisonous remnants have not yet been completely eradicated. We urge the Japanese side to deeply reflect on its historical crimes, accelerate the disposal of abandoned chemical weapons, and restore clean soil to the Chinese people at an early date.

Question: PLAN hospital ship Ark Peace made its maiden overseas voyage in August 2010, and provided medical service to the countries it visited. We just celebrated the 15th anniversary of Mission Harmony conducted by PLANS Ark Peace this August. Could you brief us on the hospital ship's achievements in recent years?

Zhang Xiaogang: With the spirit of benevolence, PLAN hospital ship Peace Ark has completed 10 iterations of Mission Harmony since 2010. It has sailed over 320,000 nautical miles and visited 52 countries, spanning three oceans and six continents. The ship has provided medical service to more than 370,000 people. With great love and compassion, it has sown the "seed of hope" and forged deep bonds with the peoples of the countries it visited. Going forward, the PLA Navy will continue to carry out Mission Harmony, provide high-quality public security goods with more "arks of life", and write a heart-warming chapter on implementing the Global Security Initiative and building a maritime community of a shared future.

Question: It is reported that the Taiwan authorities recently approved the 2026 budget, with defense spending amounting to 949.5 billion New Taiwan dollars, accounting for about 3.32% of its GDP. This is the first time since 2009 that its defense spending has exceeded 3% of GDP. It is in response to U.S. pressure to ramp up military investment. Not long ago, Lai Ching-te announced a target of increasing the defense budget to 5% of GDP by 2030, which has sparked public concerns in Taiwan, as defense spending would only reach 5% of GDP in wartime. What is your comment?

Zhang Xiaogang: Peace, development, exchange and cooperation are common aspirations of the general public in Taiwan. The Lai Ching-te authorities keep going further down the evil path of seeking independence by force and continue to serve as a cash machine and make unconditional concessions to the U.S. at the cost of Taiwan's resources. Such moves will ultimately lead to self-destruction. The PLA will continuously enhance combat readiness and our ability to fight and win, and firmly safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Question: The majority of the equipment to be displayed in the coming military parade will be new fourth-generation equipment. As they become the main body of in-service equipment, does the fact show the speed and accomplishments of China's equipment development

Zhang Xiaogang: The weapons and equipment to be displayed in the military parade are highly informationized and intelligent, fully demonstrating the Chinese military's ability to adapt to technological advances and evolving forms of warfare, and to win future battles.

Question: It is reported that during next month's large-scale live-fire training to be held by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and the US Marine Corps, the Typhon mid-range missile system will be used at the U.S. Iwakuni military base. This is the first time that this system has been deployed in Japan. Japan's Kyodo News reported that this move is intended to counterbalance China. Do you have any comment?

Zhang Xiaogang: In recent years, the Japanese side has repeatedly broken constraints of its pacifist Constitution and its commitment to the "exclusively defense-oriented" policy. It is going further down the dangerous path of military expansion, which has raised international concerns over its return to the evil path of militarism. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. At such a critical historical juncture, the Japanese side should learn profoundly from history and exercise utmost caution in its words and deeds in military and security areas.

Question: It is reported that the Philippines and Australia recently conducted a joint exercise in the Philippines. Countries including the U.S., Canada and Japan sent personnel to participate in or observe the event. The Philippine military claimed that this was a warning against Beijing's assertive actions. Besides, the 2nd Philippines-Australia Defense Ministers' Meeting was recently held. The two countries announced their willingness to strengthen defense cooperation and expressed grave concerns over China's actions in the South China Sea. What is your take on this?

Zhang Xiaogang: The South China Sea should be a sea of peace, cooperation and friendship. The Philippine side, however, has repeatedly courted influence from outside powers to make waves in this area, playing the role of an ass in the lion's skin. Its acts have jeopardized regional security and stability. Reality has proven time and again that the Philippine side is the one who undermines stability and makes troubles in the South China Sea. At the same time, some external countries have instigated and supported the Philippines to take irresponsible actions that harm the shared interests of regional countries. China's actions to safeguard our territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests are justified and legitimate. We will take firm countermeasures against any provocative behaviors.

Question: According to media reports, an article posted in the U.S. magazine The Diplomat claimed that this year's Han Kuang 41 Exercise is nothing more than a show, and that the society and people of Taiwan are unprepared for war, both psychologically and institutionally. What is your comment on this?

Zhang Xiaogang: We have expressed our views on the so-called Han Kuang exercise. The public have sharp eyes and they have long seen through the self-deceiving tricks of the DPP authorities. It is also clear to all that seeking independence and resisting reunification by force is doomed to fail.

Question: It is reported that the 24th meeting between the Special Representatives of China and India on the boundary question was recently held in India, where the two sides reached a 10-point consensus and agreed to continue to use diplomatic and military channels as border management and control mechanisms. What is your comment on this?

Zhang Xiaogang: During the 24th Special Representatives' Meeting on the China-India Boundary Question, the Chinese side and the Indian side, in a positive and constructive spirit, had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on the boundary question and reached multiple consensus. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and India. In accordance with the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries that China and India are partners and opportunities to each other, the two sides have consolidated the sound momentum of improving relations, maintained peace and tranquility in the border areas, and jointly explored a correct way for neighboring major countries to respect each other, coexist peacefully, seek development together, and achieve win-win cooperation.

Question: The upcoming military parade on September 3 in Beijing has attracted wide attention. What is the mainland's view on the contributions of the Kuomintang-led National Revolutionary Army in the war? In addition, a previous press conference of the State Council Information Office released that Kuomintang veterans who fought in the war would be invited to observe the parade. Could you please introduce relevant arrangements? Will veterans from Taiwan participate?

Zhang Xiaogang: The Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was a just war in which all Chinese people united as one to fight against the aggression of Japanese militarists. Over 80 years ago, the Communist Party of China led fights in enemy rear, while the Kuomintang led fights on the front. The two parties cooperated with each other to jointly resist Japanese aggression. Inviting KMT veterans to participate in the commemorative activities shows our tribute to their contributions in fighting against aggression and safeguarding the country. For further details, please refer to the press conference held by the State Council Information Office.

Question: I have two questions. Firstly, according to Japanese media reports, Japan has deployed the Sea Guardian large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to conduct surveillance and imaging activities against China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels over the waters surrounding Diaoyu Dao. This type of UAV has carried out multiple missions since April this year. Does the Chinese side know about the information collection activities of the UAV? Do you have any comment on Japan's move?

Secondly, before visiting Japan and Indonesia, German Foreign Minister stated that China's actions in the Taiwan Strait, the East China Sea and the South China Sea would affect Europe. Some comments say the statement was made just as German Chancellor and other European leaders were going to join the Ukrainian president to meet the US president in Washington. This seems to be an attempt to "show goodwill" to relevant countries by criticizing China. What's your comment on this?

Zhang Xiaogang: On your first question, Diaoyu Dao and its affiliated islands are China's inherent territory. We urge the Japanese side to immediately cease all activities complicating maritime and airspace situations near Diaoyu Dao. China will continue to take effective measures to firmly safeguard our territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.

On your second question, the overall situation in the East China Sea and the South China Sea remains stable. The Taiwan question is an internal affair of China, which brooks no external interference. To uphold peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, we must abide by the one-China principle and firmly oppose "Taiwan independence" separatist acts. We urge relevant parties to cease their erroneous words and deeds that fuel conflicts and heighten tensions.

Question: It is reported that the illegally grounded Philippine warship BRP Sierra Madre (LT-57) released two boats to approach, in an unprofessional and dangerous way, China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels undertaking law enforcement operations. Furthermore, a large number of Chinese vessels gathered in this area. Some CCG boats seemed to be equipped with machine guns. The chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines said that preparations had been made to supply the troops on the grounded warship. Do you have any comment?

Zhang Xiaogang: The CCG has responded to this. What I want to emphasize here is that Ren'ai Jiao is part of China's Nansha Qundao and is China's inherent territory. The activities of Chinese vessels within waters under China's jurisdiction are legitimate, legal and beyond reproach. We sternly warn the Philippine side that it must refrain from repeating such mistakes and immediately cease its infringements, provocations and propaganda. Otherwise, it will be held fully responsible for all the consequences arising therefrom.

Question: It is reported that from September 19 to 23, the PLA Air Force will hold aviation open day activities in Changchun. Could you provide more information?

Zhang Xiaogang: The PLA Air Force aviation open day event is themed as Soar with Dreams, Win the Future. There are three features to highlight. Firstly, more than a hundred types of active aircraft, ground equipment and decommissioned classic equipment of the PLA Air Force will be exhibited. It will feature the first-ever static display of the J-20 fighter jet and the first-ever flypast by a bomber formation. The Bayi, Red Eagle and Sky Wing aerobatic teams will present spectacular performances. Secondly, the event will enhance interactive experience by setting up immersive zones for flight simulation, UAV operation, and parachuting, alongside open-day activities at military camps, allowing the public to gain a more firsthand and in-depth understanding of the PLA Air Force. Thirdly, there will be a themed exhibition about the PLA Air Force, as well as display areas for pilot recruitment, air traffic control, and ground academy admissions. Visitors can participate in aviation culture salon and a series of activities such as an annual drone meeting and a tour performed by the military band of the PLA Air Force. Outstanding Air Force pilots will also interact with the public. All these efforts aim to create a strong atmosphere of "Love Our Air Force, Spread Wings in Changchun".

Zhang Xiaogang: If there are no more questions, this concludes today's press conference.

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Xi meets Portuguese PM

Global Times

By Xinhua Published: Sep 09, 2025 10:35 AM Updated: Sep 09, 2025 01:45 PM

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro in Beijing on Tuesday.

Xi said both China and Portugal are nations with a long history and rich culture, and the two peoples share the character traits of being open, inclusive, enterprising and self-reliant, adding that the two sides have appropriately resolved the Macao issue through friendly consultations.

Xi said in recent years, the two countries have achieved fruitful outcomes in cooperation across various fields, setting a model of mutual respect and mutual benefit for countries with different social systems and national conditions.

Noting that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Portugal comprehensive strategic partnership, Xi said China is willing to strengthen strategic communication with Portugal, steer the bilateral relations in the right direction, make the good relations even better, and contribute more to the prosperity and progress of the two countries and the world through solidarity and cooperation.

Xi called on the two sides to carry forward the traditional friendship, maintain mutual trust and support, deepen the alignment of development strategies, and expand practical cooperation in areas such as innovation, green development, maritime affairs and healthcare.

He noted that the two sides should give full play to Macao's unique role as a bridge and make good use of mechanisms like the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes at a higher level. They should also encourage exchanges in culture, education, tourism and scientific research, as well as deepen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, he added.

"The more turbulent the international landscape becomes, the greater the need for China and Europe to strengthen communication, enhance mutual trust and deepen cooperation," Xi said, expressing the hope that Portugal will work with China to uphold the orientation of the China-EU partnership and promote the sustained, stable and healthy development of China-EU relations.

Noting this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, as well as the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations (UN), Xi stressed that China is ready to work closely with Portugal in multilateral affairs to jointly practice true multilateralism, safeguard the authority of the UN and the free trade system, and promote the building of a more just and equitable global governance system.

Montenegro conveyed Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa's sincere greetings to President Xi, adding that the future-oriented relations between Portugal and China have a long history, and the two countries have properly resolved the Macao issue through friendly consultations.

Montenegro said the successful practice in Macao over the past 25 years fully demonstrates that the Portuguese government made the right decision. Portugal will continue to adhere to the one-China policy and will not forget the valuable support and assistance provided by China during the most difficult period of Portugal's economy, he said.

Montenegro expressed Portugal's willingness to deepen cooperation, enhance political mutual trust, and strengthen economic and trade ties with China.

He noted that Portugal agrees with the important concepts embodied in the Global Governance Initiative proposed by President Xi and is willing to jointly uphold multilateralism with the Chinese side. Portugal welcomes China's greater contributions to improving the global governance system, he said.

China is an indispensable partner for Europe, and Portugal is ready to play a positive role in promoting the healthy and stable development of EU-China relations, Montenegro added.

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China-Portugal relations 'set model' for countries with different social systems: Xi

Global Times

Portuguese PM acknowledges China's 'vital role' in intl affairs, agrees with GGI

By Fan Anqi Published: Sep 09, 2025 10:37 PM

China and Portugal have achieved fruitful outcomes in cooperation across various fields in recent years, setting a model of mutual respect and mutual benefit for countries with different social systems and national conditions, Chinese President Xi Jinping told visiting Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro in Beijing during their meeting on Tuesday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Noting that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Portugal comprehensive strategic partnership, Xi said China is willing to strengthen strategic communication with Portugal, steer the bilateral relations in the right direction, make the good relations even better, and contribute more to the prosperity and progress of the two countries and the world through solidarity and cooperation.

Xi called on the two sides to carry forward the traditional friendship, maintain mutual trust and support, deepen the alignment of development strategies, and expand practical cooperation in areas such as innovation, green development, maritime affairs and healthcare, per Xinhua.

He noted that the two sides should give full play to Macao's unique role as a bridge and make good use of mechanisms like the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes at a higher level. They should also encourage exchanges in culture, education, tourism and scientific research, as well as deepen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, he added.

Noting this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, as well as the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations (UN), Xi stressed that China is ready to work closely with Portugal in multilateral affairs to jointly practice true multilateralism, safeguard the authority of the UN and the free trade system, and promote the building of a more just and equitable global governance system.

Montenegro conveyed Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa's sincere greetings to President Xi, adding that the future-oriented relations between Portugal and China have a long history, and the two countries have properly resolved the Macao issue through friendly consultations, according to Xinhua.

Montenegro said the successful practice in Macao over the past 25 years fully demonstrates that the Portuguese government made the right decision. Portugal will continue to adhere to the one-China policy and will not forget the valuable support and assistance provided by China during the most difficult period of Portugal's economy, he said. Montenegro expressed Portugal's willingness to deepen cooperation, enhance political mutual trust, and strengthen economic and trade ties with China.

Montenegro arrived in Beijing on Monday for his first official visit to China, which will run through Wednesday. On Tuesday, Montenegro laid a wreath at the Monument to the People's Heroes on Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, Xinhua reported.

Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, noted that the prime minister's tribute at the Monument to the People's Heroes, even though he did not attend China's V-Day commemorations, demonstrates that on the issue of jointly opposing fascism and in the area of upholding global governance, Portugal shares a consensus with China.

A source from the Prime Minister's office contextualized Montenegro's visit to China within Portugal's "diplomatic tradition," noting that all Heads of State and several prime ministers have visited China, the "second-largest global economy" and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, according to media reports.

Portugal is an ancient maritime nation and served as the European starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, as well as a vital hub connecting the land and maritime Silk Roads. It is a natural partner in jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative. Portugal was the first Western European country to sign a cooperation agreement with China on jointly building the Belt and Road, the first EU member state to formally establish a "blue partnership" with China, one of the founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the first eurozone country to issue RMB bonds.

"Among European countries, China-Portugal relations stand out as uniquely special," Zhao Junjie, a senior research fellow at the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday. "And Montenegro's first official visit to China, coming right after China's September 3 V-Day commemorations, carries even greater political significance. It underscores the high level of political mutual trust between China and Portugal, as well as their commitment to pragmatic cooperation," Zhao said.

Over the years, cooperation between China and Portugal has deepened across various fields with increasing momentum. Under the framework of Belt and Road cooperation, the two sides have carried out mutually beneficial projects such as China-Europe freight trains. "In the current context where China-Europe relations face complexities, the steady development of China-Portugal ties sets a fine example for other European countries," Zhao noted.

Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao met with Manuel Castro Almeida, Portuguese Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, in Beijing on Monday. During the meeting, Wang called on China and Portugal, as well as China and Europe, to firmly support the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, and inject more stability and certainty into the world economy, as now the international economic and trade order and multilateral trade rules are facing severe challenges.

According to the central bank of Portugal, China's foreign direct investment in Portugal reached $4.46 billion in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 9.32 percent. It has seen a 4.5-fold increase over the past decade, and 14 consecutive years of positive growth. Portugal ranks among the EU countries receiving the most Chinese investment per capita.

Steadying China-Europe ties

Despite some noises in the development of China-Europe relations and hype from Western media, China and Europe have maintained frequent exchanges this year. In April, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited China, followed by President of the European Council Antonio Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in July who were in Beijing for the 25th China-EU Summit. Additionally, foreign ministers of a number of European countries including Portugal, France, Denmark, Netherlands and Croatia paid visits to China this year.

On China-Europe relations, Xi said, "the more turbulent the international landscape becomes, the greater the need for China and Europe to strengthen communication, enhance mutual trust and deepen cooperation," while expressing the hope that Portugal will work with China to uphold the orientation of the China-EU partnership and promote the sustained, stable and healthy development of China-EU relations, Xinhua reported.

The Portuguese prime minister said China is an indispensable partner for Europe, and Portugal is ready to play a positive role in promoting the healthy and stable development of EU-China relations.

Jiang Feng, a research fellow at Shanghai International Studies University and president of the Shanghai Association of Regional and Country Studies, believes China-Portugal relations play a stabilizing and enhancing role in China-Europe relations. "Especially in the current complex environment, this role can effectively enhance confidence and stimulate cooperative vitality, making its importance increasingly prominent," Jiang told the Global Times on Tuesday.

During the meeting with Xi, Montenegro acknowledged the "vital role" China plays in international affairs. He added that Portugal agrees with the important concepts embodied in the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) proposed by President Xi and is willing to jointly uphold multilateralism with the Chinese side. Portugal welcomes China's greater contributions to improving the global governance system, Xinhua reported.

"In the current global landscape, where the threat of climate change is growing more severe and unilateralism and bullying tactics are on the rise, European countries aspire to actively engage in global governance processes to ensure their concerns are given due attention and respect by the international community," Zhao said.

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China, Russia and Mongolia conduct joint exercise in border area

Global Times

By Deng Xiaoci Published: Sep 09, 2025 09:20 AM Updated: Sep 09, 2025 01:55 PM

Troops from China, Russia, and Mongolia conducted the Border Defense Cooperation-2025 joint exercise in a border region of the three countries from September 8 to 9, under the theme of joint prevention and combat of terrorist and sabotage activities in border areas, according to a release by China Bugle, an official media account affiliated with the PLA News Media Center. This event marks the first time the three countries have organized a joint exercise involving their border defense forces, read the release.

The joint live-fire exercise aims to enhance the strategic coordination among the three parties, strengthen their ability to counter border security threats, further consolidate strategic mutual trust, demonstrate practical cooperation, and deepen traditional friendship, according to the release.

During the exercise, the three parties established a joint command post within Chinese territory, adhering to the principle of "whoever's territory it is takes the lead, with multilateral consultation and parallel command." Through activities such as joint planning, joint reconnaissance, joint containment, joint strikes, and joint handover, the exercise thoroughly tested a new model of border defense cooperation. After the formal exercise, the three parties also engaged in exchanges on specific topics related to border control, per the release.

China, Russia and Mongolia share strategic partnerships and long-standing neighborly relations. Strengthening interconnectivity and joint actions among the three countries on counter-terrorism is essential to effectively curb terrorist activities across the region, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

China and Russia have extensive counter-terrorism experience and advanced equipment. By strengthening joint exercises to enhance Mongolia's counter-terrorism capacity, ensuring the three countries can operate effectively together. Song noted that counter-terrorism requires unified strength; if one country lags behind, it creates a "shortboard effect," that terrorists could exploit. Strengthening counter-terrorism collaboration and helping Mongolia improve its capabilities is a vital manifestation of China and Russia's efforts to combat terrorism and form collective strength, Song added.

According to a video footage by China Bugle on China's X-like social media platform Sina Weibo, the opening ceremony for the joint exercise took place in an unspecified border area of North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, during which the national flags of China, Russia and Mongolia were raised to mark the start of the joint exercise.

The use of armored vehicles, unmanned equipment including quadruped robotic dogs and drones shown in the video.

Terrorist groups are increasingly turning to high-tech methods, Zhang Junshe, another military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Tuesday. Therefore, in addition to deploying armored vehicles and other regular military equipment, we have also deployed drones and ground-based robotic dogs, among other cutting-edge technological equipment, to address these high-tech terrorist activities.

These high-tech systems can enhance our capabilities in border patrol and control, while also saving manpower and material resources, and reducing personnel casualties. In particular, drones can detect and prevent signs of terrorist gatherings and activities in advance, and can be used to strike them. Therefore, the joint exercises among China, Mongolia, and Russia are more practical and targeted, Zhang explained.

Previously, the Chinese and Mongolian border defense troops conducted Border Defense Cooperation 2025 joint exercise in Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Senior Colonel Jiang Bin, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, said on August 15, China Military Online reported. Focusing on the subject of crackdown on cross-border illegal criminal activities, the exercise further enhanced both sides' joint border management and control capabilities and deepened their traditional friendship and pragmatic cooperation, the spokesperson said.

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President Xi Jinping Meets with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China

Updated: September 09, 2025 16:34

On the morning of September 9, 2025, President Xi Jinping met with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

President Xi noted that both China and Portugal are countries with profound historical heritage, and our peoples share the spirit of openness, inclusiveness, enterprise, and self-reliance. The two sides properly resolved the issue of Macao through friendly consultations. In recent years, important achievements have been made in cooperation across various fields, setting a fine example of mutual respect and mutual benefit between countries with different social systems and national conditions. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Portugal. China stands ready to strengthen strategic communication with Portugal, keep bilateral relations on the right course and take them to new heights, and make greater contributions to the prosperity and progress of the two countries and the world through unity and cooperation. The two sides should carry forward traditional friendship, enhance mutual trust and support, foster greater synergy between our development strategies, expand practical cooperation in innovation, green development, ocean, medicine and other fields, leverage Macao's unique role as a bridge, make good use of mechanisms such as the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation Between China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries, and achieve higher levels of mutual benefit and win-win results. The two sides should encourage exchanges in culture, education, tourism, and scientific research to deepen people-to-people ties. The more volatile and turbulent the international situation becomes, the more China and EU need to strengthen communication, enhance mutual trust, and deepen cooperation. China hopes that Portugal will work with us to uphold the China-EU partnership and promote the sustained, steady, and sound development of China-EU relations.

President Xi emphasized that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, as well as the founding of the United Nations. The world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation, and humanity once again finds itself at a historical crossroads. China stands ready to enhance multilateral coordination with Portugal, jointly practice true multilateralism, uphold the authority of the United Nations, safeguard the free trade system, and work for a more just and equitable global governance system.

Prime Minister Montenegro conveyed President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa's cordial greetings to President Xi Jinping. He noted that Portugal-China relations are both time-honored and future-oriented, and the two countries had properly resolved the issue of Macao through friendly consultation. The remarkable success of Macao over the past 25 years stands as full vindication of the Portuguese government's decision at that time. Portugal will continue to adhere to the one-China policy and will never forget the invaluable support China provided during the most challenging period of its economy. Portugal is firmly committed to deepening friendly cooperation with China and looks forward to enhancing political mutual trust, strengthening trade and economic ties, promoting two-way investment, and deepening cooperation in energy, finance, public health and water conservancyall with the aim of advancing bilateral relations. China plays a vital role in international affairs. Portugal agrees with the important ideas underpinning the Global Governance Initiative proposed by President Xi, stands ready to work jointly to safeguard multilateralism, and welcomes China's greater contribution to improving the global governance system. China is an irreplaceable cooperation partner for Europe, and Portugal is ready to play an active role in promoting the healthy and stable development of EU-China relations.

Wang Yi was present at the meeting.

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Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian's Regular Press Conference on September 9, 2025

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China

Updated: September 09, 2025 19:20

CGTN: President Xi Jinping attended the virtual BRICS Summit and delivered an important speech last night. Can you share more information and the outcomes of the summit?

Lin Jian: BRICS offers an important platform for greater solidarity and cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries. Leaders from BRICS countries held the virtual summit to have in-depth exchanges of views and reached extensive consensus on the current international economic and trade environment and safeguarding the multilateral system. This bears great significance to deepening the BRICS partnership and enhancing the interests of the Global South, and has provided new impetus for the high-quality development of greater BRICS cooperation.

President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the summit. He pointed out that as transformation unseen in a century is accelerating across the world, BRICS countries, standing at the forefront of the Global South, should act on the BRICS Spirit of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, and uphold three principles. First, we should uphold multilateralism to defend international fairness and justice. Second, we should uphold openness and win-win cooperation to safeguard the international economic and trade order. Third, we should uphold solidarity and cooperation to foster synergy for common development. President Xi Jinping also elaborated on the major content of the Global Governance Initiative, stressing that BRICS countries should follow the principle of extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit, actively promote greater democracy in international relations, and improve the global governance system through reform so as to tackle more effectively the common challenges for humanity.

As President Xi Jinping noted, as long as we step up to take our responsibilities and look out for each other, the giant ship of BRICS will brave the shifting international tides and sail far and steady. China stands ready to work with other parties to deliver on the common understandings reached at the summit, jointly take greater BRICS cooperation onto a new stage and make new contribution to building an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.

The following question was raised after the press conference: It's reported that the Israeli army has destroyed multiple high-rise buildings in Gaza. On September 8, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told residents of Gaza City to leave now, saying troops were being assembled to enter the city. What's China's response?

Lin Jian: It has been over 700 days since the conflict in Gaza broke out, which killed 64,000 people there and caused an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. China opposes and condemns any move that harms civilians, disrupts civilian facilities, and violates international law. We urge Israel to immediately stop its military operation in Gaza, realize a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire as soon as possible, and prevent a humanitarian crisis on a larger scale.

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September 10, 2025

Release

Readout of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's Call With People's Republic of China Minister of National Defense Admiral Dong Jun

Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell provided the following readout:

On September 9, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth spoke with China's Minister of National Defense, Admiral Dong Jun. Secretary Hegseth made clear that the United States does not seek conflict with China nor is it pursuing regime change or strangulation of the PRC. At the same time, however, he forthrightly relayed that the U.S. has vital interests in the Asia-Pacific, the priority theater, and will resolutely protect those interests. Overall, the Secretary and Minister exchanged views in a candid and constructive manner. They agreed to further discussions.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4299101/

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Chinese Defense Minister holds video call with US counterpart, stresses importance of respecting each other's core interests

Global Times

By Yu Xi Published: Sep 10, 2025 08:48 PM

Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun held a video talk with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday. Dong said that it is imperative to uphold an open attitude, maintain communication and engagement, and build a sound, stable China-US military relationship that is based on equality, respect and peaceful coexistence.

Dong stressed the importance of respecting each other's core interests, stating that any attempts to "use military force to support independence" or "use Taiwan to contain China" are doomed to fail, Xinhua reported.

He said that China is committed to working with other countries in the region to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea, and firmly opposes acts of infringement or provocation by certain countries, as well as attempts by certain countries outside the region to stir trouble, Xinhua reported.

China always focuses on its own development, and firmly defends its legitimate rights and interests, Dong said, adding that acts of containment or deterrence against China will not succeed, nor will interference in China's affairs, according to Xinhua.

Lu Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday that, China has warned the US not to "use Taiwan to contain China" and not to stir up trouble in the South China Sea. China's statements on these principled positions are very candid, Lu said.

"At the same time, in my personal observation, this conversation between the two sides is still a constructive dialogue that is helpful for military relations," Lu said.

We have always emphasized that cooperation between China and the US is essential, and that maintaining dialogue and consultation is crucial, especially for ensuring a stable and positive military relationship. This is a fundamental prerequisite for avoiding crises and even preventing military conflicts, Xin Qiang, director of the Taiwan Studies Center at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Both sides also exchanged views on other issues of mutual concern, according to Xinhua.

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Defense ministry spokesperson comments on foreign media interpretation on China's military parade

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Sep 10, 2025 06:36 PM

When asked to comment on interpretations by international think tanks and foreign media regarding China's nuclear strike "triad," unmanned combat equipment, and cyberspace operations capability following the military parade on September 3with some analysts suggesting that China intended to demonstrate that military coercion against it is absolutely impossibleChinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Jiang Bin stated on Wednesday that the parade was an important part of the commemorative activities marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. He said it comprehensively showcased the new features of the Chinese military in political development in the new era, the new layout of force structure, the new progress in modernization, and the new achievements in combat preparedness.

Jiang noted that many of the weapons and equipment displayed were the latest, representing the evolution of modern warfare, and that some were even key national assets. Collectively, they reflected the Chinese military's capabilities in systematic operations, new domains and new qualities, as well as strategic deterrence. "Only being capable of fighting can one deter a war. We unswervingly adhere to the national defense policy that is defensive in nature, never seek hegemony or expansion, and always serve as a force for peace, stability, and progress in the world. The stronger the Chinese military is, the more powerful the force for peace that constrains war becomes, and the more assured peace and development will be," Jiang said.

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Japan should profoundly reflect on its history of aggression: Defense Spokesperson

Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China

Source Ministry of National Defense

EditorHuang Panyue

2025-09-10 17:41:52

BEIJING, Sept. 10 -- "We urge the Japanese side to profoundly reflect on its history of aggression, earnestly respect the security concerns of its Asian neighbors and the rest of the international community, speak and act with prudence on military and security matters, and avoid repeating past mistakes," said Senior Colonel Jiang Bin, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense (MND), at a press briefing on Wednesday.

It's reported that the Japanese Ministry of Defense submitted a record defense budget request of 8.85 trillion yen for fiscal year 2026. In addition, Japan will deploy upgraded Type-12 land-based anti-ship long-range missile to Kyushu, whose range covers China's coastal area.

In response to these reports, Spokesperson Jiang said that Japan is accelerating its military buildup, developing capabilities, including offensive weapons and equipment, which far exceed what is required for its exclusively defense-oriented policy. "This has sparked vigilance and concerns among peace-loving peoples worldwide, who have to wonder what is the real intention of the Japanese side?" Jang stated.

The spokesperson noted that China just hosted commemorative activities marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. "Eight decades ago, the aggressive war launched by Japanese militarists inflicted immense suffering upon the peoples of Asian nations," the spokesperson said, adding that "Today, the resolve of regional countries to defend peace is stronger than ever, and we will not allow Japanese militarism to make a comeback."

The spokesperson seriously urged the Japanese side to profoundly reflect on its history of aggression, earnestly respect the security concerns of its Asian neighbors and the rest of the international community, speak and act with prudence on military and security matters, and avoid repeating past mistakes.

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China remains a force for global peace, stability and progress: Defense Spokesperson

Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China

Source China Military Online

EditorLin Congyi

2025-09-10 17:59:54

BEIJNG, Sept. 10 -- "China remains the force for global peace, stability and progress. The more capable the Chinese military, the stronger the force for defending peace and preventing war and the more likely it is to ensure peace and stability," said Senior Colonel Jiang Bin, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense at a press briefing on Wednesday.

According to reports, following China's V-Day military parade on September 3rd, international think tanks and foreign media focused their analysis on China's nuclear triad of land-, sea-, and air-based missiles, unmanned combat equipment, cyberspace combat force, and so on. Some media analyzed that China intends to demonstrate that military coercion against it will not work.

The spokesperson first reaffirmed that the military parade is an important part of the commemorations for the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

"It comprehensively demonstrates the new ethos of the People's Army in the new era through political building, the fresh structure of forces, the latest progress in the modernization of national defense and the army, and the new achievements in enhancing combat preparedness," explained Senior Colonel Jiang.

According to him, many of the reviewed weapons and equipment represent the latest advancements in the evolution of modern warfare, including some major strategic assets. Together, they highlighted the systematic combating competence, the new-domain forces with new combat capabilities, and the strategic deterrence power of Chinese military.

"Only the ability to fight is what deters war. China pursues a defense policy that is defensive in nature and will never seek hegemony or expansion," stressed the spokesperson.

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Secretary Rubio's Call with China's Director of the Office of the CCP Central Foreign Affairs Commission and Foreign Minister Wang Yi

US Department of State

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

September 10, 2025

The below is attributable to Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke today with China's Director of the Office of the CCP Central Foreign Affairs Commission and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Secretary Rubio emphasized the importance of open and constructive communication on a range of bilateral issues. They also discussed other global and regional issues as a continuation of the discussions in Kuala Lumpur.

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Chinese Foreign Minister urges US to exercise caution on issues concerning China's core interests such as Taiwan in phone conversation

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Sep 11, 2025 09:29 AM

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday that in this new era, China and the US should work together for world peace and prosperity, tackle global challenges and shoulder their due responsibilities as major countries. Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while holding a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Wang said to ensure that the two giant ships of China and the US move forward together without deviating from their courses or losing speed, it is necessary to adhere to the strategic guidance of the two heads of state and to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state without compromise.

The recent negative words and deeds from the US side have undermined China's legitimate rights and interests, interfered in China's internal affairs, and are detrimental to the improvement and development of China-US relations, said Wang, noting that China clearly opposes such behavior.

He urged the US to exercise caution in its words and actions, especially on issues concerning China's core interests such as Taiwan.

China and the US once fought side by side during World War II to defeat militarism and fascism, while in this new era, the two sides should work together for world peace and prosperity, tackle global challenges and shoulder their due responsibilities as major countries, said Wang.

Both sides believed that the call was timely, necessary and fruitful, and stressed the need to further leverage the strategic leading role of head-of-state diplomacy in China-US relations, properly manage differences, explore practical cooperation, and promote the stable development of bilateral relations, according to the readout.

A Chinese expert said that China's statement serves both as a warning against the US erroneous actions and as a guide for building a constructive China-US relationship, outlining basic principles for such cooperation.

This conversation conveyed a clear message: For China-US relations to remain stable and mutually beneficial, the US must respect China's core interests, especially regarding the Taiwan question, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

"Recently, a series of moves by the US, including visits by congressional members to Taiwan and military interactions with Taiwan, have seriously undermined China's core interests and triggered dissatisfaction. As a result, China reiterated during the conversation that managing China-US relations must involve clear boundaries and red lines," Li said.

Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun also held a video talk with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday.

In the video talk, Dong also stressed the importance of respecting each other's core interests. Any attempts or acts of interference to support "Taiwan independence" separatism with force or use Taiwan to contain China are doomed to fail, Dong said.

"We emphasize that the US cannot harm China's core interests on one hand while expecting to gain other benefits from China on the other," Li said.

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Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un's Speech on Occasion of 77th Anniversary of Founding of DPRK

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK

Pyongyang, September 10 (KCNA) -- The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un made a speech on the occasion of the 77th anniversary of the founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The full text is as follows:

Beloved people across the country and all officers and soldiers of the armed forces of the Republic,

Esteemed comrades,

Dear friends,

Recollecting with deep emotion the proud course we have covered achieving one precious victory after another while blazing the trail of history by dint of hot patriotic blood, we are now greeting the 77th anniversary of the founding of our motherland.

First of all, on the occasion of National Day I offer warm congratulations to the working people across the country and the officers and soldiers of the Korean People's Army, who, sharing the destiny of their motherland, are adding lustre to the prestige and honour of the Republic with resourceful creation and sincere efforts, as well as to the families across the country.

I also pay ennobling tribute to the heroes and patriotic martyrs, who performed truly proud exploits for today and future of this Korea and remain alive forever in the memory of their motherland, and I extend a warm militant salute to the generals, officers and soldiers of our army, who have been dispatched for overseas military operations and would be greeting this day with their glorious national flag in the bosom in the far-away alien land.

My warm congratulations also go to the overseas compatriots and their organizations, who would be greeting their National Day with a patriotic desire for the prosperity of their homeland.

Greeting our National Day, we have just solemnly hoisted our sacred national flag and made a pledge of loyalty to our motherland.

Why did our hearts beat so strongly with indescribable emotion as we looked up at the glorious national flag today?

So sacred and moving are this dignity and honour, with which we have written over 70 arduous years of history and achieved victories by struggling dauntlessly, overcoming numerous difficulties and trials generation after generation.

The cause of building a powerful country covering 77 years, which started on the day when the birth of a new Korea was proclaimed, is being reviewed proudly now that our state has attained a remarkable status.

Now no one, by whatever means, can do harm to the absolute status and security of our state, and no force can reverse the powerful current towards an era of prosperity, which we have created by ourselves.

The dignity and powerfulness of our state, with which we can instil in ourselves self-confidence in winning against all manner of injustice and challenges and achieve the ideals desired by the people, are bringing forth enormous pride and great affection of all the people of this country.

At this moment, when our glorious and worthwhile struggle of immortal significance has brought into reality in history the high ambition that with force of unity fostered by the truth we will lead the whole world by and by, there is an iron truth that we cherish deep in our hearts.

The truth is that socialism we chose is the one and only right road.

It was on the strength of the justice and truth embodied in socialism that we have won all the glory we are enjoying today; having established a powerful political system and built a great national strength, we will not allow the destiny of our country to be left to any foreign forces' devices.

Today all the people's belief in socialism of our style and their strenuous efforts to defend and add lustre to it without fail are vigorously promoting our national development to open a new phase of prosperity.

As a symbol of this great and beautiful Korea, socialism is the cornerstone and inexhaustible dynamic power guaranteeing the eternal existence of our Republic and its infinite development and prosperity.

As long as socialism of our style thrives, this will remain an ever peaceful and prosperous land, and our people's security and wellbeing will be defended for all ages.

Let us hold higher the banner of socialism and advance vigorously along the road of socialism for the undying glory of our Korea and for our coming generations who should lead an enduring dignified and happy life in the powerful and prosperous country.

Let us build a brighter and happier future through an indefatigable struggle and enterprising efforts befitting Koreans who live in this powerful country.

Warmly congratulating you once again on the founding anniversary of our glorious motherland, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, I wish all the families in this country joy and happiness.

Thank you. -0-

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National Flag-raising and National Oath-taking Ceremony Takes Place to Mark 77th Founding anniversary of DPRK

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK

Pyongyang, September 10 (KCNA) -- The entire people of the DPRK are all afire with ardent patriotic desire to make single-minded efforts for the continuous prosperity and grandeur of the country on the occasion of the glorious September. A national flag-raising and national oath-making ceremony took place at the Mansudae Assembly Hall on September 9 to mark the 77th founding anniversary of the DPRK.

Kim Jong Un , general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, was present at the commemorative event.

Present there were members of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the WPK and other senior officials of the Party and the government, deputies to the Supreme People's Assembly and commanding officers of armed forces organs.

The guard of honor of the Korean People's Army lined up at the venue of the commemorative ceremony of the Mansudae Assembly Hall.

A ceremony of hoisting the national flag of the DPRK took place.

Guards of honor of the KPA solemnly escorted the national flag of the DPRK to the venue of the ceremony.

The leading officials of the state paid high tribute to the national flag of the DPRK which has served as an ever-victorious banner, recording in its flag the great history of the dignity and glory of the indomitable Korean people for decades along with the birth of the People's Republic.

The national flag was hoisted amid the playing of the national anthem of the DPRK.

Looking up to the national flag with reverence, the participants shared their patriotic will to hold higher and glorify the greatest and most beautiful country in the world.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un made a commemorative oath to mark the 77th founding anniversary of the DPRK.

At the call of the head of state, the leading officials of the state solemnly pledged before the sacred national flag to make devoted efforts to remain boundlessly faithful all the time to the promotion of the people's well-being and growth and development of the state, to firmly defend the Constitution of the DPRK and strictly observe its legal duty, to firmly adhere to the socialist ideology and safeguard the socialist system and to carry forward the greatness and beauty of the motherland forever with loyalty to the beloved motherland, as for the responsible members defending the sovereignty of the DPRK and interests of its people and serving the state and people.

Kim Jong Un made a meaningful speech.

On the occasion of National Day, he extended warm congratulations to the working people across the country and the officers and soldiers of the Korean People's Army, who, sharing the destiny of their motherland, are adding lustre to the prestige and honour of the Republic with resourceful creation and sincere efforts, as well as to the families across the country.

And he paid ennobling tribute to the heroes and patriotic martyrs, who performed truly proud exploits for today and future of this Korea and remain alive forever in the memory of their motherland, and extended a warm militant salute to the generals, officers and soldiers of our army, who have been dispatched for overseas military operations and would be greeting this day with their glorious national flag in the bosom in the far-away alien land.

He also extended warm congratulations to the overseas compatriots who would be greeting their National Day with a patriotic desire for the prosperity of their homeland.

The cause of building a powerful country covering 77 years, which started on the day when the birth of a new Korea was proclaimed, is being reviewed proudly now that our state has attained a remarkable status, he said, adding no force can reverse the powerful current towards an era of prosperity, which we have created by ourselves.

Noting that at this moment, when our glorious and worthwhile struggle of immortal significance has brought into reality in history the high ambition that with force of unity fostered by the truth we will lead the whole world by and by, there is an iron truth that we cherish deep in our hearts, he stressed the truth is that socialism we chose is the one and only right road. It was on the strength of the justice and truth embodied in socialism that we have won all the glory we are enjoying today; having established a powerful political system and built a great national strength, we will not allow the destiny of our country to be left to any foreign forces' devices, he said.

As a symbol of this great and beautiful Korea, socialism is the cornerstone and inexhaustible dynamic power guaranteeing the eternal existence of our Republic and its infinite development and prosperity, he said, adding that as long as socialism of our style thrives, this will remain an ever peaceful and prosperous land, and our people's security and wellbeing will be defended for all ages.

He ardently called for holding higher the banner of socialism and advancing vigorously along the road of socialism for the undying glory of our Korea and for our coming generations who should lead an enduring dignified and happy life in the powerful and prosperous country and for building a brighter and happier future through an indefatigable struggle and enterprising efforts befitting Koreans.

The participants were deeply moved by the ardent speech reflecting the steadfast faith and will of Kim Jong Un to hold the great DPRK and its people in esteem as the strongest country and the most dignified people in the world, and his earnest request calling on them to become vanguard fighters in carrying out the sacred cause for overall national prosperity and true servants of the people.

When Kim Jong Un finished his speech, enthusiastic cheers of "hurrah!" burst out to shake the venue.

The leading officials of the state made a pledge of loyalty to uphold with a single mind the ideology and leadership of the great Comrade Kim Jong Un who is ushering in a new era of great changes and miracles to be specially recorded in the history of the DPRK's growth and development and to make devoted efforts for the eternal security and prosperity of the glorious DPRK which will shine forever. -0-

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Together for freedom, security and prosperity

Germany - Federal Government

Press conference with Federal Chancellor Merz and President Macron in Toulon

"The Franco-German engine has started up again", said Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the press conference following the Franco-German Council of Ministers in Toulon. The Federal Chancellor went on to say that a strong and united Europe was the best answer to the major challenges facing both countries.

Transcript of press conference

Friday, 29 August 2025

He added that Germany and France were united by an unshakable will to overcome internal and external challenges together. Such were the words of Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron following the 25th Franco-German Council of Ministers "Our freedom, our security and our prosperity must be safeguarded in a world whose order is changing rapidly and profoundly", said Federal Chancellor Merz in Toulon.

A meeting of the Franco-German Defence and Security Council also took place as part of the bilateral cabinet meeting. In addition to Federal Chancellor Merz and President Macron, the respective foreign and defence ministers as well as the French Chief of the Defence Staff and the Chief of Staff, Bundeswehr, also took part.

The issues discussed by the Federal Chancellor at the press conference included:

Peace in Ukraine : Federal Chancellor Merz praised the "excellent teamwork" in recent weeks. This diplomatic core work was, he said, an important investment in a free, secure and prosperous Europe. "We fulfil this joint leadership role in Europe together", said Merz. In addition to Ukraine and the USA, he added, all European neighbours, "big and small, western and eastern", were included.

: Federal Chancellor Merz praised the "excellent teamwork" in recent weeks. This diplomatic core work was, he said, an important investment in a free, secure and prosperous Europe. "We fulfil this joint leadership role in Europe together", said Merz. In addition to Ukraine and the USA, he added, all European neighbours, "big and small, western and eastern", were included. Strengthening European security and defence : According to Federal Chancellor Merz, the discussions in the Franco-German Defence and Security Council as part of the cabinet meeting were dedicated in particular to the goal of strengthening Europe's security and defence capabilities. "This is not a replacement for NATO. Rather, it strengthens the European part of NATO," emphasised Federal Chancellor Merz.

: According to Federal Chancellor Merz, the discussions in the Franco-German Defence and Security Council as part of the cabinet meeting were dedicated in particular to the goal of strengthening Europe's security and defence capabilities. "This is not a replacement for NATO. Rather, it strengthens the European part of NATO," emphasised Federal Chancellor Merz. Franco-German economic agenda: Making Europe competitive again was another fundamental goal according to Federal Chancellor Merz: "We want our economy to grow in Europe. We want strong companies, and we want attractive jobs", said Merz. This, he said, required a fundamental change of course. To this end, a Franco-German economic agenda was adopted in Toulon.

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India-Iran Bilateral Political Consultations (September 08, 2025)

India - Ministry of External Affairs

September 09, 2025

The annual bilateral Political Consultations between India and Iran, co-chaired by Mr. Anand Prakash, Joint Secretary (PAI), and Mr. Mohammad Reza Bahrami, Director General for South Asia Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, were held in Tehran on 8 September 2025.

2. Both sides recalled the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and emphasized their readiness to further develop and deepen relations in line with mutual interests.

3. Both sides reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation, including connectivity, International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC); economic, financial, trade and commercial matters; and other areas of mutual interest. They exchanged views on regional and global developments and emphasized strengthening cooperation within the UN and other regional and multilateral organizations.

4. Both sides expressed satisfaction at the regular holding of the annual political consultations as a prelude to Foreign Office Consultations at the Foreign Secretary/Deputy Foreign Minister level of the two countries. They reaffirmed the importance of this process and agreed to coordinate efforts accordingly.

5. Both sides agreed that the next round of bilateral political consultations will be held in New Delhi in 2026.

Tehran

September 09, 2025

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INDIAN ARMED FORCES CONTINGENT DEPARTS FOR MULTILATERAL EXERCISE ZAPAD 2025 IN RUSSIA

India - Press Information Bureau

Ministry of Defence

Posted On: 09 SEP 2025 2:48PM by PIB Delhi

An Indian Armed Forces contingent comprising 65 personnel departed today for the Mulino Training Ground, Nizhniy, Russia, to participate in the multilateral joint military exercise ZAPAD 2025, scheduled to be conducted from 10 to 16 September 2025.

The contingent comprises 57 Indian Army personnel along with 07 personnel from the Indian Air Force and 01 from the Indian Navy. The Indian Army contingent is being led by a battalion of the KUMAON Regiment along with troops from other arms and services.

The multilateral Exercise ZAPAD 2025 is aimed at enhancing military cooperation, improving interoperability, and providing a platform for participating armies to exchange tactics, techniques and procedures in the domains of conventional warfare and counter-terrorism operations.

The exercise will focus on joint company level operations in open and plain terrain, wherein troops will undertake missions ranging from joint planning, tactical drills, and special arms skills. It will offer a valuable opportunity to hone joint operational capabilities, integrate emerging technologies, and operate in a multinational combat environment.

Participation in Exercise ZAPAD 2025 will further strengthen defence cooperation and foster camaraderie between India and Russia, thereby reinforcing the spirit of collaboration and mutual trust.

****

NA/RS

(Release ID: 2164916)

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Prime Minister Modi speaks with PM Giorgia Meloni (September 10, 2025)

India - Ministry of External Affairs

September 10, 2025

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi held a telephone conversation with H.E. Ms. Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy, today.

2. The leaders reviewed and positively assessed the developments in bilateral Strategic Partnership across sectors such as investment, defence, security, space, science & technology, education, people-to-people ties and counter-terrorism. Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment towards further deepening of the Partnership, in line with the Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-29.

3. They also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. They agreed on the need for an early and peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine. PM Modi reiterated India's full support for efforts in this direction.

4. Prime Minister Meloni reiterated Italy's strong support for conclusion of a mutually beneficial India-EU Free Trade Agreement at the earliest, and for the success of the AI Impact Summit to be hosted by India in 2026. The leaders also agreed on taking steps to promote connectivity under India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEEC) initiative.

5. The leaders agreed to remain in touch.

New Delhi

September 10, 2025

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Iran, Egypt's foreign ministers, and IAEA chief hold trilateral talks in Cairo

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Sep 9, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, and Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi held a joint meeting in Cairo, Egypt.

Araghchi attended a joint trilateral meeting with Abdelatty and Grossi on Tuesday.

The talks were originally scheduled for this morning but were delayed by approximately five hours due to Grossi's flight arriving late in Cairo.

Earlier today, Araghchi arrived in Cairo for a one-day official visit to engage in discussions with senior Egyptian leaders.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei had previously announced that Araghchi's regional tour would include visits to both Egypt and Tunisia.

During his time in Cairo, the foreign minister is also expected to meet with Grossi to finalize negotiations on a new framework for cooperation between Iran and the IAEA, he added.

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Iran, IAEA reach agreement on resuming cooperation as FM warns aggressive steps will undo progress

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 09 September 2025 9:46 PM

Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have reached an agreement aimed at paving the way for resumption of cooperation between the two sides.

The agreement was signed between Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the United Nations nuclear watchdog's Director-General Rafael Grossi on Tuesday in Cairo, which had undertaken to host talks between the two sides.

The agreement came about after the Islamic Republic suspended cooperation with the agency in the aftermath of unprovoked Israeli-American attacks against key Iranian nuclear facilities in June.

The suspension came into force in line with a law passed by Majlis (the Iranian Parliament) that had been passed in protest at an anti-Iran resolution ratified by the IAEA under Western and Israeli pressure that was used by the aggressors to try to justify the attacks.

Speaking alongside Grossi during a press conference that followed conclusion of the agreement, the top diplomat described it as culmination of negotiations on realization of "an understanding on how Iran's safeguards obligations will be implemented" in light of the developments arising from the unlawful aggression.

'Iran's sovereignty, rights, security uncompromisable'

The deal features "practical steps" for implementing the safeguards and establishing a framework for continuation of the cooperation, while also addressing the Islamic Republic's concerns regarding its security and national sovereignty, Araghchi said.

Additionally, the deal guarantees Tehran's inalienable rights to peaceful nuclear energy activities under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), while also taking into account the IAEA's technical and verification requirements, he added.

"The message is clear: Iran will never compromise on its sovereignty, rights, or security."

'Testament to Iran's good will'

Iran's positive steps leading to conclusion of the deal testifies to its sustained good will aimed at resolution of any issues pertaining to its exclusively peaceful nuclear program through diplomacy and dialogue, Araghchi asserted.

These steps, he added, also prove the Islamic Republic's readiness to engage in genuine and meaningful dialogue for implementation of its relevant commitments.

The official reminded that Iran had demonstrated its willingness to enable continued cooperation with the agency, despite its having been subjected to the "unjustifiable, blatant, and criminal" aggression that targeted its safeguarded nuclear facilities.

IAEA's end of the bargain

In exchange, Araghchi underlined, the agency and the international community had to abide by the international law, condemning the attacks that had rendered it impossible for the Islamic Republic to continue its cooperation with the body as before.

"There is no precedent for cooperation between the agency and a member state under conditions where its safeguarded facilities have been deliberately attacked and damaged."

The official also underscored that the perpetrators had to be held accountable and compensate the Islamic Republic for the human and material losses of the aggression.

Still stressing the IAEA's reciprocal duties towards Tehran, Araghchi said, "Cooperation is not a one-way street. Alongside Iran's commitments, the agency also bears clear responsibilities, and we expect it to fully uphold them, while maintaining its impartiality, independence, and professionalism."

For his part, the IAEA chief announced on his X, former Twitter, account that he had agreed with the Iranian official "on practical modalities to resume inspection activities in Iran."

"This is an important step in the right direction," Grossi added.

Stern warning

Araghchi, however, issued a stern caution against implementation of any aggressive steps against the Islamic Republic, despite its goodwill gestures.

"I emphasize that in the event of any hostile action against Iran, including the reinstatement of previously revoked United Nations Security Council resolutions, the Islamic Republic will regard these practical steps as terminated."

He was referring to an underway push by the European trio for the UK, France, and Germany aimed at reinstating the Security Council's sanctions against Tehran.

The troika has been pushing to realize the objective, using unfounded allegations of "diversion" against the country's nuclear energy program, claims that have never been verified by the IAEA, despite its most intrusive inspections to date.

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Iran's nuclear industry cannot be obliterated through bombardment, says AEOI chief

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 09 September 2025 6:42 PM

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has reminded enemies that the nation's homegrown civilian nuclear industry cannot be obliterated through bombardment.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of the depreciation management laboratory in Tehran on Tuesday, Mohammad Eslami stated that Iran's nuclear industry is completely indigenous and developed through research-based efforts.

Enemies view such an industry as sustainable, which cannot be destroyed with bombardment, he said.

"The nuclear industry is the driving force of advanced science and technology, and is urgently needed in all spheres. No one can take this industry away from the Iranian nation."

The AEOI chief said Iran's atomic agency is pursuing a program-oriented development process.

He stated that among the core requirements of the ambitious plan are the identification of the safety requirements of radiation environments in the fields of design, construction, and maintenance, and their advancement on the basis of precise calculations and in accordance with safety standards.

Eslami said there is a standard and common method of estimating the fatigue of a structure in the process of building nuclear installations, stating that no one has made an accurate measurement of the effects of radiation, and the durability of a structure, product, system, or component under the influence of radiation has not been analyzed up to now.

"Accordingly, this issue was studied using laboratory methods in the depreciation management laboratory," he said.

Eslami emphasized that, besides designing for the life and durability of components, Iranian nuclear scientists must make an accurate and precise diagnosis of tests and then monitor it throughout its operational life to ensure that the designed structure is consistent with the specified life and can be put into service smoothly until the end of the specified time.

"We have now acquired design and engineering capabilities. We possess the technology. We manufacture the necessary equipment and items inside our country," the top Iranian nuclear official said.

On June 13, the Israeli regime launched an unlawful aggression against Iran, leading to the assassination of many senior commanders, nuclear scientists, and ordinary citizens.

Iran retaliated in less than 24 hours with a barrage of missiles and drones, and followed it up with a series of retaliatory operations under True Promise III.

The US entered the war on behalf of Israel on June 22, when its bombers hit three Iranian nuclear sites in brazen violation of international law.

In response, Iran launched a missile strike on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest US military air base in West Asia, in an act of self-defense.

The Israeli regime unilaterally accepted a US-proposed truce deal on June 24.

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Iran, India, Armenia agree to advance cooperation on INSTC

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 09 September 2025 3:37 PM

Iran, India, and Armenia have held talks to discuss increased cooperation on issues of interest, including on the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

The trilateral talks held in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Monday, also covered discussions on issues like Armenia's Crossroads of Peace initiative, while the parties highlighted the strategic position of Iran's Chabahar Port and its role in the increased transport activity on the INSTC, according to a statement from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The meeting was the third of its kind, following earlier sessions held in Yerevan in April 2023 and in New Delhi in December 2024, the statement said, adding that delegates reviewed progress since those meetings and stressed the need to expand ties in communications, trade, culture, and other fields of mutual interest.

The delegates, led by Mohammad Reza Bahrami of Iran, Anand Prakash of India, and Armenia's Anahit Karapetyan, agreed to hold their next trilateral meeting on an agreed date in Armenia next year, it said.

The INSTC is an emerging cargo transit route connecting Indian Ocean countries to Central Asia, Russia, and Europe, which is becoming increasingly popular due to its economic and geopolitical benefits.

Iran has introduced major plans to increase activity on the INSTC, including massive development projects in its only ocean port of Chabahar, located on the Sea of Oman coast in the southeast of the country, as well as in roads connecting the port to other trade hubs.

India has also contributed to development projects in Chabahar, although statements from Iranian officials have shown that the country is not happy with the pace of Indian investment and equipment supply to the port.

Indian officials have cited US sanctions on Iran as a main impediment to development works in the port.

Armenia proposed the Crossroads of Peace initiative in 2023 as complementary to the INSTC and to improve the South Caucasus country's links to neighboring Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

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Iran says ready to establish new framework for cooperation with IAEA

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 09 September 2025 2:13 PM

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Iran is ready to establish a new framework for cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

On a one-day official visit to Egypt, Araghchi made the remarks during a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty in Cairo on Tuesday, where the two sides discussed bilateral relations as well as major regional and international developments.

The minister underscored Iran's principled position in defending its rights and interests under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Iran suspended its cooperation with the IAEA in the wake of the Israeli-US acts of aggression in June.

Araghchi said the illegal attacks by the United States and Israel dealt "a deadly blow" to the principles of the UN Charter and international law.

He also highlighted the IAEA's responsibilities to safeguard the rights of its member states.

Abdelatty, for his part, acknowledged the entitlement of all NPT member states to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, praising Iran's responsible approach in this regard.

He said Cairo was ready to facilitate interactions between Iran and the IAEA.

Araqhchi arrived in Cairo on Tuesday to meet with senior Egyptian officials at the head of a diplomatic delegation.

During his visit, he is also scheduled to meet with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to finalize discussions on a new framework for cooperation between Iran and the Agency.

Egypt's Foreign Ministry confirmed that Cairo will host a meeting between Araghchi and Grossi, marking the first such meeting since Tehran suspended cooperation with the Agency.

Iran had earlier announced the intention to hold a meeting with the IAEA Director General in Cairo to conclude negotiations on a new protocol for interaction.

On Monday, Grossi said progress had been made in talks between Iran and the IAEA, but time was running out with an agreement yet to be reached.

On June 13, Israel launched a blatant and unprovoked act of aggression against Iran, assassinating many high-ranking military commanders, nuclear scientists, and killing hundreds of civilians in 12 days.

On June 22, the United States also entered the war and bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, in a clear violation of international law and the NPT.

On June 25, the Iranian Parliament unanimously passed a law mandating the government to suspend all cooperation with the IAEA. Since then, the Agency's inspectors have been barred from visiting the country's nuclear sites.

Iran says the IAEA chief has failed to fulfill his legal duties in protecting the country's peaceful nuclear facilities against the Israeli-US attacks.

Tehran also says the IAEA chief's biased technical report regarding Iran's nuclear program prepared the ground for the Israeli aggression.

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Iran, Venezuela presidents hail 'national unity' as key to defeating foreign threats

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 09 September 2025 10:35 AM

The presidents of Iran and Venezuela agreed that "national unity" and solidarity are the key to resisting foreign intervention and preserving national sovereignty amid the United States' provocative actions against Caracas.

In a phone conversation on Monday, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro exchanged views on the latest regional and international developments, especially in the wake of the US's provocative actions against Venezuela, as well as strategies to expand and deepen bilateral relations.

Pezeshkian expressed his satisfaction with Maduro's report on the national cohesion established in the country, noting that Iran's experience during the US-Israeli aggression has shown that "national unity and internal solidarity" defeated the aggressors.

"As long as this unity is maintained, no foreign power will be able to harm our countries," he added.

Pezeshkian stated that for years, the United States has used "false propaganda and unrealistic narratives" as a pretext to justify threats, pressure, and violations of international law against Iran.

"Iran strongly condemns any violation of the territorial integrity of countries and supports the territorial integrity of Venezuela with all its might," he underscored.

He also welcomed Venezuela's efforts to maintain regional peace and stability and reaffirmed Iran's readiness to deepen cooperation with its friendly ally.

For his part, President Maduro underscored the complete unity and cohesion within Venezuela, noting that this "exemplary solidarity" between the state, the public, and the armed forces has endowed the nation with a power that ensures its safety and strength against any threat.

Maduro said the United States is waging a psychological war aimed at tarnishing Venezuela's image through "a fabricated and false narrative," which is not accepted even among the public opinion of its own people.

"We are in complete peace, but with determination and full readiness, we will stand against any possible threat," he said, referring to the recent US provocative actions against Venezuela.

Maduro pointed to the overwhelming response of over 8 million Venezuelans ready to defend the nation as proof of the "national spirit and determination" of the nation.

The US has recently sent ships armed with Tomahawk missiles, an attack submarine, a range of aircraft, and more than 4,000 US sailors and Marines to the waters off Venezuela, while ordering the deployment of 10 advanced F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico.

Additionally, it has labeled Maduro as one of the world's largest narco-traffickers and doubled the bounty for his arrest to $50 million.

On Tuesday, a US military strike killed 11 people and sank a boat from Venezuela, which Trump claimed was transporting illegal narcotics.

Maduro has rejected the US allegations about his country, saying differences between the nations do not justify a "military conflict."

Elsewhere in his remarks, Maduro pointed to the country's peace-loving initiatives in the Latin American region and noted that "in a historic move, we have united with Latin American countries to achieve peace, and we will pursue this path with seriousness."

Appreciating Iran for its support, Maduro said the two countries are "more united than ever."

He characterized Iran's support as a "double motivation" for Venezuela in safeguarding its independence and national dignity, pledging to use all capacities to expand their cooperative efforts.

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Iran urges South Korea to take 'responsible' stance on E3's illegitimate snapback move

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 09 September 2025 6:44 AM

Iran has called on South Korea, as the new president of the UN Security Council, to act as a "responsible" government that defends right and truth, considering the illegitimate move of the three European states in activating the snapback mechanism against Tehran.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi made the remarks in a post on X on Monday, following his meeting with the South Korean Ambassador, Kim Junpyo.

"It was emphasized in the meeting that reimposing sanctions during South Korea's presidency of the UN Security Council would seriously damage the country's international image," he noted.

South Korea will take over the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council in September 2025 after Panama.

In his message, Gharibabadi also referred to a separate meeting with Grigory Lukyantsev, Director of the Department for Multilateral Cooperation in Human Rights at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is in Tehran to participate in the tenth round of bilateral human rights talks between Iran and Russia.

He noted that there are "many capacities and opportunities to promote bilateral, multilateral and international cooperation, especially in international forums, on human rights issues."

"While criticizing the instrumental use and double standards of the West in the field of human rights, it was decided to pursue joint initiatives and activities in this area," he added.

In another meeting with the ambassadors of Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark), Gharibabadi underlined that the sides mainly discussed the illegal actions of the three European countries in initiating the snapback process and "the need to pay attention to diplomacy and avoid provoking actions by these three countries."

The snapback refers to the automatic reinstatement of UN sanctions against Iran. It is a mechanism under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers.

On August 29, France, Germany, and Britain (E3) triggered the countdown for the automatic return of UN sanctions, including a comprehensive arms embargo and major banking and shipping restrictions on Iran.

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IAEA, Iran Agree on Terms for Resumption of Inspections in Country - Grossi

Sputnik News

20250909

MOSCOW, September 9 (Sputnik) - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran have agreed on the terms for resuming inspections in the country, Director General Rafael Grossi announced Tuesday.

"In Cairo today, agreed with Iran's Foreign Minister Araghchi on practical modalities to resume inspection activities in Iran. This is an important step in the right direction," Grossi wrote on X.

Iran expects the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to responsibly fulfill its obligations under the new cooperation agreement, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.

"Cooperation is not a one-way street. The IAEA also has certain obligations in relation to Iran's commitments, and we expect it to fully comply with them and maintain its impartiality, independence and professionalism," Araghchi said during a press conference following the signing of the document.

The cooperation agreement between Iran and the IAEA takes into account both sides' demands on security issues, Araghchi said, adding that Iran has shown goodwill by resuming cooperation with the IAEA.

He warned that Iran will halt cooperation with the agency if UN sanctions are restored or other aggressive actions are taken.

Iran temporarily cut off its cooperation with the IAEA this summer amid US strikes on its nuclear sites, accusing the agency of colluding with Tel Aviv and Washington.

 Sputnik

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Iran: Statement by the Spokesperson on the execution of another person sentenced for 2022 protests

European External Action Service (EEAS)

10.09.2025

EEAS Press Team

Mehran Bahramian was executed on September 6 by Iranian authorities, after being arrested and sentenced to death in connection with the 2022 protests in Iran.

The current pace of executions in Iran, at least 770 since January 2025, is appalling. The European Union condemns in the strongest term the use of capital punishment as a response to domestic dissent.

The EU urges the Iranian authorities to immediately end the practice of imposing and carrying out death sentences against protesters, and calls once again on Iran to refrain from any future executions and pursue a consistent policy towards the abolition of capital punishment altogether.

The EU reiterates its firm and principled opposition to the use of capital punishment at all times and in all circumstances. The death penalty is a cruel and inhumane punishment, which fails to act as a deterrent to crime and represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity. It is a definite punishment that makes possible miscarriages of justice irreversible.

It is also imperative for the Iranian authorities to uphold the accused individuals' due process rights, and ensure that those who are under any form of detention or imprisonment are not subject to any form of mistreatment.

The EU urges the Iranian authorities to uphold their obligations under international law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a party.

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China welcomes understanding reached between Iran and the IAEA on resuming safeguards cooperation: FM spokesperson

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Sep 10, 2025 05:12 PM

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday said that Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had reached an understanding on resuming safeguards cooperation. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated that the two sides agreed on a feasible model to restore inspections, calling it an important step in the right direction. In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday that China welcomes the understanding reached between Iran and the IAEA on resuming safeguards cooperation. This is a positive step toward easing tensions over the Iranian nuclear issue and rebuilding mutual trust among parties.

The current situation regarding the Iranian nuclear issue remains fragile. China calls on all parties to continue increasing diplomatic efforts, engage in constructive dialogue, avoid actions that may escalate tensions, and resume negotiations as soon as possible to reach a fair and lasting solution that accommodates the legitimate concerns of all parties, said the spokesperson.

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Statement by IAEA Director General on Iran



International Atomic Energy Agency

10 September 2025

(As prepared for delivery)

Dear Chairperson,

Yesterday, in Cairo, an important step in the right direction was taken, with the agreement on Practical Modalities for the Implementation of Safeguards in Iran, signed by me and His Excellency, the Foreign Minister of Iran, Doctor Abbas Araghchi.

Being a safeguards implementing document, it is not a public one, but given its significance and its meaning allow me to refer in general terms to it and what it means.

As I have repeatedly said, once again last Monday in my opening remarks to the Board, the June attacks of nuclear installations in Iran led to an inevitable suspension of the inspection work in Iran. Complete.

And this, for the first time since the adoption of a CSA between Iran and the Agency.

Resuming this indispensable work would not be an automatic, or a simple bureaucratic process, after what happened.

On top of this, as you all know, the Parliament of Iran adopted a law to suspend cooperation with the Agency.

This risked putting us before the real possibility of Iran failing to observe and comply with its safeguards obligations.

I am sure you will agree with me on the fact that this would not be a situation we would like to see, given its multiple and inevitably negative consequences.

It was encouraging for us to see Iran's declared willingness not to leave the NPT and to continue working inside the international non proliferation regime.

Iran expressed concerns, and it is our duty as an international organization to listen to those, and find ways and means to address them in a form which would reconcile two equally important parameters: Iran's new law, and the existing legal obligations emanating from the NPT safeguards agreement contained in INFCIRC 214.This required dialogue and a thorough understanding of Iran's views.

This is exactly what we have been doing for the past few weeks through a series of bilateral technical consultations, culminating yesterday in my meeting with Dr. Araghchi in Cairo.

In essence, this technical document provides for a clear understanding of the procedures for inspection, notifications, and implementation, fully in line with the relevant provisions of the CSA.

This includes all facilities and installations in Iran, and it also contemplates the required reporting on all the attacked facilities, including the nuclear material present at those.

For this, Iran will follow its recently adopted internal procedures. And that will open the way for the respective inspections and access.

Safeguards approaches to each facility will be reviewed at technical level, always in line with the rights and obligations of Iran and the Agency under the NPT Safeguards Agreement, which are not modified or amended as a result of these practical steps.

Dear colleagues,

The technical nature of this document does not diminish its profound significance.

Iran and the Agency will now resume cooperation in a respectful and comprehensive way.

These practical steps, allow me here to state the obvious, need to be implemented now.

There may be difficulties and issues to be resolved, for sure, but we now know that we have the elements and basic understandings to do it.

it is my sincere hope that the resumption of our inspection activity in Iran may serve as a good sign, as a reference, an indication that agreements and understandings are possible and that nothing replaces dialogue if one wants durable, lasting solutions to international challenges like this one.

Finally, a word of gratitude to Egypt, to President Sisi who graciously met and encouraged us to agree, and to my dear friend, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, for his patience, wise advice, and constant encouragement.

Now, it is time to put this agreement in practice, which is exactly what we intend to do. I thank you, Madam Chairperson.

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Guarantees for sanctions relief only path to new deal: Iran's IAEA envoy

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Sep 10, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- Iran's Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Reza Najafi says Tehran is committed to constructive dialogue, insisting that the only viable path to a new agreement lies in verifiable guarantees for the full and effective lifting of sanctions.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran remains ready for constructive engagement, and the only path to reaching an agreement is through the provision of strong, objective, and verifiable guarantees for the full and effective lifting of sanctions," Najafi said while addressing a session of the IAEA's Board of Governors on Wednesday.

The ambassador criticized the United Kingdom, France, and Germany - collectively known as E3- for violating UN Security Council Resolution 2231 that endorses the Iran nuclear deal and undermining diplomacy.

"Since the implementation of the JCPOA in 2016, the United States and the E3 have not only failed to meet their obligations, but their repeated negligence and hostile measures have disrupted Iran's efforts to normalize trade and economic relations," he said.

Najafi pointed to a series of IAEA reports confirming Iran's cooperation, saying that the country has provided the highest level of access to inspectors. "This has been explicitly acknowledged in 15 consecutive reports by the Director General, including the most recent one," he noted.

He said the suspension of verification and monitoring activities in Iran was the result of illegal attacks by the United States and Israel on safeguarded nuclear facilities. Najafi said the IAEA itself withdrew its inspectors due to security concerns.

The ambassador said the E3 was misusing the "snapback" mechanism to distort reality and push a biased narrative, adding that their effort to invoke the dispute resolution mechanism under Resolution 2231 was legally invalid.

"These positions not only represent serious violations of commitments, but they also disqualify these countries from being credible participants in the agreement," Najafi said.

On August 29, the European parties to the JCPOA triggered the countdown for the automatic return of UN sanctions, including a comprehensive arms embargo and major banking and shipping restrictions on Iran.

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New agreement with IAEA will be canceled if 'snapback' triggered: Araghchi

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Sep 10, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says a new agreement between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will be canceled if any hostile move is taken against Tehran, including the activation of the so-called snapback mechanism to restore UN sanctions.

Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog signed an agreement Tuesday in Cairo to pave the way for resuming cooperation, which has been suspended following Israeli and US aggression against Iran in June, including attacks on its nuclear facilities.

The agreement was signed between Araghchi and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi in Cairo on Tuesday.

Araghchi told reporters on Wednesday that the most important aspect of the new agreement is that it acknowledges the "new conditions" following the 12-war and subsequent measures taken by the Iranian Parliament and the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC).

It also concedes that Iran has legitimate security concerns following the Israeli-US aggression, he added.

"After the attack, the situation changed, and in our discussions with the agency, we emphasized that cooperation could no longer continue as before and that a new framework must be defined for it," Araghchi said.

The top diplomat emphasized that the new agreement does not give any access to IAEA inspectors, except to oversee the fuel replacement process at the Bushehr nuclear plant.

The new document will remain valid as long as no hostile action is taken against Iran, he asserted.

"For instance, if what is known as the 'snapback mechanism' is activated, the implementation of this document will certainly be halted. As for how Iran will respond and behave afterward, decisions will be made in due course," he said.

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Iran, IAEA reach agreement on implementing safeguards commitments

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Sep 10, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeel Baghaei has announced the finalization of the text of the new procedural framework for Iran-IAEA interaction to implement safeguards commitments.

Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency have reached an understanding on how to interact in the new situation following the illegal attacks by the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran's peaceful nuclear facilities, Baghaei told IRIB on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, speaking in a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that today marks an important step in demonstrating the continuity and steadfastness of the Islamic Republic of Iran's goodwill towards resolving any issues related to its exclusively peaceful nuclear program through diplomacy and dialogue, he stated.

Despite being subjected to illegal and criminal attacks, Iran has consistently upheld its legitimate right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy in accordance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), while also demonstrating its readiness to engage in genuine and meaningful dialogue to fulfill its relevant commitments, Araghchi said.

The Israeli aggression, which occurred between June 13-24, 2025, and targeted Iran's safeguarded nuclear facilities, was utterly unjustifiable, clearly illegal, and criminal, he said.

The United States and Israel must be held accountable and responsible for all human casualties and material damages incurred, he said, adding that the Iranian nation will neither forget nor forgive these criminal acts.

Araghchi emphasized that these illegal attacks and the continued threats of further action have fundamentally altered the conditions under which Iran was cooperating with the IAEA.

"Maintaining cooperation was no longer possible under circumstances where our safeguarded facilities were being deliberately targeted and destroyed," He said.

"Iran extends its deep gratitude to the Government of Egypt for its profound role in facilitating diplomacy," Araghchi wrote on his X account on Tuesday.

"The framework for our collaboration with the IAEA, while hinging on our goodwill being reciprocated through the avoidance of unlawful and provocative steps, was made possible by the efforts of the Egyptian Foreign Minister and President Sisi," he added.

"Iranians are friends of all nations who work towards peace over conflict," he stressed.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi also in a X message said: "In Cairo today, agreed with Iran's Foreign Minister @araghchi on practical modalities to resume inspection activities in Iran. This is an important step in the right direction. Grateful to Egypt's @MfaEgypt Badr Abdelatty for his commitment and engagement."

In a separate message, he appreciated Egypt's president for providing the framework that enabled today's agreement on technical modalities for the implementation of inspections in Iran.

"A step in the right direction that opens the door for diplomacy and stability," he stated.

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said in an X message: "Today's framework deal for resuming inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities could mark a crucial step for nuclear diplomacy, provided there is rapid implementation by Iran."

"I thank Egypt for facilitating the process, she added.

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Snapback sanctions, any hostile action will nullify Iran's new deal with IAEA: FM

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 10 September 2025 3:34 PM

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Iran's new agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the resumption of cooperation will remain valid as long as no hostile action is taken against the Islamic Republic, including the re-imposition of UN sanctions.

"This document and its continuation are conditional on no hostile action being taken against the Islamic Republic of Iran. For instance, if the so-called snapback mechanism is activated, the implementation of this document will also be halted," Araghchi told Iranian media on Tuesday at the end of his trip to Egypt, where the deal was clinched.

'Snapback' refers to the automatic reinstatement of UN sanctions against Iran. It is a mechanism under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers.

On August 29, France, Germany, and Britain (the E3) triggered the countdown for the automatic return of UN sanctions, including a comprehensive arms embargo and major banking and shipping restrictions on Iran.

Iran has condemned the move, saying the three countries have been influenced by the United States, which withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018.

Araghchi said the new agreement with the IAEA took into consideration the new conditions that arose after the US attack on Iran's peaceful nuclear sites.

"As one of the members of the NPT and based on previous agreements, we always cooperated with the Agency, and our program has also been peaceful and under the Agency's supervision."

"However," Araghchi stated, "after the (US) attack, conditions changed, and in talks with the Agency, we emphasized that cooperation can no longer continue as before and that a new framework must be defined for it."

The Iranian minister said central to the agreement is that it "officially recognizes the new conditions that have emerged" and that Iran's cooperation with the IAEA must take place within a new framework.

He said the document acknowledges that Iran's security concerns are "legitimate and must be taken into account."

Noting that the law of the Iranian Parliament has been "explicitly" acknowledged in the document, Araghchi said the cooperation with the Agency will take place within the framework of this law and in full coordination with Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

He said the new agreement does not grant the IAEA inspectors any access, noting that the form of inspections and the access the IAEA should have will be determined in future talks.

"Overall, it can be said that a new step has been taken in the right direction," the Iranian minister said.

Araghchi said the new step "completely eliminates pretexts and disarms those who sought to exploit the situation for their own goals."

He expressed hope that the agreement will "pave the way for a diplomatic solution." Araghchi said the other side must also be "sincere and serious" in this regard.

The agreement was signed between Araghchi and the Director General of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, in Cairo, on September 9.

The agreement came about after the Islamic Republic suspended cooperation with the IAEA in the aftermath of the unprovoked acts of aggression by the United States against key Iranian nuclear facilities in June.

The suspension came into force in line with a law passed by the Iranian Parliament that had been passed in protest at an anti-Iran resolution ratified by the IAEA under Western and Israeli pressure, which was used by the aggressors to try to justify the attacks in June.

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IAEA Board of Governors on the JCPoA, September 2025: E3 Statement

Speech

France, Germany and the UK (E3) delivered a joint statement to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors on Iran's implementation of its nuclear commitments under the JCPoA

From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Jean-Louis Falconi, Governor of France to the IAEA

Published 10 September 2025

Location: Vienna

Delivered on: 10 September 2025 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

Chair,

On behalf of France, Germany and the United Kingdom - the E3 - I thank Director General Grossi for his latest report on Iran's nuclear programme, including his update this morning, and look forward to having more information about these elements and their impact. We commend the Agency's professional, independent and impartial work providing objective reporting on Iran's nuclear programme and its implementation of its nuclear-related commitments under UN Security Council resolution 2231.

The report points out that in June 2025, a number of Iran's nuclear facilities were the target of military attacks. We have been clear that France, Germany, and the United Kingdom were not involved.

The report highlights that Iran's nuclear escalation has reached unprecedented levels, in stark violation of the commitments Iran freely agreed to in 2015. As of 13 June 2025, Iran's overall enriched uranium stockpile was 48 times the JCPoA limit; Iran's stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60 percent had further increased to more than 440 kg and Iran now has more than ten IAEA "significant quantities" of highly enriched uranium. As a reminder, a "significant quantity" is the approximate amount required, as defined by the IAEA, of material from which the possibility of manufacturing a nuclear explosive device cannot be excluded.

As the IAEA has repeatedly stated, Iran is the only state without nuclear weapons that has enriched uranium to this level. There is no credible justification for a civilian purpose for this level of enrichment, which creates serious concerns about Iran's true intent.

It should be of utmost concern to all members of this Board that Iran's entire enriched uranium stockpile has been unaccounted for since mid-June. As a result of Iran's non-compliance with its JCPoA commitments over the past years, the Agency had already lost, as reported on numerous occasions, the continuity of knowledge in relation to the production and inventory of centrifuges, rotors and bellows, heavy water and UOC. The DG has now reported that the Agency has lost continuity of knowledge with regard to the current inventories of nuclear material in Iran.

We are also very concerned that following Iran's letter of 12 June 2025 informing the Agency that it "intends to establish a new enrichment facility named as Isfahan Fuel Enrichment Plant" and due to Iran's refusal to readmit inspectors, the IAEA has not been able to inspect this new facility and cannot even say whether or not it has been built. As a reminder, under the JCPoA, Iran committed that all uranium enrichment activities would take place solely at Natanz.

Chair,

To put it bluntly, there up to this moment near zero IAEA oversight of Iran's nuclear programme, and there are thousands of kilos of enriched uranium in Iran which the IAEA has not been able to verify for nearly three months. Iran is obfuscating the status and location of this material from the international community, and Iran refused to allow the Agency to verify this stockpile.

The E3 are grateful to the IAEA for its account of events that unfolded after 13 June, and for the assessment of damages reported. However, it should be noted that the picture will remain incomplete for as long as the Agency is not granted full access to all nuclear facilities, including those that were targeted by the strikes.

Iran has also not taken the necessary steps to resume implementation of its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement for nearly three months, despite repeated requests by the Director General and the IAEA, who have expressed willingness to consider Iran's concerns. Instead, Iran has adopted a law suspending cooperation with the Agency, an unacceptable step which clearly contradicts Iran's NPT obligations. Iran's safeguards agreement contains provisions for the implementation of safeguards under special circumstances and the IAEA is well equipped to conduct its work in difficult conditions. We echo the Director General's call on Iran to conclude its discussions with the Agency to enable the full resumption of inspections without delay.

We note in this regard the DG's opening remark, and await reporting regarding new practical arrangements. It is critical that full IAEA monitoring and verification is urgently restored to enable the international community to understand the nature of Iran's nuclear programme.

Chair,

Iran is, and has been since 2019, in clear and consistent non-performance of its JCPoA commitments. For years there would have been sufficient legal grounds for the E3 to trigger the so-called "snapback" mechanism. The E3 have worked tirelessly over many years to avoid this and to reach a diplomatic solution. We made every effort to bring Iran back into compliance, including by using the JCPoA's Dispute Resolution Mechanism, which the E3 activated on 14 January 2020. In 2020 and 2021 we engaged in months of talks with the aim of fully restoring the JCPoA, and that would have returned the United States to the deal. Instead, Iran chose to reject two offers put on the table by the JCPoA coordinator in 2022 and to further expand its nuclear activities in clear breach of its JCPoA commitments.

In July this year, the E3 offered Iran a limited, one-time snapback extension provided that it agreed to resume direct and unconditional negotiations with the US, return to compliance with its legally-binding safeguards obligations, and address its highly enriched uranium stockpile. These measures were fair and achievable and sought to restore full IAEA oversight of Iran's nuclear programme - a condition necessary for restoring a serious and enduring diplomatic process. Iran has decided not to take up this offer.

This is why we were left with no choice but to trigger the snapback mechanism on 28 August, as provided for under UNSCR 2231. We have always been clear that we cannot allow the Iran nuclear issue to be removed from the UNSC agenda and UN sanctions to be permanently lifted, when Iran's nuclear programme has advanced to unprecedented levels and Iran is not meaningfully engaging in diplomacy and not complying with its legal safeguards obligations.

We are at a critical juncture. It has been almost two weeks since the notification to the Security Council triggering snapback, which initiated a 30-day window before the reimposition of previously suspended resolutions. The E3 have been clear to Iran and the international community that we remain committed to diplomacy. It is now up to Iran to quickly take concrete steps to demonstrate it is serious about finding a diplomatic solution and to engage meaningfully with our offer, which will remain on the table during the 30-day window before snapback takes effect.

It is not enough for Iran to make promises for tomorrow, we need to see evidence from Iran today that demonstrates it is ready for a diplomatic solution that addresses the international community's concerns. That starts by showing, not claiming, that it is meeting the fair and reasonable conditions set by the E3 for a Snapback extension, which would help create the environment for a full and enduring agreement.

We firmly believe that this Board must send a united message on the urgent need for Iran to restore full IAEA access to urgently address proliferation concerns, as well as to stress the importance of upholding its NPT Safeguards Agreement and restoring the IAEA's critical verification role.

We ask the Director General to keep the Board informed of all relevant activities and developments relating to Iran's nuclear programme by regular and, if necessary, extraordinary reporting, and as for this report to be made public.

Thank you.

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NPT Safeguards Agreement with Iran: E3 Statement to the IAEA Board of Governors, September 2025

Speech

France, Germany and the UK (the E3) delivered a joint statement to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board on Iran's Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Safeguards Agreement

From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Mareike Wohler, German Alternate Permanent Representative to the IAEA

Published 10 September 2025

Location: Vienna

Delivered on: 10 September 2025 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

Chair,

France, Germany and the United Kingdom commend the IAEA for its efforts to restore the full implementation of Iran's Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, despite Iran's serious curtailing of its cooperation with the Agency since June 2025. The IAEA's ability to conduct its verification work in Iran remains critical to understanding the nature of Iran's nuclear programme, and we thank the Director General for his report and efforts.

The report points out that in June 2025, a number of Iran's nuclear facilities were the target of military attacks. We have been clear that France, Germany, and the United Kingdom were not involved.

For the entire reporting period, Iran practically ended cooperation with the IAEA. On 2 July 2025, an Iranian law suspending IAEA inspector access was brought into force. The Director General's report observes that since 13 June 2025, the Agency has had no access to any of the safeguarded nuclear facilities in Iran, except for Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, nor has it received any of the legally required reports from Iran on its nuclear programme. We sincerely hope this is about to change.

The Director General has also reported that the IAEA has now also lost continuity of knowledge in relation to the current inventories of nuclear material in Iran, including High Enriched Uranium. In its letter of 30 July, the Agency reminded Iran that verification of Iran's stockpile of High Enriched Uranium was overdue. This should be of utmost concern to all states: Iran's stockpile of High Enriched Uranium has remained unaccounted for for over two and a half months. As the report recalls, Iran remains the only state without nuclear weapons to have produced such material, for which there is no credible civilian justification.

The report also states, for the first time, that the IAEA is not in a position to provide any conclusion or assurance regarding Iran's nuclear programme.

Chair,

We recognise that military strikes have complicated access to affected facilities. However, as the Director General reminded Iran in his 15 August letter, these events do not constitute legal grounds for suspending the implementation of the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement. There was never a reason for Iran not to allow inspections to resume at all unaffected facilities or to withhold legally required reports.

Instead of upholding its obligations, for several months Iran demanded "separate" and "new" arrangements with the IAEA with conditions outside the IAEA's verification mandate. Iran does not need a separate arrangement - Iran's Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement has provisions for the implementation of safeguards under special circumstances, and the IAEA is well equipped to conduct its work in difficult conditions. The report makes clear that: "any new arrangement should be implemented in the framework of the NPT Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement".

Chair,

As the report notes, and the Director General emphasised this morning, the IAEA has repeatedly reached out to Iran and expressed his readiness to take into account Iran's security concerns. We are grateful to the Director General for his update to the Board this morning regarding an agreement on modalities for the full reimplementation of Iran's Safeguards Agreement, including all necessary accesses, inspections and reporting at all nuclear facilities and installations of Iran. We take note of the DG's statement that this agreement will neither amend nor modify Iran's NPT Safeguards Agreement. We will await further reporting regarding these new practical arrangements, as well as their full implementation.

Now is the time to see action from Iran, not words. The Agency's verification activities are already long overdue. As such, we hope that Iran will seize this opportunity to urgently implement the measures requested by the Director General, including: preparation by Iran of special reports for high and low enriched uranium for the affected facilities, updated Design Information Questionnaires, and full resumption of Agency inspections at all safeguarded nuclear sites and facilities in Iran, affected or unaffected.

Chair,

It must also be recalled that Iran has refused for more than six years to resolve questions regarding nuclear material detected at multiple undeclared locations in Iran. The Director General and the Board have made clear repeatedly that Iran is legally required to clarify these issues. Iran failed to do so despite the concerted efforts of the Director General and this Board to provide Iran every opportunity. Therefore, following the publication of the Director General's 'comprehensive assessment' on the outstanding safeguards issues, this Board adopted a resolution which found that Iran's many failures to uphold its obligations constituted non-compliance with its Safeguards Agreement.

This Board has been patient. Iran has had nearly three months to resume full implementation of its Safeguards Agreement, and address safety and security concerns regarding nuclear facilities affected by military strikes.

But this Board cannot ignore the serious conclusions in this report. The near total cessation of safeguards implementation in Iran for two and half months is unacceptable and unsustainable, and gave clear grounds for this Board to act. There is now an opportunity to see if Iran will implement its legal safeguards obligations fully, urgently and without reservation. We sincerely hope it does.

We regret that, already, Iran has chosen to make public threats to suspend these practical steps based on irrelevant, political considerations, and underline once more that Iran's legally-binding safeguards obligations flow from the NPT and its CSA, and no other source. Once again, we sincerely hope a change of approach is upon us.

However, we must also take our previous experience into account. If this Board does not see the full and complete resumption of the implementation of Iran's Safeguards Agreement by its next meeting, we must be prepared to hold Iran to account, and provide the report as required by the IAEA Statue and the June resolution finding Iran non-compliant with its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement.

Chair,

We fully support the IAEA and the Director General's ongoing efforts to engage Iran. We reiterate the Director General's message to Iran that it is "indispensable and urgent to restart safeguards activities in Iran". Iran's full cooperation with the IAEA, and full implementation of its legal safeguards obligations, is a necessary foundation if we are to achieve an enduring agreement to address concerns around Iran's nuclear activities - which the E3 have long worked towards.

Thank you, Chair.

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IAEA 'fully satisfied' with cooperation agreement; objections by 3rd parties 'strange': Iran FM

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 11 September 2025 3:02 AM

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is completely satisfied with the terms of an agreement that was recently reached between the body and the Islamic Republic.

"From now on, Iran's cooperation with the agency will follow this framework, and the agency is fully satisfied with the agreement," the top diplomat said on Wednesday, speaking alongside his Tunisian counterpart Mohamed Ali Nafti during a joint press conference in Tunis on Wednesday.

Araghchi travelled to Tunis after signing the deal with the IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi in Cairo a day earlier to pave the way for resumption of cooperation between the two sides.

Tehran suspended the cooperation in protest at the UN nuclear watchdog's most recent anti-Iranian resolution that was used by the Israeli regime and the United States to try to justify their illegal and unprovoked war on Iran in June.

Speaking alongside Grossi during a press conference that followed conclusion of the deal, Araghchi had noted how Iran's cooperation towards realization of the deal conveyed the country's good will, despite its having faced the aggression.

Adding to his remarks alongside the Tunisian official, the foreign minister, meanwhile, reminded that the illegal aggression had rendered it impossible for the body to continue its inspections as before.

"The agency acknowledged that the reality on the ground had changed and that a new framework for cooperation was needed. Therefore, we negotiated with the agency and were able to finalize this framework yesterday," he said.

The official additionally questioned objections raised by some countries to the agreement, noting how the same states used to urge continued cooperation between the two sides.

The agency, Araghchi said, "is the only international authority for reviewing the nuclear status of countries." "If it reaches an agreement with a country, it certainly takes into account its technical considerations," he added.

"Therefore, objections from countries that have always claimed that Iran must cooperate with the agency are, from our perspective, strange."

The official did not name any specific party, but the United States, the Israeli regime, and their key Western allies - the UK, France, and Germany - have been exerting considerable pressure on the agency aimed at forcing it to come up with anti-Iranian measures.

Israel seeking 'full dominance' over West Asia region

Elsewhere in his remarks, the official condemned the Israeli regime's rampant deadly aggression throughout the West Asia region, including across the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and most recently Qatar.

"The threat posed by the Zionist regime is the greatest threat to peace and security in the region, and confronting it requires a collective decision within the region."

If not properly contained, Tel Aviv would sustain its attempts at expanding its occupation across the region and keep trying to fragment it and its Muslim countries, Araghchi said.

As a case in point, he cited the regime's underway push to "disintegrate" Syria after expanding the area under its occupation there to one that was now "larger than the entire Gaza Strip."

The official said he would not put it past the regime to resort to any act of aggression to satisfy its goals.

"Israel seeks full dominance over the region, [establishment of] a 'Greater Israel', and weakening and fragmentation of all Muslim countries."

Countering the threat

The foreign minister said the regional nations had to confront the regime primarily by severing their political and economic ties with it.

Muslim countries, he added, also had to sanction the regime and start applying political and economic pressure on the countries assisting it.

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FM Sa'ar meets with President of Montenegro Jakov Milatovic

Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The two held a one-on-one meeting. They discussed bilateral relations between the countries and the situation in the Middle East.

Type: Press Releases

Topic: Foreign Policy

Publish Date: 09.09.2025

Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa'ar met with the President of Montenegro Jakov Milatovic last night (Monday, 8 September 2025), during his visit to Zagreb, Croatia.

The two held a one-on-one meeting. They discussed bilateral relations between the countries and the situation in the Middle East.

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FM Sa'ar meets with Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gordan Grlic Radman in Zagreb

Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

FM Sa'ar: The war can end tomorrow. We only have two simple demands: 1. The return of our hostages. There are still 48 hostages being held in cruel captivity in Gaza. 2. Hamas must lay down its arms.

Type: Press Releases

Topic: Foreign Policy

Publish Date: 09.09.2025

Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa'ar met today (Tuesday, 9 September 2025) with Croatia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gordan Grlic Radman, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Zagreb. The two ministers held a joint press conference.

From Minister Sa'ar's speech:

"Israel has been fighting for its existence against radical Islamist terrorism for almost two years.

Just yesterday - Palestinian terrorists murdered 6 Israelis in a horrific attack in our capital, Jerusalem. They injured many.

These murderers came from just a few miles away - from the Palestinian Authority's territories - to kill Jews.

This is the dangerous reality we face in our tiny land.

Hamas is responsible for initiating the war with the October 7th massacre. But Hamas is also responsible for its continuation until today.

Just two days ago, Hamas again fired rockets at the communities near Gaza, those that were attacked on October 7th.

But the war can end tomorrow. President Trump said it clearly two days ago: Israel said YES to his proposal. We are ready to accept a full deal that would end the war based on the Cabinet decision. We only have two simple demands: 1. The return of our hostages. There are still

48 hostages being held in cruel captivity in Gaza. 2. Hamas must lay down its arms.

The second condition is not critical only for Israel.

It ensures a better future of Gaza and the Palestinians

A different future - free of Hamas' oppressive terrorist regime.

The problem of Hamas - and radical Islamist terror states - is not just Israel's problem.

It's a problem for the Palestinians too. It is a problem for regional stability.

Yesterday's terrorist attack demonstrates the dangers of establishing a Palestinian terror state in the heart of our homeland.

But a Palestinian state does not simply threaten Israel's existence.

The current initiative to recognize a so-called "Palestinian state" also harms regional stability.

It rewards Hamas for the October 7th massacre.

It serves as an incentive for Hamas to continue the war.

This initiative will not bring us closer to peace or security.

The opposite - it will only destabilize the region."

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FM Sa'ar meets with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic in Zagreb

Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and the situation in the Middle East, with an emphasis on the war against Hamas in Gaza.

Type: Press Releases

Topic: Foreign Policy

Publish Date: 09.09.2025

Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa'ar met earlier today (Tuesday, 9 September 2025) with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic at the Prime Minister's Office in Zagreb. The two held a one-on-one meeting, followed by a meeting with delegations from both sides.

During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and the situation in the Middle East, with an emphasis on the war against Hamas in Gaza. Minister of Foreign Affairs Sa'ar thanked the Prime Minister for Croatia's support for Israel during its difficult time following the October 7th massacre, and reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening relations between the two nations.

Addressing the situation in Gaza, Foreign Minister Sa'ar said that Israel seeks to bring the war to an end based on President Trump's proposal and according to the principles set by Israel's Security Cabinet.

The Minister described the deadly terrorist attack that targeted Israeli civilians yesterday in Jerusalem as well as the ongoing rocket fire from Gaza toward Israel, including this week.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Sa'ar stressed that Israel is the country that has been under attack on all fronts over the past two years and is not the aggressor. He added that Israel's enemies, led by Iran, have had and continue to have a plan to eliminate Israel through simultaneous attacks from multiple fronts.

Minister Sa'ar emphasized that Israel desires peace - but cannot compromise on the security of the state and its citizens.

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PM Netanyahu's Remarks at a US Embassy event celebrating American Independence Day

Israel - Prime Minister's Office

Type: Events and Speeches

Government: The 37th Government

Publish Date: 09.09.2025

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today, at a US Embassy event celebrating American Independence Day:

"Ambassador Huckabee, Janet, and all the friends of Israel and America, of the Israeli-American alliance who are here, I want to first tell you that Sara and I planned to be here earlier, but we were, well, I was otherwise engaged.

But it's not too late, even on this belated day, to say Happy Birthday, America.



Now, I said a few more words in a video that I had recorded earlier and I think it's going to be shown outside in the large gathering that you have there. And I meant it from the heart. Because Israel has no greater friend than America and America has no better friend than Israel.

But as I said, we've been busy. In the last day, after the horrific murders in Jerusalem, horrible murders, and of course the four soldiers that we lost in Gaza. And I want to say a few words about that, first in Hebrew and then in English.

...

Yesterday, four of our soldiers were killed by Hamas terrorists in Gaza and six Israeli civilians were brutally murdered at a bus stop in Jerusalem. This morning, Hamas proudly took credit for both of these actions. At noon today, I convened the heads of Israel's security organizations and authorized a surgical precision strike on the terrorist chiefs of Hamas. These are the same terrorists, terrorist chiefs, who planned, launched and celebrated the horrific massacres of October 7th: the savage murder of 1,200 people, the beheading of men, the rape and murder of women, the burning of babies, the taking of over 250 hostages, innocent hostages: grandmothers, grandchildren, Holocaust survivors. They perpetrated the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

Now, they were meeting in the same place, exactly the same place where they celebrated this savagery almost two years ago. At the beginning of the war, I promised that Israel would reach those who perpetrated this horror. And today, Israel and I have kept that promise.

Now, much of the world, including much of the democratic world, or governments at least, have shamefully, shamefully forgotten October 7th. But I don't forget, and Israel will never forget. Never.

There was a time when Jews could be murdered with impunity. But since the founding of the State of Israel, those days are over.

On this day, as in previous days, Israel acted wholly independently, and we take full responsibility for this action. This action can open the door to an end of the war, end of the war in Gaza. Israel has accepted the principles, proposal put forward by President Trump to end the war, beginning with the immediate release of all our hostages which have been held in the dungeons of Gaza for 700 days. If President Trump's proposal is accepted, the war can end immediately. We can begin once again to pursue the expansion of peace in our region for the benefit of all.

But I want to close by directing my words to the people of Gaza: Don't be derailed by these murderous terrorists, by these killers. They don't care a hoot about you. They live in sumptuous villas, you can't imagine how sumptuous, away from this battle scene. Their partners in Gaza don't worry about you, they go to the underground tunnels and they keep you above ground so you serve as human shields for them. Don't be derailed by these killers. Stand up for your rights and for your future. Make peace with us. Accept President Trump's proposal. Don't worry. You can do it and we can promise you a different future but you've got to take these people out of the way. If you do, there is no limit to our common future.

Thank you.

...

Now, having taken so much time, I want to praise again the hospitality of our hosts: Mike Huckabee and Janet. I have to say, if we had five or six more Mike Huckabees, Israel wouldn't have a hasbara problem.

Thank you."

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FM Sa'ar's comments on the President of the European Commission's remarks

Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Anyone who seeks an end to the war knows very well how to end it: the release of the hostages, the disarmament of Hamas, a new future for Gaza. Hurting Israel will not bring this about; on the contrary, it entrenches Hamas and Israel's enemies in their refusal.

Type: Press Releases

Topic: Foreign Policy

Publish Date: 10.09.2025

The President of the European Commission's comments this morning are regrettable. Some of them are also tainted by echoing the false propaganda of Hamas and its partners. Once again, Europe conveys the wrong message that strengthens Hamas and the radical axis in the Middle East.

Israel, the world's only Jewish state and the only democracy in the Middle East, is fighting a war of existence against extremist enemies working to eliminate it. The international community must back Israel in this struggle.

The President is well aware of Israel's effortstogether with, among others, the European Union itselfto assist the humanitarian effort in Gaza. These are significant efforts carried out under complex conditions for nearly two years. The results of this effort are evident on the ground, including by the dramatic decline in the prices of basic goods in Gaza.

And yet, the main point was missing from the President's statement: the suffering in Gaza is entirely the work of Hamas. The war itself began with Hamas's invasion of Israel and the Oct. 7th massacre. Its continuation is the result of Hamas's persistent refusal to release our hostages and lay down its arms. The suffering inflicted on both Israelis and Palestinians alike is Hamas's fault.

Anyone who seeks an end to the war knows very well how to end it: the release of the hostages, the disarmament of Hamas, a new future for Gaza. Hurting Israel will not bring this about; on the contrary, it entrenches Hamas and Israel's enemies in their refusal.

The President of the Commission errs in yielding to the pressures of elements that seek to undermine Israel-Europe relations. This trend is contrary to the interests of the European states themselves. And mainly: this is not acceptable conduct between partners.

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PM Netanyahu at the Cornerstone-laying Ceremony for the President Donald Trump Promenade

Israel - Prime Minister's Office

Type: Events and Speeches

Government: The 37th Government

Publish Date: 10.09.2025

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Cornerstone-laying Ceremony for the President Donald Trump Promenade in Bat Yam: "We're honoring the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today, participated in the cornerstone-laying ceremony for the US President Donald Trump promenade in Bat Yam, together with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Bat Yam Mayor Tzvi Brot and members of the Bat Yam City Council.

Prime Minister Netanyahu:

President Trump spoke to me several times about beachfront property. He said to me, you have wonderful beachside properties here. He's talking about one that's a bit to the south here, in Gaza. He said it should be turned into a monument of peace, prosperity, good life and not terror. He's absolutely right.

That's why I said to the mayor of Bat Yam, my dear friend, Tzvi Brot, I think it would be a good idea to name the promenade along this incredible beach in honor of President Trump. That's what we're doing today.

We're honoring a man who has been the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House.

He recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, moved the American embassy there, he recognized our sovereignty in the Golan Heights, withdrew from the disastrous Iran deal and helped us fight the Iran nuclear threat and so many other things.

He's a great friend and I'm honored to be here to honor President Trump."

Bat Yam Mayor Brot:

"Throughout his terms, President Trump has stood steadfast alongside Israel time and again, especially in recent months in his efforts against Iran and Hamas, and for the release of our hostages. The President has chosen to be on the right side of history. We appreciate this and are grateful."

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Japan-U.K. Foreign Ministers' Telephone Meeting

Ministry of Foregn Affairs of Japan

September 9, 2025

On September 9, commencing at 4:45 p.m. for approximately 20 minutes, Mr. IWAYA Takeshi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a telephone meeting with the Rt. Hon. Yvette Cooper, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The overview of the talk is as follows:

At the outset, Minister IWAYA congratulated Foreign Secretary Cooper on her appointment, and, while referring to the Japan-UK Economic 2+2 Ministers' Meeting and recent visit of the UK's Carrier Strike Group to Japan, stated that the partnership between Japan and the UK, an Enhanced Global Strategic Partner, has never been closer and more robust, and would like to further develop Japan-UK cooperation at all levels. Secretary Cooper replied that the Japan-UK relations is extremely important, and that she is pleased to be able to talk with Minister IWAYA soon after assuming office, and stated that she wished to further develop Japan-UK relations including collaboration within the G7. The two Ministers also discussed and concurred to continue to work closely together on various issues in the international community, such as the situation in the Middle East and Ukraine.

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The First Strategic Dialogue between the Foreign Ministers of Japan and Bahrain

Ministry of Foregn Affairs of Japan

September 9, 2025

On September 9, commencing at 11:30 a.m. for approximately an hour and 30 minutes, Mr. IWAYA Takeshi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, signed the Joint Declaration on the Establishment of the Strategic Dialogue of Foreign Mnisters, and based on this Declaration, held the first Japan-Bahrain Strategic Dialogue and Working Lunch with H.E. Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain, who is visiting Japan.

1. Bilateral Relations

Minister IWAYA pointed out that both countries are maritime nations and important partners in promoting principles such as the rule of law, freedom of navigation, and the peaceful resolution of disputes. He also welcomed the fact that the cooperation between the two countries has expanded beyond the energy sector into a wide range of areas, including politics and security, environment, information and communication technology, and space.

Minister Zayani, in response, expressed his desire to further enhance bilateral cooperation under the newly established Strategic Dialogue and stated that Bahrain intends to strengthen its cooperation with Japan across all fields.

The two ministers confirmed their cooperation towards the early conclusion of the Japan-GCC EPA negotiations, which was resumed last December.

2. Regional and International Situation

The two ministers exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East, including the situation in Israel and Iran, Gaza, the Red Sea, and the situation in the Indo-Pacific. Regarding the situation surrounding Iran, the two ministers reaffirmed the importance of resolving the Iranian nuclear issue through talks. Both sides also concurred to work closely together in dealing with international situations.

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Meeting between Prime Minister ISHIBA Shigeru and President Pellegrini of the Slovak Republic

Ministry of Foregn Affairs of Japan

September 9, 2025

On September 9, commencing at 10:50 a.m. for approximately 45 minutes, Mr. ISHIBA Shigeru, Prime Minister of Japan, held a meeting with H.E. Mr. Peter Pellegrini, President of the Slovak Republic, who is visiting Japan as an official Guest of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan. The overview of the meeting is as follows:

At the outset, Prime Minister ISHIBA sincerely welcomed President Pellegrini's first visit to Japan on the occasion of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan and expressed his willingness to strengthen cooperation with Slovakia, a member state of EU and NATO, as the international security environment is becoming more severe. In response, President Pellegrini stated that he would like to continue to strengthen cooperation in various fields to further develop the friendly relations between the two countries, which have continued for more than 100 years. The two leaders concurred on continuing dialogue to strengthen bilateral cooperation, including the economic relationship. The two leaders also confirmed that Japan and Slovakia will cooperate on various issues of the international community, including the situation in Ukraine, maintenance and strengthening multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations, and their policies towards North Korea including the nuclear and missile issues as well as the abductions issue.

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Courtesy Call on Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi by H.E. Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain

Ministry of Foregn Affairs of Japan

September 9, 2025

On September 9, commencing at 4:25 pm for approximately 25 minutes, Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, received a courtesy call from H.E. Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain, who is visiting Japan. The overview is as follows.

At the outset, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi welcomed Minister Zayani's visit to Japan in the commemorative year of the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. He expressed his desire to further strengthen the bilateral relationship and work closely for the peace and stability in the Middle East and the international community. Additionally, touching upon the establishment of the Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi expressed his expectations for the two countries to deepen cooperation in a wide range of areas under this framework. In response, Minister Zayani expressed his anticipation for further strengthening bilateral relations with Japan. Both sides also exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East and confirmed their continued cooperation toward peace and prosperity.

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China urges Japan to reflect on its history of aggression, act with prudence: MND on Japan's 8.85-trillion-yen defense budget request

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Sep 10, 2025 04:49 PM

When asked to comment on the Japanese Ministry of Defense reportedly submitting a record defense budget request of 8.85 trillion yen ($59.96 billion) for fiscal year 2026, and Japan's plan to deploy upgraded Type-12 land-based anti-ship long-range missiles to Kyushu, whose range covers China's coastal area, Jiang Bin, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, said on Wednesday that Japan is accelerating its military buildup, developing capabilities, including offensive weapons and equipment, which far exceed what is required for its exclusively defense-oriented policy. This has sparked vigilance and concerns among peace-loving peoples worldwide, who have to wonder what the real intention of the Japanese side is.

"We just hosted commemorative activities marking the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Eight decades ago, the aggressive war launched by Japanese militarists inflicted immense suffering upon the peoples of Asian nations. Today, the resolve of regional countries to defend peace is stronger than ever, and we will not allow Japanese militarism to make a comeback. We urge the Japanese side to profoundly reflect on its history of aggression, earnestly respect the security concerns of its Asian neighbors and the rest of the international community, speak and act with prudence on military and security matters, and avoid repeating past mistakes," said Jiang.

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FM slams Tokyo's 'unfounded accusations' against China's countermeasures against Japanese lawmaker

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Sep 10, 2025 06:50 PM

Asked to comment on media report that following China announced countermeasures against Japanese lawmaker Shi Ping (Seki Hei), Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi called the action "appears to intimidate those with differing views" and is "absolutely unacceptable," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian responded that Shi Ping is not at all a person with differing views.

Shi once held Chinese nationality before acquiring Japanese nationality after moving to Japan. For personal gain, he pledged allegiance to anti-China hostile forces, making baseless slanders and attacks against China. After winning a seat to Japan's House of Councillors, he openly visited the Yasukuni Shrine, which seriously violates the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan and the one-China principle, constitutes gross interference in China's internal affairs, and severely undermines China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. He is a blatant anti-China element.

Lin stressed that China's countermeasures against Shi Ping are a just action based on Chinese laws to safeguard national interests and align with international practice. Instead of restraining lawmakers from actions that contravene the spirit of four China-Japan political documents, the Japanese government has made unfounded accusations. China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to this and has lodged solemn representations with Japan.

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Pakistan and Kazakhstan Hold Delegation-Level Talks

Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Delegation-level talks between Pakistan and Kazakhstan were co-chaired by H.E. Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan, and H.E. Mr. Murat Nurtleu, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan. The Kazakh DPM/FM was accompanied by Kazakhstan's Ministers of Transport and Trade, Vice Ministers for IT and Agriculture, and other important officials.

Before the delegation-level talks, meetings of the visiting Kazakh delegation were held with Pakistan's Ministers of Communications, Railways, and Commerce. Moreover, the meetings of Joint Working Groups (JWGs) on IT and Agriculture were also held. The Kazakh delegation also visited the National Aerospace Science & Technology Park (NASTP) to explore cooperation in the IT sector. Moreover, the Kazakh DPM also held a business meeting with Pakistani conglomerates.

During the delegation-level talks, the two sides reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations. Discussions focused on enhancing trade and investment flows, expanding agricultural cooperation, advancing collaboration in information technology, education, culture, and tourism, and strengthening regional connectivity through logistics and transport links. They also exchanged views on enhancing coordination at multilateral fora.

The talks also firmed up preparations for the forthcoming visit of the President of Kazakhstan to Pakistan in November 2025. The last visit by the Kazakh President to Pakistan was in 2003.

Following delegation-level talks, the two leaders also signed the Action Plan of Cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan. The Action Plan provides a structured roadmap for intensified engagement in diverse fields including politics, trade and economy, defence and security, science and technology, culture, tourism, humanitarian assistance, and consular facilitation. It institutionalises regular consultations between the Foreign Ministries and underscores the resolve of both sides to further deepen ties through sustained interaction at bilateral and multilateral fora.

The adoption of the Action Plan is a significant milestone that reflects the robust political will of the leadership of Pakistan and Kazakhstan to elevate bilateral relations to a new level of dynamism, anchored in mutual trust, shared values, and a forward-looking vision for regional peace and prosperity.

The two DPMs also directed their respective teams to expeditiously finalise the agreements and MoUs expected to be signed during the forthcoming visit of the Kazakh President to Pakistan.



Islamabad

September 9, 2025

270/2025



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Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister calls on the Prime Minister

Prime Miinister's Office - Islamic Republic of Pakistan

September 09, 2025

Islamabad, 9 September, 2025



Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister calls on the Prime Minister

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan, Mr. Murat Nurtleu, who is leading a Ministerial delegation on an official visit to Pakistan, called on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, at the Prime Minister House this afternoon.

While welcoming the Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister on his first visit to Pakistan, the Prime Minister conveyed his warm wishes for President Kassym Jomart-Tokayev, whom he had recently met in China. He said that Pakistan and Kazakhstan enjoyed strong fraternal relations, and there was a mutual desire on both sides to further strengthen bilateral cooperation across multiple areas of shared interest.

The Prime Minister expressed Pakistan's keen desire in enhancing bilateral trade, investment, connectivity (through air, rail and road) and people-to-people exchanges with Kazakhstan. He indicated that Pakistan was attaching great importance to the visit of the Kazakh President and offered to send a delegation to Astana in order to finalize the various MoUs and agreements under consideration. The two sides have been in regular discussion over the past several months and are expected to ink key MoUs and agreements during the Kazakh President's visit later this year.

The Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister thanked the Prime Minister for the warmth and hospitality extended to him and briefed him on his detailed discussions with Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister Sen. Mohammad Ishaq Dar earlier in the day. He emphasized that the upcoming visit of President Tokayev to Islamabad would be historic and successful, and it would open a new and exciting chapter in Pakistan-Kazakhstan ties.

Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister, Minister for Communications, Minister for Economic Affairs, Minister for Railways, Advisor to the Prime Minister, SAPM Tariq Fatemi and Foreign Secretary also attended the meeting.

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Prime Minister's Telephone Call with the Amir of the State of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

Prime Miinister's Office - Islamic Republic of Pakistan

September 09, 2025

Islamabad: 9 September, 2025

Prime Minister's Telephone Call with the Amir of the State of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif held a telephone conversation with His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, earlier tonight.



The Prime Minister strongly condemned the unlawful and heinous bombing in Doha by Israeli forces today, that resulted in the loss of precious lives and damage to civilian property. He conveyed his deepest sympathies and expressed solidarity with His Highness the Amir, the Qatari Royal Family, as well as with the people of Qatar.

The Prime Minister termed Israel's attack as a dastardly act, that showed the mindset of its leaders, who were willing to go to any length in the blind pursuit of their nefarious goals. He called the Israeli aggression a brazen violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar, that posed a most dangerous provocation and could imperil regional peace and stability.

The Prime Minister assured His Highness that Pakistan stood like a rock with the State of Qatar, against Israel's aggression and called for unity within the ranks of the Ummah at this critical time.

While thanking the Prime Minister for his telephone call as well as for the sincere expression of solidarity with the people of Qatar at this challenging moment, His Highness the Amir said that he was deeply touched by this thoughtful gesture shown by the Prime Minister, that reflected the deep-rooted brotherly ties between Pakistan and Qatar.

Both leaders agreed to remain in contact in the interest of regional peace and security.

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Secretary Rubio's Meeting with Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Cho

US Department of State

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

September 10, 2025

The below is attributable to Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met today with Republic of Korea (ROK) Foreign Minister Cho Hyun following the historic bilateral meeting between President Trump and ROK President Lee Jae Myung on August 25. The Secretary and Foreign Minister underscored the lasting strength of the U.S.-ROK Alliance, the linchpin of peace, security, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the Indo-Pacific for more than 70 years. The Secretary said the United States welcomes ROK investment into the United States and stated his interest in deepening cooperation on this front.

Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Cho discussed advancing the U.S.-ROK Alliance through a forward-looking agenda that strengthens deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, expands equitable defense burden sharing, revitalizes American manufacturing through ROK investment in shipbuilding and other strategic sectors, and promotes a fair and reciprocal trade partnership. They emphasized their shared commitment to addressing the destabilizing threats posed by North Korea's unlawful nuclear and missile programs.

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Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's opening remarks at a meeting with President of Republika Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina) Milorad Dodik, Moscow, September 9, 2025

9 September 2025 13:22

1439-09-09-2025

Mr President,

I am delighted to meet with you again. I consider our meeting to be timely from the viewpoint of our understanding of the complex processes that are underway in Bosnia and Herzegovina and concern Republika Srpska.

These processes are the result of flagrant Western interference in the internal affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is an open violation of the Dayton Accords and the principles set out in them, including the principle of equality of the three constituent peoples and two entities.

Christian Schmidt, who has illegally been appointed High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina without the mandate of the UN Security Council, is trying to usurp power in the republic on Western orders. We are strongly concerned about this aggressive violation of the legally binding decisions of the UN Security Council and its prerogatives.

I believe this meeting is important for shaping a deeper understanding of the situation ahead of the next UN Security Council meeting on the developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Our stance has not changed. President of Russia Vladimir Putin has put it forth during his numerous meetings with you. It boils down to a demand for strict compliance with the principles of the Dayton Accords and relevant Security Council decisions by all sides.

We will gladly discuss our trade, economic, investment, cultural, humanitarian and educational cooperation with Republika Srpska. The strategic avenues of our relations have been outlined during your meetings with President Vladimir Putin.

This meeting offers an opportunity to discuss the implementation of these agreements and whether something more should be done to ensure their full implementation.

I am always delighted to see you and your close-knit team, including Head of the Representative Office of the Republic of Srpska in Russia Dusko Perovic.

***

I would like to note that the fact that our Western "colleagues" violate many principles of the UN Charter all the time, with and without any reason, does not mean that we should abandon these principles. We firmly believe that the Dayton Accords were designed to treat all sides fairly. They have been approved by the three constituent peoples and two entities, and unanimously approved by the UN Security Council.

Our strength lies in the fact that the international legal truth is on our side. It is another matter that it is unacceptable to silently and tacitly look on while the West is trampling on these universal principles.

I hope that today we will be able to draft and coordinate the joint actions we can take with other countries interested in justice in the Balkans, as well as implement them.

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Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's greetings to organisers of and participants in the International Anti-Fascist Forum 2025

9 September 2025 11:26

1437-09-09-2025

I would like to greet organisers of and participants in the International Anti-Fascist Forum 2025 marking the International Memorial Day for the Victims of Fascism.

This year, we are celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory, and it would be appropriate to recall that the nations of the Soviet Union played a decisive role in destroying Nazism; they sacrificed many millions of lives, while straining their forces and resources. The International War Crimes Tribunal in Nuremberg unequivocally and sternly condemned Nazi criminals, their accomplices and collaborators.

Unfortunately, we are forced to state that multiple Western states have now become less immune to the Nazi virus. It appears that they have forgotten the high price of peace and the possible consequences of actions by people who are convinced of their own exceptionalism, chauvinism, Russo-phobia and anti-Semitism.

It is therefore our sacred duty to continue preserving historical truth and to take practical steps for thwarting neo-Nazi trends and moods in any forms and manifestations. In this connection, one cannot but rejoice that an overwhelming majority of the international community's members solidarise with us. This is convincingly proved by the results of voting an annual Russian-backed draft resolution of the UN General Assembly on combating the glorification of Nazism.

I am convinced that your meeting will also make its contribution to common efforts to combat this man-hating ideology. I wish you productive discussions and all the best.

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Meeting with Smolensk Region Governor Vasily Anokhin

Vladimir Putin held a working meeting with Smolensk Region Governor Vasily Anokhin.

September 10, 2025

14:10

The Kremlin, Moscow

At the beginning of the meeting, Vasily Anokhin spoke about the participation of major military units stationed in the region in the special military operation, and about supporting SMO participants and their families. There are 49 support measures in total. Interaction with the Fatherland Defenders Foundation is underway, and the diocese and the metropolis are widely involved in the work. The clergy communicate with the families, and travel to the front lines. The Association of Special Military Operation Participants has been created. The SMO veterans are being helped successfully re-enter civilian life; 273 demobilised servicemen have been employed, and five more work at government agencies.

The President noted that focus on the SMO participants should be constant. This, he said, is not some trendy area of work, but a tribute by the state to the people who stand up to defend it. This should be an uninterrupted effort.

Next up, Mr Anokhin reported on progress in implementing the President's instructions, primarily in healthcare. This year will see the completion of the construction of a new building of a clinical psychiatric hospital with 600 beds. The construction of the surgical building of a cancer treatment centre and a large outpatient clinic has been completed. In two years, the number of medical checkups has significantly increased. Even though staffing and the condition of medical buildings remain on the list of issues that need attention, much is being done to bring things up to code. There is a substantial programme to support young medical specialists.

The region is implementing a programme for the integrated development of territories, in particular rural territories; housing is being built, and staff shortages at rural health posts have been cut in half, which is particularly important. The governor pointed out that demography was a core issue for the region to move forward. A major programme to promote the birth rate has been drafted that includes support for young student families and large families.

Improving the education system and restoring cultural heritage sites in this region with rich history was discussed as well. Europe's largest archaeological museum-reserve in Gnezdovo and the Smolenskoye Poozerye National Park, which is home to a group of ice age lakes, are being rebuilt. The region boasts churches built during the pre-Mongol period that is before the 13th century and is a destination point for large numbers of pilgrims. To support the tourist flow and for business purposes in general, the governor said, it is important to re-build the airport, which, upon a presidential instructions, was transferred on the books the region. A contract for designing an airport has been signed, and the airport will be built within the next two years.

According to the head of the region, the industrial sector is making good progress. The enterprises that worked well in the Soviet times and were then shut down are being revivified. The focus is on aircraft building, the car industry, and shipbuilding. In this regard, the Smolensk Aviation Plant and the Izmeritel Plant were mentioned. A major Roslavl Brake Systems Plant is being revived. The unmanned aerial systems are making great strides.

Responding to the President's remark about agriculture's lagging performance last year, Vasily Anokhin pointed out that this was primarily due to logistics. Just like the neighbouring Republic of Belarus, the Smolensk Region is in the process of overhauling its logistics, since the markets have moved eastward to Central Russia. Thanks to Russian Railways, the situation is gradually improving. The region has begun to engage in export competence. There are over 2,000 exporters in the region. According to the Russian Export Centre rankings, the region's Export Support Centre has held the country's top spot for two years in a row. It will provide services to its Belarusian partners as well.

Speaking of the investment climate, the governor reported that as of late 2024, the region held the fifth place in the country in the national investment climate rankings. Fifty projects are being implemented with an investment volume of about 60 billion. Extensive work is underway with ALROSA Company. Previously, the Smolensk Region was called the cutting capital, but now the holding company has deployed a full-blown jewelry group here. All final jewelry will now be manufactured in Smolensk. A college has been created to train corresponding specialists.

Speaking about the agriculture, the governor said that at over 4,000 tonnes of meat the region ranked first in the country in terms of rabbit breeding. The region ranks first in the Central Federal District in terms of canned fruits and vegetables, and the production of dry milk, which, in particular, is supplied to the United Confectioners group of companies.

The core historical competence - flax plant, a very popular export product - is being revived. The region ranks first in Russia in terms of sown area and flax processing. In 2024, sown areas increased by 40 percent and by another 17 percent in early 2025. Processing was also up by about 70 percent. Our Belarusian colleagues have lent us a helping hand in this regard. Many joint ventures are operational and joint breeding and seed centres are being created, because seeds used to be imported. The Smolensk Region plans to develop its own varieties.

The governor noted that the Republic of Belarus was the region's key trading partner accounting for 67 percent of the region's trade. There are 49 agreements in force, and 5,000 joint ventures are operating. Following a meeting with the President of the Republic of Belarus last year, a number of investment projects received support, including in flax growing, tourism, and mechanical engineering, in particular, with MAZ and BelAZ. The Smolensk Region is the main service centre for BelAZ. A major service centre will be created for MAZ and many other Belarusian enterprises. Cooperation ties and export routes have been established, and shipments are being made. The region is becoming a coordination centre for the Union State of Russia and Belarus. Meetings of the High-Level Group and boards of federal ministries, as well as a number of other events, are held here. In 2024, a decision was made to build a Union House, a joint information centre.

Vasily Anokhin also discussed other interactions with neighbouring Belarus, in particular in culture and sports. He pointed out that truly fraternal, friendly, and warm relations are maintained with Belarus, he proposed holding the next Forum of the Regions of Belarus and Russia in the Smolensk Region. The President supported this proposal.

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Putin's Pipe Dream? Why China And Russia Are Still Unlikely To Build The Power of Siberia-2

By Reid Standish September 10, 2025

Amid the fanfare of back-to-back diplomatic gatherings in China last week hosted by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Beijing and Moscow appeared to secure a massive breakthrough by unveiling a deal to build the long-awaited Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline.

The September 2 announcement of a legally binding memorandum by Aleksei Miller, CEO of the Russian energy giant Gazprom, made headlines and sent a message that Beijing and Moscow's ties are deepening despite Western pressure.

But energy analysts who spoke to RFE/RL expressed doubts about the megaproject's future given that key details -- such as the price of gas, the volume that will pass through the pipeline, and who will foot the bill for its construction -- are still no closer to being decided.

"A legally binding memorandum is not a supply contract, so it does not constitute a green light on this project," Erica Downs, a senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, told RFE/RL. "This gives the illusion of progress, but it is not yet a done deal."

Rather, the recent agreement reached in Beijing appears to be part of ongoing negotiations over the ambitious pipeline that would bring gas from Russia's Yamal Peninsula to northern China via eastern Mongolia.

Beijing has increasingly gained leverage over Moscow since Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine and its loss of Europe as a primary energy market. China looks to be buying time to see if the Kremlin will cave in negotiations by providing favorable discounts and how the project will impact its complicated rivalry with the United States.

"China only committed to kicking the can down the road in case they decide they might need this pipeline," Downs said. "If Beijing can get a low price and flexibility on volume, then it becomes more appealing as an insurance policy. If not, they have other options to explore."

Does China Need The Power Of Siberia-2 Pipeline?

Moscow's need for the proposed 2,600-kilometer pipeline is clear: The Power of Siberia-2 would compensate for at least part of the European Union market it has lost due to fallout from the war in Ukraine.

China, on the other hand, is spoiled for choice.

As discussions with Moscow around the megaproject have stalled and restarted over the years, Beijing has followed a strategy of diversification when it comes to its gas imports as a way to avoid being overly dependent on a single supplier.

Russia is already the country's largest supplier of pipeline gas thanks to the Power of Siberia-1, which became operational in 2019 under a 30-year, $400 billion deal and is now the third-largest provider of liquefied natural gas (LNG) after Australia and Qatar, which ship LNG by sea.

Beijing has also moved to reduce its import dependence and taken moves in recent years to increase its domestic exploration and production of oil and natural gas. This has corresponded with a massive shift toward renewable energy inside China, with the country's companies becoming industry leaders in fields like solar energy and electric vehicle (EV) production.

As a result, demand for imported gas has been falling and is projected to tumble further in the next decade, lessening the need for the Power of Siberia-2, which could carry up to 50 billion cubic meters (bcm) annually. Beijing could also elect to make small increases to existing pipelines from Russia, something Miller also announced in Beijing, rather than build a new one.

"If it does get built, the most optimistic projection is that it starts by 2030," Joseph Webster, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center, told RFE/RL. "That's an additional five years of technological advancements in renewables and batteries that will continue to offset the need for this pipeline."

Adding to the uncertainty over the pipeline's future is that Beijing has yet to confirm the details of Miller's announcement.

Chinese officials have been notably silent on the pipeline, as have Chinese state media, who only referenced the negotiations by citing reporting by Russian or international media that quotes Gazprom's Miller. Following the meeting between Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh in Beijing, Chinese media quoted Xi as only saying that "hard connectivity" should be a focus on future relations between the three countries.

What Will It Take For The Pipeline To Get Built?

Benjamin Schmitt, a senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, told RFE/RL that the commercial case for the new pipeline is thin and that he views Miller's recent comments as being more about optics as the Kremlin tries to show "the veneer of iron-clad cooperation between these two countries."

"Beijing doesn't need this pipeline," Schmitt, who is also a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), told RFE/RL. "But there is also no reason for them to say anything negative about it."

Two variables could still change that calculation: major concessions from Russia on pricing and volume, and shifting geopolitical conditions for China.

In terms of the price for gas, Miller said it would be lower than the price charged by Gazprom to European buyers due to the distances and terrain for the pipeline's potential route to China, but he offered no specifics.

China has reportedly asked to pay close to Russia's domestic prices, which are heavily subsidized. Beijing is also pushing to commit to buy a smaller fraction of the pipeline's planned annual capacity of 50 bcm of gas. According to some Russian energy insiders, China is looking to agree to only take 50 percent of the pipeline's total capacity, compared to the typical 80 percent.

With cheap pricing and flexible obligations from Russia, the pipeline could then become more appealing for China from a security perspective.

In the face of renewed conflict between Iran and Israel around the Strait of Hormuz, where many of China's LNG shipments transit, and a trade war between Beijing and Washington, the world's top supplier of LNG, Russian pipeline gas looks more secure than maritime routes.

China has effectively halted its imports of American LNG since early February, and access to cheap Russian gas would give Beijing a strong bargaining position with many of its other LNG contracts set to expire in the 2030s.

But in order to reach that point, Beijing and Moscow would first need to make Power of Siberia-2 a reality by breaking their longstanding stalemate.

"This is pure messaging until it is a real project," Schmitt said.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/china-russia-power- siberia-gas-pipeline-xi-putin/33525800.html

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Situation in Nepal Out of Control - Kremlin

Sputnik News

20250910

The situation in Nepal has "in fact" gotten out of control, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

"We see that the situation [in Nepal] ... has in fact gotten out of control," Peskov told a briefing.

He added that Moscow has no information about any external interference in the internal situation in the country.

"We wish for Nepal to quickly return to constitutional order, restore stability, and ensure the safety of all citizens and tourists ... including Russian tourists who currently are or may be in Nepal," the Kremlin spokesman said.

On Ukraine

The Kremlin is unaware of any changes in the position of some European countries regarding the possibility of sending their military contingents to Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

"The only thing I know is that 26 countries at the meeting in Paris said they were ready to join the deployment of troops to Ukraine. 26 countries. I have no information that any of these countries have changed their position. However, a number of countries immediately announced that they would not take part in this in any case. Therefore, I do not know any changes in this composition," Peskov said when asked about the number of countries willing to deploy their troops in Ukraine.

He also said that the leadership of NATO and the European Union on a daily basis accuses Russia of provocations without any attempts to provide any arguments backing those accusations.

"As always, there are quite a few countries that take a rabid position, which either do not understand or do not want to understand the terrible consequences of such reckless actions. And there are countries that understand reality much better," the Kremlin spokesman added.

 Sputnik

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HRH the Crown Prince Chairs Cabinet Session in Riyadh

Saudi Press Agency

Tuesday 17/03/1447

Riyadh, September 09, 2025, SPA -- His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, chaired the Cabinet session held in Riyadh today.

HRH the Crown Prince briefed the Cabinet on his meeting with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and on his two phone calls with French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof.

The Cabinet reviewed regional and international developments, strongly condemning repeated statements by the Israeli prime minister on the forced displacement of Palestinians and the continued use of blockades and starvation tactics. The Cabinet stated that these actions constitute a blatant violation of international law and humanitarian principles and reiterated its demand that the Israeli authorities be held accountable for crimes of genocide and grave violations against civilians.

Following the session, Minister of Media Salman Al-Dossary told the Saudi Press Agency that the Cabinet commended the new set of development projects launched by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) to meet the urgent needs of the Syrian people. These projects focus on food security, health, education, shelter, and rehabilitation to support recovery efforts and alleviate the suffering of those affected.

The Cabinet praised the outcomes of the fifth meeting of the Economic and Social Pillar of the Saudi-UK Strategic Partnership Council and the closing conference of the GREAT FUTURES initiative, which resulted in the announcement of 38 agreements with a total value exceeding SAR20 billion and the launch of a new partnership between the two countries aimed at developing key sectors and leveraging promising opportunities within Saudi Vision 2030.

The Cabinet commended the results of the Global Symposium for Regulators, hosted by the Kingdom, reflecting the country's commitment to shaping future policies for the vital technology sector and underscoring Saudi Arabia's significant role in the global digital landscape and its efforts to build technological connections that promote human cooperation and sustainable development both regionally and internationally.

The Cabinet reviewed several of the Kingdom's economic indicators, including a 3.9% GDP growth in the second quarter of 2025, largely driven by non-oil activities, which now make up 56% of the total economy.

The Cabinet also described the Kingdom's foreign direct investment (FDI) results for 2024 as promising. For the fourth consecutive year, FDI inflows have exceeded national strategy targets, growing by 24.2%, leading to fixed capital formation reaching a new historic high.

The Cabinet addressed other items on its agenda and issued several decisions, including the following:

First:

Approving a memorandum of understanding for the exchange of criminal information between the international partnership programs of the Saudi Ministry of Interior and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the US Department of Justice.

Second:

Approving a memorandum of understanding on education, training, scientific research, and community service between the General Directorate of Border Guard at the Saudi Ministry of Interior (Ministry of Interior Border Security Academy) and the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, affiliated with the League of Arab States.

Third:

Authorizing the minister of environment, water and agriculture, or a deputy, to discuss and sign with the Moroccan side a draft memorandum of understanding on trade and technical exchange in the palm and dates sector between the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and the Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture, Marine Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests.

Fourth:

Approving the statute of the Labour Center of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Fifth:

Approving a memorandum of cooperation on mining and mineral resources between the Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources and the US Department of Energy.

-- SPA

15:51 Local Time 12:51 GMT

0041

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Israeli warplanes strike multiple military installations across Syria

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 09 September 2025 7:37 AM

Israeli warplanes have carried out airstrikes against several installations once belonging to the ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's army in the Arab country's central province of Homs and the western province of Latakia.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Israeli fighter jets struck an air force battalion southeast of Homs late on Monday, with initial reports suggesting material damage and possible casualties.

The Britain-based monitor added that two more strikes hit a military barracks in Sqoubin town of Latakia province, where ambulances were seen rushing to the site.

The installations are now utilized by the militant forces of the ruling Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) regime.

The Observatory also reported that Israeli warplanes violated southern Syrian airspace during the raids.

Additionally, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said Israeli warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes in the desert city of Palmyra, though no immediate details are available regarding casualties or the extent of the damage.

HTS authorities strongly condemned what they called "a blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter."

They said the strikes constituted "a direct threat to Syria's sovereignty and regional stability," urging the UN Security Council to take action to halt recurrent Israeli attacks.

Since the downfall of Assad's government last year, the Israeli military has been conducting airstrikes against military installations, facilities, and arsenals associated with Syria's now-defunct army.

Israel has faced significant criticism for ending the 1974 ceasefire agreement with Syria and for taking advantage of the turmoil in the Arab nation following Assad's ouster to seize territory.

The United Nations has denounced the continuous Israeli assaults within Syrian territory and the recurrent breaches occurring in and around the buffer zone established by the 1974 ceasefire agreement with Damascus.

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Saudi Arabia Strongly Condemns Israeli Airstrikes in Syria

Saudi Press Agency

Tuesday 17/03/1447

Riyadh, September 09, 2025, SPA -- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expressed its strong condemnation of the continued Israeli violations inside Syrian territory, including the recent bombings of sites in Homs and Latakia governorates.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed that these actions constitute a flagrant violation of both international law and the terms of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement. Saudi Arabia stressed its unequivocal support for all measures undertaken by the Syrian government to uphold security and stability, preserve civil peace, and ensure the sovereignty of the Syrian state and its institutions throughout its territory.

-- SPA

16:36 Local Time 13:36 GMT

0047

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Canada announces extension of measures to support the people of Syria

Global Affairs Canada

News release

September 10, 2025 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced the extension of measures to allow Canadians and persons in Canada to make more humanitarian-related transactions with Syrian institutions that would be otherwise prohibited under the Special Economic Measures (Syria) Regulations.

Today's announcement pertains to the extension of the General Permit Allowing Specific Activities and Transactions that Are Prohibited Under the Special Economic Measures (Syria) Regulations (the "General Permit") for a period of 6 months. The extension will support the delivery of assistance in Syria during this important period of political transition.

After decades of oppression and 13 years of conflict, the majority of Syrians now live below the poverty line, with millions in need of humanitarian assistance. The extension of the General Permit will allow Canadians, including the Syrian diaspora, civil society, non-profit, and charitable organizations to undertake humanitarian and stabilization activities and make transactions with sanctioned banks, including the Central Bank of Syria.

These measures are consistent with Canada's commitment to supporting an inclusive and peaceful political transition in Syria, to ensure that the Syrian people have a future where everyone can live with dignity and security.

Quick facts

On March 12, 2025, Canada announced that it had issued a General Permit under the Special Economic Measures Permit Authorization Order, which came into force on February 28, 2025. The permit temporarily allows any person in Canada, as well as Canadians outside Canada, to carry out a specific set of activities and transactions in support of democratization, stabilization and the delivery of humanitarian assistance to, and within, Syria that were otherwise prohibited under the Special Economic Measures (Syria) Regulations (the "Syria Regulations").

Canada currently imposes sanctions on 56 entities and 225 Syrian individuals, including senior officials of the former Assad regime and close associates and family members of Assad. The list of entities includes state-affiliated entities and bodies and entities owned or controlled by listed individuals or linked to repression, arms proliferation, or financial support for the Assad regime.

Between 2016 and 2025, Canada committed more than $4.7 billion in funding for Syria and countries hosting Syrian refugee populations, including Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon. This funding includes significant humanitarian, development, and stabilization assistance. Canada has also resettled more than 100,000 Syrian refugees since 2015.

Canada remains committed to holding the state of Syria accountable through ongoing proceedings before the International Court of Justice that began in 2023 for the torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment of its own people.

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Backgrounder: Canada announces the extension of measures in support of the people of Syria

Global Affairs Canada

Backgrounder

In December 2024, the fall of the Assad regime signalled the start of a new chapter for the people of Syria. After decades of oppression and 13 years of conflict, the majority of Syrians now live below the poverty line, with millions in need of humanitarian assistance.

Canada continues to provide humanitarian assistance to support protection, health, and food security needs in Syria.

In February 2025, Canada took an additional step to support Syria, by easing existing sanctions for a period of 6 months, to support democratization, stabilization, and the delivery of aid to, and within, Syria during this period of political transition.

To achieve this, Canada announced the issuance of a General Permit (the "General Permit [Syria]"), under the Special Economic Measures Permit Authorization Order. The General Permit temporarily allows any person in Canada and Canadians outside Canada to carry out transactions of funds and related financial services when provided in support of democratization, stabilization and the delivery of humanitarian assistance to, and within, Syria that are otherwise prohibited under the Special Economic Measures (Syria) Regulations (the "Syria Regulations"). This includes transactions with the Central Bank of Syria and 6 other Syrian state-owned and affiliated banks that are all currently sanctioned under the Syria Regulations.

The initial General Permit was valid for a period of six months. On August 27, 2025, the validity period of the General Permit (Syria) was extended for an additional six months, until February 23, 2026, to reaffirm Canada's commitment and continued support for Syrians.

The General Permit (Syria) is aligned with similar measures taken by Canada's international partners  including the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union  to ease their own sanctions on Syria to support the recovery of the country's economy and its political transition toward peace and prosperity.

For any activity or transaction outside the scope of the General Permit (Syria) mentioned above, persons in Canada or Canadians outside Canada are prohibited from dealing in the property of, entering into transactions with, providing services to, transferring property to, or otherwise making goods available to listed persons under the Syria Regulations. Other prohibitions under the Criminal Code as well as pursuant to UN Security Council resolutions may still apply for humanitarian-related and other activities.

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Ministry of National Defense Issues Press Release Regarding "PLA's Satellite Launch Mission"

ROC Ministry of National Defense

2025/09/05

Ministry of National Defense Press Release

Time: 1500 hours, September 5, 2025



The Ministry of National Defense stated today (September 5) that at 1034 hours, the People's Liberation Army conducted a carrier rocket satellite launch mission at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan. The rocket's flight path passed through central Taiwan toward the Western Pacific, posing no harm to the Taiwan area. The ROC Armed Forces employed the joint intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance system to closely monitor related developments, and took appropriate vigilance and response measures.



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PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan

ROC Ministry of National Defense

2025/09/09

PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan

1.Date:

6 a.m. Sep. 8 (Sun.) to 6 a.m. Sep. 9 (Mon.) (UTC+8)

2.PLA activities:

3 sorties of PLA aircraft, 6 PLAN ships, and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected as of 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 2 out of 3 sorties crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan's northern ADIZ. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and employed CAP aircraft, Navy ships, and coastal missile systems in response to detected activities.

1140909_PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan [Open a new window]

1140909_PLA air activities in the vicinity of Taiwan [Open a new window]

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V-Day military parade a shared moment of pride for all Chinese: mainland Taiwan affairs office spokesperson

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Sep 10, 2025 12:04 PM

The September 3 military parade is a shared moment of pride for all Chinese people, both at home and abroad, marking a historic Victory Day that resonates deeply. It was an occasion for the Chinese people, alongside peace-loving countries worldwide, to commemorate history, honor martyrs, cherish peace, and look toward the future, said a Chinese mainland official on Wednesday.

Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks during a regular press conference on Wednesday, when asked to comment on that compatriots from the island of Taiwan widely praised the mainland's remarkable development achievements and strong military capabilities, and expressed heightened national pride. However, they also expressed deep concern over the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities and "Taiwan independence" forces, whose reckless provocations and pursuit of "independence" could lead Taiwan into a dangerous situation.

President Xi Jinping's speech and the September 3 parade demonstrated the Chinese nation's firm confidence in its path toward great rejuvenation, underscored the Chinese military's role as a guardian of world peace, and served as a powerful declaration of the Chinese people's commitment to building a shared future for humanity, Chen said.

Chen noted that many compatriots from the Taiwan island watched the parade live, either in person or through various media, expressing that the event was "a pride for the entire Chinese nation." Taiwan island's local media noted that whether Taiwan residents attended in person or followed via television or the internet, they felt a shared sense of honor. The parade showcased the disciplined and formidable formations of the People's Liberation Army, as well as advanced weaponry, highlighting the military's integrated combat capabilities and new-domain, high-quality combat forces. This display underscored China's determination and ability to safeguard peace, uphold justice, maintain national unity, and oppose "Taiwan independence," said the spokesperson.

The mainstream sentiment on the island of Taiwan favors peace, development, exchange, and cooperation. Lai Ching-te's continuous increase in defense budgets and attempts to seek "independence through military means" only heighten the risks of conflict and instability in Taiwan, causing growing unease among the people, Chen pointed out.

It is only natural that more compatriots from Taiwan are opposing these actions. We hope that compatriots from Taiwan will join us in commemorating history, honoring martyrs, upholding the tradition of patriotism, and carrying forward the great national spirit and the spirit of the War of Resistance. Together, we must resolutely oppose "Taiwan independence" separatism and foreign interference, steadfastly safeguard peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, and jointly contribute to the great cause of and the bright future of national rejuvenation, Chen said.

This culminated in the first complete victory against foreign invasion in modern Chinese history. During the 14 years of arduous resistance, the CPC, with its outstanding political leadership and correct strategic approaches, guided the direction of the war. It steadfastly promoted nationwide resistance, unity, and progress, while opposing compromise, division, and regression. The CPC championed the banner of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, resolutely maintaining, consolidating, and developing it, while adhering to independence, unity, and resistance, thereby safeguarding the overall situation of united resistance. CPC members fought bravely on the front lines, becoming the backbone of the nation's hope for survival and the pillar of the national resistance. The CPC's pivotal role was key to the victory in the War of Resistance, Chen said.

The DPP authorities not only avoid acknowledging the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and Japan's defeat but also harbor a deep colonial nostalgia, repeatedly glorifying the history of invaders and colonizers. Their words and actions betray the nation's stance, lack any sense of national integrity, severely hurt the feelings of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, and challenge the conscience and justice of human society. Such national betrayers have no standing or qualification to make baseless remarks about the history of the War of Resistance or its commemorative activities, Chen said at the Wednesday press conference, slamming the recent claim by "Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council" alleging that "the Communist Party of China (CPC) made no contribution to the war and merely used it to strengthen itself."

Chen said that at the "most perilous moment" when the Chinese nation faced with the threat of extinction, all Chinese people, including Taiwan compatriots, fought courageously for national liberation, the restoration of Taiwan island, and the defeat of Japanese fascism. They stood united, fearless in the face of violence, and resisted for the survival of the nation, the rejuvenation of the Chinese people, and the cause of human justice.

The spokesperson emphasized that the CPC-led guerrilla warfare in the enemy's rear and the Kuomintang-led frontal battlefields complemented each other, forming a strategic pincer against the enemy. Data shows that from September 1931 to September 1945, the Northeast Anti-Japanese forces eliminated over 170,000 Japanese troops, while the Eighth Route Army, New Fourth Army, and South China guerrilla forces eliminated 527,000 Japanese troops, dealing heavy blows to the enemy and boosting the confidence of the resistance.

The vast rear battlefields countered 60 percent of the invading Japanese forces, gradually becoming the main theater of resistance, thwarting Japan's arrogant ambition to quickly annihilate China and enslave the Chinese nation, according to the Chen. These efforts made significant contributions to the great victory in the War of Resistance. History is history, and facts are facts. They cannot be distorted or erased, he noted.

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DPP sacrifices Taiwan enterprises for 'selfish party interests': mainland official commenting on industry white paper

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Sep 10, 2025 11:44 AM

Asked to comment on recent proposals from a white paper released by a Taiwan industries federation, including facilitating cross-Straits exchanges, Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Wednesday that the white paper reflects deep concern within Taiwan's business community over the current situation in the Taiwan Straits and voices strong opposition to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities' cross-Straits policies.

The Taiwan Federation of Industries (TFI) recently released its 2025 White Paper, which underscores the theme of "avoiding misjudgments and seeking peaceful coexistence across the Straits." It urged easing restrictions on cross-Straits exchanges and tapping into opportunities from mainland developments to broaden business prospects, recommendations that have struck a chord with Taiwan's business community.

Chen said that at a time when the US has imposed "20 percent + N" tariffs on the Taiwan region, many local industries and companies are struggling for survival. "For them, the vast mainland market is not only a way out of their difficulties, but also an opportunity for continued development," Chen said.

Chen stressed that the two sides of the Straits are fully capable of jointly addressing external risks and challenges, and of strengthening the Chinese nation's economy by deepening integrated development and enhancing industrial and supply chain cooperation.

However, the DPP authorities have acted against the principles of market economics, hyping up the idea of building a so-called "non-red supply chain" and blindly bowing to the US, even as repeated setbacks prove the futility of such an approach, Chen said.

"Persisting in the illusion of relying on the US to resist the mainland, they are actively pushing for 'decoupling and breaking supply chains' across the Straits. In doing so, they sacrifice the survival of the enterprises for the selfish interests of their party, which will inevitably provoke public anger and erode popular support," he noted.

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Japan bears historical responsibilities on Taiwan question and must act prudently: FM on Tsai Ing-wen's provocative visit

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Sep 10, 2025 04:54 PM

When responding to an inquiry regarding former Taiwan regional leader Tsai Ing-wen's visit to Japan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday that China has lodged solemn representations with and issued warnings to Japan. "We firmly oppose any provocative visit by 'Taiwan independence' separatists to countries having diplomatic ties with China under any pretext," said Lin.

He said that as a former Taiwan regional leader, Tsai's provocative visitno matter the pretext or excuse  cannot change its essence of an attempt to collude with external forces to pursue Taiwan independence, which is not absolutely permitted.

Lin said that Japan bears historical responsibilities for its crimes against the Chinese people on the Taiwan question and must act especially prudently.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, as well as the 80th anniversary of Taiwan's recovery. "We urge Japan to earnestly abide by the one-China principle, handle relevant issues with caution and properly, refrain from interfering in China's internal affairs in any form and from sending any wrong signal to the 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces," Lin added.

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PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan

ROC Ministry of National Defense

2025/09/10

PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan

1.Date:

6 a.m. Sep. 9 (Tue.) to 6 a.m. Sep. 10 (Wed.) (UTC+8)

2.PLA activities:

13 sorties of PLA aircraft, 6 PLAN ships, and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected as of 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 13 out of 13 sorties crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan's northern ADIZ. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and employed CAP aircraft, Navy ships, and coastal missile systems in response to detected activities.

1140910_PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan [Open a new window]

1140910_PLA air activities in the vicinity of Taiwan [Open a new window]

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Secretary Rubio's Call with UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper

US Department of State

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

September 9, 2025

The below is attributable to Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke today with new UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper. The Secretary congratulated the Foreign Secretary on her new position, and they agreed to continue the long tradition of close U.S.-UK cooperation on critical issues. The Secretary underscored President Trump's commitment to ending the Russia-Ukraine war. The Secretary and Foreign Secretary also underscored their shared commitment to ensuring that Iran never obtains or develops a nuclear weapon.



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PM meeting with Secretary General of NATO Mark Rutte: 9 September 2025

Press release

The Prime Minister hosted NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at Downing Street this afternoon.

From: Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street and The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP

Published 9 September 2025

The Prime Minister hosted NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at Downing Street this afternoon.

The leaders began by discussing the situation in Doha, and the Prime Minister condemned the attack and reiterated the need to avoid further escalation in the region.

Turning to Ukraine, the leaders reflected on the situation on the frontline and underscored the need to ensure the country received the right military capabilities to keep them in the fight now.

The NATO Secretary General updated on his discussions at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group earlier today, and both leaders welcomed the efforts by allies to step up support, including through the Coalition of the Willing.

The military work that had also taken place to integrate US support into the plan for the Coalition of the Willing had progressed well, the leaders agreed.

However, more pressure, including through sanctions, needed to be applied to Putin to force him to engage meaningfully with peace talks, they added.

The NATO Secretary General also congratulated the Prime Minister on the UK's successful bid for Norway's future frigate programme. The Prime Minister said the decision would strengthen NATO Euro-Atlantic security and further increase interoperability across the Alliance, while also supporting jobs at home across the defence industry.

The leaders looked forward to speaking again soon.

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Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, Luke Pollard, statement on Defence Industrial Strategy

Oral statement to Parliament

Minister of State, Luke Pollard delivers at statement to the House of Commons on Monday 8 September 2025 to launch the Defence Industrial Strategy

From: Ministry of Defence and Luke Pollard MP

Published 9 September 2025

Location: House of Commons

Delivered on: 8 September 2025

With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I wish to make a statement on the defence industrial strategy. Today we fulfil another manifesto commitment by publishing our plan to strengthen our security and grow our economy. It is a plan to back British-based industry, create British jobs and drive British innovation.

Before I set out the detail of the strategy, I would like to place on the record my thanks to my right hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Garston (Maria Eagle) for her work in developing the strategy. I also extend a warm welcome to my hon. Friend the Member for North East Derbyshire (Louise Sandher-Jones), who has joined the Ministry of Defence team.

This is a plan supported by 773 million of investmenta plan to make defence an engine for economic growth in every nation and region of our country. The men and women who serve our nation are rightly respected across the world for their dedication and professionalism, yet as we know from the war in Ukraine, when a country is forced to fight, its armed forces are only as strong as the industry that stands behind them. The UK has one of the most advanced, innovative defence industrial bases the world over, but we are in a new era of threat, which demands a new era of UK defence.

Our strategic defence review set out our vision to make Britain safersecure at home and strong abroad. Through our defence industrial strategy, we will ensure that we have an industry to deliver that vision. All the pledges made today can only be met because this Labour Government have committed the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the cold war: 2.6% of GDP by 2027, and 3.5% by 2035, alongside our NATO allies. But with the promise to invest more comes the responsibility to invest better. By implementing our strategy, we will ensure that workers and businesses across the UK feel the benefit of the defence dividend.

In opposition, the now Defence Secretary told the House:

"Labour's determination to see British investment directed first to British industry is fundamental."

Today, ambition in opposition becomes action in government. Using every lever available to the Government, our strategy will prioritise British-based businesses. We will make it easier for British-based firms to do business with the Ministry of Defence. We will launch an office of small business growth to support small and medium-sized enterprises in accessing MOD contracts, and we will give greater clarity by sharing our five-year acquisition pipeline, allowing businesses to invest with confidence.

The 10 billion frigate contract signed with Norway last week was the biggest warship deal in our historya demonstration that when we export defence capabilities, we not only strengthen our security abroad, but create high-skilled jobs at home. Through our strategy, we will back British businesses to go out and winwin more contracts and create more jobs. The new office of defence exports brings responsibility for defence exports back into the Ministry of Defence and creates a Government-to-Government exports structure that reflects what our allies and industry need.

Sustaining sovereign capabilities is the cornerstone of national security, so our strategy sets out the requirement to onshore key assets. We will maintain the advantages afforded by open international competition, but in a way that improves value for the British taxpayer. For the first time ever, we will introduce an offset policy, designed in consultation with industry. It will mean that when we buy from our allies, the UK economy will be strengthened in return through new jobs and novel technologies.

Our defence industrial base represents a commitment to innovation and excellence. Today, it supports over 460,000 jobs and over 24,000 apprenticeships across the UK, the vast majority of which are unionised. As a trade union member, I know that good, well-paid and unionised jobs are good not only for defence but for growth. The defence industry is a source of not only prosperity but pride; it proves that we are still a nation of makers. When I speak with defence workers, I see their deep sense of purpose in what they do. They are right to feel that way; their efforts keep our nation safe. Through our strategy, more people will be afforded the opportunities and rewards of working in this industry.

To ensure that the benefits of the defence dividend are shared across every nation and region of the UK, we are investing 250 million in defence growth deals. Our deals will build on inherent strengths in defence communities by improving skills and infrastructure. The first phase will be launched in Plymouth, where we will focus on advanced marine technologies and autonomous systems, and in south Yorkshire, where we will build on our recent investment in defence and steel. Further locations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be announced, because there is not only a defence dividend from our uplift in defence spending, but a Union dividend, strengthening our United Kingdom.

ADS analysis indicates that the defence industry workforce could grow by 50,000 people by 2035, when defence spending increases to 3% of GDP. To ensure that the UK can take full advantage, we must ensure that we have the workers with the right skills to fulfil those roles, so I am today announcing the biggest ever investment in defence skills: 182 million of new Government funding to establish five defence technical excellence colleges, so that we can promote to over 800,000 school pupils the benefits of a career in the defence industry; and our new defence skills passport, which will make it easier and faster for veterans and workers in other industries to move into the defence sector.

Over the past few years, defence firms have expressed growing concerns about attending jobs fairs. The harassment and intimidation to which they have been subjected has forced companies to cancel events on university campuses. The campaign to boycott and target defence firms misunderstands the purpose of deterrence. We know the full measure of freedom and security in Britain because of what our defence industry does. The strategy will help the industry to attract the talent it needs by creating a dedicated presence on the UCAS website, a new defence apprenticeship and graduate clearing system, and a defence university alliance to strengthen careers in the sector.

The war in Ukraine reminds us that innovation is the central pillar of deterrence. To ensure that we meet our objectives of better capability and increased growth, we are committed to spending at least 10% of our equipment budget on novel technologies. The newly established UK Defence Innovation is backed by 400 million of ringfenced investment and has the authority to reallocate funding and resources, ensuring a focus on priorities and value for money. Today's strategy outlines how we will employ UKDI to rapidly produce technologies that give our armed forces an advantage. We will set out the first of the innovation challenges that we want industry to go after, as well as how we will better support firms in testing their innovations.

This Government inherited what the Public Accounts Committee described as a "broken procurement system". For too long, defence has been burdened by waste, delay and complexity, yet today we know that whoever gets technology to its frontline forces the fastest, wins. We have proved that we can do it for Ukraine; now we must do it for Britain. Our segmented approach to procurement sets ambitious targets to drastically reduce the timescales to get new projects on contract. As part of the biggest shake-up to the Ministry of Defence in over 50 years, we have created the role of National armaments director, and because we want UK firms to win not just at home but abroad, we will improve our export licensing system with a new digital platform, better training for staff, and reformed procedures, including allowing exporters to apply for licences during the bidding process.

Unlike previous strategies, our one is funded. It is also the culmination of months of detailed work and close engagement with industry, academia, and trade unions. Throughout the process, our aim has been to produce a strategy with the defence sector, rather than to it. With a clear plan backed by historic investment, our Government, alongside industry, will now deliver for Britain. I commend this statement to the House.



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Defence Secretary Defence Investment Summit Speech

Speech

The Defence Secretary gave a speech at the Defence Investment Summit on 10 September 2025

From: Ministry of Defence and The Rt Hon John Healey MP

Published 10 September 2025

Delivered on: 10 September 2025 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

I must say, I've been to one or two of these, and walking through the corridors, the walkways, the escalators, there is a buzz about this one that I've not known before.

Thank you all for being here, and thank you, Nick for your introduction. I have to tell you, some of you I know have worked in defence for years, some of you are new to the industry and sector and taking a first look at us, but Sir Nick is deeply respected in defence from his time in the Royal Navy and now from his time in Babcock. So it's an honour to be introduced by Nick here tonight.

Thanks for giving up your time to be here at the summit, and thank you, in particular to Oliver Wyman for pulling this event together.

We in Britain have some of the finest Armed Forces anywhere in the world. We also have one of the best industrial bases in the world, but we're in a new era of threat. This demands a new era for defence, and it means that we must ask more from both.

Only last night, Putin demonstrated this with a new level of hostility towards Poland, violating Polish airspace, deep enough for Warsaw airport to be closed, deep enough for NATO jets to take defensive military action.

And Russia's actions are reckless, unprecedented, dangerous, and I've assured the defence minister of Poland that we stand in the UK firm in our support for the Polish people. And I have asked the UK armed forces to look at options for how we can strengthen NATO air defence over Poland.

But defence deterrence doesn't rest on words. Defence deterrence doesn't actually only rest on our military forces. It rests also on the power of industry. And one of the lessons that Ukraine is forcefully reminded about is exactly that.

When a nation is forced to fight or it's under threat, its forces are only strong as the industry that stands behind it. And that's why, over the past year, as a new government, we've spent so much time building a new and lasting partnership, we hope, with industry, with innovators, and increasingly, with investors as well.

So today I'd like to set out, if I may, what we've done so far, to give you a glimpse, if you like, of the path that we've set ahead. And mostly that's been set out not just in the Strategic Defence Review that we published in June, but the Defence Industrial Strategy we published this Monday.

A manifesto commitment, now delivered, a major recommendation in the Strategic Defence Review now delivered, but the real hard work comes beyond the report with the implementation.

So we publish the report, we publish the strategy. We're backing it over this spending review period, that's three years, with 70 million pounds. This strategy or plan sets out how the UK's defence sector will meet the threats that were outlined in the Strategic Defence Review.

The pledges, all the ambitions can only possibly be met because of the record increase in defence spending that as a government, we've also now committed to make. So as Nick mentioned it earlier, this is the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War.

Nobody senior in our military today has experienced what we face ahead. A decade for the first time in their careers of rising defence investment, the certainty, if you like, the industry, has always pressed upon government, whichever party is in office.

And if you ask any former defence secretary, and you ask them, what is it that makes your life or made your life as Defence Secretary most difficult? Many of them would not say Putin or Chinese drones, they would say the Treasury.

But I have to tell you, thankfully that's not the case for me, because my relationship with Chancellor Rachel Reeves, you heard from her today, the relationship couldn't be stronger.

The vision that we share of defence being an engine for growth in this country could not be closer. But with that promise to invest more comes with the responsibility to invest better. And as many of you in this room know, Mr. Nick has reminded us in his short introductory remarks, government procurement has been burned by waste, by delay, by complexity, for too long.

The Public Accounts Committee in the House of Commons described the procurement system under the last government as broken, a big challenge at the heart of resetting and rebuilding any industrial strategy for this country. So procurement has been unnecessarily complex.

Our export performance has never fully been matched by our potential, and we've had a skills deficit that has too often held back the workers and businesses alike. All these are problems that our Defence Industrial Strategy is resolved to try and fix.

So a segmented approach now to procurement with time, to contract targets in each statement, the creation of the National Armaments Director, the introduction of a five-year acquisition pipeline, will all mean that we get equipment from the factory to the front line faster.

It will all mean that businesses and investors get a better understanding of the direction we want to go, and more confidence about the decisions we'll take, and I hope, more conviction to look at the UK as a market in which to invest.

The opportunities I hope you feel from this discussion today and your knowledge of the sector, I hope you share that view with me, that these are enormous now. That 10 billion frigate deal 10 days ago with Norway, that is the biggest British warship deal ever. It means at least 4000 jobs secured over the next 15 years, a supply chain of over 430 businesses right across the UK, not just on the Clyde.

We want more of those world class British based firms to be able to go out and win contracts like that.

Yes, big congratulations to BAE Systems, but I think Charles will be the first to say they can't do it without us. We can't do it without them. And so that's why we brought responsibility for defence exports back fully into the MOD with a new Office for Defence Exports that we're setting up now that creates the government to government exports, structure and capacity. It reflects what industry what those who are our allies and partners need and want.

For the first time as well, we're going to go out and consult on an offset policy for Britain. And that means, quite simply, when we make decisions to buy from allies, not from Britain, the UK's economy, businesses in Britain will also be strengthened in return, through UK workshare by new jobs, by novel technology or investments.

And to ensure that defence dividend that I've talked about, the Prime Minister's talked about, that message to the public that we're asking to bear a greater proportion of the investment that we spend in this country cannot simply be a sense of greater security. That defence dividend has got to bring growth. It's got to bring jobs. It's got to bring a sense of benefit across the country as well.

So that's why, in the Defence Industrial Strategy, part of that will be an investment of 250m pounds, into five Defence Growth Deals in different parts of the country and in Scotland and in Northern Ireland and in Wales.

And finally, creating jobs means nothing unless we got the people, the skilled people, the people with a sense of pride and purpose to fill those vacancies. So 182 billion new money behind the Defence Skills Strategy. This is a core part of the industrial plan that we published on Monday. This is the biggest investment in defence skills plan for decades.

And my ambition, shared by Rachel Reeves, shared by cross government, is for the UK to become the best place for a defence firm to do business. And I have to say, I'm encouraged. I'm encouraged by the 1.4 billion in foreign direct investment that is coming into defence in our first year in government.

And for me, the real test is, how do we build on that? So I welcome the confidence today shown in us in the UK by Tekever with their announcement of a 400 million pound investment, a decision to expand their UK operation with a new facility in Swindon.

This investment is a vote of confidence in this country and in our workforce and industry and in our potential to grow. And I'm honoured that they've asked me next week to open that new factory, which will produce 1000 extra jobs as a result of that investment. It will also bring highly advanced unmanned aerial systems to the UK.

So this is my view, exactly the type of investment we need, investment that makes British workers better off, which makes our Armed Forces stronger, investment which makes our industry base bigger and more improved and more resilient.

And so I guess my message this afternoon to you here, whether you're an established prime or you're a venture capitalist looking at defence perhaps in the early days, my message is this. That it's that sustained government investment and our serious reform of procurement, exports and skills that will make Britain and defence a better investment opportunity in the years ahead.

And you heard that message also from Jason. What a treat Jason, to be able to be here for your first speech, and probably, I think, your third day in the job as a government minister. Congratulations. You're going to bring a dose of business pragmatism and vision to government, and we welcome you.

The point I want to stress today just about the Defence Industrial Strategy is this, it is one part of a process of change. We know that, in defence, our vision in the past has been too narrow, our reach too limited. The circle of people and businesses that we engage and are involved with is too small.

So let me set out how we're going to change that. So one of our priorities is there in the Strategic Defence Review, is there in the industrial strategy and it is to rapidly adopt the novel technologies that will give our Armed Forces the edge, the leading edge on the battlefield. And our newly established agency, UK Defence Innovation, will help give out forces that advantage.

But because much of the innovation in this country, it's not driven by government, it's driven by you, firms, investors in the private sector, we know we have to forge stronger relationships between government and business and the investors behind those innovators.

So as part of that drive, I'm announcing today the launch of the Defence Investors Advisory Group.. The group's purpose will be to advise government on investment priorities, provide market insight, bring together some of the best minds from banking, venture capital and Strategic Finance.

And I'm really pleased that the chair of the last session on this program that you had, Kerry Baldwin, has also agreed to chair this advisory group for us. Kerry, thank you for that, and we look forward to working with you.

One of the first tasks we will set for Kerry with her group is to shape the government's new Defence Finance and Investment Strategy. We aim to publish this early next year. It will be cross government, and it will look to draw on the strength of what we have in Britain, a world leading financial sector to bolster what we need to sharpen our military operations and readiness.

So in conclusion, I guess we'd have to say that defence just needs to be smarter about how we win investment, but we also need to be smarter about how we make the most of the investment that we want, and there's no better avenue for that.

There's no better avenue for seeing the multiplication of impact than through the dual use sector, radar, sonar, mass production, antibiotics, jet engines, GPS drones, all born of military need, all now woven into wider society life. So where defence leads in innovation, society can share in its benefits.

That's why yesterday, in a small scale, I know, but it's an example of what we want to do, we launched an innovation competition looking for ideas on how to stop non-compressible haemorrhages to save the lives of our soldiers, something with an obvious application beyond the battlefield.

But the truth is, we haven't always translated those benefits for national security into benefits for the wider society. And so to ensure that we make those breakthroughs are used to power new industries and create new jobs, we're launching the Technology and Growth Alliance.

This alliance will have at its heart, I'm pleased to say, four of our leading UK-based primes, BAE Systems, Leonardo, Thales and Qinetic. Founder members of that new alliance for government were convened by Plowshare, the MOD's commercialization arm, and they'll bring together not just leading firms, but academics and also investors.

Finally, in closing, let me say those of you who have been around for a while know and probably reflect that I'm not the first person that you've heard in this position say this sort of thing. I'm not the first Defence Secretary to promise a new way of doing things, and I know like you do, that old habits die hard, but the world is changing.

Defence is changing. Our relationship with business will change. We're a government with a clear plan backed by record investment. We are opening new doors. We are bringing people together in new ways, and we are drawing on new talent and expertise. And together, we will provide not only the security we need today, but the prosperity that we need for tomorrow.

Thank you.

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First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins Speech at DSEI 2025

Speech

The First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins today gave a speech at DSEI 2025

From: Ministry of Defence and General Sir Gwyn Jenkins KCB OBE RM

Published 10 September 2025

Delivered on: 9 September 2025 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

Good afternoon,

We face a world that is increasingly contested and unpredictable, with rapid technological advancements reshaping warfare.

My mission is to move the Royal Navy to warfighting readiness over the next four years.

This is essential if we are to strengthen deterrence and preventing conflict in this new era of threat.

The 2025 National Security Strategy laid bare the scale of the challenge that we face - Russian aggression menacing our continent, strategic competition intensifying, extremist ideologies proliferating, technology transforming warfare, and hostile state activity occurring in and around the UK, impacting our interests.

The maritime domain, the sea and our shipping routes remain the essential cornerstone to our national security and growth in our economy.

Today the Royal Navy guards that domain so that food, energy, goods and data flow unimpeded into our daily lives.

And as part of our membership of NATO the Royal Navy maintains the ultimate guarantor of our national security - the Strategic Nuclear Deterrent.

Our work remains fundamentally the same as it has for hundreds of years - keep the sea lanes open, protect our nation from seaborne attack, promote and defend our national interests around the world.

The work would be familiar to many First Sea Lords before me. But the way we do it is changing, changing fast, and that's what I want to talk about today.

We have four immediate priorities: nuclear, innovation, leadership, and agility.

Nuclear deterrence is our top priority, requiring a whole-force effort across submarines, infrastructure, and protective forces.

Innovation is critical to adapting at the pace of technological change, both in how we work and in the capability we use.

Leadership Excellence is about inspiring and empowering teams while delivering results, creating an environment where everyone can thrive.

Agility is essential to remove barriers, streamline processes, and having a focus on what truly matters.

For 35 years, we have operated under the presumption of a "peace dividend," taking calculated risks against emerging threats. This has resulted in a reduced fleet size and inevitable readiness challenges.

But the maritime domain yet remains the one essential to our national security.

Our operational schedule is as relentless as ever, with global deployments from the High North to the Indo-Pacific, securing trade routes and supporting allies.

Many of our ships, like the Type 23 Frigates, are ageing, extended to twice their planned service life.

And we work hard to recruit and retain the talent we need, and I am proud to serve alongside our outstanding people, but we need to continually find ways of doing better, and adapt faster.

The Strategic Defence Review was clear that we are at a turning point. At the 2025 NATO Summit, the UK Government made the pledge to spend 5% of GDP on national security by 2035.

An investment focused on lethality, readiness, munitions stockpiles, and technological innovation. Throughout its history the Royal Navy has been buccaneering, innovative and pioneering. These are the characteristics we now need, to meet the new challenges we face.

I come here today to make my first speech as First Sea Lord to share my approach with you, our industry partners. Because it is only together that we can successfully meet the challenges we face.

We need your imagination, your ideas, your innovation and your collaboration.

As our PM said yesterday 'our Armed Forces are only as strong as the industry that stands behind them.'

We need to do things differently, to grow and diversify the fleet. To speed up the development of new capabilities and technologies by working with you to improve the flexibility with which we create, operate and improve the means we need to be able to fight and to win.

Together we will reimagine the Royal Navy as a new hybrid Navy. We will move to a dispersed but digitally connected fleet of crewed, uncrewed, and autonomous platforms that will redefine maritime military power.

We have a bold vision, which will place our country in the vanguard of autonomous warships and maritime warfare - under, on, above and from the sea.

That is not just for the Navy - but for UK industry as well. We want you to become the world's leading exporter of autonomous vessels, as well as building the best warships in the world - as we've seen with the 10 billion Norway deal.

But let me be really clear - this is not an aspiration for some distant point in the future. It is a necessity now.

This will create a larger and more lethal fleet, with greater agility and resilience, and it is a move that will start while I am the First Sea Lord. To do this, we will be guided by a simple but powerful principle: "uncrewed wherever possible; crewed only where necessary."

This is not just a technological shift - it is a strategic transformation in how we project power, preserve lives, and adapt to the pace of modern warfare.

To illustrate, I will give examples of what we need to do above, under, on and from the sea.

We will have Hybrid Airwings by the end of this decade, leading NATO nations in a new way of air warfare from the maritime.

By the time the Carrier Strike Group returns to the Indo-Pacific for its next episodic deployment, its Carrier Air Wing will be almost unrecognisable - a fusion of crewed and uncrewed platforms, optimised for speed, survivability, adaptability and combat power.

To bring this to life, to make it real, with your help.

We intend to launch the first jet-powered collaborative platform drone as a concept demonstrator off a Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier as soon as next year.

Atlantic Bastian is a groundbreaking concept revolutionising how we protect the UK and its allies in the underwater environment.

It will provide a formidable underwater defence posture from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge to the Norwegian Sea.

A blend of crewed and uncrewed host platforms will be networked together, but capable of independent operations, creating a system of systems that will enable us to find, track and if required act against our opponents, adding both mass and lethality to our already capable Submarines, Ships and aircraft in the North Atlantic.

We will have our first Bastion sensors in the water next year.

For the surface, imagine in the near future, a Type 26 Frigate goes into the North Atlantic. It is the most advanced Anti-Submarine Frigate in the world, a truly world leading ship capability with a highly trained and most effective crew. But it is not alone. It is sailing in company with two uncrewed escorts, who use AI to work in tandem with the warship. Together, they provide a 3 ship task group in their own right.

The escorts will protect the parent ship, adding to its sensors, weapons and decoy capabilities. Because they have no crew, the escorts are not complex vessels, they are easy to produce at scale, even easier to configure to specific mission requirements as the task demands.

If this sounds fanciful, it is not.

It is my aim to have the first of our uncrewed escort ships sailing alongside our RN warships within the next two years. We will then begin scaling across the Navy.

This approach will not only revolutionise our ability to put mass to sea, it will fundamentally change our future shipbuilding programme, enabling us to break the paradigm of only ever bigger, more expensive and complex warships.

We are also working to take this approach into our concepts for both the MRSS as part of our future littoral ships and for the T83 as our future Air Defence Destroyer, which will fundamentally change and improve what can be produced. I want both to be founded on a family of vessels, with crewed capabilities at their heart, but more modular, resilient, dispersed and powerful. Fit for modern warfighting.

Alongside all of this it would be remiss of me not to speak about the continued transformation of the Commando Force and their strategically vital role in support of both the Fleet and wider Integrated Force.

Our Royal Marine Commandos blend the best of human talent, selected and trained to operate independently in the harshest environments, with the very latest in technology.

Our Marines anticipated the future of modern warfare and have for almost 10 years been transforming in a way that now seems prescient for the war in Ukraine.

But now they must go further.

Ever more dispersed on the battlefield, connected but capable of independent action, enabled by ever more autonomy, they will be the embodiment of a 21st Century Commando.

This is essential because the High North in particular remains a critical area for the UK and a vulnerable northern flank for NATO. It is not only the gateway to the Atlantic for Russia's increasingly capable submarine force, but it is a region where climate change is setting the stage for intense state competition over territory, access and resources.

Our continued ability to operate and fight in this most demanding environment is vital - and the UK Commando Force, as the most experienced and credible extreme cold weather operators, will be the tip of our NATO spear.

All this - the complete transformation of our force - will necessitate the biggest change of the culture, workforce training and skills for our sailors and marines since the turn of the last Century.

We are going to overhaul the Royal Navy's approach to maritime warfare training to ensure our people are fully equipped to meet the work they are asked to do, creating the war fighting leaders of the future.

And Leaders matter.

Leaders at all levels dictate an organisation's culture. Because of this, within the next 100 days, we will trial new tools to improve the way we assess leadership at all levels, focusing on both the ability to deliver outcomes and the impact leaders have on

the culture and well-being of the people in our teams.

We will find the best tools to help us identify those leaders who can practice leadership excellence - that is, delivering results while motivating and inspiring their people to be the best that they can be. When we identify them, we will promote them, put them in positions of authority and together they will help us to transform the Royal Navy.

Our job is to be ready to fight with what we have now, not what we hope to have in the future. Within 100 days, we will have defined, war-gamed and agreed a plan to ensure the Royal Navy is credible and moves to warfighting readiness over the next four year.

To do this we need to transform ourselves and we need your help, your partnership. We will all, together, need to lead our allies into a different way of warfare, rediscover how to fight at scale and have the courage to transform so that we can win that fight. Lead, fight, win - to make Britain secure at home and strong abroad.

We need partners in industry, large and small, to deliver the innovation we must have. I thank you for all you already do for us, and I look forward to what we will do together in the years ahead.

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Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton speech at DSEI

Speech

DSEI is a showcase for British industry and British ingenuity

From: Ministry of Defence and Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton KCB ADC FREng

Published 10 September 2025

Location: London

Delivered on: 10 September 2025 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)



Firstly, I just want to say it is a great pleasure to be here today and to have the opportunity to give my first major speech as the Chief of Defence Staff here at DSEI 2025.

I am hugely honored to take on this role at such an important time for our security. I want to start by saying and paying a huge tribute to my predecessor, Tony Radakin, whose truly exceptional leadership over a remarkable period of CDS has played a vital role in delivering the security of our nation, and particularly in supporting Ukraine.

I also want to congratulate Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth on his appointment as the Chief of the Air Staff, he'll be speaking tomorrow. The RAF is in great hands, and I'm very much looking forward to working with him to build on the future of the Royal Air Force.

Now, regular visitors to DSEI might know that I have spoken here several times before, but it was a speech I made here as an Air Marshal in 2019 that perhaps provides the most appropriate starting point for today.

So my themes that day were increasing global uncertainty, the imperative of modernizing our armed forces to meet new threats, and how private sector innovation must be fired up to catalyze that renewal.

Now, those themes seem just as relevant in 2025 as they were six years ago. And I know that the cynics in the audience might say well, what have you done about it, not a lot has changed. But I think what's remarkable looking back to 2019 is just how fast things have changed.

We had no idea that Ukraine would teach us such clear lessons on the importance of adapting our Armed Forces quickly, the need for speed. I don't want to sound too Top Gun with Gary on stage.

This pace of adaptation will be of critical importance to our Armed Forces and of critical importance to me during my time as CDS. So the uncertainties I spoke about in 2019 and let's remember that was before Covid, before Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine, and before the unravelling of peace in the Middle East. They seem almost mundane in comparison to those of today.

We didn't know how much impact new weapons would have on a major conflict on European soil, and we didn't know that a British Prime Minister would make the biggest sustained increase in defence spending for generations.

So when I gave that speech in 2019 the servicemen and women of my generation had only ever known wars of choice. We'd optimised our Armed Forces for the type of conflicts we saw in the Balkans, in Iraq and in Afghanistan, conflicts where our people serve with courage and professionalism, but where we could rely on unimpeded logistics chains, air supremacy and significant operational advantage.

But today, six years later, it's clear to me that we need to be ready for a different kind of conflict. We're now confronted by a resurgent, aggressive Russia probing our defences, backed by an economy on full war footing, seeking to extend its borders westwards.

And we've seen the character of conflict changed irrevocably, I think, expanding into new domains and increasingly embracing new digital technologies, robotics and artificial intelligence.

So as I reflect on my time in service, I can confidently say that I have never known a more demanding security environment than the one we have today. So this unfortunate legacy of six short years is far more uncertain, risky and dangerous, and as I contemplate my new and expanded responsibilities as the Chief of Defence Staff, there is a lot to do on my to do list.

It's an incredibly wide ranging manifesto to deliver, from designing and building an integrated force to leading the newly formed MSHQ, delivering SDR and implementing defence reform. But all of that is in service of our first duty in defence, which is to be ready to deter, fight and win.

That is why, as CDS, I will focus on our readiness, our people and our modernisation. That way we will be ready to deter, fight and win today and tomorrow.

All of us across defence have got a part to play, and we certainly cannot do it without the help of industry. So while there is a lot to do, and a lot I could say about my priorities at CDS, I want to focus here at DSEI on how we work together, and most importantly, about how we go faster.

So I think I know what we need to do. I've got my orders, the parameters and objectives for modernising defence have been clearly established in the Strategic Defence Review published this summer. But while the SDR is crucial, reviews do not deliver capability or deterrence, so talking about what we need to do is easy.

The same might also be true of the why. That becomes clearer with every Russian attack on Ukraine and every frame of a picture we saw from Beijing last week. So while talking about why and the what might be easy, success depends on us working out how we do it and how we do it more quickly.

The Defence Industrial Strategy published on Monday is an important step in making defence an engine for growth, and it will strengthen our industrial base, which will increase the deterrent effect.

But it is the implementation and delivery that matter. The importance of this, how we deliver has been brought into sharp focus by Ukraine.

Now, throughout history, warfare has been a catalyst for transformation. Today, Ukraine is providing that crucible of change, a tragic and terrible test bed for a new era of military confrontation.

I've been to Ukraine twice in the past two weeks, and I've witnessed the remarkable ingenuity, spirit and bravery of its people. I've seen how the existential threat the nation and its soldiers face has driven innovation far beyond anything we've achieved in peacetime, even with all of our experience and knowledge and world leading science and engineering institutions.

I've seen how the cleverest minds from Ukrainian universities and industry are manipulating and exploiting technology to solve specific tactical problems and overcome the numerical and economic advantages that Russia enjoys.

There is much we can learn from Ukraine, but we must also remember that this is a fight often more reminiscent of the First World War trenches than the 21st Century. It's a conflict where incredible advances in technology and intervention innovation have not proved decisive for either side, but that said, there are important strategic lessons for us to draw about how a nation mobilises and adapts in the face of an unrelenting enemy.

When we think in the UK about how we want to fight, we ideally want to deter that fight by being able to win quickly and decisively with the forces we have. But history tells us that if we don't win quickly, we must also be ready to sustain that fight and adapt faster than our adversary to win over the long term.

That is what Ukraine has done and what Ukraine is doing today, harnessing the skills of people, industry and data to build an ecosystem that is agile and responsive rapidly. The UK has done this before. RV Jones's book 'Most Secret War' describes how the Second World War's brilliant scientists work with the intelligence communities, industry and war fighters to solve the most pressing military challenges of the day.

More recently, we stepped up to the challenges of Covid, and we are doing it today in support of Ukraine. Many of you here are integral to that effort, providing critical capability at scale, driving the pace of change and forcing the enemy to respond.

We should expect the same focus on UK capability in the future, but we cannot leave it to chance. So I think we've got to do two things in parallel. First, we need to build credible forces today to deter our adversaries and ideally enable us to win a decisive victory. And we need to do it fast to continue to deter the adversary over the next few years.

Second though, we need to build the system and nurture the institutional foundations that will drive that rapid innovation and scaling we'll need in wartime. So as I consider the design of the integrated force, another of my jobs, I'm thinking about a force that can conduct integrated action across cyber, space, land, sea and air, which, alongside our allies, can win quickly and decisively.

But I'm also thinking about how we build a thriving industrial base where collectively, we have the culture, the relationships and the system to deliver the force more quickly, and a force that's ready to adapt in war.

Clearly, this is a team game. That's why I talk about being ready to fly, to deter, fight and win today, tomorrow, and together, those of us in uniform know that we cannot do this alone. We cannot do it without support of industry.

The capacity, capability, creativity and resilience of industry is an important component of our national strength and our ability to deter our adversaries. The problem is we have spent the last 25 years driving through efficiency, making our systems leaner, inexorably seeking greater assurance and adding more process.

We have prioritised cost and perfection over time, delivered through firm price contracts and a transactional approach between us, that approach will not deliver the rate of change and adaptation we need.

It's a system optimised for the past, not the needs of the future. So achieving the required speed demands that we change our relationship with industry to innovate at a wartime pace and make defence the engine for growth.

Commitments to improve things a useful rallying cries, but we have to be specific about what needs to change and how.

Now I'm very conscious that industry is not one monolithic block. One size does not fit all, but there are some key characteristics that I think that future relationship will have.

We have to open up our systems and architectures to allow the best in the market to play with old and new defence industries working together, like we've seen in the Royal Air Force's Stormshroud. This model might be uncomfortable for the primes, but without it, we won't apply our best talent to the hardest problems that we face now and in war.

For our part, in government, we must ensure companies can make money in this new model. We can't put our faith in the venture capital fairy without a route to bigger profits. This will mean closer relationships between the Armed Forces and industry, with the aim of delivering outcomes and solving problems, not awarding contracts for specific system requirements.

And as part of that, we need to simplify and speed up our approvals and value time much more in Ukraine right now, where industry works directly with the war fighters.

They were right there in the factory I visited last week, demanding refining and testing, and industry moves money where it needs to be and does it fast.

Under UK defence reform, funding for research development and delivery will all come under the National Armaments Director. This provides a remarkable opportunity to tune the whole system of capability development, end to end, but we won't seize that huge opportunity if we don't put our warfighters at the heart of our thinking on capability development.

Like so much in defence, success will come from working across organisational boundaries, not in our stovepipes. That will be a key focus for me as we implement defence reform.

Now the Industrial Strategy recognises these pressures and the need to change. That's why it stresses the need for industry to be brought much closer to UK defence through a new strategic partnership built on reform, innovation and growth.

We are in an era none of us in the Armed Forces today or industry have known. I was speaking to a group of officer trainees on my last day as the Chief of the Air Staff two weeks ago, and I explained to them that they are entering a period of historic growth in defence spending, which means for the first time in decades, we can plan for a stronger, more resilient military.

The opportunities for businesses of all sizes to scale up are enormous. So I welcome the focus on British jobs, British enterprise and British ingenuity, which we see all around us here at DSEI.

These are the people and the institutional foundations that we need to nurture so we're ready to adapt in wartime, but we need you to be world class. We need you to compete with the very best in the world, not only so the UK Armed Forces have the best kit in the world, but also that you can sell your stuff to our allies. That's what will drive real growth, and that means we need you to invest too.

Three and a half years on from Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine and with massive, massive planned increases in defence spending right across Europe, I'm surprised that I don't see shareholders investing to grow capacity and develop new proper products right across the enterprise.

We need to see industry partners step up, just as we are asking the taxpayer to step up, and we'll do what we can to support you in every way.

So to conclude with the benefit of six years of hindsight, the themes in my 2019 DSEI speech have proved enduring, but I'm not sure that many of us quite saw how urgent the modernisation of the Armed Forces would become.

So if we project ourselves six years into the future for a moment, how would the Chief of Defence Staff in 2031 react to the speech I have given today, I hope they would say that we embraced the why,answered the how and delivered the what.

I hope they say we accelerated the pace of change, working in partnership, by opening architectures, by digitising our acquisition systems, by simplifying our processes, by taking risks, and by blending the very best of the old and new in the defence industry.

I hope that they say, alongside the huge increase in defence spending, industry invested to improve its productivity and competitiveness, and this has led to rapid growth.

I also hope, as we build a force ready to deter, fight and win, we will have developed a system that applies the skills and capabilities of this remarkable nation to adapt faster and prevail against any adversary.

The Strategic Defence Review charts the course for defence reform, the Defence Industrial Strategy tells us how to progress, and the rising budget gives us the means.

So our task is clear. We have to get on with it so that we are ready to deter, fight and win today, tomorrow and together.

Thank you very much.



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SSU and National Police detain former 'overseer' of Olenivka colony and his accomplices who terrorized several regions of Ukraine

Security Service of Ukraine

13:30, 8 September 2025

The Security Service and the National Police have neutralized a criminal group that tried to terrorize residents of five Ukrainian regions. 12 gang members were detained, including the former 'overseer' of Olenivka colony.

The investigation established that the gang extorted money from entrepreneurs under the pretext of paying non-existent debts. If they refused to pay the 'tribute', the racketeers threatened with physical violence against the victims and their relatives.

It has been documented how the criminals extorted USD 800,000 from the owners of a family business in Prykarpattia.

In another episode, the gangsters demanded that a Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier hand over his savings. To pressure the Ukrainian defender, they promised to 'visit' his relatives and destroy all of his family's property.

The group's actions were coordinated by four criminal leaders who position themselves as 'overseers' of several cities in Ivano-Frankivsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

During a special operation, one of them was detained right at the border while attempting to flee to a neighboring EU country.

The other members of the gang were detained at their homes, as well as while receiving part of the 'tribute' from the victim.

In addition to the four 'overseers', the network's members included criminals, most of whom had served sentences for robbery, extortion, and other serious crimes.

During 28 searches of the suspects in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Khmelnytskyi regions, the investigators found:

almost 1.5 million in Hryvnia equivalent and seven premium cars;

firearms, smartphones, flash drives, bank cards, 'IOU notes' from victims, and other material evidence of crimes.

The detained individuals have been notified of suspicion under Article 189.4 of the CCU (extortion, committed by a group, upon prior conspiracy, under martial law).

The decision to declare them suspects under Articles 255-1 and 255-3 of the CCU (establishing or spreading criminal influence, appealing for the use of criminal influence) is pending.

The suspects are in custody. They face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.

The operation was carried out by the SSU Office in Ivano-Frankivsk region jointly with the National Police under the procedural supervision of the regional Prosecutor's Office.

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SSU detains FSB agent preparing terrorist attacks in Odesa

Security Service of Ukraine

12:00, 8 September 2025

The SSU Counterintelligence prevented a series of terrorist attacks in Odesa. As a result of a special operation, an enemy agent who manufactured improvised explosive devices for explosions in the port city has been detained.

As the investigation established, he placed the finished explosives in caches on the coast and sent their coordinates to the FSB.

The occupiers then sent the geolocations to the direct perpetrators of the terrorist attacks, who took the bombs from the hiding places.

The SSU detained one of these terrorists in July this year when she attempted to blow up the regional Territorial Recruitment Center in Odesa.

The agent currently in custody, who manufactured the explosive devices, is a 60-year-old Odesa resident. Previously, he had been a sailor on a merchant ship and, upon retirement, began working for russia's federal security service.

The individual was recruited while he was staying with his sister in russia at the start of the full-scale war. On the FSB's orders, the man later returned to Odessa via third countries.

Upon arrival in Ukraine, the agent first carried out test tasks for his handler, reporting to him on the consequences of russian strikes on the city.

Then the traitor instructed an accomplice on how to make IEDs and priority locations for caches for the bombs.

The perpetrator added metal nuts and bolts to the IEDs and equipped them with mobile phones for remote detonation.

The Security Service documented the agent's crimes and detained him at his home. A smartphone, which he used to contact the FSB, was seized from him.

SSU investigators notified the detainee of suspicion under Articles 15.3, 258.2 of the CCU (completed attempt to commit a terrorist act).

The suspect is in custody and faces up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.

The operational and investigative actions were carried out by the SSU Odesa Office under the procedural supervision of the regional Prosecutor's Office.

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Minister McGuinty attends 30th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group

National Defence

News release

September 9, 2025 - Brussels, Belgium - National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces

Today, the Honourable David McGuinty, Minister of National Defence, participated in the 30th Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting, hosted by the United Kingdom and Germany. The meeting was held virtually and brought together representatives from approximately 50 countries, who gathered to discuss the provision of military aid to Ukraine.

Minister McGuinty reiterated Canada's unwavering support to Ukraine, and highlighted Canada's latest allocated funding of military aid, announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney in Kyiv, Ukraine, on August 24, 2025:

Canada will donate approximately $835 million to procure a range of critical equipment for Ukraine, including armoured vehicles, medical equipment, spare parts, small arms, ammunition, and explosives, as well as additional drone capabilities and other urgently needed equipment and supplies for Ukraine.

Canada will donate approximately $680 million (USD $500 million) for the purchase of a NATO Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List package of military equipment sourced from the United States to strengthen Ukraine's air defence capabilities and provide other urgently needed military assistance.

Canada will donate $220 million to purchase drone, counter-drone, and electronic warfare capabilities, including investments in joint ventures between Ukrainian and Canadian industry, in line with the Letter of Intent on Canada-Ukraine Joint Production of Defence Material.

Canada will donate $165 million to support Canada's ongoing work in Ukraine Defense Contact Group Capability Coalitions, including efforts to source critical capabilities for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Canada will donate $100 million to source ammunition and explosives through the Czech Ammunition Initiative.

The Minister also confirmed that eight Armoured Combat Support Vehicles (ACSVs) were delivered to Poland and are on their way to Ukraine. All 50 of the ACSVs that Canada committed to Ukraine in 2023 are expected to be delivered by the end of this year.

Canada will continue to work with Allies and partners to provide Ukraine with the military aid that it needs to defend itself.

Quotes

"Ukrainians are fighting valiantly on the frontlines against Russia's illegal and unprovoked war. This package of comprehensive military aid will enable Ukraine to continue its battle for freedom, territorial integrity, and democracy. Canada commends the bravery and strength of Ukrainians, and we will continue to stand with Ukraine as it defends its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity." The Honourable David J. McGuinty, Minister of National Defence

Quick facts

Since February 2022, Canada has committed nearly $22 billion in multi-faceted assistance to Ukraine, including over $6.5 billion in military assistance. This includes multi-mission drones, armoured combat support vehicles, high-resolution cameras, large calibre ammunition, as well as small arms and ammunition. Canada is also contributing to multinational efforts to train pilots and maintain and support Ukraine's F-16s.

Canada also contributes to four Capability Coalitions under the UDCG, including the Air Force Capability Coalition, the Armour Capability Coalition, the Drone Capability Coalition and the IT Capability Coalition.

Canada further contributes to Euro-Atlantic security through our support to Ukraine. Operation (Op) UNIFIER is the Canadian Armed Forces' (CAF) military training and capacity building mission in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). Since 2015, the CAF has trained over 45,000 members of the AFU under Op UNIFIER. CAF members are deployed under Op UNIFIER in various roles, including to provide and coordinate training, and to facilitate and deliver military donations to Ukraine in coordination with Allies and partners. Canada also contributes personnel, including to key leadership positions to NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine, the NATO command that coordinates the provision of military equipment and training to Ukraine.



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Ukraine: speech by High Representative/Vice-President Kaja Kallas at the EP Plenary

European External Action Service (EEAS)

09.09.2025

Strasbourg, France

EEAS Press Team

Check against delivery!

Opening remarks

Good morning, dear President,

Dear Members of the European Parliament,

International efforts to end Russia's war have stepped up in the last few months. But Russia's response is more aggression. Over the weekend, Russia launched the largest aerial assault of this war so far. Putin has zero interest in peace, and he will not stop the war until he is forced to.

This is why the European Union and our Member States have provided almost 169 billion of financial support since the full-scale war started in 2022. This includes over 63 billion in military support for Ukraine. This year alone, Member States will provide more than ever before - 25 billion to date. They have now also provided 80 percent of our 2 million rounds of ammunition target. We aim for 100% by October.

This is all so that Ukraine can defend itself, can defend its civilians and push back the aggression.

Europe is also the largest backer of Ukraine's own defence industry through windfall profits from the Russian frozen assets. And Europeans have stuck together through 18 rounds of sanctions against Russia and those who enable Russia's war - four in the last nine months alone. International sanctions have already deprived Russia of at least $450 billion in war funds, including $154 billion in revenues from oil.

Europe was once the largest market for Russian energy, but not anymore. By 2027, hopefully we will not be importing any Russian gas and oil at all. The European Union has also sanctioned 444 shadow fleet ships that circumvent our sanctions and bring Russia illegal oil revenues.

Ukraine's bravery backed up by international support has already prevented Russia from achieving its military goals. But it is not enough. The only option we have is to: pile more pressure on Russia; provide more support to Ukraine; and prepare for the day after.

Honourable Members,

More pressure on Russia means more sanctions and continued work to address circumvention, including dismantling the shadow fleet. On sanctions, like I said, we are now working on the 19th package and collecting input from Member States.

We are also coordinating with partners, because the impact of internationally coordinated sanctions is much stronger than the EU acting alone.

Our message to Russia is simple: this war is not winnable. Leave the battlefield and come to the table with Ukraine.

When this happens, Russia must not be allowed to rearm and re-attack. We have been there before. And Putin has made no secret that Ukraine is just the start. Putin wants to re-establish Russia's pre-1991 Soviet sphere of influence.

But the West is united in providing security guarantees to Ukraine. There are now serious pledges on the table of the Coalition of the Willing. That is why a day after the Coalition of the Willing met last week, Putin threatened attacks on any Western presence on the ground - including peacekeepers. This is a serious escalation from Russia and directly undermines European security. Russia does not have a say in how we protect ourselves.

Honourable Members,

That is why the European Union will keep doing its part to protect the security of our continent. Work is undergoing under three main pillars.

First, the European Union has already trained close to 80,000 Ukrainian soldiers. We are the largest training provider of Ukraine's Armed Forces. And we have also started working on changing the mandate of our mission [EUMAM Ukraine] so that we can also train in Ukraine. The strongest security guarantee is a strong Ukrainian army.

Second, the European Union will also keep supporting internal security and resilience in Ukraine through our civilian mission [EUAM Ukraine]. We have already supported Ukraine's police force and helped strengthen the rule of law in the country. Today there are many more challenges to address, including those related to war.

And third, we will keep strengthening Ukraine's defence industry, including helping Ukraine produce more military hardware in the European Union. The EU is already actively encouraging Member States to team up with Ukraine to support them and learn from Ukraine's war experience. And we are steadily integrating Ukraine into the European defence industrial base, including incentivising joint procurement through SAFE.

Honourable Members,

Ukraine's accession to the European Union is something that gives hope to the Ukrainian people, the possibility to live free and prosper again.

Ukraine has already shown a remarkable evolution in its reforms, even in the midst of war, but my colleague will talk about that more. Accession is a merit-based process and Ukraine merits progress. It is time to open negotiations on Cluster 1.

This war will end. And when it does, Ukraine will recover and Russia will pay for the damage it has done. Russian sovereign assets should remain immobilised until Russia stops its war of aggression against Ukraine and compensates Ukraine for the billions of euros of damage it has caused and keeps causing. This is what the European Council has stated. It is essential that we deliver on this commitment.

Honourable Members,

What Russia may have thought inevitable is far from it. Russia has not broken Ukraine's resolve and it must not break ours. For those who doubt, do not. Ukraine's security is Europeans' security. And so long as Russia pursues its illegal war, we must continue to fight.

Thank you.

Link to the video (starting 0:57): https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/media/video/I-276512

Closing remarks

Thank you, Honourable Members.

I want to thank the European Parliament for your unwavering support for Ukraine and its people. They are living very hard times and you have been with them for three and a half years. So that is also reflected in Mr Gahler's report.

Your commitment has been crucial, not only for Ukraine, but also defending the very principles we Europeans stand for. We have stood united in this very turbulent time. Thank you for that.

Link to the video (starting 3:41): https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/media/video/I-276514

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Parties in Parliament discuss security arrangements for Ukraine

Finnish Government

Government Communications Department

Publication date 9.9.2025

Type:Press release

On Tuesday 9 September, the leaders of the parties in Parliament and the chairs of the parliamentary groups attended a meeting convened by Prime Minister Orpo, where they received an update on Ukraine and the progress of security arrangements.

The party leaders and group chairs agree that Finland will participate in the security arrangements for Ukraine. The exact form of Finland's participation will be further specified as the preparations continue.

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Ukraine submits second contribution to the EU Enlargement Package 2025

Ukraine Government

Service of the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, posted 09 September 2025 19:17

On 8 September, the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration within the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine submitted Ukraine's second report to the European Commission as part of the EU Enlargement Package 2025.

The approximately 800-page document covers the period from April to August 2025 and provides updated information on reforms and progress towards Ukraine's EU membership. This contribution complements the first report submitted to the European Commission in April. Over 135 state institutions contributed to its preparation.

The report includes detailed updates on the implementation of necessary reforms for each negotiation chapter within the six Clusters, as well as progress on fulfilling recommendations outlined in the European Commission's report under the 2024 EU Enlargement Package. Additionally, the document incorporates approaches to combating corruption and ensuring gender equality, along with updated statistics as of 2025.

"The second contribution to the EU Enlargement Package is not just a report on the work done but also evidence of our consistency and commitment to reforms. Ukraine is increasingly integrating European standards into its legal, economic, and institutional systems, even amidst a full-scale war. Ukraine is in the final stage of screening and expects to open negotiations on all six Clusters this year. This report is the result of the meticulous joint efforts of over a hundred state institutions working daily to ensure our country becomes a full-fledged EU member. We are grateful to the European Commission and our partners for their support on this path," commented Taras Kachka, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine.

This autumn, a new European Commission report on Ukraine's progress within the EU Enlargement Package is expected.

Background

The EU Enlargement Package is an annual European Commission document assessing the progress of each candidate and potential candidate country for EU membership.

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IOM Spokesperson on Recent Attacks in Ukraine

International Organization for Migration

09 September 2025

Geneva/Kyiv, 9 September 2025 -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) remains deeply concerned by the continued rise in civilian casualties across Ukraine. More than 20 people were killed in a strike on the village of Yarova in the Donetsk region today, according to Ukrainian authorities. This follows the 7 September attack on Kyiv that left three people dead, including a mother and a child. Casualties were also recorded in Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, and Kherson regions.

The civilian population in Ukraine continues to bear the heavy burden of the war, with Russian strikes hitting cities and villages on the frontline and beyond. In July 2025 alone, 286 deaths and 1,388 injuries were recorded by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the highest monthly toll since May 2022.

Displacement remains a defining feature of the crisis. According to IOM data, approximately 5.7 million people remain displaced globally, and 3.8 million are internally displaced within Ukraine, while 4.1 million people have returned either from internal displacement or from abroad.

IOM emphasizes the urgent need for actions that prioritize the protection of civilians and ensure essential humanitarian assistance. Since 2022, IOM has been among the first responders delivering aid to affected individuals and supporting the recovery of communities affected by hostilities and displacement.

IOM strongly supports the UN Secretary-General's renewed call for a ceasefire that would result in a just, comprehensive, and sustainable peace in Ukraine.

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NATO Secretary General meets UK Prime Minister and attends Ukraine Defence Contact Group in London

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

09 Sep. 2025

On Tuesday (9 September 2025), NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited London, where he participated in a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) to discuss continued support for Ukraine and met UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street.

The UGDC is an initiative involving more than 50 nations committed to supporting Ukraine through the provision of military aid. During the meeting, Mr Rutte made clear that Allies are united in ending Russia's war against Ukraine and ensuring Ukraine can secure a just and durable peace.

In his meeting with the Prime Minister, the Secretary General praised the United Kingdom for stepping up to enhance Allied security. He welcomed the commitment to raising defence spending, the expansion of its defence industry, and the leading role Britain has taken, alongside France, in convening the Coalition of the Willing that is working to design security guarantees for Ukraine.

During his visit to London, Mr Rutte also met UK Secretary of State for Defence John Healey, UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Yvette Cooper, Ukraine's Minister of Defence Dennis Shmyhal, and Germany's Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius.

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Zelenskyy Says 24 Dead In 'Brutal' Russian Strike On Ukraine's Donetsk Region

By RFE/RL September 09, 2025

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says 24 civilians were killed in a "frankly brutal" Russian air strike on a village in eastern Ukraine and called on the international community to respond with an "appropriate reaction."

Zelesnkyy said the strike aimed "directly at people, ordinary citizens" hit the village of Yarova in the Donetsk region on September 9.

It came just hours after Moscow said Ukrainian forces launched drone and missile attacks on two cities in Russia-occupied parts of the Donetsk region that left two people dead.

"A brutally savage Russian airstrike with an aerial bomb on the rural settlement of Yarova in the Donetsk region, Zelenskyy said on X. "Directly on people. Ordinary civilians. At the very moment when pensions were being disbursed. According to preliminary information, more than 20 people were killed. There are no words..."

After conveying his condolences to the families and loved one of the victims, the Ukrainian president also called for an "appropriate response from the world."

"The Russians continue destroying lives while avoiding new strong sanctions and new strong blows," he said. "The world must not remain silent. The world must not remain idle. A response is needed from the United States. A response is needed from Europe. A response is needed from the G20. Strong actions are needed to make Russia stop bringing death."

Zelenskyy's call for action comes as the Ukraine Contact Group, an alliance of over 50 countries including all NATO member states and several non-NATO partners, gathers for a meeting in London on September 9.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian attacks killed two people and injured 16, according to Denis Pushilin, a top Russian-installed figure in the occupied region. Ukrainian forces reportedly struck targets in Donetsk city and in Makiyivka, an industrial town north of Donetsk, Pushilin said late on September 8.

Security officials in the occupied areas said at least 20 drones were deployed in two assaults and that air defense units were activated. Russian news agencies quoted them as saying explosions were heard throughout Donetsk city.

A nine-story residential building in Makiyivka was reportedly hit by a drone, and videos on social media showed rocket strikes, including on an apparent former military surveillance systems factory in Donetsk.

Ukrainian officials have not commented on the attacks.

Russian forces control about 75 percent of the Donetsk region and are pushing to capture the rest of the area.

Andriy Yermak, a top Zelenskyy adviser, said he had spoken with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about strikes by the Russians against Ukrainian cities and residential buildings. He also took part in a video call with the national-security advisers of Britain, Germany, Italy, and France to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine.

Yermak said Ukraine's position in confronting Russian aggression must be strengthened after a government building was struck and set on fire over the weekend as part of Russia's largest air strike against Ukraine.

It was the first time since the start of its full-scale invasion in February 2022 that Russian forces struck a Ukrainian government building in Kyiv.

"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin understands only force, does not want to stop the war. It is necessary to continue pressure on the Russian Federation," Yermak said on Telegram.

More support for Ukraine, namely air defense and additional sanctions against Russia, was discussed with the European advisers, Yermak said.

US President Donald Trump said without elaborating over the weekend that he was ready to move to a second phase of sanctions against Russia.

The EU's top sanctions official was in Washington on September 8 with a team of experts to discuss what would be the first measures coordinated by the European Union and the United States against Russia since Trump returned to office.

Trump, who promised when he took office in January that he would end the war quickly, has repeatedly set deadlines for Moscow to agree a cease-fire or face tougher sanctions, but he has backed off the threat each time.

Senator Thom Tillis (Republican-North Carolina) said the United States needs to "up the pressure" on Putin and he believes that Ukraine deserves "fulsome support" from the United States and the rest of the Western world.

Speaking to CNN, Tillis said Putin received a red carpet greeting last month in Alaska and over the weekend in China at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and then returned to Russia and ordered the largest air assault since the beginning of the war.

"He is a liar. He is a murderer. He is responsible for the abduction and relocation of thousands of children. Rape, murder, and torture of Ukrainian women and men. It is time to stop and America needs to lead on this issue," Tillis said.

He added that Trump "has done a number of things to demonstrate that he was being patient, but now is the time to actually put Putin in a position where he is going to fail."

Senator Jeanne Shaheen (Democrat-New Hampshire), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Lisa Murkowski (Alaska-Republican) submitted a bill in late July to provide Ukraine with another $55 billion in aid to help force Moscow to the negotiating table.

The United States has allocated about $180 billion to Ukraine since the start of Russia's invasion but has not approved any new assistance since April 2024. Trump repeatedly criticized aid to Ukraine during the presidential campaign. Shaheen told a Washington conference on September 9 that some Republican lawmakers in Congress back weapons deliveries to Ukraine but fear Trump's wrath.

"I also think that there's still bipartisan support for Ukraine -- to fund the war in Ukraine -- and many of my colleagues will say that privately, but they're not willing to say it publicly because they're worried about what the President is going to say," she said.

With reporting by AP and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-sanctions- europe-trump-putin-zelenskyy/33525377.html

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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What We Know About Ukraine's Possible Reassurance Force

By Rikard Jozwiak September 09, 2025

Briefing #1: What A 'Reassurance Force' In Ukraine Could Look Like

What You Need To Know: The Coalition of the Willing, a grouping of over 20 Western countries, is inching closer to finalizing plans for some sort of "reassurance force" for Ukraine. Officials familiar with the talks claim that "discussions have intensified" in recent weeks in European capitals.

Briefing on background after the most recent talks in Paris on September 4, a senior European diplomat noted there has been "increased enthusiasm" for the initiative compared with earlier this year and they are taking "small steps forward" on several issues.

The sudden jolt of action in recent weeks is down to one big movement: The United States is paying attention to the project.

One diplomat speaking under condition of anonymity says Washington now can be seen as an "observer" of the coalition. Even without a concrete "American backstop" as European countries are seeking for the reassurance force to go ahead, both politically and militarily the United States has indicated one may be in the making, they added.

In what shape or form still remains to be seen, but it is believed that the most useful asset would be American intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), most likely from NATO eastern flank countries such as Poland and Romania.

Deep Background: Several unknowns still dominate the planning for a potential force beyond America's potential role -- crucially the political mandate of a mission and the rules of engagement.

When it comes to the mandate, two things are clear: The force would only become active if there is a cease-fire, and it can only operate upon an invitation from Ukraine. The latter is pretty straightforward, but the coalition is still keen to point out this is a decision by Kyiv and Kyiv only and that Russia cannot veto it in any way. This means it falls outside the auspices of the United Nations or the OSCE.

The coalition is also keen to avoid any form of international force that would include troops from more Kremlin-friendly countries such as Brazil, India, or China.

The cease-fire is a precondition for any boots on the ground, especially as no country is keen to assume any combat roles. Herein lies something of a dilemma as no European diplomat appears to believe the war is about to end anytime soon. Kaja Kallas, the EU foreign policy chief, said recently that she believes Moscow will ramp up the war effort going into the autumn and winter, and various European officials have backed this up by noting they see the conflict potentially dragging on for years.

Drilling Down:

 What about rules of engagement? So far, there isn't much agreement on those either. What is clear is the future force won't be on the contact line.

 The first line of defense is the Ukrainian Army, and the reassurance force comes as a second layer. There are still various options, but the idea is there should be land, sea, and air components.

 Turkey is the lead nation when it comes to the sea component, looking at making sure the Black Sea lanes are free for navigation and potentially being engaged in naval demining.

 Britain and France are expected to take the lead when it comes to the land forces and around eight other nations, mainly in the Nordic-Baltic region, have indicated they are ready to put boots on the ground, as well.

 The goal is to have 25,000-30,000 troops in Ukraine, but it may not be that many. Poland has indicated its role mainly will be that of a logistics hub for the force, while Germany is hesitating and would most probably need parliamentary approval to send any military, a potential obstacle many other nations face as well.

 Another dilemma here is many NATO eastern flank nations fear that officers for a future reassurance force will be pulled from the multinational troops of the NATO battalions placed in on their soil in recent years as a response to Russian aggression in Ukraine. Baltic diplomats in particular have warned the reassurance force mustn't create "gaps" in the military alliance's defense.

 The land component of the reassurance force would most likely be placed in western Ukraine, with the Lviv area being the most obvious location. The Yavoriv military base, which was used to train Ukrainian troops by Western army personnel before the Russian full-scale invasion, would according to some sources be a natural hub, especially if the reassurance force has a training component.

 Other options include placing forces around critical infrastructure such as airports and ports as well as in bigger cities like Odesa and Kyiv.

 The air component still needs to be worked out, but the idea is the skies over western Ukraine and eventually central Ukraine should be protected. But here the matter of rules of engagement becomes an issue, as no Western country is ready to, for example, shoot at Russian aircraft if they were to venture over Ukrainian skies -- thus creating a direct confrontation with the Kremlin.

Briefing #2: Ukraine And Moldova Remain Coupled For Now

What You Need To Know: The summer was full of speculation and hints from Brussels officials that Ukraine and Moldova might be separated on their respective paths to eventual EU membership.

The two Eastern European countries have been paired ever since both applied for membership of the bloc in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. They both got EU candidate status that summer, and in late 2023 EU member states signaled to both that accession talks could start.

But talks haven't started with either of them, and that has to do with Hungary blocking the entire process with Ukraine over what Budapest sees as Kyiv's discrimination of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine.

The Central European country held a consultative referendum earlier this year in which 95 percent of respondents were against Ukrainian EU membership. While most other EU member states dismissed this vote as another political stunt by Budapest, few think the country is willing to lift its veto to start the talks anytime soon.

Some think this is unfair to Moldova, as none of the 27 EU member states has anything against commencing negotiations with Chisinau.

Deep Background: The EU enlargement commissioner, Marta Kos, opened up on the idea of a formal decoupling when speaking to RFE/RL this spring. The idea seemed to gain traction over the summer when Brussels briefly was rattled by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's sudden move in July to limit the independence of two key anti-corruption agencies.

These sort of political "decouplings" have happened before, most recently last year as Albania was allowed to move forward with membership negotiations while Bulgaria has continued to veto the same steps for its neighbor North Macedonia.

But when the bloc's Europe ministers, which deal with enlargement issues, met in Denmark on September 1-2 there were no words about decoupling Moldova and Ukraine other than it was ruled out -- at least for now.

Drilling Down:

 The reason for this is threefold: a recognition not to give in to what many member states see as Hungarian blackmailing, the feeling that such a move would be strategically disadvantageous for both the EU and Ukraine at the moment, and that it would only have a limited impact on Moldova.

 On the first issue, there is an increasing frustration that Budapest is trying to dictate too much of the EU's policy toward Ukraine already. It's fair to say the country has been successful.

 EU institutional funding, via the European Peace Facility (EPF), for Ukrainian weapons has been blocked for two years already, and later this week European diplomats will most likely accept that Budapest -- together with Bratislava -- will manage to remove some oligarchs from the bloc's Russia sanctions blacklist in order to achieve unanimity for a six-month extension of all the restrictive measures.

 The thinking here is that rather than handing Hungary another win, it could be wise to wait until the Hungarian parliamentary election in April 2026 as polls show the opposition has a real chance of seizing power.

 This would not automatically mean a total reversal of Hungary's Ukraine policy, but few EU officials think while Ukraine is losing precious time, a few more months of waiting is insignificant in a bigger process that can drag on for years or possibly decades.

 Secondly, many of Ukraine's most ardent supporters in the club such as the Baltic states and the Czech Republic immediately started a diplomatic rearguard action against any type of decoupling as soon as rumors started spreading that it was considered.

 Lithuania authored a discussion paper, seen by RFE/RL, in which it argued that the EU-26 -- meaning the entire European Union bar Hungary -- should conduct informal negotiations with both Ukraine and Moldova in the meantime and that negotiations on most of the 33 accession chapters would be opened "in a fast-track manner when EU-27 support is rebuilt."

 Crucially, both France and Germany, the two EU heavyweights, came onboard against any decoupling now especially as the United States has signaled that Ukrainian NATO membership most likely is off the table in any potential future peace negotiation with Russia.

 In this sense, EU membership for Kyiv becomes even more pertinent according to most EU diplomats who see this as the most obvious political and security guarantee that European nations can offer the war-torn nation going forward.

 Finally, there were also signals from Moldova that even Chisinau wasn't too keen on decoupling, at least now. Many European officials had wanted to give the country's pro-EU government a boost ahead of what is expected to be a closely fought parliamentary election on September 28 by opening accession talks a few days or weeks before the vote.

 Others, both in EU capitals and in Chisinau, argued this would only have a limited outcome for two reasons. Firstly, few beyond the corridors of power in Brussels understand the technicalities or the significance of starting EU accession negotiations.

 As one EU diplomat put it to me: "People want to know when their country can join and what it means for them, not when some obscure diplomats meet."

 Secondly, there is a recognition among all EU candidate countries, but notably Moldova, that Ukraine's efforts to fight off the Russian invasion have reignited EU enlargement in general. Chisinau in fact jumped on the coattails of Ukraine in applying for EU membership back in 2022. For now, they will remain connected, but don't rule out that the decoupling debate might start again later in the year.

Looking Ahead

The European Union autumn political season is in full-swing again, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on September 10 will deliver her annual State of the European Union at the European Parliament plenary in Strasbourg.

The speech, which usually takes close to an hour, covers all her political priorities for the upcoming months. Look out for potential new priorities when it comes to sanctions on Russia or a renewed push for EU enlargement.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/wider-europe-jozwiak-eu-ukraine- moldova/33524862.html

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Ukraine Loses Over 515 Soldiers in Battles With Russian Forces - MoD

Sputnik News

20250909

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia's Battlegroup Tsentr has eliminated over 515 Ukrainian soldiers over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

"The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces amounted to over 515 soldiers, three armored combat vehicles, eight vehicles and a field artillery cannon," the ministry said.

Russia's Battlegroup Zapad has eliminated over 230 Ukrainian soldiers, while Battlegroup Vostok has eliminated over 240 Ukrainian fighters, the ministry said. Russia's Battlegroup Yug has eliminated over 240 Ukrainian soldiers in the past day, the statement said.

Russia's Battlegroup Sever has eliminated up to 165 Ukrainian soldiers, a tank, two armored combat vehicles, 11 motor vehicles, two field artillery guns, 11 ammunition and materiel depots in the past day, the ministry said.

Russia's Battlegroup Dnepr has eliminated up to 70 Ukrainian fighters, five motor vehicles, four electronic warfare stations, four ammunition and materiel depots over the past day, the statement added.

The Russian air defense systems shot down five cruise missiles, five HIMARS rockets and 230 UAVs, the ministry added.

 Sputnik

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Russia's strikes on Kyiv make a mockery of efforts to end its war in Ukraine: UK statement to OSCE Special Permanent Council

Speech

Ambassador Holland condemns Russia's latest aerial assaults on Ukraine which damaged a Ukrainian government building and diplomatic offices in Kyiv. They are part of a pattern of Russian actions which make a mockery of efforts to end its illegal war in Ukraine.

From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Neil Holland

Published 9 September 2025

Location: Vienna

Delivered on: 9 September 2025 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

Thank you, Mr Chair.

The United Kingdom condemns in the strongest possible terms this latest wave of Russian attacks on Ukraine over the weekend. This reprehensible assault on Kyiv and other cities was the heaviest aerial bombardment on Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began, involving more than 800 drones and 13 missiles. These strikes again killed Ukrainian civilians - including a mother and her baby - and destroyed homes. They hit power generation, transmission and distribution systems, increasing the suffering of Ukraine's civilian population by cutting off electricity and heating to homes, hospitals and schools. And for the first time, they damaged a building at the heart of Ukraine's civilian government, with what I understand was an Iskander ballistic missile.

As we all know, these attacks are not an isolated incident. They are part of a pattern of Russian actions which make a mockery of efforts to end this war. For example, on 28 August, Russia hit Kyiv's civilians and civilian infrastructure with 600 drones and 31 missiles. At least 23 people, including four children, were killed and dozens more injured. The offices of the British Council and the EU Delegation suffered extensive damage. And a guard at the British Council office was one of those injured and hospitalised by these attacks.

We are appalled by the suffering Russia's attacks have inflicted on civilians. We cannot allow this pattern to be normalised. It is not normal or remotely acceptable to use precision weapons to target civilians repeatedly in this way. The deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure is a violation of international humanitarian law. And with these latest aerial assaults, we are now seeing damage to government institutions in the centre of Ukraine's capital.

We extend our condolences to the families and friends of those affected by these latest Russian attacks.

Mr Chair, Ukraine have made absolutely clear their desire for peace. Russia's actions show the opposite. They are the actions of a regime that believes it can act with impunity.

Russia has not engaged seriously with peace efforts but has instead dragged-out talks and intensified the war. Alongside these brutal attacks on civilians, Russia continues to make ultra-maximalist demands which would be tantamount to Ukraine's surrender. We are clear that the only way to stop this destruction is to ramp up the pressure on President Putin, to force him to engage seriously in peace talks.

The United Kingdom is committed to a sustainable peace in Ukraine and will continue to stand resolutely with Ukraine and its people.

Thank you, Mr Chair.

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2 billion of military support for Ukraine secured through UK-led initiative

The International Fund for Ukraine has delivered thousands of drones, missiles, and radars for Ukraine

From: Ministry of Defence and The Rt Hon John Healey MP

Published 9 September 2025

More than 2 billion of military support for Ukraine has now been secured through the UK-led international fund for priority military equipment to support the most urgent requirements of Ukraine's Armed Forces.

It comes as the Defence Secretary hosted NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, along with Ukraine's Minister of Defence, Denys Shmyhal, and Germany's Minister of Defence, Boris Pistorius, for the 30th meeting of the 50-nation strong Ukraine Defence Contact Group dedicated to providing military support to Ukraine. This follows the Defence Secretary's fifth visit to Ukraine last week where he chaired a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing Defence Ministers from Kyiv.

As Russia's war in Ukraine intensifies - with the largest wave of Russian air strikes on Ukraine over the weekend since the illegal invasion began - the Defence Secretary said that Putin's attacks were only strengthening nations' unity for Ukraine and said that countries must "go further and go faster" in surging the right support into the hands of Ukrainian fighters.

Defence Secretary, John Healey MP, said:

Putin is escalating his attacks on Ukraine, so we must go further and go faster to surge vital military kit into the hands of Ukraine's war fighters. After my fifth visit to Ukraine last week, it was a pleasure to host Minister Shmyhal, Minister Pistorius, and NATO's Secretary General at the Ministry of Defence in London for the 50-nation strong Ukraine Defence Contact Group. We see Putin's aggression increasing, but this only strengthens our unity and our determination to step up military support for Ukraine. This 2 billion funding milestone from the UK-led International Fund for Ukraine is symbolic of unity, with 11 countries working together with the UK to ensure Ukraine receives the urgent support it needs to fight today, while the countries of the Coalition of the Willing continue work towards securing a just and lasting peace in the future.

The Defence Secretary announced that the UK-led International Fund for Ukraine (IFU) has delivered equipment including more than 1,000 air defence systems, more than 600 uncrewed aerial systems, electronic warfare systems, and air defence radars - with further deliveries due in the coming weeks.

Deliveries over the summer focused on equipment including tactical boats to help build up Ukraine's maritime forces to defend coastal and inland waterways, along with more air defence radars and vital artillery ammunition for the frontline. Supporting Ukraine's defence benefits wider European security, reducing economic uncertainty and supporting the Government's Plan for Change.

One-way attack drones also continue to be vital for Ukraine's defence. Over the next 12 months, the UK will fund the delivery of thousands of long-range one-way attack drones, built in the UK, and supporting our 100-year partnership with Ukraine.

The Defence Secretary will then host Defence Ministers from France, Germany, Italy, and Poland tomorrow (10 September) in London for the next meeting of the E5 group of countries, with Ukraine's Minister of Defence also due to attend. Discussions will focus on the situation in Ukraine, wider European security developments, nuclear cooperation, and investment in vital European defence industry.

The International Fund for Ukraine is administered and led by the UK Ministry of Defence to procure equipment using funds provided by Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Portugal, Sweden, and the UK.

Both the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary have been clear that the UK's national security - the foundation of the Government's Plan for Change - starts in Ukraine. The UK remains committed to securing a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, with 4.5 billion being spent on military support to Ukraine this year - the UK's highest ever level.

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Andrii Sybiha held phone talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria Georg Georgiev

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

09 September 2025 14:27

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha: "I had a call with my Bulgarian colleague and informed him about the latest horrible Russian strikes. I underscored that Putin not only rejects peace, but gets a sense of impunity and grows ever more aggressive when not facing appropriate responses to his terror. New pressure on Moscow is critical, including a strong next EU sanctions package, biting restrictions on energy, and personal sanctions. We discussed issues on the bilateral agenda of Ukrainian-Bulgarian relations, as well as mutual cooperation within international organizations, including the Council of Europe. I also underlined the need to swiftly open negotiation clusters and advance Ukraine's EU accession. I thanked Bulgaria for its consistent support for Ukraine. We are working together to protect our shared values, strengthen the Black Sea region and wider Europe."

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Comment of the MFA on the statements by the President of the Republic of Poland, Karol Nawrocki

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

09 September 2025 10:29

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has taken note of the recent statements made by the President of the Republic of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, regarding Ukraine's prospects for membership in NATO and the European Union.

Ukraine firmly believes that its security future is inseparably tied to NATO, while its political and economic development is aligned with integration into the European Union. Furthermore, the member states of the Coalition of the Willing have recently confirmed that Ukraine's EU membership constitutes one of the key elements of long-term security guarantees for our country.

At the same time, it is important to recognize that Ukraine's accession to both NATO and the EU is not solely a matter of national interest, but a critical factor in ensuring the stability and security of the entire European and Euro-Atlantic space. This is not an exaggeration, but a reflection of today's geopolitical reality.

We`d like to stress that this position has been consistently reaffirmed in official NATO and EU decisions, as well as in multiple statements by the leaders of partner countries  including Poland.

We are confident that discussions concerning Ukraine's future membership in NATO and the EU are not premature. On the contrary, they are strategically necessary in the context of the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine and the broader European security architecture.

We highly value the leadership that Poland has demonstrated since 2022 in supporting our country. This includes the provision of military assistance, the facilitation of a key logistics hub for international aid to Ukraine, and generous hospitality extended to millions of Ukrainian citizens forced to flee war.

We believe that this enduring solidarity shown by the Polish state and people lays a firm foundation for our shared European future.

Ukraine remains fully committed to close cooperation with all its partners  including the Republic of Poland  in pursuit of our strategic goal: full-fledged membership in both the European Union and NATO.

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30th Ramstein: How the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meetings strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities

Ministry of Defence of Ukraine

9 September, 2025, 12:46 PM EEST

Today, September 9, 2025, the 30th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) is taking place in London with the participation of Ukraine's Minister of Defence Denys Shmyhal, and chaired by the UK Secretary of State for Defence John Healey and German Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius.

The Ukraine Defense Contact Group meetings were named after Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where the first meeting was held. Each of these meetings yielded tangible results, marking a significant step in bolstering Ukraine's defense capabilities.

For more than three years of the Ramstein format, the allies have committed military assistance totaling over $145 billion. This enabled the Ukrainian military to receive critically necessary modern air defense systems, F-16 aircraft, tanks, armored vehicles, artillery shells, and other key resources to repel russian aggression.

With over 50 countries involved, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group has become a crucial platform for coordinating military assistance.

The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine provides an overview of the evolution of the Ramstein format and the key agreements made during the meetings.

Ramstein 1. The historic coalition of 40 countries representing the free world

April 22, 2022, Ramstein Air Base in Germany

Representatives from 40 nations gathered in Germany, where they decided to establish the Ukraine Defense Contact Group and hold monthly meetings to coordinate further steps.

Over 30 countries have committed to allocating more than $5 billion.

Ramstein 2. Harpoon, helicopters, tanks

May 23, 2022, online

For the first time, Ukraine received Harpoon missile launchers from Denmark to bolster its coastal defense, while Czechia provided fire support helicopters, tanks, and missile systems.

An agreement was reached to increase the supply of 155-mm artillery shells.

Ministers from Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ireland, and Colombia became part of the Group for the first time.

Ramstein 3. M 270 and HIMARS

June 15, 2022, NATO Headquarters in Brussels

Ukraine received long-range M270 multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) along with their lighter M142 HIMARS variant.

The supply of Harpoon missile launchers, artillery systems and shells, as well as helicopters, was continued.

Defense ministers from almost 50 countries, including Ecuador, Moldova, and Georgia, as well as representatives from NATO and EU states, participated in the meeting.

Ramstein 4. New commitments to the defense of land, airspace, and maritime areas

July 20, 2022, online

Due to security considerations, the details of the agreements were not announced. However, the meeting, in general, led to 'new commitments from partners, covering land, maritime, and air domains.'

Several countries have committed not only to supplying arms but also to providing training and education for Ukrainian military personnel in their operation.

Out of the 50 countries participating in the Ramstein, 30 have announced their commitment to supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine.

Ramstein 5. Three-tier air defense for Ukraine

September 8, 2022, Ramstein Air Base in Germany

Key priorities involved the development of a three-tier air and missile defense system and the enhancement of training for the Ukrainian military.

The United States announced a long-term support strategy and a new security aid package, while NATO provided winter gear.

Germany and the Netherlands facilitated demining training for the Ukrainian military.

Norway delivered AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.

Ramstein 6. Air defense, PzH 2000, and MARS II

October 12, 2022, NATO Headquarters in Brussels

The United States declared the provision of air defense systems, and Germany committed to supplying PzH 2000 self-propelled artillery systems along with MARS II multiple launch rocket systems.

The Netherlands provided missiles for air defense systems valued at $15 million.

Canada has announced an additional aid package valued at $47 million. The package included artillery shells, winter equipment and uniforms, cameras for drones, and satellite communication equipment.

Ramstein 7. The Hawk air defense systems and winterization initiatives

November 16, 2022, online

Sweden has committed to providing Ukraine with air defense systems.

Spain sent to Ukraine two additional Hawk launchers and missiles for them.

As one of the largest suppliers of winter gear, Canada has committed to providing a new tranche of aid.

Germany has committed to continuing the provision of air defense systems, artillery, and MLRS ammunition.

Greece has committed to providing 155-millimeter artillery shells.

Poland has committed to supplying additional artillery and anti-tank weapons, along with short-range air defense systems.

Ramstein 8. Patriot

January 20, 2023, Ramstein Air Base in Germany

Germany, the United States, and the Netherlands have committed to supplying Patriot surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems, with Canada supplying NASAMS and ammunition.

The United States allocated $2.5 billion, while Germany contributed $1 billion.

Ukraine has actively sought the transfer of advanced Western tanks, such as the American M1 Abrams and the German Leopard 2.

Ramstein 9. SAMP/T

February 14, 2023, NATO Headquarters in Brussels

France and Italy have initiated the process of providing the SAMP/T air defense system.

Germany, Canada, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands have initiated efforts to transfer Leopard tanks.

Another priority was to boost the operational tempo of the partners' defense sectors.

Ukraine was promised additional air defense systems, tanks, artillery, shells, as well as expanded training for military personnel.

Ramstein 10. Formation of an 'armored hammer'

March 15, 2023, online

Sweden delivered Leopard tanks and air defense system components.

Norway collaborated with the United States to facilitate the transfer of two NASAMS air defense systems.

The Netherlands initiated new contracts to secure the delivery of weapons to Ukraine.

Slovenia announced a contribution aimed at addressing several of Ukraine's priority needs, including armored vehicles.

Canada began transferring additional Leopard 2 tanks and announced a new military aid package for Ukraine. The package included, among other items, artillery shells and surface-to-air missiles.

The International Coalition agreed to support Ukraine with tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and other armored vehicles, alongside training programs for the Ukrainian military on new types of weaponry.

Ramstein 11. Training on Abrams tanks

April 21, 2023, Ramstein Air Base in Germany

A decision was made to commence training Ukrainian military personnel on Abrams M1A1 SA tanks.

The United States announced a new military aid package worth $325 million.

With a contribution of $29 million to the Comprehensive Aid Package Trust Fund, Canada has also supplied sniper rifles and radios for Leopard 2 tank operations.

An agreement was signed to establish a center in Poland for the maintenance and repair of Leopard 2 tanks, used as main battle tanks by Ukraine.

Ramstein 12. Training on F-16 fighter jets

May 25, 2023, online

An agreement was reached to provide training for Ukrainian pilots on 4th-generation fighter aircraft, including the F-16 fighter jets.

A decision was made to establish a new service center for Leopard tanks.

By May 2023, countries involved in the Ramstein initiative had committed $65 billion in military aid to Ukraine.

Ramstein 13. CV90

June 15, 2023, NATO Headquarters in Brussels

Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Norway, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Denmark, and the Netherlands announced plans to supply air defense systems, missiles, tanks, armored vehicles, reconnaissance and strike drones, and ammunition.

The Defence Ministers of Estonia and Luxembourg backed the initiative to establish an IT Coalition and agreed to assume a leading role in its establishment.

A declaration was signed with Slovakia and Czechia regarding the procurement and maintenance of CV90 infantry fighting vehicles.

Ramstein 14. Additional M113s

July 18, 2023, online

Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg provided M113 armored personnel carriers.

Ukrainian pilots have started training on F-16 fighter jets in Denmark and Romania.

Ramstein 15. The IT Coalition

September 19, 2023, Ramstein Air Base in Germany

Ukraine, Estonia, and Luxembourg have initiated the IT Coalition to develop a unified digital ecosystem for combat control and resource management within the Defence Forces.

The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and the Armed Forces of Ukraine have identified five critical clusters that need prompt attention: air defense, artillery, aviation, naval capabilities, and armored vehicles.

Ramstein 16. The United States is the leader of the Air Force Capability Coalition

October 11, 2023, NATO Headquarters in Brussels

The United States, alongside the Netherlands and Denmark, has assumed a leadership role in the Air Force Capability Coalition, aiding in advancing the Ukrainian Air Force.

The United Kingdom has announced the delivery of the cutting-edge MSI-DS Terrahawk Paladin air defense system to counter drones.

An announcement was also made regarding the establishment of Coalitions for air defense, artillery, and armored vehicles.

The mine-sweeping teams of the Bulgarian and Romanian Navies have started clearing the Black Sea near the Bulgarian coast to facilitate Ukraine's new maritime corridor.

Ramstein 17. Setting up the Capability Coalitions

November 22, 2023, online

A new Coalition for ground-based air defense capabilities was announced. Germany and France assumed leadership of the Coalition. A total of 20 countries have joined the Coalition.

The leader of the IT coalition, Estonia, has contributed funding for its activities.

The Maritime Capability Coalition was also announced, with the UK and Norway agreeing to explore ways to reinforce security in the Black Sea.

Ramstein 18. Deep strike

January 23, 2024, online

The partners committed to supplying deep strike weapons capable of destroying enemy positions behind the front lines.

It was agreed to adapt Western missiles to fit Ukraine's existing Soviet-era launch and air defense systems.

Ramstein 19. The Integrated Air and Missile Defense Coalition

February 14, 2024, online

The Integrated Air and Missile Defense Coalition, joined by 15 countries during the meeting, the Drone Coalition, joined by 9 countries, and the Demining Capability Coalition, joined by 15 countries, have officially commenced their work.

Efforts have begun on the joint production of ammunition.

Ramstein 20. The Drone Coalition is expanding

March 19, 2024, Ramstein Air Base in Germany

Ammunition is the key topic of the meeting. Numerous countries have announced aid packages with various caliber ammunition, including 155 mm, 152 mm, 105 mm, and more.

The inaugural meeting of the Capability Coalition Leaders Group at the level of Defence Ministers has been held.

Several new countries have joined the Drone Coalition, making their contributions. The Coalition has examined the potential for investment in Ukrainian drone manufacturers.

Ramstein 21. Aid has exceeded $95 billion

April 26, 2024, online

The United States and other members of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group have committed a total of over $95 billion in cumulative contributions since the onset of the invasion to assist Ukraine in defending against russian aggression.

The United States has announced the provision of additional Patriot missiles for Ukraine's air defense systems as part of an additional $6 billion (5.6 billion) aid package.

Ramstein 22. Additional Leopard tanks, YPR infantry fighting vehicles

May 20, 2024, online

Spain has committed to delivering 19 additional Leopard 2A4 tanks within the year.

The Netherlands has committed to providing YPR infantry fighting vehicles equipped with remote weapon control stations for fire support on the battlefield.

Ramstein 23. The Armored Vehicles and Maneuverability Coalition

June 13, 2024, NATO Headquarters in Brussels

The meeting centered around three main topics: air defense systems, the training of Ukrainian brigades abroad, and investments in Ukraine's defense industry.

A Letter of Intent has been signed regarding the Armored Vehicles and Maneuverability Coalition for Ukraine, with Poland, Germany, and Italy as the Coalition leaders. Thirteen nations have joined the Coalition.

Ramstein 24. Strikes on russia with Western weapons

September 6, 2024, Ramstein Air Base in Germany

The President of Ukraine emphasized the necessity of obtaining permission to deploy Western long-range weapons against military targets in russia.

The acceleration of military aid deliveries from the already agreed-upon packages and the expansion of training missions for Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets were discussed.

The United States has officially announced a new $250 million weapon package for Ukraine. The package comprised air defense missiles, HIMARS munitions, armored vehicles, and other weapons.

The Maritime Capability Coalition, led by the United Kingdom and Norway, formalized its activities by signing the Coalition Charter.

Ramstein 25. Development Strategy for the Defence Forces until 2027

January 9, 2025, Ramstein Air Base in Germany

Approved roadmaps for the development of the Ukrainian Defence Forces by 2027, developed within the framework of eight Capability Coalitions, namely: The Air Force Coalition, the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Coalition, the Maritime Capability Coalition, the Artillery Coalition, the Armored Vehicles and Maneuverability Coalition, the IT Coalition, the Drone Coalition, and the Demining Capability Coalition.

The United States has announced a new aid package worth $500 million, including air defense missiles, air-to-air missiles, and equipment for F-16 fighter jets.

Canada will provide assistance totaling CAD 440 million (including 100 million for the procurement of Ukrainian weapons under the 'Danish Model.')

The United Kingdom, in cooperation with NATO allies, pledged to deliver 30,000 new drones worth 45 million.

Norway will allocate NOK 700 million for drone procurement.

Germany will deliver six IRIS-T air defense systems and 50 interceptor missiles for these systems in 2025.

Iceland will fund the production of Ukrainian weapons under the 'Danish Model' with a contribution of EUR 2 million.

Ramstein 26. Leadership of the United Kingdom and Germany

February 12, 2025, Brussels

For the first time, a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group was chaired by UK Secretary of State for Defence John Healey and German Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius.

Denmark has completed the transfer of most of the announced F-16 fighter jets.

Sweden confirmed long-term support for Ukraine at a level of 2.3 billion per year, including 530 million allocated for drones, ammunition, and technology, and 250 million allocated under the 'Danish model.'

Norway announced 100 million for the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Coalition, 240 million for naval capabilities development, and 50 million for the Drone Coalition.

Ramstein 27. The Electronic Warfare (EW) Coalition

April 11, 2025, Brussels

Ukraine and Germany officially announced the formation of a new coalition, the Electronic Warfare Coalition, with 10 countries signing a joint Letter of Intent.

Germany promised to provide four IRIS-T air defense systems with 300 interceptor missiles for these systems, additional missiles for the Patriot systems, as well as Leopard-1 tanks, Marder infantry fighting vehicles, and thousands of artillery rounds. In total, additional aid through 2029 will amount to 11 billion.

The United Kingdom announced that it will provide 450 million in assistance, including hundreds of thousands of drones, radar systems, and maintenance of previously supplied equipment.

In total, Norway has increased its military support for 2025 to 5 billion. It also announced 1 billion in assistance, including funding for ammunition and air and missile defense systems.

Ramstein 28. Build with Ukraine

June 4, 2025, Brussels

Ukraine has announced the establishment of a new international initiative for the joint production of Ukrainian weapons in the member countries of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, to meet the urgent needs of the Defence Forces of Ukraine.

An agreement to provide up to 1.3 billion in 2025 to support Ukraine under the 'Danish model' has been reached. Denmark, Sweden, Canada, Norway, and Iceland have announced the first tranche of 428 million.

Ramstein 29. Procurement of U.S. weapons under the PURL initiative

July 21, 2025, online

The United States has initiated a new mechanism in cooperation with NATO, allowing European countries to procure American weaponry for Ukraine. European partners have co-financed the procurement.

Germany participated in the transfer of five Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine and announced the transfer of over 200,000 rounds of ammunition for Gepard systems, as well as funding for the procurement of Ukrainian long-range drones.

The Netherlands announced 200 million in support for interceptor drones and 125 million for the maintenance of F-16 aircraft.

Canada has allocated CAD 20 million for the maintenance of Ukrainian tanks.

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At the 'Ramstein' meeting, Denys Shmyhal outlined key initiatives to strengthen Ukraine's response to the aggressor

Ministry of Defence of Ukraine

9 September, 2025, 10:21 PM EEST

Today in London, the 30th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) in the 'Ramstein' format is taking place. Minister of Defence of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal emphasized the initiatives that are crucial for effectively countering russian aggression.

He thanked all partners for their 'tangible support during three years of full-scale war against russia.'

russia continues to escalate, and the response to the aggressor must be grounded in strength.

The Minister of Defence emphasized that it is vital for Ukraine to actively implement the following initiatives:

 PURL  it is essential to establish a clear schedule for regular funding and delivery of arms packages.

 $6 billion for drone production:

 Interceptor drones to defend our economy and civilians;

 FPV drones to hold the frontline;

 Strike drones to maintain pressure on russian military production and assets.

 To allocate $60 billion in partner countries' budgets for 2026 to strengthen the defense of Europe and Ukraine.

 Ten additional Patriot systems, plus missiles for Patriot, SAMP/T, NASAMS, IRIS-T, and HAWK systems.

"This is a critical concern, as russia intends to carry out new strikes against our energy sector and infrastructure. We are grateful to Germany for procuring two Patriot PAC-3 interceptor missile surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems," emphasized Denys Shmyhal.

 Sanctions and confiscation of frozen russian assets. Economic pressure should be intensified to leave russia with fewer resources for waging war.

"We can only prevail together, and only together can we secure peace in Europe. We thank all those who support Ukraine," stated Ukraine's Minister of Defence, Denys Shmyhal.

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Russians Continue to Kill - And It Is Terrifying That There Is Still No Strong Enough Response to It From Global Actors - Address by the President

President of Ukraine

9 September 2025 - 18:30

Dear Ukrainians!

Today, the Russians carried out a horrendous strike on the village of Yarova in the Donetsk region - a strike with a guided aerial bomb. The Russians knew full well what they were targeting, and they clearly saw that they were hitting civilians. These were ordinary people who were collecting their pensions. As of now, 24 people have been confirmed killed. My condolences. Another 19 were wounded. All of them are receiving the necessary assistance. And this is only one strike out of many that the Russians launch every day against Ukrainians - against our people, against our state. Russians continue to kill - and it is terrifying that there is still no strong enough response to it from global actors. This is precisely what Putin sees as permission to continue the war - if there is no strong pressure, if there are no decisive actions in response. Russia's economy and the Russian state must feel pain every time they kill, every time they strike like this.

Ever since this February, the Russians have been rejecting all ceasefire proposals. For weeks, Russia has been unable - and unwilling - to give any concrete response to the United States on a leaders' meeting format. Russia invests in war, and solely in war. The response must be strength. And we are talking about strengthening our air defense - quicker decisions on systems are needed, Patriots above all. I want to thank everyone who supports us in this. This weeks Ramstein meeting must give concrete results on air defense and on funds for the PURL initiative, which enables us to purchase American weapons. September must be productive for this program. I want to thank each country with which we are expanding our bilateral cooperation. Everything that gives us greater ability to protect lives - it all matters.

It is also crucial that sanctions against Russia continue to work and get stronger. Our team is working with Europeans, with Americans, with the G7 countries at every level: the Government, the Office team. There is an understanding that without new sanctions, there will be no progress in diplomacy and in all efforts to end this war. And time matters. For far too long, there has been no strengthening of pressure on Russia that would hit the Russian war machine directly, tangibly and without delay - precisely the sectors and industries that fuel aggression. Delayed economic effects do not work - the Russians prove this every time with new strikes. The Russians' killing of Ukrainians in Yarova today - ordinary civilians, elderly people simply waiting for their pensions - is a crime from any perspective. On such matters - on matters of human life - there is no division between West and East, between liberal democracies or any other systems. For everyone, this is clearly murder. And everyone who has ever said that the war must end should respond to this. China, India, Latin America, Japan, Europe, the Arab countries, the United States, or anyone else at all.

I have just spoken with the Prime Minister of Norway - we greatly value his support and appreciate his condolences. I also want to thank Antonio Costa, the European Commissioners, and others who have already spoken. Together, we must find a way to pressure Russia that could become the way toward ending this war. There are no other ways. I thank everyone who has enough resolve. I thank everyone who stands with us, with Ukraine!

Glory to Ukraine!

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Ihor Zhovkva Discussed the Outcomes of International Events Involving the President of Ukraine and the Country's EU Integration Priorities with EU Ambassadors

President of Ukraine

9 September 2025 - 18:56

Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Ihor Zhovkva, met with the Head of the European Union Delegation to Ukraine and the Ambassadors of EU member states.

During the meeting, they discussed the outcomes of events involving the President of Ukraine that took place last week: the Nordic-Baltic Eight meetings in Copenhagen, the Coalition of the Willing session in Paris, and the visits to Uzhhorod by the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, and the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico.

Ihor Zhovkva thanked the European Union and its member states for their unwavering support for Ukraine. He emphasized that the contribution of each country is important for achieving a just and sustainable peace.

Special attention was given to key components of security guarantees, strengthening sanctions pressure on Russia, and coordinating EU and U.S. actions on this matter.

The participants also discussed the European Union's enlargement policy, particularly regarding Ukraine's future membership.

"Ukraine's full EU membership is a key element of future security guarantees for our state. Ukraine is committed to continuing the reforms necessary for accession and is ready to cooperate closely with European partners along this path," Ihor Zhovkva stated.

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Following SSU investigation, 8 traitors who fought against Defense Forces on eastern front sentenced to 15 years in prison

Security Service of Ukraine

17:00, 9 September 2025

Following the investigations by the Security Service, another eight militants who fought against the Defense Forces in Donetsk oblast have been sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property.

Ukrainian defenders captured all the perpetrators during fierce battles on Kursk, Kramatorsk, and Lyman directions.

Those convicted include six residents of Luhansk region who voluntarily joined the occupation groupings of russia's Southern military district.

One of them is a resident of Sukhodilsk who joined the 30th motorized rifle regiment of the aggressor state. After a short training period, he was transferred to Sudzha, where he was captured.

Four militants served in the ranks of the occupiers' motorized rifle brigades as snipers and riflemen. They fired at the AFU positions near the villages of Verkhniokamyanske and Berestove.

Two others were residents of the temporarily occupied part of Donetsk oblast who first left for russia and later joined the 37th motorized rifle and 6th tank regiments of russia. As part of these units, they participated in the capture of the villages of Ukrainsk and Zelena Dolina.

The eighth is a resident of Crimea who joined the 299th parachute regiment of the aggressor state and guarded the occupiers' staffs near Bakhmut. He was then transferred to attack Chasiv Yar, where he was captured.

Based on the evidence collected by the Security Service, the court found the accused guilty of crimes under two Articles of the CCU:

111.1, 111.2 (high treason, committed under martial law);

111-1.7 (collaboration).

The investigations were carried out by the SSU Offices in Donetsk, Luhansk, and Sumy regions under the procedural supervision of regional Prosecutor's Offices.

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SSU detains agents who adjusted russian drone strikes on Odesa and Kirovohrad regions

Security Service of Ukraine

13:00, 9 September 2025

The SSU Counterintelligence has detained two agents of russia's federal security service who were adjusting russian missile and drone attacks on Odesa and Kirovohrad oblasts.

The perpetrators were residents of Odesa region who acted separately but had the same handler. Both were recruited by russia through Telegram channels.

One of them is a 33-year-old deserter who left his military unit in Kirovohrad region without permission and then leaked his unit's location to the FSB.

He also sent the occupiers the coordinates of the staff, training grounds, and routes of the Defense Forces towards the front.

After returning to Odesa region, the agent tried to get a job as a handyman at a defense plant. There, he planned to collect intelligence for the aggressor.

The SSU prevented the agent from infiltrating the Ukrainian defense industry and detained him at his home. Prior to this, the Security Service took action to protect the military unit where he had served.

Another enemy accomplice is a 49-year-old handyman from the village of Lymanske. He passed on to the FSB the movements and combat positions of mobile air defense groups during air raid alerts.

Smartphones with evidence of working for the russian special service were seized from the suspects during searches.

SSU investigators notified the perpetrators of suspicion under two Articles of the CCU, according to the actions committed:

111.2 (high treason, committed under martial law);

408.4 (desertion, committed under martial law).

The suspects are in custody without bail and face life imprisonment with confiscation of property.

The operational and investigative actions were carried out by the SSU Office in Donetsk and Luhansk regions under the procedural supervision of Donetsk Region Prosecutor's Office and Specialized Defense Prosecutor's Office of the Eastern region.

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Ukraine: Russian strike on village kills over 20, mostly pensioners

9 September 2025 - A Russian airstrike on a Ukrainian village in the frontline region of Donetsk on Tuesday has reportedly killed more than 20 - including many elderly civilians who were lining up to collect pension payments.

The attack on Yarova injured nearly 20 others. Many elderly civilians have decided to stay at home in frontline communities, despite the escalating danger from Russia's continuing offensive, said Assistant Secretary-General Matthias Schmale, the UN's top humanitarian official in the country.

"This lasting violence continues to tear lives apart. In recent days, the Donetsk region has seen a rise in civilian casualties and damage as hostilities have intensified," he said in a statement.

"On behalf of the United Nations and the humanitarian community, we stand with all families grieving their loved ones and with all those injured. Attacks affecting civilians as they go about their daily lives are unconscionable."

'Relentless' attacks on healthcare

Ambulances attacked, chronically ill patients lacking care and no peace in sight: for millions of Ukrainians, the run-up to another winter of war is just the latest life-or-death challenge they face, the UN health agency (WHO) said on Tuesday.

Speaking from Kyiv in the wake of deadly strikes on the Ukrainian capital by Russia on Sunday, WHO's representative in the country, Dr. Jarno Habicht, told reporters in Geneva that more than 800 drones and missiles were involved in the latest attack, making it one of the biggest since the start of the war in February 2022.

"This is a reality [which] many aid workers, humanitarians, but most importantly, millions of Ukrainians are living day and night," he said.

Mission to the frontline

Dr. Habicht described his recent mission to the frontline Zaporizhzhia region which he said had suffered "relentless" attacks, including on healthcare.

"The strikes are continuous," he insisted, explaining that WHO is constantly delivering medical kits to the facilities where patients with trauma injuries receive care. "We have daily injuries, unfortunately, across Ukraine," he said.

The WHO official pointed to a concerning 12 per cent year-on-year increase in attacks affecting health infrastructure in the country. One in four attacks is against an ambulance, he said.

"If we think about non-war environments, when anybody calls an ambulance, this is for a reason...This is for a reason of life and death," he said. "But in Ukraine, the ambulances are under attack."

According to UN humanitarian affairs coordination office, OCHA, on Monday, casualties from the latest attacks were reported in a number of other cities including Odesa, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kremenchuk, Kryvyi Rih and Kherson. Strikes also targeted energy infrastructure, disrupting power and water supplies ahead of the winter season, OCHA said.

"We need to prepare for a winter in war because we don't see peace in sight," Dr. Habicht insisted.

Following his Zaporizhzhia visit and discussion with the authorities and health workers there, he highlighted the need to keep heating stations open as the cold season approaches and ensure that clean water is available in healthcare facilities.

Dr. Habicht also underscored the magnitude of the mental health burden of the conflict, which will "stay for generations".

Urgent needs

According to WHO's latest Health Needs Assessment conducted in Ukraine in April, seven in 10 people reported mental health issues, anxiety, depression and severe stress over the last 12 months, "directly linked to attacks on civilian infrastructure".

The WHO representative added that as he visited hospital wards on Monday in Zaporizhzhia he saw a number of men and women over 60 needing rehabilitation support after suffering a stroke. "All the other diseases are continuing at the time of war," he said, stressing that "recovery cannot wait" for patients with chronic diseases such as cancer and heart conditions.

Increased funding is needed for the humanitarian response in Ukraine and to support recovery and restoration efforts. But only 35.5 per cent of the required resources (around $46 million) have been made available for humanitarian partners, allowing WHO and its partners to reach one million people out of its three million target.

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We firmly oppose directing the issue at China, says FM spokesperson on Trump's reported call on EU to impose new tariffs on India and China over Ukraine crisis

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Sep 10, 2025 04:18 PM

In response to media reports on that US President Donald Trump told European officials he's willing to impose sweeping new tariffs on India and China to push President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table with Ukraine - but only if EU nations do so as well, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said that "we firmly oppose directing the issue at China and we resolutely oppose the so-called economic pressure being imposed on China."

China has always maintained an objective and impartial position on the Ukraine crisis. China is neither the creator of this crisis nor a party to it, said Lin.

US President Donald Trump reportedly urged EU officials on Tuesday to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on China and India as part of a strategy to pressure Russia, according to a Reuters report, citing a US official and an EU diplomat. Chinese analysts believe that the US is wielding economic coercion to bind the EU to its strategic agenda, disregarding the severe impact that unjustified high tariffs on China and India could have on Europe's economy.

Trump made the request, which was conveyed via conference call, to EU sanctions envoy David O'Sullivan and other EU officials. The EU delegation is currently in Washington to discuss sanctions coordination. The EU diplomat said the US had indicated it was willing to impose similar tariffs if the European Union heeded the US request. "They are basically saying: We'll do this but you need to do it with us," the diplomat said, according to Reuters.

"We're ready to go, ready to go right now, but we're only going to do this if our European partners step up with us," one US official said. A second US official said Washington was prepared to "mirror" any tariffs on China and India imposed by the EU, potentially leading to a further increase in US levies on imports from both countries, according to a Financial Times report.

The latest news illustrates US typical diplomatic style - sending strong signals first, regardless of how difficult they may be to achieve, Sun Xiuwen, an associate professor at the Institute for Central Asian Studies at Lanzhou University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Recent US-EU talks on Ukraine, tariffs, and secondary sanctions reveal deep rifts, as both sides pursue their own interests while shifting responsibility, Wang Xiaoquan, an expert with the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

At the same time, US push for the EU to impose tariffs on China and India reflects mounting US pressure to bind Europe more closely to Washington's strategic agenda, according to Wang.

While the US is pressuring the EU to impose high tariffs on China and India, it is simultaneously pursuing negotiations with India, according to media reports. The Reuters report said that later on Tuesday, Trump suggested that the US could in fact boost trade with India, writing in an evening social media post that the US and India are working to address trade barriers between the nations. He added that he was looking forward to speaking with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

While Trump did hike tariffs on India over the summer by 25 percentage points in part due to its economic relationship with the Kremlin, Trump has yet to pull the trigger on the more punishing options he has floated, according to the Reuters report.

Wang noted that the US demand directly challenges Europe's core interests, deepening transatlantic frictions and internal rifts. Having already severed ties with Russia at heavy cost, Europe cannot afford to break with China and India, the expert emphasized.

Recent reports of US-EU discussions on potential sanctions against China and other countries over Russian oil highlight the ongoing push and pull in transatlantic relations, said Wang.

Washington's demand for the EU to impose tariffs on China and India reveals an attempt to turn Europe's economic interests into a tool of US strategy, reflecting a mind-set of sacrificing allies for US own gains. Should Europe follow suit, its much-touted "strategic autonomy" risks being reduced to hollow rhetoric, said experts, stressing that this is also a critical test of EU leaders' strategic vision and political resolve, urging them to uphold autonomy and composure rather than blindly follow the US, which would come at a heavy cost.

Trump on September 4 claimed that Europe must stop purchasing Russian oil and put economic pressure on China to try to bring about an end to Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to a CNN report citing a White House official.

In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Friday that "We firmly oppose directing the issue at China and imposing so-called 'economic pressure' on China."

In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Friday that "We firmly oppose directing the issue at China and imposing so-called 'economic pressure' on China."

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Ukraine receives EUR 1 billion from the EU - the eighth tranche of macro-financial assistance from frozen russian assets

Ukraine Government

Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, posted 10 September 2025 14:00

Today, Ukraine received the eighth tranche of EUR 1 billion from the EU under the G7 Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration for Ukraine (ERA) initiative.

In total, under ERA, the Ministry of Finance has already mobilized EUR 10 billion from the European Union. The remaining funds are expected to be disbursed to Ukraine in installments through the end of 2025.

The ERA mechanism provides EUR 50 billion to Ukraine, secured by future revenues generated from frozen russian assets. The EU's contribution amounts to EUR 18.1 billion (USD 20 billion).

Since February 2022, the European Union has been the largest provider of direct budget support to Ukraine - EUR 58.5 billion for priority State Budget expenditures. In the first eight months of 2025 alone, Ukraine has received more than EUR 16.5 billion from the EU.

"We are grateful to our European partners for their continuous and predictable support, which strengthens Ukraine's financial resilience. These funds will allow us to cover priority budget expenditures. With this support, we can ensure timely social payments, restore critically important infrastructure, and keep the economy stable even under extremely challenging conditions. The EU's financial assistance significantly enhances Ukraine's ability to withstand full-scale war and brings our victory closer," said Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko.

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Lithuania protests over Russia's ongoing terrorist attacks

Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Updated 2025-09-10

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania summoned today the charge d'affaires ad interim of the Russian Federation in Lithuania and handed a protest note over the continuous shelling of Ukraine.

More than 800 drones and 13 missiles of various types hit residential buildings, schools, kindergartens, and other civilian infrastructure in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities on Sunday. One missile struck the Ukrainian Government building. Two civilians, a young mother with a baby, were killed in the attack by the Russian Federation, and at least 16 other people were injured. On Tuesday, an airstrike on the village of Yarova in eastern Ukraine killed 24 civilians waiting to collect their monthly pension payments and injured nearly twice as many. The number of victims and damage due to another massive Russian attack overnight has not yet been assessed.

With these terrorist actions, Russia demonstrably rejects international efforts to end Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, achieve a ceasefire, and ensure sustainable and lasting peace. It once again demonstrates that all the statements by Russian representatives about openness to negotiations and peace were merely hypocrisy and stalling tactics.

Lithuania also protested the repeated violations of the Polish airspace tonight by the Russian drones. This attack constitutes a menacing escalation against Lithuania's strategic partner and NATO ally, and thus poses a threat to the collective security of NATO as a whole.

In the diplomatic note, the Republic of Lithuania demands an immediate end to the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the withdrawal of its occupying forces from the entire internationally recognised territory of Ukraine, and compensation for all damage suffered by Ukraine as a result of the Russian aggression.

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Poland says shot down drones violating its airspace during Russian attack on Ukraine

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 10 September 2025 9:28 AM

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk claims Russian drones violated the country's airspace during an aerial attack on neighboring Ukraine, calling it "an act of aggression."

In a post on X, Tusk said that the drones, which he claimed posed a direct threat, were intercepted and shot down by the Polish military, following repeated violations of the country's airspace overnight.

"Last night we experienced a violation of Polish airspace by a significant number of Russian drones," he said, adding that the Polish military has used weapons against the "invading objects".

Tusk further noted that an "operation related to multiple violations of Polish airspace is underway," adding that the government plans to convene an "extraordinary" cabinet meeting to address the issue.

He also claimed that the "large-scale provocation" was aimed at both the European Union and NATO member states.

In a post on X, NATO chief spokesperson Allison Hart also stated that air defenses of the US-led military alliance assisted in countering numerous drones that violated Polish airspace overnight.

Hart also said NATO chief Mark Rutte is in touch with Polish leadership and the military alliance is consulting closely with Poland.

She went on to say that NATO ambassadors are set to discuss the alliance's response to the drone incidents during their regular meeting on Wednesday morning.

The Polish military also reported that fighter jets were promptly deployed as more than a dozen drones entered the country's airspace, with both Polish and NATO military aircraft mobilized to ensure airspace safety.

"Polish and allied aircraft are operating in our airspace, while ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have been brought to the highest state of readiness," the operational command said.

An operation to collect debris from the intercepted drones is currently underway, it added.

Poland, a NATO member and a major supporter of Ukraine, hosts over a million Ukrainian refugees and serves as a key transit point for Western humanitarian and military aid to the war-torn country.

The war in Ukraine has plunged the already deteriorated relations between Russia and Poland, Ukraine's largest neighbor on its western border, to its lowest levels.

Last month, Warsaw alleged that a Russian military drone flew into its airspace and exploded in farmland in eastern Poland, calling the incident a "provocation".

In 2023, Poland also claimed that a Russian missile had crossed into its airspace to strike Ukraine.

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Time For NATO To Impose Defensive No-Fly Zone Over Western Ukraine, Analyst Peter Doran Says

By Todd Prince September 10, 2025

Russian drones entering Polish airspace represent more than a border violation, says Peter Doran, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Speaking with RFE/RL's Todd Prince after Poland became the first NATO state to shoot down Russian drones, he said Russian leader Vladimir Putin is probing Western defenses and challenging the alliance and US President Donald Trump to respond.

RFE/RL: This is the first time a NATO country took down Russian drones. How serious is this incident?

Peter Doran: The overnight incursion into Poland represents a significant escalation in Russia's efforts to shake NATO, shake the tree in NATO. This is an attempt to probe NATO responses, and more importantly, it is a direct challenge to President Trump's efforts to make peace in Ukraine.

RFE/RL: So why would Russia be doing this now?

Doran: I believe Vladimir Putin has miscalculated. His miscalculation is that Trump will not pressure him to end his expanded invasion of Ukraine. Even if the drones may or may not have gone off course or they were skirting around electronic warfare defenses of the Ukrainians, that is irrelevant.

A violation of NATO airspace is major. Putin is testing our Western response. And if the West fails to rally and demonstrate a unified front against this action, it will only get worse.

RFE/RL: What should a unified response look like? What actions should NATO take?

Doran: Thankfully, NATO has a lot of options at its disposal, and the United States should absolutely be in the lead. The most important one is to invoke not Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, but Article 4. That covers consultations between allies, and there are different levels of consultations.

But most importantly, this needs to be escalated to a NATO level under the North Atlantic Treaty using Article 4 consultations. That would be significant.

Article 4 has only been invoked seven times previously and only twice related to the war in Ukraine, first in 2014 and then again in 2022 after Russia expanded its invasion.

This is a significant escalation by Putin -- now violating NATO airspace -- and it requires an equally significant response from the alliance now.

RFE/RL: Following the consultations, what kind of actions do you think NATO might take?

Doran: We need a unified message from all of NATO communicating to Russia that future incursions will be met with the same forceful response, and together with Europe, the United States must now make good on President Trump's threat to increase economic sanctions and penalties on Russia.

Most importantly, this should cut off the flow of petro dollars that Putin needs to pay for this war. That's where he's weakest. That's where we should press hardest.

RFE/RL: What about deploying additional air defense to prevent future incursions?

Doran: NATO must absolutely double and triple up its air defenses along the front line with Russia.

But more importantly, this incursion comes at a time when European allies are trying to rapidly increase their defense spending.

And this event underscores the need to prioritize gaps in air defenses, not just along the front line, but for all NATO member states, including Germany, including Belgium, including the Netherlands.

Countries that are far away from Russia must take these kinds of threats seriously because Russia has the ability to challenge all of NATO.

RFE/RL: Could this additional NATO air defense also cover parts of Ukraine?

Doran: I think that the time is now for NATO to extend its air defense umbrella deeper into western Ukraine. Recall early in 2022 there was a consideration about a so-called "no fly zone."

Some members of the alliance were uncomfortable with this option because they feared it could be viewed by Putin as escalatory. However, Putin has now escalated against NATO, and the time is right to impose a defensive no fly zone over western Ukraine.

Source:

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Ranking Member Shaheen, Senator Tillis Issue Joint Statement on Russian Airstrike in Kyiv

Senate Foreign Relations Committee

September 10, 2025

WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), co-chairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group, released the following statement in response to Russia's recent airstrike on Kyiv, the largest airstrike since the start of the war:

"It has been three weeks since President Trump met with Vladimir Putin. Since that time, Putin met with fellow autocrats in Beijing to conspire against America and returned to Moscow to escalate his illegal invasion of Ukraine. Russia deliberately struck EU diplomatic facilities and other Western assets in Kyiva calculated provocation against America's allies. Russia has now launched the largest aerial assault since the invasion beganfiring more than 800 drones and missiles, setting Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers ablaze and killing civilians, including a mother and her infant.

"At the very moment Putin escalates, the United States appears to be cutting back. Programs like Section 333 security cooperation, which includes the Baltic Security Initiativelifelines for NATO's eastern flankare now on the chopping block, even as Europe takes on more of the burden. The message this sends is dangerous: that the United States is pulling back just as the stakes in Ukraine and for NATO's security are at their highest. Our adversaries are taking note that they can wait out American supportthat does not make America safer.

"Putin has shown us time and again that he is a liar and a murderer. He never wanted peace. Congress should swiftly pass legislation that imposes crippling sanctions on Putin's regime and cement continued U.S. military support to Ukraine and NATO's Eastern Flank. America must not hand Putin an advantage; the cost of inaction to America's security is too high."

###

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PM call with the leaders of Ukraine, Poland, Italy and the NATO Secretary General: 10 September 2025

Press release

The Prime Minister spoke to the leaders of Ukraine, Poland and Italy, as well as the NATO Secretary General this afternoon.

From: Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street and The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP

Published 10 September 2025

The Prime Minister spoke to the leaders of Ukraine, Poland and Italy, as well as the NATO Secretary General this afternoon.

The Prime Minister began by condemning the outrageous violation of Poland's airspace. This highlighted Russia's increased recklessness in recent weeks, including their attacks on the Cabinet of Ministers building, British Council and EU Delegation buildings in Kyiv, he added.

Russia's ongoing aggression was unacceptable and continued to show why President Putin had no interest in peace, the Prime Minister added.

The UK stood ready to support NATO and Poland to continue to defend the Alliance in the coming days and weeks, while also working with allies to step up support for Ukraine to ensure it had the capability and air defence it required, the Prime Minister said.

The Secretary General updated on the meeting of the North Atlantic Council earlier today, and the leaders paid tribute to Poland's swift response to this morning's events.

The leaders agreed to stay in close touch.

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Groundbreaking Ukraine tech sharing agreement to deliver drones and support jobs

Press release

'First of its kind' industrial partnership allows the UK and Ukraine to share detailed designs for cutting-edge air defence drones and other equipment.

From: Ministry of Defence, The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP and The Rt Hon John Healey MP

Published 10 September 2025

The UK will manufacture and jointly develop cutting-edge military equipment with Ukrainian industry through a groundbreaking new technology sharing agreement which will support British jobs and strengthen both UK and Ukrainian national security.

The first joint project, to be announced at the DSEI trade show in London tomorrow (Thursday), is an advanced new air defence interceptor drone, named Project OCTOPUS, which will be mass produced in the UK, with a target to produce thousands per month to provide to Ukraine to support its ongoing fight for freedom against Putin's illegal full-scale invasion.

Interceptor drones are considerably cheaper than regular air defence missiles and are proving to be highly effective in countering the waves of one-way attack drones Russia continues to launch at Ukraine's cities. They fly quickly to intercept incoming drones and missiles, destroying them before they reach their targets.

They will help Ukraine defend against aerial attacks such as Russia's reckless overnight attack against western Ukraine, which saw Poland and NATO scramble to intercept Russian drones that entered Polish airspace. The Prime Minister and Defence Secretary both condemned Russia's attack, voicing support for Poland.

The new tech sharing agreement has been made possible as a result of the growing industrial partnership between the UK and Ukraine, announced by the Prime Minister after meeting President Zelenskyy this summer. Last week, Defence Secretary John Healey visited Kyiv and signed an expansion to the partnership, allowing sharing and joint development of intellectual property.

The technology sharing arrangement is among the first of its kind signed with Ukraine, allowing for unprecedented collaboration between British and Ukrainian companies, in a move that provides options to expand industrial capacity and harness defence as an engine for growth - supporting investment and delivering on the government's Plan for Change.

It comes as the government announced hundreds of millions of pounds of new investment through the Defence Industrial Strategy this week to make defence an engine for growth, with 250 million of new funding to for new defence growth deals across the UK, and 182m to fund a new skills package to be delivered by five new defence technical excellence colleges, to train and upskill thousands of workers.

The Defence Secretary will hail the new strategy in his speech at the DSEI defence trade show in London on Thursday afternoon.

Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, said:

As Russia continues its egregious and unrelenting attacks on Ukraine, the UK's support will not falter, and we alongside our allies will continue to step up. This new partnership is a landmark moment, bringing together British and Ukrainian ingenuity to deliver cutting-edge defence drone technology to fight back against Russian aggression. By harnessing the strength of our world-class defence industry, we are not only helping Ukraine defend itself against Putin's barbaric attacks, but we are also creating British jobs, driving growth, and securing our own future. This is all delivering on our Plan for Change.

Defence Secretary John Healey MP said:

The Strategic Defence Review set us the challenge to learn the lessons from the war in Ukraine. Through this groundbreaking industrial partnership with Ukraine, and our new Defence Industrial Strategy, we are revving up our world-leading defence industry. We will innovate at a wartime pace, support UK and Ukrainian security, and boost jobs here in Britain. This deal is a first of its kind, giving UK industry unprecedented access to the latest equipment designs, supporting Ukraine in its fight to defend against Putin's illegal invasion and showing how defence can be an engine for growth as we deliver on our Plan for Change. The Ukrainians continue to fight with huge courage, military and civilian alike. The UK will continue stepping up for to support them in the fight tonight, while we work together through the Coalition of the Willing to secure a just and lasting peace for Ukraine in the future.

The drone developed under Project OCTOPUS was designed by Ukraine with support from UK scientists and technicians and has already proved successful on the battlefield, proving highly effective against the Shahed one-way attack drone variants used by Russia - despite costing less than 10% to produce than the drones they are designed to intercept.

The Defence Secretary has hosted his Ukrainian counterpart, Denys Shmyhal, and other European Defence Ministers in London this week for the latest meeting of the 50-nation strong group dedicated to providing military support for Ukraine, co-led by the UK and Germany. During the Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting, he confirmed the UK-led International Fund for Ukraine had surpassed 2 billion in funding commitments from the UK and 11 other countries.

The growing industrial collaboration delivers on the 100-Year Partnership signed between the UK and Ukraine in January, while supporting the priorities set out by the Defence Secretary to ensure Ukraine is supported to defend itself against Putin's illegal invasion now, as well as to deter against threats in the future.

The Prime Minister and Defence Secretary have both highlighted how supporting Ukraine is essential to the security of Europe and the UK, with national security acting as a foundation of the government's Plan for Change.

The UK remains fully committed to securing a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and is engaging with key allies in support of this effort, which is why 4.5bn is being spent on military support to Ukraine this year, the largest amount provided to date. Last month on Ukrainian Independence Day, the Defence Secretary confirmed the UK's world-leading programme of training for Ukrainian recruits would continue through 2026.

In March, the Prime Minister announced a historic 1.6 billion deal to provide more than five thousand air defence missiles for Ukraine - creating 200 new jobs and supporting a further 700. The UK will also invest a record 350m this year to increase the supply of drones to Ukraine from a target of 10,000 in 2024 to 100,000 in 2025.

The government's new Defence Industrial Strategy will equip the UK workforce with the expertise needed to meet the new era of threat set out in the Strategic Defence Review and the demands of a rapidly evolving defence sector to innovate at a wartime pace.

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Andrii Sybiha held phone talks with Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Noel Barrot

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

10 September 2025 19:31

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha: "I spoke with Jean-Noel Barrot about Russia's escalation of terror: murderous strikes on civilians, government quarters, and drone incursion into Poland. By deliberately violating Polish airspace Russia is testing Western responses. And these responses must be strong. Pressure on Moscow must be increased without delay, both by Europe and the United States. We must end Russia's war financing. Ukraine needs additional air defense capabilities, especially ahead of the winter season. We need to enable the use of partner air defense together with Ukrainian one to intercept Russian missiles and drones together. It's not the time for weak responses; they can only encourage further aggression. It's time for peace through strength and real action."

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Support for Ukraine set to strengthen: Highlights of the 30th Ramstein-format meeting

Ministry of Defence of Ukraine

10 September, 2025, 10:34 AM EEST

During the 30th Ramstein-format meeting, Ukraine received a significant signal that global support for the country will persist and intensify.

The Minister of Defence of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, outlined the key agreements reached at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (Ramstein-format) meeting:

EU:

The commitment to provide 2 million rounds of ammunition, with 80% of this amount already accumulated.

Plans to potentially allocate 6.6 billion from the European Peace Facility for the procurement of U.S. weaponry for Ukraine.

Investments in the defense industry facilitated through the SAFE mechanism.

4 billion expected in October and 4 billion in November to support Ukraine.

Germany:

Delivery of two Patriot systems.

A 500 million contribution to the PURL initiative.

300 million in funding for the procurement of Ukrainian long-range drones.

The United Kingdom:

Funding for several thousand long-range strike drones to be manufactured in the UK and delivered to Ukraine over the next 12 months.

Norway:

Allocation of USD 8 billion to support Ukraine in 2026.

Finalization of the contract for interceptor drones.

Supply of weapons for a brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, to be jointly equipped by the Scandinavian and Baltic countries, and the launch of a joint training center for Ukrainian military personnel.

Denmark:

Launch of a joint venture with Ukraine for the production of long-range weapons.

Canada:

A $500 million contribution to the PURL initiative.

$220 million for the financing of Ukrainian drones and other forms of military assistance.

$165 million to support the development of the Capability Coalitions.

Sweden:

Finalization of the new 20th aid package.

Lithuania:

A 30 million contribution to the PURL initiative.

Allocation of 30 million to fund Patriot systems to be supplied by Germany.

Czechia:

Delivery of more than 1 million rounds of ammunition in 2025.

Delivery of more than 80 units of equipment.

61 million aid package in preparation.

Training of F-16 instructor pilots.

Belgium:

Allocation of 100 million to the PURL initiative.

Preparation of a new military aid package.

Luxembourg:

Joining the PURL initiative.

The Netherlands:

1.2 billion in assistance by the end of the year.

450 million for the JUMPSTART initiative to support and sustain F-16 aircraft in Ukraine.

Investments in two 'deep strike' projects, open for participation by other partners.

Poland:

Preparation of a new military aid package set to be delivered to Ukraine shortly.

10,000 shells of 155 mm caliber are scheduled for delivery within the next week.

Spain:

Delivery of ammunition for the IRIS-T air defense system.

Latvia:

Delivery of a 2.5 million support package.

A 5 million contribution to the PURL initiative.

Deliveries of Patria armored personnel carriers to a brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

France:

Accelerating the execution of joint industrial projects, particularly in the areas of ammunition and drones.

Delivery of Mirage aircraft and support for Ukraine's aviation capabilities

"I thank our partners for a productive meeting and the significant agreements reached.

I am grateful to the United States for launching this powerful mechanism of assistance to Ukraine. Special thanks to UK Secretary of State for Defence John Healey and German Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius for supporting the format," said Ukraine's Defence Minister, Denys Shmyhal.

He further thanked NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte for initiating the PURL initiative, which has become a highly effective instrument of support for Ukraine's military.

According to Ukraine's Minister of Defence, NATO's role in developing the 'Ramstein' format will continue to grow, particularly in coordinating efforts among partners.

"The solidarity of the free world and the consistent support of the Defence Forces of Ukraine are key to a lasting and just peace,' added Denys Shmyhal.

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Denys Shmyhal: PURL support program has already brought together 11 countries

Ministry of Defence of Ukraine

10 September, 2025, 2:37 PM EEST

Minister of Defence of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, met with NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, and emphasized NATO's determination and steadfast support for Ukraine.

The parties discussed Ukraine's urgent defense needs. The Minister of Defence of Ukraine highlighted the effectiveness of the PURL support program, which has already brought together 11 countries.

"Our partners understand that the kremlin has no intention of stopping. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen assistance to Ukraine and increase pressure on the aggressor. To this end, we coordinated our subsequent actions," said Denys Shmyhal.

He also underscored that Mr. Rutte's address at the Ramstein-format meeting once again reaffirmed NATO's determination and steadfast support for Ukraine.

"We value NATO's role in ensuring close coordination among partners, particularly in the 'Ramstein' format. We look forward to further deepening cooperation and strengthening our defense capabilities," concluded the Minister of Defence of Ukraine.

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Leaders of Ukraine, Poland, the United Kingdom, Italy, and the NATO Secretary General Discussed Current Challenges and Potential Threats from Russia

President of Ukraine

10 September 2025 - 20:56

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a call with Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer, President of the Council of Ministers of Italy Giorgia Meloni, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

First, the leaders discussed the Russian drones launched against Ukraine last night that also entered Polish airspace. Incidents with one or two Russian drones had already occurred before in NATO's eastern flank countries, including a few weeks ago in Romania. But this time the number of Russian drones was much larger, the brazenness much greater - the drones entered not only through Ukrainian territory but also from Belarus. The leaders have a shared understanding that this is a completely different level of escalation from the Russian Federation, deliberate, and that there must be an appropriate response.

The Prime Minister of Poland informed about the consequences and circumstances already established. According to him, debris from Russian drones, including Iranian "shaheds", was found in many Polish towns and villages. Since last night, Ukrainian military personnel have been sharing all available information with their Polish partners. This cooperation continues.

The leaders agreed that there are several reasons for such brazen behavior from Russia, and they are absolutely obvious. Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine and its partners must work on a joint air defense system and create an effective air shield over Europe. Ukraine has long proposed this, and there are concrete solutions. He also emphasized the need to respond together to all current challenges and to be ready for potential threats to all Europeans in the future. According to him, it is important to significantly increase funding for the production of Ukrainian interceptor drones, which have already proven their effectiveness.

The Head of State offered Poland assistance, training, and expertise in shooting down Russian drones, particularly "shaheds". Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Tusk agreed on appropriate cooperation at the military level. Coordination with all NATO member states will also continue.

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Ukraine Proposes to Defend Airspace in a Coordinated, Thoughtful and Joint Manner - Address by the President

President of Ukraine

10 September 2025 - 20:35

I wish you good health, fellow Ukrainians!

It has been a long day. I've been in constant contact with our military during the massive Russian strike last night and afterwards throughout the day. Over four hundred Russian drones were launched, mostly "shaheds," and more than forty missiles of various types, including ballistic ones. Fortunately, Ukrainian forces shot down the majority of them. I thank each of our units. Yet, sadly, there were still hits, and infrastructure was damaged in different regions, including ordinary homes. Since 1 a.m., our military tracked the movement of Russian drones toward the Polish border. And this movement was not an accident or a mistake - it was deliberate. The Russians used both Ukrainian and Belarusian territory to enter Polish airspace. Almost two dozen drones entered Poland, and it seems that less than half of the total number came from the Ukrainian side. This was a calculated Russian activity. And we all saw the result - how difficult it was to counter. Ukraine offered Poland the necessary assistance in responding. No one can guarantee that there won't be hundreds of drones if there are already dozens. Only united European forces can give real protection. We are ready to assist with technology, crew training, and the necessary intelligence. But so far, Russia has not yet faced a tough reaction from global leaders to what the Russians are doing - a reaction precisely with actions. There are more than enough statements, but there is still a shortage of actions. The Russians are testing the limits of what is possible. They are testing reactions. They are watching closely how NATO armed forces act: what they can do and what they cannot do yet. Joint Russian-Belarusian exercises have now begun on Belarusian territory. And this may well be part of their "training plan", so to speak. We also see the Russian disinformation campaign targeting both Poland and Ukraine. We see how the Russians are trying to humiliate Poland. That's why strong countermeasures are vital, done in the right way. Ukraine proposes to defend airspace in a coordinated, thoughtful and joint manner. We have presented to our partners how this can be achieved. The details are clear - how to prevent the war from expanding and how to stop Russia's escalatory steps. There are absolutely enough joint forces for this. There is a lot of international work on this today among all leaders. I thank every leader who has supported Poland, who supports Ukraine, who understands the threat to countries on the eastern flank, and that it is drones that Russia now employs as its key weapon for killing and destabilizing. Still, the missile threat has not lessened. Russia continues to expand its military-industrial capacity. We discussed all this with European leaders, including Polish Prime Minister Tusk, UK Prime Minister Starmer, Italian Council of Ministers President Meloni, and NATO Secretary General Rutte. It is important to continue coordinating. We agreed that our military and representatives from the Ukrainian and Polish Ministries of Defense will meet soon. I instructed our military to present all the experience we have in countering drones.

I also spoke with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. Today she presented the fundamental priorities of the European Commission, and it is important that Europe will be even stronger. Among many things is funding for defense, including 6 billion euro for drones for Ukraine. This is a significant support for us. We are counting on the SAFE instrument, a large EU defense program, in which Ukraine should be a full participant. I want to express particular gratitude to Ursula for her readiness to help us with very sensitive social issues, namely, funding for Ukrainian children - for school meals, free meals for all our children. Gradually, this year, we will do everything to fully fund this school program.

And one more thing.

I am expecting a detailed report from Ukraine's Minister of Defense, Denys Shmyhal, regarding Ramstein. I have been in contact with him today. There are results regarding new air defense systems for Ukraine. There is readiness from partners to continue funding the PURL program - for the procurement of U.S. weapons. We are also discussing additional funds for the production of our Ukrainian weapons - including long-range drones - so that Russia feels what a response to the war looks like. We are also working on equipping our brigades.

I thank everyone who is helping us. I thank everyone who understands that Russia only listens to strength and takes only the strong into account. Ukraine, all of Europe, all our partners must be strong. And we are very much counting on a strong response from the United States.

Glory to Ukraine!

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy Had a Phone Call with Ursula von der Leyen

President of Ukraine

10 September 2025 - 19:49

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a phone call with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

The Head of State thanked the President of the European Commission for the strong State of the Union Address to the European Parliament and the clear message regarding EUR 6 billion for drone production in Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized the need to find even more ways to use frozen Russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine.

Ursula von der Leyen informed the Ukrainian leader about joint work with American partners on strengthening sanctions against Russia.

Special attention was paid to support for Ukrainian children. The President of the European Commission confirmed that the European Union will help finance free school meals. The leaders also coordinated further steps for the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ursula von der Leyen agreed to stay in contact.

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Ukraine Synchronized Sanctions with the United Kingdom and Imposed Restrictions on Entities Supporting Russia's Military-Industrial Complex, Shadow Fleet, and Energy Sector



President of Ukraine

10 September 2025 - 16:41

Ukraine has synchronized its sanctions with the United Kingdom and imposed restrictions on entities supporting Russia's military-industrial complex, shadow fleet, and energy sector. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the relevant decrees implementing the decisions of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine regarding the introduction of these sanctions.

As part of the sanctions synchronization with the United Kingdom, Ukraine applied restrictive measures against 47 individuals and 81 legal entities that supply electronics to Russia, extract coal in temporarily occupied territories, carry out repair work in mines, and are involved in the operation of the Russian Federation's shadow fleet. Among them are companies already under U.S. sanctions, including one of Russia's largest coal suppliers, Stroyservis, and the Russian coal extraction and processing company Russian Energy Group.

Ukraine consistently synchronizes partner sanctions and continues working to ensure that Ukrainian sanctions measures are aligned across allied jurisdictions.

Additionally, Ukraine has applied sanctions against 37 individuals and 35 legal entities involved in the supply and implementation of IT solutions for Russia's military-industrial complex. These entities are engaged in the supply, development, production, and maintenance of electronic warfare systems, telecommunications, electronic components, and equipment for Russia's military-industrial complex and security forces, as well as in the supply of imported equipment and components circumventing sanctions.

Notable among them are Sitronics KT, which develops comprehensive IT solutions for Russia's military-industrial complex; SINTO, an IT solutions provider and one of Russia's largest system integrators; Baltinfokom, a computer and software manufacturer cooperating with Russian security agencies; the Bee Pitron group, which technically re-equips Russian military enterprises; and Precise Mechanics, a Belarusian manufacturer of parts and equipment for Russia's aviation, automotive, and space industries.

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SSU, OPG and SBI expose NABU official on false declarations and concealing real estate

Security Service of Ukraine

12:15, 10 September 2025

The Security Service of Ukraine, the Office of the Prosecutor General, and the State Bureau of Investigations exposed the deputy head of one of the NABU detective units for a criminal offence. According to the investigation, the official attempted to conceal real estate that he had purchased during the full-scale invasion but registered it under a front person and did not indicate it in his declaration.

The investigation established that in December 2023, the family of the Bureau official purchased a two-room apartment in one of the residential complexes in Uzhhorod worth almost USD 100,000. The fact of the purchase is confirmed by texting between the Bureau employee and his wife, the testimony of the real estate seller and the notary who re-registered the flat, and other evidence.

To conceal their involvement in this property, the NABU official and his wife decided to register ownership of this property to a third party - the mother of a close acquaintance.

Despite the family living in the apartment, the NABU official did not indicate this property at all in his 2023 declaration. In his 2024 declaration, he marked it as rented. However, the front person in whose name the property was registered did not receive any payment for the apartment.

Based on the evidence, the law enforcement official was notified of suspicion under Article 366-2.1 of the CCU (intentional inclusion by the declarant of knowingly false information in the declaration of a person authorized to perform functions of the state or local government, as provided for by the Law of Ukraine On Prevention of Corruption).

We note separately that, in addition to the inaccurate declaration, the law enforcement team established that the NABU official's parents have russian passports and reside in the temporarily occupied territory. However, the suspect did not indicate this when filling out the documents for a security clearance, thereby violating the law.

Based on the results of a comprehensive check, the Security Service revoked his state secrets clearance.

The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.

We emphasize once again that this criminal proceeding concerns an individual employee of the NABU and has no bearing on the effective work of the Bureau as a Ukrainian state institution. As before, the Security Service of Ukraine advocates constructive cooperation to strengthen institutional capacities, eliminate pro-russian influence and enhance our state's independence.

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SSU prevents another terrorist attack in Lviv: russia recruited two minors to plant explosives

Security Service of Ukraine

09:50, 10 September 2025

The SSU Counterintelligence prevented another terrorist attack in Lviv. As a result of pre-emptive action, two minors were detained. On russia's behalf, they attempted to blow up a townhouse where a Defence Forces serviceman lived.

To commit the crime, the perpetrators left an improvised explosive device near the entrance to the house, which they hid in a flower pot.

To enable russian special services to remotely activate the explosive device when the serviceman approached the house, the agents installed a remote-access telephone camera near the location.

The Security Service uncovered the enemy's plan at an early stage and caught the terrorists red-handed as they were planting the bomb at the entrance.

According to the investigation, the perpetrators are two residents of Lviv, aged 14 and 15, whom russia had recruited on Telegram channels with promises of easy money.

After receiving instructions from the occupiers, the young men obtained the coordinates, retrieved the IED from the cache, and then planted it at the site of the planned terrorist attack.

The explosive device and smartphones with evidence of contacts with the russian handler were seized during searches.

SSU investigators notified the detainees of suspicion under Articles 15.2 and 258.2 of the CCU (completed attempt to commit a terrorist act, by a group, upon prior conspiracy).

The suspects face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.

The operational and investigative steps were carried out by the Counterintelligence and investigators of the SSU Lviv Office under the procedural supervision of the regional Prosecutor's Office.

In early September this year, the Security Service detained two more underage enemy agents in Lviv who intended to blow up a Ukrainian serviceman's car.

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Ukraine: Guterres greatly concerned over reported Russian incursion into Polish airspace

10 September 2025 - The UN Secretary-General is closely monitoring reports that Russian drones violated Polish airspace overnight into Wednesday, resulting in damage to some residential areas.

Speaking at the regular news briefing in New York, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Antonio Guterres is following the ensuing diplomatic fallout across the NATO military alliance "with great concern" the incident, which reportedly occurred amid a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine.

"There is an urgent need for a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire and for a just, comprehensive and sustainable peace in Ukraine - one that fully upholds Ukraine's sovereignty, its independence and its territorial integrity, in line with the Charter of the United Nations, international law and relevant UN resolutions," Mr. Dujarric said.

Multiple drones shot down

According to media reports, Polish authorities, with the support of NATO allies, shot down multiple Russian drones that crossed into the country overnight - the first time Russian drones have been downed over NATO territory.

Poland's Prime Minster Donald Tusk warned that it put his nation at its closest point to open conflict since World War Two.

Poland joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, in 1999 along with Hungary and the Czech Republic as part of the military alliance's first expansion into Central and Eastern Europe.

While some violations of Polish airspace have been reported since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the overnight incident highlights the conflict's growing regional impact.

Media also reported Russia's Defense Ministry stating that the strikes targeted Ukraine's military-industrial sites in its western regions and that there were no intended targets in Poland.

The Secretary-General and the UN continue to urge all parties to respect international law.

Mr. Dujarric noted that the situation "again underlines the regional impact and real risk of expansion of this devastating conflict," reiterating the UN's call for protection of civilians and adherence to humanitarian norms.



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'No ordinary session': Baerbock opens UN General Assembly with call for courage and reform

By Vibhu Mishra

9 September 2025 - As the UN General Assembly opened its 80th session on Tuesday, new President Annalena Baerbock called on Member States to unite in addressing global crises - from war and poverty to climate change - taking her oath on the original 1945 Charter and pledging to lead with courage and inclusiveness.

This will be "no ordinary session," she pledged, with the multilateral system beset by overlapping crises and heightened disunity.

A former foreign minister of Germany, Ms. Baerbock becomes only the fifth woman in history to preside over the General Assembly.

In a symbolic gesture linking past to present, she swore her oath on the UN's founding Charter from the San Francisco Conference in 1945 - and accepted the Assembly's ornate gavel from her predecessor, Philemon Yang of Cameroon.

The Charter itself, preserved by the US National Archives, has returned to UN Headquarters for the first time in decades.

Now on display through September, the 1945 document is more than a historical artifact - it is a living reminder of the collective pledge to build peace, uphold human rights and pursue shared values and goals through multilateral cooperation.

The gavel carries its own storied weight. A gift from Iceland, it is larger and more ornate than the ones used in UN conference rooms. The symbol of order in the "parliament of the world," it is used to open and close meetings, adopt resolutions, and, at times, bring the Assembly to silence.

The world needs the United Nations

In her address, Ms. Baerbock acknowledged the grim realities facing millions across the globe - from children starving in Gaza and Afghan girls barred from school - to families in Ukraine hiding from missile attacks, and Pacific Islanders watching their homes swallowed by the sea.

"Our world is in pain, indeed," she told delegates in the General Assembly Hall.

"But imagine how much more pain there would be without the United Nations."

Ms. Baerbock underscored the UN's vital role in humanitarian assistance, citing the millions who rely on agencies such as the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

She urged Member States to make the UN "fit for the 21st century" by advancing reforms, implementing the Pact for the Future adopted last year, and focusing on substance over procedure.

"The General Assembly must focus on its mandates and deliver on its commitments," she said, promising to serve all 193 members equally, to be "a bridge builder," and to ensure every voice is heard.

Among the priorities she set for the year ahead are implementing the UN80 reform agenda, guiding the process of selecting the next Secretary-General, and advancing peace, sustainable development, and human rights.

The Charter is not self-executing: Guterres

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, congratulating Ms. Baerbock on her election, praised her vision and experience, while urging governments to summon the same resolve that brought nations together to establish the UN 80 years ago.

"The United Nations provides the place. The Charter provides the tools," he said. "But nothing can happen without this Assembly - all of you - working as one."

Mr. Guterres stressed the need to heal divisions, recommit to international law, accelerate action on the Sustainable Development Goals, and transition to renewable energy while supporting developing countries.

He pointed to last year's Pact for the Future as a "shot in the arm" for multilateralism and called on Member States to "re-build trust and faith in one another."

'Collective promise' remains

Earlier in the day, outgoing Assembly President Philemon Yang closed the 79th session, highlighting initiatives on humanitarian law, small arms control, sustainable development, and child labour - as well as dialogues on multilingualism and the role of women in mediation.

Mr. Yang, who emphasised gender equality and Security Council reform during his tenure, also oversaw the 80th anniversary commemoration.

"Member States made clear that in spite of rising global conflicts, the Charter, and the United Nations itself, represent a collective promise for a better future world," he said.

A year of high stakes

Ms. Baerbock's presidency comes at a pivotal moment for the United Nations.

Alongside navigating conflicts from Ukraine to Sudan, the Assembly will oversee the implementation of the Pact for the Future and prepare for the critical selection of the next Secretary-General.

She challenged delegates to embrace courage and unity: "If girls in Afghanistan or parents in Gaza can wake up - in the darkest hours of life - and push forward, then so can we. We owe it to them. But we owe it also to ourselves, because there is simply no alternative."

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Secretary-General's remarks at the Opening of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly [as delivered]

United Nations Secretary-General

New York

09 September 2025

Madam President of the General Assembly, Your Excellency Annalena Baerbock.

Congratulations, once again, on your election  which holds added significance as you become only the fifth woman in history to be elected to this important role.

And I thank the outgoing President  His Excellency Philemon Yang  for so ably guiding this Assembly over the last year.

I pledge my support to you, Madam President, as you take on this important role in an important year  the 80th anniversary of the United Nations.

You bring a wealth of government and diplomatic experience to this task  including serving as your country's Foreign Minister.

And as you work to fulfill your inspiring vision  "Better Together"  and address your priority issues of peace, development, reform and transparency.

Excellencies,

Eight decades ago, the founders of our organization gathered in San Francisco.

Emerging from the fires of a world war, they envisioned something different.

A global-problem-solving body that could not only prevent calamities like war, but could forge solutions to other age-old problems haunting humanity  poverty, hunger, illness and inequality.

These efforts, built by the world for the world, and grounded in the values and principles of the United Nations Charter, are what this Assembly is all about.

Excellencies,

The United Nations provides the place.

The Charter provides the tools.

And the Pact for the Future, adopted last September, provided a shot in the arm for the multilateral system and the values that have defined this organization from day one.

The Pact reminds us that, eight decades on, we can and must continue rising above division and working together.

To make our world a better, more peaceful and prosperous place for all.

To heal divisions and end conflicts.

To re-commit to the letter and spirit of international law.

To summon the resolve to help all countries climb the development ladder and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

To protect our planet and make the shift to renewables  supporting developing countries every step of the way.

To adapt to the challenges and opportunities of a digital world.

And through the Declaration on Future Generations, to ensure that the decisions we make today benefit those who will inherit and shape the future tomorrow.

But nothing can happen without this Assembly  all of you  working as one.

The Charter is not self-executing.

By design, it requires countries looking beyond their national interests and re-building trust and faith in one another, and in what we can accomplish through collaboration and solidarity.

And it requires realizing that, while we cannot solve all the world's problems here, we can unite behind solutions that will ultimately move humanity closer to a better, fairer, more peaceful and equal world for all.

So as we begin this 80th session, I call on all Member States to summon the same resolve and spirit of determination that brought delegates to San Francisco in 1945.

Let's live up to their vision  and most importantly, to the expectations and hopes of today's people around the world.

Thank you.

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HONG KONG, Sept. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recently, the high-end fruit tomato brand YIKEDA made its appearance at the 18th Asia Fruit Logistica, which attracted numerous merchants and continuous collaboration, showcasing the brand's strong capabilities and global confidence.





As one of the most influential professional exhibitions in Asia, the AFL brought together over 750 exhibitors from more than 40 countries. YIKEDA became a highlight at its first participation. The brand, under Triumph Haofeng Agriculture Group Co., Ltd., focuses on products such as cherry tomatoes, 100% NFC tomato juice, tomato plum sparkling water, and tomato wellness water. Its products have obtained low-GI certification and are recognized by Frost & Sullivan as Cherry tomatoes: No. 1 Best-seller Nationwide and 100% NFC tomato juice: No.1 Best-seller Nationwide.





YIKEDA's cherry tomatoes and 100% NFC tomato juice drew significant attention. All of YIKEDA cherry tomatoes are produced in the smart glass greenhouse owned by its parent company, non-GMO, free of artificial hormones and heavy metals, naturally seed-rich, bursting with juice and have intense tomato flavor, attracting in-depth negotiations with buyers from multiple countries. The 100% NFC tomato juice adheres to no added water, using only tomatoes, which also garnered numerous inquiries and positive feedback.





Triumph Haofeng Agriculture Group Smart Glass Greenhouse

YIKEDA has already embarked on its global expansion. Its cherry tomatoes have entered in Russian Eurospar supermarkets, tomato juice exported to South Korea, and some products sold in various supermarkets in Hong Kong, China. This exhibition clarified the brand's strategy of expanding both products and brands globally. The team is actively addressing various countries' market admission criteria and logistical preservation challenges to drive continuous growth in overseas business.

Ma Tiemin, Chairman of Triumph Haofeng Agriculture Group and founder of the YIKEDA brand, stated that the brand will continue to deepen its focus on the tomato industry, expanding its products and channels with a global perspective. Although the exhibition has concluded, collaborations continue to gain momentum. Clients from Belarus, Malaysia, Thailand, and other regions have expressed strong intentions to cooperate. YIKEDA is accelerating its journey to the global market with high-standard, premium-quality products and services.

CompanyTriumph Haofeng Agriculture Group Co., Ltd.

Contact Person: Jun Xiao

Email: xiaoj@haofengfood.com

Website: www.yikeda.com.cn

Telephone: +86 400 658 0088

City: QingDao

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/19a699b6-0550-44e9-8e99-87118a694b8e

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8a488ab9-22b5-43cb-bddc-d353d679669e

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/00c8ee31-b14c-46c7-8a30-d20836699e37
HONG KONG, Sept. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On September 10, the 10th Belt and Road Summit, co-organised by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), was officially opened in Hong Kong. China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC) participated as a strategic partner. Chen Liang, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Management Committee of CICC, attended the summit and delivered opening remarks during the themed session. Liang Dongqing, member of the Management Committee, also represented CICC at the event.



Chen Liang, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Management Committee of CICC



Under the theme Collaborate for Change  Shape a Shared Future, the summit brought together senior government officials, business representatives, financial and investment professionals, technology company representatives, and economists from Belt and Road partner countries and regions. They reflected on the initiatives achievements, shared insights on multilateral cooperation, and explored future development opportunities. John Lee, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR and Professor Frederick Ma, Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches.

At the themed session titled Green and Digital Innovation, Building a Connected World, Chen Liang delivered opening remarks. He highlighted that Chinas new quality productive forces  represented by the digital economy, green industries, and artificial intelligence (AI)  are key drivers of economic growth, injecting fresh momentum into development and enhancing global connectivity. He noted that digital products and services such as cloud computing, AI, and autonomous driving are playing an increasingly central role in the international expansion of Chinese enterprises, gaining traction in markets across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

He emphasized that new quality productive forces are giving rise to new industries and narratives, creating structural highlights and investment opportunities in the capital markets, and driving a revaluation of Chinese assets. High-quality stocksparticularly rare industry leaders listed in Hong Kongare increasingly favored by international investors.

As one of the most internationalized Chinese investment banks, CICC remains committed to its guiding philosophy of Chinese Roots, International Reach. The firm continues to deliver world-class, comprehensive financial services to leading enterprises, institutions, and investors across global markets. Looking ahead, CICC will continue working closely with global clients and stakeholders to foster technological innovation, enhance capital connectivity, and capture new opportunities for economic growth and high-quality development under the Belt and Road Initiative.

About China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC):

China International Capital Corporation Limited (601995.SH, 3908.HK) was founded in 1995. Our experience in professional services includes leading several prominent transactions, reflecting our close involvement in Chinas economic reform and development. Our vision is to become a first-class investment bank with international competitiveness. Our extensive network and cross-border business practices have enabled us to offer high-quality, value-added financial services to a diversified client base. This includes a full-service and balanced business model that offers investment banking, equities, FICC (Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities), asset management, private equity and wealth management services, all of which draw on our comprehensive research and technology capability. As an investment bank with Chinese roots and an international reach, we are committed to providing first-rate financial services to both our Chinese and global clients to help them achieve their goals.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bd69a063-519c-43f4-98da-61397dfc2ec2
Liven Kodu 16 OU, a subsidiary of Liven AS (Liven) which is developing the Iseara project, signed a general contractor agreement with Tesron Ehitus OU, which is also the general contractor for the previous terraced houses in the project, for the construction of the next terraced houses. In the autumn of 2026, 30 new homes will be completed at Lutsu 5 and Koha 5-8, Harkujarve village. The volume of the construction works is nearly EUR 6 million, plus VAT. Of the 30 homes to be built, 16, or 53%, have been booked and sold to date.

In the earlier phases of the Iseara project, a total of 107 homes in terraced houses and 36 homes in apartment buildings have already been completed or are nearing completion. In the coming years, there are plans to build more than 200 additional new homes. The architect of the Iseara project is ARS Projekt OU and more information about the project can be found on the website iseara.liven.ee.

In September, construction also began on the Peakorter project, developed by EK 6 OU, a 50/50 joint venture between Liven and Oma Grupp OU. 67 new homes will be completed at the beginning of 2027 at Erika 6a and 6b, in the Karjamaa neighbourhood, located between Kalamaja and Kopli in North Tallinn. The general contractor for the construction of the two new six-storey residential buildings and the nine-storey renovated water tower is Oma Ehitaja AS.

The estimated volume of the construction works is nearly EUR 13 million, plus VAT. Of the 67 homes to be built, 18, or 27%, have been booked and sold to date. The architect of the Peakorter homes under construction is PIN Arhitektid OU and more information about the project can be found on the website peakorter.liven.ee.



Joonas Joost

Liven AS CFO

E-mail: joonas.joost@liven.ee
LA JOLLA, Calif., Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Private Bancorp of America, Inc. (OTCQX:PBAM) today announced that the Board of Directors has adopted a stock repurchase program, and authorized entering into a written stock repurchase agreement with a broker-dealer. That agreement is expected to include a trading plan in accordance with Rules 10b5-1 and 10b-18 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. The Board authorized the Company to devote up to $5 million in aggregate consideration to the repurchase of shares in privately-negotiated transactions and in the open market. The term of the repurchases under the agreement may be made through December 31, 2025.

About Private Bancorp of America, Inc. (OTCQX: PBAM)

PBAM is the holding company for CalPrivate Bank, which operates offices in Coronado, San Diego, La Jolla, Newport Beach, El Segundo, Beverly Hills, and coming soon, Montecito, as well as through efficient digital banking services. CalPrivate Bank is driven by its core values of building client Relationships based on superior funding Solutions, unparalleled Service, and mutual Trust. The Bank caters to high-net-worth individuals, professionals, closely-held businesses, and real estate entrepreneurs, delivering a Distinctly Different personalized banking experience while leveraging cutting-edge technology to enhance our clients evolving needs. CalPrivate Bank is in the top tier of customer service survey ratings in the nation, scoring almost 3x higher than the median domestic bank. The Bank offers comprehensive deposit and treasury services, rapid and creative loan options including various portfolio and government-guaranteed lending programs, cross border banking, and innovative, unique technologies that drive enhanced client performance. CalPrivate Bank has been recognized by Bank Director's RankingBanking as the 10th best bank in the country and the #1 bank in its asset class for both return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). CalPrivate Bank was also ranked in the top 5% of banks in the U.S. with assets between $2B and $10B by American Banker. Additionally, CalPrivate Bank is a Bauer Financial 5-star rated bank, an SBA Preferred Lender, and has been honored as Community Bank 504 Lender of the Year by the NADCO Community Impact Awards, exemplifying excellence in the banking industry. These prestigious rankings highlight the Banks commitment to delivering exceptional banking services and setting new industry standards.

CalPrivate Banks website is www.calprivate.bank.

Investor Relations Contacts

Richard L. Sowers

President and CEO

Private Bancorp of America, Inc.

(424) 303-4894

Cory Stewart

Chief Financial Officer

Private Bancorp of America, Inc.

(206) 293-3669

Safe Harbor Paragraph

This communication contains expressions of expectations, both implied and explicit, that are forward-looking statements within the meaning of such term in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We caution you that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, especially given the current turmoil in the banking and financial markets. These factors include the effects of depositors withdrawing funds unexpectedly, counterparties being unable to provide liquidity sources that we believe should be available, loan losses, economic conditions and competition in the geographic and business areas in which Private Bancorp of America, Inc. operates, including competition in lending and deposit acquisition, the unpredictability of fee income from participation in SBA loan programs, the effects of bank failures, liquidations and mergers in our markets and nationally, our ability to successfully integrate and develop business through the addition of new personnel, whether our efforts to expand loan, product and service offerings will prove profitable, the effect on customers, collateral value and property insurance markets of the recent wildfires in the Los Angeles metropolitan area and similar events in the future, changes in real estate values, system failures and data security, whether we can effectively secure and implement new technology solutions, inflation, fluctuations in interest rates, legislation and governmental regulation. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and we undertake no obligation to update those statements whether as a result of changes in underlying factors, new information, future events or otherwise. These factors could cause actual results to differ materially from what we anticipate or project. You should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statement, which speaks only as of the date on which it was made. Although we in good faith believe the assumptions and bases supporting our forward-looking statements to be reasonable there can be no assurance that those assumptions and bases will prove accurate.
COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT

Odense, September 11, 2025

Company Announcement no. 70  September 11, 2025

Reporting on transactions in Danish Aerospace Company A/S shares by persons closely associated with persons discharging managerial responsibilities

Danish Aerospace Company A/S

Company reg. (CVR) no.: 12 42 42 48

Danish Aerospace Company A/S (DAC or the Company) has received notification pursuant to article 19 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) no. 596/2014 of the below transaction related to shares in DAC made by persons closely associated with persons discharging managerial responsibilities in DAC.

M. Goldschmidt Capital A/S, a closely associated person to Sren Bjrn Hansen, Deputy Chair of the Board of Directors, has made the transaction described in the attached notification on the dates set out therein.

Please see the attached files for further details.

For further information, please contact:

Danish Aerospace Company A/S:

Thomas A.E. Andersen, CEO

Mobile: +45 40 29 41 62

Certified Adviser:

Baker Tilly Corporate Finance P/S

Poul Bundgaards Vej 1

DK-2500 Valby

Tel.: +45 33 45 10 00

www.bakertilly.dk

About Danish Aerospace Company A/S

Danish Aerospace Company A/S is a high-tech company operating in the area of advanced medical instrumentation and other engineering fields primarily within space applications. Our products are based on many years of specialized research and development. These consist of developing, integrating, and applying new as well as established medical technologies to the challenges of functioning and remaining reliable in space. These products and services bring the potential of space research and experience from space operations down to Earth for the benefit of all Mankind.

Danish Aerospace Company A/S employs engineers and technicians who deliver full engineering, production and technical services for our customers. We have specialized in customer specific design, development, manufacturing, certification, maintenance, testing, and operations.

The company has developed five generations respiratory equipment for spaceflight, cycle ergometers for astronauts countermeasures, adapted several commercial medical equipment for spaceflight and has participated in the development of the minus eighty-degree Celsius freezers.

The Companys quality system is certified in obligation to BS EN ISO 9001:2015, BS EN 9100:2018 technical equivalent to AS9100D that are the acknowledged standard in the area.

Note: This is a translation of the corresponding company announcement in Danish. In case of discrepancies between the Danish wording and the English translation, the Danish wording prevails.

Attachment
BOGOTA, Colombia, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Republic of Colombia (Colombia) previously announced a tender offer (the Tender Offer) to purchase its outstanding 3.875% Global Bonds due 2026 (the Old Bonds) on the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the Offer to Purchase, dated September 10, 2025 (the Offer to Purchase). Colombia has instructed Citigroup Global Markets Inc., as the billing and delivering bank for the Tender Offer, to accept, subject to proration and other terms and conditions contained in the Offer to Purchase, valid Reinvestment Tenders and Simple Tenders of the Old Bonds in an aggregate principal amount of 715,107,000. All capitalized terms used but not defined in this communication have the respective meanings specified in the Offer to Purchase.

The aggregate purchase price to be paid for the Old Bonds to be acquired in the Tender Offer (the Maximum Purchase Amount) is 719,397,642. As such, Colombia has decided to accept all validly tendered Old Bonds in the amounts shown in the table below. No proration of Tenders has occurred.

Old Bonds ISIN Maximum Purchase Amount Aggregate Principal Amount of Reinvestment Tenders Aggregate Principal Amount of Reinvestment Tenders

Accepted Aggregate

Principal Amount

of Simple

Tenders Aggregate

Principal Amount

of Simple

Tenders Accepted 3.875% Global Bonds due 2026 XS1385239006 719,397,642 488,557,000 488,557,000 226,550,000 226,550,000

The settlement of the Tender Offer is scheduled to occur on Tuesday, September 16, 2025 (the Tender Offer Settlement Date), subject to change without notice. Failure to deliver Old Bonds on time may result, in Colombias sole discretion, in any of the following: (i) the cancellation of a holders tender and the holder becoming liable for any damages resulting from that failure, and/or (ii) the delivery of a buy-in notice for the purchase of such Old Bonds, executed in accordance with customary brokerage practices for corporate fixed income securities, and/or (iii) in the case of Reinvestment Tenders, the cancellation of a holders tender and the holder remaining obligated to purchase its allocation of New Bonds in respect of its related Indication of Interest for the 2028 Bonds.

Colombia reserves the right, in its sole discretion, not to accept any or all Tender Orders and to terminate the Tender Offer for any reason.

The Offer to Purchase may be downloaded from the Information Agents website at www.dfking.com/colombia or obtained from the Information Agent, D.F. King & Co., Inc., at +1 (877) 478-5045 or from any of the Dealer Managers.

The Dealer Managers for the Tender Offer are:

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya

Argentaria, S.A.



Attention: Liability Management



One Canada Square, 44th Floor

Canary Wharf, London E14 5AA

United Kingdom

Collect: +1 (212) 728-2446

+44 (0) 207 397 6061 / 6029



Toll-Free: +1 (800) 422-8692

Email:

liabilitymanagement@bbva.com

BNP PARIBAS



Attention: Liability Management Group



16, boulevard des Italiens

75009 Paris, France

Europe

+33 1 55 77 78 94

United States of America

Collect: +1 (212) 841-3059

Toll-Free: +1 (888) 210-4358

E-mail:

dl.us.liability.management@us.bnpparibas.com



Citigroup Global Markets Inc.



Attention: Liability Management



388 Greenwich Street

New York, New York 10013



United States of America

U.S. Call Collect: +1 (212) 723-6106

U.S. Toll Free: +1 (800) 558-3745

Europe: +44 20 7986 8969

Email: ny.liabilitymanagement@citi.com

The Billing and Delivering Bank for this Tender Offer was: Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

Questions regarding the Tender Offer may be directed to the Dealer Managers at the above contact.

Important Notice

The distribution of materials relating to the New Bonds Offering and the Tender Offer and the transactions contemplated by the New Bonds Offering and the Tender Offer may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Each of the New Bonds Offering and the Tender Offer is void in all jurisdictions where it is prohibited. If materials relating to the New Bonds Offering or the Tender Offer come into a holders possession, the holder is required by Colombia to inform itself of and to observe all of these restrictions. The materials relating to the New Bonds Offering or the Tender Offer, including this communication, do not constitute, and may not be used in connection with, an offer or solicitation in any place where offers or solicitations are not permitted by law. If a jurisdiction requires that the New Bonds Offering or the Tender Offer be made by a licensed broker or dealer and a Dealer Manager or any affiliate of a Dealer Manager is a licensed broker or dealer in that jurisdiction, the New Bonds Offering or the Tender Offer, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be made by the Dealer Manager or such affiliate on behalf of Colombia in that jurisdiction. Owners who may lawfully participate in the Tender Offer in accordance with the terms thereof are referred to as holders.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities nor will there be any sale of the New Bonds or the Tender Offer in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction. The offering of the New Bonds and the Tender Offer will be made only by means of the New Bonds Offering prospectus supplements and the accompanying prospectus and an offer to purchase in Canada, under applicable exemptions from any prospectus or registration requirements.

The New Bonds may be sold and the Tender Offer is made in Canada only to purchasers purchasing, or deemed to be purchasing, as principal that are accredited investors, as defined in National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions or subsection 73.3(1) of the Securities Act (Ontario), and are permitted clients, as defined in National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations, and who are not individuals. Any resale of the New Bonds must be made in accordance with an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the prospectus requirements of applicable Canadian securities laws.

The New Bonds and the Old Bonds will not be registered under Chilean Law No. 18,045, as amended, with the Comision para el Mercado Financiero de Chile (Financial Market Commission of Chile or CMF) and, accordingly, the New Bonds and the Old Bonds cannot and will not be offered or sold to persons in Chile except in circumstances which have not resulted and will not result in a public offering under Chilean law, and in compliance with Norma de Caracter General (Rule) No. 336, dated June 27, 2012, issued by the CMF.

The New Bonds may not be offered, sold or negotiated in Colombia, except in compliance with Part 4 of Decree 2555 of 2010. The Offer to Purchase and the New Bonds Offering prospectus supplements and the accompanying prospectus do not constitute and may not be used for, or in connection with, a public offering as defined under Colombian law.

The New Bonds are not intended to be offered, sold or otherwise made available to and should not be offered, sold or otherwise made available to any retail investor in the European Economic Area (EEA). For these purposes, a retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of the following:

(a) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU (as amended, MiFID II); or

(b) a customer within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/97 as amended, where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II.

Consequently, no key information document required by Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 (as amended, the PRIIPs Regulation) for offering or selling the New Bonds or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the EEA has been prepared and therefore offering or selling the New Bonds or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the EEA may be unlawful under the PRIIPs Regulation.

The Old Bonds and New Bonds may not be offered or sold and will not be offered or sold in Hong Kong by means of any document other than (a) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong) (the CWUMPO), or (b) to professional investors as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) (the SFO) and any rules made thereunder, or (c) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a prospectus as defined in the CWUMPO.

No advertisement, invitation or document relating to the Old Bonds or New Bonds has been or will be issued, or has been or will be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to the Old Bonds or New Bonds which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to professional investors as defined in the SFO and any rules made thereunder.

The Old Bonds and the New Bonds, and the Offer to Purchase and the New Bonds Offering prospectus supplements and the accompanying prospectus, and any other documents or materials related to such offers have not and will not be registered with the Italian Securities Exchange Commission (Commissione Nazionale per le Societa e la Borsa or CONSOB) pursuant to applicable Italian laws and regulations. The Tender Offer and the New Bonds Offering are being carried out pursuant to the exemptions provided for, with respect to the Tender Offer, in Article 101 bis, paragraph 3 bis of Legislative Decree No. 58 of 24 February 1998, as amended (the Consolidated Financial Act) and Article 35 bis, paragraph 4, of CONSOB Regulation No. 11971 of 14 May 1999, as amended; and, with respect to the New Bonds Offering, in article 1, paragraph 4, letter c), of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129.

Holders or beneficial owners of the Old Bonds that are resident and/or located in Italy can tender the Old Bonds for purchase, and the New Bonds can be offered, sold and delivered, through authorized persons (such as investment firms, banks or financial intermediaries permitted to conduct such activities in Italy in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/1129, the Consolidated Financial Act, the CONSOB Regulation No. 20307 of 15 February 2018, as amended, and Legislative Decree No. 385 of September 1, 1993, as amended) and in compliance with any other applicable laws and regulations or with any requirements imposed by CONSOB or any other Italian authority. Each intermediary must comply with the applicable laws and regulations concerning information duties vis a vis its clients in connection with the bonds or the relevant offering.

The New Bonds have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act of Japan (Act No. 25 of 1948, as amended, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act) and each Joint Book-Running Manager has represented and agreed that it has not offered or sold, and will not offer or sell any New Bonds, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (as defined under Article 6, Paragraph 1, Item 5 of the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act of Japan (Act No. 228 of 1949, as amended)), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, a resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.

Neither the Offer to Purchase or the New Bonds Offering prospectus supplements and accompanying prospectus, nor any other documents or materials relating to the Tender Offer or the New Bonds Offering have been approved by or will be submitted for the approval of, the Mexican National Banking and Securities Commission (Comision Nacional Bancaria y de Valores; the CNBV) and, the New Bonds have not been and will not be registered with the Mexican National Securities Registry (Registro Nacional de Valores) maintained by the CNBV, and therefore the Old Bonds and New Bonds have not and may not be offered or sold publicly in Mexico. However, investors that qualify as institutional or qualified investors pursuant to the private placement exemption set forth in article 8 of the Mexican Securities Market Law (Ley del Mercado de Valores), may be contacted in connection with, and may participate in the Tender Offer and New Bonds Offering, and can be offered with or purchase New Bonds. The participation in the Tender Offer or the acquisition of New Bonds will be made under such investors own responsibility.

Neither the New Bonds Offering nor the Tender Offer is intended for any person who is not qualified as an institutional investor, in accordance with provisions set forth in Resolution SMV No. 021-2013-SMV-01 issued by Superintendencia del Mercado de Valores (Superintendency of Capital Markets) of Peru, and as subsequently amended. No legal, financial, tax or any other kind of advice is hereby being provided.

The New Bonds Offering prospectus supplements and accompanying prospectus, and the Offer to Purchase have not been and will not be registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Neither the New Bonds Offering nor the Tender Offer constitutes an offering of securities in Singapore pursuant to the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the SFA). Each Joint Book-Running Manager has represented and agreed that it has not offered or sold or caused the New Bonds to be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase and will not offer or sell such New Bonds or cause such New Bonds to be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, and has not circulated or distributed, nor will it circulate or distribute, the New Bonds Offering prospectus supplements and accompanying prospectus or any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of such New Bonds, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA) under Section 274 of the SFA, (ii) to a relevant person (as defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA) pursuant to Section 275(1), or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275, of the SFA, and (where applicable) Regulation 3 of the Securities and Futures (Classes of Investors) Regulations 2018 of Singapore or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.

Where the New Bonds are subscribed or purchased in reliance on an exemption under Sections 274 or 275 of the SFA, the New Bonds shall not be sold within the period of six months from the date of the initial acquisition of the bonds, except to any of the following persons:

an institutional investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA);

a relevant person (as defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA); or

any person pursuant to an offer referred to in Section 275(1A) of the SFA,



unless expressly specified otherwise in Section 276(7) of the SFA or Regulation 37A of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments) (Securities and Securities-based Derivatives Contracts) Regulations 2018 of Singapore.

Where the New Bonds are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is:

a corporation (which is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or

a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary of the trust is an individual who is an accredited investor, securities or securities-based derivatives contracts (each term as defined in Section 2(1) of the SFA) of that corporation or the beneficiaries rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferred within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the New Bonds pursuant to an offer made under Section 275 of the SFA except: to an institutional investor or to a relevant person as defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or (in the case of such corporation) where the transfer arises from an offer referred to in 276(3)(i)(B) of the SFA or (in the case of such trust) where the transfer arises from an offer referred to in Section 276(4)(i)(B) of the SFA; where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer; where the transfer is by operation of law; as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA; or as specified in Regulation 37A of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments) (Securities and Securities-based Derivatives Contracts) Regulations 2018 of Singapore.





The New Bonds Offering prospectus supplements and accompanying prospectus is not intended to constitute an offer or solicitation to purchase or invest in the New Bonds described therein in Switzerland, except as permitted by law. The New Bonds may not be publicly offered, directly or indirectly, in Switzerland within the meaning of the Swiss Financial Services Act (FinSA) and will not be admitted to any trading venue (exchange or multilateral trading facility) in Switzerland.

Neither the New Bonds Offering prospectus supplements and accompanying prospectus nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the New Bonds constitutes a prospectus as such term is understood pursuant to the FinSA, and neither the New Bonds Offering prospectus supplements and accompanying prospectus nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the New Bonds may be publicly distributed or otherwise made publicly available in Switzerland.

Neither the communication of the Offer to Purchase nor the New Bonds Offering prospectus supplements and accompanying prospectus nor any other offer material relating to the Tender Offer or the New Bonds Offering has been approved by an authorized person for the purposes of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended, the FSMA). The Offer to Purchase and the New Bonds Offering prospectus supplements and accompanying prospectus are only being distributed to and are only directed at (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom (UK); (ii) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the FSMA (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended, the Order); or (iii) high net worth entities and other persons to whom it may be lawfully communicated falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such other persons together being referred to as relevant persons). Any investment or investment activity to which the Offer to Purchase and the New Bonds Offering prospectus supplements and accompanying prospectus relate is available only to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on the Offer to Purchase or the New Bonds Offering prospectus supplements and accompanying prospectus or any of its contents. The New Bonds will only be available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire the New Bonds will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on the New Bonds Offering prospectus supplements and accompanying prospectus or any of its contents.

The New Bonds are not intended to be offered, sold or otherwise made available to and should not be offered, sold or otherwise made available to any retail investor in the UK. For these purposes, a retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client, as defined in point (8) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 2017/565 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (as amended, the EUWA); or (ii) a customer within the meaning of the provisions of the FSMA and any rules or regulations made under the FSMA to implement Directive (EU) 2016/97, where that customer would not qualify as a professional client, as defined in point (8) of Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the EUWA. Consequently, no key information document required by Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the EUWA (the UK PRIIPs Regulation) for offering or selling the New Bonds or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the UK has been prepared and therefore offering or selling the New Bonds or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the UK may be unlawful under the UK PRIIPs Regulation.

Contact information:

D.F. King & Co., Inc.

28 Liberty Street, 53rd Floor

New York, New York 10005

Toll Free: 1 (877) 478-5045

Email: colombia@dfking.com

Website: www.dfking.com/colombia




Press Release

Nokia and KONGSBERG sign agreement to advance defense communications with 5G technology

Collaboration combines the companies expertise in tactical communications and mobile networks to deliver advanced capabilities to defense forces and allied nations.

Focuses on deployable 5G solutions for field operations today, while exploring future technologies like 6G to boost situational awareness and military readiness.

11 September 2025

Espoo, Finland  Nokia and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KONGSBERG), Norway leading defense technology provider, specializing in advanced systems across land, sea, air, and space domains, today announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on enhancing tactical communications solutions for the defense sector. The agreement brings together KONGSBERGs expertise in military tactical communications and Nokias leadership in commercial 4G, 5G, and private wireless technologies to deliver secure, resilient, and high-performance networks for defense organizations and allied nations.

The collaboration will aim to simplify the deployment of 5G in tactical systems, enhancing reliable and interoperable battlefield communications. It will also explore opportunities including tactical 5G capabilities, integration with unmanned systems and sensors, and participation in European Defense Fund initiatives like 5G COMPAD and the Federated Advanced Cyber Physical Test Range (FACT) program. Longer term, the companies will look at future technologies such as Nokias 6G network as a sensor (Integrated Sensing and Communication) to enhance situational awareness and military readiness.

By combining KONGSBERGs tactical communication assets with Nokias leadership in industry-standard technologies, we can speed up the use of civilian telecom solutions in defense. Together, well explore how 5G and 6G can support the developing connectivity requirements in tactical systems, from secure voice and real-time data to unmanned systems and advanced sensors, said Kjetil R. Myhra, EVP Defence Systems at Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.

Many of our products in Nokia are inherently dual-use, serving both commercial and military needs. This collaboration with KONGSBERG underscores our commitment to providing advanced, secure, and fast 5G mobile networks and integrating Nokias Banshee radio portfolio to strengthen operations capabilities for a range of tactical scenarios, said Giuseppe Targia, Head of Space and Defense at Nokia.



Multimedia, technical information and related news

Web Page: Nokia Defense

Product Page: Nokia tactical communications solutions

Web Page: KONGSBERG Defense & Security

About Nokia

At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.

As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs, which is celebrating 100 years of innovation.

With truly open architectures that seamlessly integrate into any ecosystem, our high-performance networks create new opportunities for monetization and scale. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable, and sustainable networks today  and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future.

About Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace

Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace delivers innovative solutions to protect people and critical infrastructure around the world. Our defence systems, which include strike missiles, air defence systems, surveillance, tactical communications, remote weapon stations and more, enhance countries' ability to defer and defend against external threats. We are a fast-growing player in space exploration, microsatellites and maritime surveillance. Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kongsberg Gruppen ASA, which is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Kongsberg has 14,000 employees in about 40 countries and revenues of NOK 49 bn in 2024.

Media inquiries

Nokia Press Office

Email: Press.Services@nokia.com

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- South Star Battery Metals Corp. (South Star or the Company) (TSXV: STS) (OTCQB: STSBF), is announcing the resignation of Richard Pearce as President, Director and Chief Executive Officer effective immediately. Mr. Pearce will continue to support South Star during a 14-day transition period to ensure an orderly handover of responsibilities to his successor.

The Board of Directors has appointed one of the board members, Mr. Tiago Cunha, as interim President and CEO and will immediately initiate a search for a permanent President and CEO. The Board thanks Mr. Pearce for his vision, dedication, and tireless efforts over the past six years and looks forward to building on the strong foundation established under his leadership.

Marc Leduc, Chairman of the Board of South Star stated, The Board wishes Richard all the best in his future endeavors, and we thank him as founder and CEO for the past 15 years for all of his service to the company and the stakeholders.

ABOUT SOUTH STAR BATTERY METALS CORP.

South Star is a Canadian battery-metals project developer focused on the selective acquisition and development of near-term production projects in the Americas. South Stars Santa Cruz Graphite Project, located in Southern Bahia, Brazil is the first of a series of industrial- and battery-metals projects that will be put into production. Brazil is the second-largest graphite- producing region in the world with more than 80 years of continuous mining. Santa Cruz has at-surface mineralization in friable materials, and successful large-scale pilot-plant testing (> 30 tonnes) has been completed. The results of the testing show that approximately 65% of graphite concentrate is +80 mesh with good recoveries and 95%-99% graphitic carbon (Cg). With excellent infrastructure and logistics, South Star Phase 1 is ramping up commercial production with first sales shipped in May 2025. Santa Cruz is the first new graphite production in the Americas since 1996.

South Stars second project in the development pipeline is strategically located in Alabama, U.S.A. in the center of a developing electric-vehicle, aerospace, and defense hub in the southeastern United States. The BamaStar Project includes a historic mine active during the First and Second World Wars. The vertically integrated production facilities include a mine and industrial concentrator in Coosa County, AL and a downstream value-add plant in Mobile, AL, which will be upgrading natural flake graphite concentrates from both Santa Cruz and BamaStar mines. A NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment demonstrates strong economic results with a pre-tax Net Present Value ("NPV8%") of US$2.4B and an Internal Rate of Return ("IRR") of 35%, as well as an after-tax NPV8% US$1.6B with an IRR of 27%. South Star has also received US$3.2 million grant commitment from the US Department of Defense Title III program to advance a feasibility study on the BamaStar project. South Star trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol STS, and on the OTCQB under the symbol STSBF.

South Star is committed to a corporate culture, project execution plan and safe operations that embrace the highest standards of ESG principles, based on transparency, stakeholder engagement, ongoing education, and stewardship. To learn more, please visit the Company website at http://www.southstarbatterymetals.com.

This news release has been reviewed and approved for South Star by Richard Pearce, P.E., a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 and President and CEO of South Star Battery Metals Corp

On behalf of the South Star Board of Directors,

MR. MARC LEDUC,

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

For additional information, please contact: South Star Investor Relations

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward- looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be forward -looking statements.

Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the issuance and terms of the promissory notes, including the proposed use of proceeds, anticipated repayment or prepayment, the potential for acceleration in connection with future financings, and the receipt of regulatory approvals; the Private Placement, including its expected closing, use of proceeds, and the potential acceleration of Warrants and Finders Warrants; the commencement of production at the Santa Cruz Project; the scaling of operations; the advancement of the Alabama project; and the Companys overall strategy, plans, and future expectations.

Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections.
Austin, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The cloud network monitoring market () size was valued at USD 2.0 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 6.6 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 16.29% during 2025-2032.

Businesses are adopting multi-cloud and hybrid cloud to provide enhanced flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. This complexity, on the other hand, made cloud network monitoring tools essential to manage multiple environments among private, public, and on-premise infrastructures. With enterprises splitting workloads across disparate platforms, visibility, performance assurance, and real-time troubleshooting become essential. Cloud network monitoring solutions simplify performance data aggregation, end-to-end bottleneck identification, and enable continuous application delivery across heterogeneous environments.





Download PDF Sample of Cloud Network Monitoring Market @ https://www.snsinsider.com/sample-request/7998

Key Players:

Cisco Systems, Inc.

IBM Corporation

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Microsoft Corporation (Azure Monitor)

Google LLC (Google Cloud Operations Suite)

Datadog, Inc.

New Relic, Inc.

Dynatrace LLC

SolarWinds Corporation

Splunk Inc.

LogicMonitor, Inc.

Nagios Enterprises, LLC

ManageEngine (Zoho Corp.)

Broadcom Inc. (via CA Technologies)

AppDynamics (a Cisco company)

Zabbix LLC

Paessler AG (PRTG Network Monitor)

ThousandEyes (a Cisco company)

Kentik

Riverbed Technology

Cloud Network Monitoring Market Report Scope:

Report Attributes Details Market Size in 2024 USD 2.0 Billion Market Size by 2032 USD 6.6 Billion CAGR CAGR of 16.29% From 2025 to 2032 Base Year 2024 Forecast Period 2025-2032 Historical Data 2021-2023 Report Scope & Coverage Market Size, Segments Analysis, Competitive Landscape, Regional Analysis, DROC & SWOT Analysis, Forecast Outlook Key Segments  By Monitoring (Infrastructure Monitoring, Application Monitoring, Network Traffic Monitoring)

 By Cloud Type (Private Cloud, Public Cloud, Hybrid Cloud)

 By Deployment Mode (Agent-based Monitoring, Agentless Monitoring)

 By Industry (IT & Telecommunication, BFSI, Government, Healthcare, E-commerce) Customization Scope Available upon request Pricing Available upon request

If You Need Any Customization on Cloud Network Monitoring Market Report, Inquire Now @ https://www.snsinsider.com/enquiry/7998

Segmentation Analysis:

By Monitoring Type, The Network Traffic Monitoring Segment Led the Market in 2024

Network traffic monitoring dominated the market in 2024 and accounted for a significant revenue share, as it plays a critical role in secure ongoing data transfer in complex multi-cloud and hybrid environments. Application monitoring is expected to register the fastest CAGR due to the explosion of cloud-native apps, microservices, and workloads running in containers.

By Cloud Type, the Market was Led by Public Cloud Segment in 2024

Public Cloud segment dominated the market in 2024 and accounted for 42% of revenue share, owing to enterprises opting for collective solutions, on-demand features, and budget-friendly pricing offerings. The hybrid cloud is expected to register the fastest CAGR, as businesses are increasingly in need of the flexibility to mix on-premise infrastructure with cloud infrastructure.

By Deployment Mode, Agent-based Monitoring Held the Largest Share of 72%

Agent-based monitoring dominated the market in 2024 and accounted for 72% of the cloud network monitoring market share due to the well-established ability of agent-based monitoring to provide granular and in-depth visibility into the performance of systems and behavior of applications. Agentless monitoring is projected to witness the fastest CAGR, owing to its lightweight, non-intrusive nature of deployment, lower maintenance, and easy scalability.

By Industry, IT & Telecommunication Led the Market in 2024

IT & Telecommunication dominated the cloud network monitoring market in 2024 and accounted for a significant revenue share owing to the rising need for low-latency services, integration of 5G networks, and real-time performance monitoring across data centers globally. E-commerce is expected to register the fastest CAGR, which is attributed to the growing online traffic, omnichannel engagement, and omnichannel engagement that requires a dependency on cloud-based platforms.

In 2024, the Market was Led by North America Holding 38% Share; Asia Pacific is Projected to Witness Fastest CAGR Growth Over 2025-2032

North America dominated the cloud network monitoring market in 2024 with over 38% revenue share, driven by its lead in cloud adoption, the existence of major tech giant firms, and advanced digital infrastructure. Asia Pacific is projected to register the fastest CAGR owing to the rapid adoption of cloud technologies, rising digital transformation, and growing ecommerce and telecom sectors.

Recent Developments:

June 2025: Ciscos ThousandEyes launched "Traffic Insights" at Cisco Live 2025, enhancing real-time network flow visibility.

Ciscos ThousandEyes launched "Traffic Insights" at Cisco Live 2025, enhancing real-time network flow visibility. June 2025: Datadog unveiled AI-powered capabilities including GPU Monitoring and Dev Agent at DASH 2025.

Buy Full Research Report on Cloud Network Monitoring Market 2025-2032 @ https://www.snsinsider.com/checkout/7998

Exclusive Sections of the Report (The USPs):

Technological Adoption Rate  helps you uncover opportunities for investment or innovation in underpenetrated areas. Based on the growing global enterprise adoption of cloud network monitoring solutions, rising multi-cloud monitoring penetration (AWS + Azure + GCP), and industry-specific adoption trends across BFSI, IT, and Healthcare sectors.

 helps you uncover opportunities for investment or innovation in underpenetrated areas. Based on the growing global enterprise adoption of cloud network monitoring solutions, rising multi-cloud monitoring penetration (AWS + Azure + GCP), and industry-specific adoption trends across BFSI, IT, and Healthcare sectors. Capacity Utilization Rates  helps you identify whether the industry is facing overcapacity or undersupply, which impacts pricing and investment decisions. Reflected through metrics, such as the average time to deploy monitoring tools, monitoring coverage rate across cloud assets, and SLA compliance monitoring accuracy.

 helps you identify whether the industry is facing overcapacity or undersupply, which impacts pricing and investment decisions. Reflected through metrics, such as the average time to deploy monitoring tools, monitoring coverage rate across cloud assets, and SLA compliance monitoring accuracy. Supply Chain Disruption Index  helps you identify regions or suppliers at higher risk due to geopolitical or logistical factors. Inferred from cross-region/cloud traffic latency comparisons, real-time alerting frequency, and performance bottleneck diagnosis across distributed cloud infrastructures.

 helps you identify regions or suppliers at higher risk due to geopolitical or logistical factors. Inferred from cross-region/cloud traffic latency comparisons, real-time alerting frequency, and performance bottleneck diagnosis across distributed cloud infrastructures. Environmental Compliance Metrics  helps you understand the regulatory pressure and sustainability benchmarks across key markets. Driven by the volume of compliance-relevant alerts (e.g., HIPAA, PCI-DSS), encrypted traffic visibility, and integration rates with SIEM and other cloud security platformsensuring regulatory visibility in complex cloud ecosystems.

 helps you understand the regulatory pressure and sustainability benchmarks across key markets. Driven by the volume of compliance-relevant alerts (e.g., HIPAA, PCI-DSS), encrypted traffic visibility, and integration rates with SIEM and other cloud security platformsensuring regulatory visibility in complex cloud ecosystems. Competitive Landscape  helps you gauge the competitive strength of key players in the market backed by an analysis of their growth projections, market reach, product/service offerings and recent developments. Highlighted through increasing automation with AI/ML (predictive alerts, root cause analysis, and self-healing success rates), which differentiates platform capabilities and vendor positioning.

 helps you gauge the competitive strength of key players in the market backed by an analysis of their growth projections, market reach, product/service offerings and recent developments. Highlighted through increasing automation with AI/ML (predictive alerts, root cause analysis, and self-healing success rates), which differentiates platform capabilities and vendor positioning. AI-Enabled Monitoring Intelligence  helps track the markets shift toward autonomous operations and next-gen analytics. Supported by metrics such as percentage of automated monitoring tasks, AI-led downtime reduction, and the volume of false positives/negatives detected by AI systems.

Read More Reports:

Cloud Load Balancers Market ()

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About Us:

SNS Insider is one of the leading market research and consulting agencies that dominates the market research industry globally. Our company's aim is to give clients the knowledge they require in order to function in changing circumstances. In order to give you current, accurate market data, consumer insights, and opinions so that you can make decisions with confidence, we employ a variety of techniques, including surveys, video talks, and focus groups around the world.
Toronto, ON, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- More than 10,000 full-time college support staff on strike across Ontario: Were fighting for the future of student support.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 11th, 2025

Toronto, ON  As of 12:01 a.m. on September 11th, more than 10,000 full-time college support staff, represented by OPSEU/SEFPO, are on strike across Ontarios 24 public colleges. Picket lines will go up on campuses across the province starting early Thursday morning.

The union says that the colleges bargaining agent walked away from the table with remaining proposals unanswered  leaving the union alone at the table for six hours up until the deadline.

Weve lost 10,000 jobs across the system this year alone, and more than 650 programs in every community across the province, said Christine Kelsey, Chair of the College Support Full-Time Bargaining Team, an assistive technologist at Algonquin College who has supported students with disabilities for nearly two decades. With our colleges plunged into chaos, job security is key to stabilizing the system  because the future of our work is the future of student support.

Its unconscionable that weve yet to see any goodwill from the employer to protect frontline jobs that support students in our communities. Were seeing library technologists eliminated at colleges only to be replaced by vending machines just weeks later  whats next? added Kelsey.

College full-time support workers are standing up like never before. And we know our communities will stand with us, because this fight is also about access to local, public education in our backyards, said JP Hornick, President of OPSEU/SEFPO. Support staff arent alone  they have the support of the 200,000 public sector workers we represent and thousands of labour and community allies who are ready to fight shoulder to shoulder for a public college system we can be proud of.

Earlier this week, OPSEU/SEFPO released a new report on Fords controversial Skills Development Fund (SDF), now under investigation by the Auditor General. The union contends that the SDF is a $2.5 billion black box without financial oversight that is being used to subsidize a privatized career training system. Meanwhile, public colleges that serve local communities have been defunded in real time.

Weve lost culinary and hospitality programs in underserved, northern, and rural regions where those are dominant employment sectors, while multi-million dollar awards go to just a handful of hospitality giants, said Hornick. Its stealing resources from our backyards: more than half of projects receiving SDF funding this year alone are private companies and providers based in the wealthy GTA.

Recent probes this week into one such SDF recipient, Scale Hospitality Group, have drawn scrutiny to a $11.1 million investment released despite a poor-scoring application. Curious connections to the lobbying firm of scandal-embroiled Amin Massoudi, chair of Ford's 2022 electoral campaign, have shades of the Greenbelt all over again, remarks Hornick.

Its no longer a question of if there is money. Its a question of where its going. As this fight heats up, there are going to be a lot of questions Ontario taxpayers need answered  especially as jobs disappear and options for students shrink before our eyes.

- 30 -

The Ontario Public Sector Employees Union (OPSEU/SEFPO) represents 200,000 public sector workers in Ontario, including more than 45,000 college support staff and faculty at all 24 of Ontarios public colleges.

Full-time college support staff represent members in over 150 job classifications: including staff in disability services; library technologists; student success coordinators; facilities and trades staff; co-op placement coordinators; staff in the registrar to financial aid offices; employment services; IT services; food services and student workers; and so much more.

For more information, contact:

Aidan McNally

437-451-2464

opseucommunications@opseu.org

Attachment
Dublin, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Mental Health Technology Market Research Report 2025-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The Mental Health Technology Market was valued at USD 15.22 billion in 2024, and is projected to reach USD 30.98 billion by 2030, rising at a CAGR of 12.58%.

The global mental health technology market is set to grow due to rising mental health awareness and supportive government & NGO initiatives.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

By Technology : The software & services segment accounted for the largest market share of over 70%.

: The software & services segment accounted for the largest market share of over 70%. By Age : The teenager segment shows the highest growth of 13.05% during the forecast period.

: The teenager segment shows the highest growth of 13.05% during the forecast period. By Application : The clinical mental health management segment dominates and holds the largest market share in 2024.

: The clinical mental health management segment dominates and holds the largest market share in 2024. By End-User : The individual consumers segment holds the largest share of the global mental health technology market.

: The individual consumers segment holds the largest share of the global mental health technology market. By Geography: In 2024, North America accounted for a share of over 50% of the global mental health technology market.

MENTAL HEALTH TECHNOLOGY MARKET NEWS

On June 4, 2025, Iris Telehealth and Holmusk announced a strategic partnership to integrate their advanced AI platforms, combining telepsychiatry services with real-world behavioral health data and localized insights to enhance and personalize mental health care delivery.

On April 22, 2025, Lyra Health, one of the leaders in workforce mental health solutions, introduced Lyra Empower, an AI-powered platform designed to deliver high-quality, transformative mental health care globally. The platform integrates advanced technology with clinical excellence to support HR leaders, members, and care providers.

MENTAL HEALTH TECHNOLOGY MARKET TRENDS



AI-driven mental health solutions, including chatbots and virtual therapists, are revolutionizing the way individuals access mental healthcare. These tools offer 24/7 support, enabling users to receive immediate, judgment-free guidance on issues ranging from stress to depression. By leveraging natural language processing and machine learning, AI platforms can deliver personalized, data-informed interactions that mimic human conversation, helping bridge the gap between demand and availability of mental health professionals.



Teletherapy and virtual counseling gained widespread acceptance, particularly following the global shift toward remote services during the COVID-19 pandemic. These platforms offer greater flexibility and accessibility, allowing patients to connect with licensed therapists from the comfort of their homes. This model is especially beneficial for individuals in rural or underserved areas.



Wearable devices such as the Apple Watch, Fitbit, and Whoop are increasingly being integrated into mental health care by monitoring physiological indicators like sleep patterns, heart rate variability (HRV), and stress levels. These metrics can offer early signals of mental health changes and enable real-time feedback for both users and clinicians. The growing synergy between wearables and mental health platforms helps foster proactive mental well-being management and supports data-driven treatment approaches.



The mobile app ecosystem for mental health has expanded rapidly, with apps like Headspace, Calm, Moodpath, and Sanvello gaining millions of users worldwide. These platforms offer guided meditation, mood tracking, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) tools, and personalized mental health plans. Their ease of use, affordability, and on-demand access make them an attractive option for individuals seeking daily support and self-care solutions.



MENTAL HEALTH TECHNOLOGY MARKET DRIVERS



Increasing awareness of mental health as a crucial component of overall well-being has significantly fueled demand for digital mental health solutions. Public discourse, social media advocacy, and corporate wellness initiatives have helped reduce stigma and encourage proactive mental health care. This cultural shift has empowered individuals to seek support earlier and more frequently, creating a receptive market for mental health apps, teletherapy platforms, and AI-driven self-help tools.



Governments and international organizations are actively promoting mental health through funding, policy support, and public health campaigns. For example, the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched global mental wellness initiatives, while countries like the U.K. and Australia have invested in digital mental health platforms through public healthcare systems. Non-governmental organizations (NGO) also collaborate with tech providers to deploy tools in underserved regions. These efforts legitimize digital mental health technologies and accelerate their adoption on a systemic level.



The widespread availability of smartphones and affordable internet has been a major enabler for the mental health technology market. With billions of people connected globally, many in remote or resource-constrained areas, digital platforms now offer scalable, on-demand access to support. This infrastructure allows mobile apps, virtual therapy, and wearable-integrated tools to reach diverse populations, making mental health care more inclusive and continuous.



The global rise in mental health disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and stress-related conditions, has created an urgent need for scalable interventions. This growing burden has overwhelmed traditional healthcare systems and propelled the development and adoption of technology-driven solutions that can meet rising demand more efficiently.



INDUSTRY RESTRAINTS



The mental health technology sector faces significant regulatory uncertainty due to inconsistent standards across regions and the absence of clear, comprehensive frameworks governing digital mental health tools. This lack of uniform regulation creates confusion for developers and clinicians alike, leading to uneven product quality and varied user protections.



Mental health apps and digital platforms collect highly sensitive personal data, making privacy and security a top concern. Inadequate data protection can erode user trust and lead to regulatory violations. The fear of breaches or misuse of personal mental health information poses a significant barrier to widespread adoption.



MENTAL HEALTH TECHNOLOGY MARKET GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS



In 2024, North America accounted for a share of over 50% of the global mental health technology market. North America's mental health technology market is flourishing with widespread adoption, commercialization, and competitive saturation. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) digital platforms like Woebot, SilverCloud Health, and other FDA-approved tools have gained widespread adoption as standalone mental health support systems and add-on tools to traditional therapy.



A breakthrough policy change took place in July 2024, when Medicare introduced new codes for payment to compensate providers and developers for offering digital mental health treatments, such as app-based CBT, AI-facilitated therapy aids, and remote mental well-being courses. The step was taken considering the increasing body of clinical evidence that demonstrates how digital therapeutics can equal or surpass conventional interventions for some behavioral disorders.



There is a growing public recognition of mental health as a critical component of overall well-being in North America. Rising cases of depression, anxiety, stress, PTSD, and burnout, especially post-COVID-19, have led to a surge in demand for accessible, stigma-free mental health support.



The APAC region is witnessing significant growth in the global mental health technology market, with the fastest-growing CAGR of 13.18% during the forecast period. APAC has become a hotspot for mental health tech startups, especially in countries like Singapore, India, Japan, and South Korea. Startups are leveraging AI, chatbots, digital CBT, and behavioral analytics to create engaging and personalized tools.



The widespread adoption of smartphones and increasing internet connectivity across APAC, including in rural and semi-urban areas, is enabling the delivery of mental health services via mobile platforms. For example, India and Southeast Asia have millions of new internet users annually, making mental health apps and teletherapy accessible to large populations.



One of the principal drivers of APAC mental health tech uptake is smartphone penetration and internet use. China, India, South Korea, and Indonesia alone have a combined population of several hundred million web users who increasingly turn to mobile apps to cope with emotion, stress, and guided self-help.



In much of APAC, mental illness remains a taboo subject, particularly among elderly segments. The stigma has traditionally acted as a deterrent for people to seek help. But the younger generation (18-35 age group) is challenging this trend with a larger receptivity to experimenting with self-help tools, AI chatbots, and online counseling platforms. As the tide of awareness increases, APAC is all set to rank as one of the world's fastest-growing mental health tech markets.



MENTAL HEALTH TECHNOLOGY MARKET VENDOR LANDSCAPE



The global mental health technology market report consists of exclusive data on 32 vendors. The market is moderately to highly competitive, with the presence of a diverse mix of players ranging from large tech giants and healthcare platforms to startups and specialized mental health providers. The competitive environment is shaped by continuous technological innovation, strategic partnerships, and increasing investment in mental health-related digital tools. Vendors compete primarily on factors such as user engagement, clinical effectiveness, AI capabilities, etc. Woebot and Wysa have integrated natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning to personalize user interactions.



A key trend in the mental health tech space is the growing enterprise adoption of digital wellness solutions. Platforms like Headspace Health are expanding into the corporate sector with offerings like "Headspace for Work," reflecting rising employer demand for scalable, preventive mental health support for employees. Due to growing demand for accessible and scalable mental health solutions, vendors are increasingly focusing on mental health apps, teletherapy platforms, AI chatbots, wearables, etc.



Key Vendors

Apple

Amwell

BetterHelp

Calm

Google

Headspace

Lyra Health

Talkspace

Other Prominent Vendors

Advanced Data Systems (ADS)

AdvancedMD

Ava Mind

Brightline

Cerebral

Compulink

Eleanor Health

Iris Telehealth

Kintsugi Mindful Wellness

Meru Health

Modern Health

Muse

Oracle

Ouraring

OxfordVR

Qualifacts

SonderMind

Spring Care

Talkiatry

Unmind

Woebot Health

Workit Health

Wysa

XRHealth

Key Attributes:





Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 135 Forecast Period 2024 - 2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2024 $15.22 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $30.98 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 12.5% Regions Covered Global





Key Topics Covered:



Chapter 1: Global Mental Health Technology Market Overview

Executive Summary

Key Findings

Key Developments

Chapter 2: Global Mental Health Technology Market Segmentation Data

Technology Market Insights (2021-2030) Software & Services Hardware

Age Market Insights (2021-2030) Adults Geriatric Teenager

Application Market Insights (2021-2030) Clinical Mental Health Management Preventive & Wellness-Oriented Mental Health Support

End-user Market Insights (2021-2030) Individual Consumers Healthcare Providers Wellness Providers



Chapter 3: Global Mental Health Technology Market Prospects & Opportunities

Global Mental Health Technology Market Drivers

Global Mental Health Technology Market Trends

Global Mental Health Technology Market Constraints

Chapter 4: Global Mental Health Technology Market Overview

Competitive Landscape

Key Players

Key Company Profiles

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/fxuq78

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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MIAMI, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Watsco, Inc. (NYSE: WSO) announced today that Barry S. Logan, Executive Vice President, is scheduled to present at the 13th Annual Morgan Stanley Laguna Conference being held at the Ritz Carlton, Laguna Niguel on Thursday, September 11, 2025 at 4:50 p.m. (PDT). Internet users can listen to a live webcast of the presentation at the Investor Relations section of Watscos website at http://www.watsco.com.

About Watsco

Watsco operates the largest distribution network for heating, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) products with locations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, and on an export basis to Latin America and the Caribbean. Watsco estimates that over 375,000 contractors, technicians, and installers visit or call one of its 701 locations each year to get information, obtain technical support and buy products.

We focus on the replacement market, which has increased in size and importance due to the aging of installed systems, the introduction of energy efficient models and the necessity of HVAC products in homes and businesses. According to data published in March 2023 by the Energy Information Administration, there are approximately 102 million HVAC systems installed in the United States that have been in service for more than 10 years, most of which operate below current efficiency standards. Accordingly, Watsco has the opportunity to be a significant and important contributor toward climate change as it plays an important role to lower CO2e emissions. According to the Department of Energy, HVAC systems account for roughly half of U.S. household energy consumption. As such, replacing older systems at higher efficiency levels is a critical means for homeowners to reduce electricity consumption and their carbon footprint.

Based on estimates validated by independent sources, Watsco averted an estimated 24.5 million metric tons of CO2e emissions from January 1, 2020 to June 30, 2025 through the sale of replacement HVAC systems at higher-efficiency standards, an equivalent of removing 5.7 million gas powered vehicles annually off the road. More information, including sources and assumptions used to support the Companys estimates, can be found at www.watsco.com.
COLOGNE, Germany, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Momcozy , a global leader in maternal care and a pioneer of the Mom-First philosophy, announced at Kind+Jugend that its Ergonest Maternity Support Belt has won the 2025 Kind+Jugend Innovation Award. At the same time, the company unveiled its Love & Loneliness study on postpartum mental health and pledged 5,000 to support the Frauenmilchbank Initiative, advancing equitable access to donor breast milk for premature infants.





Momcozy receives the 2025 Kind+Jugend Innovation Award in Cologne

Kind+Jugend Innovation Award: A Breakthrough in Maternal Support

The Kind+Jugend Innovation Award is one of the most prestigious honors in the global parenting industry, recognizing products that excel in safety, design, and functionalityimproving the lives of parents and children worldwide. At the Kind+Jugend opening ceremony on September 9, Momcozy received this recognition for its Ergonest Maternity Support Belt, the first in the industry to combine the patented Ergonest Support Structure with a unique O-shaped molding system. The innovative design relieves pressure, improves posture, and enhances comfort throughout pregnancy.

Endorsed by midwives, the Ergonest Belt demonstrates both engineering excellence and meaningful impact on everyday maternal well-being.





Momcozy presents its Cozy Tech product lineup at Kind+Jugend 2025

"Love & Loneliness": Spotlight on Maternal Mental Health

At a press luncheon during the tradeshow, Momcozy presented its latest "Love & Loneliness" study, conducted by Kantar. The research revealed that two-thirds (67%) of young mothers in Germany experience loneliness postpartum, with exhaustion (68%), mood swings (59%), mental stress (54%), and unsupported nighttime breastfeeding (43%) cited as leading causes. Additionally, lack of emotional support (39%) and social isolation (30%) were also significant factors.

As part of its Mom-first commitment to easing this burden, Momcozy develops Cozy Tech solutions that simplify mothers lives. For example, the M9 smart hands-free breast pump , equipped with DoubleFit flanges, boosts pumping efficiency by 28%, helping mothers save time and reduce stress.





Professor Daniel Klotz, Head of the Department of Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care at Ev. Krankenhaus Bethel Bielefeld and board member of the Women's Milk Bank Initiative, shared his expertise, Breast milk is invaluable especially for premature babies. Science, practice, and business must work together to strengthen breastfeeding and expand milk bank access.

IBCLC Julia Weidenmuller from Soulfeeding and host of the podcast "Die Stillberaterin added, Many mothers feel isolated under the weight of expectations. Creating solutions that restore freedom and confidence is essential.

The event was moderated by Lina Bodecker, a systemic and developmental psychological consultant and family, health, and pediatric nurse.





Experts join Momcozys panel on maternal well-being

Supporting the Womens Milk Bank Initiative

As a highlight of the event, Momcozy donated 5,000 to the Frauenmilchbank Initiative e.V. to support its mission of ensuring premature and newborn babies in Germany have safe access to donor milk. The German Milk Bank Initiative (FMBI) helps fill critical gaps when breastfeeding is not possible, so that even the most vulnerable infants receive the nutrition they need.

Sven Hering, Momcozy Sales Director for Europe, explained, "Every baby deserves the best start in life. Supporting Frauenmilchbank allows us to extend our Mom-First mission beyond products to help ensure that fragile newborns have safe access to the nutrition they depend on.





Momcozy donates 5,000 to the Frauenmilchbank Initiative e.V. in Germany

Looking Ahead: Cozy by You Brand Day

Momcozy will soon launch its Cozy by You Brand Day, spotlighting authentic user voices through a new TV campaign and content platform. The initiative marks a shift from Brand Made for You to Brand Defined With You, reinforcing the companys Mom-First philosophy that true innovation begins with real mothers lived experiences. Brand Day will introduce the Built with You, Leading the Change concept, positioning mothers as collaborators in shaping the future of maternal care while strengthening Momcozys global community.

By combining clinical insights, ergonomic design, and feedback from mothers, Momcozy has developed a range of products throughout the perinatal journey. Recognition from the Kind+Jugend Innovation Award underscores the brands pioneering role in maternal and infant care, while the Mom-First approach continues to guide innovations that improve the overall well-being of mothers and babies worldwide.

About Momcozy

Since its founding in 2018, Momcozy-Global No.1 Wearable Breast Pump* has rapidly emerged as a leader in the FemTech space, offering a groundbreaking range of products designed to support mothers and babies from pregnancy through postpartum and beyond. With a commitment to innovation and comfort, Momcozy has redefined maternal care with its wearable breast pumps, nursing bras, and other essential products that seamlessly integrate into the lives of modern mothers. Loved by over 4.5 million* mothers across 60 countries, Momcozy's products are sold directly on the brand's website and by major retailers such as Babylist, Walmart, Target, and Amazon. Momcozy's mission is to offer comprehensive solutions that empower mothers with the comfort and support they need at every stage of their journey.

source:

*Based on global market share of wearable breast pumps, Grand View Research 2024

*Data as of July 2025 from Amazon official platform.
MONTREAL, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gildan Activewear Inc. (GIL: TSX and NYSE) announced today that Glenn J. Chamandy, President & Chief Executive Officer, Luca Barile, Executive Vice-President, Chief Financial Officer and Jessy Hayem, Senior Vice-President, Head of Investor Relations and Global Communications will participate in a fireside chat and one-on-one meetings with investors at the 29th Annual Scotiabank Back to School Conference in Toronto on Wednesday, September 17, 2025.

About Gildan

Gildan is a leading manufacturer of everyday basic apparel. The Companys product offering includes activewear, underwear and socks, sold to a broad range of customers, including wholesale distributors, screenprinters or embellishers, as well as to retailers that sell to consumers through their physical stores and/or e-commerce platforms and to global lifestyle brand companies. Gildan markets its products in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, under a diversified portfolio of Company-owned brands including Gildan, American Apparel, Comfort Colors, GOLDTOE, and Peds, and under an exclusive licensing agreement for the printwear channel for Champion.

Gildan owns and operates vertically integrated, large-scale manufacturing facilities which are primarily located in Central America, the Caribbean, North America, and Bangladesh. Gildan operates with a strong commitment to industry-leading labour, environmental and governance practices throughout its supply chain in accordance with its comprehensive ESG program embedded in Gildan's long-term business strategy. More information about Gildan and its ESG practices and initiatives can be found at www.gildancorp.com.
Austin, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Airport Automation Market Size & Growth Insights:

According to the SNS Insider,The Airport Automation Market was worth USD 5.6 Billion in 2024 and is expected to be valued at USD 8.81 Billion by 2032, propelling at a CAGR of 5.83% over 2025-2032.

Surging Demand for Seamless Passenger Experience Driving Airport Automation Adoption

The growing demand for a seamless and intuitive passenger experience is a major driver of the Airport Automation Market. As travelers increasingly expect speed, convenience, and minimal contact, airports are investing in advanced technologies including AI-powered chatbots, biometric check-ins, autonomous service robots, and interactive holograms. These innovations reduce congestion, improve navigation, and enhance overall satisfaction.

The U.S. Airport Automation Market size was worth USD 3.85 Billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 5.61 Billion by 2032, expanding at a CAGR of 4.81% over 2025-2032. Airport Automation Market growth is propelling due to surging air traffic, increasing focus on contactless passenger experience, and strong investments in AI, robotics, and real-time data platforms.

Get a Sample Report of Airport Automation Market Forecast @ https://www.snsinsider.com/sample-request/8088

Leading Market Players with their Product Listed in this Report are:

Daifuku Co. Ltd.

Collins Aerospace

Siemens AG

Amadeus IT Group

SITA

Honeywell International Inc.

Thales Group

Indra Sistemas S.A.

Vanderlande Industries

NEC Corporation

Bosch Security Systems

TAV Technologies

Inform GmbH

Raytheon Technologies

Huawei Technologies

IBM Corporation

ADB Safegate

Alstef Group

Embross Group

Beumer Group

Airport Automation Market Report Scope:

Report Attributes Details Market Size in 2024 USD 5.6 Billion Market Size by 2032 USD 8.81 Billion CAGR CAGR of 5.83% From 2025 to 2032 Report Scope & Coverage Market Size, Segments Analysis, Competitive Landscape, Regional Analysis, DROC & SWOT Analysis, Forecast Outlook Key Segmentation  By System (Data Storage, Automation & Control, Data Acquisition & Communication and Software & Solutions)

 By Technology (Baggage Handling Systems, Passenger Processing, Security Systems, Air Traffic Management (ATM), IT Solutions and Automated Ground Handling)

 By Application (Terminal-side Operations, Airside Operations and Landside Operations)

 By End-User (Commercial Airports, Military Airports, Cargo Airports and Private/Regional Airports)

Purchase Single User PDF of Airport Automation Market Report (20% Discount) @ https://www.snsinsider.com/checkout/8088

Key Industry Segmentation

By System

In 2024, the Automation & Control segment accounted for approximately 36% of the Airport Automation market share, expected to be the fastest growth in Airport Automation market over 2025-2032 with a CAGR of 5.83%. The surge is driven by the increasing requirement of autonomous systems to drive operational efficiency, safety, and passenger flow management.

By Technology

In 2024, the Passenger Processing segment accounted for approximately 27% of the Airport Automation market share, owing to rising demand for seamless and contactless travel experiences. The Automated Ground Handling segment is expected to experience the fastest CAGR of 8.04% during the forecast period. This growth is driven by the growing need for optimization in baggage and cargo shipping duration, and its security.

By Application

In 2024, the Terminal-side Operations accounted for approximately 41% of the Airport Automation market share, driven by increasing automation in passenger check-in, baggage handling, and security screening. The Airside Operations segment is expected to experience the fastest growth in the market over 2025-2032 with a CAGR of 6.11%. due to the increasing adoption of automated aircraft guidance systems, real-time airside surveillance, and autonomous ground support equipment.

By End-User

In 2024, the Commercial Airports accounted for around 53% of the Airport Automation market share, and is also expected to grow with the fastest CAGR of 6.91% over 2025-2032. This surge is fueled by rising air passenger traffic, increasing demand for seamless travel experiences, and widespread deployment of biometric systems, automated check-ins, and smart security lanes.

North America Led the Market Owing to Rapid Autonomous Technologies Adoption

In 2024 North America dominated the Airport Automation market and accounted for 44% of revenue share, driven by increasing air traffic, rising acceptance of modernized technologies especially robotics solutions across airports and expanding investments related to smart airport infrastructure.

Asia Pacific is expected to witness the fastest growth in the Airport Automation market over 2025-2032, with a projected CAGR of 7.48% due to rapid airport infrastructure development, Surging air passenger traffic, and propelling government investments into smart airport initiatives.

Do you have any specific queries or need any customized research on Airport Automation Market? Submit your inquiry here @ https://www.snsinsider.com/enquiry/8088

Recent Developments:

In February 2024, Daifuku has unified its North American branding, renaming subsidiaries, such as Jervis B. Webb Company to Daifuku Airport America Corporation and Elite Line Services to Daifuku Services America Corporation. The move reflects a global standardization effort to strengthen identity and streamline operations across regions.

Daifuku has unified its North American branding, renaming subsidiaries, such as Jervis B. Webb Company to Daifuku Airport America Corporation and Elite Line Services to Daifuku Services America Corporation. The move reflects a global standardization effort to strengthen identity and streamline operations across regions. In July 2025, Thales has been selected by Finlands VTT to supply its TopSky  AstraUTM system for the U-Space Finland pilot, enabling safe, automated drone traffic management. The initiative supports real-time UAV integration, boosting Finlands position in airspace innovation under EU regulations.

Exclusive Sections of the Airport Automation Market Report (The USPs):

TECHNOLOGICAL ADOPTION RATE  Helps you uncover opportunities for investment or innovation in underpenetrated areas. Over 65% of global airports now use self-service check-in kiosks, indicating a strong baseline for automation adoption. Biometric boarding systems are implemented in over 40% of airports, with consistent YoY growth.

 Helps you uncover opportunities for investment or innovation in underpenetrated areas. Over 65% of global airports now use self-service check-in kiosks, indicating a strong baseline for automation adoption. Biometric boarding systems are implemented in over 40% of airports, with consistent YoY growth. OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY STATISTICS  Helps you identify key productivity gains and cost-saving areas. Automation has led to a 25% average reduction in passenger processing time, boosting terminal throughput. Automated airports report up to 20% labor cost savings, making a strong case for full-scale automation investment.

 Helps you identify key productivity gains and cost-saving areas. Automation has led to a 25% average reduction in passenger processing time, boosting terminal throughput. Automated airports report up to 20% labor cost savings, making a strong case for full-scale automation investment. PASSENGER EXPERIENCE DATA  Helps you track traveler satisfaction and behavior in automated environments. Customer satisfaction with automated services is above 80%, driven by faster, contactless processing. Nearly 70% of frequent travelers now prefer mobile boarding passes over printed versions.

 Helps you track traveler satisfaction and behavior in automated environments. Customer satisfaction with automated services is above 80%, driven by faster, contactless processing. Nearly 70% of frequent travelers now prefer mobile boarding passes over printed versions. ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE METRICS  Helps you understand the regulatory pressure and sustainability benchmarks across key markets. Autonomous cleaning robots are active in over 30% of terminals, contributing to sustainability and hygiene compliance. AI-powered surveillance systems show double-digit YoY growth, enhancing safety while reducing manual oversight.

 Helps you understand the regulatory pressure and sustainability benchmarks across key markets. Autonomous cleaning robots are active in over 30% of terminals, contributing to sustainability and hygiene compliance. AI-powered surveillance systems show double-digit YoY growth, enhancing safety while reducing manual oversight. SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTION INDEX  Helps you identify regions or suppliers at higher risk due to geopolitical or logistical factors. Adoption of cloud-based automation platforms in over 50% of airports ensures operational resilience against localized disruptions. Growth in digital twin technologies over the last 3 years indicates increasing supply chain simulation and contingency planning capabilities.

About Us:

SNS Insider is one of the leading market research and consulting agencies that dominates the market research industry globally. Our company's aim is to give clients the knowledge they require in order to function in changing circumstances. In order to give you current, accurate market data, consumer insights, and opinions so that you can make decisions with confidence, we employ a variety of techniques, including surveys, video talks, and focus groups around the world.
Netanya, Israel, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Silynxcom Ltd. (NYSE American: SYNX) ("Silynxcom" or the "Company"), a manufacturer and developer of ruggedized tactical communication headset devices, today announced that it has received a purchase order exceeding $750,000 from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for its advanced in-ear headset systems.

The IDF has long been a strategic partner for Silynxcom, and the Company believes that this new order illustrates the trust placed in the Companys innovative communication solutions. Silynxcoms headsets provide combat-proven situational awareness, hearing protection, and seamless radio connectivity in some of the worlds most demanding environments.

We believe that this new order from the Israel Defense Forces highlights the growing demand for our solutions and reaffirms our position as a trusted provider of mission-critical communications technology, said Nir Klein, Chief Executive Officer of Silynxcom. We are proud to continue supporting the IDF with equipment that enhances soldier safety and operational effectiveness.

About Silynxcom Ltd.

Silynxcom Ltd. develops, manufactures, markets, and sells ruggedized tactical communication headset devices as well as other communication accessories, all of which have been field-tested and combat-proven. The Company's in-ear headset devices, or In-Ear Headsets, are used in combat, the battlefield, riot control, demonstrations, weapons training courses, and on the factory floor. The In-Ear Headsets seamlessly integrate with third party manufacturers of professional-grade ruggedized radios that are used by soldiers in combat or by police officers in leading military and law enforcements units. The Company's In-Ear Headsets also fit tightly into the protective gear to enable users to speak and hear clearly and precisely while they are protected from the hazardous sounds of combat, riots or dangerous situations. The sleek, lightweight, In-Ear Headsets include active sound protection to eliminate unsafe sounds, while maintaining ambient environmental awareness, giving their customers 360 situational awareness. The Company works closely with its customers and seek to improve the functionality and quality of the Company's products based on actual feedback from soldiers and police officers "in the field." The Company sells its In-Ear Headsets and communication accessories directly to military forces, police and other law enforcement units. The Company also deals with specialized networks of local distributors in each locale in which it operates and has developed key strategic partnerships with radio equipment manufacturers.

For additional information about the company please visit: https://silynxcom.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws and are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release may be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "contemplate," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "seek," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "target," "aim," "should," "will" "would," or the negative of these words or other similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. For example, the Company uses forward-looking statements when it discusses: the belief that this new order illustrates the trust placed in the Companys innovative communication solutions and the belief that this new order highlights the growing demand for our solutions and reaffirms the Companys position as a trusted provider of mission-critical communications technology. Further, certain forward-looking statements are based on assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. These and other risks and uncertainties are described more fully in the section titled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on May 13, 2025, and other documents filed with or furnished to the SEC which are available on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov. The Company cautions you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.

Capital Markets & IR Contact

Michal Efraty

ir@silynxcom.com
CINCINNATI, OH, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ensemble, the nations leading revenue cycle managed services partner for healthcare organizations, has once again been highlighted by KLAS Research for its outstanding performance and client satisfaction in the 2025 KLAS End-to-End Revenue Cycle Outsourcing Report.

In this biannual report, Ensemble had a top overall performance score of 95.1 out of 100, leading across all key satisfaction metrics. This years position reinforces the company as the trusted partner of end-to-end revenue cycle management for health systems nationwide.

Achieving a top performance score from KLAS underscores our commitment and strategy to deliver top results for our clients, said Judson Ivy, Founder and CEO, Ensemble. Were investing heavily in AI innovation, especially in payer strategy and patient experience, to help shape the next wave of revenue cycle management.

Over the past two years, KLAS validated 7 new end-to-end RCM partnerships, with 3 selecting Ensemble  the most of any firm in the 2025 report. In this time, the company has welcomed new clients including Jupiter Medical Center, Methodist Le Bonheur and Firelands Health, bringing Ensemble to $45 billion in net patient revenue under management.

The company isnt just gaining new partners, its building trusted relationships that deliver real impact, with 100% of healthcare leaders sharing they would choose the company again, and 94% reporting that it not only met, but exceeded, expectations.

"Our culture of collaboration and accountability is the engine behind our momentum, said Shannon White, Chief Operating Officer, Ensemble. From leadership to frontline teams, everyone is committed to driving results and delivering an exceptional experience for our clients and their patients. It's through these trusted relationships, paired with our proven performance strategy, that we help partners fulfill their missions and make a lasting impact in the communities they serve.

Ensemble has consistently earned top honors from industry organizations for its proven ability to deliver exceptional service and performance at scale:

Best in KLAS for End-to-End Revenue Cycle Outsourcing (2019-2022, 2024-2025)

High Performance Score in the KLAS End-to-End Revenue Cycle Outsourcing Performance Report (2023, 2025)

Black Book Researchs Top End-to-End Revenue Cycle Management Outsourcing Solution (2021-2025)

22 Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) MAP Awards for High Performance in Revenue Cycle (2019-2024)

Clarivate Healthcare Business Insights (HBI) Revenue Cycle Awards for strong performance (2020-2025)

Modern Healthcares Best in Business Award for Revenue Cycle Management (2025)

Energage Top Workplaces USA (2019-2025)

Great Place to Work certified (2023-2025)

To learn more about Ensemble, visit EnsembleHP.com. To learn more about KLAS and view the full report, visit KLASResearch.com.

About Ensemble

Ranked #1 revenue cycle management partner consistently by providers, Ensemble manages end-to-end revenue cycle operations for hundreds of hospitals nationwide. Through a combination of certified revenue cycle operators, data-rich intelligence and advanced AI, Ensemble helps healthcare organizations sustain best-practice revenue cycle operations and maximize their current technology, so providers can focus on delivering exceptional care in their communities.



To learn more about Ensemble, visit EnsembleHP.com


MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PetVivo Holdings, Inc. (OTCQX: PETV; OTCID: PETVW), working in cooperation with its wholly-owned subsidiary PetVivo Animal Health, Inc., (collectively "PetVivo" or the Company), an emerging biomedical device company focused on the commercialization of innovative medical devices and therapeutics for horses and companion animals, announced today that John Lai, Chief Executive Officer of PetVivo, will present live at the Life Sciences Virtual Investor Forum hosted by VirtualInvestorConferences.com, on September 18th, 2025.

DATE: September 18, 2025

TIME: Thursday, September 18th: 11:00  11:30 am ET

LINK: REGISTER HERE

Available for 1x1 meetings: September 18-19th, 22-23rd. Sign up here

This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the company questions in real-time. If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the conference, an archived webcast will also be made available after the event.

It is recommended that online investors pre-register and run the online system check to expedite participation and receive event updates.

Learn more about the event at www.virtualinvestorconferences.com .

We are excited to participate in the Life Sciences Virtual Investor Forum and to share our vision and progress with the investment community, stated John Lai, Chief Executive Officer of PetVivo Holdings, Inc. This event provides an excellent opportunity to highlight the advances we are making, the potential of our technology, and the value we believe we can deliver to patients, partners, and shareholders alike. In particular, we look forward to discussing how Spryng with OsteoCushion Technology and PrecisePRP are helping to enhance the health and quality of life for horses and companion animals, while positioning the company for long-term growth and success.

About PetVivo Holdings, Inc.

PetVivo Holdings Inc. (OTCQX: PETV; OTCID: PETVW) is an emerging biomedical device company currently focused on the manufacturing, commercialization and licensing of innovative medical devices and therapeutics for equine and companion animals. The Company's strategy is to leverage human therapies for the treatment of equine and companion animals in a capital and time efficient way. A key component of this strategy is the accelerated timeline to revenues for veterinary medical devices, which enter the market much earlier than more stringently regulated pharmaceuticals and biologics.

PetVivo has a robust pipeline of products for the treatment of animals and people. A portfolio of twelve patents and six trade secrets protects the Company's biomaterials, products, production processes and methods of use. The Companys lead products SPRYNG with OsteoCushion technology, a veterinarian-administered, intra-articular injection for the management of lameness and other joint related afflictions, including osteoarthritis, in cats, dogs and horses, and PrecisePRP, a first-in-class, off-the-shelf, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) product designed for use by veterinarians, are currently available for commercial sale.

For more information about PetVivo Holdings, Inc. please contact info1@petvivo.com or visit https://petvivo.com/ , https://www.p e tvivoanimalhealth.com/ and https://www.sprynghealth.com .

About Virtual Investor Conferences

Virtual Investor Conferences (VIC) is the leading proprietary investor conference series that provides an interactive forum for publicly traded companies to seamlessly present directly to investors.

Providing a real-time investor engagement solution, VIC is specifically designed to offer companies more efficient investor access. Replicating the components of an on-site investor conference, VIC offers companies enhanced capabilities to connect with investors, schedule targeted one-on-one meetings and enhance their presentations with dynamic video content. Accelerating the next level of investor engagement, Virtual Investor Conferences delivers leading investor communications to a global network of retail and institutional investors.

CONTACTS:

PetVivo Holdings, Inc.

John Lai, CEO

Email: info1@petvivo.com

(952) 405-6216

Virtual Investor Conferences

John M. Viglotti

SVP Corporate Services, Investor Access

OTC Markets Group

(212) 220-2221

johnv@otcmarkets.com

Forward-Looking Statements:

The foregoing material may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended. Forward-looking statements include all statements that do not relate solely to historical or current facts, including without limitation the Companys proposed development and commercial timelines, and can be identified by the use of words such as may, will, expect, project, estimate, anticipate, plan, believe, potential, should, continue or the negative versions of those words or other comparable words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future actions or performance. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company and its current plans or expectations and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could significantly affect current plans. Risks concerning the Companys business are described in detail in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2025, and other periodic and current reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any such obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
The subsidiary company of AS Tallinna Sadam, OU TS Shipping, signed an agreement with Atlantic Towing Limited for chartering multifunctional icebreaker Botnica starting 10 September, 2025 for the period of 15 days with an additional option to extend the period day-by-day up to 60 days in total. According to the scope of service, Botnica will be chartered as an auxiliary vessel to support the charterer in Northern Canada.

According to a 10-year agreement with the Estonian Transport Administration, Botnica provides icebreaking services in Estonian coastal waters from December 20 to April 20.

Tallinna Sadam is one of the largest cargo- and passenger port complexes in the Baltic Sea region. In addition to passenger and freight services, Tallinna Sadam group also operates in shipping business via its subsidiaries  OU TS Laevad provides ferry services between the Estonian mainland and the largest islands, and OU TS Shipping charters its multifunctional vessel Botnica for icebreaking and offshore services in Estonia and projects abroad. Tallinna Sadam group is also a shareholder of an associate AS Green Marine, which provides waste management services.

Additional information:

Angelika Annus

Head of Investor Relations

Tel. +372 5649 6230

angelika.annus@ts.ee
SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE and SAO PAULO, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 311Literacy has entered into a strategic alliance with Critical Links to distribute The Great People Manual, an innovative character-building educational solution.

Together, the organizations will deliver values and character education content to schools throughout Latin America and Africa, empowering educators to foster students personal growth and instill within them the skills to become contributors to their local communities and engage as global citizens.

311Literacy is internationally recognized for its literacy building programs that strengthen reading skills and for The Great People Manual which nurtures character development. Critical Links, a pioneering digital teaching and learning platform optimized for regions with limited internet connectivity, ensures that this critical content is accessible to schools in underserved and offline environments.

By combining these solutions, educators in remote or resourceconstrained communities will gain a powerful toolset that integrates literacy, technology, and values education into daily learning environments. The collaboration aims to:

Expand access to valuesbased education by embedding The Great People Manual content directly onto the C3 Micro Cloud

Bridge digital divide by enabling schools without reliable internet to seamlessly deliver relevant, localized learning content

Support teachers and students with tools to engage in characterfocused learning while building core literacy and critical thinking skills



"This collaboration reflects our shared mission to prepare the next generation of leaders by equipping them not only with knowledge, but to inspire the discussions which will foster values development," said Beth Zemble, Chief Learning Officer at 311Literacy. "Together with Critical Links, we are making valuesbased education accessible to underserved communities."

"We are proud to join forces with 311Literacy to bring The Great People Manual into classrooms across Latin America and Africa," said Charles Foley, Chairman at Critical Links. "The C3 Micro Cloud was designed to extend digital learning ecosystems to every school, regardless of infrastructure limitations, ensuring that no child is left behind. By integrating educational content that fosters values and character development, we strengthen our mission to prepare responsible, future-ready citizens. Combined with our SAFE AI approach, this content can be delivered securely and intelligently, enabling personalized learning, supporting teachers and students, and ensuring a safe, responsible, and effective educational experience."

This collaboration marks a significant step forward in ensuring that young learners develop both the academic and character foundations essential for success in the 21st century.

About The Great People Manual (311Literacy solution)

The Great People Manual is an innovative characterbuilding solution with a literacy component designed to teach values that are universally recognized and to cultivate a culture of responsible citizenship. By integrating character development into reading, writing, and experiential learning, The Great People Manual prepares students to thrive as leaders in their communities and beyond. For more information, visit: http://thegreatpeoplemanual.com/.

About Critical Links

Critical Links is a pioneer in delivering innovative ICT infrastructure solutions for the next generation of schools, focusing on economically enabling e-learning in challenging environments. The C3 Cloud Control is a groundbreaking solution that creates an autonomous and self-sufficient learning environment. This platform enables educational institutions to access and manage learning management systems, curricula, and digital resources, even in areas with limited or no connectivity. With its offline capability, C3 Cloud Control ensures that students and teachers have continuous access to high-quality educational content, fostering education in remote and underserved regions. More information can be found at http://critical-links.com. Please contact sales@critical-links.com for further information on Critical Links, its education portfolio, and pricing.

Media Contact:

Geoffrey Drayton

Director of Business Development

311Literacy

+12156143692

geoff@311literacy.com
Bochum, Germany/New York, NY , Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Birger Nispel International Academy announced today that its founder, economic strategist Birger Nispel, delivered an award-winning keynote at the International Experts Congress in New York on August 25. Recognized for his insights into intercultural challenges faced by non-EU companies entering the German market, Nispel received honors for his presentation addressing global economic shifts and strategic marketing solutions for internationalization.





Birger Nispel, economic expert from Bochum, award-winning, at the International Experts Congress in New York

In his compelling presentation, Nispel as one of the 111 "TOP Public Speakers" in Germany, delved into the intricacies of internationalization and the market entry of foreign companies into Germany. He emphasized the critical role of understanding intercultural barriers that often hinder companies from achieving success, despite having superior products. Highlighting current global economic trends, Nispel demonstrated practical strategies for leveraging targeted marketing and sales to facilitate successful entry into the German market.

"Especially in times of economic uncertainty, it is crucial to engage in intercultural marketing in a meaningful way," stated Birger Nispel. "Only those who understand and respect cultural differences can achieve lasting success when entering the German market."

The congress featured a diverse array of topics presented by international experts throughout the day, culminating in a gala evening on a yacht set against the stunning New York skyline. During this elegant affair, Birger Nispel was honoured with an award for his outstanding speech, further cementing his reputation as a leading figure in the field of international business consultancy.

As a seasoned consultant, Nispel has dedicated many years to aiding companies in their successful internationalization efforts. His expertise lies in strategic marketing and sales, providing invaluable guidance to companies seeking to penetrate new markets. His work with Birger Nispel International Academy has been instrumental in making non-EU companies visible in Germany and Europe, showcasing how to secure the right partners and distributors or establish subsidiaries.

The event underscored the importance of intercultural understanding and strategic planning in today's interconnected world. Birger Nispel's insights and leadership continue to inspire companies to navigate the complexities of international business with confidence and success.





Birger Nispel, economic expert from Bochum, giving his award-winning presentation at the International Experts Congress in New York

About Birger Nispel International Academy



Founded by economic strategist Birger Nispel, Birger Nispel International Academy supports non-EU companiesparticularly from Japan, Taiwan, and North Americain entering the German and European markets. The academy specializes in establishing local visibility, securing distributors or partners, and setting up subsidiaries, offering structured strategies and hands-on implementation to drive long-term market success in the EU.

Press inquiries

Birger Nispel International Academy

https://www.birgernispel.com/en-gb

Birger NISPEL (Mr.)

bn@birgernispel.de

+4923433827026

Bergmannstrae 32, 44809 Bochum




Dublin, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "2025 Building and Construction Plastics Market Outlook Report: Industry Size, Market Shares Data, Insights, Growth Trends, Opportunities, Competition 2024 to 2032" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The building and construction plastics market is witnessing significant growth driven by advancements in plastic technology, the increasing focus on sustainability and energy efficiency, and the expanding use of plastics in diverse construction applications.



The year 2024 has seen notable developments in the building and construction plastics market, with the of new plastic formulations and composites, the adoption of more sustainable and recycled plastics, and a growing emphasis on enhancing the performance and durability of plastic building materials. Looking ahead, the market is projected to experience continued growth in 2025, driven by the expanding construction sector, the increasing demand for sustainable building solutions, and the growing adoption of innovative plastic technologies.



The comprehensive Building and Construction Plastics market research report delivers essential insights into current trends that are shaping the industry, along with prescriptive analyses to capitalize on the market's future growth opportunities. This report is an indispensable tool for decision-makers, offering a thorough understanding of the Building and Construction Plastics market dynamics - from raw material sourcing to end-use applications. It also addresses competitive pressures from substitutes and alternative products and enables you to formulate winning strategies.



Building and Construction Plastics Market Revenue, Prospective Segments, Potential Countries, Data and Forecast



The research estimates global Building and Construction Plastics market revenues in 2024, considering the Building and Construction Plastics market prices, Building and Construction Plastics production, supply, demand, and Building and Construction Plastics trade and logistics across regions. Detailed market share statistics, penetration, and shifts in demand for different types, applications, and geographies in the Building and Construction Plastics market from 2023 to 2032 are included in the thorough research.



The report covers North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, and LATAM/South and Central America Building and Construction Plastics market statistics, along with Building and Construction Plastics CAGR Market Growth Rates from 2024 to 2032 will provide a deep understanding and projection of the market. The Building and Construction Plastics market is further split by key product types, dominant applications, and leading end users of Building and Construction Plastics. The future of the Building and Construction Plastics market in 27 key countries around the world is elaborated to enable an in-depth geographical understanding of the Building and Construction Plastics industry.



The research considered 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 as historical years, 2023 as the base year, and 2024 as the estimated year, with an outlook to 2032. The report identifies the most prospective type of Building and Construction Plastics market, leading products, and dominant end uses of the Building and Construction Plastics Market in each region.



Building and Construction Plastics Market Structure, Competitive Intelligence and Key Winning Strategies



The building and construction plastics market is characterized by competition among established players, including large multinational chemical companies, specialized plastic manufacturers, and smaller niche suppliers. Companies are employing a variety of strategies to gain a competitive edge, including product innovation, technological advancements, cost optimization, and strategic partnerships.



Building and Construction Plastics Market Dynamics and Future Analytics



The research analyses the Building and Construction Plastics parent market, derived market, intermediaries' market, raw material market, and substitute market are all evaluated to better prospect the Building and Construction Plastics market outlook. Geopolitical analysis, demographic analysis, and Porter's five forces analysis are prudently assessed to estimate the best Building and Construction Plastics market projections.



Recent deals and developments are considered for their potential impact on Building and Construction Plastics's future business. Other metrics analyzed include the Threat of New Entrants, Threat of New Substitutes, Product Differentiation, Degree of Competition, Number of Suppliers, Distribution Channel, Capital Needed, Entry Barriers, Govt. Regulations, Beneficial Alternative, and Cost of Substitute in Building and Construction Plastics market.



Building and Construction Plastics trade and price analysis helps comprehend Building and Construction Plastics's international market scenario with top exporters/suppliers and top importers/customer information. The data and analysis assist our clients in planning procurement, identifying potential vendors/clients to associate with, understanding Building and Construction Plastics price trends and patterns, and exploring new Building and Construction Plastics sales channels. The research will be updated to the latest month to include the impact of the latest developments such as the Russia-Ukraine war on the Building and Construction Plastics market.



Your Key Takeaways from the Building and Construction Plastics Market Report

Global Building and Construction Plastics market size and growth projections (CAGR), 2024-2032

Russia-Ukraine, Israel-Palestine, Hamas impact on the Building and Construction Plastics Trade, Costs and Supply-chain

Building and Construction Plastics market size, share, and outlook across 5 regions and 27 countries, 2023 - 2032

Building and Construction Plastics market size, CAGR, and Market Share of key products, applications, and end-user verticals, 2023 - 2032

Short and long-term Building and Construction Plastics market trends, drivers, restraints, and opportunities

Porter's Five Forces analysis, Technological developments in the Building and Construction Plastics market, Building and Construction Plastics supply chain analysis

Building and Construction Plastics trade analysis, Building and Construction Plastics market price analysis, Building and Construction Plastics supply/demand

Profiles of 5 leading companies in the industry- overview, key strategies, financials, and products

Latest Building and Construction Plastics market news and developments

Countries Covered

North America Building and Construction Plastics market data and outlook to 2032

United States

Canada

Mexico

Europe Building and Construction Plastics market data and outlook to 2032

Germany

United Kingdom

France

Italy

Spain

BeNeLux

Russia

Asia-Pacific Building and Construction Plastics market data and outlook to 2032

China

Japan

India

South Korea

Australia

Indonesia

Malaysia

Vietnam

Middle East and Africa Building and Construction Plastics market data and outlook to 2032

Saudi Arabia

South Africa

Iran

UAE

Egypt

South and Central America Building and Construction Plastics market data and outlook to 2032

Brazil

Argentina

Chile

Peru

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/3aaj0w

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.
NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until September 26, 2025 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Sable Offshore Corp. (NYSE: SOC), if they purchased the Companys securities (1) between May 19, 2025 and June 3, 2025, both dates inclusive (the Class Period); and/or (2) pursuant and/or traceable to Sables May 21, 2025 secondary public offering (the SPO). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Get Help

Sable Offshore investors should visit us at https://claimsfiler.com/cases/nyse-soc-1/ or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options.

About the Lawsuit

Sable Offshore and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On June 4, 2025, the Company disclosed that a Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge granted ex parte requests from plaintiffs in Center for Biological Diversity, et al. v. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, et al. (25CV02244) and Environmental Defense Center, et al. v. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, et al. (25CV02247) for temporary restraining orders prohibiting Sable Offshore Corp. from restarting transportation of oil through the Las Flores Pipeline System pending the hearing on an order to show cause regarding a preliminary injunction scheduled for July 18, 2025. Sable is exploring all possible avenues available to address these preliminary rulings.

On this news, the price of Sables shares fell by $0.94 per share, or 3.91%, to close at $23.10 on June 4, 2025.

The case is Johnson v. Sable Offshore Corp., et al., No. 25-cv-6869.

About ClaimsFiler

ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations.

To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com.
NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until October 20, 2025 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP), if they purchased the Companys securities between April 29, 2025 to August 5, 2025, inclusive (the Class Period). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Get Help

Snap investors should visit us at https://claimsfiler.com/cases/nyse-snap-2/ or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options.

About the Lawsuit

Snap and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On August 5, 2025, the Company announced its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2025, disclosing a deceleration in advertising revenue growth due to an issue related to our ad platform, the timing of Ramadan and the effects of the de minimis changes.

On this news, the price of Snaps shares fell from a closing price of $9.39 per share on August 5, 2025 to $7.78 per share on August 6, 2025, a decline of about 17.15% in the span of just a single day.

The case is Abdul-Hameed v. Snap, Inc., et al., No. 25-cv-07844.

About ClaimsFiler

ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations.

To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com.
NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until October 28, 2025 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Dow Inc. (NYSE: DOW), if they purchased the Companys securities between January 30, 2025 and July 23, 2025, inclusive (the Class Period). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Get Help

Dow investors should visit us at https://claimsfiler.com/cases/nyse-dow-1/ or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options.

About the Lawsuit

Dow and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On July 24, 2025, the Company disclosed a 2Q 2025 non-GAAP loss per share of $0.42, much larger than the approximate $0.17 to $0.18 per share loss expected by analysts, and net sales of $10.1 billion, representing a 7.3% year-over-year decline and missing consensus estimates by $130 million, reflecting declines in all operating segments due in part to the lower-for-longer earnings environment that our industry is facing, amplified by recent trade and tariff uncertainties. Further, the Company disclosed that it was cutting its dividend in half, from $0.70 per share to only $0.35 per share, citing the need for financial flexibility amidst a persistently challenging macroeconomic environment.

On this news, the price of Dows shares fell $5.30 per share, or 17.45%, to close at $25.07 per share on July 24, 2025.

The case is Sarti v. Dow Inc., No. 25-cv-12744.

About ClaimsFiler

ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations.

To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com.
As announced previously on August 12, 2025, both the shareholders, and on August 18, 2025, the creditors, approved the draft restructuring plan of AUGA group, RAB, legal entity code 126264360 (hereinafter  the Company). Following the voting of the creditors and the shareholders for the Companys proposed draft restructuring plan, it was submitted to the Vilnius Regional Court, which, by its ruling of September 2, 2025, approved the plan. The ruling on the Companys restructuring plan entered into legal force on September 11, 2025. This court ruling marks a new stage in the Company's restructuring process, which will now be implemented starting from the date it enters into force.

The official court approval of the restructuring plan is an important step in our restructuring journey. It allows us to begin real changes aimed at settling with creditors and restoring the Companys financial viability. Implementation of the plan will ensure long-term changes in the structure of our business segments  not only helping to cover obligations to creditors but also strengthening the Companys resilience and creating conditions to successfully address long-term business challenges, said Kestutis Juscius.

Relying on the trust granted by the shareholders and creditors as well as the court ruling, the Companys Board and management are commencing implementation of the plan, also involving representatives of the creditors and shareholders in the process, ensuring transparency and efficiency throughout.

With this announcement, the Company also informs about the previous delay of disclosure of inside information. On February 17, 2025, the Company received a letter from a group of creditors requesting additional measures to restore the Companys solvency. It is important to note that agreement was reached on the inclusion of certain measures, and they were duly incorporated into the court-approved version of the restructuring plan. The Company, taking into account the fact that at an early stage of the restructuring process the position of the creditor group and its influence on the final approval of the plan were not yet clear, and the proposals submitted were only preliminary (submitted before the Company's position and vision for the implementation of the plan were presented), as well as having assessed the risk of possible misinterpretation of information and negative consequences on the securities market, decided to postpone the disclosure of inside information until the date of entry into force of the court ruling approving the restructuring plan.

Contacts:

CEO of AUGA group, RAB

Elina Chodzkaite - Barauskiene

+370 5 233 5340
Dublin, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Vietnam Steel Pipe Industry Research Report 2025-2034" has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Global demand for steel pipes continues to expand, driven by sectors like energy, infrastructure, and industrial manufacturing. As the oil and gas industry recovers, demand for seamless pipes, particularly those in high-pressure applications, has surged, introducing an era of high-performance products in the steel pipe industry. Infrastructure developments and water engineering projects further fuel the need for welded and galvanized pipes.

In Vietnam, steel pipe demand has notably risen, driven by infrastructure projects and manufacturing needs. Key infrastructure initiatives such as highways, airports, and urban transit significantly impact demand. Concurrently, Vietnam's expanding manufacturing sector, particularly in automotive and home appliances, stimulates demand for medium-thick and small-diameter welded steel pipes.

Despite some domestic production capabilities, Vietnam remains reliant on imports, with notable imports from China, Japan, and South Korea. In 2024, Vietnam's non-alloy steel pipe imports surpassed US$112 million, with over 50% sourced from China.

Looking forward, the Vietnamese steel pipe market is poised for rapid growth, propelled by public infrastructure, manufacturing upgrades, foreign investment, and urban expansion. This makes it an attractive prospect for global steel pipe manufacturers, importers, and investors. The publisher encourages stakeholders to explore and establish a presence in this dynamic market.

Foreign companies seeking entry into Vietnam's steel pipe market can obtain assistance from offices in Shanghai, China, and Hanoi, Vietnam. Strategic entry into this market could capitalize on its burgeoning demand and growth prospects.

Topics covered:

Overview of the Steel Pipe Industry in Vietnam

The Economic and Policy Environment of Steel Pipe Industry in Vietnam

The Market Size of Steel Pipe Industry in Vietnam (2025-2034)

Analysis of Major Steel Pipe Industry Manufacturers in Vietnam

Main Driving Forces and Market Opportunities of Steel Pipe Industry

Challenges and Opportunities in Vietnam's Steel Pipe Industry (2025-2034)

Key Players and Competitive Advantages in Vietnam's Steel Pipe Market

Projected Revenue of Vietnam's Steel Pipe Market (2025-2034)

Dominant Segments of Vietnam's Steel Pipe Market by 2034

Main Challenges Facing Vietnam's Steel Pipe Industry

Pathways for Foreign Investment in Vietnam's Steel Pipe Sector

Key Attributes

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 80 Forecast Period 2025-2034 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2025 $118.2 Million Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2034 $191.38 Million Compound Annual Growth Rate 5.5% Regions Covered Vietnam

Key Topics Covered



1 Overview of Vietnam

1.1 Geography of Vietnam

1.2 Demographics of Vietnam

1.3 Economic Condition of Vietnam

1.4 Minimum Wages Standard in Vietnam



2 Overview of Steel Pipe Industry

2.1 Definition and Classification of the Steel Pipe Industry

2.2 Steel Pipe Industry Chain in Vietnam

2.3 The Policy Environment of Steel Pipe Industry in Vietnam

2.4 The Recommendations for Foreign Companies Investing in Vietnam's Steel Pipe Industry



3 Supply and Demand of Steel Pipe Industry in Vietnam

3.1 Supply Analysis

3.2 Demand Analysis



4 Import and Export of Steel Pipe Industry in Vietnam

4.1 Import Situation of Vietnam's Steel Pipe Industry

4.2 Export Situation of Vietnam's Steel Pipe Industry



5 Market Competition of Steel Pipe Industry in Vietnam

5.1 Entry Barriers to Vietnam's Steel Pipe Industry

5.2 Competition Structure in Vietnam's Steel Pipe Industry



6 Analysis of Main Companies of Vietnam's Steel Pipe

6.1 Vietnam Germany Steel Mill

6.2 Hoa Sen Group

6.3 Company 3

6.4 Company 4

6.5 Company 5



7 Outlook of Steel Pipe Industry in Vietnam 2025-2034

7.1 Analysis of Development Factors of Vietnam's Steel Pipe Industry

7.2 Supply Forecast of Steel Pipe Industry in Vietnam

7.3 Demand Forecast of Steel Pipe Market in Vietnam

7.4 Import and Export Forecast of Steel Pipe Industry in Vietnam



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/tmkvza

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Attachment
PETROBRAS CHOOSES VALLOUREC TO SUPPORT $1BN OFFSHORE OCTG PROJECTS

Meudon (France), on September 11, 2025  Vallourec, a world leader in premium seamless tubular solutions, has been awarded a major contract by Petrobras as a result of a competitive bidding process for the supply of OCTG (Oil Country Tubular Goods) products and services for its offshore operations from 2026 to 2029. This long-term agreement could generate total revenue of up to USD 1 billion, representing the widest award both in volumes and revenues since Petrobras adopted the open tender strategy.

This contract covers the full OCTG scope of supply for seamless pipes and VAM premium connections required for Petrobras offshore wells from 4.5 up to 18, including carbon and stainless-steel tubulars and associated accessories. Vallourec will also deliver comprehensive value-add services both onshore and offshore, from desk engineering and material coordination to rig preparation, offshore supervision, rig return repairs, and re-stocking, to support Petrobras in optimizing operational efficiency.

This success thereby reinforces the leadership of VAM premium connections and Vallourec Tubular Services (VTS) in Brazil.



Philippe Guillemot, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of the Vallourec Group, commented:

This achievement is a powerful demonstration of Vallourecs ability to meet customers complex and evolving requirements. It confirms the strength and consistency of our positioning, built on technical excellence, an integrated industrial presence in Brazil, and a long-standing partnership with Petrobras based on mutual trust. I would like to thank Petrobras for its renewed trust and all Vallourec teams whose commitment and expertise made this success possible

About Vallourec

Vallourec is a world leader in premium tubular solutions for the energy markets and for demanding industrial applications such as oil & gas wells in harsh environments, new generation power plants, challenging architectural projects, and high-performance mechanical equipment. Vallourecs pioneering spirit and cutting-edge R&D open new technological frontiers. With close to 14,000 dedicated and passionate employees in more than 20 countries, Vallourec works hand- in-hand with its customers to offer more than just tubes: Vallourec delivers innovative, safe, competitive and smart tubular solutions, to make every project possible.

Listed on Euronext in Paris (ISIN code: FR0013506730, Ticker VK), Vallourec is part of the CAC Mid 60, SBF 120 and Next 150 indices and is eligible for Deferred Settlement Service.

In the United States, Vallourec has established a sponsored Level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) program (ISIN code: US92023R4074, Ticker: VLOWY). Parity between ADR and a Vallourec ordinary share has been set at 5:1.





For further information, please contact:

Investor relations:

Connor Lynagh

Tel: +1 (713) 409-7842

connor.lynagh@vallourec.com

Individual shareholders:

Toll Free number (From France): 0 805 65 10 10 actionnaires@vallourec.com

Press relations: Taddeo

Romain Griere

Tel: +33 (0)7 86 53 17 29

romain.griere@taddeo.fr

Nicolas Escoulan

Tel: +33 (0)6 42 19 14 74

nicolas.escoulan@taddeo.fr





Attachment
TORONTO, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Toronto & York Region Labour Council is drawing attention to Minister Paul Calandras questionable expenses as he accuses various School Trustees of mismanagement.

Calandras own expense reports show that since 2023, hes billed taxpayers $23,000 for a community BBQ in his riding, $2,200 for Strawberry pancakes and over $5,700 for stays in Toronto hotels. Calandra lives in Markham: a 20-30 minute drive from Toronto.

This week, Calandra publicly criticized expenses by the Toronto Catholic District School Board Chair Markus de Domenico including a $15 milkshake.

Minister Paul Calandra likely receives $40,000 a year for a constituency office and is expensing tens of thousands to taxpayers for food, hotels and events, said Toronto Catholic District School Board trustee Maria Rizzo. My fellow trustees and I dont have a constituency office  its the local Tim Hortons. The cost of our offices is a coffee or a milkshake for a constituent. Its unbelievably hypocritical to call $15 expense questionable when the Minister is spending thousands on strawberry pancakes and BBQs.

The government has ordered various takeovers of school boards across the Province under the false guise of fiscal mismanagement, something that community advocates have called a sham. Financial reports from PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte and the Ontario Auditor General have found no financial mismanagement at school boards.

Calandra stated that a Thames Valley District School Board senior staff retreat to a Toronto hotel was lack of financial oversight, leading to the province putting the board under supervision Yet, Calandra himself has expensed $5,700 for stays in Toronto hotels.

Is Minister Calandra going to pay back all of the $5,700 he expensed for stays in Toronto hotels? said Marianne Larsen, a Thames Valley District School Trustee. Why is he allowed to bill tax payers almost $6,000 for hotel stays when he lives so close by, especially as hes accused others in school boards of extremely poor judgement in the use of public funds?

Larsen added, Spending $23,000 on 1 BBQ is a flagrant misuse of public funds, when it takes schools 1-2 years to raise that for their own nutrition programs, playground upgrades and classrooms essentials.

For more information, visit www.fundourschools.ca.
Tonner Drones announces the launch of a capital increase with preferential subscription rights in the form of ABSA for a maximum amount of approximately 1 million euros

Maximum amount of approximately 1 million euros through a capital increase with preferential subscription rights (DPS) in the form of new shares accompanied by share subscription warrants (BSA 2025-1) (ABSA)

Subscription parity: 1 ABSA for 14 existing shares

Subscription price: 0.027 euros for an ABSA

The BSA 2025-1 will give the right to new shares accompanied by second share subscription warrants (BSA 2025-2)

100% guaranteed operation

Subscription period from September 25 to October 1 , 2025 inclusive

Free allocation of share subscription warrants to all shareholders following the issue of ABSAs





Paris, September 11, 2025 at [6:30 p.m.]  Tonner Drones (the Company) (Euronext Growth Paris: FR001400H2X4, ALTD) , announces the launch of a capital increase with preferential subscription rights ( PSR ), for a maximum gross amount of 1 million (the  Transaction ), by issuing new shares at a subscription price of 0.027 per new share (the  Price ), each accompanied by a share subscription warrant (the  BSA 2025-1 ). Subscription ratio: 1 ABSA for 14 existing shares.

2 BSA 2025-1 will entitle the holder to 1 new share, at an exercise price of 0.029 euros per new share. The BSA 2025-1 will be exercisable from their date of issue until January 9, 2026 inclusive.

Each new share issued upon exercise of the BSA 2025-1 will be attached to a second subscription warrant (" BSA 2025-2 "). 1 BSA 2025-2 will give the right to 2 new shares at the exercise price of 0.025 euro per new share. The BSA 2025-2 will be exercisable from July 1 , 2026 until December 29, 2028 inclusive.

Objectives of the Operation

The Transaction will enable the Company to pursue the following objectives:

continue the Company's debt reduction;

strengthen the Company's cash flow;

strengthen the R&D and investment budget;

accentuate the reduction of the Company's costs by repaying part of the existing debt.

 Over the past year, we have made significant progress in securing a successful future for Tonner Drones. In August 2025, Tonner Drones granted its shareholders free warrants. Since then, they have been able to finance the company themselves. This ABSA structure once again provides a fair solution for all shareholders who wish to support the company and strengthen their position,  said Diede van den Ouden, Chairman and CEO of the Company.  I already hold 12% of the shares and am the largest shareholder. I am very pleased with the progress made and optimistic about the future. I am once again demonstrating my commitment by guaranteeing (for 50%) the transaction and subscribing to the new shares. 

Action and DPS Codes

Company LEI Code: 9695000EAC5UI2LAPJ16

ICB classification: 50201010  Aerospace

Listing location: Euronext Growth Paris

Action label: TONNER DRONES

ISIN code of the action: FR001400H2X4

Action mnemonic: ALTD

ISIN code of preferential subscription rights (DPS): FR0014012NK1

Nature and legal framework of the Operation

Making use of the delegation granted by the Company's ordinary and extraordinary general meeting of June 19, 2025, in its twelfth ( 12th ) resolution, the Company's board of directors, at its meeting on September 11, 2025, decided to carry out a capital increase with maintenance of the DPS by issuing ABSA, the terms of which are detailed in this press release.

Number of shares to be issued

The maximum total number of ABSAs, with a nominal value of 0.0125 euros to be issued, amounts to 38,841,273, at a unit subscription price of 0.027 euros, i.e. a maximum gross issue proceeds of 1,048,714.37 euros (including 485,515.91 euros of nominal value and 563,198.46 euros of issue premium).

In the event of exercise of the Extension Clause, the total number of ABSAs to be issued would be increased to 44,667,463 shares and the gross proceeds to 1,206,021.50 euros.

Each share will be accompanied by a BSA 2025-1 which will be immediately detached. 2 BSA 2025-1 will entitle the holder to 1 new share, accompanied by 1 BSA 2025-2 detached after issue, in the event of exercise, until January 9, 2026, at an exercise price of 0.029 euros. The BSA 2025-1 will be exercisable from October 23, 2025 until January 9, 2026. The exercise of all the BSA 2025-1 would thus give rise to the creation of 19,420,636 new shares and would represent additional gross proceeds of 563,198.44 euros . The BSA 2025-1 will be subject to an application for admission to the Euronext Growth Paris market as of their issue.

1 BSA 2025-2 will entitle the holder to 2 new shares if exercised during the exercise period of said warrants (i.e. from June 30, 2026 to December 29, 2028), at an exercise price of 0.025 euros per new share, or 0.05 euros per BSA 2025-2. The exercise of all BSA 2025-2 would thus give rise to the creation of 38,841,272 new shares and would represent additional gross proceeds of 971,031.80 euros . The BSA 2025-2 will be subject to an application for admission to the Euronext Growth Paris market from January 16, 2026.

The exercise of all BSA 2025-1 and BSA 2025-2 will result in the creation of 58,261,908 new shares and would represent additional gross proceeds of 1,534,230.24 euros .

This number of shares was determined in consideration of the number of shares of the Company currently in circulation, i.e. 543,777,822 shares stated above.

Subscription price

The unit subscription price of an ABSA is 0.027 euros per share, and must be fully paid up upon subscription.

The ABSA subscription price of 0.027 euros per ABSA also shows a discount of 6.67% compared to the weighted average value of the Tonner Drones share price over the last ten (10) trading sessions preceding this press release (0.0289 euros).

The ABSA subscription price of 0.027 euros per ABSA shows a facial discount of 14.83% compared to the stock market price on the 11th September 2025 (0.0317 euros) and a discount of 13.98% compared to the theoretical value of the ex-rights share (0.03139 euros).

Details of the Operation are also available on a dedicated page of the Tonner Drones website ( www.tonnerdrones.com ).

Terms of the capital increase

Share capital before the Operation

The share capital of Tonner Drones is composed of 543,777,822 shares, fully subscribed and paid up, with a nominal value of 0.0125 euros each.

the theoretical value of the ex-rights share (0.03139 euros) shows a discount of 0.99% compared to the stock market price;

the theoretical value of the preferential subscription right amounts to 0.00031 euros.

Subscription terms and conditions

Subscription opening and closing dates

Subscription to ABSAs will be open from September 25, 2025 to October 1 , 2025 inclusive.

Preferential subscription right

The subscription of ABSA is reserved, by preference, for existing shareholders, as well as transferees of DPS, who may subscribe on an irreducible basis at the rate of 1 ABSA for 14 DPS, without taking into account fractions. Shareholders who do not hold, by virtue of their irreducible subscription, a sufficient number of old shares or DPS to obtain a whole number of new shares may buy or sell the number of DPS allowing them to reach the multiple leading to a whole number of new shares.

A right to subscribe to shares on a reducible basis is hereby established for the benefit of shareholders and transferees of DPS, which will be exercised in proportion to their preferential rights actually exercised and within the limit of their requests. As such, at the same time as they submit their subscriptions on an irreducible basis, shareholders or transferees of rights may subscribe on a reducible basis for the number of new shares they wish, in addition to the number of new shares resulting from the exercise of their rights on an irreducible basis. Any new shares not absorbed by the subscriptions on an irreducible basis will be distributed and allocated to subscribers on a reducible basis. Orders for subscriptions on a reducible basis are served within the limit of their request and in proportion to the number of old shares whose rights have been used in support of their subscription on an irreducible basis, without this resulting in an allocation of fractional new shares.

A notice published by Euronext on September 19, 2025, will indicate the distribution scale for subscriptions on a reducible basis.

The DPS will be detached on September 23, 2025 for the benefit of holders of existing shares recorded in their securities account at the end of the accounting day of September 22, 2025, at the rate of one DPS per existing share of the Company. They will be listed and traded on Euronext Growth Paris, under the ISIN code FR0014012NK1 from September 23, 2025 to September 29 , 2025 inclusive.

To exercise their DPS, holders must make a request to their authorized financial intermediary at any time between September 25, 2025 and October 1 , 2025 inclusive and must pay the corresponding subscription price. Each subscription must be accompanied by payment of the subscription price by cash transfer. Subscriptions that have not been fully paid up will be canceled automatically, without the need for formal notice. DPS not exercised at the end of the subscription period set for October 1, 2025 will automatically lapse.

The funds paid in support of the subscriptions will be centralized by U ptevia 90  110 Esplanade du General de Gaulle  92931 Paris La Defense Cedex which will be responsible for establishing the certificate of deposit of funds recording the completion of the capital increase and the issue of the New Shares.

Preferential subscription rights detached from the Company's own shares

As of the date of this press release, the Company does not hold any of its own shares. Pursuant to Article L. 225-206 of the French Commercial Code, Tonner Drones may not subscribe to its own shares.

Free subscription requests

In addition to the possibility of subscribing on an irreducible and reducible basis according to the terms and conditions specified above, any natural or legal person, whether or not holding DPS, may subscribe to this capital increase on a free basis. Persons wishing to subscribe on a free basis must send their request to U ptevia 90  110 Esplanade du General de Gaulle  92931 Paris La Defense Cedex , or to their authorized financial intermediary at any time during the subscription period and must pay the corresponding subscription price.

In accordance with the provisions of Article L. 225-134 of the French Commercial Code, free subscriptions will only be taken into account if the irreducible and reducible subscriptions have not absorbed the entire capital increase, it being specified that the Board of Directors will have the option to freely distribute the unsubscribed shares, in whole or in part, between the persons (shareholders or third parties) of its choice who have made requests for free subscriptions.

Subscription terms for non-shareholder investors of Tonner Drones

Any investor who is not a shareholder of Tonner Drones can subscribe in two ways:

either by acquiring DPS on the stock market from September 23, 2025 to September 29 , 2025 inclusive, through the financial institution in charge of the securities account and by exercising, no later than October 1, 2025 , the DPS with the latter. The ISIN code of the DPS is FR0014012NK1 ;

, the DPS with the latter. The ISIN code of the DPS is FR0014012NK1 ; or by subscribing freely up to and including October 1, 2025. Persons wishing to subscribe freely must send their request to their authorized financial intermediary or to U ptevia 90  110 Esplanade du General de Gaulle  92931 Paris La Defense Cedex .

Extension Clause

Depending on the level of demand expressed in the context of the Transaction and in order to cover any over-allotments, the Company may increase the number of ABSAs offered up to a limit of 15% of the initial amount (the  Extension Clause ), i.e. a maximum of 5,826,190 additional ABSAs, at the Unit Subscription Price of the ABSAs.

In the event of exercise of the Extension Clause, the total number of ABSAs to be issued would be increased to 44,667,463 shares and the gross proceeds to 1,206,021.50 euros.

In the event of exercise of the Extension Clause, subscriptions made on a reducible basis by the shareholders of the Company will be served as a priority.

The possible exercise of the Extension Clause will be decided by the board of directors, using the delegation of authority granted by the general meeting of June 19, 2025, during its meeting to determine the final terms of the issue of the ABSA, i.e. for information purposes on October 6, 2025, and will be made known to the public in the press release announcing the results of the Operation.

Characteristics of new shares

The new shares, which will be subject to all statutory provisions, will be created with current enjoyment. They will be assimilated to the old shares upon their issue.

They will be subject to a request for admission to trading on Euronext Growth Paris. They will be admitted to the same listing line as the existing shares and will be fully assimilated to them upon their admission to trading.

Settlement-delivery and admission of the new shares to Euronext Growth Paris are scheduled for October 8, 2025.

Characteristics of BSA 2025-1 and BSA 2025-2

The characteristics of the BSA 2025-1 attached to the new shares and the BSA 2025-2 attached to the new shares to be issued upon exercise of the BSA 2025-1, in particular the terms for maintaining the rights of BSA holders, are described respectively in paragraphs III.4 and III.5 of the shareholder subscription notice published in the Bulletin des Annonces Legales Obligatoires No. 110 of September 12, 2025 (No. 2504227).

The main characteristics of the BSA 2025-1 and BSA 2025-2 are reproduced in the appendix to this press release.

Free allocation of share subscription warrants ( BSA 2025-3 ) to all shareholders following the Transaction

On October 22, 2025, the Company will make a free allocation of warrants ( BSA 2025-3 ) to all shareholders holding shares in the Company as of October 20, 2025. Thus, all shareholders holding shares at the end of the Transaction will benefit from this allocation of BSA 2025-3.

The BSA 2025-3 will be admitted to listing on the Euronext Growth Paris market from their issue on October 22, 2025, until December 29, 2028.

The subscription of all the ABSA, excluding the Extension Clause, would thus give rise to the free allocation to shareholders of 582,619,095 BSA 2025-3. 10 BSA 2025-3 will give the right to 1 new share in the event of exercise during the exercise period of said warrants (i.e. from October 22, 2025 to December 29, 2028), at an exercise price of 0.032 euros per new share. The exercise of all the BSA 2025-3 would thus give rise to the creation of 58,261,009 new shares and would represent additional gross proceeds of 1,864,381.09 euros.

These figures are calculated on the basis of share capital as of the date of this press release and assuming full subscription to the Operation, excluding exercise of the Extension Clause.

The characteristics of the BSA 2025-3 will be described in the notice of subscription to shareholders relating to said warrants which will be published in the Bulletin des Annonces Legales Obligatoires before their issue.

Indicative timetable for the Operation

The table below sets out the expected timeline for the Transaction as of the date of this press release:

September 11, 2025 Decision of the board of directors on the capital increase with maintenance of the DPS and setting the terms of the Operation

Press release announcing the Operation September 12, 2025 Publication of the information notice in the BALO

Publication of the notice of suspension of the right to exercise securities giving access to capital September 19, 2025 Publication of the Euronext notice relating to the Transaction September 23, 2025 Detachment of the DPS and start of DPS trading on Euronext Growth Paris under ISIN code FR FR0014012NK1 September 25, 2025 Opening of the subscription period September 29, 2025 End of the DPS negotiation period 1 , 2025 Closure of the subscription period, lapse and loss of value of unexercised DPS October 6, 2025 Press release announcing the results of the Operation

Dissemination by Euronext Paris of the notice of admission of the final amount of the capital increase and the scale of distribution of subscriptions on a reducible basis October 8, 2025 Issue and settlement-delivery of ABSAs

Admission and start of trading of the new shares and the BSA 2025-1 on Euronext Growth Paris October 21, 2025 Opening of the exercise period for BSA 2025-1 October 22, 2025 Free allocation of share subscription warrants to all shareholders holding shares in the Company as of October 20, 2025 January 9, 2026 Deadline for exercising BSA 2025-1 January 16, 2026 Admission and start of trading of BSA 2025-2 on Euronext Growth Paris 1 , 2026 Opening of the exercise period for BSA 2025-2 December 29, 2028 Deadline for exercising BSA 2025-2 and BSA 2025-3

The above schedule will be followed by regulatory publications of the new total number of shares and the usual legal formalities from October 8, 2025.

Guarantee and subscription commitment

The offer is not subject to a performance guarantee within the meaning of Article L.225-145 of the French Commercial Code. Trading in the security will therefore only begin after the settlement and delivery operations have been completed and the depositary's certificate has been issued.

Mr. Diede van den Ouden, Chairman and CEO and shareholder of the Company, has made a subscription commitment of 525,000. This subscription will be released by way of offsetting the debt he holds against the Company.

Market Wizards BV has taken a subscription of 525,000. This subscription will be released by bank transfer.

Under the terms of the subscription commitments, Mr. Diede van den Ouden and Market Wizards BV have undertaken to subscribe on an irreducible basis for the number of ABSAs to which the DPS they hold give entitlement, as well as the ABSAs that have not been subscribed, on an irreducible basis or on a reducible basis, at the end of the subscription period. These commitments are remunerated.

Under these subscription commitments, the guarantors will receive a commission of 5% of the amount of their commitment, i.e. a total amount (excluding taxes) of 52,500 euros taken from the gross proceeds of the Operation.

Thus, the subscription commitments received amount to 1,050,000, i.e. the entire capital increase.

Distribution of capital

For information purposes and to the Company's knowledge, the distribution of the Company's capital and voting rights, before and after the issue of 38,841,273 ABSA (i.e. 100% of the Transaction excluding the exercise of the Extension Clause), is as follows:

Shareholders



Before Operation After completion of the Operation at 100% Number of shares % of capital and voting rights Number of shares % of capital and voting rights Diede van den Ouden 65,468,000 12.04% 84,888,637 14.57% Market Wizards BV 0 0% 19,420,636 3.33% Audience 478,309,822 87.96% 478,309,822 82.10% Total 543,777,822 100.00% 582,619,095 100.00%

Impact of the capital increase on the situation of the shareholder who does not subscribe to the Operation

For information purposes, the impact of the capital increase on the situation of the shareholder holding 1% of the share capital of Tonner Drones prior to the capital increase and not subscribing to it (calculations made on the basis of the number of shares comprising the share capital of the Company as of September 11, 2025) would be as follows:

Shareholder participation (%) Undiluted base (1) Diluted base (2) Before issue of new shares 1.00% 0.93% After the issue of 38,841,273 new shares (i.e. 100% of the Operation) 0.93% 0.87% After the issue of 38,841,273 new shares (i.e. 100% of the Transaction) and the issue of 19,420,636 new shares upon exercise of the BSA 2025-1 0.90% 0.84% After the issue of 38,841,273 new shares (i.e. 100% of the Transaction), issue of 19,420,636 new shares upon exercise of the BSA 2025-1 and issue of 38,841,272 new shares upon exercise of the BSA 2025-2 0.85% 0.80%

(1) Based on an existing number of shares of 543,777,822 as of September 9, 2025

(2) Taking into account the issue of 41,560,079 new shares likely to be issued on the date of this press release corresponding to the exercise of share subscription warrants allocated free of charge to all shareholders on August 2, 2024 (TDBS).

Abstention and retention commitments

Nothing.

Risk factors

The main risk factors associated with the capital increase are as follows:

shareholders who do not exercise their DPS would see their stake in the Company's capital diluted by the new shares as well as by the exercises of BSA 2025-1 and BSA 2025-2 at later dates;

the DPS market may offer only limited liquidity and be subject to high volatility;

the market price of the Company's shares could fluctuate and fall below the subscription price of the new shares from the announcement of the offer, during the subscription period or at any time after the closing of the offer

the volatility and liquidity of the Company's shares could fluctuate significantly;

in the event of a fall in the market price of the Company's shares, the DPS could lose their value.





The Company draws the public's attention to the risk factors relating to the Company and its activities presented in Section 1.6 of its management report included in its 2024 annual report, online on the Company's website ( www.tonnerdrones.com ).

Prospectus

Pursuant to the provisions of Article L.411-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code and Article 211-2 of the General Regulation of the Financial Markets Authority ( AMF ), this issue will not give rise to a prospectus approved by the AMF, the total amount of the offer is less than 8 million euros, calculated over a period of 12 months.

Subscription notice published in the Bulletin of Legal and Mandatory Announcements

The notice of subscription to shareholders relating to the Transaction is published in the Bulletin des Annonces Legales Obligatoires No. 110 of September 12, 2025 (No. 2504227).

Suspension of the right to the allocation of shares to holders of stock warrants

The right to the allocation of shares of holders of share subscription warrants issued by the Company will be suspended from September 19, 2025 (0:01 a.m., Paris time) for a maximum period of three months, i.e. at the latest until December 19, 2025 , in accordance with legal and regulatory provisions and the terms of issue or allocation of share subscription warrants.

This suspension is the subject of a publication in the Bulletin des Annonces Legales Obligatoires n 110 of September 12, 2025 (n 2504229) of the notice provided for by article R.225-133 of the Commercial Code and will take effect on September 19, 2025.

About Tonner Drones

Tonner Drones develops technologies for the logistics sector. Tonner Drones holds significant stakes in some promising French drone manufacturers such as Elistair and Donecle. Tonner Drones' strategy is to increase the value of its stakes in these companies through active asset management. Additional revenue can be generated from royalties on Tonner Drones' patents. Tonner Drones does not plan to own a factory; however, it is committed to keeping R&D for its products and systems in France. Tonner Drones uses an active strategy to manage its cash flow.

Tonner Drones shares are listed on Euronext Growth Paris (ISIN code: FR001400H2X4).

More information on: www.tonnerdrones.com / contact@tonnerdrones.com

Warning

This press release, and the information it contains, does not constitute an offer to sell or subscribe, or a solicitation of an order to buy or subscribe, for shares in Tonner Drones in any country.

This press release constitutes an advertisement and not a prospectus within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No. 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 (the  Prospectus Regulation ).

With respect to the Member States of the European Economic Area other than France (the  Member States ), no action has been taken or will be taken to permit an offer to the public of the securities requiring the publication of a prospectus in any of these Member States. Accordingly, the securities may not be offered and will not be offered in any of the Member States (other than France), except in accordance with the exemptions provided for in Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation, or in other cases not requiring the publication by Tonner Drones of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation and/or the regulations applicable in these Member States.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell securities or a solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for securities in the United States of America. The shares, or any other securities, of Tonner Drones may not be offered or sold in the United States of America except pursuant to registration under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the " Securities Act "), or pursuant to an exemption from this registration requirement, it being specified that the shares of Tonner Drones have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act. Tonner Drones does not intend to register the offering in whole or in part in the United States of America or to make a public offering in the United States of America.

This press release does not constitute an offer of securities to the public in the United Kingdom. The distribution of this press release is not made, and has not been approved, by an authorized person within the meaning of Article 21(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Accordingly, this press release is addressed to and is only directed at (i) persons located outside the United Kingdom, (ii) investment professionals within the meaning of Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended, and (iii) persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) (high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc.) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the persons mentioned in paragraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). Tonner Drones securities are intended only for Relevant Persons and any invitation, offer or agreement relating to the subscription, purchase or acquisition of Tonner Drones securities may only be addressed to or concluded with Relevant Persons. Any person other than a Relevant Person must refrain from using or relying on this press release and the information it contains. This press release does not constitute a prospectus approved by the Financial Conduct Authority or any other regulatory authority in the United Kingdom for the purposes of Section 85 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

This press release contains information on Tonner Drones' objectives as well as forward-looking statements. This information is not historical data and should not be interpreted as guarantees that the facts and data stated will occur. This information is based on data, assumptions and estimates considered reasonable by Tonner Drones. The latter operates in a competitive and rapidly changing environment. It is therefore not able to anticipate all risks, uncertainties or other factors likely to affect its business, their potential impact on its business or to what extent the materialization of a risk or a combination of risks could have results significantly different from those mentioned in any forward-looking information. This information is given only as of the date of this press release. Tonner Drones makes no commitment to publish updates to this information or the assumptions on which it is based, except for any legal or regulatory obligation that may apply to it.

The distribution of this press release may be subject to specific regulations in certain countries. Consequently, persons physically present in these countries and in which the press release is distributed, published or broadcast must inform themselves and comply with these laws and regulations.

The information contained in this press release does not constitute an offer of securities in the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan or any other country. This press release may not be published, forwarded or distributed, directly or indirectly, in the United States of America, Australia, Canada or Japan.

Finally, this press release may be written in French and English. In the event of any differences between the two texts, the French version shall prevail.

Appendix

Main characteristics of BSA 2025-1 and BSA 2025-2

The table below shows the main characteristics of the BSA 2025-1 attached to the new shares and the BSA 2025-2 attached to the new shares to be issued upon exercise of the BSA 2025-1

The characteristics of the BSA 2025-1 and BSA 2025-2, in particular the terms for maintaining the rights of BSA holders, are described respectively in paragraphs III.4 and III.5 of the subscription notice to shareholders published in the Bulletin des Annonces Legales Obligatoires No. 110 of September 12, 2025 (No. 2504227).

Characteristics of BSA 2025-1 Form and delivery Registered or bearer, depending on the form of holding of the ABSA. Detachment and date of registration in the account The BSA 2025-1 will be detached from the new shares upon issue of the ABSA.







The BSAs will be registered in the account and tradable from October 8 , 2025 Listing of BSA 2025-1 The BSAs will be listed on Euronext Growth Paris during the exercise period. ISIN code FR0014012NL9 Exercise period From October 23, 2025 to January 9, 2026 inclusive Fate of unexercised securities BSA 2025-1 which have not been exercised by midnight on January 9, 2026 will automatically lapse and lose all value. Parity of exercise 2 BSA 2025-1 give the right to subscribe to 1 new Tonner Drones share with a nominal value of 0.025 euros to which a BSA 2025-2 will be attached . Strike price 0.029 euro per new share Minimum number of BSA 2025-1 to be exercised per financial year 200,000 Maximum number of BSA 2025-1 to be issued (based on an ABSA issue carried out 100% excluding the Extension Clause) 38,841,273 BSA 2025-1 attached to 38,841,273 ABSA Maximum number of shares to be issued upon exercise of BSA 2025-1 (based on an ABSA issue completed at 100% and excluding the Extension Clause) 19,420,636 new shares to which 19,420,636 BSA 2025-2 will be attached Exercise price of BSA 2025-1 0.029 euros per new share, representing a premium of 10.34 % compared to the subscription price of the ABSA . Terms of exercise To exercise their BSAs, holders must make a request to the intermediary with whom their securities are registered and must fully pay up the amount of their subscription.







Uptevia will ensure the centralization of these operations. Gross proceeds in the event of exercise of all BSA 2025-1 (based on an ABSA issue carried out at 100% and excluding the Extension Clause) 563,198.44 euros (including 242,757.95 euros nominal value and 320,440.49 euros issue premium) Characteristics of BSA 2025-2 Form and delivery Registered or bearer, depending on the form of holding of the ABSA. Detachment and date of registration in the account The BSA 2025-2 will be detached from the new shares issued upon exercise of the BSA 2025-1 upon issue of said shares .







The BSAs will be registered in the account and tradable from January 16, 2026. Listing of BSA 2025-2 The BSAs will be listed on Euronext Growth Paris during the exercise period. ISIN code FR0014012OE2 Exercise period From July 1 , 2026 until December 29, 2028 inclusive Fate of unexercised securities BSA 2025-2 which have not been exercised by midnight on December 29, 2028 will automatically lapse and lose all value. Parity of exercise 1 BSA 2025-2 gives the right to subscribe to 2 new Tonner Drones shares with a nominal value of 0.025 euros . Strike price 0.025 euro per new share or 0.05 euro per BSA 2025 Minimum number of BSA 2025-2 to be exercised per financial year 100,000 Maximum number of BSA 2025-2 to be issued (based on an ABSA issue carried out 100% excluding the Extension Clause) 19,420,636 BSA 2025-2 Maximum number of shares to be issued upon exercise of BSA 2025-2 (based on an ABSA issue carried out at 100% and excluding the Extension Clause) 38,841,272 new shares Exercise price of BSA 2025-2 0.025 euros per new share, i.e. a discount of 3.85 % compared to the subscription price of the ABSA and a discount of 3.79 % compared to the exercise price of the BSA 2025-1. Terms of exercise To exercise their BSA 2025-2, holders must make a request to the intermediary with whom their securities are registered and must fully pay up the amount of their subscription.







Uptevia will ensure the centralization of these operations. Gross proceeds in the event of exercise of all BSA 2025-2 (based on an ABSA issue carried out at 100% and excluding the Extension Clause) 971,031.80 euros (including 485,515.90 euros nominal value and 485,515.90 euros issue premium)

Attachment
ANNOUNCEMENT NO. 292

11 September 2025

Annual Report 2024/25 (1 July 2024 - 30 June 2025)

Growing revenue and EBITDA

ChemoMetecs revenue grew by 22% to DKK 495.6 million in 2024/25, and operating profit (EBITDA) increased by 39% to DKK 258.0 million. The positive revenue performance reflected an increase in sales of both instruments, consumables and services. The launch of the new XcytoMatic products is proceeding as planned.

Along with our strong focus on creating renewed momentum in our existing business, we spent considerable resources during the financial year on launching our new high-tech XcytoMatic products. The launch of the XcytoMatic 40 is paving the way for ChemoMetec in the bioprocessing market, while the new XcytoMatic 30 and 50 instruments, both of which were developed on the same technology platform as the XcytoMatic 40, address our cell and gene therapy customers demand for automation.

Automation is an attractive new market for us, and we believe that ChemoMetec has a strong market position in the current surge in automation  and we are in a process of taking full advantage of this opportunity.

In the coming year, we will further accelerate the marketing of our new products, complete the development of another member of the XcytoMatic family, the XcytoMatic 50, continue working on the development of a new automation solution, the Sample Mana-gement System, and strengthen our software development while also maintaining focus on our existing business.

We are very confident that our new solutions will make a strong contribution to our growth in the coming years. However, it is important to bear in mind that the XcytoMatic instruments address bioprocessing customers and customers with automation projects  and that the validation and decision-making process in this segment is relatively long. This means that it will require a degree of patience to unlock the expected great potential of our new products, says Martin Helbo Behrens, CEO.

Financial results

In the 2024/25 financial year, revenue grew by 22% to DKK 495.6 million measured both in Danish kroner and at constant exchange rates.

59% of ChemoMetecs revenue was generated in the USA/Canada, 32% in Europe and 9% in the rest of the world, unchanged relative to the 2023/24 financial year.

Sales of instruments grew by 22% in 2024/25, while sales of consumables and services grew by 20% and 25%, respectively.

EBITDA amounted to DKK 258.0 million in 2024/25, against DKK 186.2 million in 2023/24. The increase was primarily attributable to the increase in revenue without a corresponding increase in costs. EBITDA was however affected by non-recurring restructuring costs of DKK 11.8 million.

The EBITDA margin for 2024/25 was 52%, against 46% in 2023/24.

The profit for the year was up by DKK 50.1 million year-on-year to DKK 186.4 million.

Revenue for the year was in line with the preliminary 2024/25 figure announced on 1 July 2025, and EBITDA was in line with the most recent guidance announced on 10 January 2025.

The Board of Directors proposes to the general meeting that a dividend of DKK 7.0 per share, equivalent to a total dividend payout of DKK 121.8 million, be distributed for the 2024/25 financial year.

Guidance

For 2025/26, ChemoMetec expects revenue in the range of DKK 545-565 million and EBITDA in the range of DKK 295-315 million.

Conference call

The Company will host a conference call on Friday, 12 September at 3:00 p.m., at which Martin Helbo Behrens, CEO, and Kim Nicolajsen, CFO, will present the annual report for 2024/25.

The conference call will be conducted in English.

To attend, please send an e-mail to crk@chemometec.com, stating your name, job title and organisation.

Additional information

Martin Helbo Behrens, CEO

Tel.: (+45) 48 13 10 20

Kim Nicolajsen, CFO

Tel.: (+45) 48 13 10 20

Attachments to this announcement

Annual Report 2024/25 (Danish)

Annual Report 2024/25 (English)

The annual report may also be downloaded from ChemoMetecs website www.chemometec.com

About ChemoMetec A/S

ChemoMetec develops, manufactures and markets instruments for cell counting and a wide range of other measurements. ChemoMetecs instruments are marketed to the pharmaceutical, biotech and agricultural industries worldwide. ChemoMetecs customers include some of the worlds leading pharmaceutical companies.

ChemoMetec was founded in 1997 and is listed on Nasdaq OMX Copenhagen. For further information, go to www.chemometec.com.

Attachment
Beverly Hills, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Beverly Hills, California - September 11, 2025 -

Nikoo Berenji, a Senior Counsel at Berenji and Associates, is spearheading the creation of a Legal Assistant Certificate Program at Los Angeles Valley College. With nearly two decades of hands-on experience in high net worth divorce and intricate family law cases, Berenji brings both academic expertise and real-world knowledge to a new generation of paralegals and legal professionals. Berenji's deep understanding of family law and aggressive work with high-asset cases offer both practical knowledge and academic wisdom to those aspiring to enter the legal field.

Berenji has been teaching aspiring law students and legal professionals for more than a decade at institutions across Southern California, including UCLA School of Law and USC Gould School of Law. In her new role at Los Angeles Valley College, she will help design and deliver coursework that equips students to succeed as paralegals and legal assistants  many of whom are the first in their families to attend college and pursue careers in the legal field.

Berenji expressed the fulfillment she gains from educating upcoming legal professionals. "Contributing to the education of future legal professionals has been incredibly significant to me," she remarked. "I see my students stepping into uncharted territories for their families, and being able to guide them as they embark on their journeys into the legal world is highly fulfilling. Through this program, we aim to prepare them for impactful careers, not just immediate jobs."

The program's curriculum is designed to integrate Berenji's experience in legal practice and insights from her time at Berenji and Associates, a family law firm known for its work in aggressive, high-stakes divorce cases, contested custody matters, international asset disputes, and hidden property claims. Students enrolled in the program will gain an understanding of law office dynamics and sharpen their client care skillsqualities that distinguish successful family law attorneys.

Founded in Beverly Hills and with additional offices in Los Angeles and Pasadena, Berenji and Associates has earned a reputation for managing high-value divorces with strategic expertise and genuine compassion. Their focus on complex, sometimes aggressive, family law cases often involves navigating through significant assets, contentious custody disputes, and legal challenges that cross international borders.

A spokesperson for Berenji & Associates highlighted the value of this initiative. "Nikoo's contributions to the development of this program align with our firm's dedication to excellence in family law. Her guidance will undoubtedly provide these students with the essential skills and knowledge they need to excel in their careers." Her involvement helps train students not just for the immediate job market but for impactful, sustainable careers in law.

https://youtu.be/nSgoSExnOwQ

For anyone seeking more information about Berenji and Associates or in need of consultations regarding family law issues, the firm's website is a valuable resource. It offers detailed information on topics such as high net worth divorces, child custody, and spousal support. Through this new initiative, Berenji and Associates strives to contribute to the broader legal community by fostering the next generation of legal professionals.

###

For more information about Berenji & Associates, contact the company here:



Berenji & Associates

Berenji & Associates

3102716290

nikoo@berenjilaw.com

9465 Wilshire Blvd.

Suite 333

Beverly Hills, CA 90212
NEW YORK, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Morgan & Morgan , Americas largest injury law firm, is representing customers in a mass legal action against The Hertz Corporation , and its brands Dollar and Thrifty, over a data breach that exposed the personal information of thousands of customers. The incident, which was disclosed by Hertz in April 2025, originated from a cyberattack on a third-party vendor, Cleo Communications, that occurred between October and December 2024.

The actions allege that Hertz and Cleo were negligent in protecting sensitive customer data, which was compromised as part of a widespread attack by the CL0P ransomware group. The exposed information allegedly includes names, contact information, dates of birth, driver's license numbers, and credit card details. A small number of individuals also had their Social Security numbers, passport information, and other government identification numbers compromised.

The legal action is being handled as a mass arbitration in which the plaintiffs contend that Hertz failed to implement adequate data security measures and was slow to notify affected customers, leaving them vulnerable to identity theft and fraud. Morgan & Morgan is seeking financial damages for customers, as well as injunctions to compel Hertz and its vendors to improve their cybersecurity practices.

This legal action is about holding companies accountable for failing to protect the sensitive information entrusted to them, said Morgan & Morgan founder John Morgan and attorney Seth Ottensoser. A drivers license number or a Social Security number is a key to a persons identity, and when a company loses control of that data, it can cause significant and lasting harm. We believe that Hertz and Cleo must be held responsible for the risks and financial losses their customers now face.

The action, which is in its early stages, aims to determine the full extent of the damages and secure compensation for all affected individuals. Those who have received notices that they may have been impacted by the breach can take this quiz to determine whether or not they are eligible to participate in the mass action.

Morgan & Morgan has successfully litigated several similar data breach cases against major corporations, securing millions of dollars for those impacted. For more information about Morgan & Morgans Mass Arbitration Practice, please visit our website .

About Morgan & Morgan

As Americas largest injury law firm, with lawyers licensed in all 50 states, Morgan & Morgan has recovered more than $25 billion for over 700,000 clients. Throughout the United States, our attorneys fulfill our For The People commitment in over 50 practice areas, including national mass torts and class actions, labor and employment, product liability and dangerous drugs, among many others. Hundreds of law firms throughout the U.S. refer thousands of cases through our Morgan Connection platform. Our firm has taken on some of the biggest corporations across the globe, including BP, Facebook, Google, Monsanto, Norfolk Southern and Eli Lilly, and recovered billions in complex national litigation, including $1.8 billion in the Porter Ranch Gas Leak case in California. Learn more at https://www.forthepeople.com/ .
Washington, D.C., Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On April 2, 2025, while headlines focused on tariffs, something far more powerful was unfolding behind the scenes, according to a newly released presentation . President Trump and his closest advisors were laying the foundation for what Buck Sexton calls Manhattan 2a radical initiative designed to reassert Americas dominance on the global stage.

This is going to be truly unprecedented, Sexton said. I believe Trump is getting ready to issue a package of new AI Executive Orders setting our economy on a 40-year bull run.

The Race for Artificial Superintelligence

The stakes, Sexton warns, are nothing less than Americas future.

This isnt ChatGPT, or any other kind of AI youve ever seen or heard about. This is Artificial Superintelligence  or ASI.

Sexton stressed the urgency: If China gets it first  they stay first forever. No one else will ever catch up.

He also highlighted national security risks: Artificial Superintelligence could be the key to America building the first fully autonomous AI powered military.

Billions Set to Flow Into U.S. Companies

According to Sexton, the scope of government support is staggering. All told, thats an estimated $2.2 trillion in targeted government investment in the coming decade  not speculation, not wishful thinking.

He compared the coming wave to past defense booms: Every time the U.S. enters a major arms race, we see the same pattern. The government pours massive funds into little-known tech companies and those companies turn early investors into millionaires.

Lessons From History

Sexton pointed to Americas past for context. The first Manhattan project was transformational for America. It was also a generational opportunity for families who knew how to play it to create real wealth.

And now, he believes history is echoing: The same force that led to prosperity in America for nearly a century is about to happen again with what Im calling: Manhattan 2.

About Buck Sexton

Buck Sexton is a former CIA counter-terrorism officer and national security expert who personally debriefed President George W. Bush during the Iraq War. He was also hand-picked to replace the late great Rush Limbaugh as the co-host of Americas highest-rated radio program with over 15 million followers.

With unmatched access to White House decision makers, including President Trump, Sexton now brings his intelligence background and insider knowledge to Main Street Americans through groundbreaking financial presentations and research.
SAN DIEGO, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP announces that purchasers or acquirers of Dow Inc. (NYSE: DOW) securities between January 30, 2025 and July 23, 2025, all dates inclusive (the Class Period), have until October 28, 2025 to seek appointment as lead plaintiff of the Dow class action lawsuit. Captioned Sarti v. Dow Inc., No. 25-cv-12744 (E.D. Mich.), the Dow class action lawsuit charges Dow, The Dow Chemical Company, a Dow subsidiary, as well as certain of Dows top executives with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

If you suffered substantial losses and wish to serve as lead plaintiff of the Dow class action lawsuit, please provide your information here:

https://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases-dow-inc-class-action-lawsuit-dow.html

You can also contact attorneys J.C. Sanchez or Jennifer N. Caringal of Robbins Geller by calling 800/449-4900 or via e-mail at info@rgrdlaw.com.

CASE ALLEGATIONS: Dow, through its subsidiaries, provides various materials science solutions for packaging, infrastructure, mobility, and consumer applications.

The Dow class action lawsuit alleges that defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Dows ability to mitigate macroeconomic and tariff-related headwinds, as well as to maintain the financial flexibility needed to support its lucrative dividend, was overstated; and (ii) the true scope and severity of the foregoing headwinds negative impacts on Dows business and financial condition was understated, particularly with respect to competitive and pricing pressures, softening global sales, and demand for Dows products, as well as an oversupply of products in Dows global markets.

The Dow class action lawsuit further alleges that on June 23, 2025 BMO Capital downgraded its recommendation on Dow to Underperform from Market Perform while also cutting its price target on Dows stock to $22.00 per share from $29.00 per share, citing sustained weakness across key end markets and mounting pressure on Dows dividend. Following this news, Dows stock price fell by more than 3%, the complaint alleges.

Then, the complaint further alleges that on July 24, 2025, Dow reported a second quarter of 2025 non-GAAP loss per share of $0.42, significantly larger than the approximate $0.17 to $0.18 per share loss expected by analysts and net sales of $10.1 billion, representing a 7.3% year-over-year decline and missing consensus estimates by $130 million, reflecting declines in all operating segments. Dows CEO, defendant Jim Fitterling, blamed these disappointing results on the lower-for-longer earnings environment that our industry is facing, amplified by recent trade and tariff uncertainties, while providing a dour outlook marked by signs of oversupply from newer market entrants who are exporting to various regions at anti-competitive economics, it is alleged. Dow also revealed that it was cutting its dividend in half, from $0.70 per share to only $0.35 per share, citing the need for financial flexibility amidst a persistently challenging macroeconomic environment, the Dow class action lawsuit further alleges. Following this news, Dows stock price fell by more than 17%, the complaint alleges.

THE LEAD PLAINTIFF PROCESS: The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 permits any investor who purchased or acquired Dow securities during the Class Period to seek appointment as lead plaintiff in the Dow class action lawsuit. A lead plaintiff is generally the movant with the greatest financial interest in the relief sought by the putative class who is also typical and adequate of the putative class. A lead plaintiff acts on behalf of all other class members in directing the Dow class action lawsuit. The lead plaintiff can select a law firm of its choice to litigate the Dow class action lawsuit. An investors ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff of the Dow class action lawsuit.

ABOUT ROBBINS GELLER: Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP is one of the worlds leading law firms representing investors in securities fraud and shareholder litigation. Our Firm has been ranked #1 in the ISS Securities Class Action Services rankings for four out of the last five years for securing the most monetary relief for investors. In 2024, we recovered over $2.5 billion for investors in securities-related class action cases  more than the next five law firms combined, according to ISS. With 200 lawyers in 10 offices, Robbins Geller is one of the largest plaintiffs firms in the world, and the Firms attorneys have obtained many of the largest securities class action recoveries in history, including the largest ever  $7.2 billion  in In re Enron Corp. Sec. Litig. Please visit the following page for more information:

https://www.rgrdlaw.com/services-litigation-securities-fraud.html

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Services may be performed by attorneys in any of our offices.

Contact:

Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP

J.C. Sanchez, Jennifer N. Caringal

655 W. Broadway, Suite 1900, San Diego, CA 92101

800-449-4900

info@rgrdlaw.com
NEW YORK, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hark Capital, through its managed funds, today announced the closing of a $50 million NAV facility with Pharos IV-A, L.P., a middle-market private equity fund focused on healthcare companies that aim to improve the patient experience of care, increase access to care within underserved communities, and reduce the total cost of healthcare. Proceeds of the facility will be used to support new and existing investments in Pharos healthcare portfolio.

We are thrilled to build on our long-standing relationship with Pharos Capital Group and support their mission of investing in high-impact healthcare companies, said Rafael Castro, Partner at Hark Capital. The transaction marks the third financing facility between our two firms and underscores Harks commitment to supporting enduring middle-market franchises.

Joel Goldberg, Partner of Pharos Capital Group added, We value Hark Capitals partnership and their ability to deliver flexible financing solutions that align with our strategy of building healthcare companies that expand access and improve outcomes.

The financing leverages the credit strength and diversification of the Pharos IV-A portfolio to strategically obtain attractive and flexible capital. The transaction highlights Hark Capitals leadership in the NAV lending space and its continued focus on delivering innovative fund finance solutions to middle-market sponsors.

About Hark Capital

Since 2013, Hark Capital, a subsidiary of P10, Inc. (NYSE: PX), has been a pioneer in providing creative, non-dilutive fund finance solutions for middle-market private equity sponsors, with a focus on NAV-based and management company facilities. Since inception, Hark Capital has deployed over $1.7 billion across 130+ transactions with more than 60 sponsors in the US, Canada and Europe.

Hark Capital Advisors, LLC

Email: info@harkcap.com

About Pharos Capital Group

Based in Dallas and Nashville, Pharos Capital Group is a physician-founded investment firm focused on growing healthcare companies that aim to lower the total cost of care, improve patient outcomes and expand access to care in underserved markets. Since inception, Pharos has invested in 61 companies and has over $900 million of private equity assets under management as of June 30, 2025. Pharos typically invests $25-$50 million in rapidly growing middle market companies seeking later stage funding for internal growth, acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, or recapitalizations, predominantly across healthcare sectors. For more information on Pharos, please visit www.pharosfunds.com or visit us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/pharos-capital-group.
IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allied Universal, the worlds leading global security and facility services company, honors the memory of 9/11 and those we lost. We are privileged to provide security at the 9/11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan. In a moving video, our colleague Brian Vanderschuy, retired NYPD officer and now Allied Universals account manager at the memorial, shares his reflections on resilience, service, and remembrance.

Video: https://allieduniversal.wistia.com/medias/8x82lqul3f

About Allied Universal

The worlds leading security and facility services provider and trusted partner to more than 400 of the Fortune 500, Allied Universal delivers unparalleled customer relationships, innovative solutions, cutting-edge smart technologies and tailored services that enable clients to focus on their core businesses. With operations in over 100 countries and territories, Allied Universal is the third-largest private employer in North America and seventh in the world. Annual revenue is more than $23 billion. There is no greater purpose and responsibility than serving and helping to safeguard customers, communities and people. For more information, visit aus.com.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/86abafb7-4b51-4675-a70c-a33a362ff288

Media Contact:

Kari Garcia

Director of Communications  North America

Email: Kari.Garcia@aus.com

Newsroom: https://ausnewsroom.aus.com/
Victoria, B.C., Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the first nation-building projects be prioritized by the Major Projects Office, including copper mines in B.C. and Saskatchewan and SMR nuclear development in Ontario.



In response, Merran Smith, president of New Economy Canada, said:

We welcome this commitment to getting things built quickly while upholding Indigenous rights, enhancing clean growth and maintaining environmental protections. The focus on critical minerals will help position Canada to meet the growing global demand driven by electrification and battery technologies. At the same time, the development of Small Modular Reactors in Ontario will strengthen Canadas influence as an energy superpower by expanding our expertise and manufacturing innovation.

Moving these projects forward is essential to modernizing our economy and diversifying trade, but if we treat them as one-offs, we risk missing out on the jobs, investment, and productivity gains that come with a comprehensive investment- and climate-competitive industrial strategy.

We look forward to working with the government to ensure that these efforts are part of an integrated approach, one that supports a value-added supply chain for made-in-Canada products, prioritizes investment in infrastructure and the modernization of our energy and transport systems, and strengthens our competitiveness in a global market demanding low-carbon and clean technologies and products.

Canadas electricity grid is a core economic strength, consistently attracting investors and businesses with its reliable, clean, and affordable power. Strengthening and expanding this grid is a national priority that isnt fully reflected in the currently proposed project list. Prioritizing strategic nation-building projects that capitalize on our electricity generation potential, like Wind West, and reinforcing it with energy storage and transmission infrastructure, would go a long way to setting up Canada for a modern, efficient and productive economy.



About New Economy Canada





New Economy Canada is a non-partisan initiative uniting over 60 companies, industrial sector associations, as well as labour and Indigenous organizations, all committed to accelerating investment in Canadas clean economy. Our members employ or represent over 410,000 workers and generate annual revenues of over $200 billion CAD.

Media inquiries:

Rebecca Spring, Director of Communications

New Economy Canada

Rebecca.spring@neweconomycanada.ca
Investors can contact the law firm at no cost to learn more about recovering their losses

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Portnoy Law Firm advises Dow Inc. ("Dow" or the "Company") (NYSE: DOW) investors of a class action representing investors that bought securities between January 30, 2025 and July 23, 2025, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Dow investors have until October 28, 2025 to file a lead plaintiff motion.

Investors are encouraged to contact attorney Lesley F. Portnoy, by phone 310-692-8883 or email: lesley@portnoylaw.com, to discuss their legal rights, or click here to join the case. The Portnoy Law Firm can provide a complimentary case evaluation and discuss investors options for pursuing claims to recover their losses.

CASE ALLEGATIONS: Dow, through its subsidiaries, provides a range of materials science solutions for packaging, infrastructure, mobility, and consumer applications.

The Dow class action lawsuit alleges that during the Class Period, defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Dow overstated its ability to mitigate macroeconomic and tariff-related headwinds and maintain the financial flexibility necessary to support its dividend; and (ii) Dow understated the scope and severity of these headwinds negative impacts on its business and financial condition, particularly regarding competitive and pricing pressures, weakening global sales and demand, and oversupply in Dows global markets.

The lawsuit further alleges that on June 23, 2025, BMO Capital downgraded its recommendation on Dow to Underperform from Market Perform and cut its price target to $22.00 per share from $29.00, citing sustained weakness in key end markets and mounting pressure on Dows dividend. On this news, Dows stock price fell more than 3%.

Then, on July 24, 2025, Dow reported a Q2 2025 non-GAAP loss per share of $0.42, far worse than analyst expectations of approximately $0.17 to $0.18 per share, and net sales of $10.1 billion, a 7.3% year-over-year decline, missing consensus estimates by $130 million. These results reflected declines across all operating segments. Defendant CEO Jim Fitterling attributed the disappointing performance to the lower-for-longer earnings environment that our industry is facing, amplified by recent trade and tariff uncertainties, while also warning of oversupply from new market entrants exporting at anti-competitive economics.

Dow also disclosed that it was cutting its dividend in half, from $0.70 per share to $0.35 per share, citing the need for financial flexibility amidst a persistently challenging macroeconomic environment. Following this news, Dows stock price declined by more than 17%, according to the complaint.

Please visit our website to review more information and submit your transaction information.

The Portnoy Law Firm represents investors in pursuing claims against caused by corporate wrongdoing. The Firms founding partner has recovered over $5.5 billion for aggrieved investors. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Lesley F. Portnoy, Esq.

Admitted CA and NY Bar

lesley@portnoylaw.com

310-692-8883

www.portnoylaw.com

Attorney Advertising
Fort Wayne, IN , Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Fort Wayne is pleased to announce that it has surpassed 500 Google reviews, maintaining an impressive 4.8-star rating. This milestone reflects the growing demand for dependable plumbing services in Fort Wayne, especially as homeowners prepare for seasonal changes that often require maintenance and repairs. The recognition highlights the companys commitment to customer satisfaction in a vital industry.





The professional team at Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Fort Wayne

We are thankful for the support from our dedicated team and the Fort Wayne community, said Joe Spatt , owner of Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Fort Wayne. Reaching this milestone would not have been possible without our customers who trust us to provide the best plumber Fort Wayne has to offer. We are committed to delivering quality plumbing repair services that meet the needs of our community.

Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Fort Wayne offers a wide range of services, including clogged drain repair, sewer line repair, water heater repair, and emergency plumbing repair. Their expertise enables them to address both residential and commercial plumbing needs effectively.

The company serves homeowners across Fort Wayne and surrounding areas, including Huntertown , Roanoke , New Haven , Waynedale, and Arcola. With a commitment to being a 24/7 plumber in Fort Wayne, Mr. Rooter Plumbing is dedicated to providing prompt, reliable service. Their team averages over ten years of experience, and all professionals are fully licensed plumbers, ensuring customers receive top-quality service.

We focus on building trust and reliability with our customers, Spatt added. As we look to the future, we are excited about the potential for growth and expansion. Our goal is to continue improving our services and maintaining our commitment to being the go-to Fort Wayne plumber .

Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Fort Wayne is a licensed, insured, and bonded company with a skilled workforce that prioritizes safety and quality. Their dedication not only enhances the lives of their customers but also contributes to the local economy by creating jobs and fostering partnerships with local vendors.

For reliable plumbing services you can trust, contact Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Fort Wayne today. Call 260-205-8253 or visit https://www.mrrooter.com/fort-wayne/ to learn more about their services and how they can assist you.





Joe Spatt, Brandi, Chris of Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Fort Wayne

About Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Fort Wayne



Mr. Rooter Plumbing is a trusted provider of plumbing services in Fort Wayne, IN offering a comprehensive range of solutions for residential and commercial customers. With a focus on customer satisfaction, reliability, and exceptional workmanship, Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Fort Wayne is dedicated to meeting the community's plumbing needs.

Press inquiries

Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Fort Wayne

https://www.mrrooter.com/fort-wayne/

Joe Spatt

customercare@mrrooterftw.com

260-205-8253

8717 Illinois Rd., Fort Wayne, IN 46804, United States




NEW YORK, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of securities of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO) between May 7, 2025 and July 28, 2025, both dates inclusive (the Class Period), of the important September 30, 2025 lead plaintiff deadline.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Novo Nordisk securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Novo Nordisk class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=34168 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for more information. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than September 30, 2025. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs Bar. Many of the firms attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants provided overwhelmingly positive statements to investors while, at the same time, disseminating materially false and misleading statements and/or concealing material adverse facts concerning the true state of Novo Nordisks growth potential. Notably, Novo Nordisks asserted potential to capitalize on the compounded market greatly understated the potential impact of the personalization exception to the compounded GLP-1 exclusion and overstated the likelihood that such patients would switch to Novo Nordisks branded alternatives. Further, defendants greatly overstated the potential GLP-1 market or otherwise, Novos capability to penetrate said markets to achieve continued growth. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Novo Nordisk class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=34168 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for more information.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investors ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

-------------------------------

Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.

Phillip Kim, Esq.

The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.

275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor

New York, NY 10016

Tel: (212) 686-1060

Toll Free: (866) 767-3653

Fax: (212) 202-3827

case@rosenlegal.com

www.rosenlegal.com
Los Angeles, CA, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Grab your bikes, skates or boards and get ready to light up the night! Claires Place Foundation invites families, friends and fun-seekers of all ages to join the 11th Annual Glow Ride for Cystic Fibrosis on Saturday, September 20, 2025, at the iconic Hermosa Beach Pier.

This glowing beachside celebration blends neon lights, music and community spirit, all to raise vital funds for Claires Place Foundations Extended Hospital Stay Grant Program . Riders can deck out their wheels, grab glow sticks and cruise along the strand with hundreds of fellow participants. No bike? Hermosa Cyclery has you covered with complimentary rentals right by the pier, reserve early to secure yours.

New this year:

Glow Bucks = Treats That Give Back  Trade Glow Bucks for Creamy Boys Ice Cream , fresh slices from local favorite Paisanos Pizza , face painting or glowing gear. Every dollar spent is a donation that supports Claires Place.





, fresh slices from local favorite , face painting or glowing gear. Every dollar spent is a donation that supports Claires Place. Bring Your Besties  New 4-person group ticket option to save while riding together.





Special Kids Pricing  Children under 12 ride for just $25.





The event supports the Extended Hospital Stay Grant Program, which covers rent, utilities and other monthly bills for CF patients and their families during prolonged hospitalizations, helping them focus on recovery, not bills. Since its creation, the program has supported over 600 families, carrying forward the legacy of Claire Wineland, the Foundations late founder, beloved advocate and proud South Bay resident. Claire started this program when she was just 13 years old, after experiencing firsthand the challenges CF families face during long hospital stays.

This is truly the most fun night of the year, said Executive Director of Claires Place Foundation Melissa Yeager. Families and friends come for the glowing bikes and the magic of riding side by side under the stars, but they leave knowing theyve helped change lives for people living with cystic fibrosis. Every glow we see on the pier is part of Claires light continuing to shine.

EVENT DETAILS

Location: Hermosa Beach Pier  1 Pier Ave, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254

Meetup: 5:30 p.m. | Glow Ride Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: www.clairesplacefoundation.org/glow-ride  Group, child and individual ride options available.

EVENT SPONSORS

The 2025 Glow Ride is made possible by the generous support of Vertex Pharmaceuticals , NorthStar Moving Company , Hermosa Cyclery , Athens Services , Withum , , Southbay Lexus , Creamy Boys Ice Cream and Paisanos Pizza .







About Claires Place Foundation, Inc.
TORONTO and HAIFA, Israel, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NurExone Biologic Inc. (TSXV: NRX) (OTCQB: NRXBF) (FSE: J90) (NurExone or the Company), a pioneering biopharmaceutical company developing exosome-based regenerative therapies, is pleased to provide the following corporate updates.

Israeli Patent Grant Expands Global Jurisdiction

The Israel Patent Office has granted the Companys Patent, entitled Production of Extracellular Vesicles from Stem Cells. This grant aligns with NurExones recently announced U.S. Notice of Allowance for the same priority family of applications.

While our clinical and commercial manufacturing of exosomes will be based in the U.S. through our Exo-Top Inc. subsidiary, expanding jurisdictional coverage further strengthens NurExones international intellectual property portfolio, said Dr. Lior Shaltiel, CEO of NurExone.

Management Participation at U.S. Conferences

Dr. Ina Sarel, Head of CMC, Quality and Regulation, will present on NurExones exosome manufacturing platform at the 7th Annual Exosome-Based Therapeutic Development Summit in Boston, MA, a leading international meeting for exosome research and drug development. She will be co-hosting a fireside discussion entitled Harmonizing the Exosome & Extra-Cellular Vesicle Regulatory Landscape Towards Better Definitions, Practices & Guidelines for Therapeutic Success.

Dr. Lior Shaltiel, CEO, will speak at the Bioprocess International Conference in Boston, MA, one of the largest global gatherings for biomanufacturing innovation. His presentation is entitled From Antibodies to siRNA-Loaded Exosomes: AbbVie vs. NurExone in Advancing Spinal Cord Injury Treatments.

These high-profile conferences provide opportunities for NurExone to showcase its proprietary ExoTherapy technology, expand U.S. presence, and engage potential partners and investors.

Private Placement

The Company is also pleased to announce that, subject to TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) approval, it has closed a non-brokered private placement of 930,376 units (Units) at a price of C$0.68 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of C$632,655.68 (the Offering). The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Offering for working capital purposes.

The completion of this financing provides incremental capital to support our preclinical pipeline and U.S. manufacturing initiatives, said Eran Ovadya, CFO of NurExone. It also positions us well as we prepare to accelerate our growth strategy.

Terms of the Offering

Each Unit consisted of (i) one common share in the capital of the Company (each, a Common Share), and (ii) one-half of one Common Share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a Warrant). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at a price of C$0.88 per Common Share for a period of 36 months, subject to acceleration. If the daily volume weighted average trading price of the Common Shares on the TSXV for any period of 20 consecutive trading days equals or exceeds C$1.70, the Company may, upon providing written notice to the holders of the Warrants (the Acceleration Notice), accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants to the date that is 45 days following the date of the Acceleration Notice. If the Warrants are not exercised by the accelerated expiry date, the Warrants will expire and be of no further force or effect.

Closing of the Offering is subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including the TSXV, and all securities issued under the Offering are subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day from the closing of the Offering.

Related Party Transaction

Jay Richardson, a director of the Company, participated in the Offering and acquired 24,854 Units. The participation of Mr. Richardson in the Offering constituted a related party transaction and such term is defined in Multilateral Instrument 61-101  Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transaction (MI 61-101) and would have required the Company to receive minority shareholder approval for and obtain a formal valuation for the subject matter of the Offering in accordance with MI 61-101, prior to the completion of the Offering. However, in completing the Offering, the Company has relied on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 contained in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101 in respect of Mr. Richardsons participation in the Offering as neither the fair market value (as determined under MI 61-101) of the subject matter of, nor the fair market value of the consideration for, the Offering, insofar as it involved insiders, exceeded 25% of the Companys market capitalization (as determined under MI 61-101).

The Offering was approved by the members of the board of directors of the Company who are independent for the purposes of the Offering insofar as it involved Mr. Richardson. No special committee was established in connection with the Offering.

Further details will be included in a material change report to be filed by the Company. The Company did not file a material change report more than 21 days before the closing date of the Offering as Mr. Richardsons subscription was not known until closing and the subscribers requested to close the Offering in an expeditious manner. In the Company's view, the shorter period was necessary to permit the Company to close the Offering in a timeframe consistent with usual market practice for transactions of this nature and was reasonable in the circumstances.

About NurExone

NurExone Biologic Inc. is a TSXV, OTCQB, and Frankfurt-listed biotech company focused on developing regenerative exosome-based therapies for central nervous system injuries. Its lead product, ExoPTEN, has demonstrated strong preclinical data supporting clinical potential in treating acute spinal cord and optic nerve injury, both multi-billion-dollar marketsi . Regulatory milestones, including obtaining the Orphan Drug Designation, facilitates the roadmap towards clinical trials in the U.S. and Europe. Commercially, the Company is expected to offer solutions to companies interested in quality exosomes and minimally invasive targeted delivery systems for other indications. NurExone has established Exo-Top Inc., a U.S. subsidiary, to anchor its North American activity and growth strategy.

For additional information and a brief interview, please watch Who is NurExone?, visit www.nurexone.com or follow NurExone on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube.

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Lior Shaltiel

Chief Executive Officer and Director

Phone: +972-52-4803034

Email: info@nurexone.com

Dr. Eva Reuter

Investor Relations  Germany

Phone: +49-69-1532-5857

Email: e.reuter@dr-reuter.eu

Allele Capital Partners

Investor Relations  U.S.

Phone: +1 978-857-5075

Email: aeriksen@allelecapital.com

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the Companys current expectations and projections about its future results. Wherever possible, words such as may, will, should, could, expect, plan, intend, anticipate, believe, estimate, predict or potential or the negative or other variations of these words, or similar words or phrases, have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements relating to: clinical and commercial manufacturing of the Companys exosomes will be based in the U.S.; Dr. Sarel and Dr. Shaltiel presenting in the upcoming events as outlined herein; Dr. Sarel co-hosting a fireside discussion as outlined herein; the Company expanding its U.S. presence and engaging potential partners and investors; the Company receiving all regulatory approvals, including TSXV approval, for the Offering; the use of proceeds from the Offering; long-term protection of the Companys intellectual property and manufacturing process; and the NurExone platform technology offering novel solutions to drug companies interested in minimally invasive targeted drug delivery for other indications.

These statements reflect managements current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management as at the date hereof. In developing the forward-looking statements in this press release, we have applied several material assumptions, including: the Companys clinical and commercial manufacturing of exosomes will be based in the U.S.; Dr. Sarel and Dr. Shaltiel will present in the upcoming events as outlined herein; Dr. Sarel will co-host a fireside discussion as outlined herein; the Company will expand its U.S. presence and engage potential partners and investors; the Company will receive all regulatory approvals, including TSXV approval, for the Offering; the Company will use the proceeds from the Offering as outlined herein; the Company will have long-term protection of its intellectual property and manufacturing process; and the NurExone platform technology will offer novel solutions to drug companies interested in minimally invasive targeted drug delivery for other indications.

Forward-looking statements involve significant risk, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results discussed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to risks related to: the Companys clinical and commercial manufacturing of exosomes will not be based in the U.S.; Dr. Sarel and/or Dr. Shaltiel will not present in the upcoming events as outlined herein; Dr. Sarel will not co-host a fireside discussion as outlined herein; the Company will not expand its U.S. presence and/or engage potential partners and/or investors; the Company will not receive all required regulatory approvals, including TSXV approval; the Company will not use the proceeds from the Offering as outlined herein; government regulation; the Companys early stage of development; lack of revenues to date; the inherent uncertainty of preclinical drug development, including the risk that product candidates may not advance to clinical trials or receive regulatory approval; the possibility that results from preclinical studies and early-stage trials may not predict later outcomes; the uncertain timing, cost, and outcome of preclinical and clinical development activities; risks related to the clinical trial process, including potential delays or failure to achieve effective trial design or positive results; the inability to obtain or maintain required regulatory approvals; limited market acceptance of the Companys products, even if approved; the potential emergence of competing therapies that are safer, more effective, or more affordable; rapid technological change that may impact the relevance of the Companys technologies; the Companys dependence on key personnel and strategic partners; the inability to obtain adequate financing; risks related to the Companys ability to protect its intellectual property; the possibility that the Companys technologies, including its exosome-based platforms, may not achieve their intended therapeutic impact; the inability to produce or scale exosome-based products for clinical use; limited adoption in regenerative medicine or cell therapy applications; lack of growing clinical demand in targeted indications such as spinal cord injury, optic nerve repair, or other therapeutic areas; failure to meet planned development milestones or achieve commercial breakthroughs; the Companys inability to have long-term protection of its intellectual property and/or manufacturing process; the Companys exosomes will be not be regenerative; the Company will be unable to launch first-in-human clinical trials; the Company and Exo-Top Inc. will be unable to advance into clinical and/or commercial phases, launch commercial-scale production and/or business-to-business exosome supply, achieve scalability and/or advance their manufacturing methods; the NurExone platform technology not offering novel solutions to drug companies interested in minimally invasive targeted drug delivery for other indications; and the risks discussed under the heading Risk Factors on pages 44 to 51 of the Companys Annual Information Form dated August 27, 2024, a copy of which is available under the Companys SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure readers that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.

Neither TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

i Spinal cord injury, Glaucoma
Greenwood Village, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Greenwood Village, Colorado - September 11, 2025 -

Franchise AiQ, the AI-powered marketing and lead activation platform for franchisors and franchisees, announced today that it will host an in-person educational event, AI for Franchises: Revolutionize Your Franchise with the Power of AI, on Wednesday, September 24, 2025 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM MDT at Venture X Denver Tech Center.

This high-impact session is designed to help franchise owners, multi-unit operators, and industry professionals understand how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the way franchises operate, grow, and compete.

The franchise industry is at a crossroads. Customer expectations are evolving, digital-first competitors are rising, and operational costs continue to climb. Many franchise owners are asking how they can deliver consistent service, scale efficiently, and still compete in local markets. The answer increasingly involves AI.

Artificial Intelligence is no longer a "nice-to-have" tool reserved for large corporations. It is now an essential resource for everyday franchise operations. Owners who educate themselves on AI and begin leveraging it in marketing, sales, and customer service are positioning their businesses to thrive in the years ahead. Those who delay risk falling behind competitors that embrace automation, personalization, and data-driven decision-making.

This Meetup will show attendees exactly how to make AI work for their franchise model, combining education with real-world strategies.

What franchise owners will gain from attending - Participants will walk away with practical insights, including:

Proven tactics to streamline operations and reduce unnecessary costs

Ways to personalize and enhance customer interactions using AI-driven tools

Actionable strategies to apply AI for marketing, sales, and decision-making

Real examples of how forward-thinking franchises are using AI to increase profitability

Networking opportunities with other franchise professionals committed to growth

The choice of Denver as the host city underscores the region's growing role in business innovation and technology adoption. The Venture X Denver Tech Center provides a collaborative backdrop for entrepreneurs and franchise owners to explore how AI can be a game-changer in their industry.

Expert insights from Franchise AiQ

Lane Houk, Co-Founder of Franchise AiQ, will lead the session. With years of experience in digital marketing and AI-powered systems for multi-location brands, Houk is passionate about equipping franchise leaders with tools to succeed.

"Franchise owners cannot afford to ignore AI. This is not about replacing people, it is about empowering teams to deliver more with less," said Houk. "Our goal with this event is to demystify AI and provide a roadmap for owners to adopt it strategically. When franchises learn how to use AI to automate follow-up, optimize local search, and engage leads effectively, the results can be transformative."

About Franchise AiQ

Franchise AiQ empowers franchisors with an AI-driven marketing and lead activation system that ensures every franchisee maximizes conversions and local visibility without extra workload. Powered by ScaleSynth AI, the platform automates lead follow-up, engagement, and Google Business Profile optimization across all locations. The result is consistent branding, scalable growth, and real-time performance insights, allowing franchisees to focus on running their businesses while franchisors gain a centralized engine for market dominance.

Learn more at https://franchiseaiq.com

Event Details

Title: AI for Franchises: Revolutionize Your Franchise with the Power of AI

Date/Time: Wednesday, September 24, 2025, 6:008:00 PM MDT

Location: Venture X Denver Tech Center, 6400 S Fiddlers Green Circle, Ste 300, Greenwood Village, CO

Registration: AI for Franchises Meetup Event: https://www.meetup.com/ai-for-franchises/events/310526027/?eventOrigin=group_upcoming_events

Media Contact

Franchise AiQ

Attn: Media Relations

400 S Fiddlers Green Cir, Ste 300-22

Greenwood Village, CO 80111

Phone: (833) 987-3247

Email: info@franchiseaiq.com

Website: https://franchiseaiq.com

###

For more information about Franchise AiQ, contact the company here:



Franchise AiQ

Lane Houk

(833) 987-3247

info@franchiseaiq.com

6400 S Fiddlerrs Green Cir

Ste 300-22

Greenwood Village, CO 80111
Washington, DC, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, multiple HBCU campuses received violent threats including bomb and shooting intimidation. These incidents mirror the wave of threats that began on Jan. 1, 2022, with more than 75 HBCUs receiving targeted acts of intimidation, impacting 51 different institutions and 77 days of classes being disrupted.

In recent years, the threats have happened in 18 states and the District of Columbia, in 34 different congressional districts. Unfortunately, todays events show this pattern continues.

HBCUs are being targeted at a rate higher than any other category of higher education institutions, said Lodriguez V. Murray, senior vice president for public policy and government affairs, UNCF. We urge the Federal Bureau of Investigations (F.B.I.) to be transparent in its investigation of these threats. Since 2022, we have called on Congress to provide dedicated funding in appropriations bills to better protect and fortify HBCUs, and that call is even more urgent today.

The federal governments Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has a program that could benefit HBCUs, but for years and years our institutions have faced repeated barriers in accessing those funds, Murray continued. Congress should set aside resources within the Nonprofit Security Grant Program specifically for HBCUs so campuses can enhance security and prepare for these threats. Although the Homeland Security funding bill is already in motion, the relevant Members of Congress on the House and Senate Appropriations Committees must agree to achieve a favorable result for HBCUs before the funding deadlines are imposed. Our students and institutions deserve nothing less.

No student should ever fear for their life on a college campus. Education must be a place of safety, growth and opportunity. The rise in violent intimidation aimed at HBCUs is unacceptable, and we call on federal leaders to act with urgency. Protecting our children, who represent the future of this nation, is not optional. It is a moral obligation, Murray said.

###

About UNCF

UNCF is one of the nations largest and most effective supporters of higher education and serves as a leading advocate for college-bound students. Since its founding in 1944, UNCF has raised more than $6 billion to support students' access to higher education, provide scholarships and strengthen historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Each year, UNCF awards more than 11,000 scholarships totaling more than $62 million. The scholarships support students attending more than 600 US-based colleges and universities including 37 UNCF-member HBCUs. Through its efforts, UNCF has helped generations of students to get to and through college. We believe a college education plays a vital role in fortifying the pipeline of leaders and professionals who contribute to the advancement of our society. Our logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and our widely recognized trademark is, A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Learn more at UNCF.org or for continuous updates and news, follow UNCF on Instagram.
NEW YORK, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Class Action Attorney Juan Monteverde with Monteverde & Associates PC (the M&A Class Action Firm), has recovered millions of dollars for shareholders and is recognized as a Top 50 Firm in the 2024 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report. We are headquartered at the Empire State Building in New York City and are investigating

Yotta Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: YOTA), relating to its proposed merger with DRIVEiT Financial Auto Group, Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, DRIVEiT securityholders are expected to own approximately 78.4% of the combined company.



Click here for more information https://monteverdelaw.com/case/yotta-acquisition-corporation/. It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you.

WideOpenWest, Inc. (NYSE: WOW) related to its sale to affiliates of DigitalBridge Investments, LLC and Crestview Partners. Under the terms of the proposed transaction, Hanesbrand shareholders will receive $5.20 in cash per share.



Click here for more information https://monteverdelaw.com/case/wideopenwest-inc-2/. It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you.

Soho House & Co Inc. (NYSE: SHCO) related to its merger with affiliates of MCR Hotels. Under the terms of the proposed transaction, Workhorse shareholders will receive $9.00 per share in cash.



Click here for more information https://monteverdelaw.com/case/soho-house-co-inc/. It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you.

TEGNA Inc. (NYSE: TGNA) related to its sale to Nexstar Media Group, Inc. Under the terms of the proposed transaction, TENGA shareholders will receive $22.00 per share in cash.



Click here for more info https://monteverdelaw.com/case/tegna-inc-2/. It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you.

NOT ALL LAW FIRMS ARE THE SAME. Before you hire a law firm, you should talk to a lawyer and ask:

Do you file class actions and go to Court? When was the last time you recovered money for shareholders? What cases did you recover money in and how much?



About Monteverde & Associates PC

Our firm litigates and has recovered money for shareholdersand we do it from our offices in the Empire State Building. We are a national class action securities firm with a successful track record in trial and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.

No company, director or officer is above the law. If you own common stock in the above listed company and have concerns or wish to obtain additional information free of charge, please visit our website or contact Juan Monteverde, Esq. either via e-mail at jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com or by telephone at (212) 971-1341.

Contact:

Juan Monteverde, Esq.

MONTEVERDE & ASSOCIATES PC

The Empire State Building

350 Fifth Ave. Suite 4740

New York, NY 10118

United States of America

jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com

Tel: (212) 971-1341
San Juan, Puerto Rico, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ORVIWO LLC, a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), is marking its first anniversary this month, celebrating a year of providing tactical IT and security solutions across Puerto Rico and the continental United States.

Founded by Jan Ortega, a veteran of the Puerto Rico Air National Guard and an electrical engineer by training, ORVIWO brings together military precision, technical expertise, and a deep commitment to Puerto Rican-led innovation. Since its launch in April 2024, the company has quickly grown to serve commercial, industrial, and federal clients with a full portfolio of technology services.

ORVIWO delivers advanced solutions, including AI-powered video surveillance and access control, IT and power infrastructure, IoT sensors, remote monitoring, and resilient cybersecurity systems. For the federal sector, the company specializes in tactical mobile command vehicles and expeditionary communications systems with mission-ready technology designed for defense, public safety, healthcare, and critical infrastructure.

What makes ORVIWO unique is that we can deploy technology where its needed, when its needed, said founder Ortega. Our mobile command solutions allow us to bring a fully equipped tactical vehicle directly to the client, whether its a military base, a government agency, or a healthcare facility. In todays climate, that flexibility and readiness are more important than ever.

Ortegas diverse background included work in electrical engineering, computer networks, solar systems, and cybersecurity; experiences he has unified into ORVIWOs service model. The company now supports diverse verticals such as pharmacies, schools, healthcare facilities, and military bases.

Locally, ORVIWO emphasizes Puerto Rican-built and Puerto Rican-run solutions. I wanted to create a company where we dont have to depend on outside providers. We have the expertise right here, Ortega explained. This is about building confidence, transparency, and customized services for every client, solutions designed on the island, by Puerto Ricans, for Puerto Rico.

The companys first year has been marked by both challenges and milestones. Ortega points to resilience as his proudest achievement. Its been a mix of emotional and professional experiences, knocking on doors, waiting for opportunities, and being ready when they arrive. But the past year has taught a lot of lessons, he said, and now, Im looking forward to the next chapter.

As ORVIWO looks ahead, its mission remains clear: to deliver smart, reliable, and tactical IT and security solutions that empower organizations to thrive. Whether supporting federal missions or strengthening local businesses, the company aims to drive efficiency, resilience, and growth across Puerto Rico and beyond.

Media Contact

Name: Jan Ortega

Email: jortega@orviwo.com




VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leviathan Gold Ltd. (Leviathan or the Company) (LVX  TSXV, LVXFF  OTC, 0GP  FSE) is pleased to announce that, further to the letter of intent entered into with Cura Exploration Botswana Corp. (Cura) announced on June 19, 2025, July 16, 2025 and August 18, 2025, Leviathan has entered into an amalgamation agreement dated September 11, 2025 (the Amalgamation Agreement) with Cura and 1555801 B.C. Ltd. (Subco), a recently incorporated wholly-owned subsidiary of Leviathan. Pursuant to the Amalgamation Agreement, following the effective date of the amalgamation, Subco will amalgamate with Cura Exploration Botswana Corp. (Cura) and all of the issued and outstanding securities of Cura will be immediately exchanged for securities of Leviathan on a one-to-one basis (the Transaction). Cura is the 100% owner of the Kalahari Copper, and Uranium Exploration Portfolios in Botswana.

Cura has completed the acquisition of all of the shares of Afri Energy Pty Ltd., AfriMetals No. 1 Pty Ltd and AfrIMetals No.2 Pty Ltd., (the AfriMetals Entities) which are the holders of certain copper and uranium prospecting licenses in Botswana (the Properties) in accordance with the terms of the share purchase agreements (the Share Purchase Agreements)1, with the AfriMetals Entities and the shareholders of the AfriMetals Entities (the Sellers).

The key asset of the AfriMetals Entities is the land package commonly referred to as the Central Project (Central), which directly adjoins MMGs Khoemacau group of deposits (Khoemacau), (Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources of 94Mt @1.8% Cu and 22 g/t Ag and Inferred Mineral Resources of 209Mt @1.6% Cu and 20 g/t Ag2) on the Kalahari Copper Belt (the KCB) which, together with the nearby Banana Zone (Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources of 33Mt @1.4% Cu and 21 g/t Ag and Inferred Mineral Resources of 120Mt @0.8% Cu and 10 g/t Ag) were acquired by MMG Ltd in 2023 for US$1.9 billion.

Central displays similar large-scale geological characteristics to those observed at Khoemacau, making the property prospective for a Tier 1 copper discovery. Specifically, all known KCB copper deposits  including those of Khoemacau  occur at or close to a well-understood stratigraphic contact (namely the interface between the DKar and Ngwako Pan Formations) where these rocks have been folded into extensive structural domes, into which fault structures then channeled and focused the flow of mineralizing fluids. Central boasts around 25 kilometers of this contact where it forms a prime domal structure, as supported by a recent high-resolution ground magnetic survey. This is the next structure south from those hosting Khoemacau; each other dome at Khoemacau hosts copper deposits or discoveries3.

In addition, the AfriMetals Entities also hold an extensive Botswanan portfolio of uranium prospecting licenses. Most prominently the Serule Uranium Project owned by the AfriMetals Entities adjoins, and is situated immediately adjacent and down-dip of the Letlhakane Uranium Project (Indicated Mineral Resources of 71.6Mt @ 360ppm U3O8 and Inferred Mineral Resources of 70.6Mt @ 363ppm U3O8 containing 56.8 and 56.9Mlbs U3O8 in these categories respectively4) acquired via a AUD$64 million merger by Lotus Resources in 2023. Recent drilling at Serule suggests the presence of a mineralized zone in excess of 4 kilometers in width, where a prominent drillhole interval includes 10m @ 415ppm U 3 O 8 .

Readers are cautioned that information in respect of Khoemacau, Banana Zone and Letlhakane Uranium Project (collectively the Adjacent Properties) is not indicative of the mineralization on the Properties and readers should not rely on such information with respect to the Adjacent Properties when assessing the Properties. There is no assurance that the Properties will yield scientific, technical or other information or results as that of the Adjacent Properties.

Botswana is a politically stable pro-mining investment jurisdiction  ranked #1 in Africa by the Fraser Institute, enjoying investor-friendly legislation, a highly proficient and well-educated workforce, and first world infrastructure  set up to support mining, which is a pivotal and widely-accepted national economic driver. The Kalahari Copper Belt is regarded by the USGS as one of the worlds most prospective areas for yet-to-be-discovered sediment-hosted copper deposits. The Properties cover over 12,000 square kilometers of prospective copper and uranium tenure5.

Highlights of the Acquisition

Pursuant to the terms of the Amalgamation Agreement, the Company will acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding (i) common shares of Cura (including, for certainty all subscription shares of Cura) in exchange for 37,000,000 common shares of the Company (the Leviathan Shares) and (ii) common share purchase warrants of Cura (the Cura Warrants) in exchange for 5,500,000 common share purchase warrants of the Company (a Leviathan Warrant), with each such Leviathan Warrant having terms and conditions identical to the Cura Warrants, being a term of two years and an exercise price of C$0.15.

Additionally, under the Transaction, Leviathan will assume the obligation under the Share Purchase Agreements to pay certain milestone payments (the Milestone Payments) to the Sellers under the Share Purchase Agreements by way of a future issuance of up to 16,500,000 Leviathan Shares to such parties subject to certain targets being satisfied. The Milestone Payments consist of 8,250,000 Leviathan Shares issuable upon the preparation of a mineral resource estimate of measured resources, indicated resources, inferred resources or any combination thereof of at least 40 mlbs U308 at a grade of at least 250 ppm U3O8 (Resource Estimate) within certain of the Properties and 8,250,000 Leviathan Shares issuable upon the preparation of a mineral resource estimate of measured resources, indicated resources, inferred resources or any combination thereof at least 15 Mt of copper at a grade of at least 1.75% CuEq (Resource Estimate) within certain of the Properties.

Common shares of Leviathan issued in connection the Transaction may be subject to escrow or resale restrictions in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the TSXV).

Assuming completion of the Transaction, the former shareholders of Cura are expected to own approximately 42.92% of the Company (or 41.47% on a fully diluted basis).

The Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to receipt of all corporate approvals, including that of shareholders of Cura; and receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including that of the TSXV.

In consideration of the AfriMetals Entities, Cura paid a total of US $1,688,863 in cash consideration to the Sellers. In addition, Cura has cash on hand of approximately $765,000 and incurred expenses of C$93,000 in connection with preparation of the technical reports pursuant to National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects related to the Properties.

The Properties consist of the following:

3 copper prospecting licenses held by Innovation Surveyors (Pty) Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the AfriMetals No. 1 Pty Ltd, of which one is active (the Central Project) and two are pending renewal;

5 copper prospecting licenses held by GCM Resources (Pty) Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of AfriMetals No. 2 Pty Ltd., of which two are active and three are pending renewal; and

14 uranium prospecting licenses held by Afri-Uranium (Pty) Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Afri Energy Pty Ltd., of which three are active (including the Serule Uranium Project), and the remaining are pending renewal.



There will be no Change of Control nor Change of Management. The transaction will be treated as a Fundamental Acquisition pursuant to TSXV policy 5.3.

To the best of the knowledge of Leviathan, Cura and the AfriMetals Entities are arms length parties. The Transaction is an arms length transaction and is not expected to result in the creation of a new Control Person of the Company pursuant to the policies of the TSXV.

Trading will remain halted pending receipt and review of acceptable documentation pursuant to TSXV Policy 5.3 regarding Fundamental Acquisitions.

No Finders Fees will be paid by Leviathan.

Qualified Person and Data Verification

Andrew Pedley (Pr. Sci. Nat.), a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release relating to the Central Project and the Serule Uranium Project. Mr. Pedley is a consultant for Leviathan.

Neither the Qualified Person nor Leviathan has verified the scientific, technical or other information disclosed in respect of the Adjacent Properties.

About Leviathan Gold Ltd.

Leviathan Gold Ltd. is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company listed on the TSXV (LVX) and Germany (0GP).

On behalf of the Company

Luke Norman, Chief Executive Officer and Director

For further information, please visit the Company website www.leviathangold.com, the Companys profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.com, or contact:

Luke Norman,

Direct: (778) 238-2333

Toll Free: 1(833) 923-3334

Email: info@leviathangold.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No securities regulatory authority has either approval or disapproved of the contents of this press release.

Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release, including but not limited to statements regarding the completion and timing of the Transaction, the expected benefits of the Transaction, the percentage of shares expected to be held by the Cura securityholders upon completion of the Transaction; the satisfaction of the closing conditions under the Amalgamation Agreement; payment of the Milestone Payments by Leviathan; and the approval of the Transaction by the TSXV. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. Leviathan cautions that all forward looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by many material factors, many of which are beyond Leviathans control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to whether exploration activities of the Properties will result in commercially viable quantities of mineralized materials; the possibility of changes to project parameters as plans continue to be refined; the ability to execute planned exploration and future drilling programs; the ability to obtain qualified workers, financing, permits, approvals, and equipment in a timely manner or at all and on reasonable terms; changes in the commodity and securities markets; non-performance by contractual counterparties; and general business and economic conditions, Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Although Leviathan has attempted to identify important risks and factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors and risks that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Consequently, undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking statements. In addition, all forward-looking statements in this press release are given as of the date hereof. Leviathan disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, save and except as may be required by applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified by this disclaimer.

__________________________________

1 originally executed on December 16, 2024 and subsequently amended and restated on March 25, 2025.

2 Mineral Resources and Reserve Statement as at 30 June 2024 prepared by MMG and are reported in accordance with the guidelines in the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (2012 JORC Code) and Chapter 18 of the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on The Stock Exchange (the Standards). of Hong Kong Limited. See: https://www.mmg.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/June_2024_MROR_Executive_Summary.pdf

3 Khoemacau Copper Project, Botswana. HKEX Competent Persons Report dated May 24, 2024 prepared in accordance with the Standards by ERM Australian Consultants PTY LTD. See https://www.mmg.com

4 Independent Resource Estimate dated December 2024 prepared by Lotus Resources and Nowden Optiro in accordance with the Standards  See  https://lotusresources.com.au/projects/mineral-resources-and-ore-reserves

5 pending renewal of certain non-core tenure
E3 Lithium Ltd. (TSXV: ETL) (FSE: OW3) (OTCQX: EEMMF), "E3", "E3 Lithium" or the "Company," a leader in Canadian lithium, has received approval of its required permits from the Alberta Energy Regulator ("AER") to advance Phase 2 of its Clearwater Project Demonstration Facility.Phased Approach to the Clearwater Demonstration FacilityThe Demonstration Facility is being completed in three phases (see illustration below), with Phase 1 currently being commissioned as announced on September 2, 2025. Phase 2 of the Demonstration Facility involves drilling a production and injection well to confirm Leduc Aquifer flow rates and reservoir characteristics, which will support the commercial well scheme design, gathering system and treatment equipment for E3 Lithium's commercial facility. Once the wells are completed, they will be tied into the existing 30-column DLE system and purification units commissioned in Phase 1 to create a fully integrated brine-to-battery-grade lithium carbonate process system. Upon the completion of Phase 1 commissioning, E3 Lithium will initiate final preparations to commence its drill program, which is expected to begin in early to mid-October.

E3 has now received the following permits from AER that are required to advance its demonstration facility:

Directive 065: Approval for a mineral scheme, including subsurface injection of produced fluids

Directive 056: Approval for mineral wells, including technical and licensing requirements

Directive 056: Approval for mineral facility, including technical and licensing requirements

In Alberta, the same permits listed above are required to operate a commercial facility. These are the first facility permits issued under the Brine-Hosted Mineral resources regulations. E3 Lithium is in the process of completing the Directive 056 application for the commercial facility that will be accompanied by an Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act ("EPEA") application.

"We are thrilled to see the permits granted for Phase 2 of our Demonstration Facility, including the recently approved Directive 065, and look forward to launching the drill program to kick off the next phase of technology demonstration," said Chris Doornbos, President and CEO. "We appreciate the AER's timely and thorough review in issuing these permits."

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS



Chris Doornbos, President, CEO & Chair

E3 Lithium Ltd.

About E3 Lithium

E3 Lithium is a development company with a total of 21.2 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) Measured and Indicated1 as well as 0.3 Mt LCE Inferred mineral resources2 in Alberta and 2.5 Mt LCE Inferred mineral resources3 in Saskatchewan. The Clearwater Pre-Feasibility Study outlined a 1.13 Mt LCE proven and probable mineral reserve with a pre-tax NPV(8%) of USD 5.2 Billion with a 29.2% IRR and an after-tax NPV(8%) of USD 3.7 Billion with a 24.6% IRR1.

1: The Clearwater Project NI 43-101 Pre-Feasibility Study, effective June 20, 2024, is available on the E3 Lithium's website (www.e3lithium.ca/technical-reports/) and SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca). 2: The mineral resource NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Garrington District Lithium Resource Estimate, effective June 25, 2025, identified 5.0 Mt LCE (measured and indicated) and 0.3 Mt LCE (inferred) and will be available on the E3 Lithium's website (www.e3lithium.ca/technical-reports/) and SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) within 45 days of this news release. 3: The mineral resource NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Estevan Lithium District, effective May 23, 2024, identified 2.5 Mt LCE (inferred) and is available on the E3 Lithium's website (www.e3lithium.ca/technical-reports/) and SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca).?

Unless otherwise indicated, Kevin Carroll, P. Eng., Chief Development Officer and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and is responsible for the technical information contained on this news release.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements as well as management's objectives, strategies, beliefs and intentions or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are frequently identified by such words as "believe", "may", "will", "plan", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend", "project", "potential", "possible" and similar words referring to future events and results. Forward-looking statements are based on the current opinions, expectations, estimates and assumptions of management in light of its experience, perception of historical trends, and results of the PFS, but such statements are not guarantees of future performance. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information relating to: the expected timelines for the assembly, testing and commissioning of the demonstration equipment; production, pretreatment, purification, volume reduction and conversion process and features and the expected outcomes thereof; the Company's expectations regarding the drilling of a production and injection well; the Company's expectations regarding the production of lithium carbonate; plans and objectives of management for the Company's operations of the Demonstration Facility; and the inherent hazards associated with mineral exploration and mining operations. In preparing the forward-looking information in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to, that any additional financing needed will be available on reasonable terms; the exchange rates for the U.S. and Canadian currencies will be consistent with the Company's expectations; that the current exploration, development, environmental and other objectives concerning the Demonstration Facility can be achieved and that its other corporate activities will proceed as expected; that general business and economic conditions will not change in a materially adverse manner and that all necessary governmental approvals for the planned activities on the Demonstration Facility will be obtained in a timely manner and on acceptable terms.

All forward-looking information (including future-orientated financial information) is inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, fluctuating commodity prices, the effectiveness and feasibility of emerging lithium extraction technologies which have not yet been tested or proven on a commercial scale or on the Company's brine, risks related to the availability of financing on commercially reasonable terms and the expected use of proceeds; operations and contractual obligations; changes in estimated mineral reserves or mineral resources; future prices of lithium and other metals; availability of third party contractors; availability of equipment; failure of equipment to operate as anticipated; accidents, effects of weather and other natural phenomena and other risks associated with the mineral exploration industry; the Company's lack of operating revenues; currency fluctuations; risks related to dependence on key personnel; estimates used in financial statements proving to be incorrect; competitive risks and the availability of financing, as described in more detail in our recent securities filings available under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca). Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements and we caution against placing undue reliance thereon. We assume no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law.







Contact



E3 Lithium - Investor Relations, Rob Knowles

investor@e3lithium.ca

587-324-2775

E3 Lithium - Media Inquiries

Kati Dolyniuk

External Relations

communications@e3lithium.ca

587-324-2775
NSJ Gold Corp. (CSE: NSJ) (FSE: 9PZ) (the "Company" or "NSJ") announces it has appointed Dallas Davies, P.Eng., FEC., FGC. as Vice President of Exploration.

Mr. Davies experience is listed below:

Provided the feasibility study for bringing North America's largest antimony mine back into production in the 1980s - The Lake George Antimony Mine produced 4% of the worlds antimony demand. The Antimony 2.0 project is centered 15 km to the northeast of this mine.

Geologist, BSc - University of New Brunswick; Masters - Johns Hopkins University.

Over 50 years in mine and exploration geology, project management and public policy, including 9 heading non-renewable resource planning and policy with New Brunswick Government.

Foreign assignments in 27 countries since 1976, both for mining companies and international development organizations including 12 years based in Southeast Asia.

Discovery that added 8 years of life to Falconbridge Wesfrob mine in BC, 10,000 tpd Fe-Cu.

Woodie Woodie Mn mine (Australia) investment recommended & returned in first 6 months of 1990.

Homestake introduction to Malaysia Mining Corporation Bhd ("MMC") regarding Homestake's interest in acquiring their controlling interest in Plutonic Resources Ltd., a 500,000 oz/yr Au producer in Australia, resulted in a billion-dollar acquisition.

Diamond exploration stimulation in Quebec with the year 2000 recovery of first gem quality diamond to be cut and displayed in Quebec City museum, resulting in client, Twin Mining Corp, being named Quebec Prospector of the Year.

Director of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), 1970-73.

Mr. Jag Sandhu, CEO of NSJ, stated: "We are excited to have Dallas join our senior management team. He has extensive experience in exploration, discovery and production of Antimony projects in North America and we look forward to working with him on our Antimony 2.0 Property."

Mr. Dallas Davies commented: "I am most pleased to be granted the opportunity to assist NSJ in achieving their objective of becoming a leading producer of the critical mineral antimony. At this time of rising prices for antimony, NSJ Antimony 2.0 project is a large property encompassing antimony in a geological setting analogous to that of the historic Lake George antimony mine."

The technical contents of this news release were reviewed and approved by Jim Atkinson, MSc., P.Geo., who is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About NSJ Gold Corp.

NSJ is an exploration and development company focused exclusively on Antimony. NSJ is developing the Antimony 2.0 property located in New Brunswick Canada. The Antimony 2.0 property has excellent access including provincial and logging roads and hydro power.

The project is 35 sq km and has exciting antimony discoveries which include three particularly robust antimony soil anomalies. The Geology is the same package of interbedded Silurian greywacke and argillite that characterizes Lake George Antimony Mine approximately 15 km to the southwest. The Lake George Antimony Mine which was North America's only primary antimony producer. The Lake George Antimony Mine operated for various periods from the 1860s to 1998 and produced as much as 4% of the world's demand of Antimony from 1970 through 1992.

WWW.NSJGOLDCORP.COM





On Behalf of the Board of Directors



Jag Sandhu, CEO and President

778-218-9638


Vancouver - Generation Uranium Inc. (TSXV: GEN) (OTCQB: GENRF) (FRA: W85) (the "Company" or "Generation") is pleased to report the delineation of seventeen high-priority exploration targets at its 100%-owned Yath Uranium Project in Nunavut. The new targets were identified through a comprehensive review and integration of historical exploration datasets, including geophysics, geochemistry, prospecting, and drilling conducted by previous operators.

The Yath Project is strategically located within Nunavut's Angilak uranium district, one of Canada's most active emerging exploration camps. Generation's contiguous land position encompasses key portions of the Angilak trend, giving the Company direct exposure to fertile structural corridors, favourable lithologies, and proven mineralized trends that have historically delivered high-grade uranium discoveries.

Key Target Highlights

VGR Trend - a 5-kilometre mineralized corridor localized along a reactivated basement fault, characterized by pervasive alteration, sulphides, and radioactive structures traceable for more than 3 km.

Embryo Creek - historical grab samples assaying up to 9.81% U?O?, with associated copper, molybdenum, and silver, highlighting robust polymetallic potential.

Lucky Break - pitchblende and polymetallic sulphide mineralization recovered from shallow subcrop beneath till cover, located approximately 11 km from Lac Cinquante.

Additional zones - including Nest, BA-BB, Bog, IM-6, Boulder Lake, Amy's OC, and multiple satellite targets (see Table 1), each showing either significant radioactivity (often exceeding 10,000 cps) or surface assays supportive of uranium and polymetallic mineralization.

Chris Huggins, CEO of Generation Uranium, stated "the Yath Project provides direct leverage to one of Canada's most prospective uranium districts and that the identification of 17 robust target areas across the Company's land position underscores the potential for new discoveries in a proven uranium belt."

Geophysical Survey

As announced on August 22, 2024, Generation engaged Expert Geophysics Ltd. to complete a large-scale airborne Mobile MagnetoTellurics ("MMT") survey across the entire 123 km Yath Uranium Project. The program comprised approximately 890 line-km at 150-metre spacing, collecting high-resolution magnetic, VLF, and EM data. The survey was conducted in collaboration with a neighbouring operator to achieve significant cost efficiencies.

The survey, now complete, represents a comprehensive geophysical dataset collected over Yath. Generation is currently reviewing its portion of the results, in combination with extensive historical exploration records, to refine and prioritize drill-ready targets. The Company expects to release its MMT interpretations in the near term as part of its ongoing work to advance the project toward discovery.

Qualified Person

Derrick Strickland, is non-independent a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.

About Generation Uranium

Generation Uranium Inc. (TSXV: GEN) (OTCQB: GENRF) is a Canadian uranium exploration company advancing its 100%-owned Yath Uranium Project, strategically located in Nunavut's Angilak district, one of Canada's most active emerging uranium camps. With a robust pipeline of high-priority exploration targets and exposure to proven uranium-bearing corridors, Generation is well positioned to contribute to the future supply of clean nuclear energy.

For more information, please visit: www.generationuranium.com

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT



Chris Huggins, CEO

Tel: +1-604-968-4844

Email: chris@generationuranium.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected including, but not limited to, market conditions, availability of financing, actual results of the Company's exploration and other activities, environmental risks, future metal prices, operating risks, accidents, labor issues, delays in obtaining governmental approvals and permits, and other risks in the mining industry. All the forward-looking statements made in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements and those in our continuous disclosure filings available on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.com. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances save as required by applicable law.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.

Copyright (c) 2025 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.
Armory Mining Corp. (CSE: ARMY) (OTC: RMRYF) (FRA: 2JS) (the "Company" or "Armory") a resource exploration company focused on the discovery and development of minerals critical to the energy, security and defense sectors, is pleased to announce that it has entered into an amendment agreement dated September 9, 2025 (the "Amendment Agreement"), amending the terms of its mineral property option agreement dated October 26, 2024 (the "Option Agreement") with an arm's length optionor (the "Optionor") previously disclosed in the Company's news releases dated November 4, 2024 and October 28, 2024. Pursuant to the Option Agreement, the Company has the right to acquire from the Optionor a 100% interest in an exploration property located adjacent to and surrounding the West Gore antimony-gold mine in central Nova Scotia, Canada known as the Ammo Property.

To date, the Company has made aggregate cash payments of $25,000 and has issued an aggregate of 750,000 common shares of the Company to the Optionor. Pursuant to the Amendment Agreement, the Company's only remaining obligation under the Option Agreement to acquire the property has been amended from a cash payment of $25,000 to the issuance of 384,615 common shares to the Optionor within five (5) business days of the Canadian Securities Exchange's acceptance of the Amendment Agreement, if required.

"The amendment accelerates the acquisition for Armory and once approved gives us a 100% interest in the project," said Alex Klenman, CEO. "We completed a round of data compilation earlier this year and we are now planning a subsequent exploration program. The area, particularly Military Metals' adjacent West Gore project, is an established antimony-gold camp with historical production. We are eager to get to the next step at Ammo," continued Mr. Klenman.

All securities issued or proposed to be issued as noted above are, have been or will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities laws.

About Armory Mining Corp

Armory Mining Corp. is a Canadian exploration company focused on minerals critical to the energy, security and defense sectors. The Company controls an 80% interest in the Candela II lithium brine project located in the Incahuasi Salar, Salta Province, Argentina and a 100% interest in the Riley Creek antimony-gold project located in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, and an option to acquire a 100% interest in the Ammo antimony-gold project located in Nova Scotia.

Contact Information

Alex Klenman

CEO & Director

alex@armorymining.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as the term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of accuracy of this news release. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of any of the Company's securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful, including any of the securities in the United States of America. The Company's securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for account or benefit of, U.S. Persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) unless registered under the 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration requirements is available.

Forward-looking statements:

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the intended use of funds. The words "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "plans," "will," "may," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that its expectations as reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements due to various factors, including, but not limited to, political and regulatory risks in Canada, operational and exploration risks, market conditions, and the availability of financing. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which are made as of the date of this release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.


Grizzly Discoveries Inc. (TSXV: GZD) (FSE: G6H) (OTCQB: GZDIF) ("Grizzly" or the "Company") is pleased to provide the following exploration and corporate update and to announce a private placement offering for gross proceeds of up to $1 Million.

Beaverdell Exploration

Grizzly has recently conducted a small prospecting and sampling program near Beaverdell in order to satisfy some assessment requirements on some newly staked mineral claims in the Beaverdell area of the Greenwood District, British Columbia. These results from the sampling program conducted in the Beaverdell target area within the Greenwood Precious and Battery Metals Project will be disclosed once they are received.

Highlights:

A total of 50 rock grab samples were collected from mostly outcrop and some mineralized dump material across the Beaverdell claims in July 2025, including the newly acquired ground.

Grizzly has acquired 5 new mineral claims covering 147 hectares (363 acres) and now holds a total of 21 mineral claims covering 3,721 hectares (9,194 acres) surrounding the historical Beaverdell Mine.

Grizzly's Beaverdell mineral claims surround and are adjacent to the historical Beaverdell Mine which produced approximately 34.5 million ounces of silver, 16,700 ounces of gold, 30.6 million pounds of zinc and 25.6 million pounds of lead between 1913 and 1991.

Figure 1: Sulphide mineralization found and sampled on the Beaverdell Property, 2025.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/4488/265973_2bf15c0b94fa6a05_002full.jpg

Motherlode Crown Grant Purchase Agreement

On June 17, 2024, the Company announced a purchase agreement (the "Purchase Agreement") with First Majestic Silver Corp. ("First Majestic") to acquire 13 historical Crown Grants collectively known as the Motherlode Crown Grants near Greenwood, British Columbia.

The Company has been advised that, prior to completion of the Acquisition, certain of the Crown Grants have been forfeited to the Crown due to the non-payment of taxes. As a result, those specific Crown Grants are no longer available for acquisition by the Company under the terms of the Purchase Agreement.

Notwithstanding the forfeiture of certain Crown Grants, Grizzly's mineral claims that overlap significant portions of areas covered by the Crown Grants remain valid and in good standing. With the forfeited Crown Grants now held by the Crown, no other third party can acquire superseding rights in respect of those areas, thereby enhancing the Company's security of tenure on its overlapping mineral claims.

The Company is evaluating its options with respect to the Purchase Agreement with First Majestic in light of this development.

Plans for Fall 2025 Exploration at Greenwood:

Rock and soil sampling along with drilling at the Midway and Motherlode Targets are being planned for fall 2025, depending upon financing. The results for the Beaverdell sampling with be announced as they become available. Additional results should be forthcoming over the next coming months as work progresses and will be presented in additional news releases.

Brian Testo, President and CEO of Grizzly Discoveries, stated, "We are excited and are looking forward to pursuing a number of high grade gold - silver - copper - lead -zinc showings and historical mines with drilling in the fall of 2025 along with additional exploration for significant battery metal prospects in our current 175,000+ acre land holdings in the Greenwood District. We have barely scratched the surface in terms of exploration!

While we are disappointed that not all of the Crown Grants are available for acquisition, this development ultimately provides greater security for our overlapping mineral claims. This ensures that our exploration plans in the Greenwood District can continue without the risk of competing Crown Grant ownership. We will continue to work with First Majestic to assess the best path forward."

Private Placement Financing

Grizzly announces the initiation of a private placement (the "Offering") of Units and FT Units for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $1,000,000 if fully subscribed.

Private Placement Offering

The Offering consists of up to 8,333,333 Units and up to 25,000,000 of any combination of Units and FT Units. Each Unit shall consist of one common share of the Company ("Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant entitling the warrant holder to purchase an additional Common Share for $0.05 and expiring on the earlier of a) 30 days following written notice by the Company to the warrant holder that the volume-weighted average trading price of the Common Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange is at or greater than CA$0.10 per Common Share for 10 consecutive trading days; and (b) 24 months from the date of issuance ("Warrant"). Each FT Unit shall consist of one Common Share and one half of one Warrant, each of which shall be issued as a "flow through share" for the purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada). The Offering is being offered to qualified subscribers in the Provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario and in other jurisdictions as the Company may in its discretion determine, in reliance upon exemptions from the registration and prospectus requirements of applicable securities legislation.

The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Offering, if fully subscribed with the maximum of 25,000,000 in FT Units and 8,333,333 Units, as follows:

Mineral Property Exploration

$ 750,000 Mineral Rights and Exploration Permits

80,000





Working capital Outstanding management fees to Officers $ 44,000



Other accounts payable 56,000 $ 100,000







Corporate Overhead Management fees to Officers $ 18,000

(3 months) Other Corporate Overhead 52,000 $ 70,000







Maximum proceeds



$ 1,000,000

There is no minimum to the Offering. If the Company closes on less than the maximum proceeds, or if the proportion of Units and FT Units differs from the above, the use of proceeds will be adjusted.

In connection with the Offering, the Company may pay finders fees payable in any combination of cash, Units, and Warrants to registered broker dealers, limited market dealers or arm's length persons in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") and applicable securities legislation and regulations. The Common Shares and any Common Shares issued on exercise of the Warrants are subject to restrictions on trading until four months and one day from the date of issuance in accordance with the policies of the Exchange.

The Offering is subject to acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Quality Assurance and Control

Rock and soil samples are being analyzed at ALS Global Laboratories (Geochemistry Division) in Vancouver, Canada (an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited facility). Gold was assayed using a fire assay with atomic emission spectrometry and gravimetric finish when required (+10 g/t Au). Rock grab and rock chip samples from outcrop/bedrock are selective by nature and may not be representative of the mineralization hosted on the project.

The sampling program was undertaken by Company personnel under the direction of Michael B. Dufresne, M.Sc., P.Geol., P.Geo.. A secure chain of custody is maintained in transporting and storing of all samples.

The technical content of this news release and the Company's technical disclosure has been reviewed and approved by Michael B. Dufresne, M. Sc., P. Geol., P.Geo., who is a non-independent Consultant and Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

ABOUT GRIZZLY DISCOVERIES INC.

Grizzly is a diversified Canadian mineral exploration company with its primary listing on the TSX Venture Exchange focused on developing its approximately 72,700 ha (approximately 180,000 acres) of precious and base metals properties in southeastern British Columbia. Grizzly is run by highly experienced junior resource sector management team, who have a track record of advancing exploration projects from early exploration stage through to feasibility stage.

On behalf of the Board,

GRIZZLY DISCOVERIES INC.

Brian Testo, CEO, President

Suite 363-9768 170 Street NW

Edmonton, Alberta T5T 5L4

Email : info@grizzlydiscoveries.com

For further information, please visit our website at www.grizzlydiscoveries.com or contact:

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Caution concerning forward-looking information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. This information and statements address future activities, events, plans, developments and projections. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information and statements are frequently identified by words such as "may," "will," "should," "anticipate," "plan," "expect," "believe," "estimate," "intend" and similar terminology, and reflect assumptions, estimates, opinions and analysis made by management of Grizzly in light of its experience, current conditions, expectations of future developments and other factors which it believes to be reasonable and relevant. Forward-looking information and statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause Grizzly's actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information and statements and accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed thereon.

Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary include but are not limited to the availability of financing; fluctuations in commodity prices; changes to and compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including environmental laws and obtaining requisite permits; political, economic and other risks; as well as other risks and uncertainties which are more fully described in our annual and quarterly Management's Discussion and Analysis and in other filings made by us with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available at www.sedar.com. Grizzly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements except as may be required by law.

NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN<


Taurus Gold Corp. (CSE: TAUR) ("Taurus" or the "Company") announces that it intends to proceed with its previously announced consolidation of its issued and outstanding common shares (the "Common Shares") on the basis of one (1) new common share for every four (4) existing Common Shares (the "Consolidation"). Further to the Company's news release dated August 20, 2025, the effective date of the Consolidation will be September 17, 2025.

No action is required by shareholders to effect the Consolidation.

About Taurus Gold Corp.

Taurus Gold is a growth-oriented mineral exploration company with a 51% interest in the Charlotte gold-silver property in the Yukon. The Charlotte Property covers approximately 23 square kilometres and is road accessible within the established Dawson Range mining district. The Company's focus remains on advancing this flagship property through systematic exploration and development.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

Robert Sim, CEO / Director

THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE, NOR HAS OR DOES THE CSE'S REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER.

Forward-Looking Statements

This News Release includes certain "forward-looking statements" which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", "likely", "probably", "often", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the effective date of the Consolidation. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include future growth potential of the Company, fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions, fluctuations in securities markets, exploration success, the ability of the Company to successfully achieve its business objectives, the ability of the Company to satisfy stock exchange, shareholder and other regulatory requirements in a timely manner, inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards and general market conditions. Additional factors and risks including various risk factors discussed in the Company's disclosure documents which can be found under the Company's profile on http://www.sedarplus.ca. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected

Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.


VANCOUVER, Sept. 11, 2025 - Marimaca Copper Corp. (TSX: MARI) (ASX: MC2) ("Marimaca" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the closing of the previously announced brokered placement in Australia and select other jurisdictions, excluding Canada (the "Placement").

Pursuant to the closing of the Placement, the Company issued 8,247,423 Chess Depositary Interests ("CDI") each at a price of A$9.70 for gross proceeds of approximately A$80,000,000 or approximately C$72,080,000.

Net proceeds from the Placement will be used for exploration at the Pampa Medina Project and Marimaca sulphide target, detailed design and engineering and project related workstreams at the Marimaca Oxide Deposit (the "MOD"), and for general corporate purposes.

Euroz Hartleys Limited, Beacon Securities Limited and Macquarie Capital (Australia) Limited, acted as joint lead managers in respect of the Placement. Canaccord Genuity (Australia) limited acted as a co-manager in respect of the Placement. Allotment of the CDIs will occur on September 12, 2025 (AEST). The Placement is subject to the receipt of final approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX").

This announcement has been prepared for publication in Australia and may not be released to U.S. wire services or distributed in the United States. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, securities in the United States, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities offered in the Placement have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws.

Related Party Transaction Disclosure

Existing insiders of the Company Assore International Holdings Limited ("AIH") and Ithaki Ltd. participated in the Placement for 1,376,289 CDIs and 1,226,805 CDIs, respectively. Additional information regarding their participation will be disclosed in the material change report to be filed by the Company in accordance with Canadian securities laws.

Other Information

In connection with the Placement, Greenstone Resources L.P. and certain of its affiliates have waived their participation rights. AIH participated directly in the Placement. Mitsubishi Corporation has a participation right to purchase shares pro rata on the same terms as the Placement, exercisable for a period of 30 business days from the closing of the Placement. Mitsubishi's current ownership, prior to the closing of the Placement, is approximately 4.4% based on public filings.

About Marimaca

Marimaca is a copper exploration and development company focused on its 100%-owned flagship Marimaca Copper Project and surrounding exploration properties located in Antofagasta Region, Chile.

The Marimaca Copper Project hosts the Marimaca Oxide Deposit (the "MOD"), an IOCG-type copper deposit. The Company is currently progressing the Marimaca Copper Project through the Definitive Feasibility Study led by Ausenco Chile Ltda. In parallel, the Company is exploring its extensive land package in the Antofagasta region, including the >15,000ha wholly-owned Sierra de Medina property block, located 25km from the MOD.

This news release is authorized for release by the Board of Directors of Marimaca.

Contact Information

For further information please visit www.marimaca.com or contact:

Tavistock

+44 (0) 207 920 3150

Emily Moss / Ruairi Millar



marimaca@tavistock.co.uk

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation, including statements related to the anticipated CDI allotment timing, the use of proceeds and receipt of regulatory approvals and other approvals, including approval of the TSX. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Marimaca, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: risks related to the receipt of required regulatory approvals, including final approval by the TSX, risks related to share price and market conditions, the inherent risks involved in the mining, exploration and development of mineral properties, the uncertainties involved in interpreting drilling results and other geological data, fluctuating metal prices, the possibility of project delays or cost overruns or unanticipated excessive operating costs and expenses, uncertainties related to the necessity of financing, uncertainties relating to regulatory procedure and timing for permitting reviews, the availability of and costs of financing needed in the future. The intended use of the proceeds of the Placement by the Company might change if the board of directors of the Company determines that it would be in the best interests of the Company and amounts actually allocated and spent will depend on a number of factors, including the Company's ability to execute on its business plan. Many of these risks and uncertainties and additional risk factors generally applicable to the Company are described in the Company's annual information form of the Company dated March 27, 2025 and other filings made by the Company with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities (which may be viewed at www.sedarplus.ca). Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

None of the TSX, ASX or the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Ferrari loses engine genius Zimmermann to Audi

Ferrari has suffered a major blow to its 2026 Formula 1 program, with veteran engine chief Wolf Zimmermann and his deputy Lars Schmidt leaving Maranello to reunite with Mattia Binotto at Audi.

Lewis Hamilton, Italian GP 2025

 Ferrari

Zimmermann has been a cornerstone of Ferrari's hybrid-era engine department since arriving from Mercedes in 2014 at former team boss Binotto's request.

He designed the so-called 'Superfast' power unit and was leading development of Ferrari's next-generation engine for the sweeping 2026 regulations.

Il Corriere della Sera described him as a genius with long, rock-star-like hair, noting that his departure alongside Schmidt comes at a delicate moment for the Scuderia.

With two notable departures just months before the new 2026 regulations come into force, it's a delicate period for the department headed by Enrico Gualtieri, wrote journalist Daniele Sparisci.

Another Italian daily, La Repubblica, called Zimmermann the father of Ferrari engines, confirming that both he and Schmidt will join the Binotto-led new works Audi outfit, which will replace Sauber on the grid next year with an all-new German-made power unit.

Ferrari insists the separation is amicable and part of normal turnover, pointing to incoming talent from Alpine and Mercedes to support Gualtieri.

Still, the optics are difficult as rivals press ahead with their own 2026 projects. Rumours suggest Mercedes may already hold an advantage in the new 50-50 hybrid formula, although these claims remain unverified.

Veteran Italian columnist Leo Turrini said the exits raise awkward questions. The split is news that lends itself to conflicting interpretations, he wrote in Quotidiano Nazionale.

Either there is disappointment in the Ferrari 2026 engine, or Binotto simply convinced them to follow him to Audi. Winning helps you win - when you lose, the rumours overflow.

Team boss Frederic Vasseur has attempted to play down the departures as part of the normal ebb and flow of technical staff in Formula 1. But the timing is conspicuous - Ferrari has reportedly yet to bench-test its complete 2026 power unit, with just three months until the FIA homologation deadline.

Meanwhile, the Audi project confirmed a new tie-up with Adidas, which from 2026 will supply and sponsor both Audi and Mercedes.

(GMM)
McLaren's Monza call borders on absurd says Danner

Former Formula 1 driver Christian Danner has joined the critics of McLaren's controversial handling of the Oscar Piastri-Lando Norris swap at Monza.

Lando Norris, Italian GP 2025

 McLaren

Max Verstappen, who won the Italian GP comfortably, was heard laughing over team radio as McLaren instructed Piastri to let Norris by after the Briton lost time in a slow pitstop.

Speaking to AvD Motorsport Magazin, Danner said Verstappen's reaction was spot on.

It's completely understandable that Max laughed so much, said the 67-year-old German. "If I were him, I would have done the same and communicated it too.

Because that's a great way to ridicule your opponent.

Danner made clear he opposes McLaren's 'papaya rules' approach to the 2025 title fight.

It's quite unusual for a Formula 1 team to shuffle drivers around like puppets under the guise of fairness, he explained. "In retrospect, I think McLaren wouldn't have handled one or two things in the same way now.

But the whole process was such that, personally, I have to say it borders on absurd.

The former Zakspeed and Rial driver suggested the real flashpoint may only come when Piastri decides he has had enough.

Danner's comments follow those of former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, who told Blick this week he suspects McLaren would rather see Norris than Piastri crowned world champion.

I'm sure there's internal discussion, Danner said. "It's perfectly normal for things to simmer, and actions like those in Monza increase the pressure.

At some point, the pressure in McLaren's boiler will build to the point of an explosion. At some point, Piastri's temper will also explode.

(GMM)
The Apple iPhone Air feels like something that Apple from a few years ago would design  things get sacrificed at the altar of cool design, no matter whether people think those features were essential (or that the design is all that cool).

Weve seen unreliable butterfly keyboards and iffy cooling on MacBooks, weve seen bendy iPhones and ones that have connectivity issues depending on how you grip them.

So, what did the iPhone Air designers sacrifice to make a phone just 5.64mm thick? We wont know the full extent of that until people have been using them for a few months, but here are the obvious omissions that the Air comes with. Note that were not going by order of importance, even though we start with the biggest issue by far.

1. Battery

The iPhone Air has a 3,149mAh battery  coming up short of the 3,692mAh battery inside the smaller (though thicker) iPhone 17 and is much smaller than the 4,832mAh battery in the 17 Pro Max (5,088mAh if you get an eSIM-only model).

That means lower endurance on a single charge  we havent tested it ourselves yet, however, numbers from the EU energy label suggest that the iPhone Air lasts 40 hours on a single charge, compared to 41 hours for the vanilla phone and 53 hours for the Pro Max.

To make things worse, the smaller battery also means slower charging  both the vanilla iPhone 17 and the 17 Pro Max can get to 50% in 20 minutes, the Air needs 30 minutes to get there. This is despite having less capacity to fill.

Interestingly, Apple didnt sacrifice MagSafe support, which might have shaved off a fraction of a millimeter. That might not have been an altruistic move, though  perhaps the iPhone Air MagSafe Battery will be a required purchase to get you through the day. Probably not unless you are a heavy user, but its something to keep in mind.

The Apple iPhone Air MagSafe Battery

2. Display size

The iPhone Air has a 6.5 display  thats smaller than the 6.7 panel on the iPhone 16 Plus and smaller than the 6.9 panel on the iPhone 16 and 17 Pro Max. It is bigger than the 6.3 display on the iPhone 17 (older vanilla phones had 6.1 displays), though.

Were bringing this up as it might have been a technological limitation  the Air is the only new iPhone to still use a titanium frame. Even the Pros switched back to aluminum. Titanium is stiffer than aluminum, meaning that it resists bending better.

However, with such a thin frame even titanium might not have been strong enough if Apple had gone with a 6.7 or 6.9 display. Samsung also used titanium for the Galaxy S25 Edge and while its a bit thicker (5.8mm), it does have a larger 6.7 display.

We will have a better idea of why Apple may have settled at a 6.5 diagonal when the first bend tests come in.

3. Main camera

The iPhone Air features a single camera on its back  that may have been okay for the cheap iPhone 16e (it wasnt, but still), though on a $1,000 phone its quite rough.

And its not even Apples best main camera. The Air module is the same as on the vanilla phone  it has a 1/1.56 sensor, which is smaller than the 1/1.28 sensor in the two Pro models. In terms of pixel size, its 1.0m vs. 1.22m.

Wed let it slide if this camera didnt cap the video frame rate at 4K 60fps, while the Pros can do up to 120fps. Also, it lacks ProRes, ProRes RAW and Apple Log 2 support (this might be related to #7 on the list, but unlikely).

Theres more, the LiDAR is gone  Pro models use this to speed up autofocus and improve the portrait mode. Its also used in some niche applications like improving the accuracy of AR tracking, 3D scanning objects and so on.

4. Telephoto camera

The 48MP module has lossless 2x zoom, but thats as far as you can go  after that, image quality starts to degrade. Okay, the Galaxy S25 Edge doesnt have a dedicated telephoto camera either, but at least it has a 200MP main. That has a better chance at taking a good photo beyond 2x, though that is a hypothesis we will obviously have to test.

Perhaps, Apple didnt want to tune a 200MP sensor just for the Air. Or perhaps, this is just market segmentation  iPhone 17 Pro Max owners might feel shortchanged if the Air has a better main camera than their pricey phone.

5. Ultra-wide camera

How often do you use the ultra-wide camera on your phone? Perhaps not often, but even so it offers a unique perspective that you cant get with a narrower lens. Plus, on iPhones it is tasked with macro photography  thats just missing from the iPhone Air.

6. Pro chipset

Wait a minute, the iPhone Air does have a Pro chipset!, you may be thinking. But does it? Apple is traditionally tight-lipped about details on Apple A-series chips, so heres what we know from the specs:

iPhone 17 (A19) iPhone Air (A19 Pro?) iPhone 17 Pro/Max (A19 Pro) CPU, performance cores 2x 2x 2x CPU, efficiency cores 6x 6x 6x GPU 5 cores 5 cores 6 cores NPU 16 cores 16 cores 16 cores

So, uh, how is the chipset inside the Air Pro and the one inside the iPhone 17 isnt? We will investigate the difference once we have our hands on the new iPhones.

While Apple doesnt report RAM capacities, we know that the Air and Pro phones have 12GB, the vanilla model has only 8GB. That may play into the Pro label, but who knows.

7. USB 3.0 port

Most people use the USB-C port on their iPhone for charging and nothing else. And thats fine, but the iPhone Pros are capable of recording high-bandwidth ProRes video at up to 4K 120fps on external storage.

As we alluded above, this might have something to do with the lack of ProRes support on the Air. Of course, iPhones can record ProRes to internal storage, so the most likely explanation for that is that the Pro camera is just more capable. Still, have you seen how much Apple charges for the upgrade from 256GB to 512GB storage? Theres a reason many are using external SSDs.

8. Stereo speakers

The Apple iPhone Air has a single speaker  the one built into the top part. The bottom part  which, again, measures only 5.64mm thick  may not have had enough room for an additional speaker. Or maybe Apple decided that the space would be better used by the battery.

9. Bumpers are back?

Bumpers became a practical necessity when Apple failed to properly isolate the antennas on the iPhone 4  your hand could significantly degrade reception strength.

That was fixed in the next generation and hasnt been a problem since, but now bumpers are back? Indeed they are. Here is the iPhone Air Bumper, which is made from reinforced polycarbonate for added edge protection.

Now, titanium is not a material that dents easily (its more resilient than aluminum in this respect), so it seems that Apple is worried about drop resistance on its super-slim new phone.

Beauty requires sacrifice as the saying goes. What do you think of the iPhone Air  did it sacrifice too much or does it still cover all the important stuff, while delivering that impressively slim design?

Apple iPhone 17 Air
Google released Android 16 back in June, and at the launch of the Phone (3) in early July, Nothing promised it would roll out the update to Android 16 "later this autumn". Clearly, the Nothing Phone (3) should be the first in line.

Today, the company has started teasing Nothing OS 4.0, based on Android 16, across its social media accounts. The short video you can see below features a very quick glimpse into the icons that will be used in the new version, as well as a promise that Nothing OS 4 will be "refined" and "redefined".

While the Nothing Phone (3) will be the first device to receive the update, the Nothing Phone (1) won't, as it has reached the end of its promised three years of software updates, having been released in July 2022.

That being said, Nothing CEO Carl Pei promises that his company is working on "a program" for its "day-one users", owners of the Phone (1), without going into any more detail. Does this mean the Phone (1) will get Android 16, but perhaps only as a beta? Only time will tell.

Phone (1) has reached the end of its software lifecycle and will not receive Nothing OS 4.0. We fulfilled our promise of 3 years of software updates, with another year of security updates ahead. To thank our day-one users, were working on a program for you. @nothing how soon can https://t.co/IEoLPId6tL  Carl Pei (@getpeid) September 10, 2025

Obviously, those who are still using Nothing's first smartphone would very much appreciate it if that was the case, but don't get your hopes up just yet - after all, Pei hasn't really promised anything so far. We'll let you know when we find out more.

Nothing Phone (3) 5G
A whopping $15 billion combined worth of contracts have been awarded to 10 contractors for construction projects primarily located on Guam and other areas overseen by Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Pacific, the Pentagon announced on Sept. 10.

The announcement comes after the Pentagon finalized its plans to proceed with the 360-degree missile defense system for Guam, spread across 16 sites on the island.

The total $15 billion is for multiple projects, and the initial task order under the contract, valued at $41.8 million-plus, is for the construction of a low-rise school age center facility at Andersen Air Force Base.

That firm-fixed-price task order was awarded to Texas-based SLSCO Ltd. The Andersen facility project is expected to be completed by August 2028.

Fiscal 2025 Navy funds of more than $41.8 million will be obligated on this particular award, which will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

Here are the 10 contractors awarded the combined $15 billion indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award contracts:

BL Harbert International LLC, Alabama Black ConstructionTutor Perini JV, Guam Conti Federal Services, Florida Core Tech-HDCC-Kajima LLC, Guam ECC Expeditionary Constructors LLC, California Gilbane Federal JV, Rhode Island Granite-Obayashi 3, A JV, California Hensel Phelps Construction Co., Hawaii Nan Inc., Hawaii SLSCO Ltd., Texas

The Department of War said this acquisition was competitively procured, with 13 proposals received.

These 10 contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contracts.

The term of the contract is not to exceed 96 months with an expected completion date of September 2033.

Missile defense

This comes shortly after Black Construction-Tutor Perini Joint Venture announced a $181.8 million contract to construct an enhanced integrated air and missile defense site on Guam, complete with its own power generation facility.

Work is expected to start in the first quarter of 2026, Tutor Perini said.

According to the Pentagon, site preparation for the missile defense system project could start in late 2025, and the system will be operational after construction, testing, and a final system check.

Starting in 2031, about 2,300 permanent military and civilian personnel and their dependents will arrive, according to the record of decision.

Plans call for 36 launchers and 14 radars to be distributed across the 16 missile defense system sites: Eight will be at Naval Base Guam; six at Andersen Air Force Base; and two at Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz.

Just on Aug. 29, the Pentagon announced a $211 million contract awarded to Nan Inc. for the construction of a new communications center at Andersen Air Force Base.

It was also just in July when NavFac announced a $295 million contract award to Guam-based Core Tech-HDCC-Kajima LLC for the construction of a defense system command center on Guam.

Defense forum next week

On Sept. 17 and 18, there will be a forum on Guam that is expected to bring together key defense leaders, policymakers, and community stakeholders to engage in dialogue on regional security, civil-military collaboration, and Guams role in the Indo-Pacific.

The upcoming Guam Defense Forum, to be held at Dusit Thani Hotel, is hosted by the Office of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, together with the Community Defense Liaison Office.
The Guam Board of Medical Examiners received two complaints related to an unlicensed physician and an unlicensed cosmetologist, both conducting business on Guam, but investigations remain pending over the boards clarification of its jurisdiction.

Board Chairman Dr. Nathaniel Berg, during the boards Wednesday meeting, said he is concerned the issue may not fall under GBMEs jurisdiction.

He said before he approves or proceeds with any investigation, he wants to seek counsel from Assistant Attorney General Chisa Tillman on how or if GMBE should look into this interesting situation.

We have no reason to believe that this person did anything untoward, but lets say that this person had done something terrible two years ago or a year-and-a-half ago, and we found out about it, Berg said. I dont think it would be appropriate for us to ignore that, and weve had to deal with that before, so Im going to have a discussion with attorney Tillman and ask where we are free to use our judgment.

The second complaint involving an unlicensed cosmetologist, Berg said, again may not necessarily fall under GBMEs jurisdiction.

Although the person has no license to do anything, the complaints jurisdiction is predominantly cosmetology, he said.

Doctor with VA

According to the first complaint, based on the medical boards discussion, an unlicensed physician was working under the Department of Veterans Affairs to conduct physical examinations on veterans.

Berg clarified that physicians working under federal offices do not need to be licensed within specific jurisdictions, but they must have a relevant active license.

The physician was on Guam doing the exams for the VA, so he did not need to have a Guam medical license, [but] he needed to have an active license, because it is a federal facility, Berg said.

Regarding this complaint, Berg said the board initially had no jurisdiction, because he was not licensed on Guam.

However, the physician has now recently acquired licensing within Guam, meaning the board could potentially open its own investigation into the complaint.

The complaint was resubmitted, [but] we have to let the person who submitted the complaint know that we still dont have jurisdiction, because the issues that were involved predated that person being licensed in Guam, Berg said. However, we are there to protect the public, so we have to see what we want to do.

The physician previously did not have to answer to the board. Now that he is licensed on Guam, the board has authority to question him, particularly about which state or territory he was licensed in during the period in which a complaint took place, Berg said.

Well let the complainant know, Berg said. He may have been licensed in California or in Idaho, and well say, You should submit that complaint to that appropriate jurisdiction.

Forwarded to another board

The second complaint concerns an unlicensed cosmetologist, which again may not necessarily fall under GBMEs jurisdiction, Berg said.

Were not actually doing the investigation, so the complaint is going to be forwarded to the cosmetology board, Berg said.

The board received pictures evidencing the violation, which were sent to the members of the cosmetology board; however, part of the issue is it may come back to medicine.

This person advertises as a cosmetologist or as a physician, but it shows pictures of needles going into people, Berg said. Theyre not allowed to do that; that is considered the practice of medicine.

Berg added that the board cannot act further without knowing for sure if the persons practice is within its jurisdiction, as the complainant originated from social media outreach.

Whether or not we investigated as well, we have to let them determine whether the person even is practicing on Guam, Berg said. This is a Facebook thing, and it comes up every once in a while. They do these micro-needling and things that theyre not supposed to be doing in Guam. In other words, well wait on the cosmetology board, if cosmetology kicks the complaint back to GBME and says, Nope, this persons not licensed. Its not a cosmetology issue, its a medical issue.

Berg said the board will first allow the correct jurisdiction to deal with the complaint, if that is necessary.
While at a speaking engagement, Charlie Kirk, 31-year-old conservative co-founder of Turning Point USA, was tragically shot, later succumbing to his injuries. He did not merely die. He was assassinated.

Charlie Kirk was an important Christian political figure whose strong civil discourse encouraged direct, robust debate. He had an incredible ability to energize and mobilize young people politically, demonstrating that meaningful engagement among youth matters.

He promoted equality by offering a platform that did not ostracize those who did not align with his thoughts and values. Rather, he welcomed opposition, challenged others to think for themselves, and offered pragmatic, logical reasoning while never compromising his faith.

He dedicated his life to speaking boldly and unapologetically defending conservative values. In an age and culture where faith is often silenced or ridiculed, Kirk was courageous, reminding audiences that Americas freedoms flow not from government but from our Creator.

His voice carried into homes, churches, and communities, urging people, especially young people, to care about truth, freedom, and Americas future. His life was proof that one person, grounded in faith and conviction, can spark a movement that changes hearts and minds.

Galatians 6:9 says, Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

While Kirks life ended abruptly, his influence remains. His life was a testimony that one young man, with faith in God and strong convictions, can change the course of a generation.

His death should not silence the values he championed. His passing should light a fire in thousands of others to become advocates, organizers, and truthtellers.

Now more than ever, the mantle must pass to a new generation of voices, each willing to debate, defend, and inspire others. His legacy will live on, in every believer who chooses to stand boldly for God, for truth, and for freedom.




Haiti - Politic : Haiti cannot wait. The time for decisive, coordinated action is now (OAS statement)





All member States of the Organization of American States (OAS) signed a joint declaration calling for coordinated action by the UN in support of the OAS Roadmap for Haiti.



OAS Joint Statement :



"Joint Statement by Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States, and Uruguay



"Call for Coordinated UN Action in Support of the OAS Haiti Roadmap" Washington, DC; September 9, 2025



1. We, the signatories as member states of the Organization of American States {OAS), reaffirm our solidarity with the Haitian people, our respect for Haiti's sovereignty, and our commitment to supporting Haiti at this critical moment in line with the resolution "Calling for Concrete Solutions to be brought to bear as a Matter of Urgency to Resolve the Grave Security and Institutional Crisis in Haiti" (AG/RES. 3039 {LV-0/25) adopted during the 55th OAS General Assembly.



2. On August 20, the OAS Permanent Council received the Secretary General's presentation of the updated Haiti Roadmap ( "Towards a Haitian-Led Roadmap for Stability and Peace with Regional and International Support"). This Haitian-led, internationally supported framework - in development with Haitian authorities, the United Nations, and Inter-American partners - sets security as the enabling condition for humanitarian response and the restoration of democratic governance through free and fair elections and introduces practical mechanisms for coordination, transparency, and resource mobilization to reduce duplication and drive a coherent response.



3. We recognize the United Nations' central role in promoting and maintaining international peace and security. We recognize also that violence perpetrated by organized criminal groups and gangs in Haiti, even outside of armed conflict, threatens lives and livelihoods as well as regional peace and security. In that spirit, we support the establishment of a UN Support Office for Haiti (UNSOH) and a transition of the Multinational Security Support {MSS) mission to a new force that is focused on the establishment of a safe and stable environment, for Haitian authorities to restore and maintain the rule of law, including through dismantling gangs.



4. We pay tribute to Kenya for leading the MSS mission, as well as to the Bahamas, Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Jamaica for contributing personnel.



5. Considering that peace requires more than security operations, we will support Haitian-led efforts to address the root causes and drivers of violence, weak democratic institutions, corruption, poverty, and persistent striking social inequalities, as well as limited access to education and essential public services.



6. We highlight the important role of the OAS in strengthening institutional and operational capacities through a civil humanitarian and human rights approach while fully respecting Haitian leadership, national democratic institutionality, and international legal norms with particular attention to addressing sexual violence and protecting women, children, and members of other vulnerable groups.



7. We, as member states of the OAS, stand ready to work in partnership, according to national capabilities and in line with OAS mandates, with the United Nations and with Haiti to advance the OAS Haiti Roadmap and support the Haitian people.



8. We encourage voluntary contributions to the UN Trust Fund to support the new force to be established by the UNSC. We also welcome complementary support via the OAS SECUREHaiti platform for HNP enablement, consistent with the UN framework.



9. We reaffirm that Haiti's path forward must remain Haitian-led, with the full ownership of its institutions and civil society. Humanitarian assistance, long term socio-economic development, the protection of members of vulnerable groups, and respect for human rights and international law must remain at the core of our collective effort. The OAS, CARICOM, and the UN must act in full coordination to ensure coherence, legitimacy, and effectiveness.



10. Today, we send a united hemispheric message: Haiti cannot wait. The time for decisive, coordinated action is now. "



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Politic : Meeting between the CPT and a UN delegation





Laurent Saint-Cyr, President pro tempore of the Transitional Council, and Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime received a delegation led by Tom Fletcher, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA), at the Villa d'Accueil earlier this week.



The discussions focused on immediate national priorities: restoring security, providing humanitarian support to displaced populations, organizing elections, economic recovery, and resuming air travel.



President Saint-Cyr emphasized that security remains the essential condition for the resumption of national life and the organization of free and credible elections. He reaffirmed the determination of the Haitian authorities to combat armed gangs, restore State authority, and restore confidence in the population. "Haiti needs increased support from the international community to emerge from this crisis. Gangs will not dictate the future of the country."



Prime Minister Fils-Aime recalled that millions of Haitians are living in a situation of extreme vulnerability, exacerbated by insecurity, and emphasized the need to channel aid through the Haitian government to ensure better coordination. Regarding elections, he emphasized that 87% of polling centers have already been identified, 70% of electoral staff have been mobilized, and that national funding of US$65 million has been secured through the common fund managed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP - Haiti).



The United Nations delegation expressed its commitment to being a strong partner for Haiti by aligning humanitarian and development actions with the priorities defined by the Haitian government. It also emphasized the need for better coordination between international agencies and local authorities, particularly in the protection of women, children, and displaced populations.



Discussions also addressed the crucial issue of air transportation. Haitian authorities recalled that more than 600 international flights (mostly military and humanitarian) have operated without incident over the past ten months, and that the ban that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) continues to restrict between Port-ou-Prince and the United States. They called for increased advocacy with international partners, particularly in New York, to lift this measure, which unfairly penalizes the country and hinders its economic recovery.



Finally, the two parties agreed to maintain close dialogue between now and the United Nations General Assembly, in order to present concrete results and mobilize greater international support for Haiti.



The Presidential Transitional Council reaffirms, through this meeting, its commitment to leading the country on the path to security, democracy, and stability, in the best interests of the Haitian people.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Taiwan : President Lai Ching-te receives the credentials of the Haitian ambassador (Lai's speech)





On Tuesday, September 9, 2025, President Lai Ching-te of Taiwan (Republic of China) received the credentials of the new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Haiti, Roudy Stanley Penn. In his remarks, President Lai welcomed the Ambassador and thanked the Haitian Government for its long-standing support and commitment to Taiwan.



Address by President Lai :



"It is a great pleasure to receive the credentials of Ambassador Penn. Next April marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries. On behalf of the government and all people of the Republic of China (Taiwan), I sincerely welcome Ambassador Penn back to Taiwan as we celebrate this milestone together.



Ambassador Penn is a young and promising leader with extensive experience in the public and private sectors. He showed exceptional capability during his first term as ambassador to Taiwan. His reappointment reflects the Haitian governments recognition of his service and its commitment to the bilateral relationship between our countries. With Ambassador Penns assistance, I believe that Taiwan and Haiti will continue to deepen our cooperation in various fields.



When I met with Ambassador Penn at the Presidential Office last May, he noted that Taiwan and Haitis cooperation in agriculture, energy, culture, and technology has brought substantial benefits to our peoples, demonstrating the importance of our bilateral partnership. As Ambassador Penn said, our joint efforts have increasingly produced fruitful results and deepened our friendship. Initiatives including the introduction of solar-powered irrigation pumps, the Rice Production Enhancement Project, and the Vegetable and Fruit Cultivation Development Project have laid the groundwork for lasting food security in Haiti. Furthermore, Taiwan has significantly increased the number of scholarships available to Haitian students this year, hoping to foster even more talent and promote student exchanges between our countries.



I want to thank the government of Haiti for its longstanding support and unwavering advocacy for Taiwan. This year, Haitis Ministry of Public Health and Population voiced support for Taiwan at the World Health Organization (WHO)s Executive Board meeting and the World Health Assembly. Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste, who visited Taiwan two months ago, also sent a letter to the director-general of the WHO on Taiwans behalf, reflecting the spirit of true friendship.



Once again, I sincerely welcome Ambassador Penn and wish him all the best in his work. I hope that Taiwan and Haiti will continue to deepen our friendship, building on the strong existing foundation of our cooperation, as well as our bonds of mutual trust and respect.



Ambassador Penn then delivered remarks, saying that it is a great honor to present President Lai with his credentials and extending greetings on behalf of the Transitional Presidential Council, the government, and the people of Haiti. He also noted that it is an honor to once again serve as the ambassador of Haiti to Taiwan, and expressed his deep admiration for Taiwans journey, history, and bold aspiration.



Ambassador Penn reiterated the Haitian governments strong determination to strengthen and develop friendly and cooperative relations between our two countries. He affirmed that through joint cooperation, bilateral ties can reach new heights and mutually benefit our peoples.



Ambassador Penn noted that next year marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Haiti and Taiwan, presenting an excellent opportunity to give renewed momentum to bilateral cooperation and strengthen friendly ties. He expressed hope to work with President Lai and the government of Taiwan to further deepen the friendship between our two countries peoples."



HL/ HaitiLibre


















" " The dog handler is just as important as the dog breed when it comes to this kind of work. Africa Studio / Shutterstock

Police dogs serve alongside law enforcement to protect, search, and rescue. The dog breeds for police work must be intelligent, strong, and adaptable, with extensive training allowing them to handle crime scenes, track missing people, or control crowds.

While many breeds can contribute, the following breeds stand out for their work ethic and ability to serve both handlers and communities.
For the third time since 2023, scientists from European research institutions have written an open letter against EU plans for so-called chat control. In the letter to the EU Commission and European Parliament, around 400 researchers warn of negative consequences for security and fundamental rights.

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Chat control breaks encryption

The researchers comment on the latest drafts for a regulation on chat control. The aim is to make it mandatory to search for child sexual abuse content on devices such as smartphones, which, according to the researchers, would undermine any end-to-end encryption and other methods of device security.

According to the researchers, such mechanisms represent a single point of failure, i.e., a starting point for malware, for example. Furthermore, these detectors are not reliable enough: Existing research results confirm that state-of-the-art detectors have unacceptably high false-positive and false-negative rates.

AI is not a solution either

AI is not a solution either because, among other things, it cannot recognize which parties are sending explicit material to each other. The scientists refer here to teenagers who might send each other data. In addition, today's AIs offer a large target for manipulation, which criminals could then exploit to circumvent the mechanisms.

Furthermore, a de facto end to encrypted chats would also have side effects on people who need to communicate confidentially. The researchers mention politicians, law enforcement officers, journalists, and human rights activists. They are dependent on tools such as Signal, which has already announced its withdrawal from the EU if chat control is implemented.

The researchers doubt that the spread of abusive content could be significantly prevented by the control on end devices. Rather, it would depend on education, sensitized reporting offices, and targeted searches for such content. In the long term, only the containment of abuse itself would also bring about the spread of the documentation of these crimes.

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Support not only from Europe

The signatories of the open letter include over 400 scientists from 33 countries, not just EU member states. They include mainly technical universities, but also employees of institutions such as the Max Planck Institute or the Fraunhofer Society. There is also support from the USA, Canada, Israel, and Taiwan.

Some institutions mentioned do not directly support the demands but give their scientists the freedom to speak out publicly. The CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security from Germany, among others, pointed this out in a press release distributed in advance.

The loosely organized scientists, who have not yet come together under an initiative with their name, have already written similar letters to the EU three times since 2023. With 400 signatories, the new letter has the most support to date. The scientists are taking up the Commission's current proposal after the failure to agree on a compromise in May 2025.

(nie)

Don't miss any news  follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Mastodon. This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication.




We're a family of eight living in Georgia where Andrew's a professor at GSU and Nancy is a PhD student at UGA. You can read more about us here
Police discovered the remains in 2024 during a search of a detached house in the Turku area. Investigators believe the bodies were placed in separate freezers in 1994 and 1995. The man is accused of two counts of violating the sanctity of the grave, or hautarauhan rikkominen.

An 80-year-old man is facing trial in Finland for allegedly storing the bodies of two deceased relatives in freezers for nearly three decades. The matter was first reported by Nya Aland , a newspaper published in Aland.

The accused has worked as a doctor and served as the managing director of a funeral services company, according to Ilta-Sanomat. The police described him as a relative of the deceased. His medical practice rights are currently restricted by Valvira, the Finnish health supervisory authority.

Lasse Hoysti, chief detective inspector at the Southwest Finland Police Department, said in a statement that both individuals had died of natural causes. One had died in hospital and the other after a medical autopsy. Both bodies were later retrieved by the accused and kept in domestic freezers located in an outdoor storage facility on the property.

The person who died in hospital was most likely taken straight from there to the freezer, Hoysti told Helsingin Sanomat.

The deceased were an elderly couple. One had been a resident of Aland or registered in Mariehamn at the time of death. Police confirmed there is already a shared headstone for the pair in a family burial plot in the Turku region, though the bodies were never buried. There are no plans to exhume the grave.

The tip that led to the discovery was received by emergency services in summer 2024. Officers executed a search warrant at the property, which is located near central Turku. The freezers were found in an outbuilding on the premises.

Police have concluded their investigation. The case is now pending in the District Court of Southwest Finland.

No other crimes are suspected.

Documents reviewed by Helsingin Sanomat show that one of the victims died in 1994 and the other in 1995. The acts for which the man is charged are dated from March and April 1995 and are considered to have continued until June 2024.

Initially, police suspected two relatives in the case. Charges were ultimately filed against only one of them after the prosecutor dropped the case against the second person.

According to Hoysti, the accused acted out of personal conviction, citing views that differ from mainstream burial practices. He described the case as involving no malevolence or anything of that sort.

The mans involvement in the funeral business has raised additional questions. Official business registry filings show that the funeral services company he led had no active commercial operations. The firm had been set up during the Covid-19 pandemic, reportedly with the purpose of offering information to the public.

One of the bodies was found wrapped in plastic, the other still in hospital clothing.

According to court records, the man has a previous conviction for unlawful medical practice. In 2017, he was fined for issuing a travel-related medical certificate while not authorised to do so. At the time, he was under restrictions that permitted him to practise only in public healthcare under supervision.

The police have contacted authorities in Mariehamn to facilitate proper burial arrangements for the deceased linked to Aland.

The court proceedings are ongoing.

HT
The decision followed two days of testimony from Kivimaki, who denied all charges. The court cited his prolonged pretrial detention as the reason for release. He has been in custody since February 2023. His trial will continue through November.

Aleksanteri Kivimaki , convicted of thousands of cybercrimes linked to the Vastaamo data breach, has been released from custody by the Helsinki Court of Appeal.

The court stated that further detention was not justified after the completion of Kivimakis hearing.

Kivimaki left the courthouse through a back exit and was picked up by his lawyer Peter Jaari. Speaking briefly to journalists outside, he said he intended to attend all remaining court sessions.

Theres no question about that, he said.

Asked what he planned next, he replied, Ill go eat. And change clothes.

Kivimaki refused to comment on the thousands of victims affected by the breach. They should ask questions to the prosecutors and the police, he said.

The Court of Appeals decision does not overturn the earlier ruling by the district court. In April 2024, the Lansi-Uusimaa District Court sentenced Kivimaki to six years and three months in prison for aggravated data breach, 20 counts of aggravated extortion, over 20,000 attempted extortions, and over 9,000 aggravated violations of personal privacy.

The crimes relate to the 2018 hacking of psychotherapy provider Vastaamos database. The stolen database contained personal and medical records of 33,000 patients. In 2020, victims and the company were blackmailed. When the demands were not met, data was published online.

The case gained widespread attention due to the sensitive nature of the data. Many victims were children or received therapy for severe trauma. At least some individuals reportedly died by suicide after the data leaks.

Kivimaki maintains his innocence. In court, he claimed investigators had tunnel vision and that the prosecution was based on circumstantial links.

He denied using virtual servers involved in the breach. He also challenged the relevance of financial transactions tied to cryptocurrency wallets used in the extortion.

The prosecutor's office is seeking a seven-year prison sentence, the maximum allowed under Finnish law. Pasi Vainio, the state prosecutor, said that if every offence were judged separately, the sentence would be measured in decades.

Prosecutors argue that even without direct evidence, the overall pattern of evidence supports the original conviction. They referred to forensic connections between server logs, bitcoin transactions, and materials linking the server contents to Kivimaki, including personal photographs and email usage.

Kivimaki, 28, said in court that he earned money through early investments in cryptocurrency. He admitted not paying taxes and said he used overseas services to handle transactions.

Im waiting for the day when the tax office comes asking, he told the court.

He also admitted using accounts belonging to other individuals to pay legal fees and expenses, though he denied owning properties or vehicles tied to those names.

In February 2024, Kivimaki was released from custody during earlier court proceedings, but disappeared shortly after. He was later tracked to a Helsinki Airbnb apartment using clues from an online photo. Prosecutors now question whether a travel ban would be effective in ensuring his continued presence in court.

His release has sparked concern among victims and legal representatives. Lawyer Jenni Raiskio, who represents around 6,000 victims, told Iltalehti that many still suffer from the breach and feel the justice process is unending.

Weve had clients call asking if this will ever end, she said.

The case has become one of the largest cybercrime trials in Finnish history. Over 24,000 victims filed police reports. The legal process has involved cross-border investigations and forensic data analysis.

Despite the temporary release, Kivimakis appeal trial remains ongoing. He is legally presumed innocent unless the Court of Appeal upholds the earlier verdict.

The court will issue a final ruling later this year.

HT
The shooting occurred at an outdoor event hosted by Turning Point USA, the youth political organisation Kirk co-founded. Around 3,000 people had gathered at the university's main courtyard in Orem when the shot was fired from a rooftop roughly 130 metres away. Witnesses described panic and confusion as people fled the scene.

Charlie Kirk , a prominent American conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump, was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. Authorities confirmed he died from a single gunshot wound to the neck in what is being described as a political assassination.

Multiple videos captured the moment Kirk was struck and fell from his seat.

Utah's governor, Spencer Cox, confirmed that no arrests had been made and the suspect remained at large. We will find you, we will try you, and we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law, he said. We still have the death penalty in Utah.

The FBI is leading the investigation alongside state and local authorities. Officials said a digital tip line has been created for members of the public to upload evidence. A figure believed to be the shooter was seen running across the rooftop of the Losee Center moments after the shot was fired. Two individuals were detained and released within hours of the shooting. Neither is believed to have links to the attack.

Security at the event is under scrutiny. Utah Valley University had six campus officers present, in addition to Kirks private security. Attendees, including several students, reported little to no bag checks. A 20-year-old marketing student told the BBC: No one was checking bags. It seemed like a peaceful debate in the beginning.

The event, titled The American Comeback Tour, was the first of 15 campus stops planned across the country. Kirk, 31, was seated under a tent when he was shot while responding to questions on gun violence and transgender issues. His last words, according to footage reviewed by investigators, were in response to a question on mass shootings.

Kirk had returned from a speaking tour in Asia days before the incident. In Seoul and Tokyo, he criticised immigration and praised conservative youth movements abroad. In a podcast episode following the trip, he called mass migration and cultural liberalism a globalist menace.

President Donald Trump confirmed Kirks death in a video message, calling the attack a dark moment for America and blaming radical-left rhetoric for contributing to political violence. Charlie was the best of America, and the monster who attacked him was attacking our whole country, he said. Flags at federal buildings have been lowered to half-mast until Sunday evening.

Trump, who survived an assassination attempt last year, ordered an investigation into organisations he believes fund and support political violence. In his address, he referred to Kirk as a martyr and vowed that his legacy would continue.

Tributes have come from across the political spectrum. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said there is no justification for political violence. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney described the attack as an affront to democracy. Former US Presidents Biden, Obama, Bush, and Clinton issued statements condemning the shooting.

Several vigils have been held across multiple cities, including Salt Lake City, Phoenix, and Scottsdale. Thousands gathered holding candles, praying, and laying flowers. Members of Turning Point USA and its international affiliates also released statements expressing grief. The UK branch said: They murdered our boss. Our mentor. Our inspiration.

Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 at the age of 18. The group promoted conservative values on high school and university campuses. Its influence and funding grew significantly after aligning with Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign. The organisation reported $92.4 million in revenue in 2023.

He was also a host of a daily podcast and known for public debates on controversial issues. His Prove Me Wrong format drew large college crowds and online audiences. He had a reputation for sharply criticising progressive policies, particularly on immigration, race, gender identity, and education.

Kirk was married to podcast host and former Miss Arizona Erika Frantzve, with whom he had two children. He lived in Scottsdale, Arizona. His final social media post called for the politicisation of the murder of a Ukrainian refugee in North Carolina, blaming soft-on-crime policies.

The venue where Kirk was shot, Utah Valley University, remains closed until Monday. All classes and events have been cancelled. The institution said in a statement that it was shocked and saddened by the tragic passing of the speaker.

Eyewitnesses described the scene as chaotic. Porter Lafeber, a student, said he was 15 metres from the stage when he heard a single shot and saw Kirk slump. It was just uncertain. You dont know whether outside is safe or inside is safe, he told BBC Radio 4.

A 24-year-old father attending the event with his three-year-old daughter said, All I could think was that I gotta get my daughter out of there. Some attendees hid inside university buildings while police swept the area.

False rumours also spread rapidly online. A 77-year-old Canadian man was misidentified as the shooter by a fake news account impersonating a US broadcaster. He received threats and abuse before being cleared publicly. The FBI warned against misinformation and reiterated that no suspect is currently in custody.

Public officials have warned that political discourse is reaching a critical point. Utahs governor described the event as a political assassination, while law enforcement urged caution against retaliation. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson called for unity, saying, Political violence has become all too common in American society, and this is not who we are.

Classes at the university are expected to resume next week. The manhunt continues. No motive has been officially disclosed.

HT
The strike, launched on Tuesday, targeted a meeting of Hamas officials reportedly discussing a US-backed ceasefire proposal. It killed six people, including the son of senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya , the director of al-Hayyas office, three bodyguards and a Qatari security officer.

Israels air strike on the Qatari capital, Doha, has escalated tensions across the Middle East and provoked rare diplomatic rebukes from several of its traditional allies. Since Monday, Israel has bombed sites in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen and now Qatar.

The Israeli military later confirmed the attack, saying it had hit a "terrorist compound" in the West Bay Lagoon area of Doha. The site is located near foreign embassies, residential towers, schools and nurseries.

Qatars Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani condemned the attack as "state terrorism" and accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to derail peace talks. He said the strike represented a direct violation of Qatars sovereignty and international law.

This cowardly aggression must not go unanswered, Al Thani told CNN. There is a regional response under discussion. We will not allow our role as a mediator to be sabotaged.

The Qatari foreign ministry said the strike had not been coordinated with the United States, despite Qatar hosting the US Central Commands regional headquarters just 35km from the strike site.

US President Donald Trump expressed anger at Netanyahu in a phone call shortly after the strike, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Trump reportedly told Netanyahu the strike was unwise and jeopardised ongoing ceasefire negotiations.

In Doha, preparations are under way for a funeral for those killed. A service was held at the Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque on Wednesday afternoon.

Qatar has announced that it will host an emergency Arab-Islamic summit on Sunday. Leaders from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Pakistan and other countries are expected to attend. The summit will consider possible legal action against Israel and review diplomatic options.

In a speech at the Shura Council, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman condemned the Israeli strike as "unacceptable" and called on the international community to confront "Israeli aggression".

The Russian foreign ministry issued a statement calling the strike a gross violation of international law and warned it could destabilise the region.

The French and Indian governments also expressed concern. French President Emmanuel Macron said the strike was a violation of Qatari sovereignty and called for the resumption of ceasefire negotiations. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the attack deeply concerning in a statement posted online.

Despite international outcry, Israeli officials indicated more strikes could follow.

At a press conference, Netanyahu said: To Qatar and all nations who harbour terrorists: You either expel them or bring them to justice. If you dont, we will.

Israels ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, defended the attack and suggested further actions were possible. If we didnt get them this time, well get them the next time, he told Fox News.

The strike in Doha was one of several Israeli operations carried out across six countries in just three days.

In Gaza, Israeli forces continue to carry out mass strikes, with 72 Palestinians reported killed on Wednesday alone. Gazas Health Ministry said the total death toll since the beginning of the war now stands at 64,718, with more than 163,000 wounded.

Israeli officials say they are intensifying operations in Gaza City, aiming to collapse what they describe as Hamass control over the area.

At least 200,000 people have been forcibly displaced from Gaza City in recent weeks. The Israeli military has ordered residents to relocate to al-Mawasi, a coastal area designated as a "humanitarian zone", but aid agencies report that the zone is overcrowded, unsanitary and under constant surveillance by Israeli drones.

There is no safe place in Gaza, said Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from al-Mawasi for Al Jazeera. Even the so-called humanitarian zones are being targeted.

The World Health Organization says almost half of Gazas functional hospitals are located in the north and are now under threat. The WHO also warned that 55,000 pregnant women are at risk due to lack of access to healthcare.

In Yemen, Israeli strikes on Sanaa and al-Jawf killed at least 35 people, including journalists, according to local officials.

In Tunisia, two vessels in the Global Sumud Flotilla, which aims to challenge Israels blockade of Gaza, were hit by suspected drone strikes in separate incidents.

The flotilla is carrying aid and activists from over 40 countries. The attack damaged the vessels but caused no injuries.

The UN Security Council has postponed an emergency meeting on the Doha strike until Thursday to allow the Qatari prime minister to participate.

Rights groups including Amnesty International and the UN Human Rights Office have described Israels mass evacuation orders in Gaza as unlawful and warned that attacks on civilians and infrastructure amount to war crimes.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu remains defiant. We will continue to strike, he said in a post on X. Anyone who attacks uswe will reach them.

HT
Finnish President Alexander Stubb , speaking from Kyiv after meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky , said the alliance acted at Polands request. This is a sign of NATO unity, Stubb said. Finland stands with Poland.

NATO has convened under Article 4 for the first time during the Ukraine war, following confirmed violations of Polish airspace by Russian drones. The decision came after 19 Russian drones entered Polish airspace overnight on Wednesday. Polands military shot down several, while debris from 16 drones was later recovered.

The summit was held just days before Russia and Belarus begin their joint Zapad 2025 military exercise. Stubb said the incursion was a test of NATOs response capacity.

Russia is blurring the line between peace and war, he said. We must be ready for sabotage, cyber threats, and provocations.

Zelensky warned that the drone strikes showed why Europe must develop a multi-layered air defence system. Patriot missiles are not enough. We need a coordinated response on the eastern flank, he said.

The joint press conference between Stubb and Zelensky was held hours after the NATO session. The leaders met privately for over an hour and also laid a wreath at Kyivs Wall of Remembrance, where fallen Ukrainian soldiers are honoured.

Finland joined NATO in 2023. Since then, it has become a vocal supporter of Ukraine and a frequent critic of EU countries still purchasing Russian energy.

Trump is right to demand an end to Russian oil and gas imports, said Stubb. The finger points at Hungary and Slovakia.

He said the war in Ukraine had permanently changed European security. Without Russias invasion, Finland would not be in NATO today, he said.

Speaking alongside Stubb, Zelensky said that while Ukraine remains open to a ceasefire, Moscow has rejected all recent efforts.

The current escalation has also ended speculation about possible direct talks between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, previously discussed by US President Donald Trump.

Trump had invited Putin to a summit in Alaska in July, but no progress followed. Trump later wrote Here we go! on social media following the drone incident, without further comment.

Stubb and Zelensky also discussed future EU membership for Ukraine, sanctions policy, and security guarantees that would take effect after a ceasefire agreement.

Ukraine will become European, not Russian, Stubb said.

Meanwhile, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met with Trump envoy John Coale in Minsk. According to Belarusian state media, they discussed the release of political prisoners and economic cooperation.

Coale delivered a signed letter from Trump and said the signature was just Donald, which he called a rare mark of personal trust.

In Brussels, the European Parliament held an emergency session on Thursday to address the Polish airspace breach. Swedish officials announced that additional air defence systems would be deployed to the region.

Joint statements from the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania condemned Russias drone operations and warned that Belaruss cooperation posed a direct threat to European security.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that the UK would supply 1,000 new interceptor drones to Ukraine.

These are proven weapons against Russian Shahed drones, Shmyhal posted on X.

Russia has repeatedly denied targeting Poland. Its defence ministry said drone attacks were limited to Ukrainian military sites near Lviv. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia would not comment further on Polish claims.

Peskov also said there were no current plans for a Putin-Trump phone call.

Ukraine's top general Oleksandr Syrskyi said Russia has begun copying Ukrainian drone technology and adapting its tactics. This is a technological race, he said.

Zelensky, speaking to reporters, repeated his appeal for international partners to reinforce Ukraines air defences. We are prepared to share what weve learned, he said.

President Stubb said European leaders were now working closely with Trump to apply new economic pressure on Russia.

We will continue to back Ukraine militarily, economically and politically, Stubb said. And we will keep tightening sanctions.

HT
LIGHTNING PHOTOS: Community commemorates Sept. 11

Dozens of people joined police, firefighters and emergency workers at 9 o'clock Thursday morning to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the U.S. as they saluted the first responders who ran toward the danger on Sept. 11 and thanked those who routinely do the same every day.

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Jimmy Brissie, Henderson County's public services director, said people in the mountains of North Carolina faced their own large-scale emergency one year ago when Hurricane Helene struck.

It was friends helping strangers, serving each other to get through our own local tragedy, he said. On Sept. 8, Gov. Josh Stein proclaimed September as First Responders month in the state of North Carolina. Our state Legislature likewise designated this day to honor the courage and sacrifice of our first responders. And the United States Congress has established September 11 as Patriot Day, a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

As we depart the ceremony today, let us carry with us a solemn commitment to serve, to remember, to revere and to reflect on those patriots who, through their service and their ultimate sacrifice, safeguard our communities and continue to strengthen our nation.
Are the trails getting steeper? Or am I getting older?

These were my thoughts as Larry and I climbed Shrine Ridge Trail in Summit County in early July. We had been in Colorado for 10 days before we attempted the hike, so I believed I had acclimated my body to the altitude. But we started at 11,000 feet and would peak closer to 12,000. As I huffed and puffed up the trail, I never doubted I would finish. The bulldog in me would never give up. But could I do this next year? In five years? Who knows?

Larry and I DID finish our climb on that beautiful summer day. We got up to the top and took in th...
RYE, New York  This is the time of year when rabbis begin working on their High Holydays sermons, and Howard Goldsmith of Temple Emanu-El of Westchester had an idea for one the other day.

Rabbi Goldsmith, who has served 15 years as spiritual leader of the congregation in suburban Westchester County, 25 miles north of New York City, was reading Yascha Mounks The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time (Penguin Press, 2023), about minority groups growing assertion of their individual identity within wider society.

The books theme suggested to the rabbi a sermon about the Jewi...
The sounds of the shofar will be heard very soon. The year 5786 is just around the corner. Millions of Jews will gather in synagogues on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur to offer up prayers. Imagine God having to listen to all those people. What a job! What a divine headache trying to hear all of us and then trying to grant our wishes. No wonder the Greeks invented a pantheon of gods to deal with human beings.

Shema Yisrael Adonai Elohaynoo Adonai Echad. Hear, Oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One! So we had better get our thoughts together, set our priorities, and figure out what we most n...
(JNS) At last, the Hebrew month of Elul has arrived, the auspicious start of the High Holidays, when many Jews begin saying the penitential prayers of Selichot. For Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews, the holiday began on the second day of Elul (Aug. 26) and continues through the month of Elul; for Ashkenazi Jews, this year it takes place the Saturday night preceding Rosh Hashanah (Sept. 13).

Selichot, which means forgiveness in Hebrew, is arguably one of the most spiritually and emotionally inspiring services of the Jewish yeara time when we express contrition to God for our mistakes or failures...
As we welcome the Jewish New Year, I want to wish you and your loved ones, a year filled with health, joy, and meaningful connections.

Rosh Hashanah is a time for reflection, gratitude, and a renewed commitment to each other and to our community.

In the coming year, the Israeli American Council will continue to stand strong in support of our community of all ages - from young families to our college students, adults fostering connection, strengthening Jewish identity, and fighting antisemitism wherever it appears.

Together, we will create moments of inspiration, unity, and pride.

Every single...
(JNS)  As the IDF masses troops on the outskirts of Gaza City, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir declared on Tuesday that the military will not stop until it achieves a decisive victory. Meanwhile, a fierce debate is raging within Israel over the necessity of a final, large-scale ground assault on Hamass last major stronghold.

The IDF has been conducting preliminary operations on the ground and calling up reservists. On Tuesday, Zamir visited newly mobilized reservists from the IDF Technological and Logistics Directorate, telling them, We are going to increase and enhance the strikes of...
October 2024

Opera Orlando presented $100,000 to the Holocaust Center. It had been 11 months since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, brutally murdering over 1200 Israelis and taking 250 hostages. Local neurosurgeon, Dr. John Jenkins, pledged a $50,000 matching grant for donations to moshav Ein Habesor in southern Israel, near the Gaza border.

November 2024

More than 600 people attended the IAC memorial event, which the Israeli Consul General in New York co-organized with the Israeli-American Council. The Israeli Defense Ministry and the LaAretz Foundation also partnered on the event.

Her...
By

(JNS)  Israel is fighting a fierce war against terrorism on several fronts, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday during a visit to the site of a terrorist attack in Jerusalem that claimed the lives of six people earlier in the day.

I want to extend condolences to the families of the victims and to the wounded, said Netanyahu.

Six people were murdered and a dozen more wounded in a shooting in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramot on Monday morning.

Two terrorists were killed at the scene by an Israel Defense Forces soldier and an armed civilian. The soldier was identi...
(JNS) - The Palestinian Authority on Monday condemned attempts by Jewish activist groups to sound the shofar on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, calling the ram's horn a "dangerous tool" used by Israel to assert sovereignty.

The P.A.'s Jerusalem Governorate warned in a statement that the Jewish tradition of sounding the shofar throughout the Hebrew month of Elul is "no longer a passing religious ritual but has become one of the most dangerous tools of the occupation to impose its alleged sovereignty."

The statement denounced attempts to sound the shofar on the Temple Mount as a "direct assault" on th...
(JNS)  After last years public service was canceled over fear of altercations, gender-separated Yom Kippur prayers will be held in a Tel Aviv public space in October.

The Tel Aviv Municipality on Thursday issued the Rosh Yehudi NGO a permit to hold prayers in Meir Park, located in the center of the metropolis, Ynet reported on Thursday.

Rosh Yehudi (Jewish Head in Hebrew) tries to spread Orthodox Judaism in Tel Aviv, an attempt that has been met in the past with antagonism in the predominantly secular city.

Prayers in Meir Park will be held from 5:30 to 9 p.m. on the eve of Yom Kippur on O...
(JNS)  An Israeli security source told Hebrew media on Wednesday that up to 80,000 Palestinians have already left Gaza City in anticipation of the Israel Defense Forces operation to capture the Hamas stronghold.

The mass evacuation southwards comes despite the fact that the IDF has yet to announce the start of the operation, the source told Ynet, Israel National News, Haaretz and other outlets.

Most evacuated over the past 72 hours, according to the reports.

Hamas is using various measures to limit movement, the source said, adding that the humanitarian infrastructure in the south is prepa...
(JNS)  The Trump administration has issued broad additional restrictions on visa applications by holders of Palestinian Authority travel documents, The New York Times reported on Sunday, citing four American officials.

The measures, said to have been announced in an Aug. 18 cable sent to all U.S. diplomatic missions, would prevent Palestinians from Samaria and Judea from entering America, including for medical treatment, university studies, visits to friends or relatives and business travel.

The new policy reportedly goes beyond the suspension of all visitor visas for Palestinians from the Ga...
MAITLAND  With hurricane season nearing its September peak, Central Florida residents gathered at Shalom Orlando on Tuesday for a Lunch & Learn hosted by the Jewish Chamber of Commerce. The featured speaker, WESH 2 News Chief Meteorologist Eric Burris, delivered insight into what drives our storm season, along with projections for the weeks ahead.

Climate always modifies, grows, and adjusts. We just have to figure out how quick and how come, Burris told the audience, setting the stage for a conversation that was equal parts scientific and practical.

Burris, a Central Florida native, describ...
(JNS)  In 2023, I advised colleagues not to show the video that Hamas filmed of their sadistic murders on Oct. 7, certainly not at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. I said that the sight of Jewish blood always unleashes denial and even more Jew-hatred.

Soon enough, I also understood that the sight of Jewish military prowess unleashes even more Jew-hatred. As Israel fought to ensure that Hamas could not make good on their threat of even more Oct. 7-style attacks on Israeli soil and displayed an extraordinary command of technology in terms of its pinpoint strikes against Hezbollah...
(JNS)  The history of Jew-hatred can be understood as the systematic perpetuation of defamatory rumors strategically deployed to demonize Jews. These myths have repeatedly produced lethal consequences, claiming Jewish lives across centuries and geographies.

The recurrence of these claims makes them difficult to refute before violence ensues. From the medieval blood libel to contemporary accusations of genocide and colonialism, each new fabrication presents itself as unprecedented. In reality, each libel constitutes a continuation of a long and violent genealogy of anti-Jewish discourse.

Profe...
Beijing (Gasgoo)- On Sept. 10, Desay SV signed a strategic cooperation agreement with NTT DATA at IAA Mobility 2025 in Munich to jointly develop a new-generation software-defined vehicle (SDV) platform.

Signing ceremony; photo credit: Desay SV

The partnership underscores Desay SV's accelerated push to build a localized service ecosystem in Europe, providing strong support for Chinese automakers expanding overseas and helping them compete more effectively in global markets. By combining their expertise, Desay SV and NTT DATA aim to deliver full-chain breakthroughs from R&D to deployment through a "cloud-pipeline-terminal" integrated model.

The new SDV platform will serve as a comprehensive customer ecosystem, integrating vehicles, cloud services, and mobile applications. It will embed artificial intelligence (AI) across the stack to enhance personalized cockpit experiences, support advanced smart driving decisions, and enable natural language and multimodal interactions. Development on the platform will also enable full lifecycle services, allowing continuous product iteration and reinforcing competitiveness in overseas markets.

Moreover, Desay SV for the first time, partnered with a local digital AI and infrastructure company. Leveraging its hardware platform engineering expertise and NTT DATA's modular AI enhancement capabilities, the companies aim to pioneer a new collaborative model for the global automotive industry's transformation.
(JNS)  Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese probably didnt imagine that one week after his interior ministry abruptly canceled a visa for Simcha Rothman, a member of Israels Knesset, his government would be enveloped in a major dispute with Israels arch-foe, the regime in Iran.

Unlike Iran, Israel has not carried out any terrorist attacks in Australia. It has not encouraged hate crimes against that countrys growing Muslim population. It is not boycotting goods produced in Australia. Had Rothman been permitted to go ahead with his visit, organized by a local Jewish organization, he w...
Beijing (Gasgoo)- On Sept. 10, WEY, the premium brand under Great Wall Motor (GWM), kicked off presales for its Gaoshan 7 MPV. Aimed at family consumers, the model is priced at 289,800 yuan in presale, targeting China's sub-300,000-yuan MPV market.

Photo credit: WEY

At the same time, WEY also introduced the Gaoshan 7 Welfare Edition, designed for special mobility needs at 349,800 yuan.

The Gaoshan 7 measures 5,050 mm in length with a 3,085 mm wheelbase, and is positioned as an easily maneuverable MPV, offering a minimum turning radius of just 5.6 meters. Its "Agile Steering" function enables easy U-turns even in narrow alleys.

Photo credit: WEY

The model is equipped with LiDAR as standard, featuring the Coffee Pilot Ultra intelligent driving system with parking spot-to-parking spot autopilot capability. According to WEY, the Gaoshan 7 recognizes more than 200 parking scenarios with a 96% success rate, addressing the common parking challenges of larger vehicles.

Powered by the Hi4 Performance intelligent hybrid AWD system, the Gaoshan 7 delivers a maximum output of 337 kW and peak torque of 644 Nm, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.7 seconds. An all-aluminum suspension reduces unsprung weight while improving ride comfort and corrosion resistance.

Regarding safety, the Gaoshan 7 adopts a triple high-strength cage body with 81.96% high-strength steel, including 2,000 MPa A- and B-pillars. A 3,107 mm side curtain airbag with six-second pressure retention provides added protection for all three rows.
Beijing (Gasgoo)-On September 5, GAC Group officially launched its first European Spare Parts Distribution Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, according to a press release GAC Group issued via its WeChat account.

Strategically positioned at a major logistics hub, the facility embodies the company's principle of "In Europe, For Europe, integrating into Europe, serving Europe, and contributing to Europe".

Photo credit: GAC

In a video address, Wei Haigang, President of GAC INTERNATIONAL, underscored the company's commitment to expanding localized operations and building a high-efficiency, reliable global service network. He stressed that GAC will continue to prioritize customer needs in advancing one of its "Three key initiatives": delivering outstanding customer experience.

In the presence of all guests, the ribbon-cutting and plaque unveiling were held simultaneously. As the "GAC European Spare Parts Distribution Center" plaque was revealed, the first vehicle loaded with spare parts slowly drove out of the warehouse.

By establishing a network covering the European market, it will enable transparent inventory management, fast-track deliveries, and real-time logistics tracking. This not only helps dealers secure spare parts quickly and reduce stock pressure but also enhances the ownership experience for European customers through efficient and reliable after-sales support, according to the company.

Looking ahead, GAC said it plans to establish additional localized warehouses across Europe, tailoring services to the needs of different markets.
Beijing (Gasgoo)- On Sept. 9, TRUNK, a provider of L4 autonomous truck and intelligent transport solutions, announced it has raised hundreds of millions of yuan in a strategic financing round.





Photo credit: TRUNK

Investors include Beijing Shunyi Advanced Manufacturing Fund, SDIC Chuangyi, Yulin Coal Conversion Fund, Xuzhou Industrial Development Fund, CIB Wealth Management, and Hefei Feidong Industrial Investment. Beyond capital, the round brings valuable industrial resources to strengthen TRUNK's development in autonomous driving and global commercialization.Using autonomous trucks as the core carrier, TRUNK validates reliability in fully unmanned port operations before expanding to highway trunk routes and urban distribution, thereby creating a closed-loop ecosystem from hubs to trunk lines to last-mile delivery.

Photo credit: TRUNK

To date, TRUNK has delivered and operated nearly 1,000 intelligent trucks and transport solutions, with total transportation distance approaching 100 million kilometers. It has partnered with dozens of major seaports, river ports, and land hubs, while working with leading logistics firms to operate autonomous trucking on key corridors in China. International projects are also underway in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and South America.

The company's technology roadmap spans from AiTrucker, an L4 general-purpose autonomous driving system, to Trunk CAFC, an intelligent platooning solution enabling "one lead truck with assisted driving + multiple unmanned follower trucks." Together, these solutions support scalable, multi-scenario intelligent freight networks for the global supply chain.
Beijing (Gasgoo)- On Sept. 10, IM Motors, the premium new energy vehicle brand co-backed by SAIC Motor, Zhangjiang High-tech, and Alibaba Group, officially released the new-generation LS6 large five-seat smart SUV onto the market. The model is available in five battery-electric variants and four range-extended electric variants, with prices ranging from 197,900 yuan to 269,900 yuan.

Photo credit: IM Motors

The new LS6 comes with more than 100 advanced features as standard across all trims, including the Lingxi Digital Chassis, NVIDIA Orin-X and Qualcomm 8295P chips, an 800V high-voltage platform, and the new-generation "Hurricane" electric motor. IM Motors emphasized that even the base model retains all core technologies, aiming to establish a strong value proposition within its segment.

Photo credit: IM Motors

The Hengxing ("Stellar") Super Range Extender system combines the benefits of extended range and ultra-fast charging, offering a battery-powered range of 450 km, a combined range of 1,500 km, and 800V ultra-fast charging capability. Comprehensive fuel consumption is as low as 0.06 L/100 km

The Lingxi Digital Chassis provides multiple stability and safety features, said IM Motors. Lingxi Tire Burst Stability Control maintains composure during sudden blowouts at high speed or on curves. Active Anti-Rollover 2.0 reduces rollover risk by 45%, while Lingxi Super RWD enhances traction on slippery surfaces, covering 80% of typical AWD off-road scenarios. A 4-wheel steering system with 18 rear-wheel steering enables a minimum turning radius of 4.49 meters.

Photo credit: IM Motors

On the intelligent side, the new LS6 features IM AIOS onboard operating system and debuts the AI Agent in-vehicle assistant, connected with the WeChat ecosystem to support services such as parking payments and food ordering. IM AD 3.0, the smart driving system powered by Momenta, brings HD map-free urban NOA (Navigation on Autopilot) feature. The new model also offers NVIDIA DRIVE Thor chips and a 520-line LiDAR as add-ons.
Charlie Kirk, the influential conservative activist, Donald Trump ally, and executive director of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), was shot Wednesday while hosting an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

Videos circulating on social media show Kirk speaking this Wednesday, September 10 under a tent in the campus courtyard when gunfire erupted. Students can be seen scattering as the sound of shots echoed across campus. The event was part of The American Comeback Tour, organized by TPUSA's Utah Valley chapter.

TPUSA confirmed to Fox News that Kirk had been struck by gunfire and is Kirk is on the operating table at Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem.

Charlie Kirk has been shot during an event at Utah Valley University.



pic.twitter.com/nj8zx0lzJu  Pop Base (@PopBase) September 10, 2025

A suspect has been taken into custody by the campus police, which confirmed the quick arrest following the incident at Kirk's speaking engagement. According to the initial reports, the suspect fired a rifle from 200 yards away inside the Losee Center, where Kirk was hosting an event.

The suspect is not a current student and shouted, "I have the right to remain silent" during arrest.

A university spokesperson noted that the suspect has no campus affiliation and is not a student.

BREAKING: Police arrest suspected Charlie Kirk assassin at Utah Valley University pic.twitter.com/uGphtOMIOg  DannyKPolitics (@DannyKPolitics) September 10, 2025

Reactions poured in quickly. Senator Mike Lee of Utah wrote on X that he was "tracking the situation at Utah Valley University closely," and urged followers to join him in praying for Kirk and the students who attended. Another Utah senator, Ashley Moody, said her office was "monitoring the situation" and also asked for prayers for Kirk, the students, and "this nation."

A university police spokesperson confirmed to The Guardian that shots had been fired on campus. Authorities have not yet released information about a suspect or possible motive.

Just before the incident, Kirk had posted on X expressing excitement about the tour's return, writing: "WE. ARE. SO. BACK. Utah Valley University is FIRED UP and READY for the first stop back on the American Comeback Tour."

The shooting has shaken the Utah Valley campus, raising questions about security at political events on college grounds. Students who witnessed the chaos described panic as they ran from the courtyard to seek safety.

Officials say the investigation is ongoing, and more details about Kirk's condition and the circumstances of the shooting are expected soon.

Developing Story

Originally published on Latin Times
President Donald Trump confirmed today the death of conservative leader Charlie Kirk, after being shot during an event at the University of Utah. He was 31 years old and his survived by his wife and two children.

developing story

Originally published on Latin Times
World leaders warned of the harms of politically motivated violence after the murder of right-wing US activist Charlie Kirk, a Donald Trump ally.

Kirk, a powerful voice in conservative politics at just 31 years old, was shot while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University in Utah.

Here's how world leaders reacted to his killing:

"This is a dark moment for America," US President Donald Trump said in a video posted to his Truth Social website hours after Kirk's killing, hailing Kirk as a "martyr for truth."

"My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity, and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it."

"I am appalled by the murder of Charlie Kirk. There is no justification for political violence and every act of it threatens democracy," Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on X.

"We must all be free to debate openly and freely without fear -- there can be no justification for political violence," British Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote on X.

"An atrocious murder, a deep wound for democracy and for those who believe in freedom. My condolences to his family, to his loved ones, and to the American conservative community," Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on X.

"Charlie Kirk was murdered for speaking truth and defending freedom. A lion-hearted friend of Israel, he fought the lies and stood tall for Judeo-Christian civilization," wrote Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on X.

"I spoke to him only two weeks ago and invited him to Israel. Sadly, that visit will not take place."

"Charlie Kirk's death is the result of the international hate campaign waged by the progressive-liberal left," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on X, though US investigators have not yet made public a possible motive.

"This is what led to the attacks on (Slovak Prime Minister) Robert Fico, on (Czech former premier) Andrej Babis, and now on Charlie Kirk. We must stop the hatred! We must stop the hate-mongering left!"

Kirk "was the victim of an atrocious murder in the midst of a wave of left-wing political violence across the entire region," Argentine President Javier Milei wrote on X.

"The left is always, at all times and places, a violent phenomenon full of hatred."

"In a free democracy, you combat each other with words, never with violence," Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on X.

"My thoughts are with his family and loved ones. I wish everyone affected by this cowardly and horrific act much strength."
Venezuela's Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said Wednesday that the country is prepared for a "prolonged war" as tensions escalate with the United States over expanded military presence in the Caribbean.

Speaking on state television, Cabello, considered one of the most powerful figures in President Nicolas Maduro's government, declared that "the country is prepared" and claimed that even "sectors of the opposition have joined the initiative to defend the homeland," as Euro News reports.

Cabello's remarks come as the Pentagon has deployed additional naval and aerial assets to the region, including more than 15 warships, ten F-35 fighter jets, and roughly 7,000 Marines.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, visiting troops aboard the USS Iwo Jima off Puerto Rico, said the maneuvers were "in favor of the vital national interests of the United States" and framed the deployment as part of counter-narcotics operations. "We are prepared to use our power to intercept and destroy the narco-terrorists sending drugs to our country," Hegseth said, according to Infobae.

Cabello dismissed Washington's explanation on Wednesday, claiming the U.S. operation has "nothing to do with drugs" and accused the Trump administration of seeking regime change. "Venezuela does not produce drugs, does not sow coca, does not sow marijuana; the transit is negligible," Cabello said. "But Venezuela has oil, Venezuela has gas, Venezuela has gold, Venezuela has coltan  and Venezuela has dignity."

The warning follows a recent U.S. operation in which military forces sank a boat off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago, killing eleven people Washington identified as suspected members of the Tren de Aragua gang. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the seizure "sent a clear message to the world's narcotraffickers: the president will not tolerate it."

Cabello condemned the incident and accused Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar of bearing "great responsibility" for authorizing the action.

Cabello also urged Venezuelans to prepare for potential conflict. "We are not calling for war, nor do we want war with anyone," he said, adding that "our people must be prepared and alert, in every instance, on every front, in every way and form."

The Maduro government has consistently denied U.S. allegations linking senior officials, including Cabello, to drug trafficking.

Originally published on Latin Times
In a move aimed at protecting the "peace and independence" of Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro announced Thursday a sweeping military mobilization, calling up the country's Bolivarian National Armed Forces, combat militia units, and National Bolivarian Militia to deploy to 284 "battlefronts."

Dubbed "Plan Independencia 200," Maduro said the move is intended to safeguard Venezuela's sovereignty in response to recent U.S. operations in nearby waters, part of the Trump administration's efforts to combat criminal organizations in the region.

"Right now we are activating from north to south, from east to west, along all of Venezuela's Caribbean coasts, from the border with Colombia, from the Andes, from the east and the south of the countrywe are activating 284 battlefronts," Maduro said during a televised address on state-run television, as reported by EFE.

Tensions between the United States and Venezuela are at an all-time high, driven in part by efforts during Donald Trump's second term to target Maduro and criminal groups the U.S. has labeled terrorist organizations.

Speaking alongside Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, Caracas Mayor Admiral Carmen Melendez, and other government officials, Maduro called on the country's armed forces to secure all coastlines against "imperialists, invaders and violent groups." He added that if Venezuela is forced to fight for its sovereignty, it will do so for its freedom, invoking the country's historic independence struggles.

"These seas, this land, these neighborhoods, these mountains, these vast territories and the riches of these lands belong to the people of Venezuela. They will never belong to the American empire," Maduro said.

Earlier this week, Padrino Lopez announced the deployment of 25,000 troops to confront drug trafficking networks across the country. The Miami Herald reported that many inside Venezuela viewed the move as an attempt by the Maduro regime to flex its "military muscle" following more direct U.S. attacks near Venezuelan territory.

The situation reached a critical point in early September when President Trump announced that the U.S. Navy carried out an airstrike on Sept. 1 against a vessel allegedly operated by members of the Tren de Aragua gang and carrying narcotics in the southern Caribbean. The strike killed 11 people on board.

The Trump administration has indicated the strike was not an isolated incident, and according to a CNN report, Trump has been presented with several other options for military strikes against the Venezuelan regime, including strikes inside the country.

As the Miami Herald highlighted, the Maduro regime expects tensions to continue escalating.

Diosdado Cabello Rondon, Venezuela's interior minister and secretary general of the ruling Socialist Party, rejected U.S. claims that its deployment of more than 5,000 troops is aimed at combating drug cartels. He warned that Venezuela will respond firmly to any threat.

"Venezuelans are prepared for anything, for any prolonged war," Cabello said during his weekly state television program. "And when it comes to defending the homeland, everything is allowed, except failing to defend it. The aggressions against Venezuela are not about narcotics," he added. "Venezuela does not produce cocaine, it does not grow marijuana. Trafficking is minimal. But Venezuela does have oil, gas, gold, coltan, and it has dignity."

Originally published on Latin Times
News / International

by Staff reporter

The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) in a long-running legal battle over whether ferrochrome producer Zimasco (Pvt) Ltd is liable to pay mining royalties on chrome ore concentrates and ferrochrome.The ruling, delivered by Justices Chinembiri Bhunu, George Chiweshe and Joseph Musakwa, upheld an earlier High Court decision in favour of Zimasco, a Midlands-based company owned by Chinese state-run giant Sinosteel. The judges said the appeal had no merit and ordered Zimra to pay costs, with full reasons for the ruling to be released later."In light of the foregoing, it is manifest that the appeal lacks merit. The court a quo correctly interpreted the governing statutory provisions. It correctly characterised ferrochrome as a non-mineral, and correctly concluded that in the absence of a prescribed royalty rate for mineral-bearing products during the relevant period, no liability to pay royalties could arise," the bench said.The matter stemmed from a challenge lodged by Zimasco at the High Court, where Justice Paul Musithu ruled that chrome ore concentrates and ferrochrome alloy are not minerals but "mineral-bearing products," and therefore do not attract mining royalties."The applicant (Zimasco) did not sell the chromite ore that it extracted from the earth. Prior to January 2022, the Minister (of Mines) had not fixed rates of royalties in respect of mineral-bearing products, and for that reason the applicant was not obliged to pay royalties for the chrome ore concentrates and ferrochrome alloy which it disposed during the period 1 January 2019 to 30 September 2022," Justice Musithu said in his ruling.He added that while royalty rates were set for minerals, no such rates were prescribed for mineral-bearing products. As a result, Zimra could not unilaterally extend existing mineral royalty provisions to products like ferrochrome, which are derived from but distinct from minerals.Zimasco had sought a declaratur and relief from paying royalties, arguing that its products fell outside the statutory definition of minerals. Zimra, however, maintained that the products should be classified as minerals and thus attracted royalty obligations.The Supreme Court ruling brings clarity to an issue with significant financial implications for chrome miners and the tax authority, given Zimbabwe's heavy reliance on mining revenues.Zimasco was represented by Advocate Thabani Mpofu, while Zimra was represented by Simplicio Bhebhe.
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News / National

by Staff reporter

If 2025 is the year you're finally planning that big trip, travel experts say Zimbabwe and Morocco should be high on your list. Global travel platform Kayak has named both countries among the world's best places to visit in 2025, drawing on its latest Travel Check-in report.The ranking highlights destinations that balance adventure with relaxationfactoring in everything from wellness escapes and city-hopping potential to opportunities for slow, low-intensity travel.ZimbabweZimbabwe is at the top of the list of the world's best countries to visit in 2025. The country is a land of wild beauty and rich history. Think rocky granite outcrops rising above golden plains, acacia trees swaying under endless skies, and ancient ruins that whisper stories of the past.At Great Zimbabwe, those iconic stone walls still stand strong, a reminder of centuries of civilisation.Over at Victoria Falls, the mighty Zambezi crashes down so hard it throws up mist that often catches the sun in fleeting rainbows.. And if you're after something calmer, the Eastern Highlands bring misty mountains, winding trails, and a kind of peace you didn't know you needed.Why it's on the radar: Zimbabwe's cities are drawing fresh interest: flight searches to Bulawayo have jumped more than 80% on Kayak, while Harare has seen a 56% rise for summer travel this year.MoroccoMorocco comes in 6th on the list, making it the second African country to feature. The country offers a blend of desert magic, mountain drama, and vibrant city life. Out in the Sahara, you've got endless red dunes under silent skies.The Atlas Mountains rise tall with snowy peaks, and down in the valleys, olive and argan groves scatter the hills. In Fez, the medina is a maze of narrow alleys, tiled courtyards, and the unforgettable smell of leather dyeing.Marrakech is a whole vibelantern-lit rooftops, busy souks, metalworkers hammering away, and sunset views over minarets. By the coast, Essaouira serves up salty sea winds and seagulls circling its blue-shuttered houses. And for the dreamiest scene of all, Chefchaouen's blue-painted streets wind up toward the Rif Mountains.Earlier this year, Morocco emerged as Africa's most visited destination, attracting 17.4 million visitors in 2024, according to its Ministry of Tourism.Why it's on the radar: Marrakech stands out as one of the best-value long-haul destinations with flight prices down 5% compared to summer last year on Kayak.
SEPTEMBER 15: Jones new contract with Anadolu Efes is official, according to Eurohoops.

SEPTEMBER 11: Free agent big man Kai Jones is close to signing with Turkeys Anadolu Efes, BasketNews Donatas Urbonas reports.

Jones worked out for the Heat last month but his chances of getting a contract with Miami waned after the team decided to ink Dru Smith. Prior to his workout, Jones was reportedly close to signing with Italys Virtus Bologna.

Jones played 40 games for the Clippers and Mavericks in 24/25, averaging 5.0 PPG and 3.1 RPG while shooting 79.8% from the field in 11.7 MPG.

Jones began last season on a two-way contract with the Clippers, then was waived on March 1 so the team could bring in a couple of new two-way players. He caught on immediately with the injury-plagued Mavericks, who were desperately seeking frontcourt depth as they pushed for a play-in spot.

The 24-year-old center was the 19th pick of the 2021 draft. He spent his first two seasons in the league with the Hornets.

Jones contract with Anadolu Efes in expected to include an exit clause in January, Urbonas adds.
Travelodge, the UK's first budget hotel brand, has officially opened the doors to a brand new 80-room hotel in Skegness.

This is Travelodge's 600th hotel in the UK and its first in the popular Lincolnshire seaside resort, creating more than 20 new jobs for the local community, including team members, housekeeping colleagues and management roles.

The hotel features Travelodge's new, premium design, the hotel's next generation rooms, and offers 12 SuperRooms, with two of these being accessible. Designed to offer even more comfort and convenience, SuperRooms offer an upgraded premium feel with added extras such as a mini fridge, Lavazza coffee machine, 43" flat-screen TV and in-room hairdryer, iron and ironing board.

Guests can unwind in the hotel's first ever top floor 85 Bar Cafe, offering stunning views over Skegness and the coast - a perfect spot to relax after a day spent at the beach or exploring the town's attractions. Additionally, on-site parking is provided.

The new 80-room Travelodge is located just 400 metres from Skegness' Blue Flag beach and close to the lively Grand Parade. Guests can enjoy top local attractions right on their doorstep, including Skegness Pier, the Pleasure Beach, Aquarium and Natureland Seal Sanctuary, with Fantasy Island and Gibraltar Point Nature Reserve nearby for day trips.

Convenient transport links include Skegness railway station less than a mile away, local bus routes and the A52, making this hotel a well-connected base for seaside breaks or exploring the Lincolnshire coast.

Sustainability played a key role in the design of the hotel, which has achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating and holds an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of A. The hotel's hot water is generated using air source heat pumps and it benefits from low-energy lighting, motion-sensing controls, and aerated showers and taps to reduce both energy and water usage.

Hotel website
Charlestowne Hotels, a leading hospitality management company with an award-winning portfolio of independent, collegiate, soft-branded, and condo-hotels, announces the appointment of Tom Roman as Vice President of Food & Beverage. In this role, Roman will lead the strategic vision and innovation of Charlestowne's culinary and beverage programs, ensuring thoughtful execution, uncompromising quality, and strong financial performance across the company's growing portfolio of 40+ restaurant and bar concepts.

Roman brings more than 20 years of leadership experience shaping food and beverage programs for independent hotels and lifestyle brands to his new role. Most recently, he led Food & Beverage operations for Life House / Lark Hospitality, guiding a diverse portfolio of hotels spanning 10 states and Mexico. He has also held senior leadership positions with Castlerock Asset Management, Public Hotels, and Tao Group. During his career, Roman has led large teams, launched new venues, streamlined operations, and consistently delivered memorable guest experiences alongside strong financial results.

As Vice President, Roman will work closely with property teams and hotel owners to create distinctive culinary identities that reflect the individuality of Charlestowne's 60+ properties, while also leading initiatives to improve restaurant efficiency and maximize profitability.
The Hospitality Asset Managers Association (HAMA) is the pre-eminent organization of professionals responsible for proactively increasing asset values on behalf of hotel owners worldwide.

Our mission is the enhancement of hospitality asset managers through education, advancement of the profession, and serving as the collective industry voice of hospitality ownership.

HAMA is a networking organization of approximately 200 professionals representing an estimated 3,200 hotels with over 760,000 rooms. Members are involved in asset management, acquisition, financing and disposition of hotels and resorts, and are directly responsible for making decisions concerning capital investments, renovations, asset repositioning, operational policies and franchise selections.

HAMA's mission is to provide members with year-round forums, industry communications and networking to fulfill the purpose of the organization. Our strong global network of hospitality professionals provides members with unparalleled access to key industry leaders and decision makers. HAMA promotes ethical standards of conduct and mutual respect among its members and those in the hospitality industry.

In 2010 HAMA extended its global presence by establishing affiliate relationships with Japan and Asia Pacific. HAMA has since added additional affiliate relationships with Europe, China and Middle East & Africa. By growing outside of the United States, HAMA members now have access to more global resources enhancing our capabilities as we work to meet the needs of hospitality owners worldwide.
Held at the UN Tourism Regional Office for the Middle East in Riyadh, the two-day event (910 September) brought together representatives from National Tourism Administrations and Organizations (NTAs/NTOs) from 12 Middle East Member States, with more than 30 participants in total, alongside industry experts and key stakeholders from across the region. The workshop explored the growing potential of wellness tourism as a driver of economic growth, tourism diversification, and sustainability for the Middle East.

Speaking about the importance of the workshop and the Kingdoms role in advancing wellness tourism in the region, a representative from the Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia said: Hosting this regional workshop in Riyadh underscores Saudi Arabias commitment, in line with Vision 2030, to position tourism as a key driver of economic diversification and well-being. Wellness is deeply embedded in our heritage  from age-old healing traditions to cutting-edge wellness retreats  and we believe it will become a defining pillar of the regions tourism identity, contributing to a more sustainable, inclusive, and healthy future.

Travellers are increasingly looking for experiences that connect and benefit their physical and mental wellbeing, Wellness tourism offers a unique opportunity to diversify the tourism portfolio and generate employment opportunities in the Middle East. This workshop will equipped Member States with practical tools, market insights, and product development strategies that respond to the evolving needs of todays travelers while creating opportunities for regional cooperation and coordination in this area. Zoritsa Urosevic, Executive Director UN Tourism

Sharing best practices

The workshop featured interactive sessions led by Dr. Laszlo Puczko, a Wellbeing and Experience Strategist and co-author of UN Tourisms Exploring Health Tourism report. Participants were engaged in sharing best practices, discussing challenges, and exploring opportunities to position wellness tourism as a key segment in tourism development in the region.

The event responds to priorities outlined by Member States during the 50th and 51st Meetings of the UN Tourism Regional Commission for the Middle East, particularly in the areas of capacity building and product diversification.

Wellness tourism aligns perfectly with the regions ambition to offer meaningful, high-value travel experiences. By embracing wellness, destinations in the Middle East can tap into a global trend while promoting healthier lifestyles, cultural authenticity, and environmental stewardship. This workshop has been an important step in turning that vision into actionable strategies. Hosting this workshop through the UN Tourism Regional Office for the Middle East reflects our strong commitment to delivering initiatives that are tailored to the regions unique context and priorities. It also reaffirms the Offices role as a platform for engagement, collaboration, and knowledge exchange in support of regional development. Samer Al-Kharashi, Director of the UN Tourism Regional Office for the Middle East

Middle East tourism shows strong growth

According to the UN Tourism World Tourism Barometer, the Middle East welcomed 101 million international tourist arrivals in 2024, 8% more than 2023 and 41% above pre-pandemic levels. The Middle East was the first world region to surpass pre-pandemic tourism numbers already in 2023, underscoring its strong recovery and growing leadership in innovative tourism segments, including wellness tourism.

About UN Tourism

The World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism), a United Nations specialised agency, is the leading international organisation with the decisive and central role in promoting the development of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. It serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues and a practical source of tourism know-how. Its membership includes 166 countries, 6 territories, 2 permanent observers and over 500 Affiliate Members from the private sector.

Media enquires: [email protected]

UN Tourism Communications Department

+34 91 567 8100

UN Tourism

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Key Takeaways

Airbnb and NHSNYC have launched a multi-year partnership focused on housing stability and economic opportunity.

Airbnbs $1 million donation will help fund NHSNYC programs and support residents in building long-term stability at a time when the housing crisis is among the citys most critical issues.

NHSNYC is a nonprofit that has served low- and moderate-income New Yorkers for over 40 years, helping residents keep their homes and build financial stability.

Airbnb and Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City (NHSNYC) have launched a multi-year partnership to support housing stability and expand economic opportunity for New Yorkers. The announcement comes at a time when the housing affordability crisis is among the most urgent challenges facing the city.

As part of the partnership, we are committing $1 million to fund homeowner services offered by NHSNYC that help residents build long-term stability at NHSNYC, as well as to support programs at four of NHSNYCs partners: Neighborhood Housing Services of Brooklyn CDC; Neighborhood Housing Services of Queens CDC; Bronx Neighborhood Housing Services CDC; and Brooklyn Neighborhood Services.

The partnership launched with Reimagining Home: A Community Conversation, a public event that brought together local leaders, Airbnb hosts, entrepreneurs and community members to highlight New York Citys housing challenges and explore community-led solutions.

For over 40 years, NHSNYC has been dedicated to promoting affordable homeownership, financial literacy, and community development. The nonprofit works alongside residents to strengthen neighborhoods and ensure that New Yorkers  particularly low- and moderate-income families  have the resources they need to remain in their communities.

This partnership with Airbnb is a powerful investment in stabilizing and strengthening New York City communities. These funds will allow us to provide critical home repair grants to homeowners who are struggling with rising costshelping to keep them in their homes safely, preserve our aging housing stock, and protect the character of our communities. At NHSNYC, we believe that supporting homeowners is key to keeping neighborhoods strong, and were pleased to work with Airbnb to bring real resources to the people who need them most. Tonya Ores, Chief Executive Officer, Neighborhood Housing Services of NYC

Airbnb is proud to partner with Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City to support long-term solutions that help residents stay in their homes and strengthen the neighborhoods that make the city so unique. This investment reflects our commitment to working alongside trusted local organizations to expand economic opportunity for everyday New Yorkers. Janaye Ingram, Director of Community Partner Programs and Engagement, Airbnb

Our continued commitment to communities throughout New York State

Partnering with NHSNYC builds on our long-standing commitment to supporting communities throughout New York State, from the Adirondack mountains to Jamaica Bay. We reaffirmed this dedication this past February by announcing $150,000 in grants through the Airbnb Community Fund, supporting organizations across the state, including the Adirondack Council and the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation. Since 2021, Airbnb has committed over $600,000 to New York State organizations via the Fund.

In addition to providing grants to NHSNYC and its partners, we have a proud history of supporting a range of housing-focused organizations across New York City and beyond. This support includes funding for long-standing organizations like the Center for New York City Neighborhoods and the New York City Housing Partnership, which are dedicated to protecting and expanding access to affordable housing, and Win NYC, the largest provider of shelter and supportive housing for NYCs homeless families. By partnering with these organizations, we continue to invest in solutions that address both immediate housing needs and long-term challenges, preserving and creating stronger communities for everyone.

The New York City Housing Partnership has worked for more than four decades to promote strong neighborhoods and wealth creation for New Yorkers through homeownership. We applaud Airbnbs leadership in providing support for housing stability in partnership with nonprofits throughout the city. Jamie Smarr, President and CEO, The New York City Housing Partnership

Were pleased to see Airbnb investing in repairs, which our data identifies as a top cause of homeowner displacement. We appreciate todays major investment in trusted housing partners like NHSNYC to help protect affordability and stability for New Yorkers. Christie Peale, CEO and Executive Director, Center for NYC Neighborhoods

A path forward for one- and two family homeowners to earn additional income

With the housing crisis deepening, we support solutions that protect long-term housing while creating responsible pathways for everyday New Yorkers to host short-term  a view echoed by housing advocates like the New York City Housing Partnership and outer borough homeowners struggling to make ends meet.

About NHSNYC

About Airbnb

Through lending, financial literacy, and housing counseling, Neighborhood Housing Services of NYC, Inc., empowers residents across all five boroughs to purchase and preserve affordable housing. The organizations ultimate goal is to support the realization of the best quality of life possible for each resident, starting with a stable home.

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

About Airbnb.org

Airbnb.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to facilitating temporary stays for people in times of crisis around the world. Airbnb.org operates independently and leverages Airbnb, Inc.'s technology, services, and other resources at no charge to carry out Airbnb.org's charitable purpose. The inspiration for Airbnb.org began in 2012 with a single host named Shell who opened up her home to people impacted by Hurricane Sandy. This sparked a movement and marked the beginning of a program that allows hosts on Airbnb to provide stays for people in times of need. Since then, the program has evolved to focus on emergency response and to help provide stays to evacuees, relief workers, refugees, asylum seekers, and frontline workers fighting the spread of COVID-19. Since then, hosts have offered to open up their homes and helped provide accommodations to 100,000 people in times of need. Airbnb.org is a separate and independent entity from Airbnb, Inc. Airbnb, Inc. does not charge service fees for Airbnb.org supported stays on its platform.
Opinion / Columnist

Zimbabweans are being urged to exercise extreme caution as one of the most sophisticated scams in recent history spreads rapidly across social media platforms. Fraudsters are impersonating controversial businessman Sir Wicknell Chivhayo on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, X (formerly Twitter) and even TikTok, luring unsuspecting victims into a trap powered by artificial intelligence.The scheme usually begins when a person receives a friend request or follow notification from what appears to be Sir Wicknell's verified account. The fake profiles are carefully designed, showcasing luxury cars, money and flashy lifestyles copied directly from the real businessman's pages. Once the victim accepts the request, they are approached with promises of an "exclusive investment opportunity" that will supposedly deliver massive returns.To seal the deception, scammers then send a call request on Messenger, WhatsApp or even Telegram. Using AI voice-cloning technology, they reproduce Sir Wicknell's distinctive voice, confidently explaining the investment deal. In some cases, deepfake video calls are deployed, making the illusion even harder to detect. Convinced that they are speaking to the flamboyant businessman, victims are persuaded to transfer large sums of money into fraudulent accounts. By the time the truth emerges, it is already too late.This scam represents a new, dangerous chapter in online fraud. Unlike older schemes that relied on poorly written messages or stolen photos, today's criminals are harnessing artificial intelligence to create near-perfect imitations of public figures. "What we are seeing is a high-tech trap," one cybersecurity analyst explained. "It exploits people's admiration of celebrities and their desperation for quick money."ZRP have constantly recieved reports, but tracing the culprits has proven difficult, hiding behind encrypted networks. Sir Wicknell himself has publicly denied running any investment initiatives on social media, stressing that he never solicits money online.The public is being advised to remain vigilant. No genuine investment opportunity will arrive via a random direct message and promises of extraordinary returns are almost always fraudulent.As scams like these continue to evolve, Zimbabweans are reminded of one timeless truth, in matters of money, if it sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is.Engineer Jacob Kudzayi Mutisi+263772278161
Global Asset Solutions has added a portfolio of luxury and upper-upscale hotel assets in the Asia-Pacific region, across Marriott and Hyatt brands.

The agreement continues Global Asset Solutions growth in the region, following the opening of its office in Singapore.

The hotels are owned by KS Hotels & Resorts, with the portfolio including; the Park Hyatt Melbourne, Park Hyatt Siem Reap, Hyatt Regency Phuket, Park Hyatt Maldives, JW Marriott Gold Coast, AC by Marriott Gold Coast and JW Marriott Khao Lak.

We are looking forward to working with KS Hotels & Resorts, a company which has been building its investment in the luxury hotel market and shares our enthusiasm for this innovative sector. Luxury hotels present immense potential for investors, yet they remain one of the most complex asset classes to master. At Global Asset Solutions, we design bespoke asset management platforms that empower owners to achieve their ultimate aspiration: managing their portfolios independently. This independence is precisely what distinguishes Global Asset Solutions from generalist consulting firms. Our goal is simple  to equip every client with the best tools, knowledge, and systems to become self-sufficient in asset management. To achieve this, we work directly with each investors team, building tailored frameworks that integrate our market-leading asset management training with global best practices. We train owners asset management teams, establish robust and sustainable systems, and foster a collaborative, forward-looking relationship with operators  ensuring long-term performance and independence. Alex Sogno, CEO, Global Asset Solutions

The portfolio will be managed out of Global Asset Solutions Singapore office.

Sogno added: Our proactive engagement with corporate teams in Europe and the Middle East has already been well received by operators in Asia Pacific, who view our arrival as a positive step. Owner and operators alike appreciate the value of bringing our European expertise and global perspective into the Asia-Pacific market and we look forward to further growth in the region.

Global Asset Solutions is the leading independent hotel asset manager in hospitality asset manager and advisor in EMEA and Asia Pacific. This year, the company provided its 360 Performance Optimisation Review for the Peninsula Hong Kong and the Peninsula London. Assets under management include the award-winning upper luxury hotels such as the Rosewood Phnom Penh and the Four Seasons Madrid.

Reporting on performance across its portfolio, the group saw EBITDA increase by 35% year-over-year in FY2024.

About Global Asset Solutions

Global Asset Solutions operates worldwide providing independent hotel asset management services. Clients include PE firms, institutional investors, sovereign funds and family offices, with over $20bn of assets managed in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The company leans on decades of experience in the luxury sector to deliver bespoke solutions which allow investors to grow their asset value and realise the potential of their assets. www.globalassetsolutions.com

Alex Sogno

CEO & Senior Hotel Asset Manager

Global Asset Solutions
The U.S. hotel industry reported negative year-over-year comparisons, according to CoStars latest data through 6 September. CoStar is a global leading provider of online real estate marketplaces, information and analytics in the property markets.

31 August through 6 September 2025 (percentage change from comparable week in 2024):

Occupancy: 57.7% (-0.5%)

Average daily rate (ADR): US$149.52 (-0.2%)

Revenue per available room (RevPAR): US$86.20 (-0.7%)

Among the Top 25 Markets, Houston recorded the steepest declines in occupancy (-12.4% to 49.8%) and RevPAR (-18.7% to US$53.29). The decreases are largely due to the elevated displacement demand period that followed Hurricane Beryl in 2024.

Houston (-7.1% to US$106.91) and Detroit matched for the largest decrease in ADR (-7.1% to US$119.90).

St. Louis saw the highest lift in occupancy (+15.7% to 62.1%), while San Francisco reported the largest jumps in ADR (+10.4% to US$188.17) and RevPAR (+24.7% to US$128.70).

For more information about the company and its products and services, please visit costargroup.com.
American Franchise Act Will Spur Hotel Entrepreneurship, AHLA Says



New legislation will bolster the hotel franchise business model, empowering small businesses and supporting some 3 million workers nationwide.

The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), the leading voice representing all segments of the hotel industry, today shared their support and called for the quick adoption of the bipartisan American Franchise Act (AFA) introduced by Representatives Kevin Hern (R-OK) and Don Davis (D-NC).

For decades, the hotel franchising business model has served as a win-win for franchisees and franchisors. The AFA will protect the hotel business model and ultimately provide certainty regarding the nature of the employment relationship. This mutually beneficial partnership enables aspiring small business owners to go into business for themselves, but not by themselves.

With 36,000 franchised hotels in the United States, the franchising model has long been a pathway for women and minority small business owners to thrive in the small business sectors. Hotel franchisees handle the daily operations of their individual hotels, while simultaneously benefiting from the powerful brand recognition, operational standards, and support provided by the franchisor. This model ensures consistent and reliable guest experiences, helping to build traveler trust and drive repeat bookings.

AHLA President & CEO, Rosanna Maietta urged for the quick adoption of this important legislation.

Hotel franchising is a pathway to the American Dream for so many entrepreneurs, Maietta stated. Its a proven win-win business model that enables dynamic partnerships between franchisees and franchisors. The American Franchise Act codifies a common-sense joint employer definition and is essential to protecting this framework. Representatives Hern and Davis understand this unique relationship, and we applaud them for their leadership on this important legislation.

The AFA amends the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) which, since 2015, have left franchisors and franchisees in a perpetual state of uncertainty. The AFA brings much needed clarity for the protection of workers and preservation of small business owner autonomy by establishing a joint employer standard that will allow franchising to continue to thrive.

AHLA Board of Directors Chair and Vision Hospitality Group Founder and CEO, Mitch Patel added, As a hotel franchisee, I have seen firsthand how this business model has allowed me and so many others to achieve the American dream. Throughout my career, my hotel business has employed thousands of people who have built lifelong careers in our industry. The American Franchise Act is essential to preserving this foundation. For the benefit of both employers and employees, we strongly encourage the swift passage of this critical legislation.
Lenox Library Book Club for Adults Who Enjoy Young Adult Books

LENOX, Mass.  Lenox Library will launch a new monthly YA for Adults Book Club for adults ages 18 and up to discuss new and classic young adult literature.

The first meeting will take place at the Library, 18 Main Street, Lenox, on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. to discuss "Looking For Smoke" by K. A. Cobell (Blackfeet).

Books are available to check out from Lenox Library's youth desk. Interested participants may sign up for the club when they pick up a copy or email Youth Librarian Vanessa Justice at vjustice@lenoxlib.org . Meetings will occur the last Tuesday of each month.
Steven Rickman is the new dean of students at Brayton Elementary and Kate Merrigan is the new director of adult education and 21st Century programming. They were introduced at the School Committee's Aug. 26 meeting.

North Adams School District Starts New Year With New Faces



Principals and other staff at the August School Committee meeting at City Hall. NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  The public schools welcomed two new faces this year: a dean of students at Brayton Elementary and a director of adult education and 21st Century programming.

Steven Rickman and Kate Merrigan were introduced at the School Committee's Aug. 26 meeting.

The Merrigan isn't really new as she spent two terms as a city councilor. She replaces Anne Pecor, who was named as assistant superintendent earlier this year.

Merrigan was director of student and community development for Berkshire Arts & Technology Charter Public School and was more recently with the youth empowerment organization Up for Learning based in Vermont. She is a graduate of Drury High School and Marlborough College and completed her master's in business administration at Fitchburg State University.

"I was worried that the Drury class of '97 wouldn't get in there. That was very important," she laughed. "I was at an event with the superintendent last spring, in my role was Up for Learning, and he posted a picture of us afterward on social media and identified me as like Kate Merrigan, Drury class of '97 and I haven't been identified that way in decades, but it really touched me. ...

"I think I just feel really grateful to be here, back home in the district, that made me who I am, that's making my kids who they are, and picking up where Anne has left off, and it's so clear to me what tremendous work she's done to build these programs. So I'm very lucky and very grateful to be with you all."

Rickman comes to Brayton from Morningside Community School in Pittsfield, where he was also dean. Prior to that he was executive director of the Girls Club of Greenfield, and has years of experience as an elementary school teacher in Massachusetts, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of a graduate of Penn State University with a degree in rehabilitation services, and completed a master's in instructional leadership from Robert Morris University and a master's in educational leadership from Queen's University of Charlotte.

"Even though his first official day with students in our district begins on Thursday, Steven has been working with the school and district leadership team since June to help rate and prepare for a successful school year," said Superintendent Timothy Callahan.

Rickman said he was "so honored and happy to be with North Adams. I'm looking forward to being part of the change that is going to make our students in Massachusetts continue to be No. 1 in the United States."

In response to questions, Callahan estimated there were about 10 open positions at the start of the school year and they were mainly teaching assistants. They also included an elementary teaching post and school adjustment counselor at Colegrove Park Elementary, a special education position at Brayton Elementary, and an "eternally open" speech therapist post at the district level.

He also presented his entry plan, as required by the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents' induction program.

"I've angled my entry plan, which is really the plan for my first year on the job to listen, to what's actually happening and to make some recommendations that we can undertake as a district leadership team," said the former Drury High principal who's spent nearly three decades in North Adams. "But because I've been in the district so long, I do know a lot of things already. So I angled it around our five core values."

Callahan said he began his "entry" during the summer and through November will be reviewing data and reports, talking to stakeholders and conducting site visits. He will determine if the schools are meeting the district's stated mission and values and, if not, why not.

"Are certain components less or more reflective in certain schools and programs? What are the greatest challenges within our district schools or programs keeping North Adams students from performing at their highest levels?" he said. "So in addition to the value lens, I will also be getting that general feedback and specific feedback about what we can do better, what must we protect or sustain within our district, what should be examined more closely to consider changes and what are your recommended improvements or priority areas."

This will take a number of months and the superintendent anticipated it will take up a significant amount of his work this year in addition to the continued implementation of the district's strategic plan. He will present his findings in the spring and have the district's leadership team identify priorities for the following school year.

School Committee member Richard Alcombright said he was impressed by the letter Callahan sent to Brayton parents on the work being done in the school and how the administration will be tacking challenges and supporting teachers.

"That letter was quite comprehensive, and I hope people took the time to read it, because it really ... put the fire under you, and also them," he said. "There's a lot in there that will happen. So thank you for that. It was very comprehensive."

In other business, the committee approved a contract with the cafeteria workers that includes a few more vacation days, training, clothing allowance and longevity. Alcombright, who is on the nonprofessional subcommittee, thanked all the representatives involved in contract negotiations over the past year, saying there were very good meetings.

 Callahan presented an amended graduation requirement because the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education had wanted more details. The committee had approved a competency criteria to replace the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System which can no longer be used as a graduation requirement.

He and the subcommittee working on the policy recommended updating language in the student handbooks instead since that's where the existing policy points.

"We identify the courses specifically. So we say which English classes count toward that competence determination credit, which mathematics for the competence determination, credit and so on," Callahan said. "This is all in the revised program of study for this year. We also clarify what it means to show mastery."

The committee in the past had only approved the handbooks, not the program of studies, but he said it should be approving both annually. Because of the Supreme Court case that found families can opt out of lessons that "specifically undermine their sincerely held religious beliefs," language has been included in all handbooks to address such a situation.

Committee member Alyssa Tomkowicz said she had brought up the concern of where the line was, such as evolution and biology, because of how important they are in schooling. Fellow committee member Cody Chamberlain had also been curious of how likely parents were to take advantage of this language, but the superintendent said those parents are more than likely home schooling already.

There had been a clause in the prior handbooks with an opt-out for religious views but few parents had used it, Callahan said, "it does upend decades of Massachusetts law, because opting out was not an option."

The committee approved the handbooks for all the schools and the program of studies.

 The committee also approved a memorandum of agreement with the teachers on updated evaluation criteria and accepted a $500 donation from the North Adams Lodge of Elks 487 and $1,000 from NBT Bank to ensure every child would get a book at the prekindergarten through Grade 6 book fair.
NEED TO KNOW

Aziz Benharref of Ottawa, Canada, was among the 16 killed in the Sept. 3 funicular crash in Lisbon, Portugal

His wife, who survived, said that they swapped sweats as they got on board

I kept asking and for like two nights nobody knows or at least he didnt told me what happened to him," she said in an interview from her hospital bed

A wife is remembering her husband, one of the 16 victims killed when a funicular crashed in Portugal earlier this month, and reflecting on their final moments together.

We sat next to each other, Hind Iguernane told CTV News from her hospital bed about her late spouse Aziz Benharref. I was supposed to sit in his place, and he said, No, just move a bit and I will be there, because it was more comfortable for me.

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On Wednesday, Sept. 3, the popular Elevador da Gloria funicular, a historic system of railway trams, saw one of its streetcars derail and smash into a building. In addition to the 16 killed, at least 20 people, including Iguernane, were injured.

It was very scary, Iguernane told CTV News. It crashed. I didnt see him. I called him; I was calling Aziz and he didnt answer.

Iguernane, whose injuries included a fractured hip and shoulder, was in and out of consciousness and says it took days before she learned that her husband had died.

I kept asking and for like two nights nobody knows or at least he didnt told me what happened to him," she said. "They were just telling me, Were all looking for him, we keep looking for him. "

GoFundMe Hind Iguernane Hind Iguernane

According to CTV News, Benharref, 42, was a Canadian citizen from Morocco, while Iguernane, who also hails from Morocco, is a permanent resident of Canada.

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A GoFundMe established for Iguernane stated that Benharref died from traumatic injuries.

In an update shared on Wednesday, Sept. 10, loved ones said that Iguernanes condition is steadily recovering and she will be transferred to a hospital in Morocco as part of her recovery. Her husband will be buried in the country.

Hes one of the sweetest human beings ever, Iguernane told CTV News. He was kind to everyone. He was generous, hardworking, respectful. He was a great husband. He loved Canada.

Other victims from the crash included Andre Bergeron, of Quebec, and his wife Blandine Daux, a permanent resident of Canada and a French citizen, according to CBC News. Eric Bergeron, Andres brother, told CBC that the two were on the last day of their vacation in Portugal when the crash happened.



Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Officials attributed the incident to a failed cable, according to a report from the Office for the Prevention and Investigation of Accidents in Civil Aviation and Rail (GPIAAF) shared on Saturday, Sept. 6

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"From the on-site study of the wreckage, it was immediately clear that the cable connecting the two cabins had given way at its attachment point inside the upper trambolho of cabin #1," the agency said.

When reached for comment by PEOPLE, a spokesperson from Global Affairs Canada said that they were "aware of the death of two Canadian citizens in the Lisbon streetcar crash," although they did not confirm the identities of those individuals, saying no further information can be disclosed due to privacy considerations.

"We extend our deepest condolences to their families and loved ones as well as to all of those affected" the spokesperson added. Consular officials are providing consular assistance to the families and are in contact with local authorities."

Read the original article on People
By Jack Kim and Ju-min Park

SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump offered to allow hundreds of South Korean workers arrested during an immigration raid to stay in the United States, but only one has opted to remain, South Korean officials said on Thursday.

Trump's overture sought to encourage the workers to stay and train Americans, according to the officials. It resulted in a one-day delay to the departure of a chartered plane to bring the workers home.

The plane left the United States shortly before noon. TV footage showed the workers boarding buses outside the barbed-wire clad fences of a detention centre at around 2 a.m. on Thursday to go to Atlanta airport.

Unlike other U.S. deportations, they were not handcuffed - satisfying a key demand from South Korea, which has been horrified by the raid, particularly by the use of armoured vehicles and shackles.

Some 300 South Koreans were arrested last week along with more than 150 others at the Georgia construction site of a $4.3 billion Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution project to build batteries for electric cars.

While the raid has been trumpeted by U.S. immigration authorities, it has threatened to destabilise ties at a time when both countries are seeking to finalise a trade deal, and to scare off South Korean investment in the United States which Trump has been so keen to secure.

"Our businesses that have entered the United States are likely in a state of serious confusion," President Lee Jae Myung said at a news conference on Thursday marking his first 100 days in office.

Asked if the trade deal was now in jeopardy, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on CNBC: "Well, the Koreans didn't sign. ... The Koreans either accept that deal or pay the tariffs. Black and white."

Lutnick said he believed Trump will address the tensions caused by the immigration action.

Lawmakers in Seoul have acknowledged that there may have been some overstepping of the boundaries of a 90-day visa waiver programme or a B-1 temporary business visa.

But South Korean companies have also complained for years that they have struggled to obtain short-term work visas for specialists needed at their high-tech U.S. plants, and had come to rely on a grey zone of looser interpretation of visa rules under previous American administrations.

VISA TALKS

In the wake of the raid, Washington and Seoul have agreed to discuss establishing a new visa category for Koreans, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun has said.

But current difficulties about sending staff to the U.S. could affect direct investment. "Our businesses that are investing in the United States will no doubt be very hesitant," Lee said.
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Donald Trump attempted to convince the South Korean workers arrested during an immigration raid to stay and train Americans before they left, officials in Seoul said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained more than 300 South Korean engineers and subcontractors following a surprise raid at a car factory in Georgia on 4 September. The factory is a joint venture of Hyundai Motors and LG Energy Solution.

They also arrested 10 Chinese nationals, three Japanese and an Indonesian.

South Korea reacted with shock and concern but prioritised bilateral relations over confrontation with a key economic and strategic ally.

The raid drew criticism as footage showed the workers shackled at their wrists, ankles and waist.

It has now emerged that Trump asked his officials to encourage the detained South Korean workers to extend their stay in the country and train American employees, foreign ministry officials in Seoul said at a briefing.

The president emphasised that the detained Korean nationals were skilled workers and suggested they either remain in the U.S. to contribute to training the American workforce or be returned to South Korea, depending on Seouls stance, a South Korean official said, according to the Financial Times.

Many of the arrested workers were exhausted and in shock and foreign minister Cho Hyun suggested that they instead return immediately to their home country. They could be allowed to go back to the U.S. for work later if necessary, the officials said.

The workers were initially due to fly home as early as Wednesday. But Trumps overture resulted in a one-day delay to the departure of their chartered flight. The flight was scheduled to leave later on Thursday.

open image in gallery South Korean foreign minister Cho Hyun before a session of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee at the National Assembly in Seoul ( AP )

South Koreas foreign ministry confirmed on Thursday that American authorities had released 330 of the workers, mostly Koreans, and they were being transported by bus to Atlanta where they would board the chartered flight.

After a meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Cho said they had agreed the workers would not be shackled during the transport to the Hartsfield-Jackson airport in Atlanta.

U.S. immigration authorities routinely handcuff and shackle immigrants when they are put on deportation flights.

Cho said at the meeting that South Koreans were hurt and shocked by the arrest of fellow citizens who came to the U.S. to transfer technology and knowhow to contribute to the Trump administrations efforts to revive the U.S. manufacturing industry.

He later said Seoul had secured assurances that they will face no problems re-entering the U.S. in the future to work.

open image in gallery U.S. immigration agents round up South Korean workers at the Hyundai vehicle plant on 4 September 2025 ( AP )

Last weeks raid sent shockwaves through South Korea and raised questions about the viability of Korean firms doing business in the U.S.

South Korean businesses had already been complaining about strict U.S. limits on visas for skilled workers from the east Asian country, which they said made it hard for them to quickly dispatch staff to address the complexities of constructing cutting-edge factories or to train local workers.

South Korean president Lee Jae Myung said the raid could affect investment decisions made by Korean companies.

The raid was confounding and caused a great deal of confusion, he said, adding that it was likely to leave South Korean businesses hesitant about investing in the U.S.

His government had not yet reviewed whether there should be a new approach to business cooperation between the two nations, the president said. But our businesses that have entered the U.S. are likely in a state of serious confusion.
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A former chief justice appeared likely to take over as Nepals interim leader following days of violent protests that collapsed the government and left at least 31 people dead.

The Himalayan country erupted in violent protests over the weekend after the government abruptly banned 26 social media sites, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X, in what was seen as an attempt to silence criticism.

The protests were led by young Nepalis who were deeply frustrated over corruption, unemployment and what they regarded as an unaccountable political elite.

The agitation collapsed the government after prime minister KP Sharma Oli resigned, his rushed decision to lift the ban failing to bring order.

On Thursday, as confusion continued over who was governing Nepal, former chief justice Sushila Karki, the first woman to hold the post in 2016, emerged as the frontrunner for interim leader, backed by many of the agitations leaders.

"When they requested me, I accepted," Ms Karki told Indian TV news channel CNN-News18.

open image in gallery An aerial view shows smoke billowing from the torched President House in Kathmandu on 10 September 2025 ( AFP via Getty )

Representatives of the protesters  overwhelmingly from Gen Z  said they had met the army leadership and proposed Ms Karki as their choice to head an interim government.

Some of the protesters, however, had reservations about the former judges candidacy as they attempted to reach a unanimous decision, the outlet reported.

The military took control after protesters set fires at the parliament, the presidential residence, the central secretariat that houses the offices of the prime minister and key ministries, and the prime minister's official residence. Smoke was still rising from those buildings on Wednesday.

The protesters also torched the office building of Kantipur, Nepal's biggest media outlet, as well as car showrooms, leaving burned-out vehicles dotting the streets.

Soldiers patrolled the relatively quiet streets of the capital Kathmandu on Thursday after days of violence, which also left nearly 1,033 people injured across the country. Residents rushed to stock up on food when the army briefly lifted a curfew.

open image in gallery Protesters gather outside the army headquarters during a curfew imposed to restore law and order in Kathmandu, Nepal ( AFP via Getty )

Hundreds of people, including foreigners, crowded the main airport in Kathmandu, a day after it reopened and international flights resumed.

"It was a very difficult time for us. We had trouble just to get to the airport and back to hotel hoping for flights but finally I have found a seat and am going to be flying out of Nepal," Raj Kumar Bika, a chicken farmer travelling to India for business, told the Associated Press.

Meanwhile, Nepal police said over 15,000 prisoners had escaped from two dozen jails during the protests. While 1,455 of them had been re-arrested and sent back to jail, 12,852 remained on the run, spokesperson Vinod Ghimire said.
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Lions mauled a zookeeper to death at a Thailand safari park in the capital of Bangkok on Wednesday, leaving visitors horrified.

Jian Rangkharasamee, 58, who had worked at Safari World for some three decades, was attacked in the section of the park meant for visitors to view the animals from their vehicles.

Sadudee Punpugdee, wildlife protection director at the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, said the victim was likely mauled by six or seven lions.

The department, responsible for managing national parks in Thailand, has ordered a temporary closure of the facility.

The deceased is a zoo staff member who usually fed the lions, he said, adding that the man appeared to have stepped out of his car at the time of the incident.

Police opened an investigation after footage of the incident spread widely on social media.

Dr Tavatchai Kanchanarin, a visitor who witnessed the attack, told Thairath television that the victim had left an uncovered car and stood with his back to the animals.

He stood for about three minutes, then a lion walked slowly and grabbed him from behind. He did not scream, he said.

Attapol Charoenchansa, director general of the Department of National Parks, said the incident took place during feeding time. It was assumed that one of them was not in a good mood and launched the attack, he said, referring to the lions, with others following.

The mauling reportedly continued for nearly 15 minutes before a co-worker was able to reach the victim and pull him to safety. He was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead, according to the Bangkok Post.

The victims wife, Ratanaporn Jitpakdee, said her husband had always taken precautions and had never been attacked before. She described him as the sole breadwinner of the family who loved caring for the animals at the park.

In a similar incident, a zookeeper was mauled to death in 2023 while attempting to feed a lion in Japan.
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The British government has rejected the use of solar geoengineering, saying it has no plans to deploy controversial techniques designed to block sunlight and artificially cool the planet.

In an official response to the parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee, the government said it opposed Solar Radiation Management, often described as sun dimming, and confirmed that Britain wouldnt pursue its deployment in Antarctica or elsewhere.

The statement came after the committee called for clarity on the UK position, warning that experiments being considered in the country  such as using balloons to release dust into the atmosphere or spraying seawater to brighten clouds  risked setting a dangerous precedent.

Geoengineering refers to deliberate interventions in the planets climate system like brightening clouds with seawater sprays, releasing reflective particles into the upper atmosphere, or thinning cirrus clouds that trap heat.

The techniques are highly controversial. Advocates say they could temporarily buy time if global heating races past climate targets. But critics argue they carry huge environmental risks, and could distract from cutting greenhouse gas emissions  the root cause of the climate crisis.

The statement came in the same week as a group of over 40 polar scientists published a wide-ranging assessment concluding that geoengineering concepts proposed to slow polar ice loss were unrealistic, unaffordable and could bring severe environmental damage.

Earlier this year, the governments 800m Advanced Research and Invention Agency confirmed that some 50m of its budget would fund exploratory geoengineering research, including modelling possible ways to cool the Earth.

Among the proposals was an attempt to thicken Arctic sea ice, brighten clouds above the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and float weather balloons containing natural minerals high in the stratosphere which would be retrieved after hours or weeks.

One geoengineering proposal involves using planes to disperse microparticles into the upper atmosphere ( Getty )

A study published in Frontiers in Science this week assessed five of the most widely discussed polar geoengineering ideas. All failed basic tests for feasibility and safety.

Other researchers involved in the study warned that particle-based sunlight dimming could disrupt monsoons vital for farming, intensify regional droughts, or create new political tensions if deployed without international consensus.

James Kirkham, a co-author of the study and scientific adviser to a coalition of governments focused on melting ice, said many of the ideas were being pushed with slick public relations campaigns despite little chance of success.

No current geoengineering idea passes an objective and comprehensive test regarding its use in the coming decades, he said in the journal article.

Britain has previously funded limited research into solar geoengineering, an idea that has been debated for more than 50 years. But such attempts have always been met with fierce response.

Environmental groups and many scientists have long warned that pursuing solar geoengineering could legitimise its use by other countries or even private actors.

The UK governments position puts it in line with other nations that have publicly rejected deploying solar radiation management even as some continue to fund research. Ministers said Britains priority remained emissions cuts and international diplomacy, not untested interventions.
Yesterday, Prince Harry returned to the green and pleasant land of his birth. A man on a mission, he touched down at Heathrow and laid a wreath at his late grandmothers grave in St Georges Chapel, Windsor, before heading into London for his first charity rendezvous.

Just eight miles away, older brother William was chit-chatting over chocolate brownies at a WI branch meeting in Sunningdale. (Apparently, the Prince of Wales prefers his sweet treats nut-free). Harrys small talk was more on point: that evening at a Wellchild awards ceremony, the Prince asked 17-year-old winner Declan Bitmead if his younger brother drove him mad, and doubled down when he discovered they went to the same school, glibly adding, Siblings... that sometimes makes it more challenging!

It was all a bit near-the-knuckle given his recent criticism of Williams, including the latters alleged dismissal of him at Eton. Apparently, the Prince of Wales didnt want anything to do with Harry then, and if yesterday was anything to go by, he still doesnt.

On the other side of London, veteran broadcaster Piers Morgan huffed and puffed. Nope. He doesnt think that there should be a reconciliation between the royal family and estranged Harry. So no change there. Except yesterday, three years after the death of the late Queen, something felt very different. In 2022, Piers and I regularly crossed swords on the rights and wrongs of the Sussexes public diatribes against the royal life theyd left behind. Morgans rants on their despicable behaviour against our most venerable institution laid the founding stones of his now gigantic YouTube channel.

Three years on, the couple scarcely get a look in. And it is not just Harry and Meghan who have ceased to be red meat for his online juggernaut. Yesterday, he admitted that the royal family are less relevant than it used to be. Quite a confession from arch-royalist Morgan. And a worrying sign of things to come.

open image in gallery Prince Harry and the then Duke of Cambridge arrive at St Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle before Prince Harrys wedding to Meghan Markle ( PA )

The polling, while not yet catastrophic, is only heading in one direction: in 1983, when the British Social Attitudes survey first took Britains royal temperature, a staggering 86 per cent of the population endorsed monarchy. I was one of many: recently, in my mothers attic, I uncovered a childhood scrapbook: it began with Charles and Dianas wedding in 1981 and climaxed five years later for the Andrew and Fergie extravaganza.

I was still cutting and sticking at age 12. How times have changed. In keeping with most young Britons, my seven-year-old daughter cant name the Princess of Wales, and perhaps more telling, my 16-year-old resents knowing it. In 2023, 40 years on from the first royal survey, only 54 per cent of the population expressed any commitment to royalty and for the most part, they were older. The young ones have signed out, and as long as an unseemly royal impasse persists in the House of Windsor, where is the incentive for them to sign in?

Like never before, the Duchess of Sussex, replete with high-end jam and lobster anecdotes, has leaned into her inner Californian and left most of Britain behind. Not so Harry, who, back on home turf, still has the Midas touch, wowing the crowds on the second day of his stopover in hand-picked Nottingham, where he sealed the deal with a 1.1m donation to Children in Need.

Who said the Sussexes were struggling? Uncomfortable as it may be for many royal watchers, Harry retains a reach and appeal in areas where traditional monarchy is at its weakest. After all, William is many things, but cool is not one of them.

open image in gallery The Duke of Sussex leaving the coronation ceremony of King Charles III and Queen Camilla in Westminster Abbey, London. on Saturday, 6 May 2023. Gareth Cattermole/PA Wire ( PA )

As future king, that is perhaps for the best. But effective kingship must surely embrace a broad church. One day in the not-so-distant future, William will be the symbolic repository for a nation in an increasingly divided world, riddled with perpetual wars, displaced peoples and existential threats. Much has been written about the Prince of Wales modelling himself and his leadership on the late Queen: cue ambitions as a unifying sovereign without the baggage his father brings to the throne. But if that is really his goal, William has fallen at the first hurdle.

The capacity to forgive is an important life skill, but for a future monarch, it is essential. According to Sir David Manning, Williams foreign affairs adviser, after the Prince visited the Middle East in 2018, and with the war in Gaza still raging, he was keen to stay engaged with both the Jewish community in Britain and the Palestinians. It feels peculiar that the man who cant work out how to forgive his own brother wants to help philanthropically on both sides of the line in the worlds most intractable conflict.

It is widely agreed that the late Queen was the blueprint for royal survival in the democratic age, and perhaps Elizabeths greatest superpower was her inscrutability. Some royal commentators have insisted that Her Majesty was devastated by the Prince Harry fall-out just before her death, but the truth is, none of us will ever know.

Given Elizabeth IIs breadth of life experience, it is likely she was both infuriated by her grandsons behaviour and also understood its genesis. According to Paul Burrell, Princess Dianas former butler, just after Harrys birth, Charles turned to his first wife and said, Well, at least Ive got my heir and spare now and can return to Camilla. Institutionally, Prince Harry was always the lesser of the two brothers, born into a marriage already falling apart, and (thanks to Burrell, who claims he repeated Charles words verbatim to an unflinching prince) he knew it.

Harry has since walked forward and very publicly slain his demons. The subsequent domestic and institutional mess reverberated across the globe; everyone had an opinion and most in Britain resented Harrys confused attack. Perhaps even the Duke has come to regret it. While he cant bring himself to say sorry, Harry has at least dropped any demand for an apology from the royal family and his presence in Britain has brought both attention and reconciliation.

As many hoped, Harry did finally reunite with King Charles at Clarence House their first meeting in 19 months. Prince Harry arrived at the residence on Wednesday in a black Range Rover at 5.20pm, and left after an hour during which they had tea. Approaching his 77th birthday and continuing to undergo cancer treatment, it is widely assumed that Charles will want to spend precious time with his grandchildren, Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four. Proof, if anywhere needed, that while a fathers love is often tested, its hard to break. The same cannot be said for siblings, yet it is William, not Charles, who holds the key to future royal happy families.

open image in gallery The Duke of Sussex leaving Westminster Abbey in central London following the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on 6 May 2023 ( PA )

Like his brother, the Prince of Wales was forged in the cross hairs of his parents broken marriage and Dianas early death, but unlike Harry, William is destined to assume the mantle of kingship. No matter how he behaves, that is his birthright. Many royalists anticipate Britain under William V will have a fresh(er) appeal. Certainly, his marriage to remarkable Kate with its three bountiful children, always proves a visual feast, but beyond the high days and holidays, for his kingship to really mean something, William needs to demonstrate he can tackle his own demons.

For too long, there have been rumours of a certain stubbornness, a tendency to sulk. Yes, Harry blindsided Willy with his public attacks; the older brother misunderstood the depths of young Harolds pain. And anger. But what better way for William to prove any childhood petulance is in the past than by reaching out to Harry, the flawed younger brother who so clearly craves a way back into Britains most famous family. Surely even the naysayers would agree that King William the Peacemaker has a certain ring to it.

Tessa Dunlop is the author of Lest We Forget: War and Peace in 100 British Monuments
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Americas foreign aid freeze could cause more than two million additional deaths from tuberculosis across the next five years, scientists have warned.

The aid cuts by Donald Trumps administration have already significantly impacted global health programmes and could result in an extra 2.2 million deaths from TB over the next half-decade, according to the research published in the journal PLOS Global Public Health.

The US contributed at least 55 per cent of the external funding for global TB programmes at the end of 2024.

However, the Trump administration terminated over 80 per cent of aid contracts run by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which until Trump re-entered the White House in January, had been a major humanitarian provider across the world.

USAID, according to Trump, "strayed from its original mission," resulting in "too few gains and too high costs", and his administrations funding cuts led to the termination of more 5,800 global grants  a move that groups around the world have decried as having a devastating impact.

In the new study, researchers modelled the impact of the foreign aid funding cuts from the US on 26 countries with high TB cases.

They found that in the worst-case scenario of prolonged reduction in services, there could be an additional 10.67 million TB cases and 2.2 million deaths between 2025 and 2030.

This scenario assumes that funding cuts translate proportionately into loss of TB treatments and outcomes across the 26 countries studied.

Even in a best-case scenario where services recover within the next three months, there could still be 0.63 million extra TB cases and some 100,000 deaths.

A Vietnamese doctor checks a tuberculosis patient ( AFP via Getty )

A moderate impact scenario will see around 1.66 million extra TB cases and 270,000 deaths.

The findings underscore the key role played by US funding in combating TB infections globally.

The withdrawal of US government support threatens the development of such critical new tools, further delaying progress and  without adequate mitigation  making End TB targets unattainable, researchers said. Pre-existing funding gaps have now widened, worsening resource shortages needed to combat TB.

Significant funding cuts threaten the global goal of eradicating TB by 2030, part of the World Health Organisations End TB Strategy.

Recent withdrawal of US financial support threatens essential TB service delivery, including diagnostics, treatment, TB-HIV co-infection interventions and research initiatives critical to eradicating TB, the new study noted.

While some nations may adapt, short-term disruptions will severely impact vulnerable populations.

The overall impact of the aid cuts remains unclear as the latest model does not separately analyse the impact on curbing drug-resistant TB cases.

The study emphasises the need for alternative funding via domestic resources, other international donors or multilateral agencies to curb TB cases worldwide.

Urgent alternative funding is needed to sustain critical TB prevention and treatment efforts, it says.
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The 1.9m will of a llama-loving pensioner has caused a High Court fight that saw rival alpaca, donkey and bear enthusiasts scrapping over her money.

Conservationist Candia Midworth was a passionate animal-lover, who kept and bred llamas at her Surrey farm. She was a director of the British Llama and Alpaca Association and editor of its magazine, the Camelids Chronicle.

She was widowed decades ago, and when she died in 2022 she left a will dividing her 1.9m fortune equally between six charities supporting different animals around the world.

But the will ended up at the centre of a High Court battle after British Camelids Ltd, the charitable arm of the British Llama and Alpaca Association, claimed half of the money for itself.

Because three of the causes named in Midworths will no longer exist in the exact form she stated, while another doesnt exist at all, the gifts to them should fail, the llama charity claimed.

However, after a trial at the London court, a judge, Master Katherine McQuail, has now made an order that the money be used for the benefit of donkeys, mules and bears as well as llamas and alpacas.

open image in gallery Llama breeder Candia Midworth, whose will sparked a court battle between animal charities ( Champion News )

Among others, 300,000-plus shares will go to World Animal Protection for its work with captive bears; to the Brooke Hospital for Animals for its support of working horses, mules and donkeys; and towards zoo watchdog work at the Born Free Foundation.

Giving her judgment, the judge said the will should be construed as providing for gifts to be made in respect of the charitable purposes of the causes Midworth stipulated, and that just because the specific entities she named no longer exist in the same form, it does not mean the gifts should fail.

The court heard that Midworth, whose husband Julian died in 1996, kept and bred llamas at her farm, Banks Way House, in Effingham, Surrey, from at least the mid-1980s.

As well as being an active member of the British Llama and Alpaca Association and editor of the Camelid Chronicle, she became a director of British Camelids.

The charity was set up to encourage and improve the breeding of and fibre production from camelids in the UK, said the judge, as well as to undertake research and to promote camelid rearing.

open image in gallery Llama breeder Candia Midworth, whose will sparked a court battle between animal charities ( Champion News )

Camelid is the classification of animal to which both alpacas and llamas belong.

Midworth died aged 78 in 2022, and in her final will  written in 1994  she left her prints and pictures of llamas, and the llamas she owned at the date of her death, to friends.

Under the wording of her will, shares of her estate  valued at around 1.9m  were to go to British Camelids, the Brooke Hospital for Animals, Burstow Wildlife Sanctuary, and the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection.

She also specifically named the Libearty Campaign of the World Society for the Protection of Animals, which was aimed at ending cruelty to captive bears, and a zoo watchdog campaign of the Born Free Foundation as beneficiaries.

open image in gallery Some of the work of the Brooke Hospital for Animals, which supports working animals and provides education on harness production ( Champion News )

However, British Camelids took the case to court, claiming that because some of the specific entities in her will no longer exist, only it and the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection should benefit.

For British Camelids, barrister Emilia Carslaw argued that the wording of the will was simple and that the gifts were expressly subject to the condition that the named legatees be in existence at the date of Mrs Midworths death in order to benefit.

But lawyers for the other charities claimed that the activities Midworth had wanted to support still continue, and that her money should be channelled in that way.

Just because the charities operated under different names or charity numbers, or had stopped campaigning under the names of projects named in the will, did not mean that the gifts should fail, it was argued.

Master McQuail said the will should be interpreted as a desire to support the charitable purposes of the organisations it named, which are ongoing, regardless of the specific legal entity carrying them on and the project title under which they are doing so.

open image in gallery A High Court judge has ordered that the money be used for the benefit of donkeys, mules and bears as well as llamas and alpacas ( PA )

The Brooke Hospital, which supports working donkeys, mules and horses, continues to operate, although under a different charity number to that specified in Midworths will, the court heard.

"Since [it] is carrying on the charitable purposes of the Brooke Hospital for Animals, I conclude that the will is to be construed as making a gift of a share of residue to [it], said the judge.

In relation to the Born Free Foundations Zoo Check Project and the World Society for the Protection of Animals bear-related Libearty Campaign, those specific titles are no longer used, she continued. However, both charities had given evidence that the relevant charitable purposes were continuing, but no longer under the campaign names that Midworth had specified in her will.

I conclude that the will is to be construed as making gifts of shares of residue ... for the purposes of the Zoo Check Project and the Libearty Campaign, even though those projects do not have a continuing separate identity, she added.

Although the Burstow Wildlife Sanctuary no longer existed, the gift to it could only fail if its charitable purposes also no longer existed or were incapable of implementation, said the judge.

Those charitable purposes have not ceased to exist or to be capable of implementation, and it appears from the evidence that the charitable purposes are ones which are carried on by at least [Brooke Hospital, Born Free and World Animal Protection].

In those circumstances I consider that it would be appropriate to direct, by way of scheme, that the share of residue intended for the Burstow Wildlife Sanctuarys purposes be paid among some, at least, of the parties to the proceedings.

The ruling means British Camelids, the Brooke Hospital, Born Free, World Animal Protection and the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection will each get a one-sixth share, worth over 300,000, of the widows 1.9m fortune.

The final sixth will be divided under terms to be decided at a later date.
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Sir Keir Starmer has led UK tributes to Donald Trump ally and right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk after he was shot dead at an event on Wednesday evening.

The death was announced on social media by Mr Trump, who praised the 31-year-old, as "Great, and even Legendary". Mr Kirk, 31, the co-founder and chief executive of the youth organisation Turning Point USA, was shot at a Utah Valley University show.

"No-one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie," Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social account.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox has called the incident a political assassination, adding the person responsible would be held accountable.

Kim Leadbeater, whose sister Jo Cox was killed in 2016 when she was shot and stabbed by a neo-Nazi outside her constituency surgery a week before the 2016 EU referendum, and prime minister Sir Keir Starmer were among a raft of British leaders to speak out against political violence following the killings.

Ms Leadbeater, who is now a Labour MP in her sister's former constituency, wrote: "This is dreadful.

"Whatever our political views and differences, there is no place for violence in our politics.

"Tonight two children have lost their Dad. Devastating. We need a global reset on what we want our politics to look like."

Sir Keir Starmer also paid tribute to Mr Kirk. The prime minister said: "My thoughts this evening are with the loved ones of Charlie Kirk.

"It is heartbreaking that a young family has been robbed of a father and a husband.

"We must all be free to debate openly and freely without fear - there can be no justification for political violence."

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who previously mentioned a decade-long friendship with Mr Kirk, shared a photo with the right-wing activist on X which he captioned: This is a very dark day for American democracy. I am desperately sad for Charlie, his wife and children.

Conservative MP and leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch said the death of Mr Kirk was a blow to everything Western civilization stands for in a statement following his death.

There are no words good enough to express the horror of this, she said. The killing of Charlie Kirk is a blow to everything Western civilization stands for: open discourse, robust debate and peaceful dissent. He lived his life by those very principles, no matter the danger it put him in.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson called Mr Kirk a shining new martyr to free speech in a tribute to him.

Charlie and Erika Kirk at Donald Trump's inaugural ball in January 2025 ( Getty )

The murder of Charlie Kirk is a tragedy, and a sign of the utter desperation and cowardice of those who could not defeat him in argument. Charlie Kirk has been killed not for espousing extremist views - because he didnt.

He has been killed for saying things that used to be simple common sense, he continued. He has been killed because he had the courage to stand up publicly for reasonable opinions held by millions and millions of ordinary people both in the US and Britain. The world has a shining new martyr to free speech.

Mr Kirk was CEO, chief fundraiser, and the public face of Turning Point USA from its founding in 2012 to his death in 2025. Turning Point UK, a British offshoot of the right wing student pressure group, was established in 2019.

Utahs governor has warned that whoever is responsible for the death of Mr Kirk will be held accountable to the full extent of the law.

We have a person of interest in custody. I want to make it crystal clear to whoever is responsible and we will hold you accountable to the full extent of the law, Cox said. And I want to remind you, we still have the death penalty here.

Our nation is broken, he added. I dont care what his politics are. I care that he was American.
Donald Trump offered to let hundreds of South Korean workers detained during an immigration raid stay in the U.S.a deal that was overwhelmingly rejected by those affected.

The raid, carried out last week at the $4.3 billion Hyundai Motor battery plant under construction in Georgia, resulted in the arrest of around 300 South Koreans and more than 150 other foreign nationals.

Trumpwho touts his hardline approach to immigrationprivately offered the workers a chance to remain in the country to help train American staff, South Korean officials said Thursday, Reuters reports. The move delayed the departure of a flight chartered to take the workers home, the officials said.

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Only one person chose to remain in the U.S., they added.

Today, @ATFAtlanta joined HSI, FBI, DEA, ICE, GSP and other agencies in a major immigration enforcement operation at the Hyundai mega site battery plant in Bryan County, GA, leading to the apprehension of ~450 unlawful aliens, emphasizing our commitment to community safety. #ATF pic.twitter.com/su6raLrLu6  ATF Atlanta (@ATFAtlanta) September 4, 2025

News of Trumps offer comes after he has been dubbed TACOa nickname meaning Trump Always Chickens Outfor his policy flip-flopping throughout his second administration.

TV footage aired in South Korea showed the dissenting group boarding buses at 2 a.m. Thursday to head for Atlantas airport. They were taken from a detention facility surrounded by barbed wire, thoughunlike typical deportationsthey were not shackled, following demands from Seoul.

Trumps offer came after backlash in South Korea over the raid, which involved armored vehicles and heavily armed federal agents.

U.S. immigration officials raided a Hyundai plant just 10 days after President Donald Trump met with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and pledged closer economic cooperation between the two countries. / Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

President Lee Jae-myung said Thursday the arrests had thrown Korean businesses in the U.S. into serious confusion and warned it could chill future investment. He had met with Trump at the White House just 10 days before the immigration sweep at the Georgia site.

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Our businesses that are investing in the United States will no doubt be very hesitant, Lee said at a press conference marking his first 100 days in office.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho-hyun confirmed that Washington and Seoul have agreed to discuss creating a new visa category to help companies legally send specialists to U.S. plants, amid long-standing complaints that existing work visa channels are too slow and restrictive.

The raid, carried out last week at the $4.3 billion Hyundai Motor battery plant under construction in Bryan County, Georgia, resulted in the arrest of around 300 South Koreans. / Justin Sullivan/Getty

Lawmakers in Seoul acknowledged that some workers may have overstayed the 90-day visa waiver program or entered on short-term B-1 business visas, but said previous U.S. administrations had allowed more flexibility to support high-tech investment projects.

Chinas foreign ministry said a smaller number of Chinese nationals were also detained in the raid and urged Washington to ensure the legitimate rights and interests of the involved Chinese citizens.

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The Guardian, meanwhile, cited leaked documents that reported that at least one of the workers who was collared by ICE was living and working in the country legally.

The Daily Beast contacted the White House for comment.
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Support for the monarchy has hit a record low, according to new research.

Although more than half of people favour keeping the royals over an elected head of state

The proportion of people believing it is important to keep the monarchy has fallen from 86 per cent, when the question was first asked in 1983 for the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey, to 51 per cent in 2024.

This is the lowest level of support recorded since the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) began tracking public opinion some 40 years ago.

The survey findings come ahead of the state visit of US President Donald Trump to the UK.

The King will host the US leader at Windsor Castle from September 17-19, when Mr Trump will be feted with a ceremonial welcome and a state banquet.

The trip will be Mr Trumps second state visit to the UK, an unprecedented gesture for a US president.

open image in gallery More than half (58 per cent) said they favoured retaining the monarchy, with 38 per cent saying they would prefer an elected head of state ( Aaron Chown/PA )

According to the latest polling by NatCen, around one in three (31 per cent) felt the monarchy was not important when asked last year, up from one in 10 in 1983.

Some 15 per cent now say they support the abolition of the monarchy, up from just 3 per cent in 1983.

In a new question, survey participants were asked to choose between keeping the monarchy or replacing it with an elected head of state.

More than half (58 per cent) said they favoured retaining the monarchy, with 38 per cent saying they would prefer an elected head of state.

The results also showed younger people were more likely to favour an elected head of state, and that keeping the monarchy was a stance strongest among supporters of the Conservative and Reform UK parties (82 per cent and 77 per cent respectively).

Labour supporters were almost evenly split, with 49 per cent wanting to keep the monarchy and 48 per cent favouring an elected head of state.

open image in gallery The proportion of people believing it is important to keep the monarchy has fallen from 86 per cent, when the question was first asked in 1983 for the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey, to 51 per cent in 2024 ( PA Wire )

More than half of survey participants identifying as Scottish and almost two thirds of Welsh survey participants said they favoured an elected head of state, 59 per cent and 64 per cent respectively.

Support for the monarchy was strongest among those identifying as British (62 per cent) or English (68 per cent).

In an accompanying blog, NatCen said: Support for the monarchy is strongest among older, right-leaning individuals, while those who favour an elected head of state tend to be younger and more left-leaning.

Alex Scholes, NatCen research director, said: Support for the monarchy is now at its lowest level since our records began, with more people than ever questioning its future.

At the same time, when asked to choose directly, a majority of the public still prefer to keep the monarchy over moving to an elected head of state.

This tension, between declining importance and continued preference, will be crucial in shaping debates about the monarchys role in the years ahead.

The latest BSA survey consisted of 4,120 interviews with a representative, random sample of adults in the United Kingdom and was conducted between 16 September and 27 October 2024. While the latest BSA 2024 survey included participants living in Northern Ireland for the first time, the numbers were too small to give a breakdown for this group.
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Cancer patients are having to wait longer for a diagnosis now than they did four years ago, with new analysis finding only half are receiving diagnoses within NHS Englands target of 28 days.

For people with urological cancers, such as bladder, prostate and kidney cancer, 29 per cent of urgent referrals were met on time.

Diagnosis delays have also meant that a third of patients have had to wait longer than 62 days for an urgent suspected cancer referral to start treatment, Cancer Research UK said in its report.

In the last three months of 2021, 57.3 per cent of diagnoses were given within 28 days, but this fell to 52.3 per cent by the middle of 2024.

open image in gallery Diagnoses for testicular cancer were the only ones to meet the target, with 83 per cent of patients receiving a diagnosis within the timeframe ( PA )

Jon Shelton, the charitys head of cancer intelligence, said speed was of necessity. For those who do have cancer, the quicker we can diagnose it, the quicker we can start treatment, he told The Independent.

The longer we delay that process, the more it can have adverse effects for some patients. Days waiting for patients means nights of worry, and so the longer patients are waiting has an impact on them.

From April to June 2024, more than 25,000 people had to wait more than 28 days to be diagnosed with cancer.

The report further found that between October 2021 and June 2024, 53.8 per cent of people who had cancer were diagnosed within 28 days compared with 71.7 per cent for those who had it ruled out.

The Faster Diagnosis Target (FDS) aims to diagnose or rule out cancer for 75 per cent of people within 28 days of an urgent referral.

NHS England reported improvement on this target in recent months, but this is due to more people having cancer ruled out, rather than diagnosed. The study identified that for people being diagnosed with cancer, things have actually been getting worse over time.

The NHS said it will be publishing separate figures from Thursday for the number of people who receive cancer diagnoses or have it ruled out.

open image in gallery Just under 75 per cent of skin cancer patients were diagnosed in that time, and 70 per cent of breast cancer referrals were also diagnosed, the second and third highest proportion of people diagnosed ( Rui Vieira/PA Wire )

Cancer Research UK has urged the government to separately report the number of people who receive diagnoses versus those who have cancer ruled out.

The wait time for some cancer types, Cancer Research UK said, is much longer than 28 days. More than half of the people diagnosed after a urological cancer referral waited more than 42 days.

Mr Shelton said: We're talking quite a long time period, and we know from evidence that even a small growth in the size of a tumour can lead, in some instances, to worse outcomes, and it all depends on the tumour type.

Cancer Research UKs chief executive, Michelle Mitchell, said: Waiting for a cancer diagnosis can make every single day feel like forever.

Cancer Research has called on the government to implement a cancer guarantee to meet the waiting times by the end of this parliament and raise the FDS target to 80 per cent. The original target proposal was 95 per cent in 2015.

Ms Mitchell added: The UK government needs to act. Its upcoming National Cancer Plan for England must include a new commitment to diagnose cancers earlier, and a pledge to meet all cancer wait time targets by the end of this parliament, including the increased FDS target.

An NHS spokesperson said: The NHS is seeing and treating more patients than ever before - with survival rates at an all-time high - and we know that prompt diagnosis and treatment are crucial. Thats why were making our diagnostic targets more ambitious, are rolling out lung and liver scanning trucks, and introducing at-home tests to help catch more cases earlier.

The Department of Health and Social Care will ask the NHS to meet a target of 80 per cent from March 2026.

A Department of Health spokesperson said: We know there is more to do and we are shining a light on disparities that have gripped our health service for too long.

The National Cancer Plan will set out how we will put the NHS back at the forefront of global cancer care, as we continue to harness the very latest innovations, to give patients the most cutting-edge care. Our Plan for Change is already making an impact, with 148,000 more people having cancer diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days from July 2024 to June 2025 compared to a year earlier.
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The Duke of Sussex has had tea with King Charles at Clarence House, in what was their first meeting for 19 months.

Prince Harry arrived at the residence on Wednesday in a black Range Rover at 5.20pm, and left after about an hour. He later attended an Invictus Games event in London as part of his four-day visit to the UK.

The duke said of the King: Yes hes great, thank you, as he attended the event in London.

Harry has not seen his father in over a year, and said in a BBC interview in May: I would love a reconciliation with my family.

He said at the time that his father would not speak to him because of the court battle over his security arrangements, and that he did not know how much longer my father has.

The King, who has been receiving cancer treatment since early 2024, travelled down from his Balmoral home where he has been spending his summer break.

His son visited the Centre for Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London, an institution he has close connections with, earlier on Wednesday, as part of his visit from California, where he lives with his wife Meghan and their two children.

open image in gallery Harry leaves Clarence House on Wednesday evening ( AFP/Getty )

The duke has been carrying out a string of events since Monday. He began his stay by leaving flowers at the final resting place of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II to mark the third anniversary of her death.

Just seven miles down the road from the Queens burial site in St Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle, Harrys estranged brother the Prince of Wales remembered the late Queen at the National Federation of Womens Institutes in Sunningdale, Berkshire.

Harrys visit has reignited commentary about the state of his relationship with senior members of the royal family.

He stepped down from the working monarchy in 2020, and has levelled a barrage of accusations at the King, the late Queen, Prince William and the Princess of Wales in his Oprah interview, his Netflix documentary, interviews and his autobiography Spare, since moving to the United States.

open image in gallery Prince Harry visits the Centre for Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London ( AP )

While he appears set to reunite with his father, there seems to be no prospect of the duke reuniting with Prince William, who travelled to Cardiff on Wednesday to learn about a pioneering mental health hub on World Suicide Prevention Day.

In February last year, Harry made a dash across the Atlantic from his home in California to see his father following the Kings cancer diagnosis, in a move that showed that both sides were willing to put their strained relationship on hold for the sake of family relations.

The duke spent approximately 45 minutes with his father before the King flew to his Sandringham country estate to recuperate following his treatment.

Royal watchers will be waiting to see if Harry keeps quiet and refrains from publicly discussing his reunion with the King, and, on the other side, whether any briefings emerge from the palace.

open image in gallery King Charles was diagnosed with cancer in early 2024 ( AFP/Getty )

Prince Harrys communications team, headed by Los Angeles-based Meredith Maines, was pictured in July with Tobyn Andreae, the Kings press representative, on the balcony of a private members club in London  a moment described by The Mail on Sunday as the secret Harry peace summit.

This was believed to be an initial step towards opening channels of communication between the two households after Prince Harrys court battle over security came to an end. His court case proved to be an impediment to resolving relations with his father, as it involved Harry criticising the Kings government in the courts. But after the case came to an end, he told the BBC: It would be nice to have that reconciliation part now. If they dont want that, thats entirely up to them.

open image in gallery The Prince arrives at Clarence House on Wednesday afternoon ( Getty )

The Duke of Sussex appeared to be all smiles as he arrived at the Centre for Blast Injury Studies in White City, west London.

He was pictured with former army captain Dr David Henson, who served as Team GB captain for the inaugural Invictus Games, an initiative founded by the duke for wounded veterans.

Dr Henson lost both his legs above the knee after standing on an improvised explosive device in 2011 while clearing a compound in Afghanistan. He went on to gain a PhD in amputee biomechanics at Imperial.

Harry opened the Centre for Blast Injury Studies in 2013. Imperials new centre was launched a few years ago on its White City campus.
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The Duke of Sussex was reunited with the King for their first face-to-face meeting in more than a year and a half.

Prince Harry arrived at the residence on Wednesday in a black Range Rover at 5.20pm for a private tea, leaving after about an hour to attend an Invictus Games event in London.

It is the dukes first visit to the UK in five months, when he attended a hearing for his court battle against the Home Office about changes to his state-funded security.

After losing the legal challenge, the full extent of Harrys rift with his family was pulled into the spotlight as he told the BBC his father was not speaking to him.

open image in gallery The duke has also not seen his estranged brother, the Prince of Wales, during his visit to the country ( Getty )

The duke has also not seen his estranged brother, the Prince of Wales, during his visit to the country. There are no expected plans for the pair to meet, with their relationship having turned sour in recent years.

He has also been engaged in a series of legal battles against the UK press, securing a victory over the publishers of The Daily Mirror and, more recently, an apology and settlement from the publishers of The Sun.

But have father and son finally made amends? Here is a look at Prince Harrys relationship with his family throughout the years, and how the rift developed.

Childhood

William and Harry were thought to be close when they were growing up, sharing a close-knit friendship circle and going to the same school.

But in more recent interviews, the duke has shared glimpses of more challenging aspects of their sibling relationship.

open image in gallery Princes Harry and William on Harrys first day at Wetherby School ( PA Wire )

In a 2023 interview, Harry said he was hurt by a request from William to act as if they didnt know each other when he started at Eton.

Hes also spoken about the different ways the brothers responded to the death of their mother, Princess Diana, at such a young age.

Likewise, the dukes relationship with his father seemed largely positive. However, in his memoir, Harry disclosed it was Charles who first bestowed the nickname spare upon him, which the book is named after.

open image in gallery Charles poses with his sons during the royal familys ski break in 2005 in Switzerland ( Getty )

2003 to 2016

Once Harry left school, his relationship with his family continued to appear positive, and he was thought to have got along well with the now Princess of Wales after she and William met in 2001.

In 2011, Harry served as Williams best man at his wedding, where he was seen on broadcast telling his brother that Kate looked beautiful as she walked down the aisle.

open image in gallery Prince William and Kate Middleton married in 2011 ( PA )

However, in Spare, Harry claims this was a bare-faced lie and claimed he was made to act out the role at the royal wedding to spare scrutiny into the lives of his brothers two closest friends.

The trio were often seen at royal engagements together, including the Olympics and Trooping of the Colour and launched their Heads Together charity in 2016.

Charles was also supportive of his sons ventures. He and William attended the first Invictus Games in 2014, an initiative still at the forefront of Harrys work.

open image in gallery Prince William with his then-girlfriend Kate Middleton and Prince Harry watching rugby in 2007 ( AP )

open image in gallery Charles and William attended the first Invictus Games in 2014 ( PA )

2016

In 2016, Harry met Meghan Markle and the pairs relationship was soon picked up by the press.

The media frenzy prompted Harrys press secretary to release a statement denouncing "racial undertones of comment pieces published in the media, and said Meghan had been subjected to a wave of abuse and harassment.

In Spare, Harry claims this made William and Charles furious.

open image in gallery Harry met Meghan Markle in 2016 ( Chris Jackson/Getty Images )

2017

Meghan and Harry announced their engagement.

William, Kate, Harry and Meghan were nicknamed the fab four, however, it was later apparent that tensions were beginning to simmer under the surface.

open image in gallery The pair were married in May 2018, with Prince William also serving as the dukes best man ( WPA Rota )

2018

In Spare, Harry recalled finding Meghan sobbing on the floor in the run-up to their wedding over an argument with Kate about Princess Charlottes bridesmaid dress.

The pair were married in May 2018, with Prince William also serving as the dukes best man.

However, in his book, Harry recounted an argument later that year, claiming Meghan had to tell William to kindly take your finger out of my face.

By late 2018, news of the rift had begun to make its way into the British press.

open image in gallery The four on Christmas day in 2018 ( AP )

2019

Meghan later told Oprah Winfrey that by January 2019, the media coverage had left her feeling suicidal.

In his memoir, Harry also claims he and William got into a physical altercation this year during an argument about Meghan.

open image in gallery Meghan, Kate and Kates sister, Pippa attend Wimbledon in 2019 ( PA Archive )

2020

Harry and Meghan announced they plan to step back as senior royals and become financially independent, and move to California.

In February, the committee that oversees royal security decided Harry would not receive the same level of taxpayer-funded protection as he did when he was a full-time royal.

He then launched legal action against the government over the decision.

2021

Harry and Meghan recorded a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, which included conversations that one family member had "concerns and conversations about how dark [Archies] skin might be when he's born".

open image in gallery The Duke and Duchess of Sussex during their interview with Oprah Winfrey ( PA Media )

2022

Harry and Meghan returned to the UK after the death of Queen Elizabeth. They joined William and Kate on a walkabout.

open image in gallery Harry and Meghan returned to the UK after the death of Queen Elizabeth ( AP )

2023

Harrys ghostwritten memoir Spare was published and became a bestseller. It recounts Harrys grief at the death of his mother when he was 12, his frustrations in his royal role and anger at his father, brother, stepmother and the media, among others.

In May, Harry attended Charless coronation without Meghan.

The duke has also engaged in a series of legal battles against the UK press, having won a landmark court case against the publishers of The Daily Mirror in 2023, which was found to have engaged in extensive phone hacking between 2006 and 2011.

open image in gallery Harrys ghostwritten memoir Spare was published and became a bestseller ( Getty Images )

2024

Following the news of Charless cancer diagnosis, Harry flew to the UK to see his father for a short 30-minute meeting at Clarence House.

2025

Harry attended a two-day appeal hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice for his legal challenge over his security arrangements.

open image in gallery The Duke of Sussex leaves Clarence House in London ( AFP/Getty )

Three Court of Appeal judges dismiss Harrys case. Harry responded in an interview, saying the decision means he cant bring his wife and children to his home country.

He also said he wants reconciliation with his family, adding: Theres no point in continuing to fight anymore.

In September, Harry returned to the UK for a four-day visit. He met with his father at Clarence House, suggesting his frosty relationship with the King has thawed.
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Prince Harry has finished his four-day trip to the UK with a visit to a charity set up in memory of his mother, Princess Diana.

The Duke of Sussex visited the Diana Award in central London on Thursday morning to hear from young people about how social action has positively impacted their mental health.

It was his final engagement of his stay in the UK, which took place the day after reuniting with his father, King Charles.

The duke spent around an hour speaking to young changemakers and listening to a panel discussion with the charity, founded in memory of his mother, before departing at 11.18am.

open image in gallery Harry talked about the boost activism offers to the mental health of young people at a panel discussion put on by the Diana Award ( PA Wire )

Harry said in a statement: My mother believed in the power and agency of young people to positively impact the world.

The Diana Award continues her legacy by putting young people at the heart of everything they do.

Today is a perfect example of that. My message to everyone is dont stand still, dont stay silent  make them hear you because you speak for the majority.

He is now expected to head to the airport and fly home to California to be with his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

The Duke of Sussex's spokesperson suggested the UK visit had gone well: "He's obviously loved being back in the UK, catching up with old friends, colleagues and just generally being able to support the incredible work of the causes that mean so much to him."

It is the dukes first visit to the UK in five months, when he attended a hearing for his court battle against the Home Office about changes to his state-funded security.

open image in gallery The Duke of Sussex hugs Colleen Harris, a trustee of the king Charles III charitable fund ( Aaron Chown/PA Wire )

After speculation, he reunited with the King for their first face-to-face meeting in more than a year and a half on Wednesday evening.

He arrived at the residence on Wednesday in a black Range Rover at 5.20pm for a private tea, leaving after about an hour to attend an Invictus Games event in London.

It comes after he told the BBC in an interview after losing his battle against the Home Office that his father was not speaking to him, but said he wanted reconciliation with his family.

However, he did not see his estranged brother, the Prince of Wales, during the trip, with their long-standing rift appearing to show no signs of healing.

open image in gallery He arrived at the residence on Wednesday in a black Range Rover at 5.20pm for a private tea, leaving after about an hour to attend an Invictus Games event in London ( AFP/Getty )

Although the Diana Award is notably still supported by both Harry and William in memory of their mother, the dukes last engagement remained a solo one.

The duke has been carrying out a string of events since Monday. He began his stay by leaving flowers at the final resting place of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, to mark the third anniversary of her death.

Just seven miles down the road from the Queens burial site in St Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle, Prince William remembered the late Queen at the National Federation of Womens Institutes in Sunningdale, Berkshire.
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A government watchdog has warned of an insider threat of students hacking their own school systems after a rise in cyber attacks.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) revealed a worrying pattern revealing that that pupils themselves are responsible for over half of school insider cyber attacks.

It said that while these attacks may begin as a bit of fun in school, they can cause real damage and warns that this could have consequences for young people, setting them up for a life of cyber crime.

The ICO analysed 215 personal data breach reports caused by insider attacks in the education sector between January 2022 and 2024.

It found that 57 per cent of incidents were caused by students and almost a third of insider attacks were caused by students guessing weak passwords or finding them jotted down on bits of paper.

The ICO said this meant teen hackers are not breaking in, they are logging in.

open image in gallery The ICO analysed 215 personal data breach reports caused by insider attacks in the education sector between January 2022 and 2024 ( Getty/iStock )

Heather Toomey, principal cyber specialist, said: Whilst education settings are experiencing large numbers of cyber attacks, there is still growing evidence that insider threat is poorly understood, largely unremedied and can lead to future risk of harm and criminality.

What starts out as a dare, a challenge, a bit of fun in a school setting can ultimately lead to children taking part in damaging attacks on organisations or critical infrastructure.

Its important that we understand the next generations interests and motivations in the online world to ensure children remain on the right side of the law and progress into rewarding careers in a sector in constant need of specialists.

Schools are facing an increasing number of cyber attacks. According the government's Cyber Security Breaches Survey, 60 per cent of secondary schools and 44 per cent of primary schools identified breaches or attacks.

An example given by the ICO detailed how three Year 11 students accessed a secondary schools information management system, which holds personal information of more than 1,400 students.

open image in gallery 23 per cent of the incidents were caused by poor data protection practices such as devices being left unattended, students being allowed to use staff devices or staff accessing or using data without a legitimate need ( Getty Images )

The students said they wanted to test their skills and knowledge and used tools downloaded to break passwords and security protocols.

Another case saw a student using a staff login to access a a colleges information management system. The system stored personal information belonging to more than 9,000 staff, students and applicants such as name and home address, school records, health data, safeguarding and pastoral logs and emergency contacts.

Further analysis of the 215 incidents found that 23 per cent of the incidents were caused by poor data protection practices such as devices being left unattended, students being allowed to use staff devices or staff accessing or using data without a legitimate need.

20 per cent of incidents were caused by staff sending data to personal devices and 17 per cent were caused by incorrect set up or access rights to systems such as SharePoint.

Only 5 per cent of incidents were identified as insiders using sophisticated techniques to bypass security and network controls.
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Tube drivers in London earn more than resident doctors, The Independent can reveal, as strike action brings services to a halt in London in a dispute over pay.

Salaries for fully qualified Transport for London (TfL) drivers start at around 71,000 in the nations capital  matched only by their counterparts in Denmark  and they are paid more than drivers in Japan, France, and Germany.

London Underground (LU) services are suspended this week, as Tube drivers and other LU staff began a five-day strike on Sunday over pay and working conditions, causing travel misery for commuters.

The RMT (rail, maritime and transport) union has rejected a 3.4 per cent pay rise offer made by TfL and is asking for a 32-hour working week  or four days  down from 35 hours.

Nick Dent, London Undergrounds director of customer operations, said union demands for a cut in the 35-hour week were simply unaffordable and would cost hundreds of millions of pounds.

Economists have also voiced concern that the union action could deliver a 230m blow to the capitals economy, with small businesses hardest hit.

Most of London Underground services are suspended due to a five-day strike action by members of the RMT ( AFP via Getty )

RMT warned that fatigue and understaffing are a dangerous mix, sharing in a post on X (Twitter): The Tube is operating with 2,000 fewer staff than before the pandemic so our members are working more extreme shifts (4 am starts, 1 am finishes) to keep London moving.

A Transport for London spokesperson has responded: The RMTs claim that fatigue is being driven by 2,000 fewer people on London Underground (LU) is completely untrue. It is a wilful misrepresentation to suggest that numbers have reduced by that level. The vast majority of those 2,000 have merely been restructured into TfL divisions - for example, TfL Engineering - rather than London Underground divisions.

The actual reduction in LU roles is just over 200 compared to March 2019 and that is more than made up for by new roles elsewhere - for example, on the Elizabeth line. So, there are actually more, not fewer, staff working on TfL services than before the pandemic.

Strikes are expected to continue on every London Underground line until Thursday 11 September. The DLR will also be disrupted by a strike on 9 and 11 September.

Underground lines affected are: Bakerloo, Central, Circle, District, Hammersmith & City, Jubilee, Metropolitan, Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria and Waterloo & City.

The Overground, Elizabeth line, buses, trams and National Rail services will continue to operate as usual, but as a result have been more overcrowded.

How much are Tube drivers paid by TfL?

According to the TfL, the average Tube driver has a starting salary of 71,160.

Station staff, who are also striking, start on 35,270 and within a few months can qualify for a salary of 44,140.

Tube drivers do not require prior qualifications other than GCSEs in Maths and English grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent.

They must then undergo training, which can last from six months to two years, after completing a number of assessments, medical checks, and interviews to be accepted onto the scheme.

Tube drivers have some of the highest-paid starting salaries in the public sector.

Resident doctors, previously known as junior doctors, start on between 38,831 and 44,439, according to the latest NHS figures  nearly half (53 per cent) of the starting salary of a qualified Tube driver.

A doctor starting specialist training will earn between 52,656 and 73,992. This is on par with the starting salary for Tube drivers, despite doctors having to complete several more years of training.

Teachers in England and Wales can earn between 31,650 and 49,084, according to jobs site Prospects, while salaries can go up to around 60,000 for more senior teachers and headmasters in London.

In comparison, social workers earn between 32,000 and 48,000, while refuse collectors have a salary range of 24,000 and 30,000, as listed on the gov.uk national careers website.

In comparison, the starting salary for train drivers in the UK is much higher than that of their European counterparts, according to data collected by global research company Salary Expert.

A Metro driver in France is likely to earn an average of 50,409 (43,674), whilst in Germany the average income of a U-Bahn driver is 71,217 (61,563).

In the United States, the average pay for a subway driver is $79,541 (58,589), whereas in Canada, it can average $88,364 (47,191).

In Japan, which boasts one of the fastest and most efficient public transport systems in the world, a train driver in Tokyo could earn an average of around 9m (45k).

London Tube drivers salaries are only matched by workers in Denmark (71,927), where pay is generally higher than in the UK.

Claire Mann, TfLs chief operating officer, said: We are bitterly disappointed that the RMT has chosen to go ahead with this action despite our fair, affordable pay offer.

We have been clear that their demand for a reduction in the working week is unaffordable and impractical, and we urge them to put our offer to their members.
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Nigel Farage is facing mounting questions about his 885,000 constituency home after an investigation called into question how the property was paid for.

The Reform UK leader has denied avoiding more than 44,000 of stamp duty on the four-bedroom house in Clacton, which includes a heated swimming pool, after it emerged it had in fact been purchased by his partner.

Mr Farage said his partner, Laure Ferrari, had paid for the home with her own funds, and was able to do so as she comes from a wealthy French family.

But a BBC investigation cast doubt on the claim, suggesting that her parents do not have the means to have made a significant contribution towards the purchase.

If Mr Farage had given Ms Ferrari the money to purchase the house, he would not have done anything illegal. But it would raise questions of hypocrisy, given that the Reform leader criticised Angela Rayner for her own failure to pay enough stamp duty when purchasing a flat in Hove  something she eventually resigned over.

Farage says his partner, Laure Ferrari, was able to purchase the Clacton home as she comes from a wealthy French family ( PA )

I havent lent money to anybody. I didnt give her money, he told the Mirror.

She comes from a very successful French family and she can afford it herself. Its convenient, it works, and she loves it there.

Labour Party chair Anna Turley said: There are now far too many unanswered questions about the house he stays in while in Clacton. He must urgently come clean with the public as to whether he financially contributed towards the purchase of this property.

Misleading the public for political gain about buying a constituency home is appalling in itself. But if he deliberately put in place this arrangement to avoid paying his fair share of tax, that would be even worse.

Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokesperson Sarah Olney said: Nigel Farage has serious questions to answer over this. After spending days attacking others over their tax arrangements, he now needs to be frank and honest about his own.

The Clacton house was purchased last November amid questions about how much time Mr Farage was spending in his constituency. Days before, he told Sky News: Ive just exchanged contracts on the house that Ill be living in there  is that good enough?  Ive bought a house in Clacton. What more do you want me to do?

He has since admitted he was wrong to say he had bought the house, as it is owned by his partner.

Mr Farage reportedly owns four properties, including three in Kent and one in Surrey, meaning he would have paid a higher rate of stamp duty if he purchased the Clacton home.

The BBCs investigation cast doubt on Ms Ferraris wealth, reporting that her father ran a haulage business in Strasbourg for many years, but the company was liquidated in 2020 and had more assets than liabilities at the time.

The flat her parents live in, in a suburb of the northeastern city, is reportedly worth around 300,000.

A consultancy set up by Ms Ferrari, meanwhile, has just 1,000 in assets, according to its latest set of accounts.

A spokesperson for Mr Farage said: Laure Ferrari is the sole legal and beneficial owner of the property.

It belongs solely to Laure and was purchased with funds which belong to her. All taxes were properly paid. Nigel has no financial interest in the property whatsoever.
Celebrated birthday boy and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein knew everyone  presidents, prime ministers, financiers, businessmen, Nobel prize winners, Hollywood stars, and, of course, royalty. Not bad for someone who started out as a maths teacher from Coney Island. The trajectory from high school tutor to Wall Street financier with powerful connections could have been a classic American dream, rags-to-riches story  if it werent for the sinister side to it.

After dropping out of college twice, Epstein secured a teaching post at Manhattans prestigious Dalton School, where Rupert Murdochs daughter, Prudence, was a pupil. In a report for The New York Times, former students described Epstein as a charismatic young teacher who at times acted more like a friend than an authority figure. However, after Epsteins behaviour toward some female students was considered creepy and inappropriate, he was asked to leave.

But he had already left an impression on some of the most influential parents at the school, one being Alan Greenberg, one of Wall Streets most powerful investment bankers at the time. This connection would prove pivotal and set the course for Epsteins eventual access to some of the most powerful people in the world.

Greenberg was the CEO of Bear Stearns and recommended Epstein for a role at the bank. As an options trader, Epstein rose quickly through the ranks, handling multimillion-dollar clients. Charming and comfortable taking risks, he developed a reputation for moving money internationally for clients complex needs. Soon, he became the toast of lower Manhattan, riding around in a chauffeur-driven limo with a beautiful woman on each arm.

open image in gallery Jeffrey Epstein as a younger man, from the birthday card released by the House Oversight Committee ( House Oversight Committee )

Real estate developer Donald Trump was also prominent on the scene at the time. In 1976, The New York Times described Trump: He is tall, lean and blond, with dazzling white teeth, and he looks ever so much like Robert Redford. He rides around town in a chauffeured silver Cadillac with his initials, DJT [for Donald John Trump], on the plates. He dates slinky fashion models, belongs to the most elegant clubs, and, at only 30 years of age, estimates that he is worth more than $200m. In a 2002 New York Magazine profile of Epstein, Trump said: Ive known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. Hes a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it  Jeffrey enjoys his social life.

No one really knows how Epstein made his immense fortune (at the time of his death in August 2019, he was estimated to be worth approximately $560m to $600m). When he set up his own firm in 1981, his pitch was unusual: he claimed to only take clients with at least $1bn in assets and to handle sensitive financial matters discreetly. He took on controversial clients, such as Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, who had high-level political connections, including links to the CIA. Epstein often boasted of his own intelligence ties, claiming he had worked as an agent or provided consulting for powerful governments.

Epstein was also involved in laundering money and, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, worked for the Tower Financial Corporation, which turned out to be a Ponzi scheme. His boss, Steven Hoffenberg, was sentenced to 20 years, fined $1m, and ordered to pay back $463m. Mysteriously, Epstein was not indicted and walked away with millions. Was someone already protecting him?

open image in gallery Peter Mandelson and unidentified people in a photograph included in Mandelsons birthday message to the billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein, alongside text reading leaving you with some interesting friends to entertain instead ( House Oversight Committee )

Throughout these dealings, Epstein maintained one legitimate client: Leslie Wexner, founder and CEO of the company that owned lingerie empire Victorias Secret. They became close friends. In 1989, Wexner gave Epstein a townhouse on East 71st Street, which he had completely renovated. The following year, Epstein bought a house in West Palm Beach, near Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump later claimed he fell out with Epstein when he stole young women who worked there, including Virginia Roberts (later Giuffre).

Mossad agent Ari Ben-Menashe, alleged handler of the late British media tycoon Robert Maxwell, said of Epstein: Maxwell introduced him to us, and he wanted us to accept him as part of our group. Ben-Menashe added that Epstein had met Ghislaine Maxwell through her father, and they began dating. There has been speculation that the young couple was then recruited by Israeli intelligence.

After Robert Maxwell died in 1991, Ghislaine moved to New York, where she had an on-off relationship with Epstein and helped him throw lavish dinner parties with guest lists reading like a whos who of the rich and famous. While Epstein was socially shy, Ghislaine was crucial in introducing him to everyone who was anyone, including Prince Andrew. The three were seen at Ascot, and Epstein was invited to parties at Windsor Castle and Sandringham. In 2002, Prince Andrew gave Maxwell and actor Kevin Spacey a private tour of Buckingham Palace, where they sat on the coronation thrones.

It was also Ghislaine who put together a 238-page birthday book, which has now been subpoenaed by the US House Oversight Committee and revealed the reach of Epsteins elite social circle and the depth of his friendships.

open image in gallery Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein pose for a photo while on a date in 1991. The photo appears in the prologue to Epsteins birthday book ( House Oversight Committee )

Contributors included Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, and the UK ambassador to Washington, Lord Peter Mandelson. Mandelson expressed love for Epstein in his submission, calling him his best pal and joking about entertaining his interesting friends  something he says he is deeply embarrassed about today. Trumps contribution was a sketch of a womans naked body, inscribed: Happy Birthday  and may every day be another wonderful secret.

While the White House has denied that the alleged letter from Trump is authentic, other contributors included billionaire American financier Leon Black, who recast Epstein as Ernest Hemingways Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea  except instead of catching fish, he caught women. Epsteins 22-year-old assistant thanked him for introducing her to Prince Andrew, adding that she had seen the private quarters of Buckingham Palace and sat on the Queen of Englands throne. Les Wexner drew a pair of womens breasts, saying: I wanted to get you what you want. Harvard professor Henry Rosovsky provided a tit print. One hand-coloured drawing showed a grinning Epstein giving three little girls balloons and a lollipop. Another depicted a nude Epstein being massaged by four topless young blondes, one with JE in a heart shape on her buttocks.

The scrapbook was prepared by Ghislaine Maxwell as a gift for Epsteins 50th birthday, and many say they shouldnt be seen as guilty by association, it is clear that Epsteins insatiable sexual appetite was seen as something funny and to joke casually about. It is also the case that being accepted by such an elite group of powerful figures would have given Epstein an important sheen of respectability, making him feel untouchable and giving him access to untold resources when he needed them most.

When the Palm Beach police began investigating the sexual abuse of a minor in 2005, Epstein was defended by Ken Starr, a prominent American lawyer best known as the independent counsel who led the investigation resulting in the then president Bill Clintons impeachment. Starr negotiated Epsteins highly favourable federal sweetheart deal, which saw Epstein serve only 18 months. Even after his conviction, Epstein remained entrenched in elite circles. After his 2009 release, he held a dinner at his New York mansion attended by Woody Allen and Prince Andrew.

open image in gallery Prince Andrew, Virginia Giuffre, and Ghislaine Maxwell, taken in 2001 ( US Department of Justice )

Many in his orbit claimed they knew nothing of his abuse, saying they were friends with him before his conviction. Speaking to The Sun, Lord Mandelson said of his birthday notes to Epstein: I find them very embarrassing to see and to read  I just feel two things now. One, a tremendous sense of sympathy for those people, those women, who suffered as a result of his behaviour and his illegal criminal activities. And secondly, I regret very, very deeply indeed carrying on that association with him for far longer than I should have done. It was a matter of years after I initially met him, and I regret very much that I fell for his lies.

In fresh revelations on Wednesday evening, leaked emails seen by The Sun saw the Labour grandee write to Epstein in June 2008: Your friends stay with you and love you.

While this looks like a catastrophic error of judgement from Mandelson, the question remains: did Epstein use these vast networks of privilege as a shield, giving him a sheen of prestige and legitimacy that helped him hide in plain sight for many years? Did mixing in high circles help him avoid scrutiny and avoid accountability for crimes, including soliciting prostitution from a minor and, at the time of his death, federal sex-trafficking charges?

This is a scandal that goes beyond any individual guilt by association and challenges public faith in institutions  from finance to politics and royalty. Epsteins birthday scrapbook illustrates how closely he was embedded in so-called respectable society. These friendships, spanning continents, boardrooms, and governments, show just how small those worlds are. It is no surprise their exposure is now fuelling anti-government rhetoric about conspiracies of silence and cover-ups.

When Epstein was found dead in his New York prison cell in 2019, conspiracists were quick to claim it was murder, not suicide, as the post-mortem claimed. Years on, there are now huge swathes of people who believe he died because powerful people wanted him silenced before he could implicate them.

Trump has already felt the heat among his own Maga ranks, who are now calling for him to release the Epstein files in their entirety. While Trump claims his letter is fake and is suing The Wall Street Journal and its proprietor Rupert Murdoch for $10m over first suggesting its existence, for many it all smacks of deep-state conspiracy, part of the swamp Trump promised to drain.

Jeffrey Epstein may have died, six years ago, but his ghost still walks the earth. It came back to haunt Mandelson in February when he was preparing for his role as US ambassador and was asked about his past relationship with the convicted sex offender. That exchange ended with Mandelson telling a reporter from the Financial Times to f*** off. He has been unable to swat away this latest scandal away quite so easily.

While Sir Keir Starmer insisted he has confidence in Lord Mandelson at PMQs, in light of the additional information in emails written by Peter Mandelson, the Prime Minister asked the Foreign Secretary to withdraw him as ambassador on Thursday morning. Few believe that this latest furore will be the last when it comes to Epsteins friendships with people in high places. Its a strange inversion of Banquos ghost. While everyone else can see it, Donald and his high-placed pals somehow cant. And next month, the spectre of Virginia Giuffre returns with her posthumous autobiography Nobodys Girl. Enjoy the haunting.

Nigel Cawthorne is the author of Prince Andrew: Epstein, Maxwell and the Palace
OpenAI to Launch AI-Powered Jobs Platform

OpenAI announced it will launch an AI-powered hiring platform by mid-2026, directly competing with LinkedIn and Indeed in the professional networking and recruitment space. The company announced the initiative alongside an expanded certification program designed to verify AI skills for job seekers.

The OpenAI Jobs Platform will use artificial intelligence algorithms to match candidates with employers based on demonstrated AI competencies rather than traditional resume keywords. The platform targets businesses seeking workers proficient in automation, prompt engineering, and AI implementation across various industries.

OpenAI is collaborating with major employers, including Walmart and Boston Consulting Group, to develop the platform's functionality. Walmart, the largest private employer in the United States with 1.6 million workers, will initially provide free certification access to all US employees.

The Texas Association of Business plans to use the platform to connect local employers with candidates capable of supporting IT modernization projects, according to OpenAI's announcement.

The company is expanding its OpenAI Academy, a free learning platform that has reached over two million users, to offer formal AI certifications. The program will cover skills ranging from basic workplace AI applications to advanced prompt engineering techniques.

Training and certification testing will occur within ChatGPT's Study Mode, allowing candidates to prepare and complete credentials without leaving the application. OpenAI aims to certify 10 million Americans by 2030.



The initiative positions OpenAI against established players in the professional networking market. LinkedIn maintains over one billion members globally, while Indeed processes 27 hires per minute with 615 million registered job seekers.

The platform also competes with LinkedIn Learning's educational offerings, potentially creating tension with Microsoft, OpenAI's primary investor, with a reported $13 billion stake. Microsoft has previously identified OpenAI as a competitor in specific business segments despite their partnership.

Labor market data support OpenAI's focus on AI competencies. Research by Lightcast analyzing over one billion job postings found that positions requiring AI skills offer salaries averaging 28% higher than comparable roles without such requirements. Jobs demanding multiple AI skills command premiums up to 43% above standard compensation levels.

The demand spans industries as companies integrate artificial intelligence into operations for task automation, data analysis, and product development. Employers increasingly seek workers capable of practical AI application rather than advanced technical programming skills.

The platform will allow employers to describe requirements in natural language, with AI systems identifying candidates who demonstrate relevant capabilities through portfolio work and practical experience. This approach differs from traditional keyword-based matching systems used by existing job platforms.

OpenAI's system aims to surface candidates based on actual project experience and demonstrated competencies rather than resume optimization techniques commonly used on current platforms, the company said.
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Sir Keir Starmer has "condemned" Israel's air strikes in Qatar as completely unacceptable, adding they do nothing to secure peace, as he met the countrys president Isaac Herzog in Downing Street.

Israel killed at least six people, including a member of Qatars internal security forces and five Hamas figures after it launched an unprecedented air raid on Doha on Tuesday.

The meeting at Number 10 saw Mr Herzog argue with the Sir Keir over UK plans to recognise a Palestinian state and concerns over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

A Downing Street spokesperson said Sir Keir had "condemned Israel's action in Doha yesterday as completely unacceptable. He said the strikes were a flagrant violation of a key partner's sovereignty and do nothing to secure the peace we all desperately want to see".

"Turning to Gaza, he reiterated his huge concern and implored Israel to change course. They must stop the man-made famine from worsening further by letting aid in and halting their offensive operations, he added."

open image in gallery Sir Keir Starmer met Isaac Herzog at 10 Downing Street (James Manning/PA) ( PA Wire )

The spokesperson added that both leaders "agreed that the hostages who were cruelly ripped by Hamas from their families nearly two years ago must be released" while Sir Keir offered his condolences for the terrorist attack in Jerusalem on Monday.

Sir Keir concluded by saying the UK and Israel were "long-standing allies", and he would "continue his work to secure an enduring peace and a better future for the Israeli and Palestinian people alike".

Speaking at an event hosted by the Chatham House think tank, Mr Herzog said he had offered a fact-finding mission coming to Israel, sitting with us and studying the situation in Gaza on the humanitarian level, adding that Israel have full answers and we are fully transparent.

Mr Herzog also defended Israels attack on Qatar, claiming that Israel did want a ceasefire with Hamas but arguing it was necessary to remove some of the people if they are not willing to get that deal.

The Israeli president added that the pair had argued out of respect, he noted there were things we agreed upon, such as the threat from Iran and the need to end Hamass control of Gaza.

open image in gallery Isaac Herzog defended Israels bombing of Hamas leaders in Qatar on Tuesday, saying it was necessary to remove people who did not want a ceasefire. (UGC via AP) ( AP )

Israel has faced international condemnation following its strike on Qatar - and more widely for its intensified attacks on Gaza - which has led to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announcing plans to seek sanctions and a partial trade suspension against Israel over its military campaign in Gaza.

Hamas confirmed on Tuesday that five of its members died, including Hammam, the son of exiled leader Khalil al-Hayya and Jihad Labad, the director of al-Hayyas office, the remaining three were listed as companions. The militant group said Israel failed to kill anyone in the negotiating team.

The Qatari interior ministry later said a member of its internal security service - Corporal Badr al-Dosari - was killed in the strike and a number of others were injured.

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres condemned the bombing, saying "all parties must work towards achieving a permanent ceasefire, not destroying it."
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Lord Mandelson asked Jeffrey Epstein for help vetting an Israeli adviser, despite having claimed he never had a professional relationship with the paedophile, it has emerged.

Britains ambassador to the US messaged the notorious sex offender to ask about a consultant in September 2013, according to reports, five years after he pleaded guilty in Florida to the solicitation of a minor.

Leaked emails reveal Epstein forwarded the message to former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak.

open image in gallery There have been calls for Lord Mandelson to be sacked (PA) ( PA Wire )

Can you ask Ehud whether he knows/thinks of this Israeli guy living in London, Mandelson wrote, asking about an Israeli political consultant called Asaf Eisin. The email, seen by The Times, added: He says he worked on political campaigns for Ehud. Thanks. Peter.

The email was signed off in his role as chairman of Global Counsel, the lobbying firm he co-founded, and he did not hold a formal role in British politics at the time.

It comes after it emerged he gave Epstein advice, including to push for early release, as he faced child sex offences.

The prime minister is facing increasing demands to sack his controversial pick to lead the UKs diplomatic efforts in the US, after fresh details emerged of the now Lord Mandelsons previous close friendship with the disgraced former banker.

In fresh revelations on Wednesday evening, leaked emails seen by The Sun saw the Labour grandee write to Epstein in June 2008: Your friends stay with you and love you.

And before the disgraced businessman was sentenced to 18 months in prison, Lord Mandelson urged: Fight for early release.

In one message, the Labour grandee wrote: I think the world of you and I feel hopeless and furious about what has happened.

"I can still barely understand it. It just could not happen in Britain. You have to be incredibly resilient, fight for early release and be philosophical about it as much as you can."

It continued: Everything can be turned into an opportunity and that you will come through it and be stronger for it.

open image in gallery Peter Mandelson (left) speaks with Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson appears to have called Epstein as his 'best pal' in a birthday note ( House Oversight Committee )

"The whole thing has been years of torture and now you have to show the world how big a person you are, and how strong.

A separate email showed the now UK ambassador to the US offering strategic advice, quoting ancient Chinese general Sun Tzu.

He said: "Reminder. You are fighting back so you need strategy, strategy, strategy. Remember the Art of War."

When The Sun approached Lord Mandelson for comment, the paper reported that he did not deny the messages were sent but instead reiterated his apology over his links with the convicted paedophile. And he told the BBC he relied on assurances of [Epsteins] innocence that turned out later to be horrendously false.

On Wednesday morning, Britains ambassador to Washington said he was very embarrassed to read a birthday message he wrote to Epstein in which he described him as his best pal.

The messages, part of a 50th birthday book compiled for Epstein by convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, also saw Lord Mandelson express love for the financier and joke about entertaining his interesting friends.

While Lord Mandelson has insisted he regrets ever meeting Epstein, an investigation by The Daily Telegraph has detailed a two-decade friendship between the pair, which lasted even after Epstein was jailed for a child sex offence in 2008.

open image in gallery Keir Starmer has backed Mandelson ( PA )

The newspaper reported that Epstein advised Mr Mandelson and senior JPMorgan executive Jes Staley on the banks purchase of Sempra Commodities, a joint venture between the publicly owned Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Sempra Energy, only months after Epstein was released from prison.

Speaking to The Suns Harry Cole on his YouTube channel after the controversial birthday message to the convicted paedophile was revealed, Lord Mandelson said: I find them very embarrassing to see and to read but, as you say, they were written before he was indicted.

I just feel two things now. One, I feel a tremendous sense, a profound sense of sympathy for those people, those women, who suffered as a result of his behaviour and his illegal criminal activities.

And secondly, I regret very, very deeply indeed, carrying on that association with him for far longer than I should have done.

It was a matter of years after I initially met him, and I regret very much that I fell for his lies.

Lord Mandelson went on to say that perhaps because I am a gay man, he may have been blinded to Epsteins criminal behaviour.

But, asked whether there were more revelations to come about the relationship, Lord Mandelson said: I have no doubt at all that theres a lot of traffic, correspondence, exchanges between us  absolutely. And we know those are going to surface.

We know theyre going to come out. We know theyre going to be very embarrassing, and they know that Im going to profoundly regret ever having met him and been introduced to him in the first place.

Despite the revelations, Sir Keir Starmer given Lord Mandelson his full backing, insisting: I have confidence in him  he is doing an important job.

But there are now growing calls for the prime minister to sack him, with angry Labour MPs today joining calls for him to go.

Breaking ranks, Labour deputy leadership hopeful Bell Ribeiro-Addy called for an investigation by Sir Keirs ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus, saying: There will be a huge amount of concern, and if the outcome is that he should resign, he should.

Ian Byrne, who had the Labour whip restored in February after being suspended following a vote on the two-child benefit cap, told The Independent: MPs get suspended by the party, like I did, for voting against putting children and disabled people into poverty, but calling the worlds most infamous paedophile and child-trafficker your best pal, amongst other comments, thats OK! It stinks to high heaven.

The Independent has contacted Lord Mandelson for comment.
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Serious concerns have been raised that newly sacked US ambassador Peter Mandelson did not clear security vetting for the role  but the prime minister pushed through his appointment anyway.

Sources have told The Independent that MI6 failed to clear the Labour peer largely because of concerns over his business links to China.

However, there were also worries that his past links to the disgraced financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein would compromise him.

The row has broken out as Sir Keir Starmer faces serious questions about his judgement from his political opponents, but also from Labour MPs after Lord Mandelson became the latest high-profile sacking by the prime minister over issues that should have been detected earlier.

When The Independent put the claims that Sir Keir had pushed through Lord Mandelsons appointment despite not clearing MI6 vetting, a spokesperson said: Vetting done by FCDO in normal way.

Lord Mandelson admitted in his vetting interview for the role of US ambassador that he had continued his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein for many years, according to reports.

Lord Mandelson relayed his regrets in his resignation letter to the UK Embassy: The circumstances surrounding the announcement today are ones which I deeply regret. I continue to feel utterly awful about my association with Epstein 20 years ago and the plight of his victims. James Roscoe has taken over as interim ambassador while Downing Street finds a replacement.

open image in gallery Keir Starmer said he found Peter Mandelsons emails to Jeffrey Epstein reprehensible ( PA )

Lord Mandelsons dramatic sacking came after a string of shocking revelations, including emails appearing to show him offering support for Epstein as he was facing charges of child sex offences.

Announcing his departure, Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty claimed that the emails showed the depth and extent of the pairs relationship was materially different from that known at the time of his appointment, while Sir Keir said he found the emails reprehensible.

Questions were immediately raised about what Sir Keir knew and when, and whether the vetting process for the coveted and powerful government job was robust enough.

Now, further questions are being asked of the prime ministers judgement after it emerged that security services had raised concerns before Lord Mandelson was appointed.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch described the overruling of MI6 warnings to appoint a political ally as unforgivable.

She said: These latest revelations point yet again to the terrible judgement of Keir Starmer and why it is imperative that all documents relating to Peter Mandelsons appointment are released immediately.

If it is true that Starmer or his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney overruled the security services, as has been alleged, they need immediately to explain to the public why they did so.

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel, who had similar security briefings from MI5 as home secretary, said: These are extraordinary revelations. For Keir Starmer and Morgan McSweeney to have appointed Lord Mandelson despite concerns being raised by the security services shows a blatant disregard of all national security considerations and their determination to promote their Labour Party friends.

A former senior cabinet minister told The Independent that any security concerns would have been raised privately between the head of MI6, the foreign secretary and the prime minister.

open image in gallery Donald Trump was uneasy about the appointment because of security concerns over Mandelsons business links with Beijing ( AFP/Getty )

It means that the new deputy prime minister, David Lammy, who was the foreign secretary at the time, would also have been informed about any issues with the appointment.

Added to that Sir Keirs chief of staff Mr McSweeney is also in trouble having personally pushed for Lord Mandelsons appointment in the first place and then, according to sources, tried to prevent his sacking this week.

Asked whether No 10 ignored security concerns reportedly flagged by security services before the appointment, the spokesperson said: No 10 was not involved in the security vetting process. This is managed at departmental level by the agency responsible and any suggestion that No 10 was involved is untrue.

But in an explanation on X (Twitter), former foreign secretary James Cleverly, who made many diplomatic appointments, insisted that all security and other concerns about Lord Mandelson would have been presented to the foreign secretary and prime minister by officials and the security services.

He wrote: They would have reminded Lammy that Mandelson had resigned in disgrace twice before. They would have reminded Lammy that Mandelson had a longstanding relationship with Epstein. They would have reminded Lammy that Mandelson had widespread, complicated, and opaque commercial interests.

I have no doubt that they would have reminded Lammy that he and the PM were importing significant reputational risk if they appointed Mandelson. I have no doubt they would have unambiguously advised Lammy against appointing Mandelson to the post.

And it is now clear that Lammy and Starmer ignored that advice and appointed him anyway.

Lord Mandelson was already a controversial pick for the role, with The Independent revealing that Donald Trump was minded to reject his credentials in January after the inauguration because of security concerns over his business links with Beijing.

At the time, sources close to the US president suggested that he would struggle to share confidential information with the Labour peer because of the perceived problems.

But after a massive diplomatic push, Sir Keir succeeded in getting President Trump to accept Lord Mandelson because he wanted the architect of New Labour, known by many as the Prince of Darkness, to be responsible for the UKs most important diplomatic relationship.

In a letter to embassy staff on Thursday, Lord Mandelson said being ambassador to the US "has been the privilege of my life".

"The circumstances surrounding the announcement today are ones which I deeply regret. I continue to feel utterly awful about my association with Epstein 20 years ago and the plight of his victims.

"I have no alternative to accepting the Prime Minister's decision and will leave a position in which I have been so incredibly honoured to serve.

He added that "we leave the relationship with the US in a really good condition, with a magnificent state visit and the new US-UK Technology Partnership - my personal pride and joy that will help write the next chapter of the special relationship - set for next week".

Now, Labour MPs are publicly and privately questioning Sir Keirs judgement in appointing him.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy, who attempted to run for the deputy leadership contest, said: There were clearly double standards here. Good people were blocked from being candidates for liking the wrong tweets, but Mandelson was appointed despite all his baggage.

The comments echo concerns within the party after a string of embarrassing sackings. Sir Keir last week lost deputy prime minister Angela Rayner for failing to pay 40,000 of stamp duty while she was housing secretary.

Homelessness minister Rushanara Ali lost her job after she made her tenants homeless, while anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq quit after she was investigated for corruption through her familys now-ended autocratic regime in Bangladesh. And former transport secretary, Louise Haigh, resigned over revelations she was prosecuted and found guilty of falsely claiming a mobile phone was stolen from her.

Mr Doughty announced the sacking while answering an urgent question from Tory MP Neil OBrien, who said: The simple question is this: is the minister now saying that the prime minister did not know about any of this at the point where [Lord Mandelson] was appointed? What did the prime minister know at the point of his appointment?

Labour foreign affairs select committee chair Dame Emily Thornberry revealed that MPs had been blocked from questioning Lord Mandelson.

She said: Since the first rumours of his appointment, my committee has repeatedly asked  publicly and privately  to question Peter Mandelson. It is right that he has now been sacked.

The FCDO should not have stopped us from asking questions. The government should welcome such scrutiny.
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Foreign minister Stephen Doughty had barely got back to his seat after dramatically announcing the sacking of Lord Mandelson as Britains ambassador to the US over his ties to the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and my WhatsApp inbox was filling up with messages mostly asking variations on one question:

Why does Keir Starmer have such appalling judgment in making his key appointments?

While the now disgraced Labour peer is off into the wilderness (not for the first time in a long career), the chaos he has left behind is enveloping the prime minister.

After all, this is the second big resignation in about a week, at a time when Sir Keirs umpteenth reset in the shape of a major reshuffle was meant to relaunch his government.

Only last Friday, he lost his deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner  who he appointed as housing secretary  because she had failed to pay 40,000 in stamp duty on her second home.

Now, a mere seven days later, he has lost the man he had tasked to look after the most important relationship in Britains foreign policy  the ambassador who has to charm and deal with Donald Trump in the White House  over alleged (and what Downing Street is insisting is) new information over his relationship with Epstein.

open image in gallery Lord Mandelsons sacking is the latest scandal to hit Sir Keir Starmers government ( PA Archive )

Both went after he had already wasted political capital attempting to defend them at Prime Ministers Questions.

And, unfortunately for a prime minister, whose government is one of the least popular in history and is currently trailing Nigel Farages Reform UK by 10 points in the polls, these were not two isolated examples.

As they say, once is unfortunate, twice coincidental, but thrice a pattern. Actually, in Sir Keirs case, it is now five times.

He has also lost a minister for homelessness, Rushanara Ali, after she made her tenants homeless. Anti-corruption minister, Tulip Siddiq, who is being investigated for corruption through her familys now-ended autocratic regime in Bangladesh. Not to mention losing a transport secretary, Louise Haigh, over revelations she was prosecuted and found guilty of falsely claiming a mobile phone was stolen from her.

This does not include the sacking of a string of officials he appointed out of friendship and loyalty, including former chief of staff Sue Gray, and ex-director of communications Matthew Doyle.

The trouble is that in most of these cases, the excuse of new information does not hold water.

Starmer was close to Siddiq and well aware of her familys activities in Bangladesh and her close support for them. He knew about Haigh pleading guilty, but appeared not to ask any more questions.

And in Mandelsons case, the close and nauseating link with the disgraced financier was the talk of both London and Washington when Sir Keir and his team were desperately trying to persuade Donald Trump not to reject his credentials in January.

Nobody really needed a crystal ball to know that this scandal was at some point going to blow up with or without the publication of the Epstein papers.

open image in gallery Angela Rayner was forced to resign last week over her failure to pay 40,000 in stamp duty ( PA Wire )

It is also not exactly as if Mandelson  known to friends and foes as the Prince of Darkness  is a stranger to scandal. He previously had to resign twice from the government over different financial allegations.

But still, Sir Keir doggedly pursued his chosen nomination as the UKs ambassador to the US and got his way. Now he is paying a heavy political price.

One of the issues here is what critics have described as the fetishisation of Tony Blair-era figures by Starmers right-hand man, chief of staff Morgan McSweeney. They somehow believe that people like Mandelson have almost supernatural powers in getting things done.

In fairness, he was successful in his short stint as ambassador, not least in getting a UK-US trade deal agreed before anyone else to avoid (most) of Mr Trumps tariffs.

But it is likely an alternative could have been found that would not have resulted in such political damage.

For this sacking to have been necessary just days before Mr Trumps state visit to the UK is painful.

But much worse, this is a prime minister whom Labour MPs are openly discussing removing if he has another bad set of elections next May.

He cannot keep making bad judgment calls on people in key positions, or his political troubles will only get worse.
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A Labour MP has hit out at Sir Keir Starmer, saying he doesnt seem up to the job, as the PM scrambled to defend his under-fire chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, amid growing pressure over his involvement in the appointment of Peter Mandelson.

Sir Keir insisted he had confidence in Mr McSweeney following reports he personally pushed for Lord Mandelson, despite concerns over his links with Jeffrey Epstein.

Britains ambassador to the US was dramatically sacked on Thursday amid new revelations about his relationship with the convicted paedophile  raising serious questions about the prime ministers judgement, leading Labour MP Clive Lewis to become the first backbencher to publicly call for the prime minister to go.

It came as claims about Mr McSweeneys involvement raised questions over whether or not he is the right person for the top Downing Street job.

open image in gallery Morgan McSweeney is under fire over reports he backed Peter Mandelsons appointment as ambassador ( PA )

No 10 rowed in behind him on Friday morning, saying, Of course, the prime minister has confidence in his top team.

But former Labour home secretary David Blunkett called on Sir Keir to widen the circle of people around him as he warned the prime minister that politics is a rough ride.

In what will be seen as a reference to Mr McSweeney, who entered Downing Street for the first time with Sir Keir, he said the Labour leader should gather around him people with experience, people who are seasoned politicians, who he can test things with ... Actually counterweighting the younger people, the less experienced people who gather around him.

Mr Lewis, the MP for Norwich South, who is on the left of the party, told BBC Radio 4s Week in Westminster programme: You see a Labour prime minister who feels that hes lost control within the first year.

This isnt navel-gazing. This is me thinking about my constituents, this country, and the fact that the person who is eight points ahead of us is Nigel Farage. That terrifies me.

It terrifies my constituents, and it terrifies a lot of people in this country. We dont have the luxury of carrying on this way with someone who I think, increasingly, Im sorry to say, just doesnt seem up to the job.

Earlier, former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind suggested to Times Radio that the PM would have to decide if Mr McSweeney was a suitable adviser for the future, depending on what did actually happen.

Meanwhile, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch immediately seized on the reports, urging both Sir Keir and Mr McSweeney to explain themselves to the public.

She said: These latest revelations point yet again to the terrible judgement of Keir Starmer and why it is imperative that all documents relating to Peter Mandelsons appointment are released immediately.

If it is true that Starmer or his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, overruled the security services, as has been alleged, they need immediately to explain to the public why they did so.

One senior Labour figure told The Independent that Sir Keir should look again at his No 10 operation in the wake of Lord Mandelsons sacking. I dont come across any Morgan McSweeney fans, they said. His contempt for MPs is well known.

Meanwhile, former shadow chancellor John McDonnell warned: A choice is emerging for Keir. Either McSweeney goes or he does.

A Labour MP, who asked not to be named for fear of repercussions, told The Independent: Should Morgan McSweeney be in Downing Street? No, of course he should not. He is part of a toxic political culture around the PM.

Lord Mandelsons sacking came after a string of shocking revelations, including emails appearing to show him offering support for Epstein as he faced charges of child sex offences.

Downing Street has insisted that the depth and extent of Lord Mandelsons relationship with Epstein was materially different to what was known at the time of his appointment.

Emails published on Wednesday afternoon included passages in which Lord Mandelson had told Epstein to fight for early release shortly before he was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

It is understood that the vetting process for ambassadors is closed to ministers, meaning that neither Sir Keir nor the then foreign secretary David Lammy had access to detailed information on it.

Downing Street could not say whether or not the emails that were revealed in the press this week formed part of that vetting process  meaning he may have been approved by the vetting service despite his correspondence with Epstein.

open image in gallery Mandelson was sacked as Britains ambassador to the US on Thursday ( PA )

The Conservatives have since said they plan to try to force a vote in parliament to make the government publish all the information relating to Lord Mandelsons appointment, piling further pressure on the government to reveal exactly what the prime minister knew and when.

And as questions swirled about the PMs judgement, after two resignations in less than a week of politicians he publicly backed, the Labour chair of the foreign affairs committee called for it to be allowed to vet the next US ambassador to Washington.

We asked to do this with Mandelson, Dame Emily Thornberry said, arguing the government should welcome the scrutiny.

On Friday, a cabinet minister admitted Lord Mandelsons appointment was high risk, high reward.

Douglas Alexander, the Scotland secretary, said that all three of the last Labour prime ministers had recognised that Mandelson was a high risk appointment but that he could bring very high rewards, later saying that the appointment was a judgment that an unconventional presidential administration required an unconventional ambassador.
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Lord Mandelson has been sacked in disgrace after a series of damning revelations about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Sir Keir Starmer rallied around his man in Washington for days, praising the job the UKs Trump-whisperer had done penetrating the presidents inner circles.

But the prime minister was forced to change course on Thursday, dismissing Lord Mandelson with immediate effect.

open image in gallery Mandelson will return to a life of luxury in the UK ( PA Archive )

It came after he urged Epstein to push for early release from a jail term the paedophile was handed for the solicitation of a minor.

The dismissal leaves his reputation in tatters and marks what is almost certainly the final sacking of a career that had previously been defined by remarkable comebacks.

But, despite the humiliation, Lord Mandelson will return to a life of luxury in the UK and continue to wield significant influence in British business and politics.

Before heading to the US, Lord Mandelson was living in a luxurious farmhouse in the Pewsey Vale in Wiltshire. During the pandemic, he wrote about the cosy country life he was enjoying on the farm.

open image in gallery Keir Starmer met Peter Mandelson at the ambassadors residence ( POOL/AFP via Getty Images )

He is the part-owner of Global Counsel, a powerful lobbying firm he co-founded, and remains president of its international advisory board.

He may struggle to secure a place back in the Labour fold, but Lord Mandelson will likely take up a position back at the heart of the firm he established.

In the past, Global Counsel has advised giant multinational firms such as the fast fashion retailer Shein and energy behemoth BP. As well as the influential business position, Lord Mandelson has the more ceremonial High Steward of Hull title, though the council will try to strip him of it in the coming weeks.

But while he returns to a lavish life in Britain, it wont be a touch on the grandeur of life in the early 1900s residence built for Britains ambassador in Washington.

open image in gallery Mandelsons relationship with Epstein destroyed his political career ( House Oversight Committee )

The property, one of the most luxurious residences in the US capital, recently underwent a near 120m renovation, with artworks including an Andy Warhol painting of Queen Elizabeth II adorning the walls.

It has previously welcomed royalty from Princess Charles and Princess Diana to pop royalty such as the likes of the Beatles.

Guests who have been hosted in the embassy since Lord Mandelson moved in include much of President Trumps inner circle and the great and good of American business.

Historian Anthony Seldon has described the Washington residence as the finest embassy residence anywhere in the world.

Symbolically the residence boasts a statue of Sir Winston Churchill with one foot planted on British soil and the other on American soil. Lord Mandelson will soon find both of his own feet back on British soil.

No Labour leader will bring the tarnished grandee back into the fold after the extent of his relations with Epstein have been revealed. And he has said himself that further very embarrassing information will come to light in the future.

His career has been one of many comebacks, but Thursdays sacking seems a fall too far for Lord Mandelson to recover from.
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Eight in 10 Britons believe that senior politicians should be required to publish the amount of tax they pay every year, according to a new poll.

A YouGov survey of nearly 5,000 people found that 80 per cent believe politicians should be required to disclose the amount of tax they pay each year, while only 8 per cent said they should not.

It comes after Angela Rayner resigned last week as deputy prime minister and housing minister over her failure to pay 40,000 in stamp duty.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has also evaded questions about his tax payments, particularly regarding his partners Clacton property, his private company assets, and his earnings from GB News.

When approached for comment by The Independent, Mr Farage said he publishes all of his monthly earnings and company figures and that there was no need to disclose how much tax he pays as well.

open image in gallery Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has evaded questions about his tax payments ( PA Wire )

When pressed on recent reports that he is using a private company to pay less tax on his earnings as a presenter on GB News, Mr Farage did not comment.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who has called for Mr Farage to resign as Reform leader over his tax affairs, said: Trust in politics is at an all-time low. And when millionaires like Nigel Farage are exposed as having played the tax system to pay less, it is understandable why cynicism sets in.

You cant call yourself a patriot and then dodge paying your fair share of tax. That is why Ive called for Farage to resign, like I would for any other politician who purposefully manipulates a system to pay less tax.

open image in gallery Green Party leader Zack Polanski has called for Farage to resign ( AFP/Getty )

The findings of the YouGov poll show that respondents from across the political spectrum are vastly in favour of transparency within the government.

Similarly, people from all regions and social grades echoed the sentiment that politicians should publish how much tax they pay.

The survey also showed that people in older age groups were the most likely to be in favour of politicians publishing their tax accounts.

The highest support for this was among those aged over 64, at 84 per cent, while 69 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds were in favour of it.

However, tax reform campaign groups have also chimed in on the debate.

open image in gallery Angela Rayner resigned last week as deputy prime minister and housing minister over her failure to pay 40,000 in stamp duty ( PA Wire )

Dia Chakravarty, former political director of low-tax campaign group the TaxPayers Alliance, said nobody should be forced to publish their tax returns, including MPs.

She told Prospect magazine: It is highly unlikely that the publication of their tax returns would do anything to expose any wrongdoing; it would only serve to satisfy a curiosity about parliamentarians personal financial affairs.

Our energy would be far better spent pressurising politicians to urgently simplify the ridiculously complex tax code they have written over the decades, the opacity of which in itself seriously undermines peoples faith in the system. We would be best served by the introduction of a radically simpler tax system, where its clear how much any of us owe and the potential for game-playing by those who can afford clever lawyers and accountants is minimised.

However, Tax Justice UK, another tax reform campaign group, said it would welcome the move.

Fariya Mohiuddin, deputy director of external affairs, said: Revelations about MPs tax affairs highlight how dysfunctional our tax system is. People paying their fair share and still struggling will rightly be outraged by seeing MPs appear to be dodging tax.

Its no wonder millions are losing trust in politics and the government when there appears to be one set of rules for the super-rich and powerful, and another set for everyone else.

To rebuild trust, we need to shut down loopholes and tax breaks that allow the super-wealthy and powerful to pay less tax. As a step in the right direction, MPs should be transparent about the taxes they pay and make their self-assessments publicly available.
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Peter Mandelson has been sacked as Britains ambassador to the US following new revelations about his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein  meaning Sir Keir Starmer is now scrambling to fill the position.

The appointment is at the centre of the UK-US relationship and will help shape interactions between the two administrations in the years to come, with the future of Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East and trade tariffs among the key areas of discussion.

The UKs next man or woman in Washington will need all the political and diplomatic nous they can muster. Here we look at the runners and riders.

James Roscoe

James Roscoe has taken over from Lord Mandelson as interim ambassador while Downing Street begins the process of finding a permanent replacement.

While there is no suggestion yet that Mr Roscoe will hold the position permanently, the career diplomat has a strong CV. He is currently the embassys head of mission, a role which sees him take over in the absence of the ambassador. He was previously deputy head of mission at the British embassy in Washington in July 2022.

Before moving to Washington, he was the UK ambassador to the UN General Assembly from 2019. Prior to this, from 2016 to 2019, he held the roles of director for communication at the Cabinet Office, and subsequently the Department for Exiting the European Union.

George Osborne

George Osborne is said to have been on Downing Streets shortlist to be the next UK ambassador to Washington, despite the former Tory chancellor being disliked by many in the Labour Party for his role as the architect of austerity in Britain.

Tom Baldwin, in his biography of the prime minister, wrote that senior No 10 aides invested considerable effort in unsuccessfully pushing for Mr Osborne to be considered.

open image in gallery Former chancellor George Osborne known as the architect of austerity in the UK ( Getty )

Julia Longbottom

Julia Longbottom is currently Britains ambassador to Japan  a position she has held since 2021. Before her move to Tokyo, she served in the Foreign Office in the Covid taskforce. Like Mr Roscoe, she is a career diplomat who is widely respected in her current role.

Ms Longbottom played a significant part in negotiations to get the CPTPP agreement over the line, making her well placed to support any further talks with the US on tariffs and trade. However, she could be hampered by Donald Trumps aversion to career diplomats.

open image in gallery Julia Longbottom has been Britains ambassador to Japan since 2021 ( AP )

David Miliband

David Miliband, who was a frontrunner in the initial contest when Lord Mandelson was selected, is a veteran Labour politician rather than a career diplomat, meaning his appointment would show Downing Street is wary of Mr Trumps disdain for bureaucrats.

After standing down as an MP, the former foreign secretary has been president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, based in the US, since 2013. He took that job three years after losing the Labour leadership contest to his brother Ed, now a minister in Sir Keirs cabinet.

open image in gallery David Miliband, pictured with his brother Ed during the 2010 Labour leadership contest ( Getty )

Cathy Ashton

Made a peer by Tony Blair, she replaced Lord Mandelson as EU trade commissioner. She was then chosen, despite her low profile, for the new post of EU high representative for foreign affairs, dubbed the EUs first foreign minister.

The job, created under the Lisbon Treaty, had the aim of making the EU speak with one voice internationally. She reportedly made quiet diplomacy her hallmark, but was praised for what she achieved in the role. She is credited with representing the EU in a longstanding beef dispute with the US and with helping broker an agreement with South Korea that removed most tariffs between the two economies.

But she faces the challenge that she is seen as perhaps better suited to the role had Kamala Harris won.
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The Green Partys new leader claims he has had multiple conversations with Labour MPs about defecting to his party as they become increasingly unhappy with the direction of Sir Keir Starmers government.

In an interview with The Independent, Zack Polanski said the number of Labour MPs he has spoken to who are dissatisfied with the party was in double figures. He added that the Greens would absolutely welcome disillusioned MPs, as long as they share the partys values.

Mr Polanski named Labour left-wingers Clive Lewis and Nadia Whittome as obvious examples of the MPs he would welcome into the fold.

It comes amid growing concern from backbenchers over Sir Keirs leadership, with his approval rating hitting an all-time low last month.

open image in gallery Zack Polanski spoke to The Independent about his plans as leader of the Green Party ( PA )

The beleaguered PM has come under the spotlight this week after being forced to sack Lord Peter Mandelson as US ambassador following a string of claims about his relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. The fresh revelations emerged just days after his former deputy Angela Rayner was forced to resign.

Asked if he would accept defectors from the Labour Party, Mr Polanski said: Undoubtedly, there are Labour politicians that I would accept defections from. Not all of them, its really important to point out that caveat.

Its also important to point out that it wouldnt be my decision; it would be a democratic decision made by an elected body, but thats quite a technical answer. So Ill answer a question directly: would I accept, as in would I encourage defections? Absolutely.

He added: Ive had lots of conversations with Labour MPs concerned about where the Labour Party are going. Those are probably in double figures the amount of conversations Ive had with Labour MPs. In terms of talking to Labour MPs about defections, thats a smaller number, but yes, absolutely, Im having conversations with Labour MPs who are considering defecting.

If they align with our values, then it makes absolutely no sense to be in the Labour Party any more.

Mr Polanski also addressed the growing speculation that the Greens could unite with Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultanas new party to create a new force on the left in British politics.

open image in gallery There is growing concern over the direction of Keir Starmers government ( AP )

He said he would not be open to a total merger with the as-yet-unnamed party, but added he would be happy for their movement to join the Green Party and operate under that banner.

Mr Polanski has previously indicated a willingness to cooperate with the new left-wing party.

If they all wanted to join the Green Party and be in the Green Party, Id absolutely consider that merger. But I guess thats not a merger  In terms of a merger between whatever their party is and the Green Party, then thats definitely not something Im considering, he said.

During the interview, Mr Polanski  who said he is hoping to get as many as 39 MPs at the next election  also took aim at Sir Keir, arguing he is an abject failure as a prime minister because he is refusing to acknowledge the feedback in the country right now, that people are angry.

They are absolutely furious with politics, and the danger is that this starts to wash over everyone. And thats why I believe that Reform are topping the polls  because here they come, saying were all angry at the old two-party system. It is crumbled, it has failed, and we are here to present solutions now.

I actually agree with Nigel Farage, with much of his diagnosis of the problem. The real thing here, though, is that his solutions wont make anything better. In fact, theyll make things significantly worse.

As a result, he said there is a real role here for the Green Party to hold the Labour government to account.

Do I think theyve done everything wrong? No, that would be childish of me. There are small things where I think theyre moving things in the right direction, but again, it is so half-hearted that it almost makes things worse, he added.

open image in gallery Polanski praised Labour MP Clive Lewis, who has been a vocal critic of the government ( PA )

Mr Polanski is trying to take the fight to Reform UK, previously pitching himself as the Nigel Farage of the left.

Appealing directly to disillusioned voters, he said: If you voted for this Labour government because you wanted the change that Keir Starmer promised and all you have got is the two-child benefit cap, cuts to disability benefits and a refusal to tax multimillionaires and billionaires, then you dont need to go to Reform and the toxic politics of hate and division.

If you want an alternative, the Green Party are there offering the politics of hope and community.

The self-professed eco-populist also said we need to reclaim patriotism, warning that inequality is the most unpatriotic thing possible.

Hitting back at Sir Keir, who over the weekend dubbed Mr Polanski a plastic progressive, the Green Party leader said: His patriotism could not be more plastic. He thinks patriotism is waving a flag or claiming that he hangs flags up all the time. Thats not real.

He added: Inequality is the most unpatriotic thing possible to allow to happen. And actually saying we should share power and wealth around this country, because everyone matters, is exactly what my patriotism is about.

open image in gallery Nadia Whittome was namechecked by Polanski as someone who would be welcome in the Green Party ( BBC )

So I throw the gauntlet down to Keir. Show me what you think patriotism means. Stop name-calling.

Mr Lewis and Ms Whittome have been vocal critics of Sir Keirs government, with both of them rebelling against the governments controversial welfare cuts earlier this year.

Mr Lewis has previously said he is ashamed of the approach the government has taken towards Gaza, as well as warning that Sir Keir was betraying Labour values with planned cuts to benefits.

The Independent has contacted both MPs for comment.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: Zack Polanski doesnt have a plan to deliver change, and hes not serious about the serious times we face internationally. He has repeatedly suggested he would back off from Nato  which would leave Britains national security exposed at a time when Putin is waging an illegal war in Ukraine.

And he leads a party thats Green in name only: plastic progressives who oppose green infrastructure, oppose nuclear, and block housebuilding. Only Labour is focused on tackling the everyday challenges faced by working people.
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Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has been sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison.

A panel of Brazilian Supreme Court justices on Thursday voted to convict former president Jair Bolsonaro of attempting a coup to remain in office despite his 2022 electoral defeat.

The far-right politician who governed Brazil between 2019 and 2022 was found guilty on five counts by three members of a five-justice panel.

Prosecutors charged Bolsonaro with attempting to stage a coup, being part of an armed criminal organisation, attempting violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, as well as being implicated in violence and posing a serious threat to the states assets and listed heritage.

Although his plot failed to enlist enough support from the military to go ahead, it did culminate in the storming of government buildings by Bolsonaro's supporters on 8 January 2023, the justices found.

This criminal case is almost a meeting between Brazil and its past, its present, and its future, Justice Carmen Lucia said before she voted to convict Bolsonaro of attempting a coup, a reference to previous attempts to overthrow democracy in the countrys history.

She added that Bolsonaro acted with the purpose of eroding democracy and institutions.

The 70-year-old is currently under house arrest. His lawyers have said that they will appeal the verdict to the full Supreme Court of 11 justices. Bolsonaro, who has denied any wrongdoing, has not attended the court and has sent his lawyers.

He faced a close re-election campaign against president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2022. During this time, Bolsonaros comments took on an increasingly messianic quality, raising concerns about his willingness to accept the results.

I have three alternatives for my future: being arrested, killed or victory, he said, in remarks to a meeting of evangelical leaders in 2021. No man on Earth will threaten me.

open image in gallery Supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro protest his Supreme Court trial ( AP )

US president Donald Trump said hours later that he was very unhappy with the conviction. Speaking to reporters as he departed the White House, he said he always found Bolsonaro to be outstanding.

In 2023, Brazil's electoral court barred the far-right politician from public office until 2030 for voicing unfounded claims about Brazils electronic voting system.

The ruling may push lawmakers allied to Bolsonaro to seek some amnesty for him through Congress.

A full debate on sentencing is expected for Friday; after that, the former leader could face increased pressure to pick a political heir to likely challenge Lula in the general elections next year. A conviction could also compel allies to seek some amnesty for the former president through Congress.

open image in gallery Brazilians celebrate Bolsonaros sentencing, which could see him spend years in prison ( AFP/Getty )

Bolsonaros conviction and its durability will be a test for the strategy that Brazils highest-ranking judges have adopted to protect the countrys democracy against what they describe as dangerous attacks by the far right.

Their targets included social media posts that they say spread disinformation about the electoral system, as well as politicians and activists. Sending a former president and his allies to jail for planning a coup amounts to its culmination.

Brazil has suffered more than a dozen attempted coups since 1889, when it became a republic after its last emperor, Pedro II, was overthrown.
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Just minutes after Charlie Kirk had been shot in Utah, video of his death was not only easy to find, but for many, unavoidable to watch.

Footage of the shooting was immediately posted to platforms including X, formerly known as Twitter, and Metas Instagram. And because of the feed-based nature of these platforms  where users do not pick what they see next  many were forced to watch a disturbing video without either warning or choice.

Traditional news organisations were cautious in their mid-afternoon coverage of Kirks assassination on Wednesday: they chose not to depict the moment he was shot, instead showing video of him tossing hats to his audience moments before, and panicked onlookers scattering wildly in the moments after.

In practical terms, though, it mattered little. Explicit footage of the shooting was available almost instantly online, from several angles, even in slow motion. Millions of people watched.

The footage was easy to find on X, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube  even on Truth Social, where US president Donald Trump posted official word of the conservative activists death.

These platforms aim to keep readers engaged with a constant flow of new content, ostensibly tailored to their interests but ultimately not giving them a choice about seeing any given post. In addition, videos will autoplay as users scroll  meaning that people were shown graphic and brutal footage without a chance to prepare themselves.

On X, a number of posts seemed to reference directly the impossibility of avoiding the video. In the wake of the attack, numerous people posted that they were logging off  really the only way to avoid seeing the footage.

Kirk was shot at a public event, in front of hundreds of people at a Utah college campus, many of them holding up phones to record a celebrity in their midst, and savvy about how to disseminate video evidence of a news event. The activists fame was a direct result of the widespread coverage of the kind of debate he was participating in at the time of his death  often engaging young people on college campuses  with footage of these events proving highly popular on social media platforms that thrive on often very oppositional discussions.

open image in gallery Footage of the shooting spread on a number of social media platforms ( Deseret News )

On X, there was a video showing a direct view of Kirk being shot, his body recoiling, and blood gushing from the wound.

Another video consisted of a loop showing the moment of impact in slow motion, stopping before blood is seen. Another, taken from Kirks left, included audio of Kirk talking about gun violence at the moment he was shot.

For more than 150 years, news organisations such as newspapers and television networks have been accustomed to gatekeeping when it comes to explicit content  making editorial decisions around violent events, controlling what images and words appear on their platforms for their readers or viewers to see.

But in the fragmented era of social media, smartphones, and instant video uploads, these editorial decisions made by legacy media have less of an impact than ever.

Images spread across the country

open image in gallery US right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk threw hats to the crowd shortly before he was shot at a Utah Valley University speaking event in Orem, Utah ( Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via Reuters )

Across the country in Ithaca, New York, college professor Sarah Krepss teenage sons texted her about Kirks assassination shortly after school was dismissed and they could access their phones.

No, she told them. He had been shot, but there were no reports that he had died. Her son answered: Have you seen the video? Theres no way he could have survived that.

The videos were posted and reposted at lightning speed. One person on X urged people to stop the violence, but included a clip of the shooting.

Some took to social media to plead with other users not to spread the images. For the love of God and Charlies family, read one message, just stop.

YouTube said it was removing some graphic content relating to the event, and restricting videos so they could not be seen by users under the age of 18 or those who were not signed in.

Our hearts are with Charlie Kirks family following his tragic death, YouTube said. We are closely monitoring our platform and prominently elevating news content on the homepage, in search and in recommendations to help people stay informed.

Metas rules dont prohibit people from posting content such as videos of Kirks shooting, but warning labels are applied, and these posts are not shown to users who say they are under 18.

The parent company of Instagram, Facebook and Threads referred one reporter to the companys policies on violent and graphic content, which they indicated would apply in this case  but made no further comment. An X representative did not immediately return a request for comment.

Its an issue social media companies have dealt with before, in equally gruesome circumstances. Facebook was forced to contend with people wanting to livestream violence following a mass shooting in New Zealand in 2019, said Cornell Universitys Kreps, who is the author of the forthcoming book Harnessing Disruption: Building the Tech Future Without Breaking Society.

Getting to the other side

open image in gallery Kirk was shot at a public event, in front of hundreds of people at a Utah college campus, many of them holding up phones to record the well-known right-wing speaker ( Getty )

Some images seeped out onto more traditional media platforms. TMZ posted a video of the incident in which a shot and a voice saying, Oh my God could be heard, but Kirks upper body was blurred out. A similar video with a blurred image of Kirk was posted on the New York Posts website.

In such an atmosphere, the care shown by most traditional news outlets may seem quaint or old-fashioned. But news industry leaders are acutely aware of protecting people from graphic images when they are not expecting it; members of the public often have to search for and click on an image if they want to see it  if it hasnt already been sent to them personally or via a group chat.

It can also send an important message when news outlets are cautious in what they show, Kreps said. The traditional media can amplify and validate behaviour, she explained. It can be a signal for how things should be stigmatised, rather than validated or normalised.

But on the day of the shooting, in a politically polarised country, the easy availability of shocking images ran the risk of making societys wound even more painful.

I dont see many signs of how we get  as a people, as a nation  to the other side of this, said CNNs David Chalian. I think we are broken, and potentially beyond repair.

Additional reporting by agencies
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Cuba has been plunged into a nationwide power blackout, marking the second such island-wide outage this year amidst ongoing struggles with its ageing infrastructure and fuel shortages.

The Ministry of Energy and Mines announced on social platform X that Wednesday's outage was likely linked to a malfunction at one of the nation's largest thermoelectric plants.

Argelio Abad, the ministry's vice minister, said on state television that the grid collapsed after an "apparently erroneous message warning of overheating" led to the plant's disconnection.

The incident follows three other blackouts reported late in 2024, highlighting persistent issues with the country's power supply.

Officials have begun establishing a "microsystem" to deliver electricity to critical infrastructure providing basic services.

Crews are now working to restore power across the island of about 10 million residents, with hospitals, food production plants, and other high-priority businesses already seeing electricity return.

open image in gallery A youth stops to strike a pose in an apartment building where the electricity meters cover the wall during a blackout in Havana ( AP )

Prime Minister Manuel Marrero made an appearance at Cuba's state-run power company and asked Cubans for their trust as he said on state TV that electricity would be restored gradually.

Some Cubans, like 65-year-old Mayte Garcia, believed they would be without power for a couple of days.

She said she was outside, taking in the fresh air as she waited for electricity to return.

If you buy something, you dont know if youll be able to keep it. Many peoples food has spoiled, Garcia said of items in refrigerators and freezers.

Havana, the countrys capital of some two million people, appeared calm, although many ventured out to try and find certain items before dark.

I came to get bread, said Katie Cardenas, a 48-year-old public employee, adding that she feared being left without basic goods after the outage.

The citys traffic lights were dark and many social and cultural activities were suspended, but gas stations continued to offer fuel via pumps.

open image in gallery A pedestrian pictured during a blackout in Havana ( AP )

Internet service in Havana was particularly slow or dropped intermittently in some areas.

The persistence of power outages over the years prompted some Cubans to prepare for them.

I have a small power plant... but many people are complaining because they will be affected, Aurelio Chacon, 65, said.

In recent months, many well-off individuals, small entrepreneurs and residents with family abroad who are able to send goods have installed solar panels or rechargeable devices.

Earlier this week, an outage hit Cubas eastern region, leaving people from Las Tunas to Guantanamo in the dark for several hours.

In February, the government suspended classes and work activities for two days due to a shortage in electricity generation.

There is a severe economic and energy supply crisis in Cuba. It has worsened in recent years due to U.S. sanctions intended to put pressure on the island to change its political model.

The sanctions have prevented the Caribbean nation from having sufficient foreign currency to buy fuel or buy equipment to repair its aging thermoelectric plants, many of which have been operating for more than 30 years.
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The tech world has pledged over $1m to create memorial murals of the Ukrainian refugee who was brutally murdered on a train in North Carolina last month.

Eoghan McCabe, the CEO and founder of Intercom, committed $500,000 to commission nationwide murals of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, who was stabbed to death on a light-rail train in South End, Charlotte, on August 22.

I am offering $500k in $10k grants to paint murals of the face of Iryna Zarutska in prominent US city locations, McCabe wrote on X.

The offer caught the attention of billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, who then announced that he would contribute $1m to the cause.

A source working on initiative, who chose to be anonymous, told Fox News Digital that they are currently in talks with more than 1,000 artists across the country to select who will paint the murals.

McCabe is also working on putting up posters featuring Zarutskas face throughout major U.S. cities, the source added.

The person familiar with the matter also told Fox that McCabe was inspired by his hope that Zarutska would not be forgotten after her brutal murder.

open image in gallery Shocking footage captured the stabbing of Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee killed on a North Carolina train last month ( Charlotte Area Transit System )

Those looking to participate or donate to McCabes fund can contact his chief of staff, Katie Brenske Tolstedt, McCabe wrote on X.

Zarutska had recently arrived in the U.S. from her war-torn homeland when she was attacked by a passenger on a commuter train. In a GoFundMe, her family said she had been seeking safety and new beginnings in the U.S., but her life was tragically cut short.

Horrifying security footage of the incident shows a man standing up in the seat behind Zarutska and stabbing her with a switchblade before getting off the train at the next station.

open image in gallery Zarutskas family say she moved to the U.S. in search of safety and new beginnings ( Supplied )

Decarlos Brown Jr, a homeless man reportedly suffering from schizophrenia, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

On Tuesday, the Department of Justice charged Brown with one count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system, a federal charge that could result in him facing the death penalty.

The horrific stabbing, which left Zarutska dead at the scene with multiple stab wounds, has sparked mass outrage across the country, including from president Donald Trump.

I have seen the horrific video of a beautiful, young Ukrainian refugee, who came to America to escape the vicious war in Ukraine, and was innocently riding the Metro in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was brutally ambushed by a mentally deranged lunatic, Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday.

open image in gallery Trump raged against the Democrats in light of Zarutskas killing, claiming they refuse to put bad people in jail ( Donald J Trump )

The perpetrator was a well-known career criminal, who had been previously arrested and released on CASHLESS BAIL in January, a total of 14 TIMES. What the hell was he doing riding the train, and walking the streets? Criminals like this need to be LOCKED UP.

Trump, who is promoting an anti-crime message, continued: The blood of this innocent woman can literally be seen dripping from the killers knife, and now her blood is on the hands of the Democrats who refuse to put bad people in jail, including former disgraced governor and wannabe senator Roy Cooper.

Cooper, North Carolinas former Democratic governor who is now running for the Senate, has been accused by Republicans of being soft on crime during his two-term tenure.

Brown has an extensive criminal history that includes armed robbery, breaking and entering and larceny convictions dating back to 2011.

He spent six years in jail from 2014 to 2020 and was most recently arrested in January 2025 for misusing the 911 system after he allegedly submitted a complaint about police officers not taking a medical issue seriously. He had been awaiting a court-ordered mental health examination since July.
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A health insurance company has reversed a decision that denied life-changing gene therapy to a 10-year-old boy after his brother was approved treatment for the same genetic disorder.

Noah, 9, and Hunter, 10, both have Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), which weakens the muscles, including the heart. Life expectancy ranges from 30 to 40 years old. Last November, Blue Cross Blue Shield approved a novel gene therapy for Noah, which has seen him thrive. A few months later, the company denied coverage to Hunter.

The Chicago-based family shared their story with The Independent last week on how they have watched Hunter suffer while his younger brother was able to learn to swim and play for longer. They also had lodged an appeal with the insurance company, and contacted local and state representatives to challenge the decision.

On Monday, the company told parents, Alison Joseph and William Small, that the decision had been reversed in a brief phone call.

Its just such a sense of relief after I got the phone call Monday. We're so grateful for all the outreach and coverage it was a lot of efforts that [meant] we were able to get this done, Alison told The Independent Wednesday.

open image in gallery Hunter, 10, (left) and brother Noah, 9, (right) were diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy in 2017. Noah received pioneering gene therapy in March this year, which has significantly helped his mobility, his parents said. Hunters insurance claim for the same treatment was initially denied ( Alison Joseph )

Hunters application for the $3.2 million treatment had been denied in May after the company ruled it was not medically necessary, even though brother Noah appears to be thriving following the therapy, which he received in March.

Gene therapy will not cure the cruel disorder but could give the boys a greater chance of a better quality of life.

While Alison and William, both 44, have tried to shield Hunter from their fight to get him gene therapy, they were thrilled to tell their son that he will now receive the same treatment as his brother.

When he got home from school on Monday, we told him, and he's excited, said Alison. He's obviously a little bit nervousbut he's excited.

Then on Tuesday morning before school, he said, Mom, I just feel really happy. I asked him, why do you feel so happy? He's like, because I can get gene therapy now, Alison said.

open image in gallery Hunter is excited he will now receive the same treatment that has helped his younger brother to learn to swim ( Alison Joseph )

Blue Cross Blue Shield would not publicly discuss individual cases, citing privacy issues, when approached for comment by The Independent.

We do want our members to know that medical experts, including doctors, are involved in reviews to ensure the treatments and services our members receive are evidence-based and not duplicative, a spokesperson said. Decisions are guided by nationwide best practices for care, helping to identify what has proven successful for members in the past.

DMD causes muscle degeneration and weakness due to a mutation in the gene that produces dystrophin, a protein that protects muscle fibers from breaking down.

The disorder, which mostly affects boys, gets worse over time. It makes it difficult to walk, run, jump, and play, with children often delayed in reaching milestones like crawling, walking and talking. The boys will likely use wheelchairs from when they are teenagers.

Since Noah received the gene therapy Elevidys, manufactured by Sarepta Therapeutics, Alison said he has experienced very obvious and noticeable improvements.

End of day fatigue and leg pain was something that he complained of frequently, and he has not complained of it once since getting gene therapy, she said. He learned how to swim this summer. His overall endurance is so much better.

Noah was treated at Arkansas Childrens Hospital in Little Rock, where Hunter will hopefully undergo the same process, which involves a one-time infusion. The treatment isnt a cure for DMD but helps improve muscle function and motor skills. So far, over 900 patients have had the treatment, the manufacturer says.

open image in gallery Alison, pictured with husband William and their three boys Hunter, Noah and Carter, said she encouraged other families facing difficulties with their health insurer to never give up ( Alison Joseph )

Elevidys is not without controversy and critics say there is limited evidence that the benefits of the treatment outweigh the risks. However, doctors are cautiously optimistic.

All these newer gene transfer therapies are opening doors for these boys to possibly live longer and lead a good quality of life, said Dr Aravindhan Veerapandiyan of Arkansas Childrens Hospital. Its changing the trajectory of the disease, changing the trajectory of their lives, improving the quality of life for the boys and their families.

While Alison has the outcome she desired for her son, the toll of the fight to get Hunters coverage is only now dawning on the couple.

I just felt so tired, she said. I feel like I've been running on adrenaline for weeks.So, we are very, very grateful that this is done.

The family are especially grateful to the state representatives in Arkansas who supported their case, and Alison thanked Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton for raising the matter with the Office of Personnel Management, which deals with federal health insurance programs.

The mom said that she encouraged other families facing difficulties with their health insurer for coverage to keep pushing.

She advised others to make themselves aware of the appeals process and to keep going if they face roadblocks.

You don't have to take no for an answer, Alison said. Just dont give up.
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A Southwest plane leaving Hollywood was forced to divert and land in nearby Los Angeles Thursday morning after suffering engine failure, an airline spokesperson told The Independent.

The Boeing 737 jet departed from Hollywood Burbank Airport and was bound for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement to The Independent.

But it then had to divert safely to Los Angeles International Airport after experiencing an apparent engine failure the Southwest spokesperson said.

The flight landed in Los Angeles at around 8:15 a.m. local time, according to the FAA.

open image in gallery A Southwest Boeing 737 jet, like the one seen here, was forced to divert and land in Los Angeles Thursday morning after suffering engine failure, an airline spokesperson told The Independent ( Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images )

Following the uneventful landing, the aircraft taxied to a gate at LAX, where we accommodated our Customers on the next flight to Phoenix, the airline spokesperson said.

We appreciate the professionalism of our Pilots and Flight Attendants in safely handling the situation, the spokesperson continued. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees.

The FAA said it will investigate the incident.

A United Airlines flight headed to Munich suffered an engine failure in July, causing the crew to turn around and return to Dulles International Airport in the Washington, D.C. area.

The pilot said the Boeing 787-8s left engine had failed and they were declaring an emergency, mayday, mayday, mayday, according to cockpit and air traffic control audio shared on the YouTube channel You can see ATC.

open image in gallery A United Airlines Boeing 787-8 jet, like the one seen here, suffered an engine failure in July, causing the crew to turn around and return to Dulles International Airport in the Washington, D.C. area ( Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images )

The plane, which was carrying 219 passengers and 11 crew members, returned to Washington Dulles shortly after takeoff to address a mechanical issue, United previously told The Independent.

The plane landed safely, and all passengers deplaned normally at the gate, the airline continued. The flight was subsequently canceled and we arranged alternate travel arrangements to take customers to their destination as soon as possible.
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The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Thursday against Uber, claiming drivers for the rideshare company repeatedly refuse service to passengers with disabilities.

Filed in federal court in San Francisco, the suit alleges that Uber discriminated against passengers with disabilities, especially those accompanied by service animals or using folding wheelchairs.

The DOJ claimed Uber unlawfully imposed surcharges, including cleaning fees for service animals and cancellation fees on riders who were denied service without justification.

It also alleged that Uber failed to accommodate passengers who need reasonable adjustments, such as allowing more time for boarding or seating. The suit also stated that some drivers allegedly insult and demean people with disabilities or ask them inappropriate questions.

The DOJ is asking for an injunction to end practices that violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, for reforms to Ubers business policies and training, and for monetary damages and civil penalties to compensate those harmed.

open image in gallery Uber said it fundamentally disagrees with the DOJs allegations ( Getty Images )

An Uber spokesperson told The Independent in a statement that the company fundamentally disagrees with the DOJs allegations, adding that service animals are always welcome to tag along.

Every driver must acknowledge and agree to comply with our U.S. Service Animal Policy and all applicable accessibility laws before using the Uber Driver app, and we regularly remind drivers of these obligations. When we confirm a violation, we take decisive action, including permanent account deactivation, the spokesperson said.

Uber further noted that last year, it distributed a service animal education video to all U.S. drivers, developed with input from blind and service animal advocacy groups. The video explains the importance of service animals, offers transport tips, and reinforces that denying rides due to service animals is both against Uber policy and illegal. It is available to all drivers in the Driver Learning Center within the app.

This isnt the first time the DOJ has gone after Uber for a similar matter. In November 2021, the DOJ sued Uber, also alleging the company violated the ADA, this time, focused on its wait time fee policy.

The policy charged riders who took more than two minutes to enter a vehicle, even when the delay was due to a disability. Affected passengers included those using wheelchairs, walkers, or passengers who are blind. The DOJ claimed Uber often refused to refund these fees, despite knowing the delays were disability-related.

Uber initially denied that its wait time fee policy violated the ADA, arguing that the fees were designed to compensate drivers for their time, not to punish riders who needed more time to board due to a disability. The company claimed the policy was not discriminatory, as the charges only applied after a set waiting period.

open image in gallery Uber and the DOJ previously settled a lawsuit in 2022 focused on Uber's wait time fee policy ( Getty Images )

While Uber sometimes refunded wait time fees to disabled riders who complained, the DOJ said that the company also denied some refund requests, even when the delays were clearly related to a disability. This inconsistency led to further scrutiny and legal action.

In July 2022, Uber settled with the DOJ. As part of the agreement, the company committed to waiving wait time fees for riders who certify that they, or someone they frequently travel with, need extra time to board due to a disability. The settlement also required Uber to make refunds available to those who had been charged unfairly but were not part of the waiver program.

Additionally, Uber agreed to train its customer service staff on how to handle the waiver program and refund process.

The company also credited the accounts of more than 65,000 eligible riders, often providing double the amount of the original wait time fees as compensation. In total, Uber set aside over $1.7 million for people who had filed complaints and an additional $500,000 for others who may have been affected.
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Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York is rescheduling a weekend rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, after the assassination of MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk.

Speaking with reporters Thursday, Ocasio-Cortez said due to safety concerns and out of respect for Kirk, she would move the Sunday event with the North Carolina Democratic Party.

From the moment I was elected, I have felt that I accept a certain level of risk in doing this job, Ocasio-Cortez told reporters outside of the Capitol.

But it is about the fact that the security protocols and the ways we think about it and conceive of it are for a bygone time. Theyre not designed for stochastic time.

Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist, was fatally shot Wednesday while speaking with college students at an event on Utah Valley Universitys campus. The killing, which is being called a political assassination, has devastated the Republican community and sent fears through lawmakers about targeted political violence.

Ocasio-Cortez is known as a progressive Democrat who often generates debate and controversy with her views. Kirk, while not a lawmaker, had a similar reputation as a Republican advocate that created contentious debate with his views.

open image in gallery Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is rescheduling a weekend event after the shooting of Charlie Kirk, a Republican activist. ( Getty Images )

Another representative, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, has also canceled upcoming events in light of the shooting and told reporters she would have her firearm on her all the time.

Mace told reporters Thursday she is canceling all outdoor and public events for the foreseeable future, according to NBC News. That includes an upcoming event at a college campus. The South Carolina Republican is also known to generate intense controversy, especially online, because she is outspoken about her anti-transgender views.

The Independent has asked representatives for Ocasio-Cortez and Mace for comment.

Other lawmakerssaid they are worried about their own personal safety in the wake of the shooting.

Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, who also serves as House Oversight Chair, told Axios that members of Congress will likely hold fewer outdoor events in the short term.

Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz, of Florida, said he stopped holding outdoor events earlier this year after receiving death threats.

People are scared to death in this building, Moskowitz said.

open image in gallery Lawmakers are reeling from the shooting of Kirk, condemning acts of political violence, and modified have canceled upcoming events ( AFP via Getty Images )

Ocasio-Cortez and other prominent Democrats have condemned the violence against Kirk and called for tighter gun control legislation. Many have expressed sympathy for Kirks wife and two young children.

Yet, some Republicans have resorted to blaming Democrats for inciting violence by using harsh language to push back against President Donald Trump and his agenda.

Ocasio-Cortez said, on Wednesday, that lawmakers should not point fingers and instead take action to prevent more shootings from occurring.

The scourge of gun violence and political violence must end. The shooting of Charlie Kirk is the latest incident of this chaos and it must stop. We cannot go down this road. There is no place for it in America and we wish for his recovery, she wrote on social media after the shooting.
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MAGA activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead while speaking at a university campus in Utah on Wednesday, was well known for his outspoken opinions on a number of hot-button political issues.

The 31-year-old co-founder of Turning Point USA, a key ally of President Donald Trump, was shot in the neck by a snipers bullet at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem and was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A police manhunt for the gunman is ongoing.

A Chicago-born son of an architect, Kirk co-founded Turning Point when he was just 18 years old alongside businessman Bill Montgomery with the aim of promoting conservative values in Americas universities and colleges.

He rose to prominence during the first Trump administration through his podcast, cable news appearances and campus speaking tours.

His views were often viewed as controversial. As an anti-abortion Christian, he routinely debated progressive liberals, Muslims, and the LGBT+ community, resulting in allegations of misogyny, Islamophobia, and homophobia.

open image in gallery Charlie Kirk was just 18 when he founded Turning Point USA but quickly became one of the most influential voices on the American right ( Getty )

During the Covid pandemic, he denounced mask mandates. He referred to vaccine requirements as medical apartheid and also promoted Trumps false claim that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against him by a vast Democratic conspiracy.

Kirk frequently adopted Trumpian talking points, blaming DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) hiring practices for flooding in Texas earlier this year, calling New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani a parasite and attempting to steer the national conversation away from Jeffrey Epstein by announcing he was done with the subject.

Here is a closer look at where he stood on some of the most pivotal issues of the day.

Gun control

The Turning Point founder was addressing the subject of gun violence when he was fatally shot in Utah.

Kirk was known to be a gun owner himself and regularly spoke out on the issue, including on behalf of the National Rifle Association in the aftermath of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in February 2018.

At a Turning Point event in Salt Lake City in April 2023, he said, Its worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment.

LGBT+ rights

open image in gallery Kirk with his wife, Erika Kirk, celebrating Trumps inauguration in Washington, D.C., in January ( Getty )

Kirk adopted a traditional Christian conservative stance in his approach to many contemporary issues, telling an audience at a Trump election rally in Georgia last fall that Democrats stand for everything God hates and adding: This is a Christian state. Id like to see it stay that way.

He also lashed out at the gay community, denouncing what he called the LGBTQ agenda, expressing opposition to same-sex marriage and suggesting that the Bible verse Leviticus 20:13, which endorses the execution of homosexuals, serves as Gods perfect law when it comes to sexual matters.

I dont agree with your lifestyle, Kirk told a gay Wisconsin college student last September. I dont think you should introduce yourself just based on your sexuality because thats not who you are.

He also argued against gender-affirming care for transgender people and insisted there are only two genders, sporting a T-shirt at one Arizona rally last year that read: xy = man.

More recently, he discussed the burning of Pride flags, writing on X (Twitter): We should work to overturn every conviction for those arrested, fined, or otherwise harassed for the hate crime of doing donuts over Pride flags painted on public streets.

It should be legal to burn a rainbow or [Black Lives Matter] flag in public.

The future of the country

open image in gallery Kirk was a key ally of Donald Trump and a firm believer in the presidents America First message ( AFP/Getty )

Kirk was a firm believer in Trumps America First message, and the president paid solemn tribute to him on Wednesday, ordering flags at the White House lowered to half-staff in his memory and saying: No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.

Vice President JD Vance, war secretary Pete Hegseth, and health and human services secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. were just some of the senior administration figures to join him in expressing their grief, revealing how highly they thought of Kirk and how entwined his values were with theirs.

Kirk was uncomfortable with U.S. intervention in foreign wars, notably dismissing Russias invasion of Ukraine as a border dispute, but remained a vocal supporter of Israel.

He did not always slavishly follow the presidents line, however, breaking with him in June over the bombing of Irans nuclear facilities and reminding him on Newsmax: Not even the Romans conquered Persia.

Generally though Kirk was loyal to Trump, whom he saw as key to establishing the conservative Christian America he wanted to help realize, one in which abortion is heavily restricted to cases of medical emergency in which the mothers life cannot be saved by any other means, women enter higher education to find husbands and woke ideologies play no part in public life.

Donald Trump Jr., a friend with whom he visited Greenland in January, said the MAGA movement will deeply miss Charlie Kirk as one of its most influential young voices.
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The fatal shooting of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, at an open-air event on a college campus with hundreds of people in attendance, has called into question whether security failures allowed a gunman to enter the school and fire from a nearby rooftop.

There did not appear to be any bag checks or security checkpoints for Wednesdays event on the sprawling Utah Valley University campus, which covers more than 500 acres in Orem, Utah.

Six police officers were covering the outdoor area, where the Turning Point USA event was taking place, alongside Kirks private security detail. The universitys police chief told reporters Wednesday that there were also some plainclothes police officers among roughly 3,000 people in the crowd.

We train for these things, and you think you have things covered, and these things, unfortunately, they happen, Chief Jeff Long said. You try to get your bases covered, and unfortunately,  we didn't. Because of that, we had this tragic incident.

At a press conference Thursday morning, Utah Department of Public Safety commissioner Beau Mason said he could not speak to the events security, and stressed that his office and federal law enforcement were not involved in the planning.

open image in gallery A crowd of 3,000 people scrambled after a gunman fatally shot Charlie Kirk during a speaking event at Utah Valley University September 10, sparking questions about security failures and whether there was enough protection in a large outdoor area ( AP )

The cost of having a large private security detail, in conjunction with local law enforcement, can be prohibitive, according to former FBI agent Michael Harrigan, an expert in threat assessment for global crisis and conflict consulting firm, PAX Group.

Open-air gatherings, like Kirks event, can be very hard to secure, but a security detail does their best to try to minimize risks around the client's requirements, he told The Independent.

Long-distance shootings are extremely difficult to safeguard against, he said.

Whereas indoor venues can more easily add metal detectors and other measures, outdoor venues are generally the most dangerous places to hold events, Harrigan said.

Whats more, students in Utah are generally allowed to carry firearms on public college campuses if they have a valid concealed firearm permit, following a change in state law that went into effect in May.

open image in gallery Charlie Kirk speaking shortly before he was killed Wednesday. Six police officers were covering the outdoor area, where the Turning Point USA event was taking place, alongside Kirks private security detail ( The Deseret News )

So the idea that there was a security checkpoint is a misnomer, Katherine Schweit, a former FBI special agent and author of Stop the Killing: How to End the Mass Shooting Crisis and How to Talk About Guns With Anyone, told The Independent.

Anytime somebody holds an event at a college campus in the United States, it is usual for campus police and security to look to provide some level of security, and that is done in coordination with the person who is the host, she said.

I don't think it's really accurate to say there were security lapses or mistakes made by security at the campus, because that would presume that there were plans that called for much more intense security, and that there were failures in those, and that just doesn't exist here.

Eyewitness Justin Hicken arrived at the event a few minutes before it started, with the crowd packed into a little outdoor amphitheater, he told The Independent.

Unfortunately, there were no metal detectors or anything, Hicken said.

open image in gallery A map shows the locations of the Charlie Kirk event in an outdoor amphitheater and the suspected shooter on the Utah college campus ( The Independent )

There were no bag checks or body scans for people entering the event, according to Deseret News reporter Emma Pitts, who was covering Kirks event. Nobody scanned our equipment, nobody scanned our bags, there was no security like that, Pitts said.

Former Republican congressman Jason Chaffetz told Fox News that there was a light police presence at the event with no security check going in.

Tyler McGettigan, another attendee, told NBC News that the event required a ticket with a scannable code, but he did not need the ticket to enter the amphitheater.

No one checked the barcode or the QR code, he told the outlet. There was no checkpoint to get in. It was literally, anyone could walk in if they wanted.

Jeb Jacobi, a student who volunteered to work at the event, told NBC that two security guards were standing near the small tent which was shielding Kirk from the sun. Pictures and video from the scene show guards standing behind a seated Kirk while he faced the crowd.

Police officers also dispersed protesters Wednesday who had been setting up on a roof ahead of Kirks event, and they responded to the scene minutes after the conservative activist was shot to help people leave the area, Jacobi said.

open image in gallery Students who attended the event said there were minimal security measures in place and only a handful of police officers for the large crowd. A gunman killed Kirk from a nearby rooftop around 150 yards away ( via REUTERS )

The gunman remains at large.

Video footage from the scene showed a figure, dressed in black, on a roof around 150 yards from where Kirk was speaking.

A college-aged gunman fired a single shot from a high-powered, bolt-action rifle, according to law enforcement officials Thursday. Kirk was struck in the neck and began to bleed profusely before falling backward.

The gunman then jumped from the roof, police said. A screwdriver was reportedly recovered from the scene, suggesting the rifle could have been disassembled and concealed when the suspect arrived on campus.

Kirk was rushed from the scene by his security detail to a nearby hospital shortly after 12:20 p.m. President Donald Trump announced his death roughly two hours later.

Students fled a chaotic scene, which sounded like an earthquake, and everyone starts screaming, student Angeline Paul told Utahs Fox 13. She was in a classroom next to the courtyard where Kirk was speaking when a group from the crowd rushed in, falling on the ground.

And they're like, There's a shooter! There's a shooter! she said.

The group followed active-shooter precautions by turning off the lights and locking the door, kind of going down the list of things we need to do, she said.

Kirks killing  marking the 46th school shooting in 2025  also follows a streak of political violence this year, including the killings of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband, and an attempt to set the home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro ablaze.

The gunman who fired at Trump, during a campaign event in Pennsylvania last July, was similarly positioned on a rooftop roughly 150 yards from the stage where he was speaking. The attempted assassination triggered an avalanche of scrutiny on security failures that resulted in the resignation of the Secret Service director and a congressional investigation.

Kirk, 31, has appeared at dozens of similar outdoor events on college campuses across the country without incident since co-founding his conservative organization, Turning Point USA, when he was a teenager.

He was scheduled to speak at more than a dozen events as part of Turning Points American Comeback tour, scheduled through October.

While there are similarities between the assassination attempt against Trump and the killing of Kirk, the level of security at a Charlie Kirk event versus a level of security at a political candidates event are night and day, Schweit told The Independent.

This is the type of event that Charlie Kirk held on a regular basis, she said.
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Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was debating mass shootings with a member of his audience in the moments before he was shot dead on a university campus in Utah on Wednesday.

Kirk, the 31-year-old co-founder of Turning Point USA and a key ally of President Donald Trump, was shot in the neck by a snipers bullet at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday. He was rushed to the hospital but died soon afterwards. He leaves behind a wife and two young children.

As President Trump led the tributes to Kirk, his killer remains at large at the time of writing. Two people were arrested in the immediate aftermath of the incident, but both have since been released without charge. The manhunt for the gunman continues.

open image in gallery People from across the political spectrum have paid emotional tribute to Kirk ( Reuters )

According to a video recorded at Kirks event in the run-up to the killing, the guest speaker, who was sitting beneath a canopy branded The American Comeback Tour and bearing the slogan Prove Me Wrong, was approximately 20 minutes into his appearance and engaging with a member of the audience about gun violence when the shot was fired.

Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years? an audience member asked.

Too many, Kirk responded to applause from the crowd.

The attendee informed him that the total was five and continued: Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?

Counting or not counting gang violence? Kirk replied before, just seconds later, he was struck by the bullet and fell from his chair, prompting the panicked crowd to disperse in terror.

open image in gallery Kirk was a key ally of President Donald Trump ( AFP/Getty )

Although the detail is bitterly ironic, it is unlikely that Kirk addressing the subject in his final moments amounts to more than a coincidence, given that investigators have already said that the fatal shot is believed to have been fired from a nearby rooftop, suggesting the gunman would likely have been too far out of range to hear the speakers commentary.

Trump, Vice President JD Vance, the secretary of war Pete Hegseth, and many others in the presidents MAGA movement have all paid emotional tribute to Kirk. At the same time, senior Democrats, including Gavin Newsom, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Barack Obama, and Nancy Pelosi, have likewise expressed their horror and offered their condolences to the family of the deceased.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk and Fox News host Jesse Watters were among those to post more inflammatory responses in the heat of the moment.

Kirk was a highly influential figure among young Republicans and a familiar face in conservative media, known for his podcasts, campus events, and cable news appearances in support of Trump and his agenda.

It has emerged that his widow, Erika Kirk, 36, had shared a Bible verse about seeking help during difficult times just hours before she lost her husband.
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President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will award his close ally, Charlie Kirk, a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor, after the conservative activist was assassinated on a college campus.

Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty, and an inspiration to millions and millions of people, Trump said. We miss him greatly, yet I have no doubt that Charlies voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on.

The president made the announcement at the Pentagon as he began his remarks honoring the lives lost on September 11, 2001.

Trump added that he would announce the Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony at a later date but promised it would draw a very big crowd.

Kirk, the co-founder of conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was a high-profile figure in Republican circles and close to the president and members of the Trump family. The president credited him as one of the key figures in getting him re-elected by turning out the youth vote.

open image in gallery President Donald Trump said he would posthumously award Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom. They are pictured at a Turning Point USA event in 2024 ( AFP via Getty Images )

The 31-year-old Republican activist was shot in the neck while speaking about mass shootings, on the first stop of a college campus tour at Utah Valley University.

Law enforcement are still searching for the suspected shooter who they say appears to be of college age. FBI agents in the Salt Lake City bureau released a photo of the suspect on Thursday afternoon, urging anyone with information to come forward.

A motive in the shooting has not been identified yet.

Officials said so far, theyve recovered a high-powered, bolt-action rifle in a nearby wooded area. Ammunition inside the rifle was engraved with messages of transgender and antifascist ideology, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The FBI declined to comment to The Independent.

Kirks murder has sent shockwaves through political circles, particularly impacting Republicans who viewed the media personality as a shining example of the future of the party. Some conservatives, including the president, have characterized Kirk as a martyr.

open image in gallery Trump started his 9/11 memorial speech at the Pentagon Thursday by announcing he would honor Charlie Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom ( AP )

Medal of Freedom recipients are chosen directly by the president. The award was created in 1945 for those who have made an especially meritorious contribution to furthering national interests, cultural endeavors, significant public or private work, as well as world peace.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who stood alongside Trump at the event, also praised Kirk in remarks, saying he was the example of a Christ follower and American patriot.

Charlie we love you, we know that you have heard the Lords words. Well done, good and faithful servant. Like those on 9/11, he will never be forgotten, Hegeth said.
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Jimmy Kimmel and Disney execs could not agree on the correct response to take in the fallout from the comedians remarks about the death of Charlie Kirk, resulting in the cancellation of his late night show, reports say.

Kimmel was reportedly due to make a statement during Wednesdays show, but neither side could agree on language that would not exacerbate the situation further by the time taping was due to begin, sources told Reuters.

It came after comments made by the talk show host in his monologue Monday sparked fierce backlash online and led to death threats that raised concerns for the safety of Kimmel and his staff, the source said.

ABC has since suspended Kimmels show indefinitely.

During the monologue, Kimmel, who has frequently targeted Trump, said: "We hit some new lows over the weekend, with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it."

open image in gallery Kimmel was reportedly due to make a statement during Wednesdays show in response to backlash about his remarks on Charlie Kirk, but both sides could not agree on the language that would not exacerbate the situation further by the time taping was due to begin ( AFP via Getty Images )

Despite negotiations over what Kimmel should say Wednesday, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Entertainment co-Chairman Dana Walden ultimately agreed that the best approach would be to take the show off the air, Reuters reports.

According to sources, the decision left the comedian livid.

The intention was to find a way to bring Kimmel back at a later date, and Bloomberg News reported Thursday that executives are due to meet with the comedian to discuss the future of his show.

open image in gallery Following ABCs decision to pull the show, many in Hollywood decried the decision, saying the company was bowing to political pressure and that it was an assault on free speech ( Getty Images )

open image in gallery Kimmel has seen support from multiple celebrities, including fellow late night hosts David Letterman, Jay Leno, and Stephen Colbert, whose show is being canceled next year ( Getty Images )

Following ABCs move to pull the show, many in Hollywood decried the decision, saying the company was bowing to political pressure and that it was an assault on free speech. Kimmel has seen support from multiple celebrities, including fellow late night hosts David Letterman, Jay Leno, and Stephen Colbert, whose show is being canceled next year.

Colbert called ABCs decision to pause Kimmels show blatant censorship and said he stands with his colleague 100 percent at the taping of his CBS show Thursday night.

However, despite the furore, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, said Wednesday that Kimmel had misled viewers about the alleged shooters MAGA affiliation. Carr also raised the possibility that the FCC could revoke the broadcast licenses of local television stations that carry such garbage.

We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Carr said in an interview with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel.

During a state visit to the UK Thursday, President Donald Trump, said Kimmel had been punished for saying "a horrible thing" about Kirk.
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Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old Utah resident accused of killing MAGA commentator Charlie Kirk, has been formally charged with aggravated murder.

At a press conference announcing charges against him Tuesday, state prosecutors revealed text messages sent by Robinson to his roommate and alleged romantic partner, in which he appeared to take responsibility for the fatal shooting at Utah Valley University last week.

Robinson evaded capture for 33 hours after allegedly opening fire on Kirk from a rooftop around 160 yards away from where he was speaking, jumping off a roof and disappearing in the ensuing chaos. The right-wing influencer, 31, died several hours after being struck in the neck by the bullet.

Robinson has been formally charged with aggravated murder and six other charges, including obstruction of justice and witness tampering.

Heres what we know about the alleged killer:

open image in gallery In this image from video provided by Utah State Courts, Tyler James Robinson attends a virtual court hearing from prison to hear the charges for his alleged murder of Charlie Kirk ( Utah State Courts )

Who is the suspect?

Robinson grew up in the conservative southern Utah city of Washington with his mom, a trained social worker who works at Intermountain Support Coordination Services; dad, a police officer and kitchen fitter; and two brothers, social media pictures suggest.

He has been described as quiet by people who know him, as well as a straight-A student. His grandmother claimed she had never heard her grandson discuss politics. However, family members told investigators that Robinson had become more political in recent years.

Utah voting information seen by The Independent shows the 22-year-olds voter status is inactive, meaning he has not voted in the last two general elections or responded to notices sent by a county clerk.

His party affiliation is listed as unaffiliated, while both his parents are registered Republicans, according to state voter records.

open image in gallery Robinson has been described as quiet by those who know him, as well as a straight-A student ( Utah Department of Public Safety )

Most of my family members are Republican. I dont know any single one whos a Democrat. Im just so confused, the suspects grandmother, Debbie Robinson, 69, told the Daily Mail. Pictures on social media show Robinson dressed in a Trump costume for Halloween in 2017.

Robinson did not attend Utah Valley University, where the shooting took place.

He received a resident presidential scholarship to Utah State University, but only attended the institution for one year. He then moved home to complete an electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College in St. George, Utah, according to the Utah System of Higher Education.

He was living in an apartment in the city at the time of the shooting.

What has he been charged with?

Robinson has been charged with seven counts, the most serious of which are aggravated murder and felony discharge of a firearm. Aggravating factors have been applied to those charges based on targeting Kirk over political expression and knowing that children were present and would witness the homicide.

The full charges are:

Count 1: Aggravated murder

Count 2: Felony discharge of firearm

Count 3: Obstruction of justice, for moving and concealing a rifle

Count 4: Obstruction of justice, for disposing of clothing

Count 5: Witness tampering, for directing roommate to delete texts

Count 6: Witness tampering, directing roommate to stay silent

Count 7: Commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child, for committing homicide knowing children present

Federal officials are also weighing bringing a case against Robinson.

open image in gallery Kirk was hosting a debate at the Utah Valley University on September 10 when he was struck in the neck by a bullet and rushed to hospital ( The Deseret News )

Could Robinson face the death penalty?

Announcing the charges Tuesday, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray said that he would be seeking the death penalty in the case.

This is not a decision I take lightly, he said.

A jury in the case would first have to determine Robinsons guilt and then if he is eligible for execution. He would otherwise face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted. The state conducted its last execution in 2024, ending a 15-year hiatus for capital punishment in Utah.

Utah criminal defense attorney Clayton Simms told Fox13 that factors including the death of a public official, particular cruelty and the fact that he put others at risk during the incident, may possibly sway a jury in favor of execution.

If you kill someone in front of 3,000 live witnesses, if you kill someone knowing that its going to have an impact beyond the state of Utah... that could be particularly cruel, Simms said.

open image in gallery Tyler Robinson has been charged with murder, and federal officials are also considering a case against the 22-year-old ( AP )

Robinsons age or possible mental health issues may count as mitigating factors, the outlet reported. Mitigating factors can be used during trial to show why a person should not be given a death sentence.

President Donald Trump has also called for the death penalty; however, Gray said Tuesday that he had made the decision independently as county attorney based solely on the available evidence and circumstances and nature of the crime.

Robinsons next court appearance will be on September 29, and a judge needs to consider whether the state has enough evidence before proceeding to a trial.

Robinson has yet to be arraigned or enter a plea. Local officials have said the 22-year-old is indigent and have sought to assign him government-appointed legal counsel.

What is the evidence?

Authorities said Tuesday that Robinson left a note for his roommate under his keyboard implicating himself in Kirks murder, and then had a text conversation in which he also said he had committed the crimes.

In an interview on Fox and Friends, FBI director Kash Patel explained that the note had been destroyed, but that they had forensic evidence of the note. Patel explained that the FBI believed the note existed before the shooting and was in Robinsons and his roommates home.

Patel summarized the contents of the note as something to the effect of, I have the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and Im going to take it. This content of the message, he said, was gleaned through interviews.

Robinson told his roommate, who authorities say is biologically male and transitioning to female, that he had planned the crime for more than a week, according to messages obtained by investigators.

In the exchange, Robinson said he had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age, and apologized for involving them.

If I am able to grab my rifle unseen, I will have left no evidence, he wrote. Going to attempt to retrieve it again, hopefully they have moved on. I havent seen anything about them finding it.

Robinson also told his roommate to delete their texts and not talk to the media.

open image in gallery Robinson evaded capture for 33 hours after opening fire on Kirk from a rooftop around 200 yards away, before jumping off the roof and disappearing in the ensuing chaos ( AFP/Getty )

Robinson later allegedly messaged friends on the social messaging platform Discord, writing, Hey guys, I have bad news for you allit was me at UVU yesterday. Im sorry for all of this.

DNA matching Robinson was also found on the trigger a the rifle discovered by detectives, and on some of the shell casings. The gun belonged to his grandfather, authorities said.

Robinson was allegedly worried about leaving his grandfathers rifle at the scene. How the f*** would I explain losing it to my old man?

What do we know about his potential motives?

State officials, as well as other members of the Republican party, have decried Kirks assassination as politically motivated.

While guest-hosting an episode of The Charlie Kirk Show on Monday in honor of his dear friend, Vice President JD Vance placed the blame at the feet of left-wing extremism. FBI Director Kash Patel also claimed that Robinson subscribed to left-wing ideology, citing comments by his family.

However, it is not clear whether Robinsons motives were explicitly political, and officials have not publicly accused the 22-year-old of acting in concert with any accomplices or organized group to carry out the alleged plot.

The FBI has also recently recognized a new category of attacks by so-called nihilistic violent extremists, those who seek chaos more than any clear ideological end.

Robinsons mother explained that, over the past year, the suspect had become more political, according to charging documents. His political stance started to lean to the left  in stark contrast to his parents  and he became more pro-gay and trans-oriented, the document added.

In a conversation before the shooting, Robinson mentioned Kirk would be holding an event at the university, which he called a stupid venue.

open image in gallery Utah Valley University campus remained closed through the weekend following the assassination of Kirk ( Getty )

When asked by his roommate why he had committed the alleged crime, he replied, I had enough of [Kirks] hatred, according to police. Some hate cant be negotiated out.

Online figures on the political right have suggested without concrete evidence that Robinsons alleged attack was directly related to having a roommate and romantic partner who was trans or transitioning, given Kirks regular criticism of transgender people.

Gray, the county attorney, declined this week to comment on whether transgender activism inspired the shooting.

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino has said the bureau is investigating if an extended network of individuals could be tied to the shooting.

The shell casings found by the rifle were engraved with messages that included, Hey, fascist! Catch! with an up arrow symbol, right arrow symbol, and three down arrow symbols, an apparent reference to a button code in the video game Helldivers 2.

Another casing read, oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao, an apparent reference to Bella ciao, a song with roots in an Italian anti-fascist anthem during the Second World War. The song has also been popularized by the series Money Heist and the video game Far Cry 6.

The spent casing reportedly included the phrase notices, bulges, OWO, whats this? an apparent reference to an ironic meme. Another casing allegedly said, If you read this, you are gay LMAO.

On Tuesday, Gray confirmed investigators believed the etched inscriptions on the bullets were a big meme.

How was he caught?

Law enforcement spent over a day searching for Robinson, releasing surveillance photos and videos of the 22-year-old and begging the public to help identify him.

According to the charging document, Robinsons father said that when his wife showed him an image of the shooter in the news, he agreed that it looked like their son. He also believed the rifle looked like a weapon he had gifted his son.

Tyler, is this you? Matt Robinson reportedly asked his son when he first saw the images, a law enforcement official told CNN. This looks like you.

open image in gallery Law enforcement spent more than a day searching for Robinson, releasing surveillance photos and videos of the 22-year-old and begging the public to help identify him ( FBI )

After his mother agreed that the pictures released by authorities looked like him, she and his father called their son, asking what he knew about the crime, officials said.

When his father urged his son to turn himself in, the suspect reportedly responded: I would rather kill myself than turn myself in.

Robinsons family convinced him to talk to a family friend who was a retired deputy sheriff, according to the charging document. The family friend convinced Robison to turn himself in, in part to avoid the police having to search his parents home.
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Charlie Kirk, the MAGA activist and Turning Point USA founder who was shot dead on September 10, is survived by his wife Erika and two young children.

Kirk, 31, was speaking on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem when he was shot in the neck by a sniper positioned on a nearby rooftop. He was rushed to the hospital but died shortly afterwards.

Police later arrested Tyler Robinson, 22, of Utah, in connection with the killing. Robinson, who prosecutors say confessed to the shooting in a text message with his roommate, has been charged with murder and could face the death penalty.

President Donald Trump is one of numerous conservative figures to pay tribute to the late Kirk, a hugely influential voice on the right.

No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie, Trump wrote on social media after the shooting.

open image in gallery Charlie Kirk with his wife, Erika Kirk, celebrating Trumps inauguration in Washington, D.C., in January ( Getty )

He has since announced he will award the slain activist a posthumous Medal of Freedom.

Others have criticized the rights response to his death, including Jimmy Kimmel, whose show was pulled from the air after the comedian argued conservatives were using the activists slaying to score political points.

Kirk was born in Chicagos Arlington Heights section on October 14, 1993, and raised in nearby Prospect Heights, the son of architect Robert W. Kirk, who was involved in the construction of Trump Tower in Manhattan. His mother was a trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange who later worked as a mental health counselor.

Amid his rapid rise in popularity in right-wing political circles, Kirk began dating fellow evangelical Christian Erika Lane Frantzve, 36, winner of the 2012 Miss Arizona USA pageant and a political science graduate from Arizona State University, after meeting her in New York City in 2018. They became engaged the following December and were married in May 2021 in her native Scottsdale.

On September 18, she was announced as the next CEO and board chair of Turning Point USA, the organization her husbanded founded in 2012.

We will carry on, Turning Point leadership wrote in a letter made public on X, announcing the unanimously approved change. The attempt to destroy Charlies work will become our chance to make it more powerful and enduring than ever before.

The organization added that Erika Kirk serving as CEO and chair of the board was what Charlie Kirk had wanted in the event of his death.

If you thought that my husband's mission was powerful before, you have no idea, Kirk said during a recent memorial broadcast on her husbands show. You have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country.

The group has reportedly been deluged with thousands of student requests to join in the wake of Kirks death, and its Arizona headquarters faced a potential bomb threat this week ahead of Kirks planned funeral later this month.

Outside of Turning Point, Erika Kirk is also known for founding Everyday Heroes Like You, a non-profit supporting under-recognized charities, for hosting the Midweek Rise Up podcast, for running the BIBLE365 ministry program, and for PROCLAIM, an accompanying faith-driven clothing brand. According to her official website, Erika Kirk is studying for her doctorate in Biblical studies at Liberty University.

On her LinkedIn page, Kirk says that she is a real estate agent with The Corcoran Group in New York City, although its unclear when that profile was last updated.

Prior to the assassination, the Kirks had recently celebrated the seventh anniversary of their first date together. Erika Kirk revealed in a September 2023 Instagram post that she and Kirk went on their first date in New York City in 2018.

5 years ago today, we sat inside Bills Burgers in NYC deep in conversation and banter over theology, philosophy, and politics, and at the end, you paused, looked at me, and said, Im going to date you, the post reads.

open image in gallery The Kirks have two small children, aged three and one ( Getty )

In a 2024 video on Turning Point USAs YouTube channel, Kirk said that after their very, very long dinner, he knew almost immediately that Erika Kirk was the one.

Charlie Kirk proposed in December 2020, and they wed six months later on May 8, 2021. Their wedding was later described by the bride as being very intimate, with no bridesmaids or groomsmen, only close friends and family.

Together, they had two young children: a daughter born in August 2022 and a son born in May 2024. The children could sometimes be seen in the background of social media posts from the Kirks, but the parents kept their names and faces out of the public eye.

This past April, Kirk appeared on an episode of The Charlie Kirk Show where she discussed how the pair approached their relationship.

Keep your faith, obviously first, and try to identify any fleshy problems that you might be having... You have to continually invest in the confidence in one another, that you're on the same team, she said. You support each other. You love each other. You're not going to undercut each other. You're not going to undercut each other.

Meanwhile, on her Instagram page, Kirk regularly posted about her husband and family life.

My husband Charlie Kirk is a force. He is bold when the world demands silence, he is fearless where others flinch, and he has taken on the battle of the next generation, changing these hearts and minds, she said in one video.

open image in gallery Kirk, 31, was speaking on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem in early September when he was shot in the neck by a sniper positioned on a nearby rooftop ( AFP via Getty Images )

The family was reportedly present on the Utah campus when the tragedy unfolded, and it subsequently emerged that Erika had shared a Bible verse about seeking help during difficult times just hours before she lost her husband.

Psalm 46:1  God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, her post read.

An Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America, Charlie Kirk first became interested in politics while studying at Wheeling High School when he volunteered to help Illinois Republican Mark Kirk (no relation) in his successful 2010 run for the U.S. Senate. Unlike many Chicagoans, the teen rejected the rise of local hero Barack Obama and expressed an admiration for Ronald Reagan instead.

As a senior, Kirk spearheaded a campaign to reverse an increase in the price of cookies being sold in the school cafeteria. But he made a much bigger splash soon after when he wrote an article for Breitbart alleging a liberal bias in high school textbooks, which led to an invitation to appear on Fox News to discuss the piece.

After being turned away from West Point and dropping out of Chicagos Harper College, he found a mentor in Bill Montgomery, 71, a Tea Party-backed legislative candidate and businessman, who encouraged him to commit to full-time conservative activism.

Kirk subsequently founded Turning Point, an organization dedicated to promoting conservative values on campus, beginning his rise to national prominence as the face of young Republicanism in the emerging Trump era, a position he cemented with regular appearances in public, on right-wing media and, eventually, his own podcast.
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National Guard troops are set to remain in Washington D.C. until at least the end of November, a decision made at the request of the Trump administration.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said 150 military police from his state's National Guard would patrol the capital through 30 November.

This extension comes as a sweeping emergency order, enacted by the Trump administration to federalize Washington's police and flood the city with law enforcement, lapsed at midnight Wednesday after Congress failed to extend it.

The order's expiration, however, is unlikely to ease escalating tensions between Republicans and the heavily Democratic district over its autonomy.

A House committee has already begun debating 13 bills that, if approved, would further diminish the city's control.

Mayor Muriel Bowsers office confirmed the National Guard and other federal agencies would maintain their deployment, with no clear end date.

open image in gallery Members of the National Guard near the Washington Monument ( Getty Images )

For the last 30 days, the city's local Metropolitan Police Department has been under the control of the president for use in what he described as a crime-fighting initiative.

Local police joined hundreds of federal law enforcement officers and agents on sweeps and roundups and other police operations.

About 2,000 members of the National Guard from D.C. as well as seven states were also part of the surge of law enforcement.

Crime has dropped during the surge, according to figures from the White House and the local police department, but data also showed crime was falling in the lead-up to the federal takeover.

Congress, satisfied by the steps that Bowser has taken to ensure that the cooperation with the city and its police force will continue, decided not to extend the emergency, returning the police to district control.

open image in gallery Members of the Louisiana National Guard patrol the National Mall

But Bowser, who has walked a tightrope in collaborating with Trump in an effort to protect the city's home rule, must now pivot to a Congress that has jurisdiction over the city.

The next order of business is a series of proposals that began to be debated on Wednesday by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Some of the House bills focus on law enforcement

Thirteen of the bills call for repealing or changing D.C. laws.

Some provisions in play would remove the position of the district's elected attorney general, who recently asked a judge to intervene in the takeover. Others would allow the president to appoint someone to the position.

There is also a move to lower the age of trying juveniles to 14 from 16 for certain crimes, and one to change the bail system and remove methods the council can use to extend emergency bills.

Even if the bills pass the committee and House, the question is whether they can get through the filibuster-proof Senate. D.C. activists have already begun lobbying Senate Democrats.

Bowser urged the leaders of the House Oversight Committee to reject those proposals.

She argued that a bill sponsored by Rep. Paul Gosar, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, would make the District less efficient, competitive, and responsive.

She said she looks forward to working with the committee to build a productive partnership that respects the will of D.C. residents and honors the principles of home rule.

Republican Rep. Ron Estes and several Republican colleagues said they want their constituents to feel safe visiting the capital, and noted the recent murder of an intern who worked in Estes' office.

open image in gallery D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser ( AP )

We want to make sure that we have a capital that Americans are proud of, Estes said.

Members of the Republican Study Committee in the House held a news conference Sept. 2 praising Trump's intervention and supporting codifying his executive order.

Congress has a clear constitutional authority over D.C., and we will use it without hesitation to continue making D.C. safe and great again, said Rep. August Pfluger, chairman of that committee.

D.C. mayor says the bills challenge the city's autonomy

Bowser said the bills are an affront to the city's autonomy and said laws affecting the district should be made by the district.

The district is granted autonomy through a limited home rule agreement passed in 1973, but federal political leaders retain significant control over local affairs, including the approval of the budget and laws passed by the D.C council.

Bowser has said repeatedly that statehood, a nonstarter for Republicans in Congress, is the only solution.
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Elon Musk has risked stoking the heightened political tensions surrounding the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk by posting on X the statement: The Left is the party of murder.

Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA and a key ally of President Donald Trump, was shot in the neck by a snipers bullet at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday. He was raced to hospital but died soon afterwards. He leaves behind a wife and two young children.

As President Trump leads the tributes to Kirk, his killer remains at large at the time of writing. Two people were arrested in the immediate aftermath of the incident but both have since been released without charge. The manhunt for the gunman continues.

open image in gallery Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot dead at Utah Valley University on Wednesday ( AP )

Musks inflammatory reaction was posted in response to another message on his social media platform that read: The Left lectured us for the last decade about the dangers of violence from the Right. From the assassination attempts of President Trump to Brian Thompson, the United Healthcare CEO, being murdered. Now to Charlie Kirk. The danger was actually on the Left.

The tech billionaire wrote in response to another post: If they wont leave us in peace, then our choice is fight or die.

He further agreed with a post from right-wing media personality Mike Cernovich that accused wealthy investors George Soros, Bill Gates, and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman of funding left-wing terrorism, without providing evidence.

Musk later issued a one-word response (Exactly) to another partisan post that read: The left-wing mainstream media, as well as figures like Gavin Newson claiming Trump plans to be dictator, has created a climate of hysteria against right-wing figures that could radicalize any number of unstable people to engage in political violence.

Newsom  the Democratic governor of California, who hosted Kirk on his podcast earlier this year was among the first public figures to condemn the killing, writing on X: The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.

Other Democratic victims of political violence, including former congresswoman Gabby Giffords and former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, were quick to follow suit and express their sorrow over the tragedy.

open image in gallery Elon Musk has largely stayed out of the political fray since parting ways with President Trump in July ( Getty )

Musk went on to retweet Trumps video message from the Oval Office paying tribute to Kirk as well as a post from Vice President JD Vance remembering his friend and an allegation from a person who claimed to have been in attendance at the event in Utah and said students were chanting kill Charlie Kirk before the shot was fired, which has not been substantiated.

The Tesla and SpaceX boss also reacted to a post alleging that users on rival platform Bluesky were celebrating Kirks death by saying: They are celebrating cold-blooded murder.

His remarks were quickly condemned on his own platform, with one person branding him dangerous and advising him to delete his account, while at least two more posted charts of mass shooting events to claim that the political affiliation of the assassins responsible was Republican in the majority of cases.

Musk became closely aligned with Trump following the attempt on the presidents life in Butler, Pennsylvania, last summer, donating generously to his election campaign and serving for the first half of the year in his administration before the two men endured a spectacular falling out in early July.

He has largely stayed out of the political fray since then.
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Last week's Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at a Hyundai-linked battery plant in Georgia will reportedly delay production and construction efforts at the U.S. Hyundai facility, potentially by months, according to the company's CEO.

On September 4, ICE raided a Hyundai-linked facility in Georgia where batteries are produced. The agency arrested hundreds of workers, many whom are South Korean.

Seeing their fellow citizens in handcuffs made waves in South Korea, and earned condemnation from the nation's president.

Hyundai Motor Company's president and CEO, Jose Munoz, told Axios that it would not change its plans for investment into the U.S., but that it will delay its battery production.

"The U.S. is strategically important for the mid- to long-term, and our plans of investment continue, okay? But it's something that needs to be resolved to be able to go fast," he told the outlet.

open image in gallery Manufacturing plant employees waiting to have their legs shackled at the Hyundai Motor Group's electric vehicle plant. Hyundai CEO Jose Munoz said production at the plant would likely be delayed by months due to the ICE raid ( AP )

During an event on Thursday in Detroit, Munoz explained to reporters what delays might be on the horizon.

"This is going to give us minimum two to three months delay, because now all these people want to get back," Munoz told reporters on Thursday. "Then you need to see how can you fill those positions. And for the most part, those people are not in the U.S."

U.S. officials reached a deal with South Korea to release its more than 300 detained workers into the nation's custody. The workers were due to be flown home on a charter flight.

Munoz noted that "almost all battery companies operating in the U.S. are Korean," and said that finding people with the knowledge to work in the facility may take some time. He said his three month estimation was based on an assumption that "some people will be able to come back and help" because "the knowledge is not here."

"Our company does a lot of things. We don't build batteries, right? So this is not our knowledge, and then they have it in in Korea. They specialize," he said.

open image in gallery Protesters stage a rally against the detention of South Korean workers during an immigration raid in Georgia, near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, this week. The signs read A tariff bomb and workers confinement ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

President Donald Trump reportedly tried to convince some of the South Korean workers detained in the raid to stay in the U.S. and train American workers, according to officials in Seoul.

Trump reportedly emphasized that the detained Korean nationals were skilled workers and suggested they either remain in the U.S. to contribute to training the American workforce or be returned to South Korea, depending on Seouls stance," according to the Financial Times, citing a South Korean official.

The workers were reportedly exhausted and shocked by their detainment and instead opted to return home to South Korea, according to officials.

South Korea's foreign minister, Cho Hyun, said that South Koreans were "hurt and shocked" by the images of their countrymen being shackled, seeing them as workers who came to the U.S. to transfer technology and knowhow to contribute to the Trump administrations efforts to revive the U.S. manufacturing industry.

The Georgia facility was intended to create approximately 40,000 direct and indirect jobs, according to the company.
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Aides to former President Joe Biden are on the warpath after former Vice President Kamala Harris accused them of sabotaging her presidential campaign.

She made the claims  which include painting Biden as "reckless" for running again  in her new memoir 107 Days, which will be published on September 23. The Atlantic published an excerpt from the book this week.

A former Biden official brushed off her criticism and told Axios that she was not an impressive vice president.

"Vice President Harris was simply not good at the job," the official, speaking anonymously, said. "She had basically zero substantive role in any of the administration's key work streams, and instead would just dive bomb in for stilted photo ops that exposed how out of depth she was."

The official insisted that Biden is "not the reason she struggled in office or tanked her 2019 [presidential] campaign."

Former Vice President Kamala Harris accused former President Joe Bidens staffers of undermining her during her time in his administration and of sabotaging her 2024 presidential chances in her new memoir ( Getty )

"Or lost the 2024 campaign, for that matter," the official said. "The independent variable there is the vice president, not Biden or his aides."

In the excerpt, Harris recounts her perception of some of the thought process among Biden's team and his allies ahead of the 2024 election, and accuses some of undermining her while she was vice president.

"'It's Joe and Jill's decision.' We all said that, like a mantra, as if we'd all been hypnotized. Was it grace, or was it recklessness? In retrospect, I think it was recklessness," Harris wrote.

In another section, Harris writes that the stakes for the election were "simply too high" to let "an individual's ego, an individual's ambition" determine who should run against then-former President Donald Trump in 2024.

She did accept some responsibility, noting that she should have "perhaps" voiced her concerns then, but didn't want to look like she was making a grab for power.

"I was in the worst position to make the case that he should drop out," she wrote.

A former Biden aide told Axios Harris's mea culpa wasn't exactly inspiring.

"I'm not sure the very robust defense of not having the courage to speak up in the moment about Biden running is quite as persuasive as she thinks it is. If this is her attempt at political absolution: Lots of luck in your senior year," the aide said.

Harris also accused Biden's camp of trying to undermine and minimize her while she served as vice president.

"Their thinking was zero-sum: If she's shining, he's dimmed. None of them grasped that if I did well, he did well," Harris wrote. "His team didn't get it."

She further accused them of being silently accepting of negative news stories about her.

"When the stories [about Harris] were unfair or inaccurate, the president's inner circle seemed fine with it. Indeed, it seemed as if they decided I should be knocked down a little bit more," she said.

Despite some of the aides' comments, Harris had some sympathetic voices in the former Biden camp.

Ron Klain, Biden's former chief of staff, said he thought that Harris "did a good job" in her role as vice president and said he felt "badly that she found the experience negative."

Another former aide told Axios that "we all know that Biden folks treated her and her team like s***."

"We never thought she would actually say anything," they aide said. "The staffers across a range of ages and positions that I'm talking to are proud of her."
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Political analyst Matthew Dowd has been fired from MSNBC after appearing to blame conservative activist Charlie Kirk for his own death, a source at the network has told The Independent.

Calls were made for Dowd to be sacked after he implied that Kirks hateful thoughts and awful words led someone to shoot him during an event at a college in Utah on Wednesday. The high-profile Donald Trump supporter, aged 31, died shortly afterwards.

Asked by anchor Katy Tur about the environment in which a shooting like this happens, Dowd said Kirk has been one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups.

Click here to follow our liveblog on Charlie Kirks death.

open image in gallery Dowd was fired hours after making the comments ( Getty Images )

And I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions. You cant stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place. And thats the unfortunate environment we are in.

MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler issued an apology on Wednesday, describing Dowds comments as inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable.

We apologize for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise, the statement added.

open image in gallery Panic took hold after gun shots were heard at the event in Utah ( Bartholomew/@Lifeisdriving with Mainstreet Media Utah/TMX )

Fox News host Jesse Watters demanded that Dowd be fired immediately and that he expected him to be terminated within 24 hours.

You cant say Charlie deserved to die. Just cant say that, and I hope he loses his job. Its dangerous, Greg. Thats the message. Its dangerous to open your mouth, so shut it.

Kirks killer remains on the loose, and a person who was taken into custody was released a short time later after being found not to have been involved in the shooting, FBI Director Kash Patel said.

open image in gallery Charlie Kirk died aged 31 ( AP )

The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency, Patel stated on social media.

In an Oval Office address on Wednesday evening, Trump blamed the radical left for the shooting, despite the assailant not having yet been identified.

For years those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the worlds worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that were seeing in our country today and it must stop right now, Trump said.
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MSNBC host Joe Scarborough applauded the networks president Thursday morning for denouncing Matthew Dowd for his obviously wrong and extraordinarily hurtful remarks about the shooting of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

Hours after Dowd described Kirk  the founder of MAGA youth organization Turning Point USA  as a divisive figure who pushed hate speech in the wake of Kirks assassination, MSNBC fired him as a political analyst.

At the top of Thursdays broadcast of Morning Joe, Scarborough revealed that he had personally called President Donald Trump to offer his condolences over the death of Kirk, who the MSNBC star noted was a close friend and ally of the presidents. (The president would later announce he was posthumously giving the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Kirk.)

I spoke with  we talk to the president from time to time, I certainly spoke with the president after Butler, Pennsylvania, to call and offer my condolences and I did the same thing last night because I knew he was close to Charlie, Scarborough, who has swung from Trump pal to outspoken critic of the president over the years, said.

And he said Charlie was a great man, he talked about how he was a singular talent for this time, especially for the conservative movement, the host continued. And President Trump even talked about how Charlie Kirk played a huge role in helping him get elected: The voter registration drives, going to college campuses.

open image in gallery Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough applauds MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler for condemning the hurtful words of fired network analyst Matthew Dowd. ( MSNBC )

After Scarborough credited Kirk with turning out young conservative voters for Trump in the last election, co-host Willie Geist pointed out that there had been near universal condemnation of what happened yesterday, adding that every living president had condemned the shooting and offered prayers in support of Kirks family.

And of course, there are always people on the fringe, on social media who are going to be idiots and celebrate the horrible moments like this, but there is near universal condemnation from political leadership for this act of violence and all acts of violence, Geist added. And this is a really important moment for our leaders to step up and say that again and again.

With his colleague saying that were getting it from both sides of the aisle and lets hope that holds, Scarborough jumped in to highlight MSNBC President Rebecca Kutlers denouncement of remarks made by Dowd shortly after Kirk was shot.

Lets hope that holds  and also the leadership of this network, Scarborough stated. Someone came on  Matthew Dowd  yesterday, came on, and made a wild speculation that was obviously wrong and extraordinarily hurtful to many people.

He continued: Rebecca Kutler, so last night, came out and condemned his words in the strongest terms. So were glad she did that.

During the networks live coverage just after Kirk was shot, anchor Katy Tur was speaking about Utahs gun laws when she wondered about the environment in which a shooting like this happens before turning to Dowd for his reaction.

We dont know if this was a supporter shooting their gun off in celebration. So we have no idea about this, he responded before later turning to Kirk, bringing up the pro-Trump influencers politically fiery rhetoric.

Hes been one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups, Dowd declared. And I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions. And I think that is the environment we are in. You cant stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place. And thats the unfortunate environment we are in.

Dowds comments immediately sparked intense backlash, especially from the right, who claimed that the longtime political strategist was blaming Kirk for his own death. Fox News host Jesse Watters, for instance, demanded that Dowd be fired immediately and that he expected the network to do just that within 24 hours.

You cant say Charlie deserved to die. Just cant say that, and I hope he loses his job, Watters said during Wednesdays broadcast of The Five. Thats the message. Its dangerous to open your mouth, so shut it.

Amid the uproar, Kutler issued a public apology while rebuking Dowds on-air remarks. During our breaking news coverage of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable, she said. We apologize for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise.

Dowd also took to social media to issue his own mea culpa, stating that his thoughts & prayers are w/ the family and friends of Charlie Kirk before walking back his remarks.

open image in gallery Dowd was fired Wednesday night over remarks he made in the wake of the shooting of Charlie Kirk. ( Getty Images )

On an earlier appearance on MSNBC I was asked a question on the environment we are in. I apologize for my tone and words, he wrote. Let me be clear, I in no way intended for my comments to blame Kirk for this horrendous attack. Let us all come together and condemn violence of any kind.

Hours later, Dowd was out at the network. While MSNBC has not publicly confirmed that it has terminated Dowd, who had been a political analyst with the left-leaning cable channel since 2022, a network source told The Independent on Wednesday evening that he had been fired.

While Dowd has faced repercussions for his commentary on the shooting, many prominent right-wing media figures and politicians have lashed out in rage and blamed the radical left for the assassination, with some outright calling for retribution.

For years those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the worlds worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that were seeing in our country today and it must stop right now, Trump said in a statement from the Oval Office on Wednesday night. My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it.

During the same hour that he called for Dowd to be fired over his comments, Watters said we are going to avenge Charlies death in the way that Charlie wanted to be avenged while adding that everybodys accountable and he would be watching them closely.

Whether we want to accept it or not, they are at war with us, the Fox star exclaimed. And what are we going to do about it? How much political violence are we going to tolerate? And thats the question we are just going to have to ask ourselves.
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A top State Department official on Thursday gave a hint as to how Charlie Kirks killing could energize the Trump administrations efforts to target foreigners living legally in the United States for expulsion.

Chris Landau, the top official serving under Secretary of State Marco Rubio, tweeted that his MAGA followers on X should report to the State Department if they believe a foreign-born person living in the United States is glorifying violence in their speech or actions.

In light of yesterdays horrific assassination of a leading political figure, I want to underscore that foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country, Landau wrote.

Please feel free to bring such comments by foreigners to my attention so that the @StateDept can protect the American people, Landau continued.

The statement is a sign of the Trump administrations continued efforts to restrict the First Amendment rights of foreigners living in the United States, which some of the presidents MAGA allies deny extends to anyone not born in America. The Supreme Court ruled to the contrary in Bridges vs Wixon in 1945.

Marco Rubio has led the State Department as it implements Trumps efforts to suppress the speech and expression rights of noncitizens ( AP )

The White House and State Department under Donald Trump have pushed those boundaries and sought to revoke visas for foreign-born students who supported protests on college campuses against the Israeli siege of Gaza.

Landaus statement also serves to fuel a perception that conservatives have pushed in the wake of Kirks shooting death at Utah Valley University on Wednesday: that political violence is solely a problem on the left. In a draft letter to colleagues on Thursday, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna made that argument explicitly: one side finds it acceptable to stoke fear and violence to silence civil dissent.

Rubio, once a figure known for pursuing bipartisanship during his time in the Senate, has seemingly embraced Trumps efforts to roll back the the First Amendment for noncitizens. In January, he vowed that he would revoke visas for every foreign-born student he found to be supportive of campus protests. Some, like Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk, have even been imprisoned.

Under Trumps second term, the federal government has sought to broadly redefine the limits of speech and free expression in America, both for citizens and noncitizens.

The president took his latest step to do so last month, when he directed the Justice Department to resume efforts to prosecute demonstrators who burn the American flag under charges of inciting violence. That debate was previously settled at the Supreme Court years ago in a decision that tossed out flag-burning bans in 48 states.

Numerous legal experts have pointed out how the Trump administrations campaign could curtail rights for all Americans with its assault on student visas and foreign-born residents.

The Trump administration is revoking green cards and visas solely based on speech. Individuals are explicitly being targeted based on beliefs, statements, or associations that are lawful within the United States but which Secretary of State Marco Rubio has deemed adverse to the foreign policy of the United States, the Cato Institutes David J. Bier wrote in April, adding: The administrations assault on noncitizen speech reveals a much deeper problem. A significant portion of the American public has simply forgotten the value of free speech entirely, and thats the biggest threat to free speech of all.

The killing of Kirk on Wednesday sent shockwaves around Washington, with Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives devolving into a shouting match on the chamber floor and angry GOP representatives attempting to blame reporters for the murder.

In June, a 57-year-old man was arrested after police say he assassinated a Democratic state lawmaker and wounded one other, with police finding a hit list that included abortion providers and pro-choice groups inside the suspects vehicle.

Other acts of violence have been carried out againt members of both parties in recent years, a disturbing trend of political violence that is creeping into all sides of American culture.

After former House Speaker Nancy Pelosis husband was grievously wounded by an intruder seeking to harm his wife in 2022, Republicans including the presidents son, Donald Trump Jr., mocked the victim.
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The hosts of The View reacted to the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk on Thursday by saying this is antithetical to who we are as Americans and that people should be able to speak freely without fear of being killed over their political views.

We should be able to voice whatever opinions we have, co-host Sunny Hostin declared.

Whoopi Goldberg, meanwhile, asked that isnt a fundamental part of being an American is being able to express our opinions to each other without fear of retribution or violence. This is not the way we do it, she later exclaimed, referencing the shooting of the 31-year-old pro-Trump influencer.

With the suspect still at large a day after Kirk was shot to death while speaking at Utah Valley University, The View opened its show by noting that political figures from both sides of the aisle have paid tribute to Kirk and offered up prayers for his family. At the same time, they took the opportunity to express concern about the rise of political violence in recent years.

It seems to be something weve been seeing more and more of, Goldberg stated. And its not even left or right. Its just people being taken out because of their beliefs and their thoughts.

The View's Whoopi Goldberg declares "this is not the way we do it" in the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk. ( ABC News )

Alyssa Farah Griffin, the resident conservative panelist on the show, added that regardless of your politics, we have got to get to a place in this country where political differences dont prevent Americans from being willing to engage with each other civilly.

Noting the level of influence he had with his conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, Griffin said, this is going to hit young Republicans really hard because Kirk made them feel it was okay to speak up when they felt like they were the only conservatives on college campuses.

I hope it doesnt have a chilling effect, whether youre left or right, on your ability to speak your mind, she added. I know the one thing we all agree about on this table is that we all share our viewpoints. And we should be able to do that without fear.

Outspoken liberal co-host Joy Behar responded to Griffin by saying, That is our bread and butter here. Meanwhile, Sara Haines pointed out that, even though she largely didnt align with Kirks views, she agreed wholeheartedly with his observation that when we stop talking, thats when things get bad.

Referencing Kirks Prove Me Wrong debate sessions at colleges, Haines said he would talk to people openly who disagreed with him, stating that this is what The View tries to exemplify every day. Theres never a place for political violence, she asserted.

Calling Kirk a family man and bemoaning the fact that his young children will now grow up without a father, Hostin proclaimed that there is just no place for this kind of violence in this country. Adding that she is heartbroken over the shooting, Hostin called it antithetical to American values as the First Amendment is the First Amendment for a reason.

Noting that she came of age in the 1960s, Behar stated that this tumultuous political climate is not unfamiliar to her before she brought up the number of assassinations of prominent political and cultural figures during that decade.

I'd like to be positive about it. We did get out of it. The country survived it, and we got better. I think we will again. Were having a traumatic period right now, she insisted.

Goldberg, for her part, brought up the recent assassination attempts on Donald Trump and the killing of Minnesota Democratic lawmaker Melissa Hortman to call for an end to politically motivated violence.

This is not the way we do it, she exclaimed. And we say this every time! But somehow, its not resonating. And I hope that young Republicans never forget that they have a voice. Its already been proven. They have a voice.

The Oscar-winning actress concluded by declaring that we all have voices and we should never ever be afraid, describing the situation as beyond beyond.
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President Donald Trump led tributes to the conservative activist Charlie Kirk after he was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie, Trump wrote on Truth Social, announcing his death.

He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you! Trump added.

Kirk, 31, was the co-founder of Turning Point USA  a nonprofit organization dedicated to engaging with conservative youths and promoting conservative policies on high school and college campuses. The right-wing activist rose to prominence in the Republican Party as a result of his work, becoming good friends with Donald Trump Jr and other prominent conservatives.

open image in gallery Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative activist, was fatally shot while speaking at an event in Utah ( AFP via Getty Images )

Trump Jr. offered a tribute on X to his friend, saying: I love you brother. You gave so many people the courage to speak up and we will not ever be silenced.

The president called for American flags across the country to be lowered at half-mast until Sunday evening in honor of Kirk.

Upon hearing news of the shooting, members of Trumps cabinet, including Vice President JD Vance, sent tributes. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, Vance wrote on X.

Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said Kirks influence in the presidential transition made it the most successful in history.

He never took credit for the assistance he provided. He was always a great friend of mine. I pray for peace and comfort for his wife and two beautiful children, Lutnick wrote on X.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. remembered Kirk as the most eloquent truth teller.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson led a moment of silence for Kirk on the House chamber floor on Wednesday, calling the shooting detestable.

Utah Governor, Republican Spencer Cox, said on X, that he had spoken with the president and would work with law enforcement to bring justice to the individual responsible for this tragedy.

Other Republican lawmakers including Arizona Representative Andy Biggs, former Vice President Mike Pence, and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller remembered Kirk on social media.

open image in gallery Kirk, pictured with President Donald Trump in 2019, was well known in conservative circles ( AFP via Getty Images )

David Sacks, a billionaire entrepreneur who serves on the presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, said his friend was the best of America.

Other conservative media personalities who knew Kirk shared their grief. Candace Owens, a right-wing podcaster, said she couldnt process the news.

Ben Shapiro, a fellow conservative activist, recounted meeting him as an 18-year-old and believing he was destined to take over the Republican National Committee.

Charlie became even bigger and more important than that. It was a privilege to watch this principled man stand up for his beliefs and create the single most important conservative political organization in America. But more importantly, Charlie was a good man, a man who believed in right and wrong, who stood by his Biblical values. All of us will miss him, and I cant imagine the pain of his beautiful young family, and we must all pray for them, Shapiro wrote.

Prominent Democrats also sent prayers and called for an end to political violence.

There is no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now. Jill and I are praying for Charlie Kirks family and loved ones, former President Joe Biden wrote on X.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris wrote on X that she was deeply disturbed by the shooting and condemned the act.

We dont yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy, former President Barack Obama wrote on X. Michelle and I will be praying for Charlies family tonight, especially his wife Erika and their two young children.

Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom called the attack on Kirk disgusting, vile, and reprehensible.

Senate Minority Leader, Democrat Chuck Schumer, called the shooting horrifying and said political violence has no place in America.

The scourge of gun violence and political violence must end, Democratic New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said. The shooting of Charlie Kirk is the latest incident of this chaos and it must stop.

Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of John F. Kennedy and a Democrat, said the country was weaker because of the assassination against Kirk.

open image in gallery Kirk, pictured with Vice President JD Vance and Senator Josh Hawley in 2022, helped campaign for Republican candidates ( Getty Images )

Anti-gun violence activists, who typically butt heads with Republicans over Second Amendment rights, also offered prayers for Kirk while calling for gun control.

Former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who became a gun violence prevention advocate after surviving an assassination attempt in 2011, said political disagreements should never include violence.

The murder of Charlie Kirk breaks my heart, Giffords said in a statement. My deepest sympathies are with his wife, two young children, and friends.

Democratic societies will always have political disagreements, but we must never allow America to become a country that confronts those disagreements with violence, Giffords added.

David Hogg, a survivor of the Parkland school shooting and former vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, said it was horrifying news that Kirk had been shot.

Gun violence and political violence have to f***ing stop. Charlie, his family, and all the students who had to witness the shooting are in my thoughts. We have disagreements, but we all agree something has to change, Hogg wrote.
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President Donald Trump has said he is not thrilled about Israels attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday, which promises to give him a fresh diplomatic headache in the Middle East.

Hamas has said that five of its lower-ranking members and a Qatari security official were killed in the surprise strike but that its senior leadership had escaped injury.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus move into a country that had been considered a safe zone in the region has shocked its Gulf allies and placed a further strain on its relationship with Washington, which may feel its own security guarantees to Qatar have been violated by Netanyahus actions.

open image in gallery President Donald Trump faced criticism from both Democrats and Republicans earlier this year after accepting a Qatari 747-8 aircraft as a gift ( AFP/Getty )

An investigation earlier this year by The Free Press reported that Qatar has invested $100bn in improving relations with the U.S. in recent years after Trump alleged in June 2017 that the country has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level.

The outreach program culminated with the president visiting in May and accepting a $400m luxury Boeing jumbo jet as a stand-in for Air Force One after complaining about the length of time it was taking the U.S. aircraft giant to build replacements commissioned under Barack Obama in 2015. The plane is so lavish it has been dubbed the palace in the sky.

Trumps acceptance caused an ethics uproar at the time, despite his assurances it would go to his presidential library once he has left office.

It was reported in late July that the U.S. had already begun refitting the plane at great expense, with Trump himself saying it could be ready for service by February 2026, but Qatar might now feel it has cause to regret its generosity, despite originally describing the jet as an unconditional present.

In Trumps defense, he made it clear on Tuesday that he played no part in Israels decision to go after Hamas in Doha, writing on Truth Social: Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, does not advance Israel or Americas goals.

open image in gallery Smoke rises from an explosion allegedly caused by the Israeli strike in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday ( AP )

The president added that he had dispatched Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to warn Qatar of the assault as soon as he learned of it from the U.S. military, which he did, however, unfortunately, too late to stop the attack.

Trump further stated that he felt very badly about the incident and had made assurances to Qatars Emir and PM that such a thing will not happen again on their soil.

Asked about it by reporters when he stepped out for dinner in D.C. last night, he said: I'm not thrilled about the whole situation, not a good situation, but I will say this, we want the hostages back, but we are not thrilled about the way that went down.

I will tell you this: I was very unhappy about it. Very unhappy about every aspect; weve got to get the hostages back. But I was very unhappy about the way that went down.

A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, meanwhile, said that the attack constitutes a blatant violation of all international laws and norms, and poses a serious threat to the security and safety of Qataris and residents in Qatar. Their remarks contained no overt criticism of the U.S.

In donating its flying palace earlier this year, the emirate denied accusations of influence-buying, although it was clearly intended, at the very least, as a gesture of friendship designed to engender closer ties.

open image in gallery Trump addresses U.S. troops at Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar in May ( Reuters )

Its really unfair accusations for [saying] Qatars trying to buy influence, Qatari PM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told Fox News anchor Bret Baier this spring.

Throughout the last 25 years or 30 years, you will see, youll find Qatar always by the side of the U.S. in many areas and many things.

Trumps decision to accept the plane nevertheless proved hugely controversial, with top Democrats accusing the president of naked corruption and likening the present to the Trojan Horse.

Amid a furore in Congress over the jet potentially violating the U.S. Constitutions emoluments clause, Trumps own Justice Department lawyers moved quickly to rule that taking delivery of it would break no laws.

Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House lawyer David Warrington said they had concluded the donation of the aircraft was legally permissible.

But Columbia Law School Professor Richard Briffault questioned that assessment when he told NPR that if Trump breaks his word and holds onto the plane after leaving office then its not really a gift to the United States at all and instead amounts to a pretty textbook case of a violation of the emoluments clause.

Another cause for concern was the eye-watering cost of the retrofitting work required to make the jet an acceptable substitute for the presidential plane.

Experts warned this spring that it would take several years and require billions of dollars in further investment from the American taxpayer to ensure it meets the necessary security standards.

It would require secure communications, electromagnetic shielding, and in-flight refueling capabilities, to name just three necessary upgrades, which aviation experts cited by NBC News estimated would put the bill at $1bn, more than twice the planes worth.
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Turning Point USA, the grassroots right-wing political organization founded by Charlie Kirk, has been left reeling after its leader was shot dead during a campus event in Utah on Wednesday.

Kirk, 31, was speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem when a snipers bullet hit him during a discussion about gun violence. He was rushed to the hospital but died soon afterwards. He leaves behind a wife and two young children. A manhunt for the gunman is currently ongoing.

May he be received into the merciful arms of our loving Savior, who suffered and died for Charlie, TPUSA said in a statement posted on its official website and on X. We ask that everyone keep his family and loved ones in your prayers.

open image in gallery Charlie Kirk shakes hands with President Donald Trump at a Turning Point USA event in March 2018 ( Getty )

Kirk was an 18-year-old Chicago college dropout and Ronald Reagan admirer when he founded the organization in 2012 with the support and encouragement of Bill Montgomery, 71, a Tea Party-backed legislative candidate and marketing entrepreneur.

While still in high school, Kirk

We are committed to identifying, educating, training, and organizing students to promote freedom, TPUSA states on its website. What that amounts to in practice is promoting conservative values in Americas schools, colleges, and universities on the assumption that such institutions naturally tend to be left-leaning spaces that scorn Republican talking points in favor of progressivism.

Coming to fruition as Barack Obamas second term drew to a close, TPUSA was ideally poised to latch onto the ascent of Donald Trump, seeing him as a champion who could re-energize right-leaning politics and shake up the establishment. However, Kirk initially appeared to favor Texas Sen. Ted Cruz before switching his support.

Like Trump, Kirk proved himself a happy culture warrior, regularly appearing on conservative media to take Democrats to task over a vast array of issues, from trans rights and gay marriage to abortion and gun control, frequently attracting controversy.

He used his celebrity among Republicans to help grow TPUSA, and it now has a presence at 3,500 institutions, more than 850 campus chapters, and field representatives in all 50 states. Its activists spend their days sending right-wing speakers to college campuses and staging conferences at which their young audiences can discuss contemporary social issues like race and immigration through a MAGA lens.

TPUSA is particularly known for its Professor Watchlist (launched in 2016) and School Board Watchlist (2021), which it uses to name and shame teachers and boards whom it accuses of discriminating against Republican students.

open image in gallery Mourners in Seattle, Washington, hold a candlelit vigil for Kirk on Wednesday evening ( Getty )

Still funded by conservative private donors, TPUSA has six national summits and hosts eight regional conferences per year.

It also has several spinoff ventures, including Turning Point Action, tasked with engaging voters specifically; Turning Point Faith, for religious advocacy; Turning Point Endowment, which handles its charitable endeavors; and Turning Point U.K., its British arm (Kirk addressed the Oxford Union in May).

In June this year, it organized its biggest ever Young Womens Leadership Summit in Grapevine, Texas, at which the speakers, including Kirk and his wife Erika, both of whom are evangelical Christians, urged the 3,000 young women present to consider putting marriage before their careers.

TPUSA is also behind several popular podcasts, including the late activists own Charlie Kirk Show and Culture Apothecary, which is fronted by Alex Clark and focuses on wellness, lifestyle, and Robert F Kennedy Jrs Make America Healthy Again movement.

Appealing to young men through podcasts and new media was seen as a key strategy behind Trumps election victory over Kamala Harris last year, and TPUSA has been widely credited with helping to drive turnout for the Republican ticket.

The president has never overlooked the significance of Kirks influence over that demographic and made sure to speak at a TPUSA gathering in Arizona last September.

He has since paid tribute to Kirk and said he will posthumously award him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Americas highest civilian honor.
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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said he would deploy military and militias to 284 battlefront locations across his country as tensions with the U.S. rise following a deadly strike last week.

Flanked by his defense minister, Maduro raised the stakes in a state television broadcast Thursday morning.

We're ready for an armed fight, if it's necessary, Maduro said from Ciudad Caribia, on the country's central coast, Reuters reported.

Along all the Venezuelan coasts, from the border with Colombia to the east of the country, from north to south and east to west, we have a full preparation of official troops, he said.

The escalation follows a lethal U.S. strike last week on what President Donald Trump claimed was a boat smuggling drugs out of Venezuela for the Tren de Aragua gang.

open image in gallery Flanked by his defense minister, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro raised the stakes in a state television broadcast Thursday morning and said the country was ready for an armed fight ( Venezuelan Presidency/AFP via Ge )

Trump alleged that the shipment in the Caribbean Sea was led by the Venezuelan president, which Maduro denied.

The strike on the vessel killed 11 people, which is the first known U.S. military attack against alleged drug traffickers since the Trump administration began sending warships to the Caribbean last month.

Please let this serve as notice to anyone even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE, Trump wrote last week, but the administration has since shared little information about the strike.

Venezuelas interior minister said Thursday that none of the 11 people killed aboard the vessel belonged to Tren de Aragua.

They openly confessed to killing 11 people," Diosdado Cabello said on state television. We have done our investigations here in our country and there are the families of the disappeared people who want their relatives, and when we asked in the towns, none were from Tren de Aragua, none were drug traffickers.

open image in gallery The escalation follows a lethal U.S. strike on a boat, which Trump claimed was smuggling drugs out of Venezuela for the Tren de Aragua gang ( Venezuelan Presidency/AFP via Ge )

A murder has been committed against a group of citizens using lethal force, Cabello added.

The minister questioned how the U.S. could determine whether drugs were on board the vessel and asked why the individuals were not arrested instead.

The Independent has contacted the Pentagon for comment.

Vice President JD Vance was among those fiercely defending the strike and said that he doesnt give a s*** if people consider the action a war crime.

Killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military, Vance said in a post on X at the weekend.

It is unclear how the U.S. military presence in the region will disrupt the drug trade. The ships are part of an enhanced counter narcotics operation to carry out drug interdiction missions in Latin America, a defense official told The Washington Post last week.

open image in gallery President Trump shared a video of the strike on the alleged Venezuelan drug boat and said it was a warning to those considering bringing drugs into the U.S. ( Donald Trump/Truth Social )

Phil Gunson, a Caracas-based political analyst for the International Crisis Group, believes the operation is likely to be an expensive failure... since at best it will only temporarily disrupt trafficking in the eastern Caribbean.

But he added: There are ancillary goals, including the destabilization of the Maduro government and possibly even its collapse. That's something U.S. Secretary of State [Marco] Rubio has long promoted, but there appears to be no clear plan as to how to achieve it, and even less of an idea how to deal with the chaos that might ensue.

Trump has long blamed Venezuela for a drug epidemic in the U.S., claiming Caracas is pouring narcotics in through illegal channels. Venezuela has denied the allegations, asserting that the vast majority of cocaine produced in Colombia departs through the Pacific.

Maduro is widely considered a dictator and not recognized by the U.S. as Venezuela's legitimate leader. He was sworn in to a third six-year term in January, and he maintains he was the legitimate winner of the presidential election last year.

The opposition, however, said there is credible evidence that its candidate had won the vote, as it urged the U.S. and other countries to ramp up pressure on Maduro to force him out of office.

The Trump administration announced a $50 million reward last month for Maduros arrest, accusing him of being one of the world's largest drug traffickers and working with cartels to flood the U.S. with fentanyl-laced cocaine. Maduro denies any connection to the drug trade.
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A New Zealand court has rejected internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcoms latest attempt to halt his deportation to the United States.

Dotcom, a Finnish-German millionaire, had asked the High Court to review the legality of an officials August 2024 decision that he should be surrendered to the U.S. to face trial on charges of copyright infringement, money laundering and racketeering.

All charges relate to the website Megaupload, which Dotcom founded.

The court decision was the latest chapter in a protracted 13-year battle by the U.S. government to extradite Dotcom from New Zealand.

He had applied for a judicial review, in which a judge is asked to evaluate whether an official's decision was lawful.

A judge on Wednesday dismissed Dotcom's arguments that the decision to deport him was politically motivated and that he would face grossly disproportionate treatment in the U.S.

In a written ruling, Justice Christine Grice also rejected Dotcom's claim that New Zealand's police were wrong to charge his business partners, but not him, under domestic laws, which likely yielded laxer sentences than if the men had been tried in the U.S.

The latest decision could be challenged in the Court of Appeal, where a deadline for filing is 8 October. It was not immediately clear if Dotcom would file an appeal.

open image in gallery Kim Dotcom could file an appeal ( New Zealand Herald via AP )

One of his lawyers, Ron Mansfield, told state-owned broadcaster Radio New Zealand that Dotcom's team had "much fight left in us as we seek to secure a fair outcome, but did not elaborate further.

Neither Dotcom nor Mansfield responded to a request for comment from The Associated Press on Thursday.

New Zealands government has not disclosed what will happen next in the extradition process or divulged an expected timeline for Dotcom to be surrendered to the United States.

The saga stretches back to the January 2012 arrest of Dotcom in a dramatic raid on his Auckland mansion, along with other company officers, at the request of the FBI.

U.S. prosecutors said Megaupload raked in at least $175 million, mainly from people who used the site to illegally download songs, television shows and movies, before the FBI shut it down earlier that year.

Lawyers for Dotcom and the others arrested argued that it was the users of the site, founded in 2005, who chose to pirate material, not its founders. But prosecutors said the men were the architects of a vast criminal enterprise, with the Department of Justice describing it as the largest criminal copyright case in U.S. history.

He has been free on bail in New Zealand since February 2012.

Dotcom and his business partners fought the FBI's efforts to extradite them for years, including by challenging New Zealand Polices actions during the investigation and arrests. In 2021, however, the countrys Supreme Court ruled that Dotcom and two other men could be surrendered.

open image in gallery Ron Mansfield, right, is representing Dotcom ( Fiona Goodall/Getty Images )

Under New Zealand law, it remained up to the countrys justice minister to decide if the extradition should proceed. The minister, Paul Goldsmith, ruled in August 2024 that it should.

But by then, Dotcom was the only person whose fate remained in question. Two of his former business partners, Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk, pleaded guilty to charges against them in a New Zealand court in June 2023 and were sentenced to two and a half years in jail.

In exchange, U.S. efforts to extradite them were dropped. Part of Dotcom's latest legal bid challenged the police decision not to extend a plea deal under New Zealand laws to him too.

Grice rejected that, saying the choice to only charge Ortmann and van der Kolk in New Zealand was a proper exercise of the Police's discretion. The jurist also dismissed Dotcom's claim that Goldsmith's extradition decision was politically motivated.

Prosecutors earlier abandoned their extradition bid against a fourth Megaupload officer, Finn Batato, who was arrested in New Zealand. Batato returned to Germany, where he died from cancer in 2022.

In November 2024, Dotcom said in a post on X that he had suffered a stroke. He wrote on X in July that he was making good progress in his recovery but still suffered from speech and memory impairments.

Goldsmith's decision that Dotcom should be extradited was made before the stroke. But Grice said the minister had considered other significant health conditions Dotcom faced and wasn't wrong to conclude that these shouldn't prevent him from being deported.

I am pleased my decision has been upheld, Goldsmith said Thursday in a written statement.
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A British man has died after falling from height from a car park at Gran Canaria airport, police have said.

The man, 53, fell more than 30 feet from the car park and was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency services on Wednesday.

The incident is currently being investigated and police are looking at CCTV, according to local media. Authorities have not yet released the mans identity, although they said he was not a tourist.

A spokesman for the National Police on the island said: A 53-year-old British man fell from a height at Gran Canaria Airport, specifically in the car park located near the domestic departures area, according to reports.

"The incident occurred from a height of approximately three storeys, about 10 metres.

"It has been confirmed that the person was not a tourist. No further information is available at this time.

open image in gallery A teenage boy was shot dead by Spanish police at the Gran Canaria Airport in May after a confrontation ( Getty Images/iStockphoto )

Investigators are examining whether the fall was accidental, intentional or due to a structural issue in the car park.

According to local media, police officers secured the scene on Wednesday and performed all necessary procedures before authorities allowed for the removal of the body.

The accident caused shock among airport workers but operations continued as the investigation took place, according to Canarian Weekly.

In July, a 25-year-old British tourist fell from a supermarket car park in Ibiza, Spain and died in hospital after sustaining critical injuries.

Gran Canaria is one of Spains Canary Islands and is a popular tourist destination. Reportedly, nearly 6.3 million British tourists visited the islands in 2024.

The National Police and Gran Canaria Airport have been contacted for comment.
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A U.S. Cabinet official overseeing a planned expansion of natural gas exports to Europe said Thursday that Greece could play a key role through its pipeline system that extends across the region.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum visited a liquefied natural gas terminal outside Athens that is linked to a bidirectional pipeline network reaching as far as Ukraine.

The Trump administration has a couple of goals relative to energy, Burgum, a top energy adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, said during talks in Athens with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

One of those is energy abundance  to sell energy to our friends and allies so they do not have to buy from our adversaries, Burgum said. There are so many opportunities for participation by Greek companies and by the country of Greece to contribute to energy security for Eastern Europe.

More than half of the European Unions LNG supply comes from the United States, with imports surging after Russia  a traditional supplier  invaded Ukraine in 2022. Under an EU-U.S. trade deal reached this summer, imports are set to rise further.

Burgums visit came a day after U.S. energy giant Chevron announced a joint bid with Greek partner Helleniq Energy to explore for offshore gas reserves off Greeces western coast and south of the island of Crete.

Libya has objected to the plan, arguing that it encroaches on maritime areas where it claims jurisdiction.
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Poland shot down suspected Russian drones in its airspace on Wednesday with the backing of aircraft from its NATO allies, the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia's war in Ukraine.

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

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

One drone smashed into pensioner Tomasz Wesolowski's two-storey brick house in the eastern Polish village of Wyryki-Wola at 6:30 a.m. while he was downstairs watching news about the incursion.

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

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

open image in gallery Police and army inspect damage to a house destroyed by debris from a shot down Russian drone in the village of Wyryki-Wola, eastern Poland, on September 10, 2025 ( AFP/Getty )

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

Several Polish airports were temporarily closed, including Rzeszow, which has been used as the main access point for Western officials and supplies travelling to Ukraine overland. The suspected incursion was conducted at least in part with Gerbera drones, according to a Polish army official. It is a cheap long-range drone that Ukrainian intelligence says is assembled from kits supplied by Chinese manufacturer Skywalker Technology at Russia's Yelabuga facility.

Here is what we know about the Gerbera drones:

It is a cheap long-range drone which Ukrainian intelligence says is made of materials like plywood and foam and assembled at Russia's vast Yelabuga facility.

It has a broad wingspan of 2.5 m, maximum weight of 18 kg, maximum speed of 160 kph, maximum range of 600 km, and small engine at the back spinning a wooden propeller, according to Ukrainian intelligence.

Ukraine and Western analysts say Russia uses the Gerbera as a cheap way to saturate Ukraine's air defences.

It can be used as a decoy, drawing the attention of air defences away from much pricier Shahed drones, which carry powerful warheads. However, analysts say that since its introduction, other versions of the Gerbera with light warheads or reconnaissance equipment have emerged.

"Gerberas are usually employed as part of a mix of systems," said Fabian Hinz, research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "It therefore seems possible that the incursion featured other Unmanned Aerial Vehicle systems of which we have not yet seen debris."

According to Ukraine, the Gerbera is assembled in Russia from kits supplied by Chinese manufacturer Skywalker Technology.

open image in gallery The Defence Secretary on Wednesday hosted his counterparts from France, Germany, Italy and Poland  the so-called E5 nations (Stefan Rousseau/PA) ( PA Wire )

Beijing insists it is neutral in the war and denies supplying military assistance to Russia.

Ukraine's intelligence agency also says it found electronic components from U.S. and European manufacturers in the Gerbera, despite restrictions on exports of dual-use technologies to Russia.

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

U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, a conservative nationalist and political ally whom Trump hosted at the White House last week. "This conversation is part of a series of consultations I've been conducting with our allies," Nawrocki said in a post on X. "Today's talks reaffirmed our unity."

Ahead of the phone call, Trump posted on social media: "Whats with Russia violating Polands airspace with drones? Here we go!" He did not elaborate.

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

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

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

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

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

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

open image in gallery A damaged drone lies after falling in the eastern Polish village of Czosnowka, in this picture obtained from social media, in Czosnowka, Poland, September 10, 2025 ( Dariusz Stefaniuk )

The Kremlin declined to comment directly on the incident, but spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the EU and NATO "accuse Russia of provocations on a daily basis."

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

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

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

"This is going to shock the NATO alliance and the border countries, they're all in the same situation," said Riki Ellison, an expert on missile defence close to U.S. and allied military forces.

"It's not the beginning of World War Three, but it's evolving Russia's understanding of how we fight and our weaknesses."

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

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for more sanctions on Russia, and said the EU was preparing sanctions on "shadow fleet" tankers that transport its oil and third countries that buy it.

Trump, who warmly welcomed Putin in Alaska at a summit in August, said over the weekend he was ready to move to a second phase of sanctioning Russia after months of talks about a peace deal.
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Beachgoers in Spain formed a human chain to rescue a young boy and a man from treacherous waters after they were swept out to sea.

The young boy had been swimming at Penon del Cura, in the Costa del Sol, with his four friends last Saturday despite a red no-swimming flag being raised.

His friends managed to escape the current and swim back to shore, but the boy struggled and was dragged out by at least ten metres into the water.

A man was also swept out to sea after he tried to swim out and rescue the child. The lifeguard at the beach then called for the formation of a human chain to rescue them.

The coordinator of the Mijas lifeguard service, Gonzalo Botta Veccia, said the conditions in the water had been dangerous all day.

The east wind was blowing hard and the water rose almost to the wall, with barely any sand left, he told The Sun.

"The red flag had been up from the start of the service. It was clear it was a bad day at the beach; there was great risk in the water, he said.

There have been 17 drownings in Costa del Sols capital this year ( REUTERS )

Local media reported the man was treated by an ambulance, while the boy was discovered without injuries.

Mr Veccia said: Its common: children who arent aware of the danger. Even the father didnt realise it was his child who was going to drown.

After a scare like this, 90 per cent of people become aware of the danger of swimming under a red flag.

"Its punishable by municipal ordinance. And even lifeguards, with training, dont have it easy in these conditions.

The chief lifeguard, who has a decade of experience on beaches in the area, said that his team had followed protocol from the beginning of the day.

In the last three years, drownings in the region have tripled, according to SUR in English. Up until August, there were 17 drownings in Malaga, Costa del Sols capital.
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Italy has called on Israel to respect the rights of its citizens involved in an activist flotilla attempting to breach the Gaza blockade, after a vessel was reportedly attacked with incendiary devices in Tunisian waters.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told parliament on Thursday that Italy would monitor the flotilla and provide consular and diplomatic assistance to the 58 Italian nationals taking part, including politicians.

Mr Tajani said: "Our embassy in Tel Aviv, under my instruction, talked to the Israeli authorities about the respect of the rights for all the fellow citizens who are part of the flotilla including among them several members of parliament.

I also called Foreign Minister (Gideon) Saar to personally make him aware of the matter."

His remarks came just hours before other flotilla boats were due to set sail from Siracusa, Sicily.

The Global Sumud Flotilla reported on Wednesday that one of its boats, docked in Tunisian waters, was attacked by a drone with incendiary devices for a second consecutive night.

People gather to show support for the Global Sumud Flotilla ahead of its scheduled departure to deliver aid to Gaza ( AP )

CCTV footage from the British-flagged 'Alma' showed crew shouting fire as flaming projectiles landed on deck, exploding and causing a blaze. No injuries were reported.

The attack appeared similar to the one the night before on the Portuguese-flagged Family vessel.

Tajani said the ministry was closely following the flotillas progress and staying in close contact with the Italian spokesperson of the group.

Flotilla participants have reported seeing drones in the moments preceding the attacks and other moments during the journey from Barcelona.

Both the Alma and Family were motherships of the mission, providing support and provisions to smaller vessels and carrying the most high-profile members of the flotilla, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau.

Tunisias Interior Ministry described Wednesday's attack as a premeditated act and said in a statement that an investigation was underway into who was behind it. It did not elaborate.

While falling short of providing concrete evidence, some activists blamed Israel, which has in the past intercepted other activist boats seeking to reach Gaza by sea. Israel has not responded to the accusations.

Israel has previously dismissed the flotillas as publicity stunts, saying a blockade is necessary to prevent smuggling, particularly of weapons.
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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday he had asked NATO to open consultations under Article 4.

It comes after Polish forces shot down 19 drones over its airspace, marking the first known instance of a Nato member firing shots in the ongoing conflict.

Donald Tusk confirmed the action on Wednesday, describing it as a "large-scale provocation" by Russia and stating he had asked Nato to open consultations under Article 4 of the alliance's treaty.

The drones were intercepted during a significant Russian air attack on Ukraine.

However, Russias RIA state news agency quoted a diplomat dismissing the accusations as "groundless", asserting that Poland had provided no evidence of the drones Russian origin. Conversely, several European officials characterised the incursion as intentional, viewing it as a clear sign of Russian escalation.

What is Article 4?

Article 4 states that members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territory, political independence or security of any of them is threatened.

Under Article 4, discussions at the North Atlantic Council - NATOs principal political decision-making body - could potentially lead to some form of joint decision or action.

Since NATOs creation in 1949, Article 4 has been invoked seven times, most recently in February 2022 when Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia sought consultations following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

NATO ambassadors in November 2022 held an emergency meeting after a missile strike killed two people in Poland and raised global alarm that the war could spill into neighboring countries.

What is Article 5?

If Russia were determined to have attacked the territory of a member state, the focus would then shift to Article 5, the cornerstone of the founding treaty of NATO.

The alliance was created in 1949 with the U.S. military as its powerful mainstay essentially to counter the Soviet Union and its eastern bloc satellites during the Cold War.

open image in gallery Defence Secretary John Healey met his counterparts from the E5 Group of nations, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the UK, at Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich (Stefan Rousseau/PA) ( PA Wire )

The charter stipulates that "the Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all."

"They agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defense recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area," it says.

How could the Ukraine war trigger Article 5?

Since Ukraine is not part of NATO, Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 did not trigger Article 5, though the United States and other member states rushed to provide military and diplomatic assistance to Kyiv.

However, experts have long warned of the potential for a spillover to neighboring countries on NATO's eastern flank that could force the alliance to respond militarily.

open image in gallery A still image from a video shows damaged roof, after Russian drones violated Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine and some were shot down by Poland, in Wyryki, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland, September 10, 2025 ( POLSAT NEWS via REUTERS )

Such action by Russia, either intentional or accidental, has raised the risk of widening the war by drawing other countries directly into the conflict.

Is invoking Article 5 Automatic?

No. Following an attack on a member state, the others come together to determine whether they agree to regard it as an Article 5 situation.

There is no time limit on how long such consultations could take, and experts say the language is flexible enough to allow each member to decide how far to go in responding to armed aggression against another.

Article 5 has been activated once before on behalf of the United States, in response to the September 11, 2001, hijacked-plane attacks on New York and Washington.
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Poland has warned it is closer to conflict than at any point since the Second World War following an unprecedented incursion into Nato territory by Russian drones.

The countrys air defences were scrambled after 19 projectile UAVs entered its airspace during a major attack on western Ukraine, Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said.

It marks the first time a Nato country has fired any bullets in relation to Russias full-scale war in Ukraine since the conflict began in 2022. Mr Tusk has invoked Article 4 of the Nato treaty, demanding consultation with its member states.

open image in gallery One of the downed Shahed-type drones that crashed inside Poland ( Telewizja Republika )

We are dealing with a large-scale provocation, he said on Wednesday. We are ready to repel such provocations. The situation is serious, and no one doubts that we must prepare for various scenarios.

The fact that these drones, which posed a security threat, were shot down changes the political situation. This situation brings us the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II.

The incident has drawn fierce condemnation from Kyiv, Warsaw, and allies in Nato and Europe, who believe it was a deliberate act.

US president Donald Trump is set to speak with his Polish counterpart Karol Nawrocki on Wednesday as the Ukraine crisis threatens to spiral. Washingtons ambassador to Nato vowed that the US will defend every inch of Nato territory, a welcome statement for European leaders amid concerns about Mr Trumps reluctance to engage militarily in Europe.

open image in gallery Polish police and military police secure parts of a damaged UAV shot down in Wohyn, Poland ( AP )

British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said he had been in touch with Mr Tusk to make clear the UKs support for Poland and Ukraine, and thanked Nato and Polish forces for their rapid response.

This mornings barbaric attack on Ukraine, and the egregious and unprecedented violation of Polish and Nato airspace by Russian drones, is deeply concerning, Sir Keir said in a statement. This was an extremely reckless move by Russia and only serves to remind us of President Putins blatant disregard for peace, and the constant bombardment innocent Ukrainians face every day.

Sir Keir said the UK and its partners will continue to ramp up the pressure on Putin until there is a just and lasting peace.

Moscow has denied responsibility for the incident, with a senior Russian diplomat in Poland suggesting that the drones had come from the direction of Ukraine.

open image in gallery Firefighters work on the destroyed roof of a house, after Russian drones violated Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine ( Reuters )

Speaking to parliament on Wednesday after an emergency meeting with the military, Mr Tusk said 19 objects had intruded into Polish airspace overnight, at least three of which had been shot down.

Polish authorities reported drone debris around the eastern towns of Wyryki, Wyhalew, Czosnowka and Czesniki. Debris was also found in Mniszkow, a village in the central Lodz region, and in Olesno, a town 400km (250 miles) from Polands border with Ukraine.

In Wyryki, eastern Poland, a drone or similar object struck a residential building and tore off its roof. There have been no reports of injuries across Poland.

Ukraines leader Volodymyr Zelensky said there is increasing evidence that Poland was deliberately targeted.

There have been previous incidents of individual Russian drones crossing the border and travelling a short distance into neighbouring countries. But this time, we are recording a much larger scale and deliberate targeting, he said.

open image in gallery Polish prime minister Donald Tusk held an extraordinary government meeting with military and emergency services officials ( Reuters )

Nato secretary general Mark Rutte said that a full assessment of the incident had not yet been made, but added that whether it was intentional or not, it is absolutely reckless, it is absolutely dangerous.

A source told the Reuters news agency that Nato was treating the incident not as an attack but as an intentional incursion.

Polish F-16 fighter jets, Dutch F-35s, Italian AWACS surveillance planes and mid-air refueling aircraft jointly operated by Nato were involved in the overnight operation, according to the source.

Mr Rutte is in touch with Warsaw, which is consulting closely with the alliance on next steps.
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Poland has accused Russia of sending several drones into its territory, with prime minister Donald Tusk saying the country is the closest it has been to armed conflict since the Second World War.

Polish air defences shot down at least three drones, marking the first time a Nato member has directly engaged Russia since the beginning of its war in Ukraine.

Mr Tusk has called for an emergency Nato meeting as he announced that there had been 19 incursions by drones and drone-like objects into Polish airspace overnight.

Click here to follow our liveblog on the Ukraine war.

Soldiers patrol the street in Wyryki after a house was struck by a drone launched by Russia over Polish airspace ( Agencja Wyborcza.pl )

I have no reason to claim were on the brink of war, but a line has been crossed, and its incomparably more dangerous than before, he said.

This situation brings us the closest we have been to open conflict since [the Second World War].

At least three drones, which Poland believed posed a threat to its territory, were shot down, Mr Tusk said. It was likely that a fourth had been downed, but Warsaw was awaiting confirmation.

Local authorities in Wyryki, eastern Poland, said a drone or similar object had struck a residential building, but nobody was injured. Debris was also found in the nearby town of Wyhalew.

Police in the village of Czosnowka, in Polands eastern Lublin region, said they had found a damaged drone, while the District Prosecutor's Office in Zamosc, also in Lublin, said drone components had been discovered near a cemetery in the town of Czesniki.

In the central Lodz region, a drone was found in a field near the village of Mniszkow, Reuters reported. Debris was also found in Olesno, 400km from the Ukrainian border.

Meanwhile, interior ministry spokesperson Karolina Galecka said Poland had found seven drones and debris from a missile.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed that Poland was deliberately targeted during a Russian drone attack overnight.

Increasing evidence indicates that this movement, this direction of strike, was no accident, he wrote on X. Ukraine is also ready to help Poland build an effective system of warning and protection against such Russian threats.

But Nato is not currently treating it as an attack on one of its member states, a source in the alliance told Reuters.

Recommended Why Russian drones over Poland are so dangerous for the world

The drone incursion has drawn widespread condemnation from across Europe, including EU Council president Antonio Costa, who said the bloc stands in full solidarity with Poland, adding that the security of one is the security of all.

The incursion is simply unacceptable, French president Emmanuel Macron said on X, as he condemned it in the strongest possible terms.

The EUs top diplomat Kaja Kallas condemned the most serious European airspace violation by Russia since the war began and said that indications suggest it was intentional, not accidental.
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Poland has called an emergency Nato council meeting after shooting down at least four Russian drones that entered its airspace in the most dangerous test of the alliances resolve in decades.

In calling for the meeting, Polish prime minister Donald Tusk, who said he was in constant contact with Nato secretary general Mark Rutte, brought the alliance together to discuss Article 5  the obligation to defend a member subject to an armed attack.

Tusk invoked Natos article 4, triggering discussions at which a decision will be taken on how Nato will respond as an international body, after it emerged that the Russian drones had been shot down very deep into Polish territory, far from Ukraine.

He said that Poland was closer to war than at any time since World War II and his government described the drones as an act of aggression that posed a real threat to the safety of our civilians.

The move will further test Donald Trumps loyalty to the Wests most important strategic alliance. He has spent the last seven months while in office backing Russia against Americas allies and has himself threatened to invade or annex Nato members Canada and Denmark.

His reluctance to back Nato members in Europe and Canada in support of Ukraine will be tested by the article 4 talks. There is little chance of a decision involving military action. But demands for increased support for Ukraine, especially from America because it is Europes front line with the Kremlin, are inevitable.

Defence secretary John Healey said: We say to President Putin, your aggression only serves to strengthen the unity between our Nato nations. Your aggression only serves to strengthen our determination to stand with Ukraine. And your aggression reminds us that a secure Europe needs a strong Ukraine. And that the security of Europe starts in Ukraine.

Many of the Russian drones were shot down by Polish aircraft that were scrambled in a taste of what, many in Europe fear, what is to come from Russia.

open image in gallery Polish prime minister Donald Tusk holds a government meeting after the drone attack ( Reuters )

Vladimir Putin has often said that he wants to return eastern Europe to the era when it was ruled, or dominated, by the Soviet Union. He has threatened the Baltic states, and Poland, especially.

As a result, Poland is expanding its military at breakneck speed with heavy spending on armour, aircraft, and infantry fighting vehicles.

The incursion into Polish airspace may be an accident, with the deep penetration of the drones possibly explained by a failure of their guidance systems.

But it is an accident that Russia clearly feels happy to risk, given the level of impunity for its actions.

Putin was given red-carpet treatment on American soil in Alaska even though the International Criminal Court has issued him an international arrest warrant for crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine.

open image in gallery A firefighter runs at the site of a residential area hit during Russian drone and missile strikes in Zhytomyr, Ukraine ( Emergency Service of Ukraine )

Ukraines foreign minister, Andriy Sybiha, said on X (Twitter) that the longer he [Putin] faces no strength in response, the more aggressive he gets.

Joe Wilson, a Republican US congressman, said that the penetration of Polands airspace, which he called an attack, was an act of war.

Trump has refused to supply Ukraine with weapons directly and threatened to cut the flow of intelligence to Kyiv since he took office. He has imposed very little pressure on the Kremlin, though.

Lately, as Putin has resisted his efforts to get a ceasefire process underway in Ukraine, Trump has repeatedly threatened economic sanctions on Russian trading partners. But he has never suggested that America would return to the level of military assistance given by his predecessor, Joe Biden.

open image in gallery Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump had a cordial meeting in Alaska, despite the International Criminal Court issuing an arrest warrant against the Russian leader ( Sputnik )

Putin is no longer content just losing in Ukraine while bombing mothers and babies, he is now directly testing our resolve in Nato territory, Wilson said on X.

Trump will be called upon to join Nato in condemning Russias air penetration of Poland and even issuing warnings to back off or face violent consequences.

This will sit uneasily with this US president and his long history of friendships in Moscow, which trump the US alliance that has been the bedrock of the Wests security architecture for decades.
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Israel deliberately bombed the Hamas negotiating team in Qatar to remove what it said were extremists resisting ceasefire proposals for Gaza, Israels president said today.

Isaac Herzog, who is in London and due to meet Sir Keir Starmer this afternoon, said the strike was aimed at Khalil al-Hayya, the main Hamas negotiator based in Doha, whom Israel claimed had thwarted attempts at brokering peace.

Speaking in a briefing, Mr Herzog said: We targeted those who refused to accept the deal, including primarily, al-Hayya whose hands carried the blood of thousands of Israelis.

Also targeted were fellow Hamas politburo members Khaled Mashal and three others who were part of the group negotiating a ceasefire in Qatar via American mediators.

He was one of the planners and instigators, and he was well informed and involved in October 7 [2023 when Hamas-led militants invaded Israel, killing 1,200 and abducting 250], said Mr Herzog.

open image in gallery Israeli president Isaac Herzog says: We targeted those who refused to accept the deal ( Reuters )

He kept on procrastinating and not getting to a deal by refusing adamantly to get to a deal  sometimes saying Yes, sometimes saying No, and sometimes saying Yes, but his conditions were impossible to meet, President Herzog said.

Six people died in Mondays attack in Doha, including a Qatari security official. Hamas claimed that five of its members were also killed, but none of its negotiating team. Mr Herzog could not confirm whether the Hamas leaders were killed in the attack.

The strikes were roundly condemned by the Qataris, who lashed out at Israels reckless behaviour, while criticism also came from Arab leaders, Sir Keir and Donald Trump, who said he was not happy with the bombing.

An Israeli source explained that the aim of the operation was to cut the extremists out of the negotiating process so that the leader on the ground, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, commander of the Qassam Brigades of Hamas, might emerge as a figure Israel could talk to.

It is understood that Israel sees the Hamas leadership structure, which reaches decisions by consensus, as dominated by hardliners among the exile community in Qatar who have scuppered peace plans.

open image in gallery Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya (centre) in Doha, Qatar, August 2024 ( Reuters )

They said they believe that a more pragmatic approach could be found from leaders on the ground in Gaza who are dealing with the bloody reality of Israels campaign there.

Israels focus on communicating with Hamas leaders on the ground in Gaza could be designed to assist its military operation by creating divisions in the Hamas leadership, suggesting that its military leader was a more willing partner in a ceasefire.

But Israel has ridden roughshod over relations with Qatar and many other countries in the Middle East, where authoritarian leaders may quietly approve of getting rid of Hamas  a violent Islamist movement of the kind that is banned in the Gulf and Egypt.

Haddad, 55, is a founding member of Hamas. Israeli sources said he is known as a deeply devout Muslim who commands the respect of his followers.

He is experiencing at first hand Israels onslaught, which has killed 67,000 people, according to local officials  more than half of whom have been women and children.

He might be someone we can deal with and reach an agreement, a senior Israeli official said.

open image in gallery Israel wants to focus on Izz al-Din al-Haddad, commander of the Qassam Brigades of Hamas, as a potential person to talk to about ceasefire ( Hamas Military Wing )

But Israel has also been blamed for holding up ceasefire proposals to secure the release of the remaining 20 or so living hostages held in Gaza.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has launched a campaign to clear Gaza City, forcing a million Palestinians south amid criticism at home that the latest round of violence will jeopardise the lives of the hostages  a view firmly held by the Israeli military leadership.

Anger at Israels attack on Hamas in Qatar  which violated Qatars sovereignty  will strain relations with the US, which has its biggest air base for the Middle East on the tiny island emirate.
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Donald Trump is expected to meet Qatars prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani on Friday evening in New York, just days after US ally Israel carried out an unprecedented air strike on the Qatari capital Doha.

The bombing is the first such attack by Israel on Qatar, which has hosted multiple rounds of ceasefire talks, and it has been internationally condemned, leaving US diplomacy in the Middle East on a knife-edge.

Since the strikes, Mr Trump has praised Qatar as a strong ally and friend and has reportedly held a heated phone call with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to the Washington Post, in the call, Mr Trump said the air attack on Doha was not wise, to which Netanyahu responded that he had a brief window to launch the airstrike, and took the opportunity.

open image in gallery Qatars prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani will meet Donald Trump in New York on Friday night ( AFP via Getty )

The call came after Mr Trump described the attack as unfortunate, and was very unhappy about the way it went down, adding that it does not advance Israel or Americas goals.

The US has joined members of the UN Security Council in expressing deep concern and emphasising de-escalation following Israels airstrike.

The Security Council statement did not mention Israel by name, but conveyed solidarity with Qatar and the vital role its played in mediating peace efforts in recent years.

Speaking to the Security Council this week, Mr Thani said: Israel is trying to rearrange the region by force, but, he added, "we will continue our humanitarian and diplomatic role without any hesitation in order to stop the bloodshed."

The meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Thani comes ahead of an emergency Arab-Islamic summit in Doha over the weekend in response to Tuesdays airstrikes.

Mr Thani will also meet US secretary of state Marco Rubio at the White House in Washington, as well as vice-president JD Vance and US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

open image in gallery Smoke rises over Doha after an Israeli strike ( AP )

The Qatari prime minister said this week that Benjamin Netanyahu killed any hope of a deal to release all the Israeli hostages in Gaza when he ordered the attack, which he described as an act of state terror.

Hamas said Israels attack missed all its top negotiators, though five of its members were killed, including the son of exiled Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya. Qatar said a security official died and others were wounded.

Mr Netanyahus office put out a statement after the strike, which said the attack was a wholly independent Israeli operation.

In response to Dohas outrage over the bombing, Israeli ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said that history will not be kind to accomplices.

Either Qatar condemns Hamas, expels Hamas, and brings Hamas to justice. Or Israel will, Mr Danon said.

Qatar is the sixth country Israel has attacked since the Hamas massacre on 7 October 2023, when around 1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 taken hostage.

The terror attack prompted a major military onslaught on Gaza in which Israel has killed around 65,000 Palestinians according to local health officials, and destroyed swathes of the strip of land.
Searching for surreal, ancient phenomenons not many people haven't heard of is my favorite hobby, as if I'm some modern day Tomb Raider (minus the theft), and what I explored recently will absolutely blow your mind. Think: ancient, holy, possibly divine, seemingly impossible, and also reminiscent of Fraggle Rock. That is how I'd describe Lalibela.

It's not easy to get to of course, otherwise everyone would have seen it by now. To get there, I traveled solo for 28 hours, taking 4 flights, and countless vehicles, all to see ancient churches that most people have never heard of. What I experienced in the Ethiopian highlands changed everything I thought I knew about ancient architecture, and religion.

Most people don't know about the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia (at least according to my Instagram comments), which is exactly why I wanted to make it my next solo adventure. I had seen a photo of what looked like a massive cross carved deep into the ground many years ago, but without much information posted about it, it stayed in the back of my mind like an unsolved travel mystery.

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My first attempt to reach Ethiopia was thwarted at the height of their recent civil war when I was denied a visa upon arrival. But recently, I tried again, obtaining an eVisa in advance, and trusted a local guide to show me these historical sites and educate me on their incredible history.

What I experienced was hard to even put into words. Churches carved from the top down by hand (and allegedly with help from angels) that require tunnels and stairs to access, and hundreds of locals adorned in sheer white religious scarves coming to pray, looking at me with curiosity and some with awe as children whispered things like, "beautiful" about my clothes (which aren't much different than what he local women wear there!) It was like stepping into a living, breathing piece of ancient history that most of the world has completely overlooked.

Here's a little more about Lalibela:

The King With a Divine Architectural Dream

The most famous of the 11 rock hewn churches in Lalibela Ethiopia (Alyssa Ramos @mylifesatravelmovie mylifesamovie.com)

Picture this: It's the 12th century, and King Lalibela has a vision to create a "New Jerusalem" in the heart of Ethiopia, so that the Ethiopian people could have a sacred holy land to pilgrimage to without having to go to actual Jerusalem. According to legend, angels worked alongside humans during the night to carve these incredible churches directly into volcanic rock. Whether you believe in divine intervention or just appreciate seriously impressive ancient engineering, the result is nothing short of miraculous.

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These aren't typical churches built up from the ground  they're carved downward into solid rock, creating underground sanctuaries that have survived nearly 900 years and are still actively used today. The entire complex represents the biblical landscape of Jerusalem, complete with a river called Jordan running through it.

The craftsmanship is mind-boggling when you consider they had no modern tools  just chisels, determination, and apparently some heavenly assistance. Each church took decades to complete, and the precision is so perfect that archaeologists still puzzle over exactly how they achieved it.

The Ancient Rock-Church Experience

There's not just the one church you see in most photos, but ten, plus another even older structure that they're not sure if it's original purpose was as a church. Each of the official ten churches has its own distinct personality, carved with incredible precision into the bedrock. The crown jewel is Bet Giyorgis (Church of St. George)  that perfect cross shape carved into the ground that probably sparked your Lalibela dreams in the first place (it's what sparked mine). Standing at its edge, looking down at this architectural masterpiece, is genuinely breathtaking. And slightly terrifying due to the incline and slippery rock - be sure to wear good shoes!

But it's Bet Golgotha, considered the holiest church in Lalibela, that is the most popular amongst the locals. The carved reliefs and religious significance create an atmosphere so thick with spirituality that you can feel it in your bones. Watching hundreds of locals emerge from these ancient stone churches in flowing white scarves felt like witnessing biblical times come to life in some sort of AI generated video, except this was definitely real life.

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The experience isn't just visual  it's deeply sensory. The cool air rising from the underground chambers, the echo of loud prayers bouncing off stone walls, the smooth-worn steps beneath your feet that have been touched by millions of people over nine centuries, the smell of smoke and frankincense, and not a single other traveler in sight. It felt like I had time traveled to another era.

Beyond the Churches: Authentic Ethiopian Culture

This slow roast, hand grind, and natural filtration process puts Starbucks to shame (Alyssa Ramos @mylifesatravelmovie mylifesamovie.com)

While the churches are obviously the main attraction, Lalibela offered cultural experiences that gave me a deeper connection to Ethiopian life. I couldn't resist having a local seamstress create a traditional chiffon dress for me  which is what the modern Ethiopian women wear in Lalibela (and many other parts). If you don't have time to have one made, there are many stalls along the roads that sell pre-made dresses!

Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, so I also participated in a traditional coffee ceremony at a local cafe. The entire process  from roasting green beans over an open flame to brewing in a traditional clay pot called a jebena  is meditative and social, often taking over an hour. They also taught me to make injera, the spongy sourdough flatbread that's an Ethiopian staple. Fair warning: it's harder than it looks, and my attempt to pour the dough into a circle had the ladies giggling and naming a new shape after me.

Planning Your Journey to Lalibela, Ethiopia

Getting to Lalibela requires planning but is absolutely worth every effort. The town sits at 8,200 feet above sea level in the Ethiopian Highlands, accessible via daily flights from Addis Ababa that take about 1.5 hours.

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I strongly recommend booking a guided tour. The historical and religious significance runs so deep that having a knowledgeable local guide transforms the experience from impressive architecture to understanding a living piece of human heritage. Local guides know the stories, hidden passages, best visiting times, and help you navigate religious customs respectfully. My guide also helped me take all of my photos and videos, constantly was on the lookout for my safety, and even introduced me to nearly half of his family.

For accommodations, options range from basic guesthouses to beautiful boutique hotels like where I stayed, which offers ornate rooms, hot water, and an absolutely stunning view of the mountains and valley below!

Be sure to check the weather ahead of time - I didn't and accidentally went in rainy season, which created a beautiful green landscape, but also cold wet weather that I wasn't prepared for!

Solo Female Travel Safety Considerations

As someone who travels solo frequently, I felt quite safe in Lalibela despite some warnings, including one from my sister-in-law who is actually from the region. However, it's a religious pilgrimage site with a general atmosphere of respect and spirituality. The local community is welcoming to visitors, and crime rates are low.

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Dressing respectfully is crucial  cover shoulders, wear long pants or skirts, and bring a scarf for entering churches. This shows respect and helps you blend in appropriately. You need good walking shoes, preferably ones with grips and that can get wet, but are still relatively easy to get on and off since you can't wear them inside of the churches.

The locals I met were incredibly kind and curious about my solo journey. Many were amazed that I'd traveled so far alone just to see their churches, and their pride in sharing their heritage was genuinely touching.

But, I have to emphasize that I've been traveling solo for 12 years and to 144 countries, so this might be out of most people's comfort zones! If it's on your bucketlist but you don't want to go alone, you can sign up for notifications about when I'll be hosting a group trip here in the future! Check out my full blog post for more information!

A Hidden Wonder Worth the Journey

Lalibela isn't just a destination  it's a journey into one of humanity's most incredible architectural achievements, wrapped in living religious tradition and Ethiopian mountain culture. Yes, it takes effort to get there, and yes, it's off the beaten path. But sometimes the most extraordinary experiences are hiding in the places most people have never heard of.

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Standing at the edge of those ancient churches, and even more impactful, going inside of them, watching the locals pray in spaces carved by hand nine centuries ago, I was reminded why I fell in love with travel in the first place. Some destinations don't just show you new places  they show you the living history of mankind.

Have you ever had a destination stick in your mind for years before you finally made it there? Lalibela proves that sometimes the longest journeys lead to the most unforgettable discoveries!
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Benjamin Netanyahus airstrike on Hamas ceasefire negotiators in Doha has just killed any hope for the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza, the prime minister of Qatar has said.

In an interview with CNN, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani said the assassination of Hamas representatives was barbaric and accused Israel of state terror.

The unprecedented bombardment killed six people, including a member of Qatars internal security forces and five Hamas members who were brokering a US-led ceasefire plan for Gaza.

Netanyahu was just wasting our time, al-Thani said.

open image in gallery Smoke billowing after explosions in Doha's capital Qatar after an Israeli military strike ( AFPTV )

I was meeting one of the hostages families the morning of the attack, he said. They are counting on this [ceasefire] mediation, they have no other hope for that.

I think that what Netanyahu has done yesterday, he just killed any hope for those hostages, he added.

Doha is reeling after Israels first direct attack on the country which has hosted multiple rounds of ceasefire talks between the two sides over the course of the 23-month bloody war.

We were thinking that we are dealing with civilised people, al-Thani said. Thats the way we are dealing with others. The action that [Netanyahu] took  I cannot describe it, but its a barbaric action.

open image in gallery A damaged building following the Israeli strike on Doha ( Reuters )

As a result of the attacks, al-Thani said his administration was reassessing everything about hosting such talks, and had commenced very detailed conversation with the US government on next steps.

Ive been rethinking, even about the entire process for the last few weeks, that Netanyahu was just wasting our time, al-Thani said in the interview.

He wasnt serious about anything, he added, and said recent talks had been meaningless.

The PMs comments come after Dr Majed al-Ansari, Qatars foreign ministry spokesperson and an adviser to the countrys prime minister, told The Independent Netanyahu is a narcissistic saboteur-in-chief who is determined to wreck any chance of peace in the Middle East.

This is not an act of a partner who believes in their partnership with the US. This is a unilateral action by a madman. This is somebody who is unhinged, he said.

[Netanyahu] does not have any concern for the life of the hostages, any concern for the international standing of Israel [among] the international community, or any concern for what Israel stands for as a state, as a member of the United Nations.

 It has reached a point where he doesnt even have respect for his partners in the US administration.

open image in gallery Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu visits the scene of a shooting in Jerusalem ( POOL/AFP via Getty Images )

Israel has faced international condemnation for its shock decision to bomb Qatar, including from US president Donald Trump who described the attack as unfortunate, and that he was very unhappy about the way it went down.

"This was a decision made by [Israel's] Prime Minister Netanyahu, it was not a decision made by me," he said, and praised Qatar as a "strong ally and friend".

In a statement on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said the attack does not advance Israel or America's goals.

British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said he condemned the strikes which he said violate Qatars sovereignty and risk further escalation across the region.

The priority must be an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages, and a huge surge in aid into Gaza, he said in a statement on X.

This is the only solution towards long-lasting peace.

Mr Netanyahus office put out a statement after the strike, which said the attack was "a wholly independent Israeli operation".

"Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility," the statement read.
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A furious Qatar has accused Israels prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being a narcissistic saboteur-in-chief determined to wreck the chances of peace in the Middle East, after Israel bombed the Qatari capital on Tuesday.

In blistering comments made to The Independent, Dr Majed al-Ansari, Qatars foreign ministry spokesperson and adviser to the countrys prime minister, said Israel had attacked central Doha while Hamas negotiators were discussing a US-proposed truce deal, putting a target on the back of any country attempting to mediate peace.

Israel launched an unprecedented air raid on Doha on Tuesday, killing at least six people, including a member of Qatars internal security forces and five Hamas figures.

Mr Netanyahu said the targets were the senior Hamas leadership in exile, who, according to the Qataris, were in central Doha discussing details of a US-penned plan for Gaza.

Dr Ansari told The Independent that the country is dealing with this as a direct attack on Qatar, as Israel failed to issue a warning to Doha beforehand or apparently to consult its own closest ally, the US, despite the fact that the largest American military base in the Middle East is located close to the Qatari capital.

 The treacherous behaviour of prime minister Netanyahu is not something new to us, but it is a red line that has been crossed that has never been crossed before, said Dr Ansari, adding that Mr Netanyahu has actively sabotaged talks at every turning point.

This message is very clear to everybody around the world, but especially to our region here, that peace with Israel is not possible under Prime Minister Netanyahu. He does not want peace. He does not work towards peace. He is actually the saboteur-in-chief.

open image in gallery Smoke rises following an explosion supposedly caused by an Israeli attack in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday ( AP )

Qatar does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, but has taken a leading role in mediating multiple ceasefire deals between Israel and Hamas over the course of the 23-month bloody war. At the request of Israel and the US, it has played host to critical talks between negotiating teams from both sides.

Dr Ansari said that the attack on a building in the heart of Doha, where a senior Hamas delegation was discussing the latest Gaza ceasefire deal penned by the Trump administration, therefore underscored Mr Netanyahus intent.

This is not an act of a partner who believes in their partnership with the US. This is a unilateral action by a madman. This is somebody who is unhinged.

[Mr Netanyahu] does not have any concern for the life of the hostages, any concern for the international standing of Israel [among] the international community, or any concern for what Israel stands for as a state, as a member of the United Nations.

 It has reached a point where he doesnt even have respect for his partners in the US administration.

He added grimly:  The only way Netanyahu wants to reshape the region is in his own image; in his narcissistic, megalomaniacal image.

open image in gallery Israels prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been described as a madman whose decision to attack Qatar was unhinged ( AFP/Getty )

Israel has faced worldwide condemnation for its shock decision to bomb Qatar, a state that has already been caught in the crossfire between Israel, the US and Iran, which made the US base in Qatar the target of its retaliatory strikes.

The Israeli military has yet to confirm who was killed in Tuesdays barrage. But Hamas said that none of the senior leaders were harmed, naming the dead as Hammam, the son of its top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, Mr al-Hayyas office chief, and three other individuals whose identities are unknown.

Dr Ansari said that investigations are ongoing but preliminary results show that Israeli fighter jets evaded Qatars sophisticated defence systems and radars during the raid.

Sir Keir Starmer joined world leaders in condemning the attack as a serious violation of Qatars sovereignty that risked further escalation across the region.

Gulf leaders, including Saudi Arabias crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, described the strike as a criminal act and a flagrant violation of international law and said it posed a threat to regional stability.

The Saudi crown prince and the Emirati president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan were set to visit Doha to discuss a response. The Qatari government has instructed a team of legal experts to study all legal and diplomatic avenues they could take to hold Israel accountable, including in the UN Security Council, where a session will be held on the attack.

open image in gallery Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, is greeted by Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, in Doha ( via Reuters )

But there is also growing alarm about the repercussions of the attack for Gaza, where Mr Netanyahu is pushing ahead with a deeply controversial plan to widen his offensive and take over Gaza City.

The renewed military operation has elicited worldwide criticism and even pushback from within Israel, where many are concerned that Mr Netanyahu, who is also standing trial on corruption charges, is bowing to mounting pressure from extreme-right members of his coalition to continue the war on Gaza, in order to stay in power.

Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Gaza and a seige of the territory in the wake of Hamas militants bloody attacks on 7 October 2023, during which more than 1,000 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage. Israels bombardment has already killed 64,000 people, according to Palestinian estimates: the largest professional organisation of scholars studying genocide, the IAGS, said last week that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

On Wednesday, the Israeli military pushed deeper into Gaza City, where they also issued more evacuation orders to the million or so people believed to be there, as Palestinian civilians described running for their lives to the overcrowded south of the Strip.

Qatari officials told The Independent they had hoped a deal could be struck soon, as on Hamass side they were close to finalising the wording of a ceasefire deal to present to the Trump administration  but explained that this could no longer happen.

 There is nothing valid in talks post the Israeli side deciding to bomb the mediator and the negotiating team, an official added bluntly.

open image in gallery Israelis have taken to the streets each week demanding that Netanyahu agree to an immediate ceasefire and hostage deal ( AFP/Getty )

This has worried the families of the remaining 50 hostages and captives still believed to be in Gaza, who have taken to the streets almost every day calling for a ceasefire.

They released a statement in the wake of Israels bombing of Doha, in which they said they were following events with deep concern and heavy anxiety and spoke of their grave fear about the price that the hostages may pay.

Dr Ansari said that allowing Israels bombing of Doha to go unpunished at this moment would affect anybody who wants to play the role of peace facilitator, and warned that it could send a dangerous message to countries such as Russia that they too could bomb foreign states.

It was a direct political decision to put Qatar in the target zone, and put our lives at risk just because of [Mr Netanyahus] own narcissistic ideas, he said .  Everybody in the region right now understands that there is a target on everybodys back if Netanyahu sees it is fitting to his political agenda.
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New satellite images show the impact on the ground of Israels airstrike targeting Hamas negotiators in Doha, Qatar this week.

Israel on Tuesday carried out an airstrike against Hamass political leaders in Doha, which Qatar condemned as a cowardly attack and criminal assault.

Hamas said the strike failed to kill any of the senior negotiators targeted, but that five low-ranking members died. Qatar said one member of its security forces was killed and others injured.

The airstrike drew mass condemnation from leaders both in the Gulf and around the world, with many expressing concern that Israel had violated the sovereignty of a nation which has been a key broker in talks between Hamas and Israel since the 7 October attack and Benjamin Netanyahus Gaza invasion two years ago.

The satellite images released by Planet Labs show the Israeli air force hit a walled compound where Hamas negotiators were reportedly meeting to consider a ceasefire proposed by Washington.

open image in gallery This satellite photo shows a residential compound in Doha, Qatar, before being attacked by the Israeli air force ( Planet Labs )

The post-attack satellite image revealed that the damage was limited to a cluster of five buildings, with little impact visible on the surrounding structures. The building in the lower right corner of the cluster sustained the most damage, along with the building to the left of it. The image also shows a large number of vehicles responding to the incident in what was earlier a quiet corner of the capital.

open image in gallery This satellite photo shows the impact from Israels 9 September attack, with damage sustained to a cluster of buildings in the middle of the image ( Planet Labs )

Other parts of the compound, including a small structure near the pool, were also hit. Buildings adjacent to the compound seem to have remained largely untouched.

The military operation involved 15 Israeli fighter jets, which fired 10 munitions against a single target, according to the Israeli media.

Hamas said none of those killed were part of its negotiating team. It said the dead included Hammam, the son of their exiled leader and chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, the director of al-Hayyas office, and three bodyguards.

open image in gallery This frame grab taken from footage shows smoke billowing after explosions in Qatars capital of Doha ( AFPTV )

Qatari prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani described Tuesdays attack as state terrorism that threatened the security and stability of the region, adding that Doha had the right to respond.

We believe that today we have reached a pivotal moment. There must be a response from the entire region to such barbaric actions, he said on Wednesday.

US president Donald Trump said he was very unhappy about Israels actions but stopped short of outright condemning Israel for what was described as a unilateral decision.

Mr Trump called the strike on Hamass political wing unfortunate and said he had directed US envoy Steve Witkoff to warn Qatar, but by then it was too late.
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Israel launched an airstrike targeting Hamas's leadership in capital of Qatar on Tuesday, widening its campaign against the militant group.

Hamas said of its leaders survived the attack but that five lower-ranked members were killed, and Qatar said a security official died and others were wounded.

The attack drew fierce condemnation from a string of countries, including the UK, Egypt, Germany, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Canada. The EU said the airstrike was in breach of international law.

Benjamin Netanyahus office said the Israeli military had carried out a wholly independent operation against the top terrorist chieftains of Hamas and that the strike was justified.

An Israeli official told Israels Channel 12 that US president Donald Trump had given the green light for the strike.

The White House said it had warned Qatar before the attack, but the Doha government denied this.

Click here to follow the latest updates on Israels attack on the Hamas leadership in Qatar.

The latest Israeli airstrike targeted Doha in Qatar

Qatar condemned what it describes as a "blatant violation" of international laws and a "serious threat" to civilians.

"The State of Qatar strongly condemns this attack, and affirms that it will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behaviour and the continuous tampering with the security of the region and any action aimed at its security and sovereignty," said Dr Majed Al Ansari, a spokesperson for Qatars foreign ministry.

Hamas claimed the airstrike confirmed that Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu did not want to reach any agreement and were deliberately seeking to fail all opportunities and international efforts, disregarding the lives of their prisoners.

Several blasts were heard in Doha on Tuesday, and black plumes of smoke were seen rising into the skyline. Images showed a building blackened and destroyed.

Qatar is the sixth country Israel has attacked since the Hamas massacre on 7 October 2023, when around 1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 taken hostage. The terror attack prompted a major onslaught on Gaza in which Israel has killed around 65,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and destroyed large parts of the strip.

Attacks on the occupied Palestinian territories - which includes Gaza and the West Bank - have been aggressive and constant for nearly two years, barring periods of temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Soon after Israels bombardment of Gaza began, Lebanese militant group Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel in what it said was solidarity with Palestinians suffering in the war in Gaza. This continued until a ceasefire agreement was made in late 2024.

The Houthi militant group from Yemen also fired rockets towards Israel to support the Palestinians, while attacking ships in the Red Sea which it deemed were assisting Israels war effort. Israel has targeted Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, including airports and power stations, designed to weaken Houthi military capabilities.

Israel opened an aerial bombardment campaign just days after the rapid collapse of the rule of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, seeking to destroy Syrias military infrastructure, airports, and other targets.

In June, Israel launched a major attack on numerous sites across large parts of Iran, including military installations, nuclear targets and weapons depots. The US later joined these strikes.
This is the moment President Donald Trump bragged about changing the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War during a 9/11 memorial service on Thursday (September 11).

Trump was at the Pentagon marking the 24th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, which killed 2,977 people, relaying personal stories of some of the victims and vowing to "never forget".

And as he spoke of the years that followed the attack, where "America's warriors avenged our fallen and sent an unmistakable message to every enemy around the world," the Republican briefly touched on renaming the Department of Defense the Department of War.

The President added: "Everybody is so happy to have it back."
The sprawling family-controlled business empire includes food, property and healthcare interests

Laurence P Goodman (44) is taking over the mantle from John Moloney, the former managing director of Glanbia. Mr Moloney joined the ABP board in 2020 and has served as chair since then. He will continue his involvement with ABP, joining its group supervisory board.
Irelands population could reach 6.77 million by 2065, in a medium scenario

About 60pc of foreign workers who get Critical Skills Employment permits leave the country within five years, new research by the Department of Finance has found.

The brain drain of workers who would be considered the brightest and the best, and operate in key sectors such as healthcare, appears to be due to quality-of-life issues. The shortage of housing, the expense of childcare, and even bad weather are thought to be among the reasons why they decide to leave Ireland again.
With AI (artificial intelligence) already becoming an increasingly important factor in our daily lives, global credit reporting, data and analytics company Equifax has officially launched its first AI Innovation Lab outside of the US at its operation in Wexford .

Senior management travelled from the companys headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, on Wednesday to officially launch the new operation, which they say will bolster their operations in the model county and see the total workforce increase to more than 100 employees.
NUJ members working in RTE welcome today's announcementReports indicate that Slovenia and Iceland are also considering withdrawing from contest

Ireland will not take part in Eurovision if Israel participates, RTE announces

RTE has said it will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision if Israel continues to be a participant in the song contest.

In a statement issued this afternoon, the national broadcaster said it is RTEs position that Ireland will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if the participation of Israel goes ahead.

"The final decision regarding Irelands participation will be made once the European Broadcasting Unions (EBU) decision is made, it said.

Today's News in 90 Seconds, Thursday, September 11

At the General Assembly of the EBU in July, a number of EBU members raised concerns about the participation of Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest.

RTE wishes to thank the EBU for the extensive consultation process that was initiated on foot of that meeting, and the extension of the option to withdraw from participation without penalty to December.

RTE feels that Irelands participation would be unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza. RTE is also deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza, and the denial of access to international journalists to the territory, and the plight of the remaining hostages.

NUJ members working in RTE have said they welcome today's announcement.

Last May the Dublin Broadcasting Branch wrote to the broadcaster requesting that it formally oppose Israels participation.

"We did this because our members are appalled by Israels actions in Gaza and the wider region, not least the unprecedented wholescale targeting and killing of journalists and media workers, a spokesperson said.

We strongly welcome RTEs clear statement that it would be unconscionable for Ireland to participate next year, given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza, and recording the broadcasters deep concern at the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza, and the denial of access to international journalists to the territory, and the plight of the remaining hostages.

We believe this position reflects the views of staff working at the broadcaster, and those of the Irish public that we serve.

We call on other European broadcasters to follow suit, and on the EBU to suspend Israel from the 2026 contest as a matter of urgency.

Siptu members in RTE said they stand in support of RTE in taking a principled stance on the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest.

"This decision aligns with our values and shows a strong commitment to human rights and justice. We fully support RTE's position and commend their leadership in this matter, they said.

Public Expenditure minister Jack Chambers said today that he respects RTE's decision to withdraw from Eurovision if Israel remains included.

It had to be seen in the context of the killing of journalists in Gaza and the genocide there, he said, noting the initiative had come the RTE newsroom.

He added that RTE had not been in touch with him, or with Government, insofar as he was aware, in advance of the decision.

"But I understand the decision that they've made. I support RTE in making that decision, and their right to make it, he said.

"We've all been shocked over the summer to see the killing of innocents, including journalists who are providing objective information to the world.

"Certainly I have respect for RTE's decision on that."

'Late Late Show' host Patrick Kielty with singer Emmy, who represented Ireland at the Eurovision. Photo: Andres Poveda

The EBU has previously suspended Russia from the competition over the Ukraine war.

When asked the criteria for Russias suspension, he said it was clear the Russian broadcasters were clearly aligned with the Russian government following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Martin Green, the Director of the Eurovision Song Contest, released a statement yesterday following reports of potential withdrawals from the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.

Speaking to the Danish broadcaster DR, Martin Green released a statement regarding reports that Slovenia and Iceland are considering withdrawing from the contest due to Israels potential participation. In a written response to queries from DR, Mr Green said: We understand the concerns and deeply held views around the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

"We are still consulting with all EBU Members to gather views on how we manage participation and geopolitical tensions around the Eurovision Song Contest.

Broadcasters have until mid-December to confirm if they wish to take part in next years event in Vienna. It is up to each Member to decide if they want to take part in the Contest and we would respect any decision broadcasters make.
Percentage of people backing Governments stance jumps eight points since 2023

A slim majority now back the Governments move to soften the Triple Lock on sending Irish troops abroad, according to an Ireland Thinks poll.

However, the figure of 44pc was only three points higher than the 41pc who believe Ireland should not change the policy, while 15pc were not sure.
Foragers urged to be careful picking wild mushrooms  and Australian murder case shows why

There is a growing trend of foraging in Ireland  but the murder of a family using poisonous fungi has highlighted just how costly a mistake can be

Mycologist Bill ODea runs foraging hunts each year and says he has seen a surge in interest in the topic

Ralph Riegel Thu 11 Sep 2025 at 06:30

There has been a remarkable surge in interest in wild foraged foods across Ireland, though a leading fungi expert urged people to be careful if collecting wild mushrooms.
Government is warned that alleged degrading of Labour Court risks return to era of striking

Reappointment of the bodys deputy chairman urged as industrial relations cases mounting up

The Labour Court

Anne-Marie Walsh Thu 11 Sep 2025 at 16:49

The Government has been warned that an alleged degrading of the Labour Court risks a return to industrial unrest on a scale last seen in the 1980s.
When we went on to liven up the crowd, I flashed my arse  Bad Manners Buster Bloodvessel on offending the Pope and the enduring appeal of Special Brew
Labour Court warns failure to reappoint senior official will devastate its work

Government is told blocking of move has it operating at third of its capacity

Enterprise Minister Peter Burke. Photo: Getty

Anne-Marie Walsh Thu 11 Sep 2025 at 06:30

The Government has been warned that failure to reappoint a senior Labour Court official will be devastating to its functioning and services to the public.
Green Party leader Roderic OGorman has said he fears political violence is nearing a tipping point where a politician in Ireland could be seriously hurt.

Mr OGorman said he was writing to Government ministers to urge them to reign in social media companies and restrict their spread of violent and radical material.
Restaurant review: This SoCoDu gem is loud, glamorous and good-humoured. A little, dare I say, Celtic Tiger

The epic Peking duck has our critic planning a return visit  just make sure to pre-order

China Tang in Monkstown, Dublin. Photo: Steve Humphreys

Katy McGuinness Thu 11 Sep 2025 at 06:30

The first time I ate at China Tang, soon after it opened earlier this year, I arrived late, and by the time I got settled, there were already a lot of opinions. Rather than assume my default bossy mode, instructing people what they should and should not order, I demurred and went along with their choices, which included rather too much fifth quarter for my liking.
US plans to ask all tourists  including from Ireland  to share five years of social media history
French president Emanuel Macron recently spoke of a 26-country European coalition of the willing, to aid Ukraine, in a post-war scenario. Vladimir Putin seems to be asking how willing? with his characteristically provocative drone incursion over Poland.

He feels confident that the nascent military alliance does not have the stomach to confront his mounting aggression. In Beijing, the Russian president sought to mock any notion that he might attack Europe as absurd, laughing it off as the foolish paranoia of skittish Brussels bureaucrats.

Initially, there was no comment from Moscow regarding the foray involving two dozen drones. None was required, as it spoke for itself, just as the saturation raids across Ukraine signalled that Russia will do what and take what it wants.

Moscow has no fear of Europe because no matter what the provocation, the response from Brussels is the same. Talks followed by discussions to be pursued in further meetings  not the sort of stuff to give the Kremlin pause for thought, never mind stop a war.

What Putin wants to do is to test us. What happened in Poland is a game- change

Now the threat being warned of for the past two years by Volodymyr Zelensky is being seen as real.

Russias war is escalating, not ending, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. What Putin wants to do is to test us. What happened in Poland is a game- changer.

It should result in stronger sanctions.

Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said this was the closest his country has been to conflict since World War II. The incident, which resulted in the scrambling of Nato fighter planes, will be seen as an escalation and will be met with a response.

Europe has long realised it needs to bolster its defences, but now it recognises it must also focus on deterrents. Putin has been emboldened since his warm welcome to the US by Donald Trump. In terms of his empire-building goals, he will push as far as he can and stop only when he has to.

Russian president Vladimir Putin recognises weakness when he sees it. Photo: AP

Today's News in 90 Seconds, Thursday, September 11

There are no grounds for taking him anything other than seriously. Moscow has employed sabotage and assassination against the West at will, and the West has failed to respond in any effective way. Even the promised crippling economic sanctions that might have cut Russias resources for war could not be agreed upon.

Washington applied a softly-softly approach; Moscow responded with the same iron fist it has always used. Something needs to change.

Former US president Ronald Reagan once said: Many a man has failed because he had his wishbone where his backbone should have been.

The Russian leader knows weakness when he sees it, and he sees minimal risk in trampling on international law.

What happened in the skies over Poland is forcing European leaders to answer hard questions about resilience and solidarity.

Nato, too, must be in a state of readiness  a strike on one is a strike on all. Putin will be weighing the odds. The alliance must not falter.
We are facing a cliff-edge with the loss of derogation on January 1, warned Cllr Bernard Moynihan who said it is worth 130 million to the Cork economy alone.

Irelands current derogation is due to expire on January 1, 2026.

The importance of the agricultural sector to the economy and to all the towns and and villages in Cork was emphasised at last Mondays full council meeting.

Fianna Fail councillors Bernard Moynihan and Ian Doyle brought forward a joint motion requesting that Cork County Council in conjunction with UCC and MTU prepare a report on the importance of agriculture and related industries to the economy of Cork.

Cllr Moynihan outlined how farming is facing huge challenges in the context of the Mercosur trade deal, derogation and Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Take derogation for instance. We have a quarter of cows, it is 550 million of a loss to the Irish economy. We are facing a cliff-edge with the loss of derogation on January 1. It is worth 130 million to the Cork economy alone.

A recent report found that the average derogation dairy farm would have to cut 27 cows from the herd, wiping almost 44,000 from family farm income, if stocking rates are capped at 170kg/ha, Teagasc has warned.

New analysis published by the farm research body shows 7,609 dairy farms, almost half of the national total, are above the 170kg organic nitrogen limit and rely on the Nitrates Derogation.

These herds account for 65pc of Irelands milk supply.

If forced to cut back, Teagasc estimates national cow numbers would fall by over 200,000 (14pc), with milk production down 1.2bn litres (15pc).

Cllr Moynihan continued: If we were faced in the morning with the loss of a quarter of our pharmaceutical industry, there would be task-forces and all sort of things set up. We are facing a loss of one quarter of our dairy industry and the spin off effects from that. All the employment it creates, the suppliers and the agri-issue. It is a huge issue for Cork County alone.

The Mercosur trade deal is an attack on the beef industry, said Cllr Moynihan. We have a role in promoting our county and emphasising the positives for our county. It is importing beef products from South America which are not to the same stringent rules that we have in Munster and north Cork.

Cutting 25% of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget is a huge impact on Cork because Cork is an agri-hub and a hub for the dairy industry. It is massive for agriculture and beef. The impact on Cork would be massive. We need to start pointing out that these things should not be happening. We need to emphasise the environmental positives that we have with regards to the dairy and beef industry, he added.

Cllr Moynihan also highlighted comments from a Cork Chamber of Commerce report from 2014 as he outlined the important role agriculture plays in daily life in every Cork community. They said Cork with its rich heritage, intellectual capital and technological capabilities has a major competitive advantage to position itself as the agrifood leading region in the world. We need to be a leader in this field and point out that there is no adverse effects by continuing with the derogation.

Cllr Ian Doyle echoed the sentiments of his party colleague. Cork County is home to two of the largest groups of dairy industries in our area, providing employment and food security for Ireland and internationally. The facilities and traditions we have in Cork are second to none. Our grass base and farm to fork is second to none. It is very important that we protect farming and farm families particularly with the current negotiations.

Cllr Doyle said there are spinoff industries thriving due to the agriculture sector. We are looking at developing our county towns and villages. The importance of the dairy and beef industry and all the agricultural industries to the development of these is huge. There are spinoff industries like the stainless steel industry. It is very important to acknowledge the economic benefit of the dairy industry to the economy and communities of Cork County.

Fianna Fail councillor Frank OFlynn said the agriculture sector kept the country going during the downturn in 2009 and during Covid. We are good at producing milk because we have hard working farmers. When the farming community is doing well, the economy is doing well.

Divisional Manager with Cork County Council Michael Lynch agreed that agriculture and its related industries play a key role in the economy of Cork, the importance of which is recognised in the Cork County Council Corporate Plan.

Mr Lynch confirmed that the preparation of an economic strategy for the county is a key priority of the corporate plan; and it is anticipated agriculture and related industries will play an important role in same. Cork County Council recognises that collaboration with key stakeholders, including University College Cork, the Munster Technological University and Teagasc, will be central to advancing the agri-sector and supporting the rural economy/communities throughout the county.

Given the importance of agriculture and related industries to the economy and communities of Cork, it is now timely to arrange for the preparation of an updated study. It is considered appropriate to refer this matter to the Economic Development & Enterprise SPC for consideration and report; the output of which will help inform the preparation of an Economic Strategy for the County, he added.
Some classic Opel and Vauxhall motors from yesteryear were bathed in sunshine during Ted's Opel Vauxhall Run 2025.

The annual event which is now in its 18th year has grown to become one of the largest Opel/Vauxhall events in the whole of Ireland and is a must for car enthusiasts.

Jack Sheehan, Winner of the Jackie Small Memorial Award for his Opel Kadett C

The Opel Ascona B Sport of John & Elaine Uncles, winners of Special Award No 1.

The run was in aid of the Dogs for the Disabled charity, and Ellen O'Mahony thanked everyone for their support on behalf of the charity.

Series of cars on show

The participants set off on their journey across the county bounds to Kerry through Kilgarvan and Bonane before driving through the tunnels to Caha Pass back to Cork roads again.

Series of cars on show

Numerous prizes were won and the attention soon turned with the smell of the BBQ to wrap up another successful event.

A spokesperson for the charity run paid a special thank you to all who helped out in any way to make the run a success and to those who attended.

"Keep August 8, 2026, in your diary for the 19th Ted's Opel Vauxhall Run," they concluded.
Cork comedian Tadhg Hickey feared for his life during suspected drone attack on Gaza aid flotilla

The writer and activist shared dramatic footage from aboard the Alma, describing his fear of being killed and calling for Irish government condemnation.

Tadhg Hickey, pictured last year. Photo: Marcin Lewandowski

Kevin Galvin Thu 11 Sep 2025 at 14:37

It has emerged that a well-known Cork native was on a boat struck by a suspected drone attack, as part of a major flotilla attempting to break Israels aid blockade of Gaza.
A District Court judge has told the brother of a sitting TD that he is the author of his own misfortune.

Marc Kenny (29), with an address at Blackwater Drive, Mallow, who is a brother of Labour Cork-North TD Eoghan Kenny, faced the court on charges of having no insurance, failing to produce insurance, and a separate count of drink driving and having no insurance from a different incident.
Cork judge tells man (34) with 183 previous convictions youre getting too old for this

The defendant was before Mallow District Court charged with two counts of theft and with being drunk and disorderly in public

Stock image

Kevin Galvin Thu 11 Sep 2025 at 05:20

The defence solicitor representing a man with 183 previous convictions said he can say with certainty that his client will appear again before the courts.
The county council will hold a special meeting the following week

Would-be presidential candidates will get their chance to seek a nomination from Corks two local authorities in special meetings to be held next week and the week after.

Cork City Council is holding a special meeting on Monday, September 15, to consider nominations for the presidential election following presentations from the prospective candidates.

Cork County Council will hold its presidential candidates meeting on Monday, September 22, just two days before the nomination period ends. Around a dozen prospective candidates are expected to come before the two councils. Their names havent yet been made public.

Its not clear whether either council will nominate a candidate. Fine Gael has instructed its councillors to vote against independent candidates while Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein have said they will not be telling their councillors how to vote.

Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Sinn Fein are the three biggest parties in Cork City Council, holding 18 of the 31 seats. In Cork County Council they hold 38 of the 55 seats.

Cllr Michael Hegarty, who is the Fine Gael party leader on Cork County Council, told C103's Cork Today programme that when it comes to the 18 Fine Gael councillors voting to nominate an independent candidate, that is up to the individuals themselves what way they want to go. I wont be dictating or ensuring that the whip is used on any of them.

Speaking at a Cork City Council meeting this week, Cllr Terry Shannon questioned the point of holding a special meeting at all if the city council doesnt intend to nominate a candidate.

I'm posing an argument whether this council intends nominating anybody or not. It's two and a half weeks now to nominations closing and I think it's bringing quite an imposition on people to come here to address us when other meetings are happening at the same time, when we may have no intention of nominating anyone in the first place, the Fianna Fail councillor said.

I think that's not fair on those people who are coming here and I think we should state clearly, let's be upfront and honest, if there's no intention of nominating anybody, then we should be upfront and tell the people that.

I understand it's democratic, we have a right to do it, but if all we're doing is going through the optics and at the end of the whole process, we would have never maybe intended nominating somebody, I think that's unfair to the candidates."

The Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Fergal Dennehy, responded that the party whips agreed the process a number of weeks ago and when he raised the matter with the corporate policy group of councillors this week, there was a feeling amongst members present that we should proceed in the interest of democracy.

The presidential election will take place on October 24 with September 24 the last day to submit a nomination. Candidates have to be nominated by 20 members of the Oireachtas or four local authorities.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Cork county councillors have called for the responsibility for wastewater treatment plants to be handed back to the local authority as they accused Uisce Eireann of delaying housing development in the county.

Councillors were responding at this weeks meeting of Cork County Council to a letter from the office of the housing minister saying that the national water utility is working on a position paper on wastewater services.

After ten years as a utility for Irish Water to say that work is going on to develop a draft guideline for planning authorities really shows the lack of urgency. We all know as elected members that all over the county our drinking water sources, pipelines, reservoirs and treatment plants are all in disarray, Cllr Finbarr Harrington said.

The absence of water services is a constraint on housing development. And if they don't fix it, we're not going to fix the housing problem. We need water. We need wastewater. You can't build houses without either.

Cllr Joe Carroll said: we have a number of villages and towns in Cork County, in particular in West Cork, that are sterilized completely [i.e. development is prohibited]. And there's nothing going to happen in Dunmanway, Crossbarry, Ballineen, Enniskean because there's no wastewater treatment plants.

Uisce Eireann say they can't do it. Well, if they can't do it, let's do it for them. And that's what we should be doing. It should be done for them, even with their own supervision, and then hand it back to them.

Cllr Sheila O'Callaghan cited Carrignavar and the lack of any development there currently and going forward. And it's purely down to the lack of wastewater capacity. We're in the middle of a housing crisis and something has to be done to expedite this.

Cllr Sinead Shepard accused Uisce Eireann of dictating to the council in relation to county development plans. We're basically telling people in the county that they cannot build or live where they've grown up, where their family support is, because of Irish Water and because of wastewater treatment plants not being upgraded.

She said the council has given the water utility a list of priority projects but they're getting through it at a snail's pace. They're obviously just not up to the job at all. Theyre really holding towns and villages within our county to ransom.

Cllr Michael Hegarty called for any settlement with fewer than 20,000 people to be handed back to the local authority. When we were in charge, we did an excellent job. But if we are to take up the responsibility, government has to give us the appropriate funding.

The problem lies with smaller, developer-led projects, said Cllr Bernard Moynihan. He mentioned a housing development in Kiskeam that is maxed out at 10 houses because of wastewater treatment plant constraints.

Certainly the smaller projects, if they could be left to us to sort them out and we do them up to their [Uisce Eireann] specification, that's all that's required, he said.

The chief executive of Cork County Council, Moira Murrell, agreed that the lack of wastewater infrastructure is a critical issue across the county. She said the council has proposed a pilot scheme of developer-led wastewater infrastructure overseen by the local authority to deliver faster housing schemes for small towns and villages.

So if there was some element of DPI [Developer Provided Water Services Infrastructure] or some element of flexibility that allowed us to deliver quicker, we would certainly engage in relation to that, she said.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
A new policy which recognises the fundamental right for children to play, will see more open spaces being built into council estates in south Dublin.

Since 2014, South Dublin County Council (SDCC) has invested 6.25m in such spaces, with the number of play areas in the area increasing from nine to 70.

Senior Parks Superintendent, Suzanne Furlong, told a recent council meeting the policy aimed to look at addressing a lack of play spaces in south Dublin.

The policy also includes dedicated teen spaces based on consultations with children of different age ranges and their parents to understand their specific needs.

This was proposed as a five-year programme to address the deficiency of play opportunities across the county, Ms Furlong said.

They were designed to adapt to the places where they were installed, with a focus on where these children live and using the natural environment.

The work has gone not only into our parks, but into housing developments in the form of more open spaces.

We recognised that teens need specific spaces for their development as well, and the importance for children to be able to play close to their homes.

It looks at making playgrounds more inclusive  were looking at a diversity of needs, including children with various disabilities, based on the input from families and local councillors.

Labour Party councillor Francis Timmons commended the work done on newer housing estates and called for similar infrastructure in older estates.

We need open spaces in our older estates. Ive had constituents look at the newer developments and ask for it in where they live, he said.

We have estates in Clondalkin and Kilcronan where it could make a real difference.

We need to look into how we can budget for more open spaces in these estates. Ideally, all the new play spaces should be within walking distance of all estates.

Labour Councillor Joanna Tuffy agreed that older estates with younger families could benefit from similar open spaces.

I met three young boys a few years ago who asked me for a local playground  it was a time when there was none at all in places like north Clondalkin  it was a glaring gap in south Dublin at that stage, she said.

I commend the staff and councillors who have put the work, worked with the children and made this very clear difference.

Councillors also praised the councils decision to consult teenagers in the planning process.

Spaces for teens are well needed right now, spaces like these could make a big difference, Sinn Fein councillor Niamh Whelan said.

Children are our equals and they have a right to participate in these decisions. We have seen it pay off in difficult areas where people said playgrounds wouldnt thrive.

Fianna Fail councillor Yvonne Collins added: There was a fear among communities of anti-social behaviour, but it has worked out seamlessly because children themselves were taken into account.

The council said next steps for the playground policy will include mapping areas where more play spaces are needed.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
Firefighters from Tallaght responded to playground equipment on fire in Adamstown. Pic: @DubFireBrigade

Anti-social behaviour and crime levels are becoming a growing concern in some areas of west Dublin, with one Sinn Fein representative calling for more garda resources.

Derren O Bradaigh is calling for a more robust policing strategy to tackle what he describes as a growing crisis in Lucan, Clondalkin and surrounding communities.

The call comes after a local playground in Castlegate Park, Lucan, was targeted in a suspected arson attack last week.

Firefighters from Tallaght responded to the playground equipment on fire last Wednesday night in Adamstown and shared pictures of the damage.

A spokesperson for Dublin Fire Brigade said: The fire was extinguished shortly after arrival and further damage was prevented.

Firefighters from Tallaght responded to playground equipment on fire in Adamstown. Pic: @DubFireBrigade

Mr O Bradaigh added: This incident has shaken residents and upset children, with this being the only playground in the vicinity.

Whats worse still, is that the playground only received significant upgrades and resurfacing last year after a lengthy wait.

This is just the latest in a number of incidents that have really raised concerns even further for a lot of the residents here and the wider community.

Its not just Lucan and Clondalkin, were feeling it right across Dublin.

Despite what were being told by Minister Jim OCallaghan and the government in relation to garda recruitment, the reality on the ground in our communities is that the level of anti-social behaviour and just general crime has surged, he added.

Some of the anti-social behaviour includes repeated illegal dumping, masked youths terrorising shop staff, and organised low-level drug activity through the use of e-scooters and e-bikes.

Just speak to any local shopkeepers about the serious issues their staff are subjected to on a near-daily basis, Mr O Bradaigh said.

Everything from assaults on staff, shoplifting and intimidation, and the increase of e-scooters and e-bikes are placing our emergency services under undue pressure with a sharp rise in accidents.

These are often being used by masked up youths to facilitate drug dealing, break-ins and shoplifting and are creating a real challenge to tackling crime levels.

This is not acceptable for any community to have to endure, he added.

Dublin Fire Brigade said the fire was extinguished 'shortly after arrival'. Pic: @DubFireBrigade

He believes the root issue is a mismatch between the areas growing population and the garda resources available.

He commended local gardai, saying they are doing their best, and acknowledged there have been some moderate increases in numbers in certain districts.

We need more gardai overall, with greater visibility on the ground and providing reassurances to people going about their lives, he said.

A garda spokesperson said: Gardai attended the scene following a report of an incident of criminal damage by fire, at a park in the Adamstown, Co Dublin, on Wednesday, September 3, at approximately 8.05pm.

Fire services extinguished the fire and made the area safe. No injuries were reported at the time and investigations are ongoing.
A group of residents in north Dublin, who have been campaigning against Dublin Airports expansion plans for night flights, have officially lodged proceedings in the High Court.

In a statement, St Margarets The Ward Residents Group (SMTW), said it has lodged Judicial Review proceedings against An Coimisiun Pleanalas decision to approve Dublin Airports Relevant Action application.

An Coimisiun Pleanala ruled during the summer that Dublin Airport would be permitted to utilise its north runway between 6am and midnight, compared to the previous hours of 7am to 11pm.

The watchdog also replaced a cap of 65 night-time flights every 24 hours, with an annual limit of 35,672 night-time aircraft movements.

It will also be subject to an annual noise quota.

This legal challenge is being taken to continue opposing the expansion of night-time operations at the airport, the SMTW group statement said.

When planning permission was granted for Dublin Airports north runway in 2007, it was on the clear condition that night flights would be restricted.

This safeguard was to protect the health and well-being of surrounding communities.

The recent decision to allow more than 35,000 flights each year at night abandons that principle.

It will cause serious harm to thousands of residents through sleep disturbance and long-term health impacts linked to chronic aircraft noise exposure.

This expansion serves only the interests of airlines and their pursuit of profit, not the public good.

The contrast is striking, while SMTW is challenging the decision to defend community health, Ryanair is also pursuing Judicial Review proceedings  but with the opposite aim of removing restrictions altogether to allow even more flights at night.

They added that their legal action comes at a time leading up to the International Day to Ban Night Flights on Saturday, September 13.

On this day, they will hold a protest at Dublin Airports main roundabout from 4pm, calling for the ability to sleep at night free from the harmful impacts of aviation noise.

Meanwhile, Ryanair is seeking High Court permission for a judicial review to challenge a decision by the planning watchdog to impose a cap on the number of night-time flights it will permit at Dublin Airport.

They claim An Coimisiun Pleanala will strangle transatlantic traffic at Dublin due to its decision.

In a statement regarding the North Runway planning decision, daa CEO Kenny Jacobs previously said it was a good decision for Ireland.

We welcome the clarity [the] decision brings, which removes uncertainty for Dublin Airport and the airlines, as well as having a positive impact on jobs and investment in Ireland, he said.

However, we are disappointed with the night-time movements cap which is on top of a noise quota.

We also reaffirm our clear commitment to engaging with the local community to mitigate the impact of airport operations and have already begun to implement the noise insulation grant scheme.

Daa has said it is very aware that airport operations have an impact on local communities and said they work hard to minimise this.

Daa has been mandated by the State to develop and operate Dublin Airport as a hub and ensure Ireland has the connectivity it needs with the world, a spokesperson said.

A balance has to be struck between this and the needs of those living close to the airport.

Thats always going to be difficult, but daa is constantly working to minimise the impact, listen to community feedback and increase transparency about airport operations.

Daa also confirmed it will not pursue legal action in relation to the decision by An Coimisiun Pleanala on the North Runway Relevant Action (NRRA).

Taking a Judicial Review against the NRRA would open the airport to further prolonged uncertainty and hamper our ability to progress our application to lift the airport passenger cap through the planning system, they said.
The newly restored Bolands Mills building in Dublins Grand Canal Dock is set to celebrate Culture Night in Dublin for the first time.

The restored space will transform its waterfront setting into a two-stage hub for free music, spoken word and creative performances on Friday, September 19.

Entry to all events is free, non-ticketed, and operates on a first-come, first-served basis.

Some of the family-friendly events kick off from 2.30pm and include a professional magician, a kid-friendly tie-dye t-shirt workshop, face painting and an interactive workshop with renowned Irish graphic designer Magnus Mudrack.

As the evening begins, the landmark site will transform into a fully licensed over-18s event and will have a promising line-up with Nialler9 set to perform.

He will deliver a high-energy DJ set filled with disco, indie and more.

London-based electronic music producer POSER will also be there, and will be joined by Kynsy (aka Ciara Lydnsey), who is a rising star having played at Electric Picnic and other festivals.

Nialler9 will perform a high-energy DJ set. Pic: Carlos Daly

The history of the space will also be honoured, as The Factory at Bolands Mills has hosted legendary names including U2 and David Bowie in the past.

For Culture Night, curating the spoken word stage in The Factory is the acclaimed Dublin-based poet and fashion stylist, Jan Brierton.

Her work explores themes of menopause, midlife, relationships, and self-acceptance. Joining Jan are a host of talented artists, including comedian and actress Alison Spittle, emerging poet Olivia OToole, who has family roots in Ringsend, and David Hynes, co-founder of The Poetry Kiln.

Being a part of the Docklands skyline for over 150 years, Bolands Mills have always been a fundamental part of the social and economic life of the area.

During the Easter Rising in 1916, the buildings were famously occupied by rebel forces, cementing their place in history.

The journey to restore the 150-year-old site is now complete, with over 50,000 square feet of newly landscaped outdoor areas and 30,000 square feet of retail and community space.

This event is part of Culture Nights 20th-anniversary celebration, One Night for All, coordinated by the Arts Council in partnership with local authorities. For full details visit www.culturenight.ie
The Furbo community at a recent protest calling for pedestrian safety measures on the R336

A rural Galway community is urging residents to make their voice heard as concerns remain over road safety despite the county councils new Safe Routes to School plan for the area.

Galway County Council has released its provisional Safe Routes to School (SRTS) plan for Na Forbacha, a long-awaited step forward as the community has been voicing their concerns over pedestrian safety on the R336 in Connemara for months.
A Skills for Life programme with a focus on digital skills, financial literacy, sustainable lifestyles, and environmental awareness is being rolled out across public libraries in Co. Offaly.

The programme is part of the national public libraries The Library is the Place 2023  2027 strategy and reflects the expanding role of libraries as trusted community lifelong learning hubs.

Fine Gael Deputy John Clendennen welcomed the news, and said it will equip individuals with the essential skills needed to navigate modern life.

It will help people with unmet literacy needs to build the practical skills they need to thrive in a changing world and to seize new opportunities.

This initiative shows what can be achieved when departments, agencies, and local authorities work together with a shared goal of supporting people in their everyday lives, Deputy Clendennen said.

The programme will provide support in six key areas, including: Basic digital skills; Financial literacy; Media literacy; Business and employment skills; Health awareness; and sustainable lifestyles and environmental awareness.

The Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht is providing 200,000 in funding through the Dormant Accounts Fund to support local events in Offaly and raise awareness of the programme.

Speaking at the national launch of the Skills for Life programme at the LexIcon in Dun Laoghaire, Minister of State for Community Development and Charities, Jerry Buttimer, said that the programme is both strategic and responsive to local needs.

I am confident that this collaboration will strengthen in the years ahead, ensuring libraries continue to connect people with the right supports at the right time, the minister said.

The Skills for Life National Steering Group will oversee the programmes ongoing development and implementation across public libraries nationwide, with representation from key government departments and stakeholders.
Meeting hears concerns about accuracy of commercial vacancy data, the cost of the Living Wall at Queen Maeve Square and the possibility of a Christmas market in the town

From Christmas lights and ice rinks to managing Queen Maeve Square and invigorating the night time economy, the work being carried out by Sligo Business Improvement District (BID) was highlighted at a presentation given to Councillors at last Mondays monthly meeting of Sligo County Council.

A detailed presentation by Gail McGibbon, CEO of Sligo BID gave a thorough breakdown of the work carried out in a variety of fields, while Finbarr Filan also took questions from elected representatives during which he rubbished claims by the GeoDirectory regarding the vacancy rates in Sligo town centre.

Addressing the elected representatives, Ms McGibbon explained, Sligo BID was established in 2016 and encompasses 758 businesses with representatives from 43 different businesses having sat on the board since it was established. It is an independent business with an annual budget of 350,000 that is run for the benefit of local businesses with one of the key objectives being to create a sustainable model of town centre management.

It is was outlined to the meeting some of the benefits to the town and to the Council of partnering with Sligo BID. For example the St Patricks Day festivities have grown from a two hour parade into a three day festival with a 67% increase in the number of groups registering in the parade while there has also been a 31% increase in the number of floats. The festival attracts in the region of 35,000 visitors to the area.

However, it was also revealed that costs have spiralled in recent years. For example, in 2016 the cost of hosting the St Patrick's Day parade was 8,000 while this year that was the costs just for insurance.

The success of the Love Sligo gift card was also highlighted as a success story with sales of the gift card totalling 1.7m since its launch 23 months ago. Over 250 businesses take part in this scheme resulting in 50,000 instore transactions at zero cost to the businesses.

Referring to the work that goes in to making Sligo as festive as possible for the Christmas period it was revealed in 2016 there werent enough lights for the entirety of OConnell Street. Now Sligo BID have a stock of Christmas lights to the value of 250,000 while there is also 60,000 worth of summer signage and street directions.

Sligo Tidy Towns has also benefited from the establishment of Sligo BID as they have received sponsorship to the tune of 30,000 per annum since 2016. The cleanliness in the town was further enhanced by the 456 flowering baskets that went up this year, funded by BID.

The role played by Sligo BID in the towns tourist office was also emphasised with McGibbon noting the office operates on a model of partnership between Sligo BID, Sligo County Council, Leader and Failte Ireland. The office is deemed by Failte Ireland to be high performing with 2,000 visitors in 2024 and an average of 150-300 visitors per day.

While there were many positives highlighted, the issue of a Christmas market in Queen Maeve Square once again proved to be contentious while Cllr Thomas Walsh also took issue with the squares newest feature, the living wall saying the cost associated with the wall at 20,430 is an interesting figure.

Cllr Walsh also expressed his disappointment with the letter he received from BID when he sought for more effort to be made to secure a Christmas market for the square. I will be supporting you for another term but I would like more engagement. The letter is less of a standard than we would have expected.

In reply Ms McGibbon said the figures and costings quoted in the letter were based on Reaching out to other Councils. We are not the solution provider. That is an unfair burden to put on us.

It was suggested that wooden huts in Achonry would be ideal for a Christmas market but Gail poured cold water on that idea saying, We looked at the huts in Achonry months ago. They were built specifically to sit in front of a concrete space in Achonry. She also noted, The success of the ice rink means footfall is limited.

In relation to the hosting of a Christmas market in Queen Maeve Square other challenges such as the weather and lack of space due to the success of the ice rink were also highlighted as obstacles with the consensus from Gail and Finbarr being that if a Christmas market is to be hosted it has to be top quality.

With regards the future of the square Ms McGibbon noted, We asked all organisations to come forward with suggestions as to how to use the resource. Do you know how many we got? None.

Finbarr Filan also responded to some of the issues stressing, It is not a key objective of Sligo BID to manage Queen Maeve Square. We are delighted to do it but it is not a key objective."

Mr Filan also took issue with the criticism of the Living Wall saying that it is similar to the SLIGO sign in the square in that it is an Instagram spot.

"The Living Wall is fantastic. It is about making your town better. Most of the funding came from the positive climate fund, he added.

Further emphasising the philosophy of the group Mr Filan said, We dont do half measures. If we cant do top notch we wont do it.

Cllr Dara Mulvey returned to the topic of the night time economy and praised BID for their proactive work in relation to the Ask for Angela initiative whereby patrons can ask staff for Angela if for any reason they feel unsafe.

Ms McGibbon said Sligo was the only town across the UK and Ireland to work with a variety of agencies including the Rape Crisis Network and An Garda Siochana to help ensure the safety of all who wish to enjoy a night out in the town.

The success of that co-operation was backed up by figures quoted by Mr Filan who said a recent survey reveals 95% of people feel safe in Sligo.

"Ireland is the second safest country in the world to live. Dublin is the fifth safest capital. From a business point of view the lack of gardai during the daytime rather than the night is the issue.

The issue of vacancy was also addressed by Cllr Michael Clarke with Mr Filan replying, The vacancy rate drives me mad when it comes out."

It was revealed Sligo BID purchased the data from GeoDirectory that they use to determine the level of vacancy in towns across the country. However, Mr Filan claimed he discovered considerable anomalies within the figures.

"We interrogated the GeoDirectory data. My building is listed as vacant twice on GeoDirectory. 50% of all buildings listed as vacant are occupied between the Garda Station and the Southern Hotel, he said.

He added, We purchased the Sligo data direct from the company. I presume the stats they put online are the same stats but I dont know that for definite. We have developed an app to carry out a survey on the ground but it is a work in progress.

Cllr Declan Bree responded: Im really concerned about the data provided by GeoDirectory. How can we as a Council or a country move forward. I think they should close down the business.

Sligo County Council Chief Executive Martin Lydon suggested revisiting the idea of Christmas markets and will be meeting representatives of Sligo BID in January or February.

"It needs to be good, he stressed. Ive been to Christmas markets around this country where they are charging 12 for a hotdog, it needs to be better than that. We work really well with BID and there are lots of good things happening.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
The man was convicted and fined.

A 56-year-old man was before Sligo District Court charged with two counts of intoxication.

Mariusz Krolikowski, Shalomar, Finisklin, Sligo was charged with intoxication at Shalomar on March 19 2025 and also at New Circular Road on February 16 2025.

In relation to February 16, Sergeant Derek Butler said that gardai were on mobile patrol at 10:02am.

Gda Butler observed a male highly intoxicated on New Circular Road.

He was urinating and was arrested for his own safety.

On March 19, Gda Logue received a call about an intoxicated male who was abusive to staff at the hostel.

Gardai arrived and he agreed to leave.

He was highly intoxicated and was arrested for his own safety.

He had five previous convictions for public order offences.

Solicitor, Mr Gerard McGovern and Mr Tom MacSharry appeared for him.

Mr McGovern said that unfortunately when he goes out drinking he loses the run of himself.

Mr MacSharry said he was originally from Poland.

He had since found employment and moved from sheltered accommodation.

Judge Eiteain Cunningham said she was not impressed with his outburst in court and the level of aggression he was showing the court.

She convicted and fined him a total of 250.
The National Museum of Ireland on Kildare Street in Dublin is currently host to the International Words On The Wave exhibition which celebrates the links between Ireland and St. Gallen in Switzerland during the Early Medieval period.

St. Gallen manuscripts penned and illuminated by Irish monks of the 5th to 7th centuries are on display, alongside contemporary artifacts from Ireland. Three of these Early Medieval treasures are from Co. Sligo.

The largest and internationally known is the 8th century Moylough belt shrine found by John Towey in 1945 in a bog east of the village of Curry. It is akin to belt shrines from Anglo-Saxon or Frankish prototypes.

Much smaller is the recently discovered metal plaque from Templehouse Lake. At 9 cm by 7 cm it shows two ornate intertwined biped beasts Its design is akin to those on the Tully Lough cross found some years ago in a lake near Kilmore and Hillstreet in north County Roscommon.

The third County Sligo object is a tiny globular glass phial or flask. Made of soda glass in the mid-5th to mid-7th century. It is only 5.1 cm high, hardly the size of a thumb. It was found in a souterrain in Mullaroe townland east of Skreen by Denis Bradley sometime before 1942.

It is the only such vessel to have been recognised and cared for from a non-excavation context. What is absolutely amazing is how did this very delicate glass flask survive the journey from the Rhineland to Skreen in early Medieval times.

The find place is only 600 metres from the Early Medieval ecclesiastical site of Skreen, Scrin Adamnan, a place associated with St. Adamnan, the biographer of Colmcille. A wooden church there would have been contemporary with the glass flask.

Access to the Words on the Wave exhibition on the first floor is free and runs until early October. The three hundred page illustrated catalogue, edited by Mathew Seaver, Diarmuid O Riain and Maeve Sikora, costs 20.
St. Brendans National School, Cartron first opened its doors in September 1985 and this year proudly celebrates its 40th anniversary.

The school has grown and evolved with the changing times. At the heart of the Cartron community, the school is a place where generations of children, families and staff have come together, to learn and grow and to foster and nurture friendships and connections that go beyond the classroom, often celebrating many family milestones together.

Many former pupils of St. Brendans are now proud parents of current pupils and a number of staff members are past pupils, continuing their own personal connections with the school for years to come.

To mark the occasion current staff and pupils recreated the first school photo from 1985. Further events are planned in the coming months to celebrate the anniversary.
Also joining Cannonball is the McLaren Senna which is not just a hypercar; its a moving piece of art.

Cannonball, the action-packed supercar spectacle, is set to roll into Sligo on Saturday with proceeds going to The Jack and Jill Childrens Foundation. Cannonball, fuelled by miles+ from Circle K, is the largest organised road trip in Europe featuring the finest cars on the planet from the awe-inspiring power of Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren to the grace and elegance of Porsche, Aston Martin, and Maserati.

This year, Cannonball goes up a gear with the addition of a Koenigsegg Reger, a groundbreaking megacar that combines hypercar agility with luxury refinement. Also joining Cannonball is the McLaren Senna which is not just a hypercar; its a moving piece of art. Specd by McLaren Special Operations (MSO) in a stunning west livery, this Senna is a true one-of-one, mirroring the iconic paint scheme of its Formula 1 counterpart. The stunning Ford GT Heritage Series with the famous Gulf Livery is also back on Cannonball this year. Cannonball has already raised 2,024,809 for Irish charities to date and brings a unique and inimitable electric atmosphere to host towns all over the country making it a widely-anticipated free family event for spectators.

On Saturday September 13th the convoy will leave Killarney at 10am and then travel up through the country to Sligo town centre with the biggest finish line ever staged by Cannonball with Celebrities, Brazillian Dancers, Giant Screens, DJs, Live Performances, Street Entertainers and more for a spectacular show.

This year the official charity of Cannonball is The Jack and Jill Children's Foundation an Irish childrens charity that funds and delivers in-home nursing care, respite support and end-of-life care for children from birth to six years of age with severe learning disability often associated with complex medical needs and is often described as a lifeline, giving exhausted parent carers a break from their 24/7 care regime.

Cannonball offers spectators a unique opportunity to witness the world's most prestigious and sought-after supercars up close and now bring hypercars to our shores and enjoy the unique festival atmosphere that Cannonball is renowned for. The Brazilian Dancers, giant screens, music and fanfare brings all the glamour of carnival and live DJs, bands and festivals in host towns. The Cannonballers and celebrities in colourful costumes add to the melee. From Cat Woman to Wonder Woman, Shreck to Gru, Minions to Marios, Cheerleaders to Charlies Angels, Batman, the Joker and more, it is a totally unique free family day out. This year, organisers are also calling on spectators to dress up in fancy dress with prizes for best dressed.

Sligo County Council has advised motorists of road closures.

"The following streets will be closed to public traffic from 5.30pm through to 7.30pm on Saturday 13th September, to facilitate the Cannonball Run 2025 event: Teeling Street, Castle Street, Grattan Street, OConnell Street, Lower Knox Street, Rockwood Parade, JFK Parade and Stephen Street.

Note that parking along JKF Parade will be prohibited from 8am to 8pm on Saturday 13th September.

Traffic should avoid the town centre and affected routes during the timeframe of the event.
Yvonne Regan and Mark Canavan practicing for their performance for Comedy and Cake.

Principal of Scoil Iosagain National School, Lorcan Browne and Paula Breen D'Arcy rehearsing for the upcoming Comdey and Cake performance.

Coolgreany Drama Society is preparing for its latest charity nights Comedy and Cake where members and locals will perform skits and sketches for the community in whats expected to be a night full of tea, cakes and laughter.

The drama group will perform a number of sketches with some recognisable faces on Saturday and Sunday, September 13 and 14, and will take place in St Mogues Hall, Inch, starting at 8pm.

Yvonne Regan and Mark Canavan practicing for their performance for Comedy and Cake.

In its second year, the drama group will raise funds for Scoil Iosagain National School this year, and have brought several staff and students at the schools to participate in the community event.

Eadaoin NI Lionain is the secretary of Coolgreany Drama Society and is excited for people to see the wonderful show they have prepared. Were putting a spin on it and thats a new venture for us in a way - some of the schoolteachers and SNAs have been pulled up onto the stage as well as our drama members, she said.

Eadaoin said the night will consist of eight short plays that kids from Scoil Iosagain National School can get involved with. Its a combination of short sketches and skits for the kids that are around 10 to 15 minutes long so its lovely.

The sketches will feature the principal of Scoil Iosagain National School, Lorcan Browne and many others including, Paula Breen DArcy, Thomas Clare, Ciara Spellman and many more.

Thomas Clare, Ciara Spellman and Ken Nolan rehearsing their upcoming sketch for omedy and Cake night.

As for the cake part of the evening, Eadaoin said all baked goods provided on the evening are home baked by a talented member of the Coolgreany Drama Society and praised her talented baking skills.

Last year, the group raised 1,600 to share with the Irish Pilgrimage Trust and the local Santas Grotto in Coolgreany village.

Admission to Comedy and Cake is 10 and can be paid at the door (cash only), with doors opening at 7.30pm. All are welcome to enjoy a night of laughter and lots of cake.
The Great New Ross Riverside Walk has been shortlisted in the Supporting Sustainable Communities category of the prestigious 2025 Excellence in Local Government Awards, highlighting the projects transformative impact on the local community, while restoring the River Barrow to public use and promoting ecological restoration, biodiversity, and sustainable living.

Over the past 12 years, The Great New Ross Riverside Walk has converted a previously inaccessible 1,200-metre stretch of the riverfront into a vibrant, inclusive hub featuring a cantilever boardwalk, riverside park, enhanced marina, and nature walk integrated with flood protection. Now fully accessible with LED lighting and ramps at nine locations, the initiative has returned the river to the community, fostering pollinator-friendly meadows, native vegetation, and low-carbon infrastructure using renewable and reusable materials.

The project was funded through a collaborative effort, including contributions from Failte Ireland, the Office of Public Works, the Department of Rural and Community Development, Wexford County Council and other partners. The Excellence in Local Government Awards celebrate outstanding initiatives that drive positive change in Irish communities, with the overall winners to be announced later this year.

The District Director of New Ross Municipal Council, Eamonn Hore, said that the walk is one of his favourite projects in New Ross as it allows people to walk right beside the river from the bridge to Oaklands roundabout.

District Manager, Alan Fitzhenry, also welcomed the positive news. As District Manager, I am delighted to welcome yet another award short listing for New Ross.

"This further acknowledges the transformative projects that have taken place over the recent years in New Ross, with the High Hill and Emigrant Park winning national awards. Well done to everyone who worked on these projects and fingers crossed New Ross can win again.

Speaking about what the shortlisting of the project means to the wider community, the Cathaoirleach of the New Ross Municipal District, Cllr John Dwyer, said that its a huge achievement for everyone involved, but also added that, alongside the local authority, that the brilliant community partners also helped make this walk possible.

"I must also mention the Barrow fishermen, whove been casting their nets from the traditional Barrow Cots along these banks for over a hundred years, adding a unique legacy to our rivers story. It's not just a lovely spot by the river, its a place that brings people together, boosts our health, and shows off a small sample of what New Ross has to offer, Cllr Dwyer said.

Id like to say a huge thanks to everyone that had a hand in this, and best of luck to the team at the awards in November, he added.
The newly-designed one-way system on John Street in Wexford town is continuing to cause issues for motorists with a senior member of the National Ambulance Service (NAS) saying that emergency vehicles can no longer navigate their way through traffic on the road. At the September meeting of Wexford County Council (WCC) Councillor Ger Carthy, who is an operations resource manager for the NAS by day, said the number of bollards on John St was causing issues for ambulance drivers.

Is it possible to have Mallin St open 24 hours a day so we can access the Quay? he asked, referencing a part of the town which is closed during business hours. And the bollards on John St, could we have those removed? Previously if an ambulance was travelling via John St to the hospital they were able to come up behind the cars and manoeuvre into the other lane of traffic, this isnt possible now, and, as we all know, time is everything when youre dealing with things like heart attacks.

It would have been ideal if this had been discussed with the management of the emergency services prior to the works being carried, and, in addition, its disappointing that the councillors in the town have allowed it to happen.

Cllr Ray Shannon shared Cllr Carthys concerns, saying he has witnessed first-hand the problems emergency services are having in reaching the hospital through one of the main arteries of the town.

The new bollards at the John Street Hill Street junction. Pic: Jim Campbell

The bollards are causing major obstructions, he continued, businesses arent happy with the situation, and residents cant get their bins emptied because the lorries cant negotiate their way in.

Director of services Eamon Hore defended the honour of the Wexford town councillors, saying they had already raised concerns about the one-way system and its proliferation of bollards. And Mr Hore said that both he and district engineer, Eilis Furlong, were aware of the problems being encountered by those living locally.

She has said she will meet the people there and discuss the issues with them, and we are aware of the issues with the bins.

With regards to Mallin St, Mr Hore said he would bring Cllr Carthys suggestion back to Ms Furlong for further analysis.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Mayor Cllr Garry Laffan speaking during the opening ceremony of the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann on the Wexford Quays on Sunday. Pic: Jim Campbell

A delegation from the Wexford Borough is to attend a ceremony aboard a US battleship which has served in, among others, World War II and The Vietnam War. The invite was issued to the Mayor of Wexford, Councillor Garry Laffan, in recognition of the countys long-standing ties with the US Navy which can be dated back to the birth of Commodore John Barry here in 1745.

Referred to as The Father of the Navy, the commodore served with distinction during the American Revolution and by the conclusion of his career he was senior officer of the Navy.

However, despite these connections, not everyone at the September meeting of Wexford County Council (WCC) was keen to see a representative from the county attend a ceremony which will mark the 250th anniversary of the United States Navy and Marine Corps.

We have a long-standing relationship with the Navy because of John Barry, began Councillor Leonard Kelly. However, I am wondering if its the best thing to do, when you consider the increased militarisation of the US, to send a representative from a neutral country to stand on a battleship that has had active engagement in wars and conflicts around the globe. There is an option of sending a letter of goodwill, for me that would suffice.

Cllr Kelly received support from Cllrs John Dwyer and Jim Codd, but others advised against flagrantly rejecting the invitation.

I understand where the councillors are coming from, but we need to look at the bigger picture here, said Cllr Michael Sheehan. We need all the friends we can get in America at the moment because theyre not exactly treating us with decency and respect.

Its probably not the most ideal venue, agreed Cllr Ger Carthy, but the US government presented Wexford with a statue of Commodore John Barry in 1956 and weve had decades of interaction with them on that. We cant control whats happening with the lunatic running the United States but I dont think well be expressing any support for him by sending the mayor to this event.

For clarity, chief executive Eddie Taaffe confirmed that the USS New Jersey (BB-62) had been decommissioned in 1991 and was now solely used as a museum.

Cathaoirleach of WCC, Cllr Joe Sullivan, had the last word on the matter.

I am no fan of the current administration but at the same time there is long and well-established links between Wexford and the US and they have to be preserved, promoted ,and encouraged, weve had these relationships for hundreds of years, he said. The current administration is there for three-and-a-half more years, after that maybe well be back to a different America.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Baile an Roigh in County Wexford has been shortlisted for the Age Friendly Housing Award at the 2025 National Age Friendly Recognition and Achievement Awards, organised by Age Friendly Ireland. The project has been recognised for its outstanding contribution to creating inclusive, supportive communities where older people can live well, feel valued, and stay connected.

The new houses are all two-bedroom, high specification semi-detached bungalows with a Building Energy Rating (BER) of A3, heat pump, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR), triple glazed windows and doors, and water softener.

Now in their ninth year, the National Age Friendly Recognition and Achievement Awards shine a spotlight on the people, projects, and partnerships driving real change for older people in towns, cities, and rural areas right across Ireland. Each shortlisted initiative has been selected for its impact, innovation, and potential to inspire similar efforts in other communities. Among the nationwide shortlisted projects are Gas Networks Ireland and Tirlan, who are both up for the Age Friendly Business Innovation Award.

The 2025 National Age Friendly Recognition and Achievement Awards will honour achievements across eight categories, each aligned with a World Health Organization (WHO) Age Friendly theme. These include awards for best in Age Friendly Transport; Active and Healthy Ageing; Business Innovation; Safety and Security; Communications; Environment; Community Innovation; and Housing.

Shortlisted projects were visited by the judging panel, which is chaired by Pat Dowling, former Chief Executive of Clare County Council; and includes Madeleine Quirke, former Chief Executive of Wexford Chambers; Ned Gleeson, former County Manager of Limerick County Council; and Anne Haugh, former Director of Services for Clare County Council.

The awards ceremony will take place on October 23 at The Galmont Hotel, Galway, jointly hosted by Galway City Council and Galway County Council.

Catherine McGuigan, Chief Officer of Age Friendly Ireland, said: Every year, the National Age Friendly Recognition and Achievement Awards highlight the very best of community innovation, collaboration, and commitment to improving the lives of older people. The shortlisted projects show what can be achieved when local authorities, communities, state agencies and individuals work together."

"We are delighted that this years ceremony will be hosted by Galways City and County Councils, and we extend our thanks to Leonard Cleary, Chief Executive of Galway City Council, and Liam Conneally, Chief Executive of Galway County Council, for their support in bringing this celebration to Galway, she added.
Caoimhe and Teresa Byrne from Londis Aughrim with Caoimhe Byrne and Teresa Byrne, Londis Aughrim, with Rita Keating and June Persson from Londis Lugduff, alongside Terry OBrien, Londis RDM.

Two Wicklow Londis stores were among the top-performing retailers honoured at the Londis Retailing Excellence Awards 2025, held recently at the Seafield Hotel & Spa Resort in Gorey, County Wexford.

Peter and Teresa Byrne from Byrnes Londis in Aughrim and Dave Whelan of Whelans Londis in Lugduff were recognised at the event, which was hosted by BWG Foods, owners and operators of the Londis brand in Ireland, and recognised the outstanding achievements in retail excellence of Londis nationwide network of community retailers.

Organised in partnership with independent evaluators Solution Management Associates (SMA), the awards celebrate Londis retailers who have demonstrated exceptional standards in areas such as fresh food quality, product range, store presentation, and customer service.

Each winning store underwent a comprehensive assessment to ensure it met the highest benchmarks in Irish convenience retailing.

Congratulating the winners, Londis sales director Conor Hayes said: These awards shine a spotlight on the passion and professionalism that define our Londis network.

Im proud to acknowledge our Wicklow winners, whose dedication to their customers and communities sets a remarkable standard. Their recognition is richly deserved.
Former MMA fighter Conor McGregor is among the 21 candidates to have requested Wicklow County Councils support in a bid to secure a nomination to run for president.

A special meeting has been set for Tuesday, September 16, which all presidential hopefuls must attend in person to be considered.

Those present, which could also include businessman Gareth Sheridan and local candidates Dominic Plant and Charlie Keddy, will be allowed to give a short presentation to the council, before taking questions from the elected members.

To be eligible to run in the presidential election, candidates must get the support of at least 20 members of the Oireachtas or four local authorities, but independent candidates, like McGregor, have hit a snag.

Fine Gael has instructed its councillors to vote against independent candidates, while Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein have said they will not be telling their councillors how to vote.

In Wicklow County Council there are nine members of Fine Gael, four from Fianna Fail, two from Sinn Fein and 10 independents, with the remaining seven seats held by smaller parties.

Who are the candidates seeking Wicklow County Councils presidential nomination?

Conor McGregor

Mr McGregor is undoubtedly the most high-profile name that has contacted Wicklow County Council in relation to seeking a nomination.

Already there are some councillors who have expressed their views on his candidacy.

In a post on social media, Cllr Paul OBrien has stated he wont be voting for the former MMA fighter.

I take my role as a county councillor extremely seriously and I want to confirm that I will not support Conor McGregor in any way, shape, or form.

His message of hate, division and exclusion is polar opposites to what I stand for.

Cllr Lourda Scott also said she would not be nominating Mr McGregor.

I was elected in 2019 and 2024 on a platform of equality, inclusion and social justice. I am a proud feminist. I do not support hatred or racism.

I will not lend my support to anyone who does not reflect these values.

He is the polar opposite to what I stand for.

Gareth Sheridan

Mr Sheridan is the multimillionaire former-CEO of Nutriband, a US-based pharmaceutical company. Mr Sheridans campaign is focused on housing, and he says he wants to make Ireland home again. He says that people who are living and working in Ireland should be able to buy a home here, and that he would hold the Dail to account over failures in housing.

Dominic Plant

A native of Wicklow, Mr Plant is an IT and GDPR manager. He contested the 2014 and 2024 local elections, as well as running for the Dail in last years general election. He has spoken about the need for an improved public transport service, the need for more housing, both for social and private housing, as well as the provision of more local jobs. Mr Plant was unsuccessful in his bid for the Dail, having received just over 40 votes.

Charlie Keddy

From Kilcoole, Co Wicklow, Mr Keddy has been contesting  unsuccessfully  local and national elections since 1985 when he first ran for Wicklow County Council for the Labour Party. He favours free healthcare but is against abortion and property tax.

Professor Denise Cahill

The former professor at UCD came to prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic when she posted a series of videos denouncing restrictions imposed by the department of health and subsequently clashed with gardai when she was refused entry to a polling centre in 2021 after a by election in the Dublin Bay South constituency for not wearing a mask.

Peter Casey

The businessman who featured on the Irish version of Dragons Den finished second to Michael D. Higgins in 2018, is returning for another shot at the presidency. During that campaign he made comments regarding Irelands Traveller community and a case involving a family at a housing estate in co Tipperary. He ended up receiving 342,727 first preference votes or 23.3 pc of the votes.

William P Allen

Mr Allen is an electrical contractor from County Cork. He has had a lifelong ambition to go for President of Ireland since he saw the late presidents getting the guard of honours around the place and the respect that is shown to those people.

Nick Delehanty

The lawyer turned doggy daycare owner based in Dublin is a native of Lisronagh, outside Clonmel. If elected, Mr Delehanty has vowed to lead an overhaul of Irelands asylum laws, while also saying that he doesnt agree with multiculturalism. He also vowed to do more for the Irish language if elected and said his core principle is fidelity to the Irish nation.

Charlotte Keenan

A qualified psychologist, Ms Keenan says she has a unique set of connections all over the world that she believes fills the role as president.

As a musician and artist, heritage means the most to her, while her ambition to see a united Ireland and an island of peace are her goals. I have the personality you need, Ms Keenan said. Someone ready to listen.

Lorna McCormack

The social care worker, a native of Ratoath in Meath, is best known as the founder of Wool in School, an educational initiative centred around wool and sustainability. She has championed the role of education in tackling climate change and preserving heritage. She is a trained fibre artist, and runs Feirm VR, which introduces children to farming practices through immersive VR. The Meath woman is also undertaking a Masters in Agricultural Innovation at the University of Galway.

Donncha MacGabhann

The Limerick man says he is a president with a mission. His key concerns are the health of Irelands democracy and he says he will work to deepen the presidents role within the Constitution.

Keith McGrory

A Donegal native, Mr McGrory spent 25 years in the construction industry as an engineer, who built his business from scratch. These are experiences, he says, that give him an entrepreneurial mindset. As president, he would encourage all citizens  at home and abroad - to stay physically active in order to face the challenges of life.

Professor Doctor Joseph Chikelue Obi

The qualified medical doctor is looking to become Irelands first black president. His social media pages say that his key aim of running for president is to deliver a united Ireland by Easter 2039. Dr Obi was born in London, and previously worked as a doctor there, before being suspended for professional misconduct at a British hospital and undergoing a probe by the British police. As part of his presidential campaign, Dr Obi says he will deliver the Narrow Water Bridge project, fully implement the All-Island Strategic Rail Review, and collaborate closely with the UK Government and reset Irish-UK relations.

Walter Ryan-Purcell

Walter Ryan-Purcell is a member of Independent Ireland, and contested the 2024 general election in the Cork Northwest constituency.

Dr Cora Stack

Dr Stack lecturer of mathematics at the Technological University of Dublin. Dr Stack describes herself as a mathematician, academic, and writer with wide interests that extend far beyond numbers  politics, music, culture, psychology, human rights, law, and the search for meaning in a complex world.

Gerben Uunk

Mr Uunk is the party secretary for the Party for Animal Welfare. He previously ran in the Limerick mayoral election and general election in 2024. He worked as an extra on the series Vikings. A naturalised Irish citizen originally from the Netherlands, Uunk is now based in Ashford in West Limerick.

Barry Wheely-Row

The wheelbarrow is the alter-ego of Kerry writer Stephen Murphy. Mr Wheely-Row vows to bring the craic back, and says if elected, he will use his time in office to plant the seeds of surreality in the hearts and minds of Irish people. Mr Wheely-Row says that Ireland needs a president with a handle on the right and a handle on the left.

A further four unknown candidates, David Parnell, Seana Kerr, Lucy Anne OLeary and Abbas Alli OShea, have submitted applications for a nomination to Wicklow County Council.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
Money paid into the court poor box goes towards local charities. Photo: PA.

Several defendants appearing before Bray District Court recently were directed by Judge David Kennedy to make donations to the court poor box in lieu of convictions.

Cannabis charges

Dylan Burke (22) of 15 Avonbeg Heights, Ballinaclash, Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow appeared before Bray District Court charged with possession of drugs (cannabis). Mr Burke pleaded guilty to the charges before the court.

The offence occurred on February 25, 2025. When on patrol, a garda smelt the odour of cannabis coming from the defendants vehicle. They then searched the vehicle and uncovered cannabis valued at 30.

The court heard that Mr Burke was subject to a roadside drug and alcohol test, which he passed. Judge David Kennedy directed that a donation of 750 be made to the poor box.

The case was dealt with on September 9, 2025, and since then Burke has paid 750 euro into the court poor box leaving him without a conviction.

Josh Rice (33), of 12 Glenkeen, Redcross, Co Wicklow was charged with possession of drugs (cannabis) at The Beehive, Coolbeg, Ashford, on February 18, 2025.

The court heard Mr Rice was found in possession of cannabis and entered a guilty plea to the charge.

Mr Rice returned to Bray District Court with a receipt confirming payment of 1,200 into the poor box.

Judge Kennedy struck out the matter, leaving him without a conviction.

Nathan OSullivan (21), of 54 Ashwood, Roundwood, Co Wicklow was charged with possession of drugs (cannabis) at Ashwood, Roundwood, on May 3, 2025.

Mr OSullivans solicitor told the court that his client is an electrical apprentice, who earns 250 a week and has a car and insurance loan.

The court heard Mr OSullivan knew cannabis was illegal and is extremely remorseful. Judge Kennedy directed Mr OSullivan to pay 750 into the poor box.

The case was adjourned until December 8, 2025, to give Mr OSullivan time to make payment.

Fine for drunken behaviour

Callum Kennedy, of 12 St Killians Crescent, Bray, Co Wicklow, appeared before Wicklow District Court in July charged with public intoxication and threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace.

The offence occurred on May 25, 2025, on Strand Road, Bray, where Mr Kennedy was arrested by gardai, after reports of aggressive behaviour in a public area.

The court heard back in July that Mr Kennedy was heavily intoxicated at the time, but has since expressed remorse for his actions and said that it would never happen again.

Mr Kennedys solicitor told the court in July that her client had previously worked in Australia and wanted to return soon, so wanted no criminal conviction as it would hamper his chances of obtaining a future visa.

At the time, the judge ordered Mr Kennedy to pay 1,200 by September 1 and indicated that a conviction would not be recorded if the sum was paid in full.

Mr Kennedy returned to Bray District Court on September 1 with a receipt showing payment of 1,200 to the poor box, allowing him to avoid a criminal conviction.

A total of 3,900 was paid into the court poor box by four defendants recently before Bray District Court, allowing them to avoid criminal convictions.

Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme
The Wicklow Comedy Club returns to OSheas Corner later this month with another star studded line-up.

The last time Jack Wise performed in Wicklow town, people were still talking about it weeks afterwards. Jack is also a magician, multi award winning street performer, as well as a ventriloquist and a sword swallower. His shows generally end with Jack using his skills as a ventriloquist to turn a willing guest into a life size puppet.

The second headliner is a Wicklow Comedy Club favourite, Karl Spain, who has long been established as one of Irelands most popular comedian. He regularly performs in Wicklow ad has hosted everything from Electric Picnic to the Kilkenny Cats Laughs festival.

MC for the night will be Adam Burke, in what will be his second visit to Wicklow Comedy Club after a crowd pleasing debut at the start of the year. He is also resident host at the Bray Comedy Festival and clubs like the Laughter Lounge, Dublin.

The comedy club at OSheas Corner, Wicklow town, takes place from 9pm on Friday, September 26, and tickets costing 22.42 are available to purchase from eventbrite.ie.
Our beauty expert shares how to take the edge off warmer tones

The summer before I turned 18, I was cosplaying being an adult. I was a supervisor in a clothing shop in Dublin city centre and had acquired an extremely cool and fashionable hair cut via modelling for a styling class in a hairdressing academy on Leeson Street.

The haircut, in combination with the grown-up outfits I acquired through my job, meant I was presenting as a chic woman in her mid-20s, not a clueless teenager who was scared of her own reflection.

During this time, I went for a make-up lesson in Brown Thomas. It was one of those deals where you paid 50 for the lesson but got to spend the money on products at the end of it. The (clearly talented) make-up artist gave me a face full of make-up which matched my overall look, but mostly terrified the person I actually was. It was just too cool for me, a person who had not yet acquired even a modicum of personal style.

One of the products I purchased that day was a cool-toned, slightly shimmery lipstick, which I remember thinking at the time was crazy. Lately, though, Ive found myself thinking about it a lot. Now, at the age of 42, I am finally cool enough for it. Alas, I havent a clue what it was called or if it exists anymore.

The good news is that, these days, there are a growing number of cool-toned lip options around, as the internets cool girls move away from warm pinks and browns. This is good news for me, but also for you, should you have fair skin, since these generally work best for you. Here are some of my current favourites:

Pat McGrath SatinAllure Lipstick

1. Pat McGrath SatinAllure Lipstick in Veiled Rose (36 via patmcgrath.com)  This is a gorgeous mauve pink with a satin shine finish which looks pretty on most skin tones but is especially beautiful on fair skin. McGrath is the creative director of Louis Vuittons new ludicrously priced cosmetics range, and its lipsticks ($160 if you dont mind) look very similar in formula to her own range. Does that make this a steal? Only if youre into girl math.

Vieve Modern Matte Lipstick

2. Vieve Modern Matte Lipstick in Ninetease (26 via brownthomas.com)  Make-up artist Jamie Genevieves make-up brand has nailed cool tones in its Ninetease collection, both in the eyeshadow palette and this gorgeous lipstick. A cool brown tone which delivers colour pay-off in a single swipe, this will allow you to live your supermodel fantasy.

Make Up For Ever Artist Colour Pencil

3. Make Up For Ever Artist Colour Pencil in Endless Cacao (23.20 via cultbeauty.com)  This brown liner is great in combination with almost any lipstick, softening a colour which might be too vivid or warm, and giving it a cool edge.

Mac Squirt Plumping Gloss Stick

4. Mac Squirt Plumping Gloss Stick in Jet (26 via boots.com)  This black tube might look intimidating, but in truth, it simply adds a grey layer of gloss, which looks great on natural lips or layered over other lip products. It will take the orange edge off any product which looks warmer than you want it to, and is incredibly comfortable. A staple of my collection.

Buying Irish

Whenever brow artist Kim OSullivan launches a new product in her Brow Aid collection, you know its going to be good. Brow Boost Multi Stroke Marker (18 via browaid.com) is a gift to anyone who ever overplucked their eyebrows, or indeed experienced hair loss through something like alopecia or chemotherapy. The pen features multiple tips which apply light strokes of product, mimicking the appearance of brow hairs. The result is a natural-looking brow, even where theres no hair at all. I wish this had been around during my own cancer experience.

Something old

Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Light Wand

Charlotte Tilburys launch schedule is hectic  theres always something new and exciting to talk about. However, the brand is already stocked with products that have become staples of many a persons make-up routine. Beauty Light Wands (40 via brownthomas.com) are a great example of this. These tubes of luminous liquid highlighter and blush come in multiple shades, from champagne to pinks and peaches. The result is cheeks and cheekbones which glow, giving the illusion of luminosity and truly flawless skin. My favourite shade is Pinkgasm, which is the perfect rosy pink, while darker skin tones look magnificent in Pingasm Sunset, a deeper pink with more than a hint of red. These are what I turn to when I want to look my most lit-from-within pretty.

Something new

Mac Skinfinish Lightstruck Liquid Highlighter

For a while there, it felt like Mac had lost its way a little bit. Despite the fact that the products continued to be excellent, the brand, which was once the coolest around, felt a little stale in the context of so many new, buzzy brands. Over the last couple of years, however, theres been a real return to form, with several excellent product launches. Its latest launch is Skinfinish Lightstruck Liquid Highlighter (36 via maccosmetics.co.uk), a beautifully light and sheer product which can take your face from glowing to gleaming depending on how much you apply. The shade range includes nine options with the pinks and champagnes you might expect, but also a frosted lilac and iridescent blue. This is why Mac is special  yes, it will deliver beauty, but the products are always rooted in creativity too.
The Little Women star (31) star offered a rare peek into her private life last year when she described how it was her dream to be a parent

Saoirse Ronan and her husband Jack Lowden have welcomed their first child.

The Brooklyn actress and her Scottish husband were spotted pushing a buggy on a stroll in London.

The Little Women star (31) and her Slow Horses actor husband (35) were married in a private ceremony in Edinburgh last summer, with just a handful of close friends present.

When their pregnancy was revealed, it was reported that the couple were thrilled at the fact they are to become a family less than a year after their wedding.

Saoirse Ronan and her husband Jack Lowden

Today's News in 90 Seconds, Thursday, September 11

Ronans pregnancy first emerged when she was spotted with a baby bump at the Louis Vuitton Cruise 2026 at PFW in May.

Lowden is currently filming a new Pride and Prejudice adaptation, in which he stars as Mr Darcy.

Ronan, who is a four-time Oscar nominee, met him in 2018 during the filming of Mary Queen of Scots in which she played Mary and Lowden played Darnley, Marys second husband.

Ronan has never discussed the fact that she and Jack, who tied the knot in the low-key affair in 2024, were expecting.

However, she offered a rare peek into her private life last year when she described how it was her dream to be a parent.

I became successful when I was quite young, she said. It meant that by the time I found my partner, I'm at the stage where if it happened, I would like to have a kid. I've always wanted that.

I feel fortunate enough that if I step out of this for a minute, Im hopefully not giving it up forever. But, yeah, Ive always wanted that.

Lowden, who previously described his wife as a force of nature, on and off-screen told a Build Series Panel how she is utterly fearless and a brilliant leader.

Ronan gave her reaction to Lowdens comments in an interview with Harpers Bazaar, saying: When a person you respect as much as I do him says that, it means more than anyone elses opinion.

The couple share a 2.8m home in Islington, north London, with their terrier, Fran.

In 2020, Ronan was reported to have purchased a two-bedroom waterfront cottage in Ballydehob in west Cork.

The couple produced the 2024 adaptation of The Outrun, which Ronan starred in, describing her husband as a lot calmer than she is as a collaborator.

"Hes my voice of reason. But as a duo, weve both been on film sets our whole lives, so we have an appreciation of what were asking actors to do. We always want them to feel safe, she told USA Today.

On whether the pair would appear on screens together again, she said: "Jack didn't want to for a long time, but I've now convinced him that's a great idea. Id really like to do something together on stage.

The Co Carlow star launched her movie career at a young age and she was just 13 when she picked up her first Oscar nomination in 2008 for Atonement.

Subsequent best actress nominations came for her roles in Brooklyn (2015), Lady Bird (2017) and Little Women (2019).

Her first media appearance was at the age of 10, when she appeared on the late Gerry Ryans radio show in a bid to win a trip to Florida for her family.

She won the contest with her impression of the Gingerbread Man from Shrek.

Ronan will next star as a teacher in thriller Bad Apples while Lowden who has been tipped as the next James Bond steps into Mr Darcy's shoes
Strictly Come Dancing cast and crew after the show won the Talent Show Award at the National Television Awards (Ian West/PA)

Strictly Come Dancing has won the talent show prize at the National Television Awards (NTAs) for a 10th year in a row.

The BBC dance programme, which is returning to screens later this month, has faced controversy in recent years, including allegations about the behaviour of the shows professional dancers.

In the winners room, reality TV star Pete Wicks, who competed last year, said: Its one of the best things Ive ever done.

For someone that had never danced before or done anything, I genuinely fell in love with it, and a lot of that is down to (dancer) Jowita (Przystal). Its down to all the pros.

But more than anything, its down to all the people behind the scenes because its an absolute machine, the reason its been going for 20 years, and the reason its a national institution, is because of the people that make it and its one of the best things Ive ever done in my life.

Hours before the NTAs, former Apprentice contestant Thomas Skinner apologised for picking up a journalists phone and walking out of a Strictly press event ahead of the series launch on September 20.

Skinner will join fellow stars such as Love Island winner Dani Dyer-Bowen, Gladiator star Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and reality TV star Vicky Pattison when he takes part as a celebrity contestant in this years series.

Last years series, which celebrated 20 years, was won by blind comedian Chris McCausland and professional dancer Dianne Buswell who impressed the judges and public with one dance in particular.

The winning couples blackout dance, which went viral on social media, saw McCausland place his hands over Buswells eyes as the room faded to black, mimicking his everyday experience.

The series also faced a string of incidents, including Welsh tenor and former BBC Radio Wales presenter, Wynne Evans, being dropped by the broadcaster after he made an apology saying that he used inappropriate language during the launch of the Strictly tour.

Months later, former EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick was also suspended from the BBC after a video emerged of the actor using a disabled slur on the set of the dance programme.

The scandal-hit show was also the subject of a review in 2024, when the BBC investigated allegations of bullying and harassment against former professional dancer Giovanni Pernice, made by his former dance partner, Amanda Abbington, who competed in 2023.

Strictly has now won a talent show gong at the NTAs every year since 2016, having lost out in 2015 when The X Factor took home the award.

The long-running BBC show also won the award in 2008, 2013 and 2014.

The next series of Strictly will be hosted by Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly and is back on iPlayer and BBC One from Saturday September 20.
Dirty and cramped second campsite of New Zealand fugitive family found by police

Tom Phillips has been hiding out with his three children since late 2021

The tent found in Tom Phillips's second campsite

Shweta Sharma UK Independent Thu 11 Sep 2025 at 06:30

New Zealand police released pictures of a newly discovered second campsite where fugitive Tom Phillips was hiding out with his three children, saying he clearly had outside help during his four years on the run.
Pressure on PM over key diplomats embarrassing friendship with sex offender

British ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson watches on as US president Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the White House about a trade deal with the UK earlier this year. Photo: Getty

British prime minister Keir Starmer has rejected growing calls to sack the UKs ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, over his dealings with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Mr Starmer is facing increasing pressure over his pick to lead the UKs diplomatic efforts in the US with the Trump administration, after further details emerged of Mr Mandelsons close friendship with the disgraced former financier.
Your job here is not to fight one another, it is to fight this climate crisis, UN climate chief tells Cop30 in Brazil
Frances new PM Sebastien Lecornu vows hell work creatively with rivals amid protest chaos on the streets

Macron loyalist becomes fifth prime minister in two years as over 250 arrested across the country

Sebastien Lecornu (centre) smiles as he is surrounded by bodyguards after becoming Frances new prime minister in Paris yesterday. Photo: AP

Gabriel Stargardter Thu 11 Sep 2025 at 06:30

Frances new prime minister, Sebastien Lecornu, pledged to find creative ways to work with rivals to pass a debt-slimming budget while also promising new policy directions, after taking office on a day of sprawling anti-government protests yesterday.
John Downing: Europe talks tougher on Israel killing in Gaza but remains divided in a dangerous world

The blurring of lines between Nato and the EU will not suit Irelands interests

EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and French president Emmanuel Macron. Photo: Nathan Laine

John Downing Thu 11 Sep 2025 at 06:30

At times acknowledged as an economic powerhouse and often derided as a political pygmy, Europe has now shown signs of asserting itself on the world stage.
Poland shoots down Russian drones that infiltrated its airspace

Country is first Nato member to fire shot in Putins war on Ukraine as members scramble to organise

Police and military police secure parts of a damaged object shot down at a site in Wohyn, Poland. Photo: AP

Alan Charlish, Lidia Kelly and Barbara Erling Reuters Thu 11 Sep 2025 at 06:30

Poland shot down suspected Russian drones in its airspace with the backing of aircraft from its Nato allies, the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russias war in Ukraine.
LATEST | Polish PM Donald Tusk vows to press ahead with military modernisation after Russian drone incursion

Poland introduces air traffic restrictions in east of country for national security reasonsTusk addressed troops in LaskRussias war is escalating, not ending  EU foreign policy chief

Police and Military Police secure parts of a damaged UAV shot down by Polish authorities at a site in Wohyn, Poland, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.(AP Photo/Rafal Niedzielski)

Claudia Ciobanu Associated Press Thu 11 Sep 2025 at 10:43

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk pledged Thursday to push ahead with a great modernisation program for his countrys military, a day after Russian drones crossed into Poland and forced the NATO alliance to confront a potential threat in its airspace for the first time.
Theyll get over it  Israels US ambassador defends Qatar strike

Yechiel Leiter says attacks targeting Hamas leaders will succeed next time, while new blasts rock Yemen

Flames and smoke rise following Israeli airstrikes on the Houthi defence ministry in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. Military camps were also targeted. Photo: AP

Maayan Lubell Reuters Thu 11 Sep 2025 at 06:30

If Israel failed to kill Hamas leaders in an airstrike on Qatar on Tuesday, it will succeed next time, the Israeli ambassador to the US has said after the operation, which raised concerns it would destroy efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza.
A combination photo shows a person of interest in the fatal shooting of U.S. right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, U.S., in security footage released by the Utah Department of Public Safety on September 11, 2025. Utah Department of Public Safety/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE
Since 1963, The Independent has helped create a great community!

Since our founding in September of 1963, The Independent has been dedicated to giving Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, and Sunol readers the news they need to be in-the-know about what's going on in the Tri-Valley region.
How Indian Businesses Can Set Up in the UAE (2025 Guide)

A step-by-step guide for Indian companies to set up business in the UAE. Learn about mainland vs free zone entities, licenses, top emirates, CEPA trade benefits, and case studies of Indian firms in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah.

Why the UAE is attractive to Indian investors

The UAE is a diversified, pro-business economy with world-class logistics and a deep talent pool. GDP reached about US$537 billion in 2024, and non-oil growth has been running strong on tourism, finance, construction, and manufacturing, with overall real GDP growth close to 4 percent in 2024 per the World Bank.

Policy pillars that matter to Indian investors:

Company ownership: 100 percent foreign ownership is permitted on the mainland for most activities (no 51/49 sponsor requirement).

100 percent foreign ownership is permitted on the mainland for most activities (no 51/49 sponsor requirement). Tax: 0 percent CT up to AED 375,000 and 9 percent corporate tax above that; 0 percent for Qualifying Income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP); VAT is 5 percent. Large multinationals are also subject to a 15 percent top-up (DMTT) from 2025.

0 percent CT up to AED 375,000 and 9 percent corporate tax above that; 0 percent for Qualifying Income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP); VAT is 5 percent. Large multinationals are also subject to a 15 percent top-up (DMTT) from 2025. Free zones: 40+ sector-focused free zones with streamlined customs and operating benefits.

40+ sector-focused free zones with streamlined customs and operating benefits. CEPA with India (2022): Broad tariff elimination across both sides, with detailed Rules of Origin and services commitments  use the official schedules and PSRs when planning bill of materials and sourcing.

Download our UAE business setup guide:

Mainland vs Free Zone vs Financial Centers

Mainland (onshore)

Operate anywhere in the UAE and trade directly with the local market. Licenses issued by each emirates economic department (e.g., Dubai DET, Abu Dhabi DED/ADDED, Sharjah SEDD).

Free Zones

Designed for specific sectors (logistics, e-commerce, media, manufacturing, tech, etc.), offering quick set-up, customs efficiencies, and in the corporate-tax domainaccess to 0 percent on qualifying income if you meet Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP) rules (maintain adequate substance, derive income from transactions with other Free Zone persons and income from Qualifying Activities with non-Free Zone persons, adhere to de minimis requirements, comply with transfer pricing rules, etc.).

Financial Free Zones

DIFC (Dubai): Independent common-law system, regulated by DFSAa hub for asset managers, banks, insurers, and fintech entities. Company count reached ~7,700 in H1 2025.

Independent common-law system, regulated by DFSAa hub for asset managers, banks, insurers, and fintech entities. Company count reached ~7,700 in H1 2025. ADGM (Abu Dhabi): Direct application of English common law; regulated by FSRA; scale-up magnet close to Abu Dhabis sovereign funds; companies up 42 percent YoY in H1 2025.

Quick rule of thumb:

Want UAE-wide retail or government contracts?

Consider mainland.

Consider mainland. Focused re-exports, light manufacturing, or e-commerce?

A free zone near your port/airport.

A free zone near your port/airport. Asset management, fintech, family offices?

DIFC/ADGM.

Also Read: Choosing Between Keeping UAE Company Dormant or Close It

Entity types and license requirements

Common legal forms (availability varies by jurisdiction)

LLC (Limited Liability Company)  standard trading/industrial vehicle on the mainland.

 standard trading/industrial vehicle on the mainland. Sole Establishment / Civil Company  for some professional services.

 for some professional services. Branch  of a foreign company (no separate share capital).

 of a foreign company (no separate share capital). Free Zone Company/Establishment  FZ-LLC, FZE, etc.

 FZ-LLC, FZE, etc. DIFC/ADGM  special forms for funds, fund managers, holding companies, etc.

License types

License families (everywhere in the UAE): Commercial (trading), Professional/Services, Industrial (manufacturing).

No matter whether you set up in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, or the northern emirates, every business license generally falls into one of three main families:

Commercial License For trading and general commercial activities.

Covers wholesale, retail, importexport, e-commerce, and distribution businesses.

Example: An Indian FMCG distributor importing packaged food into the UAE for re-export. Professional (or Service) License For service providers and professionals.

Includes consultancy, IT/ITES, engineering services, marketing, healthcare, education, etc.

Example: An Indian IT firm opening a software development or outsourcing unit. Industrial License For manufacturing and industrial activities.

Covers factories, light/heavy manufacturing, processing, assembly, and packaging.

Example: An Indian textile company setting up a garment manufacturing unit in Sharjah or Ras Al Khaimah.

Some emirates or free zones also add niche categories (like tourism licenses, media licenses, or e-commerce-specific licenses.

Corporate tax pointers

Mainland: 9 percent above AED 375k.

Free zones: aim for QFZP status to benefit from 0 percent on qualifying income; check Cabinet Decision/Ministerial Decision guidance and align your activity, customer mix, and substance.

Best locations by emirate (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, northern emirates)

Dubai

JAFZA (Jebel Ali Free Zone): Next to the Middle Easts largest portideal for logistics, manufacturing, and re-exports across 170+ routes.

DMCC (Dubai Multi Commodities Centre) located in Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT): One of the most popular zones for international investors because it combines office towers, retail, and residential clusters with a dedicated trade ecosystem. DMCC is positioned as the worlds largest free zone for commodities trade (gold, diamonds, tea, coffee, energy), but over the years it has also diversified into technology, fintech, blockchain/crypto, and general SME setups. It hosts around 3900-4000 Indian companies; nearly 16 percent of its total membership is from Indian companies. In the first half of 2025, DMCC reported record new company registrations, with a significant proportion being Indian firms. This reflects strong momentum as Indian businesses use DMCC to tap UAEIndia CEPA tariff benefits, leverage Dubais logistics, and gain a global platform for commodities and tech trade.

DIEZ (DAFZ, DSO, CommerCity): Airport-adjacent trade, electronics/semis, and e-commerce ecosystems.

Airport-adjacent trade, electronics/semis, and e-commerce ecosystems. DIFC: Regional HQ for finance, wealth, and funds (7,700 entities, hedge funds up sharply).

Regional HQ for finance, wealth, and funds (7,700 entities, hedge funds up sharply). Fresh facilitation: Dubai announced a One Freezone Passport to let a company licensed in one Dubai free zone operate across others in the emirateuseful for scale.

Best-fit Indian sectors: gems and jewelry, food-FMCG re-exports, pharma distribution, cross-border e-commerce, fintech, funds, family offices, SaaS.

Abu Dhabi

KEZAD (Khalifa Economic Zones) and Khalifa Port  large plots, clustering for industrials, cold-chain, and 3PL.

and  large plots, clustering for industrials, cold-chain, and 3PL. ADGM (Al Maryah/Reem): Funds, asset management, private capital; English common law; proximity to ADIA, Mubadala, ADQ is a draw  companies up 42 percent YoY in H1 2025 .

Funds, asset management, private capital; English common law; proximity to ADIA, Mubadala, ADQ is a draw  . Masdar City: Clean-tech, climate solutions, R&D.

Best-fit Indian sectors: advanced manufacturing, EV components, clean energy, aerospace MRO, capital markets and fund management.

Sharjah

SAIF Zone and Hamriyah Free Zone: value-for-money warehousing, industrial land, and access to Sharjah and Dubai markets; SEDD handles mainland licenses.

Best-fit Indian sectors: cost-sensitive fabrication, packaging, furniture, plastics, paper, regional distribution.

Northern emirates

RAKEZ (Ras Al Khaimah): industrial plots, building materials, SME-friendly.

industrial plots, building materials, SME-friendly. Ajman Free Zone , UAQ FTZ : competitive costs for light industry and services.

, : competitive costs for light industry and services. Fujairah Free Zone/Creative City: East-coast port access and media. (Use as satellite hubs if costs/footprint matter.)

Step-by-step process to set up

Choose jurisdiction and activity (mainland vs free zone vs DIFC/ADGM). Check the emirates activity list to match your scope. Reserve trade name and initial approval (DET/ADDED/SEDD or free-zone authority). Draft constitutional docs (MOA/AOA); lease registered premises (flexi-desk, office, or warehouse). Final license issuance (commercial/professional/industrial). Open bank account, register for tax (VAT if applicable) and UAE Corporate Tax (from 2023 rules). Immigration and visas (investor, staff; some zones link visa quota to space). If manufacturing: obtain Industrial Production License from MoIAT for customs duty exemptions on machinery and inputs. For regulated sectors (finance, health, education, media), secure regulator approvals (e.g., DFSA/FSRA for finance).

Costs, timelines, and compliance (What to expect)

Setup speed: Many free-zone licenses can issue within days once KYC/lease is done; mainland varies by activity and approvals.

Many free-zone licenses can issue within days once KYC/lease is done; mainland varies by activity and approvals. Ongoing: Annual license renewal, office lease, economic substance (if applicable), VAT filings, and corporate tax compliance post-2023.

Annual license renewal, office lease, economic substance (if applicable), VAT filings, and corporate tax compliance post-2023. If targeting 0 percent CT in a free zone: Align with QFZP guidance (qualifying activities, substance, excluded activities, and connected-party rules). Update your contracts and customer routing accordingly.

Fast match: Emirate x objective

Pan-UAE retail, public tenders: Mainland Dubai or Abu Dhabi (DET/ADDED).

Mainland Dubai or Abu Dhabi (DET/ADDED). Port-led re-exports and bonded warehousing: JAFZA (Jebel Ali) or KEZAD/Khalifa Port.

JAFZA (Jebel Ali) or KEZAD/Khalifa Port. B2B e-commerce and electronics: DSO/CommerCity (DIEZ) or DMCC.

DSO/CommerCity (DIEZ) or DMCC. Funds/fintech/family offices: DIFC or ADGM.

DIFC or ADGM. Cost-efficient manufacturing/packing: Sharjah (SAIF/Hamriyah), RAKEZ, Ajman/UAQ.

Practical checklist for Indian companies

Decide target market (UAE domestic vs re-exports)  choose mainland/free zone accordingly. Map CEPA to your HS codes and PSRs; build a CEPA-compliant BoM. Pick the zone nearest your trade lane (Jebel Ali, Khalifa Port, DWC, airports). Tax design: If free zone, assess QFZP feasibility; if mainland, model 9 percent CT and 5 percent VAT. Licensing and premises: Secure initial approvals, MOA, and lease; issue license (DET/ADDED/SEDD or zone authority). Banking and visas: Align KYC with your ownership structure; plan investor/staff visas (quota often linked to space). If industrial: Apply MoIAT industrial license to unlock duty exemptions on machinery/inputs. If financial/regulated: Budget time for DFSA/FSRA processes.

CEPA benefits for Indian exporters

Tariff cuts: Broad elimination of customs duties under Annex 2A/2B; model your landed cost for top SKUs accordingly.

Broad elimination of customs duties under Annex 2A/2B; model your landed cost for top SKUs accordingly. Rules of Origin (ROO): Follow Chapter 3 and PSRs (product specific rules) for value-addition and CTC requirements; leverage bilateral cumulation for IndiaUAE content.

Follow Chapter 3 and PSRs (product specific rules) for value-addition and CTC requirements; leverage bilateral cumulation for IndiaUAE content. Services access and mobility: Commitments in Chapter 8 support IT/ITES, consulting, and professionals via defined schedules  useful for Indian HQs deploying teams.

Tactical play: Manufacture/light-assemble in a UAE free zone, qualify under CEPA ROO, and re-export to the GCC/Africa while keeping QFZP status for tax efficiency (mind the QFZP customer/transaction rules).

Examples of Indian companies in the UAE

Dubai: Indian firms are the largest foreign business community, leading new memberships at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce (e.g., Q1 2024 and H1 2025 analyses). DMCC alone counts ~3,9004,000 Indian companies (~16 percent of members).

Indian firms are the largest foreign business community, leading new memberships at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce (e.g., Q1 2024 and H1 2025 analyses). DMCC alone counts ~3,9004,000 Indian companies (~16 percent of members). Financial hubs: Company numbers are surging in DIFC and ADGM, underpinning growth in funds, family offices, and capital-markets activity.

Summary

For Indian businesses, the UAE is both a market and a launchpad  a place to consolidate GCC/Africa supply chains, run CEPA-optimized production and distribution, and raise regional capital. The right choice of jurisdiction, zone, and tax posture  plus a CEPA-aligned sourcing plan  can cut landed costs, reduce lead times, and accelerate revenue.

Also Read: Why the Middle East is Emerging as a Top Destination for Indian Outbound Investment
3,000 people

9/11 terrorist attack

9/11

Patriot day and national remembrance

Patriot Day

National Day of Service

Annual 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York

New York City

World Trade Center

When does 9/11 Memorial Ceremony 2025 start?

Memorial Plaza

New York City

8:46 a.m.

9:03 a.m.

9:37 a.m.

9:59 a.m.

10:03 a.m.

10:28 a.m.

How to watch 9/11 memorial ceremony

9/11 memorial ceremony

Television Coverage:

CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX

CW

Streaming Services:

Official Livestream:

Where to watch 9/11 memorial ceremony online

9/11 Memorial & Museum

9/11 terrorist attack

FAQs

Q. Is 9/11 a public holiday in the US?

Q. Where does the 9/11 memorial ceremony take place?

Q. How can I watch the 9/11 memorial ceremony live?

Q. What time does the 9/11 ceremony start?

Q. Why are there six moments of silence?

On 11 September 2001, the world witnessed one of the darkest days in modern history. Four hijacked planes struck New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania, killing almost. Thenot only left behind heartbreaking loss but also reshaped the United States forever. From tougher airport security to overseas wars and new debates about freedom and civil rights, the aftermath ofcontinues to influence American life.Just months after the attacks, the US Congress declared 11 September as. Although it is not a federal holiday, the day is officially marked as aand Remembrance. Schools, offices, banks, and government services remain open, but many take the time to reflect on the lives lost and the bravery shown that day.The 9/11 memorial ceremony inhas become a tradition of remembrance and reflection. Held at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in Lower Manhattan, where the Twin Towers once stood, the service gathers families of the victims, survivors, and officials. The names of the nearly 3,000 victims of both the 2001 terrorist attack and the 1993bombing are read aloud.This year marks the 24th anniversary of 9/11, and the memorial service will once again honour those who were lost, while reminding future generations of the importance of unity and resilience.The 9/11 memorial ceremony will take place on 11 September 2025, starting at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time atin. The service will conclude at around 1:30 p.m.The event includes the solemn reading of victims names and six moments of silence, each symbolising a key moment during the attacks.- Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower- Flight 175 crashes into the South Tower- Flight 77 hits the Pentagon- South Tower collapses- Flight 93 crashes in Shanksville, Pennsylvania- North Tower collapsesIf you are wondering how to watch the, you have several options.Major US networks, including, andaffiliates in New York, will broadcast the service live.Platforms such as Hulu + Live and Fubo will also provide live coverage. Make sure to check local listings for availability.The 9/11 Memorial & Museum will stream the ceremony for free on their official website starting at 8:40 a.m. Eastern Time.For those outside the US, the easiest way to tune in is through the official livestream provided by the. The free broadcast will be accessible globally, allowing millions to join in the act of remembrance.The 24th anniversary of theis more than just a date on the calendar. It is a time to remember those who lost their lives, reflect on the impact of that tragic day, and take part in the annual 9/11 memorial ceremony. Whether in person, on television, or online, the ceremony gives people everywhere the chance to pay their respects.No. 11 September, also called Patriot Day, is not a federal holiday. Schools, banks, and government offices remain open, but the day is recognised as a National Day of Service and Remembrance.The annual ceremony is held at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in Lower Manhattan, New York City, at the site where the Twin Towers once stood.You can watch it on major TV networks such as CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, and CW affiliates. It is also streamed live on the 9/11 Memorial & Museums official website and through streaming platforms like Hulu + Live and Fubo.The ceremony begins at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on 11 September 2025, with moments of silence marking the exact times of the key events from the terrorist attack.Each moment of silence represents a significant event during the 9/11 terrorist attack, including when the planes struck, the Pentagon was hit, and when the Twin Towers collapsed.
Festival special trains:

Durga Puja

Diwali

Chhath Puja

2,000 trips

21 September

30 November 2025

Delhi, Patna, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Gaya

Key routes for festival special trains

Bihar

Uttar Pradesh

Indian Railways

Chhath Puja

Zone-wise breakdown of special train services

1. South Central Railway (SCR):

48 festival special trains

684 trips in total

Major hubs: Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Vijayawada

This zone operates the highest number of trains

2. East Central Railway (ECR):

14 trains, 588 trips

Focus on Bihar routes: Patna, Gaya, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur

Specifically planned for Diwali and Chhath Puja travel demand

3. Western Railway:

24 trains, 204 trips

Key stations: Mumbai, Surat, Vadodara

4. Southern Railway:

10 trains, 66 trips

Routes: Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai

5. Eastern Railway

6. East Coast Railway:

7. South Eastern Railway:

8. North Central Railway:

9. South East Central Railway:

10. West Central Railway:

Staggered notification of trains

How to book tickets for festival special trains

Tips for hassle-free booking:

Why these trains matter

List of Diwali special trains

( Image credit : Special trains for Diwali 2025 )

( Image credit : Special trains for Diwali 2025 )

( Image credit : Special trains for Diwali 2025 )

( Image credit : Special trains for Diwali 2025 )

As India gears up for the grand celebrations ofand, millions of people plan to travel home to be with their families. To handle this surge in demand, Indian Railways has announced more than 150 festival special trains covering overbetweenandThese trains will connect major cities like, ensuring smoother journeys for passengers during the busy festive season. The move is aimed at reducing the usual holiday rush and giving travellers a comfortable and reliable way to reach their hometowns.The festival season sees the heaviest rush on routes connecting northern and eastern states, especiallyand. To meet this demand,has prioritised popular routes, including:Delhi  PatnaDelhi  MuzaffarpurDelhi  GayaDelhi  DarbhangaThese corridors are traditionally packed with travellers heading home for Diwali and, and the extra services will help ease congestion.24 trains, 198 tripsStations covered: Kolkata, Sealdah, HowrahRoutes via Bhubaneswar, Puri, SambalpurRoutes from Ranchi and TatanagarKey routes: Prayagraj, KanpurRoutes via Bilaspur and RaipurMajor stations: Bhopal, KotaTogether, these zones ensure maximum coverage for Durga Puja, Diwali and Chhath Puja travellers.An Indian Railways spokesperson confirmed that the festival train schedule is being updated regularly. So far, 2,024 trips have been finalised, but more may be introduced if the demand increases.We are updating the calendar on a regular basis after studying demand and supply of train services in key states, the spokesperson said.This flexible system allows the railway network to respond to passenger needs effectively throughout the festive months.Travellers can check full details of timings, routes, stoppages and availability on the IRCTC website or at railway station booking counters. To avoid last-minute stress, Indian Railways has strongly advised passengers to book tickets early for confirmed seats.Use the IRCTC website or mobile app for quick accessKeep ID details ready during bookingCheck train timings carefully before finalising your journeyOpt for e-tickets to skip queues at stationsThe launch of festival special trains is a vital step to manage the massive travel demand during Durga Puja, Diwali and Chhath Puja. With lakhs of people travelling from cities back to their villages, these services will reduce overcrowding and make journeys safer and more comfortable.For those travelling to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh or Kolkata, these trains are a lifeline, ensuring families can celebrate together without the stress of sold-out tickets.
Lotto result today PCSO official daily draw summary

PCSO Lotto draws: 2D and 3D winning numbers for September 11, 2025

Draw Time 2D Lotto Results 3D Lotto Results 2 PM 29-28 6-5-9 5 PM To be updated To be updated 9 PM To be updated To be updated

PCSO Lotto Result Today 9 PM: Winning Numbers for September 11, 2025

Lotto Game Winning Numbers 6/55 Ultra Lotto To be updated 6/49 Super Lotto To be updated 6/45 Mega Lotto To be updated 6/42 Lotto To be updated 6D Lotto To be updated 4D Lotto To be updated

Games included in PCSO daily lotto draws, September 11, 2025

2D EZ2 Lotto (drawn daily at 2 PM, 5 PM, and 9 PM)

3D Swertres Lotto (drawn daily at 2 PM, 5 PM, and 9 PM)

4D Lotto (drawn on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 9 PM)

6D Lotto (drawn on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 9 PM)

6/42 Lotto (drawn on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 9 PM)

6/45 Mega Lotto (drawn on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 9 PM)

6/49 Super Lotto (drawn on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday at 9 PM)

6/55 Grand Lotto (drawn on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 9 PM)

6/58 Ultra Lotto (drawn on Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday at 9 PM)

How to check PCSO lotto results for September 11, 2025?

Visit the official PCSO website or authorised partner websites where the latest winning numbers for all draws (2 PM, 5 PM, and 9 PM) are posted.

Watch the live PCSO lotto draws broadcast on PTV4, PCSOs official YouTube channel, or their social media pages like Facebook and Twitter.

Use PCSO mobile apps or trusted e-lotto platforms that provide real-time notifications of winning numbers.

Carefully compare your ticket numbers with the official results posted after each draw.

For prize claims, bring the winning ticket along with two valid IDs to designated PCSO outlets and follow the official claiming procedures.

PCSO lotto draw schedule, September 11, 2025

3D Lotto (formerly Swertres): Draws at 2:00 PM, 5:00 PM, and 9:00 PM daily.

2D Lotto (EZ2): Draws at 2:00 PM, 5:00 PM, and 9:00 PM daily.

Ultra Lotto 6/58: Tuesday, Friday, Sunday

Grand Lotto 6/55: Monday, Wednesday, Saturday

Super Lotto 6/49: Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday

Mega Lotto 6/45: Monday, Wednesday, Friday

Lotto 6/42: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday

6D Lotto: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday

4D Lotto: Monday, Wednesday, Friday

FAQs

Lotto result today, September 11, 2025 OUT: Today, September 11, 2025, lotto enthusiasts can check the latest PCSO lotto results for the 2 PM, 5 PM, and 9 PM draws. The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) officially releases winning numbers for various popular lotto games, including 3D Lotto (formerly Swertres), EZ2, Mega Lotto, and more throughout the day.Stay updated with the latest winning combinations and learn how to verify and claim prizes if you're lucky enough to hit the jackpot. Make sure to check official PCSO sources for the most accurate and timely results.The official daily draw summary for PCSO Lotto results today, September 11, 2025, includes winning numbers from major draws such as 6/58, 6/55, 6/49, 6/45, 6/42, and the 3D Lotto (formerly Swertres), as well as EZ2 (2D) draws. The PCSO releases updated results for the 2 PM, 5 PM, and 9 PM draws.Below are the winning numbers for the 2D and 3D Lotto games drawn today for September 11, 2025 listed:Below is the required winning numbers for September 11, 2025 of PCSO Lotto Result Today listed:The PCSO daily lotto draws for September 11, 2025, include several popular games:To check the PCSO lotto results for September 11, 2025, follow these steps:The PCSO lotto draw schedule for September 11, 2025, is as follows:Major jackpot games have their nightly draws at 9:00 PM on their respective days:The official PCSO lotto draws are also aired on television channels such as IBC 13, and live streams are available on PCSOs official YouTube channel.1. What time are the PCSO Lotto results released on September 11, 2025?Answer: The PCSO Lotto results are released daily at 2 PM, 5 PM, and 9 PM for both 2D (EZ2) and 3D (Swertres) Lotto, while major jackpot games are announced at 9 PM.2. Which lotto games are included in todays PCSO draws?Answer: Todays draws include 2D Lotto, 3D Lotto, 4D, 6D, and major jackpot games like 6/42, 6/45, 6/49, 6/55, and 6/58 depending on their schedule.3. How can players check the official Lotto results for September 11, 2025?Answer: Players can check results via the official PCSO website, live draws on PTV4, PCSOs YouTube channel, and social media updates.4. What should winners do to claim their PCSO Lotto prizes?Answer: Winners must present their winning ticket and two valid IDs at authorized PCSO outlets or branches and follow the official claiming process.5. Are there mobile or online options to check Lotto results today?Yes, players can use PCSOs mobile app or trusted e-lotto platforms that provide instant updates and notifications of winning numbers.Disclaimer: The above mentioned data is based on information available from official online sources. We do not endorse or promote any lottery or Teer games. Please play responsibly and verify results through official channels.For more informative articles on historical and upcoming events from around the world, please visit Indiatimes Events
In 2025, the cryptocurrency industry is moving beyond the meme currency legacy markets, including Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Pepe Coin (PEPE), and to the new penny commodity, Little Pepe (LILPEPE). Little Pepe combines fun branding with infrastructure seriousness as the first Layer 2 blockchain centered solely on meme culture. Combining ultra-low fees, high finality, and resistance to sniper bots, it may become a new way for meme tokens to interact with decentralized finance.

Why Little Pepe (LILPEPE) Stands Out Among Meme Coins

Dogecoin and SHIB have long dominated the meme coin conversation, but data suggests investors are increasingly seeking projects that offer more than just speculative community hype. Unlike its predecessors, Little Pepe (LILPEPE) integrates ultra-low fees, fast finality, and sniper-bot resistance into its core blockchain. This suggests it may become the most efficient trading environment for meme assets. Additionally, the project offers Memes Launchpad, which will help creators tokenize and publish meme projects on-chain. This is a feature that differentiates Little Pepe from Dogecoin, SHIB, and PEPE, which predominantly rely on community sentiment but fail to build specific infrastructure to support the meme ecosystem.

Little Pepe (LILPEPE) Current Presale Momentum.

The market has already taken notice of the Little Pepe presale. In Stage 12, every LILPEPE will cost $0.0021, and a fantastic sum of $24,334,392 was raised out of a target of $25,475,000. Of the 15.75 billion tokens being issued, more than 15.2 billion have already been sold, indicating the increasing confidence of early participants. This presale momentum indicates the token could debut on major exchanges with strong liquidity. With no tax on transactions and a transparent tokenomics model, Little Pepe positions itself as a penny token that may outperform other meme coins as it progresses toward its exchange listings.

Little Pepe (LILPEPE)

Roadmap: Pregnancy, Birth, and Growth

Little Pepe structures its roadmap into creative stages: Pregnancy for presales and partnerships, Birth for major exchange listings and marketing campaigns, and Growth, when it transitions into a scalable Layer 2 blockchain. The project is already listed on CoinMarketCap and is preparing for two top centralized exchange listings, with long-term plans to reach the worlds largest exchange. This roadmap highlights sustainable development, unlike Dogecoin and SHIB, which continue to operate as community-driven currencies without new blockchain infrastructures.

Tokenomics and Ecosystem Incentives

The LILPEPE distribution model is carefully balanced: 26.5% presale, 10% liquidity, 30% chain reserves, 10% marketing, 10% DEX allocation, and 13.5% for staking and rewards. This approach suggests a mix of immediate incentives for holders and resources for long-term growth. Compared to PEPE or SHIB, which rely heavily on viral attention, Little Pepe offers a structured financial ecosystem. Zero transaction tax further strengthens its case as a penny token that prioritizes user freedom and liquidity.

Giveaway and Investor Outlook

To celebrate its presale, Little Pepe is hosting a major community giveaway where 10 winners will each receive $77,000 worth of tokens. This could make it the most enormous meme presale reward of 2025. Speculatively, analysts suggest that reaching a $300 million market cap could significantly increase the value of LILPEPE from its current presale price. While DOGE and SHIB already command high valuations, Little Pepe provides early participants with more room for upside.

Conclusion: A Penny Token with Staying Power

In a market dominated by Dogecoin, SHIB, and Pepe Coin, Little Pepe (LILPEPE) emerges as a logical alternative by combining meme-driven branding with practical blockchain innovation. Its presale performance, transparent tokenomics, and roadmap suggest it may be among the most preferred penny tokens of 2025. With listings on CoinMarketCap already secured, two top CEX listings planned, and ambitions to reach the worlds largest exchange, Little Pepe shows signs of becoming a significant force in the meme coin sector. For investors searching for the next meme-driven opportunity with both community energy and blockchain credibility, Little Pepe could be the standout choice of the year.

For more information about Little Pepe (LILPEPE) visit the links below: Website: https://littlepepe.com

Whitepaper: https://littlepepe.com/whitepaper.pdf

Telegram: https://t.me/littlepepetoken

Twitter/X: https://x.com/littlepepetoken
The search for the best altcoins to buy is intensifying as institutional interest returns and retail investors hunt for outsized returns. While meme tokens and Layer-1 giants continue dominating headlines, crypto analysts are spotlighting three standout projects in September, namely Dogecoin, Solana, and Remittix (RTX).

Remittix

Dogecoin Awaits ETF Decision As Technicals Turn Bullish

Dogecoin

Dogecoin is currently trading around $0.23376, having moved sideways in recent weeks. The Dogecoin price has climbed over 55% from its yearly lows but remains in a tight range. Analysts suggest that a powerful catalyst may be on the horizon, which is the approval of the first Dogecoin ETF in the United States.

The SEC is reviewing applications for spot altcoin ETFs, with final deadlines set for October. This includes the Bitwise Dogecoin ETF and proposals from 21Shares and Grayscale. Given Dogecoins $33 billion market cap, proof-of-work structure, and deep liquidity, many expect a green light. With trading volume recently surging 35.98% to $2.16 billion, market appetite remains strong. If the ETF is approved, analysts believe Dogecoin could be one of the best altcoins to buy heading into Q4.

Solana Whale Accumulation Hints At Breakout

Solana

Solana has rebounded to trade near $212 as whales and institutions aggressively accumulate. Data from Nansen shows that Folius Ventures recently added over $600,000 in SOL, signaling renewed confidence in the asset. These moves coincide with a broader pattern of accumulation, which historically precedes major rallies.

Price structure analysis reveals Solana has been in an accumulation phase for over 500 days. Weekly charts show a battle at the $213 resistance, with higher lows forming from August. A breakout above this level could ignite a new leg targeting $240$250.

Solanas consolidation pattern continues to mirror previous cycles, with technicals confirming the setup. The RSI remains neutral, and moving averages provide dynamic support. If the current structure holds, some analysts are forecasting a cycle top above $500. That potential makes Solana one of the best altcoins to buy before momentum fully resumes.

Remittix Attracts Serious Attention

Remittix

While Dogecoin and Solana remain household names, one PayFi token is now being mentioned in the same breath by crypto experts, called Remittix. Remittix has now raised over $24.5 million, sold more than 651 million tokens, and is priced at $0.1050. Its first two centralized exchange listings, which are BitMart and LBANK, were confirmed after hitting $20M and $22M milestones. Its highly anticipated wallet beta drops September 15, and the $250,000 giveaway is still open.

Reasons crypto experts believe Remittix is the best altcoin to buy:

The token powers real payment volume, not just speculation, across multiple currencies and banking rails

Remittix has completed CertiK audit verification, offering transparency and smart contract integrity

With a mobile-first wallet launching this quarter, users can make crypto payments as easily as bank transfers

Remittix targets underserved use cases such as freelancer payouts and remittances, driving mass adoption

It is one of the few utility-first tokens with working infrastructure before token generation

Conclusion

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( Image credit : Charlie Kirk was at Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem, Utah when he was shot. Credit: X )

Who was Charlie Kirk?

( Image credit : Charlie Kirk shot dead at 31 | Credit: X|@charliekirk11 )

Social media erupts: the celebration controversy

btw, according to Charlie Kirk's logic, his death is his own fault, not the shooter's. pic.twitter.com/RraXXtK6v9  Hassan Mafi  (@thatdayin1992) September 10, 2025

a father who agreed that when it comes down to it he wouldnt mind making his 10 year old daughter deliver her rapists baby https://t.co/yAUvnNdfzApic.twitter.com/1ZBxm40d69  amun  . (@bigukeheree) September 10, 2025

Charlie Kirk is dead. pic.twitter.com/ygOglkJpGM  Rebekah Jones (@GeoRebekah) September 10, 2025

Charlie Kirk recently said to a Palestinian that theres no such thing as Palestinians. Well now look theres no longer such a thing called Charlie Kirk.  Momodou  (@MomodouTaal) September 10, 2025

Charlie Kirk isnt a martyr. Hes a casualty of the violence he incited.  zellie (@zellieimani) September 10, 2025

charlie kirk is a father he said that hed make his 9 year old daughter give birth if she was raped. thats not a father.  mariana #1 never getting laid stan (@nevergettingliv) September 10, 2025

.

Leftists are now leaving cruel commenting on Charlie Kirks wife latest post



These people are demons



Pray for Erika and their children  pic.twitter.com/noykQ7yt3d  Defiant Ls (@DefiantLs) September 10, 2025

This is what were up against



DISGUSTING EVIL pic.twitter.com/wxTEBgOpXg  Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 10, 2025

Disagreeing doesnt justify violence. At the end of the day, Charlie Kirk is a husband, a father, a human. No one deserves this. pic.twitter.com/ShJ2uGHKhh  non aesthetic things (@PicturesFoIder) September 10, 2025

Charlie Kirk on how he wanted to be remembered.



Question: How would you wanna be remembered?



Charlie: I wanna be remembered for courage for my faith. That that would be the most important thing. The most important thing is my faith in my life. pic.twitter.com/fwBV9UVefc  Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 11, 2025

Details of the shooting

The atmosphere at Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem, Utah, turned chaotic on September 10, 2025, as conservative activist Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot during a live event. Speaking to the audience about gang violence and mass shootings, Kirk was suddenly shot in the neck and collapsed on stage, sending students into a panic as they scrambled for safety.Later, authorities verified that the shot originated from a structure around 200 yards away. Kirk could not be saved despite being sent to a local hospital. In addition to the outpouring of condolences from fans, some social media users welcomed his passing, which sparked intense discussion and considerable indignation on the internet.Charlie Kirk was a defining voice in America's conservative youth movement. Born in 1993, he co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012, building a nationwide network that promoted conservative values on college campuses.Beyond his organisational work, Kirk was a media personality and author. A loyal Trump supporter, he had served as a personal aide to Donald Trump Jr. His outspoken views and activism made him a polarising figure - revered by many on the right and heavily criticised by progressives.News of Kirk's death spread instantly across social media. Supporters mourned him as a champion of free speech and conservative causes. However, critics of his positions - including his support for Israel during the Gaza conflict and his anti-abortion stances - openly celebrated the news."Poetic justice," some wrote. Others described it as "karma" for years of political activism.These celebratory posts sparked widespread backlash, drawing attention to the deepening divide in public reactions to Kirks death. The hostility didn't stop there - even his wife's Instagram account has been flooded with hateful messages, further intensifying the outrage onlineUtah Valley University officials confirmed that the shooting occurred during Kirk's "American Comeback Tour", organised by Turning Point USA. Witnesses described chaos as the bullet struck, with students diving for cover while security rushed to the stage.The suspected shooter, an older man in a worker's uniform, was apprehended near the venue shortly after the attack AND was taken into custody. However, authorities later released the individual following questioning.
Utah Valley University

American Comeback

Charlie Kirk

Charlie Kirks early life and career

( Image credit : Charlie Kirk | Credit: Reuters )

Charlie Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA (TPUSA)

Tea Party

TPUSA

Gaza conflict

The Kirk Show

Fox News

Charlie Kirk's net worth and income sources

( Image credit : Did Charlie Kirk predict his own death? | Credit: X | @MAGAVoice )

$12 million

Salary Growth:

$27,000

$407,000

Public Speaking:

$50,000

$100,000

Media & Podcasts:

Real Estate Holdings:

$4.75 million

$855,000

$1 million

Turning point USAs role in his career

TPUSA

Charlie Kirks wife and kids

Erika Frantzve

former Miss Arizona USA (2012)

Controversial Views and Public Remarks

FAQs

Q. What was Charlie Kirks net worth?

Q. How did Charlie Kirk earn his income?

Q. Who was Charlie Kirks wife?

Q. Did Charlie Kirk have kids?

Q. How old was Charlie Kirk when he died?

Charlie Kirk, a well-known conservative activist and close ally of US President Donald Trump, was tragically shot dead on 10 September 2025 during an event at. The incident occurred while he was addressing the audience as part of his  tour, leaving his followers and political supporters in shock.A video from the event captured the moment Kirk collapsed after being struck by a single bullet, sparking panic among attendees. At just 31 years old,had already built a powerful presence in American politics and media, with millions of followers and a thriving career.Born in the suburbs of Chicago,in 2012 when he was only 18 years old. Along with William Montgomery, aactivist, Kirk turned the group into a nationwide conservative movement.From small beginnings,quickly grew into one of the most influential youth organisations in the US, now boasting more than 800 active chapters in colleges across the country and a presence on nearly 4,000 high school and university campuses.Kirk became well-known for fiery debates with college students on topics such as immigration and the. These moments often went viral on social media, boosting his influence among young conservatives.He also hostedon, adding television exposure to his already extensive media presence.At the time of his death, Charlie Kirks net worth was estimated at around(according to Celebrity Net Worth). His wealth came from multiple streams, including:Kirks reported salary grew from justin 2016 to overby 2021.He was known to charge betweenandfor speaking engagements.Hosting radio shows, podcasts and TV programmes contributed heavily to his income.Kirk owned several high-value properties, including aSpanish-style estate in Arizona and anoceanfront condo in Florida.In 2023, reports showed he held at least three properties worth overeach, underlining his status as a multi-millionaire.Turning Point USA was more than just a student group; it became a multi-million dollar conservative brand. Contributions todoubled and tripled over the years, reaching $79.2 million in 2022, as per public tax filings.The organisation played a major role in mobilising young voters during the 2024 US presidential elections, aligning closely with Trumps America First agenda. With a large online following and hundreds of influencers connected to TPUSA, Kirk cemented his place as a central figure in conservative politics.Charlie Kirk marriedin May 2021. Erika, a, is an entrepreneur, podcast host, and Christian activist. She is best known for her Biblein365 initiative, which helps people read the Bible daily, and her podcast Midweek Rise Up.The couple had two children together:A daughter, born in August 2022.A son, born in May 2024.On social media, Erika often shared moments of their family life, faith, and her work as a businesswoman and mother. Charlie Kirks untimely death has left behind his wife and very young children, adding a deeply personal tragedy to his public legacy.Throughout his career, Charlie Kirk remained outspoken and often stirred controversy. Just days before his death, he posted on X (formerly Twitter) about immigration, stating that the US should stop granting visas to Indians and arguing that American workers were being displaced.Such remarks sparked heated debate online, especially given his strong support for Trumps hardline immigration policies.Charlie Kirks career, income, and net worth highlight his rapid rise from a teenage activist to a wealthy and influential political figure. His organisation, TPUSA, reshaped conservative youth politics, while his media presence made him a household name in the Republican movement.At just 31, he had built a fortune, a family, and a strong political identity. His death leaves behind questions about the future of Turning Point USA and his role as one of Trumps most vocal allies.Charlie Kirks net worth was estimated at around $12 million.His income came from public speaking, media work, real estate, and his role as the head of Turning Point USA.His wife was Erika Frantzve, a former Miss Arizona USA, entrepreneur, and Christian activist.Yes, Charlie Kirk had two children  a daughter born in 2022 and a son born in 2024.He was 31 years old at the time of his death in September 2025.
Rifle and ammunition recovered near Utah Valley university

( Image credit : Charlie Kirk was a well-known conservative activist of the United States | Credit: X )

FBI investigation and new findings at the scene

( Image credit : Charlie Kirk was shot dead on stage | Credit: X )

National response and political tributes

( Image credit : Authorities are continuing their investigation into the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk | Credit: X )

Political debate reignited

Authorities are continuing their investigation into the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot on stage at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. A rifle and ammunition, believed to have been used in the attack, were recovered in a wooded area as the manhunt for the suspect intensifies.Investigators located a high-powered bolt-action rifle Thursday morning in a wooded area near the university where the shooting occurred. Along with the rifle, ammunition was also recovered. Reports indicated that the bullets carried engravings referencing transgender and antifascist ideology.The Wall Street Journal cited investigators confirming these engravings, though authorities have not officially verified this detail. The FBI has not issued any statement connecting the shooting to ideological motives.In addition to the rifle, authorities recovered shoe impressions and a palm print at the scene. FBI agent Robert Bohls stated that the suspect was no longer in the area when the weapon was found.We walked through those woods and secured it, Bohls said. This was a targeted event. We dont believe the community is at risk. However, we are exhausting every resource to find him, and we will do so.FBI agent Beau Mason added that investigators have video footage of the suspect, who appears to be of college age. Were working through technologies and ways to identify this individual, Mason told reporters. If we are unsuccessful, we will push it publicly to help identify them. But we are confident in our abilities right now.The killing of Charlie Kirk, founder and CEO of Turning Point USA and a leading conservative voice, has sparked strong reactions. Kirk, aged 31, played a key role in Donald Trumps outreach to young voters during the 2024 election.President Trump announced that Kirk will be posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor. Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and inspiration to millions, Trump said. He added that he would speak personally with Kirks family, describing his wife Erika as a wonderful woman.Vice President JD Vance also traveled to Utah to pay respects. Kirk leaves behind his wife and two young children.The shooting has renewed debate between parties over actions that could reduce violence. While details about the suspects motive remain unconfirmed, the presence of ideological engravings on the ammunition has fueled questions about political extremism and its role in violent incidents.As the investigation continues, the FBI maintains that every resource is being directed toward finding the shooter. The case remains active, with investigators analyzing the weapon and evidence in an effort to piece together the events that led to Kirks killing.
Left-wing brings up receipts from the past about Charlie Kirk's past pro-gun comments

( Image credit : The shooting immediately sparked a wave of reactions online (Credit: X/@devide_3045) )

Charlie Kirk had no empathy when it came to his professional career. His rhetoric hurt a lot of people, and it almost certainly led to the violence against him.



You don't need to feel sorry for him. https://t.co/TgWWJskL9A  Reel (@ReelToRealPro) September 10, 2025

Is it still worth it Charlie Kirk? pic.twitter.com/xHi17GWPeP  toni (@toptieralba) September 10, 2025

btw, according to Charlie Kirk's logic, his death is his own fault, not the shooter's. pic.twitter.com/RraXXtK6v9  Hassan Mafi  (@thatdayin1992) September 10, 2025

pro-gun racist misogynist charlie kirk dead by gun shot pic.twitter.com/5Blr7kx2dY  MOODENG CALLS (@MOODENGCALLS) September 10, 2025

Right-wing figures and supporters defend 'young father' Charlie Kirk and condemn the incident

( Image credit : US President Donald Trump posted a message to show solidarity for Charlie Kirk and his family (Credit: X/@mitchelldevis5) )

Once again, a bullet has silenced the most eloquent truth teller of an era. My dear friend Charlie Kirk was our country's relentless and courageous crusader for free speech. We pray for Erika and the children. Charlie is already in paradise with the angels. We ask his prayers for pic.twitter.com/4GQeVgGkrj  Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) September 10, 2025

Charlie Kirk changed my life.



I attended Turning Point USA's Young Black Leadership Summit in October 2018. I was 14 at the time but Charlie told me it didn't matter how young I was, I could fight alongside him in this movement.



From then on, I attended every Turning Point pic.twitter.com/smeFmw8I85  Chandler Crump (@realCCrump) September 10, 2025

Donald Trump announcing Charlie Kirks death. pic.twitter.com/8f1LXicnPw  Pop Base (@PopBase) September 10, 2025

A deepening divide in the United States of America

( Image credit : Charlie Kirk, 31, rose to prominence as a young conservative voice when he co-founded Turning Point USA at just 18 (Credit: X/@koshercockney) )

Conservative activist Charlie Kirks visit to Utah Valley University turned into a nightmare when he was shot during a live Q&A session. The shocking incident unfolded as students gathered to engage with the Turning Point USA founder, who is known for his fiery debates and outspoken right-wing views.According to police reports, a sniper fired from a rooftop about 200 yards away, hitting Kirk near the neck. Chaos broke out as students screamed and ran for cover while security rushed to his aid. The campus was quickly placed on lockdown, and a suspect was later taken into custody. Kirk is currently hospitalised, with his condition remaining unclear.The shooting immediately sparked a wave of reactions online, with left-wing users dominating social media discussions. Many critics dug up an old 2023 clip of Kirk where he controversially stated that a few gun deaths each year were a rational price for protecting the Second Amendment. One user on X reacted to Charlie Kirk's death, "pro-gun racist misogynist charlie kirk dead by gun shot". Another user posted, "Charlie Kirk had no empathy when it came to his professional career. His rhetoric hurt a lot of people, and it almost certainly led to the violence against him. You don't need to feel sorry for him."This statement resurfaced as left-wing users mocked the irony of a pro-gun advocate becoming a shooting victim. Some went as far as saying he deserved it, calling him a racist and misogynist who has spread hate for years. One viral post read, Charlie Kirk is not a martyr or a hero, he is a cause.Memes and satirical videos flooded X (formerly Twitter), painting Kirk as a symbol of the consequences of extremist rhetoric.On the other side, right-wing politicians, celebrities, and followers rallied around Kirk, sharing condolences and prayers for his recovery. US President Donald Trump posted on X, "The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you".Meanwhile, Senator JD Vance urged unity and support among people of all beliefs. He said, "This is such a good point. If you actually watch Charlies eventsas opposed to the fake summaries, they are one of the few places with open and honest dialogue between left and right. He would answer any question and talk to everyone. ".Hollywood actor Chris Pratt also expressed his prayers for Kirk and his family, emphasising that no one should face violence for their beliefs. Thousands of fans of Kirks podcast joined in, sharing messages of hope and demanding swift justice against the attacker. For them, Kirk represents a defender of free speech, and the attack is seen as an assault on conservative values.The shooting and the online reactions highlight just how polarised America has become. What should have been a moment of empathy and shared concern quickly turned into a fierce digital war between two opposing political worlds.For the left, many see this as poetic justice. They argue that Kirks past statements defending gun rights and his often divisive rhetoric have contributed to a culture of hate and violence. Old clips and quotes of him resurfaced online, with critics saying the very ideas he promoted had now come back to harm him. To them, this shooting symbolised the dangers of extremist politics, and some even framed it as the natural outcome of the environment he helped create.For the right, however, the attack is nothing short of horrific. Supporters view Kirk as a victim of political persecution and a defender of free speech who was violently silenced. Prominent conservative figures see this as proof that America has become unsafe for those who dare to speak their minds, especially on college campuses. To them, celebrating his shooting is inhumane and deeply disturbing, crossing a line no society should ever accept.One thing remains clear: deaths like this should never be celebrated. Violence, no matter the target, only deepens the hatred and divides people further. What happened to Charlie Kirk is a stark reminder of how dangerous and toxic American politics has become, where every day the divide grows sharper and hostility between the left and right turns into open conflict.As investigations into the shooters motives continue, the focus should not only be on justice for Charlie Kirk but also on addressing the alarming trend of political violence. Without reflection and action, moments like this risk becoming more common, leaving America trapped in a cycle of anger and bloodshed.
Trumps response to Kirks death

The Utah shooting investigation

Instead of sharing the horrific, vile, & heart-stopping video of Charlie Kirk being shot, I urge you to share images of his beautiful family whose worst nightmare has come true.



Every kid deserves a dad.

Every wife deserves a husband.

Every American needs Charlie Kirk. pic.twitter.com/reD9HsD6qn  Debra Lea (@thedebralea) September 10, 2025

Charlie Kirks work and influence

Controversies and projects under TPUSA

Charlie Kirk is a father and a husband. He is a human. I dont care if you politically disagree with him nothing justifies this sick act. pic.twitter.com/FuygHfLRdm  kira  (@kirawontmiss) September 10, 2025

The broader debate on political violence

Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), was shot dead while speaking at a college event in Utah. His killing has sparked a strong political response in the United States, particularly from President Donald Trump, who described Kirk as great, and even legendary. Trump has vowed to act against the networks behind political violence and pledged accountability for those involved.President Trump addressed Kirks assassination in a public statement, assuring his administration would not only target the individuals directly involved but also organizations that fund and support political violence. My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials, and everyone else who brings order to our country, Trump said.His comments underline a wider concern about political violence in America and raise questions about its impact on freedom of speech and security at public events.Following the shooting, law enforcement quickly took a person into custody on suspicion of involvement in Kirks killing. However, FBI director Kash Patel later confirmed that the individual was released. The investigation continues, but the release of the suspect has already generated discussion about how such cases are handled and what evidence is needed before charges are filed.Kirk was best known as the co-founder of Turning Point USA, which he established in 2012 along with Bill Montgomery. Based in Phoenix, the nonprofit promotes conservative principles such as fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government. Over the years, Kirk expanded TPUSA into a national network with more than 850 chapters on school and college campuses across the United States.The organization became a central hub for conservative student activism and is known for its large-scale events such as the Student Action Summit and AmericaFest. These gatherings brought together thousands of young people and encouraged them to get involved in conservative politics.Alongside its expansion, TPUSA drew criticism for creating watchlists such as the Professor Watchlist and the School Board Watchlist. These lists named teachers and school officials whom the group accused of promoting left-wing ideas or treating conservative students unfairly.The organization also invested in media outreach through initiatives like Turning Point Live and. It produced documentaries such asand, which tackled topics aligned with conservative concerns, further cementing Kirks influence among young conservatives in the US.Kirks killing has reignited the debate on political violence in America and its effect on public discourse. Supporters describe him as a mentor to young conservatives, while critics often clashed with his outspoken positions on immigration, identity, and education. Despite disagreements about his views, his death has raised concerns about whether political debates are increasingly at risk of escalating into violence.President Trumps remarks frame the killing as not just a personal loss but a test of the nations ability to protect free expression. Whether his promise to confront political violence leads to policy changes or new measures remains to be seen, but the shooting has already deepened the conversation about security, speech, and the role of political organizations in a polarized United States.
Details of the tragic shooting at Utah Valley University

( Image credit : Charlie Kirk shooter identified as George Hudson Zinn | Credit: X )

Final post about Iryna Zarutska and criminal justice concerns

( Image credit : Elon Musk has announced a $1 million fund to create murals of Iryna Zarutska (Credit: X/@QueenDarbyy) )

Viral resurgence of Kirks earlier antiBiden gun tweets

( Image credit : Viral resurgence of Charlie Kirks earlier antiBiden gun tweets | Credit: X/charliekirkxtweets )

( Image credit : Viral resurgence of Charlie Kirks earlier antiBiden gun tweets | Credit: X/charliekirkxtweets )

FAQs

1. Who was Charlie Kirk and what happened at his death?

2. What was Charlie Kirks final post about?

3. Why are Charlie Kirks old tweets about Biden trending?

4. How have leaders responded to Charlie Kirks death?

5. Who is George Hodgson Zinn?

Charlie Kirk, the conservative firebrand known for outdoor campus debates, has died at age 31 after being fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University. The tragedy has compounded sorrow with a keen dose of irony: his final message called on citizens to politicise the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, while his earlier opposition to gun restrictions under President Biden has now gone wildly viral in the wake of his own death.Witnesses say that the shot was fired from an academic building roughly 100 to 200 yards away. The campus was immediately sealed, as police conducted a doortodoor search; a suspect was briefly detained but later released. Kirks wife and two young children were present on campus at the time, as confirmed by a US senator.In his last post, Kirk stressed that unless citizens politicised the murder of Iryna Zarutska, a 23yearold Ukrainian refugee stabbed to death in Charlotte, future tragedies would likely occur. He criticised the criminal justice system for allowing repeat offenders out on the streetswith fourteen prior convictions in the case of the alleged attacker. The post captured his frustrations with systemic failures.As news of his death spread, users on X began resharing older posts by Kirk. In those tweets, now framed by tragedy, he had painted President Bidens plans as a threat to gun rights, warning that proposals to bar magazines with high capacities would render most pistols illegal. He emphasised that politicians pushing bans lacked understanding but were never in doubt of their opinions. He also routinely urged followers not to let the administration take away their firearms and asserted that guns save lives.President Donald Trump, mourning the death of what he called a truly Great American Patriot, ordered all American flags to be flown at halfmast until Sunday evening at 6 P.M. Meanwhile, former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden publicly condemned the killing, expressing deep sorrow for the loss.The juxtaposition of Kirks final plea for criminal justice reform and the revival of his earlier antigunban posts has created a bittersweet and tragic discourse. His death throws into sharp relief the enduring debate over guns, justice, and the role of political speech in moments of crisis.Charlie Kirk was a conservative commentator known for holding outdoor debates on US campuses. He was fatally shot at Utah Valley University on 10 September during a speaking engagement.His last post called on citizens to politicise the murder of Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee, arguing that repeated offenses by criminals must be addressed to prevent future tragedies.In the aftermath of his death, users resurfaced his older tweets warning that President Bidens proposed gun restrictions could outlaw most pistols and expressing opposition to such measures.President Trump ordered flags at halfmast, while former Presidents Obama and Biden publicly condemned his murder, expressing grief.George Hodgson Zinn is the man arrested after Charlie Kirks fatal shooting. Reports suggest he is a local troublemaker with a history of disruptive behaviour, though authorities have not yet confirmed his full background or possible motive.
Details of the attack

After yet another Colorado school shooting, an eighth grader named Winston tells @KDVR: I only moved here a few months ago, and I didnt think this would happen so soon. So soon. This is the heartbreaking effect gun violence is having on our kids. They now just EXPECT it. pic.twitter.com/vltjhiTHwe  Clayton Sandell (@Clayton_Sandell) September 10, 2025

Victims and medical condition

Community response

BREAKING: SCHOOL SHOOTING



Multiple shots reported at Evergreen High School in Colorado. At least 2 students injured, victims hospitalized. Reunification set up at Wilmot Elementary. Authorities are investigating. pic.twitter.com/j8efPE3m1A  David Nino Rodriguez (@ninoboxer) September 10, 2025

Investigation underway

Police in Colorado confirmed that a student at Evergreen High School opened fire on Wednesday afternoon, injuring two classmates before shooting himself. The incident took place around 12:30 p.m. local time, about 30 miles west of Denver. Authorities identified the suspect as a male student, though his age has not been released.According to Jefferson County Sheriffs Office spokesperson Jacki Kelley, the suspect used a revolver handgun during the shooting. Shots were fired both inside and outside the school before officers arrived within five minutes of the first report. Police did not fire at the suspect. More than 100 officers from surrounding areas rushed to the school to secure the campus and evacuate students.Two students were injured in the attack. Initially, their condition was described as critical, but doctors later confirmed their injuries are not life-threatening. The students identities and ages have not been disclosed. Dr. Brian Blackwood, trauma director at St. Anthony Hospital, said one of the teens had stabilized by the evening.The shooting caused panic among students and parents. Parents gathered at a nearby elementary school to reunite with their children. Wendy Nueman, mother of a sophomore at Evergreen, said her 15-year-old daughter was too shaken to speak clearly when she finally managed to call from a borrowed phone.Residents also stepped in to help. Don Cygan, a retired educator, sheltered 18 fleeing students at his nearby home. He and his wife, a retired nurse, calmed the teenagers and treated them for shock until their parents arrived. I hope they feel like they ran to the right house, Cygan said.Authorities are now focusing on the suspects background to determine what led to the shooting. Investigators are searching his home, car, and school locker for clues about his motive. The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting local law enforcement in the investigation.
After yet another Colorado school shooting, an eighth grader named Winston tells @KDVR: I only moved here a few months ago, and I didnt think this would happen so soon. So soon. This is the heartbreaking effect gun violence is having on our kids. They now just EXPECT it. pic.twitter.com/vltjhiTHwe  Clayton Sandell (@Clayton_Sandell) September 10, 2025

A timeline of school shootings in Colorado

Columbine High School (1999): Two students killed 13 people and wounded 21 others before killing themselves. One victim later died in 2025 from injuries sustained in the attack.

Two students killed 13 people and wounded 21 others before killing themselves. One victim later died in 2025 from injuries sustained in the attack. Ranum High School (2003): Shots fired during a fight on school property missed, causing no injuries.

Shots fired during a fight on school property missed, causing no injuries. Academia Ana Marie Montessori (2005): A BB gun was fired at a Denver playground, injuring a teacher and aide.

A BB gun was fired at a Denver playground, injuring a teacher and aide. Platte Canyon High School (2006): A 53-year-old man took six girls hostage, killing one before taking his own life.

A 53-year-old man took six girls hostage, killing one before taking his own life. Deer Creek Middle School (2010): A former student shot two students at a bus stop during dismissal.

A former student shot two students at a bus stop during dismissal. Aurora Central High School (2010): A gang-related drive-by injured one student during dismissal.

A gang-related drive-by injured one student during dismissal. Arapahoe High School (2013): A student shot and killed a classmate before shooting himself.

A student shot and killed a classmate before shooting himself. East High School, Pueblo (2016): A teacher was wounded in a drive-by shooting. The suspect later committed suicide.

A teacher was wounded in a drive-by shooting. The suspect later committed suicide. Cole Middle School (2018): A student was injured in a gang-related shooting outside the school.

A student was injured in a gang-related shooting outside the school. STEM School Highlands Ranch (2019): Two students planned an attack, killing one and injuring eight.

Two students planned an attack, killing one and injuring eight. Hinkley High School (2021): A shooting wounded three students, with several teens later facing charges.

A shooting wounded three students, with several teens later facing charges. East High School, Denver (2023): A student shot two deans before killing himself.

A student shot two deans before killing himself. Evergreen High School (2025): A student shot two students, critically injuring one, before taking their own life.

Shock and grief in Evergreen community

BREAKING: SCHOOL SHOOTING



Multiple shots reported at Evergreen High School in Colorado. At least 2 students injured, victims hospitalized. Reunification set up at Wilmot Elementary. Authorities are investigating. pic.twitter.com/j8efPE3m1A  David Nino Rodriguez (@ninoboxer) September 10, 2025

Searching for prevention and answers

While our focus was on Charlie Kirk, there was a shooting at a Colorado High School.



"A shooting at Evergreen High School this afternoon hospitalized four students  three with critical injuries, including the suspected shooter."



The shooter was not named. pic.twitter.com/JpRSSrRLrX  Ana's Writing Nook (@AnaBredenberg) September 10, 2025

Colorado recorded another killing incident on Wednesday when a student opened fire at Evergreen High School, injuring two classmates before turning the gun on themselves. The incident is the 13th school shooting during class hours in the state over the past five decades, highlighting a recurring concern for student safety.Since the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, Colorado has witnessed repeated school shootings during school hours. Records note 13 such incidents over nearly 50 years.Beyond these 13 incidents, state records also list other shooting-related events on school grounds, including suicides and off-campus disputes spilling onto campuses.Residents of Evergreen, a small mountain town outside Denver, are struggling to come to terms with the shooting. Many gathered along the towns main street to support one another.Some people might say theres not a safe place to live in America, said Kevin Shepard, a former schoolteacher. Students deserve a chance to learn in a safe environment.Community members, including parents and teachers, expressed disbelief that such violence could reach their town. You feel like in a mountain town you can avoid violence, but we have a crisis of mental health among our young people, Shepard added.Residents stressed the importance of identifying warning signs among students. Right now were thinking about protecting our kids, said Townsend Carr, who emphasized that prevention must be a priority.Others voiced frustration at the persistence of violence in American schools. Homeschooling is the way to go now. It hurts to see that in public schools, said a visitor.Carr added that the issue is not limited to schools. We are the only country that has this much violence around our kids, communities, churches, malls, and nightclubs, he said.From Columbine to Evergreen, Colorados school shooting record shows a troubling pattern spanning decades. While each incident differs in scale, the impact on communities is similar: grief, shock, and the urgent search for ways to protect students. As Evergreen mourns, residents continue to call for solutions that could prevent the next tragedy.
Evergreen High School shooting by a 16-year-old leaves community shattered

BREAKING: Active shooter situation reported at Evergreen High School near Denver.



This is overlapping with the breaking news of Charlie Kirk's shooting in Utah.



America is simply broken. pic.twitter.com/UhY8LohU5u  Devin Duke (@sirDukeDevin) September 10, 2025

Rapid police response and ongoing investigation

A familiar pain for Colorado

Vigils and statewide condolences

FAQs

Q1: Who was the Evergreen High School shooter?

Q2: How many victims were injured?

Q3: Did the police fire at the suspect?

Q4: How did the shooter die?

Q5: How is the community responding?

What began as a normal school day in Evergreen, Colorado, turned into a nightmare on Wednesday afternoon. A 16-year-old student opened fire at Evergreen High School, injuring two classmates before turning the gun on himself. Authorities later confirmed that the shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.Doctors said one student is still in critical condition, while another is recovering from non-life-threatening injuries. Another teenager sustained injuries while fleeing the scene. Students described the chaos as surreal, with one ninth grader admitting he never imagined such violence could erupt in their town. Parents echoed that disbelief, saying that while they knew shootings were becoming tragically common, they never thought Evergreen would be struck.Sheriffs deputies responded within minutes of receiving calls about an active shooter. They located the gunman quickly but did not fire their weapons during the encounter. Investigators confirmed that both indoor and outdoor crime scenes were being processed, and search warrants for the shooters home and school locker were being pursued.The tragedy has once again reopened old wounds in Jefferson County, home to the infamous Columbine shooting of 1999. Education leaders said that every new incident retraumatises survivors and communities who have lived through similar horrors. They demanded urgent action from leaders at every level to tackle gun violence in schools.Colorado Governor Jared Polis issued a statement expressing his heartbreak for the victims and their families, emphasising that schools must remain places of safety and growth. Flatirons Community Church in Golden hosted a vigil for the Evergreen community, as hundreds gathered to grieve together and demand that such tragedies never become normalised.The shooter was a 16-year-old male student at the school. His identity has not been publicly released due to his age.Two students were shot. One remains in critical condition, while the other is recovering from non-life-threatening injuries. Another student sustained injuries while fleeing.No. Police encountered the shooter within minutes but did not discharge their weapons.Authorities confirmed the shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.The community has organised vigils and public mourning, while education leaders are demanding stronger action against gun violence in schools.
FBI releases photos of 'person of interest' in Charlie Kirk shooting

We are asking for the public's help identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.

1-800-CALL-FBI

Digital media tips: https://t.co/K7maX81TjJpic.twitter.com/ALuVkTXuDc  FBI Salt Lake City (@FBISaltLakeCity) September 11, 2025

Who are the people being suspected by internet users?

Did they track down Najra Galvez yet? pic.twitter.com/4KyB8hxMD6  Toxic Tex  (@TexToxic) September 11, 2025

New side view of Skye Valadez found. Similarly doughy jawline, similar ear shape. https://t.co/HbNuL33orBpic.twitter.com/qggBcSsGtH  Fred McKenzie (@FredMcKenzie22) September 11, 2025

More about Charlie Kirk

( Image credit : Charlie Kirk was shot deat at 31 during Utah Valley University event | Credit: X | @persianjewess )

The Charlie Kirk Show

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has shared two photos of a person of interest connected to the Charlie Kirk shooting , sparking a wave of online speculation. Kirk, the conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed on September 10, 2025 , while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.Authorities say the suspected gunman is a college-aged male, and a bolt-action rifle believed to be the weapon used was later found abandoned in a wooded area near the campus. Investigators also collected palm prints, shoe impressions, and other forensic evidence from the scene, but the suspects identity has yet to be confirmed.Online, frustration is growing as people comb through resurfaced photos and recent behavior of those present at the event, with anyone who seemed suspicious in the past few days quickly being placed under the internets radar. For now, though, the FBI has not announced any arrests or identified the shooter.The FBI has released two photos of a person of interest in the Charlie Kirk shooting, asking the public to help identify him. The images show an individual wearing a cap, sunglasses, and a long-sleeve black shirt. Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason described the suspect as appearing to be of college age and confirmed that investigators are confident in tracking him down. FBI Special Agent Robert Bohls added that a rifle believed to have been used was recovered from a wooded area near the scene, along with a footwear impression and a forearm imprint, all of which are now being analysed at the FBI laboratory.Multiple unverified names have begun surfacing online in connection with the Charlie Kirk shooting, with one of the most widely discussed being Omar Najra Galvz.Screenshots attributed to an account under that name show posts made on September 9, a day before the shooting, that read, Charlie Kirk is coming to my college tomorrow and I really hope someone evaporates him completely, and another saying, Lets just say something big will happen tomorrow.After Kirks death, more alleged posts circulated where the same account wrote, Charlie Kirk got shot bro I promise I didnt have anything to do with it, followed by, But I called it and its so f------ deserved.Another name that has started to circulate online is Skye Valadez , who some users claim had uploaded a track titled Charlie Kirk Dead at 31 on SoundCloud. Social media sleuths point out that Valadezs Facebook profile lists she/her pronouns and places her in the Salt Lake City area , which has only added to the speculation. However, much like the other names being thrown around, there has been no official confirmation linking Valadez to the shooting, and the chatter so far remains based on unverified screenshots and user reports rather than law enforcement statements.Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist, was shot on September 10, 2025, while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Witnesses say a single gunshot rang out during the gathering, striking him in the neck, and authorities later confirmed he did not survive his injuries. Kirk was widely recognised as the founder and president of Turning Point USA, an influential conservative student organisation that grew into one of the most prominent voices for right-wing politics on college campuses.Beyond his campus presence, he was also known as a media personality, author, and host of, where he frequently discussed U.S. politics, culture wars, and his support for former President Donald Trump. Over the years, he became a polarising figure, praised by conservative audiences for his unapologetic defense of right-wing values and criticised by opponents for his rhetoric on issues like immigration, race, and social justice.
Former Chief Justice Sushila #Karki emerges as the interim leader for #Nepal. Will lead the GenZ talks with the Army for the formation of the new set up



pic.twitter.com/RSpHOmXFnB  Snehesh Alex Philip (@sneheshphilip) September 10, 2025

Sushila Karki backed as first choice

In less than 48 hours Gen Z protest in Nepal did the following:

- Burnt down multiple politicians' houses

- Increased the protest even during curfew and firing around multiple cities

- made the Prime Minister resign

- entered parliament and burnt it.



This is the generation that pic.twitter.com/ovY2tWAASY  CG (@chandangoopta) September 9, 2025

Kulman Ghising emerges as alternative

( Image credit : Nepal protests led by Gen Z have left 31 dead and 1, 400 injured | Credit: X )

Balendra Shah and other names surface

Constitutional roadblocks

Protests, intellectual appeals, and army role

The Straw Hat Flag has now become a powerful symbol of protest against corruption in Nepal pic.twitter.com/eelFdnCMFF  Anime Tweets (@AnimexTwts) September 10, 2025

A call for change

The ongoing protests in Nepal, led largely by Gen Z demonstrators, have left at least 31 people dead and nearly 1,400 injured. The movement forced Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to resign, but uncertainty looms as protesters remain divided on who should lead the expected interim government. Several names, from ex-Chief Justice Sushila Karki to energy reformer Kulman Ghising, have surfaced, but consensus is still elusive.Initially, reports from Kathmandu suggested that protesters had rallied behind former Chief Justice and anti-corruption activist Sushila Karki. Many demonstrators described her as fearless and honest. Sujit Kumar Jha toldWe see Sushila Karki for who she truly is honest, fearless, and unshaken. Another protester, Ojaswi, added that appointing Nepals first woman Prime Minister, even in a temporary role, would be historic.Ms. Karki herself expressed willingness to serve, saying, This government should step down They are out of date. However, her candidacy faced resistance as some protesters cited constitutional barriers that prevent retired judges from holding such posts. Others argued she was too old to represent Gen Z aspirations.Within 24 hours, another faction of protesters proposed Kulman Ghising, the engineer credited with solving Nepals power crisis. They hailed him as a patriot and an everybodys favourite to work with the Nepal Army. His nomination highlighted the generational divide within the protest movement.This disagreement even led to clashes, not between protesters and the authorities, but among protest factions themselves. Despite the split, many still view Karki as a strong candidate, while others see Ghising as a practical alternative.Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Balen Shah also emerged as a potential consensus candidate. Popular among young protesters for his rapper-politician image, he declined the role, instead supporting Karki. Meanwhile, a minority group floated Harka Sampang, Dharans two-time mayor, though his name was quickly dismissed by others as not competent enough.Nepals Constitution, adopted in 2015, complicates the matter. It does not explicitly allow interim governments, and requires a Prime Minister to come from the parliamentary majority. If no party can form a government, the President may appoint a successor or dissolve the House for fresh elections.President Ram Chandra Paudel has appealed for calm, stressing he is working to find a constitutional solution. A solution to the problem is being sought as soon as possible to address demands of agitating citizens, he said.Beyond leadership debates, the protests have escalated into violent clashes. Demonstrators stormed Parliament and Kathmandus historic Singha Darbar, setting government buildings ablaze. Soldiers now patrol the streets to maintain fragile peace.Meanwhile, intellectuals including journalists, writers, and political scientists have urged President Paudel to form a civilian government through consultation with protesters, political parties, and civil society. They called the governments earlier actions undemocratic and stressed that fresh elections remain the only democratic way forward.Despite divisions over leadership, protesters share a common demand: the end of dominance by Nepals old political elite. Many argue they are not seeking to replace the Constitution, only to make temporary adjustments to allow a leader like Karki to step in.This bloodshed is because of you, protester Diwakar Dangal said, blaming traditional politicians for the crisis. As protests continue and leadership choices remain contested, Nepal faces an uncertain path toward stability.
( Image credit : Charlie Kirk was at Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem, Utah when he was shot. Credit: X )

Social media erupts in fury

Meet Stephanie Scales she thinks its funny that Charlie Kirk was assassinated today.



She works for First Team Automotive Group in Chesapeake, VA. pic.twitter.com/3CoNGTIYHf  Shawn (@ShawnOnTheRight) September 11, 2025

Hi @NOLAFireDept, this one of your firefighters mocking Charlie Kirks ass*ssination?? pic.twitter.com/QbF8AG54EV  Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 10, 2025

Time to make Amanda Dodson famous on . She is a teacher in Pennsylvania teaching CHILDREN:



She shared a message showing no sympathy for Charlie Kirk



Thank you @libsoftiktok for finding her



You know what to do  pic.twitter.com/S8gGbhUyBB  MAGA Voice (@MAGAVoice) September 11, 2025

Shelly Harmon, a nurse at Mercy Hospital (@FollowMercy) in Oklahoma, made a post celebrating Charlie Kirk's death and wants to start a GoFundMe for the shooter.



This person takes care of people at a HOSPITAL.



Any comment @FollowMercy? pic.twitter.com/SLy3LJs7eR  Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 10, 2025

Who is Charlie Kirk?

( Image credit : VIral claims raise questions if Kirk's killing was meticulously planned| Credit: X/@@JesusSavesUs777 )

The shooting at Utah Valley University

( Image credit : Charlie Kirk, 31, killed in Utah shooting; Trump confirms | Credit: X )

The death of 31-year-old conservative activist Charlie Kirk sent shockwaves across the United States after he was shot during a live event at Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem, Utah, on September 10, 2025. Kirk, in the middle of a Q&A session on gang violence and mass shootings, was struck in the neck and collapsed on stage, sending students into a frantic scramble for safety.While fans expressed their sorrow over his passing, some social media users publicly applauded the murder, sparking intense discussion and indignation on the internet. When rumors circulated that some were even organizing a GoFundMe for the shooter, the situation became even more heated. In an effort to expose the identities of nurses, firefighters, teachers, and others who had posted pro-assassination content online, Kirk's supporters started doxxing people who were celebrating his passing.As news of Charlie Kirk's death rippled across social media, reactions were sharply divided. Supporters flooded timelines with tributes, praising him as a fearless advocate for free speech and conservative values. Meanwhile, critics seized the moment to express satisfaction, pointing to his stances on Israel and abortion as reasons to celebrate.The online jubilation sparked widespread outrage. Many users condemned those rejoicing over a man's death, calling it shocking and inhumane. Some even urged companies to investigate and hold accountable anyone publicly celebrating the tragedy.Charlie Kirk, born in 1993, emerged as one of the most prominent voices in America's conservative youth movement. In 2012, he co-founded Turning Point USA, building a nationwide network aimed at promoting conservative values on college campuses.Kirks influence extended beyond organisational work. As a media personality and author, he became widely known for his outspoken political commentary. A staunch supporter of Donald Trump, he even served as a personal aide to Donald Trump Jr. His activism made him a hero to many on the right, while drawing sharp criticism from progressive circles, cementing his reputation as a polarising figure in American politics.The fatal incident occurred during Kirk's "American Comeback Tour," according to Utah Valley University officials. Attendees described scenes of panic as the bullet struck, with students diving for cover and security rushing to protect the stage.The suspected shooter, identified as an older man dressed in a workers uniform, was detained near the venue shortly after the attack. Authorities later released the individual following questioning, though the investigation into the shooting remains ongoing.
( Image credit : Charlie Kirk | Credit: Reuters )

Megyn Kelly breaks down announcing Kirks death

The Megyn Kelly Show

( Image credit : Megyn Kelly | Credit: The Megyn Kelly Show/YouTube )

Netizens react to the viral video

Millions and millions and millions of good decent people are feeling this right now.  NagsDoc (@ponydoc) September 11, 2025

They didn't want to say he is dead. They were waiting for some kind of hope about him being in surgery or something. But they knew he went down quickly and that was the only comfort they could deliver for us!  RealPerson (@RealPerson97676) September 11, 2025

I just wanted to say thank you for your show today. I know it was so, so hard. I have been crying all evening and I don't know why, but I know the world lost a shining light. I'm sorry for the loss of your friend.  Cheryl Drury (@CherylDrury10) September 11, 2025

Such a deep sense of grief happening all around the world. So sad.

What a huge loss for not only his wife and children but for America and the World.

This wonderful child of God was doubtless a future President.

Charlie fought the good fight and has entered Glory.  TheTrumpet777 (@TheTrumpet777) September 11, 2025

About Charlie Kirk death

( Image credit : Utah Governor Spencer Cox | Credit: Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP )

Update on the arrest from authorities

The Associated Press

Motive behind attack on Charlie Kirk

Conservative activist and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot dead while speaking at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, September 10. The incident occurred during a campus event, leaving attendees and political circles in disbelief.The tragic news sparked an emotional reaction from media personalities and netizens alike, highlighting the gravity of the incident.Conservative host Megyn Kelly was visibly emotional while announcing the news of Kirks death on her YouTube show,. During a live segment with Glenn Beck, CEO of Blaze Media, Kelly struggled to hold back tears.There are news outlets reporting the worst right now, Glenn. I dont know what Im waiting for before I report it. I trust Just the News, and I trust Deseret. What, are we waiting for the AP to say it? We dont trust them more than we trust these. They are reporting that Charlie has died, that hes dead, at the age of 31, Kelly said through tears.Beck responded, Theres no way he survived that.Following their discussion, Kelly read statements from Turning Point USA and President Donald Trump confirming Kirks death. She added, I am so sorry to be bringing you this news. I am so sorry. Im sorry for what it means for our country, for Charlie, poor dear Charlie, and his family. Sorry for what its going to mean for the debates that we have yet to have, that he would have won, and that he would have put everyone to shame as he had been.Kelly also expressed her anger over the circumstances: And Im angry, really f---ing angry about how this happened, why this happened, and why we dont have a person in custody.The clip soon went viral on X and fans and viewers shared their grief in the comment section. One wrote, Millions and millions and millions of good, decent people are feeling this right now.Another added, They didn't want to say he is dead. They were waiting for some kind of hope about him being in surgery or something. But they knew he went down quickly, and that was the only comfort they could deliver for us!A third viewer expressed personal sadness: I just wanted to say thank you for your show today. I know it was so, so hard. I have been crying all evening, and I don't know why, but I know the world lost a shining light. I'm sorry for the loss of your friend.Another wrote, Such a deep sense of grief happening all around the world. So sad. What a huge loss for not only his wife and children but also for America and the world. This wonderful child of God was doubtless a future president. Charlie fought the good fight and has entered glory.Utah Governor Spencer Cox described the incident as a political assassination carried out from a rooftop. This is a dark day for our state. Its a tragic day for our nation. I want to be very clear this is a political assassination, Cox said.According to authorities, the shooter fired a single shot from a rooftop targeting the courtyard where the event took place. The suspect wore dark clothing, and the attack occurred despite security measures, including six university police officers and Kirks own security team. Approximately 3,000 people attended the event.As of late Wednesday, no suspect was stated to be in custody. However, two individuals were detained later on the same day and then were released after officials found no connection to the shooting, according to. Authorities are actively searching for a new person of interest.While a motive has not yet been determined, the attack underscores growing concerns about political violence in the United States, which has increasingly affected individuals across the ideological spectrum. Governor Cox pledged accountability, stating that the shooter will face justice in Utah, a state with the death penalty.
Nina Dobrev and Shaun White split: What happened?

( Image credit : According to a source, both Nina and Shaun agreed to end things after realizing their paths were diverging (Credit: X/@antsfiles) )

Nina Dobrev and Shaun White dating timeline: From quarantine couple to engagement

( Image credit : Nina and Shaun first met in 2012 at an awards event but only truly connected years later in 2019 (Credit: X/@ExileftNini) )

Signs of trouble before the breakup

After five years together, Olympic snowboarder Shaun White and actress Nina Dobrev have mutually ended their engagement, a split marked by love and a deep respect as evidenced by her recent red carpet appearance without her engagement ring. pic.twitter.com/KmitM9v2Bd  Nyra Kraal (@NyraKraal) September 11, 2025

( Image credit : Fans began speculating about trouble in their relationship (Screenshot taken from Reddit) )

Shaun Whites past sexual harassment allegations resurface

( Image credit : Shaun Whites career has not been without controversy (Credit: X/@laytonjennings5) )

Nina Dobrev and Shaun White have officially ended their engagement, shocking fans who had been following their love story for years. The Vampire Diaries star and the Olympic snowboarder reportedly parted ways on good terms, with insiders revealing that it was a mutual decision made with deep love and respect.The news comes nearly a year after Whites romantic proposal, which Dobrev had described as one of the happiest moments of her life. Their breakup has left many puzzled, especially since they were recently seen together in Los Angeles, appearing closer than ever just weeks before the announcement.The breakup was first reported by People Magazine on September 11, 2025. According to reports, both Nina and Shaun agreed to end things after realising their paths were diverging. The decision was far from easy, but there is no bitterness between them. However, online chatter suggest that Shaun White's controversial past and cheating rumours played a psrt in the couple calling it off.Fans began speculating about trouble in their relationship after Nina attended the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7 without her engagement ring. She also removed her proposal announcement post from the top of her Instagram profile, which had been pinned for months. These subtle changes sparked rumours that something was amiss before the official news broke.Nina and Shaun first met in 2012 at an awards event, but only truly connected years later in 2019 when they were both speakers at a motivational event hosted by Tony Robbins in Florida. Their relationship blossomed quickly, and they moved in together at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. They often shared fun moments with fans, including Whites Instagram post in May 2020 showing Nina giving him a haircut during lockdown.In October 2024, White proposed with a stunning 5-carat diamond ring in New York City. The proposal was elaborate, as he tricked Nina into thinking she was attending a dinner hosted by Anna Wintour. Her reaction went viral when she humorously exclaimed, So, Annas not here? before saying yes.The pair appeared to be inseparable, with White supporting Nina through her recovery from a biking injury and Nina standing by him during his retirement from professional snowboarding in 2022.Despite their picture-perfect romance, fans began to notice subtle signs of strain. Ninas solo appearance at TIFF without her ring was the biggest hint. The couple was last seen together on August 31, running errands in Los Angeles, looking happy and relaxed, which made the split even more shocking.Insiders claim that as their careers evolved, balancing time together became challenging. Ninas growing acting commitments and Shauns focus on personal projects may have contributed to the decision to part ways.Shaun Whites career has not been without controversy. In 2016, musician Lena Zawaideh, who was part of his band Bad Things, accused him of sexual harassment and a controlling management style. The lawsuit alleged that White sent explicit messages and videos, made inappropriate comments, and even demanded she dress and style herself a certain way. The case was settled privately in 2017.These allegations resurfaced during the 2018 Winter Olympics, overshadowing his historic third gold medal win. After the break up, the allegations have resurfaced again on social media as fans debate if there's more to their break-up after 5 years. White later apologised for referring to the matter as gossip during a press conference. While unrelated to his breakup with Nina, these past issues have reemerged in conversations following the couples split.
( Image credit : Park Seo Joon (L) and Choi Siwon part of K-drama 'She Was Pretty'. Instagram|gloriousparkseojun )

Who was Charlie Kirk?

Choi Siwon's social media tribute

( Image credit : Super Junior's Choi Siwon's Instagram tribute for Charlie Kirk | Credit: Instagram|siwonchoi )

Global fan backlash

( Image credit : Choi Siwon's social media tribute. Credit: Instagram|siwonchoi )

csw reposting posts about the guy who was sh0t today telling him to rest in peace and calling him a good and faithful servant oh choi siwon youll never beat the weirdo right winger maga freak allegations  dom (@teukker) September 11, 2025

Choi Siwon calling a fascist who thought having empathy for others was a sin a good and faithful servant,



I dont ever want to hear shit from siwonests again trying to excuse or downplay his beliefs. hes a far right freak and hes completely lost the plot.  allie (@readytoobingo) September 11, 2025

Reputation at risk

Super Junior's Choi Siwon, widely known for his acting alongside Park Seo Joon in the hit drama She Was Pretty, has once again sparked controversy - this time over his reaction to the death of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Following Kirk's fatal shooting on September 10 at at Utah Valley University (UVU), Siwon shared online tributes that immediately divided fans. While intended as condolences, many felt his posts went beyond sympathy, sparking heated debate across social media.Charlie Kirk, 31, was the founder of Turning Point USA, a right-wing student organization promoting conservative and pro-Trump politics. Known for his outspoken stances on abortion, Israel, and US elections, Kirk was widely celebrated by supporters but heavily criticized by progressives for spreading divisive rhetoric and misinformation.In the wake of Kirk's death, Siwon posted two Instagram stories praising the late activist, describing him as a "good and faithful servant." The wording immediately drew attention, as many felt it signaled political alignment rather than neutral condolences.Fans quickly expressed outrage on X (formerly known as Twitter), highlighting Kirk's polarizing legacy and questioning Siwon's decision to publicly laud him.One user wrote: "csw reposting posts about the guy who was sh0t today telling him to rest in peace and calling him a good and faithful servant oh choi siwon youll never beat the weirdo right winger maga freak allegations"Another added: "Choi Siwon calling a fascist who thought having empathy for others was a sin 'a good and faithful servant,' I dont ever want to hear shit from siwonests again trying to excuse or downplay his beliefs. hes a far right freak and hes completely lost the plot."Critics warned that Siwon's comments could tarnish his image internationally, particularly within the global K-pop community, where inclusivity and diversity are highly valued. Fans debated whether an idol of his stature should weigh in on such politically charged figures, sparking a broader conversation about celebrity responsibility online.
( Image credit : Karisma Kapoor and Sunjay Kapur's old photo | Credit: X )

The reason behind Karisma Kapoor and Sunjay Kapurs divorce

What did Sunjay Kapur say about these claims?

( Image credit : Karisma Kapoor and Sunjay Kapur during an event | Credit: X )

The kids custody

#WATCH | Delhi High Court heard a plea by Karisma Kapoors children seeking a share in their late father Sunjay Kapurs Rs 30,000 crore estate.



Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for the children, says, "The suit will be registered now. They have to make certain pic.twitter.com/7n2IxN2IM0  ANI (@ANI) September 10, 2025

The ongoing property dispute involving Karisma Kapoors kids and Sunjay Kapurs third wife Priya Kapur

( Image credit : Karisma Kapoor and Sanjay Kapur pose for paps | Credit: X )

Sunjay Kapurs death reason

Karisma Kapoor and late Sunjay Kapurs marriage was once seen as a symbol of glamour and high-profile romance, admired by fans and media alike. Yet behind the public smiles and appearances, their relationship was far from perfect. Over time, tensions grew, ultimately leading to a shocking divorce that took everyone by surprise. Karisma Kapoor has since shared chilling details about her experiences, including abuse, betrayal, and emotional struggles. Her revelations reveal the harsh reality that even the most glamorous marriages can hide deep pain and turmoil.Karisma Kapoor and Sunjay Kapurs marriage, which began in 2003, ended in a highly publicized and bitterly contested divorce in 2016, attracting widespread media attention across India. The split was accompanied by serious allegations from both sides, painting a picture of a tumultuous and strained relationship.According to reports from Jagran, Karisma accused Sunjay of subjecting her to both mental and physical abuse throughout their marriage. She claimed that during their honeymoon, he attempted to auction her off to his friends and coerced her into spending nights with them. She further alleged that Sunjay even instructed his mother to physically punish her when she was unable to fit into a dress chosen by his mother during her pregnancy, highlighting the level of control and intimidation she faced.On the other hand, Sunjay Kapur countered these claims by accusing Karisma of marrying him primarily for his wealth and social status. He alleged that she was financially irresponsible and suggested that her decision to marry him was influenced by her past engagement with actor Abhishek Bachchan, framing her intentions as opportunistic.The divorce proceedings were further complicated by a significant custody battle over their two children, Samaira and Kiaan. The court eventually awarded Karisma custody of the children, while Sunjay received visitation rights.Beyond custody, the proceedings also involved disputes over financial settlements and alimony, reflecting the deep divisions between the former couple. The acrimonious divorce and the serious allegations from both sides left a lasting impact on their public images and continued to be a topic of interest for the media and fans alike.Karisma Kapoors children, Samaira and Kiaan, have approached the Delhi High Court, claiming that a will dated March 2025, which leaves the majority of Sunjay Kapurs assets to Priya Kapur, is forged. They argue that they were unaware of the full extent of their fathers assets at the time of his death. In response, the Delhi High Court has ordered Priya Kapur to disclose all of Sunjay Kapurs movable and immovable properties as part of the ongoing proceedings.Meanwhile, Sunjay Kapurs mother, Rani Kapur, and his sister, Mandhira Kapur Smith, have raised concerns about the estates management. Rani Kapur alleges that she was misled and pressured into signing documents during her mourning period, while Mandhira Kapur Smith has criticized the exclusion of Sunjays children from the inheritance.Priya Kapurs legal team, however, maintains that the children have already received Rs 1,900 crore from the RK Family Trust and questions the current dispute, pointing out Karisma Kapoors long absence from Sunjay Kapurs life.Sunjay Kapur tragically died on June 12, 2025, during a polo match at the Guards Polo Club in London. While initial reports suggested he may have suffered an anaphylactic reaction from a bee sting, eyewitnesses later indicated that he had a heart attack. The Surrey Coroner's office confirmed that his death was due to natural causes, specifically left ventricular hypertrophy and ischemic heart disease, conditions linked to heart problems that can trigger sudden cardiac events.
The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity Episode 11 release date and time

Japan Standard Time (JST): Sunday, September 14, 12:30 AM

Pacific Standard Time (PST): Saturday, September 13, 8:30 AM

Central Standard Time (CST): Saturday, September 13, 10:30 AM

Eastern Daylight Time (EDT): Saturday, September 13, 11:30 AM

Central European Time (CET): Saturday, September 13, 5:30 PM

Indian Standard Time (IST): Saturday, September 13, 9:00 PM

The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity Episode 10 recap

( Image credit : Episode 10 focused on friendship, growth, and unexpected revelations (Credit: Netflix) )

The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity Episode 11 spoilers

( Image credit : Episode 11 is likely to focus on Kaorukos birthday (Credit: Netflix) )

Where to watch The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity Episode 11 online?

Japan: The episode will be available shortly after airing on Tokyo MX.

Selected Asian regions: It will release with a one-week delay on September 21, 2025.

US and other regions: The series is currently being released from the start, with Episode 2 becoming available on September 14, 2025.

FAQs

Q1. When will The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity Episode 11 release in Japan?

Q2. When will Episode 11 release internationally?

Q3. Where can I watch The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity online?

Q4. What can we expect in Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity Episode 11?

The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity has quickly become a favourite among anime fans this season, thanks to its heartwarming story and relatable characters. Episode 10 left viewers with plenty of emotions as Rintaro came to terms with his friends knowing about his crush on Kaoruko. Now, with Kaorukos birthday on the horizon, Episode 11 promises to bring both sweet and dramatic moments.While Netflix is streaming the series globally, release schedules vary depending on your region. Heres everything you need to know about Episode 11s release date, timing, and what might happen next in the story.Episode 11 of The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity will premiere in Japan on Sunday, September 14, 2025, at 12:30 AM JST on Tokyo MX. Shortly after its broadcast, it will be available to stream on Netflix Japan.For international viewers, Netflix will stream the episode with a one-week delay. This means that Episode 11 will arrive in selected Asian regions on September 21, 2025. In the US and other regions, the show is still releasing from Episode 1, following a staggered schedule.Heres a quick look at the release timings in different regions:Episode 10 focused on friendship, growth, and unexpected revelations. It began with a fun group study session where Rintaro, Kaoruko, Subaru, Saku, Usami, and Yorita gathered to help each other prepare for exams. The episode had several sweet and funny moments, like Saku helping Subaru solve a tricky problem, hinting at a possible new bond.Later, when the results were announced, all four of the main guys managed to pass their exams. They decided to celebrate by going bowling, but the day took an emotional turn for Rintaro. During their outing, he realised his friends already knew about his crush on Kaoruko.At first, this left him embarrassed and unsure of how to face them, but Yoritas kind words gave him confidence to move forward. The episode ended on a cliffhanger when Rintaro received a surprising message from Subaru, hinting at something important related to Kaoruko.Episode 11 is likely to focus on Kaorukos birthday, which Subaru revealed in her message to Rintaro. This could mean heartfelt celebrations and possibly a big surprise planned by their group of friends. Usami mentioned hes skilled at organising surprises, so viewers might get to see an adorable and touching moment for Kaoruko.The episode might also explore Rintaros feelings further, especially now that his friends know about his crush. This could lead to deeper bonds within the group and perhaps even a turning point in his relationship with Kaoruko.The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity streams exclusively on Netflix.Make sure to check your local Netflix library for availability.
A TikTok video resurfaces, warning Kirk of what was coming

WOW.



Charles James Kirk. Mr. College Drop out does not know whats coming tomorrow. Be ready. This isnt a threat. Its a promisepic.twitter.com/j4gDIuqlLn  Liz Churchill (@liz_churchill10) September 11, 2025

What happened at Utah Valley University on September 10?

Viral TikTok video raises questions of a planned killing

( Image credit : VIral claims raise questions if Kirk's killing was meticulously planned| Credit: X/@@JesusSavesUs777 )

Viral tweet by Omar Najra Galvz adds to speculation

Omar Najra Galvz had this PFP before and also has they/them in their bio, which makes us think that they might be a transgender person. They also said that something big was going to happen today, and then Charlie Kirk got shot. Omar has been tweeting about their hatred toward pic.twitter.com/rQIpZ8hkPr  jojo (@jojotrenchgod) September 10, 2025

Outrage grows as right and left clash online

btw, according to Charlie Kirk's logic, his death is his own fault, not the shooter's. pic.twitter.com/RraXXtK6v9  Hassan Mafi  (@thatdayin1992) September 10, 2025

Charlie Kirk was a Christian who had accepted Jesus as his Savior.



We know the Lord will be greeting him, saying, "Well done good and faithful servant."



Accept Jesus today just like Charlie did.  pic.twitter.com/l6K3JjaGuX  Christian Tweets (@JesusSavesUs777) September 10, 2025

Time to make Amanda Dodson famous on . She is a teacher in Pennsylvania teaching CHILDREN:



She shared a message showing no sympathy for Charlie Kirk



Thank you @libsoftiktok for finding her



You know what to do  pic.twitter.com/S8gGbhUyBB  MAGA Voice (@MAGAVoice) September 11, 2025

FBI confirms details, but the shooter remains unidentified

BBC

X is currently flooded with conspiracy theories after the shocking death of Charlie Kirk. The 31-year-old right-wing influencer and founder of Turning Point USA was shot dead during an event at Utah Valley University on September 10. While the FBI confirmed that the weapon used has been recovered, officials also stated that the shooter is still at large. Many online believe Kirks death was not random but a carefully planned assassination, and a TikTok, posted hours before his death, warning of his assassination, has now gone viral.A TikTok video has resurfaced that appears to warn Kirk about his death just hours before it happened. The clip, posted by user @definitelynotjacks0n just hours before Kirk's shooting, directly addressed him with the chilling words, Charles James Kirk. Mr College Dropout does not know whats coming tomorrow. Be ready. This isnt a threat. Its a promise The timing of the video has left many questioning whether Kirk was being targeted in advance.The shooting took place around 7:30 p.m. at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, where Kirk was scheduled to give a speech as part of his nationwide campus tour. The event drew a large turnout of students, local residents, and conservative supporters who packed into the universitys main auditorium. According to eyewitnesses, Kirk had just begun his prepared remarks when a single gunshot suddenly rang out.The bullet struck Kirk in the neck, and chaos immediately broke out in the auditorium. Some students screamed and ducked for cover, while others rushed toward the exits. Campus security quickly moved in to secure the area, but the suspect managed to flee before being apprehended. Several attendees initially believed the sound was a technical glitch or part of the programme before realising it was an attack.Paramedics arrived within minutes and attempted to stabilise Kirk before rushing him to a nearby hospital. Despite their efforts, he was pronounced dead shortly afterward.The TikTok clip by @definitelynotjacks0n has since gone viral across multiple platforms, with users sharing it as proof that Kirks killing may have been premeditated. Some commenters suggested the account may have had inside information, while others claim the post could have been a cryptic warning tied to larger political tensions. The fact that the video surfaced so close to the shooting has intensified speculation online.Another layer of controversy has emerged from the social media account of Omar Najra Galvz, a user reportedly linked to a 17-year-old nonbinary individual from Mexico. Posts from the account shortly before Kirks speech read, Something big will happen tomorrow, and Charlie Kirk is coming to my college tomorrow, and I really hope someone evaporates him completely. After the shooting, further messages appeared, including Charlie Kirk got shot, bro. I promise I didnt have anything to do with it, and But I called it, and its so f------ deserved.These messages have gone viral, with many citing them as proof of foreknowledge or even involvement. However, law enforcement has not confirmed any connection between the account and the actual shooter. The Utah Department of Public Safety stated it is working with the FBI, local police, and multiple agencies, but no evidence currently ties Omar Najera Galvez to the crime. Officials have also rejected rumours suggesting Kirks death was a suicide, clarifying that he was killed by a gunshot fired from a distance with a bolt-action rifle that has since been recovered.Reactions to Kirks death have sharply divided social media. Many right-wing users and Republican figures have expressed grief and anger, calling him a victim of political violence. On the other hand, several left-leaning accounts have openly celebrated his killing, further fuelling outrage and hostility. The widening split highlights how Kirks controversial legacy continues to polarise Americans even after his death.According to the, the FBI and Utah law enforcement confirmed that the suspect appears to be of college age and may have blended in with students at the event. Investigators also revealed that the weapon, a high-powered bolt-action rifle, was recovered near campus grounds. Despite collecting video evidence, palm prints, and footwear impressions, the killer has not yet been identified and remains at large, leaving the investigation wide open.
Charlie Kirk's fatal shooting: What exactly happened?

MOMENT OF SHOOTING OF CHARLIE KIRK  pic.twitter.com/AVXqEF7fTB  Kristi Johnson (@YaYaMagaQueen) September 10, 2025

Who was George Floyd and how did he die?

( Image credit : George Floyd was killed in 2020 | Credit: X/@OneStopStation )

Charlie Kirk vs George Floyd: Why the comparisons?

Kirk's past remarks About Floyd

It's pretty awesome how dancing makes robots less intimidating. Looking forward to seeing more nontrivial Machine Learning on these robots. Credit: Boston Dynamics. pic.twitter.com/wnB2i9qhdQ  Reza Zadeh  (@Reza_Zadeh) December 29, 2020

Right-Wing vs. Left-Wing reactions

It's pretty awesome how dancing makes robots less intimidating. Looking forward to seeing more nontrivial Machine Learning on these robots. Credit: Boston Dynamics. pic.twitter.com/wnB2i9qhdQ  Reza Zadeh  (@Reza_Zadeh) December 29, 2020

The shooter remains at large

( Image credit : Charlie Kirk shot dead at 31 | Credit: X/@Libs_of_TikTok )

The shocking death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has sparked intense debates online, with many drawing comparisons to the killing of George Floyd in 2020. Floyds death, widely regarded as racially motivated, led to nationwide protests and a global movement against systemic racism. Now, years later, Kirks alleged killing, viewed by some as politically motivated, has prompted a new conversation about hate crimes and how public reactions differ depending on the victims identity. Social media is abuzz as users analyse both tragedies and their wider societal impact.Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot on September 10, 2025, during a public event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Kirk, a Donald Trump ally, was addressing a large crowd as part of his "American Comeback Tour" when a sniper fired a high-powered bolt-action rifle from a nearby rooftop, striking him in the neck.He was rushed to the hospital but succumbed to his injuries shortly thereafter. The FBI has recovered the weapon used in the shooting and is actively investigating the incident as a targeted political assassination.George Floyd was a 46-year-old Black man whose death on May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, ignited global protests against police brutality and racial injustice. Floyd was accused of using a counterfeit $20 bill, leading to his arrest by four police officers.During the arrest, Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd's neck for over nine minutes, despite Floyd's repeated pleas that he could not breathe. Floyd became unresponsive and was later pronounced dead. The incident was captured on video and led to widespread outrage and calls for systemic change. Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.The comparisons between Kirk's and Floyd's deaths stem from the belief that both were targeted due to their political or social identities. Kirk, known for his conservative views and activism, was killed during a public event, leading some to label his death as an alleged hate crime against right-wing ideologies. Similarly, Floyd's death was seen as a racially motivated act of violence, sparking a global movement against systemic racism. These parallels have fuelled discussions about the nature of hate crimes and the need for societal change.In the aftermath of Floyd's death, Charlie Kirk made several controversial remarks that have resurfaced following his own death. Kirk referred to Floyd as a "scumbag" during a 2021 event, a comment that was widely criticised. He also suggested that Floyd died from a drug overdose and promoted disputed claims about the medical examiner's findings. These statements have been revisited by some left-wing commentators, leading to further polarisation in the ongoing debate.The reactions to both deaths have highlighted the deep divisions in American politics. Right-wing commentators have praised the peaceful nature of the mourning following Kirk's death, contrasting it with the riots and widespread unrest that followed Floyd's death. They argue that their response exemplifies a more civil approach to tragedy. In contrast, left-wing commentators have criticised Kirk's past remarks about Floyd, questioning the sincerity of his supporters' calls for unity. This back-and-forth has intensified the national discourse on political violence and the treatment of public figures.As of now, the individual responsible for Charlie Kirk's death remains unidentified. Authorities have recovered the weapon used in the shooting and are working diligently to apprehend the suspect.The FBI is leading the investigation, and law enforcement agencies are urging anyone with information to come forward. The case continues to develop, and updates will be provided as new information becomes available.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli

Kulman Ghising

Sushila Karki

Streets in turmoil as protests escalate

Kathmandu

Why Kulman Ghisings name stands out

( Image credit : Kulman Ghising | Credit: X )

Kulman Ghising

Nepal Electricity Authority

Education:

Technology

Jamshedpur

Tribhuvan University

Nepal

Career:

Public Image:

Nepal interim PM

Who is Sushila Karki?

( Image credit : Sushila Karki | Credit: Newsonair )

Sushila Karki

Nepals first female Chief Justice

Background:

Judicial Career:

Controversies:

Publications:

Division Among Protesters

Who Will Lead Nepal as Interim PM?

Nepal is once again at a political crossroads. Withstepping down after days of fierce anti-corruption protests, the country is looking for a new leader. Among the main contenders for the Nepal interim PM role are two respected figures:andThe protests, largely led by young Nepalis, have thrown up some unexpected names, making the battle for the interim leadership both fascinating and unpredictable.Since Monday, at least 31 people have died and over 1,300 have been injured in violent clashes. Demonstrators stormed Parliament and even entered the historic Singha Durbar, Nepals central government building. With curfews imposed, the army continues to patrol, trying to hold the peace as political uncertainty deepens., the former chief of the, is widely remembered as the man who solved the countrys crippling power crisis. Before his leadership, Nepalis endured up to 18 hours of power cuts every day. His reforms transformed the sector, giving him a reputation as a problem-solver.Ghising studied electrical engineering at the Regional Institute ofin, India. He later completed his masters degree in power systems engineering atinHe joined the NEA in 1994 and became managing director in 2016, where he finally ended the long-running load-shedding crisis. After being replaced in 2020, he returned in 2021, only to be removed again by the Oli government in March 2025.His dismissal was criticised by opposition parties and civil society, who accused the government of removing him for political reasons. To many Nepalis, Ghising remains a symbol of efficiency and dedication.With this track record, its no surprise that protesters have pushed his name forward as a possibleThe second major contender is. Known for her tough stance against corruption, she represents a strong voice for accountability at a time when young protesters are demanding cleaner politics.Born in 1952 in Biratnagar, Karki studied law and political science, earning her degrees from Mahendra Morang Campus, Banaras Hindu University, and Tribhuvan University. She began her legal career in 1979 and became a senior advocate in 2007.She was appointed as a Supreme Court judge in 2010 and went on to serve as Chief Justice between 2016 and 2017, becoming the first woman to hold the position in Nepals history.In 2017, she faced an impeachment motion over allegedly biased rulings, but the move collapsed due to public pressure. Despite controversies, she gained respect for landmark judgments tackling corruption and abuse of power.Karki has authored two books  Kara, based on her experiences of womens struggles in prison, and Nyaya, her autobiography.In recent days, Karki has openly said she is willing to lead an interim government if supported by the youth and protesters. Even Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah, another popular figure, publicly backed her nomination.The youth-led protest movement initially leaned towards Balen Shah, the popular rapper-turned-mayor of Kathmandu. But Shah declined to take the top post, instead throwing his support behind Sushila Karki.However, some protesters objected to her nomination, arguing that the Constitution prevents former judges from becoming Prime Minister, while others raised concerns over her age. This split opened the door wider for Kulman Ghising, who is now seen as a consensus candidate.At this point, both Kulman Ghising and Sushila Karki remain at the centre of debate. Each represents a different vision: Ghising as a technocrat with a track record of delivering results, and Karki as a legal reformer who fought against corruption.Whichever contender takes charge, the role of Nepal interim PM will be crucial in calming unrest, restoring trust in institutions, and guiding the nation toward fair elections.Nepals political crisis has brought unexpected leaders into the spotlight. Kulman Ghising and Sushila Karki have emerged as the strongest contenders for the position of Nepal interim PM, with their names now echoing across Kathmandus streets and on social media platforms.For a nation hungry for clean governance and stability, the next few days will determine whether a reformist judge or an engineer-turned-administrator takes charge of Nepals fragile democracy.
( Image credit : Charlie Kirk shot during Utah Valley university event | Credit: X/@KylieJaneKremer )

Who is Omar Najra Galvz?

HT

( Image credit : Omar Najra Galvz | Credit: X | @NotOpCue )

Social media is flooded with multiple theories around NajraGalvz

Another LGBTQ+ Tranz-Shooter is the alleged lead suspect behind the Charlie Kirk assassination attempt. https://t.co/RG81DbAyxk



From his @X account (@NajraGalvz) they made cryptic comments about Kirk attending their college tomorrow hoping someone would evaporate him, followed pic.twitter.com/JRTTV3egxD  Not Op Cue (@NotOpCue) September 10, 2025

Omar @NajraGalvz is the alleged 17 year old trans shooter who posted something BIG was going to happen and then the assassination on Charlie Kirk.



Omar has already dumped this X handle.



How did Omar know?



Seems like an MK Ultra programmed rooftop shooter with a million in a pic.twitter.com/4GVvzpyRmm  tattoo (@mobileguruUSB) September 11, 2025

Omar Najra Galvz had this PFP before and also has they/them in their bio, which makes us think that they might be a transgender person. They also said that something big was going to happen today, and then Charlie Kirk got shot. Omar has been tweeting about their hatred toward pic.twitter.com/rQIpZ8hkPr  jojo (@jojotrenchgod) September 10, 2025

( Image credit : Online users link Najra Galvz to having an Islamist connection | Credit: X | @NotOpCue )

Following the tragic death of conservative activist and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, the whole attention of netizens has turned to a social media account that is reportedly linked to a trans individual identified as Omar Najra Galvz. His name has been buzzing on social media after several posts from his account, which surfaced online, that appear to contain cryptic messages like Something big will happen, leading to widespread speculation about a possible connection to the shooting. But who is Omar Najra Galvz? Lets find out.While there is no official link that has been confirmed by the authorities, the posts have fuelled multiple conspiracy theories and have intensified scrutiny around Omar Najra Galvzs online activity.As per, Omar Najra Galvz is the online username of an individual allegedly linked to the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk. While some X (formerly called Twitter) accounts claim that he is another LGBTQ+ trans shooter, he is allegedly the lead suspect behind Charlie Kirks death.According to his viral account bio, Najra Galvz is a 17-year-old nonbinary individual from Mexico. The account has come under intense scrutiny after posting a series of tweets the day before the Utah Valley University. However, the investigation is still underway.The attention of Charlie Kirks murder has now shifted to NajraGalvz and netizens have their own theories. One X user shared a post saying, Another LGBTQ+ trans shooter is the alleged lead suspect behind the Charlie Kirk assassination attempt.From his @X account (@NajraGalvz) they made cryptic comments about Kirk attending their college tomorrow hoping someone would evaporate him, followed by suggesting "something big will happen tomorrow" a.k.a. today. He then changed his account handle to @reunicluh and made it private. These ANTIFA / LGBTQ+ groups should be declared as terrorist organizations. Enough is enough as @PapiTrumpo said today, it added.Another posted, Omar @NajraGalvz is the alleged 17 year old trans shooter who posted something BIG was going to happen and then the assassination on Charlie Kirk. Omar has already dumped this X handle. How did Omar know? Seems like an MK Ultra programmed rooftop shooter with a million in a brokerage account is exposed,According to one, Omar Najra Galvz had this PFP before and also has they/them in their bio, which makes us think that they might be a transgender person. They also said that something big was going to happen today, and then Charlie Kirk got shot. Omar has been tweeting about their hatred toward Charlie Kirk for a very long time, which makes us think that they might be the killer.While many also defended him, saying that he is not the person behind the killing.Apart from questioning who NajraGalvz is, people are also claiming him to have Islamist connections. One user wrote, I'm more worried about the Islamification of the USA. LBG = not a problem, peaceful.Another said, Both Islamification and LGBTQtardism, including LGB, are both fruits of the same liberal leftist woke ideology.While one said, Terrorists should be categorised as terrorists, despite the group the affiliate with. This is stupid.
"How long until Mandelson ends up in a high-paid consultancy somewhere? While another washed-up former Westminster insider ends up in Washington?"@ZackPolanski reacts to the resignation of Peter Mandelson, appointed by Keir Starmer as ambassador to the US. pic.twitter.com/47SAsBwkrT  The Green Party (@TheGreenParty) September 11, 2025

Emails reveal ongoing Epstein relationship

It was great to catch up with my old friend and the UKs (relatively!) new Ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson @UKinUSA. pic.twitter.com/gjtejXIDyB  Anas Sarwar (@AnasSarwar) April 4, 2025

Government response and dismissal

Peter Mandelson sacked as US ambassador pic.twitter.com/t0sGU3mL8N  Kate Ferguson (@kateferguson4) September 11, 2025

Political fallout and questions for Starmer

Peter Mandelson was removed from his post as the United Kingdoms ambassador to the United States on Thursday following revelations about his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The dismissal comes amid growing political pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose government now faces questions about Mandelsons appointment.The controversy escalated after US lawmakers released a birthday book on Monday, showing a handwritten note from Mandelson calling Epstein my best pal. Following this, Bloomberg published a series of emails that exposed Mandelsons continued support for Epstein, including offers to advise him on his infamous 2008 Florida case. In one email, Mandelson wrote, I think the world of you and I feel hopeless and furious about what has happened, and suggested Epstein use strategies from Sun TzusDespite initially defending Mandelson on Wednesday, with Starmer telling Parliament that the ambassador had his full confidence, the release of additional emails prompted a swift reversal. Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty announced in Parliament that the new material showed the ambassadors relationship with Epstein was materially different from that known at the time of his appointment. The decision to dismiss Mandelson was made jointly by the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper after reviewing the new information.Mandelsons dismissal has intensified scrutiny on Starmer, with opposition leaders demanding answers. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey called on the Prime Minister to explain why Mandelson was appointed despite his known past connections with Epstein. Davey also urged the government to select an ambassador capable of standing firm against figures like US President Donald Trump rather than maintaining cozy relationships.The controversy has prompted questions about what Starmer knew at the time of Mandelsons appointment and whether the vetting process was sufficient. Government officials maintain that standard vetting procedures were followed and that Mandelson did not have access to the newly revealed emails, which came from a previously closed account. However, pressure is expected to mount for the release of related vetting documents to clarify the decision.Peter Mandelsons firing underscores the ongoing political challenges facing Starmers administration, raising concerns about appointments, judgment, and the management of public scandals linked to high-profile figures like Jeffrey Epstein.
Defense minister: Containment efforts unworkable

08:36, September 11, 2025 By Jiang Chenglong ( Chinadaily.com.cn

China's Minister of National Defense Dong Jun told his United States counterpart that "no conflict and no confrontation" is not only a shared consensus but also a "bottom line" for both countries and their militaries.

Dong made the remarks on Tuesday in a video talk with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, held at the latter's request, according to a release on Wednesday evening from the Ministry of National Defense.

The two sides conducted what the ministry described as a "candid, pragmatic and constructive" exchange.

Dong said the two heads of state attach great importance to the military-to-military relationship, adding that both sides should follow the consensus reached by the presidents to advance military exchanges. He stressed the need to adjust perceptions from a strategic perspective, accurately define the positioning of the two militaries' relations, and build a relationship characterized by equality and respect, peaceful coexistence, and stable, positive development.

In addition, Dong said the principle of no conflict and no confrontation is not only common ground but also a bottom line for both sides. He urged maintaining openness, enhancing communication, and adding "positive elements and substantive content" to the relationship to provide more certainty for the development of China-US ties.

Dong also said both sides should respect each other's core interests. He stressed that the complete reunification of China is an unstoppable historical trend and that any attempt to use force to support "Taiwan independence" or to use Taiwan to contain China "will be thwarted".

He said that China is committed to working with regional countries to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea, while resolutely opposing infringements and provocations by "certain countries" and deliberate disruptions by "external powers".

China remains focused on its own development while firmly defending its legitimate rights and interests, Dong said, underlining that efforts to contain, deter or interfere with the country are "absolutely unworkable".

The two defense chiefs also exchanged views on other issues of common concern, the ministry said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
ABC7

Ben Shapiro shares a heartfelt post for Charlie Kirk

( Image credit : Charlie Kirk | Credit: Reuters )

Like all of you, I am utterly stunned and heartbroken and sick to my soul today. It is unimaginable to write these words. I met Charlie Kirk when he was 18 years old, a young man so eager and determined that I immediately turned to a friend and said, That kid is going to be the  Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) September 10, 2025

Netizens warn him that he will be the next target after Charlie Kirk

( Image credit : Netizens warn him that he will be the next target after Charlie Kirk | Credit: X | @benshapiro )

Who is Ben Shapiro?

IMDb

( Image credit : Ben Shapiro | Credit: X | @realtalkstruth )

Ben Shapiro cancelled all his public events amid warning

After the brutal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University, all eyes are now on Benjamin Aaron Shapiro, a.k.a. Ben Shapiro, an American conservative political commentator, as per the social media buzz. According to, Ben has cancelled all his previously scheduled events in Simi Valley in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk amid concerning threats. But who is Ben Shapiro, whom netizens are predicting to be the next target for shooters? Lets find out.Ben Shapiro has posted an emotional tribute to Charlie Kirk following his tragic death. The 31-year-old conservative commentator was shot and killed on Wednesday, September 10, while speaking at a campus event in Utah. The incident occurred around 12.20 pm during a student Q&A session at Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem.Sharing a lengthy post for Charlie, Shapiro read, Like all of you, I am utterly stunned and heartbroken and sick to my soul today. It is unimaginable to write these words. I met Charlie Kirk when he was 18 years old, a young man so eager and determined that I immediately turned to a friend and said, That kid is going to be the head of the RNC one day.Charlie became even bigger and more important than that. It was a privilege to watch this principled man stand up for his beliefs and create the single most important conservative political organisation in America. But more importantly, Charlie was a good man, a man who believed in right and wrong, who stood by his Biblical values.All of us will miss him, and I cant imagine the pain of his beautiful young family, and we must all pray for them. And we must pick up the baton where Charlie left it, fighting for the things he believed in so passionately. And we must fight for a better America  an America where good people can speak truth and debate passionately without fear of a bullet. I weep for Charlies family, and I weep for my country today. Most of all, I weep for Charlie, he added.As soon as the post surfaced on social media, it quickly went viral, and netizens reacted to the same; one shared a screenshot of an X post and wrote, Be careful  this profile threatened you.While another said, Please upgrade your security, Ben. The world needs you. I hope you are gonna upgrade your security, another added.Ben they are targeting you next. Ben Shapiro next, one said. The concept of Ben Shapiro possibly being next. Yes, please.According to, Ben Shapiro is a Jewish-American conservative commentator, author and media personality from Burbank, California. He is best known as the host of The Ben Shapiro Show, a widely followed right-wing podcast. Along with this, he is also the co-founder of The Daily Wire, a media platform and streaming service geared toward conservative audiences.While Bens official X handles bio mentions that he is an ex-rapper too, it reads, #1 New York Times bestselling author" and "co-founder of The Daily Wire", and humorously refers to himself as "Americas #1 ex-rapper." Interestingly, he is also the cousin of actress and writer Mara Wilson.Following the tragic shooting of Charlie Kirk, an event featuring Ben Shapiro at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley has been cancelled.The event, scheduled for the evening of Wednesday, was called off out of respect for Kirks death and due to heightened security concerns. Shapiro, a close ally of Kirk and fellow conservative commentator, was expected to speak at the gathering but chose to withdraw from the appearance amid the shocking news and ongoing investigations surrounding the shooting.
When Vanguard Group in 2020 stepped up efforts to supplement its famously low money-management fees by expanding its Personal Advisor Service, the company said on its website that Vanguard advisers were paid a salary, not commissions tied to sales, so they have no financial incentives to recommend certain products, and theyll always put your interests first. The claims were echoed in two of Securities and Exchange Commission filings based on the service.

Vanguard has since raised more than $300 billion for the advisory business, collecting up to 0.3% of each customers assets as a yearly fee.

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The no financial incentives claim wasnt true, according to the SEC. Vanguard advisers were paid more in merit-based compensation and through promotions if they sold more. The SEC prepared a lawsuit accusing the fast-growing Malvern-based investment giant of failing to properly disclose its advisers special incentives to push the service.

On Aug. 29, Vanguard Advisers Inc. agreed to settle the claim, paying $19.5 million into a fund for advisory clients between August 2020 and December 2023. The company had been failing to adequately disclose conflicts of interest when recommending to prospective clients and existing clients that they enroll in Vanguard Advisers managed account program, known as Personal Advisor Services, according to the SEC.

We are pleased to have reached an agreement to put this matter behind us, Netanel Spero, a Vanguard spokesperson, said in a statement, not commenting on other questions.

It was the latest litigation step left over from the tenure of Mortimer Tim Buckley as Vanguards fourth chief executive, from 2018 to 2024.

In January, after five years of negotiations and legal filings, Vanguard agreed to pay $106 million to the SEC and state securities regulators for its failure to warn hundreds of thousands of investors that changes in fund rules could trigger unexpected capital-gains taxes. A $25 million settlement of private lawsuits by investors hit by those taxes is pending final approval in federal court in Philadelphia, following a scheduled January hearing.

In July, Vanguard was sued by the founders of Just Invest, an Oakland, Calif., direct indexing firm that Vanguard bought in 2021 in a rare acquisition. Their suit accused Vanguard of buying a lucrative business only to let it languish, reducing both potential competition, and the founders payout.

In the disclosure case, Vanguard in 2020 reported it had paid advisers discretionary bonuses  words it replaced in 2021 with variable compensation  in a brochure advertising the service, pointing out that this created a financial incentive to recommend Vanguard Personal Advisor Service over other Vanguard products.

But, as with Vanguards website, the companys detailed supplement to the brochure and Vanguards SEC customer service summary filing describing the service in plain language, claimed there were no such bonuses, contradictory to the brochure, the SEC added.

What Vanguard did when it said it wasnt paying bonuses

Starting in August 2020, as the Buckley regime increased emphasis on fee-based businesses, Vanguard ran performance reviews that incentivized its financial advisers ... to enroll and retain clients, according to the SEC.

The advisers contacted Vanguard investors to review their accounts and draw up investment plans. The investors who were persuaded to set up advisory accounts for ongoing financial guidance were charged up to 0.3% a year of their account assets, payable in quarterly installments.

The minimum for most clients to qualify for advisers was $50,000 invested in eligible Vanguard accounts. Advisers who persuaded clients to buy the service could achieve merit promotions and higher pay if they made a lot of sales.

If they landed clients with at least $500,000, the advisers could qualify for performance bonuses, depending on how many they persuaded and what proportion of total clients they were able to sell, and how many they retain over time. Clients with at least $5 million were handed up to another group.

There were other bonus considerations, such as cooperation with other Vanguard employees, but sales were the anchor, according to the SEC. Average bonuses and increases boosted advisers incomes by 10% to 15%, sometimes more.

Vanguard corrected its website and filings to detail advisers incentives in 2023, the SEC said.

The fines wont hit Vanguard hard. As a private, for-profit company, Vanguard doesnt report revenues, but Morningstar fund analysts estimate Vanguards fund fee revenue totaled $8.7 billion last year, based on the companys average fees multiplied by its $10 trillion-plus in customer assets. (Thats less than half the total revenues reported by publicly traded rival BlackRock, which also manages high-fee real estate and private-equity funds.)

In plain English: Vanguard failed to tell clients that its advisers had a financial incentive to steer  and keep  them" with Vanguards advisory service, wrote Jeff De Maso, editor of the Independent Vanguard Adviser newsletter. More than a little ironic for a firm that built its brand railing against hidden fees and conflicts of interest.

He prescribed a dose of transparency to burnish Vanguards reputation.
A Liberian immigrant who spent years living in the Philadelphia region was sentenced Thursday to just under five years in prison after a federal judge ruled that he had lied on immigration documents to conceal his murderous past as a high-ranking rebel general who oversaw executions, beatings, and other atrocities during one of his countrys civil wars.

Laye Sekou Camara, 47, of Atlantic County, had pleaded guilty earlier this year to relatively routine immigration fraud charges, admitting that he had provided incorrect information on paperwork as he sought to enter the United States more than a decade ago.

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But prosecutors said Camara made those misstatements to conceal his brutal role in Liberias second civil war, a conflict that roiled the West African nation in the early 2000s and left tens of thousands of people dead.

While serving as a high-ranking member of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, or LURD, prosecutors said, Camara  who went by K-1 or Dragon Master  shot people, killed civilians, and used violence to instill fear as his rebel group sought to control the Freeport of Monrovia, a key port in Liberias capital city.

To support those assertions, prosecutors earlier this year called nine witnesses to testify in Philadelphias federal courthouse. All said they had seen Camara commit or order violence: One said he had a scar over his eye from being lashed by Camara; another said he had watched as Camara ordered a group of people lined up beside a creek to be shot.

Camara, for his part, denied participating in such violence. And he and his lawyers said he, too, had been victimized by Liberias long-standing instability.

At age 12, he said, he was forced to watch as his father was beheaded by rival tribe members. And he was then recruited to serve as a child soldier in a conflict that predated the 2003 war.

Several relatives and friends testified Thursday about how difficult it was to survive in the chaos and violence that plagued Liberia at the time. And they said Camara was deeply affected by the execution of his father.

Camara also told U.S. District Judge Chad F. Kenney there was no independent evidence that he had participated in the atrocities he was accused of, and said the people who took the stand against him were paid agents recruited by human rights organizations to blackmail him.

I never committed any crime in Liberia  never, he said. I only helped people.

Kenney said that he found Camaras accusers credible, and that he believed Camara had participated in horrible acts of violence.

Still, the judge said his job was to sentence Camara for lying on immigration forms  not to assess his conduct in Liberia.

This court is not an international tribunal, Kenney said. This is not a Liberian court.

Kenney sentenced Camara to 57 months behind bars, and he is almost certain to be deported afterward.

Camara did not visibly react to the decision. He was taken into custody from inside the courthouse.

Camaras case is another example of how Philadelphia has become an unlikely venue for accountability in Liberias war-torn past.

Over the last several years, federal prosecutors here have used immigration cases to pursue other alleged Liberian war criminals who had resettled in the area.

The first to be convicted  Mohammed Jungle Jabbah Jabateh of East Lansdowne  was sentenced in 2018 to three decades in prison. He had been accused of lying on immigration documents to conceal acts of murder, rape, and enslavement.

Jucontee Thomas Woewiyu of Collingdale  a former top official for Liberian warlord Charles Taylor  was convicted later that year of similar immigration crimes. He died in 2020 before he could be sentenced.

Earlier this year, Isiah Kangar, a former bodyguard for Taylor, was sentenced to a year in prison for using his younger brothers name to gain entry to the United States and then apply for citizenship. Kangar was not accused by federal prosecutors of any wartime misconduct.

And another man, Moses Slanger Wright, is awaiting trial for accusations that he lied on immigration paperwork to conceal his participation in atrocities during Liberias first civil war.

Until the first of those prosecutions, there had been little criminal accountability for alleged brutality in Liberia in the 1990s and 2000s. (Taylor was convicted of war crimes in an international criminal court in 2011, but the charges stemmed from his conduct during a civil war in neighboring Sierra Leone.)

Camara insisted in court Thursday that he was a good person who had not contributed to the chaos that had once devastated his home country.

Kenney, however, said he believed witnesses who described Camaras actions as violent, cruel, and horrible.
The Philadelphia school board authorized borrowing up to $1.5 billion to pay the district's bills through December. The borrowing is necessary because of Harrisburg lawmakers' continuing budget stalemate. Read more

Philadelphias school board on Thursday night approved a measure to borrow up to $1.5 billion to enable the district to pay its bills through December.

The move carries a steep price  $30 million in borrowing costs  and comes amid a continuing budget stalemate in Harrisburg.

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So far, the district is short about $400 million in state payments that should have been made in July and August, money that was promised to cover essentials, including basic and special education services and student transportation.

Statewide, school districts have missed more than $2 billion in expected payments from Harrisburg.

The school systems borrowing costs will never be reimbursed, and will never reach the classroom, board member Whitney Jones told the public Thursday. The budget delay is costing our schools money that we do not have, and its further limiting what we can provide to students.

The board approved the temporary borrowing, but members expressed frustration, anger, and worry about the extraordinary step they said they were forced to take.

Board member Joan Stern, a public finance lawyer with decades of experience who has drafted debt and finance legislation enacted in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, said the boards action was unprecedented.

What the states doing is unconscionable, Stern said.

Joyce Wilkerson, another school board member, called the need to borrow a disgrace.

Why does the district have to borrow?

The district is not new to temporary borrowing  it has had to issue so-called tax and revenue anticipation notes in 38 of the last 40 years.

Thats because of its setup  Philadelphia is the only school system in the state that cannot raise its own revenue, so it relies on the city and state and their timelines to take in money.

Teachers have to be paid regularly, and charter school payments also must be made on time, but the citys real estate tax, for instance  a major source of district revenue  is due March 31 and the districts portion of that comes soon afterward.

For a time, the district typically completed its temporary borrowing in July. In recent years, as the districts financial fortunes improved slightly, it has been able to delay that to later in the year, and borrow less, with a smaller debt service cost.

The Thursday borrowing figure represented roughly three times what the district typically has to procure.

The school board authorized borrowings of up to $775 million from two banks, PNC and Bank of America.

The temporary borrowing will hold the district if the impasse continues into December. Board members asked Mike Herbstman, the districts chief financial officer: What happens if the stalemate lasts longer?

We are already beginning to look at all possible options, Herbstman said. The district has to prioritize paying employees and vendors, making debt service payments, and making payments to charter schools, and we anticipate doing that in the future  but there is a point that we will reach, if this continues, where it will be more difficult to continue to borrow.

A Pennsylvania problem

Though Philadelphias vulnerability to delayed state aid is more pronounced than other districts, it is not the only one in a tough spot.

Mackenzie Christ, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, said districts across the state are delaying hiring, putting off repairs and technology upgrades, and more because of the uncertainty.

This is not a result of poor planning or mismanagement at the local level; rather, districts are being asked to operate without the tools they need to succeed, Christ said in a statement.

Borrowing is becoming more common, Christ said.

While PSBA does not maintain a list of districts that have borrowed due to the impasse, we have heard anecdotally that this is occurring across the commonwealth, she said. Despite the delay in state funding, districts are still required to meet payroll and cover operational costs. Borrowing to cover these expenses comes at a cost  and unless the final state budget includes provisions to reimburse districts for these borrowing costs, that burden will fall on local taxpayers."

Philadelphia school board members beseeched members of the public to push lawmakers hard to pass a budget quickly.

The stakes cannot be higher, Jones said.
Community College of Philadelphia and Rutgers-Camden are among local schools that are likely to be affected by the U.S. Department of Educations decision to cut discretionary funding to minority-serving institutions.

The Education Department announced Wednesday it would reallocate about $350 million in funding to programs that do not include discriminatory racial and ethnic quotas and that advance Administration priorities. The move is expected to affect hundreds of colleges that serve large numbers of students from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

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Marybeth Gasman, executive director of the Rutgers University Center for Minority Serving Institutions, said the decision shows an utter lack of understanding of why these programs were set up and of their importance in helping to address the history of racism in the United States.

Minority-serving institutions in the past have received bipartisan support, she said, hoping that Republicans will stand up for them again.

 READ MORE: As a Rutgers center cancels conference, colleges ponder impact of other Trump orders involving immigration, research funding

People understood that not everyone was starting out at the same point, she said. Minority-serving institutions have been insuring equity, and youve got the Trump administration trying to chip away at equity. Trying to erase the fact that there are differences people experience based on race in this country is ludicrous.

The move by the Trump administration is the latest effort to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs from the nations college campuses.

 READ MORE: Penn scrubs diversity initiatives from its website to comply with Trump order

Historically Black colleges and universities, including Cheyney and Lincoln Universities in Philadelphias suburban counties, are not affected by Wednesdays decision. Gasman, however, said she worries that at some point they, too, could be targeted.

But several local colleges stand to lose some funding, including CCP.

As a minority-serving institution, the college will need to assess how todays announcement might affect operations and programming opportunities for students, interim CCP president Alycia Marshall said in a statement. The college remains committed to serving its diverse student body, of whom 67% are minority students.

The college did not provide an estimate of how much funding it has received through the program.

Rutgers-Camden had a three-year grant for $1.9 million and was in the third year, said spokesperson Sherrie Madia.

We had $1.1 million remaining that has been halted, she said.

Rowan College of South Jersey, a community college, said in a statement that while it is designated as a Hispanic-serving institution, the schools current grant, which is set to end Dec. 31, is not affected.

However, future opportunities are in question, said spokesperson Susan Nardelli.

Haverford College, a small, private liberal arts college on the Main Line, also is listed as a minority-serving institution because at least 10% of its Asian American, Native American, and Pacific Islander students come from low-income families, Gasman said. Haverford did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The federal Department of Education maintained that the grant programs were discriminatory by doling out funds based on racial quotas.

Diversity is not merely the presence of skin color, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. Stereotyping an individual based on immutable characteristics diminishes the full picture of that persons life and contributions, including their character, resiliency, and merit.

She said the department wants to steer funding toward programs that serve under-prepared or underresourced students without relying on race quotas.

Gasman said minority-serving institutions enroll diverse populations who all benefit from the funding. She said she is worried that the loss of funding could really hurt regional public universities and small private schools.

This is a lot of money to them, she said.
New Jersey has joined a growing cohort of states expanding access to updated COVID-19 vaccines amid restrictions from federal agencies.

Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order Tuesday that allows anyone over 6 months old to receive a COVID vaccine, and the New Jersey Department of Health issued a standing order that allows pharmacists to dispense it to anyone 3 years and older without a prescription.

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Murphy said in a news release that children under age 3 can get COVID vaccines from a doctor. Anyone else can get a vaccine at a pharmacy in the state, he said.

New Jersey is committed to defending the principles that safeguard our families and protect the health of our communities, the states acting health commissioner, Jeff Brown, said in a statement. This is about equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine, which has been proven to prevent serious illness and hospitalization.

The new policy comes after the Food and Drug Administration, in an unusual move, approved last month COVID vaccines only for older Americans and certain at-risk groups.

Typically, the agency issues a general approval for the vaccines and, almost immediately afterward, an advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends which groups should receive it.

But the committee has not yet issued its recommendation. The group that helps the CDC set vaccine recommendations, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, is set to meet Sept. 18.

And it is unclear what the committee might recommend: President Donald Trumps top health officer, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is a longtime anti-vaccine activist. In June, Kennedy fired all ACIP members and handpicked new appointees for the committee, including several vaccine skeptics.

Several states, including Pennsylvania, have since moved to make access to vaccines  for COVID and for other diseases  less contingent on federal health agencies recommendations.

Pennsylvanias regulatory body for pharmacists last week allowed pharmacists to dispense vaccines based on the recommendations of several leading professional medical organizations and the FDA.

Previously, the state had allowed pharmacists to give out vaccines only in accordance with treatment guidelines from a physician and ACIP. Pharmacists in Pennsylvania can now choose which agency or organizations recommendations they wish to follow.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a disaster over the federal governments approach to vaccines and signed an executive order expanding pharmacists ability to give out COVID vaccines, including allowing them to prescribe the vaccines themselves, through at least Oct. 5.

In Massachusetts, Gov. Maura Healey is now requiring insurers to cover vaccines recommended by the states health department, and not just those recommended by federal agencies.

The states health commissioner also issued a standing order allowing pharmacies to dispense COVID-19 vaccines to anyone 5 and older.
Members of the Michigan Boogaloo Bois an anti-government group stand with their long guns near the Capitol Building in Lansing, Michigan on January 17, 2021, during a nationwide protest called by anti-government and far-right groups supporting US President Donald Trump and his claim of electoral fraud in the November 3 presidential election. The FBI warned authorities in all 50 states to prepare for armed protests at state capitals in the days leading up to the January 20 presidential inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. (Seth Herald/AFP via Getty Images/TNS) Read more

Rebecca Kasen has seen and heard things in recent years in and around Michigans capital city that she never would have expected.

Its a very weird time in our lives, said Kasen, executive director of the Womens Center of Greater Lansing.

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Last November, a group of people were captured on surveillance video early one morning mocking a Black Lives Matter sign in the front window of the center, with one of them vandalizing its free pantry. That same fall, Womens Center staff reported being harassed.

A couple of blocks down East Michigan Avenue, Strange Matter Coffee, which supports progressive causes in the community, has been confronted by First Amendment auditors outside its storefront. Some toted guns or cameras, sometimes chanting slogans supporting President Donald Trump, generally unnerving customers and staff, Kasen said.

In many cases, extremist activities and conduct throughout the U.S. over the past few years have been driven by the deepening chasm of political partisanship and disinformation-driven rebellion against responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. More recently, backlash against immigration and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives has heightened tensions.

Last year, the Southern Poverty Law Center documented 1,371 hate and extremist groups nationwide sowing unrest through a wide range of tactics, sometimes violent. Over the last several years, the group writes, the political right has increasingly shifted toward an authoritarian, patriarchal Christian supremacy dedicated to eroding the value of inclusive democracy and public institutions.

Researchers at American Universitys Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab, or PERIL, say that in online spaces, hate is intersectional. (For example, Pasha Dashtgard, PERILs director of research, explains, platforms dedicated to male supremacy are often also decidedly antisemitic.) Seemingly innocuous discussions erupt into vitriol: The release of A Minecraft Movie prompted tirades against an alleged trend toward casting Black women and nonbinary people.

The continued escalations drove staffers at PERIL and the Southern Poverty Law Center to approach the problem from a different angle: Treat extremism as a public health problem. Community Advisory, Resource, and Education Centers are now operating in Lansing, Michigan, and Athens, Ga., offering training, support, referrals, and resources to communities affected by hate, discrimination, and supremacist ideologies and to people susceptible to radicalization, with a focus on young people.

The team defines extremism as the belief that ones group is in direct and bitter conflict with another of a different identity  ideology, race, gender identity, or expression  fomenting an us-versus-them mentality mired in the conviction that resolution can come only through separation, domination, or extermination.

Researchers who study extremism say that, as the federal government terminates grants for violence prevention, state governments and local communities are recognizing theyre on their own. (CARE receives no federal funding.)

Aaron Flanagan, the Southern Poverty Law Centers deputy director of prevention and partnerships, said his organization and PERIL came together about five years ago to examine a shared research question: What would it take to create a nationally scalable model to prevent youth radicalization, one thats rooted in communities and provides solutions residents trust?

They looked to a decades-old German counterextremism model called mobile advisory centers. The objective is to equip all levels of civil society with the skills and knowledge to recognize extremism and to engage in conversations about addressing it, Dashtgard said.

Were not about, How do you respond to a group of Patriot Front people marching through your town? Pete Kurtz-Glovas, who until June served as PERILs deputy director of regional partnerships, explained during a training in January. Rather, How do you respond when your son or a member of your congregation expresses some of these extremist ideas?

Michigan has long been considered fertile ground for extremism. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, convicted of the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995, were associated with a militia group in the state. Some of the men charged in 2020 in the plot to kidnap Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had ties to a militia group calling itself the Wolverine Watchmen.

The states capital city and adjacent East Lansing, where Michigan State University is, are relatively progressive but have seen conflict.

Will Verchereau has a vivid recollection from the early days of the pandemic: a pickup truck speeding down the street in their Lansing neighborhood, a Confederate flag flying from it, music blasting, later joining a rolling protest that clogged streets around the Capitol to protest Whitmers COVID lockdown directives.

Incrementally, the community has responded to these expressions of extremism. After the confrontations at Strange Matter Coffee, Verchereau, a board member of the Salus Center, which advocates for and supports the LGBTQ+ community, said people banded together to talk about how to be safe in those moments; how to de-escalate when and where possible.

The CARE initiative reinforces such efforts. The centers offer tool kits catered to specific audiences. Among them are a parent and caregiver guide to online radicalization, a community guide to youth radicalization, and Not Just a Joke: Understanding & Preventing Gender- & Sexuality-Based Bigotry.

Flanagan said the team views this public health model as separate from but complementary to law enforcement interventions. The goal is to have law enforcement as minimally engaged as possible  to detect nascent warning signs and address them before police get involved.

The resources help identify conditions that can make people more susceptible to manipulation by extremists, such as unaddressed behavioral health issues and vulnerabilities, including having experienced trauma or the loss of a loved one.

Lansing resident Erin Buitendorp witnessed protesters, some of them armed, flood the state Capitol building during the pandemic over lockdown and masking orders. Shes a proponent of the public health approach. Its providing people with agency and a strategy to move forward, she said. Its a way to channel energy and feel like you can actually create change with community.

Lansing and Athens were chosen for a number of reasons, including their proximity to universities that could serve as partners  and to rural communities.

In the small town of Howell, 40 miles southeast of Lansing, protesters waived Nazi flags outside a production of the play The Diary of Anne Frank at an American Legion post.

In nearby DeWitt, the local school district proposed a mini lesson on pronouns for a first grade class that involved reading the picture book They She He Me: Free to Be! Threats against school staff followed and officials canceled the lesson. Since then, the CARE team has helped provide support to teachers there in holding conversations on contentious topics in classrooms and in dealing with skeptical parents.

Its really important that rural communities not be left behind, Flanagan said. They persistently are in America, and then theyre often simultaneously demonized for some of the most extreme, or extremist, political problems and challenges.

The CARE team hopes to expand its program nationwide. Similar public health initiatives have been launched elsewhere, including Boston Childrens Hospitals Trauma and Community Resilience Center and the DEEP program, run by New York Citys Citizens Crime Commission.

And in June a new tool, the Reach Out Resource Hub, went live, offering guidance to help prevent violent extremism.

Pete Simi, a professor of sociology at Chapman University and a leading expert on extremism, sees a daunting task ahead, with extremisms having become more mainstream over the past 25 years. Its just devastating, he said. Its really startling.

Simi said that while there was previously talk of shifts in the Overton window, the range of ideas considered politically acceptable to mainstream society, I would say now it has been completely shattered. Violent extremists now feel unshackled, supported by a new administration that has their back.

We are in a more dangerous time now than any other in my lifetime, Simi said.

The Rev. Pippin Whitaker ministers the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Athens in Georgia, which last year received a package of ammunition in the mail with no note included. She embraces framing extremism, and peoples lack of awareness of it, as a public health issue.

If you have a germ out there, Whitaker said, and people arent aware that if you wash your hands you can protect yourself, and that its an actual problem, you wont enact basic protective behavior.
OREM, Utah  The shooter who assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk and then vanished off a roof and into the woods remained at large more than 24 hours later Thursday as federal investigators appealed for the publics help by releasing photos of the person they believe is responsible.

Investigators obtained clues, including a palm print, a shoe impression and a high-powered hunting rifle found in a wooded area along the path the shooter fled. But they had yet to name a suspect or cite a motive in the killing they were treating as the latest act of political violence to convulse the United States across the ideological spectrum.

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 READ MORE: Conservative activist Charlie Kirk fatally shot in act of political assassination at Utah college

The photos of a person in a hat, sunglasses and a long-sleeve black shirt, with a backpack, as well as a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest suggested that law enforcement thought tips from the public might be needed to crack the case. Two people who were taken into custody shortly after Wednesdays shooting at Utah Valley University were later released, forcing officials to chase new leads on a separate person of interest they pursued Thursday.

Authorities planned another news conference later Thursday with FBI Director Kash Patel and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox in the lineup of speakers.

One clue in the investigation was a Mauser .30-caliber, bolt-action rifle found in a towel in the woods. A spent cartridge was recovered from the chamber, and three other rounds were loaded in the magazine, according to information circulated among law enforcement and described to The Associated Press. The weapon and ammunition were being analyzed by law enforcement at a federal lab.

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

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

 READ MORE: Political leaders in Pa. and N.J. from both sides of the aisle condemn deadly attack on Charlie Kirk

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

I can tell you this was a targeted event, said Robert Bohls, the top FBI agent in Salt Lake City.

Trump, who was joined by Democrats in condemning the violence, said he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S., while Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, arrived Thursday afternoon in Salt Lake City to visit with Kirks family. Vance posted a remembrance on X chronicling their friendship, dating back to initial messages in 2017, through Vances Senate run and the 2024 election.

So much of the success weve had in this administration traces directly to Charlies ability to organize and convene, Vance wrote. He didnt just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.

Kirks casket was flown aboard Air Force Two from Utah to Phoenix, where his nonprofit political youth organization, Turning Point USA, is based. Trump told reporters he plans to attend Kirks funeral. Details have not been announced.

 READ MORE: David Hogg tells Montco crowd hes exhausted following fatal shooting of Trump ally Charlie Kirk

Kirk was taking questions about gun violence

Kirk was a conservative provocateur who became a powerful political force among young Republicans and was a fixture on college campuses, where he invited sometimes-vehement debate on social issues.

He was shot while attending one such event Wednesday, a debate hosted by Turning Point at the Sorensen Center on campus in what was billed as the first stop on Kirks American Comeback Tour.

The event generated a polarizing campus reaction. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures. The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry and constructive dialogue.

Last week, Kirk posted on X images of news clips showing his visit was sparking controversy. He wrote, Whats going on in Utah?

One such provocative exchange played out immediately before the shooting, as he was taking questions from an audience member about gun violence when the shot was heard.

Some attendees who bolted after the gunshot rushed into two classrooms full of students. They used tables to barricade the door and to shield themselves in the corners. Someone grabbed an electric pencil sharpener and wrapped the cord tightly around the door handle, then tied the sharpener to a chair leg.

Madison Lattin was watching a few dozen feet from Kirks left when she heard the bullet hit him.

Blood is falling and dripping down, and youre just like so scared, not just for him but your own safety, she said.

On campus Thursday, the canopy stamped with the slogan Kirk commonly used at his events PROVE ME WRONG stood, disheveled.

Kathleen Murphy, a longtime resident who lives near the campus, said she has been staying inside with her door locked.

With the shooter not being caught yet, it was a worry, Murphy said.

Meanwhile, the shooting continued to draw swift bipartisan condemnation as Democratic officials joined Trump and other Republican allies of Kirk in decrying the attack, which unfolded during a spike of political violence that has touched a range of ideologies and representatives of both major political parties.

The murder of Charlie Kirk breaks my heart. My deepest sympathies are with his wife, two young children, and friends, said Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was wounded in a 2011 shooting in her Arizona district.
The city skyline seen from West Philadelphia in January. Read more

Philadelphia is no longer the poorest big city in the United States. But theres not much to celebrate in handing off that crown.

The city now has the second-greatest poverty rate among the 10 most populous U.S. cities, according to new data released Thursday by the Census Bureau.

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Phillys poverty rate dropped to 19.7% in 2024, the first time it fell below 20% since at least 1979, according to census figures. Roughly 300,000 Philadelphians are currently living in poverty.

Houston is now the nations poorest big city, with a poverty rate of 21.2%. In last years census data, Texas most populous city was less than 1% behind Philly in poverty rate, which fell within the datas margin of error. In this years data release, Houstons edge over Philly was within the margin of error.

This data shows Philadelphia is headed in the right direction, Tiffany Thurman, chief of staff to Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, said by email.

The Parker Administration takes no comfort in knowing that 1 in 5 Philadelphians still live in poverty. As recent research from Harvard economist, Raj Chetty has shown, the Philadelphia region ranked 50 out of 50 for economic mobility in U.S. metropolitan regions. Our work to minimize cyclical generations of poverty in the City remains a priority," she said.

Others also acknowledged the need for more interventions.

Its certainly a milestone that our poverty rate has finally dropped below 20%, after more than a decade of incremental year-over-year declines. We have a lot of wonderful local efforts that are helping to lift people out of poverty including cash assistance and upskilling, Emily Dowdall, president of policy solutions at the nonprofit Reinvestment Fund, said in an email.

But I wouldnt say its time for celebration, and we need to keep our eye on the ball when it comes to meaningfully reducing poverty, including strategic investments in affordable housing, healthcare and economic development, she said.

A steady decline, but not felt by all

Phillys poverty rate has been gradually declining since it reached a high point of 28.4% in 2011. From 2022 to 2023, it dropped over a full percentage point, from 21.7% to 20.3%, the largest decrease the city had seen in a decade.

The U.S. Census Bureau measures poverty by comparing a households income with the minimum income that would cover its basic needs. That poverty line also accounts for the number of people in the household. In 2024, the minimum income is about $32,000 for a family of four.

Katie Martin, project director for Philadelphia research and policy at the Pew Charitable Trusts, noted that while the citywide poverty rate has gone down significantly, deep poverty, which describes people making 50% of the poverty line or less, has declined more slowly.

Since 2010, Philadelphias deep poverty rate has decreased by only about 4 percentage points, or roughly 57,000 people. In 2024, the deep poverty rate was 9.4%.

The gains have been tremendous, but theres a lot of Philadelphians who are still experiencing this every day, she said.

Poverty is not experienced equally by the citys demographic groups. While the citywide poverty rate hovers under 20%, just over 27% of children in Philadelphia are impoverished. The poverty rate for women is slightly higher than it is for men, at 21.1% vs. 18.1% respectively.

The citys largest racial minority groups each experience poverty above the citywide rate, including 22.3% of Black people, 21.3% of Asian people, and 27.6% of Hispanic people.

Ultimately, while the poverty line data are instructive, they do not show the entire picture of what it is like to live in Philadelphia today.

Many Philadelphians who are technically above the poverty line are still struggling to cover basic needs like housing, transportation, and groceries, Dowdall said.

So there is more work to be done.
A bill introduced in City Council on Thursday aims to tighten the regulations that have allowed shops to sell harmful recreational drugs. Read more

A Philadelphia lawmaker plans to ramp up the citys war on stores peddling unregulated recreational drugs, citing recent reports from The Inquirer about the hidden dangers of both hemp-derived THC and kratom products.

City Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson on Thursday introduced a legislative package that seeks to toughen enforcement on smoke shops and other so-called nuisance businesses.

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Richardson has spent years battling fly-by-night operations that have proliferated across the city. These shops often apply for licenses as convenience stores but then primarily sell unregulated drug products that are rife with toxic and illicit chemicals, or paraphernalia.

According to the Council member, the stores also frequently violate other city codes and attract crime and drug activity.

The lack of regulation around these substances is a threat to health and public safety, Richardson said in a statement Thursday. Not only is the consumer unaware of the potency and contents of the product, but, as recently reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer, these products often have toxic chemicals and other contaminants. Even worse, they appear to be marketed toward our young people.

The new set of bills would close loopholes that Richardsons office says operators are using to evade enforcement.

One bill targets owners who seek to wipe away their past infractions by transferring store ownership to new shell companies. This tactic has been used by store owners to evade accountability when the city has sought to fine and shutter them for code violations.

Under Richardsons proposed legislation, any entity with another substantially similar business in ownership or operation would be liable for its past citations.

A second bill focuses on removing provisions in city regulations that required police to enforce certain code violations that were regarded as summary offenses. Philadelphia Deputy Police Commissioner Fran Healy testified in a spring hearing on nuisance businesses that these existing regulations are outmoded and complicate enforcement for civil violations.

Richardson said this week that eliminating these provisions would make it easier to issue stop-work and cease-operations orders.

Finally, Richardson introduced a companion resolution that calls for Councils Committee on Commerce and Economic Development to hold hearings into the sale of unregulated substances, citing two recent Inquirer investigations.

The first tested unregulated and allegedly legal hemp products sold at many smoke shops, finding the vast majority were, in fact, illicit and contaminated with toxins. A follow-up report detailed rising rates of addiction linked to 7-OH, an opioid-like concentrate of kratom, a naturally grown plant that is sold as an herbal supplement at smoke shops and gas stations throughout the region.

 READ MORE: Pennsylvanias Wild West of unregulated weed

These unregulated substances are causing harm in our communities, endangering public health and safety, reads a preamble to the resolution. Many local business owners do not even know the dangerous nature of these products.

The introduction of the legislation, which was co-introduced by Republican Brian J. ONeill, was met with applause. The call for hearings was approved later in the same session.

We hope to use this hearing to inform a future bill addressing the surge of these dangerous products devastating our communities, Richardson said, asked about the likelihood of a local ban.
Id been working for several hours on Wednesday on a column about the accelerating threats to free speech on Americas college campuses when I heard the news that the nations best-known, most divisive, and frequently offensive practitioner of this disappearing right, Charlie Kirk, had been shot at Utah Valley University.

Kirk  just 31, a public figure since his teen years for his tireless crusade to convert young adults to pro-Donald Trump MAGA conservatism  had been struck in the neck by a snipers bullet and would soon be pronounced dead.

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At the moment he was gunned down, the cofounder of the right-wing, youth-oriented Turning Point USA had been doing what he was most famous for: sitting under a canopy at the Orem, Utah, university before a throng of several thousand students and onlookers and answering questions from all comers, left or right. Kirks last words on earth, fittingly, were a dubious, overblown claim about transgender mass shooters.

That was just one of so many bitter ironies that made Kirks assassination  by a rooftop gunman who is still at large and whose motive is thus unknown  the stuff of network news bulletins and banner headlines, not to mention an American Rorschach test for how a divided and agitated land feels about our obsession with guns, our foundational penchant for political violence, and the true meaning of free speech.

Kirk never better displayed his knack for pushing the boundaries of U.S. political discourse to the extreme right edge than when, in a 2023 interview, he proclaimed, Its worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights. But Kirk was every bit as wrong about that as he was about his other outlandish claims, like that airline passengers should feel afraid when their pilot is Black, or that successful African American women lack brain processing power.

No, Kirks God-given and constitutionally guaranteed right to speak freely in a place  a university campus green  that should be a citadel for open debate was not protected, but instead stripped away by gross misinterpretations of what the founders meant by the right to bear arms. Thats highlighted by the fact that just weeks before Kirk was shot to death, Utah enacted a law to make clear its legal for people with gun permits to openly carry a weapon on campuses like UVU.

But while the assassination cast a harsh spotlight on contradictions around the Second Amendment, the more meaningful message Wednesday was to dramatize how the First Amendment and its guarantees of free speech are hanging by a thread in 2025.

Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox, in a passionate, if at times hypocritical, monologue at a news conference confirming Kirks death, did manage to capture what was most tragic about a killing that was despicable and immoral, no matter what one thought about the mans politics.

Charlie believed in the power of free speech and debate to shape ideas and to persuade people, Cox said. Historically, our university campuses in this nation and here in the state of Utah have been the place where truth and ideas are formulated and debated. And thats what he does  he comes on college campuses and he debates. That is foundational to the formation of our country  to our most basic constitutional rights 

Cox was right to point out that killing someone for exercising their First Amendment rights on a college campus is a chilling assault on our freedom of speech. But neither he nor most commentators have pointed out that Kirks love affair with open expression was toxically inconsistent, with Turning Point USA even maintaining a McCarthyite blacklist of liberal professors whose free speech it didnt like. Whats more, one has to wonder why Utahs governor and so many of his allies at the top of the Republican Party are such vile hypocrites around this issue.

They are at the vanguard of a movement aimed at crushing academic freedom on college campuses, enacting laws and bullying university administrators to silence or intimidate students or professors who espouse ideas that dont jibe with the worldview of Charlie Kirk or Donald Trump.

 READ MORE: Charlie Kirk and the unbearable cost of political violence in America | Opinion

That column Id started Wednesday, before it morphed into this one, was inspired by a shocking incident at Texas A&M University in which a conservative student filmed an instructor as she brought up the role of gender in a course on childrens literature, and suggested the classroom discussion was illegal because, according to our president, theres only two genders.

The students video was amplified online by a Republican Texas lawmaker, sparking an uproar that led the university president to fire the instructor, Melissa McCoul, remove the English department chair and dean who oversaw her, and launch an audit of every class on the College Station, Texas, campus. It was a remarkable attack on academic freedom, but it hardly happened in a vacuum.

Earlier this summer, the free speech organization PEN America outlined 70 different laws or administrative measures in 26 states that would censor college speech or create a chilling climate for open discourse. Almost all of these measures were enacted by GOP governors or legislators, or their appointees  hypocrites eager to crimp campus conversations around liberal topics or students right to protest, unless their beliefs were similar to those promoted by Kirk.

The pressure campaigns, congressional investigations and hearings, and the state laws are all weakening and chipping away at the framework of academic freedom and independent thought that have anchored higher education, Jonathan Friedman, who directs U.S. free expression programs at PEN America, told me Wednesday in an interview that was conducted before Kirks shooting.

One thing Friedman and I agree on is that a series of illiberal campus acts by some students and professors on the left  preventing talks by right-wing speakers, stealing newspapers with controversial articles, or supporting limits on press freedom, for example  are both inherently bad, but also created the climate for conservative bad actors to bring down the much more dangerous hammer of government repression.

 READ MORE: 60 years after the day college students won free speech, their rights are vanishing | Will Bunch

The utterly phony sanctimony of leading Republican governors is the worst. Exhibit A is Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who in 2019 bragged about signing a law with sweeping protections for free speech on campus, only to send in state troopers to crush pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the University of Texas before they started, then signed a law this year that places strict curbs on how and when students can protest.

In a perfect world, Kirks murder could be a pivot point and a moment of clarity that would spark an understanding that we must save the notion of universities as centers of free thought and unhindered speech  for both the Charlie Kirks and the Melissa McCouls. It would stop the onslaught of Republican censorship while rethinking the harassment employed by some on the left.

In the real world, you will not be shocked to learn that the worst people, led by Trump, are already plotting a campaign of revenge against the leftists they blame for the assassination, even though we know nothing about the assassin.

My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, our law enforcement officials, and everyone else who brings order to our country, the president said in a video from the Oval Office. It doesnt take much reading between the lines to believe Kirks killing will trigger an even worse assault on our basic civil liberties.

Thats appalling, but Im also troubled by the governors, including Democrats like Gov. Josh Shapiro here in my home state of Pennsylvania, whove decided to honor Kirk by ordering flags lowered. That seems a serious misreading of the moment. Kirk expressed repulsive and indefensible views about millions of Americans during his time in the spotlight, and even celebrated a violent attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of the then-House speaker. True leadership would mean advocating for the free speech values Kirk imperfectly professed, not for honoring such a man whose rhetoric overflowed with hate.

The sad reality is that the right-wing extremists who control the federal government and too many of our states plan to use Kirks death as a vehicle for further destroying the very values Utahs Cox hailed on Wednesday, the power of free speech and debate to shape ideas, and to persuade people. Kirks immoral murder was a terrible tragedy for his wife, his two children, and those who loved him. But the echoes of that single shot may prove even more traumatic for America.

 READ MORE: SIGN UP: The Will Bunch Newsletter
I never agreed with the viewpoints of Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old close ally of Donald Trump and perhaps the most notable evangelist of Trumpism. I thought he was a gifted communicator, but also masterful at spin. At times, I found myself enraged by his social and political pronouncements  particularly his opposition to affirmative action and his cavalier rhetoric about people of color in America.

And yet today, I write in disgust. Charlie Kirk has been assassinated.

It is impossible to overstate the moral horror of that sentence. The very idea that in this nation  a nation founded on debate, on the clash of argument and ideas  someone should lose his life because of what we can assume is his politics, is an indictment of us all. As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said when Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965, we seem unable to disagree without being violently disagreeable. While Im not contending or comparing Kirk to these iconic figures of history, I have to contend that Kirk was the intellectual star of the right-wing conservative Trump movement.

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This is not merely a right-wing tragedy or a left-wing one. This is an American tragedy. Im broken by the knowledge that we are, once again, permitting blood to seep into the cracks of our political life.

Once murder is treated as a form of politics, then no one is safe  not on the right, not on the left, not in the center.

The United States is the product of its history  a history that contains as much blood as parchment. Our national character is built from custom, forged from experience, and enshrined in law and practice. But woven through it all is the story of political violence.

Abraham Lincoln was gunned down in a theater. John F. Kennedy in Dallas. Robert F. Kennedy in Los Angeles. Malcom X in New York. King in Memphis. Each killing was not just an individual loss, but a collective rupture, a reminder that Americans often reach for the gun when their arguments fail them.

This nation was not birthed into tranquility. Political violence, whether by mobs, militias, or lone actors, has always been one of our shadow traditions. And yet, every act like this is not just a crime; it is a desecration of democracy itself.

We tell ourselves that America is exceptional. But we are not exempt from the human condition. The destructive force of political and sectarian violence has scarred nations across the globe: Islamist fundamentalists, Hindu extremists, Serbs and Croats, Hutu and Tutsi, Bosnians, Armenians, Albanians, Chechens. The list is endless. When words become insufficient, too often, humanity starts to go for blood.

Think about where we are today: campaign finance systems corrupted by vast sums of money; a political culture addicted to poll-tested messaging; media empires run by conglomerates that prize spin over substance. The consequence is distrust, alienation, and resentment.

In that atmosphere, demagogues thrive. Kirk thrived. And while I may have disagreed with nearly everything he stood for, I could never doubt his conviction in the power of ideas. He was unflinching in his belief that intellectual combat mattered.

That is what makes his murder so grotesque. Because at bottom, democracy is an agreement  an agreement that words will substitute for weapons, that ballots will substitute for bullets. The killing of a political figure, any political figure, tears at the fabric of that fragile covenant.

The death of Kirk demands of us not just sorrow but reflection. What kind of nation are we becoming when assassination reenters the bloodstream of political life?

I confess I fear a contagion. Violence is mimetic; it breeds imitators. Once the taboo is broken, once murder is treated as a form of politics, then no one is safe  not on the right, not on the left, not in the center.

The path forward is not merely institutional but moral. We need a renewal of the ancient ethic of civility  a recognition that to destroy anothers body because you despise their words is the most profound form of cowardice. We need leaders across the spectrum to model disagreement without dehumanization, conflict without contempt.

The present moment is a point on a line. That line can trend toward chaos, or toward renewal. History shows us the direction  but it does not dictate it. It is for us to decide whether the assassination of Charlie Kirk becomes another stone in the avalanche of national decline or a crossroads that reminds us what is sacred.

We are not required to like each other. We are not required to agree. But if democracy is to survive, we must be required  all of us  to keep our conflicts within the realm of words, never bullets.

That is the covenant. And God help us if we forget it again.

Jack Hill is a regular Inquirer contributing opinion writer. He is a diversity consultant, child advocate, journalist, and writer.
File photo from April of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro during a news conference at the governor's official residence after an arson attack forced him, his family and guests to flee in the middle of the night on the Jewish holiday of Passover. Read more

Political leaders on both sides of the aisle in Pennsylvania and New Jersey swiftly condemned the fatal attack Wednesday on conservative leader Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah.

Political violence has no place in our country, Gov. Josh Shapiro said on social media. We must speak with moral clarity. The attack on Charlie Kirk is horrifying and this growing type of unconscionable violence cannot be allowed in our society.

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In April, Shapiro was targeted with an arson attack at the governors mansion in Harrisburg. Shapiro and his family were not injured.

On Wednesday evening, Shapiro ordered U.S. and Pennsylvania flags at state properties to fly at half-mast until sunset Sunday, and the governor invited all Pennsylvanians to participate in this tribute.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy wrote on X: The murder of Charlie Kirk during an event on a college campus is abhorrent. Political violence has no place in our nation. Tammy and I are sending our prayers to Charlies family and loved ones.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, a Republican, echoed the sentiment of the two Democratic governors.

We must speak with one voice  Political violence is never acceptable and has to stop. I join so many in praying for Charlie Kirk after this disgusting attack on his life, Sunday wrote.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) also condemned the shooting.

There is ZERO place in our great country for these horrendous acts of political violence. We must find a better way forward, Fetterman wrote on X.

U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R., Pa.) said in a post that he and his wife, Dina, were praying for our friend Charlie Kirk, his wife, and their children. This horrifying trend of political violence in our country must come to an end.

U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.) also said he was praying for Kirk and his family.

We must stand together, across every divide, to reject it completely and recommit ourselves to resolving differences through dialogue, not destruction, Fitzpatrick said.

Jack Ciattarelli, a Republican running for governor in New Jersey, said on X he was deeply saddened to learn that Charlie Kirk has passed away.

Ciattarelli added: Our hearts go out to his wife, young children & loved ones. When discourse ends, violence begins. That was Charlie Kirk at his brilliant, humble and faithful best. We will miss him. To honor his memory, let us strengthen our resolve to overcome ingrained and widespread hate.

U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who is the Democratic nominee for governor in New Jersey, said her thoughts are with Charlie Kirk, his loved ones, and the community at Utah Valley University. The perpetrator of this abhorrent act should be brought to justice.

Chris Stigall, a conservative radio host on Philadelphias AM 990 the Answer, called Kirk a man of bold faith.

He stood on Gods Word. Charlie is victorious today. Hes home with his Father in Heaven. He lived and literally died on that truth. We cant grow weary or hateful or fearful. As believers, we pray, we trust, and we continue to live boldly as lights for Jesus  as Im confident Charlie would encourage us tonight, Stigall posted on X.
David Hogg speaks during a Q&A in Montgomery County focused on fighting right-wing extremism and electing more progressives Wednesday at Penndale Middle School in Lansdale. Read more

I am beyond tired of having days like today, David Hogg said to an audience of more than 100 people as he took the stage at a Montgomery County middle school Wednesday night, hours after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot in Utah.

Just that afternoon, a school shooting had taken place in Colorado.

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I am exhausted.

Hogg, an anti-gun violence activist who survived the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., spoke to a crowd of progressive adults for a Q&A at Penndale Middle School in Lansdale alongside State Sen. Nikil Saval, a Democrat who represents parts of Philadelphia.

The event, hosted by local chapters of the progressive organization Indivisible, was organized to discuss progressive organizing and right-wing extremism, but the significance of Hoggs visit as gun violence led the news cycle was inescapable.

No other country like ours that has anywhere near the level of advancement and income that we have has to deal with this, Hogg continued. This is not a conversation that they have to have. You know why? Because they actually did something about the guns.

He was met with applause.

Hogg believes a Democratic Party that is more open to younger candidates can pave the way for more gun safety laws and lower the political temperature. He said in an interview with The Inquirer that he worries people are turning to political violence because the government does not work for the people.

He said running for office himself is a last resort and he would rather support numerous strong young candidates through his group, Leaders We Deserve.

Unfortunately, days like today remind me of all the death threats that Ive gotten over the years, he told the crowd.

And I know that no matter what happens to me, all of those great young people will still be out there doing this work, he added.

Only four people stood up when Hogg asked who in the room was under 30.

He said the party needs to find a message that will resonate with the young people who are not in this room right now, and pointed to the enthusiasm behind New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdanis campaign.

A lot of the time its going to be talking about things that really make some of our incumbents to the party uncomfortable, because its going to be talking about taking on the party machine, he said. Its going to be talking about taking on the corruption that enables that party machine.

Saval said he was inspired by Mamdani, a democratic socialist New York Assembly member whose campaign turned out people in the Democratic primary who had not previously voted or had voted for President Donald Trump.

In response to questions from the audience about reaching people who are not motivated to vote, Saval suggested to start by asking people what is important to them.

I think we have to take this extremely seriously  and the last thing I think we need to do is shame people for this activity, he said in response to a woman who wanted to know how to resonate with a young relative who believes the whole system is broken.

Hogg said the party should improve its door-knocking operations and hyperlocal engagement year-round, and Saval said unengaged committee members should be challenged, which can make way for younger people to get their foot in the door.

The work to build a new inclusive country is steady, and we are in this for the long haul, Saval told the crowd.

We can find new leaders, we can build a better party, and we can build a society that we deserve, he added.

One of the young people in attendance was Anna Alava, 22, of Morrisville, Bucks County, who said it was new to her to be surrounded by older people interested in the same cause she is.

For me it was really refreshing to hear David be so candidly angry on stage and to see that so well received by everyone here, she said. For me, Im not as used to seeing people from older generations be aggressive or be mad about these things.

Hogg made waves in the Democratic Party earlier this year when he announced his plan to spend millions to support candidates in primaries against incumbent Democrats through Leaders We Deserve. He briefly served as Democratic National Committee vice chair alongside State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D., Philadelphia) but stepped down from the organization instead of running for reelection after a procedural error put their positions at risk.

And as much as he criticized the Republican Party on Wednesday, he also emphasized that real work can get done when both sides of the aisle find common ground.

He pointed to the 2022 national gun safety law  the first of its kind in decades  that was enacted with bipartisan support following mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, and a decrease in gun homicide rates since.

Following the Parkland shooting and advocacy from Hogg and survivors, Florida raised the age to buy a firearm from 18 to 21, and a red flag law was implemented.

It hasnt even been repealed by [Gov.] Ron DeSantis, because guess who uses it most? Republican sheriffs. You know why? Because our policies work, Hogg said to the crowd. Because it doesnt make sense that somebody who threatens to kill themselves or somebody else should ever be allowed to have a firearm, right? Thats common sense.

The Parkland shooter legally purchased an AR-15 after mental health counselors told his mother he should not have guns. Law enforcement also received numerous warnings about him before he killed 17 people at the school.

Hogg said in an interview that he hopes Kirks death can help push people to a mutual understanding that even if they dont fully agree, they agree something needs to be done.
David Hogg speaks at a Q&A in Montgomery County focused on fighting right-wing extremism and electing more progressives Wednesday at Penndale Middle School in Lansdale. Read more

David Hogg, the outspoken high school shooting survivor who recently made waves in the Democratic National Committee, suggested he is interested in recruiting a candidate to run in the race to replace U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans in Philadelphia.

Hogg said in an interview with The Inquirer that he is looking at the 3rd Congressional District, which will be open in 2026 for the first time in more than a decade because Evans, a Democrat, is retiring at the end of his term.

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If theres any great young people or potential young people that could run there, that is a district that were considering getting involved in, supporting a phenomenal young person there, Hogg, 25, said Wednesday evening before an event in Lansdale.

Hogg, a gun safety advocate who survived the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., frustrated establishment Democrats during his recent stint as DNC vice chair by announcing that his group, Leaders We Deserve, would spend $20 million in safely blue districts to challenge incumbents who are asleep at the wheel.

Hogg stepped down from his position in June as the committee was preparing to hold a new election for the position.

The field for the 3rd District is already getting crowded with elected officials from Philadelphia, foreshadowing a competitive primary for the most Democratic-leaning seat in the state.

State Rep. Morgan Cephas, 41, who chairs the Philadelphia delegation, announced plans to run for the seat earlier this month.

State Sen. Sharif Street, 51, who recently stepped down as state party chair to run his campaign, and State Rep. Chris Rabb, 55, an anti-establishment progressive, launched their campaigns in July.

Hoggs PAC aims to elect young progressives to state legislatures and Congress, and he believes that primarying Democrats and electing younger leaders will help rebuild a stronger party.

The groups website notes: Through all of this, some incumbents will rise to the challenge and emerge stronger. Others will demonstrate why they should be replaced. Either way, we all win.

 READ MORE: David Hogg tells Montco crowd hes exhausted following fatal shooting of Trump ally Charlie Kirk

Hogg told a crowd of progressives Wednesday in Montgomery County that he once thought he wanted to run for Congress at age 25, but added, and then I met some members of Congress.

In reality, he said, he realized that if he ran, he would raise Republicans 20 times more than I could ever raise for our party because Im such a lightning rod and I scare them so much.

Instead of raising millions for himself to have one vote, he decided to raise millions to support 20 to 30 to 50 great young people, he said.

Hoggs group has endorsed New York Assembly member Zohran Mamdani, 33, a democratic socialist and the Democratic Party nominee for New York City mayor, as well as three congressional candidates: Deja Foxx, a 25-year-old activist running for Congress in Arizona; Robert Peters, 40, a state senator running for Congress in Illinois; and Irene Shin, 37, a state delegate running for Congress in Virginia.

He said he also wants to get involved with state legislative races in Pennsylvania.

Regardless of how liberal or to the left you are, I think we all agree that a different strategy is needed and some new voices are needed in our party, and thats part of what were trying to bring, he said.

Last year, Leaders We Deserve supported Anna Thomas, 29, who lost a Lehigh Valley state House race by just over 3 percentage points in a tough year for Democrats in Pennsylvania.

Hogg said the pushback he received from the party for wanting to challenge incumbents showed him that winning back young people they have lost touch with is not a priority.

They want young sycophants that dont actually represent young people, he said.

Hogg said there are great older representatives who should stay in office and terrible young ones who should be voted out. But overall, he said, young people need to be given the opportunity to represent the partys future.

If were not going to be given a seat at the table, were pulling up a  chair, he added.
For a second time, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to send the nomination of interim U.S. Attorney David Metcalf to the full chamber  a move that Republicans hope will make it easier to confirm him to the post.

Metcalf is currently serving as the top federal prosecutor in the Philadelphia region, but he needs confirmation to make that role permanent.

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His appointment  along with those of several other of President Donald Trumps U.S. attorney nominees  has not received a Senate vote as Democrats in the chamber have sought to oppose many Trump administration nominees. The committee first approved Metcalfs nomination in June with a voice vote by a majority of members.

On Thursday, Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) asked senators on the committee to vote again, this time by roll call, which passed 16-6.

That distinction in voting will make it easier for Metcalf to secure the full Senates approval by insulating him from floor challenges, according to a spokesperson in Grassleys office.

A full Senate vote is not expected before next week.

Unlike a voice vote, a committee roll call vote is a formal record maintained by the Library of Congress. Once established, the record makes it more difficult to challenge the nominee on the Senate floor.

The roll call vote will ensure  [the nominees] eligibility, the spokesperson said.

Metcalf was part of a group with nine other U.S. attorney nominees who were previously reported out of the committee via voice vote. Thursdays roll call vote was done en banc, meaning that the group was nominated in a single vote.

All the Republicans on the committee voted to support Metcalf, while several Democrats did not. Republicans control the committee as the majority party in the Senate.

Metcalf was nominated by Trump earlier this year. As U.S. attorney, he would oversee about 140 lawyers responsible for prosecuting a variety of federal cases across a nine-county region from Philadelphia to Allentown and west past Reading.

Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorneys Office are responsible for cases involving violent crime, drug trafficking, political corruption, cybercrime, tax fraud, and terrorism, as well as civil cases involving allegations of fraud, discrimination, and civil rights violations.

Metcalf has retained a decidedly low profile since taking office in March. He did not make his first public appearance until several months after assuming the job, and he has avoided taking controversial positions or using the type of blustery rhetoric that some other Trump-nominated federal prosecutors have embraced during their first year in office.

Several nearby offices have also been thrust into turmoil due to disarray over who should lead the office. The situation is particularly chaotic in New Jersey, where the states federal judges declined to extend the tenure of Trumps nominee, Alina Habba, and chose a different prosecutor to replace her  only for Attorney General Pam Bondi to promptly fire that replacement.

The question of who will take over in New Jersey remains unresolved. The judges choice, Desiree Leigh Grace, vowed to do so even after Bondi ordered her termination. Trump, meanwhile, has continued to back Habba, his former personal attorney and longtime political ally.
Last week, I got an email from a real estate agency about an unusual closing. I was intrigued.

A first-time homebuyer had purchased a South Philly rowhouse. Not that unusual. But shed done it for less than $50 out of pocket. Say what?

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Thats the cost of a couples Friday night takeout order. But she bought a house.

Her real estate agent and mortgage broker strategized to keep her costs low, but even they were surprised at the final figure. Heres how it happened.

Keep scrolling for that story and more in this weeks edition:

 Michaelle Bond

If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

Teresa Nutter didnt think she could afford to buy a home, so she never really let herself imagine it.

But her rent kept going up and became unaffordable.

Her real estate agent, a friend who knew her situation, strategized with a mortgage broker to make home ownership happen for Nutter, who had been homeless for years in her 20s.

She paid less than $50 to close on her house last month thanks to help from the seller, the type of mortgage she got, and a city grant.

First-time homebuyers can get assistance from all sorts of places: government agencies, mortgage lenders, nonprofits. But since funds are limited, these programs can come and go.

The city grant program Nutter used closed in 2020 because it ran out of money, but the city was able to bring it back in 2022.

In 2023, I wrote about a new Philadelphia pilot program through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency that offered first-time homebuyers help paying their student loans, grants of up to $25,000, and forgivable loans.

In 2024, I told the story of a couple in the program who paid about $1,000 out of pocket to close on their home.

Later that year, the pilot program used up its funding and ended.

But Nutters mortgage broker told me theres a plethora of programs out there.

Keep reading for the details of how he and Nutters real estate agent pulled off a $50 closing.

Philly has a longstanding problem with thieves who forge deeds to steal peoples homes.

A common tactic is to target properties with dead people on the deeds. Ive written about how thousands of Philadelphians live in homes with this kind of muddled ownership, also known as a tangled title, and the many problems this can cause.

Thieves especially like to go after vacant properties, since its harder to steal a home someones living in. In a recent case, a repeat house thief posed as a a dead owners grandson and submitted a deed with a forged signature.

Philly has never had an easy way to check whether a seller was alive, which would go a long way in helping prevent these thefts.

But now, when someone whos attempting to sell a home in Philadelphia submits a deed for the city to record, the citys new automated system will use government databases to check whether the seller was dead at the time the deed was signed. If records show the seller was dead, the city will reject the deed.

Several city agencies have been working for years to develop this system. It turns out its more complicated than it seems.

Keep reading to learn more about the citys deed-theft problem and this latest solution.

The latest news to pay attention to

Thousands of Philly homeowners arent taking advantage of city programs designed to help them pay real estate taxes. A lot of people dont know about the tax breaks.

But youre a real estate newsletter reader. So Im sure youre not one of them.

Just in case, my colleagues created a useful tool that lets you type in your home address and some basic info about your household to find out which property tax relief programs you may be eligible for.

Tell your friends and family.

Caroline Pattens roughly 3,500-square-foot Tudor Revival style house in East Falls offers enough room for her blended family. Between Patten and partner Trevor Naidoo, they have six children who range in age from 12 to 29.

One of the most well-used spaces in the home is the kitchen, which was completely renovated in 2023. The fridge and shelves are hidden behind white paneling. A green tiled backsplash helps bring color into the space.

Throughout the house, most of the color comes from artwork, including pieces by Pattens family members. A local street artist painted her 12-year-old sons name in red on his bedroom wall.

Outside, the family spends a lot of time on the backyard patio they built soon after moving in.

Peek inside the familys home and find out what amenity is shared with neighbors to create a mini neighborhood.

 Photo quiz

Do you know the location this photo shows?

 If you think you do, email me back. You and your memories of visiting this spot might be featured in the newsletter.

Shout-out to Ronald L. and Josh M. for being two of the first readers to correctly answer last weeks quiz. That photo featured the University Avenue Bridge/34th Street Bridge.



Do you remember the home tour from last week? It was a house in South Philly that the owners rebuilt.

My colleague Erin Reynolds made a video walking through the home with owner Madhurika Jeremiah, who shares details that didnt make it into the written story.

For more home tour videos, check out The Inquirers Instagram account or Erins author page on our website.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

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Insurance folks tired of hearing about personal injury law firms going after those greedy insurance companies might want a ringside seat for this one. Two high-profile Boston-area personal injury law firms are going after each other over allegations of trade secret theft, breach of loyalty, conspiracy, unfair competition and more.

One firm is accusing the other of stealing its business model that has been the key to its nationwide success. The other insists that it didnt steal anything, and it would never do business the way the accuser does.

In one corner is Sokolove Law, which back in the 1980s was among the first law firms to advertise on television and use a toll-free phone number. The firm has represented thousands of clients all across the country and recovered more than $10 billion over decades. Sokolove now consists of 64 employees and more than 140 co-counsel firms.

This case is about the wholesale theft of a business model, Sokolove asserts in his opening salvo filed on August 13. Sokolove maintains that his competitor Jason Stone Injury Lawyers built its recent success not on innovation or hard work, but on trade secrets and proprietary information stolen from Sokolove.

In the other corner are Jason Stone Injury Lawyers and Keith Glover, a former Sokolove employee who went to work for Stone in 2017 and who, Sokolove alleges, took with him the secret sauce behind Sokoloves success when he left Sokolove in 2015.

Jason Stone asserts that his business model is nothing like Sokoloves which Stone argues is more a telemarketing and lead generating firm than a traditional law firm like his. Stone alleges that Sokoloves lawsuit is part of an unfair campaign Sokolove has been waging against his firm.

Former Employee

Sokolove posits that the so-called scheme was orchestrated by Glover, a former mattress salesman who Sokolove says he trained to become a six-figure legal operations professional. Glover repaid this trust by allegedly copying Sokoloves entire digital operations playbook and delivering it to Stone when he became Stones director of operations eight years ago, according to Sokoloves lawsuit.

Sokolove has built its business to accommodate other firms around the country that seek it as co-counsel to benefit from its marketing, case intake, client service and claim management processes. Sokolove made its name locally in auto accidents and nationally in mesothelioma cases, but its portfolio today also includes many other types of personal injury cases.

Sokolove operates a remote call center with more than 100 agents who are continually trained in new case types such as birth injury, disability denial, firefighting foam, lung cancer, nursing home abuse, dangerous drugs, workplace injury, and other marketing campaigns. For training, Sokolove uses a combination of intake scripts, PowerPoint presentations, quizzes, and links to internal documents. Sokolove has four private, internal-use Google sites to support its business.

Internal Documents

Sokolove alleges that despite having signed employee confidentiality, non-solicitation, and non-competition agreements, Glover copied the case manager website containing documents on internal procedures such as client intake; training for call center employees; corporate presentations; and formulas used to measure performance and organize and report data.

According to Sokolove, Glover also stole branding materials, including document templates used in more than 50 marketing campaigns. Sokolove maintains Glover admitted to taking this information but claimed that the materials were mere templates of no value.

Glovers alleged theft and unlawful use of Sokoloves confidential information have diminished the value of the stolen information and enabled the Stone law firm to develop and maintain business at the expense of Sokolove, the lawsuit maintains.

Stones Countersuit

Stone has countersued, accusing Sokolove of unfair and deceptive practices and questioning whether Sokoloves business model and practices meet professional standards.

Stone represents clients who have suffered personal injuries caused by vehicle collisions, nursing home abuse and injuries, and slip-and-fall incidents. Stone claims to employ 13 lawyers around the state. Sokolove, however, contends Stone has grown from approximately 20 people across two offices, to approximately 54 people across six offices since 2017 when Glover joined.

According to Stone, Glover had Sokoloves permission to access the files on his personal computer when he left Sokolove 10 years ago. Stone also maintains that it has not used any of Sokoloves trade secrets in its operations.

Stone further contends that the two firms had a confidentiality agreement in early 2025 under which Stone agreed to show Sokolove how different Stones business model is and that Stone was not using any of Sokoloves information. Stone claims Sokolove used that agreement as a pretext to gain information for his lawsuit against Stone.

Stone maintains that Sokolove has not been able to show any specific trade secret or confidential information Stone has supposedly used but Sokolove has cost Stone business by disparaging the firm to potential clients by claiming Stone operates as Sokolove does.

How Firms Differ

Stone outlines how he thinks the two firms differ in their business models. Unlike Sokolove, Stone says it does not operate a call center or conduct a referral program as a primary focus of the firm.

Sokolove Law is embroiled in a complex web of telemarketing and marketing companies that focus on drawing in potential clients with representations about its large national practice while, the entire time, planning to refer the leads it generates out to various small firms in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and around the country that otherwise the client could not have been expected to choose, is how Stone describes Sokoloves business model.

As a result, Sokolove Laws business model depends largely on a telemarketing call center staff, rather than practicing attorneys, who perform this routine bait-and-switch, Stone claims.

Stone maintains Sokolove has only one lawyer who practices law in Massachusetts and that Sokolove is associated with several entities including Consumer Acquisition Solutions, Digital Strategery and Nursing Home Abuse Center as part of its marketing operations.

Stone also points to how their revenue sources allegedly vary. According to Stone, unlike Sokolove, more than 97% of Stones revenue comes from the representation of clients rather than referring them out. Stone generates less than 3% of its revenue from referring clients to other firms. On the other hand, Sokolove generates all or nearly all its revenue from its lead generation efforts, Stone says in the complaint.

According to the suit, there are other ways Stone differs from Sokolove: Stone and its lawyers regularly appear in court and supervise their cases for clients, while Sokolove lawyers rarely do; Stone focuses largely on personal injuries caused by vehicle collisions, nursing home injuries, and slip-and-fall casesareas where he two compete directly, while Sokolove is known largely for mesothelioma and other mass tort matters; and Stone focuses on local or regional advertising, while Sokolove uses primarily, though not entirely, national advertising.

Unfair Competition

Stone argues that Sokoloves business model represents unfair competition by misrepresenting the nature, quality, and source of actual and potential legal services and that it diverts personal injury clients away from Stone as its most serious competitor in the state in the areas where the two firms compete.

Stone alleges that with its presence in the state growing, since early 2025 Sokolove has engaged in overt threats about Stones marketing practices, disparaging Stone by falsely stating that Stone engages in the same model of telemarketing as Sokolove.

As a result of Sokoloves alleged unfair competition, Stone claims to have lost millions of dollars in market share that it would not have lost had Sokolove made honest disclosures to potential clients about its business model. Naturally, potential clients who are adequately informed would not hire a telemarketing firm when they are looking for a lawyer or law firm, Stone argues.

The firms seek injunctions and damages.

Topics Lawsuits Numbers
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced a drought watch is being expanded by 30 counties, bringing the total to 50 counties under a watch across the state.

Governor Kathy Hochul said the action was taken after consulting with the State Drought Management Task Force and federal agencies for the Catskills, Susquehanna, Mohawk/Upper Hudson, Finger Lakes and Southern Tier drought regions.

The state New is encouraging residents in affected counties, particularly those dependent on private groundwater wells, to conserve water whenever possible during the coming weeks.

The counties added to the drought watch are Albany, Allegany, Cattaraugus, Columbia, Cayuga, Chemung, Delaware, Dutchess, Fulton, Greene, lower Herkimer, Livingston, Montgomery, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Sullivan, Tompkins, Ulster, Washington, Wyoming, and Yates.

The dry conditions experienced by many regions throughout the summer are continuing into September, Hochul said. New York State experts are closely monitoring data and conditions on the ground to safeguard our water supplies and recommend appropriate action, which now includes taking simple steps everyone can do to help conserve water.

A watch is the first of four levels of state drought advisories, which are watch, warning, emergency, and disaster. No mandatory restrictions are in place under a drought watch. The drought watch is triggered by the State Drought Index, which reflects precipitation levels, reservoir/lake levels, and stream flow and groundwater levels in the nine drought regions of the state.

While there have only been a few public water-supply challenges reported due to the dry conditions, officials said below-normal precipitation during the last several months, low stream flows, and low groundwater levels prompted the action to ensure adequate notice to public water supplies.

Local public water suppliers are being urged to promote voluntary conservation and take appropriate actions to manage risk.

With the expansion to 50 counties now under a drought watch, were strongly encouraging everyone to do what they can to conserve water at this time, said Environmental Conservation Commissioner Amanda Lefton.

Topics New York
Greening disease, caused by bacteria transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid, has infected nearly 48% of Brazils citrus belt, according to new data from industry-funded research group Fundecitrus on Wednesday.

Such infections have increased for an eighth year in Brazil, the worlds largest orange producer and orange juice exporter, hurting orange production, Fundecitrus said.

In the 2024/2025 season, Brazils orange output is estimated at 230.9 million 40.8 kilogram boxes, the smallest in several years, Fundecitrus said. Although orange groves were expected to recover, the severity of greening is taking a toll on trees.

In May, Fundecitrus had forecast Brazils orange production in 2025/2026 would reach 314.6 million boxes, but on Wednesday it cut the forecast by 2.5% to 306.74 million boxes.

In the United States, Florida has also grappled with citrus greening disease for more than a decade, shrinking the states output. The disease also made the U.S. more dependent on orange juice imports from Brazil.

The infected trees produce fruits that are green, misshapen and bitter, unsuitable for sale as fresh fruit or for juice.

According to CropLife Latin America, a trade group representing chemical firms, the disease has caused $120 million in losses each year in Brazil.

Greening is believed to be responsible for the death of more than 50 million trees in Asia and 10 million in Africa over the last seven years, CropLifes website said.

In Brazil, favorable weather conditions for the proliferation and survival of the bacteria have made greening a persisting problem.

Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais state comprise Brazils main citrus belt.

Photo: (AP Photo/Chris OMeara, File)
Coupang, the e-commerce company often called the Amazon of South Korea, won the dismissal on Wednesday of a lawsuit claiming it defrauded shareholders during and after its 2021 initial public offering, Wall Streets largest by a foreign company in 6-1/2 years.

U.S. District Judge Vernon Broderick in Manhattan said shareholders led by several New York City public pension funds failed to show Coupang and its executives intended to defraud them, made materially misleading statements and omissions, and ignored red flags that their public statements were false.

Shareholders accused Coupang of concealing unsafe working conditions at its warehouses, manipulating search results and having employees write product reviews to favor its private-label brands, and coercing suppliers to boost prices on rival platforms for products it automatically price-matched.

They said Coupangs share price fell by more than half within a year of the March 2021 IPO as the truth came out, including multiple investigations by South Koreas Fair Trade Commission and a fire at a large fulfillment center.

In an 83-page decision, Broderick said many Coupang statements regarding working conditions were too broad or aspirational to be misleading, while statements about its relationships with suppliers were not specific, true to begin with or puffery.

Broderick also said shareholders failed to plead with particularity the circumstances of Coupangs alleged price manipulation. He added that the company disclosed that its employees were writing reviews.

The judge also dismissed all claims against the IPOs underwriters including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Allen & Co. Broderick dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it cannot be brought again.

Lawyers for the shareholders, as well as New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who oversees the pension funds, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Neither Coupang nor its lawyers immediately responded to similar requests.

Coupang was founded in 2010 by South Korean billionaire Bom Kim, and is now headquartered in Seattle.

With backing from Softbank Group 9984.T, Coupang raised $4.6 billion in its IPO, the largest by a foreign company on Wall Street since Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba went public in September 2014.

The case is Teachers Retirement System of the City of New York et al v Coupang Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 22-7309.

Topics Lawsuits USA
DUAL Europe, the managing general agent and unit of insurance intermediary Howden, announced the launch of its cargo insurance business, effective from Sept. 1, 2025.

This marks a strategic expansion of DUAL Europes marine proposition, following the successful rollout of its Marine hub in September 2023. The new offering reinforces DUALs commitment to delivering comprehensive, solution-driven insurance products across Europe.

The cargo insurance business is led by Chris Wittoeck, head of Cargo, DUAL Europe, who brings over 25 years of experience in marine cargo underwriting.

Throughout his career, Witteock has held senior positions at Jean Verheyen (AXA Group), 24Vision Insurance Solutions, Groupe Eyssautier, AMLIN, and AXA Corporate Solutions. He currently serves as chair of the Cargo Committee of the Belgian Association for Marine Insurers and is an active contributor to the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI).

Wittoeck will be supported by a team of experienced underwriters, including Marc Stoopman, lead underwriter Cargo, DUAL Benelux.

Stoopman is a seasoned marine, cargo, and logistics insurance specialist with 30 years experience. He has held senior roles at TenneT, Marsh (where he led the Marine, Cargo & Logistics department in the Netherlands), Starr Underwriting Agents (Lloyds), and Overvliet Assurantiemakelaars.

His background spans both underwriting and broking, with a focus on complex sectors such as offshore contracting, shipbuilding, and logistics. Additional professionals will join the team in the coming months, starting with Germany and then expanding to other European markets. Their combined experience and international perspective will form a solid foundation for DUALs pan-European cargo proposition.

Cargo claims will initially be handled by Femke Nollet, head of Claims, DUAL Benelux, while a dedicated cargo claims team is being established.

DUAL Europes Cargo Insurance is designed to meet the evolving needs of brokers and their clients through comprehensive, tailor-made cover. It offers all risks plus cargo-related extensions, such as Waterborne War Worldwide, and provides protection for traders, producers, manufacturers, exporters, importers, road carriers, and freight forwarders. The offer also includes cargo property and liability protection, stock and transit coverage, and acceptance of all cargo types, from soft and hard commodities to general and project cargo. Both lead and follow lines underwriting are available.

Over the last two years, our marine business has grown dramatically with fantastic support from our network of brokers, commented Aram Stoop, managing director, DUAL Marine Europe, in a statement.

This new addition to our marine proposition is driven by the demand for a solution-driven approach, including niche sectors, Stoop said. In challenging market conditions, leadership is essential for a sustainable competitive advantage. Our team will work closely together to deliver truly client-focused solutions.

Wittoeck said the DUAL Europe team delivers comprehensive, bespoke insurance solutions to brokers and clients, for any type of cargo or client, any mode of conveyance or storage, and anywhere in the world.

By placing strong emphasis on loss prevention, proactive claims handling, and effective recovery strategies, we offer robust underwriting performance that benefits both clients and insurers, Wittoeck added.

Olaf Jonda, CEO, DUAL Europe, said: The launch of our cargo insurance business is a significant milestone in our journey to build a truly pan-European marine platform. This is the first step, with further markets to follow as we continue to expand. With Chris Wittoeck at the helm and a team of exceptional underwriters across key regions, we are confident in our ability to deliver outstanding value to brokers and clients.

DUAL Marine Europe, the specialist marine insurance arm of DUAL Europe, provides brokers across the continent with a wide range of marine solutions. With underwriting hubs in Rotterdam, Genoa, and Hamburg, the division brings together international experience and deep technical expertise. Since its foundation in 2023, DUAL Marine Europe has rapidly expanded through strategic acquisitions and team growth, positioning itself as a leading provider of customizable marine insurance solutions.

Source: DUAL Europe

Topics Europe New Markets Insurance Wholesale Trucking
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice reached a $10,000 settlement with Homeworks Construction Inc. to resolve alleged lead paint renovation violations in South Bend, Indiana.

EPA alleged that beginning in 2018, Homeworks Construction performed renovations in 17 residential properties constructed prior to 1978 without complying with federal Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) regulations. The company has now obtained RRP certification and confirmed compliance with the current rules.

Dust from lead-based paint is one of the most common causes of elevated blood lead levels in children. Infants and children are especially vulnerable to lead, which can create irreversible and lifelong health effects. Lead dust can be generated when lead-based paint is disturbed by renovation work such as window installation, demolishing painted surfaces like walls and porches and scraping or repainting homes.

Companies and individuals performing renovations on housing built before 1978 are required to comply with regulations under EPAs lead renovation program. The regulations require companies to train employees on safe work practices and obtain certification from EPA prior to renovations. The companies must also comply with recordkeeping requirements and notify homeowners about the hazards of renovation-related lead exposure.

Source: EPA

Topics Construction
Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company, a provider of property and casualty insurance for Christian ministries, has launched a new brand  Brotherhood Works  to unify and expand the companys suite of existing products and services designed to support ministry staff and volunteers.

Brotherhood Works offers a comprehensive range of solutions, including payroll and HR, human capital management (HCM), time & attendance, employee benefits, workers compensation, accident insurance, critical illness coverage, mission travel insurance, and background checks.

Ministries often operate without dedicated HR departments, leaving individuals to manage complex administrative tasks, Brotherhood Mutual said in a press release. The gap prompted many ministry leaders to ask Brotherhood Mutual to help them find tools and resources for managing many tasks that are typically done by someone in HR.

When ministries dont have access to the tools that help them care for their people, they risk compliance and employment issues, the company said.

Based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Brotherhood Mutual serves more than 67,000 churches, schools, colleges and universities, camps, and mission organizations in 47 states and the District of Columbia.

Topics Lawsuits
Survivors of major natural disasters in the U.S. are having to wait longer to get aid from the federal government, according to a new Associated Press analysis of decades of data.

On average, it took less than two weeks for a governors request for a major disaster declaration to be granted by presidents in the 1990s and early 2000s. That rose to about three weeks during the past decade under presidents from both major parties. Its taking more than a month, on average, so far during President Donald Trumps current term, the AP found.

The delays mean individuals must wait to receive federal aid for daily living expenses, temporary lodging and home repairs. Delays in disaster declarations also can hamper recovery efforts by local officials uncertain whether they will receive federal reimbursement for cleaning up debris and rebuilding infrastructure. The AP collaborated with Mississippi Today and Mississippi Free Press on the effects of these delays for this report.

The federal government plays a major role after disasters

Americans expect government help after disasters. About three-fourths of people want the U.S. government to play a major role in providing aid to communities and helping them rebuild after natural disasters, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency often helps communities coordinate their immediate disaster response. But direct payments to individuals, nonprofits and local governments must wait for a major disaster declaration from the president, who first must receive a request from a state, territory or tribe.

Major disaster declarations are intended only for the most damaging events that are beyond the resources of states and local governments. In such cases, FEMA provides two general categories of aid, for individuals and public entities. Presidents can approve disaster aid for either or both purposes. Requests coordinated through a state are approved on a county-by-county basis, depending on the level of damage and need.

How long is it taking to declare major disasters?

Trump has approved more than two dozen major disaster declarations since taking office in January, with an average wait of almost 34 days after a request. The average wait is up from a 24-day delay during his first term and is nearly four times as long as the average for former Republican President George H.W. Bush, whose term from 1989-1993 coincided with the implementation of a new federal law setting parameters for disaster determinations.

The delays have grown over time, regardless of the party in power. Former Democratic President Joe Biden, in his last year in office, averaged 26 days to declare major disasters  longer than any year under former Democratic President Barack Obama.

A powerful storm system that affected a wide swath of the southern, central and eastern U.S. provides one example of the recent delayed declarations. After tornadoes struck on March 15, Mississippis governor requested a federal disaster declaration on April 1. Trump granted that request 50 days later, on May 21.

On that same day, Trump also approved eight other major disaster declarations for storms, floods or fires in seven other states. In most cases, more than a month had passed since those requests and about two months since the dates of those disasters.

Whats causing it to take longer to declare disasters?

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement that President Trump provides a more thorough review of disaster declaration requests than any administration has before him. She said Trump wants to make sure tax dollars are spent wisely to supplement, not replace, state responses to disasters.

Others familiar with FEMA noted that its process for assessing and documenting natural disasters has become more complex over time, and disasters have become more frequent and intense in a changing climate.

The wait for disaster declarations has spiked as Trumps administration undertakes an ambitious makeover of the federal government that has shed thousands of workers and reexamined the role of FEMA. A recently published letter from current and former FEMA employees warned the cuts could become debilitating if faced with a disaster on the scale of Hurricane Katrina, which struck 20 years ago.

Delayed disaster declarations are affecting lives

When a tornado with winds up to 140 mph (225 kph) struck Tylertown, Mississippi, Buddy Anthony took shelter in his new pickup truck parked underneath a carport at his house. The tornado destroyed his home and damaged his truck. As he waited for aid from a federal disaster declaration, Anthony spent weeks sleeping in a used truck he bought as a replacement.

His house was uninsured, Anthony said, and FEMA eventually gave him $30,000. But if federal aid had been available sooner, Anthony said he wouldnt have had to sleep so long in his truck before he could afford to rent a trailer home.

Historically, presidential disaster declarations containing individual assistance have been approved more quickly than those providing assistance only to public entities, according to the APs analysis. That remains the case under Trump, though declarations for both types of assistance are taking longer.

Public entities are also affected by federal aid delays

Unlike individual assistance programs that provide cash upfront, FEMAs public assistance programs reimburse governmental entities only after their bills are paid  and only if they followed guidelines for hiring and documenting the work.

Because that process can take months or years, a delay in a presidential disaster declaration may have little effect on when a local government ultimately gets reimbursed. But delayed approvals still can carry consequences. Long waits can stoke uncertainty and lead local officials to scale back recovery efforts.

Walthall County, Mississippi, which includes Tylertown, initially spent about $700,000 cleaning up debris. But it suspended the cleanup for more than a month because the county couldnt afford to spend anymore without assurance it would receive federal reimbursement under a disaster declaration. In the meantime, the rubble from splintered trees and shattered homes remained piled along the roadside, creating unsafe obstacles for motorists and habitat for snakes and rodents, county Emergency Manager Royce McKee said.

Photo: Tommy May tosses paneling from a tornado destroyed home of relatives, March 16, 2025, in Tylertown, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
U.S. financial regulators voted on Wednesday to disband two committees charged with monitoring financial risks brought on by climate change, ending a multi-year Biden administration effort to embed climate threats into financial regulations.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council, a multi-regulator risk watchdog body chaired by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, rescinded the charters of its Climate-Related Financial Risk Committee and its Climate-Related Financial Risk Advisory Committee by voice vote without dissent or abstentions during a public session.

The committees were set up by Bessents Biden administration predecessor, Janet Yellen, who warned repeatedly that increasingly severe storms, wildfires and other climate events were causing large economic and financial impacts on the U.S. economy and could trigger destabilizing asset losses.

Bessent said the dismantling was part of his back to basics approach to financial regulation, meant to remove burdensome rules and ease capital requirements for banks and other lenders to unlock more economic growth.

By rescinding these charters, the council can better focus its attention and resources on core financial stability issues and our efforts to promote economic growth and security while maintaining safety and soundness and protecting consumers, Bessent told the meeting.

The move is another step in the dismantling of Bidens climate and energy policies, including unwinding federal support for clean energy projects, while slashing regulations to boost fossil fuel production.

The Trump administration is set to destroy key protections against the risks climate change poses to our economy, said Tracey Lewis, senior policy counsel at the Public Citizen non-profit group. The committees work on the financial impacts of climate disasters on housing, homeowners insurance, and financial regulation play an important role in protecting the safety and soundness of the American financial system.

A Treasury presentation also included FSOCs intention to review past guidance on designating non-bank institutions as systemically important financial institutions, a step that would subject them to greater oversight.

Topics USA
ATLANTA (AP)  A Georgia judge on Tuesday said he will toss the racketeering charges against all 61 defendants accused of a yearslong conspiracy to halt the construction of a police and firefighter training facility that critics pejoratively call Cop City.

Fulton County Judge Kevin Farmer said he does not believe Republican Attorney General Chris Carr had the authority to secure the 2023 indictments under Georgias Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, or RICO. Experts believe it was the largest criminal racketeering case ever filed against protesters in U.S. history.

The defendants faced a wide variety of allegations  everything from throwing Molotov cocktails at police officers, to supplying food to protesters who were camped in the woods and passing out fliers against a state trooper who had fatally shot a protester. Each defendant faced up to 20 years in prison on the RICO charges.

Farmer said during a hearing that Carr needed Gov. Brian Kemps permission to pursue the case instead of the local district attorney. Prosecutors earlier conceded that they did not obtain any such order.

It would have been real easy to just ask the governor, Let me do this, give me a letter,' Farmer said. The steps just werent followed.

Case Not Over Yet

Five of the 61 defendants were also indicted on charges of domestic terrorism and first-degree arson connected to a 2023 night of rage in which masked activists burned a police car in downtown Atlanta and threw rocks at a skyscraper that houses the Atlanta Police Foundation. Farmer said Carr also didnt have the authority to pursue the arson charge, though he believes the domestic terrorism charge can stand.

Farmer said he plans to file a formal order soon and is not sure whether he would quash the entire indictment or let the domestic terrorism charge proceed.

Deputy Attorney General John Fowler told Farmer that he believes the judges decision is wholly incorrect.

Carr plans to appeal immediately, spokesperson Kara Murray said.

The Attorney General will continue the fight against domestic terrorists and violent criminals who want to destroy life and property, she said.

Defense attorney Don Samuel said the case was rife with errors. Defense attorneys had expected to spend the whole week going through dozens of dismissal motions that had been filed. During an impassioned speech on Monday, the first day of the hearing, Samuel called the case an assault on the right of people to protest and urged Farmer to put a stop to this.

We could have spun the wheel and seen which argument was going to win first, Samuel told The Associated Press after Farmer announced his decision from the bench.

The long-brewing controversy over the training center erupted in January 2023 after state troopers who were part of a sweep of the South River Forest killed an activist, known as Tortuguita, who authorities said had fired at them while inside a tent near the construction site. A prosecutor found the troopers actions  objectively reasonable, though Tortuguitas family has filed a lawsuit, saying the 26-year-olds hands were in the air and that troopers used excessive force when they initially fired pepper balls into the tent.

Numerous protests ensued, with masked vandals sometimes attacking police vehicles and construction equipment to stall the project and intimidate contractors into backing out. Opponents also pursued civic paths to halt the facility, including packing City Council meetings and leading a massive referendum effort that got tied up in the courts.

Carr, who is running for governor, had pursued the case, with Kemp hailing it as an important step to combat out-of-state radicals that threaten the safety of our citizens and law enforcement.

But critics had decried the indictment as a politically motivated, heavy-handed attempt to quash the movement against the 85-acre (34-hectare) project that ultimately cost more than $115 million.

Environmentalists and Anti-police Activists Were United

Emerging in the wake of the 2020 racial justice protests, the Stop Cop City movement gained nationwide recognition as it united anarchists, environmental activists and anti-police protesters against the sprawling training center, which was being built in a wooded area that was ultimately razed in DeKalb County.

Activists argued that uprooting acres of trees for the facility would exacerbate environmental damage in a flood-prone, majority-Black area while serving as an expensive staging ground for militarized officers to be trained in quelling social movements.

The training center, a priority of Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, opened earlier this year, despite years of protests and millions in cost overruns, some of it due to the damage protesters caused, and police officials needs to bolster 24/7 security around the facility.

But over the past two years, the case had been bogged down in procedural issues, with none of the defendants going to trial. Farmer and the cases previous judge, Fulton County Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams, had earlier been critical of prosecutors approach to the case, with Adams saying the prosecution had committed gross negligence by allowing privileged attorney-client emails to be included among a giant cache of evidence that was shared between investigators and dozens of defense attorneys.

As the delays continued, defendants said their lives had been wrecked by the charges, with many unable to secure steady jobs or housing.

Three of the defendants, organizers of a bail fund that supported the protesters, had also been charged with 15 counts of money laundering, but prosecutors dropped those charges last year.

Prosecutors had previously apologized to the court for various delays and missteps, but lamented the difficulty of handling such a sprawling case, though Farmer pointed out that it was prosecutors who decided to bring this 61-person elephant to court in the first place.

Defense attorney Xavier de Janon said Farmers decision is a victory, but noted that there are other defendants still facing unindicted domestic terrorism charges in DeKalb County, as well as numerous pending misdemeanors connected to the movement.

The prosecutions havent ended against this movement, and I hope that people continue to pay attention to how the state is dealing with protests and activism, because it hasnt ended, de Janon said. This is a win, and hopefully many more will come.

Photo: This image provided by the Atlanta Police Department shows construction equipment set on fire Saturday, March 4, 2023 by a group protesting the planned public safety training center, according to police. (Atlanta Police Department via AP)

Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Legislation Georgia
Here is a selection of people starting new roles with Addleshaw Goddard, Stepstone Group, Orbitus, Primark, JDA Architects and St John of God Hospitaller Services Group.

Piaras Power has been named as a partner in the finance and projects practice of law firm Addleshaw Goddard in Ireland. He joins from Eversheds Sutherland. He brings more than 20 years' experience as a partner working in acquisition finance, cash flow, asset-based lending, real estate and development finance, with a focus on residential, healthcare and alternative asset sectors. Piaras will work with Ray Byrne, partner and head of finance in Ireland, and John Kearns, partner, structured finance and debt capital markets. The firms new office at Fitzwilliam No.28 in Dublin now hosts 90 solicitors, with the firm adding 15 new hires in the last year.
Ryanair chief executive officer Michael OLeary is bracing for airspace incursions like the drone barrage that disrupted Polish flights on Wednesday to continue.

This is going to be an ongoing issue for all airlines for the next number of years, Mr OLeary said on Thursday at the Irish carriers annual general meeting in Dublin. He said Europe needs a strong response to what he called Russian prodding.

Mr OLeary praised the prompt response of Polish aviation officials and the EU Aviation Safety Agency after Russian drones overflew Ukraine and were shot down over Poland. He said the incident was a wake-up call for Europe and Nato and reduced the budget airlines on-time performance to 60%, as air traffic disruptions spilled over into Scandinavia, the Baltic states, and Germany.

This kind of irritant, Russia poking the bear, Russia irritating Europe, Russia playing games with Europe, will continue, Mr OLeary said.

We dont see it as a safety issue, but its certainly a disruption issue.

Poland sought Nato consultations after shooting down drones that crossed into its territory early on Wednesday during a massive Russian air strike on Ukraine, calling the incursion an act of aggression.

Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said the airspace violation amounted to an intentional provocation from Moscow, forcing the Nato and European Union member state to close its airspace and order citizens in the eastern part of the country to stay indoors.

The incident led to air traffic backups across Europe, Mr OLeary said, adding that he is also seeing drone activity in the Baltic states. He said:

We expect more disruptions unless the EU and the White House take some firm stake, particularly in the form of sanctions, penal sanctions, on Russia,.

At the meeting, Mr OLeary told shareholders that summer demand was strong this year, and the airline will become debt-free after paying off two issues  one for 850m next week and another for 1.2bn in May.

Aircraft deliveries from Boeing on track for the first time in years, with 25 planes arriving between August and October.

Separately, Mr O'Leary said the airline was being "messed around" by airport authorities in Israel.

"I think there's a real possibility that we won't bother going back to Israel... when the current violence" recedes, he told journalists in Dublin.

The airline earlier this summer said it would not return to Israel until October 25 at the earliest.

Mr O'Leary said Ryanair objects to the fact that Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport charges it the higher rate for use of the main terminal when the cheaper low-cost terminal is closed for security reasons.

"Unless the Israelis kind of get their act together and stop messing us around, frankly, we have far more growth elsewhere in Europe," he said.
Safaricom said on Tuesday it has launched two new tailored solutions aimed at ride-hailing drivers and boda boda operators (a.k.a. bicycle and motorcycle taxis) in Kenya that include connectivity, insurance and financial advice.

The two new packages  Bundle Ya Deree and Ofa Ya Boda Boda, for drivers and boda boda riders, respectively  combine affordable voice and 4G data bundles with free access to navigation apps such as Google Maps and ride hailing apps.

The packages also include subsidized insurance covers on drivers and riders from accidents, illness, or loss of income, as well as training on financial literacy and road safety. Safaricom said it has also rolled out Safire Connect empowerment forums where riders and drivers can learn about entrepreneurship and ways to leverage digital and AI technologies for their business.

For the Bundle Ya Deree package, Safaricom said it will soon be adding fuel discounts on Fridays for Shell FuelSave Unleaded and V-Power at all Shell outlets across Kenya.

We understand the challenges faced by Kenyans in the transport sector, especially with the rising cost of operations, said Patrick Masinde, retail manager for Vivo Energy Kenya in a statement. Through our partnership with Safaricom, we aim to ease this burden, with the fuel discounts to drivers being a significant boost for operators.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) 2025 Economic Survey, the transport sector accounted for 4.4% of Kenya's GDP in fiscal year 2024. There are over 1.4 million registered motorcycles offering ride services, with most riders earning between KES500 (around US$3.85) and KES1,500 per day, which generates an estimated KES1 billion in total income per day.

That makes the sector critical to livelihoods and economic growth, which is why its critical to address issues facing drivers and riders, particularly high costs, safety risks, and financial vulnerability, said Fawzia Ali-Kimanthi, Safaricoms chief consumer business officer.
The biennial arts and music festival Sounds from a Safe Harbour (SFSH) returns to Cork city for its fifth edition this weekend and kicked off on Thursday evening with a sold-out show, Remembering Talos, at Cork Opera House.

The event sought to honour Cork artist Eoin French, who, under the moniker Talos, released three albums between 2017 and 2022, as well as the posthumous A Dawning, made with the Grammy Award-nominated Icelandic musician Olafur Arnalds.

Raised in Kilcully, French passed away at Marymount Hospice in August 2024 at the age of just 36.

Gemma Doherty, formerly of Saint Sister, opening the Remembering Talos concert at Cork Opera House on Thursday night. Picture: Chani Anderson.

French was also a member of the SFSH team. Festival director Mary Hickson told the Irish Examiner at the start of the year that such a show was gonna be the very first thing we do.

"We just couldn't possibly do anything else until we have that done right. So the very first event will be for Eoin. Then we can step into the rest of it, but we certainly won't be programming anything until we celebrate him.

Over 75 emotional minutes, a rotating cast of singers, including the Staves, La Force, Christof Van Der Ven, S Carey, and Rosie Carney (accompanied by Jon Hopkins), paid tribute to the power of Talos' songs.

The show began just after 6pm as voicenotes of French are played. His Cork accent and enthusiastic demeanour are there for all to hear as he proclaims: "This sounds fucking incredible."

Former Saint Sister member Gemma Doherty is first up with the ambitious In Time. She and myriad others, as they make their way to the front of the stage, place a flower in remembrance.

French's long-term collaborator Nick Rayner, who was managing director of the show, played Dance Against the Calm; folk pair Ye Vagabonds attempt Talos' most skyscraping of songs, Your Love is an Island; Lisa Hannigan performs her collaboration Crows from Talos' third album Dear Chaos, and later Signs; before Loah offers a primal tryptich of furious songs: Kite, Far Out Dust, and Solar.

The Staves performing at Remembering Talos in Cork Opera House on Thursday night. Picture: Chani Anderson.

It has been 13 months since French died  most likely, this was the first time many had heard these songs among a crowd in years. If emotions had been kept in check up to now, they all come pouring out as video clips of French as a child perched on a piano seat are played.

Amid audible sobs, his brother Brian performs a spoken word piece.

"Since we were kids, he was all that I followed," he says over gentle keys from Meltybrains' Brian Dillon. "He gets reborn every time we listen; he becomes alive with every lyric."

It's an amazing three-minute monologue.

The night ends with the nearly 30 musicians arm-in-arm for We Didn't Know We Were Ready, which was created by Talos, Olafur Arnalds, Ye Vagabonds, and Niamh Regan at SFSH 2023.

It was the only way this show could end. And the only way Sounds from a Safe Harbour 2025 could begin.

The Opening Ritual, a pagan rave curated by folklorist Billy Mag Fhloinn, took place at Elizabeth Fort afterwards.

The festival continues across the weekend with film (curated by Cillian Murphy) and visual strands alongside a feast of music.
Three counties are under a Status Yellow rain warning as Ireland prepares for a wet weekend.

Met Eireann issued the warning for Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo on Thursday morning. It took effect at 10am and will remain in place until the same time on Friday.

The warning reads: "Spells of heavy rain with a chance of isolated thunderstorms. Potential impacts include localised flooding, poor visibility and difficult travelling conditions."

Status Yellow Rainfall Warning issued



Spells of heavy rain with a chance of isolated thunderstorms



Localised flooding

Poor visibility

Difficult travelling conditions



Areas: Donegal, Leitrim & Sligo



Valid: Thurs 11/9 10am to Fri 12/9 10am



 https://t.co/3041XHiRrK pic.twitter.com/h7NvlRBopz  Met Eireann (@MetEireann) September 11, 2025

Thursday will be cool and breezy with sunny spells and showers, some heavy with isolated thunderstorms and hail possible. Temperatures will reach 13 to 16C.

The evening will bring clear spells and showers, with further risk of thunderstorms. Showers will become confined to western counties overnight, with lows of 7 to 10C.

Friday will also be cool and breezy with sunshine and showers, some heavy. By late afternoon, more persistent rain will develop in the west and spread eastwards through the evening. Temperatures will again remain below 16C.

Saturday appears to be the worst for rainfall, per the Met Eireann charts. Picture: Met Eireann

Saturday will bring a mix of sunny spells and scattered heavy showers, while on Sunday morning, rain will spread northeast across the country with fresh southeasterly winds.

Earlier this month, Met Eireann announced the list of storm names for the 2025/2026 season, which began on September 1.

More than 10,000 suggestions were submitted by 4,137 people, reduced to seven Irish contributions included in the 21-name list.
Ireland will choose not compete in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2026 if Israel is allowed to participate.

RTE made the announcement on Thursday after an "extensive consultation process" involving other members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

In a statement, the broadcaster said At the General Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in July, a number of EBU members raised concerns about the participation of Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest.

"RTE wishes to thank the EBU for the extensive consultation process that was initiated on foot of that meeting, and the extension of the option to withdraw from participation without penalty to December."

"It is RTEs position that Ireland will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if the participation of Israel goes ahead, and the final decision regarding Irelands participation will be made once the EBUs decision is made."

The statement added that Ireland's participation would be "unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza," and that RTE is "deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists."

The past two editions of the contest have seen large pro-Palestine protests, in Basel earlier this year and in Malmo in 2024.

Broadcasters in Iceland and Slovenia have already indicated they will not take part in the competition next year if Israel is involved.

Ireland has won Eurovision seven times, with Sweden tieing the record in 2023 for the most of any country.
A Cork woman who was observed by another motorist undertaking on a busy main road has been convicted of careless driving in the district court.

Sergeant Majella OSullivan told Youghal District Court that Samantha Murray, aged 34, of Knockpogue Avenue, Farranree, Cork, was observed driving carelessly on the N25 road in East Cork, heading in the direction of Youghal.

Another motorist reported that a BMW car undertook him on the left-hand side, and he had to take evasive action to avoid hitting another vehicle as it went on ahead of him.

The motorist reported that the driver, identified as Samantha Murray, was observed gesticulating with a mobile phone in her hand.

The court heard that Murray closely approached an Audi ahead of her while still gesticulating, and then brake checked the following motorist twice.

The court was told that Murray had two previous convictions, both for motoring offences, and was previously disqualified from driving in 2022.

Sgt OSullivan said that Murray was initially charged with the more serious offence of dangerous driving, but the State had agreed to accept a guilty plea to the lesser charge of careless driving.

Defence solicitor James Moore said his client admitted she was driving carelessly on the date in question.

He said that she had just turned onto the main road from a petrol station and undertook the vehicle to her right as she did so.

He said that Murray had a full-time job that required her to drive, and she previously had a serious medical diagnosis that required her to drive to appointments.

Judge Michael Ramsey said that, given her personal circumstances, he would not disqualify Murray from driving. Murray was convicted of careless driving, fined 500, and given three months to pay the fine.
What is Nato?

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) is a military alliance that provides collective security for its members.

It was founded in 1949 with 12 original members to counter Soviet influence after World War Two.

Today, it has 32 member states, including the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Turkey.

What does Nato do?

All Nato member states agree to a central principal of collective defense if any member is attacked by an external party.

Under Article 5 of its founding treaty, an attack on one member is considered an attack on all. The alliance has only invoked Article 5 once  after the 9/11 attacks in the United States in 2001.

Beyond traditional defence, Nato now focuses on cyber threats, hybrid warfare and the security impact of new technologies.

Why is Nato in the news?

Poland shot down drones that entered its airspace during a large-scale Russian attack on western Ukraine on Wednesday. Poland is a Nato member, while Russia is not.

Poland requested Nato consultations under Article 4 of its treaty, which states that members will consult whenever they believe their territory, political independence, or security is threatened.

Polish leader Donald Tusk said it is the closest Poland has come to open conflict since World War Two.

So, who is in Nato?

Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Netherlands Dick Schoof, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose with Nato country leaders for a family photo the Nato Summit at the Hague, Netherlands. Picture: Ben Stansall/PA Wire

Natos original members in 1949 were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the UK, and the US.

There are now 32 member countries, 30 members are in Europe, with two from North America.

The countries that joined Nato after its founding are Greece and Turkey (1952); West Germany (1955; from 1990 as Germany); Spain (1982); the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland (1999); Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia (2004); Albania and Croatia (2009); Montenegro (2017); North Macedonia (2020); Finland (2023); and Sweden (2024).

Is Ireland in Nato?

No.

Due to its long-standing policy of military neutrality, Ireland has never sought to join the organisation. Ireland is one of only four EU countries outside Nato, alongside Austria, Cyprus and Malta.

Although not a member, Ireland has taken part in Natos Partnership for Peace programme since 1999, focusing on peacekeeping, training and humanitarian work.

The Defence Forces have also worked alongside Nato troops in UN and EU missions abroad, highlighting cooperation without full membership.

Can Ireland join Nato in the future?

Yes. Nato membership is open to any other European state in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area.

The question of Nato membership remains politically sensitive.

Opinion polls consistently show strong support for Irelands neutrality, though debate has sharpened since Russias invasion of Ukraine.

The Government has recently held Consultative Forums on International Security Policy to explore Irelands defence role and future relationship with Nato.
On a recent RTE radio show, presidential candidate Catherine Connolly was subjected to what can only be described as an interrogation. Over the course of 20 minutes, the interviewer did not ask her a single question about why she is standing, about her values and vision, or about the grassroots campaign building around her. Instead, Connolly was repeatedly asked to justify herself in light of points of criticism quoted from The Irish Times and Tipp FM.

This interview was just one example of numerous negative articles and discussions about Connolly in major media outlets in recent weeks. Whilst much of this negative coverage has focused on Connollys past association with figures deemed beyond the pale, the real motivation seems to lie with her positions on neutrality, militarisation, and foreign policy.

Certainly those critical of government policy, whether opposition politicians or non-political actors, deserve to have their positions scrutinised by the media. But so too do the Government and those backing its positions. When it comes to discussions of neutrality, militarisation, and foreign policy, the Irish media is actively narrowing discussion by focusing on voices supportive of Government positions and accepting these positions without critical scrutiny whilst marginalising the values and concerns of the majority of the public.

The current Governments plans to remove the triple lock are part of a longer history of measures and procedures introduced to quietly undermine Irelands neutrality. Although this process advanced in a rather piecemeal fashion previously, it has been the focus of a concerted Government campaign since 2022, and has picked up pace with the new Government in early 2025.

Consultative forum participants

As part of this campaign, the last government staged a Consultative Forum on International Security Policy in June 2023, a sort of propaganda roadshow aimed at softening the public up for dropping neutrality.

Fronted by then tanaiste Micheal Martin, the consultative forum came wrapped in the participatory fig leaf of open, democratic dialogue but it was clear its real purpose was to promote an already established policy agenda.

A protest outside the Boole Lecture Theatres on the UCC Campus during the Consultative Forum on International Security Policy in 2023. Picture: Jim Coughlan

In the run-up to the event, President Michael D Higgins sparked controversy by criticising the narrow purview of the speakers selected. Indeed, of the 80-plus speakers, only one publicly advocates maintaining neutrality: Roger Cole, one of the founders of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance.

The remaining speakers included military personnel, representatives of Norway (a founding member of Nato), Switzerland (a heavily armed state currently debating its neutral status), and formerly neutral countries that have recently joined Nato (Finland and Sweden), as well as a variety of media commentators, think tank researchers, and academics, all of them critical of Irish neutrality, and many of whom publicly advocate joining military alliances and increasing military spending.

No place for plurality of opinions

It was clear that this pale phantasm of democratic deliberation was no place for a robust plurality of opinions, let alone for questioning the direction of government policy.

Most of those granted authority to speak about Irelands foreign policy in the media emanate from institutional contexts that reflect powerful interests: particularly protecting Irelands alignment with the transatlantic axis, represented by economic dependency on US capital and increasing EU integration.

By institutional contexts we mean those structures that provide funding, resources, and access to influence. These institutions include university research centres and academic positions funded by external organisations, such as Jean Monnet professorships funded directly by the EU to champion EU integration.

Think tanks and lobby groups

It also includes think tanks and lobby groups, formed to advance particular viewpoints and interests, although they often appear in media debate as impartial experts.

Such organisations are of course legitimate, as is their access to media coverage. The problem is the disproportionate access they enjoy and the revolving door between government, industry, and think tanks, which operates without obvious conflicts of interest being declared during media appearances.

Ireland does not have a strong tradition of think tanks steering debate but an ecosystem of such organisations has recently begun to emerge.

Established in 2019, the Azure Forum, Irelands first national security research institute, aims to fill potential vacuums with informed debate and independent thought leadership from reputable and trusted non-governmental sources to stem the possibility that public debate could otherwise be misinformed or even dominated by nefarious actors.

Many of those involved in the Azure Forum participated in the governments consultative forum.

The lobby group the Irish Defence and Security Association (IDSA) is another recent addition to Irelands non-governmental foreign policy ecosystem.

Founded in 2021 by former Irish soldier Pat OConnor, UCD professor Ben Tonra, and Azure Forums executive director, Caitriona Heinl, the IDSA aims to advance Irelands defence and security capabilities.

This principally means lobbying the government on behalf of the arms industry, with members including Lockheed Martin, the worlds largest defence company.

As early as 2022, The Ditch revealed that the IDSA had devised a strategy to influence policymakers and the public, including through the media. These internal documents demonstrate that the IDSA is acutely aware the Irish public has no appetite for increased defence spending, and that this is an obstacle to their aims.

In 2022, Caitriona Heinl sat on the then governments Commission on the Defence Forces, which published a report recommending significant changes to the Defence Forces funding, capabilities, staffing, and command structures. Further, the Defence Forces Research, Technology, and Innovation unit communicates to research and industry through the IDSA.

Hence, the IDSA, a defence industry lobby group, is not only shaping policy debate from inside and outside the government, but also acts as a broker between arms companies and the Defence Forces.

Critics dismissed

Critics of the governments defence policy plans are frequently dismissed by hawkish commentators as an embarrassment, absurd, emotional, stuck in the past, virtue-signalling, and free-riding.

When Jean Monnet professor John OBrennan wrote that we stink of a hypocrisy and mythology decades in the making ( Irish Examiner, May 17, 2023), it is clear that appeals for an honest debate about neutrality are far from transparent.

Rather, those opposed to government policy are aggressively delegitimised, even as their positions rest on long-cherished values and reasoned commitments to policy traditions that have ensured security for well over half a century.

Those who support the current Governments defence policies are of course entitled to their opinions and to express them in the media. Indeed, it is the responsibility of the Irish media to provide a forum where those views can be aired and debated.

Our concern is that the vast majority of media discussion is given over to these views and that this represents a dangerous and undemocratic narrowing of debate.

This exclusion of a diversity of opinion is particularly concerning when it is the majority opinion that is marginalised. A poll conducted earlier this year by Uplift and Ireland Thinks showed that the vast majority of the Irish public (75%) support neutrality; EU Barometer research has revealed that in Ireland for every adult that identifies defence as the highest priority for spending, there are 32 adults that think housing should be the first priority.

Who gets to make claims about Irelands best interests and on what basis? Where are the voices that dissent from the governments position? Where are the voices that represent the majority of the public?

These questions go beyond the issue of Irish neutrality and bear on the foundations of Irelands democratic system itself.

We should not be complacent about the freedom of expression we enjoy in Ireland, especially in light of the escalating restrictions placed on free speech in putatively liberal democracies such as Britain and Germany, let alone the US. Yet, neither should we underestimate the corrosive effect that excluding diversity of opinion has on our democracy.
Things are pretty frantic right now in the Department of Housing.

The sense of urgency that we are in a crisis has been ramped up since the current government came into being.

All manner of charges are being pushed through, some progressive, others with a whiff of panic.

In such an environment, the innate caution that used to inform governing can begin to slip.

Another cultural change that appears to be afoot in attempting to tackle the crisis is a tendency to sidestep what are considered vested interests, even if those interests are focused just as much on getting things done.

Some of this is just a product of being in a mad rush.

More of it is a fashionable trend to avoid experts as if they might bring to the table some awkward truths.

Read More Planning chaos as hundreds of applications risk being invalid after regulation error

Significant errors last month

It was in this environment that major errors occurred last month in the department.

A new regulation was brought into force in what appears to be a cack-handed manner that has now put the validity of planning permissions since 6 August in some peril.

The regulation is a Statutory Instrument designed to transpose an EU directive on renewable energy. The directive was scheduled to be transposed in the Autumn of 2023.

That didnt happen, which of itself is not unusual.

The department of housing, and other departments, can be sluggish in effecting changes from Europe.

So it was with the latest directive designed to ramp up renewable energy, REDIII.

Oversight risked attracting EU sanctions

Somebody in the department copped that if things didnt get moving by midsummer, Brussels would move on to another level of enforcement, with accompanying sanctions.

Statutory Instrument 274, to give effect to REDIII, thus came into force on 6 August.

Among the provisions of the statutory instrument was one that brought into being a new site notice to accompany planning applications.

This notice has a section where a box must be ticked to clarify whether or not the project in question is one concerning renewable energy.

Planners have stated that there is confusion as to whether this site notice must now be used in all planning applications.

If so, as some local authorities have interpreted, applications made since 6 August are potentially invalid.

In any event, the original statutory instrument was not published until 12 August, six days after it came into force.

Ordinarily there would be a lead-in time for such a change, but here it appears that the change came six days before anybody even knew about it.

Typographical error

In the original circular there was also a typographical error that inferred any observations  or objections  on an application would attract a fee of 6.5020, which is highly confusing.

In a clarifying circular sent out on 26 August this was acknowledged and ascribed to an error which arose during the process of converting the final statutory instrument from a Microsoft Word copy, to the official desktop publishing version.

The fee, this circular went on the say, remains at 20.

The major issues of confusion over what the changes mean for planning, however, remain.

On September 5, the Irish Planning Institute (IPI) senior executive Sean OLeary wrote to the department expressing alarm at what was going on.

The confusion around it all risks undermining the confidence of practitioners, and all those who engage with the planning system, he wrote.

It is wholly unacceptable that the statutory instrument was dated the 6 August 2025 and only published on the 12 August with the initial circular issued on the 15 August.

He pointed out that various local authorities were interpreting it in different ways.

One local authority has made clear to us that the new wording should be included in site notices for any and all planning applications.

This could lead to applications that have been made since 6 August being declared invalid if the new version of the site notice was not displayed.

Even where applications are not deemed to be invalid by a planning authority, there is a risk that this could be successfully argued in a legal challenge. What is the Departments view on this?, OLeary asked.

He suggested changes to the wording to attempt to eliminate the confusion.

In the absence of this change, extremely widespread invalidations could occur, which would place significant strain on the system as a month of applications would be re-submitted concurrently with regular caseload.

The confusion, quite obviously, has occurred at a time when the department is under severe pressure.

It also betrays an urgency, that while well placed, is ensuring that consultations, which were part of the system up until recently, are no longer being undertaken.

Contrary to the prevailing culture, its usually worthwhile to consult the experts.
What was meant to be a moment of silence in the US House of Representatives on Wednesday for the slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk erupted in shouting and finger-pointing, an episode that provided a bitter illustration of a nation divided by political acrimony.

As news of Mr Kirk's fatal shooting at a Utah university spread, lawmakers began to argue how to best honor him. US Representative Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican, raised her hand and asked for someone to lead a prayer, adding, Silent prayers get silent results.

Some Democrats then questioned why other killings that involved less prominent figures were not getting the same attention, according to one lawmaker present, which resulted in swearing and accusations about politicizing tragedies.

Republican house speaker Mike Johnson pounded the gavel for order, while an unidentified person shouted, Pass a gun law!

Mr Kirk, 31, co-founder of the conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA and a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, was shot while speaking at an event in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday. The motive is unknown and it was not clear whether a suspect had been arrested.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., right, talk to reporters after a closed-door meeting with victims in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case investigation, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

His death left many of his fellow conservatives seething and blaming liberals for the assault, while Democrats largely kept to a more reserved tone, decrying political violence generally and again calling for stronger gun laws.

It was a debate far too familiar - and personal - for lawmakers.

Theres no excuse for political violence in our country, its got to end, said Steve Scalise, the No. 2 Republican in the House of Representatives, who survived being shot in 2017 at a congressional baseball practice.

Its a problem that weve seen grow and its got to be addressed. Its got to stop.

According to the most recent data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 46,728 people died from gun violence in the US in 2023, the third-highest figure ever recorded.

Two years ago, Congress passed the first sweeping gun-control measure in 30 years, a bipartisan bill that tightened loopholes and increased background checks but has done little to stem shootings.

Charlie Kirk hands out hats before speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)

YAWNING POLITICAL DIVIDE

The differing reactions suggested that Mr Kirks death likely will only deepen Americas yawning political divide  as two assassination attempts on Mr Trump did last year. Almost a quarter century has passed since the nation was last unified by tragedy, following the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

Before the identity of the shooter was known, prominent right-wing figures were framing the incident as a part of a broader assault by the left against conservatism.

"America has lost one of its greatest champions," White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller wrote on X. "All of us must now dedicate ourselves to defeating the evil that stole Charlie from this world."

Laura Loomer, a MAGA loyalist who has Mr Trump's ear, called for "cracking down on the Left with the full force of the government. Every single Left wing group that funds violent protests needs to be shut down and prosecuted. No mercy."

Elon Musk, the X platforms billionaire owner, was even more blunt. The Left is the party of murder, he wrote.

Mr Trump - who routinely refers to his political rivals as "radical left lunatics" who he warns represent an existential threat to America - called the shooting an outgrowth of overheated rhetoric.

"Violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree - day after day, year after year - in the most hateful and despicable way possible," Mr Trump said in a video posted to his Truth Social platform.

The reaction from Democrats was more muted. "We dont yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy, former president Barack Obama said in a statement.

Democratic former US Representative Gabby Giffords, who was critically wounded by a gunman in 2012, said, Democratic societies will always have political disagreements, but we must never allow America to become a country that confronts those disagreements with violence.

One exception was Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a potential 2028 presidential candidate who placed his finger squarely on Trump for encouraging political violence.

"Its gotta stop, Mr Pritzker told reporters. I think there are people who are fomenting it in this country. I think the presidents rhetoric often foments it.

Thomas Hess and friend Nolan Jenson stand in front of the Capitol with flags after members of the community gathered at the Capitol in Salt Lake City to honor Charlie Kirk after he was shot at an event at Utah Valley University and later died at a local hospital, on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Scott G Winterton/The Deseret News via AP)

PUBLIC REJECTS POLITICAL VIOLENCE

Americans overwhelmingly reject political violence.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in October of last year asked if Americans agreed with a statement that it was "acceptable for a member of my political party to threaten and/or intimidate others to achieve a political goal."

Just 6% of respondents - a trivially small share in terms of an opinion survey - said they agreed.

Ruth Braunstein, a professor of sociology at Johns Hopkins University who has studied Mr Kirk and the right, said the shooting had the potential to spike already heated political tensions in the country.

"It is obviously a tragedy on a personal level, but it also does have the capacity to further inflame a political environment where the temperature is already way too high. That's a real possibility, and a real risk," Ms Braunstein said.

Christian Heyne, chief policy officer at Brady - a gun violence protection group named for James Brady, a former White House press secretary shot and seriously wounded during a 1981 assassination attempt against Republican President Ronald Reagan - urged the parties to find common ground on guns.

People outside at Timpanogos Regional Hospital await the transport of Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA who was shot and killed, on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)

"Gun violence doesn't check party ID. It is indiscriminate. And the American people always lose, Mr Heyne posted on the social media site BlueSky. We know change is possible. We must stop pretending there are 'sides' and fight together to build a safer future."

Mr Kirks shooting came as the conservative media ecosystem had been convulsing for several days over the political significance of violence.

In recent days, its prominent voices including Mr Trump have been spotlighting the August 22 killing of a Ukrainian refugee in North Carolina, claiming it was a product of liberal criminal-justice policies.

Mr Kirk, no stranger to fanning the flames of controversy, had taken a deep interest in the case. In an interview on Fox News on Tuesday, Mr Kirk said the narrative advanced by liberals in the past 10 years (is) that there is a relentless assault against Black people on behalf of white people.

Mr Kirk said that was not true. White individuals are more likely to be attacked, especially per capita, by black individuals in this country.

One Republican who was trying to lower the temperature was Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who said Mr Kirks death should not serve as an excuse for further strife.

Every single person who encourages aggressive responses to it rather than civil discourse owns a certain amount of responsibility for his death and anyone elses, Mr Tillis said in an interview.

Few on either side are likely to listen to Mr Tillis, however. He is retiring from politics.
Charlie Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, was shot and killed on Wednesday at a college event in what the state governor called a political assassination carried out from a rooftop.

This is a dark day for our state. Its a tragic day for our nation, said Utah Governor Spencer Cox.

I want to be very clear, this is a political assassination.

No suspect was in custody late on Wednesday, though authorities were searching for a new person of interest, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Well-wishers pay their respects at a makeshift memorial at the national headquarters of Turning Point USA /Ross D Franklin/AP)

Two people were detained earlier in the day, but neither was determined to have had any connection to the shooting and both have been released, Utah public safety officials said.

Authorities did not immediately identify a motive but the circumstances of the shooting drew renewed attention to an escalating threat of political violence in the United States that in the last several years has cut across the ideological spectrum.

The assassination drew bipartisan condemnation, but a national reckoning over ways to prevent political grievances from manifesting as deadly violence seemed elusive.

Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University show Mr Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans The American Comeback and Prove Me Wrong.

A single shot rings out and Mr Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as a large volume of blood gushes from the left side of his neck.

Stunned spectators are heard gasping and screaming before people start to run away.

In honor of Charlie Kirk, President Trump is ordering all American flags throughout the U.S. to be lowered to Half Mast. pic.twitter.com/FOYHIZU2FD  The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 10, 2025

Mr Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political organisation.

Immediately before the shooting, Mr Kirk was taking questions from an audience member about mass shootings and gun violence.

Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years? the person asked.

Mr Kirk responded: Too many.

The questioner followed up: Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?

Counting or not counting gang violence? Mr Kirk asked.

Then a single shot rang out.

The assailant, who Mr Cox pledged would be held accountable in a state with the death penalty, wore dark clothing and fired from a building roof some distance away to the courtyard where the event took place.

Some 3,000 people were in attendance, according to a statement from the Utah Department of Public Safety, which also said the university police department had six officers working at the event along with Mr Kirks own security detail.

The death was announced on social media by Mr Trump, who praised the 31-year-old Mr Kirk, the co-founder and chief executive of the youth organisation Turning Point USA, as Great, and even Legendary.

Later on Wednesday, he released a recorded video from the White House in which he called Mr Kirk a martyr for truth and freedom and blamed the rhetoric of the radical left for the killing.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with moderator Charlie Kirk, during a Generation Next White House forum in 2018 (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

Utah Valley University said the campus was immediately evacuated and remained closed.

Classes were cancelled until further notice.

Those still on campus were asked to stay in place until police officers could safely escort them off campus.

Armed officers walked around the neighbourhood bordering the campus, knocking on doors and asking for information on the assailant.

Officers were seen looking at a photo on their phones and showing it to people to see if they recognised a person of interest.

The event, billed as the first stop on Mr Kirks The American Comeback Tour, had generated a polarising campus reaction.

An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Mr Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures.

The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.

The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.  Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 10, 2025

The shooting drew swift condemnation across the political aisle as Democratic officials joined Mr Trump, who ordered flags lowered to half-mast and issued a presidential proclamation, and Republican allies of Mr Kirk in decrying the violence.

The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible, Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom, who last March hosted Mr Kirk on his podcast, posted on X.

The shooting appeared poised to become part of a spike of political violence that has touched a range of ideologies and representatives of both major parties.

The attacks include the assassination of a Minnesota state politician and her husband at their house in June, the firebombing of a Colorado parade to demand Hamas release hostages, and a fire set at the house of Pennsylvanias governor, who is Jewish, in April.

The most notorious of these events is the shooting of Mr Trump during a campaign rally last year
Qatars prime minister has said Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu killed any hope over the release of hostages still held in the Gaza Strip after Israel attacked Hamas chiefs in Doha.

The comments from Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, ahead of appearing at the United Nations on Thursday, underlined the wider anger among Gulf Arab countries over Israels strike that killed at least six people.

I was meeting one of the hostages families the morning of the attack, Sheikh Mohammed told CNN in an interview.

They are counting on this (ceasefire) mediation, they have no other hope for that.

Many Palestinians say they do no have the resources or the energy to move from Gaza City (AP)

Sheikh Mohammed added: I think that what Netanyahu has done yesterday, he just killed any hope for those hostages.

His remarks came as thousands of Palestinians sought to flee Gaza City ahead of Israels impending offensive there. The numbers leaving the city have grown in recent days, though many have refused because they say they no longer have the strength or money to relocate.

The Israeli militarys plans for the next phases of its operation in what it calls Hamas last remaining stronghold is aimed taking over the largest Palestinian city that was already devastated from earlier raids and experiencing famine.

The plans have drawn widespread condemnation and add to Israels already unprecedented global isolation, which intensified further this week following the strike on Qatar.

The attack on the territory of a US ally alarmed countries in the Middle East and beyond. It also marked a dramatic escalation in the region and risked upending talks aimed at ending the war and freeing hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.

Sheikh Mohammed was expected to attend a UN Security Council meeting later on Thursday, part of a diplomatic push by Qatar after the strike, and Pakistans Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was set to visit Doha to underscore Pakistans support for Qatars security and sovereignty.

Qatar also said it was organising an Arab-Islamic summit next week in Doha to discuss the attack.

The air strike on Doha killed five Hamas members plus a security staff member (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Hamas said on Tuesday that its top leaders survived the strike but that five lower-level members were killed, including the son of Khalil al-Hayya  Hamass leader for Gaza and its top negotiator  as well as three bodyguards and the head of Mr al-Hayyas office.

Hamas, which has sometimes only confirmed the assassination of its leaders months later, offered no immediate proof that Mr al-Hayya and other senior figures had survived.

Qatar and Egypt have been key mediators to try to reach a ceasefire in the war in Gaza. Qatar has hosted Hamass political leadership for years in Doha, in part over a request by the US to encourage negotiations between the militant group and Israel.

There was no immediate reaction to Sheikh Mohammeds remarks from Mr Netanyahu, whose government has engaged in wars across the region since Hamas October 7 2023 assault on Israel.

However, Mr Netanyahu has continued to defend the strikes and threatened further action against Qatar a day after US President Donald Trump had sought to ease tensions between the US allies, including by assuring the Gulf nation that there would be no more such strikes on its soil.

I say to Qatar and all nations who harbour terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice, Mr Netanyahu said. Because if you dont, we will.

In what appeared to be the first move by a Gulf Arab state over the strike, the United Arab Emirates blocked Israeli firms from participating in the Dubai Air Show in November, Israeli media reported.

The Israeli Defence Ministry told The Associated Press on Thursday that it had received the notification from the exhibition organisers to the industries.

An estimated one million Palestinians  around half of Gazas overall population  live in the area of north Gaza around Gaza City, according to the Israeli military and the United Nations. On Wednesday, dozens of vehicles, motorbikes and donkey carts loaded with belongings lined the citys coastal road as they tried to leave.

Members of the Abdullah family who were evacuated from Gaza City set up their tent in a camp for displaced Palestinians (Jehad Alshrafi/AP)

Amal Sobh, displaced from Beit Lahia with 30 relatives  including 13 orphans  said the three-wheel vehicle carrying their belongings broke down and they had no fuel, leaving the family stranded.

After one of her boys came down with a fever, the only food they were able to get was bread that a passer-by gave to them.

I have 13 orphans. The one who is in my lap, his temperature is high like fire, she told The Associated Press. I dont have money to buy medicine for him.

Meanwhile in Muwasi, an area at the southern end of the strip where Israel has encouraged people to move, displaced Palestinians from northern Gaza struggled to find shelter due to overcrowding and lack of adequate resources. Many have been forced to live on the streets.

Atwah Awad said aid has not reached her or her family.

I slept in the street tonight. Who would accept that I sleep in the street? No water, no food, no bathrooms.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel in 2023, abducting 251 people and killing some 1,200, mostly civilians. Forty-eight hostages are still held inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed to be alive.

Israels retaliatory offensive has killed more than 64,700 Palestinians, according to Gazas Health Ministry.
Belarus has freed 52 political prisoners as the United States announced it was lifting sanctions on the isolated countrys national airline.

Belarus, a close ally of Russia, has been repeatedly slapped with Western sanctions both for its authoritarian governments crackdown on human rights and its role in Moscows invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Its president, Alexander Lukashenko, has ruled the nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist for more than three decades, and allowed the Kremlin to use Belarusian territory to send troops and weapons into Ukraine.

But for more than a year, Mr Lukashenko has sought to mend ties with the West in the hopes of easing the sanctions and the countrys international isolation. He has regularly released prisoners as a way to win favour.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has freed political prisoners (Andrew Matthews/PA)

In June, Belarus freed Siarhei Tsikhanouski, a key dissident figure and the husband of exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and 13 others following a visit by a senior envoy of US President Donald Trump.

Shortly before the release became public on Thursday, Belarusian state media posted a video of US envoy John Coale announcing that Washington had lifted sanctions on Belarus national air carrier Belavia.

The airline was sanctioned by the European Union, the US, and others after Belarusian flight controllers ordered a commercial jet travelling from Greece to Lithuania to land in Minsk. Once the plane landed, authorities arrested Raman Pratasevich, a dissident journalist who was on board.

The concession from the US comes a day after Poland denounced an incursion of Russian drones into its territory  some from Belarus  in what Western officials called an act of aggression.

Nato jets were scrambled and shot some of the drones down. Russian and Belarusian troops have been gathering for war games scheduled to start on Friday.

Mr Trump, whose country is the major military power in Nato, offered an ambiguous initial response to the incursions, posting, Whats with Russia violating Polands airspace with drones? Here we go! on his Truth Social platform.

Mr Tsikhanouskaya, Belarus opposition leader in exile, warned that lifting sanctions could create new leverage for both Minsk and Moscow, whose aviation industry has been heavily sanctioned.

We understand that this is part of the deal, she told The Associated Press. But lifting sanctions without systemic changes in the country could open loopholes that both the Lukashenko regime and Russia will use to circumvent the sanctions.

Among those released on Thursday was Ihar Losik, a journalist for US government-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, according to human rights group Viasna.

More than 1,000 political prisoners still remain in Belarusian prisons and we cannot stop until they see freedom

The 33-year-old was convicted of organising mass riots, taking part in mass disorder, inciting social hatred and several other charges that remain unclear, according to the broadcaster. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in December 2021.

Also among those freed were 14 foreigners  six Lithuanians, two Latvians, two Poles, two Germans, one French national and one UK national, according to the Belarusian presidencys press service.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said the prisoners safely crossed into his country and left behind barbed wire, barred windows and constant fear.

I am deeply grateful to the United States and personally to President @realDonaldTrump for their continued efforts to free political prisoners. 52 is a lot. A great many. Yet more than 1,000 political prisoners still remain in Belarusian prisons and we cannot stop until they see freedom! Mr Nauseda wrote on X.

Almost 1,200 political prisoners remain behind bars in Belarus, according to Mr Viasna.

Mr Lukashenko has relentlessly cracked down on the opposition and independent media, especially after tens of thousands of people poured into the streets to protest against his re-election in August 2020, in a vote widely seen as rigged. They were the largest protests in the countrys history.

In the ensuing crackdown, tens of thousands were detained, with many beaten by police. Prominent opposition figures either fled the country or were imprisoned.

Mr Lukashenko has since extended his rule for a seventh term following a January 2025 election that the opposition also called a farce.
South Africas top court has ruled that an apartheid-era law banning husbands from taking their wifes family name or hyphenating both spouses surnames was unconstitutional.

The ruling by the Constitutional Court, which said the existing law must be amended, paves the way for husbands to adopt their wifes last name if they wish to do so.

The decision was met with mixed reactions and at times heated comments on social media, with some welcoming it as a progressive step for Africas leading democracy while others slammed it as going against the countrys culture and tradition.

The top court gave South African lawmakers and President Cyril Ramaphosa two years to amend the legislation.

The current law  known as the Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1992  only allows a woman to change her family name when her marital status changes.

The decision was the outcome of a 2024 case brought by two couples who sued the Department of Home Affairs for gender discrimination.

Andreas Nicolaas Bornman and Jess Donnelly-Bornman wanted both to have their family names hyphenated while Henry van der Merwe wanted to take his wife Jana Jordaans family name.

A lower court ruled last September that the current law was unconstitutional and amounted to gender discrimination.

The Constitutional Court on Thursday upheld that decision, with Justice Loena Theron saying the existing law was unfair and discriminated based on gender.

Some social media users said the ruling could help preserve rare family names. Others were less impressed, claiming it would erase traditional customs.

One user said on X that the ruling is intended to destroy the norms and values of black indigenous Africans.

South Africa was the first on the continent to legalise same-sex marriage in 2006, with both partners free to chose their surname after marriage.

The government also recognises polygamous marriages, in which men can take multiple wives according to their ethnic groups customs.
South Sudan first vice president Riek Machar is facing charges of treason and other serious crimes, local justice authorities said, as fears grow that the east African country could be edging towards a return to civil war.

Machar has been under house arrest since March after the transitional government which he is a part of accused him of subversive activities against President Salva Kiir.
Beijing raised its profile at the annual Shanghai Cooperation Council summit of non-Western countries just by providing a forum.

London (Special to Informed Comment; Feature)  China hosted the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Council (SCO) last week at its port of Tianjin, drawing a crowd of world leaders from 20 non-Western countries. The visitors included Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as heads of states from the former Soviet Union, South and Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. The focus of Western reporting was often on the summit as a declaration of a China-Russia axis to overturn the Western-led global order; or at least as a demonstration of a Chinese-led alternative to it. But the SCO is not a close military and economic alliance like NATO or the G7 and many of the heads of state attending were there to talk business, not challenge the status quo.

A Meeting for the Rest, Not the West

Governments attended the SCO summit for a multitude of different reasons. Some, like Russias President Vladimir Putin, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko, or Irans President Masoud Pezeshkian, the summit was a chance to demonstrate the limits of Western sanctions against them and their home countries. Both Russia and Iran have relied on China to buy their hydrocarbon exports as their relations with the West have plummeted, and Beijing buys around 90% of Irans heavily sanctioned oil shipments. But Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian also met on the sidelines of the summit to discuss Irans nuclear programme, independent of the SCO agenda both, demonstrating the events use as a diplomatic forum to member and observer states.

Other countries attended despite maintaining open diplomatic channels to the West. Indias Modi held his first meeting at the summit with Chinas President Xi Jinping on Chinese soil in seven years. He was also pictured with both Xi and Putin there, likely a signal to Washington that New Delhi intends to continue buying Russian oil, despite its traditional security and economic reservations about China. The White House has imposed an additional tariff on Indian exports to the US of 25% due to Indias Russian oil purchases. Modi said after the SCO summit last week that India and the US have a very positive and forward-looking comprehensive and global strategic partnership. But the pictures from Tianjin demonstrate that New Delhi is keeping its options open.

Not Everything Is About the U.S.

However, SCO members like India (and observer states there too) also attended the summit for reasons completely unrelated to the US tug-of-war with Russia and China. Indias arch-rival Pakistan is also an SCO member state and joined the same year New Delhi did. The two countries compete for influence within the SCO, as they do outside it. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev blaming India last week for blocking his countrys bid for full membership of the group as revenge for Bakus close diplomatic ties to Islamabad. India has been concerned about Pakistans influential army chief Asim Munirs visit to Washington in August, his second, and will not have been keen to strengthen Pakistans influence inside a geopolitical bloc India wants for itself.

One Hand Washes the Other

For most of the South Asia and Middle Eastern countries attending, the SCO summit also represented a valuable chance to institutionalise technological cooperation and financial aid. Since this also aligns with Chinese ambitions to create alternative global institutions under its influence rather than Western governments, the summit made some modest announcements towards these goals. These included plans to establish an SCO Development Bank to finance economic and infrastructure programmes that Russia had blocked for over a decade (preferring to channel aid to clients in Central Asia through institutions it controlled). Moscows need for Chinese diplomatic, material and economic support for its war in Ukraine forced it to concede, however.



File. Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People. Public Domain. Via Picryl.

China also pushed for recognition of its World AI Cooperation Organization (WICO) at the summit, indicating the ways Beijing is weaving Chinese technology designs and standards into development agreements with participating SCO countries. The SCO later issued a joint statement that all countries have equal rights to develop and use artificial intelligence, giving Beijing tactic support in its technology competition with the US in exchange for its development assistance. Beijing announced six new platforms for China-SCO collaboration in energy, green industry, the digital economy, technological innovation, higher education, and vocational and technical education. While it is not clear how President Xi intends to finance these initiatives, his focus on technological and green initiatives will have pleased SCO members and dialogue partners like Egypt.

Conclusion

President Xi made a speech at the SCO summit that contained plenty of coded criticisms of the US and other Western countries. Chinas complains about unnamed parties Cold War mentality, hegemonism and protectionism and how these continue to haunt the world was not the main focus of the event for most of the attendees, however. Often Eurasian states were attending for their own bilateral diplomatic reasons, such as Irans nuclear discussions with Russia, or Indias geopolitical rivalry with Pakistan. Highlighting that Western countries could not control their foreign policies was one aspect, but securing access to funding and deepening technology cooperation were often more important. As has been true of most of its history since the groups founding in 1996, the SCO is too diverse to function as a top-down Chinese controlled geopolitical bloc. It will however, remain an important tool in the projection of Chinese soft power into parts of the world like the Middle East and South Asia, which often feel attacked or neglected by Western governments.
By Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Rice University

(The Conversation)  The Israeli airstrike targeting senior Hamas political leaders in Qatar on Sept. 9, 2025, represents the crossing of a number of lines.

Resulting in the deaths of six people but seemingly failing to kill any members of Hamas leadership, the strike was the first serious attack on the sovereignty of any of the six Gulf Arab states by Israel to date.

The bombing, which destroyed a building in a busy residential area of the Qatari capital, Doha, was also an act of international aggression under Article 2, paragraph 4 of the United Nations Charter. And it marks a major escalation in the post-Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli-involved conflicts across the Middle East.

But it isnt the first time Israel has targeted individuals being hosted by one of the Gulf States. In 2010, Israeli operatives were successful in killing a senior Hamas operative in the United Arab Emirates.

That operation in Dubai set back Gulf-Israel relations for years. Similarly, the impact of the Doha strike will be consequential for what remains of Israeli ties in the Gulf now, as well as for the web of U.S.-Arab Gulf state defense partnerships that have underpinned regional security for decades.

Indeed, as an expert on Gulf Arab politics, I believe the latest development represents the gravest crisis for Israels budding relations in the Gulf.

The tangled history of Israel-Gulf ties

Aside from a Saudi contingent that fought in the 1948 war, the Arab Gulf countries have not been direct military participants in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Rather, they have deployed resources in other ways, such as providing financial support to states actively involved in fighting Israel and participating in the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo.

In addition, the Gulf states maintained the Arab League boycott of Israel until the 1990s, when the secondary and tertiary aspects of the boycott  which targeted outside companies and third countries that did business with Israel  were gradually diluted. Formal ties also emerged in the 1990s, with Qatar and Oman leading the way in hosting Israeli trade offices and the latter receiving visits by two Israeli prime ministers: Yitzhak Rabin in 1994 and Shimon Peres in 1996. Gulf Arab countries also hosted multilateral meetings as part of the Oslo peace process that launched in 1993 between Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

And yet, Israeli outreach to the Gulf states has always been vulnerable to upswings of violence in the occupied Palestinian territories, which led to the closure of the trade missions in Muscat, the capital of Oman, and Doha in the 2000s. Ties reached their lowest ebb in January 2010 after the Israeli security service Mossad dispatched a 27-strong death squad to Dubai to assassinate Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a senior weapons procurer for Hamas.

With Israeli operatives traveling into and out of the UAE using forged European and Australian passports, the killing infuriated the Emirati leadership and sent the discreet effort of building bilateral relations into a deep freeze for several years.

Ties only began to thaw in the turbulent aftermath of the Arab uprisings when Israel authorized the sale of sophisticated Pegasus spyware in 2013 as an olive branch to the UAE.

The subsequent upward trajectory of relations, which culminated in the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020, illustrated how shared interests in regional geopolitics could act as a salve for bilateral antagonism. The accords, initially signed by Bahrain and the UAE, represented the first recognition of Israel by an Arab state since Jordan back in 1994.

The gloomy diplomatic outlook after Doha

But it will be harder to repair ties this time around  not least because the strike on Doha comes after months of Gulf states mounting concern at the extensive and open-ended scope of Israeli attacks across the Middle East and the ongoing war in Gaza, which most Arab Gulf leaders have described in genocidal terms.

Over the past year, Israel has hit targets in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Yemen. In the process, Israel has destroyed large areas of southern Lebanon; bombed the ministry of defense in Syria; killed Ismail Haniyeh, a former head of the Hamas political office in Doha; killed the prime minister of the Houthi-controlled government in Yemen and multiple members of his cabinet; and launched the 12-day war against Iran.

That pattern of behavior caused deep alarm among Gulf officials who have strenuously sought to de-risk the region as they focus on large-scale development projects such as Vision 2030 in Saudi Arabia.

The war with Iran was particularly emblematic of these regional fears. Indeed, it ended with an Iranian missile strike on Qatar that targeted Al Udeid, the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East and the location of the forward headquarters of U.S. Central Command. The June 23 strike appeared to be a choreographed face-saving measure of limited retaliation after President Donald Trump had ordered U.S. airstrikes against three nuclear facilities in Iran the previous day. But the sight of the Qatari night sky lighting up with interceptor fire and missile debris falling in Doha nevertheless caused shock waves in the Gulf.

It was the first time a Gulf capital had came under attack by a state, rather than a militant nonstate group, since Iraq launched Scud missiles during the Gulf War in 1991 following its invasion of Kuwait.

Talk of diplomatic red lines

Irans attack on the U.S. air base in Qatar in June generated statements of solidarity with Doha from all other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, reflecting the degree to which the six Gulf Arab countries have come back together after the political rifts that divided them in the 2010s. The GCC has been most cohesive at times that its members perceive a common external threat, such as during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. That has also been evident after Israels military engagements since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.

Over the summer, alarm at Israels regional wars led prominent Saudi commentators to describe Israel as a chief spoiler, a routine violator of international norms and a contributor to instability. Such language had previously been reserved primarily for Iranian actions.

Anwar Gargash, a foreign policy advisor to UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan whose name adorns the Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi, described the Sept. 9 Israeli strike on Qatar as treacherous. It remains to be seen whether this is a red line which leads the UAE, or Bahrain, to suspend the Abraham Accords or break diplomatic ties with Israel.



File. Doha, Qatar, 2018.  Juan Cole.

Going forward, officials in Doha and other GCC capitals will be urgently assessing the implications of a strike by one U.S. partner and in the vicinity of a U.S. base meant to deter and detect regional aerial threats in the first place. And while the Trump administration has officially denied foreknowledge or involvement in the Israeli attack, even being caught in the dark will invite commentary about the apparent ineffectiveness of American deterrence and further damage Gulf states confidence in the U.S. defense and security support.

When Israeli forces killed Haniyeh, another Hamas political leader, in July 2024, they waited until he left Doha to attend the presidential inauguration in Iran before they struck in Tehran. Until now, the assumption had been that Israel would hit targets in states adversarial to the U.S. rather than allies or partners.

That line has been crossed, and across the Gulf there will be concern about what else may happen  for example, to Houthi delegates being hosted in Oman.

Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Fellow for the Middle East at the Baker Institute, Rice University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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South Sudan's Vice-President Riek Machar has been charged with murder, treason and crimes against humanity over an attack on a military base that killed more than 250 soldiers, the justice minister said Thursday.

The charges relate to an attack in March by a militia known as the White Army, which the government claims was acting under the orders of Machar.

He has been under house arrest for months as part of a power struggle with his long-time rival, President Salva Kiir.

"These crimes were marked by gross violations of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law, including the desecration of corpses, persecution of civilians, and attacks on humanitarian workers," Justice Minister Joseph Geng Akech said, according to a read-out provided to reporters in Juba.

The military base in Nasir, in northeastern South Sudan, was overrun by the so-called White Army, which refers to a loose band of armed youths from the same ethnic Nuer community as Machar, between March 3 and 7.

It was known that several senior officers including a general died in the attack, but the government had not previously stated that more than 250 soldiers were killed.

A United Nations helicopter also came under fire while attempting to rescue soldiers at the base, leading to the death of a pilot.
The defence lawyer for Rodrigo Duterte Thursday urged the International Criminal Court to shelve its crimes against humanity case against the former Philippines president, who he said was mentally unfit for trial.

Duterte, 80, was scheduled to appear at the ICC on September 23 to hear charges over his years-long campaign against drug users and dealers that rights groups say killed thousands.

The ICC ruled earlier this week to adjourn that hearing while judges assessed Duterte's health, but lawyer Nicholas Kaufman urged the case be shelved indefinitely.

Duterte "is not fit to stand trial as a result of cognitive impairment in multiple domains," wrote Kaufman in a legal filing published Thursday on the ICC website.

"Mr Duterte's condition will not improve and, for this reason, the Pre-Trial Chamber must adjourn all legal proceedings in his case indefinitely," he added.

The former leader is suffering from "significant cognitive deficiencies" affecting his memory, his day-to-day functioning, and his capacity for complex reasoning, according to Kaufman.

Duterte was arrested in Manila on March 11, flown to the Netherlands that same night and has been held at the ICC's detention unit at Scheveningen Prison since.

At his initial hearing, he followed by video link, appearing dazed and frail, barely speaking.

He is the first Asian former head of state charged by the ICC. He stands accused of 43 murders as a crime against humanity.

The ICC prosecutor's application for his arrest said Duterte's alleged crimes were "part of a widespread and systematic attack directed against the civilian population" in the Philippines.

"Potentially tens of thousands of killings were perpetrated," the prosecutor alleged of the campaign that targeted mostly poor men, often without proof they were linked to drugs.

Kaufman said his client's mental faculties had declined to the point where he was unable to understand the accusations against him or defend himself in court.

A lawyer for victims of Duterte's "war on drugs" has voiced anger over the ICC's postponement of the hearing originally scheduled for September 23.

"We expected that Duterte would do this, but the fact that he was able to convince the pre-trial chamber to postpone that indefinitely is scary," Kristina Conti told AFP.
South Sudan's Vice-President Riek Machar has been charged with murder, treason and crimes against humanity over an attack by an ethnic militia on a military base that killed more than 250 soldiers, the justice minister said Thursday.

A fragile power-sharing agreement between President Salva Kiir and his first vice-president Machar has been unravelling for months in the world's youngest country.

In early March, a militia from Machar's ethnic Nuer community known as the White Army attacked a military base in Nasir County, Upper Nile State in the northeast of the country.

The government says Machar was responsible and has now charged him and 20 others with murder, conspiracy, terrorism, treason, destruction of public property and crimes against humanity.

"These crimes were marked by gross violations of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law, including the desecration of corpses, persecution of civilians, and attacks on humanitarian workers," Justice Minister Joseph Geng Akech said, according to a read-out provided to reporters in Juba.

Kiir soon after issued a presidential decree stripping Machar of his government position, along with another co-accused, petroleum minister Puot Kang Choi, according to a statement on state television.

- Deadly attack -

The military base in Nasir was overrun by the White Army between March 3 and 7.

Several senior officers including a general died and a United Nations helicopter came under fire while attempting to rescue soldiers at the base, leading to the death of a pilot.

"This case sends a clear message: those who commit atrocities against the people of South Sudan, against our armed forces, and against humanitarian personnel will be held accountable, no matter their position or political influence," the minister said in the statement.

The UN, which operates a major peace-building mission in South Sudan, said at the time that the country was "witnessing an alarming regression that could erase years of hard-won progress".

Kiir had already been moving for months to consolidate power and sideline Machar, who was placed under house arrest a few weeks after the attack, while many of his allies have also been detained.

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 but was quickly plunged into a devastating five-year civil war between Kiir and Machar that left some 400,000 dead.

The war ended with a power-sharing agreement in 2018 but attempts by the international community to ensure a democratic transition have failed.

Elections that were due to take place in December 2024 were once again postponed for two years.

South Sudan has also made headlines after the United States deported eight convicted criminals to the country in July, only one of whom was South Sudanese.
SBS's new crime thriller 'Queen Mantis' is breaking with critics and audiences, and much of the attention is centered on the riveting chemistry between lead actors Go Hyun-jung and Jang Dong-yoon.

The show, which aired on September 5, has already crossed over 10% viewership rates in its first two episodes.

The drama is about the tense and complicated relationship between Jung Yi-shin, a serial killer who is played by Go Hyun-jung, and her estranged son Cha Soo-yeol, a detective who is played by Jang Dong-yoon.

The coupling has ignited a buzz online, with many fans praising the intensity of their performances and unusual chemistry.

"They play a mother and son, but their chemistry is so legendary, you forget it's fiction," one fan commented on social media.

To continue showcasing their on-screen relationship, a pictorial for Dazed Korea of the two stars has come out.

READ MORE: Jang Dong Yoon and Go Hyun Jung's 'Queen Mantis' Locks In Premiere DateHere's What to Expect

Go Hyun-jung, in the editorial, is dressed in simple ensemblesjeans and T-shirt, or a sharp shirt and tieexecuted with understated assurance.

Jang Dong-yoon returns the compliment, and collectively, their similar proportions convey a look of ease and familiarity.

The production team says the mood that has been captured in the pictorial is the result of the close collaboration established on the set.

The two actors performed scenes that required a great deal of emotional exhaustion every time they met in the drama," a representative explained.

"But they completed high-quality scenes through their consideration for each other, strong chemistry, and extraordinary affection for the drama and their characters."

The melodrama weaves together themes of family treachery, justice, and redemption against a setting of strained investigations and secrets buried deep.

Heavy as the subject matter is, the working relationship between Go and Jang has rendered the emotional scenes all the more credible.

READ MORE: Go Hyun-jung Proves She's Still a Queen in Jaw-Dropping Swimsuit Shoot [PHOTO]
LOCAL opposition to a 1.6m "cycle path to nowhere on the R448 between the villages of Moone and Timolin is resigned to its completion following the presentation of a workshop and meetings earlier this week (2 September).

Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), Kildare County Council (KCC) and engineering consultants AECOM held a workshop in the parish hall in Moone last Tuesday. This was followed by a public meeting organised by the Moone and Timolin Positive Action Group on Tuesday night attended by an estimated 150 locals.

The project was begun by AECOM in July, and already KCC has temporarily reduced the speed limit for motorised traffic on this stretch from 100kph to 60kph until after the anticipated completion by 19 December.

The workshop was to help interact with the locals, and while it was very useful, it was 18 months too late, said Mark Hilliard, chair of the Moone and Timolin group.

The project looks like its there to stay, but we were able to give them a list of 14 points in relation to access, visibility, walkability and road crossings, particularly the Baltinglass-Athy Road.

The council did say they would be back to us within 10 days to address these concerns.

We gave these to our local elected representatives two weeks ago, but it was Martin Heydon who persuaded Minister for Transport Darragh OBrien to make sure TII to interact with us, because he felt we got railroaded.

I think the representative from TII heard our concerns was taken aback with the strength of feeling against the project, particularly with the consultation process which was very badly handled.

Then it began on 7 July with a million traffic cones and everybody wondering whats this about?

Its a 1.6m project that starts nowhere and goes nowhere, he said.

So did Mr Hilliard think the locals had been properly listened to up until now.

Absolutely not! I think yesterday was the first time our voices were heard, and though we thought yesterday was a box-ticking exercise, we are happy something might come out of it, he admitted.

Both KCC and TII were invited to attend the public meeting, which they declined, but it was attended by cllrs Aoife Breslin and Ivan Keatley, Minister Martin Heydon, and Senator Fiona OLoughlin.

We found out this is one of three or four pilot schemes around the country, and were the first one  but were not even on the TII map for pilot cyclepath projects! Mr Hilliard revealed.

TII used the Section 38 process (for consultation) and it was wholly inadequate, a total waste of time.

The council actually did a cyclist survey on the route and found just 47 users in one week  and 10 of those was one fella going back and forth to the shops! Theres only 240 people in the two villages, and Id say the council is reeling, because TII are the paymasters and they had their eyes opened last night.

Its a big joke. We cant even get a light or a pavement for the village, but they can put this in for 1.6m? Its a complete and shambolic waste of taxpayers money.

It doesnt really matter if cyclists use it, they (TII) just want to observe the psychological effects it has on motorists."
A TEENAGER who allegedly raped his stepmother in their home two days prior to his court appearance was remanded into custody for a week after the State established that there was a bed available at the youth offenders facility in Oberstown, Co Dublin.

It is alleged that the youth committed the offences at the address in the county on the night of 2 September and was arrested shortly after midnight after neighbours notified the authorities.

He was charged in a garda station in the county and made no reply to the formal charge on two counts contrary to Criminal Law (Rape) Act.

The arresting garda told Naas District Court that because the alleged offence was so new, no directions were yet available from the DPP, and that the defendant had made no application for bail.

Defending solicitor Dave Powderley told the court that: the parents are estranged because of this case but gave no further detail on this point.

He confirmed an appropriate adult  a peace commissioner  attended the garda station where his client was held in locus parentis (in the place of parents).

Mr Powderley also confirmed the availability in Oberstown, and elocuted his clients wish to stay in custody.

Judge Desmond Zaidan asked the investigating garda for a brief outline of the facts.

The injured party was put on her knees on the ground, she was digitally penetrated in the vagina, and he penetrated her anus with his penis, he said.

Mr Powderley informed the court of the number of 999 calls made on the night, his client was one of those, and this was accepted by the state.

He added his young client had a previous history of psychiatric episodes and asked the court for an assessment on his fitness to plea, and his fitness to stand trial.

Do you want me to recommend an assessment or order it? asked the judge.

Order it, said Mr Powderley, to which Jude Zaidan acceded.

He remanded the teen into custody until 11 September but warned Mr Powderley that this period of detention could well be extended as in my experience a psychiatric or psychological report can take up to 21 days.
Social Democrat Senator Patricia Stephenson has called on the UN to show commitment to a two-state solution in the Middle East and ensure that Palestinian voices are heard at its General Assembly which commenced this week.

Proceedings have already got off to a rocky start as the Trump administration refused to grant visas to over 80 Palestinian officials, including the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, prompting calls for a meeting to be held the UNs other main site in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Carlow/Kilkenny based senator who is also the Social Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson says that decisions made in relation to Gaza and Palestine will serve as a marker of the international communitys credibility and humanity and also expressed concern over the behaviour of the assemblys host country.

READ NEXT: Kilkenny bus service to cease at the end of September after Pilot Phase

The UNGA has not got off to a promising start today. At a time when we are seeing genocide, forced starvation and the mass displacement of the Gazan population at the hands of Israel, it is more important than ever for Palestinian voices to be heard at the UNGA.

Several member states have signalled their intention to recognise Palestinian statehood at the assembly despite furious criticism from Israel and the United States and Senator Stephenson has requested the Irish delegation to play a central role in utilising UN mechanisms to ensure any progress cannot be vetoed by a Security Council member.

This is a pivotal time for the international community. Ireland must also call on member states to invoke the Uniting for Peace Resolution, which will allow the assembly to take action on Gaza by bypassing any potential veto at the UN Security Council.
The logical thing after walking around the country is to walk across a continent.

Those were the words of an Irishman endeavouring to complete a 5,500-kilometer barefoot journey across the length of Europe in aid of two charities.

When The Mayo News first interviewed the Claremorris man Eamonn Keaveney in the opening days of his journey in March of this year, he had covered a total of 16 kilometres.

Now, some six months on, he has made history. On Wednesday, Eamonn surpassed the world record for the longest distance covered barefoot.

The Mayo man covered some 3,410 kilometers, beating the previous record held by Polish man Pawel Durakiewicz, who covered 3,409.75 kilometers when he walked around the Iberian peninsula in January 2024.

So far, his Herculean journey has spanned Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, and soon Austria. Now, he can take a moment to reflect, with his name in the record books, having walked the distance from Malin Head to Mizen Head, and back again three times, as well as the distance from Killala to Ballindine for good measure.

READ MORE: Mayo man talks barefoot walk from Istanbul to Claremorris

However, his task is far from done. Ahead of him lies another mind-boggling 2,000 kilometres of road, with Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, England, and the Emerald Isle still to traverse without even the comfort of a pair of shoes.



It's hard to know when Eamonn will see the spire of Saint Colman's Church once again. However, one thing is for certain: when he does walk down the main street and into Ward's, that pint of Guinness will be waiting for him.

Eamonn has so far raised over 40,000 for charities since the start of his challenges. Now, with the mammoth task of making it home to Claremorris from Turkey on foot, he will be asking people to donate to two worthy causes.

The first half of his donations will go to the mental health group Jigsaw. The other half will be donated to Friends of the Earth, an environmental organisation working to create a sustainable future.

Im conscious of the fact that people are being asked to donate to a lot of different fundraisers, he said. Were in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, so Im chuffed with the amount so far. Its for two really good causes.

So far, he has raised a huge 3,205 of his 10,000 target on iDonate, and is hoping to reach his target by the end of his Herculean endeavour.

Those wishing to donate to his efforts can do so via his iDonate page here..
Gardai have appealed for privacy and respect after drones were flown over the search site for a missing seven-year-old Irish boy in Donabate, Co Dublin.

An Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Geographic Zone, similar to a temporary restricted airspace, has been in place over the area since September 2, the day after gardai first took control of open ground in Donabate as part of the investigation.

Despite this, gardai say they detected a drone over the site yesterday, Wednesday. The operator was located and claimed to be flying it on behalf of a media outlet, and the breach is now under investigation.

READ MORE | 'Mammoth task' - Irishman breaks world record for longest barefoot walk



A second drone was observed again today, Thursday, with gardai confirming this incident is also under investigation.

Breaches are investigated by the Irish Aviation Authority and An Garda Siochana.

In a statement, gardai urged the media and the public not to use any images captured by drones, stressing that they were obtained in breach of airspace restrictions.

"An Garda Siochana again appeals to the media to provide Gardai with the space and time to carry out this search operation sensitively and sympathetically for everybody involved," the statement said.

"Any images which may have been captured by a UAS of the search site should not be used by any media as they have been obtained in breach of a UAS Geographic Zone."

READ MORE | Netflixs Grown Ups begins filming in Ireland with star-studded Irish cast



The search relates to the disappearance of a boy who would now be aged seven. Concerns for his welfare were first raised by Tusla and reported to gardai on August 29.

The child was last known to have lived at The Gallery Apartments in Donabate, but gardai have found no evidence of his current whereabouts or that he is still alive.

Investigating gardai took control of an area of open ground in Donabate, Co. Dublin, on September 1, which remains the subject of an ongoing search.

On September 2, investigating gardai confirmed that they "believe the boy is missing, presumed dead".

The investigation is being led from an incident room at Swords Garda Station, and is ongoing.

Gardai continue to appeal to anyone with information to contact Swords Garda Station on 01 666 4700, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.

READ MORE | 'The thought of losing my mom terrified me'- Irish girl's plea for help after cancer diagnosis
In the midst of torrid year for the EU where it has been criticised for its weak response to Israels ongoing genocide in Gaza and Donald Trumps tariff war, you may have missed the news of a pivotal vote thats fast approaching the Strasbourg parliament.

The proposed Regulation to Prevent and Combat Child Sexual Abuse, also known as Chat Control, says it aims to fight those proliferating child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online.

While supporting such a noble-sounding initiative might seem like an absolute no-brainer, the way in which this legislation is planned to be implemented will cause far more issues than it claims to solve.

The current Chat Control proposal mandates the scanning of all private digital communications, even those which would have previously been protected by end-to-end encryption.

This automatic examination of every message and file would establish a system of mass surveillance without reasonable suspicion on all 450 million citizens of the EU.

While many supporters of the legislation back it out of a genuine concern for childrens safety and well-being, the bypassing of encryption online would open a permanent backdoor to be exploited by hackers, criminals and hostile state actors and put sensitive financial, medical and private data at risk to leave everyone, including children, far less safe.

Chat Control is also entirely incompatible with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in which Article 7 and 8 guarantee citizens rights to respect of privacy and family life along with the protection of personal data, both core democratic ideals of the bloc.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) are two of many bodies to highlight the glaring issues with the proposal and its contradictions to purported European values, with the ECHR in ruling in February 2024 that the degradation of end-to-end encryption cannot be regarded as necessary in a democratic society.

Despite these clear warnings, the EU Parliament is pressing ahead with a vote on the problematic proposal that was first tabled in 2022.

Sophisticated networks of criminals who are creating and distributing CSAM are likely to be largely unaffected by Chat Control as they can easily move communications to platforms outside the EU or onto the darkweb, leaving regular people as the targets of unwarranted surveillance.

READ NEXT: 'Pivotal time for the international community:' Kilkenny senator urges action at UN General Assembly

In addition, automated scanners like the ones that will potentially be used in the EU routinely flag innocent content, putting people at risk of false accusations and damaging investigations.

An independent report, commissioned by the EU Parliament itself, found that there are currently no technological solutions that can detect CSAM without resulting in a high rate of false positives while the UN has also warned that mass surveillance fails to prevent abuse and actually leads to children being less safe.

Other ramifications of the removal of online privacy include increased difficulty for journalists in communicating with vulnerable sources and whistleblowers in protecting their identities when revealing important information.

While the safety of children is undoubtedly a vital issue to discuss and a growing problem, removing civil liberties from all citizens and surveilling all private communication is the worst possible course of action to take.

The huge amount of time and money that would go into implementing Chat Control would be much better served in improving resources and training for law enforcement, social workers and parents in recognising and investigating abuse under the principles of reasonable suspicion and cause.

It seems unbelievable that the EU could be considering the installation of such a dystopian framework, but at the time of writing, the majority of member states either support the proposal or are undecided.

Oh, and one more thing. Politicians' devices will be exempt from surveillance due to security risks, the hypocrisy of which just about sums up the proposal.

The European Council will announce its final position on Friday and the earliest possible date for a vote is October 14.

The fate of Chat Control still hangs in the balance so contact your MEPs with any concerns through fightchatcontrol.eu.

TAP HERE FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS
Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words "Artificial Intelligence AI" in this illustration taken Feb. 19, 2024. Photo by Reuters

ASEAN must harness generative artificial intelligence (AI) and strengthen data sharing in the fight against transnational crime, said Malaysian Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

At the 19th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (AMMTC) on Sept. 9, he said global disruptions and new technologies were redefining security, with criminals exploiting digital platforms, cryptocurrencies and AI to expand their operations across borders.

The generative AI technology is a game-changer for achieving some of the goals, but the technology is only helpful with the right and sufficient data.

"That is why data sharing is a must if we want to work together to stop cross-border crimes," he underscored, as cited by Malaysia's news agency Bernama.

He also urged ASEAN to match unity with courage, by facing new threats, updating outdated systems and making bold decisions to protect the dignity and safety of its 680 million citizens.

ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn warned that deeper integration and digitalization also create risks, as criminal networks exploit open economies, porous borders and emerging technologies for activities ranging from human trafficking and cybercrime to money laundering and environmental offenses.

He stressed that such threats undermine economic stability, weaken institutions and erode public trust, heavily causing impact on the most vulnerable communities. He urged ASEAN members to turn commitments into concrete cooperation, coordinated action and tangible results.

ASEAN ministers and senior officials in security and law enforcement convene in Melaka from Sept. 8 to 12 for the 19th AMMTC and Related Meetings to strengthen regional cooperation and to address threats posed by transnational crime.
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A view of the city amid air pollution in Bangkok, Thailand, Feb. 2, 2023. Photo by Reuters

The capital city of Bangkok and four northern provinces have been officially declared "pollution control zones" as part of Thailand's systematic effort to tackle rising levels of hazardous PM2.5 dust.

At a meeting of the National Environment Board (NEB) on Sept. 8, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong and attended by Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt, the NEB designated Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lamphun and Mae Hong Son as control zones in response to worsening air quality.

Officials said the designation is intended to streamline and strengthen enforcement of anti-pollution measures, with smog levels expected to rise during the winter and dry seasons.

In northern Thailand, new controls will focus on long-standing problems including forest fires, open burning, and vehicle emissions, which have caused persistent smog and health risks for local communities.

The decision allows authorities to implement preventive and remedial actions more effectively, reflecting closer cooperation between central, regional and local agencies.

The NEB meeting also stressed the need for broader community involvement, such as reducing outdoor burning, promoting cleaner fuel use, and expanding air-quality monitoring systems.

Officials hailed the move as an important step toward sustainable air pollution management, with the ultimate goal of safeguarding public health and reinforcing confidence in the country's environmentally responsible development.
United Nation peace operations continue to struggle with a system that is in need of reform, said John Kelley, U.S. Acting Representative to the UN.



Thats why the United States continues to advocate for the UN to return to its foundational purpose of maintaining international peace and security. UN peacekeeping in particular must be more accountable, adaptable, and transparent, stressed Mr. Kelley.



First, to improve accountability, excellence in performance must be better rewarded and incentivized. At the same time, expedient and consistently applied consequences must also be imposed, including for performance failures, conduct and discipline issues, resource mismanagement, inaction in the face of impediments to missions mandates, and non-intervention when imminent threat of physical violence against civilians arise.



Reform should ensure the UN has clear and consistent performance standards for both uniformed and civilian personnel and transparent accountability mechanisms that are used to address underperformance in the execution of mandates. All perpetrators must be held to account for instances of sexual exploitation and abuse.



In order to increase transparency, UN headquarters, in cooperation with peace operations at the mission level, must engage in integrated planning, said Mr. Kelley.



These efforts will ensure UN peace operations have actionable end states and timelines, clear and demonstrable metrics to achieve these end states, and a streamlined support structure that both fosters innovation and responsibly allocates shared resources. Missions must be able to showcase their progress and actively  collectively  work themselves out of a job.



Reforms are also needed to ensure the [Security] Council is provided with regular, frank assessments and realistic recommendations  not just what it wants to hear, said Mr. Kelley.



To empower adaptability, peace operations need to reflect the political and operational realities of the moment, said Mr. Kelley.



Targeted and achievable mandates  rather than burdensome mandates  will also help address the growing trust deficit facing peace operations today.



The United States remains concerned about the UNs bureaucratic inefficiencies, politicized initiatives, and burdensome mandates that inhibit clear prioritization and strain resources.



President [Donald] Trump is steadfast in his goal of restoring peace across the world, said Mr. Kelley. And President Trump also has made clear the UN needs to focus on its core mandate to better position it for success.



That is why the U.S. continues to advocate for significant reforms to the UN. Progress in responding to this pivotal time in the transformation of the UN will require broad political backing, operational wherewithal, and visionary leadership, said Mr. Kelley. We must be ready to meet the moment.
CEO of Turning Point USA Charlie Kirk speaks on stage during the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in July 2024.
Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com.
JEFFERSON CITY  As Missouri Republicans worked to pass two controversial bills in the state Senate, Missouri Democrats, unions, voting coalitions and other organizations held rallies at the Capitol on Wednesday.

Democrats held a news conference in the morning, and a group of nonprofits and grassroots organizations rallied at noon inside the Capitol Rotunda and on the third floor. An organizer for that event said more than 5,000 people came to the rally.

"I'm proud to be here today to help us get our word across," said Jill Imbler, president of Randolph County Democrats. "This is a power grab  we're not stupid."

Gov. Mike Kehoe called Missouri lawmakers to a special legislative session and asked them to pass bills to redraw Missouri's congressional districts and amend process by which people in Missouri can put measures on the ballot and pass them.

One bill proposed in the special session would gerrymander Missouri's congressional districts to favor Republicans, and the other would allow rural voters a disproportionate say in whether the state adopts amendments to the constitution.

The congressional map would carve up the Kansas City area and extend the districts that encompass it out into rural, more conservative-leaning areas.

Redistricting last happened in 2022 and must happen every 10 years.

Imbler has lived in Missouri her whole life. She said she's never seen anything like this mid-decade redistricting effort before.

"My dad fought in World War II, he fought this exact sort of authoritarianism," Imbler said. "He fought this, and I want to continue the fight for my generation on."

Imbler's friends, also a part of the Randolph County Democrats, joined her to protest, and so did hundreds of other people Imbler didn't even know.

The Republicans in Missouri are now taking their orders from Donald Trump instead of their constituents," Imbler said.

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President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Aug. 21 saying Missouri "is IN" for redistricting. Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Onder, who represents parts of mid-Missouri, said July 31 that a rumored effort from the White House to redraw Missouri's maps was legitimate.

Some of the unions present Wednesday included Missouri Workers Center and Stand Up KC, SEIU Local 1, SEIU Healthcare, UAW Locals 31, 249, 710 and 2250. Other groups that attended were Missouri Jobs with Justice Voter Action, Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, Indivisible and 50501.

Missouri Democratic lawmakers spoke out before the rally as well.

Our democracy is truly hanging on the brink, Missouri House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City, said. States like Texas, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Florida and so many others are being threatened by a very obvious power grab from the White House.

Some Ohio Democrats joined in the rally Wednesday, telling the crowd that mid-decade redistricting will also happen in Ohio soon.

Your fight for democracy is our fight, Ohio House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn, D-Cincinatti, said. This is happening all over the country.

The Democrats said redistricting will hurt minority communities.

Extreme partisan gerrymandering directly silences the people," Rep. Michael Johnson, D-Kansas City, said. "It dilutes the voices of entire communities, especially Black Missourians, who already face systemic barriers to fair representation.

Missouri Rep. Dirk Deaton, R-Seneca, who sponsored the bill proposing the new maps, said earlier this week that he supported the map because it made the districts more compact.

"It divides fewer counties, fewer municipalities than the current map," Deaton said Monday. "We think it represents a broad cross-section of Missouri urban, suburban, rural will reflect Missouri values in Washington, D.C."
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Partly cloudy this morning, then becoming cloudy during the afternoon. High 28F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Cloudy skies this evening. A few snow showers developing late. Low 18F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 40%.
Auburn, IN (46706)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. High near 30F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Cloudy skies. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 19F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph.
Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, attends the second plenary meeting of the 17th session of the 14th NPC Standing Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 10, 2025. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

BEIJING, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese lawmakers met on Wednesday to deliberate reports during an ongoing session of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee.

Zhao Leji, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, attended the plenary meeting of the session.

The meeting heard a report on the inspection of the implementation of the Trade Union Law. The report introduced the overall situation regarding the implementation of the law, as well as various difficulties and problems. It put forward suggestions for further comprehensive and effective law implementation.

Lawmakers reviewed a report on the implementation of the 2025 plan for national economic and social development, which pointed out that the overall implementation of the plan has been satisfactory. Noting that China's economy has maintained an upward and positive trend in the first half of the year, the report outlined key points of work for the second half of this year.

The meeting also heard a report on the budget execution. The report put forward the key fiscal work arrangements, including leveraging more proactive fiscal policies, and making every effort to stabilize employment and foreign trade.

Lawmakers reviewed a report on government debt management in 2024, and a supervisory research report on government debt management in 2024.

The meeting heard a report on advancing the integrated development of culture and tourism, which proposed the improvement of institutional mechanisms and support systems, developing innovative products and services for deeper integration, and further promoting cultural and tourism exchanges and cooperation.

Lawmakers reviewed a report addressing climate change and advancing carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, which outlined tasks for the next stage of work, including improving market mechanisms to build a more effective, dynamic carbon market with international influence.

The meeting also heard a report on the pilot reform of water resource taxation, and a report on the research into several major issues concerning the drafting of the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030).

On the same day, Zhao also chaired a meeting of the Council of Chairpersons. During the meeting, senior lawmakers heard reports on the deliberation of bills. 

Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, presides over the 49th meeting of the Council of Chairpersons of the 14th NPC Standing Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 10, 2025. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

Editor: Zhang Zhou
People visit the exhibition zone of BYD at the 2025 IAA Mobility in Munich, Germany, Sept. 9, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

The winners will be those who build bridges, not walls, says Gambardella.

MUNICH, Germany, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Now is the right time for Chinese and European carmakers to strengthen cooperation, as the global automobile industry is undergoing a profound transformation, Luigi Gambardella, president of the Brussels-based international digital association ChinaEU, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

Gambardella, who stressed that the winners will be those who build bridges, not walls, noted that the rise of Chinese electric vehicles in Europe has been remarkable.

In July 2025, Chinese carmaker BYD reportedly once again outsold Tesla in the European market. Chinese brands such as NIO and SAIC have also become increasingly visible on European roads.

Some Chinese manufacturers have already invested in building factories or forming joint ventures in Europe, while companies including Xiaomi and Li Auto have chosen to establish R&D centers to prepare for future market expansion.

He pointed out that, on the one hand, Chinese carmakers have developed cost competitiveness through mastery of the entire value chain -- from battery innovation to large-scale assembly. On the other hand, their speed of innovation outpaces that of European, American, and Japanese companies, with new models reaching the market more quickly and with a leading position globally in battery technology.

People visit the 2025 IAA Mobility in Munich, Germany, Sept. 9, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

"Chinese carmakers not only provide a price advantage but also appeal to younger European consumers by combining advanced technology with user-oriented design," Gambardella said.

In his view, uncertainty stemming from U.S. trade policy is weighing heavily on the European automotive industry and having far-reaching consequences. Under the newly concluded U.S.-European Union (EU) trade agreement, Washington now imposes a 15 percent tariff on cars and auto parts exported from the EU, up from the previous 2.5 percent.

"This is nothing short of a severe blow to European automakers and their supply chains," Gambardella warned.

The automotive industry is a pillar of Europe's economy, with countries such as Germany, France, and Italy heavily dependent on its vast supply chain, which directly or indirectly supports millions of jobs.

He cautioned that U.S. tariff policy will force European manufacturers either to absorb the higher costs themselves -- further squeezing profit margins -- or to pass them on to consumers, resulting in a loss of market share.

People visit the exhibition zone of Volkswagen during the 2025 IAA Mobility in Munich, Germany, Sept. 9, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

Even more concerning, the pressure will not be limited to carmakers alone. Upstream suppliers of components and downstream distributors will also be affected, creating a ripple effect across the entire ecosystem.

Gambardella emphasized that the European auto sector is already in the midst of a challenging transition toward electrification, autonomous driving, and decarbonization -- a shift that requires substantial investment in R&D and production.

Against the backdrop of an increasingly complex and volatile global environment, Gambardella called for deeper cooperation between Chinese and European automakers -- from manufacturing and battery development to charging networks and sustainable materials.

Editor: ZAD
Ellen O'Donoghue

Drug testers at Electric Picnic uncovered an MDMA tablet containing the highest dosage ever recorded in Ireland.

The pill contained 312 milligrams of the drug, which is three times the normal dose.

The HSE said that it was enough to kill someone.

It was submitted to an HSE initiative which tests drugs for festival goers and was one of 110 drug samples that underwent back-of-house checks at the festival, according to Newstalk.

Professor Eamon Keenan, HSE clinical lead of addiction services, described the discovery to Newstalk as very worrying.

We have been noticing over the last number of years, as weve been doing this project, that MDMA strength has been increasing, and this year at Electric Picnic, one of the samples which was submitted to us was identified as having 312 milligrams of MDMA in the tablet," he said.

Its over three times the normal dose and can have fatal consequences. An individual can experience overheating, blood pressure can go up, breathing is affected, it could cause cardiac problems, everything goes into overdrive," he told The Irish Times.

Its the highest level weve ever seen in Ireland; thats a big concern. The drug market is changing across Europe and were seeing more diverse and potent substances emerging on to the market.

In 2024, the HSEs drug-checking programme at big music events found 39 per cent of all pills were greater than 200mg in strength, compared to the 19 per cent strength tested in 2023.

Back-of-house checking at festivals, which allows a user to anonymously deposit a drug sample for analysis, enables medical experts to better understand which drugs are circulating, Prof Keenan told the paper.
A 47-YEAR-old motorist lost her case when she fully contested hit and run charges, after she damaged a car in a car park at a local shopping centre.

Ashling Ruane, Apartment 3 Barrow Mews, Portarlington denied failing to remain at the scene of an accident, failing to report an accident, failing to stop at an accident and failing to give appropriate information at the Kyle Shopping Centre Car Park, Kylekiproe, Portlaoise on 19 July last year.

Lorraine Keane told the court that she had been shopping for about half-an-hour in the shopping centre at the time. When she returned to her car, she found it had been damaged, with scratches along the side.

Ms Keane said she returned to the shopping centre to enquire if the car park CCTV coverage had recorded what happened. When she returned to her car again, she found a note saying that another person witnessed the incident, took a photo of the offending cars registration and left her contact details.

Ms Ruanes barrister Anne Doyle asked Ms Keane if there were engineer or technical reports available in court to show the alleged damage that was caused to her car, to which she replied there were not.

Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby said there was 3,500 worth of damage caused to Ms Keanes BMW and she was reimbursed from Ms Ruanes firm of insurers.

The woman who witnessed the incident, Claire Maher, said she was in the car park and heard a bang. She looked around and saw a light blue Opel Corsa, reversing from a parking space beside the BMW.

She approached the driver and asked if she was aware that she had struck the car. The defendant replied No and drove off. She took a photograph of the registration and left a note with her details on Ms Keanes car.

Ms Maher said: I didnt see it hit the car, but I heard the bang. Ms Ruanes barrister said: So, you never actually saw my client hit the car. That bang you heard could have come from anywhere else in the car park and you never saw who hit the car. Garda Alyssa OSullivan gave evidence that she took a statement from Ms Keane and offered Ms Ruane the opportunity to make a voluntary statement, but she told her: I didnt see it. I didnt hit the car. Can we sort it through our insurances? Gda OSullivan said Ms Ruanes car was seized and a technical examination was carried out. Both cars were examined and both had scratches.

Asked by Ms Doyle whether CCTV footage was harvested, Gda OSullivan replied: There was CCTV but it was corrupt. I observed the CCTV and it was obvious the Corsa did reverse out of the parking space. Ms Doyle said: Looking at the totality of the evidence presented, there are a number of holes in it. Theres an absence of CCTV footage, an absence of a technical report and a lack of evidence to link my client to the alleged incident. Sgt Kirby said that, despite a lack of CCTV footage or technical reports, an independent witness stated on oath what she observed on the day. He said that Ms Ruane had technically admitted to the offences when she told Gda OSullivan to let the insurance companies sort it out.

Taking the stand, Ms Ruane said: I saw nothing. I didnt hear anything. My windows were up. If I had, I would have left a note, but I heard nothing or saw anything. She said: A lady ran up to me and said that I had crashed into a car. I told her to take a picture of my registration. I didnt see it. If I had done it, I wouldnt have driven off. I have insurance and thats what theyre for. Every scratch that was on my car was there when I got it and I got it cheap for 1,400. Sgt. Kirby said that, in her evidence earlier, Ms Ruane admitted that she saw nothing and had the car windows up, to which Ms Ruane said: I put my contact lenses in earlier that morning and might have got a bit of make-up on them. She also said that she was wearing contact lenses for the first time and was trying them out for the second day.

Sgt Kirby said: Im putting it to you that you were half-blind on the day, the windows were up, you were distracted talking to your passenger and you scraped off the BMW. You drove away and left the scene of an accident. Ms Ruane again said: If I had seen it, I would have left a note. I slowed down to let the lady take the picture of my car. Judge Cody asked Ms Ruane why she hadnt looked to see if there was damage when Ms Maher spoke with her.

The defendant replied: It was my first year on insurance. It wasnt going to make much of a difference to my premium. Judge Cody said he was satisfied with the states evidence and witnesses and would convict Ms Ruane on two charges - failing to stop and failing to remain at the scene of an accident.

The court was told that the defendant had five previous convictions that included driving without insurance, drug driving and driving without a valid NCT. She had received a four-year driving disqualification in 2020.

Noting the date the disqualification was imposed, Judge Cody said: This incident happened in 2024. You must have got your driving licence back early. You came into court and said you had learned your lesson and got your licence back early. The judge imposed a 250 fine and a two-year driving ban. Recognisance was fixed in the event that Ms Ruane wishes to lodge an appeal.
After a busy spring and summer, autumn has finally arrived and with it, an opportunity to take some take out to enjoy a creative break.

And what better than taking yourself away for a weekend to the beautiful Heritage town of Abbeyleix, Co. Laois, on a Power of Words Writers Retreat?

Set in the glorious surroundings of the well-loved Georgian house, Preston House, this writers retreat, taking place on the weekend of 17th  19th October 2025, allows you, among other delights, time to focus on beginnings on a day-long fact to fiction writing workshop with award winning Irish writer, NIAMH BOYCE, as part of the weekend offerings.

This exclusive weekend is filled with all things writing but also with plenty of other interesting and enjoyable activities, such as a delicious two-course lunch in Michelin star Chef, Sam Moodys exquisite Bramley restaurant, an in-house post-dinner musical performance, an opportunity to share your writing with others, guided walking tours of Abbeyleix and its famous Boglands, time to rest, read, chat and enjoy the luxurious surroundings of Preston House, as well as an always popular visit to one of Irelands oldest pubs, the landmark Morrisseys, where youll enjoy the first round of drinks for free!

The retreat is limited to twelve people and each of the previous Power of Words retreat offerings have received rave reviews. Residential and non-residential options are available.

All details can be found by visiting the Power of Words Events website:- www. powerofwords.ie

Power of Words Events is a boutique company, providing creative writing retreats and experiences for individuals and groups. Located in Abbeyleix, Co. Laois, it was founded and curated by Amanda Kelly. It is quickly establishing itself as a destination creative events company.
A helicopter is seen near the site of an Israeli airstrike in Doha, Qatar, Sept. 9, 2025. Israel launched an unprecedented airstrike in the Qatari capital of Doha on Tuesday, targeting a building used by senior Hamas officials in what Israeli authorities described as an attempt to assassinate leaders of the group. (Photo by Nikku/Xinhua)

On Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hardened Europe's stance against Israel. "What is happening in Gaza has shaken the conscience of the world. Man-made famine can never be a weapon of war," she said.

by Billion Temesghen

BRUSSELS, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) and the United Nations, as well as several European governments, have this week hardened their stance on Israel's escalating military campaign across the Middle East after it launched airstrikes on Qatar on Tuesday afternoon.

Israel's attack on Doha targeted a site allegedly used by senior Hamas leaders. Although Hamas reported that its delegation had survived, six people were killed, including escorts and a Qatari security officer.

The attack drew swift condemnation worldwide. On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called it a "flagrant violation" of Qatari sovereignty, while the EU Foreign Affairs spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said it violated "international law and Qatar's territorial integrity, and risks a further escalation of violence in the region."

Spain, so far, has issued its strongest condemnation of Israel yet. Within hours of the Doha raid, the Spanish government approved a decree formalizing its arms embargo, banning ships carrying weapons or fuel to Israel from docking at Spanish ports and Israeli defense aircraft from Spanish airspace, and stepping up humanitarian aid to Gaza. Spain also barred Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from entering Spanish territory.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to the press at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept. 9, 2025. Guterres on Tuesday condemned the Israeli attacks in Qatar. (Xinhua/Xie E)

A day earlier, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had previewed the measures in a televised address, calling them "a necessary step to alleviate Palestinian suffering." He said Spain was determined to lead Europe's response.

Several other European countries have joined Spain in denouncing Israel's military action against Qatar. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide described it as "a serious violation of international law." British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the strike in talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called Israel's attack "unacceptable" and warned that it jeopardizes the negotiations for the release of hostages held by Hamas. The Slovenian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack on social media, expressing solidarity with Qatar.

Portugal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on social media platform X on Tuesday night that the attack violates Qatar's sovereignty and risks further escalating violence: "We stress that an immediate ceasefire and release of hostages are urgent. A two-state solution remains crucial for lasting peace," it added.

Palestinians wait to receive free food at a food distribution center in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, on May 19, 2025. (Photo by Abdul Rahman Salama/Xinhua)

Meanwhile, the UN has stepped up its criticism of Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza, with High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk telling the Human Rights Council on Monday that he was "horrified by the open use of genocidal rhetoric" by Israeli officials.

Turk accused Israel of mass killings, obstructing aid, and committing war crimes, and urged governments to halt arms transfers, press for a ceasefire, and support Palestinians' right to self-determination.

On Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also hardened Europe's stance against Israel. "What is happening in Gaza has shaken the conscience of the world. Man-made famine can never be a weapon of war. This must stop," she said at a Plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, northern France.

Under new measures announced by von der Leyen, Europe will put bilateral support to Israel on hold, sanction extremist ministers and violent settlers, partially suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement on trade-related matters, and set up a Palestine Donor Group for the reconstruction of Gaza.

Smoke raises from the "Vision" tower following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, on Sept. 8, 2025. Israeli forces intensified airstrikes on Gaza City on Monday, including the demolition of the "Vision" tower, a 14-story office building, in the western part of the city. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Rights groups and UN experts have warned that Israel's campaign in Gaza has created famine conditions and amounts to collective punishment, with more than 64,000 Palestinians killed since October 2023, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

Public opinion is adding to the pressure over Israel's aggression against Palestinians in Gaza. On Sunday, an estimated 70,000 people marched in Brussels under the banner "Red Line for Gaza," representing one of the largest demonstrations in Belgium in years.

Similar rallies took place in London, Paris, and Stockholm, with thousands calling for a ceasefire and the recognition of a Palestinian state.

Palestinians participate in a protest demanding an end to the ongoing conflict with Israel and calling for international protection for civilians in Gaza City, on Aug. 21, 2025. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

In recent weeks, Israel's widening military campaign - from Gaza and the West Bank to Qatar - has forced Europe to recalibrate its Israel policies. Spain set a precedent by deploying measures unprecedented at the European level. Meanwhile, France, Britain and Belgium have joined Canada and Australia in announcing their plans to formally recognize a Palestinian state at the UN's General Assembly later this month.

Editor: ZAD
Jordan's King Abdullah II (C) meets with visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (2nd L) in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 10, 2025. During his meeting with Abbas on Wednesday, King Abdullah II condemned the Israeli Doha strike, rejected Israeli plans to expand control over Gaza and settlement activity in the West Bank, stressed the need for a ceasefire in Gaza and unhindered humanitarian access, and for implementing the two-state solution, according to a Royal Court statement. (Royal Hashemite Court/Handout via Xinhua)

CAIRO, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Regional countries on Wednesday reaffirmed their condemnation on Israel's Doha strike, and voiced their support for and solidarity with Qatar, as Israeli officials vowed to continue fighting Hamas leaders "everywhere" and targeting countries failing to act against them.

On Tuesday, Israel launched an unprecedented airstrike in the Qatari capital of Doha, targeting a building used by senior Hamas officials in what Israeli authorities described as an attempt to assassinate leaders of the group who were "directly responsible for" the attack on Oct. 7, 2023 that left about 1,200 people dead.

Hamas said later that the strike occurred while its delegation was discussing a new ceasefire proposal presented by Washington. According to the group, the negotiating team survived, but six others were killed.

On Tuesday evening, Qatar said it will adopt a "comprehensive" approach to respond to the Israeli strike and deter future attacks, noting that the country will not tolerate any violations of its sovereignty.

However, Qatar confirmed that mediation on a ceasefire and prisoner exchange in Gaza will continue.

On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the Doha strike was part of an operation dubbed "Fire Summit" aimed at killing Hamas's top leadership.

"Israel's security policy is clear: Israel's long arm will act against its enemies everywhere. There is no place for them to hide," he said, adding that Israel will continue to pursue all Hamas members involved in the October 2023 attack.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that countries hosting Hamas leaders or other groups regarded by Israel as enemies could themselves become targets if they failed to act against them.

Amid the latest developments, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, deputy prime minister and foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said in a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Abu Dhabi that the UAE backs all measures Qatar may take to safeguard its security and safety.

Respecting national sovereignty is a cornerstone of international relations, and any violation constitutes a blatant breach of international law and the UN Charter, he was quoted as saying by a statement released by the UAE Foreign Ministry, urging global actions in halting "Israeli aggressions."

In a phone call on Wednesday between Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the two leaders voiced "full solidarity" with Qatar, and called the Israeli strike an unacceptable encroachment on Qatar's sovereignty.

They "expressed their categorical condemnation of this assault, considering it a flagrant violation of international law and the UN Charter," the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

The two sides also reiterated their "absolute support" for Qatar's efforts to safeguard its security and stability, particularly in light of its joint mediation efforts with Egypt to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and end "the catastrophic humanitarian tragedy caused by the Israeli war."

During his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman on Wednesday, Jordan's King Abdullah II condemned the Israeli Doha strike, rejected Israeli plans to expand control over Gaza and settlement activity in the West Bank, stressed the need for a ceasefire in Gaza and unhindered humanitarian access, and for implementing the two-state solution, according to a Royal Court statement.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, in a phone call on Wednesday with his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, condemned Israel's "terrorist aggression" against Qatar, and voiced Iran's solidarity with and support for Qatar.

Given Israel's "ongoing genocide in Gaza, frequent aggressions and terrorist actions against Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, criminal attack against Iran and now military aggression against Qatar," Israel has become a "real and immediate threat" to regional and global peace and security, Araghchi said.

Condemning the "treacherous and vicious attack" in Doha, the Tunisian Foreign Ministry in a statement on Wednesday voiced full solidarity with and support for Qatar and its efforts to defend its national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security.

It is important to materialize a common vision for Arab security as an unavoidable strategic choice to confront all threats posed by Israel to regional and global peace, security and stability, it said.

Algeria's official APS news agency reported Wednesday that Algeria has made a request together with Qatar to hold an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council on the "Israeli aggression" on Qatar.

Algeria believes that Israel's expanded attacks, including on Hamas negotiators in ceasefire talks in Qatar, prove it disregards international norms and wants no peace, APS reported, adding that Algeria urges global actions to deter Israel, end its "crimes" against Palestinians, and prevent further regional escalation.

Jordan's King Abdullah II (R) shakes hands with visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 10, 2025. During his meeting with Abbas on Wednesday, King Abdullah II condemned the Israeli Doha strike, rejected Israeli plans to expand control over Gaza and settlement activity in the West Bank, stressed the need for a ceasefire in Gaza and unhindered humanitarian access, and for implementing the two-state solution, according to a Royal Court statement. (Royal Hashemite Court/Handout via Xinhua)

Editor: Xiong Jian
Enable: The Disability Podcast is a new podcast featuring stories of amazing people with disabilities and different abilities. Advance Local

Enable: The Disability Podcast is a new podcast featuring stories of amazing people with disabilities and different abilities.

In this episode, DJ Bob Runkel speaks with about his experiences with cerebral palsy (CP), feeling represented in pop culture, hosting his own podcast (The DJ Bob Show), and why people with disabilities should be treated like everyone else.

Enable: The Disability Podcast will release new episodes weekly on YouTube and all major podcast platforms, including Spotify, Apple, Amazon and iHeart.

Follow facebook.com/enablepodcast or @enablepodcast on Instagram and TikTok for more.

About the hosts

Geoff Herbert, who was born with a profound binaural hearing loss, is a reporter, SEO Lead and content supervisor for syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. Despite being mostly deaf in both ears, hes also worked as a DJ for 25 years, including 10 years in radio (as DeafGeoff) and 10 years as a wedding DJ in Upstate New York. He learned how to communicate orally with hearing aids, lipreading and speech therapy, and embraces assistive technology like visual waveforms in music programs, closed captioning/subtitles, and video calls.

Kurt Hower, who has worked at Advance Local for over 35 years, is a leader both in the media industry and in the community. He has been actively involved in leading change as the print industry has continued to rapidly evolve, while also serving on a variety of boards including the Central PA Chapter Arthritis Foundation Board of Directors where he was Chairman of Board Development and a member of the Public Policy and Advocacy Committee. Hower has ankylosing spondylitis, a rare disease that causes arthritis of the spine, and encourages others to focus on what they can contribute to society rather than their challenges.

Community at Work Job Fair

The Community at Work Job Fair will take place Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, at CNY Works, 960 James St., in Syracuse, N.Y. The free event will provide adults with physical and mental disabilities the opportunity to meet inclusive employers, explore industries, and learn about positions with actively hiring companies.

Herbert and Hower will co-host a panel discussion about hiring tips and accessibility options at the job fair. The discussion will be recorded for an episode of the Enable podcast.

While the fair is tailored for adults with diverse mental and physical abilities, experiences or access needs, all community members are welcome. Participation is free for both job seekers and employers.

For more information, visit communityatworkjobfair.com.

Note: Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the views of Advance Local.
Armchair Lehigh Valley content is published onlehighvalleylive.comas part of a partnership with the website, which aims to give voters nonpartisan factual information. Armchair Lehigh Valley is run by publisher Katherine Reinhard and editor Robert H. Orenstein. For more information, or to subscribe:armchairlehighvalley.substack.com.

Zachary Cole-Borghi, a Lehigh County commissioner who was arrested Aug. 28 on drug charges, said he has been wrongly accused and terminated from his job in Bethlehem City Hall.

I want to be clear, I have never sold drugs to anyone, vehemently deny any suggestion to the contrary, and insist that I will prove my innocence, Cole-Borghi of Bethlehem said in a statement emailed to Armchair Lehigh Valley on Wednesday evening.

Cole-Borghi was among 22 people arrested in a multiyear investigation that spanned four states. None of the others charged have been identified. He was charged with intent to deliver a pound of marijuana and possession of marijuana, according to the Lehigh County District Attorneys Office.

Court records in the case have been sealed as the DAs office said the investigation, which grew out of a grand jury, is ongoing and more arrests are expected.

Cole-Borghi had been working as Bethlehems right-to-know officer when he was arrested in City Hall. He is free after posting $50,000 bail. He said his due process rights have been violated.

I, a Black man, was arrested and humiliated at my job and paraded through Bethlehem City Offices. I have still not received a shred of evidence or told why I am being charged, he said.

Cole-Borghi said the charges against him are politically motivated and he vowed to find out who is behind his charges.

Not only do I intend to prove that I am innocent, I intend to identify and bring suit against anyone who maliciously conspired to destroy my reputation, he said.

Cole-Borghi said he has no intention of stepping away from his role as a commissioner.

At this time, I maintain innocence in these matters and intend to continue assisting my community through my position on the Board of Commissioners, he said.

Cole-Borghi is seeking a second term as a commissioner on Nov. 4 in District 3, which covers parts of Allentown, West Bethlehem, Fountain Hill, Hanover Township and Catasauqua.

I am staying in the race, he said in a follow-up email.

Cole-Borghi is facing Republican Jacqueline Rivera. The two squared off in 2021 with Cole-Borghi winning with just under 59% of the vote.

Rivera released a statement after news broke of the arrest, saying, in part, The recent news of Commissioner Cole-Borghis arrest is deeply troubling and disappointing. While he is innocent until proven guilty, this situation makes clear that he has taken his service to our community for granted.

Cole-Borghi graduated from Liberty High School and attended East Stroudsburg University. He previously was program director at the Northeast Community Center in Bethlehem and is a former Democratic committee person.

Over the summer, Cole-Borghi was involved in the meeting with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, county President Judge J. Brian Johnson, county Sheriff Joseph Hanna, DA Gavin Holihan and others to address concerns raised by residents about masked ICE agents being in the courthouse to detain illegal immigrants.

After the meeting, ICE agreed to not interfere with the administration of justice in the county and provide identification and warrants. Agents will refrain from wearing masks in the courthouses. However, ICE could change its approach to apprehending people in the courthouses, according to an Aug. 13 memo on the matter.

Cole-Borghi sponsored an anti-discrimination bill that was adopted in a 6-3 vote in February. The ordinance broadened the definition of discrimination and created a Human Relations Commission charged with investigating complaints.

He had been endorsed by Pennsylvania Working Families Party and Pennsylvania Stand Up.

Here his Cole-Borghis full statement:

The Due Process of Law is the bedrock of the Constitution and American Democracy.

In America, you are innocent until proven guilty. What is happening in Bethlehem to me is a stark violation of Due Process, and intolerable.

I, a Black man, was arrested and humiliated at my job and paraded through Bethlehem City Offices. I have still not received a shred of evidence or told why I am being charged. Not even my attorneys have been told what specifically I am being accused of or given an explanation of why I was charged. To date, I have not received an affidavit of probable cause.

Despite this, I have lost my job, been publicly humiliated, and have had my good name- which I spent decades earning, destroyed without due process or explanation. I want to be clear, I have never sold drugs to anyone, vehemently deny any suggestion to the contrary, and insist that I will prove my innocence.

To date, this entire process has been marred in politics and impropriety. The DA specifically noted that I am not a member of any corrupt organization, yet, press reports state otherwise. A press conference was held where my name alone was dragged through the mud. I was not subjected to financial scrutiny in posting bail  which I have been told means there is no allegation that my money came from a crime, and I was released on the same day I was arrested.

However, that did not stop certain members of Bethlehem City Council from libelously labelling me as a leader in a multi-state drug ring, something the DA has explicitly said is not true. This did not stop local news and bloggers from putting my name  so far, the ONLY name released to the public  front and center as the face of an investigation that has nothing to do with me.

I was also fired from my job because of this, without any proof that I had done anything wrong or any specific allegation of who, what, where, or when I am alleged to have committed a crime.

This is wrong, a violation of my constitutional due process rights, and clearly political. At this time, I maintain innocence in these matters and intend to continue assisting my community through my position on the Board of Commissioners.

Not only do I intend to prove that I am innocent, I intend to identify and bring suit against anyone who maliciously conspired to destroy my reputation.

I am an innocent family man, I am a leader in the community, and I am a dutiful public servant who has been damaged by the mishandling of this investigation.

I will make no further comments at this time and direct you to contact my attorneys.
The Trump administration is reviewing material about slavery, the destruction of Native American culture, climate change and more at federal parks after employees flagged information that could be disparaging to Americans, according to screenshots shared with The Associated Press.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March directing the Interior Department  which manages parks, monuments and other designated land  to ensure public property doesnt contain elements that inappropriately disparage Americans past or living. Instead, it said to focus on the greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people and the beauty, abundance, and grandeur of the American landscape.

The National Park Service had until July 18 to flag inappropriate signs, exhibits and other material, according to a document shared with the AP by the National Parks Conservation Association, which obtained internal information from an anonymous source within the Interior Department. The public was also encouraged to participate.

As we carry out this directive, well be evaluating all signage in the park along with the public feedback weve received, said Elizabeth Peace, spokesperson for the Interior Department. This effort reinforces our commitment to telling the full and accurate story of our nations past. The department said any signage inconsistent with the executive order will be removed or covered and reinstated once edits are made. The administration said it would remove all inappropriate material by Sept. 17, according to The New York Times, citing internal agency documents.

The directive has raised concerns about sanitizing and erasing dark sides of American history.

Pretending that the bad stuff never happened is not going to make it go away, said Alan Spears, a senior director with the National Parks Conservation Association, a nonpartisan group separate from the national parks system that advocates for it. We need to be able to talk about these things if were going to have any hope of bringing people together.

A look at some of the material that was flagged for review:

North Carolina: Climate change, pollution

WHATS IN DISPUTE: A sign titled The Air We Breathe was flagged because it discusses the importance of clean air. Pollution from human-caused ozone, it explains, threatens peoples health and vegetation, and power plants, cars and industries that burn fossil fuels are the pollutants primary sources.

In North Carolinas Cape Hatteras National Seashore, there are signs about sea level rise due to climate change. We do not believe it to be in violation, but would like someone to review if messaging of climate change and sea level rise reduces the focus on the grandeur, beauty and abundance, one employee wrote.

THE BACK STORY: Emissions from burning fossil fuels are heating the planet, causing ice sheets and glaciers to melt and seawater to expand. Rising seas threaten the people and ecosystems that live by the coast.

THE REACTION: Carlos Martinez, climate scientist for the Union of Concerned Scientists, thinks the agency should be educating the public about the threats national parks face.

These public parks are places to learn about pollution, climate change and environmental degradation, he said, and eliminating this information limits the ability for our population, especially for the younger generation, to understand these issues that allow them to then take action.

South Carolina and Pennsylvania: Enslavement of Black people

WHATS IN DISPUTE: At a gift shop in Charles Pinckney National Historic Site in South Carolina, marked for review were books for sale, including Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs. Similar books were flagged elsewhere, including at the Washington Monument, where someone identified a book discussing George Washington as a slave owner.

In Pennsylvanias Independence National Historical Park, flagged were descriptions of the whipping, kidnapping, rape and other brutality slaveholders inflicted on Black people. At another, an employee identified an exhibit about Black Americans escaping to freedom that names slave owners.

THE BACK STORY: The legacy of slavery and racism has laid the foundation for the inequalities Black people face in the U.S., including greater rates of poverty, disease and illness, and incarceration at more than five times the rate of white people.

THE REACTION: Slavery is not a side story. Its the engine of American economic growth for more than two centuries, said Cedric Haynes, vice president of policy and legislative affairs with the NAACP. And there are individuals who played a part in this.

Its important to name the people who perpetuated slaverys atrocities, he said, because that legacy is embedded in American laws, institutions and the nations wealth.

Alaska and Florida: A complex history with Native Americans

WHATS IN DISPUTE: At Sitka National Historical Park in Alaska, an employee flagged a panel about missionaries who sought to destroy the language and culture of Alaska Natives and forcefully remove them from their lands. The concerning text says: The history of this land includes a series of actions that attempted to remove the Sheetka Kwaan from their land, culture, and language which includes forced relocations under both Russian and American governance.

In Floridas Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, tagged was a panel discussing imprisonment of Plains Indians. Text of panel needs review for language referring to tribes having choice of extinction or assimilation. Language of U.S. Government giving the choice of extinction could be considered negative towards the United States, they wrote.

THE BACK STORY: The relationship between the United States and Indigenous nations has been fraught, violent, dispossessive and complex over the centuries, and the national parks are part of that story, said Jessica R. Cattelino, American Indian studies professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. To cut off parts of those stories because they might make someone uncomfortable, thats a disservice to the ecological and cultural value of these lands.

Brenda Child, a Red Lake Ojibwe tribe member and American and American Indian studies professor at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, said its only been about two decades since we started telling the accurate history of the United States and Native Americans.

THE REACTION: Its sad to think about efforts to rewrite it now, she says, at a time when more accurate portrayals of Indigenous history in the U.S. finally exist. But the way I always look at these things is: You can try to suppress it, but the cats out of the bag. We know what happened. The books have been written.

Florida: A slight to Industrial America?

WHATS IN DISPUTE: Is Floridas Everglades National Park a slight to industrial development in America? Stories of the lands urbanization, agriculture and more presented across the park could be conceived as being disparaging to the development of Industrial America, one employee wrote.

THE BACK STORY: The Everglades is a subtropical wilderness that protects 1.5 million acres of habitats and biodiversity and is a vital source of drinking water for millions. The Seminole and Miccosukee tribes have called these lands home for centuries.

Decades of urban and farming development degraded the ecosystem, until, in 1947, the park was established to protect what remained. Underway is a massive state-federal project, approved by Congress in 2000 with bipartisan support, that aims to undo the damages.

THE REACTION: People committed these harms generations ago without knowing better. And we know better now, and we cannot lose sight of the lessons learned, said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades. If we dont keep in clear view that history and the mistakes that we made in our past, then we are doomed to repeat them.

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The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of APs environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
The 65-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene after the collision at County Line and Steely Hill roads Tuesday morning. Pennlive.com File Photo

A bicyclist killed Tuesday in a collision with a vehicle in Williams Township has been identified by authorities.

Pennsylvania State Police in Belfast identified the deceased as 65-year-old Robert P. Marley of Lower Gwynedd Township, Montgomery County. Marley at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday was pronounced dead at the scene by the Northampton County Coroners Office.

Marley died from multiple blunt force injuries and the manner of death was ruled accidental by Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek.

Trooper Nathan Branosky, public information officer with Pennsylvania State Polices Troop M, told lehighvalleylive.com the crash happened shortly after 10 a.m. at County Line and Steely Hill roads.

James J. Pavlica, 84, of Kintnersville, Bucks County was driving a 2017 Honda Accord west on County Line Road when he made a right turn onto Steely Hill Road, police said.

Marley was traveling south on Steely Hill Road and made a left turn onto County Line Road to travel east, police said.

As they approached each other, Marley was traveling south but positioned in the northbound lane of County Line Road. Pavlica attempted to avoid a collision with the bicyclist by swerving to the east shoulder, according to police.

Pavlica then struck the bicyclist with its front end, police said. The collision caused Marley to strike the Hondas front bumper, hood, windshield, roof and back window, according to police.

The bike came to rest on the northern shoulder of Steely Hill Road and the Honda stopped nearby, police said.

Pavlica was not injured and remained at the scene cooperating in the investigation, Branosky said.

Steely Hill Road remained closed for hours Tuesday as police investigated and motorists were detoured around the crash scene.
Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Point's visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP) AP AP

Charlie Kirk died on Wednesday after being shot during an event at a Utah college, President Donald Trump said on Truth Social.

Kirk, 31, was the CEO and co-founder of conservative youth organization Turning Point USA. He was shot while speaking on the campus of Utah Valley University.

Video footage widely shared on social media showed attendees running from the event after Kirk was shot near his neck.

Law enforcement tapes off an area after Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was shot on Wednesday in Orem, Utah. (Tess Croewley/The Deseret News via AP) AP

The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead, Trump said in his Truth Social post. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!

Turning Point confirmed Kirks death in a statement released later on Wednesday.

It is with a heavy heart that we confirm that Charles James Kirk has been murdered by a gunshot that took place during Turning Point USAs The American Comeback Tour campus event at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025, the statement read.

Kirk was a close ally of Trump and a staunch supporter of the Make America Great Again movement. He is survived by his wife, Erika, and their two children.

He rose to prominence through his work with his organization, holding events at college campuses across the country to promote conservative values to students.

Charlie Kirk, left, shakes hands with Donald Trump before speaking during the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit on July 23, 2022 (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File) AP

Kirk co-founded Turning Point in suburban Chicago in 2012 alongside William Montgomery, a tea party activist, to promote a smaller government and call for lower taxes.

According to its website, Turning Point has chapters across 3,500 high school and college campuses throughout the country.

Both Democrats and Republicans immediately condemned the shooting, with many calling it an act of political violence.

Tributes quickly poured in for Kirk after news broke of his death on Wednesday.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, Vice President JD Vance wrote on X.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) held a moment of prayer in the lower chamber for Kirk and his family.

Right-wing activist Laura Loomer wrote that she was heartbroken, while MAGA influencer Riley Gaines said that she did not have any words right now.

Lord be with his family, TPUSA staff, all who knew him, and all who admired him. No one loved this nation, God, or the truth more than Charlie, Gaines wrote on X.

Ben Shapiro, a conservative podcaster, said in a statement shared on X that it was unimaginable to write these words.

All of us will miss him, and I cant imagine the pain of his beautiful young family, and we must all pray for them. And we must pick up the baton where Charlie left it, fighting for the things he believed in so passionately. And we must fight for a better America - an America where good people can speak truth and debate passionately without fear of a bullet. I weep for Charlies family, and I weep for my country today. Most of all, I weep for Charlie, Shapiro wrote.

Allison Hemingway-Witty cries after Charlie Kirk is shot during Turning Point's visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP) AP AP

Former Rep. Joe Walsh, who joined the Democrat Party earlier this year after leaving the GOP, said Kirk was like a son to him.

Even though we were on opposite sides of the political divide these past 7yrs, I still considered him a son. Im broken for him & his family. And Im scared for this country. Neither side has a monopoly on political violence. But most people on both sides wont acknowledge that. And if we dont get off this dangerous road of hate, America will not stay together, Walsh wrote on X.

Former President Joe Biden also offered his condolences in a statement shared on X.

There is no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now. Jill and I are praying for Charlie Kirks family and loved ones, Biden said.

Former President Barack Obama also weighed in: We dont yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy. Michelle and I will be praying for Charlies family tonight, especially his wife Erika and their two young children.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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This undated combination of images provided provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows a person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. (Federal Bureau of Investigation via AP) AP

OREM, Utah  The FBI released two photos of a person of interest in the assassination of Charlie Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters. The shooter, who fired a single shot from a distant roof, remained at large and unidentified on Thursday nearly 24 hours into the investigation.

The release of photos of a person in a hat, sunglasses and a long-sleeve black shirt, as well as a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest, reflected law enforcements urgent appeal for public help in locating the shooter, who vanished after jumping off the roof and fleeing through a wooded area near the Utah university where Kirk was killed in a targeted attack.

Investigators were sifting through potential clues, including a palm print and a shoe impression found near the scene, as well as a Mauser .30-caliber bolt-action rifle hidden in a towel in a wooded area near the university campus along what they suspect to be the path the shooter took while fleeing. Besides the spent cartridge recovered in the chamber, three other rounds were loaded in the magazine, according to information circulated among law enforcement and described to The Associated Press. The weapon and ammunition are being forensically analyzed by law enforcement at a federal lab for clues that could help identify the shooter or the motive.

The new information suggested at least modest progress in an investigation into a killing that law enforcement was treating as the latest instance of political violence to convulse the United States across the ideological spectrum. Yet key questions remained unanswered. Law enforcement had yet to identify the shooter or disclose a motive and acknowledged at a news conference Thursday that the suspects college-age appearance may have helped the person blend in on the college campus where Kirk was shot.

The Wednesday afternoon attack, carried out in a broad daylight as Kirk spoke about social issues at a Utah Valley University courtyard, was captured on grisly videos circulating on social media. The videos show Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone when suddenly a shot rings out. Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators gasp and scream before people start running away.

Trump, who was joined by Democrats in condemning the violence, said he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S., while Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, were set to visit with Kirks family in Salt Lake City. Vance posted a remembrance on X chronicling their friendship, dating back to initial messages in 2017, through Vances Senate run and ultimately praying after hearing of the shooting.

So much of the success weve had in this administration traces directly to Charlies ability to organize and convene, Vance wrote. He didnt just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.

Kirks casket was to be flown aboard Air Force Two from Utah to Arizona, where his his nonprofit political youth organization, Turning Point USA, is based.

Kirk was taking questions about gun violence

Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by Turning Point at the Sorensen Center courtyard on campus.

The event, billed as the first stop on Kirks The American Comeback Tour, had generated a polarizing campus reaction. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures. The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.

Last week, Kirk posted on X images of news clips showing his visit was sparking controversy. He wrote, Whats going on in Utah?

Immediately before the shooting, he took questions from an audience member about gun violence.

Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years? the person asked. Kirk responded, Too many.

The questioner followed up: Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?

Counting or not counting gang violence? Kirk asked.

Then a shot rang out.

The shooter, who Gov. Spencer Cox pledged would be held accountable in a state with the death penalty, wore dark clothing and fired from a building roof some distance away.

Madison Lattin was watching a few dozen feet from Kirks left when she heard the bullet hit him.

Blood is falling and dripping down, and youre just like so scared, not just for him but your own safety, she said.

She saw people drop to the ground in an eerie silence pierced immediately by cries. She and others ran. Some fell and were trampled in the stampede.

When Lattin later learned that Kirk had died, she wept, she said, describing him as a role model who had showed her how to fight for the truth.

About 3,000 people were in attendance, according to a statement from the Utah Department of Public Safety. The university police department had six officers working the event, along with Kirks own security detail, authorities said.

Condemnation from across the political spectrum

The shooting drew swift bipartisan condemnation as Democratic officials joined Trump and other Republican allies of Kirk in decrying the violence.

The murder of Charlie Kirk breaks my heart. My deepest sympathies are with his wife, two young children, and friends, said Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was wounded in a 2011 shooting in her Arizona district.

The shooting appeared poised to become part of a spike of political violence that has touched a range of ideologies and representatives of both major political parties. The attacks include the assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband at their house in June, the firebombing of a Colorado parade in June to demand Hamas release hostages and a fire set at the house of Pennsylvanias governor, who is Jewish, in April. The most notorious of these events is the shooting of Trump during a Pennsylvania campaign rally last year.
Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the threatening message that led to the cancellation of a Zoning Hearing Board meeting in the Upper Bucks County municipality. Dan Gleiter | For pennlive.com

An Upper Bucks County municipal meeting has been postponed after state police said an employee had received a threatening message.

Trooper Nathan Branosky, public information officer with Pennsylvania State Polices Troop M, said troopers from Dublin were sent Monday to the Haycock Township municipal building.

The alleged threat then postponed a Zoning Hearing Board meeting in that township. State police have not disclosed specifics of what the threat entailed or identified the employee who received the message.

At least five people sit on the Haycock Township Zoning Hearing Board, according to the townships website.

Pennsylvania State Police in Dublin continue to investigate the incident. Those with information are asked to call state police at 215-249-9191 and reference Incident No. PA2025-1121987.
The Keystone Elk Country Alliance Visitor Center just north of Benezette in Pennsylvania's Elk County should be the first stop for anyone looking to explore the Keystone State's resurgent elk population. Mark Demko | lehighvalleylive.com contributor

The white-tailed deer is the most numerous and well-known member of the deer family in Pennsylvania, but the state is also home to another, larger member of the family Cervidae  one thats definitely worth the road trip to see.

Located about four hours northwest of the Lehigh Valley, the largest free-roaming elk herd in the northeastern United States lives across a roughly 1,000-square-mile area, with Benezette and the surrounding portion of Elk County serving as the destination for those who want to see these animals.

Each year, this region of north-central Pennsylvania draws tens of thousands of visitors hoping to catch a glimpse of wild wapiti  another word for elk. This is especially true of the large-antlered bulls that captivate onlookers with their high-pitched bugles and occasional sparring with other males during the rut or mating season.

Originally native to Pennsylvania, elk were eradicated from the state by the 1870s, leading to reintroduction efforts between 1913 and 1926 focused on bringing in Rocky Mountain elk from the West. Mark Demko | lehighvalleylive.com contributor

Originally native to Pennsylvania, elk were eradicated from the state by the 1870s. However, the Pennsylvania Game Commission undertook efforts to reintroduce the animal in several locations, including neighboring Carbon and Monroe counties, between 1913 and 1926 by bringing in Rocky Mountain elk from the West.

According to the PGC, hunting seasons for antlered bulls took place from 1923 to 1931, with participants harvesting 98 elk before hunting ended in 1932. In the ensuing years, a continued decline in the population resulted in only 14 animals remaining in the state by 1936, all of them located in Elk and neighboring Cameron counties. Over the decades, however, the states elk population and range grew slowly, and today the elk herd spread across Elk, Cameron, Clinton, Clearfield and neighboring counties numbers more than 1,000 animals, making it a huge draw for tourists interested in wildlife viewing.

For someone planning a trip to Elk County, the first stop needs to be the Keystone Elk Country Alliance (KECA) Visitor Center just north of Benezette. According to KECA, more than 500,000 people annually visit the center, which is surrounded by 245 acres of land managed for elk, providing exceptional opportunities to see the animals.

The visitor center offers a short film highlighting the history of elk in the state and hosts a variety of weekend educational programs focused on wapiti and other wildlife. It also features a large gift shop, diorama on elk and a discovery room where people can learn about the different wildlife species that call Pennsylvania home.

Leading from the Keystone Elk Country Alliance Visitor Center are three walking trails along the propertys elk viewing areas, making it easy for people to see the elk up close and personal. Mark Demko | lehighvalleylive.com contributor

Leading from the visitor center are three easily accessible walking trails that run adjacent to the propertys elk viewing areas, making it easy for people to see the elk up close and personal. As with most wildlife, prime elk sighting times are right after first light and the hour or two before dark.

As far as when to visit elk country, the rut in September and October is the prime time since it offers the best opportunity to see large-antlered bulls. These majestic specimens can weigh up to 1,000 pounds and reach 50 to 60 inches tall at the shoulder. Summertime is also popular with those who want to see newborn calves, while winter provides opportunities to view elk without the crowds that come with summer and early fall.

If youre looking for a unique way to experience the elk, then consider KECAs covered wagon tour. The 45-minute, horse-drawn wagon ride shares the elk conservation success story as participants travel into the more isolated areas of the visitor center grounds, increasing the likelihood theyll see a few of the animals.

Those looking for a unique way to experience Pennsylvania's elk should consider the Keystone Elk Country Alliance Visitor Center's covered wagon tour  a 45-minute, horse-drawn wagon ride into the more isolated areas of the visitor center grounds. Mark Demko | lehighvalleylive.com contributor

Wagon rides take place Thursdays through Mondays from late August through late October and cost $25 per person. Tickets for the ride go on sale at the visitor center at 10 a.m. each day and are sold on a first-come basis, with most of the days tours selling out in rapid fashion.

In addition to the KECA Visitor Center, there are a handful of other popular elk viewing areas nearby. These include the Winslow Hill, Woodring Farm and Dents Run viewing areas, all located within a short drive of each other off Winslow Hill Road. The Winslow Hill Viewing Area, located on State Game Lands 311, is especially popular due to the panoramic views of the surrounding open hillsides and stunning sunsets.

As far as lodging, there are inns, lodges and motels in the region, including the nearby city of St. Marys, but most fill up well in advance, especially for the prime elk viewing season in fall. If youre thinking about planning a trip to Benezette and want to stay in the area, its a good idea to secure your accommodations a year or more in advance if possible.

Pennsylvania's elk herd spread across Elk, Cameron, Clinton, Clearfield and neighboring counties numbers more than 1,000 animals, making it a huge draw for tourists interested in wildlife viewing. Mark Demko | lehighvalleylive.com contributor

Pennsylvanias 2025 archery season for elk starts Saturday for those who secured a permit through the Game Commissions lottery system. Visit the commissions website to learn more about opportunities to hunt elk in the Keystone State.

For more information on the Keystone Elk Country Alliance Visitor Center and elk viewing, visit experienceelkcountry.com. Details on lodging are available at the Pennsylvania Great Outdoors Visitors Bureaus website, visitpago.com/counties/elk-county.
Residents across Warren County commemorated the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, remembering the nearly 3,000 lives lost and reflecting on how that day forever changed the region  and the world.

Tributes took place both publicly and privately. Phillipsburg hosted a community ceremony at Shappell Park, while an invitation-only gathering was hosted at the Warren County Emergency Services and 9/11 Memorial between Warren County Community College and Warren County Technical School.

15 1 / 15 9/11 remembered in Warren County 2025 observance

Among those remembering the attacks at the local ceremonies was Phillipsburg Councilman Ed Saultz, who shared his personal experience of witnessing the attacks unfold.

I actually physically watched the second plane fly into the World Trade Center, Saultz said. On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, he was commuting to work in New York City, taking in what he called a perfectly beautiful view of the skyline from the Bayonne Bridge. That day still haunts me.

Council President Pete Marino also recalled the vivid clarity of the day as he drove down Route 22, the radio bringing news of the attacks. He was en route to a hospital in Allentown for a scheduled procedure  a hospital that was quickly put on alert to receive casualties from the disaster. They never got to do it, Marino said, reflecting on the overwhelming loss.

Councilman Dustin Pierce remembered being a student at Andover Morris Elementary School, where news of the attacks first reached his classroom, marking the beginning of a national reckoning for even the youngest Americans.

The ceremony at Warren Tech and WCCC featured the Pledge of Allegiance, a performance of The Star-Spangled Banner, and a stirring bagpipe tribute. An Honor Guard offered a salute, followed by remarks from County Commissioner James Kern, Fire Academy Director Brian Kostenbader, and New Jersey State Police Sgt. 1st Class Lance Visone.

The events of Sept. 11, 2001, claimed the lives of 2,977 victims (excluding the hijackers). Of those, 2,753 were killed in New York City, including 343 firefighters and 60 police officers. Another 184 were killed at the Pentagon, and 40 passengers died in the crash of United Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. More than 6,000 people were injured, and thousands of first responders and survivors continue to battle long-term health complications.

The destruction of the Twin Towers and the surrounding World Trade Center complex, along with damage to the Pentagon, sent shockwaves across the globe. Broadcast live, the attacks sparked a new era of national security and military engagement, including the United States invasion of Afghanistan and the launch of the War on Terror.
LONDON, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at Downing Street on Wednesday, during which he strongly condemned Israel's recent strike in Doha, Qatar, as "completely unacceptable," said Downing Street spokesperson.

Starmer said the strikes represented "a flagrant violation of a key partner's sovereignty" and did nothing to advance the peace that "we all desperately want to see."

Turning to the situation in Gaza, the prime minister voiced deep concern and urged Israel to change course. He stressed that Israel must allow humanitarian aid into the territory and halt offensive operations to prevent the worsening of what he called a "man-made famine."

Both leaders agreed that the hostages abducted by Hamas nearly two years ago must be released. Starmer also expressed condolences over Monday's deadly terror attack in Jerusalem.

The European Union and the United Nations, as well as several European governments, including Britain, have this week hardened their stance on Israel's escalating military campaign across the Middle East after it launched airstrikes on Qatar Tuesday afternoon.

Editor: Xiong Jian
A Laois woman who has made her home in Offaly is in line for a prestigious national food award for a jam that has proved a hit with her local customers in Rhode and now further afield.

The Bogs Dollops, a family-run bakery and coffee shop in the north Offaly town, has been named a finalist in the prestigious Blas na hEireann Irish Food Awards for its handcrafted raspberry jam.

It's a remarkable achievement for a business opened in 2024 by husband-and-wife team Ronan and Mairead Heavey (nee O'Connor). The bakery was rescued from dereliction, with no outside investment. With determination, creativity, and the support of local tradespeople, the couple transformed it into a thriving hub at the heart of their community. All of this was achieved while Mairead, a Ballyroan woman, was on maternity leave.

A statement from the Blas na hEireann organisers to the Leinster Express / Laois Live said that their raspberry jam is praised for its flavour and authenticity which reflects their ethos of taking simple, traditional recipes and perfecting them with care.

It follows a string of accolades already earned for their scones and their award-winning brown bread  made from Maireads mothers recipe  as well as recognition as Irish Restaurant Innovators of the Year.

Coming from a strong farming background in Laois, Mairead highlights the deep connection between land, food and family.

Farmers are the foundation of Irelands food story. The beauty of both food and family  and the importance of these marrying  is at the heart of our ethos. We built this for our little girls, to show them that anything is possible, but also to never forget your roots  we all came from the land, and we would be nothing without it. Ireland is one of the richest lands in the world; it bears the very best fruit. Our family business is proud to showcase that. MORE BELOW PHOTO.

Mairead pictured at the Tullamore Show.

"To be recognised on a national stage by Blas na hEireann is a dream come true. Our raspberry jam began as something I made for our family and then for our community. To see it celebrated at this level shows the power of keeping things simple, honest, and made with excellent farm ingredients," she said.

READ ALSO: A true gent' - Laois business to cycle 600km in memory of dearly missed colleague

Blas na hEireann (The Irish Food Awards), based in Dingle, Co. Kerry, is Irelands largest food awards, celebrating the very best of Irish produce and recognising innovation, quality, and taste.
On Friday September 5, McElwee Pharmacies celebrated their 50th anniversary in Mountmellick.

The remarkable anniversary was celebrated with an event at the Hares Corner, where loyal customers were invited to join the Laois business in their celebration.

Jim McElwee began the evening with a speech, sharing the history of how he and his wife Mary came to Mountmellick.

Pictured: Peter McElwee & Leona Gorman at the 50th anniversary celebration. Photos by Denis Byrne

"Jim had worked as a pharmacist in the healthcare unit at Guinness in Dublin, and Mary were looking for a shop in the Midlands when they found Mountmellick," their son Peter McElwee, Managing Director of the business told the Leinster Express / Laois Live.

The couple purchased the premises on the north corner of OConnell Square following the passing of Walter Watty Walshe. Mr McElwee opened the shop on the 2nd of September 1975, coinciding with his third wedding anniversary, and warmly welcomed the community into their business.

"The early days were challenging with long hours and few customers, but Jim built a strong reputation for always being available, a good listener, and a capable veterinarian pharmacist," Mr McElwee said.

Pictured are Tom Dunne, Helen Walsh, Rachel Dunne, Breda Wilson, Chloe Doyle, Miaread Kavanagh & Jo Drum.

"In 1980, he expanded by purchasing Pims department store on the west side of the square. This new location included a childrens clothes store managed by Mary, nursery goods, a toy store, and, of course, a pharmacy and veterinary department."

In time, the building showed its age, prompting another move. In 1990, Jim relocated by purchasing then retiring Patrick Murphys pharmacy on the southern corner of the square. The year 2000 saw further expansion and Peter McElwee joining the business, and by 2004, Peter bought the business in full from his parents Jim and Mary.

Under the junior Mr McElwee's leadership, the business grew with the addition of two more premises in 2006 and 2008, expanding their capacity to serve their customers even more effectively.

Photo: Peter McElwee, Tom Dunne, Breda Wilson and Gemma Wilson

"The success of McElwee Pharmacies owes much to their dedicated staff, many of whom have been with the company since the 1980s," Mr McElwee praised.

Jim and Peter expressed their gratitude, particularly acknowledging long-serving staff members Helen Walshe, Assunta Healion, Ann Fitzpatrick, Jo Drumm, Breeda Wilson, and Helen Kearney.

A special moment of the evening was Peter McElwee presenting a bouquet and gift to Breeda Wilson, who retired that day after 39 years with McElwees, marking their first retiree.

Mr McElwee also extended heartfelt thanks to their loyal customers for their unwavering support over the years.

He specifically thanked Dermot Donaghy, the supervising and managing pharmacist at the Connolly Street store, who is also married to Roz McElwee, and Liam Dunne, who recently purchased the Portlaoise store.

Pictured: Peter and James McElwee with Anne Fitzpatrick

He concluded the evening by raising a toast to Breeda, the staff, and most importantly, their customers.

Jim continues to work a few days each week in the O'Connell Square store with Peter and Marta as associate pharmacist there.

"We have a lasting father and son working combination and friendship, having worked 25 years together. It is a privilege in itself. Here's to 50 years more!" Mr McElwee finished.

For more pictures from the McElwee's 50th anniversary celebration, see the Tuesday September 16th edition of the Leinster Express.
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An 18th century manor on the east side of Tipperary has remained on the market since January 2024.

The property featured on Selling Irelands Dream Home on RTE, and has a humble asking price of 4.5 million euro.

The estate has a dark history in terms of ownership - it was bequeathed to Colonel Thomas Sadlier of Tipperarys Sopwell Hall by the vicious Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century.

Cromwell confiscated a huge amount of land owned by Catholics in Ireland.

Read More: Conor McGregor seeks Tipperary County Council's nomination to run in presidential election

The gentlemans estate features 250 acres of woodland, parkland and pastures - with two kilometres of water frontage to Lough Derg and a private harbour.

Two main courtyards are situated on the grounds, alongside extensive stone buildings.

The house is equipped with five bedrooms, a gym, a sauna, a jacuzzi, a steam room and a wine cellar.

The listing states: The house dates to circa 1750, when the estate was in the ownership of the Sadlier Family. The manor house is a detached seven bay, two storey house over basement, with three bay side elevations."

An unusual feature of the house is the cut stone Ashlar limestone facade, with cut stone cornice, the remaining elevations being rendered. The house and property in general have undergone major restoration and refurbishment since being acquired by the current owner.

The house's furnishings are to be negotiated on top of the asking price, or sold separately.
A Laois student has climbed the highest freestanding mountain in the world, in aid of the Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF).

Tadhg Culliton, a University of Limerick student from Mountmellick, is known locally for his involvement in the GAA.

Along with his sporting endeavours, the 22 year old has a love for hiking and mountaineering.

Pictured: Sunrise near Kilimanjaro's summit, with Tadhg Culliton and classmates five hours into their final push to the peak

The UL student recently completed a challenge where he climbed the highest points in each county across Ireland. Mr Culliton was joined by 15 of his fellow University of Limerick students in climbing Kilimanjaro.

The Laois student told the Leinster Express / Laois Live that the climb was challenging at times, but he was delighted to have done it.

I was grand the whole way up, a lot of people were suffering with altitude sickness on day two and day three, he said.

Every day was 9-10 hours of walking, it was tough. Some parts were really steep, on day three we climbed the Barranco Wall, a vertical wall we had to be really careful climbing, he explained.

Pictured: The group atop the Barranco Wall, known as 'the fake summit'. Once reaching this point, climbers can see Kilimanjaro beyond.

We did it at 6am and it was icy out; it was a bit terrifying. It was tough with the long days, the night before we summited, we had hiked for 12 hours.

When we reached base camp, we had a briefing and a bite to eat. We only slept for two hours when we had to get up at midnight to push for the summit, he said.

The Mountmellick man explained that reaching the mountain peak was a surreal and emotional experience.

I was pretty emotional on the top, a lot of people were, he admitted.

Over the days going up, it felt like you were just hiking, it was surreal when we got up there, we had actually made it.

Everyone was so tired from the lack of sleep, we were all delirious. It didnt hit us until we got down that we had just climbed Kilimanjaro.

Going down was harder mentally, we just wanted to get off the mountain at that stage, he said.

Pictured: Tadhg Culliton with his friend and classmate Shane as they climb Kilimanjaro

I summited at twenty past nine in the morning, I had hiked eight and a half hours straight uphill, it felt sickening.

As tired as Mr Culliton was, the Mountmellick man was so eager to descend the mountain, that he sprinted down the mountainside to return to basecamp.

Myself and the porter sprinted downhill to basecamp, we got there within an hour and twenty minutes. I was so out of it, the whole way back down I was just moving on instinct, he laughed.

I slept for two hours while everyone else went down safely, and was woken up and told we had to travel another 2000 metres to the Mweka campsite. It was sickening, he said.

When we made it down, only six or seven people had dinner, the rest just went to bed.

As challenging as the climb was, Tadhg said he would love to do it again.

Pictured: Tadhg Culliton at Kilimanjaro's summit, having reached it at 9:20am following a three-day uphill climb. The Mountmellick man dons a Portlaoise Panthers jersey over his hiking gear, and proudly waves a Laois flag

Im so glad I did it, its nice that the fundraiser was successful, I had the added push on the mountain that it was for them too. Id like to go back, there are different routes on the mountain, try a shorter and more difficult one.

The fundraiser was highly successful, having achieved 6,146 of the 5,820 target at the time this article was written. The surplus donations will go towards a climb Mr Culliton will lead in Morocco next year.

Im relieved its done now, such a long build up to it, to have it done now is weird.

I'm in Laois at the moment, were making up a papier mache model here of the Atlas Mountains, were straight back into recruiting in UL for next year's climb! Mr Culliton finished.
The sixth annual Laois Alzheimers Memory Walk will take place once again in Ballyroan on September 21. The event is being held as part of the nationwide Alzheimers Memory Walk supported by Aviva, in honour of World Alzheimers Day. The Laois event will be held at Ballyroan Abbey GAA, with the community gathering at the Ballyroan GAA Club Grounds before the walk begins at 11am.

Families, friends, and neighbours will walk side by side in solidarity with the 64,000 people living with dementia in Irelandand in remembrance of those sadly no longer with us.

Local Champion for Laois, Grainne Roche, is leading the charge and encouraging everyone to take part:I am really looking forward to this years Laois Memory Walk which falls on September 21stWorld Alzheimers Day. People around the world will come together in support of those living with dementia and their loved ones, and here in Laois we will walk together. Memory Walk is a chance to share memories and create new ones and is such a lovely event for everyone who attends. I would encourage everyone who can to register now at www.memorywalk.ie to join me this World Alzheimers Day, September 21st at Ballyroan Abbey GAA at 11am.

READ NEXT: IN PICTURES: Supervet honoured in Portlaoise at Lovely Laois Homecoming festival

Participants can choose between a 2km or 3km route, making the walk accessible and enjoyable for all ages and abilities. Now in its sixth year, the Alzheimers Memory Walk supported by Aviva is more than a fundraiserits a celebration of connection, compassion, and community.

In 2024, nearly 3,500 walkers across Ireland raised over 150,000 to support vital services including Daycare, Support Groups, Family Carer Training, Social Clubs, Memory Cafes, and the ASI National Helpline. With nearly 40 events taking place across Ireland, the Alzheimers Memory Walk supported by Aviva is a powerful reminder of the strength found in community. Every step taken helps raise awareness and funds for essential dementia supports.
A local representative has alleged that families in County Kildare have been "ignored again" in the government's latest housing funding announcement.

Social Democrats councillor Chris Pender has criticised the governments decision to exclude Kildare from the latest 50 million in targeted housing acquisitions funding, which was announced by Minister for Housing James Browne TD.

While welcoming efforts to support families trapped in emergency accommodation, Cllr Pender claimed that the announcement highlights "how counties like Kildare continue to be left behind".

He added: "This 50 million is being directed at just eight councils, with not a cent coming to Kildare, yet we know families here in Newbridge, Naas, Kildare town and across the county are spending months and years in hotels and B&Bs.

"Children growing up in Kildare emergency accommodation deserve the same priority as those in Dublin, but this announcement ignores them."

READ NEXT: Ambulance cover to be introduced for area on the Kildare border

Cllr Pender also noted that the new funding allocations, as reported by KFM, show that all of the money will be channelled to major cities and Dublin local authorities.

"Homelessness is not just a Dublin issue; families in commuter counties like ours are under enormous pressure from soaring rents, a lack of affordable homes, and growing reliance on emergency accommodation," he said. "By directing this entire fund away from counties like Kildare, the government is creating a two-tier response to homelessness."

He also warned about what he views as an "over-reliance" on acquisitions as a policy tool: "Buying up second-hand homes may provide short-term relief, but it does not solve the core problem: the lack of new social and affordable housing being built here in Kildare.

"Worse still, it puts councils in direct competition with working families who are already priced out of the market."

He concluded: "If the government is serious about ending child homelessness, it cannot continue to ignore counties like Kildare; families here need fair funding, faster delivery of Tenant-in-Situ purchases, and a long-term plan to build the homes our communities urgently need."

The Department of Housing has been contacted for comment in relation to Cllr Pender's statements.

Cllr Pender made headlines earlier this month when he expressed solidarity with striking school secretaries and caretakers.

Social Democrats Cllr Chris Pender. Photograph supplied by Cllr Pender.

UPDATE  Friday, September 12, 2025  10.07am: The Department of Housing responded to the Leader's request for comment in relation to Cllr Pender's criticism, which was reported on yesterday (September 11 last).

A spokesperson for the Department said: "Supporting individuals and families experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness is a priority for Government. Critical to addressing homelessness is increasing the supply of housing.

"An additional 50 million has recently been secured to expand the programme as part of the National Development Plan discussions."

They continued: "This funding is being ring fenced and allocated to the eight city and city and county councils, which have the highest number of households that have been emergency accommodation for longer than 24 months in the Dublin region and 12 months or more in the remaining regional authorities  the focus is supporting larger families with children and Housing First clients.

"Initially 325 million has been allocated to local authorities for social housing 2nd hand acquisitions in 2025 for the specific categories of need under the programme, namely: tenancy sustainment  tenant in situ; exits from homeless services; Housing First tenancies; people with a disability and older persons requiring urgent housing responses; and buy and renew acquisitions tackling vacancy."

"Notwithstanding the provision of extra funding to identified LAs, there is currently sufficient scope within the overall original 325 million to support all acquisitions that can be contractually completed and drawn down by local authorities (including Kildare) before the end of the year."

"Additionally, with regard to local authorities that have not received an allocation from the 50m, all local authorities have authorisation to enter into commitments this year that are more likely to complete and fall due in 2026 and may do so to a value of up to 30% of their original 2025 allocation."

The spokesperson concluded: "This flexibility should allow them to continue progressing acquisitions in the closing months of 2025, with certainty on funding availability in 2026 should such purchases not complete in 2025."

READ NEXT: Alleged burglary incident in Kildare under investigation
Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary, has announced a significant investment of over 3.1 million in Larionad na Gaeilge, Maynooth Universitys Centre for Irish Language, for 2025-28.

The funding will support the continued development and expansion of four of the Centres key projects:

Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (TEG)

Snas.ie, the online educational resource hub

Certificate in Teaching of Irish (online)

Irish-language programmes and events in the Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris

The announcement was made as the Minister attended a special event in the Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth, Kildare on Wednesday to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Larionad na Gaeilges flagship project, Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (TEG).

In his address, Minister Dara Calleary said: I am delighted that my Department is able to extend our funding for the TEG initiative by three years  a language certification system that has established a high standard over the past 20 years.

READ NEXT: Court appearance for driver with multiple offences in Mylerstown, Kildare

TEG is the only independent certification system available for the Irish language, and is transparently aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR)  the most widely used international framework for measuring language proficiency.

Accordingly, TEG is of particular importance in terms of confirming the capacity of the public and the state system in the language, and will play a central role in the States efforts to empower the public in the Irish language in the years ahead.

President of Maynooth University, Professor Eeva Leinonen, welcoming the increased investment, said: We are deeply grateful to the Government and to Minister Calleary for their continued support of our Centre for Irish Language at Maynooth University.

This 3.1 million investment is both a strong vote of confidence in our pioneering work and a commitment to ensuring the Irish language thrives in Ireland and abroad. At Maynooth, we are proud to mark the 20-year anniversary of TEG, our Irish-language testing service, and look forward to the positive impact it will continue to have in the years ahead.

Speaking at the event, Director of Larionad na Gaeilge, Aoife Ni Ghloinn thanked the Minister and the Department for their continued support for the work of Larionad na Gaeilge. She also paid tribute to TEG Director, Siuan Ni Mhaonaigh, and to all TEG and Larionad na Gaeilge staff, whose vision and dedication are at the heart of the Centres achievements and pioneering work.

Of the total Government funding of 3,142,877, over 2.3m has been earmarked to support developments in the TEG system over the next three years.

In addition to its work in language testing, Larionad na Gaeilge has pioneered the development of Irish-language teaching and learning resources. These resources have now been brought together in a new online educational resource hub, snas.ie.

The investment of 331,079 in this project will enable Larionad na Gaeilge to appoint a project manager, to expand the range of authentic materials developed in collaboration with Foghlaim TG4 as part of the SnasTV series, to further develop the Snas.ie website, and to produce additional resources based on TEG syllabuses.

The Certificate in Teaching Irish to Adults was established as an online programme in 2019, to provide training and mentoring to those teaching Irish in adult and community education settings and in third level institutions, all over Ireland and abroad. It is the only certified course of its kind and will receive 293,224 in funding for the next three years.

Finally, Larionad na Gaeilge has been providing Irish-language classes in the Centre Culturel Irlandais (CCI), Paris since 2005. This collaboration is particularly special, due to the close historical links between Maynooth University and the Irish College in Paris, which houses the CCI today.

These popular classes are attended weekly by around 70 students at five levels, many of whom take TEG exams in Paris. The Larionad also promotes and supports Irish language cultural events and activities in CCI.

Increased funding of 199,676 will further enhance this collaboration, including an increased number of Gaeltacht scholarships for students and the launch of an artist residency award at CCI specifically for artists working through the medium of Irish.
A woman who appeared before Naas District Court, via videolink, in connection with theft offences recently gave birth.

The court heard that Rebecca Gill, 30, whose address was given as no fixed abode and who previously had an address in Naas, was in custody on other offences.

READ NEXT UPDATE: Kildare politician accuses Sinn Fein of scare tactics on energy credits removal

She was prosecuted for a number of theft offences on two dates in July and four dates in August including the theft of a handbag worth 47 from TK Maxx, Newbridge, and some 800 worth of toiletries from the Boots store in Whitewater, Newbridge.

The offences included the theft of groceries valued at 100 and 12 from SuperValu and Dunnes Stores.

The court was told that none of the property was recovered.

The court also heard that the defendant gave birth in an ambulance.

Defending solicitor David Powderly said the defendant was anxious to have her case dealt with because she wants to have the offences to run in with the term she is already serving.

He said the defendant has had three children and added she was due to remain in custody until next January.

He also said that an application would be made on her behalf for compassionate bail at a future date.

Sgt Tom ODonoghue told the court that the defendant was identified from CCTV images.

The defendant has 53 previous convictions, mostly for theft.

Judge Desmond Zaidan commented that the case was tragic not so much for her as for her baby.

He said the defendant is the product of a failed system in Ireland because she should be compelled to attend an addiction treatment centre rather than prison.

He said he knew the defendant for a number of years and she has gotten worse. He added: Take the drugs away and shes not a bad person.

He imposed a custody term of 7 months on the toiletries theft and took the other allegations into consideration.
Tonight RTE Prime Time's Fran McNulty presents a special report on the death of Liam Farrell who was found dead outside his home in rural Ireland in 2020.

On January 11, 2020, 87-year-old Liam Farrell walked home along the N4 road in the village of Rooskey after an evening socialising locally. Fifteen hours later, Liams body was found outside his back door. He was badly bruised, partially undressed and lying on his back.

A post-mortem examination concluded Liam died from a heart attack, but Liams family remain convinced that there is more to their fathers death, citing injuries to various parts of Liams body, bloodied items in the house, and his missing wallet.

Speaking about seeing the circumstances of his fathers death, Liams son Brendan said: I could understand, yes, a heart attackbut what about the injuries? And what caused the heart attack? What led to that? I mean, it was carnage you didnt have to be an expert to know that poor Daddy was attacked.

At a subsequent inquest, the hospital pathologist, Professor Paul Hartel, carried out a post-mortem examination of Mr Farrells body, he revealed he had not been informed that Liams body had been removed from a potential crime scene.

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Professor Hartel testified that had he been aware of the circumstances, he would have refused to carry out the autopsy and insisted a forensic pathologist be assigned.

Frank Buttimer, solicitor for the Farrell family said: Things went wrong from the moment when there was, for some unknown reason, a lack of communication between the scenes-of-crime guards or the senior guards who attended the scene. It was literally an opportunity that was missed to carry out a more comprehensive post-mortem assessment of the remains, one that would have established the presence of injuries and a likely causal connection between those injuries and a likely assault.

As the sixth anniversary of Liam Farrells death approaches, his familys grief is added to by the absence of answers.

For Liams brother Mel, time is of the essence he tells RTE Prime Time, "Im 90 and I want to see him get the truth before I die. It would mean a lot to me to know before I die. Someone is holding back something, I think. I do," he added. "I think someone knows something and they wont say it. They know, but theyre frightened of saying it."

You can watch the full report on Prime Time tonight, Thursday, September 11, at 9:35pm RTE One and RTE Player
A woman in her 30s has died following a fatal road collision involving a car and a truck in Monaghan.

Gardai are appealing for witnesses following a fatal road traffic collision at Castleshane, Co Monaghan, on Wednesday 10th September 2025.

The collision involving a car and a truck occurred on the N2 at approximately 2:45pm.

Gardai have confirmed that the driver of the car, a female in her 30s, was pronounced deceased at the scene. A post-mortem examination will be arranged.

No other injuries were reported.

The road was closed for an examination by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators and has since reopened.

READ NEXT: RIP: 'Beautiful girl'- Shock and heartbreak as Irish nurse dies unexpectedly

Gardai are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed this collision to contact them.

Any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) and were travelling in the area between 2:30pm and 2:50pm on Wednesday 10th September 2025, are asked to make this footage available to investigating Gardai.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Monaghan Garda Station on 047 77200, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.
SHANGHAI, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The World Laureates Association Prize (WLA Prize) announced its 2025 winners on Wednesday, with three scientists honored for groundbreaking work in life science, medicine, and mathematical sciences.

Scott Emr, professor of molecular biology and genetics at Cornell University, and Wesley Sundquist, professor of biochemistry at the University of Utah, shared the WLA Prize in Life Science or Medicine.

They are recognized for their breakthrough discoveries in the cellular mechanisms of receptor membrane protein transport and degradation, which are closely related to virus budding, infection processes, and HIV drug interventions.

The WLA Prize in Computer Science or Mathematics was awarded to Richard Schoen, professor emeritus at Stanford University's School of Humanities and Sciences, for his contributions to geometric analysis and differential geometry.

The WLA Prize is an international science award established in Shanghai in 2021. It features two categories, each with a prize of 10 million yuan (around 1.41 million U.S. dollars), making it one of the highest-funded scientific awards in the world. It aims to recognize and support outstanding researchers and technologists globally for their significant contributions to science.

Editor: ZAD
Too many people have remained silent over the killing of US political activist Charlie Kirk, Irelands deputy premier has said.

Mr Kirk, a 31-year-old ally of US president Donald Trump, was shot dead at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Simon Harris said there needs to be consistent condemnation of political threats and violence.

He said: Too many people use the word but in relation to what happened overnight.

Its extraordinarily easy to condemn violent acts against somebody with whom you share their views.

It is much more important that we are consistent in terms of calling it out when its against somebody whose work, whose views differ to us.

The Tanaistes comments come after a spate of violent threats against him and his family, including bomb threats made in relation to his family home.

Breaking ground at a development of 395 homes in Lucan, Dublin, Mr Harris condemned the assassination of the father-of-two as appalling, horrifying and deeply disturbing.

He added: It sadly seems were living in a world now where political violence, political threats, rhetoric around violence and extremism is almost contagious, contagious right across the globe, and it cannot be tolerated.

Meanwhile, the leader of Irelands Green Party told the RTE Radio he thinks the algorithms used by social media platforms need to be looked at, adding: The ability of platforms to bombard vulnerable people with radicalising content, violent content needs to be recognised.

Mr OGorman said he believed recommender systems need to be turned off and claimed it would take engagement between the Government and Irelands media regulator for that to happen.

Mr Harris said his former coalition partner had made some interesting points during the interview.

My thoughts and prayers go to the family and loved ones of Charlie Kirk after his horrific murder in Utah. We think especially of his wife and young children today. There is no place for the gun in politics, no justification for violence in democratic debate.  Micheal Martin (@MichealMartinTD) September 11, 2025

Irelands premier Micheal Martin also condemned the absolutely shocking assassination of Mr Kirk, which he said illustrated the extreme nature of violence in our world today.

Speaking to reporters in Dublin, Mr Martin said the cold-blooded killing had sent shockwaves through societies across the world.
"I don't know if courtesy crossings are worth the tar they are written on," said Cllr Cormac Flynn said at a recent Carrick-on-Shannon meeting where he asked if the crossing could be changed to pedestrian crossings.

Cllr Flynn had asked for the support of the other members in asking Leitrim County Council to conduct a traffic management review in the area of Priest's Lane, Leitrim Rd and Upper Main Street.

He said that "while recent works in the area, for the most part, been very beneficial, there are areas such as turning circles, poles/bollards, courtesy crossings, bus lay-bys, signage etc. which should have been reviewed to see if further improvements can be made."

Regarding the courtesy crossings, Cllr Flynn asked if they could changed into pedestrian and moved up the road away from the corner stating "it's difficult enough looking for a gap in the traffic, then you are looking you are looking for a gap in traffic and then having a person walk straight out in front of you. You are looking left and looking at cars and someone comes from your right and is basically at your front grill; I think they are causing a danger as opposed to helping the situation and I'm wondering if we look at moving permanent pedestrian crossings back up and away from the junction itself and make everything safer for road users."

District engineer Emma Donohoe said that the public realm were "very new and went through a design process, a part 8 process and I don't for see funding being made available to make alterations to a very, very fresh scheme that went through the proper processes."

Cllr Flynn said this was "disappointing" stating that he felt a pedestrian crossing is "overly expensive".

He noted also that he was aware that buses are "pulling in at Murtagh's but they can't pull in fully and they are still blocking the road and causing big enough delays" and asked if "one or two of those bollards can be moved to let more than one bus pull in at a time pull in at Murtagh's."

READ MORE: McGowan calls for additional street gullies in Dromod

He also said that the bollard at "the social welfare office; it's getting hit nearly hourly. Is there any need for it? Could it be removed or replace by a plastic flexible one?"

Ms Donohoe said that she "would prefer a bollard to be hit than a pedestrian so I don't think that removing it is the answer. If people are hitting it, they are mounting the curb. Maybe a plastic one could be installed."

She added that the bollards at Murtaghs are there to "protect vulnerable road users to it wouldn't be envisaged that we would be removing any of those bollards."

Cllr Enda Stenson said he agreed with the council's stance.

Ms Donohoe said the junction was "auto-tracked so there is a sufficient turning arc there for vehicles" however Cllr Flynn responded that "you have to have nothing coming down the road in order to turn; the right-hand lane needs to be clear and it is difficult."

The official response had stated that the traffic layout in the areas mentioned were altered back in 2019 on a trial basis and the feedback from the public and businesses was gathered on the two week trial. The response continued that the executive decided to proceed with the revised layout following the review and the feedback from the public.

There is a narrow point in relation to the layout - Leitrim Rd/Main Street Junction - turning movement towards Dublin. It is not possible to alter the curb radius on the junction here due to the limited road space available. Any and all revisions made to the road layouts that formed part of the public realm works prioritises pedestrians and vulnerable users and the final design give more space back to these road users.

All road improvement works that formed part of the recent public realm scheme in Carrick-on-Shannon were designed and constructed to the latest road design standards including the location of signs, junctions where auto tracked to ensure turning movements for larger vehicles was achievable.

READ MORE: Potential owners of a former hotel in Leitrim 'now embroiled in a legal dispute'

Cllr Paddy Farrell supported the motion saying there are "problems spots; at the social welfare office, if you come out with a long enough vehicle, you have to go out into the traffic. Up at the corner, it is very tight there too so they do need to be looked at."

Cllr Irene Guckian-Rabbitte also said she supported the motion.
Netflix has announced that 'Grown Ups, an 8-part drama series based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Marian Keyes has begun filming in County Dublin.

Set in south Dublin, 'Grown Ups follows the chaotic lives of the Caseys, a noisy tight-knit Irish family, who are bound together by a tangled web of loyalty, resentment, money, memory and love.

When the rock of the family, the good son, dies unexpectedly, it sets off a seismic emotional reckoning.

Over the course of the next year, the Caseys will fall in and out of love, confront old wounds and make some new ones. Theyll be forced to face not only their grief, but the exhausting, relentless, and often ridiculous struggle of being an adult.

Read next: 'It is blackmail': Last remaining Traitor in hit RTE show issues ultimatum to Faithful son

As well as officially announcing the production of the series beginning in Ireland, Netflix has unveiled a stellar, predominantly Irish cast for the upcoming series.

Sarah Greene (Bad Sisters, Normal People) takes on the role of Jessie, while Barry Ward (Bad Sisters, The End of the F**ing World*) will play Johnny.

Aisling Bea (This Way Up, Get Away) joins the ensemble as Cara, and Robert Sheehan (The Umbrella Academy, Misfits) stars as Liam.

Amy-Leigh Hickman (YOU, Our Girl) plays Nell, and Adrian Dunbar (Line of Duty, Ridley) steps into the role of Canice.

Sinead Cusack (Marcella, MotherFatherSon) will portray Rose, with Karin Hanczewski (Call My Agent: Berlin, Tatort) appearing as Ed.

Rising talent James Agnew, a recent graduate of Dublins Lir Academy, makes his screen debut as Ferdia.

Rounding out the cast is Katelyn Rose Downey (Clean Sweep, Blade Runner 2099), named a 2025 Screen International Star of Tomorrow, who will play Saoirse.

On her best-selling novel becoming a Netflix series author Marian Keyes said: "The filming of Grown Ups has begun in Dublin, and it feels like a succession of dreams come true. On 15/10/2020 at the height of Covid, I had a zoom call with Samantha Strauss from Picking Scabs (a See-Saw Films label). She was on Australias Gold Coast adapting Liane Moriartys Nine Perfect Strangers. I was closeted in my Dublin bedroom, once again in lockdown.

She continued: Sam had optioned the book (Grown Ups) six months earlier, but this was our first time to speak; our emotional and creative connection was immediate. Her questions were relevant and intelligent, and she was adamant that the show needed to be shot in Ireland. Countless books are optioned and very few ever make it to the screen. (Ive been there many times lol.) Funding is usually the biggest challenge. But from that first conversation I believed Sam and I trusted her. Then Netflix came on board and again it was so easy to like and trust the people involved. (For a long time, the only people I met related to this production were women).

On the predominantly Irish cast Keyes explained: Then casting began and it was above and beyond my wildest dreams: what an incredibly talented group of people. Likewise, the two directors and the hardworking crew. Being part of this, seeing it all come together has been so exciting and so much fun. Im honoured by the hard work and commitment of everyone involved, Im beyond grateful for all the care thats been taken with my characters and most of all, Im enormously proud."
A community in the west of Ireland has rallied in support of its local Tidy Towns group after thieves stole around 12,000 worth of equipment in a break-in last week.

The theft, which happened just days after the group moved its equipment to a new premises, left volunteers at Ballina Tidy Towns in Mayo absolutely soul destroyed as they arrived to find their store totally cleaned out of hand tools, hedge clippers and industrial strimmers.

While larger machinery such as ride-on lawnmowers was left untouched, the stolen items were described as the nitty gritty tools essential for the groups daily work keeping Ballina neat, tidy and presentable.

Speaking on RTEs 'Liveline', Tidy Towns volunteer Anne Marie Forbes said the loss initially felt like a major blow.

We were probably one of the best equipped Tidy Towns in the country until last Wednesday morning. To see it all gone was devastating, she said.

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But what followed was an overwhelming show of solidarity from across the town. It gave us the understanding of how much people respect the work we do, Ms Forbes explained. We thought we were just plodding along quietly, but the community really showed us otherwise.

Within hours, local businesses and residents had pledged to replace the stolen items. SuperValu, a national Tidy Towns sponsor, quickly committed 5,000 worth of equipment, while local security companies and hotels offered support, including fitting alarms at the storage premises.

Transition year students at St Marys Secondary School also sought permission to hold a fundraising flag day, saying they were touched by what happened to our town.

Ms Forbes praised the swift response from An Garda Siochana as well as the generosity of locals, describing it as a heart warming reminder that the good in a community far outweighs the bad.

The Ballina Tidy Towns committee, founded over 25 years ago, has long been at the centre of community life. Volunteers say the rallying response will ensure their work continues uninterrupted.

This was initially a very sad story, Ms Forbes said, but its ended up as a story of community spirit, Ballina at its very best.
Every time I come here, I am impressed by the support Israel receives in Liberia. Since 1947, our relationship has continued to improve, and I am extremely satisfied with the cooperation at every level, he said.
CAIRO, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday met with Tunisian Prime Minister Sarra Zaafrani Zenzri in Cairo and discussed enhancing bilateral relations and regional coordination, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

Both sides agreed on "the importance of continuing to develop joint cooperation in various fields, especially with the 18th session of the Joint Higher Committee being held in Cairo, serving as a strategic platform for deepening cooperation and exploring new prospects for integration, particularly in the trade and investment sectors," the statement said.

Sisi and Zenzri underscored the need to intensify coordination and cooperation between the two countries "to confront the challenges facing the region and to work to resolve regional crises," it added.

The two sides further stressed the importance of encouraging the private sectors in both countries to implement joint development projects in Africa, "strengthening the Egyptian and Tunisian presence within their regional surroundings."

The Egyptian-Tunisian Joint Higher Committee meetings are scheduled to kick off at Egypt's New Administrative Capital on Thursday with the opening session co-chaired by the prime ministers of both countries.

The meetings, including those of the Egyptian-Tunisian Business Council, are expected to cover areas of cooperation such as renewable energy, digital transformation, agriculture, and transportation, alongside reviewing new private sector investment opportunities.

Editor: Xiong Jian
Caption: The alleged Perpetrator explained to the camera that he lured Andrew to have him brutalized.
FEMALE entrepreneurs from Limerick are being encouraged to submit their applications for the latest cycle of a programme supporting businesswomen in rural Ireland.

The Acorns programme has been active for more than a decade.

The deadline for applications for the latest running of the contest falls at midnight on Monday, September 22.

Up to 50 places are available on the scheme.

READ MORE: First office block in Limerick's Opera Square development on the market

Those wishing to receive an application form are being asked to register on www.acorns.ie, or call 01 845 0770.

Among the local entrepreneurs have taken part in the Acorns programme is Ixis Santos, of Forest Mist Skincare, based in Curraghchase.

She started her business, she admits, out of desperation after suffering from severe skin sensitivities since childhood.

Her product produces gentle, natural, organic and efficacy-tested products that help resolve issues for people with sensitive skin.

Ixis was recognised as best emerging entrepreneur at the Limerick Local Enterprise Office awards 2025.

She says that one of the best benefits of the Acorns programme was the way it helped her develop the right mindset to pursue her business goals.

Acorns has been one of the best things to happen to me as a startup business! The connections, the support, and the atmosphere when we were together  it was incredible. When we are together, we can achieve anything, she says.

Acorns is fostered on the belief that early-stage entrepreneurs learn best from their peers.

Participants interact with each other in the monthly round table sessions, which are facilitated by a lead entrepreneur, who has first-hand experience of starting and successfully growing a business in rural Ireland.
ASHFORD man Gerben Uunk, who contested both the Mayoral and General Elections last year, has set his sights on an even bigger prize.

The Dutch national, who is co-founder and secretary of the Party for Animal Welfare, is seeking nominations to run in next months Presidential election.

Mr Uunk - a naturalised Irish citizen - is no stranger to elections.

OPINION: The presidential race has descended into a farce - but it will make great TV

Locally, he ran in last summers election to become Limericks first ever directly elected mayor, securing 788 votes and making it to the third count.

In the local election, taking place on the same day, he bid to win a seat in the Newcastle West area, polling 112 first preferences, and also bowing out at count number three.

He followed that up in November last when he sought a Dail seat in County Limerick.

Here, he went one better, exiting the contest at the fourth count, having earned 254 votes.

In 2014, he tried to get on Clare County Council.

He has also contested European Parliament elections in the Netherlands.

He has at least one successful election to his name, when he won a seat to Amsterdams local authority during the 1990s.

Asked why he wants to become President of Ireland, he said: I advocate for equal rights for every living being in Ireland. In my modest opinion, the Irish President has a responsibility to unite everyone in an inclusive manner. I believe that the rights of all living beings ought to be protected in the Irish Constitution.

He also pointed out that he stands against racism and hatred directed at immigrants. Locally, he feels Shannon Airport should stop hosting US troops.

To stand in the October 24 election, Mr Uunk needs the backing of at least 20 Oireachtas members or four local authorities.
A SINGLE vehicle collision has occurred on the M20 in Limerick this morning, causing major traffic delays.

This is the third early morning collision on Limericks motorway network this week.

The incident occurred on the M20/N20 southbound near Patrickswell, before the Cork exit, Junction 5, just after 7am this Thursday, September 11.

A spokesperson for Limerick Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that units were called to the scene at 7.07am, before returning to base almost two hours later at 8.53am.

Four units from Limerick city attended the incident, alongside one from Rathkeale.

In response to a query from Limerick Live, a spokesperson for An Garda Siochana confirmed: "Gardai and emergency services attended the scene of a single vehicle road traffic collision that occurred on the M20 road, Attyflin, Co Limerick on Thursday, September 11, 2025 at approximately 7am."

READ MORE: Limerick City and County Council launch noise and air quality tracking

"No injuries have been reported at this time," the spokesperson continued, adding: "Investigations are ongoing."

A Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) spokesperson warned that delays to your journey will occur.

Consider a different journey route or start time. When approaching the collision location, drive with caution, reduce your speed and obey instructions from emergency services, the comment continued.

The first in the trio of early morning rush hour motorway collisions in Limerick this week occurred on Monday, September 8.

The incident involving multiple vehicles occurred at around 8.40am on the M7 between Junction 29, Ballysimon, and Junction 30, Rosbrien.

The second incident, involving four vehicles, occurred at approximately 8.30am on Tuesday, September 9 on the M7 between Junction 29, Ballysimon, and Junction 28, Castletroy.
Tributes have been paid to Italian student Lorenzo De Bonis, who died while rock climbing in County Cork last week.

Lorenzo (27) was climbing at Foxs Cliff at the Eastern Hole in Baltimore Harbour when the accident occurred.

The marine biologist, who was studying at University College Cork (UCC), was living in Blackpool in Cork City but was originally from Rome.

The alarm was raised at 8:30pm last Thursday after Lorenzos partner was unable to contact him.

A search was carried out and his body was subsequently recovered by a local diver on Friday.

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The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) paid tribute to the Italian student in a statement on their website.

It stated: Lorenzo loved all outdoor activities including sailing and climbing, and it was the latter that led to his untimely passing when he fell while climbing off Baltimore, Co Cork. Thank you to the lifeboat and local boat people who recovered his body for his family to mourn and bury.

Our sincere condolences to his parents Concetta and Riccardo and his partner Signe. Our hearts go out to you all.

Lorenzo will live on in our hearts and we will ensure his work will be published and leave some legacy.

Meanwhile, one of his UCC colleagues said: Lorenzo was such a brilliant mentor to me over the past 6 months at UCC.

He brought huge enthusiasm to his work and he was so passionate about life. He will be so truly missed. He was one of a kind.

Thank you for everything Lorenzo. We will continue to work to protect the ocean and our planet with you at the forefront of our minds forever.

Lorenzo will be sadly missed by his parents Riccardo and Concetta, his sister Chiara, and the wider De Bonis family.

He is deeply regretted by his partner Signe Martin, the wider Martin family and all his many friends and colleagues in Italy, UCC, ATU, and the Marine Biology and climbing communities In Ireland and beyond.

Lorenzos funeral will take place in Rome on Friday.
The Taoiseach has defended Fianna Fail presidential candidate Jim Gavins comments about Israels military objectives in Gaza.

Micheal Martin, the leader of Fianna Fail, said there had been attempts to sow division over the issue of Israels war in the region.

In a recent interview with Virgin Media News, Mr Gavin said: Its unconscionable that the bombing is still taking place when I believe that the military objectives have probably been reached for that military campaign.

Sinn Fein has called for the candidate to withdraw his remark, with senior party figure Pearse Doherty calling it a disgraceful way to talk about the brutal slaughter of tens of thousands of men, women and children.

In a social media post, Mr Doherty added: It is a genocide, Jim.

Mr Martin defended Mr Gavins comments on Thursday and attacked Sinn Fein for what he described as an appalling distortion of the comments.

Speaking to reporters, the Taoiseach said: Jim Gavin is very clear in that interview, absolutely said it was unconscionable what is happening  as we all believe.

Why is Sinn Fein always trying to create division on this question, trying to be more virtuous than the other person, trying to sort of say well, that person is for Israel when they clearly are not?

He added: Everyone knows  the IDF themselves think and this is the point  that theres no absolutely no justification but Prime Minister Netanyahu is continuing.

But this is a distortion by Sinn Fein, and its nasty, and it should stop.

Mr Martin said Sinn Fein was trying to undermine Mr Gavin whose life had been dedicated to peacekeeping during his time in the Defence Forces.

One would imagine the Irish Government is supporting Israel the way Sinn Fein goes on  and language around complicity in genocide and of that is just bad politics.

Pressed on whether he would use the same language on military campaigns and objectives as Mr Gavin, Mr Martin said the remark was made in the context of reporting that even the IDF had acknowledged its military objectives were well gone.

He added: Its not that we endorse it. Whats going on at the moment, as Jim Gavin said, is unconscionable.

Elsewhere in the race, Heather Humphreys said she had no role in whipping Fine Gael councillors to block independent candidates seeking a nomination through local authorities.

To be eligible to run for the election on October 24, a candidate must be nominated either by 20 members of the Oireachtas or four local authorities.

Several independents have expressed an interest in securing a nomination through the local authority process  but this will be difficult without the support of Government councillors.

Fine Gael has directed its councillors not to facilitate the nomination of anyone other than its candidate  Ms Humphreys.

Asked on Thursday if she supported that order, Ms Humphreys said: Thats the partys national executive that decided that, and thats the stance on candidates seeking council support.

I had no role in that, and my focus is on my campaign and my pitch to voters around the country.

She added: Im a former councillor myself, and I have to say Im very encouraged by the support Im getting from the Fine Gael councillors and indeed, councillors from across different parties and independent councillors.

Speaking to Ocean FM, Ms Humphreys said: Theres a process here to get on on the ballot paper for the presidential election and, look, its up to people to go ahead and talk to people and see can they get on it.

I have no problem with that at all. But look the Fine Gael national executive made that decision  I had no role in it.
An alliance of Northern Ireland trade organisations said they have deepened north-south co-operation following high-level engagements in Dublin.

Officials from Trade NI, an alliance of Retail NI, Manufacturing NI and Hospitality Ulster, met Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Harris, as well as representatives of the Irish Governments Shared Island Fund and the Oireachtas Joint Committee for the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.

They said it builds on previous work with now Taoiseach Micheal Martin to deepen dialogue on north-south issues that affect business and communities across the island.

It follows recent activities in London earlier this year and formed part of its wider programme to promote Northern Irelands economic proposition internationally and on the island of Ireland.

In a joint statement, Stephen Kelly of Manufacturing NI, Glyn Roberts of Retail NI, and Colin Neill of Hospitality Ulster, described an invaluable opportunity to continue championing collaboration across the island.

Our engagements with newly elected TDs and long-standing representatives alike ensure that we are reinforcing our message  that closer cooperation delivers prosperity for everyone, he said.

We welcome the continued support of the Irish Government in helping to drive shared economic growth, connectivity and opportunity.

Mr Harris said strong north-south engagement is critical for future prosperity and growth.

That so many of you take time out from your busy schedules to travel down each year for this event is indicative both of the inter-connectedness of businesses on the island and of the appetite within the business community, north and south, for forging new cross-border partnerships, he said.

We live side-by-side on what is a relatively small island and strong north-south engagement is critical to our future prosperity and growth. The Irish Government, for its part, is investing in our shared future through the Shared Island initiative.

However, if we are to have a truly shared island, the kind of all-island engagement you have been having here in Dublin today is another vital component.
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations welcomes the agreement reached between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the "practical modalities to resume inspections in Iran," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, on Wednesday.

"We welcome the agreement between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the IAEA on the 'practical modalities to resume inspections in Iran' as a positive step forward resuming full cooperation, as required by Iran's comprehensive safeguard agreement," Dujarric told a daily briefing. "And we look forward to the agreement's swift implementation."

The spokesman added that Iran's full cooperation with the IAEA is essential in achieving a long-term framework that can ensure Iran's nuclear program remains exclusively peaceful.

Iran and the IAEA signed an agreement to resume cooperation on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in Egypt's capital, Cairo, during a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.

Editor: Xiong Jian
Yamaha Motors announced that it is shutting down motorcycle manufacturing in Pakistan. The company's announcement comes months after tech giant Microsoft also closed its offices in the nation.

In an official exchange issued on Tuesday, September 9, Yamaha confirmed that although manufacturing operations will cease, spare parts will remain available through authorised dealers.

Why the shut down? Yamaha announced the shut down of motorcyle manufacturing citing a change in business policy.

Due to change in our business policy, we would like to inform you that we will discontinue manufacturing of motorcycles, Yamaha Motor Pakistan Pvt Limited said in its statement.

Reactions pour in Several netizens took to social media, posting their reactions to the shut down of Yamaha's motorcycle manufacturing in Pakistan. While many netizens called it a big blow, several others mentioned that the nation will benefit from EVs .

Another big blow to Pakistans auto industry Yamaha has officially announced the end of motorcycle manufacturing in the country, wrote another user.

End of an era, Yamaha bikes will no longer be manufactured in Pakistan. World is moving towards EVs and Pakistan will benefit greatly from EV bikes adoption. Approx 30-40% petrol is consumed by 2 wheelers in Pakistan, $2 billion per year. Significant savings in oil import bill will be beneficial for Pakistan's macroeconomic stability. commented another netizen.

In July, Microsoft officially shut its operation in Pakistan.

Microsoft shuts offices in Pakistan Microsoft shut its operations in Pakistan after 25 years, announcing its decision in July.

The company, which entered Pakistan on March 7, 2000, cited global restructuring and a shift to a cloud-based, partner-led model as reasons behind the closure.

That time, former Pakistani President Arif Alvi connected Microsofts exit to a bigger political picture. Microsofts decision to shut down operations in Pakistan is a troubling sign for our economic future, he had said on X (formerly twitter).
Infosys Ltd said it will spend 18,000 crore to repurchase shares from the market, marking the biggest buyback yet by India's second-largest IT services company.

The company will buy back 100 million shares at 1,800 each, 19.2% above their Thursday closing of 1509.50. Earlier, Infosys spent 13,000 crore in its first buyback in 2017, followed by 8260 crore in 2019, 9200 crore in 2021 and 9300 crore in 2022.

The buyback continues a tradition of IT services companies returning excess back to shareholders. TCS and Wipro have both engaged in three buybacks each over the last five years. TCS has a stated policy of returning 80-100% of free cash flow to shareholders, whereas HCLTech has a target of returning a minimum of 75% of net income to shareholders.

With this, Infosys also matches the biggest buyback by an IT firm, announced by Tata Consultancy Services in 2022, when it sought to repurchase 18,000 crore worth of shares. While TCS then sought to buy back 1.08% of its shares, Infosys is now repurchasing up to 2.41%.

"The above (Infosys) buyback is higher than our expectation of 12,000-18,000 crore," said Amit Chandra, vice-president of HDFC Securities. Similarly, Kotak Institutional Securities expected the buyback size to be lower, estimating a buyback of 13,560 crore, as stated on its website.

According to Kotak, the buyback signals undervaluation. "The Infosys stock fell 24% year-to-date in 2025, prompting the management to act," the broking firm said in a note on Wednesday.

Promoters owned 14.61% of Infosys at the end of June 2025. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) held 31.92%, compared to 32.89% in March 2025, which, according to Kotak analysts, indicated "cautious sentiment". Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) owned 39.6%, while mutual funds owned the remaining fifth of shares in the company.

The buyback is in line with Infosys's stated policy of returning cash to shareholders.

Effective from financial year 2025, the company expects to continue its policy of returning approximately 85% of the free cash flow cumulatively over a 5-year period through a combination of semi-annual dividends and/or share buyback/ special dividends, subject to applicable laws and requisite approvals, if any, the companys capital allocation policy reads.

Last year, Infosys ended with $4.1 billion in free cash flow; if it reported a similar cash flow till FY30, it would translate to about $17.4 billion being handed out to shareholders in the coming five years.

The Infosys buyback comes at a time when investors have been lukewarm to IT. Each of the top five IT outsourcers reported a decline in share price since the start of the year. TCS, Infosys, HCLTech, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra have seen their shares fall 23.75%, 19.74%, 23.48%, 15.91%, and 10.84%, respectively.

An IT industry analyst said other IT outsourcers too might engage in buybacks.

The macroeconomic condition is not very stable and demand is low. In such times, it will be tough for companies to invest in new technologies because demand itself is low and they are getting less work, said a Mumbai-based analyst on condition of anonymity.

Growth has been slowing for IT's Big Five over the last couple of years. TCS, Infosys, and HCL Technologies Ltd grew 3.78%, 3.85%, and 4.3% on a yearly basis, respectively. In contrast, Wipro Ltd and Tech Mahindra Ltd reported a revenue decline of 2.72% and 0.21%, respectively.

Still, Infosys is cautiously optimistic on the future. The Bengaluru-based IT services company raised the lower end of its FY26 guidance to 1-3% in constant currency terms in July, higher than the flat to 3% growth it had projected in April, which was its slowest revenue guidance in at least a decade. Constant currency does not take currency fluctuation into account.
(Bloomberg) -- In just four months, Nuno Matos has dismantled the decade-long legacy of ANZ Group Holdings Ltd.s former boss Shayne Elliott.

Since taking over as chief executive officer of one of Australias biggest banks in May, the former HSBC Holdings Plc banker has moved to slash 3,500 jobs, shaken up its senior management and revamped the lenders top risk and compliance positions. The blunt-talking Portuguese financier has even earned the moniker Nunogeddon for the drastic actions so far.

The swift and far-reaching changes have surprised and unsettled ANZ staffers, sowing worry and forcing them to quickly adapt to a different and harsher management style than they were accustomed to.

The stakes are high for Matos, who last year missed out on the top job at HSBC and is now trying to prove his mettle at ANZ. The 57-year-old is upending a longstanding internal culture that Australian regulators allege contributed to bad workplace behavior, poor risk management and other shortcomings in the banks global markets business.

Following the abrupt departure of markets boss Anshul Sidher earlier this week, more job cuts are expected within the scandal-ridden division, said people familiar with the matter.

Matos, speaking at a conference on Tuesday, said his goal is to put our house in order and that pace was important in a rapidly changing world. The same day, ANZ announced cuts that would shrink its roughly 42,000-strong workforce by around 8% over the next year.

A spokesperson for ANZ declined to comment.

Email Slipup

In late August, some employees learned they would be terminated through automated emails that were sent to them prematurely. ANZ apologized for the gaffe in an internal memo, but had to accelerate some of its planned layoffs as a result. The slip up drew criticism that the bank was making changes chaotically and insensitively under Matos.

Also that month, managers were told to identify members of their teams who werent meeting the banks expectation of spending at least half their scheduled working hours at ANZ workplaces.

Team members who didnt meet the 50% requirement would face performance and remuneration consequences for the 2025 fiscal year that ends in September, according to an internal memo reviewed by Bloomberg News. Those with low recorded attendance without a formal exception or valid reasons would have their variable pay docked, it said.

On Internet forum Reddit, there is a Weekly Nuno/ANZ thread about the CEO and the bank, with participants discussing the dour mood and palpable anxiety among ANZ employees. Bloomberg hasnt been able to verify the identities of participants on the forum.

Since becoming CEO, Matos has traveled to ANZs offices across Australia, and to Singapore and Hong Kong, to meet clients of the bank, investors and regulators, and held town halls with staffers. He has been staying in a hotel while looking for a property in Melbourne, where ANZ is based, and most of his possessions have yet to arrive from Hong Kong, where he lived previously.

ANZ has also said it plans to ax around 1,000 outside contractors as part of a wider cost-cutting drive. It recently hired McKinsey & Co. to conduct a wide-ranging review.

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At a recent meeting where McKinsey consultants made business suggestions to senior managers of the bank, one executive pulled out a decade-old presentation by the consulting firm that had recommended a similar approach, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identifying sharing private information. A spokesperson for McKinsey declined to comment.

ANZ shares have lagged behind its biggest Australian peers over the past few years, but have outperformed the broader stock market benchmark in the year to date. The lender will provide a strategy update to investors on Oct. 13.

Some analysts have warned that restructuring Australias second-largest bank by assets may take longer than expected and turn out to be more costly than the banks initial guidance of A$560 million ($370 million) in charges.

But investors such as Jason Kururangi are betting Matos can turn things around. Hes listening to some of the concerns that the market has on a number of different fronts, said Kururangi, a portfolio manager at Milford Asset Management Ltd. in Sydney, which owns ANZ shares. While staffers are probably unhappy, investors and shareholders have been pleasantly surprised, he added.

Scandal Ridden

ANZ, which does retail and commercial banking in Australia and New Zealand and has a large institutional banking division that operates across global financial markets, was previously run by Elliott, a New Zealander, for nine and a half years. In his final few months, Elliott faced off with parliamentarians in Canberra over allegations of misbehavior by ANZ traders in the firms Sydney dealing room.

So far, the firms retail division has bore the brunt of job cuts, and its former head Maile Carnegie left in July. Inside that unit, roles that are duplicative are being stripped out, and some analysts expect a costly tech revamp called ANZ Plus to be scrapped.

Despite billions of dollars sunk into the project, it still lacks functionality, and if the strategy needs to pivot, it is likely in the best interest of shareholders, said Morningstar analyst Nathan Zaia.

Matos is still looking for someone to run the unit, which is also responsible for integrating around 3,000 staff from ANZs acquisition of Suncorp Bank last year. The retail division is currently led by acting head Bruce Rush.

A search is also underway for a new global markets head to replace Sidher. ANZs institutional division is run by Mark Whelan, who has been asked to remain at the bank for continuity reasons, said people familiar with the matter. ANZ is still grappling with an Australian Securities and Investments Commission investigation into the firms role in the execution of a 2023 government bond sale.

Slashing jobs and sudden layoffs have the potential to hurt ANZs reputation and backfire, said Mark Williams, a master lecturer in the finance department at Boston Universitys Questrom School of Business.

Layoffs can initially send a strong message to the market that management is addressing its largest costs, Williams said. But they also reduce employee morale, productivity and service quality. Under such cost cutting measures, bank turnover, client dissatisfaction and attrition could rise, he added.

--With assistance from Michael G. Wilson and Matthew Burgess.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
(Bloomberg) -- A union representing workers at Sao Paulo banks said it will file a collective action aimed at reintegrating Itau Unibanco Holding SA employees who were dismissed on Monday for alleged low productivity while working remotely.

The unions action will apply to Sao Paulo workers, which account for 99% of the layoffs, its president Neiva Ribeiro said at a press conference Thursday. Her union  Sindicato dos Bancarios e Financiarios de Sao Paulo, Osasco e Regiao  estimated that Itau dismissed about 1,000 workers, though the bank hasnt publicly confirmed a number.

Itau dismissed the employees following a review of conduct related to remote work and work hour records, it said at the time. It identified patterns that were incompatible with our principles of trust, which are non-negotiable for the bank, it said.

A representative for Itau declined to comment and referred to a separate statement it released on Wednesday. In that, Itau said that in the most critical cases, the dismissed workers had work-from-home activity rates of 20% on some days, and still logged extra hours. That compares to a 75% average for the whole bank, it said. The monitoring of digital activity was stated in internal policy documents that workers had signed, according to Itau.

The bank created a metric and we dont now what it is, Ribeiro said Thursday, adding that the banks move had exposed the dismissed workers. Itau gave no prior notification to the union about the dismissals, Ribeiro said, and neither the union nor the dismissed workers had access to the monitoring results.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
The head of a UK-China business lobby group expects Prime Minister Keir Starmer to visit China in early 2026 to build on closer bilateral ties since the Labour government came to power.

We all very much hope that he will be here probably in the first quarter of next year, Peter Burnett, chief executive of the China-Britain Business Council, said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Beijing on Thursday. We think it would seal a really important development in the relationship.

Burnett was part of a group headed by UK Business Secretary Peter Kyle that met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Wednesday. Kyle traveled to Beijing to attend the first high-level trade discussions between the two countries since 2018.

The resumption of the UK-China Joint Economic and Trade Commission talks comes as Starmer is pushing to boost economic growth in Britain, partly by increasing trade opportunities.

The package of deals Kyle is pursuing could be worth more than 1 billion over the next five years, according to a government statement on Tuesday. The release described an approach to relations with China as pragmatic, careful and confident.

Burnett said Kyle came with messages from Starmer but didnt specify their content. He also indicated that it will be a tough balancing act for the UK to navigate its relationship with the US and China.

Trump, for example, has urged the European Union to ramp up tariffs on China to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table over the war in Ukraine.

Burnett said that while there hasnt yet been pressure from the US to do things differently, balancing those two relationships would be a hard row to hoe.

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TOKYO, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Activist investor Elliott Management, a shareholder in Kansai Electric Power, said the Japanese utility could become a more attractive long-term investment by selling non-core assets and boosting profitability and shareholder returns.

Elliott has become one of the top three shareholders of Kansai Electric, Japan's biggest nuclear power operator by reactors online, with a stake of between 4% and 5%, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

In a statement issued from London on Wednesday, Elliott said it was looking forward to working with Kansai Electric's management and other key stakeholders to strengthen the company's core business.

"By increasing shareholder returns, unlocking capital from its non-core assets and improving profitability, we believe the company can enhance its funding flexibility for future growth and bolster its appeal as a long-term investment proposition," its statement said.

Elliott wants Kansai Electric to boost its dividend to 100 yen per share from 60 yen per share and increase share buybacks by selling non-core assets, according to the source familiar with the matter, who was not authorised to speak publicly.

Elliott has identified non-core assets at the company worth more than 2 trillion yen ($13.58 billion), including over 1 trillion yen of real estate as well as a stake in a construction firm, the source said.

Elliott's statement did not provide details on its stake in Kansai Electric or other specific proposals. Kansai Electric did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Elliott has been active in a push for Japanese companies to boost shareholder returns and corporate value, taking stakes in a range of companies including Tokyo Gas, Sumitomo Corp and Dai Nippon Printing.

Apart from the energy business, Kansai Electric has assets in IT and real estate, among others, but it is targeting nuclear power as its main source of near-to-mid-term earnings growth. It plans to keep its dividend per share this fiscal year flat at 60 yen, despite a forecast 30% drop in profits to 295 billion yen.
New Delhi, Sep 11 (PTI) Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday urged sugar producers to diversify their operations and explore ethanol-diesel blending and green hydrogen production in view of surplus sugar production in the country.

Addressing ISMA's 'The Indian Sugar & Bio-Energy Conference 2025', Gadkari said there is also a need to focus on the production of sugar allied products.

"India produces more sugar than its requirement...and if sugar production also increases in Brazil, then surplus sugar production will create problems in India also," he said.

Gadkari noted that the production cost of sugar is now almost the same as its market price.

"Now there is no alternative to reduce production of sugar in India as in the coming days surplus sugar production will create a big problem in the country," Gadkari said.

The road transport and highways minister noted that India is spending 22 lakh crore for importing fossil fuels, and due to that, "we are facing a problem of pollution".

"If India wants to become Atmanirbhar, then it will have to reduce import of fossil fuels and focus on increasing production of bioCNG and ethanol-blended petrol as alternatives to fossil fuels," he said.

Gadkari said farmers should not only be recognized as 'annadata' or food producers, but also as 'urjadata' or energy producers. He also mentioned that after farmers started producing ethanol from corn, the prices of the crop have increased, going up to 2,800 per quintal from 1,200 per quintal earlier.

Ethanol can be produced from broken rice and sugarcane.

Gadkari said his aim is to make India's automobile industry number one in the world within five years.

"Within five years, our target is to make India's automobile industry the number 1 in the world  When I took charge as transport minister, the size of the Indian automobile industry was 14 lakh crore. The size of the Indian automobile industry now is 22 lakh crore," he said.
By Krystal Hu and Stephen Nellis

(Reuters) - Microsoft and OpenAI said on Thursday they have signed a non-binding deal for new relationship terms that would allow OpenAI to proceed to restructure itself into a for-profit company, marking a new phase of the most high-profile partnerships to fund the ChatGPT frenzy.

Details on the new commercial arrangements were not disclosed, but the companies said they were working to finalize terms of a definitive agreement. This marks a step forward in OpenAI's prolonged talks with Microsoft as the former seeks to raise capital under a more common governance structure and eventually go public to fund artificial intelligence development.

Microsoft invested $1 billion in OpenAI in 2019 and another $10 billion at the beginning of 2023. Under their previous agreement, Microsoft had exclusive rights to sell OpenAI's software tools through its Azure cloud computing platform and had preferred access to the startup's technology.

Microsoft was once designated as OpenAI's sole compute provider, though it lessened its grip this year to allow OpenAI to pursue its own data center project, Stargate, including signing $300 billion worth of long-term contracts with Oracle, as well as another cloud deal with Google.

As OpenAI's revenue grows into the billions, it is seeking a more conventional corporate structure and partnerships with additional cloud providers to expand sales and secure the computing capacity needed to meet demand.

Microsoft, meanwhile, wants continued access to OpenAI's technology even if OpenAI declares its models have reached humanlike intelligence - a milestone that would end the current partnership under existing terms.

OpenAI said under current terms, its nonprofit arm will receive more than $100 billion  about 20% of the $500 billion valuation it is seeking in private markets  making it one of the most well-funded nonprofits, according to a memo from Bret Taylor, chairman of OpenAI's current nonprofit board.

The companies did not disclose how much of OpenAI Microsoft will own, nor whether Microsoft will retain exclusive access to OpenAIs latest models and technology.

Regulatory hurdles remain for OpenAI, as attorneys general in California and Delaware need to approve OpenAI's new structure. The company hopes to complete the conversion by year's end, or risk losing billions in funding tied to that timeline.

Microsoft and OpenAI compete on products ranging from consumer chatbots to AI tools for businesses. Microsoft has also been working on developing its own AI models to reduce its dependence on OpenAI's technologies.
The Delhi High Court has refused to grant interim relief to the Peruvian Embassy, which sought to halt the processing of Chiles application for recognition of Chilean pisco in India, marking the latest development in a decades-long tussle between the two South American neighbours over the right to sell the continents prized pisco brandy in India.

A division bench of Justices C. Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla declined to stay a single-bench order from July that curtailed Perus exclusive rights over the spirit in India and directed that the geographical indication (GI) mark, previously registered for Peru as 'pisco', be changed to Peruvian pisco.

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The plea was argued by Perus senior counsel Neeraj Kishan Kaul, who pressed for interim protection, contending that the absence of such relief caused serious prejudice. He noted that pisco was part of Perus cultural identity and enjoyed global recognition, but the court said it was not convinced this constituted irreparable loss. Pisco is a strong grape brandy with around 42% alcohol, distilled from fermented black Quebranta grapes.

Eighty-two countries have accepted pisco as Perus GI. Only India has said otherwise. The damage is irreparable, and we as a country are aggrieved, Kaul argued.

The court directed that the case be listed for a final hearing on 15 October but declined to grant any interim relief, allowing Chile to continue with its application.

Landmark case, landmark ruling This is the first case in which two countries have contested GI rights before an Indian court. GIs are defined under Indias GI Act and the WTOs TRIPS agreement as signs that identify a product as originating from a specific region. Examples include Darjeeling tea, Basmati rice, and Kanchipuram silk.

Mint reported on 7 July that a single-judge bench of the Delhi High Court settled the 20-year legal battle. Justice Mini Pushkarna set aside an order by the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) order, holding that the dispute concerned homonymous GIs  with identical names but different geographical origins and distinct characteristics  and allowed both countries to sell pisco in India.

Liquor executives and lawyers described the ruling as a landmark decision, one that would strengthen Indias GI framework by ensuring authentic products were properly labeled and protected.

For lovers of pisco, a niche, premium liquor produced primarily in Perus Ica Valley since the 16th century, the ruling means a wider choice and clarity over its origin.

Two-decade fight The dispute began in 2005, when the Embassy of Peru applied for GI protection in India for pisco, seeking exclusive rights over the name for its grape-based brandy. Chilean producers opposed the move, arguing that 'pisco' had long been produced in regions such as Coquimbo and Atacama, with records dating back to 1733.

In 2009, Indias GI registrar accepted Perus application, registering it as Peruvian Pisco to avoid consumer confusion. Peru challenged this decision, and in 2018 the IPAB granted Peru sole rights over the name, effectively shutting out Chilean producers.
BEIJING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- China has introduced a national childcare subsidy system starting this year, as part of efforts to improve the childbirth support system and promote high-quality population development, the country's top health official said on Thursday.

As of Wednesday, over 80 percent of eligible applicants had completed registration through online and offline channels, Lei Haichao, head of the National Health Commission(NHC), told a press conference on the country's progress in the health sector during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025).

From Jan. 1 this year, families will receive an annual childcare subsidy of 3,600 yuan (about 506.8 U.S. dollars) per child -- whether for a first, second, or third child -- until the child turns three, according to a plan issued earlier by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council.

Economic support in childcare has been expanded in multiple areas over the five-year period. Childcare for children under three and children's education have been included in additional deductions for individual income tax, with the deduction standard raised from 1,000 yuan per child per month to 2,000 yuan, said Guo Yanhong, deputy head of the NHC.

All Chinese provinces now include assisted reproductive technology projects in medical insurance reimbursement, along with other policies such as free preschool education and housing support, Guo added.

Nationwide, rates of regular checkups for pregnant women, new mothers and newborns have remained above 90 percent, Guo said, noting that comprehensive maternal and child services have been further strengthened, including a pregnancy risk screening mechanism and special management for high-risk maternal cases.

Chinese parents are also afforded more time to care for their infants and young children. According to Guo, all Chinese provinces have also extended maternity leave and parental childcare leave.

Editor: Zhang Zhou
China should develop chips to create AI that doesnt rely on the type of accelerators popularized by Nvidia Corp., a top government adviser said, warning that Asian companies in particular risk becoming beholden to US technology.

Asian nations including China should reduce their dependence on the general-purpose graphics processing units now used around the world to train platforms from ChatGPT to DeepSeek, Wei Shaojun, a professor at Beijing-based Tsinghua University, told a forum in Singapore.

Its unfortunate to see that we in Asia, including China, are emulating the US when it comes to developing algorithms and large models, said Wei, who as an academic has advised senior Chinese government officials for years. Continuing down that path could be lethal for the region, he added.

Chinese firms have been been grappling with a lack of Nvidias AI acclerators due to yearslong US curbs preventing Chinese firms from acquiring the most cutting-edge chips. Chinas own chipmaking technology is still a few years behind the best thats commercially available in the world today.

But DeepSeeks emergence on the global stage earlier this year showed Chinese firms were still able to improve their AI algorithms without the most advanced hardware. Beijing has also urged local companies to avoid using Nvidias H20 processor, a less powerful AI chip the US company designed for the Chinese market to comply with export control curbs.

China should focus on creating a new type of chip thats designed specifically for large model development, rather than continue to rely on an architecture originally designed to power gaming and industrial graphics, Wei added, without elaborating on the specifics of what that new blueprint may look like.

The academic also struck a defiant note, adding that China is still going strong in building its own chip industry and has sufficient funds to do so despite years of US sanctions.

2025 Bloomberg L.P.
New Delhi: Government-owned Oil India Ltd has partnered with Rajasthans state-run power producer to generate renewable energy.

On Thursday, Oil Indias (OIL) board approved the formation of a 50:50 joint venture with Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd (RRVUNL) to generate clean power in the state, according to the companys regulatory filing.

Also Read | Oil India in talks with ExxonMobil Total, Petrobras for joint exploration

Assets shift to subsidiary In another major decision, the Oil India board also approved the transfer of its renewable energy assets to its wholly-owned subsidiary OIL Green Energy Ltd.

In January this year, the company set up the subsidiary for its renewable energy businesses. The new entity's line of business involves energy generation through non-conventional or renewable sources, including wind, hydro, solar, tidal, geothermal, biomass, steam, wave, waste and hybrid.

According to the companys website, the state-run energy major has 188.1 MW of installed renewable energy capacity, including 174.1 MW of wind and 14 MW of solar projects, spread across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Assam. The company is diversifying its operations in line with the national target of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2070.

Also Read | Oil India: Looking beyond benefits of crude price rally

Last month, OIL and Bharat Petroleum Corp. (BPCL) formalized an agreement to establish a joint venture which would create a gas distribution network in Arunachal Pradesh, including compressed natural gas (CNG) stations and the provision of piped natural gas (PNG) to domestic, commercial, and industrial consumers in the state.

In his message to the shareholders in the annual report for FY25, Ranjit Rath, chairman and managing director of OIL, noted that the company's long-term strategy includes accelerating clean and green energy transition with investments in renewables, green hydrogen, biofuels and compressed biogas.
Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has regained the title of world's richest man, hours after Oracle's co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison overtook the position following a single-day net worth gain of $101 billion.

Ellison briefly held the title of richest person in the world, surpassing Elon Musk, who has held this title for the last four years mainly due to his stake in Tesla, AP reported. Notably, this isn't the first time when Musk was dethroned as the world's richest man. He has lost the title to Amazon's founder, Jeff Bezos, before being overtaken by LVMH's CEO, Bernard Arnault.

Elon Musk regained his title as the world's richest person in 2024, a position he held for over 300 days until 10 September.

Elon Musk, Larry Ellison's net worth The net worth of Elon Musk currently stands at $384 billion, adding $573 million in a day, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Meanwhile, Larry Ellison's net worth stood at $383 billion.

Ellison overtook Musk briefly On Wednesday, Larry Ellison's net worth increased by $101 billion as of 10:10 am (EDT) in New York, following the software giant's quarterly results, which surpassed market expectations.

This $101 billion surge marked the biggest single-day net worth growth ever recorded in the index. For a brief period, Larry Ellison's net worth to $393 billion, compared to billionaire Elon Musk's $385 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Oracle share price Oracle's share price surged 36% after the company projected strong revenue growth in the coming years. The shares jumped 35.95% to $328.33 per share, marking their biggest single-day gain since 1992.

With this rally, Oracles market capitalisation rose to $922 billion, surpassing the valuations of Eli Lilly, JPMorgan Chase, and Walmart.
Oracle Corp.s stock rally this week has not only lifted the software giants market value but also added significantly to the personal wealth of its chief executive officer, Safra Catz.

According to CNBC, Catzs net worth surged by about $412 million during the first six hours of trading on Wednesday after the companys strong earnings report sent its shares up nearly 40%. Forbes estimates her net worth at $3.4 billion as of Wednesday afternoon, compared with $3 billion earlier in the day.

The jump followed Oracles disclosure of $455 billion in remaining performance obligations, contracted revenue that has yet to be recognised. The figures underline the companys accelerating growth in cloud services and its expanding role in powering artificial intelligence workloads.

Larry Ellison, Oracles co-founder, benefited even more from the rally. His net worth soared to an estimated $386.3 billion, making him the worlds second-richest person, up from $293 billion at the start of the trading day.

Oracle has become the go-to place for AI workloads, Catz said on the companys earnings call, citing new cloud contracts with firms such as OpenAI, xAI, Meta, Nvidia and AMD.

Catz, who has been Oracles sole CEO since 2019, has overseen a more than 800% rise in the companys stock price during her tenure. She previously led Oracles M&A strategy, completing high-profile acquisitions including PeopleSoft and Sun Microsystems.

Analysts across Wall Street were surprised by the scale of Oracles performance. Deutsche Banks Brad Zelnick said he was in shock, in a very good way, while John DiFucci of Guggenheim Securities said he was blown away. Bank of America analysts have forecast further upside in the stock on the back of Oracles strong revenue pipeline and AI-driven demand.

Oracle share price performance Oracle's shares were already on the rise before the latest financial results. They increased by 45% this year through Tuesdays close, four times the gain seen in the S&P 500. Its surge on Wednesday also boosted other AI stocks, including Nvidia, which rose 3.8%. In Asia, Nvidia suppliers rallied in Japan and South Korea, with Advantest Corp. up over 3% and SK Hynix Inc. increasing by 5.6%.

The company's forecast underscores the need for global AI developers to step up their investments. OpenAI, an Oracle customer, predicts it will need trillions of dollars over time to invest in the infrastructure needed to develop and run its services.
Mumbai: Reliance Consumer Products Ltd (RCPL), the packaged consumer goods arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding with the Maharashtra government to invest 1,513 crore in Katol, Nagpur, to set up a manufacturing facility for beverages and food products.

The Nagpur project will generate employment for 500 people and enhance Maharashtras food processing and consumer goods industry.

The Chief Ministers Office (CMO) of Maharashtra made the announcement on the social media platform X on Thursday evening.

The state government announced the signing of other MOUs totaling 1.08 trillion on Thursday to attract greater investment into the state in sectors such as real estate, technology, data centres, and packaged goods manufacturing.

CM Devendra Fadnavis presided over the signing and exchange, which was witnessed by the RCPL delegates.

The move comes as RCPL has planned to invest heavily in the Indian market, where it currently sells beverages, floor cleaners, and snacks.

Also Read | Reliance consumer goods arm reports 11,450 crore revenue for FY25

This follows an announcement last month from its parent company, RIL, that it aims for Reliance Consumer Products to reach 1 trillion in revenue from its packaged goods business within the next five years.

The company plans to invest 40,000 crore over the next three years in building manufacturing capabilities for packaged foods and large-scale infrastructure, including Asia's largest integrated food parks with AI-driven automation, robotics, and sustainable technologies, per announcements made at the companys 48th annual general meeting (AGM) late August.

RCPL eyes FMCG leadership "Our near-term ambition is clear: to be the fastest-growing consumer brands company to reach a 1 trillion revenue within five years. Our long-term ambition is to become India's largest FMCG company with a global presence. This will make RCPL a big new value-creating engine for Reliance Industries, comparing it to a retail business in both size and profitability, Isha M. Ambani, executive director of Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, said at the company's AGM.

In a recent interview with Mint, T. Krishnakumar, director of RCPL, said that the company, which entered the packaged consumer goods market in 2022, is planning to set up food parks across the country.

We want to have a food park in every state. Alongside, we will still have a hybrid model. We are working with partners who co-manufacture, but considering the scale of work that needs to be done, we are going to have some amount of manufacturing, which will be done by us. For instance, for home and personal care, we don't need distributed manufacturing like we do for food and beverages because of shelf life constraints, etc., he said.

The investments come as more companies plan to shift from unbranded to branded goods over the coming decades. About 60% of total retail consumption expenditure in India is still food-related.
Actor and philanthropist Raghava Lawrence has once again won hearts with his gesture of kindness. The Tamil star has pledged 1 lakh to support an 80-year-old Chennai man and his wife, who earn a living by selling homemade sweets and polis on trains.

The elderly vendor, identified as Sri Raghavendra, came into the spotlight after a photo of him holding packets of sweets and a small signboard listing prices went viral on social media. The image highlighted the couples struggle and resilience, moving many online.

Sharing the photo on X (formerly Twitter), Lawrence wrote: A post reached me through social media about an 80-year-old man and his wife in Chennai who make sweets and polis, selling them on trains to survive. Their resilience moved me deeply. I am ready to contribute 1,00,000 to support their journey, hoping it brings them comfort and strength.

See the post here:

The actor further appealed to the public to help trace the couple, saying he had been unable to reach them on the number provided. If you happen to see them on the train, do buy their sweets and support them in any way you can, he urged.

Known for his motto Service is God, Raghava Lawrence has consistently used his platform for social causes. Through The Raghava Lawrence Charitable Trust, founded in 2015, he has funded medical treatments, provided job opportunities for people with disabilities, and even donated tractors to farmers under his Maatram initiative.

Reacting to his gesture, a user wrote, Legend like you are same as God . Fraud pan India stars should learn from you.

U r real Thalaivar of Tamil cinema.helping hand for poor is the richest human nature, another user wrote.

You are truly a rare breed sir... Please act more. We wish to see you more on the big screen, the third user wrote on X.

That's a great move by a great personality, the fourth user commented.
By Kate Skelly

TORONTO (Reuters) -When the psychological thriller "The Man in My Basement," starring Willem Dafoe and Corey Hawkins, hits theatres on Friday, director Nadia Latif hopes the audience will leave questioning who has written history.

"I want people to be thinking about who tells them stories  and actually to do their own kind of investigation into what they believe their place in the world to be," Latif told Reuters following the film's world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The movie, which is Latif's feature directorial debut and an adaptation of a Walter Mosley novel of the same name, follows the story of a young Black man whose life is on the brink of crumbling. He is about to lose his family's home when a stranger knocks on his door with a bizarre request  to rent his basement for a hefty sum.

Dafoe, who plays the mysterious tenant, said it did not take much thinking after he read the script to know he wanted to be a part of the film.

"I liked the story and I liked how it's able to discuss certain things that are in the air of concern to me," he told Reuters.

"Once (Latif and I) started talking, I realized I was deficient in some of my knowledge of some of the things that are talked about in the film, and I needed to be educated  and she was great at that."

Throughout the film, Dafoe and Hawkins' characters face off in a series of tense monologues, all set in the dingy basement, that confront themes of race, privilege, and history.

"I hope that people do feel unsettled by it. I think there's some really kind of big, ugly things that are discussed within the film," Latif said.
The ongoing legal battle over the 30,000 crore estate of late businessman Sunjay Kapur, between his widow Priya Sachdeva and former wife, actor Karisma Kapoor's kids, and others, has become a much-publicised case now. At a recent Delhi High Court hearing, Sachdeva launched a new attack on Kapoor, referring to their infamous divorce battle.

Karisma Kapoor's kids move Delhi HC in The dispute escalated after Karisma Kapoor and Sunjay Kapurs children, Samaira and Kiaan, accused Priya Sachdeva of forging the late industrialist's will to cut them out of the inheritance. They moved the Delhi High Court seeking their share in their late fathers estate.

The dispute over the estate is mainly between Priya Sachdeva and Karishma Kapoor, who is fighting for her kids and Kapur's mother Rani, launching attacks on each other via their lawyers in court.

Priya Sachdeva slams Karisma Kapoor During the hearing, Sachdeva, represented by her lawyer Rajiv Nayyar, alleged that Kapoor had been absent from Sunjay Kapurs life for the last 15 years, only to resurface and make claims after his death, as per a report of Hindustan Times.

Emphasising Priya as Sunjays legally wedded wife, Nayyar reportedly argued, I am his legal wife. The claims of love and affection - where was all this when they fought prolonged divorce legal battles in the Supreme Court?"

The lawyer also seemingly said, Your husband left you several years ago."

Karisma Kapoor and Sunjay Kapur had a messy divorce in 2016, during which both made allegations against each other. The actor accused Kapur of domestic and substance abuse.

Reportedly, Nayyar added that Kapoor was nowhere to be seen for the last 15 years.

In the petition, Kapoor's children claimed that their late father had repeatedly assured them of a rightful share in his estate, which they later discovered was missing from his final will.

They accused Sunjay Kapurs third wife, Priya Sachdeva Kapur, of tampering with the document.

The suit was filed after Sachdeva produced a will dated March 21 during a family meeting on July 30 at the Taj Hotel. The plea also seeks an injunction to prevent the transfer or disposal of the disputed property.

Notably, Karisma Kapoor is not a plaintiff in this case; she is representing her children in the proceedings.

Sunjay Kapur's mother on estate feud Meanwhile, Rani Kapur's lawyer commented on the matter recently.

"This fight is really more between Karisma Kapoor and Priya Sachdeva - whether there is a will or there is no will etc. Rani Kapur does get impacted by it but she will file a response and you will know her stand," Senior Advocate Vaibhav Gaggar, representing late Sunjay Kapur's mother Rani Kapur, told ANI.

Kapur passed away on 12 June.
On Thursday, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) warned comedian-actor Kapil Sharma against "insulting" Mumbai by calling it Bombay or Bambai on his show, The Great Indian Kapil Show. Its leader, Ameya Khopkar, said that it would launch a "strong agitation" if the comedian continues his practice.

MNS warns Kapil Sharma Khopkar, who heads the film wing of the party, mentioned Sharma's show while talking to the media.

Khopkar said, "The name of this city is Mumbai. On Kapil Sharma's show, since long we have seen and even before this new season started, that the city is always referred to as Bombay or Bambai. We oppose this. It's not an objection, it's anger. The name of this city is Mumbai. If you can address other cities by their proper names like Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata, why insult our city?"

"You (Kapil Sharma) have been working in Mumbai for so many years...Mumbai has been your 'karmabhoomi' (land of work). The people of Mumbai like you and watch your shows. Mumbai is in our hearts, don't insult this city, don't insult the people of Mumbai...I am warning Kapil Sharma," he said. "I request you that if this has happened by mistake, then correct the mistake...Whoever comes on your show, whether they are celebrities or the anchor, tell them first that they must not call Mumbai as Bombay or Bambai. They must say Mumbai. If this does not happen, then the MNS will launch a strong agitation," he added.

Kapil Sharma's show Kapil Sharma is currently hosting the third season of his popular show, The Great Indian Kapil Show. It is now streamed on Netflix.

The show premiered on June 21.

When asked whether the MNS was bringing up the issue in view of the upcoming local bodies polls, Khopkar said, "We have been agitating on this issue for the past many years. Keep elections aside, the name of this city is Mumbai. You will have to say Mumbai. And those who do not call it so, will have to face our anger."

The warning was issued just a day after Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray visited the residence of his cousin, MNS president Raj Thackeray, in Mumbai. His visit led to speculation of a possible alliance between the two parties ahead of the upcoming local body elections.
Android has always stood apart for its openness with sideloading giving users the freedom to install apps from outside the Play Store. Google is now changing that formula. The company recently said all third-party apps must be digitally signed by verified developers, as outlined by Google VP Suzanne Frey in the Android Developers Blog. Any app that fails this check will not install, even if the user turns off Play Protect or follows every usual warning. Google claims this step is about safety, comparing it to ID checks at airports and says it will stop malware while making sure users know who is behind every install.

This is not new to users of Windows or Mac, where developer signatures are standard for software. But for Android, which has long given tech-savvy users the option to take risks, the move is seen as a big shift. At present, users must already go through security prompts and settings to install unofficial apps. The new rule means greater control by Google, removing one more way in which Android differs from Apples iOS according to critics.

Will users lose their choice? The backlash followed quickly. Many warned that smaller creators could face new hurdles and popular apps in legal grey zones may disappear. YouTuber and consumer rights advocate Louis Rossman told Slash Gear that freedom and not technical superiority is why many people choose Android in the first place. Privacy-focused users have also voiced worries about what kind of information Google will collect under the new rules, since app signatures require verification and could potentially be tracked.
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Charlie Kirk, an American political activist and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, died after being shot in the neck on Wednesday during an event at Utah Valley University.

"In honor of Charlie Kirk, a truly Great American Patriot, I am ordering all American Flags throughout the United States lowered to Half Mast until Sunday evening at 6 P.M.," U.S. President Donald Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform after confirming the death of Kirk, a Trump ally.

The local Deseret News reported that Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz earlier said Kirk's death was confirmed to him by Utah law enforcement officials.

Footage shot by local KSL TV 5 showed crowds of people running from the university's courtyard, where Kirk, 31, was holding a speaking event when the shooting occurred.

The university confirmed the shooting on its official X page. "Today at about 12:10 a shot was fired at the visiting speaker, Charlie Kirk. He was hit and taken from the location by his security," it said.

Kirk was visiting the campus as part of his "Prove Me Wrong" event. The event included Kirk inviting people on stage from the audience to debate political ideals with him.

A video posted online by bystanders showed that Kirk appeared to be hit in the neck after a gunshot rang out.

"Those responsible will be held fully accountable. Violence has no place in our public life. Americans of every political persuasion must unite in condemning this act," said Utah Governor Spencer Cox on X.

Also on Wednesday, another shooting took place at Evergreen High School in Denver city, the U.S. state of Colorado, leaving three people in critical condition, according to media reports. 

Editor: Zhang Zhou
In under a decade, 31-year-old Charlie Kirk rose rapidly from a political unknown to the vanguard of the modern conservative political movement, earning him a spot as one of President Trumps closest confidants.

The father of two was speaking to college students when he was shot dead Wednesday afternoon at Utah Valley University during the first stop of what was to be a fall college speaking tour.

Kirk became well-known for debating students in front of an audience in a public setting, offering a conservative, and often provocative, perspective. Videos of him sparring with liberal-minded students garnered millions of views online. According to videos of the attack, Kirk was debating a student about mass shootings involving transgender people when he was shot.

The act of political violence is a jarring coda to Kirks meteoric rise from college dropout to standard-bearer of the MAGA movement. Kirk left an indelible mark on the Republican party, drawing young voters to its ranks and influencing Trumps presidency.

Kirk was a strong advocate for most of the presidents positions, which he discussed in detail during his podcast The Charlie Kirk Show and other media appearances. His supportand talent as an oratorhelped him earn significant political sway with the president, with whom he spoke frequently.

Trump announced Kirks death Wednesday.

No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us," Trump posted on social media.

President Trump with Charlie Kirk at a forum in 2018.Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk speaking at a 2024 campaign rally for Trump in Glendale, Ariz.

Kirks show, which airs on the Real Americas Voice network, is among the nations most popular conservative political and news podcasts.

He also built a formidable political operation and developed a massive following of supporters, becoming the face of a political transformation among young voters, particularly men, that has attracted many to the right.

Our movement will not slow down," Kirk told a cheering audience at an event in Phoenix in May. These elections are steps towards an ultimate goal. They are steps on a journey to take back America and make America great again."

Kirk grew up in the Chicago suburbs and was engaged in political activism in high school. He didnt graduate from college, instead launching Turning Point USA with the aim of spreading conservatism to young people. He was married to Erika Kirk, a former Miss Arizona, and had two young children. He lived in Arizona where Turning Point was based.

Sergio Gor, Donald Trump Jr., Charlie Kirk and Erika Kirk watch a performance from on stage during the Turning Point USA Inaugural-Eve Ball in January.

As Trump was running his long shot campaign for president in 2016, Kirk was working to build support for his own political organization. He was brought to a luncheon for Trumps campaign where he was introduced to friends of Donald Trump Jr. before he eventually met with Trumps son. Trump Jr. offered Kirk a job as his personal aide on the campaign, jump-starting Kirks rise in Trump world.

Turning Point, created in 2012, successfully grew a stronger conservative base of support in high schools and colleges. It later launched a church-outreach program and built a substantial media arm, which produces podcasts and videos. More recently, the organization has focused on voter-outreach and electioneering.

The group has also helped to develop the next generation of conservative political talent. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R., Fla.) worked on Hispanic engagement for Turning Point after graduating from college, before entering politics several years later and successfully running for Congress.

Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk attended a White House event in 2019.

Turning Points annual meeting, called America Fest, has become one of the premier events for conservatives. Its 2024 conference showcased an array of podcast and social media influencers who amplify Trumps political messages. Among them were MAGA stalwarts such as former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and conservative personalities from the world of sports, religion, wellness and the Make America Healthy Again movement.

Kirk built his youthful following despite opposing many social issues that polling suggests young voters support. An evangelical Christian, he opposed same-sex marriage, abortion and legalization of marijuana, putting him out of step with the president on some of those issues as well.

Young people gathered to hear Charlie Kirk speak at the University of Nevada in Reno in October last year.

He criticized what he said were the failings of the feminist movement and pushed for traditional roles in marriage, including during a recent podcast episode in which he opined about the engagement of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.

Submit to your husband, Taylor. Youre not in charge," he said.

He also observed the Sabbath, the weekly Jewish day of rest and spiritual enrichment, lasting from sunset Friday to nightfall Saturday. He would turn off his phone during that time to focus on his wife and young children, and encouraged others to do the same.

Since Trumps election, Kirks influence had grown. He helped shape some of Trumps policies, including encouraging the president to use federal funding as a weapon to force universities to reject what many conservatives view as a liberal ideology.

Turning Point also has extended its sway, developing a well-funded political apparatus to deploy around the country. During the 2024 presidential election, its organizers knocked on doors in battleground states including Arizona and Wisconsin as part of an expensive ground game. Some criticized the effort as having a high cost and limited reach, an assertion the group has rejected. Trump won both states in 2024 after losing them in 2020.

Officials affiliated with Turning Point now lead many states Republican parties, including in most key battleground states. Kirk also had helped to successfully convince Trump to endorse political candidates.

Turning Point USAs student organizers greet visitors at America Fest 2024 in Phoenix, Ariz., last year.

Kirks influence was on display earlier this summer when he hosted more than a thousand Republican voters packed into a hotel ballroom in Phoenix for a kickoff rally for Rep. Andy Biggs, Kirks preferred candidate to be the GOP gubernatorial nominee in Arizona.

Trump already had endorsed property developer Karrin Taylor Robson for the job, but Kirk had helped lobby the president to issue a second endorsement for Biggs, a hard-line member of the House Freedom Caucus. The pair will now face off in next years primary.

Charlies been highly influential and youre going to see younger voters come in and theyre going to be more conservative, perhaps, than their parents even," Biggs told The Wall Street Journal backstage at the event.

Kirks influence among younger voters earned him respect among Democrats as well as Republicans. When Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of California, started a podcast in March, he selected Kirk as his first guest. The two disagreed extensively during the podcast, but had some overlap including whether transgender athletes should play girls sports.

Newsom recounted how his own college-age niece turned out to see Kirk at the University of Southern California during Kirks West Coast visit and reported that the crowd was huge. The worst part, though," Newsom told Kirk during the podcast, was that his 13-year-old son wanted to tag along with his father to meet Kirk. What time is Charlie going to be here? What time?" his son kept asking.

Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA founder, on stage at AmericaFest 2024 in December.

Write to Eliza Collins at eliza.collins@wsj.com and Aaron Zitner at aaron.zitner@wsj.com
Israels airstrike on Hamas leaders in Qatar has piled fresh strain on its relations with Persian Gulf states, countries that just a few years ago were the cornerstone of its hopes to secure its future by winning diplomatic acceptance in the Middle East.

The attack in a quiet embassy district of Doha, which killed several Hamas officials and a member of the Qatari security forces, punctuated an already growing realization that Israel has made a strategic decision to secure itself through force of arms even at the expense of its diplomatic ties.

It also raised questions about whether the U.S. can be counted on to impose restraint and deliver protection, especially when Gulf states themselves are in the firing line.

Arab states reacted with sharp expressions of anger. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar all condemned the attack as a violation of international law. Anwar Gargash, a former U.A.E. minister of state for foreign affairs, called the strike treacherous, as U.A.E. leader Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan rushed to Doha. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was expected to travel to the Qatari capital as well.

President Trump criticized the strike Tuesday, regretting that it happened in Qatar and pledged it wouldnt happen again. But he also praised killing Hamas members as a worthy goal.

Beyond the immediate exchange of criticism, the regions wealthy Gulf nations are sorting through a newly scrambled geopolitical order and weighing whether to view Israel as a potential partner, a security risk or both.

That is a rupture from recent years, when two Gulf nations that sit on either side of Qatar, the U.A.E. and Bahrain, established formal ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords, while Saudi Arabia and others considered normalization moves of their own.

The aim of the accords was to integrate Israel as an equal partner in the region, said Khaled Elgindy, a visiting scholar at Georgetown Universitys Center for Contemporary Arab Studies. Instead, he said, it is acting as hegemon.

This is not what they signed up for," Elgindy said. There is some buyers remorse."

The attack on Hamas in Doha followed months of growing stress on Israels relationship with the Gulf. Momentum on normalization ground to a halt with the rising civilian toll of the war in Gaza, sparked by Hamass deadly attacks on Israel nearly two years ago, and the dimming likelihood of a Palestinian state.

When Israel attacked Iran in June, it was taking on a common threat. But while Arab governments benefited from a weakened Iran, they worried about Israels appetite for using its military and intelligence superiority in the region.

Strikes on Irans military leadership raised concerns that Israel might aim for regime change and plunge the region into years of chaos. The attack in Doha left many wondering if any red lines remained.

Israels attack hit a quiet district in Doha, Qatars capital.

There is a concern among these countries that Israel has become too militarily powerful and unrestrained, which they fear could lead to further regional conflagrations and instability," said Asher Fredman, the director for Israel at the Abraham Accords Peace Institute.

The attack leaves Gulf countries in a bind over how to respond. Gulf officials have held calls to discuss the need for a strong, unified answer to Israel, but had yet to figure out specifics, people familiar with the calls said. Senior Saudi officials plan to communicate to the U.S. that American aspirations for peace through regional integration are at risk, the people said.

This is definitely a major break, which we now call Israel a major destabilizing force in the region," said Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, an influential Emirati political scientist in Dubai.

Qatar has signaled it would suspend its role as mediator in talks between Israel and Hamas. Its coordination with Israel on security issues outside formal diplomatic ties will also be badly damaged, said Hussein Ibish, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute, a Washington-based think tank.

But he thinks nations such as Qatar are more likely to slow the improvement of ties rather than stop cooperation altogether.

Qatar is too dependent on the United States to abandon that relationship," he said.

Gulf states are also reckoning with the future of their reliance on the U.S., which maintains a heavy presence in the region to protect allies and secure the worlds energy supply.

The monarchies of the Gulf have invested heavily in their relationship with Washington and with Trump specifically, with some Gulf leaders favoring his personal, transactional style of diplomacy and more aggressive stance on Iran. Trump visited Riyadh and other Gulf capitals in May and was embraced by Arab royals in gilded palaces, where he praised their stability and prosperity.

President Trump spoke to U.S. and Qatari military personnel at an air base in Qatar in May.

The war with Iran, which went farther than the Gulf was comfortable with, and the attack on Doha have led countries to question whether their investments are paying off in influence or safety.

Americas willingness to protect Gulf states has come into question in the past. In 2019, a drone and missile attack attributed to Iran pierced Saudi air defenses and struck one of the kingdoms major oil facilities. Over the summer, Iran launched a missile attack on an American air base in Qatar.

With the peace shattered twice in three months, I have to imagine that people throughout the Gulf are beginning to question the credibility of the U.S. as a security partner," said Dana Shell Smith, a former U.S. ambassador to Qatar.

Wealthy from their vast reserves of oil and gas and wielding outsize global influence, the Gulf states have never engaged in direct armed conflict with Israel, unlike neighbors such as Syria and Egypt, which fought several wars with Israel following its founding in 1948.

Qatar itself is designated a major non-NATO ally by the U.S. and hosts the largest American military base in the region, with thousands of U.S. soldiers. The country has bet on its ties with Washington and earlier this year gifted a large plane to the U.S. government for future use as Air Force One.

The Gulf states have long seen their greatest security threats elsewhere. Iraq under Saddam Hussein invaded neighboring Kuwait. Across the Persian Gulf, revolutionary Iran amassed an arsenal of missiles and built a strategy for projecting regional influence. Yemens Iranian-allied Houthi rebels launched a series of drone and missile attacks into Saudi Arabia during the countries long war.

Both the Trump and Biden administrations encouraged Israel and countries like Saudi Arabia to normalize relations in a move that would broadly integrate the Middle East, unlocking new economic possibilities and breaking a decades-old Arab diplomatic boycott.

Before 2020, when the U.A.E., Bahrain and Morocco recognized Israel, Egypt and Jordan were the only Arab countries with diplomatic ties to it.

After Israel signed the Abraham Accords, the U.S. expanded its major military command for the Middle East to include Israel, a step toward regional security integration that helped Israel tackle the missile and drone threat from Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Trump, and ministers from Bahrain and the U.A.E. after a signing ceremony at the White House for the Abraham Accords in 2020.

Hamass Oct. 7, 2023, attacks catalyzed a shift in strategic thinking in Israel in which the country has demonstrated a high appetite for risk and a willingness to use its military and intelligence superiority to strike perceived foes across the region.

Israels new approach, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, comes with both advantages and risks.

On the one hand Israel is now a power that can destabilize the situation in no time," said Eldad Shavit, a former Israeli military intelligence officer who also served for years in the prime ministers office under Netanyahu. On the other hand, Israel is a really strong power that has the intelligence and the military capability to do unimaginable things."

Another consideration for Gulf states is that their citizens are overwhelmingly sympathetic to Palestinians. While their leaders arent elected, they are privately concerned about their long-term viability, particularly after protests ousted the leaders of Egypt and other countries in 2011.

What Netanyahu never takes into account and Israel refuses to take into account is that there is also a domestic audience to what these governments are doing," said Yossi Mekelberg, a senior consulting fellow at Chatham House in London. These governments actually absorb a lot, but when they absorb this, it means that there was a domestic price."

Write to Jared Malsin at jared.malsin@wsj.com, Summer Said at summer.said@wsj.com and Benoit Faucon at benoit.faucon@wsj.com
On Tuesday, Israeli warplanes struck a residence in the suburbs of Doha, the capital of Qatar, targeting Hamas militants. The raid has set off a diplomatic storm. Mint explains what happened, why it matters, and the potential consequences for regional peace.

What just happened in Qatar?

Israeli warplanes bombed a suburban Doha residence used by Hamas. More than 10 aircraft reportedly fired long-range missiles targeting top Hamas leaders. Hamas had previously launched missiles on Israel on 7 October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostagesthe nub of the crisis today.

Did Israel succeed?

Not entirely. At least seven people were killed. Hamas said five militants died, but none of the top leadership Israel aimed for. Khalil al-Hayya and Zaher Jabarin, Hamas political figures, were reportedly present. The casualties appear to have been mostly low-ranking operatives. Israel has yet to release official details.

Also Read | India steps up FTA talks with Qatar, EU as US tariff strains trade ties

Isnt Qatar a US ally?

Yes, Qatar is a major non-NATO ally, which is why the Israeli strike is particularly problematic. The country hosts the largest US military base in the Gulf regionthe same base Iran targeted earlier this year during its brief conflict with the US. That attack, however, was largely symbolic and coordinated with full knowledge of both the Americans and Qataris. The base had been evacuated beforehand, and no lives were lost.

And this time?

Unbelievably, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears not to have informed the Americans.

President Donald Trump expressed his frustration on his social media platform Truth Social, saying, This was a decision made by prime minister Netanyahu, it was not a decision made by me. Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, which is a sovereign nation and a close ally of the United State, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker peace, does not advance Israel or Americas goals. However eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal."

Also Read | The Israeli army is struggling to get reservists to show up

That sounds a bit equivocal

Your guess is as good as anyones. Later in the same statement, Trump added: I believe this unfortunate incident could serve as an opportunity for PEACE!"

The course of geopolitics is becoming increasingly unpredictable these days. Even so, criticism and smelling an opportunity for peace rarely go hand in hand. He clarified, It's not a good situation but I will say this: We want the hostages back, but we're not thrilled about the way it went down today."

What did Netanyahu say?

In a video statement, Netanyahu doubled down on the bombing. Citing US actions against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan after the 9/11 attack, he accused Qatar of providing safe haven to terrorists and financing Hamas. I say to Qatar and all nations who harbour terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice. Because if you dont, we will."

He also condemned countries that criticized Israel and claimed his actions were in line with the UN principles established after 9/11, which had justified US operations.

What were the Hamas militants doing in Doha?

Doha regularly hosts peace negotiations. According to the Wall Street Journal, the meeting was to discuss a US peace plan for Gaza, which reportedly involves Hamas handing over all remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, along with America's guarantee of further talks to end the war.

On Sunday, Trump had posted: The Israelis have accepted my Terms. It is time for Hamas to accept as well. I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning, there will not be another one!"

Also Read | Israel is straining its hard-won ties in the Gulf

How did Qatar and the world react?

Doha is furious, and feeling let down because these peace negotiations between the Israelis and Hamas were being conducted with US backing, yet American influence appeared ineffective in preventing the Israeli strike.

As leaders from other Gulf states rushed to Doha to show solidarity, Qatars Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani called for a collective response" to Israels attack. There is a response that will happen from the region. This response is currently under consultation and discussion with other partners in the region," he told CNN on Wednesday, adding that the entire Gulf region is at risk".

Condemnations have poured out from pretty much every centre of power. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on X, Spoke with Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani and expressed deep concern at the attacks in Doha. India condemns the violation of the sovereignty of the brotherly State of Qatar. We support resolution of issues through dialogue and diplomacy, and avoiding escalation. India stands firmly in support of peace and stability in the region, and against stands firmly in support of peace and stability in the region, and against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations." He tagged @TamimBinHamad.

What are the implications for regional peace?

Quite grave. Since the 2023 Hamas massacre, Israel has carried out attacks on Palestinian territory, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iran and now Qatar. So far, the world has chosen to look away. Thats because the first five of these territories could be said to have harboured Islamic militants inimical to Israel.

But that is not the case with Qatar. In fact, it may be a step too far, as is plain from Modis telephone conversation with the Emir. Prospects of the Gaza war and the Iran-Israel war ballooning into a regional conflict have long been feared. Trump said he had assured the Emir that such a thing will not happen again on their soil".

Commentators say Netanyahu needs to continue with such assaults in order to cement his own political position in Israel. Why does the prime minister insist on blowing up every small chance for a deal? Why? The people of Israel are tired of this war. End it already and bring everyone back," Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan was kidnapped from his kibbutz, was quoted saying in The Guardian.

And the Gaza peace process?

The Gaza peace process looks to be in shreds now. It doesnt make sense for one side to kill the negotiators from the other side if you want to achieve peace. I think that what Netanyahu has done yesterday, he just killed any hope for those hostages," said the prime minister of Qatar.

Qatar also hosts peace negotiations for other conflicts, including between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congoa achievement Trump cited to bolster his claims of being a peacemaker.
New Delhi: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd has informed shipowners and operators that its ports will not receive any vessel sanctioned by the US, UN, the UK and the European Union, said two people aware of the development.

In an advisory to shipowners, operations, charterers and other port users, the company said it remains committed to strict adherence to international sanctions laws and compliance frameworks, one of the two people mentioned above.

No entry policy The move is aimed at safeguarding the legal and commercial interests of the port, the person said. No sanctioned ship would be permitted entry, berthing, or use of any port services and facilities, the operators have been told.

Adani Group did not immediately respond to Mints emailed queries.

The decision comes in the backdrop of sanctions on "shadow fleets" supplying Russian oil and an additional 25% tariff imposed by the US on Indian exports for purchasing crude from Moscow.

Both the US and EU have already sanctioned several ships carrying Russian oil. In July, along with announcing a new price cap on Russian oil, the EU also imposed sanctions on more shadow fleet ships, which are largely used for moving crude oil from Russia.

India is the second-largest buyer of crude oil from Russia and Washington has been pressuring New Delhi to stop procuring it, citing Russias invasion of Ukraine. New Delhi has maintained that it would purchase oil based on demand and to ensure energy security.

Russia emerged as the top crude supplier to India in FY22. Although the import of Russian oil has declined amid shrinking discounts compared to the highs of 2022 and geopolitical volatility, Russia remains India's top supplier.

Commerce ministry data showed that India imported oil worth $16.18 billion from Russia during April-July FY26, lower than $19.46 billion a year earlier. Russian oil's share of India's overall import basket in value terms stands at nearly 32%, compared to 38% a year ago.

Adani Ports is the largest port operator in India, with around 14 ports in the country. It also operates overseas facilities, including the Haifa Port in Israel and the Colombo Port in Sri Lanka.
While video streaming platforms have mostly gone slow on premiering films directly online, insisting that all movies go to theatres first in order to benefit from the box office buzz, bigger studios with clout are still managing to strike some lucrative deals. Entertainment industry experts say titles like Nadaaniyan, Sarzameen and Tehran , among others, all of which were released directly on streaming platforms, are proof that mainstream Bollywood studios still have a way with OTTs. Their large slates and star-studded titles that may be acquired post cinemas continue to lure streaming platforms that would otherwise not have made an exception.

According to a report by media consulting firm Ormax, of the 50 most-watched streaming originals in India in the first half of 2025, just five are films. Unlike web-series, which are clearly differentiated from theatrical films due to their long-form nature, direct-to-OTT films occupy a confusing middle ground, the proverbial 'no man's land, the report added. They offer neither the narrative depth of series nor the grandeur and pop culture value associated with theatrical films.

During the pandemic and soon after, small to mid-budget films such as Shershaah, and Sarpatta Parambarai, had seen success on OTT.

Also Read | Why Indias OTT boom still belongs to the mobile screen

OTT platforms may favour big banners and films with bigger stars that create enough pre-release buzz, simply because of the anticipation these films can evoke in terms of audience curiosity. Thats often based on the goodwill of the banner, especially if theyve delivered a fairly successful film before, and the star value, which can bring repeat value to the content," film producer Anand Pandit said. On the other hand, smaller films can sometimes struggle to get good OTT deals, especially pre-release deals, because they dont have many popular stars. Unless you market such films well or have the right contacts with OTT platforms, they naturally get drowned out by star-studded films during pre-release negotiations, Pandit added.

Indie films struggle

Several films releasing now were greenlit two years ago, before the mandate to take movies to theatres first had kicked in, film producer Shariq Patel said. Also, these production houses are seen as premium, so a lot of the responsibility shifts from the OTTs, and it is easy for them to tell their global bosses that it isnt their fault, even when the film fails to grab eyeballs. The bias towards mainstream Bollywood studios remains," Patel added. On the other hand, films by even tier-II production houses or those not starring A-list names find it difficult to even land meetings with streaming platform executives. All of these have to then try and make it to cinemas, which they dont have adequate marketing budgets for. That explains the number of films simply lying unreleased, Patel added.

Also Read | DTH in decline: Companies lose revenue as customers take to OTT services

To be sure, film industry experts point out that the smallest films made for production budgets of 6-8 crore have to spend an equal amount additionally on marketing with trailers, hoardings and influencers to gain mindshare among audiences for the film to have a theatrical release. That is impossible for many, and there is unsold inventory of at least 500 crore lying around in the Hindi film industry alone.

OTTs need to stay friends with the bigger production houses with large slates who can then leverage these one-off direct-to-OTT movie deals. For everyone else, there is complete darkness," said a senior executive at a streaming platform who did not wish to be named.
New Delhi: India's new and renewable energy ministry is finalizing a roadmap to develop a local ecosystem to manufacture wafers, ingots and polysilicon in the country, used to make solar power cells and modules.

Addressing a review meeting with states on renewable energy, Union minister for new and renewable energy Pralhad Joshi said that the Centre has prepared a trajectory for indigenous manufacturing of wafers and ingots and is in the process of preparing a similar trajectory for local polysilicon manufacturing. He also asked states to make efforts to provide land and boost the solar equipment manufacturing ecosystem in the country.

Also Read | Sun stroke for solar projects, change in rule traps developers

In recent years, India has built over 100 GW of solar module manufacturing capacity, alongwith a growing base for solar cells, as part of its effort to develop a domestic renewable energy supply chain. To achieve backward integration, the government is now focusing on setting up facilities for critical sub-components such as wafers, ingots, and polysilicon, which are still largely imported from China.

"Planning has already started for indigenous wafers, ingots and indigenous polysilicon too," he said at the event in New Delhi.

Also Read | How Adani makes the best use of US solar tariffs

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the event, Joshi said: "Trajectory for wafers and ingots has already been prepared and is being finalized. For cells, 2026 is the target. For polysilicon we are in the process of finalizing the trajectory."

The statement comes at a time when the industry is gearing up for the implementation of the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) for cells starting June next year. With its implementation, all module makers in the country supplying to government-backed projects will have to use only locally-made cells, which are mentioned in the list.

Also Read | Govt eyes sub-target for renewable energy under priority sector lending

Last month, the minister announced that a total of 100 GW of solar module manufacturing capacity has been developed and included under ALMM.

As of June-end, domestic cell capacity stood at 27 GW, requiring imports to meet a majority of India's cell demand.

Already, a production linked scheme is underway to support the solar equipment manufacturing in the country. The scheme largely focuses on modules and cells.

 50,000 crore investment milestone Joshi noted that so far about, 50,000 crore has been invested in the country's solar equipment manufacturing sector.

Stressing the need for distribution companies to procure green power, the minister cautioned that capacity addition must be complemented by effective utilization, and urged states to expedite renewable purchase obligations (RPO), power purchase agreements (PPA), and land allotments in a transparent manner.

Timely action is the backbone of this system. If we keep delaying procurement on the expectation that tariffs will fall further, we are missing the bigger picture, the minister said.
Iron ores rally is clashing with sluggish Chinese steel demand, leaving mills squeezed even as the nations construction season traditionally picks up at this time of year.

The ratio of Chinas steel rebar futures in Shanghai to Dalian iron ore contracts dropped to the lowest level since 2020 this week, according to Bloomberg data, which implies mill margins are narrow. The ratio is a widely watched gauge of the steel market.

Weak demand for finished steel products has kept steel prices subdued, yet the incentive for mills to sustain production is strong with modest profit margins, Foshan Financial Holdings Futures Co Ltd. said in a note. Iron ore prices are projected to outperform finished steel products.

The ratio weakness underscores how Chinas steel sector remains tied to its struggling property market and slowing construction activity, both of which are major consumers of rebar. Steel mill margins did better than expected earlier this year as cheaper raw materials helped push down costs.

Its difficult for mills to push down the raw material prices, said Han Jing, an analyst at SDIC Futures Co. The mills profitability is now expected to fluctuate at a lower level. If demand doesnt pick up later, the elevated hot metal productions may come down and eventually pressure iron ore prices, she added.

Dalian iron ore futures reached the highest since July this week as supply worries from the Simandou mine in Guinea and the upcoming restocking season in China boosted market sentiment. Singapore iron ore futures followed suit, reaching highs last seen in February.

Singapore iron ore futures declined 1.6% to $105.10 a ton as of 12:45 p.m. local time, while yuan-priced futures on the Dalian exchange also weakened. Rebar contracts in Shanghai were down for the fourth day, heading toward the lowest since July.

2025 Bloomberg L.P.
A new mandate from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) that requires banks to maintain two separate digital databases for sensitive information has forced them to navigate a maze of high costs, technological hurdles and legal conflicts.

Sebis dual structured digital database (SDD) rule requires Indias listed banks to maintain two distinct, tamper-proof digital logs of unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI). One database must track the bank's own UPSI, while the second must log confidential data held on behalf of its clients, such as companies it advises or lends to.

Also Read | Inside Jane Streets fight with Sebi over access to key records

While the market regulators goal is to curb insider trading, the industry is warning of a disproportionate compliance burden that could put Indian banks at a disadvantage to their global peers through higher costs and technological burdens.

Legal conflict

But beyond the financial and technological hurdles lies a fundamental legal conflict. Vivekanandh, managing partner of legal firm SMV Chambers, said the mandate created friction with long-standing banking secrecy obligations.

Under laws such as the Banking Regulation Act, banks are legally bound to protect customer information, and disclose it only under specific compulsions such as a court order. This duty of confidentiality is at odds with Sebi's requirement to log sensitive client data in a regulatory database. "Clients may resist or even legally challenge the notion that their sensitive financial data must be captured in a regulator-mandated log," Vivekanandh argued.

A major grey area is the classification of informationdistinguishing between general confidential data and specific UPSI. An overly cautious bank might over-report, logging excessive client data and heightening legal risks, while a narrow interpretation could lead to regulatory action from Sebi.

"This is not just a compliance headache but a legal conflict of first principles," he added.

Fighting insider trading

Addressing the heads of listed banks on 3 September, Sebi chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said fighting insider trading was essential to preserving the "very integrity of the financial system". He underscored the unique position of banks, which often have access to market-moving information about other listed companies. "This information, if leaked, even unintentionally, could move markets, impact shareholder wealth, and erode investor trust," Pandey cautioned.

The SDD is Sebi's primary tool in this effort. "When a regulatory authority comes knocking," Pandey said, "your ability to instantly and comprehensively demonstrate who knew what, and when, will be your greatest defence".

While the regulatory intent is clear, the operational reality for banks is one of significant technical challenges and soaring costs. Experts warned that the dual SDD requirement was far from a simple plug-and-play software installation.

Costs of compliance

Sriram Kalyanaraman, a banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) advisor for consulting firm Practus, estimated that even mid-size players could end up spending 35-60 lakh a year. This figure includes costs for top-tier SDD software at 3-8 lakh per database to start, hacker-proof hardware at 7-12 lakh, and seamless integration with legacy systems, which costs up to 20 lakh. Annual software maintenance, cybersecurity audits, and compliance team salaries could easily add another 12 lakh or more each year, he said.

The technological burden is also significant, experts said. According to Nishant Shah, managing partner & CEO of technology firm Jonosfero, a subsidiary of Acies Group, maintaining two fully segregated and synchronised SDD instances would more than double costs. "The attendant infrastructural costs for banks would be relatively higher, given more stringent regulations apply because of their criticality in the market infrastructure," he said.

Shah noted that while sophisticated applications with integrated information barriers exist, few are mature enough to handle the complex needs of large banking systems, risking a 'square peg in a round hole' situation.

The reason there are so few other applications is because most solutions were initially designed simply to meet the needs of listed entities that are not as complex as those of listed BFSI businesses like banks & NBFCs", he said. He added that to address this complexity, sophisticated offerings such as Affinis (SDD) have integrated information barriers so UPSI can be managed separately for the home entity and other entities within a single environment.

Sebi considers SDD compliance a non-delegable responsibility, which amplifies the personal risk for senior executives. The regulations also place a heavy burden of personal liability directly on bank leadership. "Directors and compliance officers now face heightened, direct liability for not maintaining accurate, timely, and tamper-proof SDDs," said Alay Razvi, managing partner at Accord Juris.

He clarified that under Sebi's stringent framework, unintentional leaks or even incomplete database entries could have severe consequences, including monetary penalties and prosecution, regardless of intent.

Only in India

This prescriptive approach is unique to India. Jurisdictions such as Hong Kong and Singapore, also known for strict market conduct rules, focus more on robust internal controls and information barriers than mandating dual, auditable databases.

"In execution, Indian banks are being asked to operate at a compliance standard that is more demanding than jurisdictions globally," said Vivekanandh. This, he and other experts argued, creates an uneven playing field where Indian banks and foreign banks operating in India incur far higher compliance costs than their global peers.

While Sebis goal of strengthening market integrity is widely supported, the industry is grappling with the unprecedented operational, financial, and legal complexities of a reform that has no global parallel.
Shares of ACME Solar Holdings gained 5.3% to 318 apiece in Thursdays intraday trade, September 11, after its wholly owned subsidiary, ACME Venus Urja, secured long-term project funding of 3,892 crore from the State Bank of India for the development and construction of a 400 MW Firm and Dispatchable Renewable Energy (FDRE) project, with repayment spread across 19 years.

The FDRE project is being developed in Barmer, Rajasthan, and is contracted with NHPC, ACME Solar Holdings said in a statement on Thursday.

Also Read | ACME Solar share price hits record high after placing 2 GWh BESS via Poso Int'l

The company signed a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with NHPC at a tariff of 4.64/unit. The project combines multiple renewable energy technologies, including solar and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), to meet supply obligations and ensure higher predictability and dispatchability.

The funding is significant, as it represents the companys largest financing from SBI and also marks SBIs first financing in ACMEs FDRE projects, the company said. Earlier, in mid-August, ACME Hybrid Urja secured 3,184 crore in project funding from state-owned REC Ltd for a 280 MW FDRE project.

On Monday, the company said it had placed an order for 2 GWh of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) with leading global energy system supplier Chuzhou Lishen New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., through POSCO International Corporation and China FAW Group Import and Export Co., Ltd.

The order will be delivered in phases over the next six to 10 months and will be deployed across ACME Solars FDRE (Firm & Dispatchable Renewable Energy) and standalone BESS projects, scheduled for commissioning over the next 12 to 18 months.

With this latest order, ACME Solars cumulative BESS procurement surpasses 5 GWh, following a previous order of 3.1 GWh placed in July 2025.

Shares recover 68% from March lows The companys shares made their stock market debut in November 2024 and remained under pressure for the following five months before strengthening in March. Since then, they have continued to maintain that momentum, gaining 68%.

ACME Solar Holdings Ltd is a pure-play, fully integrated renewable energy company in India, with a diversified portfolio spanning solar, wind, storage, hybrid, and Firm and Dispatchable Renewable Energy (FDRE) projects.

The company is one of the top 10 renewable energy Independent Power Producers in India with an operational capacity of 2,890 MW and an under-construction capacity of 4,080 MW plus 550 MWh of standalone BESS.
The European Union (EU) has reportedly turned down US President Donald Trumps proposal to impose 100 per cent tariffs on India and China, according to media reports, a move that could support Indian exporters and boost sentiment across sectors with significant European exposure.

Trump had urged the EU to impose steep tariffs on India and China, citing their role as major buyers of Russian oil. The proposal was discussed during an EU delegation visit to Washington aimed at coordinating sanctions against Russia.

The EUs likely refusal comes at a critical juncture as negotiations with India over a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA) are in their final stages, with an ambitious year-end 2025 target for conclusion.

According to a Reuters report last evening, quoting EU sources, the European Union is unlikely to heed to Trump's demand to impose tariffs on India and China. "So far, there is no discussion on possible tariffs, neither on India...nor with China," an EU diplomat had told Reuters.

Sectors to gain from the likely EU move According to Vaqarjaved Khan, Senior Fundamental Analyst at Angel One Ltd, the EUs likely stance is positive for Indian exporters.

Sectors such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, auto and auto ancillary, and engineering goods are likely to benefit, given their significant sales exposure to Europe. The rejection of tariffs ensures that Indian exporters remain competitive in one of their most important markets, he said.

Adding to this perspective, Trivesh D, COO of Tradejini, emphasised the larger implications of the decision: Indian sectors could see meaningful tailwinds. Pharma has consistently been Indias most resilient export  in 2024, exports to the EU stood at US$2.88 billion  with demand for generics and APIs unlikely to be disrupted now. Textiles, especially apparel and home furnishings, would have been highly vulnerable to broad EU tariffs, but their continued access strengthens Indias competitive edge. Furthermore, gems and jewellery also stand to benefit, based on Europes consistent luxury demand.

With tariffs eliminated, these labour-intensive industries not only avoid disruption but may get incremental orders as European buyers look for stable supplies outside of China, Trivesg D added. Overall, he believes the EUs position ensures continuity in Indias largest export markets.

Stocks that can gain from EU's action According to Khan, among listed stocks, Apollo Tyres could see meaningful gains as nearly 26 per cent of its revenue comes from Europe. Stable or lower import tariffs would support export competitiveness and strengthen demand visibility.

Moreover, in capital goods, Isgec Heavy Engineering is well-positioned to benefit given its sizable European order book. An improving trade environment could support incremental order inflows and margin stability, he stated.

Furthermore, in the textile space, Khan added that Arvind Ltd, which supplies fabrics and garments to many of Europes largest fast-fashion brands, is likely to benefit from smoother trade flows and potential expansion of export volumes.

Seema Srivastava, Senior Research Analyst at SMC Global Securities, believes in IT, companies such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys are likely to grow, supported by strong cross-border data flows and stable European contracts.

Srivastava added that pharmaceutical firms like Sun Pharma, Dr. Reddy's, and Zydus Lifesciences may pivot toward the EU market as US tariffs impact their competitiveness, with Indias pricing advantage playing a key role.

Among consumer goods, FMCG majors like Hindustan Unilever and Dabur could see increased investor interest as international portfolio flows shift from US-exposed sectors, she noted.

Also Read | EU unlikely to impose tariffs on India, China over Russian oil purchases

Additionally, midcap logistics, infrastructure, and healthcare firms are likely to attract investor interest due to their lower geopolitical exposure. With an FTA expected by year-end, stocks with "India-first" business models and diversified export bases will likely be attractive investment options for long-term prospects, noted the expert.

Outlook Ahead Analysts believe a positive move by the EU will preserve earnings visibility for Indian exporters and support valuations in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, textiles, auto ancillaries, and engineering goods. It could also stage for a favourable outcome in the ongoing FTA talks, which may further unlock opportunities across sectors.

Maintaining moderate tariffs in the current environment is a clear positive for Indian manufacturers, Khan noted. This not only protects existing trade flows but also sets the stage for future growth once the India-EU free trade agreement is signed.

Market watchers expect that if the FTA is finalised on schedule, it could amplify benefits for Indian exporters over the next several years, driving both revenue growth and margin expansion.
The illegal segment of the gambling market occupies from 39% to 53% of the market, according to the results of the first studies conducted in August-September 2025 by Kantar, Gradus and Factum at the request of the Association of Ukrainian Gambling Operators, its press release said on Thursday.

"The international company Kantar estimated the share of the illegal gambling market in Ukraine at 52.1%, Gradus at 39%, Factum at 53%. Unfortunately, the results turned out to be much worse than expected. If the legal market is approximately UAH 59.6 billion per year, then, accordingly, the illegal market is from UAH 37.72 billion to UAH 66.53 billion," Associations President Oleksandr Kohut presented the main results of the research during a meeting of the Temporarily Inquiry Commission at the parliamentary committee on finance, tax and customs policy.

According to him, 90% of all illegal casinos are of Russian origin.

The results of the research of the three companies coincide with the estimates of the international company H2 Gambling Capital, which determined the current level of the illegal gambling market in Ukraine at 45.6% and according to its forecasts, this figure will increase to 58% by 2030, the release said.

Kohut clarified that the Association received independent estimates of the volume of the "black" market from three research agencies at the request of the Ministry of Digital Transformation/Playcity. The representative study was conducted over two weeks using different methodologies proposed by the three agencies. It was attended by from 800 to 2,500 respondents.

It is noted that the survey revealed the main factors why Ukrainians choose illegal online casinos, such as: speed of payouts; the ability to avoid paying taxes; ease of registration and anonymity; the ability to play using cryptocurrencies; the absence of age and behavioral restrictions (access for gambling addicts and teenagers under 21) and the absence of limits on bets.
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S&P/ASX 200 falls 0.3%

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Financials fall 0.8%, 'Big Four' lost $2.09 billion in last four sessions

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CSL falls 2.4%, healthcare stocks down 1.8%

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NZ50 down 0.4%; RBNZ reaffirms dovish stance

(Updates to close)

By Nichiket Sunil

Sept 11 (Reuters) -

Australian shares ended lower on Thursday, pressured by profit-taking in the banking sector and weakness in healthcare stocks due to concerns over CSL's restructuring, although gold miners' rise to a record high limited the overall decline.

The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 0.3% lower at 8,805 points. The benchmark closed 0.3% higher on Wednesday.

Heavyweight financials fell 0.8%, as investors took profits and positioned away from the expensive sector, with the 'Big Four' lenders losing nearly A$3.17 billion ($2.10 billion) in the last four sessions.

Top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia, among the most overvalued bank stocks in the developed economies in terms of its price-to-earnings ratio, shed 0.5%.

"Valuation is one of the key themes driving some of these rotations, hence why we're seeing profit taking in the expensive banks into some other parts of the market," said Jun Bei Liu, founder of investment management firm Ten Cap.

The other 'Big Four' banks lost between 0.9% and 1.6%.

Biotech major CSL, Australia's fourth-largest listed company, fell 2.4%, dragging the underperforming healthcare sub-index 1.8% lower.

Market participants are increasingly cautious about CSL's outlook, amid concerns it may face a downgrade later this year as it restructures and spins off its vaccine division, CSL Seqirus, Liu said.

The healthcare index has logged three straight weekly losses and is set to drop this week if the trend holds, as the disappointing earnings season weighed.

Bucking the trend, gold stocks tracked bullion prices higher to end at a record closing high.

Real estate stocks advanced 0.7%, helped by data centre landlord Goodman Group's 0.8% gain. The sector benefited from the rotation from banks and healthcare, according to Liu.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index ended 0.4% lower at 13,229.15 points.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand's head reaffirmed its dovish outlook for a further 50 basis points of rate cuts by the end of the year. ($1 = 1.5124 Australian dollars)
According to media reports, the European Union (EU) has rejected US President Donald Trumps proposal to impose a 100% tariff on India as punishment for buying Russian oil.

The Statesman, on September 11, reported that "the EU has rejected US President Donald Trumps push for 100% tariffs on India and China."

Earlier on September 10, Reuters reported, quoting EU sources, that 'the European Union is very unlikely to impose tariffs on India or China."

However, the EU has not officially confirmed anything about the tariffs on India and China.

"We do not disclose details of political meetings due to the need for confidentiality when it comes to sensitive exchanges on sanctions work. In a wider sense, we can recall that the EU has engaged with all relevant global partners, including India and China, in the context of its sanctions enforcement efforts. This engagement will continue," Olof Gill, EU spokesperson for trade, told Mint.

Nevertheless, experts see these newsflows as a major diplomatic win for India and expect the Indian stock market to react positively to the development in the near term. The stock market benchmark Nifty 50 closed above the 25,000 mark on Thursday, September 11, clocking a modest gain of 32 points, or 0.13 per cent.

Trump, according to reports, had pressed the EU to impose Chinese and Indian goods with hefty tariffs of 100 per cent to increase pressure on Russia to end its war in Ukraine.

This was in sharp contrast to his Tuesday updates that trade negotiations between India and the US were continuing to address the trade barriers between the two nations.

A shot in the market's arm? Experts say the EU's refusal to accept Trump's proposal to impose 100 per cent tariffs on India is a positive development. It signals that the world is not seeing India through Trump's lens and also indicates that the talks between India and the EU for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) remain on course.

According to news agency PTI, the next round of talks for the proposed FTA between India and the European Union started on Monday, September 8. The current round of talks - the 13th  is important as there is a deadline to conclude the FTA talks by the end of this year.

After the 13th round of talks, European Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic is scheduled to visit India on September 12 to take stock of the progress of the negotiations with Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, the PTI report said.

Seema Srivastava, Senior Research Analyst at SMC Global Securities, pointed out that the EU, which is Indias second-largest trading partner, is deepening FTA negotiations, driven by Europes need for alternative supply chains amid global trade tensions.

Also Read | These stocks may gain as EU likely rejects Trumps tariff call on India

"Indias trade surplus with the EU has expanded, reflecting growing European demand for Indian products. With an FTA expected by year-end, stocks with 'India-first' business models and diversified export bases will likely be attractive investment options for long-term prospects," said Srivastava.

Track India-US Trade Deal LIVE Updates Here

Given that the EU views India as a key strategic ally, experts had widely anticipated the rejection of Trumps 100 per cent tariff plea.

"The EU's move was expected. EU agreeing to Trump's proposal would indicate he was influencing the EU's strategic decisions also," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities.

Tapse believes the development will influence market sentiment as it signals the world is not going to toe Trump's line on tariffs. However, there may not be any meaningful immediate impact.

"Earnings are the main trigger which will give the market a major boost. Even FIIs are waiting for earnings to revive. There should be some improvement in Q2 earnings," said Tapse.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said this report is definitely positive, but there are other significantly positive developments.

"We expect a sharp rebound in economic growth. The cumulative impact of the income tax cuts, the monetary policy stimulus and GST rate cuts will be significant. We can expect a rebound in earnings also from Q3 onwards. The additional 25 per cent US tariff will also go in the coming months," said Vijayakumar.

Notably, Fitch Ratings expects Indias economy to grow at 6.9 per cent in FY26, up from its June estimate of 6.5 per cent, citing stronger-than-expected momentum in the services sector and resilient spending from both households and the government.

Read all market-related news here

Read more stories by Nishant Kumar
Stock splits have become a powerful tool for Indian companies to enhance liquidity, improve affordability, and attract retail investors.

A stock split is a corporate action in which a company increases the number of its outstanding shares by issuing more shares to existing shareholders, while proportionally reducing the share price so that the overall market capitalization remains the same.

Among the most impactful are those in the 1:10 ratio, where each share of 10 face value is divided into 10 shares of 1 each. This does not change the overall market capitalization of the company but makes the stock more accessible to a wider pool of investors, often increasing trading volumes and broadening shareholding patterns.

Why These Stock Splits Matter Stock splits in the 1:10 ratio are not just cosmetic changes; they have a real impact on market dynamics. By lowering the per-share price, they:

Increase Affordability: More investors, particularly retail participants, can buy into these companies.

Boost Liquidity: A higher number of shares in circulation typically leads to more active trading.

Signal Confidence: Companies often announce splits after a strong rally, signaling managements confidence in future growth.

Heres a look at 10 significant 1:10 stock splits that have made headlines in the Indian markets. Nestle India: Nestle India, a bellwether in the FMCG space, approved its first-ever 1:10 stock split in October 2023, reducing the face value of its shares from 10 to 1. The move was aimed at making its stock  which traded at a steep price  more affordable to retail investors. The record date was fixed for January 5, 2024. The split increased the number of shares in circulation and improved liquidity, aligning with Nestles goal of expanding shareholder participation.

OK Play India: Toy manufacturer OK Play India set March 11, 2024, as the record date for its 1:10 stock split. The company, which had already delivered strong multibagger returns over five years, used the split to encourage more retail participation. The lower post-split price allowed smaller investors to enter the stock without large capital outlay, helping boost daily trading volumes.

Systematix Corporate Services: On September 26, 2024, Systematix Corporate Services announced a 1:10 stock split to reduce the face value of each share from 10 to 1. The company said this move was aimed at improving liquidity and increasing the stocks attractiveness to retail investors, while broadening its shareholder base.

Eraaya Lifespaces: Eraaya Lifespaces Limited, a real estate player, announced its decision to split shares in a 1:10 ratio with December 6, 2024, as the record date. The company aimed to make its shares more affordable to retail investors and improve overall market participation.

BCL Industries: BCL Industries underwent a 10-for-1 stock split on October 27, 2023, reducing its face value from 10 to 1. The company stated that the primary reason for this split was to increase the number of its shareholders and make the stock more accessible to a wider range of investors. A lower share price can make shares more attractive to retail investors who may find high-priced shares unaffordable.

Oasis Securities: Oasis Securities approved its first-ever 1:10 stock split with February 28, 2025, as the record date. The announcement came after the companys shares had delivered over 1,000 percent returns in five years. The split was designed to make the stock more accessible to new investors and sustain momentum after a strong rally.

Tata Investment Corporation: In August 2025, Tata Investment Corporation announced its first-ever 1:10 stock split to improve liquidity and attract more retail shareholders. This was a significant move from the Tata Group, known for its conservative capital management approach. The announcement was well-received by investors and analysts, who saw it as a step toward broadening market participation.

Websol Energy System: After delivering over 6,000 percent returns in just five years, Websol Energy System approved a 1:10 stock split in September 2025. The move was aimed at making the high-flying stock more affordable and improving liquidity. The split is expected to be completed by October 2025, with analysts anticipating renewed investor interest in the stock.

Akme Fintrade (India): Akme Fintrade, a non-banking financial company (NBFC), declared April 18, 2025, as the record date for its 1:10 stock split. The split is part of the companys strategy to enhance market liquidity and attract a wider base of investors amid its growing presence in the financial services sector.

Pavna Industries: Pavna Industries, a manufacturer of automotive parts, announced its first 1:10 split with a record date of September 1, 2025. The move reflects the companys confidence in its growth trajectory and its intent to make shares more widely available to investors, especially as the auto sector continues to expand.
Inflows into equity mutual funds cooled in August after a record surge, as trade tensions and geopolitical risks influenced investors to move away from highly volatile assets.

Equity mutual fund inflows dropped 21.7% in August to 33,430.37 crore from 42,702.35 crore in July, with inflows into small-cap funds dropping sharply by 23% to 4,992 crore, as lofty valuations and lack of earnings visibility led investors to pause allocations.

Mid-cap mutual funds saw a marginal gain of 2%, with inflows totaling 5,330.62 crore, according to AMFI. However, investors shifted their attention toward large-cap stocks, seeking stability amid uncertain times, while their reasonable valuations have also made them preferred bets.

Large-cap funds Attract investors' interest Large-cap funds saw robust inflows of 2,834 crore in August, up from 2,125 crore in July, marking a 33.36% month-on-month growth and bringing large-cap AUM to 3.89 lakh crore.

However, weak inflows into small-cap funds weighed on the overall equity AUM, which declined to 33.08 lakh crore from 33.27 lakh crore, according to AMFI data.

Naval Kagalwala, COO and Product Head, Shriram Wealth, said, While the month saw a net positive inflow of investors into mutual funds with 31.85 lakh new folios and a net inflow of 52,443 crore, the month-on-month rate of growth was comparatively lower versus July."

Kagalwala added that the new folios in August across equity & hybrid schemes stood at 21.88 lakh, approximately 37% lower than Julys 34.69 lakh. The net inflows in equity & hybrid schemes of 48,724 crore in August were also about 24% lower compared to the 63,582 crore net inflow in July.

"This is likely a result of a 2% fall in the Nifty 500 index in August 2025 and a 5.5% decline over the last 12 months, driven by uncertainty due to tariffs, selling by FIIs, and stretched valuations amid weak earnings," said Naval Kagalwala.

Analysts pin hopes on India-US talks to stabilize markets Trade relations between India and the US have deteriorated following the White Houses imposition of an additional 25% tariff on Indian imports over continued purchases of Russian oil, taking the total tariff to 50%, the highest among US trading partners.

The additional tariffs have also dashed hopes of a near-term trade deal between the two nations, leaving investors concerned about the potential impact on growth in certain export sectors if the tariffs remain in place for an extended period.

To curb the impact of the levies, the Indian government has rolled out consumption tax cuts and is also in the process of identifying potential countries to diversify exports. Meanwhile, trade deal hopes resurfaced recently after Donald Trump said both countries will continue their trade talks.

According to the analysts, the trade deal will revive the sentiment and boost investor confidence, potentially driving inflows into equity mutual funds.
Stock market today: The Benchmark Nifty- 50 index amidst ongoing consolidation, continued adding to gains as it ended at 24,973.10 up 0.42% on Wednesday. The Bank Nifty at 54,536.00 ended 0.59% higher while IT and Realty, led gains many other sectors though Auto, consumer durable were among few key losers. The mid- and small-cap also gained 0.73-0.93%.

Trade Setup for Thursday "Going forward, the Nifty could gradually move towards the 25,20025,500 range, with immediate support placed around the 24,800 level." said Nilesh Jain, Head  Technical and Derivatives Research Analyst (Equity Research),

The immediate support for Bank Nifty is placed at Mondays low of 54,300, as per Bajaj Broking.

Global Markets, US Fed rate cuts and Trump Tariffs "Renewed optimism around ongoing trade negotiations between India and the US lifted market sentiment. Anticipation of stronger H2FY26 earnings, driven by GST rationalization and the benefits of monetary easing, is providing resilience to valuations. The IT index extended its outperformance on hopes of a potential Fed rate cut next week and a revival in technology spending. Investors remain focused on the progress of IndiaUS trade talks for signals of a constructive resolution to tariff-related issues." said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited

Stocks to buy today Regarding stocks to buy today, market expertsSumeet Bagadia, Executive Director at Choice Broking; Ganesh Dongre, Senior Manager of Technical Research at Anand Rathi and Shiju Koothupalakkal, Senior Manager of Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher, recommended these Eight intraday stocks for today: Waaree Energies Ltd., Indraprastha Medical Corporation Ltd., ITC Ltd., Asian Paints Ltd., PNB Housing Finance Ltd., Bharat Electronics Ltd., Adani Green Energy Ltd., and Apollo Micro Systems Ltd.

Sumeet Bagadia's stock picks Waaree Energies Ltd- Bagadia recommends buying WAAREEENER at  3464 keeping Stop loss at  3333 for a target price of  3700 WAAREEENER delivered a stellar performance in the latest session, surging +6.71% and marking one of its strongest up-moves in recent weeks. The stock touched a 52 week-high of 3,503.50, and a low of 3,267.40, before closing almost at days high, indicating aggressive buying interest throughout the day. The sharp rally was backed by a significant spike in volume highlighting robust accumulation from institutional and retail participants alike. Notably, this surge comes after a brief phase of consolidation in the range of 32003350, suggesting a breakout with momentum.

2. Indraprastha Medical Corporation Ltd- Bagadia recommends buying INDRAMEDCO at around 507.5 keeping Stop loss at 488 for a target price of 545

INDRAMEDCO witnessed a powerful rally in the latest session, delivering an impressive gain of 6.95% to close at 504.65. This indicates strong buying momentum throughout the day. Importantly, the closing level near the days high reflects sustained demand and bullish sentiment among participants. The stock is currently trading well above all its key moving averages. The alignment of these averages below the current price forms a solid base and confirms the continuation of a bullish structure.

Ganesh Dongre's stocks to buy today 3. ITC Ltd- Dongre recommends buying ITC at 413 keeping Stop loss at 400 for a target price of 430.

Stock has been exhibiting a strong and consistent bullish pattern, indicating sustained investor interest and positive price momentum. The stock is currently trading at  413 and has established a solid support base at  400. This level has historically acted as a cushion, and the recent price action suggests a reversal from this support, reinforcing bullish sentiment. The technical setup points to the potential for a price retracement toward the 430 level in the near term.

4. Asian Paints Ltd- Dongre recommends buying ASIANPAINT at 2543 keeping Stop loss at 2480 for a target price of 2650

Stock has exhibited a strong notable continue bullish pattern, offering another promising opportunity for short-term traders. The stock is currently priced at  2543 and maintaining a strong support at  2480. The technical setup indicates the potential for a price retracement towards the  2650 level. With the stock reversing from a support base and showing signs of renewed strength, entering at the current market price with a stop-loss at  2480 offers a prudent approach to capturing the anticipated upside.

5. PNB Housing Finance Ltd- Dongre recommends buying PNBHOUSING at around 810 keeping Stop loss at 790 for a target price of 850

Stock has exhibited a strong notable continue bullish pattern, offering another promising opportunity for short-term traders. The stock is currently priced at  810 and maintaining a strong support at  790. The technical setup indicates the potential for a price retracement towards the  850 level. With the stock reversing from a support base and showing signs of renewed strength, entering at the current market price with a stop-loss at  790 offers a prudent approach to capturing the anticipated upside.

Shiju Koothupalakkal intraday stocks for today 6. Bharat Electronics Ltd- Koothupalakkal recommends buying BHARAT ELECTRONICS at 388 for a target price of 415 keeping Stop loss at 380

The stock after witnessing a decent correction has consolidated for quite some time, with currently indicating a strong bullish candle formation on the daily chart with significant volume participation visible moving past the important 50EMA at 381 level to improve the bias anticipating for further rise in the coming days. The RSI has recovered from the oversold zone to indicate a positive trend reversal to signal a buy and is expected to carry on with the positive move further ahead. With the chart technically looking good, we suggest buying the stock .

7. Adani Green Energy Ltd- Koothupalakkal recommends buying ADANI GREEN at 963 for a target price of 1020 keeping Stop loss at 940

The stock having formed a strong base with a double bottom formation on the daily chart near the 915 zone, it has witnessed a strong pullback with a bullish candle formation moving past the 50 EMA at 961 level to improve the bias. The RSI is well positioned indicating a positive trend reversal to anticipate for further rise in the coming days. With the chart technically well placed, we suggest buying the stock.

8. Apollo Micro Systems Ltd- Koothupalakkal recommends buying APOLLO MICRO at 283 for a target price of 305 keeping Stop loss at 276

The stock after having witnessed a strong bull run has corrected to a small extent to take support near the long term trend-line zone at 268 level and currently once again has shown signs of improvement with significant volume participation visible on the intraday chart to anticipate for further rise with fresh round of momentum visible. The RSI has significantly corrected from the highly overbought zone and is well positioned once again. With the chart technically looking good, we suggest buying the stock .
Amazon Pay and ICICI Bank announced the renewal of their long-term partnership for the Amazon Pay ICICI Bank Credit Card, that is used by over 5 million customers. Since its launch in 2018, the card has redefined digital payments through simple, transparent rewards.

Starting October 11, 2025, the Amazon Pay ICICI Bank Credit Card will reduce the forex markup on international transactions. This credit card will continue to offer its signature benefits of 5 percent unlimited cashback on shopping and travel bookings via Amazon Pay for Prime members, while non-Prime members will continue to receive 3 per cent unlimited rewards.

With these features, the card evolves from a rewarding everyday credit card to being your travel companion  delivering greater value across both daily spends and travel experiences.

Speaking on the development, Mayank Jain, Director, Credit and Lending, Amazon Pay India said, Our over 5 million valuable customers have consistently enjoyed unlimited cashback, zero joining and annual fees, and seamless redemption. We remain dedicated to innovating on behalf of our customers and strengthening rewards in categories that matter mostfrom everyday essentials to now travel.

Vipul Agarwal, Head, Cards and Payment Solutions, ICICI Bank, said, We have observed a rise in travel among Indian customers, along with a growing demand for rich reward propositions and flexible redemption options. By reducing forex mark up, we are strengthening the cards appeal for digitally savvy users seeking smarter ways to pay.

More value on travel i) Reduced forex markup: Now only 1.99% (previously 3.5%) on international transactions

ii) 5% unlimited cashback on travel bookings (flights and hotels) via Amazon Pay for Prime members

iii) 3% unlimited cashback on travel bookings (flights and hotels) via Amazon Pay for Non-Prime Members

Also Read | YES Bank joins hands with Hyperface to offer credit card solution

Current benefits i) No annual or joining fees

ii) Unlimited 5% cashback on Amazon shopping (excluding Gold Coins) for Amazon Prime members

iii) Unlimited 3% cashback on Amazon shopping (excluding Gold Coins) for Non-Prime members
Planning for retirement? If youre relying on a superannuation plan, you might be leaving a big chunk of your savings on the table.

Superannuation is a retirement savings scheme where your employer sets aside funds on your behalf throughout your career. But heres the catchwhen you retire, youre allowed to withdraw only one-third of the total amount as a lump sum. The remaining two-thirds are locked into an annuity, which offers you a modest monthly income, often limiting your financial freedom when you need it most.

But, theres a smart workaroundyou can exercise the one-time option to transfer your entire superannuation corpus to a National Pension System (NPS) account.

Also, keep in mind that retirement age under your employers plan may differ from the NPS retirement age, which could complicate withdrawals if not planned carefully.

Also Read | How you can retire with less retirement corpus

One-time tax-free transfer

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) allows a one-time transfer of the superannuation corpus to an NPS Tier-1 account without paying any tax. Employees using this facility can withdraw up to 60% of their corpus tax-free at 60, compared with just 33.33% allowed under a superannuation scheme.

The government allows a one-time voluntary transfer of superannuation funds to the NPS, which is tax-neutral since such transfers enjoy exemption under Section 10(13) of the Income Tax Act. By switching to the NPS closer to the retirement date, an employee can withdraw up to 60% of their corpus, compared to only 33% under a superannuation fund," said Abhishek Kumar, registered investment advisor and founder of financial advisory firm Sahaj Money.

View Full Image (Switching to NPS before 60 can boost your retirement corpus)

Illustration: How it works

Lets take the case of Mr A, a 59-year-old employee with 50 lakh in his employer-maintained superannuation fund. If he chooses to do nothing at retirement, he will receive only 16.5 lakh (33%) as a one-time payout. The remaining 33.5 lakh will be locked into an annuity plan, which may offer payments for life or a fixed term, with or without principal repaymentoften leaving little room for flexibility.

Also Read | NPS: Why no one wants to be a retirement adviser in India

But theres a smarter way. By transferring the entire 50 lakh corpus into a NPS Tier-1 account, Mr A can access 30 lakh (60%) as a lump sum, completely tax-free. The remaining 20 lakh can then be invested in annuity plans, giving him far greater financial freedom and choice.

Most employees who still hold a superannuation fund as they head towards retirement date open an NPS account (prior to date of retirement) and shift the corpus from superannuation to NPS - this is allowed to be done without any tax implication - and enjoy the superior benefits that NPS offers," said Sriram Iyer, CEO, HDFC Pension.

Also Read | This Pune resident saved  10 lakh in tax by transferring pension fund to NPS

Adarsh Vir Singh, founder of social security consulting firm Nidhi Niyojan Inc., also pointed out that when superannuation funds buy annuities, they have to pay GST on them, whereas if the subscribers get annuities through NPS, GST is not applicable.

Another important point to consider is that if superannuation funds are maintained by LIC, then LIC charges a hefty fee on the fund switching from superannuation to NPS, and this levy directly hits employees' superannuation corpus," added Singh.

Tax advantage and more

If youre planning to change jobs, transferring your superannuation corpus to the NPS early can help you avoid locking it into an annuity with limited control. Normally, when you switch employers, you can move your superannuation fund from the previous employers trust to the new one using physical forms.

However, many companies dont have a superannuation trust in place. In such cases, employees are left with no option but to withdraw their funds.

When you withdraw early, youre allowed to take only one-third of the corpus as a lump sum, while the remaining two-thirds must be used to purchase annuity plans. Both the lump sum and the annuity payments are fully taxableresulting in a significant tax hit that could have been avoided by transferring the corpus to NPS before leaving your job.

Lets say a 28-year-old employee switches jobs from company A to company B, and the new employer doesnt have a superannuation trust. In such cases, he would have to withdraw one-third by paying full tax and will start receiving a pension through annuities at 28. This is not ideal as he would pay tax on the one-time withdrawal of one-third of the corpus and would be forced to buy annuities from the remaining amount," said Amit Gopal, a pension consultant based in Bangalore.

NPS also offers more investment flexibility and options. Employees can choose fund managers, invest in diverse assets, and continue contributing even after switching to freelance or self-employed work through the all citizens model.

According to PFRDA, employees must have an active NPS Tier-1 account to initiate the transfer. The account can be opened via Points of Presence (PoPs), through the eNPS portal, or via the employer if enrolled.

The employees have to then approach the superannuation fund trust through the current employer and make a request to transfer the corpus to NPS. PFRDA says it's the responsibility of the superannuation fund trust to then initiate the transfer.

For the SA balance to shift from the trust to NPS, the rules of the trust should provide for the same. If not, the trust deed has to be amended and approval obtained from the Income Tax Dept," said Gopal.
Chhattisgarh: At least 10 naxals, including CC member Manoj alias Modem Balkrishna were gunned down in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district on Thursday, Gariaband SP said.

The gunfight erupted in the forest under Mainpur police station limits when security personnel were out on an anti-Naxalite operation, Raipur Range Inspector General of Police Amresh Mishra told PTI.

"Personnel belonging to Special Task Force (STF), CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action - an elite unit of CRPF) and other state police units are involved in the operation. Intermittent exchange of fire is still underway. As per the inputs received from the ground, at least eight Naxalites have been gunned down," the IGP Amresh Mishra had earlier told PTI.

Also Read | Amit Shah accuses Opposition VP candidate Sudershan Reddy of helping Naxalism

According to police, the operation was launched based on the inputs about the movement of top Naxalites in the area, located over 180 km away from capital Raipur.

Who was Modem Balakrishna? Modem Balakrishna was a senior leader and Central Committee Member (CCM) of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) who was killed in Thursday's encounter as per the police.

Balakrishna, also known by his aliases Balanna, Ramachander and Bhaskar, was the secretary of the Odisha State Committee (OSC) and had joined the movement in early 1980s.

In a separate incident on Thursday, two personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were injured when a pressure IED planted by Naxalites exploded in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district.

IED planted by Naxalites explodes The incident took place near Saatdhaar bridge on the Indravati river at around 10.30 am, when a team of CRPF's 195th battalion was out on an area domination operation from its camp in Malewahi police station area, an official said.

Also Read | Chhattisgarh: Naxal leader Bhaskar killed in Bijapur encounter

When the patrolling team was cordoning off the area near Saatdhaar, a pressure Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded, causing injuries to Inspector Diwan Singh Gurjar and constable Alam Munesh, both belonging to CRPF's 195th battalion, the police official said.
The director general of health services recently issued a directive stating that physiotherapists do not have the right to use Dr as a prefix to their names as it is reserved for only registered medical practitioners.

The matter is now undergoing further examination, ANI reported, quoting official sources on Wednesday.

Earlier, Director General of Health Services Dr Sunita Sharma sent a letter to Dr Dilip Bhanushali, National President of the Indian Medical Association (IMA). In the letter, she said that the DGHS has received several representations and strong objections from multiple organisations regarding the use of the prefix "Dr" and suffix "PT" by physiotherapists.

The Indian Association of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (IAPMR) was one of the organisations that raised objection to physiotherapists using the prefix Dr.

Dr prefix use by physiotherapists: What is the controversy? The letter, written on September 9, suggested that physiotherapists can use a more appropriate prefix along with their names.

It is hereby directed that the usage of the prefix Dr. for physiotherapists in the Competency Based Curriculum for Physiotherapy - Approved Syllabus 2025 be removed forthwith. A more appropriate and respectful title may be considered for graduates and postgraduates of physiotherapy, without causing ambiguity to patients or the public, the letter said.

Also Read | How physiotherapy can help if you are not injured

According to Sharma, the IAPMR said that the issue is linked to the Competency Based Curriculum for Physiotherapy Approved Syllabus 2025, which was published by the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on March 23 (Page 34, Point No. 3.2.3 - "The recommended title thus stands as the 'Physiotherapist' with the prefix 'Dr' and suffix 'PT'").

Sharma in her letter listed the points of concern that have been highlighted by the organisations, saying that physiotherapists are not trained doctors. Therefore, using the prefix Dr misleads patients and the general public and may also lead to quackery.

The letter noted that the Ethics Committee of the Council (Paramedical and Physiotherapy Central Council Bill, 2007) had earlier decided that the title "Doctor" (Dr.) may only be used by registered medical practitioners of Modern Medicine, Ayurveda, Homoeopathy, and Unani.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has reiterated its warning to Indian nationals against joining the Russian army, following reports that several citizens have been recruited and deployed in the combat zones. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday that the Centre has often underlined the risks and dangers of such recruitment and urged Indian citizens to refrain from joining the Soviet Army.

We have seen reports about Indian nationals having been recruited recently into the Russian army. Government has on several occasions over the past one year underlined the risks and dangers inherent in this course of action and cautioned Indian citizens accordingly, Jaiswal said in an official notification.

We have also taken up the matter with Russian authorities, both in Delhi and Moscow, asking that this practice be ended and that our nationals be released. We are also in touch with the families of the affected Indian citizens, it added.

We once again strongly urge all Indian nationals to stay away from any offers to join the Russian army as this is a course fraught with danger, the notification said.

Also Read | Jaishankar shares update on Indians serving Russian Army amid Ukraine war

The notification advisory comes after a news report published in The Hindu, which revealed that two Indian men, currently stranded in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, claimed they were tricked into travelling to Russia with the promise of construction jobs, only to be sent to the front lines instead.

Speaking over the phone from Selydove  a town seized by Russian forces in November 2024  the men said at least 13 more Indians were facing similar conditions.

The report also reveals that all of them travelled to Russia in the last six months on student or visitor visas. The agent allegedly promised them work in the construction sector, but redirected them to the military instead.
The share of investors who repurchase certificates of the S1 REIT funds of the developer Standard One has increased to 43% in five months of the funds' operation, the project's press service reported.

"We have provided an opportunity for investors to increase their profits by increasing their own share. The minimum pre-investment amount is equal to the cost of one certificate, which is a little more than UAH 1,000 thousand. But despite our expectations, the average amount of resales is much higher - at almost UAH 90,000," said Viktor Boichuk, commercial director of S1 REIT, whose words are given in the press release.

He noted that currently the vast majority of investors are people with experience in investment activities who already have a certain portfolio of assets.

"For them, S1 REIT is an opportunity to diversify their asset portfolio with a relatively small check. In the first weeks of our work, investors went through the getting to know each other stage, studying us and our offer. Now we see how their trust is growing," Boichuk added.

He added that the project plans to scale it by reaching a new audience - those Ukrainians who have not yet had experience in investment activities due to lack of knowledge or lack of significant start-up capital. "The key advantage of S1 REIT is its accessibility. The entry threshold is the equivalent of $3,000, which is significantly less than the initial investment in the Kyiv real estate market," the top manager noted.
The Delhi Police Special Cell has uncovered connections to Pakistan in an ongoing terror investigation, arresting three additional suspects linked to the module.

With these new arrests, the total number of individuals detained has risen to five. The first two suspects were taken into custody earlier as part of the probe.

The police have also recovered some parts used in the making of IEDs.

Sources said the accused were in touch with handlers based in Pakistan through multiple social media accounts, which are now being verified, ANI reported.

According to investigators, the group's key member, Ashraf Danish, was operating the module from India while maintaining contact with Pakistan-based individuals via encrypted and social media platforms. The probe has revealed that the suspects used these channels to radicalise youth in India and recruit them into their network.

Police sources told ANI the group also ran multiple online groups aimed at spreading communal hatred and disturbing religious harmony.

Raids were conducted across four to five states as part of a major counterterrorism operation, during which nearly eight suspects were questioned, according to officials. So far, five individuals have been arrested on suspicion of terrorism-related activities, including two from Delhi and one each from Madhya Pradesh, Hyderabad, and Ranchi.

One of the arrested suspects, identified as Danish, was found in possession of a country-made pistol, live ammunition, and a cache of suspicious materials. The Delhi Police Special Cell recovered hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, sulfur powder, copper sheets, ball bearings, strip wires, electronic circuits, laptops, mobile phones, and cash from him. Authorities believe these items were intended for the fabrication of weapons and explosives.
In a gruesome incident in Hyderabad city, a 50-year-old woman was bludgeoned and her throat slit with sharp objects in a gated society. The incident happened on Wednesday, September 10, in the afternoon, and five teams have been formed to nab the two men suspected of killing the woman identified as Renu Agarwal.

According to the media reports, the two suspects first repeatedly hit the woman with a pressure cooker, and then slit her throat with a sharp knife and scissors. The accused also took a shower after killing Renu Agarwal, changed into fresh clothes and escaped. They also left their blood-stained clothes behind.

Who are the accused? According to the reports, the cops have zeroed in on two people as the prime suspects in the Hyderabad society murder case. They have been identified as Harsha (21) and Roushan  both domestic helps. While Harsha was employed at the Agarwals about 11 days ago, Roushan worked in another house, a floor above.

Where did the incident happen? The incident happened on Wednesday between 3 pm and 4.30 pm at the victim's flat in a high-rise apartment complex in Kukatpally in Hyderabad.

How it happened On Wednesday, when the victim's husband and son were away at work, the domestic helps tied up the woman, hit her with a pressure cooker and stabbed her with knives and scissors, inflicting multiple injuries, police said.

The accused then showered in the house, changed into clean clothes, and left their blood-stained garments at the scene.

The duo then took some gold ornaments and about 1 lakh cash from the residence and fled. The suspects are from a village near Ranchi, and a police team has already been dispatched to Jharkhand.

The CCTV footage also showed the two going up to the 13th floor and leaving the society around 5:02 pm.

The police are analysing CCTV footage and CDR. The CCTV footage showed the suspects driving away on a two-wheeler belonging to the owner of the second suspect.
NEW DELHI: India has signed a $126.42 million loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to promote sustainable tourism and rural development in Uttarakhands Tehri Garhwal district, one of the Himalayan states most climate-vulnerable and economically disadvantaged regions, the finance ministry said on Thursday.

The project, focused on the Tehri Lake area, is expected to benefit more than 87,000 local residents and 2.7 million annual visitors. It will upgrade infrastructure, improve sanitation and waste management, and strengthen disaster preparedness in a region prone to landslides and floods.

Also Read | Punjab urges Centre to double relief funds after 20,000 crore flood losses

Notable features include a livelihood matching grant programme to support tourism led by women, youth, and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, universal access design including for persons with disability, and a women-led disaster risk management initiative in pilot villages, the ministry added.

The project comes in the wake of flash floods and cloudbursts that battered Uttarakhand last month. Uttarkashis Dharali village and Sukhi Top were among the worst hit, while Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Tehri Garhwal, Bageshwar, Pithoragarh, Pauri Garhwal, and Nainital faced landslides, road blockages, and overflowing rivershighlighting the regions vulnerability to extreme weather.

The loan agreement was signed by Juhi Mukherjee, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and Kai Wei Yeo, Officer-in-Charge, India Resident Mission, ADB.

According to the ministry, the project will deploy climate-resilient infrastructure and nature-based solutions to mitigate landslide and flood risks, while promoting inclusive tourism. Women, youth, and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises will play a central role through the grant programme and women-led disaster risk management pilots.

The ADB loan supports the government of Uttarakhands policy to position the state as a diversified, all-weather tourism destination, with Tehri Lake identified as a priority area for development, said Mukherjee after signing the loan agreement.

The project showcases a model for sustainable tourism anchored around a hydropower lake by adopting a multisector approach to generate jobs, diversify income, and build climate resilience, added ADBs Yeo.
India-US trade deal: Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on September 11 said that trade negotiations between India and the United States on the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) are progressing to the satisfaction of both countries, PTI reported.

As per the minister, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump had in February tasked both their trade ministers to conclude the first phase of the BTA by fall of 2025, i.e. November this year.

Positive atmosphere, says Piyush Goyal The BTA discussions began in March, and Goyal said that talks are moving in a positive atmosphere where both countries are satisfied with the progress, the report added.

Discussions have been going on in a positive atmosphere with seriousness since March. It is progressing, and both the countries are satisfied with the progress, Goyal told the media in Patna.

Earlier on September 10, Goyal said that India is in active dialogue with the US for a trade agreement, besides noting that negotiations are also on with New Zealand, the European Union, the UAE, Australia and Mauritius. The minister also informed that more FTAs with other countries are in the offing, and it will take some time.

Talking to good friend Modi, says Trump Goyal's optimistic statements come after Donald Trump claimed that there would be no difficulty for a successful trade deal between India and the US, and that he looks forward to speaking with his very good friend PM Modi in the coming weeks.

In a post on Truth Social on September 9, Donald Trump said he was pleased to announce that India, and the United States of America, are continuing negotiations to address the Trade Barriers between our two Nations.

Modi on September 10 reacted warmly to the post, expressing confidence that the ongoing negotiations will pave the way for unlocking the limitless potential of the partnership between the two nations. India and the US are close friends and natural partners, Modi has said on X, adding that both countries are working to conclude the trade discussions at the earliest.

India-US BTA: What we know India and the US have been negotiating a bilateral trade agreement since March. So far, five rounds of negotiations have been completed.

For the sixth round, the US team, which was to visit India last month, deferred their visit after the announcement of an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods for buying Russian crude oil.

The aim of the pact is to more than double bilateral trade in goods and services to $500 billion by 2030 from the current $191 billion.

So far, no new dates have been finalised for the sixth round of negotiations.

The negotiations were stalled as the US is pressing for greater market access in politically sensitive areas such as agri and dairy sectors, which India cannot accept as it affects the livelihood of small and marginal farmers.

India on multiple occasions stated that it will not compromise the interests of farmers and cattle rearers. The US is India's largest trading partner. In 2024-25, the bilateral trade in goods stood at $131.8 billion ($86.5 billion exports and $45.3 billion imports).

America is also the third-largest investor in India, with $76.26 billion FDI coming into India during April 2000 and June 2025. America accounts for 10 per cent of the total FDI India has received during the period.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met his Mauritian counterpart Navinchandra Ramgoolam in his parliamentary constituency ahead of bilateral talks between the two leaders.

The two leaders warmly greeted each other and shook hands, as seen in pictures.

Also Read | PM Narendra Modi likely to visit Kuki, Meitei strongholds during Manipur visit

Earlier, amid the sound of drums and conch shells, Modi's convoy entered the city around 11:30 AM. At several intersections along the route, BJP leaders, party workers and local residents lined up to welcome him, chanting Har Har Mahadev. In some places, people showered flower petals, while a few were also seen carrying Mauritius flags.

PM received by UP Guv, CM The prime minister landed at Babatpur airport from Delhi, where he was received by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

From there, he proceeded to the Varanasi police lines before travelling by car to Hotel Taj, the venue of his scheduled bilateral meeting with the Mauritian prime minister.

According to an official statement, Modi and Ramgoolam are expected to discuss crucial matters of bilateral cooperation, with a particular focus on development partnerships and capacity building.

It added that they will also explore collaboration in health, education, science and technology, energy, and infrastructure, as well as in emerging domains such as renewable energy, digital public infrastructure, and the blue economy.

The visit builds on the momentum generated by Modi's state visit to Mauritius in March 2025, during which the two leaders elevated the relationship to an "enhanced strategic partnership".

Ramgoolam arrived in Varanasi on Wednesday and was received by Governor Patel and Finance Minister Suresh Khanna. He is scheduled to attend the Ganga 'aarti' on Thursday evening and visit the Kashi Vishwanath temple on Friday morning before his departure.

What's on the agenda? BJP leaders said this will be the first bilateral meeting of the prime minister with a head of state in Kashi. Modi had earlier hosted French President Emmanuel Macron in 2018 and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022 in Varanasi, but those were not formal bilateral meetings.

The meeting between the two leaders in the historic city of Varanasi underscores the enduring civilizational connect, spiritual bonds and deep-rooted people-to-people ties that have shaped the special and unique relationship between India and Mauritius.

During the bilateral discussions, the two leaders will review the full spectrum of cooperation, with particular focus on development partnership and capacity building. They will also discuss opportunities for expanding collaboration in health, education, science and technology, energy, infrastructure as well as in emerging domains such as renewable energy, digital public infrastructure and the blue economy.

Builds upon the positive momentum The visit builds upon the positive momentum generated by PM Modis State Visit to Mauritius in March 2025, during which the two leaders elevated the bilateral relationship to an Enhanced Strategic Partnership.

As a valued partner and close maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region, Mauritius is key to Indias MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Region) Vision and the Neighbourhood First policy.

Also Read | PM Modi lavishes praise on Mohan Bhagwat on RSS chief's 75th birthday

The deepening cooperation between the two countries is significant not only for the prosperity of the people of both countries but also for the collective aspirations of the Global South.

From Varanasi to Dehradun The Prime Minister will travel to Dehradun, where, at around 4:15 PM, he will undertake an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas in Uttarakhand. At around 5 PM, He will chair a high-level review meeting with officials.

The meeting between the two leaders underscores the enduring civilizational connect and deep-rooted people-to-people ties that have shaped the special relationship between India and Mauritius.

The Varanasi Summit will mark a significant milestone in the shared journey of India and Mauritius towards mutual prosperity, sustainable development and a secure and inclusive future.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Dehradun on Thursday, September 11, and reviewed the flood situation and damage caused due to cloudbursts, rains and landslides in Uttarakhand. PM Modi later announced 1200 crore relief package to the disaster-hit areas of Uttarakhand. The decision was taken in a meeting in Dehradun, where PM Modi reviewed the relief and rehabilitation measures undertaken due to damage caused by the flood situation in the state.

The prime minister also emphasised the need for a multi-dimensional approach to help the entire region and its people recover. This would include measures such as rebuilding homes under the PM Awas Yojana, restoring national highways, reconstructing schools, providing relief through the PMNRF, and distributing mini kits for livestock.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Gramin, the Government of Uttarakhand would be distributing financial assistance under Special Project for reconstruction of houses in rural areas to eligible households whose houses have been damaged due to floods.

An Inter-Ministerial Central team has already been sent to Uttarakhand to assess the extent of damage, and based on their detailed report further assistance will be considered.

PM Modi also expressed condolences to the family members who lost their loved ones in the disaster and stated that the Union Government will work closely with the State Governments at this difficult time and extend all possible assistance.

The Prime Minister's Office said, The Prime Minister met families from Uttarakhand who had been affected by the recent natural calamities, including landslides and floods. He conveyed his solidarity with all those who had suffered and offered heartfelt condolences to the families who lost their loved ones.

PM Modi also announced an ex-gratia of 2 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased and 50,000 for those seriously injured in the floods and related disasters.

The Prime Minister declared that children orphaned by the recent floods and landslides will receive assistance through the PM CARES for Children scheme, ensuring their long-term care and welfare.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday praised Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwant, who turns 75 on Thursday, 11 September.

Narendra Modi called Bhagwat a living example of the principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, dedicated his entire life to societal transformation and strengthening the spirit of harmony and fraternity.

Also Read | PM Narendra Modi likely to visit Kuki, Meitei strongholds during Manipur visit

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is a Sanskrit phrase which means "The World is One Family"

Today is the birthday of a personality who, inspired by the principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, has dedicated his entire life to societal transformation and strengthening the spirit of harmony and fraternity. For lakhs of people associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, he is respectfully referred to as Param Pujya Sarsanghchalak. Yes, I am referring to Shri Mohan Bhagwat, whose 75th birthday is, incidentally, in the same year the RSS marks its centenary. I would like to convey my best wishes to him and pray for his long and healthy life, Modi wrote in Hindustan Times.

Mohan Bhagwat turns 75 today RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat, who turns 75 on Thursday, has been at the helm as the "guide and philosopher" of the Sangh for more than 16 years.

Born on 11 September 1950 in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district, Bhagwat is the third-longest-serving RSS chief after Madhukar Dattatreya Deoras, popularly known as Balasaheb, and MS Golwalkar. While Balasaheb, the third RSS chief, was at the helm for more than 20 years, Golwalkar, the second sarsanghchalak, led the Hindutva organisation for more than 32 years.

Born on 11 September 1950 in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district, Bhagwat is the third-longest-serving RSS chief after Madhukar Dattatreya Deoras, popularly known as Balasaheb, and M S Golwalkar

Bhagwat started working as an RSS 'paracharak' about 50 years ago and became its sarsanghchalak (chief) in March 2009, rising through the ranks. His father, late Madhukarrao Bhagwat, was also a 'pracharak'  a full-time RSS worker.

Modi recalled his association with Bhagwant's family and how he had worked with the RSS chief's father.

My association with Mohan Bhagwats family has been very deep. I have had the good fortune of working closely with his father, the late Madhukarrao Bhagwat. I have written extensively about him in my book, Jyotipunj. He played a pivotal role in strengthening the RSS across Gujarat. Along with his association with the legal world, he devoted himself to nation-building. Such was his passion towards nation-building that he groomed his son, Mohanrao, to work for Indias regeneration. It is as if Parasmani Madhukarrao prepared another Parasmani in Mohanrao, the Prime Minister wrote.

Bhagwat's recent remarks Bhagwat's remarks on a couple of occasions about people in public life retiring at the age of 75 had triggered speculation that his suggestion was directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will also turn 75 on September 17, or that he indicated his own exit. However, he laid the speculation to rest recently by clarifying that he was merely referring to the statements made by late RSS leader Moropant Pingle in a lighter vein.

"I never said that I will retire or someone else should retire," he said, adding, "In the Sangh, swayamsevaks (volunteers) are given a job whether they want it or not We do whatever Sangh tells us to do."

Early Years and Emergency Mohan Bhagwats early years in the RSS coincided with a dark period of Indian history, Narendra Modi wrote. This was the time the draconian Emergency was imposed by the then Congress government. For every person who cherished democratic principles and wanted India to prosper, it was natural to strengthen the anti-Emergency movement. This is what Mohan Bhagwat and countless RSS swayamsevaks did. He worked extensively in rural and backward areas of Maharashtra, especially Vidarbha. This shaped his understanding of the challenges faced by the poor and downtrodden, he said.

Bhagwat was the RSS sarkaryavah (general secretary), second-in-command, before he was made the organisation's chief.

Earlier, he served as the RSS' Akhil Bharatiya Sharirik Pramukh (national in-charge of physical training).

Also Read | Meet CP Radhakrishnan, the 15th Vice President of India

Mohan Bhagwats tenure will be considered the most transformative period in the 100-year journey of the RSS, Narendra Modi wrote.

Wish him a long and healthy life

Mohan Bhagwat is a living example of vasudhaiva kutumbakam, showing that when we rise above boundaries and consider everyone as our own, it strengthens trust, brotherhood, and equality in society.

In a few days from now, the RSS will turn 100. In a pleasant coincidence, Vijaya Dashami, Gandhi Jayanti, Lal Bahadur Shastri Jayanti, and the RSS centenary celebrations fall on the same day this year. It will be a historic milestone for the lakhs of people associated with the RSS. I will conclude by saying that Mohan Bhagwat is a living example of vasudhaiva kutumbakam, showing that when we rise above boundaries and consider everyone as our own, it strengthens trust, brotherhood, and equality in society. I wish him a long and healthy life in the service of Maa Bharti, he said.
The Telangana High Court has instructed police not to mechanically register FIRs in response to harsh, offensive, or critical political speeches. The court clarified that for social media posts, FIRs citing promotion of enmity, threats to public order, or sedition should only be filed if a prima facie case exists, as reported by LiveLaw.

Also Read: A short history of Indian freedom of speech

As reported by LiveLaw, Justice N. Tukaramji issued a set of detailed guidelines aimed at protecting fundamental rights and ensuring that the criminal justice process is not triggered arbitrarily or without proper grounds.

When a complaint or representation alleges a cognizable offence, the police are required to conduct a preliminary inquiry before registering an FIR. This inquiry must determine whether the statutory ingredients of the alleged offence are prima facie satisfied, noted Telangana HC, as reported by LiveLaw.

The court clarified that no FIR should be registered in cases alleging promotion of enmity, intentional insult, public mischief, threat to public order, or sedition unless there is prima facie material indicating incitement to violence, hatred, or public disorder, as reported by LiveLaw.

This threshold must be strictly applied in accordance with the constitutional principles laid down by the Supreme Court in Kedar Nath Singh v. State of Bihar (1962 Supp (2) SCR 769) and Shreya Singhal v. Union of India (2015) 5 SCC 1).

The police shall not mechanically register cases concerning harsh, offensive, or critical political speech. Only when the speech amounts to incitement to violence or poses an imminent threat to public order may criminal law be invoked. Constitutional protections for free political criticism under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution must be scrupulously enforced, said the court, as reported by LiveLaw.

The HC further noted that as defamation is a non-cognizable offence, the police cannot directly register an FIR or initiate an investigation in such cases. Instead, the complainant must be advised to approach the appropriate jurisdictional Magistrate.

The police shall not mechanically register cases concerning harsh, offensive, or critical political speech.

Police action can only proceed after the Magistrate issues a specific order under Section 174(2) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

(All the quotes have been reported by Bar and Bench)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with his Mauritian counterpart, Navinchandra Ramgoolam, on Thursday. The two leaders held a bilateral meeting and exchanged several documents.

PM Narendra Modi highlighted the special relationship between India and Mauritius and reiterated how the Indian Ocean country is an integral pillar of India's Neighbourhood First policy and vision, MAHASAGAR.

Also Read | PM Modi meets Mauritius counterpart in Varanasi

The leaders held the bilateral meeting in PM Modi's parliamentary constituency of Varanasi and greeted each other, reflecting the bonhomie and the strength of India-Mauritius ties.

Addressing a joint press briefing after the bilateral meeting and the exchange of documents, PM Modi said that it was a moment of pride for him to welcome Ramgoolam in Kashi. Here are the top quotes by PM Narendra Modi:

1-While we welcome our friends from Mauritius today, this is not just a formal meeting but a spiritual meeting. That is why I am proud to say that India and Mauritius are not just partners but one family. Mauritius is an important pillar of India's neighbourhood-first policy and vision, MAHASAGAR.

2-Today, we held a comprehensive review of all aspects of our bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on regional and global issues. India has always supported decolonisation and full recognition of Mauritiuss sovereignty, and we have consistently stood firmly with Mauritius on this issue.

3-Our culture and traditions reached Mauritius from India centuries ago and were absorbed into the life there. Like the continuous flow of the Ganga in Kashi, the steady flow of Indian culture has been enriching and making Mauritius prosperous.

4-What has happened when I landed at Varanasi... the welcome that we received... I believe no other prime minister has ever received and I am glad this is your constituency. I can understand why you are getting elected with such huge numbers.

5-India and Mauritius are two nations, but our dreams and destiny are one.

6-India is fully committed to strengthening the security and maritime capacity of the Exclusive Economic Zone of Mauritius.

7-Free, open, prosperous Indian Ocean is in our shared interest.

8-For centuries, Kashi has been a symbol of Indias civilization and culture

Also Read | PM Narendra Modi likely to visit Kuki, Meitei strongholds during Manipur visit

9-India and Mauritius will take steps to conduct trade in local currency

10- Conclusion of the Chagos agreement historic: PM Modi after talks with Mauritius counterpart.



It is a matter of pride for me to welcome you in my parliamentary constituency. For centuries, Kashi has been a symbol of Indias civilization and culture. Our traditions and values reached Mauritius centuries ago and became deeply rooted in its way of life. Today, as we welcome our friends from Mauritius in Kashi, this is not just a formal occasion but an emotional bond. I proudly say that India and Mauritius are not just partners, but one family.

The visit builds on the momentum generated by Modi's state visit to Mauritius in March 2025, during which the two leaders elevated the relationship to an "enhanced strategic partnership".

Ramgoolam arrived in Varanasi on Wednesday and was received by Governor Patel and Finance Minister Suresh Khanna. He is scheduled to attend the Ganga 'aarti' on Thursday evening and visit the Kashi Vishwanath temple on Friday morning before his departure.

The Significance of Varanasi The meeting between the two leaders in Varanasi underscores the enduring civilizational connect, spiritual bonds and deep-rooted people-to-people ties that have shaped the special and unique relationship between India and Mauritius.

The visit builds upon the positive momentum generated by PM Modis State Visit to Mauritius in March 2025, during which the two leaders elevated the bilateral relationship to an Enhanced Strategic Partnership.

India and Mauritius are two nations, but our dreams and destiny are one.

The deepening cooperation between the two countries is significant not only for the prosperity of the people of both countries but also for the collective aspirations of the Global South.
The Central government has urged states and Union territories to intensify preventive measures against malaria and dengue, with a review planned specifically for Delhi and the National Capital Region.

Union health minister J.P. Nadda in an advisory also advised state health ministers to review the situation and prepare action plans within 20 days. Municipal corporations, panchayats, and local bodies have been instructed to intensify community awareness drives.

Hospitals, including those under the Central government, have been directed to ensure they have adequate drugs, diagnostics, beds, and mosquito-free premises.

Nadda, during a meeting on malaria and dengue on 10 September, highlighted that the country had made significant progress in its fight against malaria, reducing cases by 78% and deaths by nearly 78% between 2015 and 2024.

Between 2022 and 2024, 160 districts did not report a single case of malaria, while in 33 states and Union territories, the average number of annual cases detectedor the annual parasite Incidencewas less than one, according to the Union health ministry.

Indias efforts to eliminate malaria by 2030 include the National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination (2023-27); Integrated Health Management Platform (IHIP) for real-time monitoring; enhanced Asha incentives for community-health workers; and large-scale distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs). The government also recognizes districts that achieve Zero Malaria status.

During the review, Nadda also took stock of the current status of dengue, noting that all states and Union territories (except Ladakh) are endemic to both dengue and chikungunya, with the highest risk of outbreaks during monsoon and post-monsoon periods.

To manage this, the National Dengue Control Strategy is focusing on surveillance, case management, vector control, and community awareness, under which more than 5,520 dengue and 2,530 chikungunya diagnostic kits have been supplied to states.
Member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy Oleksiy Leonov (the "Servant of the People" faction) states that to date there have been no official statements from the Cabinet of Ministers about the need to increase the 2025 state budget by an additional UAH 300 billion.

"As for these UAH 300 billion, to date there have been no official statements from either the Ministry of Finance or the Prime Minister. Is this possible in any amount: UAH 100-200-300 billion? Yes, it is possible. It all depends on the intensity of hostilities," Leonov said on the national telethon on Thursday, answering the question of whether it will be necessary to review the 2025 state budget again to increase expenditures by another UAH 300 billion.

Earlier, the ezine Economic Truth (Ekhonomicheskaya Pravda) published an article saying that by the end of 2025 the state lacks about UAH 300 billion for defense financing. In particular, it was noted that the changes must be approved by the end of October, because from November it will be difficult for the government to finance the financial support of military personnel. As reported, at the end of June, the Verkhovna Rada increased the expenditures of the state budget for 2025 by UAH 400.5 billion, or 10.2% - to UAH 4 trillion 329.51 billion for defense needs.
Nepal authorities have extended curfew timings, prohibitory orders in the nation despite normalcy after GenZ protests, violence that spanned two days.

As per the update, prohibitory orders will remain in place from 11 AM to 5 PM (Local Time) on Friday, September 12. Curfew will begin from 7 PM on 12 September and lifted at 6am on Saturday, September 13.

Nepal returned to normalcy on Wednesday night two days after the Gen Z protests, in which 30 people were killed and 1000 others injured, reported PTI.

The capital city, Kathmandu, wore a deserted look as soldiers guarded the streets and ordered people to stay at home.

Kathmandu: A Nepalese soldier stands guard near the chariot of Kumari during the last day of the week-long Indra Jatra festival celebrations at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Basantapur Durbar Square, amidst the curfew imposed following anti-government protests, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (PTI Photo/Abhishek Maharjan)(PTI09_11_2025_000284B)

Based on the analysis of the latest security situation, the District Security Committees of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts have made these the arrangements as it is necessary to continue the prohibitory orders and curfew orders issued for the safety of citizens and their property, the Nepal Army said in its statement.

Nepal protests - What has happened so far Nepal is currently staring at a political void after deadly 'Gen Z' protests, which began on September 8.

Harrowing scenes unfolded in Nepal even after the government met the demand of lifting the ban on social media in the country.

Kathmandu: People take part in a candlelight vigil to pay respects to victims of the violence during the anti-government protests, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (PTI Photo/Abhishek Maharjan)(PTI09_11_2025_000281A)

The health ministry said in a press release that 1,033 injuries were recorded nationwide, out of which 713 injured individuals have already been discharged, while 55 were referred to other facilities for further treatment. Another 253 patients remain newly admitted.

Nepal Army troops opened fire on Thursday morning to stop a mass breakout from Ramechhap District Prison, the Kathmandu Post reported. More than a dozen inmates were injured, authorities said. The prison, in ward 8 of Ramechhap Municipality, holds more than 300 inmates. Why were the protests held? The demonstrations  dubbed the protest of Gen Z  began after the government blocked social media platforms, including Facebook, X and YouTube, saying those companies had failed to register and submit to government oversight.

According to a report by the Kathmandu Post, the protests were not just about the social media ban  but also stemmed from years of public anger at the government against corruption.
Samvardhana Motherson International Ltd plans to assemble full-fledged cars by 2030, as India's largest auto component maker aims to join the tiny club of global parts makers that have ventured into automobile manufacture.

The assembly ambition is part of the Motherson Group's bid to raise its revenue to $108 billion by the end of this decade from around $25.7 billion in FY25, according to at least three brokerages that joined a management briefing last Friday.

The attempt by the Vivek Sehgal-led Motherson Group to build cars for original equipment makers marks the third moonshot in India's auto component sector, after Sona Comstar and Bharat Forge forayed into robotics. The moves come at a time when the sector is facing multiple headwinds, including a slowdown in the western market.

Steady progress

Over the past five decades, Motherson has progressed from component manufacturing to products, systems and integrated assemblies. The next logical step is full vehicle assembly by 2030, enabling access to the entire automotive supply chain," analysts at Nuvama said in a note dated 6 September.

Also Read | GST revamp aims to end bizarre tax disputes; automobiles to get tax relief

Motherson reveals its long-term targets for investors via five-year plans. In 2020, it targeted reaching $36 billion in revenue by 2025. It ended last year with $25.7 billion. Although the company missed its target, analysts noted that it needs to be considered in the context of global challenges.

While it fell short of its target, it is important to recognize that the company significantly outperformed the end market amid an exceptionally challenging five-year period from 2020 to 2025," analysts at Motilal Oswal wrote in a note on 8 September.

Evolution

The company noted its evolution into a full car assembly maker as the logical step, starting as a supplier of basic components in 1983. It turned to making fully made products and systems like rear vision systems and interior panels.

The company's presentation to investors noted that it is targeting higher content per vehicle which is running on roads in the country and abroad. Analysts expect that such a target could not only result in a full assembly of cars but also boost profitability.

Samvardhana Mothersons share price has declined by 2.7% as against a 16% gain in Nifty Auto this year.

Motherson is targeting a 40% return on capital employed by 2030.

The company plans to achieve this by operating efficiency improvements, including expanding lifetime of assets and flexible capex, higher content per vehicle, and growing contribution from non-automotive businesses such as aerospace and consumer," analysts at JM Financial wrote in a note dated 7 September.

Also Read | Auto part makers look beyond cars to dodge global headwinds

Experts said a key reason for company's ability to target full car assembly is the transition to electric vehicles, which is gathering pace worldwide.

The move to electric mobility is reshaping the value chain and lowering entry barriers, creating an opening for new entrants like Motherson to think beyond components and towards car assembly," Nikhil Dhaka, vice-president at Primus Partners, a consultancy said.

Rare move

Very few companies globally have tried their hand at making auto parts as well as assembling vehicles. Among them are Austria's Magna Steyr and Finland's Valmet Automotive.

Although Motherson has not specified how the model will work, some clues can be taken from how Magna Steyr evolved to manufacture cars. The company acted as an engineering and production company, with capabilities to control the design and technology part as well as to help a manufacturer make cars as per its market requirements. The Austrian contract manufacturer has worked with companies like Jaguar Land Rover, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz.

Full assembly can also be done based on the design and technology given by customers. With the company already moving to manufacture most of the components required in a car, it can look to vertically integrate and assemble cars quickly. This could potentially allow companies to cut their production costs and look to boost manufacturing for their products.

Motherson was founded as a trading company in 1975 by Vivek Sehgal and his late mother Swaran Lata Sehgal. The company moved from silver trading to electrical wiring, with auto components soon to follow when Maruti Suzki kickstarted the growth of automobiles in the country. Apart from Maruti Suzuki, it now works with clients like Volkswagen, Mercedes, Audi, BMW and Maruti Suzuki.

Diverse strategies

While Motherson targets making full cars, other auto ancillary players pushed into retailing automobiles.

Murugappa Groups TI Clean Mobility, Greaves Cotton and Pinnacle Industries are among the companies which are trying their hands in the commercial and passenger vehicle segments.

Also Read | GST reset clouds Indias EV drive

While the move to become an auto seller from an auto component maker is debated, some auto component sectors have agreed that companies need to innovate and meet the requirements of customers.

Sunil Kaul, chief technology officer of the Anand Group, an auto components manufacturer, had earlier told Mint, In the longer term, those who develop their own technology and innovate, working closely with customers, and understanding as well as fulfilling their requirements, will be the component leaders in this space."
MUMBAI : The Singapore governments investment arm Temasek is considering investing in Balaji Wafers Pvt. Ltd, pressing ahead with its focus on food and snacking brands after investing in Haldirams and Rebel Foods.

A deal may value the Gujarat-based maker of chips, wafers, noodles and confectionery at 38,000-40,000 crore, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said, adding other private equity funds are also likely to show interest.

These are initial days and the company is engaging with prospective investors, including Temasek, that is betting big on this space," one of the three people said on condition of anonymity.

Also Read | Temasek-backed Haldiram plans southward push

Last year, Temasek acquired 10% stake in Haldirams for $1 billion. This was followed by Alpha Wave Global picking a 5% stake in the eponymous brand at the same valuation. Temasek also invested $180 million in Rebel Foods, which runs cloud kitchens and stores for brands such as Faasos, Behrouz Biryani and Oven Story Pizza.

The Haldirams deal has reset the valuation benchmark in the segment, and we will now see relatively smaller companies in the segment being able to access capital better," the second person added.

Currently, the intention of the promoters is to sell around 10% stake and unlock some value," the third person said, adding Balaji may raise 4,000 crore from the sale.

A Temasek spokesperson declined comment. Chandubhai Virani, one of the founders of Balaji Wafers, did not answer calls and messages.

The snack major was founded by the Virani brothersChandubhai, Bhikhubhai and Kanubhai. Its eight-member board includes the brothers, Bhikhubhai's son Keyur Virani, and director Sameer Chadha, besides Bhikhubhai's son Mihir Virani, Chandubhai's son Pranay Virani and Mansukhlal Bhanderi as independent directors, according to Tracxn.

The salty snacks manufacturer has a strong presence in central and west India, which generate more than 80% of its total revenue, primarily from Gujarat. The company also has a presence in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

Balaji Wafers saw steady growth in revenue and profitability in FY24. Its revenue rose from 5,009.5 crore in FY23 to 5,553.3 crore in FY24, marking an 11% year-on-year increase. Net profit rose from 409.4 crore in FY23 to 578.8 crore in FY24, a 41% jump.

Investment banking firm Intensive Fiscal Services, which has expertise in the snacks and namkeen segment, is advising the company on the fund-raise, the person said. In the past, Intensive has advised companies such as Bikaji Snacks, Haldirams Gopal Namkeen and Cookie Man, the person added. DK Surana, chairman and managing director of Intensive Fiscal, did not respond to queries.

Also Read | Cloudnine Hospitals leads race to buy ART Fertility for $400 mn

As per a January report by research firm IMARC Group, India's snacks market size reached 42,694.9 crore in 2023. The group expects the market to reach 95,521.8 crore by 2032, expanding at a compounded annual growth rate of 9.08% during 2024-2032.

Increasing urbanization, along with rising disposable incomes and changing lifestyles, are driving the growth of India snacks market. In line with this, the growing young population and the influence of western eating habits are boosting the demand for convenient ready to eat snack options across various demographics is driving the India snacks market growth," IMARC report said.
Americans are marking 24 years since the September 11, 2001, terror attacks with ceremonies, volunteer work, and moments of silence. Families of victims, survivors, political leaders, and ordinary citizens are gathering in New York, at the Pentagon in Virginia, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to honor the nearly 3,000 people killed that day.

Loved ones of those lost continue to carry their grief. Even 24 years later, its heart wrenching, said Jennifer Nilsen, whose husband Troy worked at Cantor Fitzgerald on the 103rd floor of the World Trade Center. It feels the same way every year.

A day of national mourning At Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan, relatives will again read aloud the names of the victims. Moments of silence will mark the exact times the hijacked planes struck the twin towers and when the buildings collapsed. Similar ceremonies are being held at the Pentagon, where 184 people were killed, and at Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where passengers of United Flight 93 fought back against hijackers, forcing the plane down in a field.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are attending the Pentagon ceremony, while Vice President JD Vance is visiting the family of slain activist Charlie Kirk in Utah before traveling to New York later this week.

President Trump and the First Lady at Observance event

What is 9/11? 9/11 refers to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, carried out by the extremist group al-Qaida. On that morning, 19 terrorists hijacked four passenger airplanes and launched coordinated suicide attacks.

Two planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, causing the buildings to collapse.

One plane hit the Pentagon, the headquarters of the US Department of Defense, in Virginia.

The fourth plane, United Flight 93, was headed toward Washington, D.C., but passengers fought back. It crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, preventing even greater loss of life.

What happened on September 11, 2001: On the morning of September 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaida terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes and used them as weapons in a coordinated assault on the United States.

8:46 a.m. (ET): American Airlines Flight 11, from Boston to Los Angeles, crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

9:03 a.m.: United Airlines Flight 175, also from Boston to Los Angeles, struck the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

9:37 a.m.: American Airlines Flight 77, from Washington D.C. to Los Angeles, was flown into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.

10:03 a.m.: United Airlines Flight 93, from Newark to San Francisco, crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew fought the hijackers, preventing them from reaching their target in Washington, D.C. (believed to be either the U.S. Capitol or the White House).

The destruction Both towers of the World Trade Center collapsed within two hours, sending a massive cloud of toxic dust across Lower Manhattan.

The Pentagon sustained heavy damage, with part of its western side destroyed.

The crash of Flight 93 killed all onboard but likely saved hundreds more by stopping the plane from hitting its intended target.

The toll In all, 2,977 people were killed, not including the hijackers. Victims included business executives, airline passengers, service members, first responders, and ordinary citizens from more than 90 countries.

The attacks reshaped US and global history. Washington declared a Global War on Terror, launching wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Domestically, the Department of Homeland Security was created, air travel security was overhauled, and intelligence agencies expanded their surveillance powers.

Ongoing struggles Two decades later, the health impact of 9/11 continues. More than 140,000 survivors and first responders are still enrolled in health monitoring programs for conditions linked to toxic dust and debris from Ground Zero.

Meanwhile, the man accused of masterminding the attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, remains in US custody at Guantanamo Bay but has yet to face trial.

A day of service Beyond mourning, the anniversary is also marked as a national day of service. Volunteers across the country are taking part in food drives, blood donations, and community cleanups, embodying the spirit of unity that followed the tragedy.
Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organisation Turning Point USA, was fatally shot on Wednesday (September 10) while speaking at an event at a Utah college, officials said. He was 31.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called Charlie's killing a political assassination carried out from a rooftop. This is a dark day for our state. Its a tragic day for our nation," said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. "I want to be very clear. This is a political assassination," he said.

Here's what we know about Charlie Kirk's death:

How did Charlie Kirk die? Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University show Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans The American Comeback and Prove Me Wrong.

A single shot rings out and Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as a large volume of blood gushes from the left side of his neck.

Stunned spectators were heard gasping and screaming before people start to run away. Mint was able to confirm the videos were taken at Sorensen Center courtyard on the Utah Valley University campus.

Was Charlie Kirk's shooter caught? A person of interest was in custody Wednesday evening, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said, though no charges were immediately announced, the Associated Press reported.

Later, FBI Director Kash Patel said the subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. "Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency," he said.

Who shot Charlie Kirk? Shortly after Kirk's death, the name Michael Mallinson began circulating online as the alleged shooter.

The claim originated from an X (formerly Twitter) account Fox 11 Reno, which posted: Charlie Kirk shooter confirmed to be Michael Mallinson, a registered Democrat in the state of Utah, alongside a photo of an elderly man.

However, the account quickly retracted the statement, issuing a correction: CORRECTION: This man is actually Kevin Spitz of Washington, D.C. As of now, neither nameMichael Mallinson nor Kevin Spitzhas been confirmed by authorities. Mint has not been able to independently verify the identity of the suspected shooter.

Who was Charlie Kirk? He was a conservative activist and close ally of US President Donald Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters. 31-year-old Kirk was also the co-founder and CEO of the youth organisation Turning Point USA.

How did Trump react? Charlie's death was announced on social media by Trump, who praised the 31-year-old as Great, and even Legendary.

No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie, Trump posted on his Truth Social account.

Also Read | Trump demands death penalty for Ukrainian womans killer on Charlotte Light Rail

How will US mourn Charlie Kirk's death? President Donald Trump ordered US flags flown at half-staff through the week to honour Charlie Kirk.
In the wake of Charlie Kirks death, many supporters have revisited Erika Frantzves social media, where her final post about her husband now stands as an unintentional tribute.

On September 5, Erika shared an Instagram post reflecting on the birth of their second child earlier this year. The post, titled Second Baby; Deeper Grace; 10 Things I Did Different This Postpartum, included a carousel of videos  one featuring Charlie lying on a portable memory foam cot Erika had bought for him.

Do you like your cot? Erika asked in the clip.

Loved the cot, Kirk replied with a smile. I have a great wife.

The lighthearted moment, once simply a sweet exchange between husband and wife, has now taken on heartbreaking significance as the last memory Erika shared of her husband publicly.

A devoted father of two The couple share two young children: a daughter born in 2022 and a son born in May 2024.

Just weeks before his death, Charlie Kirk, Donald Trump's ally and conservative activist, posted a photo of himself sitting on the beach with his daughter, tagging Erika in the post.

Happy birthday to our incredible daughter, he wrote. Teaching her to know God, alongside Erika, is the greatest privilege. Having a family will change your life in the best ways, so get married and have kids. You wont regret it.

Tragedy at Utah Valley University On September 10, Kirk was fatally shot during a debate event at Utah Valley University. He was 31 years old.

The gunman, positioned on a nearby rooftop, fired a single shot that killed the activist instantly. Erika and their children were in the audience when the tragedy unfolded.

A life built around debate Kirk rose to prominence after co-founding Turning Point USA at just 18 years old. The group became a powerful voice for conservative students on US campuses, frequently clashing with liberal-leaning peers over issues such as transgender identity, climate change, and family values.

His fiery debates made him a polarizing figure  admired by supporters and criticized by opponents. But away from the stage, he was remembered as a devoted husband and father.

Outpouring of support for Erika Frantzve In the wake of Charlie Kirks tragic death, social media has been flooded with messages of sympathy and prayers for his wife, Erika Frantzve, and their family. The messages reflect a wave of national support for Erika Frantzve as they mourn the loss of the conservative activist, underscoring the profound impact Kirk had across the country.

One user wrote, I am praying for you, you precious woman of God, that God would restore your husband to health. We love your family. You are not alone. Many love and support you. Most of all Almighty God.

Another added, I cant sleep, taking it as the Lord giving me opportunity to pray for you.

Several users expressed hope and faith for Kirks well-being. One remarked, Declaring the miraculous to take place for Charlie, in Jesus name. Praying for you and your precious family. May the Lord strengthen you. The nation is praying for your dear husband right now.

Others highlighted the national impact of Kirks loss. Praying for you Erika. Im so incredibly sorry for your loss. Charlie was loved nationwide. He will not be forgotten, a supporter said.

A more detailed post reflected both sorrow and outrage: The whole country is praying for you, angry for you, and standing with you. I am so sorry this world is filled with so much evil and hatred, but Charlie has always stood for so much more than we ever could. He spoke for whats right with unwavering faith, dignity and strength. These hate crimes need to be recognized as a terroristic threat to our loved ones & our country. God bless your family, and your children and may Charlies courage, dedication, empathy and compassion move with us as we fight for whats right against hatred in his honor.

Other users simply conveyed their heartfelt condolences: Praying for you maam. No one deserves what you and your family are going through. Im so sorry.

Also Read | Charlie Kirk to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously
The FBIs Salt Lake City office has released images of a person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on September 10.

Authorities are asking the public for help in identifying the individual, marking the first time law enforcement has released images of a suspect believed to be involved in Kirks death.

The images depict an individual dressed in a hat, sunglasses, and a long-sleeved black shirt.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for tips that help identify and apprehend those responsible for Charlie Kirks murder.

Authorities say the sniper, believed to be of college age, fired a single shot at Kirk in broad daylight before fleeing the scene. Law enforcement officials recovered a high-powered Mauser .30 caliber bolt-action rifle hidden in a wooded area near the campus, along a path they believe the shooter took while escaping. The weapon, along with ammunition, is undergoing forensic analysis.

Authorities described the suspect as blending in on the campus prior to the attack.

Initial detentions released Two individuals initially detained in connection with the shooting were released after authorities determined they were not involved.

While the shooters identity, motive, and whereabouts remain unknown, officials say they have tracked movements on campus leading up to the attack.

The shooting occurred during a Turning Point USA event at the Sorensen Center courtyard, where Kirk was answering questions about gun violence. Witnesses captured the moment on video, showing Kirk speaking into a microphone when a shot rang out, striking him in the neck. Spectators screamed and fled the area in panic.

Trump honors Kirk Trump announced he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nations highest civilian honor. Vance described Kirk as instrumental in organizing the 2024 Republican campaign and staffing Trumps second administration, calling him pivotal to the administrations success.
Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump, was shot and killed on Wednesday while responding to a question linked to a gun violence and mass shooting.

Emma Pitts, a local reporter who was an eyewitness to the event, told The Guardian, He was on the second question and it was regarding mass shootings and the person he was debating had asked about if he knew how many mass shootings had involved a transgender shooter, to which Kirk responded. Then he asked how many mass shootings there had been in total in the last couple of years, I believe."

Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years? the person asked. Kirk responded, Too many.

The questioner followed up: Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?

Pitts added, And then before he could even answer, we heard a gunshot, and we just saw Charlie Kirks neck turn to the side, and it appeared that he had been shot in the neck. There was blood, immediately a lot of blood.

.everyone immediately took to the ground. We were just trying to stay hidden. I dont know how quickly it was, probably within a minute, everyone started running away  Since then, the university has been completely evacuated, said Pitts.

Person held on suspicion of Charlie Kirks killing released Charlie Kirk, who was instrumental in influencing young Republican voters, was fatally shot during a Utah college event on Wednesday.

This is a dark day for our state. Its a tragic day for our nation," said Utah Governor Spencer Cox. "I want to be very clear, this is a political assassination.

A person taken into custody on suspicion of involvement in the assassination was later released, the FBI director, Director Kash Patel, informed.

"The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency," Patel posted on X.

Who was Charles Kirk? Charlie Kirk, an Illinois native who co-founded the conservative student group Turning Point USA at the age of 18 and went on to become a rising star in the Republican Party under Trump. He had just returned to the United States from an overseas speaking tour when he was shot to death on Wednesday. He was 31 years old.

Kirk had 5.3 million followers on his X account and drew an audience of more than 5,00,000 monthly listeners to podcasts of his radio programme, The Charlie Kirk Show. He also authored or contributed to several books, including Time for a Turning Point and The College Scam.

In addition to founding Turning Point USA in 2012 with conservative activist Bill Montgomery, Kirk launched Turning Point Action in 2019 as a non-profit advocacy group backing conservative candidates for office.
Charlie Kirk, a well-known right-wing activist, was shot dead while speaking at Utah Valley University on September 10. The shooting reportedly happened around midday during an outdoor event on campus.

A bullet struck the 31-year-old in the neck, and he died soon after. Police called it a targeted attack though the motive is still unclear. Authorities briefly held two suspects but later released them.

A large search is now underway for the gunman. Local officials described the killing as a political assassination. US President Donald Trump strongly condemned the attack.

Charlie Kirk often faced controversies during his career. The co-founder of Turning Point USA was known for using sharp and provocative language against liberal politicians, activists and institutions.

Critics accused him and his group of supporting or encouraging far-right voices though he denied any formal ties. He was also criticised for spreading misleading claims about protests, immigration and elections.

Also Read | Charlie Kirk assassination: How a retired banker was branded as the killer

Kirk frequently clashed with liberal media and commentators. He opposed diversity and inclusion measures.

Charlie Kirk has a massive social media following. He has 5.6 million followers on Twitter (now X) and 9.1 million on Instagram.

Social media reactions Social media has been vocal about Charlie Kirk since his assassination. Many users referred to his support of the Second Amendment and gun rights.

You reap what you sow. Galatians 6:7-9, wrote one user while another posted, Live by the sword, die by the sword.

I dont condone what happened because violence begets violence. But, this was my first thought live by the gun (and justify gun deaths so you can), die by the gun, commented another.

Another user wrote, He would be happy with the way he died. He would say, It is worth it.

Many others condoned his death even though they did not agree with him on his political views.

At least, he was willing to sacrifice himself for their beliefs. I was not a fan, but I dont think he deserved this, wrote one of them.

Another wrote, I hate violence. This kid got wrapped up in making money through hate speech. This outcome isn't surprising to many. Late stage capitalism will claim many more victims, I fear.

He supported the 2nd amendment and the right to bare arms against a tyrannical government. Not to murder people in broad daylight, posted another.

There were others who commented on Kirks impact.
China has pushed back against Washingtons proposed new visa limits on Chinese journalists in the US, one of many sour points in relations even as a fragile trade truce appears to be holding.

Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for Chinas embassy in Washington, called the proposal a discriminatory step, noting the 90-day limit for Chinese journalists compared to 240 days for others.

China has all along facilitated lawful reporting by foreign journalists, including those from the US, Liu told reporters on Tuesday local time in Washington. We do not want to see a new round of media warfare between the two countries and urge the US to refrain from taking this erroneous move.

His comments follow a proposal by the Trump administration last month to impose stricter visa limits on Chinese media workers as part of a broader push to curtail stays by foreign reporters and students. Lius remarks were earlier reported by the South China Morning Post.

The new rule, detailed in a Department of Homeland Security proposal, would limit visas for mainland Chinese journalists to 90 days, with the possibility of an extension. Journalists from other countries would face a 240-day limit, scrapping the current policy that allows them to stay as long as their assignment lasts.

US officials have long argued that they allow far more Chinese reporters into the US than the Chinese government allows American journalists. The latest proposal fits into Trumps broader immigration crackdown, which has seen the administration step up visa revocations, ban citizens from several countries from entering the US and expel thousands of undocumented migrants.

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Ukraine must prepare almost 18 GW of available capacity for heating season

Ukraine must prepare 17.6 GW of available capacity by the beginning of the autumn-winter period 2025/2026, Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk reported following the results of the meeting of the Anti-Crisis Energy Headquarters chaired by Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko in Zaporizhia on Thursday.

"Repair and restoration work is ongoing at energy facilities. We must prepare 17.6 GW of available capacity for the heating season loading," Hrynchuk wrote on her Facebook.

She noted that in terms of energy, preparations for the heating season are proceeding according to the established deadlines, and in some cases even ahead of schedule. In particular, according to her, distributed generation is actively developing.

"This year, companies have already commissioned 194.11 MW of new distributed generation capacities. Another 383.54 MW are planned by the end of the year," Hrynchuk noted.

She specified that energy companies and regions are implementing projects to install gas turbine and gas piston units with assistance from international partners, in particular, from the Energy Support Fund, UNDP, EBRD, JICA, the World Bank, etc.

The Minister of Energy indicated that all possible scenarios are being calculated in order to maximally prepare our energy system for the next winter.

"We continue to coordinate our actions with all state departments, institutions and local authorities to minimize any risks of power shortages and provide Ukrainians with heat, gas and light this winter," the minister emphasized
Colorado Shooting: A tragic incident unfolded on Wednesday afternoon at Evergreen High School when a student opened fire, injuring three classmates and leaving the campus in chaos. The shooting has shaken the quiet Colorado community, prompting a massive emergency response and federal involvement.

Also Read | Trump confirms troop deployment to hellhole Chicago amid rising crime concerns

What happened during the Evergreen school shooting? According to the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office, officers received the first emergency call at approximately 12:24 pm. local time. When deputies arrived, they found multiple students injured and quickly secured the scene.

Authorities confirmed that the suspected gunman of the Colorado school shooting, also a student at the school, used a revolver handgun to target fellow pupils. The sheriffs office stated that the suspect was engaged and neutralised shortly after the attack, though they did not clarify whether the injuries sustained by the shooter were self-inflicted.

This is the scariest thing you could imagine happening in a school, said Sheriffs Office spokesperson Jacki Kelley, speaking at a press briefing.

Colorado Shooting: How many people were injured? Three students are in critical condition and were rushed to St Anthony Hospital, according to a hospital representative. A fourth student was also taken to the hospital with unspecified injuries.

The suspected shooter of the Colorado school shooting was transported to a local medical facility under police supervision. Authorities have not disclosed the suspects age or gender, though Kelley hinted that the individual might be very young, remarking:

I dont know if our suspect is even old enough to drive.

Colorado Shooting: Is the school still under lockdown? Evergreen High School was immediately placed on lockdown following the shooting. Hundreds of armed officers swept through the campus room by room to ensure the threat was fully contained.

Later in the afternoon, officials confirmed the lockdown had been lifted, though investigations remain active. Police are now searching the suspects home and school locker after obtaining a warrant.

Also Read | Comedian Reginald Carroll killed in Mississippi shooting

Colorado Shooting: FBI responds as Kash Patel issues statement The Colorado school shooting has drawn a national response, with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) joining the investigation.

FBI Director Kash Patel issued a statement acknowledging the gravity of the situation:

The FBI is aware of the tragic events unfolding near Denver and is fully supporting local authorities to ensure the safety of everyone involved.

Colorado Shooting: Where are parents being reunited with their children? As part of safety measures, parents were instructed to gather at Bergen Meadow Elementary School, where students were being safely reunited with their families.

Officials have urged parents and community members to remain patient as authorities work to gather accurate information and provide updates.
A federal judge in Washington state has issued a nationwide block on a Trump administration directive that sought to prevent children in the US illegally from enrolling in Head Start, the federally funded preschool program.

The ruling comes after a coalition of 21 Democratic attorneys general successfully halted the policys implementation in their own states. With this new injunction, the policy is effectively on hold across the country.

Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), said the agency disagrees with the courts decisions and is evaluating next steps.

Background of the policy change In July, HHS proposed a reinterpretation of federal rules that would have disallowed immigrants in the country illegally from accessing certain social services, including Head Start and other community health programs.

These programs had been accessible under federal law established during President Bill Clintons administration.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. described the policy change as part of an effort to disincentivize illegal immigration by restricting access to federal benefits.

Judges ruling and concerns In issuing the preliminary injunction, Judge Ricardo Martinez emphasized the long-standing interpretation of eligibility rules: It also results in parents losing childcare, risking missed work, unemployment, forced dropouts, and inability to pay life expenses and support families.

The judge noted that the policy threatened access to services families rely upon and saw no justification for the abrupt change.

Impact on Head Start programs Head Start providers had not previously been required to screen applicants immigration status, a point plaintiffs argued could undermine trust in the program and reduce enrollment. Questions over whose status would be checked  the childs, a caregivers, or another household members  added to the potential confusion.

Ming-Qi Chu, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union representing the plaintiffs, said: This happened very abruptly with no transition plan in place. The policy changes threatened to lead to the disenrollment of more than 100,000 children from Head Start programs, which have historically played a large role in supporting immigrant families.

Significance of Head Start Established six decades ago as part of President Lyndon B. Johnsons War on Poverty, Head Start serves more than half a million low-income children nationwide. The program has endured disruptions over the years, including federal grant freezes and temporary closures early in President Trumps second term.
Ghana agreed to receive deportees from the US, joining a growing list of African nations accepting undocumented immigrants who are being expelled by American President Donald Trumps administration.

A first batch of 14 people, who arent Ghanaian, have been sent to the country, Ghanaian President John Mahama told reporters in the capital, Accra, on Wednesday. They include Nigerians and a Gambian national, he said, after the country agreed to only people from the West African region.

We were approached by the US to accept third-party nationals who were being removed from the US and we agreed with them that West African nationals were acceptable, Mahama said.

The agreement signals an effort to improve Ghanas relations with the US  its sixth-biggest trading partner  after the Trump administration imposed a 15% tariff on its goods and included Ghana on a list of 36 countries potentially facing a visa ban.

Trump has cracked down on undocumented migrants since returning to the White House in January and his administration has negotiated agreements to send them to countries other than their own.

The US government argues the people its deporting include dangerous criminals, but civil rights groups say the practice will have a greater impact on law-abiding noncitizens who are at risk of being sent to unfamiliar places with little, if any, recourse.

Rwanda, Eswatini and South Sudan are among other African nations that have agreed to accept third-party nationals deported from the US. Uganda has also reached a similar deal, al-Jazeera reported last month.

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A string of terrorist threats sent shockwaves through several Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the US on Thursday, forcing multiple of them, including the Alabama State University, among others into lockdown.

Alabama State University, Hampton University, Virginia State University, Southern University and A&M College, and Bethune-Cookman University  all locked down on Thursday, September 12, each of them citing potential threats against the campuses, reported USA Today.

Campus activities, classes cancelled Although the lockdown at Southern University was later lifted, all campus activities and classes were cancelled through the weekend, school officials announced on social media.

Also Read | USDA halts 1890 Scholars Program  What it means for HBCU students

Meanwhile, in Atlanta, Spelman College urged students and staff to avoid campus after a threat targeting nearby Clark Atlanta University. While the shelter-in-place order was eventually lifted, both schools boosted security as investigations continued, mentioned a report by USA Today.

What were the threats Alabama State University stated that it received terrorist threats, following which it decided to shut down campus operations as a precaution, reported USA Today.

Meanwhile Hampton University cancelled classes for Thursday and Friday, September 12 citing potential threats.

Also Read | Big win for Harvard as Trump administration to overturn funding cuts

Hampton University has received notice of a potential threat and has ceased all non-essential activity, effective immediately, the university said in a statement.

What are HBCUs? Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are colleges and universities in the United States that were established before 1964 primarily aimed at educating African Americans.

Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965 officially designated an HBCU as a school of higher learning that was accredited and established before 1964.

Also Read | NYC skyscraper shooting: Cornell graduate Julia Hyman named as latest victim

There are a total of 107 recognised HBCUs in the US as per the Department of Labor.

Threats in HBCUs The latest warnings come against the backdrop of repeated threats targeting HBCUs in recent years.
US Commerce Secretary Howards Lutnick on Thursday said that he believes that the United States will sort out a trade deal with India as soon as New Delhi stops buying Russian oil.

Lutnick made the comments during an interview with CNBC.

When asked on what trade issue with the US he was most focussed on, Lutnick mentioned India.

Well, we're going to sort out India, he said, adding that this will only be possible as soon as it stop purchase of Russian oil.

Lutnick's comments on India were notably positive as compared to recent weeks, after the secondary set of US tariffs on India were imposed on August 27. The US has imposed secondary tariffs on India at 25 per cent, citing its purchase of Russian oil. New Delhi now pays 50 per cent Trump tariffs on most of its goods exported to America.

India-US trade deal: First tranche by November? Howard Lutnick's comments on US-India trade deal comes at a time when relations between both the countries seem to be thawing after turning bitter over the past few months.

Earlier on Thursday, Commerce and Industry Minister Piysuh Goyal indicated that the first tranche of the agreement with the United States on a trade deal should be finalised by November 2025.

In February 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump together instructed us that the ministers of both sides should make a good agreement by November 2025, Goyal said at a press conference in Patna.

He said that US-India talks are being held in a good atmosphere.

The first part of that agreement, the first tranche, should be finalised by November 2025, and since March, discussions have been going on on this subject very seriously in a very good environment, progress is being made, and with the progress, both sides are satisfied, the Commerce Minister said.

On Wednesday, Piyush Goyal had said that India is in 'active dialogue' with the United States for a trade agreement.

These remarks follow the announcement by Donald Trump that there will be no difficulty for the two countries to come to a successful conclusion in trade talks and he looks forward to speaking with his "very good friend" Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the coming weeks.

In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, the US president said he was pleased to announce that India, and the United States of America, are continuing negotiations to address the Trade Barriers between our two Nations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday reacted warmly to Trump's positive assessment of trade talks between the two countries, expressing confidence that the ongoing negotiations will pave the way for unlocking the limitless potential of the partnership between them.
Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) confirmed on September 10 that it had fired Assistant Dean of Students Laura Sosh-Lightsy after she made social media remarks about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The university said the comments, which circulated widely online, were inappropriate and callous.

University Presidents statement In a statement, MTSU President Sidney McPhee said the remarks were inconsistent with the schools values.

An MTSU employee today offered inappropriate and callous comments on social media concerning the horrific and tragic murder of Charlie Kirk, McPhee said. The comments by this employee, who worked in a position of trust directly with students, were inconsistent with our values and have undermined the universitys credibility and reputation with our students, faculty, staff and the community at large. This employee has been fired effective immediately. We extend our deepest sympathies to the Kirk family.

Who is Laura Sosh-Lightsy? According to her LinkedIn profile, Sosh-Lightsy served as the assistant dean of students at MTSU, where she worked closely with students in academic and administrative matters. She had been part of the universitys student affairs division, a position that required trust and responsibility, which McPhee highlighted in his statement.

Backlash and political reaction Republican US Senator Marsha Blackburn, who is running for Tennessee governor, called out Sosh-Lightsys comments. Sharing screenshots of the posts on social media, Blackburn wrote: This person should be ashamed of her post. She should be removed from her position at MTSU.

Charlie Kirk's fatal shooting Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump and the co-founder of Turning Point USA, was shot dead on September 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University. His assassination sparked shock and condemnation nationwide, making Sosh-Lightsys remarks particularly sensitive.

Manhunt continues for Charlie Kirks killer as FBI seeks publics help Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump, was fatally shot while speaking at Utah Valley University on September 10.

As of Thursday morning (September 11), authorities said the suspect remains at large. However, investigators recovered a high-powered bolt-action rifle in nearby woods that they believe was used to fire the single fatal shot. Officials added that surveillance footage under review has provided additional details about a possible suspect.

The FBIs Salt Lake City field office released photos of a person of interest late Wednesday, urging the public to help identify the individual. We are asking for the publics help identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, the agency said in a post on X.

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, two people were briefly detained, including one who was interrogated by law enforcement. Both were later released after officials determined they were not connected to the attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday (September 11) reaffirmed Israels policy against the establishment of a Palestinian state, speaking at a ceremony marking a major settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. The event took place in Maale Adumim, east of Jerusalem.

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

We will safeguard our heritage, our land and our security We are going to double the city's population.

E1 settlement expansion project In August 2025, Israel greenlit a large settlement project in the occupied West Bank, a move widely criticized for jeopardizing the prospects of a future Palestinian state. The plan involves constructing approximately 3,400 homes on a highly sensitive area located between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement.

The controversial E1 project, located between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim, involves construction on roughly 12 square kilometers of land, long sought for Palestinian statehood. The initiative, stalled for years due to international opposition, received final approval from Israels Defence Ministry planning commission last month.

The project, including new roads and infrastructure upgrades, is estimated at nearly $1 billion, and could add thousands of housing units, effectively splitting the West Bank.

International response and two-state concerns The settlement expansion drew swift criticism from the international community. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that building on E1 would cleave the West Bank in two and threaten the viability of a contiguous Palestinian state.

Several Western governments, including Britain and France, have indicated they may formally recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations later this month if Israel fails to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza.

All of Israel's settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law.

Netanyahu defends Israeli strike in Qatar Netanyahu also addressed recent military operations, including an Israeli strike in Doha targeting Hamas leaders. He drew parallels between Hamas October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel and the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US.

We remember September 11 We also have a September 11. On that day, Islamist terrorists committed the worst savagery against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, Netanyahu said.

Yesterday, we acted along those lines. We went after the terrorist masterminds who committed the October 7 massacre.

Netanyahu warned Qatar and other nations sheltering terrorists: You either expel them or you bring them to justice. Because if you don't, we will.

The strike, which killed a Qatari security agent and five others but did not eliminate the targeted Hamas figures, drew criticism from Qatar and some Western allies, with US President Donald Trump stating he was very unhappy about every aspect of the operation.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has successfully facilitated the return of Munawar Khan from Kuwait via INTERPOL channels. Khan is a wanted individual in a CBI case involving forgery and cheating, ANI reported.

His extradition was coordinated by the International Police Cooperation Unit (IPCU) of the CBI, in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Kuwaits National Central Bureau (NCB). Munawar Khan, listed under a Red Notice, was brought back to India on 11 September 2025, CBI said in an official release.

Munawar Khan has been escorted by a team of the Kuwait Police and arrived at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad, from Kuwait. The custody of the subject was taken over by a team of CBI, STB, Chennai at the Airport on 11.09.2025, said the CBI.

CBI, as the National Central Bureau for INTERPOL in India, coordinates with all Law Enforcement Agencies in India through BHARATPOL for assistance via INTERPOL channels. More than 130 wanted criminals have been brought back to India in the last few years through coordination via INTERPOL channels.

Earlier on September 5, the CBI, in collaboration with Gujarat Police, Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs, successfully coordinated the return of wanted fugitive Harshit Babulal Jain from the United Arab Emirates.

According to the CBI, Harshit Babulal Jain is wanted by Gujarat Police in the case of tax evasion, illegal gambling and money laundering. Earlier, CBI got the Red Notice published against him through Interpol on August 9, 2023, on the request of the Gujarat Police.

Babulal Jain was deported from the UAE and was handed over to Gujarat Police at Ahmedabad International Airport, said the CBI.

(With inputs from ANI)
The Gen-Z group, which led the anti-government protests in Nepal, resulting in the collapse of the KP Sharma Oli government, has demanded Parliament dissolution and a Constitution overhaul. The demands have come just as the death toll from the two-day violent protests climbed to 34.

In a press meet in Kathmandu, the Gen-Z protesters underlined the need to find a solution to the protests through dialogue and cooperation. While the press meet was held, some of the Gen-Z representatives held discussions with President Ramchandra Paudel and Army Chief Ashok Raj Sigdel at the Army Headquarters to find a solution to the political crisis.

Diwakar Dangal, Amit Baniya and Junal Dangal - all representatives of the Gen Z group - were among those who spoke at the press meet.

What did the Gen-Z representatives say During the press meet, the Gen-Z representatives warned that the political parties should not use the protesters for their vested interests. This is purely a civilian movement, so dont try to play politics with this, one activist said.

There is a challenge in front of us to protect national sovereignty, unity, and maintain self-respect, Dangal said.

We all Nepalese should unite in this difficult situation to protect the welfare and interests of the Nepalese people.

Another activist said that Parliament must be dissolved and some amendments should be made to the Constitution too to reflect the will of the people.

"We dont intend to scrap the constitution, but we want some major amendments to include peoples concerns, he said.

Some of the activists expressed support for former Chief Justice Sushila Karki for the post of new Prime Minister, while others pitched for former CEO of Nepal Electricity Authority Kulman Ghising.

Another activist said they dont intend to assume leadership of the country, but rather become just a watchdog. We will not participate in the government, but rather we want to remain as a watchdog.

Speaking of the violence during the protests, the Gen-Z leaders said, We had called for a peaceful protest, but the political cadres caused the arson and then vandalised the infrastructure.

Meanwhile, as many as 34 people have died and over 1,000 were injured in the clashes with the security forces during the anti-corruption demonstrations across the country
Amid the Gen-Z protest, former Chief Justice of Nepal, Sushila Karki, who is poised to lead the country's interim government following the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, reflected fondly on her longstanding ties with India.

Sushila Karki, who described herself as a friend of India, said her years at BHU in Varanasi, where she completed her master's degree in political science in 1975, left a lasting impression.

I am very much impressed with Indian leaders Indian friends treat me as a sister," she told CNN-News18, adding, Main Modi ji ko namaskar karti hoon. I have a good impression of Modi ji.

Speaking to CNN-News18, the 71-year-old jurist recalled her time studying at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in the 1970s.

Sushila Karki made history after she became Nepal's first female Chief Justice, serving in the role from July 2016 to June 2017. She was appointed as an ad-hoc judge of the Supreme Court in January 2009 and became a permanent judge in 2010.

Chosen by Nepals Gen-Z-led protest movement to head the transitional administration, Karki expressed gratitude for the faith placed in her by the youth whose demonstrations ultimately led to Olis downfall. She said she felt humbled by their trust and the responsibility now entrusted to her, according to the report.

As reported by News18, recalling her university years, she said, I studied in BHU I have many friends in India. I still remember my teachers in BHU. The relationship with India is very good and it goes back many years. India has helped Nepal a lot. Indians always wish well for Nepal.

Wedged between India and China, Nepal has struggled with political and economic instability since protests led to the abolition of its monarchy in 2008.

It is highly condemnable to kill and injure hundreds without addressing the genuine demands of the youths. This is against the values of the peace-loving Nepali society, King Gyanendra, the last of Nepal's monarchs, said in a statement.

In a post on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to Nepal's citizens to maintain peace and order, while Beijing also said it hoped social order and national stability would be restored as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah 'Balen' has voiced his support for the proposal to appoint Karki as the head of an interim government.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Shah addressed the younger generation and the broader Nepalese public, stating that the country was entering an "unprecedented" moment in its history and urging citizens to act with maturity and responsibility.

"I fully support your proposal to lead this interim/electoral government by former Chief Justice Sushila Karki. I would like to sincerely respect your understanding, wisdom, and unity. This shows how mature you are," Shah wrote.

The protests began on September 8, 2025, in Kathmandu and other major cities, including Pokhara, Butwal, and Birgunj, after the government imposed a ban on major social media platforms, citing tax revenue and cybersecurity concerns.

In a post on X, the army said prohibitory orders imposing a curfew would remain in force until Thursday morning.

"Any demonstrations, vandalism, looting, arson, and attacks on individuals and property in the name of protest will be considered punishable crimes and strict action will be taken by security personnel," the post said.

Till now, 30 people have been killed and over 500 injured in clashes with security forces. Curfew was imposed in several cities, including Kathmandu, to control the situation. Sushila Karki made history as she became Nepal's first female Chief Justice, serving in the role from July 2016 to June 2017.

Protesters have been demanding an end to "institutionalised corruption and favouritism" in governance. They want the government to be more accountable and transparent in its decision-making processes.

It is highly condemnable to kill and injure hundreds without addressing the genuine demands of the youths.

Public frustration deepened further when the "Nepo Babies" trend on social media exposed the lavish lifestyles of politicians' children, highlighting the economic disparity between them and ordinary citizens.

(With inputs from agencies)
The next step after Ukraines official request to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new cooperation program to replace the four-year EFF program opened in March 2023 will be the cooperation of IMF staff with representatives of Kyiv on macroeconomic policies that will allow it to continue to maintain stability, finance critical expenditures, and restore debt sustainability under the new program, said Julie Kozack, Director of the IMF Communications Department.

The timeline for these discussions will be developed in the coming weeks as the team consults with the Ukrainian authorities, she said at a briefing at the fund on Thursday.

And with respect to the existing program, I don't have anything detailed for you right now, but I can say right now the focus is very much on moving to the new program, Kozack also noted.

As for some more specific issues, such as financing needs, she said, IMF staff are currently analyzing financing needs for the rest of 2025, 2026, and the medium-term.

The work that's underway is going to integrate, you know, proposed fiscal measures and a fiscal plan, which of course is also being discussed. Particular fiscal measures that are under discussion are the necessary prioritization of expenditures to an expenditure restraint, as well as revenue mobilization, she noted.

"So those discussions and that work is all underway, and of course, part of that discussion will include looking at, you know, what are the appropriate assumptions for regarding the potential timeframe for the war, and how can that best be incorporated into the macroeconomic framework and the financing needs. And of course, as part of the discussions, we'll also be looking very carefully at the appropriate financing, mix of financing, what is the amount of financing that the IMF can provide, and of course, a discussion with Ukraine's external donors about, you know, the necessary external financing, and in addition, what is the appropriate amount of domestic financing and revenue mobilization for Ukraine to provide," she noted.

"The way that we work with countries is when they request a program, in this case, Ukraine has requested a new program, our staff then engages in a discussion with the authorities to put together an appropriate set of policies. So from our side, we are very committed to working closely, continuing our close collaboration with the Ukrainian authorities to help them in the area of our mandate, which is maintaining economic and financial stability," the official summarized.
The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) has apprehended 60 inmates who broke out of Nepal jail during the violent Nepal protests on September 8 and 9, officials said on Thursday.

The inmates have been held at different checkposts of the India-Nepal border, including Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar, over the last two days.

All of them have been handed over to the local police and are being questioned, officials said.

Sashastra Seema Bal is responsible for guarding the 1,751 km-long unfenced India-Nepal front on India's eastern side. The security force also guards India's border with Bhutan.

The agency was on high alert after the violent Nepal protests that broke out earlier this week led to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's resignation.

According to a report by PTI quoting officials, two or three of those nabbed claim to be of Indian origin, and the fact is being ascertained.

The SSB functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). It has deployed about 50 battalions, or about 60,000 personnel, in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, and Sikkim, which share the front with Nepal.

Nepal Protests: 15,000 prisoners flee jail Over 15,000 inmates have broken out of more than two dozen jails in Nepal in the wake of the Gen Z protests that later turned into violence. Three inmates were killed in the clashes on Thursday with security personnel in jail.

With the deaths on Thursday, the total number of casualties among prisoners who died in clashes with security forces has increased to 8 since the violent Nepal protests erupted on Tuesday.

On Thursday morning, three inmates were killed and 13 others injured after a violent clash broke out between prisoners and security personnel at the Ramechhap district prison in Madhesh province, PTI reported, quoting a police source.

The jailbreaks began when youth protesters stormed multiple prison facilities, setting administrative buildings ablaze and forcing open prison gates. By Wednesday evening, preliminary reports confirmed that over 15,000 inmates had fled from more than 25 prisons, with only a fraction returning voluntarily or being rearrested, The Kathmandu Post reported.
Prince Harry has spoken about his long-awaited meeting with his father, King Charles III, marking their first face-to-face conversation in more than 19 months.

The Duke of Sussex, 40, arrived at Clarence House, the Kings London residence, on Wednesday (September 10) for what is described as a private tea. The meeting lasted nearly an hour and was the first time the two had met since February 2024, shortly after Charles revealed his cancer diagnosis.

Harrys reflection on the reunion At an Invictus Games event later that day, the Duke of Sussex when asked by a reporter about his father following the meeting, Harry said simply: Yes, hes great. Thank you.

Longstanding rift Notably absent from the gathering was Prince William, who has been estranged from his younger brother and Meghan Markle for years.

Harry previously admitted that strained ties had left him cut off from his father. In a May interview with the BBC, he said: My father wont speak to me because of this security stuff  but I would love reconciliation with my family. Theres no point in continuing to fight anymore. And life is precious.

I dont know how much longer my father has  but it would be nice to reconcile, he told the BBC earlier this year.

Past tensions The Duke has been outspoken about his challenges growing up within the monarchy, especially after stepping back from royal duties in 2020 and relocating to California with wife Meghan Markle. His memoir Spare and television interviews have only deepened tensions.

Of course some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book, Harry said earlier this year.

Tribute to Queen Elizabeth II Before the reunion, Harry visited St Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle to honor the late Queen Elizabeth II on the third anniversary of her death. He laid a wreath and flowers at her resting place, paying tribute to his grandmother.

A step toward reconciliation? Harrys brief but positive comments about his father offered a glimmer of hope for reconciliation.

The meeting comes as King Charles, 76, continues cancer treatment and as Harry balances his role as founder of the Invictus Games with ongoing tensions within the royal family.

Also Read | Prince Harry pledges $500,000 to support children injured in Gaza and Ukraine
After former chief justice Sushila Karki, Kulman Ghising has emerged as the frontrunner for Nepal's prime minister post. According to local reports, 'Gen Z' sources said in a statement that Kulman Ghising should lead the interim cabinet in Nepal.

Who is Kulman Ghising? Kulman Ghising, 54, is among the frontrunners for the role of Nepals interim Prime Minister. A former head of the countrys electricity board, he had gained widespread recognition for eliminating prolonged load-shedding in Kathmandu valley.

Born on November 25, 1970, in Bethan, Ramechhap, Ghising studied electrical engineering at the Regional Institute of Technology in Jamshedpur, India, and later at Pulchowk Engineering College in Nepal. He further pursued an MBA to bolster his leadership skills, the Economic Times reported.

In March 2025, the Nepal government had dismissed Kulman Ghising, the managing director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), from his position.

According to the Himalayan Times, Ghising had been at odds with Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Deepak Khadka, who was reportedly dissatisfied with the former's independent approach.

The government had first appointed him to the role on September 14, 2016, for a four-year term. Ghising was reappointed as NEA's managing director on August 11, 2021.

Amid the deadly protests, Ghising called for the formation of an interim government comprising individuals with clean reputations and the inclusion of Generation Z youth, along with the announcement of immediate elections.

Ghising's name was considered by the protesting Gen Z group to lead the interim government.

Other frontrunners for Nepal PM post Ever since KP Sharma Oli resigned as Nepal's Prime Minister, speculation has been rife about the leader of the nation, where deadly protests killed 30 people this week. Here are the frontrunners for Nepal PM:

Balendra Shah: Earlier, Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah's name emerged as the popular choice for PM. Shah, who is also a rapper and engineer, was Gen Z's "first priority" for the PM post. But he reportedly showed no interest in this process.

Also Read | Who is Balendra Shah? Kathmandu Mayor seen as frontrunner for Nepal PM post

Later, Shah backed Sushila Karki for the PM post.

Sushila Karki: Sources told the Himalayan Times that Gen Z protest leaders have finalised former Chief Justice Sushila Karki as their sole nominee for the post of interim Prime Minister.

However, in turn of events, local media cited GenZ representatives as saying that Sushila Karki is not suitable for being the prime minister -- both in terms of age and constitutionality.

Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balen Shah has also expressed support for Karki's candidacy, consolidating her position as the unified choice of the Gen Z movement, the local media reported.

Durga Prasai: Businessman Durga Prasai, who held talks with Army Chief Ashok Raj Sigdel at the military base, said that he is not interested in leadership. However, he said he is ready for any situation.
The killing of Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old father of two and a prominent political leader on the right, is another horrifying scene in a country that is heartsick of witnessing them. Kirk was appearing at a public event Wednesday in a courtyard on the campus of Utah Valley University when he was shot in the neck.

As we went to press, news reports said no suspect was in custody, and the killers identity remained unknown. A university spokesman had said the shooter fired from a building about 200 yards from Kirks speech. Given the pattern of such events, it would not be surprising to learn that the assassin was disturbed and mentally ill. Given Kirks celebrity as a MAGA movement leader, it would not be surprising to learn that the killer had a political motivation.

This is all the more tragic because Kirk built his movement, Turning Point USA, the old-fashioned way: through political debate. His method was to appear on college campuses and welcome all comers to take him on with questions and opposing points of view. He did this amid the height of cancel culture and the worst of screaming mobs on campus who wanted to shut down conservative speakers.

This is a now dangerous moment for the country, which could descend into a cycle of political violence that would be hard to arrest. President Trump survived two assassination attempts. In June two Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota were shot, one of whom was killed. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiros home was firebombed in April. Three years ago a contemplated assassin gave himself up outside Justice Brett Kavanaughs house. Rep. Steve Scalise was shot in 2017 and Rep. Gabby Giffords in 2011.

The perpetrators of these attacks range in the degree of their mental illness and delusion, but American society has steadily dismantled the civil and social guardrails that used to prevent such troubled minds from straying so disastrously from civilized social norms.

The rise of the internet instead means theres a content niche for almost everything, including obscene narratives in which Luigi Mangione is a folk hero for allegedly assassinating Brian Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two and a health-insurance CEO, on the New York street. What will social medias ghouls say about Kirk?

At the same time, the political rhetoric is at a pitch that could hardly be higher. Losing the next election means the end of America, each side says, and the political opposition is often portrayed as not merely profoundly wrong or mistaken but intentionally trying to destroy the country, shred the Constitution, institute fascist rule. The crazy rage on the political left is especially acute at the moment given Mr. Trumps polarizing Presidency.

To some, this is all part of the partisan game. Disturbed listeners are less capable of separating rhetoric from reality.

Political figures from both parties denounced the attack on Kirk Wednesday, as they should. But for Mr. Trump, while this is a moment of personal sadness, it is also an opportunity for leadership.

As the President, as a survivor of a near-assassination himself, and especially as Kirks political ally and friendhe can help the country rise above this madness. He can say that this is the moment when the descent into political violence must stop, not least in honor of Charlie Kirks willingness to win by debate, not a resort to thuggery or violence.
As a teenager growing up in Istanbul, I was lucky to be part of a generation that had democratic role models nearby. European countries such as Britain, France, Germany and Sweden fuelled our aspirations for prosperity and democracy, giving us hope for the future of our own imperfect polity. These countries experiences showed us that economic growth, social justice and political freedom were not only compatible but mutually reinforcing.

Where will todays youth look to find a similarly hopeful message? Liberal democracy once seemed destined to be the wave of the future. But now, democratic backsliding is a global phenomenon, with Donald Trumps America only the most visible and dramatic example.

Since the early 2010s, electoral autocraciesregimes that hold periodic elections but under pervasive repressionhave become the dominant form of government around the world. Nearly 220 million fewer people live under liberal democracy today than in 2012.

Moreover, electoral democraciesa form of regime that can pave the way for liberal democracy have also lost ground, governing 1.2 billion fewer people today than in 2012. These regimes have been replaced by electoral or outright autocracies, which now rule over 5.8 billion people (2.4 billion of whom have been added since 2012).

As a beacon of democracy, Europe no longer shines as brightly. The EU played a major role in anchoring democracy during Eastern Europes transition from socialism, with Czechia and Estonia becoming some of the highest-ranked liberal democracies in the world. But many others, like Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, have regressed and the EU has been powerless to do anything about it.

Slovakias prime minister Robert Fico recently joined Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and two dozen other authoritarian leaders in Beijing to help President Xi Jinping celebrate Chinese military prowess.

Also Read | Is our democracy headed in the right direction?

Leading European countries can rightly claim that their democracies have not taken as big a hit as Americas. But Europe today projects neither economic strength nor political cohesion. Its self-confidence seems to have hit rock bottom, as exemplified by how the EU has caved to Trumps tariff threats.

European leaders long hoped that integration would enhance the regions power and influence on the global stage. Instead, the EU seems to have turned into a permanent halfway house that fosters paralysis. Its institutions and processes discourage countries from acting boldly on their own, but lack the capacity to formulate and pursue a common vision.

Also Read | Mihir Sharma: Democracy can be fraught in a country without a headcount

While democratic Europe fails to project influence beyond its borders, those who do exercise power on the global stage are hardly role models. Few would have expected the US to take such a sharp authoritarian turn, yet Trump has transformed the country into a kind of rogue actor almost overnight. He has also made it easier for China to pose as a responsible nation and Xi has gladly donned the mantle of sovereign equality," international rule of law" and multilateralism."

But no one should be fooled about the nature of Chinas regime. Its economic achievements are not a reason to emulate its politics. China remains a highly authoritarian country where minorities are repressed and political opposition is forbidden. To find democratic bright spots, we must look in unexpected places. For example, Brazil and South Africa, two middle-income countries, share the rare distinction of having recently come to the brink of authoritarian collapse and then pulled back.

Also Read | Democracy could be the greatest casualty of Trumps war

Jacob Zumas tenure as president of South Africa between 2009 and 2018 was characterized by authoritarian populism and extensive corruption, and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro refused to accept electoral defeat and plotted a military coup in 2022. Yet, both were succeeded by leaders with solid democratic credentials: Cyril Ramaphosa in South Africa and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brazil.

What makes these successes extraordinary is that they occurred under circumstances that political scientists consider disadvantageous for democracy. Not only do South Africa and Brazil have deep ethnic divisions, they are among the most unequal countries in the world. Thinkers since Aristotle have argued that the absence of large gaps between rich and poor is a precondition to sustain democracy; but those two experiences paint a picture that is heartening for advocates of democracy.

There is good news elsewhere as well.

Late last year, when South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law for the first time since 1980, democratic forces and the parliament fought back. In the space of just weeks, Yoon was impeached and removed from office. Chile, too, has managed to remain a stable democracy since the end of General Augusto Pinochets dictatorship (1973-90).

Some of the most successful democracies outside Europe are small countries. Taiwan, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Mauritius and Botswana all receive high marks in the Economist Intelligence Units democracy rankings.

Perhaps our hopes for fanning the flames of democracy rest on these unlikely cases. Like everything else, democracy needs role models. Although the usual case studies are no longer relevant, there are still places that can inspire advocates of democracy. 2025/Project Syndicate

The author is a professor of international political economy at Harvard Kennedy School, and the author of Straight Talk on Trade: Ideas for a Sane World Economy.
Having slapped heavy tariffs on India, is US President Donald Trump trying to convince the EU to pile on extra pressure?

In a meeting of US and EU officials, as reported by the Financial Times, Trump asked the European bloc to hit India and China with 100% tariffs for the duos purchases of Russian oil, adding that the US would mirror" these moves.

Also Read | The EU neednt have yielded to the US on a trade deal

Although Indias trade talks with the EU have been progressing well, Trumps advice could spell trouble for us if Brussels buckles under its weight. As Natos internal dynamics have revealed lately, EU countries are too dependent on the US for their security to assert themselves boldly in global affairs beyond a point.

It is important, all the same, for the EU to draw a line on its economic interests, which would not be served by such arbitrarily punitive action.

Also Read | India steps up FTA talks with Qatar, EU as US tariff strains trade ties

Meanwhile, Trumps softened tone towards India, at least in public, has raised hopes of India-US ties improving. Perhaps its for EU leaders to impress upon Trump how badly alienating India would work out for the West.

Russias game has been to split and weaken Nato, and the US seems at risk of playing into Moscows hands. New Delhi has had no role whatsoever in this.
As the churn in the global order continues, Indian foreign policy too faces a moment of reckoning. Our external partnerships are getting scrutinized and re-evaluated. After decades of firing persistent complaints at the US, it is now the turn of Washington to target New Delhi. A pivotal relationship built over decades is being challenged by forces beyond Indias control but with the potential to do long-term damage.

Some lazy analysis has followed about this being a moment for India to pivot towards China and Russia. But, as was clear from the recent gathering of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, New Delhi would rather maintain distance from such a configuration even as bilateral engagements with each are put on a more robust footing.

In this age of all-round pragmatism, sloganeering should make way for practical outcomes. For a long time, India had been leveraging the global environment to build its domestic capabilitieseconomic, diplomatic and military.

Now, as the global environment turns hostile, New Delhi will have to double down on building itself internally. Hard power is back in vogue as the main currency of inter-state engagement and so nations need to keep their powder dry. The European nations that had planned on emerging as an empire of norms have been left to sit in front of a hectoring US president like school students.

China has tested India repeatedly along the borders in recent years and the Pakistani military establishment might feel that there is a new window of opportunity with Donald Trump seeking a bridge to Rawalpindi. Beijing is also testing us via Pakistan, so the present rapprochement with China is no guarantee of India-Pakistan stability.

The world is preoccupied with multiple challengesRussia is fighting its own war, Europe is languishing without any significant hard power, America is fighting its internal demons and Indias Indo-Pacific partners are trying to stand up for themselves. It is China that is consistently working to churn out innovative weapon systems, as it revealed during last weeks military parade. From AI-powered drones to hypersonic missiles, its defence industrial complex is busy providing a quantitative and qualitative ballast to its defence forces.

For India, this is no time to be boastful. We must put in place the operational capacity needed to create an architecture of deterrence that can withstand external challenges. Resting on the laurels of Operation Sindoor is not an option. Building military heft calls for patience, foresight, intellectual coherence and humility.

The Narendra Modi government has a fine track record on defence reforms. It needed a strong prime minister to tell the nations commanders that they cant work in silos. It required political will to shake up the edifice of inefficient defence public sector infrastructure. It required strategic foresight to start embedding the private sector and startups in the defence industrial ecosystem.

Modis announcement of Mission Sudarshan Chakra reflects a clear recognition of our emerging security challenges. It envisions a multilayered framework that combines advanced surveillance, cyber defence and physical infrastructure safeguards to address Indias evolving threat landscape.

Yet, as a nation, we are so used to being reactive on defence, responding to a border skirmish here and a terror threat there, that carving out a proactive policy response wont be easy. Regardless of government interventions, our defence policy debate is still stuck along predictable lines: defence versus development; off-the-shelf purchases; a civil-military disconnect; slow and inefficient modernization; resistance to the integration of services; overdependence on imports. These are all decades-old debates that we have been diffident in confronting.

While China talks less and implements, the argumentative India keeps on arguing with itself.

Also Read | Nitin Pai: Operation Sindoor leaves India better placed for the next round

It is painful to see how Indias debate on theatre commands has been resurrected after Operation Sindoor. After a decade-long debate, doubts still seem to exist. When Modi inaugurates the Combined Commanders Conference 2025 in Kolkata next week with the theme Year of Reforms: Transforming for the Future, he should remind the services that time is running out. Structural reforms within the military and a move towards civil-military fusion cannot be half baked.

One of our wisest leaders, P.V. Narasimha Rao, had suggested that not making a decision was also a decision. By not deciding on critical defence issues, we signal our strategic dithering to the world. We shouldnt be surprised then if we end up becoming a target.

The author is professor of international relations, Kings College London, and vice president for studies at Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi.
Allegations of cross-voting by the INDIA bloc members have surfaced after National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate CP Radhakrishnan was elected as the 15th Vice President, defeating Opposition candidate Justice (retd) B Sudershan Reddy on Tuesday. According to reports, opposition leaders have concluded that at least ten votes were lost due to cross-voting or invalid voting.

Radhakrishnan defeated Reddy by 152 votes in the Vice Presidential election. The NDA nominee received 452 first preference votes, whereas Justice Reddy received 300 first preference votes. Fifteen votes were considered invalid.

Also Read | 5 key takeaways from CP Radhakrishnans big win over Sudershan Reddy

A Hindustan Times report said that, based on internal discussions between the INDIC bloc parties, the Aam Admi Party, Shiv Sena (UBT), Samajwadi Party, NCP (Sharad Pawar), and JMM have lost votes. However, these conclusions are based on informal discussions, as it is impossible to detect how one MP has voted through secret ballots.

Congress Member of Parliament Manish Tewari on Wednesday responded to the alleged probability of cross-voting and said it deserves a systematic investigation by each constituent of the opposition alliance.

"If there was cross-voting, then it should be seriously investigated by each of the constituents of the INDIA Alliance. Cross-voting is an extremely serious matter. If at all, what you are saying is correct or what is appearing in the public space or is being speculated has an iota of truth in it, it deserves a systematic and clinical investigation," Tewari told ANI.

Tewari's remarks come after Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju today took a "conscience" swipe at the opposition over the probability of cross-voting by the INDIA bloc MPs in the recently concluded Vice Presidential election, where NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan emerged victorious.

Rijiju said that NDA and "all our friendly MPs" remain united.

"Special thanks to some MPs of- INDI Alliance who voted with 'Conscience' for NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan in the VP election. NDA and All our friendly MPs remain united. Congratulations to everyone on electing a humble & efficient man and a true patriot as India's new Vice President," Rijiju posted on X.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) General Secretary BL Santhosh claimed that the INDIA bloc candidate received 15 fewer votes than their total number.

"Voting happened through ballot papers & INDI Alliance got 15 votes less than their number. The INDI alliance leaders had campaigned for conscience vote. They got it in return," Santhosh posted on X.

Earlier on Tuesday, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the opposition's performance in the Vice Presidential election was "respectable," noting that its joint candidate Justice B Sudershan Reddy (retd) secured 40 per cent of the vote.

Ramesh contrasted the result with the 2022 Vice Presidential polls, when the Opposition's share was 26 per cent.

"The Opposition stood united for the Vice Presidential election. Its performance has undeniably been most respectable. Its joint candidate Justice (retd) B. Sudershan Reddy secured 40% of the vote. In 2022, the Opposition had received 26% of the vote in the Vice Presidential elections," Ramesh said in a post on X.

"The BJP's arithmetical victory is really both a moral and political defeat. The ideological battle continues undiminished," he added.

The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) abstained from voting in the Vice Presidential election, while Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) decided not to participate. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) announced that it would "boycott" the poll, given that people in Punjab are "upset and angry" over no help from the Centre and the state government. So, 14 members abstained from voting.

The Vice President's post has been vacant since 21 July 21, when Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned, citing health reasons.
President Donald Trump said incursions by Russian drones into Polish airspace could have been a mistake, but also expressed his frustration with an incident that has alarmed Warsaw and other NATO allies.

It could have been a mistake, OK? But regardless, Im not happy about anything having to do with that whole situation, Trump told reporters Thursday at the White House as he left for a trip to New York.

Poland has asked allies for additional air defense systems and counter-drone technology to better protect against Russian incursions following an incident early Wednesday when drones that crossed into its territory were shot down by NATO forces.

The incident occurred during Russias latest air campaign against Ukraine, raising a fresh test of Trumps willingness to take a tougher stance against Russian President Vladimir Putin in his bid to bring an end to the Kremlins war on Ukraine as well the US presidents commitment to a fellow NATO ally.

The drone incursions came a week after Trump hosted Polish President Karol Nawrocki at the White House and the two men spoke on Wednesday as Poland pressed allies for more air defense tools.

Warsaw has already received declarations from the Netherlands, Czech Republic, France and UK to send additional air defense equipment, Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said. NATO is also preparing defensive military measures in response to the incursion across the alliances eastern flank, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Wednesday marked the first time that a NATO member shot down military aircraft that strayed into its airspace since the start of Russias full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022. The government in Warsaw has been a staunch supporter of Ukraines efforts to defend itself from Russias invasion.

2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Information Technology (IT) innovation budgets in Indian hospitals are set to rise by 2025 per cent over the next 23 years, with nearly half of healthcare providers already allocating 2050 per cent of their spending to digital innovation, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)- EY HealthTech Survey 2025 has revealed.

The report, launched at the CII Hospital Tech 2025 Summit, highlights how automation is transforming patient experience, clinical outcomes, and data-driven decision-making.

Titled Unleashing digital momentum to shape the future of healthcareenabling automation to enforcing transformation, the report also flags the barriers of legacy systems, workforce readiness, and patient-centric delivery that hospitals must overcome to become future-ready.

Emerging trends driving digital investments The survey said healthcare providers are directing budgets where they see long-term capability gains when it comes to prioritising digital investments.

Six in ten hospitals plan to invest in IT capability building. Hardware upgrades and critical application enhancements fall lower on the priority list (10 per cent), while medium-priority areas include data management and cybersecurity, it said.

Evolving AI use cases in clinical areas Healthcare providers are also leaning into AI with a clear focus on enhancing visibility of clinical data and generating meaningful insights to assist doctors. Top priorities include AI for clinical documentation and data analysis (72 per cent), decision support systems (64 per cent) and imaging (60 per cent), according to the survey.

For India to unlock the full potential of HealthTech, collaboration across government, industry, and providers will be critical. The next wave of healthcare delivery will be defined by how quickly we can bridge these gaps and enable hospitals to scale innovation without compromising patient trust or data security. The CII-EY HealthTech Survey 2025 provides a timely roadmap for healthcare leaders navigating a fast-changing landscape, said Joy Chakraborthy, Chairman of CII HospiTech 2025.

Also Read | Construction permit reforms crucial for growth: CII

Ankur Dhandharia, PartnerHealthcare, EY Parthenon India, elaborated on how the survey highlighted the current state, hurdles, and ambition of Indias healthcare sector and made it clear that leaders have put in place scalable systems and are now prioritising digital investments to create a seamless patient journey and improve health outcomes.

"When it comes to AI and analytics adoption, there is a clear shift reflecting move away from pilots to practical, scalable use cases that enhance efficiency and drive data driven decision making, he said.

Among other findings, more than half (60 per cent) of healthcare service providers identify capability building and IT team upskilling as their biggest digital challenge, underscoring the sectors need for a more digitally fluent workforce.

Also Read | Fortis Heathcare's takeover by IHH halted after Supreme Court ruling

Equally pressing are difficulties in integrating data and driving adoption of business intelligence (BI) tools, flagged by 50 per cent of respondents.

While hardware and network infrastructure and data storage and management are rated as moderately challenging, nearly 60 per cent of respondents admit to ongoing struggles with data management.
Special forces of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (GUR) on Wednesday struck a ship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet near Novorossiysk.

"On September 10, 2025, in the Black Sea area, special forces of the GUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine tracked down and successfully attacked another expensive military target of the aggressor state of Russia - a ship of the MPSV07 multipurpose vessel project from the enemy Black Sea Fleet," GUR said on Telegram on Thursday.

As noted, the Russians put this ship into operation in 2015. Its cost is about $60 million. In total, the aggressor has four such ships.

"The ship of the MPSV07 project is equipped with diving complexes, remote-controlled devices, a side-scan sonar, and electronic warfare (EW) equipment. It can be used to survey the bottom. The ship's power is about 4 MW," the intelligence service said.

It is reported that at the time of the attack, the enemy ship was conducting electronic reconnaissance and patrolling the approaches to the Novorossiysk Bay, where the remnants of the enemy Black Sea Fleet are located.

"The GUR masters of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine delivered a well-aimed strike with a Ukrainian-made combat drone in the area of the control bridge, where, in particular, the ship's navigation and communication equipment is located. As a result of the strike, the EW equipment of the enemy ship was destroyed, and the ship was put out of action for expensive repairs," the GUR said.
I could really use an executive assistant right now. Between work and all the kid stuff that comes with a new school year, its hard to keep the calendar straight and the fridge stocked.

Trouble is, Im not an executive.

Some regular folks like me have decided not to let titles, or lack thereof, stop them from having EAs. Theyve hired their own to help manage professional and personal affairs, spending anywhere from $10 a month for an artificial-intelligence assistant to several thousand dollars a month for a part-time person.

They see it as an investment that can pay for itself in increased productivity and earnings, and a testament to the modern habit of overscheduling ourselves and our children.

They also say its worth every penny and makes them feel like bosses.

This is happening while Americas actual bosses are learning to check their own inboxesnot to mention their egosbecause having an assistant is a rarer perk than it used to be. The ranks of executive assistants plummeted from about 1.4 million in 2000 to 483,570 in 2023, according to federal data, leaving many managers without a coveted status symbol and timesaving aide.

Even though companies are cutting administrative roles and telling all but the most senior executives to fend for themselves, the rest of us can get a taste of the EA experience thanks to the next evolution of virtual assistants. Were all familiar with remote admins that cost-conscious businesses assign to support managers for, say, 20 hours a week. This new brand of EA is marketed directly to rank-and-file workers for as few as five hours a month.

The workplace is structured so that you have to hit a certain level within the organization to get help, but an assistant doesnt have to be a novelty," says Jess Little, director of operations at Coastal Life Real Estate in Massachusetts.

Her role doesnt come with an EA, so the mother of three got her own.

Talk to my assistant

Little uses an EA service called Sundays that primarily targets working parents with plans that cost $50 to $60 an hour for a human assistant. She started at 10 hours a month and found the help so valuable that she upped it to 25 hours.

She and her EA kick off each week with a video call to go over coming events and tasksbooking a bounce house for one of the kids birthday parties, for instance. Little, 35, delegates grocery shopping to her assistant, as well as phone calls to places like the pediatricians office. Her EA will patch her in if necessary, but Little appreciates saving precious minutes on hold.

Her assistant also helps manage Littles work calendar, orders printed materials for real-estate listings and drafts social-media posts.

There are limits to what someone who isnt employed by your company can do for you at work, she notes. Littles EA cant access the real-estate firms email or Slack channels. She suggests getting your employers blessing before bringing in a third party to help with your job.

Others who have hired executive assistants reserve the help for side hustles and personal things.

Stacey Champagnes day job is cybersecurity consulting for a federal contractor that, no surprise, wouldnt be cool with her passing tasks to an outsider. Separately, she is building a professional-development service for women, called Hacker in Heels, and pays for 15 hours of assistance a month.

Her EA sends emails to event speakers and books flights and hotels. The assistant recently helped order flowers for Champagnes sister-in-law, who just had a baby.

Champagne, 33, says having an EA allows her to maintain a semblance of a personal life while juggling a full-time job and a passion project. An assistant who liaises with her clients and their mentors also lends an air of professionalism.

It does provide some credibility to the brand to show its not just me tinkering in my basement," she says.

Robo helper

An extra set of hands sounds great, but bad-fit EAs can take more time to train and supervise than they save. Talk about a first-world problem, but Champagnes first assistant was a bust.

Jelynn Malone, chief brand officer of Mostra Coffee in San Diego, has likewise been frustrated by assistants human errors. Now she uses an artificial-intelligence service called Ohai with plans that cost about $10 to $30 a month.

One of Ohais top features is creating digital calendar entries out of unstructured dataan email attachment with a conference itinerary or a photo of that bake-sale flier stuffed in your childs backpack. Malone, 41, finds it more accurate than most people.

She also prompts her AI assistant to create meal plans and order the ingredients through Instacart.

Ohai Chief Executive Sheila Lirio Marcelo says an advantage of the service is a bot never protests that a request isnt in its job description.

In the Mad Men days, you could assign personal stuff to assistants, but thats not happening as much anymore," she says.

This is because executives who do have assistants increasingly share them with two or three other managers and can only assign work-related tasks.

Having your employer pay for an EA still sounds pretty nice. But the upside of footing the bill yourself is more control over your assistants time and, in turn, your own time, too.
Google has taken a dig at Apple soon after the company unveiled its new iPhone 17 series at the "Awe Dropping" event earlier this week. The company has released a new ad titled Generation Gap, where Google took shots at the iPhone for not having advanced AI features like the Pixel devices.

The ad is set on a chicken farm, where the iPhone is shown buried in corn and dressed as a carnival barker. The Pixel devices then greet the iPhone and taunt it about all the new things it could create with the help of Gemini.

The ad ends with the tagline "Ask more of your phone," along with a reminder that the new Pixel 10 series comes with a bundled one-year Gemini Pro subscription, which gives extended access to Gemini's latest model along with video and image generation.

This is not the first time that Google has taunted the iPhone. The tech giant has been running the Best Phones Forever campaign for a few months, where it has been trying to showcase the supposed superiority of the Pixel lineup compared to the iPhones.

The major criticism around the lack of AI features on the iPhone stems from Apple's patchy rollout of its Apple Intelligence features over the last year, with some features like the revamped Siri still not yet ready even after more than a year of announcement.

If recent reports are to be believed, Apple could use a Gemini model to at least power a part of the revamped Siri. The Cupertino-based company already uses ChatGPT to answer some of the more complex queries directed at Siri.

Samsung takes aim at Apple's new iPhones: Meanwhile, Samsung also poked fun at Apple after the iPhone event, with the Korean smartphone maker reminding the iPhone maker that it still hasn't managed to produce a foldable phone, even seven years after the first Samsung fold arrived.

The company drew attention to its 2022 post, which stated, Let us know when it folds.

#iCant believe this is still relevant, Samsung added as a caption while quoting the old post.
With a fire hose of misinformation surrounding the assassination of US right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, social media users have turned to AI chatbots for reliable updates -- only to encounter contradictory or inaccurate responses, further fueling online confusion.

The trend highlights how chatbots often generate confident responses, even when verified information is unavailable during fast-developing news events, energizing misinformation across platforms that have largely scaled back human fact-checking and content moderation.

A day after Kirk, a 31-year-old prominent ally of President Donald Trump, was fatally gunned down at a university in Utah, the X account of AI chatbot Perplexity falsely stated that the activist was never shot and was "still alive," according to the watchdog NewsGuard.

When posts containing an authentic video of Kirk being shot swirled online, the X account of Grok -- Elon Musk's AI chatbot -- stated that it was a satirical clip.

"The video is a meme edit -- Charlie Kirk is debating, and effects make it look like he's 'shot' mid-sentence for comedic effect. No actual harm; he's fine and active as ever," Grok wrote.

Grok also falsely claimed that a Utah-based registered Democrat named Michael Mallinson had been identified as the shooter, wrongly attributing the information to major news outlets such as CNN and the New York Times.

Mallinson, in reality a 77-year-old retired Canadian banker living in Toronto, said he was "shocked" by thousands of social media posts that labeled him the culprit.

Breaking news events often spark a frantic search for new information on social media, frequently leading to false conclusions that chatbots then regurgitate, contributing to further online chaos.

The tide of misinformation comes amid a volatile environment in the United States following Kirk's assassination, with many right-wing influencers from Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) political base calling for violence and "retribution" against the left.

The motives of the gunman involved in the shooting -- who remains at large -- are unknown.

- 'Liar's dividend' -

Meanwhile, some conspiracy theorists have baselessly claimed that the video showing Kirk being shot was AI-generated, asserting that the entire incident was staged.

The assertion underscores how the rise of cheap and widely available AI tools has given misinformation peddlers a handy incentive to cast doubt about the authenticity of real content -- a tactic researchers have dubbed as the "liar's dividend."

"We have analyzed several of the videos (of Kirk's shooting) circulating online and find no evidence of manipulation or tampering," said Hany Farid, the co-founder of GetReal Security and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

Farid also reported seeing some AI-generated videos.

"This is an example of how fake content can muddy the waters and in turn cast doubt on legitimate content," he said.

The falsehoods underline how facts are increasingly under assault in a misinformation-filled internet landscape, an issue exacerbated by public distrust of institutions and traditional media.

It has exposed an urgent need for stronger AI detection tools, experts say, as major tech platforms have largely weakened safeguards by reducing investment in human fact-checking.

Researchers say chatbots have previously made errors verifying information related to other crises such as the Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East, the recent India-Pakistan conflict and anti-immigration protests in Los Angeles.

A recent audit by NewsGuard found that 10 leading AI chatbots repeated false information on controversial news topics at nearly double the rate compared to one year ago.

"A key factor behind the increased fail rate is the growing propensity for chatbots to answer all inquiries, as opposed to refusing to answer certain prompts," NewsGuard said in a report last week.

"The Large Language Models (LLMs) now pull from real-time web searches -- sometimes deliberately seeded by vast networks of malign actors."

ac/jgc
In a bid to provide more flexibility to test and develop new tech, Republican Senator Ted Cruz on Wednesday introduced a new sandbox bill that would let AI companies apply for exemptions from federal regulations.

Cruz, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, while adressing subcommittee hearing, talked about how Congress can lower regulatory barriers for the US tech sector to provide an edge over China.

"A regulatory sandbox is not a free pass. People creating or using AI still have to follow the same laws as everyone else," Cruz said at the hearing.

How will AI 'sandbox' will help spur innovation? If the bill, relating to AI regulatory sandbox, is passed by the Congress, it will allow agencies that oversee federal regulations to consider applications from companies to be exempt from regulations for two years at a time

However, it will require companies to outline the potential safety and financial risks and how they would mitigate them.

This comes after major tech firms including OpenAI, Alphabet's Google and Meta Platforms have urged the Trump administration to lower regulatory barriers for AI development. The White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy responded saying it will gather public comment on what regulations pose hurdles to the industry.

Federal regulators oversee rules meant to ensure health data privacy, transportation safety, financial market stability and more.

Also Read | Siemens and SAP call for EU to revise its AI regulations - FAZ

How will the sandbox bil impact the AI regulations enacted by different states? Cruz's sandbox bill does not include a ban on state regulation, though the tech industry demanded for it and the White House noted it as a necessary step to boost innovation. Earlier, an attempt to include a 10-year freeze on state regulations in President Donald Trumps tax-and-spending package failed in the Senate, with lawmakers voting 99-1 against it in July.

Several US states have introduced their own AI regulations:

Some have made it illegal to use AI to create sexually explicit images of people without consent.

California bans unauthorized deepfakes in political ads and requires healthcare providers to inform patients when they are interacting with AI rather than a human.

Colorado, meanwhile, enacted a law last year to curb AI-driven discrimination in areas like jobs, housing, banking, and other key consumer decisions.

Also Read | UK Starts Drafting AI Regulations for Most Powerful Models

"These types of very anti-innovation regulations are a huge problem for our industry," OSTP director Michael Kratsios said at the hearing, adding that Congress should revisit the possibility of preempting state laws.
Why The global film industry has transformed into a money-making machine, where actors often walk away with jaw-dropping paychecks worth millions, sometimes even billions, thanks to their star power and the big budgets of films nowadays. It is no surprise that actors are among the highest taxpayers in several countries due to their multi-million-dollar incomes.

Hollywood star who said only 3 words but never acted, yet earned $15 million Talking about sky-high fees, especially in Hollywood, what makes this case extraordinary is that one actor earned an unbelievable pay cheque without even appearing on camera. With nothing more than three spoken words, the actor took home one of the most astonishing amounts. Here's why the makers even agreed to pay him the amount.

It is none other than actor Vin Diesel.

Vin Diesel as Groot Hollywood star Vin Diesel is best known as a part of the popular Fast & Furious franchise. He reportedly earned almost $47 million for a single instalment and amassed around $200 million overall from the series, reported Hindustan Times.

Beyond his action-hero image, Diesel also carved an identity in the hit Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since 2014, he has lent his voice to the beloved character Groot, beginning with Guardians of the Galaxy and continuing through its sequels and the blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, making the three-word role one of his most iconic.

Vin Diesel's earnings from MCU films Reports claimed that Vin Diesel bagged a staggering $13.5 million per film for voicing Groot in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. Later, director James Gunn dismissed the claims.

It is reportedly said that Diesels earnings for the role are somewhere between $1215 million, a whopping figure for a character whose vocabulary is limited and yet challenging for its own reasons.

Across the MCU films, Groots dialogue is almost exclusively I am Groot, delivered in countless variations of tone and emotion. However, the only exception came in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, when Diesel as Groot moved audiences with his dialogue-- We are Groot.

Why did Vin Diesel charge $15 million for the role of Groot Marvels decision to pay Diesel such a hefty sum is said to be not due to the length of his lines, but in the actors massive star power, which helped the character.

It is believed that Diesel recorded the single line-- I am Groot more than 1,000 times for his character throughout the films. He also recorded the same in at least 15 languages, including English, Russian, French, Spanish, Mandarin, Portuguese, Ukrainian, Hungarian, Japanese, Polish, Italian, Kazakh, Turkish, Hindi, and German, for the worldwide release of the film.

"My character's name is Groot, and he only says I am Groot, and again and again and again. It was very challenging because of that, " Vin Diesel said while appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon show.

The actor has starred in a total of five films as Groot, from 2014 to 2023.
Ricky Gervais is returning to Netflix to play a rude and opinionated cat in the upcoming animated series, Alley Cats, the streaming platform announced on Instagram. As per The Hollywood Reporter, Gervais is also the creator and director of the Netflix show, which will be released in 2026.

Ricky Gervais to make adult animation series comeback with Alley Cats Alley Cats - a new adult animated comedy series from the mind of Ricky Gervais, coming in 2026. Nine lives, zero f**ks, Netflix UK wrote on Instagram.

According to Netflix, Alley Cats is about the trials and tribulations that a group of feral British cats face as they look for companionship while ruminating about the struggles of everyday life.

The 6 x 15-minute series, which has been produced by Blink Industries and Gervais Derek Productions, will be packed with social commentary, as per the streaming giant. This is Gervais' first adult animation series since The Ricky Gervais Show, which ended 13 years ago.

Ricky Gervais on Netflixs Alley Cats Ricky Gervais opened up about his experience with Netflixs Alley Cats through a press release. I play a fat, lazy, rude, opinionated creature with fangs, whos not as smart or brave as he thinks he is, he was quoted as saying. So quite a stretch, the 64-year-old added.

Apart from Gervais, Diane Morgan, Tom Basden, and Kerry Godliman will lead the main cast of Netflixs Alley Cats, Deadline reported. The other cast members include Andrew Brooke, David Earl, Jo Hartley, Natalie Cassidy, and Tony Way.

Ricky Gervais voiced the fish Flippy in the animated movie Dog Man earlier this year.

FAQs What role does Ricky Gervais play in the upcoming Netflix animated series, Alley Cats? Ricky Gervais plays a lazy and opinionated cat in the upcoming Netflix animated series, Alley Cats.

When will Ricky Gervaiss Alley Cats come out on Netflix? Ricky Gervaiss Alley Cats will release on Netflix in 2026.

Which character did Ricky Gervais play in Dog Man? Ricky Gervais voiced the fish Flippy in Dog Man.
A Canadian man, Michael Mallinson, was left stunned when his daughter called to tell him that his photo was circulating online, falsely identifying him as the shooter of Charlie Kirk, the right-wing influencer and Donald Trump ally, who was shot dead during a Utah University event on Wednesday.

Mallinson, a 77-year-old retired banker and currently living in Canada, told The New York Times that thousands of posts circulating on social media claimed that he was a registered Democrat from Utah who had shot and killed Kirk.

Im just shocked by it, he said, adding, How quickly it can happen, how ones name and photo can get spread around quite quickly.

How did Mallinson go viral? The confusion seems to have stemmed from his striking resemblance to a man who was briefly taken into custody by police following the shooting.

In this case, the rumour started from an X account named Fox 11 Reno. The account has no connection to the real Fox affiliate in Nevada, which goes by a similar name. The account is fake and appears to exist mainly to drive traffic  and earn ad money  for its own website. Till 2024, the account had a different name and used to post only in Spanish.

Soon after, other X users picked up the false claim, wrongly quoting Fox as the source. Several replies to the post labelled Mallinson a far-left extremist and even called him pure evil.

The account later deleted its posts about the shooting.

Also Read | Kirk shooter spotted? Video shows rooftop sniper moments before shooting

A spokeswoman for Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns the Fox affiliate in Nevada, said, as reported by the NYT, that the account was impersonating the station and that they were trying to shut it down.

What have police said about tracking the shooter? Authorities have no suspect in custody for the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk after hours of confused statements from officials about the killing at the university in Utah.

"This shooting is still an active investigation," the Utah Department of Public Safety said in a statement, adding that it was working with the FBI, the Utah County Attorneys office, the Utah County Sheriffs office and local police departments.

After two suspects were detained and released, the department confirmed that there is an ongoing investigation and manhunt for the shooter.

Meanwhile, Utah authorities said, Charlie Kirk's shooter wore dark clothing and fired from a roof on campus some distance away.

Charlie Kirk, executive director of the Turning Point USA advocacy group, was speaking at an outdoor event before a crowd at Utah Valley University when a single shot was fired from a nearby building, according to local police. Utah Governor Spencer Cox described it as a political assassination.

At approximately 12:20 pm Mountain time, about 20 minutes after Charlie Kirk began speaking, a single shot was fired from a building about 200 yards away. A supporter of gun rights, he had just begun answering a question on the number of mass shooters in America over the last decade.
Champion snowboarder Shaun White and The Vampire Diaries fame Nina Dobrev have parted ways and called off their engagement after being together for nearly five years, People magazine reported.

White, 39, proposed to Dobrev, 36, in October last year and then gifted her a 5-carat diamond ring.

What went wrong between Shaun White and Nina Dobrev? An insider told the magazine that it was a mutual decision between the two stars to go their separate ways, but it was not an easy one.

The source added that the decision was made with love and a deep respect for one another.

As of now, the two of them have not given any statement in this regard.

Nina Dobrev unpins the engagement post Shaun White is a five-time Olympian, having won gold medals in three games in half-pipe snowboarding. Nina Dobrev is best known for her roles as Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce in The Vampire Diaries.

According to People, the two of them were last spotted together in Los Angeles on August 31. At that time, they were seen holding hands.

Recently, Dobrev was seen at the premiere of Eternity on September 7 during the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. Several eagle-eyed fans were quick to notice that she was not wearing her engagement ring at that time.

The actress has now unpinned the engagement post that had featured on top of her Instagram profile ever since Shaun White proposed to her in October last year.

How did Shaun White and Nina Dobrev meet? White and Dobrev first got in touch with each other at an awards show in 2012. However, the meeting was brief, and they got to know each other somewhere around 2019 after being roped in to speak at a Florida-based event organized by Tony Robbins.

In January 2022, White told the magazine that he actually didn't know anything about his partner when they met in 2019. But what fascinated him was multiple requests from staff members to take a picture with her.

Later on, the duo stayed together during the beginning of the COVID pandemic. White even shared several pictures of Dobrev giving him a haircut in May 2020.

In 2022, Dobrev remained present when White took part in his fifth and final Winter Olympics in Beijing.

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Last year, White is believed to have popped the question to her at a surprise dinner at New York City's The Golden Swan.

FAQs For how long were Shaun White and Nina Dobrev together? They have separated after dating each other for nearly five years.

When did Shaun White and Nina Dobrev get engaged? They announced their engagement in October 2024.
The United States is set to pay tribute to nearly 3,000 victims of the 9/11 which was one of the deadliest attacks in history. New York is set to mark twenty-four years on Thursday to the devastating al-Qaeda attacks of September 11, 2001. As part of the annual "Tribute in Lights" initiative various landmarks across New York City and beyond will illuminate in blue on September 11 night.

Honouring the lives that were tragically cut short in the tragedy, the Tribute in Lights tradition was organised in partnership with NYC Tourism + Conventions. This year's participants include some of New Yorks most iconic sites such as One World Trade Center, Rockefeller Center, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Grand Central Terminal and Moynihan Train Hall, among others.

When is to watch the 9/11 Tribute in Light? The installation will illuminate the night sky from dusk to dawn on September 11.

Key landmarks that will light up blue for 9/11 on the 24th anniversary include:

New York State Buildings 425 Park Avenue Albany International Airport Gateway Alfred E Smith State Office Building Bloomberg LP Empire Outlets Empire State Building Empire State Plaza Grand Central TerminalPershing Square Viaduct H Carl McCall SUNY Building Helmsley Building JFK Air Traffic Control Tower Lake Placid Olympic Center LGA East & West Parking Garage Facade LGA East Substation LGA Terminal C Headhouse Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Moynihan Train Hall MTA LIRREast End Gateway at Penn Station New York City Hall New York Comedy Club Niagara Falls The Oculus One Vanderbuilt One World Trade Center PAC NYC The Phoenix at Deno's Wonder Wheel Park, Coney Island Rockefeller Center RXR Realty Buildings State Education Building State FairgroundMain Gate & Expo Center SUMMIT Walkway over the Hudson State Historic Park Out-of-State Buildings Boston Chamber of Commerce (Boston, MA) Illuminate CLE (Cleveland, OH) Terminal Towers (Cleveland, OH) Bridges Bayonne Bridge Fairport Lift Bridge over the Erie Canal "Franklin D Roosevelt" Mid-Hudson Bridge Goethals Bridge Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge Kosciuszko Bridge

Also Read | US airports to drop shoe removal rule? TSA begins rolling back security measure
Photo: The New York Times

US President Donald Trump, speaking in the Oval Office, vowed to find those responsible for the murder of political activist Charlie Kirk.

"My administration will find everyone who facilitated this crime and other political violence, including the organizations that fund and support it, as well as those who persecute our judges, law enforcement officers and everyone else who maintains order in our country," he said.

The US president linked Kirk's death to his own shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, and other high-profile cases of violence, including the shooting of the head of UnitedHealthcare in New York in December and the shooting of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise in 2017, when he spoke out against "political violence by the radical left."

"This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism we are witnessing in our country today, and it must stop immediately. My administration will find every single person who facilitated this crime," Trump said.

Trump promised further action, announcing a broader plan to combat political violence. He said Americans and the media must "recognize that violence and murder are the tragic consequences of demonizing those you disagree with."

"I am filled with grief and anger at the horrific murder of Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus. Charlie inspired millions, and tonight, all who knew and loved him are united in shock and horror," he added.

American podcast host Charlie Kirk was reportedly shot during a speech on the campus of Valley University in Utah on the evening of September 10. Kirk was hospitalized in critical condition and Trump later announced his death.
UPDATE: All clear given in Cherokee Co., NC after suspicious package investigation
Photo: https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/

On the night of September 11, the Russian occupiers attacked the territory of Ukraine with 66 Shahed, Gerbera attack UAVs and other types of drones, the press service of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has said.

"According to preliminary data, as of 09:00, air defense systems shot down/suppressed 62 enemy Shahed, Gerbera attack UAVs and other types of drones in the north, south and east of the country," the message says.

In addition, four attack UAVs were hit at three locations.

The air attack was repelled by anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare and unmanned systems units, and mobile fire groups of the Defense Forces of Ukraine.
The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has ordered a Longford-based business, Cpf (Profiles) Ltd. to pay 7,500 compensation to a former employee, Raymond Nevin (the complainant) on the grounds of exposure in the workplace to the use of derogatory descriptions for members of the traveller community, including terms such as 'tinker', 'pikey', and 'itinerant'.



Mr Nevin brought two complaints against the company, which specialises in steel building products. The first matter, which fell under the Employment Equality Act 1998, Mr Nevin alleged that he had been discriminated against during both his interview and in his employment as a result of being a member of the Travelling community. He also alleged his hourly pay fell below the statutory minimum and sought adjudication on this under the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000. CpF disputed these allegations.

Read more: McGregor supporters contact Longford council seeking to nominate Notorious for president



The WRC heard that Mr Nevin attended an interview with the company on May 28, 2024 and commenced employment from May 30th as part of their sales team.



He told the WRC that he did not disclose his home address on his CV and when asked during his initial job interview with the managing director (MD) where he was from, he simply replied, Longford Town. When the MD inquired further, Mr Nevin said he was from Park Road to which the MD asked, What Nevin are you from the town, taxi Nevin?



Mr Nevin replied to the MD that he was not related to the taxi Nevins, and told the WRC it was his belief that such enquiries were for the purpose of distinguishing whether or not he was a Traveller.



Mr Nevin also recalled how after he began working with the company, he overheard the MD on a phone call on June 4, commenting on the number of Gardai outside Longford Courthouse, and had jokingly remarked, the pikeys mustve been acting up.



The WRC also heard how two days following this incident, Mr Nevin heard the MD saying on the phone, you will have to go to the tinkers for lead.



Mr Nevin recalled how he heard word itinerant being used on June 12, 2024.



In addition, he recalled how some employees queried whether he was related to certain people with the surname Nevin .

The commission was informed that Mr Nevin resigned from CpF on June 18, 2024.



During cross examination, he clarified he had submitted his resignation by text and that he had not stated he was a member of the Traveller community when resigning.



In responding to the claims, the MD stated that when he interviewed Mr Nevin for the job, he did not know he was a member of the Traveller community and that it made no difference to him. He concurred that while he had asked MrNevin who his parents were, he maintained he would have asked the same of any potential employee.



The MD disputed the interpretation of the question regarding the Taxi Nevins, and rejected claims that this particular line of questioning was with a view to establishing whether or not Mr Nevin was a member of the Traveller community, pointing out that there were a lot of Nevins in the area.



The MD considered Mr Nevin to be keen to get on and so he offered him the job.



In addressing the claims relating to the phone call on June 4, the MD stated that while he could not remember the phone call in question, he may have said the word pikey; that this was probable and that he was not denying it.



In relation to his alleged use of the word tinkers on June 6, the MD told the WRC he had no recollection of this or the alleged comment on June 12 and he would never insult a customer and if anything was said it was possibly a 'joke'.



The MD subsequently stated, we live in a society where these terms are used and accepted he himself had used such terminology. It shouldnt happen but it did, he said.



The WRC case file states that whilst Mr Nevin accepted that descriptions such as pikey and itinerant were not targeted at him directly, he said the language used had made him feel disheartened and it was unfair and horrendous discriminatory treatment of him.



Mr Nevin did not voice his objections as he preferred to keep his identity to himself as there was a fear factor of losing his job.



During the cross examination of Mr Nevin, the MD submitted that after he received his resignation text, he telephoned him to ask why he was handing in his notice, however, Mr Nevin claims this call never happened.



The MD told the WRC he had previously employed members of the Traveller community without any issues.



WRC adjudication officer, Anne McElduff said that Mr Nevin's background should not have been a factor in assessing his capability to perform the job.



Addressing the use of derogatory comments, Ms McElduff concluded that whilst the Complainant accepted such terminology was not directed towards him, I am persuaded by his evidence that its use left him feeling disheartened and discriminated against and therefore impacted upon him directly.

Read more: Juveniles among four arrested as Longford homes are searched following violent incident



She ordered CpF to pay 7,500 in compensation to Mr Nevin and review their selection processes, implement an equal opportunities policy, and provide staff training.



Ms. McElduff said Mr Nevin had not first requested a written statement of his average hourly rate of pay under Section 23 of the National Minimum Wage Act and she ruled that complaint was not well founded and dismissed it.
DISCLAIMER: I dread the thought of Conor McGregor as President of Ireland, but he should be allowed to run for the Aras

Very few people polarise opinion in Ireland more than MMA star Conor McGregor. He is one of the most recognisable Irish people worldwide, and has made no secret of his desire to become the next President of Ireland with his largely anti-immigration shtick finding an audience on social media. During a rant in the White House, where he was speaking on the invitation of US President Donald Trump for St Patrick's Day, McGregor said there is an illegal immigration racket in Ireland and that rural towns are being "overrun" with immigrants.

Announcing his intention to seek a nomination to run for the presidency, McGregor wrote: "To the esteemed citizens of Ireland and the Irish diaspora, I, Conor McGregor hereby declare my intention to seek the esteemed office of President of Ireland. The current constitutional framework however, presents a significant barrier to democratic participation.

"The existing regulations mandate that a candidate must secure nominations from either twenty members of the Oireachtas or four county councils to be eligible for the ballot. This system, while intended to ensure a degree of political influence among candidates, inadvertently restricts the direct voice of the Irish electorate.

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"In light of this, I propose a petition advocating for a modification of the nomination process to allow my name be included on the ballot. I contend that the citizens of Ireland, both at home and abroad, should have the unhindered right to determine the candidates who appear on the presidential ballot."

McGregor is right in that one thing is standing in his way and that's the Constitution. Despite reposting tweets about himself like, 'you dont vote charisma into office. It walks in and takes the mic,' his petition has so far attracted a paltry number of signatures. It seems he must go the old-fashioned route to get his name on the paper.

The council route is the same one taken successfully by the likes of Peter Casey, Mary Davis and Sean Gallagher in the last two Presidential elections. A motion to nominate a candidate is put to councillors who vote in favour or against. Majority rules and if you replicate that with four county councils, you're eligible to stand for election as President.

We have seen controversial candidates in other elections, most recently in the last General Election, when convicted criminal Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch narrowly missed out on a seat in Dublin Central. He attracted the fourth-highest number of first preference votes in a three-seater behind Mary Lou McDonald, Paschal Donohoe and Gary Gannon, all high-profile sitting TDs, including a Minister in Donohoe.

There were a host of other controversial names from the political fringes on the ballot papers of last year's local, European and general elections. Most of them picked up a handful of votes here and there as their online following failed to translate to real votes, but some won seats and have taken them up, as is their right. Given the voters the choice to accept or reject them is true democracy in action.

The process is that bit different for a Presidential election; it's more prohibitive, and rightly so. We shouldn't have dozens or hundreds of names on the ballot paper, but for some, the system does feel very closed-minded. People already in the so-called political establishment act as gatekeepers of democracy, deciding who is acceptable and unacceptable on behalf of the public they've been elected to serve.

Minister Darragh O'Brien recently said Conor McGregor "would not be fit to hold that office" with regard to the Presidency but that rhetoric is part of the problem. Arguing McGregor isn't palatable enough to go before the Irish people is like saying no one in a cafe should be allowed buy a cheese and pickle sandwich just because you don't like cheese and pickle sandwiches. The perceived elitist system is already being weaponised by those on the political margins, and it's an easy sell to their loyal followers. 'They won't let him run because they know he'll win.' That nonsense grows legs quicker than you think.

Perhaps paying too much heed to these people is wrong but there is a growing base of 'ordinary' people who are fed up with the political establishment too. Almost 60% of people in Ireland didn't vote for the governing parties of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael in the General Election. That's not to say the government formed after November's vote is undemocratic, but it's easy to see how that large cohort of people who didn't want that outcome can be sucked into the orbit of far left or far right politics, particularly online. It's in that online universe conspiracy theories grow like an insidious fungus.

Conor McGregor has painted himself as a man of the people; his courting of controversy is almost part of his brand and something supporters latch onto. Whether it's punching innocent people in pubs or being ordered to pay compensation in a civil rape trial; nothing seems to dim that aura in the eyes of ardent followers. To most people, they are abhorrent acts to have attached to your name, and would end most political careers, but then again, Trump happened in America - twice.

All that said, the solution is simple; let the people decide. Think of the two scenarios from now until the Presidential Election on October 24. One where McGregor fails to get the 20 Oireachtas or four council nominations and the Presidential Election goes ahead without him. His exclusion emboldens his supporters and other figures, who admittedly he has no control over, to use it to whip up support for their own offbeat ideology. Why give them more fuel for their fire?

The second scenario is Conor McGregor on the ballot paper and come what may. Could he win? It's highly unlikely. Then again, don't forget 'fans' nabbed selfies with McGregor as he turned up to court for assaulting a man in a Dublin pub in 2019. This is the level of fandom his crude-cut character attracts - but it's far from a majority. Canvass your friends and family and try to find one person who would vote for him.

Give McGregor all the opportunity in the world to crash and burn. Wouldn't it be glorious to see him so confidently put himself forward only to be resoundingly rejected by the Irish people?
US House of Representatives approves the defense budget for 2026, allocates $400 mln for Ukraine

Photo: Unsplash

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday, September 10, voted for a defense policy bill, The New York Times reports.

The $892.6 billion budget was supported by 231 congressmen, 196 opposed.

"Despite a groundswell of Republican opposition to providing military assistance to Ukraine, the defense policy bill would authorize $400 million for the Pentagons Ukraine security assistance initiative. And the House defeated a proposal from Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, to slash funding for the country, with Republicans and Democrats alike voting in opposition," the article says.

The lawmakers also added a requirement for the Pentagon to report to Congress if the administration plans to cancel or suspend military aid to Ukraine that has been approved by Congress.
Bostons preliminary municipal election on Tuesday didnt bring nearly as many voters out as the most recent election, but a significant number still made their voices heard.

About 21.8% of registered voters, or just over 93,000, cast a ballot in Tuesdays election, in which Mayor Michelle Wu topped the ticket for reelection in the Nov. 4 general election.

She faces Josh Kraft, a philanthropist and the son of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who received the second-highest number of votes on Tuesday.

The most recent election, by comparison, saw a total turnout of 60.44%. Generally, federal elections tend to attract more voters.

Tuesdays turnout was also below the number of voters who cast ballots in the 2021 preliminary election  the year Wu was first elected mayor. That year, 24.8% of voters cast a vote in the preliminary, followed by 32.7% in the November general election, according to historical data from the city.

However, unlike this year, in 2021, there was an open-seat race for the top office, after former Mayor Marty Walsh resigned to become U.S. Secretary of Labor in President Joe Bidens administration.

The last time an incumbent mayor ran for reelection was in 2017, when Walsh faced a challenge from four candidates, including then-City Councilor Tito Jackson, who received 29% of the vote, and Robert Cappucci, who garnered 6.7% of the preliminary vote. (Cappucci, one of the four mayoral candidates on Tuesdays ballot, earned 2.24% of the vote.)

In the 2017 preliminary election, only 56,403 voters, or 14.6% of those registered, cast a ballot. However, the turnout rose to 27.8% for the November general election, according to city data.

In this weeks election, Ward 19, which includes much of Jamaica Plain and parts of Roslindale, had the highest turnout with 35.38% of registered voters, or 6,559, casting a ballot. A close second for turnout was Ward 20, which includes Roslindale and West Roxbury, where 34.75% of registered voters, or 4,362, voted.

Those two wards also had the highest turnout in the preliminary in 2021, the year Wu was elected mayor. Ward 20 had the highest percentage that year, at 42.74%, followed by Ward 19 at 37.88%.

The two wards with the lowest turnout this year were Ward 15 with 13.61% and Ward 14 with 13.9%. Ward 15 is located in Dorchester, while Ward 14 includes parts of Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan. They were second- and third-lowest, respectively, in turnout for the 2021 preliminary election, with just under 19% each.

Wus home ward, Ward 18, saw 24.06% turnout this year, sixth-highest among the 22 wards. Kraft lives in Ward 3, which saw 21.8% turnout, putting it at eighth.

The full breakdown of voter turnout by ward is below.
An unconfirmed report of a shooting on the campus of UMass Boston drew a large police response on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. Trea Lavery

UPDATE: UMass Boston: No ongoing threat after unconfirmed report of shooting

School officials from the University of Massachusetts Boston are warning about a police incident on campus and are advising the public to avoid the area on Thursday afternoon.

At 5:11 p.m., the university reported the incident on campus was all clear.

There is no ongoing threat to the community, the university said in a statement.

The Boston Police Department responded to a report of shots fired in the area of 240 Morrissey Blvd. on the campus at about 3:40 p.m.

Multiple units responded and are actively investigating the building and surrounding area, a police spokesperson said at about 5 p.m. At this time, there has been no confirmation of shots fired and no confirmation of any individuals with firearms on campus.

Massachusetts State Police issued a statement stating they arrived at the campus due to an unconfirmed report of a shooting on campus.

The university put out a statement on X.com about an incident in or near the Residence Hall East Building.

UMass Boston Alert: Police incident in/near Residence Hall East Building. Avoid area. More information to come, the school wrote in a statement at about 3:40 p.m.

At 4:01 p.m., the university described the incident as a public safety threat.

A university spokesperson said the shooting remained unconfirmed at about 4:20 p.m.

UMass Boston students Shannon Mawn and Lydia Cathcart said they were watching the police activity from their dorm building around 4:30 p.m. when they were told to evacuate and come out of the building with their hands up.

It was scary, said Mawn, who was standing barefoot with a large group of students watching from across the street. We didnt even have time to put our shoes on.

Last week, a campus-wide shelter-in-place was issued at UMass Lowell in response to a report of an armed man on campus. Public safety officials said at the time it was never an active-shooter situation and there were no reports of shots for that incident.

The following day, police identified a boy who carried an airsoft replica gun that prompted the large law enforcement response. His name was not released and he was not arrested, police said.
A $5 side bet turned into a massive jackpot for a New England casino player on Sunday.

The lucky player was at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut playing Blackjack in Casino of the Earth when they hit the Super 4 Royal Flush Progressive Jackpot. The jackpot was worth $669,412.

The Super 4 Progressive side bet is offered on all Blackjack tables at Mohegan Sun and is triggered when the dealers hand is a Blackjack. The amount of the payout depends on the value and suit of both the players and dealers hands.

The player on Sunday, hit the top jackpot, which requires the four cards in the hand to be A, K, Q, and J of diamonds.

The day before, a Connecticut resident was playing on an IGT Whitney Houston slot machine at Mohegan Suns Casino of the Sky when they hit the grand progressive jackpot for $659,570.73.

The lucky guest was betting $50 per spin at the time the jackpot was won.

Mohegan Sun introduced four Whitney Houston slot machines in August 2024. The machines feature famous songs by the multi-platinum popstar such as I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) and So Emotional.

Overall, there are about 4,000 slot machines, including 22 new ones, and more than 300 table games at the Connecticut casino. There are two areas, Casino of the Sky and Casino of the Earth, that offer slot machines.

Players must be 21 years or older.

If youre looking to play casino games online, while Massachusetts doesnt have any legal online casinos right now, you can still sign up for sweepstakes casinos like Crown Coins and play to redeem for cash prizes.

In July, a New Hampshire couple walked away with a six-figure jackpot prize after betting $20 at Mohegan Sun.

The couple, identified as Samantha L. and Thomas S., were playing the slot machine game Huff N Even More Puff by Light & Wonder in Mohegan Suns Casino of the Sky when they won the jackpot. The prize was worth $131,186.64.

And about a week before, one of the largest jackpots ever won at Mohegan Sun was hit.

While playing on a Spanish 21 table in Casino of the Earth on July 9, the player made an optional $5 Bonus Spin Xtreme side bet. The bet ended in Triple Diamonds, which landed them the $2,018,742.30 jackpot.

Not only is this the biggest jackpot win at Mohegan Sun in 2025, but it also ranks among the top five largest table game payouts ever at Mohegan Sun, a press release from the casino stated.

Earlier this month, Mohegan Sun began the best place in the country to play slots, according to USA Today.

Experts narrowed down the list from over 1,000 casinos across the country to the top 20. In the list, Mohegan Sun was included.

Then the public had a chance to vote on their favorite.

These 20 casinos, nominated by a panel of experts, stand out for their exceptional slot offerings. From classic reels and video slots to cutting-edge machines with progressive jackpots, these casinos expansive selections are sure to keep the excitement going. High payout rates, enticing bonuses like free spins, and vibrant, comfortable slots floors make each of these casinos a must-visit for anyone who loves to play, USA Today wrote.

Mohegan Sun also placed second for best casino hotel and second for best casino outside Las Vegas.

For those who need help with responsible gaming, call the helpline at 1-800-327-5050 or go to GameSenseMA.com or ccpg.org.
A recently opened restaurant in a Boston suburb just received high praise from Yelp.

Plazita Mexico Tacos, which opened its Watertown location on Dec. 7, 2024, landed on Yelps list of the Top 25 Hot & New Latinx-owned eateries in the U.S.

The list identified businesses in the Latinx-owned category, and ranked them based on the volume and ratings of reviews given by Yelp Elite Squad members.

Plazita Mexican Tacos, which has a 4.6- out of 5-star review on Yelp, was the only restaurant in the Northeast to make the list.

Yelp said the eatery offers authentic Mexican recipes with homemade tortillas, fresh salsas and classic fillings like carnitas, lengua, al pastor, and more.

Plazita Mexico Tacos is owned by Miguel Anguel Sanchez Galeana and his wife, Caroline Stockbridge, according to a What Now Boston article from November 2024.

Sanchez, who grew up on a farm in Ixtapa Zihuatanejo and in Mexico City, established his restaurant to bring the simplicity yet incredible flavors of my home country to the people in and around Wakefield, he wrote on Yelp.

Plazita Mexico Tacos, which first opened in Wakefield in 2023, offers an array of tacos on freshly made tortillas  including their best-selling birria tacos that have inspired other dishes such as birria ramen, burritos and quesadillas. The eatery also has homemade tortillas and salsas desserts such as flan, arroz con leche and churros.

Each dish is a testament to our commitment to authenticity and taste, the restaurants website reads. At Plazita Mexico Tacos, we invite you to experience the rich culinary heritage of our family, brought to life in every dish we serve.

The address for Plazita Mexico Tacos in Watertown is 385 Main St. The location is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through Saturday.
Joshua Hubert, 43, who stands accused of kidnapping, rape and attempted murder in the 2017 Worcester bridge attack case, in Worcester Superior Court on Sept. 10, 2025. (Irene Rotondo/MassLive)

The Joshua Hubert trial in Worcester was derailed on Wednesday when new evidence from law enforcement raised questions about his whereabouts on the night prosecutors say a 7-year-old girl was raped and thrown from a bridge in an attempted murder.

Hubert, 43, faces several indictments in connection with the attempted murder and rape of a 7-year-old girl in Worcester in 2017, which are being combined into one case for the trial that began with opening statements on Monday. He is charged with two counts of attempted murder and two counts of the rape of a child, along with strangulation and kidnapping charges.

Prosecutors say Hubert  a childhood friend of the victims father  kidnapped the girl from her grandparents home after a party, then raped and strangled her in his car before throwing her from the Interstate 290 overpass into Lake Quinsigamond.

The girl survived and told police it was her dads friend Josh who had thrown her from the bridge.

Wednesday was supposed to be the third day of testimony, but jurors were sent home so the defense could review the new evidence.

Heres what we know about the case in the first four days of trial.

He wanted me dead

Now 15, the girl testified Monday that she survived that night by playing dead, and remembered Huberts face clearly. She said she even felt a strange relief falling from the bridge  because he couldnt hurt me anymore.

Within the first hour after opening statements on Monday, the girl took the stand, answering questions and positively identifying Hubert. MassLive does not name victims of rape.

She recounted what happened Aug. 27, 2017. It was hours after a family members birthday party at her grandparents Worcester home, and she had changed into a pink princess onesie to spend the night.

She recalled falling asleep on a recliner in the living room and suddenly being awoken, then carried outside. She thought it was her grandfather at first, but when she opened her eyes, she saw Hubert placing her into his car. He told her he was taking her to her parents house, she said.

Prosecutors say that was when Hubert kidnapped the girl at around 2:30 a.m. and put her into his Saturn Ion out front of the grandparents home.

The girl remembered Hubert driving her around the city for a long time. At one point, when she became confused why they werent at her parents yet, Hubert said, Oops, I guess were lost, she said.

Hubert pulled over and got in the backseat with the child at several points in the drive, prosecutors said, and at one point raped her.

I was thinking that he wanted me dead, she told the jury.

She recalled trying to kick at his chest with her feet and how she was strangled with both hands, which left bruises across her neck. He tied a rope around her neck and put a plastic shopping bag over her head, and put her in the trunk.

If I breathed really lightly and quietly, he would think that I was dead and everything would stop, she said.

Just before 4 a.m., prosecutors say Hubert stopped his car on the I-290 overpass at the Worcester-Shrewsbury line. He threw the child, wrapped in a blanket, over the bridge into Lake Quinsigamond.

The girl remembered falling for a really long time.

She remembered being scared but also slightly relieved when she landed in the water, because he couldnt hurt me anymore, she told the jury.

With the blanket shed been wrapped in now water-logged in her arms, the girl swam toward a house with an outside light on. She remembered climbing over a rock wall onto the property, and said it took nearly a full minute before someone came to the door  well past 4 a.m.

The child was taken to the hospital after police arrived, where she gave a detailed account of the night, positively identified Hubert through pictures and officers observed strangulation marks on her neck.

She remembered watching Doc McStuffins, an animated Disney Junior series, on the TV in the hospital room.

But as a 7-year-old, she didnt understand what rape was, she told the courtroom. She didnt tell anyone about that part until 2022, when she told her cousin first.

As the defense challenged her account Monday, the 15-year-old began crying, but she refused to stop answering.

No forensic link between crime and suspect

During opening statements on Monday, prosecutor Emily Meyers openly acknowledged the absence of physical evidence against Hubert.

You will hear that despite testing seat belts, seats of the defendants car and [her] clothing, there is no forensic link to the defendant, Meyers said.

There is, however, a forensic link to her father ... and you will hear from her father about why these sperm cells were found in his daughters clothes, she said.

Despite the lack of DNA evidence against Hubert, Meyers and fellow prosecutor David McShera pointed to surveillance footage of him cleaning his car the next morning in their opening statements, and said his girlfriend at the time said shed never seen him clean his car before.

They also said the jury would hear from the girl and review physical evidence collected at the time, including a ligature mark and broken capillaries on her face.

Over the past eight years, prosecutors have previously said there is surveillance footage that depicts Hubert driving around Worcester that night, making stops at a gas station and looking into the trunk of his car.

Prosecutors also previously said a witness saw a car parked on the I-290 bridge over Lake Quinsigamond in the early-morning hours of Aug. 27, 2017. The witness reported seeing a person throwing something off the bridge.

Parents explain DNA on underwear

The girls mother and biological father filed for divorce in 2020 after 12 years of marriage, and the mother testified that her relationship with her daughters father is tenuous.

During their testimonies on Monday and Tuesday, Huberts attorney, Kevin Larson, grilled both parents on how the fathers sperm cell DNA got onto their daughters underwear.

Do you know how the sperm got on the underwear? Larson asked the mother on Monday.

I cant say with 100% certainty, but our laundry hamper was in the bathroom, and everybodys clothes went into it, the mother replied.

The mother denied she put dirty underwear on her daughter, but said that the child had worn the same pair that morning and into the night.

She was wearing that pair after she changed into pajamas to sleep over at her grandparents after the party that August 2017 night, she said, and it was the pair on the childs body when she showed up soaking wet in pink pajamas on a strangers doorstep by Lake Quinsigamond.

While the girls father acknowledged his DNA was found on her underwear during his testimony, he gave several scenarios of how it couldve ended up there.

One was the same laundry theory his ex-wife gave, and that the mixed laundry would be all washed together.

Additionally, clothes would often be left on the floor of the familys bathroom, the father testified, where he had masturbated and had sex with the mother.

New evidence could lead to mistrial request

In a turn of events, Huberts attorney says new evidence supporting his clients innocence surfaced on Tuesday that had been withheld from him by the prosecution for years.

I received cellphone tower mapping of my clients phone that is exculpatory, Larson said Tuesday afternoon, meaning it is favorable to the defendant.

I need to look at it more carefully, figure out how its going to be handled ... figure out what to do about the fact that its just being given to me now, eight years after this event happened, considering that its exculpatory and not inculpatory, he said.

Larson said he only received the evidence during lunch on Tuesday, from a 2022 law enforcement report he hadnt seen before  a report created by government witness Mark Sanders, a Criminal Intelligence Analyst with NESPIN.

The report, requested by Worcester Police Det. Cristin Chabot, includes an animation that shows Huberts cellphone location on Aug. 27, 2017. Larson said the data places Hubert away from the I-290 bridge at the time the girl was thrown into the water.

Neither the report nor the animation was previously provided to the defense, despite being required in discovery, Larson said.

Though it appears the prosecutors currently handling the Hubert case  Emily Meyers and David McShera  were not aware of Sanders report, the prosecution team, specifically Detective Cristin Chatbot, has had this information since on or about January 20, 2022, Larson said.

This discovery will likely have a significant impact on the presentation of this case, Larsons motion read.

Because of the discovery, the jury was adjourned for the day just after 9 a.m. on Wednesday. This gives the defense time to consider the possibility of requesting a mistrial and restructure its case, the motion read.

The trial is expected to continue on Thursday morning.
Brian Walshe and one of his lawyers Kelli Porges arrives at the Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass. Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP) AP

Norfolk County prosecutors are urging a justice of the states highest court not to pause or delay Brian Walshes October trial to review his claims that police illegally obtained Google searches he made on his sons iPad.

Not long after prosecutors say Walshe killed his wife, Ana, he searched, how long before a body starts to smell, how long for someone to be missing to inheritance? and dismemberment and best ways to dispose of a body, among other terms. Walshe is charged with murder in connection with his wifes death. Her body has never been found.

Walshes lawyers filed motions to suppress the evidence pulled from his phone and his sons iPad, as well as evidence prosecutors obtained after several search warrants. They claim police investigating Walshe went beyond the scope of an agreement with his lawyer about searching the devices.

But the judge presiding over his trial, Diane Freniere, denied those motions, a setback for Walshes defense.

In the wake of the denial, Walshes lawyers petitioned a single justice of the Supreme Judicial Court to review the lower court judges decision  a process that would likely delay the start of his Oct. 20 trial.

Prosecutors urged the SJC to deny the appeal without reviewing it on its merits.

This defendant has failed to show how the administration of justice would be facilitated, or how he could be prejudiced more than any other defendant awaiting the ordinary course of appeal, Assistant Norfolk District Attorney Tracey Cusick wrote, noting that if Walshe is convicted, he could appeal the judges decision at that point.

Even on the merits, Walshes petition should be denied, prosecutors argued.

They urged the court to credit Frenieres finding that a reasonable person would have understood the search as including all data between Dec. 25, 2022 and Jan. 6, 2023. Freniere found that police investigators who testified at several hearings on the issue were more credible about the terms of the agreement than Walshes previous lawyer.

It is up to the lower court judge to make such determinations, Cusick wrote.

The weight and credibility to be given to oral testimony at the motion hearing is for the judge who had the opportunity to observe the witnesses, the filing reads.

Freniere also ruled that the discovery of the information on the devices was inevitable, and police would have been able to obtain search warrants for them and for Walshes home based on other evidence they collected.

There was ample probable cause to believe that the devices contained evidence of a crime, the filing reads.

Cusick points to the fact that by the time police began searching Walshes phone and his sons iPad, they had already determined he had misled investigators about his whereabouts following his wifes disappearance. Walshe told police he went to a CVS and Whole Foods in Swampscott, where his mother lived, but surveillance video showed he was not there when he claimed he was.

A justice of the SJC could decide to hear the appeal themselves, or send it to the full court or the Appeals Court for a determination. Or, they could decide to deny the request to appeal entirely.
A Wachusett Regional High School teacher accused of making inappropriate comments online following the assassination of Charlie Kirk has been placed on leave, according to the school district.

Wachusett Regional School District Superintendent James Reilly and School Committee Chair Lauren Salmon-Garrett announced Thursday that the teacher, who was not named, was placed on administrative leave and is not allowed on the schools campus while the district investigates the matter.

In addition to placing the teacher on leave, the district requested an increased police presence at their schools, according to the statement.

The Holden Police Department confirmed on Facebook that they were at the high school in Holden following reports of the post.

It was reported to us that a staff member at Wachusett Regional High School (WRHS) made social media comments in the wake of the tragic assassination of political commentator Charlie Kirk. These comments sparked heated debate, millions of views and brought into question the safety of school operations for both students and staff at WRHS. Holden police officers worked through the night in partnership with other agencies to ultimately determine that there were no credible threats of violence at WRHS, the statement reads. With this information, the police officers assigned to the 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. shift, as well as day-shift officers, were assigned to the school campus to ensure a safe and orderly drop off. We will continue to monitor the situation, and we will remain in contact with WRHS administration to provide them any public safety resources necessary.

The X page of LibsofTikTok, which is operated by the conservative social media user Chaya Raichik, posted on Wednesday an Instagram post that they claim the teacher made in the wake of Kirks passing.

The post reads: Just a reminder, were NOT offering sympathy.

Clicking the link to the post results in a page on Instagram that reads, Sorry, this page isnt available.

Attempts to reach the teacher named in the post were unsuccessful.

Kirk, a right-wing activist, author and media personality, was assassinated on Sept. 10 during a Prove Me Wrong debate in Utah.

On Thursday, federal officials released an image showing a person of interest in connection with the shooting.

Officials have described the shooter as college age and said they blended in with the crowd at Utah Valley University, where Kirk was shot and killed.

Following the assassination, investigators recovered a high-powered bolt-action rifle believed to be used in the shooting, according to Robert Bohls, special agent in charge of the F.B.I.s Salt Lake City office.

Republican and Democratic politicians have condemned the shooting of Kirk and denounced political violence.

No information is currently known about the assassins political ideology.
FBI Salt Lake City released two images of a "person of interest" in connection with the assassination of Charlie Kirk Wednesday afternoon. FBI Salt Lake City

Federal officials released two images Thursday morning showing a person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk on Wednesday afternoon at Utah Valley University.

The FBIs Salt Lake City branch did not name the person of interest, but asked anyone who could help identify them to call 1-800-CALL-FBI. Digital tips can also be submitted via an online portal.

Officials have described the shooter as college age and said they blended in with the crowd at Utah Valley University, where Kirk was speaking when he was shot and killed.

In the wake of the killing, investigators have recovered a high-powered bolt-action rifle believed to be used in the shooting, said Robert Bohls, special agent in charge of the F.B.I.s Salt Lake City office.

The rifle was found in a wooded area where the suspect fled after the shooting, he said during a Thursday morning press conference.

I understand there are a lot of questions about motive. I assure you that all leads and tips are being fully investigated, he said. The FBI has brought every resource to bear, and we will continue to do so throughout the course of this investigation.

We will relentlessly pursue this case and the shooter until we find him, Bohls continued.

FBI Salt Lake City released two images of a "person of interest" in connection with the shooting of Charlie Kirk in Utah Wednesday afternoon. FBI Salt Lake City

The suspect arrived at Utah Valley University around 11:52 a.m. Wednesday, several hours before Kirk was shot. Investigators have tracked his movements onto the campus, through stairwells up to a roof, then across the roof to a shooting location, said Beau Mason, the commissioner of Utahs Department of Public Safety.

From there, the suspect jumped off the building, fled off campus and into a neighborhood, he said.

Kirk, 31, was the co-founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, and became a prominent conservative figure, regularly appearing on cable TV, where he leaned into the culture wars and heaped praise on President Donald Trump.

Authorities did not immediately identify a motive behind the killing of Kirk, who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters. But the circumstances of the shooting drew renewed attention to an escalating threat of political violence in the United States that in the last several years has cut across the ideological spectrum. The assassination drew bipartisan condemnation, but a national reckoning over ways to prevent political grievances from manifesting as deadly violence seemed elusive.

Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University show Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans The American Comeback and Prove Me Wrong. A gunshot rings out, and Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators gasp and scream before people start running away.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Flags were lowered to half-staff Thursday to honor the victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks. However, the flags will continue to be at half staff through the weekend for another reason.

Gov. Maura Healey ordered the United States of America flag and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts flag be lowered to half-staff at all state buildings beginning Thursday until sunset on Sept. 14 due to the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Kirk, 31, was shot and killed during an event at a Utah university on Wednesday and the person responsible for the shooting remains at large as of Thursday morning.

Kirk was the co-founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, and became a prominent conservative figure, regularly appearing on cable TV, where he leaned into the culture wars and heaped praise on President Donald Trump.

After detaining and releasing two persons of interest on Wednesday, FBI officials said Thursday morning that they have identified the person believed to be responsible for the shooting.

The officials did not name the suspect or release an image, but confirmed the shooter was college age and blended in with the crowd at Utah Valley University, where Kirk was speaking when he was shot and killed.

Investigators have since recovered a high-powered bolt-action rifle believed to be used in the shooting, said Robert Bohls, special agent in charge of the F.B.I.s Salt Lake City office.

We will relentlessly pursue this case and the shooter until we find him, Bohls said.

Authorities did not immediately identify a motive behind the killing of Kirk, who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters. But the circumstances of the shooting drew renewed attention to an escalating threat of political violence in the United States that in the last several years has cut across the ideological spectrum. The assassination drew bipartisan condemnation, but a national reckoning over ways to prevent political grievances from manifesting as deadly violence seemed elusive.

Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University show Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans The American Comeback and Prove Me Wrong. A gunshot rings out, and Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators gasp and scream before people start running away.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) together with the State Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) have served a notice of suspicion to the former head of the regional branch Lviv Railway of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways), whose actions led to losses for the state company of over UAH 31 million.

"The official deliberately ignored the instructions of the management of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia and allowed a private legal entity to use rolling stock - private locomotives - on the tracks of the general network of the state company. This was done contrary to the requirements of the Rules for the Technical Operation of Railways of Ukraine. As a result of such actions, JSC Ukrzaliznytsia did not receive a freight payment in the amount of UAH 31.1 million, which significantly affected the financial interests of the state," the press service of the SBI reports.

The actions of the former head are qualified under Part 2 of Article 364 (abuse of official position, which caused grave consequences) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The sanction of the article provides for up to six years of imprisonment.
A former Boston Childrens Hospital anesthesiologist pleaded guilty Thursday to charges in connection with possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material.

Christopher Sheerer, 37, of Boston, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography and one count of sexual exploitation of children.

Sheerer was arrested and charged in July 2024 and has remained in federal custody since.

Sheerer was a fellow in pediatric cardiac anesthesiology at Boston Childrens Hospital and previously a fellow in pediatric anesthesiology at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, the charging document stated.

Boston Childrens Hospital did not immediately respond to comment Thursday afternoon.

In May 2024, a federal investigation began in Baltimore regarding a member of a group on an encrypted messaging app for dads, uncles, and babysitters that required users to post nude photos of children they knew under the age of 13 next to a handwritten sign with the groups name, according to the U.S. attorneys office. Sheerer was later identified as that user and court records state he posted a photo of a child he knew to gain access to the group.

After law enforcement searched Sheerers home in Boston, several chats were found on his phone which contained photos and videos appearing to be child sex abuse material involving children as young as infants. Several devices, including his phone, tablet and computer, were seized.

Forensic analysis showed that Sheerer was involved in dozens of chats with users of the encrypted application, several of which included the exchange of child sexual abuse material. Several images of the child known to Sheerer were also located.

The charge of distribution of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in prison, a mandatory minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of sexual exploitation of children provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

Sheerer has been scheduled sentencing on Dec. 18.
A former gang leader was granted parole in a unanimous decision by the Massachusetts Parole Board 30 years after he played a part in the killing of a 21-year-old man in Dorchester.

Phillip Jones was 20 when he ordered the fatal shooting of Jesse Shamele Baker, handing a loaded gun to the man who would eventually pull the trigger on Sept. 5, 1995. Jones was found guilty of being an accessory before the fact to Bakers killing and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

A Supreme Judicial Court decision early last year made Jones eligible for parole when the states highest court struck down sentences of life without parole for emerging adults  those between 18 and 20. Jones appeared before the board for an initial hearing on April 10.

On the day of the shooting, three men affiliated with the gang  referred to by the parole board only as a Security Threat Group  met Baker on the way to Navillus Terrace in Dorchester, where Jones lived. The men, including Corey Walker, who would eventually shoot Baker, confronted the 21-year-old about his involvement in the shooting of a member of the gang. Baker also owed Jones money at the time, according to the boards decision.

When the group reached Jones front porch, he joined in the argument, saying he always wanted to do something to Baker. Jones retrieved a loaded revolver, handed it to Walker, and told him to do what you got to do if Baker continued to argue. Walker hid the gun under his shirt.

Eventually, Jones nodded to Walker, essentially signaling him to shoot Baker. After the shooting, Baker fled the scene.

Jones later admitted to a witness that he gave Walker the gun, told him to kill Baker, and gave Walker the signal to shoot, according to the boards decision.

Walker was freed on parole last year, after being convicted of second-degree murder.

In its decision, the board found Jones had invested in his rehabilitation before becoming parole eligible. He has not been disciplined since 2008 and earned a GED while incarcerated. Jones also presents a strong vocational commitment through a barbership program.

One person spoke in support of Jones parole at his hearing, while a Suffolk County prosecutor opposed his release. By unanimous decision, the board found Jones showed a level of rehabilitation that would make his release compatible with the welfare of society.

As conditions of release, Jones must be supervised for drugs and alcohol, must have no contact with the victims family or with Walker, the co-defendant, and undergo mental health counseling for adjustment. Jones is also required to attend a residential program at Community Resources for Justice, which offers programming for people being released from prison.
FILE - President Donald Trump shakes hands with moderator Charlie Kirk, during a Generation Next White House forum at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Thursday, March 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) AP

Political leaders on both sides of the aisle in Massachusetts condemned the rising tide of political violence in the U.S. after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during an event at a Utah university on Wednesday.

Kirk, 31, was the co-founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, and became a prominent conservative figure, regularly appearing on cable TV, where he leaned into the culture wars and heaped praise on President Donald Trump.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat, wrote on X that she was holding the Kirk family in my heart and praying that the individual responsible is brought to justice.

Violence has no place in our politics  ever. What happened to Charlie Kirk is horrific and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms," Healey wrote. The growth of political violence in our country must be stopped.

The person responsible for the shooting remains at large. Federal, state and local authorities were searching for an unidentified shooter early Thursday and were working what they called multiple active crime scenes.

U.S. Rep Ayanna Pressley, D-7th District, noted that while she often disagreed with Kirk, she never lost sight of his humanity.

He was someones son. He was someones husband. He was a father to two young children, she wrote on X.

Mike Kennealey, a Republican candidate for governor, called the shooting a vile and evil act of political violence that has no place in the United States.

As a nation, we must come together and stand firm against senseless violence and the forces of evil that seek to divide us, he said in a statement.

Brian Shortsleeve, another candidate, noted Kirks role in getting young people to care about the nations future.

May God grant comfort to Charlies family and may we, as a nation, recommit ourselves to the principle that disagreements must never be settled with violence, Shortsleeve wrote on X.

Read more: Search continues for person who shot, killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk Thursday

The states two United States senators, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, both Democrats, each offered condemnations of the shooting on X.

Warren called the shooting nothing short of horrific.

Political violence has no place in our country  its never ok," Warren wrote.

Markey added, there must be no place for this heinous violence in America.

6 1 / 6 Charlie Kirk shooting Utah(Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)

Authorities did not immediately identify a motive behind the killing of Kirk, who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters. But the circumstances of the shooting drew renewed attention to an escalating threat of political violence in the United States that in the last several years has cut across the ideological spectrum. The assassination drew bipartisan condemnation, but a national reckoning over ways to prevent political grievances from manifesting as deadly violence seemed elusive.

Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University show Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans The American Comeback and Prove Me Wrong. A gunshot rings out, and Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators gasp and scream before people start running away.

This is a dark day for our state. Its a tragic day for our nation, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said. I want to be very clear, this is a political assassination.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Robert Harrington shows a photo of himself walking his daughter, Melissa Harrington-Hughes, down the aisle at her wedding in 2000. Harrington-Hughes was on the 101st floor of the North Tower at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Sept. 4, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Douglas Hook

WEST SPRINGFIELD  Someone recognized Robert Harrington the other day and asked him if he is the father of Melissa Harrington-Hughes.

Yes, he replied.

And he went on to recount how his daughter called him from the 101st floor of the North Tower at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Hell recount how he encouraged her to find a stairwell. Neither of them knew that stairwells were already destroyed.

I figured if anybody could get out of there, she could get out of there, he said Wednesday. I tell that story to everybody who wants to listen to it if I tell it. No one should forget it happened.

Robert Harrington shows a photo of his daughter, Melissa Harrington-Hughes, on her wedding day in 2000. Harrington-Hughes was on the 101st floor of the North Tower at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Sept. 4, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Douglas Hook

Remember so it doesnt happen again, Harrington said.

Friends, neighbors and townspeople will gather at 8:30 a.m. Thursday on the Town Common near the eternal flame memorial to Harrington-Hughes. The ceremony will occur at about the same time of day as the first plane hit the tower.

Harrington said he always joked with his daughter about being the first woman president. A Suffield Academy and Dickinson College graduate, she worked in the International Relations Division of the Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C., as a trade specialist with China. She went on to work at the Stanford Research Institute in California, where she also specialized in international relations. She also was the director of business development for Slam Dunk Networks in Redwood Shores, Calif.

Harrington-Hughes, then 31, was also able to call her husband that day. Asleep on the West Coast, he didnt pick up. Her voicemail has been included in documentaries.

On September 11, 2001, West Springfield native Melissa Harrington-Hughes called her father, Robert "Bob" Harrington, from the 101st floor of the North Tower at the World Trade Center. On West Springfields Town Common a 9/11 memorial stands with her name on the base. Sept. 10, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Douglas Hook

She was one of 2,996 people killed in the coordinated terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in the air over Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001.

Other area observances Thursday include:

 11 a.m. at the Public Safety Complex, 32 Payson Ave. in Easthampton.

 6 p.m. at the Memorial Monument, Riverfront Park in Springfield.

 10 a.m. at the Westfield Fire Department will hold its annual ceremony of reflection and remembrance in honor of fallen first responders at Fire Headquarters on Broad Street.

 11 a.m. Families of Westfield natives who fell victim to the attacks with a wreath laying at the 9/11 Monument, located at the head of North Elm Street, across from the Westwood Building at 94 North Elm St.

 6 p.m. Sons of Erin will observe 24th anniversary of the tragedy of Sept. 11 with a ceremony and reception to remember the Westfield victims, Tara Shea Creamer, Dan Trant and Brian Murphy. The Sons of Erin is located at 22 Williams St.
Kelsey Fitzsimmons, center, was released from jail Monday, months after being shot by a fellow North Andover police officer. Fitzsimmons is flanked by her lawyers, Timothy Bradl, left, and Martha Coakley. Charlie McKenna/MassLive

A North Andover police officer shot by a colleague in late June was released from jail Monday after months of medical treatment and several weeks behind bars. But by Thursday, 28-year-old Kelsey Fitzsimmons was back in jail after a judge vacated the terms of her release and deemed her dangerous.

The order came after lawyers for Fitzsimmons told an Essex Superior Court judge during a Thursday hearing that she could not complete required alcohol testing without severe pain due to her injuries from being shot.

As a condition of her release, Fitzsimmons was ordered to use a SCRAM alcohol testing device that required her to blow intensely into a tube several times each test, her lawyers wrote in a motion filed Wednesday.

But Fitzsimmons, who was shot in the chest and experienced severe lung, diaphragm and liver damage along with broken ribs ... continues to suffer pain and difficulty breathing, her lawyers wrote.

During the hearing, Timothy Bradl, a lawyer for Fitzsimmons, said she had been passing the alcohol tests but not without hours of pain and dizziness afterwards.

The machine shouldnt be a torture device for her, he said.

But Judge Kathleen McCarthy-Neyman said if Fitzsimmons cannot or will not undergo alcohol testing, that changes everything.

A probation officer told the judge that Fitzsimmons remained compliant with the terms of her alcohol monitoring despite failing to initially complete the test at least twice. If she had missed the test, that could represent noncompliance, he explained.

Bradl said Fitzsimmons could continue undergoing the required testing if the court tolerated her being in pain.

The court is not tolerating anything. Ms. Fitzsimmons is a defendant. In lieu of incarceration, my order was that she submit to SCRAM. If she cannot do that, I need to know that. Can she do that or not? McCarthy-Neyman said.

It is certainly not the courts intention, not the courts position to have Ms. Fitzsimmons in any pain at all, she added.

Bradl implored the judge to consider alternatives to the particular mode of testing she ordered. Fitzsimmons is not trying to use this to create a situation where she can go drink alcohol, he added.

McCarthy-Neyman briefly stepped off the bench to consider the evidence.

When she returned, she noted Fitzsimmons had moved to amend her conditions of release twice in three days. Neither time did she submit any medical evidence, McCarthy-Neyman said.

Just days ago, the court concluded that the condition of remaining alcohol free and submitting to SCRAM monitoring was necessary to ensure the safety of the community, she said. After reviewing everything, that conclusion remains unchanged, regardless of Fitzsimmons claimed physical limitations.

McCarthy-Neyman concluded that Fitzsimmons cannot abide by the condition of being monitored by SCRAM.

Without this condition, which ensures she does not consume any alcohol, the court cannot ensure the safety of ... the community, she said, ordering Fitzsimmons held without bail.

Bradl asked to address the court. When he was not given the opportunity to do so, he objected, asking McCarthy-Neyman to stay her order pending an appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court.

Fitzsimmons can be heard crying during a recording of the hearing obtained by MassLive.

There are other alternatives your honor can accomplish, Bradl is heard saying before the recording cuts out. Bradl has since filed a motion for reconsideration, according to the court docket.

Fitzsimmons is charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in connection with the incident on June 30, during which police say she pointed a gun at a fellow officer.

Through her lawyer, Fitzsimmons has denied doing so and said she tried to take her own life that night.

As she left the courthouse Monday, Fitzsimmons, flanked by her lawyers, said simply, The truth will come out.

On June 30, North Andover police officers arrived at Fitzsimmons home to serve her with a restraining order obtained earlier that day by her fiance.

In an affidavit, Fitzsimmons fiance said she had assaulted him and that he feared for the life of their infant son.

A hearing on the restraining order is slated for later this month.

While Fitzsimmons was packing up clothes for her son, police say she reached for a gun and attempted to fire it at one of the responding officers. She was shot once in the chest by the officer and taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she remained for more than a month.

At the bail hearing on Monday, Bradl asked McCarthy-Neyman to defer the order requiring Fitzsimmons to stay away from her son to the probate court.

The judge declined to do so, but said she would amend the order if needed.

Bradl has called the claims from Fitzsimmons fiance self-serving.

Her whole world was taken away from her because a guy went to the probate court ... filled out a piece of paper, full of self-serving allegations, and got her baby, he told reporters outside the courthouse. Kelsey is very committed to showing this court, showing the judge that shes fine, that shes in control, that shes not a danger. The only thing thats been aggravating her postpartum [depression] is having her baby taken away.

Were going to do everything we can to reunite Kelsey with her baby, Bradl added.
Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Point's visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP) AP

Update as of 8:15 p.m.: This story was updated to reflect new information about the subject in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk in Utah on Wednesday.

A subject in the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Wednesday was taken into custody, but was later released after being interrogated by police, FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on social media that evening.

Patel posted just after 6:20 p.m. that the subject had been taken into custody, thanking local and state police for partnering with the FBI in the investigation into the shooting.

But just before 8 p.m., the FBI director reshared his original post with an update stating that the subject had been released after an interrogation by law enforcement.

Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in (the) interest of transparency, Patel wrote.

The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency https://t.co/YXsG6YpFR5  FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) September 10, 2025

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox initially described the person in police custody as a person of interest in the shooting. Earlier, the governor described the shooting as a political assassination.

We are actively looking for anyone and everyone who has any information related to the shooting, he said.

Utah authorities said the shooter wore dark clothing and fired from a roof on the Orem-based campus some distance away.

Kirk, 31, was the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA. He was shot during a debate hosted by his nonprofit political group.

The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead, U.S. President Donald Trump, who Kirk had close ties with, posted to Truth Social.

No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you! the president added.

Videos posted to social media show Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone at Utah Valleys Sorensen Center courtyard sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans, The American Comeback and Prove Me Wrong.

In the videos, a single shot rings out, and Kirk reaches up with his hand as a large volume of blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators gasp and scream. Some run away.

Read more: Dave Portnoy reacts to Charlie Kirk being shot at Utah college event

Kirk was a popular figure in the American right-wing political scene and an ardent supporter of President Trump, but his confrontational debate style and at-times inflammatory rhetoric made him controversial among the wider American public. Even so, leaders from both political parties have publicly mourned his death.

The Utah Valley event had been met with divided opinions on campus. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures.

The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry and constructive dialogue.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this story.
Royal Caribbean is cancelling all of its stops to its private beach destination in Labadee, Haiti until at least May of 2026, according to TravelPulse.

The cruise line is avoiding the destination in the wake of increased incidents of violence and civil unrest in and around Haitis capital, Port-au-Prince.

Guests with trips scheduled to stop at the destination received a notice explaining itinerary changes from Haiti to other locations, such as Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos and Nassau, Bahamas according to a Royal Caribbean travel blog.

We have been monitoring the evolving situation in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and out of an abundance of caution, were cancelling our visits to Labadee through April 2026, the notice reads.

Haiti has been under a Level 4: Do Not Travel warning since March 2024, citing kidnapping, mob killings and violent protests.

In July, the advisory was updated to warn against a heightened terrorist threat.

There is risk of terrorist violence, including attacks and other violent gang activity in Haiti, the Department of State warns. There are gangs that are designated as terrorist organizations present in Haiti.

Royal Caribbean customers who purchased onshore excursions in Labadee will receive a refund to their SeaPass accounts in the form of onboard credit.
Authorities searched on Thursday for the shooter who with one gunshot from a distant rooftop killed conservative activist and Trump ally Charlie Kirk as he spoke at a Utah college event.

Whoever fired the gun on Wednesday then slipped away amid the chaos of screams and students fleeing the Utah Valley University campus. Federal, state and local authorities were searching for an unidentified shooter early Thursday and were working what they called multiple active crime scenes.

This is a dark day for our state. Its a tragic day for our nation, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said. I want to be very clear this is a political assassination.

Two people were detained Wednesday, but neither was determined to be connected to the shooting and both were released, Utah public safety officials said.

Authorities did not immediately identify a motive behind the killing of Kirk, who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters. But the circumstances of the shooting drew renewed attention to an escalating threat of political violence in the United States that in the last several years has cut across the ideological spectrum. The assassination drew bipartisan condemnation, but a national reckoning over ways to prevent political grievances from manifesting as deadly violence seemed elusive.

Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University show Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans The American Comeback and Prove Me Wrong. A gunshot rings out, and Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators gasp and scream before people start running away.

Kirk was taking questions about gun violence

Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political youth organization, Arizona-based Turning Point USA, at the Sorensen Center courtyard on campus. Immediately before the shooting, Kirk was taking questions from an audience member about mass shootings and gun violence.

Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years? the person asked. Kirk responded, Too many.

The questioner followed up: Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?

Counting or not counting gang violence? Kirk asked.

Then the shot rang out.

The shooter, who Cox pledged would be held accountable in a state with the death penalty, wore dark clothing and fired from a building roof some distance away.

Madison Lattin was watching only a few dozen feet from Kirks left when she heard the bullet hit Kirk.

Blood is falling and dripping down, and youre just like so scared, not just for him but your own safety, she said.

Lattin said she saw people drop to the ground in an eerie silence pierced immediately by cries. She ran while others splashed through decorative pools to get away. Some fell and were trampled in the stampede. People lost their shoes, backpacks, folding chairs and water bottles in the frenzy.

When Lattin later learned that Kirk had died, she wept, she said, describing him as a role model who had showed her how to be determined and fight for the truth.

Trump calls Kirk a martyr for truth

About 3,000 people were in attendance, according to a statement from the Utah Department of Public Safety. The university police department had six officers working the event, along with Kirks own security detail, authorities said.

Trump announced Kirks death on social media and praised the 31-year-old, who was co-founder and CEO of Turning Point, as Great, and even Legendary. Later Wednesday, he released a recorded video from the White House in which he called Kirk a martyr for truth and freedom and blamed the rhetoric of the radical left for the killing.

Utah Valley University said the campus was immediately evacuated after the shooting, with officers escorting people to safety. The campus will be closed until Monday.

Meanwhile, armed officers walked around the neighborhood bordering the campus, knocking on doors and asking for any information residents might have on the shooting. Helicopters buzzed overhead.

Wednesdays event, billed as the first stop on Kirks The American Comeback Tour, had generated a polarizing campus reaction. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures. The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.

Last week, Kirk posted on X images of news clips showing his visit was sparking controversy. He wrote, Whats going on in Utah?

Condemnation from across the political spectrum

The shooting drew swift condemnation across the political aisle as Democratic officials joined Trump, who ordered flags lowered to half-staff and issued a presidential proclamation, and Republican allies of Kirk in decrying the violence.

The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who last March hosted Kirk on his podcast, posted on X.

The murder of Charlie Kirk breaks my heart. My deepest sympathies are with his wife, two young children, and friends, said Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was wounded in a 2011 shooting in her Arizona district.

The Kirk shooting appeared poised to become part of a spike of political violence that has touched a range of ideologies and representatives of both major political parties. The attacks include the assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband at their house in June, the firebombing of a Colorado parade to demand Hamas release hostages and a fire set at the house of Pennsylvanias governor, who is Jewish, in April. The most notorious of these events is the shooting of Trump during a Pennsylvania campaign rally last year.

Former Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, who was at Wednesdays event, told the Fox News Channel that he didnt believe Kirk had enough security.

Turning Point was founded in suburban Chicago in 2012 by Kirk, then 18, and William Montgomery, a tea party activist, to proselytize on college campuses for low taxes and limited government. It was not an immediate success.

But Kirks zeal for confronting liberals in academia eventually won over an influential set of conservative financiers.

Despite early misgivings, Turning Point enthusiastically backed Trump after he clinched the GOP nomination in 2016. Kirk served as a personal aide to Donald Trump Jr., the presidents eldest son, during the general election campaign.

Soon, Kirk was a regular presence on cable TV, where he leaned into the culture wars and heaped praise on the then-president. Trump and his son were equally effusive and often spoke at Turning Point conferences.
After detaining and releasing two persons of interest on Wednesday following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, FBI officials said Thursday morning that they have identified the person believed to be responsible for the shooting.

The officials did not name the suspect or release an image, but confirmed the shooter was college age and blended in with the crowd at Utah Valley University, where Kirk was speaking when he was shot and killed. Investigators have since recovered a high-powered bolt-action rifle believed to be used in the shooting, said Robert Bohls, special agent in charge of the F.B.I.s Salt Lake City office.

The rifle was found in a wooded area where the suspect fled after the shooting, he said during a Thursday morning press conference.

I understand there are a lot of questions about motive. I assure you that all leads and tips are being fully investigated, he said. The FBI has brought every resource to bear, and we will continue to do so throughout the course of this investigation.

We will relentlessly pursue this case and the shooter until we find him, Bohls continued.

The suspect arrived at Utah Valley University around 11:52 a.m. Wednesday, several hours before Kirk was shot. Investigators have tracked his movements onto the campus, through stairwells up to a roof, then across the roof to a shooting location, said Beau Mason, the commissioner of Utahs Department of Public Safety.

From there, the suspect jumped off the building, fled off campus and into a neighborhood, he said.

We do have good video footage of this individual, Mason said. We are investing everything we have into this, and we will catch this individual.

Kirk, 31, was the co-founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, and became a prominent conservative figure, regularly appearing on cable TV, where he leaned into the culture wars and heaped praise on President Donald Trump.

Authorities did not immediately identify a motive behind the killing of Kirk, who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters. But the circumstances of the shooting drew renewed attention to an escalating threat of political violence in the United States that in the last several years has cut across the ideological spectrum. The assassination drew bipartisan condemnation, but a national reckoning over ways to prevent political grievances from manifesting as deadly violence seemed elusive.

Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University show Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans The American Comeback and Prove Me Wrong. A gunshot rings out, and Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators gasp and scream before people start running away.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk, 31, who was shot and killed Wednesday while hosting an event at Utah Valley University, had amassed a net worth of about $12 million at the time of his death, according to a website that covers financial and investment news.

Kirk, who was the co-founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, was able to set up his family  wife, Erika, and two young children  to be financially stable before his death with an estimated net worth of $12 million, according to ValueWalk.

Turning Point USA is non-profit organization Kirk founded in 2012, whose mission is to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government, according to its website.

... Charlie launched Turning Point out of his parents garage as an 18-year-old with no money, no name recognition, only a dream, the companys website reads in a homepage pop-up honoring its founder.

As CEO of Turning Point USA, Kirks salary increased from $27,000 in 2016 to more than $407,000 in 2021, according to Times Now.

His personal holdings included three high-end homes, according to Times Now: a $4.75 million estate near Phoenix with sweeping desert views, a nearby apartment, and a beachside condominium on Floridas Gulf Coast.

Kirk was also the author of several books, hosted a podcast called The Charlie Kirk Show and a talk show on Trinity Broadcast Network called Charlie Kirk Today.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb arrived in Ukraine for a visit, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak reported.

"Together with Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, we met with Finnish President Alexander Stubb at the beginning of his visit to Ukraine," Yermak wrote in a telegram on Thursday.

"The focus of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's talks with the Finnish leader today will be security projects, European integration, investments in infrastructure and security guarantees for our state. We will also talk about increasing pressure on the Russian Federation, sanctions and the importance of sustainable peace," he said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has emerged as the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nominee in 2028, according to CNN data analyst Harry Enten.

In a video posted on X, Enten showcased data from Times/YouGov and Yahoo News/YouGov analyzing Democratic and Democratic-leaning independent voters preferred 2028 Democratic candidate.

Newsom leads the other candidates, as 21% of voters see him as the preferred choice, up from just 8% in April.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris relinquished the top spot, trailing Newsom at 19%, down from 28% in April.

U.S. Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rounds out the top three at 12%, an increase from 7% in April.

What Newsoms done in Cali vs. Trump isnt just staying out in CA, its found real support nationally, Enten wrote on X.

Newsom has almost equal support among demographics, with 19% coming from white voters, 21% from Black voters and 24% from Latino voters.

You need to be doing well across racial groups if you want to win in a Democratic primary, Enten said. And right now Gavin Newsom is doing exactly that.
President Donald Trump delivered a forceful rebuke of what he called radical left rhetoric in a video statement from the Oval Office Thursday, directly linking such language to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

In the lengthy address released on White House social media channels, Trump spoke solemnly from behind his desk about the killing that has sent shockwaves through political circles.

For years those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the worlds worst mass murders and criminals, Trump said. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that were seeing in our country today and it must stop right now.

The president pledged to find everyone who contributed to this atrocity and other political violence, including organizations he claimed fund and support such actions.

Trump described Kirk, who was a political supporter and ally, as a martyr for truth and freedom and praised his connection with younger Americans, saying there has never been anyone who was so respected by youth.

During his address, the president referenced a pattern of political violence, citing the assassination attempt against himself in Pennsylvania last year, attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during his immigration crackdown, and the near-fatal shooting of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise during Trumps first term.

The presidents statement notably omitted mention of political attacks against Democrats, including a Minnesota state lawmaker who was killed at her home in June.

The FBI is reportedly conducting an intensive investigation into Kirks killing, with Fox News describing the effort as all hands on deck according to related video content visible on the platform.

Generative AI was used to organize information for this story, based on data provided by MassLive. It was reviewed and edited by MassLive.
Sunshine and dry weather return to Massachusetts on Thursday, thanks to an area of high pressure moving in over southern New England.

Thursday is expected to be the warmest day of the week so far, with temperatures well into the 70s and approaching 80. The sunshine and warmth are expected to continue through Saturday, with temperatures remaining in the 70s, according to National Weather Service forecasters.

After a dry Saturday, rain is expected to return to the forecast to close out the weekend.

On Sunday, a robust shortwave, essentially a disturbance in the atmosphere, is expected to round an area of low pressure and drop through southern New England, increasing the chances for rain.

This far out, its not clear how quickly that rain may arrive and how long it will stick around. But forecasters say the southern nature of the wind "would lead one to believe it will be stubborn to exit and mean unsettled weather well into next week."

To that end, forecasters give Boston about a 25% chance of seeing rain on Monday, with precipitation about as likely in Worcester and Springfield.
WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn.  Protesters from Massachusetts are planning to join a standout scheduled this weekend near the regions commercial airport over a low-cost airlines contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Avelo Airlines, which operates a base out of Bradley International Airport, has drawn the ire of local advocates over the contract it signed with ICE to perform deportation flights for the agency.

On Sunday afternoon, protesters from Massachusetts and Connecticut plan to hold a standout on a bridge carrying Route 75 over Route 20, which is the main route leading to the airport in Windsor Locks. Theyre urging a boycott of Avelo in an effort to pressure the carrier to end its contract with ICE. Organizers said the protest is also aimed at Connecticut Airport Authority, which operates Bradley, urging it to block any deportation flights from taking off there and Tweed New Haven Airport.

Reached via email for comment, Michael W. Shea, executive director of the authority, said he can speak regarding Bradley and has no oversight of Tweed.

The (authority) respects the rights of those who wish to peacefully protest. Additionally, the CAA is not aware of any deportation flights arriving at or departing from (Bradley), Shea said in the statement. It is also important to note that, per Federal Aviation Administration rules, the CAA cannot discriminate against airlines.

Shea noted that Bradley is a public-use airport, meaning all users can get access to flights regardless of their political views or business arrangements.

We hope you understand that the presence of any particular airline at BDL is not indicative of the CAAs support for, or opposition to, any of that airlines actions or views, he said.

Robin Henrie, a leader of the group Indivisible North Central Connecticut, said Avelo protests have occurred frequently outside the airport in New Haven, Connecticut. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal spoke at one in April.

Her group, which started in March, is catching up and collaborated with the Indivisible group out of Northampton to organize Sundays protest.

We thought it was time to start putting pressure up here, as well, Henrie said. We can let people know that, Hey, you have a choice of airlines. If you feel strongly about this, perhaps you want to take a different airline.

The scheduled protest comes months after Connecticut Attorney General William Tong sent the airline a letter, asking for details about its contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

No one is forcing Avelo to operate these flights, Tong wrote. If reporting is accurate, Avelo has freely chosen to profit from and facilitate these atrocities.

Tong said in his letter that if the company didnt affirm commitments to the rule of law and public safety, then he would recommend the state walk back its support for the airline, which includes exemptions from the states tax on aviation fuel.

A spokesperson for the Connecticut Attorney Generals Office said Avelos fuel tax breaks expired on June 30.

In its reply to the attorney general in April, Avelo said it complies with federal regulations and directed his questions to DHS and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Asked about the scheduled protest, Avelo spokesperson Courtney Goff said the company doesnt have any commercial flights scheduled at the airport until the end of October, and it has not flown a deportation flight from there.

We have not done any government flying in the state of Connecticut. All Connecticut flights are commercial only, Goff wrote in an email.

Based on the number of people who have RSVPd, Henrie expects between 125 to 200 protesters on Sunday. She hopes the groups might be able to organize recurring protests about Avelos ICE contract.

Henrie added that Indivisible groups have put pressure on Avelo through multiple fronts, from contacting lawmakers to organizing letter-writing campaigns to universities that use the airline to transport their sports teams.
The photo above shows one of two suspects believed to have stolen Pride flags from Thorne Marketplace in downtown Northampton on June 19, 2025. Police have identified the suspect pictured above as 22-year-old Westfield resident David Sivokonenko. Northampton Police Department

A Westfield man is facing charges in connection with burning Pride flags stolen from Thorne Marketplace in downtown Northampton back in June, police announced Wednesday.

David Sivokonenko, 22, is charged with burning personal property, vandalizing property and disorderly conduct in connection with the incident, Northampton police said in a press release.

On June 19, two individuals were captured on security footage stealing eight Pride flags from the exterior awning of Thornes Marketplace on Main Street shortly after 1:20 a.m., police said. The the suspects placed the flags in the eastbound lane of Main Street and set them on fire.

A passing driver put out the flames and prevented further property damage, police said.

The investigation into the incident led detectives to identify Sivokonenko as a suspect. He was arraigned in Northampton District Court on Wednesday, police said.

The investigation remains ongoing as police work to identify the second individual involved in this incident, the release reads. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Northampton Police Department Detective Bureau at (413) 587-1100.
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The Ballina community has rallied in support of its Tidy Towns group after thieves stole around 12,000 worth of equipment in a break-in last week.

The theft, which happened just days after the group moved its equipment to a new premises, left volunteers absolutely soul destroyed as they arrived to find their store totally cleaned out of hand tools, hedge clippers and industrial strimmers.

While larger machinery such as ride-on lawnmowers was left untouched, the stolen items were described as the nitty gritty tools essential for the groups daily work keeping Ballina neat, tidy and presentable.

Speaking on RTEs 'Liveline', Tidy Towns volunteer Anne Marie Forbes said the loss initially felt like a major blow.

We were probably one of the best equipped Tidy Towns in the country until last Wednesday morning. To see it all gone was devastating, she said.

Read Next: New Climate Cafe to be launched in Mayo town

But what followed was an overwhelming show of solidarity from across the town. It gave us the understanding of how much people respect the work we do, Ms Forbes explained. We thought we were just plodding along quietly, but the community really showed us otherwise.

Within hours, local businesses and residents had pledged to replace the stolen items. SuperValu, a national Tidy Towns sponsor, quickly committed 5,000 worth of equipment, while local security companies and hotels offered support, including fitting alarms at the storage premises.

Transition year students at St Marys Secondary School also sought permission to hold a fundraising flag day, saying they were touched by what happened to our town.

Ms Forbes praised the swift response from An Garda Siochana as well as the generosity of locals, describing it as a heart warming reminder that the good in a community far outweighs the bad.

The Ballina Tidy Towns committee, founded over 25 years ago, has long been at the centre of community life. Volunteers say the rallying response will ensure their work continues uninterrupted.

This was initially a very sad story, Ms Forbes said, but its ended up as a story of community spirit, Ballina at its very best.
In the early hours of Thursday morning, members of Achill Coast Guard executed a daring cliff face rescue of a sheepdog who had fallen 90 meters in Belmullet.

Earlier that day, a sheep ran towards the cliff but turned away before going over the edge.

Unfortunately, Ship, a sheepdog, didnt stop and fell 90 meters down the steep cliff and became trapped at the base.

The Coast Guard is full of praise for the farmers and a passer-by who contacted them.

READ MORE: Mayo man appointed to top EU job at European Commission

The owner made the right decision in contacting the Coast Guard for assistance.

The Ballyglass Coast Guard Search and Drone Unit were first on the scene and investigated the scene.

They called in the Achill Coast Guard, who are specially trained in cliff rescue.

Using these skills, the Achill Coast Guard scaled down the cliff face by rope in darkness to rescue Ship the Sheepdog.

Our volunteer Search and Rescue Cliff Team set up a technical rope climb. Our barrow boy, supported by the team, reached the dog and safely secured it. From there, the haul team brought them both safely back to the top.

The operation concluded at approximately 01:26am.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Achill Island Coast Guard (@achillislandcoastguard)

 A great outcome for this four-legged adventurer and an important reminder: please never put yourself at risk attempting a rescue. Call the Coast Guard, its what were trained for!

If you see anyone in difficulty on the sea, shore, or cliffs, dial 112/999 or call on VHF Ch 16 and ask for the Coast Guard.
Visual artists Betty Gannon and Tony Gunning are exhibiting their collaborative work of a collection of paintings titled The Dichotomy of Change. The exhibition is now open in Aras Inis Gluaire in Bellmullet and will run until Friday, October 24.

The exhibition, which explores the natural and man-made environment, was opened by the centres artistic director, Deirbhile Healy. Tony Gunnings work focuses on abandoned rural buildings, reflecting his fixation with the way in which nature reclaims spaces. Betty Gannons work focuses on threatened sea and land forests.

Westport resident Betty Gannon has previously exhibited solo in Ireland and Northern Ireland, as well as in numerous group shows nationally and internationally. Gannon won an award at the Leitrim Sculpture Summer Exhibition in 2018. She is currently researching and creating work supported by a Sustainable Arts Bursary Award from Wilderland, a public art and community ecology project in Co Mayo.

Speaking on her newly exhibited work in Bellmullet, Gannon says: Living in what I consider the most beautiful part of the country, close to local forestry and beaches is a huge part of my inspiration for the art. My inspiration is very local.

As a visual artist, Gannon explained her process when drawing inspiration.

I take photographs or do some sketches of what I see. Sometimes I bring some seaweed home. Visuals are very important to me.

For Tony, his observation led him to a similar enlightenment. Beginning his professional artist career in 2000, Tony Gunning sold his debut exhibition at the Davis Gallery in 2002. Exhibiting well-known group shows including The Royal Academy in London, the Royal Hibernian Academy and Dublin and the Royal Ulster Academy in Belfast, the visual artist has previously won the Curators Award and the Bank of Ireland Emerging Artist Award at EV+A in 2007.

Pictured: Colette and Shane Munnelly (Belmullet) with artist Tony Gunning and Sue and Gerry Whelan (Louisburgh).

Gunnings newly exhibited work focuses on abandoned rural buildings, reflecting his fixation with the way in which nature reclaims spaces.

My inspiration came from the whole process of seeing the dereliction of buildings in rural Ireland. I saw the way small communities were dying because of the closures of post offices and schools.

He explained that when he began to paint dereliction it was for its own sake.

I was fascinated by it. I imagined its history - I thought about the people who once lived in those places.

Focusing on aesthetics, Gunning said that he wanted to recognise the man-made versus nature.

Nature always reclaims its own space. Nature is not fought back.

The exhibition will run until Friday, October 24 in Aras Inis Gluaire, Belmullet.

READ NEXT: Mayo arts festival returns for another year of events
The 'suffering' has begun for the 13 cyclists taking part in the inaugural Giro d'Mayo 500.

Over the next three days, they will each cycle 500km to raise funds for the Castlebar Paediatric Unit.

READ MORE: Mayo riders to cycle 6,500km in aid of Castlebar Paediatric Unit

Richie Needham, Sean Heraty, Dave OMalley, Francis Brogan, Tom Malone, Adrian Gallagher, John Brennan, David Brennan, Dave Walshe, Brian Kennedy, Graine Kennedy, Caroline Keogh and Walter Lyons are the riders taking part.

All of the proceeds from the inaugural Giro dMayo 500 fundraising event will go directly to the Paediatric Unit at Mayo University Hospital.

Follow their journey on their Instagram page and to donate, please go to their gofundme page.

The peloton set out from Mayo University Hospital this morning and they pedalled 172km as they travelled through Louisburgh, Leenane and Ballinrobe. The days cycle is due to finish back at the TF Royal in Castlebar.

Here is a full map of the 500km route of the Giro d'Mayo 500.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Giro d'Mayo 500 (@girodmayo)

Richie spoke with cyclist Dave O'Malley before they set off.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Giro d'Mayo 500 (@girodmayo)

The Paediatric Unit was chosen as this year's charity as Richie had seen first hand the brilliant work that the Paediatric Unit does as his son, Cole, regularly receives care there.

He told The Mayo News, "the amount of support we get from the Paeds Ward, from the doctors, the nurses and the staff is phenomenal. Our lives would be very different without it.

It was a desire to give something back to the Unit that would lead to the creation of the Giro d'Mayo 500.
The General Court of the European Union has rejected the claim of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who challenged the EU Council's decision to impose sanctions on him.

Yanukovych argued that the Council "did not have sufficient evidence" to include him on the sanctions lists and referred to "unverified materials." However, the court recognized that the Council had proper grounds to impose sanctions.

The decision of the EU Court of Justice states that Viktor Yanukovych is responsible for actions and policies that posed a threat to the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, in particular for supporting Russian interference. The Court emphasizes the particular seriousness of his actions in 2012-2014: requesting Russias military invasion of Ukraine, supporting pro-Russian politicians and voluntarily weakening the states defense capabilities, which contributed to destabilization. In addition, it took into account his recent participation in the Kremlins plan to remove the current president of Ukraine in early March 2022.

Sanctions were first imposed on the ex-president in 2014. His assets were frozen and he was banned from entering EU member states. In 2022, after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the sanctions were expanded.

In January 2019, Yanukovych was convicted of high treason and aiding and abetting in waging an aggressive war (Part 1 of Article 111, Part 5 of Article 27, Part 2 of Article 437 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and sentenced to 13 years in prison. In April 2025, Yanukovych was found guilty of organizing the illegal smuggling of persons across the state border of Ukraine and inciting desertion (Part 2 of Article 332, Part 4 of Article 27, Part 2 of Article 408 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
A Mayo lady who has often supported her local hospice, Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation, has received national recognition for her fundraising efforts. Anne Lyons, from Ballyhaunis, raised a staggering 11,000 last year and she plans to host another Bewleys Big Coffee Morning for Hospice this month.

Her tireless work was recently honoured at the iconic Dublin cafe, where she was presented with a Together for Hospice Hero Award and her dedication to Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation continues as she urges everyone to support her annual fundraiser at her home.

Running right across Ireland, this years Bewleys Big Coffee Morning for Hospice aims to raise over 2 million and takes place on September 25 but supporters can host or attend a coffee morning on a date that suits them, with every cent raised locally going to their local Hospice.

Originally from Tipperary, Anne has lived in Ballyhaunis for 31 years and her coffee morning has become a staple event in the towns calendar. Seeing some of her family members, including her husband, Gerry, go through cancer and palliative care gave her an appreciation of the work of the hospice.

I decided to start the coffee morning just for the neighbours and it started small but gradually grew. It became a bit of a tradition and my husband, Gerry, actually joined us for the first time because he would have normally been at work at the end of September in 2023. Gerrys health rapidly declined and three months later, he moved into the Mayo Hospice Castlebar and died shortly before his 70th birthday and the couples 30 year wedding anniversary.

The timing was uncanny, really. It was very hard on our children, who are only in their twenties, but it was important to me to hold the coffee morning last year, the first year without him. I joined up with Ballyhaunis GAA club because Gerry was involved there most of his life and was chairman the last five years.

READ MORE: Mayo councillor questions if senior official 'is focused on his job'

Everyone came out and supported him and we raised over 11,000. The kids were just amazed at the amount, we'd ordinarily have raised about 1,000. A trained nurse, Anne said the hospice gave the family the chance to be able to focus fully on Gerry in his final days.

Id have loved to have been able to bring him home but we wouldnt have been able to give him the care the hospice provided. We also wouldnt have had that quality time with him if we were at home because you have a lot of visitors and still need to do your washing and cleaning. It meant we were able to focus on Gerry completely, that's what the hospice gave us.

Anne will host her coffee morning at home in Ballyhaunis in Gerrys memory on Saturday, September 20.

Martina Jennings, CEO Mayo Roscommon Hospice said: I am delighted that Anne has received this special recognition award. Anne and her late husband Gerry have been long time supporters of Hospice. Annes coffee morning last year was particularly special as it was the first one without Gerry.

"The support she received is testament to the love and respect their community holds for their family. Bewleys Big Coffee Morning for Hospice is one of our most important fundraisers which enables us to continue to fund, support and develop palliative care services in our hospices and in our community. We are incredibly grateful to all our coffee morning hosts for their loyal support.

Together for Hospice, The National Hospice Movement, represents 24 Hospice and specialist palliative homecare providers supporting patients and their families across Ireland.

Fundraised income is used by local hospice services to fund new buildings, refurbishment of existing buildings, staff, extra comforts for patients and their families, and innovative patient care projects nationwide. Funds raised through Together For Hospice campaigns support some of the core services funded by the HSE.

Register to host a coffee morning on Thursday, September 25 or on a date that suits you at hospicecoffeemorning.ie or call 0818 995 996. If you cannot host or attend a coffee morning, you can donate at: hospicecoffeemorning.ie/donate.

READ MORE: South Mayo hotel holds information night about Cancer Fund for Children
The foreign ministers of the Lublin Triangle countries  Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine  chave ondemned the incursion of Russian drones into Polish territory in a joint statement.

" This was a deliberate and coordinated strike constituting an unprecedented provocation and escalation of tension. Russias actions and Belarusian acquiescence to the use of its airspace pose a direct threat to the security of all nations in the region," the statement said.

The parties noted Ukraine's readiness to share all available intelligence and operational data with Poland, Lithuania and other partners in building an effective early warning and protection system against Russian missile and drone attacks.

The ministers stressed the need for better coordination and operational cooperation between structures responsible for air security.

"Such coordinated actions should be aimed at preventing the negative consequences of Russia's provocative actions and, preferably, lead to an increase in the effectiveness of our air defense measures," the statement said.

The Lublin Triangle countries called on partners to urgently strengthen Ukraine's air defense and support Lithuania and Poland in their efforts to secure the eastern flank of NATO and the EU, emphasizing that only an adequate and strong response can prevent further escalation.

"We note that this incident has also triggered a surge in Russian disinformation. We call on all our societies to remain vigilant and be aware of Russian malign disinformation attempts," the parties said.
About

Vaccines are one of public health's greatest triumphs, preventing millions of cases of deadly diseases worldwide. Yet gaps in coverage, waning immunity, and vaccine hesitancy mean preventable illnesses like measles rise. From parents unsure about shots to healthcare systems struggling to reach every child, barriers to vaccination are widespread, but not insurmountable. This article offers evidence-based strategies to close the gap.

Did You Know?

Globally in 2024, there were 14.3 million children who missed routine vaccines due to systemic, provider, or parental barriers. #vaccines #vaccination #immunization #medindia

Immunization barriers are obstacles that prevent or hinder the uptake of vaccinations, encompassing a wide range of issues(1 Trusted Source

Barriers to the vaccination of children and adolescents and possible solutions



Go to source).

They can be broadly categorized as -

Health System Barrier

Provider Barrier

Parental Barrier

1) Health System Barriers:

Poor health systems can quietly keep life-saving vaccines from reaching those who need them most. Outdated tracking tools, insufficiently trained staff, supply shortages, storage issues, and limited access in rural or low-income areas all create barriers that leave children and communities vulnerable to preventable diseases.

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Cost

Many free vaccination programs are available to increase the availability of vaccines, especially to low-income and vulnerable populations. India's Universal Immunization Programme (UIP), part of the National Health Mission's RCH program, is one of the world's largest public health initiatives. It provides free vaccines to all pregnant women and children against 12 preventable diseases, of which

Nationwide-11

Diphtheria,

Pertussis,

Tetanus,

Polio,

Measles,

Rubella,

Severe form of Childhood Tuberculosis,

Rotavirus Diarrhea,

Hepatitis B,

Meningitis & Pneumonia caused by Hemophilus Influenza Type B

Pneumococcal Pneumonia

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Sub-nationally-1

Japanese Encephalitis (JE vaccine is provided only in endemic districts)

The U-WIN digital platform tracks every vaccination event to ensure coverage and monitoring. https://uwin.mohfw.gov.in/home . Other vaccination programmes worldwide include healthychildren.org , https://www.rivm.nl/en/national-immunisation-programme

Difficult vaccine storage

Vaccine storage challenges can disrupt the cold chain, the critical link that preserves a vaccine's effectiveness from factory to patient. Frequent power outages, fuel shortages, inadequate refrigeration, insufficient ice packs, and poor handling practices often expose doses to damaging temperatures, leaving life-saving vaccines ineffective before they reach those in need.

Reduced vaccine supply and distribution

Delivering vaccines in the factory to individuals is a race against time and temperature. Delays, waste, or unequal access may be generated by weak supply chains, ineffective storage, or inconsistent access to data, particularly when the resources are limited. Without strong planning, reliable cold storage, and smart tracking, even the most effective vaccines risk losing their power before they reach those who need them most.

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Missing Unified Vaccination Records

Computerized immunization registries and electronic health records can standardize record-keeping, track missed visits, and speed up vaccination. Reminder systems, age-based adolescent platforms, and vaccination requirements for schools and colleges further strengthen coverage and prevent gaps.

Missed opportunities

A missed opportunity for vaccination (MOV) is defined as any contact with a health service by an eligible individual who is not fully vaccinated, which does not result in them receiving the necessary vaccine doses. These occur at health centers, hospitals, and through various outreach services.

Globally in 2024, there were 14.3 million children missing out on any vaccinationso-called zero-dose children(2 Trusted Source

Immunization coverage



Go to source).

2. Provider Barrier

Provider barriers to immunization include lack of provider knowledge, poor staff training, insufficient reminders and recalls for patients, logistical challenges like vaccine cost and storage, and sometimes negative attitudes or communication styles that reduce patient trust and vaccine acceptance. Overcoming these barriers involves provider education, implementing effective reminder systems, ensuring proper vaccine storage, and improving communication about vaccines to patients.

Poor knowledge of immunization

Providers can be doctors, nurses, and other healthcare individuals who are entitled to know the details regarding immunization. The following are mandatory topics to be known for better practice and safe immunization.

Vaccine indications and contraindications

Vaccine administration timing

Vaccine storage

Limited vaccine knowledge can cause missed doses, incomplete records, and poor patient counselling. Regular training, updated awareness programs, and accurate record-keeping are key to ensuring timely and complete immunization.

Poor access to children's immunization records

When vaccination histories are scattered or missing, doctors can't track which shots are due. This can leave children unprotected and parents frustrated. A simple, centralized record could change that.

Missed visits

Every missed appointment is a chance lost to protect a child from preventable diseases. Catching up on vaccines early is key, because every visit counts.

Poor communication with parents and adolescents

Confusing advice or unclear schedules can leave families unsure about what's next. Clear, friendly communication empowers parents and teens to stay on track with vaccinations.

3) Parental barrier

Sometimes, it's not access but hesitation that slows vaccination. Concerns about safety, side effects, or simply forgetting schedules can stand in the way. The barriers can be as follows:

Limited awareness of the true benefits of vaccines

Concerns and fears about possible side effects

Confusion around complex vaccination schedules

Limited or difficult access to healthcare facilities

Financial constraints and affordability issues

Honest guidance, empathy, and clear information help parents make confident choices for their child's health.

Immunization Side Effects

The majority of vaccines produce mild and temporary side effects that include fever, fatigue, muscle aches, swelling, or redness at the site of injection. They are symptoms of the normal immune response and generally last 1-2 days.

Severe complications are very infrequent. In extremely rare cases, vaccines may cause anaphylaxis, a serious allergic response, or Guillain-Barre Syndrome , a disorder of the nerves that can lead to weakness or paralysis, including muscles used in breathing. It is not known exactly what causes Guillain-Barre after vaccination.

Program-focused strategies

Detect and address hesitancy in the population/subgroups

Ensure all health care professionals know and use best immunization practices

Utilize specific evidence-based strategies known to increase uptake

Communicate effectively Educate children on the importance of immunization for health

Work collaboratively

Individual patient-focused strategies

Don't dismiss a family or patient from the practice because they are hesitant or a vaccine refuser

Use effective parent/patient discussion-communication techniques

Use clear language; be aware of effects of framing

Reinforce the importance of the role of community protection

Address pain at immunization(   Trusted Source

Addressing barriers to vaccine acceptance: an overview



Go to source Trusted Source

Improving Vaccination Among Adults

Education of potential vaccine recipients Publicity promoting vaccines Increased access to vaccination services such as workplaces, pharmacies Reminder-recall systems and internal audits of practice vaccination rates Standing order programs Audit vaccination rates in practices Health-care provider recommendation to patients Routine assessment of vaccinations incorporated into clinical practice Medical office staff trained to routinely assess vaccination needs of patients

Improving Vaccination Rates Among Children

Increase knowledge about importance of vaccination for disease prevention Stay up-to-date on latest vaccination recommendations Become familiar with new vaccines Assure office staff are friendly and supportive of families and encourage vaccination at every opportunity, including mild illness visits Reminder/recall systems for patients, families and providers Reduce out-of-pocket costs Standing orders for immunizations Assessment of immunization rates for individual providers(   Trusted Source

Recommended Solutions to the Barriers to Immunization in Children and Adults



Go to source Trusted Source

Vaccination is vital to public health. Disease prevention has been proven to prolong life expectancy and improve quality of life. As anti-vaccination movements gain traction, diseases once thought to be eradicated or nearly eradicated have had significant outbreaks.

Missed doses often occur due to lack of awareness, missed appointments, or overlooked preventive care by both patients and healthcare providers. Implementing recall and reminder systems for families and providers has been shown to improve vaccination rates.

Preventive measures are often overlooked; therefore, coordinated efforts by the healthcare team, including nurses, pharmacists, and physicians, are vital to ensure timely immunization and protect the community.
Salman Khan recently began filming for his upcoming war action drama Battle of Galwan based on the 2020 battle fought between India and China. Directed by Apoorva Lakhia, Battle of Galwan also stars Chitrangada Singh and recently there were reports that the film may have been shelved amid a tense political climate and India-China relationship. However, Salman Khans recent post where he shared a BTS pic from the sets put all rumours to rest.

Salman Khan Met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh To Get Battle of Galwan Clearance? A new report in Bollywood Hungama has now claimed that Battle of Galwan did face a roadblock but after Salman Khan met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the issue was sorted. Sharing the details, a source stated, There were some issues about shooting Battle Of Galwan in Ladakh. The team of the film was concerned as this is the ideal season to shoot the film in the Union Territory. Time was running out and this is when Salman Khan requested a meeting with Mr Rajnath Singh. The Minister immediately agreed to have the meeting. The source continued, The meeting was fruitful. Salman Khan told Mr Singh about the matter and the latter assured the former that itll be resolved. However, Mr Rajnath Singh requested that China should not be defamed in the film. The relations between India and China have improved due to the recent developments in world politics. The minister explained to him that he doesnt want anything to go wrong between the two countries at this point.
As reported earlier, Karisma Kapoors children have filed a legal case against their stepmother, Priya Sachdev, over the late Sunjay Kapurs Rs 30,000 crore estate. Now, Sunjays sister Mandhira Kapur has stepped in to support Karisma and her kids, leveling serious allegations of manipulation against Priya.

Sunjay Kapurs sister Mandhira Kapur supported Karisma and told ANI, I stand by them because I do not think that if anyone knows the relationship they have had with their father and for their father not to have them a part of the will, it just doesn't add up. Doesn't make sense. So I stand by them.

Did Priya Sachdev take everything?

Mandhira Kapur Smith indirectly hit out at Priya Sachdev, alleging that a single person had taken everything. She further claimed that her mother, Rani Kapur, was left without a roof over her head, while emphasising that all of Sunjays wealth was originally built by his father and later expanded by him.
The United Kingdom will produce and jointly develop the most advanced military equipment with Ukrainian industry under a groundbreaking agreement on the exchange of the latest technologies, which will contribute to the creation of jobs in the United Kingdom and the strengthening of the national security of both the UK and Ukraine, the UK Ministry of Defence reported.

"Through this groundbreaking industrial partnership with Ukraine, and our new Defence Industrial Strategy, we are revving up our world-leading defence industry. We will innovate at a wartime pace, support UK and Ukrainian security, and boost jobs here in Britain," the country's Defence Secretary, John Healy, is quoted as saying in a statement on the UK government website.

The first joint project is reportedly a new advanced air defence interceptor drone called Project OCTOPUS, which will be mass-produced in the UK with the aim of producing thousands of units per month for delivery to Ukraine. The project will be unveiled on Thursday at the DSEI International Arms Exhibition and Fair in London.

"The drone developed under Project OCTOPUS was designed by Ukraine with support from UK scientists and technicians and has already proved successful on the battlefield, proving highly effective against the Shahed one-way attack drone variants used by Russia  despite costing less than 10% to produce than the drones they are designed to intercept," the report notes.
It was a moment whose significance was immediately apparent  when, on the morning of 25 April 1945, members of a US Army forward patrol came across officers and soldiers of the Soviet 175th Rifle Regiment near the small town of Torgau, about 85 miles from Berlin. Toasts were drunk and photographs taken of jubilant comrades to celebrate the first meeting of the two Allied armies, which had been advancing from opposite directions (see MHM 145, April/May 2025), and which had now cut Germany in two as they converged on Hitlers capital.

To the American and Russian troops shaking hands and sipping vodka on the banks of the Elbe, it was clear that the deadliest conflict in human history would soon now be over, raising hopes that a new era of brotherhood and peace between nations might finally be dawning. But, though the war in Europe would indeed be wrapped up in days  with the Fuhrers suicide on 30 April followed quickly by Germanys unconditional surrender  any sense of a harmonious future would, of course, prove short-lived.

In our new four-part series to mark the 80th anniversary of the advent of the Cold War, MHM examines how the triumphs of 1945 were so rapidly replaced by mistrust and political and ideological disagreement, as the leaders of the Allied Big Three pursued very different post-war agendas. It was a rift that within a year of VE Day would lead Winston Churchill to declare in a famous speech that from Stettin in the Baltic, to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent.

As we shall see, Churchills words would prove prophetic, framing the military and geopolitical landscape for the next 50 years. They set the tone for a new bipolar struggle between the West, led by the USA, and the East, led by the USSR  one that would spread division around the world, and end only with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Though the conflict is remembered as the Cold War, because it never quite erupted into open hostilities between the nuclear-armed principals, it would also give rise to a range of decidedly hot proxy conflicts  from Korea to Cuba, and from Vietnam to the Middle East  as the two sides vied for global supremacy.

In the first part of our series, Taylor Downing looks at how the end of the fighting in 1945 sowed the seeds of the conflict to come; while in the second part, we travel to Vienna to see how the defeat of the Nazis brought new division to the Austrian capital.

This is an extract from a special feature on the descent of the Iron Curtain across post-war Europe from the October/November 2025 issue of Military History Matters magazine.

Read the full article online on The Past, or in the print magazine: find out more about subscriptions to Military History Matters here.
The assassination of Charlie Kirk isnt just another headline. It is a gut punch to a nation that already seems divided. At only 31, Kirk had become one of the most visible figures on the political right. His murder, carried out yesterday by a sniper during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University, has left Americans asking how something like this could happen and what it says about our ability to protect public life in an era where deep division is prevalent.

Kirk was speaking to thousands of students and supporters as part of his American Comeback Tour. He had done this countless times before with a microphone in hand and a crowd spilling across a university plaza. The kind of open setting that makes political events feel accessible.

But that openness also creates vulnerability. From 200 yards away, a shooter on a rooftop ended Kirks life in a single shot. Panic swept the crowd. The shooter escaped, leaving behind a rifle but no immediate answers.

Authorities quickly called it what it was: a political assassination. Utahs governor spoke for many when he said the attack was not only a crime but an assault on democracy itself. When someone is murdered for their beliefs, the damage cuts far beyond one victim.

Security Blind Spots

Kirks death exposes weaknesses and suggests questions we need to ask as this country thinks about security in the 21st century.

Who gets protection, and who doesnt? Presidents, vice presidents, and cabinet officials travel with armed details. Judges in high-profile cases can receive protection. But activists and influencers who have millions of followers and the ability to move crowds are on their own. Kirks murder makes that imbalance impossible to ignore. Weve entered an era where influence is no longer tied only to elected office, and our security frameworks seemingly havent caught up. The military learned hard lessons in Iraq and Afghanistan about protecting key leaders, whether elected officials, tribal elders, or commanders. Civilian society now faces similar dilemmas in determining who requires protection and when.

Were there missed warnings? History shows that most political assassins do not act out of nowhere. They plan, they post, and they talk to someone. Investigators will now be combing through the shooters online footprint to see if there were threats, red flags, or signs of radicalization. If nothing was picked up, that is a chilling gap in intelligence. If something was picked up but dismissed, thats worse. Either way, the agencies responsible for threat monitoring will face hard questions. The military's intelligence community has long wrestled with the challenge of detecting lone actors before they strike. This incident shows how that same problem is playing out on U.S. soil.

The soft target problem. Universities, churches, schools, and community centers are all designed to be open and welcoming. That makes them easy prey for someone intent on violence. Kirks assassination on a campus shows just how hard it is to secure these spaces. Do you ring them with barricades and metal detectors? Do you arm every event? Or do you accept a higher level of risk? None of the answers are simple, but after this, the pressure to rethink security at large public gatherings will intensify. The U.S. military has decades of experience trying to defend "soft targets" overseas, and those same lessons of perimeter defense, overwatch, and crowd protection are relevant in this context.

The Power of Rhetoric

The physical attack is only part of the threat. What follows in the hours and days after is also dangerous. Already, some commentators are calling Kirks assassination an act of war. Others are demanding retaliation. That kind of rhetoric can turn grief into fuel for more violence.

In addition to creating martyrs, political violence can also create momentum. Lone actors can watch, learn, and sometimes imitate. Security officials now have to think about copycats, inspired attacks, and the possibility of vigilante justice. The crime scene is in Utah, but the fallout could be national.

As if that werent enough, the information space is already on fire. Conspiracy theories are spreading across social media as fast as facts. Some claim government involvement. Others blame shadowy groups. Every minute that confusion reigns, public trust risks eroding.

Foreign adversaries will see an opportunity here. Russia, China, and Iran have a long track record of amplifying divisive events inside the U.S. to make Americans turn on each other. Kirks murder is tailor-made for that kind of exploitation. The military refers to this as information warfare, and in this case, the battlefield is social media feeds and living rooms across America.

Why This Matters

For years, experts have warned about rising polarization and the normalization of political violence. We have seen attacks on members of Congress, on judges, and on public officials at every level. Kirks death adds fuel to a dangerous trend line. Service members, who take an oath to defend the Constitution, watch this trend with concern. The security of democracy is not only fought on foreign battlefields, it must also be safeguarded in the civic spaces at home.

The challenge now is twofold. First, law enforcement must find the person who pulled the trigger. But second, institutions need to find ways to close the gaps this tragedy has exposed by rethinking event security, improving threat detection, and lowering the temperature of political discourse before the cycle of violence spins further out of control.

Charlie Kirks assassination is a national tragedy, in addition to a test. It tests whether America can still safeguard its most basic principle that people should be able to speak, argue, and disagree without fear of being assassinated.

If we fail this test, then the sniper in Utah will have achieved far more than one act of murder. He will have succeeded in deepening the fractures that already threaten to pull this country apart. The choice now is ours: either we confront those gaps with clear eyes and real reforms, or we brace ourselves for the next name to be added to a growing list of political casualties.
A Navy cook has been charged with murder, rape and other violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice in a case involving a sailor who was found dead in June in Norfolk, Virginia.

Culinary Specialist Jeremiah Copeland, formerly of Oak Harbor, Washington, has been in custody since Seaman Angelina Resendiz, 21, was discovered deceased in a wooded area roughly 10 miles from Naval Station Norfolk.

Resendiz, also a culinary specialist, was assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS James E. Williams. She was last seen on May 29; her body was found June 9.

Read Next: Chicago Braces for Potential National Guard Deployment Amid Trump Threats

According to the Navys preliminary hearing documents, Copeland faces charges involving at least six criminal acts, including murder; rape or sexual assault; sexual misconduct; wrongfully broadcasting or distributing intimate photographic data; making false official statements; and obstructing justice.

Washington state court records show that Copeland faced charges in 2022 as a juvenile before he joined the Navy. The Whidbey News-Times reported that Copeland was investigated by the Island County Sheriffs Office for a misdemeanor of disclosing intimate images.

He allegedly had consensual sex with a girl who wasnt aware that Copeland was recording them. Copeland entered into a diversion agreement that ended after he completed community service and paid his fee. He did not complete a required 10 hours of mental health counseling and could have been charged as an adult once he turned 18, but prosecutors decided against it, according to the paper.

Copeland will face an Article 32 hearing -- a preliminary hearing similar to a grand jury proceeding for civilians  on Sept. 18.

According to media accounts and a letter sent to the Navy by Virginias two senators, Democrats Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, friends and family filed a missing person's report on Resendiz on May 31 after they could not reach her and she did not show up for work.

Virginia State Police issued a Critically Missing Alert at the request of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service on June 3.

Esmeralda Castle, Resendiz's mother, flew to Norfolk during the period and sought meetings with the ships command, but said June 7 that the Navy had not been forthcoming with details regarding the case.

A spokesman for the office of the Virginia Medical Examiner said Wednesday that both the cause of Resendizs death and manner of her death were undetermined.

Copeland was taken into custody shortly after Resendizs remains were found and remained in pretrial confinement in connection with the investigation "at [Naval Surface Force Atlantics] discretion," according to a statement provided by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

The Navy's Office of Special Trial Counsel is handling the case. Navy public affairs officials said they had nothing to add other than what was published on the services Judge Advocate General Corps website.

Resendiz joined the Navy in August 2023 and reported to the James E. Williams in February 2024. She made the rank of seaman in February 2025.

Related: Navy Sailor Who Got Video of Police Assault, Entered Capitol on Jan. 6 Avoids Jail Time and Probation
Photo: https://t.me/ministry_of_defense_ua

Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal has said that he believes that the incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace was a "test" of NATO's reaction. He stated this in an interview with Sky News.

"From my point of view, it was like a signal, it was an attempt to test NATO members, how NATO would react, how Poland would react, to take measures, how much time it would take to react. So, this is Russia's strategy - to be ready for war with NATO, and they continue to implement their doctrine to keep all European countries under constant attack in all different spheres - in the information, disinformation, social, political, religious, and now even in the military sphere, attacking Polish territory," Shmyhal said.

However, Shmyhal noted that in addition to the military reasons for the incursion of drones into Poland, another probable reason was an attempt to shift the emphasis from the attacks and war crimes in Ukraine.

"In recent weeks, Russia has committed a huge number of war crimes, crimes of aggression that are taking place in Ukraine. They killed children every day and every night. Two days ago, they killed a mother and a child. They killed 25 people in Kyiv, four of them children. They killed 21 pensioners in the Donetsk region yesterday during our meeting in Ramstein. And this was a deliberate attack with a guided bomb, actually on a group of pensioners who were waiting for their pensions. So, this is a war crime. And now Russia is shifting the emphasis and is shifting the emphasis of the world community, the world community from this war crime to an attack on Poland with the help of decoy drones," the minister explained.

These events, he is convinced, indicate that Russia has no intention of stopping its attacks.

"Russia intends to check how NATO will react, which means that Russia continues to prepare for a possible war with NATO countries," Shmyhal said.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump on Wednesday offered an ambiguous initial response to Russia's drone incursion into Poland's airspace, a provocative act by Moscow that has put the United States' NATO allies in Europe on edge.

Whats with Russia violating Polands airspace with drones? Here we go! Trump posted on his Truth Social platform late Wednesday morning, nearly a half-day after Poland announced that several Russian drones entered its territory over the course of many hours and were shot down with help from NATO allies.

White House officials did not immediately respond to queries about Trumps cryptic comments about the incursion. It was the first time the transatlantic alliance has confronted a potential threat in its airspace, scrambling jets to shoot the Russian drones out of the sky.

But Trump's comment stood in sharp contrast to the strong condemnation by several European leaders and was notably less robust than that of his ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker.

We stand by our @NATO Allies in the face of these airspace violations and will defend every inch of NATO territory, Whitaker posted on X.

The incursion occurred as the U.S. leader is struggling to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to engage in direct peace talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to end Russia's more than 3-year-old war in Ukraine.

Trump spoke Wednesday with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, who was at the White House last week for talks in which the two leaders discussed expanding the U.S. military presence i n Poland. Following the call, Nawrocki posted on X that the conversation confirmed the unity of our alliance."

The U.S. president last month held a summit with Putin in Alaska and then met with Zelenskyy and key European allies about finding a pathway to end the war  something that Trump vowed to get done quickly during his 2024 White House campaign.

Trump emerged from those high-level talks to announce he was arranging a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting and potentially a three-way summit in which he would take part. But Trump's confidence in arranging a peace summit has fizzled as Putin has only intensified air strikes on Ukraine over the past few weeks.

After Wednesday's incursion, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina urged Trump to move forward with new sanctions on Moscow.

Mr. President, Congress is with you, Graham posted on X. We stand ready to pass legislation authorizing bone crushing new sanctions and tariffs that can be deployed at your discretion. Our goal is to empower you as you deal with this mounting threat.

Poland said some of the drones came from Belarus, a close Moscow ally, where Russian and Belarusian troops have begun gathering for war games scheduled to start Friday. Russias Defense Ministry said it did not target Poland, while Belarus said it tracked some drones that lost their course and entered Poland because they were jammed.

But European officials did not accept Moscow's explanation and argued the incident suggests Putin is escalating his war on Ukraine. Polish airspace has been violated many times since Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but never on this scale in Poland or anywhere else in NATO territory.

What Putin wants to do is to test us, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters in Brussels. What happened in Poland is a game changer. She added that the Russian action should result in stronger sanctions.

NATO allies swiftly held talks Wednesday on the incursion with the alliances 32 member states. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told Parliament that the consultations came under Article 4 of the treaty that founded NATO in 1949 in the aftermath of World War II.

Article 4, the shortest of the NATO treatys 14 articles and infrequently invoked, states that: The Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened.
Senators Want Answers From Coast Guard on How it Probes Displays of Swastikas or Other Hate Symbols

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., warned that relaxing policies aimed at fighting hate crimes not only sends the wrong message to...
TALLINN, Estonia  For more than three years, Ukraine has waged an almost nightly battle against Russian attack drones. NATO on Wednesday got a taste of that fight.

Polish authorities said they detected 19 violations of their airspace, prompting a million-dollar response as fighter jets were scrambled and Patriot air defense systems placed on alert. Up to four drones were shot down with the help of NATO allies.

The incursion, which lasted for several hours, showed NATO's vulnerability to drone warfare. Russian authorities said they didnt target Poland, and Belarus, a close ally, said some of the drones lost their course because they were jammed. Nonetheless, several European leaders and experts said Poland was deliberately targeted.

If one or two drones crossed into Polish airspace, it could have been a technical malfunction, but it defies imagination that it could have been accidental when there were 19, said Poland's Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski.

While proving intent is difficult, "to have several to lose their way is starting to look rather deliberate, agreed Thomas Withington, an expert in electronic warfare at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

A goal, he suggested, could have been to test NATO's reaction and ability to respond to drones.

Confusion and Suspicion

Since January, Russia has fired at least 35,698 attack drones at Ukraine according to an Associated Press analysis of data from the Ukrainian air force.

Polish airspace has been violated multiple times since the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Fragments from Ukrainian missiles killed two people in Poland in 2023, while drones have strayed into Poland, Romana and Moldova as well as the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

But until Wednesday, no NATO country had sustained multiple incursions into its airspace. It was the first time NATO airpower was engaged against enemy targets inside a NATO country.

Drone fragments were found about 554 kilometers (344 miles) into Polish territory  deeper than any previous incursion.

Much remains unclear, and for now, NATO is cautious. We do not yet know if this was an intentional act or an unintentional act, U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, NATOs supreme allied commander Europe, said Thursday.

He went on: I would not be able to tell you with any confidence today that it was 20 (drones) or that it was 10. We just have to get into the technical details to figure that out, to debrief the crews that were up, see what they saw, et cetera.

It's difficult "without hard evidence, to say if Moscow really intended to fly the drones into Poland, said Ash Alexander-Cooper, a former specialist military commander and vice president at Dedrone, which produces technology to detect and neutralize drone threats.

But, based on what is known about Russian drones and how they respond to electronic warfare, the experts who spoke to AP said it was highly possible the incursions were deliberate.

Electronic Warfare

There are two key ways to neutralize most drones: either shoot them down, or hit them with electronic signals interference.

Jamming and spoofing are the main ways to do that. Jamming severs the connection the drone has with a satellite navigation system, whereas spoofing tricks the drone into thinking it is somewhere else.

If the drone were jammed  either by Ukraine or Poland  it would either land or fly back toward its point of origin in Russia or Belarus, said Withington.

If it were spoofed, it could fly off course, crash or land.

If the drone were spoofed, trying to jam it could actually make the problem worse, said Alexander-Cooper. Jamming a drone normally sends it home, but Russia is now programming some drones so that their home is actually their target. If satellite communications are cut, the drones continue toward their targets.

Military drones also have inertial navigation units, which use previous position fixes and gyroscopes to mark the drones position relative to the earth so that it can keep flying without satellite or radio signals.

In that case, the drones could only have penetrated deep into Polish airspace if Russia had given them a targeted mission," said Withington.

Million-Dollar Jets, Cheap Drones

Russian attack drones  known as Shaheds  are hard to disrupt electronically, Alexander-Cooper said, which is why NATO scrambled jets to take them down.

F-35 and F-16 fighter jets and Black Hawk helicopters were deployed, as well as Soviet-designed MI-24 and MI-17 helicopters, the Polish Defense Ministry said. German Patriot missile defense systems in Poland were also placed on alert.

The response, Alexander-Cooper suggested, was economically disproportionate to the threat.

Firing million-dollar missiles ... is not an economical model that can be sustained" against drones that cost tens of thousands of dollars, he said.

Gen. Wiesaw Kukua, General Commander of the Polish Armed Forces told Polish television the cost was beside the point. What matters is the value of what this drone can destroy. If its a Polish life, it has no price, he said.

Lt. Gen. Andrus Merilo, Commander of the Estonian Defense Forces, told AP it's important to look at what kind of targets we are defending, rather than what's attacking them. The drones may be cheap, but the cost of a missile to repel them may be far outweighed by the damage they can do.

If faced with drone swarms like those in Ukraine, there would not be enough aircraft within the NATO fleet ... with enough missiles or enough interceptors to do the job," said Alexander-Cooper. It would also require putting fighter jet pilots  who are in limited supply and expensive to train  in harm's way, he said.

Drone Innovation

Both Russia and Ukraine have rapidly developed new drones, technology and tactics.

Since 2024, Russia has mixed decoy drones with no payload among armed Shaheds in order to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses, which cannot easily distinguish between the two.

Russia also has the ability to connect a chain of drones together to bounce a signal to extend another drone's range, said Fabian Hinz at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

In June, Ukraine used drones flown from trucks to strike million-dollar Russian warplanes deep inside the country, during Operation Spiderweb. Ukraine's security service said it used artificial intelligence to partly pilot the drones along a planned route in the event they lost signal.

On the front lines, both Russia and Ukraine use fiber optic drones for surveillance and strikes. They are impossible to interfere with electronically as they are connected to the operator by a long, thin fiber optic cable.

NATO Versus Drones

Each night, Ukraine shoots down most Russian attack drones, according to data from its air force but even one or two can do serious damage.

After Wednesday's incursion, Polish authorities said drone fragments were found at 16 locations. This could indicate that several drones escaped.

The fact that some of the drones were able to fly so far into Polish airspace is an indication that perhaps somewhere the detection capability was lacking, said Withington.

Current NATO air defenses are largely set up to detect and neutralize fast-moving targets like cruise and ballistic missiles, said Withington. They are not, he said, designed to track small objects, often made from fiberglass or plastic, which dont reflect radar waves in the same way as a metal missile.

Sikorski said Wednesday Poland needed a drone wall and new techniques to repel a mass attack.

Nobody was killed during the incident and it would therefore be wrong to suggest NATO's response was a failure, said Withington.

But, he said, it could have been far more serious. My concern is next time it might be.

Associated Press journalists Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Switzerland, Claudia Ciobanu in Warsaw, Poland, and Lydia Doye in London contributed to this report.
The deserted town of Singapore was eventually buried by the moving sand dunes, adding to the lore of "Michigan's Pompeii" as seen here in a photo dated 1936 of an original home underneath mounds of sand. (Photo Courtesy of the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center) Photo Courtesy of the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center

SAUGATUCK, MI -- With every wind whip of Lake Michigan the town of Singapore is further covered in sand, but its history is far from buried. This month marks 150 years since this bustling lumber town was deserted but its cultural relevance  and ghost town lore  are perhaps even more famous now.

Its a fascinating story and part of what makes it interesting is its enduring quality, said Eric Gollannek, Director of the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center.

The once promising metropolis sat near the mouth of the Kalamazoo River, two miles north of Saugatuck and Douglas.

Established in 1837, the lumber town had high aspirations of becoming a prominent shoreline city.

By 1869, four sawmills crowded the Kalamazoo River. The town of Singapore boasted a population of several hundred with 25-40 houses, a busy harbor, general store and even its own bank printing Singapore Bank Notes, according to the history center.

By the 1870s, Singapore was a bustling shipping center and lumber port for Great Lakes cities. The lumber town made a name for itself after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, when the Singapore sawmills supplied much of the wood used to rebuild the city.

Sawmills crowded the Kalamazoo River waterfront, shown here in 1869, in the town of Singapore. In 1875, the lumber schooner OR Johnson sailed to St Ignace and the Straits of Mackinac, the historic mill and leaving Singapore behind as a ghost town. (Courtesy of Saugatuck-Douglas History Center) Courtesy of Saugatuck-Douglas History Center

But Singapore had a short run.

By 1875, the Allegan County forests were depleted leaving this lumber town without its economic cornerstone.

The mills shut down and the village quote unquote disappears, Gollannek said.

On September 29, 1875, the lumber schooner OR Johnson and two tugs called Flora and Saugatuck sailed out to St Ignace and the Straits of Mackinac, carrying equipment to rebuild the mill in the Upper Peninsula.

Buildings were dismantled, salvaged or moved in whole down the Kalamazoo River, either floating or dragged along the ice, to nearby Saugatuck, Gollannek said.

By the end of the 1800s people are already looking back with this kind of nostalgic, romantic image of this lost city. This ghost town of Singapore [becomes] Michigans Pompeii, Gollannek said.

The deserted town of Singapore was eventually buried by the moving sand dunes, adding to the lore of "Michigan's Pompeii" as seen here in a Booth News Service article. (Photo Courtesy of the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center) Photo Courtesy of the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center

Heres where the fact and fiction start to intermingle.

Gollannek notes that unlike the ancient Roman city, there was no danger of Singapore residents being buried alive.

The sand dunes moving in came at a much slower clip than the volcanic ash and pumice that buried Pompeii.

Also significant to note, the people of Singapore were actively moving out. Staying along sand dunes without an economic anchor became unsustainable and unattractive, Gollannek said.

Singapore residents packed up their valuables, saved what they could of the infrastructure and moved on.

Think of cities in the region today that we think of as Rust Belt cities that sort of rise and fall based on whats happening in the economy of the region, Gollannek said Thats true in the 19th century as well.

The deserted town of Singapore was eventually buried by the moving sand dunes, adding to the lore of "Michigan's Pompeii" as seen here in a Kalamazoo Gazette article. (Photo Courtesy of the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center) Photo Courtesy of the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center

While Singapore has long been called a ghost town for its vacancy, Gollannek cant speak to any paranormal activity there. He does feel a strong kind of mythical sense of the place though.

The unknown and the nature of the dunes and the landscape in constant transformation [adds] a certain element of its destabilized, its mysterious, he said. It lends itself to this kind of spooky sensibility. This great unknown.

Singapores folklore has outlived its actual tenure.

The 150th anniversary inspired the history center and the Star of Saugatuck to introduce a new history cruise, offering views of the site of Singapore from the Kalamazoo River.

Its still living in the imagination of people around the region, Gollannek said. Its a great story. History has these echoes across generations.

The cruise sold out quickly, prompting a second timeslot to open. That timeslot has also sold out but interested participants can sign up for the waitlist here.
Some 31% of Ukrainian teenagers surveyed feel anxious or afraid during their studies and need special attention and psychological support, according to the international study "Education as a tool for forming personal resilience, social capital of the country and a culture of peace," which was presented at the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen on the topic "Education that models the world."

As for the responses of Ukrainian students, published by the Ministry of Education and Science, according to the results of the study, children most expect fair treatment (32%) and support and respect (31%).

Ukrainian students also consider the ability to support (58%) and understanding of life circumstances (56%) to be the most valuable qualities of a teacher during war.

"Some 31% of Ukrainian teenagers surveyed feel anxious or afraid during their studies and need special attention and psychological support. It is the need for psychological support for students that is one of Ukraine's key appeals to the world community at this summit", the Ministry of Education said in a statement.

Regarding the skills that school helps develop, 40% of students named creative thinking, 38%  attentiveness and responsibility, 32%  the ability to work in a team and emotional stability, 31%  motivation and self-awareness.

In addition, among Ukrainian teenagers, 79% of those surveyed believe that school should be a center of national and patriotic education, and 44%  participate in volunteer and socially useful projects.

Among other things, when asked what can contribute to the formation of a culture of peace, the most common answers from students were: developing empathy, tolerance and respect for different opinions (37%), teaching peaceful conflict resolution (37%) and human rights (34%).

The study was developed and implemented by the Center for Social Change and Behavioral Economics in collaboration with Deloitte, with the assistance of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the global fund "Education Cannot Wait" and with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE).

The survey was conducted with the participation of Ukrainian and international partners and experts in 14 countries: Austria, Great Britain, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Mexico, UAE, South Africa, USA, Turkey, Ukraine, Finland, Czech Republic and Japan. The study covered three target audiences - teachers, students and parents. Approximately 200 schoolchildren aged 1517, 100 teachers and 100 parents in each country participated in the survey.
The Facebook logo is seen on a cell phone. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File) AP

MACOMB COUNTY, MI  A Michigan doctor has been found guilty of assaulting a 76-year-old woman he befriended on Facebook.

Stephen Mason, 54, of Detroit was convicted in Macomb County of aggravated indecent exposure and assault on Wednesday. The two-day trial ended with the jury delivering a guilty verdict after a one-hour deliberation.

Mason, after earning the womans trust on social media, met the victim face-to-face for the first time on Aug. 1, 2024, when Mason drove her home from a hair appointment.

The victim invited Mason into her residence for a Coke. While in her living room, Mason made sexual advances toward her, but she rejected him. After being rebuffed, Mason masturbated in front of her.

This conviction reaffirms the principle that no one is above the law. The defendants criminal conduct against a 76-year-old victim was a grave violation of both the law and human dignity, said Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido.

Regardless of ones professional status or standing in the community, those who exploit or prey upon the elderly will be held fully accountable. Our office remains committed to protecting vulnerable victims and upholding the rule of law without exception.

Mason was also charged as a second-time habitual offender. He will be sentenced at 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 30 by Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Toia.
FILE - A sign is affixed to the exterior of a Kroger grocery store in Monroe, Ohio, in this photo. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean, File) AP

Kroger, the Cincinnati-based grocery chain, is laying off almost 1,000 corporate employees as part of an ongoing restructuring effort, multiple media sites have reported.

According to a company memo cited by Reuters, the grocery giants cuts will not impact the staff working in stores, manufacturing facilities or distribution centers. Instead, the cuts are being directed at corporate-level employees.

Bloomberg first reported the cutbacks. This latest round of layoffs follows the termination of 200 corporate positions in February.

In the past few months, we have all looked for ways to simplify the organization, shift resources closer to our customers, and focus on work that creates the most value, Interim CEO Ron Sargent wrote in a memo obtained by Reuters.

The company, which employs more than 409,000 people across 16 states, plans to use savings from these staff reductions to lower prices, open new locations, and create additional store-level jobs, according to the memo.

This restructuring comes as Kroger implements broader changes to its operations. Earlier this summer, the company announced plans to close 60 stores over the next 18 months while simultaneously investing between $3.6 billion and $3.8 billion in capital expenditures, including new stores and renovations of existing properties.

Generative AI was used to produce an initial draft of this story based on information. It was reviewed, edited and expanded by MLive staff.
Michigan House Democrats are looking to introduce a 10-bill package that aims to lock in future K-12 school funding in certain areas and for specific student groups amid the ongoing budget impasse. (MLive file photo) Jacob Hamilton | jhamilt3@mlive.com

LANSING, MI  Legislation that aims to lock in protections for portions of K-12 school funding, including universal meals and support for students with special needs, is in the works.

Michigan House Democrats have been busy at work crafting the protections amid lawmakers ongoing state budget impasse.

Democratic lawmakers were motivated by delays from legislators agreeing on school aid funding for 2026, State Rep. Regina Weiss, D-Oak Park, a lead sponsor of the measures, told reporters early Wednesday, Sept. 10.

The measures are just now being finalized, weeks after a missed summer budget deadline and less than a month before the states next fiscal year starts in October.

The states Republican-led House and Democratic-majority Senate passed conflicting school aid proposals earlier this year that each increased per-student funding but varied widely on whether to retain supplemental school support funds, often called categoricals.

Now, Weiss said, they hope their 10-bill package will help codify mandatory thresholds of funding in categories to support free student meals, at-risk students, English-language learners, transportation, and mental health and school safety.

Its become abundantly clear that we need this extra layer of protection so that districts know how to budget, that they know what they can be dependent on moving forward, she said during Wednesdays news conference. And (for) the legislature, theres an extra layer of responsibility of making sure theyre meeting this minimum level of commitment to our schools.

Some Michigan education leaders have been critical of the impasse that left public schools in the lurch as they began the academic year without a final idea of how state funding would affect their budgets after the school fiscal year began July 1.

Read more: Michigan voters frustrated over state budget impasse as school year looms, poll says

Universal meals have proven to be a particular point of concern among districts across the state, as they notify families of plans to drop free breakfast and lunch for all on Oct. 1, unless lawmakers pass a new budget that includes the program.

Funded since 2023-24, universal meals were supported by both state and federal dollars, and many districts would otherwise be left with free or reduced meals for only eligible students under existing federal programming.

As of late Wednesday afternoon, representatives said the House Dems package had been dropped but not listed online under the designated House Bill numbers 4868-77.

HB 4870-71, as proposed, would codify universal meals and require local school compliance.

State Rep. Denise Mentzer, D-Mt. Clemens, called universal meals a no-brainer currently under threat.

One of the schools in my district, 90% of the kids live at or below the poverty level, she said. This food program is critical for them. We know kids learn best when they have full stomachs. Kids dont learn when theyre hungry.

Representatives for Michigans House GOP could not be immediately reached as of late Wednesday afternoon.

Also in the package, Weiss said, is a measure, HB 4877, to protect funding under Section 31a of the State School Aid Act, supporting at-risk students with fixed funds for tutoring, counseling and literacy intervention.

The level of the funding would have to be maintained at 35% of each schools per-student foundation allowance, she said.

Another measure, HB 4872, would provide every public school in Michigan with at least $210 per student to strengthen mental health services and school safety, under another school aid section, according to State Rep. Reggie Miller, whose district includes parts of Lenawee, Monroe, Washtenaw and Wayne counties.

The other measures will propose school support as follows.

HB 4868: English-language learners

HB 4869: Special education

HB 4873: Michigans Great Start Readiness Program, free pre-kindergarten

HB 4874: Funding for rural and isolated schools

HB 4875: Transportation

HB 4876: Career and technical education

House Republicans passed a $21.9 billion school budget proposal in June that increased per-student funding from the latest $9,609 to $10,025, while cutting free student meals and categorical earmarks for programs, including mental health and school safety, transportation, and teacher recruitment and retention.

GOP leaders have said the billions in categorical cuts would free up more per-student funding for schools to choose how to use.

Meanwhile, Senate Dems called for $21.8 billion for education this spring, also raising per-student funding to $10,008 with other measures to address higher teacher pay, school building upgrades, and mental health and safety resources.

On Wednesday, House Democrats laid much of the impasse blame on their GOP colleagues.

Dori Leyko, East Lansing Public Schools Superintendent, said the uncertainty surrounding what earmarks would be funded for specific programs and student populations erodes trust for many administrators as they weigh district budgets.

Without these funds, districts cannot adequately serve students who need additional resources to succeed, she said. We know that equitable funding is not the same as equal funding. Distributing dollars through categoricals recognizes that students and districts face different challenges.

These arent extras, Leyko added. These are essentials.
A Michigan man has been charged with premeditated first-degree murder after he allegedly strangled his wife to death. Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com

CANTON TOWNSHIP, MI  A Michigan man has been charged with premeditated first-degree murder after he allegedly strangled his wife to death.

Michael Shaonan Shen, 30, of Canton is accused of murdering Yu Zhao, 30, of New York at their home in Canton.

Officers responded to the residence in the 200 block of Pinehurst Drive at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 8 after receiving a report of a person not breathing.

Upon their arrival, officers found the victim in the bedroom of the home, unresponsive. Medics arrived on the scene and transported Zhao to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Shen is accused of strangling his wife to death around 1 a.m. on Sept. 8. He was arraigned on Thursday.

A probable cause conference is scheduled for Sept. 19, and a preliminary examination is scheduled for Sept. 26.
The post included a video of Kirk saying that some gun deaths are worth having in order to keep the Second Amendment. (File photo | MLive.com) MLive file photo

OAKLAND COUNTY, MI -- A Republican leader in Oakland County is calling on 45th District Court Judge Jaimie Powell Horowitz to resign over comments she made on Facebook. In a post made Wednesday night, Powell Horowitz shared a video featuring political activist Charlie Kirk at a 2023 event, according to The Detroit News.

The post was published hours after Kirk was killed Wednesday while at a speaking event on the campus of Utah Valley University.

Related story: Rooftop sniper and a political assassination. New information about Charlie Kirks death

While linking to the video, Powell Horowitz wrote, Talk about dying for your beliefs." The video clip features Kirk arguing that gun violence is OK if it means the Second Amendment remains in place.

I think its worth it to have the cost of unfortunately some gun deaths every year..so we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God given rights. Its a prudent deal, a rational deal, Kirk said at the 2023 Turning Point USA event.

In response to the post, Oakland County Republican Party chair Vance Patrick labeled the comments disgusting and called for Powell Horowitz to resign.

Any attempt to justify or lessen the severity of the assassination of Charlie Kirk is a clear indicator of the lack of character and moral fiber of that person, Patrick said. Judge Horowitz should resign immediately to help protect the integrity of our court system.

Powell Horowtz responded to the calls by saying she would not resign because what she said is factual. The Michigan Code of Judicial Conduct allows for judges to state opinions and facts on social media, however they cannot post inaccurate information.

Powell Horowitz was elected to the bench in 2020 after spending more than 15 years as an assistant prosecutor in Wayne County.

Hours after Wednesdays shooting, MSNBC analyst Matthew Dowd was fired by the network for comments he made regarding Kirk.

Kirk, 31, was killed Wednesday while discussing gun violence at a speaking engagement on the UVU campus. A well-known conservative activist, Kirk was the co-founder and CEO of the youth organization Turning Point USA. He also hosted a popular podcast and toured the country debating those who disagreed with his political views.
A federal court ruled in favor of Michigan and other states that filed a lawsuit to stop a Trump administration plan to restrict access to certain services to undocumented immigrants. Trump is pictured speaking to reporters before he enters a restaurant near the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, in Washington, to have dinner. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) AP

Michigan and several other states have scored a temporary victory against a Trump administration order imposing restrictions on services for undocumented immigrants.

A federal judge in Rhode Island issued a preliminary injunction to block restrictions on such services as the federal preschool program Head Start, food banks and adult education.

Related: Nessel says cost of lawsuits against Trump is under $10K so far

President Donald Trumps order would have reclassified certain community-level programs as federal benefits, making them unavailable to undocumented immigrants.

Other programs that could have been affected include community health centers, domestic violence shelters and Title X family planning clinics.

I am relieved that this decision by the Court ensures that families in Michigan and across the country can continue to rely on these essential social services without unlawful directives, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Thursday, Sept. 11 in a written statement.

The judges order halts any implementation of Trumps order while a lawsuit proceeds by a multi-state coalition.
Charlie Kirk hands out hats before speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP) AP

MSNBC has fired political analyst Matthew Dowd after he made several insensitive comments regarding the assassination of Charlie Kirk. While appearing on the cable news network shortly after Kirk was shot Wednesday afternoon, Dowd was asked by anchor Katy Tur about the environment in which a shooting like this happens.

Related story: Rooftop sniper and a political assassination. New information about Charlie Kirks death

Hes been one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups, Dowd said. And I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions. And I think that is the environment we are in.

You cant stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place. And thats the unfortunate environment we are in.

The comments drew the ire of many across various social media platforms, with users sharing the clip and calling for Dowd to be fired.

MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler issued a statement condemning the comments, saying: During our breaking news coverage of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable. We apologize for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise.

Dowd was then fired by the network a few hours later, according to Variety. Dowd issued his own apology on the social media platform Bluesky.

I apologize for my tone and words. Let me be clear, I in no way intended for my comments to blame Kirk for this horrendous attack. Let us all come together and condemn violence of any kind, Dowd wrote.

Related story: Charlie Kirks last words were about mass shootings, heres what he said

Prior to working at MSNBC, Dowd was a political analyst for ABC News and worked as a political strategist for several prominent Republicans, including former President George W. Bush.

Kirk, 31, was killed Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University. A well-known conservative activist, Kirk toured the country speaking at college campuses and debating those opposed to his ideas. He was also the co-founder and CEO of the youth organization Turning Point USA.

A manhunt is underway for the shooter.
Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Point's visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP) AP

A day after conservative influencer and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University, more details have emerged about the shooting itself and the aftermath.

Here are some of the key points from the Associated Press reporting on Charlie Kirks death:

1. It Was a Targeted Attack by a Rooftop Sniper

Charlie Kirk was killed by a single gunshot fired from a roof while he was speaking at a debate hosted by his organization, Turning Point USA, at Utah Valley University.

Beau Mason, the commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, stated that the shooter specifically targeted Kirk.

Videos posted on social media captured the moment the shot was fired, showing Kirk reacting as he was struck in the neck. Following the incident, the university campus was immediately evacuated and closed, with classes canceled until further notice.

Charlie Kirk hands out hats before speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP) AP

2. A Political Assassination

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called the killing a political assassination. The search for the shooter continues. Officials reported they have no information indicating a second person was involved. Authorities were seen showing a photo of the person of interest to people in the area to gather information. Public safety officials noted that two other individuals had been detained earlier but were released after it was determined they were not connected to the shooting.

FILE - President Donald Trump shakes hands with moderator Charlie Kirk, during a Generation Next White House forum at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Thursday, March 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) AP

3. Kirk Was a Major Conservative Influencer

At 18 years old, Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 to bring conservative ideas like limited government to college campuses. The organizations influence soared after Kirk became a staunch supporter of Donald Trumps 2016 presidential campaign, during which he served as a personal aide to Donald Trump Jr. This connection helped elevate Kirks profile, making him a regular on cable TV. Turning Points donations grew exponentially, reaching $79.2 million in 2022, and the group now claims a presence on nearly 4,000 high school and college campuses.

People attend a vigil at Timpanogos Regional Hospital for Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA who was shot and killed, on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett) AP

4. Kirk Was Known for Provocative Statements on Race

Kirk frequently used provocative and controversial statements, particularly regarding race, to engage with Gen Z voters. The Associated Press highlighted a 2024 podcast episode where Kirk said, If I see a Black pilot, Im going to be like, Boy, I hope hes qualified.

He was also a staunch opponent of establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday, arguing the decision was driven by anti-American sentiment and promoted what he called a neo-segregationist view intended to supplant Independence Day.

Allison Hemingway-Witty cries after Charlie Kirk is shot during Turning Point's visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP) AP

5. Politicians United in Condemning the Killing

The fatal shooting of Kirk prompted immediate and widespread condemnation from both Republican and Democratic leaders. President Donald Trump issued a proclamation to lower flags to half-staff and described Kirk on Truth Social as a great guy from top to bottom.

On the other side of the aisle, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who had previously hosted Kirk on his podcast, posted on X that the attack was disgusting, vile, and reprehensible.

Generative AI was used to produce an initial draft of this story based on information from The Associated Press. It was reviewed, edited and expanded by MLive staff.
Photo depicting young female laying across various bags and items in the rear of the vehicle in light pink/purple jacket. U.S. Department of Justice

A Ypsilanti woman is accused of smuggling families with young children into the United States, according to details of her federal case that have been released by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Norma Linda Lozano, 53, was charged by a federal grand jury with one count of conspiracy to smuggle aliens and six counts of bringing aliens to the United States for profit, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday, Sept 3.

In one smuggling event, Lozano allegedly transported three aliens from Guatemala and El Salvador in her car, with a 5-year-old girl. The child rode in the front passenger seat, and Lozano falsely claimed the child was her granddaughter, according to a DOJ release. In another smuggling event, she allegedly transported six adults along with an 8-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy. The girl was placed in the cargo area of the hatchback on top of luggage.

Here is the information being released about the case from the U.S. Department of Justice:

A 53-year-old Michigan woman faces federal charges for allegedly participating in an international human smuggling operation that transported people, including young children, from Central America into the United States through the Canadian border.

Norma Linda Lozano, of Ypsilanti, was charged by a federal grand jury with one count of conspiracy to smuggle aliens and six counts of bringing aliens to the United States for profit. The charges stem from activities between February and November 2024.

According to the indictment, Lozano worked with an alien smuggling organization that brought people from Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and El Salvador into the U.S. illegally through Canada. The organization provided migrants with GPS coordinates and descriptions of Lozanos vehicle for pickup after they crossed the border on foot.

Prosecutors allege Lozano drove from Michigan to Vermont to collect migrants at predetermined locations near the border, then transported them to residences, businesses, or airports within the U.S. in exchange for payment.

In one instance, Lozano allegedly transported three people along with a 5-year-old girl, whom she falsely claimed was her granddaughter. Another incident involved her allegedly transporting six adults and two children, with an 8-year-old girl placed in the cargo area of her hatchback on top of luggage.

Those who promote and profit from smuggling migrants into the country take advantage of vulnerable individuals without regard for the safety of others, said Acting U.S. Attorney Michael P. Drescher for the District of Vermont.

The case marks the first human smuggling investigation in Vermont coordinated under Joint Task Force Alpha, a Department of Homeland Security partnership targeting transnational criminal organizations involved in human smuggling.

This DOJ is investigating and prosecuting human smuggling more aggressively than ever before, said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. We will not rest until those who profit from the suffering of vulnerable people  including many unaccompanied children  face severe, comprehensive justice.

The investigation was led by HSI Burlington and U.S. Border Patrol Swanton Sector, with assistance from HSIs Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., and CBPs National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force.

An indictment contains only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Generative AI was used to produce an initial draft of this story based on information from The U.S. Department of Justice. It was reviewed, edited and expanded by MLive staff.
FILE - President Donald Trump shakes hands with moderator Charlie Kirk, during a Generation Next White House forum at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Thursday, March 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) AP

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will posthumously award political activist Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Trump revealed the plan during a ceremony at the Pentagon to remember the events of 9/11.

Im pleased to announce that I will soon be awarding Charlie Kirk posthumously the Presidential Medal of Freedom," Trump said. The date of the ceremony will be announced and I can only guarantee you one thing, we will have a very big crowd. Very, very big.

Related story: Charlie Kirks last words were about mass shootings, heres what he said

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is considered the highest honor a civilian can receive. The award was created in 1963 through an executive order signed by President John F. Kennedy. The honor can be awarded only by the president and is meant to recognize those who have made significant contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.

Related story: Rooftop sniper and a political assassination. New information about Charlie Kirks death

Kirk, 31, was assassinated during a speaking event at Utah Valley University Wednesday. A well-known conservative activist, Kirk was the co-founder and CEO of the youth organization Turning Point USA. He also hosted a popular podcast and toured the country debating those who disagreed with his political views.
Zelenskyy announces two summits on the sidelines of the UNGA in NYC

Ukraine is preparing to hold the Crimean Platform Summit and the summit on the return of Ukrainian children abducted and deported by Russia on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in late September, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.
Less than a day after conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during his appearance at a Utah college campus, law enforcement have made some strides in their hunt for the person who pulled the trigger.

Calling Kirks shooting a targeted attack, authorities today have released new details about what happened immediately before and after the single shot rang out.

The FBI has now released information on a possible suspect and has asked for the publics help.

Here are the highlights from the Associated Press roundup of the latest developments in the Kirk case:

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk speaks during a town hall Monday, March 17, 2025, in Oconomowoc, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps) AP

1. Sniper Attack from a Rooftop

Charlie Kirk, the co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while speaking at a debate hosted by his organization at Utah Valley University. Authorities stated that a single shot was fired from a distant rooftop, striking Kirk in the neck.

Social media videos captured the moment the shot rang out while Kirk was speaking under a tent. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called the killing a political assassination, and Beau Mason, the states public safety commissioner, confirmed that the shooter targeted Kirk. The campus was immediately evacuated and closed indefinitely following the attack.

Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Point's visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP) AP

2. Manhunt is Underway for a College Age Suspect

The search for Kirks killer was ongoing as of Thursday. The FBI released two photos of a person of interest who appears to be of college age and was seen wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a long-sleeve black shirt.

Authorities believe the shooter blended in with the college population before jumping from the roof and escaping in the ensuing mayhem.

A Mauser .30 caliber bolt-action rifle, hidden in a towel with a spent cartridge in the chamber, was recovered in a wooded area near the campus along what investigators suspect was the shooters escape route.

3. Kirk Was a Major Conservative Influencer and Trump Ally

At 18, Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA, which grew from a campus-focused group into a conservative media powerhouse with a presence on nearly 4,000 school campuses and a budget that climbed to $79.2 million by 2022.

An enthusiastic backer of Donald Trump, Kirk served as an aide to Donald Trump Jr. during the 2016 campaign and became a prominent culture warrior and podcaster. He was known for provocative statements on race and was leading a GOP get-out-the-vote effort for the 2024 election based on mobilizing infrequent voters.

A well-wisher is overcome after dropping off flowers, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, at the national headquarters of Turning Point USA in Phoenix, following the shooting death of Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old CEO of the organization, at a Utah college. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) AP

Generative AI was used to produce an initial draft of this story based on information from The Associated Press. It was reviewed, edited and expanded by MLive staff.
Police are gathered on Miller Road west of South Dye Road in Swartz Creek. Dylan Goetz MLive

SWARTZ CREEK, MI -- Police from multiple departments have closed Miller Road west of the South Dye Road intersection on Thursday morning.

There is a large police presence about a quarter-mile west of the closed intersection.

Michigan State Police confirmed the law enforcement agency is assisting the Metro Police Authority of Genesee County as well as a Genesee County court officer at the scene.

Swartz Creek Community Schools announced at 10:36 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, that the police situation has been contained.

Morrish and Elms elementaries originally entered shelter-in-place protocols.

All normal school operations have resumed.

This story will be updated when more information becomes available.
The North Flint Food Market is shown in this Flint Journal file photo. (Ron Fonger | The Flint Journal) Ron Fonger | The Flint Journal

FLINT, MI -- Police sergeants in Flint have a new contract after ratification of the deal by the Flint City Council, but support for investing $300,000 in the North Flint Food Market continued to fall short on Wednesday, Sept. 10.

Council members reconsidered both actions during a special meeting on Wednesday after neither proposal won enough votes for passage two days earlier.

Six council members unanimously agreed to the new police contract that covers 24 sergeants as talks continue with other police unions.

Human Resources Director Eddie Smith told council members on Monday, Sept. 8, the new contract is expected to cost the city $46,679.

No additional information about the labor agreement was provided by the city or the union representing the sergeants, who had been working under the terms of an expired contract.

Although a majority of council members continued to support funding for the food market on Wednesday, the proposal to provide $300,000 in pre-opening support fell short of the five votes needed.

Reginald Flynn, founder of the North Flint Reinvestment Corp., which has led the Clio Road co-op project, asked council members to support the funding.

Boosters have said federal stimulus funds from the city would help to cover pre-opening costs for the grocery store.

Store officials have said they expect the market to open in November after having received $1.5 million from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation in May.

The foundation has now invested $3.6 million in the project.

Flynn asked council members to help put the store on a more solid foundation in advance of its opening rather than relying on for-profit companies to provide healthy food to an underserved area.

Kroger, Meijer and Hamady groceries have closed within a few miles of the market during the past 10 years.

The market has been established as a community venture with roughly 1,000 individuals buying memberships, giving them a voice in how the store will operate and how profits are reinvested or distributed.

Member-owners can buy into the market project for $250 or $500 for churches and other organizations.

Others wont need a membership to shop at the store.

Hamady, Kroger, Meijer -- they can make corporate decisions to close, but when its community-owned, we come together and decide -- even if the gross profit margins arent where they should be -- that the store remains open, Flynn said Wednesday.

Four council members supported the market funding, but members Tonya Burns (Ward 6) and Judy Priestley (Ward 4) opposed the spending resolution.
Police are gathered on Miller Road west of South Dye Road in Swartz Creek. Dylan Goetz MLive

SWARTZ CREEK, MI -- A gunshot was fired towards a civil process officer with the Metro Police Authority of Genesee County at a residence in the 5000 block of Miller Road, police said.

Michigan State Police Public Information Officer Lt. Kim Vetter reported law enforcement is currently working to peacefully resolve the situation west of the Miller Road and South Dye Road intersection.

Police have made contact with the suspect and are working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible, Vetter said.

When the shot was fired, officers fell back and called for assistance.

The Michigan State Police Emergency Support Team along with officers from surrounding departments responded to the scene.

Nobody was injured in the shooting incident, Vetter said.

Miller Road is currently closed west of the South Dye Road intersection and will remain closed while the situation is resolved, Vetter said.

Swartz Creek Community Schools announced at 10:36 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, that the police situation has been contained.

Morrish and Elms elementaries originally entered shelter-in-place protocols.

All normal school operations have resumed.
A fatal crash occurred in Holland Township in Ottawa County, Michigan, on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, according to the sheriff's office. (MLive file photo) Alison Zywicki | azywicki

OTTAWA COUNTY, MI  One person is dead and three individuals are injured as the result of a rollover crash that happened just before 2 p.m. Thursday afternoon.

A 2007 Chevrolet pickup truck pulling a double axle utility trailer was northbound on 104th Avenue and pulled into the path of a westbound 2020 Honda Civic at the Quincy Street intersection in Holland Township, causing the crash, deputies said.

The impact caused the pickup and trailer to rollover.

The driver of the pickup, a 70-year-old male from Wyoming, was not wearing his seatbelt and suffered fatal injuries as a result of the crash, according to an Ottawa County Sheriffs Office incident report.

The mans passenger, a 37-year-old male from West Olive, was pinned in the truck and had to be extricated by Holland Township Fire and Rescue, the report states.

The driver and passenger of the Honda, both 29-year-old females from Holland, suffered serious injuries and were transported to local hospitals by AMR Ambulance.

The crash remains under investigation by the sheriffs office.

The name of the deceased is yet to be released, pending notification of next of kin.
GEORGETOWN TWP., MI  A West Michigan township is facing pushback from its residents over a recent 55% hike in water rates, which homeowners say was poorly planned and puts a financial strain on families.

Some residents are also claiming that their water bills have skyrocketed because their meters are inaccurately recording their water consumption.

Georgetown Township residents packed into a standing-room-only board meeting on Monday, Sept. 8, to voice their concerns on the issue. Although water rates were not on the agenda, dozens of residents lined up for over an hour of public comment to share their frustration with the board, with some complaining of water bills exceeding $600 despite using less water.

The Georgetown Township Board of Trustees approved the 55% water rate increase earlier this summer. Township Manager Justin Stadt said the hike, which went into effect in July, was in response to recent cost increases from the city of Wyoming, the townships water service provider, due to infrastructure improvements needed to accommodate high water use.

Stadt said Wyoming has $600 million in planned capital water system improvements, and Georgetown Township is responsible for 42% of those costs because of its high residential water use, particularly for lawn irrigation in the summer.

Some residents urged the township board to consider borrowing money for those projects through bonds, rather than gouging homeowners through higher water rates. However, Georgetown Township Supervisor Jim Wierenga and other board members pushed back on that idea, saying the conservative board has historically avoided bonds to stay out of debt.

Another issue for residents was the fact that this years increase was so steep after years of stable water rates. Wierenga said that before 2024, the township had not increased its water rates since 2017. However, he said on Monday that he now regrets raising rates so suddenly, rather than slowly raising water rates little by little over the years.

I wish we had raised them sooner, he said.

Several residents said they blamed the township for poor financial planning and suggested that board members should be recalled.

Longtime resident Ray Vela, a retiree, said he worried he would have to go back to work in order to be able to pay his bills. With prices increasing for other necessities like gas and groceries, the sudden hike in water rates puts a financial strain on households, he said.

In 40 years, Ive never had a water bill like I did when I received it two weeks ago, he told the board during public comment. I opened mine up and I saw, WTF? That is ridiculous. My bill has never ever ever been that high.

If you guys cant do nothing about it, then maybe you all need to be replaced.

When Wierenga asked for a show of hands, several residents indicated their water and sewer bills were approaching $1,000. Some said they felt their water meters were not accurately recording their water use, leading to higher bills.

Katrina Brummel, who owns a medical spa in Georgetown Township, said she understands the need to increase water rates to pay for infrastructure costs. However, she said she has seen a drastic rise in her reported water use that did not reflect her businesss water consumption.

Brummel said she calculated her businesss water use, noting that with only a small strip of grass to water and one toilet that flushes around 10 times a day, her quarterly use is approximately 1,350 gallons every 90 days.

In contrast, her most recent quarterly water bill claimed she used 95 units of water, or 95,000 gallons.

This would mean that we would have had to flush our toilet 650 times per day to come up with the water usage that we were billed for, she said.

Brummel said she went to the city to dispute the charge, but that she was told the water meters were accurate and she must have a leak somewhere in her building.

She pushed back on that theory: If this was the case, that would be a leak large enough to fill a 40,000-gallon pool twice over, she told the board. Somehow, I feel like I would notice that water leak.

Brummel wasnt the only person who said their reported water use seemed drastically higher than what they actually used. One resident who said they live in a two-person household and dont water their lawn reportedly received a bill for over $632, with the sewer portion being $262.

Wierenga agreed to investigate the accuracy of the meters.

Stadt said residents can get their water meters checked by the city if they believe theyre inaccurate. The test costs $100, but if a residents water meter is found to be inaccurate, the city will cover the cost and install a new meter.
Workers with Holland-based EV Construction are prepping the site by Breton Village at 1970 Breton Road SE in Grand Rapids to begin building a new Tommys Express car wash. Photo by Ehren Wynder

GRAND RAPIDS, MI  A major West Michigan car wash brand is bringing a new location to the corner of Breton Road and Burton Street in Grand Rapids.

Workers with Holland-based EV Construction are prepping the site at 1970 Breton Road SE in Grand Rapids to begin building a new Tommys Express car wash.

A spokesperson for Tommys Express said the new location, positioned between Breton Village and the Mobil gas station, will be a full-sized car wash and is expected to open in summer 2026.

This will be the second Grand Rapids location for the popular car wash chain, with the first location at 4095 Plainfield Ave. NE. Tommys is clustered mainly in southern Kent County with locations in Wyoming, Grandville, Kentwood and Caledonia.

The Holland-based global car wash chain has grown rapidly in recent years. In July, it revealed its first-ever World Model car wash at 1350 S. Point Place in Holland.

The new car wash concept is smaller than standard Tommys Express locations and is designed to serve small towns with populations under 5,000 and downtown areas with limited vacant land.

The World Models modular construction also allows Tommys Express to build new units in as little as four months.

People can download the Tommys Express app and register their vehicle to skip the lines at any Tommys Express location.
The Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission has issued a public complaint against Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wilson, alleging that Wilson was drunk in public on several occasions, sexually harassed other judges and didnt disclose business relationships with attorneys who appeared in front of him.

Further, the complaint alleges that that Wilson meddled in cases involving himself and his relatives and, in some instances, allowed cases to linger for more than a year without rendering decisions or taking action called for by a higher court.

Wilson, who has been on the bench since 2007, has 14 days to respond to the allegations.

Wilsons attorney, Thomas Cranmer, said in an email only that Judge Wilson is a respected and trusted jurist in Jackson County. It is not appropriate to try this case in the media, but we look forward to clearing his name as we move forward with the process.

According to the complaint, Wilson admitted under oath that he had abused alcohol from roughly 2013 to 2021, in some cases leaving the courthouse to drink at home before returning to work.

In one instance, he asked county employees to do Fireball shots with him, the complaint said. In another, he was seen slurring his speech and falling asleep at an area winery.

Wilson also had a habit of describing his sexual escapades to female judges in graphic detail, the complaint said. To one, he offered a description of what frequent sexual activity had done to his penis and said he had to have it checked out at the health department.

He told a female judge he had been wanting to [have sex with her] for a long time, the complaint said, commented on the size of anothers breasts and shouted nice legs at an assistant prosecuting attorney across a parking lot.

The complaint also alleges that Wilson had business relationships with attorneys who appeared in front of him and did not disclose those relationships or disqualify himself from those cases.

Ivan Brown, Brian Hilderley and Christopher Hurlburt, attorneys at the firm where Wilson was once a partner, rented space in a building he owned until he sold it in 2022. Wilson also co-owned a car wash with Brown, the complaint said, and Brown represented him in real estate cases.

Brown said he hadnt appeared in front of Wilson often and believed the relationship was common knowledge.

It was my understanding there was some sort of blanket waiver of conflict from the prosecutors office, he said.

Hurlburt said he recalled many instances where we would disclose the landlord-tenant relationship before a hearing got underway and give clients the chance to request a different judge.

I cant say that that happened every time, he said.

The complaint also accuses Wilson of meddling in cases involving himself and his family members.

When his divorce case was transferred to a judge in Ingham County, the complaint said, he tried to revise a draft order relating to the transfer to eliminate more than $2,030 that he owed in child support.

When a relative was charged in a retail fraud case, he worked to ensure it was heard in Jackson County, the complaint said.

When a relative was charged with minor-in-possession, he tried to convince an assistant prosecutor to drop the case, then tried to prevent it from being transferred to another county and then asked the assistant prosecutor to tell Prosecuting Attorney Jerard Jarzynka words to the effect that what goes around comes around, the complaint said.

Wilson is also accused of delaying decisions, in some instances for years.

In a divorce case involving elderly litigants whose health made a speedy resolution advisable, he delayed a decision by more than a year, the complaint said.

In a case where an appellate court found that he had improperly dismissed a case, he went more than two years without reinstating the conviction, leaving it to be done by another judge while Wilson was on medical leave.

The complaint also alleges, Wilson took measures to conceal delays from the State Court Administrative Office.

Once Wilson has responded to the allegations, the Judicial Tenure Commission will schedule a hearing on the case in front of a special master.

If the accusations are found to be valid, he could be censured, suspended or even removed from the bench.
Cole's Quality Foods was founded in 1942 in Muskegon. Shown are recently baked garlic loaves of bread being packaged at Cole's Quality Foods Production. MLive file photo

MUSKEGON, MI  A local garlic bread empire is shuttering its Muskegon operations after more than 80 years.

Coles Quality Foods on Tuesday, Sept. 10, issued a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice stating it planned to close its facility at 1188 Lakeshore Drive in Muskegon.

The closure, effective Nov. 9, is expected to result in the termination of 175 employees, 144 of whom are represented by Teamsters Local 406. Because the permanent plant closure affects all union members on the same date, bumping rights will not apply, according to the WARN letter.

The federal WARN Act requires businesses to provide advance notice - at least 60 days - in cases of qualified plant closings and mass layoffs.

The filing did not give a specific reason for the closure, only stating that circumstances will force the company to close the Muskegon facility. A spokesperson for Coles did not immediately answer questions at the time of publishing.

A statement from the city of Muskegon, issued on Tuesday, said Coles indicated that impacted employees would continue to receive pay for 60 days after the filing.

The city encouraged impacted workers to call West Michigan Works Business Services Unit at (231) 724-6381 and select the job seekers option from the phone tree.

Founded in 1943 in Muskegon by L. Carroll Cole, Coles Quality Foods introduced frozen garlic bread to the North American market. The company has since grown from a neighborhood bakery to a national brand with facilities in West Michigan and Iowa.

In December 2024, Furlani Foods of Ontario, Canada, announced an agreement to acquire Coles Quality Foods, a move intended to drive efficiencies and innovation that benefit consumers.

We are aligned on dedication to customer service, quality, innovation and sustainability, Coles CEO Scott Devon said in December. This is good news for the future of the company, our customers and ultimately our consumers.

The city of Muskegon said it would connect with Furlani Foods leadership to discuss the future of the Coles plant.
Renovations will begin Tuesday, Sept. 16, on the Muskegon South Breakwater Lighthouse. Pictured is the lighthouse during the Great Lakes Surf Festival in Muskegon, Mich. on Saturday, August 10, 2024. Charlie Nick | MLive.com

MUSKEGON, MI - A portion of the pier leading to Muskegons southern lighthouse will close next week.

Renovations will begin Tuesday, Sept. 16, on the Muskegon South Breakwater Lighthouse, a press release from the Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy states.

The pier leading out to the lighthouse will be closed at its halfway point to give crews room to work.

The $1.6 million project will be done by Mihm Enterprises, a lighthouse restoration company based in Hamilton.

The first phase of the project begins this month with restoring the structure to ensure winter ice and weather do not cause further damage. The first phase is covered by an $800,000 state grant.

An additional $800,000 is still needed to fund the second phase of the project.

This is a turning point, said Jeff Shook of the Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy. Without community support, this lighthouse may be lost forever.

The 63-foot-tall lighthouse is often visited by tourists and locals at Muskegons Pere Marquette Beach, according to Visit Muskegon.

The additional restoration work will begin in the spring of 2026 if fundraising efforts are successful.

The Muskegon South Breakwater Lighthouse was constructed in 1931 and has guided mariners for nearly a century.

The neighboring Muskegon South Pierhead Lighthouse remains open for tours, with an on-site gift shop.

Visit muskegonlights.org to donate, view sponsorship options or learn more about the restoration effort.
Ukraine working on new US meeting format based on Coalition of the Willing  Zelenskyy

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/zelenskyy.official

Ukraine is constantly in contact with the American side, in particular, it is working on the format of a new meeting with the US on the basis of the Coalition of the Willing, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

As he noted at a joint press conference with Finnish President Alexander Stubb in Kyiv, Ukraine "constantly has contacts with the American side at various levels," and also recalled that he had a number of phone calls with US President Donald Trump.

"We are also working on the format of some meeting on the basis of the Coalition of the Willing, he said.
Michigan State Police are investigating a fatal vehicle vs. pedestrian crash on Wednesday, Sept. 10. Isaac Ritchey | iritchey@mlive.c

MONTCALM COUNTY, MI  Michigan State Police are investigating a womans death in Montcalm County after she was struck by a vehicle.

The crash happened around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, in Maple Valley Township.

Troopers were called for a report of a vehicle vs. pedestrian crash near Coral and Gravel Ridge roads.

Police said a 60-year-old Coral woman was stopped in a westbound lane when she exited her vehicle. She was in the eastbound lane when she was struck by a vehicle driven by a 32-year-old Howard City man.

The woman, who was not immediately identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The investigation is ongoing.
BAY CITY, MI  The former executive director of Bay Citys historic State Theatre is scheduled to appear before a federal judge for the first time later this month.

Michael Bacigalupo is charged with a single felony count of fraud in connection with what has been described in federal documents as orchestrating a fraudulent scheme.

Federal court records show that Bacigalupo, who has not had an appearance before a judge on the matter, has been scheduled for an initial appearance and plea hearing before Magistrate Judge Patricia T. Morris at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23.

Neither Bacigalupo nor his attorney could be immediately reached for comment.

Bacigalupo was the chief operating officer of the State Theatre. In this role, he was involved in and was the person primarily responsible for the venues day-to-day operations.

In June 2020, Bacigalupo borrowed $150,000 through a U.S. Small Business Administration program on behalf of the theater. In doing so, he pledged all its personal property as collateral. When the loan was received, the funds were not utilized for theater improvements but allegedly went toward Bay Citys Wenonah Park.

Also in June 2020, Bacigalupo borrowed $800,000 on behalf of the theater from the Bay County Growth Alliance. He pledged all real property associated with the theater as collateral in applying for this loan. But once again, the funds received in the loan did not go toward the theater; instead, they were allegedly used on the Bay City band shell and surrounding areas in Wenonah Park.

State Theatre Board of Directors meetings occurred during these times, but Bacigalupo allegedly concealed the existence of the loans. At subsequent meetings, Bacigalupo allegedly continued to mislead the board of directors as to the existence of the loans and the burden they placed on the State Theatres financial well-being.

The inability to repay the loans caused a collapse of the State Theatres financial condition which in turn forced the theater to file for bankruptcy. The State Theatre lost the ownership, use and benefit of all its personal and real property.

Bacigalupo, who had been the director of the Historical Museum of Bay County at 321 Washington Ave. since late 2016, was fired as the citys special events coordinator in November 2023. The Downtown Development Authority removed him as its director, and the State Theatres board of directors ousted him as its chief operating officer. The United Way of Bay County also parted ways with Bacigalupo just weeks after announcing he and his wife were co-chairs of its 2023 fundraising campaign.

Then, in 2024, he resigned as the theaters executive director.

A court order filed Sept. 3 indicated Bacigalupos case would go before Morris for a plea hearing, but no details of the plea have been made available.

Federal prosecutors allege Bacigalupo targeted cultural and economic organizations between June 2020 and November 2023. The alleged victims include the Bay City State Theatre, Bay City Historical Society, and Michigan Economic Development Corp.

Prosecutors allege Bacigalupo used false pretenses and fraudulent representations to obtain money from these organizations, including sending fraudulent emails across state lines as part of the scheme.

If convicted, Bacigalupo could face asset forfeiture for any property traced to the alleged fraud proceeds. The U.S. government may pursue a forfeiture money judgment for the full value of proceeds obtained through the scheme.

Federal authorities also retain the right to pursue substitute assets if the original proceeds cannot be located or have been transferred, placed beyond court jurisdiction, significantly diminished in value, or mixed with other property.
Charlie Kirk hands out hats before speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP) AP

VASSAR, MI  A Michigan school district has placed one of its teachers on administrative leave after they made a social media post following the death of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk that district officials said, raised concerns within our community.

A letter from Vassar Public Schools Superintendent Steve Clark to parents of district students on Thursday, Sept. 11, said the teachers comments do not reflect the sentiments of the school districts leadership or the Board of Education.

This morning the staff member in question was placed on administrative leave as the district conducts a thorough investigation the letter reads. We are working with our legal counsel to determine next steps.

The death of Mr. Kirk is a tragedy, and the district does not condone violence of any kind. Over the past several months we have worked tirelessly to build trust with our community. We will continue to strive to communicate openly and provide as much detail as possible when matters arise that have a broad impact on our families.

It was not immediately clear who the teacher that was placed on leave was or what their post allegedly said.

Clark said because the decision was a personnel matter, he could not comment on it any further.

Kirk, who also was the co-founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed during his appearance at a Utah college campus.

Calling Kirks shooting a targeted attack, authorities have released information on a possible suspect and have asked for the publics help.

Others who have made comments regarding Kirk and his death have also faced criticism.

A Republican leader in Oakland County is calling on 45th District Court Judge Jaimie Powell Horowitz to resign over comments she made on Facebook. In a post made Wednesday night, Powell Horowitz shared a video featuring Kirk at a 2023 event, according to The Detroit News.

While linking to the video, Powell Horowitz wrote, Talk about dying for your beliefs. The video clip features Kirk arguing that gun violence is OK if it means the Second Amendment remains in place.

MSNBC has fired political analyst Matthew Dowd after he made several insensitive comments regarding the assassination of Kirk. While appearing on the cable news network shortly after Kirk was shot Wednesday afternoon, Dowd was asked by anchor Katy Tur about the environment in which a shooting like this happens.

Hes been one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups, Dowd said. And I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions. And I think that is the environment we are in.

You cant stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place. And thats the unfortunate environment we are in.
U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Caledonia, was participating in a spending bill work session Wednesday in Washington when he learned that prominent conservative influencer Charlie Kirk had been shot.

Your first hope is that its not life threatening, Moolenaar said. But then, as you know, we followed it and learned more through the evening, the news worsened. And so its just a very  a cloud that hung over the appropriations process as well as the House floor.

Kirk was fatally shot in the neck by a sniper Wednesday, Sept. 10, while holding a debate at Utah Valley University. The suspect remains at large.

The debate was part of a nationwide campus tour for Kirk, who headed the preeminent conservative youth organization, Turning Point USA. Earlier this year, that tour took him to Michigan State University.

Kirk and his organization are credited with helping energize and mobilize young conservatives, especially in driving youth support for President Donald Trump and the Make America Great Again movement.

Moolenaar didnt know Kirk well, but he recalled having dinner with him in October 2021 when Kirk was a guest speaker at a congressional district event in Michigan.

One of the things that struck me that evening when we had the dinner is he was very humble, Moolenaar said. He asked questions. He was following the appropriations process. He wanted to gain insights on how things were going and getting done for our country. He was very engaged and he brought that same spirit with him to engaging students.

He was someone who deeply loved our country and believed in the importance of culture and what has contributed to America flourishing these past 250 years. And so people are saddened. Its a tremendous loss.

Its too early to tell what legislation federal lawmakers may take up in response to Kirks assassination, Moolenaar said. However, he expects there will be numerous tributes and recognitions of the contributions hes made.

I think as we go forward more people will be exposed to his message, he said. I think some very positive things will happen because, even though he will be lost, and my heart goes out to his wife, his children and so many who are devastated by this  its a very tragic moment in history.

At the same time, I believe there will be a greater focus on what he was contributing to our country. And Im hopeful that additional people will take up that mantle and he might inspire a new generation of people to get involved because they care for our country.

While a motive in Kirks slaying is not yet known, the act comes amid rising political violence and attempted or successful assassinations in America.

Last year, Trump survived being shot during a campaign rally. Earlier this year, a Minnesota state representative and her husband were killed, and a Minnesota state senator and his wife were wounded, in what police said was a politically motivated attack.

I think its important that people speak out, that there is no place for political violence in this country, and we resolve things through debate with respect for one another and then we vote. We have that freedom, Moolenaar said. When you consider our founding documents protect the freedom of expression, and thats a gift that we have. So I think we need to continue to advocate for that and speak out whenever people violate that and try to silence someone for their views.

Moolenaar reflected on several historical quotes that he said resonate in this moment.

You think of Martin Luther King talking about hate doesnt drive out hate; only love drives out hate, he said. You think of Robert F. Kennedys speech after the Martin Luther King assassination where he talked about, what we need in this country is not more division, but love, compassion towards our fellow man. When you think of Abraham Lincoln talking about rededicating ourselves to the founding principles, I think all of those messages merit repeating and reflecting on.

Kirks assassination has seen widespread, bipartisan condemnation from politicians in Michigan and across the U.S.

Thinking of Charlie Kirk, his family, and the community at UVU after the horrific shooting, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said. We should all come together to stand up against any and all forms of political violence. Its unacceptable.
President Donald Trump watches as the American flag at the White House in Washington D.C. is lowered to half-staff after Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA, was killed at an event in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) AP

President Donald Trump has ordered that all flags of the United States flown at U.S. federal buildings, military posts and embassies across the world be flown at half-staff as a mark of respect for the memory of Charlie Kirk.

Kirk, the 31-year-old CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was killed Wednesday afternoon while on stage at a speaking event at Utah Valley University.

RELATED: Charlie Kirks fatal shooting: Scenes from the chaotic aftermath in Utah

In accordance with Trumps order, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also ordered that the U.S and Michigan flags at the State Capitol, as well as those upon all public buildings and grounds across the state, be lowered to half-staff immediately.

Michigan residents, businesses, schools, local governments and other organizations also are encouraged to display the flag at half-staff.

To lower flags to half-staff, flags should be hoisted first to the peak for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff position. The process is reversed before the flag is lowered for the day.

Both Whitmers and Trumps orders lift at sunset on Sunday, Sept. 14.

Charlie Kirk hands out hats before speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP) AP

I am thinking of Charlie Kirk, his family, and the community at UVU after the horrific shooting that took place earlier today, Whitmer said in a statement. Political violence of any form is unacceptable and must be condemned.

Our country is founded on the freedom to stand up and speak your mind without fear of being hurt or killed. We must tone down the hateful and divisive rhetoric and center our common humanity. We settle our differences at the ballot box, not through violence. We all have a role to play in coming together and standing up against any and all forms of hatred and violence.

Trump posted his sentiments on his social media platform, Truth Social, in which he called Kirk, great, and even legendary.

No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie, Trump posted. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!

President Donald Trump, right, shakes hands with Turning Point CEO Charlie Kirk before speaking during the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit, July 23, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. (AP File Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack) AP

Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II said the politically motivated shooting is yet another reminder that political violence cannot be tolerated.

We cannot normalize it, Gilchrist said. Every leader, every community, and every American must use their voice and platform to put an end to this violence.

Michigan Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, issued his own statement, calling the shooting of Kirk another violent assault on our American way of life.

Allison Hemingway-Witty cries after Charlie Kirk is shot during Turning Point's visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP) AP AP

The events that transpired today in Utah can only be described as horrific, Nesbitt said. It was an act of terrorism, plain and simple.

Charlie always emphasized that the minute we stop having discourse, the second we stop sharing ideas with each other, despite our differences, is when we will devolve into violence. Thats why he went to college campuses and had discussions with the future of our nation. He wanted to show that ideas should be shared and debated, and that no one should be silenced simply because of what they believed.

RELATED: Charlie Kirks last words were about mass shootings, heres what he said

People tried to kick Kirk off campuses not allowing him to speak, Nesbitt said.

Finally, they tried to silence him permanently. Unfortunately, they did, Nesbitt said. I, as well as most Americans, am overwhelmed with emotions after what we witnessed today. Sadness. Disgust. Anger.

As a father to young children, my heart is shattered for his wife and babies. I call everyone to join in prayer for the well-being of his family, who were robbed of this wonderful man. May God give them the love and strength to make it through this.
Photo: https://www.facebook.com/RedCrossUkraine

The Ukrainian Red Cross Society has opened its own vocation, where students can receive a complete general secondary education.

"Officially: the Ukrainian Red Cross Society Vocational College has received licenses for educational activities! Now the college has the right to provide complete general secondary education, as well as train nurses and brothers in the specialty "Nursing," URCS has said on Facebook.

The college is open to students in the 9th and 11th grades. The educational institution offers students modern programs according to the standards of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, practical training in simulation laboratories and medical institutions, as well as an educational environment built on the values of humanity, neutrality and responsibility.

"This is another, but very important step towards creating an innovative and humane educational space that meets the standards of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement," URCS said.
Larry Ellison's father once called him 'Good for Nothing'  today he's richest man in world

Saurav Pandey is the Deputy Manager of Content at Moneycontrol, specialising in content strategy, execution and performance analysis. He integrates advanced SEO techniques to deliver high-impact, data-driven content formats. His expertise spans various beats, including education, career, science and others, where he adopts a technical approach to optimise visibility, improve search rankings, and drive organic traffic growth. He can be reached out at Saurav.Pandey@nw18.com.

Saurav Pandey

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MC Education Desk Read the latest and trending news on CBSE, board exams, NEET, JEE, CUET, competitive exams, scholarships, college admissions, education policies, and more.

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Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas says will quit industry if Kishkindhapuri fails to keep the audiences engaged and they are on phones

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Some 52 political prisoners have been released from Belarusian prisons and are being held on Lithuanian territory, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Thursday.

"No man left behind! 52 prisoners safely crossed the Lithuanian border from Belarus today, leaving behind barbed wire, barred windows and constant fear. Among them, which is especially important to me, were 6 Lithuanians. I am deeply grateful to the United States and personally to President @realDonaldTrump for their continued efforts to free political prisoners. 52 is a lot. A great many. Yet more than 1,000 political prisoners still remain in Belarusian prisons and we cannot stop until they see freedom!" Nauseda said on X.
Vaishnavi Gavankar

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Exclusive- Priyanka Bose on MeToo accused still finding work in Bollywood: The industry moves where money moves; systems dont change overnight

M Snehanjali

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1 / 9

Originally not meant for Salman Khan

The lead role of the film was first offered to Hrithik Roshan and Shah Rukh Khan, but the two actors turned the offer down due to date issues which then went to Salman Khan for being the cast in the iconic role. The film was also Salmans first project as a solo hero with Yash Raj Films.
Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone get interim relief as Rajasthan court puts stay on FIR in Hyundai car complaint

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The Bengal Files to screen in Kolkata on September 13 amid theatre restrictions

The Bengal Files to get its first screening after ban in Kolkata

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More children now obese than underfed: UNICEF blames ads, junk food and broken systems

Namita S Kalla is a senior journalist who writes about different aspects of modern life that include lifestyle, health, fashion, beauty, and entertainment.

More children today are overweight than underweight  a global shift driven by ultra-processed food, digital marketing, and collapsing food systems. (Image: Pexels)

Manjiri Patil

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Ukraine is monitoring the Russian-Belarusian military exercises Zapad-2025, which have already begun on the territory of Belarus, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

"Russian-Belarusian military exercises have already begun on the territory of Belarus. We are monitoring this in Ukraine. Our military is recording the movement of Russian equipment, the deployment of infrastructure," he said at a joint press conference with Finnish President Alexander Stubb in Kyiv.

According to Zelenskyy, "the meaning of such actions by the Russian Federation is definitely not defensive, and is definitely directed against not only Ukraine."

"Everyone in Europe feels that Russia, unfortunately, has the capacity to continue and expand its aggression, so strong steps are needed. Strong pressure. And not only from Europe," he added.
Sudden chest or back pain in your 30s? Dont ignore these warning signs and symptoms

Namita S Kalla is a senior journalist who writes about different aspects of modern life that include lifestyle, health, fashion, beauty, and entertainment.

Doctors caution that symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath, or dizziness in people in their 30s and 40s may signal serious heart or aortic conditionsnot just stress or indigestion. (Image: Pexels)

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China yet to resume rare earth exports to India despite Wang Yis assurance; EV makers face crunch: Report

Some are importing larger finished products that contain rare earth materials but are not covered by the curbs.

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The project is valued at around Rs 3,700 crore.

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Adrija Chatterjee is an Assistant Editor at Moneycontrol. She has been tracking and reporting on finance and trade ministries for over eight years.

India exported $10 billion worth of gems and jewellery to America in FY25, with diamonds alone accounting for $78 billion.

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Indian IT cuts H-1B visa use by 56% in 8 years; US Big Tech emerges top sponsor

Reshab Shaw

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Shringar House of Mangalsutra IPO subscribed 8x on Day 2: Should you apply?

Debaroti Adhikary

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Sunil Matkar

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Avanti Feeds, Welspun Living, other shrimp & textile stocks drop up to 4% after sharp gains on India-US trade talks hopes

Debaroti Adhikary

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Russia wants escalation and is not interested in peace, said Finnish President Alexander Stubb, noting the possibility of further support for Ukraine.

"Russia is suffering defeat in all its directions. In 1,000 days, they have advanced less than 1% of the territory, paying a huge price for it ... We believe that the Russian Federation is seeking escalation, and we saw examples of this yesterday," he said at a joint press conference with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.

According to Stubb, the future strategy should consist of two blocks: further military, financial and political support for Ukraine; increased pressure on the Russian Federation, in particular sanctions.

"Ukraine wants peace, but Russia does not want it. This is what we have seen in recent days," said the Finnish leader, calling for increased pressure on Russia.
Decision on Infosys buyback closely watched as board considers first proposal in three years

In a recent note, Morgan Stanley has said that it sees a buyback of around Rs 10,000-14,000 crore by Infosys, coming in at around 18-25 percent premium to the current price.

Rohit Singh

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This is an AI-assisted live blog with updates sourced from multiple news outlets and agencies

Disclaimer This is an AI-assisted live blog with updates sourced from multiple news outlets and agencies

Disclaimer This is an AI-assisted live blog with updates sourced from multiple news outlets and agencies

Disclaimer This is an AI-assisted live blog with updates sourced from multiple news outlets and agencies Disclaimer

Alpha Desk

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Zoya Springwala

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Shrimp stocks swim ahead, but will they ride the wave or be washed out?

Zoya Springwala is a Senior Correspondent, writing on the markets, financial institutions, regulatory changes and everything else in between.

The U.S.A is one of Indias most significant export destination for shrimp.

Zoya Springwala

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Tata Investment Corp shares jump 3% as report says Tata Capital aiming to launch mega IPO in October

Debaroti Adhikary

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Oil, gold importers' demand for dollar drags rupee to record low of 88.44 vs USD

Manish M. Suvarna is Senior Correspondent at Moneycontrol. He writes on the Indian money markets, RBI, Banks and NBFCs. He tweets at @manishsuvarna15. Contact: Manish.Suvarna@nw18.com

Manish M. Suvarna

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Five years since listing, Mindspace REIT looks to cash in on leasing growth, new developments

In an interaction with Moneycontrol, Nair said that the REIT has been planning to increase its NOI by upto Rs 1,000 crore

Shiladitya Pandit

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Shiladitya Pandit

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The deal would likely value the Gujarat-based snacks-maker at Rs 38,000-40,000 crore, the report said

Debaroti Adhikary

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Photo: https://www.facebook.com/szijjarto.peter.official

Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Taras Kachka discussed the rights of national minorities with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Szijjarto.

"I can say with a clear conscience that Kyiv bears full responsibility for the fact that relations between Hungary and Ukraine have deteriorated so much over the past 10 years. Unfortunately, it cannot be ruled out that there will be an even greater deterioration, but one thing remains unchanged and certain: we are interested in having good relations with all neighboring countries, including Ukraine," Szijjarto wrote on Facebook.

He said it was not Hungary that "took away the rights of the Ukrainian minority," "threatened Ukraine's energy security," and "wants to drag Ukrainians into war."

"Hungarian-Ukrainian relations are very complicated, and I sincerely hope that in the next ten years they will be better than in the last ten. We are ready for this, but we must also clearly understand that this depends solely on Kyiv and Ukraine," the minister summed up.
A big leap towards PM Modi's vision on Globalisation of Education: IIMA opens first international Campus in Dubai

Amitabh Sinha is the executive editor of News18 India. He has extensive experience in print and TV journalism. He started his career with Patna's 'Times of India' and reported for almost 14 years at 'Aaj Tak'. He has been associated with Network18 since 2015. writes with equal authority in Hindi and English languages and has reported on many important events and incidents in India and abroad. He has a long experience in parliamentary journalism and has special grasp of e policies and schemes of the government. He writes regularly on News18's website in both Hindi and English languages. He is a post graduate from Delhi University. X- @amitabhnews18

Dubai is rapidly growing as a destination of choice for exceptional students and a global hub for talent, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

101Reporters

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Singh, on Wednesday, met the family of Mehraj Malik in Jammu before travelling to Srinagar

Smriti Mishra

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'Asked Moscow to end the practice': MEA replying to reports on Indians recruited into Russian Army

Siddharth Chakravorty

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Bengaluru Metro releases fare fixation report seven months after up to 71% hike

Christin Mathew Philip is an Assistant Editor at Moneycontrol.com with 15 years of experience in journalism and a Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism awardee. He writes on issues that matter to people. Based in Bengaluru, his work spans mobility, infrastructure, start-ups, and government policies. He tweets at @ChristinMP_.

Christin Mathew Philip

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Chhabi Kala

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Armaan Bhatnagar

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Both injured personnel were rushed to the hospital for treatment (Representative Image)

Smriti Mishra

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Circumstances in India comparable to Nepal: Congress leader warns, says Constitution shields against turmoil

Smriti Mishra

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Aishwarya Dabhade

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As part of the international arms exhibition DSEI, which is being held in London from September 9 to 12, Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal held a series of meetings with representatives of leading defense companies, in particular, manufacturers of Gepard and NASAMS air defense systems, HIMARS, ATACMS missiles and F-16 aircraft, as well as ASRAAM and Storm Shadow missiles.

As Shmyhal reported on Telegram on Thursday, special attention was paid to innovative solutions in the field of air defense.

The purpose of the meetings was to reach agreements on supplies, technical support and joint production of weapons.

The minister noted that with Executive Director of KNDS Deutschland Ralf Ketzel they discussed the implementation of joint agreements on supplies, technical support and joint production of Gepard air defense systems. They focused on the work of the joint venture that KNDS is launching in partnership with a large Ukrainian manufacturer.

He also held a meeting with representatives of the American company Lockheed Martin - the manufacturer of HIMARS, ATACMS missiles and F-16 aircraft. They discussed the prospects for cooperation in the main types of weapons, as well as the potential for industrial cooperation with Ukrainian companies.

"I met with our partners - a delegation from Thales. We discussed the main areas of work of the joint venture, as well as the possibilities of expanding areas of cooperation in joint production," Shmyhal added.

During the meeting with the delegation of MBDA, Shmyhal inspected the company's latest products.

"We discussed ways to provide Ukrainian soldiers with missiles, in particular ASRAAM and Storm Shadow, and had the opportunity to evaluate the company's new developments with colleagues. Together with representatives of BAE Systems, we focused on further developing our cooperation in the repair of armored vehicles, in particular ABRAMS tanks and CV-90 infantry fighting vehicles," the minister said.

During the meeting with the Kongsberg delegation, they reviewed the prospects for cooperation in the supply of new NASAMS air defense systems and missiles for them. The minister also discussed with representatives of Northrop Grumman the prospects for localization and joint production of ammunition of various calibers.

"I was glad to see the stands of Ukrainian manufacturers, some of them are already establishing partnerships with British companies and working together to create new products for the Ukrainian army. Thank you to the companies that support Ukraine," the Minister of Defense wrote.

The DSEI (Defense and Security Equipment International) international arms exhibition is the world's largest exhibition of the defense industry and security technologies, which is held every two years in London.
101Reporters

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First tranche of India-US trade agreement likely by November 2025: Piyush Goyal

Armaan Bhatnagar

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'From confrontation to conversation': Shashi Tharoor says Modi-Xi engagement marks timely pivot in India-China ties

Siddharth Chakravorty

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Ria Kapoor

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India rebukes Switzerland over minority remark at UNHRC: 'We can help address racism, xenophobia'

Indian diplomat Kshitij Tyagi at the 5th Meeting of the 60th Session of the UNHRC.

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After meeting with Mauritian counterpart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the special relationship between India and Mauritius

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Mohan Bhagwat has always been strong votary of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, says PM Modi as RSS chief turns 75

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his article, recalled his very deep association with the RSS chiefs family

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Kharge also slammed the BJP over alleged vote theft in Gujarat, the privatisation of public assets, and attacks on Rahul Gandhi.

Deblina Halder

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B Sudershan Reddy received 300 votes while 315 Opposition MPs cast their vote in the vice president election on Tuesday. (File: PTI)

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Zelenskyy: Ukraine ready to help Poland in fight against drones, Patriot not to help in this

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/

Ukraine is ready and open to help Poland in the fight against drones, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding that he had a conversation about this with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

"Poland's Patriot will not help in the fight against Shahed drones. They will not help anyone. It is purely a weapon against ballistic missiles, first of all. Today, the United States produces 50-60 missiles  the world's main manufacturer of these missiles per month. When we shoot 500-800 Shahed drones per day, it is clear that Patriot is not against drones. Patriot, $2-3 million per a missile, a Shahed or Geranium drone - up to $100,000. That is, they do not fight against this," he said at a press conference with his Finnish colleague Alexander Stubb in Kyiv.

"Assembling appropriate systems, such as Patriot, SAMP/T or other systems that are not so expensive... or using the experience that was yesterday  using missiles on airplanes for 1 million 1.2 million is not the way," Zelenskyy said.

According to him, only with a built multi-system can one fight a massive drone attack.

"This is my answer to the question of whether our Polish friends need our consultations. I believe that no one has such a system today. Only we and the Russians have it," he said.

"We are open and ready. Donald [U.S. President Donald Trump] said that he would send his military personnel, whoever is needed. I put them in touch with our Minister of Defense, Commander-in-Chief of the Syrian Army, he is in touch with the Polish commander today," the President of Ukraine said.

In addition, he added that the example of ordering Ukrainian-made interceptors from Ukraine will also not help in the fight against Russian drones, because every two to three months the technical settings of both drones and electronic warfare systems change on both sides.

Speaking about the possibility of shooting down Russian drones and missiles with Polish means over the territory of Ukraine, Zelenskyy said: "What we proposed two years ago  shoot down drones over us  will no longer work like that."

Meanwhile, he added that "it is needed as an element."

"It will strengthen the shield over the western part of Ukraine and over Poland. But it is an element. It is simply not enough. Today, it is necessary: air defense systems must be located in the western part of our state, and Polish aviation can also be used on the territory of Poland, but general coordination is needed. And it is desirable that Ukraine coordinates. Because there are five to seven elements of multi-defense. We can do it together... We are open to this," the head of state said.
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee CP Radhakrishnan was elected as Vice President of India, defeating INDIA bloc candidate Justice B Sudershan Reddy in the election held on Tuesday.

Siddharth Chakravorty

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OPINION | Google ruling in the US will have adverse implications in India and other developing countries

Lokendra Sharma is a Research Analyst with the High-Tech Geopolitics Programme at the Takshashila Institution. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.

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The Google judgement has set a negative precedent of Big Tech players evading consequences even if they are found to be violative

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'Ive been trying to reach the contact provided, but havent been able to. If anyone knows their details, please reach out to me,' Raghava Lawrence wrote on his social media handles. (Image credit: Raghava Lawrence, Dr Mouth Matters (@GanKanchi)/X)

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The Vanjaram police recovered the headless bodies from the house and arrested the accused. (Representational image)

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This 'dictator' CEO was slammed by board, ousted from family-run company: Report

In 2014, Arthur T. Demoulas was fired from his CEO role following a family dispute. The incident triggered a workers' protest where 'where associates, customers, and vendors support a seven-week boycott,' the company stated. (Image credit: Market Basket)

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Woman gave birth to daughter at 14. 23 years on, they run a maid cafe together in Japan

Ankita Sengupta

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Photo: https://t.me/ministry_of_defense_ua/12554

The mobilization level in Ukraine is currently sufficient to restore the number of personnel and create reserves, Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said in an interview with Sky News.

"The mobilization level in Ukraine over the past 12 months has been absolutely stable and tends to grow, and we have mobilized all the necessary personnel to cover all our losses and form small reserves," Shmyhal said.

At the same time, he noted that the mobilization level in Russia covers losses, despite the fact that losses are five times greater than in Ukraine.

"They cover all these losses, so there is no problem for them, and they have lost 1 million people since the beginning of this war. Half of them have died. So they just continue to shoot, burn their people in the fire of war, not counting how many they have lost. So this is a challenge and this is a problem," the minister said.
MC Science Desk Read the latest and trending science newsstay updated on NASA, ISRO, space missions, planets, asteroids, black holes, AI, quantum physics, galaxy discoveries, and more exciting breakthroughs.

Sheetal Kumari

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Webbs image of the enormous stellar jet in Sh2-284 provides evidence that protostellar jets scale with the mass of their parent starsthe more massive the stellar engine driving the plasma, the larger the resulting jet. (Image: NASA)

Sheetal Kumari

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Danish Khan is the editor of Technology and Telecom. He was previously with the Economic Times and has tracked the sector for 14 years.

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James Bond returns with a new origin in 007 First Light: What you need to know

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Aabhas Sharma

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Priyanka Roshan With over eight years in multimedia journalism, is passionate about storytellingboth visual and textualacross travel, jobs, business, markets, politics, and daily news. From crafting engaging articles to producing compelling videos, she blends creativity with strategy to bring stories to life. With a strong foundation in SEO, and video production she ensures content not only informs but also resonates with audiences.

From the snow-clad Himalayas to the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, Indias UNESCO World Heritage national parks showcase a rare blend of biodiversity, beauty, and cultural heritage.

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Pragya Trivedi

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Beyond just a girlfriend: Thousands of emails reveal Ghislaine Maxwells deep role in Jeffrey Epstein's crimes and network

Abhinav Gupta

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Charlie Kirk assassination: What were his chilling last words before being fatally shot in Utah

Pragya Trivedi

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4 / 8

Protesters defy prohibitory orders, return to the streets of Kathmandu in fresh standoff. Nepali Army seizes weapons from protesters as troops patrol Kathmandu following violent unrest. (Image: AFP)
Photo: https://www.facebook.com/zelenskyy.official

The strongest security guarantee and an example of the strategic defeat of Russia is Ukraine's membership in the EU, Finnish President Alexander Stubb believes.

At a joint press conference with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, he said the strongest security guarantee and the strongest example of the strategic defeat of Putin's Russia is Ukraine's membership in the EU. This will happen faster than it seems, he said. If European leaders want Putin's defeat, they need Ukraine to finally become European, the Finnish President said.

Stubb also recalled the active work of the Coalition of the Willing, which, according to him, includes 34 countries. The Finnish leader said Ukraine will have European security guarantees, which is evident from recent meetings and negotiations.

According to him, security guarantees should be based on three main pillars: a strong Ukrainian army, European assistance, in particular on land, at sea, in the air, in the space sphere, in technology, etc.; support from the United States.

Separately, Stubb said the EU, in close coordination with the United States, continues to work on further sanctions against Russia.
Freedom of press at its lowest in 50 years: Study

Press freedoms declined in 43 countries across all continents, including 15 in Africa and 15 in Europe

Surabhi Pandey

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From Kabul to Quetta: How Pakistans emergence as global opium powerhouse spells trouble for India

In this photo taken on August 27, 2024, Bismillah, the local Imam shows raw opium during an interview with AFP at his house in Sangin district of Helmand province.

Abhinav Gupta

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From ribbon-cutting to mob violence: Nepal FM Arzu Rana Deuba becomes face of nation's crisis

The before-and-after images of Arzu Rana Deuba -- first as a cabinet minister at a ceremonial ribbon-cutting, then as a battered victim of mob violence -- have come to embody Nepals turmoil.

Deblina Halder

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Nepals Gen-Z revolt against 'nepo kids': Six nepotism incidents that sparked the deadly protests

Smoke billows from a burning supermarket building of Nepal's renowned retail chain Bhat-Bhateni, a day after it was set ablaze by protesters in Kathmandu on September 10, 2025.

Abhinav Gupta

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'Not wise': Trump had heated call with Netanyahu over Israeli strike in Doha, report says

Pragya Trivedi

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A South Korean chartered plane that is scheduled to bring back workers detained in a US immigration raid last week on a car battery plant moves on the tarmac at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta. (Courtesy: Reuters photo)

Sonalee Borgohain

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Ticket to the Arctic: How Norilsks system of convict labour is plugging gap in Russias workforce

Russian officials have made no secret of the fact that they see convict labour as a boon for companies struggling to recruit staff.

Surabhi Pandey

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Trumps envoy pick says India and US 'not far apart' on trade deal, hopeful of resolution in 'next few weeks'

Abhinav Gupta

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Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, General Wiesaw Kukua, and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky discussed the rules for exchanging information on air threats and opportunities for cooperation in the field of implementing technologies in modern warfare, the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces said.

"Today, General Wiesaw Kukua, Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, held talks with General Oleksandr Syrsky, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the Polish Armed Forces said on the X social network on Thursday.

It is reported that the key subject of the conversation was "the rules for exchanging information about air threats and the possibilities of cooperation in the field of implementing technologies and operational use of unmanned reconnaissance and strike systems within the framework of the droneization [use of drones for surveillance, targeting and tactical support] of the battlefield." "Poland remains a solidary ally of Ukraine and is ready to continue to provide it with support in order to jointly resist Russian aggression," the Polish Armed Forces said.
'We'll sort out with India:' Lutnick sees trade deal soon, urges New Delhi to stop buying Russian oil

Abhinav Gupta

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What are Russia's Gerbera drones used in Poland incursion?

Police and army inspect damage to a house destroyed by debris from a shot down Russian drone in the village of Wyryki-Wola, eastern Poland, on September 10, 2025. NATO air defences helped counter drones that entered Polish airspace overnight and alliance chief Mark Rutte is in contact with Warsaw, a NATO spokeswoman said. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that a violation of Polish airspace by several Russian drones overnight was a major provocation aimed at the EU and NATO member. (AFP)

Surabhi Pandey

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What Nepal's 'Gen Z' protesters have to say

What Nepal's 'Gen Z' protesters have to say

Yeeshu Yadav

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Who is Kulman Ghising? Nepal's power crisis hero emerges as frontrunner to lead interim government

Abhinav Gupta

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Who was Charlie Kirk? Conservative activist who called gun deaths worth it and said America is full for Indians

Pragya Trivedi

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Photo: https://detector.media/infospace

The editorial board of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) expressed a strong protest against the arrest and several-day detention of the television channel's operator by the Ukrainian authorities, a statement on the APA-OPS agency website says.

"We demand from the Ukrainian authorities the immediate release of the ORF operator and an explanation of the reasons for his detention. The operator is 53 years old, in 2022 he was a volunteer in the war and was injured during hostilities for Ukraine," the statement says.

According to ORF, operator Andriy Neposedov, on behalf of the correspondent in Ukraine Christian Wehrschutz, was heading to the Ternopil region for filming.

"During a routine road check, he was stopped by the police. Then the Ukrainian army officer present there demanded to see his documents and asked Neposedov to go with him to the office. There, our cameraman was first detained, and then taken to the police station in Ternopil. He is being held there against his will and without explanation. He was not allowed to call either his wife, who was traveling with him in the car as an assistant, or his lawyer. Only after more than two days did this become possible by phone," the statement reads.

ORF correspondents expressed gratitude to Austrian Foreign Ministry in Vienna and the Austrian Embassy in Kyiv for the efforts made in negotiations with the Ukrainian authorities. "Ukraine aspires to join the EU and is therefore obliged to adhere to European standards regarding personal safety and media freedom," the editorial said.

According to Detector Media, the Austrian Foreign Ministry said the embassy in Kyiv took measures immediately after the arrest and appealed to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry with a request to clarify the circumstances.

"Austria calls for compliance with the rule of law. However, since this is a citizen of Ukraine, the embassy's ability to provide support is very limited," the Austrian ministry said.

It is noted that Russian propaganda media are actively spreading reports about the detention of the operator in Ukraine.
The intrusion of Russian drones into Polish airspace is a deliberate escalation on the part of the Russian Federation, and Russia should not be relieved of responsibility for this, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi told journalists in response to a request to comment on the statement by Slovakian Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar, who called the fall of drones in Poland an escalation and expressed hope that these drones "should have ended up on Ukrainian territory."

"Such a massive crossing of the border by Russian drones could not have been accidental - this is an absolutely deliberate escalation on the part of Russia. This is how it is described in Poland and other partner countries. We call on the Slovak side not to remove responsibility from Moscow with inappropriate doubts and to recognize reality as it is, and not as one would like to believe in. This is the reality of Russian aggression, which threatens all of Europe, and which Putin is already trying to expand beyond Ukraine," Tykhyi noted.

He stressed that the Russian Federation "has no right to launch drones and missiles either at Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia or any other country."

"Every adequate European government should now think about how to stop Russia and end the war together with Ukraine, and not how to justify Russian escalation. Realistic steps to end the war require increased consolidated pressure on Moscow, which refuses peace, a complete cut-off of war financing for the Russian Federation, strengthening Ukraine and cooperation of Ukraine's air defense capabilities and partners to shoot down Russian drones and missiles," said the representative of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.

Earlier, the Slovak News Agency (TASR) reported that in a conversation with journalists before a government meeting on Wednesday, Blanar called the violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones a serious deterioration and escalation of the situation, while calling for peace talks and the establishment of peace in Ukraine.

"I want to believe that the drones that entered Polish territory were drones that were not there to attack Poland, but were meant to end up on Ukrainian territory," Blanar added.
Bumble biopic Swiped takes on Silicon Valley boys club

Lily James attends the red carpet for Swiped as the Toronto International Film Festival returns for its 50th edition in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Sept. 9, 2025. REUTERS

TORONTO (Reuters)  The new biopic Swiped, starring British actor Lily James as dating app Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, takes the audience back to Silicon Valley in the early 2010s, before swiping left or right had anything to do with match-making.

Directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg, the film follows Wolfe Herds journey through a male-dominated tech industry, leading her to launch Bumble  but not before her contentious departure from rival app Tinder, which she co-founded.

Seeing Whitney go through an experience where she starts out working within the status quo and playing into the boys cluband then realizing what was wrong with that and being able to turn it all around and create her biggest success  I think thats a really helpful path for all of us, Goldenberg told Reuters before the movies world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday.

Bumble, which launched in 2014, stood out from competitors by requiring women to make the first move by writing to their matches first.

Wolfe Herd was not involved in the making of the film because of a nondisclosure agreement she signed in her settlement with Tinder.

The filmmakers and the writers drew everything from the public domain in order to tell this story, James told Reuters.

(They) spent a lot of time developing this story to make it feel as real and deep and true to her story as we possibly could, and I loved doing the research. It was a brilliant part of the process.

Online dating apps have struggled in recent years to retain audiences, especially Gen Z users. In June, Bumble announced it would lay off nearly a third of its workforce.
The Foreign Ministers of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine (Lublin Triangle) issued a joint statement condemning the recent incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace and calling on partners, in particular, to "rapidly strengthen Ukraine's air defense and support Lithuania and Poland in their efforts to strengthen the eastern flank of NATO and the EU."

"We, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine, participants in the Lublin Triangle, strongly condemn the recent incursion of Russian drones into the territory of Poland. This was a deliberate and coordinated strike, which is an unprecedented provocation and escalation of tensions," the statement, the text of which is posted on the Telegram channel of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, reads.

The applicants state "Russia's actions and Belarusian connivance in the use of its airspace pose a direct threat to the security of all countries in the region." "Only a joint and coordinated response can guarantee the security of our citizens. We note and appreciate Ukraine's readiness to share all available intelligence and operational information with Poland, Lithuania and other partners to build an effective system of early warning and protection against Russian missile and drone attacks," the statement reads.

The signatories of the statement called on "partners to urgently strengthen Ukraine's air defenses and support Lithuania and Poland in their efforts to strengthen the eastern flank of NATO and the EU. Only an adequate and decisive response can prevent further escalation."

"We emphasize the need for better coordination and operational cooperation between our structures responsible for airspace security. Such coordinated actions should be aimed at preventing the negative consequences of Russia's provocative actions and, ideally, contribute to increasing the effectiveness of our air defense measures," the statement reads.

"We also note the surge in Russian disinformation caused by this incident. We call on all our societies to remain vigilant and aware of insidious Russian disinformation attempts," the ministers said.

"Together, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine confirm that unity, strength and cooperation, especially with our allies and partners in NATO and the EU, are the only way to effectively confront Russian aggression and ensure the security of our peoples," the Lublin Triangle countries said in the statement.
MAFEA to mark 30th year

THE Marianas Association of Filipino Engineers and Architects will be celebrating its 30th founding anniversary on Sept. 13, 2025 at 5 p.m.

In line with this celebration, MAFEA is inviting all Filipino engineers and architects residing on Saipan, Tinian and Rota. The venue will be at Skippers Bar, Marianas Beach Resort, Saipan.

The theme for the 30th founding anniversary will be, Looking Back 30 years & Beyond

For more information, call Carlito J. Marquez at (670) 989-8905.
SNHU announces Summer 2025 Presidents List

MANCHESTER, NH  It is with great pleasure that Southern New Hampshire University congratulates the following CNMI students on being named to the Summer 2025 Presidents List. The summer terms run from May to August.

Full-time undergraduate students who have earned a minimum grade-point average of 3.700 and above for the reporting term are named to the Presidents List. Full-time status is achieved by earning 12 credits over each 16-week term or paired 8-week terms grouped in fall, winter/spring, and summer.

Rudynna Walker of Tinian

Mary Ann Santos of Saipan

Lorisha Lizama of Saipan

Yelena Eunice Del Rosario of Saipan

Kimo Lizama of Saipan

Jonisha Pangelinan of Saipan

Winona ZsaZsa Mongami of Saipan

Carina Lyn Cadiang of Saipan

Roxanne Babauta of Saipan

Southern New Hampshire University is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution with a 92-year history of educating traditional-aged students and working adults. Now serving more than 200,000 learners worldwide, SNHU offers approximately 200 undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs, available online and on its 300-acre campus in Manchester, NH. Recognized as one of the Most Innovative regional universities by U.S. News & World Report and one of the fastest-growing universities in the country, SNHU is committed to expanding access to high quality, affordable pathways that meet the needs of each learner.
Board member breaks down testifying for PSS funding

Andrew Orsini

BOARD of Education member Andrew Orsini broke down in tears Wednesday while testifying in support of the Public School Systems request for adequate funding and expressing concern about employees who could be furloughed on Oct. 1, 2025, if the Fiscal Year 2026 budget is enacted with only $31.7 million for education.

During the Senate Fiscal Affairs Committees budget hearing in the Senate chamber, Orsini, along with Commissioner of Education Dr. Lawrence F. Camacho and other PSS officials, testified on the proposed FY 2026 budget appropriating $127.4 million for government operations.

In his testimony, Orsini urged senators to fund PSS at least $40 million, saying adequate funding for education is important not only for students but also for the CNMI.

When he reached the portion of his testimony regarding PSSs plan to furlough vice principals, substitute teachers, and other employees, Orsini became emotional.

I think some senators may be struggling with the idea that giving to PSS would mean taking away from other agencies that are already exhausted. I want everyone to know that since 2019, the CNMI Public School System has already been exhausted. Weve had our cuts and stretched ourselves thin financially, he said.

With a ragged voice, he added, A lot of our best employees have already left the islands; our teachers, our principals, and our district already make much lower salaries  sometimes only half the salary  of their counterparts in the rest of the United States, and even Guam.

Orsini told senators, These hard-working, passionate, and committed employees show up to work every day not just to pay their mortgages, rent, car loans, or student loans  many also have medical bills  but they show up to work so they can improve the lives of the people of the CNMI.

He said the employees dedication allows students to access opportunities their teachers themselves could not afford. We are not asking for more recognition or compensation. We just want to be able to keep coming to work for the schools and continue putting students first, he said.

I am pleased to know some honorable senators are also products of the Public School System, and Im sure that because of your high-quality and accredited education, you can surely find a way to save it, Orsini added.
Rota town hall voices support for PSS, urges lawmakers to step up

AT the Public School Systems budget town hall meeting Wednesday evening at Sinapalo Elementary School, teachers, counselors, parents, and students voiced strong support for the Public School System while also urging elected officials to join Commissioner of Education Dr. Lawrence F. Camacho in explaining to the community the challenges facing public education in fiscal year 2026.

The forum, streamed live on PSSs Facebook page, drew a full audience from both of Rotas schools: Sinapalo Elementary School and Dr. Rita H. Inos Jr.-Sr. High School. While many commended PSS leadership for transparency and resilience, several attendees expressed concern that the burden of explaining the education budget falls only on the commissioner and his team.

The Rota town hall began at 5 p.m. and ended close to 7 p.m. Wednesday.

I want to commend you and your team for the leadership, for keeping PSS afloat, but it is not right that you and PSS alone are carrying the tough [burden], said teacher Theresa Manalang of Dr. Rita H. Inos Jr.-Sr. High School.

Switching between English and Chamorro, Manalang called for lawmakers to take part in future discussions.

Its so sad that they are supposed to answer or help answer our questions, but they are not here. We need our congressmen and senators here in Rota, on Tinian, and in Saipan. It is sad youre the only one sitting up there. They have to be here, because they are the ones debating whether to give PSS what it requests, and making decisions in the Legislature about what to pass or not pass, she said.

Bring them down, commissioner. Bring them down to their respective people because the people voted for them. You can only do so much  but you cannot answer everything, she added.

Another school staff member expressed her appreciation for the commissioners presence but echoed the call for shared responsibility.

We appreciate that you are telling us the truth of the challenges, sitting there alone. But you should not have to bear this alone, she said.

Budget realities

Camacho outlined the proposed $49.2 million FY 2026 budget, including $42 million for personnel to support over 1,000 employees who are locally funded across 20 schools and 10 Head Start centers on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota, and $7.2 million for operations and matching federal grants.

He reminded the audience that the American Rescue Plan Act stabilized PSS operations in FY 2022, 2023, and 2024, preventing furloughs and protecting the mandated 180 instructional days. With ARPA funds no longer available, PSS must now rely fully on local appropriations.

Every dollar we receive translates into instructional time, safe campuses, and student achievement, Camacho said, adding that proficiency rates in math, reading, and early literacy have risen over the past three years.

Shared priority

Parents and educators at the forum emphasized that while they value the commissioners advocacy, lawmakers must also be visible in the conversation.

Accountability means showing our students, families, and educators that education is truly a shared priority, Manalang said. Our legislators should be here, answering the questions that only they can answer.

The Rota town hall is part of a series of islandwide meetings to inform the public about the education budget and gather input.

Rota students, parents, and public school employees listen to Commissioner of Education Dr. Lawrence F. Camacho, foreground, back to the camera, during a town hall meeting on Wednesday evening.

Classroom teachers and staff of Rotas Sinapalo Elementary School and Dr. Rita H. Inos Jr.-Sr. High School attended the PSS budget town hall meeting on Wednesday evening.

Rota students also attended the PSS town hall meeting.
Cold truth

Backward march!

INTERESTING choice of words by the education commissioner. The CNMI is going backwards in education, he said, referring to PSSs shrinking budget. Sadly, this is true not only in education. More than two years ago, the CNMI leadership decided to cast its lot with the feds and to transform the local economy into something at the mercy of whichever politicians happen to be in charge in the White House and the U.S. Congress. All in the name of (wait for it) sustainability.

The CNMI would be like a Trust Territory district again: totally dependent on the U.S., with an economy consisting of a few stores and restaurants, where the biggest industry is the local government, and two-thirds of the population receive direct food assistance from the federal government. Maybe the U.S. can even lend a vintage naval ship once more, to be turned into a power barge to generate electricity for the island.

Either/or

PSS, to its credit, has laid out exactly what will happen if lawmakers and the administration  all of whom, mind you, profess undying support for the children  approve an inadequate budget: no-school Mondays, larger classes, school mergers, furloughs for vice principals, substitute teachers, counselors, and support staff, cuts in school and central office operations, and a halt to major repairs and capital projects.

You may ask: What about the rest of the CNMI government? Where are their cost-cutting proposals? And if none exist, why not? Why is PSS the only agency openly acknowledging the fiscal cliff and preparing to deal with it?

The solution to the school systems budget shortfall is not exactly a state secret. (See 2020 Fiscal Response Summit Report.) The Legislature and the administration, for example, can reduce the spending levels of non-essential agencies so PSS can have more funding. These may include the reimposition of work-hour cuts and the suspension of the retirees 25% benefits, which, to begin with, are not mandated by the settlement agreement.

But the CNMI is a representative democracy, and those measures must be approved by elected officials and, ultimately, voters themselves. Think of a household where the breadwinners dont control the budget  the kids and even the familys vendors get a say, too.

Where we at

AND so we appear to be saddled with the least politically painful solutions  ones that may, however, cause other, if not worse, problems down the road. Were referring to the proposed $29 million loan from MPLT, on top of yet another bank loan.

If there are other doable options  those that lawmakers can pass and the governor can sign into law without inciting voter outrage  by all means, lets hear them.

Some would say voters, for once, should elect better candidates. But elected officials can only do what voters demand  which usually means more: more government spending, more government jobs, more pay raises, more generous pensions, more affordable utilities, public health, public safety and public works, more subsidies for businesses, farmers, and the needy, more free programs, more subsidized goodies  and no tax hikes.

The math doesnt hold up. The only thing that can help is economic growth  yet we act as if it is guaranteed.

As long as voters expect more than the government can fund, deficits are unavoidable.
Sweden is allocating the next 20th package of military aid to Ukraine in the amount of SEK 9.2 billion (EUR 841.1 million), the Swedish Ministry of Defense reported.

"Sweden is now increasing its military support to Ukraine to put more pressure on Russia. More Archer systems, drones and ammunition will make a difference on the battlefield. Europe's right to peace and freedom must be defended," said the Kingdom's Minister of Defence, Paul Johnson.

The 20th military support package was reportedly designed to best meet the needs reported by Ukraine.

The package included, in particular, artillery and long-range assets - 18 Archer artillery mounts with artillery ammunition and long-range unmanned aerial vehicles. Marine equipment - coastal radar surveillance systems, landing craft equipped with grenade launchers, diving chambers and crane trucks.

The package also includes air defense equipment and ammunition, sensors and control systems for the previously donated Swedish Tridon air defense system, equipment for air base operations, and sensors for tracking drones and robotic systems. In the air defense and space areas, the Swedish Armed Forces also provide material assistance through relevant replacement procurement and transportation.

The package includes civil defence initiatives and services through the Swedish Defence Research Agency and the Swedish Defence University.

The press release from the Ministry of Defence also announced a proposal to increase military support to Sweden in 2026-2027 to a total of SEK 40 billion (EUR 3.7 billion) per year.

"In the 2026 budget bill, the government proposes to further strengthen the economic basis for military support for Ukraine by adding another SEK 31.5 billion for 2026 and continuing support until 2027. This proposal means that the total amount of military support for Ukraine will be SEK 40 billion in 2026 and 2027 respectively. This will ensure that Sweden continues to provide reliable military support to Ukraine," the message reads.

According to the information, the bill also provides for an increase in civil support for Ukraine in 2026-2028 to at least SEK 10 billion (EUR 914 million) per year.
Groveland, CAAn annual cleanup event will shut down Old Priest Grade near Groveland for several hours this weekend.

Tuolumne County Public Works reports that Visit Tuolumne County, the Yosemite Climbing Association, and local organizations will be hosting the Annual Old Priest Grade Cleanup event. Volunteers will be pitching in to clear away garbage and any other debris found along the roadway. The work will require a full closure of Old Priest Grade on Saturday, September 13, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Motorists can take New Priest Grade as a detour to travel to Groveland and Yosemite National Park during the event.
Don Pedro, CA  Fire crews have been taking advantage of the cooler weather to build stronger lines around the TCU Lightning Complex Fire.

Of the 21 fires within the complex, only two have yet to reach 100% containment. They include the 6-2 Fire (1,025 acres with 96% containment) and the 6-5 Fire (6,935 acres with 92% containment). They are near Don Pedro and Chinese Camp.

CAL Fire reports, Crews continue fire suppression repair activities such as repairing control lines and restoring the landscape impacted by suppression efforts. As work continues, please drive carefully in and around the area and watch for crews and equipment along the roadways.

The overall TCU September Lightning Complex Fire is considered 13,869 acres with 97% containment.

There are still 1,083 firefighters assigned, 44 engines, 41 crews, 12 dozers, 17 water tenders, and three helicopters.

95 structures were destroyed, and 45 of those were homes, mostly around Chinese Camp.
Sonora, CA  First responders around the Mother Lode are recognizing Patriot Day by holding ceremonies, including putting up flags in downtown Sonora, which were held in remembrance of those who lost their lives during the terrorist attack on 9/11.

The Sonora Police Department marked the anniversary of that deadly attack by lining Washington Street with flags, as can be seen in the image box photo. Police officials shared, Flags are displayed on Washington Street today as a symbol of unity and respect. Thank you to our dedicated volunteers for this meaningful effort.

A Remembrance Ceremony hosted by VFW Post 4748 at Tuolumne Memorial Hall in Tuolumne included Tuolumne County Sheriffs Office personnel. They noted, We were grateful to stand alongside our community this morning to honor and remember the victims, families, responders, and survivors of 9/11 Thank you to everyone who joined us in person and in spirit today. Let us never forget.

In Mariposa County, fire and sheriffs officials came together in solemn remembrance of September 11, 2001a day that forever changed the nation. They raised the flag and recounted, This day reminds us of the strength, resilience, and unity that carried our country through such dark times. It is not only a time to reflect on the past but also to reaffirm our commitment to supporting one another and to never forget the sacrifices made.

Additionally, the CAL Fire Amador-El Dorado Unit posted on social media:

Today, we remember the lives lost on September 11, 2001, and honor the bravery of the first responders who ran toward danger to protect others. We will never forget those who didnt return home or the families whose lives were changed forever. In the days that followed, first responders from across the nation came together in a unified effort to aid in recovery and support one another. Twenty-four years later, we carry forward that legacy with a continued commitment to service, unity, and strength.

As reported here on Wednesday, Habitat for Humanity of Calaveras will hold its third annual 9/11 Day of Service this weekend at Jenny Lind Veterans Memorial District Park in Valley Springs. The event honors the sacrifices of soldiers and first responders while also providing community service. It will take place on Saturday, September 13. The Day of Service begins with a volunteer activity from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Jenny Lind Veterans Memorial District Park, which focuses on renewing playground equipment to maintain a safe environment for families.
Zimbabwean FM hails elevation of ties with China

Xinhua) 15:22, September 11, 2025

HARARE, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa's recent visit to China has further solidified relations between the two nations, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Amon Murwira said Tuesday.

Speaking at a post-cabinet media briefing in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, Murwira hailed the elevation of bilateral ties to an all-weather community with a shared future, saying it would boost cooperation across all sectors.

Commending China for its high-impact investment projects in Zimbabwe, Murwira said Harare is seeking to expand trade with Beijing. He noted that during his visit last week, he signed an agreement allowing Zimbabwe to begin exporting blueberries to the Chinese market.

"China is by far one of the largest economies, the most advanced economies in the world, and we believe that our deep relations with China can only increase the wealth of Zimbabwe and the Chinese together," he said.

Mnangagwa last week attended the commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, where the two sides agreed to upgrade their ties to an all-weather community with a shared future.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Liang Jun)
The underlying social contract between individuals and the state in Western European nations over the last hundred years has been that the state would grow to regulate and tax virtually every sphere of lifepublic or privatein exchange for a measure of order and comfort for its citizens. If the state begins to reduce those comforts as order starts disintegrating, but continues to grow and to tax even more, it could be interpreted as a breach of the terms of the agreement.

As I was finishing this article, Frances youngest citizens took to the streets to defend the welfare state under the banner of the Block Everything movement. Their demands include greater investment in public health and education, rent controls, retirement at 60, and stronger environmental policies. Protesters have erected barricades, blocked highways and public-transport stations, in an effort to bring the country to a standstill. More than 400 people were arrested. The demonstrations erupted after President Macron appointed Sebastien Lecornu as prime minister, a move widely seen as signaling the continuation of his predecessors austerity policies.

These protests underscore the central argument of this article: the welfare state is the social contract that binds Western European citizens to their governments. When those benefits are eroded, many view it as a breach of that contractone that, in their eyes, justifies civil disobedience.

Friedrich Merz, often dubbed Germanys BlackRock chancellor, has already indicated that there has to be a reduction in state benefits: The welfare state as we know it today is no longer economically sustainable with what we are producing as a national economy. That the welfare state suffers from a viability problem is not news. What is news is that the head of the largest economy in the eurozone, with a relatively low debt-to-GDP ratio (~65%), is publicly preparing citizens for a rollback of state benefits.

But Germany is not alone in this conundrum. Frances government, the second-largest economy in the eurozone, with a much higher debt-to-GDP ratio (~119%), has lost a confidence vote in parliament and been dissolved over a budget that slashes public spending. According to deposed Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, nearly 44 billion in cuts is necessary because, he argues, France has not balanced its budget for roughly 50 years. The economy is expected to grow by no more than 0.6% in 2025, with a public deficit of about 6%. Some have even floated the prospect of an IMF bailout.

Another European nation that might need an IMF bailoutperhaps even more urgently than Franceis the UK. The UKs debt is becoming significantly more expensive to service due to a sharp rise in borrowing costs, which now amount to over 100 billion annuallynearly 10% of the national budget. This comes despite decades of mass privatization of social services. According to many economists, both France and the UK are going downhill in slow motion toward a debt crisis.

The Wall Street Journal, of course, has no doubt why this is happening: Britain and France arent illiquid. Theyre insolvent. Their future spending commitments, primarily in the form of expected social-welfare and old-age benefit payouts, far exceed any realistic estimate of the economic growth that will be available to pay those bills.

Other European nations, such as Spainwhose GDP is expected to grow around 2.5% in 2025will face a very similar problem with their welfare systems. Spains debt-to-GDP ratio is around 100% (compared to Germanys ~65%), but its share of the budget devoted to social services is almost identical.

Spains current growth is predicated on a general increase in the money supply and a relatively successful immigration strategy over the last two decades. The immigrant population has gone from 3.5 million in 2005 to 7 million in 2025. This has contributed to lower GDP per capita, which is why many Spaniards have barely felt the macroeconomic growth. Despite immigration, the birth rate in Spain is among the lowest in Europe (1.12, lower than Germany, France, and the UK), which makes the long-term sustainability of the welfare state questionable under the logic that it is the current workforce that pays for it.

The case for slashing public spending is usually the same: slower economic growth and a smaller workforce reduce the states revenues, while the aging population continues to grow and unemployment rises due to slower economic growth. This discourse presents budget cuts as almost inevitable and frames slower economic growth as a natural phenomenon, almost like a drought, occurring outside the control of politicians.

That it is outside the control of politicianswho have limited control over financial policymight be correct for the most part. However, to present it as a natural phenomenon implies assuming that markets operate under objective natural forces, like gravity, unaffected by the actors involved. That is simply not the case. The markets respond to the actions of individuals and companies. A case in point is the 2008 crash, which was brought about by a set of specific practices, such as the sale of mortgage derivatives, which were knownat least by someto be fraudulent and to potentially cause the collapse of the entire system.

The 2008 crisis is a good example because the financial crisis engineered by big financiers, with or without knowledge, was ultimately paid for by ordinary citizens, and virtually no one was held accountable. It will again be ordinary citizens who pay the price of the geopolitical crisis that now affects Europe with the war in Ukraine. The conflict has unleashed war momentum against the interests of most European citizens, both economically and existentially, which could have been avoided or at least settled early on. Its effects are now precipitating a collapse of European economies and societies.

It is not that Europe did not have structural problems beforesuch as severe demographic decline, chronic underinvestment in digital technologies, a fiscal sustainability problem, or the loss of national sovereignty to an unelected bureaucratic classbut with the war in Ukraine, all these issues have become more pronounced. These problems have been compounded by the loss of cheap energy supplies from Russiawhich were a lifeline to both industry and individualsand the Trump administrations demand that Europe foot the bill for the war in Ukraine and pay back the U.S. for years of supposedly favorable trade terms.

While Merz warns Germans that they should be ready to see cuts in public spending, he continues to support Ukraine with 9 billion this year and has changed the countrys debt rules, which will skyrocket the debt-to-GDP ratio. According to a recent interview, he claimed that if he had not done so, the NATO alliance would have disintegrated in June. NATO member states, compelled at Trumps behest to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP, will necessarily see cuts in public spending to offset this defense rise.

Germany, France, and the UK are leading European support for Ukraine, promising to give Ukraine 100 billion to buy arms from the U.S. To this spending on Ukraine must be added the Rearm Europe plan, which, as Conor Gallagher very aptly argues, will result in armies ill-equipped to face Russias forces but well suited to face Europes own citizens:

Defense spending by EU member states is now projected to reach 381 billion euros this year, up over last years record of 343 billion. Despite all the money being burned at the altar of Project Ukraine, sober analysts conclude that European nations are woefully ill-equipped to successfully do much of any fighting there, and no amount of money is going to change that for the foreseeable future () But all the additional weaponry and surveillance goodies that arent immediately tossed into the corrupt pit of death that is Ukraine could be more likely to be used on an increasingly discontented population rather than against Russia. Were already seeing it happen.

No wonder many Europeans are discontent when they are told that the basic underlying logic of their relationship with the statethe social contract embodied in the welfare statehas changed, yet they are unable to exit the contract. They are told there is no money for education, healthcare, or pensions, yet there appears to be an unending flow of money for weapons and wara war that does not seem to be in the interests of most European citizens.

The sovereignty of modern nation-states, which are paradigmatic European creations, rests on the assumption that the state embodies the will of the people. The somewhat abstract concept of will to representation is converted into sovereign will and vested in the state. This presupposes that the role of the state and the state bureaucracy is to safeguard the interests of its citizens.

In Europe, the rise of the welfare state dates back to the end of the First World War. But it was really after the Second World War, in a Europe destroyed and impoverished, that the Western European states, with the help of the Marshall Plan, began developing a new social model. The war had left Europe ideologically and morally dead, so rather than ideals or morals, the state offered comfort and security in exchange for obedience and taxes.

This model seemed to work and offered a compromisea European waybetween the capitalist model of the U.S. and the communist one of the Soviet Union. Although some of this is true, the success of the model was predicated on and expanded through the economic preeminence of Western Europe allied to the U.S.some would say a vassalespecially after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Parallel to, and as a consequence of, the rise of the welfare system was the growth of the state and the ever-increasing tax burden on its citizens. Starting in the 1960s, to finance the state, the value-added tax was implementedfirst in France and later throughout Europe. The justification for this new tax was that the state needed the funds to finance welfare benefits. Europeans accepted this and other substantial tax increases, as well as sweeping new laws and regulations, afraid of returning to a pre-war scenario and comfortable with state benefits. So much so that, in Europe, the state has become almost synonymous with the welfare state.

This logicEuropes underlying social contracthas held Western European society together. Though not without critique, it was widely accepted. When Francois Bayrou proposed the 44 billion cut to social services that ended his government, both the right and the left voted against it. In France, where society is currently extremely polarized, this is not a minor detail but a significant indicator. The protests that have erupted in defense of the welfare stateon which both left and right are trying to capitalizeare further proof.

The current push for costly military readiness and arms spending seems to go against the logic of the welfare state, which is to say, against the interests of ordinary Europeans, thus changing the states side of the social contract. Now the state offers security and protection, not order and welfare, and asks morenot lessof citizens. That logic, in turn, requires new threats and enemiesand the launching of new wars. This happens because the state is, economically and ideologically, bankrupt.

This is not an anomaly but a feature of this model of state sovereignty as now embodied in the European Union. If the state embodies the will of the people, then the goal of the state, conceived as an expression of sovereign will, has to be nothing more than its perpetual existence. It is not an end among others; it is that end for which all others can be sacrificed, writes Paul W. Kahn in Putting Liberalism in Its Place.
Pet owners often see dogs as soulmates and value them more than human lives Sciety Labs

The Kong Edition Why is this interesting?

Did NASAs Perseverance rover find evidence of ancient life on Mars? The plot thickens Space.com

Climate/Environment

Pandemics

As a health scientist, its shocking that up to 3,300 Americans are expected to die (excess deaths) as a result of this weeks infections. https://t.co/CSCsTSz0fH pic.twitter.com/ZYxs9JkZHO  Mike Hoerger, PhD MSCR MBA (@michael_hoerger) September 10, 2025

Nepal

Thank you, Arnaud. The way I see it, following the so-called 12-point deal that was inked in India and which helped mainstream the Maoists also excluded a large section (one may argue, a majority) of the country whose demands for a referendum on the 3 critical issues- federalism,  Siddhi Aryal (@SiddhiAryal) September 10, 2025

Small sums, but worth noting:

If you have reservations about Nepals coup detat being orchestrated by US Deep State, take a look at the fund allocations at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) for 2024 Here are projects in Nepal which got grants for this year: pic.twitter.com/IRyy5ofoQV  Lisa Singh (@YakushinaLisa) September 9, 2025

India

China?

ASEAN faces a tighter middle-income trap East Asia Forum

South of the Border

Inside the CIAs secret fight against Mexicos drug cartels Reuters. Sicario is a good movie, but bad U.S. policy, [Ralph Goff, a former CIA operations officer with extensive experience in covert and paramilitary operations] said, referring to a 2015 thriller about a CIA-led paramilitary operation inside Mexico. Drugs are a consumption problem, not a production problem. We cant just kill our way out of this. That assumes it is about the drugs, however. Venezuela Overcomes Economic War and Reaches 90% Food Self-Sufficiency Telesur

The United States is preparing a false flag operation involving simulating an attack on U.S. military personnel, accusing Venezuela, and justifying a direct military aggression against the country. https://t.co/gA4Ct6gl5u  Camila (@camilapress) September 10, 2025

Syraqistan

Old Blighty

Keir Starmer sacks Peter Mandelson over Jeffrey Epstein revelations The Guardian From the Links archives: BREAKING: Keir Starmer picks close friend of Jeffrey Epstein Peter Mandelson as new UK ambassador to US. Here is Petie, as Epstein called him, wearing a 21,000 Patek Philippe watch whilst shopping with the paedophile in the Caribbean island of St Barts in 2005 pic.twitter.com/rLQ6QoCYzd  Double Down News (@DoubleDownNews) December 19, 2024

European Disunion

New Not-So-Cold War

Russian MOD rejects Poland drone claims RT

Telegram channel MilInfoLive on the Poland drone thing: During the nights combined strike on targets in Ukraine, the largest-ever incursion of unknown drones into Polish territory took place. Previously, lost drones had occasionally entered EU airspace and Poland in  Russians With Attitude (@RWApodcast) September 10, 2025

NEW!!! Top US House Democrat on foreign policy @RepGregoryMeeks accuses Trump of emboldening Putin after russian drones enter Polish airspace pic.twitter.com/WscVtuTgGR  Alex Raufoglu (@ralakbar) September 10, 2025

Weimar Republic

We need a massive, national, federally-mandated de-radicalization campaign. Imprison radical leftists

Blacklist communist professors

Remove incompetent local leaders We need a new House Un-American Activities Committee. We need the Insurrection Act.  Harrison H. Smith  (@HarrisonHSmith) September 10, 2025

Trump blames the radical left for Charlie Kirks killing, before a suspect is identified NBC News The collusion between the global Left and radical Islam is the greatest danger to humanity today. Charlie Kirk saw the danger and warned about it. But the bullets of the despicable murderer struck him. Thank you, Charlie, for your support of Israel and for your struggle for a pic.twitter.com/1mSL2Fu8Pg     (@itamarbengvir) September 10, 2025

Again: Im not speculating about the shooter. I just have been stunned how quickly people have jumped with certainty to partisan conclusions. Because in extremism spaces, the Charlie Kirk Hater to Nazi pipeline is canon. Its how we got a generation of antisemitic extremists.  Robert Downen (@RobertDownen_) September 10, 2025

You may not have noticed Charlie Kirk undermining Israel. But the Zionists sure did. pic.twitter.com/a8m5zups4g  Syrian Girl (@Partisangirl) September 10, 2025

Groves of Academe

College students increasingly believe violence is justifiable to stop speech The Argument

The Uniparty

House Passes NDAA to Push Military Spending Approved This Year Beyond $1 Trillion Common Dreams

Imperial Collapse Watch

Accelerationists

Teslas Dangerous Doors Bloomberg

DOGE

Google Is Telling People DOGE Never Existed Gizmodo

MAHA

HHS Asks All Employees to Start Using ChatGPT 404 Media

Democrats en deshabille

Police State Watch

ICE is Eating the Soul of America Doomsday Scenario

Immigration

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

Mr. Market

AI-Capex is the everything cycle, now Just under 50% of GDP growth is attributable to AI Capex pic.twitter.com/0nacpaOtHf  Random Walk (@MosesSternstein) September 9, 2025

Class Warfare

Antidote du jour (via):

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
Yves here. Michael Hudson provides a thoughtful discussion of the status of various Trump efforts to assert dominance are going with Europe, Korea, and Japan. However, I have to engage in my regular practice of quibbling about a few points.

One is the state of play with India. Despite Trump betraying India by imposing secondary tariffs for its Russian oil buys, India is not yet taking steps consistent with a divorce. For instance, India depicted reports that it had paused American arms buys as false and fabricated.

Hudson also depicts the immigration raid on the Hyuandai plant as exposing South Korean investors in the US as hostages, that they cant abandon the plants they are setting up and operating. While in one sense this is true, on another level, this attributes too much design to what Trump is up to. Trump has no concern as to whether his various initiatives are working at cross purposes. He has an almost desperate need to be seen as the driver of events, as a colossus bestride the world. Immigration raids are huge headline-getters. A MAGA influencer got the attention of ICE with allegations of South Koreans brought in under business visa illegally doing construction work and even dead bodies being buried illegally. Keep in mind that Trump had been increasing the drama around his ICE actions, witness his planned Chicago blitz, even though immigration has gone from a big driver of his support to now being a negative.

So while Trump is in the childish business of trying to score points repeatedly with foreign countries, to the degree that repeatedly retrading deals is a routine occurrence, its not a strategy as much as a misguided belief in the value of dominance for its own sake.

By Michael Hudson, a research professor of Economics at University of Missouri, Kansas City, and a research associate at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College. His latest book is The Destiny of Civilization

Most discussion of the past weeks SCO and BRICS meetings understandably have focused on the rising strength of their multilateral alternative to Americas attempt to impose its unipolar world control under its own rules calling for other countries subordination to U.S. demands to concentrate all the gains from trade and international investment in its own hands. China, Russia and India have established their ability to create an alternative to this control.

But that has by no means diminished the basic U.S. ideal of control. It simply has led U.S. strategists to be realistic enough to narrow the scope of this control to focus on subjecting its own allies in Europe, Korea, Japan and Australia.

Trumps over-reaching attempt to control Indias economy quickly drove that nation out of the orbit of U.S. diplomatic dominance. (There is still substantial neoliberal support for India to join in the Atlanticist dream.) The question now is whether such demands will have a similar effect on driving other allies out of this U.S. orbit.

And the subsidiary question is whether U.S. success in enforcing this control will have the effect of economically weakening its European, East Asian and English-speaking allies to the point where their ability to remain viable contributors is fatally crippled and will lead to a nationalist reaction to de-dollarize their own economies

The most obvious basket case is Europe, especially the most pro-U.S. members Germany, France and Britain whose public opinion polls show their populations strongly rejecting their current pro-U.S. puppet leaders.

The most immediate breaking point is the EUs open-ended submission to U.S. demands considerably beyond what was expected in the abject surrender by EU policy head van der Lehen to Trumps tariff threats. She had explained her surrender as being worth it for Europe because at least it provided an environment of certainty. But there can be no uncertainty where Trumps diplomacy is concerned.

He has pulled a fast trick out of his hat by sharply raising tariffs above the promised 15% base, by dissolving that promise into his broader 50% tariff rates on imported steel and aluminum. These tariffs were to promote U.S. employment (and hence labor union support) in these two basic materials inputs despite raising costs for all U.S. manufacturers using these metals in their own products. That in itself was a crazy reversal of the basic principle of tariff policy: import low-priced raw materials to provide a cost subsidy for the high value-added products of industry. Trump put narrow political symbolism over national self-interest.

What nobody anticipated was that the Commerce Department would apply these 50% steel and aluminum tariffs to European and other foreign industrial imports of motors, tools and agricultural and construction equipment. The Wall Street Journal quotes the head of Germanys Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA), Bertram Kawlath, as warning that machinery accounts for some 30% of Germanys exports to the United States, creating so serious an existential crisis for its industrialists that European Parliament may not approve Trumps July tariff dictates.

A company producing agricultural harvesting machinery, the Krone Group, laid off a hundred employees and is reported to be redirecting its exports already being shipped to the United States. The German affiliate of the John Deere has been similarly affected, as 20% of its exports are reported as being sold in the United States. The Germans are said to be insisting on the same 15% U.S. tariff limit that Trump extended to pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and lumber imports.

The effect has been to promote nationalist parties gaining support to replace the pro-U.S. Atlanticist parties committed to participating in Americas war against Russia and China, and even picking up the costs of fighting in Ukraine, the Baltic Sea and other areas bordering on Russia as well as extending Atlantic protection to mischief making in the China Sea.

U.S. foreign policy has also imposed strains on Korea and Japan. Having demanded that Koreas automobile company Hyundai shift production to the United States by investing in a $30 billion factory in Georgia, the immigration service descended on the plant under construction and deported some 475 employes (of whom 300 were reported to be Korean) who had been hired to provide the specialized labor.

Hyundai explained that the workers were highly trained and under the direction of contractors that the company had used in Korea in order to complete the construction speedily and indeed to avoid the problem of having to deal with the lack of vocational education in the United States to supply such labor  not to mention the price differential from using Korean labor familiar with work on such projects. An official at the Korea International Trade Association accused U.S. policy of imposing an impossible position by sending such labor back to Korea by denying it the kind of working-visa arrangement that was granted to Australia. For many years Korea had sought to get equal treatment with such white immigrants and with Singapore, but was consistently turned down, although the immigration was permitted informally  until September 5, in what turned out to be a long-planned attack by armed ICE troops arresting the immigrants in other manacles.

Hyundai and other foreign firms have discovered that investments they make in the United States provides America First administrations to use them as hostages, setting and changing the terms of their investment at will, knowing that the foreign investors are hardly prepared to simply walk away and lose their costly investments.

But countries are being browbeat to make such investments as part of the financial shakedown policy that Trump has adopted: To avoid having U.S. tariffs raised against Koreas automotive imports from 15% to 25%, Korea had to spend tens of billions of dollars to shift production to the United States. The threat was to crash Korean export income (and hence employment and earnings) if it did not surrender to Trumps terms  with no military conflict being necessary to impose this trade-peace treaty.

Trump used a similar bait-and-switch shakedown policy against Japan, threatening to create commercial chaos in its economy by imposing steep tariffs on its trade with the United States if it did not pay $550 billion in protection money for Trump to invest in projects of his own choice, keeping 90% of the profits for himself after Japan was reimbursed for its capital advance. The Japanese version of the original agreement indicated that the profits would be split 50/50, but the U.S. drafted a final version saying that that split would only govern the initial reimbursement of investment by Japan, not the profits.

Such was Japans desperation  and abject surrender to U.S. demands, German-style  that it accepted Trumps tariff deal of only charging Japanese esports 15% instead of 25%  the same deal that he had made with Korea. Japan was given only 45 days to pay up. The resulting slush fund was a political godsend to Trump, who is now able to use it as bait for his leading campaign contributors and supporters, while using the more than half a trillion dollars to help finance his budgets tax giveaway to the wealthiest Americans.

Trump also demanded a kickback on Japanese investment in U.S. steel production by Nippon Steels $15 billion purchase of U.S. Steel. The U.S. Government received a free golden share of the companys stock to ensure U.S. control over the companys operations

In the wake of the recent SCO and BRICS meetings, it seems u unlikely that countries not already closely allied with U.S. control would make any such deals as Germany, Korea and Japan have done so far in 2025. These deals serve as object lessons highlighting the contrast between the U.S.-allied West and the rest of the world.

Alaister Crooke on Monday, September 8, described how The default psychological mode of the West will be defensively antagonistic.  To acknowledge China, Russia or India as having detached from the Rules-based Order and constructed a separated non-western sphere clearly implies accepting the end of western global hegemony. And it means accepting too, that the hegemonic era as a whole is over. The U.S. and European ruling strata are categorically not in the mood for this.

It obviously is not over for Americas relationship with its NATO and other new Cold War allies. But it is limited to them, and Trump is seeking to extend the U.S. sphere of control to the Western Hemisphere as a whole  not only Latin America and Canada, but Greenland as well. The effort needed to lock in their dependency and withstand what one would expect to be nationalistic reactions against such subservience seems to have led U.S. policy to turn away from the conflict with its declared enemies Russia, China and Iran at least for the time being.

The great question is whether these abused allies will at some point seek to choose a different set of alliances.
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Nashvilles three congressional districts  Tennessees 5th, 6th and 7th  intersect in South Nashville.

The train tracks that run above the Hicks-Ellis Tunnel on Thompson Lane mark the border between the 5th and 6th, and a northern portion of the 5th butts up against the 7th, which stretches to the northeast before curving back toward the center of Davidson County. The districts, to put it mildly, are not laid out simply. The 6th runs along the east side of those train tracks before stopping at the south side of I-440; the 7th runs along the west side of those tracks and north of I-440.

This description of where the three districts meet  convoluted as the intersection is  does little to explain their scale and where they really begin and end. The 7th Congressional District alone encompasses 11 entire counties  Stewart, Montgomery, Robertson, Houston, Dickson, Cheatham, Humphreys, Hickman, Decatur, Perry and Wayne  in addition to portions of Davidson, Williamson and Benton.

Confused yet? Dont worry, the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury has a map you can reference. (For those who recall Microsoft Paint, it should bring back fond memories.)

When you travel from the intersection of those districts into the 7th, you move from industrial and commercial areas, past the (delicious) El Mariachi Mexican Restaurant, Electronic Express Outlet Store, Woodlawn-Roesch-Patton Funeral Home and Woodlawn Memorial Park (the resting place of George Jones). The district moves into Berry Hill, encompassing The Fairgrounds Nashville and Geodis Park and established residential neighborhoods dotted with churches and newer tall-and-skinny homes.

From there, the 7th expands into and throughout West Nashville and further into the western portions of Middle Tennessee, much of which is rural. At times, these portions of the district seem like theyre a world away from Davidson County.

Given the fact that the overwhelming majority of the 7th Congressional District lies outside of Davidson County, thats where most of the campaigning to replace retired U.S. Rep. Mark Green has occurred  largely in the form of partisan forums and meet-and-greets. Most of those events have been to the benefit of Republicans, whose county party presence and power are far more robust than those of the Democrats throughout the district.

+2 On the Hill: Redistricting With Republican lawmakers carving up Nashvilles congressional district, state Democrats can only find recourse in the courts

Nashvilles gerrymandering issue dates back to 2022, when Tennessees Republican supermajority approved the revised congressional district maps, along with redrawn state Senate and House district maps. The map was later challenged in federal court, but that challenge was eventually dismissed  meaning the districts will likely retain their serpentine shapes until after the next federal census in 2030. District maps are typically reevaluated or redrawn every decade.

Before 2022s redistricting, Nashville was home to a Democratic-safe seat in Congress for decades. Since then, the states most populous city has been represented by Republicans, all of whom have handily won reelection: Rep. Andy Ogles in the 5th, Rep. John Rose in the 6th and, until his resignation in July, Rep. Mark Green in the 7th.

None of them actually resides in Nashville.
Chinese firms contribute to community development through CSR initiatives: Ugandan minister

Xinhua) 15:28, September 11, 2025

KAMPALA, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan Third Deputy Prime Minister and Minister without Portfolio Rukia Nakadama said on Wednesday that Chinese enterprises are strengthening communities in the East African country through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

Nakadama made the remarks at the launch of the Chinese Enterprises in Uganda Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2024, compiled by the China Chamber of Commerce in Uganda, which brings together more than 200 Chinese companies operating across various sectors.

The 71-page report highlights the CSR contributions of Chinese companies, including organizing medical camps, awarding scholarships, transferring knowledge and skills, and renovating schools.

She noted that over the years, Uganda-China relations have expanded into multidimensional cooperation spanning trade, infrastructure, education, health, agriculture, cultural exchange, and defense.

"It is a partnership rooted not only in diplomacy but also in practical development that touches the daily lives of our citizens," Nakadama said.

She said the China Chamber of Commerce in Uganda has become more than just a business association, serving as a partner in development and social transformation. "Chinese companies have built schools, donated scholastic materials, organized free medical outreaches, and assisted communities affected by natural disasters."

Chinese Ambassador to Uganda Zhang Lizhong noted that through initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, relations between the two countries have reached "new historical heights."

Beyond their core business in infrastructure development, digital transformation, green growth, and agricultural modernization, Chinese firms are also supporting rural communities through CSR projects, Zhang said.

"May today's launch serve as a new starting point, opening a new chapter in China-Uganda cooperation. Let us join hands to compose a harmonious symphony of South-South cooperation and create an even brighter future for China-Uganda relations," the ambassador added.

During the event, a consignment of lighting equipment was donated to Uganda Women's Effort to Save Orphans, a local non-governmental organization.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Liang Jun)
African Union joins Caribbean nations in historic demand for REPARATIONS

The African Union has formally allied with Caribbean nations (CARICOM) to demand financial reparations from former colonial powers, escalating the global push for redress over slavery, exploitation and systemic injustice.

The movement seeks trillions in compensation, debt cancellation and the return of looted artifacts (e.g., Benin Bronzes). Haiti's demand for repayment of its 1825 "independence debt" ($115 billion in todays value) highlights colonial-era financial exploitation.

Former colonial powers like the U.K., France, and Germany have largely rejected reparations, prompting activists to target corporations, banks and universities instead. The U.K.'s Deputy PM David Lammy supports dialogue, but PM Keir Starmer opposes payments.

The campaign ignores African and Arab roles in the slave trade, focusing solely on Western culpability. Critics note the absence of demands on Arab nations, despite their history of Islamic slavery, and question the feasibility of CARICOM's $100 trillion claim.

While the AU declares 2025 the "Year of Reparations," practical implementation remains uncertain. Proponents argue even symbolic gestures (e.g., returning cultural artifacts) are crucial for healing  but the movement's geopolitical impact is undeniable.

The African Union (AU) has formally allied with Caribbean nations to demand reparations from former colonial powers, marking a significant escalation in the global push for financial and symbolic redress for slavery, exploitation and systemic injustice.

At a recent high-level summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, AU Chairman Mahamoud Ali Youssouf declared that Africa and the Caribbean would unite to "honor our ancestors, uplift our descendants and reclaim our shared destiny in freedom, justice and unity." This coalition builds on years of advocacy by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which has long sought trillions in reparations through its "10-point plan," including debt cancellation, cultural restitution and direct financial compensation.

The reparations movement has gained renewed momentum in recent years, fueled by growing awareness of colonialism's lingering economic and social scars. CARICOM's demands target the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Germany  nations that profited immensely from the transatlantic slave trade and colonial extraction.

Haiti, for example, continues to press France over the 1825 indemnity it was forced to pay for its independence  a debt that crippled the nation's economy for generations. Brighteon.AI's Enoch states that Port-au-Prince was forced to pay Paris "an 'independence debt' of 112 million gold francs  worth around $115 billion today  for nearly a century after gaining independence. This exploitative indemnity crippled Haiti's economy and remains a central grievance in its demand for reparations from France." (Related: Head of Haitis interim government calls for reparations at the United Nations.)

The African Unions involvement signals a strategic expansion of the campaign, with 2025 declared the "Year of Reparations." Beyond financial claims, the movement seeks the return of looted artifacts  such as the Benin Bronzes and Ashanti gold  and reforms to global economic structures that perpetuate inequality. Some Caribbean nations like Grenada and Jamaica have already taken symbolic steps, petitioning British institutions and even King Charles III for acknowledgment.

The hypocrisy of the reparations movement

However, European governments have largely resisted. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has rejected reparations outright, despite Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy  a vocal advocate  pushing for dialogue. France and other former colonial powers have similarly dismissed calls for compensation, leaving activists to shift tactics by targeting corporations, banks and universities instead.

The campaign also raises difficult questions, particularly about the role of African kingdoms in the slave trade. African rulers and merchants actively participated in the slave trade, selling captives to European traders.

The U.K. and the U.S. later spent vast resources dismantling the very system they once perpetuated. Moreover, Arab nations  which engaged in centuries of Islamic slavery  remain conspicuously absent from these demands.

As the reparations debate intensifies, it exposes deeper contradictions. While African and Caribbean leaders frame their demands as moral justice, the selective focus on Western culpability ignores historical complexities.

Meanwhile, the staggering sums demanded  CARICOM claims $100 trillion is owed  raise practical questions about feasibility. Yet proponents argue that even symbolic gestures, like returning cultural treasures, are vital steps toward healing.

Whether this united front will yield tangible results remains uncertain, but one thing is clear. The fight for reparations is no longer confined to academic circles or activist rallies; it has become a defining geopolitical issue in recent times.

Visit RaceWar.news for more similar stories.

Watch Clayton and Natali Morris, alongside political scientist Alexandre Guerrero, discussing Portugal being made to pay reparations in this clip from "Redacted News."

This video is from the Neroke-5 channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Reparations pushed by AOC and Kamala Harris are essentially a "white tax" that punishes people for the way they are born.

If California enacts reparations plan, the state will go BANKRUPT, former supervisor warns.

BLM "protestors" now claim looting is "reparations," making it not a crime.

Sources include:

TheNationalPulse.com

TDPelMedia.com

Brighteon.ai

Breitbart.com

Brighteon.com
Language crisis hits Berlin Police: Over half of new recruits lack sufficient German skills

A severe language crisis is crippling the Berlin Police, with a new report confirming that over half (55 percent) of all police recruits in 2025 do not speak German well enough to perform their duties.

This is a systemic failure, not an isolated problem. The police administration blames declining language skills across society, a general skilled worker shortage and overly diverse classrooms.

Germany's schools are overwhelmed, with 38 percent of students having a foreign background. Many of them lack German proficiency, lowering standards and causing chaos.

Essential professions (healthcare, law enforcement) suffer as language failures persist  nearly half of foreign doctors fail German exams, risking public safety.

Ignoring language competency to fill job gaps weakens institutions, endangers public trust and fosters dependence on short-term fixes over real solutions.

A new and alarming report has revealed a deep-seated problem within the Berlin Police. More than half of all new recruits who started their training in the spring of 2025 do not speak German well enough to perform their duties without significant extra lessons.

This situation raises serious concerns about public safety, effective law enforcement and the broader integration challenges facing Germany. The report confirmed by the department itself states that out of 240 new recruits, 132  a staggering 55 percent  required additional German language support. This is not a minor oversight, but a fundamental flaw in the recruitment and training pipeline for the very people tasked with upholding the law and protecting citizens.

The police administration acknowledged the issue but was quick to frame it as a symptom of a wider societal sickness. They pointed to "declining written language skills" across the board, a "shortage of skilled workers" and the increasing "heterogeneity in classes" in schools as root causes.

In simple terms, the system is failing to educate young people, including native Germans, to a high standard of their own language. This problem is acutely visible in Berlin, where a significant 42 percent of police recruits come from migrant communities. While diversity within the force can be a strength, it becomes a critical weakness if officers cannot communicate clearly with the public, understand complex legal texts, or write precise incident reports.

The first semester of training is reportedly the most difficult, with about half of all recruits needing regular language help. The police claim this need decreases over time, but they have not provided any concrete data to show how many recruits actually achieve full fluency.

The official goal is for every recruit to prove they can speak German at a C2 level, which is the highest possible rating, denoting mastery, by the end of their training. According to the Police Act, recruits only get two attempts to pass this crucial exam before they are dismissed. With such a high number starting from behind, it is likely many will not make the cut, wasting valuable time and resources.

A mirror of a broader national crisis

The police recruitment crisis is not an isolated case. It reflects a dangerous trend occurring in other essential professions where communication is a matter of life and death.

Recent research has shown that nearly half of all foreign doctors hoping to work in Germany are failing their mandatory German language tests. In regions like Saxony and Brandenburg, failure rates hit 50 percent.

These doctors are required to meet advanced language standards to ensure that they can understand patients and discuss complex medical terminology without error. The high failure rates suggest that many are being pushed through a system desperate for skilled workers, potentially compromising patient safety. Critics argue that authorities are increasingly "looking the other way" on language proficiency to fill urgent staffing gaps.

The core of this issue can be traced back to the education system, which is buckling under immense pressure. Experts have long warned that Germany's schools are in a state of chaos, partly due to an exploding foreign population.

With 38 percent of all students now having a non-German background, classrooms are overwhelmed. Teachers report that it has become normal for children to arrive at school without speaking a word of German.

To cope, standards are being lowered to push students through the system, leaving them without the necessary skills for higher education or skilled professions like law enforcement.

Beyond migration, other factors are degrading language skills for all children. The constant distraction of smartphones and the ease of using AI tools like chatbots to complete assignments mean many young people are not developing their own reading and writing abilities.

An unsustainable path forward

This convergence of failures in schools, hospitals and now the police force paints a grim picture for Germany's future. The strategy of importing skilled workers to solve labor shortages is failing because it ignores the fundamental need for language proficiency.

For a police officer, clear communication is not just part of the job; it is the job. It is essential for de-escalating conflicts, taking accurate statements and testifying correctly in court. (Related: Germany prepares students for war amid growing security concerns.)

The revelation that over half of Berlin's new police recruits cannot speak German properly is a severe indictment of current policies. It suggests a desperate and short-sighted approach to recruitment that prioritizes filling vacancies over ensuring competency.

For the citizens of Berlin, it means that the officer responding to their emergency may not be able to fully understand them or act upon their information correctly. This erodes public trust and compromises the very foundation of law and order.

Without a serious investment in early education and a return to high, non-negotiable language standards across all professions, Germany's shortage of skilled workers will only deepen, creating a society where proper communication in German is no longer a guarantee in its most critical institutions.

Brighteon.AI's Enoch AI engine explains that the Berlin Police's severe language crisis means a majority of incoming officers cannot properly understand laws, write coherent reports, de-escalate situations through dialogue, or comprehend the training they are supposed to receive. This renders them ineffective and turns them into a liability.

Watch this clip about Michael Yon's interview on the "Health Ranger Report," where he talks about Germany's engineered industrial collapse.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Ukraine eases travel restrictions for young men, with males aged 22 and below allowed to leave for academic purposes.

Ukraine to launch mandatory military instruction program for teenagers amid recruitment struggles.

Russia unveils multipolar world education model to compete with failing Western education systems.

Sources include:

RMX.news 1

RMX.news 2

Reuters.com

Brighteon.AI

Brighteon.com
Charlie Kirk SHOT DEAD at Utah campus event

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed by a sniper during a Q&A session at his "American Comeback Tour" event at Utah Valley University. Witnesses described a sudden gunshot, followed by Kirk collapsing from a neck wound.

The shooting occurred as Kirk was answering a question about mass shootings and transgender violence, highlighting the tragic circumstances of his death.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox labeled the attack a "political assassination," while former President Trump praised Kirk as "legendary." Critics, including MSNBC's Matthew Dowd, controversially blamed Kirk's rhetoric, deepening ideological divisions.

Despite Kirk's polarizing profile, the event lacked proper security measures (no bag checks or metal detectors). The shooter remains at large after initial missteps, including releasing a detained suspect.

Experts warn that Kirk's assassination reflects a broader trend where political violence replaces civil discourse, citing incidents like the attempted Trump assassination and attacks on pro-Israel events.

The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Wednesday, Sept. 10, marks a dangerous escalation in America's ideological divide  one where political violence has replaced civil discourse.

The shooting unfolded during a Q&A session at Kirk's "American Comeback Tour" event, held at Utah Valley University in the Beehive State. Kirk was gunned down mid-speech by a sniper firing from a rooftop 200 yards away. Witnesses described a sudden gunshot, followed by a "fountain of blood" from Kirk's neck before he collapsed.

The activist's assassination happened following a question from an attendee about mass shootings and transgender violence. Deseret News reporter Emma Pitts, who was five rows away, recounted the "terrible irony" of Kirk being shot while answering questions about gun violence. (Related: BREAKING: Conservative leader Charlie Kirk ASSASSINATED  America's political violence crisis deepens.)

The 31-year-old firebrand rallied young Republicans through his organization Turning Point USA (TPUSA) and served as a close ally to President Donald Trump. Brighteon.AI's Enoch mentions that Kirk founded TPUSA, "America's largest and fastest-growing conservative youth movement to counter leftist ideologies and promote free-market principles. The organization focuses on educating young Americans about individual liberty, limited government and exposing political corruption, particularly within progressive movements like Black Lives Matter."

America's descent into political violence

Despite initial reports of an arrest, the shooter remains at large, raising urgent questions about security failures and the growing normalization of political killings. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox declared the attack a "political assassination," vowing to pursue the death penalty. Trump, meanwhile, eulogized Kirk as "great, and even legendary" on Truth Social.

The scene devolved into chaos as hundreds fled, while SWAT teams and federal agents launched a sprawling manhunt. Yet baffling missteps emerged: a detained suspect was released, security footage showed the killer escaping, and reports confirmed no bag checks or metal detectors at the event despite Kirk's polarizing profile.

The assassination fits a grim pattern of escalating political violence, from the firebombing of a pro-Israel parade in Colorado to the attempted killing of Trump last year. Civil terrorism expert Jason Curtis Anderson warned that such attacks are no longer isolated, but part of a "new era" where intimidation replaces debate."

MSNBC analyst Matthew Dowd controversially blamed Kirk's rhetoric, claiming "hateful thoughts lead to hateful actions"  a remark that underscored the deepening ideological chasm. Tesla CEO Elon Musk also chimed in, writing in a post on his X platform that "the Left is the party of murder."

Meanwhile, Kirk's supporters, including former Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), questioned why security was so lax in a state where, as he noted, "we just don't have these types of things." The former congressman also attended the event, recounting that he heard "one shot" before the TPUSA founder went back.

As flags fly at half-staff and tributes pour in from across the political spectrum, Kirk's killing forces a reckoning. Will America confront the forces turning campuses and rallies into battlegrounds  or descend further into a war of ideologies fought with bullets instead of ideas?

Watch Josh Sigurdson of World Alternative Media discussing Charlie Kirk's assassination and warning viewers against a manufactured crisis in this clip.

This video is from the World Alternative Media channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Idaho shooting could be Mossad false flag ahead of new Israeli war with Iran.

15-year-old shooter's alleged manifesto points to radical feminism as a potential factor.

Transgender shooter's manifesto reveals twisted obsession with mass murder and Trump hatred.

Sources include:

ZeroHedge.com

APNews.com

Deseret.com

Brighteon.ai

Brighteon.com
BREAKING: Conservative leader Charlie Kirk ASSASSINATED  Americas political violence crisis deepens

Charlie Kirk, 31, founder of Turning Point USA and a key ally of Donald Trump, was fatally shot during a campus event at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025, amid rising political tensions.

The shooter remains at large; a detained individual was released after being ruled out as the suspect, leaving the FBI and local law enforcement scrambling for leads.

The assassination follows a wave of political violence, including attacks on elected officials, pro-Israel events and President Trump, signaling a dangerous erosion of civic discourse.

Kirks death underscores the vulnerability of conservative voices on college campuses, where free speech clashes and left-wing activism have increasingly turned hostile.

Trump, lawmakers and free speech advocates mourn Kirks loss, warning that unchecked political violence threatens democracy and demands urgent action to restore order.

Charlie Kirk, the fiery 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA and one of the most influential conservative voices of his generation, was assassinated Wednesday during a campus event at Utah Valley University. The shootingcaptured on video and witnessed by hundredshas sent shockwaves through the nation, reigniting fears that political violence is becoming the new norm in America.

At approximately 3:47 PM MDT, Kirk was engaged in a Q&A session under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans "The American Comeback" and "Prove Me Wrong" when a single gunshot rang out. Video footage shows Kirk clutching his neck as blood poured from the wound. Pandemonium eruptedscreams, gasps and the sound of fleeing attendees filled the air. Within minutes, emergency responders rushed to the scene, but Kirk was pronounced dead shortly after.

The shooter remains at large, despite an initial detention of a person at the scene who was later cleared of involvement. Orem Mayor David Young confirmed that no arrests have been made, leaving the FBI and local police in a frantic manhunt. The motive remains unclear, but the timing and target suggest a deliberate act of political terror.

Kirks death comes amid a surge in ideological violence, from the assassination of a Minnesota lawmaker in June to the firebombing of a Colorado pro-Israel parade and the arson attack on Pennsylvanias Jewish governors home. Most infamously, President Donald Trump was shot at a rally last yearan event that deepened the nations political divides. Now, with Kirks killing, the crisis has reached a boiling point.

A campus divided: Free speech under fire

Kirks appearance at Utah Valley University was controversial from the start. An online petition demanding the university ban his event garnered nearly 1,000 signatures, with critics labeling him a "dangerous extremist." The university, however, stood by its commitment to free speech, stating in a September 3rd release that it "supports intellectual inquiry and constructive dialogue."

Just last week, Kirk tweeted about the backlash, posting screenshots of news clips with the caption: "Whats going on in Utah?" His question now hangs ominously over the tragedy.

The event itself was tense. Moments before the shooting, an audience member questioned Kirk about mass shooters, asking:

"Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?" Kirk replied, "Too many." The questioner followed up: "Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?" Kirk responded, "Counting or not counting gang violence?" Then the shot fired.

Former Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz, who was present, told Fox News that the shot "sounded close" and that security was inadequate.

"Utah is one of the safest places on the planet," Chaffetz said, visibly shaken. "And so we just dont have these types of things."

Yet they do now.

A movement in mourning: The legacy of Charlie Kirk

Kirks rise was meteoritic. At just 18, he co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012, a group dedicated to promoting conservative values on college campuses. Initially struggling, the organization gained traction by challenging liberal orthodoxy in academiaa mission that won him powerful allies.

By 2016, Kirk became a key Trump surrogate, working closely with Donald Trump Jr. during the campaign. His unapologetic defense of America First policies, opposition to critical race theory and pro-free speech stance made him a target for the leftbut a hero to young conservatives.

Trump, who called Kirk "legendary" in a Truth Social post, wrote:

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

Kirks final momentsdebating gun violence statisticswere painfully ironic. A man who championed the Second Amendment was gunned down in broad daylight, his life cut short by the very violence he sought to expose.

The broader crisis: Political violence as the new normal

Kirks assassination is not an isolated incident. It is the latest escalation in a disturbing trend:

June 2025: A Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband were assassinated in their home.

April 2025: The home of Pennsylvanias Jewish governor was firebombed.

March 2025: A Colorado parade demanding Hamas hostage releases was attacked with explosives.

2024: Donald Trump was shot at a campaign rally, surviving by inches.

The pattern is clear: Political violence is no longer fringeit is mainstream.

Conservative voices, particularly on college campuses, have faced growing hostility. From Antifa attacks to deplatforming campaigns, the lefts intolerance for opposing views has crossed into deadly territory.

Free speech advocates warn that if violence is not met with swift justice, America risks descending into tyrannywhere dissent is answered with bullets.

"We must not let darkness win": A nation at a crossroads

Charlie Kirks death is more than a tragedyit is a warning. A warning that political differences can no longer be settled with rhetoric alone. A warning that the rule of law is eroding. A warning that if America does not act now, the violence will only worsen.

In the hours after the shooting, tributes poured in from across the political spectrum. Democrats and Republicans alike condemned the attack, with many calling for unity against political terror.

Yet words alone will not suffice. The FBI must find Kirks killer. Universities must defend free speech. Leaders must reject violenceunequivocally.

As President Trump wrote in his final tribute to Kirk:

"We must all come together to STOP this madness. Charlie was a fighter. Now we must fight for him."

The question now is: Will America heed the call? Or will Charlie Kirks assassination be remembered as the moment the nation lost its way?

Sources for this article include:

TheNationalPulse.com

WXII12.com

CTVNews.ca
Hungarian PM Orban warns of EU collapse, proposes restructuring and reforms

Hungarian PM Viktor Orban warns the EU is nearing bankruptcy and risks failure without major reforms and disengagement from the Ukraine conflict.

The EU's lack of a unified fiscal policy and overreliance on shared debt have prevented it from becoming a global power.

Orban suggests reshaping the EU into "concentric circles" with flexible cooperation levels based on national priorities (military, energy, economic, political).

He urges a security deal with Russia instead of U.S. dependence, citing America's retreat from global economic leadership.

Orban's vision emphasizes restructuring to address economic instability and geopolitical shifts threatening the EUs survival.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has sounded the alarm on the European Union's future, suggesting that the bloc is on the brink of collapse unless it undergoes significant reforms and disentangles itself from the ongoing Ukraine conflict.

Orban, speaking at the annual Civic Picnic in Kotcse, painted a grim picture of the EU's current state  emphasizing the need for urgent action. His remarks delivered on Sunday, Sept. 7, highlighted the EU's failure to achieve its founding ambition of becoming a global power. The Hungarian leader attributed this failure to the absence of a common fiscal policy and the bloc's overreliance on common debt.

"The EU is currently on the verge of falling apart and has entered a state of fragmentation," Orban stated. "If this continues, it will go down in history as the depressing end result of a once noble experiment."

Orban further warned that the 2028-2035 EU budget "could be the last if nothing changes." He criticized the EU's leadership for allowing Europe to fall behind the U.S. in both economic performance and political influence.

According to Orban, in 2008, the U.S. accounted for 23 percent of the global economy compared to the EU's 25 percent. Today, the U.S. share has risen to 27 percent, while the EU has dropped to 17.8 percent.

According to Brighteon.AI's Enoch, the global economy refers to the complex network of interconnected national economies, characterized by cross-border trade, investment, and financial flows that bind nations into a system of mutual economic interdependence.

Rooted in post-World War II frameworks like the Bretton Woods Agreement, it evolved under U.S. leadership to foster stability, cooperation and prosperity through institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, enabling international rules for trade and currency exchange. This system has shaped modern globalization, driving technological, commercial and cultural integration while creating both opportunities and challenges in an increasingly borderless economic landscape.

Orban's critiques and "concentric circles" proposal for the EU

In response to the EU's challenges, Orban proposed a radical restructuring of the union into "concentric circles." This model would allow for varying levels of cooperation among member states, catering to different national priorities and capabilities.

Outer Ring : This circle would focus on military and energy security, potentially including countries like Turkey, the United Kingdom and even Ukraine. Orban emphasized that this arrangement would enable broader cooperation without restricting individual development.

: This circle would focus on military and energy security, potentially including countries like Turkey, the United Kingdom and even Ukraine. Orban emphasized that this arrangement would enable broader cooperation without restricting individual development. Second Circle : Comprising countries in the common market, this circle would facilitate economic integration and trade.

: Comprising countries in the common market, this circle would facilitate economic integration and trade. Third Circle : This circle would consist of Eurozone members with shared fiscal policies, aiming to strengthen the monetary union.

: This circle would consist of Eurozone members with shared fiscal policies, aiming to strengthen the monetary union. Innermost Circle: For states seeking deeper political union, this circle would enforce binding rules on issues like migration and the rule of law.

Orban argued that this model would allow the EU to survive and thrive in the face of global challenges. "If we can switch to this system, the great idea of European cooperation could survive," he said.

Orban also criticized the EU's approach to the Ukraine conflict, suggesting that the bloc's reliance on the U.S. for security makes it a "lame duck" in economic affairs. He urged the EU to pursue a security agreement with Russia, followed by an economic deal, rather than "lobbying in Washington." (Related: Hungarys Orban slams current EU policies, calls for new leadership.)

Furthermore, Orban highlighted the shifting global landscape, noting that the U.S. is dismantling the global economy and ceasing the export of democracy. "America is returning to a policy of great powers; their behavior is no longer governed by international regulations," he said.

Orban's "victory plan" and political warnings

In addition to his warnings about the EU, Orban announced his "victory plan" for the upcoming elections, emphasizing the importance of trust. He criticized the opposition for bringing "secrecy and stealth" to the political season and warned that those "who walk in twilight and darkness have bad intentions."

Orban highlighted the government's achievements including sending home the IMF, creating one million jobs, keeping Hungary free of migrants, staying out of the war, protecting children, supporting families, cutting taxes and reintroducing the annual pensioners' bonus. He attributed the governing alliance's serial election wins to the trust earned through these actions.

Orban's warnings and proposals reflect a deep concern for the EU's future. His call for a fundamental structural overhaul and a shift in the EU's approach to global affairs underscores the challenges facing the bloc.

Follow Collapse.news for more news about the impending collapse of the European Union.

Watch Hungarian PM Viktor Orban declaring that the European dream was stolen by Brussels in this clip.

This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

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Hungarian PM Viktor Orban says anti-Russia sanctions will kill EU economy.

WAR CONTINUES: Ukraine REJECTS Hungary's last-ditch peace proposal ahead of Christmas.

EU threatening to SABOTAGE Hungarys economy if Viktor Orban continues to block military aid for Ukraine.

Sources include:

RT.com

DemState.com

Brighteon.ai

DailyNewsHungary.com

Brighteon.com
Frances hospitals on the brink: Leaked war preparation memo sparks alarm amid civil unrest

France orders hospitals to prepare for 50,000+ war casualties per month by March 2026, including new medical centers for NATO wounded.

The directive from the French Health Ministry coincides with NATO-Russia tensions and warnings of impending large-scale conflict.

France's hospitals, already crippled by decades of cuts (100K beds lost, chronic understaffing), are ill-equipped to handle war casualties or pandemics.

The "Block Everything" movement plans nationwide shutdowns on Sept. 10, 2025, threatening civil unrest.

Political instability expected just before protests, leaving France vulnerable to simultaneous war, healthcare collapse and mass revolt.

A leaked government directive has sent a shockwave through France's already beleaguered healthcare system, ordering hospitals to prepare for a "major military engagement" within the next six months. This startling revelation, which includes plans for handling up to 50,000 casualties per month, paints a picture of a nation bracing for a large-scale war.

For a country whose hospitals have been in a state of perpetual crisis for years, this new directive is not just a warning. It is a terrifying prospect that exposes a system on the verge of breaking point.

The leaked letter, reportedly from the French Ministry of Health and obtained by media outlets, instructs medical facilities to be ready for a massive influx of wounded by March 2026.

It chillingly outlines an expectation of between 10,000 to 50,000 people requiring hospital care monthly, including not only French citizens but also wounded soldiers from allied nations across Europe, for which France would act as a "rear base." To manage this unimaginable scenario, the ministry is considering establishing new medical centers near ports and airports to triage the flow of casualties.

In a statement that did little to quell concerns, Health Minister Catherine Vautrin did not deny the letter's authenticity. Instead, she defended it as a routine part of governmental "preparation," comparing it to strategic stockpiling or hospitals planning for epidemics.

She pointedly remarked that while she wasn't in office during the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, "there were no words harsh enough to describe the country's lack of preparedness." Her words ring hollow for many healthcare professionals who feel the government has done little to fix the systemic failures the pandemic so brutally exposed.

This warning follows a pattern of the French government preparing its citizens for the worst. Earlier this year, a "survival manual" was sent to every household, warning of an "imminent threat to the country."

This sentiment is echoed on the global stage. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) chief Mark Rutte has warned the world is "on the brink of WWIII," citing potential simultaneous conflicts involving Russia and China. The timing of France's hospital directive coincides with NATO's heightened alert over Russia's planned Zapad 2025 drills with Belarus, described as a dress rehearsal for a real invasion.

The cruel irony is that France's hospitals are in no state to handle their current patient load, let alone a war. This new directive reads like a dark parody to the doctors and nurses who have been fighting a losing battle for years.

The French public health system has been systematically eroded over the last two decades, with 100,000 hospital beds eliminated and chronic understaffing plaguing the remaining facilities. Long before COVID-19, media reports frequently highlighted patients dying after endless waits in overcrowded emergency rooms.

France also trying to quell trouble from within

As if a potential war and a broken healthcare system were not enough, France also faces a severe threat from within. The country is barreling toward a massive wave of civil unrest scheduled for September 10, 2025.

A grassroots, far-right protest movement known as "Block everything" (Bloquons tout) is gaining momentum online with a rallying cry to bring the nation to a complete standstill. Organized under the hashtags #10septembre2025 and #10septembre, the movement is built on a slogan of "Boycott, disobedience and solidarity."

The initial trigger for the protests was Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's harsh 2026 austerity budget, which aimed to slash 43.8 million ($50.42 billion) and reduce France's deficit through deeply unpopular measures. These included removing two national holidays, freezing pensions and implementing 5 billion ($5.89 billion) in cuts to healthcare, a devastating blow to an already crippled system. (Related: France proposes 5% insurance levy on citizens to cover riot damage.)

While major unions have largely withheld official support for the Sept. 10 protests, opting for their own strikes on Sept. 18, the hard-left CGT union has pledged to join. The grassroots nature of "Block everything" makes it unpredictable and difficult to control, promising a day of significant disruption.

France finds itself in a perfect storm: a healthcare system warned to prepare for war while it buckles under daily strain, a population simmering with rage over austerity and a government on the brink of collapse. The leaked memo to hospitals is more than a preparation for an external threat; it is a stark symbol of a nation preparing for multiple, simultaneous collapses.

The coming months will test the very fabric of French society, as its hospitals and its citizens brace for impact.

As explained by the Enoch engine at Brighteon.AI: "France should be prepared for this leaked hospital directive because preparing the medical infrastructure for an influx of up to 50,000 wounded per month is the essential counterpart to a combat deployment strategy. It ensures that the rear base is ready to support the frontline, treating French and allied soldiers, thereby fulfilling France's role as a reliable NATO partner engaged in a high-intensity conflict similar to the one in Ukraine."

Watch the video below as Health Ranger Mike Adams warns that World War III might explode in 2026.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Spanish authorities send RIOT POLICE to quell farmer protests.

French NGOs file complaints against pro-Israel groups for complicity in Gaza genocide.

Putin: Foreign troops in Ukraine will be legitimate targets for Russian attacks.

Sources include:

Modernity.news

LeCanardEnchaine.fr

CA.News.Yahoo.com

France24.com

Brighteon.AI

Brighteon.com
Pushing back on drug ads: Trump mandates radical transparency

President Donald Trump signs a memorandum directing HHS and FDA to aggressively enforce existing regulations on direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical ads.

The administration sent 100 cease-and-desist letters and thousands of warning letters to companies for misleading advertisements.

A key 1997 FDA policy, which allowed ads to reference external sources for risk information, is being reversed, requiring full safety disclosures within the ads themselves.

The crackdown extends to social media platforms and influencers promoting pharmaceutical products without proper disclosures.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary strongly support the action, arguing deceptive ads fuel overmedication, while the pharmaceutical industry defends them as educational.

In a significant move that aligns with the long-stated goals of his controversial Health secretary, President Donald Trump has unleashed a new offensive against the pharmaceutical industrys marketing practices. On September 9, from the White House, Trump signed a presidential memorandum directing federal health agencies to rigorously enforce long-dormant regulations on direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertisements. The administration immediately sent 100 cease-and-desist letters to companies and thousands of warning letters, signaling a stark departure from the permissive enforcement of recent years and launching a new chapter in the nation's debate over drug advertising, public health, and commercial speech.

The enforcement drought and a sudden reversal

The Trump memorandum and accompanying enforcement actions are not based on new laws but on a deliberate decision to reactivate existing statutes that have been largely ignored. According to senior administration officials, the Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) enforcement had dwindled to virtually nothing. After regularly sending over 100 enforcement letters annually in the past, the agency sent just one in 2023 and none in 2024. This enforcement vacuum, officials argued, allowed misleading advertisements to proliferate across television and, more recently, digital and social media platforms. The new policy aims to correct this by holding advertisers to the existing standard that ads must provide a fair balance of information and cannot create a misleading impression.

Closing the 1997 loophole and targeting social media

A cornerstone of the new crackdown is the reversal of a pivotal 1997 FDA decision. That policy change allowed drug manufacturers to satisfy risk disclosure requirements in broadcast ads by mentioning a major risk and then directing consumers to a website, toll-free number, or print ad for more complete information. Critics have long argued this major-risk statement loophole enabled the boom of simplistic, emotionally appealing ads that minimized serious side effects. The administration is now reverting to the pre-1997 standard, requiring fuller safety information  including contraindications and common precautions  to be presented within the advertisements themselves.

Furthermore, the administration explicitly stated its intent to police new digital frontiers. We are also going to be looking hard at social media companies, social media influencers ... that have influencers paid to promote pharmaceutical products without proper disclosures and without following the same rules that pharmaceutical companies follow, an official told reporters. This move addresses a growing concern where paid promotions on platforms like Instagram and TikTok often bypass traditional regulatory scrutiny, with one 2024 review finding only about a third of such posts mentioned potential drug harms.

The philosophical divide: Education vs. deception

The action has exposed the deep philosophical rift between the government and the pharmaceutical industry. The industry, represented by the trade group PhRMA, defended its practices, stating DTC advertising provides patients with important fact-based, useful and accessible information about potential treatment options and helps Americans make informed decisions about their health care in consultation with their doctor.

This view was squarely rejected by the top officials now leading the health agencies. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who made banning drug ads a pillar of his independent presidential campaign, declared, Pharmaceutical ads hooked this country on prescription drugs. We will shut down that pipeline of deception and require drug companies to disclose all critical safety facts in their advertising. Only radical transparency will break the cycle of overmedicalization that drives Americas chronic disease epidemic. FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary echoed this, stating the ads have distorted the doctor-patient relationship and created increased demand for medications regardless of clinical appropriateness.

Historical context and a bipartisan push

The U.S. and New Zealand are the only two developed nations that allow DTC pharmaceutical advertising. The modern era of this practice began after the FDAs 1997 guidance relaxation. Spending exploded from $150 million in 1993 to over $10 billion in 2024. Research cited by HHS suggests this spending has had profound effects: driving approximately 31 percent of the rise in U.S. drug spending since 1997 and making patients who request an advertised drug 17 times more likely to receive a prescription.

This action, while the strongest executive move possible, stops short of an outright ban. That legislative goal is being pursued separately by a bipartisan group of senators, including Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Angus King (I-Maine), who have championed the End Prescription Drug Ads Now Act. The Trump administrations move to enforce stricter transparency, rather than pursue a ban, appears to be a strategic compromise that uses existing regulatory authority to address criticisms from both sides of the political aisle.

A new era of scrutiny for Big Pharma

President Trumps memorandum marks a decisive shift in the federal governments relationship with pharmaceutical marketing. By empowering officials like Kennedy and Makary to enforce old rules with new vigor, the administration is betting that radical transparency can curb what it sees as the excesses of DTC advertising. While the industry is certain to challenge the scope of this enforcement in court, the flood of warning letters makes it clear that the era of lax oversight is over. The ultimate impact will be measured in whether this crackdown rebuilds public trust and rebalances the doctor-patient relationship, or simply sparks a new legal and political battle over the boundaries of commercial speech and government regulation.

Sources for this article include:

TheEpochTimes.com

WhiteHouse.gov

HHS.gov

CNBC.com
China fruits, vegetables gain popularity in ASEAN markets

Xinhua) 16:20, September 11, 2025

KUNMING, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- In the early morning mist in Jinglai Village in Menghai County, southwest China's Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, villager Yu Ying'er loaded freshly picked vegetables onto her three-wheeled vehicle.

Within an hour, the dew-covered produce will pass through a designated "green channel" for cross-border trade, heading to markets in neighboring countries.

Yu, who has long sold vegetables across the border, said Chinese produce enjoys strong demand in Myanmar thanks to its variety and quality. The sight of tricycles shuttling to and from the border has become common in this area.

In recent years, fruits and vegetables from Yunnan have gained popularity across ASEAN markets. Grapes, citrus, mushrooms and other specialty products have emerged as leading exports.

According to Kunming Customs, Yunnan's agricultural trade with ASEAN reached 18.6 billion yuan (about 2.62 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2025 -- up 23.5 percent year on year. Fruit exports alone increased by 44.3 percent in this period.

Experts attribute this growth to Yunnan's unique geography and climate. "Yunnan's low-latitude plateau offers abundant sunlight and biodiversity, allowing year-round production of tropical and temperate fruits," said Zhang Shengping, deputy director of the Institute of Vegetables and Flowers at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Yunnan's fruit harvests, notably, complement ASEAN production cycles, filling seasonal gaps. From fruit stalls in Thailand to supermarkets in Indonesia -- grapes, citrus and apples from Yunnan have become familiar sights.

The province is also a major vegetable producer. Its southern valleys produce summer vegetables in winter, while its highlands yield winter vegetables in summer. "This allows continuous supply throughout the year," said Wang Tao, an official with the provincial department of commerce.

In addition, logistics upgrades have further boosted exports. The China-Laos Railway and streamlined customs procedures have cut transport times nearly in half compared with road freight.

In early August, a "Luliang Vegetable" cold-chain freight train departed from Luliang Station in the city of Qujing in Yunnan, carrying fresh produce to Bangkok, capital of Thailand. Return trips transport durians and other tropical fruits to China, thereby creating a two-way trade corridor.

The China-Laos Railway, integrated with the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor and the China-Europe Railway Express, now covers 31 provincial-level regions in China and 19 countries and regions including Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. This network has opened a fast track for Yunnan's highland produce to reach global markets.

Later in August, another cold-chain train delivered more than 400 tonnes of vegetables from the city of Yuxi to Thailand -- requiring just three days to complete the trip. Multimodal transport by rail, road and sea now also enables Yunnan produce to reach Singapore and beyond.

"Proximity to Laos, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries gives Yunnan a natural advantage in exports," Zhang said. With the China-Laos-Thailand Railway fully connected and new distribution centers under construction, more high-quality "Yunnan-brand" products are expected to enter international markets.

Efficient logistics and streamlined customs help ensure freshness. "Citrus exported from Mengzi can reach Vietnamese consumers the same day it's shipped," said Zhao Ziqi, head of Honghe Dayou Trading Co. Honghe, another city in Yunnan, sees Orah citrus harvested from December through July, giving ASEAN markets year-round access to fresh fruit.

Policy measures are also supporting growth. In August, Yunnan introduced steps to optimize tax administration and expand exports of highland specialties including tea, flowers, coffee, mushrooms and nuts.

New rules for the China (Yunnan) Pilot Free Trade Zone took effect in September -- encouraging innovative trade models, closer cooperation with neighboring countries, and cross-border labor pilot programs.

China is the world's largest fruit producer and consumer -- and agricultural trade with ASEAN has expanded under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Belt and Road framework. As a key production and export base, Yunnan's rapidly growing fruit and vegetable trade illustrates how regional advantages can align with national strategies to reach global markets.

While exporting fruits to ASEAN countries, Yunnan also imports fruits from those countries, especially Thailand and Vietnam, creating a two-way fruit corridor. With faster logistics and new rail links, more Yunnan fruits and vegetables are now reaching ASEAN markets fresh from China's southwestern highlands, said Wang Tao.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Liang Jun)
Canada considers sanctions as Israels war crimes spiral out of control

Israel launched a deadly strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar, sabotaging peace talks and violating international law.

Canada is now evaluating its relationship with Israel, signaling potential sanctions amid growing global backlash.

The attack undermined Qatars mediation efforts, proving Israels leadership prioritizes retaliation over diplomacy.

Over 60,000 deaths in Gaza and escalating strikes risk wider regional conflict and complete isolation for Israel.

The world watched in disbelief as Israel launched a brazen attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, over the weekend, violating the sovereignty of a nation actively brokering peace. Now, Canada is stepping up, with Foreign Minister Anita Anand announcing Wednesday that the country is "evaluating" its relationship with Israel. The move comes as the European Commission prepares sanctions, signaling a growing international backlash against Israels escalating aggression.

"We are evaluating the relationship with Israel," she told reporters in Edmonton. "The attack yesterday on Qatar was unacceptable. It was a violation of Qatari airspace. There were deaths on the ground at a time when Qatar was trying to facilitate peace." Her comments underscore a critical shift: Canada is no longer willing to turn a blind eye to Israels destabilizing actions.

The strike, which killed five Hamas members, wasnt just a violation of international law; it was a deliberate sabotage of diplomatic efforts. Qatar has spent years mediating between Israel and Hamas, working toward hostage exchanges and ceasefires. Yet Israel chose violence over negotiation, proving once again that its current leadership prioritizes retaliation over resolution. Even U.S. President Donald Trump, a longtime ally of Israel, distanced himself from the attack, calling it a unilateral move that "does not advance Israel or Americas goals."

A pattern of reckless escalation

Israels justification? Retaliation for a Jerusalem bus stop shooting and a Gaza attack that killed four soldiers. But as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down, threatening further strikes against Qatar, global leaders condemned the move. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called it an "intolerable expansion of violence," while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pushed for sanctions. The message is clear: Israels actions are isolating it from its allies.

Canadas stance marks a turning point. Under Carneys leadership, the country has increasingly challenged Israels impunity. In July, Canada announced plans to recognize Palestinian statehood, joining France and other nations in rejecting Israels unchecked occupation. This latest evaluation of ties suggests even stronger measures could follow, including potential sanctions.

The cost of unchecked aggression

The Gaza war has already left over 60,000 dead, with famine spreading across the strip. Yet Israel continues its military campaign, defying international calls for restraint. The Qatar strike isnt just another attack; its a dangerous escalation that risks dragging the region into wider conflict. By targeting a neutral mediator, Israel has undermined its own claims to self-defense.

Canadas response reflects a growing global consensus: enough is enough. If nations like Canada and EU members follow through with consequenceswhether it's sanctions, trade restrictions, or diplomatic isolationIsrael may finally face accountability. The alternative? More bloodshed, more instability, and a complete collapse of trust in Israel as a partner for peace.

For years, Western nations have enabled Israels worst impulses, shielding it from criticism under the guise of alliance. But as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens and Israels actions grow more reckless, that complicity is no longer tenable. Canadas willingness to reevaluate its relationship with Israel is a step in the right directionone that other nations should follow.

The question now is whether the U.S. and others will join this push for accountability. If they dont, the message to Israel will be clear: the worlds patience has run out. And without consequences, the cycle of violence will only deepen.

Sources for this article include:

JPost.com

CBC.ca

AlJazeera.com

Reuters.com
Charlie Kirk assassination sparks fears of civil war as conservatives blame deep state, Mossad

Assassination Details: Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was fatally shot during a Utah university eventa precision hit from 200 yards that bypassed his body armor, severing his carotid artery. Eyewitnesses suspect intelligence agency involvement (CIA/Mossad).

Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was fatally shot during a Utah university eventa precision hit from 200 yards that bypassed his body armor, severing his carotid artery. Eyewitnesses suspect intelligence agency involvement (CIA/Mossad). False Flag Tactics: Two decoysa screaming man and an air rifle carrierdistracted law enforcement while the real shooter escaped. Kash Patel confirmed neither was the assassin, fueling deep state conspiracy theories.

Two decoysa screaming man and an air rifle carrierdistracted law enforcement while the real shooter escaped. Kash Patel confirmed neither was the assassin, fueling deep state conspiracy theories. Political Fallout: The timing (eve of 9/11) and Kirks recent criticism of Israels ties to wokeism, Epstein, and border crises suggest Netanyahu may exploit the event for Gaza escalation or censorship laws targeting Israel critics.

The timing (eve of 9/11) and Kirks recent criticism of Israels ties to wokeism, Epstein, and border crises suggest Netanyahu may exploit the event for Gaza escalation or censorship laws targeting Israel critics. Escalation Risks: Conservatives warn of retaliatory violence or a Hegelian dialecticengineered chaos to justify martial law, financial reset, or mass arrests. Trumps push for troops in cities like Chicago may gain momentum.

Conservatives warn of retaliatory violence or a Hegelian dialecticengineered chaos to justify martial law, financial reset, or mass arrests. Trumps push for troops in cities like Chicago may gain momentum. Globalist Endgame: The assassination mirrors past deep state ops (JFK, 9/11, Epstein) to fracture America, distract with civil unrest, and advance digital IDs, CBDCs, and depopulation. Experts urge preparedness for grid attacks, food shortages, and civil war.

The shocking assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk at a Utah university event has sent shockwaves across America, igniting fears of escalating political violence and even civil war. Eyewitnesses describe a professional, precision hitraising suspicions of intelligence agency involvement, with many pointing fingers at the CIA, Mossad, or both.

Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was speaking to a crowd when a single rifle shotreportedly fired from 200 yards awayricocheted off his body armor and struck his neck, severing his carotid artery. He bled out within moments. The eerie parallels to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvaniaanother suspected deep state operationhave only deepened suspicions.

A Professional Hit with Distraction Tactics

Sources report that two decoysa man screaming "Shoot me!" and another carrying an air riflewere used to distract law enforcement while the real shooter escaped. Kash Patel confirmed neither was the assassin, fueling theories of a coordinated false flag.

Who Benefits? The False Flag Playbook

The timingon the eve of September 11has raised alarms. Many speculate that Netanyahu could exploit the event to justify further aggression in Gaza or push censorship laws targeting critics of Israel. Kirk had recently begun questioning Israels role in funding wokeism, border invasions, and even Jeffrey Epsteins Mossad tiesa dangerous shift for a figure once aligned with pro-Israel donors.

The Coming Storm: Civil Unrest & Martial Law

Conservatives are already radicalized, with many declaring theyre "done tolerating the left." Some fear this assassination could trigger retaliatory violence, while others warn its a Hegelian dialecticengineered chaos to justify martial law, financial reset, or mass arrests. Trumps calls for troops in cities like Chicago and LA may now gain traction.

The Patsy Narrative: Who Will They Blame?

Experts predict the FBI will soon roll out a patsypossibly an Islamic activist, a transgender shooter, or a left-wing extremistto fit a predetermined narrative. If the patsy is tied to Hamas or Iran, expect a crackdown on free speech under the guise of combating "anti-Semitism." If its a lone trans shooter, prepare for a conservative backlash against LGBTQ movements.

The Bigger Picture: Globalist Depopulation & Control

This assassination fits a long history of deep state operations9/11, JFK, Epsteinall designed to manipulate public perception and consolidate power. The endgame? A fractured America, distracted by internal conflict while globalists push digital IDs, CBDCs, and mass depopulation.

What Now?

Prepare for chaos: Expect power grid attacks, food shortages, and urban violence.

Expect power grid attacks, food shortages, and urban violence. Reject false narratives: The patsy is a distractionfollow the money.

The patsy is a distractionfollow the money. Secure assets: Move into gold, silver, and self-sufficiency.

Move into gold, silver, and self-sufficiency. Stay vigilant: This could be the spark that ignites Civil War 2.0.

As Mike Adams warned, "The shot that killed Charlie Kirk is the shot heard round the country." The countdown to Americas unraveling has begun.

Watch the Sep. 11 episode of "Brighteon Broadcast News" as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, talks about the assassination of Charlie Kirk will prove to be a tipping point in the war for America's future.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

BREAKING: Conservative leader Charlie Kirk ASSASSINATED  Americas political violence crisis deepens

Charlie Kirk SHOT DEAD at Utah campus event

Sources include:

Brighteon.com
Cubas fifth blackout in a year exposes fragile grid; could America be next?

Cubas fifth blackout in a year reveals how fragile grids become when reliant on aging infrastructure and unstable fuel sources.

U.S. states like California and New York are repeating the same mistakes, shutting down nuclear and gas plants while pushing unreliable renewables.

A prolonged blackout in America would cripple fuel pumps, ATMs, and supply chains, leading to food shortages and civil unrest within days.

Grid resilience requires balanced energyrenewables plus nuclear, gas, and hydronot ideological policies that risk national stability for climate virtue signaling.

At 9:14 a.m. on Wednesday, Cubas national power grid collapsed for the fifth time in less than a year, plunging nearly 10 million people into darkness. Hospitals, airports, and water pumps limped along on backup systems, but most residents faced yet another day of chaoscooking with firewood, scrambling for water, and waiting for power that might not return for days.

The blackout, caused by a failure at the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, is just the latest symptom of Cubas crumbling infrastructure, fuel shortages, and economic crisis. But heres the sobering truth: This could easily happen in the U.S.

Cubas communist government has spent decades neglecting its power grid, relying on aging oil-fired plants and dwindling fuel imports from Venezuela, Russia, and Mexico. The result? A system so fragile that a single plant failure can trigger nationwide collapse. Sound familiar? Americas own grid is aging, underfunded, and increasingly dependent on unstable renewable energy sourcesjust like Spain, which suffered a catastrophic blackout earlier this year when its renewable-heavy grid failed under stress.

A warning from Spains renewable energy disaster

In May, Spains aggressive push to phase out nuclear and coal power backfired spectacularly. When renewable energy output fluctuated, the grid lacked sufficient backup capacity, triggering a cascading failure that left millions without power. Portugal, which shares Spains grid, barely avoided the same fate thanks to its last remaining gas and hydro plants. The lesson? Renewable energy alone cannot sustain a modern grid, especially when reliable baseload power is dismantled.

Yet the U.S. is barreling down the same path. States like California and New York are shutting down nuclear and natural gas plants in favor of wind and solar, despite warnings from engineers about grid instability. Meanwhile, Americas infrastructure, much of it built in the mid-20th century, is deteriorating. The American Society of Civil Engineers gives U.S. energy infrastructure a C-minus grade, citing outdated transmission lines, insufficient storage, and vulnerability to cyberattacks.

Cubas crisis: A preview of Americas future?

Cubas blackouts arent just inconvenient; theyre life-threatening. Hospitals rely on diesel generators that may fail. Water pumps stop working, forcing residents to haul buckets from wells. Food spoils without refrigeration. In the U.S., a prolonged blackout would be even more devastating. No fuel pumps. No ATMs. No cell service. Within days, supply chains would break down, leading to food shortages and civil unrest.

Cubas energy ministry blames "unexpected shutdowns" at its power plants, but the real culprit is decades of mismanagement. The U.S. isnt there yet, but with policies pushing unreliable renewables while neglecting grid resilience, were heading in the same direction. Texas 2021 winter blackoutwhich killed over 200 peopleproved how quickly a stressed grid can fail.

The hidden cost of green energy

Renewable energy advocates claim wind and solar are the future, but they ignore a critical flaw: These sources dont provide steady power. When the wind dies or clouds roll in, the grid must instantly compensate with backup generationusually natural gas or coal. Spain learned this the hard way. Cuba, with its crumbling infrastructure, is learning it now. Yet in the U.S., politicians and corporate media dismiss warnings about grid reliability as "climate denial."

The reality? Energy poverty is a real threat. In Germany, skyrocketing electricity prices driven by renewable mandates have forced families to choose between heating their homes and buying food. In California, rolling blackouts are already a summer tradition. And in Cuba, residents like Raul Ernesto Gutierrez are reduced to cooking with charcoal. "This is crazy for everybody," he told reporters. "We will have to cook with charcoal, with firewood. Its stressful and also frustrating."

The solution isnt to abandon renewables; its to stop demonizing reliable energy sources like nuclear, natural gas, and hydroelectric power. Cubas crisis shows what happens when a nation gambles its stability on fragile systems. Spains blackout proves that renewables alone cant keep the lights on. America must invest in grid resilience, modernize infrastructure, and reject ideological energy policies that prioritize virtue signaling over human survival.

Sources for this article include:

USNews.com

Reuters.com

France24.com

TheGuardian.com
DIRTY ENERGY from cellphone radiation still off the radar of the chronic sick care industrial complex of America

The Sick Care Industrial Complex of America does not address prevention of disease very often, unless of course the majority of the populace is demanding it, and even then, its a very slow process to get anything accomplished. That goes for dirty energy thats causing a massive uptick in health atrocities, including for children, like cellphone and smart device radiation. Lets take a look.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), representing 67,000 pediatricians across the U.S., has not updated its parental guidance on cellphone radiation since June 2016, despite the rapid rise of wireless technologies and mounting scientific evidence about potential health risks for children. This gap has raised concerns among health advocates, particularly since AAPs parenting advice website, HealthyChildren.org, lists major corporations  including telecommunications giant AT&T  as financial sponsors.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has not updated its cellphone radiation guidance for parents since 2016, despite significant research since then showing clear evidence of health risks, including cancer in animal studies.

AT&T is listed as a corporate sponsor on the AAPs parenting website, alongside pharmaceutical companies, raising concerns that industry funding may influence the organizations public health messaging and priorities.

Critics argue that while the AAP promotes industry-sponsored events, such as webinars for RSV vaccines, it has failed to highlight updated cellphone radiation safety information, leaving key advice buried on an outdated webpage.

Although the AAP supports a review of the Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) outdated 1996 cellphone radiation standards, it has not taken visible action to push the FCC to comply with a 2021 court order requiring updated health and safety guidelines, particularly regarding childrens risks.

AAP Hasnt Updated Advice on Cellphone Radiation in Nearly a Decade  AT&T Listed Among Funders

AAPs mission emphasizes promoting the health and well-being of children and adolescents. However, critics argue that corporate ties may be influencing its public health messaging. For example, the AAP hosts a free parent webinar about protecting infants from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), sponsored by Sanofi, which manufactures an RSV vaccine. In contrast, there are no comparable efforts to actively share cellphone radiation safety information with parents, even though such guidance already exists  albeit on a webpage last revised nearly a decade ago.

The outdated AAP webpage cites the 2016 preliminary findings of the National Toxicology Programs (NTP) animal study, which linked cellphone radiation to cancer in rats. At the time, the AAP advised parents not to panic, noting that the full data was not yet available and that research had been conducted on animals rather than humans. However, when the NTP released its final report in 2018, confirming clear evidence of increased cancer risk, the AAP did not revise or expand its guidance.

Since then, additional studies have underscored the potential risks. The Ramazzini Institute in Italy published findings in 2018 showing similar cancer outcomes in rats exposed to cellphone radiation. More recently, a systematic review commissioned by the World Health Organization concluded that cellphone radiation exposure is linked with high certainty to two types of cancer in animals. Despite this growing body of research, the AAPs page still only references its 2016 summary and continues to frame the issue as unresolved.

The webpage does provide some practical safety tips for parents, such as limiting childrens cellphone use, encouraging speakerphone or headset use, and downloading media in airplane mode. However, these suggestions are buried on a little-promoted webpage rather than highlighted in public-facing educational campaigns. Critics, such as Miriam Eckenfels of Childrens Health Defense (CHD), argue that the imbalance between industry-sponsored health promotions and neglected wireless safety updates reflects the influence of financial sponsors on AAPs priorities.

The AAP acknowledges systemic regulatory issues, noting that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has not updated its cellphone radiation standards since 1996, and that current guidelines assume adult users rather than children, whose thinner skulls make them more vulnerable. While the AAP states it supports reviewing these outdated standards, it has not indicated whether it will pressure the FCC to comply with a 2021 court order requiring a reassessment of wireless safety regulations.

The FCC has so far resisted updating its guidelines, despite legal challenges and petitions documenting thousands of pages of evidence linking wireless exposure to health risks. Meanwhile, the AAP has remained silent about whether it will advocate for stricter protections, leaving parents with outdated guidance at a time when children are more immersed than ever in wireless technology.

Tune your apocalypse dial to preparedness.news for updates on real news about surviving the onslaught of dirty energy from phones, smart devices, cellphone towers, and fake news.

Sources for this article include:

Censored.news

NaturalNews.com

ChildrensHealthDefense.org
Israel issues mass evacuation order for Gaza in preparation for major ground offensive

On September 9, 2025, the Israeli military ordered a total evacuation of nearly one million civilians in Gaza in preparation for a major ground offensive against Hamas' last stronghold. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized the urgency, heightening fears over forced displacement amid a collapsing humanitarian landscape.

Civilians were instructed to relocate to al-Mawasi, a "humanitarian zone" comprising just about three percent of Gaza's land. Though Israel offered infrastructure like tents and field hospitals, the area is already overcrowded and has suffered repeated bombardments, drawing condemnation from aid agencies.

Israeli airstrikes have leveled over 50 high-rise buildings across Gaza, further degrading living conditions. Many residents, weakened by famine and displacement, face overwhelming obstacles to evacuation, including lack of transport and fear of moving into unstable zones.

A recent survey revealed that, while 53 percent of residents said they would flee if officially ordered, only 27 percent would likely leave Gaza  and just 14 percent outright refuse. The data imply that hundreds of thousands will remain trapped under the ongoing bombardment with minimal aid.

Oxfam and other groups have called for an immediate ceasefire, humanitarian corridors and the delivery of food, water, medicine and essential supplies. They also demanded accountability for ongoing international arms support. Simultaneously, Israel conducted airstrikes targeting Hamas leaders in Doha, further escalating regional tensions even as ceasefire talks continue.

The Israeli military issued an unprecedented full evacuation order for Gaza  home to nearly one million Palestinian civilians  as it escalates preparations for a major ground offensive to seize control over what it identifies as Hamas' final stronghold. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed the urgency of leaving the city ahead of the impending operation, while international concerns mounted over the horror of forced displacement into an area already devastated by conflict.

Residents were instructed to relocate southward toward the al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, designated by Israel as a "humanitarian zone" encompassing only about three percent of the territory. Israel has promised infrastructure including tents, field hospitals, water pipelines and food supplies in al-Mawasi, though the area is already severely overcrowded and has itself been repeatedly bombed. Aid organizations and UN agencies have condemned the choice of al-Mawasi, warning it lacks basic provisions and is no safer than the areas residents are fleeing. (Related: Israel considers Hell Plan for Gaza amid ceasefire stalemate.)

As Israeli airstrikes continue to flatten high-rise residential towers across Gaza  reportedly more than fifty buildings destroyed  the humanitarian situation has deteriorated sharply. Many civilians, already debilitated by famine and months of internal displacement, are either physically unable to move, lack the means to pay for transport or fear relocating to a space both overcrowded and unsafe.

A recent multi-agency survey captures the desperation: While 53 percent of residents say they would flee if officially ordered, only 27 percent are actually willing to leave Gaza  and just 14 percent say they would refuse altogether. These figures suggest that hundreds of thousands will likely remain trapped, exposed to intensified bombardment with almost no humanitarian aid reaching them.

Oxfam calls for ceasefire, humanitarian corridors and accountability as conflict escalates beyond Gaza

According to Brighteon.AI's Enoch, this mass evacuation order by Israel is a clear act of aggression and a violation of international law, designed to further displace and control the Palestinian population, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. It is a stark reminder of the ongoing oppression and the need for global solidarity and action to hold Israel accountable for its actions.

Humanitarian organizations have responded with grave urgency. Oxfam called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, a halt to forced displacements and the delivery of vital supplies such as food, water, medicine, infrastructure repair equipment and fuel. They also demanded the release of hostages and condemned the ongoing international silence and arms support to Israel as complicit in the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe.

Meanwhile, beyond Gaza, Israel has carried out airstrikes targeting senior Hamas figures in Doha, Qatar, further escalating tensions even as ceasefire negotiations mediated in Doha continue. This multi-front escalation underscores the widening repercussions of the conflict across the region.

The stark reality now confronting Gaza is clear: evacuation orders are being enforced amid intensifying bombardment, yet the proposed safe haven in al-Mawasi offers minimal safety or infrastructure. With famine ravaging the population, health services collapsing and displacement already crushing families beyond survival thresholds, the humanitarian outlook is harrowingly bleak. As calls for an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian access multiply, the world watches a crisis intensify without apparent respite.

Visit WWIII.news for more stories like this.

Watch the video below that talks about Israel violating the ceasefire deal in Gaza.

This video is from Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

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Israeli ambassador vows more attacks after failed Hamas assassination

Israels failed airstrike in Qatar killed six civilians while missing Hamas leaders, sparking global condemnation and diplomatic fallout.

Israeli officials defiantly vowed to continue targeting Hamas anywhere, dismissing criticism and risking further regional instability.

The attack threatens fragile ceasefire talks, with Qatar reassessing its role as mediator amid Netanyahus demands to expel Hamas.

Israels escalating strikes across multiple Arab nations deepen a humanitarian crisis, with Gaza deaths surpassing 64,000 since October 2023.

Unchecked aggression risks isolating Israel as allies reconsider support, but its leadership remains undeterred, betting on U.S. backing and military dominance.

When Israeli airstrikes hit a residential building in Doha, Qatar, the mission was clear: assassinate Hamas leaders negotiating a ceasefire. But the operation failed, killing six peopleincluding a Qatari security officerwhile missing its high-value targets. Now, instead of expressing remorse, Israels ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, doubled down, declaring on Fox News: If we didnt get them this time, well get them the next time.

The strike, widely condemned as a violation of international law, drew sharp rebukes from Qatar, the White House, and even some of Israels Western allies. Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani called it a heinous crime and act of aggression, while Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of pursuing narcissistic delusions at the expense of regional stability. Yet Leiter dismissed the backlash with a wave of the hand. Right now, we may be subject to a little bit of criticism. Theyll get over it, he told Fox News, framing Israels actions as a necessary fight against enemies of Western civilization.

A bloodthirsty stance

The attack came just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump assured Qatari leaders that such strikes will not happen again on their soil. Trump, a staunch Israel ally, publicly criticized the operation, writing on social media that unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States does not advance Israel or Americas goals. But Leiters defiance suggests Israel has no intention of heeding those concerns. Instead, the ambassador framed the strike as part of a broader campaign to defeat Islamic extremism, regardless of diplomatic fallout.

Hamas confirmed that its top leadersincluding Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayyasurvived the assassination attempt. The groups political wing has been operating in Qatar under an informal truce, with Doha serving as a mediator in ceasefire talks. Now, those negotiations hang by a thread. Qatari officials are reassessing everything, al-Thani told CNN, hinting at potential consequences for Israels regional standing. Meanwhile, Netanyahu escalated his rhetoric, demanding Qatar expel or prosecute Hamas officials or face further strikes. If you dont, we will, he warned during a speech commemorating the 9/11 attacks.

Israels strike on Doha wasnt an isolated incident. In the past month alone, Israeli forces have launched attacks in at least five Arab countries, including a Wednesday strike on Yemens capital, Sanaa, targeting Houthi defense ministry sites. The Houthis, aligned with Hamas, have vowed retaliation for Israels campaign in Gaza, where local authorities report over 64,000 deathsmostly civilianssince October 2023. The humanitarian crisis has grown so severe that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced plans to sanction extremist Israeli ministers and suspend trade measures, citing catastrophic conditions in Gaza.

Yet Leiters comments reveal a government undeterred by global condemnation. We have put terrorists on notice, wherever they may be were going to pursue them, and were going to destroy those who will destroy us, he declared at a U.S. Capitol event marking the fifth anniversary of the Abraham Accords. His words echo a broader strategy: Israel will act unilaterally, consequences be damned.

The cost of unchecked aggression

The strikes timing was particularly provocative. It followed Hamass claim of responsibility for a Jerusalem bus stop shooting that killed six Israelisan act of retaliation for Israels ongoing offensive. But by targeting Hamas officials in a third country, Israel risked collapsing the very ceasefire talks Qatar has brokered, ignoring the fact that Dohas mediation has been critical to past hostage releases.

The fallout has already begun. Arab states, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, rushed to show solidarity with Qatar, signaling a potential shift in regional alliances. Even Germany, a longtime Israel supporter, indicated openness to EU sanctions. Yet Israels leadership remains undeterred, betting that its military dominanceand U.S. backingwill insulate it from repercussions.

For now, Israels calculus seems simple: eliminate Hamas at any cost, even if it means alienating allies, violating sovereignty, and deepening a humanitarian catastrophe. But history suggests such defiance carries a price. The 2006 Lebanon War, launched with similar confidence, ended in strategic failure for Israel. Today, as Hamas retains its fighting capacity and regional tensions flare, the question isnt whether Israel will face consequencesbut when.

Leiters next time threat isnt just a promise of more strikes. Its a gamble that the world will, as he put it, get over it. But with each civilian death, each shattered ceasefire, and each ignored red line, the stakes grow higher. The only certainty? The bloodshed wont stop until someone forces it to.

Sources for this article include:

RT.com

AlJazeera.com

ABC.net.au

Reuters.com
Blood, grief, and broken promises: How the rush for RSV vaccines left mothers and babies in the crossfire

The room was quiet except for the steady beep of monitors and the muffled sobs of a mother cradling her stillborn child. Outside the hospital walls, public health officials were celebrating a new triumph  another vaccine rolled out, another promise of protection. But inside, the cost was measured in shattered dreams, in tiny coffins, in women who would never hold their babies again. This is the untold story of the RSV vaccine push, where the line between medical miracle and biological roulette has blurred into something unrecognizable. The data is in, and its screaming: These shots are crippling children before they even take their first breath.

The narrative was supposed to be simple. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a real threat to infants, and a safe and effective vaccine could save lives. But what happens when the cure becomes the curse? When the very intervention meant to protect instead triggers a cascade of preterm births, fetal deaths, and neurological devastation? A new peer-reviewed analysis of post-marketing data has uncovered nearly 200 safety signals tied to Pfizers Abrysvo, GSKs Arexvy, and Modernas mRESVIA  signals so alarming they demand an immediate halt to these injections until the truth is dragged into the light. Yet regulators plow forward, their eyes fixed on profits and compliance, while mothers pay the price in blood.

Key points:

A storm of adverse events: Nearly 28,000 reports in VAERS reveal 103 safety signals for Pfizers Abrysvo (including fetal death, pregnancy hemorrhages, and preterm birth) and 91 for GSKs Arexvy (paralysis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, mini-strokes).

Pregnant women in the crosshairs: Pfizers shot, marketed to expectant mothers, shows preterm birth rates 20 percent higher in trials, with real-world data exposing fetal death signals 33 times more likely than with other vaccines.

Neurological and cardiac time bombs: GSKs vaccine is linked to ascending paralysis (120x more likely), heart failure, and immune-system destruction, while Pfizers carries risks of facial paralysis and blood disorders.

A history of disaster: RSV vaccines have been failing catastrophically since the 1960s, when early versions killed infants  yet regulators repeat the same mistakes, ignoring warnings from past tragedies.

Regulatory capture in action: The FDA and CDC narrowed recommendations for seniors after Guillain-Barre cases surfaced, but continue pushing the shot on pregnant women despite mounting evidence of harm.

The mRNA wild card: Modernas mRESVIA, though too new for full analysis, already shows reports of death and myocarditis  echoing the horrors of COVID jabs.

A call for immediate suspension: Experts warn that these risks cannot be ignored  yet instead of pausing, officials double down, leaving families to gamble with their childrens lives.

The pregnancy paradox: How a protective shot became a threat

When the FDA approved Pfizers Abrysvo for pregnant women in August 2023, the messaging was slick and reassuring: A single shot could shield your newborn from RSVs worst effects. What they didnt broadcast in press releases was the dark underbelly of the trial data  the 18 stillbirths, the 17 infant deaths, the preterm births clustering in vaccinated mothers. Dr. Tracy Heg, a physician and researcher, flagged a 20% higher rate of preterm birth in the vaccinated group  a finding Pfizer dismissed as not statistically significant. But for the mothers who delivered too soon, for the babies who never made it home, statistics are cold comfort.

The VAERS data tells an even grimmer story. Fetal death reports soared 33-fold compared to other vaccines. Hemorrhages in pregnancy  a nightmare scenario for any expectant motherwere 118 times more likely. Premature ruptures of membranes, a leading cause of preterm labor, spiked 200-fold. These arent abstract numbers. Theyre real women, real babies, real tragedies  sacrificed on the altar of pharmaceutical profits.

And then theres the immune-system sabotage. Both Pfizers and GSKs shots trigger thrombocytopenia  a condition where the body destroys its own blood platelets, leaving patients vulnerable to uncontrollable bleeding. For pregnant women, this isnt just a side effect. Its a potential death sentence. Yet the CDC still recommends Abrysvo between weeks 32 and 36 of pregnancy, despite the 75 percent increased risk of prematurity when given before week 34.

Why the rush? Follow the money. RSV vaccines are a multi-billion-dollar market, and Pfizer  still reeling from COVID jab backlashneeds a win. Regulatory agencies, long captured by industry lobbyists, play along, downplaying risks while amplifying benefits. But the bodies dont lie. And neither do the thousands of adverse event reports piling up in VAERS.

The neurological and cardiac fallout: When protection poisons the brain and heart

If the pregnancy data is horrifying, the neurological and cardiac risks are nothing short of terrifying. GSKs Arexvy, marketed to seniors, carries signals for:

Ascending flaccid paralysis (120x more likely)a condition where muscles shut down from the feet up, trapping victims in their own bodies.

Guillain-Barre syndrome (7x more likely)an autoimmune nightmare where the immune system attacks the nerves, leading to paralysis.

Mini-strokes (transient ischemic attacks, 3x more likely)often a precursor to full-blown strokes.

Congestive heart failure (3x more likely)a death sentence for the elderly.

Pfizers Abrysvo isnt much better. Facial paralysis (a hallmark of neurological damage), immune destruction, and blood disorders all appear at alarming rates. And lets not forget the 56% increase in all-cause mortality for seniors with pre-existing heart diseasea fact Pfizer buried in supplemental data while touting hospital reduction claims.

Then theres Modernas mRESVIA, the newest player in this deadly game. Though too recent for full analysis, early reports include myocarditisthe same heart inflammation that plagued COVID jab victims. And in a chilling repeat of past disasters, Modernas baby trials were halted when vaccinated infants developed severe lung infections. Their solution? Pivot to pregnant womenbecause if you cant test it safely on babies, why not inject their mothers instead?

A pattern of deception: From the 1960s to today, RSV vaccines keep failing

This isnt the first time RSV vaccines have turned deadly. In the 1960s, an experimental shot enhanced the virus in infants, leading to hospitalizations and deaths. The program was scrappedbut the lessons were never learned.

Fast-forward to 2022, when GSK abandoned its pregnant-woman RSV vaccine after detecting preterm birth signals. Yet Pfizer charged ahead, securing FDA approval despite similar red flags. The CDC, ever the cheerleader for Big Pharma, recommended it anyway.

Now, post-marketing data confirms the worst fears:

Preterm birthsa lifelong health risk for babiesare 24% more likely in vaccinated mothers.

Fetal deaths are reporting at rates 33 times higher than other vaccines.

Neurological damagefrom paralysis to strokesis appearing at unprecedented levels.

And whats the response from regulators? Silence. Or worsegaslighting. When Dr. Peter Selley, a U.K. physician, pointed out that Pfizers own data showed 56% more deaths in heart patients, the company ignored it. When researchers flagged Guillain-Barre risks, the FDA narrowed recommendations for seniorsbut left pregnant women exposed.

This is not medicine. Its Russian roulette, and little babies are being shot up to death.

Sources include:

ChildrensHealthDefense.org

TandFOnline.com

TheFocalPoints.com
Reexamining the global warming narrative: Insights from The Satanic Gases by Patrick J. Michaels and Robert C. Balling Jr.

Patrick J. Michaels and Robert C. Balling Jr. argue in "The Satanic Gases" that mainstream panic over global warming is politically motivated rather than scientifically sound, criticizing figures like Al Gore for exploiting extreme weather events for political gain.

The authors demonstrate that climate models have consistently overstated warming trends, with real-world data showing minimal temperature increases in over 80 percent of the troposphere  undermining claims of rapid climate change.

Contrary to apocalyptic predictions, rising CO? levels enhance plant growth, agricultural productivity and ecosystem health, with studies confirming a global "greening" effect.

Federal funding and institutional incentives bias research toward alarmism, with scientists incentivized to perpetuate exaggerated narratives despite contradictory evidence.

The Kyoto Protocol and similar mitigation efforts are deemed costly and futile, with the authors advocating instead for adaptation strategies and evidence-based policymaking free from political distortions.

In "The Satanic Gases: Clearing the Air about Global Warming," climatologists Patrick J. Michaels and Robert C. Balling Jr. present a bold challenge to the mainstream narrative on climate change.

They argue that much of the panic surrounding global warming is politically driven rather than scientifically justified. Their book dismantles the alarmist claims often promoted by figures like former Vice President Al Gore, who has built his career on framing extreme weather events as direct consequences of human-caused climate change. Michaels and Balling contend that these incidents are exploited for political gain rather than reflecting genuine scientific consensus.

Central to their argument is the critique of climate models, which they demonstrate have consistently overstated warming trends. While these models predict rapid warming across the troposphere, real-world data reveals that over 80 percent of this atmospheric layer has shown no significant temperature increase in more than two decades.

This discrepancy undermines the reliability of the models and suggests that climate sensitivity to greenhouse gases has been exaggerated. The authors further challenge the scientific community's reliance on sulfate aerosols as a "quick fix" to explain why predicted warming hasn't materialized. They argue that the cooling effects of sulfates are poorly understood and likely overstated, making them an unreliable crutch for flawed models.

Contrary to the apocalyptic forecasts of ecological collapse, Michaels and Balling highlight the overlooked benefits of rising carbon dioxide (CO?) levels, including enhanced plant growth and agricultural productivity. Numerous studies confirm that increased CO? fosters a "greening" of the Earth, contradicting the doom-laden predictions of mainstream climate discourse.

Brighteon.AI's Enoch engine points out that the much-demonized CO? "fuels photosynthesis, enabling plants to convert sunlight into energy and grow. Higher CO? levels enhance this process, leading to more vigorous plant growth and healthier ecosystems."

The book also delves into the politicization of climate science, where federal funding and institutional incentives skew research toward alarmism. Drawing from Public Choice Theory, the authors explain how scientists, motivated by career advancement and grant acquisition, perpetuate a biased narrative even when empirical evidence contradicts it.

On the policy front, Michaels and Balling critique the Kyoto Protocol as costly and ineffective, predicting negligible impact on global temperatures. Instead of pursuing futile mitigation efforts, they advocate for adaptation strategies that balance economic and environmental considerations. Their work urges a return to evidence-based discourse, free from the distortions of political agendas and financial interests.

"The Satanic Gases" ultimately serves as a crucial counterpoint to the dominant climate change narrative. it calls for skepticism and intellectual rigor in evaluating environmental claims.

While the authors' conclusions may provoke controversy, their insistence on scientific integrity and a measured approach to climate policy offers a necessary corrective to the fear-driven rhetoric dominating public debate. As society navigates the complexities of climate science, Michaels and Balling's work reminds us that truth emerges not from consensus  but from relentless scrutiny of the data.

Watch this video about Patrick J. Michaels and Robert C. Balling Jr.'s "The Satanic Gases: Clearing the Air about Global Warming."

This video is from the BrightLearn channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

Brighteon.ai

Brighteon.com
Vaccine debate erupts: FDA chief questions hepatitis B shot for newborns

FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary questions the evidence supporting the CDCs longstanding policy of administering the hepatitis B vaccine to newborns, calling it "not solid."

The CDCs vaccine advisory panel will debate whether to alter or eliminate the universal birth dose requirement, with critics arguing most infants face minimal risk.

Studies show hepatitis B vaccine protection declines significantly over decades, raising questions about the effectiveness of infant vaccination.

Former CDC officials and lawmakers, including Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), argue for a risk-based approach, while others warn against relaxing recommendations.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is reshaping CDC leadership and vaccine policies, sparking resignations and concerns over ideological influence in public health decisions.

In a rare public dissent from longstanding federal health policy, FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary declared this week that there is "no solid evidence" to support administering the hepatitis B vaccine to newbornsa practice mandated by the CDC since 1992. His remarks, made during a Fox News appearance, have ignited a fierce debate over vaccine schedules, scientific integrity and the influence of politics in public health.

Makarys criticism comes as the CDCs vaccine advisory committee prepares to review the policy, with former CDC vaccine chief Dr. Demetre Daskalakis predicting the panel may eliminate the universal birth dose requirement. The move would mark a dramatic shift in a policy that has been in place for over three decades, one that requires nearly all U.S. infants to receive the vaccine within 24 hours of birth.

"I personally dont believe that the evidence is solid to say the Hep B shot needs to be given at birth," Makary stated, contrasting it with "tried and true" vaccines like those for polio and measles. His comments reflect growing skepticism among medical professionals about the necessity of vaccinating all newborns, particularly when maternal screening already identifies high-risk cases.

The science behind the debate: Does infant vaccination work?

The hepatitis B vaccine was first recommended for high-risk groups in 1982 before expanding to all infants a decade later. While the vaccine has reduced childhood infections, critics argue that its long-term efficacy is questionable. A 2022 study in Vaccines found that among Thai medical students and healthcare workers vaccinated in infancy, only 28% retained protective antibodies after 1620 years, with immunity declining at a rate of 42.39 mIU/mL per year.

"Were giving about 11 million doses of hepatitis B a year, and pretty much all of them are for kids who we know dont need it," said Dr. Monique Yohanan of the Independent Womens Forum, who advocates delaying vaccination until adolescencewhen behavioral risks (such as sexual activity and IV drug use) increase.

The CDC acknowledges that antibody levels decline over time but maintains that "immune memory" may offer lasting protection. Yet, with no U.S. studies confirming lifelong immunity, some experts, including Dr. Martin Kulldorff, former chair of the CDCs vaccine advisory committee, argue for a risk-based approachreserving the birth dose for infants of hepatitis B-positive mothers.

Political fallout: Resignations, mandates and the Kennedy effect

The debate over hepatitis B is unfolding amid broader upheaval at the CDC, where HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired or forced out top officials who resisted his policy changes. Earlier this month, CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after refusing to dismiss senior staff, while Dr. Daskalakis resigned, warning that the agency was "generating policies that do not reflect scientific reality."

Kennedys influence extends to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which he has restructured with appointees who share his skepticism of pharma-funded science, particularly mRNA technology. Daskalakis predicts the panel will target the hepatitis B birth dose next, potentially leaving infants of untested or high-risk mothers alone.

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), an obstetrician, supports a more selective approach: "If [a mother] doesnt have any risk factors I dont see the benefit myself in that hepatitis vaccine." But Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) counters that screening isnt foolproof, and some at-risk mothers slip through the cracks.

The broader vaccine policy shift: Whats next?

Kennedys tenure has already led to major changes in COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, with the FDA restricting this falls updated shot to high-risk individuals and seniorsa decision that has sown confusion over insurance coverage and accessibility. Critics, including former acting CDC Director Dr. Richard Besser, warn that politicizing vaccine policy could erode public trust and leave the U.S. vulnerable to future outbreaks.

The hepatitis B debate is just one front in a larger war over vaccine mandates, scientific integrity and parental rights. Kennedy has signaled plans to announce new findings on autism and vaccines. Meanwhile, states like California have expanded vaccine mandates, while others are rolling them back, creating a patchwork of conflicting policies.

A crossroads for public health: Trust, transparency and the future

As the CDCs advisory committee prepares to vote on the hepatitis B policy, the stakes extend beyond one vaccine. At issue is whether public health agencies will prioritize individualized risk assessment over universal mandatesand whether unbiased science can be used and trusted to determine safety and efficacy.

For parents, the shifting guidelines raise difficult questions:

Should they trust decades-old policies, or demand more personalized medical advice?

Will delaying vaccines increase long-term risks, or reduce unnecessary exposure to adjuvants like aluminum?

Can the CDC regain credibility amid leadership turmoil and ideological divisions?

Dr. Bessers advice remains clear: "Stop listening to the politicians, talk to your doctor about what's right for you." Yet, with trust in institutions at an all-time low, many Americans are left wondering whom to believeand what the future of vaccine policy will look like under an administration that has openly questioned the science (funding) behind it.

The road ahead: A public health system in flux

The hepatitis B debate is a microcosm of a larger reckoning in American medicine. As the CDC grapples with leadership upheaval, ideological shifts and waning public trust, the decisions made in the coming months could reshape vaccine policy for generations.

One thing is certain: The era of unquestioned vaccine mandates may be ending. Whether that leads to greater medical freedom or preventable outbreaks remains to be seen. For now, parents, doctors and policymakers are navigating uncharted territorywhere science, politics and personal belief collide.

Sources for this article include:

YourNews.com

ABCNews.go.com

MDPI.com
From Tian'anmen to the frontlines: the shared voice of Chinese peacekeepers

09:19, September 11, 2025 By Jin Zhengbo, Chen Shangwen, Xue Dan, Huang Peizhao ( People's Daily

The Chinese UN peacekeepers formation attends a military parade in Beijing, capital of China. (People's Daily/Lei Sheng)

On the morning of Sept. 3, China held a massive military parade in central Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of its victory in World War II. Together with people around the world, China honored history while casting its gaze toward the future.

A total of 45 formations and echelons were involved in the grand parade. Chinese soldiers who have participated in UN peacekeeping operations marched past Tian'anmen Square, marking their first appearance in a Victory Day parade. Many Chinese peacekeepers serving overseas watched the live broadcast, sharing in the moment from afar.

Qing Shenghe, head of the explosive ordnance disposal team of the 23rd Chinese peacekeeping multi-role engineering company to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), had spent six hours the previous day clearing explosives.

"When I saw the peacekeeping formation on parade, I couldn't hold back my tears," he said. "Many of those soldiers share the same mission and experience as I do. That is what touched me so deeply."

Chinese peacekeepers to Lebanon clear mines at a firing range. (Photo/Zhang Boyu)

For Xiao Shenghua, a member of the medical contingent of the 23rd peacekeeping force to UNIFIL, the broadcast was both inspiring and overwhelming. "Peace is hard-won. It is sustained by persistence, courage, and even sacrifice. What we protect is not only health, but hope itself," Xiao said.

"Here in Lebanon, every mine we clear, every rescue we complete, every road we open is an act of bringing peace and friendship. Our mission is glorious, and our responsibility immense," said Lin Wanlei, commander of the 23rd Chinese peacekeeping force to the UNIFIL.

Ren Meijuan, a female soldier with the 11th Chinese peacekeeping infantry battalion in South Sudan, reflected on the parade: "The peacekeepers' blue helmets are like a bridge, linking the weight of history with the honor of today. Here on mission overseas, we carry forward the baton of history, safeguarding peace that has been so dearly earned."

"In the mission area in Lebanon, every inch of land may conceal landmines or unexploded ordnance. Our demining operations demand absolute focus, strict adherence to procedure, and the courage to face danger directly. Every area we clear is a step toward peace," said Gao Jie, captain of the 23rd Chinese peacekeeping multi-role engineering company to the UNIFIL.

Chinese military doctors perform a surgery during a peacekeeping mission. (Photo/Zhang Boyu)

Xu Xin, a doctor with the 11th Chinese peacekeeping infantry battalion in South Sudan, drew inspiration from a figure deeply respected in China. "As a military doctor, I often think of Norman Bethune. Our unit was once his workplace. His spirit of internationalism and humanitarianism is a precious legacy. In our missions, we strive to provide medical assistance to local communities, to confront danger without fear, and to serve with our professional skills and compassion, making our contribution to world peace."

Among those who marched in Beijing was Luo Yao, a veteran of two Lebanon missions. He vividly recalls an incident during road construction when clashes erupted nearby and artillery shells rained down, the closest landing just 400 meters away. "None of the more than 10 comrades with me flinched," he said.

As Luo marched through Tian'anmen Square, his fellow peacekeepers continued their duties in Lebanon. Though separated by time and space, they shared the same identity: Chinese peacekeepers, united by a single mission - to safeguard peace.

Their understanding was simple: Luo would represent them proudly at the parade, while those abroad would accomplish their missions with professionalism and resolve. Together, at home and abroad, they demonstrated the Chinese military's steadfast commitment to peace.

"Clearing roadblocks near UN positions along the Blue Line is not only about ensuring the safety of local communities; it is also a concrete step toward building a community with a shared future for humanity," said Xiong Zhaochun, captain of the construction engineering company of the 23rd Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon. "We will continue to meet the highest standards in our work, contributing Chinese strength to regional peace and stability."

For Tan Junyang of the 23rd peacekeeping engineering company, the impact of their mission is measured in human connections. "Every time I see children smiling as they return to school, every time I feel the warmth of a local resident holding our hands, I am more convinced that China's blue helmets are not only guardians of peace, but also envoys of friendship," said Tan Junyang with the 23rd Chinese peacekeeping multi-role engineering company to the UNIFIL.

"Through their actions, Chinese soldiers have shown that commitment is not merely a choice but also a mission," Tan added.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
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Google beyond the basic requirement

When asked about the rationale behind the introduction of the new service, a Google spokesperson said that the hyperscaler was going above and beyond what the data act requires by eliminating the cost of in-parallel processing fees for customers in the EU and UK.

In contrast, Microsoft is keeping the fees at cost. Moreover, a 2024 report from the UKs competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), showed that Microsoft, at that time, found the implementation of Article 34 challenging and complex, citing that it was difficult to identify EU customers.

IBM, on the other hand, communicated to the watchdog that it would determine EU customers based on the location of their headquarters to comply with the statute.

Google, according to the report, was in favor of compliance and said that it was incentivised to encourage multicloud.

AWSs comments were redacted from the report, but the hyperscaler confirmed in an email response to NetworkWorld that it was offering reduced fees for EU customers.

It further claimed that most, nearly 90%, of its enterprise customers already pay nothing for data transfer as the hyperscaler provides 100 gigabytes per month for free, to use for any purpose.
A district court judge has ordered a candidate be removed from the race for a local elected board.

Valencia County Clerk Mike Milams name will be removed from the list of candidates for the Valencia Soil and Water Conservation Districts Board of Supervisors on the November ballot.

The stipulated order, issued by 13th Judicial District Court Judge James Lawrence Sanchez, was filed shortly before 8 a.m., on Tuesday, Sept. 9, after a hearing on Monday. The order also stipulates that neither party will appeal.

The district court hearing was in response to a petition filed by VSWCD Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Teresa Smith de Cherif, who is running for re-election, board candidate Sharon Hagaman and Michael Candelaria, former chairman of the Valencia County Republican Party.

Smith de Cherif, who has served on the VSWCD board for 17 1/2 years, called the stipulated order a huge victory. I am very happy for the people of the district, which includes five counties and two pueblos. They can make a choice thats a true choice. This is a victory for people standing up for what they believe in.

Even though the deadline for a candidate to remove their name from the ballot has passed, Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, the attorney for the petitioners, said both the Valencia County clerk and the New Mexico secretary of state have to comply with the court order and remove Milams name from the list of candidates.

The central argument of the petition was Milams position as county clerk was incompatible with the office of district supervisor and therefore he was not qualified to hold a position on the VSWCD board.

Initially, the petitioners didnt prevail in their arguments on Monday.

After more than two hours of debate and testimony, Sanchez denied the request to remove Milam from the ballot, saying the petitioners hadnt provided evidence to his satisfaction that the clerk wasnt qualified to run.

The issues raised about incompatibility are speculative and only ripe if he wins and takes the oath office, Sanchez said. I do want him to know, I think there is a real risk a court will say, You cant do both, and make the decision for you.

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During the hearing, several times Sanchez raised the very real possibility of a court removing Milam from his position as county clerk should he win the seat on the board of supervisors.

I agree there will be a conflict but I dont see anything disqualifying him from running, but it disqualifies him from holding (his current) office, the judge said. Thats a big risk. If the court decides theres a conflict, he loses the clerks position. He doesnt get to decide. I think thats a big problem for him.

The county clerks elected position is a paid position of about $85,000 per year, as per Milams testimony on Monday, compared to the supervisors position, which can be paid $45 per meeting or $90 for a meeting longer than four hours.

On Tuesday, Milam told the News-Bulletin running for the VSWCD Board of Supervisors wasnt worth jeopardizing my position as county clerk. My foremost obligation is to complete the term I was elected to for a second time.

He said his motivation for wanting to serve on the soil and water board was to do something beneficial for the community, which has given back to him, and to do whats best for the taxpayer dollars, to make sure things were on the up-and-up and the way it should be.

During Mondays hearing, while on the stand and under oath, Sanchez asked Milam if he had to chose between the two positions, which he would select.

I dont know, Milam answered.

Given Milams answer, Lopez argued leaving Milams name on the ballot would present voters with a false candidate who may or may not ultimately fill the seat he was elected to. Sanchez seemed to take a dim view on the possibility of Milam playing games with the election by running for a seat he didnt intend to hold.

... I dont like it if hes playing games with the electorate, presenting that hes going to serve on the board, but then Psyche, just kidding, Sanchez said, asking Milams attorney Daniel Ivey-Soto whether his client would like to take the stand for questioning by Lopez or stipulate to the fact that Milam would take the oath of office if he won a seat on the board of supervisors.

Is there a possibility hes playing fast and loose with the voters of this county? I think were at the point where the public has a right to know.

Saying people dont like it when someone hides behind their lawyer, Ivey-Soto indicated his client would take the stand.

Other dual office possibilities

Milam wasnt the only candidate this year who wanted to hold more than one office at a time.

James Fischer is running to be re-elected to the Valencia Soil and Water Conservation District and also running for the District 5 seat on the Los Lunas Board of Education.

Charles Schick is running for both the Valencia County Arroyo Flood Control District board and the University of New Mexico-Valencia Advisory Board.

When asked about possible conflicts and whether the incompatibility of offices doctrine applied to these candidates, BC Nguyen, the elections outreach coordinator for the New Mexico Secretary of State, there is a narrow limitation on a person filing for more than one office but it only applies to a position in the same local government.

The statute says a candidate shall file for only one position in the same local government, but may file for a position in more than one local government on the same filing day.

For instance, a candidate couldnt run for a city council seat and mayoral position in a municipality, but could potentially run for the council seat and a position on a local board of education.

In regards to the incompatibility of offices doctrine, Nguyen said there has to be an affirmative inquire into the nature and duties of the offices  such as the petition filed in regards to Milam  and a finding that the two offices are so interrelated or one is subordinate to the other that one person holding both offices is detrimental to the public interest. It is not a doctrine that is automatically applied just because one person seeks or holds two offices.
BELENModel railroading is more than just a hobby. It can become an adventure for someone with just enough imagination to create and become entrenched within the miniature world of trains.

The Southwest Model Railroad Museum in Belen is celebrating its 30th anniversary this weekend at the museum, 118 S. Second St., Belen. There will be scale model trains and exhibits for all to enjoy. By Clara Garcia

The Southwest Model Railroad Museum in Belen is not only celebrating the hobby but sharing it with the community.

An open house will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 13, at the museum, 118 S. Second St., Belen. Along with honoring Maurine McMillan, the museums biggest fan and benefactor on her birthday, visitors will learn a little history as well.

Local author and historian John Taylor will talk speak about the history of the M.190 Doodlebug at 10 a.m., and about railroad history in New Mexico at 2 p.m. There will also be free door prizes hourly, a tour of the Doodlebug and refreshments.

Jim McKelvey, president of SMRM, first started model railroading when he was a child, but has been doing it seriously for nearly 25 years. He said the hobby centered on the creation of miniature railroads, featuring small-scale trains that run on miniature tracks, along with detailed landscapes and scenery. But its more than that, he said.

My father-in-law, Jim McClure, worked for BNSF and told me about the Belen Model Railroad Club, and asked me if I would join, McKelvey said. I had built a 4x8 HO layout and at that point, I joined.

Along with the museums permanent layout, the members participate in a roadshow with their modular display. Its a way to get people from around the state interested and involved in model railroading, McKelvey said.

The organization has gone through several changes and has moved a few times. What began as the Belen Model Railroad Club in 1995 as a modular club and meetings held at members homes, they exhibited their trains in various locations in the county.

Visitors will be able to tour the AT&SF M.190 Doodlebug, right, during the open house at the Southwest Model Railroad Museum this Saturday. By Clara Garcia

The club moved into the Belen Harvey House in 1999 and built a permanent layout. In 2006, the BMRC was certified as a 501(c)3 non-profit educational organization.

In 2015, the club left the Harvey House and moved into a hangar at the Mid Valley Air Park in Los Lunas. Because of the location change, a name change was also in need. But in 2020, the Southwest Model Railroad Museum had to move again and the members decided it was time to return to the Hub City.

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In October 2021, the portable building was purchased on Second Street, and by December 2022,, the museum was open to the public.

Model railroads operate on different scales, which are ratios of the models size to a real-life train or location. Modelers also often choose a specific historical era to model, influencing the design of their trains, buildings and scenery.

The Southwest Model Railroad Museums display features many Belen attractions, including an incredible model of the Harvey House. McKelvey said they are still working on what is going to be a historic display of Becker Street.

We have the kids come up and run it (the display). We dont run it, McKelvey said. Its about public interaction, and we always have someone say, I did this when I was a kid. It brings back a lot of memories, and kids still do like trains.

SWMRM is always looking for new members and docents to help with museum displays. Members are also in the process of building a DC/DCC controlled N Scale model layout depicting parts of Abo Canyon. Volunteers are always needed.

Currently, SWMRM is fundraising for restoration of the AT&SF M.190 diesel-electric motor car, affectionally called Doodlebug. Donations are taken in person at the museum or via mail to Doodlebug Restoration, 118 S. Second St., Belen, NM, 87002.
For nearly 43 years, the Senior Citizen Law Office has served senior citizens in central New Mexico, including those in Valencia County, according to Executive Director Brwyn Downing.

We were created specifically to provide critically needed advocacy and legal representation to seniors aged 60 and older in order to uphold their rights, maximize their autonomy and ensure they receive the benefits to which they are entitled, said Downing in a recent telephone interview.

In Valencia County, the organization is funded by the New Mexico Civil Legal Service Commission, which was created in 2001 by the state Legislature.

Downing, who became executive director for the Senior Citizen Law Office in 2001, said the non-profits services have an income requirement of 200 percent of the federal poverty level or less for Valencia County citizens. The organization is locally-funded and not federally-funded, though state money tied to low-income New Mexicans does use the federal poverty level as a guideline, as per Older Americans Act guidelines.

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We see that seniors have a lot of the same issues across central New Mexico, she said. Of course, as a nonprofit, there is far greater need than we can actually provide services to that standard, unfortunately.

I would say for almost every nonprofit who provides civil legal services to low-income New Mexicans, we have to give priority to seniors who are economically needy, socially isolated, medically frail and institutionalized, she concluded.

The Senior Citizen Law Office services include:

Government benefits: Helping seniors access Social Security, health care benefits (Medicaid, Medicare), SNAP and other state benefits.

Housing: Landlord-tenant work (almost always representing the tenant), and home foreclosure defense.

Financial well-being and exploitation: Defense against financial exploitation, handling consumer matters, identity theft, and debt collection issues.

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Advanced directives: Recommending and assisting with powers of attorney for everyone over 18 to protect autonomy and prevent adult guardianship.

Downing said government benefits are one of the main types of issues SCLO tackles overall, and the organization is making sure our seniors can access everything theyre entitled to.

That includes their Social Security that they worked for, their health care benefits, Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP if they need it, other state benefits, etc., she said.

In Valencia County, SCLO does a lot of work regarding housing, which she said is an issue nationwide. The nonprofit does a lot of landlord-tenant work in Valencia County, she said, and almost always represents the tenant because of the power dynamic involved between a landlord and a tenant.

Pull Quote We also do home foreclosure work, and were one of the only civil legal service organizations that does home foreclosure defense, she said. Every case is different, and what outcome the client wants can be different from case to case, she said, in explaining the program, emphasizing that SCLO can help seniors explore all their options in resolving foreclosure.

Sadly, for some people, there are no retention options, and when thats the case, we try to help them exit gracefully and think about whats next in life, she said.

The Senior Citizen Law Office also provides legal education classes and one-on-one general legal clinics at senior centers in the community, working directly with the prospective client due to its ethical duties as a law office. Downing said the organization takes a different approach when helping seniors.

We do a lot of holistic representation, which is what we call it, she said. Actually, home foreclosure is a really great example. In almost every single case that weve received for home foreclosure, theres a reason behind why the senior could no longer pay their mortgage. So its not just the home foreclosure issue. Its addressing the originating issue about why they cannot pay their mortgage.

They might have lost their government benefits or someone stole their ID and wiped their bank account clean, she explained. So when we do an intake and we meet with our clients, very often they come to us with one legal issue and we end up picking up more that we can assist them with. We try to look at the senior situation holistically.

With a staff of 19, including 11 attorneys, the SCLO most often works on housing issues, which Downing said has been the greatest need in recent years, followed by benefits work. Downing said the non-profit prefers to do prevention versus reaction, scheduling community clinics and educational presentations, which is a significant part of their preventative work.

Senior Source Directory 2025

Almost all services provided by the organization are free, except for estate planning, although the prices for estate planning are published on the SCLOs website, sclonm.org, and are kept low.

Getting into the community is important because were meeting people where they are, instead of having them drive to our office. Thats a really important function of what our model of service, Downing said. A lot of our educational presentations are about arming yourself with knowledge to prevent something like a scam or ID theft. Its really important for us to do our work in the office, where we have what you dont have when youre presenting in a room in a senior center. Its crucially important to also be able to meet people on their own.

For more information, contact SCLO at 505-265-2300.
The relatively new name, Mid-Rio Grande Senior Volunteer Network (SVN), may not exactly roll off the tongue, but the services the organization provides is easy to understand  not only to people who are being served but to those who are serving, giving a helping hand.

SVN is no longer affiliated with the nationally known Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), but it has similar goals.

What we do is recruit 55 and older people and place them in organizations that need assistance, said Christine Vasquez, SVN supervisor.

While SVN is located in Belen, financially supported by the city of Belen and part of Belen Parks and Recreation, its reach is wide. More than two dozen partners, mainly non-profits and public agencies, are spread from one end of Valencia County to the other.

Christine Vasquez, Senior Volunteer Network supervisor, hopes to expand services in anticipation of a growing need in Valencia County. Mike Powers

Volunteers give tours, help cook and serve food at the Harvey House in Belen. Some fill roles at the Valencia County Animal Shelter in Los Lunas, staff county senior centers or read to children and tutor at the Belen Public Library.

Those are just a few examples.

Theres a wide variety of jobs and placements, Vasquez said. It just depends on what the organization needs  no job is too small. Every job helps. Every job counts.

One of the groups that works with SVN is Bits and Pieces, in Jarales, at one of 15 facilities called volunteer stations. The sewing group meets each Wednesday at the Don Jose Dolores Cordova Cultural Center, the former Jarales School, stitching together whatever is needed.

Quilts are popular, says Sylvia Storey during a break in the activity, but thats just the beginning.

Weve done bandana bibs for the Childrens Hospital. We made hospital gowns  premie blankets, as well as pillow cases for sick children. Parents need to know that somebody cares about the baby, Storey said passionately.

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Others benefit as well. Dialysis patents might get a comforting blanket. Quilts were sent to families after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

Senior Source Directory 2025

Karen Sutherland, of Bernardo, has made specialty quilts for people in wheelchairs.

They are made differently because they are narrower and longer, Sutherland said, making them more convenient for movement and holding a purse or bag. They love them.

SVN lists 180 volunteers throughout Valencia County, racking up more than 8,500 hours during the last fiscal year. An SVN fact sheet says this community impact contributed nearly $750,000 in economic value in 2023.

Those numbers jump off the page, but what may be trickier to see is the real impact on people.

Its about helping the living and getting them active again, feeling needed and participating, said Vasquez.

The end result, as shown in an AmeriCorp survey, are tremendous physical and mental health benefits, with less feeling of isolation for seniors.

Bits and Pieces sewing club, including members, left to right, Terri Molina, Sylvia Storey and Karen Sutherland, works with the Senior Volunteer Network. Mike Powers

In Jarales, members of the sewing group have seen the results first hand.

They just shared and cared. It was a wonderful feeling was the reaction of Sutherland after her first visit. I couldnt wait to come back.

Sutherland noted that several people stopped by after losing a spouse, saying they just needed a hug. Storey added, Some days I just come to talk.

Terri Molina of Jarales, who joined Bits and Pieces 12 months ago, says supplies have been donated but some (members) use their own. We all have a stash at home.

Vasquez, who has been SVN coordinator for about a year, immediately saw the great need in the community, in our county. Thats why she is pursuing ways to supplement other services, if additional funding can be found.

While transportation services are available in Valencia County, Vasquez envisions partnerships to increase access throughout the day. In addition, SVN is currently working with churches and others to compile a resource guide for seniors, with an easy to follow list for legal help, transportation, food options and other necessities. Vasquez says the challenge is getting information to people who are homebound, unsure of what might be available.

About a year ago, Vasquez received a call from a person living in a super remote area of Valencia County. They had money to fix a broken vehicle, but no luck finding a tow truck or mechanic to start the process. For nearly a month, unable to leave the house, they had been living on goats milk and chicken eggs.

When SVN volunteers arrived with emergency groceries and other supplies, it was discovered that the house and property needed additional repairs. SVN then referred the homeowner to other agencies, which were able to help.

Vasquez agrees the emotional part is a roller coaster because theres such a great need. Unfortunately, with people losing a lot of their services, I have a feeling there is only going to be a greater need in the future.

SVN Volunteer Stations

Thats why Vasquez believes it is important to expand what SVN offers. That would mean more volunteers will be needed, and to those like Storey, it brings satisfaction.

Youre giving time, talent, resources, your love. We have this, Storey said while glancing around one of the rooms at the Cultural Center in Jarales, packed with fabrics, thread, irons, sewing machines, scissors and needles. We have this time, so share it.

The Mid-Rio Grande Senior Volunteer Network is located at 719 S. Main St., Belen. The phone number is 505-916-7198.
The blast caused 100-foot-high bursts of flames on the eastern edge of the nations capital. Around 20 of the injured are in critical condition with severe burns

The explosion of a gas tanker on Wednesday caused a devastating fire in the eastern edge of Mexico City, leaving at least four people dead and 90 injured, according to the latest preliminary report. The head of the capitals government, Clara Brugada, said that 19 of the injured were in critical condition with second- and third-degree burns.

According to images from local media and passersby, the flames from the blast reached at least 30 meters high (100 feet) in the vicinity of the Concordia bridge, near the boundaries of the capital with the municipalities of Iztapalapa and Chalco. The truck was carrying more than 13,000 gallons (49,500 liters) of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) on a major city highway when it apparently tipped over, according to the preliminary investigation. The incident took place at 2.30 p.m.

Juan Manuel Perez Cova, Mexico Citys fire chief, has confirmed that the fire resulting from the blast has been completely extinguished. Around 30 vehicles that were near the site of the explosion were also burned. Authorities said the driver of the truck was in critical condition but alive.

According to Perez Cova, this is one of the largest explosions in the city since 2015, when a gas leak from a truck caused an explosion and fire at the Cuajimalpa Maternity Hospital, an incident that left seven victims, including three babies, and dozens injured. Earlier this week, Mexico experienced another major road accident after a double-decker bus carrying people to the capital was slammed by a freight train.

The tanker after the incident in Mexico on Wednesday. Felix Marquez

Videos are circulating on social media showing how the shockwave from the fire began to engulf the surrounding vehicles and reached the second level of the highway interchange. Alejandro Velazquez was traveling on a trolleybus from Constitucion to Santa Marta when he saw the flames advancing toward the vehicle. The driver wouldnt open the door [to let us escape]. The flames rose, I threw myself face down, and I felt the flames touch my head, he told local media.

Another image shows Alicia Mateos, a woman who left the scene of the incident on foot after protecting and saving her two-year-old granddaughter with her own body. Alicias daughter lamented what had happened: Right now they tell us shes okay. That her whole body is anesthetized, but she has burns on her face, arm, and legs. My mom is in intensive care. Do everything possible to save her. She shouldnt have been there.

People at the site of the explosion. Felix Marquez

Karen Millan saw her neighbor Alicia Mateos leave her house on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. The 50-year-old woman works as a ticket inspector on the minibuses that stop near the Concordia bridge in Iztapalapa, in the southeast of Mexico City. Millan saw the tragedy on the news, and recognized Mateos among the photos of the injured. The woman was still carrying her granddaughter Azuleth, whom she used to take to work with her. The neighbor managed to reach General Hospital 53 through the gridlocked traffic, where Mateos and another 15 injured people had been taken. She has burns over 90% of her body, but she managed to save the baby in her arms, Millan recounts.

At the Iztapalapa Regional Hospital, Sara Martinez has been waiting outside for four hours for news of her aunt, Lucia Martinez, 42. She says that when she saw the videos of the explosion on TikTok, she recognized one of the women running for help from the fire, wearing a white T-shirt and fuchsia pants. It was her aunt Lucia, who works at a laundry in the area. Shes not on the lists [of admitted patients], but you can see her disappearing into the flames in the videos, she says. Her cousins are looking for her in other hospitals, but they still dont know anything about her whereabouts.

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BOSQUE FARMS  A local municipality has gone through another clerk/administrator, the third in the last two years.

Less than two weeks after being named interim clerk/administrator for the village of Bosque Farms, Shaline Lopez has tendered her letter of resignation. Her last day with the village will be Wednesday, Sept. 17.

Lopez resignation follows that of former clerk/administrator Michael Limon, who submitted his resignation in July, effective Aug. 18, after a little more than a year in the position.

Limon started with the village in April 2024, after the departure of Vernon Abeita in mid March last year, who was clerk/administrator for a rocky nine months.

In her Sept. 3 letter, Lopez wrote that during her time with the village she has learned and grown both personally and professionally, and I have worked diligently to support and strengthen the clerks office and village as a whole.

She continues, saying she valued the chance to build relationships with colleagues and community members, thanking them for their kindness and support.

Unfortunately, I also witnessed a portion of the community engage in divisive and unnecessarily negative behavior, Lopez wrote in her letter addressed to the governing body, staff and residents of Bosque Farms. It is my hope that the village can reconcile these differences and move forward together toward a more constructive and harmonious future.

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Lopez was hired as the villages deputy clerk in 2024, during Limons tenure.

Bosque Farms Mayor Chris Gillespie said the village has been searching for a permanent clerk/administrator since Limon announced his resignation this summer, but had the back up of Lopez as the deputy clerk.

Now we have two positions vacant, which is not ideal, Gillespie said.

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The mayor said village treasurer Yvonne Maes is willing to step in and assist with day-to-day operations, like she did when former mayor Wayne Ake stepped down in early 2024 just months after being sworn into office.

She is quite capable and picks stuff up quickly and takes care of things, thank God, he said, but she has been very clear, she doesnt want to be my clerk.

We have reached out to the (New Mexico) Municipal League and they are advising us on policy and procedures. We will definitely be posting these job openings on the municipal league site.

The mayor said he has been refining the job descriptions for both positions so applicants understand what the expectations are. Within a very short period of time they have to be a notary, for instance, if they arent already. They have to be or have the ability to become a certified clerk. We cant just grab somebody off the streets.

One issue making it difficult to craft advertisements for the positions, especially that of clerk/administrator, is that a good portion of them are embedded in the village ordinances.

Some of the job duties are in our ordinances and they are not correct, which makes them difficult to correct and update, Gillespie said. They should be in our handbook and policy. Theres a reason they shouldnt be in that space. Changing an ordinance can be a two-month process.

Lopez was appointed as interim clerk/administrator for the village at the Aug. 21 council meeting on a 3-0 vote. Councilor Michael Cheromiah was not at the meeting.

A motion for the appointment was made by Councilor Tim Baughman and seconded by Councilor Ronita Wood.

I appreciate the work your doing. I know the work load youre under, Baughman said. Theres been a lot of heavy lifting since Michael (Limon) has not been in the office the last several months.

Due to his wifes health issues, Limon was allowed to work remotely from California for the last nearly five months of his employment with the village.
BOSQUE FARMS  The 2025 local election season is off to an interesting start, with the question of whether a mayoral seat should have been included on the ballot being raised in one municipality.

The Valencia County News-Bulletin took the question to the New Mexico Secretary of State for an answer.

The issue at hand was whether the position of mayor of the village of Bosque Farms should have been included in the election proclamation approved by the council in light of a recent change to state election law.

The short answer to the question is no.

When asked via email about the situation, BC Nguyen, SOS elections outreach coordinator, responded that after consulting with Peter Auh, SOS general counsel, his analysis showed since the statute changed on July 1 of this year, it cannot be applied retroactively, so, this mayoral position will appear on the 2027 (Regular Local Election).

On a related topic, the News-Bulletin also asked if a council has the authority to place any elected position on a proclamation and, in essence, force a race to occur for a position.

The answer from Nguyen and Auh was again no, because a council cannot alter the term of any elected position by placing it on a proclamation.

 ... terms are set by statute and, in some cases, the constitution, and if a person is serving out a term, a council cannot arbitrarily shorten it, Nguyen wrote in her response to the newspapers inquiry.

At the June 30 village council meeting, when the proposed election proclamation for the November 2025 Local Election was presented to the council it was for two at-large council positions, currently held by Councilors Michael Cheromiah and Tim Baughman.

Councilor Erica De Smet said she wanted the council to include the mayors position on the proclamation in order to put it on the November ballot, since Mayor Chris Gillespie was appointed to the position and not elected.

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There is a new state law and in this scenario if a mayor vacates the position, (the position) goes on the ballot, De Smet said. My suggestion would be to give the vote back to the people.

When Gillespie was appointed, state statute specified appointees for mayoral vacancies would serve until the end of the term, which in this case would be until the end of 2027.

During this years legislative session, the law was amended as part of House Bill 298 to limit appointed mayors to serve until the next local election  as is the case for the majority of other vacancy appointments to governing bodies  which would be November of this year.

Gillespie was appointed as mayor in March 2024 by the council after Mayor Wayne Ake stepped down due to health issues. Ake was elected as mayor in November 2023.

The vote to appoint Gillespie was 2-0, with Baughman and Councilor Ronita Wood voting in favor. De Smet did not cast a vote. Cheromiah recused himself from the vote because he was interested in filling the position.
Christians should base votes on biblical principles

Editor:

I am writing a response to Paul Kinzelmans Elections have consequences letter.

The first thing that needs to be clarified is the definition of refugee. Websters defines a refugee as a person who is forced to flee his or her country because of political oppression, religious persecution, war or a natural disaster.

Jesuss family definitely were refugees fleeing religious persecution. Even though there are truly refugees seeking safety in the United States, it would be extremely naive to think that millions of people who crossed our borders are refugees.

I find it interesting that you reference Jesus with certain scripture verses without considering everything He told His followers to do. (see Romans 13 :1-3) Scripture agrees with Sen. Bonne about coming into the United States the proper way.

When you stated that children were separated from their family, there was no mention of the thousands of children that were separated in another country and illegally brought across the border by coyotes and traffickers to face unimaginable danger. Some have been rescued but thousands are unaccounted for.

Policies that require able-bodied people to do some sort of work to receive assistance isnt wrong. (Teach a man to fish or give him a fish)

Human life is sacred to God, and any decision a woman makes should be between her and God. There are numerous scriptural references about Gods thoughts on that decision. (Psalm 139:13-16)

Sex education should come from parents not a public school teacher whose values and beliefs might not be in line with theirs.

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In closing I agree with you and Sen. Boone that elections have consequences. Everyone who is a follower of Jesus Christ should base their votes on biblical principles.

Corky Morrison

Los Lunas

Trump believes he can do whatever he wants as president

Editor:

In a power grab, pathological liar Trump tried to fire a governor of an independent agency, the Federal Reserve Bank.

He claims she is guilty of crimes, providing no evidence. This is what dictators like Putin or Xi of China do.

Tax cheat Trump issued a slew of tariffs (enjoy paying for them). A federal appeals court has ruled many of those are illegal. But fraudster Trump received a reprieve as the waffling court said we will let those stand until the Supremes look at this (dont expect action soon).

The Trump cabal knew going into office that you can get almost anything delayed in court. In the meantime, the unstable Trump is allowed to continue doing whatever he wants, legal or not. This tactic was planned.

The Trump regime regularly selectively refuses to spend funds already appropriated by Congress. Congress responds with OK! Sometimes the regime also illegally claws back and rescinds funds Congress appropriated. Congress says, OK!

On another subject, our militarys purpose is to defend the American people against foreign threats and is forbidden by law from operating within the USA. So what, draft dodger Trump responds? He uses our armed forces as his own military any way he likes.

Convicted felon Trump claims he will eliminate crime by putting military troops in cities like Washington and Chicago.

Will he eliminate crime? Just like he ended the Ukraine-Russia war on day one? Or how he brought down food prices on day one? Who believes this stuff?

The Trump regime is engaged in a slow rolling coup detat, and millions of Americans will sleep through the coup and one day wake up wondering why their country looks like Russia, North Korea or China.

The vindictive Trump has said more than once that he is the president and can do whatever he wants. He truly believes that.

To those who think the United States has always been a democracy and always will be, ask the people of Venezuela, Belarus, or the German people in 1933 how that worked out.

James Rickey

Los Lunas
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The Brazilian Supreme Court reached a majority verdict to convict high-ranking military officers for attempting to prevent the transfer of power to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva after losing the 2022 election

Brazil has achieved a landmark ruling against impunity. For the first time ever, a court has convicted a former president and high-ranking military officers for attempting a coup.

Far-right politician Jair Messias Bolsonaro, a 70-year-old retired army captain, was sentenced in Brasilia to 27 years and three months in prison for leading a conspiracy to prevent the transfer of power to his rival, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, after losing the 2022 elections.

On Thursday, the Supreme Courts first chamber reached the necessary majority to convict Bolsonaro of five crimes, including attempted coup, attempted abolition of the democratic rule of law, and membership in a criminal organization. Several generals were also convicted for their roles in the attempted uprising. Despite intense pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, the trial proceeded.

In what has been Brazils most politically significant trial in recent years, Bolsonaro was also convicted of damage to public property and protected assets. Neither he nor the other seven defendants (three generals, an admiral, a lieutenant colonel, and two civilians) attended the session. The former president (20192022), under house arrest, followed the proceedings from home with his family in Brasilia. His lawyers are expected to request that Bolsonaro be allowed to serve out his sentence under house arrest due to health issues.

The decisive vote came Thursday from Carmen Lucia Antunes Rocha, the only woman on the high court. The justice concluded that a group composed of key government figures and led by Jair Bolsonaro carried out a progressive plan to attack democratic institutions with the aim of undermining the peaceful transfer of power and weakening other branches, especially the judiciary. She noted that Brazil restored democracy 40 years ago and emphasized that the facts described have not, in essence, been denied by the defendants.

The powerful and controversial Judge Alexandre de Moraes voted Tuesday to convict Bolsonaro on all charges, stating that the evidence shows the former president recruited, as part of an authoritarian power project, trusted men to orchestrate a plan allowing him to remain in power despite his 2022 electoral defeat.

These actions included discrediting the electoral system, threatening the judiciary, claiming nonexistent fraud, planning the assassination of top state officials (including Moraes), drafting a plan to annul the elections, and attempting to recruit military leaders into the plot. Moraes said Thursday that January 8, 2023, was not a Sunday stroll, a trip to Disneyland, or an act of spontaneous combustion. It was a coup attempt by a criminal organization, and played a clip from the day when Bolsonaro called the judge a scoundrel and vowed to disobey his orders.

On Wednesday, Judge Luiz Fux issued a scathing dissenting opinion, advocating for Bolsonaros acquittal on all charges due to lack of evidence and requesting the annulment of the entire process, arguing that the Supreme Court was not the competent tribunal.

The coup attempt peaked on January 8, a week after Lulas inauguration, when a mob of Bolsonaro supporters seized the heart of power in Brasilia, including the Supreme Court, in a scene reminiscent of the U.S. Capitol riot. Bolsonaro was far from Brasilia that day, in the U.S., a fact his defense uses to distance him from the violence. More than 600 participants in the uprising have been convicted.

Being barred from running in elections until 2030 has not stopped Bolsonaro from acting as the undisputed leader of the opposition to Lulas government. Only house arrest and a judicial ban on social media use have limited his public presence in the past month. His conviction will have major repercussions for the 2026 presidential race, as he is likely to influence who the rights candidate will be against Lula, who is seeking a fourth term.

Concerns over flight risk and violations of previous preventive measures led Moraes to confine Bolsonaro to house arrest, confiscate his passport, and fit him with an electronic bracelet in July, later removing the passport in 2024. Bolsonaro reportedly considered seeking asylum in Argentina.

The crimes attributed to Bolsonaro carry a potential 43-year prison sentence. Judges will deliberate on Friday on the specific penalties, and Moraes will decide where Bolsonaro will serve his sentence: at home, as he prefers due to health and age; in a Brasilia police station; in a high-security prison cell; or at a military barracks.

During the trial, the Supreme Court  stormed by Bolsonaro supporters in 2023  reinforced security to the extent that armed officers flanked the court throughout the deliberations. Live broadcasts from the court have heightened the suspense and spectacle, a style appreciated by Brazilians. This is one of the worlds most transparent courts. Despite the formal rituals of the Supreme Court  with your honors permission  the public has witnessed technical debates among the judges, pointed exchanges and ironic remarks that elicited laughter. The court also showed clips of the most dramatic moments of the coup attempt.

For U.S. President Trump, Bolsonaros trial is nothing more than a crude political persecution, a witch hunt akin to what he claims to have suffered in the U.S. He has used every means to undermine the trial, imposing tariffs on Brazil and sanctioning several judges. Specifically, he froze Moraess potential assets in the U.S. and revoked visas for all Supreme Court members except three: the two appointed by Bolsonaro and the one who voted for his acquittal.

It remains uncertain whether this conviction marks an end or a continuation of Bolsonaros political career, the first far-right president elected by Brazilians in 2019. Ending up in prison was one of his nightmares. In August 2021, as he began plotting to contest the elections under false fraud claims to illegally stay in power, Bolsonaro declared from the presidential palace: I will leave here either imprisoned, dead, or victorious. I want to tell the scoundrels that I will never be a prisoner. In reality, he lost the election  by less than two points  and maneuvered extensively to block the transfer of power.

In these dire times for global democracy, Brazil sends a powerful message with this verdict: justice can punish those who undermine constitutional order and institutions from within. Nevertheless, it could be a temporary victory. Bolsonaro and his loyalists are pushing Congress to approve an amnesty law to free him and others convicted for their role in the coup attempt. Several right-wing figures aspiring to inherit his leadership and run for president have promised him a pardon.

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Death rates from chronic diseases have fallen in four out of five countries around the world in the last decade - but progress has slowed, suggests an analysis led by researchers at Imperial College London and published in The Lancet.



In recent decades there have been many global and national political pledges and plans to improve prevention and treatment of chronic diseases (also called non-communicable diseases - NCDs), such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, kidney disease, liver disease, neurological conditions and others. This includes the UN Sustainable Development Goal of reducing premature mortality from NCDs by one-third by 2030.



This study is believed to be the first global analysis to not only track changes in NCD mortality at the national level but also benchmark progress against historical performance and the regional best-performers.



The analysis suggests deaths from chronic diseases has fallen in nearly 80% of countries in the last decade. However almost two thirds of all countries  including nearly all high-income countries in Europe, north America, Australasia and the Pacific  experienced a slowdown in the rate of decline for mortality in 2010 to 2019 compared to the previous decade. The United States was one of the worst performers among high-income countries, experiencing the smallest decrease in risk over 2010-2019.



Ahead of the upcoming Fourth High-level Meeting of the UN General Assembly, authors say these trends show an urgent need for greater investment in tackling chronic diseases and ensuring approaches effectively reach people most in need.

Source: The Lancet Journal reference: NCD Countdown 2030 Collaborators (2025) Benchmarking progress in non-communicable diseases: a global analysis of cause-specific mortality from 2001 to 2019. The Lancet. doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01388-1
Spinal cord injuries caused by external trauma, such as traffic accidents or falls, often lead to the permanent loss of motor and sensory functions. This is because the spinal cord-the central pathway connecting the brain and the rest of the body-harbors a "brake" mechanism that halts repair. For the first time, the molecular mechanism behind this braking system has been revealed.

A research team led by Director C. Justin LEE of the Center for Cognition and Sociality at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), in collaboration with Professor HA Yoon of Yonsei University College of Medicine, identified that the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, produced by astrocytes in the spinal cord through the enzyme monoamine oxidase B (MAOB), is the key factor that blocks recovery after spinal cord injury. Furthermore, they demonstrated the therapeutic potential of targeting this pathway by showing that MAOB inhibition promotes spinal cord repair.

Until now, recovery failure after spinal cord injury has largely been attributed to the formation of the so-called glial barrier. This barrier, formed by the rapid proliferation of astrocytes and other glial cells around the lesion, protects the injury site in the acute phase but later prevents axonal regrowth. However, the precise molecular mechanism hindering regeneration remained unclear. As a result, existing treatments for spinal cord injury have primarily focused on suppressing inflammation or alleviating symptoms, rather than directly addressing neural repair.

Building on their earlier work, which showed that reactive astrocytes abnormally produce GABA via MAOB and exacerbate neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, the team investigated whether a similar mechanism occurs in spinal cord injury. They found that GABA suppresses the expression of BDNF (a key neurotrophic factor) and its receptor TrkB, both essential for neuronal regeneration. Consequently, the production of GABA acts as a molecular brake, shutting down growth signals and blocking axonal regrowth and functional recovery after injury.

To validate this, the researchers used animal models in which MAOB expression in spinal astrocytes was either suppressed or enhanced. Inhibition of MAOB allowed axons to regrow and restored hindlimb motor function, while increased MAOB expression led to severe tissue loss and almost no functional recovery. These findings confirmed that the MAOBGABA pathway directly prevents spinal cord regeneration.

The team further tested the MAOB inhibitor KDS2010 in animal models of spinal cord injury. Treated mice showed significant improvements in locomotion, such as fewer hindlimb slips in ladder-walking tests, and exhibited robust axonal regrowth at the injury site. Histological analyses revealed reduced lesion cavities and increased remyelinated axons. Importantly, similar benefits were confirmed in non-human primates, where tissue preservation and neural protection were markedly improved. The safety and tolerability of KDS2010 had already been validated in a Phase I clinical trial in healthy adults, underscoring its potential as a therapeutic candidate.

Director C. Justin LEE of IBS stated, "This study identifies a direct molecular pathway that suppresses neural regeneration after spinal cord injury and presents a strategy to overcome it. Unlike existing treatments, this offers a fundamentally new therapeutic approach. The multi-level validation in rodents, primates, and Phase I clinical trials provides strong evidence that this drug candidate could translate into real treatment for patients."

KDS2010 has already demonstrated safety in a Phase I clinical trial, and we plan to proceed with Phase II trials to evaluate its efficacy in spinal cord injury patients. Moreover, we aim to investigate whether the MAOBGABA pathway plays a role in other neurological disorders, broadening its potential applications into a more comprehensive therapeutic platform." Professor HA Yoon, Yonsei University College of Medicine

This research was carried out through multi-institutional collaboration involving IBS, Yonsei University, Seoul National University, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), and Neurobiogen, with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea. The findings were published on September 11 in Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy (Impact Factor 52.7, 2024 JCR), a globally influential journal covering both basic and translational biomedical sciences.
New research from the University of Minnesota Medical School is providing important insights into how COVID-19 persists in cancer patients even long after testing positive. The findings were recently published in iScience.



During a peak of COVID-19 in 2020, there was concern around cancer patients who had contracted COVID-19 and developed severe inflammatory reactions that looked similar to autoimmune conditions. To better understand this phenomenon, researchers studied three cancer patients who had undergone transplant therapies and were hospitalized with severe COVID-19 infections.



The research team discovered that even up to six weeks after a patient's last positive nasal swab test, the virus was still present in the lining of their gut. The persistence of the virus appeared to trigger increased inflammation and damage to tissue. The researchers also identified a specific inflammatory marker, called SERPINA1, that was consistently linked to tissue inflammation in these cases.

COVID-19 can persist in gastrointestinal tissue, and this may be associated with inflammation and poor patient outcomes during the process of transplantation. Prior to treatments and clinical decisions, one may consider measuring GI tissue markers, such as SERPINA1. This may be especially important when considering the use of anti-cancer transplantation therapies." Justin Hwang, Ph.D., assistant professor with the University of Minnesota Medical School and a Masonic Cancer Center researcher

"We learned that the virus that causes COVID-19 infection lasted longer in the intestines than we would have predicted. More research is needed to determine whether there is a link to Long COVID or other similar complications in this at-risk population," added Emil Lou, MD, Ph.D., FACP, a physician-scientist and gastrointestinal oncologist with the Masonic Cancer Center, and professor with tenure with the University of Minnesota Medical School and M Health Fairview.



Further research will aim to study larger groups that have been infected with COVID-19. The researchers also recommend caution around patients with high levels of SERPINA1, who may need close monitoring as some cancer treatments could increase inflammation.



This study was supported by Mrs. Hinda Litman and the Litman Family Fund for Cancer Research, the American Cancer Society, a University of Minnesota Data Science Initiative (DSI) Seed Grant, Friends and family of Gayle Huntington, the Mu Sigma Chapter of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity, University of Minnesota (FIJI), Dick and Lynnae Koats, Ms. Patricia Johnson and the Love Like Laurie Legacy.
A first-of-its-kind study reveals that classroom air carries more microplastics than outdoor air, raising urgent questions about childrens daily exposure to hidden pollutants.

Study: Airborne microplastics and plastic additives in a school environment: identification, quantification, and associated inhalation risks. Image Credit: Drazen Zigic / Shutterstock

Factory winds carried PVC inside: Polyvinyl chloride only showed up in classrooms when the wind blew straight from the nearby industrial plant, tying pollution directly to emissions.

In a recent study published in the journal Environment International, researchers from Spain and Portugal investigated the content of circulating air in four classrooms in Portugal to identify microplastics (MPs) and other potential chemical contaminants present in this air. Notably, the school in Estarreja, Portugal, was situated near an industrial complex that manufactures polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a likely contributor, as suggested by wind-direction analyses, rather than a validated source.

The study leveraged cutting-edge analytical techniques (pyrolysisgas chromatography coupled to Orbitrap-mass spectrometry (Pyr-GC-Orbitrap-MS) to investigate the presence and concentration of 10 common polymers. Study findings revealed that six of these polymers (polymethyl methacrylate, polypropylene, nylon-6,6, nitrile butadiene rubber, polystyrene, and polyvinyl chloride) were present in the classroom PM samples. Additionally, phthalates, nicotine, and pesticides were identified through non-targeted screening; however, their levels were not quantified under the pyrolysis conditions.

Most alarmingly, average concentrations of MPs were substantially higher inside the classrooms (21.8  16.3 ng/m, n = 35) than outdoors (13.4  13.6 ng/m, n = 36). Together, these findings paint a concerning picture of the complex airborne exposures children face in educational settings, highlighting the necessity of routine air quality monitoring and prompting future research aimed at mitigating these pollutants.

Background

Polystyrene never left the room: Unlike other plastics, polystyrene showed up in every single indoor sample, making it the most constant pollutant in the school air.

Microplastics (MPs) are a term used to describe minute plastic particles less than 5 millimeters in size. A growing body of research highlights the increasingly severe threat posed by these ubiquitous pollutants, which have even been detected at the summit of Mt. Everest and the deepest point of the Mariana Trench. While much attention has focused on MPs and their impacts on oceans and food, a relatively nascent body of research aims to investigate their prevalence in the air we breathe, with few prior studies measuring indoor PM microplastics in schools.

Studies have demonstrated that MPs suspended in circulating air can be inhaled and may reach deep into the respiratory system, with experimental and observational evidence of inflammatory responses. Children with underdeveloped immune and respiratory systems have been identified as a high-risk cohort for exposure to air-suspended MP. Children are known to breathe more air relative to their body weight than adults, resulting in a higher potential exposure to airborne pollutants.

Unfortunately, the air quality and potential contaminant load of school classrooms, locations where children spend a substantial portion of their childhood, remain poorly characterized.

About the study

Outdoor air swung wildly: Day-to-day outdoor concentrations shifted by as much as 60196%, driven by weather, while indoor levels stayed steadier during the school week.

The present study addressed this knowledge gap by conducting an in-depth air quality analysis at a primary school in Estarreja, Portugal, a first-of-its-kind study. The school's location is significant to the study's design, as it sits just one kilometer from a large industrial complex that has been producing polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and other potentially toxic airborne chemicals for decades.

The study aimed to identify and quantify the types of airborne microplastics (or chemical pollutants) present in the classroom air and to estimate the daily inhalation doses to which students are exposed. Study data was collected over two campaigns (winter and spring) and comprised 70 air samples from four different classrooms (students ages 3-11) and the adjacent outdoor schoolyard.

Experimental procedures involved characterizing breathable particulate matter (PM) by leveraging Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography-Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry (Pyr-GC-Orbitrap-MS) and Regions of Interest-Multivariate Curve Resolution-Alternating least squares (ROIMCR) to estimate the presence and concentrations of MPs and chemical contaminants, respectively.

Study findings

Holiday crafts stirred things up: December brought a surge in the craft classroom, with decorations and hands-on activities doubling the microplastic load.

Study analyses confirmed the presence of six (polymethyl methacrylate, polypropylene, nylon-6,6, nitrile butadiene rubber, polystyrene, and polyvinyl chloride) out of the ten targeted MPs, and several plastic-related chemical additives (seven different types of phthalates, nicotine, and pesticides such as propoxur) in the PM samples evaluated. Of these, nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) was found to be the most prevalent, while polystyrene (PS) showed the highest detection frequency.

Alarming, MP concentrations were found to be significantly higher in classrooms than outdoors, with measurements of 21.8 ng/m inside compared to 13.4 ng/m outside (p = 0.010). Concentrations were also observed to be higher during the spring campaign than in winter, likely due to warmer, more humid conditions, which have previously been shown to accelerate the fragmentation of plastic materials.

Computations leveraging MP measurements revealed that children, on average, are exposed to ~1.57 nanograms of plastic per kilogram of body weight per day, with the highest exposure documented in the first-grade classroom (ages 6-7). The authors noted that this estimate is conservative, as it is based on PM, which also contains non-respirable fractions.

Conclusions

Polystyrene never left the room: Unlike other plastics, polystyrene was detected in every single indoor sample, making it the most consistent pollutant in the school air.

As the first study of its kind, the present research provides a uniquely detailed snapshot of the air quality inside a school, demonstrating that children are continuously exposed to a complex cocktail of multiple types of microplastics and their associated chemical additives.

These findings underscore the importance of conducting frequent and in-depth air quality monitoring and management, particularly in settings such as schools that cater to high-risk sub-adult populations. While the long-term health effects of inhaling this complex mixture are still being investigated, this study provides a crucial baseline and a stark reminder that the threats posed by plastic pollution extend beyond our oceans to the very air our children breathe.
Neurocognitive impairments are classified by pathological changes with potential for destruction of neural tissue. One change known to occur in neurodegenerative disorders is an accumulation of proteins causing pathological damage.

While prior reports have suggested a link between Slit Guidance Ligand 2 (SLIT2) protein levels and late-onset dementia and Alzheimer's disease, these findings have not been validated by a current commercially available SLIT2 immunoassay. Additionally, there is no currently published data on SLIT2 protein levels in an early-onset dementia population.

A new study by researchers at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center has shown that in middle-aged individuals, there is a significant association between levels of SLIT2 protein in both vitreous humor (the gel-like substance in the eye) and plasma (blood) and neurocognitive test scores. This is the first study to report relative concentrations of SLIT2 in vitreous and plasma and establish an association between SLIT2 levels from both sources with cognitive function.

The association between SLIT2, which is highly expressed in the eye's retina, and cognitive status has not been previously investigated. Our findings demonstrate the potential of ocular fluids as a sampling source for early detection and diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease." Manju L. Subramanian, MD, co-corresponding author, associate professor of ophthalmology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Seventy-nine individuals with an average age of 56 underwent eye surgery along with neurocognitive assessments. Samples of their vitreous humor and plasma were collected and then analyzed by a custom-designed highly sensitive Meso Scale Discovery (MSD) SLIT2 electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Immunoassays use antigen-antibody reactions to measure the presence and concentration of specific substances in biological samples. Associations between SLIT2 levels in vitreous humor and plasma were analyzed using GraphPad Prism.

The researchers found lower levels of SLIT2 in vitreous humor to be associated with lower scores on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), a screening tool for cognitive impairment, as well as the Immediate Recall Verbatim z-score, a measure of verbal memory. Conversely, higher levels of SLIT2 in plasma were associated with lower MoCA scores. Notably, the vitreous humor contains up to seven times more SLIT2 than plasma. The levels of SLIT2 in the vitreous humor and plasma did not show a correlation with each other.

"We found the association between SLIT2 levels and neurocognitive scores remains significant even after accounting for various demographic factors like age, sex, race, and health conditions such as diabetic status, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and Apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype," says Weining Lu, MD, associate professor of medicine, pathology and laboratory medicine at the school.

These findings appear online in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. The abstract was presented at the 2025 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Salt Lake City, Utah, this past May.

This research was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health grant R01-DK133940 (WL), R03AG063255 (MLS), the DOD grant E01HT9425-23-1-1058 (WL), a 2023 Boston University Ignition Award (WL), a 2024 B4D-ARC Award from the Evans Center of Boston University (MLS, WL) and funding support from Boston University Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (EL). This publication is also supported in part by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, through Boston University Clinical & Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Grant Number 1UL1TR001430.
Researchers at the University of Oulus Research Unit of Clinical Medicine and Oulu Business School have examined how symptoms of adolescent ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) are related to adult income.

The study found that the symptoms are not directly linked to income levels in adulthood. Instead, the impact is seen indirectly, through education and other psychiatric disorders.

The effect was strongest among individuals with symptoms of both ADHD and ODD: their incomes were on average 25 per cent lower through the pathway of education and 18 per cent lower through other psychiatric disorders.

The study used data from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986, which includes nearly 9,500 participants. When they were 16 years old, their parents assessed their ADHD and ODD symptoms using a questionnaire. In addition, national registers were used to obtain information on education, annual income, psychiatric disorders and background factors.

ODD is a common comorbid disorder of ADHD, occurring in about 30 per cent of those diagnosed with ADHD. The large-scale data also made it possible to examine the independent effects of ODD symptoms  an area where research has previously been scarce and partly contradictory.

ADHD alone does not determine income level

According to Sampo Seppa, the lead author of the study, the results are encouraging: Symptoms of adolescent ADHD and ODD were not in themselves associated with lower income levels in adulthood, Seppa explains.

However, his earlier research has shown that ADHD and ODD symptoms impair school performance during adolescence, lower educational attainment in adulthood, and increase the risk of unemployment and sickness absence.

These new findings add to our understanding of why young people with ADHD tend to fare worse in working life on average. The results may help reduce the stigma associated with ADHD and strengthen the belief that with the right support, young people can succeed in working life just like anyone else. Sampo Seppa, lead author of the study

The study also highlights the importance of preventive services.

I hope this research will help to increase appreciation of investments in education and mental health services, so that the consequences of neurodevelopmental disorders can be reduced at the population level, Seppa concludes.
Despite fears that pandemic stress would harm child development, new research shows toddlers actually displayed fewer emotional and behavioral problems, especially in families with lower maternal education, hinting at hidden resilience factors.

Study: COVID-19 Pandemic Exposure and Toddler Behavioral Health in the ECHO Program. Image credit: Sharomka/Shutterstock.com

A new study published in JAMA Network Open reports that exposure to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was associated with fewer, not greater, reported emotional and behavioral problems in toddlers, rather than significantly worsening their behavioral health.

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has burdened the health and economic systems across countries and significantly impacted family and social dynamics. Both family and social environments play a substantial role in shaping a childs health and well-being, as childhood is a period of heightened brain plasticity and sensitivity to environmental influences. This raises a concern about possible behavioral changes in children following the pandemic exposure.

Existing evidence has linked the COVID-19 pandemic with increased psychological distress in younger and older adults. However, studies investigating the impact of the pandemic on childhood behavioral changes have produced mixed results. Some studies have reported higher problem-solving and fine motor skills and lower personal-social skills in pandemic-exposed children. In contrast, some reported no significant impact of the pandemic on childrens internalizing and externalizing problems.

Given these discrepancies in findings, the current study aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on internalizing and externalizing problems in toddlers. Internalizing and externalizing problems are emotional (anxiety, depression, and withdrawal) and behavioral (aggression, hyperactivity, and rule-breaking) problems that can significantly impact a persons mental health and social functioning.

Study design

The study analyzed data from the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program, which recruits children from multiple US regions and Puerto Rico with diverse geographical and sociodemographic backgrounds.

This study included 3438 toddlers, who were divided into three groups: the prepandemic group, the pandemic-assessed group, and the pandemic-born group. The prepandemic group toddlers were born and assessed before the pandemic; the pandemic-assessed group toddlers were born before the pandemic but assessed during the pandemic; and the pandemic-born group toddlers were born and assessed during the pandemic.

A widely validated caregiver-report tool was used to assess emotional and behavioral problems in toddlers, hypothesizing that pandemic-related stressors, such as family disruption, social isolation, and increased family stress, would contribute to increased emotional and behavioral problems in these toddlers.

Key findings

The study analysis revealed that toddlers who were born before the pandemic but assessed during the pandemic, or toddlers who were born and assessed during the pandemic, had lower levels of emotional and behavioral problems than their peers who were born and assessed before the pandemic.

These differences were more pronounced among children of mothers with less than a Bachelors degree compared with children of mothers with higher educational attainment. The authors emphasized that the protective pattern was significant only among the lower-education group, rather than demonstrating that these toddlers overall had fewer problems than those of more educated mothers.

Study significance

This study is one of the first to investigate these associations across diverse U.S. regions and Puerto Rico among three toddler groups differing in pandemic exposure.

A growing pool of evidence suggests that the impact of the pandemic on childrens mental health depends on family characteristics, such as socioeconomic status and parenting practices. Consistent family routines within households, such as regular playtime and family meals, have been found to reduce depressive symptoms in preschool children during the pandemic.

Although pre-pandemic studies have linked poor socioeconomic status with higher emotional and behavioral difficulties in young adults, studies conducted during the pandemic have reported greater emotional distress and life dissatisfaction in families with higher socioeconomic status than in families with higher financial hardship.

These observations and current study findings suggest that pandemic-related stressors do not necessarily contribute to more adverse neurobehavioral functioning in children.

Notably, the study finds that the associations between pandemic exposure and fewer emotional and behavioral problems were significant only in toddlers of mothers with lower educational backgrounds. The researchers interpreted this cautiously, suggesting one possible explanation that families with lower educational attainment may have experienced fewer lifestyle disruptions during the pandemic, which could have provided a relatively more stable caregiving environment.

However, a previous study conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic reported that mothers with some college or a 4-year degree experienced higher psychological distress than those with the least and highest educational attainment. This highlights the complexity of the association between education and pandemic stress and the possible contributions of other factors to these outcomes.

The study findings are based on caregiver-reported child behavior data, which may introduce judgmental errors due to parental mental health, biases, and expectations. The pandemic may have further influenced these perceptions, potentially leading parents to view behaviors as less concerning amid broader stressors.

The study included toddlers aged between 18 and 39 months. This narrow age range may restrict the generalizability of the findings to older children, who may have experienced more pronounced behavioral problems due to pandemic-related disruption in peer interactions, school attendance, and other social activities.

The study did not analyze parental mental health or specific pandemic stressors, such as health concerns, financial crisis, social isolation, or disrupted routines. These factors can potentially influence behavioral outcomes in children.

Despite these limitations, the study findings have significant public health implications, highlighting the need for identifying protective factors that may buffer the impact of the pandemic on child behavior.

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A study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) finds that individuals who received medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) while incarcerated were significantly more likely to continue treatment six months after release than those who did not receive MOUD. The study also found that receiving MOUD in jail was associated with a 52% lower risk of fatal opioid overdose, a 24% lower risk of non-fatal opioid overdose, a 56% lower risk of death from any cause, and a 12% lower risk of reincarceration after release. These outcomes underscore the importance of providing MOUD treatment during incarceration.

Published in The New England Journal of Medicine, the study analyzed data from 6,400 people with probable opioid use disorder who were incarcerated in seven Massachusetts county jails between September 2019 and December 2020. Of these, 42% received MOUD while in jail, while 58% did not. Researchers monitored treatment engagement, opioid overdose, reincarceration, and mortality for all participants for up to six months after release.

"These findings demonstrate the importance of providing medications to treat opioid use disorder in correctional settings," said Nora D. Volkow, M.D., Director of NIDA. "Offering effective opioid treatment to people in jail is a critical step toward addressing the opioid crisis, promoting recovery, saving lives and reducing reincarceration. It's a win-win for public health."

The opioid epidemic remains a devastating public health challenge in the United States, contributing to more than 80,000 deaths in 2024 alone. People with opioid use disorder are overrepresented in jails compared to the general population. Despite their effectiveness, MOUD is available in only about 13% of U.S. jails and is often restricted to specific groups, such as pregnant women. This limited access contributes to forced withdrawal, increasing the risk of relapse and overdose post-release.

Massachusetts has been especially impacted by the overdose epidemic, with fatal opioid-related overdoses quadrupling over the past two decades. In response, a 2018 state law mandated a four-year pilot program to provide all U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved MOUD-buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone-in five county jails, with two additional jails voluntarily joining the program. The law requires that individuals already receiving treatment for opioid use disorder continue it during detention, begin treatment before release when appropriate, and be connected to community care after release.

To evaluate the impact of the pilot program, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health partnered with the Massachusetts Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (MassJCOIN) and participating jails to conduct a comprehensive study tracking post-release outcomes. Researchers collected data directly from incarcerated individuals and extracted information from jail administrative and clinical records. These data were integrated with the Massachusetts Public Health Data Warehouse, which links over 35 state databases to track treatment for substance use disorders, incarceration, mortality, and other public health indicators. This linkage enabled a robust analysis of the program's impact on key post-release outcomes.

Treatment in jail was strongly associated with better outcomes after release. Within the first 30 days, 60.2% of those who received MOUD in jail, initiated treatment in the community, compared to only 17.6% of individuals who weren't treated. Half of the group treated in jail stayed on medication for at least 75% of the first 90 days after release, while only 12.3% of the untreated group did the same. Six months after release, 57.5% of those who received treatment in jail continued receiving MOUD, compared to just 22.8% of those who did not. Most people treated in jail received buprenorphine (67.9%) followed by methadone (25.7%) and naltrexone (6.5%).

The Massachusetts initiative represents a model for how jails can play a vital role in addressing the opioid epidemic in the community." Peter D. Friedmann, M.D., M.P.H., lead author and addiction medicine physician, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School

Senior author Elizabeth A. Evans, PhD, a public health professor from University of Massachusetts-Amherst added, "Establishing these types of programs in local jails is a powerful and effective strategy for engaging and retaining people in treatment and reducing overdose deaths after release."

Future research should explore the generalizability of these findings to other correctional systems, as well as how outcomes differ across population subgroups and by the type of medication received. Research to examine which strategies for implementing MOUD in jails are most effective in supporting recovery after release are also needed.

This research was supported by the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN), a nationwide research program that tests strategies to expand effective treatment, recovery, and related services for individuals with opioid use disorder involved in the criminal justice system. JCOIN is funded by the NIH's National Institute on Drug Abuse as part of the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term  (NIH HEAL Initiative).
It was only a matter of time before Cuba would be completely in the dark. Like a dying man, the country began shutting down over the weekend: first, the eastern provinces of Las Tunas, Granma, Holguin, Santiago de Cuba, and Guantanamo were plunged into blackouts. Power outages were also reported in Matanzas and Havana. And on Wednesday, news emerged about the collapse of the national energy system. This isnt even the first time, but the fifth one since the massive blackout of October 18, 2024, when the island became a blind spot in the Caribbean Sea for several days.

Despite the almost daily power outages, some lasting up to 18 hours, and the constant failures of the Antonio Guiteras thermal power stationwhich has become a laughingstock due to its frequent breakdownsit can hardly be said that Cubans are accustomed to spending many hours without electricity. Although this is a situation that the islands inhabitants have experienced since the early 1990s, it has gotten worse in recent years. Few things arouse the populations anger as much as a blackout, because it brings stifling heat, mosquitoes, food that begins to spoil, no gas for cooking, a dwindling water supply, and children struggling to get to school.

So when the Cuban Electricity Union (UNE) confirmed that the grid had completely failed at 9:14 a.m. on Wednesday, the situation had already exhausted Cubans patience. Go away, all of you, its what you need to do now; Ive developed anxiety due to the daily stress, its 2025 and nothings improving; How much longer? Please think of the people, at least once in your life, some users wrote on X.

A police officer controls traffic in Havana this Wednesday. Ernesto Mastrascusa (EFE)

A failure in the largest power plant

In a brief statement, the Cuban Ministry of Energy and Mines said that, although the causes were still being investigated, the blackout could be associated with an unexpected shutdown at Guiteras, the countrys largest thermal power plant. They also assured that they would begin the process of restoring electricity. We have a well-defined strategy to address this situation, Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero said on X, adding that they would work in the shortest possible time to restore the system.

Just after 3 p.m., the UNE reported that they had more than 200 megawatts in microelectrical systems distributed throughout the country, and that they had prioritized essential locations such as hospitals, bakeries and water pumping stations. President Miguel Diaz-Canelwhom people were asking about, since he hadnt commented on the situationemerged hours later with a post on X saying that they were working hard and that each province was taking its own measures to restore electricity.

Even so, Cubans live with the knowledge that its just a matter of hours before the next blackout hits. Massive or not, this is the daily routine on an island where experts see no possible solution in an aging and completely deteriorated electricity system, lacking the necessary maintenance and infrastructure. This is compounded by the fuel shortage in a country that lacks the foreign currency to guarantee electricity in every Cuban home. Experts have estimated that overhauling the electrical system would cost between $8 and $10 billion.

Jorge Pinon, an energy expert who predicted the blackout in October of last year, told EL PAIS that, despite the temporary fixes the government put in place to overcome the immediate collapse, he did not see a change in the Cuban electricity sector possible until the government changes its economic model, decentralizes the economy, and allows open investment, something that, he warned, could take years. That doesnt happen overnight. Neither the oil coming from Venezuela or Mexico, nor the aid coming from China and Russia is sufficient for a country in a systemic crisis.

Some Cubans manage to cope with the electricity shortage with solar panels or generators, often purchased by relatives abroad. Others, on the verge of desperation, have taken to the streets in protests that are quickly silenced by the authorities. This Wednesday, the official UNE account was forced to deny that the official institution was inciting Cubans to take to the streets, as recently happened in Nepal, after messages circulated on social media comparing the situation in Cuba with that Asian country and calling for Cubans to take the island by force.

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Patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) often describe the condition as painful, disruptive and frightening. The rare chronic disease causes inflammation of the esophagus, leading to abdominal pain, difficulty swallowing, vomiting and, in some cases, food getting stuck in the throat.

Now, a University of Cincinnati College of Medicine researcher has received new funding to expand her investigations into the underlying causes of EoE and potential new treatments.

Simin Zhang, MD, an allergist and research assistant professor in the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology in the Department of Internal Medicine, has been awarded a three-year, $300,000 grant from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Her research focuses on the roles of mast cells - or allergic immune cells - and their interactions with fibroblasts, the structural cells which can both repair and damage tissue.

Mast cells are a key part of the allergic immune response, but we don't fully understand their role in eosinophilic esophagitis. We are investigating how mast cells interact with fibroblasts in the esophagus and whether interrupting that interaction could prevent inflammation and tissue damage." Simin Zhang, MD, allergist and research assistant professor, Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Cincinnati

Understanding a complex disease

The esophagus is the muscular tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach. In EoE, unusually high numbers of white blood cells called eosinophils build up in the esophageal tissue, causing irritation and injury. Over time, this can result in scarring and narrowing of the esophagus, a condition known as stricturing, which can make eating painful and increase the risk of food becoming lodged, sometimes requiring endoscopic removal or dilation of the esophagus.

Unlike some food allergies that trigger immediate, life-threatening anaphylaxis, EoE causes a slower, more prolonged immune response. Many patients with EoE also live with other allergic conditions such as anaphylactic food allergies, asthma, hay fever and eczema. Physicians often describe this pattern as part of the "atopic march" in which allergic diseases emerge and overlap throughout a patient's life.

While the exact cause of EoE remains unknown, having a personal or family history of allergies appears to raise the risk. The condition affects both children and adults, often requiring lifelong management.

A collaborative approach

In addition to her role at UC, Zhang holds a dual appointment at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, where she conducts research and provides clinical care through the Cincinnati Center for Eosinophilic Disorders (CCED), a facility that is internationally recognized for advancing both treatment and research for EoE and related conditions.

Zhang's work bridges laboratory discovery and patient care. "Our research has the potential to identify new ways of treating a disease that affects quality of life for both children and adults," she said.

She added that she is motivated by the challenges her patients face every day. "Many people with EoE struggle just to eat a meal without fear," said Zhang. "Our goal is to uncover the mechanisms driving the disease and ultimately improve therapies so that patients can live more comfortably."
Akal Takht Jathedar meets head of Ayyavazhi in Tamil Nadus Swamithope

Last Updated: September 12, 2025, 01:00 IST

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Amritsar, Sep 11 (PTI) The officiating Jathedar of the Akal Takht, Giani Kuldip Singh Gargaj, on Thursday visited the headquarters of the Ayyavazhi community in Tamil Nadus Swamithope to express solidarity with the community residing in the southern part of the country and to gain knowledge and understanding about them.

He met Ayyavazhi head Bala Prajapathi Adikalar.

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According to a statement issued by the secretariat of the Akal Takht, Bala Prajapathi honoured Gargaj with a traditional local garland.

The jathedar also toured the Ayyavazhi Ashram and visited the original house of Ayya Vaikundar, the founder of Ayyavazhi. He also viewed ancient palm-leaf manuscripts written in Tamil preserved there. Gargaj visited the community well and drank its water.

Gargaj said he noted several important aspects of this community.

Bala Prajapathi belongs to the sixth generation of ancestors who raised their voice against casteism, untouchability, discrimination, and neglect.

The jathedar further noted that he saw a well where all members of the community, regardless of their background, bath without discrimination.

He said the community was denied the right to build raised platforms or windows in their homes, adding the community was suppressed to such an extent that orders even prohibited them from being seen by others.

Gargaj further said the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak Dev, had raised his voice against untouchability, neglect, and caste-based discrimination nearly five centuries ago.

The Sikh Gurus recorded the condition of society during their times in their sacred verses. The Gurus uplifted the so-called lower classes and gave them Sardari (dignity and leadership).

I felt that our community shares many similarities with this one  they wear turbans, do not cut their hair, bath in the well without discrimination, reject caste, colour, or class divisions, and embrace all with love. Here, I experienced the teachings of the Sikh Gurus," he said.

He said Guru Nanak Dev also travelled to this southern region during his Udasis, passing through Thoothukudi to Sri Lanka, and also visiting Rameshwaram.

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These people learned, understood, and adopted the Gurus teachings," he added.

The Jathedar said that he has invited Bala Prajapathi to visit the Akal Takht and Harmandar Sahib in Amritsar, where further discussions on our communities, teachings, and principles would take place. PTI JMS CHS MNK MNK

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First Published: September 12, 2025, 01:00 IST

News agency-feeds Akal Takht Jathedar meets head of Ayyavazhi in Tamil Nadus Swamithope

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Andhra govt announces Indias first Quantum reference facility at Amaravati

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 21:30 IST

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Amaravati, Sep 11 (PTI) The Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday announced the establishment of Indias first Quantum reference facility at Amaravati Quantum Valley with an estimated outlay of Rs 40 crore.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said that the facility will provide testing, benchmarking, and characterisation of quantum components, laying the foundation for indigenous manufacturing of quantum computers from Amaravati.

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We will establish Indias first Quantum reference facility at Amaravati Quantum Valley. The facility will be set up at an estimated cost of Rs 40 crore," said an official release quoting Naidu.

The CM said that Amaravati Quantum Valley will not just be a hub for research, but also the birthplace of Indias indigenous quantum computer manufacturing ecosystem.

The CM chaired a meeting with leading startups, academic institutions, research organisations and global partners engaged in the development of quantum hardware.

The National Quantum Mission (NQM) and Department of Science & Technology (DST) are providing policy and programmatic support, while International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) are serving as strategic anchors, said the release.

The chief minister said the Amaravati facility will accelerate indigenous innovation by reducing dependency on imports and align with the Government of Indias National Quantum Mission.

The initiative positions Andhra Pradesh as a global hub for deep-tech innovation and advanced quantum manufacturing, said the release.

Meanwhile, Naidu said that Amber Enterprises India Ltd will invest Rs 200 crore in Amaravati to establish Indias first Quantum Cryogenic Components facility in Amaravati.

He said that the project aims to strengthen Indias domestic quantum hardware ecosystem by developing cryogenic solutions, a crucial technology for superconducting quantum computers, aligned with the Government of Indias National Quantum Mission.

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Amber Enterprises India Ltd., confirmed the companys commitment to invest Rs 200 crore in a phased manner for the establishment of Indias first Quantum Cryogenic Components facility in Amaravati," said an official release.

The CM emphasised that the southern state is becoming a preferred hub for futuristic industries, positioning Amaravati as a global centre for deep-tech innovation, advanced electronics and component manufacturing under the Quantum Valley vision. PTI MS KH

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First Published: September 11, 2025, 21:30 IST

News agency-feeds Andhra govt announces Indias first Quantum reference facility at Amaravati

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Five dead, more than 10 injured in bus accident in Lucknow

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 21:30 IST

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Lucknow, Sep 11 (PTI) Five people died and more than 10 were injured when a roadways bus overturned in the Kakori area here on Thursday, police said.

According to locals, the bus was coming from Hardoi when its driver lost control of the vehicle and it collided with a water tanker before plunging into a 20-ft-deep ditch.

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Road construction work was going on at the site and water was being sprinkled on the stretch when the accident occurred, the locals said.

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Police Commissioner, Lucknow, Amrendra Singh Sengar said five people died and over 10 were injured in the accident.

Rescue teams, assisted by locals, pulled out the injured passengers and shifted them to the Kakori community health centre. The rescue operation is continuing, police said. PTI ABN DIV DIV DIV

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First Published: September 11, 2025, 21:30 IST

News agency-feeds Five dead, more than 10 injured in bus accident in Lucknow

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Jadavpur University female student found unconscious in campus, dies

Last Updated: September 12, 2025, 01:00 IST

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Kolkata, Sep 11 (PTI) A female student of Jadavpur University (JU) was declared dead after being rushed to a nearby hospital in unconscious state on Thursday night, a senior university official said.

The student of English third year undergraduate course was found in an unconscious state on the side of a water body in the campus.

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She was chatting with her classmates there in the evening, another university official said, adding that the circumstances behind the incident were not clear.

The student was rushed to a nearby private medical college and hospital by her friends and other varsity staff but declared dead on arrival, the official said.

The university authorities did not divulge the name of the student.

Senior university officials and other faculty members and members of Arts Faculty Students Union went to the hospital.

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The university authorities informed the Jadavpur police station and policemen went to the hospital.

The incident comes two years after the death of a first-year Bengali honours student in the boys hostel after falling from a balcony following ragging by his seniors. The incident triggered an uproar and led to arrests of several students. PTI SUS DIV MNK MNK

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First Published: September 12, 2025, 01:00 IST

News agency-feeds Jadavpur University female student found unconscious in campus, dies

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Kerala church holds rare farewell for long-time security guard, a non-Christian

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 20:15 IST

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Pathanamthitta (Kerala), Sep 11 (PTI) In a first-of-its-kind tribute, a church in Kerala opened its doors on September 10 to honour one of its own  for the first time, a non-Christian.

E V Ajikumar (59), who worked as a security guard at the Marthoma Church in Kozhencherry here for 23 years, died on Sunday afternoon at his residence following a cardiac arrest.

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Only hours earlier, he had reported for duty at the church as usual.

As a mark of gratitude for his years of service, the parish and church committee decided unanimously to place his body inside the church before it was taken to his home for cremation according to Hindu tradition.

His body was brought to the church from the mortuary at 8.30 am on Wednesday, and parishioners, led by priests, paid their respects and offered prayers before it was taken to his residence for cremation.

He was a gentle and kind man, and he earned the respect of all parish members during his service here," Rev Abraham Thomas, vicar of the church, told PTI.

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For the parish community, the decision was more than symbolic.

It reflected the bond Ajikumar had built over two decades a quiet life of duty, kindness and respect that went beyond faith and tradition, Rev Thomas said. PTI COR TGB TGB KH

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First Published: September 11, 2025, 20:15 IST

News agency-feeds Kerala church holds rare farewell for long-time security guard, a non-Christian

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Rajasthan: Youth dragged from his car, beaten to death

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 19:45 IST

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Jaisalmer, Sep 11 (PTI) A 19-year-old youth was allegedly beaten to death on Thursday in Rajasthans Jaisalmer, officials said.

Police said the incident occurred in the Ramdevra police station area, while Aneesh was driving a jeep, when, allegedly, a group of assailants stopped him, dragged him out of the vehicle, and hit him with sticks.

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He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where the doctors declared him dead," police said.

According to a preliminary investigation, Aneesh was attacked by his cousins and others over an old dispute.

Aneesh and his uncle allegedly had a scuffle a while ago, the police claimed, adding that the uncles sons and others were tracking Aneeshs movement and attacked him on Thursday.

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Meanwhile, the body has been shifted to the mortuary for a postmortem.

The deceaseds family has demanded the immediate arrest of the accused. The police have launched a search to nab them. PTI COR SDA ANM ANM MPL MPL

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First Published: September 11, 2025, 19:45 IST

News agency-feeds Rajasthan: Youth dragged from his car, beaten to death

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UN employee released in wake of Israeli strikes in Yemen, Jordan says

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 23:30 IST

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Sanaa, Sep 11 (AP) A United Nations employee was released from detention by Houthi rebels in Yemens capital city and was on her way home to Jordan, the Jordanian foreign ministry said on Thursday.

The freeing of Lana Shukri Kataw, the deputy director of UNICEF, was announced at a time of high tensions in Yemen and the larger region. Israeli strikes on Yemen on Wednesday killed at least 35 people and wounded more than 130 others.

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Kataw was one of at least 19 UN staffers who were detained on August 31 when the Iranian-backed Houthi rebel group raided their offices in the capital city of Sanaa.

The Houthis have not given a reason for taking the UN staffers hostage. But the raids were the latest in a long-running Houthi crackdown on the UN and other international organizations as well as diplomats working in rebel-held areas.

In 2024, they detained at least 11 UN employees and days later said they had arrested suspected members of an espionage network. The United Nations has denied those allegations.

The raids on offices of the United Nations food, health and childrens agencies in Sanaa followed Israels killing of Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi and several Cabinet ministers in an airstrike the week before.

It was not immediately clear exactly when Kataw was released or whether the other staffers had also been freed.

Airstrikes this week Israel carried out airstrikes on Yemen on Wednesday and rescue efforts continued on Thursday.

The victims in Wednesdays Israeli airstrikes in Yemen included at least two local journalists, Abduallah al-Bahri and Abbas al-Delmi, who were killed in the strikes in central Sanaa, the families told The Associated Press on Thursday.

They worked for news outlets called 26 September and Sabaa news agency.

Damage to Yemens national museum The airstrikes also caused damaged to Yemens national museum and other historical sites in the capital, the Houthi Ministry of Culture said Thursday.

The status of the artifacts inside the museum is still unclear, but thousands of historical artifacts are at risk of damage, according to the ministry. AP photos and video footage from the site of Wednesdays strike showed damage to the buildings facade.

The ministry called on the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO to condemn the attack and to intervene to help protect the historical building and its artifacts.

Most of those killed were in Sanaa, the capital, where a military headquarters and a fuel station were hit on Wednesday, the Houthi-run health ministry said.

Israel has previously launched waves of airstrikes in response to the Houthis firing of missiles and drones at Israel. The Iran-backed Houthis say they are supporting Hamas and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and on Sunday they sent a drone that breached Israels multilayered air defences and slammed into a southern airport.

Israeli strikes in Lebanon Separately, the Israeli military said Thursday it carried out strikes in Lebanon targeting what it described as a Hezbollah site used for the production and storage of strategic weapons" in the Bekaa valley and infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in the area of Zrariyeh in the south.

Earlier, Lebanons health ministry said one person was killed in an Israeli drone strike targeting a motorcyclist near the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon. Lebanese officials also said Israeli forces entered the border village of Aita al-Shaab and carried out a controlled demolition of a building that had previously been a school for special needs students.

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Since a US-brokered ceasefire halted the latest Israel-Hezbollah war in November, Israel has continued to carry out near-daily strikes in Lebanon that it says are aimed at stopping the militant group from rebuilding its capabilities.

Lebanese officials say the strikes are in violation of the ceasefire. (AP) RD RD

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First Published: September 11, 2025, 23:30 IST

News agency-feeds UN employee released in wake of Israeli strikes in Yemen, Jordan says

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Shringar House of Mangalsutra Vs Dev Accelerator Vs Urban Co IPO: Check Subscription Status & GMP

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 17:58 IST

The primary market is buzzing this week with three mainboard issues opening for subscription  Dev Accelerator, Shringar House of Mangalsutra, and Urban Company.

Shringar House of Mangalsutra IPO Vs Dev Accelerator IPO Vs Urban Company IPO.

Shringar House of Mangalsutra IPO Vs Dev Accelerator IPO Vs Urban Company IPO: The primary market is buzzing this week with three mainboard issues opening for subscription  Dev Accelerator, Shringar House of Mangalsutra, and Urban Company. The IPOs are drawing attention from retail investors because of their due to high subscriptions and strong grey market activity. Here are their subscription status and GMP on Day 2.

The IPOs will be closed tomorrow, September 12.

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Dev Accelerator IPO

Ahmedabad-based Dev Accelerator Ltd, a provider of flexible office spaces, has set a price band in the range of Rs 56 to Rs 61 per share. At the upper end, the companys valuation comes to around Rs 550 crore. The issue is open for subscription between September 10 and 12, with the tentative listing date fixed for September 17, 2025.

In the grey market, Dev Accelerator is quoting a premium of Rs 8 (or 13.11%) over its upper IPO price.

On the second day of bidding, the issue received a 16.11x subscription, garnering bids for 21,18,11,375 shares as against the 1,31,47,075 shares on offer.

The retail and NII participation stood at 59.48x and 15.36x, respectively. The QIB category was subscribed by 2.40x.

Shringar House of Mangalsutra IPO

Mumbai-based jewellery firm Shringar House of Mangalsutra has comed out with its maiden issue at a price band of Rs 155-Rs 165 per share. The IPO will remain open for bidding from September 10 to 12, with listing also expected on September 17.

The issue has attracted decent grey market interest, with its latest GMP at Rs 27. Based on this, the stock could list around Rs 192, implying an 16.36% premium.

On the second day of bidding, the issue received a 8.26x subscription, garnering bids for 14,05,96,020 shares as against the 1,70,16,000 shares on offer.

The retail and NII participation stood at 9.65x and 14.81x, respectively. The QIB category received a 0.86x subscription.

Urban Company IPO

The weeks biggest name is app-based services platform Urban Company. Backed by strong anchor investor participation, the company has already mobilised Rs 854 crore ahead of its public offer. The Rs 1,900-crore IPO is priced at Rs 98-Rs 103 per share, valuing the business at nearly Rs 14,790 crore. Subscriptions will run from September 10 to 12, and listing is slated for September 17.

In the grey market, Urban Company is trading at a premium of Rs 39, suggesting a potential listing price of around Rs 142 per share  nearly 37.86% above the upper price band.

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On the second day of bidding, the issue received a 9.48x subscription, garnering bids for 96,32,29,055 shares as against the 10,15,65,534 shares on offer.

The retail and NII participation stood at 18.67x and 19.15x, respectively. The QIB category was subscribed by 1.56x.

About the Author Mohammad Haris Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to personal finance, markets, economy and companies. Having over a decade of experience in financial journalis... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 11:18 IST

News business ipo Shringar House of Mangalsutra Vs Dev Accelerator Vs Urban Co IPO: Check Subscription Status & GMP

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Infosys Set To Announce Share Buyback: Key Details Investors Should Watch Out For

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 14:03 IST

Infosys, one of Indias largest IT services companies, is expected to announce a share buyback worth Rs 10,00015,000 crore today; Know details

Infosys Share Buyback (File Photo)

Infosys, one of Indias largest IT services companies, is expected to announce a share buyback worth Rs 10,00015,000 crore today, representing about 3% of its outstanding equity. This will be the fifth buyback since its listing, and investor focus remains on how the stock will react post-announcement.

Mixed Track Record on Past Buybacks

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The companys first buyback in 2017, worth Rs 13,000 crore, saw the stock decline 7% in the first month but recover to post 13% gains over six months, according to reports. The method of buybacktender offer versus open marketwill be closely watched:

Tender Offer: Shares are purchased from existing shareholders at a fixed premium to market price, within a set timeframe.

Open Market: The company buys shares directly on exchanges at prevailing prices, without guaranteeing a premium.

Infosys last buyback in 2022 was via the open market at Rs 1,850 apiece.

Current Stock & Valuation

On Thursday, Infosys shares slipped over 1.25% to Rs 1,513, dragging its market capitalisation below Rs 6.3 lakh crore. The stock is down nearly 20% over the past year and is trading about 25% below its 52-week high of Rs 2,006.80.

The consensus target price for Infosys stands at Rs 1,743, implying a potential upside of 15%. The most bullish estimate pegs the stock at Rs 2,085, about 38% higher. Analysts suggest the buyback price could be set at a 2530% premium, likely in the Rs 1,8001,900 range.

Financial Capacity for Buyback

Equity capital & reserves: Rs 95,819 crore (including Rs 2,074 crore paid-up equity and Rs 93,745 crore reserves).

Cash & equivalents: Rs 45,200 crore.Historically, Infosys has spent ~12% of its equity and reserves, implying a potential buyback size of ~Rs 11,500 crore. If the company uses ~30% of its cash reserves, the figure could rise to ~Rs 13,560 crore.

Other Business Updates

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Infosys announced that its subsidiary Infosys Finacle, part of EdgeVerve Systems, and PT Bank CTBC Indonesia (a subsidiary of Taiwans CTBC Group) successfully deployed the Finacle Digital Banking Solution Suite on a cloud-hosted model. The deployment will enhance operational efficiency, scalability, and speed to market for new offerings.

Hong Kong-based brokerage CLSA noted that Infosys buyback could create incremental pressure on peer Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to consider a similar move as a confidence-building measure in the current weak demand environment. TCS last conducted a share buyback in December 2023.

About the Author Aparna Deb Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, ... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 13:53 IST

News business markets Infosys Set To Announce Share Buyback: Key Details Investors Should Watch Out For

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Two blows on the geopolitical chessboard separated by only a few hours have served to highlight the failure to date of Donald Trumps strategy to achieve peace in the two wars he promised to end as soon as he took office. They have also called into question the Republicans international credibility and his image as the leader of a strongman club that also includes Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, two leaders determined to test his patience.

First, there was the unilateral Israeli strike against Hamas leaders in Doha, the capital of Qatar. The White House later acknowledged that Washington had not been warned of the operation, although the U.S. military did alert Trump, who that evening in an unusual gesture criticized Netanyahu, his great ally in the Middle East (and also, in both their words, a friend), for bombing another U.S. ally in the region.

A damaged building, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders, according to an Israeli official, in Doha, Qatar, September 9, 2025. Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (REUTERS)

Afterward, Trump shared his discontent with the press. We have to secure the release of the hostages. But Im very disappointed with how everything unfolded, he declared, referring to the fact that his special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, warned Qatari authorities of the attack, as requested by Trump, when the bombs were already falling on Doha.

Around the same time Trump made those remarks outside a Washington restaurant, news broke that 19 Russian drones had been shot down after entering Polish airspace. This marks Moscows first real act of intimidation against a NATO member since the start of the war in Ukraine three and a half years ago, and one that can be interpreted as an escalation of the conflict with unpredictable consequences. Poland shot down the unmanned aircraft with the help of other NATO allies (such as the Netherlands, which provided two F-35s), and Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the incident as an act of aggression.

The Kremlin maintains that Warsaw was not the target, and neighboring Belarus, a Moscow ally, claims the drones flew off course. Until the incident is clarified (NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Wednesday that, whether it was intentional or not, it is absolutely reckless. It is absolutely dangerous, and pointed out that it was not an isolated incident), one thing is clear: Putin continues to play games with Trump without too many consequences.

During the election campaign that brought him back to the White House, Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine on his first day in office: now 233 days have passed, and there has been no progress worthy of the name toward achieving peace between Moscow and Kyiv. It has also been 22 days since Putin and Trump met at a military base in Anchorage, Alaska, a meeting in which the U.S. president not only brought his counterpart out of international isolation and shelved threats to impose new tariffs on Russia to force the Kremlin to alter its course, but also accepted Putins main demands to begin talks on ending the war. In total, Russia has occupied about 20% of Ukraines territory.

Since then, Putin has been heaping praise on Trump while intensifying his war effort, which, in addition to the invasion of Polish airspace, has included the largest missile and drone attack to date, launched last Sunday. All these military actions appear designed to provoke Trump into toughening his stance on Russia and to make clear that Putin is only willing to end the war in Ukraine on his own terms.

The drone incursion into Poland comes a week after a visit to Washington by Polish President Karol Nawrocki, the ultranationalist historian and amateur boxer with whom Trump shares a personal connection. During that visit, the U.S. president promised that his country would maintain a strong military presence in Poland. We will support you at all times, Trump promised.

Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski addressed the Republican during a press conference in Warsaw on Wednesday, demanding that he fulfill those promises. Putin laughs at President Trumps peace efforts, Sikorski declared. Since Alaska, he has only escalated the war. I hope [the U.S. president] backs up his words with actions.

While we wait to see whether Sikorskis wishes are fulfilled and Washingtons reaction to Poland  a country with which the United States shares NATO membership and with which it is therefore bound by a commitment to mutual defense as provided for in Article 5 of the NATO Treaty  we can conclude that Russias provocation and Israels unilateral actions are undermining the image Trump seeks to project: that of a statesman who came to restore order to the international stage. They are also undermining his aspirations to win the Nobel Peace Prize, an award he believes he deserves for his efforts to end the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

Its ironic that on Tuesday, while the Polish army shot down Russian drones, Trump exerted another kind of pressure on the Kremlin  certainly softer, almost armchair-like  by urging his EU allies to impose tariffs of up to 100% on China and India, the main buyers of Russian oil, as part of a strategy to pressure Putin, according to several U.S. media reports.

An EU delegation is currently in Washington to discuss coordinating sanctions between the two allies. According to Reuters, the operation would be completed with the imposition of similar tariffs by Washington, once the EU has taken the first step. If it is proven that the drone crisis in Poland is part of Putins plan to escalate the conflict beyond Ukraine, these economic weapons may not be enough.

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RBI Acquires 4.6-Acre Nariman Point Land From MMRCL For Rs 3,472 Crore

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 09:15 IST

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has bought a 4.61-acre land parcel at Nariman Point in South Mumbai

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has bought a 4.61-acre land parcel at Nariman Point in South Mumbai from the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) for 3,472 crore, in what is among the largest land transactions in India this year, The Economic Times reported.

The prime plot lies close to Mantralaya, the Bombay High Court, and several corporate headquarters, reinforcing its long-term institutional value.

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According to ET, MMRCL had initially planned to auction the land through a global tender, as first reported by the publication in October last year. It was set to be the first-ever auction of land in Nariman Point since its emergence as a planned commercial district in the 1970s. However, the tender was cancelled after the central bank expressed interest in January to expand its headquarters.

The deal, registered on September 5, also attracted stamp duty of over 208 crore, according to documents accessed via CRE Matrix.

For RBI, the purchase represents a significant expansion of its real estate footprint in Mumbai, where it already owns its Mint Road headquarters and other properties. The newly acquired site is expected to be developed for institutional purposes, strengthening the central banks presence in Indias financial hub.

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ET noted that MMRCL, tasked with developing metro projects in Mumbai, has been monetising land parcels in south and central Mumbai to fund the citys metro expansion.

Despite the rise of newer business hubs such as Bandra-Kurla Complex and Lower Parel, property consultants told ET that the scale and location of the RBI deal highlight Nariman Points enduring premium in Mumbais commercial real estate market.

About the Author Aparna Deb Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, ... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 09:15 IST

News business real-estate RBI Acquires 4.6-Acre Nariman Point Land From MMRCL For Rs 3,472 Crore

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Starting With Just Rs 10,000, Here's How This Investor Built A Rs 60 Crore Portfolio

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 17:58 IST

His portfolio was built from scratch over 15 years, with 90% in mid- and small-cap funds averaging 1718% returns

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Calling himself a sleepy investor, he says he prefers steady, disciplined investing over high-risk ventures. (News18 Hindi)

The world of mutual funds has witnessed remarkable success through disciplined investing, and Gajendra Kotharis journey exemplifies how Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) can build substantial wealth over time.

Initially, Kothari squandered Rs 50 lakh in Futures and Options (F&O) trading, but once he understood the importance of SIPs, he began investing Rs 10,000 monthly. Astonishingly, his monthly SIP now surpasses Rs 40 lakh, making his story a beacon for mutual fund investors.

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Kothari, who aims to have a Rs 3,000 crore portfolio by age 65, is the founder of Etica Wealth Capital.

His entry into mutual funds began in 2004 at age 24, when he joined UTI Mutual Fund after reaching Mumbai through campus placement. At that time, the mutual fund industry was valued at Rs 2-3 lakh crore, far smaller than todays Rs 75 lakh crore.

Kothari initially had little knowledge of mutual funds, and the industry itself offered minimal awareness. Those around him doubted the potential of wealth creation through mutual funds. In his early years, he made several mistakesinvesting in ELSS funds solely for tax savings without understanding the power of compounding. With a salary of just Rs 30,000, saving in Mumbais costly lifestyle was challenging, and even more so after marriage.

Lost Rs 50 Lakh In F&O Trading

He later got an opportunity to work in London, where his income grew significantly. However, he soon made the biggest mistake of his life, investing two years savings in F&O (Futures and Options) trading. When global markets crashed in 2008, he got caught in day-trading and leveraged positions, losing Rs 50 lakh, a huge sum at the time. The loss left him shocked and wary of the markets, but it taught him a vital lesson: disciplined investing, not speculation, is key.

Gajendra Kothari said in an interview, This was the most valuable lesson of my life, though it cost me Rs 50 lakh." This experience inspired him to start his own firm. While at UTI, he advised high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and realized he could simplify investing for everyday investors. In 2009, despite the industry facing challenges after SEBIs entry load ban, Gajendra launched Etica Wealth.

Small Investment, Big Dreams

His first SIP, started in August 2010, was Rs 10,000 monthly split between small cap funds and ELSS funds. His simple philosophy was, If Im advising clients to invest through SIPs, I should start with one myself." When his daughter was born in December, he continued the SIP without interruption. He neither added nor withdrew funds and never missed an installment. Over 15 years, his total investment of Rs 18 lakh grew to Rs 86 lakh, with the small-cap fund delivering a CAGR of 21% and the ELSS fund a CAGR of 18%.

Kothari said, This is the first SIP of my life, and I will never touch it. It will be my longest-term investment and teach me the most." This SIP showcases the power of compounding: his first installment of Rs 5,000 has grown to Rs 55,00060,000, nearly 1112 times. He adds, Imagine, in 30 years, each installment could reach Rs 7 lakh, over 140 times the original amount!"

During COVID-19 in 2020, his SIP returns were just 7% after 10 years, but he remained patient. Compared to a PPF yielding 7.1% guaranteed, his investment was delivering 18%, all tax-free, as he never sold any units.

SIP Growth: From Rs 10,000 To Rs 41 Lakh

Kothari gradually increased his SIP contributions, starting with Rs 10,000, then Rs 50,000, Rs 1 lakh, and by 2020, he was investing Rs 67 lakh per month. Today, his monthly SIP stands at Rs 41.2 lakh, amounting to nearly Rs 5 crore annually. Gajendra earned all this money through his job and business, what is known as active income, and consistently invested it into SIPs.

Kothari advises, Focus on active income during the first 15 years, as that forms the foundation for investments. As you grow older, passive income from SIPs will surpass it."

About 90% of his wealth came from SIPs, achieved automatically. Whether the market was at 85,000 or 80,000, his SIPs continued uninterrupted. If it had been done manually, you might have missed payments or stopped investing," he adds.

Current Size Of Gajendra Kotharis Portfolio

Kotharis portfolio today is valued at Rs 60 crore, built from scratch over 15 years. He reveals that 90% of his investments are in mid- and small-cap funds, yielding average returns of 1718%. He avoids FDs, PPF, crypto, and direct stocks, despite holding a CFA and an MBA in Finance. Calling himself a sleepy investor," he says he prefers steady, disciplined investing over high-risk ventures.

Gajendra Kotharis Investment Strategy

Kotharis investment strategy takes a contrarian approach. He invests in underperforming sectorsfor instance, putting Rs 20 lakh into China Tech when it dropped 50%, and another Rs 40 lakh when it fell 45%. Today, his portfolio enjoys a CAGR of around 23%.

His journey wasnt easy. The 2008 crash wiped out much of his wealth, but he learned that markets are cyclical, and volatility creates opportunities. Even during COVID, when returns fell to 7%, he remained patient.

Kothari says, The market gives you the returns you deserve. Staying disciplined is crucial. Investing is a mathematical game. The process must never be interrupted."

Investment Tips For Everyday Investors

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Start Small: Begin with an initial investment of Rs 10,000, gradually increasing over time.

Begin with an initial investment of Rs 10,000, gradually increasing over time. Automation: SIPs work best when automated, reducing the need for constant decision-making.

SIPs work best when automated, reducing the need for constant decision-making. Patience: Investments should continue even during market downturns, with additional funds allocated when markets show recovery.

Investments should continue even during market downturns, with additional funds allocated when markets show recovery. Active Income: Growth in income provides the source for further investments.

Growth in income provides the source for further investments. Tax Efficiency: Holding investments long-term helps save on taxes.

Holding investments long-term helps save on taxes. Portfolio Management: Maintaining a portfolio of 56 well-chosen funds ensures better control and diversification.

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: The views and investment tips by experts in this News18.com report are their own and not those of the website or its management. Users are advised to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

First Published: September 11, 2025, 17:58 IST

News business savings-and-investments Starting With Just Rs 10,000, Here's How This Investor Built A Rs 60 Crore Portfolio

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After DKS RSS Anthem Row, Now Karnataka Home Minister Attends ABVP Event

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 09:52 IST

The event was held on the occasion of the 500th birth anniversary of warrior queen Rani Abbakka

A row has erupted after G Parameshwara attended an event organised by ABVP

Weeks after Karnatakas deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar sparked a row after singing two line of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sanghs (RSS) anthem in the assembly, another controversy has erupted after state Home Minister G Parameshwara attended an event organised by the ABVP.

Parameshwara had attended an event in Tiptur, Tumakuru district, organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a student wing of BJP, on the occasion of the 500th birth anniversary of warrior queen Rani Abbakka and featured a chariot procession and rally.

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Last month, Shivakumar sang a part of RSS anthem Namaste Sada Vatsale Maatrubhoome" during a debate on August 21in the assembly on the June 4 stampede at M Chinnaswamy stadium during the celebrations of RCBs first IPL win.

Location : Tumkur, India, India

First Published: September 11, 2025, 09:51 IST

News bengaluru-news After DKS RSS Anthem Row, Now Karnataka Home Minister Attends ABVP Event

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Class 10 Boy Allegedly Sexually Assaulted By Seniors In Bengaluru School; Warden Arrested

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 10:20 IST

According to the complaint, the victim was stripped on September 3 and forced to dance naked. He was also hit by several objects, including steel hangers.

The warden has been arrested for 'encouraging ragging' (Representative image)

A warden of a private residential school in Bengaluru was arrested after a class 10 student on Wednesday alleged that he was sexually harassed and subjected to ragging" by the students of classes 11 and 12. He also stated that the hostel warden encouraged the ragging and harassment."

According to the complaint filed by the students parents on September 8, the incident reportedly took place in the hostel premises of the school, and the warden allegedly encouraged" it.

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The boy also alleged that despite his reporting about the incident to the warden and principal, no action was taken against any of the accused students.

In the complaint, the father of the victim boy alleged that his son was stripped on September 3 and forced to dance naked. He was also hit by several objects, including steel hangers.

This did not stop here. The boy was assaulted again on September 4. He was stripped and forced to dance naked. When he stopped dancing, the accused students sexually assaulted him.

The victim student was further assaulted on the nights of September 5 and 6, reported the Times Of India.

Based on the allegations, we have registered a case under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and arrested the hostel warden. A detailed inquiry is underway," a senior police officer was quoted as saying by PTI.

A further probe in the matter is underway, and the police are also verifying the charges made against the school principal.

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Meanwhile, in a separate incident that took place in the Morampudi district of Andhra Pradesh earlier this month, a class 10th student was brutally ragged and burnt by the hostelmates at Sri Chaitanya Hostel in Morampudi.

The victim alleged that the accused threatened to kill him if he reported the matter. A complaint was filed in connection with the incident by the students mother.

About the Author Anushka Vats Anushka Vats is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for storytelling and a curiosity that extends beyond the newsroom. She covers both national and international news. For more stories, you can ... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 10:20 IST

News bengaluru-news Class 10 Boy Allegedly Sexually Assaulted By Seniors In Bengaluru School; Warden Arrested

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Is NH48 A Death Trap? Bombay Parsi Panchayat Warns Nitin Gadkari About Highway To Hell. Are Dahisar-Talasari Locals At Risk?

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 14:35 IST

The Bombay Parsi Punchayat lambasted the conditions of the NH48 and demanded immediate action from the Minister of Road Transport and Highways.

The NH48 connects Parsis to the pilgrimage site of Udvada. (Photo Credits: X)

Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, received a letter from the Bombay Parsi Punchayat (BPP) detailing complaints over the terrible condition of the National Highway (NH48). The highway connects Dahisar and Talasari. In a letter issued to the ministry, the BPP brought to Gadkaris notice the poor state of the NH48 and the public inconvenience it continues to cause.

The angered community has demanded immediate course corrections on the highway, which is the only active road connecting people to the pilgrimage site of Udvada. Located in south Gujarat, Udvada is host to the communitys most important fire temple, the Iranshah.

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NH-48 Dahisar to Talasari has become a death trap and our community members and senior citizens suffer untold hardships due to poor construction done by NHAI-appointed contractorsAll we ask are for our fundamental rights to good roads so that precious lives are not lost," wrote BPP in the letter.

BPP Trustee On NH48

Speaking to the Times of India, BPP trustee Adil Malia confirmed there is anger brewing within the normally reticent community about the pathetic conditions of the highway after it lost industrialist Cyrus Mistry. One of BPPs esteemed members, Mistry, died following a tragic accident on that road amidst poor conditions and unregulated traffic.

The community has no alternative but to travel on NH48 and the route between Dahisar and Talasari is literally a Death Trap. Several near-fatal and serious accidents have been reported," Malia said.

Filly Bapuna, who helps raise funds for BPP, emphasised, Driving on the NH-48 is a harrowing experience. It was cemented a few months ago, but there are already potholes everywhere. A new Range Rover had a tyre burst twice on this stretch."

Accidents Occur On NH48 Despite Rs 600 Crore Investment

According to highway activist Harbans Singh Nanade, traffic jams and accidents on the NH48 are a common occurrence. The situation is horrible despite the repair spending worth Rs 600 crore made by the authorities in the last few years.

This has raised questions about the functioning of NHAI and the contractor. The BRO (Border Roads Organisation) is also primarily responsible for constructing and maintaining roads in border areas and difficult mountainous regions. Without wasting time, the services of BRO should be used for NH48 and Thane-Ghodbunder road for safe travel," Nanade told TOI.

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Though potholes are there, the main reason was the traffic on the Thane-bound lane on the Thane-Ghodbunder road. We are laying mastic on old bridges, said the officer when questioned about potholes on NH48," said a senior official of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

The official cited the traffic flow on the Thane-Ghodbunder road as one reason for the inconveniences experienced on NH48, which requires immediate attention from the government authorities.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: September 11, 2025, 14:35 IST

News mumbai-news Is NH48 A Death Trap? Bombay Parsi Panchayat Warns Nitin Gadkari About Highway To Hell. Are Dahisar-Talasari Locals At Risk?

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AIIMS Delhi Launches AI-Based Mental Health App To Help Prevent Student Suicides

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 16:10 IST

AIIMS-Delhi launched Never Alone, an AI mental wellness programme, offering 24/7 support to students via WhatsApp, aiming to reduce suicides.

All AIIMS institutions can avail the service at no cost.

In an attempt to tackle student suicides and minimise the stigma surrounding mental health, AIIMS-Delhi has introduced an AI-powered mental wellness programme called Never Alone. The initiative was launched on Wednesday, which marked World Suicide Prevention Day.

The move aims to provide timely mental health support for college and university students.

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The web-based platform is accessible 24/7 via WhatsApp. It offers mental health screening, virtual and offline consultations, and continuous follow-up interventions, said Dr. Nand Kumar, professor of psychiatry at AIIMS, news agency PTI reported.

Besides the Delhi centre, the programme was also launched at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar and the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) in Shahdara. The programme is designed to be cost-effectivejust 70 paisa per student per day. Institutions can access the service by registering with AIIMS-Delhi.

The initiative operates through the Global Centre of Integrative Health (GCIH), a non-profit supported by renowned integrative health expert and AIIMS alumnus Dr. Deepak Chopra. All AIIMS institutions can avail the service at no cost.

Dr. Kumar underlined that suicide remains a critical public health challenge, particularly among young adults. As per NCRB data, India reported over 1.7 lakh suicides in 2022the highest in over 56 yearsof which 35% were individuals aged 1830.

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While mental health disorders like depression and alcohol dependence are strongly linked to suicides in high-income nations, many cases in India stem from sudden life crises such as relationship breakdowns, financial stress, or chronic illness, he explained.

Despite growing awareness, up to 80% of individuals with mental health concerns do not seek help, often due to stigma, he added. This programme aims to bridge that gap and offer students discreet, professional support before its too late.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 16:10 IST

News new-delhi-news AIIMS Delhi Launches AI-Based Mental Health App To Help Prevent Student Suicides

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RJD Leader Shot Dead By Bike-Borne Assailants In Bihar's Patna

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 10:55 IST

Two bike-borne assailants opened fire at the RJD leader, who died on the spot.

The incident took place in Rajendra Nagar (Representative image)

A Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader was shot dead in Bihars Patna. The deceased was identified as Rajkumar Ray, who was also a property leader.

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The incident occurred on Wednesday near the Rajendra Nagar terminal when two bike-borne miscreants opened fire at Ray, leaving him dead on the spot.

According to the police cited by ANI, Ray was shot dead by the criminals who were chasing him. He was rushed to the hospital following the incident, but the doctors declared him dead.

The deceased, a resident of Vaishali Raghopur, currently living in Munna Chak, had returned from some work in a four-wheeler and started buying some food items from a hotel in the street just before his house, when the criminals fired six bullets at him, due to which he fell on the ground. On receiving the information of the incident, the Chitragupt Nagar police station, located at a distance of a few steps, reached the spot, according to Parichay Kumar, SP East.

The official further added that six bullet shells have been recovered from the scene, adding that two criminals were seen in the CCTV footage.

He said, The deceased was associated with a political party and also had some land-related business."

A further investigation into the matter is underway, and police are currently checking the CCTV footage to identify the accused.

As of now, the case is being investigated by Eastern SP Parichay Kumar, ASP Sadar Shri Abhinav, Kankarbagh police station in-charge Abhay Kumar, and Chitragupt Nagar police station in-charge.

The incident comes days after a 55-year-old retired electricity worker and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) block general secretary was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Pakauli village of Vaishali district in Bihar in August.

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About the Author Anushka Vats Anushka Vats is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for storytelling and a curiosity that extends beyond the newsroom. She covers both national and international news. For more stories, you can ... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 08:54 IST

News cities RJD Leader Shot Dead By Bike-Borne Assailants In Bihar's Patna

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Bank of Maharashtra Recruitment 2025: Notification Out For 350 Officer Posts, Check Details

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 19:46 IST

Bank of Maharashtra Recruitment 2025: Candidates will first have to take an online written exam. Those who pass will be called for an interview.

Interested and eligible candidates can apply online by visiting the bank's official website, bankofmaharashtra.in. (Representational/Fie Photo)

Bank of Maharashtra Generalist Officers Recruitment 2025: The Bank of Maharashtra has released a notification for the recruitment of 350 Officer Scale II to Scale VI (Generalist Officer) posts. Those who aspire to build a career in the banking sector can apply for the posts. The application process commenced on September 10, 2025 and will continue until September 30, 2025. Interested and eligible candidates can apply online by visiting the banks official website, bankofmaharashtra.in.

Bank of Maharashtra Recruitment 2025: Eligibility Criteria

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Educational Qualification: Candidates must hold a graduation degree such as BE (Bachelor of Engineering), BTech (Bachelor of Technology), MSc (Master of Science), or MCA (Master of Computer Applications) from a recognised university.

Age Limit: The minimum age for applicants is 25 years, while the maximum age is 50 years. However, age relaxation will be provided to reserved categories as per government norms.

Bank of Maharashtra Recruitment 2025: Application Process

Step 1- To apply for these positions, candidates need to visit the official website, bankofmaharashtra.in.

Step 2  Start the registration process by clicking on the Click here for New Registration" link on the homepage.

Step 3  Complete the registration by providing the required information such as name, email, and mobile number.

Step 4  Next, upload a scanned copy of your photo and signature.

Step 5  After paying the application fee, submit the form.

Step 6  Finally, take a printout of the application form and keep it safe for future reference.

Bank of Maharashtra Recruitment 2025: Application Fees

The application fee is Rs 1180 for General, OBC, and EWS category candidates and Rs 118 for SC/ST candidates. The fee must be paid online via debit card, credit card, or net banking.

Bank of Maharashtra Recruitment 2025: Selection Process

Candidates will first have to take an online written exam. Those who pass will be called for an interview. The final selection will be based on a merit list derived from the combined marks of the written exam and the interview.

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Bank of Maharashtra Recruitment 2025: Salary Details

Selected candidates will receive an attractive salary package, which varies depending on the scale. The salary ranges from Rs 1,40,500 to Rs 1,56,500 per month for Scale VI, Rs 1,20,940 to Rs 1,35,020 for Scale V, Rs 1,02,300 to Rs 1,20,940 for Scale IV, Rs 85,920 to Rs 1,05,280 for Scale III, and Rs 64,820 to Rs 93,960 for Scale II. Additional allowances and facilities will also be provided.

About the Author Education and Careers Desk A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses and information on college and school admissions, board and competitive exams, career options, topper interviews, job notifications, ... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 19:42 IST

News education-career Bank of Maharashtra Recruitment 2025: Notification Out For 350 Officer Posts, Check Details

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Big Leap Towards PM Modi's Vision On Globalisation Of Education: IIMA Opens First International Campus In Dubai

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CNN-News18

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 20:29 IST

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan highlighted that the IIMA Dubai campus will showcase the best of India to the world

The Crown Prince of Dubai, Hamdan bin Mohammed, inaugurated IIMA's first international campus at Dubai International Academic City on September 11. Image/News18

In a significant step towards the globalisation of Indias education as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) opened its Dubai Campus on September 11. Following the opening of an IIT branch in Abu Dhabi two years ago, PM Modi assured the UAE leadership about establishing an IIM campus in Dubai about one and a half years ago. This promise was fulfilled when the Crown Prince of Dubai, Hamdan bin Mohammed, inaugurated IIMAs first international campus at Dubai International Academic City on September 11.

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Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan highlighted that this campus will showcase the best of India to the world. Dubai provides the perfect launchpad for the ethos of Indian in Spirit, Global in Outlook" by hosting IIMAs international campus.

Dubai is emerging as a top choice for exceptional students and a global hub for talent, innovation, and entrepreneurship. In its first year, IIMA Dubai Campus plans to establish two dedicated centres of excellence: one focused on case writing and development, and the other on start-up incubation. The first programme launched by IIMA Dubai is a full-time one-year MBA. Structured across five terms, it offers a rigorous academic experience and international exposure, reflecting the global standards of IIMAs highly ranked MBA. The inaugural cohort of the one-year MBA programme in Dubai consists of 35 students, including 27 (77.14%) male and eight (22.86%) female students.

The establishment of the IIMA Dubai Campus is a result of the joint vision of the Indian and Dubai governments. With the launch of its first international campus at Dubai International Academic City, IIMA has expanded its global presence in management education. The new campus aims to deliver world-class learning opportunities to aspiring leaders across West Asia and neighbouring regions while fostering rich cross-cultural exchange and academic collaboration. The Dubai campus is equipped with cutting-edge academic resources and modern amenities to support students learning needs in a rapidly changing international environment.

Muhammad noted, Dubai continues to draw world-class universities as part of our commitment to advancing the higher education sector in line with the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 and the Education 33 Strategy," which aims to make Dubai one of the worlds top 10 student cities by 2033. By fostering a vibrant, multicultural learning environment, we are building an education ecosystem that fuels sustainable development and prepares the next generation to create a brighter tomorrow for Dubai and the world."

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The inaugural ceremony for the state-of-the-art Dubai Campus of IIMA was attended by Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Education, India, Sunjay Sudhir, the Ambassador of India to the UAE, and senior officials of IIM Ahmedabad, along with top ministers and officials of the UAE. Dharmendra Pradhan stated that this was a new milestone in India-UAE knowledge collaboration, with Dubai providing an ideal launchpad for the ethos of Indian in Spirit, Global in Outlook" by hosting IIM Ahmedabads international campus.

First Published: September 11, 2025, 20:29 IST

News education-career Big Leap Towards PM Modi's Vision On Globalisation Of Education: IIMA Opens First International Campus In Dubai

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Dharmendra Pradhan Discusses Opening Of More Indian Curriculum-based Schools With Abu Dhabi Official

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 13:20 IST

Dharmendra Pradhan is on a two-day visit to the UAE. He also visited the Abu Dhabi campus of IIT Delhi and launched new B.Tech and Ph.D. programmes.

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan will inaugurate IIM Ahmedabad's Dubai campus on Thursday. (File Photo)

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met Sara Musallam, chairperson of the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge, on Wednesday to discuss the opening of more Indian curriculum-based schools in the UAE to cater to the educational needs of the Indian diaspora, reported PTI.

Pradhan, on a two-day visit to the UAE, also visited the Abu Dhabi campus of IIT Delhi.

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He inaugurated the Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) at the IIT Delhi-Abu Dhabi campus, the first-ever AIC hosted by an Indian institution overseas.

Both sides engaged in fruitful exchanges on mutual educational priorities. Pradhan shared the success of Atal Tinkering Labs in fostering curiosity and creativity in schools across India as well as plans of Indian schools in the UAE for implementing Atal Innovation Labs. They also had productive conversations on further expanding cooperation in education, including opening more Indian curriculum-based schools in the UAE to meet the educational needs of the Indian diaspora and facilitating two-way student exchanges right from the school level, among others," the Ministry of Education stated.

During his visit to IIT Delhi-Abu Dhabi, Pradhan noted that it was his second time at the institute and expressed satisfaction at witnessing its transformation from a concept to a fully operational campus. He emphasized that IIT Delhis esteemed legacy positions the institution as a beacon of knowledge and research, and a cornerstone of the India-UAE knowledge partnership. He also mentioned that viewing the digital wall showcasing IIT Delhi-Abu Dhabis journey from vision to reality was personally gratifying.

Pradhan stated that the AIC at IIT Delhi-Abu Dhabi will foster joint start-ups and research-led ventures by both Indian and UAE innovators, promoting bilateral collaboration in deep tech, AI, clean energy, healthcare, and other sectors of mutual interest.

The AIC, with its world-class incubation facilities, will also serve as a gateway to Middle East markets for Indian start-ups and innovators, he added.

Pradhan inaugurated B.Tech and Ph.D. programmes in Chemical Engineering and Energy and Sustainability at IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi. He expressed confidence that the students at IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi will make significant contributions and set new milestones for global prosperity and well-being. The minister also appreciated the colourful and creative rangoli made by the students at the campus.

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Pradhans visit to the UAE aims to explore collaborations in education, foster academic excellence and innovation, and develop new partnerships to meet the aspirations of students and youths from both countries.

He will also inaugurate IIM Ahmedabads Dubai campus on Thursday.

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First Published: September 11, 2025, 13:01 IST

News education-career Dharmendra Pradhan Discusses Opening Of More Indian Curriculum-based Schools With Abu Dhabi Official

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The fuel smuggling network at customs, made up of sailors, civil servants and businessmen, has called into question the role of the military in civilian functions

The dismantling of a fuel smuggling network within the National Customs Agency of Mexico (ANAM), comprised of sailors, civil servants, and businessmen and active since at least 2024, has dominated the public agenda and called into question the civilian role of the Navy. Led by brothers Manuel Roberto and Fernando Farias Laguna, high-ranking military officers and relatives of Jose Rafael Ojeda Duran, Secretary of the Navy during Andres Manuel Lopez Obradors administration (2018-2024), this network involved organized crime, customs, the military, and black bags filled with cash.

The latest developments regarding this criminal conspiracy are arrest warrants issued for more businessmen linked to the company Mefra Fletes, dedicated to the transportation and sale of fuel. The first blow to the plot, announced on Sunday, resulted in the arrest of 14 individuals. The investigation by the Attorney Generals Office also includes a new arrest warrant for eight other individuals for their involvement in hydrocarbon smuggling from the United States, and for selling fuel stolen through the classic huachicol method of tapping Pemex pipelines.

Three of the businessmen  Hector Portales Avila, Anuar Gonzalez Hemadi, and Jose N  are already in the custody of authorities. Six military personnel and five customs officials have also been arrested due to Mefra Fletes connection to the Farias Laguna criminal network.

Of the five new names, three stand out: Roberto Blanco Cantu, who is believed to be the real owner of Mefra Fletes, and his brother Rigoberto, who are both allegedly linked to organized crime groups, according to the United States Department of Justice. The others are Jose Rene Tijerina and Jose Isabel Murguia Santiago, shareholders in Mefra Fletes. The brother of the latter is Jose Ascension Murguia Santiago, municipal president of Teuchitlan, accused of involvement in organized crime and forced disappearance in connection with the discoveries made earlier this year at the Izaguirre ranch in Jalisco, a cartel training and extermination camp.

It was this companys tanker trucks that primarily transported the 10 million liters of fuel carried by the Challenge Procyon vessel from the port of Tampico to a property in the neighboring town of Altamira in March 2025. It was there that authorities  after analyzing the tankers cargo and discovering that it had been carrying diesel instead of lubricating oil additives  secured the fuel and began building this case.

Seizure of the oil tanker 'Challenge Procyon' in Tampico on March 31. Secretaria de Marina (SEMAR) (Via REUTERS)

In addition to the Farias Laguna brothers, the other key military officer is Miguel Angel Solano Ruiz, nicknamed Captain Sol, a retired sailor with the rank of corvette captain who, according to media outlets with access to the investigation file, lived lavishly. In five years, he spent 60 million pesos (about $3 million) at casinos and racetracks.

The prosecutions main witness is another captain, whom the Prosecutors Office named Santo. In August 2022, Santo was appointed director of the Altamira Customs Office, after having a discussion about this role with Solano Ruiz. It was around that time that the first newspaper columns were published accusing the Farias Laguna brothers of manipulating the appointment of sailors so that trusted individuals would end up in key customs positions to operate their smuggling network.

During his first months in office, he received an envelope of money from Captain Sol, and in a phone call, it was explained to him that they were starting a new project for Los Primos and that his collaboration was needed. Los Primos was the nickname the Farias Laguna brothers had within the Navy.

According to the witnesss statement, the plan was to allow the unloading of ships loaded with hydrocarbons. However, on paper, their holds would carry other cargo. The first ship arrived in April 2024. The witness claims that laboratory tests were performed and that they were adulterated. Concerned, he spoke to Captain Sol, who responded, Dont worry, theres knowledge of this at the central level; there are many people involved here.

A few days later, he received a call and arranged to meet with a man named Osvaldo at a shopping mall. Like something out of a mobster movie, he gave him a black bag full of cash: 1.75 million pesos, more than $80,000, which he distributed among those involved. This method would be repeated with 14 ships until he was relieved of his command in January 2025. Captain Sol asked him to leave a trusted person in place. The chosen one was Captain Carlos Estudillo Villalobos, another of those arrested last Sunday.

During those months, Rear Admiral Fernando Ruben Guerrero Aguilar, Captain Sols former friend, sent a letter to Admiral Rafael Ojeda Duran, uncle of the Farias Lagunas and then Secretary of the Navy, denouncing his nephews. Guerrero Aguilar was murdered in November, allegedly in retaliation, as was a worker from the Attorney Generals Office a few days later. Added to these deaths is the suicide this week of another sailor, accused by Santo of receiving a bribe.

Rafael Ojeda Duran in Chiapas, May 17, 2024.

Throughout 2024, Ojeda Duran allegedly went to the Attorney Generals Office to request an investigation into corruption within ANAM. This has been repeated by President Claudia Sheinbaum and other authorities every time they have spoken about the arrest of his nephews, but at the same time they have acknowledged that the entire investigation is based on the seizure of the Challenge Procyon in March 2025.

Immediately after this operation, the protected witness was summoned to testify by the Navys Military Intelligence Unit. It is not known what he said, but it is known that he then tried to flee with a haul of 11 million pesos (around $550,000). He then received a call from his family, who were worried because someone had contacted them to tell them that he had been kidnapped. At that moment, Santo decided to live up to his ironic name and testify against the Farias Laguna brothers.

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IIT Bombay Denies Role After Criticism Over Poster Labelling Modi, Shah, Yogi As We Fool You

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 10:54 IST

A viral poster for a workshop showed PM Modi, Amit Shah, and Yogi Adityanath as We Fool You. IIT Bombay denied any involvement and distanced itself.

Viral poster shows PM Modi, Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath labeled We Fool You; IIT Bombay denies involvement.

The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay is facing criticism over a poster for an upcoming workshop on South Asian Capitalism(s)," which has gone viral for depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath under the caption We fool you."

The two-day workshop, co-organised by UC Berkeley, IIT Bombay, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is scheduled for September 1213, 2025 and is aimed at exploring how capitalist accumulation is socially structured across South Asia.

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The poster, titled Pyramid of Capitalist India", adapts the century-old Pyramid of Capitalist System cartoon first published in 1911 by the Industrial Worker newspaper.

The original graphic, inspired by earlier European and Russian caricatures, showed a hierarchy under capitalism. Workers formed the base, supporting soldiers, clergy, and the wealthy, with a bag of money at the top. The message was clear: the system depends on the labour of workers, and without them, it would collapse.

In the 1911 version, the second tier labelled We Fool You" featured religious leaders from different faiths, highlighting how religion was used to justify inequality. The IIT Bombay-linked poster replaced these figures with Indias top elected leaders, which critics say gives the image a political angle.

Online Backlash Against IIT Bombay

The poster was flagged on X by user @MehHarshit, who wrote: IIT Bombay sponsors an event on South Asian Capitalism. Poster shows @AmitShah, @narendramodi, and @myogiadityanath with a caption WE FOOL YOU. No Maulana or Father shown; only a Hindu Monk in saffron robes. Why @iitbombay? @dpradhanbjp."

IIT Bombay sponsors an event on South Asian Capitalism.Poster shows @AmitShah, @narendramodi, and @myogiadityanath with a caption WE FOOL YOU". No Maulana or Father shown; only a Hindu Monk in saffron robes. Why @iitbombay? @dpradhanbjp pic.twitter.com/6YzByZtXrp  Harshil () (@MehHarshil) September 10, 2025

Another user wrote, Painful to see this as an alum and a donor to the institute. Does faculty at @iitbombay @IndiaDST think that longest serving PM is fooling people, and Army is an oppressive force? Humanities departments are now adding net negative value to society."

ALSO READ: Major Error In NIRF 2025 Ranking: BHU Dental College Appears Twice With Conflicting Data

IIT Bombay Denies Involvement

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IIT Bombay clarified that it had no role in the poster. The institute said it was unaware of the flyer and immediately instructed organisers to remove it from social media and take IIT Bombays name off event materials. Details of the programme were also removed from the New Political Economy Initiative website, a project linked to the workshop.

No one from IIT Bombay is attending the conference. The Institute was not consulted about the flyer. We are deeply shocked and upset by its content," the statement said. IIT Bombay also announced it will cease association with the involved UC Berkeley and University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty and conduct a full investigation.

About the Author Archit Gupta Archit Gupta is a Chief Sub-Editor at News18.com and a seasoned education journalist specialising in reporting on education and employment. He has covered a variety of education-related stories, inclu... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 10:47 IST

News education-career IIT Bombay Denies Role After Criticism Over Poster Labelling Modi, Shah, Yogi As We Fool You

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Strengthening Knowledge Diplomacy: Dharmendra Pradhans Strategic Education Engagement In The UAE

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 17:47 IST

A highlight of the visit was the formal inauguration of the IIM Ahmedabad Dubai campus by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai

Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurates Atal Incubation Centre at the IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi campus. Image/X

Union Minister for Education and Skill Development Dharmendra Pradhan made a high-impact visit to the United Arab Emirates aimed at deepening India-UAE cooperation in higher education, research, innovation, and institutional globalisation.

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His engagements reflect a strong push toward transforming India into a global education hub and reinforcing people-to-people ties under the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

Bilateral Meeting with UAE Education Leadership

In a key bilateral meeting, Pradhan met with Dr Abdulrahman Abdulmannan Al Awar, the UAEs Acting Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research. The two leaders reviewed the growing synergy in the education sector and reaffirmed their commitment to expand cooperation in knowledge, innovation, and scientific research.

Delightful meeting with HE Dr. Abdulrahman Abdulmannan Al Awar, Acting Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, UAE.We reviewed our bilateral cooperation in higher education and agreed to further deepen our knowledge bridges as well as make knowledge, innovation pic.twitter.com/dQgv98U1sn  Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) September 11, 2025

Critical issues discussed included joint research in emerging technologies, capacity building, and two-way academic and cultural exchanges. Pradhan also expressed gratitude for the UAEs continued support in hosting Indian educational institutions and for its openness toward facilitating more top-tier Indian institutions in the region.

Inauguration of IIM Ahmedabads Dubai Campus

One of the visits standout moments was the formal inauguration of the IIM Ahmedabad Dubai campus by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai. Pradhan hailed this as a historic leap toward the globalisation of Indian higher education, aligning with Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision to position India as an international knowledge powerhouse.

A great honour to have the IIM Ahmedabad Dubai campus inaugurated by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.This is another big leap towards globalisation of Indias education as envisioned by Honble PM Shri @narendramodi ji. IIM Ahmedabad pic.twitter.com/1GTVYCbR2f  Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) September 11, 2025

The new IIM campus embodies the philosophy of being Indian in spirit, global in outlook", and positions Dubai as a strategic gateway for Indias educational institutions to reach global learners and business ecosystems. It also sets a precedent for other Indian institutions to expand globally and contribute to international educational mobility.

Atal Incubation Centre at IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi Campus

Pradhan on Wednesday inaugurated the Atal Incubation Centre at the IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi campus. It is the first-ever Atal Incubation Centre hosted in an Indian university overseas, the minister stated on microblogging site X. He added that he took a tour of the Abu Dhabi campus of IIT Delhi and interacted with the students.

Glad to inaugurate Atal Incubation Centre at the IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi campus, a first-ever AIC hosted in an Indian university overseas. The AIC at IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi will nurture joint start-ups and research-led ventures by both Indian and UAE innovators and also promote bilateral collaboration in deep tech, AI, clean energy, healthcare and other sectors of mutual importance. The AIC providing world-class incubation facilities will also act as a gateway to the middle-east markets for Indian start-ups and innovators," the education minister posted on X.

Roundtable with Indian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Dubai

Pradhan also held a roundtable with academic leaders from Indian HEIs operating in Dubai. Discussions revolved around institutional strategy, pedagogical innovation, and the importance of moving beyond academic publication to commercialisation of research outputsa key aspect of the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

Joined a round table discussion with the academic leadership of Indian HEIs in Dubai.Learnt more about their academic approaches and plans for the future. Outlined the need for moving the research value chain from publication of research papers to productisation and pic.twitter.com/n6t3mkYDRm  Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) September 11, 2025

He called for establishing Brand India" as a mark of trust in global education, innovation, and entrepreneurship, and encouraged HEIs to be at the forefront of integrating traditional Indian knowledge systems with modern, market-driven solutions.

Cultural Diplomacy: #EkPedMaaKeNaam in UAE

In a symbolic gesture of environmental and cultural diplomacy, the minister participated in the #EkPedMaaKeNaam initiative by planting a Ghaf treethe national tree of the UAEat the Indian Consulate in Dubai. The Ghaf, a symbol of stability, resilience, and peace, will now stand as a living monument of Indo-UAE friendship.

Planted The Ghaf tree, National tree of the UAE at the Indian Consulate in Dubai as a part of the #EkPedMaaKeNaam initiative.A historic and cultural symbol of stability and peace in the UAE, The Ghaf tree at the Consulate will also stand as an evergreen testament of pic.twitter.com/1KD5vnWgAK  Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) September 11, 2025

The initiative ties into Indias broader commitment to environmental consciousness and honoring maternal legacy through green action.

Strategic Significance

India and the UAE have built a strong multidimensional partnership encompassing trade, diaspora relations, technology, and education. The UAE hosts over 3.5 million Indians, the largest expatriate population in the Gulf, and is a key destination for Indian students and professionals. With India aiming to attract 1 million foreign students by 2030 under its Study in India programme, reciprocal initiatives like establishing campuses abroad are critical to Indias soft power strategy.

Moreover, the NEP 2020 actively promotes internationalisation of Indian higher education, allowing prestigious institutions like IITs and IIMs to open campuses overseas. The IIM-A campus in Dubai is only the second such development, after IIT Madrass campus in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Indias Educational Diplomacy

Dharmendra Pradhans UAE visit signals a deepening of educational diplomacy, global outreach, and bilateral innovation partnerships. It reflects Indias intent to not only export high-quality education but also co-create knowledge ecosystems globally.

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As India redefines its educational and research identity, such engagements are vital to shaping a future where Indian institutions lead from the frontregionally, globally, and ideationally.

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First Published: September 11, 2025, 17:47 IST

News education-career Strengthening Knowledge Diplomacy: Dharmendra Pradhans Strategic Education Engagement In The UAE

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Poland On Edge: Is Warsaw Closer To Conflict Than At Any Time Since World War 2?

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 14:08 IST

Poland sees Ukraines fight as its own shield. If Kyiv falls, Warsaw fears it will be next, with Russia testing NATOs unity and pushing Europe closer to open conflict

For decades, Poland lived under the shadow of Moscow. Today, as Russian aircraft breach Polish airspace, and Russian troops press deeper into Ukraine, the sense of deja vu is inescapable.

The spectre of war has returned to haunt Europe. For Polanda country whose geography has long made it a battlefield between empiresthe stakes feel chillingly familiar. Recent reports of Russian aircraft breaching Polish airspace have triggered a national reckoning: Is Poland now closer to direct conflict than at any point since the World War II?

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This question is not just about one incident of a border violation. It is about the historical scars Poland carries, its role as a frontline state in Europes wars, its steadfast support for Ukraine, and its obligations as a member of NATO.

Lets understand why the breach of its skies has shaken Warsaw and Europe alike.

What Do You Know About Polands History?

Polands history is one of endurance against foreign domination. Sitting at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe, the country has often been carved, partitioned, and invaded by stronger neighbours. In the 18th century, Poland ceased to exist as an independent state after being divided between Prussia, Austria, and Russia. It returned to the map only after World War I.

But it was World War II that left the deepest scars. In 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the West, and just over two weeks later, the Soviet Union attacked it from the east under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. For six brutal years, Poland was ravaged by both regimesits people massacred, its cities destroyed, and its Jewish community almost annihilated in the Holocaust. When the war ended, Poland did not regain true independence but fell under the Soviet sphere, remaining behind the Iron Curtain until 1989.

For Poland, Russia has never been just a neighbourit has been an existential threat. This memory is deeply embedded in Polish politics and society. Tuesdays airspace breach is therefore not treated as an isolated violation but as an echo of history.

I want to emphasise very strongly that there is no reason to claim were on the brink of war, but there is no doubt that this provocation (by Russia) exceeds the existing boundaries and is incomparably more dangerous from Polands point of view than all the others," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday, according to a translation from the BBC. This situation brings us the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II," he added.

Russias Modern Shadow Over Poland

The fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 gave Poland its long-sought sovereignty. But Moscows influence did not vanish. Russia has remained determined to keep Eastern Europe under its sway, and Polandfirmly choosing the Westbecame a thorn in Moscows side.

When Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004, it was a decisive rejection of Russian dominance. Since then, Poland has been one of NATOs most vocal advocates for a strong deterrent against Russia. Its fears are not hypothetical. The 2008 war in Georgia, the annexation of Crimea in 2014, and finally the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have confirmed Warsaws suspicions: Russia remains willing to redraw borders by force.

Poland has therefore been among the loudest voices pushing NATO to strengthen its eastern flank. It hosts thousands of allied troops, advanced missile defence systems, and conducts regular joint drills with American forces. But Moscow continues to test its patience, both with disinformation campaigns and with military provocations such as the airspace breach.

What Is Polands Stand On The Ukraine War?

Since the first day of Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Poland has stood as Kyivs staunchest ally. No other European country has taken in as many Ukrainian refugees roughly 1.5 million have crossed the border seeking safety. Poland has also supplied Ukraine with weapons, ammunition, tanks, and logistical support, often well ahead of other European partners.

Warsaw views Ukraines survival as critical to its own security. If Russia succeeds in crushing Kyiv, Poland would become the next frontline state. In fact, many in Warsaw argue that Russia would not stop at Ukraine but would continue testing NATOs unity, possibly through hybrid attacks or probing incursions.

This explains why Poland has consistently pressed for tougher sanctions on Moscow, more military aid to Kyiv, and a stronger NATO presence in Eastern Europe. Its role as Ukraines lifeline has only deepened its confrontation with Russia, making incidents like the airspace violation appear less like accidents and more like deliberate provocations.

Polands NATOs Shield, And Its Limits

Polands membership in NATO is its greatest guarantee of security. Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty states that an attack on one member is an attack on all. In theory, this means that if Russia were to attack Poland, it would trigger a collective defence response from all 31 NATO countries, including the United States.

This mutual defence clause is a powerful deterrent. But the situation is not always straightforward. Not every incident automatically qualifies as an Article 5 trigger. Border violations, drone crashes, or airspace breaches exist in a grey zoneserious, but not necessarily enough to unleash all-out war.

Moscow knows this. By probing NATOs borders, Russia seeks to test the alliances resolve without crossing the line into open conflict. For Poland, however, even limited provocations feel intolerable given its history. NATOs deterrence is strong, but Poland still fears being the testing ground for Russias strategy of escalation without war.

The Breach And Its Fallout

When Russian aircraft reportedly entered Polish airspace on Tuesday, it immediately raised alarms in Warsaw. Scrambling fighter jets and summoning military briefings, Poland treated it as a potential escalation. The message from Warsaw was clear: Poland will not tolerate violations of its sovereignty.

But the larger question loomswhat if such incidents become routine? If Moscow repeatedly tests Polands defences, Warsaw might one day be forced to respond more aggressively, raising the risk of direct clashes. For a country that remembers being invaded from both east and west, any breach of its borders triggers deep alarm.

Polands Role As NATOs Eastern Bulwark

Today, Poland is not just another NATO member. It is the cornerstone of the alliances eastern flank. Its geography makes it vitalstretching from the Baltic Sea to the Carpathian Mountains, Poland forms a bridge between Western Europe and the vulnerable Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.

The Suwaki Gap, a narrow stretch of land between Poland and Lithuania, is considered NATOs most vulnerable point. If Russia ever seized it, the Baltic states could be cut off from the rest of the alliance. This makes Polands military readiness essential for the security of the entire region.

Over the past decade, Poland has invested heavily in modernising its forces, buying American F-35 fighter jets, Abrams tanks, and advanced air defence systems. It has also pushed NATO to permanently station more troops on its soil. Poland sees itself not just as a protected state but as Europes frontline defender.

Is This The Closest To Open Conflict Since World War II?

The fear in Poland is not merely theoretical. The memory of 1939the year it was carved up between Germany and the Soviet Unionremains alive. For decades, Poland lived under the shadow of Moscow, denied independence until 1989. Today, as Russian aircraft cross into its skies and Russian troops press deeper into Ukraine, the sense of deja vu is inescapable.

Is Poland truly on the brink of open conflict? Not necessarilyNATOs deterrence still holds, and Moscow knows that attacking Poland directly would trigger catastrophic consequences. But Warsaw is undeniably closer to confrontation than it has been in decades. The airspace violation was not just a breach of territory but a reminder of how thin the line is between provocation and escalation.

For Poland, the breach underscores a sobering reality: history is never far away. The ghosts of 1939 linger, and every Russian move carries echoes of the past. Whether conflict can be avoided depends on both NATOs resolve and Moscows calculations. But for the first time since World War II, the possibility of open war touching Polish soil does not feel unthinkable.

What Lies Ahead?

Polands path forward is fraught with challenges. It must continue to strengthen its defences, deepen NATO integration, and maintain unwavering support for Ukraine. At the same time, it must prepare for a prolonged period of tension, where Russias provocations may become routine.

The question is not whether Poland fears warit always has. The question is whether Poland, through its alliances and resilience, can prevent history from repeating itself. With Russian jets already crossing into its skies, the answer may shape the future of Europe.

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About the Author Shilpy Bisht Shilpy Bisht, Deputy News Editor at News18, writes and edits national, world and business stories. She started off as a print journalist, and then transitioned to online, in her 12 years of experience... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 13:12 IST

News explainers Poland On Edge: Is Warsaw Closer To Conflict Than At Any Time Since World War 2?

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What Is Russias Doomsday Radio? The Buzzer That Broke Its Silence Before Poland Drone Clash

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 15:13 IST

A station known as UVB-76, often nicknamed the doomsday radio, crackled to life with a cryptic voice message, just before Russian drones strayed into Polands airspace

The station, broadcasting on the 4625 kHz frequency, has been on air since the late 1970s. (Image;: X)

In the hours before NATO and Polish aircraft intercepted and shot down Russian drones that had strayed into Polands airspace, a chilling and long-running mystery stirred once again. A station known as UVB-76, often nicknamed the doomsday radio," came alive with a cryptic voice message. It was the first time in months that the shortwave channel had broken its usual monotone buzzing, as per The Economic Times.

The timing of the transmission, just ahead of a rare NATO-Russia clash in European skies, immediately drew fresh speculation about whether there was a link, or whether it was another of the stations unexplained bursts of activity.

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What Is UVB-76 And Why Is It So Mysterious?

The station, broadcasting on the 4625 kHz frequency, has been on air since the late 1970s. It is most commonly referred to as The Buzzer" because of the continuous tone it emits, a harsh mechanical buzz that pulses between 21 and 34 times every minute, each lasting about a second. Between those pulses is a pause of roughly the same length. For decades, the sound looped endlessly, unnoticed except by shortwave hobbyists.

Interest exploded in 2010, when Estonian technology entrepreneur Andrus Aaslaid set up an online stream that carried the stations output around the world. Thousands of people tuned in, many of them fascinated by the monotone hum that rarely seemed to change. That fascination turned to obsession when, every so often, the steady buzzing was broken by fragments of human voices speaking in Russian.

Over the years, those interruptions have included names, numbers, and entire strings of strange words that have never been explained.

Despite being tracked and logged for decades, the stations exact purpose has never been officially confirmed. Newsweek notes that it is widely believed to be operated by the Russian military from a site somewhere in the countrys western regions, but no agency or ministry has ever acknowledged running it.

The September Broadcast

On 8 September 2025, the monotone stopped, and a male voice came through. According to Newsweek, the broadcast began with four names  Nicolai, Zhenya, Tatyana and Ivan. Their initials spelled out NZhTI, a call sign UVB-76 has used before. The voice then delivered a string of numbers: 38, 965, 78, 58, 88, 37.

Russias UVB-76 Doomsday Radio makes SECOND cryptic broadcast todayCodewords NZHTI and HOTEL spelled out for unknown listeners Who knows what orders just went out pic.twitter.com/PqTOsdku2y  RT (@RT_com) September 8, 2025

The message continued with more names: Olga, Tatiana, Elena, and Leonid. Their initials formed the word OTEL, the Russian word for hotel." Finally, the speaker said, soft sign, 78, 58, 88, 37." The soft sign" refers to a letter of the Russian alphabet that has no sound of its own but alters the pronunciation of the consonant before it.

A recording of the clip quickly spread online. Social media users rushed to guess its meaning. Some claimed the numbers looked like coordinates, pointing to unknown listeners far from the motherland." Others suggested it was meant as a signal to Russias nuclear submarine fleet.

The timing added to the tension: it came just before NATOs confrontation with Russian drones in Poland, making it one of the most closely watched transmissions in years.

Other Recent Transmissions This Year

The September broadcast was not the only one in 2025. Mirror US, citing logs from a Telegram channel that monitors the station, list several earlier examples.

On 15 April, UVB-76 sent out four words: Neptune, Thymus, Foxcloak and Nootabu. A month later, on 19 May, just ahead of a phone call between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, the station broadcast two longer strings of code. The first was NZhTI 89905 BLEFOPUF 4097 5573," and the second was NZhTI 01263 BOLTANKA 4430 9529."

The 8 September broadcast, with its names and numbers, now joins this years sequence of cryptic transmissions, ensuring the Buzzer continues to attract attention and speculation.

A History Of Bizarre Sounds And Unsettling Moments

While the buzz is its trademark, the station has occasionally broadcast far stranger noises. Newsweek reported that in the past, listeners have reported hearing snatches of Tchaikovskys Swan Lake, shuffling footsteps, and even what sounded like a woman screaming.

Its level of activity has also changed over the years. Before 1992, messages were rare, sometimes occurring only once every few years. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, however, broadcasts became more regular. By the 2000s, they were being heard weekly, sometimes even daily.

In June 2010, the Buzzer fell silent for a full 24 hours, a gap that sparked rumours of everything from technical breakdown to nuclear alert. When it returned, the buzzing resumed as though nothing had happened. Later that year, in September, the signal was interrupted again when transmitters were relocated from near Povarovo to the St Petersburg area. Mirror US points out that this event showed that the more dramatic theories were unlikely, since nothing catastrophic happened when the signal stopped.

More recently, on 11 December 2024, Newsweek reports that the Buzzer broadcast 24 separate messages in a single day, its most verbose session on record. The 30 words it sent that day included some that made no sense at all, only adding to the mystery.

Why It Is Nicknamed The Doomsday Station

The unsettling nickname comes from a theory that UVB-76 is part of the Soviet-era Dead Hand, or Perimeter system. Dead Hand was designed as a nuclear fail-safe: if a devastating attack wiped out Russias command structure, the system could automatically trigger a retaliatory strike. The theory holds that the Buzzers constant sound acts as part of that mechanism, with its sudden cessation being the trigger.

Other theories are far more colourful. LADbible cite the accounts of Ary Boender, a Dutch radio enthusiast who runs the Numbers and Oddities website. He has catalogued the wild guesses made over the years: that the station is a UFO navigation beacon, a mind-control device used to influence behaviour, or even a remote-control system once connected to the Chernobyl nuclear plant.

While these ideas circulate widely, Boender has dismissed them as fanciful. He has stressed that when the station briefly ceased transmission in 2010, the world did not end.

What Experts Believe

Amid all the speculation, experts are more sober. David Stupples, a professor of electronic and radio engineering at City, University of London, has said that the station is almost certainly" operated by the Russian government, as per Popular Mechanics. He emphasised that if it is the Russian government, it wouldnt be for peaceful purposes."

Stupples has also suggested another reason for the constant buzzing. Even if the station is not transmitting actual commands at any given time, maintaining the signal means keeping the frequency occupied. In his words, it is a way of saying, This is ours."

Why It Still Matters Today

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The most important reason UVB-76 has grabbed attention again is its timing. The September broadcast came just before NATO and Polish jets intercepted Russian drones in Polish airspace.

As per Newsweek, this is not the first time UVB-76 has been unusually active ahead of major military events. In the days leading up to Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the station issued several codes. Since then, its bursts of activity have coincided with various points of high tension in the war.

About the Author Karishma Jain Karishma Jain, Chief Sub Editor at News18.com, writes and edits opinion pieces on a variety of subjects, including Indian politics and policy, culture and the arts, technology and social change. Follo... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 15:09 IST

News explainers What Is Russias Doomsday Radio? The Buzzer That Broke Its Silence Before Poland Drone Clash

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Air India, IndiGo To Operate Special Flights From Delhi To Kathmandu Amid Nepal Unrest

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Last Updated: September 10, 2025, 23:42 IST

Similarly, IndiGo also announced relief measures, including two special flights in addition to resuming its scheduled services from Sept 11

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A file photo of an Air India aircraft (PTI)

Air India on Wednesday announced it is operating special flights between Delhi and Kathmandu to assist passengers stranded due to the ongoing unrest in Nepal. The airline said it would operate these services on Wednesday and Thursday, with regular operations expected to resume from Thursday onwards.

Air India is operating special flights today and tomorrow from Delhi to Kathmandu and back to help passengers who have been stranded due to the recent developments in Nepal. Our scheduled operations will also resume from tomorrow," the airline said in a statement posted on X.

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IMPORTANT UPDATE:Air India is operating special flights today and tomorrow from Delhi to Kathmandu and back to help passengers who have been stranded due to the recent developments in Nepal. Our scheduled operations will also resume from tomorrow. We thank the government and  Air India (@airindia) September 10, 2025

We thank the government and other agencies for the quick coordination to facilitate this in the interest of our passengers," it added.

Air India has also shared a helpline for passenger support. Passengers are requested to check the status of their flights here https://airindia.com/in/en/manage/flight-status.html before proceeding to the airport. For further assistance, please contact our 247 Call Centre at 011-69329333 / 011-69329999.".

Similarly, IndiGo also announced relief measures, including two special flights in addition to resuming its scheduled services from September 11.

In these extraordinary times in #Kathmandu, our priority is to reunite you with your loved ones. Starting September 11, IndiGo shall resume 04 daily scheduled flights to and from Kathmandu. In addition, subject to regulatory approvals, two special relief flights will operate the same day, dedicated to bringing our customers home safely," the airline said in a statement.

The airline added that these relief flights will be offered at special fares.

Travel AdvisoryIn these extraordinary times in #Kathmandu, our priority is to reunite you with your loved ones. Starting September 11, IndiGo shall resume 04 daily scheduled flights to and from Kathmandu. In addition, subject to regulatory approvals, two special relief  IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) September 10, 2025

The announcements from both airlines come after comments from Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu, who confirmed additional flights have been arranged to bring back stranded passengers.

Due to airport closure in Nepal, many home-bound passengers were unable to return from Kathmandu. With the opening of the airport operation in Kathmandu, @MoCA_GoI, in coordination with Air India & IndiGo, has arranged additional flights this evening & over the next few days, alongside scheduled services resuming tomorrow," the minister said on X.

He also said airlines have been advised to keep fares at reasonable levels.

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Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu had been closed following unrest in the country and resumed operations on Wednesday.

(With inputs from PTI)

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

First Published: September 10, 2025, 23:32 IST

News india Air India, IndiGo To Operate Special Flights From Delhi To Kathmandu Amid Nepal Unrest

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'Anti-National': BJP Slams Congress Leader Udit Raj's 'Circumstances In India Same As Nepal' Remark

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 11:30 IST

BJP spokesperson CR Kesavan said that these remarks "are blatantly anti-national and deliberately inciting unrest"

The BJP slammed Congress leader Udit Raj for making "anti-national" remarks in the backdrop of Nepal unrest.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday slammed Congress leader Udit Raj for making anti-national" remarks in the backdrop of Nepal unrest.

In a post on X, Udit Raj, Chairman of Unorganized Workers & Employees Congress, said: People are discussing the way in which the public has uprooted power in Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. Could something like that not happen in India? Some people are even expressing the possibility of it happening. In fact, the circumstances are just the same, and in some cases even more so, but our constitution prevents us from doing so. The roots of our democracy are very deep, which were planted by the Congress."

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In response to the post, BJP spokesperson CR Kesavan said that these remarks are blatantly anti-national and deliberately inciting unrest".

The Congress leadership both past and present is always the greatest threat to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkars Constitution. The Congress party in 1975 murdered our Constitution and massacred our democracy. These remarks mirror the same emergency mindset of the Congress," he further said.

Nepal was rocked by Gen Zled protests sparked by a short-lived social-media ban and long-simmering anger over corruption, triggering curfews and army deployment as clashes intensified in Kathmandu and other cities. The entire protest has left around 25 people dead, while over 600 people were injured. Authorities have now reopened Kathmandu airport after a brief shutdown, but prohibitory orders remain in force as the situation evolves.

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Meanwhile, Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah appealed to Nepals Gen Z and the wider public on Thursday to remain calm as the country transitions to an interim administration and fresh elections.

First Published: September 11, 2025, 11:30 IST

News india 'Anti-National': BJP Slams Congress Leader Udit Raj's 'Circumstances In India Same As Nepal' Remark

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Car Parked On Jabalpur Road For 2 Hours Raises Suspicion, Army Major Found Dead Inside

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 13:38 IST

Army officers reached the scene with an ambulance and the body was transported to the military hospital, where doctors conducted preliminary examinations

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Passers-by and local traders grew suspicious when no movement was seen inside. (Representational Image/AI-Generated)

Panic gripped Sadar Main Road in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, on Wednesday morning after the lifeless body of an Army officer was discovered inside a parked car outside the Indian Coffee House. The deceased was identified as Major B Vijay Kumar, who was serving with the Indian Army.

According to initial reports, the officer had left his residence around 8 am to report for duty. However, his car came to an abrupt halt in front of the Indian Coffee House and remained stationary for nearly two hours. Passers-by and local traders grew suspicious when no movement was seen inside.

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Some people gathered courage and peeped through the window, only to find the Major slumped in an unconscious state on the drivers seat," eyewitnesses said. Alarmed, they immediately alerted the Cantonment police station.

A police team soon arrived at the spot and opened the car door, only to discover that the officer had stopped breathing. His identity was confirmed through the vehicles documents, which belonged to the Army. Shortly thereafter, Army officers reached the scene with an ambulance. The body was transported to the military hospital, where doctors conducted preliminary examinations.

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Hospital authorities suspect that Major Kumar suffered a sudden cardiac arrest while driving, though a definitive cause will only be established after the post-mortem. At present, it appears to be a case of natural death, but we are awaiting the medical report," the Cantonment police station in-charge said, adding that the police are working in coordination with Army officials.

As the incident occurred in the civilian area of the Cantt police station jurisdiction, both Army and police teams are jointly probing the case. The officers family, who have been informed by the Army, are expected to arrive in Jabalpur soon.

Location : Jabalpur, India, India

First Published: September 11, 2025, 13:38 IST

News india Car Parked On Jabalpur Road For 2 Hours Raises Suspicion, Army Major Found Dead Inside

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Did Jawaharlal Nehru Reject Nepal's Merger With India? The Truth Explained

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 18:42 IST

Nepal's 1951 merger debate resurfaces as Pranab Mukherjee recalls Nehru rejecting King Tribhuvan's proposal, favouring Nepal's independence over integration with India

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Historians and diplomats have long contested the claim that Jawaharlal Nehru turned down a formal merger proposal. (File image/X)

The recent political turmoil in Nepal has reignited a decades-old debate  should India have merged the Himalayan nation when the opportunity allegedly presented itself in the early 1950s? On social media platforms, many argued that Nepals inclusion into India could have ensured greater stability and prosperity. These discussions, however, are closely tied to a controversial claim, that in 1951, then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru rejected a merger proposal put forth by Nepals King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah.

The late President Pranab Mukherjee, in his autobiography The Presidential Years, had written that Nehru chose not to pursue the proposal. In Chapter 11 of the book, under the section titled My Prime Ministers: Different Styles, Different Temperaments, Mukherjee observed, If Indira Gandhi had been in Nehrus place, she would have probably taken advantage of this opportunity. As she did in the case of Sikkim."

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Mukherjee, while analysing the leadership styles of former prime ministers, underlined Nehrus cautious diplomacy. He noted, Every prime minister has his own style of working. Lal Bahadur Shastri did such work which was very different from Nehrus work. Prime ministers, even if they are from the same party, can have different perceptions on issues like foreign policy, security and internal administration."

According to Mukherjee, Nehrus approach towards Nepal was informed by his vision of nurturing democracy in the Himalayan state following the collapse of the Rana regime. While King Tribhuvan is said to have floated the idea of Nepal becoming a province of India, Nehru dismissed it, insisting that Nepal must remain an independent nation.

The 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship

The backdrop to these claims lies in the 1950 Indo-Nepal Treaty, signed by Indias representative Chandrashekhar Prasad Narayan Singh and Nepalese Prime Minister Mohan Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana. The agreement outlined political, economic and security cooperation between the two neighbours.

When King Tribhuvan returned to Nepal in 1951, ending the century-old Rana dominance, he sought to restore constitutional democracy. This period also saw deepening ties between the Nepali Congress and India. Tribhuvans reliance on India and his overtures for closer integration were often cited as evidence that merger was once under consideration.

Revolution Against the Ranas

The Nepali Congress declared a revolution in 1950 to overthrow Rana rule, and King Tribhuvan aligned himself with both the Congress and pro-democracy factions of the Rana clan. Nepali author Amish Raj Mulmi has argued that the success of this uprising was possible only through joint efforts. By 1951, Tribhuvan had assumed power and installed a limited democratic framework under an interim constitution.

Allegations Against Nehru

Historians and diplomats have long contested the claim that Nehru turned down a formal merger proposal. Critics note that there is no documentary proof in the Ministry of External Affairs archives to suggest that King Tribhuvan ever offered to cede sovereignty.

A section of reports maintains that Tribhuvan favoured close relations with India, but Nehru, wary of potential Western, particularly British and American, interference, insisted Nepal must retain its independence. As one foreign policy paper observed, Nobody wants to give up their independence and identity," a view Nehru strongly believed in.

Did Patel Want Nepal to Join India?

Former Nepalese ambassador to India, Lok Raj Baral, has also questioned the narrative. According to him, I dont think the Ranas wanted Nepals merger with India. We have not found any such evidence. Yes, Tribhuvan was definitely in favour of closeness to India."

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Baral further noted that some accounts attribute a suggestion to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel for integrating Nepal into India. However, he clarified that there is no evidence for this claim either".

What emerges is a picture of ambiguity rather than certainty. While Pranab Mukherjees memoir rekindled the debate, academic consensus remains that there was never a concrete proposal for merger. Instead, the historical record points to Nehrus preference for a sovereign, democratic Nepal that remained a close ally of India rather than an Indian province.

First Published: September 11, 2025, 18:41 IST

News india Did Jawaharlal Nehru Reject Nepal's Merger With India? The Truth Explained

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'Fraught With Danger': MEA On Reports Of Indians Recruited Into Russian Army

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 10:02 IST

MEA urged all Indian nationals to stay away from any offers to join the Russian army as this is a course fraught with danger.

A Russian drone strike targeted a five-storey apartment block in Kharkiv. (AFP)

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said that it has taken up the issue of Indians joining Russias war against Ukraine, with Russian authorities in Moscow and Delhi. The ministry also urged the Indian nationals to stay away from offers to join the Russian Army.

We have seen reports about Indian nationals having been recruited recently into the Russian army. Government has on several occasions over the past one year underlined the risks and dangers inherent in this course of action and cautioned Indian citizens accordingly," MEA spokesperson said.

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We have also taken up the matter with Russian authorities, both in Delhi and Moscow, asking that this practice be ended and that our nationals be released. We are also in touch with the families of the affected Indian citizens," the statement added.

The ministry further urged all Indian nationals to stay away from any offers to join the Russian army as this is a course fraught with danger.

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The response comes after two Indian men, currently in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, reportedly claimed they had been lured to Russia on the pretext of construction jobs but were instead deployed to the frontline.

According to reports, the two recruits had traveled to Russia in the last six months on student or visitor visas. They alleged that an agent who promised them work in the construction sector sent them to the battlefield instead.

About the Author Mahima Joshi Mahima Joshi, Sub-Editor at News18.com, works with the India and Breaking team. Covering national stories and bringing breaking news to the table are her forte. She is deeply interested in Indian poli... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 10:02 IST

News india 'Fraught With Danger': MEA On Reports Of Indians Recruited Into Russian Army

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Caught On Camera: 6-Year-Old Falls Into Open Manhole In Hyderabad, Rescued By Mother

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 20:15 IST

A six-year-old girl in Hyderabads area fell into an open drain while walking with her mother but was rescued immediately. Her parents blamed civic authorities for negligence.

Girl falls into open manhole in Hyderabad (Video screengrabs)

A six-year-old girl fell into an open drain in Hyderabad on Wednesday. The incident happened in Moula Ka Chilla, the Yakutpura area of the city.

The child, who was walking alongside her mother, slipped into the uncovered drain but was immediately pulled out to safety.

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The incident was caught on a CCTV camera in the vicinity and showed the girl looking away while walking.

She stumbled and fell into the open manhole.

Later, the girls parents expressed anger over the civic authorities negligence, blaming the incident on the drain being left uncovered.

On September 7, a car carrying three police personnel plunged into the swollen Kshipra River after rains in Madhya Pradeshs Ujjain district.

The car had skidded off a bridge.

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The incident took place at around 9 pm, and the body of an inspector was later recovered while efforts were on to find the other two personnel.

The car fell into the river from the bridge without a railing, Jiawaji Ganj area City Superintendent of Police Pushpa Prajapati told news agency PTI over the phone.

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The body of Unhel police station house officer Ashok Sharma was later fished out from the river, about 8 km from the district headquarters.

Teams of the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and Home Guards with boats, drones and divers were searching for the two personnel.

About the Author Vani Mehrotra Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

First Published: September 11, 2025, 13:06 IST

News india Caught On Camera: 6-Year-Old Falls Into Open Manhole In Hyderabad, Rescued By Mother

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More than the vault, the real torture for children in gym class is having to perform coordination exercises: for example, moving one arm vertically while making a circular motion with the other. The human brain ends up getting confused. But octopuses can do a different thing with each of their eight arms or legs. A study published in Scientific Reports also shows how they reserve certain limbs for specific tasks. The authors of the research conclude that, based on their results, the octopus is a very tactile animal  its more tactile than visual

Marine biologists from the United States recorded 25 octopuses (three of them in the Vigo estuary), from three different species and six ecosystems across Europe and America. They documented over 4,000 arm movements, which allowed them to create what they call an ethogram  a catalog of the species behaviors or actions. They identified 15 behaviors (ranging from hiding to mating) and 12 movements (from lifting to reaching) of their eight arms, each of which can perform four basic deformations: elongating, contracting, stretching, or twisting. Adding to this complexity, each deformation can occur in the part of the arm closest to the head (proximal), the middle, or the tip (distal).

By analyzing all these combinations, the researchers confirmed the extreme dexterity of these cephalopods. One key finding is that each of the eight arms is capable of performing all types of actions; however, they also detected a clear pattern of task distribution. For example, the front limbs are mainly used for movements that help explore the environment, while the rear limbs are used for actions related to locomotion.

A specific detail points to the proactive nature of this unusual animal: the two front arms are used 64% of the time, while the two rear arms are used only 36% of the time. Despite this differentiation between front and rear limbs, octopuses are neither right- nor left-handed. The scientists found no lateralization, with left and right limbs performing almost the same number of actions (51% versus 49%, respectively).

Octopuses have four sets of muscles surrounding an axial nerve in each arm and thousands of neurons in each of the hundred suckers on each of their eight limbs. The image shows a specimen recorded in the U.S. Caribbean. Roger Hanlon

Observing them in the wild, we saw octopuses use different combinations of arm actions, says Chelsea O. Bennice, a biologist at Florida Atlantic Universitys Marine Laboratory, in a press release. Sometimes [they use] just one arm for tasks like grabbing food, and other times multiple arms working together for behaviors like crawling or launching a parachute attack  a hunting technique they use to catch prey.

No significant differences were found  beyond adaptations to each environment  in the behaviors observed across the six ecosystems, ranging from sandy beaches to reefs, nor in the movements of the three recorded species.

Combining all possibilities, the researchers documented 6,781 arm deformations. Each arm has a muscular configuration that, when all its possibilities are considered, explains the fascination many biologists have with this animal: the eight arms contain four sets of muscles. Some are transverse, others run longitudinally from the base to the tip, a third group is oblique along the length of the arm, and they also have circular muscles, like rings. The four sets surround an axial nerve that receives sensory input and distributes instructions to each part of the arm. The researchers observed that octopuses can deform each of the three segments (proximal, middle, and distal) of an arm differently and independently. While one arm stretches to explore, its tip twisting along its axis, others bend to lift the body, flexing a segment to remain upright.

And one must not forget the suckers. Each sucker is a chemo-tactile genius, the equivalent of the human nose, lips and tongue all wrapped into one, says Roger Hanlon, a researcher at the Marine Biology Laboratory and senior author of the study, in a press release. There are about 100 suckers on each arm, roughly 800 in total, and each contains thousands of distinct neurons. It has been estimated that an octopus has roughly 500 million neurons, far fewer than the nearly 100 billion in humans. But the key is in their distribution. Most human neurons are concentrated in the brain, whereas in the cephalopod, they are primarily in the arms and suckers.

Antonio Figueras, a professor at the Institute of Marine Research (IIM-CSIC), points out that octopuses have seven times more neurons in the periphery than in the center, whereas in humans, the ratio is reversed, with five to six times more in the central nervous system than in the rest of the body.

Three years ago, it was discovered that each arm has nerve connections with its two neighboring arms, confirming that this is one of the most decentralized nervous systems known. In an article published in The Conversation, the Spanish scientist described the octopus as an animal whose brain is distributed throughout its body. For Figueras, who did not participate in the current study, cephalopods are evolutions aliens, having developed intelligence along a parallel, alternative path to that of humans.

The U.S. Naval Research Office, part of the countrys Navy, partially funded the research with the idea of applying it to the development of robotic arms that are both highly flexible and sensory-capable. After a submarine sinks or a building collapses, Hanlon asks: How do you deliver a drug or a phone or water to someone whos [trapped] down there? You need some snaky little arm with high flexibility that cannot only get down there but can do something useful when it arrives, he concludes.

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Thieves Kill Hyderabad Woman With Pressure Cooker, Slit Her Throat, Then Shower Before Fleeing

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 12:34 IST

A 50-year-old woman was found murdered at her home in Hyderabad. Police said her newly hired house help and his accomplice were seen on CCTV before fleeing with valuables.

An AI-generated image to represent a murder at a home (News18)

A 50-year-old woman was found dead with stab wounds at her residence under the Kukatpally police station limits in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

The victim was identified as Renu Agarwal, who lived in the Swan Lake Condominium gated community in Kukatpally with her husband and son, who run a steel business.

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On Wednesday evening, after repeated phone calls to Renu went unanswered, the family returned home, broke open the door and found her lying in a pool of blood.

According to the police, the assailants had tied the hands and legs of the woman and stabbed her indiscriminately with a knife and scissors, leading to her death. They also allegedly used a pressure cooker to assault Renu.

The assailants also took a bath, apparently to wipe out evidence before leaving the flat.

They fled with cash and gold ornaments.

Police said the house help, Harsha (20), had been working there for only 10 days, and his friend Roshan, who was also seen in CCTV footage, is suspected of having aided in the crime.

Speaking to news agency ANI, a police official said, Yesterday evening, the Kukatpally police received information about a 50-year-old woman being murdered. Our inspector and team reached the spot and found the woman dead with stabbing injuries."

We suspect that a house help who came from Jharkhand may be involved, along with another person," the police added.

As the investigations were ongoing, they collected fingerprint clues from the scene of the offence and analysed the CCTV footage from various locations.

A case under the relevant section of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was lodged.

Meanwhile, the police formed special teams to track down the suspects.

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They were also trying to find out if the accused had a previous criminal record.

Woman, Driver Trade Slaps After Heated Argument Breaks Out In Bengaluru BMTC Bus | Video

About the Author Vani Mehrotra Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

First Published: September 11, 2025, 12:15 IST

News india Thieves Kill Hyderabad Woman With Pressure Cooker, Slit Her Throat, Then Shower Before Fleeing

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India Faces Looming Obesity Crisis As Overweight Rates Surge Across All Ages: UNICEF Report

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 15:45 IST

For the first time, obesity has surpassed underweight globally as the most common form of malnutrition among school-aged children and adolescents

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For the first time, obesity has surpassed underweight globally as the most common form of malnutrition among school-aged children and adolescents. (Image: Vecteezy)

India is facing a fast-escalating obesity crisis, with overweight and obesity rates rising across all age groups from under-five children to adolescents and adults, according to UNICEFs Child Nutrition Global Report, 2025, launched on Thursday.

Experts warn that unless urgent measures are taken, the country risks reversing hard-won gains in child health and pushing millions into lifelong poor health.

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For the first time, obesity has surpassed underweight globally as the most common form of malnutrition among school-aged children and adolescents. The report notes that today one in ten children worldwidenearly 188 millionlives with obesity. Once considered a disease of affluence, obesity is now spreading rapidly in low- and middle-income countries, including India.

Marie-Claude Desilets, chief, nutrition, UNICEF India, has warned of future consequences. With this high level of media exposure and easy access to unhealthy food, India is also following the same global trend with rapid rise in children and adolescents with overweight and obesity. The country is beginning to face the triple burden of malnutritionstunting & wasting, micronutrient deficiencies and obesityoften coexisting in the same family or even the same person. India has a unique opportunity to act now to prevent overweight and obesity in children."

In South Asia, the prevalence of overweight among school age children and adolescents is among the lowest of all regions but is rising at a fast pace. To better understand the food environments in and around schools, UNICEF conducted a U-Report poll in 2023 among adolescents aged 1319 across eight South Asian countries, including India. The poll explored both the availability and marketing of food in secondary schools.

Among these adolescents, about three-quarters (77 per cent) said freshly cooked meals are available. However, less than half (49 per cent) reported access to fresh vegetables and/or fruit. In contrast, unhealthy foods and beverages were disturbingly common, including packaged snacks (61 per cent), fast foods (55 per cent) and sugar-sweetened beverages (55 per cent). In fact, more students reported these products as available than fresh vegetables/fruit in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka."

The report highlighted a worrying trend. Marketing also plays a powerful role in shaping food choices. Almost one in two respondents (47 per cent) reported seeing food brands and logos within their schoolsranging from one in four students in Afghanistan to more than half in India."

Sharp rise across age groups

Indias National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data shows that overweight and obesity prevalence among under-five children has risen by 127 per cent in just over a decade, from 1.5 per cent in 200506 (NFHS-3) to 3.4 per cent in 201921 (NFHS-5). Among adolescents, the surge is even sharper: rates increased by 125 per cent among girls (2.4 to 5.4 per cent) and 288 per cent among boys (1.7 to 6.6 per cent).

Adults are no exception. The prevalence among women jumped 91 per cent (12.6 to 24 per cent), while among men it grew 146 per cent (9.3 to 22.9 per cent) in the same period. By 2030, India is projected to be home to over 27 million children and adolescents (519 years) living with obesity, accounting for 11 per cent of the global burden.

Warnings from UNICEF

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A UNICEF U-Report poll among adolescents and young adults in 171 countries found that over two-thirds are exposed to food marketing, with 75 per cent seeing ads for sugary drinks, fast food or snacks in the previous week, mostly on social media.

Without urgent action through stronger policies India risks reversing hard-won gains in child health and locking millions into a lifetime of poor health," cautioned Arjan De Wagt, UNICEF Indias Deputy Representative for Programmes.

About the Author Himani Chandna Himani Chandna, Associate Editor at CNN News18, specialises in healthcare and pharmaceuticals. With firsthand insights into India's COVID-19 battle, she brings a seasoned perspective. She is particu... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 15:39 IST

News india India Faces Looming Obesity Crisis As Overweight Rates Surge Across All Ages: UNICEF Report

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India Ups Border Security Amid Nepal Jailbreaks; 21 Detained In Bihar

Curated By :

News18.com Edited By: Pragati Ratti



Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 12:07 IST

According to reports, at least 7,000 prisoners from different jails across Nepal have fled in several jailbreaks.

People move past a security check post in the wake of violent protests that erupted in Kathmandu, near the India-Nepal border, in Raxaul, Bihar. (Image: PTI)

Tensions have escalated along the IndiaNepal border after a series of prison escapes in Nepal amid the countrys political and social turmoil. At least 21 people were detained in Bihars Sitamarhi, that shares border with Nepal, after prisoners from the Jaleshwar jail reportedly attempted to enter India. The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and local police have stepped up vigilance across the neighboring districts.

Following the jailbreak in Nepals Jaleshwar, an alert was sounded and 21 people have been detained. All police stations are on alert, and in view of the situation, buses and vehicles are being checked in Sitamarhi," Amit Ranjan, SP of Sitamarhi, told PTI.

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According to reports, at least 7,000 prisoners from different jails across Nepal have fled in several jailbreaks after protesters set fire to government buildings and prisons in the country.

Nepal Jailbreaks

Jaleshwar Prison: Protesters and inmates at Jaleshwar overwhelmed the jail one evening, bringing down walls and gates. Reports say nearly all prisoners were able to flee: most outlets put the number of escapees in the mid-500s (roughly 570576). Videos and witness accounts described crowds surging through the compound while prison records and some infrastructure were damaged, complicating later identification and recapture. Indian border forces later reported intercepting some of those who tried to cross into neighbouring Bihar.

Nakhu (Nakhhu)/Lalitpur Prison: Nakhu jail in Lalitpur, within the Kathmandu valley, was among the facilities stormed as protests swept the capital. Demonstrators forced entry, damaged internal records and set some documents ablaze; prison gates were broken and large groups of inmates streamed out amid the chaos. Authorities said hundreds fled from central-Kathmandu-area prisons while security services struggled to restore order.

Gaur Jail: In Rautahats Gaur facility, attackers and rioters reportedly overran the jail compound, allowing most inmates to break out. Local reports suggest that of a few hundred detainees held there, a large majority escaped after the compound was vandalised.

Prisons in central Kathmandu saw large numbers of inmates leave as protests and rioting engulfed government areas. Demonstrators attacked detention blocks, torched nearby buildings and in some cases forced guards to retreat. Multiple reports put the tally from central-Kathmandu facilities in the hundreds to thousands, and noted that some escapees used the confusion to flee into city neighbourhoods.

Kapilvastu/Taulihawa Jail: Authorities also reported escapes from the Kapilvastu areas jail at Taulihawa, with several fugitives trying to move towards the India border. Indian security forces (SSB) detained a small group of escapees  including both Nepali and Indian nationals  while they attempted to cross at known porous points. Those apprehended told investigators they fled the unrest and, in some cases, sought to surrender to Indian custody rather than face the lawlessness back home.

Several peripheral and far-western jails  including facilities in Jumla, Bajhang and Kailali  also reported inmates fleeing after guards were overwhelmed or fled themselves. In many of these districts the prisons are small and already overcrowded; when protesters in nearby towns clashed with security units, detainees seized the moment to escape.

In the hill district of Dhading and in a few juvenile homes, clashes between guards and fleeing detainees turned deadly; local media reported that a small number of inmates and juveniles died in the confrontations. Several juvenile detainees also escaped when security weakened, and officials later reported both fatalities and injuries among inmates and staff.

Tulsipur (Dang district area) and parts of Kailali also saw coordinated attacks on jails as protests radiated from urban centres into smaller towns. The Nepal Army on Thursday also fired shots at prisoners taking advantage of the countrys unrest and power vacuum, who attempted to flee from the Ramechhap prison. The Kathmandu Post quoted authorities as reporting that the army troops opened fire to stop a mass breakout from Ramechhap District Prison, wounding more than a dozen inmates.

Indias Borders With Nepal

India shares an extensive land border of approximately 1,751 km with Nepal. The Indian states along this border are  Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim.

These states are crucial because of their porous terrain in many stretches, cross-border people movement, trade, and shared culture. Security along these stretches becomes especially important when instability arises across the border.

In response to the jail breaks and unrest in Nepal, India has taken multiple steps to secure the border. The Sashastra Seema Bal has intensified checks at all entry points along the Nepal border. Identity verification (ID cards, travel documents) is being emphasised.

According to news agency ANI, paramilitary forces and police were on patrol at Panitanki in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. Trucks were stranded as trade was partially halted amid the tensions. Area superintendent of police (SP) Praveen Parkash said, A police post has been set up here with deployment of force. We are on alert mode and monitoring the situation. Theres no information about anyone being stuck."

Additionally, similar alerts were also placed in Uttar Pradesh and other regions of India that border Nepal.

Joint patrols and tight coordination between SSB and state/local police in border districts (especially in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand) have been stepped up. Some routes and crossings are being tested more carefully; authorities are allowing only those having proper identification to cross in many places.

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In Bihar, the Kathmandu-Maitri bus service has been suspended until further notice.

District administrations in border states have placed border police stations on high alert. Surveillance of villages near the border has increased.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 12:07 IST

News india India Ups Border Security Amid Nepal Jailbreaks; 21 Detained In Bihar

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'Sign Of Importance In Ties': Indian Ambassador On Sergio Gor's Nomination As US Envoy

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 09:12 IST

Indias Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, welcomed Trumps nomination of Sergio Gor as the next US envoy to New Delhi, calling it a sign of the 'importance and priority'.

Sergio Gor poses on the red carpet during the 26th Mark Twain Prize for American Humor (File photo/Reuters)

US ambassador-designate to India Sergio Gors nomination to serve in Delhi is viewed as a sign of importance and priority" of bilateral ties, Indias Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra said, adding that Gor is one of Donald Trumps most trusted aides".

Kwatra also said the move is seen as a commitment to strengthen the bridges and deepen the bonds of friendship between our two countries".

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I welcome that President Trump is sending one of his most trusted aides, Sergio Gor, to serve as the next US Ambassador to India," Kwatra said in a post on X Wednesday.

This move is viewed as a sign of importance and priority of India-US ties, and a commitment to strengthen the bridges and deepen the bonds of friendship between our two countries," he added.

I welcome that President Trump is sending one of his most trusted aides, @SergioGor to serve as the next U.S. Ambassador to India. This move is viewed as a sign of importance and priority of India-U.S ties, and a commitment to strengthen the bridges and deepen the bonds of Amb Vinay Mohan Kwatra (@AmbVMKwatra) September 10, 2025

Last month, Donald Trump had said he would nominate Sergio Gor, one of his closest aides, to be the next US ambassador to India, where he will oversee frosty relations that have worsened with the planned doubling of US tariffs on goods from India next week.

Gor, who worked as the director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, would also serve as a special envoy for South and Central Asian affairs, Trump said.

Trump added that Gor would remain in his current position until he is confirmed for the India post by the US Senate.

Sergio is a great friend, who has been at my side for many years. He worked on my Historic Presidential Campaigns, published my Best Selling Books, and ran one of the biggest Super PACs, which supported our Movement," Trump said, lauding Gors work in hiring staff for his second term.

Gor, in a posting on X, thanked Trump for the nomination and said it would be the honor of my life" to represent the United States in the new role.

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ALSO READ | Chinese Envoy Takes Dig At Trump, Asks India To Oppose Tariffs

About the Author Vani Mehrotra Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

First Published: September 11, 2025, 08:53 IST

News india 'Sign Of Importance In Ties': Indian Ambassador On Sergio Gor's Nomination As US Envoy

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Indian Couple Trapped in Nepal Gen Z Protests Jump From Burning Hotel; Woman Dies, Husband Injured

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News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 22:13 IST

A woman died and a man was injured after riots led to a fire at Hotel Hyatt Regency in Kathmandu during their Pashupatinath Temple visit. The family blames poor embassy support.

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An aerial view shows firefighters dousing the torched Singha Durbar, the main administrative building for the Nepal government, a day after it was set ablaze by protesters in Kathmandu on September 10. (Image: by PRABIN RANABHAT/AFP)

A visit to Nepals Pashupatinath temple turned tragic for a Ghaziabad couple when riots erupted in Kathmandu. A 55-year-old woman lost her life in a hotel fire while her husband sustained serious injuries.

Rajesh Gola had gone with her husband, Ramveer Singh Gola, to visit Kathmandus Pashupatinath Temple on September 7. But the violent incidents there turned their pilgrimage into a horrific tragedy.

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The couple was staying at the Hotel Hyatt Regency in Kathmandu. On the night of September 9, protestors suddenly surrounded the hotel and set it on fire. As the flames spread, panic broke out inside. Firefighters and officials tried to evacuate people, but the situation spiralled out of control. In the chaos, the couple jumped from the fourth floor to save themselves and were both seriously injured.

Meanwhile, the mobs anger grew even more intense. Amid the chaos, Ramveer and Rajesh got separated. When Ramveer reached a relief camp, he received the devastating news that his wife Rajesh had died.

Rajeshs son, Vishal Gola, tearfully said his parents had gone to Nepal to visit the temple and never imagined such a tragedy.

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This trip became my mothers last journey. The crowd didnt even spare such a big hotel. If my parents had stayed together, maybe my mother would still be alive. She was badly injured when she jumped from the fourth floor, but the biggest blow was being left alone. The army didnt take them together  they took my mother first, then my father, and in that shock, she passed away," he said.

The family claims they received little help from the Indian Embassy in Nepal. When the embassy itself wasnt safe, they refused to help us," they said. Somehow, the family is bringing Rajeshs body back to Ghaziabad tonight.

First Published: September 11, 2025, 22:13 IST

News india Indian Couple Trapped in Nepal Gen Z Protests Jump From Burning Hotel; Woman Dies, Husband Injured

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India's Op Sindoor Gets A Boost As Netanyahu Defends Cross-Border Anti-Terror Strikes | Exclusive

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CNN-News18

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 14:46 IST

The Israeli PMs statement aligns with Indias consistent position that prior international approval is not required when dealing with imminent cross-border terrorist threats

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Benjamin Netanyahu (IMAGE: AFP)

In a move that is being seen as subtle support for India, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly endorsed the principle of cross-border counterterrorism strikes, invoking the US raid on Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad and Israels recent strike in Qatar.

Describing the October 7 attack as Israels 9/11 moment and accusing Qatar of providing a safe haven to Hamas, Netanyahu said: I say to Qatar and all nations who harbour terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice. Because if you dont, we will."

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The Israeli PM, while drawing parallels between his countrys strike and US actions, said: What did America do in the wake of September 11th? It promised to hunt down the terrorists who committed this heinous crime, wherever they may be. And it also passed a resolution in the UN Security Council, two weeks later, stating that governments cannot give harbour to terrorists. Well, yesterday, we acted along those lines." He added: We did exactly what America did; went after Al-Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan and later killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan."

Top Indian intelligence sources told CNN-News18 that Netanyahus remarks are being viewed in New Delhi as a strong endorsement of Indias position that Operation Sindoor, which targeted ISI-backed terror groups in Pakistans Bahawalpur and Muridke, was an act of legitimate self-defence and not aggression.

Netanyahu reminded global critics that Israel, like the United States in 2011, acted under the UN Charters Article 51, which permits nations to take proportionate military action in self-defence.

The statement aligns with Indias consistent position that prior international approval is not required when dealing with imminent cross-border terrorist threats. Indian officials argue that Pakistans continued support and safe haven for terror groups amounts to a direct threat to Indian sovereignty, justifying retaliatory strikes under international law.

Operation Sindoor, launched after the Pahalgam terror attack, targeted key infrastructure linked to Pakistan-based terror networks. Indian sources say the strike was limited, precise, and targeted, designed to degrade the operational capabilities of terrorist groups actively planning further attacks on Indian soil.

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The Israeli leaders comments are being seen not only as a strategic signal of solidarity but also as an affirmation of a new global consensus emerging around cross-border counterterrorism. From NATOs actions post-9/11 to Israels regional strikes and Indias recent offensive, the norms of security engagement are shifting, say experts.

Netanyahus statement is expected to strengthen Indias diplomatic case at multilateral forums, particularly as questions are raised by some countries over the legality of cross-border military operations. By drawing a legal and moral parallel between the operations, the Israeli prime minister has added crucial weight to Indias justification, reinforcing its right to defend itself without waiting for global consensus or approval.

About the Author Manoj Gupta Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18

First Published: September 11, 2025, 14:46 IST

News india India's Op Sindoor Gets A Boost As Netanyahu Defends Cross-Border Anti-Terror Strikes | Exclusive

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Last Updated: September 14, 2025, 12:26 IST

Kerala Lottery Karunya Plus KN-589 Results: The first prize winner of Karunya Plus KN-589 will get Rs 1 crore. (Image: Shutterstock)

Kerala Lottery Result Today Live, 11-09-2025: The Kerala State Lottery Department has announced the results of the Karunya Plus KN-589 Lottery today, September 11, 2025. The draw was conducted at Gorky Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram at 3 PM. The first prize worth Rs 1 crore has been won by the ticket numbered PJ 313650, sold in Irinjalakkuda, through agent E S Chandran (Agency No: R 6859).

ALSO READ: Kerala Lottery Result Today, September 14, 2025 Live: Samrudhi SM-20 Bumper Winning Numbers

The second prize of Rs 30 lakh goes to ticket number PE 913280, sold in Kollam, by agent Ajeesh A G (Agency No: Q 8518). The third prize of Rs 5 lakh is awarded to ticket number PJ 107752, sold in Palakkad, through P Mohanan (Agency No: P 321).

Check the Live Updates and Full List of winning numbers below.
Kota Dussehra To Witness World's Tallest 215-Foot Ravana, Effigy To Be Burnt With...

Curated By :

Translation Desk

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 19:39 IST

The grand spectacle will also feature effigies of Ravana's brother Kumbhakaran and son Meghnad, each standing 60 feet tall and weighing nearly 1,000 kgs

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Nearly 9,500 kgs of iron have gone into the framework, while the face, crafted from fibre, alone weighs around 300 kgs. (News18 Hindi)

Preparations for this years Dussehra festival in Kota, Rajasthan, are set to make history with the construction of what organisers claim will be the worlds tallest effigy of Ravana. Standing at a staggering 215 feet, the structure weighs nearly 12 tonnes and is expected to become the centrepiece of the celebrations.

According to organisers, the colossal effigy will take only three hours to erect and, for the first time, will be set aflame using a remote-controlled ignition system. The burning will be done with a remote for the first time," they said, adding that 20 sensors have been installed to trigger a sequence of fireworks that will ignite the figure from crown to base.

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The scale of the construction is unprecedented. Nearly 9,500 kgs of iron have gone into the framework, while the face, crafted from fibre, alone weighs around 300 kgs. Ravanas head measures 25 feet, while the remaining nine heads are each three by six feet in size. A crown rising 60 feet will glitter with multi-colour LED lights, while the effigys sword measures 50 feet and its shoes 40 feet.

The grand spectacle will also feature effigies of Ravanas brother Kumbhakaran and son Meghnad, each standing 60 feet tall and weighing nearly 1,000 kgs. Their faces too have been fashioned from 10-foot-long fibre moulds.

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For stability, a 6-foot deep and 25-foot wide concrete foundation has been laid. More than 100 workers, assisted by two cranes and a JCB machine, are engaged in the installation.

Behind the mammoth creation is artist Tejendra Chauhan, who has been building Ravana effigies for the past 39 years. Chauhans work has already secured him seven records, five in the Limca Book of Records and two in World Record India. Such is his passion for larger-than-life effigies that he reportedly sold 12.5 acres of land to continue financing his art.

Location : Kota, India, India

First Published: September 11, 2025, 19:39 IST

News india Kota Dussehra To Witness World's Tallest 215-Foot Ravana, Effigy To Be Burnt With...

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Low-Intensity Blast Rocks Jammu And Kashmir's Doda, Cops Question Two Suspects

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 18:00 IST

The blast comes amid tension in the district of Doda following the detention of AAP MLA Mehraj Malik under the stringent Public Safety Act.

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Security personnel stand guard near a market area in Doda district, Jammu and Kashmir. (IMAGE: PTI/REPRESENTATIVE FILE)

A blast of low-intensity occurred on Thursday afternoon near a mosque in Jammu and Kashmirs Doda town. According to the Indian Express, who first reported the development, the blast took place near Thukar Mohalla of Doda town. Officials speaking to the newspaper said that no one was injured.

Their report highlighted that the low-intensity blast took place under mysterious circumstances" near Jama Masjid. Citing people familiar with the matter, the newspaper said that police have taken two individuals into custody for questioning.

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The police and FSL teams are on the job to ascertain details," DIG Ramban, Doda and Kishtwar range, Shridhar Patil was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The blast comes amid tension in the district of Doda following the detention of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Mehraj Malik under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA), the newspaper pointed out.

Malik, who won the Doda seat in the 2024 assembly elections by over 4,500 votes, was detained on Monday under the PSA for allegedly disturbing public order, officials said. He was subsequently lodged in the Kathua district jail.

This is the first time a sitting MLA in Jammu and Kashmir has been taken into custody under the stringent law, which allows detention without charge or trial for up to two years in some cases.

Police also prevented AAP party workers from holding a protest march in Srinagar against the detention of its Doda MLA Mehraj Malik. The move also blocked party leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, from leaving the Circuit House where they were staying, according to PTI.

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Singh and other AAP members had arrived in Srinagar on Wednesday and were scheduled to hold a press conference and a sit-in protest at the citys Press Enclave.

A police posse was deployed outside the Circuit House in the Sonwar area, and its gates were shut. When Singh and his team attempted to leave, they were not allowed to move out.

About the Author Shankhyaneel Sarkar Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has c... Read More

Location : Doda, India, India

First Published: September 11, 2025, 17:55 IST

News india Low-Intensity Blast Rocks Jammu And Kashmir's Doda, Cops Question Two Suspects

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Remove Bad Mangoes Before Entire Box Is Rotten: Kharge On Non-Performing Congress Leaders

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 12:57 IST

Kharge emphasised on strengthening the party at the grassroots and booth level, and underlined the importance of discipline, dedication and ideological commitment

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge rged party leaders from Gujarat to take note of an internal report that has indicated that 19 out of 41 City and District units of the party are lagging in their performance

Reiterating Congresss stance on compromised" and non-performing" leaders, party president Mallikarjun Kharge has called for immediate removal of the bad mangoes before the entire box is rotten".

While inaugurating District Congress Presidents training camp in Junagadh on Wednesday, Kharge emphasised on strengthening the party at the grassroots and booth level, and underlined the importance of discipline, dedication and ideological commitment" along with reorienting with changing times" to save the democracy in the country.

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He urged party leaders from Gujarat to take note of an internal report that has indicated that 19 out of 41 City and District units of the party are lagging in their performance. Mincing no words, Kharge asked the state party leaders to remove immediately" the bad mangoes before the entire box is rotten".

Indian Express quoted senior party leaders as saying that Kharge was referring to an internal party report, which has been compiled based on the data for the last three months of programmes organised by various party units in matters directed by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) or Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC).

This comes in line with Congresss stance on showing the door" to compromised" and non-performing" leaders.

In March, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said that the party will remove leaders who were secretly working for the BJP.

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There are two types of people in the Gujarat Congress leadership and among workers. Those who are honest with people, who fight for them, respect them and have the ideology of the Congress in their heart. Then there are others who sit far away from the people, do not respect them, and half of whom are with the BJP," he said.

In the 2022 Gujarat Assembly elections, the Congress won only 17 of the 182 seats in the state with the BJP securing 156, , its biggest ever victory in the state. The Congresss strength in the House dropped to 12 after the resignation of five MLAs.

Location : Gujarat, India, India

First Published: September 11, 2025, 11:01 IST

News india Remove Bad Mangoes Before Entire Box Is Rotten: Kharge On Non-Performing Congress Leaders

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The MAGA leader died from a gunshot to the neck during a public event on a Utah campus. Authorities say they have recovered a high-powered rifle

The search for the suspect in the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk continued relentlessly on Thursday. The FBI announced at a press conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, that the man who shot Kirk from a distance, hitting him in the neck and killing him instantly, used, according to initial findings, a high-powered, bolt-action rifle that was found in a wooded area close to the crime scene. Within hours, the FBI posted two photos of the suspect on its X account.

The images show a man wearing a black cap and sunglasses, dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt with a print that appears to include an American flag.

Kirk  a close ally and personal friend of U.S. President Donald Trump  was at the start of a public event on Wednesday around midday local time, debating with hundreds of attendees at one of the events he regularly organized on campuses across the country. He was killed at Utah Valley University, in the town of Orem, near Salt Lake City. He was 31 years old.

At the press conference, an FBI spokesperson said they had images but were not planning to release them at that time. In those images, the spokesperson said, an individual could be seen who appears to be of college age. They did not rule out that he might be a student at Utah Valley.

The spokesperson also said agents were canvassing the areas around the university to locate him. Nearly 24 hours after the tragic incident, that operation had not yielded results. If we are unsuccessful in identifying them immediately, we will reach out for the publics help and the medias help in pushing those photos, the spokesperson announced. The FBI ultimately released the images around noon (Washington time), and television networks began broadcasting them repeatedly in the hope that someone would provide information about the fugitives whereabouts.

Later, Robert Bohls, who identified himself as the lead on-site agent for the investigation, spoke about the weapon used: a .30 caliber hunting rifle, an older model. It was found discarded in the woods, wrapped in a towel, with one spent cartridge and another still in the chamber, according to anonymous sources cited by The Wall Street Journal. The New York newspaper also reported that investigators had found ammunition engraved with expressions of transgender and anti-fascist ideology. At the moment of his death, Kirk had just answered a question from a student, who has not been identified, about mass shootings carried out by transgender individuals.

Authorities said they had received 130 tips and appreciated the publics assistance. Bohls added that they also had the suspects fingerprints. The FBI confirmed that they had mapped the suspects movements from when he approached the building from which he fired from the rooftop, to his escape from the crime scene.

Kirk, evacuated by his security team to a nearby hospital, died within minutes. Dozens of cell phones captured the killing, and the horrific footage quickly circulated online, though none of the cameras at the scene captured the location of the shooter at the time  an elevated rooftop about 100 meters away, from which he could comfortably aim at his target. Some videos shared on social media showing the moments immediately after the shot do depict someone appearing to run at full speed across the rooftop from which the shooter apparently fired.

Charlie Kirk hands out hats before speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP) Associated Press/LaPresse (APN)

Kirk, a staunch defender of the Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to bear arms, was in the middle of a discussion about the recurrence of mass shootings in the United States when the bullet struck his neck, and blood began to gush out.

Confusion in the early hours

The university quickly announced that a suspect had been detained. Shortly afterward, the police contradicted the academic authorities: someone had indeed been arrested, but only for obstruction of justice. Moreover, that individual was quickly released.

Confusion continued when, hours later, FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X that they had found the person they were looking for. The subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody. Thank you to the local and state authorities in Utah for your partnership with, Patel wrote. He had been appointed by Trump to a position for which he had no prior experience. Embarrassment followed soon after, when it was announced that the second suspect was also not Kirks killer.

Once apprehended, the suspect faces the death penalty in the state of Utah, according to Republican Governor Spencer Cox, who spoke at an emotional press conference on Wednesday, just hours after the killing. Cox also ruled out the involvement of any additional persons.

If charged with a terrorism offense, the case would enter the federal criminal system, and the Department of Justice could also seek the death penalty. Given Trumps close relationship with Kirk and the outrage with which the president received the news, there is little doubt that, if the case proceeds, he will urge Attorney General Pam Bondi to ensure that the full weight of the law falls on the killer of the young MAGA leader.

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Risk Of Dying From Chronic Disease Higher For Indian Women Than Men: Lancet Study

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 05:22 IST

Data shows that chances of women dying from a non-communicable disease between birth and the age of 80 years were 46.7% in 2001. By 2019, the probability had increased to 48.7%

In the analysis, Imperial researchers worked with the WHO and other collaborators to estimate the risk of dying from chronic diseases. (Representational image)

The likelihood of dying from chronic disease grew from 2010 to 2019 for both women and men in India, according to the latest Lancet study on global deaths due to chronic diseases.

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The analysis, led by researchers at Imperial College Londonand funded by the UK Medical Research Council, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the NCD Alliancetracks global progress in reducing deaths from chronic or non-communicable" diseases (NCDs) in 185 countries from 2010 to 2019.

Situation in India

It found that in India, the picture was worse for women, who had a greater increase in risk than men".

Why? The study explained that deaths from most causes of chronic disease increased, with heart disease and diabetes contributing heavily".

The data shows that the chances of women dying from a non-communicable disease between birth and the age of 80 years were 46.7 per cent in 2001. By 2019, the probability had increased to 48.7 per cent. Similarly, for men, the chances went up from 56 per cent to 57.9 per cent.

Professor Majid Ezzati from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London and senior author of the report told News18 in an emailed response, Indias economic and technological advances provide an opportunity to rapidly scale up effective healthcare interventions to its population and reverse the rise in NCDs."

The report claims to be the most comprehensive assessment of global progress in reducing NCD mortality at the national level, benchmarking countries against their own previous performance as well as against peer countries in their region.

Globally, it was found that mortality from chronic diseases decreased in 80 per cent of countries during the decade leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic (2010-2019). However, progress slowed, with 60 per cent of countries performing worse than in the preceding decade.

Among high-income industrialised countries, Denmark, South Korea, and Singapore showed some of the greatest reductions, while the United States of America and Germany were among the worst performers, experiencing the smallest decreases in mortality risk over 2010-2019.

According to the studys authors, globally, death rates from diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and stroke declined in four out of five countries in the decade leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic, but progress slowed compared to the previous decade.

It found that while chronic disease deaths declined for most countries over the period, in almost two-thirds (60 per cent) of countries the rate of decline was slower than in the preceding decade.

Findings at the global level

In most countries, the analysis found, reductions in deaths from cardiovascular diseases (including heart attacks and strokes) were the greatest contributors to declining chronic disease mortality. Reductions in deaths from cancers such as stomach, colorectal, cervical, breast, lung, and prostate also contributed to the overall decline.

However, increases in deaths from dementia, other neuropsychiatric conditions (including alcohol use disorder), and some other cancers (like pancreatic and liver), counteracted gains," it said.

The authors caution that while the recent worldwide decline in mortality from these conditions is a success story, the slowdown shows an urgent need to further roll out policies and healthcare programmes that drove rapid improvements in the early 2000sincluding access to preventive medications, cancer screening for early detection, and treatment and support services for both long-term conditions like diabetes and acute events like stroke or heart attack.

Later this month, the reports authors will join leading experts from around the world in New York at UNGA 80 to discuss the implications of their findings in the lead up to the United Nations Fourth High-Level meeting on NCDs," said the press release issued by Imperial College London.

Our latest report shows that while the majority of countries around the world are making progress to reduce the risk of dying from chronic disease, compared to the previous decade, progress has slowed, stalled or even reversed in some nations," said Professor Majid Ezzati in the release. In many countries, effective healthcare programmes like medications for diabetes, hypertension and cholesterol, as well as timely cancer screening and heart attack treatment, may not be reaching the people who need them, and they are being left out of the health system."

In the analysis, Imperial researchers worked with the WHO and other collaborators to estimate the risk of dying from chronic diseases.

They found that chronic disease mortality decreased in all high-income countries in Europe, North America, and the Pacific over the period. Globally, Qatar, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan experienced the greatest declines in mortality for both men and women. The greatest increases over the period were seen in South Sudan, Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for women, while the largest increases for men were seen in Cabo Verde, Honduras and Jamaica."

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However, the authors warn that data is scarce in many of these countries, and hence the trends should be interpreted with caution. Denmark, Norway, and Sweden saw some of the greatest declines in chronic disease mortality in the wealthy industrialised world. By contrast, Germany performed poorly, with the second-smallest decline in chronic disease mortality of any high-income industrialised country after the United States of America.

About the Author Himani Chandna Himani Chandna, Associate Editor at CNN News18, specialises in healthcare and pharmaceuticals. With firsthand insights into India's COVID-19 battle, she brings a seasoned perspective. She is particu... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 05:22 IST

News india Risk Of Dying From Chronic Disease Higher For Indian Women Than Men: Lancet Study

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Shashi Tharoor's 'Worrying Portent' Post After Jamaat-e-Islami Sweeps Dhaka University Polls

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 17:17 IST

Shashi Tharoor warns Jamaat-e-Islamis student wings Dhaka University win signals major change for Bangladesh politics.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor (Image Credit: PTI)

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor raised alarm over the sweeping victory of Jamaat-e-Islamis student wing at Dhaka University, describing it as a worrying portent" for Bangladeshs political trajectory and for Indias relations with its eastern neighbour.

On X (formerly Twitter), Shashi Tharoor wrote, This may have registered as barely a blip on most Indian minds, but it is a worrying portent of things to come."

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Pointing to the growing disenchantment among Bangladeshis with both mainstream parties- the now-banned Awami League and the Bangladesh National Party (BNP)- Shashi Tharoor observed, Those who wish a plague on both your houses are increasingly turning to the Jamaat-e-Islami, not because these voters are zealots or Islamist fundamentalists, but because the JeI are not tainted by the corruption and misgovernance associated, rightly or wrongly, with the two mainstream parties."

The Congress leader cautioned that the development could have far-reaching implications, concluding his post with a pointed question, How will this play out in the February 2026 general elections? Will New Delhi be dealing with a Jamaat majority next door?"

Parliamentary elections in Bangladesh are scheduled for February 2026.

Jamaat-e-Islamis Poll Victory Breaks 54-Year Drought

In a watershed moment, Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), the student front of Jamaat-e-Islami, captured nine of the 12 key posts in the Dhaka University Central Students Union (DUCSU) elections held this week- the first Islamist victory in student union polls since Bangladeshs independence in 1971.

Sadik Qayem was elected Vice-President with 1,442 votes, while SM Farhad secured the General Secretarys post with 10,794 votes. The BNP-backed Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), historically a dominant force on campus, rejected the results, alleging planned manipulation" and terming the outcome a farce.

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The Students Against Discrimination (SAD)- once at the vanguard of last years July Uprising" that toppled Sheikh Hasinas Awami League government- failed to make a mark amid deep internal divisions.

Meanwhile, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunuss interim government has already banned the Awami Leagues student wing, the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), branding it a terrorist organisation."

First Published: September 11, 2025, 17:17 IST

News india Shashi Tharoor's 'Worrying Portent' Post After Jamaat-e-Islami Sweeps Dhaka University Polls

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Special Court Rejects NIA Plea For Polygraph, Narco Tests On 2 Accused Of Aiding Pahalgam Attackers

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 19:27 IST

Bashir Ahmad and Parvaiz Ahmad were arrested on charges of harbouring and providing food and other logistical support to the Pahalgam terrorists

The NIA is India's premier agency investigating all terror cases. (File pic/PTI)

The Special NIA Court in Jammu has dismissed an application filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) seeking permission to conduct polygraph and narco-analysis tests on accused Bashir Ahmad Jothatd and Parvaiz Ahmad in connection with the April 2025 Pahalgam attack.

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The case pertains to selective firing based on religious identity of tourists on 22.04.2025 by some unknown terrorists using automatic weapons under a pre-mediated conspiracy at behest of foreign handlers which led to death of 26 tourists and grievous injuries to few others", the court notes accessed by News18 showed.

The NIA told the court that above said accused Bashir Ahmad Jothatd (A-1) and Parvaiz Ahmad (A-2) were arrested on 22.06.2025 in the case as they have harbored, provided food and other logistics support to the terrorists before commission of the crime". It further submitted that the above-named accused persons are presently in police custody, and are inconsistent on various points in their statements and this is hampering investigation".

The agency argued that the polygraph/Narco test of the accused needs to be conducted to get precise and substantial leads regarding the investigation". It also said that the above-named accused persons have volunteered to Lie Detector Test and Narco analysis test to prove their innocence and has given their consent".

Referring to Supreme Court precedent, the NIA stated: The Honble Supreme Court of India in Selvi & others v/s State of Karnataka reported in 2010(7) SCC 263 has held that no individual should be forcibly subjected to any of the techniques in question, whether in the context of investigation in criminal case or otherwise. However, we do leave room for the voluntary administration of the impugned techniques in the context of criminal justice, provided that certain safeguards are in place."

The agency therefore prayed that this Court may be pleased to allow this application and permit the NIA to conduct Polygraph/Narco Analysis test on both the accused persons with the help of experts of Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in the interest of investigation".

However, after being produced in court, both the accused persons have submitted in open court that they are not willing to undergo polygraph/ narco analysis test", the order stated.

The court held that involuntary administration of scientific techniques such as narco-analysis, polygraph examination test would violate the right against self-incrimination enumerated in Article 20 (3) of the Constitution".

Citing Selvi & Ors vs State of Karnataka (2010) and National Human Rights Commission guidelines, the court concluded: In view of detailed discussion made herein above and keeping in view the fact that both the accused persons have submitted in court today that they are not willing to undergo polygraph/ narco analysis test, the application is accordingly dismissed."

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The order was pronounced on August 29, 2025, by Additional Sessions Judge, Designated Special Court, under the NIA Act, Jammu.

About the Author Ankur Sharma With over 15 years of journalistic experience, Ankur Sharma, Associate Editor, specializes in internal security and is tasked with providing comprehensive coverage from the Ministry of Home Affairs, p... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 19:27 IST

News india Special Court Rejects NIA Plea For Polygraph, Narco Tests On 2 Accused Of Aiding Pahalgam Attackers

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Supreme Court Reserves Verdict In Presidential Reference On Timelines For Bills' Assent

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 14:27 IST

The SC reserved verdict on President Murmu's Article 143 reference about time limits for President and Governors to assent to bills, after hearing states and Union arguments.

A five-judge constitution bench of Supreme Court concluded the hearing. (Image: PTI/File)

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict in the reference made by President Droupadi Murmu under Article 143, concerning the time limits for the President and state governors to grant assent to legislative bills under Articles 200 and 201 of the Constitution.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, Justice Surya Kant, Justice Vikram Nath, Justice PS Narasimha and Justice AS Chandurkar heard the matter for ten days, according to a report in Live Law.

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The reference, made in May, followed a two-judge bench decision in the Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravis case, which addressed delays by constitutional authorities in acting on bills passed by state legislatures.

The current hearing focused not on reviewing that verdict but on answering broader constitutional questions, as clarified by the bench multiple times.

States like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Punjab, and West Bengal questioned the necessity of the reference, arguing that the earlier judgment had already addressed these issues. However, the Court explored whether Governors could indefinitely delay assent without returning bills, warning that such power could undermine the authority of elected governments.

Attorney General R. Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Union government, opposed fixed timelines. They argued that the Constitution grants discretion to the President and Governors, and judicially imposing deadlines could breach the separation of powers.

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On the other hand, senior advocates including Kapil Sibal (for the State of West Bengal), Dr. A.M. Singhvi ( for Tamil Nadu), K.K. Venugopal (for Kerala), and Gopal Subramanium (for Karnataka) supported time-bound actions, stating that delays damage federal principles and legislative functioning.

Senior Advocate Harish Salve (for State of Maharashtra), Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani (for State of Chhattisgarh) etc, argued in support of the Unions position.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 14:27 IST

News india Supreme Court Reserves Verdict In Presidential Reference On Timelines For Bills' Assent

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Sushila Karki's Banaras Chapter: From Career To Love, Recalling BHU Days Of Nepal's Ex-Chief Justice

Reported By :

News18.com Edited By: Apoorva Misra



Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 11:11 IST

Alumni say Nepals first woman Chief Justice, who completed her masters degree in political science from Banaras Hindu University in 1975, was a quiet and diligent student

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Nepal's former Chief Justice Sushila Karki. (Image via X)

Banaras Hindu University (BHU) is basking in pride and nostalgia after its alumna Sushila Karki, Nepals first woman Chief Justice, was picked by Gen Z protesters as their choice to lead the Himalayan nation. Karkis rise has not only added another feather in BHUs cap but also brought smiles to the faces of her old associates and fellow alumni, who recalled her innings at BHU and fondly referred to it as her Banaras Chapter".

A student of Banaras

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Born on June 7, 1952, in Biratnagar, Nepal, Karki completed her masters degree in political science from BHU in 1975. After finishing her undergraduate studies in arts from Mahendra Morang Campus in Biratnagar, she arrived in Varanasi in the early 1970s. For three years, she lived in the university hostel, studied political theory and governance, and absorbed the cultural richness of Banaras, now Varanasi.

Her years in the city left a deep imprint not only on her academic career but also on her personal life. It is said that it was at BHU that she first met Durga Prasad Subedi, an active member of the Nepali Congress, who would later become her life partner. Their meeting on the campus tied her story permanently to Indias spiritual and cultural capital.

A quiet and diligent student

Old associates at BHU still remember her as a serious student who largely kept to herself. Anil Srivastava, BHUs 1985 students union president, recalled: Sushila was a very normal student. She would go from hostel to department and department to hostel. Except for the library, she was rarely seen anywhere else. She did not participate in political activities during her student years. It was in Banaras that she met Durga Prasad Subedi, whom she later married."

Other alumni echoed similar memories, describing her as a student who lived for her books, divided her time between lectures and the library, and blended quietly into the rhythm of campus life. For them, the news of her elevation has brought back a flood of memories of an era when Nepalese students were a strong presence at BHU.

In a recent interview, Karki herself reflected on her student life in Varanasi with warmth. I still remember my late teachers, my late friends, and the river Ganga. Besides the Ganga, there was a hostel. And at night in the summer, we would sleep on the terrace."

She also revealed that she was once offered a chance to pursue doctoral studies and even a teaching position at BHU, but life took her on a different path. Perhaps my destiny was different. I feel I was destined to be a judge, and that is why I could not pursue my PhD there," she said.

Her recollections highlight the affection with which she still speaks about Banaras, a city that shaped her youth and where she laid the foundations of her career.

Beyond her academic ties to BHU, Karkis career in Nepal has been defined by a fearless stand against corruption and political interference. In April 2017, during her tenure as Chief Justice, she faced an impeachment motion in Parliament brought by the Maoist Centre and the Nepali Congress. The move was later withdrawn after strong public backlash and a Supreme Court interim order, cementing her reputation as a woman of integrity.

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Professor Bhupendra Vikram Singh, who served as coordinator of the Nepal Study Centre at BHU for 12 years, recalled how Karkis time coincided with visits by senior Nepali Congress leaders to Banaras. The Koirala family, deputy prime ministers, and MPs from Nepal would frequently visit the campus in those years. Karkis presence as a student was part of that wider India-Nepal relationship," he said.

Another alumnus said: Sushila Karkis rise as a popular choice proves that the values nurtured in Banaras can resonate on the global stage." Officials said BHU is now planning to archive the memories associated with Karkis student years, describing it as a matter of institutional pride".

Location : Varanasi, India, India

First Published: September 11, 2025, 10:53 IST

News india Sushila Karki's Banaras Chapter: From Career To Love, Recalling BHU Days Of Nepal's Ex-Chief Justice

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Woman Protests AAP MLAs Arrest On Live Stream, Husband Threatens: Close This Or Ill Choke You

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 16:16 IST

Fatima Farooq defied her husband live on Facebook, protesting Mehraj Malik's PSA detention in Doda.

Fatima Farooq confronts her husband live on Facebook while speaking on Mehraj Malik's PSA detention.

Political activist Fatima Farooq was live-streaming about the tense situation in Doda district when her furious husband barged into the frame, hurling abuses and trying to physically stop her from speaking. But Farooq Fatima did not back down in the confrontation that unfolded on Facebook Live as the activist spoke about the detention of Aam Aadmi Party MLA Mehraj Malik who was booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA).

Fatima Farooq, a former Block Development Council member, insisted she could not remain silent in the face of what she called blatant injustice.

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Who Is Mehraj Malik To You?

In the viral video, Fatima Farooq is seen looking into the camera and saying, A representative of one lakh people has been booked under the Public Safety Act on the grounds that hes a threat to public safety. How can this happen?"

Moments later, her husband storms into the frame, shouting, Tu kya live kar rahi hai? Why are you doing this?" An argument quickly escalates.

Are you out of your mind?" he snaps. Fatima Farooq fires back, What wrong have I done?"

Does your brain work?" he presses. Fatima Farooq doesnt flinch and says, Yes, my brain works. Did I say anything against you?"

The confrontation peaks when he demands: Who is Mehraj Malik to you?" Fatima Farooq answers calmly, Mehraj Malik is no one to me, but I am standing with justice."

As he lunges for her phone, Fatima Farooq swings the camera toward him.

You all can see standing with the truth," she tells her viewers. Her husband then issues a chilling threat, Stop it or I will choke your throat." The live stream cuts off seconds later, as he shouts, Kar bandh isko!"

Fatima Farooq, Her Husband Arrested

Hours later, police took the couple into custody. Fatima Farooq was charged with violating prohibitory orders and unlawful assembly, while her husband may face charges of domestic violence for manhandling her on camera. Police officials said Fatima Farooq had not filed a formal complaint against her husband.

Fatima Farooq was earlier injured in a protest against Mehraj Maliks detention, clashing with police before being seen in a wheelchair pushed by the same husband who had humiliated her online.

Why Has Mehraj Malik Been Detained?

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Mehraj Malik, the only AAP legislator in Jammu and Kashmir and a Muslim MLA from Doda, was detained under PSA after District Magistrate Harvinder Singh claimed his activities posed a grave threat to public order." Mehraj Malik had recently used harsh language against the district administration over unpaid dues and the state of health services.

Following Mehraj Maliks arrest, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on X (formerly Twitter), There is no justification for detaining Mehraj Malik under PSA. If the unelected government can use its powers against an elected representative like this, how does anyone expect the people of J&K to continue to have faith in democracy?"

Location : Jammu and Kashmir, India, India

First Published: September 11, 2025, 16:08 IST

News india Woman Protests AAP MLAs Arrest On Live Stream, Husband Threatens: Close This Or Ill Choke You

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Poland Offers Permanent Residency For Rs 18,000: Heres How Indians Can Apply

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Trending Desk

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 11:40 IST

Poland is offering a permanent residency permit to non-EU nationals, including Indians, for under Rs 18,100. The country draws a rising number of tourists from around the world.

Applicants need 5 years of continuous residence or marriage to a Polish citizen, and B1-level Polish proficiency.

One of the most beautiful countries in the world, Poland, is offering a permanent residency permit to third-country nationals, including Indians, for under Rs 18,100. Known for its rich cultural history and a growing economy, Poland already attracts a rising number of tourists from all over the globe. Now, you can also plan to settle there permanently and enjoy the countrys scenic locations and benefit from its multiple educational and professional growth opportunities.

For beginners, a permanent residence permit is a legal document that allows foreigners to live and work in a country without time restrictions. In Poland, it enables applicants to work without needing additional work permits or registering for self-employment. Beyond unrestricted residence and employment, the permit also grants visa-free travel within the Schengen area for up to 90 days within any 180 days. Additionally, holding a permanent residence permit can serve as a pathway to Polish citizenship, provided the applicant meets further eligibility criteria.

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Who Is Eligible For Polands Permanent Residency?

A citizen must meet the following criteria to attain the document denoting their permanent residency permit in Poland:

They must have spent a minimum of 5 years of continuous legal residence in Poland on a temporary residence permit.

Or be married to a Polish citizen for at least 3 years, including residing in Poland for at least 2 years on a temporary permit.

Or be a child born to parents holding long-term or permanent EU residence permits in Poland.

One must submit valid proofs of regular income earned and accommodations paid for in Poland.

Attain B1-level Polish language proficiency, backed by an official certificate acquired.

Documents Required

Two completed permanent residence application forms, submitted in Polish.

Passport and photocopies.

Photographs.

Polish language proficiency certificate.

Income proof and documents verifying accommodations and taxes paid.

Marriage certificate, with spouses identity details and childs birth certificate (if applicable).

All the documents must be translated into Polish.

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Step-By-Step Guide On How To Apply

Step 1: Get an appointment at the Voivodeship Office and apply for the permanent residency permit within the legal stay period. Step 2: Submit all the documents and provide fingerprints. Step 3: Pay the application fees, including the stamp duty worth PLN 640 (approximately Rs 15,577). Step 4: Get the residence card for PLN 100 (approximately Rs 2,434), which takes the overall residency charge to PLN 740 (approximately Rs 18,011). Step 5: Wait for the processing period to be over. It usually ranges from 6 to 12 months, but could also vary depending on the individuals application. Step 6: Once the period is done, pay your card issuance fee and collect your permanent residency permit.

Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: September 11, 2025, 11:40 IST

News lifestyle travel Poland Offers Permanent Residency For Rs 18,000: Heres How Indians Can Apply
Samantha Ruth Prabhu Says Actors Have A 'Short Shelf Life, Stardom Can Be Heady'

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 20:59 IST

Samantha Ruth Prabhu said she wants to create a larger impact in her career.

Samantha Ruth Prabhu will be next seen in Rakt Brahmand. (Photo Credits: Instagram)

Samantha Ruth Prabhu recently attended the National Leadership Conclave at AIMA. She reflected on how actors have a short shelf life and delved into her entrepreneurial journey. She also took to Instagram to share clips from her speech. She wrote in her caption, What I know for certain is that progress comes when we step forward, take risks, and trust in our own strength. To every woman with a vision your voice matters, your ideas matter, and the world needs you to lead."

Samantha Ruth Prabhu said in a clip, I think that as an actor, you have a short shelf life. Something about stardom, fame and recognition can be so heady, and you can, for a brief moment, think that it is all you. But it is not true." Have a look at her post here:

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View this post on Instagram A post shared by Samantha (@samantharuthprabhuoffl)

The actress added, There is a lot of destiny and grace that comes to you when you are a star. It is not completely your own efforts. So I think that for me it was very important to understand that I wanted to create an impact larger than my shelf life as an actor."

In another clip, she said, It is not some personal ego trip where I decide based on my intuition. I have a very able team around me who does all of the foundational work. I would be lost without them, and now they do guide me to whether my intuition is absolute crap or makes sense."

Samantha Ruth Prabhu is set to make a strong comeback with big projects lined up, including the fantasy-action Netflix series Rakt Brahmand: The Bloody Kingdom and her first production venture Bangaram under Tralala Moving Pictures. On the personal front, Samantha is rumoured to be dating Raj Nidimoru of Raj & DK duo.

About the Author Kashvi Raj Singh Kashvi Raj Singh is a Sub Editor at News18. She extensively covers Bollywood, Hollywood and television. She not only keeps an eye out for interesting news angles but also often writes social commentar... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 20:59 IST

News movies regional-cinema Samantha Ruth Prabhu Says Actors Have A 'Short Shelf Life, Stardom Can Be Heady'
Mohan Bhagwat Ji Has Always Been A Strong Votary Of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat: PM Modi

Written By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 08:41 IST

"If I can think of two attributes Mohan Ji has held close to his heart and imbibed in his work style, they are continuity and adaptation," writes PM Modi.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat with PM Narendra Modi. (Image: narendramodi.in)

Today is September 11th. This day evokes two contrasting remembrances. The first dates back to 1893, when Swami Vivekananda delivered his iconic Chicago address. With the few words, Sisters and Brothers of America," he won the hearts of thousands present in the hall. He introduced the timeless spiritual heritage of India and the emphasis on universal brotherhood to the world stage. The second is the gruesome 9/11 attacks, when this very principle came under attack thanks to the menace of terrorism and radicalism.

There is something else about this day which is noteworthy. Today is the birthday of a personality who, inspired by the principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, has dedicated his entire life to societal transformation and strengthening the spirit of harmony and fraternity. For lakhs of people associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, he is respectfully referred to as Param Pujya Sarsanghchalak. Yes, I am referring to Shri Mohan Bhagwat Ji, whose 75th birthday is, incidentally, falling in the same year when the RSS marks its centenary. I would like to convey my best wishes to him and pray for his long and healthy life.

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My association with Mohan Jis family has been very deep. I have had the good fortune of working closely with Mohan Jis father, the late Madhukarrao Bhagwat Ji. I have written extensively about him in my book, Jyotipunj. Along with his association with the legal world, he devoted himself to nation-building. He played a pivotal role in strengthening the RSS across Gujarat. Such was Madhukarrao Jis passion towards nation-building that it groomed his son, Mohanrao, to work towards Indias regeneration. It is as if Parasmani Madhukarrao prepared another Parasmani in Mohanrao.

Mohan Ji became a Pracharak in the mid-1970s. Upon hearing the word Pracharak, one may mistakenly think it refers to someone who is simply doing Prachar or campaigning, propagating ideas. But, those familiar with the working of the RSS understand that the Pracharak tradition is at the core of the organisations work. Over the last hundred years, thousands of young people, inspired by a patriotic zeal, have left their homes and families to dedicate their lives to realising the mission of India First.

His early years in the RSS coincided with a very dark period of Indian history. This was the time the draconian Emergency was imposed by the then Congress government. For every person who cherished democratic principles and wanted India to prosper, it was natural to strengthen the anti-Emergency movement. This is exactly what Mohan Ji and countless RSS Swayamsevaks did. He worked extensively in rural and backward areas of Maharashtra, especially Vidarbha. This shaped his understanding of the challenges faced by the poor and downtrodden.

Over the years, Bhagwat Ji held various positions in the RSS. He performed each and every one of those duties with great dexterity. Mohan Jis years as the head of the Akhil Bharatiya Sharirik Pramukh during the 1990s are still fondly remembered by many Swayamsevaks. During this period, he spent considerable time working in the villages of Bihar. These experiences further deepened his connect with grassroots issues. In 2000, he became the Sarkaryawah and here too, he brought his unique way of working, handling the most complex of situations with ease and precision. In 2009, he became the Sarsanghchalak and continues to work with great vibrancy.

Being Sarsanghchalak is more than an organisational responsibility. Extraordinary individuals have defined this role through personal sacrifice, clarity of purpose and unshakable commitment to Maa Bharti. Mohan Ji, in addition to doing full justice to the enormity of the responsibility, has also brought to it his own strength, intellectual depth and empathetic leadership, all of which is inspired by the principle of Nation First.

If I can think of two attributes Mohan Ji has held close to his heart and imbibed in his work style, they are continuity and adaptation. He has always steered the Organisation through very complex currents, never compromising on the core ideology we are all proud of and at the same time addressing the evolving needs of society. He has a natural connect with the youth and thus, has always focussed on integrating more youngsters with the Sangh Parivar. He is often seen engaging in public discourse and interacting with people, which has been very beneficial in todays dynamic and digital world.

Broadly speaking, Bhagwat Jis tenure will be considered the most transformative period in the 100-year journey of the RSS. From the change in uniform to the modifications in the Shiksha Vargs (training camps), several significant changes occurred under his leadership.

I particularly remember Mohan Jis efforts during the COVID period, when humanity battled a once in a lifetime pandemic. In those times, continuing the traditional RSS activities became challenging. Mohan Ji suggested increased usage of technology. In the context of the global challenges, he remained connected with global perspectives while developing institutional frameworks.

At that time, all Swayamsevaks made every possible effort to reach out to those in need, while ensuring the safety of themselves and others. Medical camps were organised in several places. We also lost many of our hardworking Swayamsevaks, but such was the inspiration of Mohan Ji that their determination never wavered.

Earlier this year, during the inauguration of the Madhav Netra Chikitsalaya in Nagpur, I had remarked that the RSS is like an Akshayavat, an eternal banyan tree that energises the national culture and collective consciousness of our nation. The roots of this Akshayavat are deep and strong because they are anchored in values. The dedication with which Mohan Bhagwat Ji has committed himself to nurturing and advancing these values is truly inspirational.

Another admirable quality of Mohan Jis personality is his soft-spoken nature. He is blessed with an exceptional ability to listen. This trait ensures a deeper perspective and also brings a sense of sensitivity and dignity to his persona and leadership.

Here, I also want to write about the keen interest he has always shown towards various mass movements. From Swachh Bharat Mission to Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, he always urges the entire RSS family to add vigour through these movements. In order to further social well-being, Mohan Ji has given the Panch Parivartan, which includes social harmony, family values, environmental awareness, national selfhood and civic duties. These can inspire Indians from all walks of life. Every Swayamsevak dreams of seeing a strong and prosperous nation. To realise this dream, what is required is both clear vision and decisive action. Mohan Ji embodies both these qualities in abundance.

Bhagwat Ji has always been a strong votary of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, a firm believer in Indias diversity and the celebration of so many different cultures and traditions that are a part of our land.

Beyond his busy schedule, Mohan Ji has always found time to pursue passions like music and singing. Few people know that he is very versatile in various Indian musical instruments. His passion for reading can be seen in several of his speeches and interactions.

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This year, in a few days from now, the RSS turns 100. It is also a pleasant coincidence that this year, Vijaya Dashami, Gandhi Jayanti, Lal Bahadur Shastri Jayanti and the RSS centenary celebrations are on the same day. It will be a historic milestone for lakhs of people associated with the RSS in India and the world. And, we have a very wise and hardworking Sarsanghchalak in Mohan Ji, steering the organisation in these times. I will conclude by saying that Mohan Ji is a living example of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, showing that when we rise above boundaries and consider everyone as our own, it strengthens trust, brotherhood and equality in society. I once again wish Mohan Ji a long and healthy life in service of Maa Bharti.

(These thoughts were penned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat)

About the Author Narendra Modi Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Damodardas Modi is India's 14th and current Prime Minister. He is the Member of Parliament for Varanasi. He was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014. Modi is a member of the Bharat... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 08:41 IST

News opinion Mohan Bhagwat Ji Has Always Been A Strong Votary Of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat: PM Modi

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Opinion | The Bengal Files Lifts A Veil Of Darkness From Indias Mass Consciousness

Written By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 14:57 IST

One hopes that, from now on, the Indian mainstream media will take a leading and responsible role in showcasing this history

The Bengal Files is not a refined film but certainly a very brave one.

I watched The Bengal Files (2025). Needless to say, I had to watch the film outside West Bengal, for it is one of those states in independent India where democracy exists only on paper. Freedom of expression and freedom of thought are anathema to the ruling class of good ol West Bengal, and, as a result, these constitutional rights are often punishable there. One has only to remember the cases of Prof Ambikesh Mahapatra (2012) and Dr Indranil Khan (2020), in which these individuals were hounded by the ruling dispensation for voicing dissent.

Though this has been the state of affairs in the state since the tumultuous 1970s, things have worsened since 2011. Be that as it may, since I managed to watch the film outside the state, I have written a short film review here for the benefit of my beloved but unfortunate state residents, who are yet to find a theatre screening the film in the state. At the outset, let me issue a statutory warning: The review may contain minor spoilers, so please proceed to read at the peril of your own first-hand discoveries.

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Firstly, out of all the films that Vivek Agnihotri has made thus far, this film stands out as the most visually impactful one (keeping in mind Chocolate (2005)). In The Bengal Files (2025), the director has presented several scenes that are bound to stir the viewers mind just by the sheer power of visual craftsmanship. By unleashing the power of moving visuals, Vivek Babu has been able to stir the viewers Viveka, or conscience.

Symbolism  visual and verbal  is Agnihotris forte in this film. The filmmaker has intelligently deployed symbolism in The Bengal Files (2025), making good use of both linguistic as well as visual symbols. It would not be an exaggeration to say that here in this film, the director was able to harness the power of symbolism to a great extent, which has somewhat patched up the films weaknesses in editing, characterisation, screenplay and dialogue. As indicated earlier, visual storytelling is one of the strong points of The Bengal Files (2025). When one adds the power of symbols to visual storytelling, the result is bound to create a lasting impact.

Let us take some examples of this aspect  in the film, we see Abanindranath Tagores famous Bharat Mata painting hanging on the wall of Rajendralal Roychowdhurys residence; in another scene, we see Rajendralal being beheaded by Sarwars private militia Miyar Fauj at the Kali Mandir in Noakhali  which clearly foregrounds the significance of Rajendralals supreme sacrifice for his religion and country. There is also the scene of a straw-and-bamboo structure (kathamo) of a Durga idol set on fire; theres the scene of the owl appearing just before the massacre of Noakhali Hindus began on the night of Sri Sri Lakshmi Puja on the Kojagari Purnima, or full moon  all these hold special symbolic significances for the Indian audience, especially Bengalis.

These, however, are just a few representative examples of the powerful visual symbolism deployed by Agnihotri  there are many more in the film. Additionally, the phrase Same DNA" in the films dialogue and suggestive character names like Bharati and Amar are some examples of linguistic symbolism. The way the director uses this type of symbolism throughout the film reflects intelligent, sensitive and creative treatment of the complex subject.

Dialogue is a weak point of this film. They sound preachy, sermon-like, high-pitched, overstated and often monotonous  something we have seen in the earlier films from Agnihotris Files series. The director is yet to overcome his dependence on long monologues.

Added to the problem of weak dialogue-writing is the even weaker editing. Properly edited, the films length would have been reduced by no less than thirty minutes. Neither could the editor smooth out some transitions between parallel stories from past and present time frames. While making a powerful film on such an important subject, the editing work demands a lot of skill, experience, and creativity, which are unfortunately absent in this film. Inextricably linked to this is the weakness of the films screenplay. Fortunately, Agnihotris team has somewhat improved in these two essential departments of filmmaking, compared to his past Files films. One hopes that the curve of improvement will only rise upward in the future.

Lets talk about the film score and the music used in The Bengal Files (2025). The use of two songs in particular deserves praise. Firstly, the Baul song Kichudin Mone Mone", superbly playback-voiced by the very talented Parvathy Baul, is thoughtfully used against two juxtaposable backdrops  one of these being at the serene Ganga ghats of Calcutta, and the other being the ghastly streets of Direct Action Day Calcutta strewn with dismembered bodies. Secondly, theres a terrific example of musical-visual irony in the film, achieved with D.L. Roys popular patriotic song Dhana-Dhanye Pushpe Bhora", which plays in the background when the Roychowdhury family gets massacred by Ghulam Sarwars fanatic private militia Miyar Fauj in Noakhali.

These two songs in the film deeply move the viewer to reflect on the significance and psychological effects of the events in Calcutta and Noakhali in 1946. The emotional ambience created by these songs ranges from melancholy to irony, effectively enhancing the viewers experience of the film. However, the refrain melody of the film score sounds like a weak imitation of the timeless theme music written by the Italian composer Nino Rota for The Godfather (1972).

Turning our attention to the actors performances, we note that the father-son duo Mithun and Namashi Chakraborty have performed excellently. Equally skilful performances were given by Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Eklavya Sood, Saswata Chatterjee, Rajesh Khera, Mohan Kapur and Pallavi Joshi in their respective roles. Joshi also sang quite well in her own voice. Despite their efforts, Anupam Kher, who plays Gandhi, and Darshan Kumar, who plays one of the two leading roles, could not live up to expectations. Both Simrat Kaur Randhawa and Saurav Das fared poorly in their roles  important as these were  adding to the audiences disappointment.

However, the most remarkable aspect of this film is that it has lifted the curtain of obfuscation from some historical figures, who remained either completely unknown to the Indian public or gained great respect despite being unworthy of it. Hindu Mahasabha leader and renowned lawyer Rajendralal Roychowdhury, the Tiger of Noakhali, was virtually unknown to the people of West Bengal, let alone the people of the entire country. Till today, his proper evaluation has not been done anywhere except in the writings of one or two exceptional historians like Dr. Dinesh Chandra Sinha; the story of his heroism and self-sacrifice has remained largely unknown. Now, after almost eighty years, for the first time, the bravery and sacrifice of Roychowdhury have been portrayed in a proper light in any mass media in this country.

Another significant contribution of this film is the historically correct portrayal of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the right-hand man of Suhrawardy, the chief architect of the massacre of Calcutta Hindus during the Direct Action Day of 1946. Sheikh Mujibs heinous role in the organisation of the Direct Action Day that led to that massacre is well-recorded and self-acknowledged in his published autobiography.

Mujibs role as Suhrawardys associate and a Muslim League worker has finally been realistically shown in a mainstream film for the first time. So far, the people of West Bengal and India have known Sheikh Mujib only as a political leader/former President of East Pakistan, aka Bangladesh"  and not for Mujibs activities in the Muslim League, nor for his heinous role in helping Suhrawardy organise the 1946 Direct Action Day in Calcutta. Now the people of West Bengal and India will recognise this aspect of Mujibs life, courtesy of Agnihotris film.

Overall, the films makers have carried out reasonably good research on the period and the culture depicted in the film, especially on the Direct Action Day of 1946 and the days that followed, as well as the Noakhali massacre of 1946, the recent persecution of Hindus in Murshidabad, and the appeasement politics in contemporary Kolkata and West Bengal. However, the research could have been more thorough. There was a need to bring more coherence and authenticity to the screenplay. The details could have been much more authentic. For example, a trident is not found on the Tulsi mancha/altar in a typical Bengali house. Strangely enough, such a thing has been shown in this film. There is also a big question mark about the necessity of portraying the character of Justice Banerjee and his end.

In conclusion, it must be pointed out that the makers of this film deserve praise for their courageous efforts to lift the curtain on this crucial yet obfuscated chapter of Modern Indian history. The hellish persecution suffered by the Hindus of Bengal during Indias partition and the villains of that history have been deliberately kept from the minds of the Indian and Bengali public for eight long decades since the Partition of India.

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The Bengal Files (2025) sheds some light on that darkness, which will precisely be the lasting legacy of this film. Every Indian, and especially every Bengali, should watch this film and become aware of their own recent national history  a history that has been wilfully kept from Indias mass consciousness. One hopes that, from now on, the Indian mainstream media will take a leading and responsible role in showcasing this history. Satyameva Jayate.

The author is an educator, researcher, and social commentator discoursing to rekindle the Indic consciousness in a postmodern, neoliberal world. Views expressed are personal and do not necessarily reflect News18s editorial stance.

First Published: September 11, 2025, 14:57 IST

News opinion Opinion | The Bengal Files Lifts A Veil Of Darkness From Indias Mass Consciousness

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At the age of 18, the activist founded Turning Point USA, a political action platform that has more than 20 million followers on social media and 1,400 university connections

Some 3,000 people gathered Wednesday morning at Utah Valley University to hear the truths of Charlie Kirk, an ultraconservative, evangelical 31-year-old and an influential debater. The MAGA activist was kicking off his new tour of higher education institutions to debate anyone under the slogan Prove me wrong. What the audience actually witnessed in the city of Orem was a horrific political assassination that has shaken the nerves of American society, which is once again seeing political violence incarnated in its most extreme form: gun violence. These are the key points to know about the case.

Who was Charlie Kirk?

In just over a decade, Kirk, 31, had become one of the most influential activists in the Make America Great Again movement, waging a cultural war against woke values in the public spaces of college campuses, and using freedom of speech as a shield. He became one of the most followed provocateurs in the MAGA world, defending the traditional role of women, completely rejecting abortion, defending the Second Amendment (the right to bear arms), and opposing reforms favoring minorities.

His influence went beyond opinion. At 18, he founded Turning Point USA, an ultra-conservative political action organization, alongside William Montgomery, a sympathizer of the Tea Party, a far-right populist movement that served as a precursor to Trumpism. Today, Turning Point is a powerful platform with more than 20 million followers on social media and 3,500 chapters at universities across the United States (around 250,000 students, according to the organization itself). But the association is also a significant fundraising force among young activists of the new right: 100% of its donations go to candidates within the Trump camp. Last year, Kirk and Turning Point spent $7 million on the tightest congressional races. Their work was key to Trumps victory in Arizona, one of the swing states in the presidential election and where Kirk had his headquarters.

Where did the murder occur?

Kirk was shot in the neck seconds after 12:20 p.m. while he was debating with a student about gun violence in the United States. The influencer and activist was surrounded by heavy security in an outdoor amphitheater at Utah Valley University (UVU), the states largest public university with 47,000 students. Kirk was taken to Timpanogos Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

More than 8,000 students from several state universities had signed a petition to prevent Kirk from holding his event on the university campus, located 45 minutes south of Salt Lake City, the state capital.

This was Kirks first date on his The American Comeback Tour, which would have taken him to 14 higher education institutions in Colorado, Virginia, Minnesota, and other locations. Utah is one of the states with the most lax gun regulations, which has led to a gun violence victim rate above the national average. In May, state officials made it easier for employees to carry guns on school property.

What is known about the murderer?

The FBI is leading the manhunt for Kirks killer. Local authorities have so far provided few details about the shooters identity. It is known only that he was dressed in dark clothing and that he opened fire from the roof of the Losee Center, a building located around 650 feet (200 meters) away from where Kirk was speaking. He was traveling with a large number of armed bodyguards. Local police had also sent six officers to join the security operation. Only one shot is heard in the images recorded by students.

Moments after the murder, investigators questioned George Zinn, an older man who had been present on campus. The suspect was later released but charged with obstruction of justice by local police. Hours later, authorities arrested and questioned Zacharian Qureshi, a Turning Point supporter of Arab origin. As of Wednesday evening, police reported that the two men had no connection to the homicide. Our investigation continues, said FBI Director Kash Patel. The agency has set up a website to receive information and tips that could lead to the arrest of the shooter.

Local Utah press has revealed police radio audio claiming that university cameras captured the moment the suspect left the scene. Classes have been suspended at UVU until Monday.

What reactions has Kirks death triggered?

Donald Trump, who announced Kirks death, said he considered him a friend. The presidents message was followed by hundreds more messages of condemnation, in a nearly unanimous tone shared by Republican and Democratic politicians.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, who interviewed Kirk on his podcast in March, said his murder is sick and reprehensible. We dont yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy, former President Barack Obama posted on X. Former president Joe Biden and former candidate Kamala Harris issued similar statements.

Our nation is broken. [...] Nothing I say can unite us as a country. Nothing I can say right now can fix what is broken, Spencer Cox, the Republican governor of Utah, reflected this afternoon.

Gabrielle Giffords, a Democratic congresswoman from Arizona who survived an assassination attempt in 2011, said Kirks killing broke her heart. Attacks against political or ideological opponents are cowardly and un-American, and must be universally condemned, wrote Giffords, who became a gun control activist after surviving the shooting.

By late afternoon, however, the divisions in American politics had finally prevailed. Democrats own what happened today, MAGA Congresswoman Nancy Mace asserted outside the Capitol.

It was the same tone Trump used in a recorded message from the Oval Office. For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the worlds worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that were seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now, he asserted. Trump promised to find the perpetrator as well as the organizations that aided the attack.

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Opinion | The Shifting Political Landscape Of South Asia: Implications For Indias National Security

Written By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 16:12 IST

India must focus on strengthening its border security, enhancing intelligence cooperation and refining its counter-terrorism frameworks

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Nepal now finds itself in the midst of a GenZ Movement---a string of fierce protests against corruption and nepotism which has spiralled into arson and violence. (AP)

Over the recent few years, South Asia has witnessed significant politically charged upheavals. Multiple governments have collapsed or have been replaced by authoritarian or military regimes. Back in January 2021, Indias neighbourhood presented a relatively stable political picture, with India, Nepal and Bangladesh functioning as democratic republics; Bhutan maintaining its stability as a constitutional monarchy; Afghanistan operating under a presidential republic; Myanmar had a civilian government and Sri Lanka followed a semi-presidential system. There was a broad presence of democratically elected structures, suggesting that despite the presence of governance challenges, the region was broadly committed to representative political systems.

However, by September 2025, the regional order has drastically transformed itself. Afghanistan is now completely under the Taliban regime, essentially marking the complete collapse of its democratic system. Pakistan has, once again, gone back to military rule following the downfall of its elected government. Sri Lanka has undergone another phase of regime change amidst economic and political unrest. Bangladesh, once considered a relatively stable electoral democracy, now finds itself governed by an interim authoritarian regime following the breakdown of its democratic institutions and the toppling of the Sheikh Hasina regime. Myanmar, too, remains embroiled in a devastating civil war, with the military junta facing armed resistance, in the wake of the 2021 coup. Add to this, Nepal now finds itself in the midst of a GenZ Movementa string of fierce protests against corruption and nepotism which has spiralled into arson and violence.

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This string of dramatic transformations highlights a sharp democratic recession all across South Asia. Of all the states in the region, only India, a democratic republic, and Bhutan, a constitutional monarchy, continue to represent institutional stability. However, their resilience stands in stark contrast to the volatility that surrounds them. This, in turn, makes them anchors of democratic continuity in a region otherwise marked by violence and political turbulence.

The continued presence of political instability in Indias neighbourhood, however, is not a phenomenon confined within national bordersthey have spill-over implications and consequences for India, owing to the shared borders it has with most of these states. Political crisis often triggers phenomena such as refugee inflow, humanitarian crises, cross-border terrorism and transnational criminal networks. For example, Afghanistan under the Taliban regime has already become a breeding ground for extremist ideologies, with potential security implications for India. Furthermore, Pakistan under military regime has been historically associated with heightened hostility towards New Delhi. Bangladeshs democratic collapse has created vacuums which are being increasingly exploited by radical groups. Thus, turmoil in Nepal carries risks of generating instability along Indias open and porous borders.

Beyond security concerns, these developments also have broader strategic implications. Political and social instability undermines regional economic cooperation, further disrupting supply chains and complicating Indias vision of serving as an engine of regional connectivity. The absence of functional, stable governments in neighbouring states reduces the chances for diplomatic dialogue, cooperative initiatives and deeper integration projects. At the same time, external actors, like China, have historically sought to leverage political volatility. Furthermore, other global powers, like the US, may also exploit these fragilities to advance their own interests, thereby potentially eroding Indias strategic space.

At this juncture, an irony emerges. While India remains one of the few functioning democracies in the region, international surveys such as the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) project and other democracy indices have consistently ranked it poorly. Despite a relatively stable environment, India is often labelled as an electoral autocracy" or flawed democracy." Such assessments raise a critical questionhow can India, despite regular elections, constitutional safeguards and institutional continuity, be rated worse than states where democratic regimes and institutions have partially or entirely collapsed? Do these indices overlook the complexities that a diverse and populous polity like India faces?

For New Delhi, these developments underscore the need for a vigilant and proactive policy. The existence of its democratic institutions and relative political stability does not make it immune to the crisis engulfing its borders. On the contrary, the vulnerabilities of its neighbours impose greater responsibilities on India. Therefore, India must focus on strengthening its border security, enhancing intelligence cooperation and refining its counter-terrorism frameworks to pre-empt any possible threats it faces, both internally or externally.

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Simultaneously, New Delhi should also intensify its diplomatic outreach, and actively support political stabilisation efforts in its neighbourhood without appearing interventionist. In this regard, giving development aid, crisis management assistance and providing platforms for political dialogue and discourse could cement Indias role as a regional stabiliser.

Esha Banerji is presently associated with a premier think-tank in India, specialising in defence, security, and strategic studies. Her research interest and focuses of analysis are defence strategy, geo-economics, foreign affairs, and the implications of Chinese security developments on the region, especially India. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.

First Published: September 11, 2025, 16:12 IST

News opinion Opinion | The Shifting Political Landscape Of South Asia: Implications For Indias National Security

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 16:31 IST

1 / 10 AIIMS Delhi secured the top spot in the NIRF 2025 rankings in the best medical colleges category. Apart from MBBS, the institute offers several BSc courses such as nursing, Optometry, Dental Hygiene, among others. AIIMS Delhi also offers several postgraduate courses such as MSc, MD, MS, MDS as well PhD and fellowships. Its approximate annual tuition fees is Rs 6,075. (File Photo) + Follow us On Google

2 / 10 The Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) Chandigarh has maintained its second position in the NIRF 2025 rankings. PGIMER offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses, including MD/MS (specialties), DM/MCh (super-specialties), and various certificate and diploma programs in diverse medical and paramedical fields such as Nursing, Medical Laboratory Technology, and Physiotherapy. As a government-funded institution, it provides education at a nominal fee. (File Photo)

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3 / 10 Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, retained the third spot. The institute offers various courses including MBBS, nursing, diploma courses, and several postgraduate courses in medical, nursing, and Allied Health Sciences (AHS) specialties. The approximate fees for first year is Rs 41,895. (File Photo)

4 / 10 Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) Puducherry retained the fourth spot in the NIRF rankings this year. It offers a wide range of UG and PG courses including MBBS, dental and nursing programmes. The first-year fees is around Rs 14,920. (File Photo)

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5 / 10 Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) Lucknow has secured the fifth position. Some of the programmes include B.Sc., B.P.T. (Bachelor of Physiotherapy), MBBS, MD, MS, MHA, MSc. DM/MCh, DM, MCh, and Doctoral (PhD). Fees is around Rs 50000 per year. (File Photo)

6 / 10 BHU has secured the seventh spot in the NIRF rankings 2025. It offers courses like MBBS, B.Sc Nursing, BAMS, and B.Pharm (Ayurvedic). The total tuition fee for the MBBS programme is around Rs 15,000. Annual fees for most BHU undergraduate courses range from Rs 3,000 to Rs 7,000. (File Photo)

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7 / 10 The National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru, Karnataka, takes up the seventh position in NIRF 2025. With 28 academic departments, the institute offers an several courses including super-speciality MCh and DM courses, post-doctoral fellowships, doctoral studies, MPhil, Master's degrees, diplomas, and select UG programmes. Fees can range anywhere between Rs 25,000 to Rs 53,000/year based on the programme. (File Photo)

8 / 10 King George's Medical University situated in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh has secured the 8th rank this year. KGMU Lucknow offers various courses including MBBS, BDS, BSc, MD, MS, MDS, MCh, and PGD programmes. Fees vary significantly by course starting from Rs 50,000 per year. (File Photo)

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9 / 10 Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu secured the ninth spot in the ranking. It also provides many BSc, MBBS, MD and MS courses. Fees can vary between Rs 2 lakh to around 1 crore. (File Photo)
Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 12:53 IST

1 / 8 The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (Rank 4) is one of the best places in the country to study management. Its MBA programme is highly sought after and is known for strong placements. + Follow us On Google

2 / 8 The Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (Rank 12) has the Vinod Gupta School of Management, one of the first B-schools set up in an IIT. It is popular for its close links with industry.

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3 / 8 The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (Rank 13) offers MBA courses through its Department of Management Studies. The programme focuses on building skills in leadership, analytics, and innovation.

4 / 8 The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (Rank 14) runs management programmes through the Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management. It is well-known for excellent placements and global exposure.

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5 / 8 The Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (Rank 22) offers management education through its Department of Management Studies, combining technical knowledge with business training.

6 / 8 The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (Rank 27) has an MBA programme that gives special focus on areas like finance, analytics, and technology management, with strong industry tie-ups.

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7 / 8 The Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) Dhanbad (Rank 48) also offers management studies, with courses designed to link business with technology and entrepreneurship.
Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 15:42 IST

1 / 6 Actors who frequently make headlines for their on-screen performances often remain tight-lipped about their personal lives, and Divyendu Sharma is no exception. While fans admire him for his powerful roles, especially as Munna Bhaiya in Mirzapur, very little is known about his life off-camera. + Follow us On Google

2 / 6 Interestingly, Divyendu Sharmas real-life love story is just as compelling as one of his films. His wife, Akanksha Sharma, is a talented jewellery designer, and while she chooses to stay away from the limelight, shes often praised for her striking beauty. In fact, many believe she could easily rival top actresses like Alia Bhatt and Deepika Padukone in terms of grace and charm.

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3 / 6 The couples journey began during their college days. Divyendu and Akanksha met at Delhi Universitys Kirori Mal College, though they studied different subjects and werent in the same class. Divyendu pursued Political Science, while Akanksha was enrolled in a separate course. Despite this, fate ensured they crossed paths often, and what began as friendship gradually blossomed into something deeper.

4 / 6 However, their path to love wasnt quick or easy. Divyendu Sharma once revealed in an old interview that it took him seven years to gather the courage to confess his feelings to Akanksha. His lack of confidence held him back, despite their growing closeness. It wasnt until 2011, after the release of his debut film Pyaar Ka Punchnama, that he finally proposed.

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5 / 6 The couple opted for a simple and intimate wedding, attended only by close friends and family. In 2012, they officially announced their marriage through social media.
AAP's Sanjay Singh Placed Under 'House Arrest' In Srinagar Ahead Of Protest; Oppn Slams Centre

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 14:31 IST

AAP MLA Mehraj Malik was detained on Monday under the Public Safety Act (PSA) for allegedly disturbing public order in Doda district

National Conference chief and former J&K CM Farooq Abdullah, who arrived at the guest house to meet Singh, said that he will raise the issue with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. (Photo: X/Sanjay SIngh)

Aam Party Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh on Thursday alleged that he has been placed under house arrest in Srinagar ahead of his protest against the arrest of party MLA Doda Mehraj Malik under the Public Safety Act.

Singh was staying at a government guest house, which he said has been turned into police cantonment". The Rajya Sabha MP posted videos on X in which he can be seen trying to open the gates.

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Dictatorship is at its peak. I am in Srinagar at this moment. Raising ones voice for rights and protesting in a democracy is our constitutional right. Today, there was a press conference and sit-in in Srinagar against the illegal arrest of Mehraj Malik, but the government guest house has been turned into a police camp. I am not being allowed to leave the guest house with Imran Hussaain and companions," Singh posted on X.

Sharing a video of Singh under alleged house arrest, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal said that the BJP has now resorted to open thuggery.

National Conference chief and former J&K CM Farooq Abdullah, who arrived at the guest house to meet Singh, said that he will raise the issue with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.

I regret that such actions are taking place. Everyone has the freedom to express themselves. Sanjay Singh had come here from Delhi in solidarity with his MLA, who was arrested. What pains me is that when I went only to meet him to ask how he was, not to make any political statement, he was kept locked inside the guest house. I will request the Lieutenant Governor that peoples rights should be respected and work must remain within those limits," Sinha said.

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On September 8, Mehraj Malik was detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) for allegedly disturbing public order in Doda district. This is the first time a sitting MLA has been held under the stringent PSA that allows detention without charge or trial for up to two years, drawing condemnation from several political parties.

The 37-year-old AAP legislator from Doda and chief of the partys J-K unit was initially detained by police on Monday morning at Dak Bungalow as he prepared to visit flood-affected areas of his constituency.

About the Author Saurabh Verma Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter --twitter.com/saurabhkverma19

Location : Srinagar, India, India

First Published: September 11, 2025, 14:29 IST

News politics AAP's Sanjay Singh Placed Under 'House Arrest' In Srinagar Ahead Of Protest; Oppn Slams Centre

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Betrayal At The Ballots? INDIA Bloc At A Crossroads After Cross-Voting In VP Polls

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 07:00 IST

Even after the dust has settled on the vice-presidential elections, the repercussions are expected to last longer

The INDIA bloc parties decided to set aside their differences and campaign together for Sudershan Reddy. File pic/PTI

The vice-presidential election may not have decided the political future of the INDIA bloc parties, but the cross-voting has shaken many stakeholders and made them question if the effort was worth it.

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Largely seen as a Congress-managed campaign with the unanimous choice of B Sudershan Reddy, the Congress stamp of approval and initiative was evident. However, even after the dust has settled on the VP polls, the repercussions are expected to last longer. It casts doubt on the ability of the INDIA bloc as an alliance capable of challenging the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The camaraderie seen during Parliaments monsoon session on the SIR electoral roll revision issue extended to the VP polls as well. The INDIA bloc parties decided to set aside their differences and campaign together for Sudershan Reddy.

But signs of simmering discontent were evident. Now look at the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Despite having the comfort of numbers, they held a two-day workshop. On the day of polling, breakfast meetings were organised by senior ministers with MPs to provide last-minute briefings and demonstrate unity. On the day of polling, the NDA MPs arrived at Parliament together to show they were united.

In contrast, only one meeting was held by the INDIA bloc, which Rahul Gandhi missed. Except for the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Samajwadi Party (SP), and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), most other constituents seemed scattered.

The last straw was the cross-voting by about 15 MPs. It was not only an embarrassing moment but also highlighted the blocs poor floor management.

The TMC has always had little faith in the Congresss ability to fight and win elections. This incident could reinforce that feeling. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), facing high-stakes polls in Bihar, might also be worried.

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Is the INDIA bloc united and strong enough to counter the NDA? The VP polls did not indicate so.

About the Author Pallavi Ghosh Pallavi Ghosh has covered politics and Parliament for 15 years, and has reported extensively on Congress, UPA-I and UPA-II, and has now included the Finance Ministry and Niti Aayog in her reportage. S... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 07:00 IST

News politics Betrayal At The Ballots? INDIA Bloc At A Crossroads After Cross-Voting In VP Polls

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Court Rejects Plea Seeking FIR Against Sonia Gandhi Over Pre-Citizenship Voter Roll Entry

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 16:26 IST

The plea alleged Sonia Gandhis name was added to the New Delhi voter list in 1980, three years before she became an Indian citizen.

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Sonia Gandhi, leader of Congress party, arrives to attend a meeting in New Delhi. (IMAGE: REUTERS)

A Delhi court on Thursday dismissed a plea seeking registration of an FIR against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, which alleged that her name was entered in the electoral rolls before she became an Indian citizen.

The petition, filed by complainant Vikas Tripathi, claimed Gandhis name was added to the New Delhi constituency voter list in January 1980, three years before she acquired Indian citizenship, according to a report by PTI released earlier this week.

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Senior advocate Pavan Narang, appearing for Tripathi, had argued that citizenship was a prerequisite for being a voter and alleged that Gandhis inclusion at the time amounted to forgery and cheating of public authorities.

The PTI report said that Narang told the court that proof of residence in 1980 was typically based on documents like a ration card or passport and questioned how Gandhis name could have been validly entered if she was not yet a citizen. He further pointed out that in 1982, the Election Commission deleted her name from the rolls along with that of Sanjay Gandhi, who had died in a plane crash, suggesting the deletion reflected an irregularity. Gandhis name was restored in 1983, after she obtained Indian citizenship.

The reason for the deletion is nowhere to be found. There can be two reasons, either someone takes the citizenship of another country or files a Form 8 (application for correction in particulars in an electoral roll), but the prerequisite is that the person has to be a citizen," Narang had said.

What documents were given to the election commission (EC) when her name got included in 1980?" he had asked.

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The plea was moved under Section 175(4) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which empowers a magistrate to order an investigation. The complainant sought directions to the police to register an FIR and probe the alleged forgery.

Rejecting the application, the court declined to order registration of an FIR against Gandhi.

About the Author Shankhyaneel Sarkar Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has c... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 16:22 IST

News politics Court Rejects Plea Seeking FIR Against Sonia Gandhi Over Pre-Citizenship Voter Roll Entry

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'What Is He Hiding': BJP Vs Congress Over Rahul Gandhi's 'Protocol Breach' Abroad

Curated By :

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 17:46 IST

The BJP claimed that the CRPF has flagged breaches of security protocol by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on his foreign trips to Italy, Vietnam, Dubai, Qatar, London, and Malaysia

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi enjoys the highest level of 'Z+' security with advance security liaison cover. (Image: PTI/File)

The BJP, quoting a news report that mentions letters from the CRPF, has alleged that senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi did not follow security protocols during his foreign trips.

But the Congress hit back saying the timing and public release" of the letter raise disturbing" questions as it comes in wake of Rahul Gandhis vote chori campaign against the BJP.

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According to the BJP, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has flagged breaches of security protocol by Gandhi during his foreign trips to countries like Italy, Vietnam, Dubai, Qatar, London, and Malaysia.

News18 contacted CRPF about the letter quoted by various media outlets, but the force is tight-lipped about the matter and is yet to respond. A query has been sent and a reply is awaited.

WHAT IS RAHUL GANDHIS SECURITY COVER?

Gandhi, who has often travelled abroad for personal and political engagements, enjoys the highest level of Z plus security with advanced security liaison (ASL) armed protection.

Around 10 to 12 armed CRPF commandos provide a proximate security cover to him whenever he is mobile. As part of the ASL, the force carries out an early reconnaissance of the locations to be visited by him.

WHAT DO REPORTS SAY ABOUT THE CRPF LETTER?

News reports mentioned two letters from the CRPF addressed to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Gandhi on Wednesday (September 10), highlighting the security protocol breaches and said it is a matter of serious concern.

A report published by NDTV quoted a letter by CRPF VVIP security chief Sunil June  addressed to Kharge  alleging that Gandhi is not taking his security cover seriously" as he is travelling abroad without informing anyone". He is violating protocols mentioned in the Yellow Book of the CRPF, the official was quoted.

The NDTV report said the CRPF referred to Gandhis foreign tours to countries like Italy (December 30 to January 9), Vietnam (March 12 to 17), Dubai (April 17 to 23), Qatar (June 11 to 18), London (June 25 to July 6), and Malaysia (September 4 to 8).

The CRPF reportedly appealed to the opposition leader to ensure adherence to security protocols in future. It said lapses on his part weaken the effectiveness of VVIP security arrangements and could expose him to potential risks.

WHAT IS THE YELLOW BOOK PROTOCOL?

The BJP specifically targeted Gandhi for violating the Yellow Book protocol. Its IT cell head Amit Malviya alleged that the Congress leader does not inform or provide prior intimation about his movements, which is mandatory under his security cover.

Under the Yellow Book protocol, individuals under high-category security cover are required to provide prior intimation to the security wing mandated to provide them cover about their movements, including foreign travel, to enable adequate protective deployment.

CRPF flags breach of security protocol by Rahul Gandhi. Under the Yellow Book protocol, individuals under high-category security are required to provide prior intimation about their movements, including foreign travel, to enable deployment. Rahul doesnt" Malviya said in a post on X, while sharing a report on the CRPF letter by news agency ANI.

CRPF flags breach of security protocol by Rahul Gandhi. Under the Yellow Book protocol, individuals under high-category security are required to provide prior intimation about their movements, including foreign travel, to enable deployment. Rahul doesnt https://t.co/wuan2UYNMn Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) September 11, 2025

Other BJP leaders, meanwhile, said this is a grave violation" and raised suspicion on Gandhis activities abroad saying he is dangerous for Indias democracy".

What exactly is Rahul Gandhi hiding? CRPFs flagging of breaches in security protocol by Rahul Gandhi during foreign visits is a grave violation. Whose orders is Rahul Gandhi following during these suspicious foreign visits? Rahul Gandhi is dangerous for Indias democracy!" BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said in a post on X, also sharing the ANI report.

What exactly is Rahul Gandhi hiding?CRPFs flagging of breaches in security protocol by Rahul Gandhi during foreign visits is a grave violation.Whose orders is Rahul Gandhi following during these suspicious foreign visits?Rahul Gandhi is dangerous for Indias democracy! pic.twitter.com/iZBGuHvwQb Pradeep Bhandari( ) (@pradip103) September 11, 2025

WHAT IS THE CONGRESS SAYING?

While the Congress is yet to make an official comment on the matter, senior leader Pawan Khera raised doubts on the timing and public release of the CRPF letter.

Khera asked if this were an attempt at intimidation, especially since Gandhi has announced another disclosure" related to his vote chori allegations against the BJP.

The timing of the CRPFs letter and its instant public release raise disturbing questions. It comes just as Rahul Gandhi is leading the charge against the BJPs Vote Chori carried out with the Election Commissions complicity. Is this a veiled attempt to intimidate the Leader of Opposition, who has already announced another imminent disclosure? Is the government rattled by the truth he is about to reveal?" Khera asked in a post on X.

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The timing of the CRPFs letter and its instant public release raise disturbing questions. It comes just as Shri @RahulGandhi is leading the charge against the BJPs Vote Chori carried out with the Election Commissions complicity. Is this a veiled attempt to intimidate the Pawan Khera  (@Pawankhera) September 11, 2025

This is, however, not the first time Gandhi has come under scrutiny. In the past, too, security agencies have flagged instances where he reportedly bypassed established protocols, leading to concerns over potential threats.

About the Author Oindrila Mukherjee Oindrila Mukherjee is a senior sub-editor who works for the rewrite and breaking news desks. Her nine years of experience in print and digital journalism range from editing and reporting to writing im... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 16:25 IST

News politics 'What Is He Hiding': BJP Vs Congress Over Rahul Gandhi's 'Protocol Breach' Abroad

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'Who Is Assam CM To Interfere?': Pawan Khera On Gaurav Gogoi's Alleged Pakistan Link Probe

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 20:45 IST

Khera's remarks came a day after the SIT set up by the Assam government submitted its report to the chief minister

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Congress leaders Gaurav Gogoi, Jitendra Singh and Pawan Khera during a press conference at AICC office. (PTI file photo)

Congress leader Pawan Khera on Thursday slammed Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for commenting on an ongoing probe into alleged links between his party MP Gaurav Gogoi and Pakistan.

Speaking to ANI, Khera questioned Sarmas role in the matter, saying the chief minister seemed to be trying to influence the investigation.

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Who is the Chief Minister to interfere? Let the report come out? Does he (Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma) want to influence the report?" Khera said.

He further added, Does he want to manipulate the report? What is he doing? Is anybody afraid of this Chief Minister? He is an outgoing Chief Minister."

#WATCH | Delhi | On the SIT investigation into Gaurav Gogois alleged Pakistan link, Congress leader Pawan Khera says, Who is the Chief Minister to interfere? Let the report come out? Does he (Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma) want to influence the report? Does he want to pic.twitter.com/1wBiaaTqEq ANI (@ANI) September 11, 2025

His remarks came a day after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the Assam government submitted its report to the chief minister.

On Wednesday, Sarma posted a statement on X, claiming the probe had uncovered startling facts" pointing to a broader conspiracy to harm Indias sovereignty. He also claimed the investigation had found involvement of a British national, married to an Indian MP, in the alleged activities of Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh.

Sarma added that the report indicated Pakistans interior ministry had helped arrange a visit for an MP from Assam to Pakistan. He did not name the MP but has previously accused Gogoi, the Assam Congress president, of travelling to Pakistan under suspicious circumstances.

The Assam Government will now examine the report of the SIT in detail and place it before the State Cabinet. Once the matter is discussed in the Cabinet, the information gathered during the enquiry will be made public," he added.

The SIT, formed in February, includes senior officers Munna Prasad Gupta, Rosie Kalita, Pranabjyoti Goswami, and Maitrayee Deka. It was tasked with investigating Sheikhs alleged anti-India activities, Hindustan Times reported.

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Gogoi has denied all allegations, calling the entire episode a politically motivated smear campaign. He confirmed that he had visited Pakistan in 2013, when his wife, Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi, was working there on a climate change project. However, he dismissed any suggestion of links to Pakistani authorities.

This issue is nothing but an attempt to malign me. Its like a C-grade movie that will flop once the SIT report is out," the Congress leader had said earlier.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 20:45 IST

News politics 'Who Is Assam CM To Interfere?': Pawan Khera On Gaurav Gogoi's Alleged Pakistan Link Probe

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ChatGPT Go Rival: Google Brings Gemini AI To More Users With New Rs 400 Plan

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 08:18 IST

ChatGPT Go has a new rival in the form of Gemini AI Plus from Google that looks to attract more users with its affordable price tag.

Gemini AI Plus goes up against ChatGPT Go

Google has raised the gauntlet to OpenAI with its new affordable Gemini AI Plus plan that goes up against the newly launched ChatGPT Go version. AI tools are widely available but most of the good stuff is costly and these tech giants are now opening their AI weapons to more users with the affordable monthly AI plans.

Running AI is costly but companies are not going to find many takers if their AI plans cost as much as Rs 2,000 per month. Some have even managed to dish out Pro features for free. The new Gemini AI Plus launched in Indonesia for now but we can expect the company to expand its availability to more regions, including India in the near future.

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Google Gemini AI Plus: What Rs 400 Per Month Gets You

Gemini AI Plus is priced at IDR 37,500 (Rs 200 approx) which is a limited period offer for users in the region after which the plan will cost IDR 75,000 per month (Rs 400 approx). Google lets you access the latest Gemini 2.5 Pro and Deep Research on 2.5 Pro model. Here are the other benefits of taking the Gemini AI Plus plan

Limited access to Veo 3 for video generation

200 monthly AI credits

Access Flow AI filmmaking tool

Notebook LLM

Gemini in Gmail, Docs, Vids and more apps

200 GB One storage for Photos, Drive and Gmail

How Gemini AI Plus Compares With ChatGPT Go: Price And Features

When you glance through the features unlocked using the Gemini AI Plus plan, you have to compare ChatGPT Go benefits that cost the same. Heres a rundown of what you get:

Extended access to the latest GPT-5 model from OpenAI

Extended access to image generation using its AI tools

Get more out of ChatGPT by making it analyse your work documents, spreadsheets, and other files.

Use tools like Python for data exploration and problem-solving as well

Tap into more memory for a personalised chatting experience and contextually keep it going.

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ChatGPT Go also gives you the option to use custom GPTs and even build personalised AI tools.

Googles new Gemini AI tier is not available for the Workspace business and education customers. We are keen to see if the company launches the new plan in India and if so, how it decides to price it for the consumers.

About the Author S Aadeetya S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and ... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 08:18 IST

News tech ChatGPT Go Rival: Google Brings Gemini AI To More Users With New Rs 400 Plan

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The death of the Turning Point USA founder adds to a list of ideological crimes that has continued to grow in recent years. Trump blames the radical left for the escalating tension

A specter is haunting the United States once again: that of political violence. The Wednesday assassination on the campus of Utah Valley University of Charlie Kirk  a prominent champion of the MAGA movement and founder of the conservative organization Turning Point USA who was shot in the neck as he was answering an uncomfortable question about the epidemic of gun violence before an audience of thousands  revived grim memories for a country that has seen four sitting presidents assassinated, and more recently witnessed a wave of ideological crimes fueled by a deeply polarized society.

Progressive columnist and podcaster Ezra Klein took stock on the social platform X a few hours after Kirks death: from the assault on the Capitol of January 6, 2021, to the plot to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer months earlier for her Covid-19 measures during the lockdown as Democratic governor of Michigan; from the hammer attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to the murder of two Minnesota politicians; and from the execution of the CEO of United Healthcare to the two attempts last summer on the life of President Donald Trump, then still a candidate.

Political violence is contagious. It is spreading. It is not confined to one side or belief system. It should terrify us all, Klein added on X, joining the group of those who reacted to the murder by sharing blame for the tense climate between the left and the right.

With a recorded message from the Oval Office, delivered around 9:00 p.m. Washington time, Trump squandered the opportunity to join Klein and those on both sides of the political aisle who had been issuing calls to show restraint. Its become a sad routine in todays America: a political figure dies or suffers an attack, and ineffectual wishes calling for the review of the rules of public discourse follow, with the same lack of impact as the condolences sending thoughts and prayers to the victims every time a mass murder occurs.

In a speech lasting over four minutes, the U.S. president cited only a few precedents, all of them involving conservative victims: the attacks against himself, the attacks on immigration agents in recent months, the Luigi Mangione case, and the 2017 shooting of around 20 Republican congressmen, including Speaker Steve Scalise. He did so to attack the radical left, as he calls it. For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the worlds worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that were seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.

It is time for all Americans and the media to face the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those who disagree, day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable ways possible, Trump added, vowing that his administration would find those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials and everyone else who brings order to our country.

Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace and billionaire Elon Musk expressed similar views. The Left is the party of murder, Musk wrote on X. For far-right influencers Steve Bannon, the national-populist ideologue; Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist; and Fox News host Jesse Watters, things go even further: Kirks murder is proof, according to broadcasts released just hours after his death, that there is a war underway against the MAGA movement.

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren replied to those comments by advising that, if the goal is to find those responsible, why dont you start with the President of the United States and every ugly meme he has posted and every ugly word.

Warren, who is 76, witnessed the events that unfolded between the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 and those of Bobby Kennedy and Reverend Martin Luther King in 1968. The other three presidents who were killed are Abraham Lincoln, in 1865, at the hands of a Confederate in a Washington theater, James A. Garfield, in 1881, and William McKinley, two decades later.

Ronald Reagan being shoved into the presidential limousine by secret service agents after being shot outside a Washington hotel on March 30, 1981. Ron Edmonds (AP)

Those turbulent years of the 1960s continued until the early 1980s, when a man named John Hinckley Jr., who wanted to impress actress Jodie Foster, tried to assassinate Ronald Reagan outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington. For historians, that failed assassination attempt marked the end of one of the most turbulent periods in U.S. history.

Given the intensity with which tragedies occur, and given the climate of tension in Trumps America, perhaps those historians would do well to open a new chapter in the book of political violence in the United States, which does not seem to be coming to a close anytime soon.

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Nothing Confirms Android 16 Update Coming Soon For Phone Users

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 10:17 IST

Nothing has started testing the Android 16 beta in the last few weeks and the official release for Phone 3 users should be coming soon.

Nothing Phone 3 is likely to get the new Android 16 update first

Nothing has shared its own set of news this week which will please its users. The stable Android 16 update will be rolling out soon for the eligible devices which is not going to include the first-gen Phone 1 model. The company has been teasing the Nothing OS 4.0 release since the launch of Phone 3 in July and even started its closed beta version for select users.

The latest post from Nothing even gives us some idea about what the Android 16-based version will offer in terms of the features and the design of the interface which is one of the best and cleanest you can get on Android.

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Nothing OS 4.0 Release Soon: What To Expect

The teaser from Nothing on the new version shows circular icons across the default apps on Nothing OS 4.0. The post says refined and redefined which suggests Nothing is not looking to change a lot but refine the interface and maybe change the layout of the icons along with other aspects of its software.

Nothing OS 4.0 is widely awaited, not just because it is based on the latest Android 16 version but also gives Nothing a new platform to showcase its seriousness towards software, something that has enamoured many with its devices.

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Nothing Phone 3 did not excite people in India, with its launch price tag of Rs 79,999 that puts it on the premium table with some serious rivals. The product itself found it hard to justify that price, which is why we are already seeing Phone 3 available for less than Rs 50,000 across platforms. In fact, Nothing is planning for a special sale offer on the Phone 3 next week which is likely to entice more people to reconsider their thoughts about the first pure flagship from the brand.

Nothing has pointed out that Phone 3 was never primed for markets like India where it also offers the Phone a series in the mid-range segment. But the imminent price drop for Phone 3 could make it an interesting option in a totally different price range.

About the Author S Aadeetya S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and ... Read More

Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: September 11, 2025, 10:17 IST

News tech Nothing Confirms Android 16 Update Coming Soon For Phone Users

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Rs 1,660 Just For 'Good Night'! This Woman Makes Crores Using Her Voice

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Translation Desk

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 08:07 IST

Holly Jane, a mother of three from Texas, is earning crores by recording voice messages, charging Rs 1,700 for a simple Good morning or Good night

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Holly Jane has over 16 lakh followers on Instagram and a large, loyal fan base on OnlyFans. (Instagram/ @holly.johnston_xo)

You might remember Ayushmann Khurranas comedy film Dream Girl (2019), where he used a female, risque voice to entertain callers in his job. A real-life story, strikingly similar yet uniquely different, has recently gone viral online.

Holly Jane, a 42-year-old mother of three from Texas, United States, is earning crores simply by recording voice messages. Charging Rs 1,700 for a simple Good morning" or Good night", she has turned her distinctive voice into a surprisingly lucrative career.

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Holly, who creates content on OnlyFans, says her Texas accent, once criticised as a stereotype of a dumb blonde American, has become her biggest asset. People underestimate me, but it works in my favour. My voice pays all my bills today, and its surprising to think such a simple thing played a key role in my success," she said.

Her earnings are staggering. With over 16 lakh followers on Instagram and a strong fan base on OnlyFans, particularly from the UK, Holly makes around $20,000 (Rs 16.6 lakh) per month from voice notes alone.

Her total monthly income can reach up to $80,000 (Rs 66 lakh). A short greeting costs $20 (Rs 1,660), while personalised or risque voice messages can fetch up to $100. She records 30-second clips, often receiving 6 to 8 requests daily.

Fans are drawn to her voice for its soothing and appealing tone. Holly admits that she once thought her accent was annoying, but she discovered that British men, in particular, find it attractive and calming. Many fans ask her to play different characters, from a friend of their wife to an office colleague or sister-in-law, adding a personal touch by including their names in the recordings.

Some requests are more unusual. Holly recounts that some men ask her to roleplay as a church missionary, a scenario linked to her past association with the church. Despite the unconventional nature of some requests, she ensures each recording feels authentic and engaging for her subscribers.

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Holly left her job as a nurse recruiter in 2021 to focus on OnlyFans full-time. Her earnings skyrocketed within months, and she once made over Rs 2 crore in a single month. This rapid success has established her as one of the platforms most popular creators.

However, the journey was not without challenges. As a former member of the Mormon Church, Holly faced backlash when her OnlyFans account became public. Her bishop asked her to leave the church, marking a difficult period in her life. Holly says she accepted the situation and continued pursuing her career.

Location : United States of America (USA)

First Published: September 11, 2025, 08:07 IST

News viral Rs 1,660 Just For 'Good Night'! This Woman Makes Crores Using Her Voice

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Australian Envoy Acknowledges Racial Incidents, Assures Safety Of Indian Migrants

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News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 23:37 IST

In the wake of some recent racial incidents, Australian High Commissioner to India Philip Green on Thursday affirmed his country's commitment to the safety of Indian migrants.

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Australian High Commissioner to India Philip Green. (X/@AusHCIndia)

Following recent racial incidents, Australian High Commissioner to India Philip Green on Thursday reiterated his countrys commitment to ensuring the safety of Indian migrants.

He assured that Australian authorities will effectively" deal with the occasional incidents that happen.

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Pointing out that more than half of his countrys population consists of migrants or their children, Green asserted that Australia is a multicultural society.

Emphasising that Australia is one of the safest places in the world for anyone," he noted that more than one million people of Indian origin now call the country home.

That (presence of Indian migrants) means there will be occasional incidents as there will be anywhere in the world, and we deal with them very effectively," he added.

Acknowledging that there have been demonstrations recently focusing on the number of migrants coming into Australia and focusing to some extent" on people of Indian origin, Green said the Australian government has been very clear" that there is no place in their society for religious or ethnic discrimination.

..Australian ministers at the most senior level have responded to these demonstrations. People in Australia are entitled to have demonstrations, but we would say this very clearly, we stand with migrants, including migrants of Indian origin, and we stand very much for multiculturalism in Australia," he said.

It can be noted that there have also been reports of a brutal assault on an Indian student in Adelaide in late July.

..for the most part, Australia is a place where Indians can enjoy themselves in peace and tranquillity," Green told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

Meanwhile, on trade ties, Green said Australia and India have a highly complementary relationship, supporting rather than competing with each other.

Many of the inputs required for Indias future growth, including critical minerals, can be sourced from Australia, the envoy said.

Green said he met Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday to discuss deepening trade ties, but did not give a timeline by which he sees the next phase of the trade ties getting finalised.

Weve now had nearly a dozen rounds of negotiations. Were getting towards the business end of this. Im tempted to put a deadline on it, as you want me to, but Im not going to," he said.

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Green was speaking on the sidelines of an award event organised by the India Australia Business and Community Alliance in Mumbai.

(With inputs from PTI)

First Published: September 11, 2025, 23:37 IST

News world Australian Envoy Acknowledges Racial Incidents, Assures Safety Of Indian Migrants

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Bangladesh Turns To India, Ramps Up Power Imports To Meet Surging Demand: Report

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News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 21:19 IST

Bangladeshs power imports from India rose by 70% in the seven months through July and helped meet the rising demand, as per Bangladesh govt data.

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A pharmaceutical shop uses candle lights to serve customers during countrywide blackout in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (IMAGE: REUTERS FILE/REPRESENTATIVE)

Bangladesh has increased its power imports from India as Dhaka scrambled to meet rising electricity demand as it grapples with gas supply constraints and coal plant maintenance-related issues. A Reuters report said that power imports rose 70 percent in the seven months through July and helped satisfy most of the rising demand, citing Bangladesh government data.

Its about cost effectiveness, and gas is required for the fertilizer industry, whereas cheap electricity can be received from other sources, including fuel oil. There is a shortage of gas for electricity generation and evacuation problems," Adeeba Aziz Khan, director of Bangladeshs Summit Power, was quoted as saying by the news agency. Khan made the comments on the sidelines of the APPEC conference. Her

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Her firm runs a dozen power plants using gas and fuel oil. She further added that it was difficult to see a resurgence in gas-fired generation in the foreseeable future."

Faced with gas infrastructure hurdles and rising costs, Bangladesh has been increasingly relying on coal-fired power and electricity imports, even though natural gas met nearly two-thirds of its demand in the decade up to 2020.

The government didnt have many choices. To avoid blackouts, they turned to imports," an unnamed official of the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) was quoted as saying by Reuters.

The BPDB official told the news agency that many gas-fired plants were not running at capacity because of pressure-related technical problems. They also said that coal-fired power output was lower due to maintenance outages.

The share of imports during the first seven months of this year jumped to 15.4 percent from 9.5 percent and that of fuel oil-fired power rose to 12.6 percent from 11.9 percent annually, Bangladesh government data showed.

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The share of natural gas in power generation slipped to 43.9 percent from 46.8 percent, while the share of domestic coal-fired output fell to 26.2 percent from 30.1 percent.

Dhaka increased imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 24 percent in the seven months through July, data from analytics firm Kpler showed. Still, gas-fired power generation fell 1.2 percent, according to government data accessed by the news agency.

About the Author Shankhyaneel Sarkar Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has c... Read More

Location : Dhaka, Bangladesh

First Published: September 11, 2025, 21:14 IST

News world Bangladesh Turns To India, Ramps Up Power Imports To Meet Surging Demand: Report

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'Baby Would Be Delivered': Charlie Kirk's Anti-Abortion Views Resurface Hours After His Killing

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News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 11:41 IST

Charlie Kirk often defended his anti-abortion views. When asked about extreme cases, during one of his interviews, he stated that his daughter, if raped, would deliver the baby.

Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Point's visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah (Photo: AP)

Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot at a US university on Wednesday, had earlier faced off against liberal college students to defend his viewpoints, including that abortion is murder and should be illegal.

On multiple occasions, Charlie Kirk invited students to debate with him in quick-fire exchanges that often went viral online.

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It was during one of these events in Utah on Wednesday that he was shot in the neck in a moment of violence that was swiftly condemned by political leaders, including US President Donald Trump.

In September 2024, Kirk was among the first to share allegations that Haitian immigrants were eating cats and dogs in Ohio.

In one such widely shared video, Kirk could be heard keeping forth his stance on abortion. As seen in the video, Kirk was asked what if his own daughter were raped and became pregnant.

He responded by saying that the baby would be delivered.

So, if you had a daughter and she was 10 and she got raped, and she was gonna give birth, and she would gonna give birth, would you want her to go through that and carry her baby?" Kirk was asked.

Interrupting the question, Kirk said, I do have a daughter," and opined that the question was awfully graphic".

No, but its a real-life scenario that happens to many people," the reporter continued.

The answer is yes, the baby would be delivered," Kirk responded, adding, Let me tell you why, hold on, let me ask you a question."

The reporter, meanwhile, said, Oh, okay, great, so thats insane."

US right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk was credited with building Donald Trumps base among younger voters, galvanising conservative youth and rising to international prominence through a group he founded at age 18.

Kirk, an Illinois native who founded the conservative student group Turning Point USA and went on to become a rising star in the Republican Party under Trump, had just returned to the United States from an overseas speaking tour when he was shot to death on Wednesday.

He was 31 years old.

The Utah governor described Kirks death as a political assassination."

The motive of the shooting remained unknown, and the suspect was not arrested yet.

On Sunday, Kirk headlined an event in Tokyo organised by the far-right Sanseito party, which made big gains in Japans upper house election in July.

He also recently spoke in South Korea.

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ALSO READ | Charlie Kirk Net Worth: Know How Rich Was Trumps Multi-Millionaire Ally

About the Author Vani Mehrotra Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

First Published: September 11, 2025, 11:32 IST

News world 'Baby Would Be Delivered': Charlie Kirk's Anti-Abortion Views Resurface Hours After His Killing

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Charlie Kirk Called Islamabad Sneaky, Urged Trump To Avoid India-Pakistan War

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News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 15:53 IST

Charlie Kirk opposed US involvement in Operation Sindoor, urging only moral support for India.

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk died after being shot during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. (Reuters)

Hours after conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was shot dead during a rally at Utah Valley University, attention turned to his outspoken views on global conflicts, including his controversial commentary on Operation Sindoor, Indias military response during its brief four-day war with Pakistan in May.

Charlie Kirk, 31, a staunch supporter of US President Donald Trump and co-founder of Turning Point USA, often leveraged his platform to oppose immigration and question Americas foreign policy commitments.

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What Charlie Kirk Said On India-Pakistan War

On his podcast, Charlie Kirk urged the Donald Trump administration to steer clear of the India-Pakistan clash sparked by the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 22 people. He described Pakistan as a sneaky actor" that sheltered Bin Laden," while framing Indias military operation as a justified retaliation against Islamic terror.

India and Pakistan are on the verge of a war. Pakistan is 100% Muslim India is mostly Hindu. They dont care for each other much at all," Charlie Kirk said.

He emphasized the nuclear dimension but downplayed the risks of escalation as he opined, I do not believe this will escalate in any way, shape or form to nuclear power. Look, we hope for negotiations, but this is a great test of whether or not every conflict is Americas problem."

Moral Support, Nothing More

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Charlie Kirks refrain was consistent with Donald Trump-era rhetoric about avoiding foreign entanglements. He drew a sharp line against US military involvement, saying, This is not our war. Maybe we slightly favour India because theyre retaliating to Islamic terror, but that should go no further than moral support. That is it. This is not our conflict to get involved in."

He warned against American overreach," calling Washingtons hawks reckless for pushing deeper involvement in distant wars. For Charlie Kirk, Operation Sindoor was not a test of US military resolve but of restraint.

Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

First Published: September 11, 2025, 15:53 IST

News world Charlie Kirk Called Islamabad Sneaky, Urged Trump To Avoid India-Pakistan War

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'Dark Moment For America': Donald Trump Mourns Charlie Kirks Assassination, Vows Accountability

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 09:58 IST

Donald Trump mourned the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, calling it a dark moment for America. He also vowed to hold those responsible accountable.

A file photo of Donald Trump (AP)/Well-wishers pay their respects at a makeshift memorial after Charlie Kirk was shot dead (AP)

US President Donald Trump on Thursday expressed grief and anger over the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus, calling the incident a dark moment for America."

In a nationally televised address, Trump described Charlie Kirk as a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country he loved."

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He said Kirk inspired millions of young Americans through his advocacy for liberty, democracy, justice, and free speech.

Vowing accountability, Trump said his administration would find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity" and warned against further threats targeting judges, law enforcement officials, and political leaders.

Calling Kirk the best of America," Trump said the assassin had failed in silencing him.

To my great fellow Americans, I am filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah," Trump said in the video message.

Charlie inspired millions, and tonight, all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror. Charlie was a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country he loved, the United States of America," he said.

He fought for liberty, democracy, justice, and the American people. He is a model for truth and freedom, and there has never been anyone who was so respected by youth. Charlie was also a man of deep, deep faith, and we take comfort in the knowledge that he is now at peace with God and heaven," Trump said.

Our prayers are with his wife, Erika, the two young, beloved children, and his entire family, whom he loved more than anything in the world. We ask God to watch over them in this terrible hour of horror and pain," the US President said.

This is a dark moment for America. Charlie Kirk travelled the nation, joyfully engaging with everyone interested in good-faith debate."

Its long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequences of demonising those with whom you disagree day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible," Trump said.

For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the worlds worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that were seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now," he added.

My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organisations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials, and everyone else who brings order to our country."

From the attack on my life in Butler, Pennsylvania last year which killed a husband and father, to the attacks on ICE agents, to the vicious murder of a health care executive in the streets of New York, to the shooting of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and three others, radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives," Trump said.

Charlie was the best of America, and the monster who attacked him was attacking our whole country. An assassin tried to silence him with a bullet, but he failed because together we will ensure that his voice, his message, and his legacy will live on for countless generations to come," the US President said.

He also ordered flags flown at half-staff in Kirks honour.

President Trump shares a message on the assassination of Charlie Kirk.I ask all Americans to commit themselves to the American values for which Charlie Kirk lived & died. The values of free speech, citizenship, the rule of law & the patriotic devotion & love of God." pic.twitter.com/3fBSgs4Zxa  The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 11, 2025

First Lady Melania Trump also posted on Kirks death and mentioned, Charlies children will be raised with stories instead of memories, photographs instead of laughter, and silence where their fathers voice should have echoed."

Charlie Kirks life should serve as a symbolic reminder that compassionate awareness elevates family, love, and country," she mentioned.

Charlies children will be raised with stories instead of memories, photographs instead of laughter, and silence where their fathers voice should have echoed.Charlie Kirks life should serve as a symbolic reminder that compassionate awareness elevates family, love, and  First Lady Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) September 11, 2025

Charlie Kirk was part of a constellation of influencers who helped amplify Donald Trumps agenda, galvanising conservative youth and rising to international prominence with often inflammatory rhetoric focused on such issues as race, gender and immigration.

He was shot dead while he was addressing a large outdoor crowd on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, Utah.

Kirk was an Illinois native who co-founded the conservative student group Turning Point USA at the age of 18 and went on to become a rising star in the Republican Party under Trump.

He had just returned to the United States from an overseas speaking tour when he was shot.

He was 31 years old and is survived by his wife Erika, a former Miss Arizona USA beauty pageant winner, and their two children.

Meanwhile, Authorities were still searching for the suspect in the case.

ALSO READ | FBI Releases Person Of Interest In Charlie Kirks Fatal Shooting; Manhunt Underway

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About the Author Vani Mehrotra Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

First Published: September 11, 2025, 07:17 IST

News world 'Dark Moment For America': Donald Trump Mourns Charlie Kirks Assassination, Vows Accountability

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EU Unlikely To Levy Steep Tariffs On India, China Despite Trump Push: Reports

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News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 07:05 IST

Unlike sanctions, tariffs in the EU require a formal investigation that typically runs for months to establish a defensible legal basis, the sources noted.

Donald Trump had earlier asked EU to tariff India and China over Russian oil. (AI-generated image)

The European Union is unlikely to impose steep tariffs on India or China, the largest buyers of Russian oil, despite calls from President Donald Trump to do so, EU sources told Reuters.

An EU delegation, including the blocs top official on Russia sanctions, travelled to Washington this week for talks on coordinating measures against Moscow over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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During the meetings, President Trump urged the EU to consider tariffs of up to 100% on India and China to pressure President Vladimir Putin by squeezing Russias energy revenues, the officials said.

The European Commission, however, did not respond to a request for comment, reported Reuters.

The European Union has already tightened its Russia regime, adding two Chinese banks and a major Indian refinery in its July package, but sweeping tariffs remain a separate matter and a far higher bar, EU sources said.

Unlike sanctions, tariffs in the EU require a formal investigation that typically runs for months to establish a defensible legal basis, the sources noted. To date, the bloc has used tariffs tied to the Ukraine war only on Russian and Belarusian fertilisers and certain farm goods, arguing the measures were needed to prevent strategic dependence and protect EU fertiliser producers.

So far, there is no discussion on possible tariffs, neither on India nor with China," an EU diplomat said.

Brussels is also deep into negotiations on a trade agreement with New Delhian effort the bloc is unlikely to jeopardise. President Trumps stance on India appeared to soften by Wednesday, when he said he was seeking to reset trade ties with New Delhi.

Several officials cautioned that broad tariffs carry significant risks and can be overly blunt. Targeted listings are easier to calibrate, they said, because specific entities can be removed if they halt Russia-related business.

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Until now, EU designations beyond Russia have largely focused on smaller third-country entitiesoften shell companies accused of routing military or dual-use goods to Russias war effort.

Looking ahead, the EUs 19th sanctions package is expected to propose listing banks in two Central Asian countries as well as Chinese refineries, which could be tabled as soon as Friday, according to one source.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 07:05 IST

News world EU Unlikely To Levy Steep Tariffs On India, China Despite Trump Push: Reports

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Former Brazil President Bolsonaro Found Guilty In Coup Plot, Sentence Yet To Be Decided

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Trending Desk

Last Updated: September 12, 2025, 02:09 IST

Bolsonaro has been under house arrest since early August for violating court orders prohibiting him from making public comments.

He has denied any wrongdoing and did not attend the proceedings, which began last week

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was found guilty on Thursday by the countrys Supreme Court following majority vote for his role in a coup attempt following the 2022 election. The court ruled that Bolsonaro sought to overturn the election results, which he lost, and plotted to assassinate the current President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, reported Reuters.

A majority of a five-member Supreme Court panel has now voted to convict Bolsonaro. The landmark ruling became apparent when the third justice voted in favour of conviction on all five charges against him. Although one more justice is yet to cast a vote, the verdict is expected to be formally concluded this week.

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According to Washington Post, Bolsonaro, 70, faces up to 40 years in prison if sentenced. He has denied any wrongdoing and did not attend the proceedings, which began last week inside the same building that was stormed by his supporters after his electoral defeat. Sentencing is expected within days. Seven co-defendants, including an admiral and three generals, were also found guilty.

Among the key evidence presented was a document prosecutors described as a draft presidential decree, reported the Guardian. The decree would have granted Bolsonaro emergency powers to take control of the countrys top electoral court to ensure fairness and correction." Investigators allege Bolsonaro edited and presented the document to military leaders but ultimately failed to gain the support necessary to enact it.

The government wanted to remain in power by simply ignoring democracy  and that is what constitutes a coup detat," Justice Alexandre de Moraes said from the bench on Tuesday. De Moraes, who was also named as a potential assassination target, has played a prominent role throughout the case.

Bolsonaro has been under house arrest since early August for violating court orders prohibiting him from making public comments aimed at intimidating or pressuring officials to cancel his trial. Defense lawyers still have the option to appeal, but once all challenges are exhausted, the ruling becomes final and any prison term can be enforced.

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Already banned from holding public office until 2030 for spreading false information about Brazils electoral system, Bolsonaro has argued that the ruling disenfranchises millions of Brazilians who support him and maintains hope the ban will eventually be overturned.

It is yet to be seen how the US reacts to the development, as US President Donald Trump and top members of his administration have repeatedly voiced support for Bolsonaro. In July, Trump raised tariffs on Brazil to 50%, citing the case, in what was seen as a highly political move. Trump has also directly accused President Lula of mistreating Bolsonaro and sanctioned Justice de Moraes. According to an Al Jazeera report, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt warned earlier this week that the US could respond strongly if a guilty verdict were delivered.

Location : Brasilia, Brazil

First Published: September 12, 2025, 02:07 IST

News world Former Brazil President Bolsonaro Found Guilty In Coup Plot, Sentence Yet To Be Decided

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Nepal Violence Toll Climbs To 34; Former First Lady Injured In Arson Remains Critical

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 13:24 IST

Nepal was rocked by Gen Zled protests sparked by a short-lived social-media ban and anger over corruption, triggering curfews and army deployment as clashes intensified

Nepal's former Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal (R) and his wife Rabi Laxmi Chitrakar Khanal (L) faced attacks from protesters. Rabi Laxmi was rumoured dead but is alive and recovering from injuries

Nepals former first lady Rabi Laxmi Chitrakar, who was injured in arson attack by protesters, remains in critical condition, according to hospital authorities. The toll of the violence on Thursday climbed to 34.

The wife of CPN(S) leader and former Jhala Nath Khanal was initially believed to have died after sustaining burn injuries. The rumours were later told as untrue.

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The Kathmandu Post quoted officials at Kirtipur Hospital as saying that her health condition is stable but critical. Her condition is critical and as it was at the time she was brought in for treatment," said Dr Kiran Nakarmi, director at the hospital, told the Post on Wednesday.

The NepalPress report said that a section of the Gen-Z agitators had set ablaze Jhalanaths house in Dallu. When the attack happened, the former PM was outside, but his wife was home. She sustained severe burn injuries as she could not escape on time.

Former party leader and former minister Jeevan Ram Shrestha said that she was at home with her son, Nirbhik Khanal, when the protestors started the fire. She was first taken to Nepali Army Hospital in Chhauni where she was treated at the Intensive Care Unit and later transferred to the Kirtipur Hospital for further treatment.

According to The Kathmandu Post, 27 people were injured in the protests of whom most have been discharged. Only a few remain in the hospital," said Nakarmi, the hospital director. Most have been discharged."

The Ministry of Health Nepal has reported that 34 people have died so far during the protests.

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Nepal was rocked by Gen Zled protests sparked by a short-lived social-media ban and long-simmering anger over corruption, triggering curfews and army deployment as clashes intensified in Kathmandu and other cities. Authorities have now reopened Kathmandu airport after a brief shutdown, but prohibitory orders remain in force as the situation evolves.

Meanwhile, Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah appealed to Nepals Gen Z and the wider public on Thursday to remain calm as the country transitions to an interim administration and fresh elections.

Location : Nepal

First Published: September 11, 2025, 12:40 IST

News world Nepal Violence Toll Climbs To 34; Former First Lady Injured In Arson Remains Critical

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From Politics To Glamour: 6 'Nepo Kid' Incidents That Ignited Gen Z Fury Across Nepal

Curated By :

Translation Desk

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 13:52 IST

Protests erupted with hashtags like #NotMyNepal and #MeritOverLegacy as leaders' children flaunted wealth online, fueling public anger amid economic crisis and unemployment

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The situation escalated when Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's government, which had now resigned, attempted to suppress the social media movement, fueling even greater anger. (AP/File)

Nepal is facing a severe political turmoil as protests led by Gen Z over a temporary social media ban and widespread frustration with corruption and nepotism escalated into violent clashes, resulting in numerous injuries.

Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah Balens Facebook page is flooded with posts criticizing nepo kids" for gaining advantages through connections, while ordinary citizens face hardships. This discontent, particularly strong among Gen Z, has been evident for the past year on social media with hashtags like #NepoKid.

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The situation escalated when Prime Minister KP Sharma Olis government, which had now resigned, attempted to suppress the social media movement, fueling even greater anger. Oli himself faced accusations of favouring children of relatives and close associates, with claims that these individuals received preferential treatment in government contracts and jobs. As a result, viral stories and posts on social media highlighted the struggles of the common youth against such practices.

Over the last two years, many young Nepalis have mobilised against nepotism. Campaigns spread from small villages to large cities, gaining significant support on social media.

Protests erupted with hashtags like #NotMyNepal and #MeritOverLegacy becoming widespread. Many influential leaders children flaunted their wealth and luxury lifestyles online, exacerbating the publics frustration amidst economic crises and high unemployment.

Let us explore six such incidents that have fueled public anger over the influence and privileges of Nepals nepo kids."

Political Leader Appoints Son To Senior Ministry Post

One notable incident involved the son of a prominent political figure being appointed to a high post in a government ministry without proper qualifications. According to some reports, in Nepals Gandaki Province, Saugat Thapa, the son of Bindu Kumar Thapa, the Minister for Social Development, was appointed to a high-ranking position in the provincial government.

This appointment sparked controversy due to his limited political experience and the perception that it was made based on political connections rather than merit. The appointment has been widely criticized on social media platforms, with many questioning the fairness and transparency of the selection process.

It was claimed that due procedures were bypassed due to the influence of his political family, leading to large-scale protests and the trending of #MeritNotNepotism on social media. Although the government reportedly conducted an inquiry, only minor reforms were ordered.

Glamour World Dominated By Nepo Kids

Another instance of nepotism as reported in News18 Hindi was seen in Nepals film industry. According to the report, an emerging actress, whose father is a well-known politician, reportedly secured a lead role in a major film without any acting experience. This sparked protests from talented but disadvantaged artists. Social media campaigns led some producers to introduce new audition policies, but family influence remained pervasive, the report mentioned.

Scams In Bank Loans and Government Contracts

According to News18 Hindi, in the banking sector, a senior officers son obtained a significant loan without proper guarantees, and reports indicated misuse of the funds. Investigations implicated several high-ranking officials, but no strict actions were taken due to mafia influence, the report said. The story remained in the headlines, intensifying demands for transparency in the banking system. Although the government introduced new rules, actual changes were minimal, leading to public unrest.

Perks For Families Of Coalition Partners

Olis government faced criticism for promoting the families of Nepali Congress leaders. Notable nepo kids", Shreya Karki (daughter of former minister Ram Chandra Karki), Vivek Sharma (son of ex-Finance Minister Janardan Sharma, Maoist leader), and Tara Thapa (daughter of former minister Arjun Narsingh KC), were reportedly given political or social opportunities. All were linked to Olis coalition government. In April 2024, reports indicated that Oli also promoted relatives of his close associates in party positions and business opportunities, triggering a party split.

Controversy Surrounding Miss Nepal Shrinkhala Khatiwada

In another high-profile case, former Miss Nepal Shrunkhala Khatiwada, whose father was the health minister, was accused of receiving $50,000 from the Miss World Foundation for her projects, highlighting nepotism.

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Tragic Demise Of A Young Girl

A tragic incident further fueled the movement when Usha, an 11-year-old girl from a poor family, was allegedly run over by the son of a government official. Her death sparked nationwide outrage and strengthened the youths resolve to fight against inequality and nepotism.

Location : Nepal

First Published: September 11, 2025, 13:39 IST

News world From Politics To Glamour: 6 'Nepo Kid' Incidents That Ignited Gen Z Fury Across Nepal

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Gen Z Leader Sudan Gurung Breaks Down During Emotional Media Address In Kathmandu

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 15:18 IST

Sudan Gurung, a leading Gen Z political voice in Nepal, broke down in tears during a press address in Kathmandu, highlighting the pressures and expectations of leadership.

Sudan Gurung broke down during the press briefing. (ANI photo)

Sudan Gurung, one of Nepals most prominent Gen Z political voices, broke down in tears while addressing the press in Kathmandu following the deadly unrest, on Thursday.

A video has emerged on social media that shows the Gen Z leader crying in the middle of press briefing. Midway through his statement, his voice cracked and he became visibly emotional.

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#WATCH | Nepal: Sudan Gurung, one of the Gen-Z leaders, gets emotional and breaks down as he addresses the media in Kathmandu. pic.twitter.com/R0cozVReOy ANI (@ANI) September 11, 2025

In the past few days, Nepal witnessed violent protests following a now-lifted ban on 26 social media platforms, including Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube. Gurung (38) was one of the leading faces of the protest. The Gen Z leader heads Hami Nepal, a youth-led NGO that has brought people together from all over the country.

Gurung mobilised thousands of students, instructing them to wear school uniforms and carry books during demonstrations, turning the rallies into a peaceful yet symbolic protest against government restrictions.

Before the social media blackout, his organisation used online platforms to circulate protest routes and safety instructions.

A former event organiser-turned-activist, Gurung became deeply involved in civic work after losing his child during the 2015 earthquake, an experience that reshaped his life and inspired him to work on disaster relief and youth engagement.

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Over the years, he has led several campaigns demanding transparency and accountability, positioning himself as a leader who channels Gen Zs frustrations into organised, non-violent action.

Further, the death toll from Nepals deadly protests has climbed to 34, a government agency said on Thursday.

About the Author Manisha Roy Manisha Roy is a Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com's general desk. She comes with an experience of over 5 years in media industry. She covers politics and other hard news. She can be contacted at Manish... Read More

Location : Kathmandu, Nepal

First Published: September 11, 2025, 15:11 IST

News world Gen Z Leader Sudan Gurung Breaks Down During Emotional Media Address In Kathmandu

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Nepal Gen Z Backs Kulman Ghising As Leader After Balen Shah, Sushila Karki Step Aside

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 15:04 IST

The announcement by Gen Z came as part of Nepals anti-corruption and good governance movement, which on Thursday hailed their unprecedented success

Nepal Electricity Authority head Kulman Ghising. (AFP)

After both Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah and former Chief Justice Sushila Karki stepped aside, the leadership of Nepals interim government has been entrusted to Engineer Kulman Ghising, the widely respected head of the Nepal Electricity Authority. Ghising, credited with ending nationwide load-shedding, is regarded as a clean-image and proven national figure who will now steer the country until fresh elections are held.

The announcement by Gen Z came as part of Nepals anti-corruption and good governance movement, which on Thursday hailed unprecedented success" with the decision to form an interim council to guide the nation through its political transition.

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Balen Shah, initially seen as the most acceptable candidate to head the council, publicly declined to take part. Sushila Karki, who also enjoyed strong backing, withdrew her candidacy, citing constitutional and legal hurdles as well as her own reluctance. At over 70, she was additionally viewed as unable to represent Gen Z in leadership.

According to reports in Nepali media, a group of Gen-Z youths have reached the Army Headquarters and has requested to be included in the ongoing negotiations regarding the formation of an interim government.

Nepal Gen Z Leader On Unity

Amid mounting turbulence after Nepals Gen Zled movement, young leaders are voicing both their ambitions and their constraints while resisting efforts they say are aimed at undermining their unity."

Gen Z leader Diwakar Dangal acknowledged that the movements youth are not yet ready to take charge of the countrys leadership.

We are not capable of taking the leadership, and it will take us time to be mature enough to take the leadership. Attempts are being made to break us. Some of the party members have the misconception that they can infiltrate and create a division. This bloodshed is because of you (old leaders). If people start the bloodshed, then they would not survive. We dont want bloodshed. We want to dissolve the parliament, but not to cancel the constitution," he said.

Shaken by deadly protests that ousted its veteran prime minister and set parliament ablaze, Nepal was faced with the question of who would step into the political void.

Death Toll Rises To 34

For now, the army has taken charge of the nation of 30 million people since the protests escalated on Tuesday.

Nepali Army chief, General Ashok Raj Sigdel, met with key figures on Wednesday and representatives of Gen Z", an army spokesman said, referring to the loose umbrella title of the young protesters, without giving further details.

The death toll from the ongoing Gen Z protests in the Kathmandu Valley has climbed to 34, reported Nepals Ministry of Health.

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Moreover, over 1000 people were injured in the protest across the region.

Meanwhile, the wife of former Nepalese PM Khanal is currently in a critical condition after an arson attack that took place during the violent demonstrations across the country, The Kathmandu Post reported.

About the Author Abhro Banerjee Covering day-to-day national and international news for the last nine years across print and digital. Associated with News18.com as Chief Sub-Editor since 2022, covering innumerable big and small even... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 13:28 IST

News world Nepal Gen Z Backs Kulman Ghising As Leader After Balen Shah, Sushila Karki Step Aside

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'He Was Murdered': Elon Musk Rejects Sam Altmans Suicide Claim In Suchir Balaji's Death

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 18:13 IST

Elon Musk disputes Sam Altmans claim about Suchir Balajis death, asserting it was murder rather than suicide.

Elon Musk and Sam Altman

Elon Musk rejected OpenAI CEO Sam Altmans statement that former researcher and whistleblower Suchir Balaji died by suicide, declaring instead that he was murdered." The Tesla and SpaceX chiefs blunt remark came after a televised exchange between Sam Altman and American broadcaster Tucker Carlson reignited questions over Suchir Balajis controversial death in late 2024.

Tucker Carlson Pushes, Sam Altman Holds To Suicide Claim

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During the interview, Tucker Carlson directly challenged Sam Altman, referencing Suchir Balajis whistleblower disclosures and subsequent demise.

So youve had complaints from one programmer who said you guys were basically stealing peoples stuff and not paying them, and then he wound up murdered. What was that?" Tucker Carlson asked.

Sam Altman countered firmly, saying, Also a great tragedy. He committed suicide." He described Suchir Balaji as a long-time colleague and friend, saying he had personally reviewed all available information.

It looks like a suicide to me," he told Tucker Carlson, adding that the death had left him shaken.

But Tucker Carlson was not persuaded as he cited glaring inconsistencies- cut surveillance wires, signs of a struggle, blood in two rooms and even a mysterious wig- asking, Why does it look like a suicide?"

Sam Altman noted that Suchir Balaji had died from a firearm he had lawfully purchased, reiterating that the evidence pointed to suicide. At one point, he expressed disbelief at Tucker Carlsons framing, asserting, I havent done too many interviews where Ive been accused of murder."

Tucker Carlson, however, maintained his stance, reiterating, He was definitely murdered, I think."

Suchir Balajis Death

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Suchir Balaji, an Indian-origin American AI researcher, was discovered dead in his San Francisco apartment in November 2024, only weeks after publicly accusing OpenAI of copyright violations in the training of its models. The San Francisco medical examiner ruled the death a suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities reported no evidence of foul play.

Suchir Balajis family, however, contested the findings, pointing to alleged inconsistencies and calling for a transparent investigation, including FBI involvement.

Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

First Published: September 11, 2025, 17:49 IST

News world 'He Was Murdered': Elon Musk Rejects Sam Altmans Suicide Claim In Suchir Balaji's Death

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'Not That Far Apart On Trade Deal': Trump May Visit India For QUAD Meet, Indicates Envoy Pick Gor

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 23:07 IST

Sergio Gor, who has been announced as the next US ambassador to India, said he would not commit to the exact dates for the trip

Gor's comments indicate that Trump's travel to India remains on track. File image

In an indication that US President Donald Trump may travel to India for the QUAD Leaders Summit later this year, his close aide Sergio Gor has said that the President is fully committed to meeting leaders of QUADthere has already been talks on a trip for the next QUAD meeting".

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Gor, who has been announced as the next US ambassador to India, said he would not commit to the exact dates for the trip. The QUAD is vitally important," Gor said at his confirmation hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday. Earlier, a report in the New York Times said Trump had dropped plans to come to India for the QUAD Leaders Summit this November.

In their last phone conversation on June 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had extended an invitation to Trump to come to India this year for the QUAD Summit. As per the Indian readout after the call, Trump had accepted PM Modis invite. Now Gors comments indicate that Trumps travel to India remains on track.

It is expected that both leaders will soon have a phone conversation about the scheduling of the QUAD Summit. Last month, President Donald Trump promoted Gor, director of presidential personnel, as the next US ambassador to India and special envoy for South and Central Asian affairs.

Gor on Thursday also said, Our president (Trump) has a deep friendship with Modi. That is something that is unique. President has been critical of India, but he has gone out of his way to compliment Modi. They have an incredible relationshipI have been with them in the same room. Were not that far apart on a deal already on these tariffs".

Talks have entered the nitty-gritty" stage, he said. Gor emphasised that India remains a strategic partner" for the United States and pledged to deepen cooperation across security, trade, and shared values if confirmed.

India is not simply a regional ally but a strategic partner," he said, outlining his priorities as rebuilding trust, resolving trade frictions, and expanding collaboration in climate, defence, and technology.

Sergio Gor also faced questions over Donald Trumps tariff policy. When asked why India had been subjected to some of the steepest duties while China had not, he responded, Look, we hold our friends to different standards. We expect more from India than we do from other nations."

The Donald Trump administration has imposed a 25 per cent reciprocal duty on Indian goods, along with an additional 25 per cent levy tied to Indias purchase of Russian oil, bringing the total tariff burden to 50 per cent, among the highest globally. Trump has accused New Delhi of fueling Russias deadly attacks on Ukraine" by buying discounted crude, even as he has stopped short of imposing harsher sanctions on Moscow.

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About the Author Aman Sharma Aman Sharma, Executive Editor - National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Minister... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 20:50 IST

News world 'Not That Far Apart On Trade Deal': Trump May Visit India For QUAD Meet, Indicates Envoy Pick Gor

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'Sale Of Russian Oil': US Ambassador To NATO Claims India, China, Brazil Funding Ukraine War

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 09:51 IST

Matthew Whitaker claimed that Russia is funding its war in Ukraine through oil sales to countries including India, China, and Brazil, and thus called for coordinated sanctions.

US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker (Photo: AP)

US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker has claimed that Russias ongoing military operations in Ukraine are being funded through oil sales to countries including India, China, and Brazil.

In an interview with Fox News this week, Whitaker called for additional sanctions and tariffs on these nations to increase economic pressure on Moscow.

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The money thats paying for this war is coming from the sale of Russian oil to countries including India, China, and Brazil," Whitakar was heard saying in the interview.

The Ambassador also said that the additional sanctions and tariffs must be coordinated with the European Union and the broader free world to make it clear that Russias continued aggression in Ukraine was unacceptable.

I think the next stage involves applying additional sanctions and tariffs to continue increasing the cost of doing business for (Russian President) Vladimir Putin and reducing his revenue," Whitaker said.

The death and destruction were seeing need to end. We need to continue increasing the pressure on Putin to stop the war," he said.

Whitaker also highlighted that while both sides will ultimately need to agree to a negotiated settlement, Ukraine has already demonstrated willingness to reach a deal, including freezing the front lines in exchange for security guarantees.

Both sides will have to agree, but Ukraine has demonstrated they are willing to make a dealtheyre willing to freeze the front line if they receive the necessary guarantees. Now, we need to make sure that the deal actually takes shape," he added.

The United States has, on multiple occasions, continued to accuse India of profiteering from Russian oil.

However, the Ministry of External Affairs had said that targeting of India is unjustified and unreasonable," and like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security.

The MEA statement issued last month noted that the European Union had a bilateral trade of EUR 67.5 billion in goods with Russia in 2024. In addition, it had trade in services estimated at Euro 17.2 billion in 2023.

The MEA also said Europe-Russia trade includes not just energy but also fertilisers, mining products, chemicals, iron and steel and machinery and transport equipment.

The United States also continues to import from Russia Uranium Hexafluoride for its nuclear industry, palladium for its EV industry, and fertilisers, as well as chemicals, the MEA stated in its statement.

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ALSO READ | Indias Keyboard Minions Are Hijacking: Trump Aide Navarro Rants Over X Notes On Russian Oil

About the Author Vani Mehrotra Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

First Published: September 11, 2025, 09:47 IST

News world 'Sale Of Russian Oil': US Ambassador To NATO Claims India, China, Brazil Funding Ukraine War

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Meet Diella: World's First AI Minister Introduced In Albania To Tackle Corruption

Curated By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: September 12, 2025, 03:40 IST

Diella will not only evaluate tenders but will also have the authority to hire talents here from all over the world.

Rama highlighted that the ultimate goal is to ensure full transparency in tender procedures (Image: UN)

Albania has become the first country in the world to officially appoint an artificial intelligence-powered minister. The announcement was made on Thursday by Prime Minister Edi Rama during a Socialist Party meeting in Tirana, according to Reuters.

The AI minister, named Diella, which means sun" in Albanian, exists exclusively in digital form and will primarily be responsible for overseeing public procurement. Introducing her to the public, Rama described Diella as the first member of the cabinet who does not physically exist but is created virtually through AI."

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According to Rama, Diella will play a central role in removing decision-making around tenders from government ministries and transferring that responsibility to an incorruptible AI system. She is the servant of public procurement," he stated, emphasising that Albania is taking a step-by-step" approach to ensure public tenders become 100 percent incorruptible" and that every public fund involved is 100 percent legible."

Diella will not only evaluate tenders but will also have the authority to hire talents here from all over the world," helping to break down the fear of prejudice and rigidity of the administration," according to the prime minister. Her creation is part of a broader effort to promote transparency, eliminate corruption risks, and modernise how the Albanian government operates, reported Politico.

The digital AI figure is already familiar to Albanians through the e-Albania platform, which offers online access to most public services. Diellas avatar is designed as a young woman in traditional Albanian clothing, a symbolic fusion of cultural heritage with cutting-edge technology.

Rama highlighted that the ultimate goal is to ensure full transparency in tender procedures and to reduce corruption throughout the government supply chain. The appointment also signals a major step toward integrating artificial intelligence into everyday governance.

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Following Diellas introduction, the Albanian government plans to further expand digital services and make government processes more transparent for both citizens and businesses. The implementation of AI auditing and the creation of strict accountability frameworks for AI-driven decisions are also expected.

The launch of Diella not only positions Albania at the forefront of AI integration in governance but also opens the door for new conversations about the role of artificial intelligence in public policy and administrative reform.

Location : Albania

First Published: September 12, 2025, 03:40 IST

News world Meet Diella: World's First AI Minister Introduced In Albania To Tackle Corruption

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Nepal Army Fire Shots At Ramechap Prison Inmates Attempting To Flee Amid Unrest

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 14:27 IST

Taking taking advantage of the countrys unrest and power vacuum, hundreds of prisoners have escaped from jails in Kathmandu, Pokhara, and Lalitpur.

The Nepal army troops opened fire to stop a mass breakout from Ramechhap District Prison, wounding more than a dozen inmates.

The Nepal Army on Thursday fired shots at prisoners, taking advantage of the countrys unrest and power vacuum, who attempted to flee from the Ramechap prison.

The Kathmandu Post quoted authorities as reporting that the army troops opened fire to stop a mass breakout from Ramechhap District Prison, wounding more than a dozen inmates.

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Chief District Officer Shyam Krishna Thapa as saying that prisoners broke through several internal locks and tried to smash open the main gate before security forces fired. Around 12 to 13 inmates were injured after the army opened fire as they reached the gate," he said.

Police later said that the situation is under control.

According to local media reports, hundreds of prisoners escaped from jails in Kathmandu, Pokhara, and Lalitpur.

Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) has been on high alert since violence began in Nepal. Patrolling has been increased, deployment strengthened, and the border sealed.

According to ANI, SSB has so far apprehended 60 inmates who fled from Nepal jail. They have all been held at different checkposts of the India-Nepal border. All the inmates have been handed over to the local police.

Meanwhile, Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah appealed to Nepals Gen Z and the wider public on Thursday to remain calm as the country transitions to an interim administration and fresh elections.

In a post on X, Shah called the current moment unprecedented" and urged young protesters not to panic. Please be patient. Now the country is going to get an interim government, which will hold new elections to give the country a new mandate," he wrote.

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Nepal was rocked by Gen Zled protests sparked by a short-lived social-media ban and long-simmering anger over corruption, triggering curfews and army deployment as clashes intensified in Kathmandu and other cities. The entire protest has left around 25 people dead, while over 600 people were injured. Authorities have now reopened Kathmandu airport after a brief shutdown, but prohibitory orders remain in force as the situation evolves.

Location : Nepal

First Published: September 11, 2025, 09:15 IST

News world Nepal Army Fire Shots At Ramechap Prison Inmates Attempting To Flee Amid Unrest

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Nepal Gets Its Petrol And Electricity From India. Then Why Is It Cheaper There?

Curated By :

Translation Desk

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 12:35 IST

Nepals transport relies heavily on roadways, with just a 60 km railway, making Indias oil supply vital for fuel and daily logistics across the country

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Indian Oil Corporation is Nepals key partner, meeting its fuel needs. (News18 Hindi)

Nepal has plunged into a grave political crisis after Gen Zled protests over a social media ban and anger at corruption erupted into violent clashes, leaving hundreds injured. Curfews, army deployment, and attacks on leaders homes followed, forcing PM KP Sharma Oli and key ministers to resign.

Amidst this turmoil, the border between Nepal and India has been temporarily closed, leading to long queues of trucks, including hundreds of oil tankers that transport fuel between the two countries daily.

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Nepal relies entirely on India for its petrol and oil supply, which, despite being expensive in India, is sold much cheaper in Nepal. The same applies to electricity, which is also supplied by India.

The primary reason for the lower prices in Nepal is the minimal tax and cheaper supply chain, unlike India, where heavy taxes inflate the costs.

For the past 75 years, India has been a lifeline for its neighbour, acting as Nepals largest trading partner and supplying essential goods at very low rates, with petrol and petroleum products at the forefront.

India meets 100% of Nepals oil needs through the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). Despite Nepal considering China as an alternative source, the costs proved to be too high. India built an oil pipeline to Nepal and began sending oil through it to ensure a steady supply.

Nepal Has Consistently Received Oil Supplies

The state-run Nepal Oil Corporation, established in 1970, is wholly dependent on Indias supply and distribution system, with no private companies allowed to import oil from other sources. Daily, trucks from India deliver a large amount of essential goods to Nepal, including hundreds of oil tankers.

Hundreds of Oil Tankers and Pipelines Reach Nepal Daily

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is Nepals key partner, meeting its fuel needs and handling supply and distribution in border areas. Large numbers of IOC tankers cross into Nepal daily.

A significant portion of Nepals transport infrastructure relies on roadways, with only a 60 km train line, making the oil supplied by India crucial.

To further facilitate oil supply, a 69 km pipeline between Motihari and Amlekhganj was inaugurated last year, simplifying the process.

Nepal Oil Corporation purchases 71,673 kilolitres of oil from India annually, comprising about 28% of the goods exported from India to Nepal.

Oil Prices Lower In Nepal Than In India

The lower cost of oil in Nepal often leads to Indians living near the border filling their vehicles with the cheaper fuel. The Nepal government imposes very low taxes on petrol, sometimes fixing rates or subsidising them to keep prices stable. In contrast, India imposes heavy taxes, accounting for 40-50% of the petrol price. Despite the weaker Nepalese currency, the main reasons for the price difference are tax and supply chain costs, leading to petrol in Nepal being Rs 20-27 per litre cheaper than in India.

Rate At Which Nepal Receives Electricity

India sells electricity to Nepal at Rs 3.5 to Rs 5 per unit, a rate lower than Nepals domestic hydropower costs, making India a more affordable and reliable power source.

Indias Massive Investment In Nepal

Indias large-scale investment in Nepal remains substantial, despite Chinas rapid investment. Indian companies provide numerous jobs in Nepal, with two-thirds of Nepals goods coming from India. In addition to petroleum products, India also contributes a significant amount of money to Nepal in the form of pensions.

India Sends Huge Sums To Nepal As Pensions

A large number of people from Nepal work in India, particularly in the army and across various other sectors. The 1952 treaty between India and Nepal allows Nepalese citizens to work and buy property in India, although this privilege is not reciprocated.

65% Of Nepals Trade Is With India

India is Nepals largest trading partner, with 65% of Nepals total trade conducted with India. In the 2021-22 fiscal year, Nepals imports from India reached Rs 1.20 trillion, a record high. However, Nepal has since tried to reduce its dependence. In the financial year ending July 2023, its imports from India fell to Rs 1.02 trillion.

India is also the largest importer of Nepalese goods. According to World Top Exports, of the 92.6% of Nepals products exported in 2017, 56.7% went to India, 11.2% to the U.S., 6.4% to Turkey, 3.9% to Germany, 3.4% to the U.K., and just 3% to China.

What Does India Export To Nepal?

The main goods exported from India to Nepal include motors, cars, other vehicles and spare parts (7.8%), steel (7%), medicines (3.7%), machinery (3.4%), and electrical equipment (2.7%). In addition, a variety of other equipment is also sent to Nepal.

What Goods Does Nepal Export?

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Nepal exports jute products (9.2%), zinc steel (8.9%), textiles (8.6%), thread (7.7%), polyester yarn (6%), juice (5.4%), cardamom, wire, toothpaste, and pipes to India.

Indias role in Nepals economy has always been significant, with many Indian companies setting up large projects in the past two decades, providing thousands of jobs annually. Additionally, a large number of Nepalese work in India. If India were to withdraw its support, it would be a significant setback for Nepal.

Location : Nepal

First Published: September 11, 2025, 12:33 IST

News world Nepal Gets Its Petrol And Electricity From India. Then Why Is It Cheaper There?

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Nepal Solution Soon? Sushila Karki Likely To Be Prime Minister, Say Sources | Here's How

Reported By :

CNN-News18 Edited By: Oindrila Mukherjee



Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 23:41 IST

There is no provision for a political interim leader in Nepal's Constitution. Former chief justice Sushila Karki will first be nominated to Upper House and then be elevated to PM

It is highly likely that former chief justice Sushika Karki will become the Nepal Prime Minister. (Image: X/RONBUpdates)

Nepal may soon find a solution to its constitutional crisis over choosing an interim leader following the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli due to massive anti-government protests.

According to top sources, it is highly likely that former chief justice Sushika Karki will become the Prime Minister and a decision may be announced on Thursday night itself.

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The sources said a crisis management team is currently meeting to resolve the deadlock over the selection of an interim head to run the Nepal government. Amid the unrest, President Ramchandra Paudel on Thursday appealed for peace and said he was aiming to find a solution to the political crisis within the constitutional framework.

WHAT IS THE SOLUTION PROPOSED?

The sources told News18 that Karki will be made the Prime Minister, and will first be taken to the Upper House of Parliament.

Paudel is pushing for a solution based on the 2015 Constitution, the sources said. While there is no provision for a political interim PM, a space will be created by nominating Karki to the Upper House and she will then be elevated to PM, they said.

During this process, the sources said, the President is expected to issue an ordinance to make the necessary provisions. This announcement is likely to be made late into the night, they added.

WHAT IS THE SITUATION SO FAR?

Amid political parleys for a transitional government, the situation in Kathmandu and other parts of Nepal remained peaceful.

Army troops carried out patrolling in sensitive areas even as the death toll from two days of violent protests that began on September 8 increased to 34, as per officials.

The representatives of youth-led Gen Z, which spearheaded the anti-government protests, held meetings with the top military brass to finalise a transitional government, but the talks hit a roadblock on the issue of who will head it.

Karki, Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah Balen, former CEO of Nepal Electricity Authority Kulman Ghising and mayor of Dharan Harka Sampang were among those being considered, sources told news agency PTI.

I am making every effort to protect democracy and to find a way out from the present political impasse within the constitutional framework while at the same time maintaining law and order," said Paudel, who is under military protection.

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He, however, was not seen in public after the Gen Z protesters burnt the presidents office and his private residence on September 9 (Tuesday).

I appeal to all parties to be confident that a solution to the problem is being sought as soon as possible to address the demands of the agitating citizens and to cooperate in maintaining peace and order in the country with restraint," he said in his first comments since Olis ouster.

About the Author Manoj Gupta Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18

Location : Kathmandu, Nepal

First Published: September 11, 2025, 23:41 IST

News world Nepal Solution Soon? Sushila Karki Likely To Be Prime Minister, Say Sources | Here's How

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Rukia Nakadama (L), Ugandan Third Deputy Prime Minister and Minister without Portfolio, speaks at the launch of Chinese Enterprises in Uganda Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2024 in Kampala, Uganda, on Sept. 10, 2025. Ugandan Third Deputy Prime Minister and Minister without Portfolio Rukia Nakadama said on Wednesday that Chinese enterprises are strengthening communities in the East African country through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua)

KAMPALA, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan Third Deputy Prime Minister and Minister without Portfolio Rukia Nakadama said on Wednesday that Chinese enterprises are strengthening communities in the East African country through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

Nakadama made the remarks at the launch of the Chinese Enterprises in Uganda Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2024, compiled by the China Chamber of Commerce in Uganda, which brings together more than 200 Chinese companies operating across various sectors.

The 71-page report highlights the CSR contributions of Chinese companies, including organizing medical camps, awarding scholarships, transferring knowledge and skills, and renovating schools.

She noted that over the years, Uganda-China relations have expanded into multidimensional cooperation spanning trade, infrastructure, education, health, agriculture, cultural exchange, and defense.

"It is a partnership rooted not only in diplomacy but also in practical development that touches the daily lives of our citizens," Nakadama said.

She said the China Chamber of Commerce in Uganda has become more than just a business association, serving as a partner in development and social transformation. "Chinese companies have built schools, donated scholastic materials, organized free medical outreaches, and assisted communities affected by natural disasters."

Chinese Ambassador to Uganda Zhang Lizhong noted that through initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, relations between the two countries have reached "new historical heights."

Beyond their core business in infrastructure development, digital transformation, green growth, and agricultural modernization, Chinese firms are also supporting rural communities through CSR projects, Zhang said.

"May today's launch serve as a new starting point, opening a new chapter in China-Uganda cooperation. Let us join hands to compose a harmonious symphony of South-South cooperation and create an even brighter future for China-Uganda relations," the ambassador added.

During the event, a consignment of lighting equipment was donated to Uganda Women's Effort to Save Orphans, a local non-governmental organization. 
Nepals Political Vacuum Risks Army-Backed Rule As Gen Z Divisions Deepen | Exclusive

Reported By :

CNN-News18 Edited By: Apoorva Misra



Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 16:05 IST

Pro-monarchy forces are seizing the opportunity to revive Hindu nationalist and royalist narratives, raising fears of communal tensions and interference by Islamist groups

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The Nepal army troops opened fire to stop a mass breakout from Ramechhap District Prison, wounding more than a dozen inmates.

Nepal is slipping into a dangerous political vacuum marked by weak institutions and a fractured leadership, raising fears of an army-backed caretaker regime. According to a classified intelligence assessment accessed by CNN-News18, the collapse of democratic processes has left the Nepal Army as the most powerful actor in the countrys governance, overshadowing civilian authority and peacekeeping.

Top intelligence sources told CNN-News18 that the prolonged power vacuum is weakening constitutional order and creating fertile ground for military influence. This shift alarms many youth activists and protest groups, known as Gen Z, who fear Nepal is tilting toward army-led governance rather than a peaceful civilian solution.

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Within the Gen Z movement, a significant internal split complicates efforts to present a unified front. One faction supports former Chief Justice Sushila Karki as a neutral judicial figure for leading an interim government, while another backs Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah, a popular youth leader pushing for radical change. This lack of unity is stalling negotiations and delaying a clear path forward.

The divide is not merely generational but also political. Traditional parties like the Nepali Congress (NC), Communist UML, and Maoist factions all seek space in the interim setup. However, many protesters dismiss these groups as part of the entrenched Nepo Kids"  privileged elites disconnected from the youth movements demands  creating a legitimacy crisis for Nepals constitutional framework.

Amid this chaos, pro-monarchy forces are seizing the opportunity to revive Hindu nationalist and royalist narratives, raising fears of communal tensions and even interference by Islamist groups and foreign intelligence agencies like Pakistans ISI. This volatile mix risks deepening ethnic and religious fault lines in Nepalese society.

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The protests, mainly concentrated in urban centers such as Kathmandu, Pokhara, and Biratnagar, have not spread significantly to rural areas, creating an imbalance that further complicates consensus-building. Meanwhile, ongoing curfews, bank closures, and food shortages are placing immense pressure on Nepals middle and working classes, making any economic recovery nearly impossible.

As the country struggles to agree on an interim Prime Minister, whether a neutral judicial figure like Sushila Karki or an elected youth leader like Balendra Shah, Nepals future hangs in the balance amid a crisis of governance, legitimacy, and constitutional order.

About the Author Manoj Gupta Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18

Location : Kathmandu, Nepal

First Published: September 11, 2025, 16:05 IST

News world Nepals Political Vacuum Risks Army-Backed Rule As Gen Z Divisions Deepen | Exclusive

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'Not Capable Enough To Take Leadership': Nepal Gen Z Leader Says Attempts Being Made To 'Break' Them

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 14:47 IST

A Gen Z leader, Anil Baniya, stressed that the movement was born out of frustration with the countrys aging political establishment.

The situation escalated when Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's government, which had now resigned, attempted to suppress the social media movement, fueling even greater anger. (AP/File)

As turbulence grows following Nepals Gen Zled movement, young leaders have voiced both their aspirations and limitations while pushing back against attempts to weaken their unity".

Gen Z leader Diwakar Dangal admitted that the movements young faces are not yet ready to assume the countrys top roles. We are not capable of taking the leadership, and it will take us time to be mature enough to take the leadership. Attempts are being made to break us. Some of the party members have the misconception that they can infiltrate and create a division. This bloodshed is because of you (old leaders). If people start the bloodshed, then they would not survive. We dont want bloodshed. We want to dissolve the parliament, but not to cancel the constitution," he said.

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Another Gen Z leader, Anil Baniya, stressed that the movement was born out of frustration with the countrys ageing political establishment.

Also Read: Gen Z Backs Kulman Ghising To Lead Interim Govt After Balen Shah, Sushila Karki Step Aside

We did this movement after getting fed up with the old-aged leaders. We had called for a peaceful protest, but the political cadres caused the arson and then vandalised the infrastructure. Through online surveys, the Gen-Z leaders voted for Sushila Karki. We are not trying to change the constitution, but make necessary changes to it. Within 6 months, we will head to the election," Baniya said.

The remarks reflect both the determination and the caution within the Gen Z camp as they navigate growing expectations to shape Nepals political transition.

Gen Z Picks Its Leader For Interim Govt

Nepals Gen Zled movement, which has been pushing for anti-corruption reforms and good governance, has entered a critical phase as it takes on a larger role in shaping the countrys political transition.

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With Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah and former Chief Justice Sushila Karki stepping aside, respected energy sector leader Kulman Ghising has been chosen to head the interim government. Ghising, credited with ending Nepals crippling power outages during his tenure at the Nepal Electricity Authority, is widely seen as a figure with integrity and a proven track record. He will guide the interim setup until fresh elections are held.

The announcement of Ghisings leadership was hailed by Gen Z activists as an unprecedented success" for their campaign. Reports in Nepali media also note that youth representatives have approached the Army Headquarters, seeking to be included in negotiations over the interim arrangement.

About the Author Abhro Banerjee Covering day-to-day national and international news for the last nine years across print and digital. Associated with News18.com as Chief Sub-Editor since 2022, covering innumerable big and small even... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 14:37 IST

News world 'Not Capable Enough To Take Leadership': Nepal Gen Z Leader Says Attempts Being Made To 'Break' Them

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Pakistan PM Visits Doha To Express Solidarity With Qatar Following Israeli Strike

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 20:16 IST

Pakistan PM visit comes days after the unprecedented strike on Qatari soil, which killed five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer

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File photo of Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif. (Image: PTI/File)

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Qatar on Thursday to express solidarity with the Gulf nation following an Israeli airstrike in Doha that targeted senior Hamas leaders.

The visit comes two days after the unprecedented strike on Qatari soil, which killed five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer. The attack has drawn international condemnation.

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In a post on X, Sharif wrote, I visited Doha today to express Pakistans strong solidarity and support with my dear brother the Amir, HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and the resilient brotherly people of Qatar after Israels heinous attack on Doha on Sept 9."

I visited Doha today to express Pakistans strong solidarity and support with my dear brother the Amir, HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and the resilient brotherly people of Qatar after Israels heinous attack on Doha on Sept 9.Pakistan has strongly condemned this blatant  Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) September 11, 2025

Pakistan has strongly condemned this blatant violation of Qatars sovereignty and territorial integrity. I assured HH the Amir that Pakistan stands shoulder to shoulder with Qatar in this grave hour," he added.

According to Pakistans Foreign Office earlier today, the visit was a gesture of solidarity and regional unity" following the Israeli airstrike, which they described as cowardly" and targeted at residential areas in Doha.

Pakistan PM was accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

In a press statement, the Foreign Office said the visit reflects Pakistans unwavering support for Qatars sovereignty and its broader commitment to peace and stability in the West Asia region.

On September 9 (Tuesday), Israel carried out an airstrike in Doha targeting Hamas officials reportedly staying in the Qatari capital. The attack killed five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer. Hamas said its top leaders survived the strike.

Qatar has played a key role as a mediator in Israel-Hamas negotiations and has hosted Hamass political office since 2012 with Washingtons backing.

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The rare strike on a US-aligned Gulf country has escalated regional tensions and raised concerns about wider instability in the region.

(With inputs from PTI)

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

Location : Pakistan

First Published: September 11, 2025, 20:16 IST

News world Pakistan PM Visits Doha To Express Solidarity With Qatar Following Israeli Strike

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Chennai Court Summons Pakistani Diplomat Amir Zubair Siddiqui For Planning Attacks In India

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 10:59 IST

Pakistani diplomat Amir Zubair Siddiqui has been summoned by a Chennai court on October 15 in a money laundering case linked to alleged terror plots in India.

A file photo of Amir Zubair Siddiqui (Social Media)

Pakistani diplomat Amir Zubair Siddiqui has been summoned by a Chennai court in connection with a money laundering case, Asianet News Malayalam reported.

His summons notice alleges Siddiqui was planning to carry out terror attacks in India, and has hence been asked to appear before the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on October 15, according to the report.

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The notice also mentions Siddiqui had planned to attack the US and Israeli consulates in India, and included his address in Pakistans Karachi.

According to the records, he last worked at the Pakistan High Commission in Sri Lanka, per the report.

In April 2018, the NIA had put Siddiqui on its wanted list and released his photo, seeking information.

During the investigation, the NIA had found that the diplomat, while working in Sri Lanka from 2009 to 2016, engaged people to indulge in espionage and terror activities in India.

Nicknamed as Boss on the NIA list, Siddiqui was charge-sheeted in February that year, along with two others, for plotting 26/11 type attacks in southern India.

He was a visa counsellor at the High Commission of Pakistan in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The original case was registered in March 2014 by the Tamil Nadu Police following the arrest of a Sri Lankan national, namely Mohd Sakir Hussain, in Chennai, who had arrived in India as per the instructions from Siddique to conduct subversive activities in India.

The case was taken over by the NIA in June 2014 as directed by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

ALSO READ | Indian Diplomat Slams Pakistan At UNHRC: Failed State That Traffics In Terror And Tragedy

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About the Author Vani Mehrotra Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

First Published: September 11, 2025, 10:58 IST

News world Chennai Court Summons Pakistani Diplomat Amir Zubair Siddiqui For Planning Attacks In India

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Poland, Latvia Close Airspace Near Eastern Borders Amid Russian Drone Intrusions

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 16:56 IST

On Wednesday, Poland reported that its airspace had been violated 19 times, with at least three drones shot down

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Police and Military Police secure parts of a damaged UAV shot down by Polish authorities at a site in Wohyn. (AP photo)

Poland and Latvia on Tuesday announced the closure of parts of their airspace near their eastern borders in response to a series of Russian drone intrusions.

Poland introduced flight restrictions in its eastern region after shooting down several Russian drones. The Polish air traffic control agency, PAZP, said civilian flights below an altitude of three kilometres (1.9 miles) will be banned along the borders with Belarus and Ukraine till December 9.

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The restricted zone stretches between 26 and 46 kilometres inside Polish territory. All drone activity in the area is banned around the clock. Flights above three kilometres remain unaffected.

These measures are being put in place to assure national security," PAZP said in a statement.

Poland reported 19 airspace violations on Wednesday, with at least three drones shot down. Polish and NATO jets were scrambled in response. Officials in Warsaw warned that Russia and Europe may be edging closer to open conflict.

Latvia has taken similar steps, closing its airspace near the borders with Russia and Belarus up to an altitude of six kilometres. The restrictions, which began on Thursday, will remain in place till at least September 18.

Latvian Defence Minister Andris Spruds said there was no immediate threat, but low-flying drones pose a risk. Writing on X, he said the move would help monitor the restricted zone and detect unauthorised flying objects.

Pec @Latvijas_armija izvertejuma sledzam Latvijas gaisa telpas zonu pie austrumu robezas ar Baltkrieviju un Krieviju.Gaisa telpas zona bus slegta no sodienas pulksten 18.00 uz vismaz vienu nedelu  lidz 18. septembrim. Tuliteja apdraudejuma nav, bet armija ir paaugstinata  Andris Spruds (@AndrisSpruds) September 11, 2025

He added that the closure would also support NATOs Baltic Air Policing mission, enhance testing of air surveillance systems, and allow for drone defence simulations and training of mobile units. It will enable intensified testing of acoustic airspace surveillance systems, conducting drone and anti-drone simulations, deploying additional units, and training mobile combat units."

Polands drone incidents have drawn international attention, with the United States and NATO expressing support for Warsaw. Russia denied targeting Poland, but US President Donald Trump condemned the incursions as violations of NATO territory.

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Footage from eastern Poland showed damage to a house caused during one of the drone incidents, but authorities confirmed no injuries.

(With inputs from AFP)

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

Location : Poland

First Published: September 11, 2025, 16:50 IST

News world Poland, Latvia Close Airspace Near Eastern Borders Amid Russian Drone Intrusions

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Poland Triggers NATO Article 4 Against Russia: Here Is All You Need To Know

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 04:51 IST

Poland joined NATO in 1999, marking a decisive shift toward Western institutions following the fall of communism.

Poland is one of NATOs leading defense spenders (File Image via X)

Poland has accused Russian forces of violating its airspace overnight with hostile drones, reportedly during attacks targeting Ukraine. In response, Warsaw invoked Article 4 of the NATO treaty, a move that has heightened tensions between Russia and the NATO alliance.

The incident adds to growing security concerns along NATOs eastern flank. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte described the violation as not isolated" and affirmed that the alliance would closely monitor" developments along its borders with Russia and Belarus.

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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established in 1949 as a collective defence alliance in the wake of World War II. Originally comprising the United States, Canada, and 10 European nations, NATO was designed to provide mutual defense against potential aggression from the Soviet Union.

At the core of the alliance is Article 5, which states that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all, a principle that has served as a powerful deterrent. Over time, NATO has expanded to include 32 member countries, with Finland and Sweden being the most recent to join.

Poland joined NATO in 1999, marking a decisive shift toward Western institutions following the fall of communism and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Its accession was influenced by its geographic proximity to NATO-aligned Germany and its active participation in the Visegrad Group, which championed deeper integration with the West.

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Today, Poland is one of NATOs leading defence spenders relative to its GDP and has been a vocal advocate for stronger regional security measures. It consistently calls on NATO and the European Union to take a firmer stance against potential threats from Russia.

Article 4 of the NATO treaty allows any member state to request consultations when it believes its territorial integrity, political independence, or security is at risk. Unlike Article 5, Article 4 does not mandate military assistance. Instead, it serves as a mechanism for initiating formal dialogue and, if necessary, coordinating diplomatic or military responses among member states.

Location : Poland

First Published: September 11, 2025, 04:51 IST

News world Poland Triggers NATO Article 4 Against Russia: Here Is All You Need To Know

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Prince Harry Told King Charles Hes Determined To Reset Relationship With Family: Report

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 19:59 IST

Prince Harry told his father, King Charles, that he will rebuild his relationship with the family with whom he feuded earlier and will begin repairing ties with his father.

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Britain's Prince Harry gestures, as he departs, following his visit to the Centre for Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London, in London, Britain. (IMAGE: REUTERS)

Prince Harry promised his father King Charles that he is determined to reset his relationship with his family when both met Wednesday at their first meeting in 20 months in Clarence Hall in the UK.

Harry, the Duke of Sussex, last saw his father in February 2024, shortly after it was announced that the king was undergoing treatment for an unspecified form of cancer.

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Buckingham Palace confirmed that Charles, 76, had a private tea at Clarence House in London with his son on Wednesday.

The Daily Mail citing an unnamed source said that Harry told Charles that he could be trusted to stay quiet about their private discussions" and he wont be giving any interviews about it and his team have been instructed not to brief journalists about what was said".

This is an important first step towards rebuilding their father-and-son relationship. Theres a long way to go before Harry can earn his familys trust but hes given some assurances," the royal insider was quoted as saying by the UK-based newspaper.

Prince Harry, 40, travelled straight to an Invictus Games event in London following a private meeting, according to a separarte report by Reuters. When asked about his father, he replied simply: Yes, hes great, thank you."

Harry arrived in Britain on Monday for a series of public engagements and on Wednesday visited a research centre focused on improving care for victims of blast injuries.

Since moving to California in 2020 with his American wife Meghan and their two children, Harry has been openly critical of the royal family and the institution itself, through interviews, documentaries, and his memoir Spare. His remarks, particularly about King Charles and his elder brother Prince William, caused a total breakdown in family relations.

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After losing a legal battle with the British government over his security arrangements in May, Harry expressed a desire for reconciliation.

Of course some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book. Of course they will never forgive me for lots of things. But you know  I would love reconciliation with my family.  Theres no point in continuing to fight anymore. And life is precious," he told the BBC.

About the Author Shankhyaneel Sarkar Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has c... Read More

Location : London, United Kingdom (UK)

First Published: September 11, 2025, 19:48 IST

News world Prince Harry Told King Charles Hes Determined To Reset Relationship With Family: Report

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Qatar Calls Emergency Arab-Islamic Summit After Israeli Strike Hits Doha

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 17:56 IST

The summit will take place this Sunday and Monday, according to an announcement by Qatar's state news agency

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Al-Thani further characterised Israels actions as violations of both international law and basic moral principles (AFP Image)

Qatar will host an emergency Arab-Islamic summit in Doha on September 14 and 15, following an Israeli strike earlier this week that targeted Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital.

The summit will take place this Sunday and Monday, according to an announcement by Qatars state news agency on Thursday.

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On Tuesday, Israel launched an airstrike in Doha aimed at senior Hamas figures. While Hamas stated that its top leaders survived the attack, five of its members were killed, along with a member of Qatars security forces.

Hamas identified the slain members as Humam al-Hayya, son of top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya; Jihad Labad, his office director; and bodyguards Ahmad Mamlouk, Abdallah Abdelwahd, and Mumen Hassoun.

Qatari authorities confirmed the death of Lance Corporal Badr Saad Mohammed al-Humaidi al-Dosari. They also acknowledged the deaths of three Hamas members in the incident.

Speaking to CNN on Wednesday, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said he hoped for a united regional response to the attack. He confirmed that Doha would host an Arab-Islamic summit to decide the next steps.

There are two levels of response. Qatar will act through international law, as any civilized nation should. Regionally, there are ongoing consultations, including an ArabIslamic summit here in Doha in the coming days. We want a collective response strong enough to deter Israel from further aggression," he said.

The Qatari Prime Minister also condemned the strike, calling it as a major setback to hostage negotiations. What Netanyahu has done yesterday, he just killed any hope for those hostages," Sheikh Mohammed told CNN, referring to the Israeli Prime Minister. He also said Netanyahu should be brought to justice".

Doha has hosted several rounds of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, acting as a key mediator alongside Egypt and the United States. Hamass political bureau has been based in Qatar since 2012, with the approval of Washington.

Tuesdays strike marked the first time Israel has launched an attack in Qatar  a key US ally  shaking a Gulf region that has largely remained shielded from direct conflict.

The White House said US President Donald Trump did not support Israels decision to take military action in Doha. According to US officials, Trump was not notified in advance and instructed his envoy, Steve Witkoff, to alert Qatari authorities  but the strike had already started.

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Israels ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, defended the operation, telling an Israeli radio station: It was not an attack on Qatar; it was an attack on Hamas."

(With inputs from agencies)

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

Location : Qatar

First Published: September 11, 2025, 17:47 IST

News world Qatar Calls Emergency Arab-Islamic Summit After Israeli Strike Hits Doha

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Respect Your Unity: Kathmandu Mayor Urges Nepal Gen Z To Be Patient Till Next Govt Forms

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 07:36 IST

Appealing to the President, Nepal mayor Shah called for swift steps to protect the historic revolution brought about by Gen Z.

People displaying Nepal's national flag burn tyres during a demonstration to condemn the police's deadly crackdown on protesters in Kathmandu. (Image/AFP)

Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah appealed to Nepals Gen Z and the wider public on Thursday to remain calm as the country transitions to an interim administration and fresh elections.

In a post on X, Shah called the current moment unprecedented" and urged young protesters not to panic. Please be patient. Now the country is going to get an interim government, which will hold new elections to give the country a new mandate," he wrote.

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Shah said he fully" backs the proposal for former Chief Justice Sushila Karki to lead the interim or electoral government, adding that Gen Zs understanding, wisdom, and unity" show their maturity.

Addressing those rushing to take over the leadership," Shah cautioned against short-term moves. The country needs your passion, your thinking, and your honesty permanently, not temporarily. There will be elections for that. Please dont rush," he said.

Appealing to the President, Shah called for swift steps to protect the historic revolution brought about by Gen Z," urging the immediate formation of an interim government and dissolution of parliament.

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Shahs remarks come amid heightened political flux, with parties negotiating the contours of a caretaker setup expected to steer the country to polls.

Nepal was rocked by Gen Zled protests sparked by a short-lived social-media ban and long-simmering anger over corruption, triggering curfews and army deployment as clashes intensified in Kathmandu and other cities. The entire protest has left around 25 people dead, while over 600 people were injured. Authorities have now reopened Kathmandu airport after a brief shutdown, but prohibitory orders remain in force as the situation evolves.

About the Author Abhro Banerjee Covering day-to-day national and international news for the last nine years across print and digital. Associated with News18.com as Chief Sub-Editor since 2022, covering innumerable big and small even... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 07:36 IST

News world Respect Your Unity: Kathmandu Mayor Urges Nepal Gen Z To Be Patient Till Next Govt Forms

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Rival Mayors In Nepal Fight For Interim PM Role, Dharan Mayor Calls Balen Shah Coward

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 17:30 IST

Nepals Gen Z protesters are split over leadership as Harka Sampang, Balen Shah, and Sushila Karki vie for support, while Kulman Ghising emerges as a compromise candidate.

Dharan Mayor Harka Sampang called Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah a coward as rivalries over Nepals interim leadership intensify. (IMAGE: @RONBupdates/@ShahBalen/X)

Nepals Gen Z protesters, who toppled the government after days of violent unrest, remain divided over who should head a transitional administration. Sharp exchanges among frontrunners spilled onto social media on Thursday, highlighting splits within the movement.

Harka Raj Rai, better known as Harka Sampang, the independent mayor of Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City, lashed out at Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah in a social media post, calling him a coward" who hides in times of crisis.

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A person who hides in times of crisis, cannot face the streets, passes the responsibility given to him onto others, cannot confront difficult situations and expects others to carry the burden, considering such a person as a leader is why our country has neither solutions nor development," Sampang wrote, according to Nepali news outlet ProPublica.

Sampang, who rose to prominence after his 2022 mayoral victory as an independent candidate, has positioned himself as a peoples representative.

He often rejects VIP privileges, saying he prefers to stand in line with the public rather than use special lounges, according to reports by ProPublica.

This has made him a favourite among sections of the Gen Z demonstrators.

The rift deepened after Nepals Army urged protest leaders to present a clear candidate to lead the country through its current transition.

Supporters of retired chief justice Sushila Karki, 73, clashed with backers of Balen Shah outside Army headquarters in Bhadrakali. Another bloc rallied behind Sampang, turning the contest into a three-way split.

Karki, who made history as Nepals first female chief justice in 2016, has emerged as the frontrunner to head an interim government, but support for Balen Shah remains significant.

Names of businessman Durga Prasai and parliamentarian Sumana Shrestha were also floated, though without consensus.

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Amid the jostling, Kulman Ghising, the managing director of the Nepal Electricity Authority, has emerged as a compromise figure.

Widely respected for his integrity and credited with ending chronic power outages in Nepal, Ghising is being described by protesters as a patriot and everyones favourite".

About the Author Shankhyaneel Sarkar Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has c... Read More

Location : Kathmandu, Nepal

First Published: September 11, 2025, 17:30 IST

News world Rival Mayors In Nepal Fight For Interim PM Role, Dharan Mayor Calls Balen Shah Coward

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HARBIN, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- All six people trapped in a coal mine in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province were rescued on Thursday morning after nearly 30 hours of rescue efforts, authorities said.

The mining-induced quake struck the Fuli coal mine in the city of Hegang on Wednesday, damaging sections of underground tunnels.

The on-site rescue headquarters said the operation has now concluded. 
Sam Altman Claims Suicide, Elon Musk Says Murder: How Did OpenAI's Suchir Balaji Die?

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News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 20:55 IST

While the police ruled out foul play and confirmed death by suicide in February, Suchir Balaji's parents have repeatedly claimed that he had been murdered in cold blood

OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji as seen in CCTV footage, grabbing dinner on the day of his death. (Image: @RaoPoornima/X)

OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balajis death under mysterious circumstances last year made headlines once again as CEO Sam Altman made a statement that the young researcher had died by suicide with Tesla maker Elon Musk quick to retaliate and call it a murder".

While the San Francisco police ruled out play and confirmed death by suicide in February, Balajis parents have repeatedly claimed that he had been murdered in cold blood. They even rejected the autopsy report, flagging numerous inconsistencies, and have continued their own investigation.

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This is not the first time Musk has made the murder" claim about Balajis death, who has remained firm in his belief since Day 1 and has also extended support to his parents.

Lets take a look at the case:

WHO WAS SUCHIR BALAJI?

Suchir Balaji, a 26-year-old Indian American researcher and former OpenAI employee, was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on November 26.

An accomplished computer scientist, who studied at the University of California, Berkeley, Balaji interned with OpenAI and Scale AI and, after graduation, joined the former as a full-time employee.

At OpenAI, he worked on several key projects including WebGPT and GPT-4s pretraining. His role later expanded to the reasoning team and post-training for ChatGPT, as per his LinkedIn profile.

After more than four years, during which he became an integral part of OpenAIs development team, he left the organisation citing ethical concerns about the societal implications of the technology.

BALAJI, THE WHISTLEBLOWER

In October 2024, Balaji made headlines when he spoke to The New York Times about his concerns regarding OpenAIs approach to copyright.

Before this, in a blog post, he had discussed broader issues with the technologys societal impact, which he believed outweighed its potential benefits. He questioned if the companys use of copyrighted data to train its models was ethical or legal.

In fact, reports suggest that the researcher was named in a court filing related to a copyright lawsuit against OpenAI. In an effort to address the lawsuit, the company even agreed to review files tied to Balajis expressed concerns about data usage.

WHAT DID THE AUTOPSY REPORT SAY?

Three days before the autopsy report was released in February, his parents had accused the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) of providing inaccurate information in the autopsy and police report.

They have never retrieved CCTV footage from the leasing office. We need report from police. We are only requesting transparent investigation," Balajis mother Poornima Rao had written in a post on X.

According to media reports, the police and medical examiners jointly issued a four-page statement, and the office of the chief medical examiner (OCME) released a comprehensive 13-page report that confirmed the death as a suicide.

The report said there were no signs of injuries or bruising on his body and no evidence of forced entry into his apartment as the door was locked from the inside. The windows were not considered viable entry points, it said.

The report further stated that his internet history revealed that he searched about brain anatomy before taking the extreme step, and the gun found at the scene was registered in his name. Gunshot residue was detected on both his hands, and a toxicology report showed the presence of ethanol and amphetamines, it added.

WHAT ARE HIS PARENTS CLAIMS?

From claiming that he had documents against OpenAI to pointing out inconsistencies in the police investigation and even hiring a private investigator, Suchirs parents have alleged that he was murdered.

They have refuted claims that he was depressed and have even shared CCTV footage of Suchir acting normal" and getting dinner on the day of his death.

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They have alleged that the police investigation has been a total cover-up from the beginning. They have conducted their own investigation based on reports from the OCME, toxicology, and CT scan.

Dr Karen Ziegler, who performed the autopsy, failed to look through the CT scan and injuries on Suchirs body other than the fatal gunshot wound, they have alleged.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

Location : San Francisco, California, USA

First Published: September 11, 2025, 20:34 IST

News world Sam Altman Claims Suicide, Elon Musk Says Murder: How Did OpenAI's Suchir Balaji Die?

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South Korean Workers Detained In US Immigration Raid Released Before Flight Home

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 13:16 IST

US authorities released 330 Hyundai Motor workers detained in Georgia. President Lee Jae Myung warns future US investments may be at risk without visa reforms.

File photo of US immigration raids at Hyundai plant. (Screengrab from X)

Days after detaining more than 300 South Korean workers during a September 4 immigration raid at a Hyundai Motor manufacturing facility in Georgia, US authorities have released them ahead of their flight home.

South Koreas Foreign Ministry confirmed that 330 workers, including 316 Koreans, were released and were being transported to Atlanta for a return flight to their home country.

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The raid that came shortly after a high-profile summit between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and US President Donald Trump, has sparked outrage in the East Asian nation, with lawmakers and media accusing the US of overreach and disrespect.

According to news agency AP, many of the detained workers had either overstayed their visas or entered under visa waivers that didnt permit employment. However, South Korean businesses say theyve long relied on such methods to meet urgent labor needs during the initial phases of factory constructionoften with tacit US tolerance.

In the wake of the raids and detention of the workers, the South Korean President has warned that Korean companies may rethink future investments in the US unless Washington reforms its visa policies for foreign workers.

Speaking at a press conference marking 100 days in office, Lee Jae Myung said the current US visa system creates serious obstacles for Korean firms needing to send skilled technicians to set up and operate industrial sites.

If the U.S. cant provide the workforce and wont issue visas, building facilities there becomes very difficult for us," Lee said, AP reported.

Its not like these are long-term workers. When you build a facility or install equipment at a plant, you need technicians, but the United States doesnt have that workforce and yet they wont issue visas to let our people stay and do the work," he added.

If thats not possible, then establishing a local facility in the United States will either come with severe disadvantages or become very difficult for our companies. They will wonder whether they should even do it," Lee further said.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Washington has now agreed to let the workers return and finish their tasks, and both countries will establish a joint task force to explore a new visa category for short-term industrial workers.

The battery plant in Georgia is one of over 20 big projects that South Korean companies are working on in the US. These include more battery factories in Georgia and other states, a chip factory in Texas, and a shipbuilding project in Philadelphia  a type of work former President Trump often mentioned when talking about South Korea.

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Experts warn that without visa reform, delays in Korean-led projects across the USincluding semiconductor, shipbuilding, and battery plantscould hurt both economies.

Korean companies will no longer be able to send their workers to the United States, causing inevitable delays in the expansion of facilities and other production activities, and the harm will boomerang back to the U.S. economy," said Min Jeonghun, a professor at South Koreas National Diplomatic Academy.

About the Author Manisha Roy Manisha Roy is a Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com's general desk. She comes with an experience of over 5 years in media industry. She covers politics and other hard news. She can be contacted at Manish... Read More

Location : Georgia

First Published: September 11, 2025, 13:09 IST

News world South Korean Workers Detained In US Immigration Raid Released Before Flight Home

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Two Factions Of Nepal Gen Z Protesters Scuffle Outside Army HQ In Leadership Dispute

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 16:00 IST

The Gen Z protesters split between factions backing Balen Shah and Sushila Karki and engaged in a heated scuffle outside the Army Headquarters.

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Nepal Gen Z protests: Protesters gather outside Nepal's army headquarters during a curfew imposed to restore law and order in Kathmandu. (IMAGE: AFP)

Tensions flared for the second consecutive day outside the Nepali Army headquarters in Bhadrakali as Gen Z protesters appeared divided over the choice of an interim leader. On Thursday afternoon, rival factions supporting former Chief Justice Sushila Karki and Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah clashed outside the Army complex, arguing bitterly over who should head the interim government.

The same protesters, who have been demanding change after weeks of unrest, were seen debating intensely over the leadership question following widespread grievances about corruption, nepotism and unemployment on Wednesday evening as well on the same site. The protests had escalated dramatically earlier this week after a ban on social media, which triggered violent demonstrations. In response, Army officials had asked the protesters to return the following morning with a clear consensus on their choice of interim leadership.

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Khabarhub, the first outlet to report the development, also shared a photo showing a protester punching another outside the Army headquarters. News18, however, could not independently verify the authenticity of the image. According to their report, the clashes erupted on the main road in front of the headquarters when a group of youths raised slogans opposing former Chief Justice Karki as interim Prime Minister.

Supporters of Karki and those backing Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah soon came to blows, while a smaller group aligned with Dharan Mayor Harka Sampang also joined the fray. What began as slogan shouting quickly descended into fistfights and gang-style brawls, turning the area into what the outlet described as a flashpoint of unrest". The report added that Nepali Army personnel were struggling to bring the situation under control as the clashes spread.

Earlier in the day, a military spokesperson told AFP that Army chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel had held talks on Wednesday with key figures and representatives of Gen Z", the loose umbrella term used for the protest movement.

The demonstrations, which began on Monday in Kathmandu over the governments short-lived social media ban and long-standing corruption, have already left at least 34 people dead in a violent crackdown.

By Tuesday, the unrest had spiralled nationwide, with government offices, a major hotel and other buildings set ablaze. In the chaos, more than 13,500 prisoners managed to escape from jails across the country.

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Nepals President Ram Chandra Paudel on Thursday appealed for calm as unrest continued across the country, saying that every effort was being made to find a solution within the framework of the constitution."

In this difficult situation, I am deliberating on how to resolve the crisis, protect democracy and maintain peace and order," the President said in a statement. I appeal to all parties to be assured that efforts are underway to quickly address the demands of protesting citizens, and I urge everyone to cooperate with restraint."

About the Author Shankhyaneel Sarkar Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has c... Read More

Location : Kathmandu, Nepal

First Published: September 11, 2025, 15:25 IST

News world Two Factions Of Nepal Gen Z Protesters Scuffle Outside Army HQ In Leadership Dispute

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Student Opens Fire At 2 Peers, Then Kills Himself At Colorado High School In US

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 09:15 IST

Tensed parents gathered at school soon after they got to know about the shooting.

The officials reached the spot immediately (Representative Image)

A student opened fire at his peers, then shot himself, and died later, on Wednesday, at a suburban Denver high school in Colorado, United States, according to AP. The incident took place at 12:30 PM (local time) on Wednesday at Evergreen High School in Evergreen.

Gunshots were reportedly fired both inside and outside the school building. The officials reached the spot immediately, and the shooter was found within five minutes, according to Jefferson County Sheriffs Office spokesperson Jacki Kelley.

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Kelly informed that over 100 police officials rushed to the spot to help.

According to an official statement by St. Anthony Hospital CEO Kevin Cullinan, one of the teens is in stable condition now and has non-life-threatening injuries.

Students Flee The School After Hearing Gunshots

As many as 18 students ran from their school and took shelter at a home just down the road. At first a few students knocked on the door asking for help, followed by the others, resident Don Cygan told Denvers KUSA-TV.

Cygan stated that one of the students said he ran out of the school right after hearing the gunshots.

Parents Panic After Shooting

The parents of the students panicked and gathered outside the school after they learned about the shooting incident.

The mother of a 15-year-old student said she got worried as her daughter did not answer her call after the shooting. She was relieved only after the girl called her back from a borrowed phone, as per a report by the Denver Post.

She just said she was OK. She couldnt hardly speak," Wendy Nueman said.

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Its super scary," she said. We feel like we live in a little bubble here. Obviously, no one is immune."

There are over 900 students in the school which is largely surrounded by forest. It is about a mile from the centre of Evergreen.

About the Author Anushka Vats Anushka Vats is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for storytelling and a curiosity that extends beyond the newsroom. She covers both national and international news. For more stories, you can ... Read More

Location : United States of America (USA)

First Published: September 11, 2025, 08:36 IST

News world Student Opens Fire At 2 Peers, Then Kills Himself At Colorado High School In US

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The Man Who Ended Blackouts: Who Is Kulman Ghising, Now Frontrunner For Nepals Interim PM?

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 16:34 IST

A respected former chief of the Nepal Electricity Authority, credited with ending daily power cuts, Kulman Ghising has emerged as the leading name backed by Gen Z protesters

Kulman Ghising. (AFP)

Nepals political vacuum has deepened after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned following protests over corruption and the governments ban on social media. The unrest, led by the Gen Z movement, left dozens dead and forced the Army to impose curfews across Kathmandu Valley.

In the search for an interim leader, Kathmandu mayor Balen Shah and former Chief Justice Sushila Karki were among the first names considered. Shah declined to pursue the role, while Karki faced objections over constitutional restrictions and her age. Businessman Durga Prasai and parliamentarian Sumana Shrestha were also discussed, but a consensus could not be built.

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Against this backdrop, Kulman Ghisings name has emerged. Protesters have described him as a patriot and everyones favourite". His reputation for honesty and results, coupled with his distance from party politics, has turned him into the most acceptable face for the movement demanding a clean break.

Early Life And Education

Born on 25 November 1970 in Bethan village of Ramechhap district, Ghising studied electrical engineering on a scholarship at the Regional Institute of Technology, in Jamshedpur, India. He later specialised in power systems engineering at Pulchowk Engineering College under Tribhuvan University, and went on to complete an MBA to strengthen his managerial credentials.

Climbing The Power Sector Ranks

Ghising began his career at the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) in 1994 and rose through the organisation. He was appointed NEA managing director (MD) on 14 September 2016. At the time, he was project chief of the Rahughat Hydroelectric Project and had previously headed Chilime Hydropower Company. After completing his first stint, he was replaced in 2020 but returned as MD on 11 August 2021.

Ending The Era Of Daily Blackouts

When the cabinet appointed Ghising as NEA managing director in September 2016, Nepal was enduring up to 18 hours of daily blackouts. Ghising immediately set about ending the practice of guaranteeing uninterrupted power only to a few industries, redistributing electricity more equitably to the public. This policy shift quickly reduced outages in major cities, and over time, the era of prolonged load-shedding came to an end.

The turnaround made Ghising a household name and a symbol of effective administration in a country weary of crisis management.

The 2025 Dismissal And Backlash

Despite his popularity, Ghising was removed from his position on 24 March 2025, just months before his tenure was due to conclude in August. He was replaced by Hitendra Dev Shakya. The decision triggered widespread criticism and protests. Opposition leaders, civil society groups, and ordinary citizens questioned the move, pointing out his role in resolving the countrys power shortage.

According to The Himalayan Times, Ghisings independent style had put him at odds with Energy Minister Deepak Khadka, contributing to his dismissal. The backlash that followed only reinforced his image as a non-partisan professional who had delivered results.

Why Gen Z Wants Him At The Helm

Ghisings reputation as a results-oriented administrator with a clean image has elevated him above partisan divides. According to Mint, Ghising himself called for an interim cabinet made up of individuals with clean reputations, inclusion of Gen Z voices, and immediate elections.

For young protesters demanding accountability, this stance aligned with their own agenda. Combined with his track record and reputation for honesty, it propelled Ghising into the role of consensus candidate.

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Where Things Stand Now

While Ghising has emerged as the frontrunner, no official appointment has been made. Alongside him, names like Balen Shah, Sushila Karki and parliamentarian Sumana Shrestha were also discussed. As curfews and prohibitory orders continue in Kathmandu Valley and the protest toll rises, the interim leadership question remains central to Nepals fragile transition.

About the Author Karishma Jain Karishma Jain, Chief Sub Editor at News18.com, writes and edits opinion pieces on a variety of subjects, including Indian politics and policy, culture and the arts, technology and social change. Follo... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 16:31 IST

News world The Man Who Ended Blackouts: Who Is Kulman Ghising, Now Frontrunner For Nepals Interim PM?

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'There Was Blood, A Lot Of Blood': Eyewitnesses Recount The Moment Charlie Kirk Was Shot

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News18.com

Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 08:09 IST

One of the eyewitnesses recalled how Kirk's "head snapped back and blood started pouring out of his neck" after he was shot at.

The crowd reacts after Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, is shot at the Utah Valley University Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. (Image: The Deseret News via AP)

Blood was gushing everywhere," said an eyewitness, who was present at the Utah Valley University when conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead in the middle of his lecture. Eyewitnesses, recounting the scene, explained how panic and horror engulfed the entire premises when they all heard a gunshot. A friend and I ran into a building and ran out and down the street just trying to get to safety," Sara Tewell, a student of the University, who was sitting in the fourth row at the event, told ABC News.

Kirk died after being shot during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. He was speaking on campus as part of his national speaking series, The American Comeback Tour," when the shooting occurred. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but succumbed to his injuries after being admitted.

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Footage shows a crowd of people running and taking cover after someone shot at conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus.A suspect is in custody, according to the university. Read more: https://t.co/8jjHt4TlYU pic.twitter.com/fJrwhyFB3L  ABC News (@ABC) September 10, 2025

Emma Pitts, a local reporter, who was also an eyewitness, told The Guardian that Kirk was on was on the second question, which was regarding mass shootings, when he was shot at. Before he could even answer, we heard a gunshot and we just saw Charlie Kirks neck turn to the side and it appeared that he had been shot in the neck. There was blood, immediately a lot of blood," Pitts said.

Pitts said that immediately after the shot was fired, people dropped to the ground in an attempt to stay hidden. Within a minute, many began running from the scene, and the university was subsequently evacuated," Pitts added.

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Raydon Dechene, 51, who was seated in the front row of Charlie Kirks event at Utah Valley University, said the gunfire erupted suddenly. He was mid-sentence when I heard a pop," Dechene told People. His head snapped back and blood began pouring from his neck." Dechene, who was reportedly seated to the left of the platform where Kirk was speaking, said the gunfire seemed to come from behind her. Everybody ducked, and then someone yelled, Run!" she recalled. He still had blood running down his neck. I was certain it was a single, fatal shot."

Henry Dels, 24, a local businessman, told ABC News he was standing about 25 feet from Kirk after asking him a question on religion. Less than a minute later, he said, the commentator was shot. It happened right after I spoke to him," Dels recalled. Blood poured from his neck, running down his shoulder and chest. I thought instantly that he wouldnt survive."

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

First Published: September 11, 2025, 08:09 IST

News world 'There Was Blood, A Lot Of Blood': Eyewitnesses Recount The Moment Charlie Kirk Was Shot

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'There Will Be No Palestinian State, This Place Belongs To Us,' Says Netanyahu

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 23:16 IST

Speaking at the signing of a major new settlement project in the occupied West Bank, Netanyahu promised to double the population of the city

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Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a signing ceremony for a framework agreement in the occupied-West Bank settlement on September 11. (AFP photo)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday declared that there would be no Palestinian state and that the land belongs to Israel. He made the statement at a ceremony in Maale Adumim, an Israeli settlement east of Jerusalem.

Speaking at the signing of a major new settlement project in the occupied West Bank, Netanyahu promised to double the population of the city and safeguard what he called Israels heritage, land, and security".

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We are going to fulfil our promise that there will be no Palestinian state, this place belongs to us," Netanyahu said at the event, which was streamed live by his office.

The project focuses on a sensitive area called E1, a roughly 12 square kilometre piece of land between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim. For years, plans to develop E1 were stalled due to international opposition.

Last month, Israels far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich supported building about 3,400 new homes there, a move widely condemned internationally.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that building on E1 would split the West Bank in two, threatening the possibility of a connected Palestinian state. Israels settlements in the West Bank, occupied since 1967, are considered illegal under international law, regardless of Israeli approval.

Western countries, including Britain and France, plan to recognise the State of Palestine at the United Nations later this month. Britain has said it will take this step if Israel does not agree to a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict, which began after Hamass attack in October 2023.

In recent months, far-right Israeli ministers have openly called for annexing the West Bank. The Israeli NGO Peace Now, which tracks settlement activity, warned last week that work on infrastructure in E1 could start in a few months, with housing construction beginning within a year. The group called the E1 plan deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution."

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The West Bank, excluding east Jerusalem annexed by Israel, is home to around three million Palestinians and about 500,000 Israeli settlers.

(With inputs from AFP)

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

Location : Israel

First Published: September 11, 2025, 23:16 IST

News world 'There Will Be No Palestinian State, This Place Belongs To Us,' Says Netanyahu

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UMass Boston Issues Safety Alert After Unconfirmed Reports Of Gunfire On Campus

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Last Updated: September 12, 2025, 02:26 IST

The university issued a more specific warning regarding a public safety threat in or near the Residence Hall East Building.

There has been no reports of injuries yet (X/@teddythyme)

The University of Massachusetts Boston went on high alert Thursday afternoon following reports of possible gunfire on campus. An alert posted on the universitys homepage described a police incident" near the Campus Center, urging students and staff to avoid the area.

Earlier, the university issued a more specific warning regarding a public safety threat in or near the Residence Hall East Building, advising everyone to stay clear of the vicinity.

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Troopers have responded to UMass Boston to an unconfirmed report of a shooting on campus. Law enforcement will coordinate with our campus partners to ensure the safety of students, faculty, and staff," said the Massachusetts State Police in a statement.

Videos showing police vehicles reporting on the campus have been doing rounds on social media.

ALERT: Boston Police and Massachusetts State Police are responding right now to an unconfirmed report of a shooting on the UMass Boston campus. pic.twitter.com/itkZ0MFifr Only In Boston (@OnlyInBOS) September 11, 2025

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Local media outlet WCVB reported that shots may have been fired around 3:45 PM near 240 Morrissey Boulevard, the location of the UMass Boston campus in Dorchester. However, there has been no official confirmation regarding the incident.

Authorities are continuing to investigate. More updates are expected as information becomes available.

Location : Boston, Massachusetts, USA

First Published: September 12, 2025, 02:26 IST

News world UMass Boston Issues Safety Alert After Unconfirmed Reports Of Gunfire On Campus

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Unacceptable: Citizens Group Warns Against Nepal Monarchy Revival, Ending Democracy

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 16:58 IST

A prominent citizens group in Nepal has issued a statement opposing moves to restore monarchy and undermine the countrys secular framework.

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Men unload an effigy of Nepal's former King Gyanendra with garlands from a vehicle outside the main gate of Shital Niwas during his birthday celebration in this file photo. (IMAGE: REUTERS)

The Brihat Nagarik Andolan (BNA), a loose coalition of Nepali civil society activists, on Thursday warned that any attempt to restore the monarchy and roll back secularism with the backing of the army would be unacceptable".

The reality becoming clear now is that on the bodies of the martyrs of the Gen-Z movement, a conspiracy is being staged with the Armys mediation and cooperation to restore monarchy and abolish secularism. This is completely unacceptable to us," the group said in a statement, accessed by Nepali news outlet Khabarhub.

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The BNA emphasized that the mandate and sacrifice of the Gen-Z protests were meant to strengthen republicanism and secularism, not enable regression.

It also criticized what it called the Armys unconstitutional activism", stressing that young demonstrators had not taken to the streets to empower the military.

The statement further condemned those accused of infiltrating the protests and causing damage to state and private property, warning that it was frightening and unacceptable" that such groups were now negotiating under the Armys protection.

Meanwhile, the Army has asked Gen Z leaders to decide on a clear face to lead the country through this turbulent phase.

The protesters themselves appear divided, with factions backing former chief justice Sushila Karki and Kathmandu mayor Balen Shah clashing outside the Army headquarters in Bhadrakali, in a sign of a widening split within the movement.

Gyanendra Shah, Nepals last king, was deposed in 2008 after parliament abolished the 240-year-old Hindu monarchy at the end of a decade-long Maoist insurgency.

Shah had taken the throne in 2001 after the palace massacre that killed his brother King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah and most of the royal family. Four years later, he suspended the constitution and dissolved parliament, sparking mass protests in which Maoists joined hands with mainstream political parties. The uprising forced Shah to step down, clearing the way for Nepal to become a secular republic under the 2015 Constitution, according to an AFP report.

For years, the former king kept a low profile. But in recent times he has appeared at public events and drawn support from sections disillusioned with the political establishment. In March, hundreds queued outside his residence to mark his 78th birthday, reflecting a steady resurgence of monarchist sentiment.

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That mood has been amplified by political instability, corruption and economic stagnation, fuelling anger among younger Nepalis.

This weeks deadly protests led by Gen Z demonstrators began with outrage over a short-lived social media ban and corruption allegations. The unrest quickly escalated, leaving at least 34 dead, government offices and buildings torched, and over 13,500 prisoners escaping in the chaos.

About the Author Shankhyaneel Sarkar Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has c... Read More

Location : Kathmandu, Nepal

First Published: September 11, 2025, 16:45 IST

News world Unacceptable: Citizens Group Warns Against Nepal Monarchy Revival, Ending Democracy

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'Was Definitely Murdered': Tucker Carlson Grills Sam Altman Over OpenAI Whistleblower's Death

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 17:34 IST

Tucker Carlson grilled Sam Altman over Suchir Balaji's death, alleging murder despite suicide ruling. Balaji's family disputes the findings and demands an FBI investigation.

Carlson, however, countered the OpenAI founder, asserting, "He was definitely murdered, I think." (Image: X)

In a tense interview, American television host Tucker Carlson confronted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over the death of whistleblower Suchir Balaji in 2024. During the interview, Tucker Carlson suggested foul play in Balajis death, despite authorities ruling it a suicide.

Carlson began by referencing Balajis whistleblower claims and sudden death, saying, So youve had complaints from one programmer who said you guys were basically stealing peoples stuff and not paying them, and then he wound up murdered. What was that?"

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NEW: Sam Altman is confronted by Tucker Carlson about the death of the OpenAI whistleblower, Suchir Balaji (WILD) Sam Altman suggests that Tucker Carlson is accusing him of murder. I havent done too many interviews where I have been accused of murder." pic.twitter.com/uuup9xP63x  Autism Capital  (@AutismCapital) September 10, 2025

In response, Altman said, Also a great tragedy. He committed suicide." He added that Balaji had been a long-time employee and friend, saying he was deeply shaken by the incident and had thoroughly reviewed the case.

Well, he was like a friend of mine. This is like a guy that, not a close friend, but this is someone that worked at OpenAI for a very long time. I was really shaken by this tragedy. I spent a lot of time trying to, you know, read everything I could as Im sure you and others did too about what happened. It looks like a suicide to me."

Carlson, however, was unconvinced. He cited what he called troubling details. There were signs of a struggle, of course. The surveillance camera, the wires had been cut. He had just ordered takeout food, come back from a vacation with his friends on Catalina Island. No indication at all that he was suicidal," he pointed out.

Convinced it was murder, Carlson asked, Why does it look like a suicide?"

When pressed about the cause of death, Altman responded, It was a gun he had purchased."

Carlson, however, countered the OpenAI founder, asserting, He was definitely murdered, I think."

As Carlson questioned the plausibility of the suicide further, highlighting blood in two rooms", a wig that wasnt his," and a dead-bolted door", Altman noted, You understand how this sounds like an accusation?"

As the interview progressed, Altman replied, I havent done too many interviews where Ive been accused of murder."

Carlson further questioned how a suicide could involve signs of a struggle and blood in two rooms," wondering why authorities had not probed that discrepancy.

I dont understand how the authorities could just kind of dismiss that as a suicide. I think its weird," Altman replied.

Throughout the interview, the tech CEO maintained that he had gone over the case details many times and believed the evidence clearly showed it was a suicide.

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Balaji, an Indian-origin American AI researcher, was found dead in his San Francisco apartment in November 2024, weeks after accusing OpenAI of copyright violations in AI training. The medical examiner ruled his death a suicide caused by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The official investigation found no evidence of foul play.

Alleging that Balaji was murdered, his family has called for a thorough and transparent investigation, including involvement from the FBI, a demand that has gained support from several well-known public figures.

About the Author Manisha Roy Manisha Roy is a Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com's general desk. She comes with an experience of over 5 years in media industry. She covers politics and other hard news. She can be contacted at Manish... Read More

Location : New York, United States of America (USA)

First Published: September 11, 2025, 17:26 IST

News world 'Was Definitely Murdered': Tucker Carlson Grills Sam Altman Over OpenAI Whistleblower's Death

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ZHENGZHOU, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Recent excavations have revealed traces of wooden coffins in ancient tombs discovered in central China, pushing back the understanding of when China's coffin burial tradition began to more than 8,000 years ago.

According to the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology, this evidence of wooden coffins was recently unearthed in Jiahu Village, which is located in Wuyang County of Henan Province. Previously, the Jiahu site gained attention for yielding China's earliest-known musical instruments -- bone flutes.

"These are the oldest wooden coffins ever discovered in China, moving our timeline for wooden burial vessels back by approximately 2,000 years," said Wei Xingtao, deputy director of the institute.

"Previously, the academic consensus was that wooden coffins first emerged during the early Dawenkou Culture approximately 6,000 years ago," said Han Jianye, a professor with the School of History at Renmin University of China.

"The discovery of wooden coffins at the Jiahu site provides new material evidence to trace the origins of prehistoric wooden burial containers," Han said.

The Jiahu site was a large, culturally rich early Neolithic settlement. In addition to the famed bone flutes, it has yielded numerous other artifacts, including turtle shells, pottery and stone tools, all of which hold great importance in exploring the origins of the Chinese civilization.

Since 2023, the Henan institute has been conducting archaeological excavations at the site. Its latest research has confirmed that it was a moat-encircled settlement that covered an area of 65,000 square meters, with distinct functional zones located within its boundaries.

"In the central burial area, we have identified a total of over 200 tombs, among which 10 show evidence of wooden coffins," said Li Jindou, excavation field director at the Jiahu site. Some of the coffins measured about 2 meters in length, 0.6 meters in width and 0.06 meters in thickness, Li noted.

"Soil analysis from their burial context revealed a significantly high concentration of lignin compared to the surrounding areas," Li said.

According to the institute, the vast majority of tombs in the site's central burial area contain funerary objects, including bone flutes, turquoise artifacts and pottery, some of which exhibit exceptionally fine craftsmanship.

In addition to the wooden coffins, archaeologists have recently uncovered over 20 bone flutes, with one tomb being the first-known instance of five flutes buried in a single grave.

"The variations in burial locations, tomb sizes, and the types and abundance of burial containers and funerary objects indicate that social differentiation had already emerged within the Jiahu site," Wei said.

The deputy director noted that the site's ritual vessel combinations -- like tripods, jars and pots, as well as different forms of sacrificial pits -- also suggest the initial formation of early funeral practices.

A protective archaeological shelter has been set up over the core area of the Jiahu site.

"Next, we will conduct holistic extraction in the key tombs and transfer the artifacts to laboratories for more meticulous excavation and research," Li said. 
'We're Full': Trump Ally Charlie Kirk's Remarks On Indians Immigrating To US Resurface

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 07:49 IST

Charlie Kirk was shot in the neck while he was speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University.

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk died after being shot during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. (Reuters)

Hours after Conservative US leader Charlie Kirk died on Wednesday after being shot at an event in Utah, his last weeks remarks resurfaced on the internet in which he said that America does not need more visas for Indians, adding that the States was full" and it was time to put our own people first".

The Trump ally made his entry into the America First debate with his remark on legal immigrants, especially from India.

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America does not need more visas for people from India. Perhaps no form of legal immigration has so displaced American workers as those from India. Enough already. Were full. Lets finally put our own people first."

Charlie Kirk Shot Dead

Kirk, also the executive director of the conservative Turning Point USA advocacy group, was shot in the neck while he was speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University. Several videos of the incident surfaced on social media, showing Kirk moving his hand toward his neck as he fell off the chair. Though he was rushed to a hospital, doctors pronounced him dead.

US President Donald Trump announced Charlie Kirks death in a post on Truth Social. The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!" Trump said.

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Later, in a fresh statement, Trump blamed the radical left" for the killing of his ally Charlie Kirk.

The attack comes amid rising political violence across the United States, spanning both left- and right-wing movements.

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Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

First Published: September 11, 2025, 07:38 IST

News world 'We're Full': Trump Ally Charlie Kirk's Remarks On Indians Immigrating To US Resurface

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Caught On Camera: Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk Shot During US University Event, Trump Reacts

Curated By :

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 01:17 IST

US President Donald Trump posted a message on Truth Social, offering support and prayers for Kirks recovery.

The shooting comes amid heightened tensions surrounding his tour (Reuters)

Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old right-wing talk show host and political activist, was shot at during an event at Utah Valley University on September 10, according to local media outlet The Deseret News.

Kirk was on campus to kick off his national speaking series, The American Comeback Tour," when the incident occurred. Known for his controversial campus appearances and his Prove Me Wrong" table format, where he publicly debates students and audience members, Kirks events often attract both supporters and critics.

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Holy sh*t. Footage of Charlie Kirk shot. https://t.co/vc5lQpH12z PNW Conservative (@UnderWashington) September 10, 2025

The shooting comes amid heightened tensions surrounding his tour. According to The Deseret News, over 6,000 people have signed a petition urging Utah State University to cancel Kirks upcoming appearances at the campus.

In response to the incident, US President Donald Trump posted a message on Truth Social, offering support and prayers for Kirks recovery. We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!" the president wrote.

We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!(TS: 10 Sep 15:02 ET)  Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) September 10, 2025

FBI Director Kash Patel also issued a statement, confirming that the agency is monitoring the situation closely. Agents will be on the scene quickly, and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation," Patel stated.

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We are closely monitoring reports of the tragic shooting involving Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected. Agents will be on the scene quickly and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) September 10, 2025

As of now, there have been no official reports on injuries or suspects, and authorities have yet to confirm whether the shooting was politically motivated. The investigation remains ongoing.

Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

First Published: September 11, 2025, 01:07 IST

News world Caught On Camera: Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk Shot During US University Event, Trump Reacts

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Who Is Charlie Kirk? MAGA Influencer, Conservative Trump Ally Targeted In Campus Shooting

Curated By :

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Last Updated: September 11, 2025, 01:38 IST

At just 31, Charlie Kirk has become a leading figure in right-wing politics and a staunch supporter of President Trump.

He hosts The Charlie Kirk Show, a popular right-wing podcast and media platform (AFP)

Political activist and conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was shot at during an event at Utah Valley University on September 10, prompting widespread reactions from political leaders and the public. The incident occurred as Kirk was launching his national speaking series, The American Comeback Tour."

A video clip of the shooting quickly circulated on social media, sparking concern and calls for investigation.

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In the aftermath, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to send his well wishes for Kirks recovery, praising him as a great guy from top to bottom." FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that agents would arrive on the scene to support the investigation. Meanwhile, US Attorney General Pam Bondi and Vice President JD Vance expressed sympathy over the incident, commending Kirk for his activism and influence within the conservative movement.

At just 31, Charlie Kirk has become a leading figure in right-wing politics and a staunch supporter of President Trump. He is widely known for his controversial Prove Me Wrong" campus events, where he debates students and audience members on political and cultural issues. These events often draw significant crowds with both vocal supporters and critics in attendance, reported Reuters.

Kirks political journey began early. Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, he developed an interest in politics during high school, volunteering for a US Senate campaign and even organising a student protest over cafeteria prices. He briefly attended Harper College before dropping out to pursue political activism full-time.

In 2012, at the age of 18, Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA, a conservative student organisation where he still serves as executive director. He also hosts The Charlie Kirk Show, a popular right-wing podcast and media platform, reported BBC.

A key figure in the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, Kirk spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention, just days after an assassination attempt on Trump, reported NBC. The then-presidential candidate Trump has repeatedly praised Kirk in public appearances, once saying during a rally, Charlie Kirk is fantastic. I mean, this guy."

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On the personal front, Kirk married Erika Frantzve in 2021. The couple, who met in 2019, now have two children: a daughter, Sarah Rose, born in 2021, and a son, born in 2023.

The investigation into the shooting remains ongoing, with authorities yet to release further details on potential suspects or motives. Kirks health, however, remains critical.

Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

First Published: September 11, 2025, 01:38 IST

News world Who Is Charlie Kirk? MAGA Influencer, Conservative Trump Ally Targeted In Campus Shooting

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MOSCOW, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Israeli strikes on the Qatari capital Doha are leading to further destabilization in the Middle East region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.

"We regard it as a gross violation of international law, primarily the UN Charter," Lavrov said at a ministerial meeting with the Gulf Cooperation Council in the Russian city of Sochi.

Lavrov said that the strikes had resulted in a sharp escalation of military and political tensions in the Middle East, and that Russia had received news of the action with deep concern.

"Such actions, without a doubt, deserve the most resolute condemnation," said Lavrov.

On Tuesday, Israel launched an unprecedented airstrike on Doha, targeting a building used by senior Hamas officials in what Israeli authorities described as an attempt to kill leaders of the Palestinian group.

Hamas said later that the strike occurred while its delegation was discussing a new ceasefire proposal presented by Washington. According to the group, the negotiating team survived, but six others were killed. 
A Norton man who stole two cars belonging to doctors at Parirenyatwa Hospital will spend the next 10 years in jail for the crimes.

Harare provincial magistrate Mrs Jesse Kufa found Takudzwa Shariwa (26) guilty on two counts of theft of motor vehicles and initially sentenced him to 14 years imprisonment before she suspended four years, leaving him to serve an effective 10 years.

The State, led by prosecutor Mr Ngoni Kaseke, proved that on March 19 this year, the complainant, who is a student doctor, parked his Honda Fit at Diamond Car Park at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals and locked all the windows and doors before retiring to bed.

During the night, Shariwa stole the car and went away unnoticed. The student doctor woke up the following day and discovered that his car was missing and reported the case to the the Zimbabwe Republic Police Post at Parirenyatwa Hospital.

The court heard that Shariwa started using the car as a pirate taxi on the City-Chitungwiza route. He was involved in an accident and dumped the car at Paramount Signature along Seke Road.

The student doctor was alerted by an unknown caller who came across a WhatsApp message about the stolen car. He went to the scene where he recovered the car with the police.

On the second case, which occurred on September 5, 2025, the complainant, a medical doctor, parked her car, a blue Honda Fit, at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals Eastern Car Park and went into a ward to conduct her duties.

At around midday of the same day, the doctor knocked off and went to the car park and found her vehicle missing.

She reported the case at Harare Central Police Station. The court heard that the complainant, with the assistance of her husband, tracked the stolen car using its fixed mobile tracker, which led them to Shariwa and his subsequent arrest. Herald
Two immigration officers have been arrested for allegedly processing visas for seven Chinese nationals, including two who were already in police detention after being nabbed for flouting the countrys immigration laws, at Nyamapanda Border Post.

One of the Chinese nationals was about to be deported and was at Harare Remand Prison at the time his passport was being issued with a visa in Nyamapanda.

The other one was detained at Mutare Remand Prison at the time his passport was also issued with a visa.

Samson Mashura, an immigration officer, was not asked to plead when he appeared before Harare magistrate Marewanazvo Gofa, who released him on US$100 bail.

Mashura is employed by the Immigration Department of Zimbabwe as a Principal Immigrations Officer stationed at Nyamapanda Border Post.

Allegations are that on July 31 Mashura, working in connivance with Patience Chamboko, who was the head of shift for the day and has since been arrested on the same allegations, facilitated an unprocedural clearance of seven Chinese nationals into Zimbabwe.

They are Lin Lou, passport number EH0362720, Junhao Yu, passport number EK9329082, Libo Jiang, passport number EP3798262, Donghong Cao, passport number EF4739469, Shu Liu, passport number ED3457531, Ruizhu Fang passport number ED8835824 and Xiaojun Hung, passport number EP3798261.

Mashura allegedly brought the seven passports to Chamboko, who was in charge of the visa processing counter, and ordered her to process the visas for the Chinese nationals.

Through the Online Border Management System [OBMS] Chamboko processed the holiday visas for all the Chinese nationals.

Investigations have established that these Chinese nationals were not physically present at the border when their visas were processed.

None of the shift members saw these travellers at the border.

It was further established that Xiaojun Hungs passport was cleared on August 31.

However, on the same day and at 2pm, the same person was being detained at Mutare Remand Prisons after being arrested as a Prohibited Immigrant and is still in custody to date.

According to the State, that evidence shows that he was not physically at the border post when the visa was processed.

It was further established that on July 31, Libo Jiang was also in detention at Harare remand prison, awaiting deportation, and wasnt present when the visa was processed.

Investigations have established that Mashura was in constant communication with Chamboko regarding how they would write reports required by their superiors about the matter.

In these communications, Chamboko accused Mashura of misleading her into issuing visas to the Chinese nationals without gaining any benefit from the transaction.

Rufaro Chonzi appeared for the State. H Metro
Prince Harry and King Charles sat down together for a private tea at Clarence House in London on Wednesday, marking their first in-person meeting in more than a year. Buckingham Palace confirmed the roughly 50-minute visit at the royal residence, which was sandwiched between the king's return from Scotland and Harry's UK charity events. When asked about his father's health afterward, Harry offered a brief, "Yes, he's great," the BBC reports.

The get-together is being widely viewed as a tentative move toward patching up a relationship that has been marked by public friction and distance, especially since Harry and Meghan stepped back from royal duties. Harry, who has voiced his desire for reconciliation in past interviewsincluding a candid BBC conversation in Maydid not see his father during other visits to the UK over the last year. Their last meeting was a brief one after Charles was diagnosed with cancer in February last year.

This latest meeting comes after hints of a cooling family feud, including reports of a "peace summit" between representatives. Still, Harry's visit hasn't included any encounters with Prince William, and the brothers continue to operate on separate tracks. On Monday, Harry visited his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II's grave on the third anniversary of her death, while William and Kate honored her elsewhere.

The king will return to Scotland on Thursday, while Harry will return to California, concluding his four-day visit to the UK. According to the New York Times, Charles' schedule "appeared calculated to show that he had not made the trip from Scotland solely to see Harry." On Wednesday, he also met with his advisers, spoke to the premier of South Australia, and bestowed an honor on Holocaust survivor Manfred Goldberg.
The first question Charlie Kirk was asked by the crowd Wednesday in Utah was about religion, former Rep. Jason Chaffetz told Fox News. "The second question interestingly was about transgender shooters, mass shooters, and in the midst of that, a shot rang out," Chaffetz said, per the Wall Street Journal. The questioner asked the conservative commentator if he knew "how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years." When Kirk answered, "Too many," the student said the answer is five, then asked how many mass shooters there have been in the nation in the past 10 years. Kirk replied, "counting or not counting gang violence?" The gunshot followed seconds later, according to video.
Two thousand miles east of Orem, Utah, where Charlie Kirk was shot to death on Wednesday, the House of Representatives honored the political commentator with a moment of silencefollowed by a shouting match. With every lawmaker in the chamber still standing quietly in observance, Rep. Lauren Boebert demanded that Speaker Mike Johnson recite a prayer for Kirk aloud, the Washington Post reports. "Silent prayers get silent results," the Republican hollered from the back of the chamber. That was met with jeers from Democrats about gun laws. Rep. Jahana Hayes shouted that school shootings, including one earlier in the day in Boebert's home state of Colorado, are ignored, per the Wall Street Journal.
SEOUL, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export rose in single digits in the first 10 days of September due to more business days, customs office data showed Thursday.

Export stood at 19.17 billion U.S. dollars in the Sept. 1-10 period, up 3.8 percent compared to the same period of last year, according to Korea Customs Service.

It was attributable to an expansion in working days, which gained by one day in the cited period. The daily average export declined 8.4 percent to 2.26 billion dollars in the 10-day period.

Semiconductor export surged 28.4 percent to 4.46 billion dollars, but automotive shipment slumped 1.9 percent to 1.55 billion dollars.

Export for ships soared 55.3 percent to 900 million dollars, but those for steel and oil products shrank to 1.24 billion dollars and 1.17 billion dollars each.

Import jumped 11.1 percent from a year earlier to 20.39 billion dollars in the first 10 days of September, sending the trade deficit to 1.22 billion dollars.

Import for natural gas, coal, oil products, machinery, semiconductor equipment, precision machinery, mobile devices and cars recorded a double-digit increase in the cited period. 
A day of anti-government action across France on Wednesday saw streets choked with smoke, barricades in flames, and volleys of tear gas as protesters denounced budget cuts and political turmoil. The nationwide "Bloquons Tout," or "Block Everything," campaign presented a challenge to President Emmanuel Macron and turned Sebastien Lecornu 's first day as prime minister into a baptism of fire, the AP reports.

Although falling short of its self-declared intention of total disruption, the protests still managed to paralyze parts of daily life and ignite hundreds of hot spots across the country. The deployment of 80,000 police officers broke up barricades and dragged hundreds of protesters into custody, yet flashpoints multiplied. In Rennes, a bus was torched. In the southwest, electrical cables were severed, halting train services and snarling traffic.
A South Korean charter plane has arrived in Atlanta to take home Korean workers detained in an immigration raid in Georgia last week, but airport officials said the return flight with the workers on board planned for Wednesday had been canceled. After a high-level meeting between US and South Korean officials Wednesday morning, there was no immediate official word on when the workers would be able to leave, though South Korean media reported the charter plane was to leave Atlanta on Thursday, the AP reports. A spokesperson for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport said Wednesday afternoon that a planned flight had been canceled and had not been rescheduled.

A total of 475 workers, more than 300 of them South Koreans, were detained in the Sept. 4 raid at the battery factory under construction. The delay has been met with anger and frustration in South Korea, per the New York Times, as were images of ?armed American agents dragging the workers away in handcuffs and ankle chains from the Hyundai plant last week. Small protests have been held near the US Embassy in Seoul. "Why should we be treated like this when we are providing the United States with our technology, our money and our investments?" Kim Joon-hyung, an opposition lawmaker said Monday in a parliamentary hearing. He called on his government to produce a count of Americans visiting South Korea on tourist visas or teaching English for pay.

South Korean TV footage showed the charter plane, a Boeing 747-8i from Korean Air, taking off at Incheon International Airport, just west of Seoul. It landed in Atlanta on Wednesday morning. South Korea's Foreign Ministry said the plane couldn't depart from the US on Wednesday as South Korea had wished due to an unspecified reason involving the American side. In Washington on Wednesday, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met Secretary of State Marco Rubio and told him that the South Korean public was left with "big pains and shocks" because the video of the workers' arrests was publicly disclosed, the ministry said in a statement. He urged the Trump administration to help the Korean workers leave as soon as possiblewithout being handcuffedand to make sure they don't face problems in future reentries to the US, the statement said.
The person of interest who was taken into custody in connection with the murder of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Wednesday has been released following an interrogation, says FBI Director Kash Patel. He wrote on X, "Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency." NBC News reports Patel's about-face came about 90 minutes after he had announced the shooter was in custody. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox had strong words for the shooter, per the Deseret News: "I want to make it crystal clear right now to whoever did this, we will find you."
Qatar's prime minister is sharply criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after an airstrike in Doha killed six Hamas members assigned to ceasefire talks, the Guardian reports. In a CNN interview, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani called the strike an act of "state terror" and claimed it "killed any hope" for the remaining hostages held in Gaza. The attack, carried out on Tuesday, targeted Hamas representatives in negotiations facilitated by Qatar, the US, and other Gulf states.

Netanyahu responded to international criticismincluding a rare rebuke from the White Houseby accusing Qatar of harboring terrorists and issuing a warning: "I say to Qatar and all nations who harbor terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice. Because if you don't, we will." Sources tell the Wall Street Journal that on Tuesday, US President Trump had a "heated" phone call with the Israeli PM expressing his frustration with the strikeand with the fact that the US was not given a heads-up. Netanyahu reportedly justified the move by saying he had to quickly take the small window of opportunity he had. During a second, more cordial phone call, sources say Trump asked Netanyahu if the strike had been successful.

Al-Thani said Qatar is now reconsidering its role as mediator, expressing frustration that efforts to broker a ceasefire may have been undermined. "He needs to be brought to justice," the Qatari leader said of Netanyahu, adding that hostage families had pinned all hope on mediation. Al-Thani also suggested Qatar could retaliate against Israel, Fox News reports.

Israel's defense minister echoed Netanyahu's stance, vowing to target those responsible for the October 2023 Hamas attack "anywhere," and Israel's ambassador to the US also suggested that future strikes would continue if needed. Hamas, for its part, claimed its top leaders survived Tuesday's attack, though five lower-ranking officials died. Qatar also reported a member of its own security forces was killed.
The former Department of Justice staffer accused of assaulting a federal officer with a sandwich pleaded not guilty Wednesday to the misdemeanor assault charge he faces. Sean Dunn, 37, stood before US District Judge Carl J. Nichols, where he appeared "largely stoic," per NBC News , and opted for a jury trial, which was scheduled for Nov. 3. The incident in question took place on Aug. 10, shortly after President Trump sent federal agents into Washington, DC. According to prosecutors, Dunn was filmed throwing a salami sub at a Customs and Border Protection agentan act punctuated by shouted insults and objections to the agents' presence. The sandwich reportedly struck the agent in the chest.

Prosecutors initially sought to charge Dunn with a felony, but a grand jury declined to indict, a twist made only more notable by the old legal adage that a grand jury will "indict a ham sandwich." The Hill reports that street art depicting the sandwich toss has started popping up in DC, as well as on shirts, stickers, and protest signs. The case comes amid broader political tensions over the federal deployment to DC, a move Trump has defended as necessary to address crime. Data, however, indicates violent crime in the city has been on the decline. The administration is now considering sending agents to other cities, including Chicago, even as local trends show similar drops in crime rates.
British PM Keir Starmer had gone to bat for Peter Mandelson, his ambassador to the US who wrote a note that was included in sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein's so-called birthday bookbut it wasn't enough to save the latter's job. Bloomberg reports that Starmer has fired Mandelson, after some other apparent evidence emerged to change the prime minister's mind. "In light of the additional information in emails written by Peter Mandelson, the prime minister has asked the foreign secretary to withdraw him as ambassador," the UK's Foreign Office said in a statement.

The agency added, per the AP: "The emails show that the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment." The emails referenced by the outlet were messages from Mandelson to Epstein, published Wednesday by the Sun, that were sent right before Epstein was to be sentenced to 18 months in prison for soliciting prostitution from a minor. "Fight for early release," read one of Mandelson's emails to his "best pal"what he called Epstein in his birthday book letterafter which he added, "I think the world of you."

The UK's Foreign Office chief, Stephen Doughty, is defending his agency's hiring process, insisting there was "routine extensive vetting and background checks as a matter of course," per the BBC. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, meanwhile, wrote on X that "Mandelson might have gone but ... Starmer dithered when he needed to be decisive." She added, "There are now serious questions over what Starmer knew and when. We deserve to know."
Israel is currently slated to compete in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, and if so, Ireland wants no part of it. Ireland's national broadcaster, RTE, announced it will pull out of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is allowed to compete. The BBC reports that the move, described as a response to the "ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza," puts Ireland at the forefront of a movement among European nations considering boycotts over Israel's participation.

On Tuesday, a new entry joined Ireland and other nations that have said they won't compete in next year's Eurovision if Israel does. Spain is now balking and warning it won't take part if Israel participates, citing the war in Gaza. The country joins Ireland, Slovenia, and the Netherlands in so far taking that stance ahead of the 2026 musical competition, set to be held in May in Vienna, per the AP . The outlet notes that the decision by Spanish broadcaster RTVE, made at a Madrid board meeting, "puts more pressure on both Israel and the European Broadcasting Union, which organizes the popular contest." The Guardian notes that Spain is the first of the "big five" Eurovision nationsa group that also includes the UK, France, Germany, and Italyto threaten a boycott.

RTE clarified that a final decision hinges on the European Broadcasting Union's forthcoming ruling on Israel's eligibility. The broadcaster added that "RTE is also deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza, the denial of access to international journalists to the territory, and the plight of the remaining hostages." This isn't the first time Ireland has raised the issue. Prior to the 2024 contest, RTE pressed the EBU to address concerns about Israel's inclusion. RTE's director general, Kevin Bakhurst, emphasized the "horrific impact on civilians in Gaza" and said the broadcaster was committed to objectivity in its coverage.

The Guardian reports that Slovenia's RTVSLO has also said it won't participate if Israel does. Spain's culture minister, meawhile, has also hinted at a possible withdrawal. Iceland's broadcaster, RUV, is also threatening a boycott, with a rep saying its participation is "subject to the outcome of the ongoing consultation process within the EBU, due to the participation of the Israeli state broadcaster KAN in the competition." The Guardian notes that participants normally have until October to signal whether they'll compete, but this year's deadline has been postponed to December. The 2026 competition, however slimmed down, takes place in Vienna in May.
In a tribute to Charlie Kirk posted on X Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance said that after he became the nominee and his children were struggling with how their lives were changing, Kirk was always there for him, "constantly calling and texting, checking on our family and offering guidance and prayers." Today, Vance is there for Kirk's family, the Washington Post reports. Sources tell the Post that after Kirk was fatally shot at Utah Valley University, the vice president immediately dropped plans to attend a 9/11 memorial service at Ground Zero. Instead, the sources say, Vance will travel to Salt Lake City with second lady Usha Vance to be with Kirk's family and close friends. A source tells the Wall Street Journal that Vance and Kirk's family will travel to Phoenix with Kirk's casket on Air Force Two.
Former US Sen. Bob Menendez's wife was sentenced Thursday to 4.5 years in prison for selling the powerful New Jersey politician's influence in exchange for bribes of cash, gold bars, and a luxury car. US District Judge Sidney H. Stein sentenced Nadine Menendez, 58, after she was convicted in April of colluding from 2018 to 2023 with her husband, the former Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in a variety of corrupt schemes, some involving assisting the Egyptian government, the AP reports.

In addition to her time behind bars, Stein sentenced her to three years of supervised release. He said he granted leniency in part because of the trial she endured, her difficult childhood in Lebanon, her history of abusive romantic partners, her health conditions, and her age. The judge said a prison term was important for general deterrence purposes. "People have to understand there are consequences," he said.
A panel of Brazilian Supreme Court justices sentenced former President Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years, three months in prison Thursday after convicting him of attempting a military coup to remain in office after his 2022 electoral defeat. A majority of justices on a five-justice court panel earlier in the day voted to find Bolsonaro guilty of plotting a coup, the Guardian reports. Justice Carmen Lucia Antunes Rocha, who cast the deciding vote, said the country's institutions had survived Bolsonaro's attempt to "sow the malignant seed of anti-democracy." At the White House, President Trump told reporters that he was "very unhappy" with the conviction and that he always found Bolsonaro to be "outstanding," per the AP .

Two other justices voted to convict Bolsonaro on Tuesday. A fourth, Justice Luiz Fux, voted to acquit the former president on Wednesday. Fux said that while Bolsonaro's supporters caused "damage of an Amazonian scale" in their "barbaric" storming of government buildings on Jan. 8, 2023, there was no proof Bolsonaro was behind the uprising or a plot to assassinate the election's winner, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and Justice Alexandre de Moraes, one of the justices who voted in favor of conviction Tuesday. Bolsonaro is the first former Brazilian president to be convicted of attempting a coup.

Lawyers for Bolsonaro, 70, plan to appeal the verdict. The former president, who has denied wrongdoing, has not been present in court this week. He is under house arrest at his mansion in Brasilia; officials say they are worried he might seek asylum at the US Embassy. Brazil could face a backlash from the US administration, per the AP. Trump had called the prosecution of his ally a "witch hunt" and cited it as a reason for steep tariffs on imports from Brazil. On Thursday, he pronounced the verdict "very bad for Brazil." Activists in Brazil want the verdict to be a turning point for their country, which has had more than a dozen coup attempts but has pursued political conciliation over prosecution, per the Washington Post.

This file has been updated with additional information.
PRAGUE, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Czech Republic will support Poland with helicopters to protect the country from drones at low altitudes, the Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday.

In response to the "current threats" from drone activity over Polish territory, the ministry said it is ready to send a helicopter unit for special operations, equipped with three specially modified Mi-171S aircraft.

Poland requested the unit following a phone call between Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova and her Polish counterpart Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, the ministry said in a statement.

The number of soldiers will not exceed 150, and will be determined based on the current situation and logistical support possibilities, it added.

"Our helicopters can assist in the defense of European airspace within a few days," Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on social media platform X.

The Polish air forces shot down multiple drones on Wednesday after the country reported its airspace was violated by a "huge number of Russian drones," some of which posed a "direct threat."

Warsaw claimed that this incident marked the first downing of Russian drones over NATO territory, while Moscow dismissed the accusation as groundless.

Russia's Charge d'Affaires in Poland, Andrey Ordash, was quoted by TASS on Wednesday as saying that the drones were from Ukraine. 
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump marked 24 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks at a service at the Pentagon on Thursday. While traditionally observed near the building's memorial outside the Pentagon's walls, the event was moved to the internal courtyard following the assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk, according to a White House official. Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth paid tribute to Kirk in their remarks, the AP reports. Developments include:
Fairbanks, AK (99701)

Today

Variable clouds with snow showers. High 6F. SSE winds shifting to W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 100%. About one inch of snow expected..

Tonight

Cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low -16F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.
DT News: Does the ministry have any plans to benefit from or recycle the excavated rainwater? Eng. Khalaf: The storm water is usually discharged in the sea and other areas. We had attempted to inject it in the under- ground water in a couple of sites across the Kingdom. But recycling also is only done if strict rules are followed. The Supreme Council for the Environment had some environ- mental reservations in regards to this process as they had some concerns over water pollution suspicions, hence the processes were stopped and further discussions are in progress. But, we utilise it in irrigation purposes. We have more work and effort to be implemented in the field of rainwater drainage and recycling. Yet, we have managed to considerably reduce the negative effects of this issue on the public by taking the necessary precautionary measures and procedures ahead of the rainy season. The ministry has offered more tenders to provide tanks and containers to excavate the excessive water from roads and public areas. We have also upgraded the vacuum tankers and provided them with additional pumps to accelerate the process of excavating the water, thats in addition to installing pumps at vital areas and roads to move the water to open areas and ensure that the daily life isnt affected. DT News: What are the main challenges the ministry is facing in tackling the rainwater flooding issue? Eng. Khalaf: One of the biggest challenges we face during the rainy seasons is the uncivil behaviour of some people who remove the covers of sewage manholes and allow the rainwa- ter to enter and mix with the sewerage network. This is a grave matter as such behaviour disrupts and dam- ages the networks. The rainwater, with all its sediments, damages the pumps and other equipment of the sewerage network. This results in the rebound of the sewerage inside homes and other facilities. Such cases were reported recently, as the pumps were damaged and unable to move the sewer- age to the treatment plant. We repeatedly warn the public of the dangerous effects of such behaviours by raising more awareness on the matter through different platforms. Its noteworthy that we have also fulfilled all the requests that were received by municipal councils from citizens this year to install rainwater roof coatings to prevent any leakages inside homes, especially those belonging to the limited and medium income citizens.

DT News: What are the efforts taken to reduce the increasing traffic congestions on the Kingdoms roads? Eng. Khalaf: The infrastructure and urban growth is notice- ably expanding in the country. The growing economy and the numbers of construction permits being issued is also rising. Of course all of these factors increase the pace of transporta- tion, reflected in the growing numbers of vehicles on the roads. In Bahrain, we have an annual growth in traffic movement of five to seven percent. The ministry is working on developing a network of strategic roads and a number of big projects are underway. Theyre mostly funded either through the state budget or the GCC Marshall Plan. The in-hand projects are worth around USD1.2 billion, but they require time to be completed. For this reason, as directed by the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the ministry has adopted a plan to implement smaller projects that have a visible impact on the alleviation of the traffic congestions issue. We have commenced executing these projects on several stages. The first stage includes 11 projects to open new entries, exits and intersections. Eight of them were recently completed in all four governorates. This plan received a positive interac- tion from motorists as it effectively contributed to the reduc- tion of traffic jams. The second stage of the plan will include 16 projects that will be soon announced. DT News: As we speak about traffic jams, what is the work progress of the much-anticipated fourth bridge connecting Manama and Muharraq? Eng. Khalaf: This is one of the most prominent projects being currently implemented by the ministry and is financed by the GCC Marshall Plan. It is part of the Muharraq Ring Road project and connects the northern parts of the Capital, Bahrain Bay and Busaiteen reaching to Diyar Al Muharraq. We have set a budget of USD250 million for the project. Tenders have been offered for the reclamation process and its currently in the evaluation phase. We are hoping that the tender for the construction process would be offered by the first half of 2018. A state-of-the-art design has been approved by the Prime Minister HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa. The project would be ready by the year 2020.

The evening themed Yaadein: A Walk Down The Memory Lane, was a grand show in which students of Class XI presented a variety of cultural programmes along with interesting games. The Grade XII students shared their anecdotes of the time spent in school with the juniors and their beloved teachers. It was a nostalgic moment, the memories of which will be cherished for a lifetime.

















Winners will compete for a total prize money of Rs 300,000.

EXEED understands the personalized needs of consumers in the new era. Taking advantage of human wisdom and embracing the concept of cloud co-creation, the brand has launched a co-creation programme. The programme brings together Stellar owners, motor enthusiasts and cross-border professionals to build cars in the hope of gathering everyones wisdom and strength to create smarter models for the market. The programme will create a better future both for EXEED and for the owners. Relying on Cherys 24-year R & D efforts, five global R & D centres and its supplier system comprised of Fortune 500 companies, EXEED will adhere to the domestic innovation to meet the expectations of users for independent high-end brands. Based on the deep insights into the future travel trends, EXEED boasts the 4F product development concept, which includes free hand, free range, free space, and free life. Stellar, the first model built based on this concept, represents EXEEDs understanding and vision of smart travel in the future. Born for the future Created based on 4F concept for product development, Stellar will realize peoples thoughts of intelligent mobility. It is named Yao Guang in Chinese after the first star of the Big Dipper in ancient China, which helped people distinguish directions and determine seasons.

The Chinese name represents that EXEED will stick with the spirit of the Big Dipper and keep moving forward fearlessly. The design of Stellar is inspired by the links of constellations in the universe. The links between constellations are considered a great breakthrough made by human beings in the effort to observe and explore the starry sky. The imaginary links display romantic aesthetics as well as the spirit of exploration.

The new design will also set the trend of future EXEED products. In addition to the new design, Stellar features high efficiency and low fuel consumption as a result of its GDI engine and super four-wheel drive. The model boasts Level 4 automatic driving and supports FOTA updates for various modules, such as DMC and EMS, allowing for vehicle customization. Furthermore, users can switch between various driving modes freely, such as meeting, entertainment, and gaming. Stellar can be regarded as the first step EXEED has taken in aiming for the future travel market, representing the brands judgment and thinking on future automotive technologies.

We would have gone for seconds but by then, we were saving room for dessert. On the dessert display were churros with chocolate sauce, vanilla cream filled profiteroles, brownies, mille-feuille and a beautiful flan. There was a decadent, tall ten layer chocolate cake as well. The pastry chefs at the hotel really do a great job in preparing and presenting delicious desserts. The churros were irresistible and I may have lost count of how many I had. The vanilla profiteroles were filled with luscious vanilla cream and dipped in white chocolate. They were lip smacking. What we appreciate about the menu at Salero is that every dish is prepared with utmost respect to the flavor of the main ingredient while staying true to authentic Spanish flavors. The live music and exhilarating performance, the delectable meal and friendliness of the staff makes you leave with a smile on your face. Plan your weekend today and head on right over to Salero for their Saturday lunch buffet that will leave you feeling happy and satisfied. If you visit the restaurant this Saturday, you might meet the man behind it all- Chef Jordi Bataller who will be visiting Bahrain this weekend. Salero is open for brunch every Saturday from 1pm-5pm. For reservations, call 17171300 or WhatsApp 33502110.

Multiple opportunities Sam Rahman revealed that the Save a Little Life workshops are held regularly, offering individuals multiple opportunities to enhance their life-saving abilities. Additionally, Rahman disclosed the success of a fundraising campaign initiated by the JPL league, which aims to provide defibrillators for sports teams and facilities in memory of Elliott Walsh, a young boy who tragically passed away due to sudden unexplained death in childhood. The defibrillator fund is a tribute to Elliotts legacy, ensuring that sports teams and facilities have access to life-saving equipment, Rahman explained. He said RLSB is supporting the campaign by providing training for coaches and facilitating the acquisition of defibrillators, further reiterating the commitment to safeguarding lives and honouring the memory of Elliott Walsh.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth welcomes His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and Prime Minister, during a high-level meeting at the Pentagon on Thursday.

His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and Prime Minister (right), attends a high-level meeting at the Pentagon alongside His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Minister of the Prime Ministers Court (centre), and His Excellency Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance and National Economy (left), during the Kingdoms official visit to the United States.

Officials from the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United States hold high-level talks at the Pentagon, led by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and Prime Minister. Also present were His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Minister of the Prime Ministers Court; His Excellency Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance and National Economy; senior officials from both sides; and members of the U.S. media covering the visit.

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'Beautiful moment' Nour Soufan, now 27 years old, was due to meet his father Moussa, who was jailed a few months after his birth, outside of jail for the first time. Soufan and half a dozen relatives came to Ramallah from Nablus, in the north of the West Bank, and spent the night in their vehicle. "I have never seen my father, and this is the first time I will see him. This is a very beautiful moment," Soufan said. Like him, many had defied the travel restrictions that puncture daily life in the Palestinian territory, with Israeli army checkpoints proliferating in two years of war. Palestinian media reported on Sunday that families of detainees had been contacted by Israeli authorities, asking them not to organise mass celebrations. "No reception is allowed, no celebration is allowed, no gatherings," said Alaa Bani Odeh, who came from the northern town of Tammun to find his 20-year-old son who had been jailed for four years. AFP spoke to several prisoners who said that in their first hours of freedom, they would go home and stay with family. During previous releases, mass gatherings had flooded entire streets in Ramallah, with people waving Palestinian flags as well as those of political factions including Hamas.

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TOKYO, Sep 11 (News On Japan) - [20:34] Severe thunderstorms and flooding have prompted authorities in Tokyos Minato Ward to issue a Level 4 evacuation order for parts of the district in landslide warning zones.

The order covers Takanawa, Shirokane, Shirokanedai and Mita. Residents in designated landslide warning areas should evacuate immediately to an official shelter or to the home of relatives or acquaintances in a safe location.

Record-short-duration rainfall alerts were issued repeatedly in Tokyo and Kanagawa, and several rivers in the capital overflowed. In Okusawa, Setagaya Ward, footage taken around 4:00 p.m. showed roads under water and nearby shops flooded. Around Setagaya, about 100 millimeters of rain is believed to have fallen in one hour by 2:30 p.m. A sushi restaurant owner said, "Water spread across the tatami, reaching as far as the television and air conditioner."

On the Tanizawa River in Setagaya, an overflow alert was issued around 2:30 p.m., and the ward issued evacuation orders at 5:00 p.m. to roughly 23,000 households in neighborhoods including Todoroki and Seijo. In Shinagawa Ward, an overflow alert for the Takaiai River was issued around 3:30 p.m., and the ward declared the top-tier Ensure Emergency Safety advisory at 3:50 p.m. for Higashi-Oi 2-chome and Minami-Oi 1-chome. Ota Ward also issued Ensure Emergency Safety in some areas, but it was lifted shortly before 5:30 p.m.

In Meguro Ward, sudden downpours triggered a string of flooding incidents that left parts of several buildings submerged. At a cram school in Jiyugaoka, water rushed in and the basement level was inundated in roughly 10 minutes. According to school staff, no children were on the premises at the time. A nearby head-spa salon also saw water pour into its basement, temporarily trapping two people, including the owner. The owner said, "We realized water was coming into the shop, it rose to around 10 centimeters and pooled up to the window." Firefighters are currently pumping out the water.

Transport was heavily affected. At Haneda Airport, takeoffs and landings were temporarily suspended as thunderclouds approached. All Nippon Airways canceled 31 flights, affecting about 7,500 passengers, while Japan Airlines canceled 19 flights, affecting 4,115 passengers. On the railways, JRs Tokaido Line suspended services in both directions due to heavy rain but resumed operations at around 5:45 p.m. The Tokaido Shinkansen also briefly halted between Tokyo and Shin-Yokohama after rainfall exceeded operational thresholds, and some trains remain delayed.

Source: TBS
The Nobel Prize award ceremony was held on the evening of December 10th, or early on December 11th in Japan, at the Stockholm Concert Hall, where King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden presented the highest honors  the medal and certificate  to Osaka University specially appointed professor Shimon Sakaguchi, 74, the recipient of this years Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and Kyoto University distinguished professor Susumu Kitagawa, 74, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
WINDHOEK, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Namibian government has expressed deep concern over what it described as a violation of Qatar's sovereignty and territorial integrity by Israel.

In a statement issued late Wednesday, Ndiitah Nghipondoka-Robiati, executive director of the Ministry of International Relations and Trade, said the actions contravened the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law.

"The State of Qatar has made sustained and commendable efforts to facilitate negotiations between the concerned parties. It is, therefore, deeply regrettable that these diplomatic efforts have been met with actions that undermine its sovereignty and mediation role," she said.

Namibia reiterated that no nation has the right to violate the territorial integrity and sovereignty of another, adding that respect for international law is fundamental to global order.

The government also called for a just and lasting solution to the conflict in the Middle East, stressing that it could only be achieved through genuine negotiations that address the legitimate concerns of all parties and uphold justice, equality, and mutual respect. 
TOKYO, Sep 12 (News On Japan) - Record-breaking rain pounded Tokyo and Kanagawa on Thursday, triggering river overflows and widespread flooding across the capital region. Streets were inundated in central districts including Setagaya and Shinagawa, and damage from intruding floodwater was reported at homes and shops.

By mid-afternoon on September 12, roads were under water in multiple locations. Around 2:30 p.m. in Akasaka, sheets of rain and thunder reduced visibility to a white haze. Some people took shelter under eaves while clutching children and inching forward through fast-rising water. This is crazy, one passerby muttered as short-duration downpour alerts were issued repeatedly for parts of Tokyo and Kanagawa.

In Shinagawa Ward, the Tachiaigawa overflowed, sending water over its banks and flooding nearby roads as levels rose rapidly; between about 2:45 p.m. and 3:05 p.m., the river surged within roughly 20 minutes toward residential areas. In Setagaya Ward, the Yazawa Rivers level also jumped in about 30 minutes from just after 1:30 p.m., prompting the metropolitan government to announce a flooding event. Setagaya recorded 92 millimeters of rain in one hour, the highest hourly total on record there. Manhole covers were seen displaced as water funneled into the roadway.

Businesses rushed to clean up. At a nearby sushi restaurant, water pushed into the shop. It overflowed and we couldnt hold it back, the owner said. The door came off, and the waterline ran all the way inside.

Transport was heavily disrupted. At Musashi-Kosugi Station in Kawasaki, floodwater entered the concourse and an adjacent supermarket. Ticket gates and long corridors were submerged, and some people walked barefoot with trouser legs held up to keep them dry. Long queues formed at bus stops during the evening commute. The Tokaido Shinkansen temporarily suspended service on some sections.

At Shinagawa Station, rain crashed onto trains like a waterfall from the platform roof, and by night a long line stretched at the taxi stand. I was shocked by the rainand the queue, one passenger said. Another passenger explained, I was supposed to fly today, but flights were halted at Haneda; I came back here, but with JR uncertain Im taking a taxi.

Around 3 p.m., Haneda Airport darkened under thick cloud before being hit by intense rain and lightning. Ground-handling work guiding aircraft was suspended for a time due to approaching thunderclouds. All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines canceled a combined 81 flights on the 11th, affecting roughly 18,000 passengers.

Severe weather was also linked to a fatal accident. At a container terminal in Ota Ward on the evening of the 11th, two male workers were trapped beneath toppled containers; one died and the other was injured. With heavy rain and wind reported at the time, the Metropolitan Police Department is investigating whether the sudden storm contributed to the collapse.

Even after the rain eased, water receded slowly in places. In Kawasaki, a flooded road left a truck stranded and several people pushed to move it; a white passenger car also became immobile and was towed by police. I was bringing my child an umbrella to school and was heading home when my car stalledprobably the battery, the driver said. Many schoolchildren walked home through flooded streets. A nearby convenience store taped a handwritten Closed notice to its door as water flowed out past scattered merchandise.

Damage extended to road surfaces. In Kodaira City, asphalt buckled and cracked open, with large pieces peeled back. A sizable chunk of concrete, apparently part of a manhole structure, lay nearby. Video from the scene showed water shooting from a manhole cover like a geyser, rising above the height of a passing truck. There was a tremendous downpour, a resident said. After a while the cover blew off and hit a carit made a huge noise.

In Shinagawa, an imported-goods shop stayed shuttered while staff spent the night bailing water. We wipe and wipe but it just keeps coming, one worker said. Were wringing out cloths and tossing the water. Most of the stores products are one-of-a-kind items imported from overseas.

Source: TBS
TOKYO, Sep 12 (News On Japan) - Fukuoka Prefectural Police have arrested six Japanese nationals believed to be members of the Philippines-based crime group JP Dragon on suspicion of involvement in special fraud cases targeting people in Japan.

The six arrived at Narita Airport and are being transferred to Fukuoka Prefecture. Television footage showed the detainees with hats pulled low and their heads down as they were escorted by police.

According to investigators, the six allegedly conspired in April 2023 to pose as police officers, telephone an elderly man living in Warabi, Saitama Prefecture, and then visit his home to steal his cash cards. Police say one of the six is believed to have served as a coordinator.

Seven members of JP Dragon, including the six, were detained by authorities in the Philippines in May. Of these, six were deported to Japan on September 10th and arrested upon arrival.

Police describe JP Dragon as a Philippines-based criminal group formed by former Japanese gang members that repeatedly carries out special-fraud scamsoften police-impersonation schemes to steal cash cardsagainst Japanese residents. Investigators say the group is suspected of links to more than 200 such cases nationwide. They also say the alleged leader, Ryuji Yoshioka, 55, was detained by Philippine authorities in June.

Source: KBC
Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. is listed for trading in United States dollars on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol "CUP.U".

GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands, Sept. 11, 2025 /CNW/ - Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. ("CUC or "the Company") celebrated its 35th anniversary of trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") yesterday in Toronto, Canada. President and CEO, Mr. Richard Hew rang the bell to open the day's trading.

Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd celebrates 35 years of trading (CNW Group/Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd.)

The day marked a momentous occasion in the history of CUC, as the Company commemorated its pioneering achievement of becoming the first Cayman-based enterprise to attain listing on an international stock exchange. This landmark event, which began with the official commencement of trading on September 10, 1990, signalled the start of a transformative journeyone defined by innovation, resilience, and a steadfast commitment to global excellence.

The commemorative event welcomed members of the CUC's Executive Team, the Board of Directors, and key partners who have played an integral role in CUC's growth and success. This historic listing has served as a strategic gateway for CUC to access global capital markets, enabling vital investments in infrastructure that have strengthened the foundation of the Cayman Islands economy.

Over the past three and a half decades, these investments in infrastructure, to achieve reliable electricity services, have empowered critical sectors in Grand Cayman including financial services, transportation, tourism, and public services, driving long-term development and fostering economic resilience. By channeling resources into projects that benefit both current and future generations. CUC has played a part in shaping a more prosperous and sustainable future for Grand Cayman. As CUC continues to build on this legacy, the Company remains committed to innovation, community impact, and economic progress.

Mr. Hew stated: "Our listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 1990 marked a pivotal momentit opened the door to greater investment and positioned us to keep pace with Grand Cayman's growing economic landscape. Being listed on the TSX is a defining milestone for any company, and for us it carries even greater significance. It means transparency, accountability, and access to capital that allows us to invest in the infrastructure and innovation our customers depend on. For shareholders, it represents a unique opportunity: a stable, regulated business model with predictable cash flows, paired with growth potential. As we celebrate 35 years of being a publicly listed company, we remain proud to be associated with the Toronto Stock Exchange."

The listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange has also enabled CUC to offer a Customer Share Purchase Plan. This plan empowers the community by promoting economic inclusion and shared prosperity, enabling customers to become stakeholders in the Company's long-term success. The goal is for the financial returns for customer-shareholders to grow simultaneously, and those returns can then be reinvested into the community. CUC reaffirms its strategic direction and commitment to delivering increased shareholder value while lowering customer costs through efficient and innovative investments.

For more information on how to become a CUC shareholder, please email [email protected] or visit the CUC website at www.cuc-cayman.com.

Forward looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon future events or conditions, or include words such as "expects", "anticipates", "plan", "believes", "estimates", "intends", "targets", "projects", "forecasts", "schedule", or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "may", "will", "should", "would" and "could". Forward looking statements are based on underlying assumptions and management's beliefs, estimates and opinions, and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations generally that may cause actual results to vary from plans, targets and estimates. Some of the important risks and uncertainties that could affect forward looking statements are described in the MD&A in the section labelled "Business Risks" and include but are not limited to operational, general economic, market and business conditions, regulatory developments and weather. CUC cautions readers that actual results may vary significantly from those expected should certain risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required by law.

SOURCE Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd.

Jessica Pawlik, Manager, External Communications, Phone: (345) 914-1164, E-Mail: [email protected]
Essex Home Hardware Building Centre in Southwestern Ontario Wins Walter J. Hachborn Store of the Year

TORONTO, Sept. 11, 2025 /CNW/ - Home Hardware Stores Limited proudly announced the recipients of the annual Proud of My Home Achievement Awards at the 2025 Homecoming event in Toronto. The highest honour of the evening, the Walter J. Hachborn Store of the Year Award, was presented to Essex Home Hardware Building Centre in Essex, Ontario.

John Pierce, Chief Retail Operations Officer, HHSL; Brent Seguin, Dealer, Essex HHBC; Larry Seguin, Dealer, Essex HHBC; Kimberly Seguin-Gauthier, Dealer, Essex HHBC; Ian White, President & CEO, HHSL; and Darrin Sayles, Senior Director of Retail Sales and Operations, HHSL at the Proud of My Home Achievement Awards. (CNW Group/Home Hardware Stores Limited)

The Store of the Year Award recognizes the Home store that best upholds the values on which Home Hardware was co-founded by Walter J. Hachborn 60 years agovalue, service, and dependability. The Essex team was also recognized as Best Home Hardware Building Centre  Central Region. To accept the award on behalf of the store were Dealer-Owners Brent Seguin, Kimberly Seguin-Gauthier, and their father, Larry Seguin.

"This honour is the highlight of an unforgettable year for our family and our stores as we celebrated 60 years of serving our communities," said Kimberly Seguin-Gauthier, Dealer-Owner, Essex Home Hardware Building Centre. "No matter how much we've grown, our heart is still in that small-town, spirit that connects us to our community."

The Seguin family's roots in retail stretch back four generations. Larry's grandmother first ran a feed store in the region, providing the foundation for his father, Arthur, to partner with Home Hardware's Walter J. Hachborn in 1965. Larry expanded the business in the 1980s, later welcoming Brent and Kimberly into the fold, who now proudly carry on the family tradition.

"The Seguin family exemplifies what it means to be part of the Home Hardware family," said John Pierce, Chief Retail Operations Officer, Home Hardware Stores Limited. "Their leadership, dedication to their team, and commitment to their community represent the very best of our brand. We are thrilled to recognize them with this year's Store of the Year Award."

The Walter J. Hachborn Store of the Year Award is one of 18 awards presented at Homecoming 2025. Home Hardware is honoured to recognize stores across Canada for their retail excellence and outstanding contributions to their communities.

PROUD OF MY HOME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

All Proud of My Home Achievement Award recipients demonstrate strong staff performance, superior customer service, excellence in interior and exterior store presentation and active participation within their communities.

Congratulations to Essex Home Hardware Building Centre and the following stores, that were presented with a Proud of My Home Achievement Award:

Paul Straus Public Relations Award: Coutts Home Hardware  Forestburg, Alberta

Best Home Furniture: Beck's Home Furniture and Appliances  Montague, P.E.I.

Best Home Hardware:

Fennell & Gage Home Hardware  Hamilton, Ont. (Central)

Kinlock Home Hardware  Stratford, P.E.I. (Eastern)

Nowco Home Hardware  Lacombe, Alta. (Western)

Quincaillerie Home Hardware - Aylmer  Gatineau, Que. (Quebec)

Best Home Building Centre:

Home Building Centre - Lindsay  Lindsay, Ont. (Central)

Blackville Home Building Centre  Blackville, N.B. (Eastern)

Winnipeg Beach Home Building Centre  Winnipeg Beach, Man. (Western)

Nadeau Materiaux de Construction Inc.  Cap-d'Espoir, Que. (Quebec)

Best Home Hardware Building Centre:

Essex Home Hardware Building Centre  Essex, Ont. (Central)

Bennett's Home Hardware Building Centre  Goulds, Nfld. (Eastern)

Meadow Lake Home Hardware Building Centre  Meadow Lake, Sask. (Western)

Renomax Roberval  Roberval, Que. (Quebec)

Best Young Retailer:

Wellesley Home Centre, Jamie Kuepfer  Wellesley, Ont. (Central)

Richibucto Home Hardware Building Centre, Julien Richard  Richibucto, N.B. (Eastern)

Carlyle Home Hardware, Katie Gavelin  Carlyle, Sask. (Western)

Jean Denis, Limitee, Felix Antoine Moisan  Saint-Raymond, Que. (Quebec)

About Home Hardware Stores Limited

Founded over 60 years ago in St. Jacobs, Ontario, Home Hardware Stores Limited is proudly Canadian and the country's largest Dealer-owned and operated home improvement retailer with more than 1,000 stores operating under the Home Hardware, Home Building Centre, Home Hardware Building Centre and Home Furniture banners. The Home Hardware Dealer network improves life at home by providing superior home improvement retail experiences through helpful advice and a deep understanding of the communities they serve. Home Hardware Stores Limited is designated as one of Canada's Best Managed Companies and recognized as one of Canada's Best Employers. More information about the company is available at homehardware.ca.

SOURCE Home Hardware Stores Limited

For more information, please contact: [email protected]
KAMLOOPS, BC, Sept. 11, 2025 /CNW/ - Progressive Planet (TSXV: PLAN) (OTCQB: ASHXF) ("Progressive Planet", "PLAN", or the "Company") is proud to provide highlights for the first quarter ended July 31, 2025.

Financial Highlights include the following when compared to the first quarter of the prior year:

Net income increased 328% to $1,597,712 ,

increased 328% to , Revenue increased by 27% to $5,914,187 ,

increased by 27% to , Gross profit increased by 46% to $2,276,982 , and

increased by 46% to , and The Company repaid $412,839 of its long-term bank debt.

During the most recently completed fiscal year that ended on April 30, 2025, annual revenues were flat, as was disclosed in the news release issued on August 21, 2025. This changed in the current quarter, where the company saw material growth in revenue compared to the first quarter of the prior fiscal year. The revenue increase was driven by strong demand for the Company's products across all major product categories.

The Company also enjoyed higher gross margins (38.5% in the current quarter compared to 33.5% in the comparable quarter), in part by controlling fixed costs while increasing revenues. As a result, the Company achieved record gross profit in the current quarter.

"All the credit is due to our team of 60 people working in unison to grow shareholder value while making products that we are all proud of," stated Steve Harpur, CEO.

Certain information provided in this news release is extracted from the consolidated financial statements (the "Financial Statements") and Management's Discussion & Analysis ("MD&A") of the Company for the three-month period ended July 31, 2025, and should be read in conjunction with them. It is only in the context of the fulsome information and disclosures contained in the Financial Statements and MD&A that an investor can properly analyze this information. The Financial Statements and MD&A can be found under the Company's profile on SEDAR+.

This news release contains a financial measure not prepared in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards. This measure, Gross Margin, is referred to as "non-IFRS" measures and is defined below. The Company's management believes this non-IFRS measure provides investors with additional information for the analysis of the Company's results of operations, particularly in evaluating performance from one period to another. The Company's management uses non-IFRS financial measures to make operating decisions, as they facilitate additional internal comparisons of the Company's performance to historical results and to competitors' results.

Gross margin: This ratio expresses gross profit as a percentage of revenue for a given period. It assists in explaining the Company's results from period to period and measuring profitability. This ratio is calculated by dividing gross profit for a period by the corresponding revenue for the period. There is no directly comparable IFRS measure.

About Progressive Planet:

Progressive Planet, based in Kamloops, British Columbia, is redefining sustainability with our Products for a Healthy Planet. By leveraging owned mineral assets and recycled materials, we develop patented and patent-pending innovations that promote a healthier planet.

Our C-Quester Centre of Sustainable Solutions leads advancements in low-carbon cement technologies. Progressive Planet's products are proudly available in over 10,000 retail locations across North America. For more information, visit progressiveplanet.com .

Progressive Planet provides regular information for investors on its website: progressiveplanet.com/investors/ . This includes press releases and other information about financial performance, patents filed, and information on corporate governance.

Register for our upcoming webinar with Radius Research where CEO Stephen Harpur reviews, discusses, and answers investors questions on Progressive Planet's F2025 Annual Results (Apr) and Q1 F2026 (July) financial results.

Date and Time: Wednesday, September 17 @ 4:30 PM ET / 1:30 PM PT

Public Registration Link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/4117575248650/WN_9srw-7G4TMCQMGk3rHiBrw

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which reflect the expectations of management regarding the matters described herein including statements regarding the development of future products. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance, or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. These forward-looking statements reflect management's current views and are based on certain expectations, estimates and assumptions which may prove to be incorrect. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including factors beyond the Company's control. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release.

Disclaimer:

This news release, required by Canadian laws, does not constitute an offer of securities and is not for distribution or dissemination outside Canada.

SOURCE Progressive Planet Solutions Inc.

For further information or investor relations inquiries, please contact: Steve Harpur, CEO, 1 (800) 910-3072, [email protected]
CANBERRA, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Researchers in Australia have joined a global team to observe a collision of two black holes, violent and energetic events in the cosmos, in detail never before seen.

The research, involving Australian scientists, provides strong evidence confirming the late British physicist Stephen Hawking's 1971 theory that black holes can only grow in size and never shrink, according to a statement released Thursday by the Australian National University (ANU).

The black hole merger, detected on Jan. 14, 2025, about 1.3 billion light-years away, produced a gravitational wave signal so clear that scientists could precisely measure and compare the surface areas of the two original black holes, each 30 to 40 times the mass of the sun, with that of the newly formed larger black hole, it said.

The results demonstrate that the size of the final black hole area is bigger than the sum of the originals, providing the best evidence yet to support Hawking's hypothesis, said ANU researcher Neil Lu, one of the study's lead Australian authors.

"When two black holes merge to become one, it causes the final, larger black hole to vibrate like a struck bell, ringing out into the cosmos," Lu said.

This represents "the strongest and cleanest black hole 'note' we've ever heard," matching predictions from Einstein's theory, he said.

"We've just witnessed the laws of thermodynamics play out on the grandest scales imaginable," said lead researcher Teagan Clarke from Australia's Monash University.

This result represents a new step towards understanding the quantum properties of black holes, Clarke said.

The findings, published in the American Physical Society's Physical Review Letters, mark a decade of progress in the global gravitational-wave-hunting network, known as the LVK Collaboration, since the first-ever gravitational wave detection in 2015. 
PHNOM PENH, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia earned 328.3 million U.S. dollars in revenue from exports of natural rubber latex in the first eight months of 2025, which was equal to the same amount it made over the same period last year, said an official report on Thursday.

The report, released by the General Directorate of Rubber, showed that the kingdom exported 183,910 tons of the commodity during the January-August period this year, down 12 percent from 209,733 tons over the same period last year.

However, the domestic consumption of rubber latex saw a significant rise of 89 percent to 75,523 tons in the first eight months, generating a gross revenue from local sales of nearly 137 million dollars, the report said.

"A ton of rubber latex averagely costs 1,786 U.S. dollars during the first eight months of 2025, about 220 dollars higher than that of the same period in 2024," Khun Kakada, deputy director general of the General Directorate of Rubber, said in the report.

The Southeast Asian nation exports the commodity mainly to Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore and China. 
A burned car is pictured at the gas tanker truck explosion accident site in Mexico City, Mexico, Sept. 10, 2025. Fifty-seven people were injured after a gas tanker truck exploded on Wednesday in Mexico City, with 19 of them in serious condition, local authorities said. (Str/Xinhua)

MEXICO CITY, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Fifty-seven people were injured after a gas tanker truck exploded on Wednesday in Mexico City, with 19 of them in serious condition, local authorities said.

The accident occurred on the Zaragoza road under the Concordia bridge, said Clara Brugada Molina, head of government of the Mexican capital, on the social media platform X.

It took place at around 2:20 p.m. local time when the truck, with a capacity of 49,500 liters, overturned, and the injured have been rushed to different hospitals, she told local media.

The accident also affected 18 vehicles, and 19 of the injured transferred to hospitals are in serious condition, said the official.

Police have guarded the accident area, and roadblocks have been put up in the vicinity as security measures for residents and also to preserve the scene for the investigation to determine precisely the causes of the accident, according to local authorities. 

Firefighters work at the gas tanker truck explosion accident site in Mexico City, Mexico, Sept. 10, 2025. Fifty-seven people were injured after a gas tanker truck exploded on Wednesday in Mexico City, with 19 of them in serious condition, local authorities said. (Str/Xinhua)

Firefighters work at the gas tanker truck explosion accident site in Mexico City, Mexico, Sept. 10, 2025. Fifty-seven people were injured after a gas tanker truck exploded on Wednesday in Mexico City, with 19 of them in serious condition, local authorities said. (Str/Xinhua)

Firefighters work at the gas tanker truck explosion accident site in Mexico City, Mexico, Sept. 10, 2025. Fifty-seven people were injured after a gas tanker truck exploded on Wednesday in Mexico City, with 19 of them in serious condition, local authorities said. (Str/Xinhua)

A burned car is pictured at the gas tanker truck explosion accident site in Mexico City, Mexico, Sept. 10, 2025. Fifty-seven people were injured after a gas tanker truck exploded on Wednesday in Mexico City, with 19 of them in serious condition, local authorities said. (Str/Xinhua)

Firefighters work at the gas tanker truck explosion accident site in Mexico City, Mexico, Sept. 10, 2025. Fifty-seven people were injured after a gas tanker truck exploded on Wednesday in Mexico City, with 19 of them in serious condition, local authorities said. (Str/Xinhua)

Firefighters work at the gas tanker truck explosion accident site in Mexico City, Mexico, Sept. 10, 2025. Fifty-seven people were injured after a gas tanker truck exploded on Wednesday in Mexico City, with 19 of them in serious condition, local authorities said. (Str/Xinhua)

A burned car is pictured at the gas tanker truck explosion accident site in Mexico City, Mexico, Sept. 10, 2025. Fifty-seven people were injured after a gas tanker truck exploded on Wednesday in Mexico City, with 19 of them in serious condition, local authorities said. (Str/Xinhua)

Photo taken on Sept. 10, 2025 shows the gas tanker truck explosion accident site in Mexico City, Mexico. Fifty-seven people were injured after a gas tanker truck exploded on Wednesday in Mexico City, with 19 of them in serious condition, local authorities said. (Str/Xinhua)
UPDATE: A suspect in the shooting was found at a nearby housing development and taken into custody, the Galloway Township Police Department said in statement shortly after 5 p.m. The identity of the person and specific charges have not yet been released.

Students at Stockton University were ordered to shelter in place for about three hours while police investigated a shooting near the Galloway Township campus that injured at least one person, according to administrators.

One person was shot near West Jimmie Leeds Road and Redwood Avenue around 12:52 p.m. Thursday, Galloway Township police said. Meanwhile, the university said authorities were searching for two suspect who fled the scene in a white Honda SUV.

The university lifted the shelter in place around 4 p.m.

The decision to issue the directive was made out of an abundance of caution, following notification from the Stockton University Police Department of a reported shooting incident in the surrounding off-campus area, Stockton University President Joe Bertolino said in a statement. While the incident did not occur on campus, the safety of our students, faculty, and staff is always our highest priority.

One of the suspects was described as a white male with a green shirt and long blond hair, the university said. The car is believed to have driven through the campus.

The area where the shooting happened is near Vera King Farris Drive, the winding road that leads to Stocktons main campus.

The university issued a shelter-in-place order at 1:19 p.m., according to an alert from campus officials. Students and staff were urged to stay indoors and not exit until the order was lifted.

Illissa Forman, a junior hospitality major, was walking from the campuss library when a mass-text alert appeared on students phones. Students around here began quickly walking toward safe areas. She stayed with a friend at their on-campus apartment, mindful to stay clear of windows.

The situation was particularly worrisome because of the recent string of violence this week in the U.S.

Its definitely scary that its so close to home, Forman said. I feel like every day, it just gets closer and closer to home.

Galloway Township police were expected to release more information as the investigation unfolded. Meanwhile, the university cancelled afternoon and evening classes.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Eric Conklin may be reached at econklin@njadvancemedia.com.
A former Mount Laurel police officer who admitted earlier this year that he hacked into multiple womens social media accounts and distributed their nude photos was sentenced last week to 12 years in state prison, authorities said.

Ayron Taylor, 25, of Moorestown, pleaded guilty in March to second-degree elements of computer theft and second-degree official misconduct, according to a statement from the Burlington County Prosecutors Office.

The investigation began in September 2022 when a woman contacted the Evesham Township police to report that her Snapchat and Facebook accounts had been hacked by an unknown person, the office said.

The hacker then sent photos she had taken of herself to her Snapchat contacts, messaged them to her Facebook friends, and posted them on her Facebook wall, she told police.

Taylor, who was a rookie officer with the Mount Laurel Police Department at the time, was arrested on Oct. 21, 2022, and charged with three counts of computer crime, invasion of privacy and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, investigators said.

As the investigation continued, 18 more women were found to have been victimized by Taylor, police said.

In these cases, he was also accused of accessing their social media and email accounts and, in several instances, distributing their nude photos to people on their contact lists, officials said.

Investigators determined that all the victims had a student email account through Rowan College in Burlington County, the office said.

Detectives learned that Taylor illegally accessed approximately 5,000 email accounts associated with the college, authorities said.

Taylor hacked the accounts from his personal devices while on duty as a patrol officer, according to the statement.

He became a full-time police officer with the Mount Laurel Police Department after graduating from the police academy in October 2021, officials said.

The department immediately suspended him following the initial charges. He later resigned after measures were taken to terminate his employment, the office said.

You cannot hide from us in cyberspace  we are there, too, and we know how to find you, Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw said in statement. This was an extremely nightmarish invasion of privacy for these victims. It was made even more egregious by the fact that the person who was terrorizing these young ladies was a law enforcement officer.
A Camden man, his wife and son have been charged in the murder of a 48-year-old Deptford man whose body remains missing, authorities said Thursday.

Everton Thomas, 41, has been charged with first-degree murder, second-degree desecration of human remains and fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence in the death of Harold Miller Jr., the Camden County Prosecutors Office said.

Thomass wife, Sherry Parker, 41, and his son, Deshawn Thomas, 22, were charged with second-degree desecration of human remains and fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence, officials said.

According to the prosecutors office, surveillance footage showed Miller entering a residence shortly before 11:30 a.m. on June 12, but he was never seen leaving the property. After he entered the home, a single gunshot was heard, authorities said.

Everton Thomas was later seen on surveillance footage moving Millers vehicle and parking it in Pennsauken, authorities said.

Miller was reported missing to the Deptford Police Department on June 14 after his vehicle was discovered. Investigators were told that Miller had been playing cards with friends in Camden on June 12.

Parker and Deshawn Thomas allegedly purchased a chainsaw, trash bags, containers and other cleaning supplies following the incident, officials said.

Everton Thomas and Deshawn Thomas then made several trips to dumpsters at nearby Tamarack Apartments. They also loaded containers and trash bags into a vehicle, surveillance footage showed.

During a search of the familys residence on June 20, authorities discovered that Everton Thomas was carrying a loaded firearm with nine rounds in a ten-round magazine. Though he was not yet charged, Everton Thomas fled to Canada the next day, authorities said.

Later in the investigation, authorities discovered that Millers DNA matched the DNA from bloodstains in the residence.

Parker and Deshawn Thomas were arrested in Camden on Sept. 8 by the U.S. Marshals Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force  Camden Division, officials said.

Everton Thomas was arrested at the Port of Buffalo, New York by U.S. Customs and Border Protection after he reentered the U.S. on a commercial bus.

Parker and Deshawn Thomas are being held at the Camden County Correctional Facility, while Everton Thomas is in custody at a New York correctional facility, pending extradition to New Jersey.

Anyone with information may contact Det. Jake Siegfried, of the prosecutors office, at 856-225-5086, or Det. Andrew Mogck, of the Camden County Police Department, at 609-519-8588.
A woman living in New Jersey is accused of lying on a voter registration application after stating she was a U.S. citizen, officials with the U.S. Attorneys Office in Philadelphia said on Thursday.

Emily Custodio, 51, of Clementon, was charged with one count of voter fraud and made her initial appearance in federal court on Wednesday.

In July 2020, Custodio, who is a citizen of the Philippines and does not hold U.S. citizenship, registered to vote in Philadelphia.

Her application was approved based on her false statements, and she appeared in person to vote in Philadelphia in the general election on Nov. 3, 2020, officials said.

Custodio presented a photo ID and signed the poll book verifying she was legally eligible to vote in the election, according to officials.

An attorney for Custodio did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A teacher says she was fired after reporting misconduct by a colleague at Pinelands Regional High School in Little Egg Harbor. Jim Lowney | For NJ Advance Media

A former teacher is suing the Pinelands Regional School District after claiming she was fired for reporting a colleagues inappropriate conduct  including his relationship with a junior at the high school.

Melissa Pomphrey, a veteran special education teacher, filed a lawsuit against the school district, the principal of Pinelands High School, the districts director of special services and another district employee.

Pomphrey said she reported concerns about a paraprofessional at the Little Egg Harbor Township school whom she frequently observed with a student he was not assigned to support. The suit claims the paraprofessional would frequently invite this underage student to hang out with him after school.

Pomphreys concerns about the situation grew when she learned the paraprofessional and other school employees were participating in what she describes as pedophile parties, where attendees would allegedly dress as their favorite pedophile, according to the lawsuit.

Her lawsuit, filed Aug. 22 in Ocean County Superior Court, accuses the district and others of whistleblower retaliation, disability discrimination and wrongful discharge.

Pinelands Regional School District Superintendent Melissa A. McCooley issued a statement dismissing the allegations.

The Pinelands Regional School District takes all matters involving the safety and well-being of our students with the utmost seriousness. However, we will not dignify this baseless lawsuit with a response, McCooley said.

Pomphfrey has been an educator for 20 years. While at Pinelands High School, she taught a class of six students with autism, ages 16 to 21, the suit says.

The lawsuit claims the district failed to adequately investigate or address Pomphreys concerns about the paraprofessionals alleged behavior. According to the suit, the paraprofessional was reassigned to another classroom and remains employed by the district.

The suit claims administrators eliminated Pomphreys high school position working with special education students and reassigned her to teach middle school, which she considered a demotion.

The curriculum Pomphrey was required to teach was insulting and degrading to the students and conflicted with her educational principles, according to the lawsuit.

She immediately experienced severe symptoms of anxiety and depression because of the demotion, the suit states.

After her transfer to middle school, Pomphrey took unpaid disability leave in November, according to the lawsuit. By May, the district notified her that her contract would not be renewed  a move the suit characterizes as unlawful termination.

Pomphrey is seeking reinstatement, back pay, legal fees and court-ordered training for district officials on discrimination and retaliation.

Her attorney, Matthew A. Luber, praised his clients decision to come forward.

The allegations in the complaint are disturbing to say the least. We are proud of our client for standing up for herself and the students. She looks forward to her day in court, Luber said.

No trial date has been set.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Liz Rosenberg may be reached at lrosenberg@njadvancemedia.com.
TEHRAN, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, stressed on Wednesday the necessity of a united and decisive position to counter Israeli "aggression" following Israel's recent airstrike on the Qatari capital of Doha.

In his phone call with Sisi, Pezeshkian condemned Israel's "criminal aggression" against Qatar, saying such actions showed that Israel was committed to no international framework or regulations and would attack any country at will without any consideration.

He stressed that under such circumstances, the adoption of a "united and decisive" position by the Muslim world was an inevitable necessity to prevent the continuation of Israel's "inhumane" actions against Islamic states.

Sisi, for his part, said that recent Israeli actions had further made it necessary to adopt a common and decisive stance in the face of Israel and counter its "expansionist" objectives aimed at dominating the region.

Israel launched an unprecedented airstrike on Doha on Tuesday, targeting a building used by senior Hamas officials in what Israeli authorities described as an attempt to kill leaders of the Palestinian group.

In the phone call, the two sides also discussed an agreement signed between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency in Cairo on Tuesday on resuming cooperation suspended since June, as well as the Tehran-Cairo relations, according to a statement published on the website of the Iranian president's office. 
A 3-year-old boy with autism suffered bruises and contusions in his first day in a new classroom on Tuesday. Reader submitted photos

Police are investigating how a 3-year-old New Jersey boy with autism got bruises and other injuries during his first day in a new classroom, authorities said.

Alexandra Dominguez said her son had no injuries when she dropped him off Tuesday morning at the Early Childhood Center at Quitman Street Community School, a public school in Newark. But the boy was injured and upset when she picked him up at 3:15 p.m., she said.

Dominguez said no one from the school notified her when her nonverbal son was injured in his preschool class.

When I got to the school they told me I was making too big a deal of it, that I couldnt call the police, that I couldnt call the ambulance, Dominguez told NJ Advance Media on Thursday. They were telling me we dont do that here.

School officials were trying to downplay it, like this is normal, she said.

Newark school officials didnt immediately respond to a request to comment.

Newark police said Dominguez reported the incident, which remains under investigation.

The boy had a small bruise on his right ear, a bump to the back of his head with three marks, another mark on his forehead, contusions to the left side of his head and marks to the right side of his head above his ear, his mother said.

School officials told police the child had jumped on his cot in class, then slipped and scratched his head on the cot.

The boy was taken to an area hospital Tuesday afternoon.

Dominguez said that when she arrived at school she was told different stories by different people. One adult said he fell off a cot during a nap. Another told her that the toddler was hurt when jumped off the cot.

As soon as I saw him I knew something wrong was happening, she said. The most concerning part is nobody called me when this happened. They didnt take him to the nurse.

Two teachers are responsible for seven or eight students, Dominguez said.

Dominguez said her son began attending the school on Sept. 2 but was moved to a different class on Tuesday because his Individualized Education Program, known as an IEP, was changed.

His mother said she will not be sending her son back to the school.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.

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Some educators in New Jersey are beginning to incorporate artificial intelligence in their classrooms. Getty Images

Erin Cutillo is always telling her students she wishes she could clone herself.

And now she can  sort of.

The technology teacher at Memorial Elementary School in Howell began playing around with artificial intelligence a few years ago. She used it sparingly, like the time she incorporated her students names in an age-appropriate scary story to read aloud for Halloween.

She didnt regularly deploy AI in the classroom until she attended a session in March on chatbots at an educational technology conference.

That was a game changer, said Cutillo, who has been teaching since 2004, including in third, fourth and fifth grade. It made a huge difference to me.

Through SchoolAI, a Utah-based AI platform, Cutillo created a chatbot to act as a teachers assistant. She copied and pasted instructions to a Google Slides assignment, so her students could ask the chatbot for help and receive assistance in real-time.

Not only did it help them, it also offered Cutillo valuable intel. By reviewing the students chatbot questions, she could tell who was struggling  those asking basic questions  and who had mastered the assignment  those wasting time with the bot. Cutillo then devoted more time to the students who needed help.

The one thing that we need is more time, she said of teachers. And this gives you more time.

For the past few years, students use of artificial intelligence has generated scores of alarming headlines, ranging from academic integrity concerns to AI-generated photo scandals. But some New Jersey teachers are now incorporating generative artificial intelligence  AI that can create new text, photos and other materials  in the classroom to augment lessons or enhance learning.

Scores of school districts are fostering cautious exploration of artificial intelligence for practical learning tools, mirroring state officials larger embrace of the new technology.

Its unclear exactly how many of the roughly 118,000 public school teachers in New Jersey use AI in the classroom, but so far its been a largely uneven landscape.

Some of the applications are coming from teachers in more affluent districts, but school officials are also employing AI tools in less wealthy areas like Newark.

And its not even a factor of the usual things, like demographics, said Betsy Ginsburg, the executive director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools. Its more related to interest. So the people who are interested in tech innovations will immediately gravitate to AI.

Others will follow, she added. If one teacher finds something thats a really great educational tool, they tell their colleagues about it and then people kind of jump on board.

In January, the state awarded $1.5 million in grants to fund artificial intelligence education and new AI-related career programs in public schools. Some school districts are also investing portions of their own budgets into AI products.

I think theres fear, but I think theres also a recognition as you learn more about it, that if used properly, this can be a powerful tool, said Mark Russo, a director of curriculum for the Pascack Valley Regional High School District. But we have to be very careful in the way we do it.

An explosion of startups and established companies are offering slick new AI products and targeted training to educators and school administrators.

For instance, the nations second largest teachers union recently announced a $23 million initiative with Microsoft and OpenAI, an artificial intelligence company, to provide free access to AI and training to all American Federation of Teachers members, starting with K-12 educators.

If I had $5 for every ad Ive seen for AI training from vendors, I would be a rich woman, Ginsburg said with a laugh.

Cutillo, the Howell teacher, has used the technology in other ways.

When her school had Down syndrome and autism awareness months, she used a chatbot so the curious elementary students could ask thoughtful questions about the diagnoses.

Does Down syndrome hurt? What does it feel like? Can you get married and have kids?

They just got a lot more personal with it, and they asked a lot more meaningful questions than if it were just them asking me, said Cutillo, who is able to monitor every chatbot conversation to ensure its appropriate and on topic.

The chatbot itself also redirects the conversation if students veer off.

Noemi Rodriguez-Grimshaw, a Spanish teacher at Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, uses AI to help plan and create her curriculum and resources. Students in the district have access to Gemini, Googles AI tool, which integrates into the other Google products.

Rodriguez-Grimshaw has also designed several chatbots for her students to use, enabling them to converse in Spanish with a practice partner or interview dead historical figures such as Mexican painter Frida Kahlo or labor leader Cesar Chavez.

And shes looking into platforms that enable live AI video conversations to help students practice their language skills, provided the student and their family are comfortable with it. One of those platforms is Speakology AI, which offers AI language instructors for students.

If students dont want to participate, she will find an alternative assignment, she said.

Rodriguez-Grimshaw and other educators recognize the concerns surrounding AI  ranging from environmental impacts to students safety to accuracy concerns. Theres also the lack of regulation and a fear of overdependence on the technology  for both students and teachers.

I dont want everything to always go through artificial intelligence, because I want their minds to be doing the work, said Rodriguez-Grimshaw, noting the same goes for her as a teacher.

I need to still be in that drivers seat, she said.

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Brianna Kudisch may be reached at bkudisch@njadvancemedia.com.
A man was arrested after jumping off of a cruise ship to avoid paying a gambling debt of over $16,000. Mystic Stock Photography

A man who jumped off a cruise ship to avoid paying a huge gambling debt has been charged with a federal crime.

Jey Gonzalez-Diaz, a guest on a Royal Caribbean cruise, disembarked the ship over the weekend to avoid paying off a $16,000 debt from gambling, according to CBS News.

The man jumped ship near the Port of San Juan in Puerto Rico as the Rhapsody of the Seas vessel returned from Barbados on Sunday. Gonzalez-Diaz made the leap during a U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspection.

Surveillance video shows Gonzalez-Diaz then being taken to shore by someone riding a jet ski nearby.

@cbsnews A man who went overboard on a #RoyalCaribbean cruise ship over the weekend allegedly jumped ship to avoid a $16,000 gambling debt. Jey Gonzalez-Diaz allegedly jumped off into the water near Port San Juan, got on the back of someones jet ski and was brought to shore, where he was eventually arrested. According to a criminal complaint, he allegedly told officers he jumped off the cruise ship because "he did not want to report the currency on his possession because he thought he was going to be taxed duties for bring in the currency." Upon further investigation they found that he owed Royal Caribbean $16,710.24, "almost exclusively associated to Casino and Gaming expenses," the complaint said. Head to the linked article for more on this story. #cruiseship #puertorico #cruise  original sound - cbsnews

The man was later found by Border Postural officers near the Puerto Rico Capitol Building. He had five IDs, two cell phones and $14,600 in cash in his possession at the time.

Gonzalez-Diaz has been accused of attempting to evade monetary reporting requirements when entering the U.S., per the report.

The man, who was booked under the name Jeremy Diaz, told officials he jumped ship because he didnt want to be taxed for bringing the money in. His true identity, and a gambling debt of $16,710.24 owed to the cruise line, were revealed by investigators.

He was later released on bail. Gonzalez-Diaz now faces a fine of up to $250,000 or a maximum five-year prison sentence if convicted.

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Christopher Burch can be reached at cburch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @SwishBurch. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips.
Comedy Central will no longer air reruns of the South Park episode that parodies right-wing activist Charlie Kirk following his murder.

The episode in question, titled Got a Nut, originally aired on Aug. 6. It features a story line where Clyde Donovan and Eric Cartman (both voiced by South Park cocreator Trey Parker) begin conducting online debates to espouse far-right talking points. Cartmans haircut and outfit in the episode are a clear nod to Kirk, as is his prove me wrong debate style.

Later in the episode, Clyde wins the Charlie Kirk Award for Young Master Debaters.

Although the episode has been pulled from Comedy Centrals linear rotation of South Park season 27 episodes, it remains available to stream on Paramount+.

Kirk expressed amusement after watching his South Park parody last month.

Honestly, it is hilarious, he said of the episode in an August TikTok video. We need to have a good spirit about being made fun of. This is all a success, this is all a win. We as conservatives, we have thick skin, not thin skin.

Kirk also told Fox News Digital that he saw the episode as a badge of honor.

READ MORE: MSNBC analyst fired after shocking Charlie Kirk comments on air

I think its kind of funny, and it kind of goes to show the cultural impact and the resonance that our movement has been able to achieve, he told the outlet.

Kirk died on Wednesday, Sept. 10, after being shot while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. He was 31. The FBI has released images of a person of interest and is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the shooter.

We are asking for the public's help identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.

1-800-CALL-FBI

Digital media tips: https://t.co/nHV0gdG0fu pic.twitter.com/oPqRCPk5NB  FBI Salt Lake City (@FBISaltLakeCity) September 11, 2025

Kirk was the founder of the conservative organization Turning Point USA and a close ally of President Donald Trump. Politicians on both sides of the aisle, including Trump himself, have condemned Kirks murder.

The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie, Trump wrote via Truth Social. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us.

Former President Joe Biden wrote via X, There is no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now. Jill and I are praying for Charlie Kirks family and loved ones.

Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika, and their two children.
Costco is recalling its brand of popular Dubai-style chocolate due to an allergen mixup on the label. Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media

If youre looking to buy this trendy chocolate at Costco, you might want to check the label at first.

Costco recalled its Rolling Pin brand of Dubai-style chocolate due to an allergen mixup on the label, according to a company announcement.

The chocolates packaging incorrectly stated gluten as an allergy instead of wheat.

Heres what else you need to know about the recall.

What Costco Dubai-style chocolates were affected?

The affected chocolates were sold between May 1, 2025, and Aug. 29, 2025, at select Costco locations.

The affected chocolates have the number #1932972 above the bar code on each package, according to the recall notice.

Costco says this recall should not have too many risks associated with it since gluten is listed on the allergen statement and gluten is found in wheat. In addition, Kunefa (which is known to contain wheat) is also listed in the ingredient statement, the announcement stated.

What should people do if they have Costcos Dubai-style chocolate in their possession?

People who have wheat allergies should contact their local Costco store to obtain a refund.

Those with questions or concerns can contact Rolling Pin at 833-331-2993 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. ET.
A new bakery in Jersey City has customers lining up as the sun rises.

The hungry foodies flocking to the corner of Bay and Erie Street arent waiting hours for classic pastries. They arent even waking up at the crack of dawn for the latest social media bakery trend like cronuts or oversized cinnamon buns.

New Jerseys hottest new bakery is Panaderya Salvaje, where customers stand on line for hours to taste European pastries infused with traditional Filipino ingredients.

The tiny 480-square-foot bakery is filled with the aromas of ube, pandan, calamansi, and tocino. They instantly bring me back to my grandmas kitchen in the Philippines.

Husband and wife Nicu Dalman and Mikee Uychiat opened the shop in August after years of highly successful pop-ups events. They hail from Bacolod  a city in a northwestern island of the Philippines.

Panaderya is the Filipino word for bakery, while salvaje means savage in Filipino and wild in Spanish. the Filipino word for savage or the Spanish word for wild.

The savage bakerys most popular sweet treats include their ube latte croissant ($8), flavored with the en vogue purple yam and coffee pastry cream. Their piaya ($3.75) is a sweet unleavened Filipino flatbread filled with muscovado (unrefined cane sugar) and ube.

"Ube Latte Croissants" at Panaderya Salvaje in Jersey City, NJ (Lauren Musni | NJ Advance Media) Lauren Musni

I arrived at the bakery at 6:50 a.m. on a recent Thursday morning, 10 minutes before opening  and a small line was already forming.

The tiny shops menu this morning featured seven pastries and coffee made with beans nearby Lackawanna Coffee. The treats go so quickly they set up a whiteboard with the menu outside the shop and update it with remaining totals.

Dalman says the menu changes weekly, but favorites like the ube latte croissant, the piaya and the tablea brownies made with Filipino cacao will likely become permanent fixtures.

Box of pastries from Panaderya Salvaje in Jersey City, NJ (Lauren Musni | NJ Advance Media) Lauren Musni

Other offerings that stood out: the calamansi olive oil loaf ($7), a moist, citrusy olive oil cake made with calamansi (a Filipino citrus fruit) topped with Swiss meringue and a tangy calamansi curd and the bukayo croissant loaf ($8), a pull-apart croissant-style bread layered with sweetened coconut strips.

Savory options included the tocino and cheese croissant ($7)  a buttery croissant filled with Filipino-style sweet cured pork and Gruyere cheese and the dinakdakan pot pie ($10)  a northwestern Filipino regional dish made with grilled pork jowl, collar, and ear, all tucked into a flaky house-made puff pastry and topped with a soy-marinated egg and chili crunch.

The egg on the pot pie was also a unique touch, adding height and a touch of Filipino flair.

I previously had their ube latte croissant at a pop-up, but was dying to try it again. It remains a buttery delight, the coffee pastry cream inside contrasting with the sweetness of the ube. The tocino and cheese croissant leaned more smoky, as caramelized Filipino-style pork paired with melted Gruyere for a rich bite.

The piaya is a timeless treat Ive had many times in the Philippines, chewy with the muscovado inside lending a subtly sweet touch. But the dinakdakan pot pie was the star of the show  flaky with a hint of heat but way more savory with tender pieces of pork and the marinated soy egg. It felt like a full meal in pastry form.

Pastry case at Panaderya Salvaje in Jersey City, NJ (Lauren Musni | NJ Advance Media) Lauren Musni

All of these reminded me of the Filipino dishes I grew up with  especially the tocino and cheese croissant. It instantly transported me to mornings in the Philippines, where my grandma would cook tocino and eggs for me almost every day.

The way these pastries combine the comfort food of my childhood and my love of classic European pastries is truly special, unique even in a state as diverse as New Jersey.

But this transformative bakery wasnt born overnight.

Dalman went to culinary school at American Hospitality Academy in the Philippines, moved to the United States in 2014 and landed his first job as a line cook in New York. He went on to work at a slew of marquee restaurants in the city, and then in Houston when he moved there in 2016.

Nicu Dalman and Nelson Barbosa III prepping pastries at Panaderya Salvaje in Jersey City, NJ (Lauren Musni | NJ Advance Media) Lauren Musni

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he began baking and selling pastries to his sisters coworkers, slowly building a local following. In 2021, he moved to New Jersey to be with Uychiat and worked at The Bakers Grove in Shrewsbury from July 2022 to March 2023.

Then an unexpected opportunity opened up.

Ayala Coffee, the states first Filipino coffee shop, saw Dalman post an empanada filled with kare-kare (a Filipino peanut butter stew) on Instagram. They asked him to do a pop-up in March of 2023  it was such a hit that lines went out the door and he quickly sold out.

The "Bukayo Loaf" at Panaderya Salvaje in Jersey City, NJ (Lauren Musni | NJ Advance Media) Lauren Musni

That pop-up became the first of many around New Jersey, and the lines never got any shorter.

Even with their pop-up popularity, the couple was seriously considering moving back to Houston in early 2024. But a friend brought an available retail space in Jersey City to their attention. They looked at the downtown location and decided to take it  announcing plans to open their very first bakery in August 2024.

In front of Panaderya Salvaje in Jersey City, NJ (Lauren Musni | NJ Advance Media) Lauren Musni

It took almost one year to open due to permits and licensing. They continued doing pop-ups in the meantime.

Since opening in mid-August, their permanent location has been as popular as their pop-ups, with long lines of people eager to try their treats. Dalman says there was a three-hour wait on their opening day. That is thankfully down to an average wait of 90 minutes.

Panaderya Salvaje has made a smart and meaningful choice to set up shop in Jersey City, a vibrant hub for the Filipino community and home to many beloved Filipino restaurants and bakeries.

That cultural richness also comes with high expectations, especially when it comes to food.

 I think one of the hardest things with doing Filipino food is that Filipinos, especially the older generations, theyre very purist, Dalman said. So I try to stay true and dont change anything as much.

Panaderya Salvaje is clearlys striking the right balance. My mother loved the pastries I shared with her so much that she took all the leftovers home.

Owners Nicu Dalman and Mikee Uychiat of Panaderya Salvaje in Jersey City, NJ (Lauren Musni | NJ Advance Media) Lauren Musni

We do both innovative and traditional stuff, so were hitting both markets at the same time, Dalman said. We also have the built-in advantage of being born and raised back home, so we kind of relate to the younger and the older generations as well.

For a place that could have easily leaned too far into reinvention, Panaderya Salvaje finds a rare balance  honoring tradition while still playing, experimenting and modernizing. Its not just food for the Filipino palate its food that speaks to Filipino identity, comfort and pride.

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Lauren Musni may be reached at lmusni@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Laurengmusni and on Instagram. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Police have charged a New Jersey man who allegedly vandalized a Jewish museum in Philadelphia.

The 33-year-old from Woodbury in Gloucester County surrendered to police on Monday following recent vandalism incidents at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History. He is charged with ethnic intimidation, criminal mischief and possessing an instrument of crime, the Philadelphia Police Department said.

On Aug. 18 at 4:43 a.m., surveillance footage captured someone spray-painting the museums grounds and exterior walls with red paint, authorities said. Seven days later, the manager of the museum told police that someone had spray-painted additional sections of the museums walls and grounds, officials said.

A banner on the museum, which features the Israeli flag above a message that reads The Weitzman stands with Israel, was also damaged with red paint, the Courier Post reported. Museum officials plan to replace the banner before the two year anniversary of the start of the Gaza war on Oct. 7, the newspaper reported.

A spokesperson for the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday evening.

The Smithsonian-affiliated museum was founded in 1976. It is located at the corner of South Independence Mall East and Market Street, just steps from the Liberty Bell.
A group of bicyclists pass by the Empty Sky 9/11 memorial at Liberty State Park in Jersey City on Friday, Aug. 21, 2020. (Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal) Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal file photo

The names of nearly 740 people with ties to New Jersey who died on Sept. 11, 2001, are highlighted at the Empty Sky Memorial when the sun hits it in the morning and evening.

But, not enough names are being remembered on the Jersey City monument, two New Jersey lawmakers argue.

Democratic U.S. Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Robert Menendez are using the 24th anniversary of the attacks to reignite calls to include the names of those who have since died from debris-related illnesses at Ground Zero.

The Democratic House members on Thursday sent a letter to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, which manages the memorial alongside the state Treasury Department. The congressional lawmakers say that survivors of the attacks who have died from related illnesses should have their names inscribed on the memorial.

The number of first responders and others who have been diagnosed with cancers linked to the attacks rose to 48,579, about a 5% increase in the past five years, according to a June report by the World Trade Center Health program, which uses preliminary data. More than 8,000 enrollees have died, according to the data.

Over 15,000 New Jerseyans are enrolled in the program, which helps defray expenses for illnesses tied to the attacks, the data show. The report does not include numbers for New Jersey members who have died.

These brave first responders risked everything at the World Trade Center, only to endure immense suffering caused by toxic exposure for the rest of their lives, before ultimately succumbing to fatal illnesses, Gottheimer and Menedezs letter states. These fallen heroes paid the ultimate price in service of others, and their loved ones and colleagues deserve a place to reflect, grieve, and honor their memory.

The structure, which was finished in 2011, is New Jerseys official memorial dedicated to victims of the 9/11 attacks. It borders the former Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal, making it accessible for those visiting Ellis Island and Liberty State Park.

As recently as last year, some have spotlighted its appearance for its bland concrete exterior walls while questioning whether it was fully completed as designed.

The Department of Environmental Protection was reached for comment, but the agency did not immediately address the congressmens request.
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Arianators should be excited, because Ariana Grande announced another New York concert.

Ariana Grande will now perform fives shows in 2026 in Brooklyn, N.Y. at the Barclays Center, with the shows taking place on July 12, July 13, July 16, July 18 and now July 19.

Ariana Grande tour 2026 The cheapest Ariana Grande tour tickets are available on Vivid Seats. Buy Now

Related Article: Ariana Grande tour 2026: How to get tickets to the The Eternal Sunshine Tour before it sells out

Just like what happened with Taylor Swifts Eras Tour, tickets sold out almost immediately, even after Ariana dropped more tour dates as tickets were on sale.

If you did not beat the Ticketmaster war, theres no reason to stress because we are here to help you make sure you get tickets.

How to secure tickets to Ariana Grandes 2026 tour

If youre looking at securing tickets for Ariana Grandes July 12, 2026 concert, then the cheapest tickets we could find are $571 on Viagogo.

For her July 13, 2026 concert, the cheapest tickets we could find, before any fees, are $571 on Vivid Seats.

For Ariana Grandes July 16, 2026 concert, the cheapest tickets we could find are $589 on Viagogo.

For the July 18, 2026 concert at the Barclays Center, the cheapest ticket we could find is $605 on Viagogo.

Finally, for Ariana Grandes July 19, 2026 concert, the cheapest ticket we could find is $571 on Vivid Seats.

If these cheapest tickets sell out fast, which is highly likely, you can still find tickets on StubHub, Vivid Seats, TicketNetwork, SeatGeek and Viagogo.

Plus, if you are a first-time Vivid Seats customer, you can save $20 on ticket orders over $200 just by entering promo code NJ20 at checkout.

You can find a full schedule of Ariana Grandes tour dates here.

Ariana Grande tour 2025: Dates, schedule & more

Ariana Grande will begin her The Eternal Sunshine Tour" on June 6 in Oakland, Calif., and she will wrap up in the U.S. on July 25 in Boston.

This tour is in support of her seventh album, Eternal Sunshine, which was released on March 8, 2024.

Her follow-up deluxe album, Eternal Sunshine: Brighter Days Ahead, dropped one year later, featuring nine bonus tracks and six brand-new songs.

Ariana Grande first teased the tour on her social media pages, with the video stating, see you next year...

This tour will follow her record-breaking Sweetener World Tour, which took place in 2019.

Outside of touring, Arianas cinematic ventures will also take place this year, as Wicked: For Good will drop on Nov. 21. Also, shes joining the Meet the Parents franchise.

Upcoming 2025-2026 tours heading to New York

Ariana Grande is not the only artist performing in New York.

Here are a few more tours you do not want to miss: Dua Lipa, Kali Uchis, Ethel Cain and HAIM.
An Ocean County lottery player who claimed the Jersey Cash 5 jackpot worth $1 million for Wednesday night's drawing had overnight dream of winning. Canva for NJ.com

A New Jerseys residents premonition turned into reality after winning the Jersey Cash 5 jackpot worth $1,039,075 on Wednesday night.

I had a dream during the night that I hit, the winner told New Jersey Lottery officials while claiming the prize Thursday. I woke up around 3:30 a.m. I went to the computer to check my numbers and I saw I won.

The winner couldnt fall back asleep and shared the news with a family member, New Jersey Lottery officials said.

The winner, an Ocean County resident whose name was not disclosed, plans to use the windfall for practical purposes, including home repairs and paying bills, lottery officials said.

The winning ticket was purchased at Robins Convenience Store on Atlantic City Boulevard in Beachwood, which will receive a $2,000 bonus for selling the jackpot ticket.

The winning numbers were 8, 17, 26, 38 and 43, with an XTRA of 2 and Bullseye of 38.

This jackpot marks the 48th Jersey Cash 5 win of 2025 and the eighth to exceed $1 million.

The jackpot reset to $150,000 for tonights drawing.

The odds of a $2 ticket matching all five numbers (between 1 and 45) are 1,221,759 to 1.

Generative AI was used to produce an initial draft of this story, which was reviewed and edited by NJ Advance Media staff.
BEIJING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday congratulated Mohamed Irfaan Ali on his reelection as president of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.

In a congratulatory message, Xi pointed out that Guyana was one of the first countries in the Caribbean region to establish diplomatic relations with China.

Over the past 53 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, China-Guyana relations have developed healthily and stably, witnessing fruitful practical cooperation in various fields and close coordination in multilateral affairs, he said.

Recalling that he and Ali reached important consensus on the development of bilateral ties during their meeting in Chengdu in July 2023, Xi said he is willing to work with the Guyanese president to deepen mutually beneficial and friendly cooperation under the framework of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and to continuously elevate China-Guyana relations to new levels so as to better benefit the two peoples. 
A Trenton man has been charged after illegally selling marijuana at his smoke shop in the city, the Mercer County Prosecutors Office said.

The 32-year-old man is accused of running Moe Weed, an unlicensed dispensary on South Broad Street, authorities said.

He was arrested on Sept. 2 and charged with two counts of third-degree distribution of a controlled dangerous substance, the prosecutors office said.

The Mercer County Narcotics Task Force, the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice and the Trenton Police Department jointly conducted a two-month investigation.

According to the prosecutors office, authorities made multiple undercover purchases of marijuana during the investigation, seizing a total of six ounces with an estimated street value of $2,000.

The man told The Trentonian that he is suing the city of Trenton for damages after he was denied a cannabis license prior to the investigation.

I did everything correctly, he told the outlet. The entire process. I had conditional cannabis license, approved from Trentons cannabis board, and approved for zoning.

The man was charged in 2021 with first-degree manufacturing, distributing or possessing with the intent to distribute marijuana, online court records show.

Following his recent arrest, he was released from custody pending future appearances in court, authorities said.

This operation should serve as a notice to unlicensed distributors who are illegally selling cannabis without complying with state standards and regulation, Prosecutor Janetta D. Marbrey said in a news release.

These dispensaries will be subject to investigation, which may result in the seizure of illegally sold marijuana and the arrest of individuals engaged in its sale without a license from the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission, Marbrey said.
Authorities have arrested a man who authorities say touched a child inappropriately at a movie theater.

Nishith Koreka, 47, of South Brunswick Township, was taken into custody on Sunday, the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office said in a statement on Thursday.

He is charged with third-degree endangering the welfare of a child and fourth-degree criminal sexual contact of a juvenile.

Detectives say Koreka inappropriately touched a child multiple times while visiting the Regal Commerce Center movie theater in North Brunswick.

Authorities have not disclosed the age or gender of the victim.

The Middlesex County Prosecutors Office is asking anyone with tips about Koreka to call Det. Christopher Van Eerde at 732-745-8382.
It was May 1970, deep in the jungles of Vietnam, and 19-year-old infantryman John Smith stepped to the edge of a hill to admire the view. Then came the snap of a wire.

They mustve thought, This is a beautiful view. Someones going to come over here to look at it, said Smith, 76, of Newark. And they were right. I tripped the wire.

The explosion ripped into him, leaving Smith with two broken legs and nearly severing a finger, weeks before he was scheduled to leave the combat zone.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, which, according to the National Archives, saw nearly 20 years of U.S. involvement beginning Nov. 1, 1955. The conflict resulted in approximately 58,220 U.S. deaths, over 300,000 wounded, and an estimated 2 to 4 million Vietnamese lives lost. The war officially ended on April 30, 1975.

Smith, one of many American teenagers who served in Vietnam, enlisting at 18, recently shared his personal journey in the war, punctuating his account with a harsh reality.

I was there for 17 months and 20 days, he said. I still dont know why I was there. You know there was no plausible explanation of why we were in Vietnam.

Smith said he enlisted because he became restless while working in a factory.

The job wasnt using my brains  it was using my brawn, he said. I thought the Army might give me a better opportunity.

The opportunity came in the form of the infantry, the men who would be the boots on the ground in Vietnams treacherous hills and jungles.

Vietnam is a beautiful country, Smith recalled. Youd be up on a hill 1,000 meters high, looking out on all that vegetation and landscape.

But beauty was always laced with peril, he added.

In the field, it was elephant grass, vines, trees, and hills. Once you slipped, you couldnt stop. You just tumbled.

Everyday life carried its own absurdities. Smith said he saw soldiers brush their teeth with the same brushes they used to clean rifles. And on his first day, he saw the dead body of a 19-year-old comrade.

I asked for a priest, Smith said, recalling that moment. I didnt think I was gonna make it.

Racism shadowed his service. The officer corps was almost entirely white, and favoritism was blatant. After a friendly-fire incident, a white soldier walked off the front lines and was later promoted. That wouldnt have happened for us, Smith said.

The Vietnamese knew how to exploit those cracks. He said propaganda leaflets fell from the sky: Black men, go home. You dont have any rights in your country.

They were 100% correct, Smith admitted decades later. But being 18 or 19, youre indoctrinated. You dont see the whole picture.

By the spring 1970, Smiths tour was nearly over. As he prepared to leave Vietnam, his brother, Gene, nine years his senior, transferred in. U.S. policy had barred siblings from serving in combat zones at the same time.

The elder Smith said his brother never asked his advice about enlisting, but he said it didnt matter. They were both in it for opportunities they didnt think were available elsewhere.

I spent my career supplying whatever unit I was assigned to, whether it was medical, infantry, whatever was needed, Gene Smith said. I ordered helicopters, trucks, and mostly provided fuel.

And with humor, he added, I was in logistics for 26 years, not a ground pounder like John, who was just the opposite.

When Gene Smith went over to Vietnam, he had planned to spend time with his brother before John rotated out.

Instead, John encountered the booby trap.

Afterward, he was evacuated to Fort Gordon in Georgia, and later to St. Albans Naval Hospital in Queens, New York, where he spent nine months recovering. His finger was crudely reattached, leaving permanent damage. The medical care was poor, and he said the racism was relentless.

But survival gave him a second chance. With the GI Bill and disability stipend, Smith studied business at Monroe Business Institute in the Bronx, worked on Wall Street at Bankers Trust as an Operations Specialist, and handled accounts for Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith.

He later joined the Newark Police Department, where he served in the crime prevention unit for 26 years before retiring. Afterward, he joined Essex County College as an associate professor for 31 years and later became vice president of the adjunct union, retiring last year.

Smith enjoyed a close relationship with the late N.J. Sen. Ronald Rice, dating back to when Rice ran for mayor of Newark and was part of several organizations that were pro Black advancement, including the NAACP and the New Jersey Black Issues Convention, which was dedicated to enhancing opportunities for the Black community in New Jersey, where John served a security chief.

Josie Gonsalves, 56, is the publisher of Public Square Amplified, an award-winning local newsroom in Newark. She said John was a top pick for her advisory board committee.

Ive known John for over eight years since I arrived in Newark, she said. He embodies what it means to serve both ones country and ones community; hes always giving without expecting anything in return. John is a teacher and a veteran, and he is an amazing storyteller with countless stories to share. John represents the best of our community.

Smith now lives with his third wife and talks about Vietnam with the calm of distance but the clarity of survival. The beauty of the country, the chaos of the war, the racism and contradictions all remain vivid he said.

Reflecting on the 50 years since the war, John said, I thought I could have a better life by joining the Army. But then you go to hell. They dont tell you that before you sign up.

Ande Richards may be reached at arichards@njadvancemedia.com.

Welcome to Mosaic. Follow us on Instagram at @MosaicNJcom and on Facebook at MosaicNJcom and on YouTube at @MosaicNJcom.
An 83-year-old Florida man has been sentenced to two years in prison for laundering proceeds from a large-scale healthcare fraud scheme, officials said.

Thomas Farese, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, laundered roughly half a million dollars, the U.S. Attorneys Office, District of New Jersey announced Wednesday.

According to court documents, a durable medical equipment supply company that Farese invested in defrauded insurers by billing Medicare and other providers for unnecessary equipment, officials said in a news release.

The kickback scheme caused insurance companies to lose millions of dollars, according to officials.

Farese previously pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to a superseding information charging him with money laundering, according to the release.

In April 2019, several people involved in the scheme were arrested and charged. After learning of their arrests and fraudulent conduct, Farese discussed it with his business partner, who was later convicted. Farese then received $495,000 of proceeds from the scheme in his bank account, officials said.

After Farese completes his prison term, he will be required to serve six months of home confinement. He will also have to pay $1.3 million in restitution to the victims and forfeit his half-million-dollars in proceeds.

Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba credited the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service with conducting the investigation.
Royal Caribbean is stopping all visits to a port in Haiti until at least May 2026. AP

If you had plans to sail on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship to the Caribbean anytime soon, there is one destination the cruise liner wont be visiting for awhile.

Royal Caribbean is canceling all trips to its private beach resort in Haiti due to safety concerns that are affecting the island nation.

While Royal Caribbean already diverted its ships from stopping at its private island port in Labadee, about six hours from Haitis capital, Port-au-Prince, the change will now be in effect until at least May 2026.

Heres why Royal Caribbean is changing its itineraries for certain sailings.

Why did Royal Caribbean stop sailing to its port in Haiti?

Royal Caribbean is not sailing to its port in Labadee, Haiti, because of gang violence and political instability in the country, according to the latest travel advisory for Haiti from the State Department.

The State Department issued its Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory in September 2024, warning travelers specifically about kidnapping, crime, civil unrest and limited health care.

As of this writing, Royal Caribbean is not stopping at its Labadee, Haiti, port until at least May 2026.

Where will Royal Caribbean ships bound for Haiti visit instead?

Royal Caribbean ships that were scheduled to visit Haiti will visit the following locations instead:

Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos

Falmouth, Jamaica

Nassau, Bahamas

Coco Cay

Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

George Town, Grand Cayman

Cozumel, Mexico

Some cruise itineraries may opt for an extra day at sea instead of visiting a port.

While the Labadee, Haiti, visits are on hold until May 2026, the company said it would make a decision on whether the cruise liner would stop there again before that date.
Cattle being raised on the Henry family farm in Cranbury Township. Andy Henry

After months of defending a plan to seize a 175-year-old family farm for affordable housing, a Middlesex County town now says it may reconsider.

Controversy erupted in Cranbury Township earlier this year when officials passed an ordinance that said they planned to use eminent domain to take the Henry family farm on South River Road.

Residents packed public meetings to protest the plan, and the Trump administration stepped into the fight and asked for a delay while it investigated the possible seizure.

The farm, managed by brothers Andy and Christopher Henry, has been in their family since 1850. It is being rented to tenant farmers.

Cranbury officials want to make space for a 130-unit affordable apartment complex they say will help satisfy the towns state-mandated affordable housing obligation.

However, the Henrys, who argue that the land is an active agricultural site, say they have no interest in selling. They have turned down multimillion-dollar offers for decades to preserve their family legacy, even as warehouses rose around the farm, their lawyer said.

With lawsuits looming, Cranbury Mayor Lisa Knierim now says the township is rethinking its plan to seize the site.

In a Sept. 4 public statement, Knierim told residents officials are reviewing alternative sites as they work to meet the states affordable housing mandate.

New Jersey is requiring towns to add more than 146,000 affordable units statewide by 2035 under a court-ordered plan. Cranbury is responsible for 265 of those units over the next decade.

Knierim said it has been especially difficult to find developable land in the township beyond the Henry farm that satisfies state requirements.

At every turn, we have stressed the difficult and divisive position Cranbury faces and asked for help. Unfortunately, the state has shown no willingness to grant relief. Still, we refuse to give up, Knierim said.

Cranbury is a largely rural community where farmland and preserved open space dominate the landscape, leaving few sites that meet the strict criteria for an affordable housing development.

According to the mayors statement, township officials have identified another possible site for the proposed apartment complex. But, it was ruled out under the states new warehouse buffer rule, which requires affordable housing projects to be built at least 250 feet from large warehouse property lines.

Other parcels, she added, dont qualify for federal tax credits, which would shift costs onto local taxpayers, or have other restrictions.

For the community to move forward, Knierim said she is asking the state to ease its warehouse buffer restrictions so Cranbury can drop the Henry farm from its housing plan.

The mayors announcement came a month after township officials notified the Henry family it had hired an appraiser to assess the South River Road property for possible purchase or condemnation. Appraisals are often the first step in the eminent domain process, which allows municipalities to take private property for public use if owners refuse to sell, provided they are paid fair market value.

Multiple lawsuits have been filed challenging the townships plan, with the Henrys describing the farm as a vital piece of Cranburys rural identity.

They also argue the location is unsuitable for housing, pointing out that it sits near the Turnpike and Route 130, is surrounded by warehouses, and is far from schools, shops and transit.

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Nyah Marshall may be reached at nmarshall@njadvancemedia.com
Students and commuters try to board a crowded Hudson-Bergen Light Rail train at the 9th-Congress Street station in Hoboken Friday morning. Operators who work for 21st Century Rail, contracted by NJ Transit to run the light rail line called out resulting in 8 to 10 minute delays. Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com SL

After no-show train operators caused 100 Hudson-Bergen Light Rail trains to be canceled in late August, the problem continued into this week, making high school students who ride the train 40-minutes late to school, parents said.

The issue prompted NJ Transit officials to demand that the company that runs the trains not let it happen again. But the agency reported some operators didnt show Friday morning resulting in 8 to 10 minute delays.

Parents of students who ride light rail trains from North Bergen, Hoboken and Jersey City to St. Peters Prep in Jersey City complained that a rash of no-show trains resulted in their kids being chronically late. Students get off at Exchange Place and walk to the school in the Paulus Hook neighborhood.

Parents said the 7:36 a.m. train to West Side Avenue hasnt run at all this week. A check of NJ Transit alerts showed no notification was issued that it was canceled. The two trains that follow have been too crowded for students to board, parents said.

Public school parents who students ride the Light rail to middle and high school made similar complaints.

NJ Transit pays a contractor, 21st Century Rail Corporation, to operate Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, which the company has done for more than 20 years. Its parent company, California-based Shimmick Corporation, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

However, 21st Century lost a competitive bid to win a new contract when NJ Transits board of directors awarded the $1.5 billion multiyear contract to ACI-Herzog Joint Venture of Boston last November.

The daily volume of light rail train operator no-shows or callouts has been five to six times the average daily rate prior to the start of a transition to the new contractor, said Jim Smith, a NJ Transit spokesperson.

This is an ongoing and unacceptable issue between the outgoing contractor and their union employees. It is our understanding that the union has signed off on all agreements, an indication they are satisfied with the results of the negotiation, Smith said. However, its difficult to view this as anything other than a coordinated job action.

The Transport Workers Union that represents light rail workers approved a new contract with the contractor in July 2024.

We are calling on the current contractor, 21st Century Rail Corporation (owned by Shimmick) to hold their employees accountable to ensure tomorrow is not a repeat of today (Thursday), Smith said.

On Friday, the 7:36 a.m. train did run, but train operators still called outs and the contractor was able to fill all but three shifts, NJ Transit officials said. Friday morning delays were in the 8-10 minute range.

Students wearing uniforms from St. Peters and other schools were seen jamming around already crowded trains that arrived at the 9th and Congress Street station, trying to squeeze on board Friday morning.

The parents complaints come on the heels of close to 100 trains being canceled in a week on Hudson-Bergen Light Rail during the last week in August, including many during the afternoon commuting rush, due to lack of a person to operate the train.

I understand that transitions between contractors can be complicated, but that doesnt lessen the impact on families who rely on Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to get their kids to school and themselves to work, said Kate Hahn, a Hoboken resident and parent of a student.

The transit problem affected students as they returned to their first full week of classes. Parents also contacted State Assemblyman William Sampson IV, D-Hudson, and local officials for help.

These arent just delays or cancellations, theyre missed classes, late arrivals, and added daily stress, she said. We hope NJ Transit and its partners will prioritize clear communication for its riders and restore consistent, reliable service as quickly as possible for families.

Smith said NJ Transit minimized the impact to customers with intermittent delays averaging no more than 10 to 12 minutes during the peak hours, despite the high number of absentee operators. That included select train cancellations, given the frequency between light rail trains, he said.

The new contractor, ACI-Herzog Joint Venture, takes responsibility for the HBLR operations and maintenance, effective 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, Smith said.

It is our expectation that this issue will be resolved at that time, he said. We will be holding the new contractor strictly accountable for operator attendance and service performance.
Officers who responded to a call about a man in distress who later died at a hospital were cleared by a state grand jury of any wrongdoing, the New Jersey Attorney Generals Office said Wednesday.

Three Brick police officers found Robert Gotts, 36, of Brick, naked and in a state of distress in the area of Wisteria and Vermont drives at around 4:27 p.m. on May 9, 2024, according to a news release.

Gotts was handcuffed and moved from the street to a grassy area before he was taken by ambulance to Ocean University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at the hospital at approximately 5:48 p.m., officials said.

An autopsy was performed and the medical examiner concluded the manner of death was accidental and the cause of death was intoxication, officials said.

The grand jury concluded its deliberations on Sept. 8 after hearing the details of the case. The officers were identified by the attorney generals office as officers Joseph McGrath and Mark Nixon and Sgt. Jeffrey Person.

Video footage from a police body-worn camera was released Wednesday after Gotts family reviewed the recording. (Warning the video contains graphic images).

In the video released, Gotts tells officers he took mushrooms. The officers repeatedly told Gotts to move onto a nearby lawn, handcuffing him so they could move him from the street after he began harming himself.

The attorney generals office investigates fatal encounters with police and requires that the results of the investigation be presented to a grand jury.
Both car owners and dealers received additional protections in the event of a vehicle recall under a new law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy Thursday. AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File

Gov. Phil Murphy signed the Motor Vehicle Open Recall Notice and Fair Compensation Act into law Thursday, which provides added protections for vehicle owners and car dealers in New Jersey when a vehicle is recalled.

The bipartisan law, which takes effect on July 1, 2026, was passed by both houses of the state Legislature on June 30 and has been awaiting the governors signature since then.

For consumers, some of the biggest protections include requiring dealers to provide buyers of used vehicles copies of any recall notices, according to the new law.

It prohibits the sale of a used vehicle with a serious-enough defect that resulted in the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration issuing a do-not-drive, stop-sale notice, or similar recall notice, according to the law.

The law requires vehicle manufacturers and dealers to notify the state Motor Vehicle Commission when a recall notice has been issued for a vehicle, and requires the manufacturer or dealer to send a notice on official MVC letterhead to registered owners of those vehicles.

The law also requires vehicle manufacturers to cover all costs of warranty and repair work to comply with recall notices, including parts, and labor.

It also prevents manufacturers from shifting expenses onto dealers or consumers, said officials with a state car dealers association.

It does that by requiring vehicle manufacturers to reimburse dealers at the retail rate for warranty and recall work.

This legislation represents a critical step forward in protecting consumers, leveling the playing field for locally owned dealerships, and ensuring that automakers fairly compensate those who fix their mistakes, Laura Perrotta, president of the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers president, said in a statement.

The new law also encourages vehicle owners to get free safety repairs at authorized dealerships.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, a union that represents auto mechanics, also praised the new law saying it ensures mechanics get fairly paid for warranty work.

This legislation was approved with broad bipartisan support, requiring auto dealership technicians to be paid the same rate for warranty repairs as non-warranty work, the union said in a statement.
A man is facing additional charges after authorities say he was drunk and traveling at a speed of more than 90 mph during the crash that killed his passenger.

Martine Taylor Jr., 56, of Toms River, was taken into custody on Thursday on the charges of aggravated manslaughter and vehicular homicide, the Ocean County Prosecutors Office said in a statement.

Earlier this year, he was charged with causing death while driving with a suspended license for the May 13 crash that killed 52-year-old Christine Kroliczak of Matawan, authorities said.

The new charges came after a blood draw from the day of the crash found that Taylors blood alcohol concentration was .182, more than double the legal limit of .08, officials said. It was also determined that his was driving at a speed between 94 and 98 mph on a road with a posted speed limit of 50 mph, prosecutors said.

Shortly after 1:30 a.m. on May 13, police found Taylors car upside down in a drainage ditch in Lakewood. At the time, the officers were near the scene, on Cedar Bridge Avenue, investigating an unrelated incident.

Taylor and Kroliczak were both extricated from the vehicle. Kroliczak, who was unconscious when police arrived, was pronounced dead on the scene following life-saving efforts, authorities said.

Taylor was brought to Jersey Shore University Medical Center for treatment of his injuries and to submit to the blood draw, officials said. He was later transferred to police custody, but released pending a court appearance a short time later.

Investigators said Taylors car was traveling west on Cedar Bridge Avenue when it veered into the opposing lane, exited the road and became airborne, traveling 189 feet through the air.

Taylor is now in custody at Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.
People visit a drone technology exhibition during the 2025 Inclusion Conference on the Bund in Shanghai, east China, Sept. 10, 2025. Under the theme of "Path to Innovative Growth," the 2025 conference features more than 40 insight forums, a global thematic day, more than 10 stages, a technology exhibition of nearly 10,000 square meters, a technology marketplace covering 5,000 square meters, an AI innovation contest, a technology job fair, and an investor meetup. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

An exhibitor introduces a humanoid robot to visitors during the 2025 Inclusion Conference on the Bund in Shanghai, east China, Sept. 10, 2025. Under the theme of "Path to Innovative Growth," the 2025 conference features more than 40 insight forums, a global thematic day, more than 10 stages, a technology exhibition of nearly 10,000 square meters, a technology marketplace covering 5,000 square meters, an AI innovation contest, a technology job fair, and an investor meetup. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

People visit a technology exhibition during the 2025 Inclusion Conference on the Bund in Shanghai, east China, Sept. 10, 2025. Under the theme of "Path to Innovative Growth," the 2025 conference features more than 40 insight forums, a global thematic day, more than 10 stages, a technology exhibition of nearly 10,000 square meters, a technology marketplace covering 5,000 square meters, an AI innovation contest, a technology job fair, and an investor meetup. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

Visitors learn about a device for identifying AI face-changing technology during the 2025 Inclusion Conference on the Bund in Shanghai, east China, Sept. 10, 2025. Under the theme of "Path to Innovative Growth," the 2025 conference features more than 40 insight forums, a global thematic day, more than 10 stages, a technology exhibition of nearly 10,000 square meters, a technology marketplace covering 5,000 square meters, an AI innovation contest, a technology job fair, and an investor meetup. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

A staff member introduces health AI products at the 2025 Inclusion Conference on the Bund in Shanghai, east China, Sept. 10, 2025. Under the theme of "Path to Innovative Growth," the 2025 conference features more than 40 insight forums, a global thematic day, more than 10 stages, a technology exhibition of nearly 10,000 square meters, a technology marketplace covering 5,000 square meters, an AI innovation contest, a technology job fair, and an investor meetup. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

A robot drum performance is staged during the 2025 Inclusion Conference on the Bund in Shanghai, east China, Sept. 10, 2025. Under the theme of "Path to Innovative Growth," the 2025 conference features more than 40 insight forums, a global thematic day, more than 10 stages, a technology exhibition of nearly 10,000 square meters, a technology marketplace covering 5,000 square meters, an AI innovation contest, a technology job fair, and an investor meetup. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

A humanoid robot walks outside the technology exhibition area during the 2025 Inclusion Conference on the Bund in Shanghai, east China, Sept. 10, 2025. Under the theme of "Path to Innovative Growth," the 2025 conference features more than 40 insight forums, a global thematic day, more than 10 stages, a technology exhibition of nearly 10,000 square meters, a technology marketplace covering 5,000 square meters, an AI innovation contest, a technology job fair, and an investor meetup. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)
An Ocean County man admitted to traveling to Europe to have a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old, officials with the U.S. Attorneys office said.

Jacob Bauer, 29, of Toms River, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place.

From Dec. 1, 2023, to Dec. 10, 2023, Bauer traveled to Norway from the U.S. to meet a 14-year-old for a sexual encounter, officials said.

Bauer, who was 27 years old at the time, and the teenage girl met in a hotel room, according to officials.

When he returned to the U.S., Bauer communicated with the girl and others about the sexual encounter on social media platforms, including on Discord, according to officials.

Bauer acknowledged the 14-year-olds age and status as a minor during those online conversations, officials said.

Members of the Discord community where he was active posted his personal information when they discovered his sexual activities with a minor, officials said.

Bauer is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 21, 2026.

His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
We must remember that our political foes are opponents, not enemies. They are moms and dads, volunteers in their communities, civic leaders, good people who mean well and sacrifice to serve.  Mike DuHaime

We live in a world where there are very few Friendly Fire columns anymore. Mike and I care about each other, despite political disagreements.  Julie Roginsky

In this special edition of Friendly Fire, Julie Roginsky, a Democrat, and Mike DuHaime, a Republican  political consultants on opposing sides of the aisle  discuss the assassination of influential right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk, 31, with Star-Ledger editor Enrique Lavin.

Julie and Mike have addressed political violence in America this summer after the assassination of Minnesota state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, on June 16. Two other Democrat lawmakers were also targeted that day.

However, not since the attempt on President Trumps life in Pennsylvania last summer has the nation been so rattled after Charlie Kirk was killed on the day before the 24th anniversary of 9/11.

Theres a lot to process here, so help us unpack what we know and what youre seeing and hearing.

Q: On political violence: Elected officials and public figures across the political spectrum expressed shock and condemnation over Kirks assassination, but their responses diverged sharply on what should come next. Democrats, including New York Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, emphasized the need to address the root causes of political violence, specifically, partisan positions on gun control.

President Trump claimed that radical left rhetoric was directly responsible for the terrorism that were seeing in our country today. While right-wing influencers like Elon Musk, Laura Loomer and Fox News hosts Sean Hannity , Jesse Watters among others echoed calls for retribution without knowing who the shooter is.

(UPDATE: On Sept. 12, a suspect was arrested in Utah in connection to the shooting.)

What can be done to lower the temperature here? What are your concerns?

Mike: All leaders must turn down the rhetoric. Most leaders across the political spectrum reacted with condemnation and condolences. Those who want attention by ratcheting up the rhetoric are rewarded, even with mentions in your question. It is time for all those of any influence, large or small, to remind each other of our common humanity, our common goals. Our political opponents are not our enemies. The vast majority of people on all sides agree our differences should be resolved with ballots, not bullets. Broad-based blame is wrong. The faults lie with the perpetrators of violence, not with an entire political party.

Julie: We have a president who blames his political opponents for political violence, without taking responsibility for his own rhetoric, which led to violence on January 6 and so many other times. We have social media algorithms amplifying the worst, most divisive comments. We have influencers who make money off attention and they know that the best, most lucrative way to get it is to stoke outrage and controversy. And thats before Russian bots and malign foreign actors amp up the divisions for their own means.

My biggest concern is that I dont know how to stop this. As a First Amendment absolutist, I strongly believe that the government should not regulate anyones speech. I worry that Trump will now come after anyone who criticizes him under the guise of stopping the incitement of political violence. All of this is terrifying and I see no exit.

Q: On gun control: The moment Kirk was shot during a 3,000-person rally at a Utah college, he was defending his long-held position that as a society Americans must accept mass shootings and random gun violence in order to preserve our Second Amendment rights. Coincidently, at about the exact same time he was killed, a teenager opened fire at a Colorado high school, wounding two students who as of this writing remain in critical condition. The 16-year-old shooter took his own life. Is there anything more to say about gun control?

Mike: The second amendment is protected in the constitution. State and federal governments also have a responsibility to protect the safety of all their citizens, which means reasonable restrictions can be placed on gun purchases based on criminal background checks, mental health issues and more. One amendment in the constitution cant be ignored or all others could be as well. The key, as with so much in politics, is compromise. Whatever gun was used to kill Charlie Kirk did not seem to be a handgun or hunting rifle. It seems like a high-powered assassins rifle. Will debaters on each side be willing to move from their all or nothing corners to protect constitutional rights while protecting public safety.

Julie: We need more gun safety, although with this Supreme Court, we will not get it. We need to stop shrugging when kids in schools are shot and just thanking the Lord that they werent ours before moving on. If there was one-hundredth of one percent attention paid to nearly daily school shootings that is paid to Kirks very tragic death, we would be a different nation.

Q: On conflicting sets of facts and beliefs: As of this writing, federal and state authorities have yet to arrest a suspect, and yet, several prominent Republicans blame Democrats  even though the last few incidents of political violence have been at the hands of Trump supporters (Hortman, Gov. Shapiro, Mike Pence on Jan. 6, Nancy Pelosis husband, Gov. Whitmer, among others), including his would-be assassin exactly a year ago in Florida. What can be done about this cognitive dissonance?

Mike: All that can be done is to put the violent offenders into the same category. We should not act like all those incidents were at the hands of Trump supporters. They were at the hands of violent criminals. 99.99999% of Trump voters abhor this violence, just as 99.99999% of Democrats condemn it as well. Those who turn to murder must be put in their own category, not lumped in with the 50% of the population that supports one candidate or the other.

Julie: Republicans increasingly control social media and even legacy media, which is cowering in fear of Trumps FCC taking away their licenses or stopping their parent companies proposed mergers. Look at what happened at MSNBC yesterday, when they fired Matthew Dowd for stating his opinion on Kirks murder, even as Fox hosts were literally calling for vengeance against Democrats before they even knew the motive of Kirks killer. Come over to Substack with me, friends. The legacy media is going to both-sides us into oblivion.

Q: What now? Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, had this somber comment during his press conference: Our nation is broken. We had political assassinations recently in Minnesota. We had an attempted assassination on the governor of PA. And we had an attempted assassination on a former president [Trump]Nothing I say can unite us as a country. Is there anything, in this context, that can be said to unify us as a nation?

Mike: It takes all of us trying. We hope this column helps in a small way. Julie and I disagree a lot, agree more than you think, and genuinely care about each other as people. There needs to be more conversation across race, class and political lines that show we all have so much more in common than we think.

Julie: Remember when George Bush jumped on that pile of rubble after 9/11? Remember when Barack Obama cried after the horrific shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School? We dont have those kinds of presidents to unify us now. We have someone who is a walking social media algorithm, seeking to divide us for clickbait and profit. For me to say this is not because I am interested in sowing division. It is a fact. The sooner the American people realize that they are being treated like a commodity to manipulate and not like citizens of a great nation, the sooner we can try to pick up the rubble and recover from this sad chapter.

Political consultants Julie Roginsky and Mike DuHaime Photo by Stephanie Cowan

Mike DuHaime and Julie Roginsky are deeply engaged in politics and commercial advocacy in New Jersey, so both have connections to many players discussed in this column. DuHaime, the founder of MAD Global Strategy, has worked for Chris Christie, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, and George W. Bush. Roginsky, a principal of Comprehensive Communications Group and author of the Salty Politics column in Substack, has served as senior advisor to campaigns of Cory Booker, Frank Lautenberg, and Phil Murphy.
Charlie Kirk hands out hats before speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP) AP

MAGA world is quickly placing blame on the left following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Wednesday.

Kirk, 31, died after being shot while speaking at an event on the campus of Utah Valley University. The shooter, who fired one gunshot from a distant rooftop, remains at large as of Thursday morning, as federal, state and local authorities say they are working on multiple active crime scenes.

Although the identity and motive of the assassin remain unclear, President Donald Trump and his base have continued to target the radical left in posts on social media. After the president first announced Kirks death, several right-wing influencers and conservative hosts expressed anger at the opposite side of the political aisle.

Far-right activist Laura Loomer, dubbed the Trump whisperer, claimed that the best way the president could honor Kirks legacy is by cracking down on the Left with the full force of the government.

Every single Left wing group that funds violent protests needs to be shut down and prosecuted. No mercy, Loomer wrote on X. Jail every single Leftist who makes a threat of political violence.

Pro-Trump influencer Joey Mannarino unleashed a barrage of posts on X against the left  and in one, noted that Kirks wife and two kids were present at the event, before adding, May the Left burn in hell.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk also weighed in, baselessly claiming that the Left is the party of murder.

If they wont leave us in peace, then our choice is fight or die, Musk wrote in a separate post.

Other popular social media figures including MAGA influencer Matt Wallace and the Libs of TikTok account made similar claims.

In a video posted on his social media accounts, President Donald Trump went on to pour gas on MAGA fury.

Radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives. Tonight, I ask all Americans to commit themselves to the American values for which Charlie Kirk lived and died, Trump said from the Oval Office.

For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the worlds worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that were seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now, he added.

Trump went on to say that his administration would find those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials and everyone else who brings order to our country.

TO MY GREAT FELLOW AMERICANS pic.twitter.com/oRsrE5TTHr  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 11, 2025

His comments were quickly met with backlash from critics on social media.

Trump uses a political assassination to attack half the country. He quite literally is the divider in chief, former GOP congressman Joe Walsh wrote on X.

CNN commentator Bakari Sellers noted that Trump did mention incidents against Democrats, including the fatal shooting of Minnesota state Sen. Melissa Hortman and her husband less than three months ago.

Did anyone expect anything other than this? JoJoFromJerz asked.

Trump had previously announced Kirks death in a post on his Truth Social platform Wednesday afternoon.

The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead, Trump said in his post. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!

Video footage of the assassination quickly circulated on social media, showing Kirk being hit near the neck before the crowd fled the scene. Authorities detained two people on Wednesday, but both were later released, according to FBI Director Kash Patels latest update.

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Jesse Watters, a Fox News conservative political commentator, proclaimed during a monologue on The Five that people like the shooter who assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Wednesday afternoon are at war with us!

Whether we want to accept it or not, they are at war with us, Watters said. And what are we gonna do about it? How much political violence are we going to tolerate? And thats the question were just gonna have to ask ourselves.

Now, Charlie would want us to put as much pressure on these people as possible.

Turning Point USA, a conservative youth organization, confirmed to the Associated Press that Kirk, its founder, was shot while speaking on the campus of Utah Valley University. He appeared to be shot near his neck.

Watters called Wednesdays shooting unacceptable and denounced some politicians and members of the media as rats for their comments on the shooting.

This is unacceptable and has to stop, and it has to stop now, Watters said. And everybodys accountable. And were watching what theyre saying on television and whos saying what  the politicians, and the media, and all these rats out there. This can never happen again. It ends now, Gregs right again. This is a turning point, and we know which direction were going."

Political strategist Matthew Dowd faced a grilling on social media after he speculated on MSNBC about Kirks death.

We dont know if this was a supporter shooting their gun off in celebration, Dowd said. But following up with what was just said, hes been one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures, in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech, or sort of aimed at certain groups.
New Jersey elected officials offered their condolences and condemned the assassination of Charlie Kirk on Wednesday evening.

The 31-year-old conservative activist was shot in the neck during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday afternoon. Officials later confirmed that he was in critical condition before President Trump announced that Kirk had died shortly after 4:30 p.m.

The father-of-two was a prominent voice among young conservatives. His non-profit organization, Turning Point USA, advocated for conservative politics in high schools and on college campuses.

The FBI is still working to identify a suspect. A person was in custody earlier on Wednesday evening, but was later released.

Gov. Phil Murphy took to X, formerly Twitter, calling the killing abhorrent and stating that political violence has no place in our nation.

The murder of Charlie Kirk during an event on a college campus is abhorrent.



Political violence has no place in our nation.



Tammy and I are sending our prayers to Charlies family and loved ones.  Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) September 10, 2025

Republican governor nominee Jack Ciattarelli also posted his condolences on X.

I am deeply saddened to learn that Charlie Kirk has passed away. Our hearts go out to his wife, young children & loved ones, Ciattarelli wrote.

Ciattarelli also shared the quote: When discourse ends, violence begins and said everyone should strengthen our resolve to overcome ingrained and widespread hate.

U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-11th Dist., the Democratic nominee for governor, released a statement on Facebook.

The shooting of Charlie Kirk is appalling, she wrote. Im praying for him and his family. Political violence is dangerous, un-American, and has no place in our democracy.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., called the assassination an act of political violence that everyone should condemn.

We must call political violence what it is: evil and an attack on our most fundamental values, Booker wrote. The shooting of Charlie Kirk today in Utah must be condemned by all. My heart is with Charlie Kirk, his family, and all those who are impacted.

U.S. Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., joined the governor in describing the killing as abhorrent.

There is no justification for political violence, Kim said in a post on X. We all must condemn this attack on Charlie Kirk.

U.S. Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-7th Dist., offered his condolences in an X post, stating that he is praying for Kirks loved ones  especially his children and the Utah University community.

I am heartbroken to hear of Charlie Kirks passing. My heart goes out to his family and all those whose lives were touched by his legacy. I pray that God brings peace and comfort to his loved ones, especially his young children, and the Utah Valley University community during  Congressman Tom Kean (@CongressmanKean) September 10, 2025

U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd Dist., wrote that he is absolutely heartbroken and said that America lost a true patriot today while resharing the Presidents post announcing Kirks death.

U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-12th Dist., said she is disturbed by Kirks assassination and that she is praying for him and his family.

Deeply saddened and disturbed by the assassination of Charlie Kirk in Utah today. Political violence is never EVER the answer. Bill and I are praying for Charlies family, his wife and his two young children. May God carry them through this unspeakable tragedy.  Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (@RepBonnie) September 10, 2025

State Senate Republican Leader Anthony Bucco released a statement on Wednesday evening, saying political violence is becoming too common.

First and foremost, my heart goes out to Charlie Kirks wife and children, who today lost a husband and a father, Bucco, R-Morris, said. This kind of political violence has no place in our society and tragically, its becoming far too common. We must start seeing one another as human beings, not simply as political opponents, or as people on the right or left.
The top congressional Democrats pushed back against President Donald Trumps accusation that the radical left was responsible for the assassination of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) called on Americans on Thursday to unite in the wake of Kirks death. In a video shared on social media, Trump baselessly blamed rhetoric from the left for the fatal shooting of Kirk during an event at an Utah college on Wednesday.

Radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives. Tonight, I ask all Americans to commit themselves to the American values for which Charlie Kirk lived and died, Trump said from the Oval Office.

For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the worlds worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that were seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now, he added.

The suspect in the shooting remains at large and officials have not revealed any possible motive for the killing as of Thursday morning.

The Democratic leaders were asked about Trumps accusations on Thursday morning.

Well, look, the bottom line is, this is a time that all Americans should come together and feel and mourn what happened, Schumer told reporters. Violence, which affects so many different people of so many different political persuasions, is a is an affliction of America, and coming together is what we ought to be doing, not pointing fingers of blame.

This moment requires leadership that brings the American people together, as opposed to trying to further divide us, Jeffries added. Political violence in any form against any American is unacceptable, should be denounced by everyone. And moving forward, we have to figure out a better way to come together, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans.

.@SenSchumer and @RepJeffries react to President Trump blaming the radical left for Charlie Kirk death.



Sen. Schumer: "Coming together is what we ought to be doing. Not pointing fingers of blame.



Rep. Jeffries: "This moment requires leadership that brings the American people pic.twitter.com/JGzPFo6mn4  CSPAN (@cspan) September 11, 2025

Kirk died Wednesday after being shot while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. Video footage of the assassination quickly circulated on social media, showing Kirk being hit in the neck before the crowd fled the scene.

Leaders on both sides of the political aisle condemned the shooting, offering their condolences for Kirks wife and children. Many called for an end to political violence, as some experts have warned of a rise in threats against political figures.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Wednesday that lawmakers are concerned for their safety in the wake of Kirks death.

I think many of them are nervous, of course. Theyre public figures. Theyre exposed all the time, everywhere. We have great security measures for members of Congress, but theres a desire on many peoples parts to have more," Johnson told CNNs Kaitlan Collins.

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Ex-aides of former President Joe Biden are angry with former Vice President Kamala Harris, according to Axios. (Mandel Ngan/Pool via AP) AP

Ex-aides of former President Joe Biden are flipping out at former Vice President Kamala Harris, Axios reported Thursday.

In an excerpt from her upcoming book 107 Days, released by The Atlantic on Wednesday, Harris described Bidens decision to run for reelection in 2024 as recklessness and accused his staff of adding fuel to negative narratives about her.

Harris, who called her former boss the most consistently underestimated man in Washington, went on to say that she was in the worst position to make the case that he should end his bid for the White House, adding that it could be seen as incredibly self-serving. She noted, however, that she perhaps should have spoken out at the time.

Its Joe and Jills decision. We all said that, like a mantra, as if wed all been hypnotized. Was it grace, or was it recklessness? In retrospect, I think it was recklessness, Harris wrote in the excerpt.

The stakes were simply too high. This wasnt a choice that should have been left to an individuals ego, an individuals ambition. It should have been more than a personal decision, she continued.

Some in Biden world took issue with Harris recollection.

One former White House official told Axios: Vice President Harris was simply not good at the job.

She had basically zero substantive role in any of the administrations key work streams, and instead would just dive bomb in for stilted photo ops that exposed how out of depth she was, the same official added.

The official also said that Biden is not the reason she struggled in office or lost the 2024 campaign, for that matter.

One former Biden aide said the book is her attempt at political absolution.

Im not sure the very robust defense of not having the courage to speak up in the moment about Biden running is quite as persuasive as she thinks it is, the aide said, according to Axios.

When asked whether Harris, who has been floated as a contender, would decide to run for president in 2028, a different aide joked, Were not going back!  a line that Harris used on the campaign trail to take aim at Trump.

Former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Pool Photo via AP) AP

Following a poor debate performance against now President Donald Trump, Biden announced in late July that he would drop out of the race  just four months before the November election. The decision followed mounting pressure from several allies of the former president to step aside, as some raised doubts about his fitness for office.

In his announcement, Biden endorsed Harris to become the Democratic nominee and encouraged the party to support her.

In the passage, Harris also directly addressed concerns about Bidens physical and cognitive health, acknowledging that at the age of 81, Joe got tired.

Thats when his age showed in physical and verbal stumbles, Harris wrote, adding that I dont believe it was incapacity.

I dont think its any surprise that the debate debacle happened right after two back-to-back trips to Europe and a flight to the West Coast for a Hollywood fundraiser," she added.

Harris described Biden as a smart guy with long experience and deep conviction.

On his worst day, he was more deeply knowledgeable, more capable of exercising judgment, and far more compassionate than Donald Trump on his best, the excerpt reads.

Her book is set to be released on Sept. 23.

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Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz, who witnessed the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, said he received a phone call from President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) AP

Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz, who witnessed the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, shared on Thursday that he had received a phone call from President Donald Trump.

Kirk, the co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA and a close ally of the president, died on Wednesday after being shot while speaking during an event at Utah Valley University. He was 31.

Chaffetz, who was in attendance at the American Comeback Tour, previously shared his firsthand account with Fox News. He said that he attended the event with his family, and around 30 minutes in, as Kirk fielded a second question, a single shot was fired.

Chaffetz also noted that he was trading texts with Kirk before the event.

I said, Hey, Charlie, hope I get a chance to see you. Our family would like to see you again, Chaffetz said, adding, Hes there doing the right thing.

During an appearance on The Faulkner Focus, Chaffetz said early Thursday that Trump had reached out to him.

I was very touched by that. And he talked about his love of Charlie, and his family. That man, Donald Trump, is a rock. That guys amazing, Chaffetz said.

Everything going on in the world, and the president wanted to see how I was doing. And wanted to talk about that beautiful lady in his family, he continued.

Chaffetz and host Harris Faulkner both appeared visibly emotional.

.@jasoninthehouse says President Trump called him to see how he was doing, and "talked about his love of Charlie and his family." https://t.co/S2W45igFMA pic.twitter.com/Zdl1XvTlOa  Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 11, 2025

As a manhunt for the shooter continues, the FBI on Thursday released a photo of a person of interest whom it is seeking in connection to the shooting. The photo shows a person wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, dark jeans, a dark hat and black sunglasses. Authorities have previously described the shooter as of college age.

We are asking for the public's help identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.

1-800-CALL-FBI

Digital media tips: https://t.co/K7maX81TjJ pic.twitter.com/ALuVkTXuDc  FBI Salt Lake City (@FBISaltLakeCity) September 11, 2025

The FBI also said that it had recovered what it believes is the high-powered bolt-action rifle used in the shooting. Law enforcement officers separately detained two people on Wednesday, but both were later released, according to FBI Director Kash Patel.

Tributes quickly poured in after Trump first announced Kirks death on his Truth Social platform.

The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead, Trump wrote in his post. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!

While speaking at the Pentagon, Trump said that he will posthumously award Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nations highest civilian honor.

Before we begin, let me express the horror and grief so many Americans feel at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk, Trump said during a 9/11 remembrance ceremony. Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people.

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FILE - Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk speaks during a campaign rally, Oct. 24, 2024, in Las Vegas. Kirk was fatally shot at an event at a Utah college. (AP Photo/John Locher, File) AP

A handful of GOP lawmakers have urged President Donald Trump and his allies to tone down the rhetoric following the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk on Wednesday.

Trump, along with his MAGA base, has baselessly blamed the radical left" for the murder of Kirk despite the shooting suspect still being at large as of Thursday afternoon. Officials also have not revealed a possible motive in the shooting as they ask the public for help in identifying and locating the suspect.

As Trump escalates his rhetoric, some GOP lawmakers have urged him and his supporters to dial down the temperature as fears of political violence sweep the country.

U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said he wished Trump would unite the country, NBC News Julie Tsirkin reported on Thursday.

But hes a populist, and populists dwell on anger I have to remind people, we had Democrats killed in Minnesota too, right? Bacon said, according to Tsirkin.

U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) also condemned conservative pundits for calling for war in the wake of Kirks death, according to National Journal reporter Nancy Vu.

What I was really disgusted by yesterday is a couple of talking heads that sees this as an opportunity to say were at war so that they could get some of our conservative followers lathered up over this, Tillis said, according to Vu.

It seems like a cheap, disgusting, awful way to pretend like youre a leader of a conservative movement. And there were two in particular that I found particularly disgusting, he said.

And U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said that Trump was among those who should tone down the rhetoric following the assassination, The Hill reported on Thursday. Massie, who co-sponsored a resolution calling on the Justice Department to release the Jeffrey Epstein documents, called out the president for his ridiculous rhetoric on the resolution.

I mean, there is a lot of rhetoric. And the president himself engages in it  he called it a hostile act to co-sponsor the Epstein resolution. I think thats ridiculous rhetoric," Massie said, according to The Hill.

Its amusing, he continued. It doesnt offend me that hes over the top with the rhetoric, but some people take it literally, and he should probably tone that down himself.

A number of MAGA pundits expressed outrage toward Democrats, with many posting incendiary statements on social media. Fox News host Jesse Watters declared on Wednesday that people like the suspected shooter are at war with us.

Whether we want to accept it or not, they are at war with us, Watters said. And what are we gonna do about it? How much political violence are we going to tolerate? And thats the question were just gonna have to ask ourselves.

And Trump lashed out at rhetoric from the left in a video message posted to his social media accounts.

Radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives. Tonight, I ask all Americans to commit themselves to the American values for which Charlie Kirk lived and died, Trump said from the Oval Office.

For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the worlds worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that were seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now, he added.

TO MY GREAT FELLOW AMERICANS pic.twitter.com/oRsrE5TTHr  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 11, 2025

Kirk died Wednesday after being shot while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. Video footage of the assassination quickly circulated on social media, showing Kirk being hit in the neck before the crowd fled the scene.

Trump announced his death in a post on Truth Social Wednesday afternoon.

The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead, Trump said in his Truth Social post. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!

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FILE - Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk arrives to speak before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally at Thomas & Mack Center, Oct. 24, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) AP

Conservative host Megyn Kelly broke down in tears while announcing the shocking death of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk on Wednesday.

Kirk, 31, died after being shot while speaking on the campus of Utah Valley University during a Turning Point USA event. Kelly announced the news of Kirks death during a live segment on her YouTube channel, The Megyn Kelly Show.

Kelly spoke about the initial reports of Kirks death with Glenn Beck, CEO of Blaze Media, during her live show. Both Kelly and Beck were visibly emotional while discussing the early reports of his death.

There are news outlets reporting the worst right now, Glenn. I dont know what Im waiting for before I report it. I trust Just the News, I trust Deseret. What, are we waiting for the AP to say it? We dont trust them more than we trust these. They are reporting that Charlie has died  that hes dead, at the age of 31," Kelly said through tears.

Theres no way he survived that, Beck said moments later.

The two expressed their sympathies and shock over the news before Beck signed off from the show. Minutes later, Kelly read statements from Turning Point USA and President Donald Trump that confirmed Kirks death.

I am so sorry to be bringing you this news. I am so sorry. Im sorry for what it means for our country, for Charlie, poor dear Charlie and his family. Sorry for what its going to mean for the debates that we have yet to have, that he would have won, and he would have put everyone to shame on as he had been, Kelly said.

And Im angry, really f---ing angry about how this happened, why this happened, and why we dont have a person in custody, Kelly said.

Kirk, 31, was the CEO and co-founder of conservative youth organization Turning Point USA. He was shot while speaking on the campus of Utah Valley University. Video footage widely shared on social media showed attendees running from the event after Kirk was shot near his neck.

Trump announced Kirks death in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday.

The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,Trump said in his Truth Social post.No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!

Both Democrats and Republicans immediately condemned the shooting, with many calling it an act of political violence.

Kirk was a close ally of Trump and a staunch supporter of the Make America Great Again movement. He rose to prominence through his work with his organization, holding events at college campuses across the country to promote conservative values to students.

Kirk co-founded Turning Point in suburban Chicago in 2012 alongside William Montgomery, a tea party activist, to promote a smaller government and call for lower taxes.

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DUBAI, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will establish a Youth Council in China, a platform aimed at bringing together Emirati students studying at Chinese universities to strengthen cultural and knowledge exchange between the two countries.

Khalid Al Nuaimi, director of the UAE Federal Youth Authority, told Xinhua on Thursday that the Council, to be launched in Beijing in November, reflects the UAE's commitment to empowering young people abroad.

He added that the Council will serve as a bridge between Emirati youth and their Chinese peers, promoting people-to-people connections and advancing the UAE-China comprehensive strategic partnership.

The Council will organize joint activities, including educational, innovation, and digital economy programs, allowing Emirati students to learn from China's development experience while showcasing the UAE's own achievements, according to Al Nuaimi.

The Federal Youth Authority will continue its support for Emirati students in China through development programs, training opportunities, and knowledge-sharing initiatives, to ensure students benefit from their experience in China and bring valuable expertise back home, Al Nuaimi said.

Detailed plans and programs for the Council are expected to be announced within the next two months. 
Matthew Dowd speaks during the 2017 SXSW Conference and Festivals in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Mindy Best/Getty Images for SXSW) Getty Images

MSNBC has fired political analyst Matthew Dowd after he speculated on air about the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk during an event at a Utah college on Wednesday, several outlets reported.

Kirk, 31, died Wednesday after being shot while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. Video footage of the assassination quickly circulated on social media, showing Kirk who appeared to be hit in the neck before the crowd fled the scene.

The shooter, who fired one gunshot from a distant rooftop, remains at large as of Thursday morning, while federal, state and local authorities say they are working on multiple active crime scenes. Authorities separately detained two people on Wednesday, but both were later released, according to FBI Director Kash Patels latest update on X.

Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Point's visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP) AP

His death, first announced by President Donald Trump, has sent shock waves across the political and media world. Kirk was the co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA and a close ally of the president.

Moments after Kirk was shot Wednesday afternoon, host Katy Tur asked Dowd to talk about the environment in which a shooting like this happens, while she acknowledged that reports at the time had yet to be confirmed.

Dowd said he wanted to emphasize that we dont know any full details of this, but began to question the shooters motives, saying, We dont know if this was a supporter shooting their gun off in celebration.

But following up with what was just said, hes been one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures, in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech, or sort of aimed at certain groups, Dowd said.

He continued: And I always go back to hateful thoughts, lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions, and I think thats the environment that were in... You cant stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have, and then saying these awful words, and then not expect awful actions to take place. And thats the unfortunate environment we are in.

A number of social media users, and particularly conservative voices, immediately criticized Dowds reaction.

Rebecca Kutler, the president of MSNBC, later issued a statement on X apologizing for his remarks.

During our breaking news coverage of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable. We apologize for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise, the statement reads.

Dowd also addressed his comments in a post on Bluesky, first saying that his thoughts and prayers are with Kirks friends and family.

On an earlier appearance on MSNBC I was asked a question on the environment we are in. I apologize for my tone and words. Let me be clear, I in no way intended for my comments to blame Kirk for this horrendous attack, Dowd wrote.

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Nadine Menendez, wife of former Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., arrives at Manhattan federal court, in New York, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) AP

NEW YORK  Former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendezs sobbing wife told a judge that her husband was not the man I thought he was before she was sentenced Thursday to 4 years in prison for selling the powerful New Jersey politicians influence in exchange for bribes of cash, gold bars and a luxury car.

U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein sentenced Nadine Menendez, 58, for her April conviction for colluding from 2018 to 2023 with her husband, the former Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in a variety of corrupt schemes, some involving assisting the Egyptian government.

Nadine Menendez, tearfully addressing the judge for several minutes before he sentenced her, described her husband as a manipulative liar.

I put my life in his hands and he strung me like a puppet, she said. The blindfold is off. I now know hes not my savior. Hes not the man I thought he was.

Standing outside the courthouse afterward, she said she doesnt plan to divorce her 71-year-old husband, who is serving an 11-year sentence for taking bribes, extortion, and acting as an agent of the Egyptian government.

Stein told the defendant that she wasnt the person she was portrayed as during last years trial of her husband and two New Jersey businessmen, when the judge said she was painted as the true force behind the conspiracies.

But he said she also wasnt the innocent observer of what was happening around you, as her lawyer claimed.

You knew what you were doing. Your role was purposeful, he said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Pomerantz said Nadine Mendendez was the second-most culpable member of the scheme, after her husband, and that she did so without hesitation.

The defendant was not a bit player the prosecutor said. She played a critical role in selling the power of a U.S. senator.

When she spoke, Nadine Menendez partly blamed her husband, saying she was duped by his power and stature and that she felt compelled to do whatever he wanted, such as calling or meeting with certain people.

I would never have imagined someone of his ranking putting me in this position, she said, though she acknowledged that in retrospect, she was a grown woman and should have known better.

Prior to the hearing, Robert Menendez submitted a letter to the judge saying he regretted that he didnt fully preview what his lawyer said about his wife during his trial and in closing arguments.

To suggest that Nadine was money hungry or in financial need, and therefore would solicit others for help, is simply wrong, he wrote.

In addition to prison time, Stein sentenced Nadine Menendez to three years of supervised release. He said he granted her leniency in part because of the trial she endured, her difficult childhood in Lebanon, her abusive romantic partners, her health conditions and her age.

Stein said a prison term was important for general deterrence purposes: People have to understand there are consequences.

Nadine Menendez wont have to surrender to prison until next summer. Stein set a reporting date of July 10, accommodating a defense request that she be allowed to remain free to complete necessary medical procedures before she heads behind bars. Federal prosecutors did not object to the request.

Prosecutors had sought a prison sentence of at least seven years.

Her lawyer, Sarah Krissoff, asked that her client serve only a year behind bars, citing longstanding trauma, past abusive relationships, a brain injury and her difficult recovery from breast cancer. That diagnosis came just prior to last years trial, when she was to be tried along with her husband. She ended up being tried separately.

People with brain injuries dont just happen to engage in yearslong white-collar crimes. They choose to do so, Pomerantz shot back. Her choices are what caused that conduct.

After the sentencing, Krissoff said her client plans to appeal.

Prosecutors say Nadine Menendez played a large and crucial role in her husbands crimes, serving as an intermediary between the senator and three New Jersey businessmen who literally lined his coat pockets with tens of thousands of dollars in cash in return for favors he could deliver with his political clout.

During a 2022 FBI raid on the couples New Jersey home, investigators found $480,000 in cash, gold bars worth an estimated $150,000 and a luxury convertible in the garage.

Prosecutors said that, among his other corrupt acts, the senator met with Egyptian intelligence officials and speeded that countrys access to U.S. military aid as part of a complex effort to help his bribe-paying associates, one of whom had business dealings with the Egyptian government.
Roselle needs to re-do an election after a judge found some votes were not counted. Charlie Nick | MLive.com

An election do-over has been ordered in Roselle after a New Jersey judge concluded that not all votes were counted in an election decided by two votes.

Roselle Borough Councilwoman Cynthia Johnson ran for a council-at-large seat against incumbent Denise Wilkerson in Junes Democratic primary election in the Union County town.

Johnson lost by two votes, with 1,494 votes compared to Wilkersons 1,496 votes, according to the official count.

Johnson claimed in court that several votes were missing. Last week, multiple Roselle residents appeared at a hearing at the Union County courthouse in Elizabeth to testify their votes had not been counted in the primary.

Some voters said their votes werent counted in the primary due to errors made when the states Department of Motor Vehicles registered voters.

An election doesnt have to be perfect, but it must reflect the will of the voters. Where there is no certainty in the election results, an election must be set aside, attorneys for Johnson wrote in court papers.

Attorneys for Wilkerson argued Johnsons claims were without merit.

The claims set forth in Ms. Johnsons petition must be rejected by this court, as Johnson has failed to set forth any competent evidence demonstrating that legal votes were rejected in the 2025 Borough of Roselle Democratic Primary Election, Wilkersons attorneys argued.

Superior Court Judge John Deitch ruling said at least two voters had been disenfranchised, meaning they were deprived of the right to have their vote counted.

The difference between the candidates was two votes, Deitch wrote in his ruling. Because the petitioner has established by a preponderance of the evidence that at least two voters were disenfranchised by irregularities and the voting procedures, the results of the election must be set aside and a new election held forthwith.

The next step is to determine when the new election will be held.

Unlike regular council seats representing individual wards, the more powerful council-at-large position in Roselle represents the entire borough on the council.

There is no Republican opponent for the council-at-large seat, so the winner of the Democratic primary was expected to take the seat after Novembers election.

Both parties are slated to hold a legal conference to determine when they would like to schedule the election.

Jelani Gibson may be reached at jgibson@njadvancemedia.com.
Vice President JD Vance said Charlie Kirk was a true friend in a lengthy tribute posted hours after his assassination at a Utah college on Wednesday.

Vance reflected on his years-long friendship with Kirk, the Turning Point USA CEO and co-founder, in a nearly 1,000 word post on social media platform X. The vice president explained that Kirk helped him run for Senate in 2021 and later backed him as President Donald Trumps vice presidential nominee in the 2024 election.

Charlie was fascinated by ideas and always willing to learn and change his mind. Like me, he was skeptical of Donald Trump in 2016. Like me, he came to see President Trump as the only figure capable of moving American politics away from the globalism that had dominated for our entire lives, Vance wrote on X.

A while ago, probably in 2017, I appeared on Tucker Carlson's Fox show to talk about God knows what. Afterwards a name I barely knew sent me a DM on twitter and told me I did a great job. It was Charlie Kirk, and that moment of kindness began a friendship that lasted until today.  JD Vance (@JDVance) September 11, 2025

Vance touched on Kirks work as the leader of Turning Point USA, a conservative youth organization that spans across hundreds of college campuses. He said that Kirk died doing what he loved, which was discussing ideas.

Charlie had an uncanny ability to know when to push the envelope and when to be more conventional. Ive seen people attack him for years for being wrong on this or that issue publicly, never realizing that privately he was working to broaden the scope of acceptable debate, Vance said.

He went on to describe Kirk as a true friend and credited him with helping Trump win the White House in the 2024 election.

And because he was a true friend you could instinctively trust the people Charlie introduced you to. So much of the success weve had in this administration traces directly to Charlies ability to organize and convene. He didnt just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government," Vance said.

You ran a good race, my friend. Weve got it from here, Vance concluded.

Kirk died Wednesday after being shot while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. Video footage of the assassination quickly circulated on social media, showing Kirk being hit in the neck before the crowd fled the scene.

Trump announced his death in a post on Truth Social Wednesday afternoon.

The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,Trump said in his Truth Social post. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!

The suspect in the shooting is still at large as of Thursday morning, according to the FBIs latest update. While Trump and his MAGA base have blamed the shooting on rhetoric from the left, officials have not confirmed any motive yet.

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The American Foreign Service Association warned the State Department workforce of being fully candid to President Donald Trump's administration. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) AP

U.S. diplomats are hesitant to share inconvenient objective assessments with President Donald Trumps administration, NBC News exclusively reported Thursday.

In late August, the American Foreign Service Association, the union that represents the State Departments workforce, warned against sharing candid advice with administration officials, and noted that diplomats abroad are being asked to return from their assignments after providing less-than-positive analysis or unwelcome recommendations to leadership, according to NBC News.

We are operating in uncharted territory, the email reads. The environment facing the Foreign Service today is unlike anything weve seen.

It added: Even if offered discreetly, any statement, verbal or written, can be politicized and used against you. That is the reality we face.

Current and former federal employees told the outlet that the latest warning serves as only one example of how civil servants continue to encounter mounting pressure from the White House to minimize information that does not align with the presidents agenda.

What were seeing in the diplomatic corps right now is fear, John Dinkelman, the president of the American Foreign Service Association, told NBC News.

Dinkelman said that he has received reports from literally all over the world of American diplomats who are reticent to offer up their well trained and well experienced opinions regarding the situation on the ground.

And even to propose  heaven forbid  an alternate course of action, he continued.

He declined to detail the number of individuals who have been reassigned, citing fear of retaliation against his colleagues.

Tommy Pigott, a spokesperson for the State Department, said that its secretary, Marco Rubio, values candid insights from patriotic Americans who have chosen to serve their country.

In fact, this administration reorganized the entire State Department to ensure those on the front lines  the regional bureaus and the embassies  are in a position to impact policies. What we will not tolerate is people using their positions to actively undermine the duly elected Presidents objectives," Pigott said.

The report comes as critics of the president, including Democratic lawmakers, have argued that the administration has retaliated against officials who do not align with its message.

In early August, Trump fired Dr. Erika McEntarfer, the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, after the agency released a weak revised jobs report showing that growth has slowed. He accused her of being a political appointee who manipulated the jobs data.

Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, the head of the Pentagons Defense Intelligence Agency, was also abruptly fired late last month by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. It followed an initial assessment from June about U.S. strikes against Irans nuclear facilities, which found that they had a limited effect  while Trump maintained that the sites were obliterated.

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A New Jersey man pleaded guilty Wednesday to selling fentanyl from his Somerset home, resulting in the deaths of four people, authorities said.

Mauricio Gutierrez, 52, of Somerset, admitted in federal court in Trenton to a four-count indictment charging him with possession and distribution of fentanyl and cocaine.

Gutierrez faces the possibility of up to 20 years in prison on each count. The sentences may run consecutively, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba.

According to court documents, Gutierrez sold the drugs twice on the night of June 22, 2022. The fentanyl resulted in the deaths of four people, Habba said in a statement.

Gutierrez was arrested on Sept. 27, 2023. Investigators said they found cocaine stored in his vehicle and in his home.

Gutierrez admitted that even after becoming aware of the deaths of the four individuals in 2022, he intended to distribute the cocaine that was located by law enforcement at a later date, Habba said.

The victims have not been identified.

In addition to decades in prison, Gutierrez faces a $1 million fine when he is sentenced on Jan. 13, 2026, Habba said.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com.
Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk was shot and killed in Utah on Sept. 10. He's seen in this file photo at the Turning Point Believers' Summit, July 26, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) AP

A New Jersey school district was forced to shelter in place on Thursday after it received threats of violence related to a controversial social media post referencing the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Linden police issued a statement Thursday afternoon saying that the person responsible for the inflammatory video about Kirks assassination was erroneously identified as a district employee.

The individual referred to is not, nor has ever been, an employee of Linden public schools (in) Linden New Jersey, police said.

As a result of this misidentification, the Linden School district has been flooded with threats of violence.

Police said parents can expect to see an added law enforcement presence at the districts 11 schools.

The district posted a similar statement on its website.

Kirk died on Wednesday after being shot during an event at a Utah college, President Donald Trump said on Truth Social.

Kirk, 31, was CEO and the co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA. He was shot while speaking on the campus of Utah Valley University.

Mayor Derek Armstead called on the public to stop harassing the employee and said the police department would be increasing its patrols.

Tragically, as a result of this misinformation, one of our district employees has become the target of harassment and threats. This individual is completely innocent and has absolutely no connection to the video. I am deeply concerned for her safety, as well as the safety of our students, especially since threats have now been made against our school community.

Linden police said the threats are under investigation.

It is understandable for people to have strong emotions following yesterdays horrific events, and we join those who have condemned this killing in strongest of terms, Linden police said. Violence is never the answer, and threats of violence like this have no place in our society, and certainly not in our schools.

A police spokesman couldnt immediately be reached Thursday.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.

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Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 27F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy with snow showers becoming a steady accumulating snow later on. Low 17F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
HANGZHOU, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Alibaba's logistics arm, Cainiao, has said it will expand its "Global 5-Day Delivery" service to six more countries, namely Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, Hungary, Austria and Qatar, with the upgrade to be completed by the end of 2025.

Wan Lin, CEO of Cainiao, said the company has deepened cross-border partnerships with several major e-commerce platforms this year and is adding air freight capacity in Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Wan added that Cainiao is also replicating China's advanced supply chain practices overseas, upgrading warehouse standards -- and supporting both Chinese brands expanding abroad and international brands seeking growth in global markets.

Cainiao has reached a long-term strategic partnership with Qatar Airways Cargo, which will more than double weekly freight flights on core China-Europe routes. The company said the move would increase capacity, improve schedule reliability and provide more flexible shipping options for e-commerce platforms such as AliExpress.

"China is one of the world's most important trade partners and a core source of air freight demand," said Mark Drusch, chief cargo officer at Qatar Airways Cargo. He emphasized that the collaboration between the two companies will deliver efficient, high-quality global logistics services for customers.

Cainiao has been expanding its local express delivery network in nine key overseas markets -- including Spain, France, the United States and Mexico. Notably, since April, overseas parcel volumes from external merchants using Cainiao's local delivery services have surged by more than 200 percent, according to the company. 
ISLAMABAD, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister's Special Representative on China Zafar Uddin Mahmood has hailed China's Global Governance Initiative (GGI) as the "need of the hour," saying it offers a Chinese solution for tackling today's global challenges and improving global governance.

Speaking on Tuesday at a media interaction themed on accelerating the building of an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era, Mahmood said China has a proven record of translating commitments into reality.

He cited the New Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as examples of international financial institutions that quickly moved from announcement to successful implementation, benefiting developing countries, including Pakistan.

Mahmood noted that Pakistan appreciated the idea of the GGI and looks forward to benefiting from it, believing that the GGI, along with the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, and Global Civilization Initiative, will provide a good guideline to the countries across the world to follow on improving governance and people's livelihoods.

Answering questions from Pakistani media, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong said that the GGI has injected strong impetus into the reform and improvement of the global governance system.

China is willing to work together with Pakistan to implement the four major global initiatives, uphold international fairness and justice, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, he said. 
BEIRUT, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- French presidential envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian on Thursday stressed his country's determination to continue mobilizing international support for Lebanon in a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.

According to a statement released by Lebanon's Presidency, Le Drian said France is pressing ahead with preparations for two international conferences dedicated to Lebanon -- one aimed at strengthening the Lebanese Army and the other focused on reconstruction and economic recovery.

He said that recent measures taken by Beirut, including reforms in banking secrecy, restructuring of financial institutions, and the army's plan to consolidate weapons under state control, could encourage broader external assistance.

For his part, Aoun said that Lebanon is committed to carrying out economic and financial reforms not only because they are demanded internationally but also because they are seen as the only viable path to national recovery.

The Lebanese leader underlined that strengthening the army is as important as reconstruction, arguing that stability and security are prerequisites for rebuilding and growth.

He revealed that the army is implementing a plan to remove armed presence south of the Litani River, but warned that the Israeli occupation of Lebanese territory prevents the Lebanese army's full deployment.

He urged France and the United States to pressure Israel into halting violations of Lebanese sovereignty and complying with international resolutions.

Despite political differences inside Lebanon, Aoun added that the unity of the Lebanese people remains firm. "There is no fear over national cohesion, and no one is working to create a rift regarding fundamental national issues," he noted. 
North Devon Ian Roome has called on the Government to stop neglecting Britains farmers and take urgent action to safeguard the future of rural communities.

He was speaking yesterday (Wednesday, September 10) on the NFUs Back British Farming Day, joining fellow Liberal Democrat MPs to call on the Government to step up for farmers.

The party is demanding a full package of support including scrapping what it says is the unfair Family Farm Tax, restoring Defra funding for Young Farmers Clubs and introducing mandatory country-of-origin labelling on all beef products, including in large shops and large restaurants.

READ NEXT: Residents unite to oppose northern Devon solar and battery gold rush

This follows a government deal on 13,000 tonnes of tariff-free US beef imports with President Donald Trump, which the Liberal Democrats say threatens to undercut British producers with cheaper and lower-standard beef imports.

At the same time, the Government has axed long-standing Defra funding for the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (NFYFC), which has supported more than 23,000 young people for more than 30 years.

Ian Roome said: I have spoken to farmers all across North Devon about the pressures they are under. The Governments treatment of our farmers seems increasingly careless, if not, deliberate, with unfair taxes on family farms to now slashing Defra support for young farmers.

Our farmers in North Devon put food on our tables, keep our rural economy alive and are our key allies in tackling climate change. But this Government is making it harder and harder for the next generation to survive in agriculture.

The Liberal Democrats are demanding proper backing, fairer funding and clear labelling so shoppers can support British produce. Its time to stop neglecting our farmers and start standing up for them. British farmers deserve better.

READ NEXT: MP calls on Jhoots to deal with pharmacy problems in North Devon
Three new freshwater boreholes will be installed for rural communities in Uganda thanks to an amazing response from people in North Devon prompted by a generous local company that matched half the 15,000 cost.

In less than two months the borehole appeal launched by Amigos Worldwide has raised 8,500 with Gift Aid and the other half of the cost for three boreholes has been matched by the Philip J Milton & Company Plc Charitable Foundation.

It means the Barnstaple-based charity can now construct three more boreholes in remote rural Ugandan communities at a cost of 5,000 each and help to transform the lives of more than 2,000 people.

READ MORE: Life or death  North Devon asked to step up for vital water borehole appeal

Women and children in those villages will no longer have to walk miles to collect water, a sometimes dangerous journey - and the water they do find will often be contaminated and cause illness.

Instead it gives the adults more time to work and improve the lives of their families, while the children are able to attend school and gain an education.

Above: Clean fresh water helps to transform rural Ugandan communities. Credit: Amigos Worldwide

The ongoing Amigos campaign to install boreholes is led by the charitys Ugandan staff on the ground and uses local contractors for the construction.

In the several years it has been running it has been hugely successful, with one borehole often serving several communities.

The latest appeal saw Philip J Milton & Company Plc offer to match half the cost of each borehole, to a total of 7,500, with people in North Devon and Amigos supporters responding quickly to raise the rest.

James Lewis, CEO at Amigos Worldwide, said there had been a great response to the appeal and many had made donations because of the generous match funding offer.

He said: It is very clear how important clean water is for anyone, wherever they are. So many rural communities in Uganda have to rely on inconsistent water sources that are dirty and often shared with animals.

A borehole is such a transformational solution but comes with a cost. The offer of match funding from the Philip J Milton & Company Plc Charitable Foundation was a great catalyst inspiring people to give generously. We have been able to fund three new boreholes in Northern Uganda, which will bless so many.

The Uganda country director for Amigos, Robina Kyoshabire, explained how the boreholes help to transform lives. She said: When we start to work with new communities, the number one thing that they want is clean water.

Having three new boreholes will mean that around 2,000 people will now be free from the burden of walking miles to collect dirty water that brings disease and illness, it is such a blessing.

Above: Villagers in Uganda do not miss walking miles every day just to fetch dirty water. Credit: Amigos Worldwide

Philip J Milton & Company Plc has been a supporter of Amigos since it began and in that time has match funded and sponsored five boreholes that are literally a game-changer for rural villages.

Managing Director Philip Milton said on behalf of the Company and Charitable Foundation he wanted to thank all those who had supported such a worthy cause.

He said: We were happy to step-up when prior support faltered and your engagement has multiplied our own contribution in such an invaluable way.

We have supported our community and charitable activities for all of our Firms 40-year existence and as part of that, we do our utmost with our connections and resources to help promote and publicise what great charities like Amigos do and as a way of raising their profiles with the public and businesses to help them achieve more of their own goals, as well as new supporters.

Needless to say too we appreciate philanthropy with our own clients as part of our financial advisory assistance and we welcome enquiries from anyone who we may be able to assist with their own needs.

We hope too our engagement gives opportunity for charity recipients of our help and their supporters to imagine a small redefinition of the idea of philanthropic connectivity with donors rather than just a case of wheres the cheque which sadly seems to pervade many requests for help, etc.

Almost three quarters of the Ugandan population work in agriculture - many on small-scale, subsistence farms. Amigos works closely with communities to equip them with modern farming skills and resources such as boreholes. It also runs the Kira Farm training centre teaching vital skills to young Ugandans.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Amigos, which was originally founded by Phil Pugsley and began life as a printed greetings card appeal, but became so much more.

Philip J Milton & Company Plc is also celebrating its 40th anniversary and as part of that, has launched the 40th Legacy Awards, inviting good causes to apply for one of 1,000 grants for specific projects or appeals.

READ NEXT: Devon company celebrates 40 years by offering 40,000 in grants to 40 good causes

You can find out more about Amigos Worldwide and its many initiatives helping people in Uganda and the Sudan at https://www.amigos.org.uk
LONDON, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at Downing Street on Wednesday, during which he strongly condemned Israel's recent strike in Doha, Qatar, as "completely unacceptable," said Downing Street spokesperson.

Starmer said the strikes represented "a flagrant violation of a key partner's sovereignty" and did nothing to advance the peace that "we all desperately want to see."

Turning to the situation in Gaza, the prime minister voiced deep concern and urged Israel to change course. He stressed that Israel must allow humanitarian aid into the territory and halt offensive operations to prevent the worsening of what he called a "man-made famine."

Both leaders agreed that the hostages abducted by Hamas nearly two years ago must be released. Starmer also expressed condolences over Monday's deadly terror attack in Jerusalem.

The European Union and the United Nations, as well as several European governments, including Britain, have this week hardened their stance on Israel's escalating military campaign across the Middle East after it launched airstrikes on Qatar Tuesday afternoon. 
TEHRAN, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Iran's military chief said on Thursday that Israel's "aggression" against Qatar would not have occurred without coordination with the United States and its green light, according to the official news agency IRNA.

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Abdolrahim Mousavi made the remarks in a phone call with Qatar's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan bin Ali Al-Thani, during which they discussed Israel's Tuesday airstrike in the Qatari capital of Doha that targeted Hamas officials.

Mousavi said that Iran and its armed forces would stand by the Qatari government, people and armed forces "until the end."

Stressing that Iran strongly condemned Israel's attack, Mousavi noted that Iran's armed forces would never hesitate to support their "Qatari brothers," as relations between the two countries and their peoples had always been based on "fraternity."

The Iranian official said that Western support, especially from the United States, for Israel's "occupation," the killing of Palestinians, and "aggressions" against the region's countries was the main reason encouraging Israeli actions.

The Qatari defense minister, for his part, praised the Iranian government and people for voicing solidarity with their Qatari counterparts.

Noting that the attack took place while meetings were being held to achieve peace in Gaza, the Qatari minister stressed that the Israeli move was a violation of all red lines. 
A timely proposal: Global Governance Initiative charts path forward amid global challenges

08:59, September 11, 2025 By Pei Guangjiang, Li Yingqi ( People's Daily

As early autumn unfolded, two major events in China captured global attention.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Tianjin voiced strong support for defending multilateralism and the international order. Meanwhile, commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War underscored the shared resolve to honor history and build a better future.

At this pivotal moment, Chinese President Xi Jinping's proposal of the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) came at the right time. It offers Chinese solutions for strengthening the international order and addressing the chronic shortcomings of global governance. Amid mounting global turbulence and transformation, the initiative provides a timely framework for international cooperation and injects fresh momentum into efforts to overcome governance deficits worldwide.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, and the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations (UN).

Eight decades ago, chastened by the devastation of two world wars, the international community established the UN, opening a new chapter in global governance and laying the foundation for lasting peace and development.

Today's commemorations serve not only to remember that hard-won history but also to reaffirm the commitment to international order, advance reform and improvement of the global governance system, and work toward the shared vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity.

However, the international landscape today is fraught with instability and uncertainty. The UN-centered multilateral system is under strain, and global governance deficits continue to widen.

In terms of participation, the Global South remains seriously underrepresented in the global governance system, even as emerging markets and developing countries continue growing in influence, highlighting the urgent need to enhance their representation and correct historical injustice.

In terms of principles, the purposes and principles of the UN Charter are not being consistently upheld, Security Council resolutions are sometimes ignored, while unilateral sanctions and actions in violation of international law undermine international order.

In terms of effectiveness, implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has fallen behind schedule, while urgent issues such as climate change, widening digital divides, and governance gaps in emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, cyberspace, and outer space, remain unresolved.

Against this backdrop, the questions of what kind of global governance system should be built and how it should be reformed and improved have become pressing concerns for the international community.

The GGI responds to these questions and points the way forward, meeting the urgent needs of today's world. It rests on five principles: sovereign equality, respect for international rule of law, commitment to multilateralism, a people-centered approach, and concrete action. Together, these highly targeted and forward-looking principles provide systematic answers to the fundamental questions of who governs, how governance is carried out, and whom it ultimately serves.

As Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko observed, these five principles strike at the heart of what is required to address the deficiencies of today's international mechanisms.

The GGI's core principles are consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and reflect the common expectations of the vast majority of countries. Reforming and improving the global governance system is not about dismantling the current international order or creating new systems outside the existing framework. Instead, it seeks to strengthen and improve the capacity and effectiveness of existing systems and mechanisms, making them more effective, more inclusive, and more responsive to the realities of a changing world.

As President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso remarked, this initiative offers a pathway toward a more just and equitable international governance system, bringing tangible benefits to countries of the Global South.

History advances like a relay, with each generation taking up the baton in pursuit of human progress, moving forward step by step in answering the questions of the times.

China stands ready to work with all parties to enhance communication and coordination, jointly implement the GGI, explore pathways toward reforming and improving global governance, and promote the development of a more just and equitable global governance system, thereby contributing to the noble cause of peace and development for all humanity.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
CAIRO, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday met with Tunisian Prime Minister Sarra Zaafrani Zenzri in Cairo and discussed enhancing bilateral relations and regional coordination, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

Both sides agreed on "the importance of continuing to develop joint cooperation in various fields, especially with the 18th session of the Joint Higher Committee being held in Cairo, serving as a strategic platform for deepening cooperation and exploring new prospects for integration, particularly in the trade and investment sectors," the statement said.

Sisi and Zenzri underscored the need to intensify coordination and cooperation between the two countries "to confront the challenges facing the region and to work to resolve regional crises," it added.

The two sides further stressed the importance of encouraging the private sectors in both countries to implement joint development projects in Africa, "strengthening the Egyptian and Tunisian presence within their regional surroundings."

The Egyptian-Tunisian Joint Higher Committee meetings are scheduled to kick off at Egypt's New Administrative Capital on Thursday with the opening session co-chaired by the prime ministers of both countries.

The meetings, including those of the Egyptian-Tunisian Business Council, are expected to cover areas of cooperation such as renewable energy, digital transformation, agriculture, and transportation, alongside reviewing new private sector investment opportunities. 
LANZHOU, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Nestled within a hillside cave, a coffee shop has found the perfect "earthy" setting -- the traditional cave dwelling, or yaodong, often found on the Loess Plateau in northern China. The unique blend of chic and rustic charm has made this spot a hit with young city dwellers, such as Wang Min.

After a long drive from Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province in northwest China, and away from the endless hustle and bustle, Wang arrived at Yao Coffee in Qinglanshan Township, Dingxi City, Gansu, and settled down for a cup of coffee.

In addition to the novelty of its charming setting, Wang was also drawn by the coffee shop's stunning pastoral views of undulating terraced fields and the chance to spend a night in a cave-dwelling hotel room -- a rare experience for urbanites. "Here," Wang said, "I can truly enjoy the serenity and unhurried passage of time."

As rural areas scramble to attract urban tourists looking for a getaway from their busy lives, rural cafes are popping up everywhere. Once seen as symbols of urban sophistication, cafes are now flourishing in the countryside.

Yaodong is a type of earth-sheltered dwelling that utilizes the thick layers of loess and favorable landforms. At the reclaimed yaodong of Yao Coffee, three arched gates have been carved into a newly constructed brick facade, leading to long, tunneled caves inside, with the loess layers clearly visible on top of the facade.

A giant, fluffy pink bear doll sits idle in the yard of Yao Coffee, overlooking the sprawling terraced fields. The coffee shop's Instagrammable photos have attracted tourists like Zhang Yuxin from Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, even if it means taking a detour during her road tour in Gansu to check it out.

"Since our opening in July during the summer vacation, over 20,000 visitors from across the country have visited the coffee shop," said Zou Jiajun, the cafe manager. The coffee shop was developed alongside cave-dwelling guesthouses this year with a total investment of 5 million yuan (about 703,888 U.S. dollars).

The new business has created job opportunities for local residents. Twenty locals have found employment near their homes, taking on roles such as baristas, waitstaff and cleaners. "The work environment is comfortable, the pay is good, and I've learned new skills while being able to care for my parents," said Meng Tian, a new barista.

While the cave cafe draws visitors, the cave guesthouses encourage tourists to stay longer and spend more. This consumer model not only boosts spending and creates jobs but also expands the market for local specialty products, according to Liang Hailong, the head of Qinglanshan Township.

The enhanced infrastructure and living conditions in rural areas have made countryside getaways more accessible. Years of promoting the rural revitalization initiative have greatly improved rural living environments, infrastructure, and public services, which in turn fueled the rapid growth of rural tourism, according to Zhu Qiantao, an associate professor at Lanzhou University of Finance and Economics.

China has long grappled with challenges stemming from the urban-rural divide. "Today's villages have become more livable, providing a range of fresh experiences that leave a lasting impression on visitors," Zhu added.

According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, in the first quarter of 2025, rural areas across China welcomed 707 million visits, generating revenue totaling 412 billion yuan -- increases of 8.9 percent and 5.6 percent year on year, respectively.

Meanwhile, China's thirst for coffee is accelerating -- per capita consumption frequency surged from 5.6 times annually in 2023 to 7 times in 2024, with annual per capita consumption rising to 22.24 cups, according to an industry development report released at the opening ceremony of the 2025 Shanghai International Coffee Culture Festival in late April.

The coffee market ballooned to 789.3 billion yuan in 2024 and is projected to exceed 1 trillion yuan in 2025, data from market research firm iiMedia Research showed.

The convergence of these two trends has led localities to leverage their unique heritage, geological strengths, and specialty products to craft a fresh rural cafe experience. Dingxi's cave-dwelling coffee shop is not an isolated event; similar coffee shops are thriving in other regions of northern China. Rural cafes can also be found by lakesides, at the foot of mountains, and in forests, fields, orchards, and vast grasslands.

At Yao Coffee, Zhang gazed out into the distance and said, "I feel it is a feast for both my taste bud and my eyes." 
0.00000 section: 1 Years after 9/11, my doctor told

me that an environmental insult

could have caused my cancer. Its the kind of thing that can

happen after breathing

in the smoke and ash of trees and

debris and burning structures. We never knew if the smoke

from 9/11 caused my wifes cancer 

or mine. But 24 years

later, we are breathing it again.

Opinion Guest Essay I Watched

My World Burn

Down. Twice.

I was standing in the alley behind our home in Santa Monica, Calif., taking out the trash, when I looked up and saw that the mountains were on fire. It was as though Id never noticed mountains there before; I didnt think of the Santa Monica Mountains as such  more like steep hills rising above the village of Pacific Palisades. I stood there stunned, staring straight up my alley at the flames, black smoke unfurling into the blue sky. It was about four in the afternoon on Jan. 7, 2025.

I instinctively drifted to the corner where my neighbors were taking photos and videos with their phones. Drivers were passing slowly, many stopping to watch. Everybody seemed concerned yet relaxed, dazed or guiltily excited. I recognized the feeling. I found myself quoting myself inwardly, a poem I wrote after my wifes breast cancer diagnosis in 2015  or maybe I wrote it after my colon cancer diagnosis six months later: The holiday / of catastrophe / with friends.

My 11-year-old daughter joined me outside. She took my hand.

Whats happening? she asked. A wildfire, I said. Well be OK.

I watched the North Tower of the World Trade Center burn from the corner of Maiden Lane and Water Street at 9:03 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001. As the South Tower exploded in a fireball of biblical proportions, black smoke unfurled into the blue sky. An old woman pushing a handcart of groceries crumpled on the sidewalk, wailing.

A young woman

with a baby in a stroller asked,

Whats happening? I said I didnt

know, but we should

get out of here.

I ducked back into my girlfriends building in the Financial District, where Id spent the night. She was dressing for work and I told her to grab her things. Back out on the street, I instinctively turned and walked toward the towers. Why? To see the destruction firsthand? To help in some way? My girlfriend pulled me back into the exodus of people heading uptown through the East Side. Our phones werent working reliably. My girlfriend was sobbing sporadically. When we reached my sublet in the East Village, we switched on the TV and saw the North Tower disintegrate in a mushroom cloud of smoke and dust and ash. A friend, a former Army medic, somehow reached me on my landline: Close your windows, he said. You dont want to breathe this air.

Well never know with certainty that carcinogens in the smoke, dust and ash from the World Trade Center caused my wifes cancer and my own. Our oncologists think its possible, even probable. A significant environmental insult can easily lead to cancer in 10 to 15 years, they told us. The Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund agrees with our doctors; my wife and I are both registered recipients of compensation.

But cancer is the result of a complex interaction of any number of factors, including environmental insults, genetics and pure chance. A mutation flares like a spark from a downed power line in a Santa Ana windstorm and the body ignites in a conflagration of uncontrolled cellular growth.

I couldnt help but think

about the cause of our

cancers as Los Angeles burned

that first night. Los Angeles, 2025 I was as afraid

of the smoke as I was

of the fire. Los Angeles, 2025

We didnt leave Santa Monica right away because my wife was sick with the flu, so I stayed up monitoring the news and social media, ready to pull my wife and daughter from their beds. My phone chimed: We were now two blocks away from an evacuation warning zone.

An editor I knew called from the airport in Phoenix to ask if Id be willing to wear an N95 and drive toward the Palisades to write about what was happening. I wanted to go  I felt I should and must go  but as a survivor of Stage 4 colon cancer, my lungs are among the places where a recurrence is most likely. Breathing the smoke and ash of trees and brush and thousands of burning structures would be unwise, to say the least. So I lay down in the dark, listening for the chime of an evacuation alert that never came.

That morning, as I walked the dog, the wind buffeted the tall, slender palm trees. The sky was churning, a filthy beige color, the glow from the flames reflecting in the clouds. There was an acrid smell of airborne silt. My throat was irritated, my chest was tight, my arms and legs felt weak. Gusts of wind cleared the smoke, briefly allowing me to see the fire spreading wider and lower along the mountainside.

Pacific Palisades was gone, according to the news. For all we knew, our town could be next.

After Sept. 11, my girlfriend and I stayed in the East Village until we were allowed back into her apartment in the Financial District. We had left her windows open, so when we returned we found everything inside coated with dust and ash. A young guy from FEMA visited and recommended that we purchase a HEPA vacuum. Within days, we were living there part-time again. Politicians on the news promised that the air was safe. Everybody was encouraged to eat in restaurants, go shopping. Otherwise, the terrorists would win.

The smell outside

and inside was horrible,

then tolerable: concrete dust and plastic and

who knows what else

coating my teeth and leaving a

metallic tang in my mouth.

The sky above Manhattan was a greasy yellow smear that made me think of bones, bone marrow, bone meal. I couldnt stop thinking about the thousands of dead whose bodies we were breathing. Ground zero smoldered for months. Soon, though, I was running again, over to First Avenue and north past the makeshift morgue outside Bellevue, to the United Nations and back home. I was young. I trusted the politicians on the news. What choice did we have? This was where we lived.

As the L.A. fires burned, we chose to evacuate. On the way out, I closed every window. We found a rental cottage in Laguna Beach, about 60 miles south, where people were surfing, licking ice cream. I went running; the sky was blue. My wife was still struggling with the flu, and now our daughter was feeling sick. That night, as I lay in bed with her, trying to soothe her, she asked if our house would burn.

Our house is safe, I said, though I knew it was entirely possible that the Palisades fire could sweep two miles south and tear through Santa Monica.

That night she tossed in her sleep with a fever, and I imagined our home gone. A home that has held happiness, the arrival of our daughter and the days and nights with her since. A home that held the stunned anguish  and the joyful, stunned survival  of our cancers. The books that Ive read and loved and kept, and the books Ive written and published. Boxes containing 30 years of journals full of love poems and notions for stories and plays. Boxes containing handwritten letters, birthday and holiday cards, printed, predigital photographs. I thought of a poet I knew who, facing a terminal diagnosis, decided to burn everything shed ever written in a backyard bonfire. Maybe I was in shock, but I suspected that I wouldnt grieve for any object or possession that burned. As long as we survived.

In the grass behind our rental

in Laguna Beach, there was

an aviary the size of a small S.U.V.,

full of birds, dusty with feathers. My daughter instantly

loved them all.

A laminated booklet hung from metal rings on the cage, providing names and biographical information about Don Draper, Betty and Romeo, the red-rumped parrots; Pippi, Panchito and Pac-Man, the rainbow finches; Chadwick, Belinda and Lupita, the button quails. My daughter giggled when Buster the cockatiel, known as The Mayor because of his gregariousness, nibbled her fingers through the wire mesh.

I was in the kitchen when a woman stepped out of the house on the other side of the aviary. She was just a voice to me, a blur of long gray hair. She owned our cottage and these were her birds. She loved that our daughter loved them.

Has your family been displaced by the fires?

Our daughter said yes. Our house is OK, she added. So far.

We were lucky. Our home is still here. Many of our friends lost their homes in the Palisades and Altadena. Some have their homes, but their schools are gone. One friend returned to where he lived and found a single coffee mug in the ashes. Another found two plates of her wedding china. Another found one photo: a singed school portrait of her son.

Once we were back in Santa Monica and for a long time after the fires, I tried to stay inside. When I walked the dog, I wore an N95 and felt like it was March 2020. The A.Q.I. apps described our air quality as good, but the smell was Sept. 11. I worried about dioxins, asbestos, PCBs  carcinogens in the ash and air. Ash eddied in gutters. Sidewalks were gritty and crunched under heel. A film of ash covered everything outside: the remains of burned vegetation, 16,000 structures and dozens of human beings.

I didnt know when Id feel safe running again, with the breeze, a leaf blower, a passing car stirring up molecules of potential cancer. When I saw other people running, I tried not to envision them in the chemo chair in 10 to 15 years. I rented a cheap stationary bike. I left my shoes at the door and carried the dog to the sink to wash her paws. Our new HEPA air purifiers were blowing nonstop and our windows remained closed.

Over the last eight months, I have slowly acclimatized. Long ago I stopped wearing a mask outside. I dont wash the dogs paws after every walk. The cleanup of toxic debris in the Palisades and Altadena, we are told, is almost complete, and people are buying and selling lots. Friends have moved out of Los Angeles, or out of California. Other friends are rebuilding. The beaches have been open for months. I returned my rented stationary bike and Im running outside again. But on blustery days, when the ash swirls, I stay inside. I dont open our windows wide. I am wary, but I believe in survival.

Ten years ago, when my wife and I were diagnosed with cancer, friends and friends of our friends, acquaintances and strangers, sent flowers, letters, food. Sent money. Called and visited us. Saved us. So my wife and I have been doing what we can. Helping friends find houses and apartments to rent. Donating to GoFundMe after GoFundMe. We are determined to help in small and personal ways, now and in the months and years ahead, when the mass sympathy is gone, when the cataclysm is half-forgotten  which is often when the worst of a trauma is felt.

I write this during a heat wave in the heart of fire season. Hardly any rain has fallen in Los Angeles since January. Last month, the massive Gifford Fire burned through Los Padres National Forest, north of Santa Barbara. Wildfire smoke from Canada is again polluting the air in the Upper Midwest and the Northeast.

While 9/11 was a once-in-a-

generation catastrophe,

cataclysmic fires have grown

commonplace. New York City, 2001 More and more of us

are breathing poisoned and

poisonous air, fleeing

from the cyclical disasters

of ecological collapse. New York City, 2001

East Village, New York City

Sept. 2001

Learning to live in a near-constant emergency feels too much like the experience of living in remission from cancer: a state of ceaseless uncertainty that my wife and I have learned to accept in our remissions. This is not a life that we should accept en masse, that we should accept for our children. But this is how we live now. This is where we live.

I often find myself daydreaming of rain. Of an afternoon darkening not with smoke but with storm clouds. Of rain that rinses the air. Of the alley behind our home streaming with rain that washes the ash away. No; thats a trite and disingenuous metaphor. Rain offers only a partial cleansing, transferring the pollutants to lower ground, to the ocean and the beaches.

And another fire is always coming. So my mind turns to fantasies of escape, of moving to the west of Ireland, where I lived for a year in my 20s. Where the rain, it seemed, was never-ending.
1 Where Will Everyone in Gaza City Go? 2 This is Gaza City. Tents crowd nearly every spare piece of land. Many buildings are destroyed. Nearly a million people were estimated to live here this summer. 3 Israel has ordered everyone in the city to leave as it prepares to take over. A close look at satellite images of the territory shows how difficult thats going to be. Satellite image from Sept. 4, 2025, via Planet Labs 4 Near the coast, tents were crammed into the footprints of destroyed buildings and stretched across the beach. Jehad Alshrafi/Associated Press 5 Just over six months ago, this area was mostly clear of tents, before the Israeli militarys movements in other areas of Gaza forced people to relocate to the coast. Satellite image from Feb. 27, 2025 6 7 This was Gaza Citys main commercial area, Omar Mukhtar Street, where the park is now filled with hundreds of tents. Hungry and exhausted, Gazans say they have nowhere to go, and uprooting again and again is grueling and expensive. Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters 8 9 Gaza City has been filled with so many tents because it was one of the few areas of the enclave that was still accessible to Gazans. Most of Gaza has been under evacuation orders or part of an Israeli militarized zone. Evacuation order issued Sept. 9 Gaza City Closed areas Militarized zone or under evacuation order GAZA STRIP ISRAEL EGYPT Evacuation order issued Sept. 9 Gaza City Closed areas Militarized zone or under evacuation order ISRAEL GAZA STRIP Mediterranean Sea EGYPT Source: U.N. Office for the Coordination Humanitarian Affairs (militarized zone and evacuation zones) 10 The Israeli military says it plans to take control of all of Gaza City. It was already active here in Zeitoun, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Gaza City that has been razed. 11 Just last month, satellite images show the buildings on this block were still standing. Satellite image from Aug. 9, 2025 12 13 Parts of Zeitoun now look like the east side of Gaza City, near Gazas border with Israel. It was razed by the Israeli military months ago. Other land near Gazas borders has been similarly destroyed. 14 Seven months ago, most buildings were still standing on the east side of Gaza City. Satellite image from Feb. 27, 2025

The Israeli military has said that its planned operation in Gaza City would prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping and planning future attacks. Israel entered Gaza City earlier in the war, but said this time it would move into parts of the city that Israeli soldiers have not previously attacked or held.

The risks to civilians who leave  and those who stay  are enormous. Further intensification of military operations in Gaza City would cause a catastrophe for civilians, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has warned.

Gaza City and the surrounding region are officially suffering from famine, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification announced in August. The United Nations and aid agencies rely on the group, known as the I.P.C., to monitor and classify global hunger crises.

Photos and videos taken on Tuesday showed crowds of Palestinians heading south from Gaza City. Still, others said they planned to stay, saying the journey was too expensive, that they had nowhere to go, or that if they left, they feared they could never come back.

Eyad Baba/Agence France-Presse  Getty Images

In its evacuation order for Gaza City, the Israeli military instructed people to go to what it called a humanitarian zone in the southern half of the territory, a thin coastal strip where hundreds of thousands of people have already taken refuge.

The Israeli military said there were vast empty areas that were free of tents there. But hundreds of thousands of Palestinians already live there, and parts of the zone overlap with areas the military has ordered evacuated.
An Indiana bankruptcy lawyer named Mark Zuckerberg has filed a lawsuit against the Meta CEO whose name he shares for repeatedly banning him on his social platforms.

Its not easy being Mark Zuckerberg. No, not the Facebook founder, but an Indiana bankruptcy lawyer whose life has been negatively affected by sharing the younger tech mavens name. Not only does he get over 100 emails every day from people who think that they are writing to the Meta chief executive officer, but he can rarely make a reservation at a restaurant without getting hung up on because people mistake him for a prankster. But the thing that irritates him the most is getting banned on Facebook and Instagram despite investing tens of thousands of dollars in ads for the simple reason that his name is Mark Zuckerberg.

Photo: Julio Lopez

Since 2017, Mark Zuckerberg advertising page has been disabled five times for allegedly impersonating the famous Meta founder. Its an irritating feeling, knowing that hes been using the name for far longer and has been practicing bankruptcy law since Facebooks Zuckerberg was three years old. He claims to have lost $11,000 in ad fees as he never gets refunded when his page is disabled for allegedly impersonating Zuck.

We removed your page because youre trying to impersonate our founder. Nice try, fake Zuck! This is the message the Indiana lawyer receives whenever his advertising page gets disabled on Facebook. He never gets the chance to prove he is Mark Zuckerberg, so after his latest ban, he decided to file a lawsuit against Meta. In his complaint, the lawyer shared a copy of an email thread from 2020 in which he references the fact that he has been in touch with Meta about his repeated bans since 2017.

Also, if you happen to run into the younger, richer Mark Zuckerberg, tell him I said hi and he causes me great aggravation each day, the lawyer wrote in one email to Meta.



Following lawyer Mark Zuckerbergs lawsuit and the buzz around it, Meta has acknowledged the bizarre situation, promising to find a solution. We know there are more than one Mark Zuckerberg in the world. Were working to try to prevent this from happening again, the platform announced.

My life sometimes feels like the Michael Jordan ESPN commercial, where a regular persons name causes constant mixups, Mark Zuckerberg complained.
MANILA, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' private sector partners in the motorcycle transportation, taxi, and delivery sectors, on Thursday affirmed their commitment to improving road safety across the country.

The commitment was made after the meeting with the United Nations Secretary General's Special Envoy for Road Safety, Jean Todt, and the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the Philippines, Arnaud Peral, in the Philippine capital.

"We recognize the vital role our industries play in the daily lives of millions of Filipinos. With this responsibility comes the duty to uphold the highest standards of safety for our drivers, passengers, and the communities we serve," read the statement of commitment.

According to the data from the Philippine Department of Health, about 12,000 Filipinos die from road accidents every year.

The Philippine government aims to reduce road traffic deaths by 35 percent by 2028. 
Vitomir Maricic, a freediver from Croatia, managed to hold his breath for 29 minutes and three seconds at the bottom of a 3-meter-deep pool, shattering the previous world record by a whopping five minutes.

Most of us can only hold our breath for a few seconds to a couple of minutes, but with the right training, some people can hold their breath underwater for such long periods of time that they might as well be superhumans. These people are called freedivers. After undergoing extensive physical and mental training, including diaphragmatic breathing, cardiovascular exercise, and meditation, they are able to perform extreme feats that seem impossible to most humans. Vitomir Maricic, an experienced freediver from Croatia, recently set a new world record for the longest oxygen-assisted breath-hold ever  29 minutes and 3 seconds  surpassing the previous world record by approximately five minutes.

Photo: Ibrahim Rifath/Unsplash

It got worse and worse physically, especially for my diaphragm, because of the contractions, but mentally I knew I wasnt going to give up, Maricic said after his monumental achievement. After the 20-minute mark, everything became easier, at least mentally.

When holding our breath, the oxygen level in our blood drops, and the carbon dioxide level rises. When the latter reaches a certain level, the body begins to involuntarily contract the diaphragm, the main muscle of breathing, triggering the involuntary reflex to breathe again. When a physiological break-point is reached, the diaphragm contracts to force a breath, which can be lethal underwater. Luckily, freedivers are trained to fight this reflex until the very last possible moment.

Although diaphragmatic breathing and cardiovascular exercise are essential for freedivers, most of them also rely on meditation for mental discipline. They need to manage their fear and anxiety and maintain a calm mental state under extreme conditions, and reduce both mental and physical activity to decrease the rate at which oxygen is consumed.



Under normal conditions, Vitomir Maricic can hold his breath underwater for 8 to 10 minutes, but in order to increase his breath-hold, he breathes pure oxygen for about 10 minutes before going underwater. This allowed him to have five times the normal oxygen level in his blood, which helped him hold his breath for much longer. However, breathing pure oxygen is dangerous because it can cause oxygen toxicity, which can be fatal.

On June 14, Maricic held his breath for 29 minutes and three seconds, breaking the previous world record for the longest oxygen-assisted breath-hold by about five minutes. That record had been set in 2021 by another Croatian freediver, Budimir Sobat.
Donald Trump called her Crazy Kamala (among other things) during the presidential campaign, but he really should read the former Vice Presidents book, 107 Days.

He should especially focus on Kamala Harris warning about the danger of being surrounded by a bunch of yes men and women staffers.

The spinelessness of Team Biden is why Trump is in the White House again. His braintrust couldnt screw up the courage to tell Biden what all could plainly see. He was too feeble to run for re-election and there was no way that he would finish out his term at age 86.

Its Joe and Jills decision, Harris wrote. We all said that, like a mantra, as if wed all been hypnotized. Was it grace, or was it recklessness?

Harris was among zombies who enabled Old Joe. She now writes that perhaps she should have told her boss that his time was up. You think?

She rationalizes her own chicken-heartedness, saying the American people had chosen him before in the same matchup. Maybe he was right to believe that they would do so again. Thats a cop-out.

Harris failed a key test of leadership, which disqualifies her for receiving the Democratic 2028 presidential nomination. Her mea-culpa 17-city book tour kicks off Sept. 24 with two shows at New Yorks Town Hall. Tickets for the opening (5:30 event) are priced from $139 to $4,029.

Trump is surrounded by a group of super yes men and women.

He may enjoy the endless flattery that his sycophants dish out during those unwatchable televised Cabinet meetings.

Steve Witkoff, who is Trumps crackerjack special envoy to Russia and the Middle East, gushed: Theres only one thing I wish for: that the Nobel committee finally gets its act together and realizes that you are the single finest candidate since the Nobel Peace, this Nobel award was ever talked about. How about wishing for the end of Israels butchery in Gaza, Steve?

Its inevitable that a crisis will come along that requires someone to speak the unvarnished truth to Trump.

Who is that going to be? Defense chief Pete Hegseth? National intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard? Attorney General Pam Bondi. Don't count on it.

God help the USA.

Death by a thousand cuts. Didnt you think the Cracker Barrel crisis over the old timer on the logo was over? Not so fast.

Cracker Barrel on Sept. 9 issued a Your Old Country Store is Here to Stay statement to assure customers that its restaurant remodeling program is officially dead.

It said: We heard clearly that the modern remodel design does not reflect what you love about Cracker Barrel." Customers apparently like the rocking chairs on the porch, love playing peg games and wearing the America hats that are available in the gift shop. They are part of the Cracker Barrel identity.

The Lebanon, TN-based company had only remodeled four of its 660 locations. It should have canned the modernization plan last month during the old timer uproar.

Cracker Barrel wants customers to concentrate on its menu. Lets hope it doesnt screw that up.

Cutting food aid for starving people in Africa is a profoundly unmoored expression of the America First agenda, according to former Republican Senator John Danforth.

Until this year, feeding hungry people wasnt a partisan issue in this country, he wrote in a Washington Post op-ed.

This common principle was beyond debate. It was rooted deep in the soul of our people and our nation. We united across party lines: When people were hungry, America moved to feed them.

Danforth believes Americas political leaders have embraced a concept of America as a nation that cares only about itself.

He wants those who believe we are a compassionate nation that feeds the hungry must make ourselves heard. Speak out in public forums, write to Congressional reps, and vote to restore compassion in America for the hungry.

PR firms should be part of that outreach

Putins poodle yips Whats with Russia violating Polands airspace with drones? Here we go. That was Trumps beyond baffling posting on Truth Social. What does it mean? Where are we going?

Europes leaders are united in their criticism of the incursion. Where is Trump?

US ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker stood tall. We stand by our allies in the face of these airspace violations and will defend every inch of NATO territory, he posted on X.

Since Trumps soiree with Putin in Anchorage last month, Russia has launched devastating drone and missile attacks on Ukraine.

Trumps response: the Pentagon slowed shipments of military equipment to Ukraine.

Thats counter to the position of most Americans. A Gallup poll released Aug. 28 found that a plurality (46 percent) of Americans say the US isnt doing enough to aid Ukraine. A majority (52 percent) support Ukraine in its effort to regain territory occupied by Russia even if it means prolonging the war.

The president has time and time again warned of ratcheting up sanctions on Russia and failed each time to deliver. Instead, Trump has punished former ally India for buying Russian oil.

What does Putin have on Trump? US sanctions in coordination with Europe would strangle Russias economy. What gives?

Putin steps up terrorism attacks on Ukraine's civilians, and decides to test NATOs response to an aerial attack.

What will it take before Trump sanctions Russia? Russian drones flying over Mar-a-Lago?

Hats off to the National Guard PA team for Joint Task Force DC for telling it like it is. It did an assessment of public sentiment regarding the deployment of troops in the nations capital.

The report found that troops are leveraging fear among residents, and driving a wedge between the citizens and the military.

Another finding: theres a sense of shame among the soldiers who trained to be neither cops nor landscapers.

Its time to end the wasteful and demoralizing National Guard deployment in DC that is undermining trust in the military. Lets not repeat that mistake in Chicago and New York.
MONTHS of archaeological work have been carried out on a castle in Birr and a group was recently given some fascinating insights into the work during a Heritage Week event.

On Wednesday evening August 20 about fifty people met in Camcor Park to walk a couple of kilometres beside the River Camcor to the excavated ruin of Clonoghill Castle.

There we were met by Richard Reid, an archaeologist with Irish Heritage School. Richard told us that he and a group of American students have been excavating the site over the summer and into the autumn.

Firstly, we wanted to answer the question is the Castle a Hall House or Tower House? The latter is 1600s, the former three centuries before. We dug two trenches and found charcoal. We found no pottery at all, which is unusual. Normally you'd expect to find plenty of pottery. There were no finds at all, apart from a plate which might be 1700s. A radiocarbon dating of the charcoal gave us a date of sometime between 1380 to 1480, which means it was built about the same as the Black Castle in Birr Castle. Both the Black Castle and Clonoghill Castle were strongholds of the O'Carroll Clan. Richard pointed out that the walls of Clonoghill Castle are incredibly thick. They are ten foot thick, which would lead you to believe that this area was a pressure point, an area of focus by hostile people in the region. We know the Bigoe Glass Makers lived here in the 1700s, so we think they carried out some modifications on the castle.

We are not exactly sure what we have here. The remains you are looking at could be the remains of a double-roomed bottom floor. We think we might have the remains of a cupboard in the corner. There are also a lot of strange holes going through the walls. We think they were used as wall ties, to strengthen the walls, because the foundation is sand which is not a good foundation for a building. The castle is about 13 metres long by a few metres wide. There's a raised area surrounding the castle, which was a defensive bank.

There are quite a few questions to still be answered, continued the archaeologist. Our geophysical survey wasn't fruitful as there was a lot of background noise. We are thinking of using Ground Penetrating Radar which might reveal more answers.

Heritage Officer Amanda Pedlow told the group that Offaly County Council is the proud owner of this site and Blundell Castle in Edenderry. There are about 200 castle sites in Offaly.

Our walk to the castle was part of a beautiful walk from Elmgrove following the river's bank, which has received some important funding in the recent tranche of Outdoor Recreation Projects grants announced recently by Dara Calleary, the Minister for Rural Development.

The walk follows the banks of the River Camcor for a considerable distance from Elmgrove to either the castle or Springfield Bridge on the Birr / Kinnitty Road and has been in existence for many years as a fisherman's path. It's also been used by locals for many years, a usage which rose spectacularly during the Covid years.

The grant announced on Thursday will be 17,538 and will go towards fencing work on the route and erecting signposting. The Irish Heritage School under Denis Shine (who is also Chairperson of Birr 20:20) has done a great job in recent months of clearing undergrowth and briars from the path. The signposted walk will be on the southern bank of the river. There is a fisherman's path on the northern bank but the fencing is too close to the river and the bank is susceptible to erosion. The funding announcement is important because, while creating a signposted walk has been talked about for a number of years, no funding has been granted towards the physical aspect of the work until now.

The Camcor walk is a treasure which quite a few people are unaware of. Once the works are complete and the signs up, a lot more people will be aware of it.

The Camcor Working Group was initiated by Birr 20|20 Vision by previous Chair Salters Sterling. This Working Group, which was initially chaired by Councillor Peter Ormond, looked at the project from a number of different points of view, including engineering, ecology, project management, biodiversity, hydrology, and social inclusion.

The Working Group's aim was to progress a range of projects related to the river, most notably the Elmgrove to Springfield public amenity walk which runs through the picturesque old demesne landscape of Syngefield House, which also contains Clonoghil Castle (at the back of Syngefield Industrial Estate). Birr 20|20 says the new walk will be a 5km loop linking the Camcor and Birr Town and is on course to open in 2025. The walk is the first step of an ambitious project which will ultimately link Birr Town to a series of walks at Killaun Bog (which is about four miles from Birr), starting with the Killaun Explorers Route.

One milestone of the Camcor Working Group was already reached in 2022 with the publication of Camcor  The River of Birr by John Feehan. The book succinctly presents the importance of the Camcor in an engaging and accessible manner, with chapters on the course of the Camcor, its natural history, mills and distilleries, the Camcor basin, the river as an amenity and bridges of the river. It also makes an impassioned plea to preserve the natural beauty that we have.
Roscrea's Community Action Group plan to launch a new website, visitroscrea.ie next week.

The launch is planned for Culture Night on Friday, September 19th in Damer House at 6.30pm.

The new user-friendly website is designed to serve as a central hub for residents, businesses, and visitors, providing comprehensive information and resources to foster greater community engagement and enhance tourism, the group said.

Visitroscrea.ie features an intuitive design, a comprehensive local directory of businesses, preschool, primary and secondary schools, sporting clubs, and resources for local amenities.

Residents can access information on local services, and upcoming events, while visitors can explore our rich historical heritage town.

This new website, visitroscrea.ie, marks a significant step forward in our efforts to build a more connected and informed community, Fiona Dunford, Chairperson of RCAG said.

We are thrilled to provide a central digital hub that benefits everyone in Roscrea, making it easier than ever to discover and engage with our vibrant town, she said.

READ NEXT: Roscrea's stunning new community and enterprise hub officially opened

The project reflects Roscrea's commitment to modernizing communication and ensuring that all residents and visitors have easy access to the information they need.

The new website aims to strengthen the digital presence of the town and promote Roscrea as a dynamic and welcoming place to live, work, and visit.

Roscrea is a growing community in County Tipperary, rich in history and natural beauty. Committed to progress and community welfare, Roscrea strives to be a central point for commerce, culture, and tourism in Ireland's heartland.

'BEYOND THE FRAME'

Also on Culture Night in Roscrea, Damer House Gallery will be hosting 'Beyond The Frame' with artists Aine Ryan and Jenny Fox.

READ NEXT: Redesign of Roscrea's Castle Street and new Gantly Street progressing

Through a selection of their works both artists will discuss the themes that drive their art with presentations from both artists, followed by a facilitated discussion, offering a deeper understanding of their approaches and inspirations.

Access to both events is free but ticketed and places can be booked on the eventbrite website.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has confirmed that there have been further sightings of Asian Hornets in Ireland, despite the successful removal of a nest last week.

As it stands, there have been 24 verified sightings of the invasive species and two nests have been found. Most of these sightings have been in Cork, while there has been one sighting in Dublin.

The news of these sightings follow last Friday's, 5 September, confirmation of the removal of an Asian Hornet nest from a site in Cork City. This was the first instance of a nest in Ireland, which posed a significant risk to native pollinators and commercial bee hives in the area.

READ NEXT: People will have a really tough winter - Fears for Irish pensioners as Budget Day looms

Commenting on the announcement last week, Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher OSullivan TD said: "Since the first confirmed sighting of an Asian Hornet in the Cork city area, just over a month ago, the NPWS has been working tirelessly with experts from the NBDC, NMI and with local beekeepers to locate a nest."

He added: "I am aware of reports of further sightings of the Asian Hornet, and Id like to reassure everyone that each of these is taken very seriously and investigated thoroughly when reported."

Ainle Ni Bhriain, Director of EU and International Affairs at NPWS, confirmed that the nest had been transferred to the National Museum of Ireland for examination in the hopes of providing insights about its origins.

The NPWS- led taskforce, the Asian Hornet Management Group will continue to monitor the situation in areas where sightings have been reported.

Members of the public are asked to report any sightings of Asian Hornet, along with a photograph to the National Biodiversity Data Centre at www.invasives.ie
DAKAR, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- A donation ceremony was held Wednesday in Dakar's Ouakam district, where China's Weihai City provided flood relief supplies to support affected residents.

The donation, including drainage equipment, daily necessities, and food items such as rice, flour, and cooking oil provided by Weihai through firms from the city that are operating in Senegal, is aimed at helping affected residents resume normal life as soon as possible.

Speaking at the event held in Ouakam, Chinese Ambassador to Senegal Li Zhigang said the two countries are good brothers standing side by side, always supporting each other through difficulties.

Qi Pan, general manager of Zhengwei Technical Company Senegal of WIETC, said that although far apart, Weihai and Ouakam are closely connected by friendship. He expressed the hope that the supplies would bring timely assistance, adding that his company would continue to contribute to the development of the two regions.

Abdoul Aziz Gueye, Ouakam district chief, expressed gratitude to the Chinese Embassy in Senegal and Weihai for their generous support, calling China a trustworthy partner of Senegal. He also voiced expectations for closer cooperation between Ouakam and Weihai. 
The European Commission, far from eager to restore the non-Orwellian name to departments of war -- long since rebranded as departments of "defense" -- is pushing to get deadly weapons categorized as especially ethical "investments" meeting Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria. Specifically, the tools of war, according to the European Commission, advance the cause of peace.

Those who buy most seriously into the war-makes-peace propaganda have reservations about particular means of destroying men, women, children, infants, and all life on Earth -- for example, nuclear weapons, incendiary munitions, depleted uranium ammunition, and blinding lasers -- and presumably about defining peace so broadly as to include a dead rock rid of all human and other living things. But if you slaughter people with respectable missiles, bombs, and bullets then you are not only engaged in a necessary evil, but are a philanthropist of the first order.

Leading the humanitarian death push are 96 UK members of parliament who tell us that nothing could be more ethical than keeping the war in Ukraine raging and the risk of nuclear Armageddon increasing.

A deep divide has been opened up in recent news stories between two longstanding veins of war propaganda. One of them used to be more popular in the days when U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt was unashamed to maintain that any war at all would be a good thing, and when war was believed a benefit to those waging it and even to those subhuman heathen creatures slaughtered by it. Philosophers like William James struggled to find some alternative that could provide the moral benefits of war. Death counts were exaggerated and bragged about. Exterminations were given scientific stamps of approval.

The other strain of war propaganda maintains that war is a philanthropic enterprise bestowed on the world through the generosity of those incidentally happening to profit from it. Death counts are hidden and reported as small fractions of the truth. So-called "defensive" imperial escapades are a "service" done in "proportion" as an eagerly sought out "last resort".

The odd development, I think, is that the newer, more Orwellian line -- that war is progressive and philanthropic -- relies more on ancient myths, whereas the older, more vicious and barbaric, lust for sadistic violence accepts more modern facts. If you're going to claim that war is defensive and necessary, you have to have accepted that some people are inferior creatures with whom one cannot negotiate, who "only understand violence". You have to pretend that wars happening in people's cities and villages are on an ancient "battlefield" free of civilians. Otherwise, you cannot justify defunding numerous enterprises that facilitate peace while dumping resources into what builds momentum for wars. But if you simply declare your love for the glory and disgusting gore and evil of war, then your underlying beliefs need only include that there's stuff in various parts of the world that could make you richer or more powerful, which is perfectly true, at least in a shortsighted blinkered way.

The remaining odd fact about these forms of war support is that they continue to need each other. Without the pair of them, with either of them alone, war support and acceptance would be too weak for wars to continue. Together, they provide a significant slice of a population, as well as the illusion of an all-encompassing debate. Which excuse do you use for the genocides you back? What? Oh no, I use the other excuse entirely!

Some day, if we have enough days left, we need to think outside the Pentagon.
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"Either this nation shall kill racism, or racism shall kill this nation." (S. Jonas, August, 2018)

"How do you spellICE in German? G-E-S-T-A-P-O."

First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me. Pastor Martin Niemoller (c. 1946)

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On this day, he anniversary of one of the worst days in U.S. history, I often revisit a column that I have posted in the past. This column, which indeed I have previously re-posted, goes back to what was/is called "The 28 Pages Controversy." It deals with questions about the attack and its fall-out, literal and figurative, that have still never been answered. And it is likely that they will not be, at least until the principals at the center of the controversy are long dead. The "28 Pages" refers to an unreleased section of the 9/11 Joint Congressional Inquiry. They were excised by Pres. Bush. The excision alone is/was enough to raise doubts about the particular conspiracy theory that was propounded by that Administration and its allies. And so.

The list of important folks who have [or had] doubts includes: 9/11 Commission co-chair Lee Hamilton, 9/11 Commissioner Timothy Roemer (who became very active in urging the release of The 28 Pages, 9/11 Commissioner Max Cleland (who resigned from the Commission in disgust over its refusal to delve deeper into possible alternative explanations other than the one that seemed to be pre-destined to be arrived at), 9/11 Commissioner Bob Kerrey, Senior Counsel to the 9/11 Commission (John Farmer), Daniel Ellsberg, 27-year CIA veteran Raymond McGovern (who handled National Intelligence Estimates at the time), 29-year CIA veteran, former National Intelligence Officer (NIO) and former Director of the CIAs Office of Regional and Political Analysis William Bill Christison, CIA Operations Officer Lynne Larkin, decorated 20-year CIA veteran Robert Baer, Division Chief of the CIAs Office of Soviet Affairs Melvin Goodman, Co-Chair of the Congressional Inquiry into 9/11 and former Head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Bob Graham, Senator Patrick Leahy, former Republican Congressman Ron Paul, former Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Republican Congressman Jason Chafetz, former Democratic Senator Mike Gravel, former Republican Senator Lincoln Chaffee, former U.S. Democratic Congressman Dan Hamburg, and former U.S. Republican Congressman and senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, Curt Weldon. All of the above people have raised serious questions about the official conspiracy theory, as have many other current and former intelligence and law enforcement operatives. [Reviewing it again, this is some list!] As it happens, the matter of 9/11 and what really happened periodically appears on the front pages (although less frequently as time passes), because of "The 28 Pages" controversy.

According to a then current The New Yorker article:

"On the bottom floor of the United States Capitol's new underground visitors center, there is a secure room where the House Intelligence Committee maintains highly classified files. One of those files is titled Finding, Discussion and Narrative Regarding Certain Sensitive National Security Matters. It is twenty-eight pages long. In 2002, the Administration of George W. Bush excised those pages from the report of the Joint Congressional Inquiry into the 9/11 attacks. President Bush said then that publication of that section of the report would damage American intelligence operations, revealing sources and methods that would make it harder for us to win the war on terror.

"There's nothing in it about national security, Walter Jones, a Republican congressman from North Carolina who has read the missing pages, contends. Its about the Bush Administration and its relationship with the Saudis. Stephen Lynch, a Massachusetts Democrat, told me that the document is stunning in its clarity, and that it offers direct evidence of complicity on the part of certain Saudi individuals and entities in Al Qaeda's attack on America. Those twenty-eight pages tell a story that has been completely removed from the 9/11 Report, Lynch maintains. Another congressman who has read the document said that the evidence of Saudi government support for the 9/11 hijacking is very disturbing, and that the real question is whether it was sanctioned at the royal-family level or beneath that, and whether these leads were followed through. At the time, in a rare example of bipartisanship, Jones and Lynch co-sponsored a resolution requesting that the Obama Administration declassify the pages. (It did not.)"

"It is fascinating that the Saudi Royal Family (that is, the government of Saudi Arabia) itself is asking that the document be de-classified and released. Through their decades-long connection with the Bush family, going back to when GHW Bush was the Director of the CIA in the 1970s and they had conjoint corporate interests in something called the Carlyle Group, they likely already know what is in it. Thus it is likely that it contains nothing too damning about them. The ostensible push from Congress for its release at this time is to enable families of 9/11 victims to sue the Saudi government or individual Saudis who gave money to right-wing Islamic causes and possibly directly to one or more of the high-jackers, for compensation.

"The No response has been very strong, at a senior level, ranging from Richard Haass, former President of the Council on Foreign Relations [and now a regular MSNBC Morning Joe commentator] to Philip Zelikow, who was the Staff Director of the 9/11 Commission (who also happened to have been the staff director for the George W. Bush Presidential Transition Team). Oh such terrible things would happen to our relations with the Saudis, they claim (and do recall that the high-jackers were for the most part Saudis). But if that were the case, why would the Saudi Royal Family be pushing for the documents release? Its just a police report, a collection of fact and speculation, with no conclusions. Ah well, that's just the point, isn't it?"

Recall the following. From the outset of the post-tragedy period, Bush/Cheney did not want there to be any kind of official investigation of it, and agreed to set up the Commission only under enormous pressure. Bush and Cheney themselves testified before the Commission, but not under oath, and Cheney would not allow Bush to appear by himself. On the other side, there is that long list above of senior people, mainly from the government, who have raised major questions about the Report.

Further, if indeed The 28 Pages are just a police report, that would, if it raised unanswered questions (which apparently it does), provide a strong impetus for reopening the whole investigation. It might also stimulate the formation of a Commission to investigate the completely separate Pentagon disaster, which has never been the subject of a formal inquiry. (I would want such an inquiry to begin with the question: how could a hollow aluminum tube that is an airplane, approximately 14 feet in diameter penetrate two walls of heavily reinforced concrete, and, by-the-by, leave no wreckage along the way?)

In my view, I don't think that the no-sayers about The 28 Pages are really concerned with the possible Saudi reaction, especially since, to repeat, the Saudi Royal Family itself has asked for the text to be released. No. I think that the concern runs much deeper than that, possibly all the way back to Bush/Cheney and their possible role in the disaster. There is not space here to go through the whole collection of evidence that indicates a) that the Commission Report is far from complete or accurate, and b) that indeed the standard conspiracy theory simply does not hold water. But just consider the following collection of facts which could be connected into a very sinister picture. Just sayin.

1)The Bush family had a long-standing relationship with Osama-bin-Laden's father, a major construction magnate in Saudi Arabia. 2) As a young man, Osama bin Laden was a CIA asset, working with the forces that Zbig Brzezinski put together in the late 1970s to overthrow the Soviet-supported government in Afghanistan. 3)The two key Saudi operatives who came to this country to take flying lessons on commercial aircraft with a number of their countrymen spoke no English and apparently had no previous flight experience. 3) Bush, to repeat, did not want to have a Commission, did not testify under oath, did not testify by himself, and ordered the retention of The 28 Pages. 4) New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani made sure that all of the Twin Towers wreckage was scooped up as quickly as possible, and buried in the New Jersey swamps, before any forensic work could be done on it.

Former Florida Governor and Senator Bob Graham, who strongly supported the release, had been concerned about its retention from the time it happened. He often gave the impression (to me at least) that he knew much more about what really happened than he either wanted to reveal or simply cannot, because of some oath or other (or something else?) Again, during the three-day no-fly zone that was created over all of the U.S. immediately after the disaster, 18 (if I recall the number correctly) members of Osama bin Laden's family who were in the United States were flown out on a private jet, before the FBI could have access to them for questioning.

Cheney has never been officially questioned about the stand-down order he may have given that would have over-ridden the standard operating procedure for dealing with high-jacked airplanes, before the actual attack on the buildings, if no response were obtained from them: shoot them down. Nor has he been questioned, under oath, and in depth, about why on that day he took over supreme command of the Defense Department from Bush (somehow displacing the next in-line-of-command, Sec. of Defense Donald Rumsfeld), Bush who was apparently dumb-struck when he was given the news whilst he was reading a children's story at a school. So dumb struck was he, it appeared, that he just kept on reading.

There are just too many un-answered questions about a possible Bush-Cheney connection to the whole horror. (And do recall that Bush ignored a whole series of CIA warnings about a possible al Qaeda/bin Laden attack through the summer of 2001, not just the famous August 6 one). There may or may not have been one. But those forces that do not want The 28 Pages released are certainly concerned that the follow-ups to it might very well lead to that conclusion, with possible political, economic, legal, criminal justice, and family outcomes, some of which are beyond comprehension at this time.

But, to repeat, that is what I thought (then, and still do) think the whole "No Release" movement is all about. Not some concern about suing or not suing various Saudis, within and without the Royal Family, and what consequences that might have down the road for foreigners suing the United States about the legion of damage and death that U.S. foreign and military policies have wreaked around the world for many decades now. Its all about the 9/11 disaster itself and the possible involvement of U.S. government officials at a very high level in it. Again, just sayin.

Let me repeat, today (just as I have done at the end of previous printings of this column): It's all about 9/11 and the possible involvement of U.S. government officials at a very high level in it. [Still] just sayin'.

(Article changed on Sep 11, 2025 at 11:55 PM EDT)
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I live in New York City and, yes, you cant leave your apartment for a walk on its streets (and I walk them miles a day) and not pass homeless, sometimes visibly disturbed (or unnerved) people standing, sitting, or lying on the sidewalks, sometimes even with signs suggesting their desperation and asking for any small sum of money that those passing them might care to give (as I sometimes do). And yet, after all these years traipsing the streets of New York, Im well aware of the urge to ignore, if not avoid them completely (though its hard sometimes not to at least glance at them and imagine what drove them onto the streets of this city and into such misery).

Only recently, Donald Trump has taken up the issue of homelessness in American cities. While calling the National Guard into the streets of Washington, D.C., hes denounced the homeless. As he wrote angrily on Truth Social, We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you dont have to move out. Were going to put you in jail where you belong There will be no MR. NICE GUY. We want our Capital BACK. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

Recently, however, pastors in Chicago wrote an open letter to the president, who has been threatening to send troops into their city and potentially others that just happen to have Democratic mayors, urging him to focus instead on Chicagos socioeconomic inequality. As they wrote him, The real violence in Chicago like real violence across America is not the violence of the streets but the violence of policy: underfunded schools, disappearing jobs, healthcare deserts, food apartheid, and a criminal justice system that treats poverty like a capital offense.

As Nick Turse pointed out recently at The Intercept, Housing all of Chicagos homeless people would cost about $383,000 per day, a sum that equals roughly one-quarter of the expense of a deployment of 3,000 Guard members to Chicago. And if that doesnt put our present moment in grim perspective, what does? With that in mind, let TomDispatch regulars Mattea Kramer and Sean Fogler acknowledge the humanity of those who have been dehumanized for so long on the streets of American cities. Tom

Pushing People into a Really Bad System Will End Really Badly

Living on the Streets in the Age of Trump

By Mattea Kramer and Sean Fogler

The federal takeover of Washington, D.C., rightfully attracted extensive media coverage, but an executive order called Ending Crime and Disorder on Americas Streets, quietly issued on July 24th, received remarkably little attention. Perhaps it didnt make a splash because it wasnt specifically about policing (or, for that matter, National Guarding), but more generally about how we should treat people who already exist on the outermost fringes of society, human beings who have long been reduced to labels like addict or homeless.

Indeed, the Trump administration is counting on us to renounce those living on the streets, while struggling with their mental health or the cost of housing (or both). And if history is any guide, that may be exactly what most of us do. While the current moment may feel shocking in so many ways, the presidents order to end what hes labeled disorder represents a further development of norms that have been in place for all too long. They are also norms that we have the power to change.

Identifying a very real crisis, the presidents July 24th executive order noted that the number of individuals living on the streets in the United States on a single night during the last year of the previous administration 274,224 was the highest ever recorded. The order went on to state that the majority of those who are unhoused have a substance use disorder, with two-thirds reporting that they have used hard drugs at some point in their lives. What followed was the administrations solution: Shifting homeless individuals into long-term institutional settings will restore public order. Precisely which institutions was unclear.

One thing we know is that the use of substances is often connected to past trauma or current hardship, including oppression and poverty. Regardless of that reality, not just the president but all too many of us tend to believe that people who use drugs are undeserving of our compassion or support. In 2021, a national survey found that seven of every 10 Americans believed that those who use drugs problematically are outcasts or non-community members. (And yes, those were the terms used.)

The presidents executive order fuses drug use and homelessness into a single issue without revealing that homelessness can cause or exacerbate substance use disorder because people use drugs to cope with privation. As addiction expert Gabor Mat has said, Dont ask why the addiction, ask why the pain. Much like those of us who reach for wine or social media in order to escape, when people who are unhoused use drugs, they are usually searching for a way to make life tolerable. At the same time, they come to be regarded by their peers as non-community members, making it so much less likely that this nation will fight the president on his plans to round them up and erase them from our world entirely.

Meanwhile, many of us with homes never pause to consider our common habit of avoiding unhoused people in every possible way. We cross the street, shift our gaze, anything to avoid the briefest glimpse of their humanity perhaps terrified to see ourselves in them. Heres a thought, though: if you dont want to acquiesce to the presidents way of doing things, might it not finally be time to make eye contact with those neighbors of ours who are homeless? Might it not be time to acknowledge their humanity and, in doing so, recover some of our own?

Arbitrary and Prolonged Detention

The Los Angeles nonprofit L.A. Ms helps residents build security through collective economic power and home ownership. As Helen Leung, its executive director, put it recently: Families whove been in their neighborhoods for generations are getting priced out. Vendors who work multiple jobs are sleeping in their cars. Kids have classroom friends disappear mid-semester because rent went up again. She noted that immigrants and working-class households in particular are experiencing acute displacement pressure, which ultimately pushes some to become houseless and now they find themselves in the crosshairs of the presidents July executive order.

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A man who crashed his car along Southeast Powell Boulevard in Portland was charged $1,967 in towing fees by Elite Towing, according to the ombudsman office's report. (Photo credit: City of Portland towing database)

A towing company that was charging owners of crashed or broken down cars in Portland an average of about $1,900 per tow  which was more than four times what its competitors were charging  appears to have voluntarily slashed its rates.

Without explanation, Elite Towing began charging as little as $469 per tow that was initiated by the Portland Police Bureau in the first half of July. Deputy City Ombudsman Tony Green, who has been leading a months-long push to force Elite Towing to lower its rates, said the company gave the city no heads-up that it was about to institute a dramatic price decrease.

On average, other tow companies that have hauled away cars upon the request of police had been charging a median of $419 per tow, according to an ombudsman report released in July.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reached out to Elite Towing by phone and email over the past week to ask why itd suddenly reduced its rates, but the news organization has received no response.

Whatever the reason, Green said its good news for the hundreds of people each year whose cars are towed by Elite Towing upon the request of police, who are trying to clear roads, bike lanes and sidewalks of disabled cars.

Now we have consistency, Green said. And people arent going to have a really unpleasant surprise. Youre going to pay more or less the same, no matter who tows your vehicle.

Elite Towing is one of six companies that regularly works with the city to conduct these so-called private request tows, which is a category of tows that are initiated because police want a car moved but dont feel its necessary to issue the driver a citation.

Every time police need a car towed under these circumstances, one of the six companies is chosen  on a rotating basis  to do the job. The city doesnt restrict the amount these companies can charge, but out of tradition theyve typically limited that amount to several hundred dollars, which is the mandatory city-negotiated rate for another type of police-initiated tow, hazard tows.

Up until July, Elite Towing had been the only company of the six that failed to follow tradition and charged significantly higher rates. In July, the city ombudsmans office issued a highly critical report showing that the company hit car owners with enormous bills.

Among the reports findings:

A driver who crashed on Southeast 82nd Avenue on the way to a family beach weekend was forced to pay $1,667, an amount that included $80 for gas, to have his Honda Odyssey hauled less than two miles.

A driver who smashed his Acura MDX into a tree before the SUV flipped onto its side had to pay $1,967 to get his car back. That included $123 in fuel surcharges, even though Elites tow yard was just about 2.5 miles away.

A driver who skidded to an abrupt stop on Northeast Columbia Boulevard, causing his airbags to deploy, was told hed have to pay $1,657 to get his SUV back six days later. He negotiated with Elite Towing to lower the price to $920, but still thought that was excessive because it amounted to about 40% of his monthly income.

City Ombudsman Jennifer Croft told the Portland City Council last week that the issue of the sky-high towing rates appears to have been resolved, at least for the time being.

This doesnt ensure that the issue we identified will not recur in the future, but (the Portland Bureau of Transportation) has assured us that theyre looking into a more sustainable solution, Croft said.

Green, the deputy city ombudsman, told The Oregonian/OregonLive that hed like a long-term, iron-clad solution because at any time, one of the six companies that tow cars upon police request could decide to start charging more, like Elite Towing had been doing up until July.

Thats where the Portland Bureau of Transportation could come in. Green said the bureau could start requiring tow companies to charge a city-negotiated rate for private request tows, just like the bureau does for hazard tows.

Or the city could regulate towing rates charged for any type of tow, including private tows, which a car owner might initiate after their car breaks down by the side of the road and they need it hauled to a mechanic. The rates paid for such a service are typically far higher than the median $419 charged for police-initiated tows.

Its an area where the city, if it wanted to get involved, could, Green said.

State law allows cities and counties to cap the amount tow companies can charge for all towing services, including private tows, said Torey McCullough, administrator of the Oregon State Board of Towing. But McCullough doesnt know of any that do.

McCullough said the state as a whole also could do the same, but that would require approval by the Legislature.

 Reporter Aimee Green covers politics, personal finance and issues that matter to consumers. She can be reached at 503-294-5119, agreen@oregonian.com or on Bluesky.
The medical examiner's office is still investigating the person's cause of death. Multnomah County Sheriff's Office

The Multnomah County Sheriffs Office is investigating after the body of a 49-year-old hiker was found at the base of a waterfall in the Columbia River Gorge on Wednesday, officials said.

The hiker had been reported missing around 8:40 a.m., and shortly afterwards a different person called 911 and reported finding an unresponsive person at the base of Wiesendanger Falls, the Multnomah County Sheriffs Office said in a statement.

Wiesendanger Falls is located along the Larch Mountain Trail, near Multnomah Falls.

The sheriffs offices Green Hornets search-and-rescue team responded to the scene and determined the hiker was dead, officials said.

The hikers name hasnt been released. The medical examiners office is working to confirm the cause of death.

 Tatum Todd is a breaking news reporter who covers public safety, crime and community news. Reach them at ttodd@oregonian.com or 503-221-4313.
Oregons Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined 16 other U.S. senators on Tuesday in urging a federal appeals court to bar President Donald Trump from deploying federalized troops in Los Angeles.

The senators are supporting California Gov. Gavin Newsoms lawsuit against the Trump administration. Newsom had sued after the president deployed thousands of National Guard troops in Southern California, with federal officials saying it was to quell protests against immigration enforcement there.

In their brief supporting Newsom, the senators said Trumps actions were part of a pattern of him trying to take powers normally granted the states and the U.S. Senate, and that it violated multiple provisions of the U.S. Constitution.

Our concern that President Trump will continue to act in bad faith and abuse his power is borne out by his recent deployment of state militias to Washington, D.C., and his stated intent to deploy state militias elsewhere, the court filing said.

Trump recently mused about sending federal troops to Portland, where protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been ongoing for months and recently caught the presidents attention in a news segment. Speaking of the Portland protesters, Trump said he would wipe them out.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and numerous local and state officials blasted Trumps statement.

The anti-ICE protests in Portland began around the same time that Trump federalized California National Guard troops and deployed them in Los Angeles in June.

22 1 / 22 Protests continue at Portland ICE buildingMark Graves

That troop deployment prompted Newsom to sue Trump in federal court, and U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer soon ordered the president to return control of the National Guard in California to Newsom, calling the presidents actions illegal. But the administration appealed, and the judges order was put on hold by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, meaning the troops there were allowed to continue to operate under the federal governments control.

On Sept. 2, Breyer issued an order again concluding that Trumps deployment of troops was illegal. Only several hundred troops remained in the city by then. The order goes into effect Friday and requires the troops still in California to stop executing laws and doing law enforcement activities such as making arrests and controlling traffic. The Trump administration has indicated it will appeal the decision.

The brief that senators filed Tuesday urged the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold Breyers decision finding the troop deployment illegal. The senators argued that the courts interpretation of the law on deploying the National Guard gave extreme deference to the President.

The military deployment in Los Angeles is just the tip of the iceberg for wannabe dictator Trump, Wyden said in a statement Thursday. This brief gives voice to Oregonians across the state who are saying loud and clear that Trumps illegal deployment of troops on the streets of cities across America must end immediately.

 Fedor Zarkhin is a breaking news and enterprise reporter. Do you have a story? Reach him by phone or text at 971-373-2905 or by email at fzarkhin@oregonian.com.
Portland Public Schools Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong speaks at Chapman Elementary School in Northwest Portland for the first day of school of the 2025-2026 school year. Armstrong is backing a plan to contract with a Texas-firm to handle some of the work of the Office of School Modernization, amidst pushback from district staff members. Vickie Connor/The Oregonian

Members of the Portland Public Schools board on Tuesday voted 6-1 to expand the school systems contract with a Texas-based construction management firm, over the public objections of district employees whove worked for years on the efforts to modernize all nine district high schools.

The six school board members who voted to pay Texas-based Procedeo an additional $487,500 between now and the end of December, on top of the $149,500 previously awarded to the firm, said they did so in deference to Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrongs wish to move quickly to build a new Jefferson High School.

But several of them warned that they would need to see significantly more concrete evidence of Procedeos efficacy before approving any further work for the firm.

So far, for its nearly $150,000 agreement, the firm has provided a bare-bones 1.5 page summary of the Jefferson project status written by Procedeo employee Sarah Norman  now serving as the district interim senior director of the Office of School Modernization  that circulated among board members this week. (On Tuesday, Armstrong said the firm will produce a much more detailed follow-up in about six weeks.)

During Monday evenings tense discussion, which came at the tail end of nearly seven straight hours of board meetings, Armstrong urged board members to have confidence in leadership that is bringing you the proposals that we believe will get the job done on behalf of our voters, and ultimately on behalf of our kids.

The Jefferson project has been hampered by delays for years, including being sent back to the drawing board for frequent redesigns, including at the behest of community members and the subsequent direction of school board members. Thats resulted in a ballooning budget thats now up to $465 million.

In her pitch to board members, Armstrong called Procedeo a firm with a national reputation that has relevant experience overseeing billion dollar educational bond programs. Its website outlines work the firm has done in Texas, Florida and Arizona, though only its highlighted work for the Fort Worth Independent School District comes close to the scale and timeline of the Portland job.

Armstrongs senior chief of operations, Jon Franco, added that the districts Office of School Modernization urgently needs more help as it prepares to manage three $400 million-plus high school projects at the same time.

Extending the Procedeo contract through December would address that offices leadership void and critical vacancies, Franco said. The additional funds will pay for up to six Procedeo staffers, including Norman. She replaces Stormy Shanks, who resigned a few weeks ago, on the heels of Chief Operating Office Dan Jung, who left his post in June.

The Procedeo contract did not result from a traditional competitive request for proposals. Instead, it is a cooperative contract, meaning that the firm has already won a competitive bidding process with another government entity outside of Oregon. Thats a time-saver for Portland Public Schools, at a moment when the district is under pressure to deliver on its bond promises, said director of purchasing and contracting Emily Courtnage.

But Keisha Locklear, a senior project manager with the Office of School Modernization who has been assigned to work on Jefferson High, blasted the Texas firm. In the nearly three months of their current contract, she said, staff from Procedeo have attended only a small handful meetings, either with the entire team or individual key players, while making promises to Armstrong and other senior leaders that Locklear characterized as virtually impossible to fulfill.

Senior leaders flew to Texas to meet with Procedeo instead of taking the elevator two floors down to troubleshoot their concerns with the people who actually do the work, Locklear told board members.

She acknowledged that independent reviews have found that her department needs support, but said it was unfair to solely blame staff for spiraling budgets and delays, particularly given direction from Armstrong and last years board members to pause projects to chase cost reductions that have only increased the risk of further delays.

Criticism of the Procedeo contract also came from PPS parent Paul Weber, a program and project management leader who works for construction oversight firm AECOM, which has won past contracts with Portland Public Schools. He cited Procedeos lack of experience and connections in Oregon.

Going ahead [with the Procedeo contract] risks dismantling your Office of School Modernization, shutting out your master contract holders and disenfranchising all stakeholders, putting aside the risk to the execution of these bond projects and the remaining good will in this community, Weber said.

Armstrong countered that, given Portlands status as the states only true urban school district, there are no firms locally prepared to take on a project of this magnitude and warned against rejecting Procedeo just because of its Texas roots, particularly when the district already uses outside experts from other national firms to help with bond projects.

I really hate to put this out there, but what I have been told, and what previous board members have been told from folks that do business with Portland Public Schools, is that we have a reputation that we need to repair, to make it attractive for folks that want to do business with us, Armstrong said.

A case in point, she said, is that when the district decided to terminate its contract with Andersen Construction for the Jefferson High project, given the issues between Andersen and the district over its work on Benson High School, there was only one bidder for the job, despite the citys softening construction market.

Stephanie Engelsman, the sole board member to vote against the contract extension, said she wanted to see deliverables from the first contract the district signed with Procedeo, including a concrete plan for Jefferson, before approving further work with the firm.

But school board chair Eddie Wang said he was inclined to move forward, saying that delaying also constituted a significant risk.

If the contract doesnt go well, we have a chance to revisit this at the end of the year, Wang said. I think the risk of delay and the risk of rising costs is much greater than the risk of approving this.

 Julia Silverman covers K-12 education for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach her via email at jsilverman@oregonian.com
An Oregon preschool and two national teacher unions on Wednesday joined a federal lawsuit filed against the Trump administration, seeking to protect schools as well as churches and places of worship from immigration enforcement.

The detention of a father dropping off his 2-year-old son at Beavertons Guidepost Montessori preschool and daycare in mid-July spurred members of the school to join the suit.

The filing offers new details of what staff at the preschool described as a wild scene with parents running into the school, federal officers shouting and grabbing the schools leader who was filming the fathers detention.

The National Education Association cited increased student absenteeism, student misbehavior and stress and anxiety for educators. It is the largest union in the United States with more than 3 million members representing teachers and staff in pre-K-grade 12 public schools and higher education.

The American Federation of Teachers says its 1.8 million members include noncitizens who have temporary protected status to be in the U.S., visa holders and others who live in households with mixed immigration statuses.

They are exercising more caution when picketing or attending public actions or rallies on behalf of the union, which restricts their rights to express and advocate for themselves, the amended suit alleges.

Americas classrooms must be safe and welcoming places of learning and discovery, not fear and terror, Randi Weingarten, federation president, said in a statement. We are joining this lawsuit to ensure every child, parent, teacher, and administrator can travel to school each day without the constant threat of masked immigration agents storming their campus.

The suit initially was filed in April in Eugene by several churches from Oregon, California and Florida, an interfaith council from San Francisco and an Oregon nonprofit Latino group to restore sanctuary protections.

In Oregon at the Guidepost Montessori preschool, ICE agents on July 15 approached a car driven by Mahdi Khanbabazadeh, a chiropractor originally from Iran, and told him to roll down his window. Agents broke the drivers window after Khanbabazadeh asked why and said he had a baby in the car, according to dash cam video of the episode.

Amy Lomanto, the head of the Guidepost school; Hanna Mae Anderson, the assistant head of the school; Lauren Fong, the toddler lead guide; and Caroline Keating Medeiros, a parent and an immigration lawyer by trade, are named as additional plaintiffs.

Lomanto was present when ICE shattered the window of the fathers car.

Parents suddenly came running into the school and she went outside and found what she described as a raucous scene of officers yelling and screaming, according to the suit. Lomanto counted at least seven enforcement vehicles and masked officers during the schools typical morning drop-off time. As she started to film the encounter and asked for the officers identification, one told her it was none of her business and to move away.

When Lomanto insisted it was her business because she was the head of the school, the officer forcefully grabbed her by the arm and shoved her against a car, heavily bruising her arm, the suit says. She said she kept filming as the father was forced into a federal vehicle and was repeatedly threatened that shed be arrested as well if she didnt stop filming, according to the suit.

Anderson was on her way to work that morning when she started receiving messages from a teacher chat group discussing the need to go into a soft lockdown because of immigration enforcement at the school, according to the suit.

When she arrived, she learned a parent had been violently arrested by ICE in the parking lot during drop-off and spent the next hours and days trying to reassure parents that the school would do everything to keep their children safe, the suit says.

This has wreaked an extreme emotional toll on her and the rest of staff, the suit says, noting that student attendance dropped 20% in the weeks following the encounter.

Fong was in shock when told the father of one of her students had been arrested yet had to focus on keeping her young students calm, according to the suit.

There was an especially difficult moment for her when the child saw other students getting picked up after school by their parents and asked if his father was coming to get him, according to the suit. In the days that followed the student appeared more upset and struggled to feel secure during nap time, the amended suit says.

Khanbabazadeh had come to the U.S. on a valid student visa, graduated in March 2021 and transitioned to temporary employment related to his area of study, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

He married a U.S. citizen in July 2021 and applied for a green card and permanent residence, according to Medeiros, the fellow parent at the daycare and an immigration lawyer who is not representing him. Khanbabazadeh was taken into custody on July 15 and was released about 10 days later on bond.

The amended suit argues that longstanding federal policy under both Republican and Democratic administrations consistently affirmed the importance of protecting houses of worship, schools, health care clinics, social services, community-based organizations and other public places where adults and children gather  from immigration enforcement activity except in limited circumstances.

But in January, President Trump reversed that practice, exposing such safe havens to immigration enforcement at the unfettered discretion of immigration agents, it alleges.

Attorney Nelly Garcia Orjuela, of Innovation Law Lab, said the additional plaintiffs have strengthened the lawsuit.

It is when communities are free to assemble, worship, heal and learn, regardless of how we look or where we were born, that society and democracy thrives, and that is what were fighting to restore, she said in a statement on social media.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Conti filed a motion in July to dismiss the original suit. He argued that the churches lacked authority to challenge the Department of Homeland Securitys guidance to immigration enforcement officers and that such enforcement did not substantially burden the exercise of religion.

Homeland Security, according to Conti, had issued new guidance for ICE officers on Jan. 20, advising them to exercise their common sense and discretion when conducting enforcement near sensitive locations such as churches and other houses of worship.

ICE issued a memo giving supervisors the responsibility to make case-by-case determinations, when and where to carry out enforcement in or near sensitive locations, Conti wrote.

The case is pending before U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken in Eugene.

-- Maxine Bernstein covers federal court and criminal justice. Reach her at 503-221-8212, mbernstein@oregonian.com, follow her on X @maxoregonian, on Bluesky @maxbernstein.bsky.social or on LinkedIn.
As we settle into the cool and colors of fall, we also welcome a new museum season. Mark your calendar for these Oregon exhibits and events that are sure to be cool and colorful as they expand your perspective.

Berlin: A Jewish Ode to the Metropolis continues through Oct. 26 at Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education.

Berlin: As a child, Portland photographer Jason Langer was afraid of Germany, especially Berlin, the capital of the Nazi regime. As an adult, he decided to look his fear in the face by photographing the city. Its a historical project about Berlin through the eyes of a Jewish person two generations later, and how much that threat of death and annihilation has transferred to my generation and beyond, Langer said in promotional materials for the resulting exhibit, Berlin: A Jewish Ode to the Metropolis. His black-and-white photographs capture buildings (or whats left of them), people, natural scenes and more. Now through Oct. 26, Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, 724 N.W. Davis St., Portland. $5-$10. Details: ojmche.org.

A new exhibit at the Oregon Historical Society features the story of Street Roots. Beth Nakamura

Street Roots: If youve walked around in Portland during the past quarter-century, youve likely seen people selling the monthly Street Roots newspaper on street corners, outside supermarkets and at other spots with lots of foot traffic. The paper, whose slogan is For those who cant afford free speech, has won awards for its coverage of issues that affect people experiencing homelessness and poverty. Now its being covered as the subject of the exhibit Street Roots: Providing Income Opportunities and Independent Journalism as Portlands Street Paper Since 1999. The exhibit features archival materials, vendor art, photography and newspaper history along with What I Carry, a photographic storytelling project by Jim Lommasson. Now through Nov. 23, Oregon Historical Society, 1200 S.W. Park Ave., Portland. $12-$14, free for Multnomah County residents with proof of residency. Details: ohs.org.

Storywork: Marie Watts art draws from all sorts of narrative sources: everyday objects such as blankets, anecdotes and memories that emerge during collaborative art projects, the mythology of the ancient Greeks and Romans, pop culture, the stories told in her Seneca culture. The exhibit Storywork: The Prints of Marie Watt focuses on these narratives, and the art is just the start. The museum will also host nearly a dozen events inspired by the exhibit, including guided tours, dance performances and storytimes. Now through Dec. 6, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at PSU, 1855 S.W. Broadway, Portland. Free. Details: pdx.edu/museum-of-art

"As Soft as She" by Amy Sherald is featured in "Global Icons, Local Spotlight" at the Portland Art Museum. Amy Sherard/Courtesy of Portland Art Museum

Global Icons, Local Spotlight: If you cant make it to New York this fall, the Portland Art Museums new exhibit Global Icons, Local Spotlight: Contemporary Art from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer is the next best thing. It features more than 75 works, curated by the Portland art collector and real estate developer himself. What I wanted to show here was work that a lot of people in this community dont ordinarily get to see, Schnitzer said at the exhibits opening preview Sept. 5. The global icons include Helen Frankenthaler, Keith Haring, Jeff Koons, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and Kehinde Wiley, to name just a few. Theres Amy Sherald, fresh from the headlines for canceling her Smithsonian show and moving it to Baltimore. Theres Hank Willis Thomas, who had his first major retrospective in Portland in 2019. As for the local spotlight, it shines brightly on artists Portland can proudly claim, including MK Guth, Wendy Red Star and Marie Watt. Now through Jan. 11, Portland Art Museum, 1219 S.W. Park Ave., Portland. $22-$25. Details: portlandartmuseum.org

Portland Zine Symposium: Okay, the Multnomah Arts Center is not a museum. But an exhibit its hosting in its gallery this fall, the Portland Zine Symposiums group show, is museum-worthy. Portland is a hotbed of zines, which are small (sometimes palm-sized) and self-published (often photocopied and stapled) publications on any topic the creator feels passionate about. The Portland Zine Symposium has been holding annual conferences since 2001, and this exhibit will highlight that history. Sept. 19-Oct. 18, Multnomah Arts Center gallery, 7688 S.W. Capitol HIghway, Portland. Free.

7 p.m. Oct. 9: Participating artists will read from and sell their zines.

Columbia River Maritime Museum: If youve ever paused amid the six galleries of this Astoria museum wanting a little more context, the museum has a new offering for you: guided 45-minute tours for groups of five to 20 people on selected Sundays this fall. Tours are included in museum admission. The timing is great, as the museum has several new exhibits: Cedar and Sea: The Maritime Culture of the Indigenous People of the Pacific Northwest Coast; On the River, which focuses on transport and travel; and a marine art exhibit. 11 a.m. Sept. 21, Oct. 5 and 19, Nov. 2 (in English and American Sign Language) and Nov. 16, Columbia River Maritime Museum, 1792 Marine Drive, Astoria. $8-$18. Details: crmm.org.

An exhibit opening in September features portraits by Frank S. Matsura that capture the blending of Indigenous and Western cultures in the early 20th century. Chiara Profenna

Frank S. Matsura: In 1903, Frank Matsura moved from Japan to Washington to take a job at a hotel. He brought along camera equipment and began making photographs in and around Okanagan in north-central Washington, at the western edge of the Colville Reservation. Matsura eventually opened a studio in Okanagan and made numerous portraits that included Indigenous families wearing regalia. The Japanese American Museum of Oregon calls these portraits some of the most visually potent and nuanced images of Indigenous peoples from the era. A selection of these photos will go on display in the exhibit Frank S. Matsura: Portraits from the Borderland. Sept. 27-Feb. 8, Japanese American Museum of Oregon, 411 N.W. Flanders St., Suite 100, Portland. $5-$8. Details: jamo.org.

1 p.m. Sept. 28: Our Mr. Matsura film screening, Kiggins Theatre, 1011 Main St., Vancouver. $15.

Joe Feddersen: If Joe Feddersens career as an artist were a tree, storytelling would be the trunk. Its the narrative that holds all of the work together, he said in a 2023 video from the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The Okanagan and Arrow Lakes artist has branched out into multiple mediums over his career to combine urban imagery and traditional petroglyphs. A new retrospective, Joe Feddersen: Earth, Water, Sky, will feature nearly 100 pieces from the past four decades. Expect weavings, glass, prints and ceramics. Sept. 27-Jan. 18, High Desert Museum, 59800 U.S. 97, Bend. $13-$24. Details: highdesertmuseum.org

Joe Feddersen (b. 1953, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation): Wild Cat, 2009, waxed linen and brain tanned deer hide; Turn Lane, 2018, waxed linen, bias tape, and thread; Wintermaster Plus, 2012, waxed linen and brain tanned deer hide. From the collection of the artist; courtesy studio e gallery, Seattle, Washington. Dean Davis.  Joe Feddersen

"Mickey Dees," a 1987 woodcut by Michael Ellison, is featured in "Memories and Inspiration." Reis Birdwhistell,  Michael Ellison

Memories and Inspiration: Kerry and C. Betty Davis collection of African American art is considered one of the best in the world. It includes artists anointed by museums, such as Jacob Lawrence and Elizabeth Catlett, and artists who are less widely known but share a passion for representing Black culture, history and identity. Our goal is to preserve cultural memories and provide the community with a source of inspiration, Kerry Davis has said. This fall, 62 works from the Davis collection will be displayed in an exhibit titled Memories & Inspiration: The Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art, with the collectors coming to Oregon from their Georgia home for two events. Sept. 27-Dec. 20, Hallie Ford Museum of Art, 700 State St., Salem. $5-$8. Details: hfma.willamette.edu

5 p.m. Sept. 27: Kerry and Betty Davis discuss their collection with John Olbrantz, The Maribeth Collins Director of the Hallie Ford Museum of Art.

12:30 p.m. Sept. 30: Kerry and Betty Davis lead a tour of the exhibit.

Richard Neuberger: Born and raised in Portland, Richard Neuberger made his name first as a journalist, then as a politician. After stints in the Oregon House of Representatives, the U.S. Army and the Oregon Senate, he won election to the U.S. Senate in 1954 as a liberal Democrat. His legacy includes the creation of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area and the transformation of Portland State College into a university. Hes the subject of a new 250-page biography, Richard Neuberger: Oregon Politics and the Making of a U.S. Senator, written by Stephen A. Forrester and being published Sept. 23 by Oregon State University Press. Forrester, a longtime Oregon journalist, will appear at two museum events this fall.
NEW YORK  Nearly a quarter century has passed since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but for many, the emotions of the day remain raw as ever.

On Thursday, America marked the 24th anniversary of the deadly attacks with solemn ceremonies in New York, at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The commemorations were punctuated by moments of silence, the tolling of bells and the reading of the names of the nearly 3,000 killed.

Jennifer Nilsen wore a T-shirt emblazoned with an image of her husband, Troy Nilsen, who perished in the World Trade Center, as she attended the commemoration at ground zero in lower Manhattan.

Even 24 years later, its heart wrenching, she said. It feels the same way every year.

Michelle Pizzo, wearing a shirt with the image of her late husband, Jason DeFazio, said she hoped more people could just take one minute to reflect on the day.

Younger kids dont realize that you have to remember, she said.

Emma Williamson, 20, of Massachusetts, made a point to travel from her college uptown to stand near ground zero, where two memorial pools ringed by waterfalls and parapets inscribed with the names of the dead mark the spots where the twin towers once stood.

I wasnt born when it happened, but it was really an important day in America. Its kind of the last time we all stuck together, and that matters, she said.

People listen as names of those killed are read during a ceremony attended by President Donald Trump to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, at the Pentagon in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) AP AP

The reading of names and moments of silence

The 9/11 anniversary, often promoted as a day of national unity, came during a time of increased politician tension.

The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah college a day earlier prompted additional security measures at ground zero, where FBI Director Kash Patel was among the dignitaries in attendance.

Vice President JD Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, had planned to attend but instead are set to visit with Kirks family on Thursday in Salt Lake City, according to a person familiar with Vances plans, but not authorized to speak about them publicly.

Many in the crowd at ground zero held up photos of lost loved ones as a moment of silence marked the exact time when the first hijacked plane struck the iconic twin towers.

Family members then read aloud the names of the victims, with many giving personal remembrances, well wishes and updates on their lives.

Zoe Doyle, daughter of Frank Joseph Doyle, said her family created a nonprofit in his honor thats built schools in South Africa and is feeding and educating thousands of children.

Manuel DaMota Jr. said he remembers his father and namesake, Manuel DaMota, not just with grief, but with gratitude for the example he set.

In a world filled with division and conflict, I do my best to honor my father by choosing connection, empathy and hope, he said.

Melissa Pullis, whose husband Edward Pullis died in the towers, said this year is more difficult than others because two of the couples three children are getting married.

You cant walk your princess down the aisle, she said through tears. You are missed every day. We will always say your name, and we will always fight for justice.

Brad Thomas, chief of maintenance at Flight 93 National Memorial, carries a wreath past the Wall of Names during memorial's 24th annual remembrance ceremony of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks near Shanksville, Pa., Thursday, Sept.11, 2025. (John Rucosky/The Tribune-Democrat via AP) AP

Ceremonies in Virginia and Pennsylvania honor victims

At the Pentagon in Virginia, the 184 service members and civilians killed when hijackers steered a jetliner into the headquarters of the U.S. military were honored in a ceremony attended by President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump.

The president, in his remarks, recounted moments from that day, including snippets of conversations from passengers who were aboard the hijacked airplanes.

Today, as one nation, we renew our sacred vow that we will never forget Sept. 11, 2001, Trump said during the observance, which took place in an internal courtyard of the building rather than its traditional location outside its walls near the buildings 9/11 memorial.

The enemy will always fail, he added. We defy the fear, endure the flames.

The president, who was expected to attend a New York Yankees game in the Bronx on Thursday evening, also announced Kirk would be posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, calling him a giant of his generation and a champion of liberty.

And in a rural field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, a ceremony attended by Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins honored the victims of Flight 93, the hijacked plane that crashed after crew members and passengers tried to storm the cockpit.

Elsewhere, people marked the anniversary with service projects and charitable works as part of a national day of service. Volunteers took part in food and clothing drives, park and neighborhood cleanups, blood banks and other community events.

A bell is rung as each name is read, during a ceremony at the Pentagon to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) AP AP

Reverberations from attacks persist

In all, the attacks by al-Qaida militants killed 2,977 people, including many financial workers at the World Trade Center and firefighters and police officers who had rushed to the burning buildings trying to save lives.

The attacks reverberated globally, altering the course of U.S. foreign and domestic policy. It led to the " Global War on Terrorism " and the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and related conflicts that killed hundreds of thousands of civilians and troops.

The U.S. government has also spent billions of dollars providing health care and compensation to tens of thousands of people who were exposed to the toxic dust that billowed over parts of Manhattan when the twin towers collapsed.

While the hijackers died in the attacks, federal officials have struggled to conclude the long-running legal case against the man accused of masterminding the plot, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The former al-Qaida leader was arrested in 2003, but has never received a trial.

The Trump administration has also acknowledged its considering ways to take control of the ground zero memorial plaza and its underground museum, which are run by a public charity.

--By PHILIP MARCELO/The Associated Press
BRASILIA, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Brazil is a "sovereign country" and Brazilians are "masters of our own destiny," President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Wednesday in a message addressed to his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump.

The statement came a day after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the United States will not hesitate to use economic and military might to defend "freedom of expression," when she was asked about the ongoing trial of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

In response, Lula said: "If Trump comes, we will have to show him this panel so he can see it and compare it with the American panel. So he knows that we believe in ourselves. We are a sovereign country and we are masters of our own destiny. This is a demonstration of Brazilian competence in all areas."

On July 30, the Trump administration announced plans to impose tariffs of up to 50 percent on Brazilian exports and sanction Alexandre de Moraes, a Brazilian Supreme Court justice. Moraes oversaw the case against former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of attempting to seize power following his defeat in the 2022 presidential election. 
FBI Salt Lake City released two images of a "person of interest" in connection with the shooting of Charlie Kirk in Utah Wednesday afternoon. FBI Salt Lake City

OREM, Utah  The shooter who assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk and then vanished off a roof and into the woods remained at large more than 24 hours later Thursday as federal investigators appealed for the publics help by releasing a pair of photos of the person believed responsible.

Investigators obtained clues including a palm print, a shoe impression and a high-powered hunting rifle found in a wooded area along the path the shooter fled. But they had yet to name a suspect or cite a motive in the killing they were treating as the latest act of political violence to convulse the United States across the ideological spectrum.

The photos of a person in a hat, sunglasses and a long-sleeve black shirt, as well as a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest, suggested that law enforcement thought tips from the public might be needed to crack the case. Two people who were taken into custody shortly after Wednesdays shooting at Utah Valley University were later released, forcing officials to chase new leads on a separate person of interest they pursued Thursday.

One clue was a Mauser .30-caliber, bolt-action rifle found in a towel in the woods. A spent cartridge was recovered from the chamber, and three other rounds were loaded in the magazine, according to information circulated among law enforcement and described to The Associated Press. The weapon and ammunition were being analyzed by law enforcement at a federal lab.

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

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

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

I can tell you this was a targeted event, said Robert Bohls, the top FBI agent in Salt Lake City.

Trump, who was joined by Democrats in condemning the violence, said he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S., while Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, were set to visit with Kirks family in Salt Lake City. Vance posted a remembrance on X chronicling their friendship, dating back to initial messages in 2017, through Vances Senate run and ultimately praying after hearing of the shooting.

So much of the success weve had in this administration traces directly to Charlies ability to organize and convene, Vance wrote. He didnt just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.

Kirks casket was to be flown aboard Air Force Two from Utah to Arizona, where his his nonprofit political youth organization, Turning Point USA, is based.

FBI Salt Lake City released images of a "person of interest" in connection with the shooting of Charlie Kirk in Utah. FBI Salt Lake City

Kirk was taking questions about gun violence

Kirk was a conservative firebrand and provocateur who became a powerful political force among young Republicans and was a fixture on college campuses, where he invited sometimes-vehement debate on social issues.

He was shot while attending one such event Wednesday, a debate hosted by Turning Point at the Sorensen Center on campus in what was billed as the first stop on Kirks American Comeback Tour.

The event generated a polarizing campus reaction. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures. The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry and constructive dialogue.

Last week, Kirk posted on X images of news clips showing his visit was sparking controversy. He wrote, Whats going on in Utah?

One such provocative exchange played out immediately before the shooting, as he was taking questions from an audience member about gun violence when the shot was heard.

Some attendees who bolted after the gunshot rushed into two classrooms full of students. They used tables to barricade the door and to shield themselves in the corners. Someone grabbed an electric pencil sharpener and wrapped the cord tightly around the door handle, then tied the sharpener to a chair leg.

Madison Lattin was watching a few dozen feet from Kirks left when she heard the bullet hit him.

Blood is falling and dripping down, and youre just like so scared, not just for him but your own safety, she said.

On campus Thursday, the canopy stamped with the slogan Kirk commonly used at his events PROVE ME WRONG stood disheveled.

Kathleen Murphy, a longtime resident who lives near the campus, said she has been staying inside with her door locked.

With the shooter not being caught yet, it was a worry, Murphy said.

Meanwhile, the shooting continued to draw swift bipartisan condemnation as Democratic officials joined Trump and other Republican allies of Kirk in decrying the attack, which unfolded during a spike of political violence that has touched a range of ideologies and representatives of both major political parties.

The murder of Charlie Kirk breaks my heart. My deepest sympathies are with his wife, two young children, and friends, said Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was wounded in a 2011 shooting in her Arizona district.

--By ERIC TUCKER, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and JESSE BEDAY/The Associated Press
Bearing rakes, pressure hoses and brushes, about 50 volunteers converged on Portlands Willamette National Cemetery under a cloudy sky on Thursday.

They came on the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks to beautify the grounds where more than 180,000 servicemembers are interred .

The effort  organized by Carry the Load, a nonprofit veterans and first-responder support group  isnt limited to the Portland area. Thousands of volunteers are expected to attend similar events at almost 70 national cemeteries across the country.

Carry the Load said in a statement that the organization has been organizing cemetery cleanups on 9/11 since 2019, as a remembrance for the first responders who died in the 2001 terror attacks, as well as for the armed servicemembers who died in the conflicts that followed.

The event at Willamette National ran from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., with volunteers cleaning memorials, pressure-washing benches and raking leaves around some of the expansive cemeterys mausoleums.

Volunteers gathered at Willamette National Cemetery on Thursday, September 11, 2025 for a cleanup organized by Carry the Load, and nonprofit that supports veterans and first responders. Tatum Todd

After the group gathered for instructions and opening remarks at the cemeterys Korean War Memorial, the volunteers split into groups to care for different parts of the grounds.

I have a lot of family members that have served, and I just enjoy being able to [pay] my respects and keep their memories alive, said Lisa Schilling, who has participated in Carry the Load events for several years. For me, its important to just stop and think about those that have given their all and the innocent people whose lives were taken too short.

Volunteer Lisa Schilling said that one of her highschool classmates was killed in Iraq in 2003 after the U.S. invaded in the wake of 9/11. Tatum Todd

For Schilling, the anniversary of 9/11 always feels personal: one of her high school classmates was killed in Iraq in 2003 after the U.S. invaded the country during the War on Terror in the aftermath of the deadly terrorist attacks.

Its always been a difficult time of year, Schilling said as she leaned on a rake Thursday morning. Just to kind of think about how much our world has changed.

Not far from where Schilling was picking up leaves, Fatima Cherif, a U.S. Navy veteran, was cleaning up the cemetery grounds.

U.S. Navy veteran Fatima Charif was one of the many volunteers who participated in a cemetery cleanup at Willamette Natinal Cemetery to memorialize 9/11. Tatum Todd

Today is to give back to the people that gave their all, the former logistics specialist told The Oregonian/OregonLive. Its important because we remember, although [we] cant see the people that are gone, for the family members that will come and visit its important to come and see that the cemetery is taken care of.
A lawsuit says "Heart on the Run" suffered a career-ending injury at a race at Grants Pass Downs in September 2023. Seen here is a file photo of another horse. Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media

The owners of a thoroughbred racing horse whose tail was torn off as she sprinted out of a starting gate during a race have filed a $49,999 lawsuit against the operators of the Oregon racetrack where the mishap occurred.

Owners Bill and Roberta Fekkes contend that an employee on the gate crew at Grants Pass Downs in southern Oregon appeared to have wrapped their horses tail around the back end of the starting gate enclosure or may have been holding onto it just before the race began on Sept. 3, 2023. The couple claims that a racetrack veterinarian instructed the employee to free the horses tail, but the employee failed to do so before the race began.

Such an incident is rare but not unheard of. In Pennsylvania, weeks before the Oregon incident, a different race horse lost its tail after it was wrapped around part of the starting gate enclosure, according to a $22,000 lawsuit filed last year.

The horse in Pennsylvania was euthanized, according to that lawsuit. The horse at the center of the Oregon lawsuit  Heart on the Run  was not.

Wade Rarick, a former owner who is not a party to the Oregon lawsuit but said he trained and raced Heart on the Run in her first years on the track, told The Oregonian/OregonLive the horses misfortune is deeply upsetting.

I hope to God they can figure out how that happened so they can fix it, so it wont happen again, Rarick said. Because thats terrible.

Rarick said gate crew or others sometimes hold up a horses tail before the beginning of a race to ensure that the horse stays standing and doesnt try to sit down. He said a horses tail shouldnt be tied to any part of the gate. He said he has never seen a horse lose its tail under the circumstances listed in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, which was filed last week in Josephine County Circuit Court, says that the tail of the then-4-year-old horse was degloved from the soft tissue and bone underneath.

The hair and skin of Hearts tail ended up on the ground, states the suit.

The mare was hospitalized and a veterinarian ultimately had to amputate much of what was left of Heart on the Runs tail bone and soft tissue, according to the suit.

The lawsuit lists gate crew employee, James Harrell, and the Southern Oregon Horse Racing Association, which it says operates Grants Pass Downs, as defendants. Harrell couldnt be reached for comment.

A Grants Pass Downs spokesperson said the racetrack was aware of the suit.

The safety of our equine and human athletes always has been and remains a top priority at Grants Pass Downs, said spokesperson Tag Wotherspoon, in an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive on Friday. Wotherspoon didnt offer further comment.

The racetrack used to be operated by self-made billionaire Travis Boersma, co-founder of the Dutch Bros coffee chain, but he gave up on his dream of reviving horse racing in the state and terminated his lease with the Josephine County in early 2023, months before Heart on the Run was hurt.

Kathryn Hall, an attorney for the plaintiffs, the Fekkeses, declined on behalf of her clients to share more details than the lawsuit offers, including how Heart on the Run is faring today, two years after her injuries. The Fekkeses live in central Washington, about an eight- to nine-hour drive from Grants Pass Downs.

They tried to restart her racing career, but her injuries ultimately forced them to put her into retirement, the suit states.

The suit says that Heart on the Run finished the race that day because her jockey was unaware of what happened until after the race. Racing career totals tracked by the horse racing website, Equibase, show that Heart on the Run pulled in less than $5,000 in winnings the following year, in 2024, but her time on the track ended after that. At the peak of her career, she made more than $25,000 per year for two consecutive years.

 Reporter Aimee Green covers politics, personal finance and issues that matter to consumers. She can be reached at 503-294-5119, agreen@oregonian.com or on Bluesky.
Cyclists ride into the tiny town of Antelope in central Oregon. Samantha Swindler/The Oregonian

Youve probably traveled through some small cities in Oregon, but its unlikely youve been to cities this small.

On this weeks episode of Peak Northwest, we head to the five smallest cities in the state, places that barely have a population or main street to speak of. Thats not to say theres nothing to see there.

Samantha Swindler, features reporter for The Oregonian/OregonLive took a road trip out to all five tiny cities, talking to locals and learning everything she could about these places. From Old West reenactments to incredible stargazing and one particularly unusual city council meeting, heres what you can discover in the smallest small towns in Oregon.

Here are some highlights from this weeks show:

What are Oregons five smallest cities and how small are we talking about?

Greenhorn and Granite are so small and so remote, that few people ever pass through.

How Shaniko embraces its Old West history to draw in tourists.

Why locals in Antelope may be especially leery of outsiders.

Heres the full episode:

Subscribe to Peak Northwest on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Rebecca Quintana, HomePlate's education coordinator, meets one-on-one with a young person in need of support in this photo shared by HomePlate. HomePlate Youth Services

A jobs program for homeless or housing insecure young people run by HomePlate Youth Services in Washington County will cease to operate on Sept. 30, citing a quickly evaporating pool of public and private funding.

Dorian Russell, executive director for HomePlate, said the organization could no longer financially support its youth employment services. Russell said that all of HomePlates programs rely on combined funding from federal, state, county, city and private grants. As public funds at every level of government have become less plentiful this year, each of those sources has become sharply more competitive, Russell said.

The level of uncertainty is extreme, the total landscape of resources is scarce, and every homeless services nonprofit leader I know is grappling with stress (and) insomnia as we scramble to cobble together the resources we desperately need to serve more homeless children, youth and families than we have ever seen before, Russell said.

A decades-old transitional housing program in Portland also closed earlier this year due to funding uncertainty. And directors of several youth homeless service providers across the state have reported to The Oregonian/OregonLive that their programming will be reduced this year or is under threat, especially due to the Trump administrations funding reductions.

An effort to significantly increase funding for youth homeless services died in the state Legislature this year as well, though there is still more money in that bucket now than there was a few years ago. Lawmakers approved $25.3 million for youth homeless services for the new biennium, maintaining current funding.

Given the cuts that other programs took,  getting a flatline amount was a victory and we make the best of it, Doug Riggs, director of the youth policy advocacy organization Alliance4Kids, told The Oregonian/OregonLive in July.

Locally, the hundreds of millions of dollars in annual funding from the regional homeless services tax on businesses and high-income earners that supports Washington, Multnomah and Clackamas counties has leveled off.

The Trump administration has also taken a whack at youth services funding nationally. The administration cut grants for street outreach to youth, for example, and proposed sharp reductions to federal funding for homeless students. Cuts to broader funding streams, like those that provide low-income housing vouchers, also affect funding available for youth.

Russell said HomePlate, which served more than 1,000 young people in 2024, does not receive much direct federal funding and so they didnt initially expect the cuts to hurt them too badly.

But very quickly we realized how many of our funders passed through federal funds to us, Russell said.

Oregon has among the highest incidences of youth homelessness in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Developments 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report. A federally mandated count from January 2023 found that more than 5,000 people under age 15 were homeless in Oregon. That number has almost certainly risen, but more recent statewide data is not yet available.

Young people who are homeless, who have low educational attainment and who are unemployed are more likely to become homeless adults. For these reasons, Russell said they consider supporting vulnerable young people to achieve educational milestones and secure a job to be an upstream investment.

The HomePlate youth employment program has provided job search help, application assistance, skills training, resume and cover letter creation and interview practice along with work-readiness workshops, employer site visits, job shadows and paid learning opportunities for 12 years, according to a statement released last month.

HomePlate also offers housing support, drop-in service centers and educational programs. Russell expects that programming to continue for now.

Russell said it was ironic that HomePlate would have to reduce employment support just as proposed federal policy changes are tying work requirements to benefits like Medicaid.

How are you supposed to get healthy if work requirements prevent you from getting your most basic bodily needs met, and meanwhile, how are you supposed to show up for work if you cant get the basic assistance needed to sleep safely at night, not go hungry, and be healthy enough for labor in the first place? Russell said.

Lillian Mongeau Hughes covers homelessness and mental health for The Oregonian. Email her with tips or questions at lmhughes@oregonian.com. Or follow her on Bluesky @lmonghughes.bsky.social or X at @lrmongeau.
A Cornelius city councilor is under fire from Washington County residents for celebrating the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on social media.

John Colgan, who is also a science teacher at a Forest Grove middle school, wrote in a private post on Facebook: Hearing that Charlie Kirk got shot and died really brightened up my day. Nobody deserves it, but some are asking for it.

In a subsequent addition to the post, addressing people who posted that Colgans comment was upsetting, he wrote that Kirk was a ghoul who got on tv after every school shooting and mass shooting and defended guns.

At least one person upset by Colgans post publicly posted a screenshot of it on the platform.

Some on social media defended Colgan, arguing he was entitled to express his own opinion on a private social media page, while others called for his firing or protests in front of the school.

On Wednesday, prominent Oregon elected officials, both Democrats and Republicans, decried political violence against anyone in the wake of Kirks assassination.

Colgan was first elected to the Cornelius City Council in 2018 and was unopposed in his 2022 bid for a second term.

Neil Armstrong Middle School sent a message to families on Thursday saying it was aware of Colgans inflammatory comments, but that the comments were made on his private social media account while he was off duty.

The district does not condone violence nor the celebration of violence, the post said. Our top priority is to protect the right of students to a safe and welcoming learning environment and our policies prohibit the sharing or teaching of personal political views in our school classrooms.

Colgan was not immediately available for comment on Thursday. This post may be updated to include his comments.

Sami Edge covers higher education and politics for The Oregonian. You can reach her at sedge@oregonian.com or (503) 260-3430.
President Donald Trump has warned he may send the National Guard to Portland to quell protests against immigration enforcement.

READ MORE: ICE protests are nothing like 2020. So why is Trump floating a Portland crackdown?

If we go to Portland, were going to wipe them out. Theyre going to be gone, Trump said Sept. 5. Theyve ruined that city.

The protests outside U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been ongoing since early June, with major flareups that month, July 4 and Labor Day.

Heres how events in Portland have developed so far:

June 2: Federal authorities arrest an asylum-seeker at Portlands Immigration Court. Observers believe it to be the first such arrest in Portland in Trumps accelerating immigration dragnet.

June 4: Federal officers detain three protesters who had been blocking a van at the ICE building that they believed was headed to Tacoma, where ICE has a much larger detention facility. Federal authorities make another arrest of an asylum-seeker in Portland Immigration Court.

June 6: Protests erupt in Los Angeles as federal agents conduct immigration sweeps in the city. Trump soon vows to send 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles, sparking wider protests, including in Portland.

June 8  June 13: Portland police clear a barricade protesters had set up in front of the ICE building. The next day, Police Chief Bob Day says officers will no longer help clear barricades and will not be engaging with any kind of perceived or actual support of vans or transports or anything of that nature.

Due to Oregons sanctuary law, no state or local law enforcement agencies are allowed to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

Protests continue, with federal agents deploying tear gas. Portland police arrest 13 people in this period for crimes such as arson, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest, with 10 alone the night of June 12.

June 14: Hundreds of people protest outside the facility following a No Kings march earlier that day attended by tens of thousands of demonstrators. Several people use a stop sign as a makeshift battering ram and break the front door of the ICE building. Portland police declare a riot and federal officers deploy smoke, tear gas, flash grenades and other projectiles. Police make three arrests.

71 1 / 71 Portland ICE Protest -- June 14, 2025Mark Graves/The Oregonian

June 15: Portland Mayor Keith Wilson, reacting to troop deployment in Los Angeles, says Portland does not need the help or presence of National Guard troops.

June 19: The last time Portland police make an arrest in the protests, bringing the total to 25.

June 24: Portland police chief tells members of the Portland City Council that his agency is looking at ways to scale back its policing of ICE protests. The same night, a Portland police team observing a protest says in a debrief, if it were not ICE, we could assist directly, according to a police activity log.

July 4: A large protest outside the ICE facility leads to four more arrests on federal charges, bringing the number of people federal authorities have arrested to 22. Portland police monitor the protest from an airplane and bike officers remind protesters they cant set off fireworks but dont make any arrests as federal officers and protesters clash.

July 8: Trumps Border Czar Tom Homan name-checks Portland, pledging that immigration agents would be doubling down, tripling down on enforcement. Im going to Portland, Homan said. Im going out there. They are not going to bully us.

July 11: Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says anarchists and antifa-affiliated groups in Portland were publishing names, photos and personal addresses of ICE officers.

July 19: Around 60 people gathered at the ICE building and several called 911 dispatchers about an altercation with a counterprotester armed with a pepperball gun, according to 911 call records. The crowd dwindled to about 30 by around midnight. The groups were low energy and seated quietly, a police sergeant wrote in an email to his superiors, records show.

July 25: The first hearing begins in Multnomah County Circuit Court for a lawsuit filed by the resident of the nearby low-income housing complex. It asks a judge to force the city to enforce noise ordinances around the ICE building. Top Police Bureau officials are called to testify.

Aug. 14: Multnomah County Senior Judge Ellen Rosenblum, a former Oregon attorney general, rules police arent required to enforce noise rules at protests outside the ICE facility.

Aug. 20: Homan visits Portlands ICE facility. In a message posted to social media platform X, Homan says he visited to let agents know that President Trump and I have their six  a reference to having someones back.

Aug 21: A protester who was shoved from behind and tackled by federal authorities notifies the Department of Homeland Security he plans to sue, according to a copy of his tort claim notice. The protester, Daryn Herzberg, claimed that federal officers pinned him down during a protest Aug. 13 and held him in teargas for several minutes. Officers tackled him again three days later, he claimed, with one of them repeatedly hitting Herzbergs face into the ground.

Aug. 26: Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer tells Trump, I hope you will come to Portland, Oregon and crack down.

Sept. 1: Following a large protest downtown, over 100 people march from a nearby park to the ICE building. Some protesters bring a makeshift guillotine. Federal officers deploy chemical gas and pepperballs at the crowd.

Sept. 4: Fox News airs a report about the Labor Day protest with footage of 2025 protests outside ICE. Mixed in misleadingly are clips from 2020 protests. One shows a federal officer pepper spraying a person in downtown Portland. Another shows protesters burning the base of the Thompson Elk Fountain.

Sept. 5: Citing television news reports, Trump says he is weighing federal intervention in Portland due to the protests. Theyve ruined that city, Trump says. Its like living in hell. Gov. Tina Kotek decries the threats to deploy National Guard troops in Portland as absurd, unlawful and un-American.

Sept. 8: The U.S. Attorneys Office says 26 people have been charged with federal offenses at the ICE building since June 13.

 Fedor Zarkhin is a breaking news and enterprise reporter. Do you have a story? Reach him by phone or text at 971-373-2905 or by email at fzarkhin@oregonian.com.

Zaeem Shaikh covers the Portland Police Bureau and criminal justice issues for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at 503-221-4323, zshaikh@oregonian.com or on X@zaeemshake.
The call to use American cities as a training ground for the U.S. military came just days after the president called for troops to be sent to Portland and authorized them to use full force against protesters.

72 days ago
Mild temperatures should continue in the Portland area through Thursday, with a chance of scattered showers in the Cascade mountains both Wednesday and Thursday. The high temperature for Portland on Wednesday was expected to reach 74 degrees.

Scattered thunderstorms are likely to develop over the Oregon Cascades on Thursday afternoon, with a low chance of reaching the Interstate 5 corridor. These storms may produce occasional lightning, small hail and gusty winds. The marine layer has kept coastal and valley areas cooler, with limited storm development expected in the lower elevations.

On Friday and Saturday, dry weather will return with warming temperatures. Morning cloud cover is expected to give way to afternoon sunshine, with high temperatures in the upper 70s to lower 80s for inland valleys. The coast will see temperatures in the upper 60s.

Looking ahead to the weekend, theres increasing likelihood of rain on Sunday and Monday. Current forecast models suggest a 50-70% chance of rainfall, with cooler temperatures expected. The marine waters may see increased wind activity, with potential small craft advisory conditions developing over the weekend.

Residents should monitor local weather updates and be prepared for changing conditions, particularly if planning outdoor activities in the Cascade foothills or marine areas.

-- Generative AI was used to produce a draft of this story based on information from the National Weather Service. It was reviewed and edited by Oregonian/OregonLive staff.
People visit the Agri Lebanon Expo in Beirut, Lebanon, on Sept. 10, 2025. The event, held from Sept. 10 to 12, brings together farmers, agribusinesses, technology providers, and policymakers to showcase the latest innovations, foster sustainable practices, and drive economic growth across the agrifood sector. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich)

A woman views cherry tomatoes displayed at the Agri Lebanon Expo in Beirut, Lebanon, on Sept. 10, 2025. The event, held from Sept. 10 to 12, brings together farmers, agribusinesses, technology providers, and policymakers to showcase the latest innovations, foster sustainable practices, and drive economic growth across the agrifood sector. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich)

A woman views products displayed at the Agri Lebanon Expo in Beirut, Lebanon, on Sept. 10, 2025. The event, held from Sept. 10 to 12, brings together farmers, agribusinesses, technology providers, and policymakers to showcase the latest innovations, foster sustainable practices, and drive economic growth across the agrifood sector. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich)
OKLAHOMA CITY  Drag shows containing obscenity in public places or in front of children are illegal, according to an Oklahoma Attorney Generals opinion released Wednesday.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said the binding opinion describes clear red lines to determine when the performances are free speech or a punishable crime.

Under Oklahoma law, obscene material includes depictions of sexual conduct that meet three criteria, the opinion said.

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First, it is patently offensive as determined by the average person applying contemporary community standards, the opinion said.

Second, it appeals to prurient interest in sex as a dominant theme, the opinion said.

Finally, it lacks serious literary, artistic, educational, political or scientific value, the opinion said.

Sexual conduct includes intercourse, sodomy, masturbation, or exhibiting genitals or pubic areas, the opinion said.

Whether specific drag performances meet those elements involves fact questions outside the scope of the opinion, the opinion said.

Drummond said he would be issuing guidance to law enforcement.

Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, asked for the opinion after the passage of House Bill 1217, which became effective in May. Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, and Sen. David Bullard, D-Durant, were the authors.

The law prohibits individuals from performing sexually explicit or obscene acts in public places or areas where minors are present. It bans political subdivisions from authorizing the performances.

The new law created some confusion, she said.

I think it was necessary to clarify the issue, and this opinion certainly did do that, Daniels said.

She said the issue of drag performances in outdoor public facilities in front of children had been a topic of discussion in her community.

Oklahoma Voice is an affiliate of States Newsroom, a nation 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and donations focused on delivering state government news. The Voice maintains full editorial independence. For more stories by Oklahoma Voice go to oklahomavoice.com.
The United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of an unnamed transgender student from South Carolina, allowing the individual to use the boys' bathroom in school.

On Wednesday, the court declined to take up an application from South Carolina, where officials are seeking to enforce a ban on students using public school bathrooms that match their gender identity. The development is seen as a small setback for the state in its efforts to tighten policies.

Transgender Student's Use of Boys' Bathroom

Despite the order, a lawsuit on the matter will still proceed in the lower courts. It comes as three Republican-appointed justices, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch, would hae granted South Carolina's request.

The latest development comes after a federal appeals court temporarily enjoined South Carolina from enforcing its law while the case plays out. State officials said they wanted to temporarily lift that injunction.

Previously, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit granted the injunction at the request of a ninth-grader. The student wanted to use the boys' bathroom, which did not correspond to the child's birth sex, according to Yahoo News.

The student's attorneys argued to the Supreme Court that an emergency pause on the Fourth Circuit's order was not warranted. They argued that this is because the lawsuit centered on only one student, and no other individuals took issue with their client using the boys' restroom.

The legal experts said that no student complained about their client, who was simply known as John Doe in the documents, sharing the boys' restrooms with other male students. They added that the transgender student had dressed and presented as a boy since he was younger.

South Carolina's Legal Efforts

The student's parents sued on his behalf, arguing that the measures of the state violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. They said the legislation requires that the laws apply equally to everyone, NBC News reported.

The issue started after South Carolina enacted the law in its 2024-25 budget appropriations bill and once more in its 2025-26 bill. The student's parents pulled their child out of school during the 2024-25 school year after he was suspended for using the boys' bathroom at school.

School officials reportedly suggested that the transgender student could face expulsion if he continued to use the male restroom at school. The child's attorneys also noted that South Carolina has failed to identify a "single concrete injury it would suffer" if the Fourth Circuit's order were left in place for now, as per the SCOTUS Blog.
Denver authorities reported that a teenager injured several other students at a local high school before committing suicide in a tragic shooting.

In a post on X on Wednesday, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said that the male suspect responsible for the incident at Evergreen High School died from self-inflicted injuries. The shooting was initially reported around 12:30 p.m., sheriff's spokesperson Jacki Kelley said.

Denver High School Shooting

Kelley said that shots rang out both inside and outside of the school building, noting that law enforcement personnel who responded to the scene found the shooter within five minutes of arriving.

The spokesperson added that none of the police officers who responded to the incident fired any shots from their weapons.CEO Kevin Cullinan said that the suspect, along with two other students he injured, were taken to St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, Colorado.

Lindsay Radford, a spokesperson for the hospital, said on Wednesday that one of the teenagers had died, while another was critically wounded and the last was in stable condition. Following the incident, more than 100 police officers rushed to the school to provide assistance, according to NBC News.

Parents in Evergreen gathered outside Bergen Meadow Elementary School nearby while waiting to be reunited with their children. One parent, Wendy Nueman, said her 15-year-old daughter, who is a sophomore at Evergreen High School, did not answer he phone right away after the shooting.

Read more: Juvenile Responsible for UMass Lowell Lockdown Was Carrying Replica Firearm

Nueman said that when her child finally called her back, she was using a borrowed phone. The daughter simply told her mother that she was fine but had trouble talking. She was apparently holding back tears at the time.

On top of the three students initially transferred to the hospital, authorities said a fourth student was brought, but with an unknown injury. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis later released a statement saying he was "devastated" by the tragic incident, ABC News reported.

A Tragic Incident

Following the shooting, Evergreen High School was quickly placed into lockdown as authorities swept through the campus. Kelley added that the incident was the "scariest thing you'd think could ever happen."

Officials are still investigating the shooter's motive for the attack, what led to the shooting, and whether the victims and the suspect knew each other personally. Police officers are also looking into the teenage shooter's home, locker, and car while searching for a possible motive.

The Jefferson Public School District's superintendent, Tracy Dorland, said they cannot pretend that this is just another tragic incident. She noted that the pain of this attack "reopens old wounds," as per the New York Times.
One day, you might lose your laptop. It could be stolen or it could be misplaced. But if youre reading this right now and you still have your laptop with you, the advice is the same either way: be proactive and take steps to protect your machine ahead of time.

Theres nothing worse than realizing your laptop is gone and being full of regret, wishing youd taken those proactive steps when you had the chance. You have that chance right nowdont put it off until later that never comes. Act now to protect your sensitive data and make sure your laptop is more easily recoverable should you lose it.

Both Windows 11 and Windows 10 have useful safeguarding features worth using, and Windows can theoretically track your lost laptop (but youll need extra hardware for the best tracking experience). Here are the preemptive steps you should take to protect your laptop ASAP.
By Ford Turner, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette(TNS)

Despite a new law that expands the states authority over organizations that manage pharmacy benefits, financially strapped pharmacies are closing at an alarming rate in some of Pennsylvanias most needy and underserved areas, state lawmakers were told Wednesday.

It is a crisis in Philadelphia. I am sure it is a crisis in Pittsburgh also, Rob Frankil, executive director of the Philadelphia Association of Retail Druggists, told senators in the Capitol.

Mr. Frankils sentiment was echoed at the informational meeting by a succession of presenters, and especially by the senators who are part of the Senate Community Pharmacy Caucus.

Democratic state Sen. Lisa Boscola of Northampton County said she believed 600 pharmacies have closed in Pennsylvania in the past two years. A Republican, Sen. Dave Argall of Schuylkill County, said I have never seen so many closings and that people in his rural district are now being forced to drive a long way to visit a pharmacy.

That particular problem  long drives to pharmacies  may be eased somewhat by provisions of a new law enacted about 14 months ago, according to state Insurance Commissioner Michael Humphreys.

Signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro on July 17, 2024, the Pharmacy Benefit Reform Act that was intended to ramp up oversight of pharmacy benefits managers, or PBMs. Mr. Humphreys told lawmakers on Wednesday that some provisions of the law will not take effect until Jan. 1, including ones on business practices.

Of all prescriptions filled in Pennsylvania, only about 11.7% are covered by payments from Medicaid, which falls under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Human Services, DHS Secretary Valerie Arkoosh told senators. Commercial insurers cover about 35% and Medicare Part D has the largest slice, at about 42%.

Both she and Mr. Humphreys said their agencies have not received many complaints about access to pharmacies.

Later in the session, Mr. Frankil expressed consternation at those statements.

He indicated it was far-fetched to expect a needy person with a health issue in a poor city neighborhood or rural area to worry about filing a complaint with a state agency. That person, Mr. Frankil said, is just looking for a pharmacy and medicine.

It is horrible out there, he said.

He and others said many of the closures involve pharmacies that fill large numbers of Medicaid prescriptions. There were repeated references to the practices of the so-called PBMs as being part of the problem.

Republican Sen. Cris Dush said Ohios attorney general had filed multiple lawsuits against PBMs. He asked Ms. Arkoosh whether it made sense to have Pennsylvania switch to a single pharmacy benefits manager system like Ohio did starting in 2019.

Ms. Arkoosh said her agency was studying the possibility.

Sen. Lindsey Williams, D-West View, said enforcement of the new state law will be crucial. She said the information about how much pharmacies are receiving from PBMs for dispensing medications was very confusing. She also said it was confusing to try to determine how much taxpayers are spending on the system, and why.

Ms. Boscola was blunt about the scenario where one pharmacy gets one amount of reimbursement for dispensing a drug, and another pharmacy gets a different amount for dispensing the same drug.

It seems totally wrong, she said. I think the average person would think that is unfair, as well.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox spoke with the media Wednesday after Charlie Kirk, a right-wing political activist, was shot and killed during an event at a university.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox called the Wednesday shooting death of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University a political assassination while addressing the media.

Our nation is broken, Cox said. Weve had political assassinations recently in Minnesota. We had an attempted assassination on the governor of Pennsylvania. And we had an attempted assassination on a presidential candidate and former president of the United States and now current president of the United States.

Cox said state and federal law enforcement agencies are working together to bring the responsible parties to justice.

I want to make it crystal clear right now. To whoever did this, we will find you, and we will try you and we will hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law, Cox said. I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty here in the state of Utah.

Investigators on Wednesday had taken two people into custody in connection with the fatal shooting. However, both were later released.

17 1 / 17 Charlie Kirk shot to death at Utah university event

According to the Associated Press, investigators are now seeking a new person of interest in Kirks killing.

As of Wednesday night, officials have not indicated that anyone else has been taken into custody.

Cox said Kirks focus on debate and free speech is part of the foundation of the United States and the Constitution.

When someone takes the life of a person because of their ideas or their ideals, then that very Constitutional foundation is threatened, Cox said.

Many people on social media celebrated Kirks death because of various political and/or ideological reasons. Cox implored those people to remember Kirk was another living person, just like everyone else.

I dont care what his politics are. I care that he was an American, Cox said. If anyone in the sound of my voice celebrated even a little bit at the news of this shooting, I would beg you to look in the mirror and to see if you can find a better angel in there somewhere.

People attend a vigil at Timpanogos Regional Hospital for Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA who was shot and killed, on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett) AP

Nothing I can say can bring back Charlie Kirk. Our hearts are broken. We mourn with his wife, his children, his family, his friends. We mourn as a nation, Cox said.

Kirk, a married father of two, had planned on continuing his tour at 14 other campuses, including a stop at Colorado State University on Sept. 18.

Kirk was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs and first became interested in politics in high school.

He briefly attended Harper College, located northwest of Chicago, but dropped out after Tea Party member Bill Montgomery convinced him his time would be better spent in political activism full-time.

Anyone with information regarding the shooting is asked to fill out an FBI tip sheet.
Story by Carter Walker of Votebeat

Municipal Elections 101 from Spotlight PA educates readers about the local positions on their ballots and empowers them to make informed decisions. This edition is made possible through a collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting.

More than 27,000 poll worker positions will be on ballots across Pennsylvania this November, allowing voters to select who will be in charge of their precincts during the 2026 and 2028 election cycles.

Only Pennsylvanians are voting for these positions. No other state still elects its poll workers, and these contests are usually riddled with vacancies.

That makes elections for poll workers more complicated than most.

Here is what you need to know ahead of Nov. 4:

What do judge of elections, majority inspector, and minority inspector do?

Three of the five poll worker positions at each precinct are elected: the judge of elections, majority inspector, and minority inspector.

With more than 9,000 precincts in the state, thats a lot of elected workers. Voters can cast ballots only for workers in their own precinct.

Judges of elections supervise precincts. Their primary responsibilities are ensuring things run smoothly on Election Day and returning ballots and results to the county office safely at the end of the night, according to a guide put together by the Philadelphia-based nonprofit Committee of Seventy.

The majority and minority inspectors are tasked with checking voter registration documents, signing in voters, and ensuring the election is conducted legally and fairly.

Poll workers are paid for their time. The amount varies by jurisdiction, but its usually a few hundred dollars for the day. Election Day typically involves working at least a 13-hour shift, from when the polls open at 7 a.m. to when they close at 8 p.m., and the pay is small enough that many poll workers think of the job more as a volunteer endeavor or community service.

During the primary, Democratic and Republican voters in each precinct are supposed to nominate one candidate for judge, and each party nominates one candidate for inspector. In the fall, the election judge candidate with the most votes assumes the position. Of the two inspector candidates, the one who gets the most votes becomes the majority inspector, and the second-place candidate becomes the minority one.

What happens if nobody runs for these positions?

This happens a lot.

After the May primary, officials in Allegheny County, for instance, said there would be no candidate for 3,500 of the roughly 4,000 elected poll worker positions on the November ballot.

Even in the races that do have candidates, they sometimes got on the ballot with just a few write-in votes. Many candidates often run successful write-in campaigns in the fall as well.

As Mercer County Election Director Thad Hall told Votebeat and Spotlight PA after the primary, these write-ins are sometimes a joke. If the candidates end up winning, Hall said, they sometimes think the county officials congratulating them on their victories are pulling their leg, because someone was pulling their leg in the first place.

If a poll worker race doesnt result in anyone being elected, county election officials must recruit workers for open positions, typically through media campaigns or from a list of people who expressed interest through a form with the Department of State.

If youre interested in being an elected poll worker, its too late to get on the ballot at this stage, but you can still volunteer if your precinct has a vacancy.

To find out if there are any open poll worker positions at your precinct, contact your county election office. Many counties will also soon be posting sample ballots, where voters can view exactly which positions and candidates are on them in their precincts.

Why does Pennsylvania elect poll workers?

Historians say it has been this way since 1799, and according to a report from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, Pennsylvania is the only state that does it quite like this.

Some New England states have elected town officials who oversee polling places as part of their job. But Pennsylvania is the only state that directly elects officials whose sole responsibility is overseeing elections.

It was a great idea in the 1800s that they never got rid of, Hall told Votebeat and Spotlight PA after the May primary.

Some election officials favor moving to the type of appointment-based system seen in other states.

State Sen. Lisa Boscola, a Democrat from the Lehigh Valley, said she would introduce legislation to do so. Her bill memo called the current system a broken model that only adds to the already complicated job our counties have in carrying out elections.

Carter Walker is a reporter for Votebeat in partnership with Spotlight PA. Contact Carter at cwalker@votebeat.org.

BEFORE YOU GO If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.
SEOUL, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said Thursday that domestic companies would hesitate about their U.S. investment after last week's immigration raid in the United States that led to the detention of hundreds of South Korean workers.

"As it stands, our companies will inevitably be very hesitant about direct U.S. investment," Lee told a televised press conference marking 100 days in his office, saying it could have a significant impact on the investment in the future.

Lee noted that negotiations between Seoul and Washington were underway for visa issuance relevant to the U.S. investment, adding that the United States would resolve it if there is its practical need.

In collaboration with other law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided the construction site of an electric vehicle battery plant operated by a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution on Sept. 4.

Arrested were 475 individuals, including over 300 South Koreans who have since been held at the Folkston detention center in Georgia. 
Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Point's visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP) AP

When conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed Wednesday while speaking at a university in Utah he left behind a wife and two young children  a son and a daughter.

He was just 31.

And in the wake of his death his fans took to his social media accounts to send condolences to his family. They didnt have to scroll back too far on his Instagram to find a picture of his daughter, who was born in 2022, that had everyone getting emotional.

Kirk is sitting on the beach with her and playing in the sand in the photo which was posted two weeks ago.

Happy birthday to our incredible daughter, he wrote. Teaching her to know God alongside (Erika Kirk) is the greatest privilege. Having a family will change your life in the best ways, so get married and have kids. You wont regret it.

Fans and followers were quick to respond to the post following his death.

This little girl didnt deserve for her daddy to be ripped from her in an instant, one person wrote.

This breaks my heart, another wrote. Poor babies have to grow up without their daddy now.

Seeing this photo after his death made me cry, another wrote. I cant hold back how bad I feel for him and his family. Bless him and his family.

There were plenty more replies like that and you can see them all as well as Kirks post here.

Kirk was shot while speaking at Utah Valley University. Two people were detained for question, but both have been released so his killer is still on the loose.
Stewart Copeland of The Police performs at The Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium in London, Sept. 3, 2022. Photo Credit: Kevin Mazur/Paramount 2022 Paramount. All Rights Reserved. Paramount

Dont expect The Police to get back together anytime soon.

Thats according to drummer Stewart Copeland, who  in an interview with LouderSound  said the chances of the iconic 1980s rock band reforming are highly unlikely.

Those odds are slim. We are enjoying life  and each other  too much away from being in a band together," he said. Why jeopardize it by going back into that place where we shout and scream at each other all of the time? I understand now why we did that, because we had band therapy.

Copeland added that the three of us were put on this planet to make different kinds of music.

Asked if he still gets along with his former bandmates, Copeland responded affirmatively.

Oh yeah. The three of us would end up in one corner right away, he said. Or maybe Id go over into Stings corner and gripe for a while about Andy and then head into Andys corner and gripe to him about Sting. Because you know damned well that before I got there, their heads were together having a good ol gripe about me.

Still, theres another reason that might waylay any attempts at a reunion. Copeland and Police guitarist Andy Summers recently filed suit against the groups bassist and chief songwriter Sting over what they say are missing royalties.

Summers and Copeland said in the suit, filed in London High Court, that they never received songwriting credit on the song Every Breath You Take and have never been paid for their contributions.

Active from 1977 to 1984, the Police is known for such hits as Dont Stand So Close to Me, Roxanne and Message in a Bottle.

The group did reunite and tour extensively from 2007-08 before disbanding again.
Tyler Perry's accuser sits down with ABC News for a new interview surrounding sexual assault claims. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

In a new interview, Derek Dixon sat down with ABC News to explain why hes suing Tyler Perry.

Dixon filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the filmmaker back in June for $260 million in damages, accusing the billionaire of assault while starring in two of his productions.

Part of that number is my lost job, my lost income, the loss of a show, Dixon told ABC News anchor Linsey Davis on Tuesday, Sept. 9.

It was his first television interview since filing the lawsuit.

The other part of that is a deterrent for how do you stop a billionaire who wont stop themselves from doing this, he said.

Dixon, who appeared in the two BET series The Oval and Ruthless as Dale between 2021 and 2025, said he first met Perry at a studio opening party in 2019 while he was working at an events company.

To Dixon, first landing the role in The Oval in early 2020 was something he always dreamt about.

According to Dixon, Perry asked him if he was actor, gave him his number and said, Well talk about this.

According to the civil complaint, when Dixon was working on the show, the media mogul began sending text messages to him, where some were sexual in nature.

One of them says, Whats it going to take for you to have guiltless sex? Have yall found that in therapy yet? I would hope that you would let someone hold and make love to you, Dixon said.

But Matthew Boyd, an attorney for Tyler Perry and TPS Production Services, shot down those claims in a statement to People and ABC News.

This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam, Boyd said. But Tyler will not be shaken down and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail.

Dixon discussed his complicated history with Perry, saying he didnt want to stay silent about it anymore even though its a vulnerable thing to talk about.

Its been hard, Dixon said. Theres a lot of shame around it. Just trying to think what you could have done better and having to deal with the judgment of how you couldve ended it better without being in that situation.

In July, Dixon engaged in an email interview with The Hollywood Reporter and said that going through with the lawsuit has been terrifying but he couldnt just let him get away with this.

Everyone deserves to go to work and do their job without their boss trying to have sex with them, Dixon said. My goal is to help ensure that the next generation of actors and creatives dont have to choose between their dreams and their dignity.
Outside of the new non-alcoholic bar in downtown Harrisburg, Agape Elixir Bar. Courtesy of Harristown Enterpises, Inc

A new alcohol alternative bar will soon add some new drink options to downtown Harrisburg.

At 11 a.m. Sept. 23, the Agape Elixir Bar, located at 23 S. Third St., Harrisburg, will host its ribbon-cutting and open its doors to the public.

The new beverage bar will feature a selection of the latest trends, such as CBD-infused cocktails, kava, elixirs, hydrogen water, lions mane mushroom, and coffee blends.

According to a press release, Brad Jones, President of Harristown Enterprises, Inc., and owner of the storefront, Agape Elixir, will offer unique items to customers.

We welcome Agape Elixir Bar to the SoMa neighborhood, Jones said in the release. With the growth of Harrisburg University and the additional students coming to the area, as well as the growth of the SoMa neighborhood, in general, this unique bar will offer a new beverage scene in downtown.

The Agape Team also expressed its excitement for the shops future.

We are very committed to the Harrisburg revitalization efforts, and look forward to keeping the momentum going on our street, the team said. We truly believe in the vision for the area.

According to the bars website, a large part of its menu is 21+, and it hopes to reimagine the bar experience.

More than drinks  its community, the site reads. Weve reimagined the bar scene as a calm, welcoming third place where you can connect, reset, and feel at home. When you get home, you might not remember the name of the drink you had, but you will remember the way our location made you feel.
FBI Salt Lake City released two images of a "person of interest" in connection with the shooting of Charlie Kirk in Utah Wednesday afternoon. FBI Salt Lake City

Update: New images, video show person of interest in Charlie Kirk killing: FBI

Investigators released two images of the person and appealed for tips to help solve the shooting of Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters.

The unidentified suspect is believed to have jumped off a roof and fled into a neighborhood after firing one shot, authorities said Thursday. A high-powered, bolt-action rifle they believe was used in the attack was recovered, and video recordings of the person they believe was responsible are being reviewed.

Kirks assassination renews attention to escalating threats of political violence in the United States that cut across the ideological spectrum. His killing is drawing bipartisan condemnation, but a national reckoning over ways to prevent political grievances from manifesting as deadly violence appears elusive.

The agency released two photos of a person of interest in connection with the shooting of Charlie Kirk as investigators appeal to the public for information. The photos show a person wearing a hat, sunglasses and a long sleeve black shirt.

FBI Salt Lake City released two images of a "person of interest" in connection with the assassination of Charlie Kirk Wednesday afternoon. FBI Salt Lake City

Rifle and ammunition being checked for clues

Law enforcement recovered a Mauser .30 caliber bolt-action rifle hidden in a towel in a wooded area near the university campus along what they suspect to be the shooters path as they fled the scene, according to information circulated among law enforcement and shared with The Associated Press.

In addition to the spent cartridge recovered in the chamber, three other rounds were loaded in the magazine. The weapon and ammunition are now being forensically analyzed by law enforcement at a federal lab for clues that could help identify the shooter or their motive.

Utah campus classrooms show how students prepared for a shooter

Some attendees who bolted after the gunshot rushed into two classrooms full of students, where the periodic table adorned the wall and formulas were written in blue on the whiteboard. They pulled tables from the center of the room to barricade the door, stacking them atop each other. Others were turned on their side in a corner for a last ditch defense.

Desperate, someone grabbed an electric pencil sharpener and wrapped the cord tightly around the door handle, then tied the sharpener to a chair leg.

Thursday morning, the classrooms were quiet and in disarray. Backpacks and notebooks were left on the desks, some scribbled with notes on electromotive force in green pen and pink highlighter.

Trump to speak with Kirks family later Thursday

The president said he plans to speak with Kirks family on Thursday afternoon, and Vice President JD Vance is traveling to Utah Thursday to meet with Kirks family in person.

They have a virtual manhunt out there. So well see what happens, Trump said in a brief exchange with reporters shortly after attending the a 9/11 memorial ceremony at the Pentagon. We hope we get em.

Scott Walker says Young Americas Foundation wont stop holding events

The former Wisconsin governor, now president of the foundation, said his group will continue to hold events on college campuses to attract young people to the Republican Party. But they cancelled a Thursday night event in Santa Barbara featuring conservative commentator Ben Shapiro out of respect for Kirk and his family, Walker said.

We will review our security measures to ensure the safety of our students, speakers, and staff, Walker said in a statement on the groups website. This will likely mean that we will change venues and security measures for many of our events. But we will not stop. Doing so would mean that the evil assassin who did this wins. He must not win. The best way to honor Charlies life is to continue his work.

Gov. Ron DeSantis: political violence threatens what Americas all about

The Florida Republican honored Kirk and called for nonviolent political participation as he marked 24 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks at an event in Palm Harbor on Thursday.

The viability of a republic really depends on our ability to fight those battles in the proper arena, leading into voting, leading into debate, DeSantis said. It is certainly not that you kill somebody in order to silence them.

Students at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton plan to gather Thursday evening to honor Kirk, holding a memorial service and prayer vigil at the student union on the Palm Beach County campus. May he rest in Peace, the FAU Turning Point USA chapter posted on its Instagram account. Security will be present.
It was a Tuesday.

Americans were going about their business on a beautiful, sunny day with clear blue skies.

Some people probably had not yet start their workday, rushing to get a cup of coffee or grab the elevator.

At 8:46 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, chaos descended on New York City and continued throughout the day as four airliners were hijacked and crashed into buildings and a field, killing almost 3,000 innocent people and plunging the United States into the depths of despair, fear and grief.

People rushed to their TVs and saw confusing, horrific images of the attacks by the extremist group al-Qaida as planes hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and another crashed in a western Pennsylvania field.

Twenty-four years later, the grief still resonates for the 2,996 lives lost and the 6,000 who were injured.

The founder of al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden, was killed by U.S. soldiers in Pakistan in May 2011.

A timeline of events

The headline across the front page of The Patriot-News in 2001 said:

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001: UNTHINKABLE // In a day of mind-numbing horror, America watched as the World Trade Center was destroyed, the Pentagon was attacked, planes crashed and thousands were killed as terrorists shook our nation to its core.

Businesses closed. Events were canceled. Air travel ground to a halt. Everyone was jittery. Security was increased.

The World Trade Center just after a second plane hit it on Sept. 11, 2001. (Staten Island Advance/ Jan Somma-Hammel, file)

The first airplane, American Airlines Flight 11, hit the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City at 8:46 a.m. Flight 11 was a Boeing 767 with 92 people on board. It left Logan International Airport in Boston bound for Los Angeles.

At 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 hit the south tower of the World Trade Center. Flight 175, also a Boeing 767, had 65 people on board. The flight also took off from Boston and was headed to Los Angeles.

At 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the west side of the Pentagon. Flight 77 was a Boeing 757 headed from Dulles International Airport to Los Angeles. There were 64 people on board.

At 9:59 a.m., the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed.

At 10:03 a.m. United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into the ground in Somerset County, Pa. Flight 93 was a Boeing 757 with 44 people on board. It had taken off from Newark International Airport and was headed to San Francisco. It is believed that passengers wrested control of the plane from the hijackers, preventing it from hitting the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

At 10:28 a.m., the north tower collapsed.

A helicopter flies over the Pentagon in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. (AP Photo/Heesoon Yim, file) AP

At 10:50 a.m., five stories of part of the Pentagon collapsed.

At 11 a.m., New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani ordered the evacuation of Lower Manhattan south of Canal Street.

At 5:20 p.m., Seven World Trade Center collapsed. The building had already been evacuated.

The presidents speech

At 8:30 p.m., President George W. Bush addressed the nation:

Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts.

The victims were in airplanes, or in their offices; secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal workers; moms and dads, friends and neighbors. Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror.

The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger.

These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America.

These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve. America was targeted for attack because were the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world.

And no one will keep that light from shining.

Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature. And we responded with the best of America -- with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could.

FILE - In this Sept. 14, 2001 file photo, President George W. Bush puts his arm around firefighter Bob Beckwith while standing in front of the World Trade Center in New York during a tour of the devastation. (AP Photo/Doug Mills, File) AP Photo

9/11 memorials

The Flight 93 National Memorial was dedicated in 2011.

On Sept. 9, 2018, the Tower of Voices at the memorial, a 93-foot-tall musical instrument that contains 40 wind chimes representing the 40 passengers and crew, was dedicated. The Memorial Plaza and Walkway marks the northern edge of the larger crash site and debris field, which is off limits.

The Wall of Names is inscribed with the names of the 40 Flight 93 passengers and crew members in white marble panels.

The black granite walkway marks a portion of the flight path. At the wooden Ceremonial Gate, visitors can look down the flight path to the impact site.

Forty victims of the hijacked Flight 93 are memorialized on a wall, in front of where the plane crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 11, 2001. At top the hill on the right is the visitor center complex. (Rich Exner, cleveland.com, file) Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Tall walls depicting the path of Flight 93 lead to an overlook to the site of the crash on 9/11, killing everyone onboard in an open field southeast of Pittsburgh. The Flight 93 National Memorial Visitor Center is next to the walls. (Rich Exner, cleveland.com, file) Rich Exner, cleveland.com

The memorial opened a visitors center in September 2015. The center includes stories and pictures of the Flight 93 passengers and crew. It also includes a timeline.

In 2018, the remaining wreckage was buried at the memorial in four shipping containers.

The Pentagon Memorial features cantilevered benches, 85 crepe myrtle trees and an Age Wall that grows one inch in height a year relative the ages of the victims.

The benches each have a victims age and location at the time of the attack. The benches, according to the memorials website, are arranged along an age line, according to the year each victim was born. The positioning differentiates between those aboard Flight 77 and those inside the Pentagon. Each bench also contains a reflecting pool of water.

On Sept. 11, 2011, the national September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City was dedicated and opened to the public the next day. The museum opened May 21, 2014.

Flags and flowers are placed by the names of those killed during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks at the reflecting pools at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Donald King, file) AP

The memorial features two reflecting pools with the footprints of where the Twin Towers once stood. The names of every person who died in the 2001 at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Somerset County, Pa., and the 1993 World Trade Center attacks are inscribed in bronze panels around the pools.

Note: A version of this story was published by PennLive in 2022.
Want a say in the news? Email Claudia at todayinpa@pennlive.com to have your thoughts on the stories covered here or on PennLive heard.

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Today in Pa. Daily Podcast | September 11, 2025

The state Supreme Court will determine whether or not Uber users waive their right to a trial when they sign up for the app. Scammers are tricking people with bogus ads. Three of Pennsylvanias metro areas are amongst those suffering the worst from housing shortages. Lastly, a 9/11 memorial will host a remembrance ceremony on todays anniversary.

Those are the stories we cover in the latest episode of Today in Pa., a daily weekday podcast from PennLive.com and hosted by Claudia Dimuro. Today in Pa. is dedicated to sharing the most important and interesting stories pertaining to Pennsylvania that lets you know, indeed, whats happening today in Pa.

Todays episode refers to the following articles:

If you enjoy Today in Pa., consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or on Amazon. Reviews help others find the show and, besides, wed like to know what you think about the program, too.
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was killed Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University.

He was just 31.

The horrific killing shocked the world as it was captured from multiple angles in graphic videos that were then shared to social media. The news as well as discussions about who Kirk was and why it all happened went well into the night across most media platforms.

Particularly heartbreaking was the fact that Kirk had a wife, former Miss Arizona winner Erika Frantzve, and two young children. Charlie and Erika were married in 2021 and had a daughter in 2022 and a son in May of 2024.

While the couple worked to keep their kids out of the spotlight, there were a few heartbreaking video clips of Kirk with his children that circulated around social media on Wednesday, too, which drove home the fact that he was a father.

And, if there was any solace to be had in his loss, it may have been that reports on the day revaled that Kirk managed to set his family up in a situation where they will be financially stable following his death. No, that wont make up for the hurt following the loss of a father and a husband, but it will likely help to make sure his children are taken care of now that he is gone.

We know that because Parade Magazine reported on his net worth following his death, and the estimates found the Charlie Kirk Show, podcast host and Turning Point USA founder did well for himself.

Citing multiple reports, Parade Magazine said that Kirk was estimated to be worth $12 million. Celebrity Net Worth also estimated Kirks net worth to be $12 million while noting that he also wrote several books, and that his career in conservative politics and media began all the way back in 2012 when he was just 18 years old.

Value Walk reported that he grew his salary from just $27,000 per year when he first started Turning Point USA to more than $407,000 by 2021.

Kirks killer or killers had still not been apprehended past midnight on Thursday. Two individuals were detained for questioning, but both were subsequently released.
Support for President Donald Trump, shown here speaking at a 9/11 commemoration at the Pentagon, has tumbled among voters in a key battlefield county outside of Philadelphia. Evan Vucci | AP Photo

Support for President Donald Trump has tumbled among voters in a key battlefield county outside of Philadelphia.

A private poll, first reported by Politico, shows 53% of likely voters in Bucks County view Trump unfavorably, compared with 42% who view him favorably.

A year ago voters viewed Trump favorably by 45 percent and unfavorably by 50 percent.

In recent elections Bucks County has trended Republican with registered Republicans now narrowly outnumbering Democrats. Which way the county goes now has significant implications for the 2026 midterm elections. Joe Biden won the county in 2020, but Trump took it by 1% margin over Kamala Harris in 2024.

Its clear that there is some backlash against Trump and MAGA Republicans generally, said Ethan Smith, a founding partner at Upswing Research & Strategy told Politico. The survey also shows that were probably entering a period of Democratic enthusiasm. We can tell just based on response rates that Democrats are really eager to participate in the election.

The poll delivered positive news for Gov. Josh Shapiro as he heads into a competitive 2026 re-election race, garnering a 55% favorably rating, compared with 27% of voters who view him unfavorably. One quarter of Republicans gave him a favorable rating.

Shapiro faces at least one opponent next year: Pennsylvania state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, a Republican, entered the race earlier this month.

Upswing Research & Strategy surveyed 501 likely voters in August, conducting the poll on behalf of the Democratic PAC Bucks United. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
Gov. Josh Shapiro has ordered United States and Commonwealth flags on all facilities, public buildings, and grounds across Pennsylvania to fly at half-staff as a mark of respect for the memory of Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist who was shot dead at a university in Utah on Wednesday.

The flags shall remain lowered until sunset on Sunday, Sept. 14.

All Pennsylvanians are invited to participate in this tribute.

They were originally slated to be lowered only on Thursday in observance of Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance in honor of the individuals who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.

In the wake of the shooting, Shapiro posted the following to X: Political violence has no place in our country. We must speak with moral clarity. The attack on Charlie Kirk is horrifying and this growing type of unconscionable violence cannot be allowed in our society.

The move by Shapiro came as President Donald Trump ordered US flags to be flown at half-mast to honor Kirk.

In honor of Charlie Kirk, a truly Great American Patriot, I am ordering all American Flags throughout the United States lowered to Half Mast until Sunday evening at 6 P.M., Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
BEIJING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- China's top health official on Thursday said the country's average life expectancy has risen to 79 years.

The figure, measured by the end of 2024, was 1.1 years higher than that in 2020, said Lei Haichao, head of the National Health Commission, adding that it marked "a notable improvement" for a developing country.

Eight provincial-level regions have even recorded an average life expectancy over 80 years, he added.

Lei, speaking at a press conference on the country's progress in the health sector during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), stated that infant and maternal mortality rates have continued to decline over the past five years, and the overall health level of residents has steadily improved. 
While Pennsylvanias transit funding crisis has been alleviated for now, it remained unclear this week whether that development will help grease the overall fiscal wheels of the states ten-week-long budget impasse.

The Senate returned to Harrisburg this week for a session that felt as if it couldve happened three months earlier, and not just because the weather wasnt stiflingly hot.

Interest groups held events to support their budget requests, lawmakers made aspirational statements about funding deals to come, and the Senates Republican majority moved legislation that Democrats are unlikely to be happy about  common activities in the weeks leading up to the June 30 end of the fiscal year.

In an email Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman said the frequency and detail of discussions have increased and could allow for a budget agreement to be finalized within the next several days, but cautioned that currently there is no global agreement on a budget deal, as several fiscal and policy issues remain outstanding.

The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday teed up a bill that could have budget appropriations amended into it when a final deal is reached, although Chairman Jordan Harris, D-Philadelphia, declined to put an exact timeline on it.

For the most part, lawmakers this were most confident in talking about what isnt going to be in any budget deal, including a permanent increase to mass transit funding.

On Monday, Gov. Josh Shapiros administration approved a request from SEPTA  Philadelphias cash-strapped transit agency  to use upcoming capital project dollars to pay for operating costs.

The funding flexibility  which didnt require legislative approval  creates a two-year bridge for SEPTA to avoid service cuts, and came after Shapiro said it became clear Senate Republicans werent interested in a budget that included a permanent solution to funding transit shortfalls.

What I expect is a final budget deal that will not include funding for mass transit. The Senate Republicans have made it clear they wont do that, Shapiro, a Democrat, said Monday.

In authorizing SEPTAs re-purposing of funds, we are taking this issue away from the politics of state Senate Republicans who wanted to use it to slow things down, Shapiro said, adding that the issue they had been highlighting as a reason to not get [the budget] done is now off the table.

This may or may not put wind in the sails of budget negotiations. The immediate reaction from the Senate GOP was one of vindication, given that the funding deal they proposed in August wouldve also used existing sources of mass transit capital dollars to nurse SEPTAs cash-strapped operating budget. The plan was rejected by Shapiro and the Democratic-majority House.

What weve been saying all along was there, was there, said Senate Appropriations Chair Scott Martin, R-Lancaster County, said of the transit funds.

As Shapiro noted, the funding mechanism his administration approved for SEPTA is technically different than the one Senate Republicans had pitched.

PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll wrote in a letter that SEPTA will be allowed to divert up to $394 million in capital funds allocated in the current 2025-26 fiscal year. Those funds are appropriated through the Public Transportation Trust Fund (PTTF), the account that funds mass transit agencies throughout the state.

The Senate GOP plan wouldve pulled roughly $1 billion from the PTTFs existing balance of around $2.4 billion. The repurposed funds would have been used to cover transit agencies operating costs and also pay for rural road and bridge repairs, an attempt to gain support of rural conservatives that raised the ire of Democrats.

Further, part of the PTTFs current balance consists of money previously appropriated for ongoing multi-year capital projects, but not yet spent. Pulling the money would risk halting mass transit infrastructure improvements that have already started, Democrats warned.

But Senate Republicans say they have yet to receive a full accounting from PennDOT as to what PTTF funds are earmarked as allocated-but-unspent, with at least $1 billion of the PTTF not having a designated purpose. The issue continues to be a source of friction between the GOP and the Shapiro administration.

What we knew was the pace of growth in that special account  and this is how we analyze all our special accounts  well exceeded what theyre spending, Martin said.

By approving SEPTAs funding flex request, Martin said, Shapiro and his team basically have admitted that the PTTFs long-term capital demands arent as rigid as initially claimed.

Even if one takes the intrigue surrounding the PTTF out of the equation, the basic political question still exists as to how many votes each chamber can put up for a budget that Shapiro will sign.

Democrats have continued to imply that the holdup lies in the internal politics of the Senate GOP, and that some hard-right members wont get on board with a budget deal even if Republican leadership supports it. The chamber is split 27-to-23.

Lawmakers like Sen. Dawn Keefer, R-York County - one of the legislatures most hardline conservatives - have continued to criticize any increase in spending as economically irresponsible. Keefer made a controversial video in April in which she took a literal flamethrower to Shapiros proposed $51.5 billion budget, an increase of roughly 7.5% over the prior year.

It has become abundantly clear that [Senate Democratic] Leader [Jay] Costa is going to need to put up votes in order for any budget to pass the state Senate, Shapiro said this week.

Senate Republican leadership hasnt denied they have approached their Democratic counterparts seeking support, but have also said its premature to start counting votes for a budget deal that remains incomplete, and that the GOP caucus has been more united in the past than Democrats have assumed.

We obviously passed a budget a few weeks ago that had all our members sticking together, that had no Democrat support, related to trying to get funding out to school districts and other entities, Martin said of Senate Republicans flat-funded placeholder budget, which was intended to drive out non-controversial dollars while negotiations continued.

I want to see a finished product first, Martin continued. Youve got to have something in front of your members before you ask and ascertain who can vote for it and who cannot. I dont think were at that point yet.

In the meantime, the usual churn of the Capitol continued.

Senate Republicans passed two transit-related bills, one that would add new accountability requirements for transit agencies, including a mandatory crackdown on fare evasion, and another that would require agencies to raise funds by allowing more advertising on vehicles.

Those elements have appeared in prior transit deals, but wont be supported without a funding guarantee attached, Democrats said. Senate Democrats attempted to amend Shapiros desired transit funding mechanism  an increase in the portion of sales tax allocated to the PTTF  into one of the bills Wednesday, but were shot down.

The Senate also moved some non-budget-related legislation, such as a bill updating the language on how the governor can hand off power to the lieutenant governor if they are incapacitated and a bill banning state funding for painful experiments on dogs and cats.

Groups also showed up at the Capitol to push for budget increases, among them the states rape crisis centers that have now gone without most of their public funding during the budget impasse.

Union activists pushed a $21 million proposed hike to Medicaid rates for in-home caregivers who are hired directly by patients, which would increase caregiver pay to over $15 per hour from the current average of only around $13.50.

Were saving the state millions of dollars in nursing home and hospital care for these folks, said Hillary Benish-Rothmark, who cares for her disabled nephew. Its ridiculous that we have to fight for it, when its the most fiscally responsible way of caring for our elders and disabled people in in Pennsylvania.

But the core issue for any budgetary request remains the same. Shapiros proposed budget runs a significant deficit that would eat into the roughly $11 billion the state has in its general fund surplus and the separate rainy day reserve fund, a plan criticized by Republicans who say Shapiro is inflating his revenues and low-balling his expenses.

House Democrats passed a budget that would trim Shapiros spending proposal down to $50.6 billion, and Shapiro himself has privately offered a $49.9 billion compromise, Spotlight PA recently reported, as Democrats continue to push for Republicans to take up some of Shapiros ideas for new revenue streams to help address the expected deficit.

Shapiro voiced cautious optimism speaking after an unrelated event in Cumberland County on Wednesday.

I think we have narrowed the differences, Shapiro said of his recent discussions with legislative leaders, but these leaders need to make some tough choices and close the deal. Its time.

Staff writer Tirzah Christopher contributed reporting.
Inside the governor's residence after an arson attack on April 13. Shapiro administration via public records request

Story by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Vincent DiFonzo for Spotlight PA

Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters.

HARRISBURG  The Shapiro administration has spent more than $6 million in public dollars over the past four months to fix extensive damage to the governors stately residence following a brazen, middle-of-the-night arson attack.

Despite using taxpayer money, state officials are shielding information about nearly a quarter of those expenses  including who was paid and exactly what the money was spent on.

The secrecy adds another layer of mystery to feverish efforts to restore multiple fire-damaged rooms inside the 29,000-square-foot residence overlooking the Susquehanna River, as well as replace furniture and other household items destroyed by smoke and flames on April 13.

Private donors have separately contributed to a fund managed by a Harrisburg-based nonprofit to help restore the mansion. So far, neither the organization nor the administration has disclosed the donors identities or the amount they contributed to the privately run fund, nor provided a general description of what that money has or will be used for.

A spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has said state officials intend to release a list of donors to the fund in the future, though it is unclear when or how detailed the disclosure will be.

Administration officials have also declined to say how much they estimate the entire renovation will cost, or when it will be completed.

The state Department of General Services is overseeing the publicly funded repair efforts. It has purchased a variety of items, including new leather sofas, wallpaper, ductwork, drywall, cooling foam mattresses, faucets, and other plumbing fixtures, according to more than 250 pages of records obtained by Spotlight PA through a public records request.

But nearly $1.5 million of the $6 million spent is publicly unaccounted for. Department officials redacted portions and even large swaths of invoices and other records turned over to the news outlet.

In some invoices, they blacked out both the name of the contractor and the goods provided.

When turning over the records, administration officials said they redacted information that would be reasonably likely to result in a substantial and demonstrable risk of physical harm to, or the personal security of, an individual; or because disclosing that data would create a reasonable likelihood of endangering the safety or the physical security of a building, public utility, resource, infrastructure, facility or information storage system.

Asked to elaborate, a DGS spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

In a statement, Shapiro spokesperson Manuel Bonder wrote: Just this spring, a violent arsonist attacked the Governors residence, attempted to assassinate the Governor of Pennsylvania, burned and destroyed entire rooms and religious heirlooms. This attack left a level of pain and destruction at the residence  a public, historic Commonwealth property  that is still being recovered from.

Since then, Bonder said the administration and law enforcement have been working constantly to rebuild and restore the building and ensure the first family and the Governors residence are safe.

This work is being done diligently and with a clear focus on saving taxpayer dollars, he added.

He and other administration officials have also noted they are working with the states insurance carriers to determine which expenses are covered under its plan and can be reimbursed.

In early July, Spotlight PA requested copies of all invoices, contracts, receipts, and other records involving the restoration of the governors residence.

The news organization also asked for an inventory of all items destroyed in the fire. The administration denied the request, arguing it relates to communications it has with the states insurance carrier, which are exempt from public disclosure. (Spotlight PA is appealing.)

The administration did provide a spreadsheet listing 17 contracts, invoices, purchase orders, and receipts related to the renovation. It did not provide the underlying documentation until pressed by Spotlight PA to turn that information over.

The underlying records show that most money has been paid to one contractor, Lobar Associates.

The York County construction company has received more than $4 million from the state, including nearly $3 million for initial cleaning and fire restoration services, more than $300,000 to restore damaged chandeliers, and another $300,000 to clean the mansions air ducts.

Other services provided included carpentry, painting, and installation of new acoustical ceilings and flooring. Lobar was also paid a $90,000 design & engineering fee, according to invoices.

Invoices also show the state paid just over $10,500 for four couches from Pottery Barn, $7,294 for two chesterfield sofas, $2,594 for six cooling green tea memory foam mattresses, $428 for pillows, and $18,405 for wallpaper installation.

Information about security-related expenses was almost entirely redacted in the records (the exception: an invoice that disclosed tree and shrub trimming and removal from the residences grounds).

One contractor, whose identity was withheld, was paid $1.1 million for residence security upgrades to the mansion.

In the early hours of April 13, police say 38-year-old Cody Balmer of Harrisburg scaled the mansions perimeter fence and hid in the trees before breaking a side window and deploying homemade Molotov cocktails. Shapiro, his family, and some friends were asleep inside when the attack occurred, but were unharmed.

State officials have publicly acknowledged some security upgrades, including a new anti-climb fence and landscaping changes, such as tree trimming.

Public procurement documents also show Pennsylvania State Police requested nearly $400,000 in emergency funds to pay for security equipment from companies CEIA USA, which specializes in metal detectors, and AMP Global Strategies, in addition to new vehicles for the governors security detail.

Officials also paid former State Police Commissioner Jeffrey Miller, who now runs a security consulting firm in California, $35,000 to conduct a security assessment. That assessments findings were not publicly released.

State House Minority Leader Jesse Topper (R., Bedford) asked the Shapiro administration for an unredacted copy of Millers final report and to make portions of it public. Neither has happened.

The administration has also steadfastly declined requests by Spotlight PA to provide a list of donors who attended an invitation-only fundraiser hosted by the states five living former governors in May to raise money for residence repairs.

The private dollars raised at the event went into a fund managed by Team Pennsylvania, a Harrisburg-based nonprofit organization that keeps its donor names secret despite managing several funds that benefit the governor or his office.

A spokesperson for the nonprofit has said it intends to publicly thank donors and provide a list of names at a later, unspecified date. A Shapiro spokesperson has also said that donors will be listed on a display inside the residence (portions of which are open to the public).

BEFORE YOU GO If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.
According to The Wall Street Journal, more than 80,000 parts used in Americas weapons systems are manufactured with critical minerals subject to Chinese control.

By John Adams

Chinas Xi Jinping appeared supremely confident at a recent military parade in Beijing with Russias Vladimir Putin and North Koreas Kim Jong Un. Xis assurance likely isnt just a reflection of Chinas growing military might. Its also that China now holds the U.S. defense industrial base in the palm of its hand.

Xi is well aware that Chinas dominance of global mineral supply chains has ensnared both the U.S. economy and Americas military. According to The Wall Street Journal, more than 80,000 parts used in Americas weapons systems are manufactured with critical minerals subject to Chinese control.

Whether its fighter jets, drones, munitions, or night vision goggles, China can bring U.S. military production to a standstill simply by denying us the minerals we need.

Chinas mineral dominance has been decades in the making. The United States was once a global mining superpower. But extraordinary policy missteps have withered away our industrial base since the end of the Cold Warand put China in the drivers seat.

A single U.S. weapon can now require hundreds of suppliers in dozens of countries. Although we stockpile some minerals for weapons production, a Chinese embargo would still cripple our military in a matter of months. And as a consequence of the ongoing U.S.-China trade fight, Beijing has already slashed the flow of critical minerals to western defense contractors, increasing our production costsor halting production altogether.

This is a crisis. To its credit, the Trump administration recognizes the urgency of the challenge. But declawing Chinas minerals weapon wont be quick or easy. Beijing has no intention of letting its control wane without a fightand is currently doubling down on its mineral dominance.

Recent U.S. trade dealsfrom Ukraine to Indonesiahave begun to focus on supplies of critical minerals. While thats potentially helpful, the real solution is here at home.

America simply cant continue to depend on overseas suppliers. It may seem shrewd to pursue high ore grades for metals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or nickel resources from Indonesia, but that does little to ease the threat of supply chain disruptions.

The U.S. has vast mineral resources. But for decades weve done little to tap this tremendous capacity. A new mineral policy is beginning to come into focus but we must think big and move fast.

Increased mapping of domestic resources with cutting-edge technology is an important step forward. Ongoing efforts to streamline mine permitting and address obstructive litigation delays are also necessary and encouraging.

We must also have aggressive financial support to rebalance the playing field for U.S. producers against overseas competitors.

In July, the Pentagon invested $400 million for a stake in MP Materialsthe operator of the largest rare-earths mine in North Americaand inked a ten year offtake agreement to provide critically needed certainty for other investors. This public-private partnership should serve as the model to address countless other vulnerabilities in our mineral supply chains.

For decades, America possessed a robust industrial base that served as a warning to adversaries. But our industrial base is no longer a deterrent. And our critical supply chains are so vulnerable, and our productive capacity so weak, that we risk conflict.

Theres no time to waste in rebuilding our industrial strength from the mine up. We must do that to break Beijings iron grip on the worlds mineral supply chains. American lives and global security depend on it.

John Adams, U.S. Army Brigadier General (Retired), is president of Guardian Six Consulting and a former Deputy U.S. Military Representative to NATOs Military Committee.
Minnesota Vikings running back Ty Chandler (32) scores on a 2-yard touchdown run during the first half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr) AP

The Minnesota Vikings will be without two key players against the Pittsburgh Steelers when they head over to Dublin, Ireland, in a few weeks. Running back Ty Chandler has a knee injury that forced the Vikings to put him on injured reserve. Meanwhile, starting linebacker Blake Cashman has a hamstring injury that will force him to miss considerable time.

Both players will not play for the next four games as a result of going on injured reserve. Chandler was a key reserve for the Vikings, and they used him as their return man, but that will have to change moving forward.

With Cashman out, the Vikings will turn to Eric Wilson, who has been a key special teamer for them. Wilson will play next to Ivan Pace, who has become a breakout star for the Vikings over the last few seasons.

At returner, undrafted free agent Myles Price will take over those duties full time. He is the top kick returner and punt returner on the team and that was a significant part of his roster push.

The Vikings will get wide receiver Jordan Addison back from a three-game suspension for the teams game in Dublin against the Steelers.
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Phil and Heather head to Norway to find the truth about the mysterious Hessdalen lights on the next episode of Expedition X.

Expedition X, season 10, episode four airs at 9 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, on the Discovery Channel.

LIVE STREAM: Fans can watch the Discovery Channel without cable on Fans can watch the Discovery Channel without cable on Philo, which offers a seven-day free trial; DirecTV, which has a five-day free trial; and SlingTV , which has new flexible one-day, week and weekend passes.

The episode is called Arctic UFOs.

The synopsis is Norways ice-cold Hessdalen Valley is one of the hottest spots for UFO activity in the world. Phil and Heather scour the skies and dive the valleys depths using cutting-edge tech in search of the truth behind the mysterious Hessdalen Lights.

The cast of Expedition X is Josh Gates, Heather Amaro and Phil Torres. They investigate supernatural encounters, mysterious creatures and extraterrestrial phenomena.

What is Philo?

Philo is a streaming service that offers more than 70 live channels and more than 70,000 titles on demand for $28 a month. Philo has a SEVEN-DAY FREE TRIAL. Channels include AMC, AMC+, A&E, MTV, BET, Discovery, VH1, Food Network, History, Nickelodeon, OWN, TLC, Lifetime, Hallmark, Paramount and TV One. Add-on packages include EPIX, STARZ and Movies and More. Philo offers an unlimited 1-year DRV.

What is DirecTV?

DirecTV provides access to more than 100 channels, hundreds of on-demand titles, the ability to stream through three devices at once, and unlimited Cloud DVR storage. Channels include ABC, HGTV, Hallmark, Bravo, BET, Discovery, Food Network, AMC, Animal Planet, CMT, Comedy Central, FX, ID, Disney, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and PBS Kids. Subscription package prices start at $86.99 a month. The streaming service offers a FIVE-DAY FREE TRIAL.

What is SlingTV?

Sling streaming service is $45.99 a month for the Orange (35 channels) or Blue (43 channels) Levels. Orange plus Blue is $60.99 a month. Premium subscribers also can get a month of Showtime, STARZ and EPIX for free. Channels include CMT, Bravo, BET, Comedy Central, A&E, AMC, Animal Planet, Discovery+, Hallmark, History, National Geographic, Lifetime, TLC and USA.

SlingTV is offering new day passes (24 hour access) for $4.99; weekend pass (Friday-Sunday) for $9.99 and a week pass (seven days) for $14.99.
Central Pennsylvania residents can expect a predominantly dry and seasonably warm weather pattern over the next several days, with temperatures running 5 to 10 degrees above normal and minimal precipitation chances.

High pressure will maintain stable conditions through Friday and Saturday, with daytime temperatures climbing into the 70s and low 80s.

Relative humidity will drop into the 30s and potentially lower, creating increasingly dry conditions. The National Weather Service notes returning drought conditions in the Allegheny region, highlighting the ongoing lack of meaningful rainfall.

An easterly flow off the Atlantic kept mostly cloudy skies and cooler temperatures at play Wednesday for Eastern PA. Sunnier and warmer conditions are anticipated on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/l2XZzJpioZ  NWS State College (@NWSStateCollege) September 10, 2025

A weak frontal system may bring scattered light showers to the northern half of Pennsylvania on Saturday night through Sunday night, but precipitation amounts are expected to be minimal.

Most areas will see less than one-tenth of an inch of rain, with the front quickly moving through and providing little moisture relief to the parched landscape.

Overnight temperatures will remain mild, with patchy morning fog likely in northern valleys. Winds will be light, and no red flag warnings are anticipated despite the dry conditions.

Skies will be predominantly clear, with occasional scattered clouds, particularly over the Allegheny mountains.

The extended forecast suggests continued dry weather next week, with another high-pressure system expected to move in from the northwest. Residents should continue to monitor drought conditions and take appropriate water conservation measures.

Current weather radar

Generative AI was used to produce an initial draft of this story, which was reviewed and edited by PennLive.com staff.
ISLAMABAD, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Nineteen terrorists were killed in three separate operations in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the military said on Thursday.

The security forces conducted intelligence-based operations in Mohmand, North Waziristan and Bannu districts of KP, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army, said in a statement.

During the operation in Mohmand, 14 terrorists were killed after an intense exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists, said the ISPR statement.

In another operation, another four terrorists were neutralized in the North Waziristan district, the ISPR said.

In the third encounter that took place in the Bannu district of the province, one terrorist was killed, the ISPR said.

Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed terrorists, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in these areas.

Sanitization operation is being carried out to eliminate the presence of other terrorists from the area.

The military said the security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country. 
A woman walks among the Waves of Flags at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, the United States, on Sept. 10, 2025. Each September, the university stages the Waves of Flags display to honor the victims of the 9/11 attacks. (Photo by Qiu Chen/Xinhua)

People walk among the Waves of Flags at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, the United States, on Sept. 10, 2025. Each September, the university stages the Waves of Flags display to honor the victims of the 9/11 attacks. (Photo by Qiu Chen/Xinhua)
Ed Lab reporter

Anna B. Mitchell is a Greenville-based investigative reporter for the Post and Courier's Education Lab team. A licensed English and social studies teacher, Anna covers education in the Upstate and collaborates with other reporters for coverage on statewide education trends. She studied history at the University of North Carolina, journalism at the University of Missouri, and holds an MBA from the University of Applied Sciences in Wurzburg. For fun, Anna plays bassoon, visits her family in Germany as often as she can, and takes her doggy, Ashe, for long walks with her daughter and husband.
Parhat Emin performs the Samawar dance in the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 22, 2025. In the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Parhat Emin performs the Samawar (a Uygur term meaning "tea set") dance, a traditional Uygur greeting dance with a history dating back to the millennium-old ancient Qiuci State. His eyes shine brightly, and his smile is warm and welcoming. With a bronze pot and porcelain bowls balanced steadily on a plate over his head, his body spins smoothly, and his feet move as lightly as the wind. As he dances gracefully to the rhythm of traditional Uygur music, the surrounding audience burst into cheers from time to time.

Kuqa, where the ancient Qiuci State was mainly located, was a vital hub along the ancient Silk Road, bustling with merchants and the tinkle of camel bells. Today the Qiuci Alley is a popular tourist destination in Kuqa. From noon till midnight every day, dances including the Samawar are performed repeatedly in the block, filling the air with constant joy.

The Samawar dance was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2007. Parhat, who has a deep love for this art form, is a key member of the Qiuci Alley's performance team. "This dance is the highest etiquette of our Uygur people for receiving guests," Parhat said. When the dance reaches its climax, he always invites the audience to join in, and joy merges with the music.

Parhat is not only a performer but also an instructor in the team. During intervals between performances, young performers often gather around him, learning movement techniques and listening to him talking about the cultural origins behind the Samawar dance.

The vitality of culture lies not only on the stage but also in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Dancing and cheering with performers and tourists in the Qiuci Alley is a unique segment that is often arranged as part of local couples' wedding ceremonies. Residents are always seen seated at tea houses in the alley, playing a dutar or rewap (both traditional Uygur musical instrument) while singing songs which sound cheerful yet melodious.

Looking at the bustling Qiuci Alley and the dancing crowd, Parhat's eyes crinkle with a smile. "Culture and dance are not supposed to be locked away in a chest," he says. In his opinion, the Samawar dance is endless like the snow water rushing down from the Tianshan Mountains. "The dance is alive. It is meant to be performed and passed on to the young." (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang)

A senior artist performs the Samawar dance in the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Aug. 4, 2025. In the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Parhat Emin performs the Samawar (a Uygur term meaning "tea set") dance, a traditional Uygur greeting dance with a history dating back to the millennium-old ancient Qiuci State. His eyes shine brightly, and his smile is warm and welcoming. With a bronze pot and porcelain bowls balanced steadily on a plate over his head, his body spins smoothly, and his feet move as lightly as the wind. As he dances gracefully to the rhythm of traditional Uygur music, the surrounding audience burst into cheers from time to time.

Kuqa, where the ancient Qiuci State was mainly located, was a vital hub along the ancient Silk Road, bustling with merchants and the tinkle of camel bells. Today the Qiuci Alley is a popular tourist destination in Kuqa. From noon till midnight every day, dances including the Samawar are performed repeatedly in the block, filling the air with constant joy.

The Samawar dance was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2007. Parhat, who has a deep love for this art form, is a key member of the Qiuci Alley's performance team. "This dance is the highest etiquette of our Uygur people for receiving guests," Parhat said. When the dance reaches its climax, he always invites the audience to join in, and joy merges with the music.

Parhat is not only a performer but also an instructor in the team. During intervals between performances, young performers often gather around him, learning movement techniques and listening to him talking about the cultural origins behind the Samawar dance.

The vitality of culture lies not only on the stage but also in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Dancing and cheering with performers and tourists in the Qiuci Alley is a unique segment that is often arranged as part of local couples' wedding ceremonies. Residents are always seen seated at tea houses in the alley, playing a dutar or rewap (both traditional Uygur musical instrument) while singing songs which sound cheerful yet melodious.

Looking at the bustling Qiuci Alley and the dancing crowd, Parhat's eyes crinkle with a smile. "Culture and dance are not supposed to be locked away in a chest," he says. In his opinion, the Samawar dance is endless like the snow water rushing down from the Tianshan Mountains. "The dance is alive. It is meant to be performed and passed on to the young." (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Artists perform the Samawar dance at the Grand Bazaar in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Sept. 9, 2025. In the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Parhat Emin performs the Samawar (a Uygur term meaning "tea set") dance, a traditional Uygur greeting dance with a history dating back to the millennium-old ancient Qiuci State. His eyes shine brightly, and his smile is warm and welcoming. With a bronze pot and porcelain bowls balanced steadily on a plate over his head, his body spins smoothly, and his feet move as lightly as the wind. As he dances gracefully to the rhythm of traditional Uygur music, the surrounding audience burst into cheers from time to time.

Kuqa, where the ancient Qiuci State was mainly located, was a vital hub along the ancient Silk Road, bustling with merchants and the tinkle of camel bells. Today the Qiuci Alley is a popular tourist destination in Kuqa. From noon till midnight every day, dances including the Samawar are performed repeatedly in the block, filling the air with constant joy.

The Samawar dance was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2007. Parhat, who has a deep love for this art form, is a key member of the Qiuci Alley's performance team. "This dance is the highest etiquette of our Uygur people for receiving guests," Parhat said. When the dance reaches its climax, he always invites the audience to join in, and joy merges with the music.

Parhat is not only a performer but also an instructor in the team. During intervals between performances, young performers often gather around him, learning movement techniques and listening to him talking about the cultural origins behind the Samawar dance.

The vitality of culture lies not only on the stage but also in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Dancing and cheering with performers and tourists in the Qiuci Alley is a unique segment that is often arranged as part of local couples' wedding ceremonies. Residents are always seen seated at tea houses in the alley, playing a dutar or rewap (both traditional Uygur musical instrument) while singing songs which sound cheerful yet melodious.

Looking at the bustling Qiuci Alley and the dancing crowd, Parhat's eyes crinkle with a smile. "Culture and dance are not supposed to be locked away in a chest," he says. In his opinion, the Samawar dance is endless like the snow water rushing down from the Tianshan Mountains. "The dance is alive. It is meant to be performed and passed on to the young." (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Parhat Emin (C) poses for a photo with tourists after performing the Samawar dance in the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 22, 2025. In the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Parhat Emin performs the Samawar (a Uygur term meaning "tea set") dance, a traditional Uygur greeting dance with a history dating back to the millennium-old ancient Qiuci State. His eyes shine brightly, and his smile is warm and welcoming. With a bronze pot and porcelain bowls balanced steadily on a plate over his head, his body spins smoothly, and his feet move as lightly as the wind. As he dances gracefully to the rhythm of traditional Uygur music, the surrounding audience burst into cheers from time to time.

Kuqa, where the ancient Qiuci State was mainly located, was a vital hub along the ancient Silk Road, bustling with merchants and the tinkle of camel bells. Today the Qiuci Alley is a popular tourist destination in Kuqa. From noon till midnight every day, dances including the Samawar are performed repeatedly in the block, filling the air with constant joy.

The Samawar dance was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2007. Parhat, who has a deep love for this art form, is a key member of the Qiuci Alley's performance team. "This dance is the highest etiquette of our Uygur people for receiving guests," Parhat said. When the dance reaches its climax, he always invites the audience to join in, and joy merges with the music.

Parhat is not only a performer but also an instructor in the team. During intervals between performances, young performers often gather around him, learning movement techniques and listening to him talking about the cultural origins behind the Samawar dance.

The vitality of culture lies not only on the stage but also in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Dancing and cheering with performers and tourists in the Qiuci Alley is a unique segment that is often arranged as part of local couples' wedding ceremonies. Residents are always seen seated at tea houses in the alley, playing a dutar or rewap (both traditional Uygur musical instrument) while singing songs which sound cheerful yet melodious.

Looking at the bustling Qiuci Alley and the dancing crowd, Parhat's eyes crinkle with a smile. "Culture and dance are not supposed to be locked away in a chest," he says. In his opinion, the Samawar dance is endless like the snow water rushing down from the Tianshan Mountains. "The dance is alive. It is meant to be performed and passed on to the young." (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang)

Parhat Emin takes a break in the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 22, 2025. In the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Parhat Emin performs the Samawar (a Uygur term meaning "tea set") dance, a traditional Uygur greeting dance with a history dating back to the millennium-old ancient Qiuci State. His eyes shine brightly, and his smile is warm and welcoming. With a bronze pot and porcelain bowls balanced steadily on a plate over his head, his body spins smoothly, and his feet move as lightly as the wind. As he dances gracefully to the rhythm of traditional Uygur music, the surrounding audience burst into cheers from time to time.

Kuqa, where the ancient Qiuci State was mainly located, was a vital hub along the ancient Silk Road, bustling with merchants and the tinkle of camel bells. Today the Qiuci Alley is a popular tourist destination in Kuqa. From noon till midnight every day, dances including the Samawar are performed repeatedly in the block, filling the air with constant joy.

The Samawar dance was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2007. Parhat, who has a deep love for this art form, is a key member of the Qiuci Alley's performance team. "This dance is the highest etiquette of our Uygur people for receiving guests," Parhat said. When the dance reaches its climax, he always invites the audience to join in, and joy merges with the music.

Parhat is not only a performer but also an instructor in the team. During intervals between performances, young performers often gather around him, learning movement techniques and listening to him talking about the cultural origins behind the Samawar dance.

The vitality of culture lies not only on the stage but also in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Dancing and cheering with performers and tourists in the Qiuci Alley is a unique segment that is often arranged as part of local couples' wedding ceremonies. Residents are always seen seated at tea houses in the alley, playing a dutar or rewap (both traditional Uygur musical instrument) while singing songs which sound cheerful yet melodious.

Looking at the bustling Qiuci Alley and the dancing crowd, Parhat's eyes crinkle with a smile. "Culture and dance are not supposed to be locked away in a chest," he says. In his opinion, the Samawar dance is endless like the snow water rushing down from the Tianshan Mountains. "The dance is alive. It is meant to be performed and passed on to the young." (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Performers participate in a wedding ceremony in the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 22, 2025. In the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Parhat Emin performs the Samawar (a Uygur term meaning "tea set") dance, a traditional Uygur greeting dance with a history dating back to the millennium-old ancient Qiuci State. His eyes shine brightly, and his smile is warm and welcoming. With a bronze pot and porcelain bowls balanced steadily on a plate over his head, his body spins smoothly, and his feet move as lightly as the wind. As he dances gracefully to the rhythm of traditional Uygur music, the surrounding audience burst into cheers from time to time.

Kuqa, where the ancient Qiuci State was mainly located, was a vital hub along the ancient Silk Road, bustling with merchants and the tinkle of camel bells. Today the Qiuci Alley is a popular tourist destination in Kuqa. From noon till midnight every day, dances including the Samawar are performed repeatedly in the block, filling the air with constant joy.

The Samawar dance was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2007. Parhat, who has a deep love for this art form, is a key member of the Qiuci Alley's performance team. "This dance is the highest etiquette of our Uygur people for receiving guests," Parhat said. When the dance reaches its climax, he always invites the audience to join in, and joy merges with the music.

Parhat is not only a performer but also an instructor in the team. During intervals between performances, young performers often gather around him, learning movement techniques and listening to him talking about the cultural origins behind the Samawar dance.

The vitality of culture lies not only on the stage but also in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Dancing and cheering with performers and tourists in the Qiuci Alley is a unique segment that is often arranged as part of local couples' wedding ceremonies. Residents are always seen seated at tea houses in the alley, playing a dutar or rewap (both traditional Uygur musical instrument) while singing songs which sound cheerful yet melodious.

Looking at the bustling Qiuci Alley and the dancing crowd, Parhat's eyes crinkle with a smile. "Culture and dance are not supposed to be locked away in a chest," he says. In his opinion, the Samawar dance is endless like the snow water rushing down from the Tianshan Mountains. "The dance is alive. It is meant to be performed and passed on to the young." (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Parhat Emin performs the Samawar dance in the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 22, 2025. In the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Parhat Emin performs the Samawar (a Uygur term meaning "tea set") dance, a traditional Uygur greeting dance with a history dating back to the millennium-old ancient Qiuci State. His eyes shine brightly, and his smile is warm and welcoming. With a bronze pot and porcelain bowls balanced steadily on a plate over his head, his body spins smoothly, and his feet move as lightly as the wind. As he dances gracefully to the rhythm of traditional Uygur music, the surrounding audience burst into cheers from time to time.

Kuqa, where the ancient Qiuci State was mainly located, was a vital hub along the ancient Silk Road, bustling with merchants and the tinkle of camel bells. Today the Qiuci Alley is a popular tourist destination in Kuqa. From noon till midnight every day, dances including the Samawar are performed repeatedly in the block, filling the air with constant joy.

The Samawar dance was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2007. Parhat, who has a deep love for this art form, is a key member of the Qiuci Alley's performance team. "This dance is the highest etiquette of our Uygur people for receiving guests," Parhat said. When the dance reaches its climax, he always invites the audience to join in, and joy merges with the music.

Parhat is not only a performer but also an instructor in the team. During intervals between performances, young performers often gather around him, learning movement techniques and listening to him talking about the cultural origins behind the Samawar dance.

The vitality of culture lies not only on the stage but also in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Dancing and cheering with performers and tourists in the Qiuci Alley is a unique segment that is often arranged as part of local couples' wedding ceremonies. Residents are always seen seated at tea houses in the alley, playing a dutar or rewap (both traditional Uygur musical instrument) while singing songs which sound cheerful yet melodious.

Looking at the bustling Qiuci Alley and the dancing crowd, Parhat's eyes crinkle with a smile. "Culture and dance are not supposed to be locked away in a chest," he says. In his opinion, the Samawar dance is endless like the snow water rushing down from the Tianshan Mountains. "The dance is alive. It is meant to be performed and passed on to the young." (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang)

Parhat Emin performs the Samawar dance in the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 22, 2025. In the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Parhat Emin performs the Samawar (a Uygur term meaning "tea set") dance, a traditional Uygur greeting dance with a history dating back to the millennium-old ancient Qiuci State. His eyes shine brightly, and his smile is warm and welcoming. With a bronze pot and porcelain bowls balanced steadily on a plate over his head, his body spins smoothly, and his feet move as lightly as the wind. As he dances gracefully to the rhythm of traditional Uygur music, the surrounding audience burst into cheers from time to time.

Kuqa, where the ancient Qiuci State was mainly located, was a vital hub along the ancient Silk Road, bustling with merchants and the tinkle of camel bells. Today the Qiuci Alley is a popular tourist destination in Kuqa. From noon till midnight every day, dances including the Samawar are performed repeatedly in the block, filling the air with constant joy.

The Samawar dance was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2007. Parhat, who has a deep love for this art form, is a key member of the Qiuci Alley's performance team. "This dance is the highest etiquette of our Uygur people for receiving guests," Parhat said. When the dance reaches its climax, he always invites the audience to join in, and joy merges with the music.

Parhat is not only a performer but also an instructor in the team. During intervals between performances, young performers often gather around him, learning movement techniques and listening to him talking about the cultural origins behind the Samawar dance.

The vitality of culture lies not only on the stage but also in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Dancing and cheering with performers and tourists in the Qiuci Alley is a unique segment that is often arranged as part of local couples' wedding ceremonies. Residents are always seen seated at tea houses in the alley, playing a dutar or rewap (both traditional Uygur musical instrument) while singing songs which sound cheerful yet melodious.

Looking at the bustling Qiuci Alley and the dancing crowd, Parhat's eyes crinkle with a smile. "Culture and dance are not supposed to be locked away in a chest," he says. In his opinion, the Samawar dance is endless like the snow water rushing down from the Tianshan Mountains. "The dance is alive. It is meant to be performed and passed on to the young." (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang)

Ahmat Mollaq performs the Samawar dance in the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Aug. 4, 2025. In the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Parhat Emin performs the Samawar (a Uygur term meaning "tea set") dance, a traditional Uygur greeting dance with a history dating back to the millennium-old ancient Qiuci State. His eyes shine brightly, and his smile is warm and welcoming. With a bronze pot and porcelain bowls balanced steadily on a plate over his head, his body spins smoothly, and his feet move as lightly as the wind. As he dances gracefully to the rhythm of traditional Uygur music, the surrounding audience burst into cheers from time to time.

Kuqa, where the ancient Qiuci State was mainly located, was a vital hub along the ancient Silk Road, bustling with merchants and the tinkle of camel bells. Today the Qiuci Alley is a popular tourist destination in Kuqa. From noon till midnight every day, dances including the Samawar are performed repeatedly in the block, filling the air with constant joy.

The Samawar dance was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2007. Parhat, who has a deep love for this art form, is a key member of the Qiuci Alley's performance team. "This dance is the highest etiquette of our Uygur people for receiving guests," Parhat said. When the dance reaches its climax, he always invites the audience to join in, and joy merges with the music.

Parhat is not only a performer but also an instructor in the team. During intervals between performances, young performers often gather around him, learning movement techniques and listening to him talking about the cultural origins behind the Samawar dance.

The vitality of culture lies not only on the stage but also in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Dancing and cheering with performers and tourists in the Qiuci Alley is a unique segment that is often arranged as part of local couples' wedding ceremonies. Residents are always seen seated at tea houses in the alley, playing a dutar or rewap (both traditional Uygur musical instrument) while singing songs which sound cheerful yet melodious.

Looking at the bustling Qiuci Alley and the dancing crowd, Parhat's eyes crinkle with a smile. "Culture and dance are not supposed to be locked away in a chest," he says. In his opinion, the Samawar dance is endless like the snow water rushing down from the Tianshan Mountains. "The dance is alive. It is meant to be performed and passed on to the young." (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Parhat Emin (C) teaches young dancers the move of Samawar dance in the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 22, 2025. In the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Parhat Emin performs the Samawar (a Uygur term meaning "tea set") dance, a traditional Uygur greeting dance with a history dating back to the millennium-old ancient Qiuci State. His eyes shine brightly, and his smile is warm and welcoming. With a bronze pot and porcelain bowls balanced steadily on a plate over his head, his body spins smoothly, and his feet move as lightly as the wind. As he dances gracefully to the rhythm of traditional Uygur music, the surrounding audience burst into cheers from time to time.

Kuqa, where the ancient Qiuci State was mainly located, was a vital hub along the ancient Silk Road, bustling with merchants and the tinkle of camel bells. Today the Qiuci Alley is a popular tourist destination in Kuqa. From noon till midnight every day, dances including the Samawar are performed repeatedly in the block, filling the air with constant joy.

The Samawar dance was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2007. Parhat, who has a deep love for this art form, is a key member of the Qiuci Alley's performance team. "This dance is the highest etiquette of our Uygur people for receiving guests," Parhat said. When the dance reaches its climax, he always invites the audience to join in, and joy merges with the music.

Parhat is not only a performer but also an instructor in the team. During intervals between performances, young performers often gather around him, learning movement techniques and listening to him talking about the cultural origins behind the Samawar dance.

The vitality of culture lies not only on the stage but also in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Dancing and cheering with performers and tourists in the Qiuci Alley is a unique segment that is often arranged as part of local couples' wedding ceremonies. Residents are always seen seated at tea houses in the alley, playing a dutar or rewap (both traditional Uygur musical instrument) while singing songs which sound cheerful yet melodious.

Looking at the bustling Qiuci Alley and the dancing crowd, Parhat's eyes crinkle with a smile. "Culture and dance are not supposed to be locked away in a chest," he says. In his opinion, the Samawar dance is endless like the snow water rushing down from the Tianshan Mountains. "The dance is alive. It is meant to be performed and passed on to the young." (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

An artist performs the Samawar dance at the Grand Bazaar in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Sept. 9, 2025. In the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Parhat Emin performs the Samawar (a Uygur term meaning "tea set") dance, a traditional Uygur greeting dance with a history dating back to the millennium-old ancient Qiuci State. His eyes shine brightly, and his smile is warm and welcoming. With a bronze pot and porcelain bowls balanced steadily on a plate over his head, his body spins smoothly, and his feet move as lightly as the wind. As he dances gracefully to the rhythm of traditional Uygur music, the surrounding audience burst into cheers from time to time.

Kuqa, where the ancient Qiuci State was mainly located, was a vital hub along the ancient Silk Road, bustling with merchants and the tinkle of camel bells. Today the Qiuci Alley is a popular tourist destination in Kuqa. From noon till midnight every day, dances including the Samawar are performed repeatedly in the block, filling the air with constant joy.

The Samawar dance was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2007. Parhat, who has a deep love for this art form, is a key member of the Qiuci Alley's performance team. "This dance is the highest etiquette of our Uygur people for receiving guests," Parhat said. When the dance reaches its climax, he always invites the audience to join in, and joy merges with the music.

Parhat is not only a performer but also an instructor in the team. During intervals between performances, young performers often gather around him, learning movement techniques and listening to him talking about the cultural origins behind the Samawar dance.

The vitality of culture lies not only on the stage but also in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Dancing and cheering with performers and tourists in the Qiuci Alley is a unique segment that is often arranged as part of local couples' wedding ceremonies. Residents are always seen seated at tea houses in the alley, playing a dutar or rewap (both traditional Uygur musical instrument) while singing songs which sound cheerful yet melodious.

Looking at the bustling Qiuci Alley and the dancing crowd, Parhat's eyes crinkle with a smile. "Culture and dance are not supposed to be locked away in a chest," he says. In his opinion, the Samawar dance is endless like the snow water rushing down from the Tianshan Mountains. "The dance is alive. It is meant to be performed and passed on to the young." (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Parhat Emin (R) teaches young dancers the move of Samawar dance in the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 22, 2025. In the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Parhat Emin performs the Samawar (a Uygur term meaning "tea set") dance, a traditional Uygur greeting dance with a history dating back to the millennium-old ancient Qiuci State. His eyes shine brightly, and his smile is warm and welcoming. With a bronze pot and porcelain bowls balanced steadily on a plate over his head, his body spins smoothly, and his feet move as lightly as the wind. As he dances gracefully to the rhythm of traditional Uygur music, the surrounding audience burst into cheers from time to time.

Kuqa, where the ancient Qiuci State was mainly located, was a vital hub along the ancient Silk Road, bustling with merchants and the tinkle of camel bells. Today the Qiuci Alley is a popular tourist destination in Kuqa. From noon till midnight every day, dances including the Samawar are performed repeatedly in the block, filling the air with constant joy.

The Samawar dance was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2007. Parhat, who has a deep love for this art form, is a key member of the Qiuci Alley's performance team. "This dance is the highest etiquette of our Uygur people for receiving guests," Parhat said. When the dance reaches its climax, he always invites the audience to join in, and joy merges with the music.

Parhat is not only a performer but also an instructor in the team. During intervals between performances, young performers often gather around him, learning movement techniques and listening to him talking about the cultural origins behind the Samawar dance.

The vitality of culture lies not only on the stage but also in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Dancing and cheering with performers and tourists in the Qiuci Alley is a unique segment that is often arranged as part of local couples' wedding ceremonies. Residents are always seen seated at tea houses in the alley, playing a dutar or rewap (both traditional Uygur musical instrument) while singing songs which sound cheerful yet melodious.

Looking at the bustling Qiuci Alley and the dancing crowd, Parhat's eyes crinkle with a smile. "Culture and dance are not supposed to be locked away in a chest," he says. In his opinion, the Samawar dance is endless like the snow water rushing down from the Tianshan Mountains. "The dance is alive. It is meant to be performed and passed on to the young." (Xinhua/Xu Xiaoxuan)

Parhat Emin performs the Samawar dance in the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 22, 2025. In the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Parhat Emin performs the Samawar (a Uygur term meaning "tea set") dance, a traditional Uygur greeting dance with a history dating back to the millennium-old ancient Qiuci State. His eyes shine brightly, and his smile is warm and welcoming. With a bronze pot and porcelain bowls balanced steadily on a plate over his head, his body spins smoothly, and his feet move as lightly as the wind. As he dances gracefully to the rhythm of traditional Uygur music, the surrounding audience burst into cheers from time to time.

Kuqa, where the ancient Qiuci State was mainly located, was a vital hub along the ancient Silk Road, bustling with merchants and the tinkle of camel bells. Today the Qiuci Alley is a popular tourist destination in Kuqa. From noon till midnight every day, dances including the Samawar are performed repeatedly in the block, filling the air with constant joy.

The Samawar dance was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2007. Parhat, who has a deep love for this art form, is a key member of the Qiuci Alley's performance team. "This dance is the highest etiquette of our Uygur people for receiving guests," Parhat said. When the dance reaches its climax, he always invites the audience to join in, and joy merges with the music.

Parhat is not only a performer but also an instructor in the team. During intervals between performances, young performers often gather around him, learning movement techniques and listening to him talking about the cultural origins behind the Samawar dance.

The vitality of culture lies not only on the stage but also in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Dancing and cheering with performers and tourists in the Qiuci Alley is a unique segment that is often arranged as part of local couples' wedding ceremonies. Residents are always seen seated at tea houses in the alley, playing a dutar or rewap (both traditional Uygur musical instrument) while singing songs which sound cheerful yet melodious.

Looking at the bustling Qiuci Alley and the dancing crowd, Parhat's eyes crinkle with a smile. "Culture and dance are not supposed to be locked away in a chest," he says. In his opinion, the Samawar dance is endless like the snow water rushing down from the Tianshan Mountains. "The dance is alive. It is meant to be performed and passed on to the young." (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Parhat Emin performs the Samawar dance in the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 22, 2025. In the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Parhat Emin performs the Samawar (a Uygur term meaning "tea set") dance, a traditional Uygur greeting dance with a history dating back to the millennium-old ancient Qiuci State. His eyes shine brightly, and his smile is warm and welcoming. With a bronze pot and porcelain bowls balanced steadily on a plate over his head, his body spins smoothly, and his feet move as lightly as the wind. As he dances gracefully to the rhythm of traditional Uygur music, the surrounding audience burst into cheers from time to time.

Kuqa, where the ancient Qiuci State was mainly located, was a vital hub along the ancient Silk Road, bustling with merchants and the tinkle of camel bells. Today the Qiuci Alley is a popular tourist destination in Kuqa. From noon till midnight every day, dances including the Samawar are performed repeatedly in the block, filling the air with constant joy.

The Samawar dance was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2007. Parhat, who has a deep love for this art form, is a key member of the Qiuci Alley's performance team. "This dance is the highest etiquette of our Uygur people for receiving guests," Parhat said. When the dance reaches its climax, he always invites the audience to join in, and joy merges with the music.

Parhat is not only a performer but also an instructor in the team. During intervals between performances, young performers often gather around him, learning movement techniques and listening to him talking about the cultural origins behind the Samawar dance.

The vitality of culture lies not only on the stage but also in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Dancing and cheering with performers and tourists in the Qiuci Alley is a unique segment that is often arranged as part of local couples' wedding ceremonies. Residents are always seen seated at tea houses in the alley, playing a dutar or rewap (both traditional Uygur musical instrument) while singing songs which sound cheerful yet melodious.

Looking at the bustling Qiuci Alley and the dancing crowd, Parhat's eyes crinkle with a smile. "Culture and dance are not supposed to be locked away in a chest," he says. In his opinion, the Samawar dance is endless like the snow water rushing down from the Tianshan Mountains. "The dance is alive. It is meant to be performed and passed on to the young." (Xinhua/Geng Xinning)

Parhat Emin arranges bowls for performing the Samawar dance in the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 22, 2025. In the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Parhat Emin performs the Samawar (a Uygur term meaning "tea set") dance, a traditional Uygur greeting dance with a history dating back to the millennium-old ancient Qiuci State. His eyes shine brightly, and his smile is warm and welcoming. With a bronze pot and porcelain bowls balanced steadily on a plate over his head, his body spins smoothly, and his feet move as lightly as the wind. As he dances gracefully to the rhythm of traditional Uygur music, the surrounding audience burst into cheers from time to time.

Kuqa, where the ancient Qiuci State was mainly located, was a vital hub along the ancient Silk Road, bustling with merchants and the tinkle of camel bells. Today the Qiuci Alley is a popular tourist destination in Kuqa. From noon till midnight every day, dances including the Samawar are performed repeatedly in the block, filling the air with constant joy.

The Samawar dance was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2007. Parhat, who has a deep love for this art form, is a key member of the Qiuci Alley's performance team. "This dance is the highest etiquette of our Uygur people for receiving guests," Parhat said. When the dance reaches its climax, he always invites the audience to join in, and joy merges with the music.

Parhat is not only a performer but also an instructor in the team. During intervals between performances, young performers often gather around him, learning movement techniques and listening to him talking about the cultural origins behind the Samawar dance.

The vitality of culture lies not only on the stage but also in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Dancing and cheering with performers and tourists in the Qiuci Alley is a unique segment that is often arranged as part of local couples' wedding ceremonies. Residents are always seen seated at tea houses in the alley, playing a dutar or rewap (both traditional Uygur musical instrument) while singing songs which sound cheerful yet melodious.

Looking at the bustling Qiuci Alley and the dancing crowd, Parhat's eyes crinkle with a smile. "Culture and dance are not supposed to be locked away in a chest," he says. In his opinion, the Samawar dance is endless like the snow water rushing down from the Tianshan Mountains. "The dance is alive. It is meant to be performed and passed on to the young." (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

Parhat Emin (1st R) teaches young dancers the move of Samawar dance in the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 22, 2025. In the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Parhat Emin performs the Samawar (a Uygur term meaning "tea set") dance, a traditional Uygur greeting dance with a history dating back to the millennium-old ancient Qiuci State. His eyes shine brightly, and his smile is warm and welcoming. With a bronze pot and porcelain bowls balanced steadily on a plate over his head, his body spins smoothly, and his feet move as lightly as the wind. As he dances gracefully to the rhythm of traditional Uygur music, the surrounding audience burst into cheers from time to time.

Kuqa, where the ancient Qiuci State was mainly located, was a vital hub along the ancient Silk Road, bustling with merchants and the tinkle of camel bells. Today the Qiuci Alley is a popular tourist destination in Kuqa. From noon till midnight every day, dances including the Samawar are performed repeatedly in the block, filling the air with constant joy.

The Samawar dance was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2007. Parhat, who has a deep love for this art form, is a key member of the Qiuci Alley's performance team. "This dance is the highest etiquette of our Uygur people for receiving guests," Parhat said. When the dance reaches its climax, he always invites the audience to join in, and joy merges with the music.

Parhat is not only a performer but also an instructor in the team. During intervals between performances, young performers often gather around him, learning movement techniques and listening to him talking about the cultural origins behind the Samawar dance.

The vitality of culture lies not only on the stage but also in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Dancing and cheering with performers and tourists in the Qiuci Alley is a unique segment that is often arranged as part of local couples' wedding ceremonies. Residents are always seen seated at tea houses in the alley, playing a dutar or rewap (both traditional Uygur musical instrument) while singing songs which sound cheerful yet melodious.

Looking at the bustling Qiuci Alley and the dancing crowd, Parhat's eyes crinkle with a smile. "Culture and dance are not supposed to be locked away in a chest," he says. In his opinion, the Samawar dance is endless like the snow water rushing down from the Tianshan Mountains. "The dance is alive. It is meant to be performed and passed on to the young." (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

This photo shows a view of the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 22, 2025. In the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Parhat Emin performs the Samawar (a Uygur term meaning "tea set") dance, a traditional Uygur greeting dance with a history dating back to the millennium-old ancient Qiuci State. His eyes shine brightly, and his smile is warm and welcoming. With a bronze pot and porcelain bowls balanced steadily on a plate over his head, his body spins smoothly, and his feet move as lightly as the wind. As he dances gracefully to the rhythm of traditional Uygur music, the surrounding audience burst into cheers from time to time.

Kuqa, where the ancient Qiuci State was mainly located, was a vital hub along the ancient Silk Road, bustling with merchants and the tinkle of camel bells. Today the Qiuci Alley is a popular tourist destination in Kuqa. From noon till midnight every day, dances including the Samawar are performed repeatedly in the block, filling the air with constant joy.

The Samawar dance was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2007. Parhat, who has a deep love for this art form, is a key member of the Qiuci Alley's performance team. "This dance is the highest etiquette of our Uygur people for receiving guests," Parhat said. When the dance reaches its climax, he always invites the audience to join in, and joy merges with the music.

Parhat is not only a performer but also an instructor in the team. During intervals between performances, young performers often gather around him, learning movement techniques and listening to him talking about the cultural origins behind the Samawar dance.

The vitality of culture lies not only on the stage but also in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Dancing and cheering with performers and tourists in the Qiuci Alley is a unique segment that is often arranged as part of local couples' wedding ceremonies. Residents are always seen seated at tea houses in the alley, playing a dutar or rewap (both traditional Uygur musical instrument) while singing songs which sound cheerful yet melodious.

Looking at the bustling Qiuci Alley and the dancing crowd, Parhat's eyes crinkle with a smile. "Culture and dance are not supposed to be locked away in a chest," he says. In his opinion, the Samawar dance is endless like the snow water rushing down from the Tianshan Mountains. "The dance is alive. It is meant to be performed and passed on to the young." (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang)

Parhat Emin performs the Samawar dance in the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 22, 2025. In the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Parhat Emin performs the Samawar (a Uygur term meaning "tea set") dance, a traditional Uygur greeting dance with a history dating back to the millennium-old ancient Qiuci State. His eyes shine brightly, and his smile is warm and welcoming. With a bronze pot and porcelain bowls balanced steadily on a plate over his head, his body spins smoothly, and his feet move as lightly as the wind. As he dances gracefully to the rhythm of traditional Uygur music, the surrounding audience burst into cheers from time to time.

Kuqa, where the ancient Qiuci State was mainly located, was a vital hub along the ancient Silk Road, bustling with merchants and the tinkle of camel bells. Today the Qiuci Alley is a popular tourist destination in Kuqa. From noon till midnight every day, dances including the Samawar are performed repeatedly in the block, filling the air with constant joy.

The Samawar dance was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2007. Parhat, who has a deep love for this art form, is a key member of the Qiuci Alley's performance team. "This dance is the highest etiquette of our Uygur people for receiving guests," Parhat said. When the dance reaches its climax, he always invites the audience to join in, and joy merges with the music.

Parhat is not only a performer but also an instructor in the team. During intervals between performances, young performers often gather around him, learning movement techniques and listening to him talking about the cultural origins behind the Samawar dance.

The vitality of culture lies not only on the stage but also in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Dancing and cheering with performers and tourists in the Qiuci Alley is a unique segment that is often arranged as part of local couples' wedding ceremonies. Residents are always seen seated at tea houses in the alley, playing a dutar or rewap (both traditional Uygur musical instrument) while singing songs which sound cheerful yet melodious.

Looking at the bustling Qiuci Alley and the dancing crowd, Parhat's eyes crinkle with a smile. "Culture and dance are not supposed to be locked away in a chest," he says. In his opinion, the Samawar dance is endless like the snow water rushing down from the Tianshan Mountains. "The dance is alive. It is meant to be performed and passed on to the young." (Xinhua/Geng Xinning)

Parhat Emin (C) performs the Samawar dance in the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 22, 2025. In the Qiuci Alley of Kuqa City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Parhat Emin performs the Samawar (a Uygur term meaning "tea set") dance, a traditional Uygur greeting dance with a history dating back to the millennium-old ancient Qiuci State. His eyes shine brightly, and his smile is warm and welcoming. With a bronze pot and porcelain bowls balanced steadily on a plate over his head, his body spins smoothly, and his feet move as lightly as the wind. As he dances gracefully to the rhythm of traditional Uygur music, the surrounding audience burst into cheers from time to time.

Kuqa, where the ancient Qiuci State was mainly located, was a vital hub along the ancient Silk Road, bustling with merchants and the tinkle of camel bells. Today the Qiuci Alley is a popular tourist destination in Kuqa. From noon till midnight every day, dances including the Samawar are performed repeatedly in the block, filling the air with constant joy.

The Samawar dance was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2007. Parhat, who has a deep love for this art form, is a key member of the Qiuci Alley's performance team. "This dance is the highest etiquette of our Uygur people for receiving guests," Parhat said. When the dance reaches its climax, he always invites the audience to join in, and joy merges with the music.

Parhat is not only a performer but also an instructor in the team. During intervals between performances, young performers often gather around him, learning movement techniques and listening to him talking about the cultural origins behind the Samawar dance.

The vitality of culture lies not only on the stage but also in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Dancing and cheering with performers and tourists in the Qiuci Alley is a unique segment that is often arranged as part of local couples' wedding ceremonies. Residents are always seen seated at tea houses in the alley, playing a dutar or rewap (both traditional Uygur musical instrument) while singing songs which sound cheerful yet melodious.

Looking at the bustling Qiuci Alley and the dancing crowd, Parhat's eyes crinkle with a smile. "Culture and dance are not supposed to be locked away in a chest," he says. In his opinion, the Samawar dance is endless like the snow water rushing down from the Tianshan Mountains. "The dance is alive. It is meant to be performed and passed on to the young." (Xinhua/Wang Fei)
This photo taken on Sept. 10, 2025 shows Afghan children staying inside a relief tent in Suki, Afghanistan. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

SUKI, Afghanistan, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- In the rugged valleys of eastern Afghanistan's Kunar province, where a devastating 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck on Aug. 31, humanitarian assistance and compassion converged.

An outpouring of solidarity was uniting local communities, philanthropists, charities, and nearly 50 nations, offering empathy for a people reeling from grief.

Across the scarred landscape, dozens of temporary camps have been set up, with colorful tents emblazoned with logos of hope.

Volunteers worked tirelessly, serving hot meals, deploying mobile medical units, setting up communication towers, and delivering food and hygiene supplies. In every shattered corner of Kunar, kindness was transforming devastation into a symbol of humanity's enduring spirit.

Among the global support, China has emerged as a steadfast partner. Chinese aid organizations, companies and individuals have reached even the most remote corners of Kunar, including the isolated Dewa Gul region in Suki district, braving treacherous terrain to deliver life-saving relief.

"We support 200 families," said Wang, overseas sales director at San Jiang Electric, while distributing seven types of food in Dewa Gul. "We also hope to help with infrastructure, lighting, and job creation," he added. His vision was beyond emergency relief.

China has pledged 50 million yuan (about 7.04 million U.S. dollars) in emergency aid, with the first batch of tents, blankets, and other essentials arriving in Kabul on Sunday.

The Chinese embassy, enterprises, and the Overseas Chinese Association in Afghanistan have also provided food, supplies, and cash donations, reflecting a bond of friendship and a shared commitment to easing suffering.

Tajikistan has also joined the relief drive, sending 3,000 tons of humanitarian supplies, including food and non-food items, to support Kunar's quake victims.

Survivor Mohammad Nasim Mohsen lost four family members and his home. Receiving aid twice, Mohsen told Xinhua, "we need more than temporary help."

"Our houses are completely destroyed, and there is an urgent need to rebuild," he said, echoing pleas of others for a foundation to restart their lives.

In Suki district, Munirullah Shakir, head of the local aid collection committee, expressed gratitude for international generosity. "Tents, flour, kitchen supplies and other essentials have been distributed, and aid efforts continue," he said.

The collective response from nearly 50 countries underscored a universal resolve to stand with Afghanistan in its darkest hour, offering both condolences and tangible aid.

Waqar, surrounded by his children, now lived in a tent where his home once stood. Grateful for emergency supplies, he pointed to the harsh reality: not a single house in the area remained intact.

"Rebuilding our homes is beyond our means," he said. "Our entire livelihood is gone, our animals, cows, and goats, all lost. Every possession has been swept away," Waqar told Xinhua.

As aid flows, humanity's greatest strength lies in compassion. From distant donors to local heroes, the collective relief efforts lit a path toward hope and rebuilding. 

An Afghanistan earthquake victim carries a bag of relief supplies in Suki, Afghanistan, Sept. 10, 2025. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
Anna Wilder covers politics for the Post and Courier. She previously worked as a political reporter for The State newspaper. She's a Florida native and a graduate of the University of Florida. Her work has appeared in outlets like Politico, Miami Herald and the Associated Press.
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PR-Inside.com: 2025-09-11 14:15:06

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PASADENA, CA / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / Green Rain Energy Holdings Inc. (OTC PINK:GREH) an ESCO company, announces its infrastructure growth plans for California as an estimated $50 billion plus is allocated for the state's clean energy market. As private capital is poured into renewable energy opportunities, California's massive clean energy market represents over $50 billion in investment opportunities by 2030, with state mandates requiring 100% clean electricity by 2045.Oil Refinery Closures Spurring Capital OpportunitiesThe imminent closure of two California refineries is what is fueling the new push for EV and grid upgrades statewide. Industry insiders predict that if consumption rates remain as they are, fossil fuel rates could rise well above $8 per gallon by next year. This is private corporations are now revving up for what is being called the "Clean Tech Renaissance". The California Energy Commission recently launched the Fast Charge California Project, a $55 million incentive program covering up to 100% of installation costs for EV fast chargers. Green Rain Energy CEO Alfredo Papadakis was interviewed for Caye Int'l Bank's most recent article about California's clean energy buildout and the role Green Rain is playingCEO Alfredo Papadakis described the inflection point:"The momentum is real, and it's building quickly. For years, we have been laying the groundwork - securing sites, building relationships, and preparing our infrastructure. Now, as billions of dollars flow into California's clean energy market, Green Rain is ready to deliver. We aren't just participating in this shift; we are leading it." Green Rain Energy is positioned to capture a share of this accelerating market. The Company's investor pool has confirmed an increase in allocations to California projects, including a solar farm project In San Diego County which is in late-stage negotiations. This allows Green Rain to fast-track utility-scale solar, distributed generation, and advanced energy storage projects across multiple prime locations.About Green Rain Energy:Green Rain Energy Holdings Inc. is a renewable energy development company focused on advancing sustainable power solutions. Through strategic partnerships, scalable infrastructure, and a diversified project pipeline, the Company is dedicated to delivering long-term value for shareholders while supporting the transition to a clean energy economy.Caye Int'l Bank Article: https://www.cayebank.bz/2025/09/10/equities/californias-50-billion-clean-energy-shift-creates-openings-for-next-gen-players-like-green-rain-energy/ For more information, visit: https://greenrainenergy.com/ Investor Relations: https://greenrainenergy.com/investor-relations/ Follow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GreenRainEnergyFollow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61580025893268&mibextid=wwXIfr Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/green.rain.energy/?igsh=MW9jY3g0MmZiaG5pNg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr# Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GreenRainEnergy Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and the future performance of Green Rain Energy Holdings Inc. that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release.For press inquiries, please contact: Michael Cimino Michael@ pubcopr.com SOURCE: Green Rain Energy Holdings Inc.
A farmer plants cocoa tree seeds at a cocoa tree nursery in Brasil Novo, Para state, Brazil, on Sept. 9, 2025. Located in northern Brazil, the state of Para is the largest cocoa-producing area in Brazil, with annual yields of approximately 150,000 tons of cocoa beans, 95 percent of which are exported. To restore degraded lands and enhance farmers' income, the Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Brazil encourages farmers to adopt agroforestry systems, integrating cocoa cultivation with other tree species to rehabilitate degraded or low-productivity areas. This agroforestry approach also enables rural producers to diversify their income by growing fruit trees and other native species, contributing to a sustainable agricultural model. (Xinhua/Zhou Yongsui)

This photo taken on Sept. 9, 2025 shows a view of a cocoa tree nursery in Brasil Novo, Para state, Brazil. Located in northern Brazil, the state of Para is the largest cocoa-producing area in Brazil, with annual yields of approximately 150,000 tons of cocoa beans, 95 percent of which are exported. To restore degraded lands and enhance farmers' income, the Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Brazil encourages farmers to adopt agroforestry systems, integrating cocoa cultivation with other tree species to rehabilitate degraded or low-productivity areas. This agroforestry approach also enables rural producers to diversify their income by growing fruit trees and other native species, contributing to a sustainable agricultural model. (Xinhua/Zhou Yongsui)

This photo taken on Sept. 9, 2025 shows the cocoa fruits on the tree in a cocoa tree nursery in Brasil Novo, Para state, Brazil. Located in northern Brazil, the state of Para is the largest cocoa-producing area in Brazil, with annual yields of approximately 150,000 tons of cocoa beans, 95 percent of which are exported. To restore degraded lands and enhance farmers' income, the Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Brazil encourages farmers to adopt agroforestry systems, integrating cocoa cultivation with other tree species to rehabilitate degraded or low-productivity areas. This agroforestry approach also enables rural producers to diversify their income by growing fruit trees and other native species, contributing to a sustainable agricultural model. (Xinhua/Zhou Yongsui)

This photo taken on Sept. 10, 2025 shows the agroforestry system at an agroforestry cocoa orchard in Medicilandia, Para state, Brazil. Located in northern Brazil, the state of Para is the largest cocoa-producing area in Brazil, with annual yields of approximately 150,000 tons of cocoa beans, 95 percent of which are exported. To restore degraded lands and enhance farmers' income, the Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Brazil encourages farmers to adopt agroforestry systems, integrating cocoa cultivation with other tree species to rehabilitate degraded or low-productivity areas. This agroforestry approach also enables rural producers to diversify their income by growing fruit trees and other native species, contributing to a sustainable agricultural model. (Xinhua/Zhou Yongsui)

A farmer shows cocoa tree sprout at a cocoa tree nursery in Brasil Novo, Para state, Brazil, on Sept. 9, 2025. Located in northern Brazil, the state of Para is the largest cocoa-producing area in Brazil, with annual yields of approximately 150,000 tons of cocoa beans, 95 percent of which are exported. To restore degraded lands and enhance farmers' income, the Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Brazil encourages farmers to adopt agroforestry systems, integrating cocoa cultivation with other tree species to rehabilitate degraded or low-productivity areas. This agroforestry approach also enables rural producers to diversify their income by growing fruit trees and other native species, contributing to a sustainable agricultural model. (Xinhua/Zhou Yongsui)

A farmer displays a peeled cocoa bean at an agroforestry cocoa orchard in Medicilandia, Para state, Brazil, on Sept. 10, 2025. Located in northern Brazil, the state of Para is the largest cocoa-producing area in Brazil, with annual yields of approximately 150,000 tons of cocoa beans, 95 percent of which are exported. To restore degraded lands and enhance farmers' income, the Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Brazil encourages farmers to adopt agroforestry systems, integrating cocoa cultivation with other tree species to rehabilitate degraded or low-productivity areas. This agroforestry approach also enables rural producers to diversify their income by growing fruit trees and other native species, contributing to a sustainable agricultural model. (Xinhua/Zhou Yongsui)

A machine produces cocoa liquor at a chocolate factory in Medicilandia, Para state, Brazil, on Sept. 10, 2025. Located in northern Brazil, the state of Para is the largest cocoa-producing area in Brazil, with annual yields of approximately 150,000 tons of cocoa beans, 95 percent of which are exported. To restore degraded lands and enhance farmers' income, the Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Brazil encourages farmers to adopt agroforestry systems, integrating cocoa cultivation with other tree species to rehabilitate degraded or low-productivity areas. This agroforestry approach also enables rural producers to diversify their income by growing fruit trees and other native species, contributing to a sustainable agricultural model. (Xinhua/Zhou Yongsui)

Cocoa beans are sun-dried at a chocolate factory in Medicilandia, Para state, Brazil, on Sept. 10, 2025. Located in northern Brazil, the state of Para is the largest cocoa-producing area in Brazil, with annual yields of approximately 150,000 tons of cocoa beans, 95 percent of which are exported. To restore degraded lands and enhance farmers' income, the Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Brazil encourages farmers to adopt agroforestry systems, integrating cocoa cultivation with other tree species to rehabilitate degraded or low-productivity areas. This agroforestry approach also enables rural producers to diversify their income by growing fruit trees and other native species, contributing to a sustainable agricultural model. (Xinhua/Zhou Yongsui)
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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA / ACCESS Newswire / September 10, 2025 /ATHA Energy Corp. ( TSX.V:SASK)(FRA:X5U)(OTCQB:SASKF) ("ATHA" or the "Company"), as a result of a review by the British Columbia Securities Commission, the Company is issuing the following news release to clarify certain disclosure. The Company announces today that it has filed: (i) an updated technical report in respect of its CMB property located in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada dated July 8, 2025 and effective June 14, 2025 entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report, Central Mineral Belt Property, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada" prepared by Stefan Kruse, Ph.D., P. Geo. of Terrane Geoscience Inc.; and (ii) an updated technical report in respect of its Gemini property located in Saskatchewan, Canada dated May 22, 2025 and effective February 10, 2024 entitled "Technical Report on the Gemini Project, Northern Saskatchewan, Canada" prepared by William Yeomans, B.Sc., P. Geo. Of Yeomans Geological Inc., each in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). Copies of the technical reports are available under the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca The Company has also updated certain disclosures on its website, investor presentation and other materials in connection with the foregoing.Qualified PersonCliff Revering, P.Eng., Vice President, Exploration of the Company and a qualified person in accordance with NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved of the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release.About ATHAATHA is a Canadian mineral company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and development of uranium assets in the pursuit of a clean energy future. With a strategically balanced portfolio including three 100%-owned uranium projects (the Angilak Project in Nunavut, CMB Discoveries in Labrador, and the basement hosted GMZ zone located in the Athabasca Basin). In addition, the Company holds the largest cumulative prospective exploration land package (>7 million acres) in two of the world's most prominent basins for uranium discoveries - ATHA is well positioned to drive value. ATHA also holds a 10% carried interest in key Athabasca Basin exploration projects operated by NexGen Energy Ltd. and IsoEnergy Ltd. For more information visit www.athaenergy.com On Behalf of the Board of DirectorsTroy BoisjoliCEO and DirectorATHA Energy Corp.For more information, please contact:Troy BoisjoliChief Executive Officer and DirectorEmail: info@ athaenergy.comwww.athaenergy.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.SOURCE: ATHA Energy Corp
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MOUNT VERNON, NY / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / Fourth generation, family owned and operated Ball Chain Manufacturing Co., Inc. (Ball Chain) was honored to collaborate with Sisyphus Industries, led by kinetic artist Bruce Shapiro, on a groundbreaking permanent installation at the University of Utah's L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building. Mr. Shapiro has unveiled Three Medusae, a kinetic art piece that represents a fusion of engineering precision and artistic vision, brought to life through an unexpected yet essential material: metal ball chain. Three Medusae in L. S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah. Three Medusae - Kinetic Art InstallationKnown for transforming motion control systems into mesmerizing works of art, Mr. Shapiro sought out Ball Chain to realize his latest concept. The artist's search for a material that could move fluidly while maintaining structural integrity led him directly to Ball Chain, a company traditionally known as the exclusive supplier to the U.S. Armed Forces for the iconic dog tag ID necklace worn by Military Personnel and for its industrial and fashion applications. "During the pandemic, I returned to an old idea," Mr. Shapiro recalls. "I found bead chains online, ordered fifty, and built a small Medusa with thirty. I was instantly captivated." This moment of rediscovery sparked a deeper exploration into the physics and aesthetics of ball chain movement. Mr. Shapiro began prototyping with various lengths and sizes, fascinated by the pendulum-like behavior of longer chains and their ability to create fluid, organic motion. "Ball chain was the perfect medium," said Mr. Shapiro. "Its flexibility and durability allowed us to choreograph motion in ways that rigid materials simply couldn't support. I approached Ball Chain with a vision, and they responded with enthusiasm and expertise." The collaboration between Ball Chain and Sisyphus Industries exemplifies the power of cross-industry partnerships. By adapting their manufacturing capabilities to meet the demands of kinetic sculpture, Ball Chain helped Mr. Shapiro push the boundaries of what's possible in motion-based art. "If I see something in nature that moves beautifully," Mr. Shapiro explained, "I ask: can I translate that into computer-controlled motion? If I can, it becomes art." Three Medusae is more than a sculpture-it's a blueprint for future innovation. As kinetic art continues to evolve, incorporating robotics, data responsiveness, and interactive design, materials like ball chain will play a vital role in creating dynamic, responsive installations. "After the pandemic, I sought larger opportunities," Mr. Shapiro said. "The University of Utah believed in the vision. I modeled it, demonstrated it, and now it lives in their student commons." Ball Chain's openness to creative collaboration signals exciting possibilities ahead. Artists and engineers alike are invited to explore new frontiers where industrial materials meet expressive design.Link to Shapiro's Video Composite: https://vimeo.com/1075842862/b7db664d76 About Ball Chain Manufacturing Co., Inc. Bill Taubner, the current company President, honors his great-grandfather and grandfather who started Ball Chain Manufacturing Co., Inc. in a small garage behind their home in the Bronx, NY. The company has been family-owned and operated since 1938. Ball Chain is now the world's largest manufacturer of ball chains, seen on military dog tags, ceiling fans, handbags, and light pulls, among many other goods. The company manufactures more than 4 million feet of product per week at its Mount Vernon, New York, factory (all ball chains are made in the USA). Other divisions include www.logotags.com which is the leading supplier in the US for custom military challenge coins, custom race medals and much more.About ShimmerScreen Products:ShimmerScreenis BCM Architectural's premier product line. Businesses and individual homeowners all over the world use our customizable metal ball chain for applications such as room dividers, window treatments, art installations and lighting fixtures, ShimmerScreen is currently on display in renowned restaurants, five-star hotels, fortune 500 corporate lobbies and celebrity residences.About Sisyphus Industries: Founded by Bruce Shapiro, Sisyphus Industries creates kinetic art installations that blend technology, design, and motion. Their flagship product, the Sisyphus Table, has captivated audiences worldwide.Contact InformationBill TaubnerPresidentbill@ ballchain.com 914-664-7500 ext 120Victoria EntsuahDirector of Marketingvictoria@ ballchain.com 864-607-5321SOURCE: Ball Chain Mfg. Co, Inc.
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is investigating potential claims on behalf of purchasers of Freeport-McMoran Inc. ("Freeport" or "the Company") (NYSE:FCX). Investors who purchased Freeport securities are encouraged to obtain additional information and assist the investigation by visiting the firm's site: bgandg.com/FCX Investigation DetailsOn September 9, 2025, Freeport issued a press release announcing the suspension of mining activities at its Grasberg Block Cave operation in Indonesia, after "a large flow of wet material from a production drawpoint . . . blocked access to certain areas within the mine," trapping seven workers. On this news, Freeport's stock price fell $2.80 per share, or 5.99%, to close at $43.87 per share on September 9, 2025.What's Next?If you are aware of any facts relating to this investigation or purchased Freeport securities, you can assist this investigation by visiting the firm's site: bgandg.com/FCX . You can also contact Peretz Bronstein or his client relations manager, Nathan Miller, of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC: 332-239-2660There is No Cost to YouWe represent investors in class actions on a contingency fee basis. That means we will ask the court to reimburse us for out-of-pocket expenses and attorneys' fees, usually a percentage of the total recovery, only if we are successful.Why Bronstein, Gewirtz & GrossmanBronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a nationally recognized firm that represents investors in securities fraud class actions and shareholder derivative suits. Our firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors nationwide.Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, or Instagram.Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.ContactBronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLCPeretz Bronstein or Nathan Miller332-239-2660 | info@ bgandg.com SOURCE: Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / Cornwell Quality Tools ("Cornwell") recently disclosed that it suffered a data breach that compromised the sensitive personal data of individuals. This data breach has led to concerns over the security of sensitive personal and protected health information entrusted to Cornwell.WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?On December 20, 2024, Cornwell Quality Tools became aware of a security incident on its computer network. Upon detection, Cornwell launched an investigation with the assistance of third-party cyber security experts to determine the nature and scope of the incident. The investigation determined that an unauthorized third party gained access to certain files on or around December 12, 2024. The impacted data may include name, Social Security number, medical information, and financial account number.On September 9, 2025, Cornwell filed a notice with the Maine Attorney General's Office and began sending notice letters to impacted individuals. Compensation may be available for those individuals who receive notice that their sensitive personal information was compromised.WHY YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO COMPENSATION?Data breaches are serious matters that can cause long-term damage. Hackers may use stolen information to commit identity theft, financial fraud, or other crimes. Companies that fail to secure your personal data may be held liable for the resulting harm.HOW DO I KNOW IF I WAS AFFECTED?If you received a data breach notification letter fromCornwell Quality Tools,y ou are likely to be affected. Follow the link below to find out if you may be eligible for compensation.Levi Korsinsky, LLP is investigating whether affected individuals are entitled to compensation. There is no cost or obligation to participate. Follow the link below to find out:Levi & Korsinsky, LLP is a nationally recognized consumer advocacy law firm that has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars against large corporations. The firm's team of over 70 extraordinary attorneys and professionals have a winning track record going against the most powerful defense attorneys in the world and know how to maximize your compensation. Our firm works on a 100% contingency fee basis - you pay nothing unless we win your case! Visit our website to learn more.Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.CONTACT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLPJoseph E. Levi, Esq.Ed Korsinsky, Esq.33 Whitehall Street, 17th FloorNew York, NY 10004 jlevi@ levikorsinsky.com Tel: (212) 363-7500Fax: (212) 363-7171 https://zlk.com/ SOURCE: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP
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CONKLIN, NY / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / Envirosite, part of ADEC Innovations, today announced the acquisition of the business assets of Land Insight, a leading provider of environmental risk data in Australia. The move extends Envirosite's presence beyond North America and strengthens its position as a global leader in environmental due diligence solutions. Envirosite Acquires Land Insight Assets Envirosite acquires Land Insight assets, expanding global environmental data services.By adding Land Insight's trusted property data and historical resources to its portfolio, Envirosite now provides consistent, high-quality environmental insights across the United States, Canada, and Australia-helping consultants, engineers, and lenders assess and manage property riskwith confidence."With Land Insight, we can now give clients in Australia the same trusted, comprehensive data our partners in North America rely on to make confident property decisions," said Mark Mattei, President of Envirosite. "This acquisition enhances our international presence and brings innovative tools to new markets at a time when clear environmental insights matter more than ever." "This step reflects ADEC Innovations' strategy of combining global reach with local expertise," said James Donovan, Co-Founder and Global CEO of ADEC Innovations. "By integrating Land Insight into our network, we give clients the clarity they need to move faster from information to action." Land Insight has long been recognized in Australia for its reliable environmental property data, including historical records widely used by environmental consultants, engineers, and lenders. Integrating these assets into Envirosite's SaaS platforms, ATLAS and Property Risk Map,broadens the company's ability to deliver actionable insights on a global scale. With this expansion into Australia-building on its strong presence in the U.S. and Canada-Envirosite is uniquely positioned to deliver consistent, high-quality environmental data solutions across three continents, ensuring that clients can move projects forward with clarity, speed, and confidence.About Envirosite Envirosite is where every project decision begins, with reliable environmental data professionals can trust. We deliver property records and historical resources, including aerials, city directories, topographic maps, and fire insurance plans, powered by our SaaS platforms, Atlas and Property Risk Map. Drawing from more than 2,300 verified databases, our solutions set the standard for property due diligence across North America and beyond. Environmental consultants, engineers, and lenders rely on Envirosite to move projects forward with clarity and certainty. As part of ADEC Innovations, we turn information into action, translating risk into insight and creating impact that lasts. envirositecorp.com About Land Insight Land Insight is an Australian provider of environmental risk data and historical property information. Its insights support environmental professionals in identifying and managing property risk and have played a key role in advancing environmental due diligence practices in Australia. landinsight.co About ADEC Innovations ADEC Innovations is a global provider of ESG solutions, workforce strategies, and technology platforms that help organizations meet sustainability goals and manage risk. With offices and operations worldwide, ADEC delivers data-driven services and impact solutions across environmental, social, and governance domains. adec-innovations.com Contact InformationZackary RiegerHead of Marketing, Envirositezackary.rieger@adec-innovations.com 916-995-0814Niem TashHead of Operations, Envirositentash@ envirositecorp.com 607-608-2248SOURCE: Envirosite
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / National plaintiffs law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP encourages investors in Fiserv, Inc. ("Fiserv") (NYSE:FI) who purchased or otherwise acquired Fiserv common stock between July 24, 2024 and July 22, 2025, inclusive (the "Class Period") to contact us immediately regarding the pending securities class action against Fiserv. The deadline to apply to be lead plaintiff is September 22, 2025.Class Period: July 24, 2024 - July 22, 2025Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: September 22, 2025Case information: https://lieffcabraser.com/securities/fiserv/ Contact us: Email or textinvestorinfo@ lchb.com or call 1-800-541-7358Fiserv, incorporated in Wisconsin and headquartered in Milwaukee, provides transaction processing software for banks and retail merchants. The Company's flagship product and most important growth driver is Clover, a payment processing platform that facilitates secure processing of credit, debit, and mobile payment transactions on behalf of financial institutions and their customers. Beginning in late 2023, Fiserv began a forced migration of customers using its older Payeezy point-of-sale platform to its Clover platform. Despite this forced migration, Fiserv represented to shareholders that 90% of Clover's revenue growth was due to new client retention.The action alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (a) due to Payeezy's operational issues, Fiserv required its customers to migrate to Clover; (b) Clover's key revenue metric, "gross payment volume" (or "GPV"), and revenue growth were boosted by the migrations, obscuring a deceleration in new business; (c) after their migrations, many former Payeezy customers, including e-commerce merchants who found Clover's features costly and unnecessary, moved to competitors' platforms; and (d) as a result of customer attrition, Clover's GPV growth decelerated and its revenue growth could not be sustained.On April 24, 2025, Fiserv revealed that Clover's GPV growth rate had fallen from 14-17% in 2024 to 8% in Q1 2025. On this news, Fiserv's stock price fell $40.20 per share, or 18.51%, from a closing price of $217.10 on April 23, 2025, to close at $176.90 on February 26, 2025, on elevated trading volume.On May 15, 2025, the Company disclosed that Clover's GPV growth would continue to decelerate throughout 2025. Analysts reported that the bulk of the lost customers were e-commerce merchants who had been forcibly migrated to Clover, but had limited use for the product and wanted more tailored and lower cost alternatives. On this news, Fiserv's stock price fell $30.73 per share, or 16.18%, from a closing price of $189.86 on May 14, 2025, to close at $159.13 on May 15, 2025, on heavy trading volume.On July 23, 2025, Fiserv lowered the top end of its 2025 organic growth guidance range and revealed that its Q2 organic revenue growth in its Merchant segment was only 9%, compared to 28% in Q2 2024. Wolfe Research noted that "we recognize a need for the dust to settle, with stability/credibility in metrics and guidance reestablished before some investors add materially to shares." On this news, Fiserv's stock price fell 13.9%, or $22.98, from a closing price of $165.98 on July 22, 2025 to close at $143.00 on July 23, 2025, on extremely heavy trading volume.About Lieff CabraserLieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, with over 130 attorneys in offices in San Francisco, New York, Nashville, and Munich, Germany, is an internationally-recognized law firm committed to advancing the rights of investors and promoting corporate responsibility. Repeatedly recognized as a "Plaintiffs' Powerhouse" by Law360, Lieff Cabraser has litigated some of the most important civil cases in the United States, and has assisted clients in recovering over $131 billion in verdicts and settlements. For over 50 years, Lieff Cabraser has remained committed to ensuring access to justice for all.Source/ContactSharon LeeLieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP415 956-1000 slee@ lchb.com SOURCE: Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein
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BEVERLY HILLS, CA / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / Green Rain Energy Holdings Inc. (OTC:GREH), an emerging leader in renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure, is proud to announce that it is projecting to break ground in October on its brand new Level 3 EV charging project located at 1600 W Ridge Road, Rochester, New York.This significant milestone comes as part of Green Rain's broader initiative to accelerate the development of its clean energy operations across strategic markets in the Northeastern United States. The permit (No. PIM25-660), issued on June 12, 2025, allows for a wide range of commercial alterations at the site, which is held under affiliated property entity Street of Shops LLC.The green light for a transformative phase of construction and modernization, which will enable Green Rain to enhance its operational capabilities, install renewable infrastructure, and increase its presence in a key urban market. "This is an incredibly pivotal moment in our growth story and for our partnership with the city of Rochester," said Alfredo Papadakis, CEO of Green Rain Energy Holdings Inc. "As the energy landscape continues to evolve, we are positioning Green Rain to be at the forefront of clean, scalable solutions that can power the next generation. Our Rochester facility will play a vital role in our mission to build a more sustainable, efficient, and resilient energy future." The Rochester site is expected to house various advanced clean energy components, with potential plans for solar power integration, green retrofit technology, and next-gen storage systems. These initiatives will not only support Green Rain's operational goals but also bring long-term value to the surrounding community through job creation, environmental stewardship, and economic revitalization. Green Rain Energy's expansion comes at a time when federal and state incentives for renewable development are at an all-time high, and public demand for reliable green infrastructure is growing rapidly. With a clear path to expansion and innovation, the company continues to build momentum in delivering sustainable energy platforms across its portfolio. "This development is part of our continued effort to turn real estate assets into sustainable powerhouses-literally," Papadakis added. "We're excited to keep driving value for our shareholders, customers, and the communities we serve." The expected groundbreaking in Rochester, NY coincides with the special dividend for existing Green Rain Energy shareholders slated for October 28th (pending FINRA approval).For more information, visit: https://greenrainenergy.com/ Investor Relations: https://greenrainenergy.com/investor-relations/ Follow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GreenRainEnergyFollow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61580025893268&mibextid=wwXIfr Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/green.rain.energy/?igsh=MW9jY3g0MmZiaG5pNg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr# Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GreenRainEnergy Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and the future performance of Green Rain Energy Holdings Inc. that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release.For press inquiries, please contact: Michael Cimino Michael@ pubcopr.com SOURCE: Green Rain Energy Holdings Inc.
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / University of Iowa Community HomeCare ("UI Community HomeCare") and University of Iowa Health Care ("UI Health Care") recently disclosed that they suffered a data breach that compromised the sensitive personal data of individuals. This data breach has led to concerns over the security of sensitive personal and protected health information entrusted to UI Community HomeCare and UI Health Care.WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?On July 3, 2025, UI Community HomeCare became aware of a security incident on its computer systems. Upon detection, UI Community HomeCare launched an investigation with the assistance of third-party cybersecurity experts to determine the nature and scope of the incident. The investigation determined that an unauthorized third party gained access to and copied data files containing information belonging to patients, including some UI Health Care patients.The impacted data may include names, Social Security numbers, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers, medical information (medical record numbers, providers, types of visits, dates of service), and health insurance information.On August 29, 2025, UI Community HomeCare posted a notice on its website and began mailing data breach notification letters to impacted individuals. Compensation may be available for those individuals who receive notice that their sensitive personal information was compromised.WHY YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO COMPENSATION?Data breaches are serious matters that can cause long-term damage. Hackers may use stolen information to commit identity theft, financial fraud, or other crimes. Companies that fail to secure your personal data may be held liable for the resulting harm.HOW DO I KNOW IF I WAS AFFECTED?If you received a data breach notification letter from University of Iowa Community HomeCare and University of Iowa Health Care, you are likely to be affected. Follow the link below to find out if you may be eligible for compensation.Levi Korsinsky, LLP is investigating whether affected individuals are entitled to compensation. There is no cost or obligation to participate. Follow the link below to find outLevi & Korsinsky, LLP is a nationally recognized consumer advocacy law firm that has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars against large corporations. The firm's team of over 70 extraordinary attorneys and professionals have a winning track record going against the most powerful defense attorneys in the world and know how to maximize your compensation. Our firm works on a 100% contingency fee basis - you pay nothing unless we win your case! Visit our website to learn more.Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.CONTACT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLPJoseph E. Levi, Esq.Ed Korsinsky, Esq.33 Whitehall Street, 17th FloorNew York, NY 10004 jlevi@ levikorsinsky.com Tel: (212) 363-7500Fax: (212) 363-7171 https://zlk.com/ SOURCE: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / A securities class action lawsuit has been filed against Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) on behalf of investors who bought shares between January 23, 2024, and July 21, 2025. The lawsuit, Khan v. Lockheed Martin Corporation, alleges the company gave investors a misleading picture of its financial health by failing to disclose that it had inadequate internal controls to assess program risks.Hagens Berman encourages Lockheed Martin investors with substantial losses to contact the firm now.Class Period: Jan. 23, 2024 - July 21, 2025Lead Plaintiff Deadline: Sept. 26, 2025Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/lmt Contact the Firm Now:LMT@ hbsslaw.com 844-916-0895Alleged Pattern of MisrepresentationsThe lawsuit claims that throughout the specified period, Lockheed Martin presented a false and misleading view of its operations by overstating its ability to deliver on contracts in its Aeronautics and Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS) segments. The complaint alleges the company lacked effective internal controls and procedures to accurately review program requirements and risks. As a result, it was likely to incur significant losses, which were not disclosed to investors.The Truth Allegedly Emerges Over a Series of DisclosuresInvestors began to learn the truth through a series of negative disclosures that led to major stock drops:On January 28, 2025, the company reported $1.8 billion in pre-tax losses in its Aeronautics segment.On April 17, 2025, the company announced its CFO had left.On July 22, 2025, the company disclosed an additional $950 million in pre-tax losses for its Aeronautics segment and $570 million in pre-tax losses for its RMS segment, stemming from problems with the Canadian Maritime Helicopter Program.Each of these revelations led to a significant drop in Lockheed Martin's stock price, with shares falling almost 11% on the final disclosure.Hagens Berman's InvestigationA national plaintiffs' rights law firm, Hagens Berman, is investigating these claims on behalf of investors who suffered substantial losses. The firm is examining whether the massive, successive losses were a foreseeable consequence of poor internal controls and a failure to accurately communicate the company's risks to investors."The scale of these losses and their recurrence across different programs suggests a systemic issue, not a series of isolated problems," said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation. "Our focus is on whether executives knew the company's internal controls were not as robust as investors were led to believe and whether management was transparent about the risks that ultimately led to billions in write-downs." If you invested in Lockheed Martin and have substantial losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firm's investigation, submit your losses now If you'd like more information and answers to frequently asked questions about the Lockheed Martin case and our investigation, read more Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Lockheed Martin should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email LMT@ hbsslaw.com # # #About Hagens Berman Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs' rights complex litigation firm focusing on corporate accountability. The firm is home to a robust practice and represents investors as well as whistleblowers, workers, consumers and others in cases achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and other wrongdoings. Hagens Berman's team has secured more than $2.9 billion in this area of law. More about the firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com . Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.Contact:Reed Kathrein, 844-916-0895SOURCE: Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP
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KUALA LUMPUR, MY / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / Malaysia's renowned crab cuisine brand Fei Fei Crab has officially launched its "Thank You for 17 Years of Great Taste" anniversary campaign, introducing its first-ever No-Shell Crab dishes and a limited-time menu created in collaboration with a century-old Japanese brand. With creative dishes and a special lucky draw, Fei Fei Crab is expressing gratitude for 17 years of loyal customer support.In recent years, Malaysia's food and beverage industry has been moving steadily towards cross-border collaborations and innovative cuisine. According to insights from Food & Drinks Malaysia by SIAL 2025 (FDM 2025) , Malaysia is cementing its position as Southeast Asia's food innovation hub, underpinned by stronger public-private partnerships in the global food supply chain and agri-food technology sector. Partnerships between global brands and local F&B operators have become a key driver of market growth in the region .Against this backdrop, local brands are increasingly exploring international collaborations to meet consumers' demand for new flavours and convenient dining experiences.Fei Fei Crab, Malaysia's most recognisable crab cuisine brand, marks its 17th anniversary this year by partnering with Japan's century-old seasoning brandKEWPIE. Together, they are introducing five limited-time collaborative dishes under the theme "Flavours of the Heart, A Taste of Newness" , embodying the spirit of "17 Together, Stay True to Flavour" . This collaboration is not only a milestone for the brand but also a showcase of industry trends in action.Japanese Creamy Spice No Shell CrabMoonlight Spicy Crab Cake Treasure BoxCold Crab Meat Glass NoodleSmoked Mentai Crab Fried RiceRefreshing Thai-Style Crab SaladThe five dishes feature KEWPIE's signature sauces, infused with the natural sweetness of crab to create an East-meets-West dining experience. Highlights include Japanese Creamy Spicy No-Shell Crab, Smoked Mentai Crab Fried Rice, Moonlight Spicy Crab Cake Treasure Box, Cold Crab Meat Glass Noodles, and Refreshing Thai-Style Crab Salad.(L-R) Fei Fei Crab Chef Die; Kewpie Malaysia Chef Eunice; Fei Fei Crab Chef Ting and Chef QiangThe management of Fei Fei Crab said, "The inspiration for these five dishes comes from years of listening to our diners. People love the sweetness of crab but are always looking for more variety. Partnering with KEWPIE allowed us to experiment boldly, combining Japanese flavours with our signature crab recipes. The result is something both familiar and exciting - exactly the kind of surprise we wanted to deliver for our 17th anniversary." At the same time, Fei Fei Crab announced the launch of its innovative "No-Shell Crab" dishes, featuring freshly prepared, never-frozen crab meat. This innovation eliminates the hassle of shelling crab, allowing diners to enjoy the essence of crab with ease. It highlights the brand's commitment to quality and its dedication to making crab cuisine more accessible.(L-R) Mr. Loh Lim Siong, Marketing Director of Fei Fei Crab Restaurant; Mr. Chua Kiang Hiong , Marketing Manager of Kewpie Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. and Mr. NK Tan, Founder of Fei Fei Crab RestaurantFei Fei Crab's management added, "Crab is one of Malaysia's most beloved seafoods, but many shy away from the effort of shelling. Our No-Shell Crab' was created to make crab dining easier, especially for younger consumers and families. Collaborating with KEWPIE in this milestone year represents more than just new dishes - it symbolises the exchange between local and international brands and carries our message of 17 Together, Stay True to Flavour'."Since its establishment in 2008, Fei Fei Crab has remained true to its philosophy of "Freshness, Creativity, Great Taste" , introducing a variety of iconic dishes such as Golden Fragrant Butter Crab, Salted Egg Yolk Crab, and the signature Durian Crab. Today, the brand operates 13 outlets across Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang, and Johor , serving tens of thousands of diners annually. With this 17th anniversary milestone, Fei Fei Crab is committed to further innovation, international collaborations, and bringing Malaysia's unique crab cuisine to the global stage.As part of its anniversary celebrations, Fei Fei Crab is also hosting "Thank You for 17 Years of Great Taste" lucky draw campaign running from 11 September to 11 December 2025 , with prizes worth over RM50,000. Rewards include travel packages to Japan, China, and Vietnam, Fei Fei Crab dining vouchers, and a one-year supply of KEWPIE products. Customers who order any of the collaborative dishes will receive an entry, limited to one prize per person. This initiative reflects the brand's commitment to giving back to its loyal customers through the spirit of "17 Together, Stay True to Flavour" .For more information, follow Fei Fei Crab on Facebook , Instagram , and Xiaohongshu.###About Fei Fei CrabFounded in 2008, Fei Fei Crab has grown over 17 years to become one of Malaysia's most iconic crab cuisine brands. The brand is built on the philosophy of "Freshness, Creativity, Great Taste" , consistently using fresh, never-frozen crabs combined with inventive cooking methods. Its popular dishes such as Golden Fragrant Butter Crab, Salted Egg Yolk Crab, and Durian Crab have made it a household name among seafood lovers.With 13 outlets across Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang, and Johor, Fei Fei Crab serves tens of thousands of diners each year. Beyond its culinary innovation, the brand actively explores international collaborations, including with Japan's century-old seasoning giant KEWPIE, to deliver diverse flavours to local diners. Moving forward, Fei Fei Crab remains dedicated to its motto "Cook with Heart, Stay True to Flavour" , while championing Malaysia's distinctive crab cuisine on the international stage.For media information, kindly contact:Triven Marketing Group, for Fei Fei CrabJazzmin WanEmail: j.wan@ swanconsultancy.biz SOURCE: Fei Fei Crab
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Charlie Kirk, an American political activist and close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, died after being shot in the neck on Wednesday during an event at Utah Valley University (UVU).

"In honor of Charlie Kirk, a truly Great American Patriot, I am ordering all American Flags throughout the United States lowered to Half Mast until Sunday evening at 6 p.m.," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform after confirming the death of Kirk.

The local Deseret News reported that Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz earlier said Kirk's death was confirmed to him by Utah law enforcement officials.

Footage shot by local KSL TV 5 showed crowds of people running from the university's courtyard, where Kirk, 31, was holding a speaking event when the shooting occurred. Authorities said early evidence indicated one round was fired from a nearby building.

The university confirmed the shooting on its official X page. "Today at about 12:10 p.m. (1810 GMT), a shot was fired at the visiting speaker, Charlie Kirk. He was hit and taken from the location by his security," it said.

Kirk was visiting the campus as part of his "Prove Me Wrong" event. The event included Kirk inviting people on stage from the audience to debate political ideals with him.

Emma Pitts, a Deseret News reporter, said Kirk appeared at noon. She was five rows from Kirk during the rally, which was held in an open, tiered amphitheater area surrounded by UVU buildings. She called it a "terrible irony." Kirk was asked about mass shootings just before she heard a gunshot from behind her.

A video posted online by bystanders showed that Kirk appeared to be hit in the neck after a gunshot rang out.

"Those responsible will be held fully accountable. Violence has no place in our public life. Americans of every political persuasion must unite in condemning this act," said Utah Governor Spencer Cox on X.

Cox called the incident a dark day for Utah and a tragic one for the United States, saying, "I want to be very clear this is a political assassination," and the murder highlighted that "our nation was broken."

Confusion marked the first hours of the investigation as agencies flip-flapped the information. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel and the university authority initially said the shooter was in custody, but at a press conference held on Wednesday afternoon, Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, disclosed that the suspected gunman was still at large.

At the same press conference, Cox said a "person of interest" was in custody, and vowed that federal and state law enforcement agencies would capture the shooter.

Officials detained a man named George Zinn shortly after the shooting but released him after determining that he did not match the shooting suspect and was not a person of interest, said Mason, who believed there was no risk to the community as a manhunt was underway.

"This incident occurred with a large crowd around. There was one shot fired and one victim. While the suspect is at large, we believe this was a targeted attack," said Mason.

Federal agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined police and state authorities, who asked the public to submit tips and videos as they mapped the bullet's path and reviewed security footage.

The incident also fitted into a broader pattern of attacks and threats that have raised concerns about political violence in the United States.

Mainstream outlets devoted wall-to-wall coverage because the incident combined an attack at a public campus with the death of a nationally known organizer central to Republican youth mobilization.

Most media described Kirk as a prominent supporter of Trump and an influential figure among young conservatives. He co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 at age 18, built a nationwide network of campus chapters and became a regular presence in conservative media. He helped strategize Trump's comeback after 2021, expanded organizing through initiatives such as Turning Point Faith, and frequently advised Trump-aligned figures.

The New York Times obituary attributes part of Trump's return to the White House to Kirk's voter-mobilization efforts. It reported that Kirk and allied groups spent "tens of millions of dollars" on turnout operations before the presidential election, and that Trump won about 45 percent of the youth vote nationally, drawing even with Democrat Kamala Harris in several swing states. The obituary also noted Kirk's early push for JD Vance as Trump's running mate and his role in rallying support for key nominees.

As of Wednesday evening, officials had not announced a motive or released any detained person's identity or charges. Authorities keep urging the public to submit tips and footage to aid the investigation, and Utah Valley University said it would continue updates as facts are confirmed. 
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NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR THROUGH U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICESTORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / PPX Mining Corp. (TSXV:PPX)(BVL:PPX) ("PPX" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed its upsized non-brokered private placement, as described in the Company's press release dated September 5, 2025, for aggregate gross proceeds of C$2,580,004 (the "Offering").The Offering involved the issuance of 22,434,813 units (the "Units") at a price of C$0.115 per Unit for gross proceeds to the Company of C$2,580,004. Each Unit consisted of one common share of the Company and one common share purchase warrant, with each warrant entitling the holder to acquire one common share of the Company at an exercise price of C$0.14 until September 11, 2027. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Offering to advance ongoing exploration at the Mina Callanquitas project and for general working capital purposes.In connection with the Offering, the Company issued an aggregate of 994,182 units (the "Finder's Units") to arm's length finders of the Company in consideration for the finders locating purchasers to participate in the Offering. Each Finder's Unit consisted of one common share of the Company and one non-transferable common share purchase warrant, with each warrant entitling the holder to acquire one common share of the Company at an exercise price of C$0.14 until September 11, 2027.The securities issued in connection with the Offering are subject to a four-month hold period expiring on January 12, 2026 under applicable Canadian securities laws. The Offering is subject to the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV").This news release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.About PPX Mining Corp:PPX Mining Corp. ( TSX.V: PPX.V, BVL: PPX) is a Canadian-based mining company with assets in northern Peru. Igor, the Company's 100%-owned flagship gold and silver project, is located in the prolific Northern Peru gold belt in eastern La Libertad Department.On behalf of the board of directors of the Company:Brian ImrieExecutive Chaiman 82 Richmond Street EastToronto, Ontario M5C 1P1Canada416-361-0737Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.Cautionary Statement:This press release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, "forward-looking statements") as such terms are defined by applicable securities laws, including, but not limited to statements regarding the use of proceeds for the Offering and the final approval of the TSXV. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance and often contain words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," and "intend,", statements that an action or event "may," "might," "could," "should," or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond the Company's control, and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to many various factors. Such uncertainties and risks include, among others, delays in obtaining or inability to obtain required regulatory approvals and or funding, as applicable; the state of the equity financing markets in Canada and other jurisdictions; volatility and sensitivity to market prices; volatility and sensitivity to capital market fluctuations; and fluctuations in metal prices. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, the Company cannot guarantee that the events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur. The timing of events and circumstances and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, one should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of today's date, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or publicly revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by law.SOURCE: PPX Mining Corp.
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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 /Rainy Mountain Royalty Corp. (the "Company" or "Rainy Mountain") is pleased to announce the appointment of Jody Bellefleur as Chief Financial Officer ("CFO") and Corporate Secretary of the Company, effective immediately.Ms. Bellefleur is a CPA, CGA with over 15 years of experience with public companies and has served in senior financial roles with a number of issuers, bringing extensive expertise in financial reporting, corporate governance, and regulatory compliance.Ms. Bellefleur succeeds Dilshan Anthony, who has resigned as CFO, and Jen Hanson, who has resigned as Corporate Secretary. The Company wishes to thank Mr. Anthony and Ms. Hanson for their dedication and contributions and wishes them success in their future endeavors.Sean Charland, Interim CEO of Rainy Mountain, commented: "On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Dilshan and Jen for their valuable work with the Company. We are also very pleased to welcome Jody to the team, whose depth of financial and governance expertise will be a great asset as we continue to advance our exploration initiatives." About Rainy Mountain Royalty Corp.Rainy Mountain Royalty Corp. is a Canadian based mineral exploration project generator. The Company's focus is to acquire early-stage exploration opportunities and deliver them drill target ready to joint venture partners. The Company currently holds multiple property interests in Ontario and is primarily focused on shear hosted gold and base metals properties with associated gold and silver credits.The Company is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol RMO.On Behalf of the Board of DirectorsRAINY MOUNTAIN ROYALTY CORP.,Sean CharlandInterim Chief Executive OfficerTel: 604.681.1568Email: info@ rmroyalty.com The information in this news release may include certain statements about management's views of future events, expectations, plans and prospects that constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Because of these risks and uncertainties, and as a result of a variety of factors, actual results, expectations, achievements or performance may differ materially from those anticipated and indicated by such forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the expectations of any forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.SOURCE: Rainy Mountain Royalty Corp.
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NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / Levi & Korsinsky, LLP is investigating potential claims on behalf of California residents who visited Sam's Club's website at https://www.samsclub.com/ . Levi & Korsinsky, LLP's investigation indicates that legally protected data may have been unlawfully intercepted during visits to Sam's Club's website, particularly affecting users who are California residents.WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?If you are a California resident and browsed the Sam's Club website for items, your legally protected data may have been intercepted without your knowledge.AM I ENTITLED TO COMPENSATION?If your data was compromised, you may be entitled to compensation. Unauthorized data interception is a serious issue that could lead to privacy violations, potentially leading to significant breaches of your personal information. If the company entrusted with securing your data has failed in this duty, they may be held accountable for any exposure of your information, potentially exposing you to risks such as misuse or unauthorized use of your data.HOW DO I KNOW IF I WAS AFFECTED?If you are a California resident and visited the Sam's Club website, your data may have been intercepted. Levi & Korsinsky, LLP is investigating whether affected customers are entitled to compensation. There is no cost to participate. Follow the link below to find out if you have a claim:Levi & Korsinsky, LLP is a nationally recognized consumer advocacy law firm that has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars against large corporations. The firm's team of extraordinary attorneys and professionals have a winning track record going against the most powerful defense attorneys in the world and know how to maximize your compensation. We work on a contingency basis - we don't get paid unless you get paid! Please visit us at www.zlk.com for more information. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.CONTACT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLPJoseph E. Levi, Esq.Ed Korsinsky, Esq.33 Whitehall Street, 17th FloorNew York, NY 10004 jlevi@ levikorsinsky.com Tel: (212) 363-7500Fax: (212) 363-7171 https://zlk.com/ SOURCE: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP
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ATLANTA, GEORGIA / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / The Arbor Company has been selected as one of Fortune's Best Large Workplaces in Aging Services for 2025. This honor, conferred by Fortune via survey and analysis conducted by Great Place To Work/Activated Insights, recognizes The Arbor Company's exceptional workplace culture and commitment to nurturing meaningful connections among residents, families, and staff."This distinction is a testament to our people-first philosophy," said Judd Harper, president of The Arbor Company. "Our team's passion for enriching the lives of residents is at the heart of our mission-this recognition reflects their dedication, compassion, and unwavering support." This follows The Arbor Company's recent 2025 Great Place To Work Certification-the seventh consecutive year since the award's introduction to senior living in 2019-underscoring its ongoing commitment to a supportive and inclusive workplace.Founded over 30 years ago and operating more than 45 senior living communities across 11 states, The Arbor Company remains devoted to a culture of trust, purpose, and joy in service. Employees consistently report that working at Arbor "is not just a job," citing a deep sense of meaning, belonging, and pride in their work-pillars that underpin both employee satisfaction and quality care.About The Arbor Company:The Arbor Company is an Atlanta-based operator of more than 45 independent living, assisted living, and memory care communities, serving seniors in 11 states. With more than 35 years of dedication and experience as a leader in the senior living field, The Arbor Company strives to deliver the highest quality care and service to residents and their families. The Arbor Company has been designated a Great Place to Work and is listed on the Fortune Best Workplaces for Aging Services list. More information about The Arbor Company is available at www.ArborCompany.com Media Contact: Chris HarperPhone: 404-334-3784Email: chris.harper@arborcompany.com SOURCE: The Arbor Company
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Miami-based marketing strategistYana Pacittiis challenging the industry to rethink its priorities.MIAMI, FL / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / In an era where viral hashtags, fleeting aesthetics, and short-lived digital fads dominate, Miami-based marketing strategistYana Pacittiis challenging the industry to rethink its priorities. With over a decade of experience in brand development, consumer psychology, and integrated campaigns, Pacitti argues that authenticity - not the latest marketing trend - is what truly drives sustainable growth and customer loyalty in today's competitive marketplace.The Rise of Trend-Driven MarketingOver the past ten years, brands across industries have been lured by the promise of fast visibility through social media trends, viral content, and influencer endorsements. From TikTok dances to meme-based advertising, trend-chasing has become the default approach for many marketing teams hoping to capture attention in an oversaturated landscape.But Pacitti warns that this strategy often comes with risks. "Trends are temporary by nature," she explains. "When brands build their identity solely around what's popular in the moment, they risk becoming irrelevant as soon as the conversation shifts. Authenticity, on the other hand, has staying power." Why Authenticity ResonatesAccording to Pacitti, today's consumers are more discerning than ever before. With access to unlimited information and peer reviews, buyers can quickly identify when a brand is projecting a curated image that doesn't align with its values or actions."People want real connections with the brands they support," Pacitti says. "They're not just buying a product or service, they're buying into a story, a mission, and a sense of belonging. When a brand communicates from a place of authenticity, customers feel that sincerity and respond with trust and loyalty." Pacitti's philosophy stems from her expertise in consumer psychology. She emphasizes that the emotional bond between consumers and brands is rooted in transparency and consistency rather than trend-chasing. "When brands focus on who they truly are, they build an identity that withstands changing market dynamics," she notes.Blending Storytelling with StrategyOne of Pacitti's hallmarks as a strategist is her ability to merge classic brand storytelling with cutting-edge digital tools. She believes that stories rooted in a company's history and values remain the most powerful form of communication. But to resonate in today's fast-paced digital landscape, these stories must be delivered through the right platforms with measurable impact."Storytelling is timeless, but execution must evolve," Pacitti explains. "The way we share stories, whether through short-form video, immersive experiences, or long-form editorial content, has to align with the platforms and habits of modern audiences. That's where strategy meets creativity." Her campaigns, which have spanned industries from fashion and luxury goods to technology and lifestyle, consistently reflect this balance. Clients praise her ability to create content that feels both genuine and strategically aligned with business objectives.Data-Driven CreativityPacitti is also known for her analytical rigor. After earning her master's degree in marketing and communication, she quickly gained recognition for her talent in translating complex data into actionable strategies. This skill, she says, is essential for ensuring that authenticity is not just a buzzword but a measurable driver of growth."Data allows us to see whether a message is resonating or not," she says. "Authenticity doesn't mean ignoring analytics. It means using data to refine your message without compromising your core identity. You can be both creative and accountable." Speaking Out in a Trend-Obsessed IndustryPacitti's message has gained traction at marketing conferences across the United States, where she is a frequent speaker. Her thought-leadership articles in industry publications further reinforce her position as one of Miami's most forward-thinking voices."Too often, brands feel pressured to jump on the latest digital trend because they fear being left behind," Pacitti told an audience earlier this year. "But if that trend doesn't align with your values, story, or audience, it can do more harm than good. Authenticity isn't about being trendy. It's about being timeless." Mentorship and CollaborationBeyond her professional achievements, Pacitti is committed to mentoring the next generation of marketers. She works with young professionals entering the field, emphasizing collaboration and knowledge-sharing as the keys to innovation."I tell my mentees that authenticity starts with them, too," she says. "You can't advise brands to be authentic if you're not practicing it in your own career. Know your strengths, be honest about your challenges, and build relationships based on trust. That's the foundation for long-term success." The Miami InfluenceRaised in Miami,Yana Pacitti' s approach is deeply influenced by the city's vibrant energy, cultural diversity, and entrepreneurial spirit. She often credits this environment for shaping her perspective on creativity and innovation."Miami is a place where cultures collide, ideas flourish, and entrepreneurship is part of the DNA," she reflects. "Growing up here taught me that authenticity doesn't mean conformity, it means embracing what makes you unique and using it to stand out." This perspective has given her campaigns a distinct flair that resonates with both global corporations and startups looking to carve out a space in the market.Looking Ahead: A Future Built on AuthenticityAs the marketing landscape continues to evolve, Pacitti believes that the next wave of successful brands will be those that stay true to themselves while adapting to new technologies. From AI-driven personalization to immersive digital experiences, she sees technology as a tool to amplify authenticity - not replace it."Technology should enhance our ability to connect, not diminish it," she says. "The future of marketing isn't about being the loudest in the room. It's about being the most genuine voice in the conversation." AboutYana PacittiYana Pacitti is a Miami-based marketing strategist known for her creative approach to building brands that resonate in today's fast-paced digital landscape. With over a decade of experience in brand development, consumer psychology, and integrated marketing campaigns, she has helped global corporations and startups alike find their authentic voice. Pacitti is a frequent conference speaker, published thought leader, and mentor to yo
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has deepened collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to strengthen Nigerias tax compliance framework and safeguard public revenue.

The development marks another step in the governments push to curb leakages and foster voluntary tax compliance among citizens and businesses.

The renewed commitment of the agencies was disclosed in a courtesy visit by the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Zacch Adedeji to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja on 9 September.

At the meeting, Mr Adedeji underscored the need for inter-agency cooperation to maintain financial stability and build public trust in the nations tax system.

We cannot pursue 200 million Nigerians individually to do the right thing, but we want to put a system in place that will aid compliance.

You can help us by letting people know that when they violate the law, there is a place you can keep them. On behalf of the President and Nigerians, we thank you for your support and seek even deeper cooperation, he said.

The FIRS boss emphasized that the most effective driver of voluntary compliance was visible evidence of how tax revenues were being used.

According to him, when taxpayers see government investments in infrastructure, healthcare, and education funded by taxes, they are more inclined to comply willingly.

The main advertisement of voluntary compliance is when people begin to see what we use the money we collect for. In achieving that goal, you are critical, not just in arresting defaulters but in supporting our Department of Fraud Risk, Assessment and Control to ensure value for money.

Mr Adedeji further highlighted the role of preventive strategies and partnerships in achieving Nigerias revenue goals. He noted that the agencys recent success in meeting its revenue target was not a unilateral achievement but the product of collective efforts with enforcement partners like the EFCC.

EFCC

In his response, EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, reaffirmed the commissions readiness to work closely with FIRS in enforcing compliance. He argued that such collaboration would send a strong deterrent message to potential defaulters.

Collaboration is very key. When they see EFCC beside FIRS, that will send a signal to the public that it is no longer business as usual, he said.

Mr Olukoyede also drew attention to a recent Court of Appeal judgment affirming the EFCCs authority to investigate tax-related fraud.

Describing the ruling as a major boost, Mr Olukoyede explained that while the EFCC was not responsible for assessing tax liabilities, it had the statutory power to investigate cases of non-compliance and hand over assessment issues to FIRS.

Our duty remains prevention, investigation and prosecution of financial crimes. Synergy is therefore essential.

Partnership

The renewed partnership between FIRS and EFCC comes at a time when Nigeria grapples with declining oil revenues and rising fiscal pressures, which makes efficient tax administration a cornerstone of the governments economic strategy.

Experts argue that strengthening compliance not only broadens the tax base but also reduces reliance on borrowing to fund the national budget.

Both leaders pledged to consolidate their working relationship, with a shared focus on preventive measures, enforcement, and voluntary compliance as the backbone of Nigerias tax system.

For taxpayers, the message is that compliance is not optional, and failure to meet obligations could now come with stiffer consequences.

The collaboration signals a stronger institutional front against tax evasion and financial crimes, aligning with broader government reforms aimed at ensuring accountability and improving public finance management.
The founder and Lead Pastor of Streams of Joy International, Jerry Pastor Jerry Eze Eze, has retained the title of Nigerias highest-earning YouTuber for the second consecutive year.

In August 2024, PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Ezes YouTube channel (Pastor Jerry Eze) secured him the enviable position with earnings of N7.81 billion over a specified period.

Playboard, a global data curation platform that ranks YouTube channels, revealed in its latest report that Mr Eze commands the highest live viewership in Nigeria, with an average of 282,451 viewers whenever he streams.

His YouTube channel, linked to Streams of Joy International, which has over 16 branches across Nigeria, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Canada, and the United States, now boasts 2.87 million subscribers and more than 2,900 uploaded videos.

According to Playboard, Mr Eze, who also convenes the New Season Prophetic Prayers and Declarations (NSPPD) digital prayer platform, has recorded 80 million viewers in 2025 alone.

The report further showed that the pastor, a former Communications Specialist with the World Bank, has so far earned N1.94 million in daily returns, N7.95 million in the last 24 hours, and N47.7 million in the past week.

His cumulative earnings now stand at N10.71 billion, despite fluctuations caused by foreign exchange rates.

This represents a significant increase from his 2024 earnings, alongside a rise in subscribers from 2.12 million to 2.87 million.

Super Chat

Mr Eze, a former Communications Specialist with the World Bank, emerged as the highest-earning YouTuber due to his position as the countrys most Super Chatted content creator.

Super Chat, introduced by YouTube in January 2020, is a paid feature that allows viewers to highlight their messages at the top of a live chat for a specified period.

The longer the message remains pinned, the higher the cost, and consequently the earnings, for the YouTuber. Creators receive 70 per cent of the revenue generated through Super Chats.

For Mr Eze, Super Chat has become a major source of income, as his followers frequently purchase them to spotlight prayer requests and testimonies during his live streams.

Data from Playboard, a global YouTube analytics platform, revealed that the Abia-born pastors channel, Pastor Jerry Eze, generates over N7 million daily, with most of the revenue coming from live-streamed content.

Playboard explained that it arrives at these figures through a sophisticated methodology, analysing millions of data points each day.

Its monitoring includes subscriber fluctuations, variations in viewing and engagement patterns depending on a videos age, as well as daily tracking of new content and videos surpassing 5,000 views.

In general, YouTubers earn from multiple streams, such as advertising revenue, sponsorships, brand deals, merchandise sales, channel memberships, Super Chats, Super Stickers, YouTube Premium revenue, affiliate marketing, and donations or crowdfunding.

A graduate of History and International Relations from Abia State University (ABSU), Mr Eze launched his channel on 21 November 2019.

Since then, it has become a global digital sanctuary for prayer, attracting millions of viewers worldwide and amassing more than 643 million lifetime views.

The 43-year-old cleric said that his New Season Prophetic Prayers and Declarations (NSPPD) platform records miraculous testimonies daily, ranging from terminal illnesses being reversed to blind eyes and deaf ears restored, the lame walking, and even reports of the dead being brought back to life.

As of press time, Playboard estimated that the channel had already earned N1.9 million in ongoing revenue.

Mr Eze, known for his tagline, What God cannot do does not exist, began his ministry in 2009 while pastoring at All Saints Chapel in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States.

Top earners

Checks by this newspaper revealed that the top five highest-earning YouTube channels in Nigeria, according to Playboard, are all faith-based.

They include Paul S. Joshuas channel, founded by Paul S. Joshua, Senior Pastor of The Refiners House Ministries; Dunamis TV, operated by Dunamis International Gospel Centre, the Pentecostal church led by Pastor Paul Enenche; Celebration TV, the media arm of Omega Fire Ministries founded by Apostle Johnson Suleman; and Rev. Sam Oye, owned by Reverend Sam Oye, Founder and Lead Pastor of The Transforming Church.

These channels dominated the top five earnings list in 2024, and their growth has continued into 2025, with both subscriber numbers and revenues rising significantly, mirroring the surge recorded by Mr Eze.

In 2024, this newspaper reported that Paul S. Joshuas channel had 29,200 subscribers and 6.55 million views, generating a total revenue of N255.82 million with daily earnings of N175,548. By 2025, the channel had grown to 40,400 subscribers and 11.95 million views, with revenue climbing to N478.27 million and daily earnings reaching N651,849.

Celebration TV also recorded steady growth, moving from 1.05 million subscribers to 1.1 million, and from 173.33 million to 196.78 million views. Its total revenue rose from N415.53 million to N568.08 million. However, its daily earnings dropped from N531,522 to N326,569.

Similarly, Dunamis TV expanded its subscriber base from 643,000 to 886,000, while views soared from 116.48 million to 205.80 million. Its total revenue jumped from N190.82 million to N417.09 million, though daily earnings declined from N1.66 million to N220,181.

Rev. Sam Oyes channel also saw remarkable growth, rising from 200,000 to 466,000 subscribers and from 30.18 million to 38.81 million views. Its revenue increased from N223.46 million to N323.85 million, though daily earnings fell from N333,651 to N210,536.

Other top-earning channels include Table of Babylon, UKFamilyShow, Eno Jerry, Catholic Reflection Family, Johnson Suleman, Harvesters TV, Free Indeed TV Ministry, Berekete Family, and Fada Ebube Muonso, among others.
The Bauchi State Government has uncovered more than 100 ghost workers in the states health sector and vowed to sanction those involved in line with civil service rules.

Sambo Alkali, the Executive Chairperson, Bauchi State Hospital Management Board, disclosed this at a news conference in Bauchi on Thursday.

According to him, all the identified ghost workers names would soon be submitted to Governor Bala Mohammed and subsequently, be dealt with according to the civil service rules.

We are currently working on a verification exercise to fish out all those ghost workers people have been talking about, he said.

Recently, we have done it in our five facilities, and we came up with more than 100 ghost health workers whose names will ultimately be submitted to the governor.

What we are doing in Bauchi to curtail the issue of shortage of doctors, which is a global issue, is that the governor has approved a scheme which is giving us a beautiful result, he said.

Mr Alkali said the state currently engages more than 40 doctors in the scheme which ranges from consultants to medical officers who were carefully selected and scientifically distributed based on the data available.

He explained that it was a pull system which brought the professionals on board, adding that they also supervise the hospitals facilities.

He said they were mandated by the governor to come up with all the gap analyses to improve the service delivery.

Mr Alkali noted that the governor also mandated the state committee on health to produce a healthcare scheme of service that would address the salary issue and attract medical professionals to work in Bauchi.

He said the plan is to equate the state health workers salary with that of the federal government.

According to him, this is on the verge of completion and will be submitted to the governor for onward implementation.

READ ALSO: Niger govt partners kidney centre to boost healthcare access

Also speaking, Muhammed Dambam, the states Commissioner for Health, said that the governor had reiterated his commitment to collaborate with relevant agencies and partners to establish Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) in the state.

Mr Dambam explained that the essence of RUTF is to reduce malnutrition among children, adding that the government pledged to improve the recapitalisation of the drugs and medical consumables agency in the state.

He said the governor also pledged to channel N250 million to the agency this year, like he did in 2024.

(NAN)
Queen Purple, 25, keenly looked forward to the arrival of her first child. Pregnancy had caused her nausea and fatigue, and she struggled with the increasing weight of the growing baby.

She attended the primary healthcare centre (PHC) in her community of Emere Oke kingdom in the Eastern Obolo LGA of Akwa Ibom State for antenatal care. However, as her due date drew closer, she was advised to deliver with a traditional birth attendant (TBA) in a neighbouring village  a path many women in the community take.

The PHC rarely opens at night. So, our communitys women advised me against taking chances in case the baby comes at night, she recalled.

Five months into her pregnancy, Mrs Purple had witnessed a neighbour lose her baby at childbirth because there was no health worker to attend to her at the PHC after she went into labour at night.

The woman returned home to give birth, but she had serious bleeding, which local remedies failed to stop.

Because of what I witnessed and the advice I was given, some weeks before my due date, I moved to stay with a TBA in the nearby village, Mrs Purple said.

However, in January 2024, after several hours of difficult labour, her baby came out lifeless.

It was one of the worst days of my life. The pregnancy stress I went through for nine months was without a reward. If the health centre functions day and night, my baby would not have died because I would have given birth there.

Mercy Ishmael had a similar experience before giving birth on 4 May in the same community.

Because the PHC did not open that night, she had to deliver her baby at home. Sadly, it did not survive.

At least, she and Mrs Purple survived to tell their stories. 45-year-old Blessing Jimmy, also from the same village, was not as fortunate.

As she did with her previous five children, the late Mrs Jimmy had to give birth at home when her labour pains began on the night of 6 April. But the labour dragged on longer than usual.

We had all our babies at home because the health centre was always closed at night, said her husband, Emmanuel.

After a prolonged obstructed labour, the baby was delivered, but the mother was so weak that she was unable to speak.

She died the next day, and the baby two months later.

If there were health workers to deliver my mother of the baby, I wouldnt be motherless today, lamented their first son, Sam.

Sam Jimmy, still a student, has a big dream of funding medical staff at the PHC to prevent more child and maternal deaths, in dedication to the memory of his mother.

According to Reuben Jonah, the chief of staff to the village head, Emere Oke Kingdom loses women and babies during childbirth due to the inadequacies of its PHC.

No staff, equipment for emergencies, deliveries

This reporter visited the facility in late May. It had no fence or staff quarters. Even if it had health workers, they would not feel safe to work at night to provide emergency services.

The centre has only one full-time employee  Ruth Awajiogak, a Community Health Environmental Worker (CHEW) who is also the officer-in-charge.

An ad-hoc staff member posted to the facility in 2024 does not work every day due to the distance from his home and transport costs.

As a CHEW, Ms Awajiogak is not qualified to take deliveries or provide obstetrics care, according to the Nigerian governments Minimum Standards for Primary Health Care Centres.

However, having served alone at the facility since 2001, she is often forced to go beyond her role. She said she had conducted at least four deliveries over the years.

She sometimes stayed at the ward without returning home for four days.

Conducting the reporter around the dilapidated facility, Ms Awajiogak lamented that the poor working conditions limited the impact of her services.

She said if the facility were rehabilitated and provided with staff quarters and qualified staff, the community members would be elated to attend for healthcare services.

Emere-Oke PHC reflects the conditions of many other PHCs in oil-rich Akwa Ibom State.

The national standard is for PHCs to provide 24-hour daily services. However, no PHC in the Eastern Obolo Local Government Area does this, due to staff shortage and inadequate facilities. Many others face the same challenges across Akwa Ibom State.

Like Emere-Oke, like Odot

On 12 June 2024, Solomon Wilson and his five-month-old pregnant wife, Uduak, joined their neighbours in celebrating the inauguration of a new Model PHC in Odot, Nsit Atai LGA. Their home is a stones throw from the facility, and Mr Wilson recalled the relief he felt.

We were happy to attend the inauguration because we had planned that my wife would give birth there, he recalled.

However, on 23 October 2024, when his wife went into labour, they discovered that no health worker had been posted to the centre.

Mrs Wilson had to rely on TBAs for the delivery. However, the birth had complications, leading to her death.

Although their baby survived, Mr Wilson said his wifes death was avoidable.

During four visits to the facility between 10 and 25 May, this reporter met no health worker or security guard.

The chief of Ikot Ekpuk, where the facility is located, Dickson Etim, said a few workers were posted to the facility in late 2024.

At night, the few hands there retire home. We need nurses. There is no medicine there either. Government should employ more workers and supervise them, he pleaded.

The Akwa Ibom State Government inaugurated a new model PHC in Abiakana, a community in Ika LGA, on 21 February. However, four months later, the facility remained locked as no health worker had been posted there.

The village head, John Afangideh, confirmed that the PHC had not commenced operations.

Since the facility is yet to be operational, when we get sick, we go far away to other communities to get services. Our women who desire to get their children immunised pay up to N2,000 transport fare. When our women want to give birth, they go to TBAs and sometimes die in the process, said Mr Afangideh.

The condition at the model health centre at Utu in Etim Ekpo LGA was not different when this reporter visited the facility on the nights and early mornings of 17 and 18 May  no medical staff or security officer was on duty.

The community members told PREMIUM TIMES that the facility operates only during the day due to staff shortage.

At the Oboyo Ikot Ita PHC in Nsit Ibom LGA, on the night of 7 May and the morning of 8 May, only two security guards were there.

They explained that the facility had five medical staff members, who sometimes work at night.

The story was not so different at the Eyulor PHC in Uruefong Oruko LGA.

When the reporter visited on the nights of 29 and 30 May, he met the officer-in-charge, Rose Umoh.

Mrs Umoh was the only medical staff member assigned to the facility. She expressed her concerns about the facility.

Her worries were the leaky roof and unfinished work on the staff quarters of the facility.

The Deputy Village Council Chairman of Eyulor, Okon Okpoyo, was also unhappy that the facility had only one medical staff member.

The nurse there has made significant sacrifices to stay in the facility since it was commissioned on 21 May 2025. When it rains, the place is flooded due to the leaky roof, he said.

The keys of the doors were not fixed for the staff quarters and the main facility, hence she is unable to use them. She has complained several times, and this may discourage her from making further sacrifices.

Akwa Ibom has some health centres it labels as model healthcare centres. These are well constructed and often have the necessary equipment, although they also suffer from staff shortages.

Investigations by this reporter reveal that among the model healthcare centres in Akwa Ibom, Eyulor PHC is the only one with shabby construction. When it rains, the facility becomes unusable. Rainwater from the leaky roof, witnessed by this reporter, could also destroy the medical equipment at the facility. However, all the model healthcare centres suffer from staff shortages.

Personnel shortage affecting maternal care

On 4 June, this reporter submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Executive Secretary of Akwa Ibom State Primary Health Development Agency, Eno Attah, seeking data on the distribution of health care workers across the states PHCs.

The request specifically asked for staffing levels in 13 key positions, including medical officers, community health officers (CHO), nurses/midwives, community health extension workers (CHEWs), pharmacy technicians, junior community health extension workers, environmental officers, medical records officers, laboratory technicians, health attendants/assistants, security personnel and general maintenance staff.

Mr Attah did not respond to the request, despite his acknowledgement of it and several reminders through phone calls, text and WhatsApp messages.

However, credible sources in the agency revealed that Akwa Ibom State currently has 2,164 workers across its 468 PHCs, including ad-hoc staff funded through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.

This implies that on average, a PHC has fewer than five workers, a far cry from the 24 recommended by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency as a minimum.

Due to this shortage, PHCs, especially in the states rural areas, have only one worker, often a CHEW, and a nurse at best. These facilities lack laboratory technicians, pharmacy technicians and medical officers.

Due to a shortage of healthcare workers, maternal care indicators in Akwa Ibom State have been very poor in the last few years.

For instance, according to the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2023-2024, Akwa Ibom State has one of the lowest percentages (38.6 per cent) of live births delivered in a health facility in the country. It ranks lowest among the 17 southern states of Nigeria. It also ranks lower than five of the six north-central states and three out of six north-east states.

The report further shows that Akwa Ibom has one of the lowest percentages of births delivered by a skilled provider (51.5 per cent) in Nigeria, the lowest across the southern and North-central states except Niger.

As a result, Akwa Ibom State now has a prevalence of maternal mortality rate of 774 per 100,000 lives, according to District Health Information Software 2, a free and open-source software platform primarily used for managing and analysing health information in Nigeria.

Proposed employment of 1,000 health workers

In June, the Akwa Ibom State Head of Civil Service, Effiong Essien, announced that the state government would employ 1,000 medical personnel.

However, he did not state the number that would be posted to PHCs.

When this reporter reached out to the Commissioner for Health, Ekem Emmanuel, and shared the findings of this investigation, he said the government was aware of the staffing challenges in the primary healthcare sector and that it was responding by the 1,000 medical personnel to be employed.

When asked why the Governor Umo Eno administration waited for two years before intervening, the commissioner said reviews of the number of personnel to be employed had caused the delay.

Even if the proposed 1,000 medical personnel are employed and posted to the 468 PHCs, the staff strength would still fall below the minimum standard set by the NPHCDA.

For PHCs in Nigeria, the agency provides that for effective healthcare delivery, a PHC should have at least 19 medical personnel and five support staff, totalling 24.

This number will provide qualified staff for each of the medical units and provide an opportunity for staff to run shifts, including night, thus being available to address emergency cases.

Staffing the 468 PHCs in Akwa Ibom State with 24 workers each means 11,232 staff are required, in addition to the supporting staff. If all the 1,000 healthcare workers to be employed are sent to the PHCs with the existing 2,164 workers, there will still be a shortfall of 8,068 workers.

The Commissioner for Health explained why the state cannot meet the staff standards prescribed by the NPHCDA, saying development is a process.

How many countries have that standard? Even in those countries we refer to, do they have that doctor/patient ratio? It is a prescription. It is ideal, but even in the UK, the government is complaining that they dont have enough doctors. Why do you think they are taking Nigerians?

Our approach must be systematic. We recognise that there is an issue. We are taking steps to solve the issue, and we are making progress towards it, Mr Emmanuel said.

Staff shortage thwarting government efforts

The Akwa Ibom administration also appears to be taking steps to address infrastructural challenges at the primary healthcare level.

An analysis of the 2023 and 2024 Revised Budget of Akwa Ibom State shows that the administration budgeted N6.47 billion for the construction of 15 model PHCs, of which nine have so far been commissioned.

According to the 2025 approved budget, N7.55 billion was voted for the building and rehabilitation of 16 PHCs.

However, as shown by this investigation, the benefits of the model PHCs have yet to be optimised because of the shortage of healthcare professionals at the facilities.

This reporter visited five of the model PHCs to assess the provision of emergency services at night.

Out of the five, in Utu in Etim Ekpo, Abiakana in Ika, Odot in Nsit Atai, Oboyo Ikot Ita in Nsit Ibom, and Eyulor in Uruefong Oruko, only the Eyulor PHC had a medical staff at night.

Consequently, the unavailability of manpower at these facilities at night continues to contribute to the high maternal and child mortality rates in the state.

Billions spent on 13 SUVs

Contrary to the claims by the Commissioner for Health that the government was constrained by funds to meet the minimum staffing standard, data show that the challenge is being aggravated by poor prioritisation.

For instance, the 2024 Full Year Budget Performance Report of Akwa Ibom State shows that the State Primary Health Care Development Agency spent N37.1 million as personnel cost on the 2,164 staff in the health facilities and in the agency.

If 10,820 workers (2,164 multiplied by five) are added to the existing 2167 staff, expenditures at the same ratio will mean the total 12,984 (which is 1,752 above the recommended minimum standard), would in a fiscal year consume N222.6 million as personnel cost in the states 468 PHCs.

That N222.6million is 3.9 per cent of the N5.59 billion personnel cost of the Hospitals Management Board, which administers the staff of the 41 government hospitals in the state.

Meanwhile, the funds for those staff would not be difficult to get if the government prioritises it. In May 2025, the state governor gave new SUVs to 13 National Assembly members despite the lawmakers already receiving similar vehicles from the federal government.

The donation sparked criticism with calls that the funds should have been channelled to critical sectors such as healthcare.

According to the 2025 Approved Budget of Akwa Ibom State, each of the SUVs costs N100 million, and the 13 cost N1.3 billion.

At a personnel cost of N222.6 million for 12,984 staff, if the N1.3 billion spent on the exotic vehicles were redirected to the staff needs of PHCs, it would cover at least five years salary (N1.113bn) with N187 million left.

This reporting was completed with the support of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID).
After being weakened by years of clashes with rival Boko Haram faction Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Jamatu Ahlis Sunna Liddaawati wal-Jihad (JAS) is making a comeback in the Lake Chad Basin.

Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigerias intensified national counter-terrorism operations and coordinated aerial and ground assaults have slowed down ISWAPs Camp Holocaust campaign. But the focus on ISWAP has allowed JAS to regroup and bolster itself.

Added to this is the failure of reintegration programmes to provide former insurgents with adequate support. Without meaningful future prospects, former combatants are rejoining JAS  something that ISWAP does not allow. Former ISWAP members would be executed for deserting, ex-fighters told Institute for Security Studies (ISS) researchers. In Borno, Nigeria, returnees are joining JASs Ghazwah wing, notorious for its robbery and ransom operations.

JAS has also successfully expanded beyond the Lake Chad region, entrenching a cell in Shiroro, near Nigerias capital, Abuja. The ISS has seen images showing JAS fighters moving from Shiroro to join the Lakurawa group in the Nigeria-Niger-Benin tri-border area. Sources say Lakurawa formally pledged allegiance to JAS in August.

Sites of recent JAS activity and attacks

Since June, JAS has attacked at least three military positions. On 18 June, Nigerias naval base at Baga was targeted, and a large cache of weapons was seized. This was initially blamed on ISWAP, but JAS later released photos to claim responsibility, signifying its competition for the spotlight.

On 2 August, JAS razed a Cameroonian military post in Goldavi near Talakatchi, seizing weapons. A week later, it attacked the Multinational Joint Task Force position in Kirawa, Gwoza, killing four soldiers. Though drones were not seen, the attacks mirrored ISWAPs tactics in the adoption of rapid assaults. Like ISWAP, JAS also now sends out well-edited images and videos of its spectacular attacks and weapons seized.

Until these attacks, JAS violence was directed mostly at civilians. On 15 May, the group massacred about 100 residents of the neighbouring Mallam Karamti and Kwatandashi villages in Borno, accusing them of spying for ISWAP. The latest such mass killing by JAS happened on 5 September in Dar Jamal, Borno. More than 60 people were killed over allegations that they cooperated with Nigerias military.

These massacres illustrate the dilemma civilians face. Both insurgents and state security agencies demand intelligence about the other, but providing it, or even being suspected of doing so, invites punishment from both sides.

The targeting of civilians by JAS also involves more intense robbery and ransom attacks, including in displacement camps, ISS research shows. JASs Ghazwah wing is notorious for such tactics.

Meaning battle in Arabic, Ghazwah was created by JAS fighters who rejected ISWAP after the latter took over Sambisa Forest following Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekaus death in 2021. Now led by Alhaji Kale, the wing is basically a criminal gang that rarely confronts soldiers, relying on the proceeds of crime to sustain itself.

These activities are possible within the loose command system of JAS, which, unlike ISWAP, allows units to blend criminal predation with jihadism and finance themselves independently.

ISS researchers have noted a rise in kidnappings and robberies across Mafa, Bama, Konduga, Gwoza, Mobbar and Monguno, including incursions into camps for displaced people in Bama, where resistance was met with execution. Similarly, across Cameroons Far North Region, the ISS documented 43 kidnapping incidents and 103 victims between June and August.

JAS uses crime as a recruitment tool. Fighters are motivated by the spoils of criminal operations, sustaining manpower even against ISWAP pressure.

The role of Lake Chad-based leader Bakura Doro in supplying weapons to JAS wings and coordinating group activities has been key to JAS revival, according to local sources. Niger announced it had killed Doro in a mid-August airstrike, but no evidence was provided, and according to multiple ISS sources, he is still alive.

The escalation of kidnappings, including of internally displaced persons, could roll back humanitarian gains such as resettling those who are displaced and providing access to aid workers and relief materials.

JASs targeting of humanitarian organisations includes an 8 August attack in which a rocket-propelled grenade fired from the Mandara Mountains killed three children close to Malteser Internationals office in Gwoza, Borno State. On 1 June, JAS ambushed a non-governmental organisation convoy, despite the usual military escort, along the Gwoza-Limankara Road, killing an employee and abducting another.

The revival of JAS requires urgent policy adjustments from Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger. First, security strategies must be rebalanced to treat JAS as an independent, adaptive threat, rather than merely ISWAPs weakened rival. That requires disrupting JAS logistical operations and monitoring its networks (including those outside Lake Chad), which contribute to its financing.

Second, amphibious capabilities must be strengthened to counter the group in the lake areas where it is strong. Aerial-ground coordination must also be sustained and expanded beyond ISWAP threats.

Third, governments should strengthen the regions disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programmes to discourage deserters from rejoining JAS. Post-release monitoring must be improved, and economic support enhanced to reduce the lure of re-engagement.

Finally, the predatory economy that violent extremists exploit must be disrupted. Intelligence-led operations and targeted raids, coupled with efforts to shrink the profitability of robbery and kidnapping, are vital. Without this, JAS will continue to gain fighters and finance its resurgence.

Taiwo Adebayo, Researcher, Lake Chad Basin, Institute for Security Studies (ISS)

(This article was first published by ISS Today, a Premium Times syndication partner. We have their permission to republish).
XIAMEN, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- The 25th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) concluded on Thursday, having witnessed the signature of deals for 1,154 projects and a total planned investment of 644 billion yuan (about 90.66 billion U.S. dollars), according to the fair's organizing committee.

CIFIT is China's only national-level exhibition focused on investment promotion. This year's fair was held in the eastern Chinese coastal city of Xiamen from Sept. 8 to 11, during which time more than 100 investment activities were hosted.

The event had a total exhibition area of 120,000 square meters, drawing visitors from more than 120 countries and regions. It centered on three major areas: "Invest in China," "Chinese Investment" and "International Investment."

As an important platform for the promotion of two-way investment in China, the fair included dialogues with multinational corporations, sessions between leading private enterprises and Fortune 500 companies, and over 30 specialized investment activities, showcasing the opportunities and dynamism of the investment landscape in China.

During this year's CIFIT, 21 reports were released by Chinese ministries, international organizations and business associations. 
The Nigerian government on Thursday arraigned two top leaders of Ansaru, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group, on terrorism-related charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

One of the globally wanted suspected terrorists immediately pleaded guilty to illegal mining, one out of the charges preferred against the two defendants.

The defendants  Mahmud Muhammed Usman (a.k.a. Abu Baraa/Abbas Mukhtar) and Abubakar Abba (a.k.a. Isah Adam/Mahmud Al-Nigeri)  were arraigned before judge Emeka Nwite on 32 terrorism-related charges.

While Mr Usman hails from Okene Local Government Area of Kogi State, Mr Abba is from Daura Local Government Area of Katsina State.

Thursdays proceedings, which lasted over four hours, were held amid tight security around the court.

Mr Usman pleaded guilty to Count 10, which accused him of mining precious minerals without lawful authority. The offence is said to be contrary to section 8(b) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, 2004, and punishable under the same section.

The judge convicted him on the illegal mining charge and sentenced him to 15 years imprisonment.

However, Mr Usman pleaded not guilty to the remaining 31 counts, while Mr Abba pleaded not guilty to all 32 counts.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, M.B. Abubakar, urged the court to order their continued detention in the State Security Service (SSS) custody, citing national security concerns.

But the defence counsel argued that such a request violated Section 299 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, insisting that the defendants should be remanded in prison for the duration of the trial.

In his ruling, the judge, Mr Nwite ordered both men to remain in SSS custody, where they have been remanded since their arrest.

The court adjourned the case until 21 October for commencement of trial.

After Wednesdays proceedings, SSS operatives discreetly moved the two defendants out of the court premises without the knowledge of journalists.

Tight security

As early as 8:06 a.m. on Thursday, amid heavy rainfall, operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) armed with rifles, had taken positions at the entrances of the Federal High Court on the Shehu Shagari Expressway, in the Central Business District, Abuja.

When the suspects were brought to the courtroom at about 9:09 a.m., journalists were barred from entering the court premises.

SSS operatives stopped broadcast journalists from mounting their cameras to capture the unfolding scenes. The security agents insisted that no recording devices would be allowed.

Eventually, a few broadcast journalists were allowed into the court, while the operatives stood guard at the entrance with their weapons, preventing others from gaining entry.

The defendants were captured alive following a high-risk, intelligence-led, multi-agency operation conducted between May and July 2025. National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu announced the high-profile arrest in mid-August.

The federal government, through the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, filed the charges on 4 September, on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi.

Charges

The charges against the defendants include terrorism-related offences, kidnapping, illegal mining, and learning war tactics from a terrorist group in Mali.

In Count 1, the defendants were accused of conspiring between 2013 and 2015 to aid and abet terrorism by agreeing to be part of the formation and top commanders of Jamaatu Ansarul Muslimeena Fi-Biladis Sudan (Ansaru), a proscribed terrorist organisation in Nigeria, and Count accused them of professing to be members of Ansaru, a branch of Boko Haram, in 2013 in Maiduguri and Daura.

READ ALSO: Captured Ansaru terrorist group leaders arrive court for arraignment amid heavy security

Count 3 accused them of receiving training in weapons handling from various terrorist camps, and Count 4 said they knowingly received training on the fabrication of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from various terrorist camps between 2013 and 2015.

In Count 5, they were accused of committing an act preparatory to terrorism between 2013 and 2015 by receiving training on war tactics from Jamaatu Nusratil Islam Wal Muslimin (JNIM), a terrorist group in Mali.

Count 6 accused them of committing an act preparatory to terrorism between 2013 and 2025 by receiving training on handling arms and ammunition from JNIM.
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has warned that it would mobilise its members against the National Assembly if the Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, is not allowed to resume her legislative duties, having served her suspension period.

NLC President, Joe Ajaero, issued the warning in a statement on Thursday, condemning the decision to continue restraining Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan.

We warn the leadership of the National Assembly and their enablers: the Nigerian people, united across ethnic and religious lines, will not stand idly by while you cannibalise our democracy. The labour movement, as the historic defender of justice and the common good, will mobilise its immense membership and moral authority to resist this slide into autocracy. An attack on one senator today is an attack on the sovereignty of every Nigerian voter tomorrow, he said.

The NLC, an umbrella body for trade unions in Nigeria, often channels public grievances through protests.

It is unclear whether the union plans to immediately mobilise demonstrations should the Senate persist in blocking Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghans resumption until the judicial process regarding her suspension is concluded.

Earlier this week, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan threatened to sue the Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Kamorudeen Ogunlana, if she is not allowed to resume by Monday. Her lawyer, Michael Numa (SAN), conveyed the threat in a letter dated 10 September.

Although the Senate has not issued an official resolution, there are indications that the upper chamber may block her resumption when lawmakers reconvene on 23 September because the matter is still before the court and deciding otherwise would be subjudice.

Assault to democracy

Mr Ajaero described the continued denial of Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghans resumption as a threat to Nigerias democracy.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) rises in vehement condemnation of the Godswill Akpabio-led Senates decision to continue barring Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from performing her sacred constitutional duties. This act is not merely an error in judgement; it is a brazen, premeditated assault on democracy itself, a direct threat to the social contract, and a dangerous slide towards fascism masquerading as governance, he said.

He criticised the Senate for ignoring a court ruling that voided her suspension and for refusing her return even after the suspension had lapsed.

That you suspended a fellow Senator from her constitutional roles depriving her people proper representation is not sinful enough but you went ahead to ignore the rulings of the Court that voided her suspension and at the expiration of your illegal suspension, you are still denying her a return is the height of impunity and morally reprehensible. This is no longer a democracy, he stated.

Alleged manipulation of the judiciary

Mr Ajero also accused the Senate leadership of attempting to silence the opposition and manipulate the judiciary.

The Senates pathetic recourse to a frivolous legal technicality, claiming the matter is sub judice, after the expiration of a patently illegal six-month suspension, is the height of legislative bad faith.

It is a cynical ploy that reveals a sinister agenda to silence dissent, crush opposition, and manipulate the judiciary as a tool of political persecution.

This action, led by Senator Akpabio, constitutes a gross abuse of power that shames the hallowed chambers of the National Assembly and spits on the collective will of the people of Kogi Central who elected Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan.

From our standpoint, this action is a direct attack on the Nigerian people. It is a declaration by a privileged political elite that they are not accountable to the citizens they purport to serve.

By willfully disenfranchising an entire senatorial district, the Senate is effectively stealing the political representation for which the people pay taxes.

This denies Kogi Central its right to participate in lawmaking, oversight, and the appropriation of national resources, directly impoverishing the constituents and perpetuating a system of exclusion and economic injustice. It signals to all Nigerians that their votes are meaningless and can be invalidated by the whims of any tyrannical leadership.

The NLC stands on the side of democracy and wishes to state that this action is: a calculated test-run for the emasculation of opposition and the subjugation of sovereign will as 2027 approaches. It is an attempt to punish integrity and honour and hound men and women of conscience out of the political space.

A Senate that operates as a court in its matter, suspends members, and then ignores the expiry of its own sanctions, is a Senate that has declared war on the very principles of representative democracy and on our nation, the NLC chairman said.
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has issued a fresh directive to airlines, warning pilots not to commence flights until unruly passengers are either removed from the aircraft or their disputes resolved.

The directive was given by the Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (DGCA), Chris Najomo.

The NCAAs Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, who made the announcement on behalf of the NCAA DGCA on Wednesday during a meeting with domestic airline operaton, said the directives seeks to set discipline and improve safety in the aviation sector.

Pilots must not fly until unruly passengers are removed from the aircraft by security or the issue resolved amicably. This will go a long way to protect cabin crew and ensure passengers treat them with courtesy, Mr Achimugu told PREMIUM TIMES

He stressed that incidents of harassment and abuse of airline staff had become too frequent, often because pilots failed to assert authority. Going forward, no passenger has the right to touch any cabin crew, he warned.

Caution.

While underscoring the new directive, the NCAA also reminded cabin crew of their duty to remain professional in their interactions with passengers.

Cabin crew should not be rude, and passengers should not misconstrue firmness as rudeness, Mr Achimugu added.

Ifueko Abdulmalik, Senior Special Assistant to the Director-General of NCAA, also used the forum to warn airlines against poor treatment of travellers.

She said operators would be sanctioned for failing to notify and provide care to passengers during delays or cancellations, a recurring grievance in Nigerias aviation industry.

The NCAA said that insisting that no plane should take off with an unruly passenger onboard is to ensure that safety, civility, and accountability will no longer be compromised in the countrys aviation space.

Wider reforms

The Abuja meeting, attended by airlines including Air Peace, Arik, Ibom Air, Aero Contractors, United Nigeria, Max Air, Rano Air, ValueJet, Green Africa and Overland, covered a broad range of issues affecting travellers and operators.

Among them were, passenger handling protocols and unresolved refund/compensation complaints, enforcement of phone switch-off instructions, protection for cabin crew and plans to introduce RFID bag tags and flight monitoring technology to improve efficiency.

The NCAA also disclosed it would soon embark on a nationwide passenger awareness campaign to educate Nigerians on their rights and responsibilities when travelling.

Unruly passenger behaviour, ranging from verbal abuse to physical assault on airline staff, has been a growing challenge globally, with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently noting a rise in such incidents post-COVID-19.

In Nigeria, the issue has been compounded by flight delays, cancellations, and poor communication by operators, which often leave passengers frustrated.

In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Martin Abhulimen, Ibom Air Regional Manager Lagos and West Africa, said the airline have been following due diligence in handling unruly passengers.

He added that the NCAA warns airlines about unruly passengers, outlines reforms e directives came timely as they are working towards improving their customers service to ensure smooth operations.
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced progress in its ongoing recruitment exercise, disclosing that 286,697 applicants have been shortlisted to sit for the second stage of the process.

A nationwide Computer-Based Test (CBT) has now been scheduled for between 14 and 21 September 2025.

According to a statement Wednesday by the Services National Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Maiwada, the recruitment drive commenced with a public advertisement published in national newspapers on 27 December 2024.

The exercise aims to fill 3,927 vacancies across the Superintendent, Inspectorate, and Customs Assistant cadres, in line with Nigeria Customs Services mandate to strengthen manpower capacity and improve service delivery.

Mr Maiwada, an assistant comptroller of customs, revealed that the Service received 573,523 applications during the initial phase.

After rigorous documentary screening, he said, nearly half of the applicants were cleared to participate in the upcoming CBT.

The second stage of the exercise will be conducted online, reflecting the Services commitment to transparency, accessibility, and fairness, he said.

The Nigeria Customs Service said the CBT is strictly computer-based and must be taken on either a laptop or desktop computer equipped with a webcam and a full-screen display. The system is not compatible with mobile phones.

A facial verification process will be required at login, hence candidates have been advised to maintain a neat appearance to avoid recognition issues.

The Service also cautioned that the CBT application is highly sensitive to noise, body movements, and other distractions.

Candidates must remain fully focused throughout the tests duration, as excessive movement, whispering, or background interference may result in automatic logout. Switching between windows during the test will be flagged as malpractice and may lead to disqualification, the statement read.

To help applicants prepare, the Nigeria Customs Service has arranged a mandatory pre-test exercise, scheduled two days before the main CBT. Two separate links will be sent to shortlisted candidates  one for the practice session and another for the actual exam.

Candidates applying for the Superintendent Cadre (Level 8) will be required to undergo an additional CBT in a later phase of the recruitment process, a provision not applicable to those in the Inspectorate and Customs Assistant cadres

Reassuring stakeholders, the Service said the recruitment exercise remains strictly merit-based and transparent. Successful candidates will be notified of subsequent stages through official NCS communication channels.

The NCS will not request any form of payment from applicants and will not conduct recruitment activities on social media platforms, Mr Maiwada said, urging candidates to rely solely on verified official platforms for authentic updates.

He quoted the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service as reiterating the organisations commitment to fairness and professionalism in the recruitment exercise, noting that the process was designed to attract the best-qualified candidates to strengthen Nigerias Customs operations.
Local government workers in Borno, Gombe and Kaduna states are not being paid the national minimum wage, the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has alleged.

The unions president general, Aliyu Kankara, made the claim after a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja, Guardian Nigeria reported.

Mr Kankara said many states were still paying the old 30,000 minimum wage, while only a few had begun implementing the new 70,000 rate. Even in those states, he said, the wage was not being fully implemented.

Among states that are not paying national minimum wage for local government workers are Kaduna, Gombe and Borno states, he said.

Our members in Kaduna State have issued an ultimatum to go on strike if the new wage is not implemented.

The NEC described the non-payment as callous and unfair given the economic hardship in the country, while also commending states that had adjusted their wage structures.

Mr Kankara also criticised the withholding of local government councils allocations in Osun State, describing it as political. Despite the shortfall, he praised the Osun government for paying the new wage.

The NEC called on the federal government to restore the seized funds, warning that the freeze had disrupted development and worsened livelihoods.

The NULGE president added that despite a Supreme Court ruling granting financial autonomy to local councils, no council currently receives its allocation directly from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

He urged President Bola Tinubu to enforce the judgment, saying this would strengthen governance at the local level.
The House of Representatives on Thursday took a major step towards reviving Nigerias moribund coal industry with a public hearing on a bill seeking to repeal the Nigerian Coal Corporation Act, Cap. 95, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and replace it with the Nigerian Coal Development Commission.

The bill, titled A Bill for an Act to Repeal the Nigerian Coal Corporation Act and Enact the Nigerian Coal Development Commission Enugu and for Related Matters (HB.667), is sponsored by Chimaobi Atu (APC, Enugu).

The bill had scaled second reading in March and was thereafter committed to the Committee on Solid Minerals Development for further legislative action.

Speaking at the hearing, Mr Atu noted that the creation of a new commission was crucial to reviving the countrys once-thriving coal industry, which provided substantial revenue before and after independence but has since collapsed.

The Nigerian Coal Industry, which provided a chunk of the countrys revenue before and after independence, is now moribund and there is a need to revive it. This bill, when passed into law, will also end illegal coal mining activities in the country, he said.

He noted that the timing of the legislation aligns with Nigerias renewed international partnerships, pointing to President Bola Tinubus recent signing of nine bilateral agreements with Brazil, one of which focused on coals role in science and power.

According to Mr Atu, Nigerias coal deposits are estimated at 2.8 billion metric tons, concentrated mainly in Enugu, Kogi, and Benue states.

He noted that clean coal from these regions is particularly vital for steel production and could catalyse industrial and manufacturing revival.

Stakeholders back bill

At the public hearing, organised by the House Committee on Solid Minerals Development, stakeholders unanimously supported the bill, describing the Nigerian Coal Corporation as obsolete and incapable of meeting modern challenges.

Chibuokem Kenechukwu, managing director of RockThermal Ltd, said the existing corporation had failed to regulate the sector, paving the way for unregulated and illegal mining across Enugu, Benue, and Kogi states.

He said, The existing Nigerian Coal Corporation has become largely ineffective and moribund, unable to fulfill its mandate of developing Nigerias coal resources. This institutional failure has resulted in illegal mining activities across Enugu, Benue, and Kogi states, conducted without proper oversight, environmental standards, or structured benefit to the nation.

These unregulated operations not only deprive the government of legitimate revenue but also pose significant environmental and safety risks to local communities, he added.

Mr Kenechukwu also urged that the commission be headquartered in Enugu, which has the nations largest proven coal reserves and existing infrastructure.

We strongly support establishing the commission headquarters in Enugu State, given that it contains the largest proven coal reserves in Nigeria, has decades of institutional memory and expertise in coal mining, and possesses existing infrastructure and educational resources that support effective coal development oversight, he said.

Offering an insiders perspective, Godwin Alo, who represented the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS), recalled starting his career in the coal sector in 1998 at Okaba Mines in Kogi State.

He explained that previous privatisation attempts, managed through the Bureau of Public Enterprises, had failed to attract sustained investment, despite interest from major multinational companies.

He said, There was a bidding process that attracted some of the worlds biggest mining firms, but somehow that bidding process got installed along the line. If not, that industry even without this commission would have gone ahead and developed.

Mr Alo stressed that the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) remains central to coal development, as the custodian of mineral data dating back to the early 1900s.

Taslim Jimoh, a mining consultant with Dangote Industries Ltd, highlighted the importance of coal to Nigerias cement industry, which consumes more than 90 per cent of the countrys current coal output.

We even take coal from Kogi to as far as Sokoto to power the power plant there. So, such is the importance of coal as an energy alternative for us, he said.

Mr Jimoh said coal is more than an energy source for cement but a strategic industrial raw material that underpins Nigerias construction and infrastructure drive.

Mr Jimoh further noted that several coal assets earlier concessioned by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) were either abandoned or returned by investors who could not manage them, leaving once-productive sites such as the Onyeama and Okpara mines in Enugu State completely flooded and dormant.

Reviving these mines, he stressed, would require significant technical expertise and capital investment, far beyond the capacity of individual operators.

According to him, only a structured federal intervention through a specialised commission can mobilise the scale of resources needed to rehabilitate such strategic but neglected coalfields.

There are coal deposits that the BPE concessioned and the people who took them over returned them, they couldnt handle them.

These are the coal in Enugu, Onyeama and Okpara mines which are flooded now. It takes a lot of technical expertise and funding to revive those mines, he said.

He also highlighted the significance of underground coal reserves, which, unlike open-cast mining, cause minimal environmental disruption and could be mined beneath communities without displacing residents.

For Mr Jimoh, the proposed commission represents more than another regulatory body but a potential driver of Nigerias industrialisation agenda.

Next steps

The Chairperson of the Committee, Gaza Gbefwi, assured participants that all submissions from the hearing would be considered before the committee presents its report for further deliberation.

Why a new commission?

The Nigerian Coal Corporation Act was originally enacted in 1950 to establish the Nigerian Coal Corporation and transfer all government-owned colliery operations to it.

For decades, the corporation oversaw coal exploration and mining, making the mineral one of Nigerias most valuable resources before the sector collapsed due to neglect, poor investment, and failed privatisation.

The bill now proposes the establishment of the Nigerian Coal Development Commission, to be headquartered in Enugu, with wide-ranging mandates including:
The Nigerian government has stopped short of condemning the Israeli attack on a residential area in Qatar, but expressed deep concerns about it and described the attack as a violation of international law.

According to a statement on Wednesday, the Nigerian government expressed deep concerns about the attack, which targeted top Hamas officials residing at the residential headquarters in Doha, the capital city.

Nigerias foreign affairs ministry said in the statement that the attack poses grave concerns for regional stability in the Middle East.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that Israel attacked the Qatari capital on Tuesday.

The Israeli military confirmed that it carried out the attack and that it was an assassination attempt on top Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital.

Israel claimed that the targeted Hamas members led the organisations activities for years, and that it will continue to act to defeat the Hamas terrorist organisation.

Following the attack, Qatar, which has been hosting direct and indirect mediation talks between Hamas and Israel, suspended its mediation efforts with both countries.

In its statement shared on X, the Nigerian government reiterated that the development raises serious questions about regional stability and the prospects for ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the conflict.

Nigeria underscores the primacy of respecting the sovereignty of all nations and adhering to international law, particularly in matters involving the use of force across borders.

Nigeria acknowledges Qatars longstanding role in fostering dialogue and mediation in the region, it added.

READ ALSO: Qatar new visa rules restrict Nigerian men from solo travel

The government also urged restraint on escalation and a commitment to peace.

It called for promoting peace, security, and respect for the rule of law in the Middle East and globally.

It also reaffirmed its dedication to collaborating with the international community through the United Nations and other multilateral platforms.
Nigerian businessman and philanthropist, Tony Elumelu, and the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, will be honoured with the Appeal of Conscience Award at the 60th Annual Gala of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation.

The award is scheduled to take place on 29 September at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.

The Award, presented annually by the Appeal of Conscience Foundation (ACF), recognises individuals whose leadership embodies tolerance, religious freedom, and human dignity.

Founded in 1965 by a Jewish Rabbi, Arthur Schneier, the ACF is an interfaith alliance of religious, business, and political leaders committed to promoting peace and mutual understanding around the world.

In a statement on its website, the foundation praised Mr Dolan and Mr Elumelu as moral leaders who exemplify the spirit of conscience and compassion in public life.

Inspiring voices in faith and business

Speaking on Mr Dolans selection, Mr Schneier described the Catholic leader as a figure of wisdom, vision, and compassion who has earned the respect of communities across the US.

He practices what he preaches, he added. In a fractured world, he is a steadfast leader inspiring unity over division.

Mr Dolan has served as Archbishop of New York since 2009 and was appointed Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012. He participated in the 2013 papal conclave that elected Pope Francis and the 2025 conclave that selected Pope Leo XIV. A former president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, the priest is widely regarded as a global advocate for religious liberty and interfaith cooperation.

Reacting to the announcement, Mr Dolan expressed gratitude for the honour.

To receive this recognition from the Appeal of Conscience Foundation is both moving and profoundly meaningful, he said. Our shared commitment to peace, mutual respect, and the sacred value of every human life binds us across faith lines.

Tony Elumelus Africapitalism recognised.

Mr Elumelu, chairperson of Heirs Holdings and the United Bank for Africa (UBA), was praised for his role in promoting ethical business practices and youth empowerment across Africa.

Tony Elumelu stands as a beacon of ethical entrepreneurship and visionary leadership, Mr Schneier said. His commitment to uplifting others is a living example of conscience in action.

Through the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), the businessman has supported over 24,000 entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries with funding, mentorship, and training.

His philosophy of Africapitalism, which champions the role of the private sector in driving social and economic development, has garnered international acclaim.

TEFs $100 million commitment to entrepreneurship, as well as environmental initiatives like BeGreen Africa, have impacted hundreds of thousands across the continent.

Heirs Holdings 15-Year Impact Report revealed that its corporate social responsibility programmes have directly impacted over 500,000 people in Africa.

In his acceptance statement, Mr Elumelu said the award serves as a reminder that leadership must be rooted in service.

This recognition strengthens my resolve to continue empowering the next generation and building bridges of hope and prosperity across the globe, the businessman said.

Gala to be chaired by Bank of America CEO

This years gala will be chaired by Brian Moynihan, chairman and CEO of Bank of America and a previous recipient of the Appeal of Conscience Award.

Cardinal Dolan and Tony Elumelu personify the moral leadership and global responsibility that the Foundation stands for, Mr Moynihan said.

Their work reminds us that progress and conscience go hand in hand.

READ ALSO: Gabons President honours Tony Elumelu

Past recipients

Previous honorees of the Appeal of Conscience Award include a diverse group of global leaders and business persons such as Bernard Arnault, Mary Barra, Michael Bloomberg, Robert Iger, Muhtar Kent, Brian Moynihan, Susan Wojcicki, and the late Coretta Scott King.

About the Appeal of Conscience Foundation

Established in the wake of World War II and the Holocaust, the Appeal of Conscience Foundation advocates for religious freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence. It promotes the principle that a crime committed in the name of religion is the greatest crime against religion.
Borno South Senator, Ali Ndume, has said terrorism, banditry, and insurgency can only be defeated if the military and other security agencies are adequately funded.

Mr Ndume, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), stated this in a statement on Thursday while reacting to calls for the removal of service chiefs.

Those pushing for sack of the present crop of Service Chiefs have ulterior motive and they do not mean well for the present administration and Nigerians. I want to restate my call for a proactive TEAM approach. Which means Training, Equipment, Ammunitions and Motivation. This combination would go a long to counter terrorism, banditry and insurgency, he said.

The senator stressed that security personnel require proper weapons and welfare to end insecurity in the country.

All they need is adequate ammunitions and motivation. The salary of a private in the army in Nigeria is about N100,000.00 ($67.00) per month. Their daily allowance ( N5,000.00) is unconscionable and nothing to write home about, he added.

Mr Ndume himself was once charged in court in 2011 over alleged links to Boko Haram militants but was cleared in 2017.

For more than a decade, Nigeria has battled terrorism and banditry, especially in the North. Entire communities have been shattered, families torn apart, and livelihoods destroyed.

The North-east continues to suffer Boko Haram/ISWAP attacks, while the North-west and Middle Belt face repeated attacks from banditry and several kidnapping incidents.

Recent data shows fatalities are rising. In the first half of 2025, at least 2,266 people were killed by insurgents and bandits, compared to 1,083 in the same period of 2024. However, abductions declined, with 857 cases recorded between January and June 2025, down from 1,461 in the same period last year.

READ ALSO: FCCPC issues new regulation to address loan app harassment

In 2024 alone, about 3,436 deaths were recorded from 2,370 attacks on civilians. Between November 2024 and April 2025, hundreds of attacks claimed over 200 civilian lives and more than 100 soldiers.

In August, the federal government confirmed the capture of two top Ansaru commanders

Mahmud Muhammed Usman (a.k.a. Abu Baraa/Abbas Mukhtar) and his deputy, Abubakar Abba (a.k.a. Isah Adam/Mahmud Al-Nigeri).
GAZA, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Hamas will not change its positions and demands for the Gaza ceasefire talks after Israel targeted its negotiation team in the Qatari capital Doha, the Palestinian movement said on Thursday.

"We reiterate that this heinous crime will not succeed in changing our firm positions and clear demands to stop the aggression against our people, the complete withdrawal of the occupation army from the Gaza Strip, a genuine exchange of prisoners, relief for our people, and reconstruction," senior Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement.

The U.S. administration "is a full partner in this crime, bearing political and moral responsibility by providing cover and continued support for the occupation's aggression and ongoing crimes against our people," the statement added.

On Tuesday, Israel launched an unprecedented airstrike on Doha, targeting a building used by senior Hamas officials in what Israeli authorities described as an attempt to kill leaders of the Palestinian group.

Hamas said later that the strike occurred while its delegation was discussing a new ceasefire proposal presented by Washington. According to the group, the negotiating team survived, but six others were killed. 
The Lagos State Police Command says it has arrested a man who paraded himself as the Obi of Lagos along with three accomplices, disrupting a plan to unveil a N1.5 billion palace in Amuwo Odofin area of the state.

In a statement posted on X on Wednesday, the commands deputy spokesperson, Babasuyi Oluseyi, identified the principal suspect as 65-year-old Chibuike Azubike, an indigene of Obodoukwu in Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo State.

He was arrested alongside 57-year-old Chibuzor Ani, 65-year-old Martins Nwaodika, and 41-year-old Ikechukwu Franklin Nnadi.

According to the police, intelligence revealed that the suspects planned to unveil a prototype of a purported Palace of Obi of Lagos State and celebrate an Ofala/new yam festival on Saturday, 13 September, at Apple Hall, Amuwo Odofin.

Acting on this information, the police promptly sealed off the venue in order to forestall any breach of the peace and to protect unsuspecting members of the public from being misled, Mr Oluseyi said.

He added that tactical teams, including the Eko Strike Force, were deployed to ensure the event did not hold.

An invitation card obtained by the police described the programme as the unveiling of the N1.5 billion Palace of Obi of Lagos State and the celebration of the first Ofala/new yam festival.

The Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, urged residents to be vigilant against impostors who exploit revered cultural institutions for personal gain.

He said such actions are illegal under the Obas and Chiefs Law of Lagos State (2015) and capable of disturbing public order.

The police said investigations into the suspects activities are ongoing and that they will be charged to court.

Unrecognised titles

Disputes over unrecognised titles have been a recurring issue in Lagos. State law does not recognise the Eze Ndigbo title, which is sometimes claimed by Igbo community leaders.

According to the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, parading oneself as an Eze Ndigbo without recognition is punishable by up to two years in prison under the Obas and Chiefs Law (2015).

Earlier, the Lagos State Government arraigned Frederick Nkemdilim Nwajago, the self-styled Eze Ndigbo of Ajao Estate, on terrorism charges after he was accused of parading himself as a traditional ruler without state approval.

The South East Council of Traditional Rulers has also advised against the use of such titles outside Igboland.

The state government is currently reviewing the Obas and Chiefs Law to modernise traditional governance and address abuses of chieftaincy titles.

Also, the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice Lawal Pedro (SAN) said in June that the reforms aim to strengthen respect for traditional rulers while aligning the institution with contemporary governance.
The Nigerian government has directed that Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPC) Tax Credit road contracts below N20 billion be awarded to local contractors.

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, gave the directive during an inspection visit to the ongoing dualisation of the East-West Road (Section IIIA) from Eleme Junction, Port Harcourt, to Onne Junction in Rivers State on Tuesday.

In a statement published on the ministrys website on Tuesday, Mr Umahi said the announcement was in line with Nigerias First Policy.

In May this year, President Bola Tinubu issued Nigerias First policy directive, aimed at prioritising locally made goods and services in all government procurement to boost local production and reduce reliance on imported items.

Mr Umahi directed federal controllers of works nationwide to enforce stricter supervision and warned that contracts below N20billion would no longer be awarded to expatriate firms.

The minister said that although NNPC had stopped direct funding of tax credit projects, Mr Tinubu ordered that ongoing projects must continue.

To this end, the ministry has compiled and prioritised inherited projects, focusing on those along key economic corridors.

Mr Umahi said the move aligns with the presidents directive that all inherited NNPC-funded projects must continue without interruption.

He said the ministry had compiled all projects inherited from NNPC and submitted them to the president.

The minister said that those along national economic corridors, such as the ElemeOnne Road, would receive top priority.

Mr President has graciously directed that none of such works should stop, he said.

The works minister used the inspection visit to caution contractors against poor construction methods.

He pointed out the practice of laying binder courses without covering them with a wearing course for months, which weakens roads and accelerates failure.

Mr Umahi lauded Reynolds Construction Company for the quality of work on the ElemeOnne project, but expressed disappointment with the slow pace, saying the rainfall was no excuse.

Background

On 1 August, NNPC halted funding for road projects under the Tax Credit Scheme.

To prevent abandonment, Mr Umahi said in August that President Tinubu directed the ministry to explore alternative funding models.

The Federal Ministry of Works included in its Tuesday statement that it has adopted a funding prioritisation framework to ensure the continued execution of road projects.

A funding prioritisation framework is a structured system for evaluating projects, programmes, or initiatives to decide which ones receive limited funding based on defined criteria.
Nigerias electoral commission, INEC, on Wednesday, explained why it has not been able to prosecute politicians and political parties engaged in premature political campaigns while expressing its frustration about the development.

Speaking at a roundtable discussion on the challenges of premature political campaigns held at the Electoral Institute in Abuja on Wednesday, INEC Chairperson, Mahmood Yakubu, described the trend as disturbing but noted the commission is handicapped in dealing with it.

Mr Yakubu, a professor, said it is correct for Nigerians to expect the electoral commission to act against erring politicians and political parties.

However, the major challenge for the commission is the law itself, he said.

Mr Yakubu explained that the Electoral Act did not prescribe punishment for political parties that breached it by holding campaigns earlier than 150 days before an election.

The electoral law only prescribed a mild N500,000 fine on those who engaged in campaigns 24 hours before polling day, he said.

Sections 94(2) of the Electoral Act 2022 imposes sanctions, albeit mild (a maximum amount of N500,000 on conviction), on any political party or a person acting on its behalf who engages in campaigns 24 hours before polling day, he said.

However, there is no sanction whatsoever concerning breaches for campaigns earlier than 150 days to an election. Here lies the challenge for the commission in dealing with early campaigns by political parties, prospective candidates and their supporters.

Mr Yakubu noted that these activities by political parties and their candidates undermine INECs ability to track campaign finance limits as politicians, prospective candidates and third-party agents expend large amounts of money that cannot be effectively monitored before the official commencement of campaigns.

How politicians flout the rule

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how political campaigns and billboards by politicians, including that of President Bola Tinubu, were flooding the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), violating section 94(1) of the Electoral Act, which prohibits the commencement of campaigns earlier than 150 days before polling day and 24 hours before election day.

Although the presidency has distanced itself from the billboards, many more have still been erected by the presidents supporters.

In April, Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo announced that he had begun mobilising support for Mr Tinubus 2027 reelection bid.

Also, campaign posters promoting Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde for the 2027 presidential election have been spotted in different locations in the city of Kano.

The posters, which displayed Mr Makindes picture with the inscription, To Move Nigeria Forward 2027, were seen across locations including the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) roundabout, Wapa area (former site of Triumph Newspaper), Dangi Flyover, and the ever-busy Kwari Market, according to DailyTrust.

The governor is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and will round off his second term in office on 29 May, 2027.

Worried about the development in June, a group of seven Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) wrotewrote to Mr Yakubu, asking him to issue a public order barring political campaigns.

The CSOs asked INEC to collaborate with law enforcement agencies to remove all political campaign materials that violated the commissions campaign regulations.
Some communication experts have emphasised the importance of ethics and compassion in navigating the digital age, urging responsible use of technology and artificial intelligence (AI).

They spoke on Wednesday at the retirement and 70th birthday celebration of Olujimi Kayode, a professor of mass communication and ethicist at the Lagos State University (LASU).

The event featured a panel discussion, moderated by Tunde Akanni, a professor of media and conflict resolution studies, focused on the theme: The imperative of communication ethics in the digital age.

Embracing ethics, compassion

In his comments, Abiodun Bamigboye, a board member of the Lagos State Teaching Commission (TESCOM), described ethics as the rule of conduct that addresses moral principles.

Mr Bamigboye said this includes being mindful of online posts, verifying information before sharing, and prioritising compassion in digital interactions.

He described the world as a global room, adding that the digital game has come to stay. It must be embraced.

On her part, the Acting Dean of Communication Studies at Fountain University, Raheemat Adeniran, called for responsible use of artificial intelligence, emphasising commitment to ethics and empathy.

Ms Adeniran explained that ethics is knowing what is right and being comfortable with that decision.

She added that AI must be applied in ways that ensure inclusivity, stressing that there must be full disclosure in its usage.

Also, Saheed Timehin, an associate professor, reflected on ethics as embodied by the celebrant and retiree, Mr Kayode.

He taught me at the Nigeria Institute of Journalism (NIJ). He has a culture of integrity, Mr Timehin said.

He explained that ethics permeates private and public life, describing it as what is expected of you and the effort you put into it is ethics. Ethics is personal mortality before public mortality.

AI and academic research

Mr Timehin also advised students to minimise reliance on AI in research, warning that overdependence could destroy creativity.

It is our responsibility to tell students to make ethical use of AI. Conduct your research yourself, the conclusion you get will be different from artificial intelligence, he said.

Tributes

In his welcome address, Jide Jimoh, dean of LASUs faculty of communication and media studies, described Mr Kayode as a teacher, Christian, philosopher, and trailblazer.

As a teacher, the lesson is all over him. All you need to do is read him. He is a selfless person. He started this faculty, Mr Jimoh said.

Rotimi Olatunji, professor of public relations and advertising, described the retiree as a personification of ethics despite challenges.

Other colleagues and students praised Mr Kayode for his generosity, mentorship, and guidance.

Omolade Sanni, head of the broadcasting department, referred to him as her academic father, while Thanni Noeem of the public relations and advertising department recounted his kindness.

Celebrant speaks

Speaking with journalists, Mr Kayode said he would continue teaching as a visiting professor at LASU or other institutions, describing teaching as a calling.

He advised millennials and Gen Zs to be ready to justify their decisions when faced with ethical dilemmas. Everyone has to face ethical dilemmas from time to time, either at a personal or professional level, he said.

Born on 26 August in Surulere, Lagos, Mr Kayode studied at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), where he obtained his first degree, masters, and PhD.

In 1991, he received an award for outstanding teaching in journalism from the Poynter Institute of Media Studies in Florida, USA.

He was acting director of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism between 1998 and 2000 before joining LASU in 2001 as a lecturer. He is credited with delivering the first lecture at Nigerias premier School of Communication.
The Nigerian government has introduced 26 trade subjects for Federal Science and Technical Colleges (FSTCs) across the country, as part of a sweeping curriculum reform to strengthen technical education and align it with global industry needs.

The move, announced in a Wednesday statement by the spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of Education, Folasade Boriowo, positions the colleges to function fully as technical institutions.

The statement quoted the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, as saying the reforms aim to focus on students learning relevant trades to serve industry needs while strengthening Nigerias manufacturing, services, and digital economy.

Mr Alausa said the new curriculum will better position Nigerian students to compete in the global economy, ensuring they are gainfully employed and contributing meaningfully to national development.

He explained that the reform is aligned with the governments target of driving Nigerias economy to $1 trillion by 2030.

The reform is designed to reduce overload, build strong trade competencies, align with global standards, and prepare young Nigerians for the jobs of the future, the statement said.

The Ministry assures schools, parents, and students of full support for a smooth transition. A comprehensive list of the new subjects and trade areas has been attached for guidance.

New Curriculum

Under the reviewed curriculum, the education ministry said each technical college will now offer a minimum of six and maximum of 10 trade subjects.

Students, meanwhile, are to take nine or 10 subjects.

These include one trade course, five or six general subjects such as Mathematics, English Language, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Citizenship and Heritage Studies, two or three trade-related subjects, and one elective, the statement said.

The introduction of Citizenship and Heritage Studies, which combines Nigerian History, Civic Education, and Social Studies, will ensure that students are grounded in national values while pursuing technical skills.

Reviewed Trade Courses

According to the statement, the 26 reviewed trade subject areas have been streamlined and modernised to reflect industry needs.

They include: Brick Laying, Block Laying and Concreting, Painting Decoration and Finishes (Interior Design), Woodwork, Carpentry and Joinery, Welding & Fabrication, Plumbing and Pipe Fitting, Auto-Electrical Wiring, Computer Hardware & GSM Repair and Maintenance, Auto-Mobile Mechanics, Refrigeration & Air-conditioning Works, Beauty Therapy & Cosmetology, Mechanised Agriculture (Mechanics or Operations/ Smart Agriculture), Creative Media (Digital Media Production), Autobody Works, Electronic Systems Maintenance Craft and Catering Craft Practice.

Others are: Furniture Making & Upholstery, Solar PV Installation and Maintenance, Networking & System Security (Satellite TV Antenna installation and maintenance), Fashion Design and Garment making, Social Media Content Creation and Management, Livestock Farming/Animal Husbandry, Tiling & Cladding (Tilling and decorative stonework or Floor cover installation), Fish Farming Activity (Aquaculture), Automobile CNG Conversion and Maintenance, Motorcycle & Tricycle Repairs and Leather Works.

Curriculum Review

PREMIUM TIMES had reported that the government was reviewing 26 courses for the technical colleges.

Speaking during the review, the Executive Secretary of the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB), Mohammed Aminu, described the review as a transformative initiative that will reshape the landscape of technical education in Nigeria.

The review began days after the government introduced six trade subjects for secondary schools in the country.

Students in secondary schools are now required to take at least one trade subject throughout the six-year period.

The six trade subjects for secondary schools are: Solar Photovoltaic installation and maintenance, Fashion design and garment making, Livestock farming, Beauty and cosmetology, Computer hardware and GSM repairs, and Horticulture and crop production.
Two top leaders of Ansaru, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group, have arrived the Federal High Court in Abuja for arraignment on terrorism-related charges amid heavy security.

They were brought before trial judge Emeka Nwite, on the fourth floor of the court complex, at about 9 a.m. on Thursday.

The two globally wanted defendants are Mahmud Muhammed Usman (a.k.a. Abu Baraa/Abbas Mukhtar) and his deputy, Abubakar Abba (a.k.a. Isah Adam/Mahmud Al-Nigeri).

They face 32 terrorism-related charges.

As early as 8:06 a.m. on Thursday, amid heavy rainfall, operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) armed with rifles, had taken positions at the entrances of the Federal High Court on the Shehu Shagary Expressway, in the Central Business District, Abuja.

When the suspects were brought to the courtroom at about 9:09 a.m., journalists were barred from entering the court premises.

SSS operatives stopped broadcast journalists from mounting their cameras to capture the unfolding scenes. The security agents insisted that no recording devices would be allowed.

Eventually, a few broadcast journalists were allowed into the court, while the operatives stood guard at the entrance with their weapons, preventing others from gaining entry.

The defendants were captured alive following a high-risk, intelligence-led, multi-agency operation conducted between May and July 2025. National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu announced the high-profile arrest mid-August.

The federal government, through M.B. Abubakar, the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, filed the charges on 4 September, on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi.

READ ALSO: US praises Nigerian security forces over capture of top Ansaru terrorists

One of the counts accused Mr Usman, from Okene Local Government Area of Kogi State, and Mr Abba, from Daura LGA of Katsina State, of aiding and abetting terrorism between 2013 and 2015.

They were also accused of conspiring and agreeing to be part of the formation and leadership of Jamaatu Ansarul Muslimeena Fii Bilaadis Sudan (Ansaru), a proscribed terrorist organisation in Nigeria.

The proceedings were underway as of the time of filing this report.
Womanifesto, a coalition of womens rights organisations, has condemned what it describes as the unconstitutional and continued exclusion of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from the Nigerian Senate.

The coalitions convener, Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, in a statement on Wednesday, demanded the immediate reinstatement of the Kogi Central senator in full compliance with the court order.

The convener said its either the Senate rescinds this illegality and restores the senator to her rightful place or confirms itself as a body willing to destroy democracy for the sake of impunity.

She called on citizens, civil society, the media, and the international community to see the issue not as a personal quarrel but as a collective test of whether Nigerians will allow democracy to die in the hands of those sworn to protect it.

This is a defining moment, she said.

PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported that Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan accused Mr Akpabio of sexual harassment.

Despite the expiration of her six-month suspension, the Senate leadership has repeatedly blocked her attempts to resume legislative duties.

On 4 August, the National Assembly wrote a letter to Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, insisting that she could not yet resume legislative activities.

This was the second time she had been barred from resuming. In July, her attempt to return based on a court judgment was similarly rebuffed.

Brazen defiance of judicial authority

According to the coalition, this bold disregard for judicial authority is not merely an institutional error; it represents a perilous constitutional overreach that undermines the very bedrock of Nigerias democracy.

When lawmakers become lawbreakers, democracy itself is imperilled, the convener said.

Ms Akiyode-Afolabi said exclusion of Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan means depriving the Kogi Central constituency of representation for most part of the year.

It is about the Senate arrogating to itself powers it does not have. It is about a judiciary whose authority is being openly mocked, she said. 

And it is about how those entrusted with public power are turning the law into a weapon to silence dissent and protect entrenched privilege.

Gendered injustice

Ms Akiyode-Afolabi described the senators exclusion as a deliberate attack on womens political participation.

She further said that the development sends chilling message to every woman who dares to seek or hold public office, implying that their voices can be silenced at will.

The coalitions convener warned that the abuse of legislative power by the Senates leadership is not only unconstitutional but also a direct assault on Nigerias fragile democratic foundations and the rights of half its population.

Background

Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan launched her legal action on 3 March, initially, to halt an investigation by the Senate and its Committee on Ethics into alleged misconduct stemming from Senate proceedings where she had an altercation with the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, over her assigned seat.

She sued the Clerk of the Senate, Senate President Akpabio and Neda Imasuem, who is the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Code of Conduct.

Despite the suit and the initial restraining order issued by the former judge Obiora Egwuatu asking the Senate to stay action on its disciplinary proceedings, the Senate proceeded to suspend her on 6 March for six months.

While pursuing the suit, Mrs Uduaghan-Akpoti alleged at various fora that she was targeted as part of an alleged sexual harassment she faced from Mr Akpabio.

On 11 March, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan reported her suspension and alleged sexual harassment by the senate president to the Inter-Parliamentary Union during its meeting in the United States.

Her suit led to the judgement delivered in July by Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The court held that suspending an elected senator for six months was not only disproportionate but also effectively silenced an entire senatorial district for most of the legislative year.

However, the judge controversially toned down her order, framing it like an advisory that left the Senate with the discretion to recall or not to recall her.

On 12 July, Ms Akpoti-Uduaghan notified the management of the National Assembly of her intention to resume legislative duties based on the judgement.

However, on 13 July, the National Assembly management maintained that the judgement by the Federal High Court was merely advisory, not an enforceable order.
Resident doctors at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital (COOUTH), Awka, Anambra, have embarked on a seven-day warning strike to demand better working conditions.

This was contained in a communique issued at the end of an emergency meeting of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) in the hospital on Wednesday in Awka.

The communique titled Notification of Commencement of Industrial Action, signed by Joy Okwumuo and Chukwubuike Ifekudu, President and Secretary of ARD COOUTH, respectively, indicates that the strike would commence effectively at noon on Thursday.

The doctors said the strike followed several failed efforts to engage the Anambra State government to pay the 100 per cent Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), which it promised to implement from January 2025.

The communique also cited the non-payment of upward-revised CONMESS salary structure, accoutrement, rural posting, specialist and teaching allowances as reasons for the strike.

Other grievances of the association include non-payment of accumulated arrears as well as a shortage of doctors, which they claim has led to overworking of the available resident doctors.

The ARD demanded payment of the MRTF and for the government to gazette the same to forestall the recurrent issues of non-payment.

It also further urged the government to address the shortage of health workers by employing more doctors to meet the recommended number approved by the medical colleges in each department

ARD COOUTH made several efforts to engage the government since the beginning of this year to ensure the realisation of the promises made that led to the suspension of previous industrial action on 4 October 2024.

The government failed to meet the demands within the 10 days ultimatum issued by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) in its letter dated 1 September.

Having exhausted one year waiting without any positive response, ARD COOUTH regrettably resolved to commence the industrial action.

READ ALSO: Patients stranded as FCT resident doctors begin strike

We hope that all demands are met to prevent indefinite industrial action that might be a consequence, it said.

ARD COOUTH called on the hospital management, other relevant bodies including the public to appeal to the government on the need to meet their demands soon for efficient and effective service delivery.

The association said it wishes that these issues are resolved soon to prevent regrettable disharmony this situation will cause in the state tertiary health facility.

We appreciate all institutions and individuals who have consistently shown unwavering commitment to our welfare, it said.

(NAN)
The Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected an application seeking an interim order stopping David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Trial judge Emeka Nwite refused the three prayers sought in the ex-parte motion filed by Nafiu-Bala Gombe, a former Deputy National Chairman of ADC, and moved by his lawyer, Michael Agber.

Rather, Mr Nwite directed Mr Gombe, the plaintiff, to put all the defendants on notice to show cause why the motion should not be granted.

The judge then adjourned the matter until 15 September for the defendants to show cause.

The ruling was delivered on 4 September and the certified true copy of the order made available to the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday.

NAN reports that while the former Senate President, David Mark, is the current national chairman of ADC, the ex-Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, is the national secretary of the party.

Mr Gombe, in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, had sued ADC, Sen. Mark, Aregbesola, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Chief Ralph Nwosu as 1st to 5th defendants respectively.

In the ex-parte motion dated and filed on Sept. 2, the plaintiff sought three reliefs.

Gombe sought an order of interim injunction restraining the 4th defendant (INEC) from recognising the 2nd (Mark) and 3rd (Aregbesola) defendants as the national chairman and national secretary of the ist defendant (ADC) pending the hearing of the motion on notice.

He also sought an order of interim injunction restraining Mr Mark and Mr Aregbesola from parading themselves as National Chairman and National Secretary of the party, respectively, pending hearing in the motion on notice already filed and served in this matter.

He sought an order restraining the 4th defendant/ respondent from recognising and or dealing with Mr Mark and Mr Aregbesola.

On Wednesday, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has recognised Mr Mark and former Osun State governor, Mr Aregbesola, as the chairperson and national secretary of the ADC, respectively.

In a publication on its website on Wednesday, INEC also listed Mani Ibrahim as the partys national treasurer, Akibu Dalhatu as the national financial secretary and Oserheimen Osunbor, a former governor of Edo State, as the national legal adviser.

(NAN)
The Kwara State government has announced plans to incorporate Measles Rubella (MR) vaccination into its routine immunisation programme state-wide, starting October.

The Director of Primary Healthcare System, at the Kwara State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Michael Oguntoye, made this known in Ilorin on Thursday.

Mr Oguntoye, who spoke at a Media Orientation on Integrated Measles Rubella Vaccination said the integrated campaigns would help to deliver multiple vaccines and other health services simultaneously, improving efficiency and access for caregivers.

According to him, Kwara is among the first states to commence the integration of MR into routine immunisation, calling on the media to support the state-wide dissemination of the upcoming exercise.

He noted that the MR vaccination effort relies on public awareness and integrated campaigns to enhance coverage and curb outbreaks.

The director added that the federal government has invested heavily on immunisation programmes and health services, which is aimed at achieving high vaccination rates, improve efficiency, and protect children from preventable diseases.

In his presentation, Adekunle Salaudeen, a Consultant for the International Vaccine Access Centre (IVAC), described measles as a highly infectious viral disease.

Mr Salaudeen explained that the disease is characterised by fever, maculopapular rash, fever, cough, conjunctivitis, and coryza (runny nose).

It can lead to severe complications like pneumonia, encephalitis, and death, especially in young children and immunocompromised individuals, he said.

Measles is a leading cause of death among young children worldwide.

The expert stated that Rubella is also known as German measles, typically causing mild measles-like illness in children and adults.

Mr Salaudeen explained that Rubella infection in early pregnancy can result in severe birth defects known as Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS).

Between 2019 and 2024, Nigeria reported a total of 94,305 confirmed measles cases with 719 deaths, reflecting a case fatality rate of approximately 0.76 per cent, he said.

He revealed that the North-east region recorded the highest number of confirmed measles cases in the country.

Mr Salaudeen therefore underscores the importance of vaccination to prevent these diseases and safeguard the lives of children in Kwara and Nigeria as a whole.

In his remarks, Usman Danlami, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) representative expressed the support of the organisation towards improving the health of the people in the state.

Mr Danlami called on the media to help spread awareness about the importance of vaccinating more children in Kwara. (NAN)
This photo shows the gate of the Zijingang campus of Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, March 18, 2025. (Xinhua/Han Chuanhao)

HANGZHOU, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- A recent study led by Chinese scientists has identified a gene defect -- PLD4 deficiency -- that can cause systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a chronic and complex autoimmune disease affecting millions of patients worldwide. The findings, published in Nature on Wednesday, provide crucial insights for future targeted therapies.

The research was conducted by a team from Liangzhu Laboratory at Zhejiang University, with Liu Zhihong, Yu Xiaomin, and Zhou Qing as co-corresponding authors.

SLE is characterized by high heterogeneity, varying widely in both clinical manifestations and genetic background, which has long complicated understanding of its pathogenesis.

Using whole-exome sequencing, the team identified recessive mutations in the PLD4 gene in five SLE patients with lupus nephritis. The PLD4 gene is expressed in key immune cells, including dendritic cells, B cells, and monocytes. The deficiency of PLD4 was shown to trigger sustained inflammation and autoimmune activation.

Further validation in mouse models demonstrated that baricitinib, a JAK inhibitor, effectively alleviated symptoms such as weight loss, autoantibody production, and tissue inflammation in mice with the PLD4 defect.

This breakthrough suggests that baricitinib may offer a targeted therapy for SLE patients with PLD4 mutations, paving the way for genotype-based personalized medicine in lupus care. 
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, has described the solid minerals sector as a critical driver of economic diversification, stressing that Nigeria must reduce its dependence on oil revenues.

Speaking at a public hearing on 12 bills seeking to develop the solid minerals sector, held on Thursday, Mr Tajudeen, represented by Mark Oseni (APC, Taraba), said developing the sector is not an option but an imperative for building a resilient and inclusive economy.

He noted that the hearing was not a routine exercise but a key part of the democratic process, providing a platform for robust public participation and diverse perspectives on legislation that would shape the future of Nigerias mineral resources.

As we look towards building a diversified, resilient, and inclusive economy, the development of our solid minerals sector is not just an optionit is an imperative. These bills collectively address the key challenges and opportunities in this sector, from legal frameworks and institutional reforms to funding mechanisms and human capital development, he said.

Mr Tajudeen added that the bills represent a strategic shift in the national economic agenda and demonstrate the Houses commitment to strengthening the intellectual and technical capacity needed to harness mineral wealth responsibly.

He urged stakeholders to make meaningful contributions, saying the success of the legislative efforts depends on the quality of input received.

The Chairperson of the House Committee on Solid Minerals, Gaza Gbewfi, said the initiative was both a constitutional responsibility and a strategic step toward repositioning the sector as a true pillar of Nigerias economic transformation.

He noted that the solid minerals sector holds vast potential for job creation, revenue generation, and industrial development, but has suffered decades of neglect due to outdated laws, weak institutions, and poor funding.

This House, through the Committee on Solid Minerals Development, is determined to reverse that trend by strengthening the legislative foundation of the sector, Mr Gbewfi said.

He added that the hearing was designed to encourage input from government agencies, industry players, community representatives, academia, and civil society, stressing that only a participatory process would ensure that the laws reflect the realities and aspirations of all stakeholders.

The 12 bills for which the hearing was conducted are:

1. A bill for an act to repeal the Nigerian Coal Corporation Act, Cap. 95, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and enact the Nigeria Coal Development Commission Enugu and for related matters (HB.667).

2. A bill for an act to assure adequate funding for mineral resources exploration and extraction through public-private partnership (PPP) and for related matters (HB.289).

3. A bill for an act to establish Lithium Development Commission of Nigeria to provide a legal framework for the promotion of research study, investment, exploration, production of lithium, develop a vertically integrated lithium industry, create a roadmap for developing the infrastructure required by potential lithium mines in Nigeria, and design the regulatory framework governing the sector in Nigeria, and for related matters (HB.2137).

4. A bill for an act to establish the Federal Institute of Mining and Geosciences, Takum, Taraba State, to provide courses of instruction, training, and research in the exploration and exploitation of minerals for national development, and for related matters (HB.2361).

5. A bill for an act to establish the Federal Institute of Mining and Geosciences, Ikoro, Ekiti State, to provide courses of instruction, training, and research in the exploration and exploitation of minerals for national development, and for related matters (HB.2364)

6. A bill for an act to establish the Federal Institute of Mining and Geosciences, Garaku, Nasarawa State, to provide courses of instruction, training, and research in the exploration and exploitation of minerals for national development, and for related matters.

7. A bill for an act to establish the Nigerian Mining Development Bank (NMDB) to provide financial support, promote investment, and foster sustainable development in the mining sector of Nigeria, and for related matters (HB.808)

8. A bill for an act to establish the Federal Institute of Mining and Geosciences, Akmpakpa, Cross River State, to provide courses of instruction, training, and research in the exploration and exploitation of minerals for national development, and for related matters.

9. A bill for an act to establish the Federal Institute of Mining and Geosciences, Gusau, Zamfara State, to provide courses of instruction, training, and research in the exploration and exploitation of minerals for national development, and for related matters.

A bill for an act to establish the Federal Institute of Mining and Geosciences, Umuahia, Abia State, to provide courses of instruction, training, and research in the exploration and exploitation of minerals for national development, and for related matters.

A bill for an act to establish the Nigerian Solid Mineral Communities Development Commission and related matters.

Nigerian Institute of Mining and Geosciences Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
The House of Representatives has begun consideration of a bill that could reshape relations between Nigerias mining companies and host communities, with stakeholders sharply divided on its potential impact.

The legislation, sponsored by Sunday Dekeri (APC, Edo), passed second reading in July 2024.

It seeks to create a commission that would protect the rights of communities where solid minerals are mined, and ensure they benefit directly from the resources extracted from their lands.

The bill came under review at a public hearing of the Committee on Solid Minerals Development on Thursday, with community leaders strongly backing its passage while some industry voices raised concerns about its overlap with existing laws.

At the hearing, representatives of mining host communities described the initiative as long overdue.

Delivering a detailed memorandum, Redzie Jugo of the Federation of Nigeria Mining Host Communities told lawmakers that for too long, mining host communities had been treated as sacrifice zones, left in poverty and environmental degradation despite being the source of immense national wealth.

Minerals communities must no longer be treated as sacrifice zones, but as partners and stakeholders in Nigerias development, Mr Jugo declared.

He explained that the proposed commission, if properly designed and led by representatives of host communities themselves, would guarantee fairer outcomes.

According to him, the framework should ensure that mining communities are adequately represented in decision-making, that a fair share of mineral wealth is reinvested locally, while development projects are tailored to urgent social, environmental, and economic needs.

Mr Jugo stressed that the bill goes beyond financial obligations, as it symbolises the dignity and justice long denied to host communities.

He praised the committee for what he called a groundbreaking initiative and assured lawmakers of the Federations full support. He added that mining host communities are ready to work as partners with government and investors to ensure the sectors growth does not come at the expense of their livelihoods and environment.

On the other hand, Teslim Jimoh, a mining consultant with Dangote Industries Ltd, said while the bill is well intentioned, some of its provisions could complicate Nigerias mining landscape if not carefully aligned with existing laws.

He explained that the Minerals and Mining Act already defines the federal government as the sole custodian of mineral resources and provides for host community obligations through surface rents and community development agreements.

He said, This bill can actually kill investment rights. It is in clash with the Minerals and Mining Act which has specified the obligations of the investors to the community.

The community does not own the minerals. Its the federal government. The surface land is what belongs to the community.

According to him, these mechanisms, though often poorly enforced, remain the legal foundation of engagement between mining investors and communities.

Mr Jimoh warned that introducing new obligations such as mandatory equity ownership and profit-sharing for host communities, as contained in the bill, may discourage investment.

He added that many mining companies already struggle with regulatory hurdles and high operational costs, and that any additional burden could drive investors away.

Instead, he recommended that the government strengthen enforcement of existing community development agreements, which by law must be signed and renewed every five years before mining can begin.

Committee Chairperson Gaza Gbefwi, however, stressed that the House remains committed to putting the welfare of host communities first.

He noted that weak enforcement of community development agreements had left mining regions underdeveloped, even as companies continued to profit from their resources.

He drew parallels with the South-south agitation that led to oil sector reforms, insisting that Nigeria must avoid repeating mistakes in the mining sector.

According to him, the commission envisioned by the bill could become a vehicle for justice, equity, and shared prosperity if properly designed.

Mr Gbefwi assured stakeholders that the committee would work closely with the Ministry of Solid Minerals and industry operators to address grey areas and harmonise the bill with existing laws.

He said lawmakers would not support any legislation that undermines investment, but equally would not allow communities to remain impoverished in the midst of wealth.

Historical background

Nigerias mining sector was once a cornerstone of the economy, with tin, columbite, and coal from Plateau and Enugu driving exports and providing thousands of jobs.

However, decades of neglect, weak regulation, and the shift to oil revenues left mining host communities abandoned.

It is against this history that lawmakers and communities are pushing for a legal framework that ensures mining host communities no longer remain on the margins of Nigerias resource wealth.
The federal government on Thursday arraigned 27-year-old Huzaifa Haruna, from Dogo village in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State, on terrorism and firearms charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Mr Haruna, also known as Huzaifa Dogo, was brought to court from custody by the State Security Service (SSS).

He was arraigned before trial judge Emeka Nwite.

The plea followed immediately after the arraignment of the two captured Ansaru commanders, Mahmud Muhammed Usman (aka Abu Baraa/Abbas Mukhtar) and his deputy, Abubakar Abba, who were also arraigned before the same court on Thursday by the federal governmet

The charges, filed on 2 September by the Federal Ministry of Justices Director of Public Prosecutions, M.B. Abubakar, accused Mr Haruna of concealing information about gun-runners, transporting assault rifles, and rendering support for terrorist activities.

In the first count, he was accused of withholding information about two suspected gun-runners, bandits and kidnappers, Alhaji Hamza and Wakili Julde, between 28 and 30 August 2025, despite knowing the information could help security agencies prevent terrorism.

The second and third counts accused him of attempting to support terrorism by transporting seven M-16 rifles with serial numbers 0700422, 24006914, 00513011, 07000135, 24007165, 07000417 and 07000822, along with seven empty magazines, in a green Opel Vectra with registration number BSA-732-AE on 30 August. The rifles were allegedly moved across Barkin Ladi and Mangu and destined for Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State.

In the fourth count, Mr Haruna was said to have had the rifles and magazines without a licence around the NYSC Orientation Camp in Mangu LGA of Plateau State on 30 August.

The fifth count alleged that he transported five M-16 rifles from Dogo village in Barkin Ladi LGA to Wakili Julde in Wase LGA, Plateau State, in March.

READ ALSO: Reps consider bill to protect rights of mining host communities

The prosecution said the offences violated sections 13(1), 16(1) and 28(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and sections 8(1) and 27(1) of the Firearms Act, 2004.

Mr Haruna pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Judge Nwite ordered that he be fiurther remanded in the custody of the SSS and adjourned the case until 17 October for continuation of the trial.
The traditional ruler of a banditry-ravaged town in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State has denied that he was arrested for colluding with the bandits.

A video that trended for weeks on social media in the state alleged the traditional ruler of Babanla, Oba Adegboyega Alabi, was arrested after a huge sum of money suspected to be proceeds of kidnapping was found in his palace and bank accounts.

Addressing a press conference in Ilorin on Wednesday, Mr Alabi denied being quizzed or arrested by law enforcement.

However, Mr Alabi acknowledged that some people were arrested over suspected proceeds of kidnapping traced to them.

He attributed the rumour of his palaces involvement to enemies out to sow seeds of discord among his people.

In respect of the insecurity in our community, some people have been picked up and taken to Abuja for their alleged involvement of having huge amount of money.

And many people have heard the state Commissioner of Police saying nothing was found in my palace. The same thing for Oba of Alabe. There was nothing found in his palace.

So, no traditional ruler is in the net of the security agencies. I believe that the people spreading the rumour are the enemies of the community. But Im telling you that they have not found any amount of money in my house, the traditional ruler said.

Military base

Mr Alabi urged the Nigerian government to establish a military base in the area because of a forest that stretches to Edu, Patigi, Oke-Ero local government areas in Kwara and Kogi State.

He said the forest has become a haven for bandits, arguing that military presence in the area would check their activities in the forest.

The traditional ruler said the intervention of armed personnel had restored relative peace in Babanla but maintained that addressing the issue permanently would require the forest to be combed.

Mr Alabi said the Babanla community is ready to donate the forest to the government to enhance security in the area and create employment opportunities for the people.

I have consulted all the necessary security agencies and they are working very hard on the security situation in our town. When you go to Babanla, people now sleep peacefully.

It is not only in Babanla that we are experiencing kidnapping. People are talking about Babanla because we have the large forest where kidnappers and bandits are hiding. It is a very large land that extends to Edu, Patigi, Oke-Ero and Kogi State.

When the Army GOC came, I told him that the solution is for them to comb the largest forest so that these criminals will leave that place for us. I told the GOC that we want them to place an army base very close to that forest so that we wont have problem again about the invaders.

When the governor came and asked that if this forest is cleared, are we ready to give it to the government, I said yes. We are ready to give it to the government so that any investor can make use of the forest.

Recalling the last attacks on the community, the traditional ruler said the bandits stole about 20 motorcycles and looted businesses.

Mr Alabi said the bandits activities forced people to abandon their farms and businesses.

However, said peace has been restored in the community with residents going about their normal activities.
The Kaduna State Government has announced a large-scale immunisation campaign targeting over five million children across all 23 local government areas of the state.

According to Abdullahi Musa, the State Incident Manager at the Primary Health Care Development Agency, the campaign will focus on protecting children from Measles- Rubella, and Polio.

Speaking during a media orientation session at the Primary Health Care Board in Kaduna on Thursday, Mr Musa emphasised the importance of the vaccination drive in reducing the prevalence of vaccine-preventable diseases.

He said the mass immunisation effort is a crucial step towards improving child health outcomes and achieving herd immunity within the state.

According to him, the exercise, which will run from 16-27 October, is part of a nationwide effort to protect children from vaccine-preventable diseases and to strengthen the country public healthcare system.

He added that the State Primary Health Care Agency would adopt the integrated vaccination campaign approach to ensure that five million children and adolescents are vaccinated against measles- rubella and polio.

According to him, the vaccination campaign targets children aged nine months to 14 years, citing the negative effects of measles and rubella among children during the upcoming integrated supplemental immunisation activities campaign.

He said the integrated immunisation approach is more potent, cost-effective, and highly efficient.

He expressed satisfaction with the integrated vaccine similar to the routine vaccines for its safety.

He also said the combination of measles and rubella vaccines significantly improved the efficacy of immunisation, raising protection levels from 85 per cent to 95 per cent.

Measles and rubella are different viruses that manifest similar symptoms, except that rubella presents mild symptoms.

He added that the Measles Rubella vaccine is safe and effective.

The incident manager assured the public of the vaccines safety and urged nursing mothers to ensure their children participated in the exercise to improve their health status.

Also speaking, the Director of Disease Control and Immunisation, Hamza Ibrahim Ikara, highlighted that the measles-rubella campaign is a nationwide exercise backed by the federal government and development partners.



Mr Ibrahim Ikara noted that measles and rubella remain significant public health concerns, particularly in communities where vaccination rates are low.

He noted that the state government is committed to delivering essential healthcare to residents, saying that the effectiveness of integrated vaccine had been proven as potent intervention against outbreaks.

According to him, the meeting is geared towards availing journalists with the right information on the Measles Rubella, vaccine for onward dissemination to members of the public.

He noted that misinformation had been the challenge of vaccine uptakes, hence the need for the media engagement.

We appreciate the support being rendered by media on previous immunisation exercises, he said.

We, therefore, call on them to kindly help sensitise residents, especially mothers and care givers to mobilise their children for this exercise.

In his remark, Ibrahim Adamu, the Supplemental Immunisation Officer with the Primary Health Care Agency, stated that fixed posts would be set up at designated points during the campaign to ensure no eligible child is left behind.

READ ALSO: Kwara integrates Measles Rubella vaccine into routine immunisation

Mr Adamu explained that measles is a contagious disease that could cause fever, cough, and pneumonia, while rubella (German measles) could cause illness in children and adults.

He called on stakeholders, especially journalists, to support the campaign for massive compliance and success.

He said after the campaign, vaccines would be distributed to primary health centres across the state for effective immunisation exercise.

(NAN)
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has accused Sayyu Aliu Dantata of violating a resolution reached with government officials on workers right to unionisation, barely 48 hours after the union suspended its strike.

NUPENG, in a statement jointly signed by its President, Williams Akhoreha, and General Secretary Afolabi Olawale, on Thursday alleged that Mr Dantata instructed truck drivers who are union members to remove union stickers from their vehicles and later ordered them to forcefully enter the Dangote Refinery, despite violating union loading rules.

NUPENG claimed that Mr Dantata flew over the scene in a helicopter and called in the Navy to intervene, allegedly to crush union officials.

On Tuesday, NUPENG suspended its strike following an agreement with the management of Dangote Refinery to recognise workers rights to unionise.

The resolution followed a meeting convened by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment on Monday, which ended in a deadlock.

According to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed at the meeting, both parties agreed that unionisation is a right under extant labour laws, and employees of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals who wish to unionise would be allowed to do so. The MoU added that the process of unionisation would begin immediately and be completed within two weeks.

In its statement on Thursday, NUPENG said it condemned Dantatas actions towards official institutions and the laws of Nigeria, adding that it has placed its members on red alert for the resumption of the suspended nationwide industrial action.

This is to alert the general public and the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that notwithstanding the resolution reached and signed at the office of the DSS with three ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Deputy Director General of the DSS in attendance on the right of unionisation of the Workers, Alh Sayyu Aliu Dantata on Wednesday, 10th September, 2025 instructed all his Truck Drivers who are NUPENG-PTD members for several years to remove the union stickers from their trucks yesterday.

Today, Thursday, 11th September, 2025, he instructed them to forcefully drive into Dangote Refinery to load and union officials stopped them from entering the Refinery to load because their trucks violated union loading rules and regulations.

Alh Sayyu Aliu Dantata flew over them several times with his helicopter and then called the Navy of the Federal Republic to come over ostensibly to crush the Union officials. Our members are waiting for him and his agents to run them over.

We call on everyone to let Alh Sayyu Aliu Dantata know that he is not bigger than the Federal Republic of Nigeria and we strongly condemn his arrogant attitude towards official institutions of this great country and blatant lack of respect for the laws of this country. We call on the federal government not to allow the Navy and other security agents being paid by the resources of this country to be used with impunity against the laws and people of this country, the statement said.

It said security agents should not allow an individual to ride roughshod with impunity even while not observing terms of agreement reached in meetings in which security agents facilitated along with ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

We are, by this statement, placing all our members on red alert for the resumption of the suspended nationwide industrial action and calling on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), all regional and global working people and civil society organisations to rise in support and solidarity against this threat of the capitalist world.

His wealth cannot make him be above the law. We assure the people and the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that NUPENG will continue to remain a patriotic, responsible and responsive organisation to this great country, it said.

When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES, the companys Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina, did not answer his phone neither did he respond to text messages seeking comment.

Last Friday, NUPENG accused Aliko Dangote and Sayyu Aliu Dantata of engaging in alleged anti-union practices.

The union claims the businessmen are trying to monopolise Nigerias downstream oil and gas distribution while suppressing workers rights.

At the time, NUPENG said its members would commence a nationwide strike from Monday, 8 September in protest against what it described as anti-union labour practices, linked to the deployment of newly imported Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks by the Dangote Refinery, for direct distribution of petroleum products.

The strategic programme is part of Dangotes broader commitment to eliminating logistics costs, enhancing energy efficiency, promoting sustainability and supporting Nigerias economic development.
The Ghanaian government has received 14 US deportees from various West African countries, including Nigeria.

President John Mahama disclosed this on Wednesday while speaking to reporters, AP reports. He, however, did not disclose the exact number of Nigerians on the list.

Ghana now joins Eswatini, Rwanda, and South Sudan on the list of African countries that have received deportees from the US since President Donald Trumps return to office.

According to Mr Mahama, Ghana agreed to receive West African deportees because the ECOWAS protocol on free movement already allows nationals from the region to enter the country without a visa.

We agreed with (Washington) that West African nationals were acceptable because all our fellow West African nationals dont need a visa to come to our country, he said.

He also noted that the deportees who arrived in the country, including those of Nigerian and Gambian origin, are planning to return to their home countries.

The US government has intensified its crackdown on immigrants, with Mr Trump labelling them as criminals and targeting nationals from countries with high rates of visa overstays.

The effort is part of his controversial pledge to carry out the largest deportation operation in American history.

Earlier in the year, the Rwanda government struck a deal to accept 250 deportees.

Those approved for resettlement in Rwanda will be provided with workforce training, healthcare, and accommodation support to jumpstart their lives in Rwanda, the Rwandan government had announced.

Meanwhile, in July, the Nigerian government accused the US of pressuring it to accept Venezuelan deportees.

The government linked the 10 per cent import tariff imposed on the country by Mr Trumps administration to its refusal to accept the deportees.

We cannot accept Venezuelan deportees to Nigeria for crying out loud. We already have 230 million people.

You will be the same people who would castigate us if we acquiesce to accepting Venezuelans from US prisons to be brought in, he said.

Aside from Africa, the administration has also sent deportees to many other third-world countries such as Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba, and Yemen.
The Electricity Act 2023 was signed into law by President Bola Tinubu on 8th June, 2023. The Act follows the 5th Alteration of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which expressly provided full constitutional rights to State Houses of Assembly to make laws for electricity generation, transmission and distribution within their state territories. By virtue of the 5th alteration of the constitution, the regulation of all aspects of distribution and sale of electricity within a State is an exclusive (not residual) right of State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs).

Less than two years of its passage, a bill to amend the Electricity Act has passed second reading on the floor of the Senate. The Electricity Act Amendment Bill 2025 is sponsored by Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe, who is also the chairman of the Senate Committee on Power. It is instructive to note that Sen. Abaribe was a senator in the 9th National Assembly that passed both the Constitutional Amendments and the Electricity Act 2023. Sen. Abaribe served as the Deputy Governor of Abia State from 1999 to 2003.

The stated core objectives of the Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025 are to amend the Electricity Act, 2023, in order to:

Make provision for emerging issues in the Nigerian Electric Power Sector.

Enhance policy and regulatory coordination.

Strengthen sectoral financing.

Protect critical electricity infrastructure.

Foster industrial relations in the sector.

Clarify transitional arrangements.

Based on the Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025, several areas of potential conflict and jurisdictional overlap exist between the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the newly empowered State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs). The tension primarily arises from the division of regulatory power over a national grid that services state-level markets.

Here are the key areas of conflict highlighted in the bill:

Overriding Regulatory Oversight of NERC

The most significant potential for conflict lies in the concept of NERCs overriding regulatory oversight. Section 230C(1)(b) of the bill states that intra-state electricity operations that rely on the national grid system remain subject to the overriding regulatory oversight of NERC. This gives NERC direct regulatory jurisdiction over electricity distribution licensees, and any other state electricity licensee operating in SEMs where such licensee has a reliance on the national grid.

Use of Vague and Ambiguous Terminologies

The bill uses vague and ambiguous terminologies and language; for instance, reliance on the national grid system, operational codes, intra-state electricity operations and intra-state electricity activity are a few of the vague and ambiguous terminologies used by the bill.

The term overriding regulatory oversight is not explicitly defined by the bill, leaving it open to broad interpretation by NERC. This could lead to jurisdictional disputes where a SERC believes NERC is overstepping its authority in the regulation of the states internal market. The ambiguous and vague terminologies are certainly not helpful to the Bills core objective of addressing conflict between Federal and State Regulatory Bodies.

Conflicting Powers over Tariff Design and Implementation

Another area of conflict created by the bill is in tariff design and implementation for electricity distribution. While states are empowered to establish their own electricity markets, the bill strangely allows NERC to retain significant control over tariffs for any state connected to the national grid system. The amended Section 2 grants State Houses of Assembly the power to legislate on their own electricity markets and regulators. However, Section 230C(2) extends NERCs overriding oversight to tariffs designs and implementation for any state market that is reliant on the national grid. This creates a direct conflict. A SERC could set a tariff for its local market, only for NERC to challenge or attempt to override it, citing its authority over the interconnected grid. The issue between Enugu State Electricity Regulatory Commission and MainPower DisCo is a good example of such potential regulatory overreach by NERC under the amendment bill.

The point must be made that SERCs have no authority to design and implement tariffs for generation and transmission on the national grid (national wholesale electricity market). For clarity and contrary to (uninformed) public opinion, EERC did not adjust wholesale generation and transmission tariffs set by NERC for Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (the HoldCo for MainPower).

Furthermore, the bill defines how electricity subsidies under the Power Consumer Assistance Fund (PCAF) would be implemented. However, PCAF as proposed by the bill will distort state tariff methodologies and usurp the powers of SERCs to implement any electricity subsidies within SEMs.

Dual Authority on Consumer Protection Standards

The amendment bill will create conflicts between federal and state regulators in implementing consumer protection within SEMs. The amended Section 2 lists consumer protection and anti-trust as an area where state laws must not conflict with the federal Act, implying NERCs standards are supreme. Simultaneously, Section 230C(2) explicitly includes consumer protection as part of NERCs oversight for grid-connected state markets. This is a clear constitutional overreach by the bill and will lead to implementation disputes. For instance, a conflict could easily arise if a SERC attempts to implement a consumer protection regulation that NERC deems either insufficient or in conflict with national standards.

In any case, it is pertinent to ask which consumer is being protected here? Are these customers served by electricity distribution licensees within a SEM? Without any equivocation, implementing consumer protection regulations within a state electricity market should fall under the jurisdiction of the SERC. NERC and the FCCPC may set baseline consumer protection standards, but no federal law should invalidate nor prevent State Houses of Assembly from making laws for consumer protection within their territories.

Dispute Resolution and the Forum of Regulators

The bill establishes a Forum of Electricity Regulators (FERs) to harmonize regulations between the NWEM and SEMs. However, the bill as drafted seeks to solidify NERCs supremacy over SERCs under the FER structure. According to Section 228B(d), the forum serves as a platform for settling disputes. Yet, it grants NERC final administrative appellate jurisdiction regarding technical disputes involving two or more SERCs or issues that have a bearing on the National Wholesale Electricity Market (NWEM). In this scenario, a SERC may contest a final decision made by NERC, viewing it as an imposition rather than a resolution. There is also an ambiguity on the Forums advisory outcomes. Section 228D(4) states that decisions of the FERs are advisory but shall carry significant weight. This ambiguity could lead to needless controversy when a SERC ignores an advisory decision, creating conflict and undermining the forums purpose.

The FER is welcome, but its role should be more of a platform to encourage collaboration between NERC and SERCs, and not a forum empowering NERC with an ambiguous advisory but judicial mandate over SERCs.

Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction over Technical and Safety Standards Enforcement

The bill establishes the supremacy of federal agencies in setting and enforcing technical standards, which could clash with similar technical standards enforcement functions of State agencies under State electricity laws. Section 230C(2) gives NERC exclusive regulatory jurisdiction over the enforcement of technical standards and operational codes nationwide. Furthermore, Section 230C(3) clarifies that the powers of the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) to enforce technical standards and conduct inspectorate services shall prevail and apply nationwide, irrespective of any similar functions being carried out by a state government agency. This could render state-level technical and safety bodies redundant or lead to direct conflict between state and federal inspectorate officials.

One must ask why the drafters of the bill seek to retain NERC and NEMSAs exclusive role over technical and safety standards in SEMs, in view of the poor implementation and enforcement of such standards in the NESI so far by these two regulatory bodies? In 2024 alone, over 112 Nigerians lost their lives in the Nigerian electricity sector, according to data released by the NERC. Common sense would suggest that the best approach to implement and enforce technical standards within the NESI is for NEMSA to work in collaboration with SERC and other agencies of State government within SEMs.

Back-door Constitutional Amendment

The 5th Alteration of the 1999 Constitution signed by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023, removed the restriction on States to make laws for electricity ONLY in areas not covered by the national grid system within their territories. A careful and unbiased reading of sections 230A-C of the amendment bill would highlight a troubling fact that the amendment bill seeks to roll back the 5th alteration of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) by relating intrastate electricity activities and the regulatory jurisdiction of SERCs within the context of a connection or reliance on the national grid system .

The bill interprets intra-state electricity activity as  intra-state generation, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity NOT CONNECTED TO, OR RELIANT ON THE NATIONAL GRID SYSTEM, which shall fall under the exclusive regulatory jurisdiction of relevant SERC upon completion of transfer of regulatory oversight (S.230C(1)(a)). In section 230C(1)(b), the bill explicitly states that intra-state operations that involve reliance on any part of the national grid system or other interstate sources of generation, shall remain subject to the overidding regulatory oversight of NERC.

Consequently, Section 230C(1)(a-b) will roll back the 5th alteration of the 1999 Constitution, hence a back-door amendment of the 1999 Constitution. Additionally, with a commercially oriented NISO in place, there is no a need for NERC to retain any form of regulatory oversight over SubCos and other state electricity licensees that may procure power from the national grid.

Furthermore, the amendment bill defines State electricity markets as the various state electricity markets established pursuant to section 230 of the Principal Act for distribution and retail sale of electricity procured from either state licensed generators or by NWEM. It must be noted that State Electricity Markets are creations of the State Assembly and not the National Assembly; their establishment arent pursuant to the provisions of the Electricity Act 2023. It is most concerning that the drafters of the amendment bill seek to restrict activities in state electricity markets to solely distribution and retailing of electricity.

Summary

The National Assembly is well within its powers to either amend or repeal any of its Acts, and at such a time it deems necessary. However, the Electricity Act amendment bill 2005 as currently drafted, is riddled with constitutional, legal, regulatory and fiscal landmines that would be catastrophic to the Nigerian electricity sector if the bill is passed. I have only highlighted a few of the landmines that relate to the implementation of the SEMs. I urge the Senate and proponents of the bill to have a cautious rethink before passing the bill into law.

Odion Omonfoman is an energy expert and the Lead Consultant on electricity to the Nigeria Governors Forum. He can be reached at [email protected]
Nigerias 5 per cent surcharge is a brilliant effort to wean the country off its long-term addiction to fossil fuels. This policy demonstrates proactive thinking and fiscal foresight on the part of the government. If done properly, it has the potential of helping to decouple Nigerias economic growth from carbon emissions, actualise its NDC commitment, and mobilise finance for sustainable development.

Nigeria, Africas largest oil producer, has announced a 5 per cent tax on all fossil fuel sales as part of its new tax law that goes into effect in January 2026. According to this new tax regulation, Nigerians are now expected to pay a 5% surcharge that is chargeable on fossil fuel products provided or produced in Nigeria  a fee which, according to the stipulation of the act, shall be collected at the time of a chargeable transaction, meaning at the point of sale. This surcharge excludes clean or renewable energy products, household kerosene, cooking gas, and compressed natural gas (CNG).

The framing and wording of this law make it an effort to put a price incentive on fossil fuel consumption, to shift consumption from fossil fuels to cleaner alternatives. This, in every sense, mirrors a carbon tax, even though in this case, a percentage will be used, instead of an explicit cost. Speaking of a carbon tax, this is a sales tax applicable to fossil fuels or carbon-intensive fuels at the point of purchase. Depending on the country or jurisdiction, the primary aim of this tax is to disincentivise the use of fossil fuels and, secondarily, to raise revenue for the government. This is known as the double dividends of carbon pricing.

Let us start with what the government of the day has got right. First, the surcharge or fossil fuel tax was not introduced in isolation. The tax was introduced as part of a broader framework of tax reforms, drawing inspiration from how Sweden introduced its carbon tax in the 1990s as part of a broader comprehensive tax reform. Such an approach helps reduce the risk of a backlash and the possibility of the tax being struck down before it even takes off. Embedding the surcharge within a cocktail of tax policies insulates it from undue scrutiny. In the same vein, implementing the surcharge alongside other reforms ensures that the policy is in sync with other new regulations and aligns with the governments direction of travel.

The new tax policy, even though a brilliant emissions mitigation and revenue generation tool, is not without flaws. Applying a 5 per cent flat rate on fossil fuels disregards growing inequality and income disparity in a country with a rapidly shrinking middle class. It doesnt seem fair that both the rich and the poor in the poverty capital of the world should have to pay the same tax on fossil fuels.

Nigerias 5 per cent surcharge is a brilliant effort to wean the country off its long-term addiction to fossil fuels. This policy demonstrates proactive thinking and fiscal foresight on the part of the government. If done properly, it has the potential of helping to decouple Nigerias economic growth from carbon emissions, actualise its NDC commitment, and mobilise finance for sustainable development. This comes after the government removed the problematic fuel subsidy two years ago  an effort that, coupled with the recent surge in electricity tariff, has led to an accelerated renewable energy adoption and an explosion in solar uptake. As a result, the country moved to fourth place in Africa for solar energy adoption in 2024, with an addition of 63.5 MWp of capacity, bringing its total installed capacity to 385.7 MWp, as people scrambled to find cheaper alternative sources of energy.

The new tax policy, even though a brilliant emissions mitigation and revenue generation tool, is not without flaws. Applying a 5 per cent flat rate on fossil fuels disregards growing inequality and income disparity in a country with a rapidly shrinking middle class. It doesnt seem fair that both the rich and the poor in the poverty capital of the world should have to pay the same tax on fossil fuels. At best, a progressive surcharge that increases with a certain threshold would have been more practical for a country where millions of households and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) rely on petrol-powered generators to power their homes and businesses.

Fairness aside, there is also a big question mark about revenue utilisation. The 2025 Tax Act does not spell out or imply what happens to the revenue generated from the fossil fuel surcharge. While preliminary analysis suggests that this policy is more of a revenue-driven than environmentally motivated intervention, it is essential that the government clearly outlines how the revenue from the tax will be used. Sweden and British Columbia adopted a revenue-neutral approach to their carbon tax, which meant that the carbon tax essentially returned to citizens through tax cuts, rebates, and climate windfall payouts. Even though the Nigeria Act Law of 2025 comes with various cuts and reviews, none of them is directly related or designed to act as a cushion or corollary to the 5 per cent fossil fuel tax.

For decades, Nigeria has remained in a state of rest and uniform motion, content to keep pumping and gulping fossil fuels, but all indications suggest that fossil fuels are not the future, and it is time to act. Maybe this surcharge is the external force that will compel us down the right path to a future beyond oil. Like the butterfly effect, only time will tell the compound effect of this 5 per cent surcharge.

Global best practices demand that a policy like this in a sensitive sector like energy should be accompanied by a clear framework for revenue monitoring, reporting, and utilisation to foster transparency and build citizens trust. The masses deserve to know that the surcharge is being deployed to finance the transition to a green, just, and cleaner future. The revenue from the tax could be used to replenish the climate fund and run the activities of the National Climate Change Council Secretariat (NCCCS), which is part of the provisions of the Climate Change Act of 2021. Rather than wait for foreign loans or grants, this tax could also help kick-start comprehensive nature-based adaptation efforts and finance resilience building through research and development in green technologies like batteries, electric vehicles, and charging stations.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that emerging economies and developing countries, minus China, need about US$2.4 trillion annually by 2030 for climate and nature-related investments, plus an additional US$3 trillion to achieve the other Sustainable Development Goals. We have a mountain of deficit to climb; closing the climate finance gap requires innovative thinking that does not put us at the mercy of developed nations. As with every other climate policy, this one is not without pain, but if done effectively, the gain in the long run will eclipse the short-term pain. In Denmark, electric vehicles were the best-selling cars of 2024, all thanks to an established market-driven price incentive policy that made it more attractive for people to move away from fossil fuel-powered cars to cleaner alternatives.

The famous Newtons First Law of Motion states that a body remains at a state of rest or in uniform motion except it is acted upon by an external force. For decades, Nigeria has remained in a state of rest and uniform motion, content to keep pumping and gulping fossil fuels, but all indications suggest that fossil fuels are not the future, and it is time to act. Maybe this surcharge is the external force that will compel us down the right path to a future beyond oil. Like the butterfly effect, only time will tell the compound effect of this 5 per cent surcharge. Lets hope we dont squander this golden opportunity to finally break the over six-decade-long addiction.

Daniel Oladoja is a climate and energy governance expert with a decade of experience in media and climate communications. He is the host of the climate opportunity podcast, and he writes from Lagos, Nigeria.
In a country often stalled by inertia, Buba Marwa shines as a symbol of bold leadership and unwavering public service. From cleaning up Lagos to confronting Nigerias drug cartels, his legacy proves that one courageous leader can drive lasting, transformative change.

When Femi Babafemi, the ever-vigilant spokesperson for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), sent me an email in the early hours of Wednesday, 9 September, I was immediately intrigued. His press releases usually drop over the weekend, strategically timed to feed hungry newsrooms. I half-expected a bombshell  perhaps the long-awaited arrest of the elusive kingpin behind Nigerias drug underworld. After all, under Brigadier General Buba Marwas (rtd.) leadership, dozens of drug barons have been apprehended and prosecuted.

But the email was not about a new operation. It was a tribute to Marwa himself, celebrating his 72nd birthday. However, it was far more than a simple birthday message; it was a reflection on a man whose leadership seamlessly blends military precision with civilian empathy. From his early days as Nigerias Defence Adviser in the US to his transformative governorships in Borno and Lagos, and now as chairman of the NDLEA, Marwa has consistently left a legacy rooted in strategic foresight and people-centred governance. He is a leader who doesnt just manage institutions; he reshapes them.

My first encounter with General Marwa was in 1997, while I was serving as Press Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance. Lagos State was hosting the monthly rotational Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting, chaired by the Minister of State for Finance, Alhaji Abu Gidado. At the opening ceremony, his then Commissioner of Finance, Mrs Foluke Kafayat AbdulRazaq, spoke with genuine admiration about Marwas integrity and vision. She highlighted his numerous achievements: the massive rehabilitation of roads to boost commerce, the introduction of the now-iconic Keke Marwa tricycles to create jobs and provide affordable transport, and, remarkably, his ability to run the state without resorting to bank loans. She also praised his commitment to urban renewal and his efforts to strengthen security through the creation of Operation Sweep. The cherry on top? When he left office, he handed over a cash surplus of 2 billion to his successor, Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in 1999.

This story of sound financial management and impactful governance in Lagos State is well-documented. But what Babafemis tribute only hinted at  and what truly deserves louder recognition  is Marwas extraordinary transformation of the NDLEA into one of Nigerias most courageous and effective institutions. Under his watch, the agency has become a fearless force, confronting drug cartels that once seemed untouchable. Week after week, NDLEA operatives carry out major arrests, seizures, and recoveries worth billions of naira. These are not just statistics; they are acts of immense bravery that put officers in direct danger, all in the service of protecting the nation.

In a country where many leaders shy away from hard battles, Marwa has distinguished himself by daring to confront what others wont. His sincerity and commitment to national service are not just admirable  they are essential. His leadership at the NDLEA is not just about catching drug lords; it is about addressing a national crisis that few are willing to acknowledge.

Ive had the privilege of attending private briefings organised by Babafemi, where Marwa laid bare the grim realities of drug addiction in Nigeria. The statistics are emotionally jarring and deeply disturbing. Drug abuse is not merely a health issue; it is a profound national security threat that fuels violent crimes, including armed robbery, rape, and kidnapping. Bandits and terrorists rely on narcotics to commit unspeakable atrocities, including the rape of pregnant women and underage girls. Cultism, prostitution, and youth mortality are all deeply intertwined with substance abuse.

Perhaps most disturbing is the mental health crisis. Young Nigerians suffering from addiction often experience severe depression, psychosis, and schizophrenia. Many roam our streets, visibly broken, and are easily recruited by criminal networks. The long-term effects of drug use lead to brain damage, organ failure, and total system collapse. The economic toll is staggering; our youth, who should be the engine of national development, are being drained of their productivity and potential.

Marwas approach to this crisis is a masterclass in strategic thinking. He understands that the fight against drugs must be two-pronged: a relentless assault on the supply chain and a compassionate approach to rehabilitation for those who have fallen victim to addiction. The NDLEAs operations under his command have not only led to the arrest of high-profile dealers but also to the seizure of vast quantities of illicit drugs, from cocaine and heroin to methamphetamine and cannabis. This has effectively disrupted the flow of narcotics into our communities, making it more difficult for cartels to operate.

But he hasnt stopped there. Marwa has also championed a more humane approach to drug users, advocating for treatment and rehabilitation, rather than purely punitive measures. He has emphasised that addiction is a public health issue, not just a criminal one. This dual strategy  a firm hand against traffickers and an empathetic approach toward users  is what sets his leadership apart. It shows a deep understanding of the problem and a genuine desire to heal the nation, not just punish its offenders.

In a country often stalled by inertia, Buba Marwa shines as a symbol of bold leadership and unwavering public service. From cleaning up Lagos to confronting Nigerias drug cartels, his legacy proves that one courageous leader can drive lasting, transformative change.

Yushau A. Shuaib is the author of An Encounter with the Spymaster www.yashuaib.com [email protected]
NEW DELHI, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Two paramilitary troopers belonging to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were wounded when a pressure Improvised Explosive Device (IED), believed to be planted by Naxals, went off Thursday in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, police said.

The explosion took place on the Palli-Barsur road area of Dantewada district, about 450 km south of Raipur, the capital city of Chhattisgarh.

According to police, both the wounded personnel were immediately sent to a hospital in Dantewada and from there they would be airlifted to Raipur for advanced medical care.

Authorities have rushed reinforcements to the area and launched search operations to trace the Naxals behind the attack.

Currently, Naxals are active across the central and eastern parts of India.

New Delhi has deployed several companies of its paramilitary forces to take on Naxals in their strongholds. 
Temi Otedola didnt snub Nigerian designers; she expanded the runway She proved that any designer with the vision, skill, and storytelling craft  regardless of origin  can be called to interpret any culture. In doing so, she quietly dismantled the illusion that cultural identity alone guarantees relevance.

When the wedding images of Temi Otedola (now Temi Ajibade) surfaced online  resplendent in traditional Nigerian outfits crafted by mostly non-Nigerian designers, including celebrated American couturier, Zac Posen  they quickly stirred mixed reactions across social media. Temi Otedola & Mr Eazi should have done their wedding in Nigeria to support Naija brands. Doesnt make sense carrying that money to foreigners, one influencer posted on X (formerly Twitter).

And to be fair, its easy to see where that view is coming from.

Temi is not just any bride. Shes a high-profile Nigerian elite, a member of one of the countrys most influential families, and someone whose choices are always under a cultural and political microscope. For some, her decision to outsource the design of deeply traditional Yoruba garments to foreign designers felt symbolic  a redirection of resources and prestige away from Nigerian creatives at a time when the local industry is fighting for recognition, patronage, and sustainability.

To these observers, this wasnt just a fashion choice. A Nigerian woman of wealth and influence taking money and visibility, perhaps even cultural authority, abroad. And in a country where the elite frequently crossover into government or public influence, that symbolism hits deeper.

So yes, I understand the disappointment. But heres what I also see: Temis choice wasnt just about fashion; it was a wake-up call. And not to her critics, but to Nigerian designers themselves.

Beneath the criticism lies an assumption that only Nigerians can or should design traditional Nigerian clothing. But this moment disrupts that notion. Zac Posen, though not Nigerian by heritage, created a look that paid homage to Yoruba culture, while exuding the polish of a global luxury label. In doing so, Temi demonstrated that cultural design is no longer the exclusive domain of cultural insiders. If an outsider can interpret Nigerian tradition with elegance and respect, then our fashion has become part of a wider, global conversation. And thats not a threat; its an opportunity.

What the Zac Posen moment really revealed is a sense of creative complacency within parts of Nigerias fashion industry. Many designers have thrived as local champions in traditional wear, but Nigerian designers can no longer rely on cultural fluency alone. If it isnt matched with global branding, innovative storytelling, tailoring precision, and reach, it will fall short. Irreplaceability is no longer guaranteed.

Temis move is a signal: the bar has shifted. For a generation shaped by Instagram, Afrobeats, and Netflixs global Nollywood, origin matters less than creative capacity. If Temi could commission a foreign designer to interpret Yoruba heritage, whats stopping an Indian billionaire from asking a Nigerian designer to reimagine the sari? Whats stopping a Brazilian client from requesting a Nigerian take on carnival couture?

We are in a moment of cultural cross-pollination, and the doors are swinging both ways. Now, Nigerian designers can position themselves not just as local custodians of tradition, but as interpreters of global culture. You shouldnt only master iro and buba, kaftans, or boubou. You should be able to infuse the Nigerian spirit into a kimono, lehenga, hanbok, or even a Scottish kilt, because fashion isnt just about fabric. Its also about perspective.

The designers who win on the world stage are those who can see beyond borders, who can take a thread from Lagos and weave it into a silhouette in Tokyo, Paris, or Rio.

What the Zac Posen moment really revealed is a sense of creative complacency within parts of Nigerias fashion industry. Many designers have thrived as local champions in traditional wear, but Nigerian designers can no longer rely on cultural fluency alone. If it isnt matched with global branding, innovative storytelling, tailoring precision, and reach, it will fall short. Irreplaceability is no longer guaranteed.

Its not enough to say, I know how to make agbada. The real question is: Can you make the world want to wear your agbada? Can you reinterpret someone elses heritage with the same originality and care you bring to your own?

Its not that Nigerian designers are not needed. Its that they are no longer immune to competition beyond their borders. That immunity was built on cultural monopoly. That monopoly is now broken.

In todays fashion landscape, cultural expression is fluid, collaborative, and borderless. Designers across the world are blending traditions, co-creating new silhouettes, and redefining identity through style.

So instead of asking, Why Zac Posen or Oscar de la Renta? We should be asking: Which Nigerian designer is ready to be the Zac Posen of another culture? Thats the real question.

Temi Otedola didnt snub Nigerian designers; she expanded the runway.

She proved that any designer with the vision, skill, and storytelling craft  regardless of origin  can be called to interpret any culture. In doing so, she quietly dismantled the illusion that cultural identity alone guarantees relevance.

Its not that Nigerian designers are not needed. Its that they are no longer immune to competition beyond their borders. That immunity was built on cultural monopoly. That monopoly is now broken.

Tessy Oliseh-Amaize is an award-winning Nigerian designer and creative director of Tesslo.
The usual narrative frames bandits, jihadists, and religious extremists as criminals and terrorists. The study, however, takes a nuanced approach that offers an alternative view, distinguishing banditry from jihadism or other criminal franchises mainly on the basis of ideology, geography and modes of operation.

Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, is hardly in the news. Lawal has enough on his plate in a region struggling with banditry and insurgency, and in a state whose political heavyweights oppose him over political differences.

He has learnt to mind the states business, hardly ever throwing stones, except when attacked by Abuja politicians who live in glass houses.

It was, therefore, a surprise last week when he released a viral video that made headlines. Following the increase in banditry in the region, especially in Zamfara and neighbouring Katsina State, which left at least 17 dead in two weeks, the governor said that, left to him, he could end the scourge in two months.

The question is, how? I swear to Almighty Allah, Lawal said, wherever a bandit leader is in Zamfara, I know. And if he goes out, I know. With my mobile phone, I can show you where these bandits are today. But we cannot do anything beyond our powers. If only he had the power to give direct orders, the governor said, he would end banditry in Zamfara in 60 days.

Complicated Reality

The reality is a little more complicated. Depending on your source, an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people have been killed in banditry and insurgency-related fatalities in the North-West alone in the last 10 years. This is on the scale of lives lost in the Kosovo War, or 40 per cent of the toll in Sierra Leones 10-year civil war, even though non-state actors are waging banditry.

The numbers hardly reflect the suffering of thousands of children whose parents have been killed, homes without mothers or loved ones, individuals permanently injured or displaced, sources of livelihood destroyed, futures ruined, and a present lived in fear and uncertainty.

Lawal once told a story of how some bandits, whose plans were intercepted based on intelligence, managed to get away before he could get through the Byzantine chain of military command in Abuja. He is right to be frustrated by a system that reduces governors to figureheads in the face of severe security challenges, because were afraid that governors could abuse state police.

Sociology of Banditry

Yet, it would take more than technology and decentralised policing to curtail the menace. That is what an August study by the Danish Institute of International Studies suggests. The findings, which were just released, are worth considering.

The study, by Peer Schouten and Barnett James, the former a senior researcher, and the latter, a PhD student at Oxford University, is entitled Divided, They Rule? The Emerging Banditry Landscape in Northwest Nigeria. It examines the sociology of banditry, its roots and evolution, and how it has displaced jihadists who were predominantly a Sahelian franchise in scale and impact.

In plain language, the study says that banditry, which has evolved over the last nearly 15 years, especially, is reproducing a distinct feature of the Caliphate system in Northern Nigeria, which, among other things, depended heavily on raiding and tribute-taking for its expansion and sustenance.

The usual narrative frames bandits, jihadists, and religious extremists as criminals and terrorists. The study, however, takes a nuanced approach that offers an alternative view, distinguishing banditry from jihadism or other criminal franchises mainly on the basis of ideology, geography and modes of operation.

It says, for example, that, Unlike jihadist groups, bandit networks operate without ideological ambitions, but significantly influence rural governance, challenging state authority through both roving predation and stationary extortion.

If It Smells Like Banditry.

I often use the terms interchangeably. If they talk like bandits, strike like bandits, and leave behind a trail of sorrow, tears and blood, then, for me, they are bandits, jihadists, criminals and terrorists. The point of the study, however, is that without establishing motive and methodology, response and policy could miss the mark.

To speak Lawalese, the Zamfara State governor or any governor in Nigerias North-West, who is interested in tackling insecurity, might need more than executive authority to succeed. They would need, in addition to state police (which I support fully), to understand the social psychology of the enemy theyre dealing with. Otherwise, we might be worse off in two times twenty months or whatever time Lawal might need.

This study shares how, through a pattern of roving predation and stationary extortion, bandits have, since 2011, created a system of governance that echoes, in significant ways, precolonial patterns of rule and extraction in the region.

Echoes of the Caliphate

In plain language, the study says that banditry, which has evolved over the last nearly 15 years, especially, is reproducing a distinct feature of the Caliphate system in Northern Nigeria, which, among other things, depended heavily on raiding and tribute-taking for its expansion and sustenance.

Todays banditry, the study says, reproduces these patterns, with modern motorcycles and mobile phones replacing the horses and single-shot muskets of the 19th century. While the tools have changed, the underlying dynamics of rule and accumulation remain strikingly familiar to the affected rural communities.

The research does not assume that the bandits are all Fulanis, as was the case mainly in the 18th and 19th centuries. Or that they harbour the state-building aspiration or religious zeal of the jihadists of the time. It, however, observes recurrent patterns of authority and legitimacy in these regions similar to the Caliphate model.

In other words, in a strange mutational trajectory, bandits are transforming from criminals and terrorists to carers, filling the void of absentee governments. Call it the Stockholm Syndrome, if you like, but those who wondered why bandit-in-chief Kachalla Ado Aliero was crowned Sarkin Fulani in Zamfara in 2022 need not wonder anymore.

Hydra-headed Monster

Lawal agonised about missing a prime bandit target because of command bureaucracy. The military, on its part, has also targeted prominent bandit leaders, the most recent successes being Baleri Fakai and Halilu Buzu.

These were significant strides in the battle against banditry. This study, however, likens the bandit network to a hydra-headed monster. Its a loose confederacy that adapts and replicates itself, even after removing the current leader. They are designed to survive the loss of their leaders, whose elimination is sometimes unwelcome by the host community.

Why? Last year, when Halilu Sububu was killed, for example, one source told the researchers that, It was an error to kill Buzu (Halilu). He started doing good things, telling bandits to stop harassing the Fulani. He had a positive influence in Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi and Sokoto.

In other words, in a strange mutational trajectory, bandits are transforming from criminals and terrorists to carers, filling the void of absentee governments. Call it the Stockholm Syndrome, if you like, but those who wondered why bandit-in-chief Kachalla Ado Aliero was crowned Sarkin Fulani in Zamfara in 2022 need not wonder anymore.

And those rightly outraged by the foolishness of making peace deals with bandits, instead of bombing them to dust, might wish to pause. As they say in South West Nigeria, when the leaf has wrapped the soap bar for too long, they become indistinguishable.

Quoting an instance in a pathetic case, the study says, In 2024, kachalla Najajas men (bandits) punished Anka town (in Zamfara) for harbouring vigilantes by preventing its residents from harvesting millet, using starvation as a tool to force submission. Desperate villagers ultimately negotiated peace by paying N50 million. One negotiator reflected, Our local ruler forbade us to negotiate, but he could not offer us protection nor guarantee us food.

Loot Big, Die Poor

What do the bandits do with the money? They store their wealth, mainly from tributes, ransom cash, and rustled cattle, in fungible forms, which they use to purchase more cattle, but especially to buy more arms, a significant status symbol. Like the slave-holding elite of precolonial Africa, the prestige of bandit leaders is sometimes measured in their retinue of fighters, abductees or dependents. They make no pretence to egalitarianism. The leader enjoys a chunk of the loot.

Yet, despite their legendary fame, a Kebbi hunter tells the researchers, They have few worldly possessions and die poor.

The study concludes that banditry happens in the absence of sustained commitment to rural development, the creation of economic opportunity, and institutional reform. Its thought-worthy for any government interested in a long-term solution.

Azu Ishiekwene is editor-in-chief of LEADERSHIP and author of the book, Writing for Media and Monetising It.
The upcoming Nigeria Mining Weekconference and expo will celebrate the countrys mining legacy as well as its burgeoning potential when it returns to Abuja from 13 to 15 October. The event organisers have announced the theme of this years edition, which is the 10thanniversary of the event. The theme is:Nigeria Mining: From Progress to Global Relevance.

This theme captures both our achievements and our aspirations, says Faruk Yusuf Yabo, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development. Over the past ten years, Nigeria Mining Week has grown from a modest industry gathering into a flagship platform that convenes government, investors, operators and development partners. As we enter the next decade, our focus is clear: to scale up the industry, ensure sustainability, drive value addition, and firmly position Nigeria as a globally relevant mining hub.

Nigeria ready for responsible mining

The event is hosted by Ministry of Solid Mineral Development of Nigeria andorganised by Miners Association of Nigeria, in partnership with PwC Nigeria and VUKA Group.

The Ministry of Solid Minerals Development is proud to serve as the host ministry of this event, says the Permanent Secretary. This is not just symbolicit reflects the governments commitment to making mining a central pillar of Nigerias economic diversification agenda, and identified the mining sector as one of the sectors to drive the diversification of our economy away from oil.

Mr Yabo, an engineer adds: With our rich mineral endowment, Nigeria is ready for responsible and profitable mining investment. Our legal frameworks are being strengthened, our licensing processes are being streamlined, and we are deepening partnerships to ensure that investors find both security and sustainability in our mining environment.

MAN: Strength in collaboration

At MAN, we firmly believe that the strength of our sector lies in collaboration, says Dele Ayanleke, President of the Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN). Our partnership with the ministry, investors, sponsors, and industry stakeholders has been instrumental in shaping policies, improving operational standards, and building trust in the sector.

He adds: During this edition of Nigeria Mining Week, we will further engage in initiatives that promote investment, enhance safety, support artisanal and small-scale miners, and drive compliance with global best practices. I call upon all stakeholdersgovernment agencies, investors, mining operators, sponsors, partners, service providers, and the mediato actively participate in this milestone edition.

PWC Nigeria: Excited about opportunities

Over the past decade, Nigeria Mining Week has served as the foremost platform for shaping the conversation on Nigerias mining sectordriving dialogue, building consensus, and crafting solutions that position mining as a true engine of shared prosperity for all Nigerians, says Habeeb Jaiyeola, Partner and Head, Mining Sector, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Nigeria.

He continues: The mining sector is vital to Nigerias strategic goal of economic diversification and reducing dependence on oil. We commend the government for prioritising this sector and are excited about the promising opportunities it presents.

Improve, excel and exceed expectations

Along with our event partners, it has been an honour but also a responsibility to host Nigeria Mining Week for the last decade, says VUKA Group Event Director for Mining Samukelo Madlabane.

He adds: However, it is a responsibility we take very seriously. Since the inauguralevent, we have never stopped trying to improve, excel and exceed expectations by continuing to bring innovative, forward-thinking, and interactive programmes to maximise sharing, dealmaking, and networking between our attendees. It has continued to be a gathering where bold ideas, strategic partnerships, and sustainable innovation come together to shape a new era of growth. This year will beno different.

Industry support

From 13 to 15 October, Nigeria Mining Week once again will showcase dozens of exciting mining and extractive projects in the country. The event is also expected to gather attendees from more than 20 countries, including more than 2,300 mining professionals, around 90 sponsors and exhibitors, some 180 mining operators and in excess of 137 expert speakers and VIPs.

Over the last decade, Nigeria Mining Week has become the gathering place for many leading mining bosses and suppliers,many of whom have become longstanding partners and sponsors for the Abuja gathering. Titan Minerals Ltd is returning as the diamond plus sponsor; KMDC, Mikano Motors, Sinogrand and Xugong Nigeria Company Ltd are diamond sponsors; and SMT Nigeria is back as a platinum sponsor.

About Nigeria Mining Week

Nigeria Mining Week is organised by theVuka Group (formerly Clarion Events Africa), a leading Cape Town-based and multi-award-winning organiser of exhibitions, conferences and digital events across the continent in the infrastructure, sustainability, energy, mining, mobility, ecommerce and CX sectors. Other well-known events by The Vuka Group include DRC Mining Week, DRC-Africa Battery Metals Forum, Enlit Africa, Africas Green Economy Summit, Smarter Mobility Africa, ECOM Africa and CEM Africa.

Nigeria Mining Week event dates and location:

Dates: 1315 October 2025

Location: Abuja Continental Hotel  Meetings & Conferences

Website: https://www.nigeriaminingweek.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nigeriaminingweek/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nigeriaminingweek/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NigeriaMW

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nigeria-mining-week
Feel free to guess the year, theres no harm in doing so. The same year I was born, a scholar redeveloped (with emphasis on redeveloped) the well-known psychological theory of frustration-aggression. Maybe this is one of the reasons I feel a special connection to the theory dating back to my undergraduate days.

The frustrationaggression hypothesis, also called the frustration-aggression displacement theory, is an aggression theory introduced by John Dollard, Neal Miller, Leonard Doob, Orval Mowrer, and Robert Sears in 1939. Neal Miller expanded on it in 1941, and Leonard Berkowitz further developed it in 1989.

The theory suggests that when individuals experience frustration, they may respond with aggressive behavior. If the source of their frustration is not accessible for direct aggression, they might redirect their anger towards something or someone unrelated.

Do I have to tell you again why some political actors in Zamfara are peddling negativity and fake news? Lets establish a relationship between the so-called Zamfara landlords and the frustration-aggression theory. Why are they frustrated? What and who frustrated them? When did the frustration kick in? The landlords frustration began sometime in March 2023, when, at dawn, the INEC returning officer made a historic pronouncement that Dauda Lawal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), having satisfied the laws requirements, is hereby declared the winner and returned as the elected governor of Zamfara.

Mr Dauda Lawal, the newly elected governor, has become the point of the landlords frustration, leading to aggressive actions. They cannot directly tarnish his reputation because he did not stain his white like they did. He has never held a public office. He was from the private sector. These frustrated so-called landlords of Zamfara directed their anger toward undermining anything associated with Zamfara State (shame).

This has led to smear campaigns and the spreading of misinformation to sabotage the ongoing transformation under the rescue commander, Dauda Lawal, of 377,726 brigades (pun intended). It is not new; I can safely call it a new normal for admirers, supporters, and people battling an inferiority complex (like the frustrated so-called landlords) and craving attention to create something around the name Dauda Lawal.

I will repeat, everything surrounding Mr Dauda Lawal is newsworthy. It attracts traffic and gives life to people who dont have a life to live. For some, especially the so-called landlords in Zamfara State, it is oxygen; they need the rhythmic repetition of the name to survive. Ask an average Nigerian, from Lagos to Yola, Maiduguri to Abakaliki, about the man Dauda, the Zamfara Governor. Youll have different views and reactions. Some call him the billionaire governor.

For Instagram and social media Gen Z, he is the young man they refuse to agree is 60 years old. The journalists call him the vocal, fearless, and well-articulated Dauda. Most importantly, it is for the people of Zamfara. To them, Dauda is a commander in charge of a rescue mission that turned the sorry situation of workers into a life of dignity.

He is the man who gives life back to dilapidated hospitals across the state. He is the man who revives education by changing the ugly narrative of the state always being at the bottom. It has never happened in the history of the state to have a governor so passionate about workers as Dauda.

In just two years in office, he settled a backlog of N13.6 billion in gratuity that previous governments had intentionally refused to pay since 2011. For an average Zamfara person, Dauda is the man who renovated all 14 general hospitals in Zamfara. Also, they were all equipped with state-of-the-art machines, something former president Obasanjo witnessed while commissioning the Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital.

He said, I know some teaching hospitals that dont have CT scans and MRIs. Some have the machines, but they are not operational. Here in Zamfara, you have it; it is working and providing service. Governor Dauda is doing wonders in Zamfara. When any frustrated so-called landlord barks, splash the videos of the 70% completed airport that is about to start operations.

This man is not here to play. He is not your regular politician. It is not just the swag, akwai brain, and political will. Dauda Lawals impact extends across Zamfaras 14 local government areas, with numerous development projects underway, including schools, healthcare centers, and skills training centers.

His administration improves infrastructure and social services, and road construction enhances connectivity for residents. Don Allah, why wont these so-called retired landlords be frustrated? Dauda will continue to give them something to cry about. Zamfara is on the rise.

* Sulaiman Idris is the Spokesperson for the Zamfara State Governor
First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) has recorded a major victory at the Court of Appeal in its dispute with General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL).

In a judgment delivered on Thursday, the Court of Appeal, specially convened during its vacation at the instance of GHL, set aside the earlier decision of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, which had dismissed FirstBanks claims over the diversion of proceeds from the sale of crude oil pledged as collateral for loan facilities.

The dispute centred on crude oil aboard the FPSO Tamara Tokoni, which GHL had pledged to FirstBank as security for substantial loan facilities. Contrary to the pledge, GHL allegedly diverted proceeds from the sale of the cargo, prompting the bank to seek judicial intervention.

FirstBank appealed the trial courts ruling, which had treated the matter as a simple debt recovery claim.

The Court of Appeal, however, upheld the banks position, affirming the maritime nature of the dispute and stressing the importance of preserving the res (the crude oil cargo) as the core subject of litigation. It accordingly set aside the trial courts order vacating the arrest of the second respondent.

The appellate court granted FirstBanks appeal, ordered the sale of the crude oil aboard the FPSO Tamara Tokoni, and directed that the proceeds be lodged in an interest-bearing escrow account under the custody of the Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal.

The Registrar was further mandated to take possession of the cargo and safeguard it against any dissipation or unauthorised disposal pending resolution of the case at both the trial court and the court of arbitration.

This ruling represents a significant milestone for FirstBank, reinforcing its commitment to protecting its assets, upholding the integrity of financial transactions, and safeguarding the interests of its stakeholders.

Experts also said the judgment established a strong precedent for the enforcement of collateral agreements and accountability in high-value commercial transactions.
Katsina State Governor, Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, has revealed that six children from each of the states 361 wards have been selected through examinations to attend new special model schools with free education. The governor made this known on Thursday during the launch of the Dan Amana Tested and Trusted Initiative at Nagogo Primary School, Katsina.

Speaking at the event where orphans and vulnerable children received school supplies, Governor Radda said the selection was based purely on merit without favoritism. Our vision is to give these children quality education so that, in the next two or three decades, they will grow to contribute meaningfully to Katsina State, the governor stated.

He emphasized that his administration operates on merit, noting that the state had sponsored children from poor backgrounds to study medicine in Egypt and Artificial Intelligence in China based on academic performance. The Governor described the gathering as significant, saying This is not just any gatheringit is for the noble purpose of helping those most in need, the orphans and the less privileged.

Governor Radda said supporting the underprivileged invites Allahs mercy, adding that his government would always attend such community-building initiatives. He praised teachers for their efforts and urged them to work with government to sustain Katsinas educational legacy.

Earlier, Director General of Dan Amana Tested and Trusted, Suleiman Kabir Barda, said the group was established to support less privileged childrens access to education. Todays launch is only the beginning; we will continue visiting schools regularly, Mr Barda announced while distributing uniforms, books, and school bags to beneficiaries. He explained that the initiative targets children who have lost parents or whose families cannot afford schooling.

Mr Barda also stressed that progress requires community unity to uplift one another, drawing inspiration from the states leadership. The Deputy Chairman of Katsina Local Government, Usman Yusuf Saulawa, representing Chairman Isah Miqdad Ad Saude, described the initiative as noble and timely. He further expressed gratitude to Sulaiman Kabir Barda and his group for the support given to the vulnerable citizens.

The event attracted Commissioner for Higher, Technical and Vocational Education Dr Muhammadu Isa, KYCV Coordinator Mr Kabir Abdullahi, education officials, headmasters, and community leaders.
The Lagos State Government has issued a fresh warning to estate developers against bypassing planning regulations and misusing land designated for other purposes.

The warning came about a month after the government publicly listed 176 illegal estates operating approved layouts.

Speaking during a stakeholder briefing in Lagos on Wednesday, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Oluyinka Olumide, said recent inspections revealed widespread non-compliance in several areas, especially Ibeju-Lekki, Eti-Osa, and adjoining communities.

According to him, many developers have been converting agricultural and industrial land into residential estates without securing the necessary layout and planning approvals. Some of these illegally partitioned lands, he noted, have already been sold to Nigerians in the diaspora despite their unsuitability for housing development.

He stated that tracts of land were not endorsed for use by the ministry and would not get the necessary planning packages .

Before you go into estate development, you are supposed to obtain your layout approval. And what weve seen so far, particularly around Lekki axis, Eti-osa, and Ibeju-lekki area is that people have gone to purchase those (parcels of) land for the purpose of estate development.

A lot of money has been committed into this area, and it will be difficult for those people to come back and say they want to show up in that area, because they will not be able to get a planning package out of that, he said.

Mr Olumide said the ministry recently issued public notices to offending developers, giving them 21 working days to obtain approvals. While some have complied, the commissioner warned that others risk having their estates sealed and declared illegal.

We went out very aggressively, and we collated some estates, even the cases of some that actually commenced the processes, but they did not finish it all. And that was why we went out and we made that publication.

And we gave them 21 working days to enable them to effect the regularization of their various approvals. Some of them have responded, and we are already commencing the process of collecting all the approvals, he said.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the Lagos State Government listed 176 illegal estates without layout approvals in its domains in the state in August. The government issued a 21-day ultimatum to their developers and promoters to regularise their operations by obtaining proper layout approvals.

Lower threshold for approval

Mr Olumide also disclosed the ministry has begun a process to recognise houses that were originally built independently but have now come together to operate as estates, particularly for security and community management purposes.

He explained that modalities have been mapped out to reassess and approve such requests, stressing that the move will help regularise developments and ensure better planning.

Previously, only developments on a minimum of one hectare of land (10,000 square metres) qualified for layout approval for estate development. However, with the growing influx of residents into estate development, the ministry has now reduced the threshold to 5,000 square metres.

With the current influx and move into estate development, we are reducing that now to 5,000 square meters. So, if you have a development now on a land of 5,000 square meters and above, you will be qualified to have a layout approved before you go into the independent planning permit, he said.

The commissioner also highlighted the importance of producing guiding documents such as regional plans and model city plans, which serve as critical frameworks for regulating estate development across the state.

According to him, these planning documents remain key to guiding its activities and ensuring orderly growth within residential communities.

READ ALSO: Lagos real estate developers decry infiltration of association

Lagos illegal estate problem

Lagos, Nigeria commercial nerve centre is experiencing a boom in estate development to cater to the citys rising population. However, this expansion is often at the expense of lands ear marked for agricultural and industrial purposes.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported that the state government declared 176 estates illegal for not possessing an approved layout. The developers were issued a 21-day ultimatum to regularise their operations or face sanctions.

Beyond the encroachment on scarce farmlands, poorly planned estates often create additional problems such as flooding, disrupted drainage systems, and blocked waterways. Also, individuals who invest in these estates face disputes and litigation when these properties are eventually demolished.
Gallaudet University's solar and battery storage system shows reliability of distributed energy resources Post this

Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., is reaping the benefits of one of the largest microgrids in the city, which school officials installed on the campus in 2023.

A microgrid is an energy system that can operate independently from the main grid. Gallaudet's microgrid combines multiple forms of distributed energy resources, including hundreds of solar panels spread across seven rooftops; any energy the school doesn't use immediately can be stored in a campus battery.

By producing most of its own energy on-site, Gallaudet is easing the burden on the local utility gridand the university's energy bill.

"The main reason for the microgrid is it's going to save the university a lot of money," said Dave Good, director of energy, utilities, and sustainability at Gallaudet University. "We anticipate it's going to save about 40% on our energy bills every year, which is millions of dollars. It's a very good investment. It's going to have a relatively quick return."

The microgrid has other benefits: It's a resilient backup in the event of grid outagesno small matter in an era of increasingly frequent severe weatherand provides clean energy to D.C. neighborhoods through Washington's community solar program, administered through local utility, Pepco.

Area residents who subscribe to the community solar program receive credits on their electricity bills, reducing their monthly electric bills by up to 10%. To date, more than 400 households have subscribed to Gallaudet's community solar offering.

"We have all this space and we're able to maximize the economic and environmental benefits, and the community benefits through the community solar program," Good said.

Good and experts from the clean energy financing initiative Urban Ingenuity (an affiliate of Working Power, an organization that co-develops clean energy projects) and distributed energy company Scale Microgrids worked together to develop the microgrid. Officials from each entity led a tour for staff members from The Pew Charitable Trusts and university faculty to showcase the facility and explain distributed energy resources and the benefits they yield for the campus and community.

Good explained that the university uses a single "point of common coupling," or one dedicated point, where Pepco delivers electricity to the university. That grid design allows Gallaudet to easily switch from the Pepco grid to the school microgrid when needed.

The formation and economics of the project are distinct. In 2015, Urban Ingenuity conducted a citywide microgrid study, with support from the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment. The study identified Gallaudet as a top contender for a microgrid system based on criteria and a scoring system that balanced economic, financial, and regulatory concerns.

As part of the project agreement, the university earns revenue from leasing rooftops for solar arrays to Scale Microgrids. The battery energy storage also helps the grid operator for the mid-Atlantic region, PJM, safely and reliably deliver electricity through its "frequency response program." This allows the university to earn revenue from the energy it provides while assisting PJM in balancing energy supply and demand.

Dr. Christopher Hayes, an assistant professor of mathematics at Gallaudet who joined the tour, said energy costs are frequently a topic of conversation in his classroom.

"Students are, of course, naturally interested in green energy, but they rarely know what the costs of electricity are in daily life," Hayes said. "The microgrid will help me give a concrete, real-world example that they can study, and help them appreciate that green energy can be the smart economic choice. I think it's a great opportunity."

Good is also excited about the energy reliability the microgrid provides, including during weather-related outages. "We'll continue to be able to operate campus and really have almost no disruption at all," he said. "When we're disconnected from the grid, that's called 'islanded' because we're on an island of electricity generation on the campus. We've already tested this out a few times and were able to operate the entire campus using electricity from our microgrid. So, it's proven, and it is an exciting benefit."

Today, there are hundreds of microgrids around the United States, including at other universities and many facilities that depend on electricity to operate essential servicesfire stations, hospitals, and wastewater treatment plants, among others.

Developing a microgrid project can be a complicated process that requires expertise to navigate regulatory, engineering, and financial complexities. However, Bracken Hendricks, co-founder and CEO of Urban Ingenuity, said microgrid technologies are advancing quickly and, with growing energy demand and rising utility bills, more microgrids may soon be operational in the U.S.

"It's really a solid economic payback," Good said. Further, he added, the microgrid "helps Gallaudet to achieve its mission to educate deaf and hard of hearing students."

For more information, visit Energy Modernization | The Pew Charitable Trusts (pewtrusts.org)

Contact: Matt Herbert, officer, [email protected], 605-759-8911

SOURCE The Pew Charitable Trusts
China's AI-Driven Apparel Innovation Set to Take the International Stage

HANGZHOU, China, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- With its outstanding strength in applying artificial intelligence (AI) to the field of garment production innovation, Aitu recently received the 2025 IFA AI Product Innovation Gold Award in Berlin, Germany. As one of the world's top technology exhibitions, this year's IFA saw fierce competition in AI technology - particularly from Chinese brands, whose rapid rise is reshaping the global tech landscape and marking a milestone for China's AI innovation.

This honor from IFA not only recognizes Aitu's strengths in the integration of artificial intelligence with garment smart manufacturing, humanoid robots, and other industrial intelligent manufacturing applications, but also signifies Aitu's leading position in the race for innovation in the convergence of AI and garment manufacturing industries, demonstrating its increasingly important role on the global stage.

As the premium AI brand developed by Jack Technology (Stock Code: 603337), a global leader in intelligent sewing, Aitu is devoted to developing AI technologies and applying them within intelligent garment production. Building upon AI-driven equipment, the brand is pursuing the research and development of humanoid robots and automated production modules, accelerating the industry's transition toward labor-light manufacturing.

"In the global wave of industrial intelligence, artificial intelligence is replacing traditional decision-making at lower cost and with greater speed, empowering us to respond with agility to the evolving needs of our customers. AI significantly boosts overall management efficiency, enabling businesses to stay competitive in the fast-paced garment industry," said Steven Zhang, President of Aitu. "We have achieved a groundbreaking milestone with the initial application of AI technology in B-end industrial manufacturing. Moving forward, we will keep AI as our cornerstonedeepening humanoid robot integration with intelligent apparel equipment and scaling AI-driven manufacturing across production lines worldwide.

Aitu will host its global brand launch at the Shanghai Tower on September 23, 2025. Themed "Al Reinvents Sewing Machine," the event will showcase Aitu's AI-powered apparel production solutions, reshaping the landscape of the global manufacturing industry.

SOURCE Aitu
Gala honors Renowned Surgeon Jesse M. Lewin, MD, FAAD, FACS and Global Pharmaceutical Leader Sanofi

NEW YORK, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On Wednesday evening, at The Plaza Hotel, American Skin Association (ASA) held their Annual Gala. They presented awards to two outstanding honorees and celebrated another successful year of funding research and educating youth on skin health. The gala was attended by over 300 of ASA's loyal supporters and donors, including philanthropists, business leaders, and renowned physicians from the field of dermatology.

This year, awards were presented:

Jesse M. Lewin, MD, FAAD, FACS, Chief of Mohs Micrographic and Dermatologic Surgery, Vice Chair of Surgical Operations, Director of the Kimberly and Eric J. Waldman Melanoma and Skin Cancer Center, Fellowship Director - Micrographic Surgery and Dermatologic Oncology Fellowship, and Associate Professor of Dermatology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and The Kimberly and Eric J. Waldman Department of Dermatology, was presented ASA's Clinical Excellence in Melanoma and Skin Cancer Award for his tireless work towards discovering new dermatological therapies which bring hope to patients.

The award was presented by Mark G. Lebwohl, MD who praised Dr. Lewin's continued dedication to Dermatologic Surgery, his care for patients, and his mentorship of the next generation of dermatologic surgeons.

Global pharmaceutical leader, Sanofi, received ASA's 2025 Corporate Leadership Award. The award was presented by Emma Guttman-Yassky, MD, PhD and was accepted by Sanofi's Shaju Backer, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Immunology and Paul Rowe, MD, Senior Vice President, Head of Medical, Sanofi Specialty Care.

Sanofi is one of the world's leading healthcare companies  an R&D driven, AI-powered biopharma company committed to improving people's lives and creating compelling growth. Sanofi's mission is to chase the miracles of science to improve people's lives by discovering, developing, and delivering innovative medicines and vaccines for millions around the world.

Howard P. Milstein, Chairman of ASA, said, "ASA is proud to present Dr. Jesse Lewin and Sanofi these much-deserved awards for their dedication to the field of dermatology. Both Dr. Lewin and Sanofi share in our mission and we look forward to continuing to partner as we work towards finding cures for skin diseases."

For nearly four decades, ASA and its affiliates have funded over $50 million in grants to support the work of more than 300 promising young scientists. Recipients, who work on breakthrough efforts to prevent, detect, and treat skin cancer and other skin diseases, have gone on to become top researchers in dermatology. The critical research funded by ASA addresses not only the causes and treatments of melanoma, vitiligo, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and other skin diseases, but also promises remarkable breakthroughs in the search for long-sought-after cures.

"I congratulate Dr. Jesse Lewin and Sanofi on their honors this evening. We look forward to continuing our long-standing work with physicians like Dr. Lewin and organizations like Sanofi as we work together to provide hope to patients and their families," said President of ASA, Dr. James G. Krueger.

ASA's educational mission is no less crucial. The organization continues to support the SPOTS (Sun Protection Outreach Teaching by Students) program, a free community outreach program designed to teach students from preschool through high school about the importance of early detection and prevention of skin cancer. ASA's educational contributions are part of a growing worldwide understanding of the importance of skin health awareness.

The event's Master of Ceremonies was NBC's Emmy-winning weather anchor Dave Price. Mr. Price has emceed the event in previous years and was once again a wonderful addition to the festivities.

ABOUT AMERICAN SKIN ASSOCIATION

A unique collaboration of patients, families, advocates, physicians, and scientists, ASA has evolved over nearly four decades as a leading force in efforts to defeat melanoma, vitiligo, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and other skin diseases. Established to serve the now more than 100 million Americans  one-third of the U.S. population  afflicted with skin disorders, the organization's mission remains to: advance research, champion skin health, particularly among children, and drive public awareness about skin disease. ASA is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. For more information, visit americanskin.org.

American Skin Association has earned Candid's 2025 Seal of Platinum Transparency and the Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator.

SOURCE American Skin Association
ACCRA, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama has described China's zero-tariff policy for Africa as a unique opportunity for the continent to leverage for greater prosperity.

Answering questions from the media during his first major press encounter since assuming power in January, Mahama said late Wednesday that the incentive from China is good news for Africa to increase exports to the Asian country.

"We need to look at the items China imports from the United States and see where we have a comparative advantage to take up those opportunities," Mahama said, listing certain agricultural products as a starting point.

Mahama said African countries, including Ghana, could also diversify their products to export more to the Chinese market with a population of 1.4 billion people.

He said Ghana, for instance, could take advantage of the opportunity to produce more agro-based products for the Chinese market to make up for any lost opportunities in the U.S. market.

"We have arable land and are in the position to expand our production to take advantage of these opportunities, so that the zero tariff will make meaningful sense for us," he said.

Mahama blamed the United States for disrupting the rules-based trade that all countries worked hard to create through various rounds of talks.

The president said the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which provided eligible sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access to the U.S. market for thousands of products, came to an end this September and would not be renewed due to the U.S. tariff war, which has imposed a 15-percent tariff on small countries like Ghana.

"Nobody wins tariff wars. It's unfortunate that America is upending the whole world trade system. We all worked toward a rules-based trading system. It took years of negotiation. From there, reasonable tariffs were agreed upon between countries," Mahama noted.

China recently announced the expansion of its zero-tariff policy to cover all 53 African countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations. 
IRVING, Texas, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Anderson & Vreeland Inc., a prominent company in the flexographic printing industry, is expanding its team with the addition of Andy Knapp as a Technical Manager. Knapp will focus on photopolymer plate Imaging technologies and flexography. This strategic hire is aimed at further strengthening the company's field service capabilities and enhancing customer support.

Andy Knapp, Technical Manager

The addition of Knapp to the Field Service team will ensure that customers can achieve the maximum potential from their flexographic printing equipment, materials, and resources. The company aims to provide personalized advice and support so that clients can fully utilize Anderson & Vreeland's offerings to achieve excellent results in their printing processes.

"Andy Knapp is set to make a significant impact, and I couldn't be happier to welcome him! " said Larry Dingman, Director of Polymer Sales. "With over 15 years of diverse experience in the flexographic printing industry, from graphic prepress to print lab management, I am confident that Andy's expertise will be invaluable in helping our customers optimize their plate production and overcome any challenges they may face."

Knapp brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his new role:

He has over 15 years of experience in the flexographic printing industry.

His background includes roles in graphic prepress, plate making, technical service, and print lab management.

Well versed in numerous software solutions for graphic reproduction, image processing, automation and workflow systems.

This diverse experience will be a significant asset to customers and internal teams in plate optimization and troubleshooting. As a former Senior Technical Advisor for XSYS North America Corporation, Knapp is already well versed in all products, equipment and technologies offered by XSYS, a premier Anderson & Vreeland partner. As a company representative, Knapp has interfaced with industry and professional organizations, including the Flexographic Technical Association (FTA) and Flexible Packaging Association.

Knapp himself expressed enthusiasm about joining the company, stating, "I'm excited to be joining such a robust and well-rounded team with an excellent reputation within the industry, and I'm looking forward to working with and serving our customers to the best of my abilities!"

Knapp holds an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in both Graphic Arts & Imaging Technology and Graphic Arts, Flexography Concentration. Outside of work, Knapp is a musician and spends much of his free time playing piano.

Anderson & Vreeland, Inc. is a privately held company with over 60 years of experience and is committed to providing personalized guidance and support to its flexographic printing customers, ensuring they can fully utilize the company's equipment, materials, and resources. Renowned for its innovative solutions and exceptional customer service, the company prides itself on seamlessly integrating the most effective and advanced technologies into its clients' businesses. For more information about Anderson & Vreeland, Inc. can help optimize your corrugated, letterpress or label printing processes, we encourage you to visit their website at www.andersonvreeland.com.

SOURCE Anderson & Vreeland Inc.
The national nonprofit's executive director is recognized for his leadership and dedication to protecting the lives of animals across the country

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Animal Rescue Corps (ARC), a leading national animal protection nonprofit, announced today that its executive director, Tim Woodward, has been named a CNN Hero in recognition of his leadership and commitment to protecting animals. His story is currently featured on the news outlet's website.

Animal Rescue Corps Executive Director Tim Woodward has been named a CNN Hero for his leadership and commitment to protecting animals nationwide.

"While I am deeply honored to be nominated, this recognition belongs to the incredible donors, volunteers and partners who make ARC's success possible," Woodward said. "Every day, they pour their hearts, time and energy into saving lives and giving animals the second chance they deserve. My hope is that this nomination helps raise awareness of the urgent need for rescue resources across the country and inspires people to join us in creating a more compassionate world."

Headquartered in Washington, D.C. with a flagship rescue center near Nashville, Tennessee, ARC works nationally to end animal suffering through direct rescue, emergency relief, cruelty intervention and community education. It provides critical resources in large-scale cases of abuse, neglect, hoarding and natural disasters while partnering closely with law enforcement and local shelters to remove animals from crisis situations and place them on the path to recovery and adoption.

Woodward helped found ARC in 2010 after learning how few resources existed to solve instances of large-scale animal suffering. After serving as the animal protection group's chief operations officer for nearly eight years, Woodward was named as its executive director in October 2018. He was recognized by the Animal Legal Defense Fund as one of America's Top Ten Animal Defenders in 2020.

Now in its 19th year, CNN Heroes celebrates everyday people making the world a better place. Later this year, viewers will have the chance to vote online for the 2025 CNN Hero of the Year, which will be chosen from this year's finalists, including Woodward. The winner will be announced in December during the "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" broadcast and awarded a total of $110,000.

To learn more about ARC's mission or to make a donation, visit https://animalrescuecorps.org/.

About Animal Rescue Corps

Since 2010, Animal Rescue Corps (ARC), a national animal protection nonprofit organization, has provided large-scale animal rescue for communities that lack resources to address abuse. In addition to emergency rescue, ARC offers education and shelter relief. ARC's mission is to end animal suffering through direct and compassionate action and to inspire the highest ethical standards of humanity towards animals. To learn more about Animal Rescue Corps, visit https://animalrescuecorps.org/.

SOURCE Animal Rescue Corps
BRESCIA, Italy, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Antares Vision Group, an Italian multinational leading provider in Track & Trace systems and quality control, which guarantees the safety of products and transparency of supply chains through integrated data management, is proud to announce the official signing of a strategic agreement with the Medicines Control Agency (MCA) of The Gambia to deliver its DIAMIND Government Solutions.

Gianluca Mazzantini, CEO of Antares Vision Group with Mr. Essa Marenah, Executive Director of Medicines Control Agency of The Gambia

The project is expected to kick off in the last quarter of 2025 and will play a crucial role in supporting The Gambia's efforts to secure the pharmaceutical supply chain and embed deeply integrated digital systems across the MCA's processes. The MCA will serve as the responsible implementing body.

Antares Vision Group is proud to partner with a local Gambian organization, Africa Agenda Network (AAN) in this groundbreaking initiative. "Our role is to ensure that the local context, needs, and perspectives of all stakeholders are fully integrated into the implementation. This cooperation highlights the importance of strong local structures and inclusive engagement to achieve sustainable success for The Gambia and the broader ECOWAS (Economic Community of West Africa States) region," affirmed Mr. Saul Frazer, President of Africa Agenda Network (AAN).

"Antares Vision Group is honored to support the Medicines Control Agency of The Gambia in this digital transformation journey. Our solutions will ensure secure, transparent, and efficient pharmaceutical regulations, directly benefiting patients and healthcare stakeholders. We express our gratitude to the MCA under the leadership of Mr Essa Marenah for the efforts and collaboration that went into this joint initiative", said Gianluca Mazzantini, CEO and General Manager of Antares Vision Group.

"This agreement is another important milestone for Antares Vision Group and our Government Solutions Team. Together with MCA, we are committed to building a robust foundation for the future of healthcare regulation and supply chain integrity in The Gambia", added Sebastian Neuwirth, Head of Government Solutions for Antares Vision Group.

The Antares Vision Group would like to take this opportunity and thank the Managing Director & CEO of Africa Agenda Network, Ms Muna Jallow, for her outstanding contribution and guidance in making this great achievement possible.

Transforming The Gambia's Pharmaceutical Landscape

This initiative will have a broad positive impact across all MCA operations, including medicine registration, customs clearance, and inspections. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and data analytics, DIAMIND Government will:

Enhance the safety, transparency, and reliability of the pharmaceutical supply chain;

Provide real-time insights for MCA to monitor medicine registration, availability, and distribution;

Support customs integration to strengthen oversight on imports and inspections;

Introduce digital platforms to improve regulatory efficiency and patient safety.

Roadmap for Expansion and Regional Strategy

Over the next seven years, the project is designed to expand in phases to:

Further digitalize healthcare-related services in The Gambia ;

; Broaden the scope of regulation and oversight;

Extend regulation and traceability to Medical Devices, supporting stronger patient safety and control of the wider healthcare market;

Align closely with The Gambia's National Development Agenda for healthcare transformation.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2770352/AVG_Mazzantini_Gambia.jpg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2770351/AntaresVision_Group_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Antares Vision Group
Acquisition expands Appspace's customer base and deepens its leadership in workplace communication, intranet, and employee experience solutions

TAMPA, Fla., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Appspace, the workplace experience platform that keeps everyone in the know, today announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Igloo Software, a leading modern intranet provider.

This strategic move strengthens Appspace's position as a global leader in employee communications and intranet solutions. It adds more than 325 customers, including Fortune 500 companies and global leaders in the healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and hospitality sectors. With a unified platform approach and continued momentum, Appspace is leading the shift toward people-first workplace experiences built for clarity, agility, and the realities of today's distributed workforce.

"As organizations invest in more effective ways to engage employees, from corporate offices to the front lines, they are looking for seamless platforms that reflect how people actually work," says Tony DiBenedetto, Chief Executive Officer of Appspace. "This acquisition strengthens our ability to connect the dots across communication, content, and space, and it expands our ability to help organizations inform, support, and empower their team members in every environment."

Appspace offers a robust intranet and communications platform used by many of the world's largest companies. The addition of Igloo's team brings complementary expertise in employee communication, culture-building, and digital workplace strategy.

Igloo customers will continue to receive full support. Additionally, they have the opportunity to explore and transition to the fully integrated Appspace platform, which brings together a modern intranet, employee mobile app, digital signage, space reservation, visitor management, wayfinding, and more.

"The future of workplace technology belongs to platforms that are flexible, unified, and designed to support real-world work across roles, teams, and locations," says Mike Gaburo, Chief Executive Officer of Igloo. "We're building on our strong foundation of doing what's best for Igloo customers and giving them more ways to connect their teams and modernize workplace communication through one unified platform."

This acquisition marks Appspace's third in the workplace communications category, following its successful integrations of Beezy and The Marlin Company.

About Appspace

Appspace is the workplace experience platform that keeps everyone in the know. Empower your entire workforce with a single platform for employee communications, digital signage, space reservation, visitor management, and more  making work an experience everyone loves. Join the more than 170 Fortune 500 companies and a global community of users who rely on Appspace every day. Learn more at www.appspace.com

About Igloo Software

Igloo Software is a digital workplace platform that enables a connected, collaborative, and engaged frontline and desk-based workforce for organizations like Restoration Hardware, Leidos, and Marcus Hotels. With a strong commitment to customer success, Igloo supports a large global user base and drives deeper employee engagement through its flexible intranet, content management, and communications capabilities.

SOURCE Appspace, Inc.
Further strengthens the firm's capabilities in cross-border asset-based lending, private credit, and specialty finance

LONDON, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Tom Dell'Avvocato has joined Crowell & Moring U.K. LLP as a partner in its Financial Services Group. Dell'Avvocato brings extensive experience in non-contentious banking and finance transactions, with a focus on domestic and cross-border asset-based lending, as well as leveraged and specialty finance. He advises alternative and private capital providers, bank and non-bank lenders, and corporate borrowers on the structuring, restructuring, and execution of complex financing arrangements.

Asset Based Finance Lawyer Tom DellAvvocato Joins Crowell & Moring in London

Joining Dell'Avvocato in Crowell's London office is associate Kieran Barnes. Dell'Avvocato and Barnes have worked closely together for several years on large mandates, and both join Crowell from Squire Patton Boggs.

"Tom's arrival strengthens our already highly regarded team of finance lawyers in London, advising clients across a broad range of finance matters, with a particular focus on asset-based lending, derivatives, distressed debt, and other forms of specialty finance," said Robert Weekes , managing partner of the firm's London office and a member of the firm's Management Board. "His addition is a key part of the continuing growth of our London team, and I am looking forward to Tom and Kieran working closely with our other practices, such as Restructuring and Insolvency, to support clients across this dynamic sector."

Dell'Avvocato has led various high-profile deals, including the publicized financing of New Look retail group, through cross-border first and second lien asset-based lending facilities provided by Wells Fargo and Blazehill Capital. He also advised BZ Capital in connection with the provision of comprehensive, tailored cross-border asset-based lending facilities to the sponsor-backed Cooper & Turner group.

"The firm is committed to continuing to build its cross-border financial services practice," said Carlton Greene , co-chair of Crowell's Financial Services Group. "Tom's experience enhances the group's capabilities to advise on complex transactions, market innovation, and deliver practical, commercial solutions for lenders, borrowers, and other stakeholders navigating today's financial landscape."

Dell'Avvocato's addition is the latest investment in Crowell's financial services practice. In 2021, lawyers from the Wall Street boutique, Kibbe & Orbe , joined the firm's New York, London, and Washington, D.C. offices to provide expanded service offerings to clients in the financial services industry. That same year, Crowell also added a market-leading derivatives team to the London office.

"I'm delighted to join a thriving London office, which has grown at pace, with a clear sense of mission in the city and beyond," said Dell'Avvocato. "Joining Crowell's global platform and reconnecting with accomplished former colleagues is a privilege and an exciting opportunity to serve and enhance the growth of new and existing clients. I look forward to supporting the firm and our clients' continued success," said Dell'Avvocato.

Dell'Avvocato studied at the University of Nottingham and The University of Law. He is recognized as a "Rising Star" in The Legal 500, "One to Watch in the United Kingdom" for Banking and Finance by Best Lawyers, and is ranked as a "Stand-out Lawyer" by Thomson Reuters.

About Crowell & Moring LLP

Crowell & Moring is an international law firm with operations in the United States, Europe, MENA, and Asia. Drawing on significant government, business, industry, and legal experience, the firm helps clients capitalize on opportunities and provides creative solutions to complex regulatory and policy, litigation, transactional, and intellectual property issues. The firm is consistently recognized for its commitment to pro bono service, as well as its comprehensive programs and initiatives to advance the professional and personal development of all members of the Crowell community.

Media Contact:

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Crowell & Moring LLP
270+ Biking, Hiking & Multi-Adventure Trips Across 7 Continents

BERKELEY, Calif., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Backroads, the global leader in active travel, today announced the release of Explore the World with Backroads, its highly anticipated 284-page color catalog showcasing Hiking & Walking, Biking and Multi-Adventure Tours for 2026. The company's latest travel edition features a record-breaking lineup of more than 270 trips spanning 7 continents, over 60 countries, 5 Canadian provinces and 23 US states.

The 2026 catalog celebrates milestones for three trip collections:

30s & 40s Trips  New for 2026 Epic itineraries designed for travelers in their 30s & 40s who want to explore the world alongside others in a similar life stage.

Unplugged Bike Tours For riders who prefer to keep it acousticon bikes without electric assist. Launched in 2025, this collection has tripled in size for 2026, with departures worldwide. Every climb, descent and view is powered by you.

Women's Adventures Immersive journeys c reated for women traveling alongside other women. Since debuting in 2024, the number of Women's Adventures trips has doubled and is expected to double again in 2026reflecting the strong demand for women-only, active travel.



From easygoing Dolce Tempo journeys and snow-filled winter adventures to active culinary trips and family adventures designed for distinct age groups, Backroads continues to offer active vacations for every traveler's pace, interest and life stage.

Explore the World with Backroads pairs extraordinary photography with engaging trip descriptions and insider insights across seven continents, taking readers on a journey borne of over four decades of experience and innovation. The catalog showcases the expertly designed itineraries, passionate Trip Leaders, flexible daily options and unparalleled on-trip support that set Backroads apart in active travel.

"For nearly five decades we've been helping travelers explore the world in active, meaningful ways," said Tom Hale, Founder, President and CEO of Backroads. "Our 2026 catalog is our best yet, a book of adventures that reflects both our history and our future. With the turn of each page, you can discover your next great adventure."

Backroads Hiking & Walking, Biking and Multi-Adventure Trip Collections

Family Adventuresfor Families with Kids & Teens, Teens & 20s and 20s & Beyond

Easygoing Dolce Tempo

Women's Adventures

30s & 40s Trips NEW!

Unplugged Bike Tours (for riders who prefer no e-assist)

More Ways to Go Active

View the new 2026 Backroads catalog online now or request a copy. To book a Backroads adventure, visit www.backroads.com or call 800-GO-ACTIVE.

Follow Backroads

Instagram: @backroadstravel

Facebook: @BackroadsActiveTravel

About Backroads

Backroads was founded in 1979 by Tom Hale and has been a leading innovator in active and adventure travel for over 45 years. Guests join Backroads to bike, hike and so much more on expertly planned active adventures that highlight the unique character of each destination. The company offers multiple ways to go active in hundreds of destinations worldwide: Biking, Hiking & Walking and Multi-Adventure Tours; Private Trips, Women's Adventures, Dolce Tempo Easygoing Journeys, adventures for 30s & 40s and Family Trips for families with children in distinct age groups: Kids & Teens, Teens & 20s and 20s & Beyond. Backroads trip collections also include Active Ocean & River Cruises, Unplugged Bike Tours (for riders who prefer no e-assist), Lodge-to-Lodge Hiking, Safari, Culinary and Home Base Trips. For more information, please visit backroads.com or call 800-462-2848.

Backroads Media Contact

Liz Einbinder

[email protected]

510-292-2753

SOURCE Backroads
MIAMI, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - BOXX Insurance, a leading global insurtech, today announced a new partnership with Millennial Shift Technologies (mShift), a digital platform to quote, bind and issue cyber, professional liability and management liability coverages. This partnership will enhance broker access to Cyberboxx Business, BOXX's all-in-one solution that combines cyber insurance and cybersecurity services to protect small to medium-sized businesses, while streamlining the placement process through mShift's distribution platform.

Through this partnership, brokers will benefit from:

Broader Access: Seamless availability of BOXX's all-in-one cyber insurance and professional liability offerings for SMEs and business owners directly within mShift's placement platform.

Seamless availability of BOXX's all-in-one cyber insurance and professional liability offerings for SMEs and business owners directly within mShift's placement platform. Efficiency & Speed: Streamlined quoting, binding and policy management, reducing manual processes and improving broker workflows.

Streamlined quoting, binding and policy management, reducing manual processes and improving broker workflows. Enhanced Customer Experience: A modern, data-driven solution that delivers greater accuracy, transparency and responsiveness for brokers and their clients.

"Partnering with mShift is another step forward to make cyber and professional liability insurance more accessible, efficient and impactful for our broker partners and their clients," said Christyn Yoast, President USA at BOXX Insurance. "This collaboration allows BOXX to combine mShift's cutting-edge technology via distribution channels that we didn't have access to before," Yoast continued.

Mark Meury, Founder and CEO of Millennial Shift Technologies, said the partnership aligns with mShift's mission to build smarter distribution channels and more connected distribution, "By bringing BOXX's all-in-one cyber insurance and protection products onto the mShift Marketplace, our broker partners will access the speed, clarity and confidence they need to deliver cyber and professional liability to their clients in a fastmoving, highdemand cyber market." M. Meury continued, "This partnership demonstrates our commitment to arming brokers with efficient tools so they can spend more time advising clients and less time on administrative processes."

The partnership highlights both organizations' commitment to advancing digital distribution in specialty insurance by helping Brokers meet the growing demand amongst their clients for cyber insurance and professional liability solutions.

About BOXX Insurance

BOXX Insurance helps businesses, individuals and families insure and defend against cyber threats, harnessing the power of ALL IN ONE Cyber Insurance and Protection. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with offices worldwide, BOXX is a global, award-winning provider of cyber protection services & cyber insurance coverage.

We're not a typical insurance company. That's by design. We're obsessive about making our clients' digital worlds safer and more livable; creating real, positive changes for our clients, partners and brokers. With comprehensive, technologically advanced products and services that have a strong emphasis on predicting, preventing and insuring against negative cyber events, BOXX is dedicated to protecting and digitally safeguarding our clients, our brokers' clients and our partners' customers, 365 days a year.

BOXX Insurance Inc. is part of Zurich Global Ventures, a global platforms business providing products and services that go beyond traditional insurance. Zurich Global Ventures aims to get closer to customers by offering customized, proactive and digital experiences that empower individuals and businesses to be better prepared for the future.

About Millennial Shift Technologies (mShift)

Millennial Shift Technologies, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, provides a whitelabel digital platform that allows insurance professionals to quote, bind and issue policies across multiple carriers within minutes. mShift partners with "A"rated carriers to offer brokers access to over 350 class codes and multiple lines of business. The platform's marketplace toolssuch as digital marketing, application tracking and bridging/exchangehelp brokers save time and remain competitive.

For Media Inquiries, please contact:

Sarah Madden, Growth Marketing & Communications Lead, BOXX Insurance, [email protected]

Media Relations, Millennial Shift Technologies: [email protected]

SOURCE BOXX Insurance
New industry whitepaper authored by noted compliance/regulatory expert Sander Ressler explores benefits of third-party providers

SANTA FE, N.M., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A newly released whitepaper authored by renowned financial services compliance consultant Sander Ressler takes a closer look at the role outsourcing plays in supporting wealth management firms in an evolving regulatory landscape  and finding that within today's business ecosystem, leveraging third-party providers can optimize outcomes on many fronts. Mr. Ressler is the founder and CEO of Essential Edge Compliance Outsourcing Services, LLC (Essential Edge), which provides third-party outsourced compliance services for broker-dealers and registered investment advisers.

The whitepaper explores the confluence of forces, including technological innovation, shifting attitudes toward work, the rise of the gig economy and increasing demand for specialization, that are driving this shift and considers the ramifications in his report.

"Compliance has traditionally been among the most important, complex and expensive functional areas within the wealth management industry," said Mr. Ressler. "So, it's not surprising that businesses are increasingly considering outsourcing as a means to leverage specialized knowledge without incurring the costs associated with W-2 employees, as non-traditional work paradigms are transforming the very idea of employment throughout the economy."

According to the whitepaper, the total cost of an $80,000 employee could actually run $112,000 or more annually, while the average tenure for workers in the U.S. was 3.9 years (2.7 years for workers between ages 25 and 35).

Mr. Ressler's analysis reaches beyond the economic ramifications of outsourcing to discuss the intangible benefits, such as:

The ability to select the expertise you need, when you need it, quickly

Access to innovative technologies without integrating platforms with your legacy tech stack

Freeing up your internal team to focus on value-add, pro-growth priorities instead of labor-intensive tasks

Increased objectivity when handling sensitive situations since there are no internal conflicts of interest

The paper, titled "Should Wealth Management Firms Build Out Internal Compliance Staff or Bring on Outsourced Compliance Services?" delivers insightful perspectives to wealth management enterprises on best practices for approaching compliance oversight challenges in a low cost, efficient and effective way. Readers can review the entire whitepaper by visiting www.eeoutsourcing.com or clicking here.

About Essential Edge Compliance Outsourcing Services, LLC

Essential Edge Compliance Outsourcing Services, LLC ("Essential Edge") is a strategic consultancy specializing in compliance and regulatory affairs. Headquartered in Santa Fe, NM and encompassing 25+ seasoned compliance supervision professionals across the country, Essential Edge delivers outsourced branch inspections to wealth management firms including RIAs, hybrid RIAs, Offices of Supervisory Jurisdiction (OSJs) and independent financial advisor practices affiliated with broker-dealers throughout the country. Essential Edge's service offerings are designed to rapidly identify and resolve compliance issues in branch office sales and operations for independent broker-dealers before they escalate into expensive and time-consuming issues.

Essential Edge is a Strategic Partner Firm of Ascentix Partners Network, the alliance of elite independent consultancies focused on driving growth for wealth enterprises.

For more information, please visit www.eeoutsourcing.com.

Media Contact: Lorene Yue, Haven Tower Group, LLC, 424 317 4854

SOURCE Essential Edge Compliance Outsourcing Services, LLC
CLEVELAND, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Enprotech, a leading North American provider of heavy equipment repair, rebuild, remanufacturing, and modernization services, is pleased to announce the grand opening of its new Field Service Office in Longview, Texas, on September 30, 2025. This expansion underscores Enprotech's commitment to enhancing operational readiness and reducing downtime for manufacturing partners across the region.

Strategically Located to Serve Growing Needs

Enprotech opens Longview, TX Field Service Office to expand fast, reliable heavy equipment repair & maintenance support. Post this

The Longview facility expands Enprotech's reach into the metal forming, fabrication, and production industries in Texas, one of the nation's leaders in manufacturing outputparticularly fabricated metals, machinery, and energy-related equipment. Establishing a dedicated East Texas base allows Field Service teamsspecializing in installation, relocation, preventive maintenance, on-site repairs, and equipment health assessmentsto deliver faster, more efficient support to customers across the South-Central U.S.

Expanding Capability, Reinforcing Service Excellence

With more than a century of engineering and service leadership, Enprotech is recognized as a one-stop partner in metal stamping, forming, pressing, and forgingespecially in steel and aluminum production. The new Texas office strengthens Enprotech's ability to provide rapid, on-site technical support and maintenance, reinforcing its reputation for reliability and responsiveness.

Executive Commentary

"We're excited to open our Longview Field Service Office as part of our strategic expansion in the South," said Luke Smith, Vice President of US Field Service Operations, Enprotech. "This new presence significantly improves our ability to respond and deliver top-tier, on-site service with speed, precision, and true partnership to companies across the south-central region."

Grand Opening Event

Date: September 30, 2025

Time: 3:006:00 PM CST

Location: Longview Field Service Office, 235 Lone Star Parkway, White Oak, Texas

Attendees are asked to RSVP by September 22 to Ms. Kyley Hakes at [email protected].

About Enprotech

Enprotech is one of North America's premier providers of heavy production equipment repair, rebuild, remanufacturing, modernization, and field service. Serving industries such as metal forming, stamping, pressing, forging, steel, and aluminum production, Enprotech delivers value through equipment lifecycle optimization and engineering solutions. A subsidiary of Industrious Group Inc., the company is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, with multiple operational facilities across the continent.

SOURCE Enprotech Industrial Technologies
FAI-Score has stronger predictive value than hsCRP for 10-year cardiac death, even among those with zero calcium score and no visible coronary plaque

In patients with low hsCRP, high FAI-Score predicts 7-fold higher risk of cardiac death

OXFORD, England, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Caristo Diagnostics , announced the late breaking scientific evidence presented at the 75th annual ESC Congress 2025, confirming CaRi-Heart Fat Attenuation Index Score (FAI-Score) technology's superior and complementary predictive value for cardiac death beyond high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), a systemic inflammation biomarker.

At the recent ESC late-breaking clinical science session, Oxford University researchers reported their study findings on the interplay between hsCRP and FAI-Score for cardiovascular risk prediction. hsCRP captures systemic inflammatory pathways in a blood test, while FAI-Score measure coronary inflammation specifically by mapping perivascular adipose tissue changes in routine coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). The study recruited 103 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery from the Oxford Heart Vessel and Fat study, while it included also a series of post-mortem CT scans linked with histological preparations of the coronary arteries to better understand the relationship between FAI-Score and coronary inflammation. Finally, the study enrolled 16,465 consecutive individuals from the Oxford Risk Factor and Non-Invasive Imaging (ORFAN) study (NCT05169333).

Study results confirmed FAI-Score's predictive value for cardiac mortality:

FAI-Score is more specific in capturing certain types of inflammatory cells inside the human coronary artery which is directly related to atherogenesis, while hsCRP relates to a broader range of systemic inflammatory responses

FAI-Score has very high prognostic performance for cardiac mortality and identifies high risk patients even in population without elevated hsCRP, especially among patients with zero calcium score and no visible coronary plaques, while risk prediction is consistent for over a decade after the CCTA scan

FAI-Score and hsCRP are complementary - if both are elevated, cardiac mortality risk is more than 25 times higher

Caristo's FAI-Score technology was originally developed at Oxford University with funding from The British Heart Foundation (BHF).

Professor Charalambos Antoniades, BHF Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Oxford and lead investigator of the study, commented: "Inflammation is a key process for coronary atherosclerosis, and FAI-Score is known to predict inflammatory risk. Interestingly, our study unveils the specific inflammatory pathways within the human arteries that are captured by FAI-Score, and confirms its specificity for local inflammatory pathways within the human arteries different to what is captured by hsCRP. This opens up new opportunities for using the CaRi-Heart FAI-Score technology to guide treatments in clinical practice."

Caristo Diagnostics is on a mission to transform the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease, and its CaRi-Heart technology is the only product around the world with the FAI-Score capabilities. CaRi-Heart technology is regulatory cleared for use in Europe, UK, Australia, and is pending FDA clearance for U.S. clinical use. In the meantime, the company has achieved two significant U.S. regulatory milestones in 2025. The AMA CPT Panel approved a new Category III CPT for the CaRi-Heart technology. In addition, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted clearance for Caristo's CaRi-Plaque technology for plaque and stenosis quantification.

About Caristo Diagnostics

Caristo Diagnostics is a global leader in AI-powered heart disease detection. A spinout from the University of Oxford, Caristo's award-winning technology is transforming cardiovascular care by identifying hidden heart attack risks before symptoms appear. Backed by leading hospitals and scientists, Caristo is on a mission to save lives through early detection and personalized prevention. For more information, visit caristo.com . Find Caristo online on LinkedIn , YouTube, and X .

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2054669/5504742/Caristo_Logo.jpg

SOURCE CARISTO DIAGNOSTICS
LONDON, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- British Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson was sacked on Thursday following revelations about his friendship with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

The recently released Epstein's 50th "birthday book" contains a letter from Mandelson, who called Epstein his "best pal."

Epstein, who had extensive connections with U.S. political and business elites, was arrested on sex crime charges and died in prison in August 2019. His death was officially ruled a suicide.

Details revealed by the media show that Mandelson told Epstein to "fight for early release" in their email correspondence when Epstein faced charges over soliciting a minor.

"I can still barely understand it. It just could not happen in Britain," Mandelson wrote to Epstein in his email.

"The emails show that the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment," said Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in a statement.

"In particular, Peter Mandelson's suggestion that Jeffrey Epstein's first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged is new information. In light of that, and mindful of the victims of Epstein's crimes, he has been withdrawn as Ambassador with immediate effect," it added. 
(in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted)

TORONTO, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Franco-Nevada Corporation ("Franco-Nevada" or the "Company") is very pleased to announce that it has reached a settlement with the Canada Revenue Agency ("CRA") which provides for a final resolution of Franco-Nevada's tax dispute in connection with the reassessments under transfer pricing rules of the 2013 to 2019 taxation years (the "Reassessments") related to income generated by two of the Company's wholly-owned foreign subsidiaries, Franco-Nevada (Barbados) Corporation and Franco-Nevada Mexico Corporation, S.A. de C.V. ("Franco-Nevada Barbados" and "Franco-Nevada Mexico", respectively) outside of Canada.

Settlement Highlights

The settlement will not require the payment of any tax in Canada on the foreign earnings of Franco-Nevada Barbados and Franco-Nevada Mexico for the 2013 to 2019 taxation years.

on the foreign earnings of Franco-Nevada Barbados and Franco-Nevada Mexico for the 2013 to 2019 taxation years. The service fee charged by Franco-Nevada for certain services provided to Franco-Nevada Barbados and Franco-Nevada Mexico will be adjusted to increase the mark-up applied to Franco-Nevada's cost of providing those services from the current range of 7-20% to 30%.

This additional service fee will result in Franco-Nevada being subjected to Canadian tax on additional income of C$1.4 million in Canada for the 2013 to 2019 taxation years. After the application of non-capital losses, Franco-Nevada does not anticipate any additional cash taxes will arise in respect of these years as a result of the settlement.

in for the 2013 to 2019 taxation years. After the application of non-capital losses, Franco-Nevada does not anticipate any additional cash taxes will arise in respect of these years as a result of the settlement. Transfer pricing penalties reflected in the Reassessments will be reversed. The interest charges reflected in the Reassessments will be reduced and adjusted consequentially to the adjustments described above.

The settlement is not legally binding on the CRA for years after 2019, however, we believe the transfer pricing principles established by the settlement will apply to years after 2019, provided there are no material changes to the facts or law.

"We are pleased to reach this settlement with the CRA and believe it is a great outcome for Franco-Nevada and its shareholders," said Paul Brink, President & CEO of Franco-Nevada. "This settlement provides greater investment certainty for our global growth ambitions and puts the tax dispute behind us. We can now continue to focus on adding high-quality, long-life assets to our diverse portfolio as we have done over the last 18 months with approximately $3 billion of transactions being completed."

Advisors and Counsel

Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP acted as legal counsel to Franco-Nevada.

Corporate Summary

Franco-Nevada Corporation is the leading gold-focused royalty and streaming company with the largest and most diversified portfolio of cash-flow producing assets. Its business model provides investors with gold price and exploration optionality while limiting exposure to cost inflation. Franco-Nevada uses its free cash flow to expand its portfolio and pay dividends. It trades under the symbol FNV on both the Toronto and New York stock exchanges. Franco-Nevada is the gold investment that works.

SOURCE Franco-Nevada Corporation
With management now in-house, Gallaher Signature Living is perfectly positioned to shape the future of senior living in California

WINDSOR, Calif., Sept. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Gallaher Companies, a multi-generational business with decades of experience in senior living design and development, today announced the launch of Gallaher Signature Living (GSL). The new management company will oversee operations for Gallaher Companies' growing portfolio of luxury senior living communities across California.

Spearheading this initiative is the appointment of Page Ensor as Chief Executive Officer. A respected industry veteran, Ensor brings more than 25 years of senior living leadership, including oversight of 70 communities across 4 states during her tenure with Brookdale Senior Living. Her expertise in finance, operations, and hands-on management uniquely positions her to guide GSL's next phase of growth and innovation.

"Page has an impressive combination of financial acumen and business sense, paired with a deep appreciation for employees and an unwavering commitment for exceptional experiences for our residents," said Molly Gallaher Flater, COO of Gallaher Companies. "We are thrilled that Page is part of our growing team, and I am more confident than ever about the direction we are headed  for our employees, our residents, and our future communities."

Ensor added: "I am honored to lead Gallaher Signature Living. My vision is to elevate daily life through enriching lifestyles for our residents and empowering our employees to deliver the personalized service that has always been at the heart of Gallaher Companies' legacy. Together, we will ensure that every detail of community life reflects timeless quality and forward-thinking innovation."

The announcement comes as California faces a critical shortage of senior housing. According to the California Department of Finance, the state's 65-and-older population is projected to grow by two-thirds over the next two decades, comprising nearly 26% of the state's total population by 2052. Gallaher Companies is addressing this need by developing seven new Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs), including projects in Petaluma and Healdsburg. Designed to combine boutique lifestyle living with modern wellness and hospitality services, these communities reflect Gallaher Companies' continued commitment to elevating the standard of senior living.

The launch of Gallaher Signature Living brings management back under one roof, ensuring seamless alignment between ownership and operations. For residents, families, and employees, this means continuity, expanded resources, and an enhanced focus on quality, service, and enrichment.

About Gallaher Companies

Founded in Sonoma County and led by the Gallaher family, Gallaher Companies has built more than 70 senior and assisted living communities across the Western states. The Gallaher family has also served as principals in two senior living management groups over the past three decades, including Aegis Living (founded in 1997) and Oakmont Management Group (founded in 2012). After exiting those ventures, the family shifted its focus to real estate, development, and banking. Today, the creation of Gallaher Signature Living brings management back in-house as Gallaher Companies expands its senior living portfolio. Beyond senior living, the Gallaher family owns and develops multifamily and commercial properties and is the majority shareholder of California-based Poppy Bank. For more information, visit www.gallahercompanies.com.

For more information about Gallaher Signature Living, visit https://www.gallahersl.com.

Contact: Kim Lehman

[email protected]

717-559-0891

SOURCE Gallaher Companies
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Eleventh-hour California legislation creating a regional grid eliminates all the guardrails added by the Senate and opens California consumers to price gouging, having to pay for coal power and federal preemption of California's public health, environmental and cost containment laws.

AB 825 (Petrie-Norris, Rivas, Becker) was only put in print at 5:43 AM this morning, so it cannot be heard by the legislature until Saturday morning in the last hours of session, leaving no time for debate or amendment.

The bill removes all the important checks and balances amended into SB 540 (Becker) in the Senate.

"Shame on the legislature and Governor for participating in this eleventh hour power grab that rewrites the state's electricity laws to give a blank check to the energy traders that control the regional organization to charge whatever the market will bear and use whatever polluting power source they want," said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog.

"This bill flies in the face of everything we have learned as a state about allowing free market traders to set the price of our electricity and trusting Trump's FERC not to disregard our clean energy laws. Every legislator who votes for the bill will be complicit. We urge legislators not to vote on AB 825, which is a modern repeat of AB 1890, the 1996 disastrous deregulation law passed unanimously at the end of session. The legislators who voted for AB 1890 never lived it down and neither will those who vote for AB 825."

AB 825:

Releases the Independent Systems Operator (ISO) and the regional organization (RO) from following California's anti-price gouging law -- requirements of Public Utilities Code 345.5(b), the Enron era law that required that electricity operators had to maximize supply and minimize price (erasing a Senate amendment in SB 540 that required the Code to apply.)

anti-price gouging law -- requirements of Public Utilities Code 345.5(b), the Enron era law that required that electricity operators had to maximize supply and minimize price (erasing a Senate amendment in SB 540 that required the Code to apply.) Allows for coal power to be mandated by FERC and weakens California's right to withdraw by allowing Trump's FERC to mandate additional withdrawal conditions (erasing Senate amendments that sought to address both issues ).

right to withdraw by allowing Trump's FERC to mandate additional withdrawal conditions (erasing Senate amendments that sought to address both issues ). Allows for controversial capacity markets (prohibited under the Senate version) that are the big cost drivers in East Coast grid manager PJM, because it requires the reserving of capacity whether or not the electricity is used.

Permits the entrance into the Western grid without the prior approval of the legislature or constitutional officers (removing a guardrail the Senate added).

AB 825 is opposed by the Consumer Watchdog, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Environmental Working Group, Former PUC President Loretta Lynch, Indivisible, Public Citizen, TURN (The Utility Reform Network), and The Protect Our Communities Foundation.

Read the full analysis by former PUC President Loretta Lynch.

Court noted how the recently deceased Senate leader John Burton adamantly opposed electricity regulation in a recent memo to the legislature asking them not to vote on AB 825.

"John Burton is rolling over in his coffin over AB 825," Court said.

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog
Local 332 Members Demand Employer Stop Slow-Walking Negotiations and Bargain Seriously

GRAND BLANC, Mich., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Striking nurses and case workers at Henry Ford Genesys, represented by Teamsters Local 332, will rally on Thursday, Sept. 11 at 11 a.m., to demand safe and improved working conditions.

On Monday, Sept. 1, more than 750 nurses and case workers were forced to the picket line after their employer refused to offer a contract that addressed unsafe nurse-to-patient ratios. Since then, the company has slow-walked negotiations and continued to make unacceptable and insulting offers.

The group last sat down with the company today, Sept. 10, where they were once again met with Henry Ford Genesys' refusal to bargain seriously.

WHO: Henry Ford Genesys Teamsters

Members and leaders from Local 332

Members and leaders from Genesee, Lapeer & Shiawassee Building

Trades Council

Chris Swanson, Michigan gubernatorial candidate



WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 11

11 a.m.  12 p.m.



WHERE: 1 Genesys Pkwy

Grand Blanc, MI 48439

Media Contact:

Lena Melentijevic, (347) 208-2279

[email protected]

On-Site Contact:

Dan Glass, (810) 869-3692

SOURCE Teamsters Local 332
Key Highlights

HEPCO utilizes RTL's GridMetrix to strengthen long-term grid planning and enhance grid stability in Japan .

. This collaboration supports Japan's commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. This marks an important step in a rapidly evolving energy landscape with an increasing share of renewables.

LONDON, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Hokkaido Electric Power Company (HEPCO) is partnering with leading Grid Enhancing Technologies (GETs) solution provider, Reactive Technologies (RTL), to improve grid visibility by implementing frequency visualization, oscillation monitoring, inertia measurement and event analysis across its networks using RTL's market-leading GridMetrix platform. The measurement of this data serves as a foundation for HEPCO's generation division to smoothly manage future energy demand and represents an important step in an energy landscape with an increasing share of renewables.

System inertia is the power grid's natural resistance to sudden changes in frequency, provided by the stored energy in rotating machines and other sources like motors and grid-forming inverters. It plays a critical role in maintaining grid stability by buffering against sudden fluctuations in electricity supply and demand. Traditionally provided by fossil fuel plants through the rotating mass of turbines, this inertia is declining as the use of renewable energy sources like wind and solar increase. As Japan transitions to renewable sources of energy, the need to better understand this trend and find solutions to manage it is essential.

With Japan's 7th Strategic Energy Plan emphasizing a carbon-neutral future by 2050, variable renewable energy sources (VRES) are expected to contribute 40-50% of Japan's power generation by 2040, overtaking thermal power as the dominant energy source. While integrating more VRES to the grid has environmental benefits, it presents challenges to grid stability, such as renewable energy intermittency, variability and regional imbalances in generation, requiring innovative solutions.

A study by the Renewable Energy Institute and Agora Energiewende found that VRES penetration could increase to up to 70% with fast frequency response (FFR) from renewables and that monitoring system inertia was a critical factor to enable this.

Recognizing the need to address the specific challenges associated with VRES integration and growing demand, HEPCO is utilizing RTL's GridMetrix platform across three key areas to identify and mitigate potential grid stability issues  monitoring and analysis of grid oscillations, measurement and visibility of national and regional grid edge frequency, and measurement of spot inertia and event analysis. This partnership is a critical step towards enabling HEPCO to seamlessly navigate the transition to higher renewables penetration and achieve their long-term goal of being carbon neutral by 2050.

Arata Tanimura, Deputy General Manager, Corporate Planning Department from HEPCO comments:

"Through this project, we aim to understand the current state of grid inertia and consider the future outlook of our power generation mix based on that insight."

" Grid visibility and inertia measurement play crucial roles in managing modern energy systems as they decarbonise and evolve. The HEPCO project will showcase what can be achieved as Japanese power companies address the challenges of integrating more renewables." states Marc Borrett, CEO at Reactive Technologies.

This partnership represents a forward-looking commitment to improving grid resilience in Japan, setting an example for other energy companies nationwide. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and strategic partnerships, HEPCO and RTL are driving a transformative shift in grid monitoring, ensuring a renewable powered energy future  safer and faster.

About Reactive Technologies

Reactive Technologies Limited (RTL) is a global Grid-Enhancing Technologies (GETs) company at the forefront of addressing the challenges of the renewable energy transition by measuring power grid inertia and system strength in real-time.

With our proven, first-of-its-kind GridMetrix technology, we provide real-time, high resolution power grid measurements and data-driven insights into grid stability and reliability. This enables grid operators, utilities, asset owners and energy participants worldwide to plan and operate with greater insight, precision and resilience in a rapidly expanding renewable energy landscape with more inverter-based resources.

Website: https://reactive-technologies.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/reactive-technologies-limited

Hokkaido Electric Power Company (HEPCO)

Hokkaido Electric Power Co. , Inc. (HEPCO), established on May 1, 1951, is headquartered in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. The company operates with a capital stock of 114, 291 million and holds total assets amounting to 2, 093, 339 million on a non-consolidated basis. As of the latest fiscal year, HEPCO serves a wide range of customers, delivering 23, 375 GWh of electricity9, 962 GWh to low-voltage customers and 13, 413 GWh to high-voltage and extra high-voltage customers. The company is supported by a workforce of 2, 506 employees and has a shareholder base comprising 69, 669 holders of common stock and 2 holders of Class-B preferred stock.

Website: https://www.hepco.co.jp/english/company/corporateprofile.html

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2727876/5504649/Reactive_Technologies_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Reactive Technologies
CHICAGO, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ --

WHAT IS THIS ABOUT? A proposed class action settlement has been reached in three related lawsuits. The lawsuits allege that, beginning in 2007, Discover misclassified certain Discover-issued consumer credit cards as commercial credit cards, which in turn caused merchants and others to incur excessive interchange fees. The misclassification did not impact cardholders. Discover denies the claims in the lawsuits, and the Court has not decided who is right or wrong. Instead, the proposed settlement, if approved, will resolve the lawsuits and provide benefits to Settlement Class Members.

WHO IS INCLUDED? The Settlement Class includes all End Merchants, Merchant Acquirers, and Payment Intermediaries involved in processing or accepting a Misclassified Card Transaction during the period from January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2023. To view the full Settlement Class definition, including defined terms and excluded entities, go to www.DiscoverMerchantSettlement.com.

WHAT CAN I GET? To receive a settlement payment, with very limited exceptions, you will need to file a claim by May 18, 2026 and/or provide additional information to the Settlement Administrator. Under the proposed settlement, Discover will make payments to eligible Settlement Class Members who submit valid claims. Discover has agreed to pay between $540 million and $1.225 billion plus interest in connection with this settlement. Your settlement payment amount will be calculated based on a variety of factors.

YOUR OTHER OPTIONS. You can file a claim for a payment by May 18, 2026 and/or provide additional information. Alternatively, you can exclude yourself from the settlement by opting out, in which case you will receive no payment under this settlement and retain any right you may have to sue Discover about the claims in these lawsuits or related to the Misclassified Card Transactions. If you do not exclude yourself, and the Court approves the settlement, you will be bound by the Court's orders and judgments and will release any claims against Discover in these lawsuits or related to the Misclassified Card Transactions. If you do not exclude yourself, you can object to or comment on any part of the settlement. The deadline to either exclude yourself or object to the settlement is March 25, 2026. Visit www.DiscoverMerchantSettlement.com information on how to exercise these options.

SOURCE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
ISTANBUL, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Inpharmus is strengthening its global footprint in healthcare with deep expertise in rare diseases and oncology, robust human capital, and innovative solutions. Today, the company proudly delivers its products across the MERAT Region, the Middle East, Russia, Africa, and Turkiye with an aim to reach $500 million in revenue in international markets by 2030.

Ismet Ince Inpharmus CEO (PRNewsfoto/INPHARMUS)

Founded in 2013 with the vision of providing healthcare solutions worldwide, Inpharmus continues to create value in rare diseases and oncology. With innovative products and services, it has positioned itself as a trusted partner, combining medical expertise with a global outlook.

After achieving fivefold growth in Gulf countries and identifying strategic opportunities in the CIS region, Inpharmus recently opened a new office in Moscow, complementing its hubs in Istanbul and Dubai. With its service quality and expertise, the company is also targeting a $1 billion valuation by 2030, aiming to become a unicorn.

In the words of Ismet Ince, Inpharmus CEO:

"With a science-based approach, a human-centered stance, and agile problem-solving capabilities, we quickly became trusted players both locally and internationally. Today, we see that this focus has given us a solid corporate structure, global expansion, and sustainable growth."

Reflecting on the company's approach, Ince explained:

"Inpharmus comes from the combination of Innovation, Pharma, and Us, uniting innovation, pharmacology expertise, and a culture of achieving as one. This philosophy helps us align global strategies with local market dynamics and grow alongside our stakeholders. In every market, our quality and expertise make a difference."

Growth Through Global Partnerships

According to Ince, Inpharmus' ambition is not only to grow but to grow together. The company continues to strengthen collaborations with global healthcare providers, authorities, hospitals and medical experts. Joint R&D projects with international partners are already underway.

"Over the coming years, our goal is to deepen and expand these collaborations, building long-term, trust-based partnerships that go beyond medicine supply. In every market, we want to be recognized not just as a distributor, but as a partner that delivers solutions and shares expertise. With this vision, we focus on creating added value through clinical research, integrated healthcare models, and by increasing the visibility of our region and its medical community on the global stage."

Innovative Approach to Familial Mediterranean Fever

Focusing on innovation, Inpharmus invests particularly in oncology and rare diseases. In these critical areas, where treatment access is essential, the company stands out with a flexible and proactive structure, while also investing in future models of care.

On the future of medicine, Ince noted:

"In the near future, gene and personalized therapies will take center stage, and at Inpharmus, we aim to be at the forefront of that transformation. One clear example is the company's R&D project on Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF), a disease highly prevalent in the MENA region. For the first time in Turkiye, a Phase I clinical trial of a biological product was completed successfully, confirming its safety. In Phase II, promising results were achieved in dosing and efficacy. The study has now advanced into the extension phase, while regulatory approval processes are progressing in parallel."

Media Contact details: Ms. Sinem Semerci, +90 (533) 591 76 62, [email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2770167/Ismet_Ince_Inpharmus_CEO.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2770168/5503674/Inpharmus_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Inpharmus
E-commerce platform launching September 10th; flagship store to open in Winnipeg on October 8th

WINNIPEG, MB, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Canadian menswear brand Modern Ambition is proud to announce the official launch of its Fall 2025 collection, Modern Heritage, marking a significant milestone with the opening of its first brick-and-mortar flagship in Winnipeg on October 8th, and the debut of its global e-commerce platform on September 10th.

Fall 2025 Collection (CNW Group/Modern Ambition)

At the intersection of Italian sartorial tradition and Canadian performance innovation, the Modern Heritage Collection redefines contemporary menswear, seamlessly blending elegance and ease. Each piece is thoughtfully designed to complement the rhythms of modern lifeeffortlessly transitioning from work to travel to leisurewithout sacrificing craftsmanship, versatility, or comfort.

"The vision for this collection was to create clothing that feels timeless, yet completely attuned to the demands of modern life," said Ash Modha, the brand's co-founder and CEO. "It's about dressing with quiet confidenceno excess, no compromisejust enduring style and purpose."

Inspired by the harmonizing contrast of Italy's exquisite tailoring and the breathtaking ruggedness of Canadian landscapes, the Fall 2025 collection beautifully tells a story of cultural connection and innovation. Structured blazers and softly draped trousers crafted from certified responsibly sourced wool and cashmere blendssourced from Italy's heritage millsmeet weather-resistant outerwear and performance layering pieces built for Canada's demanding climate.

Signature categories include:

Tailoring: Half-canvassed jackets and refined trousers in luxurious fabrics

Outerwear: Sleek architectural coats with technical finishes and removable linings

Knitwear: Italian-made polos and fine-gauge sweaters in merino and cashmere blends

Travel Wear: Hybrid garments with built-in comfort and functionality

Layering Pieces: Breathable, wrinkle-resistant shirts and commuter-ready jackets

Function Meets Luxury

Rooted in sustainability and precision, Modern Ambition works with globally recognized mills and specialized workshops across Indonesia, China, Cambodia, and Italy. Every garment is crafted with an emphasis on durability, adaptability, and comfort, featuring stretch-infused tailoring and temperature-regulating merino cashmere layers.

"The product always begins with incredible fabrics, and by working with some of the best mills in Italy, we've created something special and unique: modern menswear with a technical twist. It's taking old-world fabrics to the next level by introducing enhanced softness, stretch, and shape," Modha said.

Technical innovations, such as hidden zip pockets, stretch waistbands, water-resistant treatments, and two-way zippers, elevate the collection's utility while maintaining a clean, understated aesthetic.

A Homecoming in Winnipeg

The launch of Modern Ambition's first flagship retail location in Winnipeg underscores the brand's Canadian roots. The space will serve as both a retail destination and a physical expression of the brand's ethos: thoughtful, refined, and quietly bold.

"Opening our first store in Winnipeg is meaningful," said Modha. "It brings the brand full circle, to the landscape and culture that shaped its functional mindset."

Commitment to Responsibility

Mondetta Clothing Inc., Modern Ambition's parent company, is proud to be a Certified B Corporation, meeting higher standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. As a Net Zero Contributor Certified company, Mondetta Clothing Inc. actively offsets its carbon footprint through verified programs, further underscoring its mission to create clothing that not only looks and feels exceptional but also supports a better future for the planet.

About Modern Ambition

Modern Ambition is a Canadian menswear brand founded on the principle that clothing should elevate everyday life. With a focus on timeless style, responsible craftsmanship, and functional design, the brand serves the modern man who values substance as much as style.

The Modern Heritage Collection and full brand assortment will be available online, starting September 10th, at www.modernambition.com , and in-store at the Winnipeg flagship, beginning October 7th.

SOURCE Modern Ambition
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Katten announced today that R. Kader Crawford has joined its Private Credit practice, expanding the group's market-leading capabilities that have successfully solved for virtually every deal variation in the space. Crawford is a partner in the firm's Charlotte office.

"Kader's overall skillset aligns with our distinguished industry reputation, making him well-suited for the team." Post this R. Kader Crawford has joined Katten's Private Credit practice as a partner in the firm's Charlotte office.

"Kader's strong background in accounting and tax paired with his wealth of experience, deep relationships and driven nature equip him to craft strategic solutions that meet both commercial and legal needs," said Michael Jacobson, chair of Katten's Private Credit department, a full-service team that handles all aspects of financing and regulatory matters across a wide spectrum of transactions in this evolving industry.

"Kader's overall skillset aligns with our distinguished industry reputation, making him well-suited for the team," Jacobson added.

Crawford focuses on the middle market, addressing matters related to commercial lending, corporate finance and private equity transactions. He works closely with money center bank and non-bank lenders, private equity sponsors, and other public and private companies regarding complex financing transactions, including senior secured cash flow and asset-based credit facilities, unitranche financings, stretched senior financings, and mezzanine and second-lien facilities, among others.

Crawford works with a variety of lending market players, advising on matters from bilateral sponsor acquisition financings to broadly syndicated credit facilities for large companies. His experience in asset-based lending (ABL) expands Katten's ever-growing capabilities in the space as it represents both lenders and borrowers in a range of transactions, including working capital and cash flow financing.

Before joining Katten, Crawford was a partner at another Am Law 100 firm, where he focused on commercial lending, corporate finance and private equity transactions. He previously was a certified public accountant with a Big Four accounting firm.

His active pro bono practice includes assisting nonprofit lenders in establishing business structures and addressing matters related to lending regulations compliance. Crawford also counsels a number of Charlotte-area organizations in business formation, corporate governance and other general corporate matters.

"Kader knows the importance of delivering innovative, effective legal solutions that address business needs," said Katten Charlotte Managing Partner Karen Nelson. "His fresh energy and standout skills are a match for the Katten culture and profile not only in Charlotte but throughout the firm."

Katten is a full-service law firm with approximately 700 attorneys in locations across the United States and in London and Shanghai. Clients seeking sophisticated, high-value legal services turn to Katten for counsel locally, nationally and internationally. The firm's core areas of practice include structured finance and securitization, corporate, financial markets and funds, insolvency and restructuring, intellectual property, litigation, real estate, transactional tax planning, private credit and private wealth. Katten represents public and private companies in numerous industries, as well as a number of government and nonprofit organizations and individuals.

For more information, visit katten.com.

SOURCE Katten
Mesirow is this year's highest ranked diversified financial services firm, recognized in the top half of the 100 Chicago employers on the list.

Reflects Mesirow's commitment to cultivating an intentional culture as an employer of choice.

Employee responses based on workplace experience and corporate culture.

CHICAGO, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Mesirow, an independent, employee-owned financial services firm, is proud to announce its recognition as a Crain's Chicago Business 2025 Best Places to Work. Crain's partners with Workforce Research Group to evaluate companies across the region, using a rigorous methodology that weighs employee feedback (80%) and employer practices (20%). Mesirow's inclusion in this year's list underscores the firm's dedication to empowering its people and fostering a collaborative, entrepreneurial environment.

Mesirow Recognized as a 2025 Best Places to Work by Crains Chicago Business

"We are honored to be recognized once again by Crain's Chicago Business," said Richard S. Price, Mesirow Executive Chairman and CEO. "This award is a testament to our professionalstheir passion, their integrity, and their commitment to our clients and communities. At Mesirow, we believe that when our employees thrive, so do the individuals and institutions we serve."

Mesirow's workplace culture is shaped by its commitment to inclusion, robust employee resource groupsincluding WomenConnect, PrideConnect, and MesirowConnectand a focus on professional development and community engagement.

This recognition joins a growing list of accolades for Mesirow in 2025, including Top 100 RIA Firms by Barron's, Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality by the Human Rights Campaign, and Best Places to Work by the South Florida Business Journal.

About Mesirow

Mesirow is an independent, employee-owned financial services firm founded in 1937. Headquartered in Chicago, with offices around the world, we serve clients through a personal, custom approach to reaching financial goals and acting as a force for social good. With capabilities spanning Private Capital & Currency, Capital Markets & Investment Banking, and Advisory Services, we invest in what matters: our clients, our communities and our culture.

Mesirow has been named one of the Best Places to Work in Chicago by Crain's Chicago Business multiple times and is one of Barron's Top 100 RIA firms. To learn more, visit mesirow.com, follow us on LinkedIn and subscribe to Spark, our quarterly newsletter.

Media

[email protected]

Michael Herley | 203.308.1409

Mesirow refers to Mesirow Financial Holdings, Inc. and its divisions, subsidiaries and affiliates. The Mesirow name and logo are registered service marks of Mesirow Financial Holdings, Inc.,  2025, Mesirow Financial Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved. Investment management services provided through Mesirow Financial Investment Management, Inc., Mesirow Institutional Investment Management, Inc. and Mesirow Financial Private Equity Advisors, Inc., all SEC-registered investment advisor, a CFTC registered commodity trading advisors and member of the NFA, or Mesirow Financial International UK, Ltd. ("MFIUK"), authorized and regulated by the FCA, depending on the jurisdiction.

2025 Crain's Best Places to Work (Received September 2025 reflective of previous 12 months  Licensing fees paid post award for use of the ranking). Best Companies Group (BCG), an independent workplace excellence research firm, conducted a two-part survey. Part one, consisted of an employer questionnaire, used to collect information about benefits, policies, practices, and other general information. Part two was a confidential 77-question employee survey used to evaluate local employee's workplace experience and culture.

Award recognition disclosures: mesirow.com/award-recognition-disclosures

SOURCE Mesirow Financial Holdings, Inc.
For international guests attending the 2025 Global South Media and Think Tank Forum in China's Kunming, it was a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in its rich, multi-ethnic culture. Join Xinhua's Zhou Yang to explore the Yunnan Nationalities Village, where ethic unity in diversity comes to life.
Digital integration brings Zurich's modular management liability product to brokers nationwide through the leading platform for cyber and specialty-line submission and market access

PHOENIX, Sept. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Millennial Shift Technologies (mShift) today announced a three-way collaboration with Cowbell and Zurich North America that makes Zurich Select Plus executive risk products instantly available on the mShift Platform. Powered by Cowbell's technology-enabled underwriting platform, the integration lets brokers quote and issue Zurich's management liability protection for small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in minutes, all within the same streamlined workflow they already use for cyber submissions.

Zurich Select Plus delivers four modular coverage options  Private Management & Company Liability, Employment Practices & Third-Party Discrimination Liability, Fiduciary Liability, and Crime  that can be combined into one policy to match each client's needs. The product benefits from a simplified, technology-enabled underwriting process that accelerates everything from quote to policy issuance and is backed by Zurich's A.M. Best A+(Superior)/stable and Standard & Poor's AA/stable ratings.

"This collaboration with Cowbell and Zurich brings us closer to a smarter, more connected insurance ecosystem," said Mark Meury, CEO of Millennial Shift Technologies. "By adding Zurich Select Plus to the mShift Platform, we're not just streamlining transactions  we're helping redefine how executive-risk coverage is accessed, delivered, and experienced across the market."

"At Cowbell, we're committed to simplifying the way brokers access and bind coverage, and this collaboration is an example of this," said Jeff Ritchie, Sr. Director, Digital Distribution at Cowbell. "By enabling the distribution of Zurich Select Plus through Cowbell's proprietary technology and the mShift Platform, we're giving brokers a faster, more seamless experience in placing executive-risk coverage for small and medium-sized enterprises."

Broker advantages

Instant appetite & quoting  Retrieve indications for Zurich Select Plus directly in mShift, powered by Cowbell's risk insights.

 Retrieve indications for Zurich Select Plus directly in mShift, powered by Cowbell's risk insights. One submission, multiple markets  mShift routes a single digital application to participating carriers while preserving broker-of-record status.

 mShift routes a single digital application to participating carriers while preserving broker-of-record status. End-to-end transparency  Track submission progress, bind policies digitally, and maintain direct underwriter relationships.

 Track submission progress, bind policies digitally, and maintain direct underwriter relationships. Consistent experience  Brokers leverage the same user-friendly rails they already trust for cyber placements, reducing manual work and training time.

About Millennial Shift Technologies

Millennial Shift Technologies (mShift) is the infrastructure layer for the modern insurance internet  powering submission, quoting, and digital placement across cyber and specialty lines. The mShift Platform is the leading digital platform for insurance submission and market access, helping brokers, MGAs, and carriers connect risk to coverage with greater speed and precision.

About Cowbell

Cowbell is a pioneer in Adaptive Cyber Insurance, unifying Cyber, Tech E&O, and Management Liability into one AI-powered platform. Serving businesses up to $1B in revenue across the U.S. and U.K., Cowbell delivers fast policy issuance, continuous risk assessment, and access to expert resiliency services. To learn more, visit cowbell.insure.

About Zurich North America

Zurich North America is part of Zurich Insurance Group, a global multi-line insurer. Zurich's executive-risk solutions are supported by Zurich's A.M. Best A+(Superior)/stable and Standard & Poor's AA/stable ratings. To learn more, go to https://www.zurichna.com/media/about-zurich.

SOURCE Millennial Shift Technologies, LLC
Nurses join with community supporters to call on Southcoast Health to prioritize investment in safe RN staffing for quality patient care

NEW BEDFORD, Mass., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The registered nurses of St. Luke's Hospital, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), will hold an informational picket on Wednesday, September 17 to highlight Southcoast Health's need to reach a fair contract agreement that ensures safe patient care and competitive wages. Despite progress at the bargaining table, Southcoast has yet to agree to enforceable staffing improvements and wage increases that would bring St. Luke's nurses closer to parity with nurses across the region and help the hospital provide the level of care the community deserves.

Informational Picket Details

Date: Wednesday, September 17, 2025

Time: 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Location: Outside the main entrance of St. Luke's Hospital, New Bedford, MA

Details: This is an informational picket and not a strike. Nurses may attend while off duty or on break. Family, friends, and community members are strongly encouraged to join in solidarity for quality care and respect for St. Luke's nurses.

On September 3, elected MNA nurse leaders at St. Luke's delivered a petition signed by more than 600 nurses to Southcoast Health CEO David McCready. The petition urged the hospital system to build on the progress at the table and agree to a contract that protects patients, values nurses, and strengthens the community's access to safe, high-quality care.

"St. Luke's Hospital should have staffing levels and RN wages that reflect St. Luke's position as the largest hospital and leader of patient care in the region," said Kim Beaulieu, RN, and Co-Chair of the St. Luke's MNA Bargaining Committee. "With this informational picket, nurses are urging Southcoast to work with us to make St. Luke's the best hospital for patient care and the top hospital where nurses seek to work."

"We live and work in the Southcoast community and are dedicated to the patients of New Bedford and surrounding towns," said Terri DeMedeiros, RN, and Co-Chair of the St. Luke's MNA Bargaining Committee. "St. Luke's nurses are committed to addressing the final priorities of our contract to positively impact our nursing workforce and the quality of patient care at our hospital."

What Nurses Are Seeking

Safe Staffing: Enforceable improvements to protect patients and reduce burnout, including safe limits for nurses caring for intermediate care/stepdown patients and better resource nurse staffing, especially on night shift.





Enforceable improvements to protect patients and reduce burnout, including safe limits for nurses caring for intermediate care/stepdown patients and better resource nurse staffing, especially on night shift. Competitive Wages: Pay increases that bring St. Luke's nurses closer to regional standards. Nurses at BI Plymouth, Brockton Hospital, Cape Cod Healthcare, and Good Samaritan Medical Center earn significantly more, making recruitment and retention at St. Luke's difficult.

In their petition, nurses wrote to CEO McCready:

"As St. Luke's nurses, we provide exceptional care to our patients and community while navigating the enormous demands that come with working at the largest hospital in Southeastern Massachusetts and a Level II Trauma Center. We have heard praise from Southcoast for the 'crucial role' we play in improving the lives of our patients and how our efforts are 'at the very heart of the care' Southcoast provides. Unfortunately, these words do not always match the reality of our experience.

"Since the COVID-19 pandemic, RN staffing shortages have worsened, with nurses continuing to raise alarms about patient safety and deteriorating morale. These conditions are unsustainable. To address these issues, we are seeking a fair contract that properly values and supports the essential care we provide."

MassNurses.org  Facebook.com/MassNurses  Twitter.com/MassNurses  Instagram.com/MassNurses

Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 26,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association
FINDLAY, Ohio, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- MPLX LP (NYSE: MPLX) today announced that the company's 2024 Schedule K-3 investor tax packages reflecting items of international tax relevance are now available on its website, https://www.mplx.com. Investors may select the Investor Data link under the Investors tab or use the following link: https://www.taxpackagesupport.com/mplxlp.

A limited number of investors (primarily foreign unitholders, unitholders computing a foreign tax credit on their tax return and certain corporate and/or partnership unitholders) may need the detailed information disclosed on the Schedule K-3 for their specific reporting requirements. To the extent the Schedule K-3 is applicable to unitholders' tax return filing needs, MPLX encourages them to review the information contained on the Schedule K-3 and refer to the appropriate federal laws and guidance or consult with their tax advisor.

MPLX does not plan to mail K-3 tax packages to investors. For additional information or to receive an electronic copy of the Schedule K-3 via email, unitholders may call 1-800-232-0011 (toll free).

About MPLX LP

MPLX is a diversified, large-cap master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets and provides fuels distribution services. MPLX's assets include a network of crude oil and refined product pipelines; an inland marine business; light-product terminals; storage caverns; refinery tanks, docks, loading racks, and associated piping; and crude and light-product marine terminals. The company also owns crude oil and natural gas gathering systems and pipelines as well as natural gas and NGL processing and fractionation facilities in key U.S. supply basins. More information is available at www.MPLX.com.

Investor Relations Contact: (419) 421-2071

Kristina Kazarian, Vice President Finance and Investor Relations

Brian Worthington, Senior Director, Investor Relations

Isaac Feeney, Director, Investor Relations

Evan Heminger, Analyst, Investor Relations

Media Contact: (419) 421-3577

Jamal Kheiry, Communications Manager

SOURCE MPLX LP
DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- MS Printing Solutions and JK Group, part of Dover (NYSE: DOV), today announced the launch of five multi-pass (MP) printers designed to heighten performance standards in digital textile printing.

Developed on an all-new platform, the MP Series introduces significant advancements in body design, construction architecture, user interface, electronics, print heads, safety and ease of use. The printers provide increased durability with fewer parts, reducing the need for spares and simplifying maintenance.

The new MP Series includes:

MP3000: Entry-level printer for sublimation paper with a four-head CMYK configuration, delivering speeds up to 315 square meters per hour.

MP3100: Optimized for high-quality sportswear with an eight-head configuration supporting extended color gamut or double CMYK, reaching speeds up to 315 square meters per hour.

MP4000: Designed for the fashion market, equipped with eight heads in two rows configured in four-color printing, reaching speeds up to 630 square meters per hour.

MP4100: Combines the speed of the MP4000 with 16-head versatility, offering extended color options for the sportswear industry.

MP5000: Direct-to-fabric printer with up to 16 heads, compatible with multiple ink types (reactive, disperse, acid, pigment) and optional feeding, drying and water recirculation systems.

All MP Series printers are compatible with the Qwizard touchscreen control system and exclusive Color Pack software for automatic color calibration and management, ensuring consistent, high-quality output.

"With sustainability at its core, the MP Series represents a leap forward in speed, durability and versatility," said Sergio Giannone, Senior Director of Product Engineering and Operations at MS Printing Solutions & JK Group. "By combining cutting-edge hardware with advanced ink innovations, we are empowering textile producers to achieve new levels of productivity and quality."

About MS Printing Solutions:

MS Printing Solutions, a brand of Dover, specializes in designing cutting-edge digital printing machines. Since 2000, we have been pioneers in digital textile printing. Today, we focus on increasing efficiency and production capacity while reducing downtime and costs, delivering tangible benefits to our customers. Tomorrow, we aim to continue shaping the future of the printing industry with sustainability at the core. Our product portfolio includes scanning and single-pass digital printing machines, software, and dryers.

About JK Group:

JK Group, a Dover brand, is driven by chemistry and innovation. Since the 1990s, we have been developing eco-friendly digital inks for textiles and flexible substrates. Our mission is to provide safe, sustainable solutions that seamlessly integrate into our customers' workflows, harnessing the full advantages of digital technology. Recognized as a benchmark in dye-sub inks, our portfolio encompasses a comprehensive range of inks, including dye-sub, reactive, pigment, and disperse, offered through our commercial brands, Kiian Digital and J-Teck 3.

About Dover:

Dover is a diversified global manufacturer and solutions provider with annual revenue of over $7 billion. We deliver innovative equipment and components, consumable supplies, aftermarket parts, software and digital solutions, and support services through five operating segments: Engineered Products, Clean Energy & Fueling, Imaging & Identification, Pumps & Process Solutions and Climate & Sustainability Technologies. Dover combines global scale with operational agility to lead the markets we serve. Recognized for our entrepreneurial approach for over 70 years, our team of approximately 24,000 employees takes an ownership mindset, collaborating with customers to redefine what's possible. Headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, Dover trades on the New York Stock Exchange under "DOV." Additional information is available at dovercorporation.com .

MS Printing Solutions and JK Group Contact:

Matteo Forte

+39 3386727326

[email protected]

Dover Media Contact:

Adrian Sakowicz, VP, Communications

(630) 743-5039

[email protected]

Dover Investor Contact:

Jack Dickens, VP, Investor Relations

(630) 743-2566

[email protected]

SOURCE Dover
TSX:ORV

TORONTO, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Orvana Minerals Corp. (TSX: ORV) (the "Company" or "Orvana") announces that it will be attending Mining Forum Americas 2025, which is being held at the Broadmoor Hotel & Resort in Colorado Springs, USA, from September 14 to 17, 2025; and provides an update on its Taguas Project in Argentina.

Mining Forum Americas 2025

Ms. Nuria Menendez, Chief Financial Officer and Mr. Raul Alvarez, Director of Exploration and Technical Services, will represent Orvana at the Mining Forum Americas 2025 at Colorado Springs, from September 14-17, 2025. The Corporate Presentation, providing an overview of our operations and properties, is available at: https://www.orvana.com/English/investors/presentations/default.aspx

Mr. Alvarez will deliver a presentation on Wednesday, September 17, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. (MDT). The presentation will be webcast live, and can be viewed at the following link: https://americas.miningforum.com/member-webcast/4149/

A webcast replay will be available to stream following the event.

Taguas Project  Exploration Update

Orvana's strategy in the Taguas Project has been focused on oxide mineralization. The Company is broadening its strategy to include sulfide resources and testing for deep copper-gold porphyry potential.

Accordingly, the Company is prioritizing three key exploration initiatives :

Geological Modeling Update  Ongoing; completion expected by the end of fiscal 2025: Comprehensive detailed relogging and alteration modeling; Ongoing spectral scanning of drill holes in the target area every 5 m , totaling ~5,200 measurements.





 Ongoing; completion expected by the end of fiscal 2025: Geophysical Survey  Planned for execution in Q1 fiscal 2026: Objective: identify potential targets up to a depth of 1,500 m ; Will cover the entire area of interest, between Cerro Campamento and Cerros Taguas, 7 lines of 4.0 km.





 Planned for execution in Q1 fiscal 2026: First Deep Drilling  Expected to take place in Q2 fiscal 2026: Target: drill the areas showing potential indicators of a copper-gold porphyry system, based on geophysical results and the updated geological model; Preliminary plan of approximately 4,500 metres; subject to change based on geological and geophysical updates.

 Expected to take place in Q2 fiscal 2026:

The Company expects to evaluate the results during the third quarter of fiscal 2026, in order to assess the strategic positioning of the property and determine the next steps.

"This exploration program is designed to enhance our understanding of the Taguas mineral system and to systematically test for copper-gold porphyry potential" said Mr. Raul Alvarez, Director of Exploration and Technical Services.

ABOUT ORVANA  Orvana is a multi-mine gold-copper-silver company. Orvana's assets consist of the producing El Valle and Carles gold-copper-silver mines in northern Spain, the Don Mario gold-silver property in Bolivia, and the Taguas property located in Argentina. Additional information is available at Orvana's website (www.orvana.com).

Cautionary Statements  Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements in this news release constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, potentials, future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "believes", "expects", "plans", "estimates" or "intends" or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will", "are projected to" or "confident of" be taken or achieved) are not statements of historical fact, but are forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements herein relate to, among other things, Orvana's ability to achieve improvement in free cash flow; the ability to maintain expected mining rates and expected throughput rates at El Valle Plant; the potential to extend the mine life of El Valle and Don Mario beyond their current life-of-mine estimates including specifically, but not limited to, Orvana's ability to optimize its assets to deliver shareholder value; estimates of future production (including without limitation, production guidance), operating costs and capital expenditures; mineral resource and reserve estimates; statements and information regarding future feasibility studies and their results; future transactions; future metal prices; the ability to achieve additional growth and geographic diversification; and future financial performance, including the ability to increase cash flow and profits; future financing requirements; mine development plans; the possibility of the conversion of inferred mineral resources to mineral reserves.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, which includes, without limitation, as particularly set out in the notes accompanying the Company's most recently filed financial statements. The estimates and assumptions of the Company contained or incorporated by reference in this news release, which may prove to be incorrect, include, but are not limited to the various assumptions set forth herein and in Orvana's most recently filed Management's Discussion & Analysis and Annual Information Form in respect of the Company's most recently completed fiscal year (the "Company Disclosures") or as otherwise expressly incorporated herein by reference as well as: there being no significant disruptions affecting operations, whether due to labour disruptions, supply disruptions, power disruptions, damage to equipment or otherwise; permitting, development, operations, expansion and acquisitions at El Valle, Don Mario and Taguas being consistent with the Company's current expectations; political developments in any jurisdiction in which the Company operates being consistent with its current expectations; certain price assumptions for gold, copper and silver; prices for key supplies being approximately consistent with current levels; production and cost of sales forecasts meeting expectations; the accuracy of the Company's current mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates; labour and materials costs increasing on a basis consistent with Orvana's current expectations; and the availability of necessary funds to execute the Company's plan. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, this news release also contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, including, without limitation, references to the results of the Company's exploration activities, including but not limited to, drilling results and analyses, mineral resource estimation, conceptual mine plan and operations, internal rate of return, sensitivities, taxes, net present value, potential recoveries, design parameters, operating costs, capital costs, production data and economic potential; the timing and costs for production decisions; permitting timelines and requirements; exploration and planned exploration programs; and the Company's general objectives and strategies.

A variety of inherent risks, uncertainties and factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control, affect the operations, performance and results of the Company and its business, and could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results expressed or implied by forward looking statements. Some of these risks, uncertainties and factors include: the potential impact of global health and global economic conditions on the Company's business and operations, including: our ability to continue operations; and our ability to manage challenges presented by such conditions; the general economic, political and social impacts of the continuing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, our ability to support the sustainability of our business including through the development of crisis management plans, increasing stock levels for key supplies, monitoring of guidance from the medical community, and engagement with local communities and authorities; fluctuations in the price of gold, silver and copper; the need to recalculate estimates of resources based on actual production experience; the failure to achieve production estimates; variations in the grade of ore mined; variations in the cost of operations; the availability of qualified personnel; the Company's ability to obtain and maintain all necessary regulatory approvals and licenses; Orovalle's ability to complete the permitting process of the El Valle Tailings Storage Facility increasing the storage capacity; Orovalle's ability to complete the stabilization project of the legacy open pit wall; the Company's ability to use cyanide in its mining operations; risks generally associated with mineral exploration and development, including the Company's ability to continue to operate the El Valle and/or ability to resume operations at the Carles Mine; the Company's ability to successfully implement an acid leaching circuit and ancillary facilities to process the current oxides stockpiles at Don Mario; the Company's ability to successfully carry out development plans at Taguas; sufficient funding to carry out exploration and development plans at Taguas and to process the oxides stockpiles at Don Mario; EMIPA's ability to complete the placement of EMIPA Bonds II Issuance; EMIPA's ability to complete the required funding for the OSP; the Company's ability to acquire and develop mineral properties and to successfully integrate such acquisitions; the Company's ability to execute on its strategy; the Company's ability to obtain financing when required on terms that are acceptable to the Company; challenges to the Company's interests in its property and mineral rights; current, pending and proposed legislative or regulatory developments or changes in political, social or economic conditions in the countries in which the Company operates; general economic conditions worldwide; the challenges presented by global health conditions; fluctuating operational costs such as, but not limited to, power supply costs; current and future environmental matters; and the risks identified in the Company's disclosures. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements and reference should also be made to the Company's Disclosures for a description of additional risk factors.

Any forward-looking statements made herein with respect to the anticipated development and exploration of the Company's mineral projects are intended to provide an overview of management's expectations with respect to certain future activities of the Company and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions and, except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements should assumptions related to these plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions change. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made in this information are intended to provide an overview of management's expectations with respect to certain future operating activities of the Company and may not be appropriate for other purposes.

SOURCE Orvana Minerals Corp.
Dr. David Jeremiah Issues Statement on the Passing of Charlie Kirk, Founder of Turning Point USA

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. David Jeremiah is praying for the young family of Charlie Kirk, whose passing leaves behind a wife and two small children.

"While we may not have had the same perspective on everything, he was a man made in God's image and his death is tragic. I am praying for his family and friends. May God's comfort, grace, and peace sustain Charlie's family at this time," said Dr. Jeremiah.

His organization has undoubtedly made an impact on the American political landscape. While people may agree or disagree with those views, as followers of Christ we are called to be peacemakers. Violence and actions that bring harm to others stand in direct contrast to God's commandments. In moments like these let's stand together in prayer, with grace and mercy, reflecting His love.

Please join me in praying for Charlie's family and friends, as well as the extended family of Turning Point USA.

Dr. David Jeremiah is a renowned Bible teacher, New York Times bestselling author, and founder/host of Turning Point Broadcast Ministry. With over forty years of ministry, his teaching has led to the creation of programming such as Prophecy Academy , OVERCOMER , Airship Genesis , PassagesTV , Why the Nativity? , and PerhapsToday , to name a few.

About Turning Point

Turning Point Ministries was founded in 1982 as Dr. David Jeremiah's broadcast ministry to deliver the unchanging Word of God to an ever-changing world. More than four decades later, with a multimedia network featuring radio, television, online programming, magazines, and books, Turning Point reaches people around the globe with the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Turning Point is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization wholly supported by patrons and not underwritten by any church or organization.

SOURCE Turning Point with David Jeremiah
NEW YORK, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The rising adoption of genomic sequencing, expanding use of companion diagnostics, and growing demand for personalized treatment pathways are fueling rapid growth in the precision medicine market.

The Global Precision Medicine Market is set to transform healthcare delivery by enabling data-driven, patient-specific treatment approaches across oncology, cardiology, neurology, and rare diseases. According to Vantage Market Research's latest report, "Precision Medicine Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Technology, Application, End User, and Region  Historic Data (20212023), Base Year (2024) & Forecast Period (20252035)," the market is projected to grow from USD 31.94 Billion in 2024 to USD 103.73 Billion by 2035, at a CAGR of 11.3% during 20252035.

Precision medicine leverages genomics, biomarkers, artificial intelligence (AI), and advanced diagnostics to tailor treatments to individual patients. Its rapid integration into clinical care is reducing trial-and-error prescribing, improving outcomes, and lowering unnecessary healthcare costs.

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Key Takeaways:

By Indication: Oncology led the market in 2024, driven by the rising adoption of biomarker-based treatments and companion diagnostics.

By Type: Diagnostic segment dominated the market in 2024, led by the widespread use of genetic and biomarker testing in oncology and prenatal screening.

By Region: North America dominated the global market in 2024, capturing 52.5% share, underpinned by robust R&D, favorable policies, and strong healthcare adoption.

Market Overview & Potential

The market is witnessing rapid growth due to advances in genomics, biomarker-driven therapies, artificial intelligence (AI), and companion diagnostics. Rising prevalence of cancer, cardiovascular, and neurological disorders, along with government-backed initiatives for personalized healthcare, are fueling adoption globally. Falling sequencing costs, wider access to molecular diagnostics, and strong investments in R&D are accelerating precision medicine's shift from niche to mainstream healthcare delivery.

What Factors Are Accelerating the Demand and Growth of the Precision Medicine Market?

Rising Cancer Burden: Oncology leads adoption, with targeted therapies and immuno-oncology expanding treatment options.

Genomic Sequencing Boom: Reduced sequencing costs enable broader clinical applications.

Government Initiatives: Precision medicine programs in the U.S., Europe , and Asia are accelerating research and adoption.

, and are accelerating research and adoption. AI & Big Data Integration: Machine learning enhances predictive diagnostics and treatment personalization.

Companion Diagnostics Expansion: Growing approvals support drug efficacy and patient stratification.

What Are Emerging Trends Shaping the Precision Medicine Market?

Multi-omics Integration: Combining genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics for holistic disease insights.

Liquid Biopsy Adoption: Non-invasive cancer detection gaining clinical traction.

Pharmacogenomics: Tailoring drug selection and dosing to individual genetic profiles.

Digital Health & Wearables: Real-time patient monitoring to optimize personalized care.

Global Market Penetration: Rapid growth in Asia Pacific and emerging economies as infrastructure and investments improve.

What Are Major Challenges Hindering Precision Medicine Market Growth?

High Testing & Treatment Costs: Limits accessibility in cost-sensitive regions.

Data Privacy & Security Issues: Rising concerns around genetic data usage and patient confidentiality.

Complex Regulatory Pathways: Approvals for genomic-based diagnostics and therapies are lengthy.

Limited Clinical Evidence in Rare Diseases: Slows adoption across broader indications.

Workforce & Training Gaps: Shortage of genetic counselors and precision medicine specialists.

Top Key Players for Precision Medicine Market:

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

Illumina, Inc.

Qiagen N.V.

Novartis AG

AstraZeneca plc

Pfizer Inc.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

Foundation Medicine, Inc.

GE Healthcare

These leading players are focusing on innovations in genomic sequencing, AI-powered diagnostics, biomarker discovery, and global partnerships to drive precision medicine adoption.

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"Precision medicine has moved from being a niche approach to becoming a cornerstone of modern healthcare," said Nneha Rathod Godbole, Founder & CEO at Vantage Market Research. "Advances in genomics, biomarker discovery, and AI-driven analytics are enabling safer, faster, and more effective treatment pathways tailored to each patient."

Recent Developments

Jan 2025  Illumina announced partnerships with AI firms to enhance genomic data interpretation.

 Illumina announced partnerships with AI firms to enhance genomic data interpretation. Mar 2025  Roche launched a new liquid biopsy test for early-stage cancer detection.

 Roche launched a new liquid biopsy test for early-stage cancer detection. May 2025  Thermo Fisher Scientific introduced cloud-based platforms to integrate multi-omics datasets.

 Thermo Fisher Scientific introduced cloud-based platforms to integrate multi-omics datasets. Jul 2025  Pfizer expanded companion diagnostics collaborations for oncology pipelines.

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Strategic Insights for Decision-Makers:

How Will This Market Impact Healthcare Systems and Supply Chains?

The precision medicine market is emerging as a cornerstone of modern healthcare, transforming treatment paradigms across oncology, cardiology, neurology, and rare diseases. By enabling tailored therapies, it reduces trial-and-error prescribing, improves patient outcomes, and optimizes healthcare spending. Hospitals, payers, biotech companies, and diagnostic providers are aligning to integrate precision medicine into standard care, creating strong demand for genomic testing, digital tools, and targeted therapies.

Impact: Expect stronger collaborations between pharma and diagnostic firms, expansion of molecular testing centers, regional diversification of sequencing facilities, and increased integration of AI-based decision-support tools. Industry leaders will prioritize cost-optimized testing solutions, scalable clinical adoption models, and next-generation companion diagnostics.

What Risks Should Investors Track?

High Cost of Genomic Testing: May restrict adoption in emerging economies.

Regulatory Uncertainty: Differing frameworks across regions slow global expansion.

Reimbursement Challenges: Limited coverage for advanced diagnostics in some markets.

Data Security Risks: Vulnerability of patient genetic data to cyber threats.

R&D Costs: High investment in multi-omics research may strain smaller players.

What Opportunities Exist for Sustainability and Growth Leaders?

AI-Powered Diagnostics: Enhancing speed, accuracy, and personalization of treatments.

Expanding Beyond Oncology: Growing adoption in cardiology, neurology, and metabolic disorders.

Emerging Market Penetration: Rising healthcare infrastructure in Asia Pacific , Latin America , and MEA.

, , and MEA. Multi-omics & Digital Health: Integrating diverse datasets with wearables for real-time care.

Collaborations & M&A: Partnerships between pharma, diagnostic labs, and tech firms to accelerate innovation.

For decision-makers in healthcare, biotech, diagnostics, and investment, the precision medicine market represents a strategic inflection point. Early investments in affordable genomic testing, AI integration, and global infrastructure will secure market leadership, accelerate patient adoption, and strengthen long-term investor confidence.

Regional Insights

Why Does North America Lead the Global Precision Medicine Market?

In 2024, North America accounted for the largest share (52.5%) of the global Precision Medicine Market, establishing itself as the dominant region. Growth is driven by advanced healthcare infrastructure, early adoption of genomic sequencing, and strong government support through initiatives like the NIH's All of Us Research Program. The U.S. leads the region with widespread clinical integration of genomic testing, a robust pipeline of biomarker-driven therapies, and innovation from key players such as Roche, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Illumina, Pfizer, and Novartis. Favorable reimbursement frameworks, AI-powered diagnostic platforms, and growing collaborations between pharma and diagnostic companies reinforce North America's leadership in precision medicine innovation and commercialization.

How Is Asia Pacific Emerging as a Key Growth Hub for Precision Medicine?

The Asia Pacific region is projected to grow at the fastest CAGR during 20252035, fueled by large patient populations, rising healthcare expenditures, and expanding genomic research initiatives. China, Japan, South Korea, and India are at the forefront of adoption, supported by government-backed genome projects, increased investment in sequencing facilities, and partnerships with multinational pharmaceutical companies. Local biotech startups and diagnostic firms are playing a key role in democratizing access to affordable precision medicine solutions. Expanding clinical trials, medical tourism, and the integration of digital health platforms are further driving momentum across the region.

How Is Europe Driving Sustainable Growth in the Precision Medicine Market?

Europe shows strong market adoption, supported by EU-wide genomic initiatives, CE approvals for companion diagnostics, and robust healthcare systems. Germany, France, and the UK lead in oncology-focused precision medicine adoption, with high procedural volumes and increasing clinical use of multi-omics approaches. The EU's emphasis on value-based healthcare, patient safety, and innovation in molecular diagnostics is supporting sustainable market growth. European hospitals are also expanding personalized treatment programs and integrating AI-driven decision-support systems, making precision medicine an essential part of long-term healthcare strategies.

How Is Latin America Unlocking New Growth Opportunities in the Precision Medicine Market?

Latin America represented a smaller but rapidly expanding share of the global precision medicine market in 2024, with Brazil leading adoption. Growth is supported by expanding genomic testing centers, rising cancer burden, and growing access to advanced diagnostics through government-backed programs. Argentina is also seeing higher adoption due to medical tourism and partnerships with global diagnostic companies. Multinational pharma and diagnostic firms are increasingly collaborating with regional hospitals and labs to establish clinical trials, training initiatives, and localized manufacturing facilities, creating new opportunities for precision medicine penetration in the region.

What Role Does the Middle East & Africa Play in the Expansion of the Precision Medicine Market?

The Middle East & Africa (MEA) is experiencing steady growth, driven by healthcare modernization, government-led genome projects, and rising prevalence of cancer and genetic disorders. Countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE are investing heavily in genomic medicine as part of national healthcare transformation initiatives, while South Africa is emerging as a hub for clinical trials and molecular diagnostics. However, limited infrastructure, high costs, and shortages of skilled genetic professionals remain challenges. Increasing collaborations with international biotech firms, investments in tertiary care hospitals, and the development of regional genome sequencing programs are expected to accelerate precision medicine adoption across MEA in the coming decade.

Segmental Insights

By Product

Which Product Segment Dominated the Precision Medicine Market in 2024?

Drugs accounted for the largest revenue share of the Precision Medicine Market in 2024, driven by the rising adoption of targeted therapies, monoclonal antibodies, and immuno-oncology drugs in cancer and autoimmune disease management. Pharmaceutical companies are heavily investing in drug development pipelines with companion diagnostics, which further strengthens this segment. Devices such as sequencing platforms and liquid biopsy systems are also gaining traction, supported by clinical adoption and falling testing costs. Software solutions, including AI-powered analytics and digital health platforms, are emerging as a high-growth subsegment, enabling precision data interpretation and integration into clinical workflows.

By Type

Which Type Drove the Precision Medicine Market in 2024?

The Diagnostic segment dominated the market in 2024, led by the widespread use of genetic and biomarker testing in oncology and prenatal screening. Genetic tests, particularly predictive and presymptomatic testing, have seen strong adoption due to their ability to identify disease risks early and guide preventive care. Biomarker tests, including those used for therapy selection and recurrence monitoring, are increasingly integral to treatment planning, especially in oncology. The Therapeutics segment is expanding rapidly, driven by monoclonal antibodies, gene therapy, and cell therapy. Among these, monoclonal antibodies hold the largest share, while gene and cell therapies are witnessing the fastest growth with approvals for rare diseases and advanced cancers. The Research segment continues to be vital, fueled by academic and pharmaceutical R&D investments in multi-omics studies and drug discovery.

By Indication

Which Indication Area Led the Precision Medicine Market in 2024?

Oncology dominated the Precision Medicine Market in 2024, accounting for the highest revenue share. The growing use of biomarker-driven therapies, immuno-oncology drugs, and companion diagnostics is reshaping cancer treatment by tailoring therapies to tumor-specific genetic profiles. Neurology and psychiatry are emerging as strong growth areas, with increasing research in precision approaches for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and mental health conditions. Immunology and cardiology are also witnessing steady adoption, particularly with pharmacogenomics and biologic therapies. Endocrinology, driven by diabetes and metabolic disorders, along with other indications such as infectious diseases and rare genetic conditions, are expected to expand their share during the forecast period.

By End User

Which End User Segment Drove the Precision Medicine Market in 2024?

Pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies led the market in 2024, holding the largest share as they drive R&D in targeted therapies, companion diagnostics, and multi-omics drug discovery. Diagnostic laboratories represent the second-largest segment, supported by growing demand for genetic sequencing, liquid biopsy, and biomarker testing. Contract Research Organizations (CROs) are playing a critical role by offering cost-efficient solutions for clinical trials, biomarker validation, and data analysis. Other end users, including academic research institutions and specialty clinics, are expanding adoption as precision medicine becomes more embedded in routine clinical practice and translational research.

Browse market data Tables and Figures spread through 245 Pages and in-depth TOC on Precision Medicine Market Forecast Report (2025-2035).

Segments Covered in The Report

Product

Drugs

Devices

Software

Type

Diagnostic

Therapeutics Genetic Tests Predictive & Presymptomatic Tests Carrier Testing Prenatal & Newborn Screening Others



Biomarker Tests Screening Recurrence Monitoring Therapy Selection Others



Therapeutics

Monoclonal Antibodies



Gene Therapy



Cell Therapy



Others

Research

Indication

Oncology

Neurology/ Psychiatry

Immunology

Cardiology

Endocrinology

Others

End-User

Pharmaceutical & Biopharmaceutical Companies

Diagnostic Laboratories

Contract Research Organizations (CROs)

Others

Region

North America

U.S.



Canada



Mexico

Europe

Germany



France



U.K.



Italy



Spain



Nordic Countries



Benelux Union



Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

China



Japan



India



New Zealand



Australia



South Korea



South-East Asia



Rest of Asia Pacific

Latin America

Brazil



Argentina



Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa (MEA)

Saudi Arabia



UAE



Egypt



Kuwait



South Africa



Rest of MEA

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Key Questions Answered in The Report:

Which region is projected to achieve the fastest and highest growth in the Precision Medicine Market over the next decade?

Who are the leading five players in the Precision Medicine Market, and what are their strengths and weaknesses in terms of product portfolio, innovation, and global footprint?

What breakthrough innovationssuch as multi-omics integration, liquid biopsy, AI-driven diagnostics, pharmacogenomics, and digital health platformsare expected to shape the Precision Medicine Market in the next six years?

Which clinical applicationssuch as oncology, neurology, cardiology, immunology, and endocrinologyare likely to dominate market share, and what factors are accelerating their adoption?

What are the primary growth drivers, potential barriers, and critical challenges influencing the Precision Medicine industry?

What is the anticipated market size and compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the Precision Medicine Market during the forecast period?

How will regulatory frameworks, reimbursement policies, and evolving clinical guidelines impact market dynamics and adoption of Precision Medicine across healthcare systems?

Gain instant access to our exclusive, data-driven dashboard designed for healthcare industry decision-makers, strategists, and market leaders. The platform delivers in-depth statistical insights, segment-wise breakdowns, regional market performance, competitive landscape mapping, company profiles, annual updates, and more. From market sizing to trend analysis and competitive intelligence, this powerful tool serves as a comprehensive solution for informed business decisions.

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TORONTO, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Premier American Uranium Inc. ("PUR" or "Premier American Uranium") (TSXV: PUR) (OTCQB: PAUIF) and Nuclear Fuels Inc. ("NF" or "Nuclear Fuels") (CSE: NF) (OTCQX: NFUNF) announce that in connection with the statutory plan of arrangement (the "Plan of Arrangement") and further to the news release dated August 29, 2025, the parties are targeting the closing date for the Plan of Arrangement to occur on or around September 19, 2025 in order to allow for the completion of TSX Venture Exchange review.

About Premier American Uranium Inc.

Premier American Uranium is focused on the consolidation, exploration, and development of uranium projects in the United States, aiming to strengthen domestic energy security and support the transition to clean energy. One of Premier American Uranium's key strengths is the extensive land holdings in three prominent uranium-producing regions in the United States: the Grants Mineral Belt of New Mexico, the Great Divide Basin of Wyoming and the Uravan Mineral Belt of Colorado.

With current resources and defined resource exploration targets, Premier American Uranium is actively advancing its portfolio through work programs. Premier American Uranium benefits from strong partnerships, with backing from Sachem Cove Partners, IsoEnergy Ltd., Mega Uranium Ltd., and other institutional investors. Premier American Uranium's distinguished team has extensive experience in uranium exploration, development, permitting, and operations, as well as uranium-focused mergers and acquisitionspositioning PUR as a key player in advancing the U.S. uranium sector.

About Nuclear Fuels Inc.

Nuclear Fuels Inc. is a uranium exploration company advancing early stage, district-scale ISR amenable uranium projects towards production in the U.S. Leveraging extensive proprietary historical databases and deep industry expertise, Nuclear Fuels is well-positioned in a sector poised for significant and sustained growth on the back of strong government support. Nuclear Fuels has consolidated the Kaycee district under single-company control for the first time since the early 1980s. With its 2025 drill program in process following successful 2023 and 2024 drilling, the Company aims to expand on historic resources across a 35-mile trend with over 430 miles of mapped roll-fronts defined by 3,800 drill holes. The Company's strategic relationship with enCore Energy Corp., America's Clean Energy Company, offers a mutually beneficial "pathway to production," with enCore owning an equity interest and retaining the right to back-in to 51% ownership in the flagship Kaycee Project in Wyoming's prolific Powder River Basin.

Contact Information

Premier American Uranium Inc. Colin Healey CEO 1 (833) 223-4673 [email protected] www.premierur.com Nuclear Fuels Inc. Greg Huffman CEO 1 (647) 519-4447 [email protected] www.nfuranium.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange or the Canadian Securities Exchange has reviewed this press release and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

None of the securities to be issued pursuant to the Arrangement have been or will be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and any securities issuable in the Arrangement are anticipated to be issued in reliance upon available exemptions from such registration requirements pursuant to Section 3(a)(10) of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable exemptions under state securities laws. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.

Cautionary Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. "Forward-looking information" includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to activities, events or developments that Premier American Uranium and Nuclear Fuels expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future including, but not limited to, the completion and anticipated timing of TSX Venture Exchange review and the anticipated timing of closing of the Plan of Arrangement. Generally, but not always, forward-looking information and statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or the negative connotation thereof or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof. Such forward-looking information and statements are based on numerous assumptions, including assumptions regarding receipt of required regulatory and stock exchange approvals, the ability of the parties to satisfy, in a timely manner, the other conditions to the closing of the Plan of Arrangement, and other expectations and assumptions concerning the Plan of Arrangement. Although the assumptions made by Premier American Uranium and Nuclear Fuels in providing forward-looking information or making forward-looking statements are considered reasonable by management of both companies at the time, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be accurate.

Forward-looking information and statements also involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual events or results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future events or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or statements, including, among others: the failure to obtain regulatory or stock exchange approvals in connection with the Plan of Arrangement, material adverse change in the timing of completion and the terms and conditions upon which the Plan of Arrangement is completed, inability to satisfy or waive all conditions to complete the Plan of Arrangement as set out in the arrangement agreement, and failure to complete the Plan of Arrangement.

Although Premier American Uranium and Nuclear Fuels has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information or implied by forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. Premier American Uranium and Nuclear Fuels undertakes no obligation to update or reissue forward-looking information as a result of new information or events except as required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Nuclear Fuels Inc.
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP is investigating a data breach that led to unauthorized access to the sensitive information of 152,691 patients of Retina Group of Florida. Retina Group of Florida is an ophthalmology practice that operates 23 retina clinics in East, South and Southwest Gulf Coast Florida.

On September 3, 2025, Retina Group of Florida notified the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights about the data breach. Retina Group of Florida has not yet disclosed when the breach occurred, or which types of personal information were compromised in the breach.

DATA BREACH: Retina Group of Florida. If your data was impacted by this incident you may be entitled to money damages. Post this

If your personal information was impacted by this incident, you may be at risk of identity theft and other serious violations of your privacy. As a result, you may be entitled to money damages and an injunction requiring changes to Retina Group of Florida's cybersecurity practices.

If you received notification of this data breach or are a patient of Retina Group of Florida and wish to obtain additional information about your legal rights, please contact us today or visit our website at https://www.classactionlawyers.com/retinagroupofflorida.

About Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP

Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe represents shareholders, employees, and consumers in class actions against corporate defendants, as well as shareholders in derivative actions against their officers and directors. The firm is based in San Francisco, and with the help of co-counsel, litigates cases nationwide.

Contact

Sonum Dixit

Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP

[email protected]

Tel: 415-299-8207

SOURCE Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP
Vodafone Group deploying RDK-B as platform of choice to standardize home broadband device software and service offering across UK, Germany , and its European footprint

Vodafone to showcase Ultra Hub 7 and speak at 2025 RDK Global Summit

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In advance of the annual RDK Global Summit, RDK Management announced that Vodafone has deployed RDK-B as its central software for the latest generation of Wi-Fi 7 Fibre and DOCSIS CPEs, the Ultra Hub 7 routers. These new routers have been now deployed commercially in the UK and in Germany. Vodafone also continues to expand its use of RDK-B open-source software in phased rollouts across Europe and as part of its broader portfolio of CPEs.

Vodafone Ultra Hub 7 Powered by RDK

Vodafone's new Pro 3 package in the UK includes the all-new Ultra Hub 7 router, which is built for full-fibre and powered by Wi-Fi 7 to provide an enhanced online experience for work, streaming and gaming. Vodafone's Super Wi-Fi 7 Booster comes as standard with Pro 3, with up to three additional Wi-Fi Mesh boosters available for comprehensive home coverage at no extra cost. For added peace of mind, Pro 3 customers are also seamlessly switched over to Vodafone's award-winning 4G network if they experience a broadband outage in their area.

RDK is an open-source software platform, shipped on more than 200 million devices to date, that standardizes core functions used in broadband and video devices. For broadband specifically, RDK-B provides core functionalities including device management, telemetry, Wi-Fi services, Ethernet access, IPv6 transitioning and more that work across all major network access technologies such as DOCSIS, GPON, DSL, and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA). By packaging and open sourcing these functions in a single standard software stack, service providers can develop, deploy, and manage a consistent set of broadband services across SoCs and OEMs for use across their networks and geographic footprints.

"Success relies on the right technical choices, and for our next-generation broadband devices, that begins with RDK," Oscar Gallego, Director of Home Technology & Products at Vodafone Group. "Ultra Hub 7 unquestionably enables the most advanced broadband experience we've created to date, simultaneously delivering ultra-performance and unmatched value to our customers. RDK provides the underlying software foundation that enables us to scale and deploy our latest innovations and services to our customers throughout Europe."

"Vodafone is clearly at the cutting-edge of broadband deployments with the new Ultra Hub 7 live in UK and Germany, and we're quite proud it runs atop of RDK," said Jason Briggs, President and General Manager of RDK. "RDK-B is an open, agile, and proven broadband software stack built for scale, especially for service providers who rely upon a combination of broadband access technologies, such as fibre and fixed wireless, to support their customers across the globe. Vodafone is a true pioneer within the RDK community, and we're very thankful for their contributions and technical leadership."

Vodafone's Oscar Gallego will discuss the company's latest innovations and adoption of RDK during the 2025 RDK Global Summit on September 16 in Amsterdam. The RDK Global Summit is the annual gathering of 700+ RDK member companies comprised of CPE manufacturers, SoC vendors, software developers, system integrators, and service providers.

Additional information about RDK is available at www.rdkcentral.com. More information about Vodafone www.vodafone.com.

About RDK Management

RDK Management is an open-source consortium that manages RDK for the global community. RDK is an open-source software platform that standardizes core functions used in broadband, video, and IoT devices. Shipped on more than 200 million devices to date, RDK enables service providers to control their device diagnostics data, business models, and apps to improve the customer experience and drive business results. The RDK community is comprised of more than 700 companies including CPE manufacturers, SoC vendors, software developers, system integrators, and service providers. For more information on the tools, training, and events provided by RDK Management, please visit: www.rdkcentral.com .

About Vodafone

Vodafone is a leading European and African telecoms company.

We serve over 340 million mobile and broadband customers, operating networks in 15 countries with investments in a further five and partners in over 40 more. Our undersea cables transport around a sixth of the world's internet traffic, and we are developing a new direct-to-mobile satellite communications service to connect areas without coverage. Vodafone runs one of the world's largest IoT platforms, with over 215 million IoT connections, and we provide financial services to around 88 million customers across seven African countries  managing more transactions than any other provider.

From the seabed to the stars, Vodafone's purpose is to keep everyone connected.

For more information, please visit www.vodafone.com follow us on X at @VodafoneGroup or connect with us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/vodafone.

SOURCE RDK Management, LLC
KABUL, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- A total of 182 Afghan nationals set free by Pakistan from jails recently returned to their homeland on Wednesday, reported the state-run Radio and Television of Afghanistan (RTA) on Thursday.

The state-owned media outlet added that all the repatriated former detainees have been transported to their home provinces after receiving necessary assistance.

Hundreds of Afghans have been set free from Pakistani prisons over the past couple of months and returned to their homeland.

Pakistan, home to more than 3 million Afghan refugees, has asked all foreign nationals living there illegally to leave the host country. 
The launch marks the brand's entry into the meatball category, expanding its clean-label portfolio with high-protein innovation

BOLINGBROOK, Ill., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Real Good Foods Company, Inc ., a leader in frozen and refrigerated meals, today announces its new chicken meatball line, now available at H-E-B stores.

Made with 100% chicken breast meat and no artificial ingredients, the meatballs are free from seed oils and deliver 2021 grams of protein with only 23 net carbs per serving. Compared to leading brands, they contain about 60% fewer carbs and 50% fewer caloriesgiving shoppers a cleaner, protein-packed option for their favorite meals.

Real Good Foods enters the meatball category with a new line of chicken meatballsmade with 100% chicken breast, no seed oils and packed with 20g of protein per serving.

The assortment features four flavorful varieties:

Homestyle  a classic take on comfort food

 a classic take on comfort food Italian  seasoned with traditional herbs and spices

 seasoned with traditional herbs and spices Chicken Little  a kid-friendly version perfect for smaller appetites

 a kid-friendly version perfect for smaller appetites Teriyaki Pineapple  a sweet and savory twist for adventurous eaters

"Launching our new meatball line is another step in making nutritious food more accessible," said Jack White, head of sales at Real Good Foods. "We reimagined a comfort-food classic with real, simple ingredientshigh in protein, lower in carbs and crafted without seed oils. Versatile for weeknight dinners, school lunches or entertaining, these meatballs deliver convenience without compromise."

H-E-B is the first retailer to debut the new line. This launch marks Real Good Foods' expansion into the meatball category and advances its commitment to removing seed oils across its portfolio. Additional retail expansion is planned, with the line expected to reach more stores nationwide.

To learn more or find the new meatballs at a store near you, visit www.realgoodfoods.com and follow @realgoodfoods on Instagram and TikTok.

About The Real Good Food Company

Real Good Foods is a leading health and wellness frozen and refrigerated foods company, providing a better way to enjoy your favorite foods. The Company's mission is to provide "Real Food You Feel Good About Eating," making delicious, nutritious meals that are low in sugar, low in carbohydrates and high in protein. The Real Good Foods family of products spans breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, and is available in over 16,000 stores nationwide. For more information, visit realgoodfoods.com or follow @realgoodfoods on social media.

Media Contact:

Anne Randolph Brown

[email protected]

SOURCE Real Good Foods Co.
TAIPEI, Taiwan, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Shield AI, the U.S. defense technology company building state-of-the-art autonomy software and aircraft, announced today it has entered into a formal Teaming Agreement with Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC). The agreement will advance Taiwan's sovereign defense capabilities, strengthen its aerospace industrial base, and enhance collaborative technological innovation.

Shield AI entered into a formal Teaming Agreement with Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) to advance Taiwans sovereign defense capabilities, strengthen its aerospace industrial base, and enhance collaborative technological innovation.

The Teaming Agreement defines concrete collaboration on sustainment, training, autonomy integration, and other technical initiatives to ensure Shield AI's products can be deployed, supported, and scaled in Taiwan.

"Teaming up with Shield AI, one of America's most cutting-edge defense technology companies, demonstrates AIDC's ability to move quickly and decisively with world-class innovators in a rapidly evolving defense tech ecosystem. Shield AI's state-of-the-art mission autonomy and aircraft, such as their V-BAT, combined with AIDC's decades of aerospace manufacturing experience, will strengthen Taiwan's defense and deterrence capabilities and supercharge Taiwan's local drone and aerospace industry," said a spokesperson from AIDC.

"As the largest and most capable defense prime in Taiwan, our work with AIDC is really about accelerating Taiwan's local drone and aerospace industry as they ramp up next generation deterrence capabilities now and for the next two decades. This is going to be a fantastic, long-term partnership," said Brandon Tseng, Shield AI's President, Co-founder, and a former Navy SEAL. "AIDC brings decades of experience, an established track record of success, and deep expertise in aerospace manufacturing. By bringing Shield AI's state-of-the-art mission autonomy and aircraft, the Shield AI and AIDC team aim to deliver the comprehensive ecosystem of autonomous systems that will give Taiwan the ability to achieve the greatest victory, that which requires no war."

As Shield AI continues its expansion in the Asia-Pacific, additional announcements will follow in the coming weeks. To learn more, visit Shield AI at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE) in Taipei, Booth J0827A.

About Shield AI

Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense technology company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With offices in San Diego, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Boston, Abu Dhabi (UAE), Kyiv (Ukraine), Melbourne (Australia), and Oslo (Norway), Shield AI's technology actively supports U.S. and allied operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, YouTube and Instagram.

Media contact: Lily Hinz; [email protected]

SOURCE Shield AI
BOSTON, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- "The ideals of civil debate and the non-violent exchange of ideas are  or should be  central to our nation's political system. Yet once again, we confront another seeming act of horrific political violence. Charlie Kirk's murder  occurring while he spoke at an institution dedicated to learning, no less  is incredibly sad, deeply troubling and we are a lesser nation today for this latest bloodshed."

-Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate

Boston, Massachusetts

About the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate

The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate is dedicated to educating the public about the important role of the Senate in our government, encouraging participatory democracy, invigorating civil discourse, and inspiring the next generation of citizens and leaders to engage in the civic life of their communities.

SOURCE Edward M Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate
CANCUN, Mexico, Sept. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Sunset World Group will celebrate with pride the Independence of Mexico in its six properties in Cancun and the Riviera Maya: Hacienda Tres Rios, Sunset Royal, Sunset Marina, Sunset Fishermen, Ocean Spa and Laguna Suites, where the Mexican spirit will be experienced from September 12th to 16th with activities full of tradition, flavor and joy for everyone in the family.

In a festive atmosphere, each hotel will offer a special program with cultural, sporting, gastronomic activities and night shows, all set to music and Mexican colors.

Hacienda Tres Rios

Members and guests wil enjoy a week full of fun, highlighting activities such as mezcalita tasting, dance and cumbia lessons, and plate preparations such as pambazos, pozole and churros. The 15th of September will close the celebrations with a great Mexican Fiesta on the esplanade, which will include a show, mariachi and the traditional Cry of Independence.

Sunset Fishermen

This intimate resort will offer authentic experiences such as the preparation of red enchiladas with pollo, trompo tournament and the Mexican tap lesson. The nights will be bright with live music and Mexican trivia, and on September 16th the celebration will end with a Mexican macho cry contest and a taco tasting.

Sunset Royal

The celebration will include family dynamics such as zumba with adelitas and decorating charro sombreros, as well as tasting micheladas, tinga empanadas and chorizo sopes. On. September 15th the hotel will offer a joyful Independence of Mexico celebration on the beach and a vibrant night show.

Sunset Marina

This charming hotel will join the celebration with activities such as tequila volleyball, breaking the pinata, tastings of chile relleno tacos and carnitas, and original cocktails like El Catrin and Mexico in the flesh. Creativity will be spilled over into workshops of Mexican crafts.

Ocean Spa

At Ocean Spa, the national spirit will be experinced with karaoke, foam party, kayak tour, activities such as acuazumba to the rhythm of Mexico and contests such as Mexicans to the scream of beer. The 15th of September will be special with live mariachi and a colorful Mexican kermesse.

Laguna Suites

This boutique hotel will offer a relaxed but very Mexican experience, with Mexican bingo afternoons, tequila tastings and Mexican snacks, and dance lessons such as "Y la Chona se mueve". On the 16th the celebration will close with a beer contest and a delicious aguachile tasting.

Sunset World Group thus reaffirms its commitment to sharing the best of Mexican culture with its members and guests, making these national celebration an unforgettable experience in the paradise of the Mexican Caribbean. Viva Mexico!

Sunset World Group is a Mexican family business founded by some of the pioneers of Cancun who helped turn it into the most sought-after tourist destination worldwide. Sunset World Group has more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry and a sincere passion for environmental conservation, which is why it implemented an Energy Efficiency Program by substituting supply technologies in its six hotels in Cancun and The Riviera Maya. In addition, all Sunset World hotels are supplied with clean and renewable energy produced at Mexican wind farms and geothermal plants, which has considerably reduced the company's carbon footprint. The activity and gastronomy programs in all six hotels are updated and expanded constantly for the enjoyment of all family members, since Sunset World Group always focuses on providing the best vacation experiences for its members and guests.

SOURCE Sunset World Resorts & Vacation Experiences
From hive to heartland, Sioux Honey and Fareway Stores donate thousands of bottles of honey to help fight food insecurity in Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- If you stacked every bottle of honey the Sioux Honey Co-op and Fareway Stores donated Wednesday, the 2,916-foot tower of golden honey would rise higher than:

Two Empire State Buildings (1,454 feet each, with antenna).

Four-and-a-half(!) Principal Buildings (630 feet each) in Des Moines .

. It would even top the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai , which stands 2,717 feet tall.

Team members from Iowa-based Fareway Stores and the Sioux Honey Co-op joined Food Bank of Iowa leaders on Sept. 10 for a substantial honey donation to the food bank consisting of 6,480 bottles of Sue Bee honey. Logos for Johnston, Iowa-based Fareway Stores; Sioux City, Iowa-based Sioux Honey Co-op; and Des Moines, Iowa-based Food Bank of Iowa.

That's the scale of sweetness the Sioux Honey Co-op and Fareway Stores delivered on Sept. 10 to the Food Bank of Iowa.

The donation  a load of three pallets with 540 cases holding 6,480 bottles of Sue Bee honey  was part of the co-op's ongoing "Share Sweetness" campaign and arrived at an ideal time: September is National Honey Month, when the National Honey Association shines a spotlight on honey and its natural nutrition, kitchen versatility and legendary shelf life.

This community effort between Iowa-based Sioux Honey (powered by 175+ beekeeper families across the U.S.) and Fareway Stores (with 142 locations across six Midwestern states) put real muscle behind the fight against food insecurity in Iowa.

"Fareway is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with Sioux Honey and the Food Bank of Iowa and the partners it serves, like the Johnston Partnership," said Elias Johnson, vice president, corporate outreach & communications at Fareway Stores, which recently opened its new headquarters in Johnston.

"Our customers count on us to keep families fed and to support neighbors in need, and this partnership took that commitment to another level."

Aimee Sandman, director of marketing at Sioux Honey, noted, "Our co-op was founded by beekeepers who believed in working together to make a bigger impact. Today, that spirit lives on in campaigns like 'Share Sweetness,' where every bottle represents the hard work of beekeeper families and the generosity of our partners."

Earlier this year, Sioux Honey Co-op's Sue Bee and Aunt Sue's became the first honey brands to earn the U.S. Farmed certification, underscoring the co-op's commitment to supporting domestic farming and sustainable practices. That same commitment is on display with the Share Sweetness campaign, ensuring Iowa families benefit directly from the work of America's beekeepers.

Serving those who need it most

The Des Moines-based Food Bank of Iowa serves 55 counties and distributes millions of meals annually.

"Honey is all-natural, contains important minerals and amino acids, and adds flavor to many foods," said Annette Hacker, Food Bank of Iowa's chief communications and strategy officer. "On behalf of our partners and the Iowans we serve, we appreciate this sweet and special addition to our inventory."

After-school programs

In addition to receiving honey through the Food Bank of Iowa, the Johnston Partnership received an activity kit from Sioux Honey designed for the children in the partnership's after-school and weekend programs. The kit included colorful handouts about honey and honeybees, as well as a hands-on demonstration on honeybee pollination and cross-pollination.

Andrea Cook, executive director of the Johnston Partnership, said the gift offered both nourishment and knowledge.

"For children facing food insecurity, receiving honey is more than a sweet treat  it's nourishment and a natural food with only one ingredient. And learning where their food comes from, how pollination works and why bees matter is a great opportunity to help fill their plates and expand their minds."

The Johnston Partnership mentors students through its JUMP (Johnston Youth Mentoring Program) and provides more than 250 kids with meals each weekend of the school year.

Sweet stats at a glance

6,480 bottles donated (three pallets, 540 cases of Sue Bee  honey).

honey). Enough honey to drizzle on nearly 100,000 pancakes.

Beyond breakfast, honey is one of the most versatile staples in the kitchen. It doesn't need refrigeration, lasts without losing quality and finds its way into everything from baking recipes to coffee, tea and even a drizzle over pizza.

175+ (many multi-generational) beekeeper families are in the Sioux Honey Co-op.

About 25 to 30 million pounds of honey is harvested each year by Sioux Honey beekeepers, which is nearly one-fourth of the U.S. commercial beekeeper honey total (134 million pounds was collected in 2024, according to the USDA).

DOWNLOAD EVENT ASSETS:

https://tinyurl.com/HoneyDonationRelease

ABOUT SIOUX HONEY CO-OP: In 1921, the Sioux Honey Co-op began as a small group of just five beekeepers. Located near Sioux City, Iowa, they shared equipment, marketing and processing facilities  all to help support one another. Today, Sioux Honey is still a co-op, but it has grown into 200+ beekeepers nationwide. Some have been members for decades  part of families who have passed down the trade for generations  and some have pioneered and started their own bee farms. Each member has a passion for producing a pure, quality product that customers can trust. Sioux Honey's Sue Bee and Aunt Sue's are also the first honey brands to earn the U.S. Farmed certification, underscoring the co-op's commitment to domestic farming and sustainable practices. And the Co-op is proud to say it knows each of our beekeepers by name, because Sioux Honey has learned that's how you produce the best honey for more than a century.

ABOUT FAREWAY STORES  Fareway Stores, Inc. is a growing Midwest grocery company currently operating 142 stores in a seven-state region. Fareway's mission is to provide the highest quality products, while treating customers like family, and valuing dedicated employees. Its stores are known for their unmatched, full-service meat departments, farm-fresh produce and exceptional, to-your-car customer service. Fareway is a family-owned business, recognized as a top 10 employer in Iowa, and has more than 13,000 total employees.

ABOUT FOOD BANK OF IOWA  Established in 1982, Food Bank of Iowa provides nutritious food for Iowa children, families, seniors and veterans to live full and active lives, strengthening their communities. Serving 55 of Iowa's 99 counties, Food Bank of Iowa delivers more than 27.3 million pounds of food (22.7 million meals) to 700 partners annually.

ABOUT JOHNSTON PARTNERSHIP  The Johnston Partnership is a community-based nonprofit dedicated to meeting both immediate needs and creating long-term opportunities for families in the Johnston area. Each month, the organization provides food, clothing and other essentials to more than 1,500 people, ensuring stability for households facing tough times. Its JUMP program mentors more than 100 students on the path to high school graduation, while Friday Friends ensures over 250 kids receive meals each weekend during the school year. The Partnership's mission is to build positive relationships that help young people and families reach their full potential.

SOURCE Sioux Honey
30th anniversary class reflects academic excellence, leadership promise, and a pipeline of future executives

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Executive Leadership Council (ELC) proudly announces the recipients of its 2025 ELC Scholarships, awarding $2 million in academic support to 102 outstanding undergraduate and graduate students. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the ELC's flagship scholarship program, a transformative initiative that has supported over 1,100 students since its launch in 1995.

Each year, ELC Scholars are selected not only for academic excellence but for their leadership potential, community involvement, and commitment to shaping the future of global enterprise. In 2025, 70 percent of ELC Scholars are attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and 80 percent are pursuing degrees in fields critical to innovation and industry advancement, including business, STEM, health, and the arts.

"The 2025 ELC Scholars are not just students; they are future executives, creators, technologists, and visionaries," said ELC Senior Director of Philanthropy Leah Wade. "Through this program, we're investing in talent and the transformation of the business landscape itself."

This year's class also marks the official launch of the Ronald C. Parker Legacy Scholarship, honoring the late ELC President & CEO, whose unwavering advocacy and inclusive leadership helped shape the Council's mission and impact for over a decade.

The 2025 scholarship program has been made possible through the generous support of its partners and sponsors, including 3M; Becton, Dickinson & Company; Chevron; Ecolab; Gilead Sciences; Hewlett Packard Enterprise; HP Inc.; HSBC; Johnson & Johnson; Lowe's; Novartis; Otsuka; PepsiCo Foundation; Synchrony; The Coca-Cola Foundation; and UnitedHealth Group.

The ELC and Ford Motor Company also serve as Signature Scholarship Sponsors supporting the Alvaro L. Martins and Ann Fudge legacy scholarships, demonstrating their long-standing commitment to cultivating the next generation of leaders.

ELC Gala Week: From Scholarship to Strategy

The 2025 Scholars will be formally recognized during The ELC Gala Week, from Sept. 30 - Oct. 2, 2025, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. Throughout the week, Scholars participate in the Honors Symposium, a professional development immersion that introduces them to executive pathways, business fundamentals, and mentorship opportunities with C-suite leaders from Fortune 500 companies.

The ELC Gala Week brings together more than 3,000 attendees across six dynamic programsfrom mid-level managers to CEOsand positions the Gala as a celebration of excellence and The Council's most important fundraising event, supporting the education and advancement of rising leaders nationwide.

ABOUT THE ELC

The Executive Leadership Council is an independent non-profit founded in 1986 that opens channels of opportunity for the development of global executives to positively impact business and our communities. Learn more here .

SOURCE The Executive Leadership Council
Univar Solutions Strengthens Personal Care Ingredients Portfolio with Strategic Sun Care Expansion in Brazil Post this

"We are incredibly excited to collaborate with Best Value Chem. As their exclusive distributor in Brazil, we look forward to introducing their innovative, high-performance ultraviolet (UV) filters to local manufacturers," said Jorge Buckup, president of Latin America for Univar Solutions. "Meaningful supplier partnerships like this strengthen our efficient market penetration and demonstrate our deep commitment to customers. We are working to provide easier access to high-quality ingredients and local technical support, while increasing their speed to market and enabling more innovative solutions to reach consumers seeking exceptional sun protection."

Sun protection is essential in beauty and personal care, and UV filters  designed to protect the skin from the harmful effects of UV radiation from the sun, are key components in sunscreens and other skincare products. The new agreement elevates the Ingredients + Specialties from Univar Solutions portfolio for Brazil's thriving personal care industry, adding products such as BVSUN  a state-of-the-art UV defense  to its high-performance sun protection solutions.

"Univar Solutions' broad market reach, deep technical expertise, and unwavering dedication to customer service make them the ideal partner to extend the availability of our BVSUN products," said Ravish Patel, general manager of business development for Best Value Chem. "This exclusive partnership will undoubtedly help drive the growth of the sun care industry in Brazil."

Best Value Chem is recognized for its dedication to innovation, with products designed to meet the latest trends and advancements in the industry. In addition to its cutting-edge BVSUN product line, its commitment to environmental responsibility, and positive community impact resonates deeply with Univar Solutions' own principles.

"UV protection is not a trend  it's a necessity," added James Peterson, global vice president of Care for Univar Solutions. "Our exclusive partnership with Best Value Chem underscores our commitment to offering best-in-class specialty ingredients to the sun care market. Best Value Chem's continued investment in research and development, coupled with its strong focus on environmental responsibility, aligns with our values and desires to help customers create impactful and responsible products."

Ingredients + Specialties from Univar Solutions offers the essential specialty ingredients needed for brands and manufacturers to develop new and improved products that deliver results for their customers. The comprehensive portfolio is backed by a commitment to innovation, sustainability, and quality, as well as technical support and formulation expertise to help ensure our customers and suppliers are equipped to navigate the industry's rapidly changing future with confidence and creativity.

Learn more about our variety of sun protection filters, including organic UVA and UVB filters, silicones, emollients, and actives of natural origin for sunscreen formulations.

About Univar Solutions

Univar Solutions is a leading global distributor of specialty chemicals and ingredients representing a top-tier portfolio of the world's leading producers. With the industry's largest private transport fleet and technical sales force, unmatched logistics know-how, deep regulatory and market knowledge, formulation and recipe development, and leading digital tools, the company is well-positioned to offer customized solutions and value-added services for a wide range of markets, industries, and applications. At the same time that fulfills its purpose of helping to keep communities healthy, fed, clean and safe, Univar Solutions is committed to helping customers and suppliers innovate and focus on Growing Together. Learn more at univarsolutions.com.

About Ingredients + Specialties from Univar Solutions

Ingredients + Specialties from Univar Solutions brings the best products, people, and results to customers and specialist suppliers looking to power modern life. By combining science, innovation, and deep knowledge with a leading portfolio of specialties, we help find the solutions needed to safely improve lives and communities around the world. Learn more at univarsolutions.com.

About Best Value Chem

Best Value Chem is one of the leading manufacturers of fragrance and flavor ingredients in India. Its commitment to customer satisfaction by providing quality products and services has helped it become one of the leading manufacturers in India. Best Value Chem responds creatively and competitively with products in anticipation of customers' aspirations. To learn more, visit bestvaluechem.com.

Forward-Looking Statements and Information

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable law with respect to financial and operational items relating to the Company's business. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "should," "could," "seeks," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "anticipates" or other comparable terms. All forward-looking statements made in this release are qualified by this cautionary language.

Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which may be beyond the Company's control, that could result in unrealized expectations or could materially and adversely affect the Company's business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Although forward-looking statements are based on what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, caution you that the forward-looking information presented in this release is not a guarantee of future events or results, and that actual events or results may differ materially from those made or suggested by the forward-looking information contained in this release. For additional information on factors that may affect the Company, please refer to the Company's most recent annual report and other financial reports, including the information set forth under the heading "Risk Factors." Any forward-looking statements represent the views of the Company only as of the date of this communication and should not be relied upon as representing the views of the Company as of any subsequent date, and the Company undertakes no obligation, except as required by law, to update any forward-looking statement.

SOURCE Univar Solutions LLC
GREENVILLE, N.C., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The former Founder and CEO of Grover Gaming has officially launched a new brand in land-based gaming. Named by combining the names of his daughters, Valicy Gaming was unveiled during a recent company launch party held in Greenville, North Carolina.

Evolving from Grover Gamingwhich was recently sold to Light & Wonder for a total consideration of $1.05 billion [ Read the original press release announcing the sale ]Valicy will now focus on becoming a major manufacturer in land-based gaming across North America. Retaining a majority of the employees from the acquisition, Valicy will continue forward with a veteran team that will have a sharper focus on game development and hardware design.

Despite the name change, Valicy continues under the same experienced executive leadership team and remains dedicated to providing best-in-class customer service and technical supportqualities customers have come to depend on. The company's values, represented by its CARE trianglePeople, Company, and Workare deeply rooted in its culture and will remain central to its mission moving forward.

The public debut of the Valicy brand will take place at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas, October 69, at the Venetian Expo, Booth #1623, where the team will showcase its new identity and game offerings to casino partners and operators from across the industry.

"This is an exciting time for our teams," said Garrett Blackwelder, Founder and CEO of Valicy. "We have the opportunity to do big things in new markets, which gives us energy and enthusiasm. As we grow Valicy, we will focus on relationships, excellence, and innovation."

For more information, visit www.valicy.com , see us at Booth #1623 during G2E 2025, and follow us on social media to stay up to date with everything Valicy has going on.

SOURCE Valicy, Inc.
IRVING, Texas, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ophthalmology surgery centers nationwide are increasingly choosing NorthStar Anesthesia as their trusted partner for anesthesia care. With a model purpose-built for high-volume eye procedures, NorthStar delivers the efficiency, reliability, and clinical precision that ASC leaders need to grow while preserving independence and elevating patient outcomes.

In 2025 alone, several leading centersincluding Takle Eye Surgery Center, Marion Eye Surgery Center, Professional Eye Associates, East Atlanta Eye Surgery Center, North Georgia Eye Associates, Georgia Retina, and two Ludwick Eye Center sites in Pennsylvania and Marylandhave joined NorthStar's growing roster of ASC partners.

Ophthalmology surgery centers are increasingly choosing NorthStar Anesthesia as a trusted partner for anesthesia care. Post this

At NorthStar Anesthesia, no two ASCs are alike. Each center requires tailored solutions that drive operational stability and growth. NorthStar's care team model is customized for high-volume eye procedures, lower costs through optimized staffing, flip room readiness, rapid recovery protocols, and reliable, ASC-trained CRNA teams.

Cindy Myers, VP of Operations for ASCs at NorthStar Anesthesia, explained: "Eye care ASCs operate at an incredibly fast pace and require an anesthesia model that can keep up without sacrificing patient care. At NorthStar, we've built a scalable approach that honors each center's independence while providing the clinical stability and efficiency they need to thrive."

That tailored approach has already proven effective in centers such as East Atlanta Eye Surgery Center and Georgia Retina, where NorthStar has helped bring stability to scheduling, staff recruitment, and block time optimization.

With a reliable pipeline of ASC-trained CRNAsmany of whom rotate through ophthalmology centers during training and later return as full-time providersNorthStar strengthens continuity and minimizes the turnover challenges common in independent centers. While current momentum is strongest in Georgia, the company is scaling this proven model nationwide to meet the needs of independent ASCs and multi-site groups. For ophthalmology and retina practices ready to grow, NorthStar offers a partnership grounded in transparency, autonomy, and efficiency.

About NorthStar Anesthesia

NorthStar Anesthesia is a company of caregivers, founded by an anesthesiologist and a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). With more than 4,000 anesthesiologists and CRNAs under its banner, NorthStar partners with more than 280 health care clients across 25 states to deliver a more productive and efficient model of anesthesia care. Its "care team" approach focuses on the provision of high-quality care while measurably improving operating room performance.

Learn more at www.northstaranesthesia.com or contact James Bagliani, Director, at [email protected]we'd love to connect.

SOURCE NorthStar Anesthesia
BEIJING, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The opening ceremony of the 16th China Yangtze River Three Gorges International Tourism Festival was held in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province on September 6.

The event is jointly hosted by the Hubei Provincial People's Government and the Chongqing Municipal People's Government, and organized by the Hubei provincial department of culture and tourism, the Chongqing municipal commission of culture and tourism development, and the people's government of Yichang City.

Following the opening ceremony, a cultural performance was staged for the public, featuring 15 artistic acts including singing and dancing, short dramas, instrumental performances, and Chinese Kung Fu. Meanwhile, the performance incorporated innovative elements such as AI virtual hosts and laser effects to provide an immersive experience for the audience.

It is learned that a series of events will be held during the festival, including a Three Gorges tourism carnival and a specialty food culture festival. Hubei Three Gorges Cultural Tourism Group will launch several initiatives to benefit the public through cultural tourism. In addition, the first culinary skills competition and a food fair will also be held.

Since its inception in 2010, the China Yangtze River Three Gorges International Tourism Festival has been alternately hosted by Hubei and Chongqing each year. It has become a renowned cultural tourism event, significantly enhancing the influence of the Three Gorges as a tourism brand.

Original link: https://en.imsilkroad.com/p/347493.html

SOURCE Xinhua Silk Road
NEW YORK, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Wu Man, one of the world's best virtuosos of the Chinese traditional instrument Pipa, returned to The Metropolitan Museum of Art Tuesday evening with a performance that underscored her deep ties to both the museum and the 2,000-year-old instrument she has championed across the globe.

Wu headlined a concert in the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium featuring Lou Harrison's Pipa Concerto -- the first Western classical concerto written for the Chinese lute and composed for her in 1997. She was joined by the Brooklyn-based orchestra The Knights, led by concertmaster and co-artistic director Colin Jacobsen.

The program opened with traditional works, including Flute and Drum Music at Sunset and White Snow in Spring, before shifting to Wu's own River Flows Towards the Sky. She also traced the pipa's Silk Road lineage with Song of Kazakh, adapted from the Central Asian dombra.

Introducing Harrison's concerto, she recalled first receiving the score by fax nearly three decades ago. "He asked me to test these strange scales -- E-flat, D-flat -- that didn't sound Chinese or American," she said. "In the end, it feels very much like California."

Wu's relationship with the Metropolitan Museum of Art dates back to her 1992 debut there, shortly after her arrival in the United States. About a decade ago, she was invited to handle a late Ming Dynasty pipa from the museum's collection, a fragile instrument inlaid with 110 carved ivory plaques. She later described holding it as "like holding a child" -- a profound encounter that continues to influence her performances.

The evening concluded with a sustained standing ovation as Wu and The Knights took their bows. 
HARBIN, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong has called for all-out efforts to ensure a bumper autumn grain harvest and further consolidate the foundation for the country's grain security.

Liu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during a research trip in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province from Tuesday to Thursday.

Noting that the key to achieving this year's grain production target lies in autumn harvest, Liu called for the solid implementation of all measures that increase grain yield so as to ensure a bumper harvest.

He stressed that attention should always be paid to disaster prevention and control in agricultural production, and that efforts should be made to continuously improve grain production efficiency and standards.

During his trip, Liu also learned about the construction of high-standard farmland, the protection of black soil, trials and demonstrations of new agricultural technologies, as well as the research and application of agricultural machinery.

It is necessary to integrate and promote the advanced and appropriate agricultural technologies to enhance overall grain production capacity, Liu said. 
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





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VILNIUS, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda on Thursday urged the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to put into practice a rotational air defense model, during talks with Alexus Grynkewich, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).

The rotational air defense model must be implemented as agreed at the Vilnius Summit, Nauseda said in a presidential office statement, noting the latest incident in Poland underscores the need to strengthen air defense across the region.

He added that the system should function consistently, similar to the Baltic Air Policing mission. The model, endorsed at the NATO summit in Vilnius in 2023, envisages rotating allied air defense weapons in the Baltic States on a nearly permanent basis.

The president and the NATO commander also discussed issues including regional security, U.S. troop presence in Lithuania, defense spending, and military support for Ukraine.

Nauseda pledged that Lithuania will allocate 5.25 percent of GDP to defense starting in 2026. 
KIEV, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine's defense ministry said Thursday that it has disabled a Russian Black Sea Fleet vessel in a drone strike.

The ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate said in a statement that its special forces carried out the attack on Wednesday.

In the strike by a Ukrainian-made combat drone, the MPSV07 multipurpose salvage ship was tracked and hit when conducting reconnaissance and patrolling operations near the Russian port of Novorossiysk, it said.

The statement said the strike destroyed the Russian vessel's control bridge that hosts the navigation and communication equipment.

The MPSV07 ship is worth about 60 million U.S. dollars and was commissioned into service in 2015, it added. 
VIENTIANE, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Lao officials were preparing to host the Made in Laos 2025 fair, showcasing locally made products to promote them.

The fair will be held in the capital Vientiane from Oct. 1 to 8, according to the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday.

More than 160 exhibitors from Laos will present a variety of goods, including handicrafts, silk, silverware, furniture, food and beverages, home appliances. 
BEIJING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- China has risen to the world's second place in terms of new drug development, with domestic drugs under research accounting for over a fifth of the global total, a health official said on Thursday.

In recent years, a series of innovative medicines developed by China -- including some anti-cancer drugs -- have been approved for market launch, filling gaps in the country's portfolio of homegrown treatments, said Guo Yanhong, deputy head of the National Health Commission.

Guo added that one of the new drugs, Zanubrutinib, has received approval for use in many other countries. 
CHONGQING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- An exhibition featuring photographs documenting the cooperation and friendship between the U.S. Flying Tigers and the Chinese people during World War II opened on Thursday in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

The exhibition is on show at the Stilwell Museum, and its opening was attended by a U.S. delegation that included members of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation and descendants of Flying Tigers veterans.

Over 200 photographs highlight the bravery of the American volunteer pilots and recount stories of the Chinese civilians who risked their lives to rescue them.

Jeffrey Greene, chairman of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, told Xinhua that he had been moved by a photo of a Chinese soldier and an American mechanic working together on an aircraft. "That's a special photo that says what the relationship was," he said.

At the opening, the foundation designated Chongqing Yucai Secondary School as the city's first Flying Tigers friendship school. The school is located in Jiulongpo District, where the Flying Tigers' regional headquarters once stood.

Clifford Long Jr., whose father was a Flying Tigers pilot, expressed his pride in continuing his father's legacy. "I'm very proud to be here participating in continuing the memory of the Flying Tigers and the friendship with the Chinese people," he said.

Greene emphasized the importance of passing on this history to younger generations: ensuring that the spirit of cooperation and friendship endures. 
SACRAMENTO, United States, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. investigators on Thursday expanded the search for the gunman who killed political activist Charlie Kirk and offered a reward of 100,000 U.S. dollars for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for Kirk's shooting.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has released two images of the "person of interest."

Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck as he was speaking to a large crowd at an outdoor "Prove Me Wrong" debate at Utah Valley University around midday Wednesday. 
BAGHDAD, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid on Thursday said that Israel's aggression against Qatar is a flagrant violation of international laws and norms and a direct threat to regional security, stressing the need to unite efforts to stop these violations.

Rashid made the remarks during a phone conversation with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, during which he strongly condemned the Israeli strike on Qatar, a statement by the Iraqi presidency said.

Rashid affirmed Iraq's rejection of any threat to Qatar's security and sovereignty, affirming Iraq's "solidarity with its Qatari brothers in the face of aggression."

He called on the international community to assume its responsibilities in putting an end to these crimes that undermine prospects for peace and stability.

Rashid also extended his condolences to the families of the victims and wished the injured a speedy recovery, the statement added.

For his part, the Qatari emir expressed appreciation for Iraq's supportive stance, which reflects strong ties between the two countries and their shared commitment to promoting stability in the region.

On the same day, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani held a phone conversation with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, during which they stressed the need to enhance joint Arab and Islamic mechanisms to confront challenges.

A statement by al-Sudani's media office said both leaders stressed the need to halt the ongoing war against civilians in Gaza and condemn the Israeli "aggressions targeting Arab states."

"The discussions also reviewed the importance of coordinating positions and maintaining continuous consultations to formulate appropriate decisions and reach a unified stance during the upcoming Arab-Islamic Summit scheduled to be held in Doha next Monday," the statement added.

Since the Gaza war began in October 2023, Israeli strikes and gunfire have killed more than 64,000 people in the enclave, according to local health authorities, while much of the territory has been reduced to rubble and famine has set in.

On Tuesday, Israel launched an unprecedented airstrike on Doha, targeting a building used by senior Hamas officials in what Israeli authorities described as an attempt to kill leaders of the Palestinian group. 
ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf has condemned the deadly attack against civilians in North Kivu Province of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

About 80 people were killed overnight from Monday to Tuesday in the village of Ntoyo in an attack blamed on Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels, local authorities confirmed to Xinhua.

In a statement issued late Wednesday, the head of the 55-member continental organization expressed "deep shock" over the deadly attack.

"The chairperson strongly condemns this heinous terrorist attack, as well as the recurrent violence that continues to target civilians in eastern DRC," the AU statement read.

Noting that such acts constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights, the AUC chief urged that the perpetrators be identified and held accountable to end the prevailing climate of impunity that fuels the recurrence of similar atrocities.

Youssouf reiterated the AU's solidarity with the government and people of the DRC "in these painful circumstances," further reaffirming the AU's "unwavering commitment" to supporting national, regional, and international efforts aimed at restoring peace, security, and stability in the wider Great Lakes region.

According to local officials, the attack targeted a funeral gathering in Ntoyo, leaving a provisional death toll of around 80, while several people remain missing or were taken hostage by the assailants.

The ADF, an Islamic State affiliate in Central Africa and a Ugandan-origin armed group, has escalated assaults on villages in North Kivu and Ituri provinces in recent months, mainly targeting civilians.

According to the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC, the assaults claimed at least 52 lives between Aug. 9 and 16 in North Kivu. In late July, some 40 civilians were killed during an attack on a Catholic church in Ituri. 
ALGIERS, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The fourth Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2025) closed in Algiers on Wednesday with a record 48.2 billion U.S. dollars in deals, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) said.

Afreximbank President Benedict Oramah called the outcome the most successful since the fair's launch, exceeding earlier projections of 44 billion dollars. Algeria accounted for 11.6 billion dollars, or nearly a quarter of the total.

The agreements covered sectors including agriculture, energy, finance, health, and transport. The fair, organised by Afreximbank, the African Union and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, ran from Sept. 4 to 10 and drew more than 35,000 participants and 2,000 exhibitors from over 75 countries.

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who opened the event, urged greater African economic integration, noting the continent's 3 percent share of global trade despite its vast resources and population. Hosting for the first time, Algeria showcased energy, agriculture, and manufacturing industries.

The next edition will be held in Nigeria in 2027. 
This photo provided by Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) shows rescue team members working on the site near debris of a crashed helicopter in Central Papua, Indonesia, on Sept. 11, 2025. All four people aboard a helicopter were found dead after the aircraft crashed in Central Papua province in Indonesia, a rescue official said Thursday. (Basarnas/Handout via Xinhua)

JAKARTA, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- All four people aboard a helicopter were found dead after the aircraft crashed in Central Papua province in Indonesia, a rescue official said Thursday.

The wreckage was located in a canyon in Mimika regency, said I Wayan Suyatna, head of the local search and rescue office. The bodies have been evacuated to a hospital in Timika, the regency's capital.

The helicopter went down at around 1:40 p.m. local time Wednesday while flying from Ilaga Airport in Puncak regency to Mozes Kilangin Airport in Mimika, Suyatna said. 

This photo provided by Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) shows a rescue team member working on the site near debris of a crashed helicopter in Central Papua, Indonesia, on Sept. 11, 2025. All four people aboard a helicopter were found dead after the aircraft crashed in Central Papua province in Indonesia, a rescue official said Thursday. (Basarnas/Handout via Xinhua)

This photo provided by Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) shows rescue team members working on the site near debris of a crashed helicopter in Central Papua, Indonesia, on Sept. 11, 2025. All four people aboard a helicopter were found dead after the aircraft crashed in Central Papua province in Indonesia, a rescue official said Thursday. (Basarnas/Handout via Xinhua)

This photo provided by Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) shows rescue team members transferring body pack of victims after helicopter crashed in Central Papua, Indonesia, on Sept. 11, 2025. All four people aboard a helicopter were found dead after the aircraft crashed in Central Papua province in Indonesia, a rescue official said Thursday. (Basarnas/Handout via Xinhua)
For the fourth time in just less than 10 years, Baker & Taylor is about to get a new owner. In a letter sent to publishers, ReaderLink CEO Dennis Abboud wrote that the two parties have signed a letter of intent under which ReaderLink will acquire the business and substantially all of the assets of B&T, including Baker & Taylor Distribution Services. The acquisition is expected to close on September 26.

According to the letter, most of the current B&T management team and employees will join ReaderLink, including Aman Kochar, B&Ts CEO and current owner who bought the library wholesaler from Follett Corp. in 2021. As part of ReaderLink, Kochar will continue to head B&Ts business, reporting directly to Abboud.

Although it is the countrys largest library wholesaler, B&T has struggled to remain a profitable company in a low margin business. Following his acquisition of B&T, Kochar implemented a number of changes to try an improve its financial picture, an effort that was only partially successful. Abboud alluded to B&Ts problems, writing that the last several months have been a challenging period for Baker & Taylor. The company has faced headwinds, including the pressures of operating independently, emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, and overcoming the debilitating impacts and financial losses resulting from cyberattacks in 2022.

As part of the rationale for the deal, Kochar sent his own letter to library clients (later sent out by ReaderLink as well) explaining that ReaderLink, which distributes books to mass merchandisers such as Target, Walmart, and other large nontrade outlets, is well-capitalized and maintains over $250 million in inventory across its six geographically optimized distribution centers, which will soon augment Baker & Taylors existing operations centers.

The transaction, Kochar continued, brings additional resources to B&Ts customers, including best-in-class in-stock positions, faster order turnarounds, and an expanded portfolio of library-tailored products while continuing Baker & Taylors personalized customer service. Baker & Taylor and ReaderLink have done business in the past. In 2015, ReaderLink bought B&T's publishing business, which is now known as Silver Dolphin.

As noted by Abboud, ReaderLink is acquiring only B&Ts assets and any balances owed by B&T to suppliers remain with that company. According to the Abboud letter, ReaderLink has been advised that in the coming weeks the current owners or their advisors will provide guidance regarding the process for submitting claims related to pre-closing open invoices. Questions about any balance can be directed to APClaims@baker-taylor.com.

Abboud noted that while ReaderLink is not assuming pre-closing liabilities, it will take on the financial obligation for any product ordered by, and shipped to, Baker & Taylor following the closing of the transaction. ReaderLink will provide guidance shortly with respect to how future purchase orders will be issued and where to direct any requests for transition information, Abboud wrote.

Publishers were not surprised that B&T has once again changed hands since many had been experiencing problems with the wholesaler for some time and B&T had been on credit hold with some publishers, particularly in recent months. PW has also received a number of complaints from librarians about B&Ts service.

The announcement did carry a couple of surprises for publishers though, including that ReaderLink was the buyer. Two publishers pointed to the lack of synergy between ReaderLink and B&T and wondered how the pairing will result in savings. Another publisher questioned how a company (ReaderLink) that has 100% of the wholesale market now be allowed to buy such a big piece of the library market? Others noted that ending up with ReaderLink is better than B&T being acquired by Ingram, which would give Ingram the dominant position in both library and trade wholesaling.

Another concern raised by a number of publishers was about how much of the money B&T owes publishers will be paid back. "It is concerning that the accounts payable will remain with the current owners and whether publishers will get paid or need to write off the outstanding invoices," one publisher said. Michael Kerber, president of Red Wheel/Weiser, told PW, We have worked with Baker & Taylor in good faith and expect them as a result of this this sale to honor all outstanding invoices.
Future funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services cleared a legislative hurdle this week, with the House Appropriations Committee endorsing a $291,800,000 IMLS budget for fiscal 2026. The Senate Appropriations Committee also has approved that funding amount without amendment.

The IMLS budget is among the line items under consideration for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS), and the committee's markup of the bill lasted from 11 a.m. September 9 through 12:30 a.m. September 10. The LHHS budget now advances to the full Senate and full House of Representatives for consideration and a vote.

Kevin Maher, the American Library Associations deputy director of public policy and advocacy, is observing the progress toward funding IMLS. Overall, it was a decent bill, Maher said, with a $400,000 increase for the Library Services and Technology Act that would support the statutory Grants to States program. They held the line on other library programs too, Maher said, including discretionary grants such as Innovative Approaches to Literacy, a school libraries bill administered by the Department of Education.

In both FY2024 and FY2025, Congress appropriated $294.8 million for IMLS, so essentially were operating with 2024 numbers for most of the programs, Maher said. The $3,000,000 reduction in IMLSs budget will affect museums and IMLS administration, he noted, which is a little surprising, but were happy that both the House and the Senate bills included an increase for our libraries.

Maher believes ALAs For Our Libraries campaign, urging library advocates to contact their representatives, paid off, adding, Congress appears to recognize the value of our libraries. He hopes supporters will continue making calls. Part of the reason to continue to make the case for libraries is that its still up to the administration to spend the money, he said. If the administration goes to rescission, we want to make this a difficult vote for Congress, where reps will stand firm for library funding.

That concern is warranted. Earlier this week, Sen. Patty Murray (DWash.), vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, wrote that the Trump administration is holding back more than $410 billion in appropriated funding during the final weeks of FY2025, in whats widely become known as a pocket recission. An appropriations tracker titled Trumps Funding Freeze indicates that this sum includes more than $330,000,000 in canceled grants once slated for the National Endowment for the Humanities, $326,000,000 in terminated grants for the National Endowment for the Arts, and $30,000,000 meant for IMLS.

Funding to support the work of museum[s], historic sites, colleges, universities, libraries, and other organizationsis being choked off, the document states. Public libraries across the country continue to be at risk of losing essential funding and support.
By the order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Shira Perlmutter remains the register of copyrights and the director of the U.S. Copyright Office, despite the Trump administrations ongoing efforts to oust her. Circuit judges Florence Y. Pan and J. Michelle Childs concurred that Perlmutter may stay in her role for now. Circuit judge Justin R. Walker dissented.

After Judge Timothy J. Kelly of the D.C. district court twice denied Perlmutters motions for a preliminary injunction, on May 28 and again on July 30, Perlmutter filed a notice of appeal with the circuit court on July 31. On September 10, circuit court judges Pan and Childs wrote that the appellant has satisfied the stringent requirements for an injunction pending appeal. They reasoned that because she continues to serve as Register at the present time, ruling in her favor would not disrupt the work of the U.S. Copyright Office. To the contrary, it is her removal that would be disruptive.

The judges order stated that Todd Blanche, Paul Perkins, Sergio Gor, Trent Morse, and the Executive Office of the President, and their subordinates and agents, are hereby enjoined from interfering with appellants service as Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office pending further order of the court."

Perlmutter has maintained that the administrations efforts to fire and replace her are illegal, and that the White House action coincided with the Copyright Offices release of a prepublication report about generative AI training. The circuit court was sympathetic to this argument. When Perlmutters AI Report was released, the President allegedly disagreed with the recommendations, the judges wrote in their concurrence. And the next daya Saturdaythe White House Presidential Personnel Office notified Perlmutter by email that she had been terminated from her position effective immediately.

The judges considered Perlmutters role as an advisor to Congress and her opportunity to influence Congress on copyright matters of national importance, such as the development of generative AI. The prepublication AI report, they wrote, takes up issues of fair use and licensing over which the executive branch would like to wield control. The Copyright Office is reportedly in the process of finalizing a separate aspect of the report to Congress, which will address the topic of potential liability for infringing AI outputs, they added. The White House released its own AI visiondubbed Americas AI Action Planon July 23.

The circuit judges took issue with the fact that the district courts order denying injunctive relief rested solely on its determination that Perlmutter had failed to show that she would suffer irreparable harm. They said the court failed to weigh other important factors and abused its discretion by failing to consider unusual actions relating to the discharge by the White House.

In regard to the separation of powers, the judges said the Presidents removal of Perlmutter was likely unlawful because the librarian of Congressappointed by the president and approved by the Senateis the only individual authorized to appoint or remove the register of copyrights. They questioned the effort to install two executive branch officialsU.S. deputy attorney general Blanche and associate deputy attorney general Perkinsin the legislative roles of librarian of Congress and register of copyrights, respectively.

Judge Walker, in his dissent, agreed with district judge Kelly and argued that the Supreme Court recently, repeatedly, and unequivocally has allowed the removal of officials by the president.

Judges Pan and Childs are both Biden appointees who came to the circuit court in 2022. (Pan also presided over the 2022 antitrust trial that blocked Penguin Random Houses purchase of Simon & Schuster.) Judge Walker, a former clerk for then-judge Brett Kavanaugh and Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, came to the circuit court bench in 2020 as a Trump appointee. District judge Kelly is likewise a Trump appointee.

The decision grants Perlmutter and the Copyright Office a temporary reprieve, as 2025s partisan feud rages on unabated.
MELBOURNE, Australia, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- The 2025 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) reflects the deepening cooperation between China and Australia in services trade, experts said at an event in Melbourne on Wednesday.

Addressing the official event that coincided with the opening of the Australia National Pavilion at CIFTIS, Chi Jiechao from the Chinese Consulate-General in Melbourne said that the economy of Australia and China are "highly complementary."

"This event fully reflects the positive momentum of deepening cooperation between China and Australia in the field of services trade," he said.

"It also provides a high level platform for exchanges and collaboration between businesses and institutions from both countries," the counsellor said.

The event in Melbourne was the first CIFTIS overseas launch, with Australia holding the position of Guest Country of Honor for the first time at the conference in Beijing.

Helen Kronberger, director of International Education at the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) Melbourne Office, said that nearly 60 Australian exhibitors will be participating in CIFTIS.

"Our exhibitors symbolize a modern, world-class innovative and inclusive services sector," Kronberger said.

"The strength of Australia's participation this year also signals the capability and competitiveness of Australian services firms, and their ability to bring value to their Chinese partners and consumers across finance, education, health, food, consumer tourism and more."

Wednesday's event in Melbourne was hosted by CPA Australia, one of the world's largest and oldest professional accounting bodies and a CIFTIS partner for the second consecutive year.

Chief Executive Officer of CPA Australia Chris Freeland said that Australia is proud to be the guest country of honor at CIFTIS and that it sends a "strong positive signal" of strengthening collaboration in trading services between the two countries.

Xie Zhibin, deputy general manager of the Bank of China Sydney Branch, echoed the sentiment, describing Australia's status at CIFTIS as a "clear testament" to the growing relationship in services trade. 
SYDNEY, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- A girl has died after a vehicle crashed and became submerged in a dam over 500 km north of Sydney in eastern Australia.

Police in the state of New South Wales (NSW) said in a statement on Thursday that emergency services were called to reports of the crash near the town of Tenterfield, 540 km north of Sydney in the state's New England region, around 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

The black SUV had crashed into a tree before entering the dam and becoming submerged, police said.

An 11-year-old girl who was a passenger in the vehicle was treated by ambulance paramedics after being pulled unresponsive from the water, but died at the scene.

The driver, a 50-year-old woman, was also pulled from the water and treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to hospital in a stable condition.

NSW Police said that officers from the crash investigation unit established a crime scene and have commenced an investigation into the incident. 
Instagram (Photo credit: Elisa Quaggio in Venice, Italy)

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 09/10/2025



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

's Veronica Rodriguez has announced she just got the best 40th birthday gift -- an engagement ring!Veronica, who is Tim Malcolm's ex-fiance and has appeared on multiple spinoffs on TLC, got engaged to her boyfriend Seth Daryoushfar, 37, during a romantic trip to Italy.'s official Instagram account uploaded a carousel of photos from Veronica and Seth's Italian getaway, and it appears Seth had popped the question during a gondola ride."You recently saw her on the #90DayFiance Hunt for Love Tell All, and now she's got her own big news to talk about: Veronica is engaged!" captioned its post, tagging Veronica."On her 40th birthday in Venice, her boyfriend, Seth, popped the question. Cheers to forever for this couple!"In the gondola photo, Veronica was wearing a white dress with white heels, foreshadowing that she's going to be a bride.Veronica told Us Weekly that the engagement was "the most unforgettable gift" for her birthday."He asked me to spend forever with him," she gushed."We're beyond grateful for this moment in our story and can't wait to celebrate our wedding in early 2026 with the people we love most."Veronica documented many of her stops in Italy leading up to her engagement.In August, Veronica posted photos while stopping in Positano."From leaning on the Tower of Pisa, to sunsets in Positano, to strolling the streets of the Cote d'Azur -- this summer has been all about family, laughter, and love. Grateful for every moment," Veronica gushed at the time.Veronica went Instagram official with Seth in January, although it remains unclear how long they've been dating."2025 is off to a sweet start," Veronica captioned a photo with Seth via Instagram on January 12. "#2025 #newyear #friends #newbeginnings #hardlaunch #itsgonnabeagreatyear."After making their public debut, Veronica and Seth traveled to the Grand Canyon, New York City, Las Vegas and more."In your arms, time slows, laughter grows and love feels like home," Veronica gushed about her man in February."My favorite love story is ours. Happy Valentine's Day to the one who makes every moment special. #myforevervalentine #valentinesday #love."Veronica has appeared on : Before the 90 Days, 90 Day: The Single Life, and : Pillow Talk.Veronica was initially part of Tim's storyline given they were previously engaged. The pair remained good friends and decided to co-parent her daughter Chloe Sanchez together.Veronica filmed Season 3 of The Single Life, which aired on TLC in 2022, with her ex-boyfriend Justin Foster.The couple split during an October 2022 episode when Justin had decided to move to Florida to be closer to his kids and their mother. Veronica didn't want to move, and so the pair opted to part ways.Veronica was then shown dating : Happily Ever After? star Kim Menzies' son Jamal on Season 4 of The Single Life, which aired on TLC in early 2024, but it didn't take long for their romance to fizzle out.Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our homepage!
Beyond Fest announced its full lineup on Wednesday. The festival runs Sept. 23 to Oct. 8 in Los Angeles and tickets go on sale Thursday.

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The festival previously announced the 12-film Guillermo del Toro retrospective, with the filmmaker to attend four of the events. The full slate includes more celebrity appearances.

Al Pacino will appear for a screening of Dick Tracy, in which he played comic strip mobster Big Boy Caprice. The band Butthole Surfers will appear with their documentary Butthole Surfers: The Hole Truth and Nothing Butt.

Tim Robbins will attend the 4K restoration screening of Jacob's Ladder and a showing of The Player. William Petersen will attend a double feature of To Live and Die in L.A. and Manhunter, the first Hannibal Lecter movie.

John Carpenter will speak about Big Trouble in Little China, while William Katt will attend a screening of House.

Rob Reiner will be present for his Stephen King double feature of Stand By Me and Misery. Karyn Kusama will attend the 10th anniversary screening of The Invitation.

Gore Verbinski will attend with The Ring, while Ryuhei Kitamura will attend with Godzilla: Final Wars.

New films playing at Beyond Fest include Good Fortune, following its Toronto International Film Festival premiere. Stars Aziz Ansari and Seth Rogen will attend, and Ansari also wrote and directed.

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If I Had Legs I'd Kick You will also screen, with filmmaker Mary Bronstein and stars Rose Byrne and Conan O'Brien attending. UPI praised the film in its Sundance Film Festival review.

Other films include No Other Choice, Bugonia, Dust Bunny, Black Phone 2, After the Hunt, and Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die.

Additional premieres, including Deathstalker and The Boulet Brothers: Dragula Season 2 and restorations including Salem's Lot and Day of the Dolphin, will screen at the Egyptian Theater and Los Feliz 3.
Universal Pictures' live-action version of How to Train Your Dragon is expected to begin streaming in October on Peacock, the streaming platform announced Wednesday.

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The three animated films in the franchise will also land on Peacock, as well as more than 90 minutes of bonus content from the 2025 live-action release.

The animated How to Train Your Dragon (2010), How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) will stream starting Oct. 1.

The live-action film directed by Dean DeBlois and starring Mason Thames as Hiccup, Nico Parker as Astrid and Gerard Butler as Stoick the Vast will be added to Peacock on Oct. 10.

Bonus content will include deleted scenes and a gag reel, along with featurettes exploring the sets, the technology that brought the dragons to life and other behind-the-scenes artistry.

In addition to the primary cast, the 2025 version of the film stars Nick Frost, Peter Serafinowicz , Julian Dennison, Gabriel Howell, Ruth Codd, Bronwyn James and Harry Trevaldwyn.

The film focuses on the Viking village of Berk, the citizens of which battle dragons to protect their livestock.

But one day, the chief's son, Hiccup, comes across a rare Night Fury dragon whom he names Toothless. The two become fast friends and Hiccup must figure out a way to make the Vikings realize that dragons don't have to be an enemy.

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The original DreamWorks movies of the same name featured the voices of Jay Baruchel (Hiccup), America Ferrera (Astrid), Butler (Stoick), Craig Ferguson T.J. Miller and David Tennant
Secrets come to light for a family in a trailer released Wednesday for Murdaugh: Murder in the Family, a limited series based on a real-life South Carolina family torn apart by murder and financial fraud.

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The Hulu drama tells the story of Alex Murdaugh, a lawyer from a prominent family of lawyers in South Carolina's Lowcountry. A judge sentenced him to life in prison in 2023 for the 2021 murder of his wife, Margaret "Maggie" Murdaugh, and 22-year-old son, Paul Murdaugh.

The trailer shows what appears to be a happy and powerful South Carolina family with two young sons. But things turn dark when Paul is involved in a boating accident that leaves a girl dead and the family scrambling to cover things up.

"We got to have each other's backs," Alex tells Maggie in one scene. "Family first."

Journalist Matney begins investigating the family and uncovers evidence of financial fraud.

"Be careful. These are very, very powerful people," a law enforcement officer warns Matney.

Murdaugh: Murder in the Family stars Jason Clarke (Alex), Patricia Arquette (Maggie), Johnny Berchtold (Paul), Will Harrison as the younger son, Buster Murdaugh, and Brittany Snow (Mandy). Steven Piet directed the project and writers Erin Lee Carr and Michael D. Fuller based the script on reporting by Matney.

The series is expected to drop on Hulu on Oct. 15.
ISLAMABAD, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Four terrorists were killed in a shootout with the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province, officials said Thursday.

The CTD said in a statement that the incident took place in the Pishin district when personnel raided a terrorist hideout. A gunfight broke out, leaving four terrorists dead.

According to the CTD, the slain terrorists were involved in several high-profile attacks, including an assault on a paramilitary vehicle in Chaman and the killings of police personnel.

Weapons and explosives, including two machine guns, two pistols, hand grenades and detonators, were recovered from the site.

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti commended the CTD for foiling what he called a major terrorist plot in the district.

He said the provincial government remained committed to maintaining peace and stability, stressing that public support and security forces' efforts were vital to eliminating terrorism. 
Disney/Michael Kirchoff

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 09/11/2025



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

Taylor Frankie Paul has admitted her first post-divorce boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, apparently learned of her casting when the rest of the world did.Following Taylor's divorce from Tate Paul in 2022, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star dated Dakota, with whom she welcomed one of her three children.(Taylor welcomed daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 5, with Tate. She later gave birth to Dakota's son, Ever True, in March 2024).Taylor insisted on Alex Cooper's "Call Her Daddy" podcast that she had officially ended her relationship with Dakota in September 2024.While Taylor acknowledged "it's over" with Dakota now, she admitted to having hooked up with him several times since their split.Fans may therefore be shocked to discover that Taylor never gave Dakota a heads up about her casting.Prior to Taylor being announced as 's Season 22 star on Wednesday, September 10, the reality TV star admitted she had "not confirmed it" with Dakota."So I don't know if he knows or if he knew I had the opportunity," Taylor explained to Alex on the September 10 episode of her podcast. "So he'll know Wednesday."Taylor predicted of Dakota's reaction to her upcoming televised journey to find love, "I think [he'll] probably [be] sad."She elaborated, "If anything he says is real, I would say sad."Taylor, however, insisted that Dakota knows she's been meeting new people and dating."So we've already had that first hurt, I guess," Taylor said."I think that's the hardest part is when you see their first dating or hookup or whatever it is. That's going to always take a toll, no matter what."But Taylor believes that Dakota is going to watch her journey play on out on ABC when it premieres in 2026."I think he's always watching, as of now," Taylor said. "And maybe it takes him meeting someone new and focusing on her, and maybe it will be different. I can't say."Taylor admitted she hooked up with Dakota a few times after their breakup because it was a "very confusing" time for her."If I'm being honest, I did want to end up with him. That was no secret to anybody," Taylor shared."It wasn't a secret, and I'll always admit that to whoever asks me. Did I love him? Absolutely. I had a baby with him. I wanted to be with him. But it just did not work out. There were certain things that were forever closing for me."The mother of three teased how "everyone will see" the demise of her relationship with Dakota on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which returns to Hulu in November."I can't speak on that yet, but it closed the book for me. But it was really hard to let go. That was a hard pill to swallow, that I can't be with you now," Taylor explained."And, like, there was no pain like it. I will say, this last summer was one of the hardest summers I ever had because I was like, 'Oh my gosh, Taylor, you have to accept that you're not ending up with him.'"Taylor confessed that walking away from Dakota left her with a pain she can't describe to anybody."So it was hard to let go fully," she reiterated. "And when people are like, 'Have you hooked up?' It's like, 'Yes, I loved him!' I wanted to be with him, but I can't -- and I won't. I had to let go and it was hard."While Taylor didn't tell Dakota about her upcoming stint, she did apparently warn other men she's dated recently."I actually told them," Taylor told Us Weekly in a separate interview."I was just like, 'So, I'm going to be doing here soon.' Just to [be] fair, and not surprise them with it with the rest of the world. Because it's so new, there's not deep feelings there."Taylor said the men took the news well and wished her luck.Interested in more The Bachelor news? Follow our Bachelor Nation News Page on Facebook or join our The Bachelor Facebook Group
Photos by Kenda Lenseigne

We deliberately dont feature a lot of ARs in RECOIL. Not because were not fans quite the opposite  but because every man and his dog is in the AR biz, and wed rather cover guns that are a little less vanilla. Granted, the carbine we reach for most is an AR, and there arent many designs which offer a significant improvement over Stoners creation but lets face it, as my sainted grandmother would say, theyre common as muck.

Why then does this carbine from B&T merit discussion?

While it may look like every other AR-15, that appearance is just skin deep. As you dig into the feature set, you come to the realization that the Swiss actually know a thing or two about small arms design, and the attention to detail manifested in the SPC is eye catching, to say the least.

Developed at the request of German police units, the only AR-compatible components are the fire control group, pistol grip, buttstock, and charging handle. Its an AR in outward appearance only, with almost everything else being a clean-sheet design. Take the bolt carrier group, for example.

Hogged out of a piece of aluminum bar stock, the SPC223s upper receiver features steel reinforcement points.

When companies started shoehorning short stroke piston systems into ARs, they typically substituted the original gas key for an abbreviated version, which looked like the front half had been lopped off. The remaining steel served as an impact face for the rear of the piston or op rod. It was quickly discovered that this was far from ideal, and apart from stressing the screws securing the key, led to the rear of the carrier tipping downward as it started its rearward journey due to the impact face being both offset and at the front of the carrier. In the SPC, B&Ts engineers carved the carrier and key from one piece of steel and shifted the impact face to almost the midpoint.

As theres no forward assist, B&T have added a pocket to the side of the carrier, which will accept the case head of a 5.56 round. If you need to quietly make ready, you can use a case to ensure the bolt is fully home. The multi-lug bolt looks decidedly AR-ish, but its lugs are thicker and longer than normal, adding strength to this critical part, and the cam pin hole is stepped. This provides extra material to head off stress-related breakage and ensures the bolt cant be assembled backward.

SIGs Romeo 8T-AMR has an enormous, clutter-free window. The reticle automatically changes brightness and shape when the magnifier is swung.

It usually comes as a surprise when people learn their favorite rifle, the one fielded by their nations military for five decades isnt drop safe. To mitigate this problem, and the occasional slam fire, B&T added a spring to the firing pin, as well as a firing pin safety thats deactivated by the hammer, right before it hits. Steel reinforcement is added to the aluminum upper receiver wherever steel components interact with it, such as the charging handle latch, the rear of the op rod, and the cam pin path, in order to increase longevity of this serialized component.

The SPCs captive rear takedown pin secures both the lower receiver, and the buttstock assembly. Drive it out, pull the buffer tube and its guts to the rear, then check out the hydraulic-damped buffer that keys into the BCGs rear, further reducing carrier tilt. Pop the front takedown pin and you can then remove the glass-filled nylon lower receiver, which accepts both AR pattern fire control components and pistol grips. Controls are fully ambi, including bolt hold open  though we found the bolt release function a little difficult to operate with the master index finger.

Better to stab it with your thumb when seating the mag, like an AR. This being a European design, the safety can be applied no matter what position the hammer might be in, and its easy to manipulate the levers with both thumb and knuckles of the index finger.

Cool details abound. Note non-serialized polymer lower receiver, mid-carrier impact face, full ambi controls, hydraulic buffer, and dual-ejector bolt.

The SPCs 10.75-inch-long handguard is beautifully executed, matching the receivers profile and providing seven M-LOK slots around its circumference, as well as a Picatinny rail at the 12-oclock location. A pair of pinch screws biting into steel inserts clamp the rail to the receiver, and there are a pair of anti-rotation QD sockets up front. A machined slot provides access to a three-position gas block, which like the BCG has a pocket to accept a case head, rather than the usual bullet, to rotate it to the selected setting.

Our SPC came from the factory as a dedicated SBR with a 12.1-inch barrel, though a Title 1 version with a 16-inch tube is available, and if you really must, theres a braced pistol in the catalog, too.

Through some special Swiss voodoo, the maker claims velocities comparable to a 16-inch barrel are achievable from the 12-incher, so naturally we had to put that to the test. Instead of the usual three-prong flash hider, the SPC came with one of B&Ts latest 3D printed titanium suppressors, remarkable in that it manages to wrap a Ti body and internals around an Inconel blast baffle, thus combining the best of both worlds and managing to avoid the fireworks show normally associated with titanium cans on short barrels. Remarkably light at just 9.75 ounces including the adapter, the XH556-SC adds very little mass to the muzzle end of the gun and keeps things short and well balanced.

Truly continuous top rail has a split Picatinny lug where the rail joins the upper and steel inserts where the piston enters.

With the carbine suitably decked out, we headed to the range to blow through some drills and turn live into brass.

B&T SPC223 FACTORY SBR SPECS:

Capacity: 5.56 NATO

Capacity: 30 rounds

Barrel Length: 21.1 inches

Overall Length (as shown): 34 inches

Weight (as shown): 9.2 pounds

MSRP: $2,700

Average Velocities in FPS

16-inch 12.5-inch SPC MKE M193 2,908 2,833 2,743 SIG 77-grain OTM 2,404 2,373 2,232

ROUNDS DOWNRANGE

You immediately notice the effects of the hydraulic buffer, which spreads recoil impulse over a longer timeframe. Compared to the conventional AR carbines we brought for a benchmark, the SPC is very soft-shooting, not that theres a whole lot of recoil to contend with when shooting 5.56. Were not used to piston guns that are able to turn in consistent sub-MOA performance, but maybe we should expect it. B&Ts carbine had no problem stacking rounds through the same ragged hole, and what was even more remarkable was that it would do it with different bullet weights.

In both deliberate and rapid fire, the SPC showed that a properly made and finished, two stage Mil-spec trigger is no hindrance to accuracy, which begs the question of why we put up with so many that are absolute garbage in terms of quality of pull. Evidently, it takes spending almost 3 grand for the Swiss to show us how it should be done.

As far as B&Ts claim for enhanced velocities from their 12-inch tube, we saw no evidence. We shot two types of ammo through two different comparison barrels and the results were pretty much what youd expect. Granted, the two carbines we chose as a basis for comparison were well-used (and our 12.5-inch work gun has a fast barrel), whereas the B&T had only a hundred rounds or so through it at chronograph time, which may have affected the outcome, but we didnt see anything remarkable in terms of speed.

Were usually leery of putting Ti cans on short barrels, but the previous model of this suppressor passed a

Table 2 test with flying colors. The addition of an Inconel blast baffle is icing on the cake.

The B&T SPC is a very competent, highly refined design which demonstrates excellent attention to detail. It wouldnt be our choice as a first semiauto, occupying the same rarefied heights as KAC or HK, but if you feel like youve earned a top-tier 5.56 carbine and wanted something off the shelf rather than a custom build, then why not? Its tempting to make a Swiss watch analogy, but that would be obvious and lazy, so well resist the urge.

SIG ROMEO8T-AMR AND JULIET3T MAGNIFIER

Despite its compact footprint, the Romeo8T has a larger lens than even our beloved EOTech XPS3, leading to greater situational awareness of the world that exists outside of the sight. The biggest leap in performance, however, is in its reticle, or rather reticles. Lets say youre approaching a target building at night under NODs.

Right before you breach, you flip up your tubes and hit the NV button on the sight, which instantly changes the circle-dot reticle from night vision to white light mode, increasing its brightness and allowing you to clear the building.

As day breaks, you see a truckload of shady-looking dudes show up a couple of blocks away, so you flip down the magnifier to get a better shot, which simultaneously changes the reticle to give you holdovers for distance and drops the brightness, so the target image isnt blown out. No fiddling with buttons or messing with a zoom throw lever required  just one gross movement with your support hand.

The combination weighs a couple of ounces more than a Nightforce NX8, before you factor in a mount, so its pretty much a wash in terms of mass compared to the lightest LPVOs. Battery life from its transverse-mounted CR123 is a claimed 50,000 hours on the lowest setting  or a bit more than half a decade  and the unit can be submerged in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes without ill effects.

The Juliet3 magnifier has decent edge-to-edge clarity and has fairly neutral color rendition. Both red dot and magnifier appear to have good-quality mounts, something which is never a given in this price range. Overall, were impressed with the engineering and thought that went into this combo  the only way wed improve it is to go with a 5x magnifier, but that would bump up the $1,000 MSRP.
Women are increasingly using gig work as a pathway to economic independence which has no entry barrier, especially as an alternative to traditional jobs.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff

Nearly 83 per cent of women gig workers -- who are the sole earners in a household -- are married, and this may reflect a 'growing' shift in the household dependency patterns, a recent study by a government-run think-tank on female gig workers shows.

This is driven by male job losses, migration or pandemic-induced distress, it added.

The study, which investigates the experiences of women in the gig economy, notes that these sole earning women are becoming more central to the financial stability of their households.

This could be attributed to changing societal norms and the increased flexibility of gig work, which allows women to balance both work and family responsibilities.

Of the total women surveyed in the Delhi-National Capital Region, 16.3 per cent responded as being sole earners.

'The intersection of sole earning patterns and marital status provides an interesting insight. Interestingly, among those who are sole earners, 82.7 per cent are still married, which may reflect a growing, although limited shift in household dependency patterns, potentially driven by male job loss, migration or to overcome the economic crisis due to the pandemic,' the study by the labour ministry-affiliated V V Giri National Labour Institute notes.

Kindly note the images have only been published for representational purposes. Photograph: Kind courtesy Uber/Facebook

Dhanya M B, a fellow at the V V Giri National Labour Institute, said women are increasingly using gig work as a pathway to economic independence which has no entry barrier, especially as an alternative to traditional jobs.

Certain factors such as digital literacy, access to technology, public nature of delivery work, exposure to unknown locations and socio-cultural aspects influence participation.

"However, they continue to primarily occupy the role of secondary earners. A lesser proportion of women workers report themselves as being sole earners and central to the household incomes," Dhanya added.

Photograph: Ahmad Masood/Reuters

Meanwhile, the remaining 17 per cent of sole earner women fall under the 'Other' category (widowed, divorced, or separated).

This indicates that women who lack spousal support have to shoulder complete economic responsibility.

The study also notes that there is a complete absence of unmarried sole earners.

This may indicate continued economic dependence on families among young, unmarried women workers, which aligns with the cultural constraints around women's financial independence.

In terms of earnings, the study notes that nearly 57 per cent of women workers earn more than 20,000 per month, with over half concentrated in the 20,000 to 35,000 range.

'Gig and platform work have emerged as important avenues for women's economic empowerment, offering flexible income-generating opportunities. Among the total sample, 37 per cent earn between 15,000 and 20,000. However, only 0.3 per cent of women gig workers earn above 35,000,' the study notes.

Photograph: Samuel Rajkumar/Reuters

Women take charge *16.3% of total respondents sole earners *Nearly 83% married *Remaining 17% fall under 'other' category (widowed, divorced, or separated) *Study suggests a shift towards women playing central role in financial stability of the household *Nearly 57% of women workers earn over 20,000 per month

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff
'The petrol lobby is very rich and strong.'

IMAGE: Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari addresses the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations's Auto Retail Conclave 2025 in New Delhi, September 10, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo

The recent criticism on social media of E20 fuel, which is 20 per cent ethanol mixed with 80 per cent petrol, is 'propaganda' sponsored by the 'rich and strong' petrol lobby, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday.

In recent weeks, social media debates have focused on concerns that E20 fuel may adversely affect vehicle mileage and engine efficiency.

'There are lobbies everywhere. There are interests. You (Fada) are also one of the lobbies. We are expecting support from you. Some propaganda is there on social media. It is sponsored by some people. The petrol lobby is very rich and strong,' Gadkari said while speaking at the annual auto retail conclave organised by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations in New Delhi.

On August 12, the ministry of petroleum and natural gas had stated that concerns regarding reduction in fuel efficiency are 'misplaced' and the alternative of going back to E-0 fuel would 'involve losing the hard fought gains' on pollution and energy transition.

Gadkari on Wednesday also addressed the recent shortage of rare earth magnets and the semiconductor chip crunch experienced a few years ago by the Indian automobile industry. =Both shortages largely stemmed from India's reliance on China for these materials.

'Previously, the situation was not good (related to production of semiconductor chips in India). Today, we have started producing semiconductor chips in India.

'In the same way, our startups are working on battery chemistries now -- sodium ion battery, lithium ion battery, zinc ion battery, aluminium ion battery, etc. These startups are doing good research,' the minister said.

Gadkari also highlighted that scrapping old vehicles could generate significant quantities of rare earth metals, with the government now providing ample incentives to promote such initiatives.

On the future of petrol and diesel vehicles amid the government's push for alternative fuels and electric mobility, Gadkari said, 'People keep asking me that you keep supporting all alternative fuels and biofuels. There is confusion in people's minds that there are all types of alternatives now, so what is going to happen (to petrol or diesel vehicles). You need not bother.

'The demand for petrol and diesel vehicles is still going to increase... because the growth in automobile manufacturing is about 15 to 20 per cent. The international market is also very huge.'

On the growth of India's automobile sector, he said, 'When I had taken charge as the minister, the size of the Indian automobile industry was 14 lakh crore, and our number was seventh.'

'The number one automobile market in the world is the US. Its automobile industry's size is 78 lakh crore. Second is China at 47 lakh crore. And third is India at 22 lakh crore. By developing alternative fuels, biofuel, battery chemistries, new technology and innovations, I am confident that our target is to make India number one in the world.

'It is difficult, but not impossible because of the cost of making a vehicle in India and the quality of what is produced here. Quality is good and the cost is less,' the minister said.

On the Indian automobile sector's future, Gadkari said, 'All big manufacturers are manufacturing in India and they realise that the domestic potential is very high and the international potential is greater than that. That is why the future of this industry is very good.'

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff
'Despite assurance from China, none of the companies have received supplies from Chinese sellers.'

IMAGE: The assembly line at the Hyundai Motor India Ltd plant in Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu. Photograph: Babu/Reuters

Even after China's assurance to address India's concerns over export curbs on rare-earth elements and magnets, automakers are yet to receive any supply, resulting in continued uncertainty in the sector, people aware of the matter said.

"Despite assurance from China, none of the (domestic) companies have received supplies from Chinese sellers," one of the persons cited above said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during this visit to New Delhi last month, had promised External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar that Beijing will ease restrictions on exports of rare-earth minerals, among other items.

Rare-earth magnets and elements, critical to industries ranging from automobiles and automobile components, electronics, medical industry and even defence, have been subjected to export licensing norms by China since April 4.

The curbs were imposed in response to United States' increased tariffs on Chinese products.

A leading two-wheeler original equipment manufacturer (OEM) said that the company has not received any fresh shipments of rare-earth magnets from China ever since its vendors submitted applications.

"We are now hoping that with the Modi-Xi meeting, things should start moving soon. I don't want to put a timeline to it, but very soon shipments should start," said the senior official at the OEM.

Another passenger vehicle OEM said they are comfortably placed for Q2 and Q3 of this year and would need some critical components by Q4 of this year.

As for shipments they were not expecting any during the last two months as they had inventory.

Under the new rules, Chinese sellers will now receive export clearance if imports can guarantee that there is no dual-use of the materials or for defence-related applications.

The process, however, is complicated and long-drawn.

Since then, India has been in dialogue with China through diplomatic channels to process applications from Indian importers seeking shipments of the critical raw materials.

In June, the Indian automobile industry raised an alarm and flagged their concerns with the Indian government over the export curbs on rare-earth magnets.

They had said that delay in approval of imports of these critical raw materials from China's ministry of commerce was causing disruption in the production schedule of Indian automakers, including electric vehicles (EVs).

Rare-earth magnets are critical not just for EV drivetrains but also for components such as crankshaft position sensors, motor control units, ignition coils, speedometers, tweeters, electric water pumps, and wheel speed sensors in internal combustion engine-fitted vehicles.

Meanwhile, domestic automakers are using stopgap measures to deal with the situation for the time being.

For instance, since automakers are not able to get the supply of raw materials from China, components are being sent to the neighbouring country to fit them to the required parts.

Since China dominates the global production and capacity of rare-earth elements and magnets, countries across the world have been getting affected by these restrictions.

The country accounts for about 70 per cent of global rare-earth mining and nearly 90 per cent of rare-earth magnet production, giving it overwhelming leverage in this segment.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
Protect your hard-earned wealth with a will -- halt family rifts and secure your children's future. Pranjali Madnani explains how.

IMAGE: Businessman Sanjay Kapoor's -- seen here with his then wife actress Karisma Kapoor -- estate has been enveloped in controversy after his sudden death on June 12, 2025. Photograph: Rediff Archives

A Will is a document stating the intention of a person about the distribution of assets after demise.

While most people either delay the process of writing their Will or simply negate its importance, the fact remains that when a person dies intestate -- without a Will -- the distribution of assets causes rifts in families and in some cases leads to emergence of forged Wills. There are many other reasons why one must consider writing their Will.

Why making a Will is important

One must write a Will as it overrides the personal law of succession.

If there is no Will, then the Courts and applicable personal law decide the fate of distribution of your hard-earned wealth.

A Will minimises the possibility of a forged Will by a family member or even an outsider to have your assets transferred in their name.

One can appoint a testamentary guardian (A testamentary guardian, named in a Will, cares for minor children after a parent's death, ensuring their upbringing if both parents are gone)in the Will for their minor children.

A Will can avoid outsider claims based on past relationships.

If you have varied classes of assets, then a Will can be used to consolidate the details of all these assets giving your family and legatees a clear picture of all your holdings.

You can use A Will to bequeath assets to friends and non-relatives tax-free.

Who should make a Will

If you hold assets, inherited or self-earned, then you must write a Will.

If you think you are 'too young' to write a Will, then think again. Unexpected illness or a pandemic may still give one a chance to ponder upon their estate plan. However, an accident may not even spare a second.

For instance, a young CEO passed away in an accident leaving behind his wife, two minor children and mother who became the legal heirs as per the Hindu Succession Act as he left behind no Will. He may or may not have wanted his assets to be divided as per the law.

How to draft a Will

The law prescribes no particular form of a Will, but it should state the intention of the testator (person making a Will, distributing assets after death) clearly and should be free from ambiguity.

It must name the beneficiaries clearly for each asset.

It is advisable to appoint an executor under a Will, the testator must be of sound mind, not a minor and must mention in the Will that no force, coercion or undue influence was used when he wrote the Will.

If any Will were written earlier, then they must be revoked under the latest Will. Testator must have A clear title in the properties that are sought to be bequeathed under the Will.

After drafting the Will, the testator must sign the Will in the presence of at least two witnesses, and the witnesses must also sign in the presence of each other and the testator.

The Will may also be registered at the sub-registrar's office.

Whether registration of a Will is mandatory

A Will can be registered with any sub-registrar within whose jurisdiction the testator is permanently or temporarily residing.

Registration of a Will is not mandatory but highly recommended because it is difficult to challenge a registered Will. It also minimises the possibility of someone coming up with a forged Will as the registered Will holds more credibility.

How a Will is executed and enforced

On the Testator's demie, the executor's responsibility is to gather the necessary documents like original Will, death certificate, PAN card, Aadhaar card, etc and take on the formalities for transfer of assets to the intended beneficiaries.

The executor will pay off any debts that the testator may have, using the estate of the testator and collect any loans that the testator may have given during his lifetime.

One may note that in the cities of Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, probate is additionally required for transfer of immovable properties. A probate is a court's order confirming the validity of the Will.

Common misconceptions around Wills

Wills are powerful but we see hesitation due to some common misconceptions around Wills.

That once a Will is written, the assets are transferred to beneficiaries. This is not true because the testator retains ownership and control over properties till her/his demise.

That nominations are enough. Nominees are not heirs but custodians. They do not inherit any rights over the properties.

That a Will cannot be changed. It can be changed multiple times.

A simple document called A Will can save your family from myriad problems that they may have to face after your demise.

A Will can be drafted in the simplest and in the most complicated way possible. But it must be made by anyone who owns assets, inherited or self-earned.

Pranjali Madnani is Director, Estate Planning, Agnam Trustees and Family Office Private Limited.
'They mean business, but business as usual is unacceptable to them'

IMAGE: Protesters set Nepal's parliament building on fire, September 9, 2025. Photograph: ANI Video Grab

"Gen Z wants fair play and a level playing field. It wants an end to corruption and nepotism, guarantee of transparency and accountability, an independent judiciary in letter and spirit, scrapping of the provinces, complete overhaul of the political system -- meaning virtually no place for the current political leaders and fresh elections under an interim government," explains Prakash Rimal, Editor-in-Chief of Nepal Minute, an independent English news portal.

Mr. Rimal was previously editor of The Himalayan Times and has led the newsroom at The Kathmandu Post. With over 30 years of journalistic experience, he is among the most seasoned newsmen in the Himalayan country.

"The constitution will and should survive under all circumstances. If it doesn't, then Nepal will plunge into a much longer spell of uncertainty," Mr. Rimal tells Rediff's Archana Masih in a detailed interview on the unprecedented developments in Nepal.

What have been the most significant takeaways from the unprecedented protests in Nepal?

Let me begin with a backgrounder, giving you some perspectives from the ground:

Political parties -- mainly the Nepali Congress, the Communist Party of Nepal, the CPN (Maoist Centre) and a handful of so-called top leaders [Sher Bahadur Deuba, Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda] -- had taken themselves for granted far too long.

They have been in power, each at the head of the government multiple times. They had been resisting calls for change from within, sometimes by co-opting the dissenting voices and other times by punishing, sidelining and dismissing them completely.

While corruption thrived, accountability and transparency was completely amiss.

Public disenchantment was rising steadily, but the government and the parties were fully disconnected from the up and coming Gen Z, the majority of whom are first time and second time voters.

Business is just too slow and the country's largely remittance and imports based economy has remained virtually stagnant since COVID-19.

Few new jobs have been created. Thousands of youngsters leave the country as migrant workers every day. While others cross the border down south and head for India in search of work and opportunities.

There are quite a few takeaways from the events:

The course of Nepali politics should and will change significantly.

We will see intentional reforms in the ways the parties and their leaders act/perform in the days ahead, of course triggered by the unprecedented protest.

Politics will not only connect to the party rank and file, but also with the digital generation whose perception and understanding of democracy are fundamentally different to that of Gen X and Baby Boomers at the command and control of State structures.

Democracy has still to take roots in Nepal, the State institutions are too weak and tend to crumble under pressure, including the security agencies.

The general public is emotionally very vulnerable and can easily be misled or manipulated. The tech-savvy, individually smart and articulate Gen Z surprised practically everyone as they came 'out of nowhere' and gave a statement that they are there and they are the harbingers of better, qualitative, change.

They want delivery of goods and services. They mean business, but business as usual is unacceptable to them.

IMAGE: Protestors burn tyres during the protest. Photograph: ANI Photo

Was the suspension of social media apps and political corruption the main reason for the violent protests -- or are there other underlying reasons as well?

The suspension of social media platforms was only a trigger.

In fact there was a groundswell from beneath -- rampant corruption, the State's failure to deliver goods and services, nepotism, complete lack of transparency and accountability, patronage politics, dysfunctional or malfunctioning State mechanisms and total disconnect with the people, to mention a few.

Of course, ten years down the road since promulgating a new constitution turning Nepal into a secular federal republic, roughly two-thirds of the citizenry has yet to own up to the following:

a. Federalism -- because the general feeling is that the seven provincial structures are white elephants.

b. Secularism -- Nepal used to be the world's only Hindu kingdom with an overwhelming majority of population being Hindus.

c. Total public disenchantment, partly -- perhaps rather negligibly -- also fueled by the absence of the monarchy.

d. Corruption.

e. Governmental inefficiency.

f. Harsh and frustrating economic realities of the day.

IMAGE: Army personnel stand guard outside Nepal's Rashtrapati Bhawan, which was vandalised and set on fire by protesters, September 10, 2025. Photograph: ANI Video Grab

What does Gen Z actually want?

Gen Z wants fair play and a level playing field. It wants an end to corruption and nepotism, guarantee of transparency and accountability, an independent judiciary in letter and spirit, scrapping of the provinces, complete overhaul of the political system -- meaning virtually no place for the current political leaders and fresh elections under an interim government.

They are rooting for radical changes, including a new constitution providing for a directly elected prime minister, if not a directly elected president.

Can the army bring in order in the interim and prevent further burning of buildings, hotels etc?

While protests across the country, particularly on the second day, were extremely violent, normalcy started returning from day three, following the prime minister's resignation.

Yes, law and order will soon be fully restored, but the months and years ahead will be highly challenging for the interim government.

IMAGE: Debris lies on a road outside the Singha Durbar complex in Kathmandu following the violent protest. Photograph: ANI Video Grab

What does it mean for the future of Nepal's political leadership that has enjoyed power?

The protests have effectively seen off the majority of them, the political parties are here to stay. Of course, there will be new players at the helm of affairs, some old ones from within the mainstream parties and many new faces.

Will the Nepali constitution and democracy survive or are they in peril?

We are in a very tricky situation. The constitution is in a trap. It's technically impossible to scrap the constitution because the president is pretty much actively on duty and parliament has not been dissolved.

Yet, it's hard to tell if it will survive. But I think the constitution will and should survive under all circumstances. If it doesn't, then Nepal will plunge into a much longer spell of uncertainty as compared to the years between 2008 and 2025.

It took two constituent assemblies and a timeframe of roughly seven years to scramble together a compromise constitution in the aftermath of the devastating 2015 earthquake.

IMAGE: A view of the parliament building, which was set on fire. Photograph: ANI Video Grab

Who is most likely to take over as interim PM -- Justice Sushila Karki or Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah?

Former chief justice Sushila Karki appears to be Gen Z's preferred choice, mainly for her perceived tough stance against corruption while in office and also because she kind of knows the system 'inside out'.

Apparently, Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah, idolised by a large number of Nepalis across the board, stood to his ground: Dissolution of the House, first. However, things could change any time.

What will be the biggest challenges for the interim PM?

Winning trust and confidence of the mainstream political parties and dealing with them; holding fresh elections; depoliticising and taking complete control of the bureaucracy; delivering goods and services; instilling a sense of optimism in the restless masses, including the Gen Z and the Millennials.

Photograph: ANI Video Grab

Do these protests offer an opportunity for the monarchy to return in Nepal?

No. In fact, it's already a day too late. It would probably have been a different thing if the unprecedented and violent protest of Day 2 had restored him (the former king Gyanendra).

Of course, that would have change the course of Nepali history in either direction.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
'The strategic difference over technology and territory between India and China remain great and security interests on both sides will likely prevent a short-term rapprochement of any depth.'

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets China's President Xi Kinping in Tianjin, August 31, 2025. Photograph: Press Information Bureau

"India and China are currently signalling dissatisfaction to Washington about tariffs, and also want to emphasise that Asian powers have their own agency," says Professor Rana Mitter, the ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School.

The author of several books, including Forgotten Ally: China's World War II and China's Good War: How World War II is Shaping a New Nationalism, Professor Mitter previously taught History and Politics of Modern China at Oxford.

The son of India-born professors, the historian is a Fellow of the British Academy, an award granted to leading academics, and has received the Order of the British Empire.

"China will be relieved that a seeming closeness between India and the US seems to have lessened," Professor Mitter tells Rediff's Archana Masih in an e-mail exchange on the thaw in relations and China's grand Victory Day Parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

The Communists played a secondary part in the long war with Japan, which was largely fought by Chiang Kai-shek and his Nationalist army.

The Victory Day Parade last week in Beijing seemed a strange and rather lame usurpation of actual history by Xi Jinping and his Communist regime.

What is Xi trying to achieve here?

Ten years ago, there was a greater belief in Beijing that the People's Republic of China and Taiwan were moving closer to each other, and that shared wartime history brought the two together.

For that reason, it was helpful to Beijing's cause to stress the KMT [Kuomintang] reaction. [Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang ruled China from 1929-1949 and then moved to Taiwan as a consequence of losing the Chinese civil war to the Communists].

Today, there is an immense rift between Beijing and Taipei under the Democratic Progressive Party. There is less mileage in stressing the KMT role, so the Chinese Communist party has chosen to stress their own role instead.

IMAGE: A view of the China's Victory Day parade in Beijing, September 3, 2025. Photograph: Kind courtesy Xi's Moments/X

Is it to position China as equal to the US and the then Soviet Union in that war against fascism? Is to indicate to Taiwan that since in the Communist perception Taiwan is part of China it doesn't matter who did the actual fighting?

There has been more enthusiasm in the last few decades to stress China's role as a major player in World War II which sacrificed a great deal, including millions of dead.

Much of the emphasis in China is internal, however, there are still rifts, even 80 years on, between former KMT and former CCP areas.

What do you make of the India-China rapprochement in Tianjin after 5 years of a long freeze?

India and China are currently signalling dissatisfaction to Washington about tariffs, and also want to emphasise that Asian powers have their own agency.

However, the strategic difference over technology and territory between the two sides remain great and security interests on both sides will likely prevent a short-term rapprochement of any depth.

IMAGE: Modi meets with Xi in Tianjin. Photograph: Press Information Bureau

How does China view India?

China takes India seriously as a rising Asian power, but still feels that in economic and geostrategic terms that it has the stronger hand in Asia.

It will be relieved that a seeming closeness between India and the US seems to have lessened.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
30 undertrial prisoners from Nepal, who escaped after a jail break, were arrested by Sashastra Seema Bal jawans at the India-Nepal border in Bihar.

IMAGE: Nepalese army personnel conduct a flag march in Kathmandu, September 10, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo

More than 15,000 inmates escaped from over 25 prisons across the country in the largest prison break in Nepal's history, The Kathmandu Post reported, citing a preliminary report released on Wednesday evening.

As per The Kathmandu Times, only a small number have voluntarily returned or been recaptured by the army.

At the Banke juvenile reform centre, police opened fire during the chaos, resulting in the deaths of five inmates, The Kathmandu Post reported.

Out of 228 children housed at the centre, 122 managed to escape. Authorities said the shooting occurred after protesters attempted to seize weapons from security personnel.

In the Kathmandu valley, significant breakouts were reported at two major facilities.

As per The Kathmandu Post, about 3,300 inmates escaped from the central jail in Sundhara, while around 1,400 fled from Nakkhu prison in Lalitpur.

At Dillibazar prison in Kathmandu, inmates tried to break out by setting fires but were stopped by security forces. Despite this, some inmates took to the streets chanting slogans until the Nepal army cordoned off the area to prevent further unrest.

Around 12 to 13 inmates were injured after the Nepalese army fired shots on Thursday morning to stop a mass escape attempt at the Ramechhap district prison, The Kathmandu Post reported.

According to The Kathmandu Post, citing Ramechhap Chief District Officer Shyam Krishna Thapa, the prisoners broke through several internal locks and tried to force open the main gate before security forces intervened with gunfire.

'Around 12 to 13 inmates were injured after the army opened fire as they reached the gate,' Thapa said, as quoted by The Kathmandu Post.

Ramechhap prison houses more than 300 inmates. Police confirmed that all prisoners have been subdued and the situation is now under control.

The situation was triggered amid protests that began on September 8, 2025, in Kathmandu and other major cities, including Pokhara, Butwal and Birgunj, following the government's imposition of a ban on major social media platforms, citing concerns over tax revenue and cybersecurity.

30 people were killed and over 1,000 injured in clashes with security forces. Curfew was imposed in several cities, including Kathmandu, to control the situation, which will continue till Friday morning, as per a statement issued by the Nepalese army.

Protesters have been demanding an end to 'institutionalised corruption and favouritism' in governance. They want the government to be more accountable and transparent in its decision-making processes.

M I Khan adds:

More than 30 undertrial prisoners from Nepal, who escaped after a jail break, were arrested on Wednesday by Sashastra Seema Bal jawans at the India-Nepal border in Bihar.



Taking advantage of the unrest in Nepal, the undertrial prisoners escaped from Jaleswar prison and were trying to enter Bihar.

SSB jawans handed the prisoners to the Bittha More and Sursand police stations in Sitamarhi.



Seven districts across Bihar, adjoining Nepal, have been placed on high alert following Monday and Tuesday's incidents in Nepal.
At least 43 Bharatiya Janata Party members on Thursday resigned in Phungyar constituency of Manipur's Ukhrul district, days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's likely visit to the northeastern state, a party functionary said.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to arrive in Manipur on Saturday. Photograph: ANI Photo

Those who stepped down from the party's Phungyar Mandal in the Naga-majority district include the mandal president, heads of Mahila, Yuva and Kisan morchas, and booth presidents of the constituency.

In a statement, the BJP members said they were "deeply concerned over the present state of affairs within the party" and highlighted "lack of consultation, inclusiveness, and respect for grassroots leadership as key reasons behind the step.

"Our loyalty to the party and its ideology has always been unwavering. We reaffirm our commitment to work for the welfare of our community and the people of Manipur," it said.

Reacting to the resignations, the Manipur unit of the BJP claimed that the individuals in question have been engaging in anti-party activities ever since the 2022 assembly elections.

BJP Manipur Pradesh vice-president Awung Shimray Hopingson asserted that the move was a "publicity stunt, aimed at misleading the public and an attempt to tarnish the image of the party for their personal gain".

"I would like to further clarify that the BJP mandal and booth-level executives of the 43 Phungyar Assembly Constituency remain intact and fully committed... The BJP continues to work tirelessly at the grassroots level, strengthening the party's presence in every village across the constituency," he said in a statement.

Disciplinary action has been sought against the members who resigned, Hopingson said.

"The resignation is a clear reflection of the personal frustration and ambitions of a few individuals, and do not represent the views or actual condition of the party structure in the Phungyar constituency," he added.

The prime minister is likely to arrive in Manipur on Saturday, in what would be his first visit to the northeastern state since the ethnic violence broke out between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo people in May 2023, which claimed over 260 lives and rendered thousands homeless.

The Centre had imposed President's rule in Manipur after Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned in February.
SYDNEY, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Australia's milk production is set to fall again this season, as global milk supply surges across other key dairy-exporting regions, an industry report said on Thursday.

The RaboResearch division of Rabobank, an agribusiness financial service provider, forecasted a 1.7 percent decline in Australian milk output for the full 2025/26 season, to reach 8.05 billion liters, following a 0.7 percent year-on-year fall in the 2024/25 season.

The decline in Australian milk production reflected drought conditions and feed shortages, especially in the states of Victoria and Tasmania, with July output down 4 percent at the start of the 2025/26 season, said Michael Harvey, RaboResearch senior dairy analyst, the report's co-author.

"Positively, though, above-average rainfall is forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology across many regions over the next three months," he said.

Meanwhile, very high hay prices were the "main pressure point" for dairy farmers in local feed markets, Harvey said, citing strong demand and limited supply.

The quarterly dairy report noted Australia's farmgate milk prices for the 2025/26 season are around 10 percent higher than last season's closing prices, at 9 Australian dollars (5.94 U.S. dollars)/kgMS (kilogram of milk solids) or higher.

In 2024/25, Australia's dairy exports rose 1.5 percent on the previous season by volume and 12 percent by value, with butter, milk powder, and cheddar cheese shipments all recording double-digit gains, Harvey said.

Globally, milk supply is rising across key dairy-exporting regions, according to the report.

Milk supply across the "Big 7" dairy-exporting regions, New Zealand, the European Union, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, the United States and Australia, is expected to increase 1.8 percent year-on-year in the second half of 2025 to peak, before slowing to 1.1 percent year-on-year growth in 2026. 
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Thursday released picture of 'person of interest' in Charlie Kirk's assassination, seeking public's help in identifying the suspect.

IMAGE: The FBI is seeking public's help identifying the 'person of interest' in Charlie Kirk's assassination. Photograph: @FBISaltLakeCity/X

"We are asking for the public's help identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University," the FBI Salt Lake City said in a post on X, attaching two pictures of the person.

In the photos, a person can be seen wearing a cap, sunglasses and a long-sleeve black shirt.

Kirk, a right-wing political commentator and conservative activist, was shot in the neck on Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University.

According to a Utah Valley University spokesperson, Kirk was approximately 20 minutes into his presentation when gunshots were heard from a nearby building.

The university informed students that "a single shot was fired on campus toward a visiting speaker," and a suspect has been taken into custody.

A spokesperson confirmed that Kirk was the only person shot during the event. Video footage from the scene showed students fleeing after hearing gunshots.

In one clip, Kirk appeared to fall back as blood came from his neck. He was sitting under a tent with the slogan "The American Comeback" when the incident happened, as per The New York Times.

US President Donald Trump said he would soon award conservative activist Charlie Kirk a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honour.

Speaking at a ceremony outside the Pentagon marking the 24th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Trump said the event honouring Kirk would be significant. "I can only guarantee you one thing: That will have a very big crowd," he remarked.

Trump opened his address by remembering Kirk, describing him as a close ally and an inspiration. "Let me express the horror and grief so many Americans, at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk, have felt," he said.

"Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people. Our prayers are with his wonderful wife, Erika, and his beautiful children. Fantastic people," Trump continued.

"We miss him greatly. Yet I have no doubt that Charlie's voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on," he added.

With inputs from ANI
The Central Reserve Police Force has flagged certain security protocol "violations" allegedly by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during his movements, official sources said on Thursday.

IMAGE: Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge in a meeting with Bihar Leaders, in New Delhi. Photograph: @AICC on X via ANI Photo

The CRPF VIP security wing provides the top category 'Z plus (ASL)' armed protection to the 55-year-old Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha.

Around 10-12 armed CRPF commandos provide a proximate security cover to him whenever he is mobile.

As part of the Advanced Security Liaison (ASL), the force carries out an early reconnaissance of the locations to be visited by Gandhi.

The sources said the VIP security unit of the paramilitary force has sent a letter on Wednesday to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, stating certain "unscheduled movements without intimation" by Gandhi during his domestic visits as well as before he left for abroad.

A copy of the said communication has also been marked to Gandhi's office, according to the sources.

The sources said such communication was "routine" in nature and had been sent by the CRPF security wing in the context of Gandhi's security in the past too.

The Congress party reacted to the development, raising questions over the timing of the communication and wondering whether it was a "veiled attempt" to intimidate its leader after he announced "another imminent disclosure" on "vote chori".

The force has underlined unannounced movements by the protectee posed a "risk" to the security of the VIP, adding that stipulated guidelines should be followed mandatorily by the VIP and his staff.

Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said in a post on X, "The timing of the CRPF's letter and its instant public release raises disturbing questions. It comes just as Shri Rahul Gandhi is leading the charge against the BJP's Vote Chori carried out with the Election Commission's complicity."

It is also understood that the CRPF has furnished the guidelines to be followed, as stipulated in the central 'yellow book' for VIP security, and the need to keep the security wing in the loop all the time.

The VIP security cover under the central protection list starts from the highest Z-plus (ASL) category, followed by Z-plus, Z, Y, Y-plus and X.
Miscreants clashed with security forces at two places in Kuki-majority Churachandpur district of Manipur on Thursday evening, days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the northeastern state, officials said.

IMAGE: Security measures have been tightened in Imphal and Churachandpur district headquarters town ahead of the Prime Minister's visit. Photograph: ANI Photo

They tore apart banners and cut-outs installed on roads, and vandalised barricades put up for the PM's visit in Pearsonmun village and Phailien Bazar, they said.

The miscreants also set fire to the torn pieces and hurled stones at the security personnel before fleeing, the officials said.

Flag marches and patrolling by paramilitary forces are underway to restore order and normalcy in Churachandpur, a district official told PTI.

The prime minister is scheduled to visit Manipur on Saturday and unveil projects valued at Rs 8,500 crore.

According to officials, Modi will lay foundation stones for various development projects valued at Rs 7,300 crore from Peace Ground in Churachandpur, and inaugurate infrastructure projects worth Rs 1,200 crore from state capital Imphal.
The Special Cell of the Delhi Police has busted a Pakistan-handled pan-India terror module plotting to establish "Khilafat" in India by violent means with the arrest of five radicalised men from different states and the seizure of arms, ammunition and bomb-making chemicals in coordinated raids across Delhi, Jharkhand, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh, officials said on Thursday.

IMAGE: Some of the suspected terror operatives who were arrested by the Delhi police. Photograph: ANI/X

In what investigators described as a major counter-terror breakthrough ahead of the upcoming festive season, the arrests have dismantled a pan-India network that was working to create an underground base for jihadist training.

All the accused, led by a 23-year-old postgraduate from Jharkhand, were allegedly planning to acquire land to establish secret training facilities with the ultimate objective of waging "Gazwa-e-Hind" -- a radical Islamist concept envisioning the conquest of India through "jihad".

"The terror operatives were in touch with a Pakistan-based handler who guided them through encrypted social media platforms, radicalising them with extremist content and instructing them to collect weapons, chemicals and ammunition components.

"The group's aim was not just to prepare improvised explosive devices (IEDs) but also to create a self-sustaining ecosystem for manufacturing arms and spreading radical propaganda," Additional Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Pramod Kushwah told a press conference here.

He said the Special Cell conducted the operation in close coordination with the police forces and anti-terrorism squads of Jharkhand, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

"We have arrested Ashhar Danish alias CEO (23), a resident of Jharkhand's Bokaro and the mastermind of the module, Aaftab Nasir Qureshi (25), a resident of Kalyan in Mumbai, Sufiyan Abubakar Khan (20), a resident of Mumbra in Maharashtra, Mohammed Huzaif Yaman (20), a resident of Narsapur in Telangana and Kamran Qureshi alias Samar Khan (26), a resident of Rajgarh in Madhya Pradesh," Kushwah said.

Police said the coordinated action prevented the expansion of the module and averted possible terror strikes at a time when crowded markets, religious gatherings and public celebrations are expected in the coming weeks.

The group was planning to acquire land for secret terror training to establish a Caliphate with the ultimate objective of Gazwa-e-Hind, police said in a statement.

Danish was arrested from Ranchi. From his rented room, IED-making components and chemical substances were seized. He admitted that he had procured arms, ammunition and explosives in pursuance of a criminal conspiracy to establish a Caliphate through violent means, the statement said.

He further revealed that he was receiving instructions from a Pakistan-based handler and was in constant communication with other module members, police said.

"This plan, if successful, could have provided the group with a physical hub to expand their activities beyond online radicalisation," a source in the Special Cell said.

Sharing details about the arrest, Kushwah said the first breakthrough came on September 9, when a trap was laid near the Theme Park adjoining the Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station in Delhi and two suspects -- Aaftab Qureshi and Sufiyan Khan -- were intercepted while allegedly carrying two semi-automatic pistols (.32-bore) and 15 live cartridges. They were immediately arrested.

"Subsequent raids on September 10 in Ranchi, Thane, Bengaluru, Nizamabad and Rajgarh led to the arrests of the other accused. The most significant seizure was from mastermind Ashhar Danish's rented room in Ranchi, where police found chemicals, ammunition components and equipment for fabricating IEDs.

"Danish reportedly admitted to procuring arms, ammunition and explosives as part of a conspiracy to establish a Caliphate through violent means," the officer said.

Another accused, Mohammed Huzaif Yaman, a pharmacy student, was arrested from Nizamabad. He confessed to conducting experiments related to arms and ammunition under Danish's guidance. Kamran Qureshi, arrested from Rajgarh, revealed that he came into contact with Danish through social media groups, where speeches of clerics such as Tariq Masood, Tariq Jameel, Zakir Naik and Israr Ahmed were circulated to spread extremist propaganda.

Police said they have seized two semi-automatic pistols (.32-bore) and 15 live cartridges, a country-made firearm (.315-bore) and one live cartridge, one air gun (.22-bore), copper sheets, steel hollow pipes, ball bearings, all used in IED fabrication, chemical substances including sulphuric acid, nitric acid, sodium bicarbonate and sulphur powder, laboratory equipment such as weighing machines, beaker sets, safety gloves, respiratory masks and pH value checker, four knives, Rs 10,500 in cash, laptops, mobile phones and electronic circuits with diodes and motherboards.

They described the haul as significant, pointing out that the combination of chemicals, components and technical equipment indicated that the group had already advanced beyond mere planning to actual preparation of explosives.

Sharing profiles, police said born in Bokaro, Danish came from a middle-class family. His father is a practising lawyer and mother a homemaker.

A postgraduate in English from the Silli College in Ranchi, Danish reportedly became radicalised in 2024 after listening to online lectures of Israr Ahmad, a controversial cleric known for advocating Khilafat.

"To disguise his activities from surveillance, Danish created multiple social media profiles portraying himself as a company CEO, professor or NGO operator. He formed social media groups with up to 40 members where discussions revolved around the idea of establishing a Caliphate in India," Kushwah said.

The investigators said Danish personally procured sulphur for making gunpowder and copper plates for manufacturing cartridges. In August, he acquired a bullet and a country-made pistol to study as prototypes for weapons production.

Danish was also the central link connecting the others. He met Aaftab Qureshi and Izhar-Ul-Haq through social media, recruited Yaman via other social media platforms and added several members to radical online groups.

Aaftab Qureshi (25) studied up to Class 10 and assisted at his father's meat shop.

Active on social media, he started consuming radical content in 2020. His association with Danish was primarily online.

Sufiyan Abubakar Khan, 20, worked as a welder in Mumbra, police said. A school dropout after Class 5, he was introduced to extremist ideas by Aaftab Qureshi, who shared radical videos with him. On September 8, he accompanied Aaftab to Delhi to collect arms from a Mewat-based supplier.

Yaman, 20, was a third-year pharmacy student in Telangana, police added. Danish had persuaded him to believe that Muslims were facing "atrocities" in India and that an armed jihad was the solution, police said. He was tasked with learning the process of manufacturing firearms.

Kamran Qureshi alias Samar, 26, worked as a laboratory assistant and typist for advocates. He was introduced to radical social media groups, where he absorbed extremist ideology. He not only contributed funds but was also instructed to recruit more members and help acquire land for terror training.

The officer said the Special Cell was monitoring radicalised youngsters active on social media for months. Danish's activities came under suspicion as he was seen attempting to procure arms and chemicals from Delhi-NCR markets, agro-chemical shops and even online platforms. Discreet physical surveillance was mounted, with advance teams deployed across states.

Kushwah also said the Pakistan-based handler maintained contact with Danish and other module members through encrypted channels, encouraging them to prepare for an armed jihad and giving step-by-step guidance on weapon and IED fabrication.

Further interrogation of the arrested men is underway to trace their funding sources, identify other associates and determine the extent of the Pakistan-based handler's network in India, police added.

The investigators are also probing whether the group had already selected land for training camps and if more people were on the verge of joining it.
Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal took a jibe at the Centre after former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah was not allowed to meet MP Sanjay Singh, who went to Srinagar to protest AAP MLA Mehraj Malik's arrest.

IMAGE: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference MP Farooq Abdullah with Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh in New Delhi. Image used only for representation. Photograph: Jitender Gupta/ANI Photo

Sharing an X post, Kejriwal called the Jammu and Kashmir police's action 'hooliganism and dictatorship'.

'The former Chief Minister, who is the father of the current Chief Minister, is not being allowed to meet Sanjay Singh in his own state? This is outright hooliganism and dictatorship,' AAP convenor wrote.

Sanjay Singh shared the visuals and wrote, 'It is a very sad thing that Farooq Abdullah Ji, who has been the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir many times, came to meet me at the government guest house upon hearing the news of my house arrest by the police, but he was not allowed to meet me. If this is not a dictatorship, then what is it?'

Abdullah too condemned the attempt to stop AAP MP Sanjay Singh from holding a protest and presser against the detention of lone party MLA Mehraj Malik under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA).

Speaking to ANI, Abdullah argued that not allowing Sanjay Singh to hold a protest was 'absolutely wrong'.

Criticising Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, he said that the LG was utilising his powers for 'wrong purposes'.

"This is absolutely wrong. In a democracy, protest is the right given by the Constitution of India. The sad part is that J&K is a UT, and the LG has all the powers. He is using it for the wrong purposes. Was it important to prevent Sanjay Singh from speaking? This is not an autocratic rule. There is a constitution here," the former J-K CM said.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh was allegedly not allowed by the Jammu and Kashmir police to leave the government guest house in Srinagar to protest against the arrest of fellow party leader Mehraj Malik.

Sharing the visuals on X, Sanjay Singh called the police action 'dictatorship'.

'Dictatorship is at its peak. I am in Srinagar at this moment. Raising one's voice for rights and protesting in a democracy is our constitutional right,' he wrote.

Singh added that the AAP leaders were to hold a protest and a press conference in Srinagar.

The AAP MP wrote, 'Today, there was a press conference and sit-in in Srinagar against the illegal arrest of Mehraj Malik, but the government guest house has been turned into a police camp. I am not being allowed to leave the guest house with Imran Hussain and companions.'

The visit came after the detention of Malik, an AAP MLA from the Doda constituency, who was booked under the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, on Monday for activities being prejudicial to the maintenance of public order.
As anti-establishment protests led by Nepal's Gen Z continue across the country, youth leaders at the forefront of the demonstrations have stated that the widespread corruption and political stagnation were the core reasons behind their mass mobilisation against the government.

IMAGE: Debris on a road outside the Hilton hotel, which was set on fire by Protesters amid the violent protest against the Government over alleged corruption, in Kathmandu on Wednesday. Photograph: ANI Video Grab

The protest leaders in a press conference on Thursday have also collectively endorsed former Chief Justice Sushila Karki as their nominee for interim prime minister, citing her integrity and independence, following the resignation of the Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli after widespread protests across the nation.

"We are staging this movement against corruption, as it is rampant," said Gen Z leader Diwakar Dangal, echoing the frustrations of thousands of young Nepalese who have taken to the streets in Kathmandu and other major cities since September 8.

Another Gen Z leader, Junal Gadal, emphasised the choice of leadership for the transition phase, stating, "We should choose Sushila Karki as the best option as the guardian of the country."

Karki, Nepal's first female Chief Justice, is widely regarded for her stance against judicial and political corruption.

The Gen Z-led movement, which initially began as a peaceful protest, has seen moments of violence and chaos, which the leaders blame on political infiltrators.

"We had called for a peaceful protest, but the political cadres caused the arson and then vandalised the infrastructure," said Gen Z leader Anil Baniya.

"We are not trying to change the constitution, but to make necessary amendments to it. Through online surveys, the Gen Z leaders voted for Sushila Karki. Within six months, we will head to elections."

Ojashwi Raj Thapa, another face of the youth uprising, addressed the challenges within the movement, warning against attempts by political actors to create division.

"We are not capable of taking full leadership yet, and it will take us time to mature into that role," Thapa said.

"Some party members think they can infiltrate and divide us. This bloodshed is your doing, the doing of old leaders. We don't want violence. We want the parliament dissolved, not the constitution scrapped."

Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah 'Balen' has also voiced his support for Karki, strengthening her standing as the probable candidate of the Gen Z movement.

Meanwhile, 31 people have been killed and over 1000 injured in clashes with security forces during the anti-corruption demonstrations across the country, The Kathmandu Post reported.

The protests began on September 8, 2025, in Kathmandu and other major cities, including Pokhara, Butwal, and Birgunj, following the government's imposition of a ban on major social media platforms, citing concerns over tax revenue and cybersecurity.

Curfew was imposed in several cities, including Kathmandu, to control the situation, which will continue till Friday morning, as per a statement issued by the Nepalese Army.

Protesters have been demanding an end to 'institutionalised corruption and favouritism' in governance.

They want the government to be more accountable and transparent in its decision-making processes.

Public frustration deepened further when the 'Nepo Babies' trend on social media exposed the lavish lifestyles of politicians' children, highlighting the economic disparity between them and ordinary citizens.
Representatives of the protesting 'Gen Z' group, Nepalese President Ramchandra Paudel and Army Chief Ashok Raj Sigdel were holding talks at the army headquarters in Bhadrakali on Thursday to pick a leader to run an interim government, sources said.

IMAGE: Nepali Army personnel patrol a road following the violent protest against the Government over alleged corruption, in Jhapa on Wednesday. Photograph: ANI Video Grab

Former chief justice Sushila Karki, Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah and two others were among those being considered by the protesting Gen Z group to lead the interim government, they added.

The interim leader will replace Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, who resigned on Tuesday following a violent student-led agitation.

An Army spokesperson confirmed that discussions are ongoing with various stakeholders. He, however, did not provide any names.

"We are holding rounds of talks with different stakeholders. The talks are mainly focused on finding a way out from the current stalemate and at the same time maintaining law and order situation in the country," the Army spokesperson said.

There were dozens of youths eagerly waiting outside the Army Headquarters to hear the decision as the meeting progressed.

A similar meeting was held on Wednesday, but it yielded no results. According to sources, the meeting is aimed at finding a way out of the current political stalemate, including nominating a caretaker leader and drawing a roadmap ahead.

"The new executive head will be the one who will conduct fresh elections within a specified time frame," the sources added.

Apart from Karki and Shah, the other two names under consideration are former CEO of Nepal Electricity Authority Kulman Ghising and Mayor of Dharan Harka Sampang.

Though sources suggested that Mayor Shah has expressed his support for Karki, the picture is still not clear as to who will head the new cabinet.

There are reservations in a section of the Gen Z group about her name.

Nepal plunged into a political crisis as Oli resigned on Tuesday in the face of massive protests, prompting the Nepal Army to take over the law and order situation.

Meanwhile, a small group of students from major parties, holding demonstrations in some parts of Kathmandu, have cautioned that the Constitution should be preserved and democracy and human rights should be protected while forming a new government.
United States ambassador-designate to India Sergio Gor on Thursday said India's protectionist policies and regulatory barriers have prevented Washington from fully realising its partnership with Delhi, and if confirmed, he will work to advance trade that is fair, reciprocal and beneficial to Americans.

IMAGE: US ambassador-designate to India Sergio Gor speaks at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Photograph: Screen grab/X

At his confirmation hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Gor also said that India and the US are not that far apart right now on a trade deal.

"India is a strategic partner whose trajectory will shape the region and beyond, Gor said as he underlined that he is committed to advancing America's interest in this "important" partnership.

Noting that India and the US are actively negotiating right now, Gor said President Donald Trump has invited their commerce and trade ministers next week, and they will be meeting with US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer in Washington.

"Part of that will include hopeful, a hopeful deal. We are not that far apart right now on a deal. In fact, they're negotiating the nitty-gritty of a deal, Gor said.

We expect more from India than we do sometimes from other nations. I do think it will get resolved over the next few weeks, he said.

Gor underlined that President Trump has a deep friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and that is something that is unique.

In fact, if you have noticed, when he has gone after other nations, he tends to go after their leaders for putting us in that position, and for the US imposing those tariffs. When the President has been critical of India, he has gone out of his way to compliment PM Modi. They have an incredible relationship, he said.

He stressed again that We're not that far apart on a deal already on these tariffs Getting India to stop buying Russian oil is a top priority for this administration."

"I think the time will arrive upon us in the next few weeks, the next few months, for all of this to get resolved, Gor said.

Gor said that in the past, India's "protectionist policies and regulatory barriers have prevented us from fully realising this partnership. If confirmed, I'll work to advance trade that is fair, reciprocal and beneficial to the American workers and businesses."

Improving US-India trade ties will not only bolster US competitiveness, but also reduce China's economic leverage over other nations, Gor said.

If confirmed, I will work to increase American energy exports to India, establishing the US as a leading supplier of crude oil, petroleum products and liquefied natural gas, he said.

When confirmed, 38-year-old Gor will be the youngest US ambassador to India.

"India's role in ensuring the stability and security of the region cannot be understated. A stable South Asia is in the interest of the US and all the nations, he said, adding that the US-India partnership will define the 21st Century.

"It is only by working together that we can make that aspiration a reality.

He said India's geographic position, economic growth and military capabilities make it a cornerstone for regional stability and a critical part of promoting prosperity and advancing the security interests that the two nations share.

"I will work to deliver on the presidential agenda and advance US interests by increasing our defence cooperation, ensuring fair and beneficial trade, deepening energy security and furthering technology, Gor said.

He underscored that if confirmed, he will prioritise deepening defence and security cooperation with India. This includes expanding joint military exercises, advancing co-development and co-production of defence systems and concluding critical defence sales, he said.

He added that these efforts will enhance collaboration between our forces while supporting American defence manufacturers and making America more prosperous.

From artificial intelligence to pharmaceuticals to critical minerals, the potential for collaboration between the two countries is vast, Gor said, adding that he will advocate for reforms that will make India's markets more accessible and transparent.

I will also work towards President Trump's ambitious goal dubbed Mission 500' to double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, which will expand American exports, creating jobs and prosperity for our citizens, he said.

He said he will encourage Indian investment in US manufacturing capacity, and we will also be furthering with Indian investments in the United States. We'll also be furthering our strategic pharmaceutical supply chain and create more jobs right here at home in the US.

India is also a strategic partner in advancing critical and emerging technology. The US-India Trust Initiative, launched in February by President Trump and Prime Minister Modi, lays out a path to leverage the impressive capacity of the US tech sector to outcompete China on the development of AI, quantum, semiconductors and other critical and emerging technologies, he said.

He said he will also advance this administration's AI Action Plan, which will ensure the dominance of American AI technology in India and globally. Our technology cooperation will require significant energy resources, another area where the United States and India can work together, he said.

He noted that India shares a lot more in common with the US than they do with China, and "for far too long, we have not had that personal touch. And not only will I be able to bring that to New Delhi, but the President is also extremely personally engaged.

"While we might have our moment of hiccups right now, we are on the track of resolving that. Our relationship with the Indian government, with the people of India extends many more decades, and it's a much warmer relationship than they have with the Chinese, Gor said.

Frankly, they (India) are concerned by Chinese expansionism, and Chinese expansionism is not just on the border of India, it's all over the area," he said, adding if confirmed, he will make it a "top priority that India is pulled into our side and away from them (China).

Gor referred to Trump's complimentary comments for Prime Minister Modi and said the Indian leader responded in kind. "We have a great foundation that I hope, if I am confirmed, to build upon.

Replying to a question on the BRICS, Gor said, "Indians have been on our side on various issues within BRICS, including several individuals in BRICS - Brazil, China have pushed for years to move away from the US dollar. India has been the stopgap for that. India is much more willing and open to engage with us than those other individuals that are in BRICS.

When asked about India's purchases of Russian oil and how he views India's choice in light of US tariffs and America's strategic goals, Gor said President Trump has been crystal clear on this. "They must stop buying Russian oil.
The Sashastra Seema Bal that guards the India-Nepal border has caught about 60 persons from various locations along the international front, officials said.

IMAGE: A Nepali Army personnel stands near the charred remains of a vehicle following the violent protest against the Government over alleged corruption, in Jhapa on Wednesday. Photograph: ANI Video Grab

Most of them are Nepalese who are suspected to have escaped in jailbreaks during the unrest in their country.

SSB troops caught them from border points in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal over the last two days, the officials told PTI.

They have been handed over to the respective state police forces and are being questioned, they said.

Two or three of those nabbed claim to be of Indian origin and this fact is being ascertained, the officials said.

The SSB, which functions under the ministry of home affairs (MHA), guards the 1,751 km long unfenced India-Nepal front on India's eastern side.

It has deployed about 50 battalions, translating to about 60,000 personnel, in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Sikkim that share the front with Nepal.

The force has 'stepped up' vigil in the frontier areas and enhanced surveillance along the border in the wake of the protests in Nepal.

"The SSB is in touch with its Nepalese counterpart APF. They have also undertaken joint patrols with them apart from independent flag marches in the border areas to send across a message that the Indian side is ready to meet any challenge emerging from the recent developments in Nepal," a senior official said.

Nepal has been assured of all cooperation and genuine nationals of the two countries, carrying valid IDs, are being allowed to cross the border, he said.

Three inmates were killed on Thursday during clashes with Nepalese security personnel at a jail, while more than 15,000 prisoners are stated to have escaped from more than two dozen jails since violent protests erupted in that country.

With the latest deaths, the number of prisoners who died during clashes with security forces has increased to eight since the violence erupted on Tuesday.

The violent agitation forced prime minister K P Sharma Oli to resign on Tuesday, following which the Nepal Army imposed restrictions due to a serious law and order situation across provinces.
'No member of Pattali Makkal Katchi should maintain any association with Anbumani...

'If anyone does so, they too will face strict disciplinary action.'

Amid the ongoing rift in the Pattali Makkal Katchi, PMK founder S Ramadoss removed his son and PMK Working President Anbumani Ramadoss from the party.

IMAGE: Pattali Makkal Katchi Founder S Ramadoss, centre, and his son Anbumani Ramadoss, left, at the release of the PMK's election manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Chennai, March 27, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo

Ramadoss said the action has been taken as Anbumani failed to respond despite being given two opportunities to give an explanation for the charges against him.

His son, Ramadoss alleged, is "destroying" the PMK and asked party workers not to maintain ties with him.

"Anbumani is trying to destroy the PMK. He is unfit to be a politician and has acted arbitrarily. Without me, Anbumani would not have grown. No one from the PMK should maintain any ties with Anbumani. Only 10, 15 people are with him," Ramadoss said.

The expulsion comes after the PMK's disciplinary action committee meeting last month.

According to a press release issued by the party, Anbumani was summoned for an explanation regarding organisational matters.

'He was given 16 show cause notices dated August 19. However, without offering any explanation, without seeking extensions, and without showing any sense of responsibility, he deliberately failed to appear before the committee,' the PMK note stated.

'His continuous refusal to provide explanations for the 16 show cause notices makes it clear that he has accepted all the wrongdoings mentioned in them.'

'Therefore, all the charges levelled against him are to be considered true and valid. Hence, his actions have been confirmed as against the interests of the party and its growth.

'Until now, Anbumani has neither taken responsibility as a leader nor acted with commitment. His approach has been irresponsible, selfish, and unbecoming of a party leader,' the press release said.

'This behaviour has caused great pain, disappointment, and dissatisfaction among the party's administrators, leaders, and members. It has also brought disrepute and disgrace to the party.

'Accordingly, as a disciplinary measure, Anbumani is hereby removed from the post of Pattali Makkal Katchi's organisational head. Furthermore, since the party's future growth depends on proper administration and dedicated collective efforts, he is also expelled from the primary membership of the PMK with immediate effect.'

'From now on, no member of Pattali Makkal Katchi should maintain any association with him in the name of the party. If anyone does so, they too will face strict disciplinary action,' the PMK release warned.

Father and son have been at loggerheads with each other in the recent past. In April, Anbumani issued a clear and firm statement reaffirming his position and dedication to the party's growth and core values, and said he will continue to be the party chief.
ANKARA, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Turkiye apprehended 52 migrant smugglers, including 14 foreign nationals, in simultaneous operations carried out across 81 provinces, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Thursday.

The police carried out inspections on Sunday targeting migrant smuggling organizers and irregular migration, Yerlikaya said on social media platform X.

A total of 402,098 identity checks were carried out, resulting in the detention of 666 irregular migrants, according to the minister.

Authorities inspected 7,883 public venues, 483 terminals, and 6,746 other locations, Yerlikaya added, noting that procedures have been launched to return the irregular migrants to their countries.

Turkiye is a key transit route for migrants from conflict-ridden countries seeking to enter Europe.

In recent years, the country has intensified border security measures, strengthened legal frameworks, and enhanced international cooperation to combat human smuggling activities. 
A Rashtriya Janata Dal worker was shot dead by unidentified armed assailants near Rajendra Nagar terminal in Patna, police said on Thursday.

IMAGE: Patna police at the spot where an RJD worker was shot dead on Thursday. Photograph: ANI on X

The deceased has been identified as Raj Kumar, alias Ala Rai, a resident of Raghopur in Vaishali district.

SP (Patna East), Parichay Kumar, told reporters that 'the incident took place in street number 17, near Rajendra Nagar terminal at 10 pm on Wednesday. Immediately after receiving the information that a person was shot at by unidentified persons, police reached the spot and took the victim to the nearest hospital, where he succumbed during treatment'.

Police have recovered six spent cartridges from the spot, the SP said, adding that it is suspected that more than two persons were involved in the incident.

"The exact cause of the incident is not known, but the locals said he was active in politics and also involved in the sale-purchase of land. Police are investigating the matter from all angles and also analysing CCTV footage to nab the accused," said the SP.

Police are also recording the statement of the deceased's driver, he said.

Locals told media persons that the deceased was associated with RJD.

Talking to PTI, RJD spokesperson (state unit), Ejaz Ahmad, said, "It is very shocking news. Raj Kumar was an active party worker. I must say that the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar has miserably failed to check the deteriorating law and order situation in the state."
India on Wednesday slammed Switzerland's remarks on minorities at the 5th meeting of the 60th session of the Human Rights Council, urging the Swiss to focus on their own issues like racism, systematic discrimination, and xenophobia instead of lecturing India.

IMAGE: Indian diplomat Kshitij Tyagi responds to Switzerland's remarks at the UN Human Rights Council. Photograph: ANI/X

Indian diplomat Kshitij Tyagi criticised Switzerland's comments as 'surprising, shallow and ill-informed,' highlighting India as the 'world's largest, most diverse and vibrant democracy' with a strong tradition of pluralism, offering assistance to Switzerland on these matters.

'We would like to respond to the surprising, shallow and ill-informed remarks made by Switzerland, a close friend and partner,' Tyag said.

'As it holds the UNHRC presidency, it is all the more important for Switzerland to avoid wasting the council's time with narratives that are blatantly false and do not do justice to the reality of India.

'Instead, it should focus on its own challenges such as racism, systematic discrimination and xenophobia.

'As the world's largest, most diverse and vibrant democracy, with a civilisational embrace of pluralism, India remains ready to help Switzerland address these concerns,' the Indian diplomat said.

This comes after Switzerland urged India to protect minorities and uphold freedom of expression and the media.

'In India, we call on the government to take effective measures to protect the minorities and uphold the rights to the freedom of expression and the freedom of the media,' a Swiss diplomat said on Tuesday.
Amid reports of cross-voting in the vice presidential poll, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien said on Thursday that instead of focusing on "15 votes here and there", the government should count the 15 days since the US imposed 50 per cent tariff on India, 862 days since violence started in Manipur, and 1,282 days of MGNREGA funds being stopped for West Bengal.

IMAGE: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O'Brien casts his vote for the Vice President Election at Parliament, in New Delhi on Tuesday. Photograph: Rahul Singh/ANI Photo

His remarks come after C P Radhakrishnan's scored a bigger than expected margin in the vice presidential poll, with Bharatiya Janata Party leaders claiming he drew support even from the rival camp.

The extent of his victory margin came as a setback to the Opposition, which had claimed all its 315 MPs remained united in the election and voted for Suderashan Reddy, their joint candidate.

"It has been 15 days since the US imposed a 50% tariff on India, 862 days since violence started in Manipur, 967 days of JP Nadda overstaying as BJP president, 1,282 days of MGNREGA funds being stopped for West Bengal, 2,278 days of not having a Deputy Speaker in Lok Sabha, and 4,117 since the prime minister answered a question in Lok Sabha," O'Brien told reporters in New Delhi.

"These are the important numbers for which the Modi government needs to be held accountable. Fifteen votes here or there is not a figure which needs to be top of mind," the TMC Rajya Sabha Leader said.

Radhakrishnan was elected the 15th Vice President of India on Tuesday, bagging 452 votes against Opposition nominee and former Supreme Court judge Reddy's 300 votes, amid indications of cross-voting in his favour.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance had on paper 427 MPs in its alliance, with the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress also extending the support of its 11 MPs to its candidate.

Some MPs representing smaller parties also backed Radhakrishnan.

While Radhakrishnan received 60 per cent of the total valid votes polled, his predecessor Jagdeep Dhankhar had won by a huge margin in the 2022 election by securing 74.36 per cent of total valid votes polled. Dhankhar had bagged 528 votes out of total 710 valid votes polled.

BJP leaders were quick to claim after the results were announced that at least 15 opposition MPs voted in favour of Radhakrishnan.

There were hints from the ruling alliance that some opposition MPs deliberately cast invalid votes.

BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal later claimed that 'nearly 40 opposition MPs' listened to the voice of their conscience and voted in 'some manner' in support of the NDA candidate, showing wider acceptance for him.

His assertion of support from 40 opposition MPs appeared to include several invalid votes.

Some opposition leaders had appealed to MPs' conscience in the polls to support Reddy, and the senior BJP leader's comments were seen as a retort to them.
Youth-led Gen Z group, which spearheaded the anti-government protests in Nepal, Thursday said that Parliament must be dissolved and the Constitution should be amended to reflect the will of the people, as the death toll from the demonstrations increased to 34.

IMAGE: The representatives of the Gen Z group, which spearheaded the anti-government protests in Nepal. Photograph: ANI on X

The Gen Z protesters organised a press meet in Kathmandu to express their views, while some of their representatives were busy holding discussions with President Ramchandra Paudel and Army Chief Ashok Raj Sigdel at the Army Headquarters to find a solution to the current political crisis.

Speaking on the occasion, the Gen Z activists underlined the need to find a solution through dialogue and cooperation.

Diwakar Dangal, Amit Baniya and Junal Dangal -- all representatives of the Gen Z group -- were among those who spoke at the press meet.

"They warned the old political parties not to use them for their vested interests. "This is purely a civilian movement, so don't try to play politics with this," one activist said.

"There is a challenge in front of us to protect national sovereignty, unity, and maintain self-respect," Dangal said. "We all Nepalese should unite in this difficult situation to protect the welfare and interests of the Nepalese people.

Another activist said that the Parliament must be dissolved and the Constitution should be amended as per the spirit of the people.

"We don't intend to scrap the constitution, but we want some major amendments to include people's concerns," he said.

Some of the activists expressed support for former Chief Justice Sushila Karki for the post of new Prime Minister, while others pitched for former CEO of Nepal Electricity Authority Kulman Ghising.

Another activist said they don't intend to assume leadership of the country, but rather become just a watchdog. "We will not participate in the government, but rather we want to remain as a watchdog."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health said that 34 people have died so far during the protests held on Monday and Tuesday.

According to the ministry's data, 1,338 individuals are receiving treatment at hospitals across the country, while 949 have already been discharged.

Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli quit on Tuesday shortly after hundreds of agitators entered his office demanding his resignation for the death of at least 19 people in police action during Monday's protests over corruption and a social media ban. The ban on social media was lifted Monday night.

President Paudel has accepted Prime Minister Oli's resignation but stated that the cabinet led by him will continue to run the government until a new Council of Ministers is formed.
'No one can ignore PK's prediction about Nitish Kumar's party.'

IMAGE: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar meets supporters in Buxar, September 6, 2025. Photograph: Patna PRD/ANI Photo

In poll-bound Bihar, Jan Suraaj party founder Prashant Kishor's loud claim that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United will win no more than 25 seats in the 2025 state assembly election seems far-fetched.

PK's prediction has come at a time when Nitish Kumar has been doing everything to woo all sections, mainly women, by announcing one freebie after another for them to improve his party's performance from the last polls.

What has surprised political circles in Bihar is that PK has publicly announced that he will quit politics if the JD-U wins more seats than what he has predicted.

He also made it clear that Nitish Kumar will not become chief minister again and that the ruling National Democratic Alliance will not return to power.

PK asserted that people in Bihar want change this time, describing it as a dominant mood on the ground.

He also highlighted two factors related to Nitish Kumar's likely poor performance in the polls: One, a high rate of anti-incumbency against his government and two, his reported declining health.

Interestingly, PK is silent on the number of seats the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal would win in the upcoming election.

He has been targeting and attacking both the BJP and RJD equally but avoiding any statements about their performance in the polls.

Although PK is a former election strategist, and now the de facto chief of the Jan Suraaj party, a new political outfit, he is neither a psephologist nor an astrologer to calculate data and predict the likely performance of a party in the polls.

His claim about Nitish Kumar's party has drawn more attention than any other recent statement he has made.

This is because it is directly related to Bihar's long-serving chief minister, and the poll outcome will decide whether Nitish Kumar will continue as chief minister or be ousted from power after ruling the state for nearly 20 years since 2005 (barring the few months in 2014 when he made Jitan Ram Manjhi the CM).

It is a different matter that with the next Bihar assembly election a month away, the NDA is yet to officially name Nitish Kumar as its chief ministerial candidate.

This has deepened the suspense over the NDA's CM face this time, though the JD-U has asserted time and again that it will make no compromise on Nitish Kumar as the next chief minister.

JD-U leaders have been confidently saying that the party will improve its strike rate compared to the 2020 assembly polls.

The JD-U has made it clear to the BJP leadership in Delhi that it will contest more seats than the latter.

"Our party is eyeing to emerge as the single largest party after the polls," says a senior JD-U leader.

"The JD-U is not ready to take a political risk and play second fiddle to the BJP in state politics," he added.

IMAGE: Nitish Kumar inaugurates nine development projects worth Rs 558.35 crore in Siwan, September 7, 2025. Photograph: Patna PRD/ANI Photo

In the 2020 assembly polls, Nitish Kumar's JD-U contested 115 seats and won 43 while the BJP contested 110 and won 74.

The JD-U blamed the Lok Janshakti Party-Ramvilas, headed by Chirag Paswan, for its low strike rate.

A Jan Suraaj party leader claimed PK is fully aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the parties because he worked closely with Narendra Modi in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and Nitish Kumar in the 2015 Bihar assembly polls.

"No one can ignore PK's prediction about Nitish Kumar's party in the Bihar polls," says the Jan Suraaj leader.

A political observer says PK's prediction in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls -- that the BJP would win 400 seats -- failed, as the party won only 240 Lok Sabha constituencies.

No one expects rhe JD-U to perform so badly as PK predicts in the Bihar polls this time.

The JD-U has at least a 15% vote share, which is not expected to fall below 10% in the comind polls.

IMAGE: Jan Suraaj party chief Prashant Kishor addresses the Bihar Badlav Yatra in Sitamarhi, August 5, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo

After a series of populist schemes announced in recent weeks that carefully covered all sections of society, mainly women, Nitish Kumar has played his masterstroke to woo women voters.

He launched the Mukhya Mantri Mahila Rozgar Yojna on September 7 to promote women's self-employment by providing a first installment of Rs 10,000 as financial support via Direct Benefit Transfer to 27.7 million women, followed by Rs 2 lakh six months later.

A political analyst admitted that it is a very attractive scheme to target women. Never before has such a cash incentive for women surfaced in Bihar ahead of an election, and it could be a game-changer.

Nitish Kumar is widely seen as a favourite of the majority of the 35 million women voters in the state, an advantage that has been reflected in election after election, except for the 2020 assembly polls.

Since early 2024, PK has been loudly claiming that the JD-U will not cross 20 to 25 seats. In his latest statement on September 8, he reiterated that Nitish Kumar's party will not win more than 25 seats.

IMAGE: Nitish Kumar at a Samvaad programme in Ratanpur Bintoliya Bihar, Patna, September 4, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo

This is not the first time PK has made such a statement.

In January 2024, soon after Nitish Kumar dumped the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan and joined hands with the BJP, PK claimed that the JD-U would not win more than 20 seats in the 2025 assembly election.

He then stated that Nitish Kumar's decision to return to the BJP-led NDA was a result of his fear that the JD-U would not win more than five seats in the next assembly polls if it remained with the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan.

He reiterated the same prediction in March 2024 and October 2024.

PK is actively working hard to reach out to people and emerge as a political force, aiming to make a difference in the coming polls.

A large number of disillusioned supporters of the ruling NDA (mainly upper castes, a section of OBCs, EBCs, and Dalits), reportedly turn up at his public meetings to listen to him.

This is already posing a challenge to the BJP and JD-U because they fear a dent in their traditional vote bank by PK's Jan Suraaj party.

IMAGE: Prashant Kishor during the Bihar Badlav Yatra at Raghopur, Supaul, July 25, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo

In the last eight months, several well-known faces from the ruling NDA have joined PK, and more are likely to join in the coming days.

The most prominent among them is former BJP MP from Purnea, Uday Singh, alias Pappu Singh, who belongs to the powerful upper caste Rajput community and comes from a political family.

Uday Singh was appointed the Jan Suraaj party's first national president.

Former JD-U president and former Union minister R C P Singh also joined the Jan Suraaj party.

Dozens of BJP and JD-U leaders have joined the Jan Suraaj party with the hope of getting a ticket to contest the polls.

The Jan Suraaj party has announced its intention to go it alone in all 243 assembly seats.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
MOSCOW, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Russian tourists are expected to make over 2 million trips to China in 2025, prompted by China's trial visa-free policy for Russian citizens, an industry leader said Wednesday.

The introduction of the visa-free policy is expected to boost tourist flows by 40 percent in September and October, said Maya Lomidze, executive director of Russia's Association of Tour Operators.

China, she said, is steadily rising to become the second-largest destination for Russian tourists after Turkiye, with tourist trips expected to exceed 2 million.

Meanwhile, the Russian tourism sector is eager to welcome Moscow's reciprocal measures. Lomidze believes that the potential introduction of Russia's visa-free policy will immediately increase Chinese tourist flows, especially in border regions.

On Sept. 2, China announced a trial visa-free policy for Russian citizens holding ordinary passports, effective from Sept. 15, 2025, to Sept. 14, 2026.

Russian citizens holding ordinary passports who come to China for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends or exchange visits and transit for no more than 30 days can enter China visa-free.

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed the policy, noting Moscow will respond in kind to this friendly measure. 
Members of the Representative Town Meeting gather at the Brattleboro Union High School to vote on a new town budget on Tuesday, May 27, 2025.
The United States has spent years trying to convince Arab Gulf countries that normalization with Israel will stabilize the Middle East and contain the threat posed by Iran.

But Israel's brazen military strike in Qatar, a key US ally and home to the largest American military base in the Middle East, has threatened to upend the US-backed efforts.

The September 9 attack in central Doha, the Qatari capital, targeted the political leadership of US- and EU-designated Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Six people were killed, including a member of Qatar's security services.

The strike has been widely condemned in Gulf capitals, where attitudes toward Israel have already soured over the country's direct conflict with Iran in June and its devastating war in the Gaza Strip.

The Gaza war was triggered by Hamas's terror attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people. The Palestinian group is believed to still be holding dozens of Israeli hostages.

"We're witnessing both a hardening of public opinion in the Gulf and growing unease among Gulf leaders over the perception that Israel is now acting without restraint -- ignoring red lines that were once respected," said Michael Horowitz, an independent analyst based in Israel.

It is unclear how the Gulf states will respond. Many are close US allies which depend on Washington for their security.

"This situation is distinct in one key respect: Israel is a close US ally," said Horowitz. "That changes the calculus. For Gulf leaders, the real concern may not be Israel alone, but the perceived absence of US leadership in setting limits or enforcing consequences. That gap is likely to shape how the Gulf states respond going forward."

Double-Edged Sword For Tehran

The attack in Qatar is a double-edged sword for Iran, Israel's archenemy, experts said.

"What happened strengthens Iran's narrative that Israel is a threat to the whole region and has nothing to do with [Tehran] and its allies in the axis of resistance," said Hamidreza Azizi, a fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

The so-called axis of resistance is Iran's regional network of proxies and armed groups -- which includes Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah, and Yemen's Huthi rebels -- against Israel and the United States.

Israel's attack in Qatar could also help deepen Iran's rapprochement with the Gulf states, which have previously had hostile relations with Tehran.

"At the same time, [the Qatar attack] increases the threat perception on the Iranian side," Azizi added. "That, if this is happening to Qatar, which is a major non-NATO ally of the US, then what is going to happen to us?"

During the 12-day war in June, Israel and the United States launched a bombing campaign targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites, killing some 1,000 people. Iran responded by firing missile barrages at Israel, killing several dozen people.

The cease-fire that ended the conflict is fragile, experts said, and the risk of renewed hostilities or a dangerous escalation remains high.
VILNIUS -- Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Ihar Losik has been freed after spending more than five years in brutal Belarusian detention on trumped-up charges, part of the latest release of political prisoners amid a thawing of relations between Minsk and the United States.

Losik arrived in neighboring Lithuania on September 11 along with 50 others, hours after leaving a prison in northern Belarus.

"I'm in complete shock, truly, but of course I am happy now," he said as he met with RFE/RL staff and management after a long bus ride to Vilnius.

Just a day after waking up in solitary confinement, Losik said that after the morning check by guards, "they came and said, 'Pack your things.'"

"They put me in a car, a bag over my head, handcuffs, brought me to...the KGB," he said referring to the Belarus secret service, where he joined a group of a dozen other political prisoners being released as part of a deal negotiated by the White House.

The group was joined by other prisoners being released and then transported by bus to the border zone with Lithuania.

As part of the deal for their freedom, the group was told they must leave the country, which 51 of them did.

One, opposition politician Mikalay Statkevich, however, refused to leave the country and reportedly remained in the neutral zone of the Belarusian-Lithuanian border, as of late on September 11.

"There were several attempts to persuade him by American diplomats, his wife, and another woman," said Yauhen Vilski, another opposition figure who said he tried to convince the 69-year-old to join them.

Minsk-Washington Thaw

The release of the prisoners coincided with a meeting earlier in the day between US envoy John Coale and Belarus' long-ruling authoritarian strongman Aleksandr Lukashenko in Minsk.

In the meeting, shown on state TV, Coale was shown praising Lukashenko and passing along personal greetings from US President Donald Trump. He also presented Lukashenko with a pair of White House cuff links.

Coale announced that the United States would lift a 2-year-old sanctions on Belarus's national airline, Belavia, and would seek to reopen its embassy in Minsk, which was closed shortly after Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The release of prisoners and other goodwill gestures are the latest sign that Lukashenko is trying to rekindle relations with the West. Long considered a pariah and dubbed "Europe's last dictator," Lukashenko has walked a tightrope between Russia -- which is Belarus's largest trading partner -- and the West.

After the 2020 presidential election in which Lukashenko claimed victory, opposition groups declared the results a sham and sparked weeks of massive protests. Lukashenko's security forces responded with a brutal crackdown, arresting over 30,000 people, many of whom reported torture and ill-treatment while in custody.

The crackdown pushed most opposition politicians to leave Belarus fearing for their safety and freedom.

Many Western governments have refused to recognize the results of the 2020 election and do not consider Lukashenko to be the country's legitimate leader.

Among those caught up in the post-election crackdown was Losik, 33, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in December 2021 for what the authorities said was "organizing mass riots, taking part in mass disorder, inciting social hatred," and other unspecified charges relating to post-election unrest.

Journalist Larysa Shchyrakova spent years in a women's prison in her hometown of Homel before being released.

She wept as she briefly spoke to reporters, noting that her freedom came with a bitter taste as she cannot return home and visit the grave of her mother, who died while she was in prison.

"We are immensely grateful to President Trump for securing the release of yet another brave RFE/RL journalist unfairly detained by Belarusian authorities," RFE/RL President and CEO Steve Capus said in a statement from Vilnius.

Capus lauded the role played by Coale, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Lithuanian government, and the press freedom community for "their consistent support of RFE/RL's imprisoned journalists."

"Ihar suffered horribly because he was a journalist working for RFE/RL. This phase of his excruciating and wholly unfair ordeal, which stretched beyond five years, is finally over," Capus added.

Among those also released was Alena Tsimashchuk, who had worked at RFE/RL's headquarters in Prague as part of the Vaclav Havel Journalism Fellowship.

In a move that was widely criticized by free press advocates, she was detained in September 2023 on extremism charges and was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.

"Alena is a young woman at the start of her career who had two years of her life stolen from her," Capus said.

Losik, RFE/RL, and Western governments said repeatedly that the charges against him were politically motivated.

He was tried together with popular blogger and potential Lukashenko opponent Syarhey Tsikhanouski, who appeared poised to mount a serious challenge to the president.

Tsikhanouski was released from prison in June along with 13 other prisoners -- including another former RFE/RL journalist, Ihar Karnei.

Losik's release comes less than a month after Trump phoned Lukashenko -- the first time a sitting US president had directly called the Belarusian leader during his 31 years in power -- to thank the Belarusian strongman for the June prisoner release.

Trump described the call as "very good" while saying the release of additional prisoners was discussed. In February, Andrey Kuznechyk, another journalist with RFE/RL's Belarus Service, was freed after being held for more than three years on similar charges.

In the more than five years since he was first taken into custody, Losik, who worked for RFE/RL's Belarus Service, known locally as Radio Svaboda, endured isolation and significant physical and psychological pressures.

Losik had not been heard from in about two years aside from a being paraded before a camera on a Belarusian state TV propaganda program in January that accused jailed RFE/RL journalists of "trying to set Belarus on fire."

Losik spent most of his imprisonment in the Navapolatsk colony, where, for a year and a half, the administration denied him any communication with family and access to care packages.

According to accounts from former inmates, Losik was frequently placed in a punishment cell.

All four of Losik's defense attorneys have either left the country or been stripped of their licenses.

Journalist's Family Targeted

Darya Losik, Ihar's wife, was sentenced to two years in prison in January 2023 on a charge of facilitating extremist activity. She was released in an amnesty in July 2024.

Meanwhile, his younger brother fled Belarus in July after being sentenced to three years for "extremist activities" for sending photos of Russian military equipment to the Telegram channel Belaruski Hajun.

Some 1,200 political prisoners still remain behind bars in the country, including Maryya Kalesnikava, one of Belarus' most prominent political leaders.

Kalesnikava, sentenced to 11 years in prison after resisting forced deportation and leading opposition efforts against Lukashenko, was a key campaign leader for Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya when she took up the campaign to oust the Belarus leader after her husband, was incarcerated.

The September 11 prisoner release included 14 foreigners -- six Lithuanians, two Latvians, two Poles, two Germans, one French national and one UK national -- according to the Belarusian presidency's press service.
RIGA, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Latvia is closing its airspace along the eastern border from Sept. 11 to 18 with an option to extend the closure, Defense Minister Andris Spruds said at a news conference Thursday.

Latvia's airspace zone bordering Belarus and Russia is being closed based on the armed forces' assessment, the minister said.

Latvian airspace will be closed for aircraft flying at an altitude below 6,000 meters in a 50-km-long area along the Baltic country's eastern border. Aircraft flying at altitudes above 6,000 meters will be allowed to cross this area.

The defense minister indicated that Wednesday's incident in Poland, where multiple drones were shot down after they entered Polish airspace, is a "sheer violation of NATO airspace" and that Latvia needs to take appropriate measures.

The minister said that currently there are no direct threats to Latvia, but preventive measures are necessary.

The Polish air forces shot down multiple drones on Wednesday after the country reported its airspace was violated by a "huge number of Russian drones," some of which posed a "direct threat."

Warsaw claimed that this incident marked the first downing of Russian drones over NATO territory, while Moscow dismissed the accusation as groundless.

Russia's Charge d'Affaires in Poland, Andrey Ordash, was quoted by TASS on Wednesday as saying that the drones were from Ukraine. 
Under the cover of night, Current Time correspondent Oleksiy Prodayvoda and cameraman Mykola Ryzhchenko are heading to the front line in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region.

They're traveling with Ukraine's 35th Marine Infantry Brigade in an armored vehicle crammed with troops and supplies. The mood is upbeat with at least one soldier breaking into song.

When their stop arrives they frantically unpack supplies, including a new generator, and head for the cover of the forest.

Inside a light, spacious dugout they meet drone operators Valeriy and Andriy.

They've been stationed here for several weeks. Valeriy enlisted after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and is an IT specialist by profession.

When he's not working, he's writing a master's thesis in computer science.

"I devote my time to studying because, frankly, studying helps me survive these conditions. Through studying, I can see things in a way I hadn't before, and that changes the picture for me, making it easier to carry out the tasks assigned to me," he says.

They're using Ukrainian-made Furia fixed-wing reconnaissance drones to search for Russian positions.

"In our recent flights, we managed to hit two Russian tanks, an enemy [multiple-launch rocket system], and an artillery gun," says Valeriy.

When day dawns, the crew head outside to ready a drone for launch.

They fire up the newly delivered generator but quickly shut it down for fear of an incoming Russian attack.

"I think I hear something. Some kind of [reconnaissance drone] nearby, maybe a [first person-view] drone. Yes, [a recon drone]. Let's go inside," says Andrej as everyone rushes back to the dugout.

When the danger passes, it's time to check the drone. The battery is charged, the camera is working, and the propeller is intact.

With everything in order, Andriy releases the drone using an elastic catapult to get it airborne.

It's the first of multiple flights they make during the day. Each time the drone returns and deploys a parachute to land gently at the launch site.

Eventually, the crew locate what they believe to be a Russian artillery piece, and the team helps guide in a drone strike.

"We hit an artillery gun, but unfortunately we don't know whether we damaged it," says Andriy back in the dugout before an array of monitors and controls.

The day's work done, it's time for dinner.

"Thank God, everyone is alive and well," says Valeriy. "The reconnaissance was effective, and now we can share our successes with each other. Thank you, guys, for being here. Enjoy your meal."
A man fine-tunes a product at the exhibition area of the Robotics Strategy Forum 2025 in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Sept. 11, 2025. Bulgaria is seeking to carve out a niche in global robotics as domestic engineers develop components and integration solutions despite limited capacity to build complete robots, officials said Thursday. (Photo by Marian Draganov/Xinhua)

SOFIA, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Bulgaria is seeking to carve out a niche in global robotics as domestic engineers develop components and integration solutions despite limited capacity to build complete robots, officials said Thursday.

Opening the seventh Robotics Strategy Forum in Sofia, Deputy Prime Minister and Innovation Minister Tomislav Donchev highlighted the country's potential with an anecdote about visiting a small workshop in the village of Draganovtsi where young engineers were upgrading industrial robots' computer vision. "Bulgarian industry needs engineers, industrial sites, increased added value and, above all, self-confidence," he told participants.

The one-day forum, organized by the Professional Association of Robotics, Automation and Innovations (PARAi), is held under the theme "Manufactured in Bulgaria, Recognized Worldwide."

PARAi deputy chair Yonko Chuklev said Bulgaria excels in software, systems integration and specific hardware modules such as servo motors and power units, allowing firms to deliver specialized solutions sold to leading global manufacturers. While the country cannot yet produce full robots, "we can be a very strong niche player in robotics," he said.

Radoslav Tchipanov, manager of HNC Electric Bulgaria, reported that his company sold about ten Chinese-made AUCTECH robots in the past year, including to one of Europe's largest water-heater makers. Bulgarian engineers customize the machines by adding grippers, cameras and tailored programming for each client.

Donchev noted that industry accounts for nearly three times the share of Bulgaria's GDP compared with agriculture and tourism combined, underscoring the sector's strategic role in boosting innovation and competitiveness. 

Tomislav Donchev, Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister and Innovation Minister, speaks at the opening ceremony of the Robotics Strategy Forum 2025 in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Sept. 11, 2025. Bulgaria is seeking to carve out a niche in global robotics as domestic engineers develop components and integration solutions despite limited capacity to build complete robots, officials said Thursday. (Photo by Marian Draganov/Xinhua)
A special report into the suspicious death of a Roosky man will be aired on RTEs Prime Time on Thursday evening.

The report, presented by Fran McNulty, will examine the circumstances surrounding the death of Liam Farrell who was found dead outside his home in 2020.

On January 11, 2020, Mr Farrell (87) walked home along the N4 road in the village of Roosky after an evening socialising locally.

Fifteen hours later, Liams body was found outside his back door. He was badly bruised, partially undressed and lying on his back.

A post-mortem examination concluded Liam died from a heart attack, but Liams family  who will speak during Thursday evening's Prime Time feature  remain convinced that there is more to their fathers death, citing injuries to various parts of Liams body, bloodied items in the house, and his missing wallet.

Speaking about the circumstances of his fathers death, Liams son Brendan questioned the injuries suffered by his father.

I could understand, yes, a heart attackbut what about the injuries? And what caused the heart attack? What led to that? I mean, it was carnage you didnt have to be an expert to know that poor Daddy was attacked.

At a subsequent inquest, the hospital pathologist, Professor Paul Hartel, carried out a post-mortem examination of Mr Farrells body. He revealed he had not been informed that Liams body had been removed from a potential crime scene.

Professor Hartel testified that had he been aware of the circumstances, he would have refused to carry out the autopsy and insisted a forensic pathologist be assigned.

Things went wrong from the moment when there was, for some unknown reason, a lack of communication between the scenes-of-crime guards or the senior guards who attended the scene.

"It was literally an opportunity that was missed to carry out a more comprehensive post-mortem assessment of the remains, one that would have established the presence of injuries and a likely causal connection between those injuries and a likely assault, said Frank Buttimer, solicitor for the Farrell family.

As the sixth anniversary of Liam Farrells death approaches, his familys grief is added to by the absence of answers.

For Liams brother Mel, time is of the essence, he tells RTE Prime Time.

Im 90 and I want to see him get the truth before I die. It would mean a lot to me to know before I die. Someone is holding back something, I think. I do.

"I think someone knows something and they wont say it. They know, but theyre frightened of saying it."

Watch the full report on Prime Time tonight, Thursday September 11th, at 9.35 p.m. RTE One.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi To Visit Mizoram, Security Beefed Up In The State

PM Modi is visiting the state to inaugurate a railway line and flag off new trains.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi To Visit Mizoram Latest News: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Mizoram this Saturday and ahead of the visit, security in the state has been tightened, the PTI reported, citing police officials.

PM Modi is visiting the state to inaugurate a railway line and flag off new trains.

Mizoram Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) H Ramthlengliana told PTI police teams across the state have been alerted, and elaborate security arrangements were made in the state capital, Aizawl.

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Apart from the state police, Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will also be deployed in Aizawl, the PTI reported.

(For more news apart from Punjab Counter Intelligence busts cross-border smuggling network, Two arrested, Weapons recovered, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.)


Punjab Counter Intelligence Busts Cross-Border Smuggling Network, Two Arrested, Weapons Recovered

The identity and role of the foreign entity, along with its broader network, are under comprehensive investigation, it further said.

Punjab Counter Intelligence Busts Cross-Border Smuggling Network, Two Arrested, Weapons Recovereda News; In the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Counter Intelligence Ferozepur/Faridkot & SSOC Fazilka has busted a cross-border smuggling network with the arrest of two weapon suppliers in Fazilka area and recovered 27 sophisticated Pistols (.30bore) alongwith 470 live ctgs from them.

On 11 September 2025, acting upon tip-of, the Police team of CI Ferozepur & SSOC Fazilka has carried out a joint secret operation in the Fazilka area, during which two suspected individuals were apprehended near Village Muhar Jamsher, close to the IndoPak International fencing, and a large cache of 27 illegal firearms of .30 bore along with 470 live ctgs  was recovered from their possession.

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The accused have been identified as Mangal Singh, also known as Mangali, son of Harbans Singh, and a resident of Tejha Rahela, Gatti Number Three, Police Station Sadar Fazilka; and Gurmeet Singh, son of Teja Singh, resident of Village Muhar Jamsher, Police Station Sadar Fazilka.

The preliminary investigation has revealed that these weapons were sourced from Pakistan through an unidentified foreign-based entity, intended for use in criminal activities in the state, officials said in a statement.

The arrested accused were to supply these recovered weapons to ground operatives of criminal groups on the direction of an unknown foreign-based entity, it added.

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The identity and role of the foreign entity, along with its broader network, are under comprehensive investigation, it further said.

Further investigation is underway to unravel the entire network.

Efforts are on to identify other members involved in this module and track the origins of the smuggled weapons, it said in a statement.

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(For more news apart from Punjab Counter Intelligence busts cross-border smuggling network, Two arrested, Weapons recovered, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.)
Amritsar News: Punjab Explores GI Tag For Amritsari Kulcha (Representative Image)

The dish originated from Amritsar.

Punjab Explores GI Tag For Amritsari Kulcha, Latest News:

Chandigarh/Amritsar, September 11: In a significant step towards preserving Punjab's culinary identity and traditions, Punjab Food Processing Department is exploring the possibilities of securing a Geographical Indication (GI) Tag for Amritsari Kulcha, IPRD, Punjab said in a press release today.

The dish originated from Amritsar. GI tag is a label given to products that have a unique quality, reputation, or characteristic due to their specific geographical origin, such as a region, town or country.



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This was revealed by Principal Secretary Food Processing Department, Punjab Rakhee Gupta Bhandari, while chairing a meeting at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar to discuss initiatives of food processing sector. The meeting brought together faculty members from the Department of Food Science and Technology, representatives from Industry associations and processing units, such as Murabba, Pickle, Basmati Rice, Honey and Jaggery.

Rakhee Gupta Bhandari said that securing GI Tag for the dish will not only enhance the pious citys culinary legacy but also unlock new opportunities for branding, exports, market expansion and ultimately would lead to creating new job opportunities.

The meeting also addressed key industry demands and potential solutions for the growth of Punjab's food processing sector. Key discussion points included establishing Food Parks and Technology Exchange platforms to foster innovation and infrastructure development, besides ensuring the availability of skilled manpower and modern food testing labs to maintain quality and safety standards.

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(For more news apart from Amritsar News: Punjab Explores GI Tag For Amritsari Kulcha, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.)
Punjab Govt Launches Crop Residue Management Loan Scheme to Tackle Stubble Burning Issue

Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) & Multi-Purpose Cooperative Societies (MPCS) will be eligible for 80% subsidy on machinery

Punjab Govt Launches Crop Residue Management Loan Scheme to Tackle Stubble Burning Issue, News: In a move to tackle the issue of stubble burning and promote sustainable farming, the Punjab Government has launched the amended Crop Residue Management (CRM) Loan Scheme through cooperative banks across the state, the government said.

The scheme is designed to support farmers and cooperative societies in purchasing crop residue management machinery and is expected to play a key role in reducing seasonal air pollution while simultaneously creating new opportunities for rural communities.

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The initiative has been approved under the guidance of Financial Commissioner Cooperation Sumer Singh Gurjar and Registrar of Cooperative Societies Girish Dayalan, ensuring wide participation from stakeholders in the agricultural sector, it said.

The Key Features of the Scheme will be that Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) and Multi-Purpose Cooperative Societies (MPCS) will be eligible for 80% subsidy on machinery, up to a maximum of Rs 24 lakh.

The margin money requirement is fixed at 10% of the loan amount. The individual farmers are eligible for 50% subsidy on machinery and the money requirement is fixed at 25% of the loan amount.

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The decision is expected to facilitate easy access to modern equipment but also to ensure effective management of crop residue, a critical factor contributing to air pollution in North India.

The Punjab Government is also encouraging the use of crop residue in bio-energy plants, thereby promoting cleaner energy generation and boosting the states green economy.

Chief Minister reaffirmed his governments commitment to environmental sustainability, farmer welfare, and strengthening the cooperative movement in Punjab. He emphasized that the scheme will empower farmers while addressing the environmental challenges posed by stubble burning.

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(For more news apart from Punjab Govt Launches Crop Residue Management Loan Scheme to Tackle Stubble Burning Issue, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.)
Punjab News: Congress Slams Centre Over Punjabis Forcibly Recruited Into The Russian Army

Out of them, 5 youths have died, 3 are missing, and 7 have been forcibly kept in the army.

Punjab News Congress Slams Centre Over Punjabis Forcibly Recruited Into Russian Army latest News; All India Congress Committee Secretary and MLA Padma Shri Pargat Singh, during a press conference at Punjab Congress Bhavan on Thursday, targeted the BJP-led central government and Punjabs AAP government over the major issue of Punjabis being forcibly recruited into the Russian army.

He alleged that despite the advisory from the Ministry of External Affairs, for the past one and a half years, the Russian government has been forcibly recruiting Indian youthsespecially from Punjab and Haryanainto its army and pushing them towards death in the Russia-Ukraine war without providing them with proper training.

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Citing to the family members of missing Punjabi youths, Padma Shri Pargat Singh revealed that despite the claims of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy, the recruitment into the Russian army has not stopped.

In July 2025, 15 Punjabi youths reached Russia, and in August 2025, they were recruited into the Russian army. Out of them, 5 youths have died, 3 are missing, and 7 have been forcibly kept in the army.

There are around 126 youths from the states of North India who have been forcibly recruited into the Russian army. About 15 missing youths have not been traced so far, and only one body has been recovered. Neither the central government nor the state governments are taking any concrete steps to locate these youths.

Pargat Singh said that the central government and the Indian Embassy must immediately contact the Russian government and its embassy and take strict action in this matter. He said that the youths of Punjab cannot be left to die. This is not just the pain of a few families in Punjab, but the pain of the entire Punjab and North India. If the central and Punjab governments do not act on this issue, the Congress will not remain silent.

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He demanded that the central government provide financial assistance to the families of the deceased youths. Immediate and strict action should be taken with the Russian government to trace the missing youths. Compensation should be given to the families of those who died. In addition, the recruitment of youths into the Russian army must be stopped immediately. Merely issuing advisories by the Indian Embassy or the Ministry of External Affairs is not enough. The Punjab government should also register FIRs against travel agents, break their networks, and take strict action.



He questioned whether the Punjab government has taken strict action against the fraudulent agents. Why have no cases been registered against them so far? Why is a thorough investigation not being conducted into the fraudulent foreign employment agencies operating in Punjab?

Agents are running networks, and they even have access to the youths ATM cards.

The Indian agents, along with those based in Russia who administer intoxicating substances, are the ones trapping these youths. Not only this, but after recruitment, these agents are also withholding the salaries meant for the youths and the insurance money meant for the families of the deceased. Neither the Punjab government nor the central government has taken any action against these agents.

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Jagdeep Singh, a resident of Goraya (Jalandhar), who has been searching for his missing brother Mandeep Singh for more than one and a half years, has made several revelations while running for justice.

He alleged that the Indian Embassy is not listening to him, even though he is in continuous contact with the youths trapped in the Russian army. Jagdeep said that MLA Pargat Singh provided him with financial assistance to travel to Russia in search of his brother Mandeep. Because of this, he was able to go to Russia, collect documents, and continue his fight for justice for his brother.

Parminder Kaur, wife of Tejpal from Amritsarwho was forcibly sent into war in the Russian armytearfully shared that her husband had gone to Russia in January 2024 in search of work. There too, he was forcibly recruited into the army. He died there, but even after one and a half years, his body has not been found.

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She said that at her own expense, she went to Russia and tried to search for her husbands body. She hired a private lawyer and filed a case against the Russian government. As a result, only three months ago, the Russian government handed her husbands death certificate, but his body has still not been recovered.

Neither the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, the Indian Embassy, nor the Punjab government in Moscow or Delhi helped her. She is fighting for justice on her own.

Forced into the Army on the Pretext of a Courier Job  Sarabjit Singh

Sarabjit Singh, a resident of Amritsar, recounted his ordeal of how he reached Russia on April 6, 2024, along with a batch of 18 people. Agents had promised him a job in a courier company with a monthly salary of 90,000 rupees and sent him there. But as soon as he arrived, he was forcibly recruited into the Russian army.

He somehow survived after fighting on the front lines in the Ukraine war and managed to return to India. During this entire period, the Indian Embassy did not provide him with any help.

(For more news apart from Punjab Counter Intelligence busts cross-border smuggling network, Two arrested, Weapons recovered, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.)
Shah Rukh Khan' NGO To Adopt 500 Flood Affected Homes In Amritsar

Work will begin with the two most affected, Seenu Arora is quoted as saying in the report.

Shah Rukh Khan NGO To Adopt 500 Flood Affected Homes In Amritsar Latest News: Shah Rukh Khans Meer Foundation will collaborate with the Amritsar-based NGO, Voice of Amritsar, to carry out flood relief work in the district, the Tribune reported.

According to the news report, Meer Foundation is a non-profit organization known for helping acid attack victims all over India.

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The NGO, in collaboration with the Amritsar-based NGO, Voice of Amritsar, will carry out reconstruction work in two villages along the banks of the River Ravi, where floods have washed away homes and belongings of the residents, the report said.

Seenu Arora, founding member of VOA, has stated that the Bollywood stars NGO approached them to collaborate in relief operations.

She added that Meer Foundation is happy to contribute to the project submitted by VOA to distribute household goods, including beds, mattresses, gas stoves, fans, water purifiers, etc., to about 500 homes affected by floods.

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Work will begin with the two most affected, Seenu Arora is quoted as saying in the report.

The Tribune report added that the NGO also received support from the Kolkata-based Care Foundation. The members of VOA are working with a team of doctors from AIIMS for medical relief in Amritsar and Gurdaspur.

(For more news apart from Punjab Floods: Shah Rukh Khan' NGO To Adopt 500 Flood Affected Homes In Amritsar, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.)
Solidarity with Poland

Romania, alongside other states in the region, has expressed its solidarity with Poland, after Russian drones entered the latters territory.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan (photo: presidency.ro)

Daniela Budu, 11.09.2025, 13:50

Poland on Wednesday scrambled its own and NATOs air defence systems to shoot down drones in its airspace, following a Russian air strike on Ukraine. According to Reuters and France Presse, Poland became the first NATO member to have fired shots during Russia war in Ukraine, describing the violation of its airspace as an act of aggression. Poland accused Moscow of launching these unmanned vehicles as part of a provocation. In response, the Russian defence ministry said the attack did not target Poland and that there was no intention to hit targets on Polish territory.

Romania stands in solidarity with Poland, which on Tuesday night neutralised Russian drones inside its own airspace, and, if need be, procedures are in place to respond in the same way in Romania, said the countrys president Nicusor Dan. He said Poland and NATO countries demonstrated that they are ready and that they can react in real time. He recalled that drones also fell accidentally on Romanian territory. He added that there is yet no reason for concern and emphasised that Bucharest is fully prepared, in light of a law approved recently by Parliament and the procedures established by the countrys Supreme Defence Council.

In fact, the defence ministry in Bucharest said its air defence radar systems also detected on Tuesday night a group of air drones in the area of the Ukrainian village of Vylkove, on the border with Romania. Two Romanian Air Force F-16 planes took off for research missions and sent a text message alert to residents in the area. The ministry says no air vehicle was reported to have entered Romanian airspace and that it will keep a close eye on the situation, constantly monitoring the countrys air, sea and land space.

Speaking about the drones that entered Polish territory, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said there is indication that Moscow acted deliberately, seeking to test the Wests unity. The speaker of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, underlined Polands right to defend itself, adding that such situations show that the European Union is ready to defend itself against an attack.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte denounced Russias dangerous behaviour following the incursion of Russian drones into Polands airspace and to which NATO responded very efficiently. US president Doland Trump also condemned Russias violation of Polands airspace. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned of a real risk of the conflict in Ukraine to extend beyond the countrys borders.

Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia tested the limits of what is possible and how NATO would react and again called on measures against Russia.

Germany, the UK, Hungary and Slovakia have also expressed their solidarity with Poland.
State of the European Union address

The President of the European Commission wants a Union capable of choosing its own destiny, bigger and stronger.

Foto: Christophe Licoppe  European Union, 2025 / Source EC - Audiovisual Service

Stefan Stoica, 11.09.2025, 14:00

Europe must fight for its place in a world in which dependencies are ruthlessly weaponised, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in her first State of the Union speech since her re-election, delivered said on Wednesday in Strasbourg. The world today is unforgiving. And we cannot varnish over the difficulties that Europeans feel every day. They can feel things getting harder just as they are working harder. This must be Europes Independence Moment, to decide what kind of society and democracy we want to live in, Ursula von der Leyen emphasized in the plenary of the European Parliament. She called for unity and solidarity between Member States, stressing the importance of Europe being free to choose its partnerships.

Regarding the war in Ukraine, Ursula von der Leyen insisted that Russia must pay reparations, as Moscow launched this conflict. The European official called for additional support for Ukraine, given that Europe has so far provided Kyiv with approximately 170 billion in military and financial aid. President Von der Leyen touched on an extremely sensitive subject and announced that, jointly with Ukraine and other partners, she would host a summit of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children. She also spoke about the situation of the Member States located on the eastern flank, which she recently visited and which are the most exposed to the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine. In her opinion, Europes eastern flank protects the whole of Europe, from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, and this is why the Union must invest in supporting these countries through the Eastern Flank Watch. The high-ranking EU official announced that at the next European Council she will present a clear roadmap, which will seek to launch new joint projects in the field of defense, set clear objectives for 2030 and create a European Defense Semester.

Ursula von der Leyen highlighted the independence of the EU in a world full of challenges. When we talk about independence, we are talking about choosing our destiny. That is what Ukraine is fighting for. And that is what all Europeans deserve. Because Europe is an idea  the idea of freedom and mutual strength. This was the idea that drove the post-1989 generation. When East and West came together. And it is as powerful now  as it was then. This is why we are bringing future Member States closer to our Union. Investing. Supporting reforms. Integrating into the Single Market, the European Commission President said. A larger and stronger Union is a security guarantee for all of us. And because for Ukraine, for Moldova, for the Western Balkans  their future is in our Union, Ursula von der Leyen told the members of the European Parliament. (VP)
Indian shares were little changed on Thursday after recent gains on optimism over GST reforms, hopes of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts and comments from U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting that his administration is continuing negotiations to address trade barriers with India.

The benchmark BSE Sensex was up 34 points at 81,458 in early trade, while the broader Nifty index was little changed at 24,975 after six consecutive sessions of gains.

Reliance Industries edged up slightly after incorporating a wholly owned subsidiary named Reliance Intelligence.

Rail Vikas Nigam rose about 1 percent after it emerged as the lowest bidder for a Rs. 169.49 crore project from West Central Railway.

Keystone Realtors gained 1 percent on fund raising reports.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories declined 1.2 percent as it announced $50.5 million acquisition of the Stugeron brand from Janssen Pharmaceutica.

Infosys fell 1.3 percent ahead of a board meeting to approve a share buyback proposal.

Tega Industries dropped 1 percent after it agreed to acquire global mining consumables leader Molycop in an all-cash transaction valued at around $1.5 billion.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Exports in the Netherlands increased for the seventh successive month in July, according to figures published by the statistical office CBS on Thursday.

Exports rose 2.4 percent year-on-year in July, slower than the 2.7 percent increase in June.

Outflows of minerals, machinery, and basic metal products were particularly high in July, the agency said.

Imports were also 4.7 percent higher compared to last year amid more inflows of chemical products, minerals, and electrical equipment.

In the CBS Export Radar of September, conditions for exports were less unfavorable than in the July radar.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
As a mark of respect for the memory of Charlie Kirk, President Donald Trump ordered that the U.S. flag should be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all federal naval vessels in the United States and its Territories until September 14.

He also directed that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all U.S. embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

In a video message from the Oval Office, Trump described Kirk's death as a "dark day for America" and blamed rhetoric from the "radical left" for causing political violence.

"I am filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah. Charlie inspired millions and tonight all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror," Trump said. "This is a dark moment for America," according to him.

Condemning "radical left political violence," Trump added, "This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now". He vowed that his administration will "find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity".

The 31 year-old conservative activist and influential Trump ally was shot to death while hosting a college event for Turning Point USA, the organization he founded,

at a university in Utah Wednesday.

Police have launched a manhunt for the assassin.

Two suspects who were arrested earlier have been released after finding that they are not linked to the shooting.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Indian shares swung between gains and losses before ending slightly higher on Thursday amid optimism over GST reforms, hopes of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts and comments from U.S. President Donald Trump that his administration is continuing negotiations to address trade barriers with India.

Additionally, media reports quoted an EU diplomat as saying that the European Union is 'very unlikely' to impose crippling tariffs on India and China to squeeze Russia.

The EU is in the midst of concluding a trade deal with New Delhi, with the two sides looking to resolve their differences over issues of agriculture, dairy, and non-tariff barriers to meet an ambitious end-of-year deadline for a deal.

Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump asked European officials to levy tariffs of up to 100 percent on imports from China and India to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The benchmark BSE Sensex ended the session up 123.58 points, or 0.15 percent, at 81,548.73, while the broader NSE Nifty index closed at 25,005.50, up 32.40 points, or 0.13 percent, from its previous close.

The BSE mid-cap index edged up by 0.14 percent but the small-cap index ended little changed with a negative bias.

The market breadth was slightly positive on the BSE, with 2,100 shares gaining while 2,016 shares declined and 165 shares closed unchanged.

Banks, financials and PSU stocks like NTPC and Power Grid Corp topped the gainers list as IT stocks succumbed to some profit taking ahead of Infosys's share buyback decision. Infosys shares fell 1.5 percent.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Market Analysis
Hyundais sub-4m SUVs, the Venue and Venue N Line, have received a notable price revision thanks to the new GST structure. With sub-4m SUVs now taxed at 18% (earlier 2931%), both petrol and diesel variants of the Venue range have seen reductions of up to Rs 1.32 lakh. The new prices will be effective from September 22, 2025.

Hyundai Venue Price Cut Up to Rs 1.32 Lakh

The Hyundai Venue, one of the brands best-selling models in India, has received significant GST-linked benefits across its petrol and diesel trims.

 The entry-level 1.2 E is now priced at Rs 7.26 lakh, down by Rs 67,719 from its earlier Rs 7.94 lakh.

 Mid-range petrol trims like the 1.2 SX now cost Rs 10.22 lakh after a reduction of Rs 92,098.

 The turbo-petrol 1.0 SX(O) Turbo DCT has dropped by Rs 1.10 lakh, now priced at Rs 12.21 lakh.

 Diesel variants see the biggest benefit, with the 1.5 CRDi SX(O) receiving a price cut of Rs 1.32 lakh, bringing it down to Rs 12.04 lakh.

Hyundai Venue N Line Price Cut Up to Rs 1.14 Lakh

The performance-oriented Venue N Line, which comes with sportier styling and tuned dynamics, has also become more accessible after the GST change.

 The N6 variant is now priced at Rs 11.11 lakh, down by Rs 1.03 lakh.

 The N6 DCT costs Rs 11.83 lakh after a benefit of Rs 1.10 lakh.

 The fully-loaded N8 DCT variant has seen a reduction of Rs 1.14 lakh, bringing the new price to Rs 12.66 lakh.

Stronger Value in Sub-4m SUV Segment

With these reductions, both Venue and Venue N Line now offer stronger value in the competitive sub-4m SUV segment. Buyers get the benefit of advanced features like connected car tech, multiple powertrain choices, and in the case of Venue N Line, sportier dynamics  all at lower price points.

The timing of these reductions, just ahead of the festive season, is expected to drive more customer interest and boost sales momentum for Hyundai in the sub-4m SUV space.

Also See  Hyundai Creta New Prices Post GST Rate Cut
Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) has taken a major step in digitizing the car buying journey with the launch of Click to Buy 2.0, its next-generation online retail platform. Building on the success of Click to Buy 1.0, the upgraded platform introduces industry-first features like voice search, personalized car recommendations, and instant loan eligibility checks to simplify and personalize the experience for customers across India.

Key Highlights of Click to Buy 2.0

 Voice Search (Industry First): Customers can use voice commands like Book Hyundai Creta or Check Finance for faster navigation.

 Instant Loan Eligibility Check: Get pre-qualified offers from 12 leading banks/NBFCs instantly, without paperwork.

 Personalized Recommendations: The system suggests the top 3 Hyundai models/variants based on budget, fuel efficiency, and preferences, from over 200+ variants.

 Car Compare Feature: Compare up to 3 variants, even across different models, side-by-side.

Phygital Approach  Blending Digital & Physical Journeys

Click to Buy 2.0 allows customers to configure their car, check transparent on-road prices, book test drives, apply for finance, upload KYC documents, and even make online payments. Selections made at showrooms can sync directly with the platform, ensuring continuity.

As customers increasingly turn to online platforms for major purchases, Click to Buy 2.0 sets a new benchmark in automotive digital retailing. By combining ease of access, smarter decision-making tools, and strong dealer integration, Hyundai aims to make buying a car as seamless as streaming content online. With this move, Hyundai continues to reinforce its position as a pioneer in customer-centric innovation, delivering convenience, transparency, and confidence to todays digital-first buyers.

Commenting on the launch of Click to Buy 2.0 platform, Mr. Tarun Garg, Whole-Time Director and Chief Operating Officer, HMIL said, At Hyundai Motor India, weve always believed that buying a car should be as intuitive and empowering as driving one. With Click to Buy 2.0, we are not just upgrading a digital platform  we are transforming the entire car buying experience. This next-gen platform sets new benchmarks in digital retail with industry-first features like voice search, and evolved algorithm led personalized car recommendations and instant loan eligibility checks. It is fully mobile-optimized and designed to simplify decision-making, giving customers complete control from browsing to booking, financing and beyond. By seamlessly integrating the physical and digital journey, Click to Buy 2.0 delivers a smarter, faster and more confident way to buy your favorite Hyundai cars  anytime, anywhere.

The platform can be accessed here: Click to Buy 2.0
BigFree gluten-free grocery store entrance (Katie Wells)



Dear celiac and gluten-sensitive community,

There is a gluten-free (GF) haven just outside of Caserma Ederle military base in Vicenza, Italy!

Its not until you find a plentiful GF section, or one of the rare all-gluten-free restaurants or bakeries, that you realize how much mental weight searching for items, reading labels and ingredient lists to ensure a food is safe to eat can be. Before every trip, I try to minimize this extra mental load by pinning local GF spots on my Google map. Occasionally, I come across gluten-free gold!

In Vicenza, BigFree is an entire grocery store dedicated to celiac-safe food. My friend, whom is not GF, graciously fanned my excitement and accompanied me on this pit stop as we drove from Vicenza to Cortina dAmpezzo.

Inside the BigFree (Katie Wells)



The store was even better than expected, carrying copious amounts of gluten-free brands. The majority were different Italian brands, but there were some from other regions as well. I found some unique Schar products I hadnt tried from Germany, yet, like apricot pastries. It is also where I first stumbled upon the American brand Old El Paso almond flour and quinoa flour tortillas. These were magical in that they dont crack during enchilada night. Luckily, since returning to Kaiserslautern, Germany, my local Edeka has been carrying them in their international section.

GF snacks BigFree (Katie Wells)

GF BigFree breads (Katie Wells)



On a trip to Rome, my sister-in-law, brother-in-law, husband and I took a cooking class. We made from scratch the most beautiful ravioli Id ever tasted in my life, sauteed in a simple sage butter rather than tossed in marinara. The class felt like a ritual of passing down a sacred family recipe; however, it was not offered in a GF version. As many gluten-sensitive people know, sometimes gluten is your only option, or you simply dont want to miss out on regional delicacies, so you eat the gluten and deal with potential consequences later. While the gluten was worth it for this experience, I wanted to find a great GF flour for when I attempted our instructors recipe later and skip the inflammation hangover. King Arthurs GF all-purpose flour is my usual staple; however, in the pasta machine, it simply didnt hold up for this ravioli.

When I walked down an entire aisle at BigFree dedicated to GF flour, I scoured specifically for pasta flour and couldnt control the Eep! that left my mouth upon seeing not just one, but a few options! I wish I could have bought all of them to experiment with.

Flour aisel at the BigFree (Katie Wells)

GF pasta shapes at BigFree (Katie Wells)

GF Pasta at the BigFree (Katie Wells)



Ive also been on a pursuit to make a decent homemade GF cinnamon bun at home. This is very tricky, because what makes a perfectly fluffy, pull-apart cinnamon bun is bread flour. The few brands Ive tried resulted in a cakier, sometimes scone-like texture. I happily grabbed some bread flour to try, praying to the gluten-free gods that the two bags of flour plus the multiple pastas, tortillas, tomato and basil-flavored bagel crisps, and other snacks would miraculously fit in my suitcase.

The store had all the cookies, chips, baking mixes, sauces, pasta shapes (including stars!) and so much more than I could imagine. They even had a refrigerated section with pizzas, Italian desserts and baked goods. At the counter was a small cafe with a fresh pastry case and a small offering of hot food. I couldnt pass up vanilla and pistachio cannoli for a road trip snack. Next to that was a couple of shelves of GF beer. My friend even found a few snacks for the road as well!

GF pastry case at BigFree (Katie Wells)

GF beer at BigFree (Katie Wells)

GF Refridgerated section at BigFree (Katie Wells)

GF refridgerated/freezer section BigFree (Katie Wells)



The owner of BigFree has a background as a pharmacist, and as a family member of someone affected by celiac disease, wanted to create a place where the ingredients were healthy and nourishing and where people could feel free to shop for all their favorite foods without worrying about the label. I couldnt help but wish something like this existed in every city. All of this to say, if you have celiac disease or are gluten-free, this grocery store is a paradise.

Sincerely,

A fellow gluten sufferer.
Beauty stocks often swing with changing consumer tastes and shifting retail trends, leaving many companies struggling to maintain steady growth. While giants like Coty (COTY) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) face pressure from rising costs and slowing demand, one lesser-expected name has quietly surged ahead.

E.l.f. Beauty (ELF), known for its affordable yet trendy cosmetics, has doubled its stock price in the past six months, defying the broader struggles across the industry. The company continues to capture market share through social media marketing, innovative product launches, and a strong presence in both retail and online channels.

More News from Barchart

For investors searching for growth in a cooling beauty market, ELFs rapid rise raises a key question. After its 100% run-up, is the stock still worth buying today? Let's find out.

About ELF Stock

Based in California, e.l.f. Beauty is a prominent name in the beauty industry, providing cosmetics and skincare products globally. The company is known for its wide range of products under several brand names, including e.l.f. Cosmetics, e.l.f. SKIN, Well People, Naturium, and Keys Soulcare. These brands are available through both national and international retailers and direct-to-consumer via e-commerce channels. e.l.f. sells affordable makeup and skincare (often under $10) through mass retailers and online. The company currently boasts a market cap of $7.9 billion.

After sinking to a 52-week low of $49.4 in early April 2025, ELF stock has rebounded 176%, wiping out early-year losses and bringing it to a 9.7% year-to-date gain. This strong rebound is linked to stronger sales, the Rhode acquisition, wider Dollar General (DG) distribution, and TikTok marketing, plus modest price hikes that boosted margins, which pushed buyers and lifted the stock.

After the bull run, ELF stock has become expensive on paper, trading at 38x forward earnings, significantly exceeding the sector median of 17x. This suggests ELF might be overpriced compared to its peers.

www.barchart.com

U.S. Retail and E-commerce Drive Q1 Results

E.l.f.s revenue still looks healthy, but growth has slowed from last year. In Q1 FY2026, net sales rose 9% year-over-year (YoY) to $353.7 million, helped by stronger U.S. retail and e-commerce sales. E-commerce now accounts for about 20% of total sales and grew roughly 20% in the quarter. By contrast, the same quarter a year earlier delivered a 50% jump, so growth has normalized.
Swiss asset manager 21Shares has launched a new exchange-traded product, or ETP, tied to dYdXs native token, DYDX. The firms said this will extend regulated access to one of the largest decentralized derivatives protocols.

The product, backed by DYDX tokens held with custodians, began trading this week with support from the dYdX Treasury subDAO, through its operator kpk, according to a press release shared with Decrypt.

Crypto ETPs let investors buy and sell exposure to digital assets on stock exchanges. In Europe they are usually issued as notes backed one-to-one by the underlying tokens, rather than pooled funds.

dYdX has already settled more than $1.4 trillion in cumulative trading volume across 230 perpetual markets, but institutional participation has been limited by custody, compliance, and operational barriers.

The product follows 21Shares earlier DeFi-focused ETPs, including Aave, ChainLink and Uniswap products launched in 2022.

The 21Shares dYdX ETP is a natural extension to this range Mandy Chiu, Head of Financial Product Development at 21Shares, told Decrypt.

It provides institutional-grade access to one of the first decentralized exchanges to offer perpetual futures contracts, she added.

She said liquidity and efficient pricing will be ensured through market maker Flow Traders, with daily creations and redemptions to keep the product aligned with net asset value.

DeFi Platform Nemo Protocol Exploited for $2.4 Million in Hack

Together, DYDX, Uniswap, and Aave represent complementary layers of DeFi infrastructure, Chiu said. Our ETP suite is designed to give investors the ability to selectively or holistically allocate to these building blocks.

DYDX was chosen because it "adds a distinctive dimension" with its focus on decentralized derivatives trading, particularly perpetual futures, an area that has historically been dominated by centralized exchanges, Chiu said.

She said the product reflects the continued evolution of DeFi, noting that as decentralized derivatives mature they too can be packaged into transparent, exchange-traded products.

Charles dHaussy, CEO of the dYdX Foundation, told Decrypt the new product empowers institutions to harness DYDXs pioneering technology which redefines the $28 trillion crypto derivatives markets, while the chain itself remains fully sovereign and decentralized.

DeFi Protocol Ondo Finance Puts 100 Tokenized Stocks on Ethereum

"It has a similar architecture as the Ethereum ETF which does not facilitate activity on the protocol itself, but offer exposure the protocol token ETH or, for us, $DYDX, he said.
Recent findings, made by Griffith University researchers, show that early hominins made a major deep-sea crossing to reach the Indonesian island of Sulawesi much earlier than previously established, based on the discovery of stone tools dating to at least 1.04 million years ago at the Early Pleistocene (or 'Ice Age') site of Calio.

Budianto Hakim from the National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia (BRIN) and Professor Adam Brumm from the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution at Griffith University led the research published recently in Nature.

A field team led by Hakim excavated a total of seven stone artefacts from the sedimentary layers of a sandstone outcrop in a modern corn field at the southern Sulawesi location.

In the Early Pleistocene, this would have been the site of hominin tool-making and other activities such as hunting, in the vicinity of a river channel.

The Calio artefacts consist of small, sharp-edged fragments of stones (flakes) that the early human tool-makers struck from larger pebbles that had most likely been obtained from nearby riverbeds.

The Griffith-led team used palaeomagnetic dating of the sandstone itself and direct-dating of an excavated pig fossil, to confirm an age of at least 1.04 million years for the artifacts.

Previously, Professor Brumm's team had revealed evidence for hominin occupation in this archipelago, known as Wallacea, from at least 1.02 million years ago, based on the presence of stone tools at Wolo Sege on the island of Flores, and by around 194 thousand years ago at Talepu on Sulawesi.

The island of Luzon in the Philippines, to the north of Wallacea, had also yielded evidence of hominins from around 700,000 years ago.

"This discovery adds to our understanding of the movement of extinct humans across the Wallace Line, a transitional zone beyond which unique and often quite peculiar animal species evolved in isolation," Professor Brumm said.

"It's a significant piece of the puzzle, but the Calio site has yet to yield any hominin fossils; so while we now know there were tool-makers on Sulawesi a million years ago, their identity remains a mystery."

The original discovery of Homo floresiensis (the 'hobbit') and subsequent 700,000-year-old fossils of a similar small-bodied hominin on Flores, also led by Professor Brumm's team, suggested that it could have been Homo erectus that breached the formidable marine barrier between mainland Southeast Asia to inhabit this small Wallacean island, and, over hundreds of thousands of years, underwent island dwarfism.

Professor Brumm said his team's recent find on Sulawesi has led him to wonder what might have happened to Homo erectus on an island more than 12 times the size of Flores?

"Sulawesi is a wild card - it's like a mini-continent in itself," he said.

"If hominins were cut off on this huge and ecologically rich island for a million years, would they have undergone the same evolutionary changes as the Flores hobbits? Or would something totally different have happened?"

The study 'Hominins on Sulawesi during the Early Pleistocene' has been published in Nature.
Agnico Eagle Mines has announced the disposition of its entire stake in Orla Mining, amounting to 38,002,589 common shares, for C$14.75 per share, with total proceeds reaching C$560.5m ($405m).

The sale, conducted through the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), involved buyers from Canada, the US and other countries.

An early warning report will be filed by the company in accordance with securities regulations.

Prior to this transaction, Agnico Eagle held an 11.3% non-diluted interest in Orla Mining.

Agnico Eagle's investment strategy includes acquiring strategic positions in high-potential opportunities. The company periodically assesses its minority investments in relation to its strategic objectives.

The sale of the Orla Mining shares allows Agnico Eagle to capitalise on its investment. The company has stated that it has no current plans to acquire further securities in Orla.

Agnico Eagle president and CEO Ammar Al-Joundi said: Our investment in Orla has been mutually beneficial for both companies.

With Orla's success in evolving into an established intermediate producer and in the context of the current gold market, we believe it is the right time to monetise our investment. This demonstrates our commitment to disciplined capital allocation and allows us to redeploy capital to our strategic priorities.

Agnico Eagle had been a supportive shareholder of Orla Mining since its inception in 2017.

Orla Mining has since evolved into a mid-tier mining producer and is now expanding its shareholder base.

Orla Mining president and chief operating officer Jason Simpson said: Since our modest beginnings in 2017 as a junior exploration company, Orla has been fortunate to count cornerstone shareholders like Agnico Eagle among our strongest supporters.

Thanks, in no small part, to Agnico Eagle's technical expertise and financial backing, we have now grown into a mid-tier gold producer. This mutually beneficial next step allows Orla to broaden our investor base and enhance long-term liquidity.

In January, Agnico Eagle announced the acquisition of 110,424,431 common shares of O3 Mining.

This represents approximately 94.1% of O3 Mining's outstanding common shares and is part of a board-supported takeover bid at C$1.67 per share.

"Agnico Eagle Mines sells interest in Orla Mining for $405m" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.




Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) is one of the 10 Best EV Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds.

Analysts are raising the price target on the stock following a strong positive second quarter.

Albemarle Surges as Earnings Beat, Cost Cuts and Price Targets Lift Stock

On July 30, 2025, Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) reported its second-quarter earnings results. Though the companys revenue of $1.33 billion is down 7% compared to the same quarter the previous year, its EPS has surpassed the analyst estimates by 8.4%. Additionally, the companys net income of $22.9 million is up from the previous years second quarter of $229.9 million loss. The company also announced achieving a 100% run rate of its $400 million cost and productivity improvement target.

Following the results, the stocks monthly performance as of September 5, 2025, saw an uptick of 19.47%. Relatively, various analysts have raised their price target on the stock as well. Baird, for instance, raised the stocks price target from $58 to $68 while J.P. Morgan raised it from $60 to $80.

With 41 hedge funds invested in the stock, Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) benefits from strong institutional interest.

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) is a specialty chemicals company founded in 1994. Headquartered in North Carolina, the company is a global leader in providing essential materials for modern technology, particularly lithium and bromine.

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READ NEXT: 13 Best Freight Stocks to Invest in Now and 11 Best Annual Dividend Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds

Disclosure. None.
(Reuters) - China's Alibaba and Baidu have started using internally designed chips to train their AI models, partly replacing those made by Nvidia, The Information reported on Thursday, citing four people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Alibaba has been using its own chips for smaller AI models since early this year, while Baidu is experimenting with training new versions of its Ernie AI model using its Kunlun P800 chip, the report said.

Alibaba and Baidu did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

The move is a significant shift in China's tech and AI landscape  where companies largely rely on Nvidia's powerful processors for AI development  and would further dent Nvidia's China business.

"The competition has undeniably arrived ... We'll continue to work to earn the trust and support of mainstream developers everywhere," an Nvidia spokesperson said in response to the report.

Increasing U.S. export restrictions on supply of advanced AI chips to China have led Chinese companies to ramp up their own arsenal of AI chips, with growing pressure from Beijing on companies to use home-grown technology.

Neither Alibaba nor Baidu has fully abandoned Nvidia, the report said, with both companies using Nvidia chips to develop their most cutting-edge models.

While Nvidia's H20 chip  the most powerful AI processor it is allowed to sell in China  does not have as much computing power as H100 or Blackwell series, it still outpaces Chinese alternatives in performance.

However, Alibaba's AI chip is now good enough to compete with Nvidia's H20, The Information said, citing three employees who have used the chip.

Meanwhile, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang late last month said that the discussions with the White House to allow the company to sell a less advanced version of its next-generation chip to China will take time.

The company has struck a deal with President Donald Trump for export licenses in exchange for 15% of China sales of its H20 chips.

(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Arun Koyyur)
The US drugmaker Merck has scrapped a 1bn London research centre and is laying off 125 scientists in the capital this year, in a big blow to the UKs important life science sector. Keir Starmers government has described life sciences as one of the crown jewels of the UK economy and the previous Conservative government had vowed to turn the country into a global science and technology superpower by 2030. - Guardian

The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has told private equity bosses that she plans to shut down more regulators across the UK as she attempts to drive growth across Britains subdued economy. Reeves  who in July claimed regulators were a boot on the neck of business  highlighted her recent decisions to sack the chair of the competitions watchdog, shut down the payments regulator, and severely constrain the Financial Ombudsman Service, which UK banks have long lobbied to curtail. However, she said there was still more to do.  Guardian

Ed Miliband must embrace the declining North Sea by offering subsidies to oil and gas companies operating in the basin, Dale Vince has said. Mr Vince, the green energy tycoon who is also a Labour donor, said companies that operate in the North Sea should be given a guaranteed minimum price per barrel of oil and gas to put them on an equal footing with renewable energy providers.  Telegraph

The UK is losing the race to attract global investment into its key life sciences and pharmaceutical sectors due to an uncompetitive operating environment, the pharmaceuticals industry has warned amid a stand-off with the government. The critical report from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry lays bare the countrys drop in rankings in attracting foreign direct investment and commercial clinical trials.  The Times
Breathe In, Bleed Out follows a protagonist who is tough but deteriorating, as she travels into the southern California desert with a group of old friends for what should be a relaxing retreat. It turns out to be anything but. Brian McAuley (Curse of the Reaper; Candy Cain Kills) brings horror, snarky humor, and an array of increasingly inventive deaths to this reunion-turned-nightmare road trip.

"Dragging a body through six inches of snow is even harder than I expected," begins Hannah's narrative. This is only the first in a series of nightmares, flashbacks, and hallucinations in which she will revisit her fiance's demise on a winter hiking trip gone wrong. Ben was the outdoorsy one, who had introduced Hannah to experiences like their last one together, with crampons and ice axes and an enigmatic end. It will take most of the book for Hannah to reveal what exactly went wrong, leaving the reader wondering what secrets she's keeping.

As a first-person narrator, Hannah raises questions for her audience. When is she hallucinating? What really happened to Ben? How many Xanax has she had today? (She's not sure, either.)

The morning after her opening-sequence nightmare revisiting Ben's death, Hannah heads off to a shift as a medical intern at a Los Angeles hospital. Treating her grief, anxiety, and insomnia with prescribed medication, she makes an error that nearly kills a patient and gets her suspended indefinitely. It's also her birthday, and her longtime best friend Tess has been trying to reach her, although Hannah's been avoiding her friends. Now, newly freed from employment, Hannah finds her defenses weakened, and agrees to spend a weekend near Joshua Tree at a swank "healing retreat." It's so exclusive that there's no web presence at all, just a shadowy leader who calls himself Guru Pax. "There are few things more gross than the G-word in LA wellness culture, where self-appointed experts prey upon the insecure and the vulnerable," Hannah confides to the reader; nonetheless, off she goes.

Tess, "the emo girl turned Wicca woman," is recently off yet another breakup, furthering her "serial-relationship status." The best friends are joined by Luna, formerly Lauren, a "certified trauma-informed yoga instructor." Hannah sees her as a chameleon, who passes off "disordered eating as a 'health-conscious lifestyle.' " Luna's boyfriend Jared is worse still, a boozing frat boy turned boozing digital ad salesman. And then there's Miles, a hot and successful DJ with whom Hannah has longstanding, unresolved sexual tension. The fivesome heads into the desert toward the mysterious Avidya Healing Retreat.

Along the way, they stop at a little desert town for a drink, and an altercation with a local. The bad vibes stack up, complete with the purported ghost of a 19th-century bank robber-turned-gold miner (hat, pickax, and all) and an Indian burial ground. Then they are truly off-grid: upon entering Avidya, the friends must give up their phones to a young Native American woman holding a burlap sack. Tess has billed this weekend as being all about "the hot springs and sauna, the yoga and sound baths, the nature hikes and stargazing," but amid Jared's whining, Luna's posturing, and Miles's flirting, Hannah is having trouble relaxing. Her dreams and her demons have followed her into the desert, and she struggles to tell them apart from reality. And then people start dying.

Breathe In, Bleed Out opens with Ben's dead body, but his cause of death remains unexplained for much of the novel, even as the body count rises. Ben's demise, and the obvious question about Hannah's involvement, plays neatly against the puzzle of the killer at the new-age retreat. In this way, gore bookends the story, with dry wit and playful humor along the way.

McAuley takes the time to give each of Hannah's friends a backstory, developing them beyond type. While the bulk of the novel is told in Hannah's first-person perspective, other characters enjoy brief sections in the spotlight, in close third person. As the Avidya retreat turns bloody and then bloodier, readers' sympathies will be expertly turned one way and then another through a series of ever-more-elaborate kills worthy of any slasher flick--the sauna, the hot spring, and the crystal in the center of the pool each offer unique and cinematic opportunities for fans of a gruesome and imaginative death scene. The killer's identity remains unknown through masterful twists and turns, with one character after another appearing to be the villain. The key elements of the horror genre are all accounted for, but secrets persist: McAuley keeps his readers guessing until a final dramatic reveal.

For fans of slasher flicks with a touch of satirical wit and a sense of fun amid the bloodbath, Breathe In, Bleed Out offers an entertaining escape that will have readers rethinking the yoga prop. --Julia Kastner
Elevated Pilates NYC celebrated its grand opening on Saturday, Sept. 6. The Oakwood studio offers 50-minute reformer classes and various membership options in a space dedicated to holistic living and community. Courtesy of WaheebWho

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  After practicing Pilates for more than 20 years, Gendyliss Gen Nevarez decided it was time to bring a new standard of the popular exercise method to the Staten Island community.

My goal was to bring Pilates back to its roots, focusing on precision, strength, and true mind-body connection, while also creating a modern, elevated experience that feels both welcoming and luxurious, Nevarez said. Staten Island deserves a studio that combines top-tier instruction with a community-centered space, and thats exactly what Elevated Pilates is.

Located at 85 Guyon Ave. in Oakwood, Elevated Pilates NYC offers 50-minute reformer classes and various membership options in a space dedicated to holistic living and community. (Courtesy of WaheebWho)

Located at 85 Guyon Ave. in Oakwood, Nevarezs concept opened for business last month, and she said that the clientele is steadily growing.

We are proud to be the first Pilates studio in the borough with an integrated cafe concept, noted business partner Moe Sultan, describing an in-studio space that serves coffee, refreshers, smoothies, protein shakes and more. Its truly a wellness hub, not just a workout.

Nevarez, a retired New York City police officer, said the space is her sanctuary for mindful movement.

The studio includes an outdoor mat oasis reserved for member and community events. (Courtesy of WaheebWho)

While serving as a New York City police officer, Gen continued practicing Pilates as a personal refuge and form of self-care, Sultan said. Now retired from the NYPD, she remains as vibrant and energized as ever, channeling her strength and resilience into building a space where everyone can thrive. What started as a hobby evolved into a calling, and eventually a community. Elevated Pilates is the realization of that vision.

The owners defined the business as a soulful welcoming space dedicated to holistic living, purposeful movement, and personal transformation, and noted that their approach is rooted in authenticity, community, and a deep belief that movement is medicine for the body, mind, and spirit.

We are proud to be the first Pilates studio in the borough with an integrated cafe concept, noted business partner Moe Sultan, describing an in-studio space which serves coffee, refreshers, smoothies, protein shakes and more. (Courtesy of WaheebWho)

I truly love helping people feel empowered in their own bodies. Pilates is for everyone, and watching clients walk out of class standing taller, moving better, and smiling is the best reward, Nevarez said. For me, Elevated Pilates is not just a business, its a community and a passion project. I feel honored to bring this to Staten Island and share what I love every single day.

The studio offers 50-minute group Pilates reformer classes in a variety of styles, including classic Pilates, strength-focused and cardio-infused sessions. Theres also an outdoor mat oasis reserved for member and community events.

There are various membership options, including unlimited classes, 12-class monthly packages, and six-class monthly packages. Single drop-in classes are available for $49. (Courtesy of WaheebWho)

Classes are held in a boutique setting with 10 reformers, and each session is designed to challenge and transform the body while maintaining the foundation of Pilates.

There are various membership options, including unlimited classes, 12-class monthly packages, and six-class monthly packages. Single drop-in classes are available for $49.

Elevated Pilates is unique, because we bring Pilates back to its classical foundation, but with a modern twist: fun class names, an elevated aesthetic, and a lifestyle-focused approach that blends movement, nutrition, and community, Nevarez said. Its Pilates, just elevated.

New Businesses in Focus is a column that tells the stories of new Staten Island business owners. If you run a new business on Staten Island and would like to be featured, e-mail jgorman@siadvance.com.

Elevated Pilates NYC at a glance:

Address: 85 Guyon Ave. 10306

Phone: 718-889-0518

Website: www.elevatedpilatesnyc.com

Instagram and TikTok: @ElevatedPilatesNYC.
The NYPD released images of a man sought for questioning in connection with the theft of about $11,000 in merchandise from a store at the Staten Island Mall at 2655 Richmond Ave. in New Springville on Aug. 20, 2025. (Courtesy of NYPD)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  The NYPD is asking for the publics help identifying an individual sought for questioning in connection with an alleged theft from a store in New Springville.

An unidentified individual entered a store at 2655 Richmond Ave. on Aug. 20 at about 6:40 p.m., according to a statement from the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

Sunglasses were allegedly shoplifted from the Sunglass Hut at the Staten Island Mall, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

The individual removed about $11,700 in merchandise from the store, placed it into a bag and left without paying, according to the NYPD statement.

The unidentified individual then fled on foot.

No injuries were reported.

The individual sought by police is described as a male with a dark complexion. He was seen wearing a black-and-gray jacket, dark-colored pants and a gray hat.

The NYPD provided the media with photos of the individual sought for questioning.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPDs Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit tips by logging on to the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X @NYPDTips.

All calls are strictly confidential.
New York City will lose more than $70 million in federal funding for its Head Start program that provides child care and early childhood education for low-income families, according to a report by The New York Times.

Head Start programs are free early childhood education programs that run for at least eight hours a day  all year long  and offer an environment for kids to learn, play, and build skills to prepare for kindergarten. Its funded by federal grants, which require families of children in the programs to be eligible for services, such as low-income families, homeless families, families who receive cash assistance or food benefits, or children in foster care.

According to The Times, Head Start serves about 800,000 children nationwide from low-income families. In New York City, thousands of children are enrolled in free Head Start programs overseen by the citys education department.

In an email obtained by The New York Times on Wednesday, education department officials told preschool leaders that its Head Start application was unsuccessful.

This means New York City has lost its federal grant that provides funding for Head Start, which would have been extended for another five years. While it wont cause immediate disruption to services, its unclear the impact of later years, the Times reports.

Head Start programs wont be required to close, according to the media outlet, as the city has allocated funding for programs to continue through the end of the school year.

Simone Hawkins, the deputy chancellor of the division of early childhood education, told The New York Times that she would reassure families of other options and ensure children have safe, quality care.
Nadine Menendez, wife of former Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., arrives at Manhattan federal court, in New York, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) AP

NEW YORK  Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendezs wife told a judge that her husband was not the man I thought he was before she was sentenced Thursday to 4 years in prison for selling the powerful New Jersey politicians influence in exchange for bribes of cash, gold bars and a luxury car.

U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein sentenced Nadine Menendez, 58, after she was convicted in April of colluding from 2018 to 2023 with her husband, the former Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in a variety of corrupt schemes, some involving assisting the Egyptian government.

Sobbing as she addressed the judge shortly before she was sentenced, Nadine Menendez described her husband as a manipulative liar.

I put my life in his hands and he strung me like a puppet, she said. The blindfold is off. I now know hes not my savior. Hes not the man I thought he was.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., leaves federal court in New York, Wednesday, June 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith) AP AP

Stein told the defendant that she wasnt the person she was portrayed as during last years trial of her husband and two New Jersey businessmen, when the judge said she was painted as as manipulative, hungry for money and the true force behind the conspiracies.

But he said she also wasnt the innocent observer of what was happening around you, as she was portrayed by her lawyer at her trial.

You knew what you were doing. Your role was purposeful, he said.

When she spoke, Nadine Menendez partly blamed her husband, saying she was duped by his power and stature and that she felt compelled to do whatever he wanted, such as calling or meeting with certain people.

I would never have imagined someone of his ranking putting me in this position, she said, though she acknowledged that in retrospect, she was a grown woman and should have known better.

Prior to the hearing, Bob Menendez submitted a letter to the judge saying he regretted that he didnt fully preview what his lawyer said about his wife during his trial and in closing arguments.

To suggest that Nadine was money hungry or in financial need, and therefore would solicit others for help, is simply wrong, he wrote.

In addition to prison time, Stein sentenced Nadine Menendez to three years of supervised release. He said he granted her leniency in part because of the trial she endured, her difficult childhood in Lebanon, her abusive romantic partners, her health conditions and her age.

Stein said a prison term was important for general deterrence purposes: People have to understand there are consequences.

FILE - Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, left, and his wife, Nadine Menendez, arrive at the federal courthouse in New York, Sept. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon, File) AP

Nadine Menendez wont have to surrender to prison until next summer. Stein set a reporting date of July 10, accommodating a defense request that she be allowed to remain free to complete necessary medical procedures before she heads behind bars. Federal prosecutors did not object to the request.

Prosecutors had sought a prison sentence of at least seven years.

Her lawyer, Sarah Krissoff, asked that she serve only a year behind bars, citing her difficult recovery from breast cancer, which was diagnosed just prior to last years trial, when she was to be tried along with her husband. She ended up being tried separately.

Bob Menendez, 71, is serving an 11-year sentence after his conviction on charges of taking bribes, extortion, and acting as an agent of the Egyptian government.

Prosecutors say Nadine Menendez played a large and crucial role in her husbands crimes, serving as an intermediary between the senator and three New Jersey businessmen who literally lined his coat pockets with tens of thousands of dollars in cash in return for favors he could deliver with his political clout.

During a 2022 FBI raid on the couples New Jersey home, investigators found $480,000 in cash, gold bars worth an estimated $150,000 and a luxury convertible in the garage.

Prosecutors said that, among his other corrupt acts, the senator met with Egyptian intelligence officials and speeded that countrys access to U.S. military aid as part of a complex effort to help his bribe-paying associates, one of whom had business dealings with the Egyptian government.
By Clara Denina and Iain Withers

LONDON (Reuters) -The $53 billion planned merger between Anglo American and Teck Resources announced on Tuesday marks a breakthrough after years of failed mining sector consolidation attempts and could spur their rivals to action.

The sector's second-biggest ever tie-up that would create the world's fifth-largest copper company appears to have broad support. Anglo shares rose 9%, while Teck stock was up 14% after the announcement.

Rivals Glencore, BHP, and Rio Tinto, which had their M&A attempts fall through, could move to gain scale in an industrial metal critical for industries from electric vehicles to data centres.

"Both BHP and Rio would like more copper if they could get it, although they may blink at the prices now," said Ian Woodley, a fund manager at Old Mutual, which holds shares in mining companies including Anglo.

Last year, Anglo rejected a 39 billion ($53 billion) takeover bid from BHP, while in 2023, Teck turned down a $22.5 billion offer from Glencore. Early-stage talks between Rio Tinto and Glencore also fell through late last year. Anglo and Teck have been in negotiations for several months, a source close to the deal said.

A London-based shareholder said these same companies could pursue buying Anglo or Teck, arguing that control of future-facing metals will define the industry's winners over the next decade.

George Cheveley, portfolio manager at Ninety One, which is a top 20 shareholder in Anglo, said he supports the deal.

"It is certainly not impossible that others may try to interlope," he said. "At least this could spark further consolidation as companies look to establish larger positions, particularly in the copper market."

That sentiment around possible further consolidation was echoed by other investors, including Iain Pyle, portfolio manager at Aberdeen, and Nick Stansbury at Legal & General.

However, another top-20 Anglo shareholder said a share-based offer for Anglo would be expensive. Anglo's share price has risen by more than 25% since January 2024.

"On the Teck side, I wouldn't rule it out, but the shareholder structure makes it difficult," the investor added.

Teck operates under a dual-class structure, with Canada's influential Keevil family owning the majority of class "A" shares, which have more voting power than the numerous class "B" shares held by institutions.

"It's more likely someone could look to do something with the finished article," the investor said. The deal is expected to be completed within 12-18 months.
Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Point's visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP) AP

OREM, Utah  Authorities searched on Thursday for the shooter who with one gunshot from a distant rooftop killed conservative activist and Trump ally Charlie Kirk as he spoke at a Utah college event.

Whoever fired the gun on Wednesday then slipped away amid the chaos of screams and students fleeing the Utah Valley University campus. Federal, state and local authorities were searching for an unidentified shooter early Thursday and were working what they called multiple active crime scenes.

This is a dark day for our state. Its a tragic day for our nation, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said. I want to be very clear this is a political assassination.

Two people were detained Wednesday, but neither was determined to be connected to the shooting and both were released, Utah public safety officials said.

Authorities did not immediately identify a motive behind the killing of Kirk, who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters. But the circumstances of the shooting drew renewed attention to an escalating threat of political violence in the United States that in the last several years has cut across the ideological spectrum. The assassination drew bipartisan condemnation, but a national reckoning over ways to prevent political grievances from manifesting as deadly violence seemed elusive.

Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University show Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans The American Comeback and Prove Me Wrong. A gunshot rings out, and Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators gasp and scream before people start running away.

Kirk was taking questions about gun violence

Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political youth organization, Arizona-based Turning Point USA, at the Sorensen Center courtyard on campus. Immediately before the shooting, Kirk was taking questions from an audience member about mass shootings and gun violence.

Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years? the person asked. Kirk responded, Too many.

The questioner followed up: Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?

Counting or not counting gang violence? Kirk asked.

Then the shot rang out.

The shooter, who Cox pledged would be held accountable in a state with the death penalty, wore dark clothing and fired from a building roof some distance away.

Madison Lattin was watching only a few dozen feet from Kirks left when she heard the bullet hit Kirk.

Blood is falling and dripping down, and youre just like so scared, not just for him but your own safety, she said.

Lattin said she saw people drop to the ground in an eerie silence pierced immediately by cries. She ran while others splashed through decorative pools to get away. Some fell and were trampled in the stampede. People lost their shoes, backpacks, folding chairs and water bottles in the frenzy.

When Lattin later learned that Kirk had died, she wept, she said, describing him as a role model who had showed her how to be determined and fight for the truth.

Trump calls Kirk a martyr for truth

About 3,000 people were in attendance, according to a statement from the Utah Department of Public Safety. The university police department had six officers working the event, along with Kirks own security detail, authorities said.

Trump announced Kirks death on social media and praised the 31-year-old, who was co-founder and CEO of Turning Point, as Great, and even Legendary. Later Wednesday, he released a recorded video from the White House in which he called Kirk a martyr for truth and freedom and blamed the rhetoric of the radical left for the killing.

Utah Valley University said the campus was immediately evacuated after the shooting, with officers escorting people to safety. The campus will be closed until Monday.

Meanwhile, armed officers walked around the neighborhood bordering the campus, knocking on doors and asking for any information residents might have on the shooting. Helicopters buzzed overhead.

Wednesdays event, billed as the first stop on Kirks The American Comeback Tour, had generated a polarizing campus reaction. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures. The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.

Last week, Kirk posted on X images of news clips showing his visit was sparking controversy. He wrote, Whats going on in Utah?

Condemnation from across the political spectrum

The shooting drew swift condemnation across the political aisle as Democratic officials joined Trump, who ordered flags lowered to half-staff and issued a presidential proclamation, and Republican allies of Kirk in decrying the violence.

The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who last March hosted Kirk on his podcast, posted on X.

The murder of Charlie Kirk breaks my heart. My deepest sympathies are with his wife, two young children, and friends, said Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was wounded in a 2011 shooting in her Arizona district.

The Kirk shooting appeared poised to become part of a spike of political violence that has touched a range of ideologies and representatives of both major political parties. The attacks include the assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband at their house in June, the firebombing of a Colorado parade to demand Hamas release hostages and a fire set at the house of Pennsylvanias governor, who is Jewish, in April. The most notorious of these events is the shooting of Trump during a Pennsylvania campaign rally last year.

Former Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, who was at Wednesdays event, told the Fox News Channel that he didnt believe Kirk had enough security.

Turning Point was founded in suburban Chicago in 2012 by Kirk, then 18, and William Montgomery, a tea party activist, to proselytize on college campuses for low taxes and limited government. It was not an immediate success.

But Kirks zeal for confronting liberals in academia eventually won over an influential set of conservative financiers.

Despite early misgivings, Turning Point enthusiastically backed Trump after he clinched the GOP nomination in 2016. Kirk served as a personal aide to Donald Trump Jr., the presidents eldest son, during the general election campaign.

Soon, Kirk was a regular presence on cable TV, where he leaned into the culture wars and heaped praise on the then-president. Trump and his son were equally effusive and often spoke at Turning Point conferences.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Hundreds came together Wednesday evening at Angels Circle in Grasmere to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, continuing a tradition that began with a single candle.

The memorial site, located near Fingerboard Road and Hylan Boulevard, has evolved from a vacant lot into a sacred space that now displays the photographs of more than 200 Staten Islanders who perished on 9/11. Wendy Pellegrino, an Advance Woman of Achievement, established the memorial 24 years ago by placing the first candle at the location.

Family members and friends of those lost assembled at around 7 p.m. to honor their loved ones, placing flowers and mementos beneath the photographs that line the memorial.

The annual vigil has become a cornerstone of Staten Islands 9/11 remembrance, a place where hugs are shared and tears are shed as visitors pay their respects.

Wednesdays memorial event featured several guests, including Sister Mary Coffelt, president of St. Joseph Hill Academy, who delivered the invocation. The Xpressions, a cover band from Staten Island, followed with a rendition of God Bless America.

As the ceremony continued, Pellegrino read, one by one, the names of the civilians lost, followed by the fallen members of the NYPD. The names of the departed members of the FDNY were read by Mark Unrein.

During another poignant moment, Massimo DiDonna, president and chair of the Carl Vincent Bini Memorial Fund, told Pellegrino that the organization would cover the cost of replacing the memorial plaques, many of which are weathered and beginning to deteriorate.

As the evening wound down, Marina Crupi sang stirring renditions of If I Had Only Known and There Youll Be, while saxophonist Mark Narcise performed a tear-jerking version of Eric Claptons Tears in Heaven.

Speaking with the Advance/SILive.com, Pellegrino reflected on the passage of time.

So many years have gone by, she said. Were all getting old and were going to be gone.

Focusing on the future, she said her only wish is that the younger generation takes over what she sees as a sacred responsibility to never forget those family, friends, neighbors and co-workers who were lost on that fateful morning in 2001.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Twenty-four years have passed since the Sept. 11 attacks forever altered the New York City skyline  and the hearts of countless Staten Island families.

In our borough, the echoes of that day still ripple through our streets, our homes, and our memories as we mourn those taken from us and the first responders who later succumbed to health complications tied to their work at Ground Zero.

This visual presentation bears witness to the quiet tributes and solemn gatherings held across Staten Island on Thursday.

Each moment captured reminds us that we never forget.

Scores of NYPD members gather in Great Kills at the Knights of Columbus Council #1662 to pay tribute to the 23 members of the NYPD who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001. (Advance/SILive.com | Luke Peteley)

Knights of Columbus, NYPD honor 23 fallen officers

8:46 a.m. in Great Kills

The solemn remembrance ceremony at the Knights of Columbus Council #1662 began at the exact moment the first plane hit the World Trade Centers North Tower.

Led by Det. Anthony Favara, the event featured guest speakers including elected officials and law enforcement. The ceremony also included a reading of the names, a moment of prayer and a bagpipe rendition of God Bless America.

Det. Anthony Favara speaks at the Knights of Columbus Council #1662 to pay tribute to the 23 members of the NYPD who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001. (Advance/SILive.com | Luke Peteley)

The event, which was attended by about 90 individuals  many of whom were former and current members of the NYPD  reflected on that horrific day and reasserted the vow that Staten Island will never forget.

I feel the young guys need to be taught so this can carry on, because a lot of the family members were 2, 3 years old when this happened, now theyre older adults and their fathers, their mothers are gone; we got to let them know that were there for them and remind them, David Isaksen, a former NYPD Emergency Service Unit member and one of the event organizers, said. And also, we have to remind people the real story that happened that day, not what the guy selling magazines outside the museum in Manhattan, you know, to make a few dollars. We were all there, we really know what happened, we saw it firsthand.

Two visitors pause to honor the memory of Staten Islanders lost on Sept. 11, 2001, at the memorial wall inscribed with names and tributes located at Northwell Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze. (Advance/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence)

Staten Island University Hospital remembrance ceremony

8:46 a.m. at the hospitals Ocean Breeze campus

The ceremony also began at the moment the North Tower was struck and included words of comfort and reflection from staff, patients and community members.

Meagan Sills, event organizer and spokeswoman for Northwell Staten Island University Hospital, said Thursdays event was a tribute to the impact 9/11 had on the Staten Island community, an impact still felt 24 years later.

Community members gather in solemn reflection before a mural and memorial wall honoring victims of the Sept. 11 attacks at Northwell Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze. (Advance/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence)

Even today, were still seeing the impact of young lives lost due to the illnesses as a result of that day, Sills said. Personally, I have lost a family member, and I wear the bracelet myself today. He was a firefighter.

FDNY Rescue Co. 5 honors those lost on 9/11 and since due to illness from Ground Zero work as they pause in front of the firehouse in Concord. (Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)

FDNY Rescue 5 honors fallen colleagues

8:46 a.m. at Rescue Co. 5 in Concord

FDNY members lined Clove Road outside of Rescue Co. 5 as they honored the memory of those lost in the attacks, as well as colleagues who have suffered illnesses related to their work at Ground Zero since that tragic day.

In a heartfelt ceremony led by Lt. Elio DiTrento, the members of Rescue 5 took a moment to pause and reflect.

The tribute served as a reminder of the profound impact of that day and the ongoing sacrifices made by so many.

Neighbor Deborah Tangen brings flowers every year to thank the firefighters of FDNY Rescue Co. 5. (Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)

Neighbor Deborah Tangen brings flowers every year to thank the firefighters of Rescue 5.

I come every year, she explained. I worked downtown when it happened, luckily not right there but nearby, and lost people and I so appreciate what these people did. Its just heartbreaking, every year.

Firefighters bow their heads in tribute outside FDNY Rescue Co. 5 on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)

Richmond University Medical Center remembers Sept. 11

12 p.m. at the Richmond University Medical Center memorial

Richmond University Medical Center commemorated the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks with a ceremony at its 9/11 memorial in West Brighton.

Participants included hospital staff, NYPD and FDNY members, community leaders, and motorcycle organizations such as the Blue Knights and Rolling Thunder.

Richmond University Medical Center commemorated the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks with a noon ceremony at its 9/11 memorial in West Brighton. (Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)

The event featured tributes, a bagpiper-led color guard, a moment of silence, and reflections from community leaders about that tragic day 24 years ago.

Bill Amaniera, the former EMS administrative director at the hospital, was honored with a special plaque at the reflecting garden. The inscription reads: In recognition of Bills unwavering service and commitment to RUMC and the community. May this garden symbolize the courage, unity, and resilience of all those who are remembered and never forgotten.

Multiple motorcycle clubs took part in the Richmond University Medical Center ceremony remembering the victims of the Sept.11, 2001. (Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)

Former EMS administrative director Bill Amaniera was honored with a plaque at the reflection garden. (Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)

Postcards tribute

6:30 p.m. in St. George

A large number of attendees were expected at the annual ceremony at the Postcards 9/11 Memorial in St. George. Mayor Eric Adams was in attendance.

Gregory Hohmann of Dongan Hills brought his two sons to the ceremony to honor his father John, 48, a firefighter who was killed in the attack.

Gregory Hohmann of Dongan Hills brought his two sons to the Postcards 9/11 Memorial in St. George. (Advance/SILive.com | Scott Axelrod)

Gregory told the Advance/SILive.com he brought his sons to learn about grandpa.

Its an honor to be here, he said. Were blessed even through tragedy.

Staten Island Elks host candlelight vigil

7 p.m. in Greenridge

The Staten Island Elks Lodge #841 held its annual 9/11 candlelight memorial on Thursday night.

The names of all Staten Islanders who died of 9/11-related illnesses, including civilians, law enforcement and firefighters, were read aloud by members of the Elks Lodge.

During the reading, some speakers stopped to acknowledge friends who were included on the list for the ceremony.

Members of the crowd hold candles while the names of Staten Islanders who died from 9/11-related illnesses are read during the Elks Lodge ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. Advance/SILive.com | Mike Matteo

Cathy DeGaetano, an event organizer and member of the Elks Lodge, explained that while keeping track of the civilians who died of post-9/11 illnesses was difficult, she felt their names were just as important to include.

[We are] remembering those who perished on that tragic day and those who have passed due to 9/11 illnesses, said Martin King, exalted ruler of Elks Lodge # 841.

Today, we pay tribute to those sacrificed and we mourn deeply for their loss, he continued.
The Projectivity Group has worked with students to paint murals in the community courtyard at PS 44 in Mariners Harbor. Photo courtesy of Projectivity Group

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  The Projectivity Group, a Staten Island-based non-profit, is celebrating its 10th anniversary with an event at Li Greccis The Staaten, West Brighton highlighting their decade-long commitment to spreading positive messages through the arts.

Over the past school year, the 501(c)(3) organization has partnered with more than 25 schools and community organizations to create inspirational murals in classrooms, lunchrooms, auditoriums, and entryways.

The Projectivity Group has had a significant impact on PS44, as they returned for the fifth year in a row to work with students to paint murals in the community courtyard in Mariners Harbor.

The Projectivity Group has worked with students to paint murals in the community courtyard at PS 44 in Mariners Harbor. Photo courtesy of Projectivity Group

Working with students across two grades, Projectivity artist Jodi Dareal has created over 3,000 square feet of murals between 2021 and 2025 that attract hundreds of visitors weekly. The project reflects student life and has been supported by Councilmember Kamillah Hanks, a Democrat who represents the North Shore, through a grant from the Department of Cultural Affairs. This work, alongside other murals, have been documented in a video showcase with the help of local Staten Island video production company Need-A-Vid USA.

The anniversary celebration, which will take place on Sept. 19 at 7 p.m., will include the PRO Action Awards, which recognize local creators and visionaries like Dareal. This years awards will honor Jerry Ramirez (PRO Student), Dareal and Josue Mendez (PRO Artists), Hala Maroc (PRO Mentor), Maker Park Radio (PRO Business), and school principals Jodi Contento and Donna Bonanno (PRO Educators).

We hope the Staten Island community will show up and celebrate the amazing contributions from these creators, mentors, and educators, says Christian Penn, Projectivity Group Eeecutive director. We cant wait to support them, showcase the amazing work we have accomplished over the last decade, and also share our vision for the next 10 years.

For any questions regarding Projectivity programs and projects, or about the upcoming 10th Anniversary Gala, contact ProjectivityGroup@gmail.com.
More than 100 irate Staten Island residents gathered at a standing-room-only Community Board 3 meeting on Wednesday night, voicing concerns about a 16-acre trucking terminal that is being planned for their neighborhood. Steven White |Advance/SIlive.comSteven White |Advance/SIlive.com

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  More than 100 irate Staten Island residents gathered at a standing-room-only Community Board 3 meeting on Wednesday night, collectively delivering a message to a developer who is planning to build a 16-acre trucking terminal in their neighborhood: This project has to be stopped.

There is a need for projects like this but normally they are done adjacent to a highway where trucks can get to them very easily, noted Frank Morano, former chair of Community Board 3. You dont put them on roads that are as narrow as the cow path it once was.

60 1 / 60 Community Board 3 meeting

Morano, who is unrelated to South Shore Councilmember Frank Morano, was speaking about a massive commercial motor freight station designed to accommodate 184 tractor-trailers that is being proposed for a long, winding curve of Arthur Kill Road in Charleston.

There are applications coming in front of this board constantly for warehouses that are going up, Morano continued. If you put in a strip mall you must do a traffic study. [But] this gargantuan project requires no traffic study? The whole thing is a horrorI hope that everyone continues to work against this because theres no way a project like this should go in.

Phil Rampulla speaks at the Community Board 3 meeting held at the Stolzenthaler Knights of Columbus in Charleston. Steven White |Advance/SIlive.comSteven White |Advance/SIlive.com

Located near the corner of Englewood Avenue, between Winant Place and Androvette Street and in close proximity to Clay Pit Ponds Park, the property is owned by Arthur Englewood LLC, which  according to a business proposal presented to the community board  seeks to develop a trucking terminal to serve the niche need of industrial/manufacturing/logistics tenants by providing overflow parking, as well as short-term and long-term storage for tractor trailers.

Such a facility is permitted under the sites M1-1 commercial zoning, so a full-scale environmental review and traffic study is not required, according to the Department of City Planning. But because the site is located in the Special South Richmond Development District, which means there are guidelines to preserve the areas natural resources, there is a requirement for the City Planning Commission to authorize the developers request to remove hundreds of trees. But that request is mired by a stop work order issued by the Department of Buildings since the property owner removed more than 500 trees starting in 2021 without authorization.

Charlene Wagner, former district manager of CB3, closed the public hearing with this sentiment: This whole community is challenging City Planning because no study was donethe people want to know the reasoning behind this process because it doesnt make sense. Steven White |Advance/SIlive.comSteven White |Advance/SIlive.com

Trucks are on the grid already

My clients are good guys, good businessmen, noted Phil Rampulla, urban planner with Rampulla Associates Architects, who drafted plans for the project and presented them at the meeting. They came out here, bought a piece of property, didnt know anything about anything, called their contractors from Brooklyn because they had to make space and immediately got shut down. They got advice to use someone local to guide them and they came to us.

When Rampullas comments were met with remarks like how would you like it in your backyard? he replied: The traffic that were all talking about is on the grid already. Its out there. Its already happening. Were not creating it. Trucks are parking illegally all over the Island and my client is offering a service for that demand.

George Todorovic, deputy director of the Department of City Planning, explains why the project only needs discretionary approval to proceed. Steven White |Advance/SIlive.comSteven White |Advance/SIlive.com

No studies, only 1 approval needed

Wednesdays public hearing is merely a speed bump for the project, which only needs discretionary approval from City Planning to proceed. George Todorovic, deputy director with that agency, was on hand to explain why.

Parking is the primary use, he noted. [The project] is not an accessory to a church, its not an accessory to a mall, its not an accessory to a warehouse, its not accessory to anything. It is a technicality that we had to review for several months, we had get confirmation from our lawyers because we couldnt believe it ourselvesThis project is only getting one authorization. Its getting an authorization for trees. This community is not approving the parking and that is a technicality.

Eric Bischoff, a local entrepreneur who purchased the Kreischer Mansion last year and is in the process of turning the property into a wedding and special event venue, expressed his concerns about the project. Steven White |Advance/SIlive.comSteven White |Advance/SIlive.com

According to Todorovic, the address is not city property, it is a private application that his department has reviewed and scrutinized for two years. The owner is seeking permission from City Planning to remove additional trees and change the topography to move forward. Todorovic says the agency will review what the Community Board submits in its recommendation before considering offering discretionary approval.

Sometimes projects get modified, sometimes projects get approved, sometimes projects get denied, Todorovic said.

He also noted that it was up to the property owner to show up to the public discussion in good faith. But the property owner did not attend the meeting, a factor that community board members said they hope will be considered in the approval process.

More than a dozen speakers expressed their concerns over the proposed truck facility during the meeting. Steven White |Advance/SIlive.comSteven White |Advance/SIlive.com

A representative from Borough President Vito Fossellas office offered a testimony noting that the he does not believe the proposed facility is appropriate for the area. I will fight this proposal to best of my ability, the statement noted. A rep for Assemblyman Michael Reilly also spoke out against the project as did Councilmember Frank Morano.

Adding 184 trucks is very, very troublesome, he said. To add on to an already congested corridor a multitude of trucks, its not going to improve traffic.

Your project doesnt help anyone in this room

Eric Bischoff, a local entrepreneur who purchased the Kreischer Mansion last year and is in the process of turning the property into a wedding and special event venue, also expressed his concerns.

Kreischer Mansion is the gem of this community, he said. We borrowed money from family, spent out retirement, our own savings and all kinds of other funding to rebuild this thing in Balthasar Kreischers imageNow I got 189 trucks passing by that new building on a daily basis, perfect timing when the building will finally be restored and honored properly. Your project doesnt help anyone in this room.

Charlene Wagner, former district manager of Community Board 3, closed the public hearing with this sentiment: This whole community is challenging City Planning because no study was donethe people want to know the reasoning behind this process because it doesnt make sense, she said. Since 1988 this Community Board has been asking for improvements to Arthur Kill Road and since 1988 this community has been ignored. This project has to be stopped.

According to the City Plannings zoning application portal, Community Board 3 has until Oct. 15 to submit its review. The City Planning Commission will then vote on whether the project can move forward.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed three bills to support the families of the victims of the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Staten Island Advance

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- On the 24th anniversary of the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, New Yorks top elected official has signed new legislation to support the families of those who lost their lives as a result of that tragic day.

On Thursday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that she has signed three bills to expand access to resources and provide more opportunities for the families of 9/11 victims, including one sponsored by a Staten Island lawmaker.

The 9/11 terrorist attacks are events that we will never forget. We must continue to honor the fallen heroes who put their lives on the line to protect New Yorkers, as well as their families who have been impacted by these horrific events, Hochul said. This legislation will give back to the families of 9/11 victims, ensuring they are supported by the state and their loved ones are forever remembered.

The first new law, sponsored by State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, expedites the World Trade Center disability and death benefit application process.

Under the legislation, the NYC Police Pension Fund can now rely on a timely and properly filed Notice of Participation as requisite criteria for establishing participation in rescue, recovery and cleanup operations at the World Trade Center, unless an employer proves otherwise.

Every year on this day, New York feels the weight of the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center, but no one more so than the brave first responders who returned to Ground Zero day after day, putting their health on the line for our city. For them, 9/11 is something they grapple with every day, not just through memory, but through the countless health complications that have arisen for them since, said Scarcella-Spanton, a Democrat who represents the North Shore and South Brooklyn.

The least we can do is make sure they receive the benefits they earned through their dedicated service, which is why I introduced this legislation to cut through all the existing red tape. Securing these benefits has been an uphill battle for too many 9/11 first responders, and Im proud that on this 24th anniversary, Governor Hochul signed my bill into law. Now every officer who risked everything to protect our city  and their families  can access the benefits they deserve," she continued.

Another new law, which has been dubbed the Ignazio Giacalone act, provides children and siblings of New York City sanitation workers who have died from 9/11-related illnesses and injuries additional civil service exam points to secure a position located in the municipality where their deceased parent or sibling served.

As the youngest member of the Assembly, I believe it is my generations duty to ensure the sacrifices of the past are never forgotten. This bill honors the legacy of sanitation workers, like Ignazio, who put their lives on the line for New York. But more, signing this bill into law is a statement from New York State that we see you, we thank you, and we will never forget your heroism and your sacrifice, said Assemblymember Sam Berger, a Democrat who represents parts of Queens.

The final piece of legislation revitalizes the September 11th Worker Protection Task Force by requiring new appointments to the task force, setting a biannual meeting requirement, expanding areas of study, resetting the June deadline for the annual report and extending the provisions of the act until June 10, 2030.

I applaud Governor Hochuls leadership by signing these bills into law, including A.8417, which strengthens and extends the impactful work of the 9/11 Task Force, along with A.5458 which will allow for survivors and heroes from that horrendous day to be eligible to obtain the vital benefits they deserve. Its clear that when New York says well never forget  we mean it," said Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato, a Democrat who represents parts of Queens.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- One of Staten Islands top elected officials is honoring the victims of the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 by introducing new legislation to memorialize them and urging the federal government to set a trial date for those who were responsible for the tragic events.

On Thursday, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis led a letter sent to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth asking him to help secure a new trial date for the terrorists responsible for the 9/11 attacks.

We are writing to respectfully request your assistance in advocating for a new trial date to be set in the case of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) and his terrorist co-defendants so that justice may finally be delivered. The families of the victims and first responders who still bear the scars of that day deserve closure after decades of waiting, the letter reads.

The trial had originally been set for 2021 before being delayed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and then by years of legal back-and-forth over a potential plea deal that was eventually struck down, paving the way for the federal government to move forward with a trial.

This case is unlike any other in American history. For the families of the loved ones who were murdered, our heroic first responders who answered the call, and all Americans who survived this tragedy, justice and closure have been denied for far too long. Immediately setting a trial date will reiterate our nations resolve and honor the sacrifices made on September 11th, the letter continues.

The congressmember also voiced her support for various pieces of 9/11-related legislation, including her introduction of a resolution urging all 50 states to include the events of the September 11th terrorist attacks in their school curriculums.

Malliotakis, a Republican who represents Staten Island and South Brooklyn, is also cosponsoring the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025, which would improve the funding formula for the World Trade Center Health Program and expand access to mental health care for enrollees.

The final piece of legislation, also cosponsored by Malliotakis, would designate September 11 as a national day of mourning.

Today the nation reflects on the families who still carry an empty seat at the table and the extraordinary courage of those who ran toward danger to help others. Our nation will never forget their sacrifice, heroism, and bravery. We made a commitment as a nation to never forget the tragedy of the worst terror attack on American soil nor the legacy and heroism of the first responders and survivors who rushed to aid their fellow New Yorkers, said Malliotakis.

It is critical that we ensure future generations learn the history of September 11th, 2001, the courage and resilience that unified our nation so we could rebuild as well as the threats of terrorism that we still face today by those who seek to destroy our freedom and way of life, including by marking this day as a national day of mourning. I will continue working in a bipartisan manner to ensure 9/11 heroes and survivors receive their benefits without interruption and that the Zadroga Act remains fully funded beyond 2027, she continued.
In 1984, the S103 line connected the St. George ferry terminal with the Staten Island Mall via Hylan Boulevard. Staten Island Advance

Editors note: A version of this story was originally published in 2019. It has been updated by Nicolette Cavallaro.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- For decades, buses have played an integral role in transportation on Staten Island.

From city buses to school buses, Staten Island residents have long relied on the large, lumbering vehicles to travel within the borough and to other parts of the city -- with Staten Island lacking the railway infrastructure of other nearby areas.

Continue scrolling to browse a collection of vintage photos of Staten Island buses throughout the decades.

Front view, 1952

Front view of a Staten Island bus from 1952. Staten Island Advance

Crowded bus terminal, 1954

Crowds gather at a bus terminal, October 19, 1954. Advance/SILive.com

Bus leaving ferry terminal in heavy snowfall, 1964

The Journey Out-A bus grimly sets out from the ferry terminal as the snowfall deepens. Staten Island Advance

Waiting for the bus, 1967

High school students waiting for a bus at Allendale Road and Hyland Boulevard in Grasmere in 1967. Staten Island Advance

School bus in the snow, 1975

School bus driving through approximately four inches of snow. Staten Island Advance

Snug Harbor bus, 1976

The nursing home staff waves goodbye as a bus carrying the old sailors out of Sailors Snug Harbor in Livingston. Staten Island Advance

Some of the 29 seamen who left for their new home in Sea Level board a bus on the Harbor grounds. Staten Island Advance

Waiting on Hylan Boulevard, 1977

Riders waiting for the bus on Hylan Boulevard in Dongan Hills. Staten Island Advance

New bus, 1979

Borough President Gaeta inspects a new General Motors Corp. bus at Willowbrook and Watchogue roads. Staten Island Advance

Inside the bus, 1980

Safety Instructor Anthony Butkowski, left, and Maintenance Supervisor A.J. Moscola examine the inside of the new bus. Staten Island Advance

Staten Island Culture Bus, 1982

A group of people at the St. George ferry terminal after fog delays their ferry, causing them to miss the first run of the Staten Island Culture Bus tour, sponsored by Richmondtown Restoration. Staten Island Advance

Port Richmond flooding, 1982

City bus drives through flooding in Port Richmond in 1982. Staten Island Advance

London double decker, 1983

British double-decker bus rolls down Bay Street in St. George to help promote the "Britain Salutes New York" festival in 1983. Staten Island Advance

Park and Ride, 1983

David Gurin, left, helps former Borough President Gaeta put up the park and ride sign. Staten Island Advance

Articulated bus, 1984

The first of the new articulated buses gets a tryout on Staten Island. Staten Island Advance

Articulated bus being tested on Staten Island. Staten Island Advance

Snow at the terminal, 1984

The St. George ferry terminal looking deserted as a bus and a commuter both try to make their way through the snow and wind. Staten Island Advance

Guy V. Molinari on bus, 1985

Former Congressman Guy V. Molinari on the bus. Staten Island Advance

Flooded streets, 1991

A bus plows its way through a flood on Broad Street in Stapleton following a water main break in 1991. Staten Island Advance

School trip, 1993

Students from PS 22, Graniteville, board a bus for their trip to classrooms at the Sunnyside campus of the College of Staten Island. Staten Island Advance Staten Island Advance

Hylan Boulevard and Rose Avenue, 1993
This year hasn't been an easy one for Apple. The company has faced increasing pressure to improve its artificial intelligence, especially after a disappointing Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

The AI problem sparked rumors that Apple is considering buying Perplexity, but that didn't happen. According to Reuters, the company is in talks with Google about using its Gemini AI to improve Siri.

In addition to the AI problem, iPhones, which make up a huge chunk of Apple's revenue, haven't changed much in many years, making Apple's customers reluctant to upgrade.

But things are turning around, and Apple got some great news recently. Google will be able to continue to pay $20 billion annually to keep Safari as the default search engine.

Q3 iPhone revenue was $44.6 billion, up 13% from a year ago.Image source: CFOTO/Getty Images

Apple Q3 revenue grows 10% to $94 billion year over year

On July 31, Apple (AAPL) reported its results for Q3 of fiscal 2025.

During the earnings call, CEO Tim Cook said iPhone revenue was $44.6 billion, up 13% from a year ago, adding that this growth was caused by the "incredible popularity" of the iPhone 16 family.

Here are the Apple Q3 earnings highlights:

Total revenue of $94 billion , an increase of 10% year-over-year

Gross margin of $43.7 billion , an increase of 10% year-over-year

Net income of $23.4 billion , an increase of 9% year-over-year

Earnings per share (EPS) of $1.57, compared to $1.4 in Q3 2024

"We are very pleased with our record business performance for the June quarter, which generated EPS growth of 12 percent," stated Apple CFO Kevan Parekh.

"Our installed base of active devices also reached a new all-time high across all product categories and geographic segments, thanks to our very high levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty," continued Parekh.

Apple launches new products

On Sept. 9, Apple launched the new iPhone 17 line and the new iPhone Air. The company also released new versions of Watch and AirPods with improved features.

"The company's new iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max now start at 256GB of storage, double the starting storage of the previous generation. Apple says that it's offering these devices at 'the same price' as the previous generation, but the iPhone 17 Pro will see a tacit price increase because of the increased starting storage," writes Noah Weidner for TheStreet.

More Tech Stocks:

Of all the products and features, one that stands out is AirPods 3 Live Translation. It reminds me how close we might be to developing a universal translator from "Star Trek." We will see how good it is in practice once they hit the shelves on Sept. 19.

Bank of America analysts raise Apple stock target price

Following the launch of the latest iPhone line, Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan and his team updated their opinions on Apple shares.

The analysts said their buy rating for Apple is based on expected strong iPhone upgrade cycle in fiscal years 2025 and 2026, higher growth in services revenue, higher margins from more internally developed silicon, continuing capital returns, and risk around legal issues being manageable.

Analysts noted downside risk factors for Apple:

Weaker iPhone cycle on consumer spending risk

Weaker near-term services trajectory

iPads/Macs reverting to pre-Covid levels

Stronger dollar

Antitrust lawsuit

Potential trade conflicts, tariffs

Upside risks include:

Stronger sales of Pro iPhone models

Potential new products (AR/VR) and services

Stronger than expected iPhone cycle

Tailwinds from lower memory costs

Faster-than-expected recovery in emerging markets

Mohan reiterated a buy rating and the target price of $270, based on approximately 32 multiple his estimate for earnings per share of $8.40 for calendar year 2026, which compares to the five-year historical range of 16 to 34 (median 27).

He stated: "We believe a multiple at the higher end of the historical range is justified given a multi-year upgrade cycle, large cash balance, and opportunity to diversify into new end markets, increasing mix and diversity of services."

Related: Agentic AI already makes major impact on jobs at leading tech company

This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Sep 11, 2025, where it first appeared in the Technology Business News section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The US economy is trying to dial into a dose of certainty.

"Our customers are still aggressively buying our products and services and paying their bills. But ... there's a degree of stress in some segments of the consumer space. Costs of certain products and services are getting higher, and that's putting some dynamics in place," AT&T CEO John Stankey told me at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference on Tuesday.

Stankey contributed some of the stress to uncertainty around Trump's tariffs. "I think the longer that's in flux and not maybe more known, it adds uncertainty, which could slow down economic growth. My sense is people are working as hard as they can to try to bring some degree of certainty with major trading partners, including China. Once that's known, then businesses feel good to invest."

Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius told me at the conference on Monday the US economy is in "stall speed." JPMorgan (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon in an interview Tuesday characterized the economy as weakening.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 19: John Stankey, CEO, AT&T speaks at the Fast Company Innovation Festival at Convene on September 19, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Fast Company)  Eugene Gologursky via Getty Images

AT&T's second quarter was well received for several reasons and had minimal signs of economic softness.

For starters, the performance stacked up well versus competitors T-Mobile (TMUS) and Verizon (VZ).

AT&T and T-Mobile had 410,000 and 1.7 million postpaid net additions in the second quarter, respectively.

Verizon revealed 51,000 wireless retail postpaid phone net losses in the quarter. Total postpaid churn  all people rolling off the service  rose to 1.24% from 1.11% a year ago.

"AT&T has emerged as the consensus best choice for investors in US telecom," said MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett.

AT&T also called out a huge new profit tailwind from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The company expects to realize $6.5 billion to $8 billion of cash tax savings from 2025 to 2027.

The company plans to invest $23 billion to $24 billion each year into its network, aided by tax benefits.

"AT&T investments in the network provides it with the largest fiber footprint (2030 estimate: 60 million homes passed, pro-forma for Lumen) and strong positioning to accommodate growth in network traffic over the coming years as a result of AI," Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Ng explained.

AT&T shares are up 30% year to date, outperforming the S&P 500's 10% advance.

Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor and a member of Yahoo Finance's editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.
What do the largest company in the world, Nvidia, our home-grown millionaires factory Macquarie Group and the countrys leading venture capitalist, Blackbird, have in common with the federal and Queensland governments?

You could be forgiven if your riposte was zilch. But if you answer PsiQuantum at the pub trivia night, the meat tray is yours.

PsiQuantum co-founder and chief technologist Mark Thompson holds a model of a quantum chip.

So it would be unsurprising that both governments must be doing cartwheels after their combined near $1 billion investment in the US quantum computing start-up doubled in value overnight when a bunch of new investors including Macquarie and Nvidia joined the list of investors.

The updated valuation for the whole of PsiQuantum, which is trying to build a new form of computer capable of solving previously impenetrable problems, is now around $10.6 billion.
However, amid the chaos of the time, the Fords organised their own way home, buying new flights for about $3300. Theyd wanted to modify their original return tickets bundled with their tour, but the details and authority to deal with the airline directly were held by TripADeal. Fords frustration with TripADeal intensified on their return to Sydney. She sent them a letter of demand seeking a refund plus reimbursement for the cost of their new return flight, but the company would only offer a company credit for a partial value of the tour, less the outbound flights and accommodation in Budapest. They just pocketed all the money. That was it, tough bickies for us, we had to give the credit away to friends. Edilia Ford The booking site had justified a refund refusal, Ford said, with the claim that they had already paid the operators of the flights, hotels and cruise, and that their money was with those companies. At the same time, Ford couldnt chase those businesses for a refund directly. We didnt own our bookings with those companies, TripADeal did, so it went nowhere.

After two months dealing with the company directly to no avail, Ford launched proceedings against TripADeal at the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), seeking $11,160 covering the cost of the initial booking, their replacement flights home, plus compensation costs to cover their time preparing the case. Ultimately, the tribunal ordered TripADeal provide a credit for about $3000 to cover the unused land component of the tour, and a cash refund for the unused return flight and cruise of about $2300. The tribunal found the company did not breach consumer law, and that it hadnt stated it would reimburse customers who chose to book their own flights home. They just pocketed all the money. That was it, tough bickies for us, we had to give the credit away to friends, said Ford. TripADeal, which has since been acquired by Qantas, said it apologised for the immense stress and disruption caused to Ford. As the booking agent, we worked closely with our operators on the ground to recover all eligible funds for our customers, which were returned as a combination of cash and travel credits, a company spokesperson said.

Edilia Ford and husband Geof remain out of pocket thousands from their booking with TripADeal. Credit: Louie Douvis However, Ford is still fighting for the thousands she hasnt been able to claw back. Every time I see a TripADeal ad, my blood runs cold. She is active in an online community for aggrieved customers of the business seeking recourse. Beyond travel disruptions, even system glitches can also cause chaos for customers. Such was the case with Melbourne father David Hamilton who booked flights to Europe in April for a September trip with his teenage son. He purchased via Booking.com not motivated by a cheaper price  his tickets cost about $5300  but because he felt it was easier to have his various, multi-city flights in one itinerary, which Booking.com  a name he had come to believe was trustworthy  offered.

I assumed it was all sorted, I had a flight reference number and everything, so I didnt worry about it. Loading Trouble arose two months before departure when he tried to add his flights to the Virgin app on his phone. It came up as an error, it said my ticket had been cancelled. He immediately contacted Virgin Australia, who told him to contact Booking.com. It was then that he learned Booking.com uses an intermediary party, GoToGate, for its flight sales, and was instructed to take his issue up with that company.

They were all as bad as each other, each one telling me to call the other one. A recurring reason he was given was that he had a duplicate booking  which occurs when a booking is erroneously made twice in an airlines system  on Virgin Australias end. I spent probably 20 hours on the phone and typing to chatbots, re-explaining my story over again, and it all went nowhere. Hamilton claims a Booking.com representative ultimately called him in late August informing him that after internal consideration, it had determined it had fulfilled its duty to him. I asked can I at least get a refund, and she said no, there was nothing I could get from them.

David Hamilton: I spent probably 20 hours on the phone. Contacting Virgin Australia became a dead end, too, Hamilton said. While the airline could see his booking on their end, it was only Booking.com, which transferred the money for the tickets, that was authorised to speak with the airline. I was stuck in a loop. Days out from his departure date with no tickets or refund, it was only within hours of this masthead contacting Booking.com seeking comment, that Hamiltons tickets were reissued. I was going to have to rebook fresh flights, I had no other options, it was a very stressful experience. Id never go through a third party again, I will go direct every time, Hamilton said.

A Booking.com spokesperson said that on reviewing the matter, we learned the flight reservation had been made twice, which triggered an automatic cancellation. The company said after realising this, due to questions from this masthead, it had contacted Virgin to reissue the tickets. Ford and Hamiltons frustrations at third-party booking sites are increasingly common. Over the two years to July, Booking.com was the sixth-most complained about company to NSW Fair Trading, with 502 issues lodged. In Victoria, there were 2866 complaints lodged about third-party booking websites with Consumer Affairs Victoria. Complaint activity corresponds with the growing use of third-party travel websites in recent years, spurred by the demise of bricks-and-mortar travel agencies. Australians spend about $452 million a year booking flights with third-party sites, according to an IBISWorld analysis. Across flights and accommodation, Booking.com  whose parent company also operates Kayak and Agoda  has 32 per cent market share, with Expedia close behind on about 28 per cent. Third-party travel sites such as Booking.com are becoming increasingly popular. Credit: Getty Images

Adam Glezer, from Consumer Champion which provides advice for aggrieved customers to seek recourse, said while these platforms promise convenience and competitive pricing, they often leave customers stranded when things go wrong. Travellers frequently find themselves caught between the booking site and the service provider  be it an airline, hotel, or tour operator  with each side deflecting responsibility, he said. This blame-shifting leaves consumers without answers, without access, and without their money. Glezer said using third-party booking websites is ultimately far riskier than booking directly. If anything goes wrong, even due to a technical glitch, consumers can face months or even years of chasing down refunds or [getting a] resolution without a guarantee of getting what is rightfully theirs in the end. He said he was aware of a growing number of affected customers resorting to taking websites to tribunals and pursuing legal avenues. Alarmingly, legal action or media exposure are often the only ways customers can get answers.
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Eating outSandwich Watch The brisket sanger that might be the best weve eaten in Brisbane Sarnis creators say they aim to make a meal in a sandwich. This is that. Matt Shea September 11, 2025 Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

Chefs will tell you staff meals often make the best dishes. As it turns out, they can make for the best sandwiches too. Especially in most restaurants, you would have a roster of who cooks the staff meal, says Marty Coard, chef and co-owner of Sarni in Ascot. So youre getting influences from so many different cultures: Korean one day, Nepalese the next. Youre learning and having conversations about what youre eating. Its really eye-opening. So much of my favourite food comes from that. Sarnis beef brisket sandwich Markus Ravik When Coard opened Ach in nearby Hamilton in 2023 with Noam Lissner and Mat Drummond, the daily staffie would often be a sandwich. The meal often involved Coards former colleague, Hugo Hirst, who worked for a brewer at the time, and would drop in with an ingredient when he was delivering beer. Hed maybe grab some meat from the Super Butcher and put something together. By then it was kind of obvious we wanted to do a sandwich shop.

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The said sandwich shop The answer was Sarni, which Coard, Drummond, Hirst and Lissner opened just on a year ago in an unfussy, bright blue space on Racecourse Road. The menu? A tight set of sandwiches, all of which are served on either a slow fermented bun or focaccia (both house-made), but that otherwise rotate regularly. Related Article The southside contender for Brisbanes best charcoal chicken Our philosophy has always been to put a meal on a sandwich, which is what I think set us apart [at the time], Coard says. Theres no excuse to eat a shit sandwich. Its not that much harder to make a really good one. Thats, of course, if you know how. A bunch of chefs applying that philosophy to a menu that changes every month means Sarnis sandwiches were very good when it opened, and theyve only gotten better since.

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And theres one in particular on the current menu that you need to try. The Sarni beef brisket sandwich This is as close to the ideal sandwich as weve witnessed in this town  at the very least in concept, if not in execution (more on that in a moment). It boasts a degree of thought thats almost intimidating. Sarni opened in September 2024. Markus Ravik First, theres the bread, which is close to the perfect sandwich bread. Coard describes it as being not quite a sourdough, although its fermented for 72 hours.

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Its like a sourdough but more comfortable to eat, he says. We think its a nice vessel for a sanger. Then theres the brisket, which is Angus beef brined for seven days, and smoked. Theyre luscious chunks of beef with plenty of texture, but dont stray into being dry or stringy. Its more of a pastrami than a brisket, really, Coard says. But we dont shave it because the cut beef feels like a better fit for this sandwich. Sarnis pork sandwich is also very, very good. Markus Ravik The sauce is the stroke of genius. A Laotian-style jeow som chock full of coriander and chilli, it gives the sandwich a fresh, herby note, and offsets the low notes of the beef.

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Theres some iceberg lettuce for texture and moisture, and a bone marrow beef fat mayo, with the chefs swapping out oil for rendered down beef fat, which adds a lovely long note of umami to the sandwich. The final element is some fried shallots for a spike of flavour and extra crunch. Weve eaten the brisket sandwich twice. The first time it was arguably a touch under seasoned, but that was perhaps because we had it alongside Sarnis pork sandwich, which is particularly salty (in a good way. It gives the brisket a run for its  our  money), but on the second go-around, it was more or less bang-on. The pork and brisket sandwiches, photographed together. Markus Ravik Its hard to find a sanger with this much thought put into the flavour profile. A meal in a sandwich, indeed.

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But then this thing is a product of that constantly evolving menu  it builds on the lessons learned from every previous brisket sandwich over the past 12 months. But that also means it wont be around forever in its current form, so get around it while you can. Where to get it The Sarni beef brisket sandwich is $24, which isnt cheap, but we think this is worth every penny. You can get one at 143 Racecourse Road, Ascot.

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For subscribers Matt Shea is Food and Culture Editor at Brisbane Times. He is a former editor and editor-at-large at Broadsheet Brisbane, and has written for Escape, Qantas Magazine, the Guardian, Jetstar Magazine and SilverKris, among many others.
Looking at long service or sabbaticals, this break is provided by the employer, while micro retirement is often a voluntary choice to terminate their employment and live through personal savings or government support, Mariappanadar says. Social analyst and demographer Mark McCrindle says the micro retirement trend is partly a response to discussions about longevity, as many Australians live longer and work later in life. People are sprinkling their retirement years or taking those career breaks, or those years of freedom, the post-work years throughout their life rather than just at the conclusion of a career, he says. One of the greatest benefits of the trend is its emphasis on work-life balance and wellbeing. A micro retirement means that its not retirement  theyre not tapping out, theyre not quitting work or not saying Im not going to be a contributor any more, McCrindle says.

Theyre saying: to do that, I just need this micro refreshment, and thatll gear me up for the second, the third or the fourth chapter. For Lim, this is exactly what her 18-month break, from mid-2023 to the end of 2024, did. Ive always been a workaholic, so taking this micro retirement forced me to slow down and take a break, she says. I saw a big impact on my mental health and happiness, and the accumulation of experiences during that time was priceless. More Gen Z and young Millennials are choosing to micro retire to pursue interests such as travelling. Credit: Getty Images For 24-year-old Georgia Jones, from Sydneys northern beaches, her two three-month micro retirements  in 2023 and 2025  not only allowed her time to recharge but also to pursue other opportunities.

My first micro retirement was spent travelling and just relaxing, but the second I stayed at home and used the time to work on my art and graphic design, which is something Id been doing in the background for years but never had enough time to put my full attention into while working full-time, she says. Jones, who studied marketing at university, says her previous and current marketing roles are important to her, but she hopes one day to pivot her career, turning her graphic design side hustle into a full-time job. Micro retirement allowed me the time to work towards this goal because I had savings to fund my time off, and without kids or a mortgage and still living at home with my parents, [it] meant that I could dedicate a lot of time to creating art and also developing social media platforms and a website to promote my work. The career landscape is changing, says McCrindle, and micro retiring suits the new scene, especially for younger generations like Jones, who use the opportunity to invest in themselves and their future. The whole career trajectory of life has changed, he says, with a lot more upskilling, retraining and career reinventing. Its not a career ladder, its more of a jungle gym. You move sideways and across.

While micro retirement might offer some benefits, Sarah McCann-Bartlett, chief executive of the Australian HR Institute, says resigning from your job may cause issues. [It can] put holes in your work history, which may make you less attractive to future employers, she says. It can sometimes take a while to get a new job once youve concluded your break. It can also have a negative impact on your financial future. Loading If youre not on paid leave, then you wont be contributing to short-term or long-term savings, especially superannuation, she says.

Mariappanadar agrees. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has indicated theres more than 34 per cent of current employees actively looking for more work, so why would any employer give an opportunity for micro retirement? They would say, OK, if youre leaving, youre gone. Well find someone else. Both Lim and Jones say they found jobs quite quickly after deciding to rejoin the workforce, but they had concerns before taking their micro retirement. Working hard through school, uni and then into a full-time job, taking a break without a job or financial security scared the shit out of me, Jones says. But I also knew I would most likely be working for the next 40 years, so pursuing my passions and actually enjoying my life needed to be a priority. It has paid off, with Jones now working in a marketing role three days a week and pursuing her design business in her free time, while Lim reports an improved work-life balance.
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Like the U.S., Australia too has been grappling with a housing crisis. And experts Down Under have floated a controversial fix: taxing unused bedrooms in peoples homes.

The idea stems from new research by real estate analytics firm Cotality, which found a mismatch between the number of people in a home and the number of bedrooms it has. According to Cotalitys head of Australian research, Eliza Owen, the most common household size is two people [1], while the most common dwelling has three bedrooms.

She acknowledged theres nothing wrong with having more bedrooms than occupants, but argued it can create inefficiencies in how housing is allocated.

Its perfectly acceptable and desirable for people to have spare bedrooms, Owen stated [2].

[But] you could ask them to pay for it through land tax or you could incentivise them to move on through the abolition of stamp duty or some combination of both.

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In a research note, she added that governments could make it more expensive to have more housing than you need and cheaper to live in smaller housing [1].

The unused bedroom tax is one of several ideas raised at Australias recent Economic Reform Roundtable. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has refused to rule out new taxes in upcoming budgets, fueling speculation about which proposals could actually make it into law [3].

But outside Canberra, the reaction has been swift and hostile.

On TikTok, Intersect Podcast unleashed an expletive-filled rant:

I f bought my house with my hard-earned work and money, if you cant keep up with your f housing crisis, thats your fault. Dont be f punishing me for having a spare bedroom and tax me on that s [4].

The clip struck a chord, racking up more than 10,000 likes.

In parliament, Senator Sarah Henderson blasted the proposal as radical, calling it a crazy idea and condemning the Labor Party for failing to rule it out [5].

Economists are skeptical, too. AMP Chief Economist Shane Oliver warned the tax would be deeply unpopular.

That would cause a huge backlash politically as people often maintain spare bedrooms for visitors and it would be seen as a huge attack on empty nesters, Oliver told news.com.au [3].
NSW Transport Minister John Graham has signalled that extensions to rail lines near Sydneys new international airport will be a priority for the state government if the business cases for them stack up.

Leaked plans show the transport bureaucracys preference for extending the heavy rail line used by double-deck trains from Leppington to just south of the new city of Bradfield near Western Sydney Airport, while expanding the under-construction metro line north to Tallawong, and south to Campbelltown.

Graham said the government was in the midst of the peak of the build for three metro rail lines in Sydney, but stressed the importance of ensuring work around the new airport isnt a stranded asset.

Construction is under way on a 24km metro rail line that will connect the new Western Sydney Airport. Credit: Steven Siewert

The governments priorities are really clear  as we move funding, particularly towards that western Sydney area. Were doing planning work for future rail extensions, he said.
Queensland Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski has returned to work after successful treatment for stage 4 cancer with a simple message for everybody  if you think something is wrong, keep asking questions.

Gollschewski told 4BC this morning he first learnt of his stage 4 cancer diagnosis when he was with Police Minister Dan Purdie in Townsville, just before an induction of new officers.

Queensland Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski is back at work after a stage-four cancer diagnosis. Credit: Matt Denien

Despite the shock, that induction ceremony went ahead.

Im was disappointing those young people or their families, so we went through that and I grabbed Dan afterwards and said, Ive got to talk to you, he said.

[I] gave him the news, because I knew it was metastasised and spread to three places at that stage, and it was very serious.

Because Gollschewski did not have any symptoms other than fatigue, his cancer could have been caught much later, by when it would have been too late.

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My message to everyone out there is, if you know somethings wrong, you feel its not right, dont give up  just keep going until you get the answers you need, he said.

Gollschewski said while he was in remission, he was not cured  the commissioner faced a lifelong regime of treatment to keep the cancer at bay.

And he still had unfinished business to get to as Queenslands top cop.

I believe in this organisation and I stood up in front of all of them before I got sick and gave them an undertaking that I would do everything in my power to make sure that they were better supported at the front line, he said.

That they had the equipment that they needed, that we, as an organisation, were going to support them and that we would have a safer community.

Im not going to walk out the door until we get that underway.
On an off-road path near the Brisbane Airport, the Guardian of Viola Place lurks.

For people who ride along Lomandra Drive or Viola Place, its a known hotspot for a defensive magpie, with several cyclists swooped since the start of this years breeding season, and one person falling from their bike.

And as the season begins, figures from Brisbane City Council reveal the worst suburbs so far for swooping birds are Forest Lake, Wakerley, Carindale, Oxley and Bald Hills.

Chris Cox being swooped by the Guardian of Viola Place in September 2024.

Mitch Bright, from Space 4 Cycling, said he had ridden through the Lomandra Drive area a few times in the past month and had been swooped by the Guardian.
Residents of a defect-plagued South Yarra apartment block face a $24 million repair bill and fear similar shoddy construction will undermine a push for more high-rise living in Melbourne.

Forty-six households within South Yarra Square are pleading for government help to meet the cost of rectifying flammable polystyrene panels, dodgy plumbing and compromised foundations in their building on Commercial Road.

Samantha Scherma, chair of the owners corporation for South Yarra Square. Credit: Justin McManus

Owners corporation chair Samantha Scherma blames state authorities and the City of Melbourne for failing to stop non-compliant works before the building was finished and approved for occupancy in the 1990s.

But a 10-year statute of limitations under the Building Act limits owners options for legal recourse as the defects were discovered only in the past five years.
Opposition leader Basil Zempilas has accused the Cook government of being dragged kicking and screaming over lead being found four times above national standards in water at the Perth Childrens Hospital.

The government tabled advice from the WA Chief Health Officer Andy Robertson in parliament late on Wednesday where he provided more details about the five lead findings from tests on August 5 and September 5.

The new findings were relayed to the Cook government on Friday, shortly after Premier Roger Cook suggested the lead issue at the hospital was a historical one.

Robertsons letter does not include mention of which water outlets the testing was conducted on, only that they occured in two locations, one accessible by staff and one accessible by hospital visitors.

He said the outlets were decommissioned after the lead was found and were being flushed, but even though they exceeded national standards, there was no danger to the public.

Leader of the opposition of Western Australia, Basil Zempilas. Credit: AAPIMAGE

I have reviewed the five new exceedances recorded in August and September 2025 and can assure the community that the water at Perth Childrens Hospital is safe to drink, he said.

Zempilas said the letter was embarrassing for the government but did not question Roberstons determination that there was no risk to the public.

How embarrassing for the premier, how embarrassing for this government to continue to deflect and to deny and to try and distract its there. Its a real issue, he said.

There is lead in the water at PCH and yet the government will not tell us where in the hospital it is or when it occurred and what levels it is at now. That is inexcusable.

Im not arguing any of the points that the Chief Health Officer would make, but what I would say on behalf of the people of Western Australia, if there are outbreaks of lead in the water at any of our hospitals, please tell us when they happen. Please tell us when they happened. Please tell us the levels and please tell us where in the hospital they have occurred.

Zempilas questioned Health Minister Meredith Hammat over the lead levels and the letter in parliament on Thursday afternoon.

She denied the government had not been transparent about the issue and highlighted Robertsons advice that the lead levels were safe.

We have been transparent, thats why we tabled the advice from the Chief Health Officer so that people could see information and see his consideration of those important factors in terms of the ongoing management of water testing at that site and also managing where there are exceedances identified, she said.

He is the Chief Health Officer. He is the expert in relation to these matters, and we will be guided by his opinion.
Older Australians can earn less for working more in a perverse quirk of the tax system, incentivising pensioners to withdraw from the workforce at a time the nation is grappling with extreme skills shortages.

A report by financial consulting firm Retirement Essentials shows Australians on the age pension are often hit with effective marginal tax rates of between 60 and 80 per cent  and in some cases as high as 122 per cent  far beyond the tax rate of those in the highest income bracket.

HESTA chief executive Debby Blakey says many pensioners are keen to work but are put off by high effective marginal tax rates. Credit: Renee Nowytarger

An effective marginal tax rate is the share of an extra dollar of income lost to either income tax or a drop in government transfer payments, such as the age pension.

Commissioned by industry super fund HESTA, the report shows working aged pensioners earning $55,000 actually take home more money than those earning $60,000, due to the staged reduction in aged pension payments.
A 32-year-old cosplayer who poses in video game outfits would seem more at home at a pop culture convention than in a boardroom, but the Australian governments $1.7 billion investment in entrepreneur Palmer Luckeys fleet of Ghost Shark submarine drones suggests the eccentric billionaires disruption of the defence industry might be working.

A Californian tech prodigy, Luckey first made headlines when he invented the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset in 2012, sold it to Facebook for $US2.3 billion in 2014 as a 21-year-old, and landed on the cover of Time magazine a year later.

Anduril founder Palmer Luckey is expanding his defence business to Australia. Credit: Supplied

Now worth $US3.6 billion, according to Forbes 2025 Worlds Billionaires List, the entrepreneur is a titan of the defence industry, fundraising for Donald Trump and pulling focus with a lifestyle modelled on Tony Stark, the alter-ego of comic-book and film character Iron Man.

His company Anduril  named after a sword in The Lord of the Rings  designs and manufactures war drones that have been used in both the Gaza-Israel and Ukraine-Russia conflicts, and will now pump out the very video-game sounding Ghost Shark autonomous submarines for the Australian Defence Force.
Firebrand senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is the Princess Diana of the right. Or at least that is how she was described as it emerged that the outspoken MAGA cap-wearing senator from the Northern Territory would still be headlining a NSW Liberal fundraiser just two days after she insulted the Australian Indian community.

NSW Liberal leader Mark Speakman, Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Liberal member for Willoughby Tim James. Credit: Fairfax Media

For Willoughby MP Tim James, securing Price as the guest for his fundraiser was a win, and he was not inclined to cancel her appearance last Friday evening despite the controversy she brought with her. Price is the darling of the right, a recruit who was lured to the Liberals with leadership promises.

She has star quality that no one else in the party can match at a time when convincing donors to contribute to a hopeless cause is no mean feat. Price draws Liberal crowds, and James fundraiser was no different, attracting some 200 guests.

To the right wing, she is Princess Diana, a Liberal operative told me, a beloved figure who is worshipped in ways those who have not joined the cult or have mainstream values can understand.
The news

Queenslands LNP has accused Labor of turning in a sloppy and unfeasible submission to redraw the states electoral map that would fall short of legal requirements for the overhaul.

The comments came as Labor secretary Ben Driscoll described the governing partys proposal as an unashamed effort to tweak boundaries to suit their interests.

Party volunteers speak to voters at Brisbane City Hall on the first day of early voting in the 2024 state election. Credit: Matt Dennien

Meanwhile, analysis of the LNPs submission to the independent boundary change process suggested it could see the governments parliamentary majority lift from 11 to 25 seats.
Duplicating Melbournes least-reliable railway line through the citys growing northern suburbs would cost the taxpayer just over $245 million  a figure the Greens have likened to the removal of a level crossing.

Building a second track on the Upfield line past Gowrie station would cost $246 million, and a less-expensive turn-back facility that could also boost services would cost $54.5 million, Parliamentary Budget Office costings, commissioned by the Greens and provided to The Age, show.

Brunswick resident Amanda Olle pictured last year at Brunswick station on the Upfield line. Credit: Jason South

The figures do not include ongoing operating and maintenance expenses, which would cost the state budget about $49.9 million over the next decade.

Commuters on the line have had to deal with far less frequent services than those on other parts of the network because the line runs on only one track past Gowrie station.
UK-based construction company Balfour Beatty has been appointed by Rolls-Royce as the exclusive contractor for its fissile construction framework.

Under the contract, Balfour Beatty will provide the nuclear licensed infrastructure necessary for the production of fissile components that support the Royal Navys submarine propulsion systems and the new AUKUS submarines.

The scope of work includes the development of new specialised manufacturing and processing facilities within the licensed nuclear site boundary, along with the upgrade and refurbishment of existing nuclear plant infrastructure essential for the production of fissile materials.

Balfour Beatty Group CEO Philip Hoare said: In my first week as Balfour Beattys group chief executive, Im proud to announce this latest appointment - a strong endorsement of our growing presence and capability in the UK defence market - one of our four key strategic growth markets.



Our ongoing partnership with Rolls-Royce underscores the depth of our end-to-end capabilities and reinforces our commitment to delivering infrastructure of national importance to the UK.

This announcement follows Balfour Beattys earlier appointment as Rolls-Royce's nonfissile construction partner in May 2024, which involved the expansion of its Raynesway site in Derby, encompassing the construction of new office facilities and associated site infrastructure.

In July this year, Balfour Beatty, along with Bouygues Travaux Publics and Laing ORourke, signed an agreement with Sizewell C for delivering the main civil works at a new power station located in Suffolk, England.

With the signing of the programme alliance agreement, the companies together formed the Sizewell Civil Works Alliance.

"Balfour Beatty appointed as exclusive contractor for Rolls-Royce nuclear project " was originally created and published by World Construction Network, a GlobalData owned brand.




Beloved Australian actor Rebel Wilson is selling her Balmain pad for $2 million, shrinking her portfolio in the neighbourhood. It will be the Hollywood stars second crack at offloading the inner west investment property with a $300,000 haircut. Rebel Wilson is selling her property in Balmain. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit is in the landmark 100 Balmain heritage conversion, which she purchased off the plan for $1.88 million in 2018. Spread over two levels, the 184-square-metre home has had a high-end custom renovation since the 45-year-old took the keys to the property.

With views over the city skyline and Anzac Bridge, the homes features include a stone kitchen, Miele appliances, an integrated Liebherr fridge and double car garaging with a Tesla charger. The home-grown star has a penchant for the neighbourhood, having bought and sold several other properties. She bought her three-bedroom Birchgrove home for $3.76 million in early 2015 a few years after her breakout role in the first of the Pitch Perfect movies, and retained it as her Sydney home despite long stretches living in the United States. The price guide is set at $2 million. Credit: CobdenHayson Balmain It was previously owned by two-time Booker Prize-winning author Peter Carey, who sold in 1992 for $810,000 to move to New York, and later by former Goldman Sachs managing director Robert Tsenin and his wife Estelle. She later sold that waterfront residence for $9.5 million in 2022 to Todd Graham, founder of Australian Pet Organics, after she completed a major rebuild of the house to a design by architect Paul Connor. But she only sold that after she picked up another house in Birchgrove for $3.6 million earlier that year under her company, Camp Sugar Productions.
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Reviews & adviceTripologist Opinion What can we do with an 11-hour stopover in Dubai? Michael Gebicki is Travellers expert Tripologist. Each week he tackles the thorny issues in travel as well as answering your questions. Got a question for the Tripologist? Email tripologist@traveller.com.au Michael Gebicki The Tripologist September 12, 2025  5:00am

September 12, 2025  5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share 8 View all comments

We have an 11-hour stopover in Dubai, from 1.30pm to 12.30am. Can we go into Dubai for part of that time and do you have any recommendations for tour companies that would do an afternoon/evening tour of the main sights for two people?

F. Gorman, Frenchs Forest, NSW The iconic Palm Jumeirah. iStock Dubai Day Tours has a half-day Layover Tour that includes the historic charm of the Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood, the citys bustling spice and gold souks, a cruise on Dubai Creek aboard a traditional abra boat, a visit to the iconic Palm Jumeirah, with views of the citys skyline, and another stop at the base of the towering Burj Khalifa. Australian passport holders are entitled to a free tourist visa on arrival in Dubai for stays of up to 30 days. The tour begins and ends at Dubai Airport. Klook and Sun City Tours are other operators that offer layover transit tours from Dubai Airport lasting from three to eight hours. My partner has a work trip to Europe in March and although its not ideal timing, we want to do something adventurous. Any suggestions?

P. Coffey, St Kilda, Vic Madeira is blessed with a sunny subtropical climate. iStock

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An autonomous region of Portugal, the four islands that make up Madeira sit off the north-west coast of Africa. These are subtropical islands, known for their mild winters, which make them a year-round destination. Along the coast, the Atlantic rollers beat against whitewashed villages and sheer cliffs, while in the centre of the main island of Madeira, volcanic peaks bolt skywards, often wreathed in mist, descending to flower-filled valleys that make this one of Europes most extraordinary walking destinations. Sydney-based Utracks has an eight-day self-guided circuit walk of the eastern half of Madeira from Funchal, the capital. Accommodation is a mix of hotels and guesthouses and luggage transfers are included, so you walk with nothing more than a day pack. The walk is graded moderate with 3-7 hours of walking daily. On any day you can skip the walk and ride with the baggage. Before retirement, I travelled regularly for business and have accumulated more than two million Delta Air Lines points which Im struggling to use. When I tried redeeming the points for a trip to Europe in 2023, I was quoted more than a million points. Any suggestions on how to best leverage my substantial balance?

A. Cavendish, Melbourne, Vic Unfortunately, Delta doesnt publish an award chart spelling out the points required for seats. Instead, the airline uses a dynamic pricing model, which is why you might see those one million+ points horror quotes. Outside the US, Delta charges a huge number of points for its award seats, especially to Europe and in premium cabins. A better way to use your Delta SkyMiles is with bookings on partner airlines, including Air France, KLM, Virgin Atlantic and Korean Air, which often require far fewer points. To do this, go to the Air France/KLM Flying Blue website to search availability, then use your Delta SkyMiles to book. Point Hacks has a useful guide to the Flying Blue program. The availability of award seats fluctuates wildly. Book at least nine months out, and youre more likely to find a way to burn through your bank of SkyMiles points.

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As part of an extended European trip weve set aside a month in France. Wed prefer two places for two weeks each to use as a base for hiking. Any suggestions?

H. Ritchie, Canterbury, NSW Queyras National Park. iStock My first choice would be the French Alps, with Briancon as your base. The highest city in France, Briancon has well-developed infrastructure, its lively but not too touristy and close to many trailheads. Within easy reach to the west is the wild and dramatic alpine scenery of Ecrins National Park, with its glaciers, lakes and high peaks. To the south-east is Queyras Regional Park, which has gentler walks through some lovely villages such as Saint-Veran. The nine-kilometre Lac de Roue is a standout and there are plenty of walks in all categories here, including some you can do on horseback or with a donkey. Across the Italian border from Briancon, Vanoise and the Italian Alps offer plenty more alpine terrain. Related Article France Forgotten France: 10 stunning regions most visitors overlook For your other two weeks, the rolling countryside, bastide towns, vineyards and river valleys of the Lot-et-Garonne region in south-west France are a perfect contrast to the wild drama of the alps. Hiking here is all about slow, bucolic trails winding through villages, orchards and historic landscapes, perfect if you want regional food, wine and history. There are also lovely walks along the tree-lined Garonne Canal. The best base is Villeneuve-sur-Lot, which has a good range of accommodation and dining plus access to multiple trailheads. You need a vehicle here to make the most of the regions walks. See the walking guidebooks published by Cicerone for detailed information on the trails in these regions.

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Opinion Michael Gebicki is a Sydney-based travel writer, best known for his Tripologist column published for more than 15 years in Traveller. With four decades of experience, his specialty is practical advice, destination insights and problem-solving for travellers. He also designs and leads slow, immersive tours to some of his favourite places. Connect via Instagram @michael_gebicki Connect via email
The only thing you can do is recognise your mistakes as you become more experienced, and try to learn from them. If youre doing any of the following 25 things, it might be time to make a few changes.

Thats why we wander around with all our valuables in a money belt or a wallet dangling around our necks, convinced its safer this way. This is why we stand around at train stations staring slack-jawed at station maps we have no hope of understanding.

Some people might like to think of themselves as a traveller, not a tourist, but the reality is that we all, at some time in our travelling lives, have done the classic, dumb things that tourists do. This is part of the learning experience. Its part of the travel experience.

This is a thing that happens to every person who applies for a passport and sets off overseas: we make mistakes. Rookie errors. Glaring signs that we have no idea what we are doing.

People think this is elite-level traveller behaviour, but its actually the opposite. Its not cool to haggle with someone from a background far less privileged than yours over what will turn out to be a couple of dollars, or maybe even a few cents. Yes, you dont want to get ripped off, so you shouldnt pay outrageously over the odds. But those travellers who take pride in being able to get the local price, who gleefully argue over every last cent, are not the hardcore explorers they think they are. Visitors should pay more than locals. If youre rich enough to get there, youre rich enough to swing the person selling you something a few more bucks. To be stingy here is prime tourist behaviour.

This is not so much tourist behaviour as just plain dumb. You see the news stories pop up now and then about the person whos overseas and had an accident, fell off a motorbike, got sick, got lost in the woods, and so on and so on, and then realised they didnt have travel insurance. Or they werent covered by the policy they did buy. Dont let this be you.

Ill put my hand up here. I do this. Many others do too. You catch yourself viewing the world through your phone screen, or your viewfinder. Every beautiful sight, every great meal, every moment where something even vaguely interesting happens becomes a photo opportunity. Click, click, click. It takes a while to realise that you didnt even look at that painting with your naked eye. You didnt stop to breathe in the aromas of that food. You didnt gaze at that view. You snapped a photo and moved on.

If youre travelling in peak season, youre paying full price. If youre not searching the internet for deals, youre paying full price. If youre not managing frequent flyer points and hotel loyalty programs properly, theres also a good chance youre paying full price. This is usually avoidable, and smart tourists have been getting away with it forever.

This is a classic rookie error. The perfect time to visit Europe is summer, right? And you go to Japan in winter. And North America in the summer? But travel in peak season means youre sharing your experience with the most people, and youre paying the most for the privilege. Smart travellers know that shoulder seasons often mean weather that is just as good, if not more pleasant  as anyone who has been somewhere like Seville in summer could tell you  plus the prices are lower and the crowds have thinned out.

You know it already, without even thinking about it. The groups of boozy foreigners, obnoxious and loud, roving through towns and cities where the locals just dont do that. This is classic dumb tourist behaviour, overt and insufferable.

Taj Mahal? Tick. The Trevi Fountain? Done. Machu Picchu? Check. Some people travel like this, always focused on the big attractions, taking pride in keeping a mental list of the famous things theyve seen. But this style of travel encourages movement, it means going from place to place, barely taking anything in, always focused on a particular goal. Its the way many people start out travelling, but its rarely the way they do things once they have a bit of experience.

Flying sounds glamorous. Flitting from one place to the next, ticking boxes, getting it done. But this is a terrible way to travel, and the classic sign of an inexperienced tourist. Airports are not fun, moving around all the time is not fun, this style of movement is bad for the environment and detrimental to your enjoyment. Cut down wherever possible.

Rome, Venice, Florence. Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka. Dubrovnik, Santorini, Barcelona. Hanoi, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh. All of these are standard itineraries for standard tourists, for people who are just going to the popular destinations, the massively over-touristed destinations, and not realising theres so much to enjoy outside these narrow pathways. Smart tourism is still about going to these places  theyre popular for a reason  but also making time to stray from those paths.

That little bar in Tokyo that wont let you in. That restaurant in Rome that says its full even though theres no one sitting at the tables. Tourists who dont understand the way societies work tend to think theyre being discriminated against, that locals dont like foreigners here. But the truth is often far more complex. Tiny bars in Tokyo often hold spots for their regulars, the people  unlike tourists  who keep them in business long-term. Roman restaurants only take one seating per night, and most guests wont turn up until 9pm. Its not because they hate you.

Theres the classic trope of the loud American, but this is more a symptom than the disease. Americans dont realise (or dont care) that people in other countries tend to be quieter than they are. Thats a local norm. And there are plenty of tourists who dont understand others: the expected standard of dress (no one else here is wearing shorts), the expected ways to dine, the style of greeting, the style of interaction with strangers. Failure to observe any of these will mark you as a tourist.

When it comes to eating at a restaurant, consider where you are. Getty Images

There are exceptions to this rule. In general, however, if you find yourself in front of a popular or well-known tourist attraction and think, well just sit down at this restaurant right here for a meal, youre in for a bad time. These restaurants and bars dont depend on loyal customers to keep them in business, they depend on hapless tourists who cant think of anywhere else to go. And so you sit down at the nearest tourist trap and pay far more than you should for food that is far worse than it should be, and walk away telling yourself that the food in this country is nowhere near as good as everyone reckons.

You cant speak even a word of the local language

DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH? This is the classic refrain from the helpless tourist, who has decided that if they arent being understood by locals, its because they arent speaking loudly enough. Couple of things to note here. First, everyone can hear you just fine. If people can speak English, they probably will. And second, its incumbent upon you, the visitor, to learn a few words of the language, not for everyone else to adjust.

Youre wearing boardies or a singlet or thongs

Theres a certain cringe factor any time you see someone  almost always an Australian  rocking board shorts or a singlet or even thongs when theyre getting around overseas. These arent inherently offensive items of clothing, and I would say almost all of us (men at least) own a few examples. But no one else does. So when these items that would be reserved purely for the beach in most countries are worn as everyday clothing, they seem so incongruous, and make it so obvious youre not from around here.

You cant lift your own suitcase

If you cant lift your own suitcase, youve packed too much. There are exceptions of course, those with a disability and unable to heft a bag of clothing and travel accessories, and thats understandable. Everyone should be free to travel. For some, however, its a choice to take too much, a choice to lean on everyone else around you to help carry it, and a choice to look like a hapless tourist.

Youre shopping at international chains

Surely, you didnt come all this way just to shop at places you could call into at Westfield? And yet, you see this all the time, tourists who go overseas and insist on shopping at the same international chain stores they visit at home, to buy the same mass-produced stuff, to look the same as everyone else and ensure all profits from their visit to this country are funnelled offshore. Whats the point? The far better behaviour from a visitor is to make a point of shopping at local stores, at boutiques or with artisans that produce items you couldnt find anywhere else.

Youre wearing branded travel wear

There are few things worse when youre travelling than walking into a restaurant or an attraction youve been dying to experience and finding yourself sharing it with a bunch of people wearing quick-dry Kathmandu shirts and zip-off pants. Theres no need for this specialist gear when youre travelling, unless youre doing some genuine hiking or mountaineering. If you wear this stuff around towns and cities, it marks you out as a tourist. It makes locals despise you because you look so out of place, and makes other travellers dislike you because youre making all of us look bad. Just wear the same clothes you would at home.

Youre only here for the night

When people begin travelling they tend to want to see everything, and to see it as quickly as possible. They do a tour or a cruise that whips them through the highlights in the minimum number of days. How long are you in town? Just the night. But the longer you travel, the more you begin to see the folly in those ways. Slow travel is good travel; the longer you spend in one place, the less a tourist you become.

You have a money belt

Money belt are more likely to make you a target. iStock

Honestly, nothing screams tourist like the telltale bulge around the mid-regions that shows someone is wearing a money belt. Even worse are the wallets that dangle around your neck and sit awkwardly on your chest. Youre not hiding anything with these. Instead, youre sending a clear signal to every scammer and wannabe robber in eyesight that you have something to steal.

Youre not using your phone properly

If youre only using your phone as a web browser and a camera when youre travelling  or maybe youre not even doing that  youre going about things the wrong way. Pack away the old-school paper maps because Google or Apple Maps has you covered. Stop fumbling with translations because your phone does all that too. Your phone is also your bank card, your torch, your compass, your diary  apparently it can even make phone calls.

Youre not even sure where you are

Its so cringeworthy when you hear tourists on package tours, on cruises or bus trips that call into 10 or more destinations in a few weeks, confess that theyve forgotten what city theyre even in. Or what country. They dont know which currency they should be using (Americans tend to assume everyone will accept US dollars anyway). They dont know which language they should be doing their best not to have to speak. They dont know anything about local customs, food, history, or anything else, really. This is peak tourist behaviour.

Youve fallen for a scam

Theres no shame in this. Or at least, not the first time anyway. Youre up against people who do this for a living, people who have been practising their art for years. You, the bumbling foreign tourist on your first stint overseas, dont stand a chance. So you cop being short-changed, you take the scenic route in the cab, you donate money to a budding student of the English language, and you go on your merry way. Dumb tourists get scammed all the time. Its happened to me, no doubt its happened to you. The trick is not to let it continue.

You have a map

Print maps are a sure-fire indicator that youre a tourist. Getty Images

As mentioned earlier, you arent still unfolding and refolding paper maps, are you? Stopping on the street to peer at that map, waving your arms around, taking out pedestrians desperately trying to duck and weave past your flailing limbs? No? Great.

Youre travelling with a large group

A flag-waving tour leader can be a red flag for some. Getty Images

If youve managed to find a way to move around in a large group of fellow visitors, to follow along meekly behind a leader with a little flag on a stick or a microphone to speak into, and not look like a dumb tourist, I would love to know about it. Because Ive never seen it.

Youre eating at McDonalds

Airports dont count. Airports are international waters and the rules do not apply. I will die on that hill. If youre in an airport, you go and eat as much American junk food as you please. If, however, youre doing this as part of your normal travels, if youre in Spain or Italy, India or China, Japan or Peru, and youre eating Maccas, for shame. Youre missing one of the best travel experiences out there  eating local food  and youre also sending a clear signal to those around you that you dont value their cuisine.

I confess: Five times I was a dumb tourist

Scammed in Vietnam: The first time I went to Asia was on a solo trip to Vietnam when I was 24, and I fell for a scam within about four hours. There I was, sitting by Hoan Kiem Lake, pondering my good fortune at even being there, when a young guy approached me and talked me into joining him for lunch. Long story short, it cost me $US100.

Photographing every sunset: I still, to this day, feel the urge to photograph sunsets. I know I wont get the perfect photo. I know Ill keep shooting with every new colour that emerges in the sky because I want to get just the right shot. I know I should put the phone down and just enjoy it. But the same thing happens every time.

The Singha singlet: That same first trip to Asia, I decided it would be really cool to collect beer T-shirts from every destination. Now I look back at photos and there I am roaming around South-East Asia with my Tiger shirt, my Beerlao shirt, and most dumb-touristy of all, a Singha singlet. Cringe.

Drunk in Europe: Its true: Ive pushed things a little too far in many destinations where residents just dont get that boozy. I went on a Contiki tour when I was 17. I backpacked around Western Europe when I was in my early 20s. I worked for Topdeck in my mid-20s. I did a lot of stuff that I would definitely not want to do any more.

Cheers to not drinking too much and embarrassing yourself. Getty Images

Maccas in Jaipur: Despite the advice you will read here, I have been known to visit a certain American fast-food chain while travelling. Most memorably, I went to Maccas in Jaipur, India to escape some guys who were trying to scam me, and ended up eating terrible food in a place famous for its cuisine.

Five signs youre being a dumb tourist in your own country

Only travelling overseas: This is the biggest mistake you can make in Australia: not travelling in Australia. Dumb tourists think theres nothing to see in their own country. The cultural cringe is alive. Smart people will be able to tell you that there is a vast swath of places and experiences out there in Australia to delight any traveller.

See the must-see sights at home. Getty Images

Ignoring Indigenous tourism: Talk to many Indigenous tourism operators in Australia, and they will tell you that the bulk of their clients are international, not Australian. Theres a lack of appreciation here for our own First Nations culture, or at least a reticence to learn more about it when on holiday. Which is a shame because these are some of the best experiences out there.

Causing environmental damage: Whether its littering, driving on beaches when youre not supposed to, camping in places where it isnt allowed, or any number of other destructive actions, these are the signs of a dumb tourist. Dont let it be you.

Causing cultural damage: For years, Anangu elders asked tourists not to climb Uluru  and yet, some still did. Now, the Dambimangari people are asking tourists not to ride boats through Garaanngaddim, also known as Horizontal Falls, a practice that will be banned from the end of next year. There are numerous examples of this across the country, traditional owners asking that tourists respect their cultural heritage. The smart ones will.

Mind your cultural manners. Alamy

Skipping the big-ticket attractions: You should go to Uluru. As soon as you can. See the Great Barrier Reef. Drive the Great Ocean Road. It may seem unimaginative to go to places in your own country that are so popular, and that will always be there for you to see some other time, but thats not smart. Go now. Enjoy them many times. These places are amazing.
London: The scandal over Jeffrey Epstein has spilled into British politics in a slow-motion drama that has claimed the scalp of an influential Labour insider, Lord Peter Mandelson, over his years of friendship with the late convicted sex offender.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has sacked Mandelson as the countrys ambassador to the United States after days of revelations that showed he maintained his relationship with the disgraced financier even after Epsteins crimes were exposed.

Britains now former ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson, left, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Credit: AP

Starmer concluded that the contact with Epstein was reprehensible  and that the latest revelations showed the friendship was materially different to what was known when Mandelson was appointed to the top diplomatic post last year.

Mandelson, a cabinet minister and powerbroker in the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, has been revealed as an Epstein ally who not only helped his friend win financial deals but stood by him when he was jailed in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Lawyers for Bolsonaro have said they would appeal the verdict to the full Supreme Court of 11 justices. Loading The four justices also ruled to convict Bolsonaros seven allies, including five military officers. The conviction of Bolsonaro, a former Army captain who never hid his admiration for the military dictatorship that killed hundreds of Brazilians between 1964 and 1985, echoes legal condemnations this year for far-right leaders elsewhere, including Frances Marine Le Pen and the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte. US President Donald Trump said he was surprised that Bolsonaro was convicted.

Well, I watched that trial. I know him pretty well. I thought he was a good president of Brazil. And its very surprising that that could happen. Thats very much like they tried to do with me, but they didnt get away with it at all, Trump told reporters at a doorstop on Friday (AEST). He added: But I can always say this. I knew him as president of Brazil. He was a good man. US President Donald Trump speaks with reporters on the South Lawn as he departs the White House. Credit: AP Trump has already previously called the case against Bolsonaro a witch hunt and slammed Brazil with 50 per cent tariffs, sanctions against the presiding judge, and the revocation of visas for most members of Brazils high court. The historic significance of the case goes way beyond Bolsonaro and his movement, said Carlos Fico, a historian who studies Brazils military at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. The verdict marks the first time since Brazil became a republic almost 140 years ago that military officials have been punished for attempting to overthrow democracy.

It was not unanimous, with Justice Luiz Fux breaking with his peers by acquitting the former president of all charges. Justices of the Brazilian Supreme Court meet in Brasilia for the verdict and sentencing phase of a trial for those charged in an alleged coup plot to keep Bolsonaro in office after his 2022 election defeat. Credit: AP That single vote could open a path to challenges to the ruling, potentially bringing the trials conclusion closer to the run-up of the 2026 presidential elections, in which Bolsonaro has repeatedly said he is a candidate despite being barred from running for office. The sentence doesnt mean he will immediately go to prison. The court panel now has up to 60 days to publish the ruling. Once it does, Bolsonaros lawyers have five days to file motions for clarification. Rafael Mafei, lawyer and law professor at University of Sao Paulo and ESPM university, said Bolsonaro and his co-conspirators could present a motion for clarification, a quick appeal that usually doesnt change the decision.

Its unlikely, but not impossible, that appeals to the full Supreme Court would change the outcome for any of the defendants. Unless the Supreme Court changes the interpretation it has been adopting since 2018. But of course, the defences will try because they should, Mafei said. Fuxs vote also ignited a surge of righteous relief among the former presidents supporters, who hailed it as a vindication. When coherence and a sense of justice prevail over vengeance and lies, there is no room for cruel persecution or biased judgments, Michelle Bolsonaro, the former presidents wife, posted after Fuxs vote. The trial is a wake-up call for the Armed Forces, Fico said. They must be realising that something has changed, given that there was never any punishment before, and now there is. A vendor displays dual flag jerseys featuring the Brazilian and US flag, outside the condominium where Bolsonaro is under house arrest. Credit: AP

Bolsonaros conviction marks the nadir in his trajectory from the back benches of Congress to forge a powerful conservative coalition that tested the limits of the countrys young democratic institutions. His political journey began in the 1980s as a city legislator after a brief career as an army paratrooper. He went on to be elected as a congressman in Brasilia, where he quickly became known for his defence of authoritarian-era policies. Loading His reputation as a firebrand was fuelled by interviews such as one in which he argued that Brazil would only change on the day that we break out in civil war here and do the job that the military regime didnt do: killing 30,000. While long dismissed as a fringe player, he refined his message to play up anti-corruption and pro-family values themes. These found fertile ground as mass protests erupted across Brazil in 2014 amid the sprawling car wash bribery scandal that implicated hundreds of politicians  including Lula , whose conviction was later annulled.

Burning anti-establishment anger helped lay the path for his successful 2018 presidential run, with dozens of far-right and conservative politicians elected on his coattails. They have reshaped Congress into an enduring obstacle to Lulas progressive agenda. Bolsonaros presidency was marked by intense scepticism about the pandemic and vaccines and his embrace of informal mining and land-clearing for cattle grazing, pushing deforestation rates in the Amazon rainforest to record highs. As he faced a close re-election campaign against Lula in 2022  an election that Lula went on to win  Bolsonaros comments took on an increasingly messianic quality, raising concerns about his willingness to accept the results. I have three alternatives for my future: being arrested, killed or victory, he said, in remarks to a meeting of evangelical leaders in 2021. No man on Earth will threaten me. In 2023, Brazils electoral court, which oversees elections, barred him from public office until 2030 for venting unfounded claims about Brazils electronic voting system.

Loading Bolsonaros conviction and its durability will now emerge as a powerful test for the strategy that Brazils highest-ranking judges have adopted to protect the countrys democracy against what they describe as dangerous attacks by the far-right. Their targets included social media posts that they say spread disinformation about the electoral system, as well as politicians and activists. Sending a former president and his allies to jail for planning a coup amounts to its culmination. The cases were largely led by the commanding figure of Justice Alexandre de Moraes, appointed to the court by a conservative president in 2017, whose stance against Bolsonaro and his allies was celebrated by the left and denounced by the right as political persecution. They want to get me out of the political game next year, Bolsonaro told Reuters in June, referring to the 2026 election in which Lula is likely to seek a fourth term. Without me in the race, Lula could beat anyone.
PHILIPSBURG:--- In October 2024, the Council of State of the Kingdom published an unsolicited advice entitled Samenwerken op basis van wederzijds begrip (Cooperation Based on Mutual Understanding), marking a significant milestone  the 70th anniversary of the Kingdom Charter.



Originally adopted on 15 December 1954, the Kingdom Charter serves as the foundational legal framework that defines the relationship among the constituent countries of the Kingdom: the Netherlands, Aruba, Curacao, and Sint Maarten.



In November 2024, the Government of Sint Maarten received official correspondence from the State Secretary for Digitalization and Kingdom Relations, Mr. Zsolt Szabo, requesting a formal response to the Council of States advice. Recognizing the importance of delivering a comprehensive and inclusive reply, a dedicated Kingdom Charter Committee was established by the Prime Minister / Minister of General Affairs in March 2025. The Committee consisted of Ms. Gwendolien Mossel (Chair), Mr. Jason Rogers (Vice-Chair), and Mr. Randolf Duggins (member). The response was authored by Dr. Nilda Arduin.



To ensure that the response truly reflects a broad spectrum of perspectives, the Committee engaged extensively with key stakeholders, including (former) government officials, the President of Parliament MP Sarah Wescot-Williams, representatives from the One SXM Association, and the Pro Soualiga Foundation. Their insights have been instrumental in shaping a balanced and forward-looking intervention.



The Committees work was supported by the Department of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BAK) of the Ministry of General Affairs, led by Ms. Angelique Gumbs, who provided technical guidance and coordination throughout the process.



On September 1, 2025, the Committee formally submitted its report titled A New Dialogue Empowered by Mutual Trust to Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina. This report lays the groundwork for renewed dialogue, emphasizing the importance of mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation in strengthening the bonds within the Kingdom.



Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina expressed his appreciation for the Committees work, stating, The Kingdom Charter has been the cornerstone of our shared history for over seven decades. With this report, Sint Maarten reaffirms its commitment to shaping a future that is based on equality, fairness, and mutual trust. I extend my gratitude to the Committee, the many stakeholders, and BAK under the leadership of Ms. Angelique Gumbs for ensuring that our nations voice is both clear and principled in this important dialogue.
PHILIPSBURG:--- The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset continued its strong commitment to maternal and child health by distributing 100 maternity baskets to new and expectant mothers at the hospitals on both the Dutch and French sides of the island. This meaningful initiative, carried out during July and August, reflects the Clubs dedication to supporting vulnerable families and strengthening partnerships with local healthcare institutions. The first distribution took place at the St. Maarten Medical Center (Dutch side), followed by the second at the Centre Hospitalier Louis-Constant Fleming (French side), with each hospital receiving 50 baskets. The baskets, filled with essential items for newborns and mothers, were donated to assist families in need as they begin their journey into parenthood. In addition to the hospital distributions, the Club also had the privilege of personally presenting baskets to two expectant mothers, one on each side of the island, symbolizing the projects direct impact on families within the community. Maternal and child health is one of Rotarys key areas of focus, and as a Club, we remain committed to making a positive impact in our community, said Alex PIERRE, President of the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset.

By donating these baskets, we hope to ease the transition for mothers in need and remind them that their community supports them. The distribution on the French side further allowed members to connect with nurses, doctors, and hospital administrators, leading to constructive dialogue about future collaboration. The Club expressed its enthusiasm about the possibility of working closely with the hospitals Managing Director on upcoming health-related initiatives. The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset also extended heartfelt thanks to its community partners, particularly Divico, Nagico, and St. Maarten Nectar, whose contributions made this years distribution possible. This initiative exemplifies Rotarys motto of Service Above Self by ensuring that families, regardless of which side of the island they reside on, receive the care, encouragement, and support they deserve at such a critical stage in life. About Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset: Chartered in 2018, the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset is one of the newest and fastest-growing Rotary Clubs in District 7020. The Club is dedicated to serving the community through impactful projects focused on Rotary Internationals areas of focus, including maternal and child health, education, and economic development.
MIAMI, Fla.:--- The countdown is on and the excitement is sizzling! The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) has officially opened registration for Taste of the Caribbean, the regions most celebrated culinary exchange and competition. This years event, taking place Nov. 16-18 at the Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lords Castle All-Inclusive Resort, promises an inspiring showcase of education, creativity, and culinary pride.

Running alongside the Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum (CHIEF), Taste of the Caribbean offers F&B professionals immersive sessions, exchange of ideas, and networking opportunities that spark creativity, drive innovation, and celebrate the regions rich diversity of flavors.

As part of the event, the popular Taste of the Caribbean competitions will once again set the stage for the Caribbeans top chefs, bartenders and pastry artists to shine. Building on its decades-long tradition, the culinary competition has become the ultimate proving ground for F&B excellence with coveted titles including Caribbean Chef of the Year, Caribbean Junior Chef of the Year, Caribbean Bartender of the Year, and Caribbean Pastry Chef of the Year, among others.

Theres nothing quite like the energy of Taste of the Caribbean, with the aroma of the region's spices in the air and the thrill of watching the Caribbeans best display their skills with pride, said CHTA CEO Vanessa Ledesma.

Participants refine their craft by observing established and rising culinary and beverage masters create dishes and cocktails, while receiving critiques from world-class judges that provide practical insights and global perspectives.

What makes this event truly meaningful is the growth it sparks. Beyond the medals, participants walk away with sharpened skills, global exposure and a sense of camaraderie, as well as the honor of serving as culinary ambassadors  not only for their destinations but for the Caribbean as a whole, added Ledesma.

Registration

Chefs, bartenders, students, and food & beverage industry professionals are encouraged to register and make their travel arrangements early to secure accommodations. Participants staying two nights or more at the host resort will also receive a $175 accommodation credit.

For more information or to register, visit https://chtataste.com/

Sponsors

Taste of the Caribbean is presented in partnership with Wyndham Grand Barbados, Sam Lords Castle All-Inclusive Resort & Spa. Additional sponsors include ABA Global Marketing, Interval International and Mastercard.
NASA blocks Chinese citizens from working on space programs



Washington, Sept 10 (AFP) Sep 10, 2025



NASA has begun barring Chinese nationals with valid visas from joining its programs, underscoring the intensifying space race between the rival powers.

The policy shift was first reported by Bloomberg News and confirmed by the US government agency.

"NASA has taken internal action pertaining to Chinese nationals, including restricting physical and cybersecurity access to our facilities, materials, and network to ensure the security of our work," NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens told AFP Wednesday.

According to Bloomberg, Chinese nationals had previously been allowed to work as contractors or students contributing to research, although not as staff.

But on September 5 several individuals told the outlet they were suddenly locked out of IT systems and barred from in-person meetings. They spoke on condition of anonymity.

The move comes amid escalating anti-China rhetoric under President Donald Trump's administration. The United States and China are competing to send crews to the Moon.

The US Artemis program, a follow-up to the Apollo landings from 1969-1972, is targeting a 2027 landing but has suffered cost overruns and delays.

China, by contrast, aims to land its "taikonauts" by 2030 under its program, and has recently been more successful at meeting deadlines.

"We're in a second space race right now," NASA's acting administrator Sean Duffy told reporters Wednesday, speaking at a news conference related to discoveries made with a US rover on Mars.

"The Chinese want to get back to the Moon before us. That's not going to happen. America has led in space in the past, and we are going to continue to lead in space in the future."

China is also seeking to become the first country to return a sample from the Martian surface, with a robotic mission slated to launch in 2028 and bring rocks back as soon as 2031.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, has signaled through its budget proposal that it wants to cancel a planned Mars Sample Return mission, a joint project with the European Space Agency.

It has hinted the job could instead be accomplished by a crewed mission, although no firm details have been provided.
This story was originally published on Retail Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Retail Dive newsletter.

Dive Brief:

Online pet company Bark announced last week it has promoted Michael Black to the newly created position of president of its core business, according to a press release.

Black joined the company in 2024 as chief revenue officer. His previous experience includes serving as founder and president of consulting firm Paragon International Advisors and CEO of dog toy company Outward Hound. Black also served as a senior buyer for pet accessories at Walmart.

With his expanded responsibilities as president of the core business, Black now oversees Barks core DTC and wholesale segments. He continues to handle his chief revenue officer duties and reports directly to Matt Meeker, co-founder and chief executive officer of Bark.

Dive Insight:

Blacks promotion comes amid continued financial challenges for Bark.

Michael has been an extraordinary partner since joining the team, Meeker said in a statement. His commercial instincts, operational discipline, and genuine passion for serving dogs and their people make him the right leader to help take Bark into its next chapter. Elevating him to run our core business was an easy decision, and it will allow me to focus on driving Barks long-term strategic vision.

The online pet retailer in June said it is starting to pull back on its subscription services, which account for 85% of its revenue. Bark has also been working to expand offerings, including through the launch of its Bark Air travel service for dogs last year.

As part of the strategy to grow its business, Bark last year welcomed back a former executive, Meghan Knoll, to oversee the brands DTC business.

The company has been facing financial challenges more recently. Bark in July received a second letter of noncompliance from the New York Stock Exchange in two years for its stock trading below $1.00 over a 30-day period. It has until January to rectify that or be threatened with a delisting.

And in August, Bark announced first quarter total revenue declined 11.5% year over year to $102.9 million. DTC revenue fell 16.7% to $89.2 million, while wholesale revenue was up nearly 50% to $13.7 million.

Recommended Reading
CORRECTED: Top Japan start-up Sakana AI touts nature-inspired tech



Tokyo, Sept 11 (AFP) Sep 11, 2025



When David Ha started an AI company in Japan with his former Google colleague, they had a choice: create another huge, energy-intensive tool like ChatGPT, or go their own way.

Since its 2023 launch, the value of their firm Sakana AI has soared past $1 billion, becoming Japan's fastest start-up to reach so-called unicorn status.

"In a space like AI, everyone's kind of doing the same thing. They're just like collecting the world's data, building a gigantic model, sucking up all this energy," Ha told AFP.

For a new venture, "the chance of success is actually quite low, especially in Japan", where the resources to run power-hungry data centres are scarce.

Instead of going head-to-head with top players like OpenAI or Alibaba, Sakana aims to merge existing and new systems, large and small, to develop what it calls "collective intelligence".

In many countries, "people are debating, should I use a Chinese model or should I use a US model?" Ha said, referring to AI foundation models trained on vast amounts of data.

But in today's tumultuous world, "you can imagine... a scenario where a certain provider might turn off their models", he added.

Combining the best aspects of multiple systems means Sakana's AI-powered programmes could in theory "continue to operate", he said, even if "with slightly lower performance at the beginning".

Sakana's approach has won it the support of US chip giant Nvidia as well as Japanese banks and other businesses keen to get ahead in the fast-moving world of generative artificial intelligence.

The word sakana means fish in Japanese, and the start-up says it is inspired by nature, where species from ants to humans collaborate to solve problems.



- 'Soft power' -



Ha, a Hong Kong-born Canadian and long-term Japan resident, is a former Google Brain research scientist who previously traded derivatives for Goldman Sachs.

He founded Sakana AI with ex-Google researcher Llion Jones, co-author of a groundbreaking 2017 machine learning paper, and Ren Ito, who has held positions in Japan's foreign ministry.

Sakana's team numbers more than 100, including contractors, and its unassuming offices are located in a shared Tokyo start-up space.

Japan is pouring tens of billions of dollars into AI and semiconductors, hoping to claw back some of its 1980s tech glory and boost the productivity of its shrinking workforce.

But there is some way to go. In academic institute IMD's 2025 World Competitiveness Ranking, Japan came 35th, with researchers saying it needs to foster entrepreneurship and address labour shortages caused by its ageing population.

"There are a lot of business challenges in Japan", where working environments are "very different" to Europe, China or the United States, Ha said.

But "building from the ground up" is an advantage for Sakana AI, which is "taking advantage of Japan's soft power" to attract talented software engineers.

In starting the company, Ha has put down roots in Japan, which "has its problems" but remains "a leading democracy in Asia", he said.



- Experimentation -



The tools developed by Sakana AI include a Japanese-language chatbot called "Tiny Swallow" that works offline, protecting users' privacy.

Another trained on historical Japanese literature responds to text queries in samurai-like language.

Some coders have pointed out problems in the output of Sakana projects such as AI Scientist -- a bid to automate scientific discovery, whose paper passed a peer-review process this year -- and in others built to improve the efficiency of AI engineering.

"We have to experiment," Ha said. In academia and business, too, "things may not go your way, and we learn from that".

In any case, "people take these concepts very seriously" and work can progress quickly -- like the evolution of AI-generated video from "blobby" images to hyper-realism, he said.

In May, Sakana announced a "multi-year partnership" with Japanese megabank MUFG to develop "bank-specific AI systems".

While Ha wants to keep Sakana's AI research team small and "niche", the arm of the start-up that helps Japanese businesses and the public sector deploy AI is growing.

"It is a challenge to balance between working on cutting-edge... AI development, and on the business side to deploy trusted solutions that are known to work," he said.

Ha predicts that investors' excitement around AI will inevitably taper.

"Every major technological revolution, from canals to the dot-com boom, has been fuelled by a bubble," he said.

"That speculative investment, while risky, is what funds the foundational breakthroughs."

kaf/aph/dan/lb

GOOGLE

Alibaba

NVIDIA

Goldman Sachs Group
China says imposed punishment on Xiaohongshu over content



Beijing, Sept 11 (AFP) Sep 11, 2025



China's internet regulator said on Thursday it had ordered "warnings and strict punishment" to bosses at popular social media app Xiaohongshu over its online content, slamming "trivial" and "negative" posts.

A statement from the Cyberspace Administration of China said "responsible individuals" at the Instagram-like platform would be punished after Xiaohongshu, known as RedNote in English, failed to "fulfil its main responsibility of content management".

It gave no details of the punishments.

The statement criticised Xiaohongshu for hosting "numerous posts hyping celebrities' personal dynamics and trivial matters and other negative content frequently populating the hot search list".

"A clear, clean and healthy cyberspace aligns with the interests of the people," it added.

Xiaohongshu was launched in Shanghai in 2013 and has hundreds of millions of monthly active users.

It translates literally to Little Red Book, but is not a reference to Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong's book of quotations.

Unlike TikTok's sister app Douyin or the micro-blogging site Weibo, Xiaohongshu leans heavily towards apolitical content such as lifestyle, travel, beauty and food topics.

Xiaohongshu's "Explore" page is similar to TikTok's "For You" page -- both curated by an algorithm that suggests content based on users' interests and interactions on the platforms.

It is also an online marketplace similar to TikTok Shop, where users can directly buy items including clothing, make-up and accessories.

It is seen as relatively less censored than other platforms: users can be found posting LGBTQ content and discussing the merits of women remaining single, topics often considered sensitive in China.

Xiaohongshu has also popularised "da ka", or "check-in" tourism, where travellers plan itineraries around scenic or trending spots specifically to take photos for social media.

And similar to Instagram and TikTok, the platform has also become a hub for influencers endorsing sponsored products.

mya-je/lb
Press Release from Business Wire: ROYC



(AFP) Sep 11, 2025



STOCKHOLM, Sept 11, 2025 (BSW) - ROYC, the leading global Platform-as-a-Service provider for alternative investments, and G Squared, a U.S.-based venture capital firm investing in category-defining technology companies, are pleased to announce a strategic partnership where ROYC will act as G Squared's technology and infrastructure partner in Europe.

This partnership underscores both firms' commitment to using best-in-class technology to improve the investor experience. ROYC's platform will provide G Squared with a fully digital, modular solution for onboarding, execution, and portfolio management tailored to the regulatory and operational landscape in Europe.

"We are excited to partner with G Squared - a firm that shares our conviction that technology is the foundation for delivering a great investor experience and G Squared's innovation-driven DNA and long-term view make them an ideal partner, and we are proud to provide the infrastructure that will support their continued European growth", said Octavian Popescu, CEO of ROYC.

Richard Harris, Partner at G Squared, added: "We have been impressed by ROYC's technology stack and their deep understanding of European markets. This partnership is a key step in bringing our investment strategies to a broader audience through a platform that matches our standards for scalability, efficiency, and investor experience."

About ROYC

ROYC is the leading European B2B financial technology company that provides a complete private markets operating system, empowering private equity firms, banks, wealth managers, and multi-family offices to seamlessly access, distribute, and manage private investments at scale. As private markets expand, financial institutions require scalable, technology-driven solutions to manage complexity, optimising manager operations, and delivering exceptional client experiences. ROYC combines state-of-the-art private markets technology with tailored structuring and investment solutions. Its intuitive, scalable platform replaces manual processes with automation and real-time data access, transforming how private market investments are managed across the entire fund lifecycle.

About G Squared

G Squared is a global venture capital firm that partners with dynamic companies throughout their life cycles as a complete capital solutions provider, working to create value for companies, investors, employees, and other stakeholders. The firm focuses on investments in growth-stage technology companies and has invested in 150+ portfolio companies since it was founded in 2011. For more information on G Squared and its portfolio, visit: www.gsquared.com.







View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250911337390/en/









Contact

For additional information or interview [email protected]







 2025 Business Wire, Inc.Disclaimer:This press release is not a document produced by AFP. AFP shall not bear responsibility for its content. In case you have any questions about this press release, please refer to the contact person/entity mentioned in the text of the press release.
'Why not?' Europeans warming up to Chinese electric cars



Munich, Germany, Sept 11 (AFP) Sep 11, 2025



Checking out an electric vehicle made by China's BYD at the Munich auto show, German designer Tayo Osobu was impressed by the interior and said she would consider buying one.

"And why not?," said the 59-year-old from Frankfurt, in a country where domestic titans Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have long dominated.

"If they are sold here, it means they meet European standards."

At the IAA auto fair in the German city this week, Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers were out in force, highlighting the determination of the country's fast-growing car giants to make inroads into Europe.

Some 100 Chinese auto companies flocked to Munich, out of a total 700 exhibitors at the biennial show, ranging from big-name manufacturers to smaller suppliers and start-ups.

While they still lag far behind Europe's long-established carmakers in terms of market share on the continent, firms from the world's number two economy have been gaining ground with their technology-packed EVs.

Leading the pack is giant BYD, whose sales in Europe surged by 250 percent in the first half of the year.

In Munich, the manufacturer was showcasing flagship models like the Dolphin Surf, a small EV with a starting price of around 20,000 euros ($23,400) -- cheaper than many offerings from European carmakers.

Volkswagen, Europe's biggest automaker, in contrast has seen sales and profits fall in the face of fierce competition and weak demand, prompting it to announce plans for mass layoffs in Germany.

And American EV pioneer Tesla, which was not present at the show in Munich, has also seen its market share drop -- in part because many consumers have been put off by its boss Elon Musk's support for far-right political parties.



- EU tariffs -



Chinese carmakers have grown rapidly as they have benefited from lower labour costs, generous government support and strong consumer demand for their high-tech models in the world's biggest auto market, according to experts.

"What has changed in five years is that, at a lower price, the Chinese are now on par in terms of technology and quality in many respects," said Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Management in Germany.

To combat the influx of Chinese cars and protect European manufacturers, the EU last year slapped hefty new tariffs on Chinese-made EVs over what the bloc said were unfair state subsidies.

But sales of Chinese electric cars have continued to grow, and BYD looks set to skirt the levies -- its first European factory, in Hungary, will start production later this year.

Bratzel however said it was "too early" to talk about an invasion. Chinese carmakers still need to establish "a relationship of trust" with European consumers and build up networks of dealerships and after-sales services, he said.

There was scepticism about Chinese cars among some of those attending the Munich fair.

"If you drive a Chinese car, which garage would you go to if there are problems?" said Pamina Lohrmann, a 22-year-old German woman, at the Volkswagen stand where an old model of the popular Polo was on display.

"I grew up with German brands, they appeal to me more."



- European 'heritage, legacy' -



Despite such concerns, some Chinese carmakers, such as Xpeng, are hoping to attract a tech-savvy, younger demographic.

President Brian Gu said the manufacturer was aiming for "the first wave of tech enthusiasts".

Europe's storied carmakers are fighting back, hoping their trustworthy reputations, built over many decades, will stand them in good stead.

Among a series of more affordable EVs unveiled by Volkswagen in Munich this week was one named "ID.Polo", aiming to capitalise on the popularity of its classic small car.

European carmakers are also adopting new battery technology and looking at using more Chinese components in their vehicles, according to industry expert Matthias Schmidt.

They aim to focus on their "heritage, legacy and DNA," said Schmidt, adding that these are characteristics that "Chinese new market entrants simply don't have".

lea/sr/fz/lth

BYD COMPANY

Volkswagen

BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE AG
Press Release from Business Wire: Quectel Wireless Solutions



(AFP) Sep 11, 2025



BELGRADE, Sept 11, 2025 (BSW) - Quectel Wireless Solutions, a global end-to-end IoT solutions provider, today announced that several of its LTE modules are now available with Direct-to-Cell (D2C) functionality, enabling devices to seamlessly connect to satellite networks.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250911087809/en/

Quectel expands LTE portfolio with Direct-to-Cell (D2C) capabilities enabling 100 percent global reach for IoT developers



By integrating D2C technology at the module level, Quectel enables devices to extend beyond the limits of ground-based cellular networks by seamlessly leveraging satellite networks. This ensures customers can stay connected virtually anywhere in the world, eliminating the connectivity gaps often encountered in rural or remote areas. Ultimately, this will help to simplify IoT deployments, reducing time-to-market and lowering costs by eliminating the need for specialized satellite hardware. Device manufacturers and developers can now build scalable IoT solutions with global reach, ensuring reliable connectivity virtually anywhere.

"Direct-to-Cell represents a major step forward in connecting the unconnected," said Delbert Sun, Vice General Manager, Quectel Wireless Solutions. "By integrating D2C technology into our LTE modules, we are enabling customers to deploy IoT solutions that remain online everywhere, from cities to the most remote environments, without additional hardware complexity."

Quectel's enhanced D2C portfolio includes a wide range of LTE modules to address diverse global markets and operator requirements:

-- EG91 series

-- EG21 series

-- EG25 series

-- EG916 series

With leading mobile network operators already preparing to support this technology at scale and aligned to enable D2C services, Quectel's modules are designed to integrate seamlessly into evolving satellite ecosystems. The development of the Quectel product range that devices using Quectel's LTE modules with D2C technology will be ready to connect as operators activate their D2C networks worldwide.

These D2C-enabled LTE modules are designed to support a wide range of applications across industries, including residential and commercial fixed subscribers who require reliable broadband connectivity, maritime communication subscribers needing stable connections for vessels and offshore platforms, RV mobile subscribers seeking always-on internet access for recreational vehicles and mobile lifestyles, and aviation communication subscribers who depend on in-flight connectivity and aviation IoT applications.

With Direct-to-Cell support, Quectel is helping unlock the next generation of IoT connectivity by bridging terrestrial and satellite networks. By enabling devices to communicate directly with satellites using existing cellular protocols, Quectel's D2C modules deliver global coverage, greater resiliency, and simplified device management for mission-critical and consumer applications alike.

Quectel also offers a range of high-performance antennas engineered to support Direct-to-Cell connectivity alongside its LTE modules. By combining Quectel's D2C-enabled modules with its antennas, customers gain optimized compatibility and performance, ensuring reliable satellite and terrestrial communication in even the most challenging environments. Purchasing both modules and antennas directly from Quectel removes the need for compatibility testing with third-party solutions, delivering a streamlined, cost-effective, and future-ready path to Direct-to-Cell connectivity.

About Quectel

Quectel's passion for a smarter world drives us to accelerate IoT innovation. A highly customer-centric organization, we are an end-to-end global IoT solutions provider backed by outstanding support and services.

With a global team of over 5,800 professionals, we lead the way in delivering end-to-end IoT solutions, spanning cellular, GNSS, satellite, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules, high-performance antennas, value-added services and full turnkey offerings including ODM services and system integration.

With regional offices and support across the globe, our international leadership is devoted to advancing IoT and helping build a smarter world.

For more information, please visit: www.quectel.com or LinkedIn







View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250911087809/en/









Contact

Media contact: [email protected]







 2025 Business Wire, Inc.Disclaimer:This press release is not a document produced by AFP. AFP shall not bear responsibility for its content. In case you have any questions about this press release, please refer to the contact person/entity mentioned in the text of the press release.
Sabadell CEO Cesar Gonzalez-Bueno expects BBVA to improve its initial takeover bid for Sabadell Bank, as the current offer undervalues the institution, reported Reuters.

His remarks came following BBVA's official initiation of a takeover bid for Sabadell earlier this week.

Gonzalez-Bueno remarked at a financial event organised by Barclays in New York, This offer is most probably not the last one, because everybody agrees that this offer lacks merits.

During the same event BBVA's CEO Onur Genc described the offer as highly attractive for Sabadell shareholders.

He noted that it represents the highest valuation for Sabadell in over ten years and includes a premium above recent European banking-sector offers.

Since merger discussions became public, the offer's value has increased by 43%, BBVA CEO said.

BBVA proposes an exchange of one common share plus 0.70 ($0.82) in cash for every 5.5483 Sabadell shares.

The proposal's total value rose from 12.2bn on 29 April 2024 to 17.4bn. If accepted, Sabadell shareholders would hold a 13.6% stake in BBVA.

The offer acceptance period is set for 30 days, ending on 7 October.

BBVA anticipates post-merger synergies of 900m annually, 13.5% of the combined cost base of BBVA Spain and Sabadell, excluding TSB, sold to Banco Santander, pending regulatory approvals.

Earlier, Josep Oliu, Sabadell's chairman, reiterated his disapproval of BBVA's offer after having already turned it down in May 2024, and following an initial merger proposal made in 2020.

Oliu said this offer significantly undervalues Sabadell and its future prospects, and is even less attractive than the initial BBVA bid rejected by the Board in 2024.

He pointed out that over the last 16 months, Sabadell has delivered greater value and higher returns to its shareholders compared to BBVA.

According to Sabadell, its shares have surged by 108% during this period, while BBVA's shares have only risen by 55%.

"BBVAs initial offer undervalues Sabadell, says CEO " was originally created and published by Retail Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand.




Chinese defence minister tells US counterpart containing China 'futile'



Beijing, Sept 10 (AFP) Sep 10, 2025



China's defence minister warned the United States that "containing, deterring, or interfering with China will be futile" in talks with his US counterpart on Wednesday, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

The two strategic rivals also discussed the fraught issues of Taiwan and the South China Sea, according to CCTV.

"Any attempt or interference to use force to support independence or use Taiwan to contain China will be thwarted," Dong Jun told US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during a video call.

China considers self-ruled Taiwan part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to take it, while Washington is the democratic island's main arms supplier and is committed to its defence.

Hegseth "made clear that the United States does not seek conflict with China nor is it pursuing regime change or strangulation of the PRC," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement, referring to China by the initials of its formal name.

"At the same time, however, he forthrightly relayed that the US has vital interests in the Asia-Pacific, the priority theater, and will resolutely protect those interests," Parnell added.

In the South China Sea, Dong said Beijing "firmly opposes infringement and provocation by certain countries and the deliberate incitement of chaos by countries outside the region," CCTV reported.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea, despite overlapping claims with its neighbours.

The US Navy has regularly sent ships to conduct "freedom of navigation" transits in the region, angering Beijing.

"We must... build an equal, respectful, peacefully coexistent, stable and positive military-to-military relationship. We must respect each other's core interests," Dong said.

The Pentagon said the talks were "candid and constructive", with Hegseth and Dong agreeing to further discussions.
Taiwan plans $18 bn for 'resilience' to tariffs, China



Taipei, Sept 11 (AFP) Sep 11, 2025



Taiwan's government plans to spend $18 billion on strengthening the island's "resilience", including helping industries hit by US tariffs and boosting its defences against Chinese threats, the cabinet said Thursday.

The special budget bill was approved on Thursday but it has to be passed by the opposition-controlled parliament before it can take effect.

The NT$550 billion ($18 billion) in funds would be used to support industries hit by the United States' 20 percent tariff, and provide cash handouts to people, the cabinet said.

It also included NT$150 billion for strengthening Taiwan's defences, such as buying more coast guard patrol boats, making drones and boosting the military's command and control systems.

Defence Minister Wellington Koo said the funding would "increase our combat readiness" and "ensure operational resilience" as Chinese pressure on the island intensifies.

"In recent years, China has been increasing grey-zone harassment and military intimidation," Koo said.

"We cannot ignore the existence of such threats. We must face them and remain vigilant."

Taiwan lives under the constant threat of invasion by China, which claims the self-ruled island is part of its territory and has threatened to seize it by force.

The island has ramped up spending on military equipment and weapons over the past decade, but it remains heavily reliant on the United States to deter a Chinese attack.

President Lai Ching-te said last month Taiwan's defence spending was expected to reach five percent of gross domestic product by 2030.

His government has also announced plans to increase the 2026 defence budget to 3.32 percent of GDP.
EU top court annuls decision approving Hungary nuclear plant expansion



Budapest, Sept 11 (AFP) Sep 11, 2025



The EU's top court on Thursday annulled a European Commission decision to approve the expansion of a nuclear plant in Hungary with Russian aid, upholding a complaint from neighbouring Austria.

Russia's state-owned Rosatom was due to install two new reactors at the Paks plant south of Budapest, Hungary's sole nuclear facility, which fulfils half of its electricity needs.

Hungary struck a deal with Russia in 2014 that also involved a 10-billion-euro ($11.6 billion) Russian loan, but work was delayed by permit issues and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Austria filed its legal complaint in 2018, which was ultimately backed by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Thursday.

The court said in a statement it was annulling the commission's decision to approve the plant because the EU executive arm should have ascertained whether giving the contract to a "Russian undertaking" complied with EU public procurement rules.

The commission's decision was "not sufficiently reasoned", the court said, because it was not clear why Hungary awarded the contract to Russia without a public tender.

The plant's original four reactors, built with Soviet-era technology in the 1980s, are scheduled to be retired gradually from 2032.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, is adamant Budapest must continue cooperating with the Kremlin to ensure its energy security, even in the face of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Last year, Hungary's parliament adopted legislation that permits increasing the 12.5-billion-euro contractual price to prevent further delays.

Hungarian EU Affairs Minister Janos Boka said Thursday that the top court ruling did not "prevent" Hungary from continuing with the expansion.

"Since the court did not find either the state aid scheme or the public procurement procedure to be unlawful, there is no legal obstacle to the Paks investment continuing according to the existing schedule," he told reporters.
Israel intercepts missile fired from Yemen after deadly Sanaa strikes



Sanaa, Sept 11 (AFP) Sep 11, 2025



The Israeli military said it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen on Thursday, a day after Israeli forces carried out air strikes that killed 35 people and wounded more than 130.

The Iran-backed Huthi rebels have repeatedly launched missiles and drones at Israel since their Palestinian ally Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war, although no one claimed responsibility for the latest attack.

"Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted," the Israeli military said on Telegram.

The Huthi armed forces' media operation in the rebel-held capital Sanaa was hit by Israel on Wednesday, along with a Huthi complex in Jawf province, the group said.

Thirty-five people died and 131 were wounded, Huthi health ministry spokesman Anees Alasbahi posted on X, adding it was not a final toll.

The toll included 28 dead and 113 wounded in Sanaa, and seven dead and 18 wounded in Jawf, which borders Saudi Arabia, Alasbahi said.

Israel's main ally, the United States, also piled more pressure on the Huthis on Thursday.

The Treasury Department said it was imposing sanctions on 32 people or entities as well as four vessels in what it described as its largest single action against the Huthis.

The targets of the sanctions included Chinese companies accused of selling precursor chemicals to help the Huthis with ballistic missile development or electronics used in drones, as well as a ship management company based in the United Arab Emirates.

"We will continue applying maximum pressure against those who threaten the security of the United States and the region," Treasury Department official John Hurley said in a statement.



- High-profile assassinations -



The latest violence came after the Huthis' prime minister Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi, nine ministers and two cabinet officials were killed as they attended a government meeting in the Sanaa area last month.

The killings were the most high-profile assassinations of Huthi officials during nearly two years of hostilities with Israel over the Gaza war.

Huthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said journalists working for the September 26 and al-Yaman newspapers were among those killed at the "Moral Guidance Headquarters" in Sanaa on Wednesday.

The Israeli military confirmed that the Huthi armed forces' media arm was among its targets.

The Huthis' Al-Masirah television said the strikes in Jawf hit a Central Bank branch building in the city of Al-Hazm, wounding employees.

The Huthis said they fought back with air defences, without giving details.

On Sunday, a drone launched from Yemen struck Ramon airport in southern Israel, wounding one person.

Since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023, the Huthis have launched repeated drone and missile attacks against Israel.

In response, Israel has carried out rounds of retaliatory strikes in Yemen, mainly targeting infrastructure such as ports, power stations and the international airport in Sanaa.
Germany expands mission to defend Polish airspace



Berlin, Sept 11 (AFP) Sep 11, 2025



Germany said Thursday it would expand its role in a NATO mission to defend Polish airspace, a day after drones from Russia flew across the border into Poland.

The chancellery said Berlin would "extend and expand" its participation in the alliance's Air Policing programme.

The German defence ministry said it would double the number of Eurofighter jets deployed to four and extend their mission by three months to the end of the year.

NATO says that its Air Policing aims to "preserve the security" of member states' skies through a round-the-clock deployment of fighter jets "to react quickly to possible airspace violations".

The system was enhanced along NATO's eastern border with Russia following Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Other NATO members have also contributed to the mission, with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof saying that Dutch F35 fighter jets helped shoot down some of the Russian drones over Poland.

The German chancellery also promised to "intensify its support for Ukraine", including by pushing for the "quick adoption of a robust 19th package of sanctions" against Russia by the EU.
Freed academic tells Israel PM of Iraq ordeal



Jerusalem, Sept 11 (AFP) Sep 11, 2025



Israeli-Russian academic Elizabeth Tsurkov, freed after more than two years in captivity in Iraq, told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that she had been held in "harsh conditions".

Netanyahu's office released the first images of Tsurkov since she arrived in Israel, showing her limping as she was assisted by Israeli medics.

Video released on Thursday shows her embracing relatives and friends during an emotional reunion on Wednesday at a hospital near Tel Aviv.

During her conversation with Netanyahu, Tsurkov spoke of her ordeal and "described the harsh conditions of her captivity", the prime minister's office said in a statement.

She also expressed hope for the return of all the hostages held in Gaza since Hamas's October 2023 attack, it said.

Netanyahu told her that "extensive efforts had been made over a long period to bring her home to Israel," the statement added.

Tsurkov arrived in Israel on Wednesday, a day after being freed following her abduction in Baghdad in March 2023.

While Iraq said "outlaws" kidnapped Tsurkov, US President Donald Trump said she was released by the Hezbollah Brigades, a powerful pro-Iranian military faction.

Tsurkov, a doctoral student at Princeton University and fellow at the Washington-based New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, went missing in Iraq in March 2023.

She had likely entered Iraq on her Russian passport and had travelled to the country as part of her doctoral studies.

Her research focused on the Levant, and she worked extensively on Syria during its civil war as well as on Iraq. She speaks English, Russian, Hebrew and Arabic.

She was abducted as she was leaving a cafe in Baghdad's Karrada neighbourhood, an Iraqi intelligence source told AFP in 2023.
Iran says enriched nuclear material 'under rubble' of facilities hit during Israel war



Tehran, Sept 11 (AFP) Sep 11, 2025



Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday that enriched nuclear material remained "under the rubble" of facilities damaged during the recent war with Israel.

In a televised interview, Araghchi said "all of our material is... under the rubble of the bombed facilities", adding that the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran was assessing the condition and accessibility of the material in order to submit a report to the country's Supreme National Security Council.

Araghchi said the council -- Iran's top security body -- was in charge of the country's nuclear affairs.

His remarks came after he agreed on Tuesday in Cairo a deal with UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi on a new framework of cooperations with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

In his interview on Thursday, Araghchi insisted that the new cooperation framework agreement grants access to UN nuclear inspectors only after the approval of Iran's security body.

Iran halted its cooperation with the agency following the 12-day war with Israel in June, following a law passed by the Iranian parliament.

Iran has accused the IAEA of failing to adequately condemn Israel's strikes.

In his joint press conference from Egypt on Wednesday, Araghchi said the framework was "fully consistent" with provisions of the law.

Araghchi on Thursday further elaborated that the agreement distinguishes between nuclear facilities that were attacked during the war and others which were unharmed, such as the Bushehr reactor in the south.

Access to undamaged facilities will be "considered case by case by the Supreme National Security Council", he said, adding that the situation for the targeted facilities was more "complicated".

"For now no action is taken until Iran carries out the necessary measures related to environmental and safety concerns," he noted, referring to the hit sites.

During an interview with CBS in late June, Grossi had admitted that "we don't know where this (highly enriched) material could be".

US President Donald Trump had nonetheless insisted that Iran's nuclear programme had been set back "decades".

Iran had an estimated 408.6-kilo (900-pound) stockpile of highly enriched uranium before the attacks.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes, while Western countries accuse Tehran of seeking an atomic weapon -- a charge Tehran has denied.

In August, Britain, France and Germany initiated steps to reimpose UN sanctions after weeks of warnings, citing Iran's continued non-compliance with its commitments under a largely moribund 2015 nuclear agreement.

Araghchi said that "if the issue of activating the snapback mechanism goes through in the Security Council despite all the disputes, from our point of view this agreement will no longer be valid".
Australias Bega Group has found a buyer for its peanut processing assets but still plans to go ahead and close the business.

Bega announced in July it would shutter the Peanut Company of Australia (PCA) and its factories in Kingaroy and Tolga in Queensland in a phased manner over an 18-month period.

The company said today (11 September) it is optimistic that around 30 of the 150 jobs at risk will be saved after it reached an agreement to sell the land, buildings and equipment at the two sites to Crumpton Group.

Crumpton Group is a family-owned agri-food business in South Burnett, also in Queensland. It is engaged across the production process, from shelling, roasting and processing to the supply of raw peanuts to customers in the Australian market.

After launching a review of PCA last year, Bega reached the conclusion that it could not establish a sustainable business model for the operations.

Continued financial losses and industry challenges led to the need for the review and ultimately the conclusion that the business would be better served by a change to more local and focused ownership or in the absence of that being achieved, unfortunately a closure, Bega said in July.

CEO Pete Findlay said today: While it was always our preference to sell the Peanut Company of Australia, we are pleased that the land, buildings and equipment located in Kingaroy and Tolga will remain in local hands.

Bega said it has worked with Crumpton Group to try and save some of the affected jobs, with some success, but otherwise it will be paying redundancy money to the remaining staff.

Findlay added: Bega Group remains committed to supporting its people through this transition and has worked with Crumptons to identify up to 30 potential roles with Crumptons for its impacted workforce.

While financial details of the agreement with Crumpton Group were not disclosed, the sale of the assets is expected to be completed in December followed by a transition to the new owner in June next year.

Sonie Crumpton, one of the familys business owners, said: The acquisition of these assets will allow us to better serve Australian peanut growers in all regions moving forward. We will soon be in discussions with peanut growers regarding the coming season.

A spokesperson for Bega told Just Food in July that the business closure affects only PCAs raw peanut processing operations, with peanut butter production continuing at Port Melbourne.

Bega has also been trimming assets elsewhere. In May, the company announced the closure of its cheese processing and packaging facility in Strathmerton in Victoria.
HANGZHOU, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- As the back-to-school season kicks off, the streets of east China's Zhejiang Province have come alive with shops brimming with colorful stationery. Their vibrant hues and intricate designs catch the eye of passersby, reflecting the growing "China-chic" stationery trend that has been grabbing attention around the world. This unique blend of traditional Chinese elements and modern design has not only captured the hearts of domestic consumers but has also become a new favorite among international buyers. In Zhejiang Yizheng Cultural Supplies Co., Ltd., an enterprise that integrates the production, sales and research and development of stationery, the excitement is palpable. "In recent years, as Chinese cultural IPs have gained more attention globally, we started to try our hand at exporting our own brands last year," said Zhang Ying, the company's director of human resources and administration. "Our design team has also grown from just four or five people to over 20 now." The company holds the official licenses for several popular IPs such as "Sanrio," "Ultraman" and "Transformers," and has also independently developed a range of stationery IPs like "Carrot," "Akun Bear" and "Unicorn." These products have found their way into more than 20 countries and regions, including Europe, the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Southeast Asia. From January to July this year, the company achieved an export turnover of over 30 million yuan (about 4.2 million U.S. dollars), up 50 percent year on year, with about 40 percent of the total coming from its own brands, according to Zhang. This remarkable growth is not an isolated case. Yiwu, a city often dubbed "the world's supermarket" for its expertise in consumer goods manufacturing, exported stationery products worth 410 million yuan from January to July this year, up 12.3 percent year on year. Home to more than 3,000 stationery and cultural creativity enterprises, Yiwu has embraced an innovative model that connects source factories directly with buyers during product ordering meetings. Recently, 65 stationery and cultural creativity enterprises from Yiwu held a product ordering meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, showcasing more than 10,000 stationery items that drew over 200 Thai wholesalers. At the meeting, Zhang Liangjie, a purchasing officer, dispatched six specialists to conduct a thorough search for high-quality source factories. Within just two hours, they had added more than 20 exhibitors on WeChat. Her company operates more than 70 chain stores in Thailand. Giant panda-themed stationery developed by Chinese companies is very popular overseas. Some companies have developed stationery products based on the ancient Chinese myth, "Classic of Mountains and Seas," in order to gradually open up the European and American markets, said Huang Changchao, president of the Yiwu Cultural Products Industry Association. Thanks to ongoing advancements in AR technology, scanning the cover of a notebook can now even trigger an English explanation of animations from the four great classical novels in Chinese literature, Huang said. "China-chic cultural products have performed well in overseas markets. Small stationery items can serve as a big window to showcase Chinese culture," Huang added. Data from local customs showed that from January to July this year, Zhejiang exported stationery products such as ballpoint pens, pencils and erasers worth 10.54 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.9 percent.
The price used as the basis for most fuel surcharges rose for the second consecutive week Monday, announced Tuesday, as the broader oil futures market has barely reacted to two developments that might otherwise be seen as a reason for significant price moves.

The Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration average weekly retail diesel price rose 3.2 cents/gallon to $3.766/g.

The two increases come after five weeks of declines. After that up and down, the price released Tuesday is just 0.8 cts/g more than where diesel stood on July 14, when it was $3.758/g.

Oil markets in just the last two days experienced two developments that in other times might have sent prices skidding in one instance or soaring in another.

On Sunday, the OPEC+ group agreed to increase production by 137,000 b/d in October. But that increase is less than the hikes the group in recent months has said it would implement, with 411,000 b/d being a number it has agreed upon several times.

Despite those repeated announcements of production increases, OPEC+ only had one month where its output, according to S&P Global Commodity Indices, rose by a large amount: 600,000 b/d between May and June. It then declined 140,000 b/d in July.

Julys output according to SPGCI was 41.65 million b/d. A year earlier, according to SPGCI data, it was 41.03 million b/d. Pulling apart the numbers lead to a calculation that almost all of that increase came in that one month, so that OPEC+ pledges to put more oil on to the market are not being greeted by any sort of selloff.

An international incident Tuesdaythe Israeli attack on Hamas officials in Doha, the capital of Qataralso resulted in little reaction. Qatar is a significant oil producer of about 1.8 million b/d, but the Israeli attack did not threaten that output.

By the end of trading Tuesday, global crude benchmark Brent had risen just 37 cts/b, to $66.39/b. Its settlement on the first day of September was $69.14/b.

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The post Benchmark diesel moves up 2nd straight week as futures market yawns appeared first on FreightWaves.
He added: We accept that our guide focuses on quality establishments rather than all hospitality outlets and that the growth rate were seeing says nothing about the current profitability of hospitality businesses, but that does not invalidate the general picture that there are healthy, bright spots within the country and the suggestion from our figures that investors scent future gains in backing these new openings.
Having returned from Opportunity Londons most recent tour of North America, conversations confirmed London continues to stand out. Compounding the narrative that private US investors are looking to London in light of their domestic uncertainty, the general view from the groups we spoke to is that the UK continues to offer attractive opportunities. Despite our national political uncertainty, London remains a strong and liquid market with a track record of strong cross-border investment volumes and returns, global connectivity, depth and breadth of sector and asset class.
Tonks, who is 48, grew up on a poultry farm, whose eggs were sold to one of the UKs largest egg producers. Then she decided to build a brand and sell direct to the supermarkets. The lightbulb moment, she says, was a curiosity of where our eggs were being sold and telling our story. We put a lot of effort into producing beautiful eggs and never really knew what customers thought. The family spent 10,000 converting a cow shed into a packing centre, buying an egg grader, and organising packaging - including that coastal jaunt. Then we called national supermarkets to see if there was an opportunity to start the listing process, handed in our 12-month notice with the national egg packer we supplied, took many deep breaths and ran with it.
I mean now that we are here, she nods, and I mean this was both of our homes for so many years so weve been super happy coming back and you get swept into it quite quickly  some of my best and oldest friends are here. And we were here last year for five months, and we soon realised that we are probably going to come back again next year, because Ive been talking about wanting to do theatre for a long time. Having lived all around the capital, her compass dial eventually landed on north and it is there she always returns, walking on Hampstead Heath and swimming in the ponds.
In recent years, bilateral aid to Nepal has fallen. Is now not the time to review that level, not only in quantity but also ensuring that, as we move forward, bilateral aid will focus on good governance and democracy building to ensure that the young people of Nepal get the future they deserve?
This deal is a first of its kind, giving UK industry unprecedented access to the latest equipment designs, supporting Ukraine in its fight to defend against Putins illegal invasion and showing how defence can be an engine for growth as we deliver on our Plan for Change.
He gave a short speech, from his seat, to the panel: "Thank you all for being here. I don't know how you were as individuals, all of you... five, ten years ago pre-Diana Award, but to see you sitting up here now with the confidence you have, speaking to a complete group of strangers is proof of the fact this whole thing works."
He posted on his Truth Social: "I have seen the horrific video of a beautiful, young Ukrainian refugee, who came to America to escape the vicious War in Ukraine, and was innocently riding the Metro in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was brutally ambushed by a mentally deranged lunatic.
Bernstein Private Wealth Management has appointed Gregory Kadet and Cecily Bolding as managing directors in its private wealth offices located in the Rocky Mountains and Dallas, Texas, US.

Both Kadet and Bolding will oversee teams of wealth advisors dedicated to serving high-net-worth and ultrahigh-net-worth clients, reporting directly to Adam Sansiveri, regional senior managing director at Bernstein.

Gregory Kadet, based in Denver, has more than 30 years of experience in wealth management.

Before joining Bernstein, he was the managing director and market head for Greater Florida at UBS in Tampa, where he managed a team of 350 employees, including 180 advisors, across 15 locations, overseeing more than $50bn in assets.

Kadet previously served as regional sales manager at UBS, leading 1,000 financial advisors across seven states.

Cecily Bolding has two decades of experience in the wealth management sector.

Prior to her role at Bernstein, she was managing director at Northern Trust, where she managed the Dallas market and provided wealth advisory services to high-net-worth families.

Bolding has also worked in the nonprofit sector in Dallas, engaging with high-net-worth donors and establishing boards for local organisations such as Make-A-Wish North Texas and The Dallas Symphony.

This recruitment follows the firm's expansion of its ultrahigh-net-worth platform in January 2024 and the establishment of a dedicated service team.

Bernstein client and advisory services head and executive managing director Rick Meyers said: Our firm is committed to both organic and inorganic strategies to grow our business and bolster our advisor team.

As regional leaders, we are confident Greg and Cecily have the leadership qualities and skill set to accelerate our presence in their respective markets and help our clients navigate the complexities that come with their wealth.

Bernstein Private Wealth Management provides advisory services to ultrahigh- and high-net-worth clients, focusing on the complexities associated with substantial wealth.

Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, Bernstein operates as a unit of AllianceBernstein, an investment manager, with over $829bn in assets under management as of 30 June 2025.

"Bernstein expands wealth management team with new hires" was originally created and published by Private Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand.




Gov. Greg Abbott signs legislation to establish the Texas Cyber Command in June at the University of Texas at San Antonios National Security Collaboration Center. Creation of the command comes as Texas agencies continue to be hit by data breaches and other issues exposing the personal data of Texans. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News

Another Texas agency has fumbled the private information of tens of thousands of residents  including the victims of floods and other natural disasters.

The Texas General Land Office exposed the personal data of 44,485 people in the latest in a string of data breaches or technical foul-ups hitting state offices, school districts, county offices and utilities.

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A software misconfiguration on the offices online grant system let applicants see others private information, the agency said this week.

The problem was discovered in late July when a person using the search function on the Texas Integrated Grant Reporting system was able to see other users info. The user reported the glitch that revealed names, addresses, Social Security numbers, identification numbers, banking information, medical info, birth dates and other personal data.

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A General Land Office spokesperson said the agency does not know when the glitch began or how many peoples info was made public.

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The issue was resolved immediately after it was identified, the spokesperson said.

The glitch was reported last month on the Texas Attorney Generals listing of data security incidents. It impacted victims of natural disasters that occurred between 2015 and 2024 who were seeking state relief for home repairs, rebuilding and buyouts, according to a land office spokesperson.

The database does not yet include applications for recovery grants related to July 4 Hill Country flooding.

Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said in a statement the office is firmly committed to protecting Texans personal information as they recover from natural disasters.

She said the agencys information security team took immediate steps to mitigate the issue and strengthen the system's cybersecurity. The agency also will improve its internal review processes, implement stricter access controls, and improve system monitoring and logging.

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Its at least the third major problem with state-funded systems in the past year, according to reports in the attorney generals database.

Last September, hackers swiped 1.4 million peoples info from the Texas Tech Health Science Center. Earlier this year, another 423,000 Texans data was taken from the Texas Department of Transportations crash-records database.

Since June, the city of Coppell, Kimble County, Kerrville Independent School District and Cleburne Independent School District have reported data security incidents.

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Last week, attorney general Ken Paxton filed suit against PowerSchool, a California-based provider of online services for K-12 schools, over a 2024 breach that exposed information about more than 880,000 school-aged children and teachers.

As hackers continue to breach state systems, lawmakers are investing $345.2 million in a Texas Cyber Command in San Antonio. Gov. Greg Abbott said in June the planned agencys ultimate mission is to prevent and to protect against cyber breaches.

With those potential benefits at least 18 months away, a San Antonio computer security expert said he wonders if the state is investing enough in what he called basic cybersecurity hygiene.

John Dickson, whos launched several cybersecurity companies, said the types of problems hobbling state and local government systems could be caught with better systems, updates and access management.

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While the General Land Office breach didnt appear to be a ransomware attack, in which hackers steal info and lock access to systems in return for payment, such attacks continue to hit various state and local agencies.

Despite all the public pronouncements and taxpayer investment, Texas agencies continue to fall victim to entry-level cyber attacks such as ransomware, Dickson said. Until the governor fires commissioners of these public agencies, I suspect this trend will continue.
A photo of President Donald Trump is seen at a growing memorial for Charlie Kirk outside Timpanogos Regional Hospital after Kirk was shot and killed Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. Lindsey Wasson/AP

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered the U.S. and Texas flags at all state government buildings to be lowered to half-staff in honor of Charlie Kirk.

Abbott's order follows a proclamation by President Donald Trump. In accordance to Trump's statement, flags in Texas will remain at half-staff until sunset on Sunday, Sept. 14.

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Kirk was a conservative activist who was fatally shot while speaking at Utah Valley University Wednesday afternoon. Abbott responded to Kirk's death, saying he and his wife, Cecilia, "are heartbroken."

"Charlies voice was a beacon for millions of young Americans searching for truth, courage, and conviction," Abbott's social media post read in part. "This senseless act of violence has no place in America."

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Cecilia and I are heartbroken by the assassination and passing of Charlie Kirk.



Charlies voice was a beacon for millions of young Americans searching for truth, courage, and conviction. This senseless act of violence has no place in America.



Our prayers are with Charlies  Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) September 10, 2025

Why are US flags at half-staff in Texas today? Remembering 9/11 on Patriot Day

The U.S. flags were already set to be lowered Thursday for the National Day of Service and Remembrance, also known as Patriot Day. Sept. 11 marks 24 years since the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and United Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.
Texas State University President Kelly Damphousse on Wednesday announced the firing of a professor, saying the faculty member's remarks in a conference over the weekend advocated "for inciting violence." Jay Janner/American-Statesman

Texas State University has fired a professor for controversial remarks at a socialism conference the unviversity said constituted "advocating for violence," its president announced Wednesday night.

The decision marks the second termination of a Texas public university professor for views unpopular to the majority party after direct political pressure to remove the scholars.

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Wednesday morning, Texas Scorecard, a conservative outlet, posted a recording of the history professor discussing the importance of organized resistance, saying "without organization, how can anyone expect to overthrow the most bloodthirsty, profit-driven, mad organization in the history of the world, that of the U.S. government?"

Later that day, President Kelly Damphousse said he was informed of the "controversial statements" made at a virtual conference over the weekend and "cannot and will not tolerate such behavior." The university is quoted in the Scorecard article as saying it will investigate.

"After a thorough review was conducted of the video recordings of the statements, it became clear to me that their actions amounted to serious professional and personal misconduct," Damphousse said in a statement announcing the firing, saying the remarks "advocates for inciting violence." "As a result, I have determined that their actions are incompatible with their responsibilities as a faculty member at Texas State University."

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The professor, identified by Texas Scorecard as Tom Alter but whom the San Marcos university did not name, had tenure, which historically has entitled a professor to thorough due process before termination. But a state law passed in 2023, Senate Bill 18, allows an institution's president to fire a professor for several reasons, including "good cause as defined in the institution's policies" and "conduct involving moral turpitude."

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A page now removed from Texas State's website listing Alter's biography states he specializes in the study of protest movements, capitalism, labor and race through a transnational lens.

According to its website, the Revolutionary Socialism Conference aimed to discuss the practice and theory of revolutionary socialism.

The decision came one day after Texas A&M University fired a professor for teaching about gender identity in a children's literature course when Gov. Greg Abbott publicly directed the president to do so. Multiple free speech organizations have condemned the termination.

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Lammes Candies has a long and storied history in Austin dating back to the late 1800s. American-Statesman file photo

Jim Duncan, a retired city planner, has written more than 600 short histories of Austin businesses. We introduced him and this series, Jim Duncans Austin, on July 6. This week, we adapt three of his histories.  Michael Barnes

1876: Red Front/Lammes Candies

Lammes Candies is Austins oldest continuously run family business. Its founder, William Wirt Lamme, arrived in Austin from St. Louis in 1876 and established the Red Front Candy Factory at 721 Congress Avenue. After he lost the store in a poker game, his son David Turner Lamme, who had been selling barbed wire in West Texas, returned to Austin in 1885 and repurchased it for $800.

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By 1900, David had changed the store name to Lammes and moved it up the Avenue to 919 Congress Avene, with brief stopovers at 804 and 811.

Over the years, Lammes has also opened and closed suburban stores on the Drag and in Delwood, Twin Oaks, Northcross and Lakeline. In 1957, it opened its main store and kitchen at E. 53rd St. and Airport Boulevard, where it is today.

Lammes became known for its concoction of sherbet and ice cream; for wrapping individual candies with verses inside, and for the chewy pecan pralines it invented in 1892 after seven years of recipe testing. Initially, pecans from trees along the Colorado River were used to produce the pralines.

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The firm also produced ribbon candy and chocolates after the introduction of air conditioning. William died in 1893 and David in 1948. The fifth generation of the Lamme family continues to own and operate the business, which now offers more than 1,000 candy items.

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1905: Davis Grocers/Capital Grille

Built as a warehouse for Davis Grocers, this building at 117 W. Fourth St. now houses Capital Grille and some other businesses. JAY JANNER/AMERICAN-STATESMAN

For 120 years, the red brick building at the southeast corner of Fourth and Colorado streets has served the food needs of Austin gourmets and gourmands. It was built in 1905 as a warehouse by Nelson Davis, who was one of Austins earliest and largest wholesale grocers.

Previously, the site had been occupied by the Blue Ribbon Saloon, a rowdy gathering place in a rough neighborhood.

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When Nelson died in 1923, the firm was taken over by his son, Theodore, who was also a founder of the Austin Country Club and Capital National Bank. In all, the Davis company occupied the building for more than 60 years.

In 1975, Spaghetti Warehouse, part of a chain of Italian eateries started in the West End of Dallas that specialized in transforming industrial spaces, moved into the building from its location around the corner on Congress Avenue and stayed for four decades. Part of the Spaghetti Warehouses attraction was a full-scale trolley car that sat in the center of the dining room.

In 2014, the Capital Grille, part of a chain of steakhouses founded in Florida, replaced Spaghetti Warehouse and steaks replaced pasta on the menu. Almost a decade later, the Capital Grille is still grilling steaks, but it shares the warehouse with the RA Sushi Bar and other businesses.

York Rite Masonic Temple

The York Rite Temple at 311 W. Seventh St. was built in 1926. York Rite Austin

Since 1926, the York Rite Masonic Temple at 311 W. Seventh St. has been home to the Lone Star Chapter of Royal Arch Masons and several commercial and nonprofit tenants. Designed by architects J.G. Daves and William Edward Ketchum, the century-old, red-stone building comes with prominent Classical Revival elements, including a long, crested metal awning across its main facade.

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It was built on a sloping site and has three full levels, including a side entrance basement and partial fourth floor.

During the 1940s and early 50s, the basement was home to Capital Printing. Print jobs for the state government kept the presses going during wartime.

The building was designated an historic landmark and rezoned historic by the city of Austin in 2000.

From 2011 to 2017, the basement housed the New Movement Theater, an underground comedy club. After receiving allegations of misconduct by its owners, the theater closed. It was reopened in 2018 by five former New Movement comics who were not involved in the allegations. They renamed the basement venue the Fallout Theater.

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Most recent entries from 'Jim Duncan's Austin'

Please send tips and questions to mbarnes@statesman.com.
Williamson County Justice Center Austin American-Statesman

A Georgetown man has received a 300-year prison sentence for possession of child pornography, officials announced.

A Williamson County jury found Daniel Bracamontez, 54, guilty of five counts of possession of child porn and sentenced him on Wednesday to 60 years for each count, a news release from the district attorney's office said. It said District Judge Donna King ordered that the sentences be run consecutively, which results in a total of 300 years in prison.

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Williamson County Justice Center Austin American-Statesman

Bracamontez has an extensive criminal history including prior convictions for theft, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and multiple convictions for driving while intoxicated, according to the release.

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Officials with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, a national network of law enforcement officials, found out about the case after receiving a tip from Google Inc., the release said. The tip said that pornographic images and videos of children were uploaded to an internet account in Georgetown, according to the release. It said Georgetown police found images depicting the sexual abuse of children ranging in age from 2 to 16 uploaded to two email addresses belonging to Bracamontez.

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When officers got a search warrant and searched Bracamontez's phone in March 2021 they found he had videos and images of child pornography, including material showing the sexual abuse of children as young as 3, the release said.

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Pflugerville Police Department. American Statesman file



An affidavit released after four people were charged in August in connection with the drug-related deaths of two Pflugerville men days apart in 2021 shows how police put together clues that led them to the suspects.

After Pflugerville resident Jerod Crespin, 39, was reported missing on Oct. 11, 2021, police learned that his roommate, 28-year-old Jacob Stilwell, had crashed a truck in Arkansas two days before with some of Crespin's belongings in it, according to an arrest affidavit. On Oct. 20, 2021, police got a call from Memphis police saying they had found Crespin's body in the trunk of his car, the affidavit said.

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While investigating Crespin's disappearance, Pflugerville police received a call on Oct. 18 reporting that another one of Crespin's roommates, Elijah Stark, 18, also was missing, the affidavit said.

Stark's body was later found wrapped in a blanket that belonged to Stilwell in a box on a ranch in Taylor on Nov. 6, 2021, the affidavit said. Four days later, a fingerprint of Stilwell's was discovered on a piece of tape on a tarp used to conceal Stark's body, the document said.

Stilwell initially was charged with murder but that was dismissed on Aug. 28 so he could be prosecuted on another charge of tampering/fabricating physical evidence with intent to impair a human corpse, according to Travis County court records. On the same day the murder charge was dismissed, Stilwell was convicted on the evidence-tampering charge and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, court records showed.

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Phillip Jones and Rico Huey, both 39, were charged with first-degree murder and tampering/fabricating physical evidence with intent to impair a human corpse. Michael Randle, 32, was charged with tampering/fabricating physical evidence with intent to impair a human corpse.

Pflugerville police declined to comment about the lengthy investigation. "To protect the integrity of the criminal justice process, Pflugerville Police Department will not be accepting interviews and no further information will be released at this time," said Roger Heaney, a city spokesman.

After Crespin's body was found, investigators discovered security footage from a U-Haul facility in Dallas that showed Stilwell dropping off a trailer and getting into the back passenger seat of Crespin's car on Oct. 8, 2021, the affidavit said. It said police also discovered that Stilwell's phone was used in the area around Memphis where Crespin's body was discovered.



Meanwhile investigators talked to another roommate of Stilwell's who said Stilwell sold marijuana, Xanax and other kinds of pills, according to the affidavit.

It said another witness told police in February 2022 that Stark owned Stilwell a lot of money because Stark or a relative of Stark's took drugs from Stilwell. This made Stilwell mad, the affidavit said. The witness said Stilwell told him that "he choked Elijah until he stopped breathing at his house," the affidavit said. "Stilwell said he did it because of the people he owed money to," the witness told police, according to the document. Pflugerville police charged Stilwell with murder on Feb. 24, 2022, Travis County court records showed.

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In July 2025, Stilwell told police what happened with Crespin and Stark, the affidavit said. It said Stilwell told police that on Sept. 28, 2021, he was at the house in Pflugerville and that he and Stark were drinking codeine mixed with fruit punch and Xanax. Stark passed out on the couch while Stilwell said he was "blacking-out" and "it felt like a dream," according to the affidavit.

Stilwell said he got mad about something and then remembered seeing his belt around Stark's neck before he dragged Stark into the garage, the affidavit said. It said Stilwell got scared about Stark's death and called Randle for help. Stilwell then got Huey, who was Randle's cousin, and Jones to help him clean up blood at the scene on Oct. 6, 2021, the affidavit said. It said Stillwell and Huey then drove Stark's body in a box to the ranch in Taylor.

Stilwell told police that Huey asked him where to buy marijuana and he told him that he could buy it from Crespin, the affidavit said. Stilwell said on Oct. 7, 2021, that Huey told him that he and Jones had attacked Crespin that day, police said. Their original plan was to tie him up and rob him but Crespin resisted after Huey pepper-sprayed on his face, the affidavit said.

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It said Jones then put pepper spray down Crespin's throat. Huey got a blanket because Jones said he "had to fix it," the affidavit said. It did not include details about what happened next. At one point, Crespin's body was in trunk of the car with the car still running and the garage door closed, the affidavit said.
Guerrero Thompson Elementary School teacher Alina Reyes, left, hugs Austin Independent School District Chief of Staff Lakesha Drinks on the first day of school on Aug. 19. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman

Recently, we launched something powerful: Our Austin ISD. This is more than a campaign. It is an initiative rooted in community, pride and shared responsibility for the future of public education in our city.

We launched it at a pivotal time. The challenges facing the Austin Independent School District, and all public schools across Texas, are real, complex and growing. We are not alone in navigating outdated school funding formulas, shifting student needs and an accountability system that often oversimplifies the work of educating the whole child. Everything is interconnected, and with finite resources, tough decisions must be made.

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But Our Austin ISD is not about ignoring those challenges. Its about rising to meet them  together.

At Austin ISD, this is who we are. We have always believed in the whole child. We treat each student like our own. We know that the strength of our public schools is inseparable from the strength of our community. When schools thrive, neighborhoods flourish, businesses grow, and all kids have the support and opportunities they deserve. And we believe deeply that if we want the schools this city needs, wants and deserves, we must be our own solution.

Thats the heart of Our Austin ISD. It is a rallying cry for all of us who care enough about Austins future to show up, speak up and step in.

At the launch event, we heard from leaders in education, business and local government who stood alongside parents, teachers, volunteers and students. The message was clear: When we support our public schools, we support the fabric of our city. Public education is not just a district issue. It is a community issue, and every one of us has a role to play.

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Were already seeing whats possible when we work together. One shining example of that investment is our Inspire the Future Grant Program, which empowers teachers to bring innovative ideas to life. This years $500,000 grant cycle  the largest in the programs history  was made possible entirely through community support. These teacher-led projects range from strengthening classroom literacy to improving the educator experience and removing financial barriers to college and career opportunities. When we rally behind our schools, meaningful change happens.

But this is just the beginning. We cannot do it alone.

The Our Austin ISD campaign is a call to action. It invites every Austinite to find a way to stand with our schools. Visit OurAustinISD.org to find your way in. Share your story. Volunteer your time. Mentor a student. Make a donation, of any size, to the Austin Ed Fund. Display a yard sign. Tell your neighbor about what makes our schools special.

No contribution is too small, and no gesture is too simple. Because in the end, it all adds up, to pride, to purpose, to progress.

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Binance.US, the American affiliate of the global crypto exchange, has significantly reduced its trading fees for over 20 asset pairs.

The fee change applies to major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin , Ethereum , Solana , BNB , and Cardano .

The exchange is expanding its Tier 0 pricing to offer 0% maker fees and 0.01% taker fees for these pairs. The model was first introduced for Bitcoin in 2022, and the expansion comes as Binance.US struggles with low trading volumes.

The exchanges share of U.S. dollar-supporting volume collapsed to just 0.20% as of August. This is a sharp drop from the 10% market share it held before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit in June 2023.

Although the SEC dismissed its case in May 2025, activity on Binance.US has not recovered.

In February, Binance.US restored USD deposits and withdrawals after operating as a crypto-only platform for nearly two years.

Operational Hurdles Remain

Compounding the challenge of rebuilding its user base, the exchange still faces significant operational hurdles.

Binance.US remains unavailable in several key states, including New York, Georgia, and Texas, as it works to secure local regulatory approvals.

Services in states like Kansas and Wisconsin are restricted to crypto-only transactions, with no USD services available.

The fee reduction is a clear attempt to attract users within its available markets. By establishing itself as a low-cost venue, Binance hopes to compete more effectively with dominant U.S. exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken.

It remains uncertain whether a full Binance US relaunch can succeed given ongoing regulatory challenges.

Read original story Binance.US Cuts Trading Fees on Major Cryptos to Revive Low Volume by Zoran Spirkovski at Coinspeaker.com
Honor guard members carry the casket of former Houston Mayor and U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner is carried into the sanctuary of The Church Without Walls for his funeral service in Houston, Saturday, March 15, 2025. Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle

Nearly 1 million people in Houston still dont have a member of Congress six months after U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner died in office, even though other states like Virginia and Arizona have already filled seats made vacant during that time period.

On Tuesday, Virginia voted to send Democrat James Walkinshaw to Congress to replace the late U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly, who died in May. And on Sept. 23, Arizona will fill the seat left vacant after the death of U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva in March.

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Even though Turner died before both of them in early March, Gov. Greg Abbott has delayed holding a special election to fill the seat until November. If the race goes to a runoff, the seat could remain unfilled until December. The runoff date will not be set by the Texas Secretary of State until after the Nov. 4 special election. More than a dozen candidates have filed to run.

At minimum, if there is no runoff, the predominantly Black 18th Congressional District will have gone 244 days without representation in Washington  one of the longest vacancies in congressional history. Its twice as long as the 18 other vacancies in Congress over the last two years created by death or resignations.

Its a disgrace, said Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis in an interview on Wednesday. The governor should be ashamed of himself.

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Abbott has blamed Harris County for the delay. When he set the special election date, he said the countys history of having election problems made him want to give them extra time to prepare.

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No county in Texas does a worse job of conducting elections than Harris County, Abbott said.

But the delay has also helped President Donald Trump. The vacant seat meant one less Democrat in the U.S. House to block his "Big, Beautiful Bill," which passed the U.S. House in May by just one vote.

Ellis said Abbott's blame on Harris County is just a smoke screen to cover for what the White House wanted.

By law, Turners 18th Congressional District offices are still operating with a limited staff, though they are under the supervision of the U.S. House Clerks Office. The staff can continue to work on constituent issues like helping with veterans' claims, passport issues or lost Social Security checks. Turners former staff is hosting a forum on Sept. 16 at the Judson Robinson Sr. Community Center on Ledwicke Road in Houston to help residents with health care enrollment questions.

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But if residents have any questions about legislation or issues before Congress, the House Clerk directs the staff to send them to U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz or John Cornyn, both Republicans.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE:CM) is one of the best dividend stocks to buy. On August 29, BMO Capital lifted its price target on CM to C$107 from C$112 and assigned an Outperform rating to the stock. The banks shares have experienced strong upward movement, posting a roughly 30% increase in six months.

BMO raised its price target after CM reported better-than-expected earnings, with cash operating earnings per share of $2.16, beating BMOs forecast of $1.99 by 9% and the Wall Street estimate of $2.01 by 8%.

BMO Capital Boosts Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) PT to C$112

Photo by buian_photos on Unsplash

BMO added that Capital Markets also helped outperform earnings expectations, with trading revenue coming in at $567 million, higher than expected.

The bank had a return on equity of 14.2% on a 13.4% CET1 ratio after buying back about 5.5 million shares in the second quarter, and it announced a 20 million normal course issuer bid (NCIB), or around 2.2% of its shares, pending regulatory approval.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE:CM) is a financial institution that offers a wide range of services, including banking, loans, investments, insurance, and wealth management.

While we acknowledge the potential of CM as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: Dow 20 Stocks List: Ranked By Hedge Fund Bullishness Index and 10 Unstoppable Dividend Stocks to Buy Now.

Disclosure. None.
Fatal sinking of the 'Sea Story': The evidence Egypt is withholding

Death at Sea Fatal sinking of the 'Sea Story': The evidence Egypt is withholding

 stern-Montage: Illustration: Marta Kochanek / Gibson Kochanek; Fotos: dpa Picture Alliance / Adobe Stock; Video: GFS Ship Management FZE

On November 25, 2024 the 'Sea Story' sank off the coast of Egypt

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Serious safety deficiencies and violations prior to fatal voyage in the Red Sea: German stern magazine and RTL uncover causes of the sinking of the dive boat 'Sea Story' in Egypt.

Egyptian authorities are withholding evidence of serious safety problems that led to the fatal accident involving the tourist ship 'Sea Story'. Last november, eleven tourists and crew members died in the accident involving the luxury yacht on the Red Sea, and the case made headlines around the world for days. Now, German magazine stern and broadcaster RTL are reporting that the captain, operator, and authorities failed in their duties  citing investigation files from Egyptian prosecutors. According to the report, the ship also had structural stability deficiencies.

The Hamburg public prosecutor's office is investigating the case on suspicion of negligent homicide. However, Egypt is revealing little information, according to an internal memo from investigators at the federal criminal police Bundeskriminalamt cited by stern and RTL.

The tourist yacht capsized and sank on November 25, 2024, with 30 divers and 15 crew members on board. Shortly after the accident, Amr Hanafy, governor of the Red Sea region, said that a giant wave had struck the ship and caused it to capsize.

According to research by stern and RTL, weather service data show that the waves in the area where the 'Sea Story' capsized were about two meters high at the time of the accident.

The last photo of German passenger Susanne Andres (right) was taken shortly before departure. Her friend Danilo Roger survived  stern-Montage: Illustration: Marta Kochanek / Gibson Kochanek; Fotos: Adobe Stock, Danilo Roger

In addition, according to the public prosecutor's office in Hurghada, the ship should not have been allowed to set sail at all. The captain did not have the mandatory operating license to steer a vessel like the 'Sea Story'. According to investigators, the operating company Dive Pro, based in Hurghada, did not have a license for the ship to operate on the high seas. Military forces based at the port presumably could have had this information yet nevertheless approved the ship's departure.

Several state authorities, Governor Hanafy, and the operating company Dive Pro left extensive questions unanswered.

Professor Stefan Kruger from the Institute for Ship Safety at the Technical University of Hamburg evaluated the circumstances investigated and said: "I."

It was the second fatal accident involving the operating company Dive Pro within just a few months.

The Red Sea, a popular travel destination for European tourists, has experienced a series of fatal diving tour accidents for some time. In recent years, dozens of ships like the 'Sea Story' have run aground, burned out, or sunk worldwide. More than half of them off the coast of Egypt.

In search of the causes, a team of reporters from German stern magazine and broadcaster RTL spent many months investigating. Three reporters went undercover in the country, using disguised identities. This gave them access to locations secured by soldiers, to insiders, and to around 600 pages of investigation files on the 'Sea Story' case, which the authorities guard like a kind of state secret.

Among the eleven fatalities of the 'Sea Story' accident were three Germans, two Britons, two Poles, one Slovak, and three Egyptians.
Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BR) is one of the best IT stocks to invest in according to hedge funds. On September 9, Broadridge Financial Solutions announced the acquisition of iJoin. iJoin is a retirement plan technology provider that specializes in solutions for participants' onboarding, engagement, and analytics.

The acquisition is intended to combine Broadridges existing retirement plan servicing, custody, analytics, and participant communications solutions with iJoins technology. The new, combined capabilities will assist various providers in the retirement ecosystem, such as record keepers, financial advisors, asset managers, and insurers, in offering enhanced and more personalized tools for retirement plan participants.

Broadridge Acquires iJoin to Enhance Retirement Plan Technology Solutions

Steve McCoy, CEO of iJoin, stated that the companys mission has always been to help connect participants to personalized, goal-based solutions. He believes that partnering with Broadridge will allow them to take that mission to the next level due to Broadridges scale and established relationships. The transaction is not expected to have a material impact on Broadridges financial results.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BR) provides investor communications and technology-driven solutions for the financial services industry in the US and internationally.

While we acknowledge the potential of BR as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If youre looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Bullish (BLSH) secured a regulatory victory this week as its German subsidiary obtained a license under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) from BaFin, Germany's financial regulator. This approval allows Bullish to capitalize on Europe's rapidly growing institutional demand for regulated digital asset trading.

The MiCAR license enables Bullish to operate across the entire European Union under regulatory oversight, addressing concerns about compliance and security. With headquarters in Frankfurt, home to the European Central Bank, Bullish demonstrates commitment to operating under the EU's strictest financial standards.

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"Europe is the second largest cryptoasset economy in the world and institutional demand for regulated, transparent trading venues is growing rapidly," said Chris Tyrer, president of Bullish Exchange.

www.barchart.com

Bullish Had a Strong IPO Performance

Bullish's stock has shown impressive momentum since its recent IPO, during which it raised $1.1 billion and saw BLSH's price surge 83% on the first trading day. The company, led by former NYSE President Tom Farley and backed by Peter Thiel, has processed over $1.25 trillion in trading volume since launching in 2021. Today, Bullish is valued at a market cap of $7.3 billion, and BLSH stock is down over 50% from the all-time high.

The crypto exchange joins a wave of digital asset companies going public under the Trump administration's crypto-friendly policies, following successful debuts by Circle (CRCL) and Galaxy Digital (GLXY).

Bullish offers a sophisticated institutional crypto infrastructure play led by former NYSE President Tom Farley, whose decade-long conviction about blockchain's transformative potential drives the company's strategic vision. Farley's background provides credibility, having invested NYSE's balance sheet in Coinbase (COIN) back in 2015 when Bitcoin (BTCUSD) traded under $1,000.

His experience managing traditional financial infrastructure across equities, OTC energy trading, and other asset classes at Intercontinental Exchange positions him well to understand institutional requirements, including execution quality, liquidity depth, clearing, and regulatory compliance.
Earlier this summer, the legendary American string quartet Kronos Quartet performed Hard Rain, a concert confronting the existential risks of nuclear weapons. It was part of the first Nobel Laureate Assembly for the Prevention of Nuclear War at the University of Chicago, marking 80 years since the first ever atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Among the Assemblys experts, and signing its declaration, was Centre researcher Victor Galaz, who is also working on a popular science book about the legacy of nuclear testing and its connection to climate risks.

The performance with Kronos Quartet contained readings, music, and reflections on humanitys fragile future, using the power of both science and art to warn of the dangers of a new era of nuclear proliferation.

Centre researcher Per Olsson co-produced the concert alongside long-time collaborator and former colleague Owen Gaffney. For Olsson, the initiative reflects the Centres deep commitment to working across sectors and creating new cultural spaces where scientific knowledge meets emotional experiences.

Facts alone are not enough, Olsson explains. We need music, storytelling, and art to help us feel the weight of these existential risks, to touch our common humanity.

Firsthand testimony of Hiroshima

The programme included the moving firsthand testimony of Hiroshima survivor Kiyoshi Tanimoto, read by Nagasaki University professor Tatsujiro Suzuki, interwoven with music by Laurie Anderson and performed by Kronos.

The concert closed with a powerful reimagining of Bob Dylans legendary anthem A Hard Rains A-Gonna Fall performed by Kronos and Allison Russell. This live rendition was based on an earlier recording that brought together more than 50 international artists. Among them were Ringo Starr, Willie Nelson, Laurie Anderson, Sara Parkman  and punk icon Iggy Pop  all lending their voices to a collective act of remembrance and resistance.

This collaboration was the third in a series of concerts Olsson and Gaffney have developed with the Kronos Quartet, following earlier performances in Stockholm  including one held in the decommissioned experimental nuclear reactor at KTH, the Royal Institute of Technology. Each event has been designed as what Olsson and Gaffney call Strange Attractors: creative encounters where science and art combine to illuminate the climate and nature crises, as well as other urgent challenges of our time.

New pathways to engage

The timing of Hard Rain is sobering. With the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombs, heightened geopolitical tensions, new technologies reshaping warfare, and nuclear proliferation once again on the rise, the concert and its accompanying EP serve as urgent reminders of what is at stake.

Resilience thinking is not just about the science and natural ecosystems, Olsson reflects. Its about the stories and cultural resources we can draw on to face uncertainty and risk. By working with artists, we create new pathways to engage people, to feel, to care  and ultimately, to act.

Through projects like Hard Rain, the Stockholm Resilience Centre continues its long-time work to bridge disciplines, challenge conventional boundaries, and explore how art and science together can help us confront existential threats, ranging from the climate crisis and biodiversity loss to AI and nuclear risk.

As part of their ongoing work at the intersection of art and science, Olsson and Gaffney have also launched a record label, Strange Attractors. The release of A Hard Rains A-Gonna Fall was the first of many from a record label that will be driven by a Manifesto For the Love of the Biosphere. Over the next five years, the label aims to commission and release 50 songs, with the biosphere itself credited as co-owner of the intellectual property. Each commission will emerge from a new and unpredictable collaboration: a strange attractor.




Nathaniel Lightfield, 31, an Army Special Forces sergeant first class, was sentenced to 75 days' confinement and a bad-conduct discharge after a court-martial jury convicted him of battery against his 3-year-old son. (Joshua Magbanua/U.S. Air Force)



A Special Forces soldier in North Carolina who shoved his 3-year-old sons head into a wall in a fit of domestic violence will receive a bad-conduct discharge and spend 75 days of confinement.

Sgt. 1st Class Nathaniel Lightfield, 31, was sentenced last month by a military judge after a court-martial jury found him guilty of battery of a child below the age of 16, a statement Wednesday from the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel said.

Lightfield, an engineer with the 3rd Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces Command, committed the crime on May 10, 2023, while he was stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C.

He was watching his son during a scheduled custody visit. When his ex-wife arrived to pick up the child, the 30-pound boy had bruising on his face and forehead as well as injuries to his shoulders and head, prosecutors said. Lightfield told her he didnt know how the injuries occurred, but the boy later told hospital staffers that his father had hurt him, according to the statement.

Medical personnel reported the case to the Armys Criminal Investigation Division.

During questioning, Lightfield told CID agents how he had injured his son, who was crying and saying it hurt,  according to the statement. Despite believing the boy might be concussed, Lightfield refused to seek medical care for him, prosecutors said.

Sgt. 1st Class Lightfields actions in battering his 3-year-old son out of anger fall far short of the standards we set for our non-commissioned officers and Soldiers, prosecutor Capt. Gabrielle Lucero said in the statement. Soldiers are meant to protect the most vulnerable, not harm them.
U.S. soldiers of the scout platoon with the 81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the Washington National Guard man an observation post in support of mortar fire during Raven Focus 2025 at Yakima Training Center, Wash., on July 13, 2025. (Tristen Hepinstall/U.S. Army)



TACOMA, Wash.  For the second time in just over 10 years, a Washington National Guard unit is being ordered to get faster and lighter in its combat role.

The 81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team will take on a new mission and transform to the 81st Mobile Brigade.

The 2,900 soldiers will begin turning in their Stryker vehicles in October to start using smaller mobile Infantry Squad Vehicles, along with new technologies such as drones.

Its the second switch for the brigade in little more than a decade.

In July 2015, the 81st Armored Brigade was operating M1A1 Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles when it was redesignated as the 81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

Change isnt always easy, but this is a big win for us, Brig. Gen. Paul Sellars, commander of the Washington Army National Guard, said in a statement Wednesday.

Sellars said the move would keep the brigade relevant and ready as the Pentagon implements the Army Transformation Initiative announced May 1.

As the Army blueprint for its future, the initiative calls for converting Infantry and Stryker brigades into mobile brigade combat teams.

As part of the transition at the 81st Mobile Brigade, an infantry battalion from the Utah National Guard will be added to the new 81st Mobile Brigade.

Col. Craig Broyles, commander, 81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, talks about the Infantry Squad Vehicle with visitors during Exercise Raven Focus at the Yakima Training Center, July 17, 2025. (Joseph Siemandel/U.S. Army)



As weve learned before, transformations like these take a lot of time and patience, Sellars said. Its nice to have a partner to go through this process with. We look forward to working with Utah and welcome their men and women to the 81st Brigade.

In its federal military role, the brigade deployed more than 3,000 soldiers to Kuwait and Iraq from February 2004 to May 2005. The brigade again deployed to Iraq from August 2008 to August 2009.

Soldiers from the 81st Brigade were sent to Ukraine in 2021 to train and equip the armed forces. The Washington unit returned to the United States in January 2022. In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, starting a war that is now in its fourth year.

In its state role, the 81st Brigade has also responded to major floods, fires and civil disturbances in Washington.

The 81st Brigade has its headquarters at Camp Murray, in Tacoma, near Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The brigade makes up half of the Washington National Guard troop strength and draws soldiers from around the state. It includes soldiers from Oregon National Guard units, headquartered in Bend, and California National Guard units based in San Bernardino.
Same-store sales growth has also seen consistent improvement from 5.1% in 2023 to 6.1% in 2024 and from 3.4% in H1 2024 to 10.1% in H1 2025. However, although the company remains profitable on a store-level basis ($27.5 million in H1 2025 vs. $21.5 million in H1 2024, $44.8 million in 2024 vs. $32.7 million in 2023), on an overall basis, Black Rock Coffee is a loss-making company. The good news is that the losses are shrinking: while it was $8.7 million in 2023, it narrowed to $7.2 million in 2024. In H1 2025, losses were at $1.9 million, smaller than H1 2024's figure of $2.2 million.

Last year saw the company reporting revenues of $160.7 million, up 20.8% from the previous year, as the total store count increased to 149 from 125 at the end of 2023. Notably, for the first six months of 2025, the company has already clocked revenues of $95.1 million, compared to $76.5 million in the year-ago period. Store count has also gone up to 158 at the end of June 2025.

Yet, Black Rock Coffee's steady, albeit not spectacular, growth rate is a base that the company can build upon to further expand its, well, base, to emerge as a serious competitor to its aforementioned peers.

Black Rock Coffee Bar operates in an intensely competitive space with larger and more established peers like Starbucks (SBUX), Dunkin', Tim Hortons (QSR), Scooter's Coffee, Peet's Coffee, and Dutch Bros. (BROS) already present. Moreover, the scenario is set to become bleaker for the company as a weaker-than-expected new jobs count in August is projected to result in a further decline in discretionary spending among consumers.

Now that the rudimentary details of the IPO are known, let's try and get an overall picture of Black Rock Coffee Bar and assess whether its IPO is a subscribe candidate or not amid a flurry of IPOs in recent times.

Black Rock Coffee is seeking to offload about 16.9 million shares with the BRCB ticker, implying projected net proceeds of roughly $267.4 million. With an expected price range of $16-$18 per share, the IPO would impute a valuation of $861 million at the top of the range. The company intends to use the proceeds to expand its network of company-owned stores.

Founded in 2008, Arizona-based Black Rock Coffee Bar joins a slew of companies that have made their debut in the stock exchanges amid a hot IPO market this year. The company is a drive-thru-focused coffee chain that serves premium coffee, iced beverages, and energy drinks through fast, customer-centric outlets. As of mid-2025, Black Rock operates 158 locations across seven U.S. states, mainly in the Western and Southwestern regions.

Story Continues

Encouragingly, the company is operating cash flow positive, and it is also growing at a rapid pace. For instance, in 2024, Black Rock Coffee Bar reported a net cash flow from operating activities of $13.3 million, which was just $5.2 million in 2023. The scenario remained unchanged in H1 2025 as well, with the same coming in at $8.4 million compared to $5.3 million in the corresponding period a year ago. Overall, the company ended the June 2025 quarter with a cash balance of $14.6 million, exceeding its short-term debt levels of $8.7 million.

Thus, Black Rock Coffee is building a solid base to build upon. Now, the aim should be to achieve profitability on the company level while also increasing its footprint, a tough tightrope to walk. However, the revenue growth, especially for a coffee chain with such limited presence, can be higher.

Advantages of Being a Small Player in a Slow-Growing Market

Investors spoiled by gravity-defying growth rates in the tech sector, thanks to AI, will be disappointed with the expected growth rates in the market in which Black Rock Coffee Bar operates. From a market size of about $41.5 billion in 2024, the market is forecasted to reach $56.5 billion by 2030, a CAGR of just 5.3%.

However, this may just turn out to work in favor of Black Rock Coffee Bar. This is because its larger peers will have limited headroom for growth. On the other hand, Black Rock Coffee's runway for growth will be substantial. And Black Rock Coffee is taking strategic initiatives to capture this growth.

A key development in the companys growth plan is the ongoing expansion of its portfolio of corporate-owned outlets and drive-thru formats, with a concentration on major markets across the Western United States. Management has outlined a target of lifting total store count by around 20% each year on average, a pace that would enable the business to reach its target of 1,000 locations by 2035.

Notably, the firms customer rewards initiative, Black Rock Rewards, has also been showing strong momentum since its relaunch in June 2024. The program now operates on Paytronix technology, paired with an upgraded mobile application, improved online ordering features, and a fully synchronized point-of-sale (PoS) network. This setup allows customers to accumulate and redeem Bolts, the programs reward currency, across every sales channel, from physical stores and drive-thru lanes to online orders and app purchases, under one unified system. The integration gives the company a clear view of customer activity and supports ongoing engagement regardless of how the purchase is made.

As of June 30, 2025, membership in the loyalty program stood at 1.8 million, with these members representing 64% of total transactions. On average, enrolled customers visited 129% more frequently than before, and their spending per visit also rose. These trends provide a more stable revenue base while deepening long-term customer ties.

Looking ahead, the companys 2025 plans include the opening of approximately 30 new stores, the introduction of new seasonal offerings and exclusive beverages, and continued investment in brand development to strengthen its competitive position.

However, risks remain. Apart from intense competition from deep-pocketed peers and reduced discretionary spending, there are some company-specific risks, as the companys business is primarily concentrated in the Western United States, prioritizes drive-thru locations, and generates 24% of its total revenue from a single beverage segment, Fuel Energy.

Final Take

Black Rock Coffee Bar remains a compelling investment opportunity on one hand, as the headroom for both geographical, financial, and valuation expansion is quite attractive, with the company's management seeming quite active to pursue different strategies to clock growth. Still, the proof is in the pudding, and the company's revenue requires a much faster rate of growth. Moreover, the company is still unprofitable, although the losses are narrowing, which is a positive signal. Yet, with plans for significant expansion, the losses could widen again, and the management should be wary of it.

On the date of publication, Pathikrit Bose did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com
Maj. Gen. Matthew Mowery, left, deputy commander of Marine Corps Forces Pacific, tours the flight line with Maj. Christopher Jasperson, executive officer of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 363, at Royal Australian Air Force Base Darwin in Australia, Sept. 7, 2025. (Ezekieljay Correa/U.S. Marine Corps)



U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey tiltrotors will stay in Australia when a rotational force returns home this fall, according to the countrys defense department.

Marines have been deploying annually to the Northern Territory on six-month rotations since 2012. This years Marine Rotational Force-Darwin includes 2,500 Marines.

Tiltrotors have been part of the rotations since 2017, when they arrived at Royal Australian Air Force Base Darwin.

The green light to store and maintain the Ospreys was announced Thursday in an Australian Defence Department news release.

At the conclusion of this years 14th MRF-D rotation, MV-22 aircraft will remain behind in Australia, the department said. This will increase availability of the aircraft for training, significantly reduce transportation costs, and remove the import-related impost on Australian border agencies.

The Ospreys will be positions at Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport, Queensland, Capt. Johnny Fischer, a spokesman for the rotational force, said by email Thursday.

Initially, Marines will handle maintenance and preparation, with contracted support assuming sustainment responsibilities later, he said. Before returning to flight, each Osprey will undergo comprehensive inspections, system checks, and test procedures conducted by certified Marine Corps professionals.

Prepositioned American military equipment played a role in the biennial Talisman Sabre drills, involving more than 40,000 troops from the United States, Australia and 17 other nations training across the southern continent from July 13 to Aug. 4.

The exercise marked the first major movement of prepositioned U.S. gear from South Australia to the countrys northeast, Maj. Adan Cazarez, a spokesman for the 8th Theater Sustainment Command in Hawaii, said by email July 22. He declined to discuss specifics of the equipment for security reasons.

Operating primarily out of Darwin and the northern Australian training areas, the Marines use MV-22s to maintain security, work with Australian forces and provide a platform for the Marines to engage with partners across the region, according to the Australian news release.

In July, four Ospreys from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 363 flew from Australia to Clark Air Base in the Philippines to participate in a relief mission following typhoons, tropical storms and monsoon rains in the countrys north.

Leaving Ospreys in Australia represents the continuing development of a deeper relationship with the United States, Australian army Brig. Gen. Mick Say, director-general of the Force Posture Initiatives Branch, said in the release.

The initiatives encompass the Marine Corps rotations along with U.S. aircraft rotations and infrastructure improvements to bases in Australias north.

Other U.S. systems may be positioned in Australia, bringing with them significantly more American personnel, former Australian assistant defense secretary Ross Babbage said in an email Thursday.

He pointed to plans for a rotational force of four U.S. and British nuclear-powered submarines in Western Australia as early as 2027. That presence stems from the 2021 AUKUS security pact among Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The Pentagon is reviewing the agreement amid concerns over whether U.S. industry can deliver submarines to Australia in the coming years while still meeting Navy requirements.

Skilled personnel are capable of maintaining most of these systems in Darwin, Perth and elsewhere, Babbage said. Where deeper skills and expertise is needed for systems, such as the MV-22 Osprey, there should be few difficulties extending the substantial helicopter and other maintenance skill pools as may be needed in the period ahead.
Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Olsen and his wife, Jessica Jesse Arguinzoni Olsen, pose in this undated photo provided by Jesse's sister. (Dominique Arguinzoni)



A U.S. Navy officer faces 23 years in prison in exchange for pleading guilty to killing his wife last year in a Japanese hotel, according to a Navy spokesman.

Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Olsen, during a hearing Wednesday at Naval Base San Diego, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death last October of Jessica Jesse Arguinzoni Olsen, U.S. Naval Forces Japan spokesman Cmdr. Paul Macapagal said by email.

Olsen will be separated from the Navy and forfeit all pay and allowances. He paid $10,654 in restitution to his wifes family for funeral expenses, Macapagal said.

Olsen was scheduled for a court-martial in October at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, on charges of unpremeditated murder and obstruction of justice. The obstruction charge was withdrawn and dismissed pursuant to the plea agreement, Macapagal said by phone Thursday.

Jesse Olsen, 37, was found dead in a hotel room in Fukuoka, about 80 miles northeast of Sasebo Naval Base, Japan, on the morning of Oct. 28.

The Navy alleges that Christopher Olsen  at the time assigned to the amphibious transport dock USS New Orleans at Sasebo  killed his wife on or about Oct. 26 by strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head, according to a charge sheet released May 13.

Jesse Olsens body was returned to her family on Nov. 16, her sister, Dominque Arguinzoni, told Stars and Stripes in May. She said the family was told that Jesse suffered injuries to her head, including her face, and that her jaw and hyoid bones were broken.

The familys request to review the pending plea deal was denied, Arguinzoni wrote in an Aug. 7 email to Stars and Stripes.

She said the family made it explicitly clear that we did not support offering a plea deal.

While the sentence brings some accountability, no number of years will ever equal the life Jesse lost, Arguinzoni wrote Thursday in an email from the United States.

We did receive the restitution for her funeral expenses, but no payment can undo our loss. What our family seeks is not financial  it is justice, remembrance, and for Jesses voice to continue to be heard. We are grateful that her voice was acknowledged in court, and our deepest wish remains that she be remembered for the vibrant, loving person she was, not only for the crime that took her from us.

Macapagal could not immediately provide a response to Arguinzonis statements.

Christopher Olsens defense attorney, Lt. Cmdr. Daniel Phipps of the Navy Judge Advocate Generals Corps, did not respond to phone calls seeking comment Thursday.
The body of Navy culinary specialist Angelina Resendiz was discovered on June 9, 2025, in a wooded area about 10 miles from Naval Station Norfolk, Va. (Photo courtesy of the Resendiz family)



A Navy sailor is charged with murder and sexual assault in connection with the death of a fellow service member whose badly decomposed body was found just a few miles from Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia.

Seaman Jermiah Copeland, a culinary specialist assigned to the destroyer USS James E. Williams, also is facing additional charges of sexual misconduct, making false statements, wrongfully broadcasting or distributing intimate photographic data and obstructing justice in the death of Angelina Resendiz, according to the Navy judge advocate general corps website.

The service has not publicly identified Copeland, but the JAG corps website lists a J. Copeland scheduled for an Article 32 hearing Sept. 18.

The hearing would evaluate whether there is sufficient evidence to believe that the accused committed the crimes charged and determine whether the case should proceed.

In June, an attorney for Resendizs family told a Norfolk news station that Copeland was being held in pretrial detention in connection with Resendizs death. Esmeralda Castle, Resendizs mother, told Stars and Stripes in July that her daughter was last seen with Copeland.

Copeland, of Washington state, joined the Navy in July 2023. He was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in December 2023, serving a little more than a year on the ship before being transferred to Williams in January.

Resendiz, a culinary specialist also assigned to Williams, was first reported missing May 29. But it wasnt until June 3  five days after she was last seen or in contact with family and friends  that a statewide missing adult alert was issued.

That lag occurred because the Navy initially considered Resendiz absent without official leave, a response that has drawn criticism from her family and congressional inquiries into the handling of her disappearance.

It has also drawn comparisons to the death of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillen, whose killing in 2020 led to Defense Department policy reforms on sexual harassment and sexual assault.

Twelve days after Resendiz was first reported missing, her body was found June 9 in a wooded area about 10 miles from NS Norfolk and returned to her family later that month. Earlier this month, the Navy denied any wrongdoing in response to Resendizs disappearance and death, the Norfolk ABC affiliate WVEC-TV reported Saturday.

The report cited a letter from Navy Secretary John Phelan sent in response to an inquiry from U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas. The letter was given to the news station by Castle.

The Navys actions in response to Petty Officer Resendizs disappearance and death were in accordance with current U.S. law and Navy Regulations and policy, Phelan wrote in the Sept. 2 letter.

Last month, the Virginia Medical Examiners Office ruled that the manner and cause of Resendizs death could not be determined.

Such a ruling can be made when information pointing to one manner of death is no more compelling than one or more other competing manners of death, according to the National Association of Medical Examiners.

At the time, Castle said she was not surprised by the ruling given the condition of her daughters body. Still, Castel said she had hoped to learn more about how her daughter died.

Castle also said her family would continue to seek truth, justice and change so that no other family endures this kind of loss.
Glass flowers are displayed in an exhibit titled Cocoon at Ryukyu Glass Village on Okinawa, Aug. 13, 2025. (Ryan M. Breeden/Stars and Stripes)



Okinawas history describes strength, resilience and rebirth. Through a craft born out of necessity, local artists transformed past lessons into a vibrant art form seen today.

Okinawa-made glass dates back centuries and is believed to have been initially introduced through international trade in the 1600s. During the Meiji Era, from 1868 to 1912, factories began producing glass-related products and eventually produced bottles for medicine and candy, laying the foundation for its glass industry.

After World War II, despite significant devastation, glassmaking endured. Discarded soda and beer bottles from American forces were recycled and repurposed. The final products often became thick, colorful and unique. The materials used embedded air bubbles that amplified the vibrant hues of blue, green and red, marking them as one-of-a-kind souvenirs from Okinawa.

The craft is celebrated at the Ryukyu Glass Village in Itoman city, the largest handmade glass workshop on Okinawa.

Visitors can witness artisans working at 2,372-degree Fahrenheit kilns and even try their hand at creating their own unique glass souvenirs. Lively and intense artisans shape glowing molten glass into vibrant vases, cups and ornaments. The experience costs 4,400 yen, or about $30 for both children and adults.

A glass craftsman cuts the handle from a glass cup at Ryukyu Glass Village on Okinawa, Aug. 13, 2025. (Ryan M. Breeden/Stars and Stripes)



Beyond the interactive activities, a main building serves as an office, a nontraditional museum and a shopping center.

There is no entry fee required to meander through the labyrinth of product shelves, but there is temptation. Many products are offered from a few hundred yen to a few thousand.

Navigating to the back of the building you will find historical displays. Early examples of glass fly traps, glass medicine containers and World War II Coca-Cola bottles are showcased giving you a sense of their creative evolution.

As you explore, look for an immersive exhibit titled Cocoon, with admission at 1,000 yen. Opened in December, this space showcases three galleries dedicated to portraying Okinawas nature through the artistry of Ryukyu glass.

Exhibits titled Beautiful Sea, Beautiful Universe and Beautiful Flowers, highlight the skills of the local craftsmen with some of their products being offered for sale throughout the facility.

Inspired by the islands bright nature and the ingenuity of the crafting community, Ryukyu Glass Village stands as a proud symbol of Okinawa. From wartime necessity to artful expression, visiting the village offers a remarkable insight into this inspiring craft.

A glass craftsman handles molten glass at Ryukyu Glass Village on Okinawa, Aug. 13, 2025. (Ryan M. Breeden/Stars and Stripes)



On the QT

Directions: GPS Coordinates: N 26.0974210, E 127.6773451. From Naha Internation Airport drive 30 minutes south on Route 331.

Times: Open daily, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Costs: Admission to Ryukyu Glass Village is free; 1,000 yen to visit the Cocoon exhibit.

Parking: Free; 100 available spaces.

Food: The facility hosts one cafe and one on-site restaurant.

Information: Phone: 098-997-4784; Online: ryukyu-glass.co.jp
President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro speaks during a press conference at Hotel Melia Caracas on Sept. 1, 2025, in Caracas, Venezuela. Maduro stated that his government is targeted by 8 military ships and 1,200 misiles; what he called the largest threat on Venezuela in the last 100 years. (Jesus Vargas/Getty Images via TNS)



(Tribune News Service)  Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro announced a sweeping military mobilization he is calling Plan Independencia 200 in response to the large concentration of U.S. naval forces near the countrys shores ordered by President Trump to combat drug cartels.

Speaking Thursday night on state-run television, Maduro said he had ordered the activation of 284 fronts of battle across the country, vowing that the forces would keep Venezuelas coastline free of imperialists, invaders and violent groups.

The announcement came amid growing tensions with Washington, which has deployed one of its largest naval operations in the Caribbean in decades under the banner of combating drug trafficking.

At Ciudad Caribia, a massive housing complex outside Caracas, Maduro framed the initiative as a nationwide defensive posture. We must have our coasts from end to end free of imperialists, invaders and violent groups, he declared, standing alongside Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez. The seas, lands, and mountains belong to the people of Venezuela; they will never belong to the American empire.... We have increased our capacity to mobilize at any time, for any purpose, and for any purpose.

Maduros rhetoric was accompanied by the deployment of armed units in coastal states such as Falcon, the oil-rich Catatumbo region in Zulia, the Andes, and the plains of Apure. He emphasized what he described as a popular-military-police union, saying its goals are integral defense, active resistance and permanent offensive.

He added defiantly: Venezuela will never humiliate itself or kneel before foreign powers. Never will we be on our knees.

Earlier this week, Padrino Lopez reported from a military bunker that 25,000 troops had been deployed in the western states of Tachira and Zulia, which border Colombia. While the mobilization was officially presented as part of Caracas own anti-narcotics efforts, many inside Venezuela interpreted the size of the deployment as an attempt by the regime to flex its military muscle amid escalating tensions with the U.S.

Prepared for any prolonged war

The regimes number two, Diosdado Cabello, doubled down on the threats during his weekly program on state television Con el Mazo Dando (Hitting with the Club).

Venezuelans are prepared for anything, for any prolonged war, Cabello said. And when it comes to defending the homeland, everything is allowed  except not to defend it.

Cabello, who also serves as interior minister and secretary general of the ruling Socialist Party, dismissed U.S. claims that its Caribbean deployment is about drugs. The aggressions against Venezuela are not about narcotics, he said. Venezuela does not produce cocaine, it does not grow marijuana. Trafficking is minimal. But Venezuela does have oil, gas, gold, coltan  and it has dignity.

The U.S. has indicted Maduro, Cabello and Padrino Lopez on drug conspiracy charges and placed a $50 million bounty on Maduros capture, accusing the three of running the so-called Cartel of the Suns. Maduro has dismissed the allegations as being part of a U.S. regime-change strategy and vowed to mobilize the military and the countrys militias to defend Venezuelas sovereignty.

Cabello, who runs most of the countrys security apparatus, also claimed that even some opposition sectors had joined the initiative of defending the nation, though he offered no details about which of Maduros rivals might support the mobilization.

Washington: We will not tolerate narco-terrorists

In Washington, the White House reiterated its stance that Maduros government is illegitimate and accused it of being directly involved in the drug trade. Spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt referenced a recent U.S. operation against a Venezuelan boat carrying narcotics in the Caribbean, where 11 alleged members of the Tren de Aragua criminal network were killed.

This sends a clear message to narcotraffickers around the world: the president will not tolerate it, Leavitt said, claiming that the drugs on board could have killed thousands of Americans.

The Pentagon has confirmed that the operation under way in the southern Caribbean includes more than eight warships, a dozen aircraft, and roughly 5,000 personnel  one of the largest U.S. naval mobilizations in the region since the 1980s. The guided-missile destroyer USS Sampson recently returned to Panama as part of joint security cooperation, though it did not transit the canal.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News that Maduro has decisions to make. He warned: We are prepared to use our power to destroy the narco-terrorists sending drugs to the United States.

Hegseths visit to American troops stationed in Puerto Rico underscored the seriousness of the deployment. You are on the front line, he told service members. This is not a training exercise. This is a real operation.

2025 Miami Herald.

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The Defense Department is moving ahead with the construction of 16 sites for a new missile defense system on Guam, with half of those sites situated on Naval Base Guam, seen here on Aug. 9, 2021. (Naomi Johnson/U.S. Navy)



A California defense contractor and its Guam subsidiary have been awarded a $181.1 million contract to build part of an $8 billion missile defense system on the U.S. territory in the Pacific.

The project calls for construction of a self-powered missile defense site and was awarded to Tutor Perini Corp. of Los Angeles and its Guam unit, Black Construction Inc., the company said in a Tuesday news release.

The work is part of the first phase of the Missile Defense Agencys Enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense system, which is designed to counter cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missiles that could be launched by China or North Korea.

Construction is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2026. The contract includes two options that could raise the total to $193.2 million, according to the company.

The release said the site will include its own power generation facility with standby power, a switchgear building, fuel and water storage, a fire pump, an entry control facility and other infrastructure. It did not specify the sites operational purpose.

Alternatively referred to as the Guam Defense System, the Defense Department describes the project as a comprehensive, persistent, 360-degree layered shield composed of 36 missile launchers, 23 communication towers and 14 radar systems across 16 sites  eight on Naval Base Guam, six on Andersen Air Force Base and two at Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz.

The project falls under the Pacific Deterrence initiative, created in fiscal year 2021 to counter Chinas military buildup in the region.

The U.S. faces one of the most dangerous strategic environments in its history thats characterized by Chinas unprecedented military buildup and its intent to seize control of the Indo-Pacific, the Defense Department wrote in its fiscal year 2026 budget request.

The DOD is focused on deterring China by prioritizing combat credible military forces postured in the Western Pacific to deter by denial, as well as demanding regional allies and partners to significantly increase their own level of defense effort, it said.

The Pentagon is seeking just over $10 billion for the initiative in fiscal 2026. The House on Wednesday passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act, and the Senate is considering its version. Both chambers must agree before the bill goes to President Donald Trump for final approval.
An Elbit Systems tracked armored fighting vehicle, developed as a future combat vehicle that features autonomous capabilities and artificial intelligence, is displayed at the annual AUSA convention in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 15, 2019. Elbit Systems is one of Israels three major defense firms. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)



(Tribune News Service)  Amid scenes of destruction and hunger in Gaza and this weeks bombing in Qatar, frustrated European leaders are threatening sanctions on Israel and rethinking ties to their longtime ally.

But for all their outrage  including a push for Palestinian statehood and some limited curbs on arms sales  one area they havent touched is Israels multibillion dollar defense industry. European armies are the biggest customers of Israeli-made weapons and defense systems, buying $8 billion worth last year, or just over half of exports, and demand is only likely to grow.

Prodded by U.S. President Donald Trump, NATO members in Europe have committed to step up their defense-related spending to 5% of GDP annually by 2035, versus a 2% requirement thats been in place since 2014, a drive thats taken on more urgency since Russias invasion of Ukraine in 2022. That may be hard to achieve without Israel, whose three biggest defense companies are deeply integrated into their economies and military supply chains.

Sentiment toward Israel may be negative but customers in Europe and elsewhere are looking to buy the best possible products and there is no way around the fact that Israeli systems are combat proven, said Elad Kraus, Head of Research at Tel-Aviv based Meitav Brokerage Services Ltd. It would be hard to pressure Israel through its defense industries with global demand through the roof.

Israels three defense giants  Elbit Systems Ltd., Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. and Israel Aerospace Industries  dont just sell to Europe; they have operations on the ground via subsidiaries and partnerships with local companies. Regardless of public opinion against Israel, the continent is likely to continue buying the countrys products, according to two senior Israeli defense officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

That dependence complicates the European effort to persuade Israel to end or at least pause its campaign in Gaza, which started after the deadly invasion by Hamas militants from the Palestinian territory in October 2023. Israels offensive has since destroyed much of the strip, displacing almost all of its 2 million people, while a United Nations-backed body has declared a famine in parts of the territory following a three-month Israeli aid blockade.

Demonstrations have taken place across the West against Israels conduct in the war, with some specifically calling out the countrys defense contractors. European factories owned by Israeli defense companies have been vandalized, including Elbits plant in Ulm, Germany.

Incidents at Elbit operations in the U.K. have been attributed to protest group Palestinian Action, which Prime Minister Keir Starmers government proscribed as a terrorist organization in July. Thats led the Israeli company to keep some of its E.U. locations under wraps.

Elbit operates 40 subsidiaries worldwide, at least half of which are in Europe, according to a spokesperson. Facilities in the U.K., the Netherlands and Romania were all recently expanded due to growing demand. The Haifa-based company employs about 2,000 workers across the continent, or about 10% of its workforce, and operates a flight school in Greece that trains cadets from multiple European Union countries.

Last year, Elbits sales to Europe doubled versus 2021 to $1.8 billion. In August, the company announced the largest deal in its history  a $1.6 billion contract with an unnamed European country over a five-year period.

Israeli state-owned Rafael  known for its missile-defense systems Iron Dome and laser-based Iron Beam  sells and manufactures missiles through German joint venture Euro Spike GmbH, in partnership with Diehl Defense and Rheinmetall Group. Last year, Rafaels revenues were split halfway between domestic and global markets, with Europe accounting for 45% of its international sales.

Rafael is working to establish more joint ventures in Germany: Euro Dome  for the Iron Dome missile defense system, and Euro Spyder  for its short-to-long-range mobile air defense system, according to one of the defense officials.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merzs decision last month to ban shipping weapons that could be used in Gaza showed how much European opposition to Israels conduct is growing. But the restrictions  which covered spare parts for tanks and other defense-related goods  applied only to exports rather than imports or other collaborations.

The impact was diluted further this week with the emergence of German plans to purchase three Heron drones from Israel for nearly $1.2 billion.

Still, there has been some pushback to the arms trade bonanza.

Two Israeli officials told Bloomberg that recently, some European foreign ministries have been asking purchasing managers to hold off buying from Israel until theres a ceasefire in Gaza. The U.K. blocked Israeli government officials from attending a flagship defense exhibition in London this month, and Israeli weapons makers have been barred from one of the worlds biggest aerospace expos in the United Arab Emirates in November.

One Israeli Defense Ministry official, who requested anonymity discussing matters he wasnt authorized to speak on publicly, said his counterparts in Europe are telling him to finish the war so it will be easier for business to continue.

A senior executive at one of Israels biggest defense companies, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said an increasing number of European customers are asking for talks about future orders to be kept under wraps. But a second senior executive argued that procurement processes are lengthy and wont be affected by what he described as a temporary problem.

Another Israeli government-owned firm, IAI, the co-developer and maker of the Arrow aerial defense system, derived two thirds of last years revenue last year from foreign sales. The companys largest ever deal was the sale of the Arrow 3 system to Germany in 2023 for about $4.3 billion.

Like Elbit and Rafael, IAI is seeking to expand its European on-ground operations. Last year it acquired Greek Intracom Defense to strengthen business capabilities in Greece and in Europe, according to a company statement.

Despite the global uproar against Israel, the pace of orders from Rafael has risen year on year, Chief Executive Officer Yoav Tourgeman told Israeli business newspaper Calcalist on Aug. 28. Not a single project nor an order was cancelled. Even if some of the projects have slowed down a bit, I estimate that if we end the war in Gaza, we will return to normal very quickly.

2025 Bloomberg L.P.

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Cboe Global Markets, one of the worlds largest derivatives and securities exchange networks, has announced plans to launch Cboe Continuous Futures on its Cboe Futures Exchange (CFE) starting November 10, 2025, pending regulatory approval.

The new product line will debut with Bitcoin and Ether contracts, giving U.S. traders access to long-term exposure to digital assets within a regulated, centrally cleared environment.

Unlike traditional futures, which typically expire monthly or quarterly and require rolling into new contracts, the continuous futures will be structured as single, long-dated contracts with a 10-year expiration. Cboe says this format simplifies position management and reduces costs tied to frequent rollovers.

Cboes Continuous Futures Target Institutional and Retail Crypto Traders

According to the announcement, the contracts will be cash-settled and aligned with spot market prices through daily cash adjustments. The pricing will use a transparent funding rate methodology to replicate real-time valuations of Bitcoin and Ether.

Speaking at the HOOD Summit in Las Vegas, Catherine Clay, Global Head of Derivatives at Cboe, showed that perpetual-style futures have become dominant on offshore exchanges but lack a regulated U.S. counterpart.

Now, Cboe is bringing that same utility to our U.S.-regulated futures exchange and enabling U.S. traders to access these products with confidence in a trusted, transparent, and intermediated environment, Clay said. She added that the futures are expected to attract both institutional investors and retail traders.

The launch builds on Cboes broader strategy to expand its CFE product suite beyond its flagship Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) futures. In recent years, Cboe has rolled out derivatives tied to equities, digital assets, and global fixed income.

The continuous futures will be cleared through Cboe Clear U.S., a CFTC-regulated clearinghouse. Cboe says the move reinforces its goal of creating a robust global exchange and clearing ecosystem.

Ahead of the November debut, Cboes Options Institute will hold educational sessions on October 30 and November 20 to help traders understand how continuous futures function.

This development follows several digital asset initiatives from the Chicago-based exchange.

In April 2025, Cboe was expected to launch Cboe FTSE Bitcoin Index futures (XBTF) in partnership with FTSE Russell, a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group. The XBTF contracts will be cash-settled on the last business day of each month and will be based on the FTSE Bitcoin Reduced Value Index, representing one-tenth of the value of the FTSE Bitcoin Index.
Senior Airman Joshua Aragon, 23, was the victim in a shooting at an apartment complex in Cheyenne about four miles from F.E. Warren Air Force Base, the service announced. (U.S. Air Force)



CHEYENNE (Tribune News Service)  An airman accused of involuntary manslaughter pleaded not guilty to all charges Monday afternoon in Laramie County District Court.

Airman 1st Class Jadan Orr, 20, is suspected of firing a gun through an apartment wall, resulting in the death of another airman from the base, 23-year-old Senior Airman Joshua Aragon, a security forces specialist assigned to the 790th Missile Security Forces Squadron, 90th Missile Wing.

He was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter, which carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison, on Aug. 16 following the incident.

He pleaded not guilty to all charges Monday in district court in front of Judge Nathaniel Hibben.

Orrs trial is set for Jan. 6.

Bond

Orr has already had his bond reduced from $500,000 cash only to $250,000 cash or surety in circuit court. However, his lawyer, public defender Stacy Kirven, requested that bond be further reduced to $75,000 cash or surety to accommodate his financial situation.

Kirven stated that neither Orr nor his family can afford the $250,000 bond. She added that even if they could, posting it would disqualify him from having a public defender.

Orr is still a member of the U.S. Air Force, stationed at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, and would be permitted to resume desk work should he be out on bond, Kirven told Judge Hibben.

At this time, Kirven argued Orr has sufficient ties to the community and would not be a flight risk or a danger to the community, because leaving the state without the express permission of the Air Force would put him at risk of being dishonorably discharged.

Orr is also enrolled in the 24/7 sobriety program with the Laramie County jail, requiring him to be breathalyzed twice a day at the jail.

Kirven added that there is no accusation of intent in this case, with evidence pointing to this being a result of reckless behavior, as opposed to Orr intentionally shooting and killing Aragon.

For that reason, the incident has impacted Orrs mental health, and he intends to seek mental health assistance, according to his lawyer.

Despite the defenses arguments, Hibben denied the request to reduce bond for the time being.

The incident

On Aug. 16, at approximately 3:21 a.m., Cheyenne Police Department officers responded to a report of shots fired at Sundance Apartments, located at 215 Walterscheid Blvd.

They arrived to find Orr and another resident of the apartment attempting to provide Aragon aid. CPD officers took over first aid measures until American Medical Response (AMR) arrived on scene, according to court documents. Aragon was pronounced deceased by AMR on scene at approximately 3:40 a.m.

Witnesses told officers Orr and Aragon had gone out with a group of their peers that night, later returning to the apartment to continue drinking.

Around 3 a.m., a few people in the group, including Orr, started to go to McDonalds, leaving Aragon and another person behind. Orr and the others got to his vehicle, but ultimately decided against going to McDonalds because they had been drinking and returned to the apartment, according to court documents.

When they returned, Orr noticed Aragon and another person sitting on the couch in the living room together. According to court documents, this upset Orr, and he went into one of the apartment residents bedrooms to vent, according to court documents.

According to witnesses, Orr then picked up an AK-47-style pistol and discharged a round through the bedroom wall, according to court documents.

The group then went into the living room to find Aragon had been struck by the round fired by Orr and was bleeding. Orr and Aragons roommate carried Aragon outside to Orrs Dodge Charger, intending to drive him to the hospital; 911 was called, and police arrived shortly after.

Orr confirmed in his interview that the group had returned to the apartment after deciding not to go to McDonalds, according to court documents. In an interview with officers, he said that he was handed the pistol for an unknown reason.

He took the pistol, pulled the bolt carrier group back, looked for a round in the chamber, which he said he did not see any, then closed the chamber, finally pulling the trigger to make sure the pistol was unloaded, court documents read.

Orr told police he did not know there was a round in the chamber when he pulled the trigger. He said he cleared the pistol the way he was trained to clear an AR-15 style rifle by the Air Force.

Additionally Orr told police that he is not very familiar with the AK-47 style pistol, and that he had only fired the weapon the weekend prior to this event, according to court documents.

Orr said he did not intend to fire the pistol or to kill Aragon, according to court documents.

 2025 Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne, Wyo.).

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U.S. and Indian soldiers carry out weapons training during the Yudh Abhyas exercise at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, on Sept. 5, 2025. (Everett Babbitt/U.S. Army)



U.S. and Indian soldiers are training side by side in Alaska even as relations between the two nations have flagged in recent months over the Trump administrations tariff policy and its disputed claim of brokering a Pakistan-India ceasefire.

Soldiers with the 11th Airborne Division are hosting roughly 450 Indian troops for the annual Yudh Abhyas exercise, which alternates venue each year between the two countries.

The exercise began in 2004 as an exchange focused on counterinsurgency but has evolved over the years into field training that also includes conventional threats and disaster relief. The two-week exercise ends Sunday.

Exercises such as Yudh Abhyas create the ideal environment to test concepts, refine procedures and most importantly, learn from each others experience, Brigadier Rajiv Sahara, commander of the Indian armys 65th Infantry Brigade, said in an U.S. Army news release Sept. 2.

The near future of Americas relationship with India, however, remains cloudy, Richard Rossow, an India expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank based in Washington, D.C., said in an email Saturday.

U.S.-India relations are certainly hitting a rough patch, largely driven by the Trump Administrations overbearing pressure on India to achieve modest gains on trade market access, as well as a sudden improvement in the U.S. governments views of Pakistan, Rossow said.

I think most damage can be undone if we get the pending trade agreement concluded and other key dialogues resume.

President Donald Trump imposed a 25% tariff on Indian imports on Aug. 7, then levied an additional 25% on Aug. 27, declaring the added tariff was in response to India continuing to import oil from Russia.

Indias Ministry of External Affairs decried the latter tariff as unfair, unjustified and unreasonable.

The tariffs follow Trumps repeated claims that he had brokered a ceasefire for a border skirmish between India and Pakistan  a claim that has roiled Indian officials.

India has long maintained that disputes with Pakistan must be resolved bilaterally, with any outside interference regarded as undermining Indias sovereignty.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Trump by phone in June that the American president had nothing to do with the ceasefire, according to an Aug. 30 report by The New York Times.

In late August, Modi joined a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in China hosted by President Xi Jinping and attended by Russian President Vladimir.

On the summits red carpet, Xi, Modi, and Putin strode together, awkwardly holding hands, beaming for the cameras, the Council on Foreign Relations said in a Sept. 5 online article.

Despite the issues of tariffs and ceasefire, India seems willing to forge ahead with military collaboration, with the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C., describing Yudh Abhyas as one of the cornerstones of cooperation in a news release last week.

India now conducts more military exercises with the United States than with any other country, Shyam Tekwani, an India expert at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu, said by email Wednesday. Thats the clearest signal of direction as it shows how central the U.S. has become to Indias operational planning.

Economic pain over tariffs will not tilt Delhis compass toward Russia or China, Tekwani argues in a paper published Tuesday in the centers online journal Security Nexus.

India cannot advance  militarily, economically, or technologically  without U.S. partnership, he wrote. This tilt is not ideological; it is infrastructural. Access to jet engine technology, maritime surveillance, space situational awareness, precision strike systems, and secure communications flows only through U.S.-led cooperation.
Federal prosecutors allege that eight leaders of a church defrauded military members and veterans of millions of dollars. Court proceedings are ongoing. (Aspen Reid/U.S. Air Force)



(Tribune News Service)  Eight leaders of a Christian church exercised extreme control and manipulation over hundreds of congregants for years as part of fraud schemes to get rich, according to federal prosecutors.

They are accused of targeting U.S. military members for indoctrination and stealing millions from veterans and banks.

The leaders of House of Prayer Christian Churches of America, including founder Rony Denis whose true name and age are unknown, were arrested Sept. 10 on charges of bank fraud, wire fraud and tax offenses, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Georgia said in a news release.

Denis is a stolen name, according to prosecutors, who said Rony Denis has used the identity since 1983 before he became a U.S. citizen in 2002. He was said to live in Hinesville and Martinez, Ga., as well as West Palm Beach, Fla.

After 2002, prosecutors said he established the House of Prayer and House of Prayer Bible Seminary, which are related Bible seminaries.

There are around 10 to 12 churches in at least five states, including in Hinesville, where it has the largest congregation of about 200 to 300 members, according to court documents.

The locations were set up near U.S. military bases for easier recruitment and indoctrination of military members, some of whom were directed by church leadership to attend the bible seminaries and use their military benefits to pay for attending, the indictment says.

The indictment was unsealed Sept. 10 and names seven other House of Prayer leaders:

Anthony Oloans, 54, of Hinesville, the Executive Assistant to Denis

Joseph Fryar, 51, of Hinesville and Martinez Georgia, and a House of Prayer volunteer minister in Hinesville

Dennis Nostrant, 55, of Hinesville, a bookkeeper for different House of Prayer churches and volunteer minister

Gerard Robertson, 57, of Hinesville, the director and CEO of the House of Prayer Bible Seminary in Hinesville

David Reip, 52, of Hinesville, a House of Prayer volunteer minister

Marcus Labat, 42, of Hinesville, the Controller and School Certifying Official at the House of Prayer Bible Seminary and House of Prayer volunteer minister

Omar Garcia, 40, of Palm Bay, Florida, a School Certifying Official and registrar at the House of Prayer Bible Seminary and a House of Prayer volunteer minister

Information on their legal representation was not listed in court records the afternoon of Sept. 11.

Manipulation and control methods

Since 2004, Denis, worked with individuals he recruited from a different church, the New Testament Christian Church, to create the House of Prayer.

House of Prayer Bible seminaries were set up in five locations: Hinesville and Hephzibah in Ga., Killeen, Texas, Fayetteville, N.C., and Tacoma, Wash., according to the indictment.

Prosecutors said, The indictment alleges that members were manipulated into turning over personal information, pressured into marriages and divorces arranged by church leaders, and forced to live in properties tied to the defendants that generated rental income.

To recruit military members, church leaders ordered non-military members to lure them through a technique called soul winning, according to the indictment.

After becoming a member, military personnel were manipulated into handing over their benefits from the Veteran Affairs administration to the church leaders through accounts belonging to the church, prosecutors said.

Leaders paid themselves and put the money toward their credit card bills, according to prosecutors, who said the leaders disguised payouts as expense reimbursements and love offerings.

As one way to keep all congregants under control, leaders expected the members to attend online church meetings every day, according to the indictment. If someone wanted to miss a meeting, they needed approval from Denis, Robertson, or another church leader, the filing says.

Other control tactics involved how members were required to report infractions and violations of church rules to the leaders, humiliation for purported violations and ex-communication from former members, including family, according to prosecutors.

Additionally, Bible seminary students would be counseled in writing for infractions of Student Conduct, to include such things as texting a person of the opposite gender, wearing worldly and unbecoming attire; insubordination; Defiance; and Sewing Discord and sedition, the indictment says.

The fraud schemes

Denis and fellow church leaders are accused of a bank fraud scheme from 2004 until 2025, as well as a scheme to steal education benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs and military veterans.

In the bank scheme, they had church members act as straw buyers to fraudulently buy real estate, according to prosecutors.

The purchased properties were turned into rental homes, resulting in House of Prayer leaders profiting $5.2 million between 2018 and 2020, according to prosecutors.

The other scheme involved church leaders securing a religious exemption in Georgia for two of five House of Prayer Bible seminaries to get federal funding, prosecutors said.

This resulted in the five Bible seminaries receiving more than $23.5 million in military education benefits, according to prosecutors.

The scheme funneled funding from VA education benefits to its seminary and related church accounts, enriching the defendants while exhausting some veterans benefits, often without students completing their programs, prosecutors said.

Denis is also accused of filing false tax returns for 2018, 2019 and 2020 while the other schemes were underway.

On Sept. 10, the FBI raided Denis $1.96 million mansion in Martinez, WSB-TV reported.

In a statement, Paul Brown, the special agent in charge of FBI Atlanta, said, The defendants are accused of exploiting trust, faith, and even the service of our nations military members to enrich themselves.

2025 Miami Herald.

Visit miamiherald.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The U.S. Capitol dome. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes )



WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service)  Rep. Troy Downing remembers being on a moose hunt in rural Alaska when planes hijacked by terrorists attacked the Pentagon and felled the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, in the deadliest attack on U.S. soil since Pearl Harbor.

I was probably the last person on the planet to find out about it, the Montana Republican said.

Over three days hiking through the wilderness, Downing began to wonder why none of the usual planes were flying overhead. It wasnt until a Grumman Goose airplane came to pick them up from Lake Chikuminuk that he heard the news.

I remember vividly the pilot just stuck his head out the window, hes still on the plane, and just yells at us, goes, Guess what?, he recalled. The news, Downing said, just hit me in the chest.

The day after he got home, he walked into an Air Force recruiters office. At age 34, he was just shy of the cutoff age. That led to two tours of duty in Afghanistan with a combat search and rescue squadron.

Jared Golden was at the University of Maine when the attacks happened. He dropped out to enlist in the Marine Corps. Across the country, Eli Crane had a similar experience. He left the University of Arizona in his senior year to join the Navy and eventually its elite SEAL unit. Golden, a Democrat, was elected to Congress 17 years later. Crane, a Republican, joined the House in 2023.

All three of these lawmakers point to the Sept. 11 attacks as a turning point in their lives. Each is a U.S. military veteran whose service was closely linked to the terror attacks and the decades of war that followed.

There are 79 veterans currently serving in the House, 21 of whom began their service in 2001 or later. For many, that experience changed the direction of their lives.

Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., ranking member of the Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, had already decided to enlist in the Marines when the attacks happened. He went on to serve four tours of duty in Iraq and was a special assistant to Gen. David Petraeus during the 2007 troop surge. The experience also showed him the global impacts of U.S. policy.

Not only would I not be here without Marine experience, but being in the Marines opened my eyes in so many ways to the rest of the world, said Moulton.

Downing said the attacks led to a military career he never thought hed have, spending eight years in the Air Force and Air National Guard flying search and rescue missions at home and abroad. He eventually sought political office and served as Montanas state auditor before his election to Congress in 2024.

I never in my life thought Id be in the military, said Downing. And Im almost embarrassed to say it took something so tragic to kind of rattle my cage, but it did, and it started me on this path that Im still on right now.

The experience of military service has also shaped their worldviews and continues to inform their approaches to policymaking.

Theres not a day goes by that I dont in some way think about being in the Marines, said Golden, a member of the Armed Services Committee. I think my perspective is shaped towards understanding that we are all Americans, that it is a dangerous world out there, that we need each other, and that the world, I believe, is increasingly more dangerous now than it was then.

Crane served with the SEALs in Iraq. A member of the Homeland Security Committee  a panel formed in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks  Crane said that having experienced war, he now wants to play a role in keeping the U.S. out of future conflicts.

Just seeing how many families have been completely devastated by war or by the lies that are told to get us to go to war, Crane said, completely affected my worldview and what I try to do up here now.

Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., also said his experiences made him think about the human costs of national security policy.

After the 2001 attacks, Crow requested a transfer from the National Guard to the Army, where he served with the elite Army Rangers in Iraq. He left the service in 2006 with the rank of captain. Elected to Congress in 2018, Crow is now a member of the Armed Services and Intelligence committees.

I started my career on the very end, the very receiving end of national security policy, and now Im on the other end, helping craft and shape it. So its not abstract to me in any way, said Crow. I often think about Pvt. Crow and Lt. Crow and what its like to be on the receiving end of all the decisions made in Washington.

Moulton became an outspoken critic of the George W. Bush administrations handling of the Iraq war and found his way to Congress in 2014 through New Politics, a nonprofit encouraging veterans to run for public office.

Years later, he recalled the prescient comments from a member of his platoon, which Moulton admits he didnt take seriously at the time: There was a day in 2004 when an [officer] in my platoon said You know, sir, you really ought to run for Congress so this shit doesnt happen again.

2025 CQ-Roll Call, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

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Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Marine Corps Gen. Christopher Mahoney testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in Washington. The committee considered the nomination of Mahoney to become the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)



WASHINGTON  Marine Corps Gen. Christopher Mahoney said Thursday he would push back against any unlawful directives and focus on modernization if confirmed to serve as the militarys second-highest ranking officer.

Mahoney, the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, said he did not expect to receive illegal orders as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff but assured senators he would speak out if he is asked to diverge from the oath he took to the Constitution.

If I am ever put into a situation where 38 years of an oath is put at risk to do something different the answer is simple: I will adhere to my oath to the Constitution, he said. That is what is expected.

His testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee came amid concerns from Democrats about a buildup of military assets in the Caribbean and fears that the deployment of troops to American cities is politicizing the military.

Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the panel, said he worried the administration was silencing military leaders from providing legal and best military advice or even speaking honestly about operations.

Your reputation as a candid and forthright officer will be depended upon and tested in this role, he told Mahoney.

Mahoney has served in the military for 38 years, training as an infantryman in the Marine Corps and a fighter pilot in the Navy. He has more than 5,000 hours of flight time and previously served as deputy commander of U.S. forces in Japan.

For several months in 2023 and 2024, Mahoney performed the duties of Marine Corps commandant, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, while Gen. Eric Smith recovered from a cardiac arrest.

Mahoney said on Thursday that his experiences will help inform his approach to modernizing the force, innovating at speed and scale and maintaining a technical edge against adversaries such as China and Russia.

He would serve as chair of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council, an organization that helps assess capability requirements and review the weapons acquisition process, if confirmed.

Mahoney received widespread praise for his qualifications from members of both parties, with Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., praising Mahoneys decades of leadership in the Marine Corps.

I also know the president will benefit greatly from his candid advice, Wicker said.

Democrats repeatedly asked Mahoney to comment on controversies that have consumed the military and the Trump administration in recent months.

Mahoney acknowledged that policing duties were not a direct mission of the military when pressed by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., on Trumps threats to deploy more troops domestically.

He described a concerted effort among the Marine Corps to carry out orders professionally and protect the reputation of the cloth during the June deployment of 700 Marines to Los Angeles in response to immigration protests.

A federal judge ruled last week that the Trump administration violated a 19th-century law barring the use of soldiers for civilian law enforcement when it mobilized the Marines and 4,000 National Guard troops.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said Mahoneys most important job will be to provide unvarnished advice to the president and asked him whether he was prepared to stand in the breach of a terrible decision and the right decision.

The direct answer, senator, is yes, he said.
By Shivangi Lahiri and Rishav Chatterjee

(Reuters) - The liquidators of China Evergrande Group have received non-binding indicative offers for the developers majority stake in its property management arm, and potential bidders will be invited to submit final offers as soon as November, a filing showed.

Evergrandes liquidators control a 51.016% holding in Evergrande Property Services Group, according to the filing by the unit on Thursday. Evergrande Services had a market value of about HK$9.95 billion ($1.28 billion) before the announcement, LSEG data showed.

The filing said the liquidators have signed confidentiality agreements with multiple parties and received non-binding offers from some of them.

Shares of Evergrande Services surged as much as 40% on Friday, before trimming gains to 25% by mid-morning. The shares were suspended from trading on Thursday pending an announcement under Hong Kongs Takeovers and Mergers Code.

Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News reported that subsidiaries of state-owned China Overseas Holdings and China Resources Holdings are among the bidders who have indicated interest in Evergrande Services.

China Overseas Property Holdings told Reuters it has not bid for Evergrande Services. China Overseas Holdings and China Resources Holdings did not respond to requests for comment.

Evergrande Services, like its parent, has been hit hard by China's prolonged real estate crisis, which has persisted despite repeated efforts by Beijing to shore up demand. Its shares have plunged more than 95% since peaking in 2021.

Under a "liquidators auction", it appears nothing firm will occur until at least November, said David Blennerhassett, an analyst at Smartkarma.

"It will also be interesting to see if the investor - if a single bidder - seeks to maintain EPS's (Evergrande Services') listing, or aims for compulsory acquisition."

Evergrande, once Chinas top-selling developer, is the worlds most indebted property company. Its liquidators are seeking buyers for its stakes in Evergrande Services and electric vehicle maker Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group, its two most valuable assets.

($1 = 7.7892 Hong Kong dollars)

(Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri and Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Clare Jim in Hong Kong; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli, Kirsten Donovan and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
Citi has appointed longtime IBM executive Shobhit Varshney to lead the bank's AI strategy.

It builds on the company's previous announcement of a new AI leadership team this summer.

Citi's AI tools are available to 175,000 members of its global workforce, the bank said in a memo.

Citigroup has tapped Shobhit Varshney, a longtime IBM executive, as its new head of AI, the latest sign of how Wall Street is racing to bring artificial intelligence deeper into banking.

Varshney comes from IBM, where he was the head of data and artificial intelligence for the technology pioneer's consulting business. At Citi, he will report to Anand Selva, the bank's chief operating officer; and will work closely with the firm's chief technology officer, David Griffiths, to scale AI across the company, according to a memo sent to Citi employees on Tuesday morning seen by Business Insider.

Citi has already given about 175,000 employees access to AI tools like Stylus, Workspaces, and Assist. The bank has also begun using AI to strengthen customer service in its US personal banking business through a "multi-year initiative to enhance our customers' experience through specialized GenAI tools, driving efficiency and operational excellence," Selva wrote in the memo.

"With Shobhit's leadership, we will accelerate the hard work that has been underway for more than a year to integrate the power of AI into Citi's strategy and operations," Selva wrote in the note to employees. "Our firmwide goals are clear: responsibly build AI capabilities that enhance the client and colleague experience, strengthen internal controls and boost internal productivity."

This summer, Business Insider reported that the Tribeca-based firm was "accelerating" its AI plans with the appointment of three senior leaders to steer the bank's strategy. Gonzalo Luchetti runs US Personal Banking and brings a focus on consumers. Tim Ryan runs Technology and Business Enablement and has the tech skills. Selva will help spread the strategy across operations.

The move highlights the broader race among banks to deploy AI. As Business Insider has reported, firms from JPMorgan to Goldman Sachs are experimenting with ways to automate routine work, improve risk controls, and boost efficiency through new tools. At a Barclays financial services conference on Monday, Goldman CEO David Solomon said he was extremely optimistic about the potential for AI to boost efficiency and release capital for new investments.

Any conversation about technology at Citi invariably turns to "the transformation," the bank's efforts  which are overseen by Selva  to reconcile with its long-running data management issues. It's in the process of revamping the sprawling firm to appease regulators.



"Citi is modernizing our infrastructure and automating manual processes, simplifying our ways of working and upgrading technology and platforms," Selva wrote in the memo, adding: "Our firmwide AI integration is a natural continuation of this work."
BEIJING, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- China named 24 teachers and a group of Baoding University graduates, who volunteered to teach in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, as the nation's "Most Beautiful Teachers" for 2025, marking China's 41st celebration of Teachers' Day on Wednesday.

The honorees have been recognized as exemplary members of China's 18.85 million-strong teaching force, the backbone of the world's largest education system.

The honored include special education teachers who developed diverse learning resources for students with special needs, those who have long served schools in central and western China and rural communities, and teachers who have made enduring contributions to national strategic initiatives and scientific research.

For more than three decades, Ding Meizhen from Shanghai in east China has led a team dedicated to improving learning for students with special needs -- developing 38 regionally shared courses, hundreds of teaching aids and an intelligent platform to identify the needs of students with disabilities who remain in mainstream classes.

In 2000, 15 graduates from Baoding University in north China's Hebei Province chose to teach in Xinjiang, thousands of kilometers from home, turning down job offers and opportunities for further study. Despite challenging conditions, they never backed down, dedicating themselves to advancing education in this northwestern region.
By Tatiana Bautzer

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason said at a conference in New York that investment banking fees and market revenue are expected to rise by mid-single digits in the third quarter compared to a year earlier.

Mason also said the global revenue and expenses for the year may be higher than the guidance of $84 billion and $54.3 billion, respectively. But Mason added the proportion between expenses and revenue did not change, so the impact of the higher numbers would be neutral to positive to earnings.

In July, the bank beat estimates for second quarter earnings, fueled by rising revenue in banking, markets and wealth management. At the time, the results drove shares to their highest since 2008, and the bank said it planned to buy back at least $4 billion in stock.

On Tuesday, Mason said the bank was on track to keep buying stock at the same rate. Citi's CFO added the bank is 'pleased' with the stance bank regulators are adopting regarding capital, adding transparency. Mason said there is a more 'holistic' approach and willingness to consider changes to the capital models.

The second quarter showed CEO Jane Fraser's turnaround is gaining momentum after she sold businesses and simplified the bank's structure. Citigroup expects to be ready to list its Mexican subsidiary Banamex by the end of the year, Mason said, but added that market conditions and regulatory approvals may delay the transaction until early 2026.

The Citi CFO said the bank is not seeing any signs of deterioration of credit quality.

(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer, Editing by Franklin Paul and Nick Zieminski)
Hector Barbotta Seville Thursday, 11 September 2025, 20:24 Share

The governing council of the Junta de Andalucia is in the middle of approving one of the most important texts of the current legislature: the draft of the new Ley de Vivienda de Andalucia housing law. The goal is to have it immediately submitted to parliament for approval before regional elections are called. "We face a challenge and we're behind schedule because no reforms have been made in the last decade and a half," acknowledged Junta president, Juanma Moreno, although he did mention the approval of the 'Lista' land law during his first term of office for the regional government.

To highlight the significance of the approval of the new bill, Moreno opted for an unusual approach to presenting an initiative of this type: an event at the San Telmo Palace attended by mayors, the president of the Spanish federation of municipalities and provinces (Femp) and mayor of Jerez, Maria Jose Garcia-Pelayo, and relevant stakeholders involved in the housing sector. The objective was to demonstrate that the severe housing crisis affecting the entire country has been tackled in this region from what Moreno and his team call the "Andalusian way", involving dialogue with associations, professional groups and, in this case, also with the town councils. In drafting the bill, Moreno noted, regional housing minister Rocio Diaz's team received contributions from around 50 organisations and also from individual citizens.

The formula with which the Junta intends to respond to the housing crisis and what the law is seeking to address, is to increase supply by making available as much land as possible, thereby achieving a reduction in prices. "Not enough has been built for many years," said the Junta president, who noted that the situation is unsustainable from a social and economic perspective. According to Fadeco (a trade association in the construction industry), the housing shortfall in Andalucia is around 200,000 homes.

More homes

For this reason, Moreno stressed that the first objective is to put more homes on the market to prevent prices from continuing to rise. Doing so, he said, "is an exercise in responsibility that citizens must demand and that the Andalusian government is taking on".

Juanma Moreno stressed that the problem is being tackled in the "Andalusian way", involving dialogue with relevant stakeholders and sectors

After pointing out that interventionism has not worked, Moreno stated that Andalucia is developing its own model for public housing policies, which has been working and generating results for years. Thanks to the policies implemented by the regional government, the development of subsidised housing (VPOs) has quadrupled in the last six years compared to the previous period (13,000 as opposed to 3,200). He stated that more than 2,000 people in Andalucia have now been able to access their first home thanks to the mortgage guarantee from the Junta and that some 250,000 people in the region benefited from the housing tax package last year, saving 460 million euros. He also highlighted the shock plan included in the decree to build 20,000 VPOs over the next five years.

The president stressed that the draft law is designed to generate more social housing for sale and rent throughout Andalucia and that its approval, which will take place during the current legislature, will put an end to the regulatory dispersion and allow for a "serious and effective" response to what he considers to be one of the primary and most serious social concerns of today.

Moreno considered it "terrible and painful" that there are those who cannot access the basic right to have a place to live and that many people have had to leave their towns and cities due to the impossibility of accessing housing there.

The president asserted that Andalucia is a pioneer in addressing the housing problem with this new law. The region is doing so with the goal of "providing the means, generating trust and establishing the best possible conditions to increase the supply of affordable housing in our region".

More land

According to Moreno, one of the goals to be achieved is to provide more land for affordable, protected housing. He commented that some of the measures have already been in place since the decree law was passed this year to speed up their implementation. Among them, he highlighted the creation of a land pool and the discovery of already developed land kept in reserve that is available for immediate construction.

Furthermore, he stressed, the law will make it possible to change the use of land, so that land intended for offices or other uses could be used to build subsidised housing. He also highlighted that the law will promote municipal housing plans and the use of public land, guaranteeing that at least 25% will be used to build such as VPOs. To achieve this, he explained, it will be necessary for municipal councils to play a leading role.

Refurbishments

The law will also include measures regarding quality and refurbishment, as the existing housing stock is ageing, and will promote urban regeneration, the eradication of substandard housing and action in rundown neighbourhoods.

According to the president, once the law gains parliamentary approval and comes into full effect, this will lead to an increase in the supply of subsidised housing, more rental construction, more public-private collaborations and less bureaucracy.

He also highlighted other relevant aspects included in the law in terms of housing use and management, quality and refurbishment, neighbourhood regeneration and the eradication of substandard housing.
Corn futures gave back some of the Monday gains on Tuesday, closing with losses of 1 to 2 cents of most contracts. The CmdtyView national average Cash Corn price was down 2 cents at $3.75.

Late on Monday, NASS reported the US corn harvest progress at 4% complete. Harvest was at 1% in IN and 2% in IL, with MO at 9% complete. Condition ratings were down 1% to 68% gd/ex, with the Brugler500 index down 1 point to 375. Noticeable ratings drops were noted in OH, down 23, with MI dropping 10 and IA down 9.

More News from Barchart

USDA will release their monthly Crop Production report on Friday, with a Reuters survey of analysts looking for a 2.6 bpa reduction to yield this month to 186.2 bpa. Production is seen at 16.516 bbu, which would be down 226 mbu from the August estimate.

ANEC estimates the Brazilian corn exports in September at 6.96 MMT, up 0.59 MMT from their estimate last week.

Sep 25 Corn closed at $4.01 1/4, down 1 3/4 cents,

Nearby Cash was $3.75, down 2 cents,

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.19 3/4, down 2 cents,

Mar 26 Corn closed at $4.37 1/2, down 2 cents,

New Crop Cash was $3.75 1/1, down 2 cents,

On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com
Tensions were mounting among the close family and friends who were anxiously waiting in Prado Negro in Spain's Granada province and following the Guardia Civil's negotiations with a man who had barricaded himself inside the house of a woman whose husband he had allegedly just shot dead on Tuesday 9 September.

After a long night, the alleged killer finally released Lourdes after more than 12 hours of negotiations with specialised police negotiators. Lourdes was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital and the 61-year-old man was arrested by the Guardia Civil.

The first vehicle to leave the scene was the ambulance in which Lourdes was apparently travelling. Subsequently, a car marked Guardia Civil left the scene, presumably with the alleged perpetrator of the murder and kidnapping.

The incident began to unfold at around four o'clock on Tuesday afternoon, when the sound of gunshots in the quiet area of Prado Negro became the prelude to an afternoon and evening of tension and pain. Pedro, a local resident, allegedly rammed his car into the vehicle in which Juan and Lourdes, his neighbours, were in. He then fatally shot Juan, who died at the scene.

Pedro apparently forced Lourdes to get out of the car and go into her home, a few metres from where the shots were fired. He then barricaded himself inside the house, presumably armed, with Lourdes as hostage. A long afternoon and night of vigil ensued, with a large police deployment and scenes of disbelief and grief among acquaintances and relatives.

Two local residents found Juan's body. "What we have seen we will never forget in our lives," they told SUR's sister newspaper Ideal, while trying to remain calm.

They found Juan's body in his car. "When I saw Juan, I called his name several times, but he didn't answer, he was dead. He took her out by force", the neighbour told Ideal, still visibly traumatised by what they had seen. "If he had seen us, he might have shot us too," he added.

Witnesses told Ideal that the kidnapper had left "a notebook with the reasons why he had done it" in his own car, something that will have to be confirmed by the Guardia Civil. They all agreed that Pedro, the alleged murderer, was waiting for the couple and acted without giving them time to react.

Although the exact timeline of the events was unclear, the calls reached the Guardia Civil shortly before 4pm. More than fifty officers were sent to the scene, including a team from the special intervention unit, an elite group specially trained to act in this type of kidnapping or in operations against terrorism.

Police cordon

The police cordon kept onlookers, locals and journalists several hundred metres away from the house where Pedro held Lourdes. Firefighters, Civil Protection volunteers and medical personnel, including an 061 air ambulance, were on the scene.

While local residents spoke fondly of Juan and Lourdes, saying that they were very dear to them, they did not speak the same way about the alleged kidnapper, who they described as a "stranger" who had caused problems in the past. Apparently, they had quarrels over issues in the countryside. "We know what he's like, he's crazy and lost," said another woman. Locals suggested that the man had "rifles or shotguns" in the house.

As the hours progressed, some resources began to be withdrawn, such as the fire brigade and the 061 helicopter, which cannot fly after nightfall. Silence surrounded a house to which only a relative of the woman held inside had access. First, the agents asked her to remain silent. Next to the house, the Guardia Civil negotiators tried to approach the barricaded man. The main objective was to get Lourdes out of the house alive.

Sources close to the case explained to Ideal that there is no precise protocol in these cases, there is no set number of hours to intervene. Decisions are taken depending on how the negotiations develop.
Europa Press Cordoba Thursday, 11 September 2025, 16:20 Share

The report from the forensic specialists on the cause of the fire in a chapel of the mosque-cathedral of Cordoba at the beginning of August finds that the fire started accidentally. The focal point was an electric sweeper that was stored in the heritage building.

This was confirmed by investigative sources after the National Police submitted the report on the origin of the fire to the judicial authorities this Wednesday, in this case to Cordoba's Court of Instruction No.2.

After several weeks of work, one of the Mezquita's conservation architects, Gabriel Rebollo, reported a few days ago that the emergency repairs work to ensure the safety of the monumental complex is "more than 90% complete". He also noted that the cathedral's chapter (Cabildo in Spanish) has plans to install a misting system throughout the building, to "act as a fire protection measure".

Speaking to Europa Press, Rebollo explained that the damage caused by the 8 August fire was concentrated in three specific areas, including the roof of three chapels and the roof of the vestibule of the Puerta de San Nicolas. According to his estimates, the surface area affected "is around 80 square metres, which represents approximately 1% of the cathedral's monumental complex. The fire was confined to a very small area; the real risk was that it could have spread."

In this regard, he pointed out that some roofs collapsed in the fire, while others have been rendered "unusable". However, he stressed that, "as luck would have it", the two most valuable chapels of the mosque-cathedral - the chapel of St Nicholas and the chapel of the Holy Spirit - have stone roofs that acted as a barrier, supporting the weight of the wooden structure that fell onto them. Thanks to this, both chapels "have actually suffered very little damage".

The chapel that suffered "most damage", according to Rebollo, is a third one with a ribbed vault built of reeds that was lacking structural resistance, which caused it to collapse during the fire, leaving the chamber "open to the sky". However, he stressed that the altarpiece in this chapel was, coincidentally, the least affected by the flames and smoke.

He also pointed out one "last bit of damage" recorded in the cathedral, a column that, for the moment, remains propped up to avoid the risk of structural collapse of the building. In addition, the smoke caused several vaults and other areas of the building to turn black, so they are also undergoing restoration.

First phase

This first phase is part of the emergency project aimed at ensuring the safety of both the building and the people that work there and visit it. According to Rebollo, "a very high proportion of the project has been completed, more than 90% of it is safe."

On the other hand, the restoration plans and projects are still pending, which will make it possible to assess and, if necessary, repair other areas of the cathedral affected by the fire. "What has been lost are roofs that can easily be rebuilt, because they were installed about six years ago and we are going to rebuild them with some technical changes, while in the interior areas we are going to restore the damage to the chapels," said Rebollo.

As for safety and security measures, Rebollo stressed that "one of the most effective aspects has been the protocols" previously established, which allowed for rapid and collaborative action.

He referred to the misting system that is planned to be installed throughout the building in the coming years. This system, which was also used at Notre Dame as a "fire protection measure", "although expensive, is very safe".

Contingency fund

Meanwhile, the cathedral's leadership, the chapter, has expressed its deep gratitude for "all the initiatives coming from institutions, from any government level" and also "from private initiatives", as a show of "solidarity and support" following the fire. However, the chapter has clarified that, in order to restore the area affected by the flames, it does have its own "contingency fund".

In statements to Europa Press, the chapter spokesperson, Jose Juan Jimenez Gueto, stated that the chapter is "tremendously grateful" after the regional minister for culture, Patricia del Pozo, announced that the emergency intervention plan for the area of the Mezquita affected by the fire will be approved, noting that the restoration project would have an estimated cost of around one million euros.

However, according to Jimenez, "the issue is not a financial one", given that, when it comes to tackling "the action plan" anticipated for the "recovery and restoration" of the fire damage, it turns out that "the chapter has a contingency fund, which it allocates annually", in "anticipation", in case "at some point there should be some kind of disaster, as has happened now", with "a fire", but "it could have been an earthquake" or something else.

As such, he insisted, "in the event of any circumstance that might arise, the chapter always provides for this contingency fund every year". "Therefore, the financial issue is not going to be a problem", and he asserted that "the chapter can afford the restoration".

However, as he stressed, "it would also be very important for this initiative if all the governing bodies" were to "speed up all deadlines and permits so that, as soon as possible, all the interventions set out in this action plan can be undertaken", helping the recovery and restoration of the area affected by the fire, "and that would be the most important thing".

Unesco's assessment

Meanwhile, the director of the Unesco World Heritage Centre, Lazare Eloundou Assomo, sent a letter to the dean-president of the cathedral chapter, Joaquin Alberto Nieva, in which he conveyed his "most sincere gratitude for the efficient way in which the chapter, together with the local city authorities, managed to quickly and efficiently control the fire that occurred at the mosque-cathedral, a site inscribed on the World Heritage List, on 8 August".

This is stated in a letter signed by the aforementioned Unesco official, dated 20 August and to which Europa Press has had access. In it, Lazare Eloundou highlights, "in particular, the fire prevention protocols that were implemented and applied in a coordinated and timely manner" in response to the fire.

The Unesco representative expressed his appreciation that this "made it possible to avoid the loss of human life or a large-scale fire and damage to this priceless monument of exceptional importance to all humanity".

"As our director-general pointed out in her letter of 14 August to the mayor of Cordoba", Jose Maria Bellido, "the foresight shown by ensuring fire preparedness measures and rapid response capacity by the cathedral chapter is exemplary and deserves to be shared with other World Heritage sites exposed to similar risks", stated the letter to the dean.

The director of the Unesco World Heritage Centre concluded his letter by thanking the dean of the cathedral for "his constant collaboration and support in the implementation of the World Heritage Convention".
Matias Stuber Thursday, 11 September 2025, 16:56 Share

On Wednesday 10 September infant, primary and special education pupils returned to school after the long summer holiday. Sandra Paez, the head teacher of Giner de los Rios primary school in Malaga city, explained that as it was the first day "the entrance was staggered".

A new backpack, of course, is part of the back-to-school routine for many. The Real Madrid and Paw Patrol logos are this year's fashion statements, at least in this school. Lamine Yamal T-shirts are also popular. Brothers Jonathan and Benjamin were a bit camera shy but say that they are "excited" about going back to school.

Paez's aim is to make her school as welcoming and friendly as possible. There is a bench set aside as a mediation area while the walls in the playground have positive messages painted on them such as "Trust in yourself and you will be your own hero".

More than 600 new teachers have joined the teaching staff this academic year, bringing the total to 19,334

Scenes like the one experienced at Giner de los Rios were replicated throughout the province on Wednesday. The return to the classroom was also accompanied by data and statistics. The Junta de Andaluscia regional government's department for education is responsible for providing them and the representatives in Malaga, Patricia Navarro and Javier Briones, were responsible for highlighting the current situation in the province's classrooms. Navarro announced an investment plan to improve air-conditioning in schools to the tune of 50 million euros.

The data published by the department showed that the school year has started with some 140,500 pupils in the province of Malaga. According to SUR sources, this is 1,400 fewer pupils than in the previous academic year. The birth rate curve continues to fall and this is reflected in the classrooms.

More teachers

However, the number of teaching staff has increased by more than 600 and now in Malaga province there is a total of 19,334 teachers. Special education teachers and assistants have increased by 22 professionals, reaching a total of 2,342, some 658 more than in 2018, an increase of 39.1 per cent.

Contrary to what many people think, teachers' summer holidays do not last forever. Especially in management positions, August is a working month. Now the regional government has completed the process of equalising the salaries of Andalusian teachers with the national average, which benefits both public and state-subsidised teachers. This measure has involved an investment of 256.8 million euros.

Complementary services have increased this academic year in Malaga with three more centres offering breakfast clubs, bringing the total to 311 and one more centre has authorised the school canteen, a total of 387. 334 centres have extracurricular activities. The number of school canteen users is expected to be around 52,400 pupils, more than 27,500 in breakfast clubs and more than 24,000 in extracurricular activities. The prices of the services are the same as last year.
Chus Heredia Malaga Thursday, 11 September 2025, 19:13 Share

Traffic has increased by 20,000 cars a day on the access roads between Rincon de la Victoria on the eastern Costa del Sol and Malaga city since the completion of the Ronda Este-Rincon ring road.

While Spain's Ministry of Transport is looking into alternatives to improve transport between the two municipalities, a new express circular bus service has started and is operating during rush hour between the two municipalities, passing through the El Palo district of Malaga city.

Route

The buses leave from Rincon de la Victoria, passing through La Cala del Moral and will end at Calle Villafuerte in El Palo (next to Las Angustias church), between 6.55am and 1.05pm, from Monday to Friday.

The new line will be express, with no intermediate stops at La Arana or at the El Candado petrol station, which will reduce journey times for commuters travelling from Rincon to the eastern part of Malaga at peak times.

Empty return journey on the A-7

The buses will return empty on the A-7 motorway, which will allow them to be available again in Rincon de la Victoria more quickly. The return journey has to be on other lines because the idea is to arrive in Malaga at rush hour and from there look for connections with other means of transport.

Salado welcomes the measure

The mayor of Rincon de la Victoria, Francisco Salado, has valued the measure: "This new express line model is in line with a more efficient transport strategy, avoids traffic congestion, reduces unnecessary emissions and adapts supply to real demand, optimising public resources and improving the quality of the service for users".

The needs analysis carried out over several weeks showed that there is a high demand for passengers from Rincon to Malaga between 7am and 10am especially those travelling to the eastern area (El Palo), where a large number of passengers on the M160 line alight.

Pilot test extendable to the afternoon

"If the pilot test of the circular line in the morning is well received and has positive results, Rincon de la Victoria town hall will ask the CTMAM to activate an express line in the afternoon, leaving from Calle Bolivia (El Palo) towards Rincon de la Victoria, replicating the model of returning along the A-7 motorway empty," according to the town hall.

Bus statistics

According to statistics, the number of passengers between Malaga and El Rincon in 2024 was just under two million. The current lines between the two municipalities are: M-160 Malaga-Rincon de la Victoria-Cotomar; M-161 Malaga-Totalan; M-163 Malaga-Rincon de la Victoria-Los Rubios; M-168 Malaga-Rincon de la Victoria-Cotomar (Buho); M-260 Malaga-Velez Malaga (via Torre de Benagalbon); M-262 Rincon de la Victoria-Benagalbon-Moclinejo-El Valdes; M-362 Malaga-Nerja (via Torre de Benagalbon), and M-363 Malaga-Torrox (via Torre de Benagalbon).

Traffic congestion data

The 2024 annual report of the Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) put figures on the traffic congestion problems. The infrastructure between the Ronda Este and the neighbouring municipality was inaugurated in 2003 as a great alternative to the traffic jams at the time of the La Arana curve (the Ronda Este in the capital was later extended to three lanes). In this time, cars have shot up by 34 per cent, but the alternatives are poor.

The solution to the problem of the eastern access road is a long time coming. It was not until May last year that the Ministry of Transport awarded the contract for the study of alternatives to the consultancy firm Ayesa. On the table were the widening of the road, a bus-VAO lane, a BRT ('bus rapid transit') or even a new dual carriageway.

The Junta de Andalucia will also analyse the feasibility of taking the metro to the east or an extension to the north (Ciudad Jardin) or to the Parque Tecnologico de Andalucia.
Tony Bryant Mijas Thursday, 11 September 2025, 20:34 Share

Mijas town hall has announced that the municipality recorded an occupancy rate of 93.57 per cent in August, making it one of the leading destinations in the province of Malaga. According to data provided by the Costa del Sol hoteliers association (Aehcos), the average occupancy across the province was 92.14 per cent, that was 1.26 points above the average recorded during the same period in 2024.

Regarding September, the hoteliers association estimates Mijas occupancy rate at 90.63 per cent while the forecast for the entire province is 87.65 per cent, meaning Mijas would once again be among the leaders this month.

By nationality, it is expected that the number of domestic Spanish tourists will decrease to 30 per cent of the total, while international visitors will account for 70 per cent.

For October 2025, the hotel association predicts an occupancy rate of 74.13 per cent, compared with 86.70 per cent recorded in October of last year.

Mayor of Mijas Ana Mata expressed her gratitude for the work of the tourism sector. August has once again confirmed the strength of the Costa del Sol as a top-level tourist destination, which is the result of the perfectly coordinated work of all segments of the sector. Now we will continue working to consolidate these figures, the mayor said.

Tourism councillor Francisco Jerez, added, International tourism continues to be one of the main drivers of our local economy, but we do not forget the importance of the domestic market, which continues to trust Mijas as a safe and quality destination.
Koldo Dominguez Madrid Thursday, 11 September 2025, 10:01 Share

The Trump administration has definitely set its sights on Spain. The international policy that Pedro Sanchez's government has been advocating for months, especially its criticism - if not outright rejection - of the increase in military spending demanded by the United States and the tariff policy imposed by Washington, had already soured relations between the two countries. However, the latest decisions taken by Spain's PSOE-Sumar coalition-led government regarding the conflict in Gaza have further heightened tensions between the two countries and only time will tell if this translates into a clash of uncertain consequences.

Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares was very eloquent on Tuesday when he stated that Spain is "by far the country in the world that is doing the most for Palestine, for Gazan civilians, for peace and for human rights." This statement endorsed the nine measures announced by Prime Minister Sanchez on Monday to increase pressure on Israel. This entire move has allowed the socialist leader to establish a political profile far removed from the alleged corruption cases uncovered around him and, internally, to secure the unanimous support of all his partners at a delicate moment when he's on the eve of budget negotiations and facing a complicated judicial horizon.

Nevertheless, across Spain's borders, especially across the Atlantic, the nine measures have not been received in the same way. A spokesperson for the US State Department stated this Wednesday that the Spanish government's decision in response to the "genocide" in Gaza - Sanchez used this term on Monday - "emboldens Hamas terrorists", as did the decision to veto ships and planes carrying weapons destined for the Israeli army from entering Spain. "It is deeply troubling that Spain, a NATO member, has chosen to potentially limit US operations and turn its back on Israel on the same day that six people were killed in Jerusalem," the spokesperson said in an email to Reuters.

US bases in Rota and Moron

In reality, Spain's arms embargo on Israel has been in place since 2023, as has the ban on buying and selling military equipment to that country. Spanish airspace and ports are closed to all planes and ships transporting defence material destined for the Israeli army. All that the Spanish government has done now is to include it in a royal decree law to "legally consolidate" this ban.

In practice, this veto has little effect on shipments supported, for example, by the US armed forces, since the Spanish authorities lack the authority to inspect ships or planes that call at the US bases in Rota (Cadiz) and Moron (Seville). According to the Defence Cooperation Agreement signed between the two countries, the United States must obtain authorisation from Spain's standing committee under the Ministry of Defence in Madrid for various loading and unloading operations of ammunition and explosives, as well as for their land, sea or air transport within Spanish territory. However, under no circumstances is the US obliged to declare the final destination of these shipments when stopovers are made.
Key Points

Coupang is a company following the Amazon model in South Korea.

It is beginning to expand to other countries like Taiwan.

At today's price, the stock looks cheap for buy-and-hold investors.

These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires 

Investors hunting for the next great technology stock can look for replication of the "Magnificent Seven" business models around the world. Amazon has many copycat businesses in other countries. None more so than Coupang (NYSE: CPNG) and its "everything store" that dominates the retail landscape in South Korea.

With ultra-fast delivery, subscription add-ons, and everyday low prices, Coupang is pulling far ahead of the pack in South Korean online shopping. As of this writing, the stock is trading just below $30.

Does that make it a perfect buy-and-hold investment?

Image source: Getty Images.

Building a best-in-class fulfillment model

The key engine that has enabled Coupang to win in South Korea -- its $30 billion in trailing revenue as clear evidence -- is a vertically integrated delivery infrastructure similar to Amazon's in the United States. Coupang has its own advanced fulfillment centers and delivery trucks that help it get packages to customers in the same day, including fresh groceries in as little as a few hours. If a customer orders by midnight, they will receive the order by 7 a.m. the next day. In most cases, it is even faster than Amazon's delivery network.

Like Amazon, Coupang has a subscription for free shipping it calls Rocket Wow. Outside of free shipping, Rocket Wow members get access to video streaming content like live sports, discounts on Coupang Eats food delivery, and other targeted discounts. The value of Rocket Wow is evident in the customer reaction to a recent 58% price hike on monthly subscriptions. Well, there wasn't any dip in Coupang's active customer growth, which was up 10% year over year to 23.9 million.

Not all of these shoppers are Rocket Wow members, but it is estimated that at least 10 million or more people in South Korea pay for the subscription service. This stream of recurring revenue for Coupang can be highly lucrative. At current exchange rates, the Rocket Wow membership costs $5.70 a month. If there are 10 million paying subscribers, that is $684 million in high-margin and growing subscription revenue.

International expansion opportunity

One knock on Coupang has been the limited size of the South Korean market. It is a wealthy country but only has a population of 52 million that is not growing. This could prevent Coupang from growing its e-commerce business to the size of Amazon.
Bad Bunnys upcoming Debi Tirar Mas Fotos world tour will not be making stops in the US.

During an interview with i-D published on Wednesday, the Puerto Rican rapper, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, said he purposely excluded the US from his tour out of fear that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could conduct raids outside his shows.

There were many reasons why I didnt show up in the US, and none of them were out of hateIve performed there many times. All of [the shows] have been successful. Ive enjoyed connecting with Latinos who have been living in the US, he told the outlet.

But there was the issue oflike, f------ ICE could be outside [my concert]. And its something that we were talking about and very concerned about," the "Me Porto Bonito" artist explained.

He further reasoned that his ongoing stadium residency at Coliseo de Puerto Rico in his hometown offered fans a safer alternative to see him perform. Latinos and Puerto Ricans of the United States could also travel here, or to any part of the world, he said.

Back in June, Bad Bunny posted a video to his Instagram Story criticizing ICE for the raids happening in Puerto Rico. Speaking over footage of law enforcement officials seemingly detaining people while using unmarked vehicles, he said: "They came here Sons of b------, instead of leaving the people alone and working there.

Bad Bunnys Coliseo de Puerto Rico residency wraps up on Sept. 14, with the Debi Tirar Mas Fotos world tour kicking off in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Nov. 21. Hell make stops in cities like Sao Paulo, Sydney, Madrid, London, Paris, and Brussels. You can buy tickets here.
Update: Missing Syracuse man, subject of a massive search in Ithaca, found alive in Pennsylvania

Original article

Ithaca, N.Y.  State and local police are searching Buttermilk Falls State Park for a missing former Ithaca College student.

The search includes dogs and drones, according to the State Police.

The search is being conducted by state troopers, forest rangers and park police, as well as deputies with the Tompkins County Sheriffs Department and volunteers.

The park covers more that 800 acres, featuring 10 waterfalls, hiking trails and campgrounds.

The search teams are looking for Jonathan Jon D. DAgostino, 20.

Trooper Aga Tinker, a spokesperson for the State Police, confirmed at noon on Thursday that DAgostino has not been found and the search is ongoing.

The search started on Monday, she said. Police announced the search was underway on Wednesday.

DAgostino was last seen on video leaving the Ithaca College campus early Sunday morning, according to the Park Police.

State Police said DAgostino may be suffering a mental health crisis.

The students vehicle was located at the parks lower entrance just east of Ithaca and about three miles from the college. His phone was found in the vehicle, along with a note suggesting self-harm, park police said.

DAgostino is described as a white male around 6 feet tall and approximately 210 pounds. Police said he has a shaved head and a dark beard and mustache. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a gray sweatshirt and a green knit hat.

Park police ask that anyone with information call 607-387-7081.

Editors note: An earlier version of this article said, based on DAgostinos LinkedIn page, that he was an Ithaca College student. A college spokesperson says he is a former student, last attending the college in Fall 2023.

Staff writer Finn Lincoln covers breaking news, crime and public safety. He can be reached at flincoln@syracuse.com or 315-607-2986.
An MSNBC star has been fired over his comments in the wake of the shooting that left conservative activist Charlie Kirk dead.

Variety reports political analyst Matthew Dowd was fired after he spoke about Kirk on TV during coverage of the shooting. Anchor Katy Tur asked Dowd about the environment in which a shooting like this happens.

Hes been one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups. And I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions. And I think that is the environment we are in, Dowd said Wednesday. You cant stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place. And thats the unfortunate environment we are in.

Dowds comments sparked swift backlash. The cable news network issued an apology, calling his words unacceptable.

During our breaking news coverage of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable. We apologize for his statements, as has he, MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler said in a statement. Kutler said in a statement. There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise.

Dowd apologized himself in a BlueSky post.

My thoughts & prayers are w/ the family and friends of Charlie Kirk. On an earlier appearance on MSNBC I was asked a question on the environment we are in, Dowd wrote. I apologize for my tone and words.

Let me be clear, I in no way intended for my comments to blame Kirk for this horrendous attack. Let us all come together and condemn violence of any kind.

Dowd was fired Wednesday, sources told Variety, Fox News and The Wall Street Journal.

Chief Political Analyst of ABC News Matthew Dowd speaks onstage at 'The War at Home: Trump and the Mainstream Media' during 2017 SXSW Conference and Festivals at JW Marriott on March 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Mindy Best/Getty Images for SXSW) Getty Images

Dowd is a well-known political pundit and consultant who worked on ABC News as a political analyst before joining MSNBC. He previously served as chief strategist for President George W. Bushs successful campaign in the 2004 election and briefly ran as a Democrat for lieutenant governor of Texas in 2021.

Kirk, 31, was shot dead Wednesday while speaking at a college event on the Utah Valley University campus. Kirk was a close ally of President Donald Trump and has been credited with rallying young Republicans through Turning Point USA, the right-wing political youth organization Kirk founded when he was 18.

This is a dark day for our state. Its a tragic day for our nation, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said. I want to be very clear this is a political assassination.

As of Thursday morning, the shooter has not been apprehended. Authorities detained two people Wednesday, but neither was determined to be connected to the shooting and both were released, Utah public safety officials said.

The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie, Trump wrote on Truth Social. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!
If you purchase a product through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.

Rising alternative sensation Sombrs 2025 Late Nights & Young Romance Tour has sold out across all cities.

Due to overwhelming demand, Sombr upgraded the tour, adding larger venues and additional dates to accommodate the influx of fans eager to see him live.

Despite selling out, tickets are still available via verified resale platforms like Vivid Seats, SeatGeek and StubHub.

The tour is in support of Sombrs debut album I Barely Know Her, with the North American leg including stops in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Toronto and Boston.

Where to buy Sombr Late Nights & Young Romance Tour tickets

If you werent able to secure tickets during the general sale, your next best option is to check verified resale platforms such as Vivid Seats, SeatGeek and StubHub, which offer buyer guarantees.

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Discount: First-time Vivid Seats customers can use code SYRACUSE20 for $20 off a $200+ ticket order.

Sombr 2025 North American tour dates

Sept. 22  North Charleston, SC  Firefly Distillery

Sept. 24  Nashville, TN  Nashville Municipal Auditorium

Sept. 26  Cincinnati, OH  Andrew J Brady ICON Music Center

Sept. 28  Detroit, MI  Masonic Temple Theatre

Sept. 29  Milwaukee, WI  The Rave-Eagles Club

Sept. 30  Saint Paul, MN  Palace Theatre St. Paul

Oct. 2  Chicago, IL  Radius Chicago

Oct. 3  Columbus, OH  Newport Music Hall

Oct. 5  Pittsburgh, PA  Petersen Events Center

Oct. 6  Toronto, ON  Phoenix Concert Theatre

Oct. 8  Boston, MA  Leader Bank Pavilion

Oct. 910  New York, NY  The Rooftop at Pier 17

Oct. 12  Philadelphia, PA  The Met Philadelphia

Oct. 13  Washington, DC  The Anthem

Oct. 15  Atlanta, GA  The Tabernacle

Oct. 17  Allen, TX  Credit Union of Texas Event Center

Oct. 18  Austin, TX  Stubbs BBQ

Oct. 20  Denver, CO  Mission Ballroom

Oct. 21  Salt Lake City, UT  The Complex

Oct. 24  Seattle, WA  WaMu Theater

Oct. 25  Portland, OR  Theater of the Clouds

Oct. 27  San Francisco, CA  Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

Oct. 28  Los Angeles, CA  Shrine Auditorium

More about Sombr

After debuting in 2021 with Nothing Left to Say, Sombr gained widespread recognition in 2025 when his singles Back to Friends and Undressed went viral on TikTok. Both tracks charted, with Back to Friends hitting the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at number 30.

His debut album, I Barely Know Her, debuted in August 2025 and features the hit single 12 to 12. Watch the music video below:
President Donald Trump on Wednesday blamed rhetoric from the radical left for the assassination of conservative activist and influencer Charlie Kirk.

For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the worlds worst mass murderers and criminals, Trump said during a video address from the Oval Office, according to The New York Times. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that were seeing in our country today.

Trump called Kirks death a dark moment for America. He faulted the media for also using language that he said sparked the killing.

Kirk died after being shot while speaking at a college campus in Utah.

Trump was initially shocked by the news, but later in the day that shock turned to fury, the Times said.

Radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives, Trump said, according to NPR. Tonight, I ask all Americans to commit themselves to the American values for which Charlie Kirk lived and died.

On Thursday, Trump announced plans to award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nations highest civilian honor.

Before we begin, let me express the horror and grief so many Americans at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk have felt, Trump said during remarks at the Pentagon to commemorate the 9/11 attacks, according to NBC News. Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people.

Our prayers are with his wonderful wife, Erika, and his beautiful children  fantastic people they are. We miss him greatly, yet I have no doubt that Charlies voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on.

Kirk was a close Trump ally. His backing of the president was crucial in gaining support from a new generation of voters, according to the Times.

Kirk was also a close friend of several people in the presidents orbit, including Donald Trump Jr., the presidents son, according to the Times.

Authorities are still investigating Kirks killing. No one has been arrested yet.

Officials on Thursday released images of a person they are seeking in connection with the case.
A person of interest detained in fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus Wednesday has been released.

Thats according to a social media post from FBI Director Kash Patel.

The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency, Patel tweeted.

That came hours after Patel said a suspect was in custody.

The subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody. Thank you to the local and state authorities in Utah for your partnership, Patel tweeted.

The FBIs Salt Lake City office has added an online form to its website where the public can report information about Kirks killing.

The form says the FBI is seeking information regarding the shooting at Utah Valley University that took place on September 10, 2025.

It asks the person submitting the form to include their name and contact information and then includes a section for information about the incident.

Utah authorities said the shooter wore dark clothing and fired from a roof on campus some distance away.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called the killing a political assassination.

This is a dark day for our state, Cox said. We are actively looking for anyone and everyone who has any information related to the shooting.

Armed officers ware walking around the neighborhood bordering the campus, knocking on doors and asking for information on the shooter.

Officers have been seen looking at a photo on their phones and showing it to people to see if they recognize a person of interest.

Mayor David Young of the north-central Utah city of Orem says several local, state and federal law enforcement agencies are investigating.

Meanwhile, authorities had told anyone at Utah Valley University to secure in place after Wednesdays shooting. The campus was closed, and a post on the schools emergency information page told those still on campus to call officials to be escorted out.

The event was the kickoff of what was calling He was calling it The American Comeback Tour.

And he was featuring his Prove Me Wrong Table, where Kirk fielded questions from students, including those who disagreed with him.

He also had appearances slated for Colorado State University, the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Virginia Tech University, Utah State University, the University of North Dakota, Montana State University, Indiana University Louisiana State University and the University of Mississippi over the next two months.

This is a developing story and will be updated.
MILAN  As it built its galaxy of brands, furnishings, lighting and contract group Dexelance posted a net loss in the first half of 2025. The owner of upscale Italian furniture and lighting brands like Gervasoni, Saba and Davide Groppi posted a net loss of 7.8 million euros, compared to a net profit of 1 million euros in the first half of 2024.

Sales, however, inched up 2.5 percent to 154.8 million euros in the six-month period ended June 30. Its net bank position was 17.1 million euros in the same period.

More from WWD

Growth was driven by its luxury contract segment, which was up 14.7 percent year-on-year. Its luxury contract business, composed of Cenacchi International and Modar luxury contract business, has been a main catalyst for sales for several quarters.

The firms earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization slipped to 10.4 million euros compared to 18.5 million euros in 2024. The firm said that the decline in profitability was partially attributable to the expected increase in overhead costs resulting from significant investments related to the hiring of new senior management, growth in marketing and commercial expenses, and expansion of the digital structure.

Dexelance is also the parent company of high-end brands Meridiani, Gamma Arredamenti International, Turri, Binova and Cubo Design kitchens, and modern lighting brands Flexalighting and Axolight.

During a conference call with analysts on Tuesday, chief executive officer Andrea Sasso said the ongoing macroeconomic situation and trade policy implemented by U.S. President Donald Trump is a major hurdle for the industry. The outlook for residential remains controversial, in North America, Sasso said, referring to the effect uncertainty has on furniture sector sales, which impacts its residential brands. Its luxury contract business in North America, where it has few competitors and where it books a large portion of its business, remains strong. Luxury contract follows different logic, he added.

General manager Giorgio Gobbi said tariffs are not expected to have an impact on the firms earnings and would be absorbed by the consumer and dealers and offset by the performance of its contract business worldwide. Earlier this year, the company introduced a custom tariffs declaration on its invoices, which detail the monetary impact of duties, guaranteeing transparency.
DHL Groups contract logistics arm has tentatively agreed to acquire Tampa, Florida-based SDS Rx, a provider of specialized final-mile delivery to medical establishments, as part of the companys strategic focus on building capabilities in the high-margin healthcare logistics.

SDS Rx provides delivery services for long-term care facilities, hospitals, laboratories, drug distributors, specialty pharmacies and nuclear pharmacies. SDS Rx operations will be integrated into DHL Supply Chains North American Life Science & Healthcare business, and will continue to operate under local leadership, DHL said in a news release on Tuesday.

The life sciences and healthcare sector is projected to grow 11% per year through 2030, pulling along the logistics market that supports it. Next year, the healthcare logistics market is estimated to reach $152 billion next year, up from $130 billion in 2023 as an aging global population needs more drugs and biological medical products to deal with chronic disease, say industry experts.

Specialty pharmacy firms account for about 50% of total prescription drug spending in the U.S. and the number of patients served by specialty pharmacies grew by 12% between 2018 and 2022, according to market research platform Gitnux.

It is the second healthcare transaction for DHL Supply Chain this year following the acquisition of Nashville, Tennessee-based CryoPDP, a white-glove courier service with operations in 15 countries that focuses on clinical trials, biopharma, and cell and gene therapies with cold chain requirements.

SDS Rx, formally known as Strategic Delivery Solutions, supports healthcare system networks from 200 locations nationwide. The combination with DHL will enable SDS to scale its business to meet increased demand for time-sensitive specialty pharma transportation, while DHL will be able to support a wider range of healthcare customers, DHL said.

In April, DHL Group said it planned to invest $2.2 billion to upgrade its logistics portfolio in the life sciences and healthcare sector, with half the money earmarked to the Americas. The investment is part of DHLs recent strategy to double health care logistics revenue to $10.8 billion by 2030, with an extensive temperature-controlled network, first- and last-mile specialty courier coverage, and integrated service offerings.

The increasing demand for specialty pharma and healthcare solutions presents significant opportunities for DHL to leverage its scale, expertise, and commitment to operational excellence. With this acquisition, we are expanding our healthcare logistics capabilities, attracting a new segment of healthcare customers, and reinforcing our position as a trusted partner in building resilient and connected healthcare supply chains, said Mark Kunar, CEO of DHL Supply Chain North America, in the announcement.
Genki previously leaked a Switch 2 mockup at CES 2025, and now, a US judge is requesting that the company pay Nintendo for the damages it caused on its product.

The lawsuit, filed in May 2025, accused Genki of trademark infringement after it showcased renders of the highly anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 months before the official unveiling.

Unauthorized Switch 2 Mockup Sparks Legal Battle

Nintendo sued Genki for trademark infringement, unfair competition, and false advertising after the company released a mockup of the Switch 2 at CES 2025. Genki claimed the mockup was based on a real Switch 2 system it had seen and used for designing accessories.

Nintendo argued that releasing the mockup prematurely, three months before the official Switch 2 reveal, was an intentional effort to exploit public interest and mislead consumers.

Genki defended itself by stating it never signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with Nintendo and had "nothing to worry about." Despite this, Nintendo's lawyers visited Genki's CES booth to address the situation.

Misleading Consumers

Nintendo's lawsuit pointed to Genki's claims about early access to the unreleased Switch 2, asserting that it misled the public by stating its accessories would be compatible with the new console.

According to IGN, Nintendo argued that such compatibility could only be guaranteed with unauthorized access to the Switch 2. Genki's contradictory statements, initially claiming to have seen the console before later denying possession, fueled the controversy.

In addition to the mockup reveal, Nintendo took issue with a tweet from Genki CEO Edward Tsai in January 2025. The tweet, which featured the caption, "Genki ninjas invade Nintendo Kyoto HQ," sparked further speculation about Genki's alleged early access to Nintendo's upcoming console.

Settlement Terms and Restrictions on Genki

Following legal proceedings, a settlement was reached between Nintendo and Genki. While the exact amount remains undisclosed, Genki denied obtaining a Switch 2 before its official release.

[Genki]



Nintendo and Genki have reached a settlement in the lawsuit over Genki's exhibition of a Switch 2 mockup at CES 2025.



Genki will pay Nintendo damages (the amount is confidential).



Genki also attests that they did not illegally obtain a pre-launch Switch 2. pic.twitter.com/zltUkzQ90y  OatmealDome (@OatmealDome) September 9, 2025

The settlement includes a permanent injunction, prohibiting Genki from using any of Nintendo's logos or designs, or anything likely to be confused with Nintendo's trademarks.

Additionally, Genki is barred from using terms such as "Glitch," "Glitch 2," or "Genki Direct," or any branding resembling Nintendo properties. The company must also clearly label its accessories as coming from an unauthorized manufacturer to avoid misleading consumers into thinking they are official Nintendo products.

Warning to Accessory Makers

Big N has a history of filing lawsuits when it comes to Nintendo branding. The Japanese gaming giant ensures that every accessory manufacturer respects their intellectual property rights. Nintendo also reportedly fined the modder $2 million for continuing to sell unauthorized Nintendo products

Originally published on Player One
Xiaomi has now officially started rolling out its HyperOS 3 beta to global markets. The first test kicked off in China a month ago.

The smartphone maker is currently inviting beta testers to provide early access to its newest operating system update.

How to Sign Up for the HyperOS 3 Beta

The HyperOS official account on X has posted that global recruitment for beta testers has begun. To join, you must download the Xiaomi Community app.

After being within the app, tap "Me" and then click on "Beta Testing" to show your interest in testing HyperOS 3. If accepted, you will receive early access to HyperOS 3 builds as over-the-air updates straight to your device.

What to Expect from HyperOS 3

HyperOS 3 guarantees several improvements to provide a new experience to Xiaomi users with a cleaner interface and faster performance. As usual, beta releases aren't perfect, so expect bugs, glitches, and possible stability issues.

Xiaomi advises against installing the beta on your main device since it may result in malfunctions or crashes. If you're determined to go ahead, make sure to back up all your data before venturing into the beta experience.

What's Next for HyperOS 3 and Xiaomi?

There are rumors that Xiaomi will release the global version of HyperOS 3 at its September 24 event, in addition to the release of the 15T and 15T Pro smartphones, according to GSM Arena. The launch event promises to announce the OS in its final, refined form, with all its capabilities and more information regarding its global release.

Is HyperOS 3 Worth the Risk?

For tech enthusiasts eager to get their hands on the latest features, signing up for the HyperOS 3 beta could be an exciting opportunity. However, proceed with caution and keep in mind the potential risks of using beta software.

If you're afraid that your data might be at risk during the test phase, you can try using your burner phone or any secondary device.
French AI leader Mistral isnt settling for being le grand fromage at home. It aims to be the best on earth. That means developing AI models and data centers that can go toe to toe with the best the US and Asia have on offer.

On Tuesday, the company received key backing from a continental ally. Dutch semiconductor equipment giant ASML opened its wallet  or portemonnee, a word borrowed from the French porte-monnaie  to become Mistrals largest shareholder.

READ ALSO: Tesla Grapples With Threats on All Fronts and Investors Have a Question About SECs Policy Shift on Arbitration: Cui Bono?

Which Way the Mistral Blows

Paris-based Mistral is a relative newbie in the AI world, founded just two years ago; by comparison, OpenAI, at 10 years old, is practically ready for senior citizen discounts. The maker of the chatbot Le Chat has been hailed by policymakers, including French President Emmanuel Macron, as key to Europes ambitions of building its own tech bulwark to fend off dominant US and Asian competition. Named after a famously strong wind in southern France, Mistral is also building data centers to establish European competition against major US cloud providers like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, making it a strategic bet on two fronts.

Enter ASML, one of Europes undisputed tech giants. Its $1.5 billion, 11% stake in the French startup announced Tuesday is a breakthrough moment in continental synergy. The fresh cash fuels Mistrals efforts to develop new models and data centers, and ASML could hardly be a better-positioned partner. The Dutch giant has a de facto monopoly on the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines essential to making advanced semiconductors. This has placed it at the heart of the global AI boom, furthering its lucrative symbiotic relationship with chip giants like Nvidia. On Tuesday, its $316 billion market cap made it the most valuable company in the European Union, which is something Mistral can look up to:
Australian authorities investigate influencer over croc wrestling



Sydney, Sept 11 (AFP) Sep 11, 2025



Australian authorities are investigating an American influencer who filmed himself wrestling wild crocodiles in Queensland, condemning the "extremely dangerous and illegal" activity.

In a series of videos on his Instagram, bare-chested Mike Holston, who goes by therealtarzann online, tussles with saltwater and freshwater crocodiles.

In one post, he dives into the water, emerging holding the crocodile by its throat with blood streaming from his elbow.

"He got a hold of me, but I got a hold of him," Holston says.

In another, Holston jumps off a boat and into a bushy waterway in pursuit of a crocodile, which he then wrestles.

Holston has said the videos, which have amassed millions of views, were for "educational purposes".

But the videos prompted outrage in Australia, where the maximum penalty for interfering with a saltwater crocodile is Aus$37,500 (US$24,800).

The state of Queensland said Wednesday it was "actively investigating" the two videos.

"These actions are extremely dangerous and illegal, and we are actively exploring strong compliance action including fines to deter any person from this type of behaviour," its environment department said.

"Let us be clear: people should not attempt to capture freshwater or saltwater crocodiles in Queensland, unless they are trained and licensed to do so."

The state's Premier David Crisafulli also called the influencer a "goose".

Holston did not respond to requests for comment.

Australia's famously diverse flora and fauna is highly protected and attempts to interfere with it can face strict penalties.

Another US influencer sparked outrage in March after a video appeared to show her pestering a baby wombat.

And late celebrity "crocodile hunter" Steve Irwin's father, Bob Irwin, said this week people needed to respect Australia's wildlife or be deported.

"These posts can have disastrous consequences for both people and wildlife," Irwin said.

Government figures estimate there are between 20,000 and 30,000 saltwater crocodiles in Queensland in a vast area known as "Croc Country".

They are a protected and vulnerable species and have been known to attack humans.

Between December 1985 and April 2024, there were 34 non-fatal attacks and 14 fatal attacks by wild saltwater crocodiles in Queensland.
Against the tide: Filipinos battle rising sea on sinking island



Bulacan, Philippines, Sept 11 (AFP) Sep 11, 2025



On the Philippine island of Pugad, street food vendor Maria Tamayo wakes before her grandchildren to begin the backbreaking work of removing seawater from her home scoop by scoop with a plastic dustpan.

The routine has been the same ever since the rising tides of Manila Bay began swallowing the island -- a seven-hectare speck of land in danger of sinking completely underwater.

"Scooping water takes a long time. That's why my feet have started aching," the 65-year-old said, adding that she can spend up to three hours a day at the task.

"I have to scoop out the water before my grandchildren wake up, or else they'll slip on the floor. But it's no use ... there's still water."

Tamayo is one of 2,500 people living in Pugad's only village.

The island is not the only one at risk in coastal Bulacan. Parts of the province are sinking at a rate of almost 11 centimetres (4.3 inches) a year, the fastest in the Philippines, according to a study led by geologist Mahar Lagmay.

The gradual sinking, known as land subsidence, is an "alarming" phenomenon caused by the overextraction of groundwater, and exacerbated by rising sea levels due to global warming, Lagmay said.

"The rates of subsidence (on Pugad Island) are quite high," he said, adding that while studies specific to the tiny island were lacking, existing data on surrounding areas told the story clearly.

With high tides flooding the streets at least three times a week, the sea already dictates the rhythm of daily life on Pugad.

Class schedules are adjusted daily based on tide charts to prevent children from contracting flood-borne diseases.

Homes have been raised on stilts to keep floors dry, while small business owners use high tables to keep their wares above murky water that can rise to 1.5 metres (five feet) on heavy flooding days.



- 'Back to normal' impossible -



Sea levels across the Philippines are already rising three times faster than the global average of 3.6 millimetres per year, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has said this could accelerate to 13 millimetres annually.

"Sea level rise is being experienced in many parts of the country," DENR geosciences chief Karlo Queano told AFP, warning coastal areas could disappear without large-scale intervention.

While piecemeal efforts are in place in some areas -- groundwater extraction has been banned in parts of Bulacan since 2004 -- a broad national strategy has yet to take shape.

A government study on the path forward was not expected until 2028, Queano said.

"I think it's already impossible for our lives in the village to go back to normal because of climate change," said Pugad village captain Jaime Gregorio.

Gregorio said roads were being raised every three years to keep the community viable, but leadership changes meant the implementation of long-term flood mitigation projects was rarely consistent.

For Tamayo, who has lived on the island her whole life, the constant adjustment to the tide has drained what little money her family has scraped together.

Since 2022, they have been elevating their house each year, adding more gravel and concrete to stay above water, so far spending 200,000 pesos ($3,500).

"I love this island so much, this was where my mom and dad raised me... but sometimes, I think about leaving because of the high tide," Tamayo told AFP.

Her boatman husband, Rodolfo Tamayo, insists their livelihood depends on staying.

"We can't go to [other places], we won't have jobs there. We will go hungry."

Lagmay, the geologist, said land subsidence could be reversible with effective government policies governing the over-digging of wells.

But addressing the rise of sea levels was impossible without a concerted effort by the world's highly industrialised countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, he said.

A UN climate fund established in 2023 to help countries like the Philippines address damage caused by climate change, meanwhile, remains unimplemented.

"We are talking of climate justice here. We have very little contribution to climate change, but we are very affected by its adverse effects," said Elenida Basug, the DENR's climate change service director.

Crouching in the doorway of her flooded home, Tamayo urged the world's polluters to take responsibility for what she and her neighbours were experiencing.

"We are the ones who are suffering... They are rich, so we cannot do anything. Even if we speak against them, who would listen?" Tamayo said.
HRW calls for investigation into Zambia toxic mine spill



Johannesburg, Sept 11 (AFP) Sep 11, 2025



Human Rights Watch said Thursday Zambia must investigate the health fallout of a major toxic spill at a Chinese-owned mine dam after reports of risks from heavy metal poisoning.

The government has rejected reports that pollution remained after the tailings dam wall at the copper mine burst and released acidic waste into streams and rivers near the town of Kitwe, about 285 kilometres (180 miles) north of the capital Lusaka, in February.

The pollution "killed fish, burned maize and groundnut crops, and led to the deaths of livestock, wiping out livelihoods of local farmers and posing harm to residents," Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

"Zambian authorities should conduct a comprehensive investigation with international and domestic experts to identify environmental health risks, and test affected communities for possible acute and cumulative heavy metal poisoning," it said.

Zambia's environment minister on Wednesday dismissed findings by South African pollution control company Drizit that estimated around 1.5 million tonnes of waste was spilled, far greater than the 50,000 tonnes announced by the Chinese company, Sino-Metals Leach.

Acting minister Collins Nzovu warned against "peddling falsehoods on such a sensitive matter".

Drizit was selected by the Zambian Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) to assess the damage and clean up the environment.

But "after submitting reports indicating the severity of the pollution and associated risks to communities and the environment, Sino Metals terminated the contract one day before the final report was due," the company said in a statement on August 29.

Drizit said their studies found the waste contained "dangerous levels of cyanide, arsenic, copper, zinc, lead, chromium, cadmium, and other pollutants posing significant long-term health risks, including organ damage, birth defects, and cancer."

ZEMA was due to select another clean-up company by Monday, the minister said.

Last month, the US and Finnish governments urged their citizens to avoid travelling in areas affected by the pollution.
African Union climate summit says forming mining coalition



Nairobi, Sept 11 (AFP) Sep 11, 2025



The African Union has announced plans to form a coalition of mineral-producing nations to manage the global rush for critical minerals after holding a climate summit,

Africa holds vast mineral wealth -- from the rare earths in conflict-hit Democratic Republic of Congo to oil-rich Nigeria -- but has struggled to capitalise on its resources after decades of colonial plunder, and subsequent mismanagement and corruption.

The 54-nation African Union met this week for a climate summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

In a statement published Wednesday, it said it would "explore and support the establishment of a coalition of critical mineral-producing countries of Africa to promote strategic and sustainable regional cooperation".

Labelling the move "Africa's Green Minerals Strategy", the AU said it would be a "vehicle for harnessing Africa's vast mineral wealth for climate-resilient development".

The move comes as Washington looks to secure a supply of strategic minerals from the DR Congo, in an attempt to challenge China's near-monopoly on the lucrative sector.

UN head Antonio Guterres said in August that Africa could become a "renewable superpower" as it taps the raw materials needed for green technology around the world.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects demand for critical minerals to quadruple by 2040.

Despite contributing the least to global pollution, African nations "are the worst affected by the impacts of climate change and the least able to meet the costs of adaptation, resilience, sustainable development and mitigation," the AU said.

It demanded "stronger international commitments and partnerships to close the finance gap and support adaptation, resilience, and sustainable development".

But it also said Africa must rely on itself, saying nations must "enhance their capacity to mobilise resources and support climate action financing in Africa".

At last year's UN COP29 summit in Azerbaijan, rich nations pledged $300 billion a year in climate finance for developing nations, an amount decried as woefully inadequate.

One of the goals of Brazil for this year's COP30, which will take place in Belem in November, is to find other sources of finance to plug the shortfall.
Edison, an Italy-based gas company, is set to enhance its flexibility in managing demand by substituting some gas volumes from pipeline contracts with liquefied natural gas (LNG), reported Reuters, citing the companys CEO Nicola Monti.

The company also entered into a 15-year deal with Shell to procure approximately 700,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of US LNG, commencing in 2028.

European operators like Edison are increasingly turning to LNG to better navigate uncertain consumption patterns in Italy and across Europe, capitalising on the ability to redirect cargoes to different markets when demand dips.

At the Gastech conference in Milan, Monti spoke to the news agency about the upcoming expiry of two pipeline contracts, one for around one billion cubic metres (bcm) per annum from Algeria and another for roughly 4.4bcm, partially sourced from Libya.

Monti said: "We will probably reduce the overall volumes from these two contracts, with the intention of replacing those volumes with more LNG."

The Shell contract is a key component of this strategy, aiming to provide Edison with the agility to supply either the Italian or European market or to channel volumes to emerging economies.

This move follows another long-term gas contract Edison secured with US-based Venture Global LNG.

Since Venture Global commenced deliveries in April 2024, shipments have been consistent.

However, Edison is currently engaged in arbitration with Venture Global over an alleged failure to initiate LNG deliveries in late 2022, amidst the energy crisis spurred by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Monti expects a decision on the case by the end of 2025.

The outcome of a similar dispute between Venture Global and Shell, which Venture Global won last month, was unexpected for Edison.

Monti said: "We were very, very surprised with the result of Shell's arbitration.

"Our arbitration case is different, because the court is different."

Venture Global faces additional claims from other companies including BP and Galp, which accuse it of profiting from spot market sales rather than fulfilling contracted LNG deliveries from its Calcasieu Pass facility in Louisiana.

Venture Global has refuted these claims and anticipates a favourable resolution in all pending arbitration cases.

"Edison plans to increase LNG imports for greater flexibility" was originally created and published by Offshore Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.




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Chris Pratt has led celebrity tributes to right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot at a rally in Utah on Wednesday, September 10.

The Turning Point USA founder and leading ally of President Donald Trump was 31 years old at the time of his death, which has been called a political assassination by officials. A manhunt for his killer is underway.

Figures from both sides of the political aisle have paid tribute, including celebrities such as Hollywood actor Pratt, TV host Piers Morgan, and comedian Rosie ODonnell.

Praying for Charlie Kirk right now, for his wife and young children, for our country, Pratt, who is one of a few conservative voices in Hollywood, wrote on X/Twitter. We need Gods grace. God help us.

Former The View panelist Meghan McCain, daughter of the late Republican politician John McCain, offered a defiant response, insisting that the killing would not silence the conservative community.

open image in gallery Chris Pratt (right) said he was praying for Kirk, his wife and children following the shooting ( Getty )

Rest in peace Charlie Kirk, she wrote. The mark you have made on the world will forever be a blessing and memory. We pray for your eternal rest with our Lord. May God bless your family always and be with your children and wife Erika.

She added: If you think youre going to scare and silence conservatives to stop speaking and fighting for truth, God, America, family and the soul of our country  youve never met one of us.

Meanwhile, controversial podcaster Joe Rogan was in the middle of taping an episode of his eponymous show with celebrity guest Charlie Sheen when his producer interupted to inform them of the shooting.

The two said they had no idea what was going on at the time, as the producer directed them to MSNBCs now-fired political analyst Matthew Dowds comments, suggesting that Kirks death was caused by his own hateful thoughts and awful words.

What a crazy take. F***, Rogan said, predicting, Theres going to be a lot of people celebrating this.

He continued: Were so divided and theres so many people that love it. They profit off that division. And they stoke the fires and they do it for their own profit and its so f***ing gross. And to encourage this kind of thing is really one of the most horrific things that you can do after someone dies horribly like this, is celebrate.

Recalling the first time he met Kirk, at a gun range of all places, the host said: He was a nice guy when I met him. Hes not a violent guy.

open image in gallery Kirk with US president Donald Trump, who has called the political activists killing a dark moment for America ( AFP via Getty Images )

Hes talking to people on college campuses. Wasnt even particularly rude, whos tried to be pretty reasonable with people, Rogan noted. Youre allowed to disagree with people without celebrating the fact they got shot.

YouTuber and professional boxer Jake Paul appeared to endorse claims that the shooting was politically motivated. Paul has been a vocal supporter of the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement.

Charlie Kirk got shot for telling the truth, he said. That is literally it. What a mentally sick time we are living through. We need God more than ever. Praying for Charlies family and praying for these evil people to heal.

Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, one of the presidents staunchest critics, insisted the senseless death should not be used to create division.

Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human? Kimmel wrote in a social media post.

On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.

Comedian and TV host ODonnell, who has been embroiled in a decades-long feud with Trump, shared a photo of Kirk speaking at an event on her Instagram page, adding the caption: No just nodo not become the murdererthis is wrong on every level.

An appalling assault on free speech and democracy, wrote Morgan. Charlie always welcomed debate, with anyone. This is disgusting, and heart-breaking. RIP Charlie.

Legally Blonde actor Selma Blair commented on Kirks top-pinned Instagram post, calling him a true patriot. And no matter what our views are, this man was someone who cared about all of us and created dialogue and thought, she wrote, and my heart is with his beautiful wife and children, and all who he means so much to. Rest in peace.

open image in gallery Kristin Chenoweth commented that she was 'so upset' by Kirk's death ( kchenoweth/Instagram )

Broadway legend Kristin Chenoweth added: Im. So. Upset. Didnt always agree but appreciated some perspectives. What a heartbreak. His young family. I know where he is now. Heaven. But still.

Kansas City Chiefs player Harrison Butker, popular among young conservatives, shared a text message exchange with Kirk, along with a tribute.

Thank you for your strong witness for Christ, Charlie, Butker wrote. Thank you for pursuing truth and leading your family as a husband and father. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Fuller House star Candace Cameron Bure shared an image of Kirk with the caption: We love you Charlie. Well done good and faithful servant.

Kid Rock wrote on his Instagram Story: God Bless Charlie Kirk. A true PATRIOT. Pray for him.

Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote on X: My heart is with Charlie Kirks family, and with the United States. Politics has become a disease in this country, and its deadly. But dont listen to the pessimists who say there is no cure. There is a cure. It is inside of us.

We must find our better angels and walk back from the extremes. If we cant agree on anything else, we must find agreement that we dont solve our debates with violence. This is a horrible tragedy. May it also be a moment for everyone to rediscover their humanity.

US President Donald Trump honoured Kirk as a great and legendary individual, and ordered flags to be raised at half-mast across the country. He called Kirks killing a dark moment for America.

Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika, and their two children.
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Daniel Day-Lewis opened up about ending his eight-year hiatus from acting and clarified that he never truly meant to retire.

The three-time Oscar winner, 68, announced he would no longer work in Hollywood after starring in Paul Thomas Andersons 2017 film Phantom Thread. In September 2024, however, the veteran actor said that he was returning to the screen in Anemone, the feature directorial debut of his son Ronan Day-Lewis.

Back in 1997, shortly after finishing work on Jim Sheridans The Boxer, he had famously moved to Florence to apprentice as a shoemaker under Italian craftsman Stefano Bemer. He kept largely out of public view for five years before returning for Martin Scorseses Gangs of New York.

In an interview ahead of the world premiere of Anemone at the New York Film Festival, Day-Lewis said he regretted how definitive his retirement statement sounded.

Looking back on it now  I would have done well to just keep my mouth shut, for sure, he told Rolling Stone. It just seems like such grandiose gibberish to talk about. I never intended to retire, really. I just stopped doing that particular type of work so I could do some other work.

Apparently, I've been accused of retiring twice now, he continued. I never meant to retire from anything! I just wanted to work on something else for a while.

open image in gallery Anemone explores fraught relationships between fathers and sons and between brothers with a mysterious, complicated past ( Focus Features )

Anemone, which Day-Lewis wrote with his son, explores fraught relationships between fathers and sons and between brothers with a mysterious, complicated past.

The movie stars Sean Bean as Jem, a middle-aged man who sets out from his suburban home on a journey into the woods where he reconnects with his estranged hermit brother Ray, played by Day-Lewis.

Samantha Morton, How to Have Sex actor Samuel Bottomley, and Safia Oakley-Green, known for her role in the horror film Out of Darkness, feature in supporting roles.

Day-Lewis and his son began talking about working together just before Covid, and went back and forth working on the characters of Jem and Ray.

Day-Lewis described feeling a residual sadness during his time away from acting, knowing his son would continue working on this screenplay and more down the line. He believed he was walking away from that.

In June 2017, a spokesperson for Day-Lewis announced that he would no longer be working as an actor.

He is immensely grateful to all of his collaborators and audiences over the many years, the statement read.

This is a private decision and neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment on this subject.

In the new interview, Day-Lewis said that while he never lost his love for acting, he had misgivings about the business of filmmaking.

It was just kind of a low-level fear, anxiety about re-engaging with the business of filmmaking. The work was always something I loved. I never, ever stopped loving the work, he said.

But there were aspects of the way of life that went with it that Id never come to terms with  from the day I started out to today. There is something about that process that left me feeling hollowed out at the end of it. I mean, I was well acquainted with it. I understood that it was all part of the process, and that there would be a regeneration eventually.

open image in gallery Daniel Day-Lewis in 'Phantom Thread' ( Universal )

Day-Lewis, famous for his method acting, said that it was while filming Phantom Thread that he began to question if he could handle the committed process he put himself through for every role.

And it was only really in the last experience that I began to feel quite strongly that maybe there wouldnt be that regeneration anymore, he said, referring to the 2017 movie. That I just probably should just keep away from it, because I didnt have anything else to offer.

Day-Lewis said working on Anemone with his son reinvigorated him. As I get older, it just takes me longer and longer to find my way back to the place where the furnace is burning again. But working with Ro, that furnace just lit up. And it was, from beginning to end, just pure joy to spend that time together with him.

Anemone releases in theaters on 3 October.
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Stephen Colbert opened The Late Show Wednesday night not with his usual monologue, but with an impassioned plea from behind his desk after the death of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk.

Kirk, 31, a leading ally of President Donald Trump, was fatally shot in the neck in front of a large crowd while hosting an event at a Utah college campus yesterday.

As of Thursday morning, the manhunt for the killer is still underway.

Our condolences go out to his family and all of his loved ones, Colbert began his show, sitting at his desk instead of his usual place standing before his audience.

Im old enough to personally remember the political violence of the 1960s, and I hope it is obvious to everyone in America that political violence does not solve any of our political differences, he said.

Stephen Colbert addresses Charlie Kirk's death on 'The Late Show' ( CBS )

Political violence only leads to more political violence, and I pray with all my heart that this is the aberrant action of a madman and not a sign of things to come.

The hosts regular monologue, which he stipulated was recorded before Kirks shooting, then followed his opening message.

Meanwhile, fellow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel did not address Kirks death in his opening monologue on Wednesday, but shared a message about the shooting on social media.

Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human? Kimmel wrote on Bluesky and Instagram.

On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence, he wrote.

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Since Kirks death, high-profile figures from both sides of the political aisle have paid tribute and shared messages of condolence.

Praying for Charlie Kirk right now, for his wife and young children, for our country, Jurassic World star Chris Pratt  who is believed to be among a minority of conservative actors in Hollywood  wrote on X. We need Gods grace. God help us.

Comedian and TV host Rosie O'Donnell  a longtime enemy of Trumps  shared a photo of Kirk speaking at an event on her Instagram page alongside the caption: No just nodo not become the murdererthis is wrong on every level.

Trump honoured Kirk as a great and legendary individual, and ordered flags to be raised at half-mast across the country. He called Kirks killing a dark moment for America.

Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika, and two children.
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Former Trump adviser Larry Kudlow has candidly opened up about his drug addiction battle while working on Wall Street.

The Fox Business host, who previously served as Trumps chief economic adviser, shared new insight on Miranda Devines podcast, Pod Force One.

Kudlow admitted to speaking briefly about his substance abuse issues with Trump, who abstains from alcohol and drugs due to the death of his brother, Fred Trump Jr., in 1981 from alcoholism.

Its very personal to him, Kudlow said. And its very personal to me.

Kudlow recalled getting caught up in the zeitgeist of New York Citys Wall Street in the 1980s and 90s, while working as the chief economist at Bear Stearns.

Larry Kudlow has opened up about his battle with drug addiction ( Getty )

Some people just got hooked on alcohol and or cocaine or other drugs or whatever, other people didnt, he said. I knew lots of people at Bear Stearns and Goldman Sachs and others, who had the same stresses I had, and they were fine. So Ive always taken personal responsibility for it.

Kudlow said his turning point came when his wife, Judith, sent him to a residential treatment program for five months in 1995, a year after he was forced to resign from his job.

The couple met in the 1980s while she was working for Ronald Reagans administration.

Judith had been aware of her husbands struggles, filing for divorce about a year before sending him off for treatment. She wanted to prevent Kudlow from being able to withdraw money from his retirement fund, saying in court papers, per The Daily Beast, the then-47-year-old has been on a steady cocaine binge and is desperate for money.

However, she never ended up following through with the divorce. The two remain married to this day.

Kudlow credited the treatment program with putting him on a path to sobriety. It also inspired him to convert to Catholicism in 1997 after having been born into a Jewish family.

He shared his belief that religion breeds better behavior and it breeds personal individual responsibility.

Today, he continues to attend Twelve-Step program meetings.

Im so blessed because I got a second chance in my life because the crash and burn was pretty awful, Kudlow said.

If you or someone you know is suffering from drug addiction, you can seek confidential help and support 24-7 from Frank, by calling 0300 123 6600, texting 82111, sending an email or visiting their website here.

In the US, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP.
Emerging markets are expected to lead an anticipated 22% in global egg growth in the next ten years, according to a Rabobank report.

In joint research with the World Egg Organisation (WEO), the Dutch investment bank said the egg market has "grown rapidly over the past three decades" - doubling from 46m metric tonnes in 1995 to 99m metric tonnes in 2025.

"The egg market, alongside poultry, was the fastest-growing animal-protein market in the last ten years," the report noted.

The research suggests that around 99% of the projected growth will come from emerging markets, led by Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

"Higher per capita consumption due to rising incomes, urbanisation, and evolving consumer preferences are fueling demand, though population growth in these regions also plays a role," according to the report.

However, the global egg industry faces new challenges, but also opportunities, in supply chain modernisation, distribution and sustainability.

These factors look set to drive continued investment and innovation throughout the global value chain.

Eggs will maintain their strong market position compared to other proteins," Nan-Dirk Mulder, the senior global specialist in animal protein at the bank's RaboResearch unit, said.

Growth will be increasingly driven by rising incomes, improved availability, consumer preferences, marketing, and product development rather than population growth alone.

Mulder added with respect to emerging markets: The rise of megacities in these regions will necessitate changes in distribution, marketing, and product development.

Meanwhile, in more mature markets, demand is shifting toward the value-added eggs segments, along with cage-free, organic and functional eggs.

In addition to price, consumers are driven by health and wellness trends, convenience, taste, sustainability, and animal welfare, Mulder said.

Meanwhile, the report suggests that "technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and smart farming will be critical to improving efficiency, biosecurity, and environmental performance".

"Emerging markets to lead 22% global egg growth by 2035  Rabobank" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand.




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Ricky Gervais is set to release a new adult animated comedy, Alley Cats, with Netflix.

The six-part series is a slacker sitcom that follows the exploits of a group of unmotivated and feral felines, who bond with each other through their ruminations on everyday life. It is expected to be available on the streaming service in 2026.

Starring Gervais as a lazy, rude, opinionated creature, the show will also feature Plebs and After Life actor Tom Basden, Phone Shop star Andrew Brooke, and David Earl and Kerry Godliman, Gervaiss frequent collaborators on Derek and After Life.

This Is England actor Jo Hartley, Cunk on Earths Diane Morgan, longtime EastEnders actor Natalie Cassidy and another of Gervaiss After Life co-stars, Tony Way, have also joined the cast.

I play a fat, lazy, rude, opinionated creature with fangs, whos not as smart or brave as he thinks he is, said Gervais, who created and directed the programme. So quite a stretch.

Gervais has dabbled in cartoons before, with an animated version of his podcast, The Ricky Gervais Show, airing for three series between 2010 and 2012. Best known for his workplace comedy, The Office, the actor, writer, director and producer has also achieved success with shows such as Extras, Derek and After Life.

open image in gallery (L to R) Ricky Gervais as Gus, Tom Basden as Ponce, David Earl as Puke, Andrew Brooke as Fang, Diane Morgan as Olive, in Alley Cats ( Courtesy of Netflix )

Throughout his career, he has won several awards including Golden Globes for The Office (UK), Emmys for Extras and The Office (US) and multiple Baftas, including for The Office and Extras.

open image in gallery Gervais has won several awards for his comedic work ( NBC )

Gervais is also known for his controversial jokes about the transgender community, and for his outspoken views on cancel culture, which he referenced earlier this year when he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Thank you so much for this honour. Its a genuine thrill to be part of such an exclusive club, Gervais told those in attendance. And just looking around earlier at all the other stars, absolute icons, you know, Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, Fatty Arbuckle.

And weve had a few weird years of cancel culture  people telling you what you can and can't laugh at or talk about, but we pushed back and we won until the next time.
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Comedy Central has removed a rerun of a recent South Park episode that mocked Charlie Kirk from its cable schedule.

Kirk, 31, was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University yesterday.

The episode in question, Got a Nut, first aired on August 6, 2025. It showed South Park mainstay Eric Cartman visiting college campuses for debates like Kirk, adopting his hairstyle and mannerisms.

Deadline reports that while a rerun of the episode was removed from the Comedy Central schedule on Wednesday night, it remains available to stream on Paramount+.

In the wake of Kirks death, some MAGA supporters have blamed the South Park episode for his killing.

The episode, which ends with the Charlie Kirk Award for Young Masterdebaters being handed out, was described as hilarious by Kirk himself in a TikTok posted on August 7.

South Park parodied Charlie Kirk in an August episode ( South Park Studios )

However, some of Kirks supporters believe the parody may have helped to lead to the shooting.

You know what, f*** it. Lets blame South Park, one wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Blame the media. Blame leftist rhetoric. These people hate you and want to see you dead. If theyll kill Charlie Kirk and piss on his grave, theyll do it to any of us.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone are responsible for this, posted a second, referring to the creators of the show.

South Park certainly fomented the hatred necessary to get Kirk assassinated, a third said.

Johnny MAGA, a popular account with nearly 250,000 followers, said: South Park attacking Charlie Kirks college campus events and mocking his Christian faith just a few weeks ago, and added a clip from the episode with the caption: Monsters.

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has led a growing number of conservative commentators blaming the radical left for Kirks death, despite the identity of the shooter currently being unknown.

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In an evening address on Wednesday, the U.S. president said: For years those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the worlds worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that were seeing in our country today and it must stop right now.

My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity, and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials and everyone else who brings order to our country.
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Costco is recalling its popular Dubai-style chocolate due to an undeclared wheat allergen.

The popular retailer issued a notice Thursday about the Dubai-Style Chocolate, made by Rolling Pin, saying the packaging noted that the snack contained gluten when the label should have said it has wheat.

Affected chocolates, filled with a pistachio spread and Kataifi pastry, were sold to Costco members between May 1, 2025, and August 29, 2025.

We assess the health risk to be minimal as gluten is listed on the allergen statement and gluten is found in wheat, Rolling Pin said in a statement in Costcos announcement. In addition, Kunefa (which is known to contain wheat) is also listed in the ingredient statement.

There havent been any illnesses due to the product reported to date.

Costco recalls its Dubai-style chocolate due to wheat allergy risk ( Getty/iStock )

Still, customers who have the recalled chocolate are urged to return it to Costco for a full refund.

Wheat is identified as one of the nine major food allergies in the U.S., along with milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, soybeans, and sesame.

Allergic reactions to these nine foods vary but can involve hives and lip swelling to severe, life-threatening symptoms, often called anaphylaxis, that may involve fatal respiratory problems and shock, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Many food products in the U.S. have been recalled due to allergy risks recently. Last month, Taylor Fresh Foods recalled its Balsamic Salad Kit 6/8.3oz 8.3oz because it may contain undeclared sesame and soy allergens.

According to the FDA, master packs  individual packets of dressing and toppings supplied by Latitude 36 Foods and included in Taylor Farms salad kits  incorrectly included Asian Sesame Ginger dressing rather than the intended Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing.

In April, T.W. Garner Food Company recalled its Texas Pete Habanero Buffalo Sauce because it may have contained Sriracha Sauce, which includes sulfites  a known allergen not disclosed on the product label. Sulfites can trigger severe or potentially fatal allergic reactions in sensitive individuals.

Many foods have also been recalled lately due to contamination concerns. Earlier this week, the Middlefield Original Cheese Co-Op facility, based in Ohio, announced a recall of a variety of its cheeses because they may have been contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, a disease-causing bacteria.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Listeria is a bacteria that can contaminate many foods, with infections caused by eating food with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. Although symptoms can vary, a listeria infection can cause invasive illness and intestinal illness.
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Howard Stern may have pranked those who thought he was leaving SiriusXM, but the media moguls net worth is no joke.

After postponing his return from summer break last week, Stern was not behind the microphone Monday morning as originally scheduled. Instead, Bravo star Andy Cohen surprisingly showed up to host the show and deliver some somber news to Sterns fans.

Cohen announced that Stern and the radio network were parting ways and that he would be taking over. Several news publications ran the story of his departure before Stern returned to the microphone to let everyone in on the ruse.

Lest anyone think that was real, that was all masterminded by me, he said.

I said to Andy, Would you cut a bit for us? And he immediately said yes, Stern added. I said, Go as long as you want, because the longer it goes on, the more people will think its real. And Andy had no problem with that. Hes the best.

open image in gallery Stern pranked his fans earlier this week into thinking Andy Cohen was taking over for him ( Getty Images )

Prior to Sterns return, multiple outlets cited sources claiming SiriusXM no longer wanted to pay the hosts salary, especially amid his decision to record from his many homes instead of the radios studio.

Having initially signed a massive five-year, $500 million contract with the broadcaster in 2004, Stern has since inked multiple extensions with Sirius XM, with his most recent one reportedly worth $120 million annually.

Heres everything we know about his success, from how much hes made from his radio show to his enormous real estate portfolio.

How much has Howard Stern made from radio?

Stern began his radio career hosting talk shows for rock stations in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including a stint at Washington, D.C.s WWDC. During that time, he was offered a five-year deal worth $1 million to work afternoons at WNBC in New York City.

After Stern was fired by WNBC in 1985, he declined offers to work in Los Angeles, including NBC's offer of $50,000 if he accepted the move, choosing to stay in New York to kick NBCs ass. That same year, he announced the signing of a five-year contract with Infinity Broadcasting worth an estimated $500,000 to host afternoons on its rock music station WXRK. He resigned to the broadcaster five years later in a deal estimated to be worth $10 million.

open image in gallery Howard Stern makes his Sirius radio debut in 2006 ( Getty )

In March 2003, Stern filed a $100 million lawsuit against ABC, Telepictures and the producers of its reality television series Are You Hot?, claiming its premise was copied from a radio show segment of his known as The Evaluators. An undisclosed settlement was reached five months later.

In 2004, he signed a goliath $500 million deal with Sirius Satellite Radio (a figure that includes all costs associated with the program). In 2020, he signed a five-year extension with the broadcasting network that is reportedly worth $600 million total or $120 million per year. Its estimated that Stern retains about $40 million a year from the deal, though that figure is unconfirmed.

Book and television deals

In early 1993, Stern signed a deal with Simon & Schuster reportedly worth $1 million for his first book, Private Parts. The entire initial print run of 225,000 copies sold out within hours, and the book remained on The New York Times Best-Seller list for 20 weeks.

Two years later, Stern secured a $3 million advance from ReganBooks for his second book, Miss America. According to Publishers Weekly, it sold 1.39 million copies in 1995 alone, making it the years third best-selling book.

The media mogul also had a foray into reality TV as a judge on Americas Got Talent for its seventh season, replacing Piers Morgan in 2011. He continued as a judge through seasons eight, nine, and 10 before leaving the show in 2015.

His property portfolio

In 2013, Stern and his wife, Beth Ostrosky, purchased a mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, for $52 million. Stern reportedly paid an additional $13 million to renovate the property. With nearby homes in the area on the market for $170 million, the radio personalitys Palm Beach property is currently estimated to be worth over $300 million.

open image in gallery Howard Stern's main residence is believed to be his Hamptons dwelling, which the radio host purchased in 2005 for $20 million ( Google Maps )

However, the main home that Stern and his wife live in is their property in the Hamptons, which was purchased in 2005 for $20 million. 20 years after Stern originally purchased the property, it is now estimated to be worth $51 million.

When Stern needs to be in the city, he also owns two floors of one of the most luxurious buildings in Manhattan, the Millennium Tower near Lincoln Center.

Over the course of 10 years, the radio personality purchased the two-floor penthouse that sits on the buildings 53rd and 54th floors. The 8,000 square feet of space consists of five condos, with three condos on the 54th floor purchased in 1998 for $6 million, and the remaining two on the 53rd floor purchased in 2008 for $15 million.
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Nina Dobrev and Shaun White are reportedly going their separate ways.

The actor, 36, and the professional snowboarder, 39, have called off their engagement, ending their relationship of five years, according to People.

Sources told the publication about the pairs breakup: It was a mutual decision, and wasnt an easy one, but it was made with love and a deep respect for one another.

The Independent has contacted representatives for Dobrev and White for comment.

The two were last photographed holding hands and walking through Los Angeles on August 31.

Nina Dobrev and Shaun White were romantically linked in 2019 ( Getty Images for Snow League )

However, Dobrev attended the premiere of Eternity at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on September 5 without her engagement ring. White was not present.

White and The Vampire Diaries star began dating in 2019 after meeting at an event in Florida. I actually didnt know anything about her, White told People in 2022. However, he then realized she was a celebrity when they got dinner together on another occasion.

Can we get a photo ... with her? he recalled one of the waiters at the restaurant asking. And I was like, Whats happening? Whats going on? It was actually really funny.

The couple opted to keep their relationship out of the spotlight for some time, sparking relationship rumors in February 2020, when they shared separate Instagram posts from what appeared to be the same location. Two months later, White shared his first-ever post of Dobrev on Instagram.

White officially popped the question in October 2024, after spending weeks planning the engagement, which involved setting up white roses, candles, and a photographer in a private room at The Golden Swan restaurant in New York City. He also kept the five-carat Lorraine Schwartz engagement ring hidden in different locations around his home where Dobrev couldnt find it.

The athlete then sent the Love Hard star a fake invitation from CFDA/Vogue, which asked her to get dinner with the magazines Editor-in-Chief, Anna Wintour.

He made the invite look so legitimate, Dobrev said during an interview with Vogue last year. However, when she opened the door to the restaurant, she discovered that only a photographer and White were there, before she said yes to his proposal.

I went into shock. I just froze and stared at him, she said.

I knew she was nervous because when shes nervous shell make jokes. Shes like, So, wait, Annas not here? White added.

Dobrev confessed that while she didnt remember how the proposal went, she could recall that when it happened, White said all the right things. Once she said yes, the then-couple was joined by the rest of their friends and family for a celebratory champagne toast.
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A womans wholesome reaction to a surprise marriage proposal has gone viral, as viewers celebrated her being the most golden retriever person ever.

Jaden Zahm and Will Ward were on a lengthy hike up a mountain in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, when they arrived at a picturesque lake, aptly dubbed Surprise Lake.

As Jaden enjoyed the stunning view and posed for a candid picture, she turned around to find her partner Will down on one knee with a ring box open, asking for her hand in marriage.

Holy f***ing shit. Are you f***ing serious right now? shouted Jaden in a completely unfiltered and expletive-laden reaction shared on TikTok by her future brother-in-law. She went on to offer a narration of her stream of consciousness in response to the romantic development.

Are you f***ing serious? Oh my god. Yes, yes. Oh my god. Thats f***ing dope. Is that real life? Ok yes. Ok you have to put it on. Oh my god and it fits! Im a fiance, I dont know what to do! Thats f***ing insane, she said.

She continued: Thats beautiful, thats exactly what I wanted. You did good... So awkward, I dont know what to do. Were just two awkward people, thats what happens. Did you guys know the whole f***ing time?? This is not real life.

Jaden Zahm was ecstatic and awkward at the question ( TikTok/chill1215 )

One TikToker counted the number of times Jaden said the words Oh my god, with a final count coming in at 31 times in the space of the two-minute clip.

Her reaction has been parodied by famous TikToker Madison Humphries, with all videos related to the proposal racking up millions of views.

The original video, posted by Wills brother, has over 13.2 million views and 2.3 million likes to date.

Social media users were captivated by Jadens endearing personality, as one person wrote: Hes going to have the best life with her. She is the most golden retriever person Ive ever witnessed.

I WANNA BE HER FRIEND, begged another.

She was NOT speechless, joked one user. Others praised the unvarnished response, with Jaden visibly sweaty and in hiking gear, in an era of overproduced demonstrations.

No wonder he wanted to put a ring on it, said her fans. She is a whole vibe.

Will has since set up his own TikTok account, with his bio reading: The guy who proposed to the human exclamation point.
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An Alabama police officer, who is the son of Dog the Bounty Hunter, has been placed on administrative leave with pay following a weekend pursuit that ended in a fatal crash.

WAFF 48 reports that a city official confirmed that Priceville police officer Garry Chapman is the son of Duane Chapman, famous as the reality TV star Dog the Bounty Hunter.

The incident happened Saturday on Interstate 65 near mile marker 329, when officers attempted to stop a vehicle for moving violations and suspected DUI.

The driver did not pull over, prompting a chase that moved off the interstate and onto Main Street in Hartselle.

Around 8:30 p.m., the pursuit ended in a violent collision on Main Street near Highway 31. The suspects vehicle crashed into a ditch after colliding with another car, which, as a result of the crash, was reportedly launched across an intersection.

Six people were transported to a local hospital. One of them is in critical condition, while a 17yearold named Tristan Hollis, not involved in the chase, died as a result of the crash. Hollis and three others riding with him were passengers in the car but had no role in the police pursuit.

The driver, identified as Archie Hale, was among the injured. Officials say Hale is expected to face charges related to the crash.

open image in gallery Priceville, Alabama, police officer Garry Chapman is the son of reality TV star Dog the Bounty Hunter ( Priceville Police Department/Getty Images )

There is an internal investigation being conducted regarding the pursuit alongside the criminal investigation involving the suspect. Both will take some time to complete, Priceville Police Chief Jerry Holmes said.

We extend our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to all those impacted by this tragedy. Any loss of life is unfortunate and regrettable, he added.

Dog the Bounty Hunter premiered on A&E in 2004, following him and his family, including Garry, as they pursued bail-jumpers across Hawaii and the mainland United States.

The show ran for eight seasons until 2012 and was followed by several spin-offs, including Dog and Beth: On the Hunt and Dogs Most Wanted.
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Former Republican Congressman Madison Cawthorn has been arrested for failing to appear in court.

On Wednesday, police in Cape Coral, Florida executed a warrant at his home and took Cawthorn into custody. The former lawmaker was scheduled to appear in court for a citation he received in Naples, Florida, for driving without a license.

The court released Cawthorn on a $2,000 bond.

Cawthorn issued a statement to Gulf Coast News Now after the incident.

"Former Congressman, Madison Cawthorn, was arrested earlier today for failure to appear for a routine traffic infraction. Madison keeps a very busy schedule and, due to a scheduling misunderstanding, did not appear in court this morning," the statement reads. "Following processing Madison was immediately released.

open image in gallery Former Congressman Madison Cawthorn was arrested in Lee County, Florida after he allegedly failed to appear in court on September 10, 2025 ( Lee County Sheriff's Office )

Cawthorn, who was partially paralyzed in a car crash at the age of 18, appeared on the political scene alongside other young MAGA firebrands, entering the U.S. House of Representatives for North Carolinas 11th congressional district at age 25.

However, his time in Congress was short lived. After claiming that other lawmakers invited him to indulge in cocaine and orgies, he lost allies in the GOP and later lost his 2022 primary race.

The former congressman, now 30, has been mostly quiet since then, though he was reportedly planning a political comeback.

According to a recent report by Axios, Cawthorn's grand return to the political stage was going to be out of Florida rather than his home state of North Carolina.

open image in gallery Then-Representative Madison Cawthorn addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference being held in the Hyatt Regency on February 26, 2021 in Orlando, Florida ( Getty Images )

He was reportedly hoping to take over Florida's 19th district after the departure of its current occupant, Representative Byron Donalds.

Donalds is stepping away from Congress to run for the governor's mansion.

It's not Cawthorn's first brush with the law. In April 2022, he was caught carrying a loaded gun into an airport. He'd been caught carrying a gun into an airport nine months prior as well.

Last year, Cawthorn was involved in a crash in Collier County that involved him slamming into the back of a Florida State Trooper cruiser.
With a market cap of $31.9 billion, The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (EL) is a global leader in the beauty industry. The company manufactures, markets, and sells a wide range of skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products under prestigious brands such as Estee Lauder, Clinique, La Mer, MAC, Jo Malone London, and TOM FORD Beauty.

Companies valued at $10 billion or more are generally classified as large-cap stocks, and Estee Lauder fits this criterion perfectly. Its products are distributed worldwide through department stores, specialty retailers, online platforms, salons, spas, and direct-to-consumer channels.

More News from Barchart

Shares of the New York-based company have fallen 14.3% from its 52-week high of $103.44. Estee Lauders shares have increased 28.6% over the past three months, outperforming the broader S&P 500 Indexs ($SPX) 8.4% gain over the same time frame.

www.barchart.com

In the longer term, EL stock is up 18.3% on a YTD basis, outpacing SPXs 10.7% return. However, shares of the beauty products company have risen 2.1% over the past 52 weeks, lagging behind the 19% surge of the SPX over the same time frame.

EL stock has been trading above its 50-day moving averages since early May. In addition, the stock has remained above its 200-day moving average since mid-June.

www.barchart.com

Despite reporting better-than-expected Q4 2025 adjusted EPS of $0.09 and revenue of $3.4 billion, Estee Lauders shares fell 3.7% on Aug. 20 because its full-year adjusted EPS forecast of $1.90 - $2.10 came in below analysts expectations. Management warned that a $100 million tariff-related hit, coupled with elevated costs from global trade pressures, would weigh on margins. Additionally, weakness in key markets like the U.S., China, and Europe, along with muted travel retail sales and ongoing restructuring charges, fueled investor concerns.

Nevertheless, rival Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (CHD) has underperformed EL stock. CHD stock has declined 9.4% on a YTD basis and 10.1% over the past 52 weeks.

Despite the stocks underperformance relative to the SPX over the past year, analysts remain moderately optimistic on Estee Lauder. EL stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy from the 25 analysts in coverage, and the mean price target of $91.43 is a premium of 3.1% to current levels.

On the date of publication, Sohini Mondal did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com
By Supantha Mukherjee and Echo Wang

STOCKHOLM/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The CEO of Sweden's Klarna, one of the early adopters in Europe of artificial intelligence, says the company may have gone too far in using the technology to cut costs and is now focusing on improving its services and products.

Sebastian Siemiatkowski made the remarks in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday which was cleared for publication on Wednesday when the buy-now, pay-later lender made its market debut in New York. Its shares jumped 30% at the open to $52 apiece, well above its IPO price of $40, giving the fintech a valuation of $19.7 billion.

Global companies are racing to harness AI to help them improve efficiency, lower operational costs and enhance decision-making, but the transition is proving rocky.

Klarna has cut thousands of jobs, dropped vendors such as Salesforce Inc and turned to AI to create marketing campaigns, saving millions but now realizing it went too fast, too soon.

"We probably over indexed a little bit on that, and then in the last six months we have been trying to course correct," Siemiatkowski told Reuters from New York.

He added that a major focus was boosting productivity and improving products for customers and merchants.

Klarna raised $1.37 billion on Tuesday in its U.S. initial public offering, valuing the company at $15 billion and setting the stage for a market debut that could set the trend for high-growth fintech listings.

Siemiatkowski said last year it had reduced staff to 3,800 from 5,000, with more reductions expected as it leans on AI to handle customer queries. Its chatbot was already doing the work of 700 staff, cutting average resolution times to two minutes from 11 minutes, the company said.

In May, Klarna used an AI avatar of Siemiatkowski to present its quarterly earnings. It even started a hotline for customers to talk directly with an interactive AI avatar trained on Siemiatkowskis real voice, insights and experiences.

The company is now back to hiring people. It has over two dozen open positions on its jobs portal.

PRODUCTIVITY AND GROWTH

Siemiatkowski said although Klarna saved about $2 million by dropping Salesforce software in favor of its AI-built data tools, the savings were insignificant for investors.

"My investors are not going to be cheering, they're going to look for growth, and they're going to look to what we offer our customers and how that's doing," he said.

Klarna, which transformed online shopping with its short-term financing model, is listing in the U.S. as it is the company's largest market, where it competes with the likes of Affirm.
The shooter who assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk and then vanished off a roof and into the woods remained at large more than 24 hours later Thursday as federal investigators appealed for the public's help by releasing photos of the person they believe is responsible.
HEFEI, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- A traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) expo being held in east China's Anhui Province has attracted many international traders, presenting opportunities to further boost the global reach of TCM. The 2025 International (Bozhou) TCM Expo and the 41st National (Bozhou) TCM Trade Fair in the city of Bozhou attracted around 120 foreign guests from 13 countries, including traders and TCM association representatives. Dubbed the capital of the Chinese medicinal herb industry, Bozhou is home to the country's largest medicinal herbs market and distribution center. Among the traders is Nguyen Hong Thanh, general director of Thang Long Traditional Medicine Company from Vietnam. In addition to seeking suppliers of medicinal herbs, he hoped to take this opportunity to learn cultivation techniques from local growers and study TCM diagnosis and treatment to better integrate it with traditional Vietnamese medicine. "With its efficacy increasingly acknowledged globally, TCM is gaining popularity in Vietnam," said Nguyen, whose company imports between 500 and 700 tonnes of medicinal herbs from China annually. The parallels between traditional Vietnamese medicine and TCM have facilitated the latter's expansion in Vietnam, he added. Leong Yee Piau, managing director of Wanfong Medical Hall and vice chairman of Malaysian Chinese Medical Association, shared similar views on the growing acceptance of TCM. His company, which sells over 2,000 varieties of Chinese medicinal herbs and herbal teas in Malaysia, has reported steady sales growth in recent years. "I also run a TCM clinic offering acupuncture, massage and other physical therapies, serving over 10,000 customers annually," Leong said. With a growing number of such clinics, TCM has entered the lives of many in Malaysia, he said. From Southeast Asia to Europe and Africa, TCM is expanding its global footprint and gaining a growing number of international followers. Data from China's National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine showed that TCM is now practiced in 196 countries and regions. China has also signed TCM cooperation agreements with over 40 foreign governments as well as regional and international organizations. Many Chinese pharmaceutical companies have made huge progress in overseas markets. Anhui Jiren Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. entered the European market in 2018 and so far, 193 types of its TCM granules have passed official German quality inspections and are available in the EU market. "China's TCM faces challenges in going abroad, including different registration requirements, a lack of mutual recognition for standards, and intellectual property protection," said Zhu Qiang, deputy general manager of Anhui Jiren Pharmaceutical. "We are exploring new approaches to bring more of our products to the global market, including strengthening ties with overseas research institutions to prove TCM's efficacy with scientific evidence," Zhu said. Beyond Chinese patent medicines, the company also promotes TCM healthcare products in Europe. Earlier this year, one of its TCM beverages became available in certain cafes and pharmacies in Hamburg, Germany. "From treatment to wellness, we seek to embed TCM's health-preserving culture into Europeans' daily lives through edible herbal products that can serve both as food and medicine," Zhu added, viewing this as a route to greater recognition and acceptance of TCM globally. TCM is also benefiting more people in Africa. China has signed memorandums of understanding on traditional medicine cooperation with countries like Algeria and Ghana, and established TCM centers in countries like the Comoros and Zimbabwe. The artemisinin-based antimalarial project has also exemplified TCM's impact on the continent. China's younger generation of entrepreneurs is turning to e-commerce platforms overseas to promote TCM's global reach. Since launching their first online store on a Malaysian platform in 2023, 27-year-old Song Ye and his team have opened eight such stores, selling more than 30 edible herbal products, including herbal teas, with sales exceeding 5 million yuan (about 704,000 U.S. dollars) in the first half of this year. "E-commerce offers broader reach and lower costs. By combining local platforms with overseas warehouses, Malaysian customers could receive their goods within three days of placing the orders," said Song, general manager of Anhui Bafang Health Industry Development Group Co., Ltd. Moving forward, the company plans to replicate this model in more countries to promote Chinese medicinal products and health-keeping concepts, Song said. Song expressed optimism about TCM's global prospects, noting that while it has a history spanning thousands of years, it is also evolving through innovation and alignment with international standards. "Its value will surely be recognized by more people worldwide," he said.
Fidelity has launched the Fidelity Digital Interest Token (FDIT), an on-chain money market fund backed by mostly U.S. Treasuries, mainly from Ondo Finance's Short-Term U.S. Treasuries Fund (OUSG) as the only anchor and largest investor.

According to Ondo, OUSG makes up more than 99% of FDIT assets at this time.

The launch is yet another milestone in the continued efforts by major asset managers to tokenize traditional financial products.

Fidelity now joins BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and WisdomTree in offering tokenized money market or Treasury funds, demonstrating the rapid transition of real-world assets from experimentation to mainstream finance.

Ondo's role in the tokenization momentum

Ondo Finance has been at the forefront of this change, having launched OUSG in January 2023, as one of the first tokens with on-chain access to U.S. Treasuries. Anyone can buy or invest in OUSG at any time.

And this is now designated as the flagship tokenized product of Ondo, boasting a total value locked (TVL) of more than $730 million, which provides instant subscriptions and redemptions, daily interest accruals, and support across multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, Ripple, and Polygon.

More news:

Included in the OUSG portfolio of product offerings, Ondo has already introduced other tokenized Treasury instruments, specifically BlackRock's USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL)  which was itself an innovator in allowing instant redemptions to USDC through Circle  Franklin Templeton/BENJI and WisdomTree/WTGXX.

Now, with Fidelity's FDIT added, Ondo is growing its network of top-tier asset manager partnerships, which will facilitate liquidity and maturity of the ecosystem.

On Sept. 3, Ondo Finance and the Ondo Foundation launched Ondo Global Market, a platform bringing over 100 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs to Ethereum. The launch provides non-U.S. investors with 24/7 on-chain access to U.S. equities and ETFs, furthering Ondo's mission to bridge traditional finance and blockchain.

Related: What are tokenized stocks? Explained

The bigger picture

The launch illustrates the gradual tokenization impacts capital markets and, by placing money-market funds onto blockchain rails, managers can offer faster settlement, 24/7 access, and potential interoperability with the extended digital-asset ecosystem again.
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Review Eating outWindsor The food, oh the food! Its so good: This homespun Chapel Street venue will wow you Melbournes only Ukrainian restaurant, Otakoi, is truly transporting. Dani Valent September 12, 2025 Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

As featured in the October 2025 hit list. See all stories .

1 / 8 Staff in national costume at Otakoi Ukrainian Restaurant. Bonnie Savage 2 / 8 Shuba (layered salad with cured herring, potato and pickled onions). Bonnie Savage 3 / 8 Chicken Kyiv. Bonnie Savage 4 / 8 Medivnyk (layered honey sponge). Bonnie Savage 5 / 8 Triple crepes stuffed with poppyseed, cottage cheese and sour cherries. Bonnie Savage 6 / 8 The homely interior features woven wheat light shades and colourful wall-mounted ceramics. Bonnie Savage 7 / 8 Borshch (beetroot soup). Bonnie Savage 8 / 8 Varenyky tasting plate (dumpling fillings include potato, meat and salmon with cream cheese) Bonnie Savage Previous Slide Next Slide 14 / 20 Critics' Pick How we score Eastern European$$$$ Theres a perfectly appropriate exclamation when you first enter Otakoi, Melbournes only Ukrainian restaurant. That word is otakoi, a Ukrainian interjection that translates as something like Wow! or Would you look at that! I walk into a lot of restaurants. I cant remember the last time I was transported like this. Embroidered textiles cover tables and banquettes. Curtains frame a faux window to create a cottage feel. Wheat stems are woven into light shades and around a mirror. Colourful ceramics are mounted on a wall and baskets of produce are fixed above a fireplace in a bountiful diorama. In an era of colour by numbers, play-it-safe restaurants, Otakoi is arrestingly handmade. As youre taking all this in, up comes a waiter in national costume offering bread for dipping into salt, a traditional welcome for honoured guests. We are off to a good start.

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Varenyky tasting plate (dumpling fillings include potato, meat and salmon with cream cheese). Bonnie Savage Owner Hanna Kachura has been saying the same thing, overwhelmed by the heartening response shes had since opening in July. Kachura arrived in Australia with her son three years ago, refugees from the Russia-Ukraine war. With a varied background in finance, marketing and TV production, Kachura didnt picture hospitality in her future. But she realised there were no Ukrainian restaurants in her new home town, and her Australian partner, Michael OHanlon, kept telling her how tasty her food was, and he happened to be a chef, and before you know it, there they are, weaving wheat into light fittings and opening a restaurant. In an era of colour by numbers, play-it-safe restaurants, Otakoi is arrestingly handmade. The food, oh the food! Its so good. The borshch (beetroot soup) has made a dozen people cry because its just like babusyas. Even if you dont hold a family recipe close, its easy to find a place in your heart for this one: ruby red thanks to the late addition of foil-roasted beetroot, sturdy and hearty thanks to slow-braised beef chunks.

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Borshch (beetroot soup). Bonnie Savage Beetroot also stars in the shuba, a pretty, layered salad with cured herring, potato and pickled onions melded with mayo. Shuba means fur coat; the idea is that the herring is wearing one. The chicken Kyiv is a golden, oozy stunner, made to a recipe the owners saw on MasterChef Ukraine. Chicken breast on the bone is bashed out thinly, stuffed with garlic, dill and parsley butter, rolled, fried then roasted, so its crisp but not oily. You should also eat the smoked mackerel, definitely the varenyky (dumplings), stuffed cabbage rolls and the banosh, a creamy cornmeal porridge topped with pork crackling, but I better get to desserts. Triple crepes stuffed with poppyseed, cottage cheese and sour cherries. Bonnie Savage

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The layered honey sponge is the prettiest, but the crepes stuffed with poppyseed, cottage cheese and sour cherries are the best: rich, nutty, not too sweet. If I get really sad one day, Ill comfort myself with these and a shot of Ukrainian vodka. There are occasional bumps in the service experience, which is unfailingly warm but not unerringly smooth. The team is green, keen and theyll get there. One of the most amazing things about Otakoi is that its providing employment for 10 new Ukrainian arrivals, everyone from the teen sisters who arrive after school to fold dumplings to the grandmother who comes in the mornings to clean. The restaurant also buys directly from Ukraine: the chef uniforms are from Kharkiv, for example, where a clothing factory persists through countless bombings. Add to this the outreach to the broader Australian community and this little shopfront restaurant becomes just one more example of how food creates meaning and connection, across culture and across the seas. Otakoi, indeed. The low-down Atmosphere: A joyful hug from babusya Go-to dishes: Borshch ($22); beetroot salad ($18); chicken Kyiv ($28); triple crepes ($18) Drinks: Theres a short wine list but why not drink Ukrainian? Nemiroff has been making vodka in Ukraine since 1872: the companys spirit is clear, pure and focused. Non-alcoholic stewed fruit compot is a refreshing quencher. Cost: About $140 for 2 people, excluding drinks This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant cant pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.

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Eventually, when she heard Hawken was being transferred to the jail at which she worked, she told a senior officer. Tina also spoke to another woman, the affidavit said, who suspected Hawken had raped her while she was in a medicine-affected sleep, and told her about rumours involving yet another colleague. I am of the belief that [he] did not commit the assault on me for the purpose of sexual gratification, Tina says in her affidavit, but for the power and control it would have given him. She ended up telling Corrective Services in 2011 that Hawken had come to her house uninvited and acted extremely inappropriately in a sexual manner; if he was transferred to her jail, she would no longer be able to work there. In 2012, Emma alleged to police that Hawken had sexually assaulted her one night after work; that hed waited for her on a regional road out of the jail in 2012 and flagged her down, saying there was something wrong with his car. She got out to help him, and he asked her to get a torch from the back seat. When she climbed in, she alleged he climbed in after her and sexually assaulted her. The charges were heard by a jury in 2014, and Hawken was found not guilty. In 2019 alone, there are records of three CSNSW employees complaining about Hawkens sleazy workplace behaviour. Jane said they were working together at a womens prison when he asked her how things were going at home. He told her, all you need to do is jump on his cock, said her 2022 affidavit, which was not revealed to the jury in Clares matter. She was taken aback, but brushed it off due to the culture at Corrective Services. He kept sending sexual messages, such as asking if she was cleaning her house in a French maids outfit. Jane spoke to a female colleague, who disclosed certain things to me about Scott that were similar in nature, her affidavit said, so she reported him.

Kate, who met him at another prison in 2019, said hed send her Facebook messages saying, we should meet up for coffee; this expression is well known within the CSNSW among officers as hooking up, she said in her affidavit provided to prosecutors, but not seen by the jury. By hooking up, it meant to have sex. She felt uncomfortable; she worried when she was home alone. A colleague told her Scott had a tendency to try to hook up and proposition female correctional officers for sex. Kate reported it to managers in 2019. Isolated and bullied In October that year, he began messaging another woman, Mel, asking if she wanted to have a sexual relationship with him, although he wouldnt leave his wife. She was uncomfortable and intimidated, her affidavit said. I became concerned that Scott would not stop until I gave in to his request for sex, it said. One night, he saw Mel at a prison gate and gave her a hug that turned into an attempt to kiss her. Another time, he asked her for a topless photo  you owe me a picture of your tits was how he put it. Loading I was confused and unsure how to respond as I feared retribution by Scott in the workplace, Mel said in her affidavit. She figured shed be passive and it would eventually stop, but she worried thered be rumours that she was sleeping with him. He did stop. She asked him for help with a job application and he obliged. Then he called her, saying words to the effect of, seeing as I helped you with that, are you finally going to send me your address so I can come around after work, Mels affidavit said.

After another female guard said hed done something similar to her, Mel reported her experience. Hawken was cold towards her after that, she said, and ignored me to the point that I felt not included when I was in the team environment  like I was being isolated and bullied. Hawken was moved to another jail at the end of that year. I have never stopped thinking about what he did to me in a place where I was meant to be safe, Mel wrote in the affidavit, dated 2022. I have never received any support services offered by management in the workplace and I have never been advised of any outcome of the officer report I submitted. I feel my name is still attached to Scott and is the topic of gossip and stories. Helen was working with Hawken in 2021. She had weight-loss surgery, and took time off to recover. He offered to drop off some painkillers; she gave him her address. He gave her a pill, and then, she claims, he tried to kiss her. She said no, but she says he took her into her room, pulled her onto the bed, took off her clothes and began sexually assaulting her. She says he touched her on two other occasions too; in the CSNSW gym and in the sauna. Two juries have failed to reach a verdict on the rape charge relating to Helen; the second found him not guilty of sexually touching her. Another woman, Lisa, worked with him at a minimum security facility. He began messaging her on Facebook. The messages were friendly at first, but escalated. When are you going to show me around your bedroom and are you in bed naked tonight? he asked. She didnt report him because she remembers being told by a senior woman when she began at CSNSW that you never put a correctional officer on paper because you will be seen to be a dog, her affidavit said.

On a night shift in early 2022, he messaged her while they were both at work and asked her to come to the accommodation area. When she didnt come, he messaged her again. Half an hour oiled up in my G string waiting for u, her affidavit said. She reported it. Hawken raped Clare in May 2022. He went to her house uninvited when she was sick and offered to help her into bed and give her some Panadeine Forte. She wasnt keen on him being there and was ill and drowsy. She had her period. She awoke with him on top of her. He had sexually assaulted and sexually touched her, the jury found. I had 10 to 12 showers in the morning, she told the court. I kept scrubbing myself, washing myself. Police charged Hawken with Clares rape in June 2022 and he was convicted last year. This masthead has seen a copy of a letter from Corrective Services to Hawken about his suspension from duty, sent in June 2023  a year after the charges relating to Clare were laid  and directing him not to talk to the complainants, or take any reprisal action. It noted that the guards union, the Public Service Association, had acted for Hawken in relation to previous accusations. CSNSW said he had been suspended from duty in mid-2022. State MP Sue Higginson, justice spokeswoman for The Greens, said the Hawken matter came on top of the Astill inquiry; they both showed how Corrective Services systems were broken when it came to the safety of women. That such criminal, depraved and harmful behaviour against female staff and inmates can take place for so long, without intervention, is unfathomable, she said. These male perpetrators are employees of the state, for goodness sake.

She said cultural reform was direly needed. Despite a new commissioner and a boost to some services, I dont think anyone can say with any certainty that the culture within Corrective Services NSW has changed or that it is a safe place for women, Higginson said. Minister wont comment Corrective Services Minister Anoulack Chanthivong refused to comment because there were matters before the courts. A Corrective Services spokeswoman said it had finalised six Safe Work improvement notices issued in 2023 by rolling out statewide sexual harassment training and improving reporting systems. She said CSNSW was committed to the cultural and operational reform required to provide a safe and respectful workplace. We are sending a clear message to all staff that sexual harassment, abuse and assault will not be tolerated, she said. We recognise the pain and suffering of victim-survivors and applaud their strength and courage in speaking up.
Sussan Ley is expected to placate frustrated conservatives with plum gigs in a reshuffle forced by Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Prices sacking, as the Coalitions right faction splinters over the opposition leaders future.

Ley formally apologised to Indian-Australians on Thursday, a week after the controversial senator falsely claimed the government was bringing in Indian migrants because they voted Labor.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley (left) sacked firebrand senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price from her frontbench this week. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Influential right-wing frontbenchers James Paterson and Andrew Hastie threw their support behind Ley on Thursday, though some MPs said they expected Price to return to the shadow ministry, demonstrating the depth of support the charismatic former defence industry spokeswoman has in the partys base.

Paterson is a key member of an emerging and informal faction on the right which is more pragmatic and wants to give Ley time and space to succeed, bolstering Leys job security.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Conservative influencer and key Trump ally Charlie Kirk was shot dead on Wednesday while debating university students at an open-air event in Utah, in an act of political violence that has stunned America. Kirk, seen as the unofficial leader of the MAGA youth movement, was appearing on the first stop of his latest series of live events, the American Comeback Tour, in which he was to answer questions from an audience. Heres how the shooting unfolded. All times in Utah time (16 hours behind AEST). Wednesday, 11.45am A crowd of about 3000 has gathered at Utah Valley University for Kirks appearance. Students assemble in front of Kirks tent, while others  including some protesters  watch from buildings overlooking the arena. The crowd before Charlie Kirks event.

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As is typical for Kirks events, security is light. There are six university police officers assigned to the event, plus some private security. There are no metal detectors or bag checks, students later tell the Associated Press. Some attendees say no one even checked their tickets. Some in the crowd note afterwards they felt the courtyard venue was unsafe for a divisive public figure. One witness said: There were a lot of ledges, points where this could happen. 12pm Kirk arrives to cheers, wearing a white T-shirt saying Freedom. He throws red MAGA caps to his fans and begins speaking at the start of his question-and-answer session. Charlie Kirk hands out hats before he was shot and killed at Utah Valley University. Credit: AP He has amassed a large online following for clips of his live debates with young people on issues such as affirmative action and transgender rights.

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12.20pm Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years? an audience member asks Kirk. Kirk responds: Too many. Kirk speaks to the crowd. Credit: AP The questioner follows up: Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years? Counting or not counting gang violence? Kirk asks. 12.20pm

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Barely a second after he answers that question, a loud shot rings out, and Kirk keels over to his left, with blood pouring from his neck. The shot comes from a figure in dark clothing on a distant roof on campus, authorities later say. Video footage from before and after the shooting shows a person on the roof of the Losee Centre, about 130 metres away. The crowd cries out in horror as they witness Kirk slump to the ground. Many people duck for cover while others run away. The crowd reacts after the shooting. Credit: AP

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Kirks security team rushes to his aid and attempts to stem the bleeding as they carry him, running, to a private car. Security personnel carry Kirk to a car. Credit: AFP Kirk is then driven to Timpanogos Regional Hospital, about 3.7 kilometres from the university. People attend a vigil at Timpanogos Regional Hospital for Kirk. Credit: AP 2.40pm President Donald Trump posts on Truth Social that Charlie Kirk has died, just after the news is confirmed by Kirks spokesman.

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The vast bulk of Donald Trumps presidential playbook centres on deal-making. On matters as diverse as trade and foreign policy, the approach seems broadly consistent: sweep away such guardrails as global rules of free trade or geopolitical alliances, and reduce matters to a suite of country-by-country agreements. In this way, there is no need for the US even to feign consistency, or fealty to any set of overarching principles. Trump doesnt need a coherent philosophy on tariffs or democracy, sovereignty or even war. In this world, there are no rules, or doctrines. There is only leverage.

In this way, the US president hopes to achieve everything from the enrichment of America to a Nobel Peace Prize. The early signs are not encouraging, especially on the world peace front given both Russias war on Ukraine and Israels annihilation of Gaza are only continuing apace, apparently impervious to the art of Trumps dealing. But Israels bombing of Qatar this week, targeting Hamas officials, represents something even deeper. At issue now isnt merely whether Trump will succeed in making deals. Its whether other nations will any longer see much reason to bother trying.

Illustration by Simon Letch.

Trump has condemned what he has described as unilaterally bombing inside Qatar  a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker peace. The crux of Trumps ire is the last point he raises: Qatar is central to Trumps deal-making. Specifically, it is a key player in any ceasefire or peace deal that would, in addition to halting the carnage in Gaza, return the remaining Israeli hostages home. Indeed, there can be such no deal without Hamas, and Qatar can bring them to the table.

Yet among those Israel killed was the son of Hamas top negotiator. This could only have been an attempt to kill the father. That is, Israel is ostensibly engaging in peace negotiations with Hamas, while attempting to kill the very people with whom it is negotiating.
Washington: The FBI has released a new surveillance video showing the man they believe assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk jumping off a rooftop and making his getaway in the moments after the shooting.

A massive manhunt is still under way for a suspect described by police as being of college age. Officials also released more photos in addition to two CCTV images made public earlier in the day as they appealed to the public for tips.

The FBI announced a $US100,000 ($150,000) reward for information leading to identification of the shooter, while Utahs Republican Governor, Spencer Cox, confirmed the state was preparing to seek the death penalty.

The new video released Thursday night, US time, showed a man running across a low-rise rooftop  the Losee Centre building at Utah Valley University, where Kirk had been speaking  before carefully jumping off the edge. He then moved quickly through a small grassed area beside a parking lot, and towards a road.
Global payments giant Fiserv is preparing to empower small businesses to accept digital currencies.

Speaking at TheStreet Roundtable discussion moderated by Roundtable publisher and CEO James Heckman, Watkins revealed Fiservs vision to bridge the gap between small businesses and the evolving world of digital payments.

Related: What is Crypto? Cryptocurrency explained

Financial institutions move money, and the intersection with the small businesses we serve is critical, small businesses are truly the backbone of the global economy, Watkins said.

Their [small businesses] success is tied to staying connected to consumers. And as new payment forms come, whether it's crypto or stablecoin or something else, we need small businesses to be in a position where they're adapting and keeping up with the trends that their customers have, not just chasing them.

Shannon Watkins on empowering small businesses

Shannon Watkins is the Chief Brand Marketing and Communications Officer at Fiserv, leading global brand strategy, communications, and creative direction. She previously served as Global CMO of Jordan Brand at Nike and Chief Brand Officer at Aflac. Watkins has also held key marketing roles at Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, and ConAgra, and is a recognized advocate for diversity in marketing.

She noted the importance of enabling merchants to meet customers where they are, adding, If consumers want to pay in a currency, we need to be prepared to support those businesses to not only understand it, but accept it and meet them where they are. And tools like Clover, backed by Fiservs infrastructure will really help small businesses adapt.

Clover is a point-of-sale (POS) system developed and operated by Fiserv, designed to help small and medium-sized businesses accept payments, manage sales, and streamline operations.

Shannon Watkins at the Featured Session "How America's 33M Small Businesses Can Grow and Prosper" during SXSW Conference & Festivals at the Hilton Austin Downtown on March 10, 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Travis P. Ball/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images)

New stablecoin plans

The company recently announced it will roll out a new digital asset platform, including the launch of its own stablecoin, FIUSD.

"We announced in June that we are moving forward with new digital asset platform, including our own called FIUSD, Watkins said. This is being built at the intersection of really what we call our financial institutions and merchants we'll have secure, regulated compliant and bank friendly services that can carry this currency wherever consumers are.

Notably, the stablecoin marketcap has reached $286.28 billion, according to DeFiLlama. USDT (Tether) dominates the market with a 58.99% share.

Related: Exclusive: Shark Tanks Rashaun Williams shares 3 key things every Shark looks for

When asked how it would ensure the reliability of funds, Watkins said, Yeah, we're going to definitely do it in a compliant manner and it's going to be backed by all of the great technology that Fiserv offers and that's going to be coming a little bit later this year.
CAIT Women Unit demands handicraft market, permanent exhibition dome





CAIT Women Unit President Payal Jain and other members.

Staff Reporter

DURG

CAIT Durg District Women Unit President Payal Jain along with officials met with Durg Municipal Corporation Mayor Alka Baghmar. During this, she appreciated the work being done by Mayor Alka Baghmar for the all-round development of the city and also gave many important suggestions regarding giving a new direction to women entrepreneurship. Payal Jain said that CAIT Durg Women Unit is continuously working under Swavalambhi Bharat Abhiyan. Women are being made self-reliant through various training programs and exhibitions organised by the organisation. This enables them to continuously market their products throughout the year.

Payal Jain urged the Mayor to start a handicraft market before the festivals by cleaning and beautifying the place behind the Hanuman temple located at Utai Tempo Stand. This will give a golden opportunity to local women entrepreneurs and home industries to sell their products. She suggested that a suitable place should be identified in the city and a permanent exhibition dome should be constructed. Where, exhibitions can be easily organised by women entrepreneurs from time to time and local handicrafts and products can be recognised at national level.

Jain expressing confidence that Mayor Alka Baghmar will consider this and Durg Municipal Corporation will provide support towards empowering women entrepreneurship said that with her support, not only will women be helped to become self-reliant but the economic and cultural development of the city will also get a new impetus. General Secretary Gunja Pincha, Treasurer Amina Hirani and Mohd Ali Hirani were present.
Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is one of the 10 Best EV Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds.

The companys second quarter projects strong growth for its Model e segment.

Fords Model e Growth, Cost Cuts, and U.S. Sales Boost Q2 Results

The company reported its second-quarter earnings results on July 30, 2025, where it recorded $50 billion in revenue for the quarter, signaling the strong reception for its products and services in the market. Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) also saw a significant margin improvement in its Model e segment. The volume doubled during the quarter while material costs went down. The companys sales in the U.S. also went up, reaching a 7% growth rate, indicating its strong presence in the market.

In addition to this, the companys Expedition also experienced significant sales growth, with an increase of 43.9% to 31,298 units sold. The growth represents its best second-quarter performance in 20 years.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) witnesses a strong institutional interest, with 45 hedge funds having ownership stakes in the company.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), founded by Henry Ford in 1903, is an American multinational automaker. The Michigan-based company is a key player in the automotive industry, known for pioneering the moving assembly line for mass production, making vehicles more accessible to the public.

While we acknowledge the potential of F as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: 13 Best Freight Stocks to Invest in Now and 11 Best Annual Dividend Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds

Disclosure. None.
ED searches in Rs 346 cr bank fraud case





NEW DELHI :

ED conducted searches in Delhi-NCR, TN and Karnataka in a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged bank fraud case by Haryana-based power sector company and its promoters

THE Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted searches in Delhi-NCR, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged Rs 346 crore alleged bank fraud case by a Haryana-based power sector company and its promoters, official sources said. The probe is against Gurugram located Hythro Power Corporation Ltd (HPCL), which is under liquidation, and its directors Amul Gabrani and Ajay Kumar Bishnoi apart from some others.

The ED case, filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), stems from a February 2025 CBI FIR where the promoters are alleged to have siphoned off the loan funds to some of their linked entities causing losses to the banks. The Gurugram zonal office of the ED conducted searches at five premises in the national capital region, three in Chennai and one in Bengaluru as part of this probe, the sources said. As per the case details, alleged frauds declared by the complainant banks amounts to Rs 346.08 crore, including Rs 168.07 crore by the PNB, Rs 77.81 crore by the ICICI Bank, Rs 44.49 crore by Kotak Mahindra Bank and Rs 55.71 crore by the Union Bank and the fraud is alleged to have taken place between 2009 and 2015.

HPCL, a power transmission and distribution sector company, was engaged in designing, manufacturing, and constructing turnkey projects for power transmission lines. It is alleged that the promoters and directors of the company obtained credit facilities from the Punjab National Bank (PNB), the lead bank of the consortium, worth a total Rs 165.71 crore under a multiple banking arrangement.

Despite several restructurings, including conversion of invoked bank guarantees into funded interest term loans (FITL), HPCL defaulted and was declared a Non-Performing Asset (NPA) on March 31, 2015, and later reported as a fraud to the RBI on June 13, 2024, the ED said. A forensic audit found that the funds were siphoned through transactions with group companies such as Avadh Transformers, G.E.T. Power, Revolution Infocom, TecproEngg and others through fictitious job work, unpaid receivables, and circular transactions. Several large advances and sale invoices remained unrecovered for years, indicating non-genuine trade dealings. HPCL used related entities to divert funds and misappropriate assets, leading to erosion of creditor interests, the agency alleged.
ICAI Nagpur Branch holds meeting with Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions)





Business Reporter :

The Nagpur Branch of WIRC of ICAI conducted an interactive meet with Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions), Dr Nitin Waghmode, at ICAI Bhawan, Dhantoli, recently. The session witnessed overwhelming participation with more than 100 Chartered Accountants (CAs) attending and benefitting from the deliberations. The officials present from the Income Tax Department included Sweta Kamlesh Patil, Joint Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions), Vijay Mohan Bhatt, Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions), Income Tax officers Shrihari Garge, Ashok Wadekar, Azharuddin Haque and Gautam Kumar. CA Dinesh Rathi, Chairman, ICAI Nagpur Branch, expressed gratitude to Income Tax Department for their continuous support and acknowledged the importance of such interactive platforms in bridging the gap between professionals and authorities.
Maratha quota: Mah Govt starts Hyderabad gazette implementation process; no impact on OBC reservation





MUMBAI :

AMID opposition from OBC groups, the Maharashtra Government has started the process to implement the Hyderabad gazette in accordance with a GR issued earlier on issuing Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Maratha community members. State Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who heads the cabinet sub-committee on the Maratha reservation, on Wednesday reiterated that the rights of OBC communities will be protected. The process for the implementation of the Hyderabad gazette has started. We will study emerging facts, he told reporters. The Social Justice and Special Assistance Department, on September 2, announced the formation of a committee to issue Kunbi caste certificates to Maratha community members having historical evidence of their Kunbi heritage, a key demand of Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange.

Kunbi is a social group classified as an Other Backward Class (OBC) in Maharashtra. The Government Resolution (GR) dated September 2 also mentioned implementing the Hyderabad gazetteer. The BJP-led Mahayuti Government is forced to walk a quota tightrope as the GR has been opposed by sections of Other Backward Classes (OBC), prominently by State Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, fearing that acknowledgement of the Kunbi status will mean dilution of the existing OBC reservations. When asked about Bhujbals Opposition to the wording of the GR, Vikhe Patil said the rights of OBCs will be protected. I will meet Chhagan Bhujbal and clear his confusion regarding the Hyderabad Gazette GR, he said. Vikhe Patil will also hold discussions with Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who heads the cabinet sub-committee on OBCs, to discuss the implementation of the GR and issuance of Kunbi certificates. Vikhe Patil and Justice Sandeep Shinde (retd), who heads the Shinde Committee set up by the State Government, discussed the quota issue during a meeting.

The discussions centred on effective ways to ensure implementation of decisions regarding the Martaha reservation and various legal aspects. Legal experts and senior officials also attended. The Shinde Committee was established in September 2023 to decide the methodology to issue OBC certificates to Marathas and find proof to establish Marathas as Kunbi OBCs. No injustice to OBCs: Bawankule: MAHARASHTRA Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Wednesday affirmed no injustice will be done to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and only those having authentic Kunbi records will be issued certificates in line with the notification on Maratha quota. Maratha community applicants seeking Kunbi certificates for availing quota will have to furnish papers related to their lineage with the agrarian group already enjoying OBC status, gram panchayat and tehsildar-level committee reports, and these caste documents will be issued only after due verification, he asserted. Sub-divisional officials must ensure that no fake (Kunbi) entries are accepted. The Government decision has to be implemented strictly, he told reporters after chairing the first meeting of the newly formed cabinet sub-committee on OBC issues at Mantralaya (State Secretariat) here.
Nepal turns into fortress Army takes control of security operations





By Shirish B Pradhan :

KATHMANDU

Army expressed concern over the actions of certain groups, which are taking undue advantage of difficult situation and causing severe damage to ordinary citizens and public property.

THE Nepal Army on Wednesday imposed nationwide restrictive orders followed by a curfew to quell possible violence under the guise of protests, a day after Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli resigned in the face of massive anti-Government demonstrations. The Army, which took control of nationwide security operations from Tuesday night after incidents of arson and vandalism across the country, said the restrictive orders will remain in force until 5:00 pm on Wednesday, and then a curfew will be in place until 6 am Thursday.

The Nepalese capital turned into a fortress as soldiers guarded the streets and ordered people to stay at home, a day after protesters set fire to the Parliament, the Presidents Office, the Prime Ministers residence, Government buildings, Supreme Court, political parties offices and also homes of senior leaders. In a statement, the Army said the measures were necessitated to curb possible incidents of looting, arson, and other destructive activities under the guise of agitation. The Army warned that any form of demonstrations, vandalism, arson, or attacks on individuals and property during the restrictive period would be treated as criminal acts and dealt with accordingly. There are also possible threats of rape and violent attacks against individuals, the statement said. Keeping in view the security situation of the country, restrictive orders and a curfew have been enforced. The statement clarified that vehicles and personnel engaged in essential services, including ambulances, fire engines, health workers, and security forces, would be permitted to operate during the restrictive orders and curfew.

In a separate statement, the Army expressed concern over the actions of certain groups, which are taking undue advantage of the difficult situation and causing severe damage to ordinary citizens and public property. We have deployed our troops to prevent any untoward incidents, including looting and vandalism, said an officer from the Nepal Army headquarters. The Army has requested that foreign nationals stranded due to the current situation contact the nearest security post or personnel for rescue or any other assistance. It also requested hotels, tourism entrepreneurs and related agencies to provide necessary help to needy foreign nationals. The authorities have also issued orders for residents to remain indoors unless absolutely necessary, in a bid to prevent further unrest, he said. Since early morning, the normally bustling streets of Kathmandu wore a deserted look. Only a few residents ventured out, primarily to stock up on daily essentials. Roads were heavily patrolled by security personnel, and fire trucks were deployed to douse blazes in Government and private buildings torched by agitators on Tuesday.

The Army also urged people to return guns, weapons and bullets looted or found during the student-led agitation to the nearest police post or security personnel. As there are chances of such weapons being misused, please inform the authorities and return them to the security agencies at the earliest, the military said in another statement. It warned that legal action would be taken against anyone found possessing such arms or ammunition without returning them. The Army also appealed to citizens not to wear Army uniforms in this sensitive period, as it is illegal to do so. Kathmandus Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) was closed on Wednesday and will remain closed until further notice.

The flight services at the airport were partially suspended in view of the protests on Tuesday. In a public notice, the airport officials said the closure is due to the ongoing critical situation and urged passengers and stakeholders to await further updates. Earlier, the TIA had announced a temporary closure until 6 pm Wednesday, but operations have now been halted without a reopening timeline, news portal Khabarhub said. The shutdown has affected both domestic and international flights, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded. Airlines have advised travellers to stay in contact with their respective carriers for updates.
RTMNU V-C Of 78 applications received, panel shortlists 28





Staff Reporter :

Five names will be finalised which will then be sent to the Chancellor of Universities of Maharashtra. The varsity is likely to get the new V-C by Diwali.

The search panel appointed for selection of new Vice-Chancellor (V-C) of Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU) has shortlisted around 28 candidates from among 78 applicants. According to sources, as per the advertisement published in July, around 78 candidates had applied for the post. Roughly 10 per cent of the total applicants were found ineligible on various counts. As per the Public University Act, 2016 of Maharashtra, the panel has to select 40 per cent candidates of the total eligible ones. Accordingly, around 28 candidates have been shortlisted, said the sources. Of the 28 candidates selected, half are from Nagpur region.

They included some professors of RTMNU departments, some from affiliated colleges and some present and past deans. It is less likely that a sitting Vice-Chancellor of some other university would apply as he/she cant be appointed untill their respective terms are completed. As per the rule, the university concerned nominates a member through Academic Council and Management Council. RTMNU has completed this process and nominated Director of Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur Avinash Kumar Agrawal long ago. A person of the level of Principal Secretary is the Member Secretary.

University Grants Commission provided one member while Chancellor appointed Chairman of the Committee. The shortlisted 28 candidates are likely to be called for interview either by mid-September or in the last week. Five names will be finalised which will then be sent to the Chancellor of Universities of Maharashtra. RTMNU may get a new Vice-Chancellor before Diwali, provided the new Governor of State is appointed early as present Governor C P Radhakrishnan has been elected as the new Vice-President of India. Additional Divisional Commissioner Dr Madhavi Khode-Chaware is handling the charge of Vice-Chancellor for now.
Special traffic enforcement, awareness campaign from September 8 to 22





Second phase of agitation launched by AIDEF, INTUC, BPMS and CDRA in defence production units concludes

Staff Reporter :

In compliance with the directives of Madhya Pradesh Police Headquarters, Bhopal and under the orders of Superintendent of Police, Sampat Upadhyay (IPS), a special traffic enforcement and awareness campaign is being conducted from September 8 to 22, 2025, aimed at reducing road accidents and fatalities. Under this campaign, violators of traffic rules are being penalized and awareness activities are being carried out to educate vehicle drivers and school students about traffic safety. On September 9, 2025, under the supervision of Additional SP (Traffic) Anjana Tiwari, traffic checkpoints were set up at Baldeobagh Square, Teen Patti Square, Tayyab Ali Square, Pentinaka Square, Tripuri Square, Carbage Tiraha and Maharajpur Bypass.

During the drive, 273 violators were penalized, and fines totalling Rs 1,03,600 were collected. Besides this, in order to curb accidents on National and State Highways, strict action was taken against over-speeding vehicles. On the same day, 12 over-speeding drivers were fined, with penalties amounting to Rs 12,000. Along with this, a special workshop was organised at a private school, where students were educated on the importance of wearing helmets, the risks of driving without a license and other traffic safety rules. The school administration was also advised to ensure strict adherence to road safety norms and to keep students regularly sensitised about traffic discipline. The traffic police have appealed to all citizens of Sanskardhani Jabalpur to always keep valid vehicle documents while driving and strictly follow traffic rules. The ongoing enforcement and awareness activities will continue throughout the campaign.
Global financial investors are pouring into Hong Kong in a low profile way to stay under the radar and avoid undue attention because of rising geopolitical tension, said the head of the city's de facto sovereign wealth fund.

"We see a great velocity of [capital] flow, although in a very low profile way," said Clara Chan, the CEO of the HK$62 billion (US$8 billion) government-owned fund known as Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC), during a Wednesday interview with the Post at the BioHK 2025 conference. The fund aims to "protect" its investees from geopolitics by being "very agile" in facilitating the flow of capital and talent, she said.

She cited the HKIC's International Forum for Patient Capital gathering in May as an example, which drew global investors including European and US firms with more than US$20 trillion of combined assets under management. Some participants stayed off the stage "for obvious reasons", but "they know what's happening here", Chan said.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

"They loved it because they could stay low profile, but then they would know where to put the money to work," Chan said. "A lot of long-term capital really think they should not miss the opportunity in either Hong Kong or via Hong Kong into China."

Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC) CEO Clara Chan Ka-chai during the International Forum for Patient Capital (IPC) at Regent Hong Kong on May 22, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Wong alt=Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC) CEO Clara Chan Ka-chai during the International Forum for Patient Capital (IPC) at Regent Hong Kong on May 22, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Wong>

The HKIC was founded in 2022 by Hong Kong's government to spur the city's revamp into an innovation and technology hub. It focuses on "hard and core technology", biotechnology and green technology, with 130 invested projects thus far, Chan said.

Biotechnology, which made up about 20 per cent of the HKIC's investments thus far, is "very dear to my heart" because the sector "brings real drugs and real treatment to benefit the public", in addition to the financial returns, Chan said. Investing in health tech and biotech was also "in line with what the central government is doing", she said.
GlobalLogic and Flexware Innovation, both of which are Hitachi Group companies, have announced the deployment of Flexware's LIFT intralogistics software at Hitachi Rail's new manufacturing facility in Hagerstown, Maryland, US.

The new technology aims to enhance material movement and address orchestration challenges within the manufacturing process at the facility, which opened earlier this month.

LIFT 3.0, the first fully developed standalone product from Flexware, was initially introduced in May and is designed to facilitate seamless integration across complex manufacturing environments.

The deployment comes at a time when US manufacturing is undergoing transformation, with a growing emphasis on robotics and AI to meet reshoring demands.

However, many of these technologies struggle to communicate with one another, leading to interoperability issues and inefficiencies.

LIFT 3.0 aims to resolve these challenges, particularly in Hitachi Rail's highly digitalised factory, which has seen more than $30m invested in digital enhancements.

At the Hagerstown facility, LIFT orchestrates the movement of materials from the warehouse to various work cells using automated guided vehicles (AGVs).

The software integrates with Hitachi Rail's warehouse management system and AGV fleet management system, allowing it to manage material requests, dispatch missions, and report on status updates.

LIFT also monitors system activity and addresses any exceptions that arise during operations.

It serves as a system-agnostic platform that connects various technologies across the factory floor, including PLC, SCADA, ERP, and MES systems.

The platform supports the digital transformation of manufacturing and warehousing organisations, aiming to break down silos and improve safety.

Flexware Innovation founder and advisor Scott Whitlock said: LIFTs selection by Hitachi Rail for their new Maryland facility is a powerful validation of its ability to enable the next generation of smart manufacturing.

In a related development, GlobalLogic has partnered with Ericsson to deploy a private 5G network at the Hagerstown facility.

This network provides the digital infrastructure necessary for advanced automation and worker safety.

The 5G network enables capabilities such as real-time data capture for physical AI, digital twins for optimising production, predictive maintenance, automated quality inspections, and IoT-driven material transport.

Ericsson global strategic partnerships for enterprise senior director Alan Minney said: To make Industry 4.0 real, manufacturers need secure, high-performance connectivity that is flexible and scalable.
Grayscale filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday for three crypto exchange-traded funds, expanding its roster of potential offerings as issuers jockey for regulatory approval.





The asset manager submitted an S-1 registration for a Litecoin (LTC) ETF, a move that follows its earlier bid to convert the Grayscale Litecoin Trust into an ETF.





At the same time, it lodged S-3 filings for exchange-traded funds tied to Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Hedera (HBAR). If approved, the products would join a lineup that already includes spot bitcoin and ether ETFs launched last year.





The filings underscore Grayscales push to diversify its crypto-linked investment products while regulators weigh how far to open the door to such funds. Just a day earlier, the firm sought to convert its Chainlink (LINK) Trust into an ETF, signaling a rapid pace of applications despite regulatory uncertainty.





Grayscale is not alone. Fidelity, VanEck and several other issuers have lined up proposals for digital-asset funds in hopes that the SEC will sign off on more products later this year. Industry executives say broader approval could help mainstream investors gain exposure to cryptocurrencies through regulated markets, while potentially easing concerns about custody and transparency.





For now, the SEC under Chair Paul Atkins has delayed decisions on a range of crypto ETF applications. A green light from regulators would give investors a way to trade crypto exposure alongside traditional securities in brokerage accounts.
PepsiCo (PEP) made headlines on Tuesday when activist investor Elliott Investment Management disclosed a $4 billion stake, pushing shares up. The action indicates that the legendary beverage, snack icon, and long-term dividend darling can get back on track after lagging its peers in 2025 and the overall market. Elliott's argument is simple: Pepsi is one of the "rare" bets on revitalization that could have 50% upside if the company executes on a more ambitious plan.

This campaign arrives just as Pepsi fights to keep pace with North American sluggishness, shifting consumer preferences, and a valuation discount relative to peers like Coca-Cola (KO). Investors have a central question on their minds: Will Elliotts initiative to transform operations and unlock value be successful in turning PepsiCo into a more efficiently growing behemoth?

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About PEP Stock

PepsiCo is the largest consumer goods company globally, with operations in beverage, snack, and packaged foods businesses internationally. Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Quaker, and Gatorade brands of PepsiCo cover more than 200 countries around the world. With a market cap of around $201 billion, it is one of the largest consumer staples companies globally.

PEP shares have traded between $127.60 and $179.43 over the past 52 weeks, trailing the S&P 500 Index ($SPX) and archrival Coca-Cola. The stock has declined by around 2% year-to-date (YTD), compared with gains on the broader market, before Tuesday's surge bringing it back to the range of $147.

https://www.barchart.com

From a valuation standpoint, Pepsi is also trading at an 18.5 forward price-earnings ratio and a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 2.2. That's fairly lower than its five-year historical averages, given investor caution in the face of lukewarm conditions of U.S. demand. However, with a return on equity of nearly 58% and stable profitability, PepsiCo is financially robust.

Important here is the fact that the stock's dividend yield is around 3%, which is bolstered by $7.6 billion of scheduled shareholder distributions this year. Pepsi has increased its dividend for more than 50 straight years, so it is a staple of income-oriented portfolios.

Pepsi Beats on Earnings

Pepsi released second-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street predictions last month. Second-quarter sales of $22.7 billion beat estimates on the street, and EPS of $1.26 topped the $1.22 estimate as well. Net income came in at $1.26 billion, which rose modestly versus the prior year. International strength helped mitigate North American softness, particularly on the beverage unit side of the house.
Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE) is one of the Buzzing AI Stocks on Wall Street. On September 4, Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring reiterated an Overweight rating on the stock with a $28.00 price target following its latest quarterly report.

According to the firm, HPEs results have been largely as-expected with modest revenue beat and some margin variability. October guidance was in-line to slightly ahead of consensus estimates, including a full quarter of Juniper Networks results.

Tonights results were largely as-expected  modest topline upside, some noise around margins, but an October guide that was in-line to slightly better than Consensus, inclusive of a full quarter of JNPR results. Underlying this performance/guide was solid execution across segments, a key factor we wanted to see after a few quarters of mixed results, better than expected end-market demand commentary, and faster-than-expected mix shift to Networking, which accounted for 46% of operating income this quarter despite just 1 month of JNPR contribution.

A cross section of a data analyst overviewing code on several monitors.

The firm discussed how AI sever margins were concerning due to a single large deal in the quarter and not because of some underlying structural issue. Overall, the firm believes that HPEs earnings report has been a small step in the right direction, and the company did what it needed to do (execute).

HPEs next catalyst  October 15th Analyst Day (SAM)  should prove to be more important as well get more detail on long-term growth targets, multi-year margins/a long-term synergies update, capital allocation and FCF margins, all of which play an important role in shifting sentiment and driving multiple expansion from here.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE), an American multinational technology company, provides high-performance computing systems, AI software, and data storage solutions for running complex AI workloads.

While we acknowledge the potential of HPE as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: 10 AI Stocks to Watch Out For in 2025 and 10 AI Stocks Gaining Attention on Wall Street.

Disclosure: None.
This reversal follows a steep climb over previous quarters, where large firm adoption jumped from 3.7% in September 2023 to 5.7% by December 2024, and reached 9.2% in the second quarter of 2025. Medium-sized firms remain less likely to adopt AI, with maximums around 4.8%, while the smallest businesses, especially those with one to four employees, still report a modest but steady adoption rate of 5.5%.

The AI adoption decline figures come from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), conducted biweekly by the U.S. Census Bureau, which covers more than 1.2 million firms and captures a unique, up-to-date view of technology adoption across different business sizes. The most recent data, reflected in a six-survey moving average, shows that the AI adoption rate among large companiesdefined as those with more than 250 employeeshas dipped from a peak of 14% earlier this year to 12% as of late summer 2025.

Kelly Monahan is managing director of the Upwork Research Institute, where she is plugged into reams of data from the freelance market. In September, Upwork launched a new report into the hiring trends and skills that are most in demand. What Im seeing happening is the humans are coming back into the loop, Monahan told Fortune. Were actually seeing the human skills coming into premium, she said. I think what people are realizing is even the best AI models still hallucinate 10% to 12% of the time. We just cannot necessarily overcome that statistical problem yet  I think what people are seeing, now that theyre using AI-generated content, is that they need fact-checking. Only a human can provide that.

But from the standpoint of Labor Day, things are looking very different. Markets got a shock in late August from an unlikely place: a survey by MIT finding that 95% of generative AI pilots at large companies were failing. That prompted a tech sell-off and talk of whether AI was forming into a stock-market bubble . And another piece of the puzzle just fell into view: the Census Bureau finds that AI adoption rates are starting to decline among major firms. After two years of rapid experimentation and headline-grabbing pilot projects, many corporations appear to be reassessing the real-world value of integrating AI into their operations for the long haul.

Deutsche Bank called it  the summer AI turned ugly , and there was certainly a heated war of words between Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei over the latters prediction that artificial intelligence would wipe out half of all white-collar jobs. The two executives spent much of the summer trading predictions about how many jobs would be lost as AI transformed the workforce in a  fourth industrial revolution .

Story Continues

Apollo Global Management chief economist Torsten Slok notes that one question in the survey is whether a business has used AI tools such as machine learning, natural language processing, virtual agents, or voice recognition to help produce goods or services in the past two weeks. The bottom line is that the biweekly Census data is starting to show a slowdown in AI adoption for large companies, Slok wrote in his Daily Spark newsletter on September 7.

Implications for the broader economy

This shift is particularly significant given the outsized role large companies play in shaping technology trends across supply chains and labor markets. Just a year ago, the AI gold rush saw firms racing to integrate generative AI and automation solutions, fueled by promises of dramatic cost savings and productivity leaps. Today, the narrative is more cautiousor even skeptical.

Theres also considerable anxiety around what AI is doing to jobsespecially at the entry level, where a first-of-its-kind study by Stanford University economists suggested the beginning of a considerable impact. The research, led by AI thought leader Erik Brynjolfsson, revealed a 13% relative decline in employment for early-career workers aged 22 to 25 in the most AI-exposed jobs since 2022. The Bank of America Institute has pointed out that the unemployment rate for recent graduates started trending ahead of the overall unemployment rate starting at exactly the same time.

To be sure, Monahan said in a separate, clarifying statement provided to Fortune, she thinks the rise of human skills is not simply a reaction to declining AI adoption. Every major technological shift has reshaped the skill mix by moving people up the value chain, she said, offering the example of how the ATM didnt eliminate bank tellers, but elevated their role toward higher-value services that required more interpersonal and problem-solving skills. AI is following a similar pattern, she said. As automation takes on certain tasks, demand is growing for distinctly human skillsjudgment, communication, and contextual understanding.

Education grapples with AI and human skills

Stanford computer science professor and AI startup co-founder Jure Leskovec told Fortune that the arrival of GPT-3 years ago triggered a sort of existential crisis on campus, but that human expertise matters much more than it ever did. Leskovecs students seem to grasp that: They requested that he go from take-home, open-book exams back to a hand-written and hand-graded model, to test human knowledge without AI tools. He called AI an amazingly powerful and very imperfect tool that students and professionals alike need to learn how to use, and we need to be able to both test the humans being able to use the tool and humans being able to think by themselves.

But are schools preparing students properly for this moment, when AI is raising the bar on entry-level hiring? Monahan said that a key aspect of the human skills that are valued at a premium right now is domain expertise, or in other words, a human with the skills and knowledge to spot when an AI tool is making a mistake. Just as students need to be entering the job market with this expertise, they are sliding backwards. High school seniors nationwide just recorded their worst reading scores since 1992, with math scores also falling. About a third of them didnt have basic reading skills, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. U.S. universities are also seeing a sharp drop in foreign student enrollment, reducing the size of a group of graduates long relied upon to fill talent gaps in science, technology, and medicine.

Leskovec and Monahans experience line up with another study, by the Wharton School, on the long-term likelihood of how AI adoption will play out. While the research estimates that 40% of current labor income is potentially exposed to automation by generative AI, only 23% of actual tasks in those roles will be automated. The study cited an MIT paper that tackled the subject of how many companies would simply choose not to bother with full adoptionand found something like the dip revealed by the Census Bureau.

Monahan said that she doesnt think people are shying away from using AI necessarily, but shes not sure that people fully trust AI-generated content, and this makes human evaluation essential. She thinks thats why Upworks inaugural Monthly Hiring Report in August showed strong demand for fact-checking, translation, and domain expertise alongside technical AI skills, she added. The data shows businesses arent abandoning AI, but instead are pairing it with uniquely human strengths.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
ICF International, Inc. (NYSE:ICFI) is one of the 14 Best Small Cap Stocks to Buy Right Now. On August 25, ICF International, Inc. (NYSE:ICFI) received a new, multi-year contract worth $40 million to implement large-scale residential energy programs.

ICF International will implement large-scale residential energy programs across six Southern California counties. In collaboration with local community organizations, ICF will help the counties integrate high-impact, no-cost energy and electrification upgrades. This upgrade will help thousands of households improve indoor air quality and reduce energy bills.

ICF International Receives a New Multi-Year Large-Scale Residential Contract Worth $40 Million

Communities across the country are experiencing a tension between reliable power and affordability. Were proud to couple three decades of energy program experience with the latest technology to help Southern California households have more reliable and affordable energy, said Anne Choate, ICF executive vice president for energy, environment, and infrastructure.

ICF International will also install advanced digital twin technology to simulate, monitor, and analyze grid impact in a virtual environment before deployment. A few weeks prior to the companys recent contract announcement, on August 11, Barrington increased its price target on ICFI from $102 to $107, keeping its Outperform rating on the stock. Kevin Steinke from Barrington remains optimistic on ICF International as the company continues to gain revenue from commercial energy clients, driven by robust demand for energy efficiency programs.

As of September 5, ICF International, Inc.s (NYSE:ICFI) average price target of $98.50, based on analysts estimates, implies an upside of approximately 3.46% from current levels.

ICF International, Inc. (NYSE:ICFI) provides management, technology, and policy consulting and implementation services to government and commercial clients.

While we acknowledge the potential of ICFI as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If youre looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
(ECNS) -- China has added four sites to the 2025 World Heritage Irrigation Structures list, bringing its total to 42, the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage announced Wednesday at its 76th International Executive Council Meeting.

The newly listed sites are the Yuanyang Hani Terraces in Yunnan Province, the Chishan Lake Irrigation Project in Jiangsus Jurong, the Jianjiang Dam in Pengzhou, Sichuan Province, and the Ancient Canal Irrigation Project of Yongding River in Beijing's Mentougou District.

The Yuanyang Hani Terraces in Yunnan Province. (File photo/China News Service)

First built during the Tang Dynasty (618907), the Yuanyang Hani Terraces in Yunnans Ailao Mountains span about 3,740 hectares and showcase a forest-village-terrace-water system that integrates farming and ecology.

The Chishan Lake Irrigation Project in Jurong was built in 239 AD and has a history spanning over 1,700 years. It is a crucial irrigation and flood-control storage system in the upper reaches of the Qinhuai River, with an irrigated area of 77,000 mu (about 5,133 hectares).

Aerial view of the Chishan Lake in Jiangsu Province. (File photo/China News Service)

The Jianjiang Dam in Pengzhou dates to the end of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24). It irrigates 162,000 mu (approximately 10,800 hectares) of farmland and is a prime example of the Pingliang water-diversion irrigation system.

The Yongding River Ancient Canal Irrigation Project in Mentougou, Beijing, consists of five ancient canals along with surrounding springs and wells. By leveraging the rivers curved topography for water intake, the system skillfully avoids floods and silt accumulation.

The World Heritage Irrigation Structures list was established in 2014. With the latest additions, the total number of global heritage irrigation sites has reached 200, among which China now holds 42.


Interloop Limited is the latest company to invest in Egyptian manufacturing.

The Pakistani hosiery, denim, knit apparel and seamless activewear company announced this week that it is making a $35.2 million investment by a subsidiary of its associate company to establish a manufacturing facility in Egypts Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE).

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The ready-made garment plant, which will initially begin with hosiery, will be fully export-oriented when it opens in 2027. It is expected to create over 1,000 jobs.

Navid Fazil, Interloop Limited CEO, said the investment in Egypt is a strategic next step in building a multi-origin, tech-enabled hub for our customers.

The 650,000-square-foot facility will be in the in Al-Qantara West Industrial Zone. Located on the Suez Canal, the location provides Interloop direct access to key markets in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The company said this will strengthen its ability to serve global customers with shorter lead times and competitive costs, while Egypts trade agreements with the U.S., EU and regional blocs support nearshoring and diversified sourcing strategies for Interloops partners.

SCZONE gives us near-market access to U.S. and Europe, competitive operating economics, and an ecosystem that strengthens supply chain resilience. We will embed the same transparent, sustainable manufacturing playbook that defines our operations globally, Fazil said.

The garment factory is Interloops first step into Africa. With this project, the companys manufacturing network extends across Pakistan, China, Sri Lanka and Egypt, supported by sales offices in North America, Europe and Japan.

Egypt is attracting foreign investors. In the first 10 months of 2024, Egypts ready-made garment exports increased by 17 percent to $2.27 billion.

Last year, Turkish ready-made garment manufacturer Denim Rise revealed plans to invest $8.8 million in a new factory within Egypts Qantara West Industrial Zone. Eroglu Holding invested $40 million for a ready-made garment factory in the same zone. Additionally, Sharabati Denim expanded its footprint in Egypt with a facility that includes two spinning halls, a warping and sizing hall, a gabardine weaving hall, and a shuttle loom weaving hall.
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.

Extra Space Storage Inc. (NYSE:EXR) is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates, and manages storage facilities across the U.S.

It is set to report its Q3 2025 earnings on Oct. 28. Wall Street analysts expect the company to post EPS of $1.54, down from $2.07 in the prior-year period. According to Benzinga Pro, quarterly revenue is expected to reach $790.49 million, up from $710.87 million a year earlier.

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If You Bought Extra Space Storage Stock 10 Years Ago

The company's stock traded at approximately $73.08 per share 10 years ago. If you had invested $10,000, you could have bought roughly 137 shares. Currently, shares trade at $147.28, meaning your investment's value could have grown to $20,153 from stock price appreciation alone. However, Extra Space Storage also paid dividends during these 10 years.

Extra Space Storage's dividend yield is currently 4.51%. Over the last 10 years, it has paid about $47.13 in dividends per share, which means you could have made $6,449 from dividends alone.

Summing up $20,153 and $6,449, we end up with the final value of your investment, which is $26,602. This is how much you could have made if you had invested $10,000 in Extra Space Storage stock 10 years ago. This means a total return of 166.02%. However, this figure is significantly less than the S&P 500 total return for the same period, which was 292.70%.

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What Could The Next 10 Years Bring?

Extra Space Storage has a consensus rating of "Neutral" and a price target of $155.53 based on the ratings of 20 analysts. The price target implies more than 5% potential upside from the current stock price.

The company on July 30 announced its Q2 2025 earnings, posting FFO of $2.05, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06, and revenues of $665.56 million, compared to the consensus of $761.95 million, as reported by Benzinga.

We delivered solid second quarter results, driven by historically high occupancy, steady existing customer behavior and gradually improving new customer rates. We have been active on the external growth front, with significant third party management and bridge loan activity, as well as the buy out of our partners interest in two joint ventures. Based on our year to date performance, and our current outlook, we have maintained our annual FFO and same-store guidance at the midpoints, while we continue to monitor gradually improving storage fundamentals," said CEO Joe Margolis.
What we know about Nepal anti-corruption protests as PM resigns

|

Emily Atkinson, Iftikhar Khan

Nepal's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has resigned in the wake of public outrage over the killing of 22 people in police clashes with anti-corruption protesters.

His office said he had stepped down to pave the way for a Constitutional solution to the massive youth-led protests over widespread allegations of corruption and sparked by a social media ban, which has since been withdrawn.

The protests turned violent as thousands  many identifying themselves as Gen Z on placards and banners  took to the streets of Kathmandu on Monday.

Almost 200 people are believed to have been injured in clashes with police, who used tear gas, water cannons and live bullets as protesters scaled the walls of the Parliament and other official buildings.

The protests continued on Tuesday, with demonstrators setting fire to the Parliament building, the headquarters of the Nepali Congress Party and the home of former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. The homes of several other politicians have also been vandalised.

What was the social media ban?

Social media is a big part of Nepali life. Indeed, the country has one of South Asia's highest user rates per capita.

The demonstrations were triggered by the Government's decision last week to ban 26 social media platforms, including WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook, for failing to meet a deadline to register with Nepal's Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. Critics accused the Govt of seeking to stifle an anti-corruption campaign with the ban, which was repealed on Monday night.

While the ban was a catalyst for the current unrest, protesters are also channelling a more deep-rooted dissatisfaction with the country's authorities.

What is happening across Nepal?

The ensuing demonstrations turned violent in Kathmandu and some other cities in Nepal, with 19 protesters dying in clashes with police on Monday. Nepal's Minister for Communication Prithvi Subba told the BBC later that day that police had had to use force- which included water cannons, batons and firing ru- bber bullets.(To be contd)


By Doyinsola Oladipo and Allison Lampert

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - JetBlue Airways CEO Joanna Geraghty said on Wednesday that 2025 has been challenging, dealing a setback to efforts to boost profitability, but that the New York-based carrier is better positioned to serve premium customers than other airlines now trying to move upmarket.

Across the industry, carriers like Frontier Group and others are boosting premium offerings to try to attract a more well-heeled customer, a segment of the business where JetBlue is already entrenched, Geraghty told Reuters in Washington.

"Some of the carriers that are known for much lower cost and a more reduced customer experience are struggling to try to get more premium customers on board. JetBlue always has had a great customer experience," she said.

The company was among several airlines that pulled their outlooks due to economic uncertainty early in the year, but the industry's prospects have since improved. JetBlue now expects a smaller decline in third-quarter operating revenue than previously forecast, though LSEG data show it is still expected to post a loss of $1.63 for the fiscal year ending in December, according to the Wall Street consensus.

JetBlue and United unveiled a partnership in May, dubbed "Blue Sky", that would allow travelers to book flights on both carriers' websites, while interchangeably earning and using points in their frequent flyer programs. JetBlue and United said that Blue Sky would begin introducing new customer benefits starting in fall 2025, rolling them out in phases.

Geraghty defended a partnership between JetBlue and United Airlines after the union representing the carriers pilots filed a grievance against the deal, warning it could reduce aviator jobs.

In August, pilots argued in the grievance that the tie-up creates job insecurity, according to an email seen by Reuters.

"We're really excited about what Blue Sky's going to do to try to keep everybody employed at JetBlue and to try to get us back on a path to profitability. Additional revenue is good for all of our crew members, Geraghty said, adding that the partnership will generate additional revenue for the carrier.

EXPANDS FOOTPRINT IN SOUTHERN FLORIDA

JetBlue is among those expanding service in the key markets of bankrupt discount carrier Spirit Airlines. The company said it is offering nine new nonstop routes from Southern Florida across the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean, as rivals including United Airlines and Frontier rush to cash in on Spirit's second bankruptcy filing in less than a year.
Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) is among the 10 Best Space Exploration Stocks to Buy Now. Korea Zinc, the worlds largest zinc smelter, signed a memorandum of understanding with Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) on August 25, 2025, to establish a China-free germanium supply chain. High-purity germanium made at its new Onsan facility will be supplied by Korea Zinc, and Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) will be granted priority procurement rights. The agreement focuses on Korea-U.S. collaboration on essential minerals and was observed by U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Michael Williamson, President of the firm, and Yun B. Choi, Chairman of Korea Zinc. Korea Zinc intends to invest KRW 140 billion in its manufacturing facility with the goal of producing 10 tons per year by 2028.

Korea Zinc And Lockheed Martin Forge Strategic Partnership.

Copyright: forplayday / 123RF Stock Photo

Germanium is essential for satellite solar panels, thermal imaging, infrared detectors, and night-vision goggles. China currently contributes 68% of global refined output (140 tons in 2021), making diversification a top aim. Korea Zinc, South Koreas sole producer of antimony, indium, and bismuth, solidifies its position in key minerals. Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT), with a $176 billion backlog by 2024, receives safe access for defense and space applications. It is ranked second on our list of the Best Space Stocks.

While we acknowledge the potential of LMT as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: 10 High-Growth EV Stocks to Invest In and 13 Best Car Stocks to Buy in 2025.

Disclosure. None.
President Trump on Monday night announced tariffs of 10% on softwood timber and lumber alongside a 25% tariff on "certain upholstered wooden products" due to take effect on Oct. 14, according to the White House.

This was the latest set of tariffs to be announced impacting the furniture industry, after Trump posted last week about a flurry of tariffs on kitchen cabinets, vanities, and other upholstered products on that will take effect Oct. 1.

Trump said the lumber tariffs will help "strengthen supply chains" and "bolster industrial resilience." Yet home builders have warned this could deter investments in new homes and renovations. Canada is also set to be hit hard by the order, as it's the US's largest wood supplier and already subject to duties of over 35%.

Earlier Monday, Trump said he would impose 100% tariffs on foreign films and "substantial" duties on furniture imports, part of a revived tariff blitz in recent days.

Other planned new tariffs include pharmaceuticals, including a 100% duty on patented drugs unless the producer builds a plant in the US or the country has a trade deal that covers drugs. Pfizer (PFE) on Tuesday announced it had received a three-year reprieve from those tariffs as part of a deal with the administration to sell some drugs at a discounted rate, prompting speculation of similar deals to come.

Elsewhere, the US and China have made progress toward various contours of a broader deal following a call between Trump and China's President Xi Jinping. Trump said after that call that the countries had reached an agreement to spin off the TikTok app in the US.

Trump said the two leaders plan to conduct a series of meetings in the coming months, as Yahoo Finance's Ben Werschkul reported.

Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet

Here are the latest updates as the policy reverberates around the world.

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Riders in Atlanta can now hail a May Mobility robotaxi on the Lyft app, marking the first commercial deployment in the two companies partnership. The small fleet of autonomous vehicles is Lyfts latest attempt to carve out a presence in the robotaxi market.

Lyfts Atlanta launch signals an effort to carve out a piece of the robotaxi market. But it has a lot of catching up to do if it hopes to close the gap with rival Uber. Earlier this year, Bank of America analysts downgraded the stock to Underperform from Buy due to concerns that the ride-hail firm would lose market share to Waymos California expansion and Ubers aggressive AV partnership strategy.

Analyst sentiment has since brightened after Lyft reported strong second-quarter earnings; launching a robotaxi fleet could help sustain that momentum. That said, the debut is modest.

Lyft and May Mobility are starting their pilot with a small fleet of hybrid-electric Toyota Sienna Autono-MaaS vehicles, limited operating hours, and a human safety operator in the front seat. The companies are also entering a city where Uber and Waymo started offering fully driverless rides in June.

A spokesperson told TechCrunch that Lyft and May plan to expand to dozens, then hundreds and eventually thousands over time across multiple markets.

Mays vehicles will be available to Lyft riders ordering on demand or via the Wait & Save feature starting in Midtown Atlanta from morning rush hour into the afternoon Monday through Friday, with plans to extend into evenings and weekends soon.

Safety operators who may take control from time to time, will be behind the wheel during the first phase of the Atlanta rollout, the spokesperson said.

Lyfts deployment with May Mobility comes a month after the company announced a deal with Chinas Baidu to launch robotaxis in Europe next year. Lyft CEO David Risher has also said the company would work with Mobileye to deploy Mobileye-powered vehicles on the Lyft app in Dallas as soon as 2026, with thousands more AVs/other cities to follow.

Not all of Lyfts AV partnerships have panned out. The company previously launched a robotaxi service  always with a human safety driver behind the wheel  in Las Vegas via a partnership with Motional. It had a similar agreement in Austin and Miami with Argo AI. However, Motional paused that partnership in May 2024 after slashing its workforce, and Argo AI shut down in 2022. Lyft had a stake in Argo, and took a $135.7 million hit when the company folded.

Rival Uber has collected 20 global AV partners across its ride-hailing, delivery, and freight businesses which the company says have already generated an annualized rate of 1.5 million mobility and delivery trips. May Mobility is one of Ubers partners, as well. The two plan to launch robotaxis in Arlington, Texas this year as part of a multi-year partnership.

For May Mobility, the Atlanta launch marks its second in Georgia; the company also operates a limited commercial driverless microtransit service in Peachtree Corners. The startup has mainly deployed self-driving shuttles in low-traffic environments in geofenced areas with designated stops. It is running commercial services, with a human safety operator, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota; Martinez, California; and the Tokyo waterfront in Japan.
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) will soon see the price of their two-wheelers up to 350cc slashed by as much as Rs 18,800, thanks to the latest GST reforms.

HMSI, in a statement, said that the two-wheeler maker would pass on the full benefits of the recent GST rate reduction to its customers across its product portfolioincluding both scooters and motorcycles up to 350cc.

Later this month, the GST Council's decision to reduce GST on two-wheelers from 28 to 18 per cent will come into effect. This meant that HMSI would see ex-showroom prices cut by up to Rs 18,800, depending on the model, the company said.

"The reduction in GST on two-wheelers and spare parts is a timely and forward-looking step, making vehicles more affordable and strengthening the overall ecosystem," said Yogesh Mathur of HMSI.

Yesterday, Indian muscle motorcycle maker Royal Enfield also announced a cut in the price of its 350cc bike range by up to Rs 22,000 from September 22.

India's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp also announced in a regulatory filing that it would reduce the prices of its various models by up to Rs 15,743. TVS, too, announced cuts to prices in its portfolio.

India's two-wheeler auto market expects the new GST 2.0 reforms to boost consumption, given the slump in demand since the pandemic.
As business travel soars high after being blighted by Covid and the post-pandemic lull, there are new challenges that Indias corporate travel landscape is facing. It could be anything from the changing needs of (Millennials and Gen Z) travellers, to the rising geopolitical uncertainty where situations can alter in a split second.

This has led to an old and oft-neglected travel industry jargon to occupy the non-negotiable centrestage  duty of care.

What is the duty of care?

Simply put, it stands for an employers responsibility in ensuring safety and well-being of its staff while travelling on work. This ranges from planning the trip safely, giving clear information on the risks involved and having support systems handy, in case there is an emergency during a trip.

Mritunjaya Chandra Mohan, senior manager (corporate travel) with the tech giant Palo Alto Networks, points out to a team that got caught in the ongoing strife in Israel, when there was a blast in a lane next to the hotel where the team was staying. Duty of care is about how you deal with situations. Challenges are not only for India; it is everywhere.

Director of the Public Authority for Civil Aviation discussed with the Indian Ambassador to Kuwait ways to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the civil aviation sector.https://t.co/kVZ7jwlz7k#KUNA #KUWAIT pic.twitter.com/F0inccBQ2N  Kuwait News Agency - English Feed (@kuna_en) September 10, 2025

Business travel had plummeted in India when the pandemic-induced lockdowns came into force. The stopgap arrangements like Work from Home and virtual meetings through video calls on applications like Zoom soon acquired a life of their own in the ensuing years, as company saw in them a two fold advantage  firstly, it kept employees safe even while turning the business wheel during the uncertain years following the relaxation of restrictions, considering that frequent flare-ups of the outbreak, billed waves kept coming up. And secondly, HR and management discovered in them a neat way to save money by cutting down on travel, especially considering how many businesses, particularly smaller ones, found the going tough in the uncertain years following Covid.

However, things are looking up, especially in India, even if pre-Covid figures are yet to be breached. According to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), business travel spending in India stood at an estimated 38.3 billion dollars last year, with India among the fastest-growing business travel spending markets amongst the top 15, along with South Korea and Turkey.

Around the world, GDP growth is in 2% or 3% while we are still at about 6-7 per cent, and economic growth gets reflected in corporate travel, said Gazanfar Ibrahim, managing director of Fairest, one of the biggest organisers of travel trade shows in India, including the ongoing BLTM in Delhi.

We have turmoil in the Middle East, turmoil in Europe, China is (just) getting back, but India has been sort of a sea of tranquility, politically and economically, Ibrahim added, Indian companies are travelling abroad for business, foreign companies are coming into India, because India is still one of the most stable economies. The whole drop we saw during Covid, this impression that maybe businesses can manage through virtual meetings, that has changed. I think now we should not be very far off from the pre-Covid figures.

Of course, while business and travel grow, new challenges, in the form of geopolitical uncertainties, are cropping up. Rahul Agarwal, India operations senior director with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) pointed out, Demand continues to grow, but travel is getting more uncertain. (Today) things can change within a second  wars breaking out, airports getting shut down, etc.

However, travel industry experts feel they can be dealt with the right approach and contingency plans, with duty of care now assuming added significance  international observers now call it a non-negotiable requirement.

Companies' responsibility now does not begin or end with booking tickets or reserving hotel rooms for an employee on a business trip. Experts point out how different categories now exist amongst travellers, with varying expectations  with more Gen Z and Millennials in the workforce, work trips are now more experiential, with differing requests that offices need to take note of. It is not just an age gap, but designation gaps, with everybody needing to be satisfied. It becomes increasingly challenging,  said Mritunjaya of Palo Alto.

The future

But considering how hotels in Kashmir were going full just a few weeks after the terror attacks and a mini war, the travel industry is confident that business travel, the segment that brings in the moolah, will only keep on growing. You can have Zoom meetings, but at the end of the day, people need to see eye to eye; people need to hug and shake hands. Build up that rapport, added Ibrahim.

Mridul Pahuja, AVP Travel Mobility, Motilal Oswal, sums it up succinctly, We are social beings, we travel, we will continue to have meetings. If it did not happen five years ago (Covid), it wouldnt happen now.
Australia remains a very strong multicultural country and the government stands with migrants, including those from India, said Philip Green, the Australian High Commissioner to India, on Thursday.

His remarks come in the backdrop of the recent anti-immigration protests in Australia. There have anti-immigration rallies across the country in recent weeks.

"People in Australia are entitled to have demonstrations, but we would say this very clearly, we stand with migrants, including migrants of Indian origin and we stand very much for multiculturalism in Australia," high commissioner Green said.

He was speaking on the sidelines of an event organised by India Australia Business and Community Alliance (IABCA).

"More than half of our population either comes from somewhere else or has one or both parents who come from somewhere else. So a huge number of Australians are from a migrant background and the vast majority of Australians are hugely supportive of our multicultural heritage," he stressed.

He maintained that Australia remained among the safest parts in the world. There are now over a million people of Indian origin in Australia, he pointed.

"There will be occasionally incidents as there will be anywhere in the world and we deal with them very effectively," said Green.

India and Australia have been in negotiations for a comprehensive free trade agreement. An interim deal - Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) - was signed back in December 2022.

That agreement has led to a strong growth in trade between the two countries, according to Green. He pointed India's exports to Australia have grown 200 per cent in five years. The sides are committed to complete the second phase of the agreement, he stated.

"We have had now nearly a dozen rounds of negotiations. We are getting towards the business end of this. Both governments are very committed to this and very serious about it, and we think that it could have huge advantages for Australian and Indian business and society," said Green, without sharing specific deadlines.

Green energy, agri and food, education and tourism are among the areas where there will be growth opportunities between the two countries.
The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has published its assessment of regional political parties audited financial statements for FY 202324, underlining significant gaps in transparency, concentration of income among a few parties, and the overwhelming reliance on electoral bonds as a funding tool.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) requires parties to submit annual audited reports by October 31 2024. Of the 60 recognised regional parties, only 40 reports were available for analysis. Twenty parties filed on time, another 20 submitted their accounts late, with some delays being as many as 216 days. The remaining 20, including the NCP, Shiv Sena (both factions), RJD, NC, IUML and LJP (Ram Vilas), had not uploaded their accounts even 313 days past the deadline.

According to the report, the total declared income of 40 regional parties during FY 202324 was Rs 2,532.09 crore, marking a 45.77 per cent rise from the previous years figure of Rs 1,736.85 crore. The top three parties to which this money has gone are: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) with Rs 685.51 crore, Trinamool Congress (AITC) with Rs 646.39 crore, and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) with Rs 297.80 crore. This accounts for more than 64 per cent of the total registered income. Together, the top five regional outfits cornered over 83 per cent of all reported income. AITC witnessed the sharpest increase, adding Rs 312.93 crore over the previous year, followed by TDP and BJD. On the other hand, 15 parties saw a decline in receipts, while the Goa Forward Party again declared zero income but reported minor expenses of its own.

The analysis revealed that political funding remains heavily dependent on electoral bonds. Out of Rs 2,532 crore earned collectively, Rs 2,117.84 crore, or 83.64 per cent, came from voluntary contributions. More than 70 per cent of the income- Rs 1,796.02 crore, was secured through electoral bonds. Only 10 regional parties disclosed bond receipts. These include BRS, AITC, BJD, TDP, YSR-Congress, DMK, JD(S), SKM, JMM and SDF. The reliance on electoral bonds has been criticised for making political funding opaque.

As regards expenditure, there are sharp differences among the parties. The 40 parties collectively declared spending Rs 1,320.96 crore in 202324. YSR-Congress topped the chart with Rs 295.76 crore, followed by BRS (Rs 254.91 crore), AITC (Rs 231.47 crore), DMK (Rs 200.06 crore) and TDP (Rs 121.09 crore). These five parties alone accounted for more than 83 per cent of the total expenditure.

While parties like BRS, AITC and BJD registered massive surpluses, leaving Rs 430.60 crore, Rs 414.91 crore, and Rs 253.79 crore unspent respectively, at least 12 regional outfits, including YSR-Congress and DMK, actually overshot their income. YSR-Congress, in particular, declared spending 55 per cent more than what it earned.

ADRs observations highlight recurring problems. A majority of party expenditure is absorbed under administrative and election-related costs. Non-compliance is also a major issue. From FY 201718 to 202324, at least 16 parties each year defaulted on submitting annual audit reports. The Election Commission has failed to impose genuine penalties.

In its recommendations, ADR has called for sweeping reforms. It suggests that political parties should not be allowed to keep donation details incomplete in Form 24A, while all donor information must be placed under RTI for public scrutiny. Tax exemptions, it argues, should be withdrawn from parties that fail to submit their IT returns by the due date, and persistent defaulters should face derecognition. ADR has also urged the ECI and Income Tax Department to enforce auditing guidelines strictly, and to penalise frequent offenders rather than relying on notices and reminders.
Prominent climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has begun a 35-day hunger strike in Leh, linking his protest for Ladakhs statehood and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and other actions against him by the Union Territory administration.

The protest comes just weeks after the administration cancelled the lease of land allotted to his Himalayan Institute of Alternative Learning (HIAL) and ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into its functioning.

The cancellation order, issued on August 21, claimed that the land had not been utilised for the proposed alternative university.

Wangchuk and his supporters, however, argue that HIAL has already developed innovative projects in sustainable living and education, drawing national and international recognition.

Local residents and civil society groups allege that the move was politically motivated, designed to weaken Wangchuks growing influence as he presses for Ladakhs constitutional safeguards.

The announcement of a CBI inquiry further deepened suspicions. Wangchuk has openly accused the administration of attempting to discredit him and silence his movement.

This is a non-violent protest to protect the rights and future of Ladakh, he said at the launch of his fast, attended by an all-faith prayer gathering.

At the heart of his strike are two long-pending demands: statehood for Ladakh and protection under the Sixth Schedule to safeguard the fragile regions identity, culture, land, and resources.

While the Centre has offered concessions on domicile, language, jobs, and land ownership, it has consistently resisted demands for statehood and full Sixth Schedule protections.

Wangchuk has also criticised the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for halting talks with Ladakhi leaders, including the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), nearly two months ago. Just as discussions on our core demands were about to begin, the Centre abruptly stopped the dialogue, he said.

The strike coincides with the run-up to the Leh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) elections in October. Wangchuk reminded voters of the BJPs unfulfilled promises from the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2020 Hill Council elections, when the party pledged to bring Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule.

By combining his personal battle over HIAL with Ladakhs wider political struggle, Wangchuk has transformed his hunger strike into a symbol of resistance against both administrative overreach and constitutional neglect.

For many Ladakhis, his fast has now gone beyond political rights to protect the region's unique identity and future.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday launched the Fast Track Immigration-Trusted Traveller Programme (FTI-TTP) in five more airports, including Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Cochin, and Ahmedabad. The programme will expedite the immigration process of pre-verified Indian nationals and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders in five more airports.

The FTI-TTP programme was first rolled out at Indira Gandhi International Airport here in July 2024, which was later expanded to Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Cochin, and Ahmedabad airports.

A traveller can avail the facility by applying through the government website www.ftittp.mha.gov.in. Eligible applicants should submit biometrics fingerprints and a facial photograph along with other necessary information. The Bureau of Immigration will verify the information, and aproved applications would receive a message to schedule an appointment to provide their biometrics details at designated international airports in India or the nearest Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO). The applicants need a minimum passport validity of at least six months. After necessary verification, a White List of 'Trusted Travellers' will be generated and fed for implementation through e-gates. Once the genuine identity of the passenger is established and biometric authentication is done, the e-gate will open automatically, and immigration clearance will be deemed to have been granted.

Fast Track Immigration: Trusted Traveller Program makes immigration simpler, faster and hassle-free. Speaking at the inauguration of this service at Lucknow, Thiruvananthapuram, Trichy, Calicut, and Amritsar airports via video conferencing. https://t.co/bn8CsD7OV0  Amit Shah (@AmitShah) September 11, 2025

"Fast Track Immigration: Trusted Traveller Programme makes immigration simpler, faster and hassle-free," the minister said at a special programme held virtually. He added that the OCI cardholders and Indian citizens travelling abroad will receive the maximum benefit under the programme, adding that three lakh people have registered and 2.65 lakh have availed the facility so far.

The programme ensures faster immigration clearance. Several thousand passengers have been granted faster immigration clearance through e-gates till now, officials added.

The programme, which resembles the Global Entry Program offered by the US, will eventually be launched at 21 major airports in the country. Eligible passengers will be allowed to utilise e-gates and bypass regular immigration queues for a seamless journey. The FTI registration will be valid for a maximum of five years or until the validity of the passport, whichever comes first.

The programme will be implemented in two phases -- for Indian citizens and OCI cardholders in the first, and foreign travellers in the second. The Union home ministry also shared a support help desk email ID -- india.ftittp-boi@mha.gov.in.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, who has been at the helm of the organisation for more than 16 years, turns 75 on Thursday. He is the third-longest-serving chief of the Sangh after Madhukar Dattatreya Deoras and M.S. Golwalkar.

Bhagwat is known for his statements aimed at projecting a benign and modern image of RSS. While some of his remarks were hailed as reformative, a few others have stirred up controversies.

Inspired by the principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, Shri Mohan Bhagwat Ji has dedicated his entire life to societal transformation and strengthening the spirit of harmony and fraternity.



On the special occasion of his 75th birthday, penned a few thoughts on Mohan Ji and his  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 11, 2025

Here are five statements made by Bhagwat in recent years that created ripples in the political circles.

'Retirement at 75'

Speaking at a book launch in Nagpur earlier this year, Bhagwat said, Turning 75 is natures signal to pause and give way to others.

The remark was widely interpreted as aimed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who also turns 75 on September 17.

However, Bhagwat laid the speculation to rest recently by clarifying that he was merely referring to the statements made by late RSS leader Moropant Pingle in a lighter vein.

Resolve Manipur conflict

Last year, as Manipur was in the grip of large-scale violence and protests, Bhagwat said at an event in Nagpur that there was a need to get over election rhetoric and focus on problems facing the nation.

The statement is widely viewed as aimed at Prime Minister Modi, who had been vigorously campaigning for the general elections.

"It's been a year since Manipur has been waiting for peace. The state remained peaceful for the last 10 years, but suddenly, gun culture has increased again. It is important to resolve the conflict as a priority, Bhagwat said.

RSS wont join Kashi, Mathura movements

Recently, Bhagwat made it clear that the Ram Temple was the only movement that the RSS got involved in, and the Sangh would not join any other movement.

"However, Kashi, Mathura and Ayodhya are important to Hindus, and if they request, our volunteers can join their movements," he said.

RSS at 100: Decoding Mohan Bhagwat's 3-day lecture on the Sangh's trajectory



Bhagwat argued that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh evolved with time, maintaining flexibility, but still keeping some things constant, like its mission to prepare individuals for the larger causethe pic.twitter.com/jKboi6CnzB  THE WEEK (@TheWeekLive) August 29, 2025

Bhagwat also reiterated his earlier statement that there was no need to search for a temple or Shivling everywhere.

True independence

In yet another statement which sparked a political row, Bhagwat said the Ram temple consecration day should be celebrated as "Pratishtha Dwadashi," as the "true independence" of Bharat, which faced "parachakra" (foreign invasions) for several centuries, was established that day.

The Congress and other opposition parties slammed his statement, terming it a challenge to democracy.

Muslims can attend shakha

Earlier this year, Bhagwat said in Varanasi that anyone who respects the Bharat Mata Ki Jai slogan and bhagwa jhanda (saffron flag) can attend the RSS shakhas.

"All Indians are welcome at the shakhas. The only condition is that each one coming to join shakha should have no hesitation in chanting 'Bharat Mata ki jai' and must show respect for the saffron flag, he said in response to a question as to whether Muslims can attend the shakhas.
Central Committee Member (CCM) of the outlawed CPI (Maoist), Modem Balakrishna, who carries a bounty of Rs 1 crore, was among the 10 killed by Chhattisgarh security forces in an encounter in Gariaband district on Thursday. According to top officials, the anti-Naxal operation is continuing in the region.

According to Chhattisgarh police, the Naxalites were killed during an anti-Maoist operation in forest areas under Mainpur police station. Raipur Range Inspector General of Police Amresh Mishra confirmed the death of Modem Balakrishna and said security forces launched anti-Naxal operation in the region based on intelligence inputs on Maoist presence in Mainpur.

Chhattisgarh | 10 naxals, including CC member Manoj alias Modem Balkrishna, neutralised in exchange of fire between Security Forces and Naxals at Bhaludiigi hill, PS Mainpur, District Gariaband pic.twitter.com/BI0lGU077e  ANI (@ANI) September 11, 2025

"Ten Naxalites, including senior cadres, have been gunned down so far," Mishra said. According to police, intense exchange of fire is continuing in the region.

Personnel belonging to Chhattisgarh police's Special Task Force, an elite unit of the Central Reserve Police Force, and a special unit of Gariaband district police were involved in the operation.

Modem Balakrishna, also known as Balanna, Ramachander and Bhaskar, was the secretary of the Odisha State Committee (OSC) and had joined the Naxal movement in early 1980s.

According to authorities, with the killing of 10 Naxals on Thursday, 241 Naxalites have so far been killed in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh this year. These deceased Naxals included Chalpathi alias Jairam, a member of the central committee and Odisha state committee of Maoists.

In January this year, 16 Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces in the same Mainpur area of Gariaband. The Bharatiya Janata Party government in the Centre and the state have intensified action against Naxalism. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has vowed to eliminate Naxalism by 2026.
India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday strongly dissuaded Indian nationals from joining the Russian army, citing recent media reports.

This follows a statement from two Indian nationals allegedly recruited into the Russian army that there were at least 13 others with themall of whom had travelled there on a student/visitor visa, but were lured into the warzone, as per a report from The Hindu.

Our response to media queries on Indians recruited into the Russian army

 https://t.co/i6WIbHOK51 pic.twitter.com/xzQKGEfJgR  Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) September 11, 2025

The Indians were reportedly lured into joining the Russian army on the pretext of doing construction work.

Sumit Sharma (22) came to Russia around six months ago for a language course at the Moscow State Linguistic University (MSLU). After accepting an offer for "construction work" to earn extra money during his stay in Russia, he and many others were allegedly taken to a camp on August 20.

"Without any training they have brought us to an occupied area in Ukraine and are not letting us leave. We have been cheated, we are stuck here," he told The Hindu from Selydove, a Russian-occupied town in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine.

ALSO READ | How agents lure Indians to join Russian army

There are 15 Indians here. Some were taken to the war zone further ahead and at least four are missing. We are hearing that they have been killed in the war. Please save us," Sharma added.

Gursevak Singh (26), who had also come to Russia on a student visa, said that he did not want to "meet the same fate" as other Indians who were already sent to the front lines, and whose situation was unknown.

This follows an August 2024 statement from Russia that it no longer admitted Indians into its armed forces, adding that it was working in "close coordination" with India to help discharge Indians recruited to fight against Ukraine.

By then, as many as 91 Indians had been recruited through dubious means to fight on behalf of Russia in its war against Ukrainewhich has now exceeded three years, as per a BBC report.

At the time, 9 Indians had died in the conflict and Indian authorities had arrested 19 people for human trafficking.
This story was originally published on Automotive Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Automotive Dive newsletter.

Mercedes-Benz USA appointed Nicolette Lambrechts VP of customer services, effective Nov. 1, the company announced in a Sept. 4 press release.

The appointment marks Lambrechts return to the automakers North American leadership team, per the release. She previously served as general manager of sales for vans and managing director of vans for Mercedes-Benz USA.

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Adam Chamberlain, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA, in a statement said Lambrechts global perspective, extensive experience with the brand and proven leadership acumen positions her well to further elevate the customer experience and strengthen connections with our dealer network and customers throughout the ownership journey.

Lambrechts has been with Mercedes-Benz for more than two decades, spending time across the companys global operations. She has been the companys head of vans global sales and marketing operations since July 1, 2024, following a one-year stint in the companys global headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, as head of region overseas for Mercedes-Benz Vans.

Her first North American role came in 2017 as managing director of vans for Mercedes-Benz Canada.

Lambrechts will succeed Jee-Seop Kim, who took over as head of sales and marketing at Mercedes Benz Vans North America on Sept. 1. She will be based at the companys Atlanta headquarters.

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Nepal and India share a deep cultural, spiritual and historical bond that goes far beyond modern politics. At the heart of this connection is Gorakhnath Peeth, a revered monastery in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, led by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, whose popularity in Nepal is closely tied to this shared heritage.

The Nath tradition, often called Gorakshanath Shaivism, was founded by the 10th-century sage Gorakhnath, a disciple of Matsyendranath from Nepal. Gorakhnath is believed to have meditated at Gorakshya Peeth Siddhachal Mrigasthali near Kathmandu between the famous Pashupati Nath temple and the Guheshwari shrine, receiving blessings from his guru in a place sacred to Lord Shiva. Revered as an incarnation of Shiva himself, Gorakhnath established the Nath ascetic order, with its principal seat in Gorakhpur. This spiritual lineage is the foundation of Yogi Adityanaths significance beyond India, making him a respected figure among many in Nepal.

The historical ties run deep and have influenced Nepals political fabric. The Shah dynasty, which ruled Nepal until 2006, proudly traced its roots to Gorakhnath. Prithvi Narayan Shah, the dynastys founder and the unifier of Nepal, was blessed by Gorakhnath before embarking on his campaign to establish a unified kingdom. His original seat was at the Gorkha Durbar in central Nepal, where a temple dedicated to Gorakhnath still stands. This legacy remains a potent symbol of cultural unity between the two nations.

Yogi Adityanaths leadership of Gorakhnath Peeth boosts his stature, and his visits to key religious sites such as Janakpurdham, the Pashupatinath temple, and participation in Lumbinis Buddha Jayanti celebrations have enhanced his image as a spiritual ambassador. Many Nepalese revere Gorakhnath as a divine saint, and by extension, respect Yogi Adityanath, elevating him as a figure who strengthens the sacred bond between India and Nepal.

This connection even affected Nepals monarchy. Former Nepalese kings, including the late King Birendra, maintained close relations with the monastery and its leaders. Ritual offerings to Gorakhnath Peeth continue annually, and the royal family historically regarded the Peeth as a protector and spiritual guide. The Shah dynastys identity as Gorakhpanthi (followers of Gorakhnath) further symbolizes this enduring link.

The ties between Gorakhnath Peeth and Nepal symbolize much more than religious devotion; they are a cultural bridge reinforcing India-Nepal relations at their deepest level. In todays context, Gorakhnath Peeths role transcends religious authority to become a platform for cultural diplomacy and spiritual unity, capable of healing divides and nurturing cooperation.

For Nepal, this connection offers a profound reminder that the bonds formed through centuries of shared faith and tradition remain unbroken. It also opens opportunities for mutual support, especially through religious tourism linking Gorakhpur, Pashupatinath, Janakpur, and Lumbinia route that not only strengthens spiritual ties but can also invigorate economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.

Through the historic legacy of Gorakhnath and the contemporary spiritual leadership of Yogi Adityanath, the relationship between India and Nepal can find a firm footing and flourish again.
The September 9 Israeli airstrikes on Doha have already turned into a profound challenge to the long-standing strategic ties between the United States and its allies in the Gulf.

The strike, which hit a residential building in Doha, killed five Hamas members and a Qatari security official. It has generated a deep sense of shock and betrayal in Qatar and raised unsettling questions across the GCC region about the reliability of American security guarantees and the supposed benefits of alignment with Washington.

The attack has critically undermined trust between the US and its Gulf partners by casting doubt on Americas ability to protect its allies, even from one of its closest partners, Israel.

Qatar, a vital American ally and host to the largest US military facility in the region, the Al Udeid air base, might have felt that it would never have to face such strikes. The notion that a presidential jet and a massive US base could not deter Israel has not gone unnoticed.

Dohas inability to protect its own citizens while US Central Command operates on its soil could prompt Qataris to question the value of the American partnership.

Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani condemned the strike as state terror and a barbaric action, expressing outrage and a deep sense of betrayal. He openly wondered whether his country was dealing with civilised people.

Such stark language reflects the depth of the rupture. For many in the Gulf, the incident has highlighted American ineptitude or even recklessness. Even if the Trump administration truly lacked prior knowledge, or was informed only after the strike began, the perception of American ineffectiveness has shaken confidence in Washingtons role as protector.

The reverberations of this strike go beyond Qatar. Across the Gulf, states that have long invested politically and financially in a close relationship with the US are questioning the assumed benefits of that choice.

Security guarantees, once treated as implicit in the American partnership, now appear uncertain. Gulf governments will certainly be asking what measures they can take to deter future attacks and what kind of security arrangements they must now build rather than relying on a partner unable to shield them even from its own ally.

The damage to trust is done, and the extent of the fallout depends heavily on President Trumps public response to Israel. His statement that he was very unhappy and concerned, without issuing a direct condemnation, has been seen in Qatar as wholly inadequate.

The Israeli strike has also jeopardised critical mediation efforts. Qatar has for years played the role of go-between in negotiations between Israel and Hamas, often at the request of both Washington and Tel Aviv.

The attack came just hours before Hamas was expected to respond to a new US-backed ceasefire and hostage deal. Prime Minister Al Thani accused Benjamin Netanyahu of having killed any hope for hostages and undermined any chance of stability or peace. He suggested recent talks were meaningless and confirmed that Doha was reassessing its involvement in future ceasefire efforts. Qatar is now in detailed conversations with Washington about how to proceed.

Hosting Hamas leaders had always been a calculated risk for Qatar, intended to make itself indispensable for regional diplomacy and, by extension, for its own security. This was a gamble that few countries in the region would be willing to take. If Qatar withdraws from mediation, Hamas leaders could relocate to Turkey or Iran, which would make eventual negotiations far more complicated. For many in the region, the attack reinforced suspicions that Israel deliberately sabotages peace efforts.

The strike is also seen as part of a troubling pattern of expanded Israeli military action. Israel has repeatedly targeted sites in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Yemen. The open-ended nature of these operations has alarmed Gulf officials, who have worked to keep the region stable. In Saudi media, Israel is increasingly described as a spoiler and a violator of international norms, language previously reserved for Iran.

The Doha strike is viewed as a crossing of a critical line, as Israel has until now been assumed to act against American adversaries rather than allies. This has sparked fears about what might happen next, including to Houthi delegates currently hosted in Oman for talks.

History shows that Gulf outreach to Israel is vulnerable to such incidents. Israeli actions in Palestinian territories led to the closure of Gulf trade missions in the 2000s, and the 2010 assassination of a Hamas operative in Dubai by Israeli agents poisoned relations for years.

The Doha strike is now widely considered the gravest crisis in Israels developing ties with the Gulf. It places the Abraham Accords under severe strain, with speculation about whether the UAE or Bahrain might suspend or sever diplomatic ties.

The Gulf states are unlikely to respond militarily to Israel, given their dependence on American defence and their domestic priorities. Yet, it should not be forgotten that they possess significant diplomatic and economic leverage. Qatars Prime Minister has announced plans for a collective response through an Arab-Islamic summit in Doha, intended to produce measures that deter further Israeli actions.

Recent history shows that Gulf states can close ranks when confronted by a shared external threat, as they did after Irans missile strike on Al Udeid earlier this year.

The Israeli strike on Qatar is therefore far more than an isolated incident. It is a litmus test for the credibility of American alliances in the Gulf.

By striking a US ally that hosts Americas largest regional base and serves as a mediator at Washingtons request, Israel has shaken the foundations of Gulf trust in the US.

The long-term consequences will depend on how Washington responds and how Gulf states recalibrate their security arrangements in the face of what they increasingly perceive as American ineptitude and a dangerously unpredictable regional order.
In the latest incident of political violence in the United States, Charlie Kirk, a close aide of President Donald Trump, was fatally shot while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

A manhunt has been launched for the lone sniper suspected of firing the single gunshot from a nearby roof that killed Kirk, 31. Utah governor and Republican leader Spencer Cox termed the incident a political assassination.

The Utah Department of Public Safety, which is leading the investigation along with the FBI, briefly detained two people, but they were later released. "There are no current ties to the shooting with either of these individuals," officials said.

The FBI has urged anyone with information, photos or videos related to the incident to share files through an online form.

The FBI is working alongside our local and state law enforcement partners in Utah to fully investigate and seek justice in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. Anyone with information, photos, and video from the incident can help the FBI identity more pic.twitter.com/JEQ22lIwfv  FBI (@FBI) September 11, 2025

According to CNN, a video captured by an attendee moments after Kirk was shot showed a figure ducking while running across the rooftop of the Losee Centre, a building directly opposite to where Kirk was sitting when he was killed.

There were about 3,000 people gathered at the event held as part of his American Comeback Tour. Video footage from the scene showed students fleeing after hearing gunshots.

With the suspect still at large, there is no clear evidence of the motive for the act of violence.

Trump, in a video message, blamed the radical left lunatics to the surge in violence. "This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now, he said.

"The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his pic.twitter.com/aM8Pz3TKml  The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 10, 2025

In a cruel irony, Kirk was talking about gun violence in the United States when he was shot.
Conservative influencer and US President Donald Trump ally Charlie Kirk's death on Wednesday (local time) has sparked heated debates across the political spectrum.

Speaking at the Utah Valley University (UVU) as a part of his American Comeback Tour despite online opposition against him doing so, Kirk was killed by a single gunshot wound to the neck.

Kirk has made headlines for his charged statements, often facing backlash for them too. Here are 5 controversial statements the highly-polarising figure made over the years before his death:

That the right to carry guns was 'worth' the cost of gun deaths

Following a mass shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2023 that killed 3 children and 3 adults, he reasoned at a Turning Point USA event that just like driving cars continued to be a right despite car crashes, carrying guns should be a right, despite gun violence.

Charlie Kirk: Its worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendmenthttps://t.co/uoM6TqnAgJ pic.twitter.com/mbJSa2Lzmi  Jason S. Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) April 6, 2023

"Having an armed citizenry comes with a price, and that is part of liberty ... So we need to be very clear that you're not going to get gun deaths to zero. It will not happen ... I think it's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational," he said, as per a Newsweek report.

That the 2020 elections were rigged

Following his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential elections, Donald Trump had furiously alleged that the elections were rigged against him by means of voter fraud.

ALSO READ | Who was Charlie Kirk? 10 things you need to know about key Trump aide killed in Utah

Kirk is known to have supported this statement, a Reuters report said.

That the Democrats were anti-God

During a 2024 appearance with Donald Trump in Georgiaat which time the latter was again a Republican candidate in the presidential elections, this time running opposite Democrat candidate Kamala HarrisKirk claimed that Democrats "stand for everything God hates".

"This is a Christian state. I'd like to see it stay that way, he told the people, reframing the Donald Trump vs Kamala Harris contest as a "spiritual battle".

That Islam had 'conquest values'

In April this year, Kirk made headlines yet again for taking aim at Muslim politicians in Americasuch as Minneapolis mayoral candidate Omar Fatehand Islam as a whole.

ALSO READ | Is Donald Trumps video message on Charlie Kirks death AI-generated? Netizens point out 18th second glitch, unnatural colour shift

"Islam has conquest values. They seek to take over land and territory, and Europe is now a conquered continent."

That a Democratic lawmaker supported ethnic cleansing efforts

In a podcast episode dated August 2025, Kirk accused Democratic lawmaker Jasmine Crockettwho is Blackof being part of "(an) attempt to eliminate the white population in this country", a Reuters report said.

The report added that in saying so, Kirk had echoed conspiracy theories popular among white nationalists.
Political analyst Matthew Dowd, a Republican-turned Democrat, has been fired from MSNBC over his comments about the killing of Charlie Kirk, US media reports said. Turning Point USA co-founder and noted Pro-Trump commentator Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while addressing students at the Utah University.

After Dowd's remarks that reportedly blamed Kirk for the violent crime, MSNBC was forced to come up with an official statement distancing itself from the analyst's remarks. Later, Dowd was fired.

"During our breaking news coverage of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable," MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler said in a statement. "We apologize for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise," she added.

ALSO READ | Who shot Charlie Kirk? Inside the chaotic FBI and Utah Police manhunt

What did Matthew Dowd say about the Charlie Kirk shooting?

1. "We dont know any of the full details of this yet. We dont know if this was a supporter shooting their gun off in celebration," Fox News reported Dowd as telling MSNBC host Katy Tur after the news of the shooting broke.

2. Dowd described Kirk as"one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups. And I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions."

3. "I think thats the environment were in, that the people just  you cant stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have, and then saying these awful words, and not expect awful actions to take place. And that's the unfortunate environment we're in," Fox News reported him as saying.

ALSO READ | Charlie Kirk shooting: 5 statements that once spelt trouble for the Donald Trump ally

4. "Hes been one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups," Variety quoted the MSNBC analyst as telling Kur about Kirk.



5. "My thoughts & prayers are w/ the family and friends of Charlie Kirk. On an earlier appearance on MSNBC I was asked a question on the environment we are in. I apologize for my tone and words," he wrote. "Let me be clear, I in no way intended for my comments to blame Kirk for this horrendous attack. Let us all come together and condemn violence of any kind," Dowd later wrote on his BlueSky account.
Former head of the electricity board, Kulman Ghising, is the frontrunner to lead an interim government in Nepal after protests by Gen Z groups toppled the incumbent administration. Ghising, the engineer credited for solving Nepal's power crisis, is said to be a clear favourite ahead of former Chief Justice Sushila Karki and Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah.

According to reports, prohibitory orders will stay in Kathmandu and surrounding areas for most of the day, the army said in a statement, while an airport spokesman said international flights were operating. The death toll from the protests had risen to 30 by Thursday, Nepal's health ministry said, with 1,033 injured. The demonstrations are popularly referred to as the "Gen Z" protests since most participants were young people voicing frustration at the government's perceived failure to fight corruption and boost economic opportunities. Government buildings, from the Supreme Court to ministers' homes, including Oli's private residence, were also set ablaze in the protests, which only subsided after the Prime Minister resigned.

Meanwhile, here are a few facts about Kulman Ghising, who is expected to lead Nepal to a new era:

1. Kulman Ghising was born in 1970 in Bethan village of eastern Nepal's Ramechhap district. This humble upbringing in rural Nepal is said to have given him firsthand experience with the difficulties of living with an unreliable electricity supply. As per data available on Wikipedia, he did his intermediate degree from Amrit Science College and then got a scholarship to study electrical engineering at the Regional Institute of Technology (RIT) in Jamshedpur. He later completed postgraduate studies from Pulchowk Engineering College, Nepal. Ghising worked for the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) for over two decades before becoming Managing Director. He also worked as Project Chief of the Rahughat Hydroelectric Project and had led the Chilime Hydropower Company.

2. Kulman Ghising rose to popularity after he was able to eliminate load shedding in major cities of Nepal. Interestingly, the revolution happened within two months of his appointment, a feat that had been considered impossible for years in a country that had power outages of up to 18 hours each day

3. Reallocating electricity to high-demand areas during peak hours and overhauling inoperative power plants were among the steps he adopted to resolve the Himalayan nation's power supply issues, reports said. He was hailed as an anti-corruption crusader when he took a tough stance against large industrial consumers who had been illegally consuming electricity, a report said. He identified leakage points, improved Nepal's electricity trade with India, allowing Nepal to import power during shortages and export surplus energy, and ensured better water flow management in hydropower plants.

4. After a successful first term from 2016-2020, he was re-appointed in August 2021 but was removed from his position in March 2025, months before his term was officially set to end.

5. Under his leadership, the NEA transitioned from being a loss-making entity to a profitable board, which helped to stabilize the sector financially for the first time in over two decades, MyRepublica said in a report. In July 2025, he received the 'Global Hero Award' in New York, a recognition for his contributions to ending Nepal's energy crisis.
In an attempt to cut the perks and privileges enjoyed by former presidents or their widows, the Sri Lankan parliament revoked a law on Wednesday.

With a majority of 151 votes, the ruling National People's Power (NPP) repealed the Presidents Entitlements Act, a 1986 law, which allowed provision of a residence or a monthly allowance, secretarial allowance, official transport to a former president or the widow of a former President and a monthly pension paid to the widow of a former president.

The move is looked at as a step by the ruling NPP to keep up its poll promise of eradicating corruption and cutting down the excess state expenditure.

We are repealing the 1986 Act to save taxpayers money, Minister of Justice Harshana Nanayakkara informed the Parliament.

The new amended law is all set to come into force immediately, which will be applicable to former presidents, including Chandrika Kumaratunga, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Maithiripala Sirisena, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Ranil Wickremesinghe, and Hema Premadasa, the wife of late Ranasinghe Premadasa.

According to sources, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is set to vacate his official residence on Wijerama Mawatha in Colombo soon.

Earlier, during the debate in the parliament, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that the government is spending a heavy public cost towards maintenance of the residences of the former presidents, who live in state-owned bungalows. He had said that Mahindas residence alone carried a monthly rental value of more than 4.6 million LKR.

Former presidents Maithripala Sirisena and Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga will also be required to leave their official homes. Gotabaya, too, apparently doesnt live in his private residence at Mirihana, while Ranil lives in his private home.

The repeal bill will, however, preserve pension benefits while reallocating government properties currently occupied by ex-leaders for official use.
Right-wing activist and a key aide of President Donald Trump, Charles Kirk, was shot dead while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. Investigators are still searching for the gunman even as Trump has vowed to carry out a crackdown on "those who perpetrate political violence".

TO MY GREAT FELLOW AMERICANS pic.twitter.com/oRsrE5TTHr  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 11, 2025

Who was Charlie Kirk? 10 points to know

1. A conservative activist, Kirk (31) played a key role in rallying young Republican voters and building President Trump's base among the youth.

2. Born as the son of a mental health clinic counselor and an architect in Illinois on October 14, 1993, Kirk actively engaged in politics in high school, supporting Mark Kirk and his US Senate campaign.

3. Kirk rose to prominence after he formed a student group, Turning Point USA, at the age of 18. The organisation played a crucial role in amassing youth support for Trump in the November 2024 election.

4. Kirk had 5.3 million followers on his X account while his radio programme The Charlie Kirk Show drew a monthly audience of over 500,000.

5. He has authored or contributed to several books, including Time for a Turning Point and The College Scam.

6. Kirk was known for making provocative speeches against Muslim politicians. His remarks against Minneapolis mayoral candidate Omar Fateh had stirred up a row.

7. Kirk propagated the conspiracy theories popular among white nationalists. In a The Charlie Kirk Show in August, he accused Democratic lawmaker Jasmine Crockett of being part of a conspiracy to eliminate the white population, reported Reuters.

8. According to The New York Times, Kirk's political career was propelled after he wrote an op-ed for conservative media outlet Breitbart. Following the publication of this article, Fox News invited him for a TV debate.

9. "No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie," Trump wrote on his online platform Truth Social in announcing Kirk's death. "He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us."

10. Kirk is survived by his wife Erika, a former Miss Arizona USA beauty pageant winner, and their two children.
This week, Jamie Dimon, the worlds most admired banker, celebrated with construction workers at the opening of JP Morgan Chases gleaming new $3billion (2.2billion) headquarters in New York.

The 60-storey building, designed by Britains Foster + Partners, will house 14,000 colleagues and includes a public plaza.

Vanity headquarters, in the past, have been regarded with suspicion. Fred Goodwins glass tribute act for Royal Bank of Scotland at Gogarburn in Edinburgh is a pitiful legacy from when it was briefly the biggest bank on Earth.

Away from the hoopla around the opening, JP Morgan is defend itself against allegations that it enabled and enriched Jeffrey Epsteins sex offending operations.

Epstein is rarely out of the headlines. New details of his sleazy relationships with His Majestys ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, are emerging daily.

Analysis by the New York Times (NYT), having combed through 13,000 pages of legal and financial records, has established a JP Morgan relationship with Epstein far deeper than previously recognised.

Transactions: JP Morgan Chase is currently having to defend itself against allegations that the bank enabled and enriched Jeffrey Epsteins sex offending operations

When Epstein was sexually abusing teenagers, JP Morgan processed 4,700 transactions for him with a value of $1.1billion (815million).

Among the debits were payments to mysterious Russian and eastern European accounts. The bank reportedly also opened accounts for some of Epsteins victims and helpers.

The main conduit was former Barclays boss Jes Staley. He was a regular visitor to Epsteins properties  even when the disgraced financier was under house arrest.

He consulted Epstein for personal financial advice and Epstein connected Staley to an expert on China.

JP Morgan pins blame for its Epstein relationship on Staley. Documents examined by the NYT show that on at least four occasions bosses at JP Morgan were alerted to concerns about Epstein but failed to de-bank him.

Dimon says that he barely knew Epstein. When the JP Morgan chairman sought to warn Barclays about the risk of appointing Staley as chief executive, he was not given enough time of day by former chairman John McFarlane.

Epstein, who died six years ago, casts a baleful shadow over public and financial lives.

Weston wrath

Associated British Foods, best known as owner of Primark, is an exemplar of what public companies should be.

At Primark it sells no-frills clothing at low prices and employs disadvantaged people, including former prisoners and youngsters from problem backgrounds.

It is a food production powerhouse, from farm to fork, in for the long-term and willing to ride out the volatile sugar market.

And it was one of only a handful of UK firms to embrace the bioethanol fuel revolution. Yet chief executive George Weston finds a path strewn with obstacles.

Last year Primark was badly hurt by speculation in the run-up to the Budget and the employer National Insurance rise. It now fears the same adverse fall-out in the November 26 Budget.

Weston thinks there are some good things in the Employment Rights Bill about security of tenure.

But he fears the effect on his companys ability to take on extra people at busy times and Primarks ability to dismiss unsuitable employees.

He is hugely disdainful of Whitehall. A lack of attention to the contribution which Vivergo and its innovative bioethanol plant was making to Labours green agenda meant it had to shut its doors.

It was stifled by regulation, energy costs and a lack of financial support. That has contributed to a 200million write-off.

Despite tricky UK and European conditions, Primark is going great guns in the US. Not surprisingly, 2025-26 profits are unlikely to hit last years 2billion heights.

Silver surfer

At 81, Larry Ellison is a different generation to tech bros of the Magnificent Seven.

Over the decades, the founder of the US-based Oracle software  a cloud and AI powerhouse  has held on to 41 per cent of the equity.

A big rise in the share price this week added 200billion to its valuation and elevated his wealth to 300billion.

Eat your heart out, Elon!
Microsoft is pulling the plug on remote work .

The company said in a memo on Tuesday that it expects workers at its Washington state office to work in person at least three days a week if they live within 50 miles of the facility.

"Weve looked at how our teams work best, and the data is clear: when people work together in person more often, they thrive  they are more energized, empowered, and they deliver stronger results," Amy Coleman, the company's executive VP and chief people officer, said in a memo sent to employees Tuesday. "As we build the AI products that will define this era, we need the kind of energy and momentum that comes from smart people working side by side, solving challenging problems together."

Microsoft's implementation of the new policy will be slow. The new requirements will start in the Puget Sound office at the end of February, then expand to other U.S. locations and internationally at dates that haven't been announced yet. The company will begin planning international return to office dates in 2026. It wasn't clear from the memo what Microsoft expects from workers based in the Puget Sound office who live farther than 50 miles away.

"For some of you, this is not a change. For others this may be a bigger adjustment, which is exactly why were providing time to plan thoughtfully," Coleman wrote. "As part of these updates, were also enhancing our workplace safety and security measures so we can continue to provide a workplace where every employee can do their best work."

The Washington-based tech giant is following in the footsteps of scores of other companies that have recalled workers to the office. It has been an outlier among peers like Apple, IBM, and Google, which mandated workers return to the office three days a week far earlier.
The owner of Primark has warned of weak sales as tax fears in the UK and political turmoil in Europe take their toll.

George Weston, chief executive of Primarks parent company Associated British Foods (ABF), has flagged very negative consumer sentiment.

And he said he was worried about the consequences of the Budget on November 26.

By contrast, Zara owner Inditex reported a strong start to autumn and said its ranges had been well received by customers.

ABF, which also owns household brands including Twinings and Ovaltine, saw shares plunge 13.2 per cent. Inditex, however, rose 6.5 per cent.

Weston said shoppers across large swathes of continental Europe have very squeezed disposable income.

Political uncertainty: Primark-owner ABF, which also owns household brands including Twinings and Ovaltine, saw shares plunge 13.2%

Political turmoil in France and Spain has also hit consumer confidence, he added. The consumer is in a very difficult place, and theres an overlay of a sort of nervousness about the future.

In the UK, Weston said the Budget was casting a shadow. I do fear the unemployment rate is beginning to pick up, and that wont do consumer confidence any good, he said.

He added that he was concerned by Labours proposed reforms to business rates, echoing fears that they will result in large shops closing.

We anchor high streets up and down this country. If you want to support the High Street, it makes no sense to me that you would penalise the people that do the biggest part of driving footfall to those high streets.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is facing pressure over her proposed rates reforms, which are theoretically designed to level the playing field between bricks-and-mortar businesses and online rivals.

She has angered large retailers by increasing taxes for larger premises, with businesses arguing the changes will also hit anchor stores that draw in shoppers to other businesses.

Retailers fear 4,000 shops could be forced to pay higher rates. There are also worries that the Budgets timing will weigh on already dire consumer spending in the run-up to Christmas.

ABF warned of consumer caution after it said Primarks like-for-like sales are expected to have dipped 2 per cent in the six months to September 13.

In the UK and Ireland, sales are expected to have grown 1 per cent, aided by warm weather and booming womenswear ranges. Products flying off the shelves this month include a pair of 22 palazzo jeans.

Inditex, the worlds largest fashion retailer  which also owns the Pull & Bear and Bershka brands  said sales rose 9 per cent between August 1 and September 8, compared to the same period last year.

They grew by 1.6 per cent to 15.9billion in the six months to July 31.

Inditex boss Oscar Garcia Maceiras said: We have again achieved a solid performance, with satisfactory sales in a complex market environment, keeping strong levels of profitability.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: Inditex is navigating a challenging path. Its products are more expensive, which means the goods must sparkle to convince cautious shoppers to part with cash.

The difference between Inditex and Primark is that the former is more upbeat about current trading, explaining why its shares jumped.
The Government wants to end cliff edges in business rates that send bills soaring for small firms.

The Treasury is looking at changes to small business rates relief as it says it currently discourages expansion  but has not addressed a controversial proposal to hike taxes for many large grocers and department stores.

The relief provides a 100 per cent discount for a company in a property with a rateable value of 12,000 or less and tapered relief for sites between 12,000 and 15,000.

The Government will today say it is exploring how to eradicate cliff edges, where bills rocket by thousands of pounds by removing the single property requirement, which means a business loses all relief when it opens a second site.

Labour is considering a system that is more like income tax  where rises are gradual. There will be an update in November.

The Chancellor has faced pressure from big retailers who fear 4,000 stores will have to pay higher rates, saying anchor stores that attract shoppers to town centres will be hit hard.
The company behind Ozempic and Wegovy is axing 9,000 jobs as the fat jabs war intensifies.

Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk outlined proposals to shed about 11 per cent of its 78,400-strong workforce amid stiff competition from Mounjaro-maker Eli Lilly.

The announcement  which includes 5,000 job losses in Denmark  came as Novo counted the cost of disappointing sales with its third profit warning of the year.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: Novo Nordisk is paying the price for failing to beat its rival Eli Lilly in the race to have the most effective weight-loss drug on the market.

The companys goal is to help people slim down, but now its having to slim down itself.

The update even triggered a response from the Danish government, which last month cut its economic growth forecasts for the year from 3 per cent to 1.4 per cent due to Novos troubles.

Job cuts: Danish pharmacuetical giant Novo Nordisk outlined proposals to shed around 11% of its 78,400-strong workforce amid stiff competition from Mounjaro maker Eli Lilly

I do not see todays announcement as something that changes the economic estimates that the government has made, insisted finance minister Nicolai Wammen. The Danish economy is extremely strong.

A meteoric rise in the Novo share price began in mid-2021, when Wegovy became the first highly effective obesity drug approved in the US.

At its peak, the firm was the most valuable in Europe, with a market capitalisation larger than Denmarks annual gross domestic product.

But with sales growth stalling under pressure from rivals, the stock has fallen some 65pc since June last year, although the shares rose 3.7 per cent yesterday.

It is now battling to revive its fortunes under new boss Mike Doustdar, who took over in July and is seeking to streamline its operations and boost its obesity and diabetes drug offerings.

Novo said the job cuts would cost some 600million in restructuring charges, hitting profits this year.

The cuts are due to help it save 930million a year by 2026 and follow a 75 per cent rise in staff numbers over the past five years.

It is always difficult to see talented and valued colleagues go, but we are convinced that this is the right thing to do for the long-term success of Novo Nordisk, said Doustdar.

We need a shift in our mindset and approach so that we can be faster and more agile.

Doustdar became chief executive when his predecessor, Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, left the business after its share price fell amid mounting competition from Eli Lilly.

This is the new CEOs first major move to simplify Novos structure and redirect resources toward growth in diabetes and obesity, said Michael Novod, head of equity research for Denmark at Nordea Bank.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: Novo Nordisk, which had grown fat on the spoils of its weight-loss drugs, has been feeling the effects of rivals marching into the space.

She added: Its now drastically slimming down. With so much depending on these products, theres little hiding place when market dynamics move in the wrong direction.
Fever-Tree Drinks shares rose sharply on Thursday despite the soft drinks maker revealing a downturn in UK sales and pressure on US margins.

The tonic maker reported a 15 per cent drop in its first-half pre-tax profit, as UK demand proved 'subdued' with revenues in Fever-Tree's domestic market falling 6 per cent to 48.1million.

Solid off-trade demand in the UK was offset a 'challenging backdrop' in the on-trade market, Fever-Tree said, citing 'higher duty, wages and business rates driving pricing pressure which is disproportionately impacting the spirit and mixer categories'.

But Fever-Tree's total adjusted revenues ticked 2 per cent higher to 172.2million, as revenues in the US rose 6 per cent and rest of world sales soared 17 per cent.

The group has been expanding in the US via a partnership with brewing Giant Molson Corrs, which bought a stake in Fever-Tree in return for the exclusive right to sell, distribute and produce the brand in the the country.

A majority of Fever-Tree products sold in the US are still currently produced in Britain, after the beverage maker wound down a major US bottling arrangement ahead of its partnership.

Share spike: FeverTree Drinks shares rose sharply on Thursday after the group unveiled its interim results

Fever-Tree said in a statement: 'While this has exposed the partnership P&L to a tariff impact, we are jointly working hard to mitigate this impact ahead of the prospective onshoring of US production in the medium term.'

In July, FeverTree said it would equally split costs of the 10 per cent US tariffs on UK imports with brewer Molson Coors as part of a partnership that began in January.

Improvements in its global supply chain, procurement processes alongside the prospective onshoring of US production by Molson Coors over the medium term would allow for margin recovery over time, the firm said on Thursday.

Chief executive Tim Warrillow said: 'The transition of the business to Molson Coors is progressing well and despite the complexity of such a transition.

'In the UK, the wider on-trade category continues to face challenges, but our off-trade performance has remained robust.'

Warrillow said that in the off-trade more customers were buying products from across the portfolio, such as ginger beer or soft drinks, with products beyond tonic comprising 45 per cent of total group revenue.

He added: 'The group has made a good start to the second half of the year across our regions and we remain comfortable with full year market expectations.'

Fever-Tree reported a first-half pre-tax profit of 11.2million, against 13.2million a year earlier.

The group's cash stash nearly doubled to 130million, reflecting both trading and inflows from the Molson Coors partnership.

The company's board declared an interim dividend of 5.97p per share, up 2 per cent on the previous year.

It also announced an extension of its share buyback programme by a further 30million to continue next year.

Mark Crouch, a market analyst at eToro, said: 'FeverTrees much-heralded partnership with Molson Coors, was meant to put some fizz back into the premium mixer.

'A gateway to scale a chance to sharpen its presence in the all-important US market. There are signs of promise, US revenues edged higher in the latest update, helped by stronger distribution and brand visibility. But momentum still feels laboured.'
YY-20 tanker aircraft refuels J-16 fighter jets

China Military Online) 09:21, September 11, 2025

YY-20 tanker aircraft attached to the air force under the Chinese PLA Eastern Theater Command refuels two J-16 fighter jets during a flight training exercise. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Xiong Wei)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
From September 8 to 11, 2025, the 25th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) was held in Xiamen, Fujian Province.

As the Guest Country of Honor, the United Kingdom brought more than 100 well-known companies, including AstraZeneca and Haleon, marking the largest-ever UK participation at CIFIT and setting a new record for the fair by a single country.

The event coincided with the visit of Peter Kyle, the UKs newly appointed Secretary of State for Business and Trade, who is in Beijing to attend the first meeting of the UK-China Joint Economic and Trade Commission in seven years. What signals do these intensive moves by the UK convey? To find out, China News Service spoke with Peter Wilson CMG, British Ambassador to China. (Lin Zhuowei, Gong Weiwei)


Merck & Co (MSD) has ditched plans for its 1bn R&D centre in London, UK, while ceasing drug discovery and research efforts across the country in a double blow to the national life sciences sector.

This news comes fewer than two years after the US-based pharma started construction on the R&D hub in Kings Cross, which was set to become the companys UK headquarters.

On top of its pullback from new investments in the UK, MSD will also cease its UK-based R&D operations by the end of this year, meaning 125 scientists working at the London Bioscience Innovation Centre (LBIC) and the Francis Crick Institute will lose their jobs.

A spokesperson from MSD told Pharmaceutical Technology that these decisions were made in line with the companys multi-year optimisation plan, which will see the company cut its global operational costs by $3bn by 2027. This plan was put in place after the companys performance fell short of expectations in H1 2025.

The pharma also mentioned that UK operations became a casualty of cuts through the scarcity of meaningful progress towards addressing the lack of investment in the life science industry.

However, lacklustre investment was not MSDs only source of discontent, as the pharma also took issue with the UK Governments overall undervaluation of innovative medicines and vaccines  a sentiment that seems to be shared by key industry rival, AstraZeneca.

Last year, the UK-based big pharma, which is the largest British company by market cap, also abandoned its plans to build a $450m vaccine manufacturing facility in Liverpool, after government pledges of funding for the site fell short of expectations.

Since then, relationships have not appeared to have improved, as AstraZenecas CEO Pascal Soriot is mulling over a potential move for the companys public listing to the US stock market.

The wider pharma industry is also despondent about the UK life sciences market. A report from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has revealed that foreign direct investment fell by 58% between 2021 and 2023.

This report dropped amid an ongoing stalemate between Big Pharma and UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting around NHS drug pricing, with him stating that he would not allow patients to be ripped off when pharma companies rejected his pricing deal. The ABPI warned that  if a deal is not reached  it will likely harm patients, as drug makers may choose not to launch their products in the UK.

"MSD calls off 1bn UK expansion amid government-big pharma tensions" was originally created and published by Pharmaceutical Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.
By Louise Rasmussen, Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Maggie Fick

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Novo Nordisk, the maker of blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, said on Wednesday it will cut 9,000 jobs in a bid to reignite growth and fend off intense competition from U.S. rival Eli Lilly and a wave of compounded copycat drugs.

The restructuring, including the largest layoff in Denmark's history, is expected to save 8 billion Danish crowns ($1.25 billion) annually and comes as Novo Nordisk is battling to revive its fortunes under a new CEO after it lost its lead to Eli Lilly in the obesity and diabetes markets.

Sales growth has stalled and shares have slumped, knocking $450 billion off the Danish company's market cap since the middle of last year and hurting the local economy. The company issued its third profit warning this year on Wednesday, citing 9 billion crowns in one-off costs tied to the overhaul.

"They need to reignite investor confidence with an appealing growth story for the future," said Novo Nordisk shareholder Lukas Leu, a portfolio manager at ATG Healthcare.

"The obesity market was misjudged. It's much more consumer-driven than anticipated, and Novo expanded organisational complexity too quickly."

Novo's meteoric rise began in mid-2021 when Wegovy became the first highly effective obesity drug approved in the U.S., catapulting the firm to the top of Europe's stock market.

But a hiring spree that nearly doubled its headcount over five years has now backfired. The layoffs - around 11.5% of the total workforce - take Novo's headcount back to early 2024 levels, said Redburn Atlantic analyst Simon Baker.

Denmark's economy remains robust despite the job cuts at Novo Nordisk, Danish Finance Minister Nicolai Wammen told Reuters, dismissing concerns they could further impact the countrys economic outlook.

Investors in July wiped some $70 billion off the drugmaker's market value after Novo warned on profits and named company veteran Mike Doustdar as its new CEO.

Shares have fallen nearly 46% since the start of the year, bringing its market capitalisation to around $181 billion  well below its peak of approximately $650 billion last year.

Bank of America analysts said they now expect Novo to issue a fourth profit warning when it reports third-quarter results in November, doubting the company can meet the top end of its sales guidance.

Shares in Novo Nordisk were up 2.1% at 1315 GMT, having initially fallen 3%.

CUTTING THE FAT

Novo is slimming down while also trying to boost output to meet rising demand for its products and readying the pill version of Wegovy as well as exploring the additional health benefits of its GLP-1 portfolio.
Novo Nordisk will soon require its staff to work in the office full-time after it cut thousands of jobs.

The Ozempic maker said it intends to implement a new global standard for office-based employees where they will be required to work from the office five days a week.

The Danish pharma companys change in office culture comes just a day after it cut about 11% of its total workforce . Its new policy will go into effect starting Jan.1, it said.

This is designed to foster a stronger sense of belonging, strengthen relationships, enhance collaboration and accelerate decision-making processes, Novo Nordisk said in a statement to Quartz.

It said that while it aims to foster a vibrant in-office culture the company still recognizes the importance of flexibility, adding that managers and employees can make individual agreements so that both personal and business needs are met.

Novo Nordisk did not elaborate on what the framework of these agreements would be or if they would have any restrictions.

The pharma company has offices around the world. Its U.S.-based headquarters is in New Jersey.

The Ozempic producer is facing increasing competition from Eli Lilly, the U.S. firm behind Mounjaro, and a new wave of cheaper, compounded alternatives. By cutting around 9,000 positions on Wednesday  more than half of which are based in Denmark  the company anticipates annualized savings of roughly $1.25 billion by the end of 2026, with the funds earmarked for reinvestment in its diabetes and obesity therapy areas.

Our markets are evolving, particularly in obesity, as it has become more competitive and consumer-driven. Our company must evolve as well, Mike Doustdar, Novo Nordisk president and CEO, said in the announcement. This means accelerating a performance-based culture and prioritizing investment where it will have the most impact  behind our leading therapy areas, he added. The savings will be redirected to growth opportunities in diabetes and obesity, including both commercial execution initiatives and R&D programs, the company said.

Bloomberg first reported the companys change in office policy on Thursday.

Novo Nordisks stock is up about 0.05% at 10:15 a.m. ET Thursday.

 Niamh Rowe contributed to this article.
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A mother of two living in Dublin is left with no options as her autistic son is denied a school place for the current academic year.

Her son is 15 years old and should be going into transition year but the family were told by the school that there is no spaces left this time around.

The mother said in an exclusive interview that her son who was diagnosed with autism was expelled from school last year.

He then waited five months for another school offer so that he could go on and complete his Junior Certificate exams.

After completing third year the same school denied him a place in Transition Year because they said they were full up.

READ NEXT: 'Crippling fear'- School avoidance a huge issue as one mother 'tried everything' she could

The mother said that she applied to get her son into so many schools already with no luck.

"Last year we applied for about 20 schools and of course there's no places," she said.

"We're hoping to get a school place somewhere near home so it's easier for him...but for now we don't know yet so he's staying at home....I don't know...I don't know what to do to be honest with you.....we've been asking everyone," the mother said.

She also said that she had sent a letter to the education welfare office with no help.

"I don't think they have enough resources to look after autistic children...we have had to kind of do everything ourselves," she said.

The mother explained that for her son and many other autistic children can suffer greatly with their mental health and schools don't have enough support in place.

"They just punish them you know....if you're not fitting in you have to get out of the school and they just expel them for being different....for being more difficult," she said.

"The school hasn't tried their best," she said. "They just went the short way and just got rid of him."

The mother also said that autistic children can suffer with confidence issues and that's why they may refuse to go to school themselves and it can impact their school attendance.

"It's very important for them to feel safe and that they have friends...if they feel out of place...it's very difficult for them to have motivation to go school," she concluded.
The shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has sent shock waves across the American discourse.

Some call it an assassination and most lament the rise of political violence in US life.

The point of this post is to share information and provide a space where our readers can share their perspectives WITHOUT making a tragic & horrific situation even worse.

Accordingly . . .

Given that TKC stock & trade is mostly snark, municipal politics and then more snark, we turn to longtime Kansas City sports/political talker Kevin Kietzman given that his thoughts are more representative of what might resonate with local MAGA supporters and conservatives . . .

This afternoon KK started his podcast with the thought that "This might be a mistake, but . . ."

He continued with important commentary that's worth featuring in this post given that the national calamity will undoubtedly impact our local conversations . . . Here's a quote from KK, a with a link to his podcast followed by some of our reading on the latest news . . .

"Our country is out of control and the reaction that I have from this is: This is nothing like the first civil war in the United States. It feels like something really, really historic is taking place in this country with the violence that's permeating from the left against Americans who support the Constitution, the rule of law, enforcing the laws and keeping our country what it has been for 250 years . . ."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

Charlie Kirk: Trump ally shot at campus event in Utah Kirk was at a crowded event when he was shot; President Trump urges people to say prayers for the "great guy".

Reporter who witnessed Charlie Kirk shooting speaks out Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot at an event at Utah Valley University, according to the school. Deseret News Reporter Eva Terry, who was at the event and saw the shooting, joins Katy Tur to share her experience.

Charlie Kirk, who helped build support for Trump among young people, dies after campus shooting Charlie Kirk, who rose from a teenage conservative campus activist to a top podcaster, culture warrior and ally of President Donald Trump, has been shot and killed.

House Dems Shout 'No' When Boebert Requests Spoken Prayer For Charlie Kirk House Democrat lawmakers could be heard shouting "no" after Boebert requested a spoken prayer for Charlie Kirk, who was killed during a TPUSA event.

MAGA Reps End Prayer for Charlie Kirk by Swearing at Dems Rep. Anna Paulina Luna shouted at her House colleagues after some objected to a spoken prayer on the House floor.

FBI Director Patel says Charlie Kirk shooting suspect is in custody FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X that the suspect in the shooting that killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk is in custody. NBC News' Ryan Reilly reports on the confusion that followed the shooting amid conflicting reports that a suspect had been captured.

White House Situation Room Monitoring Assassination of Charlie Kirk The White House Situation Room is monitoring circumstances following the reported assassination of 31-year-old Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk.

MSNBC sparks outrage for 'disgusting' Charlie Kirk comments MSNBC sparked outrage for its 'disgusting' and 'shameful' on-air comments while covering the shooting of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk at a college event in Utah.

Charlie Kirk shot during event at Utah university, JD Vance says to 'say a prayer' The founder of the conservative youth activist organization Turning Point USA was at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

Trump, Vance, top administration officials react to shooting of Charlie Kirk President Donald Trump and lawmakers across the political spectrum are reacting after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot at an event in Utah on Wednesday.

Developing . . .
Affordable Compact Perfume Travel Packs



(TRAVPR.COM) DELHI - September 11th, 2025 -

Archies, Indias iconic gifting brand, today unveiled its latest offering  Compact Perfume Travel Packs, designed to elevate personal fragrance experiences for modern, on-the-go individuals.

A Fragrant Revolution in Convenience



Archies new travel packs cater to both men and women, offering a hassle-free fragrance solution for lifes varied moments. Compact and pocket-friendly, these packs provide just the right amount of fragrance for every mood  whether its a spontaneous outing, daily boardroom hustle, or a weekend getaway.

Priced affordably at just 499, customers can enjoy premium fragrances in a convenient and affordable way. Available at Archies retail outlets and online platforms, these travel packs bring the brands renowned gifting experience into everyday life.

Key Retail Highlights:

Compact designperfect for carry-on bags, gym kits, and work totes





Designed for versatility, appealing to both men and women





Affordable priced at 499, making premium fragrance accessible





Brand Perspective

Archies continues to transform gifting into a lifestyle experience. The launch of these travel packs marks a strategic move to integrate fragrances into daily routines, reinforcing the brands stronghold in both gifting and personal care spaces.

About Archies

Archies is India's most beloved gifting brand, offering a diverse range of products from greeting cards and showpieces to perfumes and soft toys. Celebrated for its heartfelt approach to gifting, Archies continues to bring smiles across generations.

Original Press Release Source:

https://businessnewsthisweek.com/business/archies-launches-compact-perfume-travel-packs-for-every-occasion/

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Lets Go Wander Bout, an innovative lifestyle and outdoor adventure brand created by Interact Digital, officially announces its launcha destination for those hungry to explore, wander, and embrace the unexpected joy of the great outdoors.



(TRAVPR.COM) USA - September 11th, 2025 - About Lets Go Wander Bout

Founded by Chrissy Clary, a former digital marketing strategist with a passion for making outdoor experiences accessible, and Jeff Rickard, a retired Army Major and seasoned survivalist, fishing expert, and logistics whiz, Lets Go Wander Bout marries creative inspiration with rugged practicality. Together, they bring storytelling and strategy to every journey, turning travel into transformative experiences.

Our Mission

We believe adventure is the key to well-beingboosting creativity, reducing stress, and expanding memory and resilience. Lets Go Wander Bout exists to help others elevate their happiness through authentic, eco-friendly adventures woven with curiosity and meaning.

What We Offer

1. Field Notes & Blog

Our Field Notes are bite-sized articles offering vivid storytelling, insider tips, and travel inspirationfrom fishing secrets in Savannah to hidden coastal gems in Florida. Expect stories like Discover Ichetucknee Springs: A Tubing Paradise or Tarpon Nights: A Memorable Encounter at Little Palm Island.

The blog expands on this with thoughtful essays such as Why Traveling Is the Ultimate Form of Self-Discovery, exploring travels impact on creativity and well-being.

2. Adventure Gear & Essentials

Our online shop curates high-quality, purposeful gear designed for outdoor livingwith categories that support fishing, beach escapes, picnics, and camping. Iconic items include:

Fishing : rods, waterproof cases, bait buckets, sonar fish finders

: rods, waterproof cases, bait buckets, sonar fish finders Picnic : mess kits, folding chairs, stoves, insulated bottles, picnic baskets, blankets

: mess kits, folding chairs, stoves, insulated bottles, picnic baskets, blankets Camping: tents, sleeping bags, headlamps, cook sets, portable chargers, privacy shelters, hammocks, first aid tools Wander 'Bout

Each product is selected to elevate your experiencebecause when you invest in gear that works, you invest in memories.

3. Expert Advice & Community Engagement

Beyond products, we offer rich, practical content. From "Top 10 Gadgets Every Angler Should Know" to whimsical guides like Teaching Kids to Fish, our blog delivers insights with heart.

We encourage readers to Share Your Adventuresubmit photos, stories, or become a Wander Bout Ambassador.

Why Readers Will Love Lets Go Wander Bout

Authentic Expertise : Built on real wilderness know-how and creative storytelling.

: Built on real wilderness know-how and creative storytelling. Inclusive Adventure : Gear and tips for solo explorers, families, and curious travelers.

: Gear and tips for solo explorers, families, and curious travelers. Eco-Conscious Approach: Emphasis on sustainable, meaningful travel that enlightens, not exhausts.

Connect & Explore

Follow our journey on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest to stay inspired: lets wander together.

Need gear, guidance, or a spark of inspiration? Visit letsgowanderbout.comyour next adventure starts now.

Contact:

Lets Go Wander Bout (a product of Interact Digital)

Email: hello@letsgowanderbout.com

Website: https://www.letsgowanderbout.com/

Social: Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest

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(TRAVPR.COM) UNITED STATES - September 10th, 2025 -

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XPO, Inc. (NYSE:XPO) is one of the 13 Best Freight Stocks to Invest in Now.

Amid mixed second-quarter performance and a decline in August, analysts have reiterated the companys Buy rating.

Oppenheimer Reaffirms Buy Rating on XPO Despite Q2 Profit Drop and LTL Decline

The companys net income was down by 29% compared to the previous years same quarter, reaching $106 million in Q2 2025. The decline occurred despite the $2.08 billion revenue remaining almost parallel with the Q2 2024 revenue, suggesting that the business is becoming more expensive. The companys North American LTL Segment declined by 2.5% in terms of year-over-year revenue. But the European Transportation Segment performed well during the quarter, reaching 4.1% growth.

On September 3, 2025, the company reported its August decline in LTL tonnage per day in its North American LTL segment by 4.7% compared to last years August. Despite these mixed results, Oppenheimer reiterated the Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $150 on September 4, 2025, suggesting confidence in the companys growth prospects.

XPO, Inc. (NYSE:XPO) also benefits from the strong institutional confidence acquired from 48 hedge funds invested in the company. Its upside potential stands at 9.24%.

Based in Connecticut, XPO, Inc. (NYSE:XPO) is a leading provider of less-than-truckload (LTL) freight transportation services in North America. Spun off from its logistics business in 2022, the company focuses on technology-driven solutions to optimize its extensive network and improve operational efficiency.

While we acknowledge the potential of XPO as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: 10 Best EV Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds and 11 Best Energy Dividend Stocks to Invest in

Disclosure. None.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 11. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, has signed a decree on measures for the major renovation of the Khil-Sirabil-Allahyarli-Molalan-Chaygirag road in Masalli district, Trend reports.

The thoroughfare interlinks five distinct locales, aggregating a demographic total of 8,000 inhabitants.

The decree allocates initial funding of 1.5 million manat ($882,300) from the 2025 state budget, as specified in the section on state capital expenditures and investment projects. The funds have been assigned to the State Agency of Azerbaijan Automobile Roads to carry out the comprehensive renovation of the road.

Masally functions as both a municipal entity and an administrative jurisdiction situated in the southern sector of Azerbaijan, positioned roughly 270 kilometers from the capital metropolis, Baku. The area is characterized by its subtropical climatic conditions, featuring a coastal interface with the Caspian Sea and notable geothermal springs, especially the renowned Istisu spring, which serves as a prominent wellness destination.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 11. An open court hearing regarding the criminal cases of citizens of the Republic of Armenia continued on September 11 at the Baku Military Court with the announcement of documents, Trend reports.

One of the documents announced concerned the fact that on March 24, 1990, two missiles were launched at Sadarak from the direction of the village of Yeraskh in the Ararat region of Armenia. At that time, one of the missiles exploded mid-flight, while the other detonated after landing a short distance from the yard of Sadarak resident Gasimov Ismayil Bayram oghlu.

The following documents concerned the injury of six people in the village of Shada in the Shahbuz region and the shelling of Kishlag and other villages in the Tovuz region. The investigation determined that from 17:00 to 00:00, the villages of Kishlag, Yukhari Hajally, and Alibeyli in the Tovuz region were heavily shelled with weapons from the territory of the Shamshaddin region of Armenia. There were civilian injuries during the incident.

In addition, a document about the murder of Veli Zeynalov was also made public. It stated that on March 2728, 1990, Armenia attacked the village of Garmachatag in the Babek region using weapons of various calibers, set ablaze ten houses, and killed Zeynalov Veli Mammad oghlu, head of the State Legal Department of the Nakhchivan Regional Committee, with an automatic weapon.

According to another document, on July 11, 1990, a convoy of 16 vehicles was subjected to sustained gunfire near the village of Gozlukorpu in the Aghdara region on the 93rd kilometer of the BardaIstisu road, resulting in the deaths of three people and the injury of 22 others.

The court proceedings continue against Armenian nationals accused of crimes including war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, aggression, terrorism, and violations of the laws of war. The charges also include financing terrorism, the violent seizure and retention of power, and other serious offenses.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 11. Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament Sahiba Gafarova met with Ronen Krausz, the newly appointed Ambassador of Israel to Azerbaijan, on September 11, the parliamentary press service told Trend.

Gafarova congratulated the ambassador on his appointment and wished him success in his diplomatic mission. The meeting highlighted satisfaction with the steady expansion of cooperation between the two partner countries, noting opportunities to broaden ties across both traditional and new areas.

During the talks, emphasis was placed on the importance of people-to-people contacts as a reflection of the positive relations between the two nations. Gafarova stressed that Azerbaijan, as a multicultural and tolerant country, has long been home to Jewish communities living in peace and mutual understanding. At the same time, the Azerbaijani community in Israel, including Jewish-origin compatriots, continues to contribute to strengthening bilateral relations.

The role of parliaments in developing bilateral ties was also underlined. Gafarova articulated her recollection of the earlier engagement this year with Knesset (Israeli parliament) Speaker Amir Ohana in Uzbekistan, underscoring the significance of legislative interconnections, mutual delegations, and the operational dynamics of bilateral friendship groups.

The discussion also touched on President Ilham Aliyevs working visit to the United States at the invitation of President Donald Trump, where key agreements were reached and documents signed. Gafarova underscored the criticality of adhering to the stipulations outlined in the Washington accords and articulated optimism regarding the imminent ratification of a peace treaty.

The meeting concluded with an exchange of views on other issues of mutual interest.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 11. In accordance with the 2025 bilateral military cooperation plan between the Defense Ministries of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Kazakhstan, a delegation of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan paid a visit to Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Defense told Trend.

During the engagement, a strategic convergence was convened between the defense fiscal analysts of both nations.

At the meeting held at the International Military Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Defense, the sides discussed defense expenditure planning, financing, and accounting of funds, as well as the specifics of military property accounting and the procedures for monetary allowances and salary payments.

During the convening, a comprehensive discourse on a myriad of ancillary topics transpired, and inquiries of reciprocal significance were addressed.

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Photo: Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan

BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 11. Ramid Namazov, Chair of the Azerbaijani Parliament's Commission against Foreign Interference and Hybrid Threats, a member of the working group on inter-parliamentary relations with China, is visiting the People's Republic of China to attend the 2025 Legislators Forum for Friendly Exchanges in Beijing with the theme "Building Global Partnerships for Sustainable Development, Trend reports.

The Legislators Forum for Friendly Exchanges was initiated by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

Ramid Namazov will take part in events to be held in Beijing and Urumqi.

The visit will run until September 17.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 11. The next group of former internally displaced persons is returning to the village of Shushakend in the Khojaly district and the settlement of Gyrmyzybazar in the Khojavend district, Trend reports.

At this stage, 25 families (98 people) are returning to Azerbaijan's Khojaly and Khojavend.

The former IDPs returning to the village of Shushakend in the Khojaly district and the settlement of Gyrmyzybazar in the Khojavend district thanked President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva for their comprehensive care and expressed gratitude to the valiant Azerbaijani Army, which liberated the lands from occupation.

Currently, more than 50,000 people live in Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur. Among them are former internally displaced persons who have returned to these areas, as well as employees involved in the implementation of restoration and construction projects, employees of local departments of various government agencies, and specialists employed in healthcare, education, culture, tourism, industry, and energy institutions that have resumed their activities.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 11. The next group of former internally displaced persons is returning to the village of Sos in the Khojavend district, Trend reports.

At this stage, 10 families (45 people) are returning to the village of Sos in the Khojavend district.

The former IDPs returning to the village of Sos in the Khojavend district thanked President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva for their comprehensive care and expressed gratitude to the valiant Azerbaijani Army, which liberated the lands from occupation.

Currently, more than 50,000 people live in Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur. Among them are former internally displaced persons who have returned to these areas, as well as employees involved in the implementation of restoration and construction projects, employees of local departments of various government agencies, and specialists employed in healthcare, education, culture, tourism, industry, and energy institutions that have resumed their activities.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 11. The second day of the Baku Water Week International Exhibition and Conference on Water Management has come to an end in Baku, Trend reports.

The second day of the exhibition, organized with the support of the Azerbaijan State Water Resources Agency (ADSEA), was also very eventful.

Thus, while the first day of the event featured presentations on Comprehensive Solutions for Water Treatment and Achieving Guaranteed Results through Comprehensive Design of Water Supply and Wastewater Systems, today's event included the 2nd International Conference on Water Management.

The conference featured 40 speakers from about 10 countries, a plenary session on Leadership in Water Management: Regional and Global Aspects, panel discussions on Water Strategies: Infrastructure and Digitalization, Innovative Approaches to Managing Alternative Water Sources, Water Diplomacy: Transboundary Cooperation, and Water Resource Sustainability: The Role of Science and Innovation.

In total, more than 60 companies and delegations representing Azerbaijan, Germany, the US, Austria, Belarus, the UK, the Czech Republic, Israel, Switzerland, India, Hungary, Turkiye, Serbia, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore took part in the exhibition.

Addressing the opening of the 2nd day of the conference, Zaur Mikayilov, Chairman of the State Agency for Water Resources, stated that it would not be possible to prevent water shortages by constructing reservoirs, canals, and pipelines.

According to him, the amount of water that can be used for the benefit of the people is extremely small: "It is impossible to prevent water shortages by building reservoirs, canals, and pipelines.

In addition, the population has increased. The water demand has grown excessively. Factors such as industrialization and urbanization also lead to water shortages. This is because negative impacts on water also have negative consequences."

Then, Azerbaijan's Minister of Agriculture, Majnun Mammadov, took the floor and noted that the country has about 1.4 million hectares of irrigated land. He stated that by 2023, four percent of irrigated areas, and currently about 11 percent, will be provided with modern irrigation. The minister stressed that more than 70 percent of Azerbaijan's water resources are formed outside the country: "In a report prepared by the International Institute for Natural Resources, Azerbaijan ranks 18th on the list of 33 countries that will suffer from drought by 2040. We are trying to shape our policy in these conditions. At the same time, we are determining what changes we can make today so that we do not face a very serious water shortage in 5-10 years or more."

The minister underlined that over the past six years, more than 40,000 hectares of land in Azerbaijan have been equipped with modern irrigation systems: In just six months of this year, the Agricultural Credit and Development Agency has financed the implementation of modern irrigation systems on more than 2,000 hectares of land.

Mukhtar Babayev, Representative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Climate Issues and Chair of COP29, in his speech, noted that 16 bcm of water have been accumulated in Azerbaijan's reservoirs. He emphasized that Azerbaijan is a country located downstream of rivers: Therefore, the water issue must always be on the agenda of our relations with our neighbors. Azerbaijan is the only country in the region that is a member of the Water Convention. The other countries are not members of this convention. Therefore, we must pay attention to international cooperation on this issue. In this matter, we need to think not only about our own country, but also about the region.

Deputy Chairman of the State Agency of Water Resources of Azerbaijan (ASWR) Ilham Bayramov noted that it is planned to create water reserves with a volume of 350 million cubic meters in Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur. He recalled that design and estimate documents for water supply to 10 cities and 79 settlements in Eastern Zangezur and Karabakh have already been approved.

The representative of ADSEA noted that repair and restoration work on several reservoirs  Khachinchay and Kondalanchay  has been completed: "Construction of the Zabukhchay reservoir and the laying of a 51-kilometer main pipeline from Zabukhchay were carried out. At the same time, work is underway in this region to build the Khakarichay and Bargushadchay reservoirs."

Later, Rafig Aslanov, head of the State Service for Supervision of Water Resources Use and Protection under the State Water Resources Agency, noted that the reconstruction of the Shirvan irrigation canal will be completed by the end of 2027.

He stated that several large reservoirs are being reconstructed in Azerbaijan, and new water facilities are also being built: "The Shirvan irrigation canal is currently being reconstructed. Work has already begun. Work on the project is continuing successfully. Most likely, work on the project will be completed by the end of 2027.

Project documentation for the reconstruction of the Karabakh irrigation canal is also being prepared. The reconstruction of this canal will begin next year."

The goal is to raise awareness among the population and business entities in the field of water use protection, Aslanov noted.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 11. Co-organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Ministry of Culture, the "Timeless and Spaceless" exhibition will be held as part of the Nasimi Festival, Trend reports.

The exhibition, which will be launched on September 23, the first day of the festival, at the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum, will showcase Nasimi's poetry and philosophy as well as Sufi traditions and views through a harmonious blend of various art forms.

The exhibition will feature rare works of art selected from leading museums in both Azerbaijan and Turkiye. Visitors will be able to view unique pieces from the collections of the National Museum of History of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum, and exhibits brought from the Ankara Ethnography Museum, Istanbul Turbes Museum, and the Konya Mevlana Museum.

Valuable exhibits from the 17th to 20th centuries, including paintings, clothing, carpets, musical instruments, and manuscripts, will be on display. Each of these artistic gems preserves traces of the Sufi worldview, expressing the infinite love that forms the basis of Sufism and Hurufism, as well as humanity's spiritual connection with God through worship and spiritual elevation.

The exhibition will run until October 23.

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KHOJALY, Azerbaijan, September 11. The first group of former internally displaced persons (IDPs) returned to Shushakand village of Khojaly district today, the Restoration, Construction and Management Service in Khankendi city, Aghdara and Khojaly districts told Trend.

According to information, 59 IDPs from 15 families returned to the village in the first stage of the Great Return program.

Today, the keys to the apartments were presented to the families.

All necessary infrastructure has been created for the comfortable and safe life of residents in Shushakand.

New roads that meet modern standards have been laid in the village.

The residents have been fully provided with electricity, natural gas, and drinking water.

In addition, the necessary conditions have been created for the start of social facilities.

Speaking at the event, Sabuhi Gahramanov, deputy special representative of the President in Khankendi city, Aghdara, and Khojaly districts, congratulated the residents on the historic return and wished them a prosperous and peaceful life in their native lands.

Currently, more than 50,000 people live in Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur. Among them are former IDPs who have returned to these areas, as well as employees involved in the implementation of restoration and construction projects, employees of local departments of various government agencies, and specialists employed in healthcare, education, culture, tourism, industry, and energy institutions that have resumed their activities.

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By Juby Babu

(Reuters) - Oracle said on Tuesday it expects booked revenue at its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure business to exceed half a trillion dollars, boosted by growing demand for its relatively low-cost cloud infrastructure services and sending its shares up 27% after the bell.

The company's remaining performance obligations, or RPO, the most popular measure of booked revenue, jumped 359% to $455 billion in the first quarter, ended August 31.

"Over the next few months, we expect to sign-up several additional multi-billion-dollar customers and RPO is likely to exceed half-a-trillion dollars," said CEO Safra Catz.

Oracle, whose shares have risen over 107% so far this year, forecast OCI revenue growth of 77% to $18 billion this fiscal year, and on to $144 billion over the subsequent four years.

"Enterprises are clearly eager for cost-effective AI cloud tools, and Oracle is positioning itself to capture that demand," said eMarketer analyst Jacob Bourne.

Oracle offers integrated cloud technologies along with flexible deployment models, enabling it to meet a range of customer demands.

"We made it very easy for our customers to directly connect all their databases ... to the world's most advanced AI reasoning models  ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, all of which are uniquely available in the Oracle Cloud," Catz said on a post-earnings call.

Even though it is a smaller player, "both current and forecast numbers show that Oracle's investment in infrastructure is continuing to pay off as large organizations look to Oracle Cloud to support their AI initiatives," said Rebecca Wettemann, CEO of industry analyst firm Valoir.

It has struck deals with Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft for OCI to run inside their respective cloud infrastructure. Revenue from these clients grew 1,529% in the first quarter.

"We expect MultiCloud revenue to grow substantially every quarter for several years as we deliver another 37 datacenters to our three hyperscaler partners, for a total of 71," Chairman Larry Ellison said.

"By offering integrated solutions across various environments, Oracle is not just keeping up but actually leading the way in the cloud space. This could attract even more businesses looking for versatile cloud options," according to Melissa Otto, head of research at S&P Global's Visible Alpha.

Oracle also said it had signed four multi-billion-dollar contracts with three different customers in the first quarter, helping a 12% increase in revenue to $14.93 billion.

For the second quarter, Oracle expects total revenue to grow 12% to 14%, while it sees cloud revenue growth between 32% to 36%.

(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Alan Barona)
September 11, 2025, Almaty, Kazakhstan  The General Assembly of the Regional Air Navigation Safety Coordination Platform for Europe and Asia (SOCEA) was held in Almaty. This important international forum brought together air navigation service providers (ANSPs) from various countries in Europe and Central Asia to develop joint solutions in the areas of flight safety, air traffic flow coordination, and digital integration of regional airspace.

Azerbaijan was represented at the event by the Azeraeronavigation ATM (AZANS), a subsidiary of CJSC Azerbaijan Airlines, which is part of AZCON Holding. AZANS continues its consistent efforts to expand intergovernmental cooperation and strengthen our countrys role in the architecture of Eurasian air navigation.

At the General Assembly in Almaty, the Director of the Azeraeronavigation ATM was elected President of SOCEA, and the chairmanship of the organization was officially transferred from Turkiye to Azerbaijan. This step once again confirmed the international recognition of Azerbaijans leading role in shaping a safe, harmonized, and technologically advanced airspace at the Eurasian level.

The SOCEA platform was established in 2023 on the initiative of Azerbaijan and Turkiye and, since the beginning of its activities, has made a significant contribution to the alignment of flight safety strategies, the implementation of digital solutions, as well as the development and standardization of air traffic management processes at the regional level.

Currently, SOCEA includes air navigation service providers from Azerbaijan, Turkiye, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. This cooperation creates a unified approach to ensuring safety and efficiency in the regions airspace.

The development of SOCEA and the subsequent accession of airports to the platform are of vital importance for strengthening the global transport chain. This cooperation, supported within the framework of the Organization of Turkic States, will pave the way for the implementation of the EuropeCentral Asia Digital Sky (E-CADS) project.

This initiative, by ensuring mutual integration of air traffic management between Europe and Asia, will enhance the safety, regularity, and sustainability of flights.

It should be noted that Azerbaijans airspace is one of the main transit corridors between East and West and serves more than 200,000 flights annually. AZANS will continue its activities to strengthen international partnerships and implement modern solutions in air traffic management.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 11. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece, George Gerapetritis, met with the Director-General of the Reconstruction and Development Fund of Libya, Belgasem Haftar, Trend reports.

The two sides addressed the historical relations between Greece and Libya and reaffirmed their mutual will to develop and foster a constructive dialogue. Mr. Haftars visit to Athens offered an opportunity to explore ways of strengthening cooperation in the fields of construction, energy, investments, and transport, and to prepare the upcoming Greek business delegation to Benghazi later this autumn.

Gerapetritis welcomed the substantial reduction in migration flows from Tobruk to Crete, following his visit to Benghazi. In this context, the two sides agreed to continue the training of Libyan coast guard officers in Greece, focusing on maritime deterrence and the management of migratory flows.

Gerapetritis reiterated the Greek and European position on the null and void Turkish-Libyan memorandum.

Finally, he underlined Greeces constructive role within the European Union and the United Nations, as an elected member of the Security Council, in achieving unity and stability in Libya, with the ultimate goal of making the Mediterranean a sea of peace and prosperity.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 11. Bosnia and Herzegovinas Minister of Foreign Affairs, Elmedin Konakovic, attended the ceremonial opening of the 29th International General BH Trade Fair ZEPS 2025 on September 10, 2025, held in Zenica from September 10 to 13, Trend reports.

In his address to numerous representatives from both domestic and international circles, Minister Konakovic emphasized the importance of the ZEPS fair as one of the most significant business events for promoting Bosnia and Herzegovinas economic potential, strengthening international economic cooperation, and attracting foreign investment.

The Minister highlighted that Bosnia and Herzegovina has strong potential for economic development and cooperation, but concrete steps are needed to improve the business environment, open access to the European market, and create prospects for retaining young people in the country. In this context, he particularly stressed the importance of economic diplomacy and the increasingly active role of BiHs diplomatic-consular network in promoting exports, supporting domestic companies, and connecting with international partners.

This years ZEPS 2025 fair brought together around 500 exhibitors from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, Germany, Serbia, Croatia, China, Italy, Libya, Belgium, Hungary, Poland, Austria, Slovenia, and other countries. During the fair, a rich program of business meetings, panels, promotions, and thematic discussions was planned.

Minister Konakovic congratulated the organizers on the successful revitalization of the fair, emphasizing that such events are a concrete confirmation that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country of potential, knowledge, and international economic ambitions. ZEPS was presented as an important symbol of economic unity, cooperation, and openness to the international market.

The opening ceremony was also attended by the Prime Minister of the Federation of BiH, Nermin Niksic; the Prime Minister of Zenica-Doboj Canton, Nezir Pivic; the Mayor of Zenica, Fuad Kasumovic; the ambassadors of Turkey and Italy to BiH; representatives of the Foreign Trade Chamber of BiH; economic chambers of FBiH and RS; the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce; and numerous domestic and international business entities.
ASGABAT, Turkmenistan, September 11. Mass cotton harvesting has officially begun in all regions of Turkmenistan, with plans to collect over 1.2 million tons of the white gold during the 2025 season, Trend reports.

The first caravans of harvested cotton have already been delivered to receiving points. For the campaign, modern John Deere and CLAAS combines, along with other specialized machinery, have been prepared to ensure timely harvesting.

The Mary region is set to bring in the largest share of the harvest359,000 tons from 162,000 hectares. In the Lebap region, farmers are setting their sights on reaping 320,000 tons from 130,000 hectares. The Akhal region is gearing up to reap a bountiful harvest of 280,000 tons from 135,000 hectares, while the Dashoguz region has set its sights on 275,000 tons from 140,000 hectares. The Balkan region is set to yield a meager crop, with only 16,000 tons coming from 13,000 hectares.

Officials underscore that the agronomic extraction initiative represents a pivotal phase in achieving the nations yearly agrarian objectives and securing consistent inputs for the textile sector.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 11. The U.S. has been putting its feelers out in Central Asia, and the interest is on the rise like a phoenix from the ashes. Washington is rolling up its sleeves and getting down to brass tacks with the 'C5+1' format to bolster communication with the five countries in the region. For the U.S., Central Asia is not just a quickly expanding market packed with resources but also a key strategic center, vital for keeping up regional security and rolling out new transit routes between East and West.

In this scenario, Uzbekistan holds a unique spot in the grand scheme of things. The country has become the largest recipient of US assistance in the region due to its advantageous location in the center of Central Asia and its proximity to unstable Afghanistan. For Washington, Tashkent is a key partner in security, infrastructure, energy, and trade. The U.S. views Uzbekistan as a stabilizer in the region and an important pillar of its long-term strategy.

A recent phone conversation between President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed this approach. The American leader praised Uzbekistans reforms, highlighting their irreversibility and focus on economic modernization. In response, Shavkat Mirziyoyev expressed gratitude for Washingtons efforts to ensure regional and global stability and confirmed Uzbekistans readiness to deepen its strategic partnership.

Economic cooperation remains the main driver of bilateral relations. By the end of 2024, trade turnover increased by 15 percent, reaching $881.7 million, while U.S. direct investment amounted to $612.6 million. Over 300 companies with American capital are already making waves in the country, including 167 that are flying the flag with 100 percent US ownership. Even though trade volumes took a hit in the first half of 2025, the U.S. still stands tall as one of Uzbekistans key partners.

Big-ticket investment projects in the region are of utmost importance. Air Products company has invested over $1 billion in industrial gases and synthetic fuel production, with new investments potentially exceeding $10 billion. Discussions are also underway regarding cooperation in hydrogen energy, decarbonization, and the food industry. These projects set the course for industrial modernization in Uzbekistan and its integration into global production chains.

General Motors continues to steer the ship in the automotive sector, keeping the wheels turning with the production and export of equipment. Honeywell is throwing its hat into the ring with digital technologies in the industry and energy sectors. Pharmaceutical companies, like Pfizer, are rolling up their sleeves and joining forces to cook up cutting-edge medicines and vaccines.

An unusual but strategically important development is Uzbekistans intention to start importing American cotton. At first glance, this may seem surprising, as the country has traditionally been a major exporter. However, importing high-quality raw materials will allow Uzbek textiles to strengthen their position in premium global markets, improve production technology, and attract new orders. Both local manufacturers and the state, which increases the export potential of the sector, will benefit.

Washington also supports institutional reforms. With the help of American experts funded by the U.S. Treasury, Uzbekistan is modernizing its financial sector and capital market, enhancing transparency and investor appeal. As a result, a special office to support American investments has been established within the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade.

In recent years, Uzbekistan has made great strides in transitioning from a centralized economy to a market-based one. Laws protecting investments, including guarantees for foreign investors, have been adopted. The 2017 strategy, the New Uzbekistan 2022, and Uzbekistan 2030 are vivid examples of this. We congratulate President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and his team for creating a reliable investment environment through reforms, said Carolyn Lamm, Chair of the American-Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce (AUCC), during the Uzbek-American Business Forum in Tashkent.

On this account, political cooperation is equally important. The U.S. actively assists Uzbekistan in its accession to the World Trade Organization. For Tashkent, this is a strategic step that will secure its position in global markets and attract more investment. American experts also support reforms in the financial sector, improving transparency and public administration efficiency. All of this strengthens investor confidence and accelerates economic integration.

However, there are still a few bumps in the road. The main risk is that the situation in Afghanistan could be a double-edged sword, potentially throwing a wrench in the works for both security and trade routes. The race for influence in Central Asia is heating up, with China, Russia, and the EU all throwing their hats into the ring. In these trying times, Tashkent has to walk a tightrope between various power players to reap the rewards.

For the U.S., cooperation with Uzbekistan is not only about investment and trade but also a part of its strategy to strengthen its regional position.

Today, it can be confidently stated that Uzbek-American cooperation is reaching a systemic level. It covers the economy, security, and political sphere, forming a long-term foundation for a strategic partnership. For Uzbekistan, this is an opportunity to accelerate reforms, modernize infrastructure, and strengthen its position as a key logistics and industrial hub in Central Asia. For the U.S., Tashkent is not only a reliable partner in ensuring regional stability but also a profitable economic ally, opening new opportunities for investment and trade.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, September 11. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan hosted a meeting with a delegation from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to explore avenues for advancing bilateral cooperation, expanding financing opportunities for local businesses, and increasing access to international financial markets, Trend reports.

The discussions brought together Alisher Shaykhov, Advisor to the Chairman of the Chamber, and representatives of key sectoral associations such as UzSanotKurilishMateriallari and UzCharmSanot, alongside senior EBRD officials.

A specific emphasis was directed towards the initiatives of the Entrepreneur Support Center aimed at facilitating access to global financial markets, which was instituted within the Chamber's framework. The Center serves as a critical nexus for delivering pragmatic assistance, specialized consultancy, and bespoke strategies for Uzbek entrepreneurs navigating the complexities of global financing opportunities.



The conclave culminated in definitive accords to operationalize collaborative ventures, execute targeted training modules, and inaugurate initiatives aimed at catalyzing entrepreneurial dynamism and economic expansion within Uzbekistan.



Simultaneously, the EBRD has consistently augmented its footprint in Uzbekistan, with aggregate capital allocations totaling 5.41 billion euro across 185 initiatives as of 31 July 2025, highlighting the institutions strategic dedication to facilitating the nations economic transformation.

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Photo: Press-service of Kazakh Senate (the upper house of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan)

ASTANA, Kazakhstan, September 11. Speaker of the Kazakh Senate Maulen Ashimbayev laid his cards on the table regarding his vision for a unicameral parliament in Kazakhstan, Trend reports.

According to the Speaker, this represents not just a procedural modification but the establishment of a novel, cohesive unicameral legislative body with integrated authorities, an overhauled methodology for the election of representatives, and a prospective adjustment in the total count of legislators.

This will be a new institution within our political system. And we are confident that following nationwide discussions and a referendumif the relevant decisions are approved by our citizensthis will form a new institution that will be very important for the further democratic development of our country, Ashimbayev said in the Senates corridors.

On September 8, while delivering an address to the people of Kazakhstan, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed making the countrys parliament unicameral. A referendum on abolishing the Kazakh Senate could be held in 2027. Tokayev believes that elections to the unicameral parliament should be conducted via party lists.

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Kazakhstan spills beans on count of French-backed businesses making waves in Almaty

Photo: Akimat (local government) of the Kazakhstans Almaty's region

During a meeting in Almaty, Mayor Darkhan Satybaldy and French Ambassador Sylvain Guiaugue discussed strengthening cooperation between Kazakhstan and France. With around 60 French-funded enterprises operating in the city, talks focused on expanding ties in economics, entrepreneurship, culture, and urban development.

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TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, September 11. Uzbekistans Minister of Agriculture, Ibrohim Abdurahmonov, met with Timo Zacharias, Commercial Director for Global Trade Finance at the world-renowned American company John Deere, to discuss expanding bilateral cooperation in the agricultural sector and the companys plans for direct investment in Uzbekistan, Trend reports.

During the meeting, John Deere representatives provided a detailed overview of ongoing initiatives in Uzbekistan, highlighting key achievements and efficiency indicators. The discussion focused not only on financial support but also on introducing modern agrotechnologies, testing advanced machinery in real-world conditions, and demonstrating its capabilities.

Crucially, John Deere executives have advocated for the localization of IT services and digital technologies in conjunction with equipment deployment, thereby presenting an integrated solution to expedite the digital transformation of Uzbekistans agricultural landscape.



Minister Abdurahmonov underscored that Uzbekistan presents a plethora of avenues for foreign capital infusion in the agricultural sector and reiterated the ministrys unwavering dedication to delivering comprehensive assistance within its operational framework.



At the culmination of the assembly, both parties reached a consensus to formulate tangible propositions and delineate actionable collaboration strategies in the imminent future.

Meanwhile, by the end of 2024, trade turnover between Uzbekistan and the United States grew by 15 percent, reaching $881.7 million, while U.S. direct investment amounted to $612.6 million. Over 300 companies with American capital are already operating in Uzbekistan, including 167 enterprises with 100 percent U.S. ownership.

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Parsons Corporation (NYSE:PSN) is one of the best IT stocks to invest in according to hedge funds. On September 4, Parsons Corporation announced that it has secured an $81 million C5ISR radar contract from the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command/DEVCOM. This is a re-compete Task Order awarded under the Responsive Strategic Sourcing for Services/RS3 contract vehicle.

The contract has a 12-month base period of performance, along with four 12-month option periods. Under the contract, Parsons will provide critical radar engineering solutions to help the Army DEVCOMs Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance/C5ISR division meet its mission needs.

Parsons Corporation Wins $81M US Army Contract for Advanced Radar, AI Solutions

This includes enhancing Army aerial and ground radar capabilities through the development of advanced radio frequency technologies, the integration of artificial intelligence, and the provision of systems engineering services.

Parsons Corporation (NYSE:PSN) provides integrated solutions and services in the defense, intelligence, and critical infrastructure markets internationally. It operates through Federal Solutions and Critical Infrastructure segments.

While we acknowledge the potential of PSN as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If youre looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 11. The Czech company MEGA a.s., specializing in industrial and water treatment technologies, is exploring opportunities to enter the Azerbaijani market, Michal Jirdasek, the company's Key Account Manager, told Trend at the 2nd International Exhibition and Conference for Water Management.

Our objective is to penetrate the Azerbaijani market, establish strategic alliances to optimize and modernize existing production infrastructures, and engage in innovative green initiatives aimed at augmenting water recovery processes, Jirdasek said.

The company official explained that MEGA a.s. can implement technologies that purify contaminated water from scratch to the quality required by clients or partners.

The uniqueness of our solution is that we integrate our own electromechanical membrane technologies into the production lines. We select the best aspects of each technology and combine them to achieve the highest possible level of water purification and recovery while ensuring process efficiency, Jirdasek added.

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Iran's non-oil exports to Turkmenistan surge in past months

Irans non-oil exports to Turkmenistan have grown significantly, reaching roughly $253 million and 663,000 tons in the first five months of the year, up from about $195 million and 562,000 tons last year. Overall, Irans non-oil exports totaled nearly $21 billion and 61 million tons during the period, with a slight drop in value but a small increase in volume.

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TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, September 11. S7 Airlines will launch two new flights from Russia to Uzbekistan starting late October, Trend reports.

Flights from Novosibirsk will commence on October 27, while those from Irkutsk will begin on October 30.

Both routes will operate once a week using Airbus A320 and Boeing 737-800 aircraft throughout the autumn-winter schedule. Flight duration is estimated at 2 hours 35 minutes from Novosibirsk and 4 hours 40 minutes from Irkutsk.

S7 Airlines, legally known as JSC Siberia Airlines, is headquartered in Ob, Novosibirsk Region, Russia, with offices in Moscow.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 11. Iran must significantly reduce its dependence on crude oil exports, the Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian, said at a meeting with investors and businesspeople in the northwestern Ardabil Province, Trend reports.

Currently, there is concern in Iran about how to address problems if Iranian oil cannot be sold or sanctions are applied. The country must develop its economy without relying on oil exports, Pezeshkian said.

He highlighted that Iran has opportunities across various sectors and a skilled workforce, which should be fully utilized.

The Iranian President added that there are countries in the world without oil or gas, even importing electricity and energy, yet they manage their economies very effectively. Iran can take steps in this direction as well.

According to official figures, Irans total hydrocarbon reserves stand at 1.2 trillion barrels. With existing technology and equipment, the country can extract approximately 340 billion barrels, using around 30 percent, while 70 percent remains untapped underground.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 11. Azerbaijan has begun work on creating a national water atlas based on an electronic water management information system and geographic information technologies, said Ilham Bayramov, Deputy Chairman of the State Agency for Water Resources of Azerbaijan (ADSEA), Trend reports.

Speaking at the second day of the 2nd International Exhibition and Conference for Water Management, Baku Water Week, Bayramov noted that the project involves the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport, Azerbaijans Space Agency (Azrkosmos), and other institutions.

Once the electronic water management information system is established, we will be able to track the balance and usage of water from rivers, underground, and surface sources all the way to the end consumer. It will also enable online monitoring and management of water regulation, distribution, and consumption, he said.

He made it clear that this will be the first electronic water atlas in Azerbaijan, a real game changer in the making.

The main goal of the atlas is to consolidate all water resources, infrastructure, and surface and underground water sources into a unified geographic database. This system will integrate with other government databases and feature a comprehensive online interface.

Once completed, relevant institutions, companies, and water users will be able to easily utilize the system. All of this aims to ensure a sustainable and high-quality water supply across the country, Bayramov added.

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Iran faces sharp plunge in product imports from Turkmenistan

Irans imports from Turkmenistan fell by over 59% in value and 56% in weight from March to August 2024. Imports totaled 2,370 tons worth $3.59 million. Meanwhile, total non-oil trade between the two countries grew by 26.6%.

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Photo: Official information source of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan

ASTANA, Kazakhstan, September 11. First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Roman Sklyar, met with the leadership and members of the Association of Turkish and Kazakh Businessmen (TUKIB) to discuss current business issues, the progress of joint investment projects, Trend reports via the press service of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan.

In the course of the meeting, Roman Sklyar emphasized that Kazakh-Turkish relations are a strategic priority. He noted that Turkiye is among Kazakhstan's key partners, and Turkish investments contribute to technology transfer, industrial development, and job creation.

In turn, Chairman of the TUKIB Board of Directors Abbas Shahin stated that the Association will continue to actively promote the strengthening of trade and economic ties between Kazakhstan and Turkey, as well as support joint projects implemented in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Following the meeting, the sides expressed their readiness to continue a constructive dialogue and joint efforts to improve conditions for business and implement new projects.

The Association of Turkish and Kazakh Businessmen (TUKIB) was established in 2016 and brings together major companies from both countries, including Alarko Holding, Anadolu Group (Efes Kazakhstan, Coca-Cola), Aksa Energy, Borusan Kazakhstan, Esan Kazakhstan (Eczacbas Holding), Turkish Airlines, YDA Holding, TAV Kazakhstan, Corex Holding, and others. The Association contributes to the development of trade and economic relations and the improvement of the investment climate between Kazakhstan and Turkiye.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 11. Public-private partnership (PPP) is an effective tool for implementing large projects in the water sector, Regional Head for Private Sector Development in Central and West Asia at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Enrico Pinali said at the II International Conference "Water Management" during a panel discussion on "Innovative Approaches to Alternative Water Resources Management", Trend reports.

"Governments must provide policy support, a regulatory framework, standards, and incentives for private sector participation, while private companies bring capital, expertise, and the necessary technological innovations," Pinali explained.

According to him, ADB is working with partner governments to further develop PPP.

He also noted that ADB uses another aspect of financial innovation - the so-called 'blended finance'.

"It effectively attracts private investment to projects that are barely commercially viable. This means that some funds are needed on preferential terms to raise capital for the project. The project itself is not fully commercially viable, but it could become so," Pinali added.

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BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, September 11. President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov held a meeting in Bishkek with representatives of Rothschild & Co., headed by board member Ariel Malyard de Rothschild, Trend reports, citing the presidential administration.

The talks focused on the prospects for economic and financial cooperation, implementation of joint projects, and attracting foreign investment. President Zhaparov emphasized that the interest of Rothschild & Co. in Kyrgyzstan is an important sign of trust, noting the companys global reputation for stability, reliability, and expertise in financial markets.

The head of state underscored that the strategic reforms and economic metamorphoses implemented over the preceding quadrennium are manifesting favorable outcomes, thereby enhancing Kyrgyzstan's appeal to global stakeholders.

Representatives of Rothschild & Co. expressed readiness to expand cooperation in Kyrgyzstan, including in the fields of infrastructure, energy, and investment consulting. They stressed that the company works with many countries around the world, including in Central Asia, and is prepared to share its expertise in supporting financial projects and attracting investment.

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Philips and Masimo have renewed a longstanding strategic partnership to develop patient care solutions.

This time, the companies stated that their collaboration would primarily focus on advancing patient access to monitoring and measurement technologies, with more integrated tools that support better outcomes across the continuum of care.

A core aspect of the companies plans will be in integrating Masimos sensor technologies, SET pulse oximetry, and Radius PPG tools into Philips multi-parameter patient monitoring platforms.

According to the companies, the planned integrations will provide clinicians with reliable data and insights across bedside monitors, central stations, and wearable solutions. The resulting technology is slated to enhance interoperability and support continuity of patient care.

Masimos CEO Katie Szyman commented: Expanding our strong, long-standing partnership with Philips allows us to build on our shared legacies of innovation and helps ensure that Masimos best-in-class technologies reach even more patients.

With the development of this unified foundation, the companies also plan to collaborate on next-generation monitoring solutions they state reflect emerging clinical needs and evolving market demand such as the need for greater patient mobility.

Julia Strandberg, executive vice president and business leader of connected care at Philips commented: Our priority is helping clinicians deliver the best possible care to their patients, and that means staying ahead of the curve.

In July, Philips renewed a similar relationship with Medtronic to help realise what Philips general manager of clinical applications and devices for hospital patient monitoring, Sachin Chaudhari, referred to as a more comprehensive patient monitoring solution.

Medtronic itself recently signed a similar partnership with the Manchester University UK National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust (MFT) to co-develop healthcare technologies, including a remote monitoring pathway named TriageHP Plus. According to GlobalData analysis, the global remote patient monitoring market is forecast to grow by a CAGR of 2.1% to reach a valuation of almost $26bn by 2034, up from $20.9bn in 2024.

"Philips and Masimo extend strategic partnership with sensor tech focus" was originally created and published by Medical Device Network, a GlobalData owned brand.




TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, September 11. JSC Uzbekistan Railways held a meeting with Huawei representatives to discuss the development of digital solutions and technological innovations for the railway sector, Trend reports.

The meeting took place at Huaweis office, where Hikmatulla Rakhmetov, First Deputy Chairman of the Board for Transformation, Digitalization, and Finance, along with specialists from the IT and Transformation divisions, reviewed the companys advanced technological solutions.

Huawei presented its achievements in wireless and wired networks, modern servers, switching equipment, and specialized solutions designed for the railway industry. The discussions focused on key areas of collaboration, including the implementation and expansion of cloud services, the use of artificial intelligence to optimize operational processes, the modernization of infrastructure, and the continued digital transformation of railway operations.

The parties agreed to strengthen their partnership, opening new opportunities for innovation and modernization that are expected to enhance industry development and improve passenger service.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 11. A water conference will be held in Dushanbe in 2026, the Head of the Department of External Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan, Manuchehr Jobir said, Trend reports.

He made the remark at the 2nd International Conference on Water Management during a panel discussion on Water Diplomacy: Cooperation beyond borders in Baku.

"Launched in 2018, the Dushanbe Water Process is an inclusive and practice-oriented platform that links global commitments with national and regional realities. As part of this process, Tajikistan will host the Water Conference in Dushanbe in 2026. This conference is expected to be a preparatory stage for the UN Water Conference in the United Arab Emirates in 2026, as well as an important step towards the 2028 UN Water Conference, which will be held in Tajikistan," he said.

Jobir noted that Tajikistan is actively promoting global water diplomacy and the water agenda both within and outside the UN.

''To date, the initiatives of Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon have led to the adoption of several UN General Assembly resolutions, including the International Decade for Action Water for Sustainable Development 2018-2028 and the International Year of Glacier Conservation,'' he stressed.

These initiatives reflect our deep conviction that water is key to human well-being, sustainable economic growth, and climate resilience, he emphasized.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, September 11. During the International Multi-Sector Business Mission in the Moscow region of Russia, Kazakhstan Railways' subsidiary, KTZ Express, signed a Cooperation Agreement to advance an Agro-Industrial Park project in the Almaty region, Trend reports via Kazakhstan Railways.

The signing ceremony between KTZ Express, JSC Slavtrans-Service (Russia), and LLP Alatau (Kazakhstan) took place in the presence of the Akim (Governor) of the Almaty region and the Governor of the Moscow region, highlighting the high-level and interregional scale of the initiative.

During the ceremony, the parties decided to join forces and roll up their sleeves for the development and promotion of the project. The Agro-Industrial Park is set to take root in Alatau City, which is still a work in progress not far from Almaty.

"The framework will encompass a state-of-the-art Class 'A' warehouse complex, multi-temperature storage facilities, a container terminal, and a wholesale and retail center, as well as areas for phytosanitary control and customs clearance. The new facility will become a multifunctional hub that unites the interests of producers, exporters, and retail chains into a single system," the statement reads.

The project directly aligns with the priorities set by the President of Kazakhstan: developing exports and promoting domestic products in foreign markets. The new park will not only improve logistics efficiency but also create a favorable environment for producers with access to new sales channels. Kazakhstani companies will be able to enter international markets more quickly and easily, and the region will receive a strong boost to economic growth.

"The companys experience with international projects, including the CRK Terminal in the Moscow region (Russia), confirms its readiness to implement large-scale initiatives integrated into global supply chains," the statement added.

KTZ Express is Kazakhstans national multimodal logistics operator, part of NC Kazakhstan Railways, offering integrated transport services (rail, road, sea, and air), freight forwarding, customs clearance, and terminal operations.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 11. The international IT company Andersen Lab has officially opened its center in Azerbaijan on September 11, Trend reports.

The center began operating within the Azerbaijan Innovation Center with the organizational support of the Innovation and Digital Development Agency.

The company, which operates in more than 19 countries and unites over 3,700 specialists, has been active in Azerbaijan since last October as a technopark resident. At the opening ceremony, Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev reviewed the facilities of the new center. The chairman of the Innovation and Digital Development Agency, Farid Osmanov, delivered a speech on the importance of the project, while company founder Alexandr Khomich and vice president Denis Astapchenia presented the centers activities and programs. The director of government relations, Kiryl Rudy, also attended the event.

The center offers young people not only theoretical training but also practical opportunities to work on real projects. It serves as an official workplace for Andersen Lab employees in Azerbaijan and aims to strengthen human capital, address the shortage of IT professionals, and enhance the export of ICT services.

One of the main initiatives is the IT SkillsBridge program, which provides training in Java, JavaScript, business analysis, quality control, DevOps, mobile programming, and project management. More than 14,000 applications were submitted, with 210 participants selected. Employment contracts and stipends have been offered to trainees, and 100 specialists who successfully complete the program will join Andersen Labs global projects.

It is significant to highlight that a substantial 30 percent of the cohort engaged in the program comprises female participants. In terms of age, 50 percent of participants are 20-25 years old, 30 percent are 25-30 years old, and 20 percent are 30-35 years old. The program is set to open new doors for Azerbaijani IT specialists in international projects, fast-track the countrys entry into the global digital services arena, and boost ICT service exports, all while giving a leg up to national economic growth.

The initiative exemplifies a paradigm of synergistic public-private collaboration, enhancing youth competencies, augmenting labor market competitiveness, and elevating Azerbaijans status as a pivotal regional and global digital nexus.

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DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, September 11. From the start of January to the end of June 2025, enterprises and organizations in Tajikistan rolled up their sleeves and created a whopping 32,717 new jobs, turning the tide for many in the workforce.

Data obtained by Trend from the countrys Statistical Agency shows that of the total, 20,288 positions (62 percent) were permanent, 8,439 (25.8 percent) were temporary, and 3,990 (12.2 percent) were seasonal. Furthermore, a total of 162 supplementary positions were instantiated, alongside the reinstatement of 2,733 roles, culminating in an aggregate of 35,612 newly generated employment opportunities attributable to legal entities.



The predominant allocation of workforce engagement was catalyzed within the education sector (6,667 positions), construction domain (5,596), manufacturing sphere (5,486), ancillary economic activities (8,123), trade sector (2,991), agriculture, forestry, and fisheries arena (2,062), healthcare and social services field (1,719), and mining industry (1,344).



In juxtaposition to the period spanning January through June 2024, there was an uptick of 2.1 percent in the aggregate count of employment classifications, encompassing permanent, temporary, seasonal, additional, and restored roles, translating to an increment of 726 positions.



At the conclusion of June 2025, the officially documented unemployment figures in Tajikistan escalated to 50,900, reflecting a 3.2 percent uptick relative to the data from June 2024. Females constituted 47.6 percent of the total registered unemployment demographic, representing a cohort of 24,200 individuals. The sanctioned unemployment metric in relation to the aggregate labor pool was quantified at 1.8 percent.
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, September 11. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov met with UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan Dmitry Shlapachenko to go over priority areas of cooperation between Turkmenistan and the United Nations and its specialized agencies, Trend reports via Turkmen MFA.

The meeting took place as the regular session of the UN General Assembly opened in New York, a key international platform for addressing pressing global issues. Particular attention was paid to preparations for the upcoming meeting of the Strategic Advisory Council Turkmenistan-UN.

In the context of events marking the 80th anniversary of the UNs founding, Minister Meredov expressed Turkmenistans readiness to support the organization of commemorative activities in the country.

On the same day, the Foreign Minister also held talks with Kakha Imnadze, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA).

Discourse centered on Turkmenistans strategic priorities within the framework of the 80th UN General Assembly, a significant number of which resonate with the operational scope of UNRCCAs mandate. The Turkmen delegation reiterated its preparedness to engage proactively with the Center to operationalize these initiatives.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 11. Economic opportunities between Ardabil Province and Azerbaijan can be further developed, said the Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian, Trend reports.

Speaking at a meeting with investors and businesspeople in the northwestern province of Ardabil, Pezeshkian pointed out that Ardabil, sitting pretty along the border with Azerbaijan, has a goldmine of economic potential just waiting to be tapped.

If we approach Ardabil differently, many economic challenges can be resolved. With the right strategy, it is possible to develop the economy in Ardabil, which has significant potential, he said.

The Iranian president visited Ardabil today and participated in events related to the inauguration of several new projects in the province.

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Dive Brief:

Portillos is slowing its rate of store development and cutting aspects of its operations  including its Chicago breakfast pilot  to focus on its existing markets, according to a statement issued Wednesday.

The brand slashed its unit growth target from 12 to eight new units, a 33% decrease, and lowered its same-store sales projections from 1% to 3% growth for the fiscal year to a 1% to 1.5% decline.

The brands recent openings in Texas have underperformed expectations, CEO Michael Osanloo told analysts on the brands most recent earnings call. Osanloo, however, said the chain still sees room to grow in Texas and hasnt given up on the market.

Dive Insight:

Some of Portillos underperformance in the Lone Star State, according to Osanloo, stems from a lack of brand awareness and the disparate spread of its restaurants compared to other markets  particularly its Chicago core.

There's a reason why we are so dominant in Chicago. If you're in the Chicagoland area, in any of the suburbs, pretty much within 5 miles of you there's a Portillo's, Osanloo said. So if you have a craving for Portillo's, you can go.

The development retrenchment is intended to sharpen focus on its core markets, according to the Wednesday press release, which aligns with Osanloos analysis of Portillos brand awareness and convenience problems.

The chains openings in Florida and Arizona have performed well, William Blair analyst Sharon Zackfia said in an emailed research note regarding the changed guidance. But the chain has yet to prove itself decisively.

Portillos stock remains a show-me story, Zackfia wrote. Zackfia also said the chain might face compression of unit-level margins as a result of more normalized average unit volumes as the company expands throughout the United States.

Despite those Portillos-specific dynamics, the brand attributed much of the downward revision to pricing and promotional dynamics within the industry, and likely trends through the remaining months of 2025.

The brand announced a set of strategic changes meant to cope with those broader pressures. Osanloo said the chain wants to reinforce value and improve service to drive traffic. The chain will simplify operations, including by ending its Chicago-area breakfast pilot, which it launched this spring and expanded in July. The brand plans to optimize capital deployment to position Portillos for positive free cash flow in 2026, and restrain new restaurant growth.
By Nicole Lyons, September 10, 2025

MDC has partnered with the Missouri Prairie Foundation and the Missouri Conservation

Heritage Foundation to offer students from SFCC and UCM an internship opportunity in the

Lone Buffalo District. The interns will work on both private land and public land, like Paint

Brush Prairie Conservation Area (pictured above), in Johnson, Pettis and Benton counties.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), Missouri Prairie Foundation (MPF) and the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation (MCHF) have created a new internship program for students from State Fair Community College (SFCC) and the University of Central Missouri (UCM). The internship will begin in summer 2026 with applications opening in January.



The program is intended to provide hands-on experience in natural resource management to college students at SFCC and UCM pursuing degrees related to natural resources, agriculture or environmental studies. Two students will be chosen from the pool of applicants to work primarily on habitat management in MDCs Lone Buffalo District in Johnson, Pettis and Benton counties on both public and private land.



This opportunity offers students a deeper understanding of the day-to-day responsibilities of professionals in this field, while also allowing them to demonstrate their potential for employment in the future, said MDC Deputy Director Aaron Jeffries. We are happy to guide the next generation in conservation and resource management.



Each student intern will work on a variety of projects over a 12-to-14-week period in the summer, with additional week-long work opportunities in the fall, winter and spring. Duties for the first two years will focus on habitat management and area maintenance in the Lone Buffalo District. A student who successfully completes two years in the program may expand their experience for a third season to work in other MDC internship areas if they so choose.



MCHF will award a $5,000 scholarship to each intern upon completion of their first summer of work. If the student returns for additional years, they will receive subsequent scholarships of equal value.



The Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation is honored to support the Lone Buffalo Internship Program, said Tricia Burkhardt, executive director of MCHF. This demonstrates how partners can come together to foster a unique learning opportunity and provide financial support to students who are passionate about our natural resources.



This internship program will provide stewardship to irreplaceable prairies and other natural communities in Johnson, Pettis and Benton counties," said Carol Davit, executive director of the Missouri Prairie Foundation, a 59-year-old land trust that owns and manages several original prairies in Pettis and Benton counties open to the public. "In addition, the program will help train natural community stewards for the future. An experienced workforce is critically important to safeguard Missouri's natural heritage for generations to come. The Missouri Prairie Foundation is pleased to be a partner in this significant educational initiative."



MDC will supervise the interns, providing equipment, training, and work plans. MPF and MCHF will both support the program financially, and interns will have the opportunity to work on MPF properties during the summer. The partnership will focus on providing learning and work opportunities to interns throughout the school year, exposing the students to public and private land habitat management, recreational use management, monitoring and research, and more.



The faculty and staff in our department are thrilled to partner with the Lone Buffalo Internship Program, said Scott Lankford, chair of the Department of Biological and Clinical Sciences at UCM. This transformative, engaged-learning initiative offers our top students both financial support and hands-on experience, preparing them to become highly skilled, job-ready conservation professionals for Missouri.

State Fair Community College is proud to join this partnership, said Michael Murders, vice president of Academic and Student Services at SFCC. By working alongside professionals in habitat management, research and natural resource stewardship, students from both institutions will gain valuable skills, strengthen career readiness and build professional networks that support future employment. This collaborative effort underscores the importance of higher education partnerships in preparing students for success while contributing to the preservation of Missouris natural resources.



The internship will be open to SFCC and UCM students entering their second year of school with at least 30 credit hours. Applications will be made available to students through their respective schools. The application process will include interviews with candidates and reviews of grade point averages (GPAs), work experience, and letters of recommendation. Applications will be accepted from Jan. 1 to Feb. 1, 2026, and final interns will be selected by March 15 to begin working immediately following the completion of the students spring semester.



To learn more about MDC, visit mdc.mo.gov. To learn more about MPF, visit moprairie.org. To learn more about MCHF, visit mochf.org.
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Published September 11, 2025

CAPTION: Representatives from the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, the Contractors Education Trust Fund, pose with ULM President Dr. Carrie L. Castille and Director of the ULM School of Construction Management Dr. Clint Martin.

MONROE, LA  The Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors (LSLBC) and the Contractors Educational Trust Fund (CEFT) presented a $262,000 donation to the ULM Foundation for the ULM School of Construction Management at a ceremony held September 11, 2025.

ULM President Dr. Carrie L. Castille thanked the groups for the donation and applauded what it will be able to do for the school. We are really proud of our School of Construction Management, said Castille. Its growing, and our goal is to make sure that we are meeting the needs of the industry. This type of support is exactly what we need to be able to continue to grow this program, she added.

To date, the LSLBC and the CETF have donated more than $4 million combined to the ULM School of Construction Management.

We do this because we are the end-users of the product that is the graduates of this school, said Ken Naquin, Secretary/Treasurer of the Contractors Educational Trust Fund, as he presented the donation. The better you can make that product, the better it is for us. It is an honor that this industry Ive worked in for over 45 years gives back to help prepare young men and women for the industry, he added.

The funds for the donation come from licensing fees paid by contractors in the state to the LSLBC, which is then distributed to accredited schools of construction in Louisiana, including ULM, LSU, and Louisiana Tech, as well as a two-year accredited program at Baton Rouge Community College.



The many years of support from these organizations have allowed the School of Construction Management to improve facilities, technology, and student experiences.

Dr. Clint Martin, Director of the ULM School of Construction Management, says the funds from the groups donations over the years have been used to purchase new software and new computer labs, among other initiatives. Its really humbling to see these groups give back to us, and we are very thankful for it. Its our dedication to provide the industry with the very best and brightest students and students who are going to be leaders, said Martin. He also noted that enrollment in the School of Construction Management has grown 36% from Fall 2024 to Fall 2025.

Special guests at the presentation included State Representative Foy Gadberry and Sandra Miller from the office of State Representative Adrian Fisher.

The School of Construction Managements job placement rate is consistently high, with many seniors accepting positions prior to graduation from some of the nations top companies. The starting salaries of graduates are among the highest in the universitys undergraduate programs.



To learn more about the School of Construction Management, please visit https://www.ulm.edu/cbss/construction/program/.
09/11/2025

Media Contacts: David Joyner, senior director, communications and digital media, David_Joyner@uml.edu and Nancy Cicco, assistant director of media relations, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu

LOWELL, Massachusetts  For the sixth time, UMass Lowells vibrant community has been honored with a Higher Education Excellence and Distinction (HEED) Award from Insight Into Academia magazine.

The honor recognizes U.S. colleges and universities for their welcoming campuses and leadership in supporting student success and building community among students and employees. The magazine, which promotes best practices in higher education administration, also named UMass Lowell a HEED Award winner in 2015, 2016, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Creating a campus where everyone knows they belong and can do their best work is a cornerstone of our mission as a university. We are proud that Insight into Academia continues to recognize UMass Lowell for creating a culture of engagement as well as our emphasis on supporting students. These accolades inspire us to continue deepening our connections not just among students, faculty and staff on campus, but throughout the greater Lowell community, said UMass Lowell Chancellor Julie Chen.

UMass Lowells campus is a powerful driver of innovation, research, academic and institutional distinction. Students hail from all 50 U.S. states; in addition, there are 1,365 international students, representing 100 countries. Forty-eight percent of undergraduates identify themselves as from diverse backgrounds, 43% of undergraduates are first-generation college students and nearly a third identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community. The university fosters a dynamic environment where a range of perspectives fuel creativity, learning and breakthrough thinking. Leadership across the university reflects this forward momentum, with women holding over half of all executive and director-level roles. This broad representation strengthens strategic decision-making and positions UMass Lowell to respond to complex global challenges with agility and vision.

In selecting UMass Lowell as a HEED Award honoree, Insight Into America evaluated the universitys academic excellence; commitment to student success; recruitment, hiring and retention practices; leadership; and campus climate, according to the publication.

We take a detailed and somewhat holistic approach to reviewing each application in determining who will be named a HEED Award recipient. Our standards are high, and we look for institutions where academic excellence and belonging are woven into the work being done every day across their campus, said Lenore Pearlstein, the magazines co-publisher. For more information about the award, visit insightintoacademia.com.
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Chinese nationals barred from working on NASA space programmes



American space agency, NASA, said it has begun barring Chinese citizens though having valid visas from joining its programmes

Thursday September 11, 2025 8:35 PM , ummid.com with inputs from Agencies

Washington: American space agency, NASA, said it has begun barring Chinese citizens though having valid visas from joining its programmes.

The policy shift was first reported by Bloomberg News and confirmed by the US government agency.

The NASA ban on Chinese citizens underscores the intensifying space race between the United States of America and China.

"Nasa has taken internal action pertaining to Chinese nationals, including restricting physical and cybersecurity access to our facilities, materials, and network to ensure the security of our work," NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens told news agency AFP Wednesday.

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Decoding Ibrahim Traore in the context of Imperialism



Understanding the ideological background of Ibrahim Traore, the Head of Burkina Faso, the African Country and his policies

Thursday September 11, 2025 10:10 PM , Pon Chandran

What is the ideological background of Ibrahim Traore, the Head of Burkina Faso, the African Country?

Ibrahim Traores ideological background is characterized by a mix of nationalism, pan-Africanism, and anti-imperialist views. He is a strong verbal opponent of neocolonialism and Western domination, and has worked to increase Burkina Fasos economic self-sufficiency, notably through the nationalization of gold mines.

During his time as a student at the University of Ouagadougou, he was a member of the Marxist National Association of Students of Burkina Faso (ANEB). He is often compared to Thomas Sankara, a former revolutionary leader of the country, due to his similar anti-imperialist stance, military background, and focus on national self-determination.

What are the policies which he implemented since he assumed the Power?

Since assuming power, Ibrahim Traore has implemented a number of policies that reflect his nationalist, anti-imperialist, and pan-Africanist ideology. These policies can be broadly categorized into economic, foreign, and domestic/security initiatives.

Economic Policies

Economic Self-Reliance: Traores government has focused on achieving economic independence and reducing reliance on foreign aid and institutions. This includes rejecting loans from organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

Traores government has focused on achieving economic independence and reducing reliance on foreign aid and institutions. This includes rejecting loans from organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Natiolnalization of Gold Mines: A cornerstone of his economic policy has been the nationalization of gold mines.The government has taken control of the countrys gold mining industry, which is a key economic sector. This move is aimed at ensuring that the profits from Burkina Fasos natural resources benefit its own people and are used to fund national development projects, such as infrastructure, education, and healthcare.

A cornerstone of his economic policy has been the nationalization of gold mines.The government has taken control of the countrys gold mining industry, which is a key economic sector. This move is aimed at ensuring that the profits from Burkina Fasos natural resources benefit its own people and are used to fund national development projects, such as infrastructure, education, and healthcare. Debt Repayment: Traores government has announced that it has cleared Burkina Fasos external debt, attributing this to sound financial management and increased earnings from resources like gold.

Traores government has announced that it has cleared Burkina Fasos external debt, attributing this to sound financial management and increased earnings from resources like gold. Agricultural Development: The government has prioritized agricultural sovereignty, with efforts to boost production through the distribution of tractors, farming equipment, and improved seeds. This has reportedly led to increased yields in crops like tomatoes, millet, and rice.

The government has prioritized agricultural sovereignty, with efforts to boost production through the distribution of tractors, farming equipment, and improved seeds. This has reportedly led to increased yields in crops like tomatoes, millet, and rice. Industrialization: Traore has also supported the development of local industries, including the establishment of new processing plants for tomatoes and cotton.

Foreign and Diplomatic Policies

Distancing from France and the West: Traore has taken a strong stance against former colonial power France. His government has expelled French troops and ended military cooperation agreements with France. French media outlets have also been suspended. This is a clear move to break away from what he and his supporters view as neocolonial influence.

Traore has taken a strong stance against former colonial power France. His government has expelled French troops and ended military cooperation agreements with France. French media outlets have also been suspended. This is a clear move to break away from what he and his supporters view as neocolonial influence. Strengthening Ties with Russia and Other Nations: In line with his anti-Western position, Traore has cultivated closer relationships with other countries, particularly Russia. He has referred to Russia as a strategic ally and has sought arms and military training from Moscow to assist in the fight against insurgents. He has also explored diplomatic contacts with other countries like Iran and Venezuela.

In line with his anti-Western position, Traore has cultivated closer relationships with other countries, particularly Russia. He has referred to Russia as a strategic ally and has sought arms and military training from Moscow to assist in the fight against insurgents. He has also explored diplomatic contacts with other countries like Iran and Venezuela. Alliance of Sahel States (AES): Burkina Faso, along with neighboring Mali and Niger (both also under military rule), has formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). This alliance is a collective defense and mutual assistance pact aimed at addressing security challenges in the region and countering pressure from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Domestic and Security Policies

Security Focus: Traore came to power on the promise of improving the security situation and fighting a persistent jihadist insurgency. His government has adopted a military-first approach, rejecting negotiations with militants.

Traore came to power on the promise of improving the security situation and fighting a persistent jihadist insurgency. His government has adopted a military-first approach, rejecting negotiations with militants. Homeland Defense Volunteers (VDP): The government has massively expanded the recruitment of state-backed civilian militias known as the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP) to assist the military in counter-insurgency operations.

The government has massively expanded the recruitment of state-backed civilian militias known as the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP) to assist the military in counter-insurgency operations. Authoritarian Consolidation: Critics have noted an increase in pro-government propaganda and a crackdown on dissent. Traores government has been accused of human rights abuses and has taken steps to consolidate power, including extending his mandate for an additional five years, while also allowing him to contest the next presidential elections.

Critics have noted an increase in pro-government propaganda and a crackdown on dissent. Traores government has been accused of human rights abuses and has taken steps to consolidate power, including extending his mandate for an additional five years, while also allowing him to contest the next presidential elections. Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation: The government has introduced a law that criminalizes homosexuality, with punishments including prison sentences and fines. This move is presented as a measure to protect cultural values.

Ibrahim Traore is being eulogised as Che of Africa. How appropriate it is?

The comparison of Ibrahim Traore to Che Guevara is a powerful and popular one, particularly among young people in Africa and the African diaspora. Its a symbolic title that reflects a certain set of beliefs and aspirations. However, its appropriateness is a complex issue, with both strong arguments in its favor and significant counter-arguments.

Arguments for the Comparison

Those who refer to Traore as the Che of Africa often point to a series of parallels and shared ideological ground:

Anti-Imperialist and Anti-Neocolonial Stance: Like Guevara, who fought against U.S. imperialism in Latin America, Traore has positioned himself as a fierce opponent of Western, and particularly French, influence in Africa. He has expelled French troops, suspended French media outlets, and openly criticized neocolonial systems, a stance that resonates deeply across the continent.

Like Guevara, who fought against U.S. imperialism in Latin America, Traore has positioned himself as a fierce opponent of Western, and particularly French, influence in Africa. He has expelled French troops, suspended French media outlets, and openly criticized neocolonial systems, a stance that resonates deeply across the continent. Nationalism and Self-Reliance: Guevara was a key figure in the Cuban Revolutions push for self-sufficiency and socialist development. Similarly, Traores policiessuch as the nationalization of gold mines, rejection of IMF loans, and focus on agricultural and industrial self-relianceare seen as direct and practical steps to reclaim national sovereignty and economic destiny.

Guevara was a key figure in the Cuban Revolutions push for self-sufficiency and socialist development. Similarly, Traores policiessuch as the nationalization of gold mines, rejection of IMF loans, and focus on agricultural and industrial self-relianceare seen as direct and practical steps to reclaim national sovereignty and economic destiny. Youthful, Charismatic, and Revolutionary Image: Both figures came to power at a young age and cultivated a charismatic image. Traores simple military attire and direct, unscripted speeches project an image of an authentic, no-nonsense leader dedicated to his people, much like the iconic image of Guevara. This populist appeal has made him a hero for many young Africans who are disillusioned with traditional, often corrupt, political elites.

Both figures came to power at a young age and cultivated a charismatic image. Traores simple military attire and direct, unscripted speeches project an image of an authentic, no-nonsense leader dedicated to his people, much like the iconic image of Guevara. This populist appeal has made him a hero for many young Africans who are disillusioned with traditional, often corrupt, political elites. Emphasis on Military Action and Counter-Insurgency: Both Guevara and Traore are military leaders who rose through the ranks in armed conflict. Traores main stated goal is to defeat the jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso, a fight he has framed as a revolutionary struggle for the nations survival and a rejection of Western military partnerships that he sees as ineffective.

Counter-Arguments and Criticisms

While the Che label has powerful symbolic resonance, critics argue that it is an oversimplification and, in some ways, misleading:

Authoritarianism and Human Rights Concerns: A significant criticism is that the comparison overlooks Traores authoritarian methods. Critics, including human rights organizations, point to a crackdown on dissent, suppression of free speech, and alleged human rights abuses by his forces, including extrajudicial killings. Guevaras own record on human rights during the Cuban Revolution is also a subject of historical debate and criticism.

A significant criticism is that the comparison overlooks Traores authoritarian methods. Critics, including human rights organizations, point to a crackdown on dissent, suppression of free speech, and alleged human rights abuses by his forces, including extrajudicial killings. Guevaras own record on human rights during the Cuban Revolution is also a subject of historical debate and criticism. Lack of a Clear, Developed Ideology: While Traore has a clear anti-Western stance, his ideology is not as comprehensively defined or as deeply rooted in a specific political philosophy as Guevaras Marxism. Traores policies are often described as more pragmatic and nationalist than strictly socialist or communist, and his alliances with countries like Russia are seen by some as a shift from one foreign power to another, rather than a true break from external influence.

While Traore has a clear anti-Western stance, his ideology is not as comprehensively defined or as deeply rooted in a specific political philosophy as Guevaras Marxism. Traores policies are often described as more pragmatic and nationalist than strictly socialist or communist, and his alliances with countries like Russia are seen by some as a shift from one foreign power to another, rather than a true break from external influence. Fragile Security Situation: The most significant and concrete criticism is that Traores government has so far failed to deliver on its primary promise: to improve security. Despite his military background and a massive recruitment of civilian militias, the jihadist insurgency has reportedly worsened in some areas since he took power.The government controls less than half of the country, and the number of internally displaced people continues to grow. This stands in contrast to the relative success of the Cuban Revolution in consolidating power.

The most significant and concrete criticism is that Traores government has so far failed to deliver on its primary promise: to improve security. Despite his military background and a massive recruitment of civilian militias, the jihadist insurgency has reportedly worsened in some areas since he took power.The government controls less than half of the country, and the number of internally displaced people continues to grow. This stands in contrast to the relative success of the Cuban Revolution in consolidating power. Consolidation of Power, Not Revolution: Some observers argue that Traores actions, such as extending his mandate for five years without elections, are less about a popular revolution and more about the consolidation of personal power. The focus on a single, charismatic leader can undermine the development of strong, democratic institutions, a pattern that has often led to instability in post-colonial Africa.

In conclusion, the appropriateness of the Che of Africa title depends on the perspective. For his supporters and many young Africans, the label is a powerful symbol of defiance, patriotism, and the hope for a new, self-reliant Africa free from foreign domination. They see him as a bold leader willing to challenge the status quo.

However, from a critical standpoint, the comparison is problematic because it glosses over his authoritarian tendencies, the worsening security situation, and the potential for his government to become another in a long line of military regimes that have failed to bring lasting stability and democracy to the continent.

Being an ardent Muslim himself, what are his visions about the Polity of the Islamic world?

Ibrahim Traores vision and policies regarding the Islamic world and the broader polity are not defined by a narrow, religious-centric agenda, but are instead deeply integrated into his overarching nationalist and pan-Africanist ideology. While he is a Muslim himself, his public statements and actions suggest that his priority is the unity and sovereignty of Burkina Faso and Africa, rather than the promotion of a specific Islamic political project.

Here are some key aspects of his approach:

Religious Unity as a National Security Imperative: Traore has consistently emphasized the importance of inter-religious harmony, particularly between Muslims and Christians, who make up the two largest religious groups in Burkina Faso. He has publicly warned that religious division is a tool of the West and colonial powers to weaken and destabilize African nations. He has made it clear that those who try to sow discord along religious lines will face harsh punishment. This stance is a direct response to the jihadist insurgency, which often targets Christians and seeks to incite religious conflict.

Traore has consistently emphasized the importance of inter-religious harmony, particularly between Muslims and Christians, who make up the two largest religious groups in Burkina Faso. He has publicly warned that religious division is a tool of the West and colonial powers to weaken and destabilize African nations. He has made it clear that those who try to sow discord along religious lines will face harsh punishment. This stance is a direct response to the jihadist insurgency, which often targets Christians and seeks to incite religious conflict. Rejection of Foreign Religious Influence: A notable example of his policy is his governments rejection of a proposal from Saudi Arabia to fund the construction of 200 mosques in Burkina Faso. Traore stated that the country already had a sufficient number of mosques and that the funds would be better spent on education, healthcare, and infrastructure. This decision highlights his focus on national development and self-reliance over accepting foreign aid, even if it comes in a religious context. It also suggests a resistance to the influence of specific strains of Islam that may be promoted by foreign powers.

A notable example of his policy is his governments rejection of a proposal from Saudi Arabia to fund the construction of 200 mosques in Burkina Faso. Traore stated that the country already had a sufficient number of mosques and that the funds would be better spent on education, healthcare, and infrastructure. This decision highlights his focus on national development and self-reliance over accepting foreign aid, even if it comes in a religious context. It also suggests a resistance to the influence of specific strains of Islam that may be promoted by foreign powers. Pragmatic Alliances over Ideological ones: While he has cultivated closer ties with Russia, Iran, and other nations, his alliances appear to be based on pragmatic interests, primarily for security and economic assistance, rather than a shared Islamic vision. His public remarks and diplomatic engagements focus on strategic cooperation and mutual benefit, not on building a Muslim bloc.

While he has cultivated closer ties with Russia, Iran, and other nations, his alliances appear to be based on pragmatic interests, primarily for security and economic assistance, rather than a shared Islamic vision. His public remarks and diplomatic engagements focus on strategic cooperation and mutual benefit, not on building a Muslim bloc. Anti-Imperialism as a Core Principle: His anti-imperialist stance is the central pillar of his foreign policy, which he sees as a shared struggle for all African nations, regardless of their religious makeup. He views the fight against Western exploitation and the quest for African sovereignty as a common cause that transcends religious boundaries. This is evident in his efforts to build the Alliance of Sahel States with Mali and Niger, both of which are also under military rule and share his anti-Western outlook.

His anti-imperialist stance is the central pillar of his foreign policy, which he sees as a shared struggle for all African nations, regardless of their religious makeup. He views the fight against Western exploitation and the quest for African sovereignty as a common cause that transcends religious boundaries. This is evident in his efforts to build the Alliance of Sahel States with Mali and Niger, both of which are also under military rule and share his anti-Western outlook. Focus on Internal Stability and Counter-Terrorism: The primary goal of Traores government is to defeat the jihadist insurgency, which is composed of extremist groups that claim to be acting in the name of Islam but are widely condemned by Burkinabe society. His policies, such as the recruitment of civilian militias and a no-negotiation policy with militants, are driven by a security-first agenda to restore state control over the country.

In summary, Ibrahim Traores vision for the polity of the Islamic world is not about a specific religious or political project. Instead, it is a vision of a sovereign, united, and self-sufficient Africa where religious differences are not exploited for division. His policies, including the rejection of foreign-funded mosques and the focus on inter-religious harmony, underscore his belief that national strength and stability come from unity and independence, not from external religious or political agendas.

It is rumoured that Ibrahim Traore would face the fate ofGadafi of Lebanon or Saddam Hussain of Iraq very soon by the Western Powers?

The rumors and speculation that Ibrahim Traore could face a fate similar to Muammar Gaddafi or Saddam Hussein are part of a broader discourse surrounding his rise to power and his strong anti-Western stance. This perspective is not based on concrete, verified plans by Western powers, but rather on a historical pattern of Western intervention in countries whose leaders challenge their interests.

Heres a breakdown of the arguments and context surrounding this rumor:

The Basis for the Rumors

Anti-Western Rhetoric and Actions: Traore has been highly vocal in his criticism of France and other Western powers. He has expelled French military forces, ended a key military pact with France, and has actively sought new partners, most notably Russia. This public and decisive break from a traditional Western ally is seen as a direct challenge to the geopolitical order in the Sahel, a region of significant strategic interest for countries like France and the United States.

Traore has been highly vocal in his criticism of France and other Western powers. He has expelled French military forces, ended a key military pact with France, and has actively sought new partners, most notably Russia. This public and decisive break from a traditional Western ally is seen as a direct challenge to the geopolitical order in the Sahel, a region of significant strategic interest for countries like France and the United States. Nationalization of Resources: Like Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein, Traore has taken steps to assert national control over key resources, particularly the gold mining industry. This policy of resource nationalism is often viewed by Western powers and multinational corporations as a threat to their economic interests. The nationalization of assets can create a direct conflict with powerful business and political lobbies.

Like Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein, Traore has taken steps to assert national control over key resources, particularly the gold mining industry. This policy of resource nationalism is often viewed by Western powers and multinational corporations as a threat to their economic interests. The nationalization of assets can create a direct conflict with powerful business and political lobbies. Parallels to Gaddafi: The comparison to Gaddafi is particularly potent. Gaddafi was a pan-Africanist who also sought to create a unified African currency (the gold dinar) and challenged the Western-dominated financial system.He was ultimately overthrown and killed in a NATO-backed intervention. Supporters of Traore see his actions as a modern-day continuation of this pan-Africanist struggle, and they fear that the West will not tolerate a similar challenge to its influence.

The comparison to Gaddafi is particularly potent. Gaddafi was a pan-Africanist who also sought to create a unified African currency (the gold dinar) and challenged the Western-dominated financial system.He was ultimately overthrown and killed in a NATO-backed intervention. Supporters of Traore see his actions as a modern-day continuation of this pan-Africanist struggle, and they fear that the West will not tolerate a similar challenge to its influence. The Saddam Hussein Analogy: The comparison to Saddam Hussein is more about the pretext for intervention. Saddam was demonized by the West and his regime was ultimately toppled based on controversial claims of possessing weapons of mass destruction. The argument is that if the West felt it necessary to intervene in a country based on a flimsy pretext, they could find a way to justify an intervention in Burkina Faso if Traores government proves to be too disruptive.

The comparison to Saddam Hussein is more about the pretext for intervention. Saddam was demonized by the West and his regime was ultimately toppled based on controversial claims of possessing weapons of mass destruction. The argument is that if the West felt it necessary to intervene in a country based on a flimsy pretext, they could find a way to justify an intervention in Burkina Faso if Traores government proves to be too disruptive. Coups and Instability: Traore himself has claimed to have foiled multiple coup attempts, and his government has accused neighboring countries like Cote dIvoire of backing these plots. While these claims are difficult to verify independently, they highlight the intense internal and external pressures facing his regime. Critics of the West often interpret these coup attempts as being covertly supported by foreign powers to destabilize governments that are not aligned with their interests.

Counterpoints and Reality Check

While these rumors are widespread, it is important to consider the differences between Traores situation and that of Gaddafi or Saddam Hussein:

Scale and Geopolitical Significance: Burkina Faso, while strategically important in the Sahel, does not have the same global significance as Libya (a major oil producer) or Iraq (a key player in Middle Eastern oil politics). A full-scale Western military intervention in Burkina Faso is far less likely than it was in those countries.

Burkina Faso, while strategically important in the Sahel, does not have the same global significance as Libya (a major oil producer) or Iraq (a key player in Middle Eastern oil politics). A full-scale Western military intervention in Burkina Faso is far less likely than it was in those countries. Western Priorities: The primary Western concern in the Sahel has been the fight against jihadist insurgency. While Western powers are wary of Traores pro-Russian alignment, their immediate goal is often to prevent the region from becoming a safe haven for terrorist groups. A military intervention to remove Traore could potentially worsen the security situation and create further instability.

The primary Western concern in the Sahel has been the fight against jihadist insurgency. While Western powers are wary of Traores pro-Russian alignment, their immediate goal is often to prevent the region from becoming a safe haven for terrorist groups. A military intervention to remove Traore could potentially worsen the security situation and create further instability. Shift in Global Dynamics: The geopolitical landscape has changed since the interventions in Libya and Iraq. The global community is now more fractured, with a rising China and a resurgent Russia. A direct Western military intervention would be far more controversial and would likely face significant opposition from countries aligned with Russia and China, as well as from the African Union.

The geopolitical landscape has changed since the interventions in Libya and Iraq. The global community is now more fractured, with a rising China and a resurgent Russia. A direct Western military intervention would be far more controversial and would likely face significant opposition from countries aligned with Russia and China, as well as from the African Union. Focus on Subtler Influence: Rather than a direct military intervention, Western powers are more likely to use other tools to exert pressure. These include economic sanctions, diplomatic isolation, support for opposition groups (both civilian and military), and public relations campaigns to delegitimize the regime. The constant rumors of foiled coups may be a part of this psychological and political warfare.

In conclusion, the rumor that Ibrahim Traore will face the fate of Gaddafi or Saddam Hussein is a powerful symbolic expression of the fears and anti-imperialist sentiments prevalent in Burkina Faso and parts of Africa. While a direct, large-scale Western military intervention seems improbable given the current geopolitical context, the underlying tensionsover resource control, geopolitical alliances, and national sovereigntyare very real. Traores government will likely continue to face significant pressure, both overt and covert, from Western powers, but it is more likely to take the form of economic and political maneuvering than a full-scale military campaign.

Can Ibrahim Traore be described as a Nationalist or a National Socialist?

Based on the available information, Ibrahim Traore can be described as a Nationalist and a Pan-Africanist. The term National Socialist is not used in the provided context to describe his ideology.

His political views and actions are consistently characterized by:

Nationalism: He is described as a nationalist who advocates for the protection of national interests against external interference and emphasizes self-determination. His policies, such as the nationalization of gold mines, are seen as attempts to reclaim national sovereignty and economic destiny.

He is described as a nationalist who advocates for the protection of national interests against external interference and emphasizes self-determination. His policies, such as the nationalization of gold mines, are seen as attempts to reclaim national sovereignty and economic destiny. Anti-Imperialism/Anti-Westernism: A central tenet of his ideology is a strong opposition to neocolonialism and Western influence, particularly from France. His government has expelled French troops and suspended French media outlets, and he has spoken out against what he calls imperialistic pressure.

A central tenet of his ideology is a strong opposition to neocolonialism and Western influence, particularly from France. His government has expelled French troops and suspended French media outlets, and he has spoken out against what he calls imperialistic pressure. Pan-Africanism: Traores actions and rhetoric have been seen to resonate with and inspire a broader Pan-African movement. He has formed an alliance with neighboring countries Mali and Niger and is seen by some as a symbol of African dignity and resistance against foreign domination.

Traores actions and rhetoric have been seen to resonate with and inspire a broader Pan-African movement. He has formed an alliance with neighboring countries Mali and Niger and is seen by some as a symbol of African dignity and resistance against foreign domination. Other Influences: He was a member of the Marxist National Association of Students of Burkina Faso (ANEB) during his university years, and some commentators see his policies as influenced by Marxism and pan-Africanism.However, his ideology is also described as pragmatic and a blend of military pragmatism with a focus on stability.

The provided sources do not describe him as a National Socialist, a term historically associated with the Nazi Party in Germany. The sources instead repeatedly use terms like nationalist, pan-Africanist, anti-imperialist, and anti-Western.

Whether Traores friendly stance with Russia and China trigger the Opposition from the West?

Yes, Ibrahim Traores friendly stance with Russia and China has triggered significant opposition and concern from Western powers. This is a central element of the current geopolitical tension surrounding Burkina Faso and the Sahel region.

Heres why and how this opposition is manifesting:

Why the West is Opposed

Geopolitical Competition: Western nations, particularly France and the United States, see the growing influence of Russia and China in Africa as a direct challenge to their own strategic interests. The Sahel, in particular, is a key front in this new geopolitical competition. Russia, through military and security partnerships, is seen as using anti-Western sentiment to expand its influence and destabilize a region vital to Europes southern flank. Chinas growing economic footprint, often through loans and infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, is also viewed with suspicion as a form of debt-trap diplomacy.

Western nations, particularly France and the United States, see the growing influence of Russia and China in Africa as a direct challenge to their own strategic interests. The Sahel, in particular, is a key front in this new geopolitical competition. Russia, through military and security partnerships, is seen as using anti-Western sentiment to expand its influence and destabilize a region vital to Europes southern flank. Chinas growing economic footprint, often through loans and infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, is also viewed with suspicion as a form of debt-trap diplomacy. Security Concerns: Western governments argue that Russias presence, particularly through military contractors like the Wagner Group (now rebranded and under direct Kremlin control), is a destabilizing force. They claim that these groups exploit natural resources, commit human rights abuses, and undermine democratic institutions. The West has long been involved in counter-terrorism efforts in the Sahel, and they view a pro-Russian military government as a threat to these operations and regional stability.

Western governments argue that Russias presence, particularly through military contractors like the Wagner Group (now rebranded and under direct Kremlin control), is a destabilizing force. They claim that these groups exploit natural resources, commit human rights abuses, and undermine democratic institutions. The West has long been involved in counter-terrorism efforts in the Sahel, and they view a pro-Russian military government as a threat to these operations and regional stability. Undermining Democracy: The military coups in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have all been followed by a pivot away from the West and toward Russia. Western powers often frame these coups as an attack on democratic governance. They argue that Russia provides military and political support to authoritarian regimes, thereby undermining the rule of law and human rights in the region.

The military coups in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have all been followed by a pivot away from the West and toward Russia. Western powers often frame these coups as an attack on democratic governance. They argue that Russia provides military and political support to authoritarian regimes, thereby undermining the rule of law and human rights in the region. Loss of Influence: Traores government has been explicit in its rejection of Frances traditional role in the country. This includes expelling French troops, ending military cooperation agreements, and even suspending French media. This loss of influence, both militarily and diplomatically, is a major source of frustration for France and its allies.

How the Wests Opposition is Manifesting

Diplomatic Condemnation and Isolation: The U.S. and the European Union have repeatedly condemned the military coup that brought Traore to power and have called for a swift return to a civilian-led, constitutional government. They have also expressed concern over Burkina Fasos military and security partnerships with Russia.

The U.S. and the European Union have repeatedly condemned the military coup that brought Traore to power and have called for a swift return to a civilian-led, constitutional government. They have also expressed concern over Burkina Fasos military and security partnerships with Russia. Sanctions and Aid Cuts: While there are no comprehensive U.S. sanctions specifically on Burkina Faso, the country has been suspended from various Western-led initiatives. For example, the U.S. has cut some of its security and development assistance.

While there are no comprehensive U.S. sanctions specifically on Burkina Faso, the country has been suspended from various Western-led initiatives. For example, the U.S. has cut some of its security and development assistance. Information Warfare: There is a well-documented information war being waged in the region, with pro-Russian and pro-Traore narratives often spreading on social media. Western governments and think tanks have pointed to a significant increase in Russian-linked disinformation campaigns aimed at stirring up anti-French and anti-Western sentiment in Burkina Faso and other Sahel nations.

There is a well-documented information war being waged in the region, with pro-Russian and pro-Traore narratives often spreading on social media. Western governments and think tanks have pointed to a significant increase in Russian-linked disinformation campaigns aimed at stirring up anti-French and anti-Western sentiment in Burkina Faso and other Sahel nations. Supporting Regional Pressure: The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional bloc, has taken a hard line against the military governments in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. While the Western powers are not directly involved in ECOWASs actions, they have generally supported the blocs efforts to pressure the juntas.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional bloc, has taken a hard line against the military governments in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. While the Western powers are not directly involved in ECOWASs actions, they have generally supported the blocs efforts to pressure the juntas. Shifting Alliances: The West is attempting to counter Russia and Chinas influence by building new, more equal partnerships with other African nations and by focusing on long-term development and trade as an alternative to military support.

In summary, Traores pivot toward Russia and China is seen by the West not just as a policy choice but as a direct challenge to its influence and a threat to regional stability. This has triggered a response that includes diplomatic pressure, sanctions, and a public relations campaign aimed at discrediting Traore and his allies while simultaneously trying to mend relationships with other African nations.

[The writer, Pon Chandran, is Human Rights Activist and Life Member of PUCL, Coimbatore.]

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IsDBI launches new Islamic Microfinance Toolkits



The Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) and the IsDB Global Practice & Partnership (GPP) Directorate, through its Cooperation and Capacity Development Department (CCD), have officially launched new Islamic Microfinance Toolkits

Thursday September 11, 2025 2:32 PM , Staff Reporter

Jeddah: The Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) and the IsDB Global Practice & Partnership (GPP) Directorate, through its Cooperation and Capacity Development Department (CCD), have officially launched new Islamic Microfinance Toolkits.

A five-volume series, the new Islamic Microfinance Toolkits are aimed at strengthening inclusive financial ecosystems across IsDB Member Countries.

The toolkits offer a comprehensive and practical roadmap to establish, operate, monitor, and regulate Islamic microfinance institutions.

Developed through extensive research, field experience, inter-departmental collaboration, and stakeholder consultations, the revamped toolkits are aimed at assisting policymakers, regulators, and practitioners in unlocking the full potential of Islamic microfinance to combat poverty, foster entrepreneurship, and promote sustainable development.

"Participation of Poor"

Highlighting the importance of Islamic Microfinance, Dr. Sami Al-Suwailem, Director General of IsDBI, the system opens the door for the poor to participate in economic growth.



Islamic microfinance, grounded in principles of fairness and risk-sharing, is a vital tool to enable the poor to participate in economic activity with dignity and purpose. These toolkits provide concrete steps for stakeholders to build inclusive financial systems that reflect both the spirit and substance of Islamic finance", he said.

Dr. Issa Faye, Director General of GPP, said the new Islamic microfinace toolkits will help the member states in strengthening their financial inclusion strategies.

This joint initiative reflects our collective commitment to support member countries in strengthening their financial inclusion strategies. By providing technical guidance and practical models, we aim to empower institutions to design scalable, context-sensitive Islamic microfinance solutions", he said.

The Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) is the knowledge beacon of the Islamic Development Bank Group. Guided by the principles of Islamic economics and finance, the IsDB Institute leads the development of innovative knowledge-based solutions to support the sustainable economic advancement of IsDB Member Countries and various Muslim communities worldwide.

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Saudi Crown Prince calls for joint action to deter Israeli criminal practices



Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman in the aftermath of the Israeli attack on Qatar has called for a joint action to deter the criminal practices of the occupation

Thursday September 11, 2025 3:31 PM , ummid.com with inputs from Agencies

Riyadh:Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman in the aftermath of the Israeli attack on Qatar has called for a joint action to deter the criminal practices of the occupation.

We reject and condemn the aggressions of the Israeli occupation in the region, most recently its brutal attack on the State of Qatar. This aggression requires Arab, Islamic, and international action to stop the occupation and deter its criminal practices aimed at destabilizing the region, Mohammed bin Salman said.

While inaugurating the 9th session of the Saudi Shoura Council in Riyadh Wednesday, Mohammed bin Salman also announced the Kingdoms "unequivocal support" for Qatar after the Israeli aggression.

Saudi Arabia rejects and condemns the Israeli aggression against Qatar and would mobilize all its capabilities in supporting the neighboring country, he said.

Mohammed bin Salmans strong reactions came a day after the Israeli Occupation Forces (IDF) conducted missile attack on a site in Doha where the top Hamas leaders were busy in a meeting to discuss the U.S. proposal for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Gaza Belongs to Palestinians

Without directly referring to the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza by the Israeli Occupation Forced (IDF), the Saudi Crown Prince said Gaza belongs to the Palestinians and slammed the blockade of the Strip.

We also condemn the continued brutal attacks against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the persistence of the crimes of starvation and forced displacement, he said.

The land of Gaza is Palestinian, and the rights of its people are inalienable and cannot be taken away by aggression or nullified by threats. Our position remains unwavering: to protect this right and work diligently to prevent its violations, he added.

The Arab Peace Initiative, launched by the Kingdom in 2002 and implemented internationally through the perspective of a two-state solution, represents today an unprecedented path to achieving a Palestinian state, the Saudi leader, known as MbS, said.

Bring Netanyahu to Justice

Meanwhile, Qatars Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani warned that the unprecedented Israeli strike in Doha targeting the Hamas leadership killed hope for Gaza hostages, and called for Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu to be brought to justice.

I think that what Netanyahu has done yesterday, he just killed any hope for those hostages, the Qatari Prime Minister told CNN.

On Tuesday, Qatar and Arab and Middle Eastern countries condemned the Israeli strikes in Doha as a violation of international law and Qatars sovereignty, with the Qatari Prime Minister accusing the right wing Zionist state of state terrorism.

The Israeli attack that took place today on Qatari soil can only be described as state terrorism practiced by someone like [Benjamin] Netanyahu, Qatar Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al-Thani said speaking to reporters hours after the attack.

He also accused Benjamin Netanyahu of ongoing attempts to destabilize regional security and stability.

There is a rogue player in this region, he said adding, There should be a response from the entire region to these barbaric actions, which reflect nothing but the savagery of this individual.

Qatar warns Trump

Donald Trump subsequently held phone calls with Qatars Emir Tamim and Prime Minister Al-Thani during which Doha warned the US President that the Israeli strike would only harm efforts to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.

During their calls with Trump, the Qatari Emir and Premier expressed their outrage over the Israeli strike and said that they expected the US to issue a condemnation, given that it violated international law and took place on the soil of a US ally, the diplomatic source said.

Following the calls, the White House did issue a condemnation, while also lining up behind Israels claim that the strikes could present an opportunity for peace and that taking out Hamas leaders is a worthy goal.

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Prediction market PredictIt, which started out as an academic platform focused on political forecasts, is preparing to launch a new exchange after getting the nod from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.

PredictIt, operated by the D.C.-based Aristole, said last week that the CFTC approved its applications to operate as both a designated contract market, or DCM, and derivatives clearing organization, or DCO.

With these approvals, Aristotle will launch a new exchange designed to provide U.S. traders with more diverse markets, deeper liquidity, and broader participation, the company said last week in a press release.

The company plans to expand beyond just political markets, but it hasnt yet provided details on the types of specific markets it plans to roll out. The market offerings will branch out as is the case with other DCMs," an Aristotle spokesperson told Decrypt, referring to other regulated prediction markets like Kalshi. Were not announcing other specific details right now, the spokesperson said.

The company said the platform has grown to include more than 400,000 active users, but PredictIt faced a long journey getting these key approvals from U.S. regulators.

The platform initially launched in 2014 as an academic, real-money prediction market operated by Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. It has support and is run by Artistotle, Inc., a D.C.-based political technology and data firm founded in 1983 by John Artistotle Phillips.

Phillips is CEO of Aristotle, Inc.. It hasnt always been clear whether he holds the same title, but the spokesperson confirmed he does.

The 2014 launch proceeded after the company obtained a no action letter from the CFTC, which granted it permission to operate a not-for-profit market for event contracts, and to offer event contracts to U.S. persons, without registration as a designated contract market, foreign board of trade, or swap execution facility, and without registration of its operators.

CFTC's Kristin Johnson Exits With Warning on Prediction Markets

In very simple terms, the regulator said PredictIt could allow U.S. users on its platform without having to pursue a DCM license, but under very limited conditions and strictly as not for profit.

In August 2022, the CFTC then revoked its no action letter, claiming the company violated the narrow terms of the arrangement. By summer of 2023, an appeals court issued an injunction that would allow PredictIt to continue operating while it battled the CFTC in court over the revoked letter.

Then, in July of this year, PredictIt and the CFTC reached a settlement that would allow PredictIt to operate under the Prediction Market Research Consortium, Inc., which is a U.S.-based not-for-profit thats seeking 501(c)(3) status from the IRS.
The Robinhood HOOD Summit 2025 Enter the Mainframe just kicked off on Wednesday in Las Vegas with a public livestream and is expected to be a major bull catalyst for major cryptos like and .

Robinhoods latest update adds tools aimed squarely at advanced traders, including short selling, which was a feature not previously available on the app. The company also introduced overnight index options, support for multiple brokerage accounts, and new functions inside its pro platform, Legend.

Some of the most notable changes, though, are designed for everyday users. Robinhood rolled out Custom Scans, its first AI-driven tool, letting investors use a large language model to build indicators or screen stocks without coding.

Kinda wish I didnt sell all my Robinhood stock after the February pump and then sell what little remained when it was $30 in April. RIP.

Heres everything you need to know about this years Robinhood Summit:

Robinhood Summit 2025: Will Robinhood Unveil New Pro-grade Trading Features and Crypto Listings?

Short answer: NO. We didnt see much from the crypto side of things, but expect some of those announcements on Thursday.

Instead we saw Robinhood preview its upcoming social media platform, a nod to its early days as a pioneer in social trading. Launching next year, Robinhood Social will let verified users share trade ideas, follow strategies, copy trades, and track whales ranging from hedge funds and insiders to politicians. Looking at you Nancy Pelosi and Ted Cruz.

Robinhood will be partnering with crypto exchange Bitstamp going forward. Together with Bitstamps exchange rails, users could see tighter spreads, faster settlement, and more assets with institutional-grade custody. 99Bitcoins analysts anticipate better USD/USDC rails, deeper order books, and cross-venue routing that narrows the pro vs. retail gap.

Any staking or earning on cross-chain hints will be a bonus if announced.

DISCOVER: 20+ Next Crypto to Explode in 2025

S&P 500 Inclusion: How Much Passive Flow Could Hit HOOD  And Whats The Risk?

The Robinhood Summit coincides with HOOD stock joining the S&P 500 on Sept 22, adding a second crypto-facing name alongside Coinbase. The stock popped 16% after the announcement, signaling anticipated passive buying from index funds.

A rare disruptor its killing it.  Jim Cramer, CNBC.

99Bitcoins analysts believe the HOOD stock inclusion might add structural beta exposure and higher volatility risk, but also cements Robinhood as a retail crypto leader.

What else to watch for:
By Qabil Ashirov



A delegation led by Kudrat Nurullayev, Head of the Secretariat of the Senate of Uzbekistan, and Farid Hajiyev, Head of the Secretariat of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, has reached an agreement to expand inter-parliamentary cooperation.

During the meeting, officials highlighted that UzbekistanAzerbaijan relations are rooted in strong historical ties and shared cultural and spiritual values. They noted that thanks to the political will of the two countries heads of state, inter-parliamentary collaboration has reached a new level.

The parties emphasized the importance of holding the first UzbekistanAzerbaijan inter-parliamentary forum in Khiva and signing a roadmap for parliamentary cooperation for 20252026.

Discussions focused on enhancing cooperation between the parliamentary secretariats of both countries. Areas explored included legislative experience exchange, parliamentary expertise, use of international rankings, and the implementation of digital solutions.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the sides agreed to further develop inter-parliamentary relations and establish a permanent constructive dialogue and practical cooperation between the parliamentary secretariats of Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.
South Korean cryptoasset-related companies can now apply for venture capital (VC) funding after Seoul abolished a seven-year-old ban.

The South Korea newspaper Seoul Kyungjae reported that the Ministry of SMEs and Startups says the existing ban on crypto firms VC funding will end on September 16.

The ministry said the State Council, South Koreas chief executive body and ministerial cabinet has signed off on the move.

VC Funding for Crypto Firms: South Korea Scraps 2018 Ban

The council has agreed to make a partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on the Promotion of Venture Businesses.

The South Korean Minister of SMEs and Startups Han Seong-sook. (Source: Lee Jae-myung/YouTube)

The amendment will effectively scrap the designation of crypto trading and brokerage-providing firms as a restricted venture business.

The ban has been in place since October 2018. At the time, the government of President Moon Jae-in said it was imposing the ban to help cool an overheated, speculative market.

The governments move drew ire from the crypto community. In South Korea, only bars, nightclubs, and licenced gambling venues are subject to similar VC investment restrictions.

The ministry explained that the amendment reflects the changing global status of the cryptoasset industry.

It added that the law now provided a wide range of protection systems for domestic crypto exchange users.

The ministry also spoke about the need to foster industries in the digital asset ecosystem. It made special mention of companies that work with blockchain and cryptography-related technology.

This move, the government added, will allow crypto companies with technological prowess and growth potential to apply for VC investment.

This, the ministry added, will put them on an even footing with other innovative companies in the IT space. The SMEs Minister Han Seong-sook said:

We will foster a transparent and responsible ecosystem. We will help facilitate the flow of venture capital and the growth of new industries.

A Turning Point for the Crypto Industry

Meanwhile, the South Korean media outlet Kyunghyang Games reported that Kim Jae-jin, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Digital Asset Exchange Association (DAXA), has welcomed Seouls pivot toward progressive crypto regulation.

DAXA is an association that comprises the nations five biggest crypto exchanges. Kimsaid that the governments plan to allow ordinary domestic corporations to trade crypto in the near future could prove a turning point for the countrys crypto industry.

Read original story South Korea Lifts Ban on VC Funding for Crypto Companies by Tim Alper at Cryptonews.com
The fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Utah Valley University's campus has left a community in shock and a nation wrestling with questions of political violence, free speech, and the role of universities as arenas for public debate.

Kirk, 31, was scheduled to speak at UVU on Wednesday when he was struck by gunfire from a rooftop across the street. Authorities confirmed later that evening that a suspect had been arrested, though they have not yet disclosed a motive. The FBI is assisting state and local police in the investigation.

The shooting  which was captured in part on video and spread quickly on social media  has been called one of the most high-profile acts of violence against a political figure on an American campus in recent memory.

UVU's Response: Shock, Grief, and Security Concerns

University leaders acted swiftly to address the tragedy. In a message to faculty and staff, officials described the shooting as "deeply disturbing" and emphasized the school's focus on healing and dialogue in the wake of the violence.

"Today's act of violence at Utah Valley University, resulting in the death of Charlie Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA, is deeply disturbing. Our deep condolences are with Mr. Kirk's family, loved ones, and all who were present during this horrific incident," the statement read. "The U's Department Public Safety Department is working to increase safety measures on campus to make police officers available to speak to students, faculty and staff. Additional public safety patrols and layers of security will be present at university events today and the rest of the week."

A Broader Debate: Political Violence on Campus

The tragedy has reignited debates around political violence and free expression in the United States. For years, universities have been flashpoints in broader cultural and political battles, with student groups clashing over invited speakers and campus policies.

Kirk's presence often drew both packed auditoriums of supporters and organized protests from detractors. His death now raises the question of how universities can continue to provide space for ideological exchange without putting lives at risk.

Security experts note that campuses are inherently open spaces, making them difficult to secure against targeted violence. The incident at UVU may prompt new national guidelines on how schools handle politically charged events.

The Life and Legacy of Charlie Kirk

For supporters, Kirk was more than a campus speaker  he was a driving force behind a new generation of conservative activism.

In 2012, at just 18, Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA, a nonprofit that grew into one of the most influential conservative youth organizations in the country. The group built a vast presence on college campuses, advocating for free markets, limited government, and traditional values.

By his late twenties, Kirk had become a fixture on television, radio, and social media. He was a frequent guest at conservative conferences and an ally of former President Donald Trump, who praised him as one of the movement's rising stars.

Kirk's sharp commentary  often critical of progressive ideology, campus "cancel culture," and what he called the "left's war on free speech"  made him a hero to many and a lightning rod for criticism.

"He gave young conservatives a voice on campuses where they felt silenced," said one student. "For so many of us, Charlie was proof that we weren't alone."

A Polarizing Figure

But Kirk's style was also deeply polarizing. Critics accused him of fueling division and amplifying conspiracy theories. His events often drew protests, some of which turned tense or violent, though rarely to the level seen in Utah this week.

The fact that he died on a university campus  the very arena where he sought to build his influence  has added a symbolic weight to his passing.

Looking Ahead

Back at UVU, grief and uncertainty hang over the campus. Counseling services have been expanded, and student groups are organizing vigils in Kirk's honor. Faculty members are planning open forums to discuss political polarization and safety.

University officials maintain they will "do everything possible to minimize disruption to students" as the semester continues. But with the investigation still unfolding, and the nation still absorbing the shock of Kirk's death, questions about campus safety and the future of political discourse in higher education remain unanswered.

For now, Utah Valley University  and the thousands touched by Charlie Kirk's work  are left to mourn and reflect on what his life, and his tragic death, mean for the future of free speech in America.
Charlie Kirk's sudden death at age 31 has sparked renewed reflection on his impact on American higher education and student political activism. As founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), Kirk left a lasting imprint on the culture of U.S. colleges and universities, reshaping how conservative voices organize, speak, and challenge mainstream campus climates. His passing also leaves behind a wife, Erika, and two young children, bringing into focus what support looks like in the aftermath of tragedy.

The Beginning of Turning Point USA

Charlie Kirk founded Turning Point USA in 2012, when he was just 18 years old, alongside mentor Bill Montgomery. The organization's origin can be traced to when Kirk spoke at Benedictine University's Youth Government Day; Montgomery encouraged him to focus on political activism full-time rather than pursue college. Support from donors like Foster Friess helped the organization scale from modest beginnings.

TPUSA's Mission, Methods, and Campus Presence

TPUSA describes its mission as to:

"identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government."

By 2025, TPUSA had claimed chapters on more than 3,000 campuses in all 50 states. Key tactics included:

Campus debates and speaking tours ("Prove Me Wrong"-style forums) designed to provoke discussion and gain media attention.

("Prove Me Wrong"-style forums) designed to provoke discussion and gain media attention. Leadership summits and faith-based outreach , including projects led by his wife Erika, like BIBLE365 and PROCLAIM.

, including projects led by his wife Erika, like BIBLE365 and PROCLAIM. Media and social media engagement, where messaging around free speech, "culture war," identity, and university bias often took center stage.

Style, Faith, and Influence

Faith was central to Kirk's personal identity and public persona:

His rhetoric was often confrontational, aiming to challenge what he and TPUSA saw as entrenched liberal dominance in academia. Critics have argued this approach could be polarizing, but supporters say it was necessary to shake up norms.

Legacy in Higher Education

Charlie Kirk's influence will likely endure in several ways:

Shifting political culture : Conservative student activism has gained legitimacy and visibility on campuses where it was previously marginalized.

: Conservative student activism has gained legitimacy and visibility on campuses where it was previously marginalized. Youth political engagement : TPUSA empowered many students to become organizers, speakers, campaigners, or otherwise activist.

: TPUSA empowered many students to become organizers, speakers, campaigners, or otherwise activist. Interconnection of faith and politics in campus debate, especially via Erika's ministries and Christian messaging.

in campus debate, especially via Erika's ministries and Christian messaging. Free speech and academic policy: Kirk's work has pushed universities to reexamine speaker policies, protest codes, and what counts as ideological balance.

Supporting Charlie Kirk's Family

In light of his death, many have expressed a desire to help his surviving familyhis wife, Erika, and their two young children. A verified fundraiser has been established on GiveSendGo by the Liberty Memes Foundation to provide financial support, and supporters are encouraged to ensure they use the correct, official campaign link. Beyond financial contributions, countless people are participating in prayer vigils and public memorials, acts that offer comfort and recognition of the family's loss. Messages of solace shared personally, through social media, or within faith communities also help Erika and her children feel the embrace of the broader community.

Charlie Kirk's death is a deep loss for many, from the college students he inspired to the family he leaves behind. His life story contains a powerful tale of activism, faith, and influence, particularly among young conservatives. As attention turns to how to honor that legacy, supporting his wife Erika and their two children offers one of the most direct ways to turn reflection into care.

Charlie Kirk's name will remain entwined with Turning Point USA and with a changed landscape of student political life in America; but perhaps, more importantly, those close to him deserve compassion, aid, and remembrance.
Jinke Tang Carmela Rosaria Guadagno Yaqoob Majeed

Jinke Tang, a professor in the University of Wyomings Department of Physics and Astronomy, has been named director of the UW Science Institute.

Tang has served as department head for the past eight years and has been a faculty member at UW for 18 years. He currently serves on the U.S. Department of Energys Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee. As Science Institute director, Tang will oversee the institutes strategic direction, manage resources, and lead externally funded initiatives that promote collaboration across science and engineering disciplines.

Jinke brings a strong interdisciplinary background and a deep commitment to scientific advancement, says Parag Chitnis, UWs vice president for research and economic development. His leadership will help the Science Institute continue to foster impactful research and educational and engagement programs that benefit the state and elevate UWs national and global profile.

Im excited to take on this role and work with colleagues across campus to support innovative research and transformative education, Tang says. The Science Institute is a powerful platform for collaboration, and I look forward to building on its success.

Additionally, the Center for Controlled Environment Agriculture (C-CEA) -- a cornerstone of the Science Institute -- also welcomes new leadership. Building on the foundation established in 2023 through Wyomings Top-Tier Science Initiative and Tier-1 Engineering Initiative, the C-CEA is poised to expand its reach in plant science, sustainable agriculture and workforce development.

Carmela Rosaria Guadagno, an associate research scientist and current director of the UW Plant Growth and Phenotyping Facility, has been appointed director of C-CEA. She will be joined by Yaqoob Majeed, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, who will serve as assistant director.

Together, Guadagno and Majeed will lead efforts to advance sustainable agricultural technologies through research in plant-environment interactions, climate-controlled systems and innovative crop production methods. Their leadership also will focus on fostering industry collaboration, interdisciplinary research projects and student training opportunities. The center will provide resources, such as seed grants and fellowships, to support innovation and research in controlled environment agriculture.

Carmela and Yaqoob bring complementary expertise and a shared vision for the future of agriculture in Wyoming, Tang says. Their leadership will be instrumental in expanding the centers impact and fostering new opportunities for research and education.

Looking ahead, securing long-term funding from federal, industry and philanthropic sources will be a top priority for the center, ensuring its sustainability and positioning Wyoming as a national leader in this dynamic and rapidly evolving field.
Barbara Stanwyck in a still from the 1939 Cecil B. DeMille movie, Union Pacific. (Barbara Stanwyck papers, American Heritage Center)

The American Heritage Center (AHC) at the University of Wyoming invites the public to the opening of The West is Waiting: An Exploration of Railroad Advertising, a new exhibition curated by Kail Moede that examines how the railroad shaped Western migration, settlement and everyday life.

Spanning from the arrival of the transcontinental railroad in Wyoming in 1867 through the 20th century, the exhibition highlights the many ways railroads promoted the West through advertising. Visitors will encounter a wide variety of materials -- from postcards, illustrated maps and matchbooks to fine art, photography and Hollywood ephemera -- that reveal how deeply the railroad influenced Western culture and identity. The exhibition features items from the many collections the AHC holds on railroad history, including the Union Pacific Historical Society and the James L. Ehernberger Western Railroad collections.

The public is invited to an opening reception with light refreshments Wednesday, Sept. 24, from 5-7 p.m. in the AHC Exhibits Hall.

An illustrated map of the West produced by the Union Pacific Railway to promote Western tourism. (Union Pacific Historical Society collection, American Heritage Center)

In addition to the main exhibition, a companion installation, Life Between the Rails: Highlights and Insights from an Oral History Project, showcases personal stories gathered from Union Pacific Railway workers and their families through a large-scale oral history project of the same name conducted by Leslie Waggener and Tana Libolt for the AHC. Photographs and interviews provide a moving look at the lives of railroad families, preserving a vital part of Wyomings social history.

A special panel event will take place Saturday, Sept. 27, featuring two women interviewed for Life Between the Rails. Further details about this event will be announced separately.

Admission to both the exhibition and events is free and open to the public.

The exhibitions will be on display from Sept. 24 to March 6. The AHC is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Telefonica (NYSE:TEF) is one of the most undervalued telecom stocks to invest in. On September 8, Telefonica CEO Marc Murtra outlined his vision for a consolidated European telecoms market, stating that the company is looking to acquire telecom assets in Europe and Brazil while selling off its Spanish-speaking Latin American assets.

The strategy is part of a broader plan to increase scale and maintain the companys investment-grade credit rating. Murtra argues that Europes telecom market is too fragmented, with 41 companies serving over 500K mobile customers each in 2024, compared to only 5 in the US, 4 in China and Japan, and 3 in South Korea. He believes that in exchange for consolidation, European telecom companies should invest in other related sectors, such as cybersecurity and data centers, as part of a social contract with regulators.

Telefonica Outlines Strategy to Consolidate European Telecoms, Divest Latin American Assets

To gain financial flexibility for M&A, Telefonica has agreed to sell its units in Argentina and Uruguay and is exploring potential sales in Chile, Mexico, and Ecuador. Analysts at Kepler believe these sales could provide up to 3.6 billion euros ($4.21 billion) in funding. Potential acquisition targets for Telefonica could include Vodafone Spain, a joint venture with 1&1 in Germany, assets in Brazil, or a 50% stake in Virgin Media O2.

Telefonica (NYSE:TEF) provides telecommunications services in Europe and Latin America. The company offers mobile & related services and products.

While we acknowledge the potential of TEF as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If youre looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) ranks among the best performing S&P 500 stocks in the last 3 months. On August 27, Tigress Financial Partners reaffirmed its Strong Buy rating on Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) and increased its price target to $38 from its previous target. The firm pointed to Norwegian Cruise Lines ongoing advantages from robust cruise demand, operational enhancements, and rising profit margins.

In particular, Tigress Financial highlighted Norwegians customer experience management and digital and AI-driven marketing as crucial components of the companys expansion plan. These technology projects and marketing collaborations are expected to keep improving company performance.

The firm also highlighted Norwegian Cruise Lines rapidly increasing cash flow, which is being used to finance balance sheet optimization, private island development, fleet expansion and upgrades, and other growth projects.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) is a leading American cruise company based in Florida. The company offers a number of travel itineraries to its customers across North America and the Caribbean, among other locations.

While we acknowledge the potential of NCLH as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: 10 Best Magic Formula Stocks for 2025 and 10 Best Retirement Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Nearly a quarter-century after it happened, it is tempting to look back at September 11 and talk about it in big, vague, cliched terms. The date is often preceded with the phrase the tragic events of. It was the moment everything changed. It has become every U.S. history teachers default essay prompt, asking students to explain the effects of September 11 on America.

Those effects were enormous. We are still dealing with them today. Yet grand talk too often deployed can lessen the weight of even our most important memories. As the decades pass, somehow the lingering cruelty of September 11 hits home hardest when you hear about the small and quiet places it reached.

One of those places, for Olivia, was AOL Instant Messenger. In the late 1990s, Olivia online was CoolBlue91. Cool because she was, Blue after that Eiffel 65 song about the color, and 91 because of the year she was born. Thats cute and all, but what comes up when Olivia talks about AIM is that back then, she used it to talk to her dad, Anthony.

Anthony and Olivias mother never married, so she spent a lot of time away from him at her moms house on Long Island. She missed him there, and AIM was her line to him. Anthony online was NYAvenger. NY because New York, Avenger because of the Avengers, those Marvel characters. NYAvenger was on CoolBlue91s Buddy List, that digital rolodex that lit up and alerted users with a sound when someone came online. Olivia couldnt drive to Anthonys house yet, and she definitely couldnt walk there. But whenever the digital stars aligned, that creaky AOL opening door sounded, meaning that Anthony was online as well and they could talk about anything. Olivia thought this was the coolest.

Anthony was a cool dad. He loved video games and high-tech stuff  hence AIM  and had just landed a new job doing digital things downtown at a place called Cantor Fitzgerald. He wanted to share it with Olivia, and he did. Olivia remembers this time he gave her her own private Take Your Child to Work Day.

Were gonna lie, he said.

He and Olivia stood outside his office down at the bottom of Manhattan. The plan was to tell Anthonys boss that Olivia had to come to work that day due to a child-care emergency. Father and daughter craned their heads up and looked at the massive building Anthony had just started working in. It was a sight to behold, a behemoth: almost 10 million square feet of rentable office space, the size of three Disneylands. More than 430 businesses from nearly 30 countries. There were 15 miles of elevator. They got into one and shot upward.

Photo: Courtesy of Olivia Vilardi-Perez

Olivia remembers walking to Anthonys desk, pictures there of her. There was an open seating plan, low dividers between desks, a lot of friendly nerds at yellowing computers with papers everywhere, chunky calculators, the Wall Street style from the turn of the millennium in which suits hadnt completely vanished but baggy, pleated trousers and wan, white shirts ruled the day. The sort of clothes Chandler Bing used to wear.

Someone get this girl a T- shirt! a worker called out.Anthonys colleagues liked him and were fun and helpful and loved having a 10-year-old in the building. Olivia didnt want the day to end. Alone, together with her father. AIM chatting to him was fun. Being with him in person was so much better.

Call me to tell me what your new school is like, he said as he dropped her off at her mothers house that night. It was late summer, early September, the Long Island humidity still heaving and wet. Olivia was about to start sixth grade.

Ninety percent of Americans found out about September 11 on television. Olivia found out about it through whispers in her sixth-grade classroom.

Out of nowhere, kids started getting pulled from the room. It didnt take long for the rumors to start flowing.

Terrorists are putting sharks in peoples pools, someone said. Thats why parents were showing up to take their children home. Each story was more insane than the last.

Please, one of Olivias classmates begged the teacher. Why are all these kids leaving? The teacher hesitated. She wasnt supposed to say anything.

The next period was lunch. By then, Olivia already knew Anthony was dead.

Nobody had told her directly, but based on what her teacher had said about the World Trade Center, she just knew. It was well past commuting hours already. Anthony would have been at work bright and early. He was always very punctual, never late to anything. He wouldve been there at his desk with the pictures of her, with the computers and calculators and the colleague who said, Get this girl a T- shirt!

They had a funeral for Anthony. Olivia hid in the basement of the funeral parlor, curled up and crying. She didnt know how to lose somebody like this. Adulthood hit before puberty arrived. That childhood feeling of safety amid Long Islands samey-same houses and lawns and air-bagged SUVs evaporated. Olivia felt as if she aged decades in days. The outpourings of grief, such grand talk, continued long after the funeral, growing so trite she became inured to it.

But there was this thing Olivia kept doing. This thing CoolBlue91 kept doing. She knew it didnt make sense. But as she grew older, as dial-up shifted to broadband, desktops to laptops, Olivia kept adding his screen name, NYAvenger, to her Buddy List.

One night, she heard that creaking-door sound. She saw NYAvenger online. She nearly threw up.

Was he back?

Was he somewhere in the world  alive  logging on to America Online? They still, after all that time, had not found his remains.

But it was just her uncle, Anthonys brother, logging on to his AIM account, shutting it down.
Expanding internationally, Nvidia has entered a partnership with HUMAIN, the Saudi Public Investment Fund's (PIF) AI subsidiary, to build a hyperscale AI data center in Saudi Arabia with capacity targets reaching 500 megawatts powered by 18,000 Grace Blackwell GPUs. In related efforts, Nvidia is deploying 800-volt HVDC architecture, partnering with Navitas Semiconductor (NVTS) and Vertiv (VRT) to modernize data center power systems, pushing technological boundaries in infrastructure advancement.

Its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio stands at 40.90x compared to the sector's median of 23.43x, and its price-to-sales (P/S) ratio is 31.97 versus the sector's median of 3.25x, revealing a substantial premium driven by strong growth expectations.

Nvidia designs and manufactures high-performance processors and supercomputing platforms that enable advanced automation and analytics across industries, supporting the AI focus of SoFis Agentic AI ETF AGIQ. With a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, it has a modest annual dividend rate of $0.04 and a yield of just 0.02%.

Which of these powerhouses will take the lead in shaping tomorrows world of intelligent technology? Lets find out what these three stocks can offer.

The September 2025 debut of Tidal Trust SoFis Agentic AI ETF (AGIQ) was purpose-built to tap into this extraordinary acceleration of artificial intelligence (AI), bringing together companies at the forefront of real-time decision-tech and digital transformation. The new ETF by SoFi (SOFI) has seen a rise of 1.6% since its Sept. 4 launch, settling at $20.25. Three leaders have emerged at the heart of AGIQs holdings: Nvidia (NVDA) at 8.47%, Tesla (TSLA) at 8.54%, and Palantir (PLTR) with 7.50%. Each company is pushing boundaries in connected automation and data-powered systems.

The intelligent automation market is experiencing major growth, with projections now indicating enterprise-focused platforms will surpass $70.91 billion before 2030 as businesses pursue solutions that optimize analytics and real-time processes worldwide. That momentum is confirmed by forecasts showing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38.9% between 2025 and 2030, surging from $18.22 billion in 2025 to $94.30 billion in 2030, powered by rising adoption of automation, personalization, and predictive analytics in business.

Story Continues

On Aug. 27, 2025, Nvidia posted revenue of $46.7 billion, rising 6% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) and 56% year-over-year (YoY). Data center revenue came in at $41.1 billion, while Blackwell Data Center figures grew 17% sequentially. Gross margins hit 72.4% GAAP, with earnings per share at $1.08 GAAP and $1.05 non-GAAP. The company returned $24.3 billion to shareholders in the first half of fiscal 2026 and authorized an additional $60 billion in buybacks.

Nvidias earnings outlook remains strong, with analysts expecting $1.16 per share for Q4 2025 and $4.20 for fiscal 2026, with growth estimates of 48.72% and 43.34% YoY. The next earnings release is anticipated in October 2025. The analyst consensus is firmly positive, as all 46 surveyed offer a Strong Buy rating and a mean price target of $211.53, implying a 26.7% upside.

www.barchart.com

Tesla (TSLA)

Tesla specializes in electric vehicles (EVs), clean energy solutions, and intelligent automation for transportation and home energy. The companys market capitalization is $1.13 trillion, affirming its sector dominance. With share performance showing a decline of 14.17% YTD but a rise of 60.27% over the last year. TSLA stock currently trades at $346.93.

www.barchart.com

Its valuation presents a distinctive profile, as the trailing twelve-month P/E ratio sits at 199.14x, with the sector median at just 17x, and the forward ratio at 282.70x compared to a sector median of 18.31x, highlighting investor anticipation for Teslas technological advances despite demanding multiples.

A recent $16.5 billion partnership with Samsung Electronics (SMSN.L.EB) ensures vertical integration of custom AI6 chips for full self-driving (FSD) vehicles, robotics, and high-performance data centers, fortifying supply chain oversight and enabling product innovation at scale. Meanwhile, the joint energy initiative with Sunrun (RUN) gives Texas homeowners advanced battery systems with Flex solar technology, competitive sellback rates for excess power, and state-of-the-art outage protection, driving durable growth for both Tesla Electric and its residential energy markets.

Teslas July 23, 2025, earnings release revealed Q2 vehicle deliveries of 384,122, falling short of expectations by 3.4%. Revenue was reported at $22.5 billion, narrowly missing analysts' estimates by 1.1%, while operating profit reached $923 million against a projected $1.21 billion. EPS matched expectations at $0.40, gross margin was steady at 17.2%, and operating margin slipped to 4.1% from 6.3% last year, as CEO Musk emphasized the importance of capacity expansion and new platform launches.

Earnings estimates point to $0.36 for Q3 2025, $1.20 for fiscal year 2025, and $2.00 for 2026, with anticipated YoY declines of around 41% before rebounding to 66.67% growth in 2026; the next earnings release is set for Oct. 22, 2025. Analyst views are neutral, as reflected in a consensus Hold rating from all 42 polled, and the mean target price of $299.28 implies a 13.7% downside from current levels.

www.barchart.com

Palantir (PLTR)

Palantir builds enterprise software for data integration, analytics, and machine intelligence across commercial and government missions. Palantir has climbed 113% YTD and 366% over the past year. PLTR stock is now priced at $162.48.

www.barchart.com

It has a forward P/E ratio of 358.94x versus the sector median of 23.43x, a P/S ratio of 129.27x compared to the sector median of 3.36x, and a market capitalization of $363.23 billion.

PLTR is reinforced by its new partnerships. Palantir is accelerating telecom transformation by integrating its Foundry and AIP platforms across Lumen Technologies operations, streamlining workflows, and driving modernization in network infrastructure. The companys expanded five-year alliance with Lear harnesses the IDEA analytics platform, which has already delivered more than $30 million in savings for Lear through the first half of 2025, raising efficiency and deepening Palantirs impact within the automotive sector.

On Aug. 4, 2025, Palantir reported Q2 revenue of $1.004 billion, up 48% year over year and 14% sequentially, as U.S. revenue rose 68% to $733 million, U.S. commercial revenue advanced 93% to $306 million, and U.S. government revenue increased 53% to $426 million. The quarter included 157 deals of at least $1 million, adjusted operating income of $464 million at a 46% margin, GAAP net income of $327 million at a 33% margin, adjusted EPS of $0.16, and adjusted free cash flow of $569 million at a 57% margin.

The forward outlook signals EPS of $0.11 for the September 2025 quarter and $0.44 for fiscal year 2025, reflecting anticipated YoY growth rates of 83.33% and 450%. This consensus is rated Hold by 22 analysts, and the mean target of $155.78 stands just 5% below its current price of $162.49.

www.barchart.com

Conclusion

NVDA, TSLA, and PLTR are the three to own from SoFis AGIQ because they sit at the center of AI infrastructure autonomy and enterprise adoption with meaningful catalysts and durable roadmaps fueling the theme. In the near term, shares will most likely trend higher as execution and partnerships sustain demand across chips, mobility, and data platforms, though pullbacks can appear on hot prints or extended valuations. Over the next few quarters, a gradual grind up is the base case if earnings and deal flow keep confirming strength.

On the date of publication, Ebube Jones did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com
WASHINGTON, D.C.  Jonathan Gould, in his opening weeks of running the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, left no uncertainty about his view of the systematic process to drop crypto people and businesses from banking relationships.

"Debanking is real," he told an audience Wednesday at CoinDesk's Policy and Regulation event in Washington, D.C. "It is a real phenomenon," he noted, adding that he was hearing stories as recently as last week about people with corporate accounts being told "we don't want your business here."

In his push to make the U.S. the crypto center of the world, President Donald Trump has appointed digital-assets-friendly regulators such as Gould to enact his executive orders to bolster the industry. Gould said he's been busy at the start of his tenure addressing debanking, reversing "anti-crypto licensing conditions that we imposed" and starting work on new stablecoin regulations.

Earlier this week, Gould's OCC issued a statement saying it had taken actions "to eliminate politicized or unlawful debanking in the federal banking system." While other industries with perceived riskiness or reputational problems have experienced banking difficulties, it was crypto insiders' struggle with banks that brought this issue to a head.

He said he's excited to start the "big undertaking" of writing the rules required under the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, under which the OCC will be a federal regulator for certain U.S. and all foreign stablecoin issuers whose tokens circulate here. The process by which crypto companies can license or charter as banks will get closer attention, he said, now that he's moved this week to make that function a direct report to his office.

"We have historically  or at least over the last few years  pursued more of a risk-elimination strategy where we wanted to kind of prevent the banks from getting involved in this at all," he said. Gould, a former executive at Bitfury, suggested that period in which the OCC was reluctant to allow banks to engage in crypto business is over.

The traditional banking system has been eyeing the stablecoin law nervously for its potential undermining of its core deposits business, but Gould said those fears are likely overblown, suggesting other deposit-similar products such as money market funds never killed off that mainstay of banking.

Read More: Former Bitfury Exec Gould Confirmed to Take Over U.S. Banking Agency OCC
Gualtieri says plan to open Tevere to public swimming is "absolutely within reach".

Swimming in Rome's river Tiber will be possible within five years, according to the city's mayor Roberto Gualtieri, who reiterated plans announced earlier this summer.

Describing it as "an absolutely achievable goal", Gualtieri on Wednesday said he has discussed the project directly with Italy's environment minister Pichetto Fratin and Lazio governor Francesco Rocca.

The mayor was speaking at the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Japan, during an event titled The Eternal City Welcomes the Future: Attractiveness, Culture, Beauty, and Innovation.

"We have already established a working group that will soon be interinstitutional", Gualtieri said, noting that the cost of the project is still being estimated.

Earlier this year Paris opened the river Seine to public swimming for the first time in a century, after investing 1.4 billion into a clean-up programme ahead of the 2024 Olympic swimming competitions.

The cost of making the Tevere suitable for bathing safely is expected to be lower than that of Paris, Gualtieri said, because the French capital "started with much higher pollution levels".

In July the mayor said he hoped to achieve the goal by the end of his potential second term in office, in other words by 2031, saying the main interventions required relate to industrial plants on the Tiber and the Aniene, a tributary that flows into the larger river in the north of Rome.

On Wednesday the mayor said that some areas of the Tiber, on certain days, would actually "be suitable for swimming today" but stressed that "to ensure full bathing safety even in the downstream section of the Aniene, some interventions are necessary."

A number of initiatives in this regard are already under way, according to Gualtieri, who said the metropolitan city police "are conducting a screening of all discharges into the Aniene, including those outside the Roma Capital area, which are among the main causes of the current lack of bathing safety".

The mayor added that Rome has already identified "three or four necessary actions" and "with the full support of the scientific and technological community and the institutions, we will develop a timeline" for the project.

Bathing in the Tevere was common in Rome up to the 1960s when it was first prohibited due to pollution caused by industrialisation as well as the risk of diseases such as leptospirosis which is transmitted by rats.

An exception to the rule is made on New Year's Day when a group of daredevil divers thrill crowds by jumping off Ponte Cavour into the river's icy waters 18 metres below.
A quick guide to the best exhibitions in Rome this autumn.

Rome is hosting a series of interesting art exhibitions this fall, including several blockbusters. Here are five of the top shows to visit in the Etermal City during the autumn.

Gauguin: The Journal of Noa Noa and Other Adventures at Museo Storico della Fanteria from 6 September to 25 January 2026





The Museo Storico della Fanteria dedicates an exhibition to the pioneering Post-Impressionist master Paul Gauguin. Inspired by the diary the French artist wrote after his first stay in Tahiti in the early 1890s, the exhibition is accompanied by magnificent woodcuts illustrating its contents, recounting life on the Polynesian islands, their myths and ancient beliefs. Museo Storico della Fanteria, Piazza di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme 9,

Alphonse Mucha: A Triumph of Beauty and Seduction at Palazzo Bonaparte from 8 October to 8 March 2026 The Museo Storico della Fanteria dedicates an exhibition to the pioneering Post-Impressionist master Paul Gauguin. Inspired by the diary the French artist wrote after his first stay in Tahiti in the early 1890s, the exhibition is accompanied by magnificent woodcuts illustrating its contents, recounting life on the Polynesian islands, their myths and ancient beliefs. Museo Storico della Fanteria, Piazza di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme 9, website





Palazzo Bonaparte dedicates an exhibition to the sublime work of Czech artist Alfons Mucha (1860-1939), best known for his Art Nouveau decorative depictions of women. Organisers hail the show as "the most extensive and comprehensive ever held on Mucha". The exhibition will feature more than 150 works by Mucha, retracing his entire career, alongside Botticelli's Venus and Art Nouveau furnishings. Palazzo Bonaparte, Piazza Venezia 5,

Flowers: From the Renaissance to artificial intelligence at Chiostro del Bramante from 14 February to 18 January 2026 Palazzo Bonaparte dedicates an exhibition to the sublime work of Czech artist Alfons Mucha (1860-1939), best known for his Art Nouveau decorative depictions of women. Organisers hail the show as "the most extensive and comprehensive ever held on Mucha". The exhibition will feature more than 150 works by Mucha, retracing his entire career, alongside Botticelli's Venus and Art Nouveau furnishings. Palazzo Bonaparte, Piazza Venezia 5, website





Chiostro del Bramante hosts a vibrant exhibition that celebrates the evocative power of flowers, from the Renaissance to the era of artificial intelligence. Combining art, science and technology, the more than 90 works on display offer a journey through five centuries of art, culture and innovation, from the masterpieces of Jan Brueghel and Ai Weiwei up to contemporary digital art. Chiostro del Bramante, Arco della Pace 5,

Dali. Revolution and Tradition at Palazzo Cipolla from 17 October until 1 February 2026 Chiostro del Bramante hosts a vibrant exhibition that celebrates the evocative power of flowers, from the Renaissance to the era of artificial intelligence. Combining art, science and technology, the more than 90 works on display offer a journey through five centuries of art, culture and innovation, from the masterpieces of Jan Brueghel and Ai Weiwei up to contemporary digital art. Chiostro del Bramante, Arco della Pace 5, website





Palazzo Cipolla will host more than 60 works by Spanish surrealist master Salvador Dali. The works on display will include paintings and drawings from the Fundacio Gala-Salvador Dali and other major international museums. The exhibition will feature photographic and video archives offering a glimpse into the painter's visionary imagination, emphasising his intense connection with masters including Velazquez, Vermeer, Raphael and Picasso. Palazzo Cipolla, Museo del Corso, Via del Corso 320,

Treasures of the Pharaohs at the Scuderie del Quirinale from 24 October to 3 May 2026 Palazzo Cipolla will host more than 60 works by Spanish surrealist master Salvador Dali. The works on display will include paintings and drawings from the Fundacio Gala-Salvador Dali and other major international museums. The exhibition will feature photographic and video archives offering a glimpse into the painter's visionary imagination, emphasising his intense connection with masters including Velazquez, Vermeer, Raphael and Picasso. Palazzo Cipolla, Museo del Corso, Via del Corso 320, website
TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) is one of the best dividend stocks to buy. On September 1, the company disclosed in a press release that it has received the Nzombo exploration permit in the Republic of the Congo.

Located 100 km off Pointe-Noire and close to TotalEnergies Moho production sites, the 1,000 km permit will be 50% operated by TotalEnergies, while QatarEnergy and SNPC hold 35% and 15%, respectively. Drilling for one exploration well is set to start before the end of 2025, according to the work program.

TotalEnergies (TTE) Secures New Exploration Permit off Congo Coast

Pixabay/Public Domain

According to Kevin McLachlan, Senior VP of Exploration at TotalEnergies, the award demonstrates the companys strategy to grow its Exploration portfolio with projects that can benefit from existing facilities.

With the Nzombo permit, the company continues its long-term collaboration with the Republic of the Congo, where it operates existing production facilities.

TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) is a French global energy company that produces and sells oil, biofuels, natural gas, biogas, low-carbon hydrogen, renewable energy, and electricity.

While we acknowledge the potential of TTE as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: Dow 20 Stocks List: Ranked By Hedge Fund Bullishness Index and 10 Unstoppable Dividend Stocks to Buy Now.

Disclosure. None.
Journalist and author Aoife Barry is to visit Ardkeen Library as part of the popular Writers at Waterford Libraries series.

The event will take place at 3pm on Saturday, September 20, and will explore how you can make sense of todays media landscape.

The event is open to all and designed to spark discussion about how we find, question, and share information in our daily lives.

Aoife is a former assistant news editor at The Journal and author of the bestselling non-fiction book Social Capital (HarperCollins Ireland), which was nominated for an Irish Book Award.

She has interviewed people, including Fiona Shaw, Pedro Pascal and former President Mary McAleese. She writes a weekly arts column for the Sunday Times.

Aoife has had bylines across publications including the Irish Times, the Irish Independent, Tatler, The Journal and Irish Examiner.

She features regularly on RTE Radio One and Today FM and her essays and fiction have been published by ROPES journal and Banshee, and broadcast on Sunday Miscellany.

She is also an event moderator and writing facilitator.

The event is free to attend, but booking is essential.

Phone Ardkeen Library on 051 849755 to reserve your place.

Click here for more details.
The public in Waterford are being invited to have their say on a proposed draft variation to the county's development plan.

Waterford Council has prepared the 'Proposed Draft Variation No. 1 of the Waterford City and County Development Plan 2022-2028' ' and is encouraging observations from the public to be summitted.

In an online statement the local authority said the draft variation is now on public display and the Council is inviting submissions and observations from the public.

'This is your opportunity to have a say in how Waterford grows and develops in the years ahead,' noted the local authority in its online notice.

Full details are available at consult.waterfordcouncil.ie, where people can view the draft variation and make a submission online.

Submissions must be received by September 19, the closing date stated on the consultation portal.
Eva Osborne

Shayne Ward will return to Ireland to headline two shows in Dublin's Ambassador Theatre next month.

Ward, who won the second series of The X Factor, will perform on Friday, October 10th, and Saturday, October 11th.

Tickets are on sale from Ticketmaster from 50.20.

Ward's debut single Thats My Goal was the 2005 Christmas No 1 and spent four weeks at the top of the chart. It sold 2 million copies and is still one of the all-time 20 biggest best-selling debut singles.

It was followed by two more hit singles, No Promises and Stand By Me.

These songs are all featured on his self-titled debut album, which entered the chart at No 1 in April with first week sales 200,000 copies.

Ward has since had three further Top 40 hits and three more hit albums.

Away from music, he has acted across television, film, and theatre. He is best known for his role as Aidan Connor in ITVs Coronation Street, which he played from 2015 to 2018.

On stage, he received critical praise for his performance as Stacee Jaxx in the West End production of Rock of Ages and went on to appear in national tours of The War of the Worlds and Band of Gold.

His film work includes a lead role in the 2020 feature Black Ops, directed by Tom Paton, and he will next be seen in the 2024 comedy-thriller Young Gun alongside Alexis Rodney.

Ward currently stars in the Paramount/Channel 5 drama The Good Ship Murder, where he also wrote and performs the theme song.

In 2024, he expanded his repertoire once again as a contestant on the BBC series Strictly Come Dancing.
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LifestyleLife & relationshipsFriendship This was published 3 months ago Opinion I told a complete stranger a secret. From now on, Im sticking to small talk Hannah Vanderheide Contributor September 10, 2025  5:30pm

September 10, 2025  5:30pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share 50 View all comments

Want to play two truths and a lie? Of course you dont. No one in the cursed history of workplace icebreakers ever has. So, Ill just give you two truths: Im a bit emotionally tapped out right now. And, paradoxically, I miss small talk. Another mum, who Id just met, said I hate small talk  lets just get real. Getty Images/iStockphoto A few weekends back, I was chatting with another mum Id just met at a backyard get-together. She kicked things off by announcing, I hate small talk  lets just get real. And look, Im a pretty open book. When Im vibing with someone, Im more than happy to get deep. But wed hardly established how many kids we each had (me: one, her: three) before my new friend explained how she believed that behind my smile, I was holding back a silent grief about not being able to have a second child.

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Lets just say the phone number I gave out that afternoon could use some fact checking. The fact is, she wasnt entirely wrong. But I was puzzled by how Id found myself talking to a perfect stranger about something I hadnt yet broached with my best friend, let alone a therapist. This particular brand of immediate and unearned intimacy makes me feel exposed. It raises my hackles in the way that hearing Im an empath, at a dinner party has me hoping Ill be seated at the opposite end of the table. And Im encountering it more and more. Indeed, small talk appears to be on life support, and allegedly Gen Z are the ones pulling the plug. Theres the TikTok-viral Gen Z stare (a deadpan, unblinking response to surface-level chatter), and new research finding 74 per cent of young people prefer digital communication over face-to-face action. But I think our new tendency to skip from So, where did you go to school? straight to What was the last thing that made you cry? crosses generations, at least in part thanks to our problematic bestie: social media.

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In an effort to upgrade from the shiny, happy, highlight-reel style posts of circa 2015, our feeds are now filled with TikToks of strangers divulging their deepest traumas (often while teaching us how to contour). Related Article Opinion

Gen X Being a Gen Xer is my affliction. Is Gen Zs enthusiasm curing me? Hmm, maybe Bunny Banyai Contributor And it seems this cut to the quick approach has bled out into IRL meet ups, where we jump right into the meat of it without any (shudder) icebreakers easing us in. Of course, theres good science to support the idea that deep conversations are ultimately what deepen relationships. And like I said, I love to get deep  under the right circumstances. Speaking with neurodivergent folks about this is also really illuminating. Many of my self-described neurospicy friends find small talk incredibly grating, and I do get that mine is a very neurotypical perspective. I like the idea of people coming together over a shared disdain for small talk whether IRL, on internet forums or in real life, with Skip the Small Talk dinners popping up throughout the US and Europe.

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I like it because it implies a certain level of mutual permission, rather than diagnosing strangers with repressed trauma or immediately mining for intimate secrets on a first meeting. Related Article Interview Social media is designed to atomise us: Viral sensation Jack Toohey Im certainly not suggesting we should start on the surface and stay there. In fact, I often find the opposite happens. As someone with a condition that makes me struggle in hot weather, even a simple How about this heat? has sparked deeper connections with passing acquaintances. To me, small talk is like a conversational handshake. You know those people who squeeze your hand so hard you wonder if theyre trying to prove a point? Small talk can be like that too. It can signal a safe space, or just as importantly, that this may not be someone you want to expose your soul to. Its the ticket to subtly mining a strangers personality and consequently, your compatibility  a fertile ground upon which deep and loving relationships can then be built.

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And in an increasingly polarising ecosystem, I find small talk useful for gently exposing another persons world view, without having to jump straight into heated debate. Learning that a strangers favourite podcast is The Joe Rogan Experience, for example, is often a good indicator of where our conversation might be headed. So, tell me all about that guy clipping his nails on your commute and lets bond over our hatred of people who use communal microwaves to heat up fish. Please dont skip past the small talk. Well get to the big stuff, I promise. Hannah Vanderheide is a freelance health writer and actor based in Victoria. Get a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up for our Opinion newsletter.
Australian Conservation Foundation climate program manager Gavan McFadzean says the governments progress on renewable energy was wiped out by its support for the expansion of Woodsides fossil fuel operation.

As we reported earlier, the oil and gas giant will be required to abide by dozens of conditions, including deeper cuts to harmful nitrous oxide emissions, to continue operating one of Australias largest fossil fuel projects until 2070.

Environment Minister Murray Watt last month. Russel Millard

The conditions [imposed by Environment Minister Murray Watt] cant alter the fact the Albanese government is responsible for granting one of the worlds largest gas approvals while the planet is engulfed in a climate crisis, McFadzean said.

He pointed out Australias safeguard mechanism already required major emitters to reach net zero by 2050, adding: This is not a new condition.

It beggars belief that the Albanese government would choose to detonate this carbon bomb, McFadzean said.

With this decision, Prime Minister [Anthony] Albanese has betrayed Australians who voted for him, believing he was serious about acting on climate change.

Greens leader Larissa Waters said Australians had not voted for Woodsides carbon bomb.

Labor has caved to pressure from a dirty gas corporation. This approval is a betrayal and a disastrous decision for the future of our planet, she said.

Our environmental laws, which allow the environment minister to sign off on projects that will make the climate crisis worse, are broken.

Greenpeace Australia Pacifics Shiva Gounden said extending the North West Shelf was going against everything that science, international law and the global community has been saying about phasing out fossil fuel projects as soon as possible.

The Albanese governments approval of the North West Shelf gas project is an assault on the Pacifics survival, makes a mockery of our global commitment to limit warming to 1.5C, and will lock in devastation for our islands, Gounden said.

For the Pacific, 1.5 [degrees] is not a target  it is our lifeline. To expand fossil fuels is to cut that lifeline.
Premier Jacinta Allan is under renewed pressure over the handling of the Big Build.

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Complaints of rampant rorting, intimidation and kickbacks across Big Build projects have been secretly lodged with Victorian government officials for years, undermining Labors claims it was blindsided by the scandal engulfing the construction industry and prompting the states former integrity chief to back a wide-ranging inquiry. A major investigation by this masthead has obtained a trove of leaked internal state government correspondence that, for the first time, shows government officials were repeatedly warned of Big Build corruption from early 2023 to as recently as June this year. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan at a level crossing removal project in July. The program is one of those alleged to have overseen wasteful spending. Penny Stephens Some of the wrongdoing was reported in detailed spreadsheets maintained by the state governments multibillion-dollar Level Crossing Removal Project as part of its daily events reporting channel. In the confidential spreadsheets, government level crossing officials were told repeatedly throughout the first half of 2023 about extortion and blackmail tactics by a cabal of subcontractors aligned with the CFMEU. This unlawful behaviour was causing major financial impact to taxpayers, reports sent via the daily events reporting system to government officials in March, April and May 2023 state. Another internal file from June 2023 complained of a significant cost to the Big Build because of unlawful behaviour, while another file disclosed potentially unlawful demands to pay workers for shifts not actually worked.

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The list of allegations piling up against the Big Build is higher than the Rialto Towers. Clancy Moore, Transparency International Among the workers on this payment list, which has been separately seen by this masthead, are several bikie gang members. Another set of leaked confidential complaints from Big Build subcontractors, also sent to government agencies, describe claims that firms were forced to renovate the private homes of project supervisors or pay off middlemen to secure work. In one formal complaint, an engineering firm alleges it was directed to install a pergola removed from a railway station in the backyard of a Big Build project manager; to concrete the driveway of the grandmother of a second project manager; and to complete a $50,000 renovation on a third Big Build managers house. Other leaked formal complaints sent to top public servants managing the scheme document alleged corrupting of the Big Builds Indigenous employment scheme. Some of these complaints were copied to Labor ministers, with one Indigenous firm requesting in July 2024 a response to issues raised over two years ago about corruption. Another damning formal complaint, also obtained by this masthead, has been made by a senior ex-public servant who worked on delivering the Big Build scheme for the Victoria government.

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The senior ex-official alleged in a statement sent to the Victorian anti-corruption commission in early 2025 that they had witnessed a culture of maladministration, waste and cover-up inside the headquarters of Labors huge roads and rail infrastructure program. In a complaint sent to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC), the former senior official described gross negligence and a lack of care with the use of public money within the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority, which is responsible for delivering $100 billion worth of Big Build projects. My concerns regarding this have been over many years; however, I have not made any reports for fear of losing my job, the complaint states. The scale of reported alleged wrongdoing was so very alarming that former IBAC commissioner Robert Redlich, KC, told this masthead there was urgent and ample reason to consider a broad inquiry that could do what no other agency, including police or IBAC, had so far done. Former IBAC commissioner Robert Redlich. Jason South Redlich, a former Supreme Court judge, said that if police or IBAC were unable to do more than look at very specific allegations of criminal conduct, then consideration should be given to a royal commission. The volume of material suggests that there are things that plainly need to be very urgently reviewed and addressed, he said.

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By failing to deal with these issues, its particularly significant because the Big Build continues. If it is taking place in an environment which facilitates frivolous, wasteful expenditure or misconduct and a lack of proper oversight, then not only has money already been lost but it will continue to be lost. Transparency International chief executive Clancy Moore said the Big Build was plagued by allegations of corruption, cronyism and cost blowouts. Editor's pick Exclusive

Building Bad I didnt have a choice: Big Build kickback claims rock North East Link The list of allegations piling up against the Big Build is higher than the Rialto Towers, Moore said, demanding the Allan government launch a systemic inquiry. Despite the absence of a single substantive criminal charge, Premier Jacinta Allan has repeatedly insisted that her response to 14 months of Building Bad revelations by this masthead  including Labors moves to boost law enforcement powers and back CFMEU administrator Mark Irving, KC  is adequate. Last week, Irving demanded greater government intervention to fight endemic wrongdoing in the construction sector. On Wednesday, this masthead reported claims by a military veteran helping struggling ex-soldiers get jobs on the North East Link that he was forced to pay a gangland-linked figure to gain access to the $26 billion government project.

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On Wednesday, Allan said the government had no tolerance for illegal behaviour and that there were now requirements to report it on its projects. She accepted there had been issues with complaints being shuffled between agencies but said this was being addressed. Its not acceptable that these things get moved around within agencies, which is why we are setting up a mechanism for that, she said. She said the governments pledges to strengthen labour-hire rules and whistleblower protections along with the federal governments move to put the CFMEU in administration meant a broader inquiry was not needed. Weve had a royal commission in this country, and all it did was give a lot of work to lawyers and not deliver an outcome, she said, referring to the Abbott governments inquiry into trade unions. The public servants IBAC complaint focuses on conduct within the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority (VIDA), which oversees and manages the Big Build. The authority is responsible for more than 200 projects, including the Metro Tunnel and North East Link and the removal of 110 level crossings, being built by alliances and joint ventures between giant civil construction companies such as Webuild, Laing ORourke, John Holland and Acciona.

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They are totally independent, they have no vested interests, they are not running for office, they are not paid, they have no powers or sanctions at their disposal.

It was slightly surreal, but also heartening, to be present at an event peopled with so many global leaders in such a relaxed gathering. In the evening, the Elders and a circle of advisers  including a Peruvian economist and a Chinese environmentalist  dined on a terrace, wrapped in borrowed ponchos and fleeces against the chill autumnal weather, listening to briefings from visiting analysts and experts on subjects ranging from Darfur to nuclear proliferation. If only all global problems could be resolved in such a genial atmosphere.

Addressing the gathering, the Elders, he said, had the opportunity to be a real role model for the world, leading, guiding, creating their own initiatives and supporting others, speaking freely and boldly, and working both publicly and behind the scenes on whatever actions needed to be taken.

I was at that meeting when Mandela arrived. Word had spread of his coming. A crowd of local villagers, and every member of staff of the lodge, had gathered at the gate to greet him, his arrival heralded by the sound of ululations and praise songs. As he made his way slowly into the room, the gathering rose as one in a round of spontaneous and prolonged applause  his newly found entourage of cooks, maids and drivers, joyfully ignoring privacy or protocol, crowding in behind him to hear him speak: the father of the nation with his children.

The occasion was the inaugural gathering of the Elders, an initiative led by Mandela to bring together a small number of leaders working objectively and without any vested personal interest in the outcome to act as honest brokers in conflict resolution, coming together to contribute wisdom, independent leadership and moral courage to tackle some of the worlds most serious problems.

Assembled around a table in the reserves great room was a group of former world leaders and elder statespeople. They included Jimmy Carter, the former American president; Archbishop Desmond Tutu; Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland and former United Nations high commissioner for human rights; and Graca Machel, Mozambiques first minister of education and an international advocate for womens and childrens rights. They were awaiting the arrival of Machels husband, Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Kofi Annan, the former secretary-general of the UN, joined the meeting via video link.

Each morning, the group gathered in a large tented space in the grounds of the property, with Moroccan carpets on the floor and huge decorative lamps hanging from the rafters. The mood was informal. There was no conference table; rather, the group of Elders and a handful of staff and advisers, including a South American ambassador to Washington and London, a world-renowned economist and experts in multilateral leadership and strategic communications, were arranged on comfortable chairs and sofas, notepads and laptops on knees, with waiters ferrying water and coffee to side tables.

It is seldom the case that all the Elders are together in one place, but this July a handful of the group gathered for a meeting in Morocco, held over three days at Bransons hotel, the Kasbah Tamadot, in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. The gathering was private, with no outside observers, and conducted under the Chatham House rule  the principle of confidentiality used in meetings to encourage open discussion. I was the only journalist present.

Advocacy  bringing attention to humanitarian crises that might otherwise go unnoticed  is part of what they do, but much of their activity is done out of the spotlight in conflict resolution and influencing world leaders, in private meetings with presidents, prime ministers and heads of state, drawing on their ability to open doors that might otherwise be closed. Ukraine, Israel/Palestine and Myanmar are just some of the countries Elders have visited in recent times.

They are totally independent, they have no vested interests, they are not running for office, they are not paid, they have no powers or sanctions at their disposal. Their authority comes from their experience, their wisdom, their integrity and reputation as honest brokers and their network of relationships built up over the years.

That was 18 years ago. Unless you pay close attention to global affairs, international conferences on climate, nuclear proliferation and pandemic preparedness, you may not have heard of the Elders. While there are any number of organisations and institutions, from the UN down, through NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and peace and environmental groups, dedicated to solving the worlds myriad problems, the Elders are unique.

In 2001, over lunch at Bransons London home, he and Gabriel gently proposed the idea to Nelson Mandela. His response was guarded  not least, he told them, because the UN might look askance at a self-elected body presuming to step on its territory. But a working group was set up to explore the idea and how best to assemble 12 people  the number had been decided by an unspoken consensus  that would equitably represent gender, ethnicity and cultural pluralism.

While there were any number of organisations dedicated to solving the worlds myriad problems, there was no single group that was totally independent, deriving its authority not from political, economic, military or religious power but from wisdom and experience. What might such a group achieve?

The genesis of the Elders goes back to 1999 and a conversation between Branson and his friend, musician Peter Gabriel, about how the tradition in indigenous cultures of tribal elders, serving as the repository of wisdom, judgment and long-term thinking, might be applied in the global village.

The conversations ranged over Gaza, Ukraine, the environment, the rise of AI, the collapse of the international order, the waning influence of the UN, how best to restore trust in government and institutions in the face of the rising tide of populism, analysing the causes of conflict  including the battle for resources, notably water and minerals, extraction of minerals, the weapons industry and socioeconomic conditions  all the better to understand how to prevent them, and what role the Elders should best be playing in an increasingly multipolar world with a surfeit of conflict and as one participant put it, a deficit of wisdom. No problem, then.

What they look for first and foremost is moral integrity  the kind of person Mandela would have approved of. Weve tried hard to get gender balance. There are now six women and five men. We look for a mix of people. Seven of the present Elders are former presidents and prime ministers but theres a range of different backgrounds and experiences.

They have this sense of legacy that they need to look at any new candidate through the same eyes that Mandela looked at the original members, says Alistair Fernie, the chief executive of the group, talking between sessions. He is a former UN diplomat who led British government aid programs in Africa, Afghanistan and the Middle East and was the UK director responsible for World Bank policy.

Among the other members are Ernesto Zedillo, the former president of Mexico; Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the former president of Liberia and a Nobel Peace laureate; Denis Mukwege, a global campaigner on conflict-related sexual violence and another Nobel Peace laureate; Helen Clark, the former prime minister of New Zealand; Zeid Raad Al Hussein, the former UN high commissioner for human rights; Elbegdorj Tsakhia, the former president and prime minister of Mongolia; and Hina Jilani, a human rights activist from Pakistan. New members are elected by the group themselves. The choice must be unanimous. They are currently in deliberations over a 12th member after Ban Ki-moon, the former head of the UN, recently stepped down from his role as deputy chair to become an Elder emeritus.

The present chairman of the group is Juan Manuel Santos, who as president of Colombia was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016 for negotiating the peace deal with FARC (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), the Marxist-Leninist guerrilla group, and ending the bitter civil war that had raged for more than 50 years and killed at least 220,000 people.

Unsurprisingly, given the average age of the Elders, membership turnover has been high. Over the years there have been 22 Elders from 22 different countries. Of the original dozen chosen by Mandela, only three are still active: Graca Machel; Mary Robinson, the first female president of Ireland; and Gro Harlem Brundtland, the first female prime minister of Norway. Nine members have been Nobel Prize laureates.

In the years since then, the organisation has grown to encompass a staff, researchers and advisers. From the very beginning, the Elders have been an independent entity, funded by a collective of donors including Bransons Virgin Unite foundation, one of a number of independent non-profit organisations set up by Branson over the past 20 years.

The world is very different from the world of Nelson Mandela 18 years ago, says Santos. We live in a world which is so turbulent, where the respect for international law, even for international humanitarian law, is vanishing, the number of conflicts has increased immeasurably, and at the same time the wars have been degraded in terms of respect for human rights and civil society.

In January, Santos was in Washington, joining the Bulletins Science and Security Board, for the announcement that the time of the clock is now set at 89 seconds to midnight  the closest it has ever been to global catastrophe. A move of even a single second, the Bulletin warns, should be taken as an indication of extreme danger and an unmistakable warning that every second of delay in reversing course increases the probability of global disaster.

According to the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, there are more than 110 armed conflicts around the world, greater than at any time since the Second World War. Among the different organisations that the Elders are partnered with is the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which studies the existential threat posed by nuclear proliferation, climate change and disruptive technologies, and is indicated by the Doomsday Clock.

In January, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set the Doomsday Clock at 89 seconds to midnight  the closest it has been to global catastrophe.

When Mandela launched the Elders in 2007, he singled out a range of challenges for the group: conflict resolution, for one, but also at that time, AIDS, malaria and diminishing natural resources. Global problems have only multiplied since then, but the current strategy focuses on three existential threats in particular: the climate and nature crisis, pandemics and nuclear weapons.

They are neither of the Left nor the Right, Fernie says. But they share a set of values and core beliefs about the way the world is, the problems facing the world, and the need for multilateral co-operation of different countries working together to help solve global challenges.

And thats where the Elders, who have no armies, no budgets  our only asset is our experience, the little moral authority that we have  are very much needed. That is the challenge we face now: what is the most effective way for us to use that authority and the prestige the group has, in this very difficult moment.

Santos was talking over dinner, on a terrace looking out to the Atlas Mountains, swathed in evening clouds. A quietly spoken, self-effacing man with a wry sense of humour, he was approached to join the Elders in 2019, shortly after leaving office as president of Colombia. I was 67. I remember saying, Well Im not that old. It was explained that the concept of Elders in Nelson Mandelas mind was that in South Africa, the elders are the wise men and women, not the oldest. I said, OK, in that case I accept.  He became chairman of the Elders last year, taking over from Mary Robinson.

While president, Santos negotiated the peace treaty with FARC by applying the principle of transitional justice, emphasising the recognition and protection of victims rights, including truth, justice and reparations. We had been fighting a very dirty war, with no respect for human rights, and I changed that completely. Respect humanitarian law, respect human rights, even of your adversaries  I call them adversaries and not enemies.

The former commander of the army taught me that, dont treat the FARC as your enemies but as your adversaries. I said, whats the difference? He said theres a great difference: enemies you eliminate, adversaries you meet, and if you meet them in a good way, with a humane attitude, you can live with them for the rest of your life.

Treat them as human beings  they have mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. That was a game-changer. It gave the army tremendous legitimacy. Instead of killing the FARC when they were wounded, they took them to hospital. And the commanders with whom I signed the peace treaty told me afterwards, that really changed the attitude of the guerrillas, not seeing the army as devils but as human beings also. That generated an environment that helped very much towards peace.

The peace agreement was much criticised in Colombia, but Santos believes that was inevitable. We say very often the Elders are not a group interested in winning wars but in preventing or stopping wars. And sometimes, to stop a war, you have to be a bit flexible. Some people think we gave too much to the guerrillas, and others say we were too harsh with the guerrillas. In my experience, the golden rule in many resolutions of a conflict is that you need to establish where you draw the line between peace and justice.

How much are you, a country, willing to sacrifice in order to have peace? And no matter where you draw the line, you will always have people saying they want more justice, and others saying they want more peace. Thats why most peace agreements are easily criticised, and at the beginning they are unpopular. But as time goes by, people realise that its better to live in peace than to live in war. Justice is a principle that should always be present, but to what degree is the question.

Amplification or negotiation?

As a group with limited resources  and a limited number of Elders  much of the discussion that I witnessed in Morocco focused on where they can be most effective in concentrating their efforts. To what degree should the Elders be an advocacy group, through a combination of public statements and working behind the scenes to influence different agendas, and to what degree should they be concentrating on private diplomacy in conflict resolution?

Alistair Fernie gives two examples of the Elders advocacy role. In 2022, in the wake of COVID-19, the Elders made it part of their strategy to become actively involved in the preparation for a better framework for international co-operation to deal with the next pandemic. Elders, Fernie says, were engaged in behind the scenes diplomacy to help negotiators from different parties find a way to an agreement. It was touch-and-go, he says. But in May this year, the WHO finally adopted the Pandemic Agreement for the prevention, preparedness and response to future pandemics.

In the end, the US did not participate in that agreement after the Trump administration said it was going to withdraw from the WHO, Fernie says, but an agreement has been reached. So thats a real tangible achievement. Helping a pandemic treaty is not in itself going to stop another pandemic, but it might make us better prepared to respond to it. Its an area where so clearly the world is a very small place and none of us are safe until everyones safe.

He cites climate change as another example. Elders pushed for several years, Fernie says, for a loss and damage component to the COP (Conference of the Parties) climate summit negotiations, a fund for small nations whose economy and in some cases  the Pacific island of Tuvalu, for example  very existence is threatened by climate change. That proposal was finally adopted at COP28, held in Dubai in 2023.

The Elders have pushed to fund nations threatened by climate change, including Tuvalu. Corbis via Getty Images

An unexpected talking point at that conference was the testy exchange in a video meeting between Mary Robinson, representing the Elders, and the COP president, Sultan Al Jaber, who is also chief executive of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, in which the then 80-year-old Robinson stood up to Sultan Al Jaber, telling him he was wrong about climate science and fossil fuels.

Answering questions later on whether she gets frustrated with countries talking big and then rowing back on commitments, Robinson said the Elders were in a position to call out such behaviour, because they are independent, have moral authority, and need to do it. The UN doesnt do it. Nobody else does it and so we do it across the board. Nobody is immune from that.

The Elders have a responsibility to speak out, Fernie says. Humility is an important part of the Elders. They dont have power or claim to have power, and they dont want power, so they can say things that will cause offence if they sometimes think its the right thing to do. And its undoubtedly the case that Elders views attack some vested interests, so of course were going to get criticised by those who dont like what we say.

Nelson Mandela predicted that in 2007, that you will be criticised. But he also said you wont be seeking elected office or financial gain, so you will have the courage to just carry on saying what you feel needs to be said.

We do it because its correct

The question of private diplomacy is more delicate. The Elders tend not to talk of their successes, saying that to do so might compromise their access, although they cite one example of a successful intervention from the early days of the group, in 2008, when civil war broke out in Kenya, largely along ethnic lines, following the disputed results of an election.

Various attempts at mediation between the two warring factions had failed, until Kofi Annan, along with Desmond Tutu and Graca Machel, intervened, and over the course of meetings with the rival leaders in a game reserve, as one observer puts it, basically knocked their heads together until an agreement was reached to cease fighting and form a coalition government.

We dont brag about what we do, and we should not brag about it. We do it because its correct. Elders chair Juan Manuel Santos

But such conflict negotiations involving the Elders have more usually taken place away from the glare of public attention. These missions, Santos says, depend on trust and confidentiality  and trust, as he puts it, is everything. And if the Elders were to start talking about the discussions that have taken place, and taking credit for any successes, that trust would be eroded.

We have a policy of private diplomacy and public advocacy. Sometimes you need to have visibility, but private diplomacy requires discretion. You dont need to be delivering public statements, says Santos. We dont brag about what we do, and we should not brag about it. We do it because its correct, but you dont have to brag about doing something that is correct. In todays world, hatred and jealousy and bad feelings are being fed by social media. If you start bragging about things, its counterproductive.

To assume that simply sitting down at the table with a leader will lead to the end of conflict would be naive. Negotiations may not always produce immediate results, but wise counsel might come to fruition at a later time.

An Elders adviser gave me an example of accompanying one Elder engaged in just such a negotiation with the leader of a country. Theyd sought a meeting with that leader, and were pointing out the consequences of what he was planning to do, in a way he hadnt understood or considered before. Thats hard to quantify and say the tanks stopped in their tracks, but theres real value in that that may emerge in the longer term.

Santos says: The word trust is crucial, and the way you earn trust is by not taking sides. Also, in my experience, the ability to listen, to understand the reasons why one side or the other are defending or attacking, the roots of the conflict, in order to try to address both sides to agree on some kind of common denominator.

But if the neighbours in an asymmetrical war are not supporting a peace process, the peace process will most likely fail. If they are supporting it, the possibility of peace is much higher. If you compare conflicts to volcanoes, there are some that are active, some that are exploding and some that are relatively dormant.

The exploding ones are obvious. Among the more dormant are Ethiopia, Libya, the Sahel region and Haiti looming as failed states. The question is, where should the Elders be concentrating their attention?

There are some conflicts which are too complex and intractable for a self-selected group, no matter how honourable their intentions, to make any difference, particularly when caught in the dilemma between honouring the principles on which they were founded and remaining silent in the hope of gaining access.

In 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, Santos and Ki-Moon met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to affirm their support for a peaceful resolution to the conflict rooted in justice and international law.

In 2015, six Elders had met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss a range of geopolitical issues including Ukraine. But following Russias invasion, Putin has refused a meeting after the Elders publicly called for a special tribunal for Russias crime of aggression.

Jimmy Carter (centre) and Kofi Annan (right) met with Vladimir Putin in 2015 in Moscow. Putin has refused to meet with the Elders since his invasion of Ukraine. Getty Images

No leader likes that, Santos says. This is the permanent dilemma we have  sticking to our principles and making them known publicly, versus the private diplomacy of trying to solve the problem.

We have been trying to see how we can help in bringing the two parties together to start some kind of negotiation. Many people and many countries have been involved in trying to do the same, so our margin of manoeuvres is rather limited, but our stand is: the sooner we stop the war, the better.

But if the time comes and we have some access, we would talk to Putin with no problem whatsoever. In any negotiation, both sides have to understand that you dont make peace with your friends. You make friends with your enemies.

The mogul in the mix

Other than as the facilitator and a friend, Richard Branson has made a point not to involve himself in the running or governance of the Elders, while at the same time offering help and resources wherever it is needed.

Even before the launch of the organisation, in 2003, as America was preparing to invade Iraq, Branson, through the mediation of his friend the late King Hussein of Jordan, told Mandela that Saddam Hussein was willing to leave Iraq for Libya with his family, to help avoid the need for war, but wanted two Elders to fly out with him so I can hold my head high.

Mandela agreed to fly to Iraq if Kofi Annan, who was then secretary-general of the UN, and Thabo Mbeki, the president of South Africa, agreed to the plan. They did. But before Mandela could get to Baghdad, America invaded.

It may have come to nothing anyway, Branson told me at the Elders inaugural meeting in 2007. But it was an example of universally respected Elders, working outside the conventional political process, who could potentially have made a difference.

Such frustrations and what ifs are part and parcel of the Elders work. Its had some great successes, Branson says now, sitting in the big tent in Morocco during a lunch break. But like any organisation, it can be more effective going forward.

Throughout the meetings, Branson sat quietly, listening intently to the discussions and scribbling in his notebook, only occasionally interjecting with a thought or a suggestion. That morning he had suggested that, given the number of issues confronting the Elders, perhaps it would be helpful to recruit a number of younger representatives who could both broaden the scope of the groups work and take some of the weight off the existing members.

One of the problems with the Elders is that theyre elderly, Branson says. Weve got Elders who are 86 years old, so there are only so many visits they can do. Annan, he points out, died in 2018 at the age of 80, following a trip to Zimbabwe for the Elders. But if we can get a group of younger ambassadors, maybe not as well known, maybe ex-foreign secretaries, who could go to Palestine or the Congo, which desperately needs visits, and instead of having to look for three or four Elders to go on these trips, have one Elder and three ambassadors. It was an idea they were considering.

The next meeting of the Elders is scheduled for October. But members of the group will be at the UN General Assembly in New York this month  at which all of their combined powers of influence and diplomacy will be brought to bear.

This is something since the time of Mandela that we are very clear about: that we should always say what we think is correct. Elders chair Juan Manuel Santos

As the gathering in Morocco drew to a close, Santos deliberated on what the future might hold  and what the group might continue to achieve. The biggest obstacle now, he says, is we have a set of values and principles that we believe in, and the world has been affected by a devaluation of those values and principles.

What we think is our major strength, which is our moral authority, is not as appreciated around the world. Because even many leaders are less sensitive to criticism by people with moral authority.

It is very sad, but we are very clear that we will never renounce our values and principles. This is something since the time of Mandela that we are very clear about: that we should always say what we think is correct. And perhaps the world will listen.

This is an edited version of a story that originally appeared in The Telegraph (UK).

To read more from Good Weekend magazine, visit our page at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times.
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PoliticsFederalLiberal Party This was published 3 months ago Opinion Her behaviour is bonkers, but the Liberal Partys rank and file cant get enough of Jacinta Price Shaun Carney Columnist September 11, 2025  3:00am

September 11, 2025  3:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share 664 View all comments

Ah, those golden days. Im talking about early last week, when politics was following its natural rhythms. Thousands had marched in cities around the country, protesting about immigration. Some of them were especially animated about the increasing number of Indian migrants in our midst. Much chin-stroking commentary followed, imploring the Albanese government to explain its immigration policy. If it would only do that, supposedly, community nervousness about immigration would evaporate and racists would retreat to the shadows. This seems unlikely to me, but anyway. The underlying narrative was in the grand tradition of Australian politics, which is that if something disturbing is going on, it must be due to either the actions or inaction of whoever is in power. Illustration by Dionne Gain But on Wednesday, September 3, opposition minister for defence industry and defence personnel Jacinta Nampijinpa Price appeared, at first cloaked in an Australian flag in the Senate to mark Flag Day, a real but niche national day. She decided to create a new narrative, one that would flip the attention to the opposition. Her first narrative involved a Labor plot to swamp Australian society with Labor-voting Indian migrants. The second, which has taken hold in the past few days, was to portray Sussan Leys factional sponsor, Alex Hawke, as a brute and then to suggest that Ley was weak for not bringing Hawke into line. That has sparked a proxy leadership battle inside the Liberal Party. Not bad work for Price, who has been a member of the Liberal party room for only four months.

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In her ABC interview, Price appeared to suggest that the Albanese government applies some sort of political test to prospective migrants in India and allows in only the ones who will vote Labor. Or that Indians are simply implicitly Labor-leaning. Its hard to tell. Its bonkers, basically, and it fed into the anti-Indian sentiments of some of those whod marched a few days earlier. You might well ask why the opposition minister for defence industry and defence personnel was rattling on about immigration on national television, but that would be so yesterday. On Wednesday night, Ley dumped Price from her frontbench. Regardless, long gone are the times when frontbenchers respectfully declined to talk about matters that werent in their portfolios. This is a garrulous age, where politicians will freewheel on anything, reinforcing the agreed lines of the day. Anyway, minding her Ps and Qs would be especially off-brand for Price, whose rapid rise since entering the Senate in 2022 owes much to her willingness to involve herself in whatever culture war issue is on the go. Related Article Political leadership Sussan Ley sacks Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price from Liberal frontbench Soon after making her comments on the ABC, Price put out a statement that has been characterised by the media as her walking them back. The statement began: Australia maintains a long-standing and bipartisan non-discriminatory migration policy. Suggestions otherwise are a mistake. Was that a walkback? Those suggestions otherwise were made by whom? The family cat? Like one of televisions most famous characters, Arthur Fonzarelli (ask your parents or grandparents, kids), Price has trouble admitting straight out that she was wrong. Her behaviour does make some sense. Prices political persona is built entirely on her grim-faced certainty about everything and her positions on policies for Indigenous Australians, which sit outside the orthodox prescriptions favoured by a large proportion of her fellow Indigenous people. She won fame as a vocal proponent of the No case in the Voice referendum and was very much in touch with mainstream opinion. It made her a superstar among the Coalition rank and file. Her early success encouraged her to say whatever came into her head, such as her call to make Australia great again and her instruction to the media to stop obsessing about Donald Trump during the election campaign. That was her first disaster.

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Her refusal to apologise for her comments has carried a kind of logic. Most of the demands from some of her colleagues that she apologise are prompted by a desire for the controversy to end. But she is a modern populist. For her, whats most important is what she says when she gets riffing about the terrible state of things, especially if her supporters think that, too. And theyll probably think that because she does. Its a circular relationship. Liberal deputy leader Ted OBrien was right when he said on Wednesday that an apology from Price would seem inauthentic to the public. For all her troubles in the past eight days, she would certainly still be more popular among the Coalition rank and file than her leader. Leys card was marked early in this term when she was labelled as a moderate and at her first appearance at the National Press Club when she began by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land. Prices strategy of digging in and refusing to apologise has intensified the focus on Ley. You know its reached an absurd stage when theres pressure on Ley to apologise on Prices behalf. It was Price who uttered the conspiracist nonsense, not Ley. Related Article Opinion

Immigration Jacinta Price is wrong to think all Indian voters like me back Labor  but they probably will now Surendra Verma Writer and author And while thats gone on, others with an axe to grind, like Jane Hume, dumped from the frontbench by Ley, have offered a view. Hume says the whole thing has been poorly handled by Ley. Its important to remember that in May, Prices stocks were so high that she was enticed from the National Party and nearly ran on a leadership ticket with Angus Taylor that fell just three votes short of victory. For Ley, theres more trouble ahead. Price is likely to still be the darling of the grey hairs who make up most of the party membership, but her demotion is just part of trying times for her, too. Two years ago almost to the day, she told the National Press Club that overall, British settlement had benefited Indigenous people because now they had running water and readily available food. Her speech received a standing ovation from her party colleagues, including Nationals leader David Littleproud, who described it as one of the most powerful he had ever heard. Asked this week if he would welcome Price back to his party, he demurred, saying that her comments were outside mainstream Australian values and he wouldnt be encouraging talk of her return. His meaning was clear: it was up to the Liberals to work out how to handle her now.

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Shaun Carney is a regular columnist, an author and former associate editor of The Age. Get a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up for our Opinion newsletter.
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Analysis WorldEuropeTrump diplomacy This was published 3 months ago As Trump dithers, Putin brings crazy danger to Europe David Crowe September 11, 2025  9:55am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share 114 View all comments

London: Vladimir Putin keeps finding new ways to test Donald Trump and the major European leaders when they talk tough about the war in Ukraine. That is because the Russian president pays no price for every escalation  and the latest provocation may be no different. The American president is proving every day that he does not know how to respond to Putin. The European leaders are proving that they know what to say, but not what to do. So the provocations keep coming. Donald Trump meets European leaders at the White House last month. Bloomberg It is an extraordinary moment when Russian forces can fly drones into Polish airspace, mobilising NATO fighter jets and air defences in an emergency not seen since the Cold War, without any penalty.

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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk makes a direct comparison to the years when Poland last suffered from a bellicose neighbour  when Germany invaded and triggered a world war. I have no reason to claim were on the brink of war, but a line has been crossed, and its incomparably more dangerous than before, Tusk says. This situation brings us the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II. Loading Does that comparison hold? The passage of a drone fleet through the sky is nothing like the carnage of 80 years ago. The drones are not toys  the Shaheds made in Russia from Iranian designs carry powerful explosives and bring death and destruction  but there is genuine doubt about their targets in this strike. It is best to be cautious before concluding this was an attack on Poland  an act of war.

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Even so, Tusk is right to highlight the crazy danger from these Kremlin escalations. Putin has ramped up the missile and drone strikes since his summit with Trump in Alaska on August 15. The nightly attacks show his disregard for Trumps complaints. The use of Polish airspace shows his disregard for NATOs collective will. Polish police secure parts of a damaged object shot down by Polish authorities in Wohyn on Wednesday. AP Firing drones into NATO territory is, without doubt, an act of aggression. The Kremlin says it did not intend the drones to pass into Polish airspace. The European Unions foreign policy commissioner, Kaja Kallas, says the indications are that it was intentional, not accidental. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski says they were planned.

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Russian drones have veered into Polish airspace before  not just drones, but also cruise missiles, he said. When one or two drones does it, it is possible it was a technical malfunction. But there were 19 breaches and it simply defies imagination that it was accidental. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk holds an extraordinary government meeting following the drone incursions. AP Is this risky for Putin? While there is a school of thought that says Putin is being foolhardy, the recent past has shown that he can manage risk. Every time he intensifies the attacks on Ukraine, he hears tough words from the West, but feels no steel. This means his actions are a verdict on American and European leaders. If Putin was worried about their words, he would moderate his attacks and be more cautious with his drones.

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Russia is the prime suspect in a series of provocations  poisoning its enemies in the West, hiring gangs to engage in arson attacks in London, and using commercial ships to break internet cables in the Baltic. On a military level, it is constantly testing NATO defences  such as by sending a submarine close to major shipping in the English Channel in July. Now it flies drones through NATO airspace. The drumbeat of Russian attacks on Ukraine is so steady that it seems to dull the world to what is happening. The nightly strikes trigger tweets of condemnation from world leaders, but the sheer monotony only seems to draw a shrug from others. Police and medics evacuate Olha Trush, 86, from Yarova, a village hit by a Russian airstrike that killed dozens of civilians, in Sloviansk, Donetsk region, on Tuesday. AP While European leaders express their dismay, Trump rarely engages. He has no answer. On this war, unlike so many other questions of the day, he has no truth to post on Truth Social. His first response to the drone interception was so vague he seemed barely interested: Whats with Russia violating Polands airspace with drones? Here we go! Here we go where? He seeks to convey movement, but there is no sense of a consistent direction.

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Ill know in two weeks what Im going to do, Trump told CNN on August 22 when asked about dealing with Putin. The deadline passed and the peace talks lapsed. Like so many of his promises and timetables, it loses all meaning as the days pass. Related Article Russia-Ukraine war Here we go! Trump calls out Putin as Europe urges action over Russian drone incursion There is an old word for this: Trump is dithering. Every provocation from Putin only highlights the hesitation in the White House. Will this change? Perhaps there will be an American show of force. But we do not know whether this or any other force will be deployed to deter Russia. So far, Putin is showing he can provoke without penalty. Again. Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
This story was originally published on CX Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily CX Dive newsletter.

Dive Brief:

The Department of Transportation is rolling back a plan to require airlines to compensate customers for flight cancellations or significant changes caused by the carriers themselves, according to a notice of withdrawal posted earlier this month.

The DOT, under the Biden administration, launched the rulemaking process in December of last year. It proposed requiring airlines to provide passengers with cash compensation, free rebooking on the next available flight, meals, overnight lodging and related transportation expenses when the disruption is airline-caused.

Consumer rights groups say the rollback hurts customer experience. Experiencing flight delays and cancellations is extremely frustrating, and it is also expensive when you have to suddenly shell out hundreds of dollars for a hotel, transportation, meals, and rebooking fees, Erin Witte, director of consumer protection for Consumer Federation of America, said in a press release.

Dive Insight:

Under the Biden administration and then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the Department of Transportation prioritized consumer protections that often benefited customer experience, from prompt cash refunds to upfront pricing.

The Trump administration has taken airlines concerns about regulations into consideration, however, and looked at rolling back federal consumer protections.

Consistent with Department and administration priorities, the Department plans to withdraw the [Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking], the document announcing the withdrawal reads.

In May, Airlines For America, a lobby group for U.S. airlines, filed a 93-page request with the department that sought to cancel major consumer protections.

This comes as no surprise under the current administration, Katy Nastro, travel expert with Going, told CX Dive in a statement. This proposed rule under the Biden administration was a long shot to begin with, and did provide hope for a time period that the U.S. would fall in step with Canada and Europe who have cash compensations for disruptions on top of new flights.

Consumer rights groups say the withdrawal of the rulemaking is a step backwards.

But this doesnt mean consumers are without protections. Last year, a final rule by the DOT requiring airlines to provide customers with automatic cash refunds for canceled or significantly delayed service went into effect. Airlines For America has proposed rolling back this rule, too, according to reporting by The Points Guy.
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Updated WorldEuropeRoyal family This was published 3 months ago King Charles meets Prince Harry for first time in more than 18 months David Crowe Updated September 11, 2025  2:41am ,first published September 11, 2025  1:46am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

London: King Charles has held a meeting with Prince Harry after suddenly returning to London to see his son, moving to ease tensions within the royal family in their first face-to-face talks in more than 18 months. Harry made a surprise visit to Clarence House to see his father during a break in a brief trip from California that has been dominated by events with major charities. King Charles III is seen arriving at Clarence House in London, England. Getty Images While the King was at Balmoral Castle in Scotland hours earlier, he flew to London at short notice and sparked instant speculation that he would see his son despite official comments in recent days that played down the prospect of a meeting. Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has been in the UK since Monday seeing charities he helped when he held royal duties several years ago, before he gave up his official roles to move to California with his family.

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The prince hinted at the pressure on his agenda during a visit to Imperial College London to see medical experts who help victims of blast injuries at a centre he promoted a decade ago. When members of the assembled crowd sought to speak with him as he left, he said: I have to go, Im so late. Loading Soon afterwards he was photographed in a black Range Rover passing through the gates of Clarence House, the residence of King Charles and Queen Camilla near Buckingham Palace. The meeting lasted about 50 minutes and was described by palace officials as a private tea. There was no public comment about the conversation.

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Harry is due to return to his home in Montecito, near Santa Barbara in California, on Thursday after a four-day visit to the UK without his wife, Meghan, or their children, Archie and Lilibet. The rift between Harry and the other members of the family  including his brother, Prince William, as well as the King  has been a source of tension for several years after the younger son aired his grievances about royal life in television shows and a memoir, Spare. Loading There was no sign of a meeting between Harry and William, who was in Cardiff visiting a mental health charity while his brother and father met. A few hours after the meeting at Clarence House, the King received another visitor: South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, who is in the UK for a defence conference.

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Harry told the BBC in May that his request for greater government-funded security for himself and his family had been a sticking point with the family. He lost his security when he moved to the US and took court action to seek to restore it but lost the case. He said the King wont speak to me because of this security stuff but added that he wanted to overcome this because his father was undergoing cancer treatment. Prince Harry departs the Centre for Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London. AP I cant see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK at this point, he told the BBC in the interview from the US. There have been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family.

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I would love reconciliation with my family. Theres no point continuing to fight any more, life is precious. Related Article Royal family Does he drive you mad? Prince Harrys sibling quip at event near  but not with  his brother Harry gave 1.1 million ($2.25 million) on Tuesday to the Children in Need charity, which is backed by the BBC and helps vulnerable children and teenagers. He followed this on Wednesday with donations to medical operations that help children with blast injuries. He donated 370,000 to projects that seek to help injured children from Gaza and Ukraine, including through the World Health Organisation and Save The Children. The funds came from the Archewell Foundation he set up with Meghan. No single organisation can solve this alone, the prince said in a statement.

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Gaza now has the highest density of child amputees in the world and in history... It takes partnerships across government, science, medicine, humanitarian response and advocacy to ensure children survive and can recover after blast injuries. Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
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Updated WorldNorth AmericaViolence This was published 3 months ago New footage shows suspect jumping off roof, fleeing Kirk assassination scene Michael Koziol Updated September 12, 2025  10:44am ,first published September 11, 2025  11:34pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

Washington: The FBI has released a new surveillance video showing the man they believe assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk jumping off a rooftop and making his getaway in the moments after the shooting. A massive manhunt is still under way for a suspect described by police as being of college age. Officials also released more photos in addition to two CCTV images made public earlier in the day as they appealed to the public for tips. The FBI announced a $US100,000 ($150,000) reward for information leading to identification of the shooter, while Utahs Republican Governor, Spencer Cox, confirmed the state was preparing to seek the death penalty. The new video released Thursday night, US time, showed a man running across a low-rise rooftop  the Losee Centre building at Utah Valley University, where Kirk had been speaking  before carefully jumping off the edge. He then moved quickly through a small grassed area beside a parking lot, and towards a road.

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Utah public safety commissioner Beau Mason said the suspect left palm impressions on the roof as he fled. He was wearing what looked to be a long-sleeved T-shirt emblazoned with an American flag and an eagle, as well as grey and white Converse shoes. In the later news conference on Thursday night, officials gave no update as to progress on tracking down the suspect, and took no questions. The Utah Public Safety released additional images of a person of interest in relation to the Charlie Kirk shooting on Friday morning AEST. Earlier, Mason said authorities had tracked the suspects movements in the minutes leading up to the assassination. He arrived at the campus at 11.52am on Wednesday, Utah time  about half an hour before the shooting  and moved via stairwells to a rooftop from where he allegedly fired a single bullet. The subject blended in well with the college institution  That individual appears to be of college age, Mason said.

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FBI special agent Robert Bohls said officers had recovered a high-powered bolt action rifle they believed was used by the shooter. It was recovered from a nearby wooded area where the suspect had fled. Were doing everything we can to find him. Were not sure how far he has gone, Bohls said. The FBI earlier released two images of the person of interest and appealed for tips to help solve the shooting. X/@FBISaltLakeCity Trump hails Kirk as a giant of his generation Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance travelled to Salt Lake City to meet Kirks grieving family members. He then flew them and a casket containing the 31-year-olds body back to Phoenix, Arizona on Air Force Two.

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President Donald Trump spoke to Kirks family by phone, noting they were absolutely devastated. Kirk had a wife, Erika, and two young children. Trump said he intended to attend the funeral. The assassination of the prominent conservative activist, evangelical Christian and key Trump ally has rocked American politics, particularly among Republicans and Trumps MAGA base. Trump announced he would posthumously award Kirk the nations highest civilian honour, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people, Trump said. Speaking at the Pentagon in Washington at a memorial for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Trump said the US was a nation that would always honour its heroes.

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Theres a group of people that dont want to talk about our heroes, but we will always talk about our heroes, he said. We will defend the nation they serve, the values they upheld and the freedom for which they died. We will build taller, grow stronger, fight harder and soar higher. Kirk was fatally shot while appearing at the first stop on a speaking tour of college campuses, in which he was to invite opponents to debate him on stage. The assassination has again put focus on Americas problem with political violence. Loading It follows the assassination of a Democratic lawmaker and her husband in Minnesota three months ago, alongside an attempt on the life of her colleague, an arson attack on the home of Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro and the attempted assassination of Trump at a rally last year.

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Related Article Violence A question, an answer  then a single shot: How Charlie Kirks death unfolded This is a dark moment for America, Trump said in a video message to the nation on Wednesday night, Washington time. Its long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonising those with whom you disagree day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible. The president went on to blame the radical left for comparing Kirk to Nazis and mass murderers  rhetoric he said was directly responsible for the terrorism we are seeing in our country today. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trumps team was tightening security following Kirks assassination. The September 11 ceremony was moved to a more secure location, while additional measures will be in place when Trump attends a baseball game on Thursday evening in New York, according to the report.

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Related Article Political leadership Albanese raises alarm about polarisation in wake of Kirk shooting Beyond this weeks events, Trumps team was having broader discussions about how to increase the presidents security, the Journal added. Meanwhile, several historically Black colleges and universities on Thursday placed students and staff under lockdown, citing potential threats. Spelman College, Hampton University, Virginia State University, Bethune Cookman University, Southern University and Alabama State University were among those that suspended classes and required students living on campus to shelter in place. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump during a ceremony to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. AP With Bloomberg, Reuters Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
The US's ban on advanced AI chips fuels a rally in China's semis, pulling investors into local firms.

China's tech surge stems from DeepSeek's breakout and fierce competition among homegrown chipmakers.

Cambricon and giants like Alibaba and Tencent are leading the charge in China's market rally.

A US ban on advanced AI chip exports has supercharged China's chip stocks, sending investors piling into homegrown players. The stock boom has gotten so intense that at least one company warned its share price may be divorced from reality.

The rally was first sparked by the breakout of cheap AI model DeepSeek early this year and picked up speed after Washington's chip restrictions opened more room for domestic competitors.

"It essentially gives them a bigger market to address, given the absence of Nvidia," Ray Wang, the research director for semiconductors and emerging technology at Futurum Group, told Business Insider.

Despite China's yearslong property crisis and a trade war with the US, the Hang Seng Tech Index has surged 67% in 2025, reversing years of weakness following Beijing's tech crackdown.

The bull market comes as China  the world's largest chip importer  has been "doing more with less," wrote Deutsche Bank analysts in a September 2 note.

The analysts pointed to DeepSeek, which was built using cheaper chips at a fraction of the cost, and noted reports that Chinese firms have accessed some high-end chips through back doors.

"Critically, it has been developing (inferior but improving) chips of its own to reduce its dependence on the US and potential exposure to security risks from US chips," the analysts added.

That drive for AI self-reliance was underscored this earnings season. Chinese AI chipmaker Cambricon posted blockbuster results and Alibaba's reported strong AI and cloud growth, putting China's tech sector back in the spotlight.

"Despite the US export bans, China is a large player in AI hardware manufacturing and has been promoting a localization strategy," wrote Winnie Wu, the cohead of China equity research and chief China equity strategist at BofA Global Research, in a September 4 report.

Wu added that China is the global runner-up in AI after the US and is competing across "nearly every level of the supply chain."

Cambricon's breakout

A significant beneficiary of China's tech rally has been Beijing-based Cambricon, whose revenue surged a staggering 4,300% to 2.88 billion Chinese yuan, or $403.3 million, in the first half of 2025. Its Shanghai-listed stock has nearly doubled this year, lifting its market value to 536 billion yuan.
The U.S. economy created nearly one million fewer jobs over the past year than previously thought, according to newly revised data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the biggest percentage losses came from industries tied to technologyan area that is under scrutiny from economists assessing the impact of artificial intelligence.

The BLSs Preliminary Benchmark Revision cut total employment between March 2024 and March 2025 by 991,000 jobs, a 0.6% downward adjustment. That marks one of the sharpest annual recalibrations in recent history. Prior to Fridays release, economists had expected a revision closer to 682,000. The BLS noted that benchmark revisions are usually within a plus-minus of 0.2%.

After the update, the data paint a much weaker picture of hiring momentum. Job growth in 2024 now averages just 106,000 per month, down from the originally reported 168,000. For 2025 so far, the pace has slowed to only 44,000 jobs per month.

The revision shows the economy entered 2025 with less momentum than previously understood, said Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank in Dallas, in a statement to Fortune. The preliminary benchmark revision was worse than expected, the Comerica statement added. Accounting for it, job growth has been weak for most of this year.

AIs fingerprints on tech layoffs

The biggest hit came in the information industry, a category that includes internet companies, software publishing, and broadcasting. Employment here was revised down by 67,000, or 2.3%. Between March 2024 and March 2025, information sector jobs were revised down by 88,000, a 3% declineand theyve continued falling into this summer. Adams noted that The revised data show more clearly that AI is automating away tech jobs.

Other sectors also saw notable downward revisions:

Leisure and hospitality: down 176,000 jobs (1.1%)

Wholesale trade: down 110,000 jobs (1.8%)

Professional and business services (including temp agencies): down 158,000 jobs (0.7%)

Still, it was the retrenchment in tech and information services that stood out to Adams, raising new concerns about how quickly advances in AI are reshaping the job market. A sweeping study by Stanford University economists published in August found an outsized impact on entry-level tech roles exposed to automation by AI, with a 13% decline since 2022. Yet struggles with AI adoption have given some business leaders pause, with human skills emerging as a sorely needed complement to AI adoption.

The bottom line for Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial, was similar to Adams takeaway: The labor market appears weaker than originally reported. Solid household wealth is keeping the middle and upper-income consumer afloat, he added, but the economy is in the midst of an atypical business cycle.
Victorias Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) is one of the 14 Best Small Cap Stocks to Buy Right Now. On August 29, UBS raised the price target on Victorias Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) from $21 to $25, keeping its Neutral rating on the stock.

Mauricio Serna from UBS increased the price target on VSCO following the Q2 FY2025 earnings release. The analyst pointed out that the companys quarterly report shows its turnaround is gaining traction. Victorias Secret surpassed its top and bottom line guidance and also exceeded analyst consensus by $52.92 million, posting $1.46 billion in revenue during Q2. The companys net sales soared 3% year-over-year, with comp sales growing by 4%, reflecting robust momentum across both Victorias Secret and PINK brands.

UBS Raises PT on Victorias Secret Stock From $21 to $25, Keeps Neutral Rating

Andrea Meling/Shutterstock.com

International sales were the key to strong performance for the company, growing 22% year-over-year, indicating the strength of global partnerships and brand relevance. The launch of the Body by Victoria Collection was a success, bringing in double-digit new customer growth and increased engagement. On August 28, Barclays analyst Adrienne Yih also increased the price target on VSCO from $23 to $27, keeping its Buy rating. The analyst remains positive on Victorias Secrets strong growth in Q2 and its raised FY2025 outlook, with net sales expected between $6.33 billion and $6.41 billion compared to the previous guidance of $6.20 billion and $6.30 billion.

As of September 5, Victorias Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) average price target of $23, based on analysts estimates, implies a downside of almost 12.38% from current levels.

Victorias Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) is a leading specialty retailer for womens intimate apparel and other apparel and beauty products. The company sells its products under the Victorias Secret, PINK, and Adore Me brands.

While we acknowledge the potential of VSCO as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If youre looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Leesville, LA (71446)

Today

Partly to mostly cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 73F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Areas of dense fog. Low around 55F. Winds light and variable.
Leapmotor Ireland, the newest entry into the Irish electric vehicle market, has announced the official list-price for its much-anticipated T03 compact car.

Launching this October, T03 will retail from 18,950, inclusive of SEAI grant and VRT rebate, and it will come loaded with standard equipment, including a panoramic sunroof, adaptive cruise control and a cutting-edge 10.1-inch infotainment system. The announcement positions the all-electric Leapmotor T03 as one of the most accessible, best-value, feature-rich cars on the market.

Measuring 3620mm in length, T03 combines compact dimensions with eye-catching design details. Its sculpted curved front face lends the vehicle a distinctive, approachable, and stylish presence that will resonate with young and old drivers across both urban and suburban lifestyles. T03 is available in one trim, Style, with a choice of four vivacious colours, and boasts class-leading equipment. The extensive list of standard safety, tech and comfort features includes:

Brand Manager at Leapmotor Ireland, Stephen McGrath, said: Leapmotor is committed to delivering best-in-class specification and technology as standard, with ultra-keen pricing, across an extensive range of three models by 2026, and a further three by 2027. Our brand positioning statement 'Take the Leap' is a clear invitation to go electric and with Leapmotor, it has never been easier, more cost-effective or more rewarding to transition to zero-emissions.

Leapmotor C10 will join T03 this October, with prices and standard equipment for the family SUV to be announced imminently.

Leapmotor is a strategic partnership between Stellantis, one of the worlds largest mobility companies, and Leapmotor, one of the leading, and fastest-growing, Chinese electric vehicle brands globally.

Gowan Auto, national importer for Leapmotor in Ireland, is the exclusive importer and distributor in Stellantis brands in Ireland including Alfa Romeo, Citroen, DS, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, Opel, and Peugeot, together with Honda. The addition of Leapmotor to the Gowan Auto portfolio will offer Irish electric vehicle customers an even wider choice in terms of value and technology.

Marking the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer's official entry into the Irish market this autumn, Leapmotor T03 and C10 will be available across Ireland through Gowan Autos existing, well-established retail network, offering Irish drivers an exceptional sales and aftersales service.

Leapmotor Ireland will announce dealer franchise appointments in the coming weeks.
A Mayo lady who has always supported her local hospice, Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation, has received national recognition for her fundraising efforts.

Anne Lyons, from Ballyhaunis, raised a staggering 11,000 last year and she plans to host another Bewleys Big Coffee Morning for Hospice this month.

Her tireless work was recently honoured at the iconic Dublin cafe, where she was presented with a Together for Hospice Hero Award.

And her dedication to Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation continues - as she urges everyone to support her annual fundraiser at her home.

Running right across Ireland, this years Bewleys Big Coffee Morning for Hospice aims to raise over 2million and takes place on September 25  but supporters can host or attend a coffee morning on a date that suits them, with every cent raised locally going to their local Hospice.

Originally from Tipperary, Anne has lived in Ballyhaunis for 31 years and her coffee morning has become a staple event in the towns calendar.

Seeing some of her family members, including her husband, Gerry, go through cancer and palliative care gave her an appreciation of the work of the hospice.

I decided to start the coffee morning just for the neighbours and it started small but gradually grew.

It became a bit of a tradition and my husband, Gerry, actually joined us for the first time  because he would have normally been at work - at the end of September in 2023.

Gerrys health rapidly declined and three months later, he moved into the Mayo Hospice Castlebar and died shortly before his 70th birthday and the couples 30th wedding anniversary.

The timing was uncanny, really. It was very hard on our children, who are only in their twenties, but it was important to me to hold the coffee morning last year  the first year without him.

I joined up with Ballyhaunis GAA club because Gerry was involved there most of his life and was chairman the last five years.

Everyone came out and supported him and we raised over 11,000.

The kids were just amazed at the amount  we'd ordinarily have raised about 1,000.

A trained nurse, Anne said the hospice gave the family the chance to be able to focus fully on Gerry in his final days.

Id have loved to have been able to bring him home but we wouldnt have been able to give him the care the hospice provided.

We also wouldnt have had that quality time with him if we were at home because you have a lot of visitors and still need to do your washing and cleaning.

It meant we were able to focus on Gerry completely  that's what the hospice gave us.

Anne will host her coffee morning at home in Ballyhaunis in Gerrys memory on Saturday, September 20th.

Martina Jennings, CEO of Mayo Roscommon Hospice said she is delighted Anne has received this special recognition award.

"Anne and her late husband Gerry have been long time supporters of Hospice. Annes coffee morning last year was particularly special as it was the first one without Gerry. The support she received is testament to the love and respect their community holds for their family."

"Bewleys Big Coffee Morning for Hospice is one of our most important fundraisers which enables us to continue to fund, support and develop palliative care services in our hospices and in our community. We are incredibly grateful to all our coffee morning hosts for their loyal support.

Together for Hospice, The National Hospice Movement, represents 24 Hospice and specialist palliative homecare providers supporting patients and their families across Ireland.

Fundraised income is used by local hospice services to fund new buildings, refurbishment of existing buildings, staff, extra comforts for patients and their families, and innovative patient care projects nationwide. Funds raised through Together For Hospice campaigns support some of the core services funded by the HSE.

Register to host a coffee morning on Thursday, September 25 - or on a date that suits you  at hospicecoffeemorning.ie or call 0818 995 996. If you cannot host or attend a coffee morning, you can donate at: hospicecoffeemorning.ie/donate
Minister of State at the Department of Energy, Climate and the Environment, Alan Dillon TD, today officially turned the sod on Irelands largest agri-based biomethane plant in Ballinrobe a landmark moment for Mayo and for Irelands renewable energy future.

At the ceremony, Minister Dillon was joined by senior representatives from Nephin Renewable Gas, Flogas, DCC plc, and the Canadian Ambassador, Mr. Dennis King, to celebrate a project that will bring an estimated 200 million to the local economy and create hundreds of jobs across Mayo and the wider region.

This is a proud day for Ballinrobe and for rural Mayo, said Minister Dillon. This strategic partnership between Nephin and Flogas represents a major leap forward in Irelands green energy transition. The 50 million investment in this facility will process 90,000 tonnes of agricultural waste annually, generating over 85 GWh of renewable gas. Crucially, it will create more than 225 direct and indirect jobs in construction, logistics, maintenance, feedstock supply, and more. This is real opportunity for families and businesses across Ballinrobe and South Mayo.

Unlike other anaerobic digestion (AD) plants that rely on food or municipal waste, the Ballinrobe facility will be farmer-focused and agri-led, using manures, slurries, and crop residues.

This project is designed by and for the farming community. It means new income streams for farmers through feedstock supply, lower on-farm emissions, and the return of nutrient-rich biofertiliser to the land  reducing the need for chemical fertilisers while improving soil health. This is the circular economy in action: turning waste into value, with farmers at the very heart of the solution.

The Ballinrobe plant will produce 85 GWh of clean, Irish biomethane annually  enough to heat thousands of homes directly supporting Irelands national target of producing 5.7 TWh of biomethane by 2030. Located on lands owned by John Sheridan it is the first of three AD plants to be developed under a landmark offtake agreement between Nephin and Flogas.

Minister Dillon also highlighted the importance of clear policy signals: The forthcoming Heads of Bill for the Renewable Heat Obligation (RHO), due in 2026, are giving clarity to the market. This project shows how industry and government can work hand-in-hand to deliver on our climate targets while ensuring rural Ireland prospers.

The Ballinrobe biomethane plant is scheduled to come online in 2027, following an 18-month construction and commissioning phase.
The U.S. House of Representatives will not vote on the anti-Azerbaijani amendments that our old acquaintances, Congressmen Frank Pallone and Gus Bilirakis, attempted to push through.

The package of amendments was rejected by the Congressional Rules Committee.

Bilirakis and Pallone tried to introduce two amendments targeting Azerbaijan during a plenary session of the House of Representatives.

The first amendment, as the congressmen and their Armenian sponsors had hoped, would have required the Secretary of Defense to annually certify that Azerbaijan is taking significant steps to recognize Armenias sovereignty.





The second amendment aimed to restrict the U.S. Presidents authority to waive Section 907 sanctions on Azerbaijan until "Baku ceases destabilizing the South Caucasus, including releasing Armenian prisoners of war, withdrawing its forces from Armenian territory, and ensuring the protection of Armenian cultural heritage within its borders."

Even a quick glance at these amendments is enough to understand their true origin and intent.

Apparently, the Congressional Rules Committee thought the same  and simply discarded the amendments, while implicitly inviting Pallone and Bilirakis to extend warm regards to their Armenian sponsors.

One doesn't need to be a seasoned diplomat to realize that these amendments could have caused serious harm to U.S.Azerbaijan relations and further destabilized the South Caucasus.

Thanks to the rational decision of the Rules Committee, the Armenian lobby in Washington has suffered a significant reputational blow.





The influence of ANCA and other Armenian lobbying groups in the United States continues to decline toward zero.
(Reuters) - Britain's Starling Bank is preparing a secondary share sale that could value the digital lender at up to 4 billion pounds ($5.42 billion), the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The company is said to have approached investment banks, including Morgan Stanley and Rothschild, to run the sale process.

Both Starling Bank and Morgan Stanley declined to respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

Starling, founded in 2017, is considering a listing in New York as part of its expansion plans in the United States, a media report said in July.

The bank recorded 714 million pounds in revenue and 223 million pounds in pre-tax profit for the year ended 31 March, its annual report showed.

($1 = 0.7386 pounds)

(Reporting by DhanushVignesh Babu and Unnamalai L in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
By Doyinsola Oladipo, Allison Lampert and David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A war of words between United Airlines and ailing Spirit Airlines executives escalated on Tuesday after the Chicago-based airline's chief questioned the bankrupt discounter's business model and expressed doubts if it could stay in the industry.

Minutes later, Spirit responded. In a post on X, the Florida-based carrier said its customers love low fares and its premium product offerings. "Maybe that's why United executives can't stop yapping about us," the airline said.

United's CEO Scott Kirby has been a vocal critic of the business model of no-frills airlines and has repeatedly questioned their viability.

On Tuesday, he called the ultra-low-cost airline business model "an interesting experiment," which has "failed."

"And it seems unlikely to me that Spirit can keep flying because their customers dislike the airline and don't want to fly," Kirby told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Global Aerospace Summit in Washington.

Spirit filed for bankruptcy protection last month for the second time in a year after a previous reorganization failed to put it on firmer financial footing.

Its financial troubles have created an opportunity for rival carriers to grab market share.

Last week, United started selling tickets for new flights to 15 cities where Spirit operates. The company said its new flights were aimed at giving Spirit's customers other options if the discount carrier suddenly went out of business.

Spirit immediately responded, dubbing United's comments "wishful thinking." The company said it expected to remain in business "for many years to come."

To stem its cash burn, Spirit has been shrinking its operations and retreating from markets. It has discontinued service to 11 U.S. cities, including Portland, Oregon, and San Diego, and no longer plans service to Macon, Georgia, which was scheduled to start in mid-October.

Industry analysts and executives say Spirit's troubles stemmed from its failure to fix its bloated cost structure. Its total operating expense in the latest quarter was $1.2 billion, which amounted to 118% of its quarterly revenue.

(Writing by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Mark Porter and Aurora Ellis)
Of course, Buffett said this three years ago, wrapping up the secret sauce section of that year's letter by saying: "The lesson for investors: The weeds wither away in significance as the flowers bloom. Over time, it takes just a few winners to work wonders."

In 2022, Buffett called both companies "highly likely" to keep growing payouts. History bore this out. Since 2022, Coca-Cola's dividend has grown by 21%, while American Express's dividend grew by a striking 91%.

Another "secret sauce" investment was American Express (NYSE: AXP), which, coincidentally, Berkshire also put $1.3 billion toward in the early 1990s. Calling it "much the same story," Buffett recounted how $41 million in dividends collected from it in 1995 had grown to $302 million.

In 1994, those shares paid Berkshire $75 million in dividends. And as Coca-Cola hiked its dividend each year, that income stream grew exponentially. By 2022, the dividend had grown to $704 million, thanks to dividend increases that Buffett called "as certain as birthdays."

In his letter, under a heading titled "The Secret Sauce," Buffett invoked his 400 million-share investment in Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO). In 1993, Berkshire finished its seven-year buying spree of Coca-Cola shares. Berkshire paid $1.3 billion for them, which Buffett called "then a very meaningful sum at Berkshire."

Calling his own capital allocation decisions "no better than so-so," Buffett attributed these results to a dozen or so "truly good decisions."

In his 2022 letter, the Oracle of Omaha had much to celebrate. Since Buffett took the helm in 1965, Berkshire Hathaway had returned 3,787,464%. For context, that's enough to turn every $1,000 invested in 1965 into $37,875,640 in 2022.

Each year since 1977, Warren Buffett has written an annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. In them, he explains investing decisions, touts wins, and takes responsibility for losses.

These companies are well positioned to keep growing their dividends, thanks to growing earnings, low payout ratios, and shareholder-friendly management.

Buffett singled out Coca-Cola and American Express, which had grown payouts by 836% and 637% since 1994, calling them highly likely to continue hiking dividends.

Story Continues

Now, in late 2025, are Coca-Cola and American Express still "highly likely" to keep raising dividends? I think so.

Two resilient income machines

Coca-Cola has increased its dividend for 63 years running, including its most recent 5.2% hike announced in February. That's a record spanning the stagflation of the 1970s, the collapse of the 1990s tech bubble, the 2008-2009 Great Recession, and, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nothing is guaranteed in investing, but Coca-Cola looks highly likely to continue raising dividends in the years ahead. The company grew its earnings by 58% year over year in its most recent quarter, despite facing currency headwinds. Its payout ratio of 70.5% means it spends that much to pay out those dividends. That's a somewhat higher percentage than many income investors prefer to see. However, that's down from its 2022 average of 80%. By that metric, KO is better positioned for future dividend hikes than at the time of Buffett's letter.

For American Express, the case is even more straightforward. The company's payout ratio is a mere 21.5%, meaning it could theoretically double its dividend tomorrow and still only be spending 43% of its net income on dividends. American Express reported record revenue in its July earnings report, and has $57.6 billion in cash on hand. Check out the second-quarter earnings-per-share figures below.

Earnings per share

Company Q2 2022 Q2 2023 Q2 2024 Q2 2025 Coca-Cola $0.44 $0.59 $0.84 $0.88 American Express $2.57 $2.89 $4.15 $4.08

Data source: Company filings.

As you can see, these companies have been growing earnings consistently, with one exception. In Q2 2025, American Express saw earnings fall by 2%, but that's because its Q2 2024 earnings were somewhat inflated by the sale of its fraud prevention subsidiary, Accertify, the terms of which were not disclosed. Excluding the sale, earnings for American Express rose 17% year over year last quarter. The company's underlying business appears as strong as its robust earnings growth suggests; it issued 3.1 million new cards in Q2, while net card fees reached record levels.

If there's a wrinkle with American Express, it's that shares yield just 1% today, compared to the 1.2% yield paid by the average S&P 500 company. Its share price has nearly doubled since early 2022, driving down the dividend yield in the process. However, in the company's Q4 2024 earnings call, management predicted (correctly) a 17% dividend increase in 2025, and laid out a path to more than double its dividend by keeping payout ratios in the 20%-25% range. It seems they've delivered on that.

As for Coca-Cola, its current yield of 3% is well above the S&P 500 average. While the company has not issued dividend guidance in recent earnings reports, CFO John Murphy spoke in Q4 2024 of the company's "unwavering priority to grow our dividend, as we've done for 62 consecutive years." That streak is now 63 years, and management will be extremely reluctant to break it unless the company comes under extreme financial duress. That's far from being the case today. Coca-Cola's underlying business continues to grow, with 5% organic revenue growth in Q2.

With their history of payout increases, growing earnings, and dedication to increasing dividends, these two "secret sauce" companies are solid plays for income-oriented investors.

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Bitcoin and Ethereum may have traded victory laps this year, but Solana is set to stage an encore.

At least thats according to Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise.

Solana traded for $224 on Thursday, its highest price in seven months, and Hougan says it could be the next major cryptocurrency to experience a price rally.

Solana is 23% from its all-time high of $293, according to CoinGecko.

All the ingredients are there for an epic end-of-year run for Solana, Hougan said this week.

Those ingredients, according to him, are further investment into Solana exchange-traded funds and corporate treasuries stockpiling the sixth-largest cryptocurrency.

Market accelerants

Bitcoin and Ethereum both experienced significant surges this year, driven largely by the introduction of ETFs and increased corporate adoption.

Bitcoins price has surged 185% since Bitcoin ETFs hit the market in January 2024, while Ethereum has more than tripled in price.

Those same market accelerants may soon be directed towards Solana  assuming, of course, Americas top financial regulator greenlights any number of SOL ETF applications.

Hougans Bitwise is one of the applicants, which includes other fund issuers such as Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, VanEck, Canary Capital, and Galaxy Digital.

The SECs decision deadline for those applications is slated for mid-October, and a positive outcome could mean Solana ETFs hitting the market in the last quarter of the year.

Elsewhere, Solana is also among the cryptocurrencies that companies are stockpiling on their corporate balance sheets.

DeFi Development Corporation holds more than $456 million worth of Solana, the largest by any public company.

Meanwhile, Galaxy Digital, Jump Crypto, and Multicoin Capital have earmarked $1.65 billion to create a Solana treasury company.

Still, drinking from the institutional firehose created by ETFs and corporate treasuries might not be enough to push Solana, according to Hougan.

Solana also requires real-world utility to ensure any meaningful price rally.

Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. Got a tip? Please contact him at osato@dlnews.com.
Home and Away  An Analysis of Out of Country Voting in South African Elections

When: Wednesday, 17 September 2025 Where: Online Event



ACMS Seminar Room, Room 2163, Solomon Mahlangu House (2nd floor) Start time: 12:30 Enquiries: ntokozo.yingwana@wits.ac.za RSVP: Registration link

Dr Catherine Musuva examines the extent to which South Africans living abroad are interested in participating in homeland elections.
Third annual Symposium on activist repression

Twelve organisations are partnering on this year's Activist Symposium bringing together human rights defenders to discuss strategies to resist repression

Next week, civil society organisations host the third annual Activist Symposium under the theme Navigating activism in an anti-human rights era. From 16  17 September, this event brings together representatives from across Africa to deliberate on challenges affecting human rights defenders on the continent.

From meritless lawsuits, unlawful arrest and detention through to harassment, death threats and physical violence  activists around the world face repressive tactics while trying to raise awareness about human rights violations. Since 2023, the Activist Symposium has provided a critical platform for human rights defenders, academics and advocates from the African region to highlight pressing issues facing activists and present strategies for countering repression.

This has led to the establishment of a transnational activist network, where human rights defenders can share best practices and action plans for addressing common challenges. Recently, activists have also identified new challenges, including the prevalence of misinformation and the harmful effects of austerity policies on human rights. These issues underscore the need for continued dialogue and collective action.

This years Activist Symposium takes place on 16 and 17 September at Wits University under the theme Navigating activism in an anti-human rights era. The Symposium also includes four sub-themes to address issues raised by activists:

Anti-democracy : Using case studies, the discussions will focus on understanding repressive tactics and developing effective strategies for resistance.

Misinformation : Participants will engage on how to counter misinformation and use digital tools for advocacy.

Austerity and aid : This session will centre on analysing the intersection of economic policy and human rights.

South-to-South solidarity : Discussions will highlight the struggles shared by activists across borders and the critical role of collective action.

This Symposium builds on the foundations laid in the last two years, says Sithuthukile Mkhize, head of Civil and Political Justice at the Centre for Applied Legal Studies. We aim to create an inclusive and dynamic space for dialogue, where activists can come together to engage in meaningful dialogue not only about the challenges they face but the strategies for overcoming them.

This Symposium takes place at a time when activists are facing increased repression globally, says Omhle Ntshingila, Project Co-ordinator at the Right2Protest Project. Through this event, we will hear from human rights defenders about their needs and continue to build key partnerships and networks to offer solidarity and support in promoting the rights to protest and expression across the continent.

Event: Activist Symposium

Date: 16  17 September 2025

Venue: Wits University

The organisers of this years Activist Symposium include:

African Defenders

African Initiative of Women Human Rights Defenders

Amnesty International South Africa

Centre for Applied Legal Studies

Centre for Environmental Rights

Centre for Human Rights

Civicus Alliance

Digital Society Africa

Lawyers for Human Rights

Media Monitoring Africa

Right2Protest Project

Southern Africa Resource Watch

For inquiries, please contact:

From the Centre for Applied Legal Studies:

Sithuthukile Mkhize (Head: Civil & Political Justice) at sithuthukile.mkhize@wits.ac.za

From the Right2Protest Project:
Are you a nurse at Genesys or another hospital system? Tell us what your conditions are like and what youre fighting against by filling out the form below. All submissions will remain anonymous.

Nurses on the picket line in Grand Blanc, Michigan

Nurses and case workers at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc, Michigan, entered the 10th day of their strike on Wednesday for safe staffing ratios, higher wages and against the union-busting tactics of hospital management.

The more than 700 hospital employees, members of Teamsters Local 332, walked out on September 1 after Henry Ford Health Genesys refused to accept their demands.

Nurse-to-patient ratios are the primary issue for nurses. One said that nurses are often too busy to even bathe their patients. Floors and units are not properly stocked with essentials such as medicine and food, causing nurses and nurses aides to have to go to different units or floors to obtain them, further sacrificing time and patient care.

Nurses also said the refusal of the hospital to adequately recruit and retain nurses has been a problem since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has caused a great number of nurses to leave, and has only worsened.

Ill have a patient who just had a myocardial infarction who needs to be monitored, then I am hanging chemo, then I have a neutropenic patient and another patient who is climbing out of bed, Janet told the WSWS. Then across the hall Ill have an old man who is dying and theres no one there to hold his hand. What am I supposed to do?

Strike at the crossroads

The strike stands at the crossroads, with scab nurses being brought in and other critical unionized hospital staff crossing the picket lines each day.

The scab nurses are being paid $8,000 per week and provided with food stipends. Management even opened the cafeteria on third shift, something which it had not done for some time.

The scabs were given a single days orientation and did not know where supplies or equipment were located, which is highly dangerous to patients and undermines patient care.

Nurses also report that other hospital employees, including support staff, which is represented by AFSCME Local 3518, are also crossing the picket line. According to information published on the Henry Ford Health website, AFSCME Local 3518 officials settled a contract with the hospital on August 22, on the eve of the strike by the nurses and case workers. This is a betrayal that isolates the strike.

When asked why the Teamsters bureaucracy permitted the scabs to cross the picket line, the strikers said union officials told them that AFSCME workers had no choice because joining the strike would be illegal. One nurse said the AFSCME contract did not permit strikes until the contract had expired.

Management is ratcheting pressure up on nurses in other ways. It also brought security from its Detroit hospital to help with the enforcement of the strikebreaking operation. Meanwhile, striking nurses reported that their cars have been vandalized and hospital security did nothing about it.

Hospital management also terminated their insurance coverage, including life, dental, vision and short-term disability. Henry Ford Health even terminated policies that the nurses pay for themselves.

The only way the nurses and case workers at Henry Ford Health Genesys can carry forward the struggle is by organizing a rank-and-file committee that is democratically constituted and led by the most trusted workers, who will take the conduct of the strike and the negotiations out of the hands of the union bureaucrats.

In this way, rank-and-file nurses and case workers can make a direct appeal to the rest of the hospital staff to join the picket lines, stop the scabbing and shut down the hospital. This fight must also include an appeal to auto workers and other sections of the working class in the Grand Blanc area to join the fight for safe staffing levels, good wages and benefits at the hospital, which is a critical health care resource for the public in the area.

They dont want us fully staffed because that costs money

Hazel, a nurse, said: We have had patients who have to return to surgery because they havent gotten the post-operative care that they need, and they end up with bad complications.

She also discussed the worsening conditions across the whole hospital. The ER floods on a regular basis. Ive worked shifts there where Im walking through an inch of water.

Overtime was also cited by nurses as being a major issue, with mandatory 12- or 16-hour shifts being common. Nurses are only able to refuse overtime twice per year. Overtime pay, previously calculated to begin whenever anyone went over their scheduled hours each shift, now starts only when a nurse has reached 40 hours for the week.

Other issues cited by nurses were the hospitals use of COVID funds for minimal upgrades, such as repaving the parking lot and new furniture, when issues such as water leaks went unfixed and created a risk of other pathogens.

They said health care coverage will be offered, but the terms of the new policies will not be disclosed until after the contract vote. The strikers are angry that they would potentially be expected to vote on a contract containing health care insurance terms they will not know anything about until months later.

Holidays are also being cut; one nurse stated that Easter, New Years Eve, and Christmas Eve were being cut by the hospital.

Julie, a nurse for more than three decades, explained: It all started when Ascension bought the hospital and made it a corporate entity. Since then, the whole entire hospital has been dragged into the ground. The companies, like Ascension, like Henry Ford, they make billions. And we have short-staffing because they are not posting positions, they dont want us fully staffed because that costs money.

Hannah, a new nurse, added: I dont feel respected. I dont feel valued. I come here and Im just a body. I did not pay thousands of dollars and most of my adult life to go to school just to be used as an object.

My unit is one of the biggest in the hospital, and we have two nurse aides for over 45 patients. We will have just one nurse to a hallway. Thats an insane amount of risk we are taking for our licenses and for our patients. Its not functional.

The healthcare system is completely broken. I think to fix it we need a functional government. Neither party so far has been functional. I dont really see the difference between the two.

Our public health system is like a third-world country

Workers turned to the broader political situation.

Regarding the cuts to Medicaid in Trumps Big Beautiful Bill, Marjorie said, First, Im worried that our charting is going to get more intense. We already have to chart so much that just helps make sure the hospital gets reimbursed. But also, Medicaid cuts are going to close hospitals, and then we are going to be flooded with more patients. We are already drowning in what we have now.

Julie said, I dont think just the cuts alone will cause problems. It will be the corporate greed. When money gets tight from the cuts, they wont cut the CEO salaries. Administrators are making millions upon millions upon millions, even the middle management managers are getting year-end bonuses for keeping the expense of their department down, and they do that by sending nurses home early, by not posting staffing positions, not staffing the unit. Theyll just do that more when the cuts set in.

She added, I dont know if the political party even makes a difference. Weve got Democrats in office right now and theyve been in office for a while, and theyre not doing anything. I dont know that any political party is strong enough.

Other nurses spoke on the attack on public health and RFKs drive to take over national scientific institutes. Hazel said, Ive lost faith in our government. I think a lot of people had. People also have no faith in public health, or they just dont even believe anything they are told anymore. If theres another pandemic, I think the public wouldnt know who to trust.

We act like COVID is over, but then we also never went back to our pre-COVID infectious disease standards. The things RFK is trying to do is getting rid of decades and decades of progress in public health. We arent a third-world country, but our public health system is like a third-world country. We are backsliding.

She continued, Im worried we are repeating conditions right before World War Two. We are on the path toward an explosion. Im definitely scared of another world war. How do we stop it? I dont know.

Hannah said, Everything is happening quickly. People are disappearing off the streets and Trump is just demolishing entire programs like the Department of Education. Now theres even the Department of War. Its a whole bunch of nonsense. I dont know what we can do. I think the only thing we can do is start fighting from the community level and go up.
A meeting of the Committee for Public Education (CFPE), the rank-and-file educators network in Australia, passed a resolution on Saturday in defence of three academics who are being persecuted for opposing the Gaza genocide.

The meeting called on educators, students and workers to move similar resolutions defending Randa Abdel-Fattah from Sydneys Macquarie University, and Nick Riemer and John Keane from the University of Sydney, as well as democratic rights including free speech and academic freedom.

Nick Riemer and John Keane [Photo: X/NickRiemer1, Heinrich-Boll-Stiftung]

A group of pro-Zionist staff and students, backed by a high-profile legal team, is suing Riemer and Keane in the Federal Court for making public statements opposing the genocide.

If the case is upheld, it will set a legal precedent that could outlaw any opposition to the worsening US-backed Israeli mass slaughter and ethnic cleansing in Gaza as antisemitic. It therefore has far-reaching implications for free speech and other basic democratic rights in Australia and internationally.

Abdel-Fattah has been subjected to a vile campaign of vilification and slander by Zionist lobby groups, right-wing media outlets and politicians for speaking out against the atrocities in Gaza.

The Albanese Labor government directly lined up behind this operation, with Education Minister Jason Clare intervening to insist on the suspension of her Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship research grant.

The ARC decision followed a blatant demand by Labor MP Josh Burns, the chair of the Labor governments witch-hunting antisemitism parliamentary committee, to know why Macquarie University had not already sacked her.

Zionist groups have called for Abdel-Fattah to be fired and to be removed from speaking engagements, the latest being the Bendigo Writers Festival. Dozens of authors, including Abdel-Fattah, then boycotted the festival following a demand by La Trobe University, a major sponsor of the event, that participants adhere to a code of conduct that conflates criticism of the Israeli state with antisemitism.

Abdel-Fattah was subsequently invited to write an opinion piece for the Age, only to have the newspaper refuse to publish it. Both the Guardian and the Conversation, a university-backed website, also refused to publish it. The article was eventually posted last month by the independent news website, Deep Cut.

In her article, Abdel-Fattah described the abusive Zionist-instigated attacks that have been made on her through social media, the corporate media, members of parliament and university managements, including the targeting of her personal and professional email accounts.

She wrote: Can you imagine what it would be like to receive death and rape threats at your workplace and your home? How about having donations made in your name to the Israeli military, with receipts sent to your personal email alongside your phone number and home address? Can you imagine someone writing your name on the side of a bomb? Or the president of the Zionist Federation of Australia publicly calling for your workplace to become unsafe for you?

Randa Abdel-Fattah [Photo: Pan Macmillan Australia ]

Abdel-Fattah is far from alone in being subjected to such harassment and intimidation. In Australia, other critics of Israel who have been persecuted by governments, the corporate media and Zionist organisations include journalists Mary Kostakidis and Antoinette Lattouf, University of Sydney academics Sujatha Fernandes and Tim Anderson, artists, writers, musicians and many health professionals and doctors like Miranda Robinson and Jennifer Martinez.

This assault on free speech and political dissent is taking place amid widespread opposition throughout Australia and internationally to the genocide, as witnessed by last months Sydney Harbour Bridge march by some 300,000 people, followed by rallies in cities and towns across the country, joined by about a quarter of a million people.

These rallies were marked by deepening hostility not just toward the worsening mass killings and starvation in Palestine but the active support for the Washington-backed onslaught by the Labor government, including through continuing exports of F-35 parts and other military items to Israel.

In the face of this outrage, the Albanese government is still prosecuting the false claim that opposition to the genocide is fuelled by antisemitism. This is a vile smear campaign aimed at delegitimising and banning the growing opposition to the most blatant crimes against humanity since the Holocaust.

Moreover, the main trade union covering university workers, the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), has organised no national action in defence of Abdel-Fatah, Riemer, Keane and other victimised staff and students. In fact, the NTEU has opposed calls for such action by the rank-and-file committees at Macquarie and Western Sydney universities.

The NTEUs role is completely in line with its opposition to unified national action to fight the intensifying Labor government-driven wave of job cuts and pro-corporate restructuring of tertiary education, which seeks to satisfy the profit needs of employers, develop military-related industries and prepare for war.

The CFPE resolution, which was passed unanimously, takes on added importance under these conditions. Rank-and-file working-class action is essential. The resolution stated:

This meeting of the Committee for Public Education opposes the pro-Zionist attacks on Macquarie University academic Randa Abdel-Fattah and Sydney University academics Nick Riemer and John Keane. Abdel-Fattah has been subject to a vicious witch-hunt by the Murdoch press and pro-Zionist lobby groups for speaking out against the Israeli governments war on Gaza, and Riemer and Keane are being sued in the federal court for making public statements opposing the Gaza genocide. Like others who oppose the genocide in Gaza, they are being bullied and slandered as being antisemitic for speaking out in defence of the Palestinian people. The attacks on Abdel-Fattah, Riemer and Keane are not confined to these three academics. They are aimed at silencing any opposition to the US-Israeli mass killings, the Labor governments support for the genocide and the Trump administrations criminal plan to ethnically cleanse Palestine. We call on educators, students and workers to pass similar resolutions defending Abdel-Fattah, Riemer and Keane, the right to free speech and democratic rights, including academic freedom.

This resolution needs to be taken up throughout the working class. It is critical for the defence of basic democratic rights. The methods used against those speaking out against the genocidesurveillance, harassment, media slanders and court actionsare a warning of what will be employed against striking workers and protesters opposing the broader eruption of imperialist militarism, including Australias role in the US-led preparations for a conflict with China.

For further discussion, or to send messages or resolutions of support, please contact the CFPE, the educators rank-and-file network:

Contact the CFPE:

Email: cfpe.aus@gmail.com

Facebook: facebook.com/commforpubliceducation

Twitter: CFPE_Australia
Recent developments throughout Australias 39 public universities show the necessity for staff and students to establish independent rank-and-file committees to lead a unified struggle against the job cuts and pro-corporate restructuring taking place under the Albanese Labor government.

Western Sydney University

Up to 4,000 jobs are being destroyed, along with hundreds of student courses, especially in humanities, while the campus trade unions assist Labors reshaping of tertiary education to satisfy the profit needs of employers and in preparation for war.

Among the developments over the past week:

At Western Sydney University (WSU), it was revealed that around 750 positions and roles have been disestablished, but only about 300 corresponding roles are proposed in the new structure. That means that about a third of the workforce, especially the professional staff, are being affected, and often forced to compete against each other, Hunger Games-style, for jobs.

At the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), SafeWork NSW gave the go-ahead for a sped-up timeline of job destruction, on the pretext of avoiding further serious and imminent risk of psychological harm. That shattered the claim by the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) that it had won a reprieve by referring the looming 400 job cuts to SafeWork NSW.

More job losses were announced at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Southern Cross University, taking the national total of job cuts in the past 10 months to close to 4,000.

Over the past year, the two main unions covering university workers, the NTEU and the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), have tried to block every call by the rank-and-file committees at WSU and Macquarie University (MQ) for unified action against the cuts.

The union officials are covering up the underlying agenda of the Labor government by trying to blame mismanagement by individual vice-chancellors for the disaster unfolding across the entire sector.

Not a word is being said about the fact that the Albanese government is spending hundreds of billions of dollars on military spending and developing a war economy, including via the AUKUS pact against China, while intensifying the financial pressure on the universities to restructure to align with the national priorities set out in its Universities Accord in 2024.

That report insisted that teaching and research must serve the requirements of the corporate elite and the development of AUKUS and other military-related industries, in preparation for involvement in a US-led war against China.

The unions are assisting the university managements to implement the restructuring. They are helping push people out the door, either via so-called voluntary redundancies or the cosmetic consultation processes in the union enterprise bargaining agreements (EBAs) with the managements, which offer little or no protection against retrenchments.

Despite rallies and protests, and overwhelming votes for strikes at individual universities, the union apparatuses have isolated educators at each institution and not called a single stoppage anywhere.

The unions are trying to stifle the anger by straitjacketing university workers within the anti-strike legislation that the unions themselves helped draft under the Hawke-Keating and Rudd-Gillard governments of 19831996 and 20072013.

At meeting after meeting, union representatives are telling university workers they cannot take any industrial action, except for EBAs during union-controlled bargaining periods.

At WSU, the NTEU is working closely with Vice-Chancellor George Williams. First, it advised him to use voluntary redundancies, and then to implement the restructuring through the cosmetic consultation provisions in the existing EBA.

In an email last Friday, NTEU branch president David Burchell urged union members to roll up our collective sleeves, folks! to participate in this consultation circus, even after revealing the 750 job disestablishment total.

This Monday, after the sham of this process became obvious, Burchell sent a letter to Williams asking him to halt it and commence afresh, saying: Were happy to meet and discuss how best to achieve the goal of a safe and effective change process.

At other locations, like MQ, the unions are trapping staff in appeals to the Fair Work Australia tribunal for alleged breaches of consultation processes. This tribunal, like SafeWork NSW, is not a neutral body. It is an institution of the capitalist state apparatus, whose role is to contain and suppress the opposition of workers.

No doubt, the job and course closures are causing trauma at UTS, as WorkSafe NSW admitted, but that is because the unions are trying to wear down and suffocate the resistance of workers.

At UTS, there is outrage because the management has stopped new enrolments for nearly a fifth of its coursesnotably in international studies, social sciences, education and public healthand threatened to sack about a tenth of the workforce.

At least 20 of the 39 public universities have unveiled similar attacks, in one form or another, in the past 10 months.

What the unions and their pseudo-left partners, like Socialist Alternative, Socialist Alliance and Solidarity, are trying to hide is that this is a direct consequence of Labors reactionary cuts to enrolments of overseas students, especially Chinese students.

The unions do not oppose the attack on international students because they agree with Labors nationalist program, which includes falsely blaming these students, and immigrants, for the affordable housing and cost-of-living crisis affecting millions of working-class households.

Universities have relied on charging overseas students exorbitant fees to overcome the shortfall in funding inflicted by successive Liberal-National and Greens-backed Labor governments. Universities Australia, the employers group, reported last year that funding for universities had fallen in real terms by $2 billion since 2020 alone.

Labor is intensifying the financial pressure on universities by continuing the previous Liberal-National governments Job-ready Graduates scheme that hiked the cost of three-year humanities degrees to more than $50,000, while cutting the funding to universities for delivering them.

From next January 1, this process will intensify further. Each universitys funding will be tied to a mission-based compact with the governments new Australian Tertiary Education Commission to lay down how the university will contribute to national priorities.

Opposition exists throughout the universities to the job destruction, course closures, restructuring and the suppression of dissent, including over the Gaza genocide. But the NTEU and CPSU leaders are promoting a Labor-Greens-majority Senate committee inquiry into university governance. NTEU national president Alison Barnes this week claimed in an email to NTEU members that the union had secured another major win after testifying at the inquiry.

Barnes said the government had announced that the university regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), would get increased powers to crack down on out of control university managements. Any such powers will be used to enforce Labors agenda, not oppose it.

University staff, along with students, need to break out of this straitjacket. We are calling for the formation of rank-and-file committees (RFCs), independent of the unions, at every university.

We need to form organisations of struggle to fight for demands based on the educational and financial needs of students and staff, not the dictates of the Labor government, the financial markets and the war machine.

RFCs can link up with workers everywhere and with our Educators Rank-and-File Committee colleagues in the US, where the Trump administration is demolishing public education, through the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC).

To discuss forming RFCs, contact the Committee for Public Education (CFPE), the educators rank-and-file network:

Contact the CFPE:

Email: cfpe.aus@gmail.com

Facebook: facebook.com/commforpubliceducation

Twitter: CFPE_Australia
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In this image made from video, Police and Military Police secure parts of a damaged object shot down by Polish authorities at a site in Wohyn, Poland, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. [AP Photo/Rafal Niedzielski]

On Wednesday, Polish and Dutch fighter jets shot down a group of drones allegedly flying over Polish territory, in the first known instance of a NATO member directly firing on Russian military assets.

This situation brings us closer to open conflict than we have been since World War II, Prime Minister Donald Tusk told the Polish parliament yesterday. His government has requested consultations under Article 4 of the NATO Treaty.

Article 4 obliges NATO members to discuss joint defence measures if a member state feels its security is threatened. It has only been invoked seven times in the 76-year history of the military alliance. It is the precursor to Article 5, which obliges NATO countries to provide mutual assistance in the event of war.

If Tusk and his NATO colleagues are convinced that an open conflict with Russia, the worlds second-largest nuclear-armed power, is imminent, why are they not pulling out all the political and diplomatic stops to prevent such a catastrophe?

Even during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, when the world was closer than ever before and since to a nuclear showdown, US President John F. Kennedy took enormous risks. But he ultimately prevailed over the hawks in his own military and achieved a diplomatic solution.

Today, there is not a single voice of moderation among NATOs leading representatives. No sooner had it been reported that Polish and Dutch fighter jets and German Patriot missiles, with the support of Italian AWACS surveillance aircraft, had shot down drones in Polish airspace than they began to outdo each other in war rhetoric.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte accused Russia of violating Polish airspace, saying: Whether it was intentional or not, it is absolutely reckless, it is absolutely dangerous. European Union (EU) Foreign Affairs Representative and former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas claimed that everything pointed to the most serious violation of European airspace by Russia since the start of the war being intentional and not accidental.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned Russia in a speech to the European Parliament for the reckless and unprecedented violation of Polish airspace. She pledged 6 billion to Ukraine from the interest on frozen Russian assets for the production of its own drones.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the egregious and unprecedented violation of Polish and NATO airspace by Russian drones as deeply concerning and an extremely reckless move. He assured Tusk of Britains support.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius claimed in the Bundestag that over 19 drones had obviously been sent on their way from Belarusian territory. There was definitely no reason to suspect that these were course correction errors. The drones had obviously been deliberately set on this course. He accused the Russian armed forces of constant threats and provocations and promised to send a message at the NATO consultations.

The circumstances surrounding the incident remain completely unclear. Neither the number nor the origin of the drones is known. While Tusk spoke of 19 drones entering Polish airspace, only three or four were reported to have been shot down. Even Polish President Karol Nawrocki, a right-wing hardliner, had to admit that he did not expect to have complete information about the events for another 48 hours.

The Russian Defence Ministry denied any intention to hit targets in Poland and said it was ready to consult with the Polish Defence Ministry on the matter. In the past, drones from the war in Ukraine have strayed into Poland without NATO accusing Russia of any intent.

Pavel Muravyeika, deputy defence minister of Belarus, which borders Poland, said drones had accidentally entered Polish airspace because their navigation system had been disrupted. Belarus itself shot down drones over its territory because they had lost their bearings. Disrupting GPS signals is a widespread weapon in the war in Ukraine.

But even if everything NATO claims were true, a few drones do not pose a serious military threat to the military alliance. Rather, the circumstances suggest that the European NATO powers prepared and partially staged the action to justify further military measures against Russia and demonstrate their ability to carry them out on their own.

Since US President Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, the European powers have been waiting for such an opportunity. They concluded from the Alaska summit that the US can no longer be relied upon and are taking increasingly aggressive action against Russia. They have massively increased their financial and military support for Ukraine, are encouraging President Zelensky to attack targets deep inside Russia and are planning to send their own troops to Ukraine.

In doing so, they are moving ever closer to a catastrophe that threatens the survival of humanity. This madness follows an international pattern. Political crises and violence are escalating everywhere. Democracy, social security, human rights and international law are being trampled underfoot.

In the US, President Trump has just moved to rename the Department of Defense the Department of Warand for once, he was not lying. In order to Make America Great Againi.e., to defend the profits of the American oligarchshe is covering the whole world with punitive tariffs and threats of war. Domestically, he is establishing an authoritarian dictatorship: The ICE Gestapo hunts down migrants, and the National Guard and military are sent to large cities to suppress social unrest, i.e., strikes, protests and any form of social and political resistance.

The Zionist regime of Israel flouts all legal and moral norms, destroys the Gaza Strip with its 2 million inhabitants, attacks Qatar with impunity and is supported in this by the US and the EU. Anyone who protests against this is persecuted and arrested as an alleged antisemite.

Europe is following the same path as the US. The reallocation of hundreds of billions to rearmament and war, the repayment of exploding debts and the wealth of a few are incompatible with social equality and democracy. With the same ruthlessness with which the European powers are escalating the war against Russia, they are cracking down on their own working class. War and class war are two sides of the same coin.

In the founding program of the Fourth International, Leon Trotsky wrote in 1938, on the eve of World War II:

Under the increasing tension of capitalist disintegration, imperialist antagonisms reach an impasse at the height of which separate clashes and bloody local disturbances (Ethiopia, Spain, the Far East, Central Europe) must inevitably coalesce into a conflagration of world dimensions. The bourgeoisie, of course, is aware of the mortal danger to its domination represented by a new war. But that class is now immeasurably less capable of averting war than on the eve of 1914.

The crisis of capitalism and imperialist antagonisms have once again reached the same limit today. This is the reason for the escalation of the war against Russia. There is no support for this among the broad masses of the population, and resistance is growing among the working class against layoffs, wage cuts, social spending cuts and dictatorship.

This explosive opposition must free itself from the influence of the trade unions and all partiesright-wing and supposedly left-wingthat defend capitalism. Only an independent movement of the international working class, fighting for the overthrow of capitalism and the establishment of a socialist society, can halt the descent into war, dictatorship and poverty.

The Socialist Equality Parties and the International Committee of the Fourth International fight for this perspective.
Right-wing demonstration in Sao Paulo on September 7, Brazil's Independence Day, demanding amnesty for Bolsonaro and his fellow coup plotters. [Photo: Paulo Pinto/Agencia Brasi]

On Tuesday, the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro and the members of the crucial core of the January 8, 2023 coup conspiracy resumed in Brazil.

This week marks the decisive phase of the trial, in which the justices of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) present their votes and a final verdict against the accused, with a closing session scheduled for Friday.

Three of the five STF justices already cast their votes. On Tuesday, justices Alexandre de Moraes and Flavio Dino voted for the conviction of Bolsonaro and his seven chief co-conspirators, who include former military commanders and four-star generals.

Today, justice Luiz Fuxexpected to be the lone dissenting voice among the panelmade his presentation. Not only did Fux vote to acquit Bolsonaro, but he argued for the annulment of the entire trial, declaring the Supreme Courts absolute incompetence to judge the case.

Even with an expected defeat of Fuxs position in the final vote count, his arguments have incalculable political implications. They were enthusiastically welcomed by Bolsonaros fascist allies and will serve as a weapon in their ongoing war against the trial.

The weeks proceedings began with Moraes, the cases rapporteur, grounding his vote on a compelling recollection of the sequence of executory acts of the coup attempt, carried out between July 2021 and January 8, 2023.

Among the extraordinary events highlighted by Moraes are:

Use of state bodies and official communications to delegitimize the elections, to delegitimize the judiciary and to cling to power.

Use of the Federal Highway Police during the second round of the 2022 elections to impede voters access to polling places.

Use of the Armed Forces and its report on the auditing of electronic ballot boxes to maliciously discredit the electoral process.

A long sequence of violent and terrorist actions carried out in the aftermath of the second round of the elections.

The Punhal Verde Amarelo (Green-and-Yellow Dagger) plan to assassinate the president-elect, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Workers PartyPT), Vice President-elect Geraldo Alckmin, and Moraes himself, then president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).

The preparation of the so-called Coup Draft and its presentation to the commanders of the Armed Forces with the aim of establishing a state of exception and transferring power to a Crisis Cabinet under the defendants command.

The January 8, 2023 fascist insurrection in Brasilia.

Analyzing the implications of this elaborate coup attempt, Moraes concluded: Brazil almost returned to a dictatorship that lasted 20 years because a criminal organization formed by a political group led by Jair Bolsonaro does not accept losing elections.

The fact that, 40 years after the end of the 196485 military regime, Brazil once again faced the imminent threat of a dictatorship emerges incontrovertibly from the analysis of the coup conspiracy led by the former president and a section of the top military brass.

However, Moraes idea that the source of this threat boils down to a political group that doesnt accept losing electionsthe thesis underpinning the STFs case as a wholeis absurd.

The threat of a fascist coup in Brazil is a product of the immense unresolved historical contradictions in one of the most socially unequal countries in the world, and, no less, of its deep interaction with an accelerating international crisis.

The reality is that the political crisis culminating in the attempted coup of January 8, 2023, was not and will not be resolved with the conclusion of the trial. This is demonstrated by the explosive situation in which this process is unfolding.

The fascist forces that promoted the January 8 coup attempt in Brazil are engaged in a counteroffensive to implode the ongoing trial and carry forward their political objectives. At the same time, under the leadership of Donald Trump, American imperialism is escalating an aggressive political intervention against Brazil.

On Tuesday, the United States doubled down on its criminal intimidation of Brazils political institutions, following the imposition of 50 percent tariffs by Trump, openly presented as a means of forcing the suppression of the proceedings against Bolsonaro.

Asked about potential new measures by the US government against Brazil, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declared Wednesday morning: I dont have any additional action to preview for you today, but I can say this is a priority for the administration and the president is unafraid to use the economic might, the military might of the United States of America to protect free speech around the world.

Leavitt also referred to the supposed censorship suffered by Trump himself, for having his social media accounts suspended after the attempted coup of January 6, 2021 at the Capitol in Washington. That reference is highly significant: the fascist American president sees himself, rightly so, reflected in the trial of Bolsonaro, whose coup attempt was directly inspired by Trumps dictatorial conspiracy.

The threat to use American military power against Brazil, the largest country in Latin America and a historic US ally, is absolutely reckless and unprecedented. But it must be taken with total seriousness.

It arises in the context of the deployment of a US naval armada to threaten Venezuela, marking a historic military escalation against Latin America as a whole. Last week, the US Armed Forces blew up a civilian vessel in the southern Caribbean in open violation of both international and US law.

Emboldened by the backing of the same imperialist power that promoted the 1964 military coup in Brazil, Bolsonaros fascist allies are mobilizing broad sections of the rotten bourgeois political establishment, including the governors of the countrys main states and the majority of Congress.

Brazils Independence Day commemorations last Sunday, which in the past were used as a platform for Bolsonaro to promote his coup attempt, served as the spearhead for an attack on the ongoing trial in the Supreme Court. Under the slogan React, Brazil, the ex-presidents fascist rallies advocated broad amnesty for those convicted in relation to the January 8 coup attempt.

At the main rally in Sao Paulo, demonstrators dressed in green and yellow (the Brazilian flags colors) as they displayed a giant flag of the United States and held signs in English calling for an intervention by Trump. With Bolsonaro under house arrest, the stage was occupied by the former first lady, Michelle Bolsonaro, who played a recording of her husband shouting his fascist-inspired slogan, God, Fatherland and Freedom.

The event on the famous Avenida Paulista was also attended by the governor of Sao Paulo, Tarcisio de Freitas (Republicans), the governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema (New Party), and the governor of Santa Catarina, Jorginho Mello (Liberal PartyPL).

Freitas, who is promoting himself as the far rights alternative for the 2026 presidential election, openly identified himself with Bolsonaros fascist political legacy and delivered an inflammatory speech attacking the Supreme Court. The Sao Paulo governor declared that No one can stand the tyranny of a judge like Moraes anymore, and stated that he will not accept any dictator telling us what we have to do.

Recently, Freitas declared that, if elected president in 2026, his first act in office would be to grant a presidential pardon to Bolsonaro for whatever crimes he is charged with.

In Rio de Janeiro, the September 7 fascist rally was attended by the ex-presidents son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, and by Rios governor, Claudio Castro, both from the PL.

Also present was deputy Alexandre Ramagem, one of the eight members of the crucial core of the coup conspiracy on trial this week.

While Sundays demonstrations presented a public face for the movement in support of Bolsonaro, a frantic mobilization has been underway for the approval of an amnesty bill in the Brazilian Congress.

On Friday, on the eve of the rallies, the media published a draft of the bill that Bolsonaros allies are circulating among lawmakers. The content of the proposal is sweeping.

Amnesty is granted to all those who ... [since] March 2019 ..., have been or are being or, still, may eventually come to be investigated, prosecuted or convicted for all crimes against democracy and national sovereignty, the text reads.

The measure provides for the shelving of all ongoing cases and investigations into the coup attempt and the cancellation of all sentences imposed. It also entails the suspension of ineligibilities to run for office imposed by the Electoral Court, such as those against Bolsonaro.

The fascists project in parliament has just gained the backing of two parties of the supposed moderate right, the Progressive Party (PP) and Uniao Brasil, which were part of Lulas governing base. Last Tuesday, the day the STF trial began, they announced their departure from the PT government and from the ministries they held, and their support for the campaign for an amnesty for the coup plotters.

The different fronts of this fascist counteroffensive are aimed at resuming the coup plans from the point where they left off on January 8, 2023.

That logic was openly announced by Flavio Bolsonaro in an interview in June. Asserting that amnesty is the honorable way out for everyone, he threatened popular and international reactions that are not under our control should his father be convicted.

Sketching a scenario in which his father is convicted and receives a pardon from the new president elected in 2026exactly what Tarcisio Freitas claims he will doFlavio assumed that the STF will challenge the measure. Its a very bad prospect, because we are talking about the possibility and the use of force, he warned.
Hundreds of thousands of people joined yesterdays Block Everything protests against Frances budget crisis after the government fell on Monday. Police estimated 175,000 people attended 550 political rallies and 262 infrastructure blockades across France. Tens of thousands marched in several distinct protests in Paris. Police said 10,000 marched in Toulouse and in Rennes, 8,000 in Marseille and in Lyon, and 6,000 in Montpellier.

Clashes erupted as 80,000 police deployed by President Emmanuel Macron assaulted protesters, arresting 540, including 211 in Paris. Drones overflew protests in cities, including Paris and Bordeaux, and across Brittanys Morbihan and Orne regions. Police charged peaceful rallies and also arrested 30 students after assaulting a blockade of Helene Boucher high school in Paris.

The protests were an eruption of anger at Macrons call for social cuts to fund rearmament and Frances massive sovereign debt and his naming of Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu as prime minister after Prime Minister Francois Bayrou fell Monday. Four French governments have fallen in two years. But even as an overwhelming majority of French people oppose Macrons social cuts and his calls to send troops to Ukraine, he again named a fifth unpopular, right-wing prime minister.

The protest revealed growing disillusionment and anger with organizations promoted by capitalist media as the left, like Jean-Luc Melenchons populist Unsubmissive France (LFI) party and the Stalinist-led General Confederation of Labor (CGT) union bureaucracy. Their role in shutting down strikes in 2023 against Macrons pension cuts, now opposed by 91 percent of French people, was widely noted. Workers need new organizations of struggle entirely outside the structures of official politics, based on an international, socialist revolutionary perspective.

WSWS reporters intervened at the Block Everything protest in Paris. Alexandre, a music student, said: We have felt for a long time that no one listens to us. The nomination of yet another prime minister from Macrons party was the straw that broke the camels back.  We live in a harsh political climate, we see really fundamental rights constantly put in question. It doesnt matter who we vote for, decisions are taken elsewhere.

He added, Come on, we were a large majority against the pension cuts. We were not listened to at all on that. Then they start talking about attacking birthright citizenship as if that were normal. Then they try to steer us onto other subjects, to get us to focus on [Muslim clothes like] the abaya.

Alexandre stressed his outrage at the media coverage of Gaza: This is a genocide. I have made certain friends, one is from Gaza. It is so hard, his relatives are living things that are difficult to imagine. We then are told the problems of people in Israel, who overall still live relatively well, are on the same level as problems of people in Gaza, who are living horrible things.

Luc and Boris, technicians at a repair center for Paris mass transit, stressed growing financial pressure on workers, and their disillusionment with LFI. Luc said, We try each month to finish not too far into the red. Its unbelievable. We are the country that pays the most taxes in the world. It would not bother me to pay taxes if public services actually worked well. But the CAC-40 [Paris Stock Exchange] are the buddies of the government.

Boris and Luc, Paris mass transit workers, attending a Block Everything protest in Paris

Boris said French life today is summed up by left-wing British author George Orwells phrase: If your salary is only enough to eat and sleep, its not work; in the old days it was called slavery. He stressed his disillusionment with the sell-out of the 2023 pensions struggle.

Melenchon, Boris said, is a dinosaur. He is there trying to get himself a position. And he got one, but hes a turncoat, just like the trade unions. Once they have what they want, for them its over. As I see it, theyre all the same. They defend their little piece of the pie, and theyre willing to abandon everything to have just a little more.

The WSWS spoke to a group of literature students, including Emma and Eva, who said: In the June 2024 legislative elections, LFI got a lot of votes, but we are stuck again with a right-wing prime minister who does not correspond at all to our expectations or political demands. We feel no one listens to us. Emma added: There are parties I support more, but there is not a single party I fundamentally agree with everything on.

Literature students at a "Block Everything" protest hold a sign saying; "We want workers, nurses, teachers in government. Put a stop to the democratic illusion."

Explaining their homemade sign, they said: The people in the government come from the social elites; very simply, France is not represented. Not enough power is given to the French people. The same people always decide for us. We want a government that represents what France is today.

Bastien, a theater student, discussed the French budget crisis. We are coming to the end with capitalism and free market policies as they have worked for many years. The proof is what is happening in the economy, besides all the craziness happening on top of that.

Explaining why he wants a general strike, he said: Workers are worth much more than billionaires, who do nothing, sitting on their chairs. Workers are the true essence of the people, they are the ones who really make the country run. And so, if we strike, the country is immobilized. And one-day [strikes] are not enough. We really need a strike that will let us immobilize the country and then really change things.

Protesters hold a sign calling for "War on War" at a "Block Everything" protest in Paris

The main obstacle, Bastien noted, is organization and perspectivepointing to Philippe Martinez, general secretary of the CGT bureaucracy, during its sell-out of the 2023 pensions fight.

The problem is that the trade unions now are all sell-outs, Bastien said. Martinez, he is a big fat sell-out, with his big fat mustache.

Samuel, a film student, said: The working classes are no longer represented or listened to. The government does whatever it pleases.  Bayrou called a confidence vote. It was manipulation, but okay, at least now he is gone. But the idea that he is replaced by Lecornu, a member of the party that backed all Macrons governments since 2017Im sorry, this is just bull.

Voting does no good. The people have to take power, he said, pointing to Macrons draconian repression. They really have developed a sort of fascism. There are 80,000 police mobilized to repress us. Macron and the oligarchs make very clear: They are on the attack.

Samuel

Asked about the need for international organization of the class struggle by the rank and file, Samuel said he agreed: Lets suppose, by a miracle, we bring down Macron, great. But in England, Africa, North America, South America, in Asia, we will find all the same problems. The idea is not to think just in our little French corner, but to really think about the entire globe.

He added, We have no confidence in currently existing trade unions or political parties. We see this with the CGT, who delayed mobilizing their members [to avoid joining the Block Everything protest]. The only way to fight is without politicians or union officials. We have to create our own groups, from below, the workersgarbage collectors, air traffic controllers, everyone who breaks their back doing work. If they stop working, the system cannot hold.

Broader layers of workers in France and across Europe are entering into struggle, with a nationwide French strike on September 18. Left-wing youth must seek to intervene among workers and arm them politically for a continuing mobilization against austerity, imperialist war and capitalism. In its statement, Which way forward for the working class after the fall of the French government?, the Parti de legalite socialiste stated:

Two stark alternatives are presented. Either the capitalist oligarchy builds a fascistic dictatorship to crush the working class, or the working class wages a revolutionary struggle on a socialist program to expropriate the oligarchs. This requires breaking through the straitjacket of the union bureaucracies and building genuine rank-and-file organizations dedicated to prosecuting the class struggle. The International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC) calls for the transfer of power from the trade union bureaucracies to the workers in all factories and workplaces. Such new forms of class organization, uniting workers in France and throughout Europe, are necessary to organize resistance to and defeat the corporate-financial oligarchys program of fascism, genocide and war.
Nepal has been plunged into political crisis by three days of mass protests involving tens of thousands of mainly young people that erupted on Monday. While the immediate trigger was a government ban last Thursday on 26 social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube, the protests reflect widespread frustration and anger over a lack of opportunities, corruption and the social gulf between rich and poor.

Protesters take selfies and celebrate at the Singha Durbar, after it was set on fire during a protest against a social media ban and corruption in Kathmandu, September 9, 2025. [Photo: Niranjan Shrestha/WSWS]

Young people viewed the social media ban as censorship. Before it was imposed, posts on X and TikTok using the hashtag #nepokids exposed the lavish lifestyles of the families of politicians. Unverified but widely shared photos of a ministers son posing with luxury brand boxes and a video showing a former judges son dining in upscale restaurants and standing beside a Mercedes went viral recently.

Protest slogans included [Prime Minister] Oli is a thief, quit the country, Shut down corruption, not social media, Justice and accountability for the lives lost, We are standing here for our future and Provide economic opportunity.

Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world with one in four living below the poverty line. Official unemployment last year was 10.7 percent and for youth (ages 15-24) was 22.7 percent. Many young people are forced to leave the country to look for work.

The protests quickly spiraled out of control despite a brutal police crackdown using tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannons and live ammunition. In a desperate effort to placate the protesters, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak resigned on Monday, and the government announced the lifting of the social media ban.

Protesters, however, ignored these attempts at appeasement as well as a curfew that was imposed not only in the capital Kathmandu but in other cities throughout the country. Angered by police violence, young people clashed with police and targeted symbols of the political establishment, including the parliament building, the Supreme Court and other government buildings.

The homes of prominent politicians including two former prime ministersSher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress Party and Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre)were broken into and vandalised. Nepali Congress is part of the ruling coalition. Kathmandus airport was also temporarily closed by fires.

Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, from the Communist Party of NepalUnited Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML), resigned on Tuesday after widespread criticism in the media and by opposition parties of the governments handling of the protests. Some reports indicate that Chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel also called on Oli to resign. Oli remains as caretaker prime minister.

Amid the deployment of the army and continuing protests, the military held talks on Wednesday with representatives of the protesters, who proposed the formation of a technocratic interim government with former Chief Justice Sushila Karki suggested as a possible interim prime minister. No agreement was reached, however.

Also on Wednesday, prisoners staged jail breaks from several prisons, with widely varying estimates of escapees from around 3,000 to 13,500. Troops remained on the streets to enforce a curfew, with the military warning of harsh measures against looters and rioters. About 25 people have been arrested for looting and violence. The death toll over the past three days stands at 25, with the health ministry reporting on Wednesday that more than 1,000 have been injured.

The protest movement is the most significant since mass demonstrations forced the abdication of King Gyanendra Shah in 2008 and resulted in the formal abolition of the countrys 240-year-old absolute monarchy. Since then, Nepal has been plagued by political instability with 14 governments in the past 17 yearsnone of which has completed a full term of five years. Last year, 73-year-old Oli was sworn in for a fourth time as prime minister.

None of the major parties is able to address the countrys economic and social crisis. The various Stalinist partiesincluding Olis CPN-UML and the CPN (Maoist Centre) of Pushpa Kamal Dahalhave been just as ruthless as the conservative Nepali Congress in imposing the burden of the crisis on working people that has hit young people in particular.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal headed the CPN (Maoist) before it split. It had waged a protracted guerilla war against the army and the monarchy. After the fall of the monarchy, it gave up its weapons and joined the Kathmandu political establishment, serving a vital role in containing opposition and anger to the existing parties.

Dahal, who has subsequently served as prime minister three times, has proven to be a staunch defender of Nepali capitalism and big business interests, and an advocate of pro-market reforms. The transformation of the Nepalese Maoists into trusted props of bourgeois rule is another graphic expression of the reactionary character of the Stalinist two-stage theory, which justifies the embrace of capitalism and so-called progressive layers of the bourgeoisie.

Underlying the political turmoil is the countrys worsening economic crisis. A comment in the Annapurna Express in April, which expressed the frustration and concerns in business circles, declared:

The economy is in shambles, the citizens are crying out, and the ones in power are stuffing their ears with wads of cash. The recession currently faced by the nation is the result of decades of corruption, inefficiency, and misplaced priorities.

It noted the lack of foreign aid, compounded by the ending of USAID and warned of some tough times in the future. After pointing out that optimistic growth figures were questionable, it painted a picture of a backward capitalist economy dependent on tourism, agriculture and remittances from overseas workers. Some 67 percent of the workforce is engaged in agriculture, which contributes less than a quarter of GDP.

It is little wonder that there are few opportunities for young people and mounting frustration that finds no outlet in any of the traditional parties. The only party that has expressed any support or sympathy for the protesters is the populist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which was only established in June 2022 and has won 20 parliamentary seats, by appealing to youth on an anti-corruption platform.

It is capitalism, however, not corruption, that is the source of the political and economic crisis in Nepal and that is fuelling mass discontent and anger throughout the region and internationally, including in recent weeks in Indonesia where mass protests of young people erupted.

The only progressive solution lies in the political struggle for socialism based on a unified movement of the international working class. We urge workers and youth to contact the World Socialist Web Site and the International Committee of the Fourth International which alone fights for this perspective.
The seizure on September 4 of more than 300 South Korean workers at the Hyundai Motors Metaplant complex in the United States has resulted in widespread shock in South Korea. Facing pressure from various sectors, the administration of President Lee Jae-myung is attempting to balance between protecting the interests of big business and expressing phony concerns for the workers.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun was dispatched to Washington to orchestrate the workers release and no doubt appease Trump, who denounced them for being in the US illegally. The workers will return to South Korea voluntarily rather than face deportation, according to South Koreas foreign ministry. Seoul has charted a flight that is expected to leave from Atlanta with the workers on board late Wednesday at the earliest.

The Trump regimes attack on these workers has placed its fascistic policies on full display for the population in South Korea. In a recent survey, six in ten South Koreans expressed anger over the treatment of the workers, particularly after video was released showing them marched to a prison bus in chains.

Protests, though relatively small at the moment, have taken place in Seoul near the US Embassy. Demonstrators have denounced US immigration policy and held signs, for example, declaring No person is illegal.

President Donald Trump, right, speaks during a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in the Oval Office of the White House, August 25, 2025. [AP Photo/Alex Brandon]

This threatens to cut across Seouls cooperation with Washington, both economically and militarily. Less than two weeks prior to the raid, Lee met with Trump in Washington where the South Korean leader obsequiously praised Trump as a peacemaker and pledged to back the US war drive against China.

A total of 475 workers were seized in the raid at the construction site of an electric vehicle battery plant in Ellabell, Georgia jointly operated by Hyundai Motors and LG Energy Solution (LGES). The raid was conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies, who took the workers to a detention facility in Folkston, Georgia.

As well as South Koreans, other workers detained came from Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Ecuador, Chile and Venezuela. Those present described a military-style raid with drones and helicopters overhead, hunting workers in the plant.

Hyundai and LGES stated they were unable to obtain the correct short-term visas for their employees. The workers detained in Georgia, who were carrying out highly specialized tasks, entered the US under the short-term visa waiver program or had B1 business visas, neither of which allows the holder to work.

Most of the workers were not directly employed by either Hyundai or LGES, which have washed their hands of responsibility. Instead, they are subcontractors, a tier of workers that lacks job protections. This leads to employers demanding that workers engage in dangerous work or activities beyond those stipulated in contracts under the threat of dismissal. The subcontracting system is prevalent around the world, creating a highly exploited layer of the working class.

South Korean businesses commonly employ subcontractors to cut costs, with this section of workers making up approximately 38 percent of the labor force. Seo Sang-pyo, South Koreas former consul general in Atlanta, stated it was common for subcontractors in the area to not have the correct visas for their work.

The workers at the Hyundai-LGES facility are victims of not only the US state, but the companies that placed them in that position in the first place, forced to risk abuse, arrest and deportation. This fact is not lost on workers in similarly precarious positions in South Korea, who in recent years have staged protests demanding an end to the subcontracting system.

Workers reportedly expressed misgivings about being sent to work in the US on incorrect visas. One worker in South Korea, who had previously worked with six of those detained in Georgia, told Reuters anonymously, I begged them not to go to the United States again.

Workers from the Korean community in Georgia also expressed anger towards the companies online, accusing them of ignoring laws and relevant dangers in order to cut costs. One wrote of their employment experience at a South Korean-operated factory: [M]any Korean staff were dispatched from [South] Korea, and safety protocols were not followed. One died on site. All the company did was shut down for a day and pay a penalty. I honestly dont want to work at a Korean-run factory again.

Hyundai in particular has a track record of ignoring safety. In the last two and a half years, three workers have been killed at the Hyundai Metaplant complex where the raid occurred.

Seoul is now scrambling to suppress the growth of popular anger. South Korean consular officials in the US who had met with the detainees claimed, We gather that there has been no unfair treatment of the detained people or any potential violations of human rights. This ignores the obvious fact that the seizure of the workers itself was a massive violation of their basic democratic rights.

Phony progressive parties and organizations, including the so-called militant Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), have also stepped in to contain and block the emergence of larger protests. While the KCTU has made radical-sounding denunciations of US policy, it speaks for sections of big business angered over disruption to their operations, not the seizure of immigrant workers.

KCTU chairman Yang Gyeong-su is staging a one-person protest outside the US embassy this week, demanding Trump apologize and that South Korean businesses halt investment in the US. The Trump administration is not only forcing investment in the US, but also forcibly detaining Korean workers and meddling in our internal affairs, he declared.

Yang continued: The KCTU absolutely cannot tolerate this. We demand the Lee Jae-myung administration halt investment in the US and pursue [South] Korean-US diplomacy based on an equal relationship. In other words, Yang defends the South Korean big business investments and the right of the South Korean ruling class to decide how best to exploit labor.

At no point has the KCTU suggested a united struggle with workers from other countries or called for strikes and large-scale protests in South Korea. The KCTUs cheap stunts are meant to deflect anger away from the Lee administration and big business and defend the South Korea-US alliance by claiming it can be made more equal.

Among sections of big business, the seizure of workers has also generated anger, amid fears that their investments in the US are now being threatened. This could potentially cut across joint South Korean-US business activity, which is being increasingly directed towards US war preparations against China.

According to the Korea Economic Daily, work at the Hyundai-LGES plant and 22 other South Korean-operated sites involved in automotive, shipbuilding, steel and electrical equipment around the US had halted or nearly all halted after the raid.

Echoing the big business orientation of the KCTU, a company executive in Seoul told the KED: Korean workers are being treated like criminals for building factories that Washington itself lobbied for. If this continues, investment in the US could be reconsidered.
Charlie Kirk before he was assassinated on September 10, 2025.

Fascist pro-Trump political operative Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot to death Wednesday afternoon on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, as he was addressing a crowd at an open-air event.

Kirk was the founder and leader of Turning Point USA, a fascist youth group that has been active on college campuses promoting white supremacy and hatred of immigrants and leftists. After playing a major role in Trumps 2024 election campaign, including a prime speaking slot at the Republican National Convention, Kirk became a powerful advisor to the new administration, vetting cabinet nominees for their acceptability to Trumps fascist base.

Police and Utah state authorities have so far released little information about the circumstances of the shooting and nothing at all about the motivation of the shooter. While FBI Director Kash Patel claimed that the gunman was in custody, local and state officials said only that they had a person of interest who was being interviewed, and that the investigation was ongoing. Patel later reversed himself, noting that the person of interest had been questioned and released.

The event at Utah Valley University was the first of a series of more than a dozen public meetings at campuses across the country at which Kirk was to defend the actions of the Trump administration, particularly the persecution of immigrants and the genocide in Gaza. The tour was to include a debate with Hasan Piker at Dartmouth College on September 25.

Trump made the first public announcement of Kirks death, posting on social media, The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead, he wrote, adding, He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us.

In a fascistic statement delivered from the White House Wednesday night, Trump denounced the radical left, which he said was directly responsible for the terrorism that were seeing in our country and it must stop right now.

Trump clearly went on national television to exploit the shooting and turn Kirk into a martyr to legitimize escalating violence from the far-right and threaten his political opponents. This is under conditions in which no arrest has been made and there is no actual information on the killer.

Trump ordered flags flown at half-staff through Sunday throughout the United States, in an extraordinary display of mourning for someone who had no record of public service, but rather had devoted himself to the most repulsive forms of hate-mongering and racism. Kirk is certainly the first full-blown fascist to receive such an honor.

Most of the official statements of sorrow and regret cited Kirks comparative youth and the fact that he leaves two young children. No such considerations were voiced for victims of disappearance and detention at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement thugs, such as Kilmar Abrego Garcia (who has three children with his American citizen wife, one of them autistic) and Mahmoud Khalil (who was denied compassionate release to be with his wife for the birth of their first child.)

The Utah Republican Party characterized the shooting as politically motivated left-wing violence, even without a shred of evidence yet available. Its statement declared: The attack on Charlie Kirk and free speech is evil, pure and simple. The hate, violence and evil being peddled by radical extremists has no place in this country! Schools and social media have become breeding grounds for liberal hate. Enough!

A flood of ultra-right and fascist commentators seized on the Kirk killing to claim that liberals and radicals were engaging in a violent onslaught against the Trump administration and American society as a whole. Billionaire Elon Musk tweeted, The left is the party of murder.

In reality, there has been an upsurge of right-wing violence in recent years, most notably the fascist attack of January 6, 2021, when Trump sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Numerous fascist gunmen have carried out politically and racially motivated mass killings.

The shooting of Kirk follows the murder of a Democratic state legislative leader and her husband in Minnesota, and the arson attack on the home of the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania. And it comes amid a continual stream of threats of violence, imprisonment and deportation by President Trump against targets ranging from his opponents in the Washington political establishment to the millions of immigrant workers who have come to the US to escape persecution or find work.

The response of the Democratic Party has been cowardice and complicity in this right-wing narrative. Leading Democrats, including former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, former vice president Kamala Harris, and Senator Bernie Sanders, all issued groveling statements. Sanders wrote on X/Twitter that political violence has no place in this country and my thoughts are with Charlie Kirk and his family.

Gavin Newsom boasting to Charlie Kirk that he has coordinated 10,000 deportations with ICE on the "This is Gavin Newsom" show, March 6, 2025. [Photo: Gavin Newsom]

California Governor Gavin Newsom called the killing of Kirk disgusting, vile and reprehensible. Newsom interviewed Kirk as a guest on his own podcast earlier this year, as part of an attempt to find common ground with the far right that also included a warm welcome to Steve Bannon.

The most groveling response to the killing of Kirk, and the fascist effort to profit from it politically, came from the New York Times, the semi-official voice of the Democratic Party. Within hours of the assassination, an editorial appeared on the newspapers web site headlined, America Mourns Charlie Kirk. (The title was subsequently changed to Charlie Kirks Horrific Killing and Americas Worsening Political Violence.)

It is politically appropriate to condemn the killing, which accomplishes nothing progressive and actually aids the efforts of the Trump White House to attack democratic rights and erect a police state. But that is no reason to glorify the victim or cover up the bloodthirsty, bigoted character of his political perspective.

The Times editors claim, Such violence is antithetical to America. On the contrary, such violence is the stock in trade of the American ruling class, whether directed at striking workers, racial minorities, immigrants, or political figures deemed to be dangerous or merely inconvenient. It is barely a week since the president of the United States ordered the incineration of 11 people in a Venezuelan fishing boat, claiming, without offering any evidence, that they were drug smugglers and terrorists.

The glorification of Kirk by both capitalist parties and the corporate media in the wake of his killing requires covering up a sordid political record of nearly unmatched foulness.

Over the past decade, Charlie Kirk has seized every opportunity to promote racism, bigotry and fascism, building Turning Point USA with funding from billionaire Richard Uihlein.

He was a key organizer of the January 6, 2021 Stop the Steal rally that culminated in the assault on the U.S. Capitol. Kirk has been one of the loudest advocates of the neo-Nazi Great Replacement theory, which claims that Jewish billionaires are conspiring to replace the white population through immigration. At a 2023 Turning Point rally in Arizona, he ranted that Minneapolis was destroyed by immigrants, describing the city as a perfect example of the Great Replacement.

This year alone, Turning Point USAs ties to violence and reactionary politics have been clear. In April, a member of the organization opened fire at Florida State University, killing two and wounding five. Shortly afterward, Kirk exploited the deaths from flooding in Texas to whip up racial hatred, using his podcast to blame an African-American official for the tragedy.
Federal agents and immigration Gestapo kidnap 475 workers at a Hyundai-LG battery plant in Ellabell, Georgia, on September 4, 2025. [Photo: ICE]

Nearly a week after almost 500 workers were kidnapped by the federal immigration agents at the joint Hyundai-LG factory and battery plant in Georgia, the Guardian reported that at least one of the workers was legally living and working in the United States. Citing an internal federal document, the Guardian reported Wednesday that one of the workers was legally in the US yet was still forced to sign documentation agreeing to a voluntary departure.

So far, the Guardian has only obtained documentation proving at least one worker was legally in the country, but there is every reason to believe many of the 475 workers kidnapped on September 4 were not criminals in any sense of the word and had done everything in their power to comply with US immigration law.

As of this writing, over 300 Korean workers remain in the United States. A chartered flight orchestrated between the governments of South Korea and the United States to send the workers back to Seoul was cancelled on Wednesday. Another 175 workers, from several other countries, are still detained in an ICE concentration camp.

The documentation obtained by the Guardian refutes the initial statement advanced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) which claimed that all those kidnapped were in the country illegally. In its September 4 press release Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) wrote that individuals arrested during the operation were found to be working illegally, in violation of the terms of their visas and/or status.

Yet the document, written by an ICE agent, according to the Guardian, confirms that at least one worker entered into the United States  with a valid B1/B2 visa and [redacted] was employed at HL-GA Battery Company LLC as a contractor from the South Korean company SFA From statements made and queries in law enforcement databases, [redacted] has not violated his visa

Even though the worker was legally allowed to labor and live in the United States, the document continues: however, the Atlanta Field Office Director has mandated [redacted] be presented as a Voluntary Departure. [Redacted] has accepted voluntary departure despite not violating his B1/B2 visa requirements.

In other words, despite this worker having their papers in order, he has been kidnapped, held in ICE custody for the last week and will be forced to leave the country.

Charles Kuck, an Atlanta immigration attorney who represents some of the detained South Korean workers, said in an interview with the Associated Press Monday that many of the workers were engaged in authorized activities under the B-1 business visitor visa program. He said that their intended stay in the United States was limited to a few weeks and never more than 75 days.

Kuck explained that no US company manufactures the machines used at the Georgia battery plant, so the machines and specially trained workers had to be brought in from overseas for installation and on-site repairs. He noted that training someone in the US to carry out this type of work would take approximately three to five years.

He continued, This is not a new practice. We have done this for a long time, and it continueswhen we export products, we send our own personnel abroad to manage them.

Speaking to the Guardian on Wednesday on the ICE document, Kuck said the file describes an actual crime committed by the government. He called the arrest illegal and outrageous.

This is a clear violation of the law in detaining somebody who is not lawfully detainable, Kuck said. Thats a crimethats unlawful imprisonment in the United States. This isnt an accident. People go to prison for stuff like this, he told the paper.

In a statement to the Guardian, a DHS spokesperson defended the arrest of the worker with a blatant lie, This individual admitted to unauthorized work on a B1/B2 visa. He was offered voluntary departure and accepted it.

DHS thugs are repeating the same lies as the fascist in the White House. Over the weekend, Trump stated categorically that the workers kidnapped were in the U.S. illegally.



In a gangster threat to non-US-controlled corporations, Trump added that if they want access to the US market, they must both comply with his immigration regime and agree to train and hire American workers on his terms.



Trumps threats and the raid in Georgia are not aimed at empowering American workers or enforcing immigration law but are an assault on the rights of every worker and an attempt by the aspiring dictator to set labor and hiring practices across the board. Corporations that hire immigrants, or un-American workers, run the risk of militarized raids, detention and deportation.



The mass arrest of workers last week has caused outrage in the US and internationally. On Saturday, protesters gathered outside the plant in Ellabell, Georgia to denounce the attacks on immigrants and the mass deportation operation.

The brutal treatment of the workers, forced to march onto buses shackled in chains, has also provoked outrage in South Korea. On Tuesday, protesters gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea carrying signs that read, A tariff bomb and workers confinement.

Notably, while workers in the United States and internationally are disgusted and angered at the ongoing mass deportation operation, much of the trade union bureaucracy is openly aligning itself with the immigration Gestapo.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Christi Hulme, president of the AFL-CIOs Savannah Regional Central Labor Council, alleged that the detained South Korean workers were taking jobs reserved for certain affiliated unions. Basically our labor was being given to illegal immigrants, Hulme declared.

This statement expresses not the interests of the working class but the reactionary nationalism of the union bureaucracy. For decades, the AFL-CIO has collaborated with the corporations and the state in suppressing strikes, enforcing concessions and pitting workers against one another along racial and national lines.

In echoing the propaganda of the Trump administration, the unions make clear that they stand not with workers facing persecution but with the state apparatus of raids, deportations and mass incarceration. Far from defending our jobs, the bureaucracy seeks to protect its own privileged position as labor police, enforcing the demands of the capitalist class while dividing American workers from their brothers and sisters internationally.

The path forward lies not in the AFL-CIO and their adjuncts. As Will Lehman, socialist autoworker, wrote earlier this week:

Workers cannot rely on the union bureaucracy, the Democratic Party or any section of the ruling class to defend our rights. The defense of immigrant workers must be taken into our own hands. I call for the formation of rank-and-file defense committees in every workplace and neighborhood, composed of workers themselves and independent of the union apparatus. These committees must demand the immediate release of the workers arrested at Hyundai and an end to the campaign of terror against immigrant workers, organize mass demonstrations, prepare solidarity strike actions and link up with workers across industries and borders.
Workers on the line at GM Oshawa Assembly [Photo: GM Canada]

Auto parts supplier TFT Global announced last week that it will soon lay off about 250 workers who feed parts into General Motors Oshawa assembly plant. The move follows GMs announcement last May that it plans to end the third shift at its Oshawa facility as some production of the Chevrolet Silverado is reshored to its Fort Wayne, Indiana, assembly plant in the wake of US President Trumps tariff policies. The end of GMs third shift in Oshawa, now expected to occur in January, will result in the loss of about 750 jobs there. Many more auto parts and logistics jobs throughout the Oshawa area will also be lost.

Jeff Gray, President of Unifor Local 222, which organizes both auto assembly and parts workers in the Oshawa area, released a statement advising workers not to get too anxious. After all, he said, The bottom line is business as normal until November 2025 [now moved to January]. Once the third shift is reduced in Oshawa in total, and this is including General Motors and suppliers, all in one number, about 2,000 people will lose their jobs.

Such callous prostration by Gray to the business decisions of the auto bosses should come as no surprise to autoworkers. The latest developments follow on the heels of GMs April statement that 1,200 workers at its CAMI Ingersoll plant will be laid off at least until November to align its electric van production schedules with current demand. When production does restart, only 700 workers will return to their jobs. And at GMs Propulsion plant in St. Catharines, the workforce has been cut in half and now sits at 600 workers as the company has delayed a scheduled EV refit until at least 2027.

At the Stellantis Windsor, Ontario, assembly plant, more than 4,000 workers were hit by a week-long pause in production in May. The downtime followed closely on from another earlier two-week pause in April. The plant has rotated between periods of full production, reduced activity and full shutdown through the autumn. Flavio Volpe, CEO of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association, estimated that up to 12,000 more Canadian auto parts workers were now off the job due to Stellantis production pauses.

Stellantis has announced that production with a full three shift operation at the Windsor Assembly Plant will not begin until at least January 2026 after more than five years on a reduced two shift operation.

Unemployment figures released last week place Windsor with the highest level of joblessness of any major city in Canada, with 11.1 per cent of its labour force out of workup from 10.2 per cent in July and 9.1 per cent in January. Oshawa follows closely behind with a 9 per cent unemployment rate even before the massive November layoffs take effect. Nationally, unemployment has grown to 7.1 percent with expectations for a continuing spike. The situation for Ford autoworkers is no less dire. Even before Trumps tariffs, EV restructuring had seen the layoff of over 3,000 Oakville Ford assemblers. An EV re-tooling operation shutdown the plant in the spring of 2024 with the promise that a new (albeit slimmed down) workforce would be called back in late 2026 or early 2027. However, that plan was recently scuttled, with Ford executives now transferring its projected Oakville EV production to the United States. Workers were outraged. Unifor President Lana Payne bleated a meek message to Fords CEO stating her disappointment and frustration. Fords new plan is to switch to production of a gas-powered Super Duty pickup in Oakville and re-open in mid-2026 with a workforce of only 1,800.

Payne was similarly disappointed with the lengthy shutdown of the Stellantis Brampton assembly plant for an EV refit that began in late 2023, only months after the contract sellout forced through by Unifor. But feelings of disappointment do not pay the mortgage.

The 3,000 workers at the facility expected about a 2-year layoff as the plant was retooled for the next generation Jeep Compass. But then in February Stellantis announced that due to todays dynamic environment, the retooling work would be paused for at least two more months and the remaining 400 skilled trades workers laid off. The company, which was paid hundreds of millions in government subsidies, is contractually obligated to eventually re-open and has floated a possible mid-2026 restart.

Unifor responds to this crisis by chloroforming its membership with the claim that by working with the government and corporations to build an EV industry for Canadian capitalism, they can protect workers jobs and communities. Of course, this is a continuation of the nationalist-corporatist path they have pursued for decades and one they are doubling down on with their support for Ottawas trade war. It is the same bankrupt policy that the United Auto Workers pursues under Trumps tutelage in order to boost their own corporate allies in the United States in the ever-expanding global trade war. Beggar thy neighbour and the devil take the hindmost!

Payne and Liberal prime minister Mark Carney are not opposed to trade war measures in principle. They merely object to Trumps decision to impose tariffs on Canada. Both agree with the entire Canadian political establishment that Trump should focus on waging economic war on, and preparing for military conflict with China. They are eager for Ottawa to participate in a Trump-led Fortress North America, so long as Canadian imperialisms prerogatives as Washingtons junior partner are duly recognized.

Thusly, after cuddling up with the right-wing Ontario provincial government of Premier Doug Ford and promoting the career investment banker and new Prime Minister Carney, Payne writes that last weeks announcements by Carney to combat the impact of Trumps tariffs show progress and moves in the right direction.

Carney announced a pause in Canadas Zero Emission Vehicle mandate that stipulated a series of steadily escalating light-duty electric vehicle sales targets for auto manufacturers and importers, starting at 20 per cent in 2026 and reaching 100 per cent of auto production in 2035.

For Payne, Carney and the rest of the corporate and political establishment, tariffs are perfectly fine but only when leveraged against other competitors. We cannot surrender the future of EV production to overseas automakers, said Payne. A Canadian 100 percent tariff on much lower-priced and better engineered Chinese EVs will be maintained as will a 25 percent tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum. That the tariffs on China dovetail with a Trump-Carney agreement to weaken China whilst massively increasing military expenditures for a future confrontation, is for them, something best left spoken only in the private business clubs and think tanks of the Canadian establishment.

Unifor also concurred with Carneys proposals for an all-inclusive, nationalist Buy Canadian policy and has enthusiastically supported Carneys promise to roll out some meager employment insurance supports to make up for the supplementary pay restrictions during layoff that Unifor negotiated in their last auto contracts that have left thousands of their members and their families relying on food banks to survive.

For the New Democratic Party (NDP), Carneys Friday announcement was a good step. The praise by the NDP, Unifor and the rest of the labour bureaucracy followed by only two days the prime ministers statements outlining plans for a budget of austerity and investment in the coming weeks that is to say, austerity for the working class and massive investment in military spending whilst shoring up the profits of big business. Billions of dollars will be shifted from general public services, healthcare and social supports that will decimate workers living standards as de-regulated raw material extraction and arms procurements are meshed with the US war machine.

What is the way forward for the working class?

Workers have no interest in backing either the elbows up rhetoric espoused by both the Conservatives Pierre Poilievre and the nationalists of the so-called left. Neither can any store be laid with Carneys growing elbows down approach to relations with the Trump administration. Whatever Carney does, whether he is supporting the European imperialist powers efforts to expand the war against Russia in Ukraine or seeking to negotiate a new economic and security deal with the fascist Trump, he is seeking to advance the interests of Canadian imperialism.

Workers cannot fight Trump and all he represents except on the basis of a class struggle program in opposition to all factions of the Canadian bourgeoisie and by forging fighting unity with the working class in the US. Indeed, workers, whether across North America or internationally, cannot defend their jobs and livelihoods amid an unfolding global trade warone moreover that is part of a developing imperialist world warby lining up with their own ruling class.

In opposition to the union bureaucracies efforts to corral workers behind the competing ruling elites nationalist policies of trade war and military conflict, the working class in the deeply integrated markets of the United States, Canada and Mexico must chart their own common independent course.

They must join forces in a united movement of the North American working class, through the development of rank-and-file committees, independent of the trade union apparatus, as part of the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC). These committees will organize opposition to the demands of the ruling class for sacrifices in the form of mass job cuts, concessions and the evisceration of public services and social programs. Moreover, opposition to trade war and its ruinous impacts on the working class must be infused with a socialist internationalist program across the globe, key tenets of which are opposition to imperialist war, anti-immigrant chauvinism and the destruction of democratic rights.
Theres a new member of the Belgian royal family.

There have been numerous rumors circulating in the past about Prince Laurent having a love child with actress Wendy van Wanten, whose real name is Iris Vandenkerckhove. Prince Laurent, the brother of King Philippe of Belgium, has been married to Princess Claire since 2003. Together, they have three children: Princess Louise and twin boys, Prince Nicolas and Prince Aymeric.

Prince Laurent is the youngest son of the Belgian King Albert and Queen Paola.

Prince Laurent of Belgium has recognized the paternity of an adult son

Photo Credit: Thierry Monasse/Getty Images

This isnt the first time that many believed Laurent and Wendy had a child together.

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VRT News published the Princes statement on September 9. With this message, I acknowledge that I am the biological father of Clement Vandenkerckhove. We have spoken openly and honestly about this over the past few years. This announcement is based on a sense of understanding and respect for those involved. It is the result of joint consultation, the statement translates into English.

According to VRT, Wendy and the Prince met at a Paris fashion show in the mid-1990s, while also attending Prince Edwards wedding in 1999. Following Clements birth in 2000, there was widespread speculation that the father was Prince Laurent.

Clement, who is now an adult at 25, was asked about his fathers identity in 2021 on the VRT 1 show Het Huis. His response was rather vague: It wont be the answer you expect. Its a fairy tale that everyone thinks that, but fairy tales are just fairy tales. He went on to say the story around his father brings out a lot of emotions.

In light of this paternity news, royal reporter Rick Evers says that Clement can get a royal title.

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His Royal Highness Clement, Prince of Belgium, Prince of Saxe-Coburg, said Rick.

King Filip wanted to limit the granting of titles, but since Clement is a descendant in the male line of King Albert, the Royal Decree of 12 November 2015 applies, Rick posted on X.

Prince Laurent acknowledged Clement as his son on the same day that the Flemish TV channel VTM announced the airing of a documentary entitled Clement son of

Laurents three children with Princess Claire are 16th, 17th, and 18th in line of succession to the throne, with the eldest, Princess Louise, at the top of that list. Princess Elisabeth is the heiress to the royal throne.

TELL US  WERE YOU SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT PRINCE LAURENT HAD ANOTHER SON?

The post Prince Laurent of Belgium Admits To Having Secret Son Whos Now an Adult appeared first on Reality Tea.
Legendary group Guns N' Roses has been rockin' out for 40 years, so you wouldn't think they still had many "firsts" to experience  but you'd be wrong.

This summer, as part of their European tour, the rock band played Luxembourg City for the very first time and they deemed the show "iconic."

"Our very first show in Luxembourg City! Thank you for an iconic night!" wrote the band on Facebook alongside dozens of photos from the show.

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https://www.facebook.com/gunsnroses/posts/pfbid0QtjwaeqTDAM53ygh8kk8sxZmX8J6U9EvdGMDi16oxZ3ybJWnnmeofjLuV2epph7hl?cft[0]=AZVeT5zAj6p_r6BKpr2EqeSSFM_9ho7dmGk1Z5QeZsdGcgRCXS3A8rs_K_kTcoIze35-8MCLLzo1Wx1qmWJTN0l7OEt7_6G99IyPsMxDjAvaeBjRa9A9BkMLbHdLGkPEugAJS8PXKhJXZxQYoHRbayPnXaKXwM8nlUckuWo32BnLtg&tn=%2CO%2CP-R

Fans were blown away by how great the band still looks and sounds 40 years after they formed in Los Angeles in 1985.

RELATED: Hidden Studio Behind Wild Horses & Mustang Sally Finally Gets Its Hall of Fame Moment

"Best I've seen Axl look in a while," wrote one fan, and another one added, "The Guns all aged gracefully."

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A third fan wrote, " you guys rock, please stay safe and keep on rocking ."

One fan named Gregory Serri was particularly touched about their stop in Luxembourg City because he has wanted to see them live for 33 years and this was his first chance.

"It was amazing. I started listening to you at 11 years old and I had never been able to see you until Luxembourg at 44. You made me vibrate and bring a lot of emotionsThanks for all.," wrote Serri.

Another European fan added, "Was there  Front row soooo amazing ."

RELATED: 70s Folk-Rock Singer Behind Iconic Marijuana Hit Dies at 84

"Great show thank you Axl, duff, slash, Richard, Melissa, Dezee, Isaac, the Staff and the Pistols. Come back soon. We have see you also in Dusseldorf  ," wrote a sixth fan.

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Guns N Roses packed the Luxembourg City venue with a career-spanning setlist that blended their biggest anthems with covers of other artists' iconic songs. From Welcome to the Jungle and Sweet Child O Mine to "Live and Let Die" and an Ozzy Osbourne tribute on "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath," the night gave the crowd everything theyd hoped for. You can see the full Luxembourg setlist here.

Guns 'N Roses is currently on its 2025 World Tour. Summer 2025 was Europe and then in the fall, they head to Latin America. That leg of the tour kicks off on October 1.

RELATED: The Bangles Turned This Simon & Garfunkel Folk Classic Into an 80s Rock Anthem

The Latin America tour dates and locations are as follows:

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Wednesday, Oct 1, Estadio Nacional, San Jose, CR

Saturday, Oct 4, Estadio Cuscatian, San Salvador, SV

Tuesday, Oct 7, Viva Claro, Bogota, CO

Saturday, Oct 11, Estadio Atanasio Girardot, Medellin, CO

Tuesday, Oct 14, Estadio Nacional, Santiago, CL

Friday, Oct 17, Estadio Huracan, Buenos Aires, AR

Saturday, Oct 18, Estadio Huracan, Buenos Aires, AR

Tuesday, Oct 21, Arena Opus, Florianopolis, BR

Saturday, Oct 25, Allianz Parque, Sao Paulo, BR

Tuesday, Oct 28, Pedreira Paulo Leminski, Curitiba, BR

Friday, Oct 31, Arena Pantanal, Cuiaba, BR

Sunday, Nov 2, Arena BRB, Brasilia, BR

Wednesday, Nov 5, Estadio Nacional Stadium, Lima, PE

Saturday, Nov 8, Estadio GNP Seguros, Mexico City, MX

 SIGN UP for Parades Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 

This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 11, 2025, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Taylor Swift's new album "The Life of a Showgirl" is getting Target exclusive treatment with a midnight release at 500 stores across the U.S. on Oct. 3, 2025.

As if Taylor Swift's wedding plans to Travis Kelce weren't exciting enough, fans can choose from three editions (or get all three) of the pop superstar's 12th studio album in a Target exclusive. And with the studio album drop less than a month away, it's time to get ready to add one, two, or three new albums to your Taylor Swift album collection.

In Pennsylvania, 24 Target stores will participate in the midnight release. Swifties in Delaware can purchase the album at midnight at two of four Target stores.

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Here's what to know.

What is Taylor Swift Target exclusive?

Target will exclusively unveil three special editions of Taylor Swift's new album "The Life of a Showgirl:" It's Beautiful, It's Frightening and It's Rapturous. The CDs come with bonuses of posters and an 8-page lyric booklet with "never-before-seen photos." You can grab them in-person or preorder all three now.

'The Life of a Showgirl' tracklist

Taylor Swift's "The Life of a Showgirl" has 12 songs, as well as multiple variants, and a collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter.

The Fate of Ophelia

Elizabeth Taylor

Opalite

Father Figure

Eldest Daughter

Ruin the Friendship

Actually Romantic

Wi$h Li$t

Wood

Cancelled!

Honey

The Life of a Showgirl (ft. Sabrina Carpenter)

Taylor Swift - The Life of a Showgirl: 'It's Beautiful' CD With Poster (Target Exclusive)

'Life of a Showgirl' collection

Taylor Swift fans can also grab the exclusive "Sweat and Vanilla Perfume Edition" CD or vinyl record on the Target website or Swift's official site. You can also preorder the special edition on cassette on Swift's merch store. Per Target, the glittery orange vinyl comes with never-been-seen photos and lyrics, along with a "unique poem written by Taylor."

How much is Taylor Swift CD at Target? When will I get it?

Each of Taylor Swift's "The Life of a Showgirl" CDs are $14.99, and those who preorder can expect to get theirs delivered "on or shortly after [the] release date," Target said.

Target stores participating in midnight release of Taylor Swift album in PA

In Pennsylvania, 24 of 78 Target stores will open at midnight Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, to sell Taylor Swift's "The Life of a Showgirl" album.

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Altoona :153 Sierra Dr, Altoona, PA 16601

Concord Township : 600 Hatton Dr, Glen Mills, PA 19342

Cranberry : 1717 Route 228, Cranberry Twp, PA 16066

Dickson City : 1140 Commerce Blvd, Dickson City, PA 18519

Erie : 6700 Peach St, Erie, PA 16509

Hanover :31 WILSON AVE, Hanover, PA 17331

Harmar : 2661 Freeport Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15238

Harrisburg North : 5125 Jonestown Rd Ste 331, Harrisburg, PA 17112

Lancaster Central : 1589 Fruitville Pike, Lancaster, PA 17601

Mechanicsburg : 6416 Carlisle Pike, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050

Montgomeryville : 125 Witchwood Dr, North Wales, PA 19454

North Fayette : 600 Chauvet Dr, Pittsburgh, PA 15275

Oxford Valley : 2331 E Lincoln Hwy, Langhorne, PA 19047

Royersford : 1824 E Ridge Pike, Royersford, PA 19468

Selinsgrove : 501 Market Place Blvd, Selinsgrove, PA 17870

Spring Township : 2769 Papermill Rd, Wyomissing, PA 19610

Springfield West : 1200 Baltimore Pike, Springfield, PA 19064

State College : 315 Colonnade Blvd, State College, PA 16803

Upper St. Clair : 201 S Hills Vlg, Pittsburgh, PA 15241

Warwick Township : 960 Lititz Pike, Lititz, PA 17543

Washington : 335 Washington Rd, Washington, PA 15301

West Pottsgrove Twp : 100 Upland Square Dr, Pottstown, PA 19464

Wilkes-Barre : 3400 Wilkes-Barre Township Commons, Wilkes-Barre Township, PA 18702

York Galleria: 2610 Pleasant Valley Rd, York, PA 17402

Which Target stores in Delaware will sell Taylor Swift's new album?

Delaware has four Target stores, and two of them will open midnight on Oct. 3, 2025 to sell Taylor's Swift's latest album.

Brandywine : 1050 Brandywine Parkway, Brandywine Hundred

Christiana: 800 Christiana Mall, Christiana

How to find a Target near me

To find a Target store near you, check out Target's store directory.

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Lori Comstock is a New Jersey-based journalist with the Mid-Atlantic Connect Team.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: DE, PA Target stores to open at midnight for Taylor Swift album release
A "Very Pale Ale" might be the solution to Vermont's "desperate" attempts to attract Canadian tourists after President Donald Trump took office, according to a segment from "The Daily Show."

Comedian Jordan Klepper visited Burlington to "investigate" what's being done to pull Canadians back to vacation in the United States, as data shows declining tourism from America's northern neighbor.

In June, the number of Canadian resident return trips from the United States was down 28.7% this year from last year, according to Statistics Canada.

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Klepper attributed this to Trump's comments about wanting to annex Canada as the "51st state," as well as the ongoing trade war.

"Americans and Canadians have been best friends for decades  until this guy came along," Klepper said in the segment, as a photo of Trump appeared on the screen.

What officials, business owners in Vermont are saying about declining Canadian tourism

When asked by Klepper how "business was going" in Burlington, Kelly Devine, the executive director of the Burlington Business Association, said companies were struggling.

"Not so great, actually. You know, it's been slow," Devine said on "The Daily Show."

Vermont State Treasurer Mike Pieciak said Canadians' credit card spending in the state was down around 40%.

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"People get their feelings hurt and then they don't want to come here," said Shelley MacDonald, owner of Belleville Bakery in Burlington.

How Vermonters are trying to 'win back' Canadian tourists

In the show segment, several business owners showed Klepper what they were doing to extend olive branches to Canadian tourists.

MacDonald revealed two "Canadian-friendly" stickers on the front of her Burlington bakery  one with the Canadian flag and the other with the flag of Quebec.

"Not every idea's going to be a winner," Klepper quipped.

Marc Sherman, of the Outdoor Gear Exchange, said the store has a sign that says "Canadians are welcome." This prompted some further jokes from Klepper.

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The comedian then took a jab at the temporary renaming of Burlington's Church Street to Canada Street, saying the city council was "putting country over God."

"Yes, actually, I had not thought about it in those terms," responded Jeff Lawson, vice president for tourism and marketing at Hello Burlington.

"Whatever it takes to get those loonies," Klepper shrugged, referring to Canada's one-dollar coins.

Church Street, often referred to by the moniker the Marketplace, is the center of Burlington's downtown.

Burlington woman apologizes to Canada

Klepper also interviewed Karen Chickering, a Vermonter who trekked up to Sutton, Canada, to apologize on behalf of her country.

"I made a little poster and brought it to different stores," Chickering said in the video. "Yeah, I was apologizing."

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She showed Klepper a handmade sign that said "Vermont loves Canada," and "Neighbors by chance, friends by choice."

"I want to know  how many Canadians accepted your apology and how many left you crying in a Tim Horton's parking lot?" Klepper asked.

"I wasn't in Tim Hortons," Chickering said, seemingly missing the joke.

"Did you even go to Canada?" Klepper asked.

Klepper visits Vermont Brewers Festival

Klepper ended the "Daily Show" segment with a visit to the Vermont Brewers Festival, which also felt the effects of declining tourism.

Emma Arian of the Vermont Brewers Association said the July festival expected to sell about 700 tickets to Canadian visitors, but actually sold just 50.

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However, the festival is trying its best to bring Canadians over to drink some beer.

"We are getting rid of the exchange rate, there's a 'Bienvenue Canadians' line, we've got three Montreal breweries down here," Arian said.

When Klepper asked a Canadian man named Alex what brought him down to the festival, he responded, "Just the beer."

Upon reflecting with other Canadians, Klepper concluded that beer "was the answer" to the American-Canadian feud.

"I have a concoction that knows no borders. It is not American and it's not Canadian. It is something that is friendship," Klepper said.

The comedian revealed a can of beer with his face on it, called "Jordan Klepper's Very Pale Ale" which he then proceeded to distribute. He did add one special ingredient - maple syrup.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: 'The Daily Show' heads to Burlington, VT to win back Canadians. Watch
If you were a sandwich, what would you be?

Its a question I keep in my back pocket. Its one Ive lobbed at chefs mid-interview, friends at dinner parties, even reticent colleagues at conferences. The question cuts through the small talk, any noise of ego, and acts as a mirror: what resonates with people, what moves them, and really, where do they stand on the spectrum of loyal rule-following and radical risk-taking? Because in the world of sandwiches, theres a spectrum.

This question works so well because its not just an inquiry of taste but of identity. Is the shy coworker more like a freaky, spicy, seven-layer sandwich? Is the life-of-the-party more of a predictable, semi-sweet, classic Croque Madame?

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Its a revelatory question because eating a sandwich is personal. These packable, unwrappable treasures have been part of eaters lives for a long time, accompanying them since childhood, giving elementary students their first exercise in autonomy. Ham or turkey? Whole wheat or rye? Liberated from the confines of cutlery, sandwiches give us permission to make a mess.

Related: 9 Outstanding Breakfast Sandwiches Across America

And as an adult, all of that still applies while the choices get more vast and inviting. So whether youre finding yourself by way of sandwiches or searching for a taste of place from regional sandwich specialties  a New Orleans Muffuletta, a South Jersey Pork Roll, or an Upstate New York Beef on Weck  these are the best sandwich shops in America to get you started.

In doing this research, it became clear that some of the best sandwiches in America are found beyond a sandwich shop. At times, the best stacked-high subs come from sceney pop ups, mom-and-pop restaurants, or contemporary american spots turning a hot dog into a delicacy (is a hot dog a sandwich, though?). Sandwiches like Win Sons bacon egg and cheese on a scallion pancake or Sam Jones BBQ Restaurants chopped pork sandwich are prime examples. Or the seafood restaurant in New York, Penny, that makes an ice cream sandwich the talk of the town  a creamy sphere of vanilla tucked between two slices of brioche bread.

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But theres something timeless about a sandwich shop, with its long lines, bread wafting, the clatter and clutter of it all. To answer the question: If you were a sandwich, what would you be? Begin your journey here.

01 of 13

Ideals (Durham, North Carolina)

Courtesy of Jordan Abdur-Raoof

Down-to-earth Durham, chock full of independent eateries, artists, and activists, is also home to one of the Souths greatest sandwich spots: Ideal's, where loyalists (theres a lot of them) line up along the shops brick exterior religiously before noon. Owners Ian Bracken and Paul Chirico fully embrace the sub-infatuation of the Northeast, with scattered quintessential Carolina touches, from Dukes Mayo to summers ruby-red tomatoes throughout the shop. The bread is ritually housemade, limited, and a pride-and-joy  either the sesame hoagie or rosemary focaccia. Ideals has a steadfast lineup of hot and cold sandwiches, but just go and trust whatever special is live that week, like a saucy sandwich version of chicken cacciatore or the Turducken, a cured then confited, then breaded, then fried duck sandwich.

02 of 13

Bodega Park (Los Angeles)

Courtesy of Ja Tecson

Bodega Park on Silverlake Boulevard is an Eastside LA-ified New York bodega-style deli. South Korean culinary influence brings the pork bulgogi sandwich to life, kicking with a spicy kurobuta collar and razor-thin raw onion. Parks simple ode to the bacon-egg-and-cheese comes melty on a roll toasted to a crisp exterior and springy, warm interior. But its not just Parks more chef-y creations that shine; its the classics, like the Italian-style sub with capicola, mortadella, and soppressata on a chewy sub  one bite of which is sure to induce nostalgia for the East Coast. Also, the chopped cheese sandwich  yes, a chopped cheese in LA  is Bodega Parks cult classic. Finish with a signature Misugaru Black Sesame latte.

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03 of 13

J.P. Grazianos (Chicago)

Courtesy of J.P. Graziano Grocery Co.

The Mr. G sandwich is J.P. Grazianos calling card. Maybe its the housemade truffle mustard vinaigrette or the draped layers of prosciutto di Parma or the heavy-handed blanket of Roman artichokes. Whatever the reason, Chicagoans stand by it, longingly watching the assembly line at J.P Grazionos layer, douse, and fold the sub with precision. On a corner brick building in the West Loop, this longstanding shop has been around since 1937. As of late, the iconic, old-school spot became a Lollapalooza after party venue and a favorite for midnight fashion pop-ups, thanks to fourth-generation owner Jim Graziano sprucing up the decades-old classic.

04 of 13

Paesanos (Philadelphia)

Courtesy of Aidan McAndrews

Tucked into the historic Italian Market on 9th street is an Anthony Bourdain favorite: Paesano's. The sandwiches here are not for the faint of heart; theyre big and bold and packed with flavors that actually come at you from all angles. Take the crispy fried chicken liver sandwich  the Liveracce  for example. In one jaw-stretching bite, the balanced bitterness of arugula melds with the saucy roasted tomatoes. The zing of sweet orange marmalade cools with a creamy gorgonzola. Dont miss the classic Philly cheesesteak; doing so would be local sacrilege.

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05 of 13

Mean Sandwich (Seattle)

Courtesy of Renee Erickson

At Mean Sandwich in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood, sandwich making is theater. The bigger, the better. Take the $21 fish sandwich for example, where sardines float atop layers of lettuce, fried lemons, cilantro, and a pickled celery root and jalapeno slaw  all in between fluffy, pull-apart challah bread. The signature sandwich  The Mean  supercharges a classic corned beef sandwich with mustard, pickled cabbage, and mint. The team doesnt limit themselves to a certain genre either. You get beef steaks on griddled Texas toast and a decked-out fried chicken poboy with Calabrian chili relish. The dipping sauces are must-gets, from a house lemon pepper mayo to a cacio e pepe dressing.

06 of 13

Sunny & Annies (New York City)

Courtesy of Sunny and Annie's

This 24/7 corner NYC bodega, circa 1997, can turn soup into sandwiches. Kind of. Its cherished pho-inspired sandwiches include hoisin, snappy bean sprouts, and kimchi. Beyond that, Sunny & Annies stands out for its contrarian, mismatched, go-big-or-go-home nature, in a world full of fanciful, dainty sandwiches over $20. S&As is unpretentious, unchanging in many ways, and still has sandwiches under $15. The physical menu is just pieces of paper on the deli case, where each sandwich is named after a curious mix of icons like Barack Obama, Mona Lisa, and Jackie Chan. While there are no tables (it is a New York bodega), its a short jaunt to Tompkins Square Park. There, unwrap the sandwich  all snug in butcher paper and foil  and let it all spill out, because inevitably, it will. Then, let the dopamine hit.

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07 of 13

Middle Child (Philadelphia)

Courtesy of M. Cahn

Raunchy, saucy, and irreverent is the unpredictable Middle Child, of course. At this Philly sandwich counter  equal parts diner and deli aesthetic  visitors get full and have fun. The sandwiches are classics with a little middle child flair: the swiss and turkey ciabatta sandwich gets a blueberry chutney, a classic Italian gets artichoke relish, the fluffy egg and cheese gets corned beef. Also, the burrata BLT is so big, its called a BBLT, with tomato jam.

08 of 13

Sanguich (Miami)

Courtesy of Sanguich de Miami

Sanguich, serving up Cuba-meets-Miami sandwiches, is no stranger to the spotlight. People have swooned over the toast level of the Cuban bread since the shop opened in 2017. The bread glistens with a gilded sheen, thanks to the pork fat that's brushed on pre-toasting. It gives an extra unctuous bite to the Cubano and Pan con Lechon. Like a proper Cubano, the tightly pressed sandwich has minimal space between its components. Its body-to-body in there (and also body-to-body in the tight, sought-after outpost in Little Havana). The husband-and-wife owners aren't reinventing the wheel here; theyre just creating six craveable sandwiches really, really well.

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09 of 13

Bills Sandwich Palace (Nashville)

Christen Clemins Photography for Bill's Sandwich Place

In the land of honky tonks, hot chicken, and bachelorette parties is a shop  better yet, a palace  of inventive, over-the-top sandwiches. Once a sought-after pop up, Bills Sandwich Palace now has a permanent home in East Nashville to dole out sloppy tuna melts and fried chicken sandwiches on housemade focaccia and local Charpier's Bakery buns. A signature Bill move is incorporating chips for texture, like Sour Cream & Cheddar Ruffles, Cool Ranch Doritos, sea salt potato chips, and even full-on french fries. The team also calls everyone who is a part of their sandwich tribe, Bill. So, its just a bunch of Bills at Bills.

10 of 13

The Boys Deli (San Francisco)

Courtesy of The Boys' Deli

The unadorned but deeply adored The Boys Deli in San Franciscos Russian Hill is a lunchtime staple. For one, its family owned with longtime, seasoned, stone-cold sandwich assemblers. Most importantly, it uses locals favorite Dutch Crunch bread, a soft white sandwich roll with a distinct crackly texture thanks to rice flour paste. Its very Bay Area-coded. Take note of the sandwich names. Theyre just plain fun to rattle off, like the Lightweight Tipsy, The Freak, Double Trouble, and The Gobbler.

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11 of 13

The Modern Butcher (Danvers, Massachusetts)

Courtesy of The Modern Butcher

Okay, this is a butcher shop first, but insiders know its a sandwich shop, too. Its only right that the sustainable, pasture-raised meats from local New England farms are front and center, packed high. Most notably, people flock to The Modern Butcher for the traditional North Shore roast beef sandwich, the three-way NSB with white American cheese, James River barbecue sauce, and slices of pink beef. The sandwich is extraordinarily large, messy, and only available on Saturdays. If you dont make the cutthroat, early-risers line on Saturday, go on a weekday and get the Sandwich of the Day. It might be a buffalo chipotle chicken doused in scallions and bacon or a mile-high turkey and pepperjack sandwich with street corn slaw.



12 of 13

Turkey and the Wolf (New Orleans)

Courtesy of William Hereford

Turkey and the Wolf didnt just create playful, semi-unorthodox sandwiches when it opened in 2016; it created a whole new culture around  and respect for  artisanal sandwiches. This kitschy, scrappy, red brick spot, now a national hot spot, serves up dilly heirloom tomato sandwiches and fried bologna sandwiches stuffed with thin potato crisps on decorative plates. Owner Mason Hereford paved the way for chefs transitioning out of buttoned-up fine dining into the world of buttoned-down chicken-fried steak sandwiches and thrifted knick-knacks decor. In a city of decades-honed poboys and muffulettas, it takes something radical to shift culture. Turns out, whimsical and weird sandwiches that refuse to be put in a box were the ticket.

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13 of 13

An Xuyen Bakery (Portland, Oregon)

In the buzz of very hip, very cool cafes busy redefining all that a sandwich can be, there is a quaint spot that doesnt need to challenge the norm. Outside An Xuyen Bakery, an overhang is printed with Banh mi. Sandwiches. Bakery. No bells or whistles. This deli embraces timeless simplicity and its two-decades-old ritual of baking French baguettes every morning for a range of banh mis. Theres pate, Vietnamese meatball, and the fan-favorite barbecue pork. In between the glossy baguette, theres an assorted mix of pickled veg that adds crunch, lacey cilantro that brings some brightness, and the housemade mayo that we all wish we could bottle up and take home.

Read the original article on Food & Wine
Without a government, the military is taking control of Nepal's roads and institutions. Though the airport has just reopened, the situation is far from settled, leaving foreigners stranded amid cancelled flights and general confusion.

Violence intensified through Tuesday, with demonstrators burning politicians' houses, institutional buildings, and police stations. There are strict curfews and military controls. The "Generation Z Revolt" has turned the country's political landscape upside down in 72 hours.

The government fell yesterday, and demonstrators pursued several politicians and set fire to their homes. Fire has destroyed parliament and other buildings, and an increasing number of voices are calling for restraint, restoration of order, and respect for public property.

Poster calling youngsters to demonstrate on September 8, shared on Instagram by Ang Tsering Sherpa.

Airport open

There is some small good news: Kathmandu's airport has finally reopened after two days, The Himalayan Times reported. "All domestic and international flights, which had been suspended since September 9, are now cleared to operate; passengers have been advised to contact their respective airlines for updated flight schedules and to confirm ticket and baggage arrangements," they wrote.

Messages

In the last 24 hours, both locals and the international community have turned to social media to express their opinions and feelings on the situation, as well as their hopes for a brighter future.

Message posted yesterday by the U.S. embassy on Instagram.

A call for restraint posted by Ang Tsering Sherpa.

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There are also several messages pointing to the root causes of an uprising that -- as we explained in an article yesterday -- goes much deeper than a ban on social media.

A post shared by thousands through social media, posted by Dawa Sherpa of Rolwaling.

A message on social media, shared by Suman Gurung on Instagram.

Hundreds of people are posting photos and videos of the revolt.

Post by Sandro Gromen-Hayes on Instagram.

Fires in Kathmandu on Tuesday. Photo shared by Suman Gurung.

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Advice for foreign visitors

Foreigners in Nepal's capital or tourist towns such as Pokhara should contact their local operators for instructions and avoid getting close to demonstrations. The Army suggested that stranded foreigners seek assistance directly at security points if needed.

The situation remains quiet in mountain areas, but the lack of domestic flights to transport passengers and supplies to base camps has hit expedition operators. The flow of climbers and goods should be restored once the airport is fully operational.

Local entrepreneurs, who have chosen to remain anonymous, noted that foreigners have been free to move across the country but are strongly advised to exercise extreme caution in towns. The army is imposing a nationwide curfew from 5 pm today, local time, until 6 am tomorrow.

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Domestic flights were suspended on Wednesday, and the Department of Tourism is not working, so they are not issuing climbing permits currently.

The silver lining is that everyone we have talked to in Nepal is confident the situation will improve in a few days. Teams currently in the mountains, such as Benjamin Vedrines on Jannu, the 14 Peaks Expedition on Manaslu, and Carlos Soria in the Khumbu, are reporting complete normality.

Explosions in Pokhara

Climbers close to demonstrations have described what they have witnessed.

"There were seven or eight explosions last night," Walddemar Kowalewski of Poland told ExplorersWeb from Pokhara. Injured in an avalanche on Broad Peak this summer, he is still on crutches but is venturing out onto the streets and observing. "I heard that 800 prisoners escaped."

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"Nepal is currently closed and flights are canceled, so it'll take a while, but then it'll be okay," Kowalewski continued. "Higher up in the mountains, outside of civilization, it's easier; it resembles COVID times."

A team from Seven Summit Treks heading for Dhaulagiri, including Jorge Egocheaga of Spain and David Klein of Hungary, had a tough time getting to Pokhara. Eventually, they managed to board a small plane to the city. The demonstrations in town shocked team member Arjun Vajpay of India. He recorded the explosions mentioned by Kowalewski in the video below. The team will head for the mountains soon.

September 8

Alex Txikon of Spain was caught in the uprising while filming a documentary in Kathmandu. "The assault was by students, most of them teenagers, some still in their school uniforms, who climbed the walls of the parliament building; the police opened fire and killed around 20 of them," he told Turiski.

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People online are hailing the students killed during the revolts on Monday as heroes. In today's editorial, The Himalayan Times calls for a new Nepal, asks people to stop the violence, and reminds the political class to "understand, and never forget, that their power is borrowed, not owned. It comes from the people, and it can be taken away by the people."
When people seek out breeders for cats in particular, it's typically because they're searching for a specific type of cat. Whether that's breed, color, gender, or something else, people who go to breeders are looking for something.

Imagine one cat mom's surprise when her super rare, absolutely stunning split-faced Tortoiseshell Maine Coon ended up having an almost identical twin... In the shelter. She couldn't believe it, but when you see her, you'll know it's totally meant to be:

Poppy and Polly are going to be best friends forever. This is just so awesome!

Related: Ultra-Rare Blue Tortie Maine Coon Looks Like the Night Sky

Poppy is a 4 year old Tortoiseshell Maine Coon, and she's a Chimera. That means that her coloring is perfectly split down the middle. It happens in utero when two embryos fuse together, and though rare, it's a little more common in Torties.

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Poppy has been on her own (with her mom) for a few years, and her mom has always wanted to get a cat for her. However, she just never got around to it. None of the cats she saw every felt right, at least until Polly!

The two of them are literally almost identical. They've got the same split coloring, on the same side and everything! The only thing was that Polly is disabled, so she would need some extra love and care. Luckily, Poppy and her mom were ready to provide:

Polly is not a Maine Coon, but she's still so gorgeous. This pair is a true showstopper!

Maine Coons Are Surprisingly Gentle

Maine Coons are huge, they're very playful, and they might seem a little bit intimidating. They're twice the size (or bigger) than standard cats, and they do love to play rough. However, these cats do understand time and place.

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Maine Coon cats make awesome family companions, whether you've got babies, young kids, or other pets. They can be gentle when the need to be, particularly with kittens. Polly's new home is perfect for her in every single way!

SIGN UP to get "pawsitivity" delivered right to your inbox with inspiring & entertaining stories about our furry & feathered friends

This story was originally reported by Parade Pets on Sep 11, 2025, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add Parade Pets as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
You can listen to our podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify each week. Follow this link if you're listening on Apple News.

Longtime friend of the podcast Jessica Nabongo, who made history as the first documented Black woman to visit all of the world's 195 countries, is back to talk about her new project: Catch Me in the Kitchen, an upcoming compendium of recipes sources from her travels and the people she encountered. Some are crowd-sourced, some come from her own family, and some are pulled from celebrity chefs like Marcus Samuelsson and Kwame Onwuachi. Plus, she talks about recent experiences in the Caribbean and Southeast Asia, challenging conventional narratives of travel storytelling, and shares stories from Uganda.

Lale Arikoglu: Hi there. I'm Lale Arikoglu with another episode of Women Who Travel. This week is, I'd say, quite a special guest. I'm talking to travel writer and photographer, and repeat guest on this podcast, Jessica Nabongo.

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In 2019, she celebrated becoming the first Black woman to travel to all 195 countries in the world. Since then, she's been on the show talking about her trip to Antarctica, and this year she has given talks across North America and been to, unsurprisingly, more than a dozen countries, many of which have been in the Caribbean and Southeast Asia.

Jessica, welcome to the show, and you have another thing cooking, excuse the pun. It's a global cookbook with National Geographic.

Jessica Nabongo: Yeah, I know. So it's super exciting. It's again with National Geographic. So this one is called Catch Me in the Kitchen. It's due out November 2026, and it's going to feature one recipe from every single country in the world. So 195 recipes. It's a massive undertaking, and I just think when we started, I could not have imagined how much work it would be, because initially it was just going to be my 50 favorite recipes. And one day in the middle of the night I was like, it needs to be every single country in the world.

LA: What made you decide it needed to be every single country?

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JN: Because my first book, which I love, and we have gotten so much positive feedback on, it only has 100 countries in it, which is amazing. But I think a little bit of criticism that I've received is, oh, well, I was looking for this country and it wasn't in there. So I didn't want to do a second book where we mentioned I've been to every country in the world, and we don't touch on every country.

LA: Where did the idea for doing a cookbook come from? And I'm interested to know what your relationship to food was like before you embarked on your mammoth global journey, and how it changed your relationship to food. Because you have to be really into it to want to do a cookbook.

JN: It's really interesting, because it's always how people see me. So many people consider me a foodie, and I never thought about it in that way, but I'm just like, I just like good food.

But then when I really sat and I thought, I have so many very distinct food memories from most of the countries that I visited, and it was one of those things where, while I'm not a chef, who better than me? I've been to every country, I've had food experiences in every single country. And so it felt right, and now in the research of it, I feel like I'm a food anthropologist.

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I have an amazing recipe developer, Laila Ibrahim, but beyond that, I did crowdsourcing. So I have recipes that people have written down with their moms. I wrote down my recipe with my mom for Uganda. I have recipes from celebrity chefs like Marcus Samuelsson and Kwame Onwuachi, so it's really such a vast

LA: Oh my God, Kwame, the kind of hottest chef out there at the moment.

JN: Imagine. And he gave me a recipe for Nigerian suya, so that's really exciting. But yeah, so I'm just excited because for example, I think about the recipe for Cuba. It's Ropa Vieja, but the recipe came from one of my followers and it's her grandmother's recipe. And her grandmothers come from very humble beginnings and this recipe has come down through their family, and now the legacy of that recipe will forever be enshrined in a National Geographic book.

So I think it's really cool because it's this beautiful crowdsourcing of more than 100 countries that are coming from people all over the world, literally.

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LA: How many recipes in the book are from people you've encountered on your travels, who have cooked for you or sat down with you in a restaurant that you kind of broke bread with?

JN: So 30 to 40 is that I got the exact recipe from them, but a lot of the recipes I selected, either because it was a restaurant that I had an amazing dish at, and so we took it and sort of refined it to make it in a home, or it's a specific dish I had in the home, but I wasn't able to get the specific recipe from that person. But it's a very, very personal book for me.

LA: Do you see it as a book that is about the experience of eating and sharing food, and using food as a entry point to understanding a place?

JN: Absolutely, and I think what excites me most about this is like, yeah, everyone's not going to travel to every country in the world, but this book allows your taste buds to visit every country in the world. So I hope that this is a book of discovery, and I hope that it is a book that makes people go out into their communities.

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So in the introduction, I push people, go to the Asian supermarket, ask questions, ask them about the dish you're making, ask them about other dishes from their country. I really want this to be a book that helps people feel closer to different countries in the world.

LA: Food writing and recipes is a vehicle for storytelling, and you have many. What were a couple of memorable meals you've had during your travels that you were like, I have to get this recipe into this book and I have to honor this experience that I had in some way?

JN: So one recently. I first went to Morocco in 2016, I think 2016 or 2017. And so I went back because I was shopping for tile for my new home.

LA: Love that.

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JN: And also-

LA: Morocco, incredible shopping destination as well as a food destination.

JN: Right? Right, exactly. And I did a cooking class with a woman named Khadija, and it was in her home in Essaouira, and I thought that for Morocco I was going to do a tagine recipe. I wanted to do a lamb tagine with apricot because I love that sweet savory.

LA: I mean, that is a classic Moroccan dish. I feel like you go into most restaurants or cafes there and you're going to have some form of a lamb tagine.

JN: Exactly. Enter Khadija, and she made chicken pastilla, which I'd never heard of. And so chicken pastilla is like this sweet savory dish where you make this chicken with rose water and all of these amazing spices, and then it's baked in a puff pastry and topped with powdered shirt. It's incredible, and one of the best things I've ever eaten in my entire life.

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So the book is divided into continents. For each continent, I'm doing a little opening monologue, if you will, about the continent. If we think of Africa for example, many people now are becoming more familiar with fufu. If people have been to South Africa, they know pap, and those are considered what we call a swallow. It's something you eat with your hand and you eat it with stew.

So across the continent you have different swallows. In the book, we only have two, one from Angola and one from Uganda, but I'm going to talk about that, how that's something that unifies the continent.

LA: You mentioned you worked with your mum on the recipe for Uganda. Your family is from there. You have spent a lot of time in Uganda. Tell me about the recipe.

JN: So the recipe we're doing is, if you've been to Uganda, I think it is the absolute most Ugandan dish. It is matoke and Binyebwa. So matoke is a specific banana. It's the green banana that you find in Uganda. It's basically an unripened green banana, and you steam it or you boil it. In the US we boil it and it's served with Binyebwa, which is a ground peanut sauce. So you can add meat to it, you can add fish to it. We're keeping it pretty simple. It's actually a vegan dish, which I never even thought about before, which is another interesting thing.

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There are so many vegan dishes in the book, and not on purpose. But there's actually a lot of African dishes that are vegan, which I think many wouldn't even assume. But yeah, so our staple dish in Uganda is a delicious vegan dish that I grew up eating, and it was really fun to sit down in my mom's kitchen and have her do her measurements and write it down with her because she's never written a recipe. So it was just a beautiful experience.

LA: It's all muscle memory for her.

JN: Oh, for everybody. Oh my gosh. The amount of emails and messages that I got from people saying, well, we don't measure. They're saying like, oh, Caribbeans don't measure. Africans don't measure. Asian people don't measure. Everyone says that. I'm like, no one measures. It's only the French that measure.

LA: JN moves through the world exploring what it means to appreciate community. Coming up.

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You are back with JN on Women Who Travel. We were talking about your connections to Uganda. When you talk about it, it's clearly just a place that you love so much, but you recently bought a place in a different African country, which I'm very excited to hear about.

JN: Yeah. I recently bought a home in Dakar, Senegal, so moving all the way west on the continent.

LA: Which in my head lives as I've never been, but I see it as one of the coolest cities in the world. It sounds amazing, incredible fashion. There's a surf scene, there's jazz music, and a huge music history. I mean, it just seems like it's had kind of has it all.

JN: Mm-hmm. Lots of art as well, and I think they have the best cuisine on the African continent, so you have to come visit me once I get everything together.

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But yeah, so I've been going to Dakar since 2014. I actually first went, my ex was actually living there. And I first went as part of my 30 days of 30 birthday celebration, and it was the first city that I was celebrating my 30th in. And so then fast-forward 10 years later, and last year I celebrated my 40th birthday there with a bunch of friends.

It's just I've fallen in love with the energy, the people, the food, the art, the culture, the surfing, the coastline. And I also, I've built community there. And practically speaking, it's less than seven hours from New York by non-stop flight. It's only a four-hour time difference from east coast. So just in terms of those practicalities, it's very easy for me to live there and also have the majority of my work still in the United States. It's perfection for me.

LA: It's kind of wild, because I'm like, every time you're going to a country you are like, I've been here before. But obviously return trips are so different and you get to explore a place and get to know it far more deeply. But I'm interested to know how you've been choosing where to go back to.

JN: That's a good question. Towards the end of last year, I went to Georgia and I took a group of women. It was incredible. The food was better than I even remembered. We went to some vineyards and I am like, oh my God.

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Yeah. So going back the second time was so much better than the first time, which I couldn't even believe. So yeah, there's just places like I'm excited to return to. Then there's places that, it's kind of difficult to return to, which saddens me in many ways. Iran is a place that I've been wanting to really go back to. Obviously it's a little bit of a challenging situation right now. The West Bank is a place that I had really been excited to revisit. The world is shifting incredibly quickly.

I was supposed to go to Sudan in December of, was that '23 when the conflict started, whatever, that it started in April. I was meant to go to Sudan that December, which now, Khartoum, I don't want to say it doesn't exist. It's certainly still there and people are still there, but the destruction that has happened in Khartoum is absolutely heartbreaking. And I had friends who had to flee.

I think if COVID taught us anything, and just the way the rapidity with the world is changing now, my message to everyone listening is, if you want to go somewhere, go now. Don't put it off to next year, because everything's changing so rapidly. And I think the lesson of my life over the last several years is live now, live today.

LA: When you talk about Iran and you talk about the West Bank, traveling and connecting with people, you feel those places when they suffer now in a way that you wouldn't have before.

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JN: Absolutely, and I think that's why I love what I do. I love being able to share the stories that I share, because I want people to really feel like the world is our neighborhood. It's not about borders, it's not about nationality. We are all human beings sharing a single planet with each other. Because at the end of the day, what we do over here is affecting people over there. It's like we're all citizens of this planet.

So I think we all need to have a little bit of kindness and feel more connected to each other in a way that we haven't before, because we are truly all in this together. So if people can feel more connected to a place that they've never been through a recipe in the cookbook, that's the goal.

LA: Visiting Taiwan and much more, after the break.

You are back with women who travel. So I have a little list in front of me of some places that you've been to recently, and I can see there's a couple of trends, mostly that you seem very drawn to the Caribbean and to Southeast Asia, and some of East Asia. Was that conscious or did you just keep on going back there like a magnet?

JN: So I have been doing research for the book, so there were places that I wanted to go back to. Some places I ended up in because of flight issues or visa issues. I hadn't intended to go to Barbados, but I was trying to go to Venezuela. But there were some challenges getting to Venezuela. Because again, the world is shifting. I ended up in Hong Kong because I didn't get my visa for Vietnam in time.

LA: Which, I mean, an amazing food city to end up in by accident.

JN: Yes. But also Taiwan is amazing and I feel like people don't talk about Taiwan enough. I don't know. From your perspective, are people talking about Taiwan?

LA: Yes, but it's only because I know a few people who've been there recently, and so in my little old universe, people are talking about Taiwan. But I think more broadly as a travel destination, particularly for us travelers looking towards Asia, I don't think Taiwan is necessarily somewhere they're booking for their first or their second trip to that part of the world. But I mean, I hear it's pretty good

JN: Little travel hack for people, so-

LA: Don't go where everyone else goes.

JN: Don't go where everyone else goes, first and foremost, I'm constantly chasing the place where there's not so many tourists. You will not catch me in Europe in summer. It's just never going to happen unless I have to go for work. It's never happening.

LA: When you say that you avoid high season when there's a lot of tourists, is that purely, I don't want to be around people that sound the same as me? Or is it also being sort of there's a level of conscious traveler and thinking about your footprint on a destination? Because I know that obviously over tourism is a huge, huge topic right now.

JN: Yes. Over tourism, my goodness, it is really destroying a lot of the world's best places. For sure, I just don't want to ever be surrounded by that many people. I was in Istanbul in I think September last year, and I was like, oh my goodness. And that wasn't about western tours. It was just like it's one of the most visited cities in the world and I don't ever really feel like I need to go back there. It's too much.

But I also just think in terms of the experience, it becomes less authentic. When they're catering to tens of millions of tourists every year, particularly if you're going to the hot spot in a country, I just feel like you're not getting the true authentic feeling of what that country is. I think when there's less tourists, I think that the locals are probably in a little bit of a better mood, and they're willing to go a little bit deeper with you.

LA: How do you plan your trips now? Do you have suggestions for others who are maybe just taking a couple a year?

JN: I definitely go with the flow. I don't plan things. I am very much like, okay, I'm here. What should I do? What should I see? I leave a lot open to happenstance. I might bump into someone.

When we were in Hanoi, we met this guy who worked at the U.S. embassy there. And so we didn't have everything planned out, so then we ended up going out for drinks to a couple places with him, which was great, because he lived there.

LA: This was you and some friends, I'm assuming? When you say we.

JN: Yeah, I was with a friend, yeah, he was traveling with me through Asia, and so it was cool to just have that flexibility. Or I bought a one-way ticket to Guyana, and then a one-way ticket to Trinidad, because I thought I was going to go to Venezuela. That didn't work out. So then I ended up buying a one-way ticket to Grenada where I just spent six hours and then I went to Barbados and I had no idea that I was going to end up in Barbados, but I just was open to the possibility.

Now I have control over my time, so I have a little bit more flexibility. But I think I would say just leave space for happenstance, leave space for things that you just don't even know what can happen, because I think that's where you find the magic. I think if you go into a country and you're very open-minded and you're like, what's today's adventure going to be? Let's spin the wheel and see. And I think travel for me is the most memorable when it's surprising.

LA: Well, and I think also, you shouldn't travel and expect a place to bend to your will, which I think often is the case, maybe even not fully consciously, and then people get very stressed. And if you give yourself up to the place a bit more, you are also respecting it a bit more.

JN: Absolutely. And it can be stressful, right? Travel can be very hard. When we arrived at the airport in Taipei, and we stood in line thinking that we were about to go to Hanoi and they were like, you're not going anywhere. Well, you're not going to Hanoi. I was so mad and I could only be mad at myself, but I was so mad and I literally had to go and sit in a corner and do some deep breaths. I was like, my friend, I was like, don't talk to me. Let me just figure this out. And I was like, all right. I took 30 minutes. I was like, all right, all right, cool. Open Google Maps. I zoomed out. I'm like, okay. You know what? Haven't been to Hong Kong in a while. So I start looking up flights to Hong Kong and I'm like, cool. There's a flight that leaves in an hour and a half.

I walk over to Cathay Pacific, we buy some flights, and I'm like, okay, now we're in Hong Kong. It sucked because it was so cold and rainy, but I was like, all right, we're just going to explore Hong Kong, and that's what we did. And I think even when it's frustrating, you have to just take a beat, literally sit down, get a glass of wine, take some yoga breaths, whatever you have to do, just take a beat. You'll be okay. You don't need to just make decisions while you're stressed, because that just doesn't help the situation. I really feel like if something gets canceled, whatever, think of it as an opportunity instead of a barrier.

LA: No one's ever gotten a new flight by yelling at the gate agent.

JN: Okay, say that again.

LA: Okay. You need them to be your friend.

JN: Welcome to nowhere.

LA: You need them to be your friend.

JN: If your flight gets canceled, go home, or go back to your hotel. Because, number one, there's like 50 other people or a hundred other people depending on the size of the flight, maybe 200 other people who aren't on the same canceled flight. Just leave, leave the airport because nothing is going to happen by screaming at the poor woman who's being screamed at by 50 other people, who now definitely has an attitude and doesn't want to help anybody. So just go home, call on your phone, go get a good bite to eat at a restaurant near the airport, take a beat.

LA: We have covered a lot in this episode, but I think that it all comes back to the same thing, which is something that you, I feel like have been doing and so much of your work since we've known each other, which is kind of changing the narrative and how we talk about the world and move around it. Particularly trying to shift from a solely western gaze, which is so much of what travel writing and travel media is about.

I know you were involved in the Global Citizen Conference in Detroit, which was talking about some of these things. What does challenging that narrative look like to you now?

JN: It's speaking up when others won't. It's calling things out even if it seems to be the norm. I'm so grateful that Global Citizen tapped me to host the event that they had here in Detroit. So many people know Global Citizen from the very large event that they do in Central Park.

Global Citizen is a global nonprofit organization who works to support the end of poverty globally. And so global Citizen now, Detroit was the first time they had it in the U.S. outside of New York City, and it was just an opportunity to come together, talk about urban challenges.

I just try to stay engaged within the travel industry, also beyond the travel industry. Because travel is great and I want everyone to go all the places that they want to go, but it also is about humanity. So if you want to go to Mexico, because you love Mexican food and Mexican beaches, then I hope you feel quite as strongly about the Mexican communities that are close to you.

So I think we have to think beyond the world as places for us to go and vacation, and we have to think about these different little neighborhoods all over the world that are filled with our neighbors, and we always want to just try to be a good neighbor, both when we're at home and when we're abroad.

LA: Whether it's cooking in someone's kitchen in Morocco, or it's trying to buy a Cathay Pacific flight in the airport in Taipei, what are the lessons you've learned recently?

JN: I think the biggest one that I will forever and always come back to is, most people are good. And I will not allow people to displace their fear onto me. When people are saying negative things or telling negative stories of places they've been both domestically and abroad, I will continue to vocally challenge it, whether I'm with friends or strangers.

And one thing I'll talk about really quickly. In April of last year, I finished visiting my last five U.S. states. It was Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, south and North Dakota, and I did it solo. It was a road trip. It was amazing. And a lot of people were like, oh my God, aren't you afraid, there was no Black people? And I'm like, number one, the absence of blackness for me does not equate to fear, and it doesn't equate to a dangerous place. Of course, there's certainly danger out there, but I'm never going in and assuming because there's an absence of Black people that I'm going to be unsafe.

And I had so many beautiful experiences through all of those states, and yeah, I barely saw Black people. But it was a lot of small towns and people were so kind, so welcoming. And I'll say really quickly, when I was in Fargo, North Dakota, I did have a little racial incident that happened and it really put me off. This guy was just being rude and talking crazy to me. And I was like, it was my last day of the trip. And I was like, man, I'm not going anywhere. I'm so over this, right?

And I was like, no, Jessica, you're going to get up and you're going to go out. And so I went to a bar, and I'm sitting at the bar by myself and I'm probably looking a little down, and they're like, Hey, what's going on? I was like, well, it's my first time in Fargo.

And I was like, it was all good until this incident happened. And they were so disgusted and taken aback and I ended up making friends in that bar and they bought me drinks. I ended up going out to dinner with one guy. I had a very early morning flight, and one of the guys at the bar came and picked me up from my hotel at 5:00 A.M. And took me to the airport.

And it was one of those things where something bad can happen, it won't always happen, but I'm again reminded of the goodness of humanity because even on the backs of that happening, there were all of these people who basically held me in their metaphorical arms and made sure that my last experience in their city was a positive one. When you think about your everyday lived experience in real life, most people are good.

LA: Jessica, if people want to follow along with your upcoming travels, see that place in Dakar, which I am desperate to get a peek into. Pre-order the book, order the book that you also just worked on about solo travel with Lonely Planet, where should they go on the internet?

JN: So I am on Instagram at JN. I am trying my hand at YouTube, the Catch Me If You Can, over there. And then lastly, I have a substack, which is great because it just allows me to write more. So that's thecatchmeifyoucan.substack.com. But yeah, those are the places that you can find me.

LA: Jessica, it has been such a treat to have you on.

JN: Thank you for having me back. I think the first episode, maybe it was like 2018, I want to say.

LA: That was a long, long time ago.

JN: There's been at least four.

LA: The world was different, but also, troublingly, the same. We need not speak further than that.

Thank you for listening to Women Who Travel and you can find me on Instagram at Lale Hannah. Our engineer is Pran Bandi. And special thanks to Jake Lummus for engineering support. Our show is mixed by Amar Lal at Macrosound. Jude Kampfner is our producer, Stephanie Kariuki, our executive producer, and Chris Bannon is head of Conde Nast Global Audio.

Originally Appeared on Conde Nast Traveler
CALHOUN COUNTY, Iowa  A 15-year-old was killed and another person was injured during a collision in Calhoun County.

According to the Iowa State Patrol, the crash occurred just after 7 a.m. at the intersection of US 20 and Fletcher Avenue, northwest of Rockwell City.

Clive hit-and-run crash sends pickup truck into gas station

Authorities say a Ford truck was northbound on Fletcher Avenue and failed to stop at a posted stop sign, resulting in a collision with a mack semi that had been traveling on US 20.

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The truck came to rest in the south ditch. The driver of the vehicle, 15-year-old Cadyn Ogden, was killed. The semi came to rest in the median of the road. The driver, 71-year-old Richard Kanne, was injured.

The Iowa State Patrol says dense fog was reported at the time of the collision.

ISP was assisted by the Calhoun County Sheriffs Office and Emergency EMS, the Iowa DOT, and Lytton Fire Department and Rescue.

Iowa News:

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com.
More than 300 South Korean nationals detained by federal agents in a massive immigration raid last week on a Hyundai plant in Georgia for alleged visa violations were released from a detention center early Thursday and boarded a charter flight back to their country.

The flight, which departed Atlanta, is expected to land in South Korea on Friday afternoon, according to The Associated Press.

The South Korean workers were among some 475 people detained on Sept. 4 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at a still-under construction joint Hyundai-LG electric vehicle battery facility near Savannah. ICE said they were suspected of living and working in the U.S. illegally.

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Earlier Thursday, CBS News photographer Darrall Johnson watched as the Koreans boarded eight buses that then left for the airport, where a Korean Air charter flight was waiting to fly them home. Johnson said a cart full of documents was loaded onto one of the buses.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, in an address delivered Thursday in Seoul, said 316 South Koreans would be on the flight, including 10 women. He said one South Korean had decided to remain in the U.S. as they have family members in the country. The Foreign Ministry said there were also 14 non-Korean nationals boarding the plane, three Japanese, 10 Chinese and one Indonesian.

A Korean Air Boeing 747-8I sent from Seoul to repatriate hundreds of South Korean workers who were detained last week in an immigration raid at a Hyundai-LG battery plant under construction in Georgia is seen in the cargo area of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta on Sept. 10, 2025. / Credit: ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP via Getty Images

The ministry had said the flight was expected to take off on Wednesday, but that it was delayed due to unspecified circumstances in the U.S. On Thursday, President Lee said the delay was caused by discussion that was ongoing Wednesday over the details of the transport arrangements for the South Korean nationals between the ICE detention facility and the Atlanta airport.

The detention of hundreds of South Koreans in an ICE facility tested U.S.-South Korea ties that are important politically, militarily and economically. South Korea is the biggest foreign direct investor in the U.S. and the sixth biggest trading partner overall.

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President Lee Jae Myung, visiting the White House in July, pledged $350 billion in new U.S. investment to sweeten a trade-and-tariff deal with President Trump.

"The sentiment is obviously very, very negative," James Kim, Chairman and CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Seoul, told CBS News. "In my office, I usually have my TV turned on to the news  and this is obviously covered from morning to evening constantly. But everyone who I speak to, they view America as its number-one partner here from South Korea. Yes, we're going to have some challenging times."

Buses are seen behind razor wire at the Folkston ICE Processing Center, Sept. 9, 2025, in Folkston, Georgia. A chartered plane had been expected to depart from Atlanta for Seoul on Sept. 10 to repatriate hundreds of South Korean workers detained in a sweeping immigration raid, but the plan was delayed without explanation. / Credit: ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP/Getty

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, was peppered with demands from angry lawmakers during a parliamentary session in Seoul on Sept. 8, before he departed for meetings with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other U.S. officials.

Lawmaker Kim Joon Hyun demanded that Cho respond to the ICE raid by launching investigations into every U.S. national teaching English in South Korea who could be working illegally on a tourist visa.

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"Are we giving our money, technology, and investment to the United States only to be treated like this?," Kim asked.

Federal authorities conduct an immigration enforcement operation at a Hyundai battery plant in Bryan County, Georgia, Sept. 4, 2025. / Credit: ATF

Cho replied by saying he would try to negotiate with Rubio to increase the number of visas issued to highly skilled Korean nationals to work in specialty occupations in the U.S.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the ICE raid was the biggest single-site enforcement action in the agency's history. ICE alleges that the South Korean workers either overstayed their visa waiver permits, known as ESTAs, which allow business visits of up to 90 days, or were holding visas that did not permit them to perform manual labor, called B-1 business visas.

Kim, at the American Chamber in Seoul, called it a "blip" in U.S.-Korea ties and said he was "very, very optimistic about a much brighter future between the two" countries.

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South Korea's president, however, took a more critical tone.

"As the president who is in charge of national safety, I feel a great responsibility," Lee said Tuesday. "I hope that the unfair infringement of our people and corporate activities for the joint development of both Korea and the United States will not happen again."

A poll conducted in South Korea found that almost 60% of respondents said they were disappointed by the U.S. crackdown and called the measures "excessive," while about 31% said the ICE action was "inevitable" and that they could understand the reasoning.

President Trump, in a Sunday post on his Truth Social platform, addressed all foreign companies operating in the U.S., saying "your investments are welcome, and we encourage you to LEGALLY bring your very smart people."

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Kim at the chamber of commerce urged companies to heed the advice.

"My key message is listen to what President Trump said today. He wants to encourage more foreign companies to invest in America. Bring your people, bring your resources into America, but do it legally," he told CBS News.

"An opportunity to really fix some things" with a key U.S. ally

Industry experts caution, however, that it may be difficult to maintain investment levels under those guidelines, as securing visas can take years, while many projects face strict deadlines and delays can drive up costs. There is a shortage of highly skilled workers in the U.S., meanwhile, for battery manufacturing, semiconductor and modern shipbuilding industries  all arenas in which South Korea has been investing heavily for years.

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Such jobs can require years of experience, not just a few months of on-the-job training.

A spokesperson for South Korea's Foreign Ministry told CBS News that since Mr. Trump's second term began, it had already reached out 52 times on the matter of securing more visas for highly-skilled workers.

Kim, the U.S. chamber of commerce leader, said the current upset in relations represented "an opportunity to really fix some things that could be in the grey area, make it a lot more clear, so that they can have an even better relationship."

He said that, given Seoul's importance as an investor in the U.S., it may be a good time for Washington to consider adopting a new policy that allows South Koreans to more easily come and work in the U.S.

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"I think that in the past, Korea may not have been a significant investor in the United States, but now they are," he said. "So I think it's worthy and deserving of that kind of a new status."

Mr. Trump gave a nod in his Truth Social post to the notion that the U.S. does need foreign expertise, saying foreign companies should bring people over to help train American workers  and then hire them to do the work themselves.

Rubio, during his meeting Wednesday in Washington with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho, "said the United States welcomes ROK (South Korea) investment into the United States and stated his interest in deepening cooperation on this front," according to a readout shared by the State Department, which did not mention the ICE raid in Georgia.

Rubio and Cho discussed advancing U.S.-South Korean ties "through a forward-looking agenda" that "revitalizes American manufacturing through ROK investment in shipbuilding and other strategic sectors, and promotes a fair and reciprocal trade partnership," the State Department said.

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According to South Korea's Foreign Ministry, "Cho expressed deep concern over the public disclosure of the detention of Korean workers who came to the United States to share technology and know-how and contribute to the Trump administration's efforts to revitalize American manufacturing, which has deeply hurt and shocked all Koreans."

The ministry's statement said Cho had "strongly requested the U.S. administration's special attention and support to ensure that these workers, who are not criminals, can quickly depart the US without physical restraint, such as handcuffs, and that they will not face any disadvantages in future visits to the U.S. He also proposed the establishment of a working group between the U.S. and South Korea to discuss various measures, including the creation of new visa categories, to prevent similar incidents from recurring."

Trump slams the left as new details emerge in Charlie Kirk shooting investigation

New evidence emerges on Charlie Kirk's suspected killer

La Foce: A Renaissance painting come to life
I was a junior in high school here in the Hudson Valley when 9/11 happened. I still remember watching the towers fall on TV.

In that moment, I knew my place was in the fight.

I went to West Point, served 16 years in the U.S. Army, and deployed six times overseas serving in combat zones like Iraq and Afghanistan to hold those who attacked America on 9/11 accountable and ensure it never happens again. Ive dedicated my life to keeping America safe. On this anniversary, Im remembering the families who still carry that grief, and the first responders who put everything on the line.

Cait Conley, a Hudson Valley native and 2007 West Point graduate who served 16 years in the Army, is the third Democrat to enter the 2026 race for New York's 17th Congressional District, the seat held by Republican Rep. Mike Lawler.

But remembrance is not enough.

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There is an ongoing case brought by the families of victims of 9/11 against the Saudi government which was responsible for enabling the attackers here in the US. This case has been pending for years. Last week, a judge ruled against Saudi Arabias request to dismiss the case.

This lawsuit is an effort to bring families closure  to hold those who are responsible accountable for the role they played in what led to that day.

Mike Kelly: Can we heal from 9/11? If we ever do, we must face Saudi Arabia's involvement

We need to unite behind these families and put pressure on the Saudi government to take responsibility. We need members of Congress and this Administration to demand accountability and honor the sacrifices of Americans on that day and the sacrifices of our service members in the years that followed.

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To my fellow veterans, especially those whove stepped up to serve in elected office: I ask you to stand with me in pursuing justice for these families. Its time to finish the mission.

Cait Conley is a Democratic congressional candidate for in New York's 17th Congressional District.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: 9/11: Saudi Arabia accountable | Opinion
In the summer leading up to the deadly terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001  24 years ago  12 of the 19 hijackers spent much of the final three months of their lives in Palm Beach County, preparing their deadly attacks on the New York Trade Center and other places key in the operating of the U.S. democracy such as the Pentagon.

They shopped at Winn-Dixie and Target, banked at SunTrust and even visited Lion Country Safari. But, of course, they also prepared to unleash the deadliest attack on U.S. soil in history.

The people missing in the attacks are even still being identified decades later. In August, three people who died at the World Trade Center were identified through DNA. The identifications bring the total number of remains matched to victims to 1,653 of the 2,756 killed on Sept. 11.

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By combing through the FBI chronology of the events, we found a number of local places frequented by the killers. Heres where they roamed:

Now, a word about the hijackers' locations in South Florida and Palm Beach County

Mohammed Atta, 33, and Marwan al-Shehhi, 23, piloted the planes that hit the World Trade Center, the North and South Towers, respectively. They were among the first to enter the U.S. in May and June of 2000. Atta was an urban planner who said he hated hotels and office buildings. Al-Shehhi attended a university on a United Arab Emirates army scholarship. He spent hundreds on sex toys and porn in Broward County.

9/11 hijackers and pilots Mohammed Atta (left) and Marwan al-Shehhi. Atta piloted American Airlines Flight 11 and crashed into the North Tower. Al-Shehhi piloted United Airlines Flight 175, which crashed into the South Tower.

Mohammad Atta's Florida driver license

Delray Beach: Terrorists in the All America City

Several of the hijackers lived in the All-America city, an accolade Delray earned for the second time in July 2001, a month before the attacks. Hijackers names are associated chiefly with two apartments  one in the Hamlet Country Club and another near the Delray Racquet Club. Some of their activities during this period have been documented: They used the internet at the local library; Atta was stopped for speeding; they made use of a nearby Mailboxes Etc. We have since learned more about what they did at places like Lowe's and Target.

More: A day I hope people will never forget, Wellington gathers to remember Sept. 11 attacks

Gregg Chatterton, a registered pharmacist and co-owner of Huber Drugs in Delray Beach, in 2001 holds medicines that two of the terrorists of the Sept. 11 airliner hijackings purchased at his drug store. One of the terrorists complained of chest congestion and the other had a skin irritation on his hand. Palm Beach Post file photo

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Al-Shehri brothers: Sons of a wealthy man

Brothers Waleed (left) and Wail al-Shehri, who were onboard American Airlines Flight 11 and crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Waleed and Wail al-Shehri, 28 and 22, respectively, were both part of Mohammad Attas crew on the flight that crashed into the North Tower. In their home province in southwestern Saudi Arabia, their father, a businessman, was the richest man in the area. He built a mosque as a gift. One of their 15 brothers told a Boston Globe reporter that they became devout after Wail sank into a deep depression, quitting his job as a gym teacher at an elementary school.

Boynton Beach: Three hijackers living normally

Three hijackers, all part of the crew that hit the North Tower, lived in Boynton Beach. The trail in this city seems to be comprised of places to do errands: the bank, the grocery store, a trip to the mall.

The Homing Inn on Federal Hwy., home during June and July 2001 to two men involved in the terrorist attack. Staff photo by Greg Lovett

2 more hijackers: The money man and the stock boy

9/11 hijackers Fayez Banihammad (left) and Hamza al-Ghamdi. Banihammad and al-Ghamdi were aboard United Airlines Flight 175, which crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

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Frequent visitors to Boynton were Fayez Banihammad, 24, and Hamza al-Ghamdi, 20. The 9/11 commission pointed out that Banihammad was the money man, who worked with one of the financial masterminds overseas behind the attack. Banihammad bought four of the tickets for hijackers on the flight that hit the South Tower. In Saudi Arabia, Al-Gamdi worked as a stock boy in a housewares warehouse. During their time in South Florida, he and al-Shehhi spent hundreds of dollars on porn.

Lake Worth: Terrorists hiding in plain sight

Just north and south of Lake Worths funky downtown were some small, privately owned apartments and hotels where some hijackers stayed when they first came to Palm Beach County in early June.

9/11 hijackers Satam al-Suqami (left) and Ahmad al-Nami. Al-Suqami was aboard American Airlines 11, which crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Al-Nami was aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, Pa.

Hijackers: Prayers and fighting for freedom

Satam al-Suqami, 25, (North Tower) and Ahmad al-Nami, 23, (Pennsylvania) roamed all over south county. Al-Suqami was once a prayer leader in Saudi Arabia. He and another hijacker tried to muscle their way into Maria Siskar Simpsons Delray Beach condo to retrieve a towel that had fallen off their balcony onto her back window. As a teen Suqami wanted to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan but arrived too late. The Soviets had pulled out, so Suqami worked for a refugee organization.

Greenacres: Work-out city for the 'muscle hijackers'

Many of the 12 hijackers here bought gym memberships to keep in shape. Why? Most were the muscle hijackers, ones who took control of the planes.

Saeed al-Ghamdi (left) and Nawaf al-Hazmi. Al-Ghamdi flew on United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, Pa. Al-Hazmi flew on American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon.

Fighters of foreign wars

Saeed al-Ghamdi, 21, spent time with the al-Shehri brothers. He tried to fight in Chechnya against the Soviets. Nawaf Al-Hazmi and his brother, Salam, are from Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Nawaf, 25, was a veteran of at least two wars  Bosnia and with the Taliban in Afghanistan against the Northern Alliance.

Boca Raton: Terrorists taint trendy spot

Right after Sept. 11, as former Boca Mayor Steve Abrams remembers it, FBI agents were swarming the City for All Seasons. They were to find some clues and sightings but not nearly as much as Delray Beach to the north.

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Ziad Jarrah's passport photo found in the wreckage of United Flight 92 in Shanksville, Pa.

Hijacker: Party boy, pilot, failing student

Ziad Jarrah, 26, was a party boy who attended Catholic school in Beirut, Lebanon. He was trained to be a pilot and had a degree in Aviation Mechanics. The Delray Beach Dotterell Road address in The Hamlet is associated with Jarrah. Mohand al-Shehri, 22, (no relation to the al-Shehri brothers) failed his courses at a university in Riyadh and dropped out.

Mohand al-Shehri, no relation to the brothers Waleed and Wail al-Shehri, was on United Airlines Flight 175, which crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

The FBI found a Florida road map at the Dotterell Road address after the attacks. Shehri was written on it. Mohand was the only al-Shehri staying there. The FBI believes the map depicted special airspace areas over the Gulf of Mexico.

9/20/01-- The Piper Archer II plane, tail #N82226, that was once flown by terrorist Mohamed Atta, on the tarmac at Palm Beach Flighting Training at the Lantana Airport. Staff photo by Jennifer Podis.

Lantana: Training for terror in flight

Lantana, once known as the home of the National Enquirer, also hosted the two pilots who trained there to hit the World Trade Center. Mohammed Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi spent time at businesses headquartered at the airport and nearby on Lantana Road.

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Loxahatchee: Terrorists encounter lions, elephants

Lion Country Safari, 2003 Lion Country Safari Road

Wail al-Shehri buys three adult admissions ($15.50 each), parking for $2 and sales tax of $2.91 to drive through the big animal sanctuary on July 3.

J.D. "Willie" Lee, president of Aerial Crop Protection Inc., with one of his crop duster planes Tuesday in Belle Glade in 2011. Lee had several encounters with 9/11 terrorists who came to visit the airport in Belle Glade and persisted in asking him questions related to the operation of the planes. " I would not answer nothing," said Lee, who called Palm Beach County Sheriffs deputies and asked them to remove them from the grounds.

Belle Glade: Poison from the skies?

South Florida Crop Care, Belle Glade Airport, 50 Airport Road

In March, July and as late as Sept. 8  Mohammad Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi, dressed in collared shirts and Bermuda shorts, pester the operator about buying and flying crop dusters. They wanted to know how hard they were to fly and to sit in a cockpit. Employee James Lester remembered Atta literally on his heels. I just about had to push him away from me, Lester said.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: 9/11 memorial: hijackers. terrorists in Palm Beach County, Florida
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  Thursday marks 24 years since the 9/11 attacks back in 2001. Several remembrance events will be held across Nashville and Middle Tennessee.

The Franklin Police Department is holding its 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony at 8 a.m. at Franklins Police Headquarters, 900 Columbia Avenue. Guest speakers will be at the event, including the Franklin Police and Fire Chief, along with Franklin Mayor Ken Moore. The community is invited to come together at Franklins Police Headquarters to honor the lives lost and pay tribute to the survivors and first responders.

Neighborhood News: Stories impacting your community | Read More

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The Rutherford County Sherriffs Office is hosting a ceremony at 9 a.m. at their 9/11 Memorial, located at 940 New Salem Highway in Murfreesboro. There will be a ringing of the bell by the Smyrna Fire Department to remember the victims, a 21-gun salute by law enforcement Honor Guards, raising the POW/MIA flag by Rolling Thunder and more. Anyone who cant attend the ceremony can watch it live on the Rutherford County Sherriffs Office Facebook page.

Clarksville Fire and Rescue will also host a ceremony to honor lives lost in the terrorist attacks at 9:30 a.m. at their headquarters, 821 Franklin Street. The program will include a joint honor guard of local first responders and military personnel, a placement of a memorial wreath and a tribute to Clarksville Fire Rescue firefighters who died in the line of duty. CFR firefighters plan to participate in the Memorial Stair Climb following the ceremony. Firefighters will climb 110 flights of stairs in remembrance of the 110 floors of the World Trade Center Twin Towers and the first responders who gave their lives.

All of these public ceremonies are open for anyone to participate.

Do you have news happening in your neighborhood? Let us know by sending an email to neighborhoodnews@wkrn.com.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
Soon, 2,983 names, so many familiar to New York's Lower Hudson Valley residents, will be read aloud at what was ground zero on Sept. 11, 2001. Local towns and villages will hold similarly solemn ceremonies remembering residents lost 24 years ago in the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Speeches and prayers will include pledges to "never forget."

Meanwhile, the World Trade Center Health Program flounders, advocates warn, as 9/11 responders continue to die from the toxic exposures at ground zero. Survivors, including those who lived, worked or went to school in lower Manhattan, face similar illnesses.

The WTC Health Program, established as part of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, offers screenings and treatments for diseases and disorders classified as caused by exposures on Sept. 11, 2001, and the months after, reports the Rockland/Westchester Journal News, which is a part of the USA TODAY Network.

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Among the issues in question: The status of long-planned studies to include World Trade Center Health Program coverage for conditions like cancer and autoimmune disorders, which have been seen at what appears to be higher incidence among the 9/11 community.

Any delays weigh on 9/11 survivors like retired NYPD Det. Richard Volpe, who developed a rare autoimmune disease that's led to one kidney transplant. Some 13 years after his first transplant, Volpe said he lives in trepidation about when his new kidney could fail.

"Eventually it's gonna kill me," said Volpe, who receives no WTC Health Program benefits and support for the illness because it has yet to be categorized as a 9/11-related covered condition. "I have a lot of concerns with my family, the fact I have a wife and two beautiful daughters."

WTC program delivers on a key promise

The World Trade Center Health Program is administered by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health or NIOSH, part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC,) all under the HHS umbrella.

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More 9/11 responders have died from exposures to the toxins that swirled in the air after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks than were killed that day in lower Manhattan, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

About 140,000 first responders and survivors are enrolled in the WTC Health Program; last year, 10,000 signed up, and it's expected a similar number will join the program in 2025.

Thomas O'Connor, a retired FBI agent, responded to the Pentagon within 15 minutes of a jetliner slamming into it. Politicians have supported the 9/11 community, he said, but what about now?

The WTC Health Program is small and relies on other departments, like NIOSH and CDC, to work on grants, research and coverage approvals. Cuts in those branches of HHS cascade down and damage the WTC Health Program's effectiveness, advocates say.

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RFK Jr. faces questions on CDC turmoil: Vaccine furor as angry senators hit RFK Jr. over CDC chaos: Hearing highlights

Amid rounds of cuts, restorations and buyouts, WTC Health Program staffing is down to around 80 employees, 9/11 advocates say, even though the program is authorized to have 138 workers.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration and HHS leadership have promised to protect the WTC Health Program and its mandate.

On Sept. 11, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shared on X that "@POTUS and I will ensure the HHS World Trade Center Health Program continues to serve our 9/11 heroes-firefighters, police, cleanup crews, survivors, and Pentagon workers. We will never forget."

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WTC program: Trump, CDC fully restore 9/11 health program cuts from DOGE axe

Information lockdown?

Feeding the chaos, 9/11 advocates say, is a seven-plus-month information blackout from the WTC Health Program that they say has suffered under the second administration of President Trump and Kennedy's leadership.

An HHS spokesperson denied an information blackout. The program is accepting, reviewing, and processing new enrollment applications and certification requests, according to HHS, and any information ban was lifted in February.

Benjamin Chevat, executive director of 911 Health Watch, disputes that a communications ban or "temporary hiatus" had been lifted.

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But, Chevat said, the communications failure is just part of the issues at HHS that challenge the WTC Health Program.

Staffing losses and a lack of research into 9/11-related illnesses plagues the program, losses Chevat pins on Kennedy.

The issue is not just the failure to communicate, the issue is the impact that failure to communicate seven months into (Kennedy's tenure) has on 9/11 responders and survivors," Chevat said.

Advocates: WTC program antithesis of 'waste, fraud and abuse'

Under the banner of tackling waste, fraud and abuse, WTC Health Program has faced a couple rounds of cuts, including a plan in February announced by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, then run by Elon Musk.

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"Individuals with 9/11-related conditions should not have to rely on repeated uproars from the public and the media to obtain the care they are owed under the law and so desperately need," U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer, of New York, wrote in an Aug. 5 letter to Kennedy, warning of treatment delays.

Former U.S. Rep. Peter King said the WTC Health Program is the wrong place to look. The Long Island Republican co-sponsored the Zadroga Act and championed its reauthorization in 2015.

WTC Health program in Trump era: World Trade Center Health Program: Do Trump cuts imperil sickened responders? What we know

"I've been in government 50 years," said King, who served in Congress from 1993 to 2021 and before that served as Nassau County comptroller and on the Hempstead Town Council. "There is waste, fraud and abuse."

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But King called the WTC Health Program "scandal-free."

"This program works," he said. "It's a life-or-death program."

King believes Trump and Kennedy must not be aware of HHS policy's impact on 9/11 responders facing illness.

"I would just like media attention focused on it, get it to the president, in front of him," King said. "It would be resolved in 10 minutes."

US President Donald Trump (2L) listens as US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks prior to signing an executive order restarting the Presidential Fitness Test in public schools in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 31, 2025. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

At just 33, rare autoimmune disease attacked 9/11 responder's kidneys

Volpe was an NYPD detective in the narcotics division on Sept. 11, 2001. He was assigned to Ground Zero and the Staten Island landfill over the next six months.

In June 2003, a kidney biopsy showed he had IgA nephropathy, an autoimmune disorder that can cause kidney damage. Within a year, he lost 60% of his kidney function.

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According to the National Kidney Foundation, this rare disorder affects about 1 in 100,000 and leads to kidney failure in about 1 in 5 people within 10 years of diagnosis.

The WTC Health Program helps him with breathing and digestive issues he's developed because those are approved illnesses. But because autoimmune disorders like IgA have not yet gone through the full coverage approval process, his personal insurance covers those treatments and medications.

Volpe, his doctors and 9/11 advocates had explored getting autoimmune disorders like his covered by the WTC Health Program for decades now.

Volpe, who now lives in Florida, acknowledges that government can move at a glacial pace. But now progress is completely frozen.

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"It's been slow roll as it is," he said, "but then it stopped dead."

Retired NYPD Det. Richard Volpe, now a St. Augustine, Florida, resident, worked on the rescue and recovery efforts after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He developed a rare autoimmune disease that attacked his kidneys.

Volpe's focus now is on his family.

Back in 2001, he was 33 and single. He chose pension benefits that fit his lifestyle then.

"I wasn't even thinking about getting married," he said. Now 57, he's married and an "older dad, magically" to two girls, ages 10 and 7.

"They don't get my pension," he said. And if his autoimmune disorder isn't covered by the WTC Health Program, they wouldn't get 9/11-related death benefits, either, he fears.

Former FBI agent can't get cardiac coverage

Thomas and Jean O'Connor are former FBI agents and spouses. On Sept. 11, 2001, Thomas arrived at the Pentagon within 15 minutes of American Airlines Flight 77 crashing into the building. Jean O'Connor was at Quantico that day and also responded.

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Tom O'Connor recalls staying the first 24 hours. They sifted through black smoke while the building was still on fire. Then they worked in 15-hour shifts.

FBI agents Thomas and Jean OConnor, seen here at the Pentagon in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The spouses, now retired, worked on rescue and recovery efforts for weeks.

Jean O'Connor was a team leader on evidence recovery, working with FEMA search-and-rescue team clearing debris. When her team found human remains, they would document the location, place them in a body bag then an honor guard would carry the remains out in a dignified manner.

O'Connor, as a leader in the FBI Agents Association years ago, advocated for the inclusion of the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania crash sites in the WTC Health Program. But when he suffered a heart attack in July, he didn't immediately think about 9/11 as a contributing factor.

Because WTC Health Program hasn't made progress on studying cardiac health connections, the costs and treatments might end up being covered. "Like it is or it isn't," Tom O'Connor said, "but either way they should look at the studies or the paperwork and make a decision."

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Jean O'Connor, now 62, hasn't developed any possible 9/11-related illnesses. Besides the cardiac issues, Tom O'Connor, 61, has developed digestive issues that are being documented for possible WTC Health Program coverage.

"But knock on wood, other than that we're pretty good," Tom O'Connor said.

At the Pentagon, 125 were killed in the building, as well as 64 passengers on the plane. Some 27 FBI employees have died since from 9/11-related illnesses.

But the O'Connors, who have retired to West Virginia, believe more deaths should be considered 9/11 related. Delays in classifying more illnesses hurt people, Tom O'Connor said.

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He recalled an FBI colleague who developed an autoimmune disease, ended up needing to use a wheelchair and then died. Throughout her illness, she couldn't get assistance from the WTC Health Program, nor could her family receive support because her illness was not certified with the program.

She and her family were financially devastated, O'Connor said, and her kids couldn't tap into benefits, like college funding, that comes after a line-of-duty death.

They also felt dishonored. "Now this agent is not on the FBI Wall of Service," O'Connor said. "That means a lot to those of us in law enforcement."

But respect for service needs to be shown in more ways than just names on monuments. "All of us responded because it was the right thing to do," Tom O'Connor said. "The government needs to continue to do the right thing to support these people."

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: 9/11 responders fear RFK Jr. CDC chaos will curb future health care
Calls for prayer turned to remembrances and condemnation of political violence after it was confirmed Wednesday afternoon that conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated during an event on a college campus in Orem, Utah.

This act of pure evil is truly sickening, said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a post on X. He called the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, a youth political organization, an American Patriot and friend.

Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk walks on stage on Aug. 23, 2024, at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Kirk, 31, was assassinated at a college event in Utah on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.

Kirk was speaking at an outdoors debate event at Utah Valley University as part of his The American Comeback tour when a single gunshot from a sniper struck him in the neck.

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The FBI said an unidentified potential suspect was in custody about four hours after the killing. But in a post on X about 7 p.m. Central time, FBI Director Kash Patel wrote, The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency.

In March 2023, Kirk made a tour stop at TCU, put on by the campus chapter of Turning Point USA. He took the stage to raucous applause and cheering. Im going to make this, out of all of our campus stops and tours, the one where I actually defend Christianity the most, Kirk said at the event, citing TCUs history of affiliation with the Christian denomination Disciples of Christ.

Tarrant County Judge Tim OHare said evil is real and must be dealt with swiftly and severely.

Tarrant County Judge Tim OHare reacts to the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk

A 31 year old married father of 2 young children, was killed today at an event in Utah. His crime? He loved America and spoke to millions about his beliefs, OHare posted on X. This is a terribly troubling time for America. But for a young woman and her children, they will live without their husband/father for the rest of their lives.

 More top stories from our newsroom:

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 Texas leaders react to murder of Charlie Kirk

 Former student sues TCU, alleges mishandling of rapes

 15-year-old dies after car crashes into utility pole

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Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, speaks during a Unite and Win rally held by Turning Point Action at the Arizona Financial Theatre on Aug. 14, 2022, in Phoenix. Kirk was killed during an event on a college campus in Orem, Utah.

Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez called Kirk a thought leader for a generation of Americans in a text message to the Star-Telegram.

Im praying for his entire family and for all those who cared for him, Ramirez said.

Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker posted on social media that she was heartbroken.

It is a dark day for our country when political violence has reached this level, Parker said. I am so deeply heartbroken today by the tragic loss of Charlie Kirk. My prayers are with his wife, children, and loved ones who are grieving this unimaginable pain. Regardless of our views, we cannot allow hatred or division to rob families of their loved ones and communities of their leaders.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts reaction to Charlie Kirks death

Cecilia and I are heartbroken by the assassination and passing of Charlie Kirk, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement to the Star-Telegram.

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Charlies voice was a beacon for millions of young Americans searching for truth, courage, and conviction. This senseless act of violence has no place in America. Our prayers are with Charlies family and his loved ones, especially the two young children he leaves behind. Texas stands with them in mourning and in honoring Charlies enduring legacy, Abbott said.

Bo French, chair of the Tarrant County GOP, posted on X a photo of himself standing with Kirk.

Charlie Kirk was famous because he engaged in civil discourse. He was savage because he had truth on his side, French wrote. Leftist hated him for that. But hear me now. Charlie was the moderate compared to what is coming.

Others framed Kirks death as part of a broader attack on the political speech of American conservatives.

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Its another sad day for our country where free speech is being silenced by the radical left, said Republican State Rep. David Lowe, in a post on Facebook.

Texas Sen. Phil King of Weatherford called Kirks death a senseless and brutal murder. In a world of darkness, a bright, irreplaceable light has been taken from us. His impact on America is unprecedented. Charlie possessed a rare ability to change hearts and minds of Americans, especially those on college campuses, with open conversation and civil discourse, King said.

Former President George W. Bush said, Today, a young man was murdered in cold blood while expressing his political views. It happened on a college campus, where the open exchange of opposing ideas should be sacrosanct. Violence and vitriol must be purged from the public square. Members of other political parties are not our enemies; they are our fellow citizens. May God bless Charlie Kirk and his family, and may God guide America toward civility.

Here are some of the other reactions from state and local officials:

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton reacts to the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott reacts to the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk

Republican Congressman Roger Williams reacts to the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick reacts to the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

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State Rep. Ramon Romero reacts to the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Alicia Vikander has revealed she and her husband Michael Fassbender are weighing up a return to London with their two young sons, after nearly a decade of family life in Lisbon.

The Oscar-winning actress admitted the couple, who married in 2017, had been swept back into the capital while she prepares for the stage and Fassbender films a new project.

Speaking to The London Standard, Vikander explained that the family, who relocated to Portugal in 2017, are now debating whether the UK could once again become their home base.

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I mean now that we are here and I mean this was both of our home for so many years so weve been super happy coming back and you get swept into it quite quickly - some of my best and oldest friends are here, she said in the interview, published Thursday, September 10.

And we were here last year for five months, and we soon realised that we are probably going to come back again next year, because Ive been talking about wanting to do theatre for a long time.

Vikander, 36, is preparing to star in The Lady From The Sea at Londons Bridge Theatre, while Fassbender films a new series in the capital.

Vikander pictured at the Venice Film Festival last month for the premiere of The Wizard Of The Kremlin (Getty Images)

It marks the first time both parents have been working in the same city since welcoming their sons, aged four and one.

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But the actress admitted her family often approach these moves like a circus, putting flexibility above permanence.

She recalled asking her older son whether hed prefer the stability of one home and school while his parents worked away, sharing: He immediately said no then I prefer us being together. So now we do the circus version of family.

Adding: But I think we are a bit addicted to not London so much as moving itself. I have moved around like this since my early 20s, so its definitely the people in my family that are my home, not the place. Obviously the idea of uprooting children, of course thats something I have thought about, and that I am thinking about but there are a lot of upsides.

The actress reflected on their slower-paced life in Lisbon, which was partly inspired by Fassbenders passion for surfing.

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Its such a beautiful place, and the quality of life, she said. We both come from northern countries so to be somewhere you can be outdoors most of the time, especially when you have a family thats the big difference.

Despite eight years in Portugal, Vikander confessed she still doesnt speak the language fluently. Instead, her eldest son has begun translating for her, as both children grow up trilingual through attending a Swedish school in the city.

The Swedish star also reflected on how the death of her mother, stage actress Maria Fahl, in 2022 shaped her approach to parenting.

Im just so happy that she got to become a grandmother for a couple of years, she shared. Because it is that thing, the day that you become a mother yourself - oh my god. I was like - did it take me 32 years to realise? To say thankyou, so much - wow. And Im so happy I got to say it to her, and to mean it.

Read the full interview in Thursdays The London Standard
Wildfires are a devastating natural disaster, with considerable surges occurring during the summer months.

While the issues that accompany them are plenty, the impact on animals is one that organizations in Greece have taken to heart.

With Greece's heatwave and subsequent wildfires, animal advocates are speaking out.

According to Tovima, the non-profit animal welfare group Dog's Voice is deploying volunteers into fire-affected areas, collecting resources for impacted animals and educating the public.

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Marilia Tsopela from Dog's Voice stated on public radio to those fleeing the fires: "Before you evacuate, release your animals from chains, they cannot free themselves."

Tovima reported that the animal advocacy group has already rescued 30 pets from the fires and aftermath, though the weight of lost farm animals and wildlife is heavy.

Maria Ganoti, president of ANIMA, the Hellenic Wildlife Care Association, also spoke to the publication, commenting on how these often overlooked groups of animals are facing significant loss.

"We often hear reports of 'no casualties,' but then discover an entire sheepfold of 300 animals burned," Ganoti said, per Tovima. "It is heartbreaking."

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She continued to emphasize the importance of evacuation plans for livestock, which usually cannot be transported by volunteer organizations due to a lack of sufficient transportation and other necessary infrastructure.

Rising global temperatures directly impact natural disasters, like wildfires. The issues facing Greece can be found elsewhere, as seen in Indigenous communities where stray animals continue to suffer from the heat and fires, with shelter space limited.

Should the government continue to give tax incentives for energy-efficient home upgrades? Absolutely No Depends on the upgrade I don't know Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Organizations like Dog's Voice and ANIMA amplify the importance of supporting worthwhile climate action endeavors. Tovima also highlights a list of other organizations making an impact amid the Greek wildfires.

With these non-profits being boots-on-the-ground, action-oriented organizations with good-hearted local volunteers, it brings about the impact that can be made by taking local action.

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By identifying what causes you care about most, you can find a way to make an impact near you.

Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
In what has turned into a regular occurrence, Cubas power grid collapsed on Wednesday morning, another in a series of electricity outages in the past year across the entire island.

The National Electric Union (UNE), the states electricity company, announced on its social media accounts that a complete shutdown of the national electricity grid happened at 9:14 a.m. As in the past, the company cited the disconnection of the Antonio Guiteras power plant in Matanzas as the trigger for the systemwide collapse.

Manuel Marrero, the countrys prime minister, published a photo of himself at UNEs headquarters shortly after and said the companys engineers had a well-defined strategy to face this situation. Cuban state media reported that the director of the Guiteras power station said that an overheated steam false signal caused the boilers automatic system to be disarmed, and thus the power plant to exit the grid.

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The general outage follows an incident on Sunday when another failure darkened several provinces in eastern Cuba due to a transmission line failure.

Cubas entire grid has entirely collapsed at least four times since last October, with the blackouts at times lasting several days due to repeated failures to reconnect the system. Frequent breakdowns of the decades-old power plants and hours-long power cuts have become a daily occurrence across the island in recent years, as the government neglected maintenance of energy plants and other system components for many years.

As Cubas nationwide blackout continues, a look at why the electrical grid collapsed

Since last year, the electricity company has been able to meet only about half the daily demand because of oil shortages and power plants going offline, authorities have said. The crisis has taken a toll on the Cuban population and sparked protests, crippled the economy and affected tourism.

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The Cuban government has blamed the energy crisis on U.S. sanctions, pointing to sanctions on vessels transporting oil from Venezuela to Cuba and the general effect of the U.S. embargo in denying financial resources to the government. The U.S. sanctions, however, appear to have done little to deter the shipments from Venezuela, which continued, though at a lower pace because of Venezuelas own production problems and decisions to prioritize dollar sales. A recent Miami Herald investigation revealed that the Cuban military-run conglomerate GAESA held massive dollar reserves last year that could have been used to update the countrys old energy infrastructure.

Lately, the left-leaning Morena government in Mexico has stepped in to send oil to Cuba. Mexican state oil company Pemex sent one billion dollars in subsidized oil to Cuba between July 2023 and September 2024, according to an investigation by a Mexican civil society organization focused on exposing corruption. It sent another $850 million between May and June this year, the report says.

The Cuban government has touted a project funded by China to install over 50 solar farms that it says would generate as much as half of the needed demand. But the pace of the project has been slow. Earlier this year, two Turkish-owned power ships that were supplying energy to Cuba left due to lack of payments.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.  A new deployment of Arkansas National Guard troops to assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is raising alarm among immigrant advocates who fear it may undermine public safety and heighten anxiety in Latino communities across the state.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Monday that 40 unarmed Guard members will be sent to ICE offices in Little Rock, Fort Smith, Fayetteville and Camp Robinson. The personnel, made up of 27 Air National Guard airmen and 13 Army National Guard soldiers, will not carry out arrests, but will provide logistical and administrative support such as transporting detainees and processing paperwork.

1,700 National Guard troops to assist ICE in 19 states, including Arkansas

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The move comes under Title 32 authority, a federal program activated following a Department of Homeland Security request for nationwide support in May. The Department of Defense approved the mission in July, pending individual state approval. The federal government will fund the deployment in full.

But immigrant rights leaders say the optics of National Guard troops working alongside ICE  even in a clerical role  could damage trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities.

This announcement has created fear and confusion, said Mireya Reith, founding executive director of Arkansas United, a statewide immigrant advocacy nonprofit now entering its 15th year. Our members are asking if its now dangerous to simply be Hispanic in Arkansas.

Reith said her organization has been hearing from concerned families since early summer, especially after news that several Arkansas counties had opted into ICEs 287(g) enforcement program  which allows local law enforcement to collaborate more directly with federal immigration officials.

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Theres a real fear that racial profiling could escalate, she said. We want to know: will someone be pulled over just for being Hispanic? Will that be considered probable cause?

Arkansas National Guard to support ICE in immigration enforcement

Reith said Arkansas United has worked with immigrant communities for more than a decade, helping residents understand their legal rights and encouraging them to report crimes. She fears the deployment may reverse progress made in building community trust.

When our members are afraid to call the police, that affects the safety of everyone, she said.

In response, Arkansas United is seeking closed-door meetings with state lawmakers and local law enforcement to better understand how the National Guard deployment will be implemented, and to ask how officials will ensure that constitutional protections are upheld.

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Arkansas is one of 16 Republican-led states moving forward with this type of cooperation, Reith said. Weve seen the National Guard involved in immigration enforcement under previous administrations, but this announcement  especially in light of recent ICE activity in places like Chicago and Washington, D.C.  makes our community feel targeted.

Reith said that while Arkansas United has seen no evidence of large-scale raids in the state, members have reported collateral arrests and are increasingly unsure how to distinguish ICE officers from Guard troops or local authorities.

The organization continues to distribute red cards and yellow cards that explain immigrant rights and help clarify interactions with federal or local authorities.

Reith said Arkansas United remains committed to bridging immigrant communities and policymakers, but called for more transparency from the state.

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We need answers. We need to know our people are safe. If this is going to be the reality in Arkansas, then we need a seat at the table to help shape it  not just react to it.

Dennis Lee, executive director of Catholic Charities of Arkansas, echoed concerns about the current focus on enforcement over reform in a statement.

Most of the attention seems to be on immigration enforcement, Lee said. We need reforms that provide legal pathways and keep families together, especially for long-time undocumented residents and Dreamers.

These Arkansas agencies are approved to conduct immigration enforcement: ICE

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Lee cited a January 2025 report from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops titled Catholic Elements of Immigration Reform, which calls for policy changes rooted in Catholic social teaching.

Instead of disrupting communities with ICE enforcement that goes beyond targeting violent criminals, Lee said, Arkansas and the nation should consider reform measures that provide stability to our communities.

The Arkansas National Guard deployment is expected to begin in the coming weeks.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK.
The Nepalese Army has further extended a nationwide curfew until Friday as it works to bring a sense of normality and mediate talks with protesters over the formation of a new government following Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's resignation.

First imposed on Tuesday night, the curfew has been extended without interruption.

Despite the extension, the army has eased restrictions to allow smoother movement for essential service workers.

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In a statement issued late Wednesday, it said domestic and international air travellers would also be permitted to move freely upon showing their tickets.

In talks mediated by the army, representatives of the protesters who come primarily from the younger generation have proposed former chief justice Sushila Karki as the next prime minister, which would make her the first woman to hold the post in Nepal.

But her name has yet to win consensus, and no clear process for selecting a new leader has been agreed.

Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah, an independent politician who is popular among the young protesters, and several others have voiced support for Karki, but divisions within both the protest camp and mainstream parties leave Nepal's political future unclear.

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KP Khanal, an activist who was at the forefront of the protest, said many young demonstrators like him, who have not been invited to the talks, are watching developments cautiously.

"Nothing is looking clear. We were together during the peaceful protest, but the situation has changed after we dispersed," he said.

Rakshya Bam, who participated in two rounds of talks held by the army, wrote on her Facebook page on Wednesday that she walked out after the army allowed space for supporters of former king Gyanendra Shah and members of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, led by opposition leader Rabi Lamichhane.

Lamichhane faces charges for the embezzlement of the cooperative fund and was recently released from a prison following mob attacks.

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The youth-driven protests, sparked by a ban on social media platforms and anger over corruption, remain largely leaderless and coordinated through online platforms.

Oli's resignation on Tuesday, just hours after his government lifted the social media ban, failed to calm the unrest, which quickly escalated into looting, arson and deadly clashes with security forces.

So far, at least 35 people have been killed, including some police officers, according to information acquired by dpa from multiple police and hospital sources.

Nepal police spokesman Binod Ghimire said the police headquarters have not yet been able to compile full details of the casualties and property damage. "It will take time to get the full details as we havent received reports from the ground," he said.

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Nine prisoners, among them juveniles, have died since Wednesday night in attempted jailbreaks as violence spilled into the prison system, according to the police.

Despite a strengthened security presence, sporadic groups of mobs have continued to take advantage of the security vacuum in some districts to resort to looting and vandalism, according to security agencies.

In Kathmandu, soldiers and police worked alongside locals on Thursday to fight fires at government buildings, clear roadblocks and remove debris from streets.

Key offices including parliament, the presidents office and the prime minister's residence have been badly damaged by arson and vandalism.
On the morning of March 19, 2000, Florian Reither learned what it felt like to scrape the sky. Hed just stepped out of the 91st floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center through a hollowed-out window. Now, as Sundays dawn cracked, Reither  dressed in a brilliant-white leather jacket and matching jeans  stood on a makeshift wooden balcony. It protruded a few feet toward the horizon. Looking down was OK, but gazing up made him nauseous. So he stared straight ahead, locking eyes with the pink sunrise. It was fantastic. It was just a really sexy feeling.

This vertiginous performance wasnt the act of a brazen stuntman, crazed trespasser, or suicidal employee. It was the work of the Austrian art collective Gelitin, which consists of Florian Reither, Ali Janka, Wolfgang Gantner, and Tobias Urban. Titled the B-Thing, the feat saw the four men, now all in their fifties, secretly construct a balcony inside the World Trade Center, temporarily attach it, and briefly stand on top of it, floating dreamily above New York City.

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The call of the void, that perverse temptation to jump when youre high up in the sky, briefly beckoned. Well step out one by one, like lemmings, Urban is recorded saying just before he walks the plank. But any designs on self-defenestration soon faded. Instead, each artist stood still like statues, balancing on the edge of corporate America. One member of Gelitin (which one is a secret) stuck a piece of chewing gum on the wall outside, as if planting a flag in the moon.

A helicopter simultaneously circled the North Tower. Crammed inside the chopper were a small group of associates, photographing Gelitin as they stood 1,100 feet above the future Ground Zero. Less than an hour after it had begun, the balcony was hauled back in and the window was resealed. And just like that, the B-Thing was over.

In the 25 years since, those involved have largely avoided speaking about the event again. Outside of esoteric circles, its still relatively obscure. For a long time, many skeptics believed it never even happened and claimed that it was a hoax on a vast scale. Now, almost everyone agrees that the B-Thing took place, but opinion is split on what it means.

Perhaps it was a reckless stunt, a stand against capitalism, the first great artwork of the new millennium. Deeper, still: a way to better understand what would, a year and a half later in September 2001, be one of the darkest days in American history. Or, most explosive of all, to a small community prone to unhinged conspiracy: It was the very thing that somehow caused it.

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GELITINS CURRENT SPACE, THANKFULLY, isnt 91 floors in the air; its just a few floors up in a Vienna studio. Reither greets me as I arrive on a stormy Saturday afternoon, a Bart Simpson tank top and ragged shorts hang on his slender frame. Its a capacious space brimming with Gelitins madcap experiments: reconstructed wooden chairs, cuddly toy sculptures, Mona Lisa pastiches, and a toilet filled with foliage. In the basement, hundreds of banana boxes from the local supermarket are stacked to the ceiling and packed with retro tools, kaput machinery, and past artworks.



After originally meeting at a summer camp as kids in 1978, the Gelitin artists began officially working together in 1993. Their moniker, an intentional misspelling of gelatin, is inspired by their past use of the eponymous setting agent as a material for their sculptures. Its a universal word, like kebab, Reither notes (hes right  almost every major language uses a cognate of gelatin). But conventional they are not; everything Gelitin does goes against the grain. They are impish agents of mischief, working in an absurd paradigm of their own.



Their art isnt aimed at squares. Gelitin frequently ends up naked, and their work often involves fucking (like penetrating clay for New York Goelm) or pissing (like the communal urinal of All Together Now) or shitting (like excrement exhibit Vorm  Fellows  Attitude). But where they physically bare all, they psychologically reveal little. They stand in stark opposition to, as Reither puts it, art that looks like art. Our world is always trying to rationalize things, an approach that Gelitin deliberately refuses, art dealer Carol Greene says in the 2016 documentary Whatever Happened to Gelitin? This eccentric approach has been their passport to exhibit their art across the globe and earned them fans including Damien Hirst, Liam Gillick, Sarah Lucas, and John Waters.



But Austria has remained a key market for their work (they often summon the transgressive spirit of Viennese Actionism, a radical performance art movement from the 1960s). On the day I arrive, Reither drives me and his 20-year-old daughter Josephine out to Konigshof, a town in the countryside, for the opening of a new show inspired by nature; Gelitin have contributed a steam sauna that looks a little like an alien egg. The main event, a live operatic performance combining apple farming and sapphic erotica, sets the tone. The next day, I chance upon some strangely fitting street art by Julie Hayward in the citys eighth district. Dont try to be an apple if you are a banana, it reads. Youll always be a second-rate apple.

NEW YORK, PERHAPS MORE OPEN to the weird and wonderful, has always been a second home for Gelitin. Back in 1999, they were starting to make a name for themselves in the city. Jankas boyfriend, Lucien Samaha, was a lounge music DJ at the Greatest Bar on Earth. It was part of Windows on the World, the restaurant at the top of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The Gelitin artists and their friends were permanent fixtures on the guest list to create a buzz. It was here they met Moukhtar Kocache, who was head of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Councils Artist Residencies program. The LMCC offered vacant offices in the WTC to exciting creatives. Kocache encouraged Gelitin to apply for a studio residency, and they landed a six-month stay.

The city was at the edge of the dot-com peak, and a lively scene of art mavericks and tech wunderkinds were bouncing. But the boom was about to implode, and Mayor Rudy Giuliani was cracking down on the citys scenesters. There was crazy money flying around  and super-alternative freaks, says Reither. Gelitin already had money and a studio in Austria so they wanted to use this new place to do something left field. Even on the plane to New York for the start of the residency, Reither remembers daydreaming about creating something that used the World Trade Center not just as a space, but also as a muse. It was big and beautiful and classy  but it was basically a dying dinosaur, he says in the studio, as he lights his daughter Josephines roll-up cigarette with an industrial blowtorch.

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And the windows were frustratingly restrictive. They were extremely narrow  only 18 inches wide, reflecting architect Minoru Yamasakis fear of heights  and extended out from the inside, meaning you could only ever look straight out of them rather than peer around the corner. And, crucially, they were sealed shut and could not be opened. But Gelitin became hyperfixated by a desire to remove them. It was like stealing diamonds, like planning how to dig a tunnel under the safe box, Reither says.

The B-Thing was, from the start, underpinned by this compulsion. There was no loftier philosophy, just an intense desire to step outside of their studio and circumvent the claustrophobia. You cant even open the windows. You want to look out. Then the idea of freedom starts, says Gantner, who, with a curly mop of hair and a kind smile, is the dreamer of the group.

And the way to do that was the B of the B-Thing: a balcony. Urban space is sacred; to build an extension is to elongate your individual real estate. For Gelitin, it provided a new way to see the city and the facade of the building itself. It wasnt the designated platform of Top of the World, the South Towers rooftop observation deck and tourist trap; it was their own, self-imagined, self-constructed view (Reither regularly jokes that they could have made a fortune from leasing it out). An escape hatch into the gray concrete jungle of everyday urban life, wrote Rainer Fuchs in a project statement for the B-Thing.



They did not intend it to be sensationalist or attract publicity (they dislike the word stunt in the context of the B-Thing). Its really a poetic gesture. A sculpture. A space in your head, says Janka. As the only Gelitin member to sport a dress shirt and a snowy beard, he feels like the sage elder of the group.

It was a clandestine operation. So, they shut down any rumors among the other resident artists to avoid getting busted, built a fortress of cardboard boxes in their studio (known as the Trojan Box) to conceal their activity, and kept their inner circle tight.

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One of the initiated was Leo Koenig, an American art dealer who established his titular gallery when he was 21 years old. He had befriended Gelitin and began bringing their work across the pond to the States. They filled him in on the balcony idea and he agreed to get involved. I was a little scared. But I was very young and not thinking of the consequences. Its like making a big plan of spray-painting a giant subway car in the middle of the night, Koenig says over Zoom. He saw the work as a response to the rising draconianism of the political class. The United States of 1999 seems feeble compared to what we have to go through now. But it had an oppressive quality. The project was born from a gesture of sticking it to the man.

The construction of the balcony itself only took half a day (Gelitin have built wooden sculptures and structures of far greater complexity over their career). The window took more work; it was like a car windshield, a frame with black rubber around it. They realized they needed to pull out the rubber like the tube off a bicycle, attach suction caps to hold the pane in place, and then hook it out with a small tool. They prepared for every outcome, including procuring a near-identical backup window from a manufacturer in case it smashed.



Gelitin utilized the WTCs antiquated freight system to painstakingly cart up equipment and wooden beams; logistically this proved challenging as they had to be shunted in diagonally, and there were several different elevators to negotiate. Fortunately, security wasnt much of an issue (although it had been tightened since the 1993 attacks on the World Trade Center). If you showed up with a pizza in the lobby for the 46th floor, you walked in, Reither says. They would regularly sign in visitors and sometimes even stay overnight. Once, they even had to cut a beam down to size in the lobby with a jigsaw, and no one said a word. It was classic New York. Everything was possible. Nobody used the word security.

They contacted a lawyer as a precaution and drafted a statement summarizing their exact plans. What I remember is that he suggested we have 25-cent coins on us and a blow-up pillow. The 25 cents to make phone calls from the jail and the pillow for sleeping better, because U.S. jails do not provide pillows to the inmates. And he said, dont do it. That was his advice, Reither says. But they didnt take too much notice. Not falling out and not getting caught was the most important part of the operation. Our focus was fully on that.

Nor were they concerned about irrational fears surrounding the window being a gigantic vacuum. There was a myth that if you opened the window, you would get sucked out of it. But theres no pressure difference, Reither says with a laugh. Surely he was a little anxious about what might happen? No, we grew up in Austria. We know what mountains are.

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THE NIGHT BEFORE THE B-Thing, the wind was perfectly still. The building was empty. The streets were empty. There were no cleaners or security or maintenance. It was March, so the facade faced the sunrise, which was perfect for the sunlight, Reither says. Gelitin had entered the building on the evening of March 18  set up the balcony, mounted a camera, and prepared counterweights made of sandbags  then slept in their studio.



They woke up before the crack of dawn, nervously ate breakfast, and attached a rope harness to the ceiling in case the weight of the glass pulled them out of the building. Every step of this was very precise and was executed slowly, Reither says, noting that the window pane, after it had been removed as per the practiced procedure, was kept safe in a purpose-built stand.

The only onlookers were directly opposite, hanging out in a suite of what was then known as the Millenium Hilton (it has since changed hands and is now the M Social Hotel New York Downtown). A congregation of New Yorks kooks had gathered to witness a private viewing of the B-Thing. It was a pre-party, a watch party, and an afterparty rolled into one. The host and benefactor was Josh Harris, a larger-than-life character (his passport, he says, has him down as a young 64). The perception of Harris ranges from charlatan and narcissist all the way to prophet and genius. The entrepreneur  once suggested to be the first internet millionaire in New York by Wired  built a cult reputation with the early online streaming platform Pseudo and social experiment Quiet: We Live in Public (Big Brother on acid, basically).

He was, undoubtedly, impossibly ahead of the curve. I made my bones by being able to accurately predict the future, Harris says over Zoom. He thinks he has a preternatural ability and repeatedly describes his younger self as a Young Sheldon spy brat with precocious abilities to understand the intelligence world. Since his heyday, hes lost around $50 million (mainly due to the dot-com crash). Hes now holed up in Las Vegas playing professional poker (after a long stint, funnily enough, as an apple farmer). He was super-interesting in his maniacal, strange, misguided way of wanting to create something that was quite profound, Koenig says of Harris.

Harris remembers first discussing the B-Thing with Gelitin and Koenig back in 1999 over a game of Risk in Harris apartment. Together, they hatched a plan to rent out the top floor of the Millenium to watch the B-Thing happen and book a helicopter to fly down the Hudson River to capture the event. Harris says he invited his favorite artists for the ride. It was a funny party. It wasnt, like, a fun party, Harris says.

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Koenigs account differs: We partied the entire night through. We got there at 10 p.m. and just ripped it until 6 a.m., when they actually performed the removal of the window. Maria Ziegelbock, the main photographer, recalls being more sober than everyone else, as she was there for work. She says Harris suggested she strap herself outside the helicopter with the door open to take better pictures (thankfully, she says, the pilot wasnt able to arrange that). I have a vague recollection [of this] but am not sure, Harris says. But if I didnt [suggest it], I wish I had.

The helicopter, paid for by Harris, was late taking off from the Millenium Downtown heliport (as Gelitin found out through staying in contact via a cache of clunky cellphones). And Koenig didnt make it on as he was too drunk and high. Everybody was just like, stay the fuck here, he remembers. Harris was on board, though. I had two or three other beautiful women with me in the back of the helicopter. It was kind of cool. It was like, this is how do you New York City, he says. Alongside his girlfriend Tania (videoing the B-Thing) was Ziegelbock, who desperately grappled with the long lens on her small analog camera, poking out of the tiny chopper window.

Then, the tiny Gelitin figures appeared on the balcony. Koenig recalls just about making out a small speck through a pair of binoculars. I remember sobering up and thinking, oh, my God, that is so high. It was something. It was amazing, he says. He pauses. But it was also sort of anticlimactic, he concedes.

After the B-Thing performance had finished, the window was resealed, the tools were packed away, and Gelitin headed to the hotel. Thomas Sandbichler, an artist and friend, was standing at the door of the hotel room to stop any smuggling; he collected every single roll of film and tape, giving Gelitin full access to the assets. At the time, you could still control images, says Urban, a soft-spoken man and the guinea pig of Gelitins skywalk. As far as Gelitin are aware, no passersby saw the B-Thing take place (there was a suspicious ambulance positioned on the street below, but no authorities were alerted).



Then, Ziegelbock remembers her and the Gelitin artists having breakfast at the hotel, still rushing on adrenaline. We got room service. Eggs Benedict with whiskey. And we joined the party as we couldnt do it the night before, she says. They got the elevator all the way to the fifth-floor swimming pool, as the spring light hit the water. We were just in our underwear, she says. And we jumped in.

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WHEN IT CAME TO PRESENTING the work of their residency in the World Trade Center during an open studio event, a month after the B-Thing, Gelitin were typically opaque. They exhibited a bench that had been made from disassembled parts of the balcony, the cardboard-box fort that had provided a distraction in their office, and the chewing gum. But they kept mum on what actually happened. This artifice became part of the artwork, mystifying the whole event. It was more about suspending belief rather than disbelief. The photography is in the realm of UFO photography. If you keep it open, its more interesting, says Janka.



It almost went completely unnoticed; no news outlets picked up on the B-Thing at the time. We decided that the less one talks about it, the more exciting it is, Koenig echoes. Only their close associates were shown four photos, carried in each of their wallets. Ziegelbocks heart sank when she saw the full range of imagery for the first time. They were grainy. But the artists were enamored by them, and she had a change of heart. You can call it a problem, or you can call it the character of the images, Ziegelbock says.

In July 2001, the photographs were revealed in The B-Thing book, published by Buchhandlung Walther Konig (owned by Leos uncle) and containing sketches and photographs related to the project, bound in a cover thats printed with the full-bleed image of Reither. He stands in the dead center of the spine. Tex Rubinowitzs text describes it as a surgical intervention on the 148th floor (an impossibility to further disorientate their audience).

The book caught the eye of The New York Times, and on Aug. 18, 2001, the paper ran a story on the cover of the Metro section. Balcony Scene (Or Unseen) Atop The World, read the headline. The lead image of the B-Thing was front and center. The amazing thing that happens when you take out a window, is that the whole city comes into the building, Janka is quoted as saying.



Not everyone was a fan. Sound artist Stephen Vitiello, who had recorded the World Trade Center like a stethoscope by putting microphones to the windows (he didnt illegally open them) in 1999, was disappointed. It just pissed me off. It seemed irresponsible. I wanted to honor the opportunity [of the LMCC residency]. It seemed to manipulate it and put everybody else at risk, he says over Zoom. He was horrified by the potential pitfalls. I can imagine the people who ran the residency saying, what the hell, we gave you this space and people could die. Gelitin emphasize that they took all necessary precautions.

Kocache, the LMCC artistic director, did have to put out some fires. The purpose of this letter is to categorically deny and refute Gelitins (the Austrian art collective) preposterous claim to have removed a window and installed a balcony from the 91st floor of Tower 1 in the World Trade Center  no one in his or her sane mind would believe such an account! started a memo to the rest of the LMCC residents. In it, he appeals to their nature as pranksters and masters of deception and claims that any sort of evidence is entirely fabricated.



A point-blank denial was also fired off by Koenig, who lied and told the reporter that it didnt happen. It wasnt just more mystification; they were also covering their backsides from any potential legal repercussions. Everyone implicated was acutely aware of the scale of their sabotage. This is terrorism! an unidentified partygoer is recorded as saying in footage of the B-Thing. This is art terrorism, another qualifies.

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Its why Janka called the Times reporter back, asking them not to print the piece. But it was too late. The Times conscientiously spoke to digital manipulation experts and security to prove it could have happened. But an element of mystery endured. The affair has taken on the outlines of an urban myth, mutated by rumors and denials among the downtown cognoscenti, the article stated.

And then, a final, prophetic statement from Janka that appears in the article, dated Aug. 18, 2001: This building needs things like that to happen, because otherwise it would die inside.

SEPT. 11, 2001: A DAY THAT still holds an unbearable weight. The ultimate event, the mother of all events, the pure event uniting within itself all the events that have never taken place, philosopher Jean Baudrillard wrote. American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, hijacked by Al-Qaeda terrorists, hit the Twin Towers and brought them crashing down. The 91st floor of the North Tower, where Gelitin worked, had a disturbing significance; it was the line between life and death (no one on the 92nd floor or above survived).

The Gelitin artists seesaw when talking about their reaction to the attacks. Reither tells me that it was like this virginity of innocence was completely lost in New York. Urban emphasises the aftershocks. I had the feeling that its after an earthquake shakes. Everyone thinks, OK, there are bigger problems than mine. You have this grounded perspective. Then, on my final day in the studio, Reither is much firmer: From our side, we have nothing to say about the attacks  nothing artistically relevant.

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But Sept. 11 was, strangely, already going to be a day of at least some artistic relevance for Gelitin. It happened to be the date that the imagery of the B-Thing was meant to go on display at Koenigs gallery as part of a far larger exhibition titled Gelitin Is Getting It All Wrong Again. We even had a plan to go and get the wood structure out of the World Trade Center, where it was still stored. It still haunts me, Koenig says. The exhibit, revolving around a purpose-built amphitheater, eventually took place about two weeks later, with all imagery of the B-Thing removed. It was not the time to show it. We took them out because we didnt want any connection between [us and the attack]. We didnt want to sensationalize it, says Janka.



But this distancing from the event didnt stop the phones ringing and the burning questions igniting once the dust settled. What are the chances that Gelitin just happened to create the B-Thing  which involved an aircraft flying next to the Twin Towers, looked like a scene from 9/11, and took place on, of all the possible floors, the 91st floor  a year before the attacks?

HARRIS REMEMBERS THE MOMENT PEOPLE started trying to connect dots. Can you imagine the shitstorm? he asks me. The first conspiracy theories  which alleged that the B-Thing proves that, in some convoluted way, the U.S. had prior knowledge of 9/11 or that Gelitin were secretly in on it  spread across niche radio stations and obscure blogs. As social media evolved, they metastasized. Sprawling YouTube videos emerged, weaving intricate patterns with all the deftness of a kindergarten textiles class.

There had been, of course, other artworks focused on the World Trade Center prior to 9/11, ever since highwire artist Philippe Petit walked a tightrope between the Twin Towers in 1974. Notably, William Basinski finished his cult project Disintegration Loops, uncanny repetitions of decaying tapes, on the morning of the attacks. The E-Team, part of the LMCC residency, had lit up rooms of the tower to spell out their collectives name. Part of Vitiellos residency project had also included recordings of passing planes.

Most strikingly, LMCC resident Michael Richards had built sculptures inspired by aviation, on the 92nd floor. The idea of flight relates to my use of pilots and planes, but it also references  the idea of being lifted up, enraptured, or taken up to a safe place  to a better world, he wrote in an artist statement. He died on the morning of Sept. 11, while working in his studio.



But it was the B-Thing that online conspiracy theories have focused on. The evidence for any sort of connection is, of course, exceptionally tenuous. Some content suggests that Ali Janka had Islamist connections due to his first name, but its actually short for Alexander (he dropped his nickname for a while to avoid heat). Others suggested Gelitin were planted into the building by Mossad, linking them to the Israeli art student mystery (in March 2001, the U.S. Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive had warned of people proclaiming to be Israeli art students and trying to gain entry to federal buildings. Its often connected to 9/11 conspiracy theories). Gelitin, though, were neither students, nor Israeli.

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Other conjecture supposes that Gelitin planted explosives on the 91st floor and, as per many 9/11 conspiracy theories, that this was the real cause of the World Trade Center falling. Gelatin may refer to explosive materials, possibly linked to nano-solgel compounds believed to be capable of targeting structural elements, reads one recent Instagram post by Instagram account questionantiquity.



The proof pivots on the fact that the cardboard boxes, used to conceal the B-Thing, were all marked with BB 18, a type of electrical terminal sold by a company called Littlelfuse, implying some sort of explosive intent. And the rest hinged on the eerie coincidences between the stories of 9/11 and of the B-Thing  the fact that texts published and footage shot by Gelitin related to the project before September 2001 used words like terrorism and intervention.

Recently, theres been a resurgence of these false flag fantasies on Instagram and Reddit, virally mutating as they find new host servers. One image of Gelitin setting up the B-Thing on X, posted by an account called illuminatibot in 2023, has been viewed 4 million times. Gelitin say over lunch that they still receive emails from conspiracy theorists every year, always on the same day.



GELITIN HAVE DONE THEIR BEST over the years to block out the noise. You read one or two and its funny, then it gets really boring. Its like a stoner conspiracy. Its very thin, Reither says. Theyre powerful and strong. All you need is a good story and some logic, Urban says of conspiracy theories.

At times, they express frustration  even perhaps fear  at the endless paranoia that latched onto the B-Thing. Their tranquil act had, after all, been corrupted by misinformation and hijacked by the tin-foil brigade. Harris, though, seems hooked on the lore that surrounds the B-Thing. He frames it as less of a rabbit hole, more an entire warren.



He claims that he was followed by the FBI for years after the attack. I know I was/am under surveillance due to my colorful record, he says. (Harris shares a FOIA from the United States Secret Service dated May 4, 2015, concluding that there are no records pertaining to his request. FOIA is bullshit, he says. The FBI didnt respond to a request for comment.)

He also still questions whether Gelitin had prior knowledge of the attacks. The question I ponder is whether Gelitin knew of 9/11 in advance? If so, how did they know? Did a third party engineer the B-Thing installation? (Gelitin unsurprisingly refute this vehemently). While Harris isnt peddling conspiracies online, he seems enticed by the intrigue that surrounds the B-Thing. [The mystery] is a crutch for him. Hes a strange bird, says Koenig. To be involved in this was one of the greatest moments of his life  He embraces all the weird things I would shy away from.

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Perhaps most astonishingly of all, Harris is open to the idea that Osama bin Laden may have even been aware of the B-Thing and seen it as proof of concept. Three weeks before 9/11 [with The New York Times article] I literally exposed a huge hole in security, he says. He describes the B-Thing as a dress rehearsal for 9/11 (in the sense that it featured an aircraft flying towards the World Trade Center).



But Peter Bergen, author of The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden, debunks this theory. Its highly unlikely he would have heard of this. He was living in Afghanistan, and there was no internet to speak of or TV because of Taliban bans. Also, planning for the 9/11 attacks began in earnest in 1999 and was on the drawing board as early as 1996.

While much of the conspiracy can be easily dismissed as entirely delusional, the level of coincidence that surrounds the artwork is enough to unnerve even the most committed rationalist. Its hard to imagine the sensation it would attract if it had somehow happened in the present day. It would be off the scale, Scott Clifford Evans, an artist and filmmaker, tells me at the private viewing. People would lose it. I mean, this would be something that fucking Trump would tweet about or Alex Jones jump on. It would be insane.

Its why the original photos of the B-Thing have rarely made it out of storage for the past 25 years (the main appearance was a skyscraper-themed exhibition in Chicago in 2012). Most institutions have avoided taking the risk of showing something so loaded. Curators have always been torn on what to do with depictions of 9/11, an event that in itself Damien Hirst described in a 2002 interview with the BBC as kind of like an artwork in its own right (he later apologized). Even sincere, poignant responses have attracted derision. Eric Fischls September 2002 sculpture Tumbling Woman  a bronze bust of one of the jumpers  was widely criticized for its apparent fetishisation of such unimaginable pain (it was removed from the Rockefeller Center within a week of going on display).

And The Falling Man, the haunting photograph of an unidentified jumper shot by Richard Drew, was pushed into taboo territory due to its disturbingly intimate depiction of death. Its hard not to see it when looking at the imagery of the B-Thing. But unlike the subject of Drews photograph, Gelitin are not forced to sacrifice themselves to gravity.

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ON THE FINAL DAY OF my Vienna trip, I get the real scoop: All four Gelitins are digging into a tub of assorted ice cream, mixing everything from mint chocolate chip to mango together in a swirly mess (every Gelitin requested a different flavor). Were discussing the B-Thing for a final time, flicking through an inconspicuous gray folder of images from the project.

Whether the original photographs will ever be exhibited again remains to be seen. Koenig thinks the B-Thing could return to a gallery wall. Ive never shown the photos since. When I was asked about it, I always said it was too soon. Maybe its [now ready] for a different generation to rediscover it, he says. (Gelitin say they have no current plans to do so.)

I transport myself to the scene of the B-Thing by peering through the magnifying lens of a loupe, hovering it over the contact sheets that seem to hum with a mysterious energy. Immersing myself in one image, which looks downward from the balcony at Lower Manhattan, nearly makes my legs wobble.

Several things become clear. First, 9/11 could, in some warped way, be a vehicle to retroactively understand the B-Thing and vice versa; both say something about the atmosphere of New York, before and after. Second, the B-Thing, obviously, did not cause 9/11. But a glitch in perspective has soldered them together: two parallel moments across time that seem to impossibly cross. A beguiling act of synchronicity.

The B-Thing could mean many other things. You could say its a critique on capitalism. A critique on New York artists who sit up there and paint and develop their trademark through repetition, Reither says, seemingly doubting his own attempts to try to rationalize it. Vitiello is still unconvinced of any intrinsic value. Its hard not to be impressed by the feat of pulling it off, but it doesnt give me a sense of poetry. He pauses, grimacing. It feels like someone on an airplane trying to open the door or cut out the window. Its an adrenaline rush, but theres a whole lot more on stake. Harris is on the other side of the spectrum. It was the first great artwork of the 21st century, he says definitively.



If the imagery of the B-Thing is somehow able to be detached from what came next, it should be seen as a monumental act of freedom.

Its why Gelitin still, all these years on, recite the epic poetry of the balcony scene. Its a very romantic image, Reither says, projecting it onto his minds eye. It was the possibility of stepping out of your life, your shit job. To just step out for a moment. And enjoy the sunrise.

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Ceiling light fixtures glow above a man walking in a hallway in the Rhode Island State House basement. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)

Rhode Island Energy overcharged state agencies by $2 million on 2024 energy bills  more than double initial estimates  according to a new state audit published on Sept. 5.

The 13-page report by Andrew Manca, chief of internal audits with the Rhode Island Office of Internal Audit and Program Integrity comes as state utility regulators deepen their own review of potentially more widespread billing errors by Rhode Island Energy.

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At this point, one of my concerns is that we dont fully understand what the problem was, or how many people it affects, Todd Bianco, chief economic and policy analyst for the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission (PUC), said in an interview Thursday.

Flooded by customer complaints alleging artificially high winter energy bills, including from state government administrators, the PUC in May ordered Rhode Island Energy to hire a consultant to probe for evidence of billing inaccuracies. Last week, the PUC authorized a contract with Virginia-based professional services firm Guidehouse, Inc.  one of three firms to respond to Rhode Island Energys request for proposals. An initial kickoff meeting between parties was held Wednesday, Bianco said.

The cost of the Guidehouse contract has not been made public.

Under state regulators directives, Guidehouse has until Nov. 15 to report results of its own audit into Rhode Island Energys billing practices. Mancas report, which exclusively covers the 2,250 Rhode Island Energy electric and gas accounts held by the state government, will be incorporated into Guidehouses review of other commercial and residential customers.

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And if the state review is any indicator, the problem may be more pervasive than anticipated. In July, state auditors identified overcharges of roughly $1 million. The deeper dive revealed state agencies were actually overbilled by over $2 million, according to the audit report.

The primary cause identified by the state was the transition from a legacy billing system inherited when PPL Corp., Rhode Island Energys parent company, bought the states electric and gas operations from National Grid in 2022.

During the transition to a new billing software, bills from August through October 2024 failed to credit the state for excess renewable electricity it generated. Under the typical net metering bill practice, customers with solar panels, wind turbines or other renewable energy systems receive future bill credits for any energy they produce beyond what they personally use, and return to the electric grid.

Overcharges to Rhode Island state government have been mostly rectified, with the state using the credits toward its regular, monthly bills. Payments on gas and electric bills resumed in June and August, respectively, according to Mancas report.

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A single state gas account remains outstanding, having not been identified for overcharges in the data initially provided by Rhode Island Energy, Karen Greco, a spokesperson for the Rhode Island Department of Administration, confirmed via email Thursday.

Most unique customer

Rhode Island Energy did not dispute the findings.

Rhode Island Energy has been transparent and cooperative throughout the States audit process, Michael Dalo, a spokesperson, said in a statement Thursday. The State of Rhode Island is our largest and most unique customer, with over 2,000 bills from separate state entities consolidated into one. The timing issues identified through this audit were primarily the result of system changes during our transition from National Grids legacy platforms. We have addressed these issues, implemented corrective actions, and continue to strengthen our billing systems and processes. We remain committed to accuracy, accountability, and working closely with state partners to ensure reliable service.

But the state audit doesnt offer much reassurance that future errors wont occur, or will be easily detected if they do. Manca highlighted the lack of automation and account mislabeling as systemic problems.

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The State of Rhode Island bears the burden of ensuring billing accuracy, he concluded. These manual corrections introduce inefficiencies, increase administrative workload, and increase the potential for errors during invoicing.

Bianco acknowledged that the state is a more complex customer than a typical household or business, with multiple buildings and accounts, along with separate, third-party suppliers for some of its energy. He was unsure whether the problems identified were isolated to the state, to large commercial accounts, or perhaps to net metering customers.

Theres concern that the billing system did not perform, and other customers might have been impacted, Bianco said.

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A massive chemical seizure in Peru is drawing attention to the human costs of dirty gold.

What's happening?

Reuters reported that four metric tons of black-market mercury bound for illegal mines were intercepted at the Port of Callao.

Peru's customs agency flagged a shipment disguised as rock fragments, discovering that it was concealing toxic mercury. The shipment was headed toward Bolivia for suspected use in illegal gold extraction.

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The customs agency said, per Reuters, "We could determine that mercury was being transported in its natural state, camouflaged in shipments of gravel."

Investigators called it the Amazon region's largest mercury seizure on record. The Environmental Investigation Agency said traffickers have smuggled roughly 200 tons of mercury from Mexico to South America since 2019.

The bust comes amid surging gold prices, which are up about 28.5% this year, reaching a record in April. Alongside this, reports emerged of mercury selling for around $330 per kilogram on the black market, incentives that fuel criminal networks across borders.

Why is illegal gold mining concerning?

Illegal gold mining is rampant in South America, and mercury is used to extract gold from river sediments.

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However, when released into the environment, the substance converts to methylmercury. The Environmental Protection Agency shared that methylmercury is a potent neurotoxin that can move through waterways and into fish that many communities rely on.

Exposure can harm the brain and nervous system, with pregnant women and children especially vulnerable.

According to a study published in the Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, once mercury contaminates a watershed, the risks can linger for years.

It can negatively impact both food security and local economies even after mining operations move on.

What's being done about mercury pollution?

The EIA alerted authorities in Peru to the shipment as it probed cross-border mercury flows. Awareness of its toxic effects plays a key role in managing and preventing its use.

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Globally, movements like the Minamata Convention advocate against the use of mercury and hope to eradicate its use.

Additionally, a court win on mercury in Colombia strengthened protections for Indigenous communities, while the mastermind behind a gold smuggling scheme is facing serious penalties.

Individuals can reduce demand for new gold by extending the life of devices to keep metals in circulation, staying informed on critical climate issues, and building awareness locally about toxic metals and their environmental impact.

Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that negotiators are wrestling with the question of territorial possession in U.S.-led peace talks on ending the war with Russia, including the future of Ukraines eastern Donetsk region and the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, one of the worlds 10 biggest atomic plants. In Washington, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, continued to be in discussions with both sides.
General Wiesaw Kukua, Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, has confirmed that the Polish side received information from Belarus about drones flying in its direction.

Source: Polish TV channel TVN24, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Kukua confirmed Belarus's statement that it had passed on a warning to Poland about the movement of drones.

"The Belarusians warned us that drones were flying through their airspace in our direction," he said.

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When asked about the timing of the warning, he replied that "the warning was useful to us".

"In this context, it was surprising to me that Belarus, which is heavily escalating the situation on the land border, decided to engage in such cooperation," Kukua said.

Background: As of the evening of 10 September, the debris of 15 drones had been found in Poland.

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A majority of Brazils Supreme Court judges found former President Jair Bolsonaro guilty of plotting a military coup in his bid to cling to power after losing the 2022 election.

The ruling makes Bolsonaro the countrys first former leader to be convicted for trying to undermine democracy. The hard-right populist had already been barred from running for office until 2030, but his political movement remains robust, and his conviction  and possible imprisonment  may only further embolden his followers: I wouldnt declare Jair Bolsonaros political death, a Brazil-based expert said.

The verdict will certainly rankle his ally, US President Donald Trump, who has punished Brazil with high tariffs among other punitive measures over what he called a witchhunt against Bolsonaro.
Less than a year after beginning service to Daytona Beach International Airport (DAB), Breeze Airways now offers nonstop flights to five destinations  Hartford, Connecticut, Providence, Rhode Island, Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina, Westchester/White Plains, New York and most recently, Akron/Canton/Cleveland, Ohio.

The budget airline recently launched nonstop flights to Akron/Canton/Cleveland, Ohio on Sept. 3, with the service available twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Here is what you should know before traveling with Breeze Airways, and where the low-cost airline can take you from Daytona Beach International Airport (DAB) this September.

Breeze Airways destinations from Daytona Beach, Florida

Prices as of Sept. 10:

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Daytona Beach flights to and from Akron/Canton/Cleveland, Ohio Daytona Beach Airport flights to and from Akron-Canton Airport are offered on Wednesdays and Saturdays in September. Departing ticket prices: $54-$129 Returning ticket prices: $54-$129



Daytona Beach flights to and from Hartford, Connecticut Daytona Beach Airport flights to and from Bradley International Airport are offered on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays in September. Departing ticket prices: $64-$153 Returning ticket prices: $69-$158

Daytona Beach flights to and from Providence, Rhode Island/Boston, Massachusetts Daytona Beach Airport flights to Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport are offered on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays in September. Returning flights are offered Mondays and Fridays. Departing ticket prices: $69-$193 Returning ticket prices: $129-$269

Daytona Beach flights to and from Raleigh/Durham, N orth Carolina Daytona Beach Airport flights to Raleigh-Durham International Airport are offered on Wednesdays and Saturdays in September. Departing ticket prices: $39-$69 Returning ticket prices: $39-$69

Daytona Beach flights to and from Westchester/White Plains, New York Daytona Beach Airport flights to Westchester County Airport are offered on Wednesdays and Saturdays in September. Departing ticket prices: $59-$119 Returning ticket prices: $59-$99



What is Breeze Airways' baggage policy?

The baggage check-in counter for Breeze Airways at Daytona Beach International Airport, pictured on Nov. 14, 2024.

All guests are allowed one personal item such as a purse, laptop bag or small backpack, on board at no charge.

Carry-on bags are available for individual purchase or may be included in the 'Nice,' 'Nicer' and 'Nicest' bundles. Bags must weigh no more than 35 pounds and have the maximum dimensions of 22 x 14 x 9 inches to fit in the overhead bin.

Checked bags are available for individual purchase or may be included in the 'Nicer' and 'Nicest' bundles. Bags must weigh no more than 50 pounds and be within 62 inches in length, width and height, or will be considered overweight or oversized for an additional charge.

Pet carriers count as your personal item and must fit under the seat directly in front of you. For more information on traveling with pets, visit Flybreeze.com

How to check Breeze Airways flight status

There are two ways to check the status of a Breeze Airways flight on the company's website:

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Search by route: Enter or select in the drop-down menu the name of the airport your flight is departing from and the airport you're arriving at. Then select the flight date. Search by flight number: Enter the flight number and select the flight date.

What airport code is DAB?

The airport code DAB refers to Daytona Beach International Airport.

Need help? Here's Breeze Airways phone number and contact information

Travelers can contact Breeze Airways at 501-273-3931 via text message or click the 'Contact Us Now' button at the bottom of the FlyBreeze website.

Contributing: Clayton Park, Daytona Beach News-Journal

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona Beach Airport offers these cheap flights with Breeze Airways
The construction industry is at a critical juncture, poised for unprecedented growth and constrained by a significant workforce shortage at the same time.

U.S. construction spending saw a notable increase by 6.5% in 2024. Additionally, during the first four months of 2025, construction spending rose 1.4% compared to the same period in 2024. Simultaneously, more than 315,000 skilled tradesmen in Tennessee are needed by 2026 to sustain the state's construction industry.

This has profound implications, as workforce shortages can lead to delayed building and increased costs, slowing down infrastructure development and economic growth across sectors.

Current projects: Works in Progress in Memphis

The stakes for Memphis are high as a wave of transformative projects is poised to reshape the city's landscape and economy.

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FedExForum and Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, for example, are undergoing major renovations, thanks to $350 million in state grant funding. These modernizations are set to enhance the facilities' appeal for events, driving tourism and local spending.

Additionally, St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital is significantly expanding its facilities with a planned 16-story research tower equipped with modern infrastructure and improved site access. This is key for St. Jude to continue its mission advancing treatment for chronically ill children and supports the creation of thousands of jobs, further stimulating the local economy.

The Mid-South region has also emerged as a destination for large-scale data centers and advanced manufacturing facilities, projects that demand highly specialized construction expertise.

At Turner, we are discussing with clients the development potential of Memphis across all of these market segments every day. These ambitious projects represent a pivotal point, and bringing them to reality will require a skilled workforce.

Outside of 757 Court Avenue on Friday, April 18, 2025. Construction crews work on a new mixed-use development at the site near Orleans Station in Downtown Memphis' Medical District.

Combatting workforce shortages

To combat the workforce shortage, Tennessee must promote careers in skilled trades. By emphasizing the stability, high pay, and rewarding nature of these jobs, we can attract a new generation of workers to the construction industry.

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Awareness alone is not enough. We need clear, accessible pathways into the trades by creating more employer-sponsored training programs, expanding hands-on learning at real project sites, and building partnerships among industry professionals, K-12 schools, and higher education institutions.

In Middle Tennessee, the Titans Construction Training Camp (TC2) brings these efforts to life. The six-week paid program pays participants $18 an hour as they learn essential skills such as workplace safety, construction math, and tool operation. Graduates are now working on the new Titans stadium and other major projects, gaining experience on some of the states highest-profile builds. Led by the Tennessee Builders Alliance (Turner Construction Company, AECOM Hunt, Polk & Associates Construction, and I.C.F. Builders), TC2 demonstrates how workforce development can directly fuel economic growth.

It is equally important to ensure these opportunities reach the communities that need them most. In Memphis, a new summer workshop at Frayser High School pairs hands-on construction experience with educational enrichment. As TFW Builders  a partnership of Turner Construction Company, Fifer & Associates, and Chris Woods Construction  builds a new school, students gain direct exposure to real-world career paths in their own neighborhood. When project sites serve as training grounds and skilled workers act as visible role models, we reshape possibilities and drive generational shifts in economic mobility.

Building Tennessee's future

The construction workforce shortage is reshaping Tennessees economy. Addressing it with urgency and creativity will ensure the state continues to thrive, leveraging todays construction boom for sustainable growth.

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At Turner, we are committed to action, not just words. For example, the Turner Construction Company Foundation recently donated $10,000 to the Tennessee Career Academy, and we continue to support opportunities that build the workforce of tomorrow.

Tennessees path forward lies in systems that prepare, support, and uplift workers at every stage. By investing in development pipelines, forming strategic partnerships, and engaging communities, we can create an economy where opportunity and industry growth go hand in hand.

Netisha Burnett

Netisha Burnett is a Memphis-based workforce development specialist at the Turner Construction Company.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Confronting workforce shortages in Tennessee
N. D. Rocky Holcomb III is a candidate for Virginia Beach Sheriff and is running as a Republican. His name will appear on the November 4, 2025 General Election ballot. Holcomb, the incumbent, is running against Peacemaker Aldo, an Independent.

The first day to vote early at your local voter registration office or satellite voting location for the Nov. 4 General Election is Sept. 19. Find your local office at this link. On Election Day, polls are open in Virginia from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. Click here to see who is on your ballot.

10 On Your Side reached out to all of the candidates running in this race, with a request for a bio and a list of questions to answer. The bio is unedited; this is what the candidate submitted. If you do not see the candidate listed with a profile, we did not receive one.

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WAVY.com Candidate Profiles

Name: N. D. Rocky Holcomb III

Age: 57

Website: https://rockyholcombvbsheriff.com/

Party: Republican

Rocky Holcomb is running for re-election as Virginia Beach Sheriff (Photo provided by the candidate)

Biography

Rocky Holcomb began his law enforcement career in 1991 as a Virginia Beach Deputy Sheriff Recruit.

Under the leadership of former sheriffs, Rocky served with distinction, in every division of the Virginia Beach Sheriffs Office. He launched the sheriffs K-9 unit to assist with the discovery of narcotics and explosives as well as established the regions first K-9 Unit dedicated to fentanyl detection. Rocky also served as Commander of the Emergency Response Team and Captain of the Criminal Intelligence Unit.

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Throughout his 33 years of service, Rocky has passionately advanced the principles of transparency, respect, unity, service, and training. He has prioritized public safety initiatives and citizen accountability. A futurist, Rocky has advanced inmate mental health services, re-entry programs and alternative sentencing opportunities. Rocky continues to ensure that the Sheriffs Office recruits and maintains premiere law enforcement deputies and personnel realizing that these team members are vital to the success of the office.

Sheriff Rocky Holcomb continues to work hard excelling in every task. His impressive dedication to public safety earned him the position of Chief Deputy in 2018. And in 2023 his leadership, experience, education, and grit facilitated his elevation to the position of Virginia Beach Sheriff. He won the subsequent special election with over 70% of the vote in November 2024.

As Sheriff, Rocky Holcomb has labored to maintain the highest standards of integrity, management, and professionalism in the Sheriffs Office  guaranteeing the safety of his team, inmates, and the citizens of Virginia Beach.

In addition, Sheriff Holcomb is a proud veteran of the United States Marine Corps and a graduate of Regent University with a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership and Management.

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In 2017, Rocky won a Special Election to represent the 85th District in the Virginia House of Delegates. He served during the 2017 legislative session.

On August 12, 2021, the Virginia Beach City Council unanimously appointed Rocky to fill the unexpired term of the Kempsville District seat. He then won a Special Election to keep the seat on November 8, 2022. As a member of council, Rocky served as the liaison to many boards, committees, and commissions prior to resigning on September 29, 2023, to become the Sheriff of Virginia Beach.

Sheriff Holcomb and his wife of 30 years are proud residents of Virginia Beach. They have 2 adult children.

If you are elected, what will be your top priority in office?

My top priority in office will always be public safety. There is nothing more important than the safety of this community. I will continue to lead the men and women of the Virginia Beach Sheriffs Office in their public safety duties and as we work shoulder-to-shoulder with the Virginia Beach Police Department to keep Virginia Beach the safest city of its size in the country. Essential to public safety are addressing mental health, the opioid epidemic and recidivism, which will continue to be focuses of my administration. I will accomplish this by upholding my leadership values of T.R.U.S.T.  Transparency, Respect, Unity, Service and Training  and maintaining a premier workforce with the training and tools required to deliver the service Virginia Beach citizens expect and deserve.

What is the top challenge facing modern day law enforcement? If elected, how would you address it?

The top challenge facing modern law enforcement  and our community  is mental health. Law enforcement officers are increasingly called to respond to mental health crises, which would be more effectively addressed by mental health practitioners. Local jails have become the default mental health hospitals for the mentally ill. This has to change. I am committed to working with our community partners to divert the mentally ill from jail whenever possible, provide resources and rehabilitation to offenders suffering from mental illness, and help them get on the right path after their release. We need a better mental health system to provide resources for those suffering from mental illness. Too often, those with mental illness are incarcerated for minor offenses because there is no where else for them to go. As a society, we need to provide help before that occurs and options to divert people away from the criminal justice system. For those offenders who commit more serious offenses, we need better resources to provide treatment during their incarceration and a safety net to help them be successful and avoid re-offending after their release. We have made huge strides in this effort at the Virginia Beach Sheriffs Office, including by partnering with the Virginia Beach Community Services Board to improve services within the jail. However, there is more work to do, and I am the best candidate to continue to make positive changes on this issue.

How should local law enforcement interact with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement?

The Virginia Beach Sheriffs Office (VBSO) has long maintained a strong and cooperative relationship with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). As Sheriff, I have committed to uphold all laws, including those pertaining to immigration. When an individual is taken into VBSO custody and is identified as being born outside the United States, ICE is promptly notified. ICE determines whether to take the individual into federal custody once we have completed processing them for their local or state charges. If ICE determines that federal charges are warranted, it will issue a detainer or warrant for that individual, which is handled through a separate federal process.

How do you work with others you dont agree with?

I have a proven record of working with others  including those I dont agree with  during my time as Sheriff, Virginia Beach City Councilman and Virginia House Delegate. The public is best served when elected officials put aside party politics and work together. I believe we are more alike than different and that Virginia Beach residents all want a safe, prosperous, welcoming place to live, work and raise their families. I will lead by example, communicating clearly and directly, addressing disagreements constructively, and focusing on shared goals and solutions.

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Case dropped against U.S. pilot who illegally flew to Antarctica

An American pilot accused of illegally flying into Antarctica has avoided trial in Chile.

A judge agreed to drop the case against Ethan Guo after he donated $30,000 to a childrens cancer foundation in Santiago.

The money will help fund pediatric rehabilitation programs in partnership with St. Jude.

Guo was also ordered to leave Chile and is banned from returning for three years.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
The Wednesday shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk is a tragedy and an abomination.

Its a tragedy for Kirks family.

Its a tragedy for the students on the campus of Utah Valley University whod gathered under blue skies to hear Kirk do what he did best: Debate people.

And its a tragedy for the rest of us.

Because even if you didnt agree with Charlie Kirk, and millions of people did not, this is a blow against civil debate, civil society and the principles we hold dear as a country.

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And, sadly, its neither the first time this has happened. Nor is it likely to be the last.

The death of Kirk, a 31-year-old father, comes just months after Melissa Hortman, the former speaker of Minnesotas House of Representatives, was shot dead in her home, along with her husband and her dog.

It comes after someone set fire to Pennsylvanias executive residence, where the states Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro, his family and friends had bedded down after a Passover seder. No one was hurt, but it all could have ended in tragedy.

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There were two attempts on President Donald Trumps life on the campaign trail in 2024. Someone tried to kill the husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Authorities foiled a kidnapping plot aimed at Michigans Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., survived a grim attempt on her life. And U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., was seriously wounded in 2017.

There is understandably widespread public concern about this problem.

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of respondents to an October 2024 poll by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights said they were concerned about political violence.

More worryingly, there is no consensus on how to solve it. And some Americans  one in five respondents to an April 2024 PBS/Marist College poll  think violence may solve the nations political divisions.

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Shortly before 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that a suspect in Kirks shooting had been taken into custody.

Still, two things stand out.

As horrifying as this spasm of violence in Utah was, there is something startlingly normal about it. You dont have to look any further than that catalog of tragedy above to understand thats the case.

Political commentators have noted this disturbing trend. As CNN host Michael Smerconish said during an appearance in Boston last month for a national conference of state lawmakers.

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Theres a brazen sense of embracing violence and somehow rationalizing it, he observed.

The three-day meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures, a kind of industry trade group for people whose business is state government, opened with an emotional tribute to the June assassination of Hortman, her husband, and the familys beloved dog.

Current Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, a Republican who was in the minority when Hortman held the gavel, said her onetime colleague never made her feel shut out of the process.

When I was first elected as minority leader by my caucus in 2023, Melissa, as Speaker of the House, reached out to me right away and offered a weekly meeting, Demuth said.

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That kind of bipartisanship, in our hyperpartisan time, is vanishingly rare. Too often, we talk past each other or settle for insults when reconciliation or compromise would be more suited to the moment.

Kirks death came the day before the 24th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania, a national day of mourning.

Boston, where two of the doomed flights originated, has a direct tie to the tragedy.

In the days after that attack, America was briefly the nation we teach our kids about: United and standing together against a common enemy. There was the most fleeting of senses that it was the moment we would put our differences aside and stand as the example we wanted to set for the rest of the world.

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Just about a quarter-century later, that idealism feels, at best, misplaced. We are historically polarized, and, thanks to social media, its now possible to go entire days without encountering a view thats opposite to your beliefs.

Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman, a Democrat who was grievously wounded in the same explosion of violence that led to Hortmans death spoke, via a remote connection, at that same Boston conference last month.

His admonition then seems applicable now.

We cant let the evil in the night win, he said.

Read more analysis from John L. Micek

Read the original article on MassLive. Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
UPDATED: Charlie Kirk, the co-founder of Turning Point USA and one of the most influential activists on the right, has died after being shot at a Utah rally today, President Donald Trump wrote on his social media platform.

Kirk was 31.

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Trump wrote, The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!

The president ordered that flags be flown at half staff until Sept. 14.

Turning Point USA also confirmed his death.

We ask that everyone keep his family and loved ones in your prayers, the group said in a statement. We ask that you respect their privacy and dignity at this time.

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Kirk, one of the most prominent social media influencers and podcasters on the right, also was credited with mobilizing young voters for Trumps reelection bid. He was at the start of a tour of college campuses, the latest being an appearance at Utah Valley University.

Video of the shooting showed Kirk speaking at a large outdoor event on university grounds. Then, he lurched backward as blood poured from his neck.

In the two hours before Trumps post, political leaders on both sides of the aisle condemned the shooting, an apparent act of violence against a vocal activist on the right. The messages had a common theme: At a time of deep division in the country, violence has no place.

Barack Obama posted on X, We dont yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy. Michelle and I will be praying for Charlies family tonight, especially his wife Erika and their two young children.

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Networks have been covering the shooting since the first reports emerged in the 2 p.m. ET hour. There was some caution in showing some of the video images that emerged on social media of the assassination. CNN aired it, but froze the image and played audio of the moment when the bullet struck Kirk.

FBI Director Kash Patel said that the subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody. Later, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said that a person of interest was in custody.

Kirk, a native of Illinois, founded Turning Point USA in 2012, when he was just 18 years old. He gained some recognition that year when he wrote a piece for Breitbart News, on liberal bias in high school textbooks. With TV appearances on Fox News and other popular media outlets on the right, he began to gain a national profile, especially for some of his scathing rhetoric about the left.

In contrast to other political commentators, he focused on organizing, growing Turning Point USA into a network with a presence in 3,500 high schools and college campuses, per TPUSA. He landed a speaking slot at the 2016 Republican National Convention, authored books and became one of Trumps top allies. He chaired Students for Trump in 2020 and, with a podcast and show on Salem Radio Network, became a daily presence in the world of right-wing talk.

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As news outlets reported the shooting on social media, journalists and pundits remarked on how Kirk seemed to relish the back-and-forth with those with opposing views.

National correspondent Robert Costa said on CBS News that Kirk was seen as this major presence on campuses who can go after those who are center or left of center or further left, and really counter them with conservative points that people find powerful and potent and not just usual political pablum. He is also someone who, in the media can be both a podcast force, a television force on cable, can have these huge events with thousands of people.

Joe Walsh, the former Illinois congressman, wrote on X that Kirk was like a son to me. Walsh has since become a vocal opponent of Trumps and a Democrat.

Walsh wrote, Even though we were on opposite sides of the political divide these past 7yrs, I still considered him a son. Im broken for him & his family. And Im scared for this country. Neither side has a monopoly on political violence. But most people on both sides wont acknowledge that. And if we dont get off this dangerous road of hate, America will not stay together.

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His appearance at Utah Valley University was part of what was billed at the American Comeback Tour, with stops later this month planned for Colorado State University and the University of Minnesota.

In the lead up to his appearance at Utah Valley University, there was some campus opposition, including a petition to bar him from speaking, per the AP. But the university declined to do so, citing its commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.

Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika, and two children.

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Five months before Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at a campus rally in Utah, the conservative provocateur brought his "American Comeback Tour" through Oklahoma.

His April visit to Oklahoma State University drew out supporters and opponents to watch the 31-year-old speak and debate local college students about hot-button political issues.

Kirk was the founder and president of Turning Point USA and rose to prominence during the early years of the MAGA political movement. He spoke at the 2016, 2020 and 2024 Republican National Conventions.

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Along with numerous media interviews and appearances, including on Fox News, The Washington Times, and The Washington Post, Kirk published his own book, "The MAGA Doctrine: The Only Ideas that Will Win the Future."

What happened when Charlie Kirk came to OSU?

During Kirk's visit to Stillwater, hundreds of students gathered around a tent emblazoned with "PROVE ME WRONG," a similar setup to the event at Utah Valley University where he was killed.

During the April 1 event, The O'Colly, OSU's student-run newspaper, reported seeing a heckler with a megaphone competing against cheers as Kirk came into view.

"Two signs depicting Kirk as the devil stared down a 'Jesus Loves You' sign, juxtaposing the personalities that came to hear Kirk speak," O'Colly reporter Bella Casey wrote.

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Kirk's own social media shared videos from the event, including one showing him throw Trump hats into the audience.

Amazing turnout today in Stillwater, Oklahoma at OSU. These kids are fired up! 



This generation is something special. Love to see it.  pic.twitter.com/N9jj25LqkZ  Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) April 1, 2025

Oklahoma State Rep. Gabe Wooley, R-Broken Arrow, attended the OSU event in April.

He was one of several Oklahoma politicians who spoke out in remembrance of Kirk after the shooting.

Thank you to Charlie Kirk and his family for pouring their hearts into this nation and for the seeds of faith and patriotism they sowed here in Oklahoma.



Stillwater, OK pic.twitter.com/XDyhr0jH2y  Gabe Woolley (@GabeGwoolley) September 10, 2025

Charlie Kirk visited Oklahoma several times

This wasn't the first time that Kirk and Turning Point USA visited Oklahoma. He came to the Sooner State in 2021 and spoke to a crowd at the University of Oklahoma.

Kirk often spoke about gun violence, and began that event at OU talking about a shooting that happened a few days earlier in Boulder, Colorado.

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"We were very slow to rush to judgment, as we should be in those instances, and not everyone was," Kirk told the crowd, before launching a criticism of how "gun-grabbers" and others on the political left reacted to the tragedy.

In 2024, Kirk was one of several speakers at a Promise Keeper's event in Tulsa. The New York Times covered the event and said Kirks speech mocked the concept of preferred pronouns and pandemic lockdowns, discussed transgender identities as a threat and pushed back on the concept of "toxic masculinity."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: See Charlie Kirk's visits to OSU, Oklahoma and others before shooting
Charlie Kirk, the MAGA activist and Turning Point USA founder who was shot dead on September 10, is survived by his wife Erika and two young children.

Kirk, 31, was speaking on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem when he was shot in the neck by a sniper positioned on a nearby rooftop. He was rushed to the hospital but died shortly afterwards.

Police later arrested Tyler Robinson, 22, of Utah, in connection with the killing. Robinson, who prosecutors say confessed to the shooting in a text message with his roommate, has been charged with murder and could face the death penalty.

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President Donald Trump is one of numerous conservative figures to pay tribute to the late Kirk, a hugely influential voice on the right.

No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie, Trump wrote on social media after the shooting.

Charlie Kirk with his wife, Erika Kirk, celebrating Trumps inauguration in Washington, D.C., in January (Getty)

He has since announced he will award the slain activist a posthumous Medal of Freedom.

Others have criticized the rights response to his death, including Jimmy Kimmel, whose show was pulled from the air after the comedian argued conservatives were using the activists slaying to score political points.

Kirk was born in Chicagos Arlington Heights section on October 14, 1993, and raised in nearby Prospect Heights, the son of architect Robert W. Kirk, who was involved in the construction of Trump Tower in Manhattan. His mother was a trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange who later worked as a mental health counselor.

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Amid his rapid rise in popularity in right-wing political circles, Kirk began dating fellow evangelical Christian Erika Lane Frantzve, 36, winner of the 2012 Miss Arizona USA pageant and a political science graduate from Arizona State University, after meeting her in New York City in 2018. They became engaged the following December and were married in May 2021 in her native Scottsdale.

On September 18, she was announced as the next CEO and board chair of Turning Point USA, the organization her husbanded founded in 2012.

We will carry on, Turning Point leadership wrote in a letter made public on X, announcing the unanimously approved change. The attempt to destroy Charlies work will become our chance to make it more powerful and enduring than ever before.

The organization added that Erika Kirk serving as CEO and chair of the board was what Charlie Kirk had wanted in the event of his death.

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If you thought that my husband's mission was powerful before, you have no idea, Kirk said during a recent memorial broadcast on her husbands show. You have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country.

The group has reportedly been deluged with thousands of student requests to join in the wake of Kirks death, and its Arizona headquarters faced a potential bomb threat this week ahead of Kirks planned funeral later this month.

Outside of Turning Point, Erika Kirk is also known for founding Everyday Heroes Like You, a non-profit supporting under-recognized charities, for hosting the Midweek Rise Up podcast, for running the BIBLE365 ministry program, and for PROCLAIM, an accompanying faith-driven clothing brand. According to her official website, Erika Kirk is studying for her doctorate in Biblical studies at Liberty University.

On her LinkedIn page, Kirk says that she is a real estate agent with The Corcoran Group in New York City, although its unclear when that profile was last updated.

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Prior to the assassination, the Kirks had recently celebrated the seventh anniversary of their first date together. Erika Kirk revealed in a September 2023 Instagram post that she and Kirk went on their first date in New York City in 2018.

5 years ago today, we sat inside Bills Burgers in NYC deep in conversation and banter over theology, philosophy, and politics, and at the end, you paused, looked at me, and said, Im going to date you, the post reads.

The Kirks have two small children, aged three and one (Getty)

In a 2024 video on Turning Point USAs YouTube channel, Kirk said that after their very, very long dinner, he knew almost immediately that Erika Kirk was the one.

Charlie Kirk proposed in December 2020, and they wed six months later on May 8, 2021. Their wedding was later described by the bride as being very intimate, with no bridesmaids or groomsmen, only close friends and family.

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Together, they had two young children: a daughter born in August 2022 and a son born in May 2024. The children could sometimes be seen in the background of social media posts from the Kirks, but the parents kept their names and faces out of the public eye.

This past April, Kirk appeared on an episode of The Charlie Kirk Show where she discussed how the pair approached their relationship.

Keep your faith, obviously first, and try to identify any fleshy problems that you might be having... You have to continually invest in the confidence in one another, that you're on the same team, she said. You support each other. You love each other. You're not going to undercut each other. You're not going to undercut each other.

Meanwhile, on her Instagram page, Kirk regularly posted about her husband and family life.

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My husband Charlie Kirk is a force. He is bold when the world demands silence, he is fearless where others flinch, and he has taken on the battle of the next generation, changing these hearts and minds, she said in one video.

Kirk, 31, was speaking on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem in early September when he was shot in the neck by a sniper positioned on a nearby rooftop (AFP via Getty Images)

The family was reportedly present on the Utah campus when the tragedy unfolded, and it subsequently emerged that Erika had shared a Bible verse about seeking help during difficult times just hours before she lost her husband.

Psalm 46:1  God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, her post read.

An Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America, Charlie Kirk first became interested in politics while studying at Wheeling High School when he volunteered to help Illinois Republican Mark Kirk (no relation) in his successful 2010 run for the U.S. Senate. Unlike many Chicagoans, the teen rejected the rise of local hero Barack Obama and expressed an admiration for Ronald Reagan instead.

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As a senior, Kirk spearheaded a campaign to reverse an increase in the price of cookies being sold in the school cafeteria. But he made a much bigger splash soon after when he wrote an article for Breitbart alleging a liberal bias in high school textbooks, which led to an invitation to appear on Fox News to discuss the piece.

After being turned away from West Point and dropping out of Chicagos Harper College, he found a mentor in Bill Montgomery, 71, a Tea Party-backed legislative candidate and businessman, who encouraged him to commit to full-time conservative activism.

Kirk subsequently founded Turning Point, an organization dedicated to promoting conservative values on campus, beginning his rise to national prominence as the face of young Republicanism in the emerging Trump era, a position he cemented with regular appearances in public, on right-wing media and, eventually, his own podcast.
Chris Pratt, Jimmy Kimmel, and other Hollywood figures shared reactions online after reports confirmed Charlie Kirks death by shooting. The conservative activists sudden death during a public event drew messages of grief and calls against violence from stars and political figures alike. Heres what they shared in their tributes.

Editors Note: This piece discusses Charlie Kirks death and gun violence. Reader discretion is advised.

Hollywood reacts to Charlie Kirks shooting death

Conservative activist and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk died on Wednesday at age 31 after someone fatally shot him during an event at Utah Valley University.

Authorities said a bullet struck him in the neck while he addressed mass shootings in the United States. Eyewitnesses reported the shot came from a rooftop, and law enforcement later arrested the suspected gunman dressed in dark clothing.

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President Donald Trump announced Kirks death on Truth Social, writing, The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!

"The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his pic.twitter.com/aM8Pz3TKml  The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 10, 2025

Trump also vowed, My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity, and to other political violence, including the organisations that fund it and support it.

TO MY GREAT FELLOW AMERICANS pic.twitter.com/oRsrE5TTHr  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 11, 2025

Former President Barack Obama wrote, We dont yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy. Michelle and I will be praying for Charlies family tonight, especially his wife Erika and their two young children.

We dont yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy. Michelle and I will be praying for Charlies family tonight, especially his wife Erika and their two young children.  Barack Obama (@BarackObama) September 10, 2025

Hollywood figures also reacted. Chris Pratt posted, Praying for Charlie Kirk right now, for his wife and young children, for our country. We need Gods grace. God help us.

Praying for Charlie Kirk right now, for his wife and young children, for our country. We need Gods grace. God help us.  Chris Pratt (@prattprattpratt) September 10, 2025

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Jimmy Kimmel wrote, Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human? On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks.

Arnold Schwarzenegger added, My heart is with Charlie Kirks family, and with the United States. Politics has become a disease in this country, and its deadly. But dont listen to the pessimists who say there is no cure. There is a cure. It is inside of us.

My heart is with Charlie Kirks family, and with the United States.



Politics has become a disease in this country, and its deadly. But dont listen to the pessimists who say there is no cure.



There is a cure. It is inside of us. We must find our better angels and walk back  Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) September 10, 2025

Kirk is survived by his wife Erika Frantza and their two young children.

Originally reported by Vritti Johar on ComingSoon.net.

The post Charlie Kirks Shooting Death Mourned by Hollywood appeared first on Mandatory.
Founder and executive director of Turning Point USA Charlie Kirk speaks at the opening of the Turning Point Action conference on July 15, 2023 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk has died after he was shot at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said in a news conference Wednesday afternoon that a person of interest was in custody, but that he could not elaborate. Soon after, at 6 p.m., FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X that the subject in custody had been released after an interrogation by law enforcement.

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Officials suspect that the shooter shot Kirk from a rooftop as he spoke at an outdoor event on the college campus, but they had little additional information other than that the person appeared to be wearing dark clothing. They said the investigation is ongoing.

We are actively looking for anyone and everyone who has any possible information related to the shooter, Cox said.

Cox called the shooting a political assassination and called for anyone who had celebrated Kirks death to look in the mirror.

The investigation is ongoing, but I want to make it crystal clear right now to whoever did this, we will find you, we will try you, and we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law, Cox said. And I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty here.

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The suspected shooter was dressed in all dark clothing, but other than that, officials couldnt provide much detail Wednesday. Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said the only information we have on the suspect, the possible shooter, is taken from closed circuit TV here on campus.

Mason said that footage is currently being analyzed. Asked whether the suspect on the security camera footage and the person of interest they have in custody match, Mason said, thats what were trying to decipher right now.

Officials also said there is no information that suggests there was a second person involved in the shooting. One shot was fired, Kirk was the only victim and police confirmed it was a targeted attack.

Videos circulating on social media show students scattering after a popping sound is heard, Kirk appears to be impacted by something, and begins bleeding from his neck. Witnesses say he was answering a question about mass shootings in the moment he was shot.

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In a statement, Utah Valley University confirmed Kirk had been shot at about 12:20 p.m. while speaking to the crowd.

Mason later told reporters that Kirk had been shot in the neck. He was then taken by a private vehicle to Timpanogos Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The Utah Department of Public Safety and the FBI will be co-leading this criminal investigation to find this killer, Mason said.

Campus was closed down following the shooting, with the university later announcing the closure will remain in place until Sept. 15. For hours after the shot rang out, dozens of police vehicles and some armored vehicles swarmed the university campus and blocked off roadways. SWAT teams and military personnel carrying long guns  some with K-9s  could be seen searching buildings.

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Several students told Utah News Dispatch they were told to wait outside, unable to retrieve their belongings from classrooms or access their dorms, until after law enforcement completed their searches.

Adelaide Condie, an 18-year-old Utah Valley University student, was standing on a trash can trying to see Kirk as he answered a question about gun violence when he was hit.

All of a sudden he got shot  It looked like it was to the chest from where I was, but people are saying it was to the neck  then he went down, said Condie as she was leaving campus. Everyone started running, then we all got on lockdown.

The university initially reported a suspect was in custody, but officers determined he didnt match the shooters description. Law enforcement officials identified him as George Zinn, a local political gadfly known for his disruptive behavior. While not suspected in the shooting, Mason said Zinn was booked into Utah County Jail for investigation of obstruction of justice.

A police chiefs nightmare

There wasnt a heavy police presence or extensive security measures in place for Wednesdays event. Deseret News reporter Emma Pitts, who was on scene when the shooting happened, told the outlet that students werent scanned and bags werent checked when they entered the outdoor venue.

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When asked about the events security, Utah Valley University Police Chief Jeff Long first told reporters that what happened was a police chiefs nightmare.

Were a small police department. We have a very large campus. We have over 40,000 students. We love our students. We love our visitors. And were devastated by what happened today, he said.

The chief said Wednesdays event took place at an open venue outdoors, with more than 3,000 people estimated in attendance. He said six officers staffed the event, along with some officers in plain clothes in the crowd. He added that UVU police also partnered with Kirks security team.

We train for these things. You think you have things covered, and these things, unfortunately, they happen, Long said. You try to get your bases covered, and unfortunately today we didnt.

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Utah Valley University says on its website that it complies with state law regarding weapons on campus, which restricts people from possessing a dangerous weapon, firearm, or sawed-off gun on campus except under certain circumstances. However, the university allows concealed weapons to be carried by legal permit holders.

People comfort each other as they leave the Utah Valley University campus after a shooter killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk as he was speaking at an outdoor event at the school on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

Shooting follows No Kings protest shooting, national political violence

The shooting on the college campus in Orem, about 45 minutes south of Salt Lake City, follows violence this summer in Utah and beyond. In July, shots rang out as more than 10,000 people marched in Salt Lake City as part of the No Kings protest of the Trump administration and its policies.

A self-described volunteer peacekeeper fired with a handgun after seeing a man with an AR-15-style rifle, winging him in the side and striking a protester in the head as he walked by. Arthur Afa Ah Loo, a fashion designer and fixture of the Polynesian community in Utah, died from the wound.

On the same day in Minnesota, House Democratic leader Melissa Hortman was assassinated in her home, along with her husband, Mark Hortman. Police say the accused gunman, Vance Boelter, disguised himself as a police officer. Boelter is also charged with shooting Democratic Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, both of whom survived, in their Champlin home.

Kirks visit to Utah drew criticism; his killing invoked condemnation, sadness

Kirk is a founder of Turning Point USA, an organization that advocates for conservative politics in educational institutions, and a close ally of President Donald Trump. He is a widely known internet personality who takes his signature prove me wrong debates to college campuses.

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His Utah visit wasnt without controversy. In a Change.org petition, students at Utah State University, where Kirk was scheduled to make a second appearance in the state on Sept. 30, said Kirks polarizing rhetoric is at odds with the inclusive atmosphere they want to preserve on campus. The petition had more than 6,800 signatures.

Matt Bailey, a UVU student who was in class when the shooting happened, told Utah News Dispatch as he was leaving campus that its pretty sad that it had to come to this, that someone was willing to do this.

Regardless of what you believe about Charlie Kirk, he does come and just wants to talk to everybody, he said.

Another UVU student, John Bryant  a film student who raced to campus from his home in Orem after he heard of the shooting  said while Kirk could be a pretty polarizing character, its a whole different story to take out an act of violence against (him).

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Personally, I dont agree with his views, but violence is not the way to make change, Bryant said. Thats not going to change him, because now hes gone.  Violence is not the answer.

Trump orders flags lowered

The president was among the first to announce Kirks death.

The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead, Trump wrote on Truth Social. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!

Trump ordered U.S. flags throughout the country to be lowered in the wake of Kirks killing, describing him as a truly Great American Patriot on Truth Social.

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Cox echoed that order, requiring U.S. and Utah flags to be flown at half staff at all state facilities in acknowledgement of Kirk until Sunday.

In a statement posted to social media, Cox said he had spoken on the phone with Trump about Kirks death and is now working with the FBI and state law enforcement to bring to justice the individual responsible for this tragedy.

Abby and I are heartbroken. We are praying for Charlies wife, daughter, and son, Cox said.

Police respond to the scene of the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, who was speaking during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

In an earlier statement, Cox warned those involved in the shooting would be held accountable and that violence has no place in our public life, he wrote.

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Before it was announced that Kirk had died in the shooting, dozens of congressional Republicans on Capitol Hill offered prayers for Kirk, with whom many GOP members have personal relationships.

U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, paused the panels consideration of a bill and held a moment of silence after Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene informed the committee of the shooting.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement the news of Kirks death is utterly devastating.

Charlie was a close friend and confidant. He will be sorely missed by so many. Every political leader must loudly and clearly decry this violence, Johnson said. Our prayers go out to his wife and young children. May he rest in peace.

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Utah News Dispatch editor McKenzie Romero and States Newsroom reporter Jacob Fischler contributed to this story.

Like Minnesota Reformer, Utah News Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Utah News Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor McKenzie Romero for questions: info@utahnewsdispatch.com.
Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, who spoke at Missouri State University in October 2023, was fatally shot in the neck Wednesday during an event at Utah Valley University.

Kirk, 31, co-founded Turning Point USA, an organization that pushes for conservative politics on high school and college campuses.

In October 2023, when Kirk spoke at Missouri State by invitation of the student chapter of Turning Point USA, he spoke to a crowd that exceeded the capacity of the Plaster Student Union Theater.

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Mattea Miller, then president of MSUs Turning Point USA chapter, said more than 1,400 people registered for the free event, but the theater reached its occupancy limit after about 580 guests were admitted. According to Springfield News-Leader reporting, hundreds of people were turned away when capacity was reached. A small number of protesters also were present outside the event.

Here's what to know about Kirk's 2023 visit to Springfield.

Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, speaks to the audience at the Plaster Student Union Theater on the Missouri State University campus in Springfield on October 19, 2023.

Charlie Kirk urged halt to US immigration during Missouri State visit

Kirk said at the 2023 event that immigration to the U.S. should be entirely stopped and any person who hated America or its allies should leave.

There's nothing racist or xenophobic about loving the country so much that you don't want people who hate your country to come into your country, Kirk said.

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Using the example of recent student organizations taking an anti-Israel stance, Kirk floated a question that asked how many sleeper cells might be active in the U.S., based on the support some groups have shown for Hamas after it attacked Israel. He feels that the country should be more selective about who it lets in.

It drives the left nuts when you say this, that all men are created equal in the eyes of God, all men and women, but not all cultures are created equal, Kirk said. To say that, you get attacked in every direction, but excuse me when I say that Western civilization is the best that humanity has produced. Its an outgrowth of the Bible.

Using U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar as an example, Kirk contended that the generosity and benevolence shown by the United States when it allowed Omar to emigrate was wasted on her.

She should be deported, Kirk said. She hates the country. Shes a terrorist sympathizer.

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Omar, among other Muslim lawmakers, has been the target of recent death threats, despite her condemnation of the Hamas attacks. Omar emigrated to the U.S. as a child when her family fled civil war in Somalia.

Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, poses with members of student chapters of Turning Point USA from MSU and Southern Baptist University at the Plaster Student Union Theater on the Missouri State University campus in Springfield on October 19, 2023.

Despite Kirks proclaimed support for Israel, he said he felt that U.S. lawmakers should focus on securing the Mexican border rather than sending aid to foreign countries.

The fact that our leaders in both parties are more focused on what's happening in Ukraine than our southern border is a moral disgrace in our country, Kirk said.

Kirk said that 2.5 to 3 million illegal immigrants are "invading" the U.S. every year, and that the country is giving away 1.2 to 1.5 million green cards and family chain migration citizenship on top of that.

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NBC News reported 2.76 million crossings stopped by Customs and Border Protection in 2022, although many of the people crossing had been returned to Mexico before attempting to cross again. This means that the crossings don't necessarily equal the number of people who entered the country.

In 2021, the U.S. issued around 740,000 green cards. The current wait to receive a green card is anywhere between a year and 20 months. The process is quite costly, as just the government filing fees average around $1,700, and most applicants require the help of an attorney, which can add thousands of dollars in expense.

In 2021, over 107,000 Mexican citizens received a green card, followed by more than 93,000 from India, and nearly 50,000 from China.

Additionally, U.S. immigration law restricts the issuance of an abundance of some green cards to people originating from one specific country. For employment-based green cards, only 140,000 are issued per year and only 7% are allotted per country.

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Kirk went on to point out that about 22% of U.S. households speak a language other than English at home. While true, Kirk neglected to mention the additional statistic in the U.S. Census report that only 8% of people speak English less than very well.

For households that share a common native language other than English, it is natural to speak their native tongue in private, but it does not mean that these households dont speak any English.

When 22% of the country does not want to learn the language, you know, what really upsets me about this is that the Irish and the Polish that came here 100 years ago, they made it a priority in their communities to learn English, Kirk said.

Looking back at American history, Kirk insisted that America is a nation of settlers, rather than a nation of immigrants, because immigrating implies that there was a civilization to assimilate into when people arrived.

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There was not exactly a lot of civilization when the first people came to Missouri, Kirk said. Is that an immigrant or a settler? It's more of a settling. It's a mindset of going to the frontier, using the Homestead Act to get the land that you can see.

While many people did settle land throughout the country when they first arrived, Kirks comments seemed to discount the sovereignty of the Native American cultures that had flourished for generations before settlers, assisted by the U.S. government, massacred or displaced those indigenous peoples.

Charlie Kirk said climate change is a hoax

Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, invites the audience to pose questions to him at the Plaster Student Union Theater on the Missouri State University campus in Springfield on October 19, 2023.

When Kirk opened the floor to questions, more than 30 people filled the aisle hoping to get a chance to seek his opinion. Some college students trolled Kirk with nonsensical questions and arguments involving former President Obamas ethnicity, as well as abortion and gender rights.

Other adult attendees asked Kirk for advice on personal struggles that they faced. Some students sought Kirks advice on how to combat ridicule for identifying as a young conservative or Christian.

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Many people asked Kirk about his stance on abortion, to which he held strong to his convictions that life begins at conception and abortion should be prohibited.

However, when Kirk was asked how conservatives can find some common ground about addressing climate change, it sparked a bit of debate. Kirk turned the question back around on the student, asking him to define climate change and carbon emissions, and how the two are related.

After answering these, Kirk wanted to confirm that the student trusted the consensus of scientific reports and would take the researchers' word that they were right.

I'm unbelievably skeptical when I hear scientists say, especially after I had to hear that a vaccine is safe and effective, and closing down schools and putting masks on kids was a good answer. But let's pretend you're right. Okay, let's pretend that climate change is an existential threat, Kirk said.

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He then asked the student, who said he had studied architecture for four years at MSU, how he would solve the climate change issue. Kirk disputed that phasing out fossil fuels would help, and was skeptical of the fact that humans have anything to do with rising temperatures.

If you're wrong, then we might try to find a solution that actually might be more about private property confiscation, and wealth deterioration, aka Marxism, not actually solving the problem, Kirk said.

Kirk scoffed at the idea that the U.S. should transition away from fossil fuels and vehicles, and felt that developing more walkable cities was synonymous with taking away our freedom.

Without a vehicle, you are a captive of the government in an open air prison, Kirk said.

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Kirk concluded by asserting that there were bigger problems that should be solved before deciding whether climate change was a real threat.

With all of the pressing challenges that face humanity, like the most suicidal generation in history, the most drug-addicted generation in history, the most alcohol-addicted generation in history, the fixation on an abstraction of rising global temperatures is an academic distraction from real material suffering, Kirk said.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Charlie Kirk spoke to Missouri State University students in 2023
We shouldnt have to live like this in America.

A right-wing political figure like Charlie Kirk shouldnt be shot and killed in broad daylight on a Utah college campus. Not for anything he had said, or for who he was, or for any reason.

A Democratic state lawmaker like Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband shouldnt be assassinated in their home, as they were in June. Not for anything they had said, or for who she was, or for any reason.

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And children shouldnt be routinely shot in schools, as two students at a Denver area high school were on Sept. 10, about the same time Kirk was shot one state away.

Charlie Kirk was shot and killed, as America does what it always does

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk is pictured throwing hats to the crowd shortly before he was fatally shot at a Utah Valley University speaking event on Sept. 10.

I shouldnt have to text my kids and tell them to avoid the horrific viral video of Kirk being shot. I shouldnt have to worry that images of real, graphic violence like that will, bit by bit, steal parts of their souls.

We shouldnt have to cringe as online ghouls from across the political spectrum celebrate, speculate or pontificate on the latest shooting.

Opinion: Charlie Kirk gave young conservatives a voice. We'll feel his loss for years to come.

Who doesn't condemn violence? That should be a given.

We shouldnt have to live in a country where the instant a tragedy like the killing of Kirk or the Denver school shooting happens, every politician and every soul with a social media account rises up and boldly declares: I CONDEMN VIOLENCE OF ANY KIND!

Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk appears at a Utah Valley University speaking event in Orem, Utah, Sept. 10, 2025. Kirk has died after being shot in the neck during the event, President Donald Trump confirmed. Charlie Kirk throws hats to the crowd shortly before he was shot at a Utah Valley University speaking event in Orem, Utah, Sept. 10, 2025. People run after a shot was fired at right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk during a Utah Valley University speaking event in Orem, Utah, Sept. 10, 2025. A man prays near the site where Charlie Kirk was shot during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, Sept. 10, 2025. Police and first responders' vehicles appear at the scene where Charlie Kirk was shot during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, Sept. 10, 2025. The scene after Charlie Kirk was shot at a Utah Valley University speaking event in Orem, Utah, Sept. 10, 2025. The scene after right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk was shot at a Utah Valley University speaking event in Orem, Utah, Sept. 10, 2025. A law enforcement officer holds a handgun after right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk was shot at a Utah Valley University speaking event in Orem, Utah, Sept. 10, 2025. Law enforcement officers work at Utah Valley University, where Charlie Kirk was shot during an event, in Orem, Utah, Sept. 10, 2025. People leave the Utah Valley University, where Charlie Kirk was shot during an event, in Orem, Utah, Sept. 10, 2025. Law enforcement officers work at Utah Valley University, where Charlie Kirk, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, was shot during an event in Orem, Utah, Sept. 10, 2025. Law enforcement officer works at Utah Valley University, where Charlie Kirk was shot during an event, in Orem, Utah, Sept. 10, 2025. Law enforcement officers work at Utah Valley University, where Charlie Kirk was shot during an event, in Orem, Utah, Sept. 10, 2025. Chaos at Utah Valley campus after conservative activist Charlie Kirk shot 1 of 13 Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk appears at a Utah Valley University speaking event in Orem, Utah, Sept. 10, 2025. Kirk has died after being shot in the neck during the event, President Donald Trump confirmed.

Of course you do. That should be a given. Those who dont condemn violence of any kind are outliers, attention seekers, opportunistic ideologues.

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Condemnation of violence is inherently human.

America is broken by violence, and Kirk's death is just the latest act

But we live in a country that has so much violence  political violence, street violence, domestic violence  that we find it necessary to either take out our bullhorn and make clear our dislike of violence or blame the violence on people we dont like.

All of that is horrible. Its not how a functioning society should operate.

Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk has died after being shot in the neck during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10, 2025, President Donald Trump confirmed.



Take a look back at Kirk's political career starting with his speech during the 2016 Republican National Convention at Quicken Loans Arena on July 18, 2016, in Cleveland, Ohio. Charlie Kirk, a speaker for national conservative group Turning Point USA, gives his speech on Friday, Feb 2, 2018, at the Lory Student Center on campus at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo. Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, speaks during the Republican National Convention at the Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 24, 2020 in Washington Turning Point CEO Charlie Kirk speaks during the Turning Point USA's Young Latino Leadership Summit at the Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix on April 18, 2021. Charlie Kirk walks out to cheering supporters during the first day of the AmericaFest hosted by Turning Point USA on Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021, in Phoenix. Charlie Kirk, left, and Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska, right, hold a discussion during the second day of AmericaFest 2021 hosted by Turning Point USA on Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021, in Phoenix. Charlie Kirk, co-founder and president of Turning Point Action, speaks at the "Rally to Protect Our Elections!" at the Arizona Federal Theatre in Phoenix, July 24, 2021. Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, speaks during his Exposing Critical Racism Tour in Tillman Hall at Clemson University in Clemson, S.C. on November 1, 2021. Former President Donald Trump takes the stage for his speech in front of Charlie Kirk, the founder and president of Turning Point USA, during the Turning Point Action event at the Arizona Federal Theatre in Phoenix on July 24, 2021. This is Trump's first post-presidency visit to Arizona. Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, speaks during a Unite and Win rally held by Turning Point Action at the Arizona Financial Theatre on Aug. 14, 2022, in Phoenix. Kirk and Pastor Rob McCoy of Newbury Park work in tandem to encourage pastors to become politically active. From left, Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, Kari Lake, Republican candidate for governor of Arizona, and Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, greet attendees during a Unite and Win rally held by Turning Point Action at the Arizona Financial Theatre on Aug. 14, 2022, in Phoenix. Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, smiles during a press conference on the pending lawsuit against the Scottsdale Unified School District announced outside the Arizona Superior Court building in Phoenix on May 5, 2022. Charlie Kirk takes the stage during AmericaFest 2023 at the Phoenix Convention Center on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. Charlie Kirk speaks during the Turning Point Action general session at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. July 2023. Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk walks on stage on Aug. 23, 2024, at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Ariz. Charlie Kirk waves to delegates after speaking on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 15, 2024. The RNC kicked off the first day of the convention with the roll call vote of the states. Charlie Kirk waves to delegates after speaking on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 15, 2024. The RNC kicked off the first day of the convention with the roll call vote of the states. Charlie Kirk, Founder and President of Turning Point USA, addresses the crowd at a rally with US Senator and Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance during a campaign rally at Arizona Christian University Event Center in Glendale, Arizona, on July 31, 2024. US conservative political activist and YouTuber Charlie Kirk (R) holds a red cap supporting former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as he arrives to attend a rally at Hurt Park next to the campus of Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 21, 2024. Charlie Kirk speaks at the Tucker Carlson Live Tour finale at Desert Diamond Arena on Oct. 31, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. U.S. Vice President-elect JD Vance on stage with Charlie Kirk during the Turning Point USA Inaugural-Eve Ball at the Salamander Hotel on Jan. 19, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th U.S. president on Jan. 20. Charlie Kirk speaks during the inauguration rally for President Donald Trump at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C., on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. Conservative media podcaster Charlie Kirk met fans and took selfies with them after a rally for U.S. Senate candidate Nate Morris in Shepherdsville, Kentucky Monday morning. Kirk's popularity was one of the reasons for the crowd's big turnout on June 30, 2025. Conservative Charlie Kirk, CEO of Turning Point USA, gives a thumbs up as U.S. Senate candidate Nate Morris said Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell's lifetime award given to him by the Kentucky GOP should be rescinded during a rally at the Paroquet Springs Conference Center in Shepherdsville, Kentucky on June 30, 2025 Turning Point USA founder and CEO Charlie Kirk debates students during his American Comeback Tour event held at the Humanities Amphitheatre on the University of Tennessee's campus in Knoxville on Thursday, March 13, 2025. Charlie Kirk speaks during a rally hosted by Turning Point Action in support of U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs at Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix on May 31, 2025. U.S. right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk appears at a Utah Valley University speaking event in Orem, Utah on September 10, 2025. Charlie Kirk in photos, from Trump rallies to debates 1 of 27 Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk has died after being shot in the neck during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10, 2025, President Donald Trump confirmed.



Take a look back at Kirk's political career starting with his speech during the 2016 Republican National Convention at Quicken Loans Arena on July 18, 2016, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Im a liberal. I couldnt have possibly disagreed more with Kirks politics. I think his sometimes hateful words and right-wing activism did real harm. I think his pro-gun rhetoric was deplorable. But all I felt as news of the Utah shooting unspooled was horror.

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He was a human being. He had a young family. Whatever the shooters motive, whatever the shooters political party or beliefs, theres no universe in which what happened was anything but a tragedy.

And that, I guarantee you, is how most people in America felt. Because most people abhor violence. Most people know its wrong. Most people want peace and safety and the freedom to speak their mind without threat of harm.

Share your thoughts: Honestly, what can we do to fix America's problem with violence? Tell us. | Opinion Forum

Social media and the blur of news fog our sense of humanity

That reality gets blurred by the 24-hour news cycle and the ideological screamers and the blurring firehose of social media posts.

People run and crouch after conservative Charlie Kirk was shot at a Utah Valley University speaking event in Orem on Sept. 10, 2025.

Ill say it again, when people feel the need to openly declare their opposition to any form of violence, when theres enough uncertainty out there that Americans decide they must routinely plant a flag about their position on the matter, the country has a problem.

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A problem with violence, of course. But more fundamentally, a problem with how we address violence.

Why not try everything to prevent all forms of violence?

It can be stopped, but Americans dont seem able to agree on how to get that done. Fewer guns? Better mental health services? Stricter laws? Toned-down rhetoric? More prayer? Better education?

How about all those things? How about we collectively recognize weve got a problem and cut the left vs. right crap and figure it out. How about we stop demanding everyone declare their deep opposition to senseless violence and start bridging the very divide that is undoubtedly making the violence worse.

Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store.

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Ive been writing about horrific shootings like the one in Utah for too long to be optimistic. What happened to Kirk should never happen to anyone. But I brought up the assassination of the Minnesota lawmaker and her husband near the top of this column to show how quickly tragedies like these happen and then fade, then happen again, and again, and again.

A declaration of opposition to violence gets us nowhere

I condemn violence in all forms. There, are you happy now?

The very fact that I have to do it tells you Americans need to pull their heads out of their political holes and forge a path to a place where a persons condemnation of violence is simply assumed.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @rexhuppke.bsky.social and on Facebook at facebook.com/RexIsAJerk

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You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kirk was shot dead and America does what it always does | Opinion
WASHINGTON - Progressive firebrand New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk "tremendously disturbing" and urged for gun safety legislation to be passed by Congress.

Her comments come after Kirk was shot at an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. That same day, a shooting occurred at a Colorado high school.

"Every single day, there are people in this building that continue to vote against doing anything," Ocasio-Cortez told reporters on Sept. 10, referring to the Capitol building and Republicans in Congress. "They vote against universal background checks. They continue to support legislation and also remove any way to block the mentally ill, to block extremists, to block people with histories and records of domestic violence from getting guns in their hands. So are we going to do something about this or not?"

Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk has died after being shot in the neck during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10, 2025, President Donald Trump confirmed.



Take a look back at Kirk's political career starting with his speech during the 2016 Republican National Convention at Quicken Loans Arena on July 18, 2016, in Cleveland, Ohio. Charlie Kirk, a speaker for national conservative group Turning Point USA, gives his speech on Friday, Feb 2, 2018, at the Lory Student Center on campus at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo. Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, speaks during the Republican National Convention at the Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 24, 2020 in Washington Turning Point CEO Charlie Kirk speaks during the Turning Point USA's Young Latino Leadership Summit at the Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix on April 18, 2021. Charlie Kirk walks out to cheering supporters during the first day of the AmericaFest hosted by Turning Point USA on Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021, in Phoenix. Charlie Kirk, left, and Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska, right, hold a discussion during the second day of AmericaFest 2021 hosted by Turning Point USA on Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021, in Phoenix. Charlie Kirk, co-founder and president of Turning Point Action, speaks at the "Rally to Protect Our Elections!" at the Arizona Federal Theatre in Phoenix, July 24, 2021. Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, speaks during his Exposing Critical Racism Tour in Tillman Hall at Clemson University in Clemson, S.C. on November 1, 2021. Former President Donald Trump takes the stage for his speech in front of Charlie Kirk, the founder and president of Turning Point USA, during the Turning Point Action event at the Arizona Federal Theatre in Phoenix on July 24, 2021. This is Trump's first post-presidency visit to Arizona. Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, speaks during a Unite and Win rally held by Turning Point Action at the Arizona Financial Theatre on Aug. 14, 2022, in Phoenix. Kirk and Pastor Rob McCoy of Newbury Park work in tandem to encourage pastors to become politically active. From left, Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, Kari Lake, Republican candidate for governor of Arizona, and Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, greet attendees during a Unite and Win rally held by Turning Point Action at the Arizona Financial Theatre on Aug. 14, 2022, in Phoenix. Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, smiles during a press conference on the pending lawsuit against the Scottsdale Unified School District announced outside the Arizona Superior Court building in Phoenix on May 5, 2022. Charlie Kirk takes the stage during AmericaFest 2023 at the Phoenix Convention Center on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. Charlie Kirk speaks during the Turning Point Action general session at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. July 2023. Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk walks on stage on Aug. 23, 2024, at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Ariz. Charlie Kirk waves to delegates after speaking on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 15, 2024. The RNC kicked off the first day of the convention with the roll call vote of the states. Charlie Kirk waves to delegates after speaking on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 15, 2024. The RNC kicked off the first day of the convention with the roll call vote of the states. Charlie Kirk, Founder and President of Turning Point USA, addresses the crowd at a rally with US Senator and Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance during a campaign rally at Arizona Christian University Event Center in Glendale, Arizona, on July 31, 2024. US conservative political activist and YouTuber Charlie Kirk (R) holds a red cap supporting former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as he arrives to attend a rally at Hurt Park next to the campus of Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 21, 2024. Charlie Kirk speaks at the Tucker Carlson Live Tour finale at Desert Diamond Arena on Oct. 31, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. U.S. Vice President-elect JD Vance on stage with Charlie Kirk during the Turning Point USA Inaugural-Eve Ball at the Salamander Hotel on Jan. 19, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th U.S. president on Jan. 20. Charlie Kirk speaks during the inauguration rally for President Donald Trump at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C., on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. Conservative media podcaster Charlie Kirk met fans and took selfies with them after a rally for U.S. Senate candidate Nate Morris in Shepherdsville, Kentucky Monday morning. Kirk's popularity was one of the reasons for the crowd's big turnout on June 30, 2025. Conservative Charlie Kirk, CEO of Turning Point USA, gives a thumbs up as U.S. Senate candidate Nate Morris said Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell's lifetime award given to him by the Kentucky GOP should be rescinded during a rally at the Paroquet Springs Conference Center in Shepherdsville, Kentucky on June 30, 2025 Turning Point USA founder and CEO Charlie Kirk debates students during his American Comeback Tour event held at the Humanities Amphitheatre on the University of Tennessee's campus in Knoxville on Thursday, March 13, 2025. Charlie Kirk speaks during a rally hosted by Turning Point Action in support of U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs at Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix on May 31, 2025. U.S. right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk appears at a Utah Valley University speaking event in Orem, Utah on September 10, 2025. Charlie Kirk in photos, from Trump rallies to debates 1 of 27 Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk has died after being shot in the neck during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10, 2025, President Donald Trump confirmed.



Take a look back at Kirk's political career starting with his speech during the 2016 Republican National Convention at Quicken Loans Arena on July 18, 2016, in Cleveland, Ohio.

"Are we going to do something, or are we going to argue over rhetoric?" Ocasio-Cortez added.

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Kirk's death has sent shockwaves through Capitol Hill. Lawmakers engaged in a shouting match on the House floor Sept. 10 after a moment of silence was held for Kirk. Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna at one point yelled at Democrats, "yall caused this!"

When asked what she thought of a Republican lawmaker claiming that Democrats were the cause of Kirks death, Ocasio-Cortez said, "I don't think a single person who has dedicated their entire career to preventing gun safety legislation from getting passed in this House has any right to blame anybody else but themselves for what has happened."

"The assassination of Charlie Kirk risks an uncorking of political chaos and violence that we cannot risk in America," she said.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks after Mahmoud Khalil arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport on June 21, 2025, in Newark, New Jersey.

Other Democrats have also condemned the attack.

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"The horrific shooting today at Utah Valley University is reprehensible. Political violence has absolutely no place in our nation," former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote on X. "All Americans should pray for Charlie Kirks recovery and hold the entire UVU community in our hearts as they endure the trauma of this gun violence."

The incident is the latest in a string of political violence aimed at public figures and their families, including a hammer-wielding assailant who broke into Pelosi's house in 2023 and attacked her husband.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: AOC calls Charlie Kirk assassination 'disturbing,' urges gun control
Murfreesboro's World Outreach Church Senior Pastor Allen Jackson spoke out about the Sept. 10 death of Charlie Kirk, who was scheduled to soon be a guest speaker at the church.

Kirk, known for leading conservative debates around the country, was scheduled to speak Sept. 19-20 at the "Culture & Christianity Conference" at the World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro.

Jackson and World Outreach Church released the following statement to The Daily News Journal: "It's a tragic loss. We are praying for the family, Turning Point USA and our nation."

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Kirk, 31, founded the conservative movement and organization, Turning Point USA when he was just 18. He was speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah on the first day of his organization's "The American Comeback Tour" when he was fatally shot while sitting on a chair in front of thousands of college students.

He argued conservative policies and values with college students dubbed the "Prove Me Wrong Table," on various campuses like at the Utah Valley University event.

Charlie Kirk speaks while wearing a shirt with a picture taken during Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump's attempted assassination on Day 3 of the Republican National Convention (RNC), at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 17, 2024.

More: Charlie Kirk fatally shot in Utah, Tennessee lawmakers react: 'Horrific'

More: Charlie Kirk shot and killed at campus event, 'person of interest' in custody: Live updates

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World Outreach Church will be holding regular 6:30 p.m. Wednesday night worship following the death of Kirk.

Jackson also called Kirk on social media "a bold truth-teller, brother in Christ and friend."

"What he contributed to our culture, our country, and God's Kingdom during his life will live on," part of his post said.

Every day we have is a gift from the Lord. What occurred on Utah Valley Universitys campus today is a sobering reminder of that.@charliekirk11 was a bold truth-teller, brother in Christ, and friend. What he contributed to our culture, our country, and Gods Kingdom during his pic.twitter.com/ByS2Nf6vg2  Allen Jackson (@allenjacksonmin) September 10, 2025

The large World Outreach Church includes elected officials such as La Vergne Mayor Jason Cole. The mayor did not know Kirk but admired his efforts to reach out to young people and others.

"He's a good Christan Man who believed in dialogue as a way to discuss differences and reason things out (to avoid what) can lead to the downfall of countries," Cole said.

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"When we stop talking to each other as a society about our difference, everything falls apart."

Cole also noted the tragedy impacts not only Kirk's wife, two children and family, but the nation.

"Charlie was one of the best and brightest of young America and the future generation," Cole said. "So it was heartbreaking for the nation. He was making a big impact for this nation with the future generations."

Pastor Jackson posted the following elongated response about Kirk's death on Facebook:

"Every day we have is a gift from the Lord. What occurred on Utah Valley University's campus today is a sobering reminder of that.

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"Charlie Kirk was a bold truth-teller, brother in Christ and friend. What he contributed to our culture, our country, and God's Kingdom during his life will live on. His words will continue to impact the generations to come.

"His voice has been tragically silenced, but God's truth will never be silenced. We will grieve with those who grieve, yet we will walk into the morning with the hope that no matter what takes place in this present age, God's plan will be carried forward.

"Thank God for the truth you heard form Charlie and make the determination to carry on his legacy by speaking the truth in boldness, not living in fear.

"Please keep his wife, Erika, and their young children in your prayers. Pray for a supernatural comfort, peace, and guidance that can only come from God."

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Kirk was also invited to speak in 2020 by outspoken Global Vision Bible Church Pastor Greg Locke at the churchs former campus on Old Lebanon Dirt Road in West Wilson County. Global Vision now meets in Lebanon.

Locke posted on X: Praying for my friend Charlie Kirk. God do a miracle!! Praying also for his family and his @TPUSA team."

Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Charlie Kirk's death impacts Murfreesboro's World Outreach Church
Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist, was shot and killed in Orem, Utah, a week before he was to appear in Tennessee.

Kirk, 31, was assaulted while participating in a Q&A session with students at Utah Valley University. The university announced that at 1:15 p.m. MT apprehended a suspect. However, Scott Trotter, a spokesperson for the university, informed the New York Times that authorities had concluded the individual taken into custody was not the shooter. Campus police chose not to provide comments when contacted by USA TODAY.

President Donald Trump issued a statement on Truth Social at 3:40 p.m. Sept. 10 announcing Kirk's death.

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"The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead," he stated. "No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!"

Utah Valley University was the latest stop on Kirks The American Comeback Tour with his organization Turning Point USA. More than 6,800 people had signed a petition prior to the event requesting that faculty prevent Kirk from speaking.

Here's what to know about the conservative activist and his work in Tennessee.

Who is Charlie Kirk?

Kirk was a political activist who was born in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He briefly attended Harper College in Palatine, Illinois, before dropping out and subsequently founding Turning Point USA.

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He was married to Erika Kirk, an entrepreneur, and the father of two children. Their daughter was born in August 2022, and they had a son in 2024.

Kirk was an influential member of the conservative movement over the past decade. His most significant contribution to the movement was through his efforts to recruit young voters on college campuses. He did this through his organization, Turning Point USA, and during his "You're Being Brainwashed" tour ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

In 2024, he spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where he gave a speech focusing on what Kirk says he heard from young people around the U.S.

Charlie Kirk in Tennessee

According to reports, the shooting occurred just as Kirk was about to start a nationwide tour of college debates across the US. The tour, called "The American Comeback Tour," was scheduled to visit places like Colorado State University and the University of Minnesota, among other college campuses.

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In a brief break from the tour, Kirk was set to speak in Murfreesboro at the Culture and Christianity Conference from Sept. 19 to 20. He was one of 18 speakers set to give a speech during the two-day event.

The event is focused on connecting attendees to God and following in his voice and truth in the current political climate.

"Every day we have is a gift from the Lord," Pastor Allen Jackson, another conference speaker, wrote on Instagram. "What occurred on Utah Valley Universitys campus today is a sobering reminder of that."

Charlie Kirk's comments in the wake of Nashville Covenant School shooting

Shortly after The Covenant School shooting in Nashville that took the lives of three students and three adults March, 27, 2023, Kirk made comments saying gun violence is necessary to keep the Second Amendment so that one can defend themselves against a tyrannical government.

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"I think it's worth it," Kirk said responding to a question about a recent shooting at a Turning Point USA Faith event April 5, 2023 in Salt Lake City, Utah. "I think it's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights."

The comments resurfaced on social posts in the wake of Kirk's shooting.

Turning Point USA on Tennessee's college campuses

Back in March, the University of Tennessee Humanities amphitheater hosted thousands of students cheering on Kirk, especially as he faced challengers during a public debate he features in all his campus visits. Students filled the benches to listen to Kirk speak and debate.

The goal was to challenge the notion that college campuses are liberal, and UT students used Kirk, who frequently aimed at the country's higher education system, to do it.

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Turning Point USA has brought conservative figures to the University of Memphis' campus in the past few years. Kyle Rittenhouse and Riley Gaines are both conservative activists who were invited to speak at the university through Turning Point USA.

There have been two events that Rittenhouse attended and spoke at on the University of Memphis' campus. The first time Rittenhouse came to campus was March 20, 2024. The second visit was earlier this year on Feb. 26; both times, Rittenhouse was invited to speak by Turning Point USA.

Riley Gaines, a conservative activist, was set to speak at an event with Tennessee Homeschoolers on Sept. 11, but the event was cancelled in the wake of Kirk's shooting.

Turning Point USA's chapter at the University of Memphis invited Gaines to speak at the UC Theater on campus on Nov. 5. She is a Nashville native who has become involved in political activism over the past few years, following her time as a swimmer for the University of Kentucky from 2019 to 2022.

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Jordan Green covers trending news for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jordan.green@commercialappeal.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Charlie Kirk's impact in TN: From campus events to gun deaths comment
The Kentucky Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Danville this week in Newlin Hall at Centre College's Norton Center for the Arts. Centre students and students from nearby schools observed the proceedings. (Administrative Office of the Courts)

Voters might have thought they settled the question of charter schools in Kentucky last year when a school choice amendment failed in all 120 counties.

But the state Supreme Court was told Thursday that no change in the states 1891 Constitution is necessary to allow charter schools under a law the Republican-controlled legislature approved in 2022.

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Kentucky Solicitor General Matthew Kuhn said the charter school law does not violate the constitutional mandate to provide for an efficient system of common schools but would instead improve the systems efficiency by expanding opportunities.

The charter school law fits neatly in our tradition of common schools, said Kuhn on behalf of Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman. In our common school system, the status quo can never be good enough.

Lawyers for an education advocacy group and two local school districts contended the charter school law fails several constitutional tests, including a requirement that tax-funded schools be overseen by elected boards accountable to voters.

Attorney Byron Leet, representing the Council for Better Education and the Jefferson County and Dayton Independent school boards, called the law the latest attempt by the General Assembly to redirect public school money, public funds, to schools operating outside the common school system without the approval of Kentuckys voters as required by the Constitution.

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The attorney generals office is asking the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling by Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd who struck down the charter school law and enjoined its implementation in December 2023.

Shepherd wrote then that the policy goals of the legislation are not at issue in this case but that there is no way to stretch the definition of common schools so broadly that it would include such privately owned and operated schools that are exempt from the statutes and administrative regulations governing public school education.

The Kentucky Supreme Court is made up of, from left, standing, justices Shea Nickell, Kelly Thomson, Robert B. Conley, Michelle M. Keller; seated, Angela McCormick Bisig, Chief Justice Debra Hembree Lambert and Pamela R. Goodwine. (Administrative Office of the Courts photo)

Defending the law, Kuhn said Shepherd in his ruling had misapplied the 1989 Supreme Court opinion in Rose v. Council for Better Education, the landmark ruling that paved the way for the Kentucky Education Reform Act.

He said Shepherds ruling treated Rose effectively as a straight jacket that prevents the legislature from meaningfully changing the common school system. Rose, however, requires the General Assembly to continually strive to improve on the status quo.

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Also arguing in support of the charter school law was attorney Paul Salamanca, representing Gus LaFontaine who is seeking to open a charter school in Madison County under the 2022 law.

Outside looking in

In response to questions from the justices about charter schools being allowed to turn away students when their enrollment limit is reached, Salamanca said thats a good problem because its a sign the school is filling a need. And HB 9 (the charter school law) has a solution. You can start another school and another school. They can keep starting  if thats what people want.

Both Kuhn and Salamanca told the court that 45 states have charter schools, including all the states bordering Kentucky, and praised their performance. They also likened charter schools to magnet schools in Louisville and Lexington that specialize in arts or academic rigor, saying charter schools would focus on serving at-risk youngsters who are not being well served in their current schools.

Kentucky kids are really on the outside looking in on what has been a resounding success, especially in urban areas, Kuhn said. And so I really ask the court not to leave Kentucky kids on the outside looking in for this important educational development.

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Leet disputed the success of charter schools. Let me just say there is nothing remotely resembling a consensus that charter schools are a wonderful thing. But frankly, I dont think thats the issue. He said the questions before the court hinge on more than a century of legal precedent.

A provision in the law allows school boards in districts with fewer than 7,500 students to veto charter schools. Justice Angela McCormick Bisig questioned whether the provision would create discrepancies in offerings available to students across the state.

Kuhn and Salamanca said charter schools could not be religious and would have to follow numerous regulations including hiring only certified teachers, providing free or reduced-priced meals and following compulsory attendance laws.

Justice Michelle M. Keller in her questions focused on the potential harms from diverting money from existing schools into charter schools that parents or the public at large who are actually paying the taxes have no control over.  Were going to be paying the taxes through our property assessment tax we pay now, but we will have zero control over who administers the charter schools, Keller said, in contrast to elected local boards who now oversee school districts.

Million dollar question

Justice Pamela Goodwine asked what she called the million dollar question, noting that since the charter school law was enacted and enjoined, the General Assembly had put on the ballot an amendment giving voters the opportunity to empower the legislature to use public funds for charter schools.

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Should that impact our decision, or should we just ignore the nearly two thirds of the voters who do not wish to have taxpayer funds used in this manner? Goodwine asked.

Salamanca acknowledged that if voters had approved the amendment we wouldnt be here today.

But he contended that charter schools as they would be governed and operated under the Kentucky law meet constitutional muster.

The referendum asked whether the people of Kentucky supported the idea of the General Assembly appropriating money for schools outside the system of common schools. We are not outside the system of common schools.

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Goodwine drew a flutter of laughter when she said, So did the legislature not know how to word the amendment on the ballot or were they trying to mislead the voters?

The Supreme Court held oral arguments at Centre Colleges Norton Center for the Arts two days this week.

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A Chicago area filmmaker on a mission to rewrite his own personal script.

When you have had as illustrious of a career as David McGowan, with dozens of films to your name, even an Academy Award nomination, youd think youve had a great run, right? But as this Chicago-based filmmaker got older, he felt a calling to make sure his last scene would epitomize nothing less than his very best work.

A legend in documentary filmmaking, McGowan has spent his life crafting visual poetry from every corner of the world. His camera has seen everythingexcept, perhaps, his own ending.

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He always said every good story has a beginning, a middle and an end.

Whoever comes to Uganda has Ugandans driving them around to get all their shots and then leave. (The photographers) make lots of money and they dont see any of it, he said.

He knows because he was one of those filmmakers. And now, the one to flip the script.

He started in a small classroom in Rwanda three years ago teaching people how to be filmmakers. He taught how to frame a shot. How to edit. And how to show the world their perspective from the frontlines.

More information at Rwandan Wildlife Filmmaking Course

Through in person classes in Rwanda and Uganda and weekly zoom sessions, dozens of men crossed old tribal boundaries. They collaborated on stories about poaching and biodiversity. They learned they were stronger as a team than individuals.

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It created a class cohesion. You know people working for each other and thats the best part of it, McGowan said.

He found not only purpose in a beginning and middlebut an ending and knows his greatest work isnt hanging on the wall, but in the hundreds of films yet to be made through their lenses.

This weekends Freeland Film Festival in Green lake, Wisconsin will feature a handful of documentaries made by McGowans students.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV.
Photo courtesy Grassroots Organizing Western Wisconsin (GROWW)

Over the past two years, Ive had the privilege of standing with people in western Wisconsin who are fighting for the health and wellbeing of our communities. Hundreds of people have turned out at community meetings, rallies and local government meetings to voice their opposition to the proposed expansion of one of the largest factory farms in the region.

In May, 100 people showed up to get organized in support of a legal challenge against Ridge Breeze Dairys permit to spread 80 million gallons of manure across western Wisconsin. Another 100 people showed up in the town of Maiden Rock to support the passage of an operations ordinance aimed at protecting local health and property values. Over 400 people registered for a DNR public hearing last year to show their opposition to the expansion.

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These actions represent a growing unity and commitment to safeguarding clean water, clean air and the small farms that are threatened by Breezes expansion. That kind of unity drives action. It inspired the Maiden Rock town boards unanimous vote to pass its operations ordinance in December 2024. And its inspired many more towns that have started studying and drafting ordinances of their own.

For the last two years, Grassroots Organizing Western Wisconsin (GROWW) has played a key role in bringing together ordinary people and small farmers to pass local ordinances to protect our homes. People across the region are holding strong as corporate mega-dairies try to take over our agricultural landscape.

But powerful special interests are trying to prevent local leaders from taking action to protect our communities. Venture Dairy, a lobbying group representing industrial dairy interests, strongly supports Ridge Breeze Dairys $35 million plan to expand from 1,700 to 6,500 cows and has attempted to intimidate towns and counties looking to protect their land, water and roads from the impacts of industrial agriculture.

In 2020, for instance, leaders at Venture Dairy falsely told Polk County supervisors that they would be committing a felony if they voted for a moratorium on factory farm expansions. The Wisconsin Counties Associations general counsel wrote a letter publicly refuting this ridiculous claim. More recently, officials in towns like Pepin, Gilman and Rock Elm have been subjected to similar intimidation tactics and disinformation regarding the regulation of industrial dairy farms.

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The truth is that, thanks to the efforts of industry lobbyists whittling down and undermining state rules and enforcement, oversight of large-scale livestock operations in Wisconsin has been stretched thin. With more than 330 factory farms across Wisconsin, our communities have largely been left to fill the gap.

But thats still too much for Venture Dairy. They were recently behind a lawsuit challenging Wisconsins authority to protect water quality. If they had gotten their way, there would be no DNR regulations for hundreds of factory farms across the state. Last month, that lawsuit was rejected unanimously by an appeals court.

Venture Dairys founding members include Todd Tuls, former owner of the Emerald Sky Dairy in St Croix County. In Emerald, the town well  only half-a-mile away from the facility  has nitrate levels that have reached as high as six times the Safe Drinking Water standards. Emerald Sky had a 300,000-gallon manure spill in 2016 that went unreported for months before a neighbor notified the state. Emerald Sky has since been sold to Breeze Dairy Group, owners of Ridge Breeze Dairy in Pierce County.

75 people packed into the Tabor Lutheran Church in the Town of Isabelle in support of an Operations Ordinance. | Photo courtesy GROWW

Despite these challenges, people in western Wisconsin are making real progress. In the face of industry opposition, we are successfully organizing to fight the corporate consolidation of the agriculture industry. Our community organizing resulted in the DNR recently removing 2,000 acres from Ridge Breezes manure spreading plan due to risks to groundwater and surface water that we identified. If not for our comments provided in the public hearing process, those acres very likely would have been rubber stamped. Last year, we identified hundreds of acres of land that had been listed on Ridge Breezes plan for manure spreading without permission from landowners. Due to our organizing and public pressure at a public hearing, we were able to get that land removed and require Ridge Breeze to submit affidavits attesting to the fact that they have permission to spread on the land listed on their plan. Unfortunately, these affidavits have not worked, and people have continued to come forward to remove their land.

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Recognizing the holes in state regulations, we organized to pass local ordinances like the operations ordinance in the town of Maiden Rock, which was passed last year and protects the town residents from the risks of factory farms. That organizing is now reverberating through the region, with people in western Wisconsin and beyond going to town board meetings with their neighbors to create the change they need to protect their homes. Just this week, 75 neighbors gathered in the town of Isabelle for a public hearing on an operations ordinance drafted by their town board. Those neighbors were united in their support for clean water, clean air and local control.

Regular people have decided the future of rural Wisconsin is worth fighting for, but the only way to change the path were on is to get organized. Its time to join together with your neighbors who share your vision for your community and make a plan to bring change. The future of our rural communities depends on it.
Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk died Wednesday at the age of 31 after being shot at an event at a Utah university. He leaves behind his wife, Erika, and two children.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called Kirks killing a political assassination."

Utahs Department of Public Safety said in a statement late on Wednesday that the investigation is ongoing and the shooter is still at large. Two individuals detained in the chaotic aftermath of the shooting were later released.

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We initially took in George Zinn as a suspect. He was later released and charged with obstruction by UVU police. A second suspect, Zachariah Qureshi, was taken into custody and released after interrogation with law enforcement, the statement said.

President Donald Trump offered his sympathies on Truth Social, writing: The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!

The White House lowered its flags to half-mast in memory of Kirk and ordered other federal properties to do the same.

Kirk was the CEO of Turning Point USA, or TPUSA, and had brought his American Comeback Tour to Utah Valley University, where news of his appearance was met with fierce protest.

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Turning Point USA told NBC News in a statement that Kirk was murdered by a gunshot and asked the public to respect his familys privacy at this time.

A spokesperson for Utah Valley University told MSNBC that Kirk was shot around 2:20 p.m. ET time and that they had closed campus for the rest of the day.

Kirk was known for viral videos in which he debates students on college campuses on topics like abortion, religion and LGBTQ issues. His account on Instagram has nearly 7 million followers.

We are closely monitoring reports of the tragic shooting involving Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, the FBI posted on X. Agents will be on the scene quickly and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation.

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Politicians from around the country responded to the initial news of the shooting with expressions of concern for Kirk and denunciations of political violence.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote on X that I am tracking the situation at Utah Valley University closely. Please join me in praying for Charlie Kirk and the students gathered there.

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted that the attack was disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, expressed his sympathies for Kirk and warned at a press conference that there are people who are fomenting it [political violence] in this country. I think the presidents rhetoric often foments it.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
A convicted killer has been on the loose in Georgia for five days after slipping away from his work detail.

The Richmond County Sheriffs Office has asked for the publics help in locating inmate Stacy Huggins.

Huggins, who was in transitional housing, reported to his assigned work site in Hephzibah, about a two-and-a-half-hour drive Southeast of Atlanta, last Thursday.

It was then reported that sometime during the day Stacy Huggins left his work site on foot in an unknown direction and never returned to the site, the sheriffs office said in a Facebook post Tuesday.

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Huggins was found guilty of a 1990 murder in Fulton County, local outlet WRDW reported, citing the Georgia Department of Corrections.

Convicted killer Stacy Huggins has been on the loose in Georgia for five days after slipping away from his work detail (Georgia Department of Corrections)

Residents near the worksite questioned why the authorities did not warn them about Huggins' escape earlier.

They told WRDW they had heard rumors of an inmate on the run, and only after they called the sheriffs office did they inform them.

That should have been an immediate alert put out to everybody. He could be anywhere in this town, Deborah Clement said.

She continued, My question is, why is he even out? Why is he on a work detail?

Ralph Graham also questioned the decision to put Huggins on work detail: I dont know what a murderer is doing on a work detail either. That doesnt sound good.

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Well, just hope he aint ready for another murder, he added.

Tracy Hyland, who runs a local daycare, said, We go outside all the time, and we have teachers and just a bunch of women. Were outside with a bunch of little kids.

Had we known that there was somebody, then we absolutely would not have gone outside, she said.

The sheriffs office told WRDW that when they learned he had a murder charge, they alerted the public and reached out to the U.S. Marshals.

The Georgia Department of Corrections said in a statement to The Independent that Huggins has been in transitional housing for nine months and was working at a lumber company.

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Transitional Centers are our lowest security level facilities; therefore, offenders must meet specific guidelines and criteria, the department said. Once at the facility, the residents live in a structured setting while they are also provided counseling and assistance in finding and maintaining outside employment to assist with their reentry.

Unfortunately, Inmate Huggins chose not to take advantage of this opportunity by walking away from his place of employment; therefore, we have dedicated resources toward swift action and recapture, the department added.

The Independent has reached out to the sheriffs office for comment.
BERLIN, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44)  What do you think is the coolest thing made in the Green Mountain State?

The Vermont Chamber of Commerce wants to recognize innovators here at home with the first Coolest Thing Made in Vermont awards, and nominations are open now.

Vermont business owner pushes for federal change

Amy Spear, Vermont Chambers President, said that the awards celebrate Vermont craftsmanship and innovation. Manufacturing sustains almost 30,000 Vermont jobs and exports over $2 billion in goods each year. Behind those numbers are stories of creativity, resilience, and community.

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Anyone can nominate on Vermont Chambers website in three categories:

Coolest Thing Made in Vermont

Coolest Thing Made by a Neighbor (for companies based outside Vermont, but with strong ties to the state)

Coolest Thing Made by a Career Technical Education Program

Vermont is the latest state to launch a Coolest Thing Made in contest, which are typically held by state business and manufacturers groups. New York is currently holding its second annual contest, and Wisconsin is already on its tenth year after starting off in 2016.

Cabot Creamery has its headquarters in Waitsfield, Vt. (Courtesy: Vermont Chamber)

If you make something remarkable, or know someone who does, we encourage you to submit a

nomination by October 1, writes Vermont Chamber.

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Fairfax dairy named 2025 Vermont Dairy Farm of the Year

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A Costco Wholesale is coming soon to the Delmarva Peninsula, but where?

Keep reading to find out where the membership warehouse club, famous for its low-priced bulk merchandise and brand-name products, will be located.

MORE ON COSTCO WHOLESALE: Costco could open second Delaware store in shopping center with Target and Whole Foods

Where is Delmarva's new Costco Wholesale being built?

This plan shows the exterior design of the Costco wholesale club proposed as part of a shopping center on John J. Williams Highway (Route 24) and Mulberry Knoll Road west of Route 1 near Rehoboth.

Sussex County, Delaware, will soon be home to the brand-new Costco Wholesale.

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The 73.5-acre site is situated between Lewes and Rehoboth on John J. Williams Highway (Route 24) and Mulberry Knoll Road, southwest of Plantation Road, Delaware Online reported.

Costco is just a small part of a larger plan for that Lower Delaware site. It's an anchor store for a proposed 695,000-square-foot retail center with an anticipated grand opening date of spring 2028.

The company currently operates over 600 stores nationwide, including in Puerto Rico.

CHARLIE KIRK SHOT IN UTAH: Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland Republican leaders react to shooting of Charlie Kirk in Utah

ROUTE 50 BRIDGE REPAIRS: Major repairs on Route 50 bridge to Ocean City set for January 2026: Cars to be rerouted

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Olivia Minzola covers communities on the Lower Shore. Contact her with tips and story ideas at ominzola@delmarvanow.com.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Costco Wholesale coming soon to Delmarva Peninsula: Find out where
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US Treasury sanctioned scam groups in Burma and Cambodia linked to $10B in fraud and human trafficking

Targets include KNA affiliates, property owners, energy suppliers, and money laundering networks

Sanctions freeze assets, block US financial access, and trigger global business restrictions

The US Department of Treasury sanctioned multiple scam organizations that defrauded American citizens out of $10 billion last year, alone.

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In an announcement posted on September 8, it was said that the groups ran several large operations in Southeast Asia, mostly in Burma and Cambodia.

Not only did they trick people through various romance scams and fake investment opportunities, but they are also engaged in forced labor, human trafficking, and physical violence.

Two dozen targets

Funds lost to these scams are up 66% year-on-year, the US government said, stressing the importance of the imposed sanctions.

Southeast Asias cyber scam industry not only threatens the well-being and financial security of Americans, but also subjects thousands of people to modern slavery, said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley.

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In 2024, unsuspecting Americans lost over $10 billion due to Southeast Asia-based scams and under President Trump and Secretary Bessents leadership, Treasury will deploy the full weight of its tools to combat organized financial crime and protect Americans from the extensive damage these scams can cause.

Nine targets affiliated with the Karen National Army (KNA) in Burma are now sanctioned by the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), together with 10 targets located in Cambodia.

The full list can be found on this link. In short, they include individuals controlling the property that hosts scam centers, various KNAs officials and holding companies, energy suppliers that power different scam centers, founders of money laundering operations, real estate companies, and more.

Being placed on OFACs blacklist means individuals and entities have their assets under US jurisdiction frozen and cannot access US banks, hold accounts in dollars, or move money through the US financial system.

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It also means US citizens, companies, and organizations are not allowed to do business with sanctioned individuals and entities, and in some cases, it could mean visa denials and international watchlisting.

Many non-US banks and businesses also avoid sanctioned individuals, even if theyre not legally bound, because dealing with them can trigger penalties or loss of access to the US market.

Via BleepingComputer
Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of the conservative political group Turning Point USA and staunch supporter of Donald Trump, was fatally shot at a public event before hundreds of people at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah.

News organizations like Euronews have been cautious with the coverage of Kirks assassination, electing to not show the moment he was shot. However, in the era of social media, it didnt matter much.

The gory video of the shooting was available almost instantly online  gaining thousands of views on X, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube - even on Truth Social, where President Donald Trump posted official word of the conservative activist's death.

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Trump wrote online: "The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!"

Trump's reaction to Kirk's death - Truth Social

Social media feeds were flooded with posts calling for the typical thoughts and prayers, as well as heartfelt messages for Kirks wife and his children, from both the right and the left.

Even celebrities  on both sides of the political spectrum  condemned the act of violence.

The Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt said that he was "praying for Charlie Kirk right now, for his wife and young children, for our country. We need Gods grace. God help us," while actor James Woods spoke about his connection to Kirk.

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"I enjoyed dinners with Charlie, but worried for his safety," he wrote on social media. "The left says they want 'national conversations.' Charlie Kirk actually did just that. In the lions den, no less, at left leaning venues, hoping facts and common sense would prevail."

As for celebs who have been openly critical of Trump and his administration, they also offered their sympathies. Terminator star and former Gov. of California Arnold Schwarzenegger described Kirks death as a "horrible tragedy" and hoped that it may "also be a moment for everyone to rediscover their humanity." He added that this was the cure to diseased politics.

As for comedian and TV host Rosie O'Donnell, whose bitter rivalry with Trump is well-documented and ongoing, especially after Trump threatened to revoke her US citizenship, she condemned the act of violence. She shared a photo of Kirk speaking onstage before the attack and wrote: "No just no - do not become the murderer - this is wrong on every level."

But it became quickly and predictably apparent that the divisions at the heart of Trumps America were only going to be galvanized by Kirks death.

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Speculation, conspiracy theories, partisan takes and misinformation about the shooter being a liberal nut case quickly followed - all before authorities named a suspect.

Trump quickly started blaming the radical left for Kirks killing, while Laura Loomer, a MAGA loyalist, called for "cracking down on the Left with the full force of the government.

Every single Left wing group that funds violent protests needs to be shut down and prosecuted. No mercy," she added.

Her sentiment was echoed by Elon Musk, who added further fuel to the fire by bluntly writing on X: The Left is the party of murder.

Early opposition reactions felt more tempered.

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"We dont yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy, former President Barack Obama said in a statement.

Former President Joe Biden said: "There is no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now. Jill and I are praying for Charlie Kirks family and loved ones."

Even some of Trumps opponents like Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, who has been using his online presence to mock Trump, posted online: The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.

Rapidly, some messages began referring to Kirks longstanding support for gun rights.

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Its worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights, Kirk said in a 2023 interview.

Many conservatives condemned such commentary, while placing blame for the killing, as evidenced by a post from the Utah Republican Party: Schools and social media have become breeding grounds for liberal hate. Enough!

Democrats called for stronger gun laws, citing the most recent data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which reveals that 46,728 people died from gun violence in the US in 2023, the third-highest figure ever recorded.

Maybe celebrity author and vocal Trump critic Stephen King may have the last word on this, bypassing petty finger wagging by stating that at the end of the day  or should that be at the beginning?  this tragedy does stem from a gun control problem.

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Then came the bleak jokes, Nazi comparisons and even gloating over Kirks death, meaning that scrolling through your social media of choice led to a potent sense of whiplash. Or a feeling of despair leading to the question: How did we get here as a species?

One call for calm and reflection was countered by calls for a civil war; dark humour that didnt fail to remind the reader that Kirk was no stranger to stoking division and controversy was met with finger-pointing and even death threats.

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While none of this is surprising, considering social media has matured from a tool to connect into a vile megaphone that routinely reflects the darkest facets of humanitys worst tendencies, the reactions to Kirks death beg the question: Are we beyond repair? And is Arnold is right: have politics become a disease in this country?

Whatever side of the political spectrum you are on, whatever your personal take on Kirks death may be, and even if a dark joke made you chuckle in the moment and maybe left you wrestling with a moral conundrum afterwards, what is certain is that the activists death does not just hold a mirror up to Americas polarization. It amplifies it further.

It reveals once more that online culture can serve as a barometer but also function as a dangerous tool; that the sense of anxiety and anguish over the sad reality of political violence, as well as the scourge of gun violence in the US, will only be deepened.

We are at a time when calls for unity against political violence are deafened by partisan rhetoric, and while US Representative and Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert may be right when she said that silent prayers get silent answers, the reactions to Kirks death remain a sad illustration of a nation that now feels irrevocably divided.

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The sane option in the moment may be to avoid social media altogether, because it only reminds us that every time a tragedy like this happens, we seem to be incapable of putting aside our differences. Too many opportunistically choose to make things worse by blaming the other side, as opposed to nourishing the art of civil conversion.

Let's hope that Arnold is right when he says that there is a cure.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI)  The vendor at the center of last years RIBridges cyberattack has agreed to settle multiple class action lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court.

Deloitte and the plaintiffs came to an agreement following mediation held in late August, according to court documents. Details of the settlement, first reported by The Boston Globe, have not been disclosed.

U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose paused court proceedings in the underlying litigation on Sept. 5, pending final approval of the settlement.

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A group of Rhode Islanders filed suit against Deloitte less than 72 hours after state officials disclosed the large-scale hack, which involved the private data of hundreds of thousands of people who used state programs over the last eight years.

Civil complaints were also filed in New York, where the company is headquartered.

The RIBridges system is used to manage social services such as SNAP and Medicaid benefits, as well as health insurance through HealthSourceRI.

State officials first learned of the hack on Dec. 5, when an international cybercriminal group demanded ransom and revealed malware had been put into the system. Names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and bank account information were stolen.

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The state sent letters to affected residents, urging them to freeze their credit, and to add two-step authentication to all of their financial accounts.

A subsequent third-party investigation by CrowdStrike found the hacker first breached RIBridges last July, using a compromised account from outside Rhode Island, and had access through November. While a significant amount of data was stolen, no ransomware was deployed inside the system, and other state systems were not accessed, the report said.

Separately, Deloitte covered the cost of the states data breach call center, credit monitoring, and identity protection for those impacted. The McKee administration said in May it was in the process of pursuing options to modernize the current RIBridges system managed by Deloitte, with the goal of transitioning to a new system.

Ted Nesi contributed to this report.

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HENDERSON, Ky. (FOX 56)  Henderson, Kentucky, sits along the banks of the Ohio River, a peaceful place once home to the great bird artist, John James Audubon. You can sit on the riverfront and look into Indiana, or, on the shoreline just north of the city, keep looking into Kentucky.

University of Evansville history professor Dr. James MacLeod said he runs into people all the time who wonder why, when they drive across the Ohio River bridges in Henderson, they go another mile before a sign welcomes them to Indiana.

MORE SPIRIT OF THE BLUEGRASS:

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Its one of these really weird things that happens as a result of having rivers as boundary markers, MacLeod said. Over time, rivers change course.

Ive seen a lot of people pull out maps from various times to try to make their case that this belongs to Indiana or this belongs to Kentucky, and really none of that matters, he said. The only map that matters is where the Ohio River was in 1792.

The boundary was established when Kentucky was formed from Virginia to become the 15th state. The line was drawn at the low water mark on the north side of the Ohio River. Green River Island sat in the river at Henderson, but over time, the northern channel dried up, possibly because of an earthquake in the early 1800s. It filled in with silt and debris. What was once an island became attached to the land north of the river.

That parcel thats about four miles wide and one mile long became known as No Mans Land, used mostly for farming.

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Both states wanted to collect taxes generated on that piece of land, even from things as small as the sale of fishing licenses. So the border battle went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1890.

Kentuckys historical markers ignite curiosity, community

The Supreme Court justices looked at it and said, Well, it sure looks like its in Indiana, but we have to stick with the original border, MacLeod said. And in 1792, the border was the line that was north of Green River Island.

In 1922, area business leaders saw an opportunity and built a racetrack on the stranded farmland, attracting gamblers from nearby Evansville, Indiana, where pari-mutuel wagering was illegal. That track still operates today as Ellis Park.

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By the 1930s, dozens of nightclubs sprang up on the former island, such as the classy Club Trocadero, where big bands played, and The Dells, which drew a rougher crowd. Both clubs were owned by the same person, Clarence Wood, and had back rooms where illegal gambling was a poorly-kept secret. In 1942, Wood shot and killed a man who had threatened him

Certainly, people realized they could get away with things on this strip of land, MacLeod said. The area was really a haven for all sorts of shenanigans during World War II.

The history professor said its estimated that more than 10,000 servicemen came into the region from 1941 to 1945. They trained at Camp Breckinridge in nearby Union County, Kentucky, and when they were able to get away, went to the clubs in Henderson to dance, listen to live music by such legendary performers as Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway, drink, and gamble.

Texas artist brings art to life in Nicholasvilles murals

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MacLeod said the Henderson County sheriff was an investor in Club Trocedero, so he profited from the gambling, and the Evansville police had no authority to do anything about it. But by the 1950s, public pressure put an end to the disorder at the border, and the clubs were shut down not long after an FBI raid in which agents busted up dozens of slot machines.

Ellis Park is pretty much the sole survivor on the former island. These days, folks at the racetrack say many visitors still dont know where they are. The park has a Kentucky address and an Indiana area code.

The mailman knows us well, lets just say that, because there has been confusion in the past, said Baley Hare, the tracks racing secretary.

Many people now like to see the land as a place thats a great middle ground for Kentuckians and Hoosiers.

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The Henderson people are great. The Evansville people are amazing. You know what, they all come together and I think both of them relish this place as something special, Hare said.

Henderson is not one of the states bigger counties, but when you cross the Ohio River bridges on U.S. Route 41, you may discover its bigger than you think.

A ferry is still a loved way to cross the Kentucky River

The state has another unusual border at its western tip. Kentucky Bend in Fulton County is completely cut off from the state by the Mississippi River. This is also likely the result of an earthquake changing the rivers course. You have to drive into Tennessee to get to this part of Kentucky by car.

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Forty bishops among 2,000 attendees laid their hands on the Rev. Simon Peter Engurait as he was ordained as the sixth Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux.

Engurait was ordained by Archbishop Gregory Aymond at Nicholls State University on Sept. 5, with cosponsors Archbishop Shelton Fabre and Bishop Sam Jacobs. Fabre was the fourth bishop of Houma-Thibodaux, and Jacobs was the third.

Bishop Simon Peter Engurait, a native of Uganda who coordinated disaster relief for the Bayou Region in the wake of Hurricane Ida. Engurait was ordained Bishop, September 6.

A bishop is not meant to be a distant administrator, but rather a pastor who walks among his people. I want my ministry to be a ministry of presence, Engurait said. I want to be close to your families and parishes, close to you in your joys and in your sorrows, feeling with you the burdens you carry. I want to be a gentle and humble shepherd, never forgetting that the church is for service to those most in need.

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Engurait is the first African bishop named in the mainland United States.

Those in attendance also included Representative of Pope Leo XIV. Rev. Christophe Pierre, Rev. Wilton Cardinal Gregory, and Rev. Michael Jarrell.

Enguraits mother had a front row seat for this momentous occasion, along with five of his 13 siblings and multiple family members and friends from his homeland in Uganda. The liturgy featured four choirs, five languages and Ugandan liturgical cultural practices, uniting Bishop Simon Peters homeland to his new home.

Born in Ngora, Uganda, in 1971, Engurait is one of 14 children. His early education led him through Catholic seminaries in Uganda before a career in public service, including roles in Ugandas government, and a Masters of Business Administration from the Netherlands.

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In 2022, Engurait and Karen David were jointly nominated for the Lumen Christi Award, given yearly by the Catholic Extension, a nonprofit that raises money for church charities and programs across the United States. The two earned the nomination for coordinating disaster aid in the wake of Hurricane Ida.

Engurait served as Bishop-Elect since January 2024, after the death of Bishop Mario Dorsonville one year after his appointment. Engurait served as the Vicar General and as the pastor of St. Bridget Parish since 2017.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux installs Rev. Simon Peter Engurait as bishop
The Trump administration backed off claims Wednesday that hundreds of Guatemalan children it attempted to send to the country last month  before a judge blocked the abrupt weekend deportations  had been requested to return by their parents.

A Justice Department attorney acknowledged that the governments earlier claims had no factual basis and in fact had been contradicted by a review by the Guatemalan government. That review indicated that parents for most of the children could not be located, and those who were largely suggested they wanted their children to remain in the United States for economic opportunities.

The reversal is significant. Last week, White House officials and Trump allies hammered U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan, a Biden appointee, for blocking the deportations  just hours after hundreds of children awakened in the middle of the night had been rushed onto waiting airplanes  accusing her of seeking to block children from reunifying with their families.

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Their attacks were rooted in representations made by senior Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign at a hastily scheduled hearing on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Ensign decried the lawsuit seeking to block transfers of the children and told Sooknanan that the children were being sent back to Guatemala at the request of their families.

Its outrageous that the plaintiffs are trying to interfere with these reunifications, Ensign said at the Aug. 31 hearing. All of these children have parents or guardians in Guatemala who have requested their return.

However, the report from Guatemalas attorney general  filed with the court this week by lawyers representing the children  said none of the families who could be found actually sought the return of their kids. About half the families contacted expressed annoyance when this Office went to their residences, rejecting the request to conduct an assessment, sometimes in an intimidating manner.

Sooknanan ordered a halt to the deportations after immigration advocates claimed the children had been denied due process and a chance for an advocate to challenge their deportation. The case is now in the hands of U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who was assigned to the case after Sooknanans initial order.

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Kelly, a Trump appointee, is now weighing whether to extend or potentially expand Sooknanans order, not only to the Guatemalan children initially targeted for removal but to all unaccompanied immigrant children whom the administration is considering repatriating.

Prior to the governments concession, Kelly raised questions about the discrepancy between what Ensign told Sooknanan and what the Guatemalan government reported about its interactions with the families.

Ensign was not present for Wednesdays hearing, instead leaving the argument to Sarah Welch, counsel to the assistant attorney general for Justices Civil Division.

Welch said the administrations initial claim that parents had requested their childrens return should be considered withdrawn. She also lamented the governments rushed effort to rouse the children from bed and deport them overnight on a holiday weekend.

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"It was unfortunate that the children were frightened and pulled out in the middle of the night, Welch said.

A Justice Department spokesperson referred a request for comment to the State Department, which did not immediately respond to a query.

Its not the first time that Ensigns representations to the court have been called into question.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg questioned Ensigns accuracy during urgent proceedings related to President Donald Trumps invocation of the Alien Enemies Act in March to hurriedly deport Venezuelan nationals he deemed part of a transnational gang. And U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis questioned Ensigns lack of substantive information about the whereabouts of deported Salvadoran man Kilmar Abrego Garcia amid legal efforts to return him to the United States.
The good newsyes, theres a littleis that President Trump has not yet amassed nearly as much power as authoritarian leaders like Hungarys Viktor Orban, in part because Americas complicated political system has many roadblocks to forestall domination by one person. The bad news is that Trump is moving more aggressively and creatively than many autocrats abroad did, allowing him to accumulate more victories than many expected at the start of his term.

So the United States is not yet a dictatorship, but we will have to fight hard not to become one. Thats the general conclusion of McKenzie Carrier and Thomas Carothers, two scholars at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. And thats the view of other democracy experts, as wellshock at how quickly and decisively Trump has dismantled long-standing limits on presidential power.

In a recent report, Carrier and Carothers did a detailed analysis comparing Trumps administration to regimes in Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador, Hungary, India, Poland, and Turkey that have taken power in recent years and eroded democratic norms. Orban, Turkeys Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro are the leaders abroad most often likened to Trump. And in all of these nations, democracy backsliding occurred largely because of executive overreach, as opposed to say, a military coup or civil war.

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Trump, according to Carothers and Carrier, is employing three general tactics. He is personally dominating the executive branch of government much more than previous American presidents, firing basically anyone in any agency not aligned with him. Second, his presidential-controlled executive branch is then dominating other parts of government, ignoring and overriding court rulings, congressional appropriations, and states and cities decisions.

Third, the administration is using its power to curb the independence of U.S. civil society, for instance by forcing law firms and universities to abide by the administrations edicts or face the loss of federal funding and security clearances.

Many leaders abroad have used similar tactics. But Carrier and Carothers argue there are some key differencesones that make Trump worse than autocrats abroad. Many authoritarians abroad passed their antidemocratic agenda through their legislaturesor at least tried to. After all, as with Trump, these autocratic leaders are often democratically elected (so the public might back their agenda), and majorities in their countrys legislature are sometimes aligned with them. But the scholars say, By contrast, the Trump administration has relied predominantly on executive orders, states of emergency, funding threats and cut-offs, and rhetorical tactics to achieve its executive aggrandizement ends, with little energy spent on legislative pathways.

Another distinction is that Trump and his administration are moving faster than other autocratic regimes. Steps comparable to the series of measures that Trump took in his early days to consolidate control over the executive workforce took form over a year-long period in Hungary, the scholars argue.

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One complication is that these scholars generally frame 2025 as the first year of the Trump administration. But in some ways, this is the fifth year, with Trump and his aides moving forward on some policies and initiatives first put into motion from 2017 to 2020.

But make no mistake: Overall, the Carnegie scholars depict the United States under Trump in dire terms.

Relative to other backsliding cases, the Trump team has acted with uncommon early momentum in its efforts to consolidate power, they write. It has sustained its efforts simultaneously across multiple domains of American democracy, consolidating the process that many overreaching executives only achieve incrementally over a longer time. And the rapidity of Trumps erosion of democratic norms has also been notable, even in comparison to other aggressive backsliding cases.

Other scholars are making similar arguments. The consolidation of Trumps power has happened very quickly, more rapidly than we have seen in other examples of competitive authoritarian systems, University of Michigan public policy professor and noted Substacker Don Moynihan wrote in a recent essay.

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There is some good news (or at least less terrible news), according to Carothers and Carrier. First, many core elements of the U.S. system are still in place. Courts are ruling against Trump, and sometimes his administration actually abides by those decisions. There is still a robust free press covering Trump critically, even though the president and his allies are gaining more media power.

The degree of democratic erosion in the United States is not yet as severe as that of most of its backsliding peers. Most of Americas democratic institutions and processes remain intact, protected by the Constitution and other U.S. laws, the Carnegie scholars write.

Similarly, Moynihan described the U.S. as not fully authoritarian but in a state of competitive authoritarianismthe political science term for a nation in between full-blown democracy and full-blown autocracy.

Also, because Trumps strategy has been to use excessive executive authority instead of getting Congress to formally change laws, his moves are reversible. For example, its horrible that the Trump administration often ignores court rulings and even worse that the Supreme Court is constantly rewriting legal precedent to support whatever Trump does. But the worst outcome would be if Congress signed legislation backed by Trump that formally ended judicial review, totally eliminating that path to pushing back against this president.

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Finally, as Dartmouth Colleges Brendan Nyhan said in a recent episode of TNRs Right Now, the video series I host: Trump is unusually unpopular for the leaders who have tried this playbook. If (and thats a big if) America has truly free and fair elections in 2026 and 2028, the authoritarian Republican Party seems likely to lose power.

For now though, Carrier and Carotherss report confirms my concerns, and those of many millions of Americans. Too many other Americans, including many Democrats in Congress, are still too cavalier about whats happening right now. They think that our checks and balances will save us, or that Trump is too incompetent, or that the public backlash and upcoming elections will stop him. But the real story is that it (dictatorship) is happening here. Its already even worse here in some ways than in some autocratic countries abroad. We need to be alarmed and panicked, not to fall into despair, so that we can act aggressively before its too late.
(Removes reference to Trump being unhappy from paragraph 8)

By Luciana Magalhaes

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, told Reuters on Thursday he expects additional U.S. sanctions against Brazilian officials following his father's conviction for plotting a coup to remain in power after losing the 2022 election.

"We are going to have a firm response with actions from the U.S. government against this dictatorship that is being installed in Brazil," he said in an interview.

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The lawmaker warned that Supreme Court justices who voted to convict the former president could face sanctions under the Magnitsky Act, which was previously applied by the Trump administration against Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the judge overseeing the case.

"If these Supreme Court justices keep following Moraes, they also run the risk of facing the same sanction," he said.

Justices Flavio Dino, Carmen Lucia and Cristiano Zanin sided with Moraes in the trial, with Luiz Fux the only dissenter.

The younger Bolsonaro moved to the U.S. earlier this year to seek support from President Donald Trump to stop criminal proceedings against his father. He has claimed credit for pushing the White House to announce 50% tariffs on most Brazilian goods.

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He met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last month as part of his lobby for sanctions against Brazilian officials involved in the trial of his father.

Trump, who has previously called the case against Bolsonaro a "witch hunt," said on Thursday he was surprised that his ally had been convicted.

(Reporting by Luciana Magalhaes, Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal and Kanishka Singh, Writing by Gabriel Araujo, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
After the shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk, one of Americas top snipers has broken down how the attack happened and revealed the mistake that gave away the shooters lack of real training.

Sergeant Nicholas Ranstad, known for holding a record-breaking kill in Afghanistan, studied footage of the shooting and explained the weapon, setup, and key details that showed careful planning.

However, he also pointed out a critical error that could help police track down who carried out the deadly attack.

Elite Sniper Analyzes Charlie Kirk Shooting Setup

MEGA

Sergeant Nicholas Ranstad, who once set a U.S. record with a 6,778-foot kill in Afghanistan, told the Daily Mail that Kirks shooting was carefully planned but not perfect.

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He said the rally at Utah Valley University was like a fish bowl for any sniper, with open space and high ground from nearby rooftops.

Thats a buffet for someone who wanted to kill someone, he said, noting the lack of serious security and the easy angle for a shooter. Ranstad explained that the 200-yard distance was simple for even an average marksman.

Calm winds outside the city made the shot easier.

Any bloke can go to the range three or four times and make that shot, he added, suggesting police look at gun range visitors.

Still, the sniper said details of the attack showed the killer wasnt a professional soldier, even though the shot was deadly.

Ranstad Says Kirk's Killer Didn't Use An AR-15

MEGA

Right after the attack, many thought the weapon used was an AR-15, which has been linked to several mass shootings.

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However, Ranstad said that wasnt true. After reviewing the sound and video of the moment Charlie Kirk was shot, he insisted it was a stronger rifle.

It sounded like a high-powered rifle, possibly bolt action, he explained, saying it may have been a .308 bolt action or 7.62 caliber weapon.

The sergeant revealed that AR-15s make a sharp cracking sound, but the shot that killed the activist had a deeper echo.

This detail showed the shooter picked a gun built for long-range accuracy instead of speed.

For Ranstad, that choice showed the attack was not random but planned out.

The assassin wanted precision and had likely thought about every step before firing the single fatal bullet.

Charlie Kirk Shooter Made Critical Neck Shot Mistake

MEGA

Even with all the planning, Ranstad spotted one big mistake that proved the shooter wasnt fully trained.

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Kirk was hit in the neck, but Ranstad believes the killer was aiming at his head.

He was probably aiming for the head but didnt take into consideration the wind, and the bullet pulled a bit, he explained.

The trained sniper added that the shooter didnt properly adjust for the bullets drop or the firing angle.

Video also suggested a bad trigger pull from a right-handed shooter, which Ranstad said was another sign of inexperience.

For a skilled sniper, hitting the wrong area by inches would be unlikely. To him, the neck shot showed nerves and adrenaline were involved.

He even suggested the killer was probably just an internet shooter, someone with practice at a range but without the discipline of a trained soldier.

Chaos As Kirks Rally Turns Into Tragedy

Republican National Convention via CNP / MEGA

Thousands of people watched in horror as Charlie Kirk collapsed. Graphic videos showed him jerk back as blood poured from his neck. Panic followed immediately, with crowds screaming and running for safety.

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According to Ranstad, the wound gave the father of two little chance of survival.

In my opinion he was dead on the spot, he said. Ive seen arterial bleeds like that and you have seconds.

Security rushed to act, but the open amphitheater gave little cover. The shooter fired just one bullet and vanished, setting off a huge manhunt.

FBI agents and local police stormed the area, briefly detaining two men before letting them go.

Ranstad said that the fact that the shooter fired just one shot showed how planned and deliberate the attack was.

Normally, its crazy people who shoot 30 rounds. This was one shot, that was it. In my opinion, they had a plan, he noted.

Tributes Pour In As Nation Mourns Charlie Kirk

Ron Sachs - CNP / MEGA

As police search for answers, America continues to grieve the sudden loss of Kirk at only 31 years old.

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The Turning Point USA founder leaves behind his wife, Erika, their daughter, and their young son. The couple had just marked their fourth wedding anniversary.

President Donald Trump honored him on Truth Social, calling Kirk The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk.

Trump praised him as a leader who understood young Americans better than anyone else. He also ordered flags flown at half-staff until Sunday evening to mark Kirks passing.

Ranstad, who lowered his own flag, also said the death struck him deeply. I pray for Charlie, he shared.
WASHINGTON  The House passed an amendment on Wednesday to officially repeal the military force permissions approved in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks  nearly 24 years after they were first enacted.

Lawmakers voted 261-167 on an amendment to repeal the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force, initially passed to give then-President George W. Bush the power to deploy U.S. troops to Iraq in the months after the 9/11 terrorist attack. The authorization gave sweeping powers to the president to defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq and served as the legal basis for Bushs invasion of Iraq in 2003.

But the authorization has remained in place decades after the attack and has been used to justify U.S. military operations in the Middle Eastern country  even those that lawmakers argue are unrelated and give the president outsized authority over war powers that are constitutionally intended for Congress.

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Lawmakers have long considered undoing the war power authorization, especially after the fall of Saddam Husseins regime in late 2003. Opponents have also said it weakens Congress ultimate authority by allowing presidents to organize military strikes without prior approval.

For example, former President Barack Obama used the authorization to justify airstrikes in Iraq and Syria in 2014. President Donald Trump used it in his first term to green-light the airstrike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. While former President Joe Biden never formally used the authorization, his administration argued it was important to keep intact to respond to any future threats.

But lawmakers have pushed back on the wide-ranging capabilities, arguing it could lead to additional lengthy wars that the U.S. should not get involved in.

Americans overwhelmingly agree that the United States should not act as a global police force, Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., one of the co-sponsors of the amendment, told the Deseret News. Weve lost too much blood and treasure overseas while our citizens struggle at home. Repealing the AUMFs is a critical step toward ending our engagement in costly forever wars. Washington must listen to the will of the people and retreat from the failed foreign policies of the past.

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The amendment passed on Wednesday also repeals an even older authorization of military force that was approved in 1991 to approve U.S. forces to liberate Kuwait from Iraq after its invasion in 1990  also known as Operation Desert Storm.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., center, and Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., center left, are joined by representatives of the American Legion as they speak to reporters about ending the authorization for use of military force enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, March 16, 2023. Senators voted 68-27 Thursday to move forward with a bill to repeal the 2002 measure that authorized the March 2003 invasion of Iraq and a 1991 measure that sanctioned the U.S.-led Gulf War to expel Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's forces from Kuwait. | J. Scott Applewhite, Associated Press

The repeals were tucked in a larger military spending bill approved by the House on Wednesday. The bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, authorizes the budget and policies for the Defense Department each year.

While it does not outline the actual budget for the department, it authorizes the use of federal funds for certain policies and expenditures. It typically passes each year with strong bipartisan support.

The NDAA now heads to the Senate for consideration, which could see changes if Republican leaders see fit. That means the military force repeals could be removed if there isnt enough support, although its not yet clear if that will happen.
As a deadline approaches to renew the multinational force battling gangs in Haiti, a United States-led push to expand the effort has received backing from some Caribbean and Latin American nations.

Late Tuesday, foreign ministers at the Organization of American States issued a joint declaration of support, with some countries still signing on Wednesday. The statement signed by 32 member states shows support for the ongoing efforts to help Haiti take on gangs that this year have already caused the deaths of more than 3,000 people.

The United States and Panama are currently in negotiations at the United Nations Security Council to widen the mandate of the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission, whose current 1-year mandate expires at the end of this month. In its place, they also want to transition the current force into a more aggressive and lethal Gang Suppression Force with a strength of 5,500.

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Breaking its silence on the proposed resolution circulating at the U.N., the office of Haiti Prime Minister Alix Dider Fils-Aime said the U.S.-led proposal is as a decisive step in supporting state authority and protecting communities that have been ravaged by armed groups. The proposal, if adopted, would also contribute to national and regional stability, the government said.

Haiti is convinced that the adoption and rapid implementation of this draft resolution will reflect the collective will of the international community to support the Haitian people in their legitimate aspiration for security, peace, dignity and democracy, the government said.

Haitis approval and the endorsements of the OAS, as well as that of the 15-member Caribbean Community known as CARICOM, come as the Trump administration seeks to get the necessary votes on the Security Council where both China and Russia have veto power. Though the proposal endorses the recommendations made by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres back in February, recent budget cuts to the U.N. by the Trump administration are creating confusion and concerns about its success. The Haiti force would be financed through U.N. members contributions to the peacekeeping budget based on Guterres plan.

In its joint statement, OAS members say they support the establishment of a U.N. Support Office for Haiti and a transition of the MSS into a new force that is focused on the establishment of a safe and stable environment, for Haitian authorities to restore and maintain the rule of law, including through dismantling gangs.

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Considering that peace requires more than security operations, we will support Haitian-led efforts to address the root causes and drivers of violence, weak democratic institutions, corruption, poverty, and persistent striking social inequalities, as well as limited access to education and essential public services, the resolution said.

The omission of the forces name in the OAS statement was intentional and the result of negotiations at the hemispheric body led by Antigua and Barbuda Ambassador Sir Ronald Sanders.

This is not just about suppression, Sanders said. We have to think beyond suppressing the leadership of the gangs. Specifically, the effort to help Haiti reestablish stability has to take into account that there are a lot of young kids and teenagers in these gangs who are not responsible for their actions, he added.

This complexity of the security crisis came into view this week as Tom Fletcher, the U.N.s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, visited Port-au-Prince. Fletcher, who has been touring a number of the worlds hot spots, used his first trip to Haiti to meet with victims of the gangs terrors. Among them, survivors of gang rape and residents of a large displacement camp in the middle of the capital.

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At the latter, Haitians spoke repeatedly about their desire to return to their homes, and how the unsanitary and crowded conditions in the camps were forcing them to make difficult choices: stay in the camps or return to neighborhoods destroyed by armed gangs who now rule.

The heavy focus on restoring Haitis security, Fletcher told the Miami Herald, has to be accompanied by a political strategy and humanitarian strategy.

Actually, the humanitarian bit is much less expensive than the security bit and can have as great an impact, he said. Definitely, youve got to do the two. I mean, thats been a real takeaway for me. You cant just do the humanitarian stuff in a vacuum. While the armed groups are so strong ..the security strategy wont work without a serious effort to deal with humanitarian issues, to help people, ultimately, to go home, rebuild, get their livelihoods back, get hope back.

With nearly half of its 12 million population in need of humanitarian assistance and more than 1.3 million people displaced from their homes by armed groups, Haiti is one of the worlds top 20 crises, according to the U.N. Still, the human tragedy unfolding less than a two-hour flight from the United States, is also the worlds most neglected.

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Whats been striking over these three days in Haiti is the levels of insecurity and the levels of fear and the shocking stories that you hear of what people have lived through, Fletcher said. People whove experienced displacement, death, massive sexual violence, poverty and a sense of despair and misery, and they are wondering if the world has given up on them, and theyre wondering if they should give up on the world.

OAS Secretary General Albert Ramdin, who recently unveiled a $2.6 billion roadmap to help Haiti, welcomed the resolution of members.

The Americas stand ready to help Haiti move toward peace, stability and prosperity, Ramdin said in a post on X. I look forward to the unanimous adoption of the Haiti resolution at the UN Security Council.
Politicians in Centre County and beyond are sharing their prayers for conservative activist Charlie Kirks family after he was shot and killed Wednesday during a rally at Utah Valley University.

Kirk was the co-founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, a conservative organization dedicated to organizing high school and college students and promoting principles of free markets and limited government, its website states. Turning Point USA has thousands of chapters across the country, including at Penn State. He frequently held events on campuses and was at Penn States University Park campus last fall.

TPUSA at Penn State is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Charlie Kirk, the Penn State chapter of Turning Point USA posted on social media. Our thoughts and prayers and with his family.

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He was close ally of President Donald Trump, who announced his death on social media, calling him Great, and even Legendary.

No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us, Trump posted on Truth Social. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!

He also ordered all American flags in the U.S. to be lowered to half staff until 6 p.m. Sunday in honor of Kirk.

Congressman Glenn GT Thompson, R-Howard, said there is no place for political violence in America.

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Penny and I are praying for Charlie Kirk and his young family. This is extremely sad and tragic, Thompson wrote on X.

Penny and I are praying for Charlie Kirk and his young family. This is extremely sad and tragic. Political violence has no place in this country.  Glenn "GT" Thompson (@CongressmanGT) September 10, 2025

Democrat Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and others across the nation wrote messages along the same lines.

We must speak with moral clarity. The attack on Charlie Kirk is horrifying and this growing type of unconscionable violence cannot be allowed in our society, Shapiro said.

A person of interest was in custody but later released after interrogation, CNN reported. A manhunt was still underway Thursday morning as the investigation continued. Utah Valley University closed campus and canceled classes until further notice.

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State Sen. Cris Dush, R-Brookville, posted a video on Facebook from Penn States campus Wednesday evening and reflected on Kirks impact on young people and his visit to Happy Valley nearly one year ago.

They tried to shut him down  they tried to shut him down in so many ways, but he wouldnt be silenced, even when his voice was gone, Dush said.

He also urged people to keep Kirks family in their prayers, and to take a stand against violence.

Let this be time for America to come together and stand against violence of all kinds, he said. It is the evil that is in mens hearts that cause the violence, it is not the means by which its perpetrated.

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In a statement posted to social media, state Rep. Paul Takac, D-College Township, wrote that political violence is always wrong and must have no place in a free and democratic society.

I pray for his family and that his killer is swiftly brought to justice with no further loss of life, he wrote.

State Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Rush Township, also shared prayers for Kirks family on social media.

My prayers and with Charlie Kirks loved ones and all who have been impacted by this horrible tragedy, he wrote. Political violence is never the answer.

John Fetterman, a Democrat U.S. Senator for Pennsylvania, wrote online that he and his family are grieving for Kirks family. Kirk, 31, was married and had two young kids.

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We must collectively find a way forward during these polarized times, Fetterman wrote in a post on X.

Pennsylvanias other senator, Republican Dave McCormick, said he and his wife were heartbroken to learn Kirk died and called for an end to violence.

He was a good man and a good friend with a beautiful young family. His murder is an outrage. Violence is never the answer  no matter your politics. What happened today is horrifying, and must stop, he wrote on social media.
Claim:

Turning Point USA co-founder and conservative commentator Charlie Kirk once said Jewish money was ruining U.S. culture.

Rating:

Rating: True

Context:

In fall 2023, after Hamas attacked Israel, Kirk said on different episodes of his podcast "The Charlie Kirk Show" that "Jewish dollars" were funding Marxist ideas in education and policy and contributing to opening the borders. "Cultural Marxism" has long been an antisemitic trope.

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Following the fatal shooting of Turning Point USA co-founder and conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, social media users began to share the claim that he had said Jewish money had ruined U.S. culture.

For example, a post on Instagram shared a meme by Occupy Democrats, making this claim among other purported statements by Kirk (archived):

https://www.instagram.com/p/DOcHvLbj1bI/

The claim also appeared on X, garnering 5.2 million views. Further, Snopes readers searched the website and wrote emails to inquire about the veracity of the rumor.

The claim was true. While it was a paraphrase of things Kirk said publicly rather than a direct quote, he did indeed suggest that Jewish money was undermining U.S. values.

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Snopes reviewed clips of Kirk's podcast, "The Charlie Kirk Show," dating from fall 2023, weeks after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which he made these comments.

The first clip, published Oct. 26, 2023, showed Kirk saying "Jewish donors, they have a lot of explaining to do":

Jewish donors have been the No. 1 funding mechanism of radical open-border, neoliberal, quasi-Marxist policies, cultural institutions and nonprofits. This is a beast created by secular Jews and now they're coming for Jews, and they're like, "What on Earth happened?" And it's not just the colleges. It's the nonprofits, it's the movies, it's Hollywood, it's all of it.

Later, on Nov. 7, 2023, Kirk repeated the same idea on his show:

Jews have been some of the largest funders of cultural Marxist ideas and supporters of those ideas over the last 30 or 40 years. [] Until you cleanse that ideology from the hierarchy in the academic elite of the West, there will not be a safe future. I'm not going to say Israel won't exist, but Israel will be in jeopardy as long as the Western children, children of the West, are being taught, with primarily Jewish dollars, subsidizing it, to view everything through oppressor oppressed dynamic. Until you shed that ideology, you will not be able to build the case for Israel, because they view Israel as an oppressor.

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"Cultural Marxism" has long been an antisemitic trope used by white evangelicals and Christian nationalists. The implication is that this ideology is a Jewish conspiracy designed to undermine U.S. Christian values. Further, many evangelicals in the U.S. support Israel because of the theological belief that Jews must own the land of Israel in order to facilitate the second coming of Jesus Christ.

We've also looked into claims that Kirk once said the U.S. having some gun deaths "is worth it" to have the Second Amendment and that he called empathy a "made-up, new age" word.

Sources:

Braune, Joan. Who's Afraid of the Frankfurt School? "Cultural Marxism" as an Antisemitic Conspiracy Theory. 2019, transformativestudies.org/wp-content/uploads/Joan-Braune.pdf. Accessed 11 Sept. 2025.

Saafya Alnaqib. "American Evangelicals' Unique Support for Israel." Globalaffairs.org, 2024, globalaffairs.org/commentary-and-analysis/blogs/american-evangelicals-unique-support-israel. Accessed 11 Sept. 2025.
ROBERTSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN)  One of the oldest counties in the state, Robertson County, was named for one of the earliest explorers of the land that became Middle Tennessee. If it wasnt for James Robertson, the state of Tennessee and the city of Nashville may not exist in the way it does now. Hes known as the father of Middle Tennessee, but his legacy spans the state from east to west.

James Robertson, to me, is one of the most influential and impactful people that we have in early Tennessee history, explained Jeff Sellers, director of education and public programs at the Tennessee State Museum

Born in 1742 in Virginia, James Robertson grew up in North Carolina before heading west.

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Late 1760s early 1770s, theres this wave of migration across the Appalachian Mountains, and Robertson is really wrapped up into that wave, and really becomes one of the very first settlers to settle on the other side of what they call the over mountain people, Sellers said. He becomes one of the founders of the Watauga settlements.

The Bell Witch: A Tennessee ghost story that still haunts Adams

The Watauga Association was one of the first self-governing bodies in America, established in 1772 in what is now Elizabethton, Tennessee. Robertson was instrumental in peacefully negotiating a lease of the land from the Cherokee.

He really becomes very tactful in his ways that he can negotiate and work with the Cherokee. Early on, they respected him, and he respected them, Sellers said.

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Sellers said Robertson was known for his even temperament and diplomacy.

He was maybe on the quieter side, but no doubt hes one of those people that people just gravitated to as a leader, Sellers said. He stood about six feet tall, which was kind of a taller person at the time, so he probably had a nice, imposing kind of figure to him as well. That kind of helped people to respond to him.

That also likely led people to follow him on his next expedition.

In the fall of 1779, Robertson will lead the men overland, and he will take the overland journey all the way through central Kentucky and down to Bluff Station, Sellers said. It was known to be the most arduous and dangerous journey.

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Meanwhile, frontiersman John Donelson traveled with women and children via river. He and Robertson established Fort Nashborough and signed the Cumberland compact in 1780, the early beginnings of what is now Nashville. A replica of the fort sits between 1st Avenue and the Cumberland River downtown. The settlement faced many attacks by Native Americans who battled the encroachment of their lands.

News 2 On Tour | Explore the communities that shape Middle Tennessee

Its Robertson who decides he will maintain his house here. He will not flee, like many of the settlers who went into Kentucky, where it was much safer for them. Robertson, and to her credit, Charlotte, his wife stays behind, Sellers said. If he had fled, its more than likely that Nashville would have been disbanded, and something else would have come other than what we know of as our city today.

Robertson lost several family members and narrowly escaped death himself. He became lieutenant colonel commandant for the Mero District, or present-day Middle Tennessee. President George Washington then appointed him brigadier general of the U.S. Army for the same region.

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It was a very tumultuous and violent period. Its important for us in contemporary times to realize what those early folks, both Native American and early settlers, endured and established here into our wonderful modern city, Sellers said.

Preserving the past: Online tour of Robertson Countys historic churches tell story of faith and community

Under Robertsons leadership, conflicts lessened, and the settlement prospered. In his later years, he was commissioned as what was called an Indian agent to negotiate with Native American nations on behalf of the U.S. government. In 1814, he traveled through treacherous weather conditions to meet with the Chickasaw and died at age 72 of an illness sustained during that dangerous journey to West Tennessee.

Robertsons remains were later moved to the Nashville City Cemetery, where his wife charlotte was also buried after her death almost 30 years later. The town of Charlotte, Tennessee and Charlotte Pike in Nashville are named in her honor. The couple had several children. One of their sons, Felix, was a prominent physician who served twice as mayor of Nashville.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
OmegaQuant, in Sioux Falls, is among the South Dakota recipients of awards from the Small Business Innovation Research program. (Courtesy of SiouxFalls.Business)

In just a few weeks, one of the federal governments most effective tools for boosting rural economies could disappear.

The Small Business Innovation Research program  a funding pipeline that has supported countless scientific and medical breakthroughs that grow the economy and save lives  will expire on Sept. 30 unless Congress acts.

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Here in South Dakota, the program is a lifeline for researchers working on next-generation cancer therapies, for startups developing tools to combat livestock diseases, and for communities hoping to attract high-paying, advanced manufacturing jobs. The program is vital to the states patients, researchers, and entrepreneurs.

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Since its creation in 1982, the program has awarded more than 170,000 grants nationwide, injecting over $50 billion into Americas economy. The model is simple: Federal agencies set aside a portion of their research budgets to fund small businesses with big ideas. The result is a steady flow of funding for startups that are so small, theyre not yet able to attract venture capital  but that ultimately changes lives, improves health outcomes, and drives economic growth.

South Dakota is a proud beneficiary of that model, and an active partner in sustaining it. Over the past decade, dozens of South Dakota companies  many of them spinouts from university labs or small teams of rural entrepreneurs  have secured awards that helped turn bench science into real-world solutions. To strengthen these efforts, the state offers additional $25,000 grants to select awardees, giving startups a boost as they refine their technologies and begin to commercialize them.

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This joint support is already delivering results across the state.

Take a look at SAB Biotherapeutics in Sioux Falls. SAB used a $1.42 million Small Business Innovation Research grant to develop immunotherapies that harness genetically engineered cattle that produce human antibodies to treat influenza. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, SAB was ready to respond, using its antibody platform to help develop countermeasures against the virus. That research wouldnt have advanced without the initial support.

OmegaQuant, another Sioux Falls biotech, used part of its over $833,000 in awards to develop tests that can predict dementia risk, empowering patients with greater control over their health.

The program has also helped fund breakthroughs in animal and agriculture sciences  industries where South Dakota has a competitive edge.

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In Brookings, Prairie Aquatech used part of its $1.5 million in awards to refine its sustainable soy-based protein to replace fishmeal in aquaculture feed. The grant helped lay the foundation for a commercial production facility and a growing team of employees. Their success is not just a win for South Dakotas economy  its a model of how environmentalism and agriculture can grow together.

These inventions power a burgeoning sector. South Dakotas bioscience sector employs more than 7,000 people across 800 businesses. And employment has grown by nearly 7% since 2019. Programs like Small Business Innovation Research are critical for maintaining this momentum.

Failing to reauthorize the program by the Sept. 30 deadline would stall promising research. It would cut off a vital funding source for dozens of small businesses trying to survive the valley of death between discovery and commercialization. And it would undermine our ability to compete in the bioscience, energy, artificial intelligence, and other strategic industries.
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO)  The organizers of Rockfords annual Latino community showcase, Domingos En El Parque, have announced the cancellation of Fiestas Patrias 25.

The event, which means Patriotic Holidays in Spanish, was scheduled to be held this Sunday, September 14th, ahead of Mexican Independence Day, which is celebrated on September 16th.

Fiestas Patrias was to be held at Levings Park, 1420 S Pierpont Avenue.

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The organizers said the cancellation was due to concerns about the personal safety of the attendees, vendors, and performers. Canceling this celebration, which highlights the culture and heritage of the Latino Community, was a difficult decision made with the best interests of our community in mind.

The move follows Chicagos decision to postpone its Mexican Independence Day Festival at Grant Park, due to the announcement of the Department of Homeland Securitys Midway Blitz.

This ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) operation will target the criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois because they knew Governor Pritzker and his sanctuary policies would protect them and allow them to roam free on American streets, DHS added, referring to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D).

Last week, community activist Antonio Ramirez Jr. said Rockford events celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month are still on. But he says he still has concerns about the possibility that immigration enforcement could be ramped up during those events.

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The city of Rockford posted a notice to its Facebook page last week in both English, Spanish, and Arabic, saying, We are aware that Homeland Security recently confirmed plans to expand ICE operations in Chicago. While there is no confirmation that these operations will extend to Rockford, we recognize it is a possibility. And, we also recognize the fear and uncertainty this news may cause.

The TRUST Act, signed by former Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) in 2017, prevents state law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.

Chicago is home to a large population of undocumented immigrants, and both the city and the state of Illinois have some of the countrys strongest rules against cooperating with federal immigration enforcement efforts.

According to ICE, those arrested as part of the nationwide effort had criminal histories, including sexual assault, robbery, drug and weapons charges, and domestic violence, the agency said.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyStateline | WTVO News, Weather and Sports.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb arrived in Kyiv on Sept. 11 to discuss security cooperation and sanctions against Russia, Ukraine's Presidential Office Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak announced.

Stubb has emerged as a key European confidant of U.S. President Donald Trump and has previously participated in diplomatic discussions ahead of Trump's high-stakes meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Finnish president met with President Volodymyr Zelensky and visited the Wall of Remembrance in Kyiv to honor Ukraine's fallen soldiers.

Today, at the Wall of Remembrance in Kyiv, together with President of Finland @AlexStubb, we commemorated the Ukrainian defenders who gave their lives for Ukraine.



With gratitude and respect, we honor the memory of every fallen warrior. Eternal and bright remembrance to all pic.twitter.com/qccng4Q6a4  Volodymyr Zelenskyy /   (@ZelenskyyUa) September 11, 2025

The leaders held "substantive discussions on a wide range of issues," with Zelensky saying they covered security projects, European integration, infrastructure investments, and security guarantees.

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"Significant attention was paid to the attack the Russians carried out against Poland yesterday," the president said. "Strong steps are needed  not only from Europe  strong pressure that will truly limit the potential of Russian warmongering."

"I am grateful to Finland for supporting all our sanctions work."

The meeting comes a day after Poland confirmed downing Russian drones in its airspace overnight on Sept. 10, marking the first time NATO engaged Moscow's military assets over its territory during the full-scale war in Ukraine.

During a joint press conference, Zelensky compared the incident to the occupation of Crimea.

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"The scariest thing is that this attack resembles Crimea. Psychologically... Right now, it's a technological war," he said. "It's not about just people in green uniforms. Today, the same role in Polish territory was exposed by Russian drones."

"The most dangerous thing is when, for example, the U.S., as it was in Crimea, or some other partners, send signals that, the main thing... is not to provoke war."

Finland, a staunch supporter of Ukraine, joined NATO in 2023 in response to Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The country shares a 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) border with Russia and has strengthened its defense ties with Western allies since the war began.

The meeting comes as Moscow continues to intensify attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure, while Putin continues to avoid direct talks with Zelensky, a meeting that Trump has said he aims to facilitate.

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Trump's efforts to secure peace have dragged on for eight months without results.

Despite Trump's warning of secondary tariffs if Moscow refuses a ceasefire, his administration has so far only imposed fresh tariffs on India over Russian oil purchases.

Stubb has previously said that the only way to motivate Russia to end the war is through sanctions targeting countries that continue trading with Moscow.

Read also: In largest drone breach into NATO territory, Russia appears to be probing Polish resolve

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  A breakfast and lunch chain restaurant is set to open in two weeks in Germantown, according to the City of Germantown.

First Watch is replacing Chilis in the 7800 block of Poplar Avenue and will offer complimentary Project Sunrise coffee during its opening week, starting Sept. 22.

According to First Watch, they will be offering a pot of their Project Sunrise coffee for free during opening week.

Courtesy of City of Germantown

First Watch also has 10 locations in Tennessee, in Brentwood, Antioch, Smyrna, Hermitage, Spring Hill, and Murfreesboro.

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Their Germantown location would be their 11th location in Tennessee, and their first location in Shelby County.

You can sign up to be a Germantown Pre-Opening VIP on their website.

Some perks are:

Opportunity to get a taste of First Watch at their Friends and Family Pre-Opening Event

Free tumbler for the first 100 guests on Sept. 22

Exclusive offers throughout the year, like a BOGO entree for your birthday

Free welcome offer for first-time sign-ups

First to know about seasonal menu drops

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An Independence man who previously worked as a teacher in several Kansas City-area schools is facing a second set of federal criminal charges related to child sex crimes.

Dennis A. Hernandez, 28, was arrested at home on August 21 and charged with transportation of child pornography, production and attempted production of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.

On Wednesday, he was also charged with four additional counts. Hernandez now faces seven total charges; five counts of producing or attempting to produce child pornography, one count of transportation of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

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Hernandezs arrest followed a series of tips from a national child protection organization, the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, to the FBI, about his internet activity. Investigators found more than one thousand images of child sexual abuse material on Hernandezs phone, some of which he allegedly filmed in school settings.

Investigators believe that the four incidents that led to the new charges allegedly took place between August 2022 and August 2025, according to a federal courts spokesperson for the Western District of Missouri.

Investigators allege that Hernandez coerced at least five minors into participating in the production of child pornography on at least seven occasions, consistent with the seven charges.

Initial charging documents indicated that Hernandez filmed at least 18 children, primarily boys, in some capacity, including at a Gladstone elementary school, in student locker rooms and on school buses.

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At the time of his August 21 arrest, Hernandez had just begun a position teaching first grade at Fairmount Elementary in the Independence School District, according to charging documents.

Hernandez also previously worked in the North Kansas City school district, both as a teacher and as a facilitator for afterschool and summer childcare programs, according to charging documents and a district spokesperson.

Hernandez is currently in federal custody. His case was referred Tuesday to a federal magistrate judge, initiating pretrial motions and suggesting that it will go to trial.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Dunning filed a motion Wednesday to dismiss the previous three charges against Hernandez and file a new seven-count indictment including both sets of charges, according to federal court records.

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Hernandez has denied making physical contact with any of his alleged victims.

The Star has reached out to the Independence and North Kansas City school districts for comment. Chris Oberholtz, an NKCSD spokesperson, said the district is aware of the additional charges against Hernandez.

Our partnership with federal authorities continues as their investigation develops, Oberholtz said. We will continue doing all we can to support those impacted and share available information with transparency as we work toward a just resolution.

ISD spokesperson Megan Dillard wrote that the district is following due process around Hernandezs employment status as his federal case advances. The district placed Hernandez on administrative leave after his arrest.

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 We cannot bypass due process or terminate employment without following the proper legal procedures, Dillard wrote.

In a statement made available to The Star at the time of Hernandezs arrest, Dillard previously said that the district does not have any evidence linking any ISD students to the allegations.

Anyone who believes themselves or their children may have been a victim of Hernandez is asked to call 1-800-FBI. The FBI has also opened a webpage where victims over 18 or parents of victims can submit additional tips about Hernandez.
'A,' a former Mossad official, stated that "If there was an objection [from the Mossad], then it would arise from its duty to be in all the places the official State of Israel cannot be."

The Mossad's role in indirect contact with Qatar may have caused officials from the intelligence agency to object to Israel's Tuesday airstrikes targeting Hamas leaders in Doha, a former senior Mossad official told 103FM on Thursday.

'A,' speaking with 103FM's Nissim Mishal, and Geula Even-Sa'ar, noted that while he did not have information on whether Mossad Director David Barnea objected to the attack, he "hoped that there were some who objected" within the organization.

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"The Mossad is a highly professional, operational organization," the former official noted. "I would hope that not everyone were 'yes-men' when discussions are being held.

"I know Barnea - a fantastic Mossad director with rich operational experience. I suspect that during discussions held within the forum of the Mossad and the security cabinet, the benefits of the strike were debated," he told 103FM.

Mossad chief may have objected to leave room for hostage talks

'A' explained that, as part of the responsibilities of his role, the Mossad director is tasked with establishing close relationships based on trust with Arab leaders, including those from Qatar. "Barnea was at the head of a pyramid of officials heading negotiations for the release of Gaza hostages," he expanded.

A damaged building, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders, according to an Israeli official, in Doha, Qatar, September 9, 2025 (credit: REUTERS/IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA)

"If there was an objection [from the Mossad], then it would arise from the fact that the organization has a duty to be in all the places the official State of Israel cannot be in. If [Barnea] sent out messages of objection, it is to leave an opening for continuation of talks," the former official analyzed.

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"The facts show that Qatar was chosen, either rightfully or wrongfully, to be a mediator in the Gaza war by both Israel and the Americans. We are in the homestretch, but Qatar is the one that has been working to free hostages."

On Tuesday, Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck a building in the Qatari capital of Doha, in an attack the IDF and Shin Bet described as an attempt on the life of Hamas leadership stationed in the Gulf state.

The attack involved 15 fighter jets, which dropped 10 bombs, killing six people. These included a Qatari security officer and the son of Khalil al-Hayya, a member of Hamas five-member temporary governing committee. Hamas said its top leadership survived in what appears to be the first publicly acknowledged Israeli strike on Qatari territory.

On the strike, 'A' noted that its still-unknown results were secondary to the message it sent: "Do not harm Israeli and Jews. We have files on every terrorist, wherever they may be."
A former student has filed a $100 million federal lawsuit against TCU, accusing school officials of mishandling her rape allegation and of creating a culture that tolerates sexual assaults on campus.

In a statement, a university spokesperson called the plaintiffs accusations false and said the university followed proper protocol in handling the alleged rape.

TCUs first priority is always to protect the safety and well-being of our students, the statement read.

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According to the lawsuit, filed Sept. 10 in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, the student, referred to as Emily Doe, was raped in her TCU dorm room on Oct. 6, 2024.

Records from a Title IX hearing that were included in the complaint show the university conducted an investigation and that a panel comprising faculty and staff members determined unanimously that nonconsensual intercourse took place.

The alleged perpetrator, whose name was withheld from the lawsuit, was put on probation with the university and moved to a different dorm than the woman, according to the lawsuit. Additionally, he was ordered to retake a student sexual assault education course and write a reflection paper on the topic of mutual consent.

The plaintiff said these consequences were inadequate given the circumstances.

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TCU imposed no real punishment at all on the rapist, the lawsuit reads. Instead, it gave him homework  write a 3-4 page paper on the importance of mutual consent and discuss it, in private, with a TCU faculty member. And rewatch the short videos on consent he had been required to watch in orientation just six weeks before raping Emily. TCU also decided to move him to another dorm, without warning to the residents therein.

However, the universitys statement said the man was suspended and is no longer a student at TCU.

We take sexual assault claims seriously, and to spread false allegations... is irresponsible and a dangerous mischaracterization of our students and our institution, the statement read. In any event, we will not accede to her lawyers repeated threats of an orchestrated media attack if we do not pay tens of millions of dollars.

The plaintiff, who was a first-year student at the time of the alleged assault, is represented by attorneys from the OHagan Meyer law firms Richmond, Virginia, office.

Accusations that TCU looked the other way

The lawsuit accused TCU of enforcing a policy of imposing no real consequences on male students who rape fellow female students. It alleged the university does not want to offend male students who rape or the parents who pay more than $82,000 per year for their sons to attend TCU.

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The complaint further alleged that TCUs sexual assault policy was merely designed to create the illusion of protection for female students.

The de facto policy is, Boys will be boys, and we cant let a moment of poor judgment that results in a rape ruin a boys life, regardless of how it affects the girls, reads the lawsuit.

What happened in the plaintiffs TCU dorm room?

Documents included in the lawsuit filing show the woman and man knew each other and had met up at a bar on the evening of Oct. 5, 2024. In a formal complaint filed with TCU, the woman said she invited the man back to her dorm room and that they made out. The woman said she fell asleep with her dress still on at around 3:15 a.m. on Oct. 6. That is when the man allegedly sexually assaulted her.

The woman said she woke up and immediately told the man to leave, which he did. He claimed he thought the intercourse was consensual, according to the Title IX hearing cited in the lawsuit.

Immediately after, the woman said, she called a friend and contacted TCUs sexual assault hotline. The next day, she allegedly confronted the man in her dorm room with her roommate as a witness. She filed the formal complaint on Oct. 15.
Germany's highest criminal court on Thursday confirmed a leading far-right politician's convictions for using a banned Nazi slogan.

The Federal Court of Justice backed the 2024 convictions of Bjorn Hocke, the leader of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the eastern state of Thuringia.

Hocke was fined by the Halle Regional Court for using the slogan "Alles fur Deutschland" (Everything for Germany) at two events in 2021 and 2023.

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The phrase is banned in Germany due to its previous use by the Nazis' SA paramilitary force.

Hocke had lodged an appeal against the convictions. His defence lawyers described the decisions as "incorrect in form and content, based on German, European and international law."

But the Federal Court of Justice, based in the south-western city of Karlsruhe, said its investigation did not reveal legal errors in the case.

Hocke's position as a member of parliament did not grant him immunity, as he used the slogans outside the exercise of his mandate, the court explained.

It said the lower-instance court had "convincingly proven that the SA had adopted the slogan in question as its own and that the accused knew this."

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The convictions therefore constituted a permissible restriction of freedom of expression, the criminal court said in a final judgement.

The AfD is Germany's largest opposition party. Several of its state-level organizations, including Hocke's chapter in Thuringia, are under surveillance by domestic intelligence as "confirmed" extremist groups.
Seasoned diplomat Martin Jager took the helm at Germany's BND foreign intelligence agency on Thursday, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressing hope that the organization will become more efficiently under the new leadership.

"We want the BND to operate at the very highest level in terms of intelligence," Merz said at Jager's inauguration at the headquarters of the spy agency in Berlin.

Jager, 61, previously served as Germany's ambassador to Ukraine. He follows in the footsteps of Bruno Kahl, who asked to be transferred to the German embassy in the Vatican after holding the post for nine years.

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Jager will head some 6,500 intelligence workers at the BND, which was founded in 1956.

Merz said Jager was taking over at a time when post-war Germany is faced with an unprecedented number of threats, citing daily hybrid attacks on infrastructure, acts of sabotage, espionage and disinformation campaigns.

"We once again have systemic rivals and adversaries both externally and internally. And they are becoming increasingly aggressive," the chancellor said.

He said it was "a top priority for this government to create the basis for a secure, sovereign Germany."

Given Germany's responsibility in Europe and its economic strength, cooperation with other domestic security agencies, the armed forces and intelligence partners at the international level must be excellent, Merz said.

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Jager said he aims to align the foreign intelligence service more closely with the current threats facing Germany.

"We will take controlled and consistent higher risks in order to gain better access to intelligence and better protect our country's interests," Jager added.
Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama confirmed on Thursday that his country had started receiving West Africans expelled from the United States.

Mahama said 14 deportees  among them Nigerians and one Gambian  had arrived in Ghana before being sent on to their home countries.

"We were approached by the US to accept third-party nationals who were being removed from the US and we agreed with them that West African nationals were acceptable because all our fellow West Africans don't need a visa to come to our country," Mahama told journalists at a press conference.

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He did not say how many people Ghana would ultimately agree to take in.

The deal comes as Washington raised tariffs on Ghanaian goods from 10 to 15 percent and limited visas for Ghanaians to single-entry permits valid for three months.

Ghana is now the fifth African nation to reach such an agreement with the US.

In August, Uganda's foreign ministry said it would take deported migrants as long as they had no criminal records and were not unaccompanied minors. Rwanda also confirmed a deal with Washington in August.

Last week, South Sudan said it had repatriated a Mexican man who was deported from the US in July.

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In July, men from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen and Cuba were flown to Eswatini.

Uganda strikes deal with Washington over migrants deported from the US

Deportation from US

US President Donald Trump has said he wants to step up removals of illegal immigrants and increase deportations to third countries.

At a rally in Arizona before the US presidential elections in November, Trump attacked the immigration record of his predecessor Joe Biden.

Were a dumping ground," Trump told Republican supporters. "Were like a garbage can for the world. Thats whats happened.

Every time I come up and talk about what theyve [Biden] done to our country I get angry and angrier. First time Ive ever said garbage can. But you know what? Its a very accurate description.

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In February, hundreds of people were deported from the US to Panama, including some removed before their asylum claims could be heard.

Hundreds more were sent to El Salvador after the US government invoked an 18th century law to expel people it accused of being Venezuelan gang members. Some were deported despite judges in the US ordering planes to turn back.

(with newswires)
Protesters gather in the Missouri Capitol rotunda Sept. 10 in opposition to a gerrymandered congressional district map (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent).

While Republicans continue their push to gerrymander Missouris congressional map, opponents are already eyeing a plan to ask voters to overturn it.

And looming over the debate are approaching deadlines for Missouri ballots to be finalized and candidates to file for office, along with promises of lawsuits  with any delays potentially undermining efforts to create a new Republican seat in time for the 2026 midterm elections.

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The Missouri House passed a new map Tuesday that would carve up the 5th District, currently held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City, and disperse its voters into three districts that give Republicans an electoral advantage in seven of the states eight congressional seats.

The fate of the proposed new map is now in the hands of the Missouri Senate, where the GOP holds a supermajority and is expected to pass it to Gov. Mike Kehoe for his signature this week.

At least two groups are considering a petition drive to force a referendum vote on the map once it is signed into law. If they successfully gather enough signatures, the map would be frozen until an up-or-down statewide vote is held next year.

I expect a citizens referendum as soon as this passes the Senate, said House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, a Kansas City Democrat.

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Jake Hummel, president of the Missouri AFL-CIO, said that while he hasnt talked directly with his members about whether to initiate a referendum, I have a pretty strong feeling they will.

Richard von Glahn, executive director of an organization called People NOT Politicians, said if lawmakers insist on moving forward with a gerrymandered congressional map, the people have other tools  including legal action and a referendum. Missourians are ready to defend democracy.

That referendum strategy was last deployed in 2018, when labor unions collected 300,000 signatures in 90 days  more than three times the amount required  to put a question on the statewide ballot repealing a GOP-backed right-to-work law.

The repeal push was ultimately successful, with 67% of voters rejecting the right-to-work law.

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In fact, of the 27 times a referendum has been placed on the ballot, voters have rejected actions by the General Assembly all but twice.

A rally protesting a GOP gerrymandering proposal on Wednesday fills the Missouri Capitol Rotunda (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent).

Referendum elections are required to be held on the November general election ballot unless the legislature votes to move it to an earlier date. The timing of that vote would be crucial in determining whether a new map could even be finalized in time for congressional elections next year.

According to a letter from the Missouri Association of County Clerks and Election Authorities that was sent to legislative leadership last month, every election in 2026 administratively begins 10 weeks prior to Election Day.

Elections are administered in the statewide voter registration database, which houses the district boundaries and voter district assignments currently in effect and ensures voters receive the right ballot on Election Day.

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District boundary lines must be locked during an active election, the letter states, and voters cannot be assigned to a new district during this timeframe to ensure proper ballots can be created, proofed, ordered and printed in time for absentee voting to begin.

Under that timeline, the April 7, 2026, municipal election begins administratively on Jan. 27. The Aug. 4, 2026 primary election begins administratively on May 26.

That means, at least according to local election officials, if the congressional map being considered by the legislature isnt finalized until after May 26, it wouldnt apply to the August primary.

Meanwhile, the candidate filing period in Missouri for the August 2026 primary opens on Feb. 24 and ends March 31. In 2022, the filing period came and went without a new map in place as lawmakers quarrelled over boundary lines.

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And numerous opponents of the gerrymandering push have promised litigation, arguing it is unconstitutional to redraw Missouris congressional map before the next census is complete.

The idea of forcing a gerrymandered congressional map onto the ballot for voters to decide was a recurring theme Wednesday as thousands gathered at the Missouri Capitol to denounce the Republican-backed effort.

Government is supposed to be by the people, for the people, said Denise Lieberman, director and general counsel for the Voter Protection Coalition. This proposal is nothing more than an attempt to rig the 2026 elections before a single vote is even cast  at the behest of Washington DC, and at the expense of real Missourians.

Ashley Sadowski, a parent in Kansas City Public Schools, denounced the map Wednesday for slicing her school district into three different congressional districts.

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Politics are local. Community needs are local. Rural families have different needs than urban families. Large communities have different needs than smaller communities, she said. Looking at the boundaries of this map, its clear the creators dont know us at all. And it is clear they dont respect us or the needs of our children.

The other target of Wednesdays rally is legislation making its way through the legislature this week that would make it virtually impossible to amend the state constitution through the initiative petition process.

If that bill clears the Senate, it automatically goes to the statewide ballot next year.

Voters, Aune said, will have the last word on both proposals.

(Republicans) may not feel like they have to answer to us here in this building, she at Wednesdays rally, but they have to answer to each and every one of you.

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BECKLEY, WV (WVNS)  West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey announced plans to triple the states energy output through an ambitious new initiative.

The 50 by 50 plan was designed to push West Virginia from a 15-gigawatt energy baseload to 50 gigawatts by the year 2050.

West Virginia politicians speak out on Charlie Kirk shooting

He said the boost could jumpstart the economy and create job opportunities throughout the state.

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Its going to be good for all of West Virginia. Its ambitious, but we have to be, said Governor Morrisey. Were competing with China on the world stage for information technology supremacy, and West Virginia needs to help lead the way to be a big force to make sure that America is meeting the energy demands of tomorrow.

The energy framework policy laid out plans to lean into the coal and natural gas production which have powered the state for decades. Governor Morrisey said the increased production will open the door for state leaders to take advantage of emerging AI technology, keeping the state competitive not just nationally, but on the world stage.

Energy production leaders have said it is an exciting time for West Virginia as details emerge regarding the new initiative.

To be able to join with the governor in his efforts to utilize more natural gas in the state and provide more benefits to all residents of the state of West Virginia is really exciting for us, said President of the Gas & Oil Association of West Virginia, Charlie Burd.

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Governor Morrisey said he intends to double down on work in coal, natural gas, and nuclear energy. He told 59News he hopes to transform West Virginia into the battery for the nation in terms of fueling Americas energy needs.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WVNS.
Senior terror officials Osama Hamdan and Izat al-Rishak appear in Doha in an attempt to show that high-level leaders still hold control.

Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayyas condition remained a mystery on Thursday as he was not seen at his sons funeral in Doha, Qatar, two days after the Israel Air Force bombed a gathering of Hamas leaders at their home.

The noticeable absence of Hayya, as well as the lack of any pictures or videos of him to date, hasincreased speculation that he is, at least, badly wounded, even if he was not killed when 10 missiles hit the Doha building he was suspected to be in.

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In contrast, senior Hamas officials Osama Hamdan and Izzat al-Rishq did appear at the funeral, seemingly an attempt by the terror group to show its high-level leaders are still running the show.

There were numerous other contrary reports about the fate of other officials like Muhammad Ismail Darwish, Mousa Abu Marzook, Zaher Jabarin, and others, though Hamas has not produced any signs of their health either, leaving open the possibility that some of them were either killed or badly wounded.

A majority of reports indicated that former Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal either was not present or had survived the attack, although no sign of life has been produced regarding him either.

It is also possible that Hamas leaders are trying to keep a low profile to avoid further Israeli strikes and may only come forward once they feel safer.

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Israeli officials, as of Thursday night, have still not given clear indications of the state of the Hamas leaders in Qatar whom they tried to assassinate on Tuesday, but trends suggested that many of those officials survived.

Optimism over success of strike shifts as reports come out

If in the early hours after the attack, The Jerusalem Post received off-record indications about the strike having killed several Hamas leaders, already by 1 a.m. on Wednesday morning, the indications from Israeli sources had turned to pessimism.

This was significant because, though Hamas had said its leaders had survived within a few hours, the Palestinian terror group has often issued knee-jerk false denials when its leaders, such as Yahya Sinwar or Mohammed Deif, were killed, only to admit this weeks or months later.

By Wednesday night, there was a narrative in Arab media that the top Hamas leaders had left their cellphones in one room, while moving to another room to pray, and had thus survived.

Optimism over success of strike shifts as reports come out

At the same time, more than 24 hours after the attack, none of the Hamas leaders has surfaced in any videos or photos to prove they are in one piece, and only one official, Husam Badran, has issued a public statement.

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Statements by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday notably left out any mention of whether the Hamas leaders were killed  an omission which also suggested the IDF may not have killed the officials it was targeting.

One possibility is that many of the Hamas officials were injured, and some could still die from their injuries.

In such a case, Hamas might withhold any announcements until it has a better idea of which officials might be sufficiently fit to retain their roles, as opposed to those who may have survived but have been incapacitated.

It is also possible that because the IAF used precise munitions, and not a larger bomb, the limited force of the blast was not strong enough to kill the targets.

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The IAF used a smaller, precise munition to avoid harm to local Qataris, and such strategies have in the past allowed other top Hamas officials to survive even when a missile successfully struck the room they were in.

Most of the speculation surrounds Hayya, who was viewed as the groups leader outside of Gaza after serving as the mouthpiece and deputy of Hamass former chief Yahya Sinwar, who himself was killed by Israel last October.

After two years of Qatar hosting negotiations between Israel and Hamas over hostage exchanges and ceasefires, the government reached the decision that killing the remaining Hamas leaders was more important than leaving that diplomatic channel open.

A statement said that the leaders targeted were responsible for the October 7 massacre of around 1,200 Israelis in the countrys South, as well as managing the terror groups operations for years beforehand.

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The US has been mostly critical of Israels attack, as have been European countries and even Arab allies of Israel, which normally dislike Doha.

In Israel, news leaked on Wednesday that the defense establishment was split over the wisdom of the strike, especially while negotiations with Hamas were ongoing.
In New Hampshire, approximately 2% of electricity was generated through solar power as of spring 2025  far less than the other New England states average of about 15%. (Getty Images)

New Hampshire has been slower than the rest of New England to lean into renewable electricity generation, including through solar power. And while some opportunities to change that will likely arise during the upcoming legislative session, its not yet clear whether lawmakers will have an appetite to pursue them.

Some clean energy advocates view expanding solar as an accessible route toward more widespread renewable energy capacity in New Hampshire, said Sen. David Watters, a Democratic member of the state Senates Energy and Natural Resources Committee since 2019.

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Solar is kind of the low-hanging fruit if we want to do something about renewable energy and reducing costs for New Hampshire people, he said.

Yet, in New Hampshire, approximately 2% of electricity was generated through solar power as of spring 2025  far less than the other New England states average of about 15%, according to data from the Solar Energy Industries Association.

The climates the same as in all the neighboring states, of course, said Dan Weeks, vice president of business development at ReVision Energy, a solar system installer that operates across northern New England. Whats different, then, he and others said, is New Hampshire policymakers historic reticence around the development of solar infrastructure.

Divided on incentives

Part of that stems from an overarching debate in the New Hampshire solar landscape: To what extent should the state encourage solar development through subsidies and other incentives?

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Some consider such pro-solar measures counterproductive for ratepayers and, therefore, not worth the investment, said Rep. Michael Vose, a Republican from Epping who chairs the House Science, Technology, and Energy Committee. Vose said he would not abide by proposals to implement ratepayer-borne subsidies when electricity costs in New England are already among the highest in the contiguous U.S.

Those subsidies come from ratepayers, he said. To keep (electricity) as affordable as possible is an imperative  so we have resisted the temptation to overspend on energy subsidies for renewable energy and energy efficiency, in order to keep our rates lower.

Concerns that solar development unfairly shifts a cost burden onto ratepayers are not new. Former Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed multiple proposed expansions to net metering, a program through which energy customers who own generation equipment are reimbursed for the electricity they generate at their property. In a 2019 veto message, Sununu called that program regressive and outlined concerns it would raise rates for those who did not engage in the program. He expressed similar concerns after vetoing another expansion bill in 2023.

A 2022 study on the effects of net metering in New Hampshire, conducted by Montreal-based consulting firm Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors, concluded that the practice would cause an increase of about 1% to the energy bills of customers who do not use net metering  about $1.70 per month for a family paying a typical monthly electric bill of $170.

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And solar advocates say the increased uptake of solar has a longer-term benefit to all consumers across the network that outweighs that amount.

A healthy base of solar capacity can reduce the load on the electrical grid at times of peak use, such as hot summer days when air conditioning units are working overtime, Weeks said. At those times, solar arrays productivity and peak regional energy demand is typically aligned, correlated to the hottest times of day.

The result is a solar buffer that can help protect the grid from hitting the ceiling of peak demand, at which time electric providers must switch on expensive, emergency power stations to feed the grid. The cost of electricity climbs steeply when demand is highest, Weeks said. But solar can help stave off those emergency measures.

This principle was particularly visible in New England this June, when a buffer from behind-the-meter solar  meaning arrays installed at the site of use, such as residential rooftop panels  saved consumers an estimated $8.2 million in peak electricity pricing on one particularly hot day, according to a report by renewable energy advocacy nonprofit The Acadia Center.

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Most of the solar panels in existence across New Hampshire are residential solar panels and other small arrays. In some cases, Watters said, this may be because groups looking to develop larger projects have taken them to neighboring states where more incentives are available.

Vose said the reason that new energy projects were not arriving in New Hampshire was multifaceted and pointed to the high cost of construction in New England generally.

Its a difficult environment to make money, Vose said.

He also pointed to past measures he said were intended to encourage energy development in the state  such as House Bill 609, signed by Sununu in July 2024, which streamlined the site approval process for proposed energy projects.

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Unfortunately, it hasnt been tested yet, because there havent been any projects proposed, he said.

Vose also said he did not expect to see the Republican-majority House reconsider their stance on solar subsidies or other incentives in the near future.

New Hampshire Consumer Advocate Donald Kreis said New Hampshires comparative lack of solar was due to the state not courting developers as aggressively as neighboring states. But as those governments back off on their own subsidies and incentives, he said, New Hampshire may be well poised to take advantage of the market and develop its own infrastructure with direct investment from ratepayers.

Budget cuts and dwindling funds

The amount of funding available for all renewable energy projects in New Hampshire has diminished greatly over the course of the past year.

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Just this July, the New Hampshire Department of Energy received notice that the $43.5 million the state was set to receive through the federal Solar for All program had been rescinded. The funds were part of a nationwide program that was, until its termination, set to disburse about $7 billion in already promised funding to 60 organizations including states and tribes. The funds were earmarked to help bring solar energy projects to low-income households.

Plans for New Hampshires portion of the funds included adding community solar projects and collectively owned solar arrays statewide, including projects for manufactured housing parks, publicly owned housing, and workforce housing sites, according to an April 2024 press release from the New Hampshire Department of Energy. The New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority and New Hampshire Community Loan Fund were sub-grantees in the project.

In the release, Rob Dapice, New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority executive director, said he expected the project to reduce utility costs for residents and housing developers alike.

The New Hampshire Department of Energy appealed the grants termination to the EPA, Deputy Commissioner Christopher Ellms said in an email to the Bulletin on Sept. 5. In the dispute, dated Aug. 28, Division of Policy and Programs Director Joshua Elliott called the termination arbitrary and capricious and requested the funds be restored.

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Other federal cuts under the Trump administration have also diminished the amount of funds available for renewable energy projects, including the termination of the residential clean energy credit, which reimbursed homeowners up to 30% of the cost of a qualifying renewable energy project for their home but is set to end Dec. 31.

And at the state level, the budget bill signed by Gov. Kelly Ayotte in August will transfer the millions of dollars accrued in New Hampshires renewable energy fund  and all incoming revenue  to the general fund over the next two years. As a result, about $15 million otherwise earmarked for clean energy and energy efficiency development across the state will be sent to the general fund for use elsewhere, leaving about $1 million per year available in the fund for investing in renewable energy.

Looking ahead

Though legislators and advocates said they did not expect sweeping solar policy developments to find traction in the next legislative session, some more incremental developments may be on the horizon.

One of those includes a possible bill to streamline the adoption of so-called plug-in, or balcony, solar, said Watters. These portable solar panels can be less expensive than traditional rooftop arrays, and plug directly into a socket. Watters said he was considering legislation to help chart a more straightforward path for New Hampshire residents to put the technology to use.

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The technology is there. Theres a lot of good devices that people can buy, Watters said. If theyre potentially a renter, or are in a situation where they cant do rooftop, this is a possibility for some solar development.

Battery technology is another arm of the solar industry developing rapidly in neighboring states, said Weeks. Batteries installed along with solar panels allow residents to save surplus power they generate rather than feeding it directly to the grid; through agreements with utilities, this power can sometimes be tapped into in times of peak demand to further stave off the need for emergency plants, Weeks said.

These programs have been shown to save all ratepayers, whether you have solar or not, a lot of money, he said.

Residents with battery systems in place may be able to benefit further through a bill Vose said he was considering that would allow users to be reimbursed through net metering for the power stored in their batteries in addition to the power generated in real time through their panels.

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Net metering itself is another matter advocates hope the state will take up once again in the upcoming session.

When New Hampshires net metering rules were last updated in 2017, Weeks said, they allowed for projects to be guaranteed participation in net metering through 2040. But as time goes on and that deadline nears, uncertainty has grown about the future of the program  and that, Weeks said, could put would-be developers on edge.

With each passing year, the time horizon is shorter and shorter, down to 15 years now, and that is also discouraging investment in solar, he said.
STAR-ADVERTISER / 2017 Mayor Rick Blangiardi will lead a remembrance ceremony at 6 p.m. today at the Eternal Flame outside Honolulu Hale. People present lei at the foot of the Eternal Flame paying tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

STAR-ADVERTISER / 2017 Mayor Rick Blangiardi will lead a remembrance ceremony at 6 p.m. today at the Eternal Flame outside Honolulu Hale. People present lei at the foot of the Eternal Flame paying tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

State and city officials will be marking the 24th anniversary of the 9 /11 terrorist attacks in a variety of ways today.

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Gov. Josh Green, Mayor Rick Blangiardi, and representatives from the Honolulu police, fire and Emer-gency Medical Serv ices departments will attend the annual 9 /11 Remembrance Ceremony at Tamarind Park on the corner of Bishop and King streets from 12 :15 to 12 :45 p.m. The Royal Hawaiian Band and Celtic Pipes &Drums of Hawai i will be performing at the public ceremony.

At 6 p.m., Blangiardi will lead the Mayors Remembrance Ceremony at the Eternal Flame outside Honolulu Hale. Also attending will be Honolulu Police Department Interim Chief Rade K. Vanic, Honolulu Fire Department Chief Sheldon Hao, Hono lulu Emergency Services Department Deputy Director Ian Santee, Honolulu Ocean Safety Department Acting Assistant Chief Adam Lerner and members of the City Council. The mauka-bound lane of Punchbowl Street will be closed during the public ceremony.

The city also will illuminate Honolulu Hale and the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in blue light tonight to serve as a solemn reminder of the nearly 3, 000 lives lost on that day, including nine with ties to Hawaii,  city officials said. The Tribute of Light will begin at sunset and continue through the evening.

Honolulu stands with cities everywhere in honoring the memory of all those we lost on September 11th, as well as the courage of the first responders and the enduring spirit of the American people,  Mayor Rick Blangiardi said in a news release. By joining Boston and New York City in this powerful tribute of light, we reaffirm our commitment to never forget.

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And Green has ordered that the U.S. flag and the Hawaii state flag be flown at half-staff at the state Capitol, all state offices and the Hawaii National Guard from sunrise to sunset today.

May this day serve as a reminder of the courage and heroic strength of our first responders and countless other brave citizens,  he said in a news release.

Today we stand with those lost, those grieving and survivors who are forever burdened by the memory. Let their bravery and resilience inspire us as we extend our deepest condolences and consolations.

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HONOLULU (KHON2)  Hawaiian Airlines is going to have a new CEO, Alaska Air Group announced on Sept. 10.

Diana Birkett Rakow, current senior vice president of public affairs and sustainability at Alaska Airlines, will succeed current Hawaiian Airlines CEO Joe Sprague, who is retiring.

Atmos Rewards: New loyalty program for Hawaiian & Alaska

Birkett Rakow will work out of Honolulu, which is the second largest hub for the Alaska Air Group after Seattle.

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Her ascension to the role marks the first time in the airlines history that a woman will hold the title of CEO. Her duties will include advancement of the Hawaiian Airlines brand, employee satisfaction and overseeing the Honolulu leadership team, the company said.

I want to thank Joe Sprague for his steady leadership in guiding Hawaiian Airlines through a period of significant change, said Alaska Air Group CEO Ben Minicucci. As Diana steps into this role, she brings a proven record of building strong teams, delivering results and caring deeply about people and culture. I know she will be a tireless advocate for the Hawaiian Airlines brand and people, and Im confident she will lead with authenticity, purpose and vision.

Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You

Birkett Rakow looks forward to advancing Hawaiian Airlines during her tenure as CEO.

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Im grateful for the opportunity to help lead Hawaiian at such a momentous time in its long and rich history, and thankful for Joes thoughtful leadership bringing our people and operations closer together over the past year, she said.

For the past eight years, Birkett Rakow has worked with the local community on behalf of Alaska Airlines to help support employees and patrons.

Additionally, she has experience leading Alaskas sustainability and corporate impact efforts, government affairs, communications, community and cultural relations and more.

Birkett Rakow officially steps into the role of CEO on Oct. 29.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2.
Key Takeaways

Virginia State and Alabama State universities issued full lockdowns after receiving threats on Sept. 11.

Hampton University suspended in-person activities and shifted to remote operations for two days.

Investigations remain ongoing, and no injuries or confirmed incidents have been reported.

Multiple HBCUs have enacted lockdown protocols and advised students and faculty to limit on-campus activity in response to potential threats received on Thursday (Sept. 11). Virginia State University (VSU) and Alabama State University (ASU) both issued messages on social media, informing their respective communities that the campuses would be closed.

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The VSU advisory noted that no injuries or incidents have been reported in connection with the threat, and that classes and extracurricular activities would remain canceled for the day. Students who live in university-managed dorms will be provided meals to limit non-essential outdoor movement around the school. The university asks that any concerning activity be reported to the VSU Police Department at (804) 524-5411.

We ask all members of the VSU community to remain vigilant  if you see something, say something, read the statement released to the public. We understand this situation is unsettling, and we are committed to keeping you informed with timely and accurate updates, it continued.

ASU issued a similar response. Their safety measures also include clearing out all campus buildings and requiring individuals who do not reside in the dormitories to immediately leave the university premises out of an abundance of caution. Students inside the residence halls have been advised to shelter in place for the day. The safety of our Hornet family is our highest priority, a spokesperson told WSFA. Campus police can be notified of suspicious activity at (334) 229-4200.

Hampton University suspended all non-essential campus activities for Thursday and Friday (Sept. 12), encouraging its faculty and students to gather remotely. Hampton Police can be reached at (757) 727-5300. Details regarding the nature of the three campus threats remain publicly undisclosed amid ongoing law enforcement investigations.

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Clark Atlanta University in Georgia also received a threat, leading administrators to issue a lockdown. Nearby institution Spelman College requested that students shelter in place as a precaution. Southern University in Louisiana will also be closed through the weekend, beginning Thursday, due to a potential threat.

HBCU lockdowns follow 9/11 threats and Charlie Kirk campus shooting

The menacing messages threatening to harm those at Hampton, ASU, and VSU were issued on the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A day prior, conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was fatally shot during an outdoor campus speaking engagement at Utah Valley University. As investigations continue, students and faculty at Hampton, Alabama State, and Virginia State remain on high alert. The swift response from each university underscores the importance of campus safety protocols in the face of potential threats and reinvigorates discussions about gun laws.
Beirut has disarmed several Palestinian factions after an agreement with the Palestinian Authority. However, the state seems not yet willing to confront Hezbollah.

Lebanon continues to say it will disarm Hezbollah. However, when one tries to go by the phrase trust but verify, there is no verification.

Beirut is moving fast enough to take the arms from the terrorist group. Beirut has disarmed several Palestinian factions after an agreement with the Palestinian Authority. However, the state seems not yet willing to confront Hezbollah. Beirut has promised disarmament in stages. If it were successful, this could pave the way for the same thing in Gaza and peace in the region. If it is unsuccessful, then problems will continue.

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Kamal Shehadeh, Lebanons New Minister of Displaced Persons and Minister of State for Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence, spoke to Al-Ain media in the UAE about what might come next. The delay in restricting arms to the Lebanese state, as Minister Kamal Shehadeh sees it, does not merely mean a slow implementation, but rather a series of security, political, and economic costs, the report read.

The issue with disarming Hezbollah

The minister said he saw six problems and consequences of delaying disarmament.

These include: Delaying the establishment of the state with all its institutions and responsibilities; exposing the country to continued Israeli attacks; obstructing the diplomatic and political process; obstructing the provision of aid from donor countries; slowing the flow of investments to Lebanon and disrupting the reconstruction process (renovating homes, building schools, and returning the people of the South).

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem appears on a screen as people gather to watch the public funeral ceremony of Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine, who were killed in Israeli airstrikes last year, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon February 23, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/Ali Allouch)

In an exclusive interview with Al-Ain, Shehadeh said, "Any delay in restricting arms to the Lebanese state will delay the establishment of the state with all its institutions and responsibilities, expose the country to continued Israeli aggression, and delay the diplomatic and political process."

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Israel has continued to strike Hezbollah because it continues to have weapons.

He added, "the delay will hinder the provision of aid from donor countries, the flow of investment into the country, the restoration of destroyed homes, the construction of schools, and everything related to the reconstruction of the south and the return of the people of the south to their homes."

He warned of the danger of Hezbollah's insistence on its refusal to restrict its weapons, the report notes. Shehadeh noted, "If the [Hezbollah] party continues to maintain its position, Lebanon will remain in a vicious cycle, Israeli attacks will continue, the five border crossings will remain occupied, the state's authority will be obstructed, and the building of a just state capable of protecting all its citizens will be hindered."

In his opinion, "there is no way to protect Lebanon and break out of the vicious cycle except by extending the Lebanese state's control over all of its territory. Lebanon must build legitimacy for its institutions and the Lebanese Army.

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If Lebanon wants to end the chaos unleashed by Hezbollahs war on Israel, it must move forward.

Shehadeh also warned that "continued Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon will complicate the plan's implementation, as they will hinder the army's deployment to carry out its mission of disarming," explaining that "delaying the final step will delay any international pressure on Israel to halt its attacks, and here we enter a vicious cycle." The goal now is for Lebanon to turn the corner on decades of letting Hezbollah dictate policy. Hezbollah benefited from the end of the Lebanese Civil War in 1989. It kept its guns while other factions did not.

Shehadeh explained that the government move to restrict weapons "comes within the framework of implementing the Taif Agreement, which ended the civil war decades ago, and in accordance with the Lebanese constitution, as well as the inaugural address and ministerial statement, on the basis of which the government gained the confidence of Parliament." He continued, "today, the situation has changed, and the Lebanese state is determined to take control and protect the Lebanese."
Amy Clark, a board member for the Bangor Area Recovery Network, speaks at an Overdose Awareness Rally outside Bangor City Hall in August 2025. (Photo courtesy of Ash Hebert)

Penobscot County, Maine, is grappling with the largest HIV outbreak in the states history. Home to Bangor, a city of roughly 32,000, the county has identified 28 new cases over nearly two years. Thats seven times the typical number for that length of time. Nearly all cases are among people who use drugs and are homeless.

Public health experts and local advocates say the outbreak is fueled by a confluence of on-the-ground factors: the sidelining and closing of programs that distributed sterile syringes to people who use drugs, a shortage of medical providers focused on HIV, and the clearing of the citys largest homeless encampment, which upended care for newly diagnosed people living there.

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But those issues may not remain local for long.

The Trump administration is pushing similar tactics nationwide. In a recent executive order, Trump called for defunding programs that engage in harm reduction  a broad term that encompasses many public health interventions, including syringe services, aimed at keeping people who use drugs alive. Such efforts are sometimes controversial, with critics saying they enable illegal activity. The executive order also supports forcing homeless people off the street and into treatment. This comes after the administration cut or delayed funding for various addiction and HIV-related programs and hollowed out federal agencies focused on these topics.

The administration says its approach will increase public safety, but decades of research suggest otherwise. Many advocates and researchers warn these efforts could spark more outbreaks like the one in Bangor.

That feels inevitable, said Laura Pegram, director of Drug User Health for NASTAD, an association of public health officials who administer HIV and hepatitis programs.

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She said people who use drugs face a trifecta of risks: HIV, hepatitis C, and overdose. Across the country, I think well start to see those three things starting to be on the rise again.

That will be incredibly costly, she added  in dollars and in a real human way.

Outbreaks that start among people who use drugs can easily spread to those who dont.

Health Equity Alliance, or HEAL, was a Bangor-area nonprofit that distributed more than half a million sterile needles a year to people who use drugs. The organization ran out of supplies repeatedly in the lead-up to the first HIV case of the current outbreak in October 2023, and it shut down in early 2025. (Photo courtesy of Amy Clark)

An HIV outbreak

The first HIV case in Bangors current outbreak appeared in October 2023, well before Trumps return to the presidency.

Puthiery Va, director of Maines public health department, attributed the emergence to the opioid epidemic, housing shortages, and the greater Bangor areas sparse health care services.

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Local advocates highlighted an additional, acute factor: supply shortages at the regions largest syringe services program and its subsequent closure.

A nonprofit that provided health care and social services to people who use drugs, Health Equity Alliance, or HEAL, distributed more than half a million sterile needles annually.

Like other such programs nationwide, its goal was to prevent the spread of infectious disease that can occur if people share needles to inject drugs.

However, financial struggles and mismanagement led to severe shortages in recent years. Former HEAL executive director Josh DAlessio acknowledged such issues, telling KFF Health News, We did run out of syringes at times or limit how many participants could take. Several of these shortages struck in the fall of 2023, leading HEAL staffers to suggest a link to the first HIV case.

The future of harm reduction

Research suggests a strong connection between past HIV outbreaks among people who use drugs and lack of access to sterile needles, said Thomas Stopka, an epidemiologist at Tufts University School of Medicine.

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A 2015 outbreak in Scott County, Indiana, and one in the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts a few years later were curbed only after syringe services programs ramped up, he said. If such programs had existed sooner in Scott County, more than a hundred infections could have been prevented, one study suggested.

Va, who leads the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said she considers the shortage of syringe services in the Bangor area to be a factor in the outbreak but not the primary cause.

Stopka said the best practice during an outbreak is to amplify access to sterile syringes.

But Trumps recent executive order links harm-reduction programs to crime, saying such efforts only facilitate illegal drug use and its attendant harm. The order doesnt name syringe services programs  which have been supported by both Democrats and Republicans in the past  but it targets safe consumption sites, where people can use drugs under supervision. Many advocates worry the attacks will be broader.

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A letter from the nations leading addiction agency expanding on Trumps executive order said federal funds cannot be used to buy syringes or drug pipes. However, that has been true for most of the past few decades. The letter did not address supporting general operating costs for syringe services programs.

Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Andrew Nixon told KFF Health News that the administration is committed to addressing the addiction and overdose crisis impacting communities across our nation. But he and spokespeople for the White House did not respond to specific questions about the administrations stance toward syringe services.

In Bangor, some locals have raised concerns about harm reduction that echo the presidents. At a March 2024 City Council meeting  shortly after a syringe services program was newly certified by the state to operate locally  residents and business owners said they felt unsafe with the growing population of people who were homeless and using drugs. They worried syringe programs were fueling the behavior.

But research suggests syringe services programs reduce discarded needles in the community and do not increase crime. They can halve new HIV and hepatitis C cases, increase entry into addiction treatment fivefold, and save taxpayer money. They are also leading distributors of overdose reversal medications, the use of which many communities  and the Trump administration  have said they support.

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The city ultimately decided the newly certified program, Needlepoint Sanctuary, could not operate in prominent public parks or squares.

In the following months, Needlepoint ran its syringe services only at the citys largest homeless encampment, where several people had tested positive for HIV, said the groups executive director, William Willie Hurley. That ended in February when the city cleared the encampment.

This summer, Needlepoint secured a private location for its syringe services but shut it down five days later when city officials raised zoning concerns.

Jennifer Gunderman, director of Bangors health department, said the city is trying to strike a balance between making services available and what the community wants.

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Getting the buy-in of most of the community is critical to the future of harm reduction, she said.

Other cities in Maine and beyond have seen backlash result in new laws that restrict how syringe services programs operate or shutter them.

Gunderman said she is hoping to avoid that in Bangor.

Needlepoint Sanctuary, a grassroots harm reduction group, regularly handed out food, clothing, and other supplies to people living at the largest homeless encampment in Bangor, Maine. The encampment, often called Camp Hope or Tent City, was cleared by the city in February 2025. (Photo courtesy of Needlepoint Sanctuary)

Clearing encampments

Trumps recent executive order also calls for clearing homeless people off the street and involuntarily committing them to treatment facilities.

The administration is enacting this policy in Washington, D.C., where it has bulldozed tents and threatened homeless people with fines and jail time if they dont leave the streets.

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White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said people have the option to be taken to a shelter or receive addiction and mental health services.

Similar policies have taken hold nationwide in recent years, even in liberal hubs like New York and California.

Last year in Bangor, as a homeless encampment that had existed for several years grew to nearly 100 residents, business owners and locals called for its clearing.

Some advocates and social service providers warned that doing so could exacerbate the HIV outbreak and overdose crisis. At two City Council meetings in November, they explained that it would be difficult to find people they served after a clearing and that scattering newly diagnosed people could spark HIV clusters elsewhere.

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Plenty of people said youre going to lose track of these people, Amy Clark, a board member for the Bangor Area Recovery Network, told KFF Health News. They did it anyway.

Im still alive

Two months after clearing the encampment, the city reported not knowing the location of more than a third of the people who had lived there.

Clark said its not surprising that the city couldnt connect everyone to housing or treatment. Many people distrust these services, shelters are frequently full, and treatment services are scarce. Where exactly are these people supposed to go? she said.

City officials stressed in Council meetings and reports that they were taking a humane approach. They ramped up social services for months leading up to the clearing, connecting people to everything from housing to storage facilities and laundry.

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Gunderman, the city health director, said she knows the sweep wasnt ideal but that neither was crowding folks in an unsanitary encampment. It was a situation where there werent a lot of great answers, she said.

To help track folks from the encampment and keep them engaged in HIV treatment, the city is now using about $550,000 in opioid settlement funds to hire two case managers. (The only other local HIV medical case management program shuttered over the summer.)

What we know from outreach weve been doing already is that we spend a lot of time looking for people, Gunderman said.

Jason, who has been homeless for most of the past decade and tested positive for HIV this year, has seen that in action.

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Members of what he calls his medical team have scoured the streets for hours to find his tent and remind him to take his HIV treatment shots, he said. Some picked up prescriptions and delivered them to him.

Theyve made sure Im taken care of, Jason said. (KFF Health News agreed to use only his first name to protect his privacy.)

Jason believes he got the virus last year at the homeless encampment while using drugs that someone else prepared. He had tried to avoid the encampment for months. But whenever he set up his tent elsewhere, he said, police officers told him to move.

When he got the diagnosis, he thought of his uncle, who died of AIDS in the 1980s.

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It hurts to talk about, Jason said, but Im still alive.

After months of treatment, his viral load is now undetectable. Over the summer, his team helped him find housing.

But Jason is still struggling to find sterile needles regularly. He worries about others facing a shortage.

Thats how this outbreak has been spreading more and more, Jason said. Every time we turn around theres another case.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF  the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has reiterated Budapests claims against Ukraine after a first meeting with Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka, who had called the discussion constructive, and once again stated that Hungary does not see Ukraine as part of the EU.

Source: Szijjarto on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: Szijjarto stated that Hungary seeks good relations with all its neighbours, including Ukraine, but that relations are currently not in good shape, and "responsibility for this lies entirely with Kyiv".

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Quote: "It was not Hungary that took away from the Ukrainian minority their rights to use their mother tongue. It is not Hungary that endangers Ukraines energy security. It is not Hungary that tries to drag them into a war against their will.

We have set out 11 clear points, adding up to one demand: Ukraine must return all the rights [of the Hungarian minority  ed.] that existed before 2015. If anti-corruption laws could be reversed under EU pressure, they can be reversed in this case as well."

Details: Budapest has repeatedly voiced this demand.

Szijjarto went on to call for strikes on the Druzhba oil pipeline to stop, saying they "do not hurt Russia, they hurt us". He also noted that Hungary supplies 40% of Ukraines imported electricity and 50% of its imported gas.

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Quote: "Ukraines EU membership goes against Hungarys economic and security interests. A strategic partnership between the EU and Ukraine is more realistic. Membership would bring unacceptable risks, including the danger of dragging the EU into war."

Details: Szijjarto added that Budapest supports "positive steps to build trust", citing examples such as the opening of a Hungarian-Ukrainian school in Budapest, providing summer holidays for 12,500 Ukrainian children, and establishing railway routes from Zakarpattia to Budapest and Vienna.

He concluded that Hungary is open to good relations with Ukraine but "will never give up our national interest" and the future of relations "depends solely on Kyiv".

Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Taras Kachka described his meeting with Szijjarto as "constructive, substantive and pragmatic".

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According to Kachka, the conversation clarified the absence of substantial problems and the presence of solutions to all 11 points raised by the Hungarian side.

Background: Last year, the Office of the Ukrainian President reported that Ukraine was working on fulfilling Hungarys 11 demands concerning minority rights.

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CHICAGO (WGN)  Illinois leaders, past and present, are condemning the shooting death of Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, who died after being shot on Wednesday at an event at Utah Valley University.

The shooting comes amid a spike in political violence in the United States across all parts of the ideological spectrum.

Kirk was born in Arlington Heights and raised in Prospect Heights.

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Turning Point was founded in suburban Chicago in 2012 by Kirk, then 18, and William Montgomery, a Tea Party activist, to proselytize on college campuses for low taxes and limited government. It was not an immediate success.

But Kirks zeal for confronting liberals in academia eventually won over an influential set of conservative financiers.

Despite early misgivings, Turning Point enthusiastically backed Trump after he clinched the GOP nomination in 2016. Kirk served as a personal aide to Donald Trump Jr., the presidents eldest son, during the general election campaign.

Soon, Kirk was a regular presence on cable TV, where he leaned into the culture wars and heaped praise on the then-president. Trump and his son were equally effusive and often spoke at Turning Point conferences.

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Illinois leaders and city officials later lamented the deadly shooting:

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker:

The attack on Charlie Kirk is horrifying. Political violence has no place in this country and should never become the norm. Im sending my sympathies to his family and friends at this time.

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton:

No matter who you are or what you believe, political violence is unacceptable. Gun violence spares no community, we HAVE to do something different. Charlie Kirk and his family are in my prayers.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson:

I am praying for Charlie Kirk and his family. Violence, in all its forms, should be condemned and has no place in our society.

Illinois Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi:

I am horrified by the news that Charlie Kirk has been shot. My prayers are with him, his family, and all those affected. In this country, political violence must be unacceptable in every form, and we must stand together to reject it. If violence replaces dialogue, none of us are safe.

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Former U.S. President Barack Obama:

We dont yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy. Michelle and I will be praying for Charlies family tonight, especially his wife Erika and their two young children.

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin:

Political violence is wrongno matter the ideology it stems from. It has zero place in our country. My thoughts are with Charlie Kirk and his family.

Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth:

It does not matter which side you are on. There is simply no place for political violence in this country. This is horrifying and should not happen in America.

Former Illinois Senator Darren Bailey:

Ive had the privilege of knowing Charlie Kirk for several years, and I can say without hesitationhes an incredible American. Right now, he and his family need our prayers. Charlie was born right here in Illinois. Please join me in lifting him and his family up in prayer during this time.

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Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel:

Im praying for Charlie Kirk and his family. Political violence has no place in America and free speech is a God-given right that must be protected.

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich:

My deepest sympathy to the family of Charlie Kirk. Although his life was taken from him too early, his contribution to the ideals that make America great will leave a lasting legacy. Id been a guest on Charlies podcast & had the pleasure of meeting his mother and father. Im outraged & heartsick over his assassination. May a loving God shelter Charlie & his family in the shadow of His wings.

Arlington Heights Mayor Jim Tanaglia:

I extend my deepest condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of Charlie Kirk, whose life was senselessly ended earlier today. This loss hits especially close to home as Charlue was born in Arlington Heights and has deep ties to our community. Despite our political differences, there is no place for this type of hatred or violence. We must always remember that we have in common with one another  than what separates us. My heart goes out to Charlies family during this difficult time.

Cook County Republican Party Chairman Aaron Del Mar:

He never forgot his grassroots in Chicago and the suburban area, and its so sickening and upsetting to see the footage and hear about him being shot in Utah. My family and everyone in our community praying and thinking of Charlie and the senseless violence that has occured.

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Illinois House Republican leader Tony McCombie:

My heart is broken, and I am angry. Charlie Kirk was assassinated in a senseless act of violence. My prayers are with his family, friends, and all who loved him. It is deeply disturbing that hatred has escalated to the point where lives are being stolen. That this happened while he was speaking on political violence at a university, a place that should be dedicated to free speech and the open exchange of ideas, makes it even more tragic. If ideas cannot be debated on campus without fear of violence, we have truly lost our way. Grief and outrage go hand in hand today. The assassin remains at large, and justice must be swift.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV.
Political leaders in Vermont are expressing their horror over the politically motivated assassination of Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10.

"The heartbreaking assassination of Charlie Kirk is a painful reminder, to all of us, of why increasing polarization is so dangerous and can lead to political violence. My thoughts are with Charlies wife Erika, children, family, colleagues, and friends during this difficult time," Vermont's Republican Gov. Phil Scott wrote on X.

Kirk was a Republican political pundit. He was shot and killed during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

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"Our country continues to become more fractured, more violent, and more partisan  and we should all feel a sense of a responsibility to change that," Scott said.

Here's what other Vermont government officials had to say about Kirk's death.

Co-founder and president of Turning Point USA Charlie Kirk speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, U.S., February 28, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo/File Photo

Vermont politicians react to Charlie Kirk assassination

Sen. Bernie Sanders shared similar sentiments to Scott on social media, reviling the presence of political violence in the United States.

"We must condemn this horrifying attack," Sanders said. "My thoughts are with Charlie Kirk and his family."

Sen. Peter Welch gave his best wishes to Kirk's family and said that political violence should not exist in the U.S.

"This country was built on civil political discourse, theres no place for political violence," he wrote.

Rep. Becca Balint posted a video to Instagram addressing Kirk's fatal shooting, calling this attack another in a series of bloody acts of political violence, mentioning the deaths of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark.

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"I said to a reporter, "I disagreed with just about everything Charlie Kirk said or stood for,"" Blint said. "But, he's a human being, and tonight, his kids are not going to have him come home to them."

Vermont Republican Chairman Paul Dame said the attack was part of an "alarming incident that indicates the need of leaders everywhere to encourage people to address their concerns and disagreements in a non-violent way. We need to get back to a place in this country where we can hear arguments and opinions we disagree without turning to violence, and in fact we need to condemn it every chance we get," he continued. Dame issued his statement before the news of Kirk's death was public.

Who killed Charlie Kirk

The shooter and motive are still unknown. Police arrested two people in the wake of the shooting, but both have been released and are not believed to be the shooter, authorities said.

The conservative phenom built what he called "the largest pro-American student organization in the country," Turning Point USA, over the last decade that helped propel Trump to the White House  and vet his aides after he arrived.

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More: Charlie Kirk assassinated in Utah; manhunt launched for killer: Live updates

Nicole Fallert contributed to the reporting of this story.

Rin Velasco is a trending reporter. She can be reached at rvelasco@gannett.com

This story has been updated to add more information.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Charlie Kirk assassination 'horrific' VT officials say. See responses
Panama City, Fla. (WMBB)  This is the fourth year that the Panama City Seventh-Day Adventist Church is hosting their widely popular International Veggie Food Festival. This free event is open to the public and will act as a way to celebrate many cultures. The cultures of representation include, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, and Asian American, just to name a few.

In addition to multiple cultural food booths with vegan options, the event will have activities for the whole family. An inflatable obstacle course, snowball ice cream, police cars, fire trucks, musical performances, and many local vendors, can be expected at this years event. Looking for a way to give back? A blood drive will also be on site as well!

Those in attendance can expect to travel the world without ever leaving the parking lot of the church! says the church Media Director Aliyah Mcintyre. This community-centered event will take place at 2700 Lisenby Ave. Panama City, FL 32405 and ultimately celebrates food, folklore, and fellowship while offering exploration of diversity.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com.
QCA residents should check their freezers to see if they have a local pizza that has been recalled.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship says it received a complaint about pizzas made by B&K Enterprises, doing business as Vitales in Clinton. An investigation revealed that an unknown quantity of various meat-topped pizzas were produced without federal or state inspections. The pizzas were produced on various dates between June 1  Sept. 10 and have labels with Vitales on a red, green and white background.

Vitales Pizzas (Iowa Department of Agriculture)

The pizzas were sold to restaurants and commercial establishments, including in Davenport, DeWitt, Fulton, Bettendorf, Chadwick, Ill. and Winona, Minn. No reports of illness have been reported in connection with the pizzas. Authorities are concerned that some products may still be in restaurants or consumers refrigerators or freezers.

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Anyone who has purchased one of these pizzas should not eat them and should discard them. Call Vitales at 563-242-6140 or 563-242-6141 with questions.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com.
The state of Iowa must pay $85,000 to a group of transgender students after they were barred from entering a restroom at the Capitol five years ago.

The State Appeal Board approved the settlement Tuesday, the Des Moines Register reports, granting the money to the students without the state admitting wrongdoing. The lawsuit stemmed from an incident in March, 2020 where a group of trans students on an advocacy trip were prevented from using a bathroom by a state trooper.

These individuals were exercising their constitutional and civil rights when they were singled out and removed from the Iowa Capitol solely because of their identity and their affiliation with an LGBTQ+ organization, Devin C. Kelly, an attorney for the students, told the outlet. At a time when LGBTQ+ Iowans and their families continue to face growing challenges, this settlement reaffirms a simple truth: all Iowans are equal under the law.

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After the trooper blocked the students, the then-executive director of the group reminded him that the Iowa Civil Rights Act encompassed gender identity, according to the original suit filed in 2022. The trooper then claimed this did not apply to bathrooms, and Iowa State Patrol forced the group of around 150 students to leave the building while allegedly not allowing them to retrieve their belongings.

The Iowa Civil Rights Act first added gender identity in 2007, banning discrimination in employment, housing, education, public accommodations, and other aspects of life. Republicans voted to remove gender identity from the law in February, effectively legalizing discrimination against trans people.

Because the incident occurred in 2020 and the lawsuit was filed in 2022, the students still qualified for damages under the law. However, state attorney Jeffrey Peterzalek said in a letter to the State Appeal Board obtained by the Register that the students claims would now not be allowed," indicating that future lawsuits could not succeed.

The state's decision to strip protections from trans people was widely denounced by legal and advocacy organizations. Fran Hutchins, executive director of Equality Federation, said in a statement at the time that nobody should have to live in fear of discrimination simply because of who they are. We know it is wrong to be unfairly kicked out of a restaurant, denied an apartment, or denied education or health care just because someone is transgender."

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We denounce Iowas rollback of civil rights protections for trans people in the strongest possible terms, and call on all Americans of conscience to stand up for their LGBTQ+ friends, family, and neighbors," Hutchins said.

This article originally appeared on Advocate: Iowa must pay $85k to transgender students banned from bathroom at state Capitol

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An Iowa school district superintendent is seeking school board approval to terminate the employment of a teacher accused of making a controversial social media post about conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot during a Utah event.

Oskaloosa Schools confirmed Sept. 11 that an Oskaloosa High School teacher was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into a social media post. District officials were notified around 5:15 p.m. Sept. 10 of the alleged post.

Screenshots have circulated alleging the teacher, whose Facebook account appears to have since been deleted, posted: "1 Nazi down" in connection with Kirk's death.

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Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of the conservative group Turning Point USA, died after being shot in the neck Sept. 10 during a question-and-answer session with students while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. President Donald Trump later confirmed Kirk's death on Truth Social.

Authorities continued to search for Kirk's shooter, after recovering a rifle believed to have been used to fire the single fatal shot, as of Thursday afternoon.

The Oskaloosa school board is slated to hold a special meeting Wednesday, Sept. 17 to consider Superintendent Mike Fisher's recommendation to terminate the teacher's continuing contract, effective that day.

"Our team has been working on this throughout the evening and taking steps consistent with district policy," district officials said in a statement. "We recognize our communitys concerns, and we have an investigation in process. We will keep you informed when we have more to report."

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The board may hold a potential closed session pursuant to Iowa Code to "evaluate the professional competency of an individual whose appointment, hiring, performance, or discharge is being considered when necessary to prevent needless and irreparable injury to that individuals reputation and that individual requests a closed session."

Educators in other Iowa school districts have also been accused of making similarly insensitive social media posts in response to Kirk's death, but it wasn't immediately clear whether other districts have taken action to discipline teachers over the posts.

Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, said in a Facebook post Thursday, Sept. 11, that the Iowa House Government Oversight Committee "will address this issue and take action to root out this hate from our schools" if districts don't take appropriate action.

"I have been made aware of social media posts by teachers in Iowa praising the assassination of Charlie Kirk," Grassley wrote. "This hate has no place in our state, and certainly does not belong in our schools. My expectation is that each school district will follow the proper protocol to investigate these posts and reprimand the posters appropriately. Individuals with this depravity cannot continue to hold a position with any level of influence over our children."

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State Rep. Austin Harris, R-Moulton, who chairs the Iowa House Education Appropriations Committee, wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that "any school district that continues to employ individuals who endorsed the Charlie Kirk assassination attempt will face serious consequences."

Iowa State Education Association officials didn't return a request for comment on the matter Sept. 1.

The Iowa Department of Education said on X: "Condoning political or any type of violence is reprehensible and has no place in Iowa education. Our educators are entrusted by families with the care and development of their children. Such behavior does not represent Iowas dedicated teachers and should be rejected in the strongest possible terms. Local education leaders are charged with investigating these reports in accordance with their local school board policies and Iowas standards of professional conduct and ethics."

More: Iowa political leaders offer prayers for fatally shot conservative activist Charlie Kirk

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Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who represents southeastern Iowa's 1st Congressional District, wrote on social media that she would contact the Oskaloosa school's superintendent and principal to ensure the matter is addressed.

"Im disturbed by a post from an Oskaloosa teacher celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk and calling him a Nazi," Miller-Meeks wrote. "Cheering political violence is always wrong  and should NEVER be done by those who educate our children."

Fisher said in an interview the district takes these matters seriously "regardless of political ideology."

He said law enforcement addressed a "noncredible threat" against the district believed to be from an out-of-state actor.

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The teacher involved reportedly received threats, Fisher said, which breaks my heart, because we dont want any more violence to beget violence.

District officials have fielded more than 1,000 calls, messages, emails and social media comments after the incident, Fisher said, and the attention has made people feel unsafe.

He said law enforcement officers will have an elevated presence on campus at least through the week and did walk-throughs of the school before classes started Sept. 11.

Most comments from the community in response to the educator's post were not angry, Fisher said, but have indicated people are "disappointed or upset."

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It also does remind me that I truly  believe in the golden rule: we need to treat others how we want to be treated, and that starts on social media," Fisher said.

Marissa Payne covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register.

(This post has been updated to add new information and correct an error.)

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa teacher may be fired after Facebook post on Charlie Kirk's death
Ireland will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest next year if Israel is permitted to compete, the countrys public broadcaster RTE has announced.

In a statement released Thursday, RTE said that participating would be unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza. Spain, Slovenia and Iceland have made similar statements.

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RTE said it was deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza, and the denial of access to international journalists to the territory, and the plight of the remaining hostages.

RTE plans to make a final decision on whether it will withdraw once Eurovisions organizer, the European Broadcasting Union, decides if Israel can participate. It added that a number of EBU members had raised concerns about the issue during the groups General Assembly meeting in July.

It is RTEs position that Ireland will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if the participation of Israel goes ahead, and the final decision regarding Irelands participation will be made once the EBUs decision is made, the network said in its statement.

RTE is led by Kevin Bakhurst, the former BBC News controller and Director General of British media regulator Ofcom. We have asked the BBC whether it would similarly boycott Eurovision 2026 if Israel competed.

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Ireland is not the first European country to threaten withdrawal over Israels participation in the event, with similar declarations coming from Iceland, Spain and Slovenia.

Local Icelandic media reported that Stefan Eiriksson, Director General of public broadcaster RUV, said: It is likely that if there is no change in EBUs position and it does not respond to these voices of concern coming from us, from Spain and Slovenia and others, then that will call for reactions from these broadcasters. But lets just wait and see.

The end of the EBUs consultation period is in November or December and a decision on Israels participation will closely follow. Israel has competed in Eurovision 47 times despite not technically being in Europe, and has won four times, most recently in 2018.

We understand the concerns and deeply held views around the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. We are still consulting with all EBU members to gather views on how we manage participation and geopolitical tensions around the Eurovision Song Contest, said Martin Green, Director of the Eurovision Song Contest.

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Broadcasters have until mid-December to confirm if they wish to take part in next years event in Vienna. It is up to each member to decide if they want to take part in the Contest and we would respect any decision broadcasters make, he added.

Since the bombings in Gaza began, Israels participation has caused fractures. In 2024, its entrant, Eden Golan, finished fifth and received large public vote support but was booed on stage and even received death threats.

RELATED: Switzerland Wins Eurovision Song Contest; Israel Places Fifth Amid Protests And Controversy

Earlier this year, thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside the Eurovision venue in Malmo, Sweden, in protest over Israels inclusion. The countrys entrant, Yuval Raphael, who survived the massacre at the Nova festival on October 7, said she had practiced rehearsing with booing sounds. She finished second.

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The storm comes in another devastating week in the Middle East. Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani has accused Israel of state terrorism after an Israeli airstrike on Hamas ceasefire negotiators in Qatar killed six people. The dead included a Qatari security official.

Israels Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, claims the attack was fully justified as it targeted Hamas leaders who were behind the October 7, 2023, massacre that left nearly 1,200 dead, thousands more injured and more than 250 taken hostage. In retaliation, Israel began a bombing campaign in Gaza, which has killed more than 60,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.

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Ireland has threatened to boycott next years Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is allowed to compete, due to the appalling loss of lives in Gaza.

RTE is the latest national broadcaster to make the ultimatum after Spain, Iceland and Slovenia warned they would quit the competition if Israel were to take part.

However, Italy and Germany are reportedly ready to walk out of Eurovision if Israel is banned, providing organisers with a major headache before next Mays musical battle.

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It is RTEs position that Ireland will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if the participation of Israel goes ahead, the state broadcaster said on Thursday.

Ireland is one of the most pro-Palestinian countries in the EU and angered Israel by formally recognising Palestine last year, as did Spain and Slovenia.

Only Sweden has matched Irelands tally of seven Eurovision Song Contest triumphs, which included a hot streak of four closely bunched wins in the 1990s.

People cheer as they watch the 2025 competition from a community centre in Tel Aviv, Israel - Maya Levin

The state broadcaster added: RTE feels that Irelands participation would be unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza.

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RTE is also deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza, and the denial of access to international journalists to the territory, and the plight of the remaining hostages.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) runs the competition, which will be held in Vienna, Austria next year.

The organisers are in consultation with member broadcasters over Israels participation and are expected to issue a decision in November.

On Wednesday, Ernest Urtasun, the Spanish culture minister, said Israel and its broadcaster KAN should be banned.

I dont think we can normalise Israels participation in international events as if nothing is happening, he said a week after Slovenias public broadcasting organisation RTVSLO issued its ultimatum.

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In May, Pedro Sanchez, Spains prime minister, called on the EBU to throw Israel out. He added that no one was shaking their heads when Russia was banned from Eurovision after the invasion of Ukraine.

Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish PM, called on the Eurovision organisation to throw Israel out - Toby Melville/Reuters

In July, it was reported that Italy and Germany would quit Eurovision if Israel was thrown out without clear legal grounds.

Those threatening the boycott would be likely to argue that KAN is not independent but is controlled by the Israeli state, as are the national broadcasters of the excluded Russia and Belarus.

Amir Alon, a former member of Israels Eurovision delegation, told Israels Channel 12: These two countries [Italy and Germany] are among the contests top financial contributors, are in direct communication with the EBU, and support KAN.

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If KAN is excluded, they have threatened to leave the contest as well  something the EBU wants to avoid.

Switzerland, Austria, Greece, Azerbaijan, and Cyprus are also expected to support Israel if its participation is put to a vote.

Spains RTVE and Belgiums Flemish broadcaster called for an investigation into this years contest after Israels Yuval Raphael unexpectedly came second with New Day Will Rise.

The 24-year-old survivor of the Oct 7 terror attacks won the public phone vote by a record margin, which led to suspicions of vote-rigging.

Israels Yuval Raphael, a survivor of Oct 7 2023, came second in this years competition - Fabrice Coffrini/AFP

Austrias JJ won the contest with Wasted Love after the jury and public votes were combined in a victory that meant the 2026 edition would be held in Vienna and not Israel.

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Contest organisers have struggled to keep Eurovision non-political.

Israels participation over the last two years has been controversial because of the war in Gaza and a war crimes investigation by the International Criminal Court.

Ms Raphaels performance was disrupted by pro-Palestinian protestors after demonstrations calling for a boycott of the competition.

More than 70 previous Eurovision contestants called on the EBU to ban Israel in an open letter a week before the contest.

b'

'

Israel, like Australia, takes part in Eurovision despite not being in Europe. The contest is open to all member broadcasters of the EBU.

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KAN has been a member of the EBU since 1957 and has taken part in the contest for 50 years.

Israel has won the competition four times, most recently in 2018 and most famously in 1998 with Dana Internationals Diva.

Martin Green CBE, director of the Eurovision Song Contest said: We understand the concerns and deeply held views around the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

We are still consulting with all EBU Members to gather views on how we manage participation and geopolitical tensions around the Eurovision Song Contest.

Broadcasters have until mid-December to confirm if they wish to take part in next years event in Vienna. It is up to each member to decide if they want to take part in the Contest and we would respect any decision broadcasters make.

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Sudwestrundfunk is the broadcaster responsible for Eurovision in Germany for the 2026 contest. It said it was unable to comment on internal processes when contacted by The Telegraph.

RAI was also asked for comment.

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Alaska's Prow Knob (the big island on the right of the lake) used to be surrounded by ice. . | Credit: NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

A 'new' island has appeared in the middle of a lake in southeastern Alaska after the landmass lost contact with a melting glacier, NASA satellite images reveal.

The landmass, named Prow Knob, is a small mountain that was formerly surrounded by the Alsek Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park. However, Alsek Glacier has been retreating for decades, slowly separating itself from Prow Knob and leaving a growing freshwater lake in its wake.

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A recent satellite image, taken by Landsat 9 in August, reveals that the glacier has now lost all connection to Prow Knob, according to a statement released by NASA's Earth Observatory. Prow Knob provides a clear visual example of how glaciers are thinning and retreating in southeastern Alaska.

Image 1 of 2

An annotated satellite image of Prow Knob surrounded by ice in 1984.

Image 2 of 2

An annotated satellite image of Prow Knob completely separated from Alsek Glacier.

"Along the coastal plain of southeastern Alaska, water is rapidly replacing ice," Lindsey Doermann , a science writer at the NASA Earth Observatory, wrote in the statement. "Glaciers in this area are thinning and retreating, with meltwater forming proglacial lakes off their fronts. In one of these growing watery expanses, a new island has emerged."

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Related: Glaciers across North America and Europe have lost an 'unprecedented' amount of ice in the past 4 years

Alsek Glacier used to split into two channels to wind its way around Prow Knob, which has a landmass of about 2 square miles (5 square kilometers). In the early 20th century, the glacier extended across the now-exposed Alsek Lake and as far as Gateway Knob, about 3 miles (5 kilometers) west of Prow Knob .

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Trio of stripy glaciers merging in 'Earth's highest battleground' are part of a major anomaly scientists don't fully understand  Earth from space

The North Pole could shift 90 feet west by 2100

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World's glaciers are losing enough ice to fill 3 Olympic pools every second, terrifying new study finds

The late glaciologist Austin Post , who captured aerial photographs of Alsek in 1960, named Prow Knob after its resemblance to the prow (pointed front end) of a ship. Post and fellow glaciologist Mauri Pelto , a professor of environmental science at Nichols College in Massachusetts, previously predicted that Alsek Glacier would release Prow Knob in 2020, based on the rate it was retreating between 1960 and 1990, according to the statement. The glacier has therefore clung on to its mountain for slightly longer than initially predicted.

Prow Knob completely separated from Alsek Glacier between July 13 and Aug. 6, according to the statement.
The Israeli military on Thursday said a rocket was fired from Yemen, triggering alarm sirens in several areas of the country.

The military later gave the all-clear, saying that Israel's air-defence system had successfully intercepted the projectile. No injuries or major damage were reported.

It comes a day after the Israeli military said jets carried out airstrikes on military installations linked to the Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen.

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The Houthi-run Health Ministry said 35 people were killed in strikes on the capital, Sana'a, and al-Jawf province on Wednesday.

Since the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant organization Hamas in Gaza erupted in October 2023, the Houthis have repeatedly launched rockets and drones at Israel, describing the attacks as an act of solidarity with Hamas.

In response, Israel has targeted sites in Yemen it says are connected to Houthi military operations. At the end of August, an Israeli strike killed the Houthi prime minister and several other ministers.
Israel deliberately bombed the Hamas negotiating team in Qatar to remove what it said were extremists resisting ceasefire proposals for Gaza, Israels president said today.

Isaac Herzog, who is in London and due to meet Sir Keir Starmer this afternoon, said the strike was aimed at Khalil al-Hayya, the main Hamas negotiator based in Doha, whom Israel claimed had thwarted attempts at brokering peace.

Speaking in a briefing, Mr Herzog said: We targeted those who refused to accept the deal, including primarily, al-Hayya whose hands carried the blood of thousands of Israelis.

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Also targeted were fellow Hamas politburo members Khaled Mashal and three others who were part of the group negotiating a ceasefire in Qatar via American mediators.

He was one of the planners and instigators, and he was well informed and involved in October 7 [2023 when Hamas-led militants invaded Israel, killing 1,200 and abducting 250], said Mr Herzog.

Israeli president Isaac Herzog says: We targeted those who refused to accept the deal (Reuters)

He kept on procrastinating and not getting to a deal by refusing adamantly to get to a deal  sometimes saying Yes, sometimes saying No, and sometimes saying Yes, but his conditions were impossible to meet, President Herzog said.

Six people died in Mondays attack in Doha, including a Qatari security official. Hamas claimed that five of its members were also killed, but none of its negotiating team. Mr Herzog could not confirm whether the Hamas leaders were killed in the attack.

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The strikes were roundly condemned by the Qataris, who lashed out at Israels reckless behaviour, while criticism also came from Arab leaders, Sir Keir and Donald Trump, who said he was not happy with the bombing.

An Israeli source explained that the aim of the operation was to cut the extremists out of the negotiating process so that the leader on the ground, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, commander of the Qassam Brigades of Hamas, might emerge as a figure Israel could talk to.

It is understood that Israel sees the Hamas leadership structure, which reaches decisions by consensus, as dominated by hardliners among the exile community in Qatar who have scuppered peace plans.

Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya (centre) in Doha, Qatar, August 2024 (Reuters)

They said they believe that a more pragmatic approach could be found from leaders on the ground in Gaza who are dealing with the bloody reality of Israels campaign there.

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Israels focus on communicating with Hamas leaders on the ground in Gaza could be designed to assist its military operation by creating divisions in the Hamas leadership, suggesting that its military leader was a more willing partner in a ceasefire.

But Israel has ridden roughshod over relations with Qatar and many other countries in the Middle East, where authoritarian leaders may quietly approve of getting rid of Hamas  a violent Islamist movement of the kind that is banned in the Gulf and Egypt.

Haddad, 55, is a founding member of Hamas. Israeli sources said he is known as a deeply devout Muslim who commands the respect of his followers.

He is experiencing at first hand Israels onslaught, which has killed 67,000 people, according to local officials  more than half of whom have been women and children.

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He might be someone we can deal with and reach an agreement, a senior Israeli official said.

Israel wants to focus on Izz al-Din al-Haddad, commander of the Qassam Brigades of Hamas, as a potential person to talk to about ceasefire (Hamas Military Wing)

But Israel has also been blamed for holding up ceasefire proposals to secure the release of the remaining 20 or so living hostages held in Gaza.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has launched a campaign to clear Gaza City, forcing a million Palestinians south amid criticism at home that the latest round of violence will jeopardise the lives of the hostages  a view firmly held by the Israeli military leadership.

Anger at Israels attack on Hamas in Qatar  which violated Qatars sovereignty  will strain relations with the US, which has its biggest air base for the Middle East on the tiny island emirate.
In 2008 Israel agreed to a swathe of Palestinian demands: a state on the West Bank with its capital in East Jerusalem, plus an Israeli withdrawal from settlements and the Old City. At Camp David in 2000, a similar offer was made. Both were disdained by the Palestinian Authority. Even more poignantly, 20 years ago today, Israel unilaterally withdrew from idyllic Gaza, which has a rich Jewish history, and handed the keys to the Palestinians.

At the time, the disengagement was hugely traumatic, with IDF troops deployed to drag Jews living in Gaza from their homes and hand their villages to the Arabs. Their flourishing businesses, such as commercial greenhouses, were abandoned intact for the benefit of new Palestinian owners. Even Jewish graves were disinterred, the bodies transferred to Israel to give the Arabs complete domination of the Strip.

A Jewish settler prepares to throw a light bulb filled with orange paint at Israeli police, as they arrive in the Jewish settlement of Gadid, Aug 2005 - David Guttenfelder/AP

Historically, this should be seen as the culmination of Israeli despair. The Oslo Accords were the final expression of the Lefts great project for peace, with a framework that would allow for the phased implementation of the two-state solution. They collapsed, however, when the Second Intifada was launched and Palestinian militants placed suicide bombs on buses around the country. The Accords have been frozen ever since.

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The Left in Israel has never recovered from that spectacular failure, which had united most of the country in optimism for peace, only to have it dashed on the rocks of reality. It was in response to that disappointment that Ariel Sharon embarked upon a new attempt to win peace from the perspective of the Right.

His strategy was simple: unilateral withdrawal. Whether the Palestinians signed an agreement or not, Israel would pull out of contested territory, give the other side what they wanted, then shelter behind an iron wall and leave the Arabs to it. In some ways, this was the inheritance of the philosophy of Zeev Jabotinsky, the ideological father of the Likud, who advocated secure separation from the Palestinians in an essay of that name.

An Israeli soldier takes position as Palestinian youths celebrate near the Gaza-Israel fence the day after the Israeli withdrawal, Sep 12, 2005 - ODED BALILTY/AP

After the painful Gaza pull-out, there was a feeling on the Israeli side that they would finally be granted international legitimacy and support. After all, Israel had voluntarily accepted all demands upon it, regardless of Palestinian weakness, corruption and extremism. Now, Sharon said, if even one rocket is fired from Gaza onto our civilians, there will be zero ambiguity. The world would back us to the hilt.

Indeed, it was only his incapacity due to a stroke in 2006 that prevented his government from implementing the same policy on the West Bank. Looking back at this history in the light of the catastrophe that is upon us today, it is not only unbearably poignant but also revealing of Israeli attitudes.

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The young life of the modern Jewish state has been one of idealism continually smashed by contact with a separate history of the Muslim world, which had left it with its own neuroses. The collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the First World War was the fulfilment of a humiliation of Islam that had been underway for centuries at the hands of the Christian West.

The dismantlement of the Muslim empire, which once stretched halfway around the world and ruled hundreds of millions of people, and the parallel decline in its formerly glorious record in the sciences, mathematics, philosophy and the arts, led to a deep identity crisis.

Historians have suggested that the blood and soil nationalism of the likes of Adolf Hitler provided a vision of peoplehood to which Islamic societies  previously a network of tribal loyalties ruled by a distant Sultan  could readily relate.

Into all this came the Jews. Notwithstanding various bloody episodes, for 1,400 years, they had existed in Muslim societies mostly peacefully, often thriving and making profound contributions of their own. They were seen as fellow Arabs who adhered to a different religion, not an inferior race; on the whole, they were given second-class status, often seen as both defeated by Mohammad in the Quran and feeble in the present.

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Christian anti-Semitism was initially resisted by much of the Muslim world, with the Ottomans generally siding with the Jews during the Dreyfus affair. But with the birth of Zionism in the 19th century and the rabid anti-Semitism of Adolf Hitler, which filtered into the Islamic world through connections like the close relationship between the Nazis and Amin al-Husseini, the then-Grand Mufti of Jerusalem.

To this day, affection for the Fuhrer not uncommon in the Muslim world, with Arabic editions of Mein Kampf often found on sale in bookshops. And the idea that the Jews, who for hundreds of years had been associated above all with weakness, often banned from bearing arms or even riding on horseback, could beat back Arab armies and establish a land of their own, was the ultimate insult.

This, combined with the religious fanaticism of the Muslim Brotherhood, is what lies at the heart of Palestinian resistance to peace today. It is what led the Arabs of Gaza to respond to Israeli withdrawal by destroying their greenhouses in a frenzy of hatred. It is what led to the rejectionism of Mahmoud Abbas  who literally wrote a book about Holocaust revisionism  and the atrocities of October 7.

Sir Keir Starmer welcomes Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, outside 10 Downing Street, Sep 08, 2025 - Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing

How naive the Israel of September 11, 2025 seems in retrospect. How sad. This is a democracy that did all it could simply to survive in peace; and when the rockets inevitably flew, the world betrayed it once again. Is it any wonder that it rages against the international community today, which continues to demand solutions that Israel has so painfully tried and failed?

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Of course, a second anniversary also falls today. Like Hamas, Al Qaeda, which was responsible for the attack on the Twin Towers, is a descendant from the Muslim Brotherhood. And the collision of these dates in a single day is a reminder that the West and Israel face the same threat.

In truth, the attack on New York also had anti-Semitic motives. During the 2006 trial of Mounir el-Motassadeq, a surviving member of the 9/11 cell, in Hamburg, a fellow Quran student testified that Motassadeq and his accomplices had chosen New York as the centre of world Jewry. Speaking in court, Motassadeqs housemates recalled that he had boasted about a forthcoming big action, gushing: The Jews will burn and in the end we will dance on their graves.

Although Samuel Huntington was not entirely correct about the clash of civilisations  many Muslims oppose fanaticism and their blood is spilt as a result  today is a grim reminder that the forces that are clashing in Gaza, and in different ways across the world, are the result of a historical volcano that was long in the brewing.

As Ariel Sharon discovered, however much Israel and the West may yearn for peace, it cannot be won with naivete or wishful thinking, but only determination, resilience, conviction and creativity. Peace through strength. Those weakling and ignorant nations lining up to recognise a state of Palestine must take careful note.

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DOHA, Qatar (AP)  Just a few months ago, the rulers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump to their palaces with camel parades and pomp. Now, those same leaders are united in anger after Israels strike targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar's capital, Doha.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called for an Arab, Islamic and international response to confront the aggression and deter Israels criminal practices.

The UAEs Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan flew to Qatar and embraced its ruling emir, a scene that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago, when the UAE and Saudi Arabia led a boycott of the country after accusing it of supporting terrorist groups, something strongly denied by Doha.

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Israels attack in Qatar violated all international laws and norms, Sheikh Mohammed said.

The strike has triggered the worst fears of leaders in the oil-rich Gulf: that the U.S. might abandon its decades-old commitment to protect them from regional aggressors in the mold of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein or  it now seems  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Those fears could undermine Trumps priorities in the region, from ending the war in Gaza and expanding his signature Abraham Accords  which forged ties between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco  to countering Chinese and Russian influence. Netanyahu's dream of new normalization deals across the Gulf seems further than ever.

Ironclad US support as Israel flouts norms

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Trump seems to have registered the anger of Gulf leaders. He has distanced himself from the strike, saying it does not advance Israel or Americas goals and promising Qatar that it would not be repeated.

But his ironclad support for an Israeli government that has increasingly flouted international norms in the wars unleashed by Hamas Oct. 7 attack is a source of concern in the Gulf.

Qatars prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, called the strike an act of state terror and singled out Netanyahu by name, accusing him of barbarism.

He also questioned the future of Qatars mediation efforts, saying there was nothing valid about the current talks after the strike. Israel targeted Hamas leaders as they were weighing a U.S. ceasefire proposal, killing at least five lower-ranking members and a member of Qatar's security forces.

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Netanyahu, meanwhile, has threatened to strike again if Qatar keeps hosting Hamas in its role as a regional mediator  which it has done for years with the full knowledge and support of the U.S.

I say to Qatar and all nations who harbor terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice, Netanyahu said Wednesday. "Because if you dont, we will.

Those comments were denounced Thursday by the UAE's foreign ministry. Aggression against any member of the Gulf Cooperation Council  a six-nation bloc that includes the UAE and Qatar  constitutes an attack on the collective Gulf security framework, the ministry said in a statement.

Asked about Netanyahus comments, a White House official said Trump made clear that he was not thrilled about the situation following Tuesdays strikes.

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The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, added that Trump remains steadfast in his belief that unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker peace is at odds with both Israel and U.S. goals.

Signs of frustration from the UAE

The UAE was the driving force behind the 2020 Abraham Accords.

It led other Arab nations in normalizing relations with Israel in agreements brokered by Trump that were widely seen as the biggest foreign policy achievement of his first term. Netanyahu has repeatedly expressed hope of expanding these deals, even after this week's attack in Qatar.

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The Israel-UAE agreement has held through two years of regional wars but could be in danger if Israel stays on its current trajectory.

Last week, the UAE warned Israel that any move to annex the occupied West Bank would be a red line, without specifying what action it might take.

Israels decision to pause annexation plans five years ago was billed as a concession to the UAE in the talks leading up to the accords. Now Netanyahus far-right coalition partners are pressing for it after presiding over a dramatic expansion of Jewish settlements.

Trump, in his first term, lent unprecedented support to Israels claims to territory seized in war. It's unclear if he will apply the brakes this time around.

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Saudi Arabia drifts further away

Both Trump and Netanyahu hope to reach a similar normalization deal with Saudi Arabia, a regional powerhouse and custodian of Islams two holiest sites. The Biden administration seemed to be on the verge of brokering such a deal on the eve of Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Since then, it has appeared increasingly unlikely.

Saudi Arabia says it will only normalize ties with Israel if it opens up a path to an independent Palestinian state in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war. Israels current government and most of its political class were staunchly opposed to Palestinian statehood before the war and now say it would reward Hamas.

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The Saudi crown prince has stuck by his demands and ramped up his rhetoric, accusing Israel of genocide at one point last year. Prince Mohammed has also pursued warmer ties with Iran, Israel's main nemesis, which Saudi Arabia itself had long viewed as a regional menace.

All three Gulf nations still have powerful incentives to stick with the grand bargain struck with the United States after the 1991 Gulf War  when they agreed to host American bases and help stabilize energy markets in exchange for military protection. That's been strained in Qatar after a June attack by Iran targeting a military base hosting U.S. troops.

But Israels strike is widely seen as an even greater violation of those understandings. That could make future deals harder to close.

___

Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani in Wasington contributed to this report.
SEOUL, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un praised the country's "absolute status and security" in a speech commemorating the 77th anniversary of the North's founding day, state media reported Wednesday.

"The cause of building a powerful country ... is being reviewed proudly now that our state has attained a remarkable status," Kim said at a ceremony in Pyongyang on Tuesday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

"Now no one, by whatever means, can do harm to the absolute status and security of our state, and no force can reverse the powerful current towards an era of prosperity, which we have created by ourselves," he said.

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While Kim did not mention nuclear weapons explicitly, the remarks appear to be a reference to the country's growing nuclear and missile arsenal, which Pyongyang frequently touts as a core element of its sovereignty and prestige.

Kim's speech comes a day after state media reported on his visit to a chemical research center to oversee the final test of a new solid-fuel engine for use in intercontinental ballistic missiles.

He said the carbon fiber engine "heralds a significant change in expanding and strengthening the nuclear strategic forces of the DPRK," using the official acronym for North Korea.

Kim also paid tribute to overseas North Koreans in his founding day remarks, singling out the troops who have been deployed to Russia to aid Moscow in its war against Ukraine.

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"I extend a warm militant salute to the generals, officers and soldiers of our army, who have been dispatched for overseas military operations," Kim said.

According to Seoul's National Intelligence Service, North Korea has sent weapons and some 15,000 troops to Russia since 2024, primarily to help recapture lost territory in Kursk Province from Ukrainian forces.

The NIS said last week that around 2,000 of the dispatched North Korean soldiers have been killed so far. The spy agency added that Pyongyang is planning to send another 6,000 soldiers, with an additional 1,000 combat engineers already in Russia.
Israels 2025 budget vote will boost defense by NIS 30b, with haredi MKs set to abstain, leaving the tied coalition hoping the measure will still pass.

The Knesset passed the first reading to increase the 2025 state budget by over NIS 30 billion toward the countrys defense budget during a plenum vote on Wednesday.

The vote passed with 42 in favor and 37 against, following fierce clashes between coalition and opposition members on the matter.

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The proposal will now be discussed in Knesset committee meetings before proceeding to the second and final reading at the plenum for approval.

If passed, an additional NIS 30.8 billion will be allocated to the Defense Ministry, National Insurance Institute, various security-related expenses, and for payment of interest and fees.

The vote comes after the government approved the Finance Ministrys proposal to increase the defense budget in August.

United Torah Judaism (UTJ) chairman rabbi Yitzchak Goldknopf is seen at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, July 28, 2022 (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

To raise the budget toward defense, funds will be allocated from the various other ministries, leading to an across-the-board cut, the proposal said. The proposal would also reportedly cause NIS 1.6 billion of the increased budget to go toward humanitarian aid in Gaza.

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The proposal stated that an increase of the defense budget by NIS 28.8 billion is due to the Gideons Chariots Gaza offensive operation in Gaza, along with Israels Rising Lion operation in Iran.

'The coalition's failure to uphold its commitments'

Ahead of the plenum vote, the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) faction Hadegel HaTorah announced that its MKs would refrain from voting on the defense budget increase due to the coalition's failure to uphold its commitments.

The coalition and opposition currently both have a tied 60 seats after the haredi party United Torah Judaism (UTJ) left the coalition in July following the controversy surrounding negotiations with the haredi conscription law proposal. UTJ is made up of the Hadagel Hatorah faction, along with the Agudat Yisrael faction.

The vote was able to pass amid this tie between the coalition and opposition because MKs from Hadegel HaTorah were not instructed to oppose the vote, only to abstain from it.

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Spiritual advisor for the Degel Hatorah, Rabbi Dov Landau, also instructed MKs within the faction to abstain demonstratively in the budget vote.

The amendment being brought today is solely for the needs of the defense establishment and does not include any cuts to civilian budget items, the Hadegel HaTorah statement said.

It was also unclear what coalition member National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvirs vote would be on the proposal, as Ben-Gvir had initially expressed objection to it.

Ben-Gvirs party ended up supporting the proposal after it was promised that NIS 160 million would be transferred to his National Security Ministry, KAN News reported.
Latvian authorities have ordered a temporary closure of airspace along the borders with Russia and Belarus, set to last seven days.

Source: Latvian Minister of Defence Andris Spruds on X (Twitter), cited by European Pravda

Details: According to Spruds, the decision, open to extension, followed an assessment by Latvias armed forces.

Quote: "From 18:00 today [11 September], the airspace will be shut for at least a week, until 18 September. There is no immediate threat, but the army is on heightened alert during the Namejs national defence exercises."

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Spruds explained that shutting the airspace in the region would ensure complete control over the restricted zone and help identify any unauthorised aircraft.

Background:

Following the incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace, Spruds instructed the National Armed Forces to consider the closure of airspace along Latvias eastern border.

On 11 September, the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency announced that air traffic along the border with Ukraine and Belarus would be restricted for three months for national security reasons.

On 11 September, Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania issued a joint statement on the Russian drone incursions.

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At least 72 Palestinians were killed and more than 350 others injured in attacks across Gaza over the past 24 hours as Israel continues to intensify its aerial and ground offensive ahead of its imminent operation to occupy Gaza City.

Local health officials said on Thursday that at least 27 people were killed in attacks on the city and were taken to morgues at nearby hospitals. The attacks come just a few days after the IDF said it was readying its forces to begin operations soon.

Residents say Israeli troops opened fire as well as carried out aerial attacks on the city in the north of the enclave. It comes just days after the Israeli army issued evacuation orders to residents of the area, directing them to move to the south of the Strip.

Displaced Palestinians fleeing Gaza City arrive in Muwasi, an area that Israel has designated as a safe zone, in Khan Younis southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025 - Jehad Alshrafi/Copyright 2025, The AP. All rights reserved

Many have complied with the orders and began making their way down to southern areas like Khan Younis, but many others have refused to relocate, citing a lack of funding and space to accommodate them.

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Elsewhere in Gaza, at least seven Palestinians seeking aid were killed in Khan Younis on Thursday as they made their way to aid distribution hubs, operated by the Delaware-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

It's the latest in a series of violent incidents surrounding the Israeli-backed US initiative, which has so far refuted allegations of violence occurring at its sites.

Eyewitnesses say Israeli troops opened fire indiscriminately at crowds of Palestinians headed down designated routes to reach the GHF hub.

The IDF has not commented on the latest incident, but has routinely rejected similar accusations, claiming they only fire warning shots to maintain order.

Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations stand in the northern Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025 - Leo Correa/Copyright 2025 The AP. All rights reserved.

The GHF began operations in late May in an Israeli effort to replace traditional UN systems after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the UN of harbouring Hamas combatants within its workforce and Hamas of looting UN supplies intended for civilians, without presenting any evidence to support the claims.

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The UN has rejected the allegations saying there have been no instances of looting, asserting that its operations are secure.

The UN has also accused Israel of manufacturing a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza after it imposed limits on its operations, effectively cutting access to food for hundreds of thousands of Gazans.

The UN also warned that more than 90% of the Strip's population are facing the risk of famine, stressing that immediate action is required to avoid an already grim crisis from deteriorating further.

Displaced Palestinians walks through a tent camp in Muwasi, an area that Israel has designated as a safe zone, in Khan Younis southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025 - Jehad Alshrafi/Copyright 2025, The AP. All rights reserved

Their warnings started months before famine was officially declared in Gaza by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) on 22 August.

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The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people, most of them civilians. Hamas took 251 people as hostages, and is currently still holding 50, of whom 20 are believed to be alive.

The Gaza Health Ministry says Israeli attacks have killed at least 64,718 Palestinians throughout the course of their 23-month offensive.

Their figures do not distinguish between civilian and combatant casualties, but the UN says more than two-thirds of deaths it has been able to independently verify were women and children.
Israel carried out another round of heavy air strikes on Yemen on Wednesday, days after Houthi rebels launched a drone attack that struck an Israeli airport.

The Houthi-run health ministry said at least nine people were killed and 118 others wounded in the strikes.

Al-Masirah, a Houthi-controlled satellite news channel, said one of the strikes hit a military headquarters building in central Sanaa, killing and wounding multiple people but gave no precise figures.

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Neighbouring houses were also damaged, the network reported.

The strikes hit a station that provides fuel to hospitals in the capital, Essam al-Mutawakel, spokesperson for rebel-run Yemen Petroleum Company, told Al-Masirah.

Residents said they heard violent explosions in multiple areas of the city, with fire and smoke in the skies.

Flames and smoke rise following Israeli air strikes in Sanaa, 10 September, 2025 - AP Photo

The Houthi media office said Israel also hit a government facility in the strategic city of Hazm, the capital of northern Jawf province.

Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said rebels fired surface-to-air missiles at Israeli fighter jets.

Houthi-backed President Mahdi al-Mashat vowed on Wednesday to continue attacks, warning Israelis to "stay alarmed since the response is coming without fail."

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Israel didn't say what it was targeting in the strikes but it has previously launched attacks on Yemen in response to the Houthis firing missiles and drones at Israel.

The Houthis have also regularly attacked commercial shipping in the Red Sea that they believe have links to Israel.

The Iran-backed Houthis say they are supporting Hamas and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and on Sunday, sent a drone that breached Israels multilayered air defences and slammed into the countrys southern airport.

Houthi supporters chant slogans during a rally celebrating the birthday of Islam's prophet Muhammad in Sanaa, 4 September, 2025 - AP Photo

Strike on Doha

The air strikes on Yemen come a day after Israel launched a surprise aerial assault on the Qatari capital Doha, in a bid to take out the senior Hamas negotiating team it says masterminded the 2023 incursion into Israel that started the war in Gaza.

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The strike on the territory of a US ally drew widespread condemnation from countries in the Middle East and beyond and marked a dramatic escalation in the region and risked upending talks aimed at ending the war and freeing hostages still held by Hamas.

Hamas claims its senior leadership, who were weighing a new US ceasefire proposal, survived the strike, which killed two lower-ranking members and three bodyguards.

Damage seen after an Israeli strike targeted a compound that hosted Hamas' political leadership in Doha, 10 September, 2025 - AP Photo

In the past, Hamas has sometimes only confirmed the assassination of its leaders months later.

Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she would seek sanctions and a free trade suspension against Israel over the war in Gaza.

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Speaking at her annual state of the union address in Strasbourg, she spoke of Europe's "painful" inability to respond to the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Gaza.

While she didn't directly refer to the strike on Doha, she did deplore the "endless spiral of events" in an "unforgiving" world.
At least six people have been killed in floods on Indonesia's holiday island of Bali, officials said on Wednesday.

Continuous heavy rains between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning brought down two buildings in Bali's capital, Denpasar, killing four people, and blocked off major roads, said I Nyoman Sidakarya, the head of the island's search and rescue agency.

Two more people died and 85 have been evacuated in the region of Jembrana, Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency said on Wednesday.

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Flooding continued to hit Bali as of Wednesday, disrupting a busy travel destination, the agency chief Suharyanto told reporters.

People wade through a flooded street following overnight heavy rains in Legian, Badung, Bali (Reuters)

Access to the island's international airport near Denpasar was limited as only trucks could use the roads, Nyoman said.

Videos on social media, which could not be authenticated, show floods on major roads leading to complete gridlock.

About 200 rescuers have been dispatched, Nyoman said.

Heavy rain also led to flooding in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara, where four people have been killed, the disaster mitigation agency said.
A Leavenworth woman was sentenced to 32 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections Wednesday after a 12-pound child nearly 2 years old was discovered to be in the womans care.

Sarah Lynn Nicole Jones was found guilty of one count each of abuse of a child and endangering a child in June after previously pleading no contest to the charges, according to a Leavenworth County court document .

A press release from Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson states that a 22-month-old child was taken to an area hospital on Jan. 20, 2025. Hospital staff reported the toddler weighed around 12 pounds and showed signs of severe malnourishment.

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According to the press release, 12 pounds is the average weight of a 2-month-old baby.

The childs caregiver claimed their condition was caused by premature birth and a global developmental delay, according to the press release.

Medical personnel could not locate a medical condition to explain the toddlers weight loss, according to the press release. A physician at the hospital was certain the malnourishment is a direct result of starvation and neglect.

This case is heartbreaking. While many explanations have been offered for how it happened, none excuse what occurred, Thompson said in a statement. Our office remains committed to protecting the most vulnerable members of our community.

Thompson said the child is now doing well.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear made his late-night talk show debut this week at NBC's famed 30 Rock studio.

Beshear, in New York in part to record an episode of his podcast with U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, was interviewed on "Late Night with Seth Meyers," where he offered his perspective on how he was elected in Kentucky as a Democrat  "a state where many would say 'that can't possibly be true,'" the host joked  and how to connect with voters on both sides of the aisle.

If you've listened to Beshear's podcast, which was picked up nationally by SiriusXM, you know his tips: spend 80% of your time working to serve people's everyday needs, he said, be authentic and talk "like normal human beings."

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The host was impressed by Beshear's electoral record in deep-red Kentucky, including his narrow win over former Republican Gov. Matt Bevin in 2019. At one point Meyers joked about rounding down his win over the divisive incumbent governor that year to a tie, as Beshear won the race by .4 percentage points, and the governor exhaled with relief.

Thank goodness that wasnt the case  otherwise youd have a very different guest," Beshear joked in the Sept. 10 interview.

The governor was applauded by the audience when he spoke about vetoing 2023's Senate Bill 150  wide-ranging legislation with portions that banned gender-affirming care for transgender youth and limited conversations about gender identity in schools (his veto was later overridden)  and when he told the crowd the massive tax and policy bill passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump should be rescinded.

Republicans in Congress in passing that big ugly bill, they basically punched rural America in the face," Beshear said about the legislation, branded the "One Big Beautiful Bill" by the president and his supporters.

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It was Beshear's first appearance on a national late-night talk show, but he has experience in front of the camera and behind the microphone. During the onset and height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he appeared on TV daily for televised briefings, and 23 episodes of his podcast have been published since its debut in April.

Check out the full interview below.

Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear interviewed on 'Late Night with Seth Meyers'
(WPRI)  Rhode Island and Massachusetts leaders are condemning political violence after Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during an event at a Utah college on Wednesday.

Kirk is the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization, Turning Point USA.

RELATED: Conservative activist Charlie Kirk shot and killed

Politicians on both sides of the aisle took to social media following the shooting to share their thoughts. See their reactions below:

Rhode Island

Congressman Gabe Amo

No matter our divides, political violence is never the answer. Americans should not fear that political differences will endanger their lives.

Congressman Seth Magaziner

Political violence is completely unacceptable. This attack must be condemned in the strongest terms possible.

General Treasurer James Diossa

I strongly condemn the horrific act of violence that led to Charlie Kirks death this afternoon. Im wishing his loved ones strength and comfort in the days ahead.

Governor Dan McKee

Political violence is unacceptable. The attack on Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University underscores that all voices deserve safety. Our thoughts are with him, his family and everyone affected.

Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos

Nations all over the world look to America as a beacon of free speech. Political violence like the attack on Charlie Kirk diminishes us all. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones.

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley

My thoughts are with Charlie Kirk and his family following todays horrific attack. Acts of political violence should have no place in America. As a country, we need to do more. We cannot continue to allow senseless acts of gun violence to impact our communities.

Rhode Island GOP Chair Joe Powers

[Charlie Kirk] was shot today, a horrific attack not just on him, but on free speech and Christianity. We pray for Charlie, Erika, and their family. Political violence must end.

Rhode Island Republican Party

Today we received the heartbreaking news that Charlie Kirk, a bold advocate for President Trump, free speech, and Christian values, was shot during an event at Utah Valley University.

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This was not only an attack on Charlie Kirk, it was an attack on free speech and on the Christian faith he so openly defends. First President Trump was targeted, and now one of his strongest allies. This growing pattern of political violence must stop.

At this moment, our thoughts and prayers are with Charlie, his wife Erika, and their children. We pray for his full recovery, for strength for his family, and for courage for all who continue to stand up for truth in the face of hostility.

As Chairman of the Republican Party of Rhode Island, I condemn this act in the strongest possible terms. We cannot allow violence to silence speech, nor can we allow hatred to intimidate people of faith.

Rhode Island Turning Point USA

The left call us dangerous, yet conservatives are the ones getting attacked. They mock our faith, our families, our country, and now theyre literally trying to silence us with bullets.

Senator Jack Reed

I strongly condemn this reprehensible attack and hope Mr. Kirk will be okay and the shooter is brought to justice.

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You can disagree, debate, and demonstrate. But free speech is a Constitutional right. Political violence is unacceptable and doesnt solve disagreements. In fact, it undermines the very foundation of our democracy and only serves to sow division, hate, and fear. Regardless of our differences, we must come together to condemn gun violence, reject political violence, and work to become a stronger community and more unified nation.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

There is no place for political violence in America. Thank you to the law enforcement officers who acted quickly to apprehend the suspect and prevent further harm. I hope Charlie Kirk will be okay.

Young Republicans and Young Democrats

In the wake of the tragic death of conservative political commentator Charlie Kirk, the Rhode Island Young Republicans and Rhode Island Young Democrats have come together in a moment of unity to express their shared grief and call for a renewed commitment to civility, compassion, and respect. In a joint statement, the two organizations said:

The tragic death of Charlie Kirk is a painful reminder that political violence has no place in our society. I stand next to the RI Young Democrats to send a clear message: we may disagree on policy, but we are united in our belief in the value of life, civil discourse, and mutual respect. Let us honor Charlies memory by working together to create a safer and more compassionate political culture, said Ken Naylor, Chairman of the RI Young Republicans.

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We condemn all political violence as young leaders, democratic, republican, and independent we must take the mantle and make political nonviolence our pledge We have to understand that when our dialogue becomes toxic it has unimaginable consequences as we have seen today. We are friends and neighbors first, and we need to treat each other as such. We send our deepest condolences to Charlies family and friends. said Anthony Cherry, Vice President, RI Young Democrats of RI.

Massachusetts

Governor Maura Healey

Violence has no place in our politics  ever. What happened to Charlie Kirk is horrific and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms.

Senator Ed Markey

We must denounce political violence in all its forms. I condemn the shooting of Charlie Kirk. There must be no place for this heinous violence in America.

Senator Elizabeth Warren

This shooting is nothing short of horrific. Im praying for Charlie Kirk and thinking of the students at the event in Utah. Political violence has no place in our country  its never OK.

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Cheneyville's chief of police was arrested Thursday, booked into jail on charges related to the alleged sexual abuse of a child, according to Louisiana State Police.

A news release states the agency's Special Victims Unit received a report about the alleged abuse of a child in the Cheneyville community. During the investigation, 37-year-old Charles A. Issac of Lecompte was identified as the suspect, it reads.

No rehearings: Louisiana Supreme Court denies rehearings in Kayla Giles, Darrell Robinson murder cases

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Cocaine mangos update: Man found guilty of 2023 murder, trucker in cocaine mangos case to be sentenced in October

'Coward': Retired Louisiana State Police trooper gets probation in 2021 death of bicyclist

Cheneyville's chief of police was arrested Thursday, booked into jail on charges related to the alleged sexual abuse of a child, according to Louisiana State Police.

"Based on the findings of the investigation, arrest warrants were obtained for Issac on the charges of molestation of a juvenile, sexual battery of a victim under the age of 13 and aggravated crimes against nature," reads the release.

Issac was booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center #1, according to the release. He remains in jail with bail set at $750,000.

A call to Cheneyville Mayor Ronny Green Jr. to ask about Issac's employment status was not answered on Thursday afternoon. An email was not immediately answered, either.

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The release does state the alleged abuse did not happen while Issac was on duty. The investigation is "active and ongoing," it reads.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Cheneyville Chief Charles Issac facing child sex abuse charges
CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) The shrimping industry in the Lowcountry could see big changes if a new amendment and ongoing lawsuit move forward. Local shrimpers say theyre losing money as imported seafood is sold under the label of locally caught.

Earlier this summer, the South Carolina Shrimpers Association filed a lawsuit against dozens of restaurants accused of misleading customers by selling imported shrimp while advertising it as local.

A study by SEA-D Consulting in June tested shrimp at 44 Charleston-area restaurants. According to the results, only four were actually serving local, wild-caught shrimp. The lawsuit claims the other 40 violated federal laws on false advertising and unfair trade practices, diverting profits from local shrimpers.

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You want something real, something authentic and you have people out there thinking theyre getting that, but theyre not, said attorney Gedney Howe III, who represents the South Carolina Shrimpers Association. Theyre just getting another product from the other side of the planet that comes here frozen.

This month, the group filed an amendment to the lawsuit that specifically seeks to recover profits they say were lost to imported shrimp.

We asked the judge to approve us. He has not done it yet but to approve us amending our point to carve that out, Howe explained. That really creates a new focus for our damages being disgorgement from fraudulently earned profit.

Howe added that the case is personal for him.

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Our house was right there next to the shrimp dock you could see them all. Theyre tremendous, kind of funny looking, but theyre beautiful and graceful as they glide through the marshes. Its burned into my soul. Thats part of me being from here, and I want to protect these guys.

Meanwhile, U.S. Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC, District 1) is working on federal legislation to further support shrimpers. She recently introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would require the Department of Defense to purchase only American-caught seafood.

As you all know, our fishermen and shrimpers are the backbone of our coastal economy, particularly here in the Lowcountry, Mace said. This amendment will ensure that their livelihoods will not be threatened.

There are several restaurants around the Lowcountry that proudly serve locally caught shrimp. You can find a full list at scshrimp.org.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  Data centers are the center of debates across central Ohio as cities and townships weigh resource strains with financial benefits.

Central Ohio is home to 120 of Ohios 188 data centers and attracting more, with another data center opening in New Albany on Wednesday. State and local governments have offered tax incentives in hopes of attracting the jobs and tax revenue data centers can bring. However, some residents are pushing back over environmental and nuisance concerns.

Data centers are large facilities that store computing equipment and power AI, phones and data processing. The federal government said the U.S. needs to build more data centers to support its digital infrastructure. One center can require as much electricity and water as thousands of homes combined, and data centers are also linked to spikes in local utility rates.

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15 years later: The story of Rufus Bobcat vs. Brutus Buckeye

Last week, debates about data centers led Jerome Township to approve a moratorium pausing data centers for nine months. Trustee Wezlynn Davis recommended the pause, citing resident feedback and strains on local utilities and public safety departments. She said data centers bring sound and light pollution and may not be worth the money.

We need to really look at what the return on investment is for our township, Davis said. I dont find data centers to be the best and highest use.

Trustee Barry Adler cautioned his fellow trustees against sending a message that data centers are unwelcome. He said the tax revenue and job creation should not be ignored. He said the township needs to figure out how to balance limited resources with the growing demand for data centers.

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We just need to work with the data centers on the details of being good neighbors to surrounding communities, and we also need to work with the economic development director to figure out what the best economic returns can be for our township, Adler said.

This Ohio county is the first to ban conversion therapy

Dublin resident Amy Swank connected with an anti-data center coalition in Virginia, the data center capital of the world, when she learned a data center could be moving into her neighborhood. With rapid innovation, Swank believes large, utility-heavy data centers may become obsolete quickly.

Central Ohios newest data center is trying to adapt. Edged Data Centers opened a data center on Wednesday that uses waterless cooling. Edged said the facility is built for AI workloads and will save more than 92 million gallons of water each year compared to a traditional data center. Instead, Edged relies on rooftop air cool chillers, evaporators and non-toxic glycol refrigerant.

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Edgeds new facility spans 14 acres and can accommodate up to 24 megawatts. The company said its Columbus facility uses 72% less overhead energy than the industry average and said its power systems virtually eliminate direct air emissions.

I do think that central Ohio is probably inundated with data centers right now, and Im not sure that the infrastructure can support any more, Swank said. That said, I also recognize that we do as a nation, have a need for data centers, and so we need to look at where we can put these, how we can mitigate some of the bad things about them.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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The Hawaii Department of Health has fined Manuela Malasadas $2, 000 for unlawfully removing a red placard last month.

The state Food Safety Branch said Manuela Malasadas, at 56-565 Kamehameha Highway in Kahuku, was issued a red placard and shut down on July 10 after inspectors found no running water for required hand-washing, along with other violations.

While the establishment eventually received a green placard after a follow-up inspection on July 28, with all violations resolved, an inspector had noticed weeks earlier that the placard had been removed and was no longer posted on site.

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DOH subsequently issued the business a notice of violation and order.

Placards provide important information on a food establishments compliance with health and safety requirements. Placard removal is a serious violation,  said Peter Oshiro, DOH environmental health program manager, in a news release. Since the start of the placarding program, weve seen excellent compliance by food establishments. This is only the seventh incident involving tampering with a placard.

DOH said only its authorized agents may post or remove a color-coded placard indicating a food establishments compliance status.

A green placard means a restaurant has passed routine inspection. A yellow placard is posted when a critical violation remains uncorrected after a routine inspection or when two or more violations are observed during a routine inspection.

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A red placard is posted when an imminent health hazard is observed during an inspection, DOH said, or when the permit is suspended.

Manuel Malasadas has 20 days to request a hearing to contest the notice.

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PROVIDENCE  Gov. Dan McKee says hes confident that an agreement can be reached with the Trump administration that would allow construction to start up again on Revolution Wind, the 65-turbine offshore wind farm that was being built off the Rhode Island coast until the federal government ordered work to be halted three weeks ago.

Were pursuing every option. I think there is a political solution here. That would be preferable right now, but if not, well let the courts make the final decision, McKee said in a Sept. 10 interview about his administration's energy policies.

Rhode Island and Connecticut jointly filed suit against the federal government on Sept. 4, and Revolution Wind is separately suing the administration.

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McKee said he last communicated with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum through text message over the weekend to confirm that the administration had received information that the governors office had sent demonstrating that the project was at 80% completion before the Aug. 22 stop-work order. Theres been no response to McKees request to sit down with President Donald Trump.

Asked about a purported deal that New York reached last spring to smooth the way for a natural gas pipeline in return for the administration ending a similar work stoppage for a wind farm off that states coast, McKee said nothing like that has been put on the table here.

We havent been asked, but were certainly open to any proposals that come our way, he said, adding that he would consider expanding gas pipeline capacity if it would save consumers money.

Gov. Dan McKee listens to speakers during a Aug. 25 press conference in North Kingstown opposing the Trump administration's order to halt work on the almost-complete Revolution Wind project.

Where we are right now, youre going to see [Revolution Wind] proceed, but the pain thats being caused right now needs to stop, McKee said.

McKee says he's working to reduce energy costs

McKee spoke to The Journal on Sept. 10 to highlight what he described as his administrations efforts to reduce energy costs in Rhode Island during the high-usage winter months through a proposed two-year consumer relief package that could climb to more than $200 million in savings.

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For a state like Rhode Island, thats a significant amount of relief, McKee said. The people of Rhode Island need this relief.

The interview came hours after the first approval was announced of the key piece of the McKee administrations package: an agreement that would pay out $155 million in bill credits to most energy users in the state over the next two winters.

The savings stem from a settlement that Rhode Island Energy parent PPL Corp. agreed to with the state when it bought the company three years ago, under which it committed to absorb the tax liability that arose from the purchase rather than passing it on to ratepayers.

It had been paying that money out incrementally every month, amounting to a few cents on each customers bill. And it would have kept doing that for the next 37 years.

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Instead, in January, February and March of 2026 and again in 2027, electric customers would receive an approximately $24.50 monthly credit and gas customers would get about a $47.50 monthly credit.

The state Division of Public Utilities and Carriers approved the payment plan on Sept. 10, but its sister agency, the Public Utilities Commission, still needs to sign off on the proposal.

All electric ratepayers are already benefiting from another $20 million in relief related to energy sales revenues between Rhode Island and Massachusetts, according to McKee.

Additionally, low-income customers would get a further helping hand with a $5 million allocation from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade program for power plant emissions that makes payments to Rhode Island and other member states.

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The final piece of the relief package would come from still-to-be-determined bill adjustments totaling $25 million that McKee is calling on the Public Utilities Commission to make as it considers approval of new electric rate increases proposed by Rhode Island Energy that would go into effect Oct. 1.

Rhode Island Energy is proposing a residential rate of 14.8 cents a kilowatt this winter, which is about 10 percent less than last winter.

Region heavily dependent on natural gas

For many years now, rates in Rhode Island have followed an annual pattern of rising in the winter and going down in the summer.

Thats because New England has an overdependence on natural gas for energy and a constrained pipeline system. Demand climbs in the winter on the back of heating needs and ebbs in the summer as temperatures climb.

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Rates hit record highs three winters ago, mirroring trends in other parts of the country as global demand for natural gas surged amid a supply disruption caused by the war in Ukraine. And they stayed abnormally high for the next two winters as the aftereffects of the wholesale price spikes slowly eased.

Things came to a head last winter when activists and lawmakers excoriated Rhode Island Energy for high costs that they argued were unjustified. A series of legislative proposals aimed at reining in those costs were ultimately unsuccessful.

McKee sent letters to utilities regulators in March urging them to do more to save customers money, warning that without action, energy prices would remain unacceptably high, putting our region at a competitive disadvantage.

In June, Rhode Island Energy proposed adjusting the pay-out of the $155 million to its customers and started working out the details with the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers.

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My letter said lets do something, McKee said. And today youre seeing the result of that response.

McKee argues for energy diversity

In the interview, McKee said that he believes that bringing Revolution Wind into operation is one part of a longer-term strategy to reduce energy costs in Rhode Island by diversifying supplies.

Rhode Island Energy locked in a price over 20 years for power from the wind farm of 9.8 cents a kilowatt hour, which is less than the blended rate the utility has been paying for power in recent years.

When asked about recent comments Burgum made to CNBC in which he described the economics of some offshore wind farms as a literal train wreck, McKee was defiant, countering that fossil fuel projects are heavily subsidized by the government.

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He said that he and members of his administration have been in contact with leaders of rsted, the Danish offshore wind giant that is a partner on Revolution Wind, and that hes personally spoken with the Danish ambassador to America about the impasse.

We need to continue to increase our energy sources and take advantage of the resources that we have. Wind is a resource, he said. Thats how youre going to control costs.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI governor backs Revolution Wind as he moves to cut energy costs
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI)  Gov. Dan McKee is working to reduce energy costs for Rhode Islanders during high-usage winter months.

McKee unveiled a two-year relief package Wednesday that would collectively result in more than $200 million in savings for residential and commercial customers throughout the winter months.

We know that energy costs are putting real pressure on families and businesses in Rhode Island and across the country, especially during the winter months, McKee said. Thats why we are taking action with a package that delivers direct, meaningful relief.

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McKees proposal includes $155 million in direct relief to Rhode Islanders in the form of energy bill credits. Specifically, Rhode Islanders would receive approximately $24.50 in electric bill credits and $47.50 in gas bill credits throughout January, February and March of 2026 and 2027.

The direct relief is the result of a settlement between the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers and PPL  Rhode Island Energys parent company  related to how ratepayers are protected from corporate income tax impacts following the sale of Narragansett Electric from National Grid to PPL three years ago.

That sale resulted in significant financial gain to Rhode Island Energy, Division of Public Utilities and Carriers Administrator Linda George explained. The division required, as a condition of the sale, that the gain be returned to ratepayers and not shareholders, so this is what its about  ensuring that ratepayers are made whole from the sale and not Rhode Island Energy receiving the benefits.

TARGET 12: Rhode Island Energy overcharged state more than $2M for utilities, audit reveals

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This comes months after Rhode Island Energy announced its proposed winter supply rates. If approved, Rhode Islanders would pay 14.77 cents per kWh between Oct. 1 and March 31 for electricity. Though Rhode Island Energy touted that it is 9% lower than last years winter rate, it is still higher than the current summer rate of 10.06 cents kWh.

Rhode Island Energy also expects gas rates to decrease by roughly 10% this winter.

The overall costs were talking about are completely out of our control, Rhode Island Energys Brian Schuster said. This is the market, these are the conditions that we have to pass cent for cent, dollar for dollar, onto our customers. This is what we purchase and have to relay back to our customers.

The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission must approve the relief package before it can take effect.

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McKee is also asking the Public Utilities Commission for $5 million in direct rate relief to income-eligible Rhode Islanders between December 2025 and January and February 2026.

If approved, the funding  which would come from the states Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative  would provide a roughly $45 monthly bill credit for those three months to more than 36,000 households.

SEE ALSO: RI Energy proposes lower winter rates, more relief for customers

McKee has already secured $20 million in direct rate relief, which would be given to everyone for 12 months starting with July 2025.

The refund was approved by the Public Utilities Commission back in June and is the result of adjustments related to interstate electric service.

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Rhode Island Energy President Greg Cornett applauded McKees proposal and urged the Public Utilities Commission to swiftly approve it.

As fellow Rhode Islanders who live and work in the Ocean State, we at Rhode Island Energy understand the burden that energy costs pose to our customers, especially during the coldest months of winter, Cornett said. There is much about the energy landscape in the state that we cannot control, but we have been taking steps where we can and exploring many options to help reduce costs this winter and next.

The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission told 12 News it is in the process of reviewing the proposals in McKees relief package.

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Watch 12 News Now on WPRI.com or with the free WPRI 12+ TV app.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com.
Sep. 10JAMESTOWN  A Medina, North Dakota, man was sentenced recently on several felony charges in Southeast District Court in Jamestown.

Jeremy Craig Reister, 41, entered an Alford plea to gross sexual imposition, a Class AA felony, two counts of gross sexual imposition, Class A felonies, and incest, a Class C felony.

An Alford plea means Reister acknowledged there was enough evidence for a conviction but does not admit guilt to the charges.

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Reister was accused of engaging in sexual contact with a juvenile or causing the person to engage in sexual contact when the individual was younger than 15 years old from Jan. 1, 2006, to Dec. 31, 2008, engaging in sexual contact with another juvenile or causing the person to engage in sexual contact when the individual was younger than 15 years old from Jan. 1, 2010, to Dec. 31, 2012, and being at least 22 years old and engaging in sexual contact with another person who was younger than 15 years old and engaging in sexual contact with another person related to him from Dec. 17, 2012 to Dec. 17, 2013.

Judge Troy LeFevre sentenced Reister to 10 years in the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation with credit for 212 days served and 36 days credit for good time. The sentence will be served consecutively with a previous conviction earlier this year. LeFevre placed Reister on a lifetime of supervised probation and ordered him to have no contact with three individuals. Reister was also ordered to pay a $900 criminal administration fee, $100 defense/facility administration fee and a $25 victim-witness fee.

A Class AA felony is punishable by life in prison without parole. A Class A felony is punishable by 20 years in prison and $20,000 fine. A Class C felony is punishable by five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. A Class B misdemeanor is punishable by 30 days in prison and $1,500 fine.

In a previous case, Reister was sentenced to 16 years in the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation with credit for 231 days served and 34 days credit for good time.

On Feb. 5, Reister pleaded guilty to gross sexual imposition, a Class AA felony, two counts of incest, sexual assault and tampering with physical evidence, Class C felonies, and surreptitious intrusion, a Class B misdemeanor.
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP)  The City of Greensboro is coming together to mourn a member of the Greensboro Four and giant of civil rights after his passing last week.

Major General Joseph McNeil died at the age of 83 last week. McNeil was one of four Black freshmen from the Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina, today known as North Carolina A&T State University, who sat down at the segregated lunch counter at the Woolworths in downtown Greensboro and asked to be served on Feb. 1, 1960. When staff refused to serve them, they refused to leave.

A memorial was held for McNeil at his alma mater on Thursday. The ceremony took place from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. You can watch the full event on North Carolina A&T State Universitys YouTube channel.

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What could have been a somber farewell to McNeil, instead, uplifted and celebrated his life and legacy.

Community members, students and dignitaries walked quietly past his casket, pausing to reflect on his courage and legacy.

The universitys fellowship gospel choir lifted the room with their voices, filling the auditorium. Many people were visibly moved by the hymns.

Family representatives of each of the Greensboro Four spoke of fond memories of McNeil, noting the generations he inspired.

His son, Joseph McNeil Jr., spoke of his and his siblings childhood, the relationship his father had with his mother and the example his father set for them with his civil rights involvement and time in the military.

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He shared the moments his family had as they said goodbye to his father.

We told them that we are going to be OK, that you did everything you needed to do, that you can leave us, McNeil Jr. said.

Others who spoke noted the generations he inspired.

Major General Mitch Mitchell spoke of his memories with McNeil in the military and how his impact inspired him.

His legacy reminds us that true leadership is not about position or rank. It is about courage and the willingness to stand up for what is right, even though it is difficult. Whether it is at the lunch counter or pinning on general stars decades later, he showed us the truth  one person acting with conviction and courage can indeed change the world, Mitchell said.

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During Bishop William Barber IIIs moving eulogy, there were countless head nods and sounds of agreement among those in attendance.

Its a reminder that McNeils fight for justice and equality continues to inspire.

It wasnt just Black folk who opposed the injustice that they had experienced. They sat down when some Black folk wouldnt support them with Ralph Johns, a white storekeeper who helped them make a plan to buy items from the store before they sat down at the lunch counter, so that when the waitress said, We dont serve your kind here, they can say, Thats not true. We got the receipts,' Barber said.

Remembering McNeil

McNeils bravery and determination significantly sparked the civil rights movement across the United States. His military service and achievements as a major general in the Air Force Reserve Command further exemplify his dedication to service and country, his family shared in a release upon the announcement of his death.

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Joseph A. McNeils legacy is a testament to the power of courage and conviction, said Joseph McNeil Jr. His impact on the civil rights movement and his service to the nation will never be forgotten.

The family says that a tribute to honor his life and legacy will be announced separately. Anyone wishing to pay their respects may consider donating to organizations supporting civil rights and social justice.

The university released a statement in the wake of McNeils passing, saying in part, Despite health challenges, Maj. Gen. McNeil came back to A&T this past February to mark the 65th anniversary of the sit-in at the annual breakfast honoring the A&T Four. The audience at the breakfast gave him a standing ovation.

Joseph McNeil and his fellow North Carolina A&T classmates inspired a nation with their courageous, peaceful protest, powerfully embodying the idea that young people could change the world. His leadership and the example of the A&T Four continue to inspire our students today. The North Carolina A&T family mourns his passage, but celebrates his long and incredible life and the legacy he leaves behind. Chancellor James R. Martin II.

McNeil and the other three, Ezell Blair Jr. (who later changed his name to Jibreel Khazan), David Richmond and Franklin McCain became known as the Greensboro Four as this act of protest caught national attention, kicking off the sit-in movement across the segregated South.

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McNeil went on to serve in the United States Air Force, serving in Vietnam and eventually earning the rank of major general before retiring. He also worked with the Federal Aviation Administration.

The A&T Four

The four young men were reportedly inspired by the nonviolent protest techniques of Mahatma Gandhi and the murder of Emmett Till, as well as the Freedom Rides movement, when they began their protests.

A photo display of the famous lunch counter sit-in in Greensboro North Carolina. DuSable Museum of African American History museum, on August 26, 2015, prepares a new exhibit, Freedom, Resistance and the Journey Toward Equality, at the Chicago museum. (Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Seeing history  two ways. In the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro, you can see the lunch counter where the famous 1960 sit-in took place and in the mirrors behind the counter, you can see the scene re-enacted. (John Bordsen/Charlotte Observer/MCT)

It was a carefully planned demonstration, according to the History Channel, and the students worked with a local white businessman who contacted the local media about the protest. The students remained in their seats until the business closed.

Similar sit-ins had been organized as early as 1958, but the Greensboro sit-ins drew intense media coverage, serving to propel the civil rights movement onto the national stage.

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By Feb. 5, hundreds of students were joining in on the protest, and the sit-ins were spreading, including to the Woolworths in neighboring Winston-Salem, which is now being renovated into an event space to preserve the history made by Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem State University students.

Demonstrations by approximately 400 African-American college students continued in Greensboro as they continued their sit-down strike against local dime stores. This picture shows some of the African-American coeds lining the counter at the F.W. Woolworth Co. (Photo by Bettmann via Getty Images)

By the end of March, the sit-ins had spread to 13 states, and, by the end of that summer, many places had begun to change their segregation policies.

The Greensboro Woolworths desegregated its lunch counters in July 1960. Four Black employees were the first to be served.

Demonstrators holding signs protest in front of an F.W. Woolworth store in Harlem to oppose lunch counter discrimination practiced in Woolworth stores in Greensboro, Charlotte, and Durham, North Carolina. The demonstrators, who belong to an organization known as CORE (Congress of Racial Equality), are urging Harlem residents not to patronize Woolworth stores until discrimination ends in stores in the three southern cities.

African American students from Saint Augustine College study while participating in a sit-in at a lunch counter reserved for white customers in Raleigh, North Carolina. Two waitresses look on from the other side of the counter.

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was formed in April, hoping to capitalize on the momentum of the sit-ins. Throughout the 60s, the SNCC had a hand in defining moments of the Civil Rights Movement, including Freedom Rides and the March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his historic I Have a Dream speech. The organization became more militant throughout the 60s and became essentially defunct by the 1970s.

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Today, the site of the Woolworths location in Greensboro serves as the home of the International Civil Rights Center & Museum, located at 134 S. Elm Street, and a restored version of the Woolworths lunch counter is on display.

A portion of the original counter can be found at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

GREENSBORO, NC  FEBRUARY 8 A statue of four freshmen who led a sit-in in 1960 on display at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, NC, on Tuesday, February 8, 2022. (Ted Richardson/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

According to a 2014 News & Record article, Khazan moved to Massachusetts in the 1960s. Local media in New Bedford, where he lives, dedicated a statue and a park to him in 2021 to honor his courage and impact on the nation.

David Richmond died of lung cancer in 1990. He left A&T before completing his secondary education and working various jobs. He lived in Franklin for a time before returning to Greensboro.

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Franklin McCain graduated from A&T and spent 35 years working as a chemist in Charlotte. He also served on the board of governors for the UNC system. He died in 2014 at the age of 73.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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NEED TO KNOW

After calling his dad because he was lost on a trail in Oregon's Columbia River Gorge, a 45-year-old hiker was found dead the following morning

The hiker, whose name has not been revealed, is believed to have suffered a fall, leading to his death

The dad headed out to try and find him after their call dropped, with Multnomah County Sheriff's Office spokesperson John Plock confirming, "Ive spoken to the dad. He fell a couple of times, some dirt and blood on his pants. He wanted to come to find his son"

A missing hiker found dead near an Oregon trail called his dad for help hours before his body was found the following morning.

On Wednesday, Sept. 10, shortly after 8:30 a.m. local time, officials responded to a report of a missing 49-year-old hiker near Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge, the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) said in a news release.

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The hiker's body was found at the base of Wiesendanger Falls along the Larch Mountain Trail near Multnomah Falls after officials "received a separate call from a person who reported finding an unresponsive person."

"Members of the MCSO's Green Hornets rescue team responded to the scene, located the body, and confirmed the person had died," the MCSO said.

"The Oregon State Medical Examiner's Office also responded to the scene and will work with investigators to confirm the cause of death," the release added.

Getty A photo of a trail near Multnomah Falls in Oregon A photo of a trail near Multnomah Falls in Oregon

While initially speaking to reporters at the scene, MCSO spokesperson John Plock didn't confirm that the body found was that of the missing hiker, according to a clip shared by Fox 12 Oregon on Instagram.

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However, local CBS-affiliated station KOIN said that the medical examiner stated just before 3 p.m. on Wednesday that the two cases were related.

A sheriff's office spokesperson also confirmed the body belonged to the missing hiker, Fox 12 Oregon stated.

Plock told reporters that the hiker, whose identity hasn't yet been released, set off for the hike at around 1 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Sept. 9.

"Later in the evening, sometime after 7 p.m., he called his father on his cell phone, told him he was a little bit lost  It seems that his father was familiar with the trails up here, and so his father gave him some directions on how to get back down," Plock said, per the clip.

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"He was hoping his son would be able to make it down. This morning, he tried to contact his son, was unable to get in contact with him," the officer added, saying that the father then alerted officials the following morning.

"Shortly after 8:30 [a.m.] he called 911 and reported that his son did not return from his hike yesterday," Plock continued.

He said police then received a "second unrelated call from another hiker who had found a dead body at the base of Wiesendanger Falls," adding that the hiker appeared to have suffered "a fall."

The spot where the body is [was] just above an area of the trail where the trail is near a cliff," Plock shared, per Fox 12 Oregon.

Multnomah County Sheriff's Office A photo of a Multnomah County Sheriff's Office vehicle A photo of a Multnomah County Sheriff's Office vehicle

Plock also said that the hiker's 73-year-old father attempted to take matters into his own hands after receiving the call from his son, according to KOIN.

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The dad got on his phone, brought up the map. He could see his sons location on the map. And just from the map on his phone, he was given his son trying to help his son navigate his way down, and he lost connection, Plock shared, per the outlet. The dad tried to reconnect with the son on the phone.

Got in his car, drove out here with a flashlight, and went up the trails looking for his son, the officer added. Ive spoken to the dad. He fell a couple of times, some dirt and blood on his pants. He wanted to come to find his son.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Plock urged hikers to call 911 straight away if they ever get lost.

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He called his dad instead, and I get that, the officer said, according to Fox 12 Oregon. But our message to people when you find yourself lost up here on the trails in the Columbia [River] Gorge, we want you to call 911, stop, stay where you are and we will come and find you. Were very good at it.

The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, the Oregon State Medical Examiner's Office and the Multnomah County Medical Examiner's Office didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional information.



Read the original article on People
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff following the fatal shooting of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.

"Following the direction of [President Donald Trump], all flags in Missouri are now flown at half-staff through September 14, in honor of Charlie Kirk," Gov. Kehoe said in an X post Wednesday evening.

Following the direction of @POTUS, all flags in Missouri are now flown at half-staff through September 14, in honor of Charlie Kirk.



Please pray for our nation.  Governor Mike Kehoe (@GovMikeKehoe) September 11, 2025

Kirk, 31, was shot during a question-and-answer session with students at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday. President Trump confirmed Kirk's death in a post on Truth Social, calling the right-wing personality and close ally "Great, and even Legendary."

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Police detained two people in the wake of the shooting but both have been released and are not believed to be the shooter, authorities said. A manhunt is underway for the shooter who still remains at large.

"He fought for liberty, democracy, justice and the American people," President Trump said in a pre-recorded message from the Oval Office late Wednesday. "He's a martyr for truth and freedom and there's never been anyone who was so respected by youth."

What does the flag code say?

Flags are flown at half-staff when the country or a specific state is mourning after national tragedies, for days of remembrance or in the immediate deaths of government or military personnel, according to the U.S. General Services Administration.

The flag code states that the flag should fly at half-staff for 30 days following the death of a current or former president and 10 days for the death of the vice president, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or a retired Chief Justice of the United States, or the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

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Other officials, such as associate justices of the Supreme Court, cabinet secretaries and former vice presidents may have the flag flown at half-staff from the day of their death until their interment. Members of Congress have the flags lowered on the day of their death and the following day.

The code also allows for the president to issue instructions for the flag to be flown at half-staff for: "the death of other officials, former officials, or foreign dignitaries."

It also allows for governors and the mayor of the District of Columbia to order the flag flown at half-staff within their jurisdiction if a member of the Armed Forces or a "first responder" from that state or the district dies in the line of duty.

Can the president lower the flags for a private citizen?

The U.S. Flag Code makes no mention of lowering the flags for a non-government official.

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The flag code states that the president can modify or alter "any rule or custom pertaining to the display of the flag" by proclamation.

While the flag code is written in the U.S. Code, it is considered a guideline and contains no enforcement mechanism, according to Congress' website.

Will flags be at half-staff in Missouri in remembrance of 9/11?

Although no direct order has been made by Gov. Kehoe's office for flags to be lowered in recognition of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Missouri law does dictate both U.S. and Missouri state flags be flown at half-staff at all government and public buildings every year on Sept. 11 in honor of said victims.

The governor did recognize, however, the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on social media Thursday morning, writing that "we must never forget that day or the lessons it taught us  to look to God in the face of tragedy, to stand firm against terrorism and to remain united in America's greatness."

What's the difference between half-mast and half-staff for flags?

Half-mast is used when the flag is flown from a flagpole, typically referring to a ship mast or similar structures, according to Federal Flags. Half-mast means the flag is flown two-thirds up between the top and bottom of the flagstaff.

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Half-staff is the term used for flags on land, particularly in the U.S. Half-staff describes a flag that is raised halfway, between the top and bottom of the flagpole.

Regardless, the purpose is the same for both  to signify a period of mourning, respect or remembrance of a national tragedy, and/or for the death of a government official, military member or emergency first responder.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri flags at half-staff today after Charlie Kirk shooting death
NEED TO KNOW

The House of Representatives observed a moment of silence for Charlie Kirk after he was shot on Sept. 10

After the silent period, Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert shouted a request toward House Speaker Mike Johnson that sent the chamber into chaos

Kirk, a conservative activist and close Trump ally, died later that day

The House of Representatives observed a moment of silence after the shooting of Charlie Kirk  but the tribute quickly devolved into partisan chaos.

Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump, was fatally shot on Wednesday, Sept. 10, while addressing a crowd of students at Utah Valley University.

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Before his death was announced, House Speaker Mike Johnson held a moment of silence in his honor, which then shifted into a shouting match between Democrats and Republicans when Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) requested that the chamber also offer a spoken prayer for Kirk, saying, "I believe silent prayers get silent results."

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican firebrand in the U.S. House Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican firebrand in the U.S. House

A handful of Democrats grew audibly frustrated, with mumblings about how Republicans have overlooked other victims of gun violence.

"What about the kids in Colorado?" one Democrat was heard shouting, referencing the Colorado high school shooting that transpired in Boebert's state on the same day and left three people in critical condition.

"You all caused this!" Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.)  a former colleague of Kirk's at Turning Point USA  yelled back in response before uttering at least one expletive, according to The New York Times and Politico.

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Luna's words quelled a heated response from House Democrats, including Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), a member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, who reportedly shouted at her conservative counterparts to "pass some gun laws."

Speaker Johnson raised his voice repeatedly to try and get the room to calm down.

Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), the ranking member of the House Administration Committee, told Axios that praying on the House floor isn't observed as part of the body's protocol  not even for the deaths of U.S. representatives.

"You have a system that you follow for everybody ... and when you violate it and create exceptions, it then leads to this uneasiness and I think that's kind of what happened in the moment," Morelle told the outlet.

Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Charlie Kirk speaks at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025 Charlie Kirk speaks at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025

At the time of the shooting, Kirk was facilitating one of his signature "Prove Me Wrong" debates on his American Comeback Tour, inviting students to debate him on various political topics.

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Kirk was responding to a student's question about gun violence when he appeared to be struck in the neck, prompting the large crowd to retreat in panic.

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Hours after the shooting, Trump announced on social media that Kirk had died.

"The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead," he wrote on Truth Social. "No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us."

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Kirk's death prompted a large response across the political spectrum, with both liberal and conservative politicians condemning the unnerving pattern of political violence in the States.

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In early August, rumors began circulating in Mali that a group of military officersbetween 20 and 50, depending on the sourcehad been arrested, including two generals. After a few days of silence, the ruling military junta confirmed the arrests in a televised statement on Aug. 14. But only 11 detainees were shown on screen, including that of a French national. They were accused of attempting to destabilize institutions of the republic, with the French national allegedly having conspired on behalf of the French intelligence service.

Although this is not the first time senior Malian officers have been detained since the junta came to power in a 2020 coup, it marks the largest purge in the military since then. The arrests have fueled speculation about the juntas motives, though as with all matters concerning the militarys internal affairs, verification is difficult. The exact number of people arrested and even their identities remain unknown.

Several French-language media outlets, including Jeune Afrique, reported that many of those arrested were members of the National Guard, a corps led by an ally of Gen. Sadio Camara, the minister of defense. According to Jeune Afrique, these arrests supposedly reflect deep tensions within the junta, particularly between President Assimi Goita and Camara, two of the five generals who comprise the juntas top leadership.

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Rumors of rivalry between the two men have been circulating for months, if not years, apparently rooted in clashing personal ambitions. Camara is reportedly unhappy with Goitas intention to remain in power indefinitely.

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Along the same lines, Jeune Afrique reported that the two highest-ranking officers targeted in the purgeGen. Nema Sagara and Gen. Abass Dembelewere close to Camara. As governor of the central Mopti region, Dembele was an important cog in Malis security apparatus before being dismissed two months ago without explanation. This highly strategic region is the main front in the ongoing conflict against the al-Qaida-affiliated armed group Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM.

But not all observers are convinced that the coup is rooted in interpersonal disputes at the top of the junta. The National Guard soldiers said to be close to Sadio Camara and allegedly arrested were never shown on television, Bokar Sangare, a doctoral researcher at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles, pointed out in an interview. In fact, rumors that the National Guards commander had been detained were subsequently disproven after he appeared in public. Moreover, according to Yvan Guichaoua of the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies, the two generals who were detained were not especially close to Camaraa view shared by Sangare and other analysts.

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To the contrary, Camaras position within the junta may have recently been strengthened. On Aug. 14, he traveled to Moscow with his counterparts from the Alliance of Sahel States, a three-nation grouping of military-led West African countries that also includes Niger and Burkina Faso. Camara, who trained in Russia, is Bamakos main link to Moscow, Malis most important military partner following the withdrawal of French forces in 2022.

Indeed, despite the intrigue surrounding the recent purge, the reality is that over the past five years, the junta has been characterized more by its unity than by its divisions.

The arrests of military officers may reflect the Malian juntas growing paranoia, suspicious of anyone who does not fully conform to its line.

If there are no major tensions within the juntas leadership, then what prompted the arrests of Sagara and Dembele? Both generals reportedly opposed the juntas decision to stop publishing casualty figures from the war against JNIM and to stop paying tribute to fallen soldiersmoves that were intended to conceal losses, but which reportedly damaged morale within the armed forces.

The two generals are also said to have criticized the governments counterinsurgency strategy, which some observers have accused of fanning the flames of violence against civilians. As governor of Mopti, Dembele denounced extrajudicial executions by the army in the village of Diafarabe, a stance that angered the junta. Goita is also believed to fear the two generals strong standing within the military and may have seen them as potential threats.

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The arrests may thus reflect the juntas growing paranoia, suspicious of anyoneespecially high-ranking officers like Sagara and Dembelewho does not fully conform to its line and who dares to criticize its decisions. Dembele does remain popular in Mopti, and there was even talk in the Malian press of planned protests to demand his release, but they never materialized. This suggests the authorities have effectively managed any discontent arising from the arrests.

At any rate, the juntas official claim of a coup plot is unconvincing. The authorities did not even bother presenting evidence on television, Guichaoua notes.

The junta has also tried to downplay the rift by alleging foreign interference. They presented an alleged French spy as part of the plot to pin blame on France and divert the narrative, said Guichaoua. This allows them to deny real divisions within the army.

French authorities maintain that the man, Yann Vezilier, is a diplomat officially accredited in Bamako, and that his apprehension violates the Vienna Convention. However, according to a report in Le Monde, Vezilier was in fact an agent of the French intelligence agency GDSE. He was evidently one of the last communication channels between Mali and France since their rupture in 2022 and had been working in cooperation with Malian intelligence.

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These tensions are unfolding against a backdrop of growing isolation for the ruling figures in the military and continued setbacks against JNIMs jihadists. Years after taking control in the 2020 coup, the junta has failed to fulfill its central promise of restoring security. Instead, the situation has only worsened, with JNIM gaining ground even in the countrys heretofore largely peaceful south, around Bamako. In September 2024, the group launched a brazen and deadly attack in the heart of the capital that killed at least 50 people.

For years, the junta deflected public attention from its military failures and built popular support by severing ties with France, quitting the Economic Community of West African States and dissolving political parties that challenged its rule. The resources for this scapegoating strategy are running out. A new enemy must always be found, said Sangare.

The juntas other central promiseto quickly return power to civilianshas also been broken. In April, it organized national consultations that ended with Goita granting himself a renewable five-year mandate. Political parties tried to mobilize against the decision, but their protests in May were harshly repressed, with human rights groups reporting that opposition leaders had been locked up and, in some cases, forcibly disappeared.

After taking power in 2020, the junta initially enjoyed widespread civilian support, as it was seen as fulfilling the goals of a popular protest movement against then-President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. But within the coup-supporting coalition, disillusion is spreading. Many of its leaders are now in prison or exile. They include the influential imam Mahmoud Dicko, who now lives in Algeria; the one-time pro-junta activist Adama Ben Diarra, known as Ben the Brain, who has been jailed since 2023 for criticizing the militarys hold on power; and Choguel Maiga, who served as prime minister under military rule from 2021 until 2024 before being detained last month after criticizing the junta. Maiga now faces trial for alleged embezzlement.

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The juntas base of support has been further alienated by its failure to contain the threat of JNIM and other extremist groups. Now, the arrest of two popular generals risks exacerbating internal frustrations within the army. These purges appear to be an attempt to tamp down those frustrations, both in the military and Malian society more broadly.

But according to Guichaoua, the Bonn-based researcher, this strategy seems to reflect short-termism: with few resources to maintain their patronage networks, the junta resorts to coercion and arrests. A longer-term strategy would mean seeking new allies to govern the country.

Despite the crackdown on the opposition, perhaps because of it, public opinion polls show the junta maintaining strong popular support, fueled by its pledge to restore security and its rhetoric focused on protecting Malis sovereignty from overbearing regional and foreign powers. But in the context of a general deterioration in security and economic conditions, it is unclear how long the junta can maintain this popular support.

Tangi Bihan is a journalist based in Conakry, Guinea, where he is a correspondent for Radio France Internationale (RFI). He also writes for Afrique XXI and Le Monde diplomatique.

The post A Mysterious Military Purge in Mali Belies the Juntas Unity appeared first on World Politics Review.
When more than a dozen Russian drones flew into Poland overnight this week, NATO scrambled fighter jets to take them down. Western officials called it a dangerous escalation of the war in Ukraine. And theyre right; this wasnt just another skirmish on the border. This was history. For the first time ever, NATO forces engaged enemy targets inside allied airspace. Thats not routine  thats a turning point.

Poland Prime Minister Donald Tusk put it bluntly: We are dealing with a large-scale provocation.

Now, Russia claims it did not plan to hit Poland, suggesting its drones couldnt even reach that far. Thats simply not true. And Poland isnt buying it. The country has already doubled down on military spending and pledged to expand its armed forces to half a million troops. Eastern Europe knows whats at stake  theyve lived this story before.

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And heres the thing: Vladimir Putin keeps escalating because he keeps getting away with it. As Ukraines foreign minister put it on X, Russian drones flying into Poland during the massive attack on Ukraine show that Putins sense of impunity keeps growing because he was not properly punished for his previous crimes.

Yet instead of punishment, Putin is gaining power. He was just welcomed out of isolation, traveling to Alaska in August at the invitation of President Trump, for what the White House called a summit to end the war. That meeting ended with no progress, no concessions, not even a ceasefire. And days later, Putin launched his largest missile and drone barrage of the entire conflict.

Trumps strategy looks shaky at best. He hasnt unleashed the heavy sanctions his own administration has floated. And the delay matters. Chris Weafer, CEO of Macro-Advisory in Moscow, told CNBC, The Russian budget is actually under a lot of pressure so if there were to be any more significant sanctions targeting Russian oil trade from the U.S.  which theyve talked about but not done  that would put the budget under greater pressure. It hasnt happened.

So Putin feels free to flex. Not long after his Alaska meeting with Trump, he was pictured shoulder-to-shoulder with Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un at a Chinese military parade. Think about that: the leaders of Russia, China and North Korea standing in lockstep  a not-so-subtle message challenging U.S. power on the world stage.

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Meanwhile, Ukraine waits. Kyiv has watched deadlines come and go  deadlines Trump himself set  like the Aug. 8 deadline for Russia to end fighting, with no consequences for Moscow. Remember, he told the world hed solve this war in 24 hours. Well, its September 11. The war is not only unsolved, its escalating.

Heres the reality: Putins message is clear, to Ukraine, to Europe and to Trump: I wont back down. He wants us to believe that he alone will dictate the terms of peace. The real question is whether the West  and specifically the U.S.  will let him.

Lindsey Granger is a News Nation contributor and co-host of The Hills commentary show Rising. This column is an edited transcription of her on-air commentary.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Out of the 19 Russian drones crossing into Poland overnight on Wednesday, at least a couple came via Belarus, Ukraines president said.

At least two Russian drones that entered Polish territory during the night used Belarusian airspace, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

In total, at least several dozen Russian drones were moving along the border of Ukraine and Belarus.

On Wednesday, Ukraines air defence destroyed more than 380 Russian drones of various models. At least 250 of them were Shaheds.

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Kyiv is now investigating the drone types and the details of the Russian attack, Zelenskyy said, adding that Ukraine is ready to expand cooperation with partners for reliable protection of the sky.

What do Russia and Belarus say?

Russias Defence Ministry said it did not plan to attack any targets in Poland during its attack against Ukraine.

No objects on Polish territory were planned to be targeted. The maximum range of UAVs used in the strike (on Ukraine) does not exceed 700km.

Moscow added that it is ready to hold consultations with the Polish defence ministry on the subject.

Belarus said the drones entered Polish airspace accidentally, after their navigation systems were jammed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko walk during their meeting at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, 2 September 2025 - AP Photo

Pavel Muravyeika, deputy defence minister of Belarus, has claimed the UAVs "lost their way" and that Belarus itself had shot some down over its own territory.

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In a video on the official Belarusian Defence Ministry Telegram channel, Muravyeika said between 11 pm and 4 am, his own forces, Poland, and Lithuania shared information through "communication channels" on the stray drones.

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The attacks come just days before Poland is set to close its border with Belarus due to what the Polish prime minister called very aggressive military exercises between Russia and Belarus.

What is Zapad-2025?

Zapad  meaning "west" in Russian  are joint Russia-Belarus military exercises held in September, usually every four years. This time, the drills are scheduled to start on 12 September.

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The drills were first inaugurated in 2009 to coordinate and train the Regional Military Grouping, which combined the Belarusian military and the Russian 20th Guards Combined Arms Army of the Western Military District.

Every Zapad manoeuvre reportedly involves between 12,000 and 13,000 troops, though NATO has argued that the officially reported numbers are questionable and doubted their purpose.

FILE: Two Belarusian military helicopters fly during military exercises, near the Volka village, 19 September 2017 - AP Photo

However, earlier exercises showed that Moscow and Minsk gamed fictional scenarios which were eerily similar to real-world countries in their neighbourhood or indicated future plans.

Zapad-2017 drills, for example, featured three fictional states, Vesbaria, Lubenia and Veyshnoria, which resembled the Baltic states Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and included territories in the Suwalki gap, an area of land separating the Russian exclave of the Kaliningrad region and western Belarus.

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In September 2021  just months before Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine  Moscow claimed 12,800 servicemen participated in Zapad-2021 on Belarusian territory.

The total number of troops in the region was, in fact, around 200,000. In February 2022 Russia used forces that had remained in Belarus after the exercises ended to attack Ukraine from the territory of Belarus.

Poland to close Belarus border

Even before Wednesdays drone attack, Poland announced that it would close its border with Belarus at midnight on 11 September over security concerns tied to large-scale Russia-led military exercises, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.

"On Friday, Russian-Belarusian manoeuvres, very aggressive from a military doctrine perspective, begin in Belarus, very close to the Polish border," Tusk told the government on Tuesday.

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"Therefore, for national security reasons, we will close the border with Belarus, including railway crossings, in connection with the Zapad maneuvers on Thursday at midnight."

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen walk during their visit to the Polish-Belarus border, in Krynki, 31 August 2025 - AP Photo

Polish President Karol Nawrocki warned, We do not trust Vladimir Putins good intentions.

While waiting, of course, for a long-term peace, permanent peace, which is necessary to our regions, we believe that Vladimir Putin is ready to also invade other countries.

Lithuania also announced it would reinforce security along its frontier with Belarus and Russia.

New military base reportedly under construction in Belarus

A new military installation is reportedly being built in Belarus, which analysts warn may hold strategic significance for Russia in its ongoing war against Ukraine.

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According to Radio Svoboda, construction began in June 2024 south of Minsk, near the village of Pavlovka. The site now spans more than 2 square kilometres.

Experts believe the complex may house Russias new Oreshnik ballistic missile system.

Within a year, more than a square kilometre of forest in the western part of the area had been cleared, and 13 ammunition depots measuring 30 by 20 metres were constructed behind defensive walls, along with three warehouses each 100 metres long.

Foundations for various other buildings were also laid, linked by a network of mainly paved roads.

FILE: Belarus soldier meets with his relative after taking an oath ceremony in the town of Borisov, 12 February 2011 - AP Photo

Belarusian officials have not acknowledged the project. No official documents or land registry records mention the base.

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A joint investigation by Ukraines Radio Svoboda Schemes project, Radio Liberty Belarus Service and Estonian outlets Delfi Estonia and Eesti Ekspress also found the second new facility on the outskirts of the city of Gomel, less than 40 km from the border with Ukraine.

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The journalists believe this is a future military base. Construction began here in late 2023, with trees cut down, the site cleared, and infrastructure actively being built.

The size and infrastructure of the facility correspond to existing military bases in Belarus, meaning it could potentially accommodate an army brigade of about 3,000 personnel.
NEED TO KNOW

Three months after Navy sailor Angelina Resendiz, 21, was last seen, the fellow sailor accused of killing her on May 29 was charged with murder and other crimes, according to reports

Resendiz's body was found on June 9, 2025  10 miles away from the Norfolk, Va., base where she was stationed

Resendiz's mother is fighting for justice for her daughter

A Navy cook has been charged with premeditated murder in connection with the disappearance and death of a fellow Navy sailor who was initially thought to be absent without leave, according to reports.

Jermiah Copeland, of Oak Harbor, Wash., is facing multiple charges in connection with the death of Angelina Resendiz, per Military.com, Stars and Stripes and WAVY.

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Besides murder, Copeland faces charges of sexual assault, sexual misconduct, making false statements, wrongfully broadcasting or distributing intimate photographic data and obstructing justice, according to the Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG) corps, Stars and Stripes reports.

Copeland has been held since June in connection with the death of Resendiz, a 21-year-old a culinary specialist assigned to the USS James E. Williams in Norfolk, Va., a spokesperson previously confirmed to PEOPLE.

The Navy has not publicly identified Copeland as the suspect or confirmed the charges. The NCIS public affairs office did not immediately respond to PEOPLEs requests for information.

Resendiz was last seen at her barracks in Norfolk on May 29, according to Virginia State Police.

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As PEOPLE previously reported, her body was found on June 9 in a wooded off-base area in Norfolk, after which an NCIS spokesperson told people a Navy sailor had been placed in pretrial confinement in connection with her death.

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According to a specification of charges sheet, in connection with the death of another sailor referred to as A.R., Copeland is charged with premeditated murder while on active duty on or about May 29, when officials say Resendiz was last seen, WTKR reports.

Copeland is expected to appear in court on Sept. 18 in Norfolk for an Article 32 hearing, which "focuses on the rights of the accused and whether there is enough evidence for the case to proceed, attorney Marshall Griffin, who is representing Resendiz's mother, told ABC News.

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Resendizs mother, Esmerelda Castle "wants to make sure that we go full force in prosecuting the suspect, a family spokesperson told ABC News.

Related: New Details Revealed in Case of Sailor Who Vanished from Navy Base and Was Later Found Dead: Betrayal of Trust, of Duty

The cause and manner of death were ruled "undetermined," a spokesperson for the Chief Medical Examiner's Office at the Virginia Department of Health confirmed to ABC News on Aug. 27.

Griffin did not immediately respond to PEOPLEs request for comment. It is unclear whether Copeland has retained an attorney who can speak on his behalf.



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The McCook Work Ethic Camp in McCook, Nebraska. (Courtesy of Nebraska Department of Correctional Services)

Nebraska and the federal Department of Homeland Security on Aug. 19 announced that the states Work Ethic Camp in McCook would be converted into a federal immigration detention facility, which Homeland Security branded the Cornhusker Clink.

About 186 people at the camp will be transferred to another facility within the states prison system, which has for years operated under an overcrowding emergency. Local leaders in McCook said they got only a half-hour briefing before the public rollout of the proposal. More than a dozen state lawmakers have since demanded a public hearing. More than 18,000 Nebraskans have signed a petition opposing the facility change.

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The decision landed as the fall semester began. On the first day of class, I asked my law school students a simple question: What is prison for? Most answered rehabilitation, as if it were obvious. They imagined facilities with treatment programs, classes and job training designed so that the people inside return home better equipped than when they went in.

Nebraskas own Department of Correctional Services has long called rehabilitation at the heart of public safety. The states Work Ethic Camp in McCook was one of the few facilities built to reflect that goal. Its mission statement is clear: Empowering people to do better.

That makes the August announcement telling. Nebraska is turning a facility built for rehabilitation into a warehouse for federal detainees. Spaces once used for programming will be repurposed into detention units for up to 300 people  a number well over the buildings stated capacity  in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. The state insists rehabilitation is central, yet when faced with a choice, leaders sidelined that goal in favor of a contract with Washington.

Supporters of the plan point to money and safety. Both arguments are shaky. Financially, typical immigration detention contracts pay a daily rate for each person in custody. Many also include so-called bed quotas that require ICE to pay for a set number of beds whether they are filled or not.

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On paper, that may look like stability. In practice, it ties Nebraskas budget to shifting and unstable federal enforcement priorities. When ICE changes direction or cancels a contract, communities are left with obligations and no revenue stream.

Other states have learned how risky that bargain can be. In Florida, a court halted further construction at the Alligator Alcatraz detention center, leaving the states taxpayers on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars. Nebraska risks a similar mistake, trading rehabilitation for federal promises that can disappear overnight.

Even if the contract holds, communities carry the hidden costs of detention. Local health systems must respond to detainee needs. Ambulance crews make the runs and emergency rooms absorb the surges. In rural Nebraska, those systems are already stretched. More than half of the states rural hospitals operate at a loss. Community Hospital in McCook recently closed its clinic in nearby Curtis. Detention will not reverse that.

The safety rationale is equally weak. The people who will be held in McCook will not be serving criminal sentences. They will be immigration detainees facing civil proceedings, many with no convictions. Federal data show that most ICE detainees have no criminal record, and national research finds that immigrants are incarcerated for crimes at lower rates than U.S.-born Americans.

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Adding detention beds in McCook will not reduce crime or improve public safety. What makes communities safer are the basics: staffed hospitals, strong schools and reliable infrastructure.

What this project offers is spectacle, not safety or stability. It is easier to announce a new detention hub with a catchy name than to confront the slow, difficult work of fixing overcrowded prisons, stabilizing rural hospitals and funding genuine reentry programs that actually keep communities safe.

This is not just Nebraskas story. For decades, rural America was told prisons would bring prosperity. That promise rarely held. Now immigration detention is being sold as the replacement. The bargain is the same: dependence without security, spectacle without substance and the hollowing out of scarce rehabilitative capacity.

I do not tell my students that rehabilitation is the only purpose or function of prisons. But I do ask them to notice the gap between rhetoric and reality. Nebraska says rehabilitation matters. Yet when faced with a choice, the state is all but eliminating a rehabilitative facility and replacing it with detention beds. That choice is not only about corrections policy. It is about what Nebraskas leaders value, how the state defines itself and how much control it is willing to cede to the whims of Washington.

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Back in my classroom, the lesson is clearer now. My students still say prisons are supposed to rehabilitate. Nebraska just taught them something else: that what counts is not second chances, but how many people can be locked up. If that is not the message we want the next generation of lawyers, policymakers and citizens to absorb, this is the moment to change course.

Danielle C. Jefferis is a law professor who teaches prison law and studies detentions impact. She writes in her personal capacity and not on behalf of any institution.

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Tsurkov described to Netanyahu the harsh conditions of her captivity and expressed her hope for the return of all the hostages held in Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Russian-Israeli researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was freed from captivity in Iraq and returned to Israel on Wednesday, the Prime Minister's Office announced on Thursday.

During the conversation, Tsurkov thanked Netanyahu and all those involved in securing her release and assisting her family.

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Tsurkov described to Netanyahu the harsh conditions of her captivity and expressed her hope for the return of all the hostages held in Gaza.

The PMO also thanked the parties, led by US President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Envoy Adam Boehler, and the efforts of Hostage and Missing Persons Coordinator Gal Hirsch to secure her release.

Tsurkov returns to Israel after 903 days

Tsurkov landed in Israel on Wednesday evening and arrived at Sheba Medical Center for treatment.

Israeli-Russian hostage Elizabeth Tsurkov over a backdrop of Iraqi and Israeli flags. (credit: Canva, Elizabeth Tsurkov, SHUTTERSTOCK)

The PMO and Mossad welcomed her return, stating, "Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was held hostage in Iraq and released last night, has landed in Israel."

The Mossad chief thanked his Cypriot counterpart for assisting with Tsurkov's humanitarian transfer through Cyprus to Israel.

At the airport, Tsurkov was met by a senior representative from Gal Hirsch's team and a medical team. She will be taken to a hospital for examinations as part of the "hostage return protocol."
In his letter, Netanyahu asked that matters be rushed so that Zini could take the appointment already on September 21, when the acting Shin Bet director 'S' finishes his tenure.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested his appointment to head the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) - IDF Maj.-Gen. (res.) David Zini - to be rushed so that he could step into the role on September 21, in a letter addressed to the Senior Appointment Advisory Committee, headed by former Supreme Court president Asher Grunis, on Thursday.

This is the next step in a long process to secure the controversial appointment. The committee will review Zini and issue a recommendation to the government. If it disapproves, the appointment could be brought before the High Court of Justice. If they veto the appointment for fear of its impact on the Qatargate investigations, acting director S may remain in the role for an indefinite period of time.

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Since former intelligence chief Ronen Bar resigned in June, S has been serving as acting director. His mandate is due to end on September 21. In his letter, Netanyahu asked that matters be rushed so that Zini could take the appointment that day.

The committee is a specialized one, responsible for ratifying seven senior appointments - five security-related (IDF Chief of Staff, Mossad head, Shin Bet head, Israel Police Commissioner, and Israel Prison Service chief), and two economic-related (Bank of Israel governor and his or her deputy).

It is made up of four members: A retired High Court judge, the Civil Service Commissioner, and two public representatives chosen by the government. The committee, as of now, is not fully filled.

Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar at Israel's Remembrance Day ceremony, 30 April 2025 (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)

Two months ago, the High Court of Justice approved a compromise between the government and Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, whereby the incoming chief would be barred from involvement in the Qatargate investigations until a conflict-of-interest arrangement could be reached.

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The Shin Bet began investigating alleged Qatari influences on figures close to Netanyahu and the Prime Minister's Office in November 2024. The cases concerned are Qatargate and the Leaked Documents Affair.

Before Bar resigned, he was dismissed by the government, a decision that was brought before the High Court of Justice, and a compromise was reached. The larger context is the question of responsibility for the October 7 massacre-attack.

Bar said he would resign, in a nod to responsibility over Oct. 7 massacre

Bar has said that he would resign solely in a nod to that responsibility, but the push to remove him from the position started in earnest in November 2024, he said, when the agency began investigating Qatari influences on figures close to the prime minister. Netanyahu argued differently, that the distrust between them made a work relationship impossible, and dates back to October 7 itself.

Netanyahu wrote in the letter that after interviewing several viable candidates, he chose to go with someone outside of the organization, who would theoretically challenge accepted norms - like the ones that led to the intelligence failure surrounding October 7.

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The A-G advised that, due to the suspicions, Netanyahu not be the one to appoint the next intelligence head. He went ahead with Zini's appointment anyway, leading to petitions to the High Court of Justice, which is what led to the compromise with Baharav-Miara.

Bini Aschkenasy, Yonah Jeremy Bob, and Eliav Breuer contributed to this report.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to try to kill Hamas leaders in Qatar again if Doha does not expel the groups officials, drawing a sharp response from Doha.

Unfazed by international outrage over the attack in the Qatari capital, Netanyahu said on Wednesday that countries should applaud Israel for its bombing and killing spree across the Middle East.

I say to Qatar and all nations who harbour terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice  because if you dont, we will, he said.

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The comments came a day after Israel carried out an unprecedented attack in Qatar, targeting senior Hamas leadership in Doha as discussions on a US-backed ceasefire proposal for Gaza were under way.

In response, Qatars Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a condemnation of the Israeli prime ministers comments, calling them a shameful attempt  to justify the cowardly attack that targeted Qatari territory, as well as the explicit threats of future violations of state sovereignty.

Netanyahu is fully aware that the hosting of the Hamas office took place within the framework of Qatars mediation efforts requested by the United States and Israel, it said.

Such statements are hardly surprising coming from an individual who relies on extremist rhetoric to win elections and is wanted for international justice, facing mounting sanctions on a daily basis  factors that only deepen his isolation on the global stage.

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In just three days, Israel has launched attacks in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Tunisia and Qatar, while continuing daily raids in the occupied West Bank. On Wednesday, it killed 35 people in an attack in Yemen.

Last week, Israel was slammed for dropping grenades near the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in southern Lebanon.

Al Jazeeras Hamdah Salhut said, Israel again has no problem meddling into the internal affairs of another country or violating international law, and the sovereignty of other nations by getting involved in military conflicts.

Weve seen it repeatedly in this region, but not just during the war on Gaza. Weve seen it throughout Netanyahus political career, and Netanyahu is saying hes going to take matters into his own hands.

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Israel doesnt seem to care what the rest of the world are thinking  despite all the criticisms and violations of international law.

This is state terror

Separately on Wednesday, in an interview with CNN, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani described Israels attack on Doha as state terror.

I have no words to express how enraged we are from such an action  this is state terror, Sheikh Mohammed said on Wednesday. We are betrayed.

The prime minister added that the United States has expressed its support for Qatar on many occasions.

Sheikh Mohammed added that Israels actions had killed any hope for the captives remaining in Gaza.

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I was meeting one of the hostages families the morning of the attack, he said. They are counting on this [ceasefire] mediation. They have no other hope for that.

I think that what [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has done yesterday, he just killed any hope for those hostages, the prime minister added.

He needs to be brought to justice, Sheikh Mohammed said. Hes the one whos wanted at the [International Criminal Court or ICC].

I think that someone like him trying to lecture about the law  hes breaking every law  he broke every international law.

Netanyahu, along with Israels former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, is accused by the ICC of war crimes related to Israels actions in Gaza.

Gulf states respond

Regional leaders have rushed to Doha in the aftermath of the strike. United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met Qatars Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, while Jordans king and Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are also expected to arrive.

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The attack has sent shock waves across the Gulf, with states that recently explored normalisation with Israel now rallying around Qatar.

There is a response that will happen from the region, Sheikh Mohammed said. This response is currently under consultation and discussion with other partners in the region.

He confirmed that an Arab-Islamic summit will be held in Doha in the coming days to decide on a course of action.

There is a collective response that should happen from the region, he said. We are hoping for something meaningful that deters Israel from continuing this bullying.
Las Vegas(KLAS)-The Nevada Preservation Foundation hosts ongoing events to give the community a chance to learn more about the city. The next event coming up is the Paradise Palms Bike Tour.

Paradise Palms is a showcase of classic Mid-Century Modern architecture where participants will bike through the quiet streets of this sprawling neighborhood.

Along the way, guests see striking homes, learn about the designs that led to the neighborhoods historic designation, and discover what makes this community unique as it experiences a vibrant revival today.

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For more information visit: nevadapreservation.org.

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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO/AP)  Nikki Gronli of the Dell Rapids area, a Democrat running for South Dakotas only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, highlighted the states agriculture and tourism when speaking Wednesday afternoon in front of supporters in downtown Sioux Falls.

Right now, two of our top industries in South Dakota are being damaged by the decisions made in Washington, Gronli said in front of the gathered crowd. As your representative, Im going to say hell no and stand up for South Dakota.

South Dakota officials react to Charlie Kirk shooting

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Democratic state Senator Liz Larson of Sioux Falls introduced Gronli.

Shes got the skills and the vision and the energy to represent us in Washington, and shes not just running against the current regime, Larson said during the introduction. Shes running for a future that we can all be proud of.

On this side of the aisle, youre going to see issues elevated, and I guarantee good conversations about how we best solve them, Gronli said to the crowd. Issues such as affordable child care, grocery prices, protecting social security, which is your money.

Gronli spent time between 2022 and 2025 as the South Dakota state director for USDA Rural Development, and she says the states agricultural producers remain a priority. She believes Congress should guide American tariff policy.

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Congress needs to take back its responsibility and do whats right for South Dakota farmers, Gronli said. Its frustrating to me that we dont have a voice at the table saying my farmers need these markets.'

South Dakota is, unmistakably, a red state. Nevertheless, Gronli sees an opportunity.

I truly believe by sticking to talking about whats most important to people, there is room for my candidacy, she said. Ive always been a listener, Ive always been a problem solver, and I think were missing that right now. I would like to be that for South Dakotans.

Republican Dusty Johnson currently occupies South Dakotas seat in the U.S. House, but he has announced his candidacy for South Dakota governor. Joining Gronli in South Dakotas 2026 U.S. House race are Republicans Marty Jackley and Casey Crabtree along with Democrat Billy Mawhiney.

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Welcome to Foreign Policys China Brief.

The highlights this week: China shows off its relationship with North Korea and Russia at a military parade, South Korea navigates a diplomatic dilemma, and the forecast for Chinas electric vehicle market cools down.

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Beijing Shows Off Partners at Parade

Chinas celebration of the 80th anniversary of its victory over Japan in World War II last week paraded both new weapons and old geopolitical allies.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was given a prominent place at the event alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. In a hot-mic moment, as Putin and Xi discussed the scientific prospects for extended lifespans, another voice (likely Kim) could be heard laughing in the background.

North Korea is Chinas only remaining formal treaty ally, but last weeks events demonstrated a level of closeness not previously shown to Kim or to other North Korean leaders since the days of Kims grandfather, Kim Il Sung.

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The display prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to post on Truth Social that the three leaders were conspiring against the United States. But Xi may have been doing Putin a favor: China doesnt particularly need North Korea right now, but Russia does. North Korea is supplying both arms and men to Russias war effort in Ukraine, while Chinas support remains restricted to rhetoric and non-lethal aid.

Beijing has grown increasingly close to Pyongyang in recent years. A decade ago, North Korea was broadly unpopular in China, but today 76 percent of the Chinese public say that they see North Korea as a friend. Even if people are just saying what they think the government wants to hear, its telling.

After all, China may not need North Korea now, but a fellow nuclear state could be an essential strategic partner in any future flash point with the United States, as Trump seemed to intuit.

Kims prominence also puts the lack of other significant attendees in perspective. The turnout for the parade was surprisingly scanta collection of leaders mostly from Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and Iran stayed in China for the event after the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin; the leaders of India, Egypt, and Turkey all departed.

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Though Xi did the rounds of obligatory handshakes with his guests, the parade was not the harbinger of a new world order, but a display of the long-standing China-Russia relationship.

And even the SCOs significance is often overstated; for the leaders who attend, its a hedging of bets and a signaling to the United States that they have options.

China succeeds in building diplomatic relationships partly because it doesnt ask that much of its partners. In contrast, the United States (Trumps administrations excluded) has historically wanted its partners to sign up to a financial and political rules-based order and demanded, however irregularly and imperfectly, adherence to human rights norms.

Under Trump, human rights are off the table, but erratic demands for compliance ranging from the protection of far-right politicians to serving the economic interests of Trump and his political allies come frequently.

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China, on the other hand, asks that its partners stay silent about its human rights abuses, give it political control over the Chinese diaspora, and avoid cooperating militarily with the United States in Asia.

The relative mildness of Beijings asks makes them easy to acceptespecially for autocratsand means that they dont always stand in the way of maintaining strong ties with the United States or taking a tougher stance with Beijing on regional issues.

For instance, Vietnamese President Luong Cuong attended last weeks parade, but Vietnam is still engaging in an island-building contest with China in the South China Sea. Some of the attendees, such as the leader of Myanmars beleaguered ruling junta, badly need China on their side. Others are just being good neighborsin the hope that Beijing will return the favor.

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South Koreas dilemma. One country that is currently a target of Chinese ire is South Korea, which has moved closer to Washington in recent yearsonly to be backstabbed by tariffs in Trumps second term. In an effort to win back favor with Trump, South Korea pledged to invest $350 billion in the United States, which made last weeks events come as a shock.

Last Thursday, U.S. immigration officials arrested nearly 500 South Korean workers after a raid on a Hyundai facility in Georgia. This is front-page news in South Korea and has sparked fury among the public and demands for recompense even from traditionally pro-U.S. conservative politicians.

As a result, South Korea and Japan are weighing their options for mutual security against a chaotic United States and an uncomfortably close China. At the Seoul Defense Dialogue, which kicked off this week, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani delivered a speech calling to boost bilateral diplomacy and cooperation.

It was the first visit by a Japanese defense minister to South Korea in a decade. Japan-South Korea reconciliation, which was a priority for former U.S. President Joe Biden, faces considerable opposition in both countries. That it seems to be proceeding anyway speaks to the seriousness of the moment.

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Chinas new weapons. Beyond geopolitical relationships, what was actually on show at the military parade in Beijing? As usual, missiles were widely displayed, with the implicit message that they could be used against the United States in a regional contest. Russias war in Ukraine has also focused the Chinese militarys attention on drones, with an emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI)-guided systems and anti-drone defense systems.

Perhaps the most dramatic unveiling was the LY-1, Chinas entry into the expanding race for directed energy weapons. This category of weapons was an infamous boondoggle for decades, but recent advances make them plausible battlefield contenders in the near future.

Details on the LY-1 are scant, as is common with new Chinese technology, but it appears to be designed for both naval mounting and potential land use.

FPs Most Read This Week Chinas Military Is Now Leading by Sam Roggeveen Xis Pablum and Power by Sergey Radchenko So You Want to Work in International Affairs by Luke Coffey Tech and Business

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Chip tug-of-war. There is little end in sight to the four-way contest among the United States, China, U.S. chipmakers, and Chinese AI companies. Washington doesnt want Chinese firms getting advanced chipseven the modified, export control-compliant versionsunless the White House gets a cut.

Ironically, Beijing doesnt want Chinese firms getting these chips either, because dependence on U.S. supplies is preventing the development of a Chinese domestic chip ecosystem. China has been pressuring firms not to buy U.S. chips, but the firms arent playing ball, according to a Reuters report.

This is partially because even the upcoming generation of Chinese-made chips is double the price for the same computing power as the modified U.S. chips. Intermediaries and third parties are already common players in Chinas chip acquisition process; now firms will have to try to dodge scrutiny from two separate governments.

EV market saturation? There are some signs that Chinas red-hot electric vehicle (EV) market is finally cooling down. This has been a government goal for a while, following years of price wars that produced happy consumers and considerable innovation but created a potential economic quagmire.

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Chinese manufacturers, sometimes selling cars at a loss but making up for profits in overall volume, have been skipping payments to suppliers, leaving a dangerous trail of debts. While growth continues, its slowing down to 2024 levels for now. EV giant BYD has cut its own forecasts.

At this point, Chinese firms have already won the global EV race by a length and can afford to take a more cautious approach.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP)  A film depicting the first Black published poet in the south, The Bard, just wrapped up shooting at the Piedmont Triad.

It was awarded up to $4.6 million by Governor Josh Stein. This is the latest sign that the Triad is becoming a movie-making destination.

Kim Zubick and Lauren Vilchik just wrapped up shooting The Bard in Winston-Salem. There is a reason Vilchik chose the Triad to tell this story.

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Production hubs are really important when you choose a place to shoot. In North Carolina, the main production hubs are in Charlotte and Wilmington, but we have the UNC School of Arts here, and we do a lot of training here, Vilchik said.

Vilchik and Zubick are also professors at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem.

I have had the pleasure of working with undergrad crews, and I would put them up against any professional crews, Zubick said.

Ashley Luckadoo was one of Vilchiks students. She just graduated in May.

I was actually going to move to California, but I kept getting opportunities in North Carolina, Luckadoo said.

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She didnt have to move to Tinseltown to make her dream career come true. Luckadoo worked as a first assistant editor for The Bard, and that opened doors.

I started my own company, Luckadoo Film, and that also has popped off, she said.

Winston-Salem is not the only destination getting a taste of Hollywood.

Social media posts say a dry goods store in Madison was used as a filming location. We are told East Main Street in Jamestown and the Oak Ridge Military Academy are also filming locations.

Susi Hamilton, the president of the Film Partnership of North Carolina, said there is a reason why independent filmmakers are picking the Piedmont Triad.

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The larger production houses like MGM and Warner Brothers  are doing more work overseas right now, Hamilton said.

There are increasing incentives to produce in North Carolina.

I think this year will be indicative of smaller budget films to more local North Carolina-based producers, Hamilton said.

Zubick said North Carolina offers versatility. From oceans to mountains, it gives filmmakers a wide range to work with.

Vilchik and Zubick are already planning to produce another film in October in the Triad.

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Gov. Josh Stein signed Executive Order 25 Wednesday in Raleigh, relaunching the Interagency Council for Coordinating Homelessness Programs to address homelessness in North Carolina.

ALSO READ >> More people are experiencing homelessness this year, PIT Count shows

According to a release, Stein says the council aims to prevent and end homelessness by enhancing coordination among government agencies and private and nonprofit service providers. It will be co-chaired by Karen Wade, Policy Director of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, and Jessica Whichard, Chief of Staff of the North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

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All of us benefit when people have a safe place to call home, Stein said. Right now, we do not have enough homes, and the homes we have cost too much. Cost is a major cause of homelessness and a major barrier when people are trying to return to housing.

In 2024, it was estimated that more than 11,500 North Carolinians experienced homelessness, including over 3,200 families with children, more than 500 unaccompanied homeless youth, and nearly 700 veterans. These figures represent a 19 percent increase from the previous year.

North Carolinians experiencing homelessness face challenges when trying to access physical and mental health care and treatment for substance use disorder, Wade said.

The council says it will also focus on recovery efforts related to Hurricane Helene, which increased homelessness in the affected counties. Prior to the hurricane, approximately 6,600 people were experiencing homelessness in the 39 Helene disaster-declared counties.

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The Interagency Council for Homelessness Programs was initially created under the Cooper administration to advise on housing stabilization and strategies to reduce homelessness. It supports various strategic plans, including the NCDHHS Strategic Housing Plan and the NC Reentry 2030 Strategic Plan.

Governor Steins 2025-2027 state budget proposal includes $35 million annually for the Housing Trust Fund to create more housing for low-income families, veterans, seniors, and people with disabilities. He also proposed investments in the Workforce Loan Program to aid in the construction and repair of affordable housing.

VIDEO: Local police say homeless citations are a last resort amid concerns over executive order
Rocky Prestangen, left, and Randy Stevenson, both landowners in McKenzie County, have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rule to take up their lawsuit against WBI Energy. The plaintiffs say WBI is required by law to cover the legal costs they incurred while settling an eminent domain dispute with the pipeline company. (Photo courtesy of the Institute for Justice)

North Dakota and 11 other states are advocating for the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the arguments of North Dakota ranchers in a dispute with an energy company.

WBI Energy used eminent domain to take a portion of the northwest North Dakota landowners property for a pipeline project in 2018. The ranchers were compensated for their land under a confidential settlement with WBI in 2021, though the parties disagreed as to whether the group was also entitled to legal fees.

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A North Dakota federal judge initially ordered WBI to pay the landowners about $380,000 in legal expenses, though the 8th Circuit Court of Appeal overturned that decision earlier this year.

In early August, the landowners filed a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the appellate courts decision. They ultimately want the high court to reverse the circuit courts ruling.

Twelve Republican-led states in a Monday friend-of-the-court brief took the landowners side.

Bob McNamara, the lead attorney representing the McKenzie County property owners, said its remarkable to see so many states come together in support of the ranchers petition.

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The dispute centers on whether the parties have to follow federal or state law.

WBI took the ranchers land under a federal law called the Natural Gas Act, which allows private businesses to use the federal governments eminent domain power for public natural gas infrastructure. While the landowners were paid for their land, the act doesnt say whether that sum must also include landowners legal expenses.

Both the plaintiffs and the 12-state coalition that filed Mondays brief take the stance that when federal law is silent, state property law governs.

Under North Dakota law, WBI is required to pay their attorney fees, the ranchers say.

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WBI and the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals disagree. The 8th Circuit in its ruling said that because WBI wielded the federal governments eminent domain power when it took the land, state law does not apply. When the federal government exercises eminent domain, it doesnt have to cover property owners legal costs.

Allowing the appellate courts ruling to stand would upset the balance of power between states and the federal government, the states argue in their Monday filing.

Under the Eighth Circuits decision, landowners in seven states no longer have the benefit of state law property rights that landowners in the rest of the country have, the brief says.

The states expressed concern that the 8th Circuits legal interpretation could allow the federal government to quietly assume more regulatory authority over property-related matters.

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WBI has to file a response to the landowners petition sometime in October, McNamara said. WBI declined a request for comment Thursday.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to consider the petition sometime in November, he added.

Its extremely rare for the U.S. Supreme Court to agree to review a case, though the justices have shown an interest in eminent domain and property rights issues, McNamara said previously.

He said the states brief could help put the case on the high courts radar.

The court listens to states when they say, This creates a big federalism problem, McNamara said.

The 11 states that signed onto the brief with North Dakota are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.

North Dakota Monitor reporter Mary Steurer can be reached at msteurer@northdakotamonitor.com.

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By Ju-min Park and Jack Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appears to have solidified the status of his daughter Kim Ju Ae as his likely successor after she accompanied him on a visit to China, South Korean lawmakers said on Thursday, citing the country's spy agency.

Ju Ae stayed at the North Korean embassy and avoided the public spotlight during the Beijing visit, but just being on the overseas trip with her father was "enough to build a narrative" as the regime's likely successor, said Lee Seong-kweun, a lawmaker on South Korea's parliamentary intelligence committee.

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"It was suggested that Kim Ju Ae's status was solidified as a likely successor by showing her occasionally, while enabling her to build overseas experience but not to appear at public events," said Park Sun-won, another lawmaker on the committee.

Also, North Korean officials were spotted wiping out traces in order not to expose biological information of Kim and his daughter during the China trip. This included using a special plane to transport garbage and the pair staying at the North Korean embassy, South Korea's spy agency told the lawmakers.

Earlier this month, Kim made an unprecedented trip to Beijing for a large-scale multilateral gathering, watching a military parade standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kim also held bilateral meetings with Xi and Putin on the sidelines in a bid to portray an image that North Korea was no longer an isolated country and was trying to restore relations with China, the South Korean lawmakers said.

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The South Korean intelligence agency believed that economic ties between Beijing and Pyongyang would inevitably expand following the meeting between Xi and Kim, most likely through unofficial trade, according to the lawmakers.

(Reporting by Ju-min Park, Jack Kim; Editing by Ed Davies)
The Mesopotamian Marshes, an area of wetlands in southern Iraq, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016. It is a vital ecosystem for both wildlife and human communities, but the marshes are drying up as the country's lucrative oil industry claims an increasing share of their water.

What's happening?

The wetlands of Hawizeh are shrinking, endangering the region's biodiversity.

Um al-Nea'aj, a lake that used to be filled with wildlife, is now about half a meter (about 1.6 feet) deep, the Guardian reported.

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"Two years ago, there were families and fishermen everywhere," Mustafa Hashim told the outlet. "You could hear laughter, the splash of fish. Today, there's nothing."

Vast amounts of oil rest beneath these now-shallow waters. The Majnoon oil field alone contains an estimated 38 billion barrels (or 1.596 trillion gallons) of oil. Iraq is the world's sixth-largest oil producer.

One major culprit behind the shrinking wetlands is the oil sector and the water-intensive processes involved in extraction.

Another of the oil fields, the Halfaya, is so large that "it includes 300 wells, three oil-processing plants, a water-treatment facility, and its own airport to transport foreign workers between the site and international airports," according to the Guardian.

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Beyond the oil industry's impacts, dams built upstream in Turkey and Iran have reduced water levels around the country.

Why is wetland conservation important?

Protecting wetlands is a critical measure to preserve the communities that rely on them.

For one, communities have been living alongside wetlands for thousands of years. The loss of marshes is a loss of culture and way of life. They also provide livelihoods for many through farming and eco-tourism.

Wetlands are also vital to a variety of wildlife species and serve as a key habitat for bird migration every year. According to NASA, many species of mammals, birds, and fish from the region have either gone extinct or are considered threatened.

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They also provide several environmental benefits for the region, including trapping carbon in the marshes' vegetation, offering flood hazard protection, and purifying water from pollutants through the wetland plant species.

What's being done about shrinking wetlands?

Many are realizing the threat to the marshes and working to preserve them. The area was designated a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention in 2007.

Hashim Kasid, who lives in the region, used to be a fisherman, but he has retired his nets. While there used to be water filled with fish, he told the Guardian that there is now "not enough water to live."

As long as there is demand for dirty energy sources such as oil, environments like the Mesopotamian Marshes will be at risk.

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Governments and nongovernmental organizations are banding together to protect this important ecosystem.

Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.




OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KSNW)  An Oklahoma City woman is facing charges of child neglect after a game with children critically injured a 4-year-old.

Our sister station, KFOR in Oklahoma City, reports that a mother is accused of running over the child in what prosecutors described as a game. Court papers show the woman was driving her 4- and 6-year-old children home when she allegedly allowed them to get out of the car and hold on to door handles on the side of the vehicle.

Colorado teens senior pictures go viral with hundreds of thousands of likes

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The 4-year-old lost their grip after the mother drove over a speed bump at an apartment complex and was run over. The woman, reportedly distraught, tried to call 911 but was frantic and instead drove the child to Mercy Hospital, where, in turn, they were told to take the child to OU Childrens Hospital.

KFOR reports that the child was admitted in critical condition to the intensive care unit but is reportedly recovering. The woman has not made her first appearance in court, and its unclear if she has been arrested.

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As we remember the thousands of lives lost during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Trump administration has been busy firing public servants who maintained the global security infrastructure that prevented more attacks on our homeland.

I was one of more than 1,300 State Department employees fired by the Trump administration in July. These layoffs may seem insignificant compared with the private sector, but the loss of critical expertise carries serious national security implications.

My work in the Bureau of Counterterrorisms Office of Countering Violent Extremism helped quell the recruitment appeal of Al Qaeda, the Islamic State (ISIS) and other terrorist groups. But even though my colleagues and I played a central role in efforts to defeat ISIS in Syria and Iraq, the recent reorganization terminated this office and the Counterterrorism Bureaus Office of Strategy, Plans, and Initiatives. These were offices that ensured U.S. taxpayer dollars were used effectively and programs and policies aligned with national security priorities. More Counterterrorism Bureau officials were pushed out through early retirement or resignation programs.

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In his July 16 testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, acting counterterrorism coordinator Gregory LoGerfo, my former boss, detailed many of the accomplishments made by Counterterrorism Bureau staff members over the last year. Left unsaid was the fact that most of those public servants are gone, with no plan to continue this vital work.

Some may argue that a leaner State Department will lead to greater efficiency, but that view ignores the cost of losing decades of institutional knowledge and the complexity of counterterrorism work. This is not a job that can be quickly learned on the fly  my decade of success was in part due to mentorship early on from more experienced colleagues who bluntly told me when a great idea had been tried before with disastrous results.

In the wake of 9/11, for example, the U.S. struggled to find effective, sustainable ways to counter terrorisms evolving threat. Lacking subject matter experts on the Middle East and Islam, the U.S. government courted moderate imams, some of whom later became radicalized. One notable example was Anwar al-Awlaki, a charismatic imam once invited to speak at the Pentagon, who later pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda and was ultimately killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen in 2011.

Learning from past missteps, however, our programs became more nuanced, community-focused  and effective. One of our most successful partnerships was an exchange between Vilvoorde, a Belgian municipality north of Brussels, and Columbus, Ohio. Vilvoorde had become an ISIS recruitment hub, with dozens of young people drawn to the groups propaganda. The Vilvoorde mayor went to Columbus to learn about its youth-focused programs for members of the Somali community who had been targeted by al-Shabab terrorist recruiters. Inspired by Columbus approach to youth outreach and integration, the mayor implemented similar programs back home, which effectively ended ISIS recruitment in the municipality.

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In Bangladesh, more than 700,000 Rohingya fled genocide in Myanmar and settled in refugee camps near Coxs Bazar on Bangladeshs southeast coast. Al Qaeda tried to radicalize these vulnerable communities with its violent, intolerant interpretation of Islam. Recognizing the national security risks, the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development worked together to build economic resilience and social cohesion among the refugee population. While Myanmars political crisis has prevented the Rohingyas return, there has been no mass migration to Europe or the U.S. and no evidence of large-scale radicalization among this population.

These are just two successful examples of many  evidence that the work of those counterterrorism officials who were fired had global impact.

At the time my office was closed, we were supporting the rehabilitation of ISIS family members in northeast Syria and developing strategies to counter ISIS-Khorasan, which has proven capable of attacking the United States. Now, its unclear how  or whether  the State Department will continue these efforts despite evidence that terrorist radicalization is increasing.

Toward the end of my tenure, even our most promising initiatives were stifled by political leadership. Our bureau became so risk-averse that discussing successful programs, particularly efforts to counter racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism (REMVE), became taboo. For example, two Biden administration-appointed ambassadors tried to shelve a report we funded last year about the Kremlins recruitment of REMVE groups in Europe because it would potentially upset the far-right host governments. After Donald Trump returned to the White House, we were told we were not allowed to use the REMVE term, let alone counter it.

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Reducing Counterterrorism Bureau staffing and funding will lead to strategic blindness at a time when this threat poses a grave threat to the homeland. The Trump administrations oversimplified strategy of eliminating the terrorist threat through military action ignores the very essence of how terrorist ideology spreads across communities around the world and online. We need smart, coordinated counterterrorism policy shaped by people who know the physical and digital terrain.

The Trump administration forced us out because we allegedly had a radical political ideology, in the words of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. But the administration fails to acknowledge the grave risk it just placed on our country and so many of our global allies by exposing innocent people to radical ideology of an entirely different nature.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
Lawmakers will discuss their options for divorcing state tax policy from federal tax policy at a meeting of the Legislature in Salem at the end of September. (Photo by Julia Shumway/Oregon Capital Chronicle)

Oregon lawmakers have just a few months to decide if theyll let state tax policy automatically couple with federal tax cuts passed in the July GOP megalaw that could reduce the state income tax burden on Oregonians and businesses but leave the state government without hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for public services.

Democrats say they are discussing their options for temporarily or partially suspending the states rolling reconnect policy that has, since 1997, automatically rolled federal changes to income tax code into state income tax policy.

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According to the states chief economist and the Legislative Revenue Office, if the Legislature does not decouple from federal tax changes by the end of the year, the state will miss out on roughly $400 million next year. That number would more than double to $888 million for the next two years if the Legislature does nothing.

The biggest revenue losses would come from new federal changes ending income taxes on overtime pay and tips and allowing individuals and businesses to immediately deduct from their taxes 100% of the cost of depreciating assets, such as real estate and equipment.

State Sen. Mark Meek, D-Gladstone, who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue, said lawmakers will discuss their options during Legislative Days from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1. Thats when legislative committees meet at the Capitol in Salem every few weeks outside of scheduled legislative sessions for informational hearings on issues.

Their options include calling a special session before years end to convene the Legislature and deal with the issue immediately or waiting until the Legislature meets in February, which will come with costs. The governor generally calls special sessions, but the Legislature can call itself into a special session with written requests from the majority of members of both chambers  or at least 31 representatives and 16 senators.

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Were going to be looking at and discussing the merits of a special session, if we have the votes to do a disconnect, and then also the repercussions or ramifications that could be caused by them, both positive and negative, Meek said.

Waiting until February could be too late, economist warns

If the Legislature waits to pass a bill disconnecting from the federal tax code in February rather than in the next couple months, it would be too late to spare revenue losses from 2025, according to Legislative Research Officer Chris Allanach. Most of the new GOP tax cuts went into effect immediately.

Any disconnect enacted in February cant become law until early June (91 days after sine die), which is past the filing deadline for 2025 returns, Allanach wrote in an email. Without making significant changes to the filing process, Im not sure how that would work. That said, disconnecting for tax years 2026 and later are administratively feasible.

A bill proposed earlier this year by Rep. Nancy Nathanson, D-Eugene, would have preemptively split Oregon from federal tax code changes before the federal law passed. But it ultimately died in Meeks Senate committee after it passed the House on party lines because there were not enough votes in the Senate to pass it at the time, Meek said.

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Future votes on a suspension from rolling reconnect would be unlikely to come from Republicans, according to House Minority Leader Christine Drazan, R-Canby, who said in a statement that decoupling the state from rolling reconnect would block tax cuts that benefit Oregonians and businesses.

Oregon is becoming less affordable for families struggling with the rising cost of housing, gas, groceries, utilities and taxes. Meanwhile, small businesses continue to close their doors with our state losing 25,000 jobs just this last year, Drazan said in a statement.

Those job losses in Oregon largely occurred within the last several months, in industries you would expect to bear the brunt of an escalating trade tension situation, State Economist Carl Riccaddonna told lawmakers at a presentation on the the most recent state revenue forecast in August. In the first quarter of 2025, Oregon had added 25,000 jobs over the previous year, according to Riccadonna and the Oregon Employment Department.

Gov. Tina Kotek is analyzing the recent revenue forecast and will discuss next steps with legislative leaders, according to press secretary Roxy Mayer. The Legislature is in the midst of a winding and messy special session to deal with transportation funding, during which many business owners and everyday Oregonians have raised concerns about tax increases and the cost of living.

Previous disconnect faced shorter timeline

If the Legislature votes to untangle Oregons state tax code from the federal changes, it would not be the first time.

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Following the passage of Trumps 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Oregon lawmakers voted to disconnect the states tax law from some of the newly enacted federal changes to save the state from losing more than $258 million in revenue.

They didnt disconnect the state from the full tax changes, but from deductions on qualified business income. No special session was needed because the decision to begin the disconnect happened in February 2018, two months after the federal tax cuts passed and before they were officially enacted, according to Allanach.

Meek said some provisions in the latest GOP tax law, such as ending income taxes on tips and overtime, might be too popular for lawmakers to give up at the state level.

I think its going to be difficult. We have a lot of workers that would lose those benefits. While theyll get the federal benefit, they wont receive the state benefit for no tax on tips, and no tax on overtime, he said. We have to figure out what the temperature is.

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CORRECTION: The story has been updated to include more of Rep. Drazans statement, as well as information from the state economist and Oregon Employment Department data contextualizing that statement.

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Qatar's prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani told the White House that Doha views the Israeli attack as an "act of betrayal" by Washington, Axios reported.

Qatar was reviewing its security partnership with the United States following the Israeli strikes on its capital targeting Hamas leaders, Axios reported on Thursday.

According to the report, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani informed the White House that Doha considers the attack an "act of betrayal" by Washington.

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Furthermore, Thani reportedly told Special Envoy Steve Witkoff Qatar would conduct "a deep evaluation of its security partnership" with the US, "and maybe find some other partners," Axios reported, citing a source with direct knowledge.

Qatar later rejected the Axios report and called it "categorically false" and said that its relationship with Washington is "stronger than ever and continues to grow."

Qatar's evaluation of its security partnership was spurred by recent attacks on its soil by both Israel and Iran in recent months, Thani reportedly noted.

The report continued, noting the US President Donald Trump urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to strike Qatari territory again during a Wednesday phone call. "It's unacceptable. I demand that you do not repeat it," Trump told Netanyahu, Axios reported, citing two sources with knowledge.

PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a Newsmax event in Jerusalem in August 2025. (credit: SHALEV SHALOM/POOL)

In a video posted by Netanyahu on Wednesday, the prime minister appeared to double down on the strike in Doha, calling on Qatar and other nations that harbor terrorists to expel them or bring them to justice, adding that if they don't, "we will."

Trump directed Witkoff to warn Qatar, White House says

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said he felt "very badly" about Israel's strike in Qatar and directed Witkoff to warn Qatar that the attack was coming, the White House said on Tuesday.

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The US president posted on Truth Social that he told "Witkoff to inform the Qataris of the impending attack, which he did, however, unfortunately, too late to stop the attack."

Trump later added that Israel's decision to strike Qatar was solely made byNetanyahu.
Over 300 South Korean workers flew home on Thursday after a week in immigration detention following a factory raid near Savannah, Georgia, last week. The incident has jeopardized America's relationship with one of its closest allies and could chill many of President Donald Trump's domestic manufacturing goals.

The group, which included 316 South Korean nationals, 10 Chinese nationals, three Japanese nationals, and one Indonesian, boarded a chartered Korean Air flight and will arrive in South Korea late Friday afternoon. The flight, originally scheduled to leave on Wednesday, was delayed by Trump, who wanted to discuss with Korean officials whether the workers should stay in the U.S. to complete the electric vehicle battery plant at which they were detained. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun thought it best for the workers to return home, due to their shock and exhaustion, and consider reentry at a later date, a South Korean official told NBC News.

Cho met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday to secure the release of workers and negotiate their voluntary departures, rather than deportations, which would block their ability to reenter the U.S. for up to 10 years. During his visit, Cho proposed the creation of a new visa for South Korean workers. The foreign minister also objected to U.S. officials transporting the workers from the immigration detention center to Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in handcuffs, saying they weren't criminals.

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Although Cho said Rubio provided assurances that South Korean workers would be able to return to the U.S. for future work without restrictions, concerns remain around the country's heavy investments in U.S. manufacturing. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung warned on Thursday that if problems, such as obtaining visas, continued, it would have a "major impact" on future investments.

The raid took place at the construction site of an electric vehicle battery factory, a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and LB Energy Solutions, on September 4. Touted as the "largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of Homeland Security Investigations," 475 foreign workers were ultimately detained by immigration agents.

While immigration officials claim the workers were detained for offenses ranging from crossing the border illegally to overstaying their visas, one South Korean official told The Wall Street Journal that many of the South Korean nationals were working as instructors and had the appropriate visas, like the B-1 Temporary Business Visitor visa. Leaked documents also reveal that immigration agents were aware that at least one South Korean worker was detained despite having a valid visa, adding to the growing list of mistakes immigration agencies have made while trying to meet Trump's mass deportation goals.

News of the raid shocked South Korean officials and investors and may have significant consequences for relations between America and one of its largest foreign investorswhich recently pledged hundreds of billions of dollars worth of investments in U.S. projects and energy purchases. In a news conference on Thursday, Lee said the South Korean workers detained "were there not as long-term or permanent workers but as technicians who helped install facilities and equipment." Workers with specific skills are required to build the factory, "but you can't find them in the United States. Nor does it give visas for them to stay and work," Lee continued.

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"As things stand now," Lee said, "our businesses will hesitate to make direct investments in the United States."

The post Over 300 Workers Return to South Korea After Immigration Raid, but Damage to Trade Relations Is Already Done appeared first on Reason.com.
Pennsylvania leaders on both sides of the political aisle expressed sorrow over the murder of conservative icon Charlie Kirk Sept. 10 and condemned yet another incident of political violence in the United States.

Charlie Kirk shooting live updates: Weapon found, suspect still sought

Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who, along with his wife and children, were the victims of an attempted arson at the Governor's Mansion in April, wrote on social media that "political violence has no place in our country.

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"We must speak with moral clarity," he said. "The attack on Charlie Kirk is horrifying and this growing type of unconscionable violence cannot be allowed in our society."

I am praying for Charlie Kirk, his wife, and his young family. Charlie has been a driving force in the conservative movement, inspiring countless people to stand up for their values and for America. He worked tirelessly to foster civil discourse and promote open dialogue where  Congressman Dan Meuser (@RepMeuser) September 10, 2025

'He would never want us to give up',

U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, a Republican, wrote that he was praying for Kirk and his family, later adding that, "There is no place in a civilized society for this type of heinous act. Political violence is unacceptable in every form."

U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, a Democrat, said, "Political violence should never be tolerated and should be rejected by everyone in America."

U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, a Republican, wrote that he was "crestfallen ... shocked ... enraged ... frustrated" by Kirk's death.

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"I feel helpless," Perry wrote on X. "But Im praying mightily to the Good Lord for Charlie. I am praying mightily for his wife and his kids as they even begin to navigate this breathtaking loss. And Im praying for the millions of his loved ones that believe in God, our Nation, and everything Charlie fought so mightily for.

Conservative activist and Turning Point USA cofounder Charlie Kirk addresses a Utah Valley University event in Orem on Sept. 10, 2025, when he was fatally shot. Livestream video of the event showed crowds of people running from the universitys courtyard where Kirk, 31, was speaking when the shooting occurred.

"Know that he would never want us to give up," Perry continued. "We must continue to stand strong. And we must continue to pray to the Lord  for Charlie, and for our Nation. God bless you, Charlie. See you on the High Ground, my friend."

Both Pennsylvania senators, Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Dave McCormick, expressed sorrow.

"Our family grieves for Charlie Kirks family," Fetterman said. "We must collectively find a way forward during these polarized times."

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McCormick wrote that he and his wife Dina were heartbroken.

"He was a good man and a good friend with a beautiful young family," McCormick said of the 31-year-old Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA. "His murder is an outrage. Violence is never the answer  no matter your politics. What happened today is horrifying, and must stop. Dina and I will continue to hold his family and all those close to him in our hearts."

I join the millions of Americans who mourn the loss of Charlie Kirk after a disgusting act of violence took his life earlier today.



Charlie was a husband, a father, and a proud American who sought to find common ground with his fellow Americans through conversation. pic.twitter.com/9ncBvH4Omd  John Joyce, M.D. (@RepJohnJoyce) September 10, 2025

'It tears at the fabric of our nation'

A statement from the Pennsylvania Republican Party called Kirk's killing "heartbreaking" and "vile."

"Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and children, as well as anyone who was lucky enough to meet or have interactions with Charlie," read a statement on its X account. "Political violence is never the answer. It tears at the fabric of our nation and leaves families shattered. May God bring comfort to Charlies family and peace to all who are grieving today."

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State Sen. Greg Rothman, who serves as chairman of the state GOP, was more pointed in his response.

"I knew @charliekirk11 from the founding of @TPUSA; admired his work & his defense of conservative principles & our shared faith to a generation starving for truth," Rothman wrote on X. "He was killed because he was effective. The violent rhetoric from the Left, amplified & condoned by the media, must stop. Praying for his beautiful family."

Eugene DePasquale, the newly minted chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, also weighed in.

"What happened to Charlie Kirk today in front of hundreds of young, politically engaged people is horrifying and completely unacceptable," DePasquale said. "Political violence is always wrong. In PA, we know all too well the devastation of an act of violence like this and our prayers are in Utah today."

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Kirk was fatally shot in the neck during a Q&A he was hosting at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. At the time he was shot, Kirk was discussing mass gun violence with a student. Law enforcement initially took one man into custody, but later determined that the shooter remained at large. Some reports suggested that the gunfire came from a campus building 150 to 200 yards away.

Shapiro, following a proclamation from President Donald Trump, ordered flags to be flown at half-staff "as a mark of respect for the memory of Charlie Kirk" until sunset Sept. 14.

Matthew Rink is a USA TODAY Network Pennsylvania investigative journalist.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: 'Horrifying and completely unacceptable': PA officials mourn Kirk
(WJET/WFXP)  A keystone is the wedge stone in the center of an archway, holding all the other stones in place. Its a symbol of stability and balance.

During the creation of Americas thirteen colonies, Pennsylvania played that same integral role. Due to its central location, it held the other newly created states in place.

Pennsylvania was crucial in facilitating communication between the northern and the southern colonies. The central position gave it the perfect location for trade and military strategy.

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Pennsylvania, in particular the states largest city at the time, Philadelphia, was critical during the Revolutionary War. Philadelphia, serving as the newly created countrys capital, hosted the First and Second Continental Congresses, ultimately developing the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images

In addition, President Abraham Lincolns Gettysburg Address during the Civil War adds to the states historical importance. Gettysburg was the turning point in war, and President Lincolns speech further emphasized Pennsylvanias strategic importance.

Economically, Pennsylvania was a leader in industrial development, building some of the first factories in the nation. There was a boom in coal mining, oil drilling and steel production, making Pennsylvania a powerhouse in early innovation.

The Pennsylvania Railroad created a large sum in revenue for the country, proving its importance in the economy. The establishment of the railway allowed quicker movement for goods and people.

Electric Locomotive of the Pennsylvania Rail Road.

Philadelphia was the center for publishing, foreign commerce and finance. Benjamin Franklin became a successful editor and newspaper printer, based out of Philadelphia.

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Some of the most prestigious educational institutions were founded in Pennsylvania, such as the University of Pennsylvania in 1740. The campuses remain some of the states most innovative centers for learning, contributing to the states cultural legacy.

The keystone symbol serves as a reminder of Pennsylvanias many contributions to a developing nation, cementing it as the state that unified the early colonies. The state continues to be a linchpin in the evolution of the country, bridging divides and influencing the culture.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com.
They view it as a plague of Egypt.

For centuries, Mount Sinai has been a mecca for worshippers and tourists hoping to experience traditional Bedouin culture. Now, the sacred holy site  revered among Jews, Christians and Muslims alike  is under threat from a new luxury development that locals fear disfigures the region.

Dubbed the Great Transfiguration Project, the state-sponsored tourism campaign aims to erect five hotels, hundreds of villas, a 1.4-acre visitors center and a shopping complex in and around St. Catherine Protectorate, New Lines Magazine reported.

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The monumental undertaking, which is slated for a 2026 completion, is being billed by the Egyptian government as a gift to the entire world and all religions, the BBC reported.

St. Catherines Monastery  the oldest continuously inhabited monastery  in Sinai, Egypt. Shutterstock / Mildax

Cultural preservationists disagree. I call it the Grand Disfiguration Project, John Grainger, the former manager of a European Union project to develop the area, told New Lines Magazine.

Locals fear that the development will cause irreparable damage to the world-renowned landmark, which is described in the both the Bible and Quran as the site of multiple momentous events, including Moses receiving the Ten Commandments and where he communed with the Burning Bush.

The remote desert locale is also home to 6th century St. Catherines Monastery, the worlds oldest continuously-functioning monastery, where Christian relics are housed.

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It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002.

The Greco-Egyptian tiff ramped up in May after an Egyptian court ruled that the monastery sat on state land and that the organization was only entitled to use the land on which it lies, as well as the archaeological religious sites surrounding it. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Most vulnerable are perhaps the Bedouin Jebeleya tribe (whose name literally means people of the mountain in Arabic), who have guarded the monastery for centuries and now serve as tour guides.

While the GTP has been billed as a move to promote sustainable tourism while preserving the regions heritage, experts say its been imposed on the Bedouin against their will. The Sinai tribespeople have already had their homes and tourist camps destroyed sans compensation, while some were forced to exhume corpses from the local cemetery so a new parking lot could be put in.

A Bedouin guide. This is not development as the Jebeleya see it or asked for it, but how it looks when imposed top-down to serve the interests of outsiders over those of the local community, said Ben Hoffler, a British travel writer who has worked closely with the Bedouin. Getty Images

This is not development as the Jebeleya see it or asked for it, but how it looks when imposed top-down to serve the interests of outsiders over those of the local community, Ben Hoffler, a British travel writer who has worked closely with the Bedouin, told the BBC. Its a world they have always chosen to remain detached from, to whose construction they did not consent, and one that will change their place in their homeland forever.

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He also feared that the new resorts would likely only employ Nile Valley Egyptians instead of the Sinai tribespeople.

The so-called burning bush at St. Catherine. Shutterstock / Maksim Kuznetsov V

To make matters worse, those that do speak up are allegedly clamped down upon by an intricate and omnipresent Egyptian security network.

If they say anything about it, they get a knock on the door [from Egyptian security services], said Hoffler, a former resident of St. Catherine. The secret police in St. Catherine monitor everything so closely  phone calls, weve had spyware on telephones. They follow people literally in the street. Ive been followed many times.

In fact, Greece is the only foreign power thats vocally opposed the project, namely due to their affiliation with the St. Catherine Monastery.

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The Greco-Egyptian tiff ramped up in May after an Egyptian court ruled that the monastery sat on state land and that the organization was only entitled to use the land on which it lies as well as the archaeological religious sites surrounding it.

Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens, head of the Church of Greece, was inflamed over the ruling.

The monasterys property is being seized and expropriated, he declared in a statement. This spiritual beacon of Orthodoxy and Hellenism is now facing an existential threat.

Fortunately, following some diplomatic meetings, Greece and Egypt jointly announced the protection of St Catherines Greek Orthodox identity and cultural heritage.
An emergency United Nations Security Council meeting will be held on Thursday on Poland's request, after this week's unprecedented Russian drone incursion over the central European country.

On Wednesday, Poland's armed forces and Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Warsaw downed at least three Russian drones in an operation described as "unprecedented."

Poland recorded at least 19 drone incursions, some flying deep enough inside the country for four airports to temporarily suspend flights. Fragments of 16 downed objects have been recovered.

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The incident was the first time that Russian drones a NATO member country actively engaged with Russian drones since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Poland, which also triggered Article 4 of the NATO treaty on Wednesday, asked that the United Nations Security Council be convened to "draw the attention of the entire world to this unprecedented attack by Russian drones," Foreign Minister Radosaw Sikorski told domestic radio.

The UN Security Council has the authority to investigate conflicts that threaten international security and propose countermeasures, such as economic sanctions.

An emergency meeting is typically convened in response to a sudden and severe international crisis.

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Sikorski accused Russia of deliberately targeting Polish airspace in the incursion, which has prompted a wave of condemnation and fear among NATO allies.

"The assessment of Polish and NATO air forces is that they did not veer off course, but were deliberately targeted," Sikorski said in a video statement.

'Escalating, not ending'

European leaders said they believed the incursion, which took place as the Kremlin launched a wave of strikes on Ukraine, amounted to the international expansion of Russia's war  a deeply held fear of Ukraine's European allies.

Russias war is escalating, not ending, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters in Brussels. What (Russian President Vladimir) Putin wants to do is to test us. What happened in Poland is a game changer.

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Poland's airspace has been violated numerous times since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, but never to this extent. The central European country said, in this instance, a significant portion of the drones came from neighbouring Belarus.

General Wieslaw Kukula, chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces during an extraordinary government meeting, Sept 10, 2025. - AP Photo

Belarusian Major General Pavel Muraveiko, the chief of the country's general staff and first deputy defence minister, appeared to try to put some distance between his country and the incursion.

In an online statement, he said that Belarusian air defence forces tracked drones that lost their course after they were jammed, adding that Minsk warned their Polish and Lithuanian counterparts about unidentified aircraft approaching their territory.

Russia's Defence Ministry said its overnight strikes targeted western Ukraine's military industry, and that strikes on Polish territory were unplanned.

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Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov addressed Prime Minister Donald Tusks remarks on Russian drones reportedly shot down over Polish territory overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, stating that Poland has yet to provide any evidence.

"Regarding the rhetoric of the statements we're hearing from Warsaw, well, there's nothing new there. This rhetoric has been characteristic of almost all European capitals lately. We see its continuation," Peskov told Russian media.

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Nevertheless, leaders in the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia expressed deep concern over what they said was clear evidence of the expansion of Moscow's aggression.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the drone incursion was an extremely dangerous precedent for Europe and called for Russia to feel the consequences.

Moscow always tests the limits of what is possible and, if it does not encounter a strong response, remains at a new level of escalation," he said.

US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly pushed to broker a ceasefire deal between Ukraine and Russia, only said in a short post on social media, "Whats with Russia violating Polands airspace with drones? Here we go.
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A map of the Russian drones shot down in Poland. | Credit: Yasin Demirci / Anadolu / Getty Images

What happened

Poland said early Wednesday that its military had shot down Russian drones that flew into its territory, prompting the closure or suspension of flights at Warsaws Chopin Airport and three smaller airports. Polish airspace was violated by a huge number of Russian drones, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on social media. Those drones that posed a direct threat were shot down by Polish and NATO fighter jets. Polands military command called the incursion an act of aggression.

Who said what

Polands downing of Russian drones, during Moscows latest massive overnight aerial assault on neighboring Ukraine, was the first time a NATO member has fired shots in the war, Reuters said. It feels like an escalation by Moscow  testing the Wests response, BBC Eastern Europe correspondent Sarah Rainsford said. Lone Russian drones had crossed into NATO airspace previously, but this bunch didnt just stray into Poland. They went deep enough for even Warsaw airport to be closed.

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The incursion occurred at a time of heightened tension, as Russia and Belarus prepare for joint military exercises across the Polish border, The Wall Street Journal said. It also comes at an especially sensitive time diplomatically, Politico said, as President Donald Trump weighs whether there is any genuine prospect of a peace deal with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

What next?

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Russias repeated violations of NATO airspace offered fair warning that Putin is testing our resolve to protect Poland and the Baltic nations, and it cannot be ignored. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) said Russia attacking NATO ally Poland was an act of war that Trump should respond to with sanctions that will bankrupt the Russian war machine.
LONDON -- The incursion of a significant number of Russian drones into Poland is a dramatic and unsettling escalation of the war in Ukraine.

Poland and other NATO allies have said Wednesday's overnight incursion was deliberate and most independent military analysts believe the number of drones -- at least 19 -- makes it clear it was intentional.

Very few believe Russia was attempting to inflict serious damage, something that would almost certainly trigger a strong military response from NATO. Instead, Russia wanted to send a message, analysts said, aimed at intimidating and testing European NATO countries that support Ukraine.

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"We have to interpret this as a probe and a warning," Mark Galeotti, a veteran Russia analyst, and a senior non-resident fellow at Prague's Institute of International Relations Prague, said on his YouTube channel.

Jakub Orzechowski/Agencja Wyborcza.pl via Reuters - PHOTO: A soldier walks near a house damaged by a fragment of a suspected Russian drone shot down after intrusions into Polish airspace, in Wyryki municipality, Poland September 10, 2025.

MORE: As Poland downs drones amid Russia strike, NATO braces for new era on eastern front

Russia's Defense Ministry on Wednesday said its "massive" overnight drone strike was aimed only at targets within Ukraine. "No targets on the territory of Poland were planned," it said.

The incursion comes at a moment when European countries are discussing how to shoulder the main burden of supporting Ukraine, as U.S. President Donald Trump scales back U.S assistance. Those discussions include a potential military "reassurance force" in Ukraine to deter Russia after any peace agreement.

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With a mass of drones crossing into NATO airspace for the first time -- into a contry that is home to the main logistics hub for military aid to Ukraine -- the Kremlin is seemingly trying to hurt European resolve to keep helping Ukraine, while also probing their capacity to respond.

Rafal Niedzielski/AP - PHOTO: Police and Military Police secure parts of a damaged object shot down by Polish authorities at a site in Wohyn, Poland, Sept. 10, 2025.

The probe is to see "how does the West react," Gelotti said. "But more than that, a warning. 'Do you really want to get sucked into this conflict. Do you really want this conflict to continue rolling on.'"

Already the incursion has stirred tensions in Poland, where some have blamed it on Ukraine.

But the move is also a clear test for Trump. For months Trump has signaled he is shrinking U.S. support for NATO and Ukraine, while also reaching out to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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Since Trump welcomed Putin to Alaska for a summit last month, Putin has dramatically escalated air attacks on Ukraine, mounting the largest of the war in just the past few days.

Despite threatening tough sanctions, Trump has so far only eased Putin's isolation. Now Russian drones have been shot down in a NATO country for the first time since the war began. Putin, analysts believe, is clearly emboldened.

Vyacheslav Prokofyev/AP - PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part via videoconference, in Sochi, Russia, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025.

MORE: Scale of Russia's long-range attacks on Ukraine eases in August despite major strikes

Trump's first responded to the drones with a post on social media: "What's with Russia violating Poland's airspace with drones? Here we go!"

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Russia's new escalation appears aimed at undermining NATO countries' confidence both in their capacity to defend themselves and in their belief that Trump will robustly assist them.

MORE: NATO downs Russian drones over Poland after 'unprecedented' aggression

Despite NATO's reassuring statements, their response showed how European countries may not be ready to defend against large-scale drone attacks. They are set up to fight traditional air wars, not the drones that have emerged in Ukraine. Poland and NATO used some of their most advanced fighter jets to intercept some of the cheap drones and it appears only four of the reported 19 were actually shot down.

The message from Russia appears to be: Imagine if hundreds of drones were used, as in Ukraine.

Piotr Pyrkosz/AP - PHOTO: Firefighters secure parts of a damaged UAV shot down by Polish authorities at a site in Czosnowka near Biala Podlaska, Poland, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.

The Kremlin's apparent efforts to probe NATO in Europe -- and that it feels emboldened enough to make them -- is dangerous. Poland triggered NATO's Article 4, which calls for urgent consultations and European leaders have suggested they are formulating how to boost air defenses.

But if there is no strong response from the U.S. and Europe, analysts and Western politicians have warned, the risk is Putin will be encouraged to do something similar again, raising the risks of a more dangerous confrontation.
During a previous hearing just a few weeks ago, an Israel Police representative noted that the investigation is expected to wrap up within the next few weeks.

Rishon Lezion Magistrates Court Judge Menahem Mizrahi denied on Thursday a plea by the police to extend the restrictive measures placed on Yonatan Urich, an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a chief suspect in the Qatargate affair.

Mizrahi did, however, give police leave to appeal the decision to Lod District Court, a window of opportunity valid for 72 hours and he sharply criticized the police for its conduct in the case.

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The restrictive measures that police asked the court to extend for two months were to forbid Urich from contacting anyone in the Prime Ministers Office, the firm Perception  which is at the heart of the investigation  and the prime minister himself.

This is the third time that this series of actions has unfolded, where Mizrahi granted leniency regarding Urich and police have appealed to Lod District Court and Judge Amit Michles overturned it Mizrahis ruling and reinstated the measures.

During a previous hearing a few weeks ago, police representative Supt. Aviv Porat noted that the investigation is expected to wrap up within a few weeks.

(L-R): Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayahu, spokesman Yonatan Urich and former aide Eli Feldstein (illustrative) (credit: Canva, FLASH90/CHAIM GOLDBERG)

What are the suspicions against Netanyahu aide Yonatan Urich?

Urich, among other figures close to the prime minister and working in the Prime Ministers Office, is suspected of orchestrating and managing Qatari influences on influential decision-makers. This allegedly began before the Israel-Hamas War, but it became much more weighty after the October 7 massacre attack by Hamas, and Qatars role as a mediator.

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The two cases at hand have earned the nickname Qatargate and the Leaked Documents Affair. Former PMO military spokesman Eli Feldstein allegedly leaked classified military documents to the German tabloid Bild, after permission for their publication was denied by the IDF censor.

The documents were eventually published, allegedly to sway public opinion on the hostage negotiations. This was around August 2024, when six hostages were killed by their Hamas captors in a tunnel: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Almog Sarusi, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Carmel Gat, and Alex Lobanov.
UMass Boston gives all clear following public safety incident on campus

UMass school officials have given the all clear and said there is no threat after a reported shooting on the campus on Thursday.

The university alerted students to the reported incident at Residence Hall East and the Edward M. Kennedy Institute shortly before 4:00 p.m.

According to a Boston Police spokesperson, officers responded to the UMass Boston campus around 3:43 p.m. for a report of shots fired.

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Massachusetts State Police, along with Boston Police provided mutual aid to UMass Boston law enforcement.

State troopers will continue to investigate the incident and anyone with information is asked to reach out to Massachusetts State Police.

There have been no reports of any injuries and no reports of any arrests.

Law enforcement will continue to investigate this incident. Anyone with relevant information is asked to report it to Police.



As always, if you see something suspicious, call 911. https://t.co/w1F1MOPBRh  Massachusetts State Police (@MassStatePolice) September 11, 2025

#UPDATE: Umass Boston said via X police on campus have reported the incident all clear.



Students are swarming back into campus center. Police are slowly leaving the scene.



Were told students have been sheltering on campus in the police perimeter for over an hour. @boston25 pic.twitter.com/5obcUm3LHF  Daniel Coates (@danielcoates_25) September 11, 2025

Shortly after 4:00 p.m., students and staff received a text reading: Students in the dorms stay in your rooms, do not answer the doors for anyone unless it is the police.

Around 4:15 p.m., school officials also alerted students and staff to avoid the center of campus.

UMass Boston Alert: Police incident in/near Campus Center. Avoid area. More information to come.  UMass Boston (@UMassBoston) September 11, 2025

Law enforcement will coordinate with our campus partners to ensure the safety of students, faculty, and staff, Massachusetts State Police said.

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All classes and activities on campus are cancelled for the rest of the evening, police said.

UMB Emergency Alert: Classes and activities are canceled for the evening. Police investigation ongoing. More information to follow.  UMass Boston (@UMassBoston) September 11, 2025

Several members of Boston EMS also responded to the incident.

We have multiple units staging related to a potential incident at UMass Boston and will share an update when more information is available.  Boston EMS (@BOSTON_EMS) September 11, 2025

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

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NEED TO KNOW

Police have shared an update on influencer Lola Dolls condition after she was shot multiple times outside of her home

Doll, who has over 53,000 followers on Instagram, is known online for her lifestyle content and music videos

Police have released one suspect, who they previously arrested, on a $500,000 bail, and are still detaining another

Police have shared an update on influencer Lola Dolls condition.

On Sept. 6, the 33-year-old influencer, whose real name is Lolita Callendar, was shot multiple times outside of her home in Georgetown, Guyana, according to the Guyana Police Force (GPF). Per police, Doll was in critical condition after she sustained gunshot wounds to her neck, face, hands and right leg, receiving treatment at Georgetown Public Hospital.

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In a Sept. 10 press release, published by Guyana newspaper Stabroek News, GPF said that the content creators condition was improving," but didn't share any more details.

Doll, who has over 53,000 followers on Instagram, is known online for her lifestyle content and music videos.

Following the shooting, Stabroek News reported that police had arrested one person in connection with the shooting, though they did not release his name. The outlet later reported that the suspect had been released on a $500,000 bail after a 72-hour detention.

Amanda Callender/Instagram Lola Doll Lola Doll

Shortly after the shooting, GPF also announced on Facebook that suspect Paul Daby Jr. was wanted for attempted murder. Stabroek News later reported that he had turned himself in and still remains in custody.

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In an interview with Stabroek News, Dolls brother recalled the shooting.

I was inside at home when I hear gunshots and run out to see was what, only to see me sister lying in she car and blood, if you see blood, pouring out, described Dolls brother to the outlet. We rushed her here I cant tell you where all she was shot, but she was shot in like her face, her side, I dont know where else Blood, so much blood everywhere. She lost a lot of blood but she is a fighter.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Amanda callender/Instagram Lola Doll Lola Doll

Dolls brother added that he was unable to spot the alleged shooter because he was focused on getting his sister to the hospital. Other family members and friends joined Doll at the hospital the night she was admitted, the Stabroek News also reported.

Read the original article on People
Finnish President Alexander Stubb has arrived in Ukraine for an official visit on 11 September.

Source: Ukraines Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: Sybiha reported that he and Ukrainian President's Office Head Andrii Yermak welcomed the Finnish leader at Kyivs central railway station.

According to Sybiha, the meeting between Stubb and Zelenskyy will focus on Europes security, Ukraines path to integration, tightening transatlantic pressure on Moscow, and steps towards a sustainable peace.

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Quote: "We are grateful to Finland for its steadfast support, leadership in the OSCE, and principled position. We value President Stubbs personal efforts and commitment."

The Finnish presidents office confirmed that Stubb will discuss with Zelenskyy the situation on the ground, efforts to halt Russias illegal war of aggression, and Helsinkis continued support. They noted that Finland is shaping new security measures as part of the Coalition of the Willing.

Background:

Stubb has been closely involved in European discussions with US President Donald Trump on resolving the Russian war against Ukraine. He was part of the delegation that accompanied President Zelenskyy to Washington on 18 August, shortly after Trump met Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Stubb has previously argued that Moscow is relying on familiar tactics at the negotiating table, pressing for unrealistic demands.

Stubb has also expressed hope that President Trumps tolerance of Moscow will eventually wear thin

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Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian citizen and a Princeton University student who has been held captive by Shiite militants in Iraq since March 2023, has been freed, President Donald Trump and Iraqi government forces confirmed.

Circumstances surrounding her release were not clear. The Iraqi government said its security forces had discovered Tsurkov's place of detention Tuesday. It said they reached that location and then handed Tsurkov over to the U.S. embassy, without stating how her freedom was secured.

Trump, on his Truth Social platform, said she had been released by Kata'ib Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.

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Sabah al-Numan, a spokesman for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, said in a statement that Tsurkov had been handed over to the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, which Trump confirmed.

"On this occasion, we reaffirm that our armed forces and all our security agencies and formations will not hesitate to perform their duty to enforce the rule of law, defend the state and its institutions and hold accountable anyone who tries to harm the security and stability that has been achieved through great sacrifices and sincere national efforts," al-Numan said.

Trump said, "I will always fight for JUSTICE, and never give up."

A Ph.D. student in political science at Princeton University, Tsurkov had traveled to Iraq in 2023 to conduct fieldwork when on March 21, eight days after her arrival, she was kidnapped from the Karrada neighborhood of Baghdad.

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Months after she was detained, Israel announced that Kata'ib Hezbollah had been responsible for Tsurkov's abduction.

Emma Tsurkov, one of Elizabeth's sisters and an American citizen, said in a statement that her family was "incredibly happy" and "cannot wait to see Elizabeth and give her all the love we have been waiting to share for 903 days."

Among those she thanked for aiding in securing Elizabeth's release were Trump, his special envoy Adam Boehler, the U.S. Embassy in Iraq and Global Reach, a nonprofit that advocates for Americans detained abroad and has been supporting her family following Elizabeth's abduction.

"This is a day we have all been waiting for," Global Reach CEO Mickey Bergman told UPI in an emailed statement.

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"As an Israeli-born American, Elizabeth's safe return was particularly personal for me. It is important to know that we live in a country that fights for those in need, especially those in need, especially those who are targeted just because of their status or relationship with the United States."

Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber similarly said in a statement that Tsurkov's release "brings relief and joy to the university community, and we celebrate that she will be reunited with her family."
Arab leaders this week made unscheduled visits to Qatar, in a show of regional solidarity with Qatar following IDF strikes targeting Hamas leaders in Doha.

Arab states will hold an emergency summit next week in Doha in response to Israel's Tuesday strikes in the Qatari capital targeting Hamas leaders, a source familiar with the details confirmed to The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

The Israeli Air Force attack involved 15 fighter jets, which dropped 10 bombs, killing six people. These included a Qatari security officer and the son of Khalil al-Hayya, a member of Hamas five-member temporary governing committee.

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Hamas said its top leadership survived in what appears to be the first publicly known Israeli strike on Qatari territory.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, meets Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Emir of Qatar, at the Amiri Diwan, in Doha, Qatar, September 10, 2025 (credit: ABDULLA AL NEYADI/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

Arab leaders visit Qatar in show of solidarity

United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in Qatar on Wednesday in a show of solidarity a day after Israel launched an airstrike targeting Hamas officials in Doha.

Jordan's Crown Prince Hussein also vbisited Qatar on Wednesday, while Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was expected to arrive in Doha on Thursday, an official with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The visits, which were not previously scheduled, were a show of regional solidarity with Qatar following the Israeli strikes, the official said.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Funeral services have been held for the six people killed in an Israeli strike targeting Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital Doha, as Arab leaders continue to visit the Gulf nation to express solidarity.

One coffin bearing a Qatari flag and five others bearing Palestinian flags were brought to Dohas Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque, live footage from Qatar television showed on Thursday.

The mood has been sombre since the death toll from Israels failed assassination attempt against the leadership of Hamas in Doha was announced earlier this week, Al Jazeeras Osama Bin Javed reported.

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We heard the Qatari prime minister giving special prayers for him at the funeral ceremony, he added.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, attends a funeral held for those killed by an Israeli attack in Doha [Qatar TV/Reuters TV via Reuters]

The Qatars Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was also present, standing in the front row, signalling that Qatar stands by its people, especially with those who gave their lives in this unprecedented attack on a Gulf Cooperation Council country, Bin Javed said, reporting from the Qatari capital.

The Israeli military targeted Hamas leaders in Doha on Tuesday as they were meeting to discuss the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal put forth by US President Donald Trump.

At least six people were killed in the attack, including five low-ranking Hamas members. However, the group said its leadership survived the assassination bid.

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Qatari Lance Corporal Badr Saad Mohammed al-Humaidi al-Dosari was also among the killed.

In the aftermath of the Doha attack, US President Donald Trump said he felt very badly about the location of the attacks and later told reporters he was not thrilled by Israels actions.

Former Israeli government adviser Daniel Levy says Israels attack against a Hamas delegation in Qatar sends a message not just to the Palestinian group, but to the region.

Either get on board with our project of regional hegemony, which includes the displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, or we dare you because we have America on our side and we are unassailable militarily, Levy said.

Arab states express solidarity

A slew of Arab and Muslim leaders descended on Doha since Israels unprecedented attack, including United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who met the emir on Wednesday.

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Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also arrived in the Qatari capital to express his countrys show of support for the tiny Gulf nation. Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was expected in Doha on Thursday.

The Qatari Emir also received a verbal message of solidarity from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Thursday, conveyed by his Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty during a meeting in Doha.

People attend a funeral held for those killed by an Israeli attack in Doha at the Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque in Doha on September 11, 2025 [Screengrab: Qatar TV via Reuters]

Egypts Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Abdelattys visit was aimed at expressing the countrys full solidarity with Qatar and to discuss ways to deal with the dangerous Israeli escalation and coordinate positions with senior Qatari officials.

Qatar will convene an emergency Arab-Islamic summit to discuss Israels attack, according to the state news agency QNA, a possible hint of what shape a collective regional response would take.

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The summit will take place in Doha on Sunday and Monday.

The announcement came as the United Nations Security Council opened an emergency session on Thursday to discuss the attack, which was delayed a day to allow the Qatari prime minister to attend the meeting.

All 15 members, including the US, condemned the strikes, though they did not specifically mention Israel in their statement, which called for de-escalation and expressed support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar.

Council members underscored that releasing the hostages, including those killed by Hamas, and ending the war and suffering in Gaza must remain our top priority, said the statement.

Hamas condemns the attack

Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum, in a televised statement on Thursday, said the Israeli attempt to assassinate Hamass negotiating delegation in Doha and continued threats to target the movements leadership abroad showed Israels failure to achieve its goals after 23 months of genocidal war on Gaza that has killed more than 64,000 Palestinians.

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In the Palestinian groups first address since Tuesdays attack, Barhoum said that the group will keep fighting despite the assassination attempt.

The Israeli attack cannot dent our resolve by targeting our leaders, the Hamas spokesperson said. The crime did not target the negotiating delegation, but rather the entire negotiation process.

The attack on Tuesday was the first such attack by Israel on Qatar, which has been a key mediator in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas. Qatars Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has dubbed Israels targeting of Hamas leaders state terrorism.

There is a response that will happen from the region. This response is currently under consultation and discussion with other partners in the region, he told US media outlet CNN on Wednesday, adding that the entire Gulf region is at risk.

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However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemed undeterred, threatening further attacks on Qatar.

I say to Qatar and all nations who harbour terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice. Because if you dont, we will, Netanyahu said on Wednesday.

This handout picture made available by the Qatar Amiri Diwan shows Qatars Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani receiving Egypts Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Doha on September 11, 2025 [Handout/Qatar Amiri Diwan via AFP]

Israel has assassinated many of Hamass top military and political leaders in the last two years, such as top political leader Yahya Sinwar; military commander Mohammed Deif, one of the founders of the Qassam Brigades in the 1990s; and political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Irans capital, Tehran.

Qatars Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Israeli prime ministers comments, calling them a shameful attempt  to justify the cowardly attack that targeted Qatari territory, as well as the explicit threats of future violations of state sovereignty.

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On Thursday, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned and denounced Netanyahus comments, calling them hostile.

Any aggression against a GCC member state constitutes an attack on the collective Gulf security framework, the ministry said, stressing that the continuation of such provocative and hostile rhetoric undermines prospects for stability and pushes the region towards extremely dangerous trajectories.
The coffin of the Qatari security official was draped with the Qatari flag, while the Hamas members' coffins were covered in Palestinian flags.

Qatar held funerals for the six killed in the Israeli airstrike on Doha that targeted Hamas officials on Tuesday, London-based Asharq al-Awsat reported on Thursday.

The funeral was attended by the emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.

According to the report, the funeral was held for five Hamas members, who were not named, and one Qatari security officer.

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The coffin of the Qatari security official was draped with the Qatari flag, while the Hamas members' coffins were covered in Palestinian flags.

Asharq al-Awsat added that some roads in Doha were closed, especially in the vicinity of the mosque.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, attends a funeral held for those killed by an Israeli attack in Doha, including Corporal Badr Saad Mohammed Al-Humaidi Al-Dosari, a member of the Internal Security Force, at the Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque in Doha, Qatar, September 11, 2025 (credit: Qatar TV/Reuters TV via REUTERS)

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani criticized Netanyahu's decision to strike Qatar on Wednesday during an interview with CNN, saying that "Netanyahu is leading the Middle East to chaos."

Qatar says there are ongoing discussions over responding to Israel's attack

The Qatari prime minister added that Qatari officers were injured in the Israeli attack on Doha and are in critical condition. Additionally, Qatar is reassessing "everything" about its mediating role and Hamas's future in Gaza.

Al Thani said that "Netanyahu has been wasting Qatar's time by engaging in mediation," and that there are ongoing discussions over a response, in coordination with regional partners.
An Arab-Islamic summit is due to be held in Qatar at the weekend after an Israeli airstrike that targeted leaders of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement in Doha.

The emergency meeting will take place in Doha on Sunday and Monday to discuss the Israeli attack on Qatar, the Gulf country's official news agency QNA reported Thursday.

Israel struck a residential area of Doha on Tuesday, killing at least six people.

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The dead included the son of Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas' most influential figure abroad, and his chief of staff.

The militant group said its top leadership had survived the assassination attempt.

The strike has drawn global condemnation and a rare rebuke from US President Donald Trump.

Qatar, together with Egypt and the United States, is mediating in the Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release deal have stalled for months.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Thursday Israeli strikes on Hamas leaders in Doha killed any hope of releasing hostages.

Six people were killed in the strikes, according to The Associated Press.

Sheikh Mohammed told CNN he met with the families of Hamas hostages, who said they have no other hope for a ceasefire following the attack.

I think that what [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has done (Tuesday), he just killed any hope for those hostages, he said.

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The U.N. Security Council has condemned the Israeli strike, as have many former U.S. national security officials.

The president views Qatar as a strong ally of the United States. He [President Trump] feels very badly about the location of this attack, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday.

He assured them [Qatar] that such a thing will not happen again on their soil, she continued.

Netanyahu stood behind the strike.

I say to Qatar and all nations who harbor terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice, Netanyahu said Wednesday. Because if you dont, we will.

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An Arab-Islamic summit will take place in Doha next week to discuss the strike.

Israeli firms have now been barred from participating in the Dubai Air Show in November by the United Arab Emirates as Netanyahu continues to obliterate the Gaza Strip.

In an effort to end the violence, the European Union has pledged to place sanctions and additional restrictive measures on Israel in an abrupt push for peace.

Canada, France and Britain have also moved to recognize Palestine as an official state in direct opposition to Netanyahus stance on the nations sovereignty.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
UNITED NATIONS (AP)  Qatars prime minister accused Israel of ignoring the hostages in the Gaza Strip when it attacked Hamas leaders in Doha, but he vowed Thursday not to abandon efforts to end the nearly two-year war.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that Israel went beyond any borders, any limitations with the strike in Qatar's capital this week, violating his country's sovereignty and threatening regional peace.

Israel is trying to rearrange the region by force, he said. But we will continue our humanitarian and diplomatic role without any hesitation in order to stop the bloodshed.

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Israels airstrike killed at least six people as Hamas leaders gathered to consider a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza. It risked upending negotiations that have been mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States and intensified Israels global isolation, including a condemnation of the strike from the U.N. Security Council.

Extremists that rule Israel today do not care about the hostages  otherwise, how do we justify the timing of this attack? Sheikh Mohammed said. He told CNN late Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was directly to blame for killing any hope for those hostages.

In response, Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon said that history will not be kind to accomplices.

Either Qatar condemns Hamas, expels Hamas, and brings Hamas to justice. Or Israel will, Danon said.

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Qatars diplomatic push

Before Sheikh Mohammed spoke to the 15-member council, every country  except for the U.S.  laid the blame for the attack and larger regional conflicts on Israel, and echoed doubts about the countrys seriousness in securing the return of its hostages.

It is evident that Israel, the occupying power, is bent on doing everything to undermine and blow up every possibility of peace, Pakistani Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said. It also raises serious questions whether the return of hostages was indeed a priority.

Acting U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea said, It is inappropriate for any member to use this to question Israels commitment to bringing their hostages home.

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At the start of the session, Rosemary DiCarlo, the U.N.s political chief, said Israels attack shocked the world and potentially opens a new and perilous chapter in the war in Gaza.

It was an alarming escalation, especially since it targeted individuals who were reportedly gathered to discuss the latest U.S. proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, she said.

Sheikh Mohammed said his country fully supports mediation and the peaceful settlement of disputes, and Qatars role is being appreciated worldwide. He gave no indication of any next steps.

Danon said Israel's fight is with Hamas, not with the people of Gaza, nor with the state of Qatar. He asserted Israel had the right to track down those responsible for the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks anywhere.

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In addition to the U.N. visit, Sheikh Mohammed planned to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House on Friday, according to the State Department. Qatar also said it was organizing an Arab-Islamic summit next week in Doha to discuss the attack.

US joins condemnation of Doha attack, but no mention of Israel

The Security Council earlier issued a joint statement expressing deep concern without mentioning Israel by name and emphasizing de-escalation. Approved by the 15-member council, including the U.S., the statement also conveyed its solidarity with Qatar and the vital role its played in mediating peace efforts in recent years.

President Donald Trump has walked a delicate line between two major allies following the Israeli attack, saying the unilateral action did not advance Israel or Americas goals. He has said hes not thrilled about it but also suggested that this unfortunate incident could serve as an opportunity for peace.

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Qatar has hosted Hamas political leadership for years in Doha, in part over a request by the U.S. to encourage negotiations to end the war that started with Hamas attack on Israel.

During the Security Council session, Shea repeated Trumps sentiments and defended Israels decision to target Hamas leaders.

Eliminating Hamas, which has profited off of the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal, she said.

Meanwhile, Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said Israels attack constituted a derailment of negotiations efforts and showed that Netanyahu and his backers refuse to reach a deal.

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Hamas says its senior leaders survived the Doha strike but that five lower-level members were killed. The militant group, which has sometimes only confirmed the assassination of its leaders months later, offered no immediate proof that senior figures had survived.

Funerals for the five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer who were killed in the attack were held Thursday. Qatars ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, attended the service.

A warning from the UAE

The United Arab Emirates said Thursday that more provocative and hostile rhetoric from Israel undermines stability and pushes the region towards extremely dangerous trajectories.

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The UAEs Foreign Ministry said an aggression against any of the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council  which includes Qatar  constitutes an attack on the collective Gulf security framework.

The country, which also blocked Israeli firms from participating in the Dubai Air Show in November, was part of the 2020 Abraham Accords, in which it and three other Arab nations forged ties with Israel.

Palestinians are fleeing Gaza City

Meanwhile, thousands of Palestinians continued to flee Gaza City ahead of Israels impending offensive there. The numbers have grown in recent days, though many have refused to leave, saying they no longer have the strength or money to relocate.

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The operation is aimed at taking over the largest Palestinian city, already devastated from earlier raids and experiencing famine.

Israel has denied there is starvation in Gaza, even after experts last month announced a famine in Gaza City. It says it has allowed enough humanitarian aid in and accuses Hamas of diverting it. U.N. agencies deny there is any systematic diversion and say Israels restrictions and ongoing offensive make it difficult to deliver desperately needed food.

___ Gambrell reported from Doha, Qatar. Associated Press writers Abdel Kareem Hana in Wadi Gaza, Gaza Strip, Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Jalal Bwaitel in Ramallah, West Bank, Julia Frankel in Jerusalem, Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Fatma Khaled in Cairo contributed to this report.
Isa was 14-years-old the first time she was raped.

It was March 1976. A few months earlier, Indonesia had invaded the small island nation of East Timor, sending thousands of soldiers into the country in what would become a decades-long massacre.

Isa had watched as uniformed men rolled tanks down the streets of the capital Dili, until one day they stopped in front of her house.

I was taking a nap when I saw the soldier come and stand by my bedroom. I was terrified because he had a gun, she told The Telegraph.

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The soldier attacked her while her family sat in the next room, unable to stop him or they would be killed.

He took off my underwear and raped me on my bed. He didnt even bother to take off my dress, she said, speaking to The Telegraph at the offices of the Pirilampu Firefly Centre, a foundation that she now runs to help support victims of sexual violence.

From late 1975 until 1999, Indonesian soldiers swept through East Timor, ravaging towns - CHARLES DHARAPAK/AP

From late 1975 until 1999, Indonesian soldiers swept through East Timor, ravaging towns, forcibly starving communities and raping women like Isa.

East Timor is located around 430 miles north-west of Australia and makes up the eastern half of the island of Timor, which it shares with Indonesia.

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Over the course of its 24-year occupation Indonesian troops killed an estimated 200,000 people out of a population of only around 600,000, in what many scholars have since labelled as genocide.

Indonesian forces finally withdrew in 1999 and East Timor officially became independent in 2002 following three years under a transitional authority run by the United Nations.

Today, 50 years on from the invasion, survivors like Isa have managed to rebuild their lives, but most of those responsible for the violence have never been brought to justice  and as years go by, theres a chance that many never will.

The more time that passes the harder its going to be, said Megan Hirst, an international criminal lawyer based in London who previously worked on justice in East Timor.

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The less money there is for this, the less political will from states about it. Theres a push in Timor just to wipe the slate clean.

Protesters outside the Becora prison in Dili, demanding the release of politcial prisoners in 1998 - RIC CURNOW/AFP via Getty Images

The first wave

While the exact number of victims of sexual and gender based violence from the Indonesian occupation is unknown, UN investigators who sought to document the atrocities recorded statements from 1,600 women.

For many women, including Isa, it wasnt a single incident, but repeated violence inflicted over the course of many years.

In October 1976, a few months after she had been raped at her home, another group of soldiers showed up at Isas house. This time, they ordered her in for questioning.

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Isa had gotten married in the interim and was pregnant, and she was worried if she refused the soldiers, they would kill her and her unborn baby, so she went along.

She said she was held in a tiny cell at a military camp for three weeks, holding out her arms as she spoke to show the width of the room.

Sometimes, she said, other women would be thrown in with her and they would be raped one by one.

After they finished, they would throw our clothes at us and tell us to go bathe, she said.

A soldier eventually took pity on her and smuggled her out of the prison in the trunk of his car.

Indonesian forces finally withdrew in 1999 - EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images

Years in captivity

For two years, while fighting raged around the country, Isa had a moment of respite, but in 1982, another soldier knocked on her door.

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Her husband had been an active supporter of Falintil, the main resistance group in East Timor fighting against Indonesia, which had made him  and his family  a target.

However, this soldier wasnt looking for Isas husband  he was fixated on Isa.

He would follow me any time I left the house and grab me by the hair, pull me into his car and beat me, she said.

The soldier stalked her for eight months until she finally conceded and agreed to marry him, but the marriage was almost worse than death, she said.

I wasnt allowed to talk to anyone. During the day, when he would go to work, he would lock me inside so I couldnt leave the house, she said.

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At night, he would rape her.

She gave birth to five children over eight years, all born out of rape.

Mana Isa, a survivor of sexual violence and one of the board members of the Pirilampu Firefly Centre - Allegra Mendelson

The nightmare finally ended in 1991 when her husband drank too much at a party and died suddenly.

At first I felt nothing.This was the father of my children, but on the other hand, now I was finally free, she said.

Isas story is one of the most extreme cases of violence to come out of the Indonesian occupation of East Timor, but she isnt alone.

Maria Manuela Leong Pereira, the director of Asosiasaun Chega Ba Ita (ACBit), a local organisation helping survivors of sexual violence, explained that the use of sexual violence by the Indonesian soldiers was a deliberate act of war to exercise control.

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Its a strategy to reduce the will to struggle, she said.

A UN report on the Indonesian atrocities in East Timor found that sexual slavery was one of many tools used as part of the campaign to inflict a deep experience of terror, powerlessness and hopelessness, especially against those who supported independence.

The 1999 surge

While Indonesia used extreme violence throughout the entirety of its 24-year occupation of East Timor, there was a surge in atrocities shortly before its forces withdrew.

In August 1999, facing political turmoil at home and growing international pressure abroad, Indonesia held a referendum on independence. More than 78 per cent of Timorese voted in favour of a sovereign state.

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The response from Indonesias forces was swift and brutal. Nearly 80 per cent of the homes and buildings in the capital were burned down, and over a thousand people were killed.

Micaela, who at the time was 23-years-old, was one of the victims. She was six months pregnant when soldiers arrived at her house.

The Indonesians ripped my clothes off and were burning cigarettes into my skin and then the Timorese were beating my belly with their shoes, Micaela said, speaking to The Telegraph at the ACBit offices where she now volunteers.

Then, they raped her.

Micaela outside the ACBit office where she volunteers - Antonio Dasiparu

Its been more than 25 years but she can hardly make out the words through the tears as she speaks.

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The armed men were a mix of Indonesian soldiers as well as Timorese militia fighters who supported the occupation and fought alongside the occupying forces.

Micaela was able to break free and ran to the nearest church. The priest inside brought her to the nearest hospital, but it was too late  her baby had died.

Mary Robinsons mother was also a victim of the 1999 violence.

Named after the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights who visited Timor Leste in 2000, Mary is 26-years-old today and didnt live through the Indonesian occupation, but she feels it nonetheless.

Her mother was raped by a Timorese militia fighter in 1999, which left her pregnant with Mary.

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Mary has never met her father, but she told The Telegraph that her mother will sometimes break down in tears because she looks so much like him.

When Marys mother was several months pregnant, she was attacked again, this time by a joint group of Indonesian soldiers and Timorese militia fighters who brought her out into a field and raped her one after the other.

My mom has told me that they were kicking and punching her so much in the stomach that it felt like they were trying to kill me inside of her before I was born, Mary said.

Mary Robinson, whose mother was raped by a militia fighter during Indonesias occupation - Allegra Mendelson

No justice

Despite the scale of violence inflicted on Timorese women and the wider population during the Indonesian occupation, virtually none of those responsible have ever been held accountable and the chances are growing slimmer every year.

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I wouldnt say it is running out. It has run out  where are you going to get [justice] now? said David Cohen, a leading professor in human rights and international law at Stanford University who reported extensively on transitional justice in East Timor.

Between 2000 and 2005, there were two judicial efforts conducted  one in East Timor and one in Indonesia  but both were plagued with problems, namely that both courts only investigated crimes committed in 1999 and overlooked the violence committed over the 24 years prior.

There was also a reluctance on the Indonesian side to prosecute the officials responsible given that many of them were  and still are  in power today at the highest of levels.

Indonesias current president, Prabowo Subianto, was the commander of a special forces unit in East Timor where he has been accused of committing atrocities, including the hunt that killed East Timors former president Nicolau Lobato.

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As a result, the Timorese court couldnt get their hands on the perpetrators so many were never even charged, said Ms Hirst.

Within the Indonesian court, most of the prosecutors assigned to the cases were either truly incompetent or incompetent by design in order to similarly avoid putting any senior officials in prison, said Professor Cohen.

East Timorese pro-Indonesia militia hold their weapons during a trip to the border between East and West - WEDA/AFP via Getty Images

Another major obstacle to justice, which took many experts by surprise, was the willingness on the Timorese side to sweep the conflict under the rug.

Maria Guterres, the CEO of the Alola Foundation, which works to empower women across East Timor, explained that the countrys leadership prioritised reconciliation and offered clemencies in order to repair relations with Indonesia as quickly as possible.

In one striking example, East Timors prosecutor general refused to forward an arrest warrant that had been issued for General Wiranto, the commander of the Indonesian Armed Forces from 1998 to 1999, on to INTERPOL.

Along with rehabilitating relations with Indonesia, another reason for this, said Professor Cohen, stemmed from concern that a push for justice would bring to light the crimes committed by the Timorese resistance.

While far fewer in number than on the Indonesian side, members of the Timorese resistance were also accused of violence.

Professor Cohen said that he remembers one particular investigation into allegations that a senior member of the Timorese resistance forces had raped a pro-Indonesian woman and the prosecutors were ordered to stop investigating.

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Stronger now

In the end, less than 100 people were convicted across the two courts and none were Indonesian.

In the East Timor court, 84 individuals were convicted. However, all were either low-ranking Timorese militia fighters or Timorese nationals who had been fighting on the Indonesian side.

None of those convicted remain in prison today.

At the court in Indonesia, 12 personnel were convicted  for failing to prevent crimes, rather than actually committing them  and all were eventually acquitted or had their sentences dropped through a judicial review.

Between the two courts, only three cases involving sexual and gender-based violence were tried.

Professor Cohen explained that this was because when it came to deciding which crimes would be prosecuted, murder was absolutely the priority.

In response to The Telegraph, a spokesperson for Indonesias Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that there was no one in the government today who could answer questions related to the occupation of East Timor.

For women like Isa and Micaela who suffered directly at the hands of Indonesian soldiers, justice no longer feels tenable.

Even though we are an independent country now, the government doesnt really care so only God can grant justice, said Micaela.

Instead, they find solace in sharing their stories and taking control of the narrative, and in doing so protecting future generations from ever experiencing the same kind of violence.

I know that I am stronger now because the first time I told my story, I couldnt stop crying and today when I spoke to you, I barely shed a tear, said Isa.

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ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR)  The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center will release the first Merlin to have been successfully raised in a rehabilitation setting in Virginia.

According to officials, on Thursday, September 11, at 4:30 p.m., this Merlin will be taking to the skies for the very first time.

The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center says when this patient first arrived at the center back in early July, after the tree it was nesting in was cut down, no one was quite sure what they were dealing with.

Before and after: When the Merlin patient arrived, and what it looks like now! Photo courtesy of The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center

Between the guesses of biologists, veterinarians, falconers, rehabbers, and their own seasoned staff, the center reports hearing everything from American Kestrels to Peregrine Falcons. Then, the most surprising suggestion of all: a Merlin.

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Officials say this is surprising because Merlins arent known to breed anywhere near the area. Their typical nesting range is far to the north, in Canada. Yet, the center says theyve learned time and again, nature doesnt always follow the rulebook.

Photo courtesy of The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center Photo courtesy of The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center Photo courtesy of The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center Photo courtesy of The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center Photo courtesy of The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center Photo courtesy of The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center Photo courtesy of The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center Photo courtesy of The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center Photo courtesy of The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center Photo courtesy of The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center Photo courtesy of The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center Photo courtesy of The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center Photo courtesy of The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center

Once this birds primary feathers began to grow in, it became unmistakable; they realized that they really did have a Merlin in their care. Even more incredible, this was only the second documented case of Merlins nesting in Virginia.

While the center says they occasionally admit adult Merlins passing through, having a fledgling in their hospital felt truly extraordinary.

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According to officials, the first known nesting site remains active, with the parent pair faithfully returning each year. With this new case, theres reason to hope that Merlins may one day begin calling our region home.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFXRtv.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.  Republicans may hold supermajorities in both houses of the Missouri General Assembly and hold all statewide offices, but Democrats took over the rotunda, front lawn and some of the rest of the Capitol on Wednesday during a Day of Action protest.

That included residents from Southwest Missouri who joined a crowd opposing efforts to pass initiative petition reform and redistricting.

Eliminating or crippling the (initiative petition) process silences the voice of the citizens, said Newton County Democratic Central Committee Chair Angela Thomas. The people deserve to voice their concerns and have them brought before the voters for the majority to decide. It is not the legislative bodys job to tell the voters what issues to vote on, but rather the voters prerogative to tell the elected legislators what issues they are concerned with.

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Missouri House members gave final approval Tuesday to a change to the initiative petition process that would require any constitutional amendment receive majority approval statewide as well as approval in each of Missouris eight congressional districts, a move that critics said will make it much harder to change the state constitution. Current law says an amendment needs a simple majority of Missouri voters.

Changes to the initiative petition process also await Missouri Senate approval, with the Senate to hold hearings and a vote this week.

Voter approval will ultimately be required.

Rep. Ann Kelley, of Lamar, and Rep. Bob Bromley, of Carl Junction, both Republicans, said the measure being considered during a special session doesnt change the process for bringing a constitutional amendment to a vote of the people, but changes the public ratification requirement for those amendments.

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This is the first time that weve been called in to a special session for initiative petition reform, Kelley said. We have not been successful in doing it in normal session, so this is a chance for us to actually put some reform in it. It is needed. You should not be able to change our Missouri Constitution as easily as it is now.

House members also gave final approval Tuesday to realigning some of Missouris eight congressional districts in the middle of a decade. The redistricting would likely send seven Republicans and one Democrat to the U.S. House instead of six Republicans and two Democrats as it does currently. While the 7th District in Southwest Missouri is not expected to change, the 5th District in Kansas City, currently represented by Emanuel Cleaver, a Democrat, would be divided and spread out into three other districts that stretch far into Republican-dominated rural areas.

President Donald Trump has called on Republican states to redistrict in order to elect as many Republicans as possible to the House in 2026.

Redistricting is another way for the Republican supermajority to make it harder for citizens of this state to get what they need, said Susan Wagner, Jasper County Democratic Central Committee chair.

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The overwhelming issue here is this redistricting because it got so much attention in Texas, Wagner said. Its getting so much attention across the state, and for them to do that to us here when we are already a six-and-two state, I think people finally get it that their voices are being silenced.

Wagner said Wednesdays rally was meant to send a message.

They know were here, they dont listen, but it does send the message that were not all sleeping on the job. It also mobilizes people to act on their own behalf. One hundred percent this is an overreach by Republicans. People are sick of the policies, and Republicans know they cant win on their policies, so theyre having to carve out bigger voting sections of the state so they can keep their seats.

Kelley said the new map approved Tuesday is better than the map that was approved in 2022 after the 2020 census.

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In regard to the map, this is a far more concise map than what we currently have, Kelley said. I live in District 4, and District 4 is way more concise with this new map than it is right now. And with Bobs (Bromleys 7th) district, it hasnt changed at all.

Democrats and Cleaver have each threatened to sue over redistricting.
Chea Chan and Myo Myo Aye hail from different countriesCambodia in the former and Myanmar in the latteryet the difficult predicaments both union leaders currently face signal a marked deterioration in the ability of workers to organize in Southeast Asias garment industries, where freedom of association has become increasingly elusive despite the manifold constitutional safeguards and corporate codes of conduct that are meant to protect it.

On July 25, Myo Myo Aye, leader of the Solidarity Trade Union of Myanmar, or STUM, was detained on what union members say were unknown charges and without being given the benefit of due process. The arrest happened under distressing circumstances, they said. Authorities had forced Myo Myo Ayes son to kneel at gunpoint to demand that she hand over her digital devices before hauling her away in handcuffs. At a concurrent raid at the STUMs headquarters, a dozen people in plain clothes, including the Shwe Pyi Thar ward administrator, were described as forcibly entering the office to confiscate laptops and cellphones. Chue Thwel, Myo Myo Ayes daughter, was present at the second raid. A few days later, after she mentioned her mothers arrest on social media, she and three other STUM staffers, too, were arrested.

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To date, we do not know where human rights defender Myo Myo Aye, her daughter and the other detainees are being illegally held, or the reasons for their detention, wrote organizations such as the Clean Clothes Campaign and Human Rights Watch in a joint statement. We are, however, concerned that they may be held at the interrogation center at Shwe Pyi Thar, which is notorious for its use of torture and degrading treatment against detainees. Myo Myo Aye also urgently needs access to her regular medication for her pre-existing medical conditions. However, it has been impossible to deliver the medication to her, and we are thus concerned for her well-being and safety, as well as that of the other detainees.

It was only in January that Honeys Garment Industry Limited, a Burmese subsidiary of Japanese retailer Honeys Holdings, dropped a longstanding lawsuit against Myo Myo Aye that accused the leader of defamation following the firing of nearly 450 workers who had been protesting the factorys excessive production quotas. HGIL blamed Myo Myo Aye for rousing employees to strike by guiding workers through Facebook and other social network pages with flattery and motivational activities, disrupting factory production and smearing the companys reputation through newspaper articles and messages shared in a workers group chat.

Honeys withdrew the lawsuit, but there was no recognition of the mental and physical hardship done to Myo Myo Aye over the last seven-plus years, and there was no apology, said Roy Ngerng, regional urgent appeal coordinator for East Asia at the Clean Clothes Campaign. Myo Myo Aye also spent an amount of money on the legal fees and other costs, and there was no recognition of it by Honeys, or compensation. Honeys has still not acknowledged the violations committed against the 448 workers, and to provide remedy or compensate them, so we will continue to demand from Honeys an apology and compensation.

While its unclear what links, if any, connect Myo Myo Ayes arrest with the Honeys lawsuitthe company has declined to commentJohnson Yeung, international urgent appeal coordinator at the Clean Clothes Campaign, said that factory owners have weaponized the systemic repression in Myanmar against STUMs organizing work, and that brands have the power to use their influence to rewrite the narrative.

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Brands and multi-stakesholder initiatives that are operating in Myanmar have the leverage to get STUM activists out, and they should collectively exert pressure against the suppliers and the junta, he said.

Chea Chan, a Cambodian mechanic who attempted to form Wing Star Shoes first independent union, was arrested without a warrant and subsequently imprisoned for six months in early 2024. He was later released after the charges were ruled baseless by the Cambodian appeals court, which concluded that the factorys management had filed a police complaint without tangible evidence, making it a cut-and-dry case of retaliation.

Organizations such as the Clean Clothes Campaign and the Worker Rights Consortium have hit out at Asics and Muji, two of Wing Star Shoes buyers, for failing to provide the father of three with compensation for his and his familys financial losses, including the loss of their home, a year after his release. While Wing Star Shoes has rehired Chan, he works in an outbuilding alone and far away from his co-workers, contrary to earlier claims by Asics that he would be reinstated.

He previously supervised all the mechanics and accessed both main factory buildings to do so, and is not basically in solitary confinement doing things that arent really of any use as a very obvious way to wear him down and crush his spirit after he was already in jail for six months on charges they completely fabricated, said Thulsi Narayanasamy, director of international advocacy at the Worker Rights Consortium.

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On Wednesday, Wing Star Shoes offered less than one-third of the compensation required by Chan, plus assurances that he would return to his original position and retain his right to organize. Chan, with the support of the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions, or CATU, has rejected the offer as inadequate, both to recover his land and pay for medical treatment for health issues he sustained during his time behind bars.

The Worker Rights Consortium has also poked holes in Asicss Aug. 28 statement to defend its response after a rejoinder by CATU. The organization said that while Asics conveys concern and reports supplier engagement, its insistence that further investigation is needed, plus false claims regarding the origins of the criminal complaint and promises of engagement with grassroots stakeholders, shows an approach the remains procedural and insulated and used as a pretext to avoid delivering meaningful remediation or genuine respect for freedom of association.

Narayansamy said she found it difficult to understand why Asics, which did not respond to a request for comment, is so reluctant to do the right thing, particularly given its significant leverage over Wing Star Shoes, including the ability to withdraw business. She said that Asicss failure to remedy its suppliers retaliatory criminal complaint against Chan is part of a worrying corporate backslide on human rights that dismisses the use of criminalization to silence unionists in the region, compounding workers hardships.

Asicss failure to ensure compliance with a longstanding supplier with a long track record of rights abuses exposes an alarming gap in the companys ability to uphold the human rights commitments it makes to consumers, she added. Asics has both the responsibility and the means to resolve this ongoing violation right now. Its stated commitments to respect workers rights can only be met by securing reasonable compensation for Chans horrific ordeal and ensuring its supplier upholds freedom of association so that 20,000 workers have a chance at improving their conditions.
PROVIDENCE  The Rhode Island State Police closed off the street surrounding Senate President Valarie Lawson's East Providence home for about a half hour on Sept. 11 in response to "bomb threats" targeting the homes of top Senate Democrats.

In a statement to the media, Lt. Col. Robert Creamer wrote, We are aware of several hoax e-mails that contained bomb threats directed at local officials."

We take all threats seriously and these incidents are under investigation," he wrote.

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More: 'You never get numb to the fear': Charlie Kirk shooting has RI politicians speaking out about threats

State police: Threats made against other New England officials

The Rhode Island State Police are aware of other officials throughout New England receiving similar threats, Creamer said. They are continuing to investigate, but at this time have found none of the threats to be credible.

A Senate spokesman confirmed that Lawson and Senate Majority Leader Frank Ciccone were among those targeted by the threats, which Ciccone said he learned about from the state police but has not actually seen.

Ciccone told The Journal he is not concerned: "I've got security cameras and everything else."

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At around 9 p.m., Lawson, who doubles as president of the National Education Association Rhode Island, issued this statement:

"Earlier today, I was among a group of officials who received threats of violence. I am grateful for the prompt and thorough response of law enforcement and the fire marshals office.

"Political violence in any form has no place in our democracy. As I stated in the statement I made this morning with the NEARI, I strongly condemn all violence, including the violence against Charlie Kirk, and my deepest condolences go out to his family.

"Let us all remember that we are Americans first, and we settle our differences at the ballot box."

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Lawson provided a link to the not-very-widely seen statement she made earlier in the day, in concert with NEARI Executive Director Mary Barden, about "gun violence," including the murder of Kirk, a conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA, on Sept. 10 during an appearance on a Utah college campus and the shooting that took place the same day at a Colorado school.

"Schools and universities should be sanctuaries of learning  the safest places in every community," they said. But "the students and families of Evergreen High School in Colorado now join far too many others who carry the trauma of school shootings."

They called Kirk's murder "a tragedy  for his family and for our society and democracy as a whole."

"This is not normal, and we must refuse to accept it as such," the NEARI leaders said.

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"We must condemn these acts in the strongest terms and recommit ourselves to ensuring that, even in the midst of our deepest disagreements, we can argue passionately and still live to argue another day."

"Keeping everyone safe on a school or college campus should not be a partisan issue," they said. "We need our elected leaders to act with urgency.

"They must protect and build upon the progress already made on gun violence prevention  from expanding access to mental health services to enacting commonsense limits on weapons of war in our communities."

With reports from Mark Reynolds.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Bomb threats sent to RI Senate Democrats after Charlie Kirk shooting
ROCKFORD, IL  A pair of Rockford nonprofits came together the morning of Sept. 10 to celebrate the completion of dual projects serving area adults and children.

Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois announced the grand opening of the Excel Center, an adult high school, and the YMCA of Rock River Valley announced the grand opening of a newly renovated Kids Care Center. Both facilities are located at the SwedishAmerican Riverfront YMCA, 200 Y Boulevard, in Rockford.

The Excel Center is a place where area adults can obtain high school diplomas, and the newly remodeled Kids' Care facility is place where children can be supervised while their parents participate in YMCA programs or attend the Excel Center.

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"The diploma is not the finish line. It's the launching point," said Ben Bernsten, president of Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois. "Students have the opportunity to earn industry-recognized credentials and college credits, preparing them not just for graduation, but for meaningful careers with family-sustaining wages."

According to Goodwill Industries, the Excel Center will open Sept. 15 with 150 students. Registration will take place every eight weeks.

The center was nine years in the making, Bernsten said. It started with a donation of $5 million from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, followed by a $1 million federal grant, a $200,000 gift of technology from the Nicor Foundation and $100,000 in state funding along with various local gifts from community partners such as Midland States Bank.

Renovations for the center cost $1.5 million. Leftover funds will go toward operations.

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"Together, we are opening the door to brighter futures, stronger families, and a more vibrant Rockford," Bernsten said.

It's estimated that more than one million adults in Illinois do not have a high school diploma. Nearly 30,000 of them call Rockford home.

Students at Rockford's Excel Center will have access to academic programs, personalized learning plans, small class sizes and dedicated instructors. The curriculum is tailored to meet the needs of adult learners.

Goodwill abandoned a previous plan to open the Excel Center inside a vacant space at North Towne Mall in late 2024 when the chance to move into the YMCA location became available, Marketing Manager Shannon Harper said.

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Goodwill believed the YMCA would make for an ideal partner. And the area at the YMCA that was available had already been used as classroom space by Judson University, which had decided to vacate.

"Every piece fit perfectly," Harper said. "From the childcare location to the classrooms, everything was perfect. Really it had everything we needed. But we did go in and do some renovation and gave it a facelift."

Through a partnership with Goodwill Industries and the introduction of the Excel Center, the YMCA invested $750,000 to renovate its Kids' Care Center into a vibrant and nurturing space for children.

"We are in love with this new area and cant wait to see the facial expressions as little ones arrive next week," Rachel Robinson, executive director of the SwedishAmerican Riverfront YMCA, said in a news release. "We believe all people thrive in environments that inspire. We are eager to see imagination come to life as they go camping, construct a project, create artwork or visit the store."

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"We know that a lack of childcare can be a major barrier for adults pursuing their high school diploma," Bernsten said in the release. "With the opening of The Excel Center and the partnership with the Y on this space, weve helped remove that barrier. Parents now have a safe, engaging place for their children while they work toward a better future."

Corina Curry is the editor of the Rockford Register Star. Reporter Jeff Kolkey and photographer Kara Hawley contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford celebrates new Excel Center, remodeled Kids Care Center
Russia and Belarus are set to stage a massive military exercise in mid-September and with the war in Ukraine still raging, the move has raised concern across Europe. Germany has issued military warnings, while France is quietly preparing its hospitals for the possibility of a wider conflict.

The five-day Zapad 2025 manoeuvres begin on Friday across Belarusian territory. They are officially described as defensive drills to safeguard the Russia-Belarus Union State.

Belarus insists the exercises are routine and preventative. Defence official Valery Revenko said Zapad 2025 is designed to check the readiness of both states to repel potential aggression and stressed that Minsk is pursuing a peaceful policy.

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But NATO countries are unconvinced.

With Russian and Belarusian troops training close to Poland and Lithuania  both NATO members  officials fear a miscalculation on Europes fault line.

Germany has been particularly outspoken. General Carsten Breuer, the German Armed Forces chief, confirmed NATO units would stay on heightened alert during Zapad.

While he admitted there was no intelligence pointing to an imminent attack disguised within the drills, he stressed caution.

We want deterrence, not escalation, Breuer told journalists in Berlin. But we would be naive to assume President Putins ambitions stop at Ukraine.

Airspace breach

Those concerns were sharpened this week after at least 19 drones believed to be Russian entered Polish airspace, some via Belarus. One drone strike caused minor damage to a house in the Lublin region.

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Poland scrambled fighter jets and closed parts of its civilian airspace. The government also invoked Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty, triggering consultations with allies.

Analysts said the incursion may have been a test of NATOs readiness ahead of Zapad 2025.

Poland calls NATO talks after downing Russian drones in airspace breach

At the same time, Berlin launched its own NATO exercise, Northern Coasts, which began on 29 August and ended on Thursday.

Around 8,000 troops from 14 nations, backed by 40 warships, 30 aircraft and 1,800 vehicles, are training across the Baltic Sea region.

Military planners concede that parallel exercises always carry some risk, especially so close to NATOs eastern frontier. But Northern Coasts and Zapad 2025 are not scheduled at the same time.

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NATO headquarters said this week it would closely monitor Zapad 2025 and has deployed additional surveillance planes and drones to Poland and the Baltic states.

Lithuanias president Gitanas Nauseda called the drills a deliberate show of intimidation and confirmed his country had stepped up border patrols.

Poland also announced that extra units had been deployed along its Belarus frontier.

Moscow dismissed the concerns as hysteria and insisted the exercises were routine.

NATO backs defence hike as Trump claims victory, but doubts linger

French hospitals on alert

France has taken a different approach.

Documents uncovered by Le Canard Enchaine on 26 August show Paris has ordered hospitals nationwide to prepare for the arrival of thousands of wounded soldiers by March 2026.

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The Ministry of Health directive, issued in July, sets out plans for France to serve as Europes medical rear base. Hospitals must be ready to treat large numbers of casualties if conflict spreads.

The instructions call for new military-dedicated hospital wings near ports and airports, stockpiling of supplies, and training of staff in war medicine and trauma psychology.

Officials estimate between 10,000 and 50,000 casualties could need treatment within weeks of a conflict, requiring rapid medical evacuation through French infrastructure.

Health Minister Catherine Vautrin told BFMTV the preparations are about foresight, not panic. Hospitals prepare for epidemics and natural disasters, she said. In the current climate, preparing for conflict is part of our responsibility.

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The same unease is felt at NATO headquarters. Secretary-General Mark Rutte has warned of the danger of simultaneous crises  a Russian attack on NATO and Chinese aggression against Taiwan.

He said such a scenario could bring the world to the brink of global war and urged allies to boost defence spending and weapons production.
The airline earlier this summer said it would not return to Israel until October 25 at the earliest.

Ryanair may not return to Israel when violence related to the Gaza war recedes, Group Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said on Thursday, saying the airline was being "messed around" by airport authorities there.

"I think there is a real possibility that we won't bother going back to Israel... when the current violence recedes," O'Leary told journalists in Dublin.

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"We are tired of being messed around by the Israel Airports Authority. Unless the Israelis kind of get their act together and stop messing us around, frankly, we have far more growth elsewhere in Europe."

The airline earlier this summer said it would not return to Israel until October 25 at the earliest.

Ryanair Aircraft (credit: REUTERS/PEDRO NUNES)

Ryanair 'losing patience' with Israel

In May, O'Leary told journalists that he was "losing patience" with Israel due to continued interruptions at Ben-Gurion Airport.

"I think we're running out of patience too with Israel ... flights to and from Tel Aviv," O'Leary told analysts following the release of full-year results.

"If they're going to keep being disrupted by these security disruptions, frankly, we'd be better off sending those aircraft somewhere else in Europe," he said.

This is a developing story.
WASHINGTON  The Republican-led Senate narrowly voted Wednesday to defeat an amendment introduced by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to compel the Justice Department to release all of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

The vote was 51-49 in favor of tabling the amendment. Two Republicans  Rand Paul of Kentucky and Josh Hawley of Missouri  joined all 47 Democrats in voting against tabling the amendment.

My position has long been I think we ought to release those files and trust the American people," Hawley told reporters, "just like we did with the MLK files and the JFK files.

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In a surprise move earlier Wednesday, Schumer had used a procedural tactic to force a floor vote on the Epstein files.

He pitched an amendment to the sweeping defense policy bill being debated by the Senate. His amendment mirrored the language of bipartisan legislation from Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who have vowed to force a similar vote in the House.

There has been so much lying, obfuscation, cover-ups, the American people need to see everything thats in the Epstein file, and my amendment would make that happen, Schumer told reporters.

Look, the bottom line is the American people need to see this. Donald Trump has lied about this, he continued. There has been so many lies, so much prevarication, so much cover-up. The American people, Democrats, independents, Republicans are demanding it be made public, and it should be. We hope Republicans will vote for it. They should.

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Wednesday evening's vote was significant because Senate Republicans have largely avoided discussing or voting on the issue of the Epstein files. Now, all senators have been put on record on the matter.

Both Hawley and Paul have been thorns in the White Houses side at different points this year. Hawley this summer triggered an uproar among fellow Republicans and from Trump himself when he voted with Democrats to advance a bill to ban members of Congress, the president and the vice president from trading stocks. He also was sharply critical of the Medicaid cuts in Trumps signature legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill, and proposed legislation to reverse the cuts after he voted to pass the bill.

Five people familiar with the discussions told NBC News last month that in both Congress and the White House, Hawley is thought of as readying himself for a 2028 presidential bid.

Paul, meanwhile, has argued against Trumps wide-ranging tariff agenda and publicly taken issue with other administration moves. On Saturday, he lambasted Vice President JD Vance for saying that striking a boat of alleged drug traffickers is the highest and best use of our military.

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JD I dont give a s--- Vance says killing people he accuses of a crime is the highest and best use of the military, Paul wrote, adding, What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial.

The Senate is plodding through consideration of the annual defense policy bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, which isnt expected to be completed this week.

Schumer's surprise move  which Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., dismissed as a "political stunt" and a "hostile act"  comes just two days after the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating the Epstein case, released a new trove of documents stemming from a subpoena it sent to Epstein's estate.

That trove included a lewd note Trump allegedly sent Epstein that was part of a book compiled for Epstein's 50th birthday. Trump has repeatedly denied that he wrote the note and filed a lawsuit in July against The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on its existence. Speaking to NBC News on Tuesday, Trump called the letter a "dead issue."

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I dont comment on something thats a dead issue, Trump said in a brief phone call. I gave all comments to the staff. Its a dead issue.

In the House, the discharge petition to force a vote on the Massie-Khanna legislation is on track to succeed. It has 216 signatures  including all Democrats and four Republicans  and needs just two more. Those two are expected to arrive this month in the form of a newly elected Democrat in a Virginia special election and another safe blue seat in Arizona that will get a special election in late September.

Massie told NBC News on Tuesday that the four Republicans who have signed on are solidly behind the effort and wont bow to pressure to remove their names. He said other GOP lawmakers have signaled to him they are open to signing the petition but prefer not to get crosswise with Trump or party leaders publicly if their votes aren't needed to pass it.

Theres some on the fence, Massie said. My pitch to them is were going to get there anyways, you might as well be on the right side of history while theres still two slots. But that hasnt compelled anybody.

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Massie said hes certain the vote count on the bill will be larger than the number of signers of the discharge petition, which is seen as a hostile move against House GOP leaders, as it effectively takes control of the floor away from them.

He said an overwhelming House vote would pressure the Senate to take up and pass the legislation.

I would like to get at least a two-thirds vote here in the House and send that message. Thats my goal, Massie said. Maybe its ambitious, but I also think even if it passes with simple majorities in both chambers, thats a hard veto for the president to make  a really hard veto, especially given his personal connection to Jeffrey Epstein.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) repudiated President Trump over his approach to ending the war in Ukraine, labeling the U.S. president the modern-day Neville Chamberlain.

Putin-pawn Donald Trump is cementing himself as the Neville Chamberlain of our time, Schumer wrote in a post on the social platform X.

Chamberlain, the World War II-era British prime minister, is known for his failed policy of appeasement. He met with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in 1938 and agreed to let Germany annex the Sudetenland in the hope of staving off a larger war. The following year, Nazi Germany invaded Poland.

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The top Senate Democrat has long hammered Trump for what he views as too soft an approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Trump met in Alaska last month to discuss the prospects of a peace deal with Ukraine.

Trump faced some criticism for greeting the Russian leader with applause and a red carpet, but he emerged from their meeting optimistic about their progress and touting concessions he said he secured from Putin.

But weeks later, no progress has materialized, and Trump is weighing new sanctions against Russia.

The Senate minority leaders latest statement comes after Polish leaders said they shot down multiple Russian drones early Wednesday morning that had breached their airspace during an attack on Ukraine.

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The incursion prompted NATO to scramble fighter jets and left leaders in the U.S. and across the globe warning that Russia was risking escalating the conflict in Europe.

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Guest Opinion. As a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and a Medal of Honor recipient, I have carried two profound responsibilities throughout my life: honoring my ancestors and revering the soldiers I served beside. Today, I write in support of the Hershel Woody Williams National Medal of Honor Monument Location Act because it advances both. This is not simply about constructing a monument. It is about ensuring that the values of bravery, service, and unity remain at the center of our national story.

Native Americans serve in the U.S. Armed Forces at higher rates per capita than any other demographic group. Since the creation of the Medal of Honor in 1861, 32 Native service members have received this nations highest military honor, and countless others have risked their lives with the same bravery and commitment.

Never miss Indian Countrys biggest stories and breaking news. Click here to sign up to get our reporting sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning.

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This new National Medal of Honor Monument on the National Mall will stand as a reminder to the nation of the six core virtues represented by the Medal of Honor: courage, sacrifice, integrity, commitment, patriotism, and citizenship. These are the values that Native people have embodied for generations. Of the more than 40 million Americans who have served in the U.S. military, 3,528 have earned the Medal of Honor since it was established by President Lincoln 164 years ago. This monument gives all Americans the opportunity to reflect on what service truly means.

This legislation builds on unanimous support from Congress in 2021 for the monuments creation in the nations capital. Earlier this year, the U.S. House unanimously passed the Monument Location Act, recognizing the significance of placing this monument where the nation gathers to remember its heroes. The design of the monument is respectful and modest, and every dollar required for its construction will be raised through private donations. No federal funds are needed or requested. The project is ready to move forward as soon as the Senate acts.

At a time when our country often feels divided, this monument will offer a powerful reminder of how Americans from every background and every tribe have worked together for a purpose bigger than themselves. Medal of Honor recipients come from every state, every race and every walk of life. The story of Native Americans in uniform is a critical part of that heritage, and it deserves to be represented in the most visible place our nation can offer.

The need to act is urgent. Previous versions of this legislation were allowed to stall in the Senate, and as a result, some of our fellow recipients, including the last living Medal of Honor recipient from the Korean War, did not live to see this monument become a reality. Today, many Vietnam veterans are entering their 80s and 90s. Our time to tell these stories firsthand is limited. A monument in Washington, D.C., will ensure those stories live on, long after we are gone. Very few people will serve under fire or face the kinds of dangers that earn the Medal of Honor, but every American can live by the values that our nations heroes represent.

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The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee previously indicated that a hearing on this bill would occur in the spring. As Congress prepares to return from the August recess, I respectfully urge the Committee to act immediately and advance S.858. Further delay risks losing another generation of living witnesses to the values the monument is meant to preserve.

This bill is an opportunity to honor the deepest traditions of Native service, preserve a shared history, and inspire our children to live with courage, integrity and a willingness to serve.

Dwight Birdwell, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam.

About the Author: "Levi \"Calm Before the Storm\" Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) is the founder, publisher and editor of Native News Online. Rickert was awarded Best Column 2021 Native Media Award for the print\/online category by the Native American Journalists Association. He serves on the advisory board of the Multicultural Media Correspondents Association. He can be reached at levi@nativenewsonline.net."

Contact: levi@nativenewsonline.net
BOSTON (SHNS)  The Senate on Thursday advanced bills to create legal protections for people who administer fentanyl test strips, expand an abuse registry to protect day habilitation participants with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and shift insurance responsibility for rental cars in an effort to lower costs.

The Senate Ways and Means Committee released the three bills Thursday morning as the chamber thats been advancing mostly local bills for six weeks begins weighing more significant matters after a long summer break.

While formal session plans have not been announced, Senate Ways and Means spokesman Sean Fitzgerald said the Senate will further consider the bills sometime next week.

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Sen. Cindy Creems bill (S 1057) expands legal protections for individuals who provide or use fentanyl testing equipment. The bill would exempt fentanyl test strips from the states definition of illegal drug paraphernalia and shield test strip users from criminal, civil or professional liability when the tools are used in good faith.

Supporters of building more legal protections around the use of testing strips say the measure would save lives by giving individuals more tools to detect fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid. The Department of Public Health reported that fentanyl was present in 90% of opioid-related deaths in Massachusetts in 2023 and officials have warned that it has infiltrated much of the drug supply here.

A 2024 law provided protections for people using drug-checking equipment within harm reduction facilities, such as syringe exchanges. The bill extends protections beyond facility walls, ensuring first responders, outreach workers and private individuals can use or distribute the strips without fear of legal consequences.

A similar version of Creems bill passed the Senate 39-0 last January. Nearly 400,000 fentanyl test strips were distributed statewide last year, state officials said.

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The Sen. Michael Moore (S 165) bill updates Nickys Law, which was enacted in 2020 to establish a statewide registry to track care providers with substantiated findings of abuse against individuals with disabilities.

Under current law, employers are prohibited from hiring individuals on the registry for similar roles. The law was written to include the states day habilitation program. But due to a shift in funding sources  from the Department of Developmental Services to day habilitation being fully funded by MassHealth  it fell outside the laws scope.

A summary of the measure from the Senate Ways and Means Committee says the legislation restores the original intent of Nickys Law by extending protections to all care settings, regardless of funding source. According to the committee, the bill carries no fiscal impact for the state. It received a favorable report from the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities in June.

Under the third bill (S 2603) on the move in the Senate, Massachusetts rental car companies would no longer be required to carry primary liability insurance when a customer rents a vehicle  so long as the customer has valid, adequate auto insurance themselves.

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The lessors insurance would act only on a secondary or contingent basis if the renter is uninsured or underinsured, under the proposal from Sen. Julian Cyr.

A summary of the bill from the Ways and Means Committee says the change corrects a disparity.

Currently, Massachusetts mandates that rental firms shoulder the primary insurance burden, making the state an outlier compared to other states that allow a renters own policy to take priority in most cases.

Recent increases to minimum coverage requirements have strained these companies ability to provide cost-effective rental cars in Massachusetts. The bill follows more than 40 other states in applying the customers personal auto insurance to the car they are renting and driving, the fact sheet says.

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Massachusetts drivers were subject to higher minimum coverage limits for bodily injury and property damage starting July 1.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP.
Yolanda Carter was once an avid line dancer known for her smooth two-step.

More than nine years ago, a domestic violence attack not only forced her to walk away from her beloved dance group, but it changed her life forever.

It was around midnight on March 22, 2016, when Carter went to bed next to Aaron White, her on-and-off boyfriend of eight years. Hours later, she was in an ambulance, being rushed from her Hyde Park apartment in Chicago to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries.

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Though her memory of the attack is limited, she recalls the sound of ringing  and believes her 17-year-old son, who found her lying in a pool of blood, may have saved her life.

My son said, Mama, he beat you with a hammer, Carter, 58, told Capital B.

She remembered the shock in the paramedics voices when they realized she was still alive.

Through moans and groans, she recalled saying, Please dont let me die. Just let me live.

She still worries that her five adult children, ages 26 to 41, will carry the trauma of seeing her that way for the rest of their lives. Yet, she and her family have been denied financial relief from Illinois crime victim compensation fund. Its a burden shared by many Black survivors who report crimes, survive violence, or lose loved ones, only to find the systems meant to help them fall short.

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Advocates said cases like Carters reflect a deeper issue across the country: A criminal justice system that prioritizes punishment over healing  leaving many survivors without the support they need to recover.

So often we hear about the racial disparities that exist in criminal justice. through this work I see more racial disparities in victim services, Aswad Thomas, the national director of Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, told Capital B.

Advocates said survivors are being blocked from compensation by rules tied to their criminal history, cooperation with law enforcement, or conduct before or after the crime  criteria steeped in bias, as revealed in a recent state-by-state analysis from the Center for American Progress and Common Justice.

Most states set filing deadlines as short as one year, when most victims are unaware of the program to file or may not be emotionally prepared to handle filling out mounds of paperwork recalling their attack  often leaving crime survivors stranded.

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Carter has undergone 13 reconstructive surgeries and lost her left eye. Her recovery is far from over, with doctors appointments, mental health care, and physical therapy still part of her routine.

Her ex-boyfriend was arrested and later pleaded guilty to attempted murder. Now, with three years remaining on his 12-year sentence, Carter said shed rather not talk about his release. Instead, she was focused on her weekend in Atlanta this August, where she joined dozens of other crime survivors at the inaugural Crime Survivors Speak: Healing and Safety Conference, hosted by Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice.

CSSJ, a publicly funded nonprofit organization, trains survivors in advocacy and organizing as well as connects them with state legislators so they can become involved in changing policy on the local level.

The convening called for sharing ideas and solutions toward public safety reforms that prioritize survivors, tackle the root causes of violence, and expand access to victim compensation funds  a resource that 96% of survivors surveyed by the Alliance for Safety and Justice, most of them Black and brown, said they never received due to confusion over eligibility or lack of awareness.

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Those funds are intended to support survivors of and those impacted by crime with resources such as housing, lost wages, medical bills, funeral costs, mental health counseling, and more.

Yolanda Carter of Chicago. Advocates say cases like Carters reflect a deeper issue across the country. (Courtesy of Yolanda Carter)

The hidden hurdles for Black survivors of crime

Yolanda Jennings, a domestic violence advocate in Philadelphia, first learned about victim compensation funds after her sisters 2004 death. Her sister was a domestic violence victim and Jennings herself is a survivor. In addition, last year her 26-year-old son was killed by police in Columbus, Ohio. Yet Jennings has never qualified for aid.



Her familys struggles didnt end there. In 2019, Jennings cousin was fatally shot by her fiance. The victims sister and three children were still in the house, but law enforcement officials told the sister she wasnt eligible for victim compensation, Jennings said.

Currently, 44 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico require survivors to cooperate with law enforcement to get compensation  an obstacle for many Black and brown people who distrust police, according to an Aug. 20 panel discussion about the analysis. Only six states  Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, and Oregon  allow reporting to non-law enforcement entities like medical or victim service providers.

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This gatekeeping mostly by law enforcement is deeply rooted in implicit bias and often punishes survivors whose loved ones were killed by police or who endured domestic violence, advocates argue. An Associated Press report found that between 2018 and 2021, thousands of Black crime survivors in 19 out of 23 states, willing to provide racial demographics data, were disproportionately denied compensation funds compared to their white peers.

Thats why I feel like when we go through these things, the hospital should already have an advocate right there to say, You know what? This young lady needs support, Carter said, explaining why her victim compensation claim was denied due to time limits and lost receipts.

Left with metal plates and screws in her skull and jaw, Carter has found a reason to smile  she founded Beautifully Scarred, a nonprofit for other Yolandas out there.

Aswad Thomas, the national director of Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice. (Madeline Thigpen/Capital B)

Reforming victim compensation state by state

Jennings reunited with Carter at the Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice conference in Atlanta in August, where both serve as advocates. CSSJ has launched a national campaign to educate survivors on accessing victim compensation. Their survey of approximately 3,000 crime victims revealed that nearly all of them did not access their state Victim Compensation Program, Thomas said.

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As part of CSSJ  a network of 200,000 survivors offering peer support and monthly healing calls  Jennings and Thomas know Carters frustration all too well. What Carter faced in Illinois is happening across the country.

The analysis by the Center for American Progress and Common Justice found that no state has a fully effective victim compensation program since the 1984 creation of the federal Victims of Crime Act, which established the crime victim fund.

In Philadelphia, where nearly 10,000 calls were made to the domestic violence hotline in 2024, Jennings blasted the number of emergency housing designated for survivors, with or without children, in addition to the unhoused population. Its ridiculous, its not enough, she said.

People call the hotline saying, Im in danger. Im afraid for my life, Jennings, 59, added, sharing the frustration of people hearing, Were sorry, theres no room. You gotta keep calling.

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She emphasized the practical barriers: It takes transportation, housing  often a whole family  mom and five kids  cant be placed easily. They end up staying in these abusive relationships.

Yolanda Jennings holding a photograph of her son Colin Jennings, 26, who was killed by police in Columbus, Ohio, in February 2024 (Madeline Thigpen/Capital B)



In Georgia, where the crime must be reported within 72 hours and claims filed within three years, CSSJ is pushing for reform.

Weve been successful in changing state laws in about 14 states so far, Thomas said, and our goal is to change the law here in Georgia in 2026.

Black people who are survivors of gun violence, like myself, or victims of domestic violence were often excluded from accessing Victim Compensation Programs, Thomas told Capital B Atlanta during the conference.

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Thomas goal is for a lawmaker to propose legislation that would eliminate Georgias strict reporting window, extend application deadlines from three to five years, and raise the $6,500 funeral cap to better match actual costs, which can climb upward of $8,300, according to recent data from the National Funeral Directors Association. His views reflect key recommendations outlined in a joint analysis by the Center for American Progress and Common Justice.

It would also remove the provision that allows denial of claims based on contributory conduct, which disproportionately hurts survivors of police violence or sexual assault where the victims actions can be used against them.

An Illinois state law protecting survivors of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault helped Carter avoid a lawsuit from her landlord after she broke her lease following the attack.

Still, advocates stress that legislative change isnt enough. Heather Warnken of the University of Baltimore School of Law, a panelist during a press call about the Center for American Progress and Common Justice state-by-state analysis, emphasized the need for deeper systemic transformation.

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Since 2022, Warnken and her team of student fellows have provided testimony in support of legislation over two dozen bills, including the Victim Compensation Reform Act of 2024, which was signed into law in Maryland last year. The bill ends reliance on police reports and law enforcement to confirm eligibility for compensation funds and increases burial and mental health support costs.

We can change the laws, Warnken said, but it will mean very little  without the courage to do the deeper, longer, more difficult culture change work. Work that, she added, requires confronting how racism continues to influence whose harm is acknowledged and addressed.

Last year, Jennings son, despite how investigators ruled his death, became one of 341 Black people in the U.S. who were killed following an encounter with police, according to the Mapping Police Violence database.

They need to do better when it comes down to how they select people receiving these benefits, Carter said, her voice tight with frustration. Because I know, without a shadow of a doubt, I should have gotten it.

The post She Nearly Died in a Domestic Violence Attack. Illinois Denied Her Victim Compensation. appeared first on Capital B News - Atlanta.
DISCLAIMER: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS)  A couple from Shreveport has been arrested for allegedly defrauding Medicaid of $127,000 to help fund a lavish lifestyle.

Shreveport man found guilty of murdering mother and daughter

42-year-old Ebony Taylor and her husband, 39-year-old Andre Jackson, were arrested in Baton Rouge on Wednesday, September 11, for allegedly concealing their actual income and employment to receive medicaid benefits. An investigation revealed that Taylor financed a BMW for $80,024 in 2022 with monthly payments of $1,480. That same year, the couple installed an in-ground swimming pool with a jetted spa at their home for $94,000, in addition to a cosmetic surgery in Texas.

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Its pretty bold to buy a new pool, BMW, and plastic surgery while defrauding our Medicaid program. The hardworking men and women of Louisiana paid for their extravagant lifestyle, and now theyll be brought to justice, said Attorney General Liz Murrill.

Shreveport teen commended for saving mother during violent attack

Taylor fraudulently applied for and received Medicaid benefits for herself and her dependents between 2017 and 2025. According to the Louisiana Department of Health, which reported the criminal activity, Taylor repeatedly reported an income of $750 bi-weekly and failed to disclose her marital status and combined household income with her husband.

He also applied for and received medicaid benefits around the same time, claiming no income from 2017 through 2023. However, Taylor reported a monthly income of $15,000 in a mortgage loan application and disclosed a bank account balance of $350,000.

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Financial records also showed yearly incomes of hundreds of thousands of dollars. There were also funds spent on various items, including jewelry, vacations, hotels, a bridal store, furniture, and orthodontics, among others. It was also noted that the two owned multiple properties and had a substantial amount of financial assets that were not consistent with medicaid eligibility. Those assets included a one-acre tract of land in Caddo Parish where they built a large residence, which records show has a taxable property value of $656,270.

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Five months after his 18th birthday, my oldest son started talking a mile a minute. He couldnt sleep. Things he said made no sense. Doctors diagnosed him with psychosis and hospitalized him against his will.

Eight months later, my silly, big-hearted boy experienced a second episode, forcing him to leave college. The meds doctors prescribed made him feel like a Scooby-Doo zombie. He quit taking them. Instead, he self-medicated with pot, which ended up making his condition worse.

Also Read: I'm The Mom Of A Trans Kid. Here's What I Want You To Know About The Minneapolis School Shooting.

My life got reduced to keeping things normal-ish for my younger kids and making sure my eldest recovered  or attempting to manage him when he didnt.

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Last summer, my son cycled through three psychiatric hospitals in three months. After signing himself out of the last one, he settled in Chicagos Uptown neighborhood, just south of the leafy, liberal town where my husband and I raised him.

In early November, troubling texts and social media posts signaled his continued deterioration. For the first time ever, my son made threats of harm against our family. Two days before Thanksgiving, he drove to Florida, where his dad and I live, claiming we owed him thousands of dollars. We disagreed. He stormed off and checked into a motel a mile away. That night, we learned hed charged a 9 mm pistol and 100 rounds of ammo to his credit card. He had to wait three days to pick them up.

I was vaguely aware of federal and state red flag laws and presumed these laws made my son ineligible to own a gun. Since hed threatened his younger brother in a text a week earlier, I wanted to be certain this was the case. Fifteen minutes before closing, I called the outdoor store where my son purchased the weapon, but they wouldnt release any information. They advised me to call the police. I hung up and called my local police department.

Also Read: I Worked Hard My Entire Life  Now I'm 70 And Broke. Something Has To Change In This Country.

Florida law leaves people struggling with mental illnesses alone unless they pose an immediate threat of serious harm to themselves or others. Id originally spoken with police after my son threatened us. Since he lived 1,200 miles away, they hadnt deemed his threats credible. Now that he was only a mile away and waiting to take possession of a gun, I figured officers would collect him and spirit him to a hospital. This would buy us 72 hours  the amount of time the state allots for doctors to determine if someone meets involuntary hospitalization criteria. My son was so demonstrably ill, I felt certain doctors would keep him longer. Maybe we could even get him back into treatment.

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The officer I talked to advised me to call back if my son showed up with a weapon.

I wanted to scream at him, but I knew I might need him later. Instead, I wished him a happy Thanksgiving.

Still concerned for the safety of two of my children, I dialed the state police. An operator took my name and number, but I didnt hear back. I was up all night. On Thanksgiving morning, I sent my son whod been threatened by his brother to a relatives house an hour away. Throughout Thanksgiving Day, I monitored my struggling sons whereabouts using the Snap Map on Snapchat.

Crime: Illinois Fourth of July Parade Shooter Sentenced To Life 7 Times

On Black Friday, I reached the manager at the store where my son had charged the gun. The manager would not confirm the purchase, then, on the busiest day in retail, he directed me to the online version of the federal form all gun buyers must fill out and went through it with me. Two areas disqualified my son from taking possession of a gun  if all his court and hospitalization information was up to date, and if someone caught it.

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Before we hung up, the manager told me Id have to trust the system. But it was Thanksgiving weekend. I stressed about the hundreds of thousands of gun purchases being background checked while the checkers would be understaffed, until the store manager called back  God love him.

Again, he wouldnt give me any information, but he said, That thing you were worried about  I can only tell you, you dont have to worry anymore. Now go enjoy your weekend.

I did not enjoy my weekend, but I did get some much-needed sleep. Until the following Tuesday night.

Also Read: I Sheltered In An Apartment With A Total Stranger On 9/11. Two Weeks Ago, I Finally Found Her.

Thats when my oldest son, then back in Chicago, started posting about a gun belonging to a friend. When he couldnt reach his girlfriend one night, he texted that he intended to shoot himself with this gun. Using screenshots of this threat, my husband convinced Chicago police to visit his apartment and conduct a wellness check. CPD broke down his door, but my son wasnt there.

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His online threats to harm himself and others continued. Things got scarier when he doxxed a drug supplier on social media. I kept calling law enforcement in Chicago and telling them my son was going to shoot someone, get shot or shoot himself. By then, hed cleared out of his apartment. There wasnt much police could do.

My husband and I retained a lawyer in Illinois. We flew to Chicago the first week of December to appear before a judge and request a court order to have our son hospitalized  the only way to get someone with a mental illness hospitalized in Illinois. The process wasnt guaranteed because Illinois wont compel someone addicted to drugs into treatment, even if they exhibit symptoms of serious mental illness. After flipping through my sons dossier of threats, the judge granted our request, and the police went to pick up our son.

He wasnt at his apartment.

Also Read: I Spent Years Nearly Drinking Myself To Death. Then A Dying Street Dog Changed Everything.

My husband and I spent the entire next day staking out his building from a rental car. When our son showed up to grab some things, we ducked and called 911. Twenty minutes later, too spent and wired to feel anything, I watched officers fold him into a squad car and drive him to a hospital.

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As a mother in fear for her sons life, there was no way I was going to trust some bureaucratic system to protect him or anyone he might have harmed when he was unwell. Thankfully, I had the time and the resources to keep at it. Its a good thing since there was no system. Until a person is deemed a live threat, its up to friends, family and concerned citizens like the outdoor store manager to try to manage them.

My experiences with my son, the uptick in mental illness in the young, their access to weapons, general misunderstandings about what mental illnesses actually are  all of these issues are too thorny, too snarled, too painful to untangle in a thousand-plus words. Four years in, Im sure of only one thing: Even families as resourced as mine need more help.

I took it for granted that law enforcement would want to keep a firearm away from my son when he was ill  especially once he threatened members of our family. I knew police officers would be the ones whod have to deal with him if things went south. I was terrified hed shoot an officer, or one would shoot him. Or both.

Equally as terrifying, my son repeatedly threatened to take his own life. For 30 years, suicides have made up the majority of U.S. firearm deaths. My heart misses a beat every time I remember that an American dies by suicide with a gun about every 20 minutes. I knew my son was far more likely to take his own life than someone elses. And yet, in order to protect him, protect those around him and protect law enforcement, his dad and I had to spend thousands of dollars and appear before a judge 1,200 miles from our home to beg the courts to decree his hospitalization.

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Im not challenging the Second Amendment here, only stating the obvious: No American family should have to work that hard to keep its members safe from a gun.

If near-weekly mass shooting tragedies and shamefully high gun death rates arent enough to move lawmakers to insist on common-sense gun policies to protect our citizens, theres something they can do right now to keep people safe from harm. Much like nationwide requirements for child abuse reporting, lawmakers could require school administrators, teachers, social workers, law enforcement and health care providers to report if they hear, or suspect, that someone poses a threat. The person in question could be investigated, monitored, and, if need be, hospitalized  with their privacy and rights intact.

Citizens can insist on this. They can call or email their representatives right now. State and federal lawmakers could begin drafting this legislation tonight. Laws could be codified within weeks.

In the meantime, to anyone who loves a person with a mental illness, you may be like me, bone tired, heart in shreds, or, like my spouse, maybe you keep it together like its just another day. Either way, as things stand, we are the system. I realize that makes us the lousiest system ever not-created. Still, if theres any possibility that your child/sibling/classmate could be dangerous, the merest chance, please tell someone. Its the best way to keep everyone safe  and maybe the way your loved one gets better.

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My son is. Better, I mean. In May, my husband and I helped him move to a city closer to us. Hes landed on the right meds, is attending a couple classes and is sober. Im hopeful  and afraid to hope. Mostly, I just try to stay in today.

When I told him I wanted to write this piece, my son said, Do it. I write about you in my music, its only fair that you write about me  especially if it helps one person.

I hope our story does help people feel less alone, less ashamed  and that maybe, just maybe, it plays some part in convincing our leaders to enact immediate and lasting change.

Coley Gallagher has written for Motherwell, The Chicago Tribune, and Hypertext Magazine. She lives on Floridas Atlantic coast with her family, their Shepherd mix, and the most beautiful cat on the planet, and is currently finishing a memoir.

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Do you have a compelling personal story youd like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what were looking for here and send us a pitch at pitch@huffpost.com.

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South Dakota political leaders are offering their prayers after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot Sept. 10 while speaking at a college campus in Utah.

Kirk, 31, was speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, when he was shot in the neck during a question-and-answer session with students.

"Charlie Kirk was a good man, a great American and a true voice for Freedom," South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden said. "Please join Sandy and me in praying for his family."

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The governor's office announced the lowering of flags as well.

President Donald Trump issued a statement on Truth Social following reports of the shooting.

"We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!" Trump said.

Live updates: Charlie Kirk killed in shooting at Utah campus event, Donald Trump says.

Later in the day, Trump announced in another Truth Social post that Kirk has died.

Kirk, who founded the conservative group Turning Point USA, had upcoming tour dates in Minnesota and North Dakota. He was scheduled to be in Woodland Park, Colorado, on Sept. 11, and at the Culture and Christianity Conference in Tennessee on Sept. 19.

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He had no planned visits to South Dakota.

Here's what state politicians are saying as they offer condolences to the Kirk family.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem

"Bryon and I are lifting up Charlie, Erika and their family in our prayers right now," Noem, the former South Dakota governor and current U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security said on social media.

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley

"The world has lost one of the great conservative voices of a generation," said Jackley, who is running for Congress. "Violence is never the answer. We will miss you, Charlie Kirk."

Republican U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson

"Praying for Charlie Kirk and his family," Johnson said.

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He announced his run for S.D. governor earlier this summer.

"Political violence has no place in our country," he said on social media.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

Senate Majority Leader John Thune also expressed that "there is no place in our country for political violence.

"Period, full stop," he said. "Please join me in praying for Charlie Kirk."

Thune was reported by the New York Times at 4:26 p.m. CT to be standing on the Senate floor saying he was horrified to learn that Kirk had died.

Julian Beaudion

"The shooting of Charlie Kirk is a reminder that political violence has no place in America," Beaudion said on social media.

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He announced last spring he is seeking South Dakotas Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat, currently held by Mike Rounds.

"We can disagree, but we must resolve those disagreements through conversation, organizing, and elections, not violence, he said.

South Dakota Democratic Party

"The political violence we've seen in this country over the last year needs to stop now," South Dakota Democratic Party Chair Shane Merrill said in a statement.

"We unequivocally condemn political violence in all forms, political violence is never an acceptable answer," party Vice Chair Jessica Meyers said.

South Dakota Republican Party Chairman Jim Eschenbaum

"Our condolences and prayers are with the family and friends of the conservative voice, Charlie Kirk," Eschenbaum said. "This violence against people we disagree with politically, absolutely must stop.

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"This is America, where we are Constitutionally able to speak freely about our political beliefs, even criticize our own government if we see fit. I hope justice is swift against the violent criminal who caused this tragic and needless loss of life."

Minnehaha County Democratic Party

"We've had our fair share of disagreements with Charlie Kirk," the Minnehaha County Democratic Party wrote in a statement. "Nonetheless, we remain adamantly opposed to political violence.

"The ongoing events at Utah State, alongside the context of the shooting at Evergreen High School in Denver, at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, the assassination of Minnesota speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark -- further highlight the need for action to finally end the gun violence epidemic."

This is a developing story.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Charlie Kirk killed in Utah shooting: South Dakota leaders react
Riek Machar, South Sudans first vice president, has been charged with murder, treason and crimes against humanity.

The charges stem from his alleged involvement in attacks by a militia against federal forces in March, the justice minister announced on Thursday.

South Sudans government claims the White Army, a loose band of armed youths, attacked a military base in Nasir, northeastern South Sudan, and killed more than 250 soldiers on Machars orders.

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Seven others, including the former minister of petroleum, were charged alongside Machar on Thursday following investigations into a suspected rebellion plot.





These crimes were marked by gross violations of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law, including the desecration of corpses, persecution of civilians and attacks on humanitarian workers, Justice Minister Joseph Geng Akech said, according to AFP.

Machar and President Salva Kiir have long been rivals.

Civil war broke out in oil-producing South Sudan in 2013  less than two years after the country gained independence from Sudan following decades of war  after Kiir sacked Machar as vice president, accusing him of plotting a coup.

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The conflict killed an estimated 400,000 people directly and indirectly, and forced roughly four million  one-third of the population  from their homes before a 2018 peace deal saw the pair form a government of national unity.





That power-sharing deal began unravelling earlier this year, when, in response to fighting since late February in the northeastern Upper Nile state, Kiirs government detained several officials from Machars party, including the petroleum minister and the deputy head of the army.
Two teenagers are in critical condition after another teenager, who has since died, is suspected of opening fire in a Colorado high school, according to authorities.

The suspected shooter has been identified as Desmond Holly, said Jacki Kelley, spokesperson for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, during a Thursday, Sept. 11 news briefing.

On Wednesday, Sept. 10, at 12:24 p.m., while some students were at lunch, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office received the first reports of the school shooting at Evergreen High School, located about 30 miles southwest of Denver, where the shooter, armed with a handgun, fired shots inside and outside of the school.

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The male student who opened fire died from self-inflicted injuries, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office stated in a post on X.

It didn't appear that officers fired any rounds, Kelley said.

Following a brief lockdown, the high school, which serves approximately 900 students, was declared safe by law enforcement.

The investigation is ongoing, and the FBI, along with multiple other agencies, is involved.

People gather near a bus being used to transport students at the Evergreen Library after a shooting at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colorado on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. Students walk to board a bus amid heavy police presence at the Evergreen Library after a shooting at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colorado on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. Shooting at Evergreen high school in Colorado. See the scene. 1 of 2 People gather near a bus being used to transport students at the Evergreen Library after a shooting at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colorado on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.

Who was the suspected shooter?

The suspected shooter was identified as Desmond Holly, a 16-year-old student who attended the school, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

"He was radicalized by some extremist network", Kelley said at the news briefing.

Who are the victims?

The identities of the victims have not been released, but they were also students at the high school.

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The victims and the shooter were all taken to the St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, Colorado, according to PBS and the Denver Post.

One of the victims had critical injuries and the other had non-life-threatening injuries, Dr. Brian Blackwood, head of trauma at CommonSpirit St. Anthony Hospital, said.

The victims' families plan to release photos of the children involved and a statement on Thursday, Sept. 11, according to Kelley. However, she did not state the exact time the information would be released.

"Let them grieve, let them deal with what they're dealing with, the fact that their student or their loved one was shot," Kelley said.

West Metro paramedics drive past as police stand at Evergreen High School, where a shooting occurred earlier in the day, on September 10, 2025.

Where did the shooting take place?

The shooting took place at Evergreen High School, 30 miles southwest of Denver. Shots were fired inside and outside of the school.

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The crime scene extends off of school property to a street behind the school.

Suspect needed to keep reloading gun

The suspected shooter used a revolver handgun during the shooting and kept having to reload it, Kelley said.

He "brought quite a bit of ammunition with him," she said.

The student did not drive to school or walk; he took the bus.

"He would fire and reload, fire and reload, fire and reload," Kelley said. "This went on and on. And as he did that, he tried to find new targets."

Officers have warrants for the suspected shooters' home, phone and school locker.

Students sheltered in classrooms from shooter

The shooter was kept from shooting more students after the school went into lockdown, Kelley said. While many students fled the school's campus, those who stayed behind hunkered down in their classrooms.

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"He came up against a roadblock on many of those (classroom) doors," said Kelley. "So, he couldn't get to those kids."

What led to the shooting?

The motive for the shooting is unknown.

Kelley said the sheriff's office is still investigating the shooting. Officials are investigating the suspected shooter's motive.

It is unknown whether the shooter knew the victims of the shooting, according to the Denver Post.

Classes canceled through the rest of the week

Evergreen High School has canceled classes and will not be in session on Thursday, Sept. 11, and Friday, Sept. 12, according to a news release posted by the school.

It is not known when school will be back in session, as it will remain closed while the investigation continues, according to Kelley. The school would also like to repair broken windows and lockers with bullets shot through them before it resumes classes.

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The school has listed various resources and support available to those impacted by the shooting, and will release more information on the resources soon.

Lawmakers react to the school shooting

Officials are reacting and sending their condolences to those impacted by the shooting.

Rep. Jason Crow, a Democratic representative for Colorado's 6th Congressional District, wrote in part in a post on X, saying, "What a terrible day. Schools should not be shooting ranges."

"My heart is with the students, families, and entire Evergreen community after todays tragic shooting," Colorado Gov. Jared Polis wrote in a post on X. "No young person should have to carry this kind of trauma, and help is available."

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Polis also says he was closely monitoring the situation. State troopers were supporting local law enforcement.

Evergreen High School located near Columbine High School

Evergreen High School is located about 20 miles from Columbine High School, the site of an infamous 1999 mass shooting that killed 12 students and a teacher. Columbine's shooting is considered one of the deadliest school shootings in American history.

Shooting occurs the same day as the Charlie Kirk assassination

Hours after the high school shooting took place, another shooting at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, where conservative activist and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk, 31, was holding an event.

During the event, while debating with a student, Kirk was fatally shot. Graphic videos posted online show the moment the shooting happened.

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Live updates: Charlie Kirk shot and killed in Utah as authorities hunt for gunman

Approximately 3,000 people attended the event, prompting the school to evacuate the campus and shut down.

Police are still searching for the shooter.

This story has been updated with new information.

Contributing: Melissa Galbraith, Will Carless, Thao Nguyen, Josh Meyer, Jeanine Santucci; USA TODAY

Julia is a Trending reporter for USA TODAY. Connect with her on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Evergreen High School shooting in Colorado leaves shooter dead, 2 hurt
Sweden pledged on Sept. 11 around 70 billion Swedish kronor ($7.44 billion) in military aid to Ukraine over the next two years and unveiled a new package worth 9.2 billion kronor ($840 million) as part of that commitment, Sweden's Defense Minister Pal Jonson announced on X.

The announcement comes in the wake of a large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine, during which several Russian drones entered Polish airspace, with some intercepted by air defenses.

The Swedish government decided to increase military aid to Ukraine from 2026 to 2027 to 40 billion Swedish kronor ($3.7 billion) per year, which will amount to approximately $7.44 billion over two years.

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A significant portion of the funds will go toward acquisitions by the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration, with priorities including additional Archer artillery systems.

The $840 million package includes the purchase of 18 Archer artillery systems and ammunition, long-range drones, and a range of naval equipment, such as coastal radar systems, cable ferries equipped with grenade launchers, diving chambers, and mobile cranes, according to the Swedish government.

The aid package will also provide ammunition, sensors, and control systems for the Swedish Tridon air defense system previously donated to Ukraine, as well as equipment for operating air bases and sensors designed to detect drones and robotic systems.

"Additional secret systems and projects are also included, but their introduction will have to be saved for the battlefield," Jonson wrote on X.

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"The Russian army can expect Swedish-Ukrainian surprises going forward. Sweden will continue to put hard pressure on Russia until they stop this war," Jonson added.

This military aid package is the 20th from Sweden since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022.

Read also: NATOs response to Russian drones reveals glaring issue with Europes air defenses

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE)  The fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Wednesday has prompted condemnation and condolences from both ends of the political spectrum. Several Tennessee politicians and groups have shared messages of their own through social media.

@MariaLeeTN and I offer our heartfelt prayers for Charlie Kirk, and ask that the Lord be near his family right now. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on X

Conservative Charlie Kirk dead after being shot during Utah event, suspect at large

Charlie Kirk touched the lives of countless people across America, and the movement he started changed our country for the better, US Senator Marsha Blackburn said. I am devastated by his passing, and words fail to describe how much of a loss this is for our nation. We mourn with his family, and we pray for justice to be served.

Our prayers and sympathy are with Charlie Kirks family during this difficult time. His memory will live long and his continued influence will never end. May God Bless him, his family and all those that knew him, heard him, and met him Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton

Any and all violence has no place in our society, the Tennessee Democratic Party wrote in a statement on Wednesday. We are shocked by the horrific situation unfolding in Utah and are keeping Charlie Kirk and his loved ones in our prayers.

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Charlie Kirk spent his life fighting for conservative principles, traveling the nation and engaging directly with people on the opposite side of the aisle, said US Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN02). I am heartbroken for his wife, two young children, and everyone who called him a friend.

MAGA movement mourns killing of Charlie Kirk, a bright conservative star

Today another act of senseless violence occurred in Utah. Violence has no place in a civil society and we condemn this act of terrorism in the strongest possible terms. Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Rachel Campbell

The Knox County Democratic Party condemns and denounces political violence in all forms. Democracy prevails when we settle our differences civilly and at the ballot box. We condemn the attack on Charlie Kirk and our thoughts and prayers are with Charlie and his family. We also extend our concern to everyone present at the event, said Knox Dems Chair Stuart Hohl. This act of terror has no place in our country.

I am devastated to hear of Charlie Kirks death. We take comfort in Charlies firm faith in Jesus Christ and know his eternal soul is at peace with the Lord. Please pray for Charlies family, his young children, and all of his loved ones. God bless Charlie Kirk. US Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN03)

 See more top stories on WATE.com

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The shooting took place during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in Orem, about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side.
PROVIDENCE  In some ways, a shooting on a college campus thousands of miles away feels distant if youre a college student in a different state who embraces different political views.

However, for some Rhode Island students, the fatal shooting of conservative media personality Charlie Kirk during a public event at a university reinforces growing concerns about the state of U.S. politics, gun violence and what those issues mean for young people today.

Arizonans mourn Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk outside of the Turning Point USA headquarters on September 10, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona.

'It got me sick to my stomach'

At Rhode Island College, most students were in class or between classes when Kirk was killed while speaking at a Utah Valley University event on Sept. 10. It didnt take long for students to see the news about what happened online though.

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Oh, I was shocked, especially when I saw the video on Instagram. It got me sick to the stomach, said Christian Ordonez, a business student at RIC. Every year there are shootings.

RIC freshman Jesus Mota was also surprised that someone of Kirks caliber was targeted. His first thought was wondering whether Kirks family was present at the shooting.

When it comes to Charlie Kirks beliefs, I dont think me and him align, explained Mota. But I think that nobody should ever get killed in broad daylight on a college campus, for the whole internet to see.

Emma L., a sophomore who just transferred to RIC, believes there should be stronger gun protection laws in place and that violence shouldnt be perpetrated, even as Kirk had previously argued that "some gun deaths" were the cost of preserving access to firearms.

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Charlie Kirk was someone who did say people should die here and there to keep our Second Amendment, but he definitely didnt think hed be the one to join that statistic, she said. I think its awful what happened. He is a human, at the end of the day and people shouldnt die due to what they believe in.

Student views on U.S. politics

Some students dont see the point of paying attention to everything in the news cycle these days.

All I know is that [Kirk] liked Trump, said RIC sophomore Keylynne Collado. What he believed in, I didnt really agree with it, so I didnt pay him no mind.

Putting aside Kirks political beliefs, some Americans view his death as part of a greater trend of politically motivated violence, including an assassination and attack against two Minnesota lawmakers earlier this summer.

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I think, unfortunately, because of who he is, it definitely brings more awareness to that, said Mota. I dont want to say its because of his connections, or because he was a Republican or a nationalist, or whatever, but I do think that could factor in.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Charlie Kirk shooting has RI college students worried about political violence
Multiple historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, have gone into lockdown after threats were directed at the campus, school officials announced.

Alabama State University, Hampton University, Virginia State University, Southern University and A&M College, and Bethune-Cookman University locked down the morning of Thursday, Sept. 11, each citing potential threats made against the campuses. The lockdown at Southern University was later lifted, but all campus activities and classes were cancelled through the weekend, school officials announced on social media.

Spelman College in Atlanta also asked students and faculty to avoid campus and increased security measures due to a threat against nearby Clark Atlanta University, though the shelter-in-place order was later lifted. Clark Atlanta University confirmed in a statement to USA TODAY that campus police are investigating threats and a shelter-in-place order has ended.

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Virginia State shared an urgent alert at 8:30 a.m. ET, declaring the campus closed and advising students, faculty, and staff to check their emails. Campus police are "actively investigating the credibility of the threat received earlier today" along with local, state and federal law enforcement partners, the university said in a statement.

Alabama State told USA TODAY in a statement that it received "terrorist threats" and that it had shut down campus operations out of an abundance of caution.

This Nov. 12, 2023 file photo shows the campus of Virginia State University.

"We are working in close coordination with the appropriate law enforcement agencies to assess the situation and to ensure the safety and security of our students, faculty, staff, and the broader ASU community," the statement said.

Hampton University canceled classes for Sept. 11 and 12, saying in a statement, "Hampton University has received notice of a potential threat and has ceased all non-essential activity, effective immediately."

Florida A&M University cancels in-person classes as a precaution

Following the threats directed at multiple HBCUs nationwide, Florida A&M University in Tallahassee announced plans to cancel in-person classes and its presidential convocation.

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While the university did not receive any threats, the school said that it will suspend in-person classes in an abundance of caution for the evening of Sept. 11 and all day Sept. 12, and shift to virtual learning.

Earlier, the university said normal operations would continue despite heightened security issues on other campuses. University police said it was working closely with the FBI and the university leadership to monitor the situation.

"We stand in solidarity with institutions currently under lockdown or threat and extend our support during this time," the university said in an alert message.

Lockdowns follow years of threats, violence at HBCUs

MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton condemned the threats, noting that several of the nation's roughly 100 HBCUs have been targeted in recent years. USA TODAY found more than two dozen HBCUs in 12 states and Washington, D.C., were targeted by bomb threats in 2022, prompting a federal hate crime and violent extremism investigation.

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In 2023, officials said a gunman was confronted by campus security at Edward Waters University, the first historically Black college in Florida, before shooting three people at a nearby Dollar General store. Students at Tuskegee University, a private, historically Black institution, were among those wounded after gunfire erupted on campus in 2024, leaving one person dead and 16 others injured.

"We have seen too much violence on our campuses, whether it was the brazen murder of Charlie Kirk yesterday or the threats against these HBCUs today," Sharpton said in a statement. "Colleges and Universities should be a place of free expression and debate in a way thats respectful, engaging, and productive. What we have seen the last two days is anything but that."

Contributing: John Bacon, Alex Gladden, Thao Nguyen, Francisco Guzman, and Claire Thornton, USA TODAY; Tarah Jean, Tallahassee Democrat

(This story was updated to include video.)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Multiple HBCUs on lockdown after receiving terroristic threats
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)  Conservative media figure Charlie Kirk has died at the age of 31 after being shot at a university event on Wednesday, according to President Donald Trump.

The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead, Trump wrote. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.

A representative for Utah Valley University told NBC News that the shooting happened about 20 minutes into a presentation and that Kirk was the only person hit.

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Videos posted on social media showed Kirk getting shot, with blood visibly coming from his neck. Other videos showed students running from the scene.

Reports state that Kirk was at the university as part of his The American Comeback Tour. There were no metal detectors at this event.

An alert from UVU initially said a suspect was in custody, but UVU spokeswoman Eleanor Treanor said there was no suspect in custody later on.

Today at about 12:10 a shot was fired at the visiting speaker, Charlie Kirk, a UVU post stated. He was hit and taken from the location by his security. Campus police is investigating.

Turing Point USA founder Charlie Kirk addresses the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on July 15, 2024.

In an evening press conference, Gov. Spencer Cox said a person of interest in custody for the shooting. However, FBI Director Kash Patel said this person was released after being interrogated.

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The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement, Patel wrote. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency.

Son of Dog the Bounty Hunter placed on leave after deadly police chase

Witness Justin Hickens told NBC News he was 20 yards away when the shooting happened. He said he heard the gunshot and then saw Kirk fall to the ground while blood came out of his neck.

At the time, Kirk was discussing violence in America and answering a question on whether he knew how many mass shooters there have been in the U.S. over the past 10 years.

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Counting or not counting gang violence? Kirk said just before the gunshot.

Turning Point USA posted the following statement on Kirks death:

It is with a heavy heart that we confirm that Charles James Kirk has been murdered by a gunshot that took place during Turning Point USAs The American Comeback Tour campus event at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025.

Political figures quickly took to social media to ask for prayers.

The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said. We must reject political violence in EVERY form.

Rest in Peace, Charlie Kirk, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote on X. Casey and I are praying for his family. Charlie was a warrior for liberty, and his murder is a tragedy for our nation.

Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father, Vice President J.D. Vance said.

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Classes at UVU have been canceled, and students have been told to leave campus immediately.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
The large storm that brought cooler air, soaking showers and gusty thunderstorms from the Rockies to near the Pacific coast in recent days will shift away this weekend. However, the return of dry weather may only be temporary as leftover moisture from Mario may move northward next week.

From Wednesday morning through Thursday morning, many areas from the Rockies to the Interstate 5 corridor in the United States received a few hundredths to several tenths of an inch of rain. Some parts of Northern California and eastern Oregon received between 0.50 and 1 inch of rain. Most areas from western Arizona to southern Nevada and Southern California have remained free of rain. Additional rain fell in parts of the Northwest and Intermountain region on Friday.

The same large storm system will lead to severe weather from parts of the Rockies to the Great Plains and Upper Midwest into the weekend.

AccuWeather.com

"The zone from Arizona and New Mexico to Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Montana look to be mainly dry from later this weekend to well into next week," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Heather Zehr said. "Temperatures will trend upward to near seasonal levels for mid-September."

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"We expect a weak storm to move into Washington and parts of Oregon and Idaho for the second half of the weekend, and that will bring back some clouds and showers," Zehr said. A few thunderstorms may also develop.

AccuWeather.com

Tropical Storm Mario organized on Friday, and brought heavy rain and gusty winds to the western coast of Mexico through Friday night. While Mario is no longer trackable, any leftover moisture may track northward into the Southwest states.

"Some moisture may begin to show up in the form of clouds and spotty showers as early as Tuesday in parts of Southern California, Arizona and southern Nevada but are more likely from Wednesday on," Zehr said.

AccuWeather.com

It is also possible that an area of high pressure that develops over the interior West next week may hold off the bulk of the moisture. In that case, there may be little to no rain.

"Parts of the Southwest may experience only higher humidity levels, but we will be watching the leftover moisture from Mario closely," Zehr said.
Kiko is continuing to weaken as it passes just to the north of the Hawaiian Islands on Sept. 10, churning up rough surf and bringing rain showers, forecasters said.

Kiko, once a Category 4 hurricane as it traveled through the Pacific Ocean, has now been downgraded to a post-tropical storm as of the 11 a.m. ET advisory from the National Hurricane Center. The system, now a remnant low, is 110 miles north of Honolulu, Hawaii.

Rain was focused on the windward sides of Maui and the Island of Hawaii, or Big Island, the evening of Sept. 9 and is expected to spread inward on Sept. 10, according to the National Weather Service office in Honolulu.

Satellite view of Tropical Storm Melissa 10:30 a.m. Oct. 22, 2025. One of five homes that collapsed within 45 minutes on Sept. 30, 2025, as rough seas from two hurricanes pounded away at beaches along portions of North Carolina's Outer Banks. An image of the winds over the Atlantic Ocean, as seen on earth.nullschool.net on the morning of Sept. 30, 2025, as hurricanes Imelda and Humberto spin away from the United States. Hurricanes Imelda and Humberto swirl in the Atlantic Ocean on Sept. 30, 2025 in this image from NOAA's GOES 19 satellite. Hurricane Gabrielle spins in the Atlantic east of Bermuda, while two other potential storms are seen in the tropical Atlantic on the morning of Sept. 24, 2025. One is causing rain and storms over Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and the other is east of the Leeward Islands. The National Hurricane Center is monitoring all three. Tropical Storm Chantal over the U.S. East Coast on the morning of July 5, 2025. Tropical Storm Andrea, the first storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, is seen via satellite on June 24, 2025. Barry made landfall on June 29, 2025, south of Tampico, Mexico as a tropical depression, after weakening from a tropical storm. Tropical Storm Chantal slammed North Carolina with heavy rain that caused extreme flooding to central parts of the state on Monday, July 7. Footage shared by Cassaundra Anderson, a Chapel Hill resident, shows rapidly rising floodwaters in her neighborhood, leaving cars partially submerged. The storm was dubbed a tropical depression upon landfall on Sunday, July 6, and further downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone on Monday, July 7, according to the National Hurricane Center. Tropical Storm Dexter on satellite on Aug. 4, 2025. Surfers take advantage of the swells coming from Hurricane Erin into Wrightsville Beach around Crystal Pier on Aug. 19, 2025, in Wrightsville Beach, N.C. Hurricane Erin crawls along the U.S. East Coast on the morning of Aug. 20, 2025. Hurricane Erin on a geocolor satellite image on August 16, 2025. Wave heights offshore could reach heights of 50 feet near the eye of Hurricane Erin as the storm passes the U.S. East Coast on Aug. 19-21. It's massive wind field is stirring up the ocean across an area hundreds of miles wide. An aerial view from a NOAA Aircraft along Highway 12 on the Outer Banks of North Carolina after Hurricane Erin's high surf surrounds homes on the beach in Buxton. Tropical Storm Fernand 2025 full track. Hurricane Gabrielle is seen via NOAA satellite as it moves eastward in the Atlantic Ocean east of Bermuda, on the morning of Sept. 24, 2025. On Oct 28, 2025, a Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite captured a vivid view of Hurricane Melissa's eye a few hours before landfall on Jamaica's southern coast. Dawn Jensen (from left) Leann Johnson, Denise Gjertson and Dean Gjertson traveled to Jamaica at the end of October and were stranded after Hurricane Melissa. They returned home Nov. 4. Flooded houses in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, in Black River, Jamaica, November 5, 2025. Hurricane Melissa's eye is captured by NOAA satellite as the sun rises, as the Category 5 storm, with peaked sustained winds of 185 mph and gusts of more than 200 mph, approaches the island of Jamaica. Gloria Hutchins, 70, is assisted by a member of the army medical staff in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa in Darliston, Jamaica on Nov. 3, 2025. Dorothy Headley, 75, prepares a meal of cow liver over a wood fire as damaged property is seen in the background in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa in the Watercress community of Westmoreland, Jamaica, on October 31, 2025. A woman is evacuated from her home by emergency personnel after the Cauto River flooded due to Hurricane Melissa, in Rio Cauto, Granma Province, Cuba October 31, 2025. Hurricane scientist Andy Hazelton with the University of Miami took this photo inside the eye of Hurricane Melissa aboard a flight on the NOAA WP-3D hurricane reconnaissance aircraft dubbed Kermit, for Kermit the Frog. A damaged house is pictured after Hurricane Melissa slammed Boca de Dos Rios village, in Santiago de Cuba province, Cuba, on Oct. 30, 2025. People walk through a flooded street following Hurricane Melissa in Petit-Goave, 68km southwest of Port-au-Prince, on October 30, 2025. Hurricane Melissa was moving towards Bermuda on Thursday after ripping a path of destruction through the Caribbean that left at least 20 people dead in Haiti, and parts of Jamaica and Cuba in ruins. A drone view shows an affected area after Hurricane Melissa made landfall, in Crane Road, Black River, Jamaica, October 30, 2025. REUTERS/Maria Alejandra Cardona Drone view of flooding after Hurricane Melissa made landfall in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica. A NOAA satellite captures the eye of deadly Hurricane Melissa at Jamaica's coast on Oct. 28, 2025. Storms of the 2025 hurricane season so far 1 of 30 Satellite view of Tropical Storm Melissa 10:30 a.m. Oct. 22, 2025.

Kiko's winds were sustained at about 35 mph and it was moving west at 12 mph. The westward movement is expected to continue as the storm weakens, avoiding a direct hit to Hawaii. Its impacts to the island should pass their peak on Sept. 10 as Kiko moves off to the west.

How much rain will Kiko bring?

Rainfall of up to 1 to 2 inches is expected across most of the islands as Kiko passes through Sept. 10, forecasters said. Wide shower coverage was expected overnight Sept. 9 over parts of Maui and Big Island, the weather service said. Some localized heavy downpours are possible, bur in general rainfall amounts should not exceed 1 inch per hour.

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As Kiko passes north of the islands, a plume of tropical moisture is forecast to extend over Hawaii and could lead to locally gusty thunderstorms and flash flooding, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty said.

There's also a fire risk on the leeward sides of the islands that have been experiencing drought, with Kiko disrupting trade wind patterns, AccuWeather reported.

Kiko kicks up rough surf

Tropical storm conditions extended to the northern offshore waters of Hawaii, the weather service said. High surf warnings were in place for the islands of Kauai and Oahu, but swells didn't reach as high as forecasters expected for Big Island, so surf warnings there were cancelled on Sept. 10.

Kiko's swells should peak by Wednesday across the waters of the western islands, the hurricane center said. Surf zone hazards from tropical storms can include large waves and strong rip currents, which swimmers might not be able to see from shore. Rip currents are fast-moving channels of water that flows away from the shore and can drag a swimmer way out into the ocean.

Kiko's path by Hawaii One of dozens that have passed the islands

See Kiko's path

Tropical Storm Kiko, once a Category 4 hurricane, makes its pass north of the Hawaiian Islands early the morning of Sept. 10 ET.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kiko, now post-tropical, weakens as it passes by Hawaii
Over 200,000 people were reportedly evacuated in Guangdong, a southern province in China, due to Tropical Storm Tapahs September 8 landfall.

According to the Associated Press, the China Meteorological Administration disclosed that Tapah hit land around 8:50 a.m. local time near Taishan (aka Taishan City and the First Home of the Overseas Chinese). Xinhua News Agency noted Tapahs approach and presence reportedly led to school closures, rescheduled court hearings, and temporary pauses on transportation services, such as trains and ferries.

The tropical cyclone brought extreme rain and winds to Southern China. Al Jazeera reported that Guangdongs Emergency Management Department closed the provinces parks and beaches.

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Guangdong has reportedly experienced 16 typhoons this year so far. Though typhoons are regionally prone between May and December, they are more common between July and October.

In nearby Hong Kong, Tapah contributed to flight disruptions. Hong Kong International Airport issued a September 8 statement. It noted that as of 5 p.m. local time, about 140 flights were cancelled and 370 flights delayed. The source further explained that the disruptions were a result of strong winds and crosswinds.

Due to Tapah, the special administrative region on Chinas southern coast reportedly issued its third-highest storm warning: the No. 8.

What Is A Typhoon?

A typhoon is a tropical cyclone. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration explains that the weather phenomenons name varies depending on the region where it occurs and the speaker. The name typhoon is used to reference tropical cyclones that happen in the Northwest Pacific. However, in the North Atlantic and both the central and eastern North Pacific, its called a hurricane. Elsewhere, such as the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean, the weather disturbance is referred to as a tropical cyclone.







The post Tropical Storm Tapah Causes Major Disruptions In Southern China And Hong Kong appeared first on Travel Noire.
NASA has banned Chinese citizens with US visas from participating in agency programs  a dramatic escalation in the space race between China and the United States. It occurs as China gears up to send a crewed mission to land and potentially establish a habitat on the moon, about which the Trump administration has expressed increasing alarm.

The new policy began September 5, and its effects have since rippled across the sprawling agency, according to two people at NASA who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

The change affects hundreds of scientists and researchers, many of whom are funded by NASA to conduct their work in climate science, space and other disciplines, the sources said.

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A NASA spokesperson put the number of those affected at less than 100.

It is not clear if there was a specific incident that prompted this crackdown. When CNN asked NASA why these steps were taken, NASAs press office sent a post on X with a clip of a recent appearance by acting administrator Sean Duffy on Fox Business.

China is NOT going to the moon with good intentions, the post from Duffy reads. America will get there FIRST, preserving peace for both the U.S. and our international partners.

Chinese nationals are no longer allowed to have physical access to NASA facilities, to join Zoom calls with their NASA colleagues or access the agencys supercomputing resources. Supercomputing work is essential for those who are studying climate change in particular.

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The limitations placed on these researchers is disrupting NASAs work and could stymie the careers of younger Chinese researchers who came to the US to advance their scientific work, as well as benefit the space agency through their findings, the sources said.

The restrictions also apply to attendance at NASA-funded meetings, both in person and online. They are resulting in additional disruptions amid what has already been a turbulent time for NASA employees since the administration has targeted the agency for steep budget cuts and reductions in personnel.

The directive is unrelated to the August 28 executive order from President Donald Trump, which designated NASA as having national security functions, according to an agency spokesperson.

The internal action taken at NASA pertaining to Chinese nationals, including physical and cybersecurity restrictions, are a separate matter from the Executive Order, the spokesperson told CNN Tuesday.

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On Thursday, NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens was more specific about the sweeping nature of the restrictions imposed on Chinese citizens who have US visas, telling CNN: NASA has taken internal action pertaining to Chinese nationals, including restricting physical and cybersecurity access to our facilities, materials, and network to ensure the security of our work.

The new restrictions, reported earlier by Bloomberg News, come at a time of heightened competition between the US and China both on Earth and in the new space race.

The Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceship blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, atop the Long March-2F carrier rocket, carrying taikonauts to China's space station on April 24, in Jiuquan, China. - Visual China Group/Getty Images/File

China has been advertising plans to land Taikonauts  or Chinese astronauts  on the lunar surface for the first time by 2030, competing with NASAs plan to return its own astronauts to the moons surface as soon as mid-2027.

Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy, a close Trump ally who is also the Secretary of Transportation, caused a stir in early August by saying he has directed the US space agency to fast-track plans to put a nuclear reactor on the moon to generate power for a future permanent settlement on the lunar surface.

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Were in a race to the moon, in a race with China to the moon, Duffy told reporters at the time, warning that if another country beat the US, that nation could declare a keep-out zone that could thwart NASAs moon base plans.

These charged discussions about racing China to the moon come as NASA is set to lose thousands of employees and could lose billions in funding.

At least 4,000 people are taking deferred resignation offers from the Trump administration, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The presidents proposed 2026 budget would also slash NASAs overall funding by 24%. While funding for the agencys Artemis moon landing program has remained largely intact, the cuts would include a nearly 50% reduction in science funding.

Politicians on both sides of the aisle have expressed a desire to secure American supremacy in space.

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Make no mistake, we are in a new space race with China, said Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, the chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, at a committee hearing last week. Space is no longer reserved simply for peaceful exploration. It is today a strategic frontier with direct consequences for national security, economic growth and technological leadership.

Cruzs Democratic colleague, Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, the committees ranking member, added she viewed continued investments in space technology to be critical to our future economic and national security.

We know we need to go back to the moon, and we know we need to go there before China establishes a permanent presence, Cantwell said.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk has died at age 31 after he was shot in the neck during an event at a college campus in Utah, President Donald Trump announced.

The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead, Trump posted on Truth Social. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!

Trump added in a second Truth Social post that he is ordering all flags to be at half-mast until Sunday evening to honor a truly Great American Patriot.

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Attendees at a Turning Point USA event were sent fleeing after a single shot struck Kirk just after noon local time, causing him to collapse while blood spewed from his neck.

Right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk throws hats to the crowd shortly before he was shot at a Utah Valley University speaking event in Orem, Utah, Sept. 10, 2025. / Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via Reuters

Kirk was rushed from Utah Valley State University to a local hospital. He was said to be in critical condition at one point, but the married father of two succumbed to his injuries. Trumps post came about two-and-a-half hours after the single shot was fired.

The suspected shooter has not been identified.

Charlie and his wife, Erika Kirk, had two children together. / Instagram/mrserikakirk

Videos on social media captured the moment Kirk, who is the executive director of TPUSA, appeared to be struck by a bullet. Deseret News reporter Emma Pitts told CNN that she saw Kirk go limp after the gunshot rang out and that blood began gushing from his neck immediately.

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To be perfectly blunt, it felt like so much blood came out of his neck immediately, she continued. And then we all took to the ground. I cant tell you what happened immediately after.

Utah Valley State officials said the suspected gunman opened fire from a building 200 yards away from Kirk. There were no reports of injuries to any of the students attending.

Deseret News reported that Kirk had been talking for two minutes before being shot at. He was on campus as part of his American Comeback Tour, and his appearances at Utah universities this month had been protested by thousands ahead of Wednesdays event.

Dear God, protect Charlie in his darkest hour. pic.twitter.com/RqNYfHLs2b  JD Vance (@JDVance) September 10, 2025

Fox News reported that Kirk was shot while speaking about trans issues. Videos from the scene show him talking to a large crowd through a microphone as he sat in an outdoor courtyard.

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The shooting immediately captured the attention of Trump and members of his administration.

Trump wrote on Truth Social before news of the conservative influencers death, We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!

FBI Director Kash Patel said agents were being dispatched to the scene.

Charlie Kirk has rubbed elbows with top Republicans, including Vice President JD Vance and Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri. / Drew Angerer / Getty Images

Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected, the director said. Agents will be on the scene quickly, and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation.

Kirk was among MAGAs most influential voices and was a friend of the presidents son, Donald Trump Jr. The two famously traveled to Greenland after the 2024 election to gauge locals interest in becoming part of the United States. He was also a guest at one of the presidents inauguration balls and spoke at a post-inauguration rally.
Credit: Reuters / Kevin

A conservative influencer and key ally of Donald Trump has been killed in a political assassination while debating university students.

Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old de facto leader of the Maga youth movement, was shot by a gunman at Utah Valley University as he discussed mass shootings committed by trans people.

The killing was condemned by Mr Trump, who said the radical Left had made targets out of people like Mr Kirk by comparing them to Nazis.

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Just before he was shot on an open-air stage, an audience member asked: Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America in the last 10 years?

Counting or not counting gang violence? Mr Kirk responded.

A bullet then hit him in the throat.

Charlie Kirk pictured moments before he was shot - Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images

Footage showed what appeared to be a lone figure, dressed in dark clothing, lying on the roof of a university building about 150 yards from where the conservative firebrand was speaking in front of 3,000 people.

Mr Kirk  guarded by six campus police officers and personal security  was seated under a gazebo to debate liberals, goading them to prove me wrong.

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He began taking questions at 12.05pm. Five minutes later, he fell motionless, slumped in the chair.

Students and campus staff ran, screaming and ducking for cover, as blood began pouring from Mr Kirks throat.

Charlie Kirk is put in the back of a black SUV by six men - Jeremy King

Everyone just came running throughand were screaming run, run, theres a shooter and screaming that he had been shot in the neck, Ethan Reeves, a student, told The Telegraph.

People were very distressed, running away, crying and dropping stuff as they were just trying to get out of the way as quickly as they could.

Mr Kirks security team went to his aid, carrying him to a car as they attempted to stem the bleeding.

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He was taken to hospital but died a short time later.

The US president, who was a friend of Mr Kirk, ordered all flags on American territories at half-mast.

The flag was lowered at the White House - Daniel Becerril

In a video address from the White House, Mr Trump promised to find each and every one of those who contributed to Mr Kirks death.

He said it was long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonising those with whom you disagree.

For years, those on the radical Left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the worlds worst mass murderers and criminals, he said.

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This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism were seeing in our country today  and it must stop right now.

Mr Trump said his friend fought for liberty, democracy, justice and the American people.

Hes a martyr for truth and freedom, he said.

The president and his wife, Melania, sent condolences to Mr Kirks wife, Erika, and the couples daughter, aged three, and son, one.

We take comfort in the knowledge that he is now at peace with God in heaven, Mr Trump said.

Our prayers are with his wife, Erika, their two young, beloved children, and his entire family who he loved more than anything in the world.

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We ask God to watch over them in this terrible hour of heartache and pain.

Charlie Kirk with his wife Erika and two children

Political commentators and politicians across the world, including Barack Obama and Sir Keir Starmer, shared their condolences.

It is heartbreaking that a young family has been robbed of a father and a husband, Sir Keir said.

We must all be free to debate openly and freely without fear  there can be no justification for political violence.

JD Vance, the vice-president, paid tribute to Mr Kirk, writing: Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.

Gunman in all dark clothing

Jeff Long, the chief of police at the University, said campus officials had worked with Mr Kirks team to have bases covered for security at the event.

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Unfortunately, today we didnt, Mr Long said. Because of that, we had this tragic accident.

Mr Kirk had been guarded by his own security as well as six police officers, the police chief said.

This was an open venue, this is outside, he said.

He [Mr Kirk] was sat down in kind of a bowl area here on the central campus. And so he was kind of in a lower area surrounded by buildings, police officers as well.

Police were combing through CCTV footage and social media videos on Wednesday night as the hunt continued for the gunman.

Kash Patel, the FBI director, said that a suspect arrested earlier in the day had been released.

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The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement, Mr Patel said in a post on X.

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

Police were also seen dragging a second man, identified as a Democrat supporter, away from the scene. The mans trousers fell around his ankles as police handcuffed him and carried him by his clothing. The man was released after questioning.

Investigators said they were looking for a person dressed in all dark clothing seen on a roof at the university.

Credit: Reuters / Tanner McKay Maxwell

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Months before Wednesdays shooting, Utah updated its firearm laws to allow over-18s with a concealed weapon permit to openly carry a handgun on the states university campuses.

Prior to the change, which came into effect on May 7, those who wanted to carry a firearm on campus were required to keep it concealed.

Mr Kirks death sent shockwaves around the political world. Outspoken and defiant, he championed conservative values during a period when many feared their opinion would get them cancelled.

Trump: his legacy will live on

Mr Kirk, the founder of Turning Point Action, was at the university as part of his America comeback tour of US campuses. He had asked students to challenge his viewpoints at a prove me wrong table, debating trans rights and other hotly contested issues.

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Mr Trump said his friend had inspired millions, especially young Americans, by joyfully engaging with everyone interested in good faith debate.

His mission was to bring young people into the political process  which he did better than anybody ever  to share his love of country and to spread the simple words of common sense, he said.

On campuses nationwide, he championed his ideas with courage, logic, humour and grace.

Donald Trum said Charlie Kirk inspired millions with courage, logic, humour and grace - JOSH EDELSON

Mr Trump said an assassin had tried to silence Mr Kirk but instead because of this heinous act, Charlies voice has become bigger and grander than ever before.

We will ensure that his voice, his message, and his legacy will live on for countless generations to come, Mr Trump said.



Fox News anchor Will Cain fought back tears on air as he read Mr Trumps announcement about the death.



I dont know where we go from here as a news program, Mr Cain said, and I dont know where we go from here in America.

Seth and Jenny Hamby embrace as they gather outside Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Lehi in support of Charlie Kirk after he was shot and killed at Utah Valley University - Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images

Former Utah representative Jason Chaffetz, a Republican who was at the event, said in an interview on Fox that he heard one shot and saw Kirk fall backwards. It seemed like it was a close shot, said Mr Chaffetz, who appeared shaken as he spoke.

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The shooting could spur the US president to bolster the presence of National Guard troops on American streets amid fears of civil unrest.

Mr Trump vowed on Wednesday night to stop individuals and organisations that funded and supported the gunman, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials and everyone else who brings order to our country.

Mr Kirk began Turning Point in suburban Chicago in 2012, when he was 18, alongside William Montgomery, a Tea Party activist. The pair wanted to debate on college campuses for low taxes and limited government.

It was not an immediate success, but Mr Kirks zeal for confronting liberals in academia eventually won over an influential set of conservative financiers.

Kirk, 31, hands out hats moments before being shot dead at Utah Valley University - Tess Crowley

Turning Point backed Mr Trump after he won the GOP nomination in 2016, and Mr Kirk served as an aide to Donald Trump Jr, during the general election campaign.

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Spencer Cox, the Utah governor, said Mr Kirk had believed in the power of debate to shape ideas and to persuade people.

Historically, our university campuses in this nation, here in the state of Utah, have been the place where truth and ideas are formulated and debated, Mr Cox said.

And thats what he does. He comes on college campuses and he debates as foundational to the formation of our country, to our most basic constitutional rights.

And when someone takes the life of a person because of their ideas or their ideals, then that very constitutional foundation is threatened.

He added: I want to be very clear that this is a political assassination.

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Dave Young, the mayor of Orem where the shooting took place, said efforts to restrict freedom of speech have no place in Utah.

Utahs campuses should always be spaces where differing perspectives can be shared and debated with respect, Mr Young said.

The shooting comes amid a sharp increase in political violence in the US across the ideological spectrum.

Attacks include the assassination of a Minnesota state politician and her husband at their house in June, the firebombing of a Colorado parade to demand Hamas release hostages, and a fire at the house of Pennsylvanias governor, who is Jewish, in April.

Mr Trump was himself shot during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last July.

Mike Johnson, the House Speaker, held a minutes silence and called for an end to political violence in the wake of the shooting.

Im just going to state the obvious here. This is detestable, what happened. Political violence has become all too common in American society, and this is not who we are, he said.

It violates the core principles of our country, our Judeo-Christian heritage, our civil society, our American way of life. And it must stop. We need every political figure.

We need everyone who has a platform to say this loudly and clearly. We can settle disagreements and disputes in a civil manner, and political violence must be called out and has to stop. Again, we ask for prayer.

b'

'

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President Donald Trump has called upon the European Union (EU) to join the United States in imposing trade penalties against China and India as he aims to push Russia to end its assault on Ukraine.

According to various reports, the president made a request that the European trade bloc hit both countries with duties worth up to 100 percent during a Tuesday phone call. U.S. and EU officials were engaged in a discussion about the pressure campaign against Russia and how to force an end to the conflict.

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A senior official involved in the meeting said the U.S. was ready to mirror any tariffs imposed by the EU on China and India, the Financial Times reported. Any new tariffs would add to the steep, 50 percent duty burden India incurred in August and the 30 percent tariffs on China that have been deferred until Nov. 10. Following the meeting with EU officials, Trump told reporters that he expects to have a phone call with Putin this week or early next week.

The president is walking a tariff tightrope as his trade agenda awaits the scrutiny of the Supreme Court. With the future of his International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) duties on the line, the Commander in Chief is continuing to negotiate with U.S. trade partnerseven while encouraging trade partners to enact penalties.

The same day that the meeting with EU officials took place, Trump publicly announced that negotiations with India were still underway to address the trade barriers between the two nations. He said he looked forward to speaking with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the coming weeks and expected no difficulty in coming to a resolution.

Theres an expression of openness to reaching an agreement with India, so that [tariff rate] may come back down, Dave Townsend, a partner at Dorsey & Whitney LLPs International Trade Group, told Sourcing Journal.

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According to the lawyer, who represents clients in trade litigation, including matters before the Department of Commerce, the International Trade Commission, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), many are opting to put off decision-making surrounding sourcing as they await a clearer picture of the trade landscape.

There have been some clarities at the beginning of August on [tariff rates], but if you were looking to reach a major supply agreement with somebody from India right now, I think youd be saying, Can we wait a couple of months?

Alternately, clients have been revising their import strategies in recent months to favor tools that allow for duty payment deferral. You can put something into a bonded warehouse thats technically sitting in the United States, but legally speaking, its outside the customs jurisdiction, he explained.

Firms have also opened up their sourcing portfolios to spread out the risk, jumping from China-plus-one to China-plus-many. I think a lot of companies took away from the Section 301 tariffs from the first Trump administration (which continued with President Biden and continue today) that diversification can give them better options, Townsend said. But this time is more complicated because of the ongoing framework agreements that the administration is negotiating, plus the volatility in the tariff rates themselves across the board.

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Townsend said the instances where cases related to trade have come before the Supreme Court throughout his career have been few and far betweenand given the unprecedented nature of using IEEPA to impose tariffs, this is altogether a novel issue for the Supreme Court to consider.

While the Supreme Court has acquiesced to the administrations appeal for an expedited schedule, with briefings from all parties due Sept. 19 and oral arguments set to begin in November, Townsend said its possible that it will not issue an opinion on the matter until 2026.

Should the Supreme Court rule against the administrations interests, officially deeming the tariffs illegal, what happens then?

This is a complicated questionjust because the Supreme Court has, if they were to make that ruling, discretion to fashion a remedy that they think is appropriate, Townsend said.

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There are a number of different avenues for remediation, he believes. One would be they could direct some sort of administrative process to be undertaken to further refund tariffs to U.S. importers. Two, they could say something like, The remedy is limited to the plaintiffs only, in which case there would have to be a flood of litigation from everybody else to get their refund. And three, theres already an administrative protest process at customs for importers to seek duties that theyve paid but believe were unlawfully kept by customs.

Typically, though, the basis for such protests would be narrowerfor example, if customs were to process an entry under a tariff classification that the importer disagrees with, like a stated country of origin that doesnt match with their records.

Townsend said that while there are a number of lawsuits at play, We havent yet seen a flood of litigation over the IEEPA tariffs; theres a lot of cases, but theres not that many actual plaintiffs who are alleging that theyre illegal. In his view, this points to a widespread attitude among importers that the issue will be resolved through either a protest mechanism or another process for collecting refunds. Whether the government puts the onus on the importer to prove what they are owed is yet to be seen.

Townsend said he believes the administrations choice to use IEEPA as its method of imposing the tariffs was a matter of expediencywanting to force a resolution to the trade negotiations that would allow the president to impose tariffs right away. As Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this week, the administration has other avenues to explore if the Supreme Court deems the IEEPA tariffs unlawful.

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There are authorities for temporary global import tariffs that they could use, including temporary import ban under Section 301 like Trump used during his first term against China to avoid having much of a gap between the current the IEEPA tariffs and whatever Plan B might look like.

Whether that, in turn, is susceptible to being overturned, is kind of uncertain, he added. That would be done different statutory basis, which then would create a different legal issue as to whether its sound or not.
By Andrew Osborn

(Reuters) -President Donald Trump wants to reopen the U.S. embassy in Belarus in the near future, normalise ties, and revive the economic and trade relationship, John Coale, a Trump representative, said on Thursday.

Coale was speaking in Minsk to Belarusian reporters after holding talks with President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who agreed to release 52 prisoners in what he called a humanitarian gesture.

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In return, the U.S. will grant sanctions relief to Belarus's national airline Belavia, allowing it to service and buy components for its fleet, which includes Boeing aircraft, a U.S. embassy spokesperson in Vilnius said.

"Right now it's a good relationship, but not a great relationship and I think we eventually want to open up our embassy again, we want to have trade between the countries and that's not exactly happening now," said Coale.

Asked when the U.S. embassy might reopen, Coale said: "I can't tell you the dates, but it's in progress. I know it has to happen and will happen in the very near future."

The United States closed its embassy in Minsk in February 2022 after Putin used Belarus as a launch pad to send tens of thousands of troops into neighbouring Ukraine.

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Critics accuse Lukashenko, 71 and in power since 1994, of locking up his political rivals, of using force to repress dissent, and of falsifying elections. Lukashenko, who casts himself as a paternal figure to his nation of 9 million people, denies vote-rigging allegations.

Coale said Washington wanted to ensure that any differences between the U.S. and Belarus did not "come to the surface" and spoke in positive terms about the working relationship he had with Lukashenko.

"So far, I have a good relationship with your president. We joke and I believe we're very honest with each other and that goes a long way to normalising the relationship.

"I believe that President Trump will be satisfied also (with the prisoner release deal). President Trump and your president are both the type of leaders that want to bring countries together and not emphasise their differences but emphasise their commonality," said Coale.

(Reporting by ReutersWriting by Andrew Osborn in LondonEditing by Guy Faulconbridge)
A new private poll in one of the nations top bellwethers shows President Donald Trumps popularity taking a nosedive and Democrats staking out a lead in local elections  a potential warning sign for Republicans in the 2026 midterms.

Fifty-three percent of likely voters in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, view Trump unfavorably, compared to 42 percent who see him favorably, according to the survey by the Democratic firm Upswing Research & Strategy that was shared first with POLITICO.

Bucks County, a suburb of Philadelphia, is a perennial battleground targeted by candidates for president and statewide office. It was Bucks County where Trump made his famous appearance at a McDonalds and manned a fry station in the 2024 election. Trump won it by less than 1 percentage point last year after former President Joe Biden narrowly carried it in 2020.

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GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick represents a district made up almost entirely of Bucks County. The survey did not ask respondents about Fitzpatrick, who Democrats have tried to unseat in every election since he joined Congress in 2017. He has managed to weather difficult political terrain by cultivating a moderate persona independent from his party. He was one of only two House Republicans to vote against the final passage of Trumps signature bill this year, but Democrats are hoping to pierce his maverick image in next years race.

Its clear that there is some backlash against Trump and MAGA Republicans generally, said Ethan Smith, a founding partner at Upswing Research & Strategy. The survey also shows that were probably entering a period of Democratic enthusiasm. We can tell just based on response rates that Democrats are really eager to participate in the election.

The poll of Bucks County voters also underscores the uphill battle that Republican Stacy Garrity faces as she takes on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. Shapiro, who hails from the voter-rich Philly suburbs, has a 55 percent favorable rating in the survey (27 percent view him unfavorably). And its not just Democrats who favor the incumbent governor. Nearly a quarter of GOP voters in the poll viewed Shapiro favorably.

Upswing Research & Strategy conducted the poll on behalf of the Democratic PAC Bucks United, the coordinated campaign for the county party and local candidates for district attorney, sheriff and other row offices.

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The survey also found that Joe Khan, the Democratic nominee for D.A. in Bucks County, led Republican incumbent Jennifer Schorn in the survey 49 percent-43 percent with 8 percent of likely voters undecided. Danny Ceisler, the Democratic contender for sheriff, was likewise ahead of GOP incumbent Fred Harran 48 percent to 43 percent with 9 percent undecided.

Trumps approval rating is down from a survey completed last September by the same pollster, which found 50 percent of likely voters in Bucks County viewed him unfavorably and 45 percent saw him favorably.

The August poll of 501 likely voters in Bucks County was completed from Aug. 5 to 10, using calls to landlines and cell phones as well as text-to-Web. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
Washington, DC  The Israeli attack against Hamas leaders in Qatar has prompted familiar headlines in the United States about the president being unhappy with Israel.

Over the past two years, as the US has provided Israel with billions of dollars to help fund the war on Gaza, there have been numerous stories about the White House  under both Joe Biden and Donald Trump  being frustrated with Israeli conduct.

But the attack on a US partner that works closely with Washington on various issues and hosts one of the largest US military bases in the Middle East was a major escalation.

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Still, Trumps response has so far been muted. On social media, he said he felt very badly about the location of the attacks and later told reporters he was not thrilled by Israels actions.

It took the White House hours to address the assassination attempt on Tuesday, and when it did, it stopped short of condemning the attack. Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally, does not advance Israel or Americas goals, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said. However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.

Experts say Trumps failure to take a firmer position will likely further erode Washingtons credibility in the region and raise questions about the broader ties between the US and the Gulf.

The response was contradictory, did not make sense, lacked in diplomacy and it lacked in substance, said Khalil Jahshan, the executive director of the Arab Center Washington DC. It is not befitting a superpower.

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Trump later reiterated Leavitts statement, saying he promised Qatars emir that such an attack would not happen again.

But less than 24 hours later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his envoy to the US both appeared to threaten Qatar with further attacks.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the State Department still has not commented on the attack, despite the status of Qatar as a major non-Nato ally of the US.





Red lines crossed

The White House initially said the US informed Qatar of the attack before it happened, but after Doha quickly denied the claim, Trump later acknowledged that by the time his envoy Steve Witkoff spoke to Qatari officials, it was too late.

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The assassination attempt failed to kill Hamass top leaders but killed six people, including a Qatari security officer.

Doha described the Israeli attack as treacherous, noting that the Hamas leaders who were targeted were discussing Trumps own ceasefire proposal, and their meeting was not a secret.

Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, fellow for the Middle East at the Baker Institute, said the Israeli attacks cast doubt over the US role as a broker in the region, noting that Washington was similarly negotiating with Tehran when Israel attacked Iran in June.

Certainly, the US as a state that can negotiate in good faith is being called into question, he told Al Jazeera.

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Coates Ulrichsen stressed the significance of the Israeli attacks, which he said crossed strong red lines that will be difficult to uncross.

He said the Israeli attacks upended the assumption that Gulf countries are beyond Israels military reach due to their defence partnerships with the US.

Coates Ulrichsen drew parallels between the Israeli assassination attempt in Doha and the 2019 drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities, which Riyadh blamed on Iran  a charge Tehran denied.

Trump, then during his first term, did not come to Saudi Arabias help after that attack, prompting several Gulf states to de-escalate tensions with Iran, culminating in the restoration of diplomatic relations between Riyadh and Tehran in 2023, brokered by China.

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We have to wait and see what the consequences of this attack will be, but they could be just as consequential potentially if they contribute to the perception in the Gulf that the US security umbrella and deterrence is in question, Coates Ulrichsen said.





Trump visited the Gulf region in May, and heaped praise on Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as he said he secured trillions of dollars in investments from the three countries.

During the visit, Trump rebuked US military interventions and portrayed himself as a peace president.

The Doha attack, however, and the US response to it contradict Trumps promises to the region, Jahshan said.

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What Trump put in jeopardy is whatever is remaining  which is not much, by the way  of US credibility, Jahshan told Al Jazeera.

Netanyahu lauds Trump

Despite the official line that the US is irked by the attack on Doha, Netanyahu joked about the strikes during a ceremony at the US embassy in Israel shortly after they took place.

He said he had planned to be at the event earlier but was otherwise engaged, referring to overseeing the air attacks in Qatar.

On Thursday, Netanyahu appeared for a photo-op with US Ambassador Mike Huckabee to name a beach promenade in a coastal town in Israel after Trump.

The Israeli prime minister also appeared to praise Trumps call for ethnically cleansing Gaza and turning it into the Riviera of the Middle East.

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President Trump spoke to me several times about beachfront property. He said to me, you have wonderful beachside properties here. Hes talking about one thats a bit to the south here, in Gaza, he said, according to his office.

He later renewed his threat to target Hamas leaders in Qatar.

I say to Qatar and all nations who harbour terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice  because if you dont, we will, he said.





Who knew what when?

Washington has failed to reveal when or how exactly it knew the attacks were happening. Trump said his administration was notified by the military, suggesting he did not pre-approve the attacks.

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But Jahshan said it would not have been possible politically or militarily for Israel to carry out the attack without a US green light.

The US military has military assets, radars and air defences across the Middle East. And both Israel and Qatar are part of the US militarys Central Command area of responsibility.

Jahshan noted that the building struck by Israel is less than 20 miles (32km) away from the largest US airbase in the region  Al Udeid in Qatar.

They must have cleared it with the US. Netanyahu is aggressive, but he is not that stupid, he told Al Jazeera.

For his part, Coates Ulrichsen highlighted that the public reporting indicates that the US did not give prior blessings to the attacks, but he said the issue will likely be a key point of discussion between Washington and the Gulf.

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Behind the scenes, conversations today between Gulf leaders and US counterparts will be really honing in on who knew what and when, and what precisely was the chain of events, he said.

Were there to be any suggestion that the US either had full knowledge of Israels plans or somehow greenlit them, that would be incredibly damaging to US-Gulf security and defence and political relations.





Opportunity for peace?

Despite the global outcry, Trump said the attack on Doha could serve as an opportunity for PEACE. And Jahshan said he did not disagree.

He said any escalation can potentially be an off-ramp to end conflict, but he stressed that the Trump administration does not appear to be ready, or even capable, of engaging in the necessary diplomacy to use the Doha attacks to end the war on Gaza.

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The problem, he said, is the asymmetrical nature of the US-Israel relationship, where Washington remains committed to unconditional support for Israel no matter what it does.

The US has hundreds of allies around the world, but none has this predicament where the national interest of the client state supersedes the national interest of the superpower, Jahshan told Al Jazeera.

Trump himself had said that attacking Qatar does not serve US interests.

Matt Duss, executive vice president at the Center for International Policy, underscored that the US continues to provide Israel with arms to conduct its wars across the entire region.

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Striking a major non-NATO US ally like this, in the midst of negotiations that are being supported and brokered by the United States, against officials who are being hosted in Qatar originally at the request of the United States, is a level beyond anything even I expected, Duss told Al Jazeera in a TV interview.

There is, of course, a route to dealing with this for Donald Trump, just as there was a route to dealing with this for Joe Biden if they chose it, and that is to cut off the US supply of weapons. Israel cannot continue to prosecute this war without a steady supply of US weapons.
Calls this week between top American and Chinese officials are believed to have laid some of the groundwork for a visit to China by US President Donald Trump, possibly in early November.

The trip could take place either before or after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea, which gets under way late next month.

Trade negotiations are expected to be a key part of the summit, which could take place shortly before a temporary tariff war truce expires on November 10.

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Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

The White House already imposed 30 per cent tariffs on imports of Chinese goods this year and is pressing its European allies to impose 100 per cent tariffs of their own on Chinese products, according to media reports.

Diplomatic observers doubt European nations will agree to such measures. Instead, China could still use its grip on rare earths to twist the US' negotiating arm, they say.

Chen Qi, a professor of international relations at Tsinghua University, said the officials meeting this week were on a mission to relay messages and manage expectations for a potential meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

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Any further developments in the trade war would rest on those two men, he said.

"If Xi and Trump do meet, the likelihood of further escalation in the trade war would decrease," Chen said.

He said that if Washington took further trade war action, Beijing could respond with tighter rare earth export controls.

"However, both sides have exhausted any particularly advantageous tools that can harm the opponent without causing self-harm," Chen said.

The latest round of the trade war began in April when Trump announced a series of ever-higher tariffs on Chinese goods. China responded with its own tariffs and began limiting exports of certain rare earths, many of which are critical to the US defence industry.

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China dominates the global mining and refining of rare earths and only began relaxing some export restrictions in June as part of the trade truce.

Wu Xinbo, dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, said the rare earth curbs had been particularly effective.

"This has been our most effective card played against the US in the tariff war this year, hitting America where it hurts. It is also something Trump is particularly concerned about at the moment, as he fears China might cut off supplies again," Wu said.

The US military's advanced equipment relies heavily on rare earth elements, especially for high-performance magnets used in systems such as the F-35 fighter jet, precision guidance systems, radar, and submarines.

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Shen Dingli, a Shanghai-based professor of international affairs, said restrictions on these exports remained in place.

"While exports of rare earths for civilian use have been loosened, those for military-grade applications remain tightly controlled by Beijing - a calculated move to maintain its strategic upper hand," Shen said.

Then on Tuesday, Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun gave his US counterpart Pete Hegseth a sign of what mattered most to Beijing.

Dong called for stability in the South China Sea, underlining Beijing's firm opposition to "infringement and provocations by certain countries, as well as deliberate instigation by non-regional nations".

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China's vast claims to the waterway overlap with those of various countries, including the Philippines, and the two have clashed in the waters. The Philippines is a US treaty ally and Beijing has long accused Washington of "provoking trouble" in the South China Sea.

Dong also warned that "any schemes and interference aimed at 'using military force to assist independence' or 'using the Taiwan issue to contain China'" would be thwarted.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi followed up, stressing the US must exercise caution and prudence in its words and actions, especially on issues concerning China's "core interests" such as Taiwan.

Beijing views Taiwan as a part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. The US, as well as other countries, does not recognise the island as independent. But Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the island by force and is committed to supplying it with arms.

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Ja Ian Chong, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore, said that what Beijing really wanted was for the US to back away from the South China Sea.

That point was underlined on Wednesday when just before news broke of the meetings between the Chinese and US officials, Beijing announced that it planned to turn Scarborough Shoal into a nature reserve.

The South China Sea shoal has been a major source of tension between Beijing and Manila, and the reserve is China's attempt to reinforce its sovereignty over the area.

Ma Bo, an associate professor at the school of international studies at Nanjing University, said he expected maritime security in the South China Sea to feature prominently in US-China dialogues.

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"Beijing would certainly urge Washington to maintain professionalism during its close reconnaissance missions or so-called freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea," Ma said.

"It would call on both sides to exercise restraint, especially at the operational level, and to avoid actions that escalate tensions and negatively impact the overall bilateral relationship."

Meanwhile, the US is trying to convince European allies to put pressure on China with tariffs of their own, a request that is unlikely to be met.

However, Mexico, which is facing pressure from the Trump administration to restrict Chinese imports, said on Wednesday that it would raise tariffs on cars from China and other Asian countries to 50 per cent.

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Wu of Fudan University said Washington was seeking to use its influence over third-party countries to restrict Beijing but China had a clear advantage in this contest.

"China's economic cooperation with many countries goes far beyond trade; it includes investment, technology and infrastructure development, areas in which the US cannot compete," he said.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright  2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump's 30-day public emergency declaration in Washington is set to expire after Sept. 10, ending the federal takeover of the city's police department but not the presence of the military in the nation's capital.

Trump's deployment of thousands of National Guard troops to the District of Columbia aren't affected by the deadline and will remain on the city's streets.

Here's what we know as the takeover of the district's Metropolitan Police Department ends.

What happens after the 30-day mark?

Trump on Aug. 11 signed an executive order declaring a crime emergency in Washington, invoking a section in the federal Home Rule Act of 1973 that allows him to direct the district to give his administration control of the police department for 30 days.

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The Republican two-term president tapped Attorney General Pam Bondi to take temporary command of the district's police department and named Terry Cole, administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency, the interim federal commissioner of the police department.

Immigration enforcement is one of the key areas the Trump administration has ordered up cooperation from the district's police.

Maintaining the federalized police force beyond 30 days, however, would have required action from Congress. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he won't work to extend the deadline.

Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters the end of the 30-day public emergency will mean "the MPD is not compelled to give MPD services, as directed by the president. That's what changes."

President Donald Trump, flanked by US Vice President JD Vance, speaks to reporters outside the restaurant Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab in Washington, DC, on September 9, 2025.

What about the National Guard?

More than 2,000 National Guard troops deployed to Washington will still patrol the city's streets as part of Trump's crime crackdown even after the emergency ends.

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Trump turned to a special authority available to him because of the district's unique status as a federal enclave to deploy the National Guard to Washington. It was a separate action from the 30-day emergency and police takeover.

Brig. Gen. Leland D. Blanchard II, interim commanding general for the DC National Guard, last week extended the Guard's deployment to Nov. 30.

"I've made the decision to extend the encampment, as we continue to work to ensure that everyone that walks through these city streets is safe," Blanchard said in a video. "They deserve that. You deserve that. Our nation deserves that."

More: Trump official slams 'elderly white hippies' as Vance mocks pushback to DC takeover

Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks during a press conference at the John A. Wilson Building following U.S.

What's next for DC?

Bowser, who has cooperated with Trump's actions, on Sept. 2 issued an executive order that she called a "path forward" after the emergency expires.

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The order requires local district officials to coordinate with federal law enforcement agencies "to the maximum extent allowable by law within," listing off several federal agencies such as the U.S. Marshals Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Park Police. Not included on the list is U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. There is no expiration for the order.

"MPD will continue to work with our federal agencies as we've always done in ways that are strategic for public safety," Bowser said.

The mayor added: "I want to make this perfectly clear to people wanting to do crime in the district. It's still illegal. Shooting somebody  still illegal. Committing carjackings  still illegal. Stealing from stores  still illegal. That won't change on Sept. 11."

Members of the Louisiana National Guard patrol the perimeter of Union Station in Washington D.C. as President Donald Trumpas deployment of National Guard troops and federal takeover of Metro Police Department continues Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. National Guard troops began carrying M17 pistols and M4 rifles over the weekend for self-defense.

Has Trump's DC crackdown reduced crime?

Trump has hailed his crime crackdown in the district as a wild success, and even Bowser has agreed the increased federal presence has helped reduce the number of homicides, carjackings and gun crimes.

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Yet Trump has exaggerated the scale of the turnaround, saying that the district now has "literally no crime" and describing a city where people were too scared to eat at restaurants before his takeover. Violent crime was already down in DC by 26% from 2024 when Trump announced his takeover.

More: I'll have seafood, hold the crime: Trump dines out in DC to showcase safer surroundings

At least five homicides have occurred in the district over the past 30 days, according to MPD data, during a period that included a 13-day streak of no homicides from Aug. 13 to 26.

According to the White House, 2,310 total arrests have been made since the operation started, including 20 known gang members, as well as seven missing children rescued, 225 firearms seized and 50 homeless camps cleared.

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"DC today is far safer than it was a month ago thanks to President Trumps bold leadership," White Hosue spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement to USA TODAY. "The Trump Administration looks forward to continued coordination with local leaders and encourages other Democrats to follow Mayor Bowsers lead.

While recognizing the last month's crime reduction, Bowser has also said the federal intervention has led to a "break in trust" between the community and law enforcement.

Washington, DC, police officers work with federal law enforcement agencies to make an arrest in the Columbia Heights neighborhood on Sept. 7, 2025. A day later, Attorney General Pam Bondi said 214 illegal guns have been seized and 2,120 arrests have been made in the month since the Trump administration took over the city.

Which city will Trump target next?

Trump has said he plans to send the National Guard to other cities to expand his crime crackdown  and he appears close to announcing a decision on his next target.

Trump last week floated New Orleans, where he's gotten cooperation from the state's Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, as a possibility to send the National Guard next rather than Chicago, where Trump's repeated threats have drawn resistance from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat.

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More: President Trump says he may send National Guard to New Orleans next instead of Chicago

Trump seemed to hint that New Orleans could be the pick in remarks to reporters Sept. 9 before he dined at a popular Washington seafood and steakhouse just around the block from the White House.

Were going to be announcing another city that we're going to very shortly. Were working it out with the governor of a certain state that would love us to be there and the mayor of a certain city in the same state, Trump said.

A soldier in the National Guard cleared leaves with a leaf-blower on Aug. 28 at McPherson Square in Washington, D.C. Members of the Louisiana National Guard patrol the perimeter of Union Station in Washington, DC, as President Donald Trump's deployment of National Guard troops and federal takeover of Metro Police Department continues on Aug. 26, 2025. Members of the National Guard stand outside Union Station on August 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump announced plans to deploy federal officers and the National Guard to the District and also placed the DC Metropolitan Police Department under federal control. District of Columbia National Guard members positioned along with United States Capitol Police at Union Station in Washington, DC on Thursday, August 14, 2025. A person yells in protest at members of the National Guard as they stand outside Union Station on August 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. A cyclist passes a National Guard vehicle near the Lincoln Memorial on August 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. District of Columbia National Guard members patrol Washington, DC, on Aug. 14, 2025. National Guard troops patrol the National Mall on Aug. 12, 2025, in Washington, DC. U.S. Army National Guard Humvees park near the Washington Monument after President Donald Trump announced a federal takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department under the Home Rule Act to assist with crime prevention in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., August 12, 2025. Members of the Washington DC National Guard pose for photos with a tourist near the Washington Monument on August 12, 2025 in Washington, DC. National Guard troops are deployed to the Washington Monument as part of President Trump's mobilization of law enforcement on August 12, 2025 in Washington, DC. National Guard troops walk along the National Mall on August 12, 2025 in Washington, DC. District of Columbia National Guard soldiers carrying boxers of MREOs (Meals Read to Eat) at the DC Armory on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, after President Donald Trump ordered an increased federal law enforcement presence across the streets of Washington, D.C. District of Columbia National Guard soldiers arriving at the DC Armory on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, after President Donald Trump ordered an increased federal law enforcement presence across the streets of Washington, D.C. District of Columbia National Guard soldiers arriving at the DC Armory on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, after President Donald Trump ordered an increased federal law enforcement presence across the streets of Washington, D.C.. The president has increasingly criticized crime in Washington even as itOs reached a 30-year low. Trump in a social media post on Aug. 10 said that the homeless in D.C. "have to move out, IMMEDIATELY," but he did not elaborate on how that will be accomplished. Members of the District of Columbia Army National Guard walk out of the D.C. Armory building on August 12, 2025, after President Donald Trump ordered an increased federal law enforcement presence across the streets of Washington, D.C.. The president has increasingly criticized crime in Washington even as its reached a 30-year low. District of Columbia National Guard soldiers arrive on Aug. 12, 2025, after President Donald Trump ordered an increased federal law enforcement presence across Washington, DC. District of Columbia National Guard soldiers arrive at the DC Armory on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, after President Donald Trump ordered an increased federal law enforcement presence across the streets of Washington, D.C.. Members of the District of Columbia Army National Guard walk out of the D.C. Armory building on August 12, 2025, after President Donald Trump ordered an increased federal law enforcement presence across the streets of Washington, D.C.. The president has increasingly criticized crime in Washington even as its reached a 30-year low. District of Columbia National Guard soldiers arrive at the DC Armory on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, after President Donald Trump ordered an increased federal law enforcement presence across the streets of Washington, D.C. District of Columbia National Guard soldiers arrive at the DC Armory on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, after President Donald Trump ordered an increased federal law enforcement presence across the streets of Washington, D.C. A District of Columbia National Guard soldier arrives at the DC Armory on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, after President Donald Trump ordered an increased federal law enforcement presence across the streets of Washington, D.C. The scene in Washington, DC, as National Guard troops deploy on the streets 1 of 22 A soldier in the National Guard cleared leaves with a leaf-blower on Aug. 28 at McPherson Square in Washington, D.C.

Could Congress target DC?

The same day Trumps emergency control of district's police was set to expire, a committee in the House of Representatives began considering more than a dozen bills that would exert more federal control over the city and change some of its crime laws.

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One measure would prohibit camping on public property to crack down on homelessness. Another would allow kids as young as 14 to be tried as adults for certain crimes. Another would permit the White House, instead of residents, to appoint the districts attorney general.

Brian Schwalb, Washington's current attorney general, blasted the proposal on social media as lawmakers prepared to debate it.

DC laws should not be written by people who don't know how DC actually works, he wrote on X.

Reach Joey Garrison @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's 30-day takeover of the DC police is ending. What's next?
Charlie Kirk, conservative political activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.

Kirk was shot in the neck while speaking at a Turning Point USA event, "The American Comeback Tour."

Livestream video of the event showed crowds of people running from the university's courtyard where Kirk, 31, was speaking when the shooting occurred. Police said that about 3,000 people were in attendance at 12:20 local time when a gunshot rang out, sending attendees running for safety.

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As the crowd dispersed into a scene of chaos, the video shows Kirk's now-empty signature "prove me wrong" booth, where the activist had a Q&A session with students and was shot.

But what is Turning Point USA? The organization was a cornerstone of Kirk's legacy and conservative policy. Here's what you should know about Kirk's group.

What is Turning Point USA?

Turning Point USA is a conservative political advocacy organization for students. The 501(c)(3) non-profit organization was founded with the mission to educate students, encourage political discourse, and "restore traditional American values like patriotism, respect for life, liberty, family, and fiscal responsibility," according to the group.

"The organizations mission is to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government," Turning Point USA's website states.

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Turning Point USA also hosts a number of podcasts, including The Charlie Kirk Show, Culture Apothecary, and more.

The right-wing political non-profit is not alone in its mission to educate America's young people; there are organizations for many political affiliations. The Young Democratic Socialists of America and High School Democrats of America have a similar mission with opposing political views.

Who is Turning Point USA affiliated with?

There are many big names associated with Turning Point USA, beyond Kirk. This includes pastor David Engelhardt, United Wealth Management division of United Capital, founder Doug DeGroote, and author/activist Candace Owens, according to Turning Point USA.

Also associated with the Turning Point USA brand is Turning Point Faith, a church founded to "defend our God-given rights, by giving them the tools to expose lies and articulate the connection between Faith and Freedom."

When did Charlie Kirk start TPUSA?

Kirk founded Turning Point USA with Bill Montgomery back in 2012, according to the non-profit.

What did Charlie Kirk do at Turning Point USA?

Charlie Kirk was the founder and CEO of Turning Point USA. He was an active participant of the organization, traveling to college campuses across the U.S. in fall 2025 as a part of "The American Comeback Tour."

How many Turning Point USA chapters are there?

There are thousands of Turning Point USA chapters in high schools and colleges across the U.S. There are more than 3,500 individual chapters, including a chapter at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, according to the organization.

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Turning Point USA claims to be the largest and fastest-growing youth organization in America.

Allison Kiehl covers trending and breaking news from Knoxville for the Tennessee Connect Team. Email: allison.kiehl@knoxnews.com

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What is Turning Point USA? Charlie Kirk's organization impact in TN
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD)  Two troopers with the Illinois State Police are being treated for injuries following a collision on the Cedar Street Bridge on Thursday.

According to Semone Roth, a spokeswoman with the Peoria Police Department, the two troopers were on motorcycles and were struck by a motorist while on the bridge. Both troopers, she said, suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Battalion Chief Josh Martin of the Peoria Fire Department said both troopers were taken by ambulance to OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center. One trooper sustained minor injuries, while the other suffered serious injuries, he said.

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No injuries were reported to the occupants of the car involved in the collision.

Move over or get pulled over: Illinois State Police reiterate no-tolerance policy

The incident occurred just after 6 a.m. on the Peoria County side of the bridge, according to the state police. No reason was given for the crash, nor was it known which lane the collision occurred in.

The bridge was closed for about an hour, the state police said.

This story will be updated.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CIProud.com.
UAE Formation performs during the Dubai Airshow, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 14, 2021. (photo credit: REUTERS/RULA ROUHANA )

UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed sharply condemned Israels strike, calling it a treacherous and cowardly act that violated international law and Qatars sovereignty.

The United Arab Emirates has blocked Israeli defense companies from participating in a major security exhibition in Dubai, a decision that Israeli officials view as a direct response to the strike on Hamas leadership in Doha earlier this week.

The notice was delivered on Wednesday morning to Israels Defense Ministry and simultaneously to executives of defense industries in the country. Officially, the UAE attributed the move to security concerns, but Israeli defense officials said they believe the measure is intended as a rebuke over the Qatar operation.

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The Dubai Airshow, a high-profile defense and aviation exhibition, has been a regular platform for Israeli firms in recent years. Their absence this year marks a setback for Israels defense industry, which has sought to expand its reach in the Gulf region.

At the same time, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed traveled to Doha to meet Qatari leaders in a show of solidarity. Jordans Crown Prince Hussein and Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are also expected to visit.

UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed sharply condemned Israels strike, calling it a treacherous and cowardly act that violated international law and Qatars sovereignty. The UAE stands in solidarity with Qatar and supports all measures to protect its security, he said.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, greets an exhibitor while touring the 2023 Dubai Airshow in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 15, 2023. (credit: UAE Presidential Court/Hamad Al Kaabi/Handout via REUTERS)

The strike damaged a villa in Doha, which Qatari security forces quickly sealed off. The condition of the Hamas leaders who were targeted remains uncertain. Hamas claimed that its negotiating team had not been harmed, declaring that the Israeli assassination attempt failed, though it offered no evidence.

Pessimism over the results of the strike

Israeli defense and intelligence officials expressed doubt that the strike had fully achieved its objectives. Two senior sources admitted pessimism, saying available information suggested that most of the intended targets may have survived.

Meanwhile, Israeli defense industry personnel attending an arms exhibition in Poland reported being questioned by local authorities about their military and reserve service, adding to the sense of heightened scrutiny abroad following Israels regional operations.
The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania, part of the Lublin Triangle format, issued a joint statement following the violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones on the night of 9-10 September.

Source: Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The ministers noted that only coordinated joint actions can ensure the safety of citizens in the three countries.

The ministers emphasised Ukraines readiness to share all available intelligence and operational information with Poland, Lithuania and other partners to build an effective early-warning and protection system against Russian missile and drone attacks.

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They stressed the need for better coordination and operational cooperation among the relevant structures of the three states responsible for airspace security.

The statement said that such coordinated actions should aim to prevent the negative consequences of Russias provocative actions and, ideally, improve the effectiveness of air defence measures.

The ministers called on partners to urgently strengthen Ukraines air defences and support Lithuania and Poland in securing NATOs and the EUs eastern flank, noting that only a decisive response can prevent further escalation.

They also urged the people of the three countries to remain vigilant and aware of Russias malicious attempts at disinformation.

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The ministers characterised the recent Russian drone incursion into Poland as a deliberate and coordinated strike, marking an unprecedented provocation and escalation of tension.

Background:

Earlier on the morning of 11 September, debates were held in the European Parliament regarding the drone incident.

The Polish Foreign Ministry reported that the UN Security Council, of which Russia is a permanent member, will convene to discuss the violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones.

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Taras Kachka, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, has said that his first meeting in this role with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto was "constructive".

Source: Kachka on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: Kachka began his post by thanking Szijjarto for the "candid and constructive" spirit of the meeting, describing the conversation as "really substantive and pragmatic".

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"Took stock of yesterdays bilateral consultations on national minorities rights. Clarified that we have no issues on substance and have solutions on all 11 points raised by Hungary. We are interested in a more comprehensive dialogue with Hungary on national minorities policy," the deputy prime minister noted.

He added that he and Szijjarto also discussed "how to ensure stability and diversification of the supply of oil and gas and how together we can reduce and eliminate the supply of Russian gas and oil to the EU".

Kachka hinted that he had also raised the issue of opening the first negotiation clusters to formally launch Ukraines EU accession talks  which Hungary has been blocking.

"Political debate on the future of the EU is not an obstacle for negotiating all clusters of the EU acquis. And there are pragmatic solutions that can ensure respect to the position of all the EU MS," he stressed.

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He also said that following the meeting, Ukraine and Hungary had formed an agenda for further dialogue, "in particular at the highest level".

Background:

At the end of August, Kachka traveled to Hungary for talks with several ministers.

On 9 September, Ukraine and the European Commission launched the screening of the final negotiation cluster on accession, which focuses on agriculture.

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA)  24 years after September 11th, 2001, more than 2,000 participants gathered at Razorback Stadium to remember both heroes and victims who lost their lives that fateful day.

In 2001, 343 firefighters and paramedics were among the 2,996 lives lost as the first responders sprang to action at the World Trade Center.

More than two decades later, firefighters and first responders climbed 110 flights of stairs alongside civilians on the University of Arkansas campus, with the number symbolizing the number of stairs at the twin towers.

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According to Command Sergeant Major Justin Drinker with the Army ROTC, many who participate come in full gear or weighted vests to honor the struggle and fight first responders experienced.

Drinker said to him, Memorials like this are important, keeping those who risked their lives alive through memory.

A good quote that I try to live by is that people dont truly die until theyre forgotten. And so this is a very important event in our nations history. And we need to honor and remember those who fell, Drinker said.

Though he did not live through the events of 9/11, Drinker said its an honor simply to be a part of the work done in the years that followed.

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I wasnt born around the event, about three years after. But its really just an honor to be able to participate in an event that remembers this, Drinker said. And I mean, I love to learn more about the history and just work with those firefighters and first responders who get to work on the frontlines every single day.

Reaching new heights

Through the universitys Air Force and Army ROTC programs, the group hosted its 13th annual stair climb, with Razorback Stadium opening to participants at 5:00 a.m. on the anniversary, a time that many felt was early but worth every moment.

The big thing is just the wake up, obviously difficult. And knowing 110 flights, thats a big number. But, just remembering, holy moly, like people put their lives on the line for this. Its like, who am I to not come out here and walk even a few steps? University of Arkansas student Caedmon Shann said.

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Shann says this is his first year taking on the climb, but some students stepped up to new heights for this challenge.

Colby Rishel is entering his fourth year at the U of A, participating in the annual stair climb the last three years.

However, this year, Rishel serves as the Air Force ROTC director of special projects, getting to play his part in putting the annual event together, which also happens to be the largest turnout the organizers have seen over the 13 years.

Weve doubled our numbers every single year from the time that Ive been here. Im now a senior. My freshman year, we had around 300 people. My sophomore year, that moved around 800. Last year, around 1,200 to 1,500, Rishel said.

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On the morning of Sep. 11, 2025, the universitys ROTC organizers estimate about 2500 participants arrived to rise to the occasion.

Remembering the fallen

The annual 9/11 stair climb is recognized across the nation with 110 flights or 2,071 stairs.

At Razorback Stadium, climbers were split into three groups with two of the three along the sideline bleachers.

With four major stair sections participants were snaked through, four rounds equaled the total flights.

Firefighters, paramedics, university students, and locals all participated in the climb which lasted from 5:30 a.m. to around 7:30 a.m.

Of the first responder groups from across Northwest Arkansas was the Fayetteville Fire Department, many of whom have taken the climb before, but said the sentiment never changes.

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The guys we lost on that day, they didnt have the choice to not have gear on. They had to answer that call, and they went to work just like any other day. They went for they went into that building to try to save lives, Fayetteville firefighter Tanner Danielson said.

Danielson took the climb in full gear, as he does every year, saying he will continue to do so until he cannot physically anymore.

Many firefighters present wore their gear, weighing around 60 pounds, to honor the struggle and fight that first responders endured during the emergency response.

One member of our team taking the climb recalled hearing one department playing the radio scanner conversations from 9/11.

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It just feels good to know that there are people who want to protect us Theyre just here to walk the flights to honor their brothers and sisters who died during 9/11 It just makes me feel good that our first responders are so committed, Shann said.

Many spent times reflecting throughout the climb, with some finding a new ways to relate to their own firefighting family.

From a family whose dad was a first responder and a firefighter during 9/11 when the towers went down, my dad did the stair climb a couple of years ago. And he did it with all his gear on, and so being able to do it too, and share that with him is very rewarding for me, U of A student Emily Thorne said.

110 flights of stairs, with around 2,500 people, many saw this as a reflection of not only our region, but our country.

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I just think that its an amazing thing that, even though sometimes you see our country divided, they are all coming together and remembering this somber event really showing what they care about, Rishel said.

Taking this to heart and climbing for this, I feel the sense of community within Arkansas. Getting to come to school here is one of the things Im most grateful about with the people and the sense of unity and community here, U of A student Cezanne Lambert said.

For more updates from the organizers, you can follow the Razorback Battalion Facebook page.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24.
A longtime University of Iowa professors life-changing cystic fibrosis research was honored with one of biomedicines most prestigious awards  an accolade so distinguished its often referred to as the American Nobel.

Dr. Michael J. Welsh, along with two other scientists, won the 2025 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award for their work on therapies that have lengthened and bettered the lives of patients with cystic fibrosis.

Portrait of Dr. Michael Welsh taken near the Pappajohn Biomedical Research Building on the UI Carver College of Medicine campus in 2025.

A genetic disorder that causes thick mucus to inhibit organ functions, cystic fibrosis most often effects the lungs where chronic infections lead to progressive destruction.

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When Welsh started his medical career nearly 50 years ago, cystic fibrosis was a terminal disease, with patients rarely seeing their 30th birthday. Today, when cystic fibrosis patients are given the therapies based on Welshs work, life expectancy can be well into the 80s, as the University detailed in a news release about the award.

In an image from the 1980s, Dr. Michael Welsh (right) explains his research to former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (left) and former University of Iowa President Hunter Rawlings (middle back).

Specifically, Welshs research changed the fundamental understanding of a critical protein, known as CFTR, and how it is transformed by a gene mutation in cystic fibrosis patients, resulting in a breakdown of the bodys usual protective systems and preventing the normal hydration of airways.

With that knowledge, Welshs team proved that if cooled down, the mutated CFTR protein could be corrected in a sense, a key discovery that allowed scientists to explore the possibility of a more permanent fix to the proteins damage, according to the release.

Using Welshs results, the two other honored scientists  Jesus (Tito) Gonzalez and Paul A. Negulescu, who were employed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals  worked for decades to develop Trikafta, a triple-drug combination that made cystic fibrous manageable for about 90% of those diagnosed, the University release says.

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Mike Welshs work exemplifies how fundamental science  driven by curiosity, collaboration, and purpose  can lead to transformative innovations and therapies, Dr. Denise Jamieson, the universitys vice president for medical affairs, says in the news release.

Dr. Michael Welsh in his University of Iowa lab with trainees on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025.

While Welsh said that he is incredibly honored to receive this award, he points to the collaborative science and the many unnamed researchers who made the groundbreaking work possible.

For me, it is truly a celebration of our entire scientific enterprise, Welsh said in the release. Its a celebration of what we do and an acknowledgement of the importance of our collective endeavor to understand how things work and how to use that knowledge to improve peoples lives.

Indeed, enhancing the lives of cystic fibrosis patients has always been a central driver to Welshs work.

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He traces the impetus for his lifelong pursuit to a clinical patient he met as a medical student in the 1970s.

The young girl was coughing and so short of breath she could only speak in short staccato sentences during Welshs exam, he said in a previously published profile.

I learned about all the things that she couldn't do because of her disease, Welsh said.

It was sobering, he added, because I learned that she probably was never going to make it to her teens, and if she did make it to her teens, she wasn't going to make it out of her teens.

A Marshalltown native, Welsh went to the University of Iowa for his undergraduate and medical studies, joining the schools faculty in 1981.

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His official titles at the university include being the director of the Pappajohn Biomedical Institute at the Carver College of Medicine and the Roy J. Carver Professor of Internal Medicine and Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. He also holds appointments in the neurology and neurosurgery departments and memberships in many outside professional associations.

In addition to his team members, Welsh credits the University setting for giving him time and space for research  including an in-lab sabbatical that came at a critical juncture for his experiments  as well as federal grants and philanthropic funding.

Without this financial support, scientific progress and the development of the next generation of scientists, who will tackle additional diseases, would not be possible, Welsh previously said.

Established by celebrated research advocates Albert and Mary Lasker, the Lasker Award winners will be honored at a gala this fall and the three honorees in the clinical category will split a $250,000 honorarium.

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While the Lasker Award may be a new zenith, Welshs work is far from complete, as he says in the release.

His protein analyses led to discoveries that could impact the care and management of Parkinsons disease and Alzheimers disease. Outside of the lab, his research and the stories of some of the patients whose lives have been changed by Welsh's studies  including a woman who is now running  will be featured in a documentary premiering at the medical school on Sept. 30.

And there are still 10% of cystic fibrosis patients who arent candidates for the Trikafta treatments, he says.

We need to continue our work to find solutions that help those people.

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To learn more about Welsh and his tenure at the University of Iowa, visit UIHealthcare.org. And for more information about the Lasker Awards, including winners in other categories, go to LaskerFoundation.org.

Dr. Paul McCray (left) and Dr. Michael Welsh (right) in a lab on the Carver College of Medicine campus on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017.

Courtney Crowder, the Register's Iowa Columnist, traverses the state's 99 counties telling Iowans' stories. Reach her at ccrowder@dmreg.com or 515-284-8360.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa doctor wins 'American Nobel' for cystic fibrosis research
The U.S. Air Force and the armed forces of Norway conducted a joint exercise on Sept. 3 which saw both allies cooperate seamlessly to send a ship to the bottom of the Norwegian Sea.

A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber of the 53rd Wing flew in cohesion with Royal Norwegian Air Force F-35s and Norwegian personnel to sink a surface vessel, using the U.S. Air Forces QUICKSINK anti-ship weapon.

The QUICKSINK is a ship-killing munition that can destroy surface vessels immediately on impact using smart technology. A new 500-pound version tested earlier this year has expanded the targeting capabilities of the B-2 and its ability to deliver more rapid stealth strikes.

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We are very pleased that the Americans want to test such new weapons together with Norwegian forces, Lt. Col. Vegard Finberg, head of communications for the Norwegian Armed Forces, told Military Times. This shows that the United States prioritizes maintaining stability and security in the High North. Stability in the High North is important for Norwegian, European and American security.

In addition to the operational contribution, Norway also provided the U.S. forces with access to infrastructure and airspace, making it possible to conduct the test in a demanding environment, Finberg said.

During the exercise, Norwegian forces facilitated operational support for the B-2, which delivered the strikes and sunk the target. The B-2 previously demonstrated its striking power during Operation Midnight Hammer, which saw Iranian nuclear development facilities destroyed.

This test is a clear example of how we work with trusted allies to bring new capabilities into play faster and smarter, U.S. Air Force Col. Scott Gunn, 53rd Wing commander, said in a service release. Were not just preparing for tomorrow; were shaping it together.

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The test comes at a time when the Arctic is becoming an increasingly contested environment, in addition to China attempting to assert maritime dominance through a series of naval provocations, including with a series of recent incursions into U.S. Arctic territory.

The exercise demonstrated how Norwegian and American air power can work together seamlessly to engage targets at sea under realistic conditions, Finberg said.

This contributes to increased collective security and deterrence against future attacks against Norway and the Nordic region.
MAGA Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has issued a stark warning to President Donald Trump amid their high-profile divorce. The Georgia Republican told CBS News that she is starting to feel very sorry for the 79-year-old, saying that his attacks on her reflect poorly on him. The great schism began when Greene, 50, broke with him on the cost-of-living crisis, which Trump insists is a hoax, and the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
We now have our first full look at a modified 2,000-pound-class GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM, optimized for use as an anti-ship munition as part of the U.S. Air Forces Quicksink program. The Air Force has been pursuing Quicksink as a lower-cost means of bolstering its capacity to launch strikes on enemy ships.

The Air Force released pictures of Quicksink GBU-31s yesterday. The image set also shows smaller 500-pound-class GBU-38 JDAMs, but it is not entirely clear if they are in the Quicksink configuration. All of the pictures were taken ahead of a recent test that saw a B-2 bomber sink an unspecified maritime target in the Norwegian Sea with at least one of the modified JDAMs.

A B-2 bomber flying over the Norwegian Sea drops a Quicksink-configured GBU-31 JDAM during a test on September 3, 2025. A Norwegian F-35A Joint Strike Fighter is seen flying alongside the bomber. Royal Norwegian Air Force

TWZ had previously reached out to the Air Force for more information after a B-2 bomber was tracked online flying from Whiteman Air Force Base toward northern Europe last week.

1955z CULT 71 x1 USAF B-2/A Spirit

On RTB To Whiteman AFB #KZSL After a Europe #GPM around Norway working with other US Assets.

Checked in with Gander Radio HF 8864 kHz for a Position Report/FL280.#CULT71 #B2 pic.twitter.com/yNs53A0j8D  Andy (@Andyyyyrrrr) September 3, 2025

B-2 stealth bomber reportedly on its way to Europe, potentially part of exercise that has been underway off northern Norway. https://t.co/8hYSDgPens  Hans Kristensen (also on Bluesky) (@nukestrat) September 3, 2025

Royal Norwegian Air Force F-35A Joint Strike Fighters participated in the event, as well. A picture also shows a Norwegian P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol plane flying alongside the B-2 and the F-35s at one point, but it is unclear whether it directly took part in the test.

A B-2 bomber flies over the Norwegian Sea on September 3, 2025, alongside four of Norways F-35As, at left, and one of its P-8As, at right. USAF

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In addition to the 2,000 and 500-pound-class types, there are also 1,000-pound-class GBU-32 JDAMs. All JDAM kits consist of a tail section containing a GPS-assisted inertial navigation system (INS) guidance package and clamp-on aerodynamic strakes. It turns unguided bombs into warheads for the resulting precision-guided munitions.

The pictures released yesterday show tail units marked Quick Sink Only, suggesting there might be a specialized configuration for use on these bombs. This could be in part due to a need to interface differently with the new imaging infrared seeker attached to the nose. The seeker gives the Quicksink bombs the ability to engage moving targets. Standard JDAMs can only be employed against a fixed set of target coordinates, though versions with add-on laser guidance capability (called Laser JDAMs or LJDAMs) that can be used against targets on the move exist, as well. Unlike the Quicksink configuration, LJDAMs are not fire-and-forget and require the target to be lased from a platform in relatively close proximity.

A new close-up look at the Quicksink seeker unit. USAF/Staff Sgt. Joshua Hastings

A picture showing a tail unit clearly marked QUICK SINK ONLY. USAF/Staff Sgt. Joshua Hastings

As shown in the video below, the Air Force has described Quicksinks mode of operation as using GPS-assisted INS guidance to get to a designated target area before the seeker in the nose takes over. Though unpowered, standard JDAMs can glide out to targets around 15 miles away, depending on the weapons exact configuration and release envelope. Quicksink bombs then find and categorize their targets by checking their length against a detailed internal reference database. The seeker then feeds additional course correction data to the tail kit to put the weapon on a path to try to detonate right next to the target ships hull, just below the waterline. Initial cueing to the target, which could be provided to the launch platform from offboard sources, is necessary.

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In addition, the image set released yesterday shows a Quicksink GBU-31 with a warhead painted with large black-and-yellow bands. Large sections of the front and the back of the warhead on another one of the bombs are seen painted a red/pink color. That munition also has what looks to be a yellow band at the front.

The bomb with the black-and-yellow bands is seen here in front of the one with the red/pink coloring. USAF/Staff Sgt. Joshua Hastings

In addition, as seen at the top of this story and below, the black-and-yellow-banded Quicksink bomb also has a cartoon bumblebee and the logo of the Autobots from the popular Transformers media franchise painted on the side. One of the more well-known Autobots is named Bumblebee.

A close-up look at some of the black-and-yellow bands, as well as the bumblebee and Autobots logo seen painted on the side of one of the Quicksink bombs. USAF/Staff Sgt. Joshua Hastings

What any of these markings might reflect is unknown. For munitions employed during tests, bright color choices could help make them more visible to assist with observing their performance. The markings might also just reflect nicknames or have other unofficial significance for the individuals working on the project.

The Quicksink bomb with the red/pink coloring, as well as what looks to be a yellow band at the front end. USAF/Staff Sgt. Joshua Hastings

A close-up of the red/pink Quicksink bomb after its release from the B-2 over the Norwegian Sea. Royal Norwegian Air Force

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The U.S. military does have standardized markings for ordnance to indicate their purpose and configuration, with yellow bands signifying live high-explosive contents. Black bands are often used to signify some type of purpose-designed armor-penetrating effect. Red markings on U.S. ordnance are often associated with incendiary effects, and to a more limited extent with tear gas and other so-called riot control agents. Globally, there have been instances of red markings on thermobaric munitions, as well. Thermobaric munitions are designed to create long-duration high-pressure blast waves, which then create vacuums resulting in reverse waves, leading to intense overpressure. In addition to the blast effect, this also produces very high heat.

The 20mm M940 cartridges here offer a good general example of US standard ordnance marking colors, with a combination of black, yellow, and red banding reflecting the rounds armor-piercing, high-explosive, and incendiary effects. GD-OTS A picture of a pair of M940 cartridges alongside a graphic breaking down the components of the rounds projectile. GD-OTS

However, there are no clear indications that anything besides standard iron bombs were used to build the Quicksink munitions for the recent test.

TWZ has reached out to the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), which has been managing the Quicksink effort, for more details. When reached separately for comment, the 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, which has been involved in past Quicksink testing, told us that they could not provide any additional information about Quicksink at this time.

The recent test also highlights other aspects of the Quicksink effort that underscore its potential value, including pairing the bombs with the stealthy B-2 and the potential to employ them as part of future coalition operations with allies and partners.

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The B-2 played a central role, employing precision-guided QUICKSINK munitions to engage and sink the maritime target, according to an Air Force press release on the test. In addition to testing the munitions capabilities, the mission also validated the aircrafts enduring advantages, including its stealth, range, and payload flexibility, while reinforcing its evolving role in maritime strike.

Not mentioned here are the magazine depth benefits that the B-2 offers. As TWZ has noted in the past, this could be especially valuable when with Quicksink munitions. Each one of the bombers has a maximum payload capacity of around 60,000 pounds and two especially cavernous bomb bays. The B-2 has a demonstrated ability to carry up to 80 500-pound-class JDAMs at once. This is so many bombs that during a separate test in the past, personnel at the sprawling Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR) ran out of shipping containers to turn into targets for one of the bombers to hit during a single mock attack run. The crew of that aircraft had enough munitions to leave a smiley face made out of bomb craters, as you can read more about here. With all this in mind, a B-2 could also carry a substantial load of 500 and/or 2,000-pound class Quicksink-configured JDAMs in addition to other munitions.

Stealthy aircraft, in general, make good sense as launch platforms for Quicksink, given the need for the bombs to be released relatively close to potentially defended targeted ships, at least in their current form. Non-stealthy aircraft could still use Quicksink munitions, especially to help finish off damaged small surface combatants with already degraded defenses. They could also engage targets that are less-well-defended, or even essentially defenseless, to begin with, including vital, but typically more vulnerable sealift assets and civilian cargo vessels pressed into military service.

In general, Quicksink offers a valuable additional anti-ship tool for various aircraft, especially tactical jets, which may otherwise have limited, if any, options for munitions dedicated to this target set. Smaller aircraft could also carry more of the GBU-38-based versions per sortie compared to traditional anti-ship cruise missiles. Any Quicksink-armed aircraft could also be tasked with targeting ships at anchor, especially if their congested closely together, as well as engaging ones on the move.

500-pound-class JDAMs seen being prepared at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri ahead of the Quicksink test last week. Whether these are in the full Quicksink configuration is not entirely clear. USAF/Staff Sgt. Joshua Hastings

The Air Force has been developing with low cost in mind, too. JDAM kits have historically cost between $20,000 and $30,000 apiece, with the unguided bombs that they are paired with adding a minimal increase to the total price point. AFRL has told TWZ in the past that the Quicksink seeker unit cost around $200,000, but that the goal was to get the unit price down to around $50,000 once production ramped up.

A model of the Quicksink seeker AFRL has shown publicly in the past. Joseph Trevithick

Quicksink reflects a broader trend within the Air Force, as well as other branches of the U.S. military, in the development of new, lower-cost precision bombs and missiles that can also be readily produced at scale. American officials see this as particularly important for bolstering munitions stocks ahead of any potential high-end fight with China in the Pacific, as well as being able to sustain inventories in any such campaign. More advanced anti-ship cruise missiles would be in particular high demand in a Pacific conflict.

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Its also worth pointing out that wing kits capable of extending the maximum range of standard JDAMs from 15 miles up to 45 miles exist now, and could be paired with the Quicksink configuration. The JDAM-Extended Range (JDAM-ER), which can help reduce the vulnerability of the launch platform, as well as offer greater reach, is now a combat-proven capability thanks to their employment by Ukraines Air Force in recent years. JDAMs prime contractor Boeing has also been working on a cruise missile derivative of the munition, or Powered JDAM (PJDAM), which you can learn more about here. The Air Force is itself known to be at least exploring pairing the Quicksink seeker with Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) low-cost cruise missiles now in development for Ukraine and potentially other customers.

Extended range could also put additional emphasis on the importance of offboard cueing for Quicksink munitions, which could come from assets belonging to various branches of the U.S. military, as well as allies and partners  like Norwegian F-35s and/or P-8s. So far, there is no indication that the Quicksink bombs have a datalink to allow them to receive additional targeting information after release.

In addition to Norwegian F-35s and personnel who participated in the strike, support from Norway enabled U.S. forces to gain access to critical infrastructure and airspace, allowing the test to be conducted in a strategically relevant and operationally challenging environment, the Air Forces press release on the recent test notes. The event advanced tactics, techniques, and procedures for long-range sensor-to-shooter operations. These included integrating beyond-line-of-sight communications and multi-domain targeting, both crucial capabilities in highly contested environments.

U.S. allies and partners, not to mention the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, could just acquire Quicksink munitions for their own use, as well.

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With the Air Force continuing to expand the scale and scope of Quicksink testing, more specific details about the bombs and their capabilities, as well as how they could be employed, look set to emerge.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com
Virginia's new General Assembly Building in downtown Richmond opened just before the 2024 legislative session. (Photo by Graham Moomaw/Virginia Mercury)

As Virginia grapples with rapidly increasing energy demands and skyrocketing utility bills, a group of state lawmakers are looking deeper into energy efficiency, community solar, and energy storage.

The Commission on Electric Utility Regulation reviewed the states efforts to fund energy efficiency plans during virtual meetings on Wednesday. They also talked about the uncertainty around community solar investments and the rollout of energy storage plans.

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Charts shared in the meeting by Carrie Hearne, the executive director of the commission, show that Virginia is 9th in electricity expenditure, which is higher than the national average. This energy use is due in part to the growing number of data centers across the state, which require large amounts of electricity. The states high energy expenditure also means that the cost burden for low-income households can be great.

Key recommendations from the Virginia Energy Efficiency Council include increasing investments into energy efficiency programs for low-income households to upgrade their homes and waste less energy.

Investments in energy efficiency is a very least-cost way to save money, save electricity, save energy, and help reduce pressure on the grid, Hearne said.

The council also recommended the state rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a carbon credits market which previously was generating funds for the state to invest in energy efficiency and flood resilience programs. Gov. Glenn Youngkin pulled the state out of RGGI, a move a judge deemed unlawful, and some lawmakers fear rejoining it will add yet another cost added onto customers utility bills.

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If were talking about affordability, anything we add to that, no matter what it is, its going to cost. So we need to be very careful about adding things to riders, said Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott.

The commission expressed interest in ramping up nuclear power through small modular reactors. SMRs are not currently operating in the country, but multiple are under construction in other states. Dominion Energy has already selected their North Anna power plant as the site of their first SMR. There is still a long road ahead that will entail selecting the proposals for the projects, getting the proposer licensing, and other requirements.

The commission did not discuss utility sized solar projects, but did discuss the status of community solar in the commonwealth. Community solar allows neighborhoods to buy into small-scale solar projects to have their utility bills reduced based on how much power is generated and how much they bought in.

However, if Dominions proposed changes to the minimum bill amount materialize, it could impact those savings. There hasnt been much movement to expand this program in Virginia, and federal grants for it have recently been paused or terminated.

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The Virginia General Assembly has failed to pass bills that would expand energy storage requirements, and ones that have passed have been vetoed by Youngkin. As long-term battery technology advances, some lawmakers are pushing utilities to utilize them more to assist with storing energy from solar and wind projects.

The American Clean Power Association, which represents companies in energy storage, solar, and wind, reported to the commission that there is 56 megawatts of battery storage operational in the state now, 252MW in construction, and 94MW in the proposal stage. There are many battery storage projects in the interconnection pipeline for the regional transmission grid, PJM, to approve. Dominion has multiple pilot projects in the works that look outside lithium-ion batteries as options for their projects.

These pilots will deliver significant value, not only for the technology developers, they get to test their systems and real world conditions, but also to us, as we help de-risk the technical performance and cost effectiveness of these proposed three (projects), said Brandon Martin with Dominion Energy. The real world operating data validating the technologys ability to enhance the resiliency of the grid and those claims and the cost benefits is real.

The Commission on Electric Utility Regulation will hold more meetings this fall to get updates on the states energy profile and efforts by utilities to meet the VCEA transition to renewable energy sources. They plan to have recommendations for legislation by December.

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DORSET, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44)  A Manchester resident has been cited after reportedly discharging a firearm during a dispute Wednesday, September 10. No one was injured.

State police were notified about the situation at 9:31 a.m. At the scene, authorities investigating the incident identified 70-year-old Jason Day as the main suspect.

Officers say Day was utilizing the firearm in a threatening manner during this dispute before discharging it. Day was arrested, processed and cited to appear in Vermont Superior Court, Bennington Criminal Division Thursday, September 11.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC22 & FOX44.
WATERBURY, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44)  The group of 11 political and education leaders that will come up with Vermonts new school districts met for the second time Wednesday afternoon, looking at different models for how they could draw the new district lines.

One idea that dominated discussion for the second half of the Vermont School District Redistricting Task Forces meeting was a county model, simply taking the map of Vermonts 14 counties and making those the new school districts. Members of the task force debated the potential positives and negatives that could come with that.

Hypothetically, a county map would allow for a lot more collaboration across a wider geographic area, said State Senator Martine Larocque Gulick, a Democrat from Chittenden County. I keep hearing over and over and over again: Is there a way for us to have greater sharing of resources across a larger geographic area?'

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We have SUs (Supervisory Unions) that cross multiple county borders. Its really interesting to see how things break down, it would be a big change, said Dr. Jay Badams, the recently retired superintendent of SAU 70, the nations first interstate school district, which covers Norwich, Vermont and Hanover, New Hampshire. Could county districts function as SUs? What geographic limitations are there with the county model, and Senator Harrisons description of how the counties are laid out relative to our geography might be an advantage.

Two concerns sparked quickly by the county model idea were possible long bus rides for students in some counties that are geographically disadvantaged, and the fact that some counties currently dont have any middle schools.

There are one, two, three, four counties with zero middle schools, Dr. Badams said. So, yeah, so we need to talk about possible reconfigurations too.

Public transportation often is per-county, rough county boundaries, and we have a lot of other things that we do in the state that have boundaries that are similar to county boundaries, but not quite there, noted State Senator Wendy Harrison, a Democrat from Windham County.

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I know transportation is an issue that, that needs to be considered, even though Vermont legally doesnt have to provide transportation, we do, said State Representative Beth Quimby, a Republican from Lyndon.

Long trips to and from school was also an important topic for folks who pitched in during public comment, as well as the continuing concern that larger school districts could lead to the closure of more small rural schools.

Avoid the closure of local elementary schools wherever possible, pleaded Elliott Burg, a longtime resident of Middlesex. As you are thinking about consolidation plans and maps, these schools are the heart of our communities. My wife and I moved to Middlesex 43 years ago largely because of the school there.

At his weekly news conference Wednesday, Governor Phil Scott and Education Secretary Zoie Saunders commented on the ongoing education transformation efforts, reminding everyone that these redistricting efforts are only the beginning of an at least three year-long process to improve the entire state education system.

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While its not going to be easy, we have to follow through, because making sure Vermont offers the very best education for every student should be one of our highest priorities, Gov. Scott said. Consolidating into fewer districts to help equalize the tax base  will increase educational opportunity and flexibility for all students.

The Agency (of Education) continues to provide data to the Redistricting Task Force, Secretary Saunders said. We have provided a significant amount of data to support their critical work of contemplating new school district boundaries. In fact, our latest submission responded to over 160 discreet data requests.

The task forces next meeting is set for Monday, Sept. 29 in Waterbury, where theyre expected to look at another redistricting idea centered around where Vermonts Career and Technical Education Centers are located. The meeting is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. and adjourn at 3:30 p.m.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  A national coffee chain opened its second walk-thru cafe this week on Ohio States campus.

According to a news release, 7 Brew cut the ribbon on its second-ever walk-thru location at 2118 N. High St. on Wednesday. The Arkansas-based coffee shop began with seven original coffees and now boasts more than 20,000 different drink combinations.

Students lined up on noon Wednesday for the ribbon cutting. Inside, patrons are greeted by groovy decorations, blue neon lights and art that reads cultivate kindness.

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15 years later: The story of Rufus Bobcat vs. Brutus Buckeye

7 Brew typically operates drive-thru coffee shops, but Ohio States cafe is for pedestrians. The chain started in 2017 but spread quickly, and now has more than 300 locations nationwide. There are 23 locations in Ohio alone, including spots in Worthington and Hilliard.

The shop is hosting Community Hours from through Thursday of this week. Between 8 and 9 a.m., noon and 1 p.m., or 5 and 6 p.m., Ohio State students and staff can get a free small drink. 7 Brew is also holding a Swag Day on Friday from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. where customers can get a free 7 Brew T-shirt with the purchase of a large drink.

Also at Wednesdays event, 7 Brew Ohio State donated $2,000 to Nationwide Childrens Hospital. 7 Brew said the donation was in line with the companys partnership with Childrens Miracle Network Hospitals, an effort to give back.

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7 Brews new walk-thru coffee shop is open from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. every day.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
Two Houston County residents took home big prizes in the Georgia Lottery playing scratch-off games.

In Warner Robins, a resident won the $2.5 million top prize with a Millionaire Jumbo Bucks ticket purchased at PK Food Mart, 99 Wellborn Road, according to a Georgia Lottery Corporation news release Wednesday. The prize was claimed Tuesday.

In Perry, a resident won $1 million with a 2nd Edition Billionaire Club ticket purchased at Speedy, 101 Marshallville Road, Perry. The winner chose the cash option of $535,398.06, claiming the prize Monday.

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Elsewhere in the state, a Lexington resident won the $2 million top prize on the $2 Million Dollar Multiplier with a ticket purchased at AJ Food Mart, 648 Athens Road, Lexington. The prize was claimed Tuesday.

Last week, Georgia Lottery players claimed nearly $45.43 million in prizes from scratch-off games, the release said.

Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corp. reports returning more than $29.8 billion to the state for education. Lottery sales in Georgia began on June 29, 1993.

All Georgia Lottery profits go to pay for specific educational programs, including Georgias HOPE Scholarship Program and Georgias Pre-K Program, according to the release.

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More than 2.25 million students have received HOPE scholarships, and more than 2.2 million 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary pre-kindergarten program, the release said.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.
Thursday, Sept. 11 marks the 24-year anniversary of when airplanes were flown into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania in an act of terrorism that killed nearly 3,000 people.

Events are scheduled in New York City, as well as in Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon, to commemorate and remember the day. You can watch the events live at the embedded video at the top of this page or on USA TODAY's YouTube channel. The livestream is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. ET.

President Donald Trump is expected to be in attendance at the events held at the Pentagon.

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Vice President J.D. Vance has canceled plans to travel to New York City for the Sept. 11 commemoration. He will instead travel to Utah in the wake of the fatal Charlie Kirk shooting to pay respects to Kirk's family.

Hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center and explodes at 9:03 a.m. on September 11, 2001 in New York City. The crash of two airliners hijacked by terrorists loyal to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and subsequent collapse of the twin towers killed some 2,800 people. Smoke pours from the southwest corner of the Pentagon after a hijacked commercial airliner crashed into the building in Arlington, VA. A hijacked commercial plane approaches the World Trade Center shortly before crashing into the landmark skyscraper. A half-dozen workers trapped below the 93rd floor of the north tower of the World Trade Center look out windows, jet fuel burning below them. The tower collapsed five minutes later. US President George W. Bush has his early morning school reading event interupted by his Chief of Staff Andrew Card shortly after news of the New York City airplane crashes was available in Sarasota, Florida. A helicopter hovers over the World Trade Center in New York seconds before the south tower collapsed. United Airlines Flight 175 and American Airlines Flight 11 departed from Boston en route to California before hijackers crashed them into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001. American Airlines Flight 77 hit the Pentagon. Passengers attempted to overtake United Airlines Flight 93 from hijackers before it crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks. A man stands in the rubble, and calls out asking if anyone needs help, after the collapse of the first World Trade Center Tower in New York. Marcy Borders is covered in dust as she takes refuge in an office building after one of the World Trade Center towers collapsed in New York. Borders was caught outside on the street as the cloud of smoke and dust enveloped the area. The woman was caught outside on the street as the cloud of smoke and dust enveloped the area. Mannequins on the floor of the Brooks Brothers' shop in New York near the World Trade Center are seen after the twin towers collapsed. Edward Fine covers his mouth as he walks through debris after the collapse of one of the World Trade Center Towers in New York. Fine was on the 78th floor of 1 World Trade Center when it was hit by a hijacked plane. The rubble of the World Trade Center smolders following a terrorist attack in New York. Pedestrians run from the scene as one of the World Trade Center Towers collapses. An ambulance, covered with debris, is on fire after the collapse of the first World Trade Center Tower. Rescue workers evacuate a man through rubble and debris after the collapse of one of the World Trade Center Towers. A police officer helps a woman to a bus after she fled the area near the World Trade Center towers in New York. Security personnel take up positions beneath the national flag at half-staff atop the White House on September 11, 2001 in Washington, DC, following terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center in New York and damaged the Pentagon. Smoke billows from the Pentagon after a terrorist strike. A firefighter sits on a demolished fire truck after two airliners crashed into the World Trade Center in a terrorist attack. Smoke and dust surround lower Manhattan after the World Trade Center collapsed. A firefighter stands amidst the burning wreckage of the Twin Towers after the World Trade Center. Military personnel evacuate the Pentagon after a hijacked commercial airliner crashed into the southwest corner of the building in Arlington, Virginia. Rescue personnel walk in front of the rubble of the World Trade Center. A New York City police officer hold a dust mask over his face as another officer tries to secure it, both men covered in a thick layer of dust and ash after a debris wave engulfed them following the collapse of the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Three NYC firemen, George Johnson and Dan McWilliams and Bill Eisengrein raise an American flag near the rubble of the World Trade Center. Taken at 5:01 PM on September 11th. In one of many acts of courage and kindness, a man helps an elderly woman escape the cloud of dust, smoke and ash six blocks from the World Trade Center. These iconic images from 9/11 are truly unforgettable 1 of 26 Hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center and explodes at 9:03 a.m. on September 11, 2001 in New York City. The crash of two airliners hijacked by terrorists loyal to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and subsequent collapse of the twin towers killed some 2,800 people.

Contributing: Joey Garrison, Francesca Chambers; USA TODAY

This story has been updated with new information.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 9/11 attacks remembered 24 years later. Watch live.
Wayne State University is about to start work on a new $200 million Health Sciences Research Building in Midtown Detroit that it hopes to finish by early 2028.

The five-story, 160,000-square-foot building will go up on the what is now a parking lot at 545 E. Canfield Street. The building is to serve as a biomedical research hub for Wayne State scientists in the areas of oncology, neurosciences, systems biology and immunology, metabolism and infectious diseases, according to a news release.

A rendering of Wayne State University's future Health Sciences Research Building

The research will also build upon the university's clinic partnerships with the nearby Karmanos Cancer Institute and the Detroit Medical Center.

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The university held a ceremonial groundbreaking event for the building on Tuesday, Sept. 9. The project is financially supported by a $100 million commitment from the state of Michigan, plus philanthropy and university resources, the news release said.

This new building represents Wayne States deep and enduring commitment to improving the health and economic strength of Detroit, our region and the state of Michigan, Wayne State President Kimberly Andrews Espy said in the release. Here, our world-class biomedical researchers, clinicians, students and community partners will come together to solve some of the most pressing health challenges of our time, and to ensure discoveries more quickly reach the people who need them most.

The site of Wayne State's future $200 million Health Sciences Research Building.

More: Massive Henry Ford Hospital expansion in Detroit is underway and heres what it looks like

Contact JC Reindl: 313-378-5460 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on X @jcreindl

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Wayne State breaks ground for new $200M health research building
Islamabad, Pakistan  On Sunday, Nepals then-Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli mocked youth protesters, who were planning a major agitation the following day in the capital, Kathmandu, against corruption and nepotism.

By calling themselves the Gen Z, the protesters seemed to believe they could demand whatever they wanted, he said.

Less than 48 hours later, Oli was an ex-PM, and the Gen Z protest movement he had spoken dismissively of was discussing who should lead Nepal. That was after police firing on protesters on Monday killed at least 19 people, further inflaming passions. On Tuesday, protesters set fire to the parliament building and homes of several prominent politicians, as members of Olis cabinet quit and pressure mounted on the PM himself  ultimately leading to his resignation. The combined death toll from clashes on Monday and Tuesday has now reached 31.

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Those dramatic events have turned the Himalayan nation into the latest cauldron of political change, after similar youth-led movements in Sri Lanka in 2022, and Bangladesh, in 2024, also led to the overthrow of governments in those South Asian nations.

(Al Jazeera)

Experts say that Nepals political churn has consequences not just for the nation of 30 million people, but for the broader region and the world, rooted in the countrys own tumultuous political history and its legacy of balancing ties between India, China and Pakistan.

Heres what happened and why it matters to the world:

Whats happening in Nepal?

On September 8, tens of thousands of young people came out to protest corruption and nepotism. A government ban on social media platforms only aggravated their anger.

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After some protesters broke through barricades and entered the parliament complex, security forces fired live bullets, tear gas shells and water cannons at them. At least 19 people died, angering youth across the country.

New protests  far more violent  erupted on Tuesday. Politicians homes and offices of political parties were broken into and set on fire. The building that housed Kantipur Publications, Nepals biggest media house, was also torched.

By afternoon, Oli had announced his resignation, but the protesters, who have described their agitation as a Gen Z movement, are now demanding the dissolution of parliament, new elections, an interim government they help choose until then, and the prosecution of those who ordered the firing on September 8.

(Al Jazeera)

The army has taken over the streets, and a curfew is in place in Kathmandu.

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But this was not Nepals first encounter with mass student unrest. The countrys modern political history is filled with student movements, palace interventions and cycles of violence, including a decade-long civil war.

From Rana rule to the Panchayat era

Several educated Nepalis had participated in undivided Indias freedom struggle against the British, and inspired by the subcontinents independence from colonial rule in 1947, became a part of a larger movement calling for the end of direct rule by Nepals Rana monarchy.

In 1951, opposition to the Ranas  including from educated sections of the elite  culminated in what was the countrys first modern revolution. The Ranas were forced to accept indirect rule through a tripartite agreement. Nepals King Tribhuvan, who had fled to India in the protests, returned. A government was formed with members of the Rana clan and the Nepali Congress (NC)  the main political party at the time.

Then, in 1959, the country held its first general election, with the NCs Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala becoming prime minister. But just a year later, King Mahendra Bir Bikram dismissed the Koirala government after its popular land reforms angered sections of the countrys ruling elite. Instead, the king imposed what became known as the panchayat system, a party-less order that governed Nepal for nearly three decades, with the monarch at its helm.

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With political activity curtailed, student protests became one of the few outlets for dissent. Campus agitations over political and educational reforms occurred through the 1970s and 1980s.

The sustained political protest over the years eventually brought down the panchayat system in 1990 and reopened the door to parliamentary politics.

(Al Jazeera)

The armed rebellion and the emergence of a republic

Between 1996 and 2006, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) waged a rebel-led war aimed at toppling the monarchy for democratic rule. The conflict killed more than 10,000 people.

In 2006, protests involving political parties, civil society and students forced the monarch, King Gyanendra, to cede power. The movement paved the way for the abolition of the monarchy and, in 2008, the declaration of Nepal as a democratic republic.

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Since then, eight men from the three main parties  the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML), the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) (CPN-MC) and the Nepali Congress (NC)  have led the country 14 times between them. Oli, who resigned on September 9, was serving his fourth term.

Observers say that though the Oli governments recent social media ban was a lightning rod for protesters, the Gen Z movement is built on underlying grievances that have simmered for years.

Rajneesh Bhandari, an investigative journalist based in Kathmandu, says the demonstrations reflected frustration against the rulers for their corruption, acts of nepotism, and their bad governance.

This shows that the Nepalese youth held resentment against the rulers who did not pay heed to their demands, or communicated with them, and continued to act in an arrogant manner, he told Al Jazeera.

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Ashirwad Tripathy, a civil and digital rights activist in Kathmandu, also emphasised that the protests were not an overnight eruption.

The abuse of authority and corruption of the leaders of the several political parties have led to this situation. There has been long-simmering discontent and dissatisfaction against the older generation of the three main political parties, who only played musical chairs with the prime ministers seat, Tripathy told Al Jazeera.

Geography, neighbours and power politics

But what happens in Nepal matters well beyond the borders of the landlocked country that sits on the southern slopes of the Himalayas and is home to eight of the worlds 14 highest peaks, including Mount Everest.

Stretching roughly 885km (550 miles) east to west and about 193km (120 miles) north to south, it lies between two regional giants: China to the north and India to the south, east and west.

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Though historically close to India, Nepals foreign alignments have shifted with domestic politics. Oli was widely seen as leaning towards Beijing, and his removal has prompted speculation about a recalibration of influence in Kathmandu.

Lokranjan Parajauli, a social scientist who has written extensively on social movements and politics, suggested the next ruler is likely to be an independent figure not aligned with any party.

It is not quite clear who that new person will be, but it will be someone whom the army can trust or rely upon, Parajauli told Al Jazeera.

Some analysts point to Sushila Karki, the former chief justice, as a possible interim choice.

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She is the most acceptable candidate, and she has a high chance of leading the next government, but no decision has been made, Tripathy said, adding that Karkis political and diplomatic allegiances are unclear.

Fire and smoke rise from the Singha Durbar palace, which houses government and parliament buildings, after protesters stormed the premises during violent demonstrations in Kathmandu on September 9 [Narendra Shreshta/EPA]

Others believe that the mayor of Kathmandu, Balendra Shah, a 35-year-old rapper musician who has been heading the city since 2022, could be the other option.

However, a longtime human rights activist in Kathmandu, speaking on condition of anonymity, said regardless of the identity of the new leader, both India and China will seek stability and a government that respects their interests.

Neither neighbour wants to see the other exercise too much influence in Nepal, the activist told Al Jazeera.

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Tripathy emphasised Nepals historical balancing act.

Nepal has always had friendly ties with both its neighbours, China and India. Culturally, we are closer to India in the southern part, while the northern part has cultural similarities with China. But our motto has always been to maintain a balanced relationship between both countries, and we will continue the same notion, he said.

Regional calculus

Ali Hassan, a South Asia specialist at UK-based Healix, a risk management company, argued that Olis fall could serve as a setback for Beijing in Kathmandu and a potential opening for New Delhi.

Sections of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have also been aligned with the pro-monarchist movement in Nepal, which argues that the Himalayan nation needs the Ranas back in power. The former monarch, Gyanendra, received a huge public reception in Kathmandu earlier this year, pointing to the continuing support for the former rulers among sections of Nepali society. If the pro-monarchy movement gains from the current politicial crisis in Nepal, that might benefit the BJP, Hassan said.

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But he added that the Gen Z protesters who removed Oli do not appear to favour a return of Gyanendra.

Meanwhile, Pakistan will also be watching developments in Nepal closely, say analysts.

Compared with India and China, Nepals relations with Pakistan have historically been cordial but limited in strategic significance.

Still, Nepals rulers have used ties with Pakistan, at times, to remind India of their own regional options. In 1960, the Indian government under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru criticised King Mahendras dismissal of the Koirala government. A year later, the Nepali monarch visited Pakistan, and then, in 1963, hosted Pakistani President Ayub Khan.

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More recently, at the height of India-Pakistan tensions in May, after gunmen had killed 26 civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir, Nepal hosted a delegation from Pakistans National Defence University, leading to raised eyebrows in New Delhi, which has long viewed Oli as too close to Beijing  Pakistans closest ally  for comfort.

With Pakistan having seen its share of political chaos in recent years, particularly after the removal of Prime Minister Imran Khan through a parliamentary vote of no confidence in 2022, analysts say Nepals crisis might have raised concerns among Pakistans ruling elite, too.

Pakistani elites must be wondering how secure their grip on power is, given they are often accused of charges similar to what Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and Nepali protesters said of their leaders, that the government is indifferent to all but themselves and is highly authoritarian, London-based Hassan said.

But the Kathmandu-based human rights activist who requested anonymity said that from Nepals perspective, Pakistan would likely not be a priority for the next leader  whoever it is.

Nepal has friendly relations with Pakistan, but unlike India or China, Pakistan relations are not seen as a factor in Nepali domestic politics, nor do Nepali governments have distinctive policies towards Pakistan, he said.
DENVER (KDVR)  The United States and Colorado flags will be lowered on Thursday in honor of the victims of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and the death of Charlie Kirk.

United States and Colorado flags are annually lowered to half-staff on the National Day of Service and Remembrance, also known as Patriot Day. Flags will remain lowered through Sunday for the death of Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, who was shot while speaking at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

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Gov. Jared Polis released a statement on Wednesday ordering flags to be flown at half-staff for the victims of the Sept. 11 terror attack. As directed by President Trump, Polis said flags will stay at half-staff until sunset on Sunday.

Almost a quarter of a century ago, the safety and security of the United States was shaken like never before. While the bedrock of our nation is forever changed, America continues to grow stronger and more resilient. On 9/11, we remember the 2,976 souls lost that tragic day, honor the first responders who ran toward the danger to help others, and mourn with the families who still have an empty seat at the dinner table, said Polis.

The United States Congress said Patriot Day was enacted in 2001 to honor nearly 3,000 lives lost after four airplanes were hijacked by members of the Al Qaeda terrorist network. Two planes hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, while another hit the Pentagon, and the fourth crashed in southwestern Pennsylvania. In 2009, the U.S. Congress said Sept. 11 was also designated as the National Day of Service and Remembrance. The public law encourages volunteering and acts of service.

Flags are lowered annually from sunrise to sunset on Sept. 11, but this year, they will remain lowered through Sunday for Kirks death.

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Political violence is never acceptable and I condemn the brutal and inexcusable attack on Charlie Kirk in Utah. This is a challenging time for so many in our country, but any divisions we face will never be solved by trying to hurt each other. I am sending hope and love to his friends and his family in this dark hour. I encourage everyone to be stronger and disagree better and peacefully, said Polis.

Flags are often lowered to half-staff when theres a national tragedy.

President Donald Trump and Gov. Jared Polis ordered flags to be lowered this year in honor of Pope Francis passing and to respect victims of a shooter who reportedly opened fire through the window of a Catholic church in Minneapolis.

There are four designated days when flags across the United States are lowered in accordance with federal law, one being 9/11. Flags are also lowered each year for Peace Officer Memorial Day, Memorial Day and Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

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Flags are flying half-staff in New Jersey and across the U.S. today, Sept. 11, 2025, under orders by President Donald Trump and Gov. Phil Murphy as the nation reflects on the lives lost on 9/11.

It's been 24 years since terrorists hijacked four planes, crashing two into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, and one each into the Pentagon and in an open field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Many New Jersey residents may spot the blue beams of the Tribute in Light shining bright in the sky today as families across the nation gather to remember their loved ones. Nearly 3,000 people will be commemorated at the 9/11 Memorial ceremony in NYC today, including those killed in the 1993 WTC bombings.

Here's what to know.

Why is the flag half staff today in NJ?

Flags are flying half-staff today, Sept. 11, 2025 in observance of September 11, 2001, the worst terrorists attacks in American history. A resolution passed by Congress in 2001 calls for the president to issue a proclamation ordering flags in the U.S. be flown half-staff, from dusk until dawn, on 9/11. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy issued his own executive order on Sept. 10.

NJ Gov. Phil Murphy orders flags fly half-staff

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy ordered all U.S. and state flags fly half-staff on all state buildings and facilities today, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025 to remember the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001. Among the nearly 3,000 killed on 9/11, 700 were New Jersey residents, he said.

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We are also forever grateful to our first responders, law enforcement officers, armed forces, and intelligence officers for the extraordinary sacrifices they make to protect our country each and every day," Murphy wrote.

What is Patriot Day?

Patriot Day is a observed on Sept. 11 to commemorate the lives of those who died in the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Virginia and those who died when Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Patriot Day came about via a joint resolution of the U.S Congress on Dec. 18, 2001. It serves as a day of remembrance to honor those who died, and recognizes the courage of the first responders who served their country in the wake of the attacks.

Is September 11 a federal holiday?

No. September 11, or Patriot Day, is not a federal holiday; rather, it's a resolution passed by the U.S. Congress that calls for the president to issue a proclamation recognizing the day as a National Day of Service and Remembrance. Banks will be open today, Sept. 11, as will schools, government offices and the post office, although some workplaces may offer paid days off for employees.

What happened on 9/11?

On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four planes, crashing two into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, one into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virgina, and the fourth in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to retake control of the plane. The 9/11 Commission Report determined this plane was likely headed to Washington, D.C. or the White House.

How many people died in 9/11?

The 9/11 terrorist attacks claimed the lives of 2,977 people, not including the 19 hijackers, and most were in New York. All 246 passengers aboard the four planes were killed, as were 125 people killed at the Pentagon. At the Twin Towers, 2,606 people died  either on Sept. 11 or later on from injuries.

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According to the FDNY, more first responders died from 9/11-related illnesses than were killed on the day of the attack.

What's the difference between half-mast and half-staff?

The difference between a flag flying half-mast and half-staff depends on where the flag is being flown. In America, flags flown on land are from staffs, while half-mast refers to flags flown from ships and at naval stations ashore.

Lori Comstock is a New Jersey-based journalist with the Mid-Atlantic Connect Team.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Why are flags half staff today? Is Patriot Day a holiday? What to know
The last time Russia held a major military exercise in Belarus, officials in Minsk and Moscow dismissed Western alarm as hysteria.

The manoeuvres were purely defensive, Gen Viktor Gulevich, the Belarusian armys chief of staff, insisted.

Yet the Zapad 2021 exercises proved a prelude to war. Many of the troops involved returned not to their bases in Siberia or the Urals but massed along the Ukrainian border, invading five months later.

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Now, as anxiety along Natos Baltic flank turns to alarm in the wake of Wednesdays drone incursion in Poland, Russian troops are back in Belarus for Zapad 2025, whose main phase begins on Friday.

This time there are no Cassandras in Western intelligence agencies predicting imminent invasion to a disbelieving world. With just 40,000 troops  a fifth of the number Moscow claimed in 2021  the consensus is that Russia is too bogged down in Ukraine to embark on fresh adventurism.

Even so, nerves are jangling, with the exercises coming just days after Nato fighter jets shot down Russian drones in Poland on Wednesday, the first time alliance fighters have engaged enemy targets over its air space.

European intelligence services warning that Vladimir Putin could be ready to launch a new war, possibly across the Polish border in the Baltics, within five years  and perhaps as soon as two  have therefore taken on a more ominous tone.

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In many ways, senior officials in the region argue that war is already under way. Russia is waging sabotage operations against Europes undersea infrastructure, a grey zone conflict that blurs war and peace. The question is whether Europe, financially stretched, politically divided and still dependent on wavering US support, has the staying power to stop hybrid wars from tipping into open conflict.

Lt Gen Dariusz Parylak, Natos commander in Poland and the Baltics, is among those watching Zapad closely. The drills may be unsettling, but they also offer a rare chance to assess Russias battlefield thinking.

We will have a kitchen-window observation on how Russia is transferring lessons from Ukraine to training, he said on the sidelines of the IISS Prague Defence Summit.

Thats vital because it shows how their thinking is developing, how modernisation processes are going and the evolution of their tactics, techniques and procedure doctrines.

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For Europes commanders, the danger in the Baltic is not theoretical. Russias forces are battle-hardened, its manpower problems largely resolved and its defence industry is outproducing Europe in tanks and missiles. Its air and naval power outside the Black Sea remains intact.

Russias Zapad 2021 exercises proved a prelude to war in Ukraine - Russian Defence Ministry/Shutterstock

And in Putin, who now casts the Ukraine war as an existential struggle with Nato, Russia has a leader increasingly intent on reclaiming Soviet and imperial domains.

Along its 1,400-mile-long border with Finland and the Baltic states, Russia is expanding bases, building barracks, air-defence units and depots. In response to Finland and Swedens accession to Nato, Moscow has revived the Soviet-era Leningrad military district and begun flying surveillance blimps along the frontier in a show of intimidation.

Should Putin choose to strike, defence chiefs fear the most likely flashpoint would be the Baltic states, once part of the Soviet Union but now Nato members. Latvia and Estonia, with significant Russian minorities, could provide the Kremlin with a manufactured pretext.

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The region also offers an opportunity to test Natos Article 5, the alliances mutual-defence clause. Failure to mount a unified response could fatally weaken the alliance. Nato has bolstered its presence, but Donald Trumps ambivalence about Nato  and Washingtons planned cuts in security assistance to front-line states, announced last week  may encourage Putin to gamble.

According to Pal Jonson, Swedens defence minister, Russia may not yet be able to wage a continental war in Europe but it could be ready for a regional one within two to five years.

If so, an offensive is likely to begin with an attempt to seize the Suwaki Gap, a narrow stretch of land separating Russia from its heavily militarised exclave of Kaliningrad.

Putin could present such a move as a limited operation to protect Kaliningrad from aggression, hoping to deter a Nato response. Yet seizing the gap would sever the Baltic states from the rest of the alliance.

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Putin believes that if he captures the Suwaki Gap he can not only connect Russia to Kaliningrad Oblast, he can also cut off the Baltic states, Gen Parylak said.

His dream of reviving the Soviet empire will have taken a big step forward. It is only 60km-long, which makes it easy to seize if we dont have enough prepared forces and if we have not prepared our plans adequately.

Wednesdays drone incursion into Poland has provoked alarm among Nato forces

The limited nature of this years Zapad exercises suggest that such an operation may not be imminent. But while Nato watches the manoeuvres in Belarus for insight into Russias evolving doctrine and combat-readiness, the greater danger may lie in the murky grey zone of seabed sabotage and pressure on vulnerable Baltic outposts, most notably the Swedish island of Gotland and the Finlands Aland archipelago.

Control of either could allow Moscow to dominate the Baltic in a war with the West and Russias forces have rehearsed seizing both.

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After disarming Gotland in the wake of the Cold War  a step Mr Jonson calls a big strategic mistake  Sweden has raced to remilitarise it, garrisoning the island, upgrading infrastructure and integrating its Gotland strategy into Natos collective defence plans.

There have also been a lot of international exercises, especially after we became Nato allies as well, that assure we are able to deter and defend and signal our determination to keep Gotland and the rest of Sweden safe, Mr Jonson said.

Aland, however, is more vulnerable. Finland has been forbidden from stationing troops there since a treaty demilitarised the islands after the Crimean War. Changing that status would mean ripping up two treaties with Moscow, yet leaving them undefended could jeopardise Nato reinforcement and allow Russia to seal the Gulf of Bothnia to maritime traffic.

As Zapad gets under way, Russias western neighbours are mounting their own displays of strength. Exercises in Poland involving 30,000 Polish and allied troops are in progress, while Germany is leading maritime drills in the Baltic Sea involving 14 navies and more than 40 warships.

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But while Natos exercise-for-exercise strategy demonstrates intent, the real test is whether Europe can keep pace with its adversary in the arms race.

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There is progress. The Baltic states and their Nordic neighbours are raising defence spending faster than most of the alliance and strengthening their naval presence with new submarines, corvettes and patrol craft.

Yet bureaucratic hurdles and production delays  not just of ships but also of artillery and ammunition  have raised fears that the gap with Russia is not closing quickly enough. Moscows defence industry, long on a war footing, continues to outpace Europes.

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European defence procurement remains relatively slow, the International Institute of Strategic Studies, a London-based think tank, warned in a report this month.

Procurements are too small in scale and the system is, overall, insufficiently innovative given the worsening security environment. While Russia could pose a conventional military threat to Europe as early as 2027, lengthy defence procurement processes often persist.

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A Dover woman was sentenced to prison on Sept. 10 in Kent County Superior Court after pleading guilty to abusing infants at a Hartly day care in 2024.

The sentencing of 26-year-old Kayla Manuszak follows an investigation into suspected abuse by the former employee at the Hartly Early Learning Academy, located at 21 North St. in Hartly.

After the investigation, Manuszak was arrested in February 2024, according to a report by the Delaware Department of Justice.

The Kent County Courthouse, 414 Federal St., Dover.

Its difficult to put the shocking and detestable nature of Kayla Manuszaks crimes into words, Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings said in a written statement. There are few greater betrayals than that of someone abusing children whose care they were entrusted with.

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More on the arrest: Woman charged with 21 felonies for abuse of babies while working at Hartly day care center

Between Nov. 30, 2023, and Dec. 4, 2023, Manuszak physically abused six infants under her care, ranging in age from 5 months to 14 months, Jennings said. Video footage obtained during the investigation showed the defendant body slamming, throwing, pushing, kicking and dropping the infants out of frustration.

All of the children have been medically evaluated and received the appropriate medical care, according to the state Justice Department.

After pleading guilty to four counts of third-degree child abuse, Manuszak was sentenced to 32 years in prison, suspended after four years, followed by descending levels of probation.

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Though the Delaware sentencing accountability guidelines for the convictions carry a presumptive sentence of probation only, the judge sentenced more than those guidelines due to the circumstances of the case, the state Department of Justice said.

More crime news: Former Red Clay school district employee sentenced for child sex crime

Following her release, Manuszak wont be allowed to apply for employment or volunteer in any capacity with children under the age of 18, the elderly, those with disabilities or animals. She will also be placed on level three of the Child Abuse Registry.

Our hearts are with the children and families who endured such unimaginable harm, said Col. William D. Crotty, superintendent of the Delaware State Police, which investigated this case. "The courage it took for them to come forward and the strength theyve shown throughout this process cannot be overstated.

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He also credited the tireless work of detectives and the strong partnership with the Department of Justice in the case.

While no sentence can erase the pain caused, we hope this outcome brings some measure of healing and reassurance that those who harm our most vulnerable will be held fully accountable, Crotty said.

Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Ex-Delaware day care employee sentenced to prison after abusing infants
The oft-congested Chattogram Port endured more worker unrest months after a customs officials strike and a customs server disruption contributed to a weekslong backlog at the Bangladeshi gateway.

On Wednesday, members of the Chattogram Port Berth and Terminal Operators Merchant Workers Unity Council formed a human chain in front of the port in protest of the manner the ports operator handles wages and benefits.

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The council is seeking more direct representation by the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA), calling to bring all workers employed under different independent companies within the labor wing of the port.

The members say they want to ensure that workers at the New Mooring Container Terminal and Chittagong Container Terminal are paid at the same rate as those at the ports General Cargo Berth.

Among the demands, the unity council demanded that private company names be removed from workers port ID cards, that scheduling and pay be handled directly by the port authority, and that the pay scale for fiscal year 202526 reflect an already promised 10 percent annual raise.

The workers also demanded that retirement benefits be confirmed within 90 days of retirement, and that retired workers or employees receive a pension until death.

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If our demands are not met, we will be forced to launch tougher movements in the coming days, said Md Ariful Islam, member secretary of the unity council.

Chattogram Port, known widely as a hotbed for congestion both at its berths and in its container yards, is currently undergoing expansion as cargo is expected to reach record levels in 2025.

By late August, the port already expanded its container storage capacity by nearly 10 percent in recent months, raising the number from 53,518 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to 59,000 TEUs.

The initiative is part of the authorities ongoing efforts to make the port more business-friendly and to provide maximum service to traders, CPA Secretary Md Omar Faruk told Bangladeshi publication The Business Standard at the time. With enhanced capacity, container congestion will not be an issue at the port. And operational efficiency and service indicators at Chattogram Port have significantly improved in recent months.

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To alleviate the congestion, the CPA freed up additional space in existing yards and opened two unused sheds outside the main port area.

According to the CPA, the port plans to raise capacity to around 62,000 TEUs by the end of 2025. The port typically manages between 47,000 and 48,000 TEUs in storage without disruption.

By the beginning of September, congestion did ease at Chattogram Port, with average waiting time at berth decreasing from 4.5 days to 1.19 days in a three-week span, according to data from logistics giant Kuehne+Nagel.

The firm said yard occupancy for containers stood at 85.4 percent as of the data released Sept. 5, with four vessels waiting for a berth. As of Aug. 23, daily container ship handling rose from an average of 10 vessels to as many as 12 to 13, the CPA said.

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Chattogram Port, also known as Chittagong Port, handles more than 90 percent of the countrys foreign trade. The port has seen an influx of goods after as Bangladesh and neighboring India have imposed restrictions on what can be traded through the countries land ports. Bangladesh closed three land ports since August due to the idle activity.

As the CPA juggles the ports fight against congestion with concerns about employee satisfaction, it is also taking more measures to modernize the gateway.

The port authority recently unveiled a partnership with the HSBC to introduce a fully automated digital payments system at the port.

Through this collaboration, HSBC is introducing a bespoke, cashless solution that enables businesses to settle port bills digitally from their respective banks, removing the need to visit the port to settle such payments.

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Both parties hosted a panel discussion that highlighted ongoing technological investments and strategic partnerships aimed at improving user experience and supporting port stakeholders in adopting digitalization.

An additional 1.5 million TEUs are expected to pass through our port in the next five years, said CPA Chairman Rear Admiral S M Moniruzzaman at the event. We must develop our efficiency and capacity to prevent the port from becoming a non-tariff barrier, instead of an enabler, to our trade ecosystem.

According to Moniruzzaman, the digital payment system is aimed at streamlining payments and cutting processing times, as well as attracting more investment to compete with regional peers.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met with his Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb in Kyiv, where they discussed the Russian drone attack on Poland, the need to step up pressure on Russia and support for Ukraine on its path to the EU.

Source: Zelenskyy on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: The Ukrainian president said that the parties held "a substantive discussion on a wide range of issues".

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Quote: "Significant attention was paid to the attack the Russians carried out against Poland yesterday [on the night of 9-10 September  ed.]. Everything indicates that the launch of Russian drones into Polish territory through the airspace of Ukraine and Belarus was deliberate and by no means accidental."

The meeting at the Office of the President.

Photo: Zelenskyy on X (Twitter)

Details: Zelenskyy expressed regret that Russia retains the capacity to continue and expand its aggression.

"Strong steps are needed  not only from Europe  strong pressure that will truly limit the potential of Russian warmongering," he stated.

Alexander Stubb and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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Photo: Zelenskyy on X (Twitter)

The Ukrainian president thanked Finland for supporting all sanctions measures, Ukraines path to the EU and the opening of clusters, as well as participation in the Shelter Coalition.

Background:

On Thursday 11 September, Stubb arrived in Ukraine for an official visit.

Together with Zelenskyy, he honoured the memory of fallen Ukrainian defenders.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Charlie Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA, listens to a question from a student during a debate and question session at the University of Washington on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Seattle during a stop on his "Live Free Tour." (Nick Wagner / The Seattle Times)
Air Canada has announced that from June 2026, it will resume its previously very popular direct flight between Budapest and Toronto. The airline will operate the route with 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, offering passengers a choice of three travel classes and an even higher level of service.

Starting next June, the Budapest-Toronto route will connect the Hungarian capital with Canadas largest city four times a week during the summer season. The new link will contribute to the further growth of premium overseas passenger traffic in Hungary and offer outbound travelers excellent transfer options to many other destinations on the American continent.



Following several months of preparatory work and discussions with the airline, Air Canada will resume its Budapest-Toronto flight in the summer of 2026, operating four times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from the Hungarian capital to the Canadian city, until the end of October.



Air Canada will operate the route with a wide-body Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, offering passengers a choice of Business Class, Premium Economy and Economy Class, ensuring that both leisure and business travelers will find the service that suits their needs.



The flight will operate between Ferenc Liszt International Airport and Toronto Pearson International Airport from 6 June to 24 October 2026.



The modern, world-class, 298-seater aircraft will depart from Budapest at 13:15 local time and arrive in Toronto at 15:15, while the return flight will depart from the Canadian city at 21:55 and land in the Hungarian capital at 11:25 the following day.



Air Canada will provide 47,680 seats between the two cities during the summer season and offer excellent transfer options in Toronto, that will connect Budapest with other regions of Canada, major cities in North America and certain exotic destinations, such as the Caribbean, Hawaii, and several South American countries.



With Air Canadas Budapest-Toronto flight, we announced our second direct North American destination this summer, which clearly demonstrates the success of our aviation development activities. With Budapest returning to the map of the largest North American carriers with two connections this year, we can provide a further boost to the already extremely lively interest that the Hungarian capital enjoys among overseas travelers, emphasized Francois Berisot, the CEO of Budapest Airport.



The announcement of this new transatlantic flight is an important outcome of Visit Hungarys overseas marketing activities, which played a significant role in establishing demand for the connection. The direct Budapest-Toronto route could further boost inbound leisure travel and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) tourism in Budapest, from our third-highest spending market amongst major sending countries, said Oliver Csendes, the CEO of Visit Hungary, commending the significance of Air Canadas announcement.



The connection is expected to attract considerable interest once again, as it will serve an already high demand with the launch of the direct flight; currently, nearly 90,000 passengers travel between the two countries annually.



As a simple, convenient and fast alternative to connecting, the direct flight is expected to further stimulate this demand among leisure passengers (such as the passengers of the very popular river cruises departing from Budapest), those visiting friends and relatives, business travelers and the MICE segment (those arriving for conferences, incentive trips, exhibitions and other business-related meetings) as well.



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State railway company MAV has shut down the popular Elvira timetable search website, it was announced.

Passengers are directed to the renewed Emma platform, which can also be used to buy tickets online.



Emma, which ran in parallel with Elvira for some time, offers extended functions including timetables for buses, trams, trolleys and the suburban train (HEV).



In Budapest it offers real-time timetable for vehicles operated by the BKK.



Users of the new platform, however, may find it difficult to find information on the delay of trains, Nepszava adds.



Earlier this summer, MAV discontinued the Vonatinfo site, where passengers could track trains on a map in real time. The railway company argued that it was unifying its passenger information services.



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Tharoor stressed that voters are rapidly turning away from the two major parties, the now banned Awami League and the Bangladesh National Party, not because of religious extremism but because of widespread dissatisfaction with the corruption and misgovernance of these mainstream organisations.
At only 31, Kirk was considered a key figure for Trump and his movement. His importance can be gauged from Trumps order to fly the American flag at half-mast for four days. The US President also vowed to find Kirks killer at any cost and deliver justice.
Charlie Kirk Murder: Kirk, 31, the founder of Turning Point USA and a close ally of Donald Trump, was shot while addressing a crowd on the UVU campus in Orem. Graphic videos circulating on social media show the moment the gunfire erupted, Kirk, microphone in hand, clutched his neck as blood streamed from the left side.
India Saturday withdrew from a multilateral military exercise Kavkaz-2020 that was scheduled to be held in southern Russia next month as it did not want to perform drills with Chinese soldiers amid tensions at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
News published in a Pakistani newspaper has warned the Pakistani government. Praising India, the Pakistani newspaper Friday Times said that if Modi comes again in 2024, Pakistan will be in plight. It has also been said in the article published in this newspaper that the difference in power between India and Pakistan is continuously increasing. India will take an aggressive stand on PoK in the coming times. Along with this, it has also been published in the newspaper that India is far ahead of Pakistan in terms of education, development technology, and FDI.
Ghising, a trained electrical engineer, is credited with ending years of severe power shortages in Nepal. An India-educated professional, he completed his bachelors degree in electrical engineering from the Regional Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur, before earning a masters degree in power systems engineering at Tribhuvan Universitys Institute of Engineering in Pulchowk.
Local police, along with the Malihabad police and fire brigade, are conducting rescue operations at the site.
NATOs Article 4 allows urgent consultations when a member feels its security under threat. Poland has triggered it after Russian drones crossed into its skies, raising fears of turmoil in Europe.
" " The Lone Star is always a five-pointed star. Joseph Sohm / Shutterstock

The Texas state flag features a blue vertical stripe covering one third of the length along the hoist. The remaining two thirds are divided into equal horizontal stripes: the upper stripe white and the lower stripe red.

In the center of the blue stripe sits a regular five pointed white star, sometimes called the lone star. The flags regular five-pointed star represents the unity of Texas and Texans as one. By law, the Texas flags width-to-length ratio is 2:3 (the height of the flag is two-thirds the length).

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When manufactured, the Texas flag usually includes two brass grommets for flying from a flagpole. The blue stripe takes up the entire left side, while the white stripe and red stripe complete the design.

The star can be inscribed within a circle passing through each of its five points, further emphasizing symmetry.
Thailand's Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa) and telecoms hardware vendor Ericsson have deepened their partnership, to jointly advance the deployment of 5G technologies across Thailands industrial landscape.

The new agreement between the two partners is a two-year extension of an existing MoU, which commenced in 2022.

A cornerstone of the partnership has been the establishment of the 5G Innovation and Experience Studio (5GIX Studio), located within Thailand Digital Valley in Chonburi province.

Designed as a testbed and service hub, the studio facilitates trials of next-generation wireless and network technologies, spectrum sharing, and the development of applications tailored to Thailands evolving digital economy.

Since the establishment of the 5GIX Studio, technology ecosystem partners have collaborated to develop and test innovative 5G applications, including robotics, automated machines, and advanced security camera solutions.

According to research, Thailands enterprise 5G market has projected to exceed USD$2.5 billion by 2027, driven by demand in manufacturing, logistics, energy, and smart city development, with over 70% of Thai enterprises expected to adopt digital technologies by 2026.

Ericsson is a strategic partner in our mission to strengthen Thailands digital economy," said Asst.Prof.Dr. Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin, President & CEO of depa.

"Together, we will work with industry stakeholders to develop forward-looking strategies and foster innovations that enhance quality of life and national competitiveness.

Under the extended agreement, both organisations will jointly explore emerging technologies and use cases through the 5GIX platform, while also supporting Thailands digital development goals.

Ericsson remains committed to supporting Thailands journey toward becoming a digital society under the Thailand 4.0 vision, said Mr. Anders Rian, President of Ericsson Thailand.

Leveraging our global expertise and advanced, secure and resilient 5G solutions, we aim to help build a robust and inclusive 5G ecosystem that empowers industries across the nation and encourages further investment in Thailand.
Financial services and payments company Stripe is growing its business and catering to the coming boom in Agentic AI, annoucing its Stripe Capital service will come to Australia later this year, celebrating over 1 million customres across Australia and New Zealand, with tens of thousands of new customers joining each month!

Stripe is the programmable financial services company. It has revealed at its Stripe Tour Sydney 2025 event on Thursday 11 Septemher that the launch of Stripe Capital in Australia will happen "in the coming months".

Already available in the US since 2019, and now in the UK, too, the new offering will provide eligible small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) access to fast, flexible business financing through the Stripe platform, helping them invest in growth, manage cashflow, and stay resilient amid economic uncertainty.

The announcement was made at Stripe Tour Sydney, where the company also revealed over one million usersfrom global businesses and solopreneursin Australia and New Zealand are running on Stripe, with tens of thousands joining each month, underscoring the regions demand for reliable, scalable financial infrastructure.

What's the rationale? Unlocking capital to unleash growth.

New research by the company found 92% of Australian business leaders surveyed are bracing for a difficult year ahead. Rising costs are the primary concern for over half (51%) of decision-makers, followed by economic uncertainty (38%) and customer retention (28%).

SMBs are the backbone of the Australian economy, but the cost of doing business has risen sharply and around half report difficulty securing funding, said Karl Durrance, managing director, Australia and New Zealand at Stripe.

Stripe Capital is designed to tackle their challenges head-on. We're giving businesses fast access to financing with a clear, flat fee and flexible repayment terms that adjust to their sales. It's capital designed for the realities of running a business today.

How does it work?

We're told Stripe Capital uses Stripe data, such as a companys payments processing activity with Stripe, to provide pre-approved offers for financing.

Once a business sees its offer approved, funds are disbursed into their accounts in just one to two business days. Repayments are simple and done as businesses earn, with no compounding interest, late fees, or early repayment penalties.

Stripe Capital is expected to be available to Australian businesses in the coming months. Platforms that use Stripe, such as me&u, will also be able to use Stripe Capital to extend financing offers to their customers.

Australian businesses bullish on tech adoption

Despite challenging macro economic conditions, Australian businesses remain optimistic about technology adoption. New research commissioned by Stripe reveals 85% of decision-makers surveyed are confident in their business's ability to implement new technology tools.

AI leads the innovation agenda, with the research finding 70% of decision makers surveyed have already integrated AI into their operationspowering customer service (39%), fraud detection (32%), sales and marketing (31%), and product development (30%). When it comes to emerging technologies like agentic AI, large businesses are leading the way with 30% surveyed saying they are already implementing it.

Stripe notes it "has long optimised checkouts for humans, and is now doing so for a new buyer: AI agents."

Australian Stripe users are at the forefront of agentic AI adoption, ranking second globallybehind the United Statesfor use of Stripes agent toolkit. Globally, Stripe is already seeing transformation across industries worldwide using this technology, from AI-powered travel booking to developer tools.

According to the research, over half (53%) of decision makers surveyed are using or planning to use stablecoinsa global, programmable solution that can unlock multiple markets through a single integration. With Australian cross-border payments on Stripe growing 30% year-on-year and 14% more businesses selling internationally in 2024, stablecoins are well-positioned to accelerate this global expansion.

Durrance added: "Agentic AI and stablecoins arent just Silicon Valley topics anymoretheyre reshaping the fundamentals of internet commerce.

"Stripe is making this future accessible for Australian businesses, helping them transform how they serve customers and operate in an increasingly AI-driven and global economy."

Expanding programmable financial services

To support business growth, Stripe has updated its suite of payments, revenue, and embedded finance tools and businesses can take advantage of over 50 upgrades, including:





Stripe Reader S710, the newest smart reader featuring cellular connectivity so businesses can process payments uninterruptedeven if the wifi goes down.

Stripe Orchestration, which allows users to easily manage multiple payment processors with full control and visibility, from right within Stripe.

Stripe Startups, a new program for early-stage, venture-backed businesses that gives founders access to financial benefits, a focused community, and resources to support their growth.

In Stripe's Q&A with the media, the simplest summary is as follows:

Stripe is actively preparing to launch Stripe Capital in Australia, leveraging data-driven underwriting based on existing payment relationships to improve small businesses' access to financing, a segment often underserved by traditional banks.

Concurrently, the company is expanding its stablecoin capabilities, which have shown to significantly boost cross-border sales and average order values for merchants, and is exploring a payments-focused blockchain called Tempo to optimize transaction speed and cost.

Stripe also reports strong regional adoption of its AI/AgentTech SDK, indicating Australia's leadership in AI integration for commerce. Regarding policy, Stripe is broadly supportive of the RBA's proposals concerning card surcharging and interchange reductions, viewing these as beneficial for fostering clarity and lowering costs for merchants across the economy.
COMPANY NEWS: Clients around the world are benefitting from the premium support, exclusive hypervisor security and extended life for perpetual licenses powered by Rimini Support for VMware

Rimini Street, a global provider of end-to-end enterprise software support, management and innovation solutions, and the leading third-party support provider for Oracle, SAP and VMware software, announces a new client milestone, surpassing 100 VMware contracts served to date.

Selected by the some of the worlds leading CIOs at global organisations as their preferred VMware support partner for perpetual licenses, Rimini Support for VMware continues to lead the market as a powerful, proven solution for protecting and maximising the full value of VMware investments. By partnering with Rimini Street and benefitting from the premium support, exclusive security services and expert guidance, clients are effectively lowering IT operating costs, achieving fast, complete resolution for priority tickets, and gaining freedom, flexibility and time to make informed decisions for their hypervisor roadmap strategy.

We were already Rimini Street customers for support of our SAP applications, so the transition to include VMware felt natural, said Jefferson Andriotti, head of IT and supply at Lwart Solucoes Ambientais, a Brazilian renewable energy service provider. Faced with two choices: either pay Broadcoms new licensing costs or engage Rimini Street for support for VMware, we chose the path that made sense. Our IT team was already familiar with Rimini Street, and we could seamlessly transition our VMware support with the same expectations of exceptional service.

For organisations who are already Rimini Support clients for Oracle, SAP, Salesforce or the hundreds of other products supported by Rimini Street, adding Rimini Support for VMware has become a force multiplier in savings and efficiencies gained.

We recognise VMware perpetual licensees are facing uncertainty about their path forward, said Rodney Kenyon, SVP of Rimini Support solutions. At Rimini Street, we empower our VMware clients to remain secure, receive exceptional support service and gain time to explore all viable options with the confidence that their VMware investments will run smoothly for years to come.

Rimini Protect Advanced Hypervisor Security (AHS) delivers peace of mind

Exploits against hypervisors can be particularly devastating, with potential impact across all virtual machines hosted through a single breach. Rimini Support for VMware clients have the added benefit of the included Rimini Protect Advanced Hypervisor Security (AHS), powered by Vali Cyber, an exclusive, integrated, zero-day proactive protection that stops malware, ransomware, and other threats with real-time detection  all without operating system or code changes.

Waking up to news of a zero-day vulnerability being exploited is never enjoyable, as it forces security teams to immediately focus on mitigation efforts, said Gabe Dimeglio, CISO, SVP & GM of Rimini Protect and Rimini Watch solutions. Rimini Protect Advanced Hypervisor Security is the industrys first purpose-built hypervisor security solution that effectively neutralises threats before they become an issue. Its protection without any downtime or impact on business operations, or reliance on vendor patches. Its one of the many reasons why VMware licensees are selecting Rimini Street as their preferred solution to support and protect their critical systems.

"As a Rimini Street client, we appreciate the proactive approach to security and the comprehensive protection offered by Rimini Protect Advanced Hypervisor Security for our VMware hypervisor environment, said Dana Howard, IT operations and security manager at Bluebird Fiber, a US-based fiber internet and data transport provider. "The Rimini Street security team has been incredible and true experts in their field, and their support has made our VMWare journey seamless and impactful. Im excited about what well accomplish in the future!

Learn more about Rimini Streets unmatched VMware support, security and advisory services and how it can help your organization win with a stronger, flexible VMware strategy here.
GUEST OPINION: Microsoft is addressing 176 vulnerabilities this Patch Tuesday, which seems like a lot, and it is. Curiously, Microsofts own Security Update Guide (SUG) for August 2025 Patch Tuesday only lists 86 vulns, and thats because the SUG doesnt include a large number of open source software (OSS) fixes published today as part of updates for Azure Linux and CLB Mariner.

Microsoft is aware of public disclosure for just two of the vulnerabilities published today, and claims no evidence of in-the-wild exploitation. Yet again, there are zero-day vulnerabilities patched, but none of them evaluate as critical severity. Todays release includes the publication of five critical remote code execution (RCE) vulnerabilities, although Microsoft expects that none of these are particularly likely to see exploitation. Five browser vulnerabilities have already been published separately this month, and are not included in the total.

What happens if you ask SQL Server to deserialise a JSON object with thousands of levels of nested objects? If you guessed denial of service, then you are good at guessing, because thats what CVE-2024-21907 describes. As zero-day vulnerabilities go, it doesnt seem particularly terrifying, since presumably the worst an attacker can do is knock down a service, which can then be picked up again. Of course, thats all relative, since some SQL Server instances are doing very important work: think hospitals, airports, and other critical infrastructure. Taking a step back: if an unauthenticated attacker can send arbitrary queries directly into your SQL Server instances, then thats already a broader security architecture issue.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about CVE-2024-21907 is its long and convoluted history. The underlying defect is not in SQL Server, but in Newtonsoft.Json, which is the de facto standard for handling JSON in .NET applications, including SQL Server and many other products. Versions of Newtonsoft.Json prior to 13.0.1 are vulnerable, and this isnt new information; CVE-2024-21907 was originally made public on 2024-01-03 with some help from VulnCheck, so Microsoft is playing catch-up here. The underlying defect has been public knowledge for way longer than that, however, since Aleph Security first flagged it up way back in 2018 without attaching a CVE number. It remains unclear why Microsoft chose to address this now, but better late than never.

Hows your SMB Server configuration? Is it fully hardened, with SMB server signing and Extended Protection for Authentication enabled? If not, then CVE-2025-55234 set out clearly why you should be worrying about SMB Server relay attacks, where an attacker pretends to be a legitimate server using ARP spoofing, DNS poisoning, or some other suitable trickery. Any pen testers or threat actors reading this will no doubt be thinking of the popular OSS tool Responder, which streamlines exactly this sort of attack. Options for attackers include credential relaying (which is mitigated by SMB signing), as well as offline cracking of the hash to reveal the password.

The key takeaway from the CVE-2025-55234 advisory, other than the explanation of the well-known attack surface around SMB authentication, is that this is one of those times where simply patching isnt enough; in fact, the patches provide administrators with more auditing options to determine whether their SMB Server is interacting with clients that wont support the recommended hardening options. Other Microsoft server products (e.g. Exchange) offer a similar tough choice: lock out less capable clients, or leave your server in a state which permits relay attacks.

Its not every day that we see a perfect(?) 10.0 CVSS v3 base score, but CVE-2025-54914 is one such rare beast, thanks to the seldom-seen scope change described by the CVSS v3 vector. However, thats all we get; the aggressively minimalist advisory fails to explain the nature of the vulnerability in any way at all. Mercifully, the advisory does pour a little oil on its own troubled waters by clarifying that this is a cloud service vulnerability, Microsoft has already fixed it, and there is no action to be taken by users of the service. Other reasons to consider not panicking: the Acknowledgements section lists only Microsoft researchers, so we can hope that no one else knows enough to do any damage. For anyone wondering which cloud service was impacted, the answer is Azure Networking, which is probably only important if your cloud assets ever need to communicate with anything at all.

Azure High Performance Computer (HPC) admins should pay close attention to CVE-2025-55232, a critical unauthenticated RCE exploitable over the network. The advisory sets out the prerequisites for the actual patch, and also hints that appropriate firewall rules should be in place, especially for TCP port 5999. The advisory doesnt describe exactly what those firewall rules should look like or what theyre protecting, but port 5999 is the default port for the HpcScheduler, which orchestrates HPC jobs, resource management, and cluster communication.

There are no significant changes to Microsoft product lifecycles this month. However, as Rapid7 noted previously, there will be a number of significant changes in October, including the categorical end of support for non-LTSC versions of Windows 10.
GUEST RESEARCH : Researchers at South Koreas Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology claim to have developed technology that enables wearable devices and IoT sensors to be powered solely by body heat.

The technology, described as a thermogalvanic cell is described as a compact generator that converts temperature differencessuch as the human body temperature (~36C) versus surrounding air (2025C)into electrical energy.

USANs press release adds: due to the minimal temperature gradient, previous systems struggled to produce enough power to operate real-world electronics.

It says: The newly developed solid-state device overcomes this challenge by delivering sufficient voltage and current to power practical devices. While solid-state designs typically offer advantages such as safety from leakage, ion mobility issues within the electrolyte have historically limited their current output. The research team engineered an electrolyte that facilitates efficient ion transport, and further, the thermally driven ion diffusion enhances overall output voltage.

It continues: By connecting 100 of these cells in seriessimilar to building with LEGO blocksapproximately 1.5V can be generated from body heat, comparable to standard AA batteries.

This information, however, is of little use: it is not the voltage achievable that is important, but the electrical power delivered, the watts, or the current in amps the system is able to deliver.

Nor is the phenomenon itself new. Thermoelectricity, the Seebeck effect  the ability of joints between two dissimilar metals to generate an electric current when the joints are at different temperatures  was discovered in 1821 by German physicist Thomas Johann Seebeck.

And there have been other attempts to use the energy of the human body to power electronic device. Back in 2010 for the hugely popular Glastonbury Festival in the UK mobile operator Orange in conjunction with renewable energy company Gotwind offered electricity generating wellington boots.

Gotwind at the time claimed: Twelve hours of stomping through the Glastonbury Festival in your Orange Power Wellies will give you enough power to charge a mobile phone for one hourAfter a full days festival frolics you can plug your phone into the power output at the top of the welly and use the energy that has been generated throughout the day to charge your phone."

A more interesting technology that claimed ot harvest free energy from the environment was Evercell. According to one report: essentially any environment where the temperature is above absolute zero (minus 460 F), Evercell harvests thermal energy to generate a very small, nonstop flow of electricity, enough to power billions of devices in the Internet of Things and beyond, while keeping billions of toxic dead batteries out of the worlds landfills.

On the face of its claims, Evercell violated a fundamental principle of physics: the second law of thermodynamics. However it seems physics won out: Evercell has disappeared.
The Bluerydge SierraBlue project team at a product demonstration: Back row, left to right: Jim Boekel (Bluerydge Director and CEO), Dr Timothy Lynar (academic lead, UNSW Canberra), Adam Haskard (Bluerydge Director and project lead) and Tom Kazan (Bluerydge Director). Front row: Dr Lisa Liu-Thorrold (Postdoctoral research fellow, UNSW Canberra).

Australian cybersecurity firm Bluerydge has successfully demonstrated its sovereign artificial intelligence chatbot in a collaborative project with UNSW Canberra, supported by funding from Defence Trailblazer.

Designed for use in secure and disconnected environments, SierraBlue is a custom large language model (LLM) purpose-built to support Defence and other sensitive sectors with mission-ready AI capability.

Trailblazer-Funded Acceleration of Sovereign Capability

The SierraBlue project is led by Bluerydge innovators Adam Haskard and Tom Kazan (both Co-Founders and Directors at the company), in close partnership with researchers at UNSW Canberra.

Co-funded by Bluerydge and Defence Trailblazers Accelerating Sovereign Industrial Capabilities (ASIC) program and delivered over seven months, SierraBlue reflects Defence Trailblazers goal to fast-track the translation of high-potential research into operational technologies.

The Defence Trailblazer program is critical because it bridges the gap between leading-edge research and deployable Defence capability, said Haskard. For Bluerydge, and for our partners in secure robotics, this program enables us to take initiatives like SierraBlue beyond the academic domain and into embodied AI systems that directly enhance Defence readiness.

Defence Trailblazer allowed us to move quickly from advanced research to a working capability, said Dr Timothy Lynar, academic lead at UNSW Canberra. Its a strong example of how academic and industry collaboration can deliver impact where its needed most. The program has been a great pathway to get to minimum viable product quickly and to utilise the resources of the university sector.

Technology Designed for Secure, Sensitive Environments

SierraBlue is designed to meet the growing need for sovereign, high-assurance AI in sectors such as Defence, government, finance and healthcare. With support for encrypted data streams and configurable access controls, it offers organisations a trusted AI solution that can be adapted to a wide range of specialist workflows.

The LLM has been trained on bespoke data sources such as intelligence reports, logs and raw databases. It has been engineered for deployment in environments where cloud-based AI is unsuitable or restricted. Product demonstrations showed its capability across a range of operating conditions including mobile tactical deployments and secure data centre infrastructure.

This milestone is a major validation of the innovation and collaboration behind SierraBlue, said Haskard. It demonstrates that sovereign AI can be both operationally effective and secure in the most sensitive contexts.

Embedding into Cyber-Physical Systems

With product testing and validation completed, SierraBlue now moves into its next phase of development. The focus is on embedding the LLM into cyber-physical systems, including autonomous vehicles, unmanned platforms, secure robotics and humanmachine teaming applications.

SierraBlue is already demonstrating its value in secure environments, said Kazan. Its potential for integration across Defence, Intelligence and other critical sectors opens the door to a new generation of AI enablement.

These domains are rapidly becoming central to Defence capability and national resilience, as forces seek autonomous systems that can reason and respond in real time without external connectivity.

Embodied AI is central to the future of Defence capability, said Haskard. By embedding SierraBlue into robotic and autonomous systems, were enabling platforms that can reason, learn and act independently in complex, contested environments without relying on external connectivity.

As the team begins to host product demonstrations with Defence and industry, SierraBlue is well-positioned to support Australias Defence priorities.

SierraBlue is a clear example of what Australia can achieve when we invest in sovereign capability, said Kazan. By keeping critical AI expertise and infrastructure here at home, we ensure Defence and Government can rely on solutions that are trusted, resilient, and mission-ready.

For more information, visit the Defence Trailblazer website and Bluerydge website.

About the Defence Trailblazer: Defence Trailblazer is a collaborative partnership between the University of Adelaide and UNSW supported by the Department of Education and over 200 industry partners and associates. Defence Trailblazer is dedicated to advancing Australias defence capabilities through innovative research and strategic partnerships. By collaborating with industry, academia, and government, we aim to develop and commercialise breakthrough technologies that address critical national security challenges.
Vegan Ramen from Ts Tantan ( Elmastudio)



Youd think a country famous for shojin ryori (Buddhist temple cuisine) would be packed with vegan options. But finding good vegetarian Japanese food in Tokyo can still feel like a bit of a scavenger huntespecially if youre after something more traditional than falafel or fake cheese pizza. Lucky for you, Ive done the legwork. From fully vegan izakaya to jazz bar soba joints, here are eight Tokyo spots where you can eat Japanese food without the fish flakes, dashi or mystery meat.

Kanji & Japanese Words to Know

If youre hunting for vegetarian Japanese food in Tokyo, it helps to recognize a few key wordsmenus dont always have full English translations, and even when they do, fish-based broth can slip in unnoticed. Here are some terms worth learning:

Basic Vocabulary:

  Vegan

  Vegetarian

 / tamago fushiyo Egg-free.

 / nyuseihin fushiyo Dairy-free.

 / dobutsusei fushiyo  No animal products used.

dashi Japanese soup stock. Usually made with katsuobushi (bonito flakes) or kombu (kelp).

 / sakana)  fish

 / niku)  meat

 / tamago)  egg

Basic Questions to Ask

(Vigan no menyu ga arimasu ka?)

Do you have a vegan menu?

(Kore wa vigan desu ka?)

Is this vegan?

(Sakana no dashi ga haitte imasu ka?)

Does this have fish stock?

(Niku, sakana, tamago, nyuseihin wa haitte imasu ka?)

Does this contain meat, fish, eggs or dairy?

(Dobutsusei no zairyo wa tsukatte imasu ka?)

Are there any animal products used?

Responses You Might Hear

 (Haitte imasen)  It doesnt contain it.

 (Haitte imasu)  It does contain it.

 (Wakarimasen)  Im not sure.

How to Say What You Dont Eat

(Niku o tabemasen.)  I dont eat meat.

(Sakana o tabemasen.)  I dont eat fish.

(Vigan desu.)  Im vegan.

(Bejitarian desu.)  Im vegetarian.

1. Izakaya Masaka  All-Vegan Menu

(Photo courtesy of Vegan Izakaya Masaka Instagram)

(Photo courtesy of Vegan Izakaya Masaka Instagram)



Located in the middle of Shibuya, Izakaya Masaka serves up classic Izakaya dishes. Think deep friend mushrooms, vegetable tempura, pickled veggies, vegan karaage and gyoza. The fried chicken here is crispy on the outside, juicy inside and pretty close to the real deal. They dont accept reservations so arrive early.

Location: Shibuya Parco B1

15-1 Udagawacho, Shibuya-ku

Opening Times: Mon  Sun, 12  9pm

Instagram: @vegan_izakaya_masaka

2. AFURI  Rainbow Vegan Ramen

(Photo courtesy of Afuri.com)



AFURI is a ramen chain with several Tokyo locations, and while not every bowl is vegetarian, their Rainbow Vegan Ramen is worth the hunt. The broth is fully plant-based and packed with flavor, paired with chewy lotus root noodles and a colorful load of fresh veggies.

Locations: Various locations, not available at the Yokohama Joinus or ZUND-BAR locations|

Website

3. Jikasei Mensho  Spicy Vegan Tantanmen Done Right

(Photo courtesy of Jikasei Mensho)



Along with regular meat-based options, Jikasei Mensho offers three types of vegan ramen with one spicy mission: to turn heads with heat. Jikasei Mensho doesnt mess around with their vegan tantanmen ()its rich, warming and comes with just the right numbing kick. Also available: vegan miso ramen () and soup-less tantanmen ().

Location: Shibuya PARCO, Shibuya Parco B1, 15-1 Udagawacho, Shibuya-ku

Opening Times: 11am  11pm

Website: menya-shono.com

4. Vegan Bistro Jangara  Comfort Food in Harajuku

(Photo courtesy of Vegan Bistro Jangara)



This is what happens when a famous tonkotsu ramen chain decides to go vegan. Youll find ramen, gyoza and all the familiar izakaya-style hitsjust meat- and fish-free. The vibe is low-key and welcoming, and its one of the more foreigner-friendly spots in Harajuku for plant-based eats.

Location: 1-13-21 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku

Opening Times: 11am  10pm

Website: kyushujangara.co.jp/shops/veganbistro

5. Ts Restaurant  From Sweets to Soy-Based Meats

(Photo courtesy of Ts Restaurant)



This is a go-to for plant-based comfort food. The Jiyugaoka flagship is a full-service restaurant offering soy-meat dishes, tomato ramen, soba, Japanese-style curry and probably one of the only places in Tokyo to enjoy an entirely vegan afternoon tea set. The Tokyo Station outpost, Ts TanTan Gransta Tokyo (inside the JR ticket gates), is best for a fast bowl on the go.

Location: Luz Jiyugaoka B1F, 2-9-6 Jiyugaoka, Meguro-ku

Opening Times: 11:30am  9pm

Website: ts-restaurant.jp/english

6. Vegan Izakaya Nowhere  Sumo-Side Plant-Based Pub

(Photo courtesy of Vegan Izakaya Nowhere)



Hidden in a quiet corner of Asakusa near Senso-ji Temple and Tokyo Skytree, Nowhere is a full-on izakaya with a completely vegan menu. That includes sauces and broths, rare in Japan. Dishes are made in-house featuring tofu cutlets, yuzu gyoza, pickled plates and Japanese drinks. Its a local favorite that feels like a little secret.

Location: 1-8-2 Mukojima, Sumida-ku

Opening Times: Thursday  Monday, 5pm  10 pm (closed TueWed)

Website: veganizakayanowhere.com

7. Vegan Soba Tokyo Ayler  Soba, Jazz, Coffee

(Photo courtesy of Vegan Soba Tokyo Ayler Instagram)

(Photo courtesy of Vegan Soba Tokyo Ayler Instagram)



Ayler is tinyno seats and all standing, but big on flavor all the same. The vibe is friendly, trendy and very Shimokitazawa, complete with jazz records spinning in the background. Their standout is a rich, kombu-based tempura soba with kakiage-style fritters. Add a creamy oat milk latte to the mix and youve got one of the most unique vegan dining experiences in Tokyo. Check their monthly schedule on Instagram for special events and pop-ups like plant-based breakfasts and philosophy reading circles.

Location: 4-24-15 Kitazawa, Setagaya-ku

Opening Times: Varies, check Aylers official Instagram account below.

Website: @__ayler__

8. Vegan Sushi Tokyo  A Fish-Free Sushi Experience

(Photo courtesy of Vegan Sushi Tokyo)

(Photo courtesy of Vegan Sushi Tokyo)



This Shibuya sushi bar is raising the bar for vegan sushi in Japan. Think marinated eggplant tuna, burdock root rolls, and colorful nigiri topped with seasoned tofu or avocado. Youll need to book online via the website below and arrive on time. P.S. They also have a Kyoto location!

Location: COEN Building 5F, 1-15-7 Jinnan, Shibuya-ku

Opening Times: 11 am  3:30 pm (Reservations required and closed Sundays)

Website: vcook.co.jp/vegansushitokyo/en

Extras We Love:

Falafel Brothers

A staple of vegetarian and vegan cuisine in Tokyo, Falafel Brothers serves up delicious pita sandwiches and plant-based karaage. (Photo courtesy of Falafel Brothers)



A Tokyo vegan go-to, Falafel Brothers dispels the notion that veganism has to be expensive and cant be fast food. Having opened their first store in Roppongi, Falafel Brothers has spread across the capital and now has stores in Ebisu and, most recently, in Shibuya Parco, too.

Foreigners in Tokyo will know its difficult to find good falafel and hummus, but if youre craving some Middle Eastern flavors, head to Falafel Brothers. They also create crispy vegan karaage which makes you feel like youre eating chicken with none of the guilt.

Check here for a full review.

Locations: Roppongi, Otemachi, Shibuya Parco, Harajuku

Website: falafelbrothers.jp

Fico and Pomum Juice

(Photo courtesy of Fico & Pomum)



With the slogan healthy fast food, Fico and Pomum Juice provides exactly thatspeedy food and drink thats good for your body and mind. Tokyo may seem like its lacking in juice bars vis-a-vis other global cities like New York, Sydney or London, but Fico and Pomum fills this gap in the market with a wide range of fruit and vegetable smoothies, raw juices, a range of almond/soy lattesthe beet latte is a personal favoriteand even hot smoothies. If youre feeling peckish, they offer a selection of sandwiches, though not all vegan-friendly, as well as granola bowls and parfaits, but its really the juices that shine here.

Location: 1F Aoyama Oval Building, 5-52-2 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku

Opening Times: 8 am  9 pm daily

Website: ficoandpomum.com

BiO Cafe

(Photo courtesy of BiO Cafe)



BiO Cafe is an easy-to-miss small vegan cafe located in the hilly side streets of Shibuya. Attached to the cafe is a mini storefront bakery where you can bring desserts and breads home. The cafe offers a wide range of food items and lunch sets, including a course meal for celebrations, but its really the desserts you should come for. The sweets are delicious, decadent and so close to the original, you think they couldnt possibly be vegan.

The pumpkin tofu cake is the perfect fall or winter dessert and all their desserts are served with a light, dairy-free whipped cream. With the kitchen behind a glass partition, you can watch the chefs hard at work, producing the delectable bites youre about to enjoy. Joining the bagel trend in Japan, BiO Cafe has an extensive selection of flavored bagels as well as macrobiotic sweets.

Location: 16-14 Udagawacho, Shibuya-ku

Opening Times: 11am  11pm

Website: biocafe.jp

metropolisjapan.com
J K Rowling has paid tribute to late Harry Potter designer Stuart Craig.

J K Rowling has paid tribute to late Harry Potter designer Stuart Craig

The author of the wizard books, 60, paid tribute to the Oscar-winner after it emerged on Wednesday (10.09.25) he had passed away on Sunday aged 83 after a 14-year battle with Parkinsons disease.

JK said: Working with Stuart Craig was one of the privileges of my life. He was a true visionary and conjured the wizarding world for the screen as nobody else could have done.

He was also one of the nicest people you ever could hope to meet. My deepest condolences to his loved ones.

Stuart worked on all eight Harry Potter films between 2001 and 2011, beginning with Philosophers Stone and concluding with Deathly Hallows Part 2.

He later designed the Harry Potter theme parks with Warner Bros and continued his involvement in the franchise by working on the three Fantastic Beasts films released between 2016 and 2022.

Across a career spanning more than four decades, Craig won three Academy Awards and received eight further nominations.

He was awarded best art direction Oscars for Gandhi (1982), Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and The English Patient (1996.)

He was also nominated for four Harry Potter films.

His other accolades included three Baftas from 16 nominations.

David Puttnam, 83, who collaborated with Craig on The Mission (1986), Cal (1984) and Memphis Belle (1990), said: Not only was Stuart the most inventively gifted production designer of his generation, but as a man and a departmental head he certainly ranks among the most exemplary collaborators I ever had the privilege of working with.

Stuart generated the most incredible sense of loyalty among his team, something which sprung naturally from a debt he felt he owed to those with whom hed worked, and who had helped him, early in his career. Losing Stuart is a very sad day for the whole of the British film industry  he and his influence will be massively missed.

Stuart studied film design at the Royal College of Art in London before working on productions including Casino Royale (1967), Scrooge (1970) and Royal Flash (1975.)

He established his reputation with A Bridge Too Far (1977) and Superman (1978) before a breakthrough as production designer on David Lynchs The Elephant Man (1980).

Further credits included Chaplin (1992), Notting Hill (1999) and The English Patient, for which he won his third Oscar.

Craig married Patricia Stangroom in 1965, and the couple had two daughters, Becky and Laura, and four grandchildren.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has confirmed that a recent cyber attack on its IT systems compromised some data.

Jaguar Land Rover confirm data breach

The incident, which occurred on August 31, led to the shutdown of JLR's global IT network and halted production at multiple plants.

JLR initially insisted there was no evidence that data had been stolen. However, after further investigation, the company admitted that some records had been hit and notified the breach to relevant regulators. JLR has pledged to alert customers directly if their personal details were involved.

The breach disrupted operations at factories in the UK, Slovakia, India and Brazil. UK sites in Halewood, Solihull and Wolverhampton remain closed, with workers told not to return until at least September 15. This has delayed vehicle production by nearly two weeks during a key sales period.

The hacker group 'Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters' has claimed responsibility for the incident. Known for previous breaches involving companies like Marks and Spencer, the group has not confirmed if they stole data or deployed malware. However, leaked internal documents suggest unauthorised access to JLR systems.

JLR is working with third-party cybersecurity experts and law enforcement to assess and contain the breach. The UKs National Cyber Security Centre is also providing support.

Cybersecurity experts say bringing IT systems back online after a hack is rarely straightforward.

Security manager Dray Agha said the swift shutdown limited the damage, but rebooting linked-up operations safely is still a major challenge.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said: "This incident highlights the critical vulnerability of modern manufacturing, where a single IT system attack can halt a multi-billion-pound physical production line, directly impacting sales, especially during a key period like a new registration month.

"Cybercriminals know this, and many leverage the stopped clock of business functions as the leverage they need to force capitulation of ransomware demands."

Economists estimate the hack could cost JLR up to 5 million daily, with long-term effects on suppliers and customer confidence. Some suppliers have already reported disruptions and temporary layoffs linked to the halt in JLR production.

JLR has apologised for the disruption caused to employees, suppliers and customers. The company said it is prioritising system recovery and will continue to provide regular updates as the investigation and restoration efforts progress.
Australian companies attend Chinas service trade fair in record numbers, eye vast opportunities

09:27, September 11, 2025 By Chu Daye ( Global Times

From wines to health products, Australian brands are attending this year's China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in record numbers, eyeing China's vast market. China provides vast opportunities for Australian products, while Australian goods and services meet China's diverse market needs, a Chinese analyst noted.

Australia is the guest country of honor at the 2025 CIFTIS, leading its largest-ever delegation to the event. The Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), leading the Australian participation at the Australian National Pavilion, said in a press release sent to the Global Times on Wednesday that this year, the scale of Australia's participation - in both space of the national pavilion and the number of Australian exhibitors - has set a new record for CIFTIS.

Nearly 60 Australian organizations and companies are exhibiting this year, and the size of the Australian National Pavilion has tripled from last year, making it the largest pavilion at the CIFTIS as the guest country of honor to date, according to Austrade.

China and Australia have seen rapid growth in trade since 2024, fueled by high-level engagement at both the government and business levels, highlighting the strong complementarity between the two major trading partners, Chinese analysts noted.

Since China and Australia resolved a trade dispute over wine in March 2024, the business of Australia's wine group Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) has seen a swift recovery.

Tom King, managing director of Penfolds, a brand under TWE, said in a written interview with the Global Times on Wednesday that "China continues to play a very important role in TWE and Penfolds global strategy, with the market serving as an important growth engine."

"Re-establishing our Australian portfolio into China over the past year has seen a very positive response from customers and consumers. China is a critical growth market for premium wine exports and demand for premium Australian wines among Chinese consumers remains strong," King said.

TWE, Australia's largest stand-alone winemaker, reported underlying net profit after tax of A$470.6 million ($310.62 million) and 16 percent growth in its annual underlying profit for the financial year 2025, which ended on June 30, partly driven by robust demand for its flagship Penfolds business in China, Reuters reported.

In addition to companies such as TWE, which has been in the Chinese market for a long time, a number of "newer" Australian companies including dairy brand Auscare Group and health supplements maker EZZ Life Science Holdings from the food and consumer sector are also attending the fair, looking for opportunities to brand their products and establish business contacts.

Hope Dong, CEO of Auscare Group, told the Global Times on Wednesday that as a first-timer at the event, the company looks to brand its products.

"We see Chinese consumers' demand for high-quality products and services continuing to rise, and their awareness of health and environmental protection improving constantly. The demand for nutritious, green and environmentally friendly products is increasing daily, which provides more market opportunities for companies. We believe that this is just the beginning of a future that is limitless in potential," Dong said.

Song Wei, a professor at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Wednesday that China's large market, ongoing consumption upgrading, and expanding middle-income population are fueling sustained demand for higher-value products from overseas markets.

"The Chinese market is a core market for Australian companies that possess comparative advantages in sectors such as food, health supplements, maternal and infant products, and wine," Song said. "The record attendance at the CIFTIS this year has also been fueled by businesses' anticipation of a steady recovery in the Chinese market. Australian firms' active participation in the fair demonstrates their strong confidence in China's economic prospects and consumption recovery."

In recent years, China-Australia relations had experienced a difficult period. However, with the improvement of political relations, economic and trade relations are expected to rebound, Song said. "Despite differences between Australia and China, the high degree of economic complementarity between the two countries is an objective fact, and Australia greatly needs the Chinese market. For China, high-quality Australian goods are also of great value."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Prince Harrys reunion with King Charles lasted less than an hour.

Prince Harrys reunion with King Charles lasted less than an hour

The Duke of Sussex, 40, has been estranged from his cancer-fighting monarch father, 76, for 19 months, but met him for a private tea at Clarence House on Wednesday (10.09.25) evening  fuelling hopes he will be welcomed back into the royal family.

Harrys Range Rover arrived at the Kings London residence at 5.21pm.

He remained inside for 55 minutes before departing at 6.14pm.

The reunion was almost twice as long as their last encounter in February 2024, when Harry flew to Britain after learning of his fathers cancer diagnosis and was granted a 30-minute audience.

According to The Sun, the father and son shared tea in private.

Harry later told guests at an Invictus Games event in London the monarch was in good health.

He said: Yes hes great, thank you.

At the reception, held at the top of the Gherkin building, Harry joked with attendees about his delayed arrival.

He said: I think this whole thing has been delayed slightly, so at this point youre all hammered  which was part of the plan all along, stuck up here at the top of the Gherkin.

The dukes arrival at Clarence House was delayed by heavy London traffic caused by a Tube strike.

No longer entitled to blue-light police escorts since stepping down as a senior working royal in 2020, Harry was caught in congestion before reaching the royal residence.

Charles had flown earlier from Balmoral, leaving shortly before 2pm and arriving at RAF Northolt about an hour later.

Queen Camilla, 77, did not travel with him.

Just 20 minutes before Harry entered Clarence House, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh was seen leaving.

Harrys older brother Prince William, 43, was not present.

He had spent the day in Cardiff at the Principality Stadium, supporting the launch of a new mental health hub to mark World Suicide Prevention Day.

Harry entered Clarence House through the visitors entrance with his driver and security aide Christopher Sanchez, formerly a bodyguard to Barack Obama.

The King and other senior royals, including Sophie, had earlier used the main gates on The Mall.

The duke is visiting Britain on a four-day trip of charity events.

Earlier on Wednesday he toured Imperial College Londons Centre for Blast Injury Studies before attending the Invictus reception.

Harry lives in California with his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, 43, and remains estranged from much of his family, including William.
Celebs Go Dating sexpert Dr. Tara Suwinyattichaiporn loves London's sex party scene.

Dr. Tara Suwinyattichaiporn on Celebs Go Dating

The 36-year-old star of E4's Celebs Go Dating - who also serves as a dating agent with Anna Williamson, 44, and Paul Carrick Brunson, 51, on the programme to help single celebrities find love - says British people waste no time in getting kinky at the events.

Dr. Tara - who lives in Los Angeles, California - told The Sun newspaper's TV Biz column: "The sex party scene in London is popping! The parties are wild.

"What really surprises me is British people, they just get to business really quick."

And the star revealed she has bumped into some unnamed A-list celebrities at sex parties in the capital - of which tickets range from 300 to 1,000.

The star added: "Usually, it's the crowd that don't want to necessarily be screaming out in the world that they're at a sex party. So there's a lot of discretion.

"I'm in an open relationship, so I'm fine. But there are people that go, and perhaps they are not in the right situation, so they definitely need discretion.

"I can't name names, but I definitely have met a few Hollywood stars."

Dr. Tara loves her "monogamish" marriage - which allows her and her partner to have sex with other people outside of their relationship.

And the Celebs Go Dating star admitted she may continue attending sex parties even if she and her partner had a child.

Dr. Tara explained: "When we try to have a baby, like eventually, then we will be monogamous, take time off, and focus on each other and building our family.

"According to all my friends that have children, they say that these little things take a lot of time.

"I don't expect that we would be able to practice non-monogamy as openly as we do now.

"But I think it's all about adjustment and communication.

"So yeah, if that time there's a sex party and you know, we have a two year old at home and my mum's watching our child, like, why not try and go have a spicy night?"
Although locum tenens in medicine has a rich history dating back to the 1970s, many misconceptions and questions continue to foster apprehension in those considering this alternative form of practice. While some view locum tenens providers as unstable wanderers who may have difficulty holding traditional permanent employment, many, such as myself, have taken this intentional path in search of independence and freedom.

From a busy metropolitan hospital in California to a clinic in the desert of New Mexico, locum tenens has allowed me to see the world at my own paceall while practicing the medicine I love, free from constraints. A niche in medicine focused on bringing care to underserved communities, locum tenens provides a world of freedom to those who practice medicine. As health care deserts grow and the commercialization of large medical systems forces many to contemplate their careers in an increasingly complicated and productivity-focused sector, locum tenens helps to prioritize autonomy, flexibility, andmost of allpurpose for health care providers, while helping patients who need it most.

Traditional practice vs. independent contracting

Distinct from traditional jobs, a locum tenens worker chooses their schedule, location, and scope of practice while enjoying financial incentives superior to that of a standard employee. While all locum tenens are independent contractors, not all independent contractors are locum tenens. Unlike a solo practitioner, locum tenens may turn to staffing agencies to provide assistance in covering travel, licensing, and malpractice while fending off administrative tasks, allowing providers to focus on what matters most: the patient.

In seeking help to dispel my preconceived notions and find guidance for this road less traveled, I turned to multiple resources such as CompHealths Physicians Guide to Working as an Independent Contractor to trailblaze a path toward a brighter future.

Paying off debt and building a nest eggall at once

For many, the increased salary that comes from working locum tenens can provide an avenue for earlier loan repayment, establishment of a nest egg, and retirement opportunities unavailable in the mainstream job market. As a 1099 employee, one can work with a financial advisor or accountant to plan for variable income. By setting aside funds for estimated taxes, focusing on deductions for work-related expenses, and investigating various tax shelters, earning potential can be maximized and leveraged toward decreasing future financial stressors.

Additionally, retirement opportunities such as a solo 401(k) or SEP IRA provide more generous limits for investment, accelerating wealth accumulation and potentially allowing for earlier retirement. By taking advantage of a higher income and saving aggressively, I was able to pay off $315K in student debt, invest an equal amount, and enjoy the perks of financial sovereignty at ten times the speed of my colleagues.

Locums as a career, not just a placeholder

When I started working locum tenens, many peopleincluding my motherwarned I would quickly grow tired of what they considered a career gap filler. In reality, I have built lifelong connections and found myself returning day after day to many facilities where Ive been welcomed as one of their own. From birthday parties and potlucks to karaoke and hiking, Ive become deeply invested in these communities.

With the right structure and timing, its been possible to spend months molding into each area I work, leading to an ever-evolving career that, ironically, has stability in what has traditionally been considered a life of instability.

For some specialties and providers, it is common to have solitary or brief encounters with patients, but for those in primary care or subspecialties focused on chronic needs, continuity of care defines who we are and why we practice medicine. While this may seem beyond the control of a locum tenens worker, I have found that my presence leads to improved collegiality and community involvement, not disruption.

Through intentionality and passion, Ive helped stabilize areas in dire need. There is something special about walking through a town near the U.S.Mexico border and hearing a proud father shout, Hey! Thats my babys doctor! It is about who the locum tenens is, not where they are.

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From novice to expertthe five As of success

Historically, successful physicians exhibit three consistent traits: ability, availability, and affability. For those seeking greatness in locum tenens, I would add two more: adaptability and aggressiveness (in proactively identifying opportunities).

Keeping an open mind while pursuing the right roles provides exponential growth and helps ensure success.

Organizing financial records, credentials, certifications, an updated CV, references, and a well-planned schedule are critical.

Reading contracts carefully, listening to those around you, and prioritizing wellness are essential.

Each system is different, but locum tenens teaches quickly that medicine is medicineand even new acquaintances can become vital support.

A reflection on locum tenens, a reflection on finding purpose

For many, locum tenens is an elusive world full of unknowns. For me, it brought me back to a question I first asked more than a decade ago: Why do you want to be a doctor? Locum tenens returned me to the heart of medicine, refocusing my energy on the patient in front of me, free from bureaucracy and burnout.

The financial freedom Ive gained has shifted me from living to work, to working to liveyears ahead of schedule. Ive seen the world, deepened my love for this country, and learned that no matter where you go, people just want to be cared for.

These experiences have sharpened my clinical skills and propelled me forwardeven leading me to re-enter fellowship with renewed clarity and passion. In a world where medicine can lose its meaning, locum tenens gave it back to me.

Trevor Cabrera is a pediatrician.
EastEnders legend Michelle Ryan loved getting drenched whilst shooting Zoe Slater and Kat Moon's dramatic reunion scene.

EastEnders star Michelle Ryan

The September 1 episode of the hit BBC soap saw Kat (Jessie Wallace) and Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) frantic with worry as their eldest son Tommy (Sonny Kendall) went missing, and had actually made contact with Kat's daughter Zoe (Michelle) and spent the night with her in a flat.

After Tommy told a skint Zoe that he could get her some cash, and texted Kat - who was overjoyed to hear from her son - to meet him outside her Queen Victoria pub, Tommy and Zoe arrived in a stormy and showery Albert Square in a black cab.

Spotting Tommy getting out of the vehicle, Kat tearfully ran down Bridge Street to greet him, before he announced to his mum that he brought her a present - and out stepped Zoe.

And Michelle said filming Zoe and Kat's first face-to-face reunion in 20 years - in almost the exact spot where Kat revealed to Zoe that she is her mum in 2001 - took multiple takes, and she did not mind looking like a drowned rat because Michelle likes rain.

Michelle exclusively told BANG Showbiz at the National Television Awards at The O2 arena, London, on Wednesday (10.09.25): "It took a few takes, but I don't mind the rain, I kinda like it.

"So, for me, when they said to me, 'You're going to be rained on,' I was like, 'That's fine, that works for me!'"

The actress made her EastEnders comeback after 20 years in an episode aired on June 16, when it was revealed that Zoe, who previously lived in Ibiza, Spain, to distance herself from the murder of Den Watts (Leslie Grantham), which was committed by Chrissie Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman), stayed in a flat with her estranged cousin Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), and it emerged that Zoe had been stealing Stacey's credit card.

Zoe claimed to Stacey that Spanish loan sharks were trying to track her down.

She kept up the claim when her stepdad, Alfie, arrived at the flat just before Zoe came home after Stacey called him to talk to her.

Michelle made a return on a permanent basis on September 1, and episodes since have seen Zoe get shot, and reveal that she had two twins - a daughter who died and a son she put up for adoption - and that she enjoyed a brief relationship with Max Branning (Jake Wood).

The actress previously said that her return to EastEnders - which bagged the Serial Drama gong, and Steve McFadden, 66, winning the Serial Drama Performance accolade for his role as Phil Mitchell - feels like "coming home".

Michelle told the BBC in June: "It all happened at the right time. Id already been thinking about a return because Id met up with Kacey Ainsworth (Little Mo) and Kim Medcalf (Sam Mitchell), and we were reminiscing our fond memories of the show, and Id also joined social media and saw that there was still a lot of love for the character.

"It just so happened that at the same time, EastEnders had announced a new [Executive Producer, Ben Wadey] who was keen to explore the potential of a return as he was such a massive fan of Zoe and the Slaters, so both of our worlds aligned at the right time, and Im so excited to be back.

"When Ben pitched me the storylines, and when I read the scripts, I knew it was the right decision.

"It feels like coming home. After doing my first few scenes, it was like Id never been away."
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez accused the United States on Tuesday of orchestrating a campaign to create "false positives" as a pretext for military action against Venezuela.

In an official statement shared on social media, Lopez warned that Washington and allied "far-right sectors" were spreading false information on social media about the alleged presence of a U.S. helicopter near Venezuelan island territories in order to provoke an incident.

"These reports are part of psychological operations and cognitive warfare designed to fabricate a scenario that would justify escalating aggression against Venezuela," Lopez said. He compared the situation to the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident, which the U.S. used to justify its military involvement in Vietnam.

The statement alleged that U.S. forces could intentionally damage their own aircraft to "manufacture an incident," creating a pretext for broader intervention. Lopez directly accused U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Mauricio Claver-Carone of coordinating these strategies and called for an immediate end to what he described as "bellicose actions:"

"We categorically reject these actions of cognitive warfare. We remain pacifist but hold an unshakable determination to defend our territorial integrity with firmness and serenity. Venezuela is not a threat, we are hope. Venezuela has defenders."

The accusations come amid escalating tensions between Washington and Caracas following a series of U.S. military operations in the Caribbean. Earlier this month, U.S. forces destroyed a vessel in the southern Caribbean, killing 11 people.

Washington described the target as a drug-smuggling boat, while Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called it "an act of murder" and accused the U.S. of using counternarcotics operations as "an excuse to justify aggression."

On Sunday, Lopez announced the deployment of 25,000 troops, naval assets, and drones to secure border regions and major river routes used by traffickers. The U.S., meanwhile, has expanded its naval presence and deployed 10 F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico as part of what it describes as a campaign to dismantle drug networks allegedly operating under the protection of Maduro's governmentcharges Venezuela has repeatedly denied.

Lopez concluded the statement by saying the Bolivarian National Armed Forces remain "on maximum alert" and would act "in perfect civilian-military unity to defend the sovereignty and independence" of Venezuela.

Originally published on Latin Times
Canada's record-breaking 2023 wildfires exposed more than 350 million people in North America and Europe to air pollution that likely contributed to tens of thousands of deaths, according to new estimates published Wednesday.

The findings "underscored that severe wildfires do not have only local consequences" but can inflict real harm a continent away, said the scientists behind the world-first research.

Extreme fire conditions, supercharged by climate change, fanned thousands of blazes across Canada between May and September 2023 that torched around 18 million hectares (44 million acres) -- an area larger than England.

The five-month wildfires were unprecedented in size and scale, releasing massive plumes of acrid smoke that turned skies yellow and triggered health warnings across North America.

But the smoke drifted as far as Europe, causing spikes in harmful PM2.5 pollutants and a measurable decline in air quality thousands of miles from the heat and flames in Canada.

In North America and Europe, an estimated 354 million people were exposed to levels of PM2.5 above the World Health Organization's (WHO) safe limit, concluded a new study into the long-range impact of the wildfires, published in the journal Nature.

This contributed to nearly 70,000 premature deaths on both continents -- most from breathing polluted air over months and a smaller number from acute exposure to wildfire smoke.

The findings were "striking" and surprised even the research team behind them, said Qiang Zhang, a professor of atmospheric chemistry at Tsinghua University in Beijing who led the study.

"While we anticipated large impacts from the record-breaking 2023 Canadian fires, the magnitude of the population exposure and related attributable mortalities are higher than expected," he told AFP.

"These results underscore that such extreme wildfires are no longer just a regional environmental issue and they have become a global public health concern."

PM2.5 pollutants are fine, airborne particles small enough to enter the bloodstream through the lungs, and are linked to higher rates of chronic bronchitis, lung cancer and heart disease.

The team separated acute and chronic premature deaths due to PM2.5 exposure because they represented two very different types of health impacts from wildfire smoke exposure, Qiang Zhang said.

Acute deaths, he said, captured the short-term health impacts during "smoke days" when daily PM2.5 levels spiked "well above" WHO guidelines and could immediately trigger fatal events, such as heart attacks or respiratory failures.

Some 4,100 acute deaths were estimated in the United States, downwind from the wildfires, and another 1,300 in Canada itself.

Chronic deaths reflected the health burden of longer-term exposure, which increases the risks of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and leads to premature death over time.

The study found that chronic health impacts from five months of breathing wildfire smoke were "substantial and widespread", with 41,900 deaths estimated in North America and 22,400 in Europe.

Such estimates were a first, Qiang Zhang said.

But that created limitations for researchers who lacked earlier references on the specific impact of wildfires on health, he said, forcing them to use broader evidence to base their estimates on.

The computer model they built, using satellite observations and machine learning, also could not account for the health impact of various pollutants in wildfire smoke, he added.

The authors said more research into this "underexplored" cost would be crucial as climate change made wildfires bigger, fiercer and more frequent.
* Maiden flight

 Chinas first jet-powered aircraft C909 makes inaugural NanchangMacau flight

* Cooperation | Sam Hou Fai discusses expanding cooperation with Portugals PM

* Film | Macau-set The Ballad of a Small Player holds Canadian premiere

* By six months after the 2019 public housing unit selection, a total of 2,054 of the 3,017 units offered had been sold

* MGM CEO sees Macau market rebound, flags UAE licensing delays

* Pipeline deal to send Russian gas to China shows Beijings dominance in the relationship, but details of the agreement remain unclear

DOWNLOAD PDF

Thursday, September 11, 2025  edition no. 4799

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The United States is in a state of shock after a day of attacks which have left thousands dead and New Yorks World Trade Center destroyed.

The Pentagon was also severely damaged by one of the three civilian airliners which hijackers turned into flying bombs. A fourth plane crashed in a field near Pittsburgh.

A state of emergency has been declared in Washington D.C. and the US has closed its airspace and its borders with Mexico and Canada.

American forces are on one of their highest states of alert and the Pentagon has deployed a naval battle group off the countrys east coast to bolster air defences.

American Airlines Flight 11 was hijacked at 0825 Eastern Daylight Time (1225 GMT) and 18 minutes later crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center.

United Airlines Flight 175  which had been hijacked within minutes of the first plane  was flown into the south tower at 0903 EDT (1303 GMT) causing another devastating explosion.

The second crash was captured live on news cameras trained on the burning north tower.

At 0940 EDT (1340 GMT) a third hijacked airliner  American Airlines Flight 77  was flown into the side of the Pentagon in Washington.

An hour after the Boeing 767 slammed into the south tower of the World Trade Center the 110-storey building collapsed.

The north tower followed minutes later, compounding the destruction and loss of life.

Witnesses reported seeing people jumping from the towers just before they collapsed.

President Bush was reading to pupils at a Florida school when his chief of staff whispered news of the attacks to him.

He was flown to the US Strategic Command Centre at Nebraska  where the countrys nuclear weapons are controlled  but is now on his way back to Washington.

He is expected to address the nation later this evening.

New York mayor Rudy Giuliani said the final number of dead may be more than any of us can bear.

Courtesy BBC News

In context

The final number of people killed in the suicide attacks on 11 September was about 3,000. It took almost nine months to clear the millions of tons of rubble at Ground Zero where the World Trade Center had stood.

The biggest criminal investigation in history quickly identified the hijackers, and linked them to al-Qaeda  the Islamic militant group set up by Osama Bin Laden.

President Bush declared a worldwide war on terror, and on 8 October the United States and Britain hit targets in Afghanistan, where Bin Laden was believed to be hiding.

The regime in Afghanistan fell quickly in the face of American military might, but Osama Bin Laden remained at large for years.

President Bush extended his global campaign against terror to Iraq in March 2003, when a coalition dominated by US and UK forces invaded.

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Caritas Macau Womens Centre will hold its 2025 Golden Melody Cantonese Charity Gala Sept. 20 to raise funds for the organizations new social service initiatives. Caritas secretary-general, Paul Pun, said the funds will support the launch of a takeaway bakery and a community clinic, both of which are in the final stages of preparation and expected to begin operations later this year. Last years charity gala raised more than MOP750,000. Funds raised from previous galas have been used to expand services such as the rehabilitation vehicles for people with disabilities and the Heartfelt Care program providing home caregivers for the elderly.

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Chinas first domestically produced jet-powered aircraft, the C909, carried 85 passengers on its inaugural NanchangMacau flight yesterday, marking the launch of a new route operated by China Eastern Airlines and strengthening air connectivity between the two cities.

This route operates on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, providing three weekly round-trip flights between Macau and Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi.

Ahead of receiving its first batch of passengers traveling from Nanchang to Macau, China Eastern Airlines held an inaugural ceremony for the route at the airport.

Delivering a speech at the ceremony yesterday, Pun Wa Kin, president of the Civil Aviation Authority (AACM), highlighted that the newly launched Nanchang-Macau route not only establishes an aerial bridge between the two regions but also promotes exchanges and cooperation across various fields, including economy, culture, and tourism.

Notably, the inaugural flight utilized a new passenger aircraft independently developed by China. He emphasized, This holds special significance, as it demonstrates the nations technological prowess, represents an honor for Macau, and serves as a shared source of pride for Macau residents.

The inaugural flight from Nanchang to Macau touched down at approximately 11:45 a.m., with Macau International Airport (MIA) organizing a water cannon salute to honor and celebrate the first flights arrival.

Among the 85 passengers, one Chinese male tourist surnamed Zou described the launch of this route as convenient, noting that it solves the issue of direct flights between Nanchang and Macau. He emphasized that the new service has built an aerial bridge, making travel between the two cities swift and efficient.

Zou pointed out that previously, traveling from Nanchang to Macau required connecting through a third city, which was time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly.

Yesterday, Zou boarded the C909 behind him, a domestically produced large aircraft. During the flight, he experienced remarkable stability and smoothness from the C909 model. He stated, This represents Chinas technological advancement, breaking the monopoly of Boeing and Airbus in the aircraft manufacturing market, which he described as a source of great pride.

Regarding the C909s inaugural international regional flight, Zou remarked, I found the C909 flight to be exceptionally smooth and stable. I feel immense pride.

As a commercial operation landing in Macau, captain Yin Aiming, who piloted the inaugural C909 flight, emphasized the significance of the aircrafts classification. He stated, Airbus belongs to the A series, Boeing represents the B series, while the C909, C919, and future C929 are part of the C series.

He elaborated on the historical context, noting that Boeings models date back to the 1950s and 1960s, and Airbuss designs originated in the early 1970s. In contrast, he highlighted that the C909 is a product of the 2000s, representing a significant evolution from its predecessors.

Thus, each generation surpasses the last, he explained, highlighting the advancements in design and technology. Key features of the C909 include robust power, excellent performance, and exceptionally comfortable seat spacing within the cabin.

The flight also welcomed a French passenger who learned about the inaugural service through social media platforms. He shared that he specifically traveled to Nanchang to board the flight to Macau, describing the overall experience as positive.

He also noted that with the launch of the Nanchang route, China Eastern Airlines mainland routes operating in Macau have expanded to 8,500.

As of August, China Eastern Airlines operated 229 international and regional routes with 3,052 flight frequencies, establishing direct connections from Macau to multiple mainland cities, including Shanghai, Beijing Daxing, Nanjing, Wuxi, Hefei, Taiyuan, and Nanchang.

With the launch of these routes, Macau International Airport now serves 22 mainland destinations, further enhancing regional connectivity.

By July, approximately 670,000 international passengers had arrived via the airport, representing a 5% year-on-year increase.

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Golden Globe-winning actor Colin Farrell and Hong Kong-American actress Fala Chen attended the Toronto International Film Festival for the Canadian premiere of The Ballad of a Small Player.

The Macau-shot film offers an immersive look into the citys casino culture.

Last year, filming took place over 33 days across Macaus casinos. Scenes were shot on the live casino floors at Wynns resorts, capturing the buzz of actual high rollers in the city.

Farrell plays a velvet-suited conman struggling with a gambling addiction, pursued by an investigator portrayed by Swinton, in a story infused with surreal and dark twists.

Speaking with media in Toronto, Farrell reflected on the immersive experience of shooting in Macau, saying, I spent a crazy eight weeks living in hotels in the middle of the gambling strip which I cant imagine I would ever do otherwise.

Director Edward Berger, known for his Oscar-nominated All Quiet on the Western Front, said the film captures Macaus exuberance and color, and told AFP, Its never really been shown like that on screen in a Western film.

Both Berger and the cast familiarized themselves with baccarat, Macaus most popular casino game and a game essential to the plot, though Farrell joked, No, not for me, man One affliction I never got, gambling.

The Ballad of a Small Player will open in U.S. theaters on October 15, followed by a UK release on October 17. It will be available for streaming on Netflix starting October 29.

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The president of the Macau Portuguese School (EPM) Foundation, Jorge Neto Valente, has said that the Portuguese government is open to addressing the schools problems.

Neto Valente spoke to the media yesterday morning during a meeting with the Portuguese Prime Minister, Luis Montenegro, as part of his visit to the EPM.

He told reporters that the visit is highly significant, as it is uncommon to meet directly and in person with the Portuguese Prime Minister.

This is very important to us, and we have found openness to the problems we face. Regarding matters under Portugals jurisdiction, the Prime Minister has promised his full commitment and to keep the lines of communication open so that we can convey our needs, Neto Valente said.

For us, it is an honor, but above all, it is an opportunity to raise awareness of our situation here as a School of Portuguese Language and Culture. Our aim is to establish better relations with the Portuguese government, which is largely responsible for our existence and survival and, above all, for the support it provides  not only in financial terms but also in defining the schools curriculum and granting special licenses for teachers from Portugal to teach at the Portuguese school under this special license regime, he added.

Remarking that the issues regarding teachers are currently resolved, Neto Valente noted that the only remaining problem is a local matter concerning the certification of some teachers credentials to teach in Macau.

Its a local problem because there are differences in how teachers credentials and skills are assessed. Here at the school, we are subject to Portuguese legislation, which covers everything, and Macau legislation, which also supports us, so we must comply with local laws. Since the school was created, and under the understanding of the joint liaison group during the transition period, it has been established that the Portuguese school would have administrative, financial, and pedagogical autonomy, he noted, affirming that the issue is mainly related to the latter.

For us, what matters most is pedagogical autonomy, because the school has to decide which teachers are competent and qualified to teach the Portuguese curriculum in Macau. The school does not recruit teachers for other international schools or for Macau in general; it only recruits for the EPM. Naturally, the teachers who come from Portugal are better prepared to teach the Portuguese curriculum, which provides access to Portuguese universities, European universities, and universities in Portuguese-speaking countries.

Neto Valente remarked that many students from Macau can continue their studies abroad, even outside the European Union, thanks to the comprehensive and appropriate curriculum offered by the Portuguese school, noting that pedagogical autonomy should remain the schools priority.

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The head of Russias state-owned gas company Gazprom says it has a deal to build a pipeline to China, but there are many unanswered questions about the details of the agreement.

On paper, the project  known as the Power of Siberia 2  would give Russia a way to replace some of the revenue from its decades of selling natural gas to Europe that was lost over its invasion of Ukraine. The pipeline would carry gas from reserves in western Siberia through Mongolia to China.

And what Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller called a legally binding memorandum to build the pipeline with the China National Petroleum Co. is a chance for Moscow and Beijing to underline their deepening ties against the United States.

Here are key issues surrounding the Power of Siberia 2 and why it cant completely replace Russias lost revenue from Europe:

A new link to China

The pipeline would run 6,700 kilometers from gas fields in the Yamal Peninsula in western Siberia, past Lake Baikal in eastern Siberia, and then across Mongolia into China. For more than 50 years, Russia earned fat profits sending Yamal gas to Europe through pipelines leading west.

But Russia cut off most pipeline gas to Europe over the war in Ukraine, and the European Union wants to end the remaining trickle of supplies by 2027.

So the new pipeline would be a way to shift those lost gas sales to a big new customer.

The geopolitics of the deal

Power of Siberia 2 would carry 50 billion cubic meters a year to China, compared with the up to 180 billion cubic meters a year that went to Europe  meaning the new pipeline could only make up part of the lost business. It would supplement a previous, smaller Power of Siberia line that carries gas from different fields in eastern Siberia with a capacity of 38 billion cubic meters per year.

Millers announcement, which came during a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, left out key details. There was no agreement on gas prices or even who would finance the pipelines construction.

Analysts say the announcement was primarily a chance for Russia and China to underline their closer relationship, and for China to snub supplies of U.S. liquefied natural gas that comes by ship.

India is buying Russian oil despite U.S. President Donald Trump retaliating with 25% tariffs on imports, and Chinas purchases of U.S. liquefied natural gas are blocked by tariffs imposed as part of Chinas trade dispute with the Trump administration trade. Meanwhile China has started taking LNG shipments from Russias Arctic-2 terminal, which has been the target of U.S. and EU sanctions.

So the theatrics of the deal are clear.

Youve got this show of Russia, India, China saying, you know what, we dont care about your sanctions, we dont care about your LNG, said Michal Meidan, head of China energy research at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.

The announcement was an absolutely perfect way  to say: Look, were not all talk, heres an actual measure, said Annette Bohr, associate fellow in the Russia and Eurasia program at Chatham House in London.

But while the deal is a step forward for Gazprom, its not a done deal. Theres no confirmed timeline, no definitive pricing agreement, she said.

Chinas hard bargain on prices

Discussions on the pipeline have moved slowly, largely because China has held out for low prices.

At the moment, its entirely possible that Beijing is still only ready to commit to part of the pipeline, and at heavily discounted rates, which has in fact been the problem for a number of years, Bohr said. So Russia is, in effect, still subsidizing Chinese gas consumption.

She added that China is definitely in the drivers seat when it comes to energy deals.

The announcement underlines that China is the dominant partner, said Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.

China has multiple other sources to import gas. So if Russia is ready to provide conditions that satisfy Chinas demands, then its probably a green light, he said. But without that, its just a friendly reminder that Russia needs to accommodate some of Chinese demand. And its telling you that China has tremendous leverage, and has, in a way, the seniority in this relationship.

Does China need another fossil fuel pipeline?

Given the global effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels, one good question is whether China needs another gas supplier, says the Oxford Energy Institutes Meidan.

Its not clear that it really does need Power of Siberia 2, she said, adding that there is huge uncertainty about just how much demand China will have in the 2030s, even from Chinese analysts and Chinese institutions.

Chinas future demand is part of a complex equation involving a shift away from coal, which emits more carbon dioxide, as the swing fuel used to cover peaks in electricity demand that cant be met by renewables such as wind or hydro power.

A faster move away from coal means more gas use over the short term, while a slower coal exit could increase gas consumption. Battery storage to cover demand peaks and nuclear power could also play a role.

They might not necessarily use more gas if they do renewables and storage faster than anyone else, or if they find other ways where  they use their hydro and their nuclear, Meidan said.

For China, gas is sort of a nice to have (but) its not a must-have, she added. DAVID McHUGH & JOANNA KOZLOWSKA, FRANKFURT, MDT/AP

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The Macau Portuguese School (EPM) is a vital asset to which the Portuguese government attaches great importance, not only in teaching the Portuguese language and culture, according to Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro.

In a broader sense, it also contributes to the Portuguese presence beyond borders and Portugals global influence, Montenegro said after a visit to the institution.

Visiting Macau as part of his official tour to China and Japan, Montenegro stopped at the EPM yesterday morning to learn about the school and speak with its representatives about its future.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of his visit, Montenegro said he had the opportunity to interact with local government officials to advance joint work to strengthen relations between Macau and Portugal at many levels.

We have had the opportunity to interact with the Chief Executive of the Macau Special Administrative Region and to plan joint work to strengthen our relations of friendship and cooperation at various levels, including economic, social, administrative, and cultural, the Portuguese official said.

Regarding the EPM, Montenegro added, Within this plan, the Macau Portuguese School is a very important asset to which we attach great strategic importance in the teaching of Portuguese, but also in the possibility of providing training and qualifications to hundreds of young people every year, enabling them to build their projects and reach a higher level in their academic careers, whether here in Macau, in the Peoples Republic of China, in Portugal, or in Portuguese-speaking countries. The [Portuguese] governments interest will always be to support the preservation of our identity, our culture, and our projection in the world.

Noting the continuous Portuguese presence in Macau, the Montenegro remarked, Our presence here in Macau is, moreover, illustrative and synonymous with our global vocation, our perspective of looking at the world and contributing to the development of all geographies, taking into account the value of people, the idea of progress, and development that promotes peace, social justice, and respect for peoples rights.

Before this visit, the Portuguese Premier met with Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai and other high-ranking government officials.

The tour continued with a visit and reception organized by the Consulate-General of Portugal in Macau before Montenegro and his delegation traveled to Japan, with visits scheduled to Tokyo and Osaka.

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The Taipa Village Cultural Association will open a new exhibition, The Flavors of Sichuan: A Tribute to the Art of Sichuan Cuisine, on September 24 at the Taipa Village Art Space.

The exhibition showcases 34 photographs by American photographer David Hartung, who has lived and worked in Asia for most of his adult life.

Davids work has been featured in numerous prestigious international publications, including TIME magazine, The New York Times, Newsweek, Businessweek, Forbes, AsiaWeek, Travel & Leisure, DestinAsian, and Business Traveller.

The project began in 2019 and resumed in 2023 after a pandemic-related pause. Hartung made multiple trips to Chengdu and across the Sichuan region, documenting landscapes, rural communities, and everyday life.

His work explores Sichuan cuisine within its cultural, geographical, and historical settings, through both color and black-and-white images.

The exhibition coincides with the release of Hartungs new coffee table book of the same title. The opening ceremony and reception will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Taipa Village Art Space.

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The Philippines WCC Aeronautical and Technological College has signed a memorandum of understanding with Cambodias Overseas Cambodian Investment Corporation (OCIC) to establish WCC AeroTech University in Phnom Penh, bringing Filipino expertise in aviation education to the region.

The university will offer degree programs in aircraft maintenance technology, avionics, airline operations management and aeronautical engineering, along with a certificate course for flight attendants.

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Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Cristina Roque said the partnership highlights the Philippines growing role as a provider of knowledge-based services.

When our schools and professionals bring their knowledge to international markets, they raise the profile of the Philippines as a hub for skills and innovation, she said.

This means more demand for Filipino educators, engineers and service providers, not only boosting jobs but also inspiring pride in our peoples capabilities, she said.

WCC president Raymond Patrick Guico described the agreement as a milestone for Philippine higher education, noting the school will build on its track record of training thousands of aviation professionals locally to deliver the same world-class programs in Cambodia.

OCIC vice president Thierry Tea said the project supports Cambodias human capital agenda.

Working with WCC allows us to open doors for Cambodian youth to access top-quality aviation training while connecting with Filipino professionals who have a proven track record in the industry, he said.
The Philippines strengthened its defense and security partnerships with Sweden, South Africa, and South Korea after a series of high-level meetings on the sidelines of the Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD) 2025.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Department of National Defense (DND) said Secretary Gilberto Gibo Teodoro, Jr. held separate meetings with top defense officials of the three countries.

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On Monday, Teodoro met with Swedens State Secretary to the Minister for Civil Defence Johan Berggren to reaffirm bilateral cooperation in civil defense, crisis response, capacity building, defense education, and emerging security domains.

The meeting built on the 2023 memorandum of understanding on defense materiel. Both sides also discussed vulnerabilities in critical underwater infrastructure and exchanged views on Indo-Pacific security.

Berggren underscored Swedens commitment to deepening defense cooperation with Manila, saying strong partnerships are key to upholding the rules-based international order. Teodoro, for his part, stressed the importance of Swedens support for the Philippines defense modernization and resilience efforts.

Teodoro also met with South Africas Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Angelina Motshekga, where discussions centered on finalizing a memorandum of agreement on cooperative activities in the field of defense. Once signed, it would mark the Philippines first formal defense agreement with an African country.

Areas of collaboration identified include military medicine and ensuring the safety of seafarers. The two officials also reaffirmed their commitment to international peace, security, and multilateral cooperation. The meeting followed their earlier engagement at the United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting in Germany last May.

Meanwhile, the Philippines defense chief held talks with South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-Back, with both sides agreeing to bolster bilateral cooperation under the framework of the 2015 PhilippinesROK defense memorandum of understanding.

Discussions covered logistics, technological exchanges, and defense industry cooperation. The two ministers also highlighted people-to-people ties and cultural exchanges as crucial pillars of the relationship, recalling the historic sacrifices of Filipino soldiers in the Korean War.

Teodoro extended an official invitation to Ahn to visit Manila, affirming the Philippines commitment to advancing defense cooperation and sustaining strategic engagement with South Korea, which is marking the 75th anniversary of its bilateral defense ties with the Philippines this year.
Even if it got high initial ratings, SBS's new drama 'Queen Mantis' is under attack from the public for how it depicts schizophrenia in a recent show.

During the second episode, aired last September 6, a polarizing dialogue during a scene where characters were conducting a police investigation was seriously criticized.

When discussing the suspect's mental condition, Detective Choi Hyuk (played by Kim Tae-jung) says the suspect is a patient of schizophrenia. Chief Choi Choong-ho (Jo Sung-ha) retorts, "So you mean he's a crazy person?"

The direct statement immediately ignited outrage among viewers and mental health professionals as well.

Mental health experts say that kind of speech encourages hazardous misconceptions.

"Schizophrenia is a neurological disorder, not a sign of being 'crazy,'" experts emphasized. "Symptoms like hallucinations and delusions result from disrupted brain function, not moral weakness or violent intent."

READ MORE: Jang Dong Yoon and Go Hyun Jung's 'Queen Mantis' Locks In Premiere DateHere's What to Expect

I'm so hooked with this series! It's just so thrilling, mainly because our FL is just an extreme psycho! And here, when she comes face-to-face with the supposed copycat/schizophrenic, all hell breaks loose!  What a performance! #QueenMantisEp2 pic.twitter.com/LLmPIDSy8S  Gorgeousbabe11 (Anj Alfieri) (@Gorgeousbabe113) September 8, 2025

While schizophrenia is strongly associated with violence in the media, research does not support this.

A study by Seoul National University Medical School, which compared 20122016 crime figures, estimated schizophrenia patients' overall crime rate at between 72.7 and 90.3 per 10,000, significantly lower than the general population.

But the study also highlighted increased rates of violent crimes like murder and arson among schizophrenia patients, said to fuel public panic.

"These isolated statistics are frequently used out of context to stereotype all patients," researchers said.

Mental health groups have also raised fears that the drama's script may lead to further stigmatization of people living with schizophrenia.

"Labeling them as 'crazy' on national television only reinforces stigma," said one advocate. "It may discourage people from seeking help and deepens the isolation they already experience."

Social media viewers were also outraged, urging SBS to apologize.

"It's disappointing that a drama with such strong acting and writing would use language that stigmatizes mental illness," said one.

Queen Mantis has been complimented on Go Hyun-jung's performance as the lead character and its crime-thriller plot. However, many now believe the network should handle sensitive issues more sensitively.

As of Monday, SBS has made no official announcement about the scandal.

READ MORE: 12 Must Watch Jung Hae In Movies and Dramas: From Law Firms to Betrayals
The World Food Programme (WFP) provided food assistance to almost 100,000 Namibians in July, amid worsening hunger in the drought-hit nation.

According to its latest country brief, 96,387 people benefited through digital vouchers, community kitchens and school feeding schemes.

More than 25,000 children received meals at soup kitchens, while 12,038 pupils were supported through the homegrown school feeding programme. In addition, 58,764 vulnerable people, including pregnant women and young children, were enrolled in a nutrition support scheme that also boosted rural economies.

Despite these interventions, the WFP warned that food insecurity remains widespread due to recurring droughts, floods, pest infestations and climate shocks linked to El Nino, which have slashed harvests and pushed up food prices. The agency estimates it needs an additional US$500,000 over the next six monthsrepresenting about 19% of its funding requirementsto sustain operations while also supporting smallholder farmers, strengthening food systems and building long-term resilience.
Human Rights Watch has warned of a sharp rise in Islamic State attacks in Nigers Tillaberi region, documenting at least 127 civilian deaths in five assaults carried out between March and June 2025.

The rights groups latest report highlights mass killings, including shootings at prayer in Fambita, the execution of a village chief in Abarkaize, and the massacre of more than 70 people in Manda. Witnesses also reported widespread looting, arson, and executions, with many victims accused of collaborating with the Nigerien army.

Despite repeated warnings from residents, HRW notes that security forces failed to prevent the violence or intervene effectively, leaving rural communities exposed. The organisation has urged Nigers authorities to step up protection measures, investigate these atrocitiesdescribed as possible war crimesand bring perpetrators to justice. The intensifying threat underscores the Islamic States entrenched presence in the Sahel, where civilians remain the primary targets of its campaign of terror.
Ethiopia has officially launched Tuesday, September 9, the Grand Renaissance Dam, Africas largest hydroelectric project, designed to double the countrys electricity generation and power its transition to an electric vehicle economy.

Built at a cost of nearly $5 billion on the Blue Nile near Sudan, the dam is expected to generate more than 5,000 megawatts. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed hailed the project as a landmark African achievement, with citizens celebrating nationwide and several African leaders attending the ceremony to express interest in purchasing power.

The project has attracted regional support, with leaders such as South Sudans President Salva Kiir and Kenyas President William Ruto signalling plans to import electricity. Ruto described the dam as a pan-African statement, aligning with the African Unions ambitions for energy connectivity. Kenya, already importing Ethiopian power, hopes the new supply will ease its energy deficit, while other neighbours view the dam as a source of growth and opportunity.

However, Egypt remains sharply opposed, calling the project an existential threat to its vital Nile water supply. Cairo has long argued that Ethiopia failed to conduct proper consultations or reach consensus with downstream countries, warning the project violates international law. In response, Abiy assured neighbouring states that Ethiopia does not intend to harm them, framing the project instead as a shared opportunity for prosperity. Despite such reassurances, the dam continues to symbolise both Ethiopian pride and regional discord.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Tuesday, September 9, that officials from his Government have been dispatched to the United States to lay the groundwork for trade negotiations aimed at easing steep tariffs.

The move comes after months of unsuccessful attempts to reach an agreement with the Trump administration following Washingtons decision to impose a 30% tariff on South African imports.

Ramaphosa told parliament that representatives from the Presidency and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition will engage U.S. officials, lawmakers, and business leaders in New York and Washington in the coming days. While South Africa has submitted a revised trade proposal, the U.S. Trade Representatives office has not yet confirmed the start of formal discussions.
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Overview of study design (created with biorender.com). Credit: Alzheimer's & Dementia (2025). DOI: 10.1002/alz.14601

A new study led by researchers from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) has demonstrated that artificial intelligence (AI) analysis of retinal photographs can predict an individual's risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Published in Alzheimer's & Dementia, this first-of-its-kind study in Singapore highlights the potential of retinal aging biomarkers as a novel tool for brain health management.

Jointly led by Professor Cheng Ching-Yu, director, Center for Innovation and Precision Eye Health, NUS Medicine, and Professor Christopher Chen, deputy chair, Healthy Longevity Translational Research Programme, NUS Medicine, the research team developed a novel deep-learning biomarker known as RetiPhenoAge, which estimates the biological age of the retina based on standard eye images.

The study analyzed data from over 500 participants recruited from memory clinics in Singapore. The findings showed that individuals with higher retinal biological age were at significantly greater risk (up to 2540% increased risk, per standard deviation increase in RetiPhenoAge) of developing cognitive decline or dementia over a five-year period.

These findings were further validated in a larger population sample using data from more than 33,000 participants in the UK Biobank. In this cohort, elevated RetiPhenoAge was similarly associated with a higher risk of developing dementia over twelve years of follow-up, reinforcing its predictive utility across diverse populations.

The study further showed that retinal aging reflects key biological processes associated with neurodegeneration, with brain scans and blood markers used to validate RetiPhenoAge's link to brain changes and aging-related changes in blood proteins. These associations offer a novel alternative for the use of retinal aging as a proxy measure for cognitive health.

Prof Cheng said, "With RetiPhenoAge, we are able to non-invasively estimate an individual's biological age, offering valuable insights for both cognitive health management and broader aging research. This can help doctors identify people at risk of cognitive decline or dementia, before symptoms appear, enabling more targeted interventions. We hope to validate this screening tool in larger and more diverse populations, and assess its impact in clinical settings to guide earlier treatment of dementia."

Prof Chen added, "With dementia numbers rising globally, we urgently need tools that are both scalable and predictive. RetiPhenoAge could hold the key to community-level screening that is both effective and affordable. These findings bring us closer to developing simple and affordable screening modalities that can be integrated into routine health checks, enabling earlier detection of dementia risk and timely support."

Prof Chen is also from the Department of Pharmacology at NUS Medicine, and is the director of the Memory, Aging and Cognition Centre, NUHS and visiting consultant, Department of Psychological Medicine, National University Hospital (NUH).

Co-first authors of the study, Dr. Sim Ming Ann and Asst Prof Tham Yih Chung, added, "We hope that these findings will lead to improvements in care, which will help doctors identify people at risk of dementia before symptoms appear, which may lead to earlier interventions and improved patient outcomes."

Dr. Sim is a consultant at the Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and NUH, and a Ph.D. candidate at NUS Medicine, while Asst Prof Tham is from the Center for Innovation and Precision Eye Health, NUS Medicine.

This study marks a significant advancement in the field of digital biomarkers and demonstrates the potential of combining AI with non-invasive imaging to tackle pressing health care challenges. As RetiPhenoAge uses retinal scans from existing imaging tools already available in many Singapore polyclinics, it offers a convenient and scalable solution that can be seamlessly integrated into routine health checks. The research team is currently working to validate the biomarker across diverse populations in Asia and beyond, as well as to assess its applicability in both clinical and community health care settings.

Building upon this work, Prof Cheng and Prof Chen will use retinal imaging to screen people with cognitive impairment in the community. They are also exploring how RetiPhenoAge might be used to track individual responses to interventions aimed at slowing or preventing cognitive decline and dementia, such as lifestyle modifications, pharmacological treatments, and other therapeutic approaches.

More information Ming Ann Sim et al, A deeplearning retinal aging biomarker for cognitive decline and incident dementia, Alzheimer's & Dementia (2025). DOI: 10.1002/alz.14601 Journal information: Alzheimer's & Dementia
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Death rates from chronic diseases have fallen in four out of five countries around the world in the last decadebut progress has slowed, suggests an analysis led by researchers at Imperial College London and published in The Lancet.

In recent decades there have been many global and national political pledges and plans to improve prevention and treatment of chronic diseases (also called non-communicable diseasesNCDs), such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, kidney disease, liver disease, neurological conditions and others. This includes the UN Sustainable Development Goal of reducing premature mortality from NCDs by one-third by 2030.

This study is believed to be the first global analysis to not only track changes in NCD mortality at the national level but also benchmark progress against historical performance and the regional best-performers.

The analysis suggests deaths from chronic diseases has fallen in nearly 80% of countries in the last decade. However, almost two thirds of all countriesincluding nearly all high-income countries in Europe, North America, Australasia and the Pacificexperienced a slowdown in the rate of decline for mortality in 2010 to 2019 compared to the previous decade.

The United States was one of the worst performers among high-income countries, experiencing the smallest decrease in risk over 2010-2019.

Ahead of the upcoming Fourth High-level Meeting of the UN General Assembly, authors say these trends show an urgent need for greater investment in tackling chronic diseases and ensuring approaches effectively reach people most in need.

More information Benchmarking progress in non-communicable diseases: a global analysis of cause-specific mortality from 2001 to 2019, The Lancet (2025). DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01388-1 Journal information: The Lancet
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Fewer than 1 in 10 hospitals in New South Wales and Victoria have policies to guide surrogacy births, new research has found, prompting urgent calls from experts for national standards.

The study, published in the Journal of Law and Medicine, reviewed 112 metropolitan hospitals across both states and found only 10 had surrogacy birth care policies.

Researchers say the lack of clear guidelines leaves health professionals, surrogates, and intended parents navigating inconsistent care, legal uncertainty, and emotional stress.

Lead author, Charles Darwin University (CDU) Lecturer in Nursing (Faculty of Health), Kabir Sattarshetty, said surrogacy is becoming an increasingly common pathway to parenthood, yet hospitals are unprepared.

"Without clear policies, hospitals risk excluding intended parents from delivery rooms, delaying newborn bonding, and creating confusion around feeding and decision-making," Sattarshetty said.

"Families deserve clarity and consistency during one of the most significant moments of their lives."

The report highlights cases where intended parents have been prevented from entering the birth suite, or surrogates were unable to be discharged without the baby.

In some hospitals, staff encouraged surrogates to initiate breastfeeding, overlooking the intended parents' need to learn bottle-feeding.

Co-author, Surrogacy & Donor Legal Services Director (VIC) and surrogacy lawyer, Sarah Jefford OAM, said these situations are avoidable.

"Too often, intended parents are sidelined at the very moment they should be bonding with their baby," Jefford said.

"Clear, family-centered policies would prevent distress for everyone involved."

Researchers warn the lack of surrogacy birth care guidelines also risks undermining newborn health outcomes, with key practices such as skin-to-skin contact, parental bonding, and neonatal care protocols inconsistently applied.

The study calls for urgent development of national guidelines to provide hospitals with a consistent framework for surrogacy care.

"Surrogacy is no longer a passing phenomenon; it is firmly embedded in our social and medical landscape, and all indicators suggest it will continue to expand. Unfortunately, our health system has not kept pace," Sattarshetty said.

"Comprehensive policies would protect surrogates, support intended parents, andmost importantlyensure babies born through surrogacy have the best possible start to life."

More information Kabir Sattarshetty et al, Calling for Standardised Surrogacy Birth Care Policies: A Brief Report, Journal of Law and Medicine (2025). pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40853703/
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Research led by Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Program shows that over half of hospital patients with breathlessness had died within a year of admission (51%), as opposed to just 26% of those without the symptom.

Most of these patients had more than one condition that caused breathlessness, including pneumonia, anemia, heart failure and TB.

The findings demonstrate the importance of integrated, patient-centered care, researchers say, to tackle the burden of high mortality for people with breathlessness, particularly in low-income countries. The work appears in Thorax.

Dr. Stephen Spencer, Wellcome Trust Clinical Ph.D. Fellow at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Program (MLW) is lead author on the paper. He said, "Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has energized health care communities in Africa to expand oxygen access to hospitals, which is critical for patient care. Sadly, our study shows that breathless patients in Malawi still suffer from mortality rates twice as high as in Europe, despite the younger population in Africa.

"Most of these patients live with more than one condition at the same time, which we found to be a factor linked to higher mortality, such as those with TB or pneumonia. This suggests that treating diseases in isolation is not enough, and health care models that have traditionally focused on single presenting conditions may overlook important concurrent diseases.

"Patient-centered health care interventions that can diagnose and treat multiple illnesses at the same time are urgently needed and should be evaluated to see if they can sustainably reduce mortality."

The researchers tracked 751 Malawian hospital patients over 12 months, of whom 334 (44%) had breathlessness as a symptom.

Of these patients, 69% who had heart failure had died within a year, alongside 57% with anemia, 53% with pneumonia, and 47% with TB. Most patients (63%) had multiple conditions, a factor associated with increased mortality.

Dr. Ben Morton, Senior Clinical Lecturer at LSTM and senior author on the paper, said, "This is an important study as it provides robust evidence on the complexity of patients with breathlessness in Southern Africa. While established vertical programs have been important to improve the management of individual diseases like TB, this study shows that more holistic approaches are required to effectively diagnose and manage patients in this context.

"We also show that breathlessness is a common reason for hospital presentation with particularly poor outcomes, highlighting the urgency to develop improved programs of care."

Dr. Felix Limbani, Co-Investigator, and Senior Research Associate at MLW said, "While the findings from the breathlessness study are alarming and associated with poor patient outcomes, they provide the much-needed evidence and opportunity for Malawi and other resource-limited settings to build respiratory support for their health systems. The availability of medical oxygen and increased capacity of health care professionals to diagnose and treat breathlessness and multimorbidity are essential to improving quality of care and patient outcomes."

The study involved researchers from the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Program and Kamuzu University of Health Sciences in Malawi; Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Tanzania and Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Tanzania; Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust; Liverpool John Moores University; and the University of Manchester and the University of Edinburgh.

More information Acute breathlessness as a cause of hospitalisation in Malawi: a prospective, patient-centred study to evaluate causes and outcomes, Thorax (2025). DOI: 10.1136/thorax-2025-223623 Journal information: Thorax
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Researchers from the University of Oklahoma Health Campus have published an article in the New England Journal of Medicine describing a novel care coordination and communication program and its potential for helping Indigenous people access the lifesaving cancer care that they need.

American Indian and Alaska Native residents in Oklahoma face significant cancer disparities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Oklahoma State Department of Health, between 2016 and 2020, the rate of Indigenous cancer-related death was 44% higher than the general population in Oklahoma and 67% higher than the general population in the United States.

Many Indigenous people receive primary care services at Indian Health Service facilities, tribal health facilities and urban Indian health facilities, but they are usually referred out for specialty services like cancer care. That's when they can face barriers like delays in treatment and potentially burdensome costs.

"The referral process can be lengthy and confusing for patients, clinicians and staff alike, and it requires a significant amount of communication between facilities," said the article's lead author, Amanda Janitz, Ph.D., MPH, an associate professor of epidemiology in the OU Hudson College of Public Health. "In addition, patients may have difficulty affording the gas to travel to our facilities or lodging if they come from a long distance. We want to make a difference for this patient population in a way that ultimately improves their health outcomes."

Since 2012, OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center's American Indian Navigation Program has served 4,463 Indigenous patients from 65 different tribes. The program has had a positive effect with its logistical and supportive guidance, but researchers sought to enhance it.

A pilot project serving 128 patients from July 2023 to February 2025 resulted in a decrease in missed appointments from 19% to 11%. Depression screening rates increased from 72% to 100%, and two-thirds of patients received financial support for transportation and lodging. Additionally, patients reported an increased understanding of clinical trials, and clinicians and students received training on Indigenous perspectives toward research.

Now, Stephenson Cancer Center has the opportunity to further expand and test what is called the Care Coordination and Communication Program in Oncology for Tribal Health Systems.

Through virtual "huddles," teams from Stephenson Cancer Center and the referring facility will meet to discuss patients' cases and any barriers they face to receiving treatment. The huddles will include clinicians from both facilities as well as American Indian and nurse navigators and case management staff. Clinicians may discuss the course of treatment and side effects, while navigators and case managers will address psychosocial needs and any referral roadblocks.

"These huddles allow the group to talk through the issues at the same time instead of going back and forth via email," Janitz said. "There is value in having everyone on the same Zoom call."

The huddles will also become part of a clinical trial in which participants are randomly assigned to receive the huddles or standard navigation services without huddles. At the end of the trial, everyone will receive the enhanced services.

"We hope this project shows that we can provide the huddles on a large scale," Janitz said. "We'll also be looking at patient satisfaction and whether the huddles lead to an improved time between the patient's initial diagnosis and starting their cancer treatment. That's the goal for this type of researchto increase the speed at which we can improve outcomes."

More information Amanda E. Janitz et al, Improving Care Coordination for Indigenous Patients with Cancer, New England Journal of Medicine (2025). DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp2506273 Journal information: New England Journal of Medicine
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Older adults are increasingly discontinuing benzodiazepines soon after hospital discharge, but a significant number continue use for months, putting them at risk for serious health problems, according to new research published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

A class of medications commonly prescribed for short-term relief of anxiety, sleep problems, or agitation, benzodiazepines can be effective in the hospital setting. But prolonged use has been linked to increased risk of falls, memory and thinking problems, dependence, and motor vehicle accidentsall of which can threaten older adults' health and independence.

The study, "Pattern and Associated Factors of Benzodiazepine Discontinuation Among Older Adults Following Hospitalization," examined in-hospitalization prescription patterns for more than 33,000 patients aged 65 and older who were prescribed benzodiazepines from January 2004 through February 2025. Between 15.9% and 31.5% of patients were prescribed benzodiazepines like lorazepam or clonazepam during that period.

Experts, including the American Society of Addiction Medicine, recently issued updated guidelines regarding tapering patients off of benzodiazepines after hospitalization in order to prevent dependence and serious adverse outcomes in older adults.

According to the researchers, approximately 15% of older adults continued using benzodiazepines for two months after hospitalization. Patients at higher risk include those with insomnia, older adults with frailty, and patients starting new antidepressants or antipsychotics.

"While it's encouraging to see more patients stopping these medications quickly, we remain concerned about the older adults who continue to use long-acting benzodiazepines because they face higher risks of falls, memory problems, and dependence," said Kevin T. Pritchard, OT, Ph.D., OTR, co-author and postdoctoral research fellow at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife.

"Our findings suggest that future deprescribing strategies should specifically target high-risk patients in order to address both the clinical challenges of discontinuation and the underlying conditions that may contribute to prolonged use. We also recommend medication reviews, patient education programs, benzodiazepine substitutions, and nonpharmacological therapies to prevent chronic use."

More information ChunTing Yang et al, Pattern and Associated Factors of Benzodiazepine Discontinuation Among Older Adults Following Hospitalization, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (2025). DOI: 10.1111/jgs.70018 Journal information: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

Provided by Hebrew SeniorLife Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Most Americans disapprove of cuts to federal Medicare and Medicaid programs, a Northeastern University survey finds, including a majority of both Democratic and Republican voters.

Conducted from April to June by Northeastern's Civic Health and Institutions Project (CHIP50), the survey of more than 33,000 adults across the country finds that 68% of Americans disapprove of cuts to Medicaid and 76% disapprove of cuts to Medicare.

Broken down by political affiliation, 86% of Democrats and 64% of Republicans disapprove of cuts to Medicare, and 82% of Democrats and 51% of Republicans disapprove of cuts to Medicaid.

"We talk about partisan polarization, and there are big partisan differences," says David Lazer, University Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Computer Sciences and principal investigator at CHIP50. "But the majorities of Democrats and Republicans are on the same side of this issue. It wasn't inevitable that that was the case."

Details about the survey findings are available on the CHIP50 website.

Medicare supports health care for people 65 years of age and older, while Medicaid eligibility is determined by an income threshold that varies from state to state.

Nationwide, people most likely to be affected by spending cuts are also most likely to disapprove of them, the survey finds: 76% of people who earn between $25,000 and $50,000 strongly disapprove of cuts to Medicaid, compared to 59% of people who earn $100,000 or more.

Similarly, 89% of people age 65 and older strongly disapprove of cuts to Medicare while 66% of people ages 18 to 24 hold the same view.

Americans with less formal education were also more likely to strongly disapprove of the cuts to federal health care spending: 49% of people with some high school or less disapprove of cuts to Medicaid, compared to 38% of people with a graduate degree.

Broken down by state, the survey found a range of opposition to Medicare cuts. West Virginians are the most strongly opposed, according to the survey, with more than 85% of respondents expressing disapproval. At the other end of the spectrum, 70% of Floridians expressed disapproval.

Voters in West Virginia tend to be lower-income and more reliant on Medicare, says Lazer, noting the state tends to favor the Republican Party. Florida, which is also heavily Republican but more affluent, has the lowest level of disapproval.

"There are a lot of old people in West Virginia," he says, "but they're not the same old people who moved to Florida."

Overall, Lazer says, the survey found that all groupsbroken down by age, income, political affiliation, gender and racedisapprove of cuts to federal health care spending.

"Vast majorities oppose cuts," he says. "Even vast majorities of Republicans disapprove of cuts. But I think the bottom line is we couldn't find any group who approved of (cuts)."

This story is republished courtesy of Northeastern Global News news.northeastern.edu.
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The map above shows the location of an Ebola outbreak in Congo. Credit: AP Digital Embed

The number of suspected Ebola cases in Congo's southern Kasai province have more than doubled in a week since a new outbreak was confirmed there, Africa's top public health agency said Thursday.

The suspected cases have increased from 28 to 68 in recent days, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at an online briefing. It has also spread from two to four districts while the death toll currently stands at 16.

Local residents expressed concerns on Thursday over the outbreak, the first in Congo in three years and the province's first in more than a decade.

The Kasai province is a remote part of Congo with poor road networks and is more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) from the nation's capital of Kinshasa.

In addition, fighting in eastern Congo could complicate efforts to contain the disease, which can spread rapidly due to the proximity and density of villages and provinces, Dr. Ngashi Ngongo, a principal advisor with Africa CDC, said at the briefing.

"It was two (districts), now it is four," Ngongo said.

The outbreak was announced a week ago after a pregnant woman was confirmed to have been infected in the locality of Bulape.

The World Health Organization sent experts alongside Congo's Rapid Response Team to Kasai to strengthen disease surveillance, offer treatment and monitor infection prevention and controls.

Health workers dressed in protective gear begin their shift at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, Congo DRC, Tuesday, July 16, 2019. Credit: AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File

The Central African country has a history of Ebola since 1976. The latest outbreak is the 16th in the country and the 7th in the Kasai province. A previous outbreak between 2018 and 2020 in eastern Congo killed more than 1,000 people.

Local authorities in Kasai are trying to contain the outbreak. Public movements have been curtailed and checkpoints have been set up at the main entrances to Tshikapa, the capital of the province, authorities said.

Emmanuel Kalonji, 37, a resident of Tshikapa, told The Associated Press that some people had fled the villages before returning. "However, given the limited resources, survival is not guaranteed," said Kalonji.

In Bulape, people are concerned about the impact on their living conditions, said Ethienne Makashi, the local official in charge of water, hygiene and sanitation.

"However, we do have one case showing good progress, which gives a glimmer of hope for those receiving care," said Makashi.

 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Country-specific targets for reducing anemia in women of reproductive age by 2030 based on each nation's health challenges, resources and what currently recommended interventions can cost-effectively achieve. Credit: Cost-effective targets for anemia reduction in 191 countries: a modeling study. Credit: Lancet Haematology. 2025 Aug 20

Duke-NUS Medical School, working with an international team of experts, has contributed to a new evidence-based plan to tackle anemiaa condition affecting nearly two billion people worldwide and a persistent obstacle to achieving global health goals.

Published in The Lancet Haematology, the study sets out expert consensus on the causes of anemia, identifies major data and knowledge gaps and recommends the most cost-effective strategies for reducing its global prevalence.

Anemia develops when the body lacks enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen. Iron deficiency is the leading cause, though other nutrient shortages, chronic diseases and infections such as malaria and hookworm play a role depending on local conditions. Despite its scale, anemia often receives less attention than other health threats, even though it undermines maternal health, child survival and economic growth.

In 2015, the United Nations set a target of halving anemia in women of childbearing age by 2030. Nearly a decade on, most countries remain far from this goal. The study shows why: in many low- and middle-income countries, recommended interventions are either unavailable, too costly or underused.

Assistant Professor Robin Blythe, from Duke-NUS Medical School's Health Systems & Services Research Program, who led the economic modeling component of the study, said, "A one-size-fits-all approach to anemia does not work. Countries face very different challenges, from poverty and infectious diseases to food shortages. These realities are often overlooked in global health targets. We need goals that are ambitious yet realisticand tailored to each country's needs and resources."

The team estimated how much progress each country could realistically achieve by 2030 using currently recommended measures such as staple food fortification, iron supplementation, and preventive malaria treatment in pregnancy.

They used country-specific data, including anemia prevalence, health system capacity and how much each country can cost-effectively afford to spend on public health. Their analysis shows the global Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of 50% reduction is not feasible with current tools and funding.

The study reveals a sharp contrast between countries. Singapore, for example, could achieve a 25% reduction among women of reproductive ageslightly above the global average but still only half of the SDG target. With an anemia prevalence of 18.4% among women of reproductive age, Singapore's strong health system, high antenatal care coverage and ability to implement fortification programs put it in a strong position to make meaningful gains.

Most anemia cases in Singapore are mild (17%), with only 1.4% moderate cases and virtually no severe ones. The country's ability to pay for public health programs, its high coverage of antenatal care, at 81% for iron supplementation, and its ability to implement food fortification programs put it in a strong position to reduce anemia further.

"Singapore has the capacity to make real progress," said Asst Prof Blythe.

"By focusing on fortifying staple foods with iron and improving the uptake of supplements during antenatal care, the country can achieve real reductions in anemia while using resources efficiently. Unlike in malaria-endemic regions, preventive malaria treatments are not relevant in Singapore, so investments should go where the impact will be greatest."

By contrast, Indonesia is projected to achieve only a 9% reduction due to constrained health care spending, while Malaysia could reach a 28% reduction. These variations underscore the need for country-specific goals rather than uniform global targets, ensuring public health resources are directed where they can make the most difference.

Professor Patrick Tan, Senior Vice-Dean for Research at Duke-NUS, said, "This study shows that solving major health challenges requires collaboration across disciplines and borders. By setting realistic targets based on local conditions and investing in proven programs, countries can accelerate progress and improve health for billions. These recommendations point to a more practical, evidence-driven path forward."

The study also called for better data systems to track anemia and its causes. While many surveys measure how common anemia is, few gather information about its specific causes in each population. This makes it hard to plan effective responses. A global anemia database and expanded health surveys would help close this data gap and improve decision-making.

Asst Prof Blythe emphasized that setting more realistic targets is not about giving up on ambition. "When targets are set too high and countries fail to meet them, it can create frustration and even discourage continued efforts. Our approach provides a clear, data-driven way to set targets that reflect what each country can realistically achieve with current tools. This way, we can still drive progress while being honest about what is possible."

The authors are now sharing their findings with the World Health Organization, with the hope that future health and nutrition targets will adopt a similar country-specific, evidence-based approach. With stronger data, better funding strategies and smarter policies, countries can make meaningful progress in reducing anemia and improving public health.

More information Robin Blythe et al, Cost-effective targets for anaemia reduction in 191 countries: a modelling study, The Lancet Haematology (2025). DOI: 10.1016/S2352-3026(25)00168-1 Journal information: The Lancet Haematology
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Credit: RDNE Stock project from Pexels

Patients begin lining up before dawn at Operation Border Health, an annual five-day health clinic in Texas' Rio Grande Valley. Many residents in this predominantly Latino and Hispanic region spanning the Mexican border lack insurance, making the health fair a major source of free medical care in South Texas for more than 25 years.

Until this year. The Trump administration's plan to strip more than $550 million in federal public health and pandemic funds from Texas helped prompt cancellation of the event just before its scheduled July 21 start.

"Some people come every year and rely on it," said Hidalgo County Health and Human Services Director Dairen Sarmiento Rangel. "Some people even camp out outside of Border Health so they can be the first in line to receive services. This event is very important to our community."

States and local governments have made painful program cuts in the wake of major reductions in federal health funding that have already taken effect. Now, they're sizing up the financial hits to comesome not until late next year or beyondfrom the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," the tax and spending law congressional Republicans passed in July that enacts much of President Donald Trump's domestic agenda.

Texas, for instance, expects to see its federal Medicaid funds reduced by as much as $39 billion over 10 years due to new barriers for enrollment, such as more frequent eligibility checks, according to a July analysis by KFF.

Taken together, the reductions amount to a seismic shift in how state health programs are provided and paid for. The administration is, in effect, pushing a significant amount of health costs to states. That will force their leaders to make difficult choices, as many state budgets are already strained by declining tax revenues, a slowdown in federal pandemic spending, and economic uncertainty.

Revenue forecasters in more than a dozen states have lowered expectations for the coming year, according to a June report by Pew.

"It's almost inevitable that states will enact a number of cuts to health services because of the fiscal pressure," said Wesley Tharpe, senior adviser for state tax policy at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Some are proactively trying to stanch the impact.

Hawaii lawmakers are looking to aid nonprofits that are already contending with federal funding cuts. They're doling out $50 million in grants to health, social service, and other nonprofits hit by federal funding cuts. To get the money, nonprofits must show a termination or drop in funding, or that they have otherwise been harmed by the cuts.

"It is not fair that organizations dedicated to supporting the people of Hawaii are being forced to scale back due to federal funding cuts," Democratic Gov. Josh Green said in a statement.

Other states are scaling back projects to contend with cuts. Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer, a Democrat, received notice in March that the Trump administration was cutting $38 million in public health funding from the state. The next month, state legislative leaders halted a planned project to upgrade and expand the Capitol complex as a result.

"We recognized that the reckless federal cuts to the social safety nets of thousands of Delawareans called for us to hold back resources to protect our most vulnerable," said David Sokola, president pro tempore of the Delaware Senate.

In New Mexico, the state with the highest percentage of residents enrolled in Medicaid, a bipartisan group of lawmakers voted to create a trust fund to boost funding for the program. About 10% of the more than 800,000 state residents covered by Medicaid and the related Children's Health Insurance Program could lose their health coverage under the federal spending law, based on some estimates.

Some state leaders are warning constituents that the worst may be yet to come.

At an Aug. 18 event at a hospital in the South Bronx section of New York City, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, stood on stage among health care workers in white coats to skewer Trump's new law.

"What Republicans in Washington have done through the 'Big Ugliest Bill' I've ever seen is literally screwing New Yorkers," she said. The state's health system is bracing for nearly $13 billion in annual cuts.

And in California, lawmakers weighed the impact of the coming cuts from the federal law at a general assembly committee hearing on Aug. 20, where some Democratic legislators said state efforts to protect reproductive health services and other programs were in jeopardy.

"We've been bracing for this reality: President Trump's so-called "Big, Beautiful Bill' is now law," Democratic lawmaker Gregg Hart said at the hearing, calling it a "direct assault on California's core programs and our values."

"Sadly, the reality is, the state does not have the capacity to backfill all of these draconian federal funding cuts in the current budget," Hart said. "We cannot simply write a check and make this go away."

The sweeping budget law, which passed without any Democratic support, will reduce federal spending on Medicaid by about $1 trillion over the next decade, based on estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. The spending reductions largely come from the imposition of a work requirement on people who've obtained Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act's expansion, as well as other new barriers to coverage.

The law will mean more than 7.5 million people will lose Medicaid coverage and become uninsured, according to the Congressional Budget Office, while extending tax cuts for wealthy people who, Democrats say, don't need them. Republicans and Trump have said the spending package and its accompanying program cuts were necessary to prevent fraud and waste, and to sustain Medicaid, a state-federal program for people with disabilities and lower incomes.

"The One Big Beautiful Bill removes illegal aliens, enforces work requirements, and protects Medicaid for the truly vulnerable," the White House said in a June 29 statement.

The Medicaid cuts won't begin until after the midterm elections in November 2026, but other cuts have already hit.

The Trump administration has sought to claw back $11 billion in federal public health funds earmarked to states because of the pandemic, spurring a legal fight with a coalition of Democratic-led states. It also cut about $1 billion in federal grants for mental health services in schools, and halted grants from the National Institutes of Health that provided money to more than 90 public universities.

HHS press secretary Emily Hilliard said the agency is prioritizing investments that advance Trump's mandate to confront chronic disease. She defended some of the cuts and said, erroneously, that the spending law doesn't cut Medicaid.

"The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a crisis that Americans moved on from years ago," she said.

State leaders say the pandemic funding the administration wants returned was earmarked for other public health measures, such as tracking emerging diseases, outbreak responses, and staffing. State attorneys general in May won a temporary restraining order against the administration.

"What we're seeing now is states anticipating big cuts in Medicaid coming, but they're also dealing with a whole variety of federal cutbacks in public health programs that are smaller but still quite meaningful," said Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.

Part of the challenge for states is simply understanding the changes.

"I think it's fair to say there is concern, confusion, and uncertainty," said Kathryn Costanza, a Medicaid expert at the National Conference of State Legislatures.

States are struggling to sort it all out, forming advisory groups that are tracking federal changes, suing to try to block the cuts, and reallocating funding.

In Colorado, lawmakers passed a bill to let state Medicaid dollars pay for non-abortion care at Planned Parenthood of America clinics after Trump's law banned federal funding for such care. Whether the ban holds up in court remains to be seen.

The Louisiana Legislature sent $7.5 million to state universities to make up for cuts to federal research funding, much of which goes to health-related research.

And in South Dakota, the state's largest food bank has asked lawmakers to spend $3 million to make up for funding cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

States must balance their budgets every year, so cuts put many services at risk if state lawmakers are unwilling to raise taxes. The work will begin in earnest in January, when many states begin new legislative sessions.

And the tough choices are likely to continue. Congressional House Republicans are considering legislation that could bring more cuts, including by slashing the generous cost sharing the federal government provides for 20 million adults who enrolled in Medicaid under the ACA's Medicaid expansion.

Some states will roll back their Medicaid expansions and cut more health programs as a result.

2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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The figure illustrates the six distinctive countries referenced in our research paper. The number of deaths (red line) varies considerably across countries, as does the distribution of stay-at-home measures (box plots). While vaccination rates (colors within box plots) show differences in initiation timing, there were no significant disparities by the end of 2022. Furthermore, from 2022 onward, some countries have achieved recovery in consumption (dot-dash line) and production (dashed line), while others have not. Credit: Professor Hiroaki Masuhara from Shinshu University and Professor Kei Hosoya from Kokugakuin University, Japan

How did different countries fare in achieving a balance between infection control and economic stability during the COVID-19 pandemic? To address this question, researchers studied the temporal dynamics of number of deaths, vaccination rates, production, and economic recovery across multiple countries.

The study highlights that countries differed in risk attitudes and economic preferences that shaped policy decisions, hence impacting their performance. These insights will benefit governments and citizens in forming social defense during future pandemics.

The COVID-19 pandemic took the world by surprise, spreading rapidly and forcing governments to respond with unprecedented measures. While nations adopted different strategies, the central questions were the same everywhere: How should governments respond during this emerging infectious disease outbreak? How should people cooperate with their governments?

Responses varied widely, with some countries prioritizing strict infection control and others moving quickly to protect economic activity. Each approach yielded different outcomes in terms of public health and socioeconomic stability, offering valuable insights for managing future crises.

In this context, Professor Hiroaki Masuhara from the Faculty of Economics and Law at Shinshu University, Japan, and Professor Kei Hosoya from the Faculty of Economics at Kokugakuin University, Japan, conducted a cross-country analysis of the temporal dynamics of COVID-19. Their study, published online in the Journal of Policy Modeling on August 7, 2025, examined deaths, vaccination rates, production, and consumption across member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as well as Singapore and Taiwan, from early 2020 to the end of 2022.

The findings reveal that infection control was rarely permanent. Eastern European countries and the United Kingdom faced the greatest challenges in containing deaths, while Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan were initially successful in keeping death rates low during 2020. However, by 2022, these countries too saw significant increases.

On the economic side, efforts to suppress infection often came at the cost of reduced production and consumption. With the exception of Norway, Finland, and Israel, all countries experienced declines in production, while consumption fell everywhere. The authors highlight that people's behavior and attitudessuch as patience, trust in government, and tolerance of riskplayed a crucial role in shaping policy outcomes.

Norway was most effective in achieving a balance between limiting deaths and resuming production and consumption. Similarly, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan managed to limit deaths in the early stages while managing economic revival. The Nordic countries and those bordering the Pacific Ocean share features of patience and risk-aversion, and have high levels of trust.

In contrast, the US, which is considered less patient and less averse to risk, and Eastern Europe, with low trust levels, both experienced a higher number of deaths. Although these preferences may not be reliable and sufficient conditions for predicting fatalities, they have an impact. The influence of neighboring countries is also noted to influence decisions.

The analysis also underscores the role of risk tolerance in reopening economies. The United States, with relatively low patience and higher risk tolerance, managed a steady economic recovery despite higher deaths. In contrast, Japan's strong risk aversion and low confidence levels were linked to weaker economic revival.

Reflecting on these findings, Prof. Masuhara notes, "To enhance public health and economic performance, it is necessary to take into account the different time preferences and attitudes toward risk that vary by country and its citizens. These insights should be recognized not only by governments but also by people themselves, and constitute an important component of social defense, including voluntary behavioral changes during future pandemics."

It is evident from these results that achieving both long-term infection control and stable economic performance is not simple. Barring "luck," the knowledge of risk attitudes and levels of patience will help shape appropriate public health policies for future pandemics. In the future, identifying the appropriate social measures that limit the spread of infectious diseases while sustaining the economy is likely to enhance societal performance as a whole.

As Prof. Masuhara concludes, "The success or failure of interventions depends on public patience and trust, and widespread cooperation with governmental interventions can contribute to building a robust social epidemic prevention system. We hope that our paper will serve as foundational material for future policy discussions."

More information Hiroaki Masuhara et al, Which countries performed better in the COVID-19 pandemic? Lessons from and for governments, Journal of Policy Modeling (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.jpolmod.2025.05.008
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Implementing artificial intelligence (AI) into NHS hospitals is far harder than initially anticipated, with complications around governance, contracts, data collection, harmonization with old IT systems, finding the right AI tools and staff training, finds a major new UK study led by UCL researchers.

Authors of the study, published in eClinicalMedicine, say the findings should provide timely and useful learning for the UK Government, whose recent 10-year NHS plan identifies digital transformation, including AI, as a key platform to improving the service and patient experience.

In 2023, NHS England launched a program to introduce AI to help diagnose chest conditions, including lung cancer, across 66 NHS hospital trusts in England.

The trusts are grouped into 12 imaging diagnostic networks: these hospital networks mean more patients have access to specialist opinions. Key functions of these AI tools included prioritizing critical cases for specialist review and supporting specialists' decisions by highlighting abnormalities on scans.

The research was conducted by a team from UCL, the Nuffield Trust, and the University of Cambridge, analyzing how procurement and early deployment of the AI tools went. The study is one of the first studies to analyze real-world implementation of AI in health care.

Evidence from previous studies, mostly laboratory-based, suggested that AI might benefit diagnostic services by supporting decisions, improving detection accuracy, reducing errors and easing workforce burdens.

In this UCL-led study, the researchers reviewed how the new diagnostic tools were procured and set up through interviews with hospital staff and AI suppliers, identifying any pitfalls but also any factors that helped smooth the process.

They found that setting up the AI tools took longer than anticipated by the program's leadership. Contracting took between four and 10 months longer than anticipated and by June 2025, 18 months after contracting was meant to be completed, one-third (23 out of 66) of the hospital trusts were not yet using the tools in clinical practice.

Key challenges included engaging clinical staff with already high workloads in the project, embedding the new technology in aging and varied NHS IT systems across dozens of hospitals and a general lack of understanding, and skepticism, among staff about using AI in health care.

The study also identified important factors which helped embed AI, including national program leadership and local imaging networks sharing resources and expertise, high levels of commitment from hospital staff leading implementation, and dedicated project management.

The researchers concluded that while "AI tools may offer valuable support for diagnostic services, they may not address current health care service pressures as straightforwardly as policymakers may hope" and are recommending that NHS staff are trained in how AI can be used effectively and safely and that dedicated project management is used to implement schemes like this in the future.

First author Dr. Angus Ramsay (UCL Department of Behavioral Science and Health) said, "In July ministers unveiled the Government's 10-year plan for the NHS, of which a digital transformation is a key platform.

"Our study provides important lessons that should help strengthen future approaches to implementing AI in the NHS.

"We found it took longer to introduce the new AI tools in this program than those leading the program had expected.

"A key problem was that clinical staff were already very busyfinding time to go through the selection process was a challenge, as was supporting integration of AI with local IT systems and obtaining local governance approvals. Services that used dedicated project managers found their support very helpful in implementing changes, but only some services were able to do this.

"Also, a common issue was the novelty of AI, suggesting a need for more guidance and education on AI and its implementation.

"AI tools can offer valuable support for diagnostic services, but they may not address current health care service pressures as simply as policymakers may hope."

The researchers conducted their evaluation between March and September last year, studying 10 of the participating networks and focusing in depth on six NHS trusts. They interviewed network teams, trust staff and AI suppliers, observed planning, governance and training and analyzed relevant documents.

Some of the imaging networks and many of the hospital trusts within them were new to procuring and working with AI.

The problems involved in setting up the new tools variedfor example, in some cases, those procuring the tools were overwhelmed by a huge amount of very technical information, increasing the likelihood of key details being missed. Consideration should be given to creating a national approved shortlist of potential suppliers to facilitate procurement at local level, the researchers said.

Another problem was initial lack of enthusiasm among some NHS staff for the new technology in this early phase, with some more senior clinical staff raising concerns about the potential impact of AI making decisions without clinical input and on where accountability lay in the event a condition was missed.

The researchers found the training offered to staff did not address these issues sufficiently across the wider workforcehence their call for early and ongoing training on future projects.

In contrast, however, the study team found the process of procurement was supported by advice from the national team and imaging networks learning from each other.

The researchers also observed high levels of commitment and collaboration between local hospital teams (including clinicians and IT) working with AI supplier teams to progress implementation within hospitals.

Senior author Professor Naomi Fulop (UCL Department of Behavioral Science and Health) said, "In this project, each hospital selected AI tools for different reasons, such as focusing on X-ray or CT scanning, and purposes, such as to prioritize urgent cases for review or to identify potential symptoms.

"The NHS is made up of hundreds of organizations with different clinical requirements and different IT systems and introducing any diagnostic tools that suit multiple hospitals is highly complex. These findings indicate AI might not be the silver bullet some have hoped for but the lessons from this study will help the NHS implement AI tools more effectively."

While the study has added to the very limited body of evidence on the implementation and use of AI in real-world settings, it focused on procurement and early deployment. The researchers are now studying the use of AI tools following early deployment when they have had a chance to become more embedded.

Further, the researchers did not interview patients and caregivers and are therefore now conducting such interviews to address important gaps in knowledge about patient experiences and perspectives, as well as considerations of equity.

More information Procurement and early deployment of artificial intelligence tools for chest diagnostics in NHS services in England: A rapid, mixed method evaluation, eClinicalMedicine (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2025.103481 Journal information: EClinicalMedicine
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

This Women's Health Week, we spoke with Dr. Vidanka Vasilevski from the Center for Quality and Patient Safety Research within Deakin's Institute for Health Transformation about her research published in Women and Birth on improving the induction of labor. As a researcher in maternity service delivery and maternal and child health, Dr. Vasilevski is passionate about improving women's health outcomes.

"My research is a recent collaboration between Deakin University researchers and Western Health maternity clinicians who evaluated the impact of an induction of labor (IOL) improvement initiative," said Dr. Vasilevski.

"Induction of labor is the process of using medicine or other methods to start labor, because a woman wishes to birth sooner, or because waiting for labor to occur naturally may be a risk for a woman or her baby."

Inducing labor can be lifesaving, however, it doesn't come without risks and there is a lot of debate about the timing and reasons for inducing labor. Maternity care settings with inconsistent IOL recommendations among clinicians tend to have the highest induction rates and reduced care satisfaction of women.

In Australia, more than 1 in 3 women had an induction in 2022. This has increased from 1 in 4 in 2010. Induction of labor rates continue to rise globally.

"The IOL improvement initiative was implemented at Western Health to ensure that induction was being recommended for the right reasons and to ensure women were fully informed about the process and the risks of the procedures before agreeing to undertake them," says Dr. Vasilevski.

The initiative included two elements: guidelines about the indications and timing for inducing labor and the implementation of an IOL Liaison Midwife.

The guidelines about the indications and timing for inducing labor aligned with current evidence about avoiding induction for indicators such as advanced maternal age, diabetes, IVF pregnancy and maternal request when no additional risk factors were present; and the preferred cervical ripening method to reduce the risk of fetal distress and to reduce the time women needed in hospital.

The IOL Liaison Midwife is responsible for reviewing all referrals for inducing labor to ensure recommendations align with the revised guidelines and managing IOL bookings.

The IOL Liaison Midwife contacts all women by phone when booking their induction to provide information about their procedure (including the type of IOL they would be having, what to expect and potential risks), to address women's concerns and to gain informed consent.

Prior to the implementation of the initiative, over half the women surveyed did not know why or how they would be induced.

The evaluation explored the impact of the initiative on staff practices and women's experiences of inducing labor.

"Induction is not without risks, and it is important that clinician recommendations for induction are appropriate, and that women are fully informed before agreeing to go ahead with the procedure. As both a staff member and a consumer of Western Health's services, I want to do work that ensures that the delivery of care is of the highest standard for women and families in our community," says Dr. Vasilevski.

"Our evaluation included an audit of clinical data, focus groups with midwives and doctors and surveys and interviews with women before and after they had an induction."

Following implementation of the initiative, the induction rate significantly reduced by 5% and midwives and doctors showed increased guideline adherence.

"Our study showed that women's understanding of induction and why it was recommended for them improved after having the conversation with the midwife. They described feeling prepared for the procedure," says Dr. Vasilevski.

"Clinicians described the value of the initiative for supporting their practice and perceived it to improve women's experiences of induced labor."

The research team included Deakin University's Professor Linda Sweet, Hayley Pohatu from Western Health, Dr. Sara Holton and Dr. Karen Wynter from Monash University.

With the project now complete, the initiative continues to be standard practice at Western Health.

More information Vidanka Vasilevski et al, Evaluating the impact of the induction of labour improvement initiative on clinical outcomes, women's care satisfaction, and clinician experiences, Women and Birth (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.wombi.2025.101935
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In the spinal cord injury animal model, administration of KDS2010 suppressed the injury-induced overexpression of MAOB in astrocytes and restored the expression of MAP2, a neuronal marker protein, thereby preserving neurons at the lesion site (a). Electron microscopy further revealed that demyelinated and disrupted axons were restored to near-normal myelinated structures (bc). Quantitative g-ratio analysis confirmed that the abnormally thinned myelin was significantly thickened following treatment (d). Credit: Institute for Basic Science

Spinal cord injuries caused by external trauma, such as traffic accidents or falls, often lead to the permanent loss of motor and sensory functions. This is because the spinal cordthe central pathway connecting the brain and the rest of the bodyharbors a "brake" mechanism that halts repair. For the first time, the molecular mechanism behind this braking system has been revealed.

A research team led by Director C. Justin Lee of the Center for Cognition and Sociality at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), in collaboration with Professor Ha Yoon of Yonsei University College of Medicine, identified that the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, produced by astrocytes in the spinal cord through the enzyme monoamine oxidase B (MAOB), is the key factor that blocks recovery after spinal cord injury. Furthermore, the team demonstrated the therapeutic potential of targeting this pathway by showing that MAOB inhibition promotes spinal cord repair.

The work appears in Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy.

Until now, recovery failure after spinal cord injury has largely been attributed to the formation of the so-called glial barrier. This barrier, formed by the rapid proliferation of astrocytes and other glial cells around the lesion, protects the injury site in the acute phase, but later prevents axonal regrowth. However, the precise molecular mechanism hindering regeneration had remained unclear. As a result, existing treatments for spinal cord injury have primarily focused on suppressing inflammation or alleviating symptoms, rather than directly addressing neural repair.

Building on their earlier work, which showed that reactive astrocytes abnormally produce GABA via MAOB and exacerbate neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, the team investigated whether a similar mechanism occurs in spinal cord injury. They found that GABA suppresses the expression of BDNF (a key neurotrophic factor) and its receptor TrkB, both essential for neuronal regeneration. Consequently, the production of GABA acts as a molecular brake, shutting down growth signals and blocking axonal regrowth and functional recovery after injury.

Electrophysiological analyses showed that spinal cord injury led to an excessive increase in tonic GABA currents (persistent inhibitory signaling), which were restored to normal levels after KDS2010 administration, thereby re-establishing excitatoryinhibitory balance between neurons (a). At the molecular level, KDS2010 reduced aberrant GABA production from astrocytes while simultaneously increasing the expression of proBDNF (a precursor of brain-derived neurotrophic factor), thereby shifting the injured spinal cord environment toward a state favorable for neural regeneration (b). Credit: Institute for Basic Science

To validate this, the researchers used animal models in which MAOB expression in spinal astrocytes was either suppressed or enhanced. Inhibition of MAOB allowed axons to regrow and restored hindlimb motor function, while increased MAOB expression led to severe tissue loss and almost no functional recovery. These findings confirmed that the MAOBGABA pathway directly prevents spinal cord regeneration.

The team further tested the MAOB inhibitor KDS2010 in animal models of spinal cord injury. Treated mice showed significant improvements in locomotion, such as fewer hindlimb slips in ladder-walking tests, and exhibited robust axonal regrowth at the injury site. Histological analyses revealed reduced lesion cavities and increased remyelinated axons.

Importantly, similar benefits were confirmed in non-human primates, where tissue preservation and neural protection were markedly improved. The safety and tolerability of KDS2010 had already been validated in a Phase I clinical trial in healthy adults, underscoring its potential as a therapeutic candidate.

Director C. Justin Lee of IBS stated, "This study identifies a direct molecular pathway that suppresses neural regeneration after spinal cord injury and presents a strategy to overcome it. Unlike existing treatments, this offers a fundamentally new therapeutic approach. The multi-level validation in rodents, primates, and Phase I clinical trials provides strong evidence that this drug candidate could translate into real treatment for patients."

Professor Ha Yoon of Yonsei University College of Medicine added, "KDS2010 has already demonstrated safety in a Phase I clinical trial, and we plan to proceed with Phase II trials to evaluate its efficacy in spinal cord injury patients. Moreover, we aim to investigate whether the MAOBGABA pathway plays a role in other neurological disorders, broadening its potential applications into a more comprehensive therapeutic platform."

More information Astrocytic monoamine oxidase B (MAOB)gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) axis as a molecular brake on repair following spinal cord injury, Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41392-025-02398-2
Johannesburg, South Africa (PANA)  A human rights watchdog on Thursday urged the Zambian authorities to address recent reports that polluted water and soil from an acid spill in the copper mining region pose a serious health risk
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Predicted marginal probabilities of current attrition intentions (by levels of pay satisfaction) with 95% CIs, for all four job groupings. Credit: The Lancet Regional Health - Europe (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.lanepe.2025.101454

Improved pay for NHS staff is important to prevent high numbers leaving the service, according to new data from UCL and University of Leicester researchers.

A national survey, published today in Lancet Regional Health - Europe, has revealed that almost half of the 10,542 NHS workers surveyed between late 2024 and early 2025 were dissatisfied with their pay and over a quarter were considering leaving their job.

The research study, I-CARE, part of the UK-REACH study, comes amid an ongoing row over resident doctors' pay.

When asked as part of the survey what the most effective way to encourage staff to stay would be, almost two thirds of respondents said "improving pay."

The survey also showed that those most dissatisfied with pay were newly qualified resident doctors and dentists, with over half (52%) stating an intention to leave the NHS, compared to under half (45%) of senior doctors and a third of health care workers in other roles (such as nurses and porters).

With talks between the British Medical Association (BMA) and the Government continuing following resident doctor strikes over pay in July 2025, the survey suggests many NHS staff feel undervalued.

Professor Manish Pareek, co-lead author of the study from the University of Leicester's Division of Public Health and Epidemiology and Development Center for Population Health, said, "It's clear from these results that NHS staff and in particular resident doctors feel deeply undervalued.

"If large amounts of doctors, relatively new to the NHS, are already considering leaving, the NHS is staring down a crisis of retention. Early attrition on this scale jeopardizes not only the stability of the workforce, but also the quality and safety of patient care across the entire system.

"It comes at a time when waiting lists are already extremely high and people are having to wait longer for the care they require. It's clear from these survey results that addressing the fundamental issue of pay is vitally important."

Professor Katherine Woolf, co-lead author of the study from UCL Medical School, said, "High levels of intentions to leave among staff are an important indicator of significant workforce problems, which may include issues such as rota gaps and staff feeling overstretched, demotivated and demoralized, all of which can impact patients.

"The government's 10-year NHS plan is focused on improving experience and career progression for staff, which is a welcome step in the right direction towards retaining staff. But the results of our research suggest that while pay is not the only solution, it needs to be part of the solution for staff retention.

"We hope this evidence can contribute to constructive and informed dialogue between government, unions, NHS leaders, and professional bodies, to benefit staff and patients alike."

More information Raman Mishra et al, Pay satisfaction and intentions to leave the NHS: a UK-based cohort study, The Lancet Regional Health - Europe (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.lanepe.2025.101454
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Credit: RDNE Stock project from Pexels

A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine finds that individuals who received medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) while incarcerated were significantly more likely to continue treatment six months after release than those who did not receive MOUD.

The study also found that receiving MOUD in jail was associated with a 52% lower risk of fatal opioid overdose, a 24% lower risk of non-fatal opioid overdose, a 56% lower risk of death from any cause, and a 12% lower risk of reincarceration after release. These outcomes underscore the importance of providing MOUD treatment during incarceration.

The study analyzed data from 6,400 people with probable opioid use disorder who were incarcerated in seven Massachusetts county jails between September 2019 and December 2020. Of these, 42% received MOUD while in jail, while 58% did not. Researchers monitored treatment engagement, opioid overdose, reincarceration, and mortality for all participants for up to six months after release.

"These findings demonstrate the importance of providing medications to treat opioid use disorder in correctional settings," said Nora D. Volkow, M.D., Director of NIDA. "Offering effective opioid treatment to people in jail is a critical step toward addressing the opioid crisis, promoting recovery, saving lives and reducing reincarceration. It's a win-win for public health."

The opioid epidemic remains a devastating public health challenge in the United States, contributing to more than 80,000 deaths in 2024 alone. People with opioid use disorder are overrepresented in jails compared to the general population.

Despite their effectiveness, MOUD is available in only about 13% of U.S. jails and is often restricted to specific groups, such as pregnant women. This limited access contributes to forced withdrawal, increasing the risk of relapse and overdose post-release.

Massachusetts has been especially impacted by the overdose epidemic, with fatal opioid-related overdoses quadrupling over the past two decades. In response, a 2018 state law mandated a four-year pilot program to provide all U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved MOUDbuprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexonein five county jails, with two additional jails voluntarily joining the program.

The law requires that individuals already receiving treatment for opioid use disorder continue it during detention, begin treatment before release when appropriate, and be connected to community care after release.

To evaluate the impact of the pilot program, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health partnered with the Massachusetts Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (MassJCOIN) and participating jails to conduct a comprehensive study tracking post-release outcomes.

Researchers collected data directly from incarcerated individuals and extracted information from jail administrative and clinical records. These data were integrated with the Massachusetts Public Health Data Warehouse, which links over 35 state databases to track treatment for substance use disorders, incarceration, mortality, and other public health indicators. This linkage enabled a robust analysis of the program's impact on key post-release outcomes.

Treatment in jail was strongly associated with better outcomes after release. Within the first 30 days, 60.2% of those who received MOUD in jail initiated treatment in the community, compared to only 17.6% of individuals who weren't treated. Half of the group treated in jail stayed on medication for at least 75% of the first 90 days after release, while only 12.3% of the untreated group did the same.

Six months after release, 57.5% of those who received treatment in jail continued receiving MOUD, compared to just 22.8% of those who did not. Most people treated in jail received buprenorphine (67.9%), followed by methadone (25.7%) and naltrexone (6.5%).

"The Massachusetts initiative represents a model for how jails can play a vital role in addressing the opioid epidemic in the community," said Peter D. Friedmann, M.D., M.P.H., lead author and addiction medicine physician at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School.

Senior author Elizabeth A. Evans, Ph.D., a public health professor from University of Massachusetts-Amherst added, "Establishing these types of programs in local jails is a powerful and effective strategy for engaging and retaining people in treatment and reducing overdose deaths after release."

Future research should explore the generalizability of these findings to other correctional systems, as well as how outcomes differ across population subgroups and by the type of medication received. Research to examine which strategies for implementing MOUD in jails are most effective in supporting recovery after release is also needed.

More information Peter D. Friedmann et al, Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in County JailsOutcomes after Release, New England Journal of Medicine (2025). DOI: 10.1056/NEJMsa2415987 Journal information: New England Journal of Medicine
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Stanton McHardy with student researchers at the Center for Innovative Drug Discovery. McHardy, director of the Center for Innovative Drug Discovery (CIDD) and professor of chemistry, is contributing to three groundbreaking research programs aimed at developing safe, non-opioid medications for managing pain. Credit: UT San Antonio

Chronic pain is one of the most common and expensive health problems in the nation, affecting an estimated one in five U.S. adults and costing around $600 billion each year in medical expenses, lost productivity and disability, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Stanton McHardy, director of the Center for Innovative Drug Discovery (CIDD) and professor of chemistry, is contributing to three groundbreaking research programs aimed at developing safe, non-opioid medications for managing pain.

For many in Texas, opioids are a common prescription for pain relief, but these powerful drugs carry significant risks, including addiction and overdose. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), Texas's drug poisoning deaths, which are largely attributed to opioid overdoses, have increased by more than 75% in the past five years.

"These research projects are about finding better solutions," said McHardy. "The development of novel non-opioid pain relief medications is of incredible medical significance and provides strong societal benefits."

Targeting the enzyme

In partnership with Kenneth M. Hargreaves, director of the Center for Pain Therapeutics and Addiction Research at UT Health San Antonio, McHardy is developing small-molecule inhibitors that block a type of pain-related enzyme called PLA2. By targeting this enzyme, the team hopes to design effective, non-addictive medications that will prevent opioid use disorder (OUD) before it starts.

"My research at UTSA focuses on the design, synthesis and structure-activity relationship optimization of small molecules through medicinal chemistry studies," added McHardy. "Our expertise will be applied towards discovering potent and efficacious small molecule inhibitors for the development of non-opioid pain relief therapeutics."

Working closely with McHardy is Radhika Amaradhi, special research associate and lead chemist on the research program. They are joined by other staff from the Center for Innovative Drug Discovery and several UTSA students in McHardy's research group who will be involved in the molecular analysis, computational studies and chemical synthesis required to discover these promising targets for drug development.

Specific pain receptors

In a separate project, McHardy is collaborating with William Clarke, distinguished teaching professor and Maharaj Ticku Professor of Pharmacology, and Kelly Berg, Research Professor at UT Health San Antonio, on an innovative approach to pain management by targeting pain-sensing nerves in the body rather than the brain.

This work focuses on two specific pain receptors, known as delta opioid receptor (DOR) and kappa opioid receptor (KOR). These receptors bind to each other to form a DOR-KOR heteromer. When the heteromer is selectively activated, pain is significantly reduced without the risks linked to traditional opioids.

The research group is using a combination of chemical synthesis and computer-based drug screening to identify compounds that work only on this DOR-KOR heteromer, which could establish the foundation for a new class of painkillers that are both safe and effective.

In McHardy's lab, Kallee Diaz, UTSA doctoral student, is executing all the medicinal chemistry research and Daniel Rounds, UTSA senior majoring in chemistry, is working under the mentorship of Nick Clanton, assistant director in the CIDD Pre-clinical Pharmacology Core, who is also supporting the program with molecular modeling.

Current treatment options are limited and consist of long-term opioid therapy, which is addictive and loses effectiveness over time. A third UTSA research project was recently published in JCI Insight, a Gold Open Access journal that publishes studies related to the treatment of disease, addressing chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), a debilitating nerve condition that affects about half of chemotherapy patients a year after treatment.

Reduced nerve pain

McHardy collaborated with Robert Messing, professor of neuroscience and neurology at UT Austin, and Michela "Micky" Marinelli, associate professor of neuroscience at UT Austin, and Jon Levine, professor emeritus of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the University of California San Francisco and the UTSA Voelcker Preclinical Pharmacology Core, to develop a compound called CP612 (CIDD-0150612) that blocks a pain-related enzyme known as PKC.

The team in McHardy's lab consists of Hans De Kraker, a post-doctoral researcher, and Leslie Barerra UT San Antonio doctoral student, with additional support from Clanton in the Voelcker Preclinical Pharmacology Core. In research studies on the lead compound the team developed, CP612 reduced nerve pain caused by chemotherapy and also eased pain during opioid withdrawal, but without being addictive or interfering with other pain medications.

"By building multi-disciplinary research teams and incorporating key technologies and focusing on novel drug targets, our collaborative research hopes to identify novel treatment options for millions living with chronic pain," McHardy said. "Additionally, incorporating specific, hypothesis-driven research aims into these programs allows UTSA students to be thoroughly involved, by achieving their degree, training and thesis requirements, while simultaneously learning multiple aspects of drug discovery programs."
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Back-to-school is an exciting time for kids and parents, but it also marks the beginning of fall allergies as well as the cold and flu season.

So, on top of gathering clothes and books and school supplies, parents also might have to figure out why their child has a runny nose.

"It is very confusing because you're like, what's happening?" Dr. Farah Kahn, a spokesperson for the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, told HealthDay TV. "Do I reach for an oral antihistamine like cetirizine or loratadine? Or is this viral crud that my kid has picked up from daycare or school?"

But there are some solid clues to suss out what's ailing your kid, and many good ways to help them through their sniffles, she said.

First: Check their temperature.

"If there's a low-grade temperature or any fevers, it's probably not seasonal and environmental allergies," said Khan, an allergist with Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. "They don't cause fevers generally."

If over-the-counter antihistamines don't work, that's another clue that some sort of bug is causing your kid's symptoms, Khan said.

"If it's not working, it's probably not environmental allergies," she said. "If it's a runny nose from a viral illness, the antihistamines aren't going to do anything."

Parents of children with allergies also might notice that symptoms appear in a regular pattern, year after year.

"So it's, 'You know, last year we had the same issues as we were cooling back down' or 'You know what, last spring we had the same thing with lots of itching and sneezing and congestion,'" Khan said. "Viral illnesses really tend to be a little bit more limited and they can sort of pop up whenever."

The best way to make sure is to see a doctor or allergist, she said.

"I'm biased, but I'm going to say come talk to an allergist because sometimes just identifying the triggers can help you figure out what I am dealing with and how I am going to approach this," Khan said.

Many times, seasonal allergies can be managed by simple day-to-day steps, Khan said, providing ragweed pollen allergies as an example.

"Ragweed is very high in the fall as we're going back into in the school year," Khan said. "There are some simple avoidance measures that I can put into place that don't even have anything to do with medicine, like showering after I'm done being outside or keeping the windows closed at home or when I'm driving around."

Sometimes, that's all it takes.

"Just those small things sometimes can limit the amount of pollen burden that you're seeing to help minimize and reduce symptoms," Khan said.

Another simple measure to treat seasonal allergies is "just some good old nasal saline," she said.

Either a small nasal spray for younger children or a sinus wash for older kids and teens can "get all that mucus out," Khan said. "Otherwise, it just sits in their nose."

If those steps aren't enough, parents can consult a doctor or allergist about nasal steroids or antihistamines that would be most effective, she said.

Some parents also might be dealing with food allergies in their children, but Khan recommends seeing an allergist rather than using an off-the-shelf food sensitivity test that can cost hundreds of dollars.

"They don't really give you the information that their marketing suggests or claims," Khan said. "I've never ordered them and I never recommend them."

Copyright  2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
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Graphical Abstract. Credit: Diabetes Care (2025). DOI: 10.2337/dc24-2832

A study from The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center indicates that changes in the body that lead to type 2 diabetes occur long before current diagnostic thresholds for prediabetes are met.

The first-of-its-kind study, published in Diabetes Care, challenges conventional thinking about the onset of type 2 diabetes, identifying a risk category before prediabetes, called "pre-prediabetes." At this stage, people with normal glucose tolerance already have severe insulin resistance, early beta cell dysfunction and measurable cardiovascular disease.

"We've shown that long before you develop diabetes, and even before you meet the criteria for prediabetes, people can be severely insulin resistant," said Ralph DeFronzo, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Diabetes Division at the Health Science Center, and deputy director of the Texas Diabetes Institute. "Diabetes is a continuous disease; you don't just wake up one day with prediabetes or diabetes."

Rethinking diagnostic criteria

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) defines diabetes based on three separate criteria:

Fasting glucose 126 mg/dL

Two-hour glucose during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) 200 mg/dL

Hemoglobin A1c 6.5%

Prediabetes is similarly defined using slightly lower thresholds. However, these measures are not interchangeable and often identify some at-risk patients while failing to catch others before the disease progresses.

In this study, DeFronzo's team of scientists from the Health Science Center and the Translational Research Department of the Dasman Diabetes Institute in Kuwait examined people with normal glucose tolerance, per ADA standards, and found that one measurementone-hour glucose levels during an OGTTis far better at predicting future disease. A value between 120 and 155 mg/dL identified individuals likely to develop prediabetes, and eventually type 2 diabetes, years before standard criteria would spot them.

"The one-hour glucose is far superior to the two-hour glucose test for predicting who will progress," DeFronzo said. "Using this measure, we can see insulin resistance and beta cell problems well before the current definitions kick in."

The case for early intervention

Despite the evidence, the ADA does not currently recommend routine treatment of prediabetes, and there are no drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration for prediabetes treatment. In high-risk cases, the ADA advises considering metformin, a drug DeFronzo helped bring to the United States but now says is becoming obsolete.

He said today there are more effective treatments for type 2 diabetes, prediabetes and potentially pre-prediabetes. One drug DeFronzo champions is the insulin sensitizer pioglitazone, which has proven to reduce the progression from prediabetes to diabetes by 75%more than double metformin's effect. Additionally, newer GLP-1 receptor agonists and dual agonists like semaglutide and tirzepatide can cut type 2 diabetes progression rates by up to 85%.

DeFronzo believes high-risk patients, especially those with strong family histories of diabetes or early cardiovascular disease, should be screened early and offered treatment long before they develop type 2 diabetes.

Early detection, early intervention

Through continued research, patient education and off-label prescribing by endocrinologists and other specialists, DeFronzo hopes health care providers will eventually shift toward earlier detection and intervention for insulin resistance, prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. He said this study's findings should prompt more clinicians to consider OGTTs, especially in high-risk populations, and to recognize that significant metabolic and vascular disease can be present long before traditional thresholds for prediabetes.

"Insulin resistance can lead to diabetes, beta cell failure, heart failure, atherosclerosis, liver disease and kidney disease," he said. "We can see it and measure it years before overt diabetes becomes manifest. The sooner we act, the better prepared we are to prevent these outcomes."

More information Muhammad Abdul-Ghani et al, One-Hour Plasma Glucose Predicts the Progression From Normal Glucose Tolerance to Prediabetes, Diabetes Care (2025). DOI: 10.2337/dc24-2832 Journal information: Diabetes Care
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Of all visually responsive regions, the most objectpreferring areas belonged to the spatial navigation system. Electrophysiological analysis in one of the identified regions, the postsubiculum, indicated that when an animal faces a visual landmark, HD encoding is refined. W, west; N, north; E, east; S, south. Credit: Siegenthaler et al

We take our understanding of where we are for granted, until we lose it. When we get lost in nature or a new city, our eyes and brains kick into gear, seeking familiar objects that tell us where we are.

How our brains distinguish objects from background when finding direction, however, was largely a mystery. A new study provides valuable insight into this process, with possible implications for disorientation-causing conditions such as Alzheimer's. The work is published in the journal Science.

The scientists, based at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) of McGill University and the University Medical Center Gottingen, ran an experiment with mice using ultrasound imaging to measure and record brain activity. The mice were shown visual stimuli, either an object or a scrambled image showing no distinct object.

They found a small number of brain areas that fired especially when the mouse looked at objects. These areas were found in a brain region called the postsubiculum, which specializes in keeping track of where the animal is facing at any given time. Each direction activates a specific cell in the postsubiculum.

Objects in the mice's vision increased the firing of the cell responsible for the direction in which the mouse was looking. They also inhibited cells responsible for directions where the mouse was not looking. Together, this activity reinforced the mouse's perception of where it was relative to the object.

While the postsubiculum was particularly sensitive to the presence of objects in the mouse's vision, other brain regions were not, suggesting that object recognition is particularly important to the brain's understanding of where it is and where the animal is looking.

This finding offers clues as to why humans with diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer's often lose track of where they are. A recent study from Oxford University has shown that the accumulation of tau proteina hallmark of Alzheimer'shappens first in the brain regions responsible for spatial orientation.

"A very useful aspect of our study is it presents a very high-level understanding of two systems that interact togetherthe visual and spatial recognition systems," says Stuart Trenholm, a researcher at The Neuro and the paper's co-senior author.

"We have a decent understanding now of how they modulate each other. They are both very high-level brain functions and a lot of these neurodegenerative disorders lead to disconnections between these states, so that will be interesting to look into in the future."

"Our results are incredibly surprising," says Adrien Peyrache, a researcher at The Neuro and the paper's co-senior author.

"Nobody would have predicted that object processing would occur in the navigation system and not in the visual cortex. For the first time, we have an inside-the-brain perspective of what an object is, and how we use an object to get a sense of the world around us."

More information Dominique Siegenthaler et al, Visual objects refine head direction coding, Science (2025). DOI: 10.1126/science.adu9828. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adu9828 Journal information: Science
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Tuberculosis, one of the world's most deadly infectious diseases, has been reported in a handful of cases in Maine, North Carolina and California in recent weeks.

Less transmissible than other respiratory illnesses such as the flu and COVID-19, tuberculosis is curable with up to nine months of antibiotic treatment for active cases.

Northeastern University infectious disease and global health experts Brandon Dionne, Larry Han and Tamara Jimah explain what causes tuberculosis, how it spreads and why it requires months of medication to fully eradicate it.

What is tuberculosis?

Once believed to be an inherited disease, tuberculosis, also known as TB, is a bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

"The name for tuberculosis actually comes from tubercles," small lesions in the lungs caused by the disease, says Dionne, associate clinical professor in pharmacy and health systems science.

"It can start to destroy lung tissue," he says. "When most people die of tuberculosis, it's actually from tissue deterioration and respiratory failure."

There are two types of tuberculosis, latent and active, with latent, non-transmissible cases being more prevalent, says Han, a biostatistician and Northeastern assistant professor of public health and health sciences.

"A person can live with latent TB for many years without knowing it until they get tested," says Jimah, global health researcher and assistant professor of public health and health sciences.

Latent cases can turn active and contagious when a person's immune system is weakened by events such as illness or immunosuppressive treatments, Dionne says, which is why people taking certain medications undergo TB testing.

Who is at risk?

Relatively rare in the U.S., tuberculosis is responsible for more than 1 million deaths annually in endemic countries, mainly in Asia and Africa, according to the World Health Organization.

"When we have a new diagnosis of TB, it's usually from someone who immigrated to the U.S. from an endemic area," says Dionne, who adds that U.S. residents can also pick it up in their travels.

How is it transmitted?

Tuberculosis is spread through respiratory droplets released through coughing or talking and is typically associated with tight living or traveling quarters, he says.

People who live or used to live in large group settings such as homeless shelters, prisons and jails or who work in correctional systems, hospitals and nursing homes are at increased risk of contracting TB, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Those with weakened immune systems due to HIV, organ transplant, substance abuse and diabetes are also more susceptible.

"HIV weakens the immune system, which makes people more susceptible to contracting TB," Jimah says. "On the other hand, TB also accelerates the progression of HIV. So this creates a sort of a cycle where each disease sort of worsens the other."

Symptoms and diagnosis

When somebody tests positive for tuberculosis, a public health worker tracks their recent contacts, says Dionne, who is also a clinician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

"Ongoing transmission in the U.S. is very rare because of the public health tracing that we do to try to prevent new cases," he says.

"For most people in the general population, there is probably low worry about tuberculosis unless they are experiencing symptoms of TB," Han says.

Symptoms include swollen lymph nodes, shortness of breath, unexplained weight loss, night sweats and a progressive but non-productive cough, Han and Dionne say.

Skin tests can detect exposure to TB, Dionne says, while blood and mucus tests and chest X-rays can determine if the infection is active.

Months of treatment

"With the right medicines, TB is totally treatable and curable," Han says.

"But it's a lengthy treatment that requires good adherence and often requires a combination of antibiotics," he says.

"Most people get two months of four-drug therapy and then four months of (antibiotics) rifampin and isoniazid," but treatment for more severe disease could last longer, up to nine months, Dionne says.

"When they're in the hospital, we put them in negative pressure rooms so the bacteria can't get out of the room," he says. "Typically, they're asked to mask and try to stay apart from other people, at least for the first couple of months they are on therapy."

The Mycobacterium that causes tuberculosis is much slower growing than other bacteria, which makes it harder to eradicate since antibiotics work by interrupting the replication cycle, Dionne says.

Stopping medication too soon because of side effects or other issues can lead to lingering illness and antibiotic resistance, Han says, which is why some public health departments send observers into patients' homes to ensure medication compliance.

Trends in case counts

While tuberculosis has been trending generally downward since 1993, when the U.S. had more than 25,000 cases, recent years have seen an upward blip.

Case counts surged 15.6% from 2022 to 2023, going from 8,332 to 9,633 cases.

A provisional report from the CDC released in March says cases continued to increase into 2024, climbing 8% to 10,347 cases in one year.

But despite cases popping up across the country this year, the preliminary figures for 2025 show another downward trend.

This year, there have been 5,310 cases of tuberculosis among U.S. residents, compared to 6,227 at the same time last year, the CDC said in a report for the week ending Aug. 16.

"The U.S. typically does not have that many cases," Han says. "So even a single active case is cause for concern."

This story is republished courtesy of Northeastern Global News news.northeastern.edu.
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has welcomed the announcement by the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) of the results for the 34 municipalities that participated in the second group of Municipal Council Elections, which ended on 16 and 23 August 2025
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday released the draft Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) management plan for Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP)  a document that recommends restrictions to protect the 103 sq kilometre green lung, but activists fear it could double up as a backdoor entry for industries and the real estate sector. While the draft warns of significant pressure on the environment and places slums, quarries, and ready-mix plants on its watchlist, it also creates three graded zones that, critics argue, leave ample scope for industries and new establishments to come up.Slums in the spotlight According to the plan, nearly 184.51 hectares of slums spread across Mumbai, Thane, and Mira-Bhayandar fall within the ESZ. It recommends a comprehensive survey to identify eligible households for rehabilitation, preferably in-situ, though relocation outside the ESZ has been proposed where necessary. Expansion of encroachments was explicitly barred. In Mumbai, affected pockets include Mulund, Bhandup, Borivali, Dahisar, Magathane, Andheri, and Goregaon. The draft highlights ready-mix concrete (RMC) plants and construction-linked industries as major polluters. Two RMC units, at Dahisars Kokani pada and partially within the ESZ at Jogeshwari (East), were flagged. In Thane, 13 construction-related industries face action, while five factories in Vasai-Virar, including an ice plant, were identified for polluting the eco-zone. These units must either adopt strict pollution-control measures or relocate.Whats allowed, whats banned The proposed plan divides the zone into three categories: ESZ-1 (Settlement Zone): Allows planned residential and commercial development while banning new polluting industries, mining, and power plants. Existing wood-based units may continue. Discharge of untreated waste into water bodies will attract penalties. Authorities propose eco-friendly measures such as organic farming, agro-forestry, rainwater harvesting, skill development, and cottage industries. ESZ-2: Permits repairs and reconstruction of existing village housing and certain new projects, but only with a detailed Environmental Management Plan (EMP) approved by a monitoring committee. Projects like schools, hospitals, religious places, and hotels will require EMP clearance. Large commercial complexes, deforestation, new industries, waste dumping, and unchecked urbanisation are prohibited. ESZ-3: Declared the most fragile, covering mangroves and CRZ-1 areas. All construction, reclamation, agriculture, and aquaculture are barred. Only regulated activities such as tribal infrastructure, eco-tourism, and wildlife corridors may be considered with prior approval. A 10-metre green buffer was also proposed along the park boundary. The draft also floats ideas like eco-friendly business tourism to involve local communities and promote conservation. We have published this draft for suggestions and objections. After reviewing the feedback, it will be submitted to the state govt for final approval, said Sanjay Rathod, Chief Engineer, BMC Development Plan department.Activists cry foul Environmental activist Stalin D criticised the draft eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) plan, dismissing it as greenwashing. Though the notification claims to promote ecological conservation, Stalin argues that it offers no meaningful safeguards. Environmentally harmful practices like land pre-filling are not banned outright but merely regulated, leaving room for permissions and exceptions, he said. He further points out that the notification hands sweeping powers to the BMC while sidelining the forest department, even in areas directly overlapping with the national park. The forest department, which should be the custodian of SGNP, has been completely removed from the decision-making process.
Nepal is on the boil as massive Gen Z-led protests over corruption and a shock social media ban rock the country, leaving 150 people from Maharashtra stranded in the middle of the chaos. With unrest spiralling rapidly, the Maharashtra government said it is in touch with the Centre and the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu to ensure all citizens remain safe. Minister of State for Home Yogesh Kadam, speaking exclusively to Mirror, said, We are closely monitoring the situation. The Centre and the embassy are fully involved, and those stuck will be safely evacuated if required. He added that the government is also monitoring social media in Maharashtra, where it said some are allegedly trying to provoke youth by drawing parallels with Nepals turmoil. On Sunday, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut sparked controversy with a post on X, warning that such chaos can erupt in any country if governments fail to act responsibly. Kadam hit back sharply: Such propaganda wont work. They are doing it for political mileage. After their defeat in Maharashtra and now in the Vice-President polls, nothing is left in their party. Those spreading false information will face the law. We have a very strong surveillance system in place. A senior police officer from Nepal told Mirror on condition of anonymity, The Indians are safe here and we are looking after them. The youths are angry about corruption and the social media ban. But foreigners need not worry; no one is harming outsiders. We are handling everything. Among those caught in the turmoil is Sandhya Kadam, 35, who travelled with 65 others from Murbad. Yesterday, right outside our hotel, protestors set a building on fire, but thankfully we werent nearby. We came for 10 days, this is our seventh. So far we are safe, though the army is visible everywhere. Some people from our village are stuck in the protest-hit zone, but they are reportedly safe too, she said. Another traveller from Murbad, Sangeeta Sable, who is in Pokhara, told Mirror, We went out sightseeing, and when we returned to our hotel, the entire area looked shattered. But no one said anything to us. The anger here is against the government, not Indians. We are still moving around, and no one is troubling us.Prasad Pathak from Pune, who had landed in Nepal a day before the protests erupted, said he was stranded after flights were abruptly cancelled. We were scared on the first day, but now, with the military taking control, things are a bit more stable, though curfew is still on. I had gone to Pashupatinath temple for darshan soon after arriving, and the very next day violence broke out. I was supposed to return the next day, but at Kathmandu airport all flights were cancelled. The government has called to check if we need evacuation, but for now, weve been advised to stay indoors, he said. Rohan Kate, also from Pune and stranded in Kathmandu said, I had visited the Pashupati temple before the curfew began. I am stuck at the hotel now. The situation was very bad and I was really scared, but things seem better after the curfew. We are hopeful that we will return home soon, he said. Meanwhile, the Centre is actively coordinating with Nepal as clashes intensify, where thousands of angry youths are battling police, demanding accountability and an end to the digital blackout.
Pune blast accused granted bail after 13 yrs

The Appellate Court has granted bail to Farooq Bagwan  an accused in the 2012 Pune blast case  overturning the 2021 decision by the Special MCOCA Court, which had denied bail. Farooq, a graphic designer by profession, was arrested in his late 30s. He was accused of manipulating documents for some of the co-accused, who allegedly used the forged paperwork to acquire SIM cards. One of these SIM cards was used to make an international call linked to the conspiracy. Happiest momentFarooqs younger brother, Umair Bagwan, described the emotional impact of the courts decision. It was one of the happiest moments for us. Farooqs son was just four when he was arrested. Now he is in his first year of graduation. All these years, he couldnt see his father. He only has childhood memories. We are deeply unhappy that the trial took so long to begin. Umair added, Farooq is not at fault, yet he endured more than a decade in jail. We thank the High Court judge for showing humanity. After such a long separation, our family will reunite in the coming days. We are financially strained and face many challenges, but today we feel relieved knowing that justice has prevailed. Background: 2012 blasts The case pertains to a series of low-intensity blasts that occurred in Pune on August 1, 2012. The explosions injured one and led to the discovery of a live bomb on Jangli Maharaj Road. Investigations confirmed the blasts were an act of terror  reportedly carried out as revenge for the custodial death of Indian Mujahideen operative Qateel Siddique at Yerawada Jail. Courts observations The Court noted Farooq was allegedly involved in preparing forged documents used by co-accused Munib Iqbal Memon (A-5) to obtain SIM cards. He also allegedly provided his shop for meetings for the conspiracy. The Court observed that co-accused Munib Iqbal Memon had been granted bail by a co-ordinate Bench in September 2024. The Court applied the principle of parity. Given Farooqs prolonged pre-trial detention of over 12 years, the Court expressed concern over the slow pace of the trial. Only 27 out of 170 prosecution witnesses have been examined. The Court emphasised that when the trial is unduly delayed and the accused has already spent a substantial period in custody, such statutory restrictions cannot be the sole ground to deny bail. Conditions imposed for bail In its order, the Court directed Farooqs release upon furnishing a personal recognisance bond of Rs 1,00,000, along with one or more solvent local sureties of the same amount. The bail comes with several conditions  Farooq must report to the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), Mumbai, on a monthly basis, he must surrender his passport, cooperate fully during trial proceedings, along with restrictions on travel beyond Mumbai and Pune without prior court permission. The Court clarified that all observations made were prima facie in nature, and the trial court would ultimately decide the matter based on evidence presented during the proceedings.
A prime time for China-Europe automotive cooperation, says president of ChinaEU

Xinhua) 09:38, September 11, 2025

People visit the exhibition zone of BYD at the 2025 IAA Mobility in Munich, Germany, Sept. 9, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

The winners will be those who build bridges, not walls, says Gambardella.

MUNICH, Germany, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Now is the right time for Chinese and European carmakers to strengthen cooperation, as the global automobile industry is undergoing a profound transformation, Luigi Gambardella, president of the Brussels-based international digital association ChinaEU, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

Gambardella, who stressed that the winners will be those who build bridges, not walls, noted that the rise of Chinese electric vehicles in Europe has been remarkable.

In July 2025, Chinese carmaker BYD reportedly once again outsold Tesla in the European market. Chinese brands such as NIO and SAIC have also become increasingly visible on European roads.

Some Chinese manufacturers have already invested in building factories or forming joint ventures in Europe, while companies including Xiaomi and Li Auto have chosen to establish R&D centers to prepare for future market expansion.

He pointed out that, on the one hand, Chinese carmakers have developed cost competitiveness through mastery of the entire value chain -- from battery innovation to large-scale assembly. On the other hand, their speed of innovation outpaces that of European, American, and Japanese companies, with new models reaching the market more quickly and with a leading position globally in battery technology.

People visit the 2025 IAA Mobility in Munich, Germany, Sept. 9, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

"Chinese carmakers not only provide a price advantage but also appeal to younger European consumers by combining advanced technology with user-oriented design," Gambardella said.

In his view, uncertainty stemming from U.S. trade policy is weighing heavily on the European automotive industry and having far-reaching consequences. Under the newly concluded U.S.-European Union (EU) trade agreement, Washington now imposes a 15 percent tariff on cars and auto parts exported from the EU, up from the previous 2.5 percent.

"This is nothing short of a severe blow to European automakers and their supply chains," Gambardella warned.

The automotive industry is a pillar of Europe's economy, with countries such as Germany, France, and Italy heavily dependent on its vast supply chain, which directly or indirectly supports millions of jobs.

He cautioned that U.S. tariff policy will force European manufacturers either to absorb the higher costs themselves -- further squeezing profit margins -- or to pass them on to consumers, resulting in a loss of market share.

People visit the exhibition zone of Volkswagen during the 2025 IAA Mobility in Munich, Germany, Sept. 9, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

Even more concerning, the pressure will not be limited to carmakers alone. Upstream suppliers of components and downstream distributors will also be affected, creating a ripple effect across the entire ecosystem.

Gambardella emphasized that the European auto sector is already in the midst of a challenging transition toward electrification, autonomous driving, and decarbonization -- a shift that requires substantial investment in R&D and production.

Against the backdrop of an increasingly complex and volatile global environment, Gambardella called for deeper cooperation between Chinese and European automakers -- from manufacturing and battery development to charging networks and sustainable materials.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Liang Jun)
OpenAI announced new parental controls that will be implemented within the month, following a lawsuit over a California teenager who committed suicide after having conversations with ChatGPT.

The development comes as AI researchers warn that the safeguards may not be enough, noting that the company's chatbot's safety protections are vulnerable to degradation during long conversations and emotional connections with users.

OpenAI's Planned Parental Controls

The news comes weeks after OpenAI was sued by a Rancho Santa Margarita family for ChatGPT's role in their teenager's death. After the parental controls are implemented, parents can link their teens' accounts to their own, disable various features, and receive notifications if the chatbot detects "a moment of acute distress."

The teenager who committed suicide and prompted the changes was 16-year-old Adam Raine, who died in April after taking his own life. After the teen's death, his parents found out that he had been talking with ChatGPT for months, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The family said that the dialogues started with simple homework questions and later turned into deeply intimate conversations where Adam talked about his mental health struggles and plans to commit suicide.

Read more: New Zealand Authorities Search for Children Taken by Father Fatally Shot by Police

Some AI researchers and suicide prevention experts commended OpenAI's latest efforts to address the issue and its willingness to make changes to its model. However, they also argued that it is impossible to know if there is any kind of change that will be enough to completely fix the issue.

On top of the planned parental controls, OpenAI is also expanding its Global Physician Network and real-time router. This is a feature that can instantly switch a user interaction to a new chat or reasoning model depending on the conversational context that is detected, Mashable reported.

Dangers of Sensitive Conversations

The company explained that "sensitive conversations" will now be transferred over to one of its reasoning models, such as GPT-5-thinking. This is so that it can provide more "helpful and beneficial responses, regardless of which model a person first selected."

AI companies have, over the last year, faced heightened scrutiny for failing to address various safety concerns with their chatbots. These bots have become increasingly more used as emotional companions by younger users.

In its blog, OpenAI said it felt a deep responsibility to help those who need it most as the world continues to adapt to new technology. It added that it had been improving how its models respond in sensitive interactions with its users, as per AI Business.
Florida police officers arrested a nine-year-old boy after the child was found to have brought a loaded gun onto a school bus.

There were no reports of anyone being injured during the incident, which occurred on a school bus on Monday morning while students were going to an elementary school in Ocala. The Ocala Police Department said officers responded to the bus for a report of a student who had a firearm after other kids alerted the bus driver, who was the one who called 911.

Police Arrest 9-Year-Old for Bringing Gun Into School Bus

When law enforcement personnel arrived at the scene, several students directed them to a nine-year-old boy on the bus, who is the one believed to have a loaded firearm. In a statement, officials said that the juvenile was then safely detained after initially resisting officers. The latter found a loaded .38 caliber revolver from the floor near the child's seat.

Officers found out that the nine-year-old boy took the gun without permission from the "secured bedroom" of his relative. The arrest affidavit noted that the minor's uncle told police that he keeps the gun in the top drawer of his nightstand in their apartment, according to ABC News.

Read more: Juvenile Responsible for UMass Lowell Lockdown Was Carrying Replica Firearm

The uncle said that he was aware the young boy knew he had a gun, but he was not aware that the nine-year-old knew where it was actually stored. Police also found that the firearm was stored lawfully by its owner.

The student who had the gun allegedly admitted to taking the firearm on Sunday while his uncle was inside the shower. He then brought it into the school while hiding it in his pocket. Police added that the nine-year-old admitted to showing the gun to other students, but noted that he had no plans to use it on anyone.

Ensuring Everyone's Safety

After the young boy was arrested for bringing the gun into the school bus, he is now facing several serious charges. These include possession of a firearm on school property, armed burglary, grand theft of a firearm, carrying a concealed firearm, and disruption of a school function, STN Online reported.

Ocala police authorities said that the latest incident shows why staying vigilant and reporting concerns quickly is vital to protecting people's safety. They added that children are their top priority and are committed to supporting schools and the community while pursuing justice.

Officials also praised the students on the school bus for alerting the bus driver and, in doing so, helped ensure the safety of everyone onboard, as per First Coast News.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) walked back on a claim that the parents of the Guatemalan children targeted for deportation over Labor Day weekend wanted their kids to come back home.

The development comes after lawyers representing the children produced a report by the Guatemalan attorney general's office. The report included interviews with 115 parents who refuted the DOJ's claim.

Deportation of Guatemalan Children

Government lawyers conceded in federal court in Washington that they had no evidence to support the claim that the children or their families wanted to reunite in Guatemala. This is something that senior Trump administration officials have repeatedly claimed as true last week.

The Wednesday hearing involves a case that initially focused on more than 600 Guatemalan children who entered the United States alone, without a parent or a guardian. The current government planned to quietly and quickly repatriate dozens of the kids on flights over the Labor Day weekend, according to the New York Times.

The issue developed into an emergency hearing on Aug. 31, to stop the planes, with lawyers representing the kids telling Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan that many of them feared for their safety in their home country. They added that the children were doing everything they could to stay in the U.S.

Read more: Trump Administration Requiring Parents Wanting To Reunite With Children in the US To Participate in ICE Interviews

The layers argued that many of the kids in question were boarded onto planes despite them having pending immigration proceedings. The process was also done without allowing them to challenge the repatriation.

During a separate hearing, Efren Olivares of the National Immigration Law Center argued that the Trump administration showed it cannot be trusted not to act without a court order in place. He noted that removal itself would result in irreparable harm to any plaintiff, the Court House News reported.

Against the Families' Wills

Following the judge's order blocking the Trump administration's attempts to deport the unaccompanied children, Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo responded. He criticized the ruling while committing to fighting to bring the kids home under a pilot program he proposed to his American counterpart.

After hearing arguments, Judge Sooknanan issued a temporary restraining order barring government officials from sending a group of 10 migrant kids between the ages of 10 to 17 to their home country of Guatemala.

The judge later arranged a hearing on Sunday, where he expanded the order to cover all unaccompanied children said to be at risk of deportation. Sookananan's order will be in place for 14 days, as per BBC.
The report highlighted that the country's focus on diversifying technology sources and strengthening intellectual property (IP) retention has also added to its appeal.

It stated, "Despite global uncertainties, investors see India as resilient, with efforts to diversify technology sources and strengthen IP retention."

The report also shared that SEMICON India has achieved in just two years what took other regions more than a decade, firmly placing the country among the leading global platforms for semiconductors.

The report highlighted that SEMICON India 2025 has emerged as one of the fastest-growing global semiconductor events.

Highlighting the latest edition, the report shared that it attracted more than 30,000 visitors, featured participation from over 350 companies and 150 speakers, and brought together delegates from 48 countries.

This year's edition also introduced several unique additions such as country pavilions, focused roundtables, and a dedicated workforce pavilion for student mentoring.

The event brought together a wide range of stakeholders including governments, global technology leaders such as ASML, IBM, Micron, Lam Research, Applied Materials, Siemens, and Tata Electronics, alongside startups, EMS providers, and suppliers.

Policy discussions during the event emphasized the importance of moving up the value chain--from electronics manufacturing services (EMS) to component manufacturing, semiconductors, and research and development.

The targets outlined aim to increase value addition in the sector and ensure that Indian-designed chips are integrated into end products.

Under the Rs 76,000 crore SEMICON India 1.0 program, ten projects have already been approved, with the first commercial chips expected to roll out by 2025.

At the 2025 edition, several announcements were made to accelerate India's semiconductor and chip design ecosystem.

The government also reopened the application window for Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tool access under the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme.

Looking ahead, SEMICON India 2026, scheduled for September 16-18, is set to expand its scale and will focus on the India Semiconductor Academy (ISA). (ANI)
New Delhi [India], September 11: Fortune Institute of International Business (FIIB), in collaboration with the Inclusive Divyangjan Entrepreneur Association (IDEA), successfully hosted the Walkathon for Accessibility & Inclusion today at its Vasant Vihar campus. The 5 km walkathon brought together over 400 participants, including students, corporates, NGOs, and citizens, united under one cause - to champion equal access for all.

The initiative was jointly organized by the Fortune Institute of International Business (FIIB), the Inclusive Divyangjan Entrepreneur Association (IDEA), and the Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, aligning with the Government of India's Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan (Accessible India Campaign).

The event was graced by distinguished guests including Mr. Saurabh Dutt, Executive Director - CC & Branding, IOCL, Mr. Benu Nair, Director Human Resources, Taj Hotels (North Region), and Mr. Mallikarjuna Iytha, Founder & CEO of IDEA.

Beginning at FIIB's campus, the walk was flagged off from the FIIB campus and covered the route via Benito Juarez Marg, Rao Tula Ram Flyover, and Durgabai Deshmukh Metro Station before returning to campus.

"Inclusion is not charity, it is a right. This Walkathon is more than symbolic--it is a call to build workplaces and communities where every individual, regardless of ability, can thrive," said Mallikarjuna Iytha, Founder & CEO of IDEA and renowned social entrepreneur.

"Accessibility is about opportunities, not obstacles. Today, our students, partners, and citizens walked together to show that inclusion must be at the heart of leadership and learning," added Dr. Radhika Shrivastava, Executive Director, FIIB.

Participants carried placards, wore campaign T-shirts, and pledged to become advocates for a barrier-free India. The event also highlighted the growing role of academia, corporates, and civil society in making accessibility a lived reality rather than a policy document.

Supported by partners including Indian Oil (Lead Sponsor) and Taj Hotels (Food & Beverage Partner), the Walkathon concluded with resounding calls to extend this momentum into workplaces, public spaces, and policymaking.

(ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by VMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
Hyundai Motor reached an agreement with its union in Korea to distribute over 2 trillion won ($1.80 billion) in bonuses in 2025, even as the automaker faces growing challenges from high U.S. tariffs, as per a report by Pulse, the English service of Maeil Business Newspaper Korea. According to the deal, announced on Wednesday, the Korean employees will receive a 100,000 won (USD 71.95) base wage increase, performance bonuses equivalent to 450 per cent of base pay plus a 15.8 million won (USD 11,117.48) lump sum, and 30 Hyundai Motor shares (10 common and 20 preferred). With an average base wage of 4 million won (USD 2,880), each employee is expected to take home about 40 million won (USD 28,800) in incentives, with the total payout estimated at 2.5 trillion won (USD 1.80 billion) for Hyundai's 63,000 employees. This figure represents about 40 per cent of the company's consolidated net profit of 6.63 trillion won (USD 4.78 billion) in the first half of the year. As per the report, the outlook for the remainder of 2025 remains uncertain, however. While Seoul and Washington have discussed lowering tariffs from 25 per cent to 15 per cent, the decision still awaits an executive order from U.S. President Donald Trump. Japan will see its tariff reduced to 15 per cent starting September 16th, 2025, but Korea has yet to secure the same terms. Adding to the strain, delays in the completion of Hyundai Motor's Georgia plant due to the detention of local Korean staff could disrupt the supply of batteries in the U.S. market. The agreement also reflected union demands for job security; the two sides agreed to internalize production of six-speed transmissions for the Palisade hybrid, with mass production targeted by the end of 2027. Currently supplied by Hyundai Transys, the transmissions could be produced directly by Hyundai Motor, potentially reducing orders for the affiliate. The move could also drive costs up as labor expenses at Hyundai Motor are higher than at Hyundai Transys. The union also included wording on expanding in-house production of key electric vehicle components such as batteries, despite Hyundai's official denial of direct battery manufacturing plans. Analysts say the push reflects efforts to reassign workers as demand for internal combustion engines and related transmissions declines, with the union prioritizing extended retirement ages and job security. The agreement also provides for training software specialists within production plants, which aligns with the industry's transition to software-defined vehicles (SDVs). The tentative deal will be put to a vote at the central labor council's general meeting on September 15th, 2025, and further strikes could follow if it is rejected. The previous week's 16-hour strike, the first at Hyundai in seven years, was estimated to have caused losses of over 400 billion won (USD 289 million). "The Hyundai Mobis union, meanwhile, walked out of negotiations and plans partial strikes this week despite Hyundai Motor's tentative settlement. Hyundai Transys, which is still reeling from a prolonged strike in 2024, is facing similar tensions with its Seongyeon plant rejecting management's latest offer of a 68,000 won (USD 49.10) base pay increase and 250 per cent bonuses plus a 7 million won (USD 5,060) lump sum," the report stated. (ANI)
Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday indicated that the first tranche of the agreement with the United States on a trade deal should be finalised by November 2025. Speaking at a news conference in Patna, he said, "In February 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump together instructed us that the ministers of both sides should make a good agreement by November 2025. The first part of that agreement, the first tranche, should be finalised by November 2025, and since March, discussions have been going on on this subject very seriously in a very good environment, progress is being made, and with the progress, both sides are satisfied." Earlier, US President Trump in a post on Truth Social had indicated that there was a thaw in the tug of war over tariffs imposed on India, saying that the two countries are continuing negotiations to address trade barriers. "I am pleased to announce that India and the United States of America are continuing negotiations to address the Trade Barriers between our two nations. I look forward to speaking with my very good friend, Prime Minister Modi, in the upcoming weeks. I feel certain that there will be no difficulty in coming to a successful conclusion for both of our Great Countries!" he posted. Trump's remark came days after he called the India-US ties a "very special relationship" and affirmed that he and PM Modi would always be friends, asserting that there is "nothing to worry about". Prime Minister Narendra Modi then endorsed the US President's remarks saying that trade talks between India and the United States would help "unlock the limitless potential" of the partnership, after US President Donald Trump called for addressing "trade barriers" between the two nations. In a post on X, PM Modi said, "India and the US are close friends and natural partners. I am confident that our trade negotiations will pave the way for unlocking the limitless potential of the India-US partnership. Our teams are working to conclude these discussions at the earliest. I am also looking forward to speaking with President Trump. We will work together to secure a brighter, more prosperous future for both our people." New Delhi is facing global uncertainties due to heightened economic tensions following the US imposition of a 50 per cent tariff on Indian imports, including an additional 25 per cent due to its purchase of Russian crude oil, which, according to Washington, fuels Moscow's efforts in its conflict with Ukraine. (ANI)
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said that the recent criticism on social media over the government's ethanol blending programme was a "paid campaign" against him and not based on facts, adding that the Supreme Court had already dismissed petitions challenging the move. Speaking at the 65th SIAM Annual Convention, Gadkari said, "The social media campaign was a paid campaign against me. The Supreme Court has also dismissed the petition. There was no fact." The Minister has been at the centre of a debate in recent weeks after vehicle owners and service centres raised concerns that higher ethanol blends could reduce mileage and damage engines in older vehicles. Rejecting these fears, Gadkari emphasized that the technical evaluations had not found any problem. "All testing agencies have confirmed there is no problem with implementation," he said. The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) has already given clarity on the use of E20 fuel. He further emphasised that the government remained committed to pushing cleaner fuels through the E20 programme and flex-fuel vehicles. The Minister noted that India imports fossil fuels worth Rs 22 lakh crore annually, and reducing this dependence was necessary both for the economy and the environment. "The Prime Minister's vision is of a self-reliant India. From an economic perspective, if Rs 22 lakh crore is infused into the Indian economy, the benefits would be immense, so why shouldn't we do this? We took the decision to produce ethanol from maize. As a result, maize cultivation in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and across the country has tripled," he said, pointing to how the diversification of agriculture into energy has supported farmers. On the issue of vehicle scrapping, Gadkari said nearly three lakh vehicles had been scrapped till August 2025, including 1.41 lakh government vehicles. He added that discussions with the Finance Minister included proposals to provide GST rebates for those who scrap old cars and buy new ones. "Scrapping old cars and buying new cars gives revenue benefit of Rs 40,000 crore to Centre and states," he said, stressing that the industry must incentivise consumers who bring scrapping certificates. According to him, the policy could generate 70,000 jobs, reduce pollution, and help recover rare earth materials. Gadkari also highlighted road safety challenges, noting that India records five lakh accidents and 1.5 lakh deaths every year, the highest in the world. "Road safety is our priority. If we can immediately bring the injured to the hospitals, then we can save 50,000 people from accidents," he said, announcing that those who rush victims to hospitals will be given Rs 25,000 as an award. On the logistics front, Gadkari said India's cost was expected to come down to a single digit of nine per cent by December-end. He noted that transport demand from trucks and buses would rise, alongside fuel consumption, but stressed that safety and sustainability would remain central to policy. (ANI)
Gurgaon (Haryana) [India], September 11: Knot.dating, the Indian matrimony platform known for flipping norms and sparking national debate, today announced its international expansion into the United States, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and Australia.

Unlike dating apps, Knot.dating is built for one purpose: marriage. Its model combines strict verification (income, ID, and background checks) with AI-powered conversation flows that protect user privacy while creating deeper, more meaningful connections.

Why this matters:

For millions of Indians abroad, finding a partner serious about marriage - not casual dating - is a major challenge. Knot.dating solves this gap by focusing only on verified, high-intent users. With the expansion, the platform opens its doors to the global Indian diaspora, from professionals in San Francisco and London to families in Dubai, New York, Sydney, and Singapore.

"We started with a simple promise: Knot is not a dating app. It's for those serious about marriage. Taking Knot global is the natural next step - because whether you're in Gurgaon, New Jersey, or Dubai, the challenges are the same. The diaspora wants trust, not swipes," said Jasveer Singh, Cofounder & CEO of Knot.dating.

Key facts:

-Now live in 5 new countries: US, UK, UAE, Singapore, Australia

-Already one of India's most talked-about startups

-Combining verification with AI matchmaking to reduce scams and shallow interactions

-Tagline: "Tired of dating? Now tie the knot."

Knot.dating's global launch marks a bold step toward building the world's first trusted, AI-powered matrimony brand for Indians everywhere.

(ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
The series is based on Jhumpa Lahiri's award-winning collection of short stories.

The eight-episode drama is set to explore love, desire, and belonging within a tight-knit Indian American community.

Produced by John Wells and Madhuri Shekar, the series is set in the immigrant hamlet of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The official logline for the show states that "Unaccustomed Earth' invites you into the elite and insular Indian-American community of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It follows a star-crossed romance between a devoted wife, Parul Chaudhury (Pinto), and her long-lost love -- and the scandalous affair that ensues."

Siddharth will play Amit Mukherjee, Pinto's character's star-crossed love. Amit is portrayed as a warm-hearted Bengali American, raised in Cambridge, who openly expresses his emotions and is always there for friends and family, even at personal cost. Despite his reliability in moments of crisis, Amit struggles with stability in both his personal and professional life.

"Just as his latest relationship begins to feel promising, his carefully balanced world unravels with the unexpected return of his long-lost love," as per the press release.

Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth, published in 2008, is a collection of short stories that examines the lives of Indian immigrants and their American-born children. The book explores themes of family, cultural identity, generational clashes, and the search for connection and belonging.

Ritesh Batra will direct the series. The executive producers are Madhuri Shekar, John Wells, Ritesh Batra, Jhumpa Lahiri, Nisha Ganatra, Erica Saleh, Erin Jontow, and Celia Costas.

It will be available to stream soon on Netflix. (ANI)
L'Oreal Paris and Tira, Reliance Retail's pioneering beauty destination, have come together in an exclusive collaboration for Paris Fashion Week - the most prestigious and influential fashion event on the global calendar, as per the Reliance press release. As part of this partnership, the two brands unveiled 'Runway to Paris', a first-of-its-kind initiative in Mumbai that spotlighted the future of young Indian fashion and beauty talent. Designed as a glamorous prelude to Paris Fashion Week, Runway to Paris fused Parisian allure with India's creative pulse, reimagining how fashion and beauty come together in storytelling. The platform celebrated inclusivity, individuality, and artistic innovation, with students from across the country participating to showcase their looks. It offered India's young talent an unprecedented opportunity to present their creativity while bringing the magic of Paris Fashion Week closer to home, as per the Reliance press release. Conceived as a contest, Runway to Paris culminated in a grand finale where eight promising teams presented their looks before an esteemed jury and an audience of industry leaders, spotlighting India's next generation of creative voices. As part of the global theme "Walk Your Worth" from The L'Oreal Paris global show Le Defile, the showcase highlighted individuality, inclusivity, and empowerment, positioning beauty as an equal partner to fashion in storytelling, as per the Reliance press release. Each look was complemented by the newly launched Infallible Laque Resistance Liquid Lipstick by L'Oreal Paris, weaving in the campaign thought "What's Your Shine Statement" - a celebration of confidence and self-expression through high-shine colour. The evening culminated with the announcement of the winning designer team, who earned the rare opportunity to attend the Le Defile at Paris Fashion Week. This once-in-a-lifetime experience reinforces the role of L'Oreal Paris X Tira in providing Indian talent with a global platform and bringing consumers closer to the magic of Le Defile at Paris Fashion Week, as per the Reliance press release. Speaking on the occasion, Dario Zizzi, General Manager, L'Oreal Paris India, said in a statement, "Runway to Paris is more than just a showcase - it's a movement that celebrates creativity, inclusivity, and empowerment. By spotlighting upcoming Indian designers on a global stage, we are proud to bring the spirit of Le Defile closer to home while inspiring consumers to embrace their own shine." Bhakti Modi, co-founder of Tira, added, "This collaboration with L'Oreal Paris is a natural extension of Tira's vision to democratize beauty and fashion experiences in India. By empowering young designers and giving consumers access to global trends, Runway to Paris has become a platform that bridges aspiration with accessibility. We are proud to be enabling voices of tomorrow and to be shaping experiences that resonate with today's new-age, fashion- forward audience." With this event, L'Oreal Paris and Tira have cemented their collaboration as a milestone moment- championing young Indian talent, blending global beauty with high fashion, and creating a gateway from Mumbai to Paris Fashion Week, the ultimate international stage, as per the Reliance press release. (ANI)
The two-day event will take place in Mumbai on October 29 and 30.

Named after the Father of Indian Cinema, the late Shri Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, the awards have become one of the most prominent platforms for celebrating Indian cinema. Over the years, they have brought together stars, filmmakers, government delegates, and industry veterans on one stage.

The 2024 edition saw big names such as Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Nayanthara, Rani Mukerji, and Shahid Kapoor attending the ceremony.

This year's 10th edition is expected to be even bigger, featuring performances and a special showcase of stories from across India's diverse film industries. The festival will also continue with its Global Short Film Festival, which has seen filmmakers from around the world participate.

According to a press release, DPIFF CEO Abhishek Mishra, while sharing insights into the upcoming event, said, "As we step into our 10th year, the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards will celebrate the universal magic of cinema like never before. This edition will be a grand gathering where legends, emerging creators, and audiences come together to honour the stories that move the world."

The two-day celebration will honour the legacy of Indian cinema while also reflecting on its growing influence across the globe. (ANI)
According to officials, this action follows earlier arrests in the same case, where police had apprehended five smugglers and recovered 8.187 kg of heroin.

During interrogation, accused Gursewak Singh revealed that a father-son duo, Gurbhej Singh and Gurdit Singh, along with Malkit Singh, were managing operations in the Tarn Taran sector.

Police said Gurbhej was directly coordinating with smugglers based in Pakistan. Acting on his disclosure, investigators recovered 10 kg of heroin hidden in an earthen pit at his residence.

Further probe led to the arrest of Gurjit Singh, a resident of Kotli Saka village. On his identification, police seized 2.06 kg of heroin, a .30 bore pistol, and a magazine.

A case has been registered at PS Chheharta, Amritsar, and officials indicated that further arrests and recoveries are expected as the investigation progresses.

Earlier, Border Security Force (BSF) apprehended five persons and seized pistols, heroin and a drone on the Punjab border on Sunday, informed the BSF Punjab.

In a crackdown against narco-terror, BSF Punjab troops foiled multiple smuggling attempts along the border. Acting on intelligence, BSF & ANTF Amritsar apprehended one smuggler near Chabbal, Tarn Taran, recovering 504 gms of heroin, a mobile & bike.

Following that, at Sur Singh Market, Tarn Taran, a joint team detained four smugglers with 5.032 kg heroin, two pistols, a Scorpio, four mobiles, two bikes & Rs 1,000 cash. During night hours, vigilant troops intercepted a drone near Ranian, conducted a search Op and seized a DJI Air 3 drone with pistol parts & magazine.

Yet another Operation in Tarn Taran led to the recovery of pistol parts from fields near Wan village. These major apprehensions and seizures highlight BSF's dedicated efforts to safeguard borders and crush Pak-backed narco-terror networks, said BSF Punjab. (ANI)
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Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai assured that the state government is taking swift action to ensure the safe return of tourists from the state who are currently stranded in Nepal amid the ongoing violent protest. He added that the state administration is working in close coordination with officials of the Government of India to facilitate the safe evacuation of its citizens. In a post on X, he wrote, "I have received information that some tourists from Chhattisgarh are currently in Nepal. Prioritising their safety above all, I have directed the concerned authorities to take immediate necessary steps, and efforts are being made in collaboration with the officials of the Government of India to ensure their safe return. In this challenging time, our government is fully committed to assisting every citizen." Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde spoke to the Maharashtra tourists stranded in Nepal and assured them of all possible assistance to ensure their safe return. According to officials, nearly 150 tourists from Maharashtra have been left stranded in Nepal due to ongoing violent protests led by Gen Z. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also assured the tourists stuck in Nepal that the state government is monitoring the situation and arrangements will be made to bring them back soon. "I take the issue regarding the tourists stuck in Nepal seriously. I want to tell them to wait for a while till the situation becomes normal. We are monitoring the situation closely and will bring all of you back soon," Banerjee said. Notably, the death toll in the September 8 protest led by Gen-Z in Nepal has risen to 30, the Ministry of Health and Population announced on Wednesday evening. Issuing a release, the Health Ministry stated that 1,033 injuries have been recorded nationwide, out of which 713 injured individuals have already been discharged, while 55 were referred to other facilities for further treatment. Another 253 patients remain newly admitted. The Civil Service Hospital in Kathmandu is currently handling the largest caseload, treating 436 people. The National Trauma Centre is caring for 161 patients, and Everest Hospital is treating 109. In all, 28 hospitals across the country are providing care to those affected, the ministry added. The protest under the banner of Gen-Z Nepal saw a spree of shooting by security forces as they tried to break into the parliament. Police indiscriminately fired upon protesters with live rounds, followed by tear gas. (ANI)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Wednesday said that the state has received investment proposals worth Rs 14,600 crore during the Invest Madhya Pradesh event held in Kolkata. Speaking to ANI, Yadav said the proposals are expected to create 16,000 new jobs, calling the development a "big milestone" for Madhya Pradesh. "We have received a huge response, with investment proposals of Rs 14,600 crore. This will prove to be a big milestone for the state. It will provide employment to 16,000 people," said MP CM. Inviting business leaders to expand operations across regions, he added, "I would urge businessmen to conduct business both in West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh has a big landbank, surplus power, good transportation and no labour strikes. As per PM Modi's vision, we are working towards making Madhya Pradesh self-reliant and focusing on Swadeshi..." CM participated in an interactive session on 'Investment Opportunities in Madhya Pradesh' held in Kolkata and interacted with prominent investors and industrialists, inviting them to invest in the state by making them aware of the industry-friendly policies of the state. The CM held one-on-one meetings with top industrialists, discussing potential investment opportunities and business partnerships across key sectors, including textiles, apparel, IT, ESDM, manufacturing, food processing, and renewable energy. CM Yadav, further speaking to reporters, highlighted that a major event related to investment is going to be conducted in Madhya Pradesh, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting the state on September 17 for the purpose. "A major event related to investment is going to be organised in Madhya Pradesh, and PM Narendra Modi is also visiting the state on September 17. In the same episode, I have come to Kolkata to invite and encourage the investors of Kolkata to invest in MP. Kolkata Industrialists should work on farmer and cotton-oriented industries in our state. I have visited here today to invite investors. I also appeal to the people of West Bengal to set up industries in Bengal as well as in Madhya Pradesh, which is also their home," CM Yadav told reporters. During the interactive session, special emphasis was given to investment opportunities at PM Mitra Park. Investors briefed on investment-ready projects, integrated land banks, industrial corridors, plug-and-play infrastructure, and newly implemented investment policies. Notably, PM Modi is scheduled to visit Madhya Pradesh on his birthday on September 17 and perform bhoomi pujan of the country's first PM MITRA Park to be set up at Badnawar in Dhar district. Alongside, different programs will be organised on the themes of 'Swastha Naari, Sashakta Parivar', 'Swadeshi', 'Ek Ped Ma Ke nam', 'Ek Bagiya ma Ke Nam', 'PM Janman' Yojana, 'Dharti Aba Tribal Village Utkarsh Abhiyan' and 'Mission Karmayogi' on the occasion. (ANI)
Former Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai on Wednesday accused the DMK government of misusing a government school in Trichy district to host a state welfare programme. A century-old Union Middle School at Alathudayanpatti in Uppiliyapuram panchayat union was declared a holiday on Tuesday to facilitate the "Ungaludan Stalin" scheme camp. In a post on X, Annamalai wrote, "Yesterday, a government-run century-old middle school in Alathudaiyanpatti, which is part of the Uppiliyapuram Panchayat Union in the Trichy district, was given a holiday to host the DMK government's 'Ungaludan Stalin' camp. It is highly condemnable that government schools are being sacrificed for the sake of the DMK's publicity stunts. The school education department is already in a pathetic state. The abuse of power is going on to the extent of giving a holiday to a school with over a hundred students studying in the Minister of School Education's own district to hold DMK promotional events." He further alleged that the ruling party could have chosen another venue instead of disrupting the education of poor and underprivileged children. "The people of Tamil Nadu will put an end to such anti-people acts in the 2026 elections," he said. The "Ungaludan Stalin" scheme is aimed at providing residents with access to government services, bringing them closer to home. In urban areas, the scheme offers services from 13 departments, totalling 43 services, while in rural areas, it covers 15 departments, offering 46 services. Last week, Annamalai expressed confidence ahead of next year's Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu, saying that the NDA was gaining strength in the state. He asserted that a change in the government would come in 2026. "Amit Shah is firm. Change will come in 2026 in Tamil Nadu. There is also hope that O Panneerselvam will reconsider his decision. He contested only because of his trust in the Prime Minister of India. The NDA is gaining strength in Tamil Nadu. Even if there are small issues, they will be resolved. From a long-term perspective, the DMK government must be removed," Annamalai said. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will conduct an aerial survey of the disaster-affected areas of Uttarakhand on Thursday evening. According to a press note, following the survey, a high-level meeting will be held to discuss all aspects related to the disaster. In several parts of Uttarakhand, continuous rainfall has triggered ongoing land subsidence. Considering the extent of the damage, the state government has sought Rs 5,702 crore in relief assistance from the Centre. A central team has already visited the affected areas for inspection. Since the Kedarnath tragedy, this year the state has witnessed the highest number of disasters, causing damage worth crores of rupees. Many villages have been severely affected, with not only loss of human lives but also livestock casualties, the press note said. PM Modi will also visit Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi, where he will host the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Navinchandra Ramgoolam, who is on a State visit to India from September 9 to 16. The meeting between the two leaders in the historic city of Varanasi underscores the enduring civilizational connect, spiritual bonds and deep-rooted people-to-people ties that have shaped the special and unique relationship between India and Mauritius. During the bilateral discussions, the two leaders will review the full spectrum of cooperation, with particular focus on development partnership and capacity building. They will also discuss opportunities for expanding collaboration in health, education, science & technology, energy, infrastructure, as well as in emerging domains such as renewable energy, digital public infrastructure and the blue economy. The visit builds upon the positive momentum generated by PM Modi's State Visit to Mauritius in March 2025, during which the two leaders elevated the bilateral relationship to an 'Enhanced Strategic Partnership'. Meanwhile, ahead of PM Modi's visit, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the Prime Minister shares a special bond with Uttarakhand, which is why the state has continued to receive his constant support and guidance during this challenging time of disaster. He added that the Prime Minister's visit will further strengthen the ongoing relief efforts in the state. Dhami also visited Jolly Grant Airport on Wednesday to inspect the preparations for the Prime Minister's visit. He directed officials to ensure that all arrangements are completed in a timely and efficient manner. Sharing an X post on Wednesday, CM Dhami wrote, "Today, upon reaching Jolly Grant Airport, I inspected the preparations for the aerial survey of disaster-affected areas and the review meeting on the occasion of the proposed arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji in Uttarakhand tomorrow. During this time, instructions were given to the officials to ensure all arrangements are completed in a time-bound manner." (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Thursday hold a roadshow in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi, where he will also host Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam, who is on a state visit to India from September 9 to 16. Ramgoolam arrived in Kashi on September 9 and was accorded a ceremonial welcome and Guard of Honour. He was received by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel. According to a release, PM Modi will meet Mauritian PM Ramgoolam at around 11:30 AM in Varanasi. Later in the day, the Prime Minister will travel to Dehradun and undertake an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas in Uttarakhand at 4:15 PM, and chair a high-level review meeting at 5:00 PM. The meeting between the two leaders in the historic city of Varanasi underscores the enduring civilisational connection, spiritual bonds, and deep-rooted people-to-people ties that have shaped the special and unique relationship between India and Mauritius. During the bilateral discussions, the two leaders will review the full spectrum of cooperation, with particular focus on development partnership and capacity building. They will also discuss opportunities for expanding collaboration in health, education, science & technology, energy, infrastructure, as well as in emerging domains such as renewable energy, digital public infrastructure and the blue economy. The visit builds upon the positive momentum generated by PM Modi's State Visit to Mauritius in March 2025, during which the two leaders elevated the bilateral relationship to an 'Enhanced Strategic Partnership'. As a valued partner and close maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region, Mauritius is key to India's MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Region) Vision and the 'Neighbourhood First' policy. The deepening cooperation between the two countries carries significance not only for the prosperity of the people of both countries but also for the collective aspirations of the Global South. (ANI)
Ahead of Mauritian Prime Minister Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam's visit to Ayodhya, District Magistrate (DM) Nikhil Tikaram Funde on Thursday said that the administration will facilitate the darshan and pooja for him at the renowned Ram Mandir. To promote local culture, the DM said Mauritian PM Ramgoolam will receive a hamper of products developed under the One District-One Product (ODOP) programme, which aims to encourage indigenous and specialised products and crafts in Uttar Pradesh. "We will give him a very good red carpet welcome here. We will showcase the local culture here. Also, when we take him from here to the Ram Janmabhoomi temple, the Prime Minister will be briefed by the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. We will present him with a hamper of products developed under the ODOP policy of Uttar Pradesh, and we will also give him a symbol of the idol of Ram Lalla ji of Ayodhya. It is possible that CM (Yogi Adityanath) will attend the program on September 12. The program is not confirmed yet," DM Funde told ANI. The Mauritian PM is scheduled to visit Ayodhya on Friday. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Thursday hold a roadshow in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi, where he will also host Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam, who is on a state visit to India from September 9 to 16. Ramgoolam arrived in Kashi on September 9 and was accorded a ceremonial welcome and Guard of Honour. He was received by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel. According to a release, PM Modi will meet Mauritian PM Ramgoolam at around 11:30 AM in Varanasi. Later in the day, the Prime Minister will travel to Dehradun and undertake an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas in Uttarakhand at 4:15 PM, and chair a high-level review meeting at 5:00 PM. The meeting between the two leaders in the historic city of Varanasi underscores the enduring civilisational connection, spiritual bonds, and deep-rooted people-to-people ties that have shaped the special and unique relationship between India and Mauritius. During the bilateral discussions, the two leaders will review the full spectrum of cooperation, with particular focus on development partnership and capacity building. They will also discuss opportunities for expanding collaboration in health, education, science & technology, energy, infrastructure, as well as in emerging domains such as renewable energy, digital public infrastructure and the blue economy. The visit builds upon the positive momentum generated by PM Modi's State Visit to Mauritius in March 2025, during which the two leaders elevated the bilateral relationship to an 'Enhanced Strategic Partnership'. As a valued partner and close maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region, Mauritius is key to India's MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Region) Vision and the 'Neighbourhood First' policy. The deepening cooperation between the two countries carries significance not only for the prosperity of the people of both countries but also for the collective aspirations of the Global South. (ANI)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday paid tribute to the former head priest of Gokarnath Math, Mahant Avedyanath on his 11th death anniversary. The UP CM remembered his contribution to promoting education. "I pay tribute to Mahant Avedyanath ji Maharaj on his 11th birth anniversary... He dedicated his entire life to religion and the nation. He followed the ideals of Mahant Digvijaynath ji," the UP CM said while addressing a gathering at Gokarnath temple. Remembering the contribution of the former head priest in education, the UP CM added, "He dedicated his entire life to religion and the nation. He followed the ideals of Mahant Digvijaynath ji, who, when India was under colonial rule, in 1932 Digvijaynath ji established the Maharana Pratap Shiksa Parishad." The Chief Minister further remembered how funding for the college was secured after some hurdles. "This tradition was continued, Maharana Pratap college was made, and also women's college. As the country got independence, there was hope of establishing the first university in Gorakhpur but the government said that there is no money," he CM Adityanath said. The UP CM further highlighted the alternative way in which funding was secured, with Mahant Digvijaynath giving property joined with the temple to construct the college. "The proposal was that whichever area was able to give the most property, the university will be built there. Then Mahant Digvijaynath came forward and gave two institutes joined with the temple," the CM added. According to the UP CM, Mahant Digvijaynath ji Maharaj laid the foundation of his in the field of education by establishing the Maharana Pratap Shiksha Parishad (Maharana Pratap Education Council) in 1932 to run educational institutions from primary to higher education in Gorakhpur. According to the Parishad, there are more than 25 thousand students are currently enrolled in various subjects across two dozen educational institutions under the council. In an effort to realise the vision of Mahant Digvijaynath, Mahant Avedyanath worked to expand the reach of the council. Mahant Avedyanath is also known as the mentor of CM Yogi Adityanath. He died on September 12, 2014. A member of the Hindu Mahasabha and later the Bharatiya Janata Party, he represented the Gorakhpur constituency multiple times from 1970-71 and later on from 1989 to 1998. The Mahant also participated in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. (ANI)
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday hailed the historic speech delievered by Swami Vivekananda at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. September 11 marks the the solemn occasion of the 132nd anniversary of Swami Vivekananda's historic address. In a post on X, Uttarakhand CM Dhami wrote, "On this very day in the year 1893, at the Chicago Parliament of Religions, Swami Vivekananda Ji delivered a speech that conveyed to the entire world the message of the greatness of Indian culture and Sanatan Dharma. His words not only established India's spiritual heritage on the global stage, but also gave the whole world a wonderful message of tolerance, unity, and humanity. Let us all resolve to adopt the teachings and ideals of Swami Vivekananda Ji in our lives." Swami Vivekananda, born as Narendranath Datta in Calcutta on January 12, 1863, was the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramhansa and advocated the doctrine of service, education, and spiritual upliftment. In his Chicago speech, Vivekananda emphasised that religious pluralism is embedded in Hinduism. He also spoke against Sectarianism, bigotry, and fanaticism. "I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation," Vivekananda spoke at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also shared Swami Vivekananda's historic address at the World Parliament of Religions at Chicago in 1893 and called it a "watershed" moment. "This speech by Swami Vivekananda, delivered in Chicago on this day in 1893, is widely regarded as a watershed moment. Emphasising harmony and universal brotherhood, he passionately spoke about the ideals of Indian culture on the world stage. It is truly among the most celebrated and inspiring moments in our history," PM Modi said. (ANI)
Congress General Secretary in-charge communications, and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for trying to "curry favour" with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) after wishing the Sangh's chief Mohan Bhagwat on his 75th birthday. "The Prime Minister, in his desperate bid to curry favour with the RSS leadership, has written an over-the-top tribute to Mohan Bhagwat on his 75th birthday today," Jairam Ramesh said in an X post. He further criticised the Prime Minister for not mentioning Mahatma Gandhi's "first Satyagraha call" given on September 11, 1906, sarcastically saying that he does not expect PM Modi to remember the origin of satyagraha. "The PM has recalled that it was on Sept 11, 1893, that Swami Vivekananda gave his immortal speech in Chicago. The PM has also recalled that the Al Qaeda terrorist attacks in the US took place on Sept 11, 2001. But not surprisingly, the PM has not mentioned that Mahatma Gandhi first gave the call for satyagraha on Sept 11, 1906, in Johannesburg. That was when the world first heard of this revolutionary idea," Ramesh said. On September 11, 1906, Mahatma Gandhi was living in South Africa. During that time, he chaired a mass meeting of over 3000 people at the Empire Theatre in down town Johannesburg to protest against an ordinance which made it compulsory for Asian persons to carry passes and register for them by giving finger prints, according to the High Commission of India in Pretoria, South Africa and concurrently accredited to Lesotho. "Of course it is too much to expect the PM to remember the origin of satyagraha since the very word satya is alien to him. The PM, who himself claimed to be non-biological, makes his pravachans appear as if they are God-se," Ramesh added. Earlier today, PM Modi praised Bhagwat for dedicating his life to strengthening "equality, harmony, and brotherhood" in the country. "Mohan Bhagwat ji has dedicated his entire life to strengthening the spirit of equality, harmony, and brotherhood, inspired by the mantra of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. On the special occasion of Mohan ji's 75th birthday, who is always ready for the service of Mother India, I have expressed my feelings regarding his inspiring personality. I wish him a long and healthy life," the PM wrote in the post. Lauding Mohan Bhagwat's work during the anti-Emergency movement, the Prime Minister wrote, "Bhagwat ji took up the responsibility of a pracharak at a time when the then Congress government had imposed emergency on the country. During that period, as a pracharak, Bhagwat ji continuously strengthened the anti-emergency movement." PM Modi also remembered other significant events which happened during the same day. "Today is 11 September. This day is associated with different memories. One memory is of 1893, when Swami Vivekananda gave the message of universal brotherhood in Chicago and the other memory is the terrorist attack of 9/11, when universal brotherhood was dealt the biggest blow. There is another special thing about this day. Today is the 75th birthday of a personality who, following the mantra of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, has dedicated his entire life to uniting the society, strengthening the feeling of equality, harmony and brotherhood," the PM said. (ANI)
As tension gripped Karnataka's Maddur following a stone pelting incident, the police have registered an FIR against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLC and former Karnataka minister CT Ravi for delivering a "provocative speech" during a Ganpati immersion program. According to officials, Ravi delivered an inflammatory speech on Wednesday during a Ganapati immersion program in Maddur. The police allege that the speech was provocative and capable of inciting hatred between communities. The suo motu case was filed by Maddur Police based on a complaint by Sub-Inspector Manjunath. The complaint states that while addressing participants of the procession through a microphone, Ravi made remarks targeting the Muslim community. According to the complaint, Ravi allegedly said: "When they are only 5 per cent, they are already showing their true colours. If they become 50 per cent, will our children and grandchildren even be able to survive? They will break society. Some conspirators, for the sake of votes, are trying to divide Hindu society. Muslims shout 'Pakistan Zindabad,' they plant bombs, they are called ISI. When Muslims threw petrol bombs at the Ram Mandir, they should have been taught a lesson back then. Today, this situation would not have arisen. You people who have come from outside, we are the ones living here. Don't try to challenge us. We will break your shoulders. We will take your heads too. We know how to break shoulders. The Hindu community has the strength to bury stone-pelters inside the very stones they throw." Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Wednesday took a jibe at the BJP leaders visiting the clash-affected Maddur region, which recently experienced stone pelting. Shivakumar asked the BJP leaders to instead visit Delhi and get approvals for development projects from the Centre and ensure NREGA funds reach the state. "They (BJP) have no other work. Their job is only to divide people. Their job is only to ignite fire. Their only work is to do politics. They have not done any development. Let them go to Delhi and bring NREGA funds, bring tax money," Shivakumar told reporters at his residence in Bengaluru."Let them get approvals for Cauvery, Mekedatu, and Mahadayi," he added. Earlier on Tuesday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah accused the RSS and the BJP of disrupting peace in Karnataka. Heavy police deployment was witnessed in Maddur on Tuesday morning after protests broke out on Monday evening against the stone pelting incident. Markets have been deserted as shops have not opened since last night with the imposition of prohibitory orders. Meanwhile, the Hindu religious organisations in the area are holding a meeting on the issue. A total of 21 people have been arrested following the stone pelting incident and the subsequent protest, which broke out in response. Earlier on Monday, police lathi-charged the protesters in an effort to disperse the crowd. On Monday, pro-Hindu organisations held a protest against the reported incident of stone pelting during the Ganesh Idol immersion in Maddur town, Mandya district. Reportedly, the clash broke out when the Ganpati procession passed near a mosque. According to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the crowd was asked not to stay in the area for too long. (ANI)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday paid tribute to Swami Vivekananda on the anniversary of his historic address at the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago, highlighting its significance in promoting unity and well-being through ancient spirituality. The Union Minister urged the youth to revisit the iconic speech and draw inspiration from it "to build a New India and a better world". In a post on X, Shah wrote, "On this historic day Swami Vivekananda Ji's words at the World's Parliament of Religions moved humankind, lighting a new path of unity and well-being for humanity through the principles of our ancient spirituality." "As we mark the anniversary of Swami Ji's Chicago address, I call upon the youth to draw from this fountain of inspiration and revisit his enlightening speech to build a New India and a better world," the social media post added. https://x.com/AmitShah/status/1965973208508911802 Swami Vivekananda, born as Narendranath Datta in Calcutta on January 12, 1863, was the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramhansa and advocated the doctrine of service, education, and spiritual upliftment. In his Chicago speech, Vivekananda emphasised that religious pluralism is embedded in Hinduism. He also spoke against Sectarianism, bigotry, and fanaticism. "I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation," Vivekananda spoke at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also shared Swami Vivekananda's historic address at the World Parliament of Religions at Chicago in 1893 and called it a "watershed" moment. "This speech by Swami Vivekananda, delivered in Chicago on this day in 1893, is widely regarded as a watershed moment. Emphasising harmony and universal brotherhood, he passionately spoke about the ideals of Indian culture on the world stage. It is truly among the most celebrated and inspiring moments in our history," PM Modi said. (ANI)
Amid the ongoing rift in the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), party founder S Ramadoss removed his son and PMK Working President Anbumani Ramadoss from the party. Ramadoss said that the action has been taken as Anbumani failed to respond despite being given two opportunities to give an explanation for the charges against him. S Ramadoss alleged that his son is "destroying" PMK and asked the party workers not to maintain ties with him. "Anbumani is trying to destroy the PMK. He is unfit to be a politician and has acted arbitrarily. Without me, Anbumani would not have grown. No one from the PMK should maintain any ties with Anbumani. Only 10-15 people are with him," he said. This comes after the PMK's Disciplinary Action Committee meeting last month. According to a press release by the party, Anbumani was summoned for an explanation regarding certain organisational matters. He was given 16 show cause notices dated August 19. However, without offering any explanation, without seeking extensions, and without showing any sense of responsibility, he deliberately failed to appear before the committee. His continuous refusal to provide explanations for the 16 show cause notices makes it clear that he has accepted all the wrongdoings mentioned in them. Therefore, all the charges levelled against him are to be considered true and valid. Hence, his actions have been confirmed as against the interests of the party and its growth. Until now, Anbumani has neither taken responsibility as a leader nor acted with commitment. His approach has been irresponsible, selfish, and unbecoming of a party leader, the press release said. This behaviour has caused great pain, disappointment, and dissatisfaction among the party's administrators, leaders, and members. It has also brought disrepute and disgrace to the party. Accordingly, as a disciplinary measure, Anbumani is hereby removed from the post of Pattali Makkal Katchi's Organisational Head. Furthermore, since the party's future growth depends on proper administration and dedicated collective efforts, he is also expelled from the primary membership of Pattali Makkal Katchi with immediate effect. From now on, no member of Pattali Makkal Katchi should maintain any association with him in the name of the party. If anyone does so, they too will face strict disciplinary action. This resolution must be communicated to the public, party members, and the general media, so that everyone understands that Pattali Makkal Katchi will not hesitate to take such strong actions against anyone who acts against party unity and development, the release said. The father and son have been at loggerheads with each other in the recent past. Earlier in April, Anbumani Ramadoss issued a clear and firm statement reaffirming his position and dedication to the party's growth and core values, and said that he will continue to be the party chief. (ANI)
In a post on X, Andhra Pradesh Cabinet Minister Nara Lokesh said, "We are pleased to inform that 22 Telugu individuals stranded in Nepal have safely returned to India via Bihar."

The Andhra Pradesh minister further informed that efforts are ongoing to bring back the remaining individuals who are stuck in the country.

In view of the prevailing situation in Nepal, the Andhra Pradesh State Government on Wednesday announced the helpline numbers for those Indians in Nepal.

The political crisis follows violent protests in Nepal on September 8, led by a youth group called Gen-Z, demanding transparency and lifting of the social media ban.

The AP Government asked Telugus stranded in Nepal to contact the Indian Embassy on +977-9808602881 and 9810326134. According to the Indian Embassy, in addition to regular calls, these numbers are also available on WhatsApp.

Earlier this week, Nepal Prime Minister KP Oli resigned as violent protests continued for the second day in various parts of the country. Oli's secretariat confirmed his resignation, local media reported. Four ministers had earlier resigned from the government.

Till now, 30 people have been killed and over 1000 injured in clashes with security forces. Curfew was imposed in several cities, including Kathmandu, to control the situation, which will continue till Friday morning, as per a statement issued by the Nepalese Army.

Protesters have been demanding an end to "institutionalised corruption and favouritism" in governance. They want the government to be more accountable and transparent in its decision-making processes.

The Nepalese Army has extended the prohibitory order and curfew in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur districts until 6 am on Friday, September 12, amid ongoing political unrest and widespread protests. (ANI)
Uttar Pradesh Minister Dayashankar Mishra on Thursday welcomed the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Navinchandra Ramgoolam. "Mauritius is considered the second India in the world. Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam arrived in Kashi earlier. Today, Prime Minister Modi is coming to Kashi. Kashi is the cultural capital of the country. Today, there will be talks between them. Certainly, the relations between the two countries will be further strengthened," Mishra told ANI. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dharmendra Rai said that PM Modi's meeting with his Mauritian counterpart will open up new possibilities for progress. "I am hopeful that the meeting between PM Modi and the Mauritian Prime Minister will open up new possibilities for progress and peace. PM Modi is coming to Kashi for the 92nd time," Rait told ANI. Prime Minister Modi will hold a roadshow in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi, where he will also host Mauritius Prime Minister Ramgoolam, who is on a state visit to India from September 9 to 16. The meeting between the two leaders in the historic city of Varanasi underscores the enduring civilisational connection, spiritual bonds, and deep-rooted people-to-people ties that have shaped the special and unique relationship between India and Mauritius. During the bilateral discussions, the two leaders will review the full spectrum of cooperation, with particular focus on development partnership and capacity building. They will also discuss opportunities for expanding collaboration in health, education, science & technology, energy, infrastructure, as well as in emerging domains such as renewable energy, digital public infrastructure and the blue economy. The visit builds upon the positive momentum generated by PM Modi's State Visit to Mauritius in March 2025, during which the two leaders elevated the bilateral relationship to an 'Enhanced Strategic Partnership'. As a valued partner and close maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region, Mauritius is key to India's MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Region) Vision and the 'Neighbourhood First' policy. The deepening cooperation between the two countries carries significance not only for the prosperity of the people of both countries but also for the collective aspirations of the Global South. Later in the day, the Prime Minister will travel to Dehradun and undertake an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas in Uttarakhand at 4:15 PM, and chair a high-level review meeting at 5:00 PM. (ANI)
The Tibetan Parliamentarians in-exile have expressed concern over the recent spate violence in Nepal amid the anti-corruption gen-z protests, urging political leaders to 'come forward' and address demands of the people. Dolma Tsering, deputy speaker of Tibetan parliament in-exile also expressed concern over the Tibetan settlements. "It's a great concern because not only there are Tibetan settlements in Nepal but overall the situation inside Nepal is a great concern because people are really disappointed and stressed due to the things that are happening there," Tsering told ANI. Condemning the violence which took place, in which multiple Nepalese ministers were beaten up and government buildings burned, the deputy speaker added, "but the violence is not an answer to anything because when you destroy the physical structures of your own democracy, that's a big thing. Ultimately it will fall on you, the people who pay tax. So I would really urge the people concerned, the youth who are really disappointed and desperate, they should stop violence." "The dignitaries of Nepal should address their concerns and I am sure that the neighbouring countries are also concerned especially India, it's like a big brother to Nepal. So I am sure India is also watching it very closely and at a very rightful time, I am sure they will intervene and try to help to solve this problem," he said. Thubten Gyatso, a Tibetan MP in-exile, expressed solidarity with the protesters, and called for dialogue to restore peace and harmony in the country. "I would like to express my concern and sense of solidarity, what happened inside Nepal and I think the leaders should come forward, the representatives of different movements and to find some measures instead of violence. because the country needs peace and harmony," he told ANI. Thubten Wangchen, another exiled parliamentarian was equally shocked and terrified over the violence. "Nobody was expecting what happened in Kathmandu, on 8th of September. it's terrifying and on the other side, every government has to look-after citizens welfare. so the Nepal government looks like very much corrupted and they were not looking after the citizens welfare like health and education," he said. Meanwhile in Nepal, 31 people have died during the Gen-z protests in Kathmandu Valley, according to Kathmandu Post, citing officials from the Department of Forensic Medicine at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, where the deceased have been brought for postmortem examinations. As per The Kathmandu Post on Wednesday, so far the identities of 25 victims have been preliminarily confirmed. Meanwhile, the wife of Former Nepalese PM Khanal is currently in a critical condition after an arson attack that took place during the violent demonstrations across the country. The protests began on September 8, 2025, in Kathmandu and other major cities, including Pokhara, Butwal, and Birgunj, following the government's imposition of a ban on major social media platforms, citing concerns over tax revenue and cybersecurity. Curfew was imposed in several cities, including Kathmandu, to control the situation, which will continue till Friday morning, as per a statement issued by the Nepalese Army. Protesters have been demanding an end to "institutionalised corruption and favouritism" in governance. They want the government to be more accountable and transparent in its decision-making processes. (ANI)
Congress' Raebareli MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha is set to chair the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) meeting on Thursday. Before the DISHA meeting, the Congress leader met with the delegation of workers in the Feroze Gandhi Unchahar Thermal Power Station, under the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), where stayed the night before. Localities from RaeBareli and Unchahaar are also meeting him. The DISHA meeting is held every quarter to discuss the development projects in the region. The meeting is chaired by an MP and various officials, including District Magistrate Harshita Mathur, MLAs in Raebareli area, Uttar Pradesh Minister Dinesh Pratap Singh and others are expected to attend. According to Gandhi's itinerary, the meeting will be held in the Collectorate, Bachat Bhawan at 12 PM. Later on, at 2:30 PM, he will leave for Fursatganj airport and arrive in Delhi at 3:40 PM. Gandhi arrived in his constituency earlier on Wednesday, where he repeated the claim of "proving" that vote chori (vote theft) is happening across the country. "The main slogan 'Vote chor, gaddi chhor' is being proven across the country. We will prove it again and again in more and more dramatic ways," the Congress leader said. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) protested in the constituency, Gandhi held a meeting with booth level workers of the party in Harchandpur constituency and Unchahar constituency. Later on he interacted with representatives from Prajapati Samaj at Shanti Grand Hotel. Around 1:30 he will unveil the Ashok Stambh in Sadar assembly constituency. The Congress leader also unveiled the Ashok Stambh in the Sadar assembly constituency, participated in a tree plantation programme too. The BJP also protested against the Congress leader in the constituency, taking out a rally against the derogatory remarks made on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother by an unknown person from the stage of the now-concluded 'voter adhikar yatra' in Bihar. The party workers carried BJP flags, placards and shouted slogans against the Congress MP, while police officials were trying to disperse the crowd and made an effort to move the protesters away from the road, after some people sat down. UP minister Dinesh Pratap Singh took part in the protest. (ANI)
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday arrived in Satna and received a rousing welcome from BJP workers at the railway station. The BJP workers gathered in large numbers and welcomed the Union Minister and former Chief Minister with garlands and bouquets. Chouhan will participate in many programs in Satna today. He will also interact with farmers in Satna. On Wednesday, the Union Minister also shared the glimpses of his train from Bhopal to Satna. In a social media post on X, Chouhan shared videos and captioned, "I'm heading from Bhopal to Satna. I have to participate in several important programs there, including 'One Nation-One Election'. During this time, the love from fellow passengers in the train is giving me new energy. Chatting with my Bhaajne (nephews) and Bhaanjiyon (nieces) has made the journey even more enjoyable." https://x.com/ChouhanShivraj/status/1965833522595377638 Shivraj Singh Chouhan is affectionately called "Mama" (meaning maternal uncle) in Madhya Pradesh. Earlier on September 9, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta inaugurated the grand SARAS Livelihood Fair in a bid to strengthen the resolve of 'Vocal for Local' under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and to take a pledge to adopt 'swadeshi' (indigenous goods). Organised by the Union Ministry of Rural Development, the SARAS Livelihood Fair is being held at Major Dhyan Chand Stadium, Delhi, from September 5 till September 22. More than 400 'Lakhpati Didis' from self-help groups are showcasing their excellent products, which were observed by Union Minister Shivraj Singh, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and other guests. They wholeheartedly praised the work of the self-help groups and rural entrepreneurs who have played a significant role in empowering communities, enhancing livelihoods and contributing to the national economy. The guests visited the exhibition area, interacted with members of the self-help groups and appreciated the diversity and quality of the displayed products. The India Food Court is offering traditional and delicious cuisines from various states, while cultural programmes with the spirit of 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat' are being organised daily. (ANI)
On National Forest Martyrs' Day, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel visited the state's first 'Vanpal Smarak' in Gandhinagar and paid floral tributes to nine forest personnel who laid down their lives while protecting forests and wildlife, a release said on Thursday. In honour of the sacrifice of forest guards, foresters, range forest officers, and other frontline forest personnel of the Forest Department who were martyred while performing their duty in the protection and conservation of forests and wildlife, the Central Government has been observing 11th September every year as National Forest Martyrs' Day since 2013. In Gujarat, about nine such forest martyrs have laid down their lives. To express gratitude and pay homage to them, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel visited the state's first "Vanpal Smarak" built at the Van Chetna Kendra in Sector 30, Gandhinagar. Along with Forest Minister Mulubhai Bera and Minister of State Mukesh Patel, he paid heartfelt tribute to the brave forest martyrs and observed two minutes of silence as a mark of respect. On this occasion, MLA Smt. Ritaben Patel, Principal Secretary of Forest and Environment, Sanjeev Kumar, Head of Forest Force, A P Singh, and senior officials of the Forest Department also paid homage to the forest martyrs. Earlier, CM Yadav also paid tribute to former Chief Minister Late Vijay Ramaniklal Rupani and the deceased who died in the Ahmedabad plane crash and former deceased members through condolence remarks on the first day of the seventh session of the 15th Legislative Assembly, according to an official statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). The seventh session of the 15th Gujarat Legislative Assembly commenced on Monday, 8th September, for three days. On the first day of this session, in the condolence references presented, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, as the Leader of the House, paid tribute to Gujarat's former Chief Minister, late Vijay Rupani, and Gujarat's former Minister, late Hemaben Suryakant Acharya, Gujarat's former Minister of State, late Ishwarsinh Shivaji Chavda and late Nurjahankh Mohammad Ibrahimkhan Babi, Gujarat's former Deputy Minister, late Prof. Balvantray Bachulal Manvar, and former members of Gujarat, late Bhupendrakumar Sevkaram Patni and late Ranchhod Karsan Mere, a CMO release said. (ANI)
The Delhi Police Special Cell has uncovered Pakistani links to a terror module and arrested a total of five people on Thursday, confirmed Pramod Singh Kushwaha, Additional CP of the Special Cell. He said that eleven people were picked up, of whom five have been arrested. Investigation of the rest is still going on. Among the people who have been arrested, one is from Jharkhand, two from Delhi, who were basically residents of Mumbai, one is from Telangana, and one is from Rajgarh in Madhya Pradesh. At a press conference held in Delhi today, Kushwaha said, "Sulphur powder, Sulphuric acid, nitric acid, sodium bicarbonate, pH weighing checker, ball bearings and equipment which can be used for making an IED, wires, motherboards, laptops and mobile phones, plus weapons and cartridges have been found from them." According to Kushwaha, the Pakistani handler tasked with them was to adopt a Khilafat model. Their plan was two-fold. First, they had to form a Khilafat-style group. They have their own team, which is called Lashkar, and after that, they had to do Jihad, Ghazwa-e-Hind type, on the basis of their distorted concept of understanding of Islam. Plus, some targeted killings were to be tasked to them. "They had to acquire a place and prepare a team of many people. The leader of the team had an ID Ghazwa Leader, and he kept his code name as CEO. The central character in this was Ashhar Danish, a resident of Ranchi," Kushwaha said. Regarding the identities of the accused, all five arrested individuals are young boys between 20 and 26 years of age. Kushwaha said that Danish is from Jharkhand; major recovery has been made from him. He was in touch with the handler of Pakistan, and he had connected the whole group. He had this Ghazwa leader ID, and he was called the CEO." "The other character with him was Aftab Ansari. He lives near Mumbai and is a resident of the Thane district. His task was targeted killing. For which he had acquired weapons from somewhere, and when he was about to return from Delhi after acquiring weapons, he and his associate, Sufiyan Abubakar, were arrested," he added. One of their associates, Kamran Qureshi, was arrested in Rajgarh in Madhya Pradesh, and a fifth man, Huzaifa, was arrested in Nizamabad, Telangana. "This was a homegrown operation. So, acquiring weapons, including making IEDs, even cartridges, they were told to prepare on their own. Some incriminating drawings have also been found from them...," Kushwaha added. (ANI)
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- City National Bank today announced the appointment of Brandon Williams as executive vice president and head of Private Banking and Wealth Management. Williams brings more than 25 years of financial services industry experience and a solid track record of building and leading high-performing businesses in wealth management and private banking. Williams will report directly to Howard Hammond, president and chief executive officer.

Brandon Williams, executive vice president and head of Private Banking and Wealth Management, City National Bank

Williams joined City National in 2016 and has served as the head of East Coast Private Banking, focused on helping high-net-worth individuals and families, professional service firms and nonprofit organizations achieve their unique financial goals. Williams helped drive significant growth by expanding into new markets, strengthening client relationships, and consistently delivering results. He has been leading the Private Banking and Wealth Management division on an interim basis since June 2025.

Prior to joining City National, Williams spent 14 years at TD Bank, holding a variety of leadership roles including head of the bank's wealth management division in the U.S.

"Brandon is the right leader for our wealth business," said Hammond. "I have had the opportunity to witness firsthand Brandon's leadership style and his ability to align business strategies, foster collaboration and drive growth for the business. He understands what is important to our clients and colleagues, and I am confident that under his leadership, we will realize our bold vision for wealth management and private banking in the U.S."

"It is a privilege to lead such an accomplished team dedicated to delivering exceptional service with integrity and expertise," said Williams. "Our clients rely on us to help them achieve their objectives, and we take that responsibility with the utmost seriousness. As we look ahead, we remain focused on expanding our capabilities, strengthening client relationships and supporting the communities we serve."

Click here for Brandon's photo.

About City National

City National Bank, a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada, is the largest bank headquartered in Los Angeles with $93 billion in assets as of July 31, 2025. Founded in 1954, City National provides personalized banking, investment and trust services in select markets including Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, Nashville, Atlanta, Delaware, Las Vegas, Washington D.C. and Miami.* In addition, the company and its investment affiliates manage or administer $106 billion in client investment assets. City National is dedicated to strengthening communities. In 2024 alone, the company made charitable contributions of nearly $10 million to nonprofits that support the communities it serves.

City National Bank Member FDIC. City National Bank is a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada.

City National Bank does business in Miami and the state of Florida as CN Bank.

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SOURCE City National Bank
Following Anbumani Ramadoss' expulsion from Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), party leader and advocate K Balu said that Anbumani will continue as the President of the party. PMK leader K Balu said that the Election Commission of India has recognised Anbumani as the party chief and his tenure has been extended till August 2026. Balu told reporters, "Anbumani Ramadoss even today is continuing as the President of the party. Yesterday, the Election Commission of India issued a communication based on the General Council in Mahabalipuram. Based on our communication, the ECI recognised Anbumani as the president. The tenure of the President, Secretary and General Secretary is extended to August 2026." Addressing the expulsion, he said that the founder of a party cannot take administrative decisions. "By law, the administration of the party can be done only by the President and the Secretary. The founder can only give advice to run the party, and apart from that, the founder has no power," he said. Earlier, Anbumani Ramadoss had announced that K Balu would answer regarding his removal from the party. "Paatali Makkal Katchi lawyer Balu will answer everything regarding the incident that took place today. A press conference is going to be held in Chennai shortly," Anbumani told the media. Earlier today, party founder S Ramadoss removed his son and Working President Anbumani from the party. Speaking to reporters at his residence in Thailapuram, near Tindivanam, Ramadoss explained that the party's Disciplinary Committee, on September 1, 2025, recommended action against Anbumani for several anti-party activities. He said that 16 charges had been sent to Anbumani for an explanation. Despite being given two opportunities and time extensions, Anbumani neither responded in writing nor appeared in person to clarify. "By not responding to the charges, Anbumani has admitted guilt," Ramadoss said, adding that this proves Anbumani is unfit for politics and that his actions were intended to destroy the party. Ramadoss declared that from now on, no PMK office-bearer should have any contact with Anbumani. He also warned that if any member engages in anti-party activities in the future, strict action will be taken. Ramadoss said that although several opportunities and training had been given, Anbumani lacked faith and support for the PMK. "I even advised him three times to start his own political party. No individual, including my own son, can claim ownership of a party that I built from scratch with hard work, travelling across 96,000 villages and sustaining only on porridge and simple food," he said. He strongly rejected speculation that the PMK General Secretary post would be given to his elder daughter, Gandhimathi. On the charges, Ramadoss said the most painful was that Anbumani had engaged in surveillance against him. "If opponents spy on me, it is understandable. But if my own son does it, that is unacceptable," he said emotionally. He further claimed that Anbumani, when Prime Minister Modi visited Gangai Konda Cholapuram, had ignored elders' advice, showing arrogance and a lack of respect. "Elders' words are like nectar. But Anbumani refused to listen," he remarked, quoting veteran leader Pazha Karuppaiah. Ramadoss added that removing Anbumani would not set back the PMK's growth. "When you cultivate crops, weeds will also grow. We must remove the weeds. That is what I have done today," he said. He also said, "If Anbumani starts his own party, it will not grow. The PMK is a unique party and will continue to grow stronger without him." Ramadoss concluded by stating, "The post of Treasurer will remain, and I will decide when and to whom it will be given. The Election Commission has not declared Anbumani as the party leader; such claims are false. Leadership qualities are absent in him. Those misguiding him may be forgiven if they come forward individually and admit it. But Anbumani has no place in the PMK anymore." This comes amid the ongoing rift between the father and son over the leadership of the party. (ANI)
Jammu and Kashmir National Conference President Farooq Abdullah on Thursday condemned the arrest of Aam Aadmi Party MLA Mehraj Malik under the Public Safety Act (PSA), alleging that Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha is using his powers "for wrong purposes," and going beyond the Constitution's limits. He further warned of a similar situation happening in India if the constitution is not properly "treated" and its limits stretched. "How did the situation in Nepal deteriorate? Today, the situation is such that their constitution has ended, and there is no government there. Look at the condition of Bangladesh. That is why I request you, before such a fire breaks out in our country, take care of the constitution and do not go beyond its limits," the JKNC chief told ANI here. Criticising the LG, who oversees the law and order in the union territory, he said that the LG should be "afraid of what is happening in Nepal." "The sad part is that J&K is a UT, and the LG has all the powers. He is using it for the wrong purposes. Was it important to prevent Sanjay Singh from speaking? This is not an autocratic rule. There is a constitution here. The LG also has to protect the constitution, and if he does not protect it, then I regret to say this, he should be afraid of what is happening in Nepal," he added. Earlier today, AAP MP Sanjay Singh alleged that the Jammu and Kashmir police is not allowing him to leave the government guest house to protest against the arrest of fellow party leader Mehraj Malik. Sharing the visuals on X, Sanjay Singh called the police action "dictatorship". "Dictatorship is at its peak. I am in Srinagar at this moment. Raising one's voice for rights and protesting in a democracy is our constitutional right," he wrote. Singh added that the AAP leaders were to hold a protest and a press conference in Srinagar. The visit came after the detention of Malik, an AAP MLA from the Doda constituency, who was booked under the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, on Monday for activities being prejudicial to the maintenance of public order. (ANI)
The Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) has also conveyed the matter in a separate letter to Rahul Gandhi, pointing out that it is a matter of serious concern considering his security.

According to officials, the letter states that Gandhi, who enjoys the highest level of 'Z+' security with Advance Security Liaison (ASL) cover, failed to comply with mandatory protective measures on multiple occasions.

The CRPF noted in the letter recently served to both Rahul and Kharge that such lapses weaken the effectiveness of VVIP security arrangements and could expose him to potential risks.

Sources said the CRPF raised the issue in separate letters served to the two leaders on September 10, appealing to ensure adherence to security protocols during future travels.

In its communication, the CRPF referred to Rahul Gandhi's foreign tours to countries such as Italy, Vietnam, Dubai, Qatar, London, and Malaysia.

Rahul Gandhi has often travelled abroad for personal and political engagements.

Under the "Yellow Book" protocol, individuals under high-category security cover are required to provide prior intimation to the security wing mandated to provide him cover about their movements, including foreign travel, to enable adequate protective deployment.

Officials alleged that Rahul Gandhi has not consistently followed these procedures.

This is not the first time Rahul Gandhi's security has come under scrutiny. In the past, security agencies have flagged instances where he reportedly bypassed established protocols, leading to concerns over potential threats.

The Congress party is yet to respond to the CRPF's latest communication. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Assam on September 13 and 14 to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for several projects worth Rs 18,000 crore. The Prime Minister will attend the programme of the birth centenary celebration of Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika at Veterinary College Field, Khanapara in Guwahati on September 13. Earlier, Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive at Guwahati airport at 4:20 pm on September 13. "At 5:15 pm, he will attend the programme of the birth centenary celebration of Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika. This programme will be 1 hour 15 minutes long, and the main highlight of the programme is that more than 1200 artists will together sing 14 songs of Dr Bhupen Hazarika for 18 minutes. In that programme, we will inaugurate a biography of Dr Bhupen Hazarika, which will be translated into all the languages of India. We will send this biography to 20 lakh families of Assam. The Reserve Bank of India has prepared a coin with the picture of Dr Bhupen Hazarika, and the Prime Minister will launch it," the Assam Chief Minister said. The Prime Minister will stay overnight at 1 No State Guest House in Guwahati. "On September 14, the Prime Minister will reach Mangaldoi at 11 am and he will lay the foundation stone of Darrang Medical College, Nursing College & GNM School with a cost of Rs 567 crore. He will also lay the foundation stone of a new bridge over the Brahmaputra River connecting Narengi to Kuruwa with a cost of Rs 1200 crore, Guwahati Ring Road with a cost of Rs 4500 crore," the Chief Minister said. On September 14, the PM will visit Numaligarh Refinery at 2:30 pm, and he will inaugurate the first bamboo-based bio refinery of the country with a cost of Rs 5000 crore. "He will also lay the foundation stone of a polypropylene unit with a cost of Rs 7000 crore. After that, the Prime Minister will leave for Kolkata from Jorhat airport," the Assam Chief Minister said. Posters, banners, and hoardings have been put in different places in Guwahati, and decorations have been made to welcome the Prime Minister. (ANI)
National Conference President Farooq Abdullah on Thursday met Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh at a guest house in Srinagar. However, their conversation took place with Singh standing behind the gate of the guest house. The AAP MP has alleged that the Srinagar Police have kept him under house arrest. Abdullah condemned the attempt to stop AAP MP Sanjay Singh from holding a protest and presser against the detention of lone party MLA Mehraj Malik under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA). Speaking to ANI, Abdullah argued that not allowing Sanjay Singh to hold a protest was "absolutely wrong". Criticising Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, he said that the LG was utilising his powers for "wrong purposes". "This is absolutely wrong. In a democracy, protest is the right given by the Constitution of India. The sad part is that J&K is a UT, and the LG has all the powers. He is using it for the wrong purposes. Was it important to prevent Sanjay Singh from speaking? This is not an autocratic rule. There is a constitution here," the former J&K CM said. Suggesting caution while referring to the recent unrest in Nepal and Bangladesh, Abdullah said that the constitution needs to be safeguarded before "such a fire breaks out in the country". The LG also has to protect the constitution, and if he does not protect it, I regret to say this, he should be afraid of what is happening in Nepal. How did the situation in Nepal deteriorate? Today, the situation is such that their constitution has ended, and there is no government there. Look at the condition of Bangladesh. That is why I request you, before such a fire breaks out in our country, take care of the constitution and do not go beyond its limits," he added. This comes as Singh alleged that the Jammu and Kashmir police are not allowing him to leave the government guest house to protest against the arrest of fellow party leader Mehraj Malik. Sharing the visuals on X, Sanjay Singh called the police action "dictatorship"."Dictatorship is at its peak. I am in Srinagar at this moment. Raising one's voice for rights and protesting in a democracy is our constitutional right," he wrote. Singh added that the AAP leaders were to hold a protest and a press conference in Srinagar. The AAP MP wrote, "Today, there was a press conference and sit-in in Srinagar against the illegal arrest of Mehraj Malik, but the government guest house has been turned into a police camp. I am not being allowed to leave the guest house with Imran Hussain and companions."Earlier on Wednesday, Sanjay Singh met the family of Mehraj Malik in Jammu before travelling to Srinagar." Met the father and brother of Mehraj Malik in Jammu. I have reached Srinagar, and tomorrow a meeting with party workers will be held to decide the plan for the upcoming struggle," Singh wrote in a post on X. In an earlier post, Singh alleged that party MLA Mehraj Malik had been unfairly booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA), claiming it was retaliation for raising people's issues in his constituency. He said that attempts by the BJP administration to "crush AAP" in Jammu and Kashmir would only make it stronger."AAP MLA Mehraj Malik was booked under a serious law like PSA only because he raised his voice for building hospitals, schools, and roads in his constituency. From this historic land of Jammu and Kashmir, I want to make it clear to the BJP administration and the Prime Minister that the more you try to crush the Aam Aadmi Party, the stronger it will become," Singh wrote. The visit came after the detention of Malik, an AAP MLA from the Doda constituency, who was booked under the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, on Monday for activities being prejudicial to the maintenance of public order. (ANI)
Dantewada Superintendent of Police (SP) Gaurav Rai said that the blast took place during a demining operation.

"Two jawans were injured due to a pressure IED blast. One of them is an inspector. The Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) team jawan is critically injured. The injured are being treated at Dantewada hospital and will be airlifted to Raipur for better medical care," SP Rai told reporters.

The injured personnel are from the CRPF's 195 Battalion.

According to police, the explosion occurred near Sathdhaar-Malevahi in Dantewada. A dog handler sustained critical injuries, while the inspector suffered minor splinter wounds.

"This is a pressure IED blast. Sometimes these IEDs are old. Forces have been deployed and area domination is being carried out," he added. (ANI)
Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday reiterated his claims of providing "explosive" evidence of alleged vote theft in the previously held assembly elections. Speaking to reporters, Gandhi asserted that votes being stolen was a "fact". "We are about to give you dynamic and explosive evidence. The slogan 'vote chor, gaddi chor' is being echoed across the country. The fire is spreading since it is the truth. It is a fact that governments are being formed by stealing votes. We guarantee that we will be providing you with the proofs," he added. Rahul Gandhi, in a press conference on August 7, levelled serious allegations against the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing it of direct involvement in large-scale voter fraud, with the Congress having "open-and-shut proof" of the alleged theft. Gandhi presented Congress' research on voting in the Mahadevapura Assembly in Karnataka. He alleged "vote chori" (vote theft) of 1,00,250 votes. He launched a scathing attack on the BJP and the Election Commission and said that "collusion" happened between the poll body and the BJP, which resulted in Prime Minister Narendra Modi securing his third term. He also slammed the ECI and alleged that the elections are "choreographed". Ahead of the upcoming assembly elections, Gandhi launched a 16-day 'Voter Adhikaar Yatra' in Bihar, with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav joining him at the forefront. The campaign aimed to raise awareness about alleged irregularities in the voter list, which opposition leaders have termed a case of vote chori (vote theft). Covering over 1,300 km across 20 districts, the yatra concluded on September 1. In Bihar's Madhubani earlier, Gandhi alleged that the BJP's engagement in "vote theft originated from Gujarat, came to the national level in 2014." Gandhi, who is in Raebareli, met with the delegation of workers in the Feroze Gandhi Unchahar Thermal Power Station, under the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), where he stayed the night before. Localities from Raebareli and Unchahaar are also meeting him. (ANI)
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal took a jibe at the Centre after former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah was not allowed to meet MP Sanjay Singh, who went to Srinagar to protest AAP MLA Mehraj Malik's arrest. Sharing an X post, Kejriwal called the Jammu and Kashmir police's action "hooliganism and dictatorship". "The former Chief Minister, who is the father of the current Chief Minister, is not being allowed to meet Sanjay Singh in his own state? This is outright hooliganism and dictatorship," AAP convenor wrote. Sanjay Singh shared the visuals and wrote, "It is a very sad thing that Farooq Abdullah Ji, who has been the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir many times, came to meet me at the government guest house upon hearing the news of my house arrest by the police, but he was not allowed to meet me. If this is not a dictatorship, then what is it?" Abdullah too condemned the attempt to stop AAP MP Sanjay Singh from holding a protest and presser against the detention of lone party MLA Mehraj Malik under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA). Speaking to ANI, Abdullah argued that not allowing Sanjay Singh to hold a protest was "absolutely wrong". Criticising Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, he said that the LG was utilising his powers for "wrong purposes". "This is absolutely wrong. In a democracy, protest is the right given by the Constitution of India. The sad part is that J&K is a UT, and the LG has all the powers. He is using it for the wrong purposes. Was it important to prevent Sanjay Singh from speaking? This is not an autocratic rule. There is a constitution here," the former J&K CM said. AAP MP Sanjay Singh was allegedly not allowed by the Jammu and Kashmir police to leave the government guest house in Srinagar to protest against the arrest of fellow party leader Mehraj Malik. Sharing the visuals on X, Sanjay Singh called the police action "dictatorship". "Dictatorship is at its peak. I am in Srinagar at this moment. Raising one's voice for rights and protesting in a democracy is our constitutional right," he wrote. Singh added that the AAP leaders were to hold a protest and a press conference in Srinagar. The AAP MP wrote, "Today, there was a press conference and sit-in in Srinagar against the illegal arrest of Mehraj Malik, but the government guest house has been turned into a police camp. I am not being allowed to leave the guest house with Imran Hussain and companions." The visit came after the detention of Malik, an AAP MLA from the Doda constituency, who was booked under the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, on Monday for activities being prejudicial to the maintenance of public order. (ANI)
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday highlighted Swami Vivekananda's vision of harmony and acceptance on the anniversary of his historic address at the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago. September 11, 1893, was a pivotal day when Swami Vivekananda delivered his iconic speech at the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago, leaving an indelible mark on global interfaith dialogue. His powerful words, "I speak on behalf of a faith that has taught the world not just tolerance but acceptance," continue to resonate profoundly today, advocating for harmony in our increasingly multi-religious and multicultural world. Vivekananda emphasised India's spiritual heritage, promoting acceptance beyond mere tolerance and spoke against sectarianism, bigotry, and fanaticism, advocating for a more inclusive world. His address highlighted India's rich traditions and their relevance to global peace. Tharoor stated that Vivekananda's message remains crucial in today's world, which is grappling with religious tensions and extremism. His call for acceptance and understanding serves as a timeless reminder of the need for interfaith harmony and respect. In a post on X, he said, "'Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth'." Remembering Swami Vivekananda's historic Chicago speech from September 11, 1893, a powerful call for harmony that is as relevant today as it was then. His words resonate more than ever: "'I speak on behalf of a faith that has taught the world not just tolerance but acceptance'". A wonderful evocation of India's rich spiritual heritage to the world, and a prescription for harmony in a multi-religious society. Today is a day to remember the profound impact of his words." Swami Vivekananda, born as Narendranath Datta in Calcutta on January 12, 1863, was the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramhansa and advocated the doctrine of service, education, and spiritual upliftment. In his Chicago speech, Vivekananda emphasised that religious pluralism is embedded in Hinduism. He also spoke against Sectarianism, bigotry, and fanaticism. "I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation," Vivekananda spoke at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also shared Swami Vivekananda's historic address at the World Parliament of Religions at Chicago in 1893 and called it a "watershed" moment. "This speech by Swami Vivekananda, delivered in Chicago on this day in 1893, is widely regarded as a watershed moment. Emphasising harmony and universal brotherhood, he passionately spoke about the ideals of Indian culture on the world stage. It is truly among the most celebrated and inspiring moments in our history," PM Modi said. (ANI)
Delhi's Saket District court has recently granted bail to an accused in an ATM break cum dacoity case. It is alleged that the ATM was broken from Govind Puri and taken to Bulandshahr. The accused had provided a stolen car to other accused persons to carry ATM machine. Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Vipin Kharb granted bail to Ravikant alias Pankaj, noting that the other two accused are on bail and he has been in judicial custody since June 2, 2025. "Considering that the accused/applicant was arrested on the disclosure statement of co-accused persons and till now nothing incriminating has been recovered from him, and he is in JC for more than 3 months, applicant/accused Ravikant alias Pankaj is admitted to bail, subject to furnishing personal bond in the sum of Rs. 30,000 with one surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of Ld. MM/Link MM/Duty MM," ASJ Kharb ordered on September 9. As per the Delhi Police reply, co-accused Farman and Ashif were arrested, and a car with a fake number plate was recovered at their instance. The number plate was manipulated by co-accused Farman. CCTV footage was also obtained by the police. Co-accused Ashif, Suraj, Raja, Deepak and Ravi hatched a conspiracy to break the ATM, and the accused provided the stolen vehicle along with a duplicate number plate. After committing the theft, they distributed the cash of Rs 3.71 lakhs among themselves, police alleged. Advocate Govind Sharma, counsel for the accused, submitted that the investigation in the present case has been completed and the chargesheet has already been filed. The accused was arrested in the present case based on the disclosure statement of co-accused Asif and Farman, and both have already been granted bail vide order dated July 23, 2025. The accused has been in JC since June 2, 2025. No purpose would be served by keeping theapplicant/accused behind bars. Therefore, it is prayed that bail be also granted to the accused on the ground of parity, the counsel argued. On the other hand, the Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) opposed the bail because there are serious allegations against the accused; therefore, the bail application should not be allowed. (ANI)
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Rajsthan's Minister of State of Home & Animal Husbandry Department, Jawahar Singh Bedham, on Thursday responded to Congress MLA and leader of the Opposition Tika Ram Jully's allegation of installing a camera in the legislative assembly. Speaking to reporters, Bedham, while denying the allegations, said that they are not spying on Congress MLAs. He further emphasised that the cameras are installed in the legislative assembly rooms for security purposes. Further, the Rajasthan Minister also took a jab at the previous tenure of Ashok Gehlot, accusing the latter of investigating his own MPs and MLAs. Earlier on Wednesday, Congress MLA and leader of the Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly, Tika Ram Jully, accused Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma of "spying" on Opposition members by installing hidden cameras inside the assembly. Speaking to reporters, LoP Jully said that Chief Minister Bhajanlal lal Sharma has installed the camera to spy on the conversations of the members of the opposition. "In the Legislative Assembly session, CM Bhajanlal Sharma said that he knows what all the MLAs are up to. He also told the ministers that their drivers are spying on them...He has installed hidden cameras in the house to spy on the conversations of the members of the opposition," LoP Jully told reporters. Earlier, on September 9, the assembly passed the "Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Bill, 2025" after discussion. Rajasthan Minister Jogaram Patel said the anti-conversion law passed by the Assembly carries stringent provisions, including prison terms of up to life imprisonment, and was cleared despite protests by the Opposition. Speaking to ANI, Patel said, "There were some people in the Congress legislative party who did not want a discussion to take place on this bill. Their protest was condemnable. Amid protests from the Opposition, this bill was passed." The minister underlined that the new law provides stringent punishment for forced or fraudulent religious conversions. "There are strict provisions regarding imprisonment from 7 years to life imprisonment in this law. This law has been made after studying other such laws in the country," Patel added. Rajasthan Minister Avinash Gehlot accused the Congress of boycotting the Assembly discussion on the anti-conversion law due to appeasement politics, after the bill was passed amid Opposition protests. Speaking to ANI, Gehlot said, "Congress did not take part in the discussion on the bill because four of their MLAs belong to the minority community. Due to this appeasement politics, Congress is in the situation it is today." (ANI)
National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited signed an agreement today with Larsen & Toubro Limited for Design, Supply and Construction of Track and Track-related Works, including Testing and Commissioning for Double Line High Speed Railway in the state of Maharashtra. According to the release, totalling about 157 route km alignment, the complete alignment between Mumbai Bullet Train station and Zaroli village at the Maharashtra-Gujarat border also includes the track works for four (04) stations and a rolling stock depot at Thane. Work on track construction in Gujarat (under packages T-2 & T-3) is progressing rapidly on more than 200 km of viaduct. All three track construction work-related packages have been awarded to Indian companies, thus increasing India's overall expertise and know-how in high-speed rail track construction technology, as stated in the release. Furthermore, it was mentioned that the ballast-less slab track system, as used in Japan's HSR (Shinkansen), is being used for India's first HSR project (MAHSR). This track system consists of four main components, viz: RC Track Bed, Cement Asphalt Mortar (CAM), Pre-cast Track Slab and Rails with Fasteners. Under an MOU with NHSRCL, the Japan Railway Technical Service (JARTS) has conducted comprehensive training and certification programs for Indian engineers, work leaders, supervisors, and technicians. Covering 15 specialised modules, these programs focused on key areas such as track slab manufacturing, RC track bed construction, slab track installation, and CAM installation. Under the T-2 and T-3 packages in Gujarat, around 436 engineers have already been trained in these advanced techniques. A similar initiative is planned under this package to train engineers and supervisors in Maharashtra before the commencement of track works. As of September 8 2025, significant progress has been made on the project. The viaduct construction has reached 320 km, while pier works and pier foundations have been completed over distances of 397 km and 408 km, respectively. In terms of infrastructure, 17 river bridges, nine steel bridges, and a number of pre-stressed concrete bridges have been finalised. Additionally, approximately 4 lakh noise barriers have been installed along a 203 km stretch. The track bed construction has seen completion over 202 track km, and 1800 OHE masts have been installed, covering around 44 km of the mainline viaduct. Work is currently ongoing on a 21 km tunnel connecting BKC to Shilphata in Maharashtra, and excavation activities for seven mountain tunnels in Palghar district are in progress. Furthermore, the superstructure work for all stations in Gujarat is at an advanced stage, with work initiated on all three elevated stations. Meanwhile, base slab casting at the Mumbai underground station in Maharashtra is actively underway. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday arrived at the Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun to conduct an aerial survey of the disaster-affected areas of Uttarakhand. PM Modi was welcomed by the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami at the airport. In a post on X, CM Dhami said that PM Modi's presence reflects his deep sensitivity towards the affected individuals. "Upon arriving in Dehradun to review the aerial survey of disaster-affected areas and relief, rescue, and rehabilitation operations, we welcomed the Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji. In this difficult time of natural disaster, his presence among the people of the state reflects his deep sensitivity towards the affected individuals," CM Dhami said. Following the aerial survey, PM Modi will hold a high-level meeting to discuss all aspects related to the disaster, according to a press note. In several parts of Uttarakhand, continuous rainfall has triggered ongoing land subsidence. Considering the extent of the damage, the state government has sought Rs 5,702 crore in relief assistance from the Centre. A central team has already visited the affected areas for inspection. Since the Kedarnath tragedy, this year the state has witnessed the highest number of disasters, causing damage worth crores of rupees. Many villages have been severely affected, with not only loss of human lives but also livestock casualties, the press note said. PM Modi arrived in Dehradun after concluding his engagements with Mauritian counterpart, Navinchandra Ramgoolam, in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The two leaders held a bilateral meeting and exchanged several documents. On Wednesday, CM Dhami met with the Inter-Ministerial Team that assessed the damage in the Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Pauri Garhwal, Chamoli, Bageshwar, and Nainital districts. The team was led by R. Prasanna, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs. The team shared feedback received from disaster-affected people and praised the relief operations carried out by the state government. They appreciated the arrangements for shelter and food in relief camps, the availability of medical facilities on-site, and other essential services provided to the affected people. The central team noted that the immediate assistance of Rs 5 lakh provided by the state government to the families of deceased persons and to those whose houses were destroyed brought significant relief to the victims. (ANI)
The Rouse Avenue Court of Delhi on Thursday dismissed a criminal complaint filed against former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, which had accused her of forging documents to get enrolled in the voters' list before acquiring Indian citizenship. The order was passed by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Vaibhav Chaurasiya, who had reserved the verdict yesterday after hearing detailed arguments from the complainant's counsel, advocate Vikas Tripathi, and senior lawyers assisting him. The complaint alleged that Gandhi's name was included in the New Delhi parliamentary constituency voter list in 1980-81, even though she was not an Indian citizen at that time. According to the complainant, Gandhi, originally an Italian citizen, became an Indian national only on April 30, 1983, under Section 5 of the Citizenship Act. It was further alleged that her name was deleted from the electoral rolls in 1982 but reappeared in 1983, shortly before she formally became an Indian citizen. The complaint claimed this sequence raised doubts about the authenticity of documents submitted to the Election Commission. Appearing for the complainant, senior advocates Pavan Narang and Anil Soni, along with advocates Neeraj and Himanshu Sethi, argued that Gandhi's voter enrollment prior to April 1983 was irregular and potentially fraudulent. They maintained that "a public authority was misled, and a fraud appears to have been committed." The complaint had also relied on a 1985 Allahabad High Court ruling in Rakesh Singh vs Sonia Gandhi, which recorded that Gandhi became an Indian citizen only on April 30, 1983. The plea sought registration of an FIR and a full police investigation into the alleged offences. After considering the submissions, ACJM Chaurasiya dismissed the complaint, holding that no case was made out to warrant any probe made in the complaint against Sonia Gandhi. The court found the allegations insufficient to proceed with the allegations, claiming forgery or fraud had been committed in securing voter enrollment. (ANI)
The Gorkha community in Dehradun has raised deep concerns about the recent violent incidents and unrest in neighbouring Nepal. They believe that Nepal's ongoing political instability has created a tense and uncertain situation for both countries. Nepali students studying in Dehradun have postponed their plans to return home during the holidays due to the violent protests in their country. Families in Nepal are also advising their children not to travel back at this time. Gorkhali Sudhar Sabha President, Padam Singh Thapa, condemned the violence in Nepal. Thapa told ANI, "People in India are very unhappy with whatever has happened in Nepal. In Uttarakhand, there is a 17 per cent Gorkha population. There is frequent movement of people between India and Nepal, as there are no visa restrictions. The Gorkha community in Uttarakhand condemns whatever happened in Nepal. If the youth in Nepal had some demands, they should have peacefully held discussions with the government. There are 2.5 crore gorkhas in India. We feel that this kind of anarchy is condemnable. Gorkha people are known for their valour and honesty." He further urged the Uttarakhand government to keep an eye on the evolving situation in the neighbouring country. "The youth was worried that the KP Oli government was not addressing the problems of the youth and childrens of the politicians were living a lavish life abroad. Why so much nepotism? The youth were annoyed with the government. I would urge the Uttarakhand government to keep a watch on the situation," he added. Gopal Chetri, Mahamantri Gorkha Sudhar Sabha, said that it is an unfortunate moment for the people of Nepal. "We should help them based on humanity. The conflict between democracy and monarchy is their internal problem, but being a border country, we should have sympathy with them, and we want peace and normalcy to be restored there," he said. Uday Thakur, Editor of Gorkhali Sudhar Sabha, said, "It is not clear why all this happened. The social media ban could be a trigger, as during the age of technology, a social media ban is not right. There can be other political reasons, including corruption," he added. Meanwhile, Armed soldiers of the Nepal Army were patrolling the streets of Kathmandu, instructing residents to stay indoors, following a wave of deadly protests in the capital on Thursday. The Nepali Army conducted checks on vehicles and pedestrians amid an indefinite curfew, imposed to "normalise" the city after mass unrest. During the protests, demonstrators set fire to several government buildings and forced Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to resign, Al Jazeera reported. Amid ongoing unrest in the country for the past several days, Nepal President Ram Chandra Paudel on Thursday appealed to maintain peace, asserting that he is making "every effort" to find a way out of the current situation. President Paudel said, "Respected Nepali brothers and sisters, I am making every effort to find a way out of the current difficult situation in the country within the constitutional framework and to protect democracy and maintain peace and order in the country. I appeal to all parties to be confident that a solution to the problem is being sought as soon as possible to address the demands of the agitating citizens and to cooperate with restraint in maintaining peace and order in the country." The protest leaders in a press conference on Thursday have also collectively endorsed former Chief Justice Sushila Karki as their nominee for interim Prime Minister, citing her integrity and independence, following the resignation of the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli after widespread protests across the nation. Meanwhile, 31 people have been killed and over 1000 injured in clashes with security forces during the anti-corruption demonstrations across the country, The Kathmandu Post reported. (ANI)
Uttarakhand Governor Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (Retd.) and Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami were also present in the meeting.

Additionally, PM Modi interacted with flood-affected people and personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) as he took stock of the rescue and relief work in Uttarakhand.

PM arrived in Dehradun earlier in the day, after concluding his engagements with Mauritian counterpart, Navinchandra Ramgoolam, in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Uttarakhand CM Dhami welcomed him at the Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun.

"Upon arriving in Dehradun to review the aerial survey of disaster-affected areas and relief, rescue, and rehabilitation operations, we welcomed the Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji. In this difficult time of natural disaster, his presence among the people of the state reflects his deep sensitivity towards the affected individuals," CM Dhami posted on X.

In several parts of Uttarakhand, continuous rainfall has triggered ongoing land subsidence. Considering the extent of the damage, the state government has sought Rs 5,702 crore in relief assistance from the Centre. A central team has already visited the affected areas for inspection.

Since the Kedarnath tragedy, this year the state has witnessed the highest number of disasters, causing damage worth crores of rupees. Many villages have been severely affected, with not only loss of human lives but also livestock casualties, the press note said.

On Wednesday, CM Dhami met with the Inter-Ministerial Team that assessed the damage in the Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Pauri Garhwal, Chamoli, Bageshwar, and Nainital districts.

The team was led by R. Prasanna, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs. The team shared feedback received from disaster-affected people and praised the relief operations carried out by the state government. (ANI)
The K-9 canine squad of the Delhi Police has introduced a new official emblem, which serves to acknowledge its operational capacity and enhance the effectiveness of the squad. The new emblem signifies the elite status and dedicated service of the canine squad in protecting the National Capital. In the future, it will be displayed on uniforms, jackets, and gear of all K-9 Unit personnel, as stated in the official release. The official emblem of the canine squad (K-9 Unit) at a ceremonial event at Delhi Police Headquarters, in the presence of Satish Golchha, Commissioner of Police of Delhi. The canine squad (K-9 Unit) of Delhi Police, established in 1967, is a premier unit functioning under the administrative control of the Crime Branch. Highly trained dogs of the K-9 Unit are deployed across the capital to assist in crime detection, explosive and narcotics identification, as well as other critical operations requiring precision and speed. Recognising the sensitive nature of these animals, the K-9 Unit (canine squad) is maintained with the highest standards of care, ensuring a healthy, hygienic, and stress-free environment that enhances performance and ensures public safety. The K-9 Unit plays a vital role in law enforcement with several core functions designed to enhance public safety and aid in criminal investigations. Tracker dogs are deployed at crime scenes to meticulously track and recover stolen property or identify suspects through scent evidence, which can be pivotal in solving cases. Explosive detection dogs are utilised for anti-sabotage checks at public venues, VIP and VVIP routes, and high-profile events, ensuring the safety of dignitaries and the general public alike. Additionally, narcotics detection dogs are tasked with the critical job of identifying illegal substances in various settings, including residences, vehicles, luggage, and on individuals suspected of drug trafficking or possession. Together, these specialised canines significantly contribute to effective policing and community safety. The canine squad of the Crime Branch currently operates from 10 key locations across Delhi, including: PS Model Town, Chanakyapuri, PS Kalyanpuri, PS Daryaganj, PS Sabzi Mandi, PS Maurya Enclave, Sector-12 R.K. Puram, Sector-16A Dwarka, PS Janakpuri, and Pushp Vihar. The K-9 unit plays a crucial role in urban security, regularly conducting patrols and anti-sabotage checks at markets, malls, transportation hubs, and key installations. The K-9 unit is deployed during high-security events, such as Independence Day and Republic Day, as well as visits by national and international dignitaries to various locations, including Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Supreme Court, Vigyan Bhawan, Hyderabad House, and other strategic venues. K-9 handlers and dogs train alongside premier institutions such as the NSG, BSF, CRPF, and Delhi Police Academy, constantly upgrading their capabilities in explosive and contraband detection. (ANI)
Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Patel, inaugurated the National Virus Research & Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) Conclave 2025 on Thursday, highlighting India's progress in medical research and diagnostics. According to the release, the two-day event in Delhi saw the presence of Dr Rajiv Bahl, Secretary of the Department of Health Research (DHR) and DG, ICMR, and Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, Drug Controller General of India. Lauding DHR, ICMR and VRDLs for their collaborations and innovation in the service of society, Patel said each laboratory, each innovation, each collaboration contributes to the vision of Viksit Bharat. Addressing scientists from 165 VRDLs across the country at the two-day Conclave being held in Delhi, Patel said, our VRDLs have stood as sentinels in protecting the country during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. She acknowledged the key role played by these Laboratories in sequencing the virus and validating nearly 1,700 diagnostic commodities. Sharing that sixteen of these VRDLs are now equipped with Bio-Safety Level-3 facilities to study high-risk pathogens, the Minister expressed that VRDLs have been central to early detection of outbreaks of Nipah, Zika, and Kyasanur Forest Disease. Anupriya Patel highlighted the pivotal role of the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, the country's only BSL-4 laboratory and informed that under the Prime Minister's Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, four new regional NIVs are being established in Jabalpur, Dibrugarh, Bangalore, and Jammu, ensuring that preparedness is spread across the nation. The Union Minister shared India's strides in combating tuberculosis (TB) through homegrown innovative technologies and solutions validated by ICMR. "Portable handheld X-ray machines have been deployed to remote villages as part of the 100-day TB campaign. DeepCXR, an AI-based screening tool trained on over 75,000 chest X-ray images, is now freely available for mass TB screening. The CyTb skin test, priced affordably at Rs 199, offers a cost-effective method to detect latent TB, while PathoDetectTM provides rapid and accurate molecular diagnosis for TB and drug resistance in a single test. A modified BPaL treatment regimen trial has demonstrated cure rates of up to 90 per cent for drug-resistant TB with reduced side effects," she said, as per the release. Addressing health challenges in tribal populations, Patel highlighted efforts to eliminate sickle cell disease through the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission. The cost of rapid diagnostic tests has been reduced from Rs 300 to Rs 28 through cost-effectiveness studies conducted by Health Technology Assessment in India (HTAIn) and validated by the ICMR, she said. The Union Minister also informed that HTAIn has also played a vital role in optimising healthcare costs and quality under the Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY scheme, revising 855 health benefit packages based on cost data collected from 86 hospitals, thereby benefiting millions. ICMR's collaboration with the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to develop standard protocols for in-vitro diagnostics (IVD) is another pioneering step. These publicly available protocols elevate validation standards and enhance the global competitiveness of Indian diagnostics. Several VRDLs are also being upgraded to Medical Device Testing Laboratories. The Union Minister also released the In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) validation portal and protocols and exuded confidence that "the new IVD validation portal launched today will facilitate faster, more transparent, and industry-friendly validation processes." As part of strengthening evidence-based policymaking, Patel released the first VRDL Bulletin. She stated that "this will enable real-time tracking of viral infections to improve resource allocation by both state and central governments". Citing examples of DHR's contributions in TB innovations and sickle cell elimination, the Union Minister said, "From early detection of outbreaks to indigenous test validations, from TB and sickle cell innovations to the establishment of new NIVs and the pioneering One Health collaborations, India is building a resilient, self-reliant, and globally relevant health research ecosystem." Patel emphasised that under the Prime Minister's leadership, India has launched the National One Health Mission. This pioneering initiative brings together 13 departments under one umbrella for the first time in the world. She added that ten VRDLs are now part of a National BSL-3 Network under this mission. Anupriya Patel concluded her address by congratulating the Department of Health Research, ICMR, and all VRDL colleagues for their vision and dedication. According to the release, Rajiv Bahl stated that the two-day conclave will unveil transformative initiatives aimed at strengthening the nation's ability to respond effectively to viral outbreaks, emerging infections, and other health emergencies, while reinforcing the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat. He said that "just like India's air defence was impenetrable during the recent Operation Sindoor, the VRDL network will also act as an impenetrable bio-defence of India." "With 164 laboratories across 26 states and 5 Union Territories, the VRDL network acts as a vital safeguard, enabling early detection, swift diagnosis, and prompt response to infectious diseases. Its exemplary contributions during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as outbreaks like Nipah, Kyasanur Forest Disease, Zika, and Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever, have significantly strengthened India's disease surveillance and emergency response mechanisms", he further stated, as per the release. Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi stated that CDSCO and ICMR collaborated and jointly developed 39 standard evaluation protocols for high-risk IVDs covering diseases such as TB, Malaria, Nipah Virus etc. He also highlighted that, "this initiative is the first of its kind globally, representing a unique partnership between a National Regulatory Authority and a National Research Institute to create standardised protocols for assessing the performance of IVD kits". (ANI)
Assam State BJP on Thursday said that, as claimed by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has legally and factually established that Gaurav Gogoi, Deputy Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, and his family have direct links with Pakistan's ISI and are involved in anti-India activities. As per a press note, the Assam BJP alleged, "On Wednesday, the SIT completed its investigation regarding the alleged Pakistan connection of Assam Pradesh Congress President Gaurav Gogoi and submitted a report to the Chief Minister, revealing that he and his wife are engaged in a major conspiracy aimed at weakening the sovereignty of India. The SIT report also proved their involvement in anti-India activities alongside a Pakistani national named Ali Tauqeer Sheikh." In the press release issued by State BJP Spokesperson Jayanta Kumar Goswami it was alleged that Gaurav Gogoi, the son of late Tarun Gogoi - the three-time Chief Minister of Assam and President of Assam Congress - along with his spouse, "being involved in anti-national activities and maintaining connections with enemy nation Pakistan, has deeply embarrassed the people of Assam in front of Indian citizens." "Following the submission of the report by the Special Investigation Team constituted by the Assam State Cabinet, the Chief Minister has reiterated the firm stance of the state government to take successive and strict legal steps in the next cabinet meeting against those involved in anti-national activities," said in the press release. It is also noted in the release that although Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi has remained active and vocal on social media on all matters over the last 15 years, he has never disclosed publicly his visits to Pakistan. "His repeated secret visits to Pakistan clearly indicate his covert connections with the enemy nation. The Congress leaders, including Gaurav Gogoi, are observed to be attempting to mislead public opinion by diverting attention from the real issue. However, the people of Assam will never forgive Gaurav Gogoi for maintaining direct ties with enemy nation Pakistan," said the press release. The State BJP Spokesperson calls upon the government to take the strictest possible legal action against Gaurav Gogoi, his family, and other associated individuals maintaining links with Pakistan. Earlier on Wednesday, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Assam government to probe the alleged links of Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi with Pakistan submitted its report to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. In a post on X, CM Sarma said that the Assam Cabinet had constituted the SIT to investigate the "anti-India activities" and "have unearthed startling facts." (ANI)
Sikkim Governor Om Prakash Mathur, Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, former Rajasthan minister Rajendra Singh Rathore and other Army officials were present on the occasion and participated in the celebrations.

Addressing the gathering, Tamang announced that the historic battlefield sites of Doklam and Chola Pass in East Sikkim will soon be opened for tourists.

Calling them "important battlefield tourism destinations," the Chief Minister stated that infrastructure development in these areas is already underway to support future tourist visits.

Earlier on Wednesday, Sikkim Governor Om Prakash Mathur flagged off a bike rally of 60 bikers from Raj Bhawan premises to mark the 59th Nathula Vijay Diwas.

The rally halted at the 17th Mile tonight before proceeding to Nathula, Cho La, and Doklam.

As per a release, Major General M.S. Rathore, General Officer Commanding of 17th Mountain Division, was also present at the flag-off ceremony. Governor Mathur is scheduled to attend the main Vijay Diwas programme at Nathula on Wednesday.

This day, earlier observed as Nathula Day, has from this year been renamed as Nathula Vijay Diwas to pay tribute to the soldiers who lost their lives in the 1967 Indo-China conflict.

The Nathula and Cho La clashes, also known as the Indo-China War of 1967, took place along the border of the Himalayan kingdom of Sikkim, then an Indian protectorate.

The clashes began on September 11, 1967, when China's People's Liberation Army attacked Indian posts at Nathula, and continued till September 15.

As per records, 65 Indian soldiers and 385 Chinese soldiers were killed. China later accepted defeat and surrendered Nathula to India.

Governor Mathur said, "The day is of great national pride, honouring the bravery and sacrifice of Indian soldiers."

Cho La, a significant mountain pass, gained prominence during the 1967 Indo-China skirmishes, underscoring its strategic importance in the Sikkim-Tibet border region.

It enchants travellers with its serene alpine beauty, rugged terrain, and historical legacy. Nestled amidst towering snow-clad peaks, this high-altitude pass offers a unique blend of military history and natural splendour.

With its tranquil surroundings and stories of valour, Cho La is a must-visit for history buffs, adventure enthusiasts, and nature lovers seeking to immerse themselves in its captivating landscapes and rich heritage, according to bharatrannbhoomidarshan.gov.in. (ANI)
BEIJING, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On September 5, the 6th Zhijiang (China) International Peace Culture Festival wrapped up successfully in Zhijiang Dong Autonomous County, Huaihua City, Hunan Province.

The Festival, themed Promoting Peace Culture and Facilitating the Building of a Community with a Shared Future for Humanity, drew more than 110 distinguished guests from both China and abroad to Zhijiang, where they gathered to discuss peace and development.

The Festival centered on Zhijiang's orientation as an International City of Peace. Key events included protocol meetings between Chinese and international delegates, an opening ceremony featuring an ethnic cultural performance, a symposium on the exchange of peace culture, and a friendship agreement signing ceremony. These activities fostered practical international exchanges and cooperation, translating the idea of peace into tangible actions for shared development. The Festival also highlighted "peace culture" with specially designed cultural exchange experiences and performances themed Auspicious Huaihua, Peaceful Zhijiang. Guests were treated to immersive night tours -- a chance to explore Zhijiang's rich history, unique folk traditions, and its distinct charm as an International City of Peace.

One of the major highlights of the event was the signing of three friendship agreements. Zhijiang Dong Autonomous County, Huaihua City, China, signed a letter of intent to establish sister city relations with Nong Khai City, Nong Khai Province, Thailand. Yuanling County, Huaihua City, China, signed a letter of intent to establish sister city relations with Mulanje City, Malawi. Additionally, Zhijiang No. 1 High School signed a cooperation agreement with Kirovsk No. 1 High School, Russia, to foster friendly school relations. These agreements will open doors for more cultural, educational, and trade collaborations, sparking vibrant future exchanges between these international partners.

The successful hosting of this Festival has significantly advanced the development of Zhijiang's "peace culture," serving as an important platform for the city to connect with the world, showcase its achievements, and enhance its economic vitality. Looking ahead, Zhijiang will continue to take a more open approach, further promoting the "peace culture," deepening regional cooperation, and forging ahead steadily in the pursuit of peaceful development.

SOURCE CCTV+
Amid ongoing unrest in Nepal, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) leader Rafiqul Islam on Thursday expressed deep concern, urging the people to sit down and choose their leader peacefully. The AIUDF leader warned that the situation could severely affect ordinary people if not resolved quickly. Speaking to ANI, Rafiqul Islam said, "The situation in Nepal is a matter of concern because it is a neighbouring country. The interim government should be restored as soon as possible, otherwise people will face a lot of problems. Offices and markets are closed.... If this continues, people will suffer a lot...The concerned people in Nepal should sit down and choose their leader and give them responsibility... The name of Sushila Karki, former Chief Justice of Nepal Supreme Court, is coming up. It has not been finalised yet... She is a former Chief Justice, which means that she knows the law..." The AIUDF leader stressed that prolonged uncertainty in Kathmandu would not only hurt Nepalese citizens but could also impact neighbouring countries, including India. "The incident in Nepal is a matter of concern. It happened in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka recently... There is a lesson in this for the corrupt people..." Islam told ANI. Meanwhile, 31 people have been killed and over 1000 injured in clashes with security forces during the anti-corruption demonstrations across the country, The Kathmandu Post reported. The protests began on September 8, 2025, in Kathmandu and other major cities, including Pokhara, Butwal, and Birgunj, following the government's imposition of a ban on major social media platforms, citing concerns over tax revenue and cybersecurity. The Gen Z-led movement, which initially began as a peaceful protest, has seen moments of violence and chaos, which the leaders blame on political infiltrators. Protesters have been demanding an end to "institutionalised corruption and favouritism" in governance. They want the government to be more accountable and transparent in its decision-making processes. (ANI)
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday stated that he would hold a review meeting on Friday at 11 am to assess the flood situation in the state after heavy rains. In a post on X, CM Mann wrote that discussions would focus on the medical facilities being provided to residents, compensation measures, and concrete steps to manage and mitigate the impact of the floods. "I will hold a meeting tomorrow morning at 11 AM to review the flood situation. In this meeting, the Deputy Commissioners of the flood-affected areas will participate via video conference, and the Secretary and Chief Secretary will join by arriving at my Chandigarh residence. The meeting will discuss the medical facilities being provided to the people, compensation, and concrete steps to deal with the flood situation," CM Mann wrote. Earlier in the day, following heavy monsoon rains that triggered floods across several districts of Punjab, doctors and healthcare staff from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, carried out a four-day relief mission from September 6 to 9, providing life-saving medical aid to thousands of affected people. The team covered multiple districts, reaching remote and waterlogged villages where no prior medical camps had arrived. In total, the AIIMS Delhi team treated over 3,100 patients, conducted more than 400 blood sugar screenings, and distributed essential medicines, including antibiotics, antifungals, antipyretics, antihypertensives, antidiabetics, inhalers, multivitamins, and wound dressings. Additionally, the flooding events have had a significant impact on animal populations in the Ajnala district of Punjab. Earlier on Wednesday, Satish S. Khandare, IPS, ADG BSF Western Command, along with Atul Fulzele, IPS, IG BSF Punjab, conducted an extensive aerial recce of the flood-affected border districts of Gurdaspur, Amritsar and Ferozepur. According to a release, the mission focused on assessing the flood situation along the Punjab border and evaluate the extent of damage to border infrastructure. During his visit, the ADG met with BSF officers in Gurdsapur and Ferozepur to discuss security measures being undertaken to safeguard the waterlogged border amidst challenging circumstances. He also praised the efforts of the BSF units for providing free medical healthcare to the affected villagers and their livestock, and for carrying out immediate rescue operations to evacuate flood-affected people to safer locations. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted an aerial survey of flood-hit areas of Punjab. The Prime Minister announced a financial assistance of Rs. 1600 crore for Punjab in addition to the Rs 12,000 crore already in the state's kitty. Similarly, the Punjab government announced a compensation of Rs 20,000 per acre for farmers whose lands were submerged and crops were damaged due to floods in the state, a statement from the CMO said. "The Punjab government has announced a compensation of Rs 20,000 per acre for farmers whose fields have been submerged under flood waters and whose crops have been damaged," the statement read. (ANI)
A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria will hear the matter.

The bench will also hear the pleas of Gulfisha Fatima and Meeran Haider seeking bail in the Delhi riots larger conspiracy case.

The Delhi High Court on September 2 denied bail to Imam, Khalid and seven others - Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Shadab Ahmed, Abdul Khalid Saifi and Gulfisha Fatima.

On September 2, the bail plea of another accused Tasleem Ahmed was rejected by a different High Court bench.

Delhi Police had opposed their bail pleas, saying it was not a case of spontaneous riots but a case where riots were "planned well in advance" with a "sinister motive and well-thought-out conspiracy".

The High Court had observed that, prima facie, the role of Imam and Khalid in the entire conspiracy was "grave", having delivered inflammatory speeches on communal lines to "instigate mass mobilisation of members of the Muslim community."

Khalid sought bail from the apex court in the larger conspiracy case under the stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the Delhi riots case in February 2020.

In 2020, the Delhi police arrested Imam under the UAPA and named him the main conspirator behind the Delhi riots case.

The violence had erupted during the protests against the then-proposed Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) and had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured. (ANI)
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has recovered three hand grenades and a pistol in the Amritsar temple grenade attack case, exposing the transnational terror conspiracy involving a major arms and explosives syndicate, the agency said on Thursday. Disclosures made by accused Sharanjeet Kumar alias Sunny led the NIA to the recovery of the hand grenades from Bhamri village in Punjab's Batala. The NIA also recovered a .30 bore pistol that had been provided to Sharanjeet by his foreign-based handlers as part of the conspiracy by terrorist groups to disturb the peace and harmony of Punjab. The recovered explosives and arms have been sent for forensic and technical examination. Sharanjit, who was nabbed by NIA from Gaya in Bihar last Friday, was found actively involved in the conspiracy of the grenade attack on Thakurdwara Sanatan temple, Amritsar, by bike-borne assailants Gursidak Singh and Vishal Gill. NIA investigation has revealed that the attack was launched on the directions of foreign-based handlers. Sharanjit's interrogation led the NIA to a specific location in Batala in Gurdaspur, where the grenades had been concealed. "The accused identified the grenades as among the four he had received on 1st March 2025. He had handed over one grenade to the assailants two days before the March 15 attack," said the NIA in a statement, citing a revelation of the accused to the investigators. NIA investigations in the case so far have revealed a conspiracy by terrorist handlers, based in Europe, USA and Canada, behind the attack. "The handlers were actively providing terror hardware, funds, logistical support and target details to their on-ground operatives in India to unleash terror in Punjab and other parts of the country," added the agency. (ANI)
On Thursday, Justice Sapre, accompanied by GHMC Commissioner RV. Karnan inspected Jubilee Hills Road No. 45 Flyover connecting Jubilee Hills to Madhapur, and the P. Janardhan Reddy Flyover linking Kondapur with Gachibowli.

He reviewed a series of road safety measures, including the installation of warning signboards, radium stickers, CC cameras, rumble strips to regulate vehicle speed, chevron boards, concrete barriers, and improved street lighting for night-time visibility.

Commissioner R.V. Karnan briefed the SCCoRS Chairman on GHMC's comprehensive measures to prevent road accidents and ensure commuter safety.

Justice Sapre expressed satisfaction with the efforts, emphasising that road safety must remain a top priority. He reiterated, "Every life is precious. Innocent lives must not be lost due to negligence."

Later, Justice Sapre visited the Hyderabad Growth Corridor Limited (HGCL) office at Nanakramguda, where officials presented details of traffic management on the Outer Ring Road (ORR). He was informed that over 2.5 lakh vehicles use the ORR daily, which is managed through advanced technologies such as the Intelligent Transport System (ITS) and the Highway Traffic Management System (HTMS). These systems, supported by CCTV surveillance, emergency call boxes, variable message signs (VMS), vehicle detectors, Automatic Traffic Counter-Classifier (ATCC), and a centralised Traffic Control Centre (TCC), ensure effective monitoring, enforcement, and rapid emergency response.

HMDA Urban Forestry VSNV Prasad, GHMC Projects Chief Engineer Bhaskar Reddy, and Maintenance Chief Engineer Sahadev Rathnakar joined the inspection and briefings. (ANI)
A minor girl was attacked with a blade on her face and back by a group of girls in Delhi's Rohini Sector 30 area, police said on Thursday. The incident took place on September 9, in the Aman Vihar police station area of Rohini district. According to the Delhi police, the victim, a resident of Sector-20, Rohini, was attacked following an earlier dispute with a fellow student. Enquiry revealed that on September 4, the victim and the accused had an altercation in school. To take revenge, the accused and her sister, along with their friends, allegedly conspired to carry out the assault. The police said that on the day of the attack, the accused girls, of whom one was a 14-year-old and the other three were 15-year-olds, slapped the victim, while another 16-year-old attacked her with a blade, leaving serious injuries on her face and back. Police reached the hospital after receiving a PCR call on September 9. Doctors informed them that the victim was under treatment and unfit for statement at the time. The Medico-Legal Case (MLC) report was also kept pending by doctors on that day. Following the receipt of the MLC report on Thursday, legal action was taken against the accused minors, officials said. Police stated that the accused girls were friends of the accused, who studied in the victim's school, while they themselves were students of another school where another accused sister studied. "The enquiry revealed that the attack was the result of a revenge plan after a school altercation. All minors involved in the assault have been identified," the police said. Further necessary legal action has been initiated. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Dehradun on Thursday and reviewed the flood situation and damage caused due to cloudbursts, rains and landslides in affected areas of Uttarakhand and announced a financial assistance of Rs 1200 cr. PM Modi held a meeting in Dehradun to review the relief and rehabilitation measures undertaken as well as assess the damage that has occurred in Uttarakhand. State Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Governor Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (Retd.) were also present in the meeting. PM Modi expressed his condolences to the family members of those who have lost their lives in the natural calamity and stated that the Union Government will work closely with the State Governments at this difficult time and extend all possible assistance. "Chaired a review meeting on the flood situation in Uttarakhand. The devastation caused by floods in the state has saddened us all. My deepest condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. I pray that the people injured recover at the earliest. We are ensuring swift relief, rehabilitation and long-term measures to support those affected," PM Modi said in a post on X. The Prime Minister met families from Uttarakhand who had been affected by the recent natural calamities, including landslides and floods. He conveyed his solidarity with all those who had suffered and offered heartfelt condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. "Interacted with victims of the floods and landslides in Uttarakhand. We remain committed to standing by them with all possible support. Their courage in the face of such adversity is truly moving. We will work together to help them rebuild their lives," PM Modi said. PM Modi also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those seriously injured in the floods and related disasters, according to a release from PMO. PM Modi emphasised the need for a multi-dimensional approach to help the entire region and its people recover. This would include measures such as rebuilding homes under the PM Awas Yojana, restoring national highways, reconstructing schools, providing relief through the PMNRF, and distributing mini kits for livestock. Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Gramin, financial assistance will be extended under "Special Project'' submitted by the Government of Uttarakhand for the reconstruction of houses in rural areas to eligible households whose houses have been damaged due to floods. The Union Government has already sent Inter-Ministerial Central teams to visit Uttarakhand to assess the extent of damage, and based on their detailed report, further assistance will be considered, the release added. PM Modi declared that children orphaned by the recent floods and landslides will receive assistance through the PM CARES for Children scheme, ensuring their long-term care and welfare. PM Modi also stated that the assistance under the purview of the Disaster Management Act and Rules, including advance disbursements to the States, being announced at this stage, are for the interim period. The Central government will further review the assessment based on the memorandum of the State as well as the report of the Central teams. He appreciated the efforts of the personnel of NDRF, SDRF, Army, State administration and other service-oriented organisations for making efforts in immediate relief and response, the release added. Uttarakhand CM Dhami expressed gratitude to PM Modi for the "invaluable" support to Uttarakhand in the time of disaster. "Under the able leadership of the Honourable Prime Minister ji, our double-engine government is fully committed at every level to the relief, rehabilitation, and secure future of the disaster-affected people of the state. On behalf of all the people of the state, heartfelt gratitude to the Honourable Prime Minister ji for the invaluable support provided during this difficult time of disaster," CM Dhami said on X. CM Dhami also said that PM Modi appreciated the work of the NDRF and SDRF personnel. "Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji held a dialogue with NDRF, SDRF, and the Aapda Mitra team in Dehradun. During this time, he appreciated the excellent work done by these teams in the disaster-affected areas of the state and listened to their experiences. to provide relief during the disaster," Dhami said. PM arrived in Dehradun earlier in the day, after concluding his engagements with Mauritian counterpart, Navinchandra Ramgoolam, in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Uttarakhand CM Dhami welcomed him at the Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun. In several parts of Uttarakhand, continuous rainfall has triggered ongoing land subsidence. Considering the extent of the damage, the state government has sought Rs 5,702 crore in relief assistance from the Centre. A central team has already visited the affected areas for inspection. Since the Kedarnath tragedy, this year the state has witnessed the highest number of disasters, causing damage worth crores of rupees. Many villages have been severely affected, with not only loss of human lives but also livestock casualties, the press note said. (ANI)
Assam's Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma responded swiftly to an unfortunate incident in Golakganj, Dhubri district, where a misunderstanding between the administration and the public led to tensions.

Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah rushed to Dhubri on the direction of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and expressed regret over the episode.

Mallabaruah told mediapersons that the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Golakganj police station had been suspended and another involved OC (of Gauripur police station) had been reserve posted.

Minister Baruah said, "The Officer-in-Charge of Golokganj Police Station has been suspended. The Officer-in-Charge of Gauripur Police Station has been put under the reserve clause. The process of granting Scheduled Tribe status to six communities, including the Koch-Rajbongshi, is being pursued step by step under the guidance of the Chief Minister."

Six communities in Assam - Koch-Rajbongshi, Tai-Ahom, Chutia, Matak, Moran, and Tea Tribes - have long been demanding ST status. In addition, the AKRSU is pressing for the creation of a separate "Kamatapur" state.

On 6 September, thousands of people from the Moran community staged demonstrations in upper Assam's Margherita, demanding ST status and autonomy under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

The minister visited Dhubri Medical College and Hospital to meet those injured in the lathicharge and later held discussions with AKRSU leaders. Speaking to the media, he termed the incident "unfortunate" and assured immediate action.

Baruah met with injured protesters receiving medical care and spoke with community leaders to restore peace. An enquiry's been ordered against the involved officials, with a report expected within five days.

Several people were injured after police personnel resorted to a lathi charge on protesters at Golakganj on Wednesday.

The protest was led by All Koch-Rajbongshi Students' Union (AKRSU).

According to the CMO, Assam, the Assam government is committed to preventing such incidents and upholding public trust.

Tension gripped Assam's Golokganj in Dhubri district after police, battalion forces, and CRPF personnel resorted to a sudden lathi charge on members of the AKRSU during a torchlight procession on Tuesday evening. Several men and women sustained injuries in the incident, leading AKRSU to call for a 12-hour Dhubri district bandh from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. today. (ANI)
The Punjab Government has launched an extensive fogging campaign in Ajnala and other flood-affected areas to curb the spread of dengue, malaria, and other vector-borne diseases. The initiative aims to protect public health in the wake of recent flooding, which has heightened the risk of disease outbreaks. Ajnala Nagar Panchayat President Jaspal Singh Dhillon stated, "We are conducting continuous fogging in the flood-affected areas to stop any diseases from spreading... We are also conducting the sprays in the areas which are not affected by floods, as a safety precaution..." Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann stated that he would hold a review meeting on Friday at 11 am to assess the flood situation in the state after heavy rains. In a post on X, CM Mann wrote that discussions would focus on the medical facilities being provided to residents, compensation measures, and concrete steps to manage and mitigate the impact of the floods. "I will hold a meeting tomorrow at 11 am to review the flood situation. In this meeting, the Deputy Commissioners of the flood-affected areas will participate via video conference, and the Secretary and Chief Secretary will join by arriving at my Chandigarh residence. The meeting will discuss the medical facilities being provided to the people, compensation, and concrete steps to deal with the flood situation," CM Mann wrote. Meanwhile, following heavy monsoon rains that triggered floods across several districts of Punjab, doctors and healthcare staff from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, carried out a four-day relief mission from September 6 to 9, providing life-saving medical aid to thousands of affected people. The team covered multiple districts, reaching remote and waterlogged villages where no prior medical camps had arrived. In total, the AIIMS Delhi team treated over 3,100 patients, conducted more than 400 blood sugar screenings, and distributed essential medicines, including antibiotics, antifungals, antipyretics, antihypertensives, antidiabetics, inhalers, multivitamins and wound dressings. (ANI)
In a post on X, ED wrote, "ED, Bengaluru has provisionally attached immovable property to the extent of Rs. 75 Lakh of M/s Velohar Infra Private Limited, under PMLA, 2002, in a case related to misappropriating Government funds from the accounts of M/s Karnataka State Handicraft Development Corporation Limited (KSHDCL)."

Earlier today, ED launched search operations at multiple locations in Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Telangana in connection with a massive fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) case of around Rs 650 crore, officials said.

ED's Guwahati unit is conducting the operation in close coordination with state police forces.

The case pertains to firms allegedly engaged in generating and availing fraudulent ITC through fake invoices without the actual supply of goods or services. Such fraudulent claims not only cause losses to the exchequer but are often linked to money laundering and shell company operations.

The ED's searches were carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), following information shared by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities.

Fake ITC scams have been a major concern for tax enforcement agencies in recent years. In several past cases, fraudsters floated multiple shell companies to pass on tax credits illegally, creating a parallel chain of bogus transactions.

Officials said the ongoing action is aimed at unearthing the entire network behind the scam and identifying the end beneficiaries.

Last month, the federal agency had also carried out search operations at 12 locations spread across Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Maharashtra as part of its ongoing probe into a similar massive fake ITC scam involving Rs 750 crore. The case was linked to a fraudulent network involving shell companies and unauthorised financial channels used to claim and launder fake ITC. (ANI)
Experienced physician executive to lead network's growth and innovation across Silicon Valley

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- El Camino Health is pleased to announce the appointment of Alan Muster, MD, MBA, MHA, as the new president of the El Camino Health Medical Network, a comprehensive care network which unites exceptional physicians who share a mission to heal, relieve suffering, and advance wellness in our community. He will officially begin his role effective November 17.

"We are delighted to welcome Dr. Alan Muster to El Camino Health Medical Network at a pivotal time in our growth as we expand to bring high-quality, personalized care closer to where people live," said Dan Woods, chief executive officer at El Camino Health. "Alan is a proven leader whose passion for people and healthcare aligns perfectly with our mission and his commitment to patient-centered care will help us strengthen physician partnerships, expand access, and continue delivering trusted, compassionate care throughout Silicon Valley."

As president of the El Camino Health Medical Network, Dr. Muster will provide leadership and strategic direction for our medical group, IPA, and physician alignment strategy. He will be responsible for the growth and integration of primary and specialty practices, ensuring operational and strategic alignment with El Camino Health. Dr. Muster will play a key role in developing and implementing long-range strategic plans that support El Camino Health's goal of building an integrated healthcare system of the future.

"I'm thrilled and honored to serve as medical network president of such a highly esteemed and accomplished healthcare system," said Dr. Muster. "As a physician and healthcare leader, my focus has always been on delivering exceptional healthcare and improving patient outcomes. El Camino Health is well positioned to help improve the lives of those we serve in the South Bay and greater Silicon Valley communities, and I look forward to working alongside a dedicated leadership team."

Dr. Muster joins El Camino Health from the Wellstar Medical Group Specialty Division in Marietta, Georgia, where he was responsible for all aspects of operations, financial performance, and physician leadership for more than 550 medical and surgical specialists, 400 advanced practice professionals, and 2,100 team members across 36 specialties. He has served as a practicing physician, medical director, and clinical leader, bringing a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing providers and patients alike. Dr. Muster earned his medical degree at Rutgers University, New Jersey Medical School, and a bachelor of science in biomedical engineering from Brown University. He also holds both a master of business administration and master of health administration from Georgia State University.

The El Camino Health Medical Network is an integral part of El Camino Health, with more than 300 primary care and specialist physicians located throughout Santa Clara County. El Camino Health Medical Network aspires to elevate the healthcare experience, beyond healing, for the communities it serves. The network's mission is to provide its patients with healthcare options that fit their lifestyle. With a strong foundation of clinical expertise across a wide range of specialties and care delivered in 28 languages, El Camino Health Medical Network is well positioned to meet the evolving healthcare needs of the regions it serves.

About El Camino Health

El Camino Health has served the communities of Silicon Valley and the South Bay for more than 60 years, with nationally recognized physicians and nurses at two not-for-profit acute care hospitals in Los Gatos and Mountain View, and 26 care locations across the region, which includes primary care, multi-specialty care, and urgent care. El Camino Health is dedicated to giving patients high-quality care utilizing the most advanced technology and research. As your healthcare partner of choice, we focus on keeping you healthy and getting you back on your feet when you need it, so you can live your best life.

Aside from achieving outstanding patient outcomes, the hospitals have earned numerous awards for clinical excellence, including being named one of the World's Best Hospitals 2025 by Newsweek, one of the Best Hospitals for Maternity Care by U.S. News & World Report, one of America's 100 Best for Cardiac Care by Healthgrades and becoming the San Francisco Bay Area's first Magnet hospital, earning four consecutive designations from the American Nurses Credentialing Center for nursing excellence.

Key service lines include cancer care, cardiovascular care, maternity care, mental health and addiction services, orthopedics, pulmonology, urology, and women's health. Visit elcaminohealth.org to learn more.

Media Contact

Ross Coyle, senior external communications specialist, El Camino Health

[email protected]

650-988-7452

SOURCE El Camino Health
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Thursday visited flood-affected areas of Banaskantha district, including Suigam, which had been severely impacted by heavy rainfall, to review the situation on the ground, as per CMO release. At the Suigam Community Health Centre relief camp, the Chief Minister met with flood-affected citizens taking shelter, enquired into the facilities being provided to them, the losses they had suffered, and reassured them that the Government stood firmly by their side in this crisis. The Chief Minister also visited rainwater-inundated areas of Sui village and the Jalotra sub-station to assess the situation caused by the heavy rainfall. On Thursday night, the Chief Minister stayed at Vav in Banaskantha district, engaging directly with villagers and obtaining details of the prevailing circumstances. Later, at the Suigam Sub-Divisional Office, he convened a meeting with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Shankar Chaudhary; the District In-charge Minister, Balvantsinh Rajput; Members of the Legislative Assembly Swaroopji Thakor, Aniket Thakar, and Pravin Mali; former MLA Shashikant Pandya; senior office bearers; the Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister, MK Das; and officials. The Chief Minister reviewed the rescue and relief operations undertaken by the administration and issued necessary guidance. He commended the efforts of the district administration and urged them to continue working with the same sensitivity and urgency until normalcy was fully restored. The Chief Minister directed that the disbursement of relief assistance to flood-affected citizens commence from Thursday evening itself. He further instructed that household assistance be provided in line with a structured SOP. In the case of livestock mortality, he directed that compensation be given only after due verification by the Veterinary Officer. He stressed the need to accord priority to restoring connectivity in Suigam and other border villages. The Chief Minister also highlighted the importance of developing long-term mitigation measures to prevent the recurrence of such flood situations. During the review meeting at Suigam, the Banaskantha District Collector, Mihir Patel, through a presentation, reported that 296 villages across 3,416 square kilometres in Suigam, Vav, Tharad, and Bhabhar talukas had been affected by the heavy rainfall. The presentation further detailed the rescue and evacuation measures, noting that a total of 228 persons had been rescued across the four talukas, and more than 6,800 affected citizens had been safely relocated. In addition, two NDRF teams and three SDRF teams had been deployed to assist the local administration. The State Government has dispatched 18,000 ration kits, each containing 15 kilograms of food grains, to be distributed amongst citizens in the affected areas. Furthermore, 2.5 lakh food packets and 3 lakh water bottles have already been supplied. Electricity supply has been restored to all sub-stations in the affected talukas. Of the 213 villages where power supply was disrupted, restoration has been completed in more than 181 villages. With regard to drinking water, the District Collector reported that supply has been restored in 168 out of 295 affected villages across the four talukas, including Suigam. Intensive efforts are underway to ensure the provision of potable water in all villages. To prevent the outbreak of epidemics and disease due to stagnant water, 207 medical surveillance teams are operational in affected villages. More than 7,600 chlorine tablets and 1,040 ORS packets have been distributed, while door-to-door health surveys are being conducted on a priority basis. Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Shankar Chaudhary, advocated for chlorination of water at the source itself to ensure safe distribution. Later in the evening, following his visit to Suigam and Sui, the Chief Minister travelled to Nagla and Khanpur villages in Tharad taluka, where he met with affected citizens and provided guidance to the local population regarding drainage of accumulated rainwater. (ANI)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday reacted to the ongoing unrest in Nepal for the past several days and said it was a matter that should be addressed by the "Government of India". He added that the state government is monitoring the safety of Indian tourists, including those from Maharashtra. Speaking to reporters, Fadnavis said, "This is an international issue. It is better if the Government of India speaks on it. Our tourists, including those from Maharashtra, who are visiting Nepal, are being brought back. We are in touch with them." The chief minister assured that all necessary measures were being taken to ensure the safety of citizens from Maharashtra who were stranded in Nepal. He said that coordination was underway with central agencies and Indian authorities to facilitate their safe return. The Maharashtra Chief Minister's statement comes amid ongoing unrest, as anti-establishment protests led by Nepal's Gen Z continue across the country. Earlier in the day, Nepal President Ram Chandra Paudel appealed to maintain peace, asserting that he is making "every effort" to find a way out of the current situation. President Paudel said, "Respected Nepali brothers and sisters, I am making every effort to find a way out of the current difficult situation in the country within the constitutional framework and to protect democracy and maintain peace and order in the country. I appeal to all parties to be confident that a solution to the problem is being sought as soon as possible to address the demands of the agitating citizens and to cooperate with restraint in maintaining peace and order in the country." Youth leaders at the forefront of the demonstrations have stated that widespread corruption and political stagnation are the core reasons behind their mass mobilisation against the government, reflecting the very issues the President referenced in his call for dialogue and peace. The protest leaders in a press conference have also collectively endorsed former Chief Justice Sushila Karki as their nominee for interim Prime Minister, citing her integrity and independence, following the resignation of the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli after widespread protests across the nation. Meanwhile, 31 people have been killed and over 1000 injured in clashes with security forces during the anti-corruption demonstrations across the country, The Kathmandu Post reported. The protests began on September 8, 2025, in Kathmandu and other major cities, including Pokhara, Butwal, and Birgunj, following the government's imposition of a ban on major social media platforms, citing concerns over tax revenue and cybersecurity. Further, curfew was imposed in several cities, including Kathmandu, to control the situation, which will continue till Friday morning, as per a statement issued by the Nepalese Army. (ANI)
Security forces have neutralised 10 Naxals, including senior commander and Central Committee (CC) member Manoj alias Modem Balkrishna, during an encounter in Chhattisgarh's Gariyaband district, according to an official on Thursday. Earlier in the day, Inspector General (IG) Raipur Range, Amresh Mishra, said, "Encounter is underway between security forces and Naxals in Gariaband with intermittent exchange of firing. A few naxals are likely dead." More details are awaited. Earlier in the day, in a similar incident, security forces neutralised one naxal in an encounter in the Kanker-Narayanpur border area. Officials identified the naxal as the PLGA Military Company 05 member who had a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head. The encounter took place in the hilly jungle area of the village of Gedabeda of Police Station Partapur. Forces also recovered a .303 rifle and a walkie-talkie from the site. Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj P, said that despite difficult geographical conditions and brutal weather, the police and security forces deployed in Bastar are working with complete devotion to protect life and property as per the intention of the Government of India and the Government of Chhattisgarh. The Inspector General of Police appealed to the Maoist cadres to accept the reality that Maoism is on the verge of ending. "Now the time has come for them to abandon the path of violence and join the mainstream by taking advantage of the government's rehabilitation policy. If they continue illegal and violent activities, they will have to face severe consequences," he said. Recently, in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh's Bastar region, 30 Naxals surrendered and were rehabilitated. Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma said the surrender and rehabilitation of 30 Naxals in Bijapur is the result of the state government's rehabilitation policy, the efforts of security forces, and ongoing development workHe also urged Naxals to join the mainstream and improve their lives. Speaking to ANI, Sharma said, "In Bijapur in the Bastar region, 30 Naxalites have been rehabilitated. This is one of the largest numbers so far. This is the result of the Chhattisgarh government's rehabilitation policy, the bravery of the jawans, and the government's development works. We repeatedly appeal to the Naxalites to join the mainstream and improve their lives..." (ANI)
Prohibitory orders were imposed in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda after protests erupted over the arrest of AAP MLA Mehraj Malik under the Public Safety Act (PSA). The security measures have been taken as a precaution to maintain public safety and peace in the district. Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban Range DIG Sridhar Patil stated that the administration is working to attain normalcy in the region, and discussions with the public were also held to achieve the goal. "We took a meeting with the citizens of Doda to maintain peace in the district. After a detailed discussion, we are on the right track to resolve their problems. Discussions were held on how to attain normalcy in the region." Sridhar Patil said. DIG Sridhar Patil informed that the incidents of stone pelting were reported in some areas of Doda. He also added that an explosion was reported in the morning. "Incidents of stone-pelting took place, and we had to use tear gases at some places, but we were successful in averting any sort of major damage. There was a report of an explosion-like sound at nearly 10.30 to 11 AM, which is under investigation. Two people are under inquiry, and action will be taken based on the investigation," he said. He further thanked the public for maintaining the harmony and peace in the region. "I want to thank the public of Doda for supporting the administration and maintaining communal harmony and peace." Tension has been simmering in Doda since the arrest of AAP MLA Mehraj Malik under the Public Safety Act, 1978, for activities being prejudicial to the maintenance of public order. Earlier in the day, AAP MP Sanjay Singh was allegedly not allowed by the Jammu and Kashmir Police to leave the government guest house in Srinagar to protest against the arrest. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdulla questioned heavy-handed actions by central authorities on AAP MP Sanjay Singh. Omar Abdullah stated that Sanjay Singh was "locked" in the guest house and criticised the central government for "always taking a stringent stance" in Jammu and Kashmir. "It's not a claim; it is a reality that Sanjay Singh was locked. Repeatedly, such things are being done. It is said that everything is fine in Jammu and Kashmir and a new J-K is emerging, but the reality is that they always adopt a stringent stance against us," Omar Abdullah said. National Conference President Farooq Abdullah was allegedly not allowed to enter in the guest house where Sanjay Singh was stopped. Both leaders held a conversation by standing behind the gate of the guest house. Sanjay Singh shared the visuals and wrote, "It is a very sad thing that Farooq Abdullah Ji, who has been the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir many times, came to meet me at the government guest house upon hearing the news of my house arrest by the police, but he was not allowed to meet me. If this is not a dictatorship, then what is it?" Abdullah too condemned the attempt to stop AAP MP Sanjay Singh from holding a protest and presser against the detention of lone party MLA Mehraj Malik under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA). (ANI)
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday urged that the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) be continued for a revenue-deficient state like Himachal Pradesh. He requested that the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) should be kept at a minimum level of Rs 10,000 crore annually. CM Sukhu said, "The justification for continuation and quantum of RDG has been reflected in the additional memorandum and main memorandum submitted by the State Government to the Finance Commission." He requested not to taper RDG, which should be determined on the realistic assessment of the State's revenues and expenditure projections during the award period by the 16th Finance Commission. He urged that RDG should be kept at a minimum level of Rs 10,000 crore annually. He met Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission Arvind Panagariya at New Delhi and discussed various issues related to the state's fiscal health. He said that Himachal Pradesh had been facing the brunt of natural disasters for the last three years, losing precious lives and suffering a loss of more than Rs 15,000 crore. The damage to the environment and infrastructure was colossal. He apprised that the Supreme Court also made an observation in July 2025 that revenue could not be earned at the cost of the environment and ecology, and it could prove detrimental for the entire state. The hill State of Himachal Pradesh has limitations to achieve revenue growth beyond a certain level. Essential public services have to be provided as part of constitutional obligations, and with more than 67 percent of our area as forest land, there was very little space to manoeuvre. The Chief Minister said that a detailed justification for increasing the weightage for the criteria of forest and ecology has been submitted by the State to the Commission. He requested that snow covered-cum-cold desert areas i.e. above the tree line should be included along with very dense forests and moderate dense forests areas for their symbiotic relationship. He said the state had also requested the creation of a separate 'Green Fund' with an earmarked annual allocation of Rs 50,000 crore for the hill States for the ecological services being provided to the country in different forms. This fund may be carved out or earmarked in the form of a scheme as Special Central Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI). The matter had also been discussed with the Prime Minister and even through a letter written to him. Sukhu said there was a need to reframe the Disaster Risk Index (DRI) developed by the 15th Finance Commission as the Himalayan region could not be equated with the rest of the country as far as various hazard vulnerabilities and their respective weightages were concerned. The uniform matrix developed does not include hazards like landslide, snow avalanches, cloudbursts, forest fires and Glacial Lakes Outburst Flood (GLOFS) and the increased frequency of these hazards during the recent past impacting the mountainous region was a case in point. He said that because of low DRI, Himachal Pradesh did not get adequate resources from 15th Finance Commission to meet its requirement of disaster relief, despite facing disproportionately higher brunt of disasters. He requested that a separate DRI may be prepared for hill states by considering the unique indicators as mentioned above and a separate allocation may be made for hill states which could further be distributed horizontally amongst these states on the basis of the new DRI. The Chief Minister said that since the 16th Finance Commission was in the process of finalising its report, the submissions of the state may be considered sympathetically while finalising the recommendations, so that the state finances remain sustainable. He assured the Chairman that the State would do everything possible to move towards a path of fiscal prudence. The Advisor to the Chief Minister was also present on the occasion. (ANI)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday lauded the elimination of 10 Naxalites in Chhattisgarh during a joint operation by CRPF's Cobra commandos, Chhattisgarh Police, and District Reserve Guard (DRG). Shah further reiterated the Union Government's commitment to eradicate naxalism from Chhattigarh by March 31, 2026, stating that all the naxalites should surrender on time. "Our security forces have achieved another major success against the Naxalites today. In Chhattisgarh, CRPF's Cobra commandos, Chhattisgarh Police, and DRG conducted a joint operation and eliminated 10 notorious Naxalites, including CCM Modem Balakrishna alias Manoj, who carried a bounty of 1 crore. The remaining Naxalites should surrender in time. The complete eradication of red terror is certain before March 31st," Shah wrote on 'X'. Earlier today, security forces neutralised 10 Naxals, including senior commander and Central Committee (CC) member Manoj alias Modem Balkrishna, during an encounter in Chhattisgarh's Gariyaband district, according to an official on Thursday. Inspector General (IG) Raipur Range, Amresh Mishra, said earlier, "Encounter is underway between security forces and Naxals in Gariaband with intermittent exchange of firing. A few naxals are likely dead." In a similar incident, security forces neutralised one naxal in an encounter in the Kanker-Narayanpur border area. Officials identified the naxal as the PLGA Military Company 05 member who had a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head. The encounter took place in the hilly jungle area of the village of Gedabeda of Police Station Partapur. Forces also recovered a .303 rifle and a walkie-talkie from the site. Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj P, said that despite difficult geographical conditions and brutal weather, the police and security forces deployed in Bastar are working with complete devotion to protect life and property as per the intention of the Government of India and the Government of Chhattisgarh. The Inspector General of Police appealed to the Maoist cadres to accept the reality that Maoism is on the verge of ending. "Now the time has come for them to abandon the path of violence and join the mainstream by taking advantage of the government's rehabilitation policy. If they continue illegal and violent activities, they will have to face severe consequences," he said. Recently, in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh's Bastar region, 30 Naxals surrendered and were rehabilitated. Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma said the surrender and rehabilitation of 30 Naxals in Bijapur is the result of the state government's rehabilitation policy, the efforts of security forces, and ongoing development workHe also urged Naxals to join the mainstream and improve their lives. Speaking to ANI, Sharma said, "In Bijapur in the Bastar region, 30 Naxalites have been rehabilitated. This is one of the largest numbers so far. This is the result of the Chhattisgarh government's rehabilitation policy, the bravery of the jawans, and the government's development works. We repeatedly appeal to the Naxalites to join the mainstream and improve their lives..." (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Maharashtra government to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising senior Hindu and Muslim police officers to investigate the alleged assault of a 17-year-old boy during the communal violence in Akola on May 13, 2023, that killed one person and left eight others, including two police officers, injured. The boy, Mohammad Afzal Mohammad Sharif, who was allegedly attacked during the incident, also claimed to have witnessed the murder of one Vilas Mahadevrao Gaikwad, an auto-rickshaw driver, who, according to him, was fatally assaulted by four men under the mistaken belief that he was a Muslim. While ordering a SIT probe, *a bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Satish Chandra Sharma observed that if the murder was really communally motivated, the same had to be ascertained after a thorough investigation. "If, in fact, the deceased was really murdered under the impression that he belonged to the Muslim community and the assailants were not of that community, that was a fact that had to be ascertained after thorough and proper investigation", the Court noted in its judgment. The top court also criticised Akola police for their failure to register a first information report (FIR) regarding the assault on Sharif, despite the knowledge that a cognizable offence had taken place. "Therefore, the inaction of the officer-in-charge of the Old City Police Station, Akola, despite being made aware of Medico-Legal Case No. 5580, involving the appellant, and his admission in the hospital, and the failure in following through by recording his statement at the earliest opportunity and registering an FIR in that regard, clearly manifests total dereliction of duty on his part, be it deliberate or due to sheer carelessness", the Court observed. The Court noted that the medical report from the hospital confirms that the boy was assaulted and was brought to the hospital with a head injury. "At the very least, the assault upon him would have constituted an offence under Sections 324 or 325 or 326 of the IPC, which are all cognizable, and required decisive and prompt action on the part of the police as soon as they came to know about it", the Court stated. Further, the Court found it even more distressing that no action was taken despite the boy making a written complaint to the Superintendent of Police (SP) Akola, through his father. "There is no denial either in the affidavit filed before this Court or in the counter affidavit filed before the High Court that the complaint dated 01.06.2023 was not received by Sandip Ghuge, Superintendent of Police, Akola, respondent No. 3, before the High Court and before us. There is no explanation forthcoming as to whether he even undertook an inquiry to satisfy himself about the truth or otherwise of the information received, as mandated by the provision", it noted. The Court noted that once information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence is given to the officer-in-charge of a police station, the investigative machinery is required to be set in motion. "In effect, if the information received disclosed commission of a cognizable offence, it is mandatory to register an FIR", it added. The Court was displeased with the overall inaction of the police in the case and observed that the police's conduct did not live up to the expectation reposed in them as upholders of the law to take prompt and appropriate action. It further observed that police officers are required to leave their personal predilections and biases, be they religious, racial, casteist or otherwise, aside while discharging their duties. "They must be true to the call of duty attached to their office and their uniform with absolute and total integrity", the Court said. The appellant boy had moved the top court challenging the decision of the Bombay High Court (Nagpur bench) that dismissed his plea seeking an FIR in connection with the alleged assault on him. The High Court had reasoned that the plea was tainted with some ulterior motive, making it an unfit case for exercising its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. However, the top court found merit in the appellants' case and found the High Court's decision to be incorrect. Thus, it ordered an SIT probe into the matter and directed the Maharashtra government to take disciplinary action against all police officials who failed in discharging their duty. "Measures shall also be initiated to instruct and sensitise the rank and file in the police department as to what law requires of them in the discharge of their duties", it directed further. The Court has sought the SIT report to be placed before it in three months. The appellant Mohammad Afzal Mohammad Sharif was represented by Senior Advocate Mahadeo Thipsay, Advocates Fauzia Shakil, Tasmiya Taleha, Shoeb M. Inamdar and M Huzaifa. (ANI)
Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma on Thursday lauded security forces for carrying out a "restrained and successful" anti-Naxal operation in Bijapur district that resulted in the killing of 10 Naxals, including one carrying a reward of Rs 1 crore. Speaking to reporters, Sharma said, "It was an excellent operation. It was a joint operation of CRPF's Cobra commandos, Chhattisgarh Police, and DRG conducted in a very restrained manner. The operation lasted for 2 days. In the encounter, all the Naxals were killed. A Naxal with a bounty of Rs 1 crore was also killed. Along with that, nine other Naxals were killed." When asked about IED remains a big challenge for security forces as two soldiers were injured during the operation, Sharma said, "Across the world whichever will be the best technology for the IED detection, we are looking for it." Union Home Minister Amit Shah also praised the elimination of 10 Naxalites in Chhattisgarh during a joint operation by CRPF's Cobra commandos, Chhattisgarh Police, and District Reserve Guard (DRG). Shah further reiterated the Union Government's commitment to eradicate naxalism from Chhattigarh by March 31, 2026, stating that all the naxalites should surrender on time. "Our security forces have achieved another major success against the Naxalites today. In Chhattisgarh, CRPF's Cobra commandos, Chhattisgarh Police, and DRG conducted a joint operation and eliminated 10 notorious Naxalites, including CCM Modem Balakrishna alias Manoj, who carried a bounty of Rs 1 crore. The remaining Naxalites should surrender in time. The complete eradication of red terror is certain before March 31st," Shah said in a post on X. Security forces neutralised 10 Naxals, including senior commander and Central Committee (CC) member Manoj alias Modem Balkrishna, during an encounter in Chhattisgarh's Gariyaband district, according to an official on Thursday. Inspector General (IG) Raipur Range, Amresh Mishra, said earlier, "Encounter is underway between security forces and Naxals in Gariaband with intermittent exchange of firing. A few naxals are likely dead." In a similar incident, security forces neutralised one naxal in an encounter in the Kanker-Narayanpur border area. Officials identified the naxal as the PLGA Military Company 05 member who had a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head. The encounter took place in the hilly jungle area of the village of Gedabeda of Police Station Partapur. Forces also recovered a .303 rifle and a walkie-talkie from the site. (ANI)
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday announced a series of development initiatives for Maihar, stressing that the region is set to witness "unprecedented growth" in the coming years. Speaking to the reporters after visiting Sharda Mata Mandir in Maihar, Chouhan said that the process of opening separate offices to streamline development works in the district has already begun. "Along with the district, the process of opening separate offices for development works is also beginning... The development of Maihar will be unprecedented in the future," he said. Highlighting the government's renewed focus on agriculture, the Union Minister informed that the Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan will be relaunched between October 3 and October 18. "From the perspective of agriculture, we are making efforts to carry out all the new experiments that can be done in the country. The Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan will start again from October 3 to October 18," he said. Talking about the GST rates, which will be reduced from the first day of Navratri, he said, "There is good news for everyone that GST rates will be reduced from the first day of Navratri... Everyone will benefit in agriculture... I am heartily grateful to the Prime Minister that no compromise with the interests of the farmers is acceptable to us... The interest of the nation is paramount for us, keeping this in mind India takes every decision..." Before visiting Sharda Mata Mandir in Maihar, Chouhan has welcomed the government's decision to reduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on agricultural equipment from 12-18 per cent to five per cent, describing it as a "very revolutionary decision" for farmers, animal rearers, and fishermen. Speaking to reporters in Satna, Chouhan said, "I want to thank the Prime Minister for clearly deciding that there will be no compromise with the interests of India's farmers, animal rearers, and fishermen... A very revolutionary decision has also been taken in GST, in which the 12-18 % GST levied on agricultural equipment has been reduced to 5%. I am extremely pleased and delighted to meet the public." While commenting on One Nation One Election, Minister Chouhan said, "In our country, elections are held in all 12 months. This continuous election process is the biggest obstacle in the country's progress and development, and therefore, today there is a need to amend the Constitution so that in the first phase, at least the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are held together... Today, I have also presented this issue before students and citizens." (ANI)
French President Emmanuel Macron met Qatari Prime Minister Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and strongly condemned the Israeli airstrikes in Doha, Qatar, saying the attacks were "unacceptable" and warning against the spread of the Gaza conflict to the broader region on Wednesday. Macron said he conveyed France's position directly to Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani during their meeting. Sharing the information, Macron wrote on X, "I met with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim, following the Israeli strikes yesterday in Doha. I told him: these strikes are unacceptable. I condemn them. I reiterated France's commitment to the sovereignty and security of Qatar." He added that negotiations for the release of hostages held by Hamas and talks on a Gaza ceasefire will resume "without delay." Macron also praised Qatar's role in mediation efforts, noting its "constant efforts toward this end." https://x.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/1965862421869810175 "This state of permanent war in Gaza can no longer continue. Two peoples and two states. Peace and security for all," Macron said, stressing that France is working with international partners ahead of a conference on the two-state solution scheduled for September 22 in New York. Earlier, Macron had issued a separate statement calling Israel's strikes in Qatar "unacceptable in any way, shape, or form, whatever the justification may be." He expressed support for Qatar and its leader Sheikh Tamim, adding, "The war cannot and must not spread to other parts of the region." This comes after Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on Tuesday targeting Hamas leadership in Doha, marking an unprecedented military action inside the territory of a key US ally and mediator in Gaza ceasefire negotiations, CNN reported. According to CNN, Israel immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, calling it part of an operation codenamed "Summit of Fire". According to Hamas, six individuals were killed in the strike, including five of its members. However, the group confirmed that its negotiating delegation survived.Among those killed were the son of Hamas' chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya and the director of his office. A Qatari security official also reportedly died in the attack, CNN reported. As per CNN, the strikes hit West Bay Lagoon, a high-end residential district in Doha where, according to Qatar's foreign ministry, members of Hamas' political bureau had been residing. At the time of the strike, Hamas said its representatives were reviewing a US-backed ceasefire proposal. While Al-Hayya was believed to be the main target, he was not among the dead. Following the strike, Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned the attack, calling it a "cowardly" and "criminal assault" that violated international laws and norms. The Ministry stated that the strike posed a serious threat to the safety of Qatari citizens and residents and emphasised that such actions were a blatant violation of Qatar's sovereignty and security. "The State of Qatar strongly condemns the cowardly Israeli attack that targeted residential buildings housing several members of the Political Bureau of Hamas in the Qatari capital, Doha. This criminal assault constitutes a blatant violation of all international laws and norms and poses a serious threat to the security and safety of Qataris and residents in Qatar," spokesperson for Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Majed Al Ansari said in a post on X. He added that investigations into the incident are underway at the highest level and that further details will be shared once available. Qatar also warned that it "will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behaviour and the ongoing disruption of regional security." "The Ministry affirms that the security forces, civil defense, and relevant authorities immediately began addressing the incident and taking necessary measures to contain its repercussions and ensure the safety of the residents and surrounding areas. While the State of Qatar strongly condemns this assault, it confirms that it will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behavior and the ongoing disruption of regional security, nor any act that targets its security and sovereignty. Investigations are underway at the highest level, and further details will be announced as soon as they are available," he added. (ANI)
MATOSINHOS, Portugal, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- INDAQUA, a leading player in the Iberian water and wastewater treatment sector, announces that it has successfully completed a 358m incremental financing provided by Schroders Capital and Santander, strengthening its capital structure and positioning the company for continued growth.

This milestone follows robust growth in its core Portugal market and its successful expansion into Spain, highlighting the strong position it has built in the last few years as a leading Iberian water platform.

Pedro Perdigao, INDAQUA Chief Executive Officer stated: "Completing this financing marks an important milestone for INDAQUA. It further reinforces confidence in our business model and allows the fast-growing company to rebalance its capital structure while continuing to deliver high-quality water services to the communities we serve".

INDAQUA operates long-term municipal water concessions, serving more than 810,000 people in Portugal. In Spain, the company operates water supply networks and manages a portfolio of long-term municipal and industrial water contracts. INDAQUA also delivers water efficiency projects, operational and maintenance services and technical assistance, covering the full urban water cycle.

A global leader in reducing non-revenue-water (NRW) - a key indicator of water losses - INDAQUA has achieved record-low levels of water leakage through a focus on operational efficiencies. Complementing this strategy, the company also integrates renewable energy solutions including solar PV and on-site cogeneration facilities into its operation to further promote sustainability.

About INDAQUA:

Operating across the urban water cycle, INDAQUA is a leading Iberian player, specialising in municipal water supply and wastewater treatment, and also present in the industrial water space. INDAQUA is currently the largest private operator of water and wastewater concessions in Portugal and manages a diversified portfolio of water contracts in Spain. INDAQUA brings deep expertise in reducing water losses in the supply networks and enhancing operational efficiency. In addition, the company integrates renewable energy solutions including solar panels and on-site bioenergy facilities as part of its broader approach to sustainability.

With a team of over 900 employees, INDAQUA manages the water and wastewater networks of cities such as Santa Maria da Feira, Matosinhos, Oliveira de Azemeis, Santo Tirso, Trofa, Vila do Conde, Barcelos, Marco de Canaveses and Pacos de Ferreira, serving over 810,000 consumers in Portugal. The company also has a sizable footprint in Spain, Toledo, Rioja, Leon, Jaen, Granada and Mallorca, delivering water supply and wastewater treatment services across multiple regions, along with providing integrated solutions to industrial clients.

Beyond concession management, INDAQUA also provides operational support to water management companies and public entities through water efficiency projects, operation and maintenance services and technical assistance.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2771011/INDAQUA_logo.jpg

SOURCE INDAQUA
Their talks focused on enhancing strategic ties, expanding joint military training, and examining the current geostrategic landscape in the region. Both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to promoting regional peace and stability.

"Lieutenant General Ko Ko Oo, Commander, BSO-1, Myanmar Army called on #GeneralUpendraDwivedi, #COAS, today. Their discussions focused on advancing bilateral #DefenceCooperation, expanding military-to-military ties, the prevailing geostrategic environment in the region, and reaffirming the mutual commitment to regional peace & stability, " the Indian Army said in a post on X.

This meeting came on the heels of the India-Myanmar Army-to-Army Staff talks, which took place on September 9 in the national capital.

The Myanmar delegation, led by Lieutenant General Ko Ko Oo, discussed how to enhance interoperability between the two armies, strengthen defence ties, and deepen their broader defence partnership. Both sides agreed to continue their efforts in fostering a strong India-Myanmar relationship aimed at regional security.

Earlier, General Upendra Dwivedi also met Ambassador Abhay Thakur, India's envoy to Myanmar, on August 22. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Amir of the State of Qatar, on Wednesday and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the India-Qatar Strategic Partnership. Both leaders expressed satisfaction over the continued progress in the India-Qatar Strategic Partnership, which has seen sustained growth in areas such as trade, investment, and security cooperation. They reaffirmed their mutual commitment to advancing bilateral cooperation across all fields of mutual interest, as per the press statement. The two leaders agreed to remain in close touch and continue working together to strengthen the longstanding ties between the two countries. During the call, PM Modi also expressed deep concern over the recent strikes in Doha over Hamas leaders by Israel, condemning the violation of Qatar's sovereignty. He emphasized India's support for Qatar and its efforts to promote peace and stability in the region. PM Modi further appreciated Qatar's mediation role in the Gaza conflict, including its efforts in securing a ceasefire and facilitating the release of hostages. In a post on X, PM said, "Spoke with Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani and expressed deep concern at the attacks in Doha. India condemns the violation of the sovereignty of the brotherly State of Qatar. We support resolution of issues through dialogue and diplomacy, and avoiding escalation. India stands firmly in support of peace and stability in the region, and against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations." The Prime Minister also reiterated India's stance on resolving issues through dialogue and diplomacy, urging all parties to avoid further escalation. He highlighted India's commitment to regional peace, security, and combating terrorism in all its forms, as per the press statement. In response, Sheikh Tamim thanked PM Modi for his solidarity with Qatar and its people during this challenging period. The Amir also expressed his appreciation for India's ongoing support in promoting peace in the region. (ANI)
Sergio Gor, President Donald Trump's close aide and nominee for the post of US Ambassador to India, will appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday (local time) for his confirmation hearing. If confirmed, the 38-year-old will become the youngest American envoy to New Delhi. The ambassadorial post in New Delhi has remained vacant since January. India's envoy to the US, Vinay Kwatra, also supported and welcomed the nomination, calling it "a sign of importance and priority of India-US ties, and a commitment to strengthen the bridges and deepen the bonds of friendship between our two countries." https://x.com/AmbVMKwatra/status/1965797626864910761 The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) sent a letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee strongly endorsing his nomination. "We believe Mr. Gor's appointment is critical to reinvigorating US engagement with India and to advancing our nations' shared interests," the letter stated. The forum also mentioned the urgency of strong diplomatic leadership to "get ties back on track" and noted Gor's "proven experience at the highest levels of government and the full confidence of the President" as key strengths. His dual role as Ambassador to India and Special Envoy for South and Central Asia was noted as a signal of Washington's determination to advance a comprehensive regional strategy. Backing the nomination, Mukesh Aghi, President of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, said, "Sending an envoy of Gor's caliber after an eight-month vacancy in New Delhi will help deepen cooperation and reaffirm America's commitment to this partnership." In August, US President Donald Trump announced Sergio Gor as the next US Ambassador to India, and Special Envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs. Announcing on Truth Social, Donald Trump said, "I am pleased to announce that I am promoting Sergio Gor to be our next United States Ambassador to the Republic of India, and Special Envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs. As Director of Presidential Personnel, Sergio and his team have hired nearly 4,000 America First Patriots across every Department of our Federal Government in RECORD time -- Our Departments and Agencies are over 95% filled! Sergio will remain in his current role at the White House until his confirmation." Addressing Gor as a "great friend," Trump expressed his complete trust in him while noting his contributions to the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. (ANI)
Sharing the details in a post on X, MND said that these were detected up until 6 AM ( UTC +8).

It further reported that 14 out of 14 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern, southwestern and eastern ADIZ.

"14 PLA aircraft, 5 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 14 out of 14 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern, southwestern and eastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded", it wrote on X.

https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/1965943378559787258

The frequent incursions and maritime operations reflect rising tensions between Taiwan and China, a relationship long fraught with geopolitical strain. Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China (ROC), governs itself independently with its own distinct political and economic systems.

However, China continues to claim Taiwan as part of its territory under the "One China" principle, insisting there is only one China with its capital in Beijing.

The dispute's roots trace back to the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, when the ROC government fled to Taiwan after the Communist Party, led by Mao Zedong, took control of mainland China.

Since then, Beijing has maintained its goal of reunification, using military, diplomatic, and economic means to apply pressure on Taiwan and diminish its international space.

Despite these efforts, Taiwan maintains its de facto independence, backed by strong public support, and continues to assert its sovereignty amid ongoing external pressures. The MND regularly monitors and publicly reports such military movements to ensure transparency and national security awareness. (ANI)
US President Donald Trump has directed that American flags be flown at half-mast until September 14 as a mark of respect in the memory of Charlie Kirk, the White House said in an official statement on Wednesday (US local time). As per the proclamation, the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset of September 14, 2025. The statement also mentioned that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations. Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned Kirk's killing, calling it a "tragedy" and a sign of "cowardice." "The murder of Charlie Kirk is a tragedy, and a sign of the utter desperation and cowardice of those who could not defeat him in argument. Charlie Kirk has been killed not for espousing extremist views - because he didn't. He has been killed for saying things that used to be simple common sense. He has been killed because he had the courage to stand up publicly for reasonable opinions held by millions and millions of ordinary people both in the US and Britain. The world has a shining new martyr to free speech. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones," Johnson wrote in a post on X. https://x.com/BorisJohnson/status/1965887175335026990 Charlie Kirk was the head of Turning Point USA and was shot in the neck while speaking at Utah Valley University. Videos from the scene showed chaos as attendees fled after the gunfire. According to a Utah Valley University spokesperson, Kirk was about 20 minutes into his presentation when a shot was fired from a nearby building. Hs was the only person injured in the incident. The university informed students that "a single shot was fired on campus toward a visiting speaker," and a suspect has been taken into custody. In one clip, Kirk appeared to fall back as blood came from his neck. He was sitting under a tent with the slogan "The American Comeback" when the incident happened, as per The New York Times. (ANI)
The Nepalese Army has extended the prohibitory order and curfew in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur districts until 6 am on Friday, September 12, amid ongoing political unrest and widespread protests. In a statement on Thursday, the Army said that essential service vehicles and institutions would be allowed to operate. To ease the difficulties for residents, shops selling daily necessities will remain open from 6 am to 9 am and 5 pm to 7 pm today, with people urged to shop in small groups. "Based on the security situation, we would like to inform you that the prohibitory order and curfew have been extended in Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts until 6 am on Bhadra 27, 2082. However, essential service vehicles and institutions can operate. To make people's lives easier, we request that daily necessities will be available from 6 am to 9 am and from 5 pm to 7 pm on Bhadra 26, but we urge you to work in small groups," the statement read. Meanwhile, as instability deepens, public sentiment continues to favour the country's former Chief Justice Sushila Karki as the most suitable candidate to lead Nepal's interim government. "It is not easy to run a country, so we need someone who has a lot of experience. Nepal's former Chief Justice Sushila Karki is the only good option (as the country's interim Prime Minister). She at least knows how to run a country and manage everything," a protester in Kathmandu said. Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah 'Balen' has also voiced his support for the proposal to appoint the former Chief Justice as the head of an interim government. Other protesters also expressed similar sentiments, like Balen Shah. However, some stated that Balen Shah should be the next Prime Minister of the interim government. "He (Balendra Shah) has endorsed Former Chief Justice of Nepal, Sushila Karki, because she is senior to him. He said he is not yet fit for the post at this... But the majority of the people want Balen Shah," a protestor noted. "I want Balen (Balendra Shah) to be the next Prime Minister of the interim government. We cannot have those like before who would work for their own interest," another said. The protests began on September 8, 2025, in Kathmandu and other major cities, including Pokhara, Butwal, and Birgunj, after the government imposed a ban on major social media platforms, citing tax revenue and cybersecurity concerns. Till now, 30 people have been killed and over 500 injured in clashes with security forces. Curfew was imposed in several cities, including Kathmandu, to control the situation. Protesters have been demanding an end to "institutionalised corruption and favouritism" in governance. They want the government to be more accountable and transparent in its decision-making processes. Public frustration deepened further when the "Nepo Babies" trend on social media exposed the lavish lifestyles of politicians' children, highlighting the economic disparity between them and ordinary citizens. (ANI)
A prominent Democrat lawmaker, along with several former US diplomats, have warned that President Donald Trump's recent tariff policies and diplomatic missteps risk undoing 25 years of carefully built US-India strategic partnership. The alarm was raised during an emergency conference call organised by Congressman Ro Khanna, the co-chair of the Congressional India Caucus and a vocal critic of President Trump, featuring former US ambassadors to India, Rich Verma and Eric Garcetti, along with venture capitalist Vinod Khosla and other tech industry leaders from the diaspora. Mounting Concerns The urgency of the call reflects escalating concerns within the Indian-American political establishment. Just a week prior, Khanna had posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) addressing the deteriorating US-India relationship, signalling his growing alarm over the administration's approach to New Delhi. Khanna emphasised the critical nature of the moment, telling participants: "I wouldn't have pulled this call urgently and asked Vinod Khosla and the ambassadors to get on, and all of you to get on if it wasn't important. I wanted to sound the alarm about what's going on." 'Damage Has Been Done' Rich Verma, who served as US Ambassador to India under President Obama, delivered a stark assessment of the current state of relations. "I couldn't believe what I witnessed in a two-month period that the President wiped out 24 years, 25 years of progress," he said. Verma traced the relationship back to President Clinton's historic 2000 visit to India, when America chose to "de-hyphenate" its India-Pakistan policy and pursue an independent partnership with New Delhi. This marked the beginning of what he described as 25 years of bipartisan cooperation across four key areas- trade and economics, people-to-people ties, clean energy, and defence and security. The former ambassador expressed particular concern about Trump's decision to invite Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff to the Oval Office for the first time in US history, describing it as "reinserting the hyphen" back into the India-Pakistan relationship. Trust Eroded Both former ambassadors highlighted trust as the relationship's core vulnerability. "If we had one vulnerability in the relationship, it was trust. Could the Indians trust us to be that reliable strategic partner," Verma said. "Unfortunately, the last few months have proven to the Indian sceptics that we cannot be trusted." Eric Garcetti, who served as Ambassador to India until recently, warned of the "deepest set of blows...we've seen in over 20 years." He noted that recent events represent more than tactical disagreements over trade deals, describing them as fundamental shifts that "don't go away overnight on the street in India." Congressional Leadership Mobilises As co-chair of the India Caucus, Khanna has been at the forefront of efforts to maintain strong bilateral ties. His decision to convene the emergency call with such high-profile participants underscores the gravity with which congressional leadership views the current crisis. Garcetti noted during the call that he had previously worked with current National Security Advisor Mike Waltz when both Khanna and Waltz served as co-chairs of the India Caucus, highlighting the traditionally bipartisan nature of India policy that is now under strain. Call to Action The group outlined specific actions for the business and tech community, urging them to engage with both Republican and Democratic lawmakers. Khanna specifically called for pressure on Republican members of Congress regarding the strategic importance of the relationship and for Democrats to become more active on social media. "This is the time to get involved, to talk to Congress people, senators," Khanna stressed. "This could really undermine 30 years of hard work." Broader Implications The diplomatic crisis comes at a time when both nations face shared challenges from China's rise and need for cooperation on critical technologies, supply chains, and energy production. Garcetti noted that India and the US "are on the same trajectory, the same path," making the current tensions particularly concerning for long-term strategic interests. The former ambassadors also raised concerns about anti-Indian rhetoric emerging from some quarters, with Garcetti warning about "racist tropes" and "anti-nationalist messages" targeting both India and Indian-Americans. Despite the current tensions, both former diplomats expressed cautious optimism about the relationship's underlying strength, citing deep connections between companies, innovators, educators, and families that transcend political leadership changes. The emergency call underscores growing anxiety within the Indian-American community about the future of a relationship that many consider crucial for addressing global challenges from technology competition to regional security. (ANI)
Prime Minister of Mauritius, Navinchandra Ramgoolam met Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri here in Varanasi on Thursday during the leader's visit to India from September 9-16. He is scheduled to meet PM Modi later today. The Mauritius PM and Foreign Secretary greeted each other warmly and shook hands. This marks the first overseas bilateral visit of Prime Minister Dr. Ramgoolam to India in his current term. He had earlier visited India in May 2014 as the only non-SAARC leader invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam, who is on a state visit to India from September 9 to 16. Ramgoolam arrived in Kashi on September 9 and was accorded a ceremonial welcome and Guard of Honour. He was received by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel. The upcoming meeting between the two leaders in the historic city of Varanasi underscores the enduring civilisational connection, spiritual bonds, and deep-rooted people-to-people ties that have shaped the special and unique relationship between India and Mauritius. During the bilateral discussions, the two leaders will review the full spectrum of cooperation, with particular focus on development partnership and capacity building. They will also discuss opportunities for expanding collaboration in health, education, science & technology, energy, infrastructure, as well as in emerging domains such as renewable energy, digital public infrastructure and the blue economy. The visit builds upon the positive momentum generated by PM Modi's State Visit to Mauritius in March 2025, during which the two leaders elevated the bilateral relationship to an 'Enhanced Strategic Partnership'. As a valued partner and close maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region, Mauritius is key to India's MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Region) Vision and the 'Neighbourhood First' policy. The deepening cooperation between the two countries carries significance not only for the prosperity of the people of both countries but also for the collective aspirations of the Global South. (ANI)
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif gave in-principle approval for the declaration of a climate and agricultural emergency in response to the devastating impact of monsoon rains and widespread flooding across Pakistan, as reported by The Express Tribune. According to The Express Tribune, while chairing a federal cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Sharif said he would soon call a meeting with the Chief Ministers of all four provinces in the country and other key officials to develop a coordinated strategy to prevent further damage caused by climate change. During the meeting, cabinet members were briefed on extensive flood-related losses, including the destruction of millions of acres of agricultural land and crops. Members proposed measures for infrastructure rehabilitation, farmer compensation, and support for agricultural recovery. The announcement came during a press briefing by Pakistan's Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, accompanied by Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, following the federal cabinet meeting, Geo News reported. Chaudhry stated that the cabinet had unanimously endorsed Sharif's decision for the immediate implementation of the climate emergency, recognising the severe impacts of climate change, including altered weather patterns and increasingly destructive monsoon seasons. Highlighting past environmental mismanagement, Chaudhry pointed to unchecked deforestation and encroachments along natural waterways as key factors contributing to the current flood devastation, as reported by Geo News. The Minister for Climate Change has been tasked with preparing a comprehensive report within 15 days, which will guide the government in formulating long-term solutions and policy responses to future climate threats, Geo News reported. The agriculture emergency, he said, will assist in evaluating the scale of damage to crops and help determine appropriate compensation mechanisms for farmers. During the cabinet meeting, Sharif also said the danger was not over, as the floodwaters were still flowing south and emphasised that both federal and provincial governments would share the responsibility of compensating for the destruction, Geo News reported. He noted that around 1,000 lives have been lost, thousands have been displaced, and vast areas of agricultural land have been submerged, severely affecting crops like wheat and cotton. Sharif also urged the development of a robust national strategy to counter the impacts of climate change, warning against the complacency and status quo that have historically hindered effective governance in Pakistan. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with his Mauritian counterpart, Navinchandra Ramgoolam on Thursday. The Mauritius PM is on his first overseas bilateral visit to India in his current term, from September 9-16. The leaders warmly greeted each other, reflecting the bonhomie and the strength of India-Mauritius ties. Earlier in the day, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had called upon PM Ramgoolam here in Varanasi. Sharing the details in a post on X, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the they discussed the multifaceted partnership and reaffirmed commitment in strengthening the India-Mauritius Enhanced Strategic Partnership anchored in shared history, culture and people-to-people ties. https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/1966017026088222909 PM Ramgoolam had earlier visited India in May 2014 as the only non-SAARC leader invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. He arrived in Kashi on September 9 and was accorded a ceremonial welcome and Guard of Honour. He was received by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel. The meeting between the two leaders in the historic city of Varanasi underscores the enduring civilisational connection, spiritual bonds, and deep-rooted people-to-people ties that have shaped the special and unique relationship between India and Mauritius. During the bilateral discussions, the two leaders will review the full spectrum of cooperation, with particular focus on development partnership and capacity building. They will also discuss opportunities for expanding collaboration in health, education, science & technology, energy, infrastructure, as well as in emerging domains such as renewable energy, digital public infrastructure and the blue economy. The visit builds upon the positive momentum generated by PM Modi's State Visit to Mauritius in March 2025, during which the two leaders elevated the bilateral relationship to an 'Enhanced Strategic Partnership'. As a valued partner and close maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region, Mauritius is key to India's MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Region) Vision and the 'Neighbourhood First' policy. The deepening cooperation between the two countries carries significance not only for the prosperity of the people of both countries but also for the collective aspirations of the Global South. (ANI)
Chinese teachers celebrate Teachers' Day in Saudi Arabia

Xinhua) 10:33, September 11, 2025

RIYADH, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese teachers working in Saudi Arabia celebrated a special occasion on Wednesday, Chinese Teachers' Day, which is observed annually on September 10.

In a classroom at the Confucius Institute at Prince Sultan University in Riyadh, Zhang Yanfang explained the origins of Chinese Teachers' Day to her students, while guiding them to discover the commonalities between Chinese and Arab civilizations by referencing ancient Chinese philosophers and Arab scholars.

Through Zhang's explanation, the Saudi students were touched by the respect that Chinese people have for teachers.

During the class, the students enthusiastically expressed their heartfelt wishes to Zhang. Some wrote "Jiaoshi jie kuaile!" (Happy Teachers' Day) in pinyin, while others carefully inscribed "Thank you, teacher" in Chinese characters. A few students added blessings in Arabic, "May you be safe, healthy, and happy forever."

"Their sincerity reminds us why our work is meaningful," Zhang said, touched by the scene.

For Wang Junbao, now in his second year teaching at Muammar bin Rashid Intermediate School, the Teachers' Day carries special meaning. "When I arrived, many students struggled even to pronounce pinyin," he recalled. "Now, they can communicate with me naturally in Chinese. Today, hearing them say 'Happy Teachers' Day' was truly moving."

Wang said that when he first arrived in Saudi Arabia, he was the only Chinese teacher at the school. Currently, however, an increasing number of Chinese teachers are moving to Saudi Arabia, reflecting the country's growing enthusiasm for Chinese language education.

For many newly arrived teachers, their first Teachers' Day in Saudi Arabia was equally memorable.

Ma Xiaoxia, who previously volunteered at the Confucius Institute, is now an educator in Mecca Province. She characterized the transition in her role as both challenging and fulfilling.

"Since the teaching program here is still in its early stages, we must innovate and develop our own teaching methods. It's akin to starting from the beginning, but the students' enthusiasm makes it a rewarding experience," Ma said.

Echoing Ma's feelings, Yang Liuqing, a Chinese teacher in the mountain city of Abha, described her experience as "a two-way process of teaching and personal growth."

"To me, this is not merely about teaching Chinese," she said. "It is also about cultural exchange. I hope education can help foster deeper understanding and establish lasting friendships between our two peoples."

"Respecting teachers and valuing education" is a shared tradition in both countries, said Zhang Xinying, the Chinese director of the Confucius Institute at Prince Sultan University.

Teaching Chinese is not only about language, but also about building "a bridge of mutual understanding, respect, and appreciation," Zhang added.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has been promoting Chinese language education across the kingdom, with the goal of cultivating a new generation proficient in cross-cultural communication skills.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Liang Jun)
Mars signs first U.S. clean energy contracts with Enel to support its Renewable Acceleration with more global projects on the way in order to cover electricity needs of its full value chain.

Mars expects its Renewable Acceleration program to contribute an estimated 10% reduction of its total carbon footprint by 2030, against a 2015 baseline.

Mars believes Renewable Acceleration can help expand clean energy capacity building and improve energy resilience and security for Mars and its partners; Mars is encouraging other companies to follow.

MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Mars, Incorporated has announced a major step in its decarbonization journey under its new program called Renewable Acceleration by teaming up with energy partner Enel. This initiative is designed to speed up the shift from fossil fuels to clean energy  not just for Mars owned sites, but across its entire value chain by bringing the totality of their electricity usage to the renewables market.

This means sourcing renewable electricity to cover everything from the farms that grow ingredients to the trucks that deliver products, and even the energy used by consumers at home to enjoy their favorite Mars products, like Ben's Original and SNICKERS Ice Cream, or at their BANFIELD veterinarian's office. By implementing this Renewable Acceleration strategy, Mars could cut around 3 million tonnes of carbon emissions from its full value chain  about 10% of its current total footprint. Renewable electricity is one of the best understood, widely accepted and low-cost decarbonization solutions available  this new approach maximizes and accelerates its delivery potential.

"Many large companies are well on their way to sourcing renewable electricity for their own operations, but that's just a part of the picture," Kevin Rabinovitch, Global VP Sustainability said. "For Mars, Renewable Acceleration is a performance accelerator, cutting emissions at a scale and speed we could never achieve through traditional value chain engagement approaches. It lets us bring demand for all the electricity used in our value chain to the clean energy market in a highly efficient manner. The more demand we create together, the faster we can build the future we all want. And clean energy means cleaner air for our communities, our people, and our partners."

Direct operations across the business globally use approximately 2 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity each year, roughly the equivalent of the annual consumption of The Bahamas. But when you include the full Mars value chain under Renewables Acceleration to include our suppliers, customers and our consumers, that number jumps to 8-9 TWh  the annual equivalent of Estonia .

Mars has signed its first Renewable Acceleration program contract with energy provider, Enel North America. A part of the Enel Group, this is their largest-ever power purchase agreement (PPA) transaction with a commercial and industrial customer worldwide as well as Mars largest contract to date. Additional global agreements are in the pipeline. These contracts support the development of renewable energy projects that serve both Mars and its suppliers while building energy resilience for the business.

The first three contracts with Enel will generate a combined 1.8 TWh annually, avoiding approximately 700ktCOe per year. The agreement means that Mars value chain will benefit from the entire output from Enel's three solar plants in Texas, U.S.A. Vegetation at all three sites will be managed through sheep grazing, a sustainable dual-use solar practice that Enel expanded through the largest solar grazing agreement signed in the United States.

"Renewable Acceleration is a bold initiative to support the buildout of more clean energy capacity, which we know is among the fastest and most economical ways to decarbonize," said Michele Di Murro, CEO of Enel North America. "Mars is raising the bar for corporate sustainability strategies, taking a comprehensive and direct approach to addressing emissions across its entire value chain. Enel is proud to partner with Mars in launching this new program."

With each additional contract signed by Mars, the company expects Renewable Acceleration to contribute towards a 10% reduction of its total carbon footprint by 2030. Renewable Acceleration is part of the company's broader sustainability strategy, which also includes tackling deforestation, supporting climate-smart agriculture, improving transport, and embedding sustainability across the business.

About Mars, Incorporated

Mars, Incorporated is driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As an approximately $55bn family-owned business, our diverse and expanding portfolio of leading pet care products and veterinary services support pets all around the world and our quality snacking and food products delight millions of people every day. We produce some of the world's best-loved brands including ROYAL CANIN, PEDIGREE, WHISKAS, CESAR, DOVE, EXTRA, M&M's, SNICKERS and BEN'S ORIGINAL. Our international networks of pet hospitals, including BANFIELD, BLUEPEARL, VCA and ANICURA span preventive, general, specialty, and emergency veterinary care, and our global veterinary diagnostics business ANTECH offers breakthrough capabilities in pet diagnostics. The Mars Five PrinciplesQuality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedominspire our 150,000 Associates to act every day to help create a better world for people, pets and the planet.

For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com . Join us on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and YouTube .

Media Contacts:

[email protected]

 Per 2023 electricity net consumption EIA data.

 Mars calculates the GHG benefits of these projects under Renewable Acceleration based on national U.S. grid factors reflecting nationwide sourcing.

 Unless expressly noted otherwise, all references to "climate-smart" agriculture or practices refer to practices that support agricultural transformation to reduce and remove GHG emissions; regenerate soils and support biodiversity; and/or adapt to increasing climate hazards.

SOURCE Mars, Incorporated
The death toll from the ongoing Gen Z protests in the Kathmandu Valley has climbed to 31, The Kathmandu Post reported, citing officials from the Department of Forensic Medicine at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, where the deceased have been brought for postmortem examinations. As per The Kathmandu Post on Wednesday, so far the identities of 25 victims have been preliminarily confirmed. The remaining six individuals, five men and one woman, are yet to be identified. "We have carried out a postmortem following international protocol... We are asked to store the body; we cannot unveil details of the deceased," said Head of the Department Dr Gopal Kumar Chaudhary, as quoted by The Kathmandu Post. Authorities noted that the majority of identifications were made through documents found at the protest sites or by family members recognising the bodies. Moreover, over 1000 people were injured in the protest across the region. Meanwhile, the wife of Former Nepalese PM Khanal is currently in a critical condition after an arson attack that took place during the violent demonstrations across the country, The Kathmandu Post reported. Despite earlier reports stating that she was killed in the arson attack, Ravi Laxmi Chitrakar, the wife of former PM and senior CPN (Unified Socialist) leader Jhala Nath Khanal, is in critical condition after suffering severe burns. As per The Kathmandu Post, Chitrakar was admitted to Kirtipur Hospital on Tuesday following the incident, which occurred when demonstrators set fire to her residence in the Dallu area of Kathmandu while she was still inside. Negotiations are also on between the Nepalese Army, Nepal's President Ram Chandra Paudel, and representatives of Gen Z youth to determine the leadership of an interim government amid ongoing political unrest, The Himalayan Post reported. According to The Himalayan Post, citing sources, the Gen Z protest leaders have chosen Nepal's former Chief Justice Sushila Karki as their unanimous nominee for the interim Prime Minister position. The talks will begin between Karki's team and the Army leadership, including Chief of Army Staff Ashok Raj Sigdel, and may proceed to the President's Office at Sheetal Niwas depending on how the situation unfolds. Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah 'Balen' has also voiced his support for Karki, strengthening her standing as the agreed-upon candidate of the Gen Z movement. The protests began on September 8, 2025, in Kathmandu and other major cities, including Pokhara, Butwal, and Birgunj, following the government's imposition of a ban on major social media platforms, citing concerns over tax revenue and cybersecurity. Curfew was imposed in several cities, including Kathmandu, to control the situation, which will continue till Friday morning, as per a statement issued by the Nepalese Army. Protesters have been demanding an end to "institutionalised corruption and favouritism" in governance. They want the government to be more accountable and transparent in its decision-making processes. Public frustration deepened further when the "Nepo Babies" trend on social media exposed the lavish lifestyles of politicians' children, highlighting the economic disparity between them and ordinary citizens. (ANI)
Mauritius Prime Minister Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam on Thursday lauded India's longstanding support and partnership with Mauritius, stating that the country has 'benefited immensely' from India's generous assistance and expertise in various sectors over the years. Addressing a joint press briefing after the bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ramgoolam highlighted the deep-rooted ties between the two nations and expressed gratitude for India's continued support in areas critical to Mauritius' national development, including health, education, capacity building, renewable energy, infrastructure, and maritime security. "Over the years, India, through its various governments, has accompanied Mauritius in its journey towards progress... Before our independence, India had a High Commission in Mauritius. Over the years, we have benefited from India's generous assistance and expertise in key sectors of national development, including but not limited to health, education, capacity building, renewable energy, infrastructure and maritime security. India's timely support in these areas continues to make a tangible difference to improve the quality of life of the Mauritians," he said. The Mauritian leader also thanked PM Modi for what he described as a "special economic package" aimed at boosting cooperation in sectors such as education, energy, health services, and infrastructure. A key highlight of the visit is the upcoming establishment of a high-quality Ayurvedic Centre in Mauritius, which PM Ramgoolam described as "an exceptional one", made possible with the support and blessings of Prime Minister Modi. "This is a special economic package, as the Prime Minister said, in education, energy, infrastructure, and health services. The Ayurvedic centre will also be an exceptional one, thanks to your blessing, Prime Minister... The timing has enabled us to deliver tangible outcomes... I am glad that our ties have entered into a dynamic and forward-looking phase," he added. Ramgoolam also expressed deep appreciation for the warm hospitality extended to him and his delegation upon arrival in India. Recalling his landing in Varanasi, he said, "Both my wife and I were amazed at the welcome that we received. I believe no other Prime Minister has ever received such a welcome. I'm glad it's in your constituency, and I now understand why you get elected in such huge numbers." Mauritian Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam is on his first overseas bilateral visit to India in his current term, from September 9 to September 16. PM Ramgoolam had earlier visited India in May 2014 as the only non-SAARC leader invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. He arrived in Varanasi on September 10 and was accorded a ceremonial welcome and Guard of Honour. He was received by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel. Earlier today, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had called upon PM Ramgoolam here in Varanasi. Following this, PM Ramgoolam held a bilateral meeting with PM Modi, reflecting the bonhomie and the strength of India-Mauritius ties. (ANI)
Taiwanese President William Lai has cautioned that China's growing military power and diplomatic influence are a global threat, not just a concern for Taiwan. Lai said Taiwan would work closely with democratic allies to safeguard peace in the Indo-Pacific through deterrence and strength, as cited by the Taipei Times. According to the Taipei Times, Lai stated that Beijing is deliberately working to reshape the global order, citing its Belt and Road Initiative, the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, and efforts to internationalise the yuan as part of a strategy to replace the rules-based system led by democratic nations. He warned that China's increasing military activity, including drills around Taiwan, joint exercises with Russia, and deployments beyond the first island chain, reflects ambitions that extend well beyond Taiwan. "Even if Taiwan were surrendered to China, it would only fuel further expansion," Lai said, emphasising that the Taiwan Strait's stability is critical to global security and trade, with goods worth over USD 2.5 trillion passing through annually. According to the Taipei Times, Lai highlighted Taiwan's importance in global supply chains, particularly semiconductors, ICT, and electronic components, stressing that the island is an essential partner to the international community rather than dependent on it. He also urged China to embrace dialogue, respect Taiwan's sovereignty, and avoid confrontation, but insisted that peace cannot be achieved by submitting to Beijing's demands. Lai stated plans to raise Taiwan's defence spending to 3.32 per cent of GDP next year, to reach 5 per cent by 2030, demonstrating Taiwan's resolve to protect itself and contribute to regional security. The president also highlighted efforts to diversify trade, citing agreements with Southeast Asia, Japan, and the US to reduce economic reliance on China. Defending his 17 national security strategies, which opposition parties have criticised, Lai stated that they are essential to counter threats such as Chinese espionage, political infiltration, and disinformation campaigns. "Self-defence is not provocation," he said. "Taiwan will stand with democratic nations, deter aggression, and ensure peace through strength." (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held delegation-level talks with his Mauritian counterpart Navinchandra Ramgoolam in Varanasi and announced India's special economic package for the Indian Ocean country that supports infrastructure, employment and healthcare sectors. Addressing a joint media briefing after the talks, PM Modi highlighted that the package is not an assistance but an investment in the shared future. Noting that it is a matter of pride for India to be a reliable and primary partner in Mauritius' development, PM Modi said, "Today we have decided on a Special Economic Package keeping in mind the needs and priorities of Mauritius. It will strengthen infrastructure, create new employment opportunities, and strengthen health facilities." He brought to attention how, outside India, the first Jan Aushadhi Centre has now been established in Mauritius. "Today we have decided that AYUSH Centre of Excellence in Mauritius, 500-bed Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam National Hospital, and India will assist in the construction of Veterinary School and Animal Hospital. We will also take forward projects like the Chagos Marine Protected Area, the ATC tower of the SSR International Airport, and the expansion of the highway and ring road. This package is not an assistance. It is an investment in our shared future", PM Modi said. PM Modi said that the two countries will be working towards enabling trade in local currency and highlighted how the UPI and RuPay cards were launched in Mauritius last year. On the front of energy security, PM Modi highlighted how India is assisting Mauritius in its energy transition. "Hundred electric buses are being given to Mauritius, out of which 10 have already arrived. The comprehensive partnership agreement concluded in the field of energy will give it further strength. We have decided to assist in the construction of a 17.5 MW floating solar power plant at 'Tamarind Falls'." Observing that more than 5000 Mauritian citizens have received training in India, he shared that during his March visit, it was decided to train 500 civil servants and said that the first batch is currently undergoing training in Mussoorie. "Today, we have decided that a new Directorate of Science and Technology will be established in Mauritius. And, soon, we will also start training modules of Mission Karmayogi in Mauritius. India's IIT Madras and the Indian Institute of Plantation Management have signed agreements with the University of Mauritius. These agreements will take mutual partnership in research, education and innovation to new heights", he said. He underlined how a free, open, secure, stable and prosperous Indian Ocean is our common priority. In this context, India is fully committed to strengthen the security and maritime capacity of Mauritius' Exclusive Economic Zone. Noting that India has always stood as the first responder and a net security provider in the Indian Ocean region, PM Modi said that Mauritius' Coast Guard Ship is being refitted in India and 120 officers are also being trained in India. Further, PM Modi stated that India and Mauritius are two nations, but their dreams and destiny are one, Reflecting on the celebration of the 125th birth anniversary of Sir Shivsagar Ramgoolam, the Prime Minister stated, "He was not only the father of the nation of Mauritius, but was also the founder of the unbreakable bridge between India and Mauritius. His birth anniversary will continue to inspire us to take our relations to new heights." Ramgoolam is undertaking a state visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi. The Mauritian PM had earlier visited India in May 2014 as the only non-SAARC leader invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Modi and the Council of Ministers. He arrived in Varanasi on September 10 and was accorded a ceremonial welcome and Guard of Honour. He was received by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel. The meeting between the two leaders in the historic city of Varanasi underscores the enduring civilisational connection, spiritual bonds, and deep-rooted people-to-people ties that have shaped the special and unique relationship between India and Mauritius. (ANI)
On the ongoing state visit of Mauritius Prime Minister Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam to India, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri highlighted the significance of the bilateral partnership between the two countries. Addressing a special media briefing, Misri said, "Mauritius PM Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam is on an eight-day visit to India. Mauritius is an integral part of our 'Neighbourhood First' policy...Mauritius is also an important part of the commitment to the Global South..It is a partnership evolved in diverse areas, and evidence of it can be seen in the number of MoUs signed between India and Mauritius." The remarks underline India's efforts to strengthen ties with Mauritius across multiple sectors and its broader commitment to fostering cooperation within the Global South, a partnership that Mauritius Prime Minister Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam also acknowledged. On Thursday, he lauded India's longstanding support and partnership with Mauritius, stating that the country has "benefited immensely" from India's generous assistance and expertise in various sectors over the years. Addressing a joint press briefing after the bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ramgoolam highlighted the deep-rooted ties between the two nations and expressed gratitude for India's continued support in areas critical to Mauritius' national development, including health, education, capacity building, renewable energy, infrastructure, and maritime security. "Over the years, India, through its various governments, has accompanied Mauritius in its journey towards progress... Before our independence, India had a High Commission in Mauritius. Over the years, we have benefited from India's generous assistance and expertise in key sectors of national development, including but not limited to health, education, capacity building, renewable energy, infrastructure and maritime security. India's timely support in these areas continues to make a tangible difference to improve the quality of life of the Mauritians," he said. The Mauritian leader also thanked PM Modi for what he described as a "special economic package" aimed at boosting cooperation in sectors such as education, energy, health services, and infrastructure. A key highlight of the visit is the upcoming establishment of a high-quality Ayurvedic Centre in Mauritius, which PM Ramgoolam described as "an exceptional one", made possible with the support and blessings of Prime Minister Modi. "This is a special economic package, as the Prime Minister said, in education, energy, infrastructure, and health services. The Ayurvedic centre will also be an exceptional one, thanks to your blessing, Prime Minister... The timing has enabled us to deliver tangible outcomes... I am glad that our ties have entered into a dynamic and forward-looking phase," he added. Ramgoolam also expressed deep appreciation for the warm hospitality extended to him and his delegation upon arrival in India. Recalling his landing in Varanasi, he said, "Both my wife and I were amazed at the welcome that we received. I believe no other Prime Minister has ever received such a welcome. I'm glad it's in your constituency, and I now understand why you get elected in such huge numbers." Mauritian Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam is on his first overseas bilateral visit to India in his current term, from September 9 to September 16. PM Ramgoolam had earlier visited India in May 2014 as the only non-SAARC leader invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. He arrived in Varanasi on September 10 and was accorded a ceremonial welcome and Guard of Honour. He was received by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel. Earlier today, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had called upon PM Ramgoolam here in Varanasi. Following this, PM Ramgoolam held delegation-level bilateral meeting with PM Modi, reflecting the bonhomie and the strength of India-Mauritius ties. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held discussions with his Mauritian counterpart Navinchandra Ramgoolam in Varanasi, focusing on strengthening bilateral ties between the two countries. Addressing a special MEA briefing on the Mauritius Prime Minister visit, Misri said, "The PM has long emphasised on the need to take foreign policy out of Delhi, and the need to take diplomacy out of Delhi, because we are talking about the foreign policy, not of Delhi, not of one particular city, but the foreign policy of the country..." He further highlighted India's decision to extend a special economic package to Mauritius during Ramgoolam's ongoing State visit. Misri said, "One of the major outcomes of this visit is our decision to offer a special economic package to Mauritius. This covers multiple elements, including development of the port of Port Louis, development and assistance for surveillance of the Chagos Marine Protected area, blended financial assistance in the form of grants and a line of credit for major projects..." On trade in local currencies between India and Mauritius, foreign secretary Misri said, "This is something on which an understanding has already been arrived at. But now, there are discussions going on between the central banks of the two countries..." Addressing a joint press statement after delegation-level talks with Prime Minister of Mauritius, PM Modi highlighted steps to strengthen financial cooperation. "Last year, UPI and RuPay cards were launched in Mauritius. Now, we will work towards enabling trade in local currencies." PM Modi formally unveiled an economic package to support the infrastructure, employment and healthcare sectors in the Indian Ocean island nation. PM Modi underlined that the package was not merely assistance but an investment in the shared future of both countries. Noting that it is a matter of pride for India to be a reliable and primary partner in Mauritius' development, he said, "Today we have decided on a Special Economic Package keeping in mind the needs and priorities of Mauritius. It will strengthen infrastructure, create new employment opportunities, and strengthen health facilities." Citing specific examples, he pointed out that outside India, the first Jan Aushadhi Centre has now been established in Mauritius. "Today we have decided that AYUSH Centre of Excellence in Mauritius, 500-bed Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam National Hospital, and India will assist in the construction of Veterinary School and Animal Hospital. We will also take forward projects like the Chagos Marine Protected Area, the ATC tower of the SSR International Airport, and the expansion of the highway and ring road. This package is not an assistance. It is an investment in our shared future," PM Modi said. On energy security, he stressed India's support for Mauritius' energy transition. "Hundred electric buses are being given to Mauritius, out of which 10 have already arrived. The comprehensive partnership agreement concluded in the field of energy will give it further strength. We have decided to assist in the construction of a 17.5 MW floating solar power plant at 'Tamarind Falls'," he said. Prime Minister Modi also underscored the growing scope of training and education initiatives. Observing that more than 5,000 Mauritian citizens have received training in India, he said that during his March visit to Mauritius it was decided to train 500 civil servants, and the first batch is currently undergoing training in Mussoorie. "Today, we have decided that a new Directorate of Science and Technology will be established in Mauritius. And, soon, we will also start training modules of Mission Karmayogi in Mauritius. India's IIT Madras and the Indian Institute of Plantation Management have signed agreements with the University of Mauritius. These agreements will take mutual partnership in research, education and innovation to new heights," he said. Turning to regional priorities, PM Modi reiterated India's commitment to maritime security. He stressed that a free, open, secure, stable and prosperous Indian Ocean is a common priority and reaffirmed that India has always stood as the first responder and a net security provider in the region. He added that Mauritius' Coast Guard Ship is being refitted in India and 120 officers are also being trained. Further underlining the depth of bilateral ties, PM Modi said India and Mauritius are two nations but their dreams and destiny are one. He also paid tribute to the 125th birth anniversary of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, stating, "He was not only the father of the nation of Mauritius, but was also the founder of the unbreakable bridge between India and Mauritius. His birth anniversary will continue to inspire us to take our relations to new heights." Ramgoolam is undertaking a state visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi. The Mauritian leader had earlier visited India in May 2014 as the only non-SAARC head of government invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Modi and the Council of Ministers. He arrived in Varanasi on September 10, where he was accorded a ceremonial welcome and Guard of Honour by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel. (ANI)
In a significant phone conversation on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, emphasising the need for China and the US to navigate their complex relationship carefully. Wang Yi likened the two nations to "giant ships" that must move forward together without deviating from their courses or losing speed Lin Jian, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, shared details of the telephonic conversation between Wang and Rubio. In a post on X, Lin said that the Chinese Foreign Minister stressed adhering to the strategic guidance of the two heads of state and implementing their consensus. Wang also raised concern over US actions and opposed recent comments and actions seen as undermining China's rights and interfering in internal affairs. Wang Yi urged U.S. caution on Taiwan, a core Chinese interest. Sharing a statement on Thursday in a post on X, Lin Jian informed, "Wang Yi said that to ensure that the two giant ships of China and the US move forward together without deviating from their courses or losing speed, it is necessary to adhere unswervingly to the strategic guidance of the two heads of state and to fully implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state. The recent negative comments and actions from the U.S. side have undermined China's legitimate rights and interests, interfered in China's internal affairs, and are detrimental to the improvement and development of China-US relations. China clearly opposes such behavior." As per the statement, Wang Yi urged the United States "to exercise caution in its words and actions, especially on issues concerning China's core interests such as Taiwan." The statement underscored that China and the United States once fought side by side during World War II to defeat militarism and fascism, and said that in this new era, the two sides should work together for world peace and prosperity, tackle global challenges and shoulder their due responsibilities as major countries. The statement highlighted how both sides believed that the call was timely, necessary and fruitful. It emphasised the need to further leverage the strategic leading role of head-of-state diplomacy in China-US relations, properly manage differences, explore practical cooperation, and promote the stable development of bilateral relations. https://x.com/SpoxCHN_LinJian/status/1965997398720917972?t=WFW0IE6fMnjx3O8txCEZUQ&s=08 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a phone conversation on Wednesday with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Secretary Rubio emphasised the importance of open and constructive communication on a range of bilateral issues. They also discussed other global and regional issues as a continuation of the discussions in Kuala Lumpur, the US State Department stated on Wednesday. Earlier, US President Donald Trump accused Chinese President Xi Jinping of "conspiring against" the United States. The accusation followed China's largest-ever military parade held on September 3, which was attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin. China held a massive military parade on September 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Hours after accusing Chinese President Xi Jinping of "conspiring against" America, Trump said his personal ties with the Chinese leadership were "very good". The call between the leaders came at a time of heightened strain in US-China relations. Recently, a report by CNN noted that US President Donald Trump and his top advisors are quietly preparing to travel to South Korea later in October this year for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, with serious discussions in place for a bilateral meeting with Xi Jinping, but no firm plans are in place, CNN reported, citing Trump administration officials. (ANI)
India on Wednesday slammed Pakistan for cross-border terrorism, proportionate reaction to the Pahalgam terror attack, rejecting external lectures at the 5th Meeting of the 60th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). India's diplomat Kshitij Tyagi condemned Pakistan's repeated provocations and misuse of international forums. He highlighted India's firm commitment to protecting its citizens and safeguarding national sovereignty. He accused Pakistan of sponsoring terror, manipulating international forums like the OIC, and propagating falsehoods. Tyagi stated India needs no advice from a state supporting terrorist networks. Addressing the council, he said, "...Our measured and proportionate response to the Pahalagm attack made that sufficiently clear. We need no lessons from a terror sponsor, no sermons from a persecutor of minorities, no advice from a state that has conjured its own credibility. India will continue to protect its citizens with unwavering resolve. We will defend our sovereignty without compromise. And we will continue to expose, time and again, the elaborate deception of a failed state whose survival depends upon trafficking in terror and tragedy..." Tyagi likened Pakistan to a "dump truck" depositing "recycled falsehoods" at the UNHRC, criticising its fixation on India. He stated, "We are compelled once again to address provocations from a country whose own leadership recently likened it to a dump truck. Perhaps an inadvertently apt metaphor for a state that continues to deposit recycled falsehoods and stale propaganda before this distinguished council. Pakistan's systematic abuse of this forum, coupled with its routine manipulation of the OIC as its mouthpiece, has become a familiar pattern. Its pathological fixation on India appears to provide it with existential validation..." He accused Islamabad of being a state sponsor of terrorism and using international forums to propagate misinformation. Highlighting India's stance, he said that New Delhi needed no guidance from a country with a history of sheltering and supporting terrorist networks. Tyagi recalled several major terrorist attacks, including Pulwama, Uri, Pathankot, Mumbai, and the recent Pahalgam attack, underscoring the ongoing threat of cross-border terrorism. He also pointed to Pakistan's hypocrisy, recalling its past provision of sanctuary to Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and emphasised the obsessive focus of Pakistan on India, as reflected in its misuse of both the UNHRC and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Concluding his remarks, Tyagi reaffirmed India's resolve to defend its citizens and uphold its sovereignty. He stressed that India would continue to expose what he called the "elaborate deception" of a failed state that relies on terror and tragedy to maintain its relevance on the international stage. (ANI)
Former Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Rakesh Sood, commented on the ongoing political crisis in Nepal, stating that the country is experiencing a "political meltdown" and a "complete legal vacuum." He noted that calls for dissolving parliament and forming an interim government are complicated by the Nepali Constitution, which lacks provisions for such arrangements. "It is for the Nepalese to decide what form of governance they want... If it is in keeping with what the people want, then so be it," Sood told ANI, acknowledging discussions around amending the Constitution and potential interim government candidates, including Sushila Karki, Balen Shah, and OP Aryal, among others. He emphasised the unpredictability of the situation due to constitutional constraints. Addressing India's approach to the tensions in Nepal, Sood highlighted the importance of India staying out of Nepal's internal political conflicts. "We should be glad that we have not been brought into the political slugfest that is underway in Nepal..This is an internal matter for the Nepalese to sort out," he said. He added that India has taken steps to secure its interests, including sealing the border, and will continue to closely monitor the situation and emerging leadership in Nepal. Commenting on the recent protests in Nepal, Sood pointed to growing public discontent with the system as a key factor. He identified the social media platform ban announced on September 4 as the "catalyst" that sparked widespread protests. "There was a fairly high degree of discontent and resentment about the system... The social media ban provided that trigger mechanism which led to the protests," he said. The statement comes amid ongoing unrest, as anti-establishment protests led by Nepal's Gen Z continue across the country. Earlier in the day, Nepal President Ram Chandra Paudel appealed to maintain peace, asserting that he is making "every effort" to find a way out of the current situation. President Paudel said, "Respected Nepali brothers and sisters, I am making every effort to find a way out of the current difficult situation in the country within the constitutional framework and to protect democracy and maintain peace and order in the country. I appeal to all parties to be confident that a solution to the problem is being sought as soon as possible to address the demands of the agitating citizens and to cooperate with restraint in maintaining peace and order in the country." Youth leaders at the forefront of the demonstrations have stated that widespread corruption and political stagnation are the core reasons behind their mass mobilisation against the government, reflecting the very issues the President referenced in his call for dialogue and peace. The protest leaders in a press conference on Thursday have also collectively endorsed former Chief Justice Sushila Karki as their nominee for interim Prime Minister, citing her integrity and independence, following the resignation of the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli after widespread protests across the nation. "We are staging this movement against corruption, as it is rampant," said Gen Z leader Diwakar Dangal, echoing the frustrations of thousands of young Nepalese who have taken to the streets in Kathmandu and other major cities since September 8. The Gen Z-led movement, which initially began as a peaceful protest, has seen moments of violence and chaos, which the leaders blame on political infiltrators. Meanwhile, 31 people have been killed and over 1000 injured in clashes with security forces during the anti-corruption demonstrations across the country, The Kathmandu Post reported. The protests began on September 8, 2025, in Kathmandu and other major cities, including Pokhara, Butwal, and Birgunj, following the government's imposition of a ban on major social media platforms, citing concerns over tax revenue and cybersecurity. Curfew was imposed in several cities, including Kathmandu, to control the situation, which will continue till Friday morning, as per a statement issued by the Nepalese Army. (ANI)
India on Thursday announced a Special Economic Package for Mauritius worth nearly USD 680 million (MUR 30 billion) across health, infrastructure, and maritime security sectors during the ongoing state visit of Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam to India. The package includes a range of projects designed to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries. Adressing the special briefing by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Mauritius PM Navin Ramgoolam's India visit, he said, "One of the major outcomes of this visit is our decision to offer a special economic package to Mauritius." "This covers multiple elements, including development of the port of Port Louis, development and assistance for surveillance of the Chagos Marine Protected area, blended financial assistance in the form of grants and a line of credit for major projects," he added. The announcement comes after fruitful discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mauritian PM Ramgoolam on a wide range of bilateral matters. According to the Prime Minister's office, "On the basis of requests submitted by the Government of Mauritius, the following projects have been agreed, in principle, to be jointly implemented by India and Mauritius." Under the special economic package, the two countries have agreed to a series of important projects. These include the construction of the New Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam National Hospital, the establishment of an AYUSH Centre of Excellence, a Veterinary School and Animal Hospital, and the provision of helicopters for Mauritius. The total estimated cost of these projects and assistance is around USD 215 million (approximately MUR 9.80 billion). Additionally, projects such as the completion of the new ATC tower at SSR International Airport, the development of Motorway M4, the development of the Ring Road Phase II and the acquisition of port equipment by CHCL will be undertaken under a grant-cum-LOC basis. The estimated cost for these initiatives stands at USD 440 million (MUR 20.10 billion). On the strategic front, India and Mauritius have also agreed to collaborate on the redevelopment and restructuring of the Port in Mauritius. Moreover, the two nations will collaborate on the development and monitoring of the Chagos Marine Protected Area, a project of significant environmental importance. In addition to these, the Indian government has committed to providing a budgetary assistance of USD 25 million for the current financial year to support ongoing initiatives and bilateral projects. Earlier in the day, PM Modi and his Mauritian counterpart addressed a joint press briefing in Varanasi, where they signed off on multiple agreements. The two leaders, ahead of their joint press briefing in Varanasi, held wide-ranging discussions covering bilateral, regional, and global issues, culminating in the signing of seven Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) across diverse sectors, including science and technology, oceanography, public administration, power, small development projects, hydrography, and space cooperation. Key agreements included a space collaboration deal for the establishment of telemetry, tracking, and communication stations, and a renewed commitment to maritime research and hydrographic mapping. In the education sector, MoUs were also announced between the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and the University of Mauritius, as well as between the Indian Institute of Plantation Management, Bengaluru and the University of Mauritius. Additionally, it was confirmed that NTPC Ltd. will soon send a team to Mauritius to finalise an agreement for the development of a 17.5 MW Floating Solar PV Project at Tamarind Falls. Prime Minister Modi, during the press briefing, congratulated PM Ramgoolam on the recent progress regarding the Chagos Archipelago, calling it a historic victory for Mauritius's independence and reiterating India's longstanding support for decolonisation. PM Modi also highlighted the special relationship between India and Mauritius, reiterating that the Indian Ocean country is an integral pillar of India's Neighbourhood First policy and vision, MAHASAGAR. Prime Minister Ramgoolam expressed deep appreciation for India's role in Mauritius's progress, highlighting that the bilateral relationship is now rooted not only in historical ties but also in shared values, mutual respect, and a forward-looking development agenda. Ramgoolam is on an official visit to India from September 9 to 16. He arrived in Varanasi on September 9 and was accorded a ceremonial welcome and Guard of Honour. Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel received him. PM Ramgoolam had earlier visited India in May 2014 as the only non-SAARC leader invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. (ANI)
PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Berger Montague PC is investigating potential securities fraud claims on behalf of investors of KinderCare Learning Companies, Inc. ("KinderCare" or the "Company") following the filing of a securities class action lawsuit filed on behalf of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired KinderCare securities between October 6, 2024 through August 12, 2025 (the "Class Period"), including in the Company's initial public offering in October 2024.

Investor Deadline: Investors who purchased or acquired KinderCare securities during the Class Period may, no later than October 14, 2025, seek to be appointed as a lead plaintiff representative of the class. To learn your rights, CLICK HERE .

KinderCare, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, is a national operator of early childhood education centers.

The investigation centers on allegations that KinderCare failed to disclose widespread safety and compliance failures at its facilities. Among other things, the Company is accused of omitting that numerous incidents of child abuse, neglect, and harm had occurred at its centers.

At the time the lawsuit was filed, KinderCare's stock had declined to lows near $9 per share, a loss of approximately 60 percent of its value at the time of the IPO.

If you are a KinderCare investor and would like to learn more about this action, CLICK HERE or please contact Berger Montague: Andrew Abramowitz at [email protected] or (215) 875-3015, or Caitlin Adorni at [email protected] or (267)764-4865.

About Berger Montague

Berger Montague, with offices in Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Delaware, Washington, D.C., San Diego, San Francisco, Chicago, Malvern, PA, and Toronto has been a pioneer in securities class action litigation since its founding in 1970. Berger Montague has represented individual and institutional investors for over five decades and serves as lead counsel in courts throughout the United States.

For more information or to discuss your rights, please contact:

Andrew Abramowitz, Senior Counsel

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Caitlin Adorni

Berger Montague

(267) 764-4865

[email protected]

SOURCE Berger Montague
A brief chaos ensued at the press briefing of Gen-Z leaders in Kathmandu as they addressed the media. Amid ongoing anti-establishment protests across the country, the youth leaders at the forefront of these demonstrations explained that widespread corruption and political stagnation were the core reasons driving their mass mobilisation against the government. The protest leaders in a press conference on Thursday have also collectively endorsed former Chief Justice Sushila Karki as their nominee for interim Prime Minister, citing her integrity and independence, following the resignation of the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli after widespread protests across the nation. "We are staging this movement against corruption, as it is rampant," said Gen Z leader Diwakar Dangal, echoing the frustrations of thousands of young Nepalese who have taken to the streets in Kathmandu and other major cities since September 8. Another Gen Z leader, Junal Gadal, emphasised the choice of leadership for the transition phase, stating, "We should choose Sushila Karki as the best option as the guardian of the country." Karki, Nepal's first female Chief Justice, is widely regarded for her stance against judicial and political corruption. The Gen Z-led movement, which initially began as a peaceful protest, has seen moments of violence and chaos, which the leaders blame on political infiltrators. "We had called for a peaceful protest, but the political cadres caused the arson and then vandalised the infrastructure," said Gen Z leader Anil Baniya. "We are not trying to change the constitution, but to make necessary amendments to it. Through online surveys, the Gen Z leaders voted for Sushila Karki. Within six months, we will head to elections." Ojashwi Raj Thapa, another face of the youth uprising, addressed the challenges within the movement, warning against attempts by political actors to create division. "We are not capable of taking full leadership yet, and it will take us time to mature into that role," Thapa said. "Some party members think they can infiltrate and divide us. This bloodshed is your doing, the doing of old leaders. We don't want violence. We want the parliament dissolved, not the constitution scrapped." Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah 'Balen' has also voiced his support for Karki, strengthening her standing as the probable candidate of the Gen Z movement. Meanwhile, 31 people have been killed and over 1000 injured in clashes with security forces during the anti-corruption demonstrations across the country, The Kathmandu Post reported. The protests began on September 8, 2025, in Kathmandu and other major cities, including Pokhara, Butwal, and Birgunj, following the government's imposition of a ban on major social media platforms, citing concerns over tax revenue and cybersecurity. Curfew was imposed in several cities, including Kathmandu, to control the situation, which will continue till Friday morning, as per a statement issued by the Nepalese Army. Protesters have been demanding an end to "institutionalised corruption and favouritism" in governance. They want the government to be more accountable and transparent in its decision-making processes. Public frustration deepened further when the "Nepo Babies" trend on social media exposed the lavish lifestyles of politicians' children, highlighting the economic disparity between them and ordinary citizens. (ANI)
According to Sammi Deen Baloch, this incident is part of a long chain of disappearances targeting the Qalandrani family.

In 2011, fifteen relatives, including Mir Yousaf's brothers Mir Atiq ur Rahman, Mir Khalil ur Rahman, and Mir Waseem ur Rahman, were taken from the Toti area of Balochistan and remain missing to this day.

Taking to the social media platform X, Sammi Deen Baloch stated that for over two decades, Balochistan has been mired in a relentless crisis of enforced disappearances.

Human rights activists and local advocacy groups have documented a disturbing pattern in which Baloch political activists, students, educators, journalists, and ordinary residents are picked up by state agencies and kept in secret detention.

Victims are rarely brought before a court, and their families are left in prolonged uncertainty, often unaware of whether their loved ones are alive.

The humanitarian toll of these disappearances is immense.

Thousands of families across the province live in anguish, clinging to hope while demanding justice.

Protest camps led by grieving mothers have become a fixture in both Quetta and Islamabad, while sisters and daughters tirelessly seek answers through legal channels. Children have grown up in the shadow of these disappearances, waiting for parents who never return, she stated.

The issue has also become a symbol of resistance in Balochistan, with rallies and protest tents standing as stark reminders of a community's pain and determination. Despite decades of demonstrations and appeals to authorities, justice remains elusive, and the cycle of abductions continues unchecked, she highlighted.

The case of the Qalandrani family highlights the generational impact of enforced disappearances, where one family has lost multiple members over the years without any accountability. Their story echoes the experiences of thousands of other families in Balochistan, illustrating the deep wounds inflicted by a policy of fear and repression.

As these families continue to demand transparency, their struggle highlights a growing call for justice and an end to the long-standing tragedy of enforced disappearances in the province. (ANI)
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on Thursday attended a solemn observance ceremony at the Pentagon to mark the 24th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The attacks claimed the lives of 2,977 people after hijacked planes struck New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. At Ground Zero in New York, the annual tradition of reading aloud the names of those who perished continues, honouring more than 2,700 victims who died in the collapse of the Twin Towers. The morning of September 11 in 2001 began like any other in New York City. Office workers hurried through crowded streets, tourists paused to admire the skyline, and vendors opened their stalls as sunlight glinted off the glass towers. The rhythm of daily life seemed unshaken--until the sudden roar of jet engines broke the calm, and a plane crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, turning an ordinary day into the opening chapter of the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil. Moments after the initial crash, another plane struck the South Tower as onlookers stared at the devastating sight of the two towers turning into rubble in just a few moments. Meanwhile, another plane tore into the headquarters of the US Department of Defence, the Pentagon, and a fourth crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. A total of four airliners were hijacked by 19 people, who were on a suicide mission to put a deep scar in the heart of American history. This attack, which is said to be the biggest terrorist attack in the history of mankind, shook America to its core, with the Twin Towers in New York turned into rubble, as was the spirit of Americans who witnessed it, and also those who lost their loved ones in this tragedy. Nearly 3,000 people were killed, thousands more injured, and the United States was thrust into a new era of war and security. 9/11 did not erupt from nowhere. It was the culmination of a decade-long confrontation between Osama bin Laden, the leader of the terrorist organisation al-Qaeda, who was responsible for training those 19 hijackers, and the United States. This battle began far from America's shores but was carried to its heart by the organisation. (ANI)
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday paid tribute to slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk during a 9/11 commemoration ceremony at the Pentagon, saying that like the victims of the terror attacks, he "will never be forgotten." "On this day 24 years ago, we suffered. In the years since, we have endured. Our service and sacrifice have forged our character, and today, we stand in hope for the future of our great nation," Hegseth said, addressing the gathering in the Pentagon courtyard alongside President Trump. Hegseth underscored the role of young Americans in shaping the nation's future. "The young soldiers who take the oath give me hope. The young cops who wear the badge give me hope. The young firefighters who answer the call give me hope. The young agents who patrol our border give me hope. The life, example, and even death of Christ-follower and American patriot, Charlie Kirk give me hope." Drawing a parallel between Kirk and the victims of September 11, he concluded, "Like those on 9/11, you will never be forgotten." Kirk, whose death Hegseth described as a loss that gave him hope and inspiration, was a right-wing political commentator and conservative activist. He was shot in the neck on Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University, The New York Times reported. According to a Utah Valley University spokesperson, Kirk was approximately 20 minutes into his presentation when gunshots were heard from a nearby building. The university informed students that "a single shot was fired on campus toward a visiting speaker," and a suspect has been taken into custody. A spokesperson confirmed that Kirk was the only person shot during the event. Video footage from the scene showed students fleeing after hearing gunshots. In one clip, Kirk appeared to fall back as blood came from his neck. He was sitting under a tent with the slogan "The American Comeback" when the incident happened, as per The New York Times. According to The New York Times, a spokeswoman for the FBI office in Utah said the office is aware of the reported shooting and agents are responding to the scene. In a post on X, FBI Director Kash Patel said, "We are closely monitoring reports of the tragic shooting involving Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected. Agents will be on the scene quickly and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation." As per The New York Times, at least three videos posted on social media on Wednesday show Charlie Kirk being struck by apparent gunfire while giving a speech at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah said on social media that he is being briefed by law enforcement "following the violence directed at Charlie Kirk during his visit to Utah today." He wrote on X, "I am being briefed by law enforcement following the violence directed at Charlie Kirk during his visit to Utah Valley University today. We will continue to share updates. Those responsible will be held fully accountable. Violence has no place in our public life." Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, called the apparent shooting of Charlie Kirk a "sick and despicable attack" in a post on social media. Graham and several other Republican senators, including Ted Cruz of Texas and Katie Britt of Alabama, said that they are praying for Kirk. (ANI)
US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would soon award conservative activist Charlie Kirk a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honour. Speaking at a ceremony outside the Pentagon marking the 24th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Trump said the event honouring Kirk would be significant. "I can only guarantee you one thing: That will have a very big crowd," he remarked. Trump opened his address by remembering Kirk, describing him as a close ally and an inspiration. "Let me express the horror and grief so many Americans, at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk, have felt," he said. "Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people. Our prayers are with his wonderful wife, Erika, and his beautiful children. Fantastic people," Trump continued. "We miss him greatly. Yet I have no doubt that Charlie's voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on," he added. Kirk, a right-wing political commentator and conservative activist, was shot in the neck on Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University, The New York Times reported. According to a Utah Valley University spokesperson, Kirk was approximately 20 minutes into his presentation when gunshots were heard from a nearby building. The university informed students that "a single shot was fired on campus toward a visiting speaker," and a suspect has been taken into custody. A spokesperson confirmed that Kirk was the only person shot during the event. Video footage from the scene showed students fleeing after hearing gunshots. In one clip, Kirk appeared to fall back as blood came from his neck. He was sitting under a tent with the slogan "The American Comeback" when the incident happened, as per The New York Times. According to The New York Times, a spokeswoman for the FBI office in Utah said the office is aware of the reported shooting and agents are responding to the scene. In a post on X, FBI Director Kash Patel said, "We are closely monitoring reports of the tragic shooting involving Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected. Agents will be on the scene quickly and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation." As per The New York Times, at least three videos posted on social media on Wednesday show Charlie Kirk being struck by apparent gunfire while giving a speech at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah said on social media that he is being briefed by law enforcement "following the violence directed at Charlie Kirk during his visit to Utah today." He wrote on X, "I am being briefed by law enforcement following the violence directed at Charlie Kirk during his visit to Utah Valley University today. We will continue to share updates. Those responsible will be held fully accountable. Violence has no place in our public life." Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, called the apparent shooting of Charlie Kirk a "sick and despicable attack" in a post on social media. Graham and several other Republican senators, including Ted Cruz of Texas and Katie Britt of Alabama, said that they are praying for Kirk. (ANI)
The Nepal Army on Thursday issued a prohibitory order till 5:00 pm today, while the curfew has been extended nationwide till 6:00 am tomorrow. According to the update, the prohibitory order will remain in force from 11 am to 5 pm (local time) on Friday, September 12. A curfew will also be imposed from 7 pm on September 12 until 6 am on September 13. "Based on the analysis of the latest security situation, the District Security Committees of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts have made the following arrangements as it is necessary to continue the prohibitory orders and curfew orders issued for the safety of citizens and their property," the Nepal Army said in a statement. The continuation of restrictions comes as Nepal faces unrest. Against this backdrop, President Ram Chandra Paudel on Thursday appealed for peace, saying he is making "every effort" to find a way out of the current situation. President Paudel said, "Respected Nepali brothers and sisters, I am making every effort to find a way out of the current difficult situation in the country within the constitutional framework and to protect democracy and maintain peace and order in the country. I appeal to all parties to be confident that a solution to the problem is being sought as soon as possible to address the demands of the agitating citizens and to cooperate with restraint in maintaining peace and order in the country." The statement comes amid ongoing unrest, as anti-establishment protests led by Nepal's Gen Z continue across the country. Youth leaders at the forefront of the demonstrations have stated that widespread corruption and political stagnation are the core reasons behind their mass mobilisation against the government, reflecting the very issues the President referenced in his call for dialogue and peace. The protest leaders in a press conference on Thursday have also collectively endorsed former Chief Justice Sushila Karki as their nominee for interim Prime Minister, citing her integrity and independence, following the resignation of the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli after widespread protests across the nation. "We are staging this movement against corruption, as it is rampant," said Gen Z leader Diwakar Dangal, echoing the frustrations of thousands of young Nepalese who have taken to the streets in Kathmandu and other major cities since September 8. Another Gen Z leader, Junal Gadal, emphasised the choice of leadership for the transition phase, stating, "We should choose Sushila Karki as the best option as the guardian of the country." Karki, Nepal's first female Chief Justice, is widely regarded for her stance against judicial and political corruption. The Gen Z-led movement, which initially began as a peaceful protest, has seen moments of violence and chaos, which the leaders blame on political infiltrators. "We had called for a peaceful protest, but the political cadres caused the arson and then vandalised the infrastructure. We are not trying to change the Constitution, but to make necessary amendments to it. Through online surveys, the Gen Z leaders voted for Sushila Karki. Within six months, we will head to elections," said Gen Z leader Anil Baniya. Ojashwi Raj Thapa, another face of the youth uprising, addressed the challenges within the movement, warning against attempts by political actors to create division. "We are not capable of taking full leadership yet, and it will take us time to mature into that role," Thapa said, adding, "Some party members think they can infiltrate and divide us. This bloodshed is your doing, the doing of old leaders. We don't want violence. We want the parliament dissolved, not the constitution scrapped." Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah 'Balen' has also voiced his support for Karki, strengthening her standing as the probable candidate of the Gen Z movement. Meanwhile, 31 people have been killed and over 1000 injured in clashes with security forces during the anti-corruption demonstrations across the country, The Kathmandu Post reported. The protests began on September 8, 2025, in Kathmandu and other major cities, including Pokhara, Butwal, and Birgunj, following the government's imposition of a ban on major social media platforms, citing concerns over tax revenue and cybersecurity. Curfew was imposed in several cities, including Kathmandu, to control the situation, which will continue till Friday morning, as per a statement issued by the Nepalese Army. Protesters have been demanding an end to "institutionalised corruption and favouritism" in governance. They want the government to be more accountable and transparent in its decision-making processes. Public frustration deepened further when the "Nepo Babies" trend on social media exposed the lavish lifestyles of politicians' children, highlighting the economic disparity between them and ordinary citizens. (ANI)
Sergio Gor, President Donald Trump's close aide and nominee for the post of US Ambassador to India, underscored the vital importance of the US-India relationship during his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday (local time), emphasising that India is "one of the most important relationships our nation has in the world." During his confirmation hearing, he also laid out a comprehensive strategy for advancing this critical partnership, highlighting its significance not only for bilateral ties but also for global stability and prosperity. "India is a strategic partner whose trajectory will shape the region and beyond," Gor stated in his opening remarks. He described India's geographic position, economic growth, and military capabilities as central to regional stability and global prosperity. "Under President Donald Trump's strong leadership, I'm committed to advancing America's interests in this important partnership. India's geographic position, economic growth and military capabilities make it a corner stone of regional stability and a critical part of promoting prospertiy and advancing the security interest that are nations shared," he said. "As Secretary Rubio noted, India is one of the most important relationships our nation has in the world. If confirmed as ambassador, I will work to deliver on the presidential agenda and advance US interests by increasing our defense cooperation, ensuring fair and beneficial trade, deepening energy security and furthering technology. If confirmed, I will prioritize deepening defense and security cooperation with India," he added. One of the key priorities Gor highlighted was deepening defence and security cooperation with India. "This includes expanding joint military exercises, advancing co-development and co-production of defence systems and concluding critical defence sales. These efforts will enhance collaboration between our forces, while supporting American defence manufacturers and making America more prosperous," Gor said. Gor also spoke about the immense opportunities for the US in India, particularly in sectors such as artificial intelligence, pharmaceuticals, and critical minerals. "India's population of over 1.4 billion and its rapidly growing middle class present immense opportunities for America. From artificial intelligence to pharmaceuticals to critical minerals, the potential for collaboration is vast. However, in the past, India's protectionist policies and regulatory barriers have prevented us from fully realising this partnership," he said. "I will work to advance trade that is fair, reciprocal, and beneficial to American workers and businesses," Gor pledged. He also vowed to advocate for reforms that would make Indian markets more accessible and transparent. "I will advocate for reforms that will make India's markets more accessible and transparent. I will also work towards President Trump's ambitious goal, dubbed Mission 500, to double bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030, which will expand American exports, creating jobs and prosperity for our citizens," he said. Gor's testimony also included a focus on countering China's economic influence. "Improving US-India trade ties will not only bolster US competitiveness but also reduce China's economic leverage over other nations," he remarked. "I will encourage Indian investment in US manufacturing capacity, and we will also be furthering Indian investments in the United States. We'll also be furthering our strategic pharmaceutical supply chain and creating more jobs right here at home in the United States," he added. On the subject of technology, Gor emphasised the growing partnership between the US and India in critical and emerging technologies. He referenced the US-India Trust Initiative launched earlier this year by President Trump and Prime Minister Modi, which is designed to leverage the strengths of the US tech sector to compete with China in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and semiconductors. "I will advance this administration's AI Action Plan, which will ensure the dominance of American AI technology in India and globally, our technology cooperation will require significant energy resources, another area where the United States and India can work together," Gor said. "India is also a strategic partner in advancing critical and emerging technology. US-India Trust Initiative launched in February by President Trump and Prime Minister Modi lays out a path to leverage the impressive capacity of the US tech sector to outcompete China on the development of AI quantum semiconductors and other critical and emerging technologies," he said. Energy cooperation also featured prominently in Gor's vision, with a focus on increasing American energy exports to India. "If confirmed, I will work to increase American energy exports to India, establishing the United States as a leading supplier of crude oil, petroleum products, and liquefied natural gas," he said. Gor concluded his testimony by reiterating the strategic importance of a stable South Asia, an area where India plays a central role. "Finally, India's role in ensuring the stability and security of the region cannot be understated. A stable South Asia is in the interest of the United States and all the nations. President Trump's leadership and the US-India partnership will define the 20th and 21st centuries. It is only by working together that we can make that aspiration a reality," he said. In closing, Gor committed to working tirelessly to ensure the United States remains a global leader while fostering a partnership with India that benefits both nations. "If confirmed as ambassador, I will work to ensure the United States remains a global leader, while fostering a partnership that benefits both nations. I look forward to working with you all to achieve these goals," he said. (ANI)
The FBI Salt Lake City field office has appealed to the public for assistance in identifying a person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. In a post on X, the bureau stated, "We are asking for the public's help identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University." https://x.com/FBISaltLakeCity/status/1966169520403525760 Authorities have urged anyone with relevant information to come forward to aid the ongoing investigation. Kirk, a right-wing political commentator and conservative activist, was shot in the neck on Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University, The New York Times reported. According to a Utah Valley University spokesperson, Kirk was approximately 20 minutes into his presentation when gunshots were heard from a nearby building. The university informed students that "a single shot was fired on campus toward a visiting speaker," and a suspect has been taken into custody. A spokesperson confirmed that Kirk was the only person shot during the event. Video footage from the scene showed students fleeing after hearing gunshots. In one clip, Kirk appeared to fall back as blood came from his neck. He was sitting under a tent with the slogan "The American Comeback" when the incident happened, as per The New York Times. According to The New York Times, a spokeswoman for the FBI office in Utah said the office is aware of the reported shooting and agents are responding to the scene. In a post on X, FBI Director Kash Patel said, "We are closely monitoring reports of the tragic shooting involving Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected. Agents will be on the scene quickly and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation." As per The New York Times, at least three videos posted on social media on Wednesday show Charlie Kirk being struck by apparent gunfire while giving a speech at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah said on social media that he is being briefed by law enforcement "following the violence directed at Charlie Kirk during his visit to Utah today." He wrote on X, "I am being briefed by law enforcement following the violence directed at Charlie Kirk during his visit to Utah Valley University today. We will continue to share updates. Those responsible will be held fully accountable. Violence has no place in our public life." Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, called the apparent shooting of Charlie Kirk a "sick and despicable attack" in a post on social media. Graham and several other Republican senators, including Ted Cruz of Texas and Katie Britt of Alabama, said that they are praying for Kirk. (ANI)
Experiencing the sacred connect with the Holy Ganga, Prime Minister Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam of Mauritius witnessed the Ganga Aarti in Varanasi on Thursday. In a post on X, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal highlighted the significance of the spiritual experience, stating, "Experiencing the sacred connect with the Holy Ganga. PM @Ramgoolam_Dr of Mauritius witnessed Ganga Aarti at Varanasi today. This spiritual experience symbolises the timeless bonds of faith and tradition that bind India and Mauritius." https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/1966160073165771090 The spiritual visit also coincided with official engagements, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with his Mauritian counterpart on Thursday. The Mauritius PM is on his first overseas bilateral visit to India in his current term, from September 9-16, highlighting both cultural and diplomatic ties between the two nations. The leaders warmly greeted each other, reflecting the bonhomie and the strength of India-Mauritius ties. Earlier in the day, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had called upon PM Ramgoolam here in Varanasi. Sharing the details in a post on X, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that they discussed the multifaceted partnership and reaffirmed commitment to strengthening the India-Mauritius Enhanced Strategic Partnership anchored in shared history, culture and people-to-people ties. PM Ramgoolam had earlier visited India in May 2014 as the only non-SAARC leader invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. He arrived in Kashi on September 9 and was accorded a ceremonial welcome and Guard of Honour. He was received by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel. The meeting between the two leaders in the historic city of Varanasi underscores the enduring civilisational connection, spiritual bonds, and deep-rooted people-to-people ties that have shaped the special and unique relationship between India and Mauritius. During the bilateral discussions, the two leaders will review the full spectrum of cooperation, with particular focus on development partnership and capacity building. They will also discuss opportunities for expanding collaboration in health, education, science & technology, energy, infrastructure, as well as in emerging domains such as renewable energy, digital public infrastructure and the blue economy. The visit builds upon the positive momentum generated by PM Modi's State Visit to Mauritius in March 2025, during which the two leaders elevated the bilateral relationship to an 'Enhanced Strategic Partnership'. As a valued partner and close maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region, Mauritius is key to India's MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Region) Vision and the 'Neighbourhood First' policy. The deepening cooperation between the two countries carries significance not only for the prosperity of the people of both countries but also for the collective aspirations of the Global South. (ANI)
Tel Aviv [Israel], September 11 (ANI/TPS): Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Thursday with Elisabeth Tsurkov, the Israeli-Russian doctoral student who was released after 2.5 years of captivity in Iraq. Tsurkov and her brother, David, thanked the prime minister and all those involved in her release and in caring for her and her family. In their conversation, she described the difficult conditions of her captivity and expressed hope for the return of all abductees. Tsurkov, 38, is recuperating at Sheba Medical Center-Tel Hashomer in Ramat Gan, following the same medical protocols as hostages who returned from Gaza. She was a Princeton University doctoral student and fellow at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, where her work focused on the influence of pro-Iranian factions and the movement headed by Shi'ite cleric Moqtada Sadr. Tsurkov was in Baghdad conducting field research, presumably entering Iraq with her Russian passport, when she disappeared in March 2023. Her abduction was confirmed in November 2023, when a propaganda video circulated by Iran-backed Iraqi militias appeared on Telegram. Israeli officials accused the Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah of involvement in Tsurkov's kidnapping. Netanyahu congratulated Tsurkov on her return, wished her health and a full recovery, and said that many efforts had been invested over time in securing her freedom. The prime minister also noted with appreciation the assistance of many parties, led by U.S. President Trump, Secretary of State Rubio, and Special Envoy Boehler, as well as the activities of Israeli Defense Forces Coordinator Gal Hirsch in her release. (ANI/TPS)
CENTER VALLEY, Pa., Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- During National Prostate Health Month in September, Olympus Corp. of the Americas is proud to announce the new iTind Center of Excellence (COE) Program, which is designed to enhance care, experience and outcomes for men suffering from symptoms associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), known as enlarged prostate.

Inaugural iTind Center of Excellence members are, from left, Dr. C. Cragin Anderson, Dr. Petar Bajic, and Dr. Alex M. Kandabarow.

Urologists included in the iTind Center of Excellence Program achieve a required level of training with the iTind procedure, are experienced with the iTind procedure, and demonstrate a high level of commitment to caring for their BPH patients.

In its inaugural year, the iTind Center of Excellence Program welcomes three members: C. Cragin Anderson, MD, FACS, a board-certified urologist with Colorado Urology; Petar Bajic, MD, a board-certified urologist and Director of Men's Health at Glickman Urological Institute, Cleveland Clinic; and Alex M. Kandabarow, MD, a board-certified urologist with Virginia Hospital Center Health Urology  Kingstowne.

"We are thrilled to welcome these inaugural members to the iTind Center of Excellence Program," said Matt Woodward, Vice President and Regional Business Lead for Urology at Olympus. "Patients suffering from enlarged prostate need to know that there are safe and effective alternatives to medications and invasive surgeries for relieving urinary symptoms that can seriously affect their quality of life. Our relationship with these physicians is centered on excellence in patient care and experience and aimed towards improving patient outcomes in BPH treatment."

Benchmarks for achieving an iTind Center of Excellence status for a urologist treating patients with the iTind procedure include, but are not limited to:

Completing a specialized iTind training program;

Upholding clinical proficiency by performing a minimum number of cases annually; and

Providing de-identified patient data showing a mean improvement score based on FDA guidance for BPH treatments.

Visit the iTind Physician Finder to find physicians who treat BPH with the iTind procedure.

About the iTind Procedure

Treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to BPH using the iTind procedure is straightforward and provides rapid symptom relief in the majority of patients.1,2

The minimally invasive iTind procedure involves the placement and removal of a temporarily implanted nitinol device.

This treatment option does not involve cutting or removing tissue and can be performed in an office or as an outpatient hospital procedure, under general or local anesthesia.

Patients typically return home the same day and often do not require a catheter.1

For patients who prefer a non-pharmaceutical approach to treating their BPH symptoms or are not yet ready for surgery, the iTind procedure may be well suited to become a first-line treatment.1

The iTind procedure is intended for the treatment of symptoms due to urinary outflow obstruction secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in men age 50 and above. Implantation of the iTind device may cause pelvic discomfort, blood in urine, painful or urgent urination. In rare cases, the iTind device may cause urinary tract infection or a sudden difficulty to urinate.

Visit the iTind Procedure webpage for more information.

About Olympus

At Olympus, we are committed to Our Purpose of making people's lives healthier, safer and more fulfilling. As a global medical technology company, we partner with healthcare professionals to provide solutions and services for early detection, diagnosis and minimally invasive treatment, aiming to improve patient outcomes by elevating the standard of care in targeted disease states.

Olympus Corporation of the Americas, a wholly owned subsidiary of Olympus Corporation, is headquartered in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, USA, and employs more than 4,500 employees throughout locations in North and South America. For more information, visit olympusamerica.com.

1 Amparore, Daniele, et al. "3-Year Results Following Treatment with the Second Generation of the Temporary Implantable Nitinol Device in Men with Luts Secondary to Benign Prostatic Obstruction." Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases, vol. 24, no. 2, 2020, pp. 349357. doi.org/10.1038/s41391-020-00281-5.

2 Chughtai, Bilal, et al. "The ITIND Temporarily Implanted Nitinol Device for the Treatment of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Secondary to Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: A Multicenter, Randomized, Controlled Trial." Urology, vol. 153, 2021, pp. 270276. doi:10.1016/j.urology.2020.12.022.

SOURCE Olympus Corporation of the Americas
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday spoke to Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and conveyed India's concern over recent developments affecting Poland's security. During the conversation, Jaishankar also reiterated India's position on the Ukraine conflict, saying that India continues to support "an early end to hostilities" and a "durable solution" to the crisis. Taking to X, Jaishankar wrote, "Spoke to Foreign Minister @sikorskiradek of Poland today. He shared his concern about recent developments pertaining to Poland's security. I underlined that India favors an early end to hostilities and a durable solution for the Ukraine conflict." https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1966205665065710079 The call came a day after Poland's military confirmed that it had shot down drones which crossed into its airspace during a Russian strike on Ukraine, according to CNN. This marked the first time Poland has taken such action, raising fears of a wider escalation for Europe and NATO. Radoslaw Sikorski, who also serves as Poland's Deputy Prime Minister, said the scale of the incident showed it was intentional. Stating that the number of drones that entered Polish airspace makes it a deliberate act by Russia, CNN reported. Poland's Minister of Interior later said that 16 drones had been detected across the country, with debris scattered over a wide area, as per CNN. Addressing the Polish parliament, Prime Minister Donald Tusk cautioned that while Poland was not at war, the situation was more dangerous than at any time since World War II. "There was no reason to say that Poland was in a state of war, but it was closer to a conflict than any time since World War II," he said. The Prime Minister added that Poland was facing an "enemy that does not hide its hostile intentions." Tusk also announced that Poland had invoked Article 4 of the NATO treaty, which allows the alliance to convene and discuss threats to the security of member states, as per CNN. On Thursday, Poland's Armed Forces imposed restrictions on air traffic in the eastern region of the country, with the order in place until December 9. Russia's defence ministry confirmed that it had carried out strikes against Ukraine overnight into Wednesday but denied any link to Poland. It said that "no targets on the territory of Poland were planned for destruction," stressing that the drones used in the attack on Ukraine had a maximum range of 700 kilometres (435 miles), CNN reported. (ANI)
FUKUOKA, Sep 11 (News On Japan) - Children at KidZania Fukuoka in Fukuoka City began a limited-time workshop on September 10th to learn about quantum computers, often described as next-generation machines capable of tackling complex calculations at speeds beyond conventional systems.

The program introduces the basics of quantum mechanics-based computing, which is already being used in cutting-edge research and AI development and is expected to see future applications in fields such as medicine and weather forecasting. At the venue, a sculpture-like model helped explain the machines structure and operation, with RKB reporter Yuka Wada noting it looked like something that could be displayed in a museum.

Participants learned the mechanisms and architecture through puzzles and models. A high school student said the model looked like a champagne tower, while an elementary school student said they wanted to try solving difficult calculations quickly. Miho Suzuki of Fujitsu said the hope is that this computer may be able to do amazing things in the future, encouraging children to freely expand their ideas.

Organizers say the event aims to spark interest in cutting-edge technology among young people. The workshop runs through September 23rd.

Source: RKBNEWS
PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- With America's healthcare system facing a leadership gap, burnout, and a severe nursing shortage, Prairie View A&M University's Dr. Abida Solomon is being honored for helping shape the solution.

Dr. Solomon, a professor in the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program at PVAMU, has been named a 2025 Excellence in Nursing Award recipient by the Good Samaritan Foundation, one of Texas' most respected organizations dedicated to recognizing and advancing nursing professionals across the state.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the need for more than 275,000 additional nurses by 2030 to meet rising demand and replace retiring professionals. The healthcare system demands bold leadership and innovation, and Dr. Solomon is training doctoral-level nurses to deliver and lead care. As part of one of the few DNP programs housed within a Historically Black College or University, her work has national relevance. She's building a healthcare workforce that is more resilient and equipped to meet the needs of underserved communities.

For media inquiries, interviews, or to explore PVAMU's role in strengthening the nursing leadership pipeline, contact: Liz Faublas-Wallace, Communications Specialist III, at [email protected] .

PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY, founded in 1876, is the second oldest public institution of higher education in the state of Texas and the third largest Historically Black College/University (HBCU) in the nation. Designated as an "institution of the first class" in the Texas Constitution, the enrollment exceeds 9,000 students and over 80,000 graduates. PVAMU offers academic programs through its ten colleges, Undergraduate Studies and School of Architecture, boasting degree options leading to bachelor's to doctoral-level degrees. A Carnegie-classified high-research (R2) University and a member of The Texas A&M University System, PVAMU is dedicated to fulfilling its land-grant mission of achieving excellence in teaching, research and service. For more information, visit www.pvamu.edu.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Candace Johnson

Executive Director of Marketing and Communications

936-261-1566

[email protected]

Liz Faublas-Wallace

Communications Professional

936-261-1562

[email protected]

The Office for Marketing and Communications, 936-261-1560, www.pvamu.edu/marcomm

SOURCE Prairie View A&M University
Ethiopia is set to break ground on a mega nuclear power plant, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced Tuesday (9 September), unveiling a sweeping $30 billion infrastructure agenda aimed at transforming the countrys energy, transport, and industrial sectors.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)  Africas largest hydropower project  Ahmed said the nuclear facility would match the GERD in scale and significance. With two planned reactors expected to produce 2,400 MW by 2034, the project builds on a 2017 energy cooperation agreement with Russia. The nuclear power plant would be equal to the GERD in its scale and significance, said Ahmed. The announcement comes as Ethiopia grapples with growing electricity demand, which is rising by 20% annually. Although 90% of its 5,000 MW installed capacity comes from hydropower, recent droughts have exposed the systems fragility.

Alongside the nuclear plan, Ethiopia will launch construction of its first oil refinery, two natural gas plants, and Africas largest airport near Addis Ababa, set to handle 60 million passengers annually. The Prime Minister also pledged to build 1.5 million homes over the next six years, signaling a broader development vision. Framed as a source of African pride and self-reliance, the initiative builds on GERDs legacy. Revenues from the dam, funded entirely by citizens, will help finance this next phase of Ethiopias economic renaissance.
A recent surge in attacks by the Islamic State in the Sahel Province (IS Sahel) has left more than 127 civilians dead in Nigers Tillaberi region, according to a latest report by Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The watchdog group described the killings  carried out in at least five separate incidents since March  as apparent war crimes under international law. The Tillaberi region, located near the borders with Mali and Burkina Faso, has long been a hotspot for jihadist activity. Witnesses said the attackers, believed to be IS Sahel fighters, executed villagers and worshipers, burned homes, and looted property  often following threats accusing communities of aiding the army.

Despite repeated warnings from locals, Nigerian forces reportedly failed to respond or offer protection. Islamist armed groups are targeting the civilian population in western Niger and committing horrific abuses, said Ilaria Allegrozzi, HRWs senior Sahel researcher. One of the deadliest attacks occurred in June, when militants stormed a mosque in Manda village, killing over 70 worshipers. Another, in May, left seven people dead and a dozen homes destroyed in Dani Fari.

Nigers ruling junta, which seized power in 2023 citing security failures, has launched counterinsurgency operations and a civilian militia program. Yet, attacks have intensified, and rights groups warn that without legal accountability and stronger civilian protection, atrocities will continue. Nigerian authorities need to do more to protect people living in the Tillaberi region, Allegrozzi added. HRW also urged the Nigerian government to investigate and prosecute the abuses, and reform its crisis response strategies.
Morocco has pledged to share its expertise in nuclear applications with African member countries of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Nuclear technology has numerous applications in medicine, agriculture, industry, and consumer products. It uses radioisotopes and radiation in cancer treatment, food irradiation, sterilization, material modification, and environmental monitoring.

In full cooperation with IAEA, Morocco remains committed to strengthening the national capacities of African countries, said Permanent Representative of the Kingdom to Vienna, Azzeddine Farhane, during a meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors.

Morocco reiterates ongoing commitment to sharing its experience with African countries, both bilaterally or in cooperation with the IAEA, with the purpose of promoting scientific research and the peaceful use of nuclear science, technology and applications, the diplomat said.

This year, hundreds of African experts have benefited from Moroccan scholarships and scientific academic trainings, said the ambassador. In 2024, experts from 40 IAEA African member countries benefited from advanced training in Morocco on various nuclear applications within the frame of south-south cooperation.

Nuclear applications can help African countries address food insecurity, and access advanced healthcare through regional collaboration and capacity building of experts in nuclear medicine and cancer treatment.

They can also help African farmer produce climate-resilient crops, improve livestock and management of water resources and soil.
Mauritanian NGO, the Network for Unity & Development, has denounced in Geneva the alarming human rights violations committed in the Polisario-controlled Tindouf camps (southern Algeria), calling on the international community to hold Polisario militia and Algeria accountable for the crimes committed on its territory.

Addressing the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council, the representative of the Mauritanian NGO, Cheiba Meribeh Rabeh, said the Sahrawi women & girls, held in these camps, are suffering inhumane treatment, forced marriages, and sexual abuse, while children are inculcated radical ideology, denied education, and used as soldiers in armed conflict.

The Mauritanian NGO also condemned the Polisario brutal repression of political opponents, citing in this regard several cases of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture, and extrajudicial executions.

Furthermore, the Polisario militiamen embezzlement of international humanitarian aid exacerbates food shortage and famine of the inhabitants sequestered in Tindouf camps.

The NGO called on the Algerian military regime to shoulder its responsibilities and honor its international commitment as these heinous crimes and serious human rights violations are committed on its territory. Otherwise, it is guilty by association or connivance.
Libya and Malta have agreed to begin discussions on maritime borders, with the possibility of expanding the talks into multilateral negotiations if they involve third countries.

The agreement was reached during a meeting on Wednesday, September 10, in Valletta between Libyas Acting Foreign Minister, Al-Taher Al-Baour, and his Maltese counterpart, Ian Borg.

The talks also covered bilateral cooperation in areas such as border management, coast guard coordination, and joint efforts to tackle illegal migration, alongside development initiatives to address its root causes.

Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to closer political consultations and cooperation on regional and international issues, including the war in Ukraine and developments in the Middle East. Malta highlighted its plan to recognize the State of Palestine at the upcoming UN General Assembly session, while both countries pledged to support Libyas peaceful political process and pursue consensual solutions to enhance stability and bilateral ties.
Moroccos foreign minister, Nasser Bourita, called for a sweeping reform of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, arguing that the region must evolve into a space of concrete cooperation and shared responsibility rather than remain a symbolic or fragmented initiative.

Speaking at the opening of a high-level retreat in Rabat focused on the future of Euro-Mediterranean relations, Bourita offered a candid appraisal of the Union for the Mediterranean and the broader regional framework.

He urged participants to adopt a bold and actionable roadmap to reinvigorate the partnership, which, he said, has lost its centrality amid proliferating geopolitical tensions and competing initiatives.

The Mediterranean is not merely a sea or a borderit is a shared ecosystem and a common good, Bourita said. When we treat it as a file to be managed, it slips away. When we treat it as a common good, it brings us together.

Morocco, he said, was a natural and legitimate host for this strategic reflection, citing the countrys longstanding engagement, reliability, and methodical approach.

He pointed to Moroccos pioneering role in the partnership, including its early adoption of Advanced Status, the establishment of a subcommittee on human rights, and its commitments in mobility and environmental cooperation.

Bourita emphasized that Morocco has consistently translated political commitments into tangible actions, particularly through bilateral cooperation with European partners such as Spain, France, and Germany.

He also called for a shift in perspective, urging stakeholders to stop treating the southern Mediterranean as a peripheral concern and instead recognize it as an equal partner in shaping the regions future.

The minister outlined several structural challenges facing the Euro-Mediterranean process, including a lack of clarity about its identity and objectives, uneven levels of motivation among member states, and a failure to respond effectively to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, energy shortages, and food insecurity. He also noted that the initiative suffers from a lack of social visibility, often perceived as elitist and disconnected from the concerns of ordinary citizens.

To address these shortcomings, Bourita proposed a four-pronged strategy: securing strategic supply chains in energy and food; connecting regional economies through co-production platforms and strategic corridors linking the Mediterranean, Africa, and the Atlantic; mobilizing talent by transforming migration into opportunity through smart mobility and recognition of qualifications; and revamping political dialogue through a Mediterranean Political Forum under the umbrella of the Union for the Mediterranean.

He also introduced the idea of voluntary coalitions, flexible groupings of at least one northern and one southern country, designed to implement specific projects without being hindered by non-participating states.

Funding for these initiatives, he said, could be provided through a proposed Euro-Mediterranean Cohesion Fund, based on a hybrid guarantee mechanism.

Bourita stressed the importance of accountability and citizen engagement to restore the partnerships legitimacy.

The retreat brought together policymakers, business leaders, and academics for open dialogue aimed at anticipating future challenges and responding to the aspirations of the regions populations.
Seven Algerian teenagers, younger than 18 years old, stole a fishing boat from Algiers port and navigated their way for 300 kilometers in the open sea until they docked in the Spanish island of Ibiza.

They documented their hazardous journey using their phones and shared sequences on social media. Algerian countrymen hailed them as a symbol of defiance against an oppressive regime stagnant in anachronism and failed policies.

The incident, dubbed by some as Algerias own Prison Break, has sparked a national reckoning. In a country rich in oil and gas but plagued by chronic unemployment and political sclerosis, the teenagers journey has been described as a heroic act of survival.

The group managed to evade detection by a military apparatus with a $25 billion annual budget, departing from Algerias largest and most heavily monitored port.

They fled a country where the young population faces soaring unemployment, limited freedoms, and a political elite that has remained entrenched since independence in 1962. Despite the countrys vast natural wealth, opportunities remain scarce, and the promise of a better life often lies beyond its borders.

Their adventure also highlights the surge in illegal migration and its appeal among the disenchanted youth. In 2023 alone, over 13,000 Algerians arrived on Spanish shores, and more than 6,000 were reported missing at sea. The route to the Balearic Islands has seen a 120% increase in crossings in 2024, making it one of the deadliest migration corridors in the world.

More extreme cases have emerged: stowaways hiding in airplane landing gear, minors sneaking into cargo holds, and bodies discovered in aircraft compartments.

Rather than addressing the root causes of migration, Algerian authorities have responded with conspiracy theories and repression as usual. State-aligned media outlets have blamed Morocco and France, whom they accused for orchestrating the escape to tarnish Algerias image.
Southern Oregon to Host Annual Occupational Safety & Health Conference in October

The three-day event in Ashland will bring together safety leaders, workers, and regulators to share best practices and strategies for safer workplaces.

Safety professionals, business leaders and regulators from across Oregon and Northern California will gather this fall for the Southern Oregon Occupational Safety & Health Conference, set for October 14-16 at the Ashland Hills Hotel.

The event, co-sponsored by Oregon OSHA and the Southern Oregon Chapter of the American Society of Safety Professionals, is one of the regions largest workplace safety gatherings. Organizers say it provides practical training, networking, and resources for companies committed to reducing job-related hazards.

The conference agenda includes professional development workshops, keynote addresses from regional and national experts, and an exhibit hall showcasing the latest safety tools and services. One recurring feature  Safety Committee University  offers free online resources created by the planning committee to strengthen workplace safety programs statewide.

Exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities remain open, while nominations are being accepted for the conferences annual safety awards. Submissions are due by September 3.

The Southern Oregon conference has become a cornerstone for safety education in the region, Oregon OSHA representatives said in a statement. Its an opportunity for employers and employees alike to gain skills that protect workers and build stronger safety cultures.

The Ashland Hills Hotel, located at 2525 Ashland Street, will serve as the host venue. Organizers recommend early registration to secure access to sessions and networking opportunities.

For updates on speakers, workshops, and registration details, attendees can sign up for email alerts through Oregon OSHAs conference website.
GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The 35th EAIE Conference and Exhibition was held from 9 to 12 September 2025 in Gothenburg, Sweden. This year, 19 Taiwan academic institutions were represented by nearly 50 delegates, coordinated by the Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan (FICHET), seeking to enhance academic partnerships between Taiwan and Europe and deepen global higher education collaboration.

Taiwan Enhances European Education Ties at EAIE 2025 in Gothenburg

FICHET Chairperson, Prof. Tsai-Yen Li, said the EAIE conference serves as a crucial platform for Taiwan's universities to engage with European institutions on matters such as student exchanges, research cooperation, and the establishment of academic partnerships. Representative of the Taipei Mission in Sweden, Dr. Klement Ruey-sheng GU, along with the Director of Education Division, Robin Lu, and Secretary Jack Huang, also attended the event to support efforts in expanding Taiwan-Europe higher education networks.

Over the past five years, more than 27,000 European students have studied in Taiwan, with more than 80% coming from EU member states. Over the same period, over 50,000 Taiwanese students have studied in Europe, showing stable growth in bilateral educational exchanges. Chairperson Li further emphasized that Taiwan's relationship with the European Union is characterized by close cooperation in the areas of trade, culture, and education, with education being a central element of the bilateral relationship.

Since 2006, Taiwan's Ministry of Education has offered scholarships of up to US$16,000 (approximately 13,700) per year for Taiwanese students on the reserve list for the Erasmus+ Mundus Joint Master Degree program who were not granted an EU scholarship, benefiting 131 individuals to date. Additionally, since 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Taiwan-Europe Semiconductor Short-term Training Program has brought 348 European students and professionals to Taiwan for short-term training.

To further promote interaction, FICHET hosted a "Taiwan Night" networking dinner on the evening of September 10. The nearly 100 attendees included representatives from 19 Taiwan academic institutions along with their partner and sister institutions. The event provided a platform for meaningful exchanges, expanding the potential for future collaboration.

Looking ahead, FICHET will continue to engage in these international exchanges, building bridges between Taiwan's universities and the world's leading institutions. The foundation aims to deepen Taiwan's academic ties with European universities, and nurture a sustainable cycle of talent development and innovation, ultimately boosting Taiwan's global influence in the global higher education sector.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2770844/FICHET.jpg
In their first-quarter financial reports this year, Big Oil majors signaled they were doing just fine in a $60-per-barrel oil environment. Spending plans were aggressive, there was no mention of job cuts, and production plans featured the word growth. Six months later, with the price of oil still hovering between $60 and $70, things are changing.

Oil jobs in the U.S. shale patch were falling at the fastest pace since 2022, when Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate went from over $100 per barrel to below $80 in a matter of six months. In absolute terms, the job loss was not that much of a big deal, standing at 1.7%, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics cited by Bloomberg this week. But oil prices are down by 125 since the start of the year, the publication recalled, adding that things were only going to get worse because demand for oil was tepid.

ConocoPhillips, meanwhile, served a blow to the bullishly minded among oil market observers, saying also this week it would cut as much as a quarter of its global workforce. The company said reductions will occur across functions and geographies, with further details to be shared directly with staff through internal briefings. The job cuts are part of a reorganization drive aimed at making the company more efficient and its structure simpler. The move, however, was taken to mean Conoco was in trouble and doing the first thing oil companies do when they are in trouble: shedding jobs.

Related: EU Court Upholds Green Label for Gas and Nuclear Energy

Reuters noted a job cut announcement of a similar scale made by Chevron in February this year. However, the suggestion that Chevron decided to slash a fifth of its workforce because of the oil price decline is a bit of a stretch. Chevron announced its job cuts plan early in the year when the price depression was just beginning. It also motivated it with the need to cut costs following its megadeal for the acquisition of Hess Corp.

That said, the company itself noted the challenging environment it was operating in, with CEO Mike Wirth describing the final quarter of 2024 by saying, Im not going to call it the perfect storm, but it was a quarter where there were a lot of things that all went in one direction, and it was a negative direction.

Along with jobs, oil companies are also cutting spending. According to Reuters, 22 public oil companies in the United States, including Conoco, Diamondback Energy, and Occidental, but not the supermajors, had cut a combined $2 billion in spending, as reported in their statements for the second quarter of the year. We've gone from drill, baby, drill' to 'wait, baby wait here in the Permian, Latigo Petroleum chief executive Kirk Edwards told Reuters. Edwards separately told the Financial Times that the job cuts in the shale patch were a flashing red warning light for the entire US oil and gas industry.

The warning light is flashing mostly because of demand projections and predictions of an oil glut. At the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference this week, a number of analysts said Brent crude was about to dip below $60 and stay there as early as this year and into 2026. Wood Mackenzie even forecast that the international benchmark would remain at around $50 per barrel for several years due to weak demandunless a geopolitical event disrupts supply. What these projections appear to ignore is that oil producers tend to respond to price drops by curbing production rates or revising growth plans, limiting available supply. This in turn eventually starts affecting prices, pushing them higherespecially if demand turns out stronger than previously anticipated, which has happened a few times.

The oil industry is a cyclical one. Cycles have certainly become more erratic lately, with price movements increasingly divorced from the physical market, but they are still around. So oil companies are doing what they have always done during a downturnhunker down, cut jobs, and wait the slump out.

Wood Mackenzie has predicted that global capital expenditure on oil and gas exploration is set for a decline of 4.3% this year, for a total of $341.9 billion. The FT cited the research firm as saying this would be the first reduction in global oil and gas exploration spending since 2020, which highlights how serious the situation potentially is in the industry. Not only this, but Big Oil majors would be unable to stick to their current capital spending programs if Brent falls below $60, the FT wrote this week. More importantly for shareholders, they would not be able to stick to their dividend programs.

Interestingly, virtually no one in the analyst community sees a scenario where oil prices rise. Yet this year has served many examples of just how easy it is for prices to reboundall it takes is the reversal of one assumption about the current state of the oil market, such as U.S. shale growth. Said growth has already reversed, with the Lower 48 total for the final week of August at 13.4 million barrels daily, down from 13.6 million barrels daily last December. A bust may be prolonged, but it is always followed by a boom.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Three days ago, the eight members of OPEC+ agreed to increase oil output from October by 137,000 barrels per day, a much lower clip compared to the 555,000 bpd increase announced for August and September and 411,000 bpd in June and July. The Sunday announcement means that the group has started unwinding the second tranche of 1.65 million bpd in production cuts more than a year ahead of schedule, having fully unwound the first tranche of 2.5 million bpd since April. Oil markets have reacted positively to the smaller-than-expected production increases, with Brent crude for October delivery rallying from Fridays one-month low of $65.50 per barrel to $67.60 in Wednesdays session, while WTI crude moved from $61.62 per barrel to $63.73.

And now commodity experts at Standard Chartered have weighed in, saying the market could be discounting the fact that few, if any, extra barrels will hit the markets, with compensation cuts by some OPEC+ members enough to offset any extra oil coming from the group as a whole. StanChart has noted that the 137 kb/d increase suggests an equal split of the total 1.65 million barrels per day (mb/d) spread over 12 months, meaning no more large increases going forward. OPEC+ announced that the barrels may be returned in part or in full subject to evolving market conditions and in a gradual manner. StanChart analysts also reaffirmed the importance of adopting a cautious approach and retaining full flexibility to pause or reverse the additional production adjustments, including the previously implemented voluntary adjustments of the 2.2 million barrels per day announced in November 2023.

As expected, OPEC+ outlined the proposed compensation cuts for overproduced volumes by six members. Iraq has proposed an immediate 130 kb/d adjustment from August 2025 through January 2026, before slowing to 122 kb/d in June 2026. StanChart notes that Iraq will do most of the heavy lifting, with the countrys cuts alone nearly neutralizing the increase by the rest of the members. In contrast, Kazakhstan has backloaded its compensation schedule, proposing to cut by only 35k b/d in December 2025, before increasing to 100 kb/d in January 2026, 300 kb/d in February, 450 kb/d in March, 490 kb/d in April, 550 kb/d in May, and 650 kb/d in June 2026 for a total of 2.63 mb/d.

Related: Israeli Surprise Strike on Qatar Sends Oil Prices Higher



However, the biggest risk to the bullish thesis remains potential non-compliance by Iraq and Kazakhstan, with StanChart noting that Kazakhstans plan to backload most of the cuts already goes contrary to previous plans to frontload them. Further, StanChart says that Iraqs total contribution includes exports from the Kurdistan region (KRG), which is likely to return from suspension imminently, further complicating adherence to compensation cuts.

Overall, StanChart says the latest move by OPEC+ is bullish largely because the overproduction compensation schedule effectively negates production increases, if compliance is high. The commodity analysts also note that the forward curve still shows a brief period of backwardation lasting until around October 2026 before the curve moves into contango. Further, the cuts are by no means automatic, with OPEC+ promising to remain responsive to market conditions and could pause the unwinding program if market conditions worsen.

Meanwhile, Europes gas prices have continued to rebound, albeit at a slower pace, climbing above 33 per megawatt-hour to a two-week high with geopolitical tensions intensifying. Israels strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar has raised concerns, with Qatar a key supplier of LNG to Europe. A potential supply disruption to Qatars super-chilled gas is likely to be felt keenly ahead of the heating season. Further, Russia recently launched a barrage of drone attacks on Ukraine, with several breaching Polands airspace. The NATO member has labeled Russias offensive an unprecedented violation, prompting defensive action by NATO forces. The EU is now weighing new sanctions targeting Russian oil and gas firms as well as banks in a bid to pressure Moscow.

EU gas inventories have continued to climb, standing at 92.25 billion cubic metres (bcm) on 6 September, good for nearly 80% of technical maximum fill capacity. This represents an increase of 2.22 bcm w/w, 16.4 bcm lower Y/Y and 7.01 bcm below the five-year average. However, the injection rate jumped nearly 180% Y/Y, helping StanChart reaffirm its earlier prediction for inventories to reach 100.4 bcm on 2nd November.



By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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American warships are once again patrolling the Caribbean while Venezuelan fighter jets fly overhead. A boat, alleged to be manned by drug smugglers, although this is now widely disputed, was blown up by the US military on September 2nd. The deployment underscores the volatile state of US-Venezuela relations, which in the past two years have swung from Chevrons license being revoked to its partial renewal, and now to violent escalation.

The common thread behind these developments is a narrative revived in Washington: the existence of the so-called Cartel de los Soles, which the Trump administration accuses Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of directing. This narrative, shrouded in doubt, is cited by the State Department as the rationale for directly confronting Venezuela. The energy industry, particularly Gulf Coast refiners, can only watch in fear. The industry and consumers best hope is a resolution to the debate over the veracity of narco-trafficking allegations.

A new report by the digital media outlet Guacamaya, The Cartel de los Soles: How a narrative is used to push for regime change, explores these narratives in depth. The report concludes that the Cartel de los Soles has not been proven to exist as a centralized criminal enterprise. It finds that over time, the term has expanded in use, with some US policymakers using this loose arrangement to suggest Venezuela itself functions as a narco-state.

Related: EU Court Upholds Green Label for Gas and Nuclear Energy

This narrative is closely tied to Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio. According to Guacamaya, Rubio and like-minded officials within the State Department have played a central role in amplifying the Cartel de los Soles narrative, framing it as part of broader policy toward Venezuela. His influence has been significant in keeping the issue on Washingtons agenda, even as Chevron continues to operate in the country and supply heavy crude to Gulf Coast refiners.

At the same time, a contradiction in US policy is apparent: sanctions and military deployments raise tensions, yet US energy interests continue to rely on Venezuelan oil output. This dynamic carries significant risks.

Venezuela holds the worlds largest proven oil reserves, estimated at approximately 303 billion barrels. Its heavy crude is uniquely suited for blending in US refineries. In 2024, Venezuelan oil supplied 13% of Gulf Coast refinery imports. Shortages of heavy Venezuelan crude following Chevrons licence suspension on 27 May 2025 forced Gulf Coast refiners to buy higher volumes of Middle Eastern and South American crudes.

Any further disruption to these flows threatens US energy security and market stability. It would also likely be felt at the pump by American consumers and businesses through higher gasoline and diesel costs.

Guacamayas report also notes how the Cartel de los Soles narrative further complicates regional energy disputes. ExxonMobil is heavily invested in Guyanas Stabroek block, which holds an estimated 11 billion barrels of reserves in waters that Venezuela continues to contest. Warming relations with Caracas could raise the prospect of territorial talks, complicating Guyanas and, by extension, Exxons position. In all, its clear that a realist policy would better serve Washingtons interests.

That means focusing resources on the proven epicentres of the regional drug trade, Mexico and Colombia, upholding commitments under international law to counter trafficking, and engaging Venezuela to secure American energy needs. A pragmatic policy approach is the key to navigating these complex geopolitical and energy market dynamics.

By Cyril Widdershoven for Oilprice.com

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U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright blasted net-zero targets as a colossal train wreck ahead of his trip to Europe for a gas summit and meetings with EU officials, warning the push for climate policies could weaken energy security and derail a U.S.EU trade deal.

Net zero 2050 is just a colossal train wreck, Wright told the Financial Times in an interview.

Its just a monstrous human impoverishment program, and of course, there is no way it is going to happen, said the Energy Secretary, whose remarks were also shared on X by the official account of the U.S. Department of Energy.

Secretary Wright, a former oil and gas executive, made his position on net zero known shortly after he was picked to lead the energy department earlier this year. Weeks earlier, the Trump Administration had given a loud and clear message on what it thinks of net zero on Day Onethe day that President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement, again.

After years of aligning with Europe on the net-zero agenda under President Biden, the United States is now on a collision course with the EU and its climate regulations.

The EUs Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), commonly known as the carbon border tax, ultimately aim to impose levies on higher-emission products imported into the EU.

Many companies outside the EU, including those in the U.S., have signaled they would rather not sell in Europe than pay significant border taxes, levies, penalties, or whatever the language will be later this decade, when the mechanism will come into effect.

Related: EU Court Upholds Green Label for Gas and Nuclear Energy

These rules and the EUs crusade toward net zero are a threat to the U.S.-EU trade deal, Secretary Wright told FT.

I think those regulations significantly threaten the ability to implement the trade deal that was agreed to, he added.

The U.S.-EU trade deal for European energy purchases of American products already looks unrealistic, analysts say, even without accounting for all EU climate-related levies.

U.S. giant ExxonMobil hopes the ongoing U.S.-EU dialogue on trade would address the bone-crushing penalties in the EUs climate regulations, the supermajors CEO Darren Woods told analysts on the Q2 earnings call last month.

Wrights remarks from this week arent the first time the U.S. Energy Secretary has slammed the net zero agenda.

Europes goal to pursue a net-zero agenda is depriving citizens of reliable and affordable energy in a choice made by politicians, Wright said at a forum in Poland in April.

This top-down imposition of enforced climate policies is justified as necessary to save the world from climate change, Wright said.

But I can say that climate alarmism has clearly reduced energy freedom, and, hence, prosperity and national security across Western Europe.

Wright noted that affordability is more important than sustainability.

Today, folks struggling to pay their bills while aspiring to live highly energized lifestyles like you and I is a far bigger global challenge than climate change. Energy access is far too important to get wrong, Wright said.

The U.S. pushback against net zero has led to Secretary Wright saying that the United States could abandon the IEA if the organization, created in the aftermath of the 1970s Arab oil embargo, doesnt return to forecasting energy demand without strongly promoting green energy.

We will do one of two things: we will reform the way the IEA operates or we will withdraw, Wright told Bloomberg in an interview in the middle of July.

My strong preference is to reform it, Secretary Wright added.

The official echoed voices in the U.S. Republican party that the agency has become an advocate of the energy transition and is not objective in forecasting energy demand trends.

From ensuring security of supply after the 1970s embargo, the agency has shifted from this purpose in recent years to endorsing the net-zero by 2050 goal and is advocating for a major change in the global energy system to include more electric vehicles (EVs), renewable power supply, hydrogen, and all other low-carbon energy sources.

The IEAs forecast that oil demand will peak this decade is just total nonsense, Secretary Wright said.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Two additional LNG tankers carrying supply from the sanctioned Russian project are currently en route to the Chinese port of Beihai.

The Arctic LNG 2 export project, sanctioned by the US, EU, and UK, has resumed shipping cargoes after struggling for over a year to find buyers willing to risk secondary sanctions.

China has become a regular importer of LNG from Russia's sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project, with a third cargo recently discharging at a Chinese terminal.

China appears to have become a regular importer of liquefied natural gas from the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia as the third cargo in two weeks has just discharged gas at a Chinese import terminal.

The LNG tanker Zarya, sanctioned by the United States, unloaded on Wednesday over 160,000 cubic meters of LNG from Arctic LNG 2 at the southern Chinese Beihai LNG Terminal in Guangxi, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing ship-tracking data from LSEG and Kpler.

The Arctic LNG 2 export project roared back to life this summer, in a sign that Russia is done waiting and is now sending off loaded LNG cargoes, which could be testing the Trump Administrations willingness to sanction Russias LNG customers in China.

Arctic LNG 2 is under sanctions by the United States, the EU, and the UK, which have also blacklisted many of the LNG vessels thought to be servicing the projects output.

For over a year, the U.S. and EU sanctions on Russias Arctic LNG 2, which was billed as Russias flagship LNG project, had effectively frozen the start-up of the export facility in the Gydan Peninsula. The project last year came under intensifying sanctions from the United States, which put off any buyers that were previously considering buying cargoes from Arctic LNG 2.

The Russian export project struggled for more than a year to find any buyer willing to risk secondary sanctions.

The wait ended at the end of August, when a cargo from the facility docked at a Chinese import terminal. The Arctic Mulan LNG tanker arrived at the Beihai LNG terminal, and China received the cargo, making it the first-ever actual exported cargo out of the Russian facility.

Now that the third LNG cargo from the sanctioned Russian project has unloaded in China, two other LNG tankers loaded with Arctic LNG supply are en route to Beihai and just a couple of days away from the Chinese port.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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The shock of Israels first-ever strike on Qatari soil is reverberating in Tehran, where the attack is fueling doubts over the very purpose of negotiations with the West.

For many Iranian pundits, the timing of the strike -- hitting Hamas leaders as they allegedly reviewed a US-backed cease-fire and prisoner exchange proposal with Israel -- has reinforced suspicions that diplomacy is little more than a trap.

In the aftermath, Qatars Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani told Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian that the targeted Hamas leaders were not only reviewing the US proposal but were also allegedly leaning toward accepting it.

Iranian hard-liners quickly seized on this detail.

The Tasnim news agency, an affiliate of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), accused Israel of using the mask of diplomatic negotiations to attempt to assassinate Hamas leaders.

The agency, like many other conservative media outlets, noted that despite hosting the largest US military installation in the Middle East and signing contracts worth billions of dollars with the United States, Qatar was unable to secure its own safety.

Notably, even moderate and reformist commentators who support diplomacy with the West drew parallels to Israels June airstrikes on Iran, which occurred as Tehran and Washington were preparing for a new round of nuclear talks.

It appears that America and Israel believe the purpose of missiles is to strike the negotiating table, senior reformist figure Mohammad Ali Abtahi wrote on X. They dont like negotiations.

Where Were The Air Defenses?

Qatars air defenses include Patriot missile batteries and the THAAD anti-ballistic missile system, both advanced US-made military hardware. Yet, Israeli missiles struck their target without a problem.

This has led some in Iran to claim that Qatar either ignored warnings of inbound missiles or its air defenses are entirely operated by the United States.

Masoud Barati, a hardline commentator, mocked Qatar on X for not being control of its own air defenses.

Some noted that Qatari air defenses intercepted Iranian missiles when Tehran attacked the Al Udeid Air Base -- where US Central Command (CENTCOM) forward headquarters is based -- in June in retaliation for the US bombing of its nuclear facilities.

Mehrdad Farahmand, a Middle East analyst based in Turkey, told RFE/RLs Radio Farda that the air defenses did not detect the missiles shows that Americahad no objections to the attack.

Farahmand said this raises major questions, given the extensive US-Qatar defense cooperation agreements.

Boon For Iran?

Some conservatives view the attack as a boon for Iran to raise its regional profile as a defender of sovereignty.

Political commentator Mohammad Hossein Khoshvaght said Arab states in the Middle East may recalibrate their policy toward Tehran and regard Iran with more open eyes.

Similarly, the IRGC-affiliated news website Mashregh argued that the attack allows Iran to strengthen its narrative in global public opinion.

It noted that Tehran can use the incident to bolster the so-called axis of resistance -- its regional network of proxies and armed groups -- against Israel.

The outlet added that this move has not only further isolated Israel regionally and globally but also enhanced Irans position as a defender of national sovereignty and the axis of resistance across regional, diplomatic, military, and public opinion fronts.

Despite the commentary against negotiating with the United States, Tehran seems keen on resuming talks, even if indirect, with Washington in a bid to prevent the return of UN sanctions, which could happen by the end of the month.

By RFE/RL

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The European Union announced on Thursday that it will lock in its deadline to phase out Russian oil and gas imports by January 1, 2028, holding firm even as Washington demands an accelerated timetable. According to Reuters, EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen confirmed the commitment following talks in Brussels with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

Draft legislation is now being prepared to prevent new short-term contracts with Russian suppliers, ensuring the exit remains enforceable.

The decision follows a pointed intervention from President Donald Trump earlier this week, when he called on Europe to stop buying Russian oil immediately. The White House is reportedly considering tariffs or secondary sanctions on third countries that continue importing Russian barrels, a measure designed to squeeze Moscows revenues after years of sanctions evasion through intermediary traders.

Brussels, however, is pursuing a different path. Jorgensen told reporters that the EU must balance sanctions with price stability and security of supply, warning that a rushed cutoff could spark sharp market dislocations. That approach relies on building out replacement volumes from U.S. and Qatari LNG, investing in domestic renewables, and tightening sanctions enforcement against the shadow fleet carrying Russian crude through non-EU ports. Both Washington and Brussels are already preparing joint measures to restrict those flows.

Markets are now watching whether the EUs 19th sanctions package, expected before the end of this year, will alter the timeline.

Member states most exposed to Russian energy, particularly Hungary, had lobbied to keep the 2028 target unchanged, while the remainder were more or less open to an accelerated phase-out. The U.S. has signaled that it may act unilaterally if Europe refuses to move sooner.

For now, the EU remains anchored to its 2028 plan, betting that gradual substitution will preserve energy stability while still denying Moscow its long-term revenue lifeline. There has been no official response from the White House as of the time of writing.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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The European Union is not ready to slap tariffs on India and China for their continued buying of Russian oil, Reuters has reported, citing unnamed officials from Brussels.

The reluctance comes from the EUs attitude to tariffs, which is one of caution, with tariffs only implemented after lengthy investigations designed to provide a solid legal basis, per the report.

So far, there has been no discussion of tariffs, either on India or on China, one of the unnamed sources told Reuters, adding that Brussels was just wrapping up a trade deal with India and did not want to jeopardize that.

Instead, the EU will continue with sanctions, targeting specific entities and individuals. Compared with tariffs, sanctions were the better bet, according to the bloc, because they were perceived as less risky for the EU. An earlier report this week from the Financial Times said European officials were discussing possible sanctions against China for buying Russian crude.

The report comes after earlier media coverage of President Trump urging the European Union to impose 100% tariffs on China and India if it wanted the United States to step up its own sanction pressure on Russia, as Brussels discusses its 19th package of sanctions.

Were ready to go, ready to go right now, but were only going to do this if our European partners step up with us, one Washington official told the Financial Times.

The president came on this morning, and his view is that the obvious approach here is, lets all put on dramatic tariffs and keep the tariffs on until the Chinese agree to stop buying the oil. There really arent many other places that oil can go, the official also said.

Stranding Russian oil with tariffs or sanctions is a risky move that would inevitably push international oil prices higher, which may be one reason why the EU is so reluctant to resort to tariffs.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Iraq plans to build an oil pipeline to Oman as OPECs second-largest producer seeks to boost exports and diversify export routes for its crude out of the Middle East.

Iraq and Oman have reached a preliminary agreement for a pipeline from Iraq to the port of Duqm on the Gulf of Oman, Ali Nizar, director general of the Iraqi state oil marketing company SOMO, told Shafaq News on Thursday.

The project has yet to identify the route of the future Iraq-Oman pipeline. The two countries are discussing whether to have an offshore pipeline in the Gulf or an onshore pipeline, which will require transit agreements with the countries along the pipelines route, Nizar told Shafaq News.

Still, the first phase of the project has been agreed toit is to build storage tanks with total capacity of 10 million barrels at the port of Duqm in Oman. This capacity could be increased if necessary.

Until an actual oil pipeline is built and in-service, Iraq plans to ship crude by tankers to the storage sites, SOMOs head told Shafaq News.

Iraq and Oman have just reaffirmed their economic and energy cooperation during last weeks official two-day visit of Iraqs Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani to the Sultanate of Oman.

During the visit, Al Sudani had an audience with Omans ruler, Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, and signed a dozen of bilateral agreements, including on energy cooperation.

Currently, most of Iraqs crude is being exported from the southern port of Basra on the Persian Gulf. The exports from the northern fields in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan remain shut in, two and a half years after a dispute over who has the authority over exports halted these via a pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean.

Earlier this week, SOMOs Nizar told Bloomberg that the state oil marketing firm is in discussions with Exxon for potential crude storage sites close to demand markets in Asia, the United States, and Europe.

For Iraq, export diversification and storage outside the Middle East would be aligned with its plan to raise its oil production capacity to above 6 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2029, up from about 4.5 million bpd now.

By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com

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The strategic sale positions Yondr Group for growth in North America and Europe

LONDON, Sept. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Yondr Group, a leading global developer, owner and operator of hyperscale data centers, today announced the sale of its data center campus in Johor, Malaysia to Vantage Data Centers, a global provider of hyperscale data center campuses.

Completed 98MW data center located on 300MW campus in Johor, Malaysia

As part of a sharpened strategic focus, Yondr will now align its resources towards growth across North America and Europe where it sees substantial demand for large-scale, high-performance infrastructure. Yondr has more than 320MW of leased IT capacity across its existing sites in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Northern Virginia and Toronto, with several hundred megawatts of additional landbank secured. Yondr has also recently announced the acquisition of a 163-acre site in Dallas, Texas, earmarked for the development of 550MW data center campus.

Aaron Wangenheim, Chief Executive Officer at Yondr, said: "We're incredibly proud of what the team in Malaysia and Singapore has accomplished  this project is a testament to Yondr's ability to execute and operate, delivering several months ahead of schedule. Vantage Data Centers' strong track record and deep regional expertise confirms they are the right partner to take our development in Johor forward. I'm confident that our team will continue to thrive as part of the Vantage family.

"As we look ahead, Yondr is sharpening its focus on North America and Europe. Securing the recently announced land acquisition in Dallas signals our commitment to growth in the regions where we see strong demand. In the past 12 months alone, we have delivered over 100 MW of capacity across Europe and North America, broken ground on a new development in Toronto, and expanded our landbank in several key markets."

Jeremy Deutsch, president of Vantage Data Centers, APAC added: "We're excited to welcome the Yondr team in Malaysia and Singapore into the Vantage family. Their expertise and drive have been instrumental in delivering this landmark project, and we look forward to them joining us later this year.

"We have ambitious plans to grow in APAC, and the campus in Johor will be a key part of this strategy. Vantage APAC is highly committed to continued investment in the Johor campus and more broadly in Southeast Asia as a growth market."

The sale is expected to be completed in Q4 2025, pending customary regulatory approvals.

About Yondr Group

Yondr Group is a global developer, owner and operator and of hyperscale data centers. The company specialises in delivering and operating dedicated infrastructure that is engineered for scale. As an organisation, our mission of 'Global capacity, responsible delivery' ensures we achieve our vision of a tomorrow without constraints. For more information, visit: www.yondrgroup.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2770753/Yondr_Group_Johor_photo.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1514391/Yondr_Logo.jpg
JERA is considering joining companies making commitments for purchases of liquefied natural gas from the Alaska LNG project, Reuters has reported, with a preliminary letter of intent mentioning 1 million tons annually over a 20-year period.

The developer of the Alaska LNG project, Glenfarne, has been busy in the past months finding companies willing to make offtake commitments for the $44-billion project that is being actively promoted by the Trump administration. The company is yet to make a final investment decision on Alaska LNG but plans to make one for the facilitys pipeline by the end of the year, and another for its export terminal in 2026.

Japanese companies have been particularly interested in the Alaska LNG project, for geographical reasons and because the government in Tokyo committed to buying $7 billion in U.S. energy per year as part of the trade deal with Trump to avoid tariffs.

Energy companies are ready to commit to buying $115 billion worth of LNG from Alaska once President Trumps pet energy project gets done, Glenfarne said in June, noting that as many as 50 companies have expressed formal interest. However, there have been reports about Japanese companies expressing worry about the price tag of the project, which may end up being too high.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Japan had hired Wood Mackenzie to study the long-term viability of Alaska LNG with a view to reassuring Japanese investors that their investment would be safe.

The Alaska LNG project involves an 800-mile gas pipeline running from Alaskas North Slope to a liquefaction plant on the southern coast, enabling stranded reserves to reach global markets. Despite decades of planning, the sheer cost and remoteness have left the project on ice for quite a while. Now, President Trump is championing the project and 9its commercial viability appears to have improved.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Tanker markets staged a comeback in August, and this time the rebound wasnt subtle. Suezmax rates shot up 34% month-on-month, according to OPECs latest Monthly Oil Market Report published on Thursday, with the West AfricaUS Gulf Coast run alone surging 38%. VLCCs werent far behind, climbing 19% on Middle EastEast routes. Even the humble Aframax joined the party, racking up a 23% gain on CaribbeanUS East Coast voyages.

Clean tankers, on the other handi.e., tankers carrying refined petroleum productslooked like theyve missed the memo. Most routes softened, except for the Middle EastEast corridor, which managed a 13% rise. The contrast says a lot: crude carriers are cashing in on shifting trade flows and long-haul demand, while product tankers are still slogging through refinery overcapacity and thin margins on diesel and jet fuel.

The timing is no accident. OPEC+ keeps fiddling with quotas, Russia is staring down another round of sanctions, and the U.S. Gulf remains a magnet for barrels. Every rerouted cargo adds miles, and in tanker math, miles equal money. A Suezmax hauling Nigerian crude to Houston suddenly looks a lot more profitable when Europe leans harder on the U.S. for barrels and Asian refiners juggle Russian supply with political risk.

Of course, freight rates are fickle. A few weeks of bad weather or a lull in exports can knock the air out of the market. But the August bounce suggests theres still plenty of life left in crude carriers, especially when geopolitics are forcing barrels onto longer, pricier voyages.

So yes, refinery margins might keep product tankers grounded for now. But on the crude side, owners are back in the drivers seat  and traders know it.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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Russias crude and fuel export revenue slumped by $920 million in August compared to July, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates in its latest monthly report.

The discounts of Russian crude grades widened last month amid the U.S. pressure on India for buying oil from Russia, while Russian refinery production slumped as Ukraine hit several processing facilities with drones.

As a result, Russias crude and petroleum product export revenues plunged by $920 million from July to $13.51 billion in August, the IEAs estimates showed.

The revenues were at one of the lowest levels since 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine.

Russia's oil export revenues remain near five-year lows, reducing tax revenues and exacerbating Russia's economic slowdown, Reuters quoted the IEA as saying in the report.

Russian crude output fell by 30,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 9.28 million bpd in August, the IEAs report showed.

Crude and fuel exports fell by more than this figureby 70,000 bpd to 7.3 million bpd, per the agencys data. Exports of crude declined by 30,000 bpd and fuel exports fell by 40,000 bpd.

The discount of Russias flagship Urals crude blend for Indian buyers has widened to between $3 and $4 per barrel amid continued pressure from the United States on India to force it to stop buying Russian crude. India continues to buy Russian crude, but at wider discounts compared to minimal discounts in June and July.

Moreover, Russias Urals crude grade, which usually goes from the western Russian ports to India, was being offered at discounts in China last month amid uncertainties over Indian purchases of Moscows oil following the additional tariffs the U.S. slapped on India. Prompt Urals cargoes have been pitched to Chinese buyers, who typically import the Far Eastern Russian grade ESPO.

Due to crippled domestic operating refining capacity, Russia is expected to sharply increase crude oil exports in the coming weeks.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Aramco has urged Asian buyers to buy more Saudi crude for October loading after the worlds top crude exporter slashed its prices for Asia for next month, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.

Saudi Arabia earlier this week slashed the price of crude oil it sells to Asia, with the premium for the flagship Arab Light grade set at $2.20 a barrel over the Dubai/Oman benchmark for cargoes to be delivered in October.

The price was cut by $1 per barrel compared to Septembera steeper cut than the $0.40 to $0.70 per barrel reduction analysts had expected.

The prices of other Saudi grades were also cut for October, by between $0.90 and $1 per barrel.

The price cut comes after Arab Light prices for September loadings were raised to a five-month high of $3.20 per barrel above the Oman/Dubai average, the Middle East benchmark, off which shipments to Asia are priced.

The price hike for September cargoes likely reflected Saudi Arabias view of strong demand in Asia.

Last month Saudi Aramco expressed a very bullish view on demand in the second half of the year, with president and CEO Amin Nasser saying Market fundamentals remain strong and we anticipate oil demand in the second half of 2025 to be more than two million barrels per day higher than the first half.

But this weeks deep price cut, which followed OPEC+s announcement it is tapping the last layer of production cuts of 1.65 million barrels per day (bpd), is likely the result of the renewed Saudi strategy to reclaim market share in the worlds top crude-importing region.

At the APPEC conference in Singapore this week, representatives from Saudi Aramco discussed the idea of more Saudi shipments to Asian buyers next month, according to Reuters anonymous sources.

The discussions are partly to blame for a delay in Saudi allocations for October until next week, two of the sources told Reuters.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Saudi Arabias crude shipments to China are expected to rebound in October to a level with the August volumes of more than two-year highs, after Saudi state oil giant Aramco slashed the price of its crude for Asia next month.

Aramco is expected to ship as many as 51 million barrels of Saudi crude to China in October, multiple trade sources told Reuters on Thursday.

This volume is equal to 1.65 million barrels per day (bpd) of Saudi exports to China, the worlds top crude importer, and would be on par with the August levels when the Saudi shipments hit their highest level since April 2023.

To compare, Saudi Arabia is sending 43 million barrels of crude, or 1.43 million bpd, to China in September. Thats down from the two-year high in August, after the Kingdom raised its September prices to Asia for a second consecutive month.

Early this week, however, Saudi Arabia slashed the price of the crude oil it will sell to Asia next month. The premium for the flagship Arab Light grade was set at $2.20 a barrel over the Dubai/Oman benchmark for cargoes to be delivered in October. The price was cut by $1 per barrel compared to Septembera steeper cut than the $0.40 to $0.70 per barrel reduction analysts had expected.

The prices of other Saudi grades were also cut for Asia for October, by between $0.90 and $1.00 per barrel.

This weeks deep price cut, which followed OPEC+s announcement it is tapping the last layer of production cuts of 1.65 million bpd, is likely the result of the renewed Saudi strategy to reclaim market share in the worlds top crude-importing region.

The Saudis are also reportedly asking Asian buyers at the APPEC conference in Singapore this week to buy more Saudi crude for October loading after the worlds top crude exporter slashed its prices for Asia for next month, anonymous sources told Reuters on Thursday.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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By Lars Larson

NW and national radio host,

The Northwest Nonsense

Hey, quick question: which laws do the REST of us get to break without consequences.

Im talking about the thoroughly illegal strike by classified workers in the Evergreen public schools .

Their labor unions declared a strike and 14-hundred workers walked off the job to extort raises from the citizens and parents who get hurt by such strikes.

The school district finds itself in a financial hole, 26 million dollars short, so it made a final offer and unions rejected it.

Then the workers went on strikea strike that BREAKS state law.

Nearly every time, school boards refuse to call out the unions for this nonsense.

On Friday, the school board approved a resolution to take legal action, go to Clark County Superior Court and demand an injunction against the union.

Thats a good start but only if the district follows through.

Usually, schools dont properly represent the people by demanding that workers and their unions follow the law. They often cave in, pay whats demanded, drive the district further in the redthen demand taxpayers put up more cash to pay the extortion and often pay workers for the days they DIDNT work during the strike.

Im crossing my fingers this time can be different.

As the Good Book says, if you dont workyou dont eat and a little starvation might just straighten out those unions.

Thats the Rose City Rap. Join me at noon on KXL for 4 hours of Honestly provocative talk. Im Lars Larson


By Taxpayers Association of Oregon

OregonWatchdog.com

Conservative Charlie Kirk, was gunned down in Utah.

There is too much political violence in America  especially in Oregon.

Consider these 6 acts of political violence just this year.

 Three independent reporters were attacked during a single week at the Portland ICE protests. Here is one of them being beaten to the ground.

 When Tesla became politically unfavored this year, Leftists shot-up a Tigard Tesla and a saboteur threw a flaming Molotov cocktail at a Salem dealership. A third person went to the Salem Tesla dealership and used a laser pointer to blind staff and innocent customers.

 A gang of nearly 10 vandals sabotaged the Multnomah County Elections Office which has been hit by Left-leaning vandalism for years.

 The Oregon anti-Trump protests this year were filled with calls for violence and bloody guillotines;

Three beheading signs at a single protest!

 In April, Portland politicians try to exonerate a dozen violent PSU rioters. Portland City Councilor, Mitch Green has said he will withhold any Portland City funding of Portland State University unless the college gives a pardon to dozen of suspects charged with rioting. These rioters chased Jewish students off campus. These rioters took control of the PSU library and caused a million dollars of damage. These rioters scrawled messages on PSU such as Kill the Jews and Kill your local Congressman.

 Protesters shut down Portland Mayors recent public speech and forced him to leave the event. Not even the Mayor feels safe in his own speech

 A known Portland political rioter began disrupting traffic and hitting people  including a child, brandished a stick as a weapon. The attacker said Im going to go to prison for killing somebody. It took several officers in a dogpile to stop the rampage.

BONUS OREGON 2025 POLITICAL VIOLENCE FROM THE PORTLAND ICE RIOTS:

 Multiple law enforcement personnel have been injured during the recent Portland ICE riots.

 Nearby residents have been assaulted

 3 independent journalists have been assaulted.

 The nearby school has closed due to the riots.

 Police are unable to enforce open law breaking that is going on nightly.

 Residents nearby cannot open their windows because of both the tear gas used as riot control and also the large volume of smoke bombs used by protesters.

 Local shops are losing business as the riots damage windows and chase away customers.

 Law enforcement officials have had their names, addresses and family photos of family members posted online.

 Help us spread the word. Contribute online at OregonWatchdog.com (learn about a Charitable Tax Deduction or Political Tax Credit options to promote liberty).


By Taxpayers Association of Oregon

OregonWatchdog.com

This week the Mayor of Tigard abruptly resigned. The issue cited was workplace complaints from staff. At the same time, there was a public backlash over the Mayors plan to lavishly expand homeless services and an uproar over out-of-control homelessness/drug use/litter in the city as documented by independent reporter Kevin Dahlgren. It is suggested that the two problems together sparked the Mayors resignation.

Support Kevin Dahlgrens work here and view below:

exceeded the need, which wouldve attracted Homeless from all over and before long Tigard wouldve become the next Portland. This is a nice reminder that elected officials arent in charge. Citizens are in charge. pic.twitter.com/07yF6jZWkd  Kevin Dahlgren   (@kevinvdahlgren) September 10, 2025
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Trappist-1, seen here in this illustration with the Sun for scale, has been the target of the search for extra-terrestrial signals. Credit CactiStaccingCrane

TRAPPIST-1 is a red dwarf star located about 40 light years away that hosts seven Earth-sized rocky planets, with at least three orbiting in the habitable zone where liquid water could potentially exist. This makes it one of the most solar system-like exoplanet systems discovered, with TRAPPIST-1e considered among the best potentially habitable exoplanets. The system's proximity and multiple potentially habitable worlds make it an ideal target for searching for technological civilizations.

The research team conducted their search using the Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) to exploit its unprecedented sensitivity. The observations consisted of five independent L-band pointings, each with a 20 minute integration, for a total time of 1.67 hours. The frequency coverage spanned 1.05 to 1.45GHz with a spectral resolution of ~7.5Hz allowing them to detect extremely weak radio signals that might indicate alien technology.

The team led by Guang-Yuan Song from the Dezhou University in China looked for very precise radio frequencies that slowly changed over time due to planetary motion. Such signals would be virtually impossible to produce naturally and would strongly suggest artificial origin from an advanced civilization. The study is published on the arXiv preprint server.

Based on the configuration of FAST, the researchers had the ability to detect radio signals as weak as 2.041010 watts. This means they were able to detect fainter signals than any previous studies. If there were aliens transmitting radio signals regularly on a specific frequency, this study would be more likely to find them than earlier attempts.

Alas, the search found no convincing evidence of alien technology. However, rather than being disappointing, this result still provides valuable scientific information. It places upper limits on the presence of certain types of alien transmitters in the TRAPPIST-1 system and demonstrates the remarkable capabilities of modern SETI searches.

It may be some years or even decades before we can completely rule out life in the TRAPPIST-1 system, but at least for now, it remains a compelling target for future SETI efforts. The team plans to expand their search to look for other types of signals, including periodic or transient transmissions that might be missed by current methods.

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence remains one of our most profound scientific endeavors, with the potential to fundamentally transform our understanding of our place in the universe. As we continue to peer out into space with ever greater precision, we're not just looking for aliens, we're taking the first steps toward what may be the most significant moment in human history.

More information: Guang-Yuan Song et al, A Deep SETI Search for Technosignatures in the TRAPPIST-1 System with FAST, arXiv (2025). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2509.06310 Journal information: arXiv
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A new study from The University of Manchester has revealed that bad reviews often push Airbnb hosts to change the way they position their properties, sometimes with surprising results.

The research, carried out with colleagues from the University of Oxford and the University of Alberta, looked at more than 80,000 Airbnb hosts across major U.S. cities. It found that when guests left negative reviews, hosts were much more likely to switch the category of their propertyfor example, moving a listing from "loft" to "apartment," or from "tiny house" to "cottage."

The study shows that these changes often happen not because hosts are constantly fine-tuning their positioning, but because they are reacting to complaintsin other words, hosts don't usually rethink how their properties are categorized unless something goes wrong.

The article, titled "Right on Cue? Category-Switching in Online Marketplaces," is published in the Strategic Management Journal.

"Negative reviews are powerfulthey don't just influence potential guests, but they also make hosts question whether they've positioned their property in the right category," said Dr. Karl Taeuscher from Alliance Manchester Business School, the lead author of the research. "If customers say a listing isn't what they expected, hosts often switch category in the hope of avoiding more complaints."

The research found that the effect is strongest in categories where customers have diverse and sometimes conflicting expectations. For example, a "villa" or "loft" may mean very different things to different people, while a "houseboat" or "tent" comes with more obvious expectations. In these ambiguous categories, hosts were particularly likely to reposition their property after receiving poor feedback.

Interestingly, when hosts did make a switch, they usually chose categories that were close to their original one. Few hosts took the risk of moving their property into a completely different type. Instead, they tended to opt for categories that accommodate a wider range of features.

The study highlights how small businesses and individuals, like most Airbnb hosts, often don't have the time or resources to constantly rethink their positioning strategiesinstead, they tend to act only when problems arise.

The findings matter beyond Airbnb. Many online platforms, from Amazon to Etsy, rely on categories to help customers navigate. If businesses use categories that don't quite fit, it can create mismatches between what buyers expect and what they get. This study suggests that finding the right category requires businesses to be receptive to customer feedback and open to revising their initial choice.

"Categories play a central role in how consumers form expectations about products and services, and choosing a category that sets realistic expectations is an important aspect of any positioning strategy. When businesses get the category wrong, it can hurt their customers' experience - but our research shows that negative customer feedback can help them to recognize these mismatches and adjust their positioning," says Dr. Karl Taeuscher.

More information: Karl Taeuscher et al, Right on cue? Categoryswitching in online marketplaces, Strategic Management Journal (2025). DOI: 10.1002/smj.70018 Journal information: Strategic Management Journal
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Zurich, Switzerland. Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Climate change was responsible for 1,700 heat-related deaths in the Swiss canton of Zurich between 1969 and 2018, according to new research from the University of Oxford's Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. These deaths represent nearly one-third of all heat-related mortality in the region during that period.

The study published in Climatic Change, titled "Refining methods for attributing health impacts to climate change: a heat-mortality case study in Zurich," shows that climate change is not only increasing deaths during extreme heat waves, but also on milder days when temperatures exceed local thresholds for human health.

While improved resilience measures such as access to cooling, health care, and public awareness have prevented an estimated 700 deaths since 2004, the number of heat-related deaths continues to rise as global temperatures increase.

Lead author Dr. Rupert Stuart-Smith, Senior Research Fellow in Climate Science and the Law at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, and Deputy Director of the Oxford Sustainable Law Program, said, "We find that heat-related deaths were already occurring as a result of climate change as early as 1969, but that the numbers of heat-related deaths have increased substantially over time, and despite improvements in our resilience to heat.

"Our results point to the potential effectiveness of climate adaptation measures. However, more people are dying than ever before because of climate change which is pushing temperatures ever higher. The best way to avoid these deaths in future remains rapid and sustained emission reductions, delivered by quickly moving away from fossil fuels and animal agriculture."

The study also concludes that, while climate changerelated deaths peak during heat waves, many occur outside of them, because climate change is raising temperatures above the "mortality threshold" even on comparatively cooler days.

"Analyses that focus on heat waves alone do not capture the full effect of human-induced climate change on heat-related deaths," adds Dr. Stuart-Smith.

The authors also found that the emissions of the six highest-emitting investor and state-owned companies globally caused, on average, at least one additional death per summer in Zurich since 2004, and that similar findings would be expected for many other locations worldwide.

A preprint of this study was cited by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in its landmark decision in the case of KlimaSeniorinnen v Switzerland. It was referenced in support of the ECtHR's finding that the implementation of adaptation measures is insufficient to offset the increased number of heat-related deaths driven by rising temperatures and emission reductions are therefore required for Switzerland to meet its legal obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.

More information: Rupert F. Stuart-Smith et al, Refining methods for attributing health impacts to climate change: a heat-mortality case study in Zurich, Climatic Change (2025). DOI: 10.1007/s10584-025-04011-5 Journal information: Climatic Change
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Analysing environmental DNA could help scientists understand how species ranges are changing. Credit: Phillip Fenberg

Traces of DNA in the environment can tell us how species' ranges are changing as a result of increasing sea temperatures.

But scientists caution that we still need other expertise and data to fully understand how organisms are being affected.

Ocean warming has triggered a dramatic shift in the distribution of marine life.

Many species have expanded their range towards the polar regions as sea temperatures heat up. At the same time, there has been a decrease in populations closer to the equator. This mass movement of marine species is known as tropicalization.

One way of monitoring this phenomenon is using environmental DNA. Known as eDNA, this is genetic material from animals and plants that is shed into the water. Like how forensics may sample a crime scene to look for DNA of a suspect, scientists can sample water or sediment looking for DNA which can tell them what species are present.

This revolutionary technique has been used in several ways, such as detecting if an invasive species is present in an ecosystem, and it could also be used to monitor the effects of tropicalization.

But in a recent study published in the journal Diversity and Distributions, scientists warn that eDNA still needs to be used alongside other data and expertise to get a better idea of how species ranges are shifting in response to ocean warming.

Karolina Zarzyczny is a Ph.D. student at the Natural History Museum and the University of Southampton who led the study.

"Although eDNA can be a fantastic tool with many applications where it can be used, we need to be cautious when we use it to document changes in species ranges. Otherwise, you could end up with the incorrect interpretation of the data."

Why can't we rely entirely on eDNA to monitor range shifts?

To see if eDNA data accurately reflects the distribution of species, the research team looked at a North American sea snail called the speckled tegula.

These snails are found close to the shore from Santa Barbara County in California and down along the coast of the Mexican State of Baja California. But over the last few decades the snail has disappeared from the southern part of its range.

Speckled tegulas are reasonably well studied, with lots of data available about their current and past range, making them an ideal species for this study.

Museum specimens can tell us a lot about species ranges in the past. Credit: Naturalis Biodiversity Center/Wikimedia Commons

Researchers took water samples from a location that was part of the speckled tegulas' historical range, but from which the snail is now no longer found. To their surprise, they still managed to find traces of speckled tegula eDNA. The question now was why.

The team quickly ruled out the possibility of an unknown population of snails, as the mollusks require a rocky shore habitat that is uncommon in this part of the Baja California peninsula.

They could also dismiss the influence of ocean currents. Although it is possible that eDNA could be carried from the nearest population by currents, evidence suggests that it would have likely disintegrated long before it reached the site.

Instead, they looked to see if the DNA was related to larva dispersal. When sea snails reproduce, they release hundreds to thousands of offspring into the water. The sea snail larvae are tiny and can be easily transported through the ocean.

"We initially dismissed the idea that the DNA was caused by larvae because, to our knowledge, speckled tegulas spawn in the summer and we were sampling in the winter," says Karolina. "But we realized that the published data on the spawning season came from a very northern population of the species."

"We spoke to experts who had worked on this sea snail in Baja California, and it turned out that in the southern part of their range they spawn in the winter rather than the summer."

This highlighted the importance of fully understanding a species distribution and behavior, rather than basing everything solely on the eDNA. Karoline explains, "If we had relied entirely on the eDNA data, we would have assumed that a population of snails were living in this area and that the distribution of this species was much greater than it actually is."

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How can museum specimens help support eDNA data?

The latest study shows how if we want an accurate picture of how the ranges of marine animals are changing, then we need to use a diversity of data sources, including the knowledge and expertise from scientists in a range of disciplines.

As well as expertise on how to collect, prepare and study eDNA, figuring out the current situation with the speckled tegula also required detailed knowledge of the biology of the snails in different populations across their range. It also required experts in the region's geography and oceanography to understand how ocean currents might disperse larvae.

Museum collections can also play an important role as many hold specimens that were collected before human-driven climate change. Detailed records of where and when these specimens were collected can help to piece together how the range of this species has shifted over many decades.

Dr. Phillip Fenberg, a co-author on the study who has extensive knowledge of snails across Baja California, says, "The important part about this paper is that we use many different methods to tell the full story of the distribution change of the speckled tegula."

"We use field surveys, historical data, museum collections, eDNA and oceanographic modeling to document range contractions. So eDNA is important, but there are so many other parts to it as well. If you have all those data sources, you can tell a really interesting story."

"Tropicalization is happening across the world. What we hope is that other scientists will take this study and use it to see how ocean warming is also driving a range shift in other species."

More information: Karolina M. Zarzyczny et al, Combining Environmental DNA Data With Oceanography, Life History and Ecology for Detecting ClimateInduced Range Shifts, Diversity and Distributions (2025). DOI: 10.1111/ddi.70064 Journal information: Diversity and Distributions

This story is republished courtesy of Natural History Museum. Read the original story here
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

New research shows that Australia is lagging well behind Europe when it comes to digitized border control, adopting a "staggering" level of secrecy that is threatening individual democratic rights.

A paper authored by University of South Australia researcher Dr. Louis Everuss has found stark differences between the two continents in their approach to digital borders.

Smart gates, biometric screening and automated risk assessment are now common worldwide, but unlike the European Union (EU) where border systems are more transparent, the Federal Government in Australia fails to disclose how this data is being used.

"Sweeping powers are given to the Immigration Minister courtesy of the Migration Act 1958 without any checks in place," writes Dr. Everuss in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of European Studies.

"This legislation even allows computers to make binding visa decisions on the Minister's behalf, yet it offers little detail about how these technologies function and what information is captured.

"Digitization is transforming border control across the globe, but transparency is critical for protecting both individual rights and democratic accountability. Our research shows that the EU's legal frameworks are far more transparent than those in Australia, where the level of secrecy is staggering."

The EU has introduced a suite of laws and regulations to govern its major digital border systems, including the Visa Information System (VIS) and the Schengen Information System (SIS).

These regulations clearly set out how data should be collected, stored and shared, and what rights individuals have to access their information. The regulations, which are publicly available, are also subject to oversight by EU data protection bodies and courts.

Dr. Everuss says the EU approach embeds transparency obligations into the design of its border systems.

"While not perfect, this provides the public and travelers with a clearer view of how decisions are made," he says.

In contrast, Australia's digital border systems, such as the integrated Client Services Environment for visa processing, and SmartGate at airports, operate under far less scrutiny.

Policy frameworks do exist, but they are often heavily redacted, withheld under Freedom of Information Laws, or classified as internal guidance.

"The lack of publicly accessible rules means that Australians have little insight into the digital tools shaping border decisions. In some cases, even oversight bodies have been unaware of the existence of key systems."

Dr. Everuss argues that border transparency is not only about fairness to travelers, but also about maintaining trust in our governments.

"Without clear rules and accountability, digital technologies risk undermining natural justice and fueling public distrust."

He suggests that Australia could improve transparency of its border systems by:

Introducing system-specific legislation, similar to EU regulations, to define the scope of digital border technologies.



Making publicly available the traveler data details that are captured and assessed and ensure that race, ethnicity and sexuality are excluded when determining border-based decisions.



Ensuring that individuals can accessand correct if necessarytheir data in a clear, user-friendly way.

More information: Louis Everuss et al, Comparing border digitisation and transparency in the EU and Australia, Australian and New Zealand Journal of European Studies (2025). DOI: 10.30722/anzjes.vol17.iss1.20630
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This map of Africa visually distinguishes countries based on the presence of women in leadership roles within national ministries overseeing water and sanitation. Countries shaded in pink represent those with a notable footprint of female leadership, while those in blue indicate limited or no representation. The figure highlights regional disparities, with southern and select western African nations showing stronger female leadership presence, underscoring both progress and persistent gaps in gender inclusion across the continent's water governance landscape. Credit: UNU-INWEH

Women experience major consequences from water scarcity and pollution. Across the world, many women and girls lose education and employment opportunities due to spending long hours fetching water. They also face major health and safety risks due to lack of access to safe water to satisfy their menstrual and hygiene needs. Yet they remain underrepresented in leadership and decision-making in water governance, leaving policies disconnected from the realities they face.

A new publication by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) finds that women remain significantly underrepresented in water governance across Africa. The analysis reveals that only 17% of national ministries responsible for water in Africa are led by women.

Moreover, just one out of eleven transboundary water organizations is headed by a woman, highlighting the absence of women's voices in regional cooperation and decision-making on shared water resources. At the academic level, only 13% of universities offering water science programs are led by women, further highlighting their underrepresentation in the field.

"These figures confirm that women in Africa are often left out of key leadership positions in the water sector, which may lead to policies that fail to fully address their health and sanitation needs," said Professor Grace Oluwasanya, lead author of the publication and Senior Researcher at UNU-INWEH. "This means that commitments to gender equality in water governance have not been fully realized, and urgent efforts are needed to ensure women have a decisive role in decision-making."

The authors note that the gender gap in Africa's water sector is driven by social and institutional barriers. These include traditional gender bias and limited access to technical education, which restrict women's opportunities to reach leadership roles. The analysis also identifies limited networking, weak mentorship, and restrictive recruitment and promotion practices as obstacles to women's advancement.

Overcoming these barriers is essential for achieving effective, inclusive, and sustainable water management across Africa. The publication recommends practical steps such as introducing gender quotas with support systems, expanding scholarships and mentorship opportunities, ensuring transparent and inclusive recruitment and promotion practices, and strengthening regional networks and funding mechanisms that prioritize gender equality.

"Excluding women from leadership weakens governance and undermines progress on water security and the Sustainable Development Goals," said Professor Kaveh Madani, Director of UNU-INWEH and the co-author of the publication. "Africa cannot afford to leave out key stakeholders in water governance. Women must be equally represented in shaping policies and decisions that directly impact them."

Several African countries have already begun to challenge the gender imbalance in water leadership. For instance, Kenya's Water Services Regulatory Board introduced guidelines requiring at least 33% female representation on utility boards, and Uganda's National Water and Sewerage Corporation introduced leadership programs for women in the sector. Although these steps are promising, their long-term impact is still uncertain.

"Achieving gender balance in water leadership demands a transformative shift in behaviorone that challenges entrenched norms and recognizes that leadership qualities are not inherently gendered," said Professor Oluwasanya. "Men, in particular, have a vital role to play as champions of change, by embracing inclusive practices such as equitable recruitment, promotion, and pay parity for comparable roles."

This figure presents two bar charts comparing the representation of women and men in leadership roles across five African sub-regions: North, East, Central, West, and Southern Africa. Each region displays a stark gender disparity, with men consistently occupying the majority of leadership positions. Women's representation ranges from 11% in Central Africa to 20% in West and Southern Africa. Error bars indicate variability across countries within each region, emphasizing both the persistent gender gap and regional differences in progress toward inclusive leadership in water governance. Credit: United Nations University Instiute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH)

Key findings

Women head only 17% of national ministries responsible for water and sanitation in Africa.

By sub-region, leadership of women is highest in West and Southern Africa (20%), followed by North Africa (17%), East Africa (14%), and Central Africa (11%).

Women lead 11% of government-owned and 15% of privately-owned higher education institutions offering water science across Africa, averaging 13% overall.

Only one of eleven transboundary water organizations in Africa is led by a woman.

Women hold 924% of leadership roles across water sector domains, with representation highest in low-income countries (24%), compared to 15% in upper-middle-income and 10% in lower-middle-income economies.
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

In recent years, skulls, bones, and even modified human remains have appeared with increasing frequency on online marketplaces and social media platforms. What might once have been confined to specialist collectors has become a global, online trade.

The market is fueled by diverse groups of buyers. Some are traditional collectors of curiosities, others are ritual practitioners. And a smaller number of contemporary artists and designers buy human remains to incorporate into sculptures or installations, raising concerns about the use of the body as raw material. There are also medical and dental students, some of whom still seek real skulls for their own study, unaware of the legal and ethical pitfalls.

Perhaps the most striking development is the rise of casual consumers inspired by social media. The aesthetic known as "dark academia" has helped to drive this surge. Blending gothic literature, candlelit libraries, vintage tailoring and scholarly mystique, it presents bones as fashionable props. On Instagram (#SkullDecor) and TikTok (#OdditiesTok), users pose with skeletons in the same way they might with antique books or candlelight, transforming skulls into lifestyle decor.

This trend is troubling because it normalizes ownership of human remains and blurs the line between objects of study and human individuals. By aestheticizing death, it risks eroding the ethical safeguards that once protected the dead from exploitation. The surge has prompted alarm among archaeologists, anthropologists and anatomists. The British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology has spearheaded a campaign to curb the trade, warning that it not only exploits the dead but also risks commodifying them. Yet the legal framework is equally complex, leaving many sellers operating in a gray area.

In the UK, the law is fragmented. The Human Tissue Act 2004 regulates the use of bodies donated for anatomical education, teaching and research, but only applies to remains less than 100 years old. Anything older falls outside its scope.

This century cut-off creates a loophole: a skull described as "Victorian" can be sold, even if its provenance is doubtful. Sellers may exploit this gray area, and buyers rarely question such claims.

Sidestepping jurisdictions

Elsewhere, laws are inconsistent. In the US, Native American remains are protected under federal legislation, yet state laws vary widely and online sales often slip through the net. The global nature of the trade makes enforcement harder still: a skull listed in the UK can be shipped abroad with little difficulty, sidestepping different national jurisdictions.

The question of origin is central. The Anatomy Act of 1832 was intended to end grave robbing in Britain by providing a legal supply of bodiesthose unclaimed in hospitals, prisons and workhouseswhile also making body donation legal. But demand soon outstripped supply, as evidenced by the work of the resurrectionists, and by the late 19th-century Britain looked abroad for bones.

India became the world's largest exporter, sending an estimated 60,000 skeletons overseas in 1984 alone. Many came from impoverished communities who could not afford cremation or burial, while others were stolen from cemeteries.

Grave robbing was common, and the trade remained deeply tied to colonial structures. Even after independence in 1947, India remained Britain's main supplier until a scandal in 1985 revealed the export of 1,500 child skeletons, raising fears of kidnapping and murder. The Indian government swiftly banned the trade. China then became the leading exporter until it too banned exports in 2008.

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This history shows that many of the bones circulating today in collections, and sometimes resurfacing on the open market, were acquired in ways that were profoundly exploitative.

Provenance is everything, yet often absent. While many bones circulating today are former anatomical specimens, the scale of demand has clearly encouraged more nefarious means of procurement, and grave robbing has seen a resurgence.

Museums and teaching collections usually keep detailed acquisition records, so bones offered without documentation raise immediate red flags. Anatomical specimens also tend to show signs of preparation, such as drilled holes, varnish or metal fittings.

By contrast, remains taken from graves often display soil staining, root etching, or microfractures caused by long-term burial. Fragments of coffin wood, nails or textiles may still cling to them. These differences are not always conclusive, but together they suggest whether a skeleton was prepared for study or exhumed illicitly.

Beyond legality lies a more fundamental question: should human remains ever be sold at all? Human remains are not ornaments or lifestyle accessoriesthey are the material traces of people's lives.

The commodification of human remains sits at the uneasy intersection of law, science and ethics. The trade thrives because of loopholes and because platforms profit from traffic even when listings violate their own policies. At its heart, this is not a legal issue so much as one of respect.

Human remains, whether ancient or recent, represent lives once lived. They carry stories of identity, community and mortality. Treating them as commodities diminishes both the individuals they once were and the societies we live in today. As calls for reform continue, the challenge is to shift attitudes away from possession and decorative display toward recognition of the dignity owed to the dead.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Crater wall exposures. (a), (b) HiRISE IRB ESP_073652_1980 location #1 with mapped units; (c), (d) HiRISE IRB ESP_077041_1980 location #2 with mapped units. Credit: DOI: 10.5194/epsc-dps2025-1001

The Rosalind Franklin mission's chance of finding evidence of past life on Mars has been boosted by two studies that show that the rover won't have to travel far to find materials potentially laden with organic molecules. Instead, natural processes could bring those materials to the rover, as revealed in two separate presentations at the EPSCDPS2025 Joint Meeting in Helsinki this week.

Rosalind Franklin is a European Space Agency (ESA) mission currently scheduled to blast off to Mars in 2028. The rover will land in Oxia Planum, which is a large plain rich in clay minerals that formed in water billions of years ago.

The first study presented at EPSCDPS2025, by Dr. Aleksandra Sokoowska of Brown University in the U.S. and Imperial College London, describes how the identification of 258 rockfalls in the region of the landing site provides the opportunity for the rover to explore previously inaccessible material. The findings are also published in npj Space Exploration.

The second study, presented by Ananya Srivastava of the University of Western Ontario in Canada, reveals how organic-rich clays in Oxia Planum may have originated from elsewhere on Mars and been deposited through a series of floods over 3.5 billion years ago.

Locations of rockfall clusters. Credit: npj Space Exploration (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s44453-025-00008-7

Will Rosalind Franklin see the rolling stones?

Identifying the rockfalls at Oxia Planum requires the highest resolution imagery from the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which can resolve objects as small as 1 meter. Many of the boulders brought to the ground by rockfalls are smaller than 2.5 meters and the largest is up to 8 meters across. What really gives them away are their tracks, which can be meters deep and run for 500 meters.

Sokoowska and her colleagues identified the rockfalls at 48 sites thanks to a semi-automatic process, with deep-learning algorithms spotting candidate rockfalls that were then followed-up by a human being for verification. Most rockfalls were found on the steep slopes of craters, mounds and cliffs.

"We have reasons to believe that fresh rockfalls could be very common," said Sokoowska. "More rockfalls are likely waiting to be found, as our manual follow-ups on small areas revealed many more than our semi-automatic search over the whole Oxia Planum region."

The chance of Rosalind Franklin finding itself in the path of an onrushing rockfall is slim. Instead, the rover will be able to use them to its advantage.

"The discovery of rockfalls in Oxia Planum opens up the exciting possibility for the rover to increase the diversity of its samples with material that would otherwise be inaccessible," said Sokoowska.

Fragments of rock that had been embedded on slopes of mounds, crater walls and other steep cliff-faces before falling would have been partly shielded from the radiation that drenches Mars from space. This, in theory, will improve the chances of organic molecules surviving intact in them. The dirt displaced from meters below the surface by the tracks gouged out by the rockfalls could also provide a new source of accessible samples for the rover to examine.

Sokoowska's work shows that impact craters play an important role in creating the conditions for the rockfalls, in terms of fracturing the ground and distributing loose material on slopes. She further explains that "Other factors that contributed to the development of rockfalls could include thermal stresses or early fluvial erosion, but a tectonic origin seems unlikely.

The impacts themselves do not necessarily trigger the rockfalls, however. "In terms of triggers, we found no link with recent marsquakes or new impact craters," said Sokoowska.

An image of a crater in Oxia Planum, presented in false colour from the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The blue and oranges sections show multiple layers of clay units deposited in Oxia Planum and revealed at the crater wall. Credit: Ananya Srivastava (University of Western Ontario)/NASA/HiRISE/University of Arizona

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Martian clays reveal episodic flooding on ancient Mars

Clays are a prime target for Rosalind Franklin because they can preserve organic molecules, many of which are precursors to the building blocks of life. The clay-bearing geological units in Oxia Planum have compositionally different lower and upper sections (presented in false-color infrared maps as orange and blue, respectively). It was previously suggested that these represent a single extensive clay unit, with an orange unit at the base overlain by a blue one, consistent with an in-situ formation of the clays.

Srivastava and her team studied clay units exposed in crater walls and found that, throughout Oxia Planum, there are multiple layers of alternating orange and blue sections. Furthermore, by comparing compositional data from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and ESA's Mars Express missions with high-resolution imagery from MRO and ESA's Trace Gas Orbiter, Srivastava's team found a pattern.

Craters at lower elevations tend to have thicker orange and blue layers than those at higher elevations, and overall the average thickness of these layers increases downslope of ancient highlands to the northwest of Oxia Planum.

"These results, particularly the variation in the layer thickness, imply that the clays may have originated elsewhere before being transported and deposited in the Oxia basin," said Srivastava.

The clays were likely brought to Oxia Planum by rivers running from the highlands, the dried-out valley networks of which are still visible. The multiple layers indicate that there may have been cyclical or transient bursts of water that spilled into Oxia Planum about 3.5 billion years ago, before Mars completely lost its liquid water. The repeated clay-bearing layers may therefore be a signature of Mars's ancient climate and geological conditions, offering clues as to how Mars evolved early in its history.

"The clays could record a far wider range of ancient Martian climatic conditions than previously believed if they came in multiple pulses from various source regions," said Srivastava. "This diversity of environments improves the prospect that organic molecules were preserved under favorable conditions, strengthening the chances of uncovering the most thrilling discoveryclues for life beyond Earth."

More information: Aleksandra Sokolowska et al, Will Rosalind Franklin See The Rolling Stones? (2025). DOI: 10.5194/epsc-dps2025-1727 Aleksandra J. Sokoowska et al, Fresh rockfalls near the landing site of ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Rover: drivers, trafficability, and implications, npj Space Exploration (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s44453-025-00008-7 Ananya Srivastava et al, Multi-scale Spectral Characterization of Clay-Rich Crater Walls in Oxia Planum (2025). DOI: 10.5194/epsc-dps2025-1001

Provided by Europlanet
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Flight Engineer Joe Acaba works in the U.S. Destiny laboratory module on the International Space Station, setting up hardware for the Zero Boil-Off Tank (ZBOT) experiment. Credit: Joe Acaba

Space missions rely on cryogenic fluidsextremely cold liquids like liquid hydrogen and oxygenfor both propulsion and life support systems. These fuels must be kept at ultra-low cryogenic temperatures to remain in liquid form; however, solar heating and other sources of heat increase the rate of evaporation of the liquid and cause the pressure in the storage tank to increase. Current storage methods require venting the cryogenic propellant to space to control the pressure in fuel tanks.

NASA's Zero Boil-Off Tank Noncondensables (ZBOT-NC) experiment is the continuation of Zero Boil-Off studies gathering crucial data to optimize fuel storage systems for space missions. The experiment will launch aboard Northrop Grumman's 23rd resupply mission to the International Space Station.

Even with multilayer insulation, heat unavoidably seeps into cryogenic fuel tanks from surrounding structures and the space environment, causing an increase in the liquid temperature and an associated increase in the evaporation rate. In turn, the pressure inside the tank increases. This process is called "boil-off" and the increase in tank pressure is referred to as "self-pressurization."

Venting excess gas to the environment or space when this process occurs is highly undesirable and becomes mission-critical on extended journeys. If crew members used current fuel storage methods for a years-long Mars expedition, all propellant might be lost to boil-off before the trip ends.

NASA's ZBOT experiments are investigating active pressure control methods to eliminate wasteful fuel venting. Specifically, active control through the use of jet mixing and other techniques are being evaluated and tested in the ZBOT series of experiments.

ZBOT-NC further studies how noncondensable gases (NCGs) affect fuel tank behavior when present in spacecraft systems. NCGs don't turn into liquid under the tank's operating conditions and can affect tank pressure.

The investigation, which is led out of Glenn Research Center, will operate inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox aboard the space station to gather data on how NCGs affect volatile liquid behavior in microgravity. It's part of an effort to advance cryogenic fluid management technologies and help NASA better understand low-gravity fluid behavior.

Researchers will measure pressure and temperature as they study how these gases change evaporation and condensation rates. Previous studies indicate the gases create barriers that could reduce a tank's ability to maintain proper pressure controla potentially serious issue for extended space missions.

The research directly supports Mars missions and other long-duration space travel by helping engineers design more efficient fuel storage systems and future space depots. The findings may also benefit scientific instruments on space telescopes and probes that rely on cryogenic fluids to maintain the extremely low temperatures needed for operation.

The investigation could improve tank design models for medical, industrial, and energy production applications that depend on long-term cryogenic storage on Earth.

Provided by NASA
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Uruguays Paso Severino Reservoir, the primary water source for Montevideo, on June 13, 2023, captured by Landsat 9. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/ Wanmei Liang

NASA satellite data and trainings helped Uruguay create a drought-response tool that its National Water Authority now uses to monitor reservoirs and guide emergency decisions. A similar approach could be applied in the United States and other countries around the world.

From 2018 to 2023, Uruguay experienced its worst drought in nearly a century. The capital city of Montevideo, home to nearly 2 million people, was especially hard hit. By mid-2023, Paso Severino, the largest reservoir and primary water source for Montevideo, had dropped to just 1.7% of its capacity.

As water levels declined, government leaders declared an emergency. They began identifying backup supplies and asked: Was there water left in other upstream reservoirsmainly used for livestock and irrigationthat could help?

That's when environmental engineer Tiago Pohren and his colleagues at the National Water Authority (DINAGUAMinistry of Environment) turned to NASA data and trainings to build an online tool that could help answer that question and improve monitoring of the nation's reservoirs.

"Satellite data can inform everything from irrigation scheduling in the Great Plains to water quality management in the Chesapeake Bay," said Erin Urquhart, manager of the water resources program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "NASA provides the reliable data needed to respond to water crises anywhere in the world."

The DINAGUA team learned about NASA resources during a 2022 workshop in Buenos Aires, organized by the Interagency Science and Applications Team (ISAT). Led by NASA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Department of State, the workshop focused on developing tools to help manage water in the La Plata River Basin, which spans multiple South American countries including Uruguay.

At the workshop, researchers from NASA introduced participants to methods for measuring water resources from space. NASA's Applied Remote Sensing (ARSET) program also provided a primer on remote sensing principles.

"NASA doesn't just deliver data," said John Bolten, NASA's lead scientist for ISAT and chief of the Hydrological Sciences Laboratory at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "We collaborate with our partners and local experts to translate the data into information that is useful, usable, and relevant. That kind of coordination is what makes NASA's water programs so effective on the ground, at home and around the world."

The DINAGUA team brought ideas and provided guidelines to Pohren for a tool that applies Landsat and Sentinel satellite imagery to detect changes in Uruguay's reservoirs. Landsat, a joint NASA-U.S. Geological Survey mission, provides decades of satellite imagery to track changes in land and water. The Sentinel missions, a part of the European Commission managed Copernicus Earth Observation program and operated by ESA (the European Space Agency), provide complementary visible, infrared, and microwave imagery for surface water assessments.

From a young age, Pohren was familiar with water-related challenges, as floods repeatedly inundated his relatives' homes in his hometown of Montenegro, Brazil. It was extra motivation for him as he scoured ARSET tutorials and taught himself to write computer code. The result was a monitoring tool capable of estimating the surface area of Uruguay's reservoirs over time.

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The tool draws on several techniques to differentiate the surface water extent of reservoirs. These techniques include three optical indicators derived from the Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 satellites:

Normalized Difference Water Index, which highlights water by comparing how much green and near-infrared light is reflected. Water absorbs infrared light, so it stands out clearly from land.

Modified Normalized Difference Water Index, which swaps near-infrared with shortwave infrared to improve the contrast and reduce errors when differentiating between water and built-up or vegetated areas.

Automated Water Extraction Index, which combines four types of reflected lightgreen, near-infrared, and two shortwave infrared bandsto help separate water from shadows and other dark features.

In 2023, the DINAGUA team used Pohren's tool to examine reservoirs located upstream from Montevideo's drinking water intake. But the data told a tough story.

"There was water available in other reservoirs, but it was a very small amount compared to the water demand of the Montevideo metropolitan region," Pohren said. Simulations showed that even if all of the water were released, most of it would not reach the water intake for Montevideo or the Paso Severino reservoir.

Despite this news, the analysis prevented actions that might have wasted important resources for maintaining productive activities in the upper basin, Pohren said. Then, in August 2023, rain began to refill Uruguay's reservoirs, allowing the country to declare an end to the water crisis.

Though the immediate water crisis has passed, the tool Pohren created will be useful in the future in Uruguay and around the world. During an ISAT workshop in 2024, he shared his tool with international water resources managers with the hope it could aid their own drought response efforts. And DINAGUA officials still use it to identify and monitor dams, irrigation reservoirs, and other water bodies in Uruguay.

Pohren continues to use NASA training and data to advance reservoir management. He's currently exploring an ARSET training on how the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission will further improve the system by allowing DINAGUA to directly measure the height of water in reservoirs. He is also following NASA's new joint mission with ISRO (the Indian Space Research Organization) called NISAR, which launched on July 30. The NISAR satellite will provide radar data that detects changes in water extent, regardless of cloud cover or time of day.

"If a drought happens again," Pohren said, "with the tools that we have now, we will be much more prepared to understand what the conditions of the basin are and then make predictions."

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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Researchers at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Lithuania, have developed new organic compounds that act as highly sensitive oxygen sensors. These sensors can accurately detect even the slightest amounts of oxygen in the environmentinformation that is crucial in situations where oxygen concentration can determine the success of a process or even a person's life.

The sensors can be applied in medicine; for example, in diagnosing tumor hypoxia, a condition in which there is almost no oxygen around a tumor; in the food industry, to check whether packaging has lost its seal; and in biotechnology, to precisely monitor cell cultivation processes.

Moreover, their performance can be observed with the naked eye, while their record-high sensitivity ensures rapid and reliable detection. The study is published in the journal Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical.

No toxic compounds used

Phosphorescence arises when a molecule is excited and enters a special energy state called the triplet state. From this state, light is emitted for a longer time than in normal fluorescence. This long-lived emission is extremely sensitive to oxygen: When oxygen molecules encounter an excited molecule, they capture its energy and suppress the glow.

Traditionally, heavy metal complexes such as iridium or platinum are used to achieve phosphorescence.

"These metals are very expensive, which greatly increases the cost of the final product. In addition, their derivatives are often toxic and harmful to the environment. For these reasons, their use is particularly problematic in biology, medicine or the food industry, where safety is the highest priority," explains Guzauskas, a researcher of the KTU Faculty of Chemical Technology (CTF).

An alternative, discovered by KTU scientists, is made of thianthrene derivatives. These are organic molecules containing two sulfur atoms in their structure and having a unique, bent, non-flat structure.

"It is precisely the sulfur atoms and the specific structure of the molecule that enable it to emit light for a long time," adds Dr. Guzauskas.

Record-breaking sensitivity

The compounds developed show record-breaking sensitivity, as demonstrated by the SternVolmer constant. For one of the compounds, this constant is among the highest ever recorded for organic, metal-free sensors, enabling the reliable and rapid detection of even the smallest amounts of oxygen.

This exceptional sensitivity opens a wide range of applications.

"We see particular potential in medicine and are keen to find partners who could help us assess the materials' biological compatibility and explore their use in cell or tissue research," says Guzauskas.

The compounds could be employed in biomedical sensors and bioimaging tools for monitoring cells, tissues, or metabolic processes in real time. They are also well-suited for environmental monitoring devices measuring oxygen levels in water or air, as well as for smart packaging in the food and pharmaceutical industries, where they could test a product's integrity.

In addition, the materials may be adapted for use in security inks, whose authenticity can only be verified under specific conditions, and in various optoelectronic devices.

According to the researcher, the synthesis of these compounds is relatively straightforward: It relies on well-established chemical reactions, meaning that once the conditions are optimized, production could be scaled up for wider application.

The research, carried out as part of the Technological and Physical Sciences Excellence Center (TiFEC) project, involved the work of Dr. Rasa Keruckiene and KTU Ph.D. student Lukas Dvilys. According to the researchers, it does not open an entirely new field, but it sets a new standard within the existing area. Guzauskas is convinced that the findings could lay the foundation for major scientific breakthroughs.

More information: Lukas Dvylys et al, Thianthrene-based heavy metal-free oxygen analytes exhibiting room temperature phosphorescence and high sensitivity for low oxygen concentration, Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2025.137380
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Egg clutch sampled for chronological studies. Credit Dr. Bi Zhao.

In the Cretaceous period, Earth was plagued by widespread volcanic activity, oceanic oxygen depletion events, and mass extinctions. Fossils from that era remain and continue to give scientists clues as to what the climate may have looked like in different regions.

Now, researchers in China have examined some of them: dinosaur eggs found at the Qinglongshan site in the Yunyang Basin in central China. This is the first time that dinosaur eggs have been dated using carbonate uranium-lead (U-Pb) dating. The team has published its results in Frontiers in Earth Science.

"We show that these dinosaur eggs were deposited roughly 85 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous period," said corresponding author Dr. Bi Zhao, a researcher at the Hubei Institute of Geosciences. "We provide the first robust chronological constraints for these fossils, resolving long-standing uncertainties about their age."

Dinosaur egg fossil sampled for geochronology. Credit Dr. Bi Zhao.

Dinosaur egg fossil sampled for geochronology. Credit Dr. Bi Zhao.

New dates

Qinglongshan is China's first national dinosaur egg fossil reserve. There, more than 3,000 fossilized eggs are spread across three sites. Most fossils are embedded in different stones, such as breccias, breccia and siltstone mixes, and fine sandstones. The eggs have mostly remained in their original location and show only minimal deformation.

The majority is thought to belong to a single species, Placoolithus tumiaolingensis, which belongs to the family Dendroolithidae, a group characterized by highly porous eggshells. The sampled calcite-filled dinosaur egg fossil came from a cluster of 28 eggs embedded within breccia-bearing siltstone.

Dinosaur egg fossil sampled for geochronology. Credit Dr. Bi Zhao.

To date the egg, the team used U-Pb dating.

"We fired a micro-laser at eggshell samples, vaporizing carbonate minerals into aerosol. This is analyzed by a mass spectrometer to count uranium and lead atoms. Since uranium decays into lead at a fixed rate, we were able to calculate the age by measuring accumulated leadit's like an atomic clock for fossils," Zhao explained.

The results showed that the eggs from this cluster were deposited around 85 million years ago, with the possibility of them having been deposited around 1.7 million years earlier or later. Their age means they were laid during the Late Cretaceous, an epoch lasting from approximately 100 to 66 million years ago. They are the first reliably dated fossils from the Qinglongshan site.

Traditionally, dating dinosaur eggs involves indirect methods, such as dating volcanic rock, ash layers, or minerals around eggs. These, however, may have formed before or after the laying of the eggs, or geological processes may have altered them. The method used here allows for precise dating of eggs without having to rely on anything but the eggs themselves.

"It revolutionizes our ability to establish global dinosaur egg chronologies," Zhao said.

Interior of Qinglongshan Dinosaur Egg Fossil Museum. Credit Dr. Bi Zhao.

Old climates

Global cooling had started several million years before the laying of the eggs, in the Turonian epoch (lasting from approximately 93.9 to 89.8 million years ago). By the time they were laid, temperatures had declined significantly. The transition from a warm to a cooler climate was likely a factor in dinosaurs' diminishing diversity and may have affected how many eggs were laid by how many species at Qinglongshan.

"Dendroolithids' specialized pore structures may represent evolutionary adaptations to this climatic shift, as novel egg types emerged worldwide during cooling," Zhao said.

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The pore structure of Dendroolithidae eggs, which are markedly different from many other dinosaur eggs, may be one such adaptation.

"P. tumiaolingensis may represent an evolutionary dead end where the egg-laying dinosaur population failed to adapt successfully to cooling climates," Zhao explained.

Aerial view of Qinglongshan Dinosaur Egg Fossil Site. Credit Dr. Bi Zhao.

Although few eggshell samples were examined in this study, all tests confirmed similar ages of egg fragments, which were also consistent with the age of the rocks surrounding the eggs. The team will be expanding sampling to include eggs found in different rock layers, which could help construct a regional timeline. They also said that Dendroolithid eggs in neighboring basins should be examined in the future to trace dinosaur migrations.

"Our achievement holds significant implications for research on dinosaur evolution and extinction, as well as environmental changes on Earth during the Late Cretaceous," Zhao said. "Such findings can transform fossils into compelling narratives about Earth's history."

More information: Geological Age of the Yunyang Dinosaur Eggs Revealed by in-situ Carbonate U-Pb Dating and Its Scientific Implications, Frontiers in Earth Science (2025). DOI: 10.3389/feart.2025.1638838 Journal information: Frontiers in Earth Science

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Trash traps, such as this one installed by the Haw River Assembly in Carrboro, N.C., help volunteers remove litter from rivers and could help scientists understand more about the factors behind river pollution. Credit: Madison Haley, Haw River Assembly

When plastic waste enters waterways, it can endanger aquatic animals, damage habitats, and splinter into tiny pieces that may affect ecosystems for centuries to come.

One tool used to collect and study the trash found in bodies of water is the trash trapan anchored floating device that funnels trash toward an enclosed collection area. Between 2021 and 2024, seven North Carolina Waterkeepers organizations installed 21 trash traps in streams around the state, periodically cleaning them out and collecting the contents.

Nancy Lauer and colleagues analyzed the products of these cleanouts. Their findings are published in the journal Community Science.

Staff and volunteers retrieved 150,750 pieces of litter from 368 cleanouts of the traps during the study period. They then organized the collected trash into different categories. Different organizations used different protocols, but the most common was developed by the Haw River Assembly (HRA) and the Duke University Environmental Law and Policy Clinic.

The Duke/HRA protocol divided trash into six major groups (plastic film, hard plastic, foamed plastic, metal, glass, and "other") and 33 subcategories, such as plastic bags, food wrappers, drink bottles, and polystyrene foam fragments (Styrofoam).

About 96% of trash categorized with the Duke/HRA protocol was plastic. Of this, 72.6%, or nearly 83,000 pieces, was Styrofoam fragments. This material was particularly tricky to catalog, the researchers noted, because it breaks down into tiny pieces that are difficult to retrieve.

More litter tended to accumulate in regions with higher populations and more development. Increased rainfall drove greater trash collection in about half the traps, because rain helps carry trash into rivers and streams. Similarly, traps located in areas with more impervious surfaces, such as streets and pavement, tended to accumulate more trash because these surfaces channel litter through storm drains and into nearby waterways.

The researchers note that trash traps do not collect all trash, and that cleanouts can be labor intensive, but they also highlight benefits of this type of data collection: It can help scientists understand local sources of litter, engage the public in community science, and provide a basis for targeted policies aimed at reducing plastic pollution.

More information: Nancy Lauer et al, Quantifying Riverine Plastic Pollution Using Participatory Science and Trash Traps, Community Science (2025). DOI: 10.1029/2024CSJ000122

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This story is republished courtesy of Eos, hosted by the American Geophysical Union. Read the original story here.
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Location of the wheat fields studied and pedoclimatic zones (defined according to climate and soil) in which they are found. Credit: Fernandez Calvino et al., 2025

Increased demand for food due to population growth, together with a reduction in suitable arable land, has made pesticides essential for ensuring food security. They play a key role in both increasing agricultural yields and improving food qualitythey are estimated to reduce crop losses caused by pests and diseases by around 30%.

As a result, their use has grown significantly in recent decades. Globally, agricultural pesticide consumption rose from 2.8 million tonnes in 2010 to 3.5 million tonnes in 2022an increase of 25% in just 12 years.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), pesticides are defined as "any substance or mixture of substances of chemical or biological ingredients intended for repelling, destroying or controlling any pest." They are generally classified according to the type of organism they control. The main groups are: insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, nematicides, acaricides, rodenticides and bactericides.

Agricultural pesticide consumption in the European Union (EU) accounts for approximately 13% of the global total. Although more moderate than the global trend, pesticide use in Europe is also on the rise. It went from 402,229 tonnes in 2010 to 449,038 tonnes in 2022, an increase of 12%.

This more modest increase is mainly due to stricter regulations in Europe. In 2023, 444 pesticides were authorized for use in the EU, while 954 were banned or not approved and 43 were under evaluation.

Environmental and health impacts

Although pesticides have made significant contributions to increasing agricultural production, their misuse and abuse also raise significant environmental and public health concerns.

It is estimated that less than 15% of the pesticides applied actually reach the pest they are targeting. The rest is dispersed into the environment, contaminating the soil, water and air. This poses significant risks to environmental health, including poisoning non-target organisms, loss of biodiversity and the development of resistance in pests.

Pesticide residues can also enter the food chain through the consumption of crops and water, increasing the risk of diseases in humans. These include neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, endocrine, respiratory, renal and reproductive disorders, as well as cancer.

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European wheat fields

Wheat is one of the world's most important grains, and is the main food source for almost half of the world's population. For this reason, the SoildiverAgro projectwhich brings together researchers from various European countries and is led by David Fernandez Calvino at the University of Vigohas analyzed the presence of 614 pesticides in 188 wheat fields.

Ninety-nine percent of conventionally farmed wheat fields had at least one pesticide. In total, 73 different compounds were detected. The most common were fenbutatin oxide (an insecticide) and AMPA (a glyphosate metabolite), which were both present in 44% of samples, followed by the herbicide glyphosate and the fungicide epoxiconazole, present in 39% of samples.

Other frequently detected pesticide residues were boscalid, tebuconazole, bixafen, diflufenican and DDT metabolites, which were detected in more than 20% of the samples.

The results showed notable differences depending on the region of Europe. The continental area (Germany) recorded the highest presence of pesticide residues, both in terms of quantity (average concentration of 0.46 mg/kg) and diversity (average of 13.5 different pesticides per plot). This was followed by the Atlantic area (Denmark and Belgium).

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Pannonian region (Hungary and Serbia) showed the lowest levels (average of 0.02 mg/kg per field).

Longlasting chemicals

One particularly worrying finding was that pesticide residues were also detected in organic fields. Specifically, 35 different pesticides were found, of which only one (Spinosad) is authorized in organic farming. This indicates that these pesticides persist for years after an agricultural system changed from conventional to organic, as well as the transfer of pesticide residues between different agricultural fields.

Furthermore, 31 of the compounds detected were banned at the time of the study. This confirms the high persistence of certain pesticidesthey were still detectable over 40 years after being banned.

We also assessed the ecological threat posed by the different pesticides detected. Those of greatest concern were the fungicides epoxiconazole, boscalid and difenoconazole, and the insecticides imidacloprid and clothianidin. In contrast, herbicides such as glyphosate and its metabolite AMPA were, although ubiquitous, a relatively low ecological risk.

A threat to humans and ecosystems

Our findings show that pesticide residues are widespread in agricultural fields across Europe and around the world. To improve this situation, it is essential to move towards a more sustainable use of these chemicals.

In this regard, replacing highly persistent and toxic compounds with less harmful alternativessuch as bioinsecticides, plant-derived products or beneficial microorganismscan significantly reduce soil and water contamination, as well as the impact on biodiversity.

Another complementary approach is the promotion of agricultural practices that improve soil health and the natural resistance of crops, such as crop rotation, reduced tillage, the use of cover crops and certified organic farming. These measures not only help reduce the need for pesticides, but also facilitate the breakdown and elimination of existing residues in the soil, limiting their transfer to other ecosystems and the food chain.

The combination of strict regulation and the adoption of good agricultural practices therefore offers a promising way to minimize the risks of pesticides, without sacrificing agricultural productivity.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Tree trenches constructed according to the Stockholm system relieve pressure on the sewer system and combat the heat island effect. Credit: Stadt Graz/Fischer

Heavy soil sealing combined with insufficient retention and infiltration (seepage) potentially increases the risk of pollution and flooding in cities during heavy rainfall. Sustainable, decentralized urban drainage systems can reduce this risk to a certain extent, according to calculations made by researchers using the city of Graz as an example.

The team was led by Dirk Muschalla and Albert Konig from the Institute of Urban Water Management and Landscape Water Engineering at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz). The bundle of feasible measures they investigated would provide a distributed retention and infiltration potential of around 500,000 cubic meters of water with simultaneous greening of the city.

Measures on public land alone already offer lots of potential

"We are aware that we cannot rebuild the entire city. That is why we have only taken into account feasible measures on public land and the effects of the current Graz building regulations on rainwater retention on private land," explains Muschalla. "However, the measures taken on public land in Graz alone already offer the potential for a retention volume of around 190,000 cubic meters of water."

The new building regulations for private new-build projects in Graz require proof that the water from a rainfall event occurring once every 30 yearsi.e., precipitation of a magnitude that statistically only occurs once every 30 yearsmust be able to be retained on the property in question.

Based on the calculations of the research team in Graz, this measure alone could result in a decentralized water retention volume of around 296,000 cubic meters of water. As the building regulations only affect future developments, their full impact through private land will materialize over a longer time horizon of 30 to 50 years.

Detailed analysis of suitable areas

The researchers investigated several measures for public spaces: the unsealing of car parks to create parking spaces that allow water to seep away, the installation of tree pits, and the expansion of roadside greenery to create seepage and retention basins so that water is not held back at the curb but can be treated and infiltrated in the existing green strip.

The researchers took a particularly close look at tree pits, as they are quite complex and pose special opportunities in terms of rainwater management. The tree pit infiltration systems, built according to the Stockholm system, are located under footpaths and car parks and consist of a framework of coarse gravel with stones up to 15 centimeters in diameter. There is substrate for the tree between the stones. This provides the tree with root space, air and water while the surface remains usable.

Tree pits are particularly advantageous because they both relieve the burden on the sewage system and contribute to the mitigation of the urban heat island effect. A comprehensive spatial analysis of suitable areas in Graz showed a potential storage volume of 65,000 cubic meters of water just for this measure alone.

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Sewer system not negatively affected

"Of course, the implementation of such measures cannot happen overnight, but the potential to better protect a city like Graz against heavy rainfall events with Blue-Green infrastructure is very high," says Albert Konig. "High flow rates will become less frequent and flush sediments less regularly. We also investigated this effect to make sure that it won't negatively impact the sewer network. Our investigations have shown that there are no significant disadvantages to be expected."

The deputy mayor of Graz, Judith Schwentner, explains, "The findings of this research project emphasize that we need green spaces, and trees in particular, not only for the design of our living space in the city. They also make a significant contribution to urban drainage and local flood protection. This encourages us to consistently continue on the path we have already taken to develop Graz into a 'sponge city' and to further expand our pioneering role in Europe in this area."
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Distribution of bars and restaurants in Manchester. Credit: Applied Geography (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.apgeog.2025.103666

A new study by experts from The University of Manchester has revealed a major shift in Britain's social life, as the number of bars and pubs has dropped sharply in recent years while restaurants have expanded.

The research, published in Applied Geography, examined more than 1,100 neighborhoods across Greater Manchester and Nottingham between 2002 and 2019. The team found that bar numbers fell by around 35%, while restaurant numbers grew by a similar percentage over the same period

This trend is part of a nationwide pattern. Across the U.K., thousands of pubs have closed their doors in the past two decades, with closures accelerating in recent years as rising costs, changing habits and the COVID-19 pandemic hit the industry hard.

The researchers say the shift is driven by younger generations who are drinking less alcohol and increasingly socializing around food rather than drink. "Our findings show a clear generational move away from alcohol-centered venues," said lead author Jonathan Wood. "Bars are disappearing from many neighborhoods, while restaurants are spreading into new areas."

While bars and pubs once dominated high streets and local centers, the study found that many have vanished altogether from large parts of both Manchester and Nottingham. In 2002, around 43% of Manchester neighborhoods and 47% of Nottingham neighborhoods had no bars at all. By 2019, the number of "bar deserts" had increased nearly twenty-fold.

In contrast, restaurantsonce concentrated almost entirely in city centershave grown and spread into suburbs and residential areas. The study shows the likelihood of a neighborhood having no restaurants fell by at least five-fold during the period.

The research also reveals how geography plays a role. Venues are increasingly clustering in central, well-connected areas, often close to retail hubs and good public transport. Manchester's nightlife, for example, has become more centralized, with popular spots like the Northern Quarter and Deansgate thriving while local bars in outlying neighborhoods struggle to survive.

By contrast, restaurants have been able to expand further afield, offering more choice in suburban areas. The team suggests this reflects the way people now prefer to spend their leisure time, with eating out seen as a more inclusive and family-friendly activity than drinking.

The decline of pubs and bars has long worried campaigners who see them as vital community spaces. The new research underlines how closures are reshaping neighborhoodsespecially in deprived areas, where pubs once offered affordable social outlets. At the same time, the growth of restaurants may bring new opportunities for local economies, but it also highlights the need for planners and policymakers to adapt to changing consumer habits.

More information: Jonathan Wood et al, Deserts and hotspots: the evolution of centrality, accessibility, and socio-economic impacts in bar and restaurant location patterns, Applied Geography (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.apgeog.2025.103666
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Rivers in Alaska are changing rapidly. Credit: Peyton Thomas/CU Boulder

For millennia, Indigenous people living in Alaska and Canada's Yukon territory have relied on Chinook salmon. The large, fatty fish provide essential nutrients for Arctic living and have influenced traditions and languages across generations.

But over the past three decades, many communities have been unable to fish Chinook amid a sharp salmon population decline.

The situation could worsen as climate change warms rivers in the Arctic, stunting salmon growth, according to a study published in Scientific Reports led by the University of Colorado Boulder.

"The fish are really important for maintaining the culture and language of Indigenous communities," said Peyton Thomas, a research associate at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research.

In collaboration with locals on the ground, the team is now working to help communities prepare for the changes ahead.

Over the past two summers, Thomas and her team visited many Alaskan tribes to understand changes to the lands and communities.

"People pointed to not being able to teach their children the names of the fish or the practices of how to process them," Thomas said.

The silver lining: Some rivers in the area could remain suitable for young salmon, and a less popular fish species, Dolly Varden, might benefit from warming waters.

Melting North Pole

Over the past 50 years, the Arctic has warmed nearly four times faster than the global average. Climate change has melted sea ice, thawed frozen ground and eroded coastlines, reshaping the Arctic landscapes Indigenous peoples have called home for generations.

In Alaska, Indigenous community members told Thomas that these changes have disrupted many aspects of their life: In winter, they haven't been able to access neighboring villages, because the river connecting them didn't freeze. Thinning and fragmented sea ice has made travel and hunting harder and riskier, cutting off sources of food and income. The area has seen more frequent and intense extreme weather events like typhoons, further damaging already limited infrastructure.

Prior research has suggested that increased river temperatures can affect fish species adapted to cooler environments. Chinook salmon in the Arctic are a prime example. These fish spend their first one to two years in cold river water bulking up, before embarking on a journey of hundreds of thousands of miles to the ocean. There, they spend the next six years growing, to up to 100 pounds, before returning to the rivers to spawn.

In recent decades, river communities in Alaska have seen a major decline in the number of young and adult salmon in the water. One study estimated that Chinook salmon populations in the Yukon River, Alaska's largest, plummeted by more than 57% between 2003 and 2010.

When Thomas and team visited Indigenous tribes near the Alaska-Yukon border along the Yukon River, community members told them that they hadn't been able to fish Chinook in 30 years.

"The loss of fish, as well as the loss of access to fishing and foraging grounds, means people are relying more on buying food from the store, which is really expensive and doesn't meet their nutritional needs," Thomas said.

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Two fishes, two tales

Working closely with Indigenous communities in Alaska, Thomas and her team set out to better predict how climate change would affect fish populations in the seven river basins spanning watersheds in Alaska and Yukon.

After talking to tribal members, the team focused on two species important for subsistence, Chinook salmon and Dolly Varden, a type of trout.

Using computer models, the team simulated how the region's climate and rivers might change by mid-century. They found that summer river temperatures could rise by 1.26 C (2.27 F) by mid-century compared to the average between 1990 and 2021.

When they combined these data with a fish growth model, they found that in the warmest future years, four out of seven river basins would experience water temperatures surging above what juvenile Chinook salmon can tolerate.

On the other hand, Dolly Varden thrive in slightly warmer water than Chinook salmon. The simulations suggested that these fish might nearly double their growth in many rivers.

"It is good news that not all species are going to decline under warming," Thomas said. "But communities have different preferences about fishing Dolly Varden. We're trying to show that maybe, in warm years, Dolly Varden could be an alternative."

The team also identified some rivers that may serve as refuges for Chinook. For example, the Aniak and Andreafsky rivers, both tributaries of the Yukon River in Alaska, are likely to remain suitable habitats. Protecting and restoring juvenile salmon in these rivers could bring the greatest benefit, Thomas said.

"We are hoping to provide communities with some applicable information, like when and where the water would be too warm for salmon, which could help them decide whether to reduce fishing," she said.

Uncertain future

This study comes just a year after Alaska and Canadian authorities agreed to pause Chinook salmon fishing, both commercial and subsistence, for seven years in a bid to allow their populations to recover.

The fishing ban only applies to Canadian-origin Chinook. Commercial fishing continues for the Alaska stock.

"Everything has an impact on fish populations. We need more studies to look into not just the environmental factors, but also how fishing activities play a role," Thomas said.

Wild Fish Conservancy, a nonprofit conservation group, has filed a petition with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to have Alaska Chinook salmon receive federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, which would ban commercial fishing of this species. The decision is still pending.

Meanwhile, Thomas plans to return to Alaska next year.

"The coolest part of this work is just being able to see how we're all trying to connect with each other," Thomas said. "We learned so much from history and people's daily lived experiences in these places. Everyone should be a part of all of this work, because we can't do it just by modeling."

More information: Peyton A. Thomas et al, Warming Alaskan rivers affect first-year growth in critical northern food fishes, Scientific Reports (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-14711-8 Journal information: Scientific Reports
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Students inspect a skunk from the the Collection of Mammals in the Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections facility. The Collection of Mammals includes around 69,000 specimens representing almost 1,000 species from the southwestern U.S., Mexico and Central America. Credit: Michael Miller/Texas A&M AgriLife

The Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology within the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is helping lead a national effort to transform how scientists access and use biodiversity data by digitizing tens of thousands of mammal specimens from its Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections.

The work is part of the Ranges Digitization Network, a consortium of 23 natural history collections across the U.S. dedicated to digitizing, standardizing and sharing trait data for terrestrial mammals.

The consortium members house millions of specimens that represent the diversity of animal life across time and space. The four-year project is in its second year, and its progress and findings were recently published in the Journal of Mammalogy.

Over the past three decades, digitization has revolutionized access to natural history collections, allowing researchers to connect data globally and gain new insights into ecology, evolution and conservation. However, critical detailssuch as morphological, reproductive and life history traitsare often absent from digital records.

"Natural history collections are the foundation of biodiversity science, and unlocking this missing data is the next frontier," said Jessica Light, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, curator of mammals at the Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections, and a co-investigator on the project.

"By adding trait data to digital specimen records, we can build richer baselines for mammals in North America, contextualize biodiversity change and strengthen the scientific foundation for conservation decisions."

Digitization broadens scientific impact

The Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections serves as one of the nation's most significant repositories of mammal, bird, fish, marine invertebrates, and amphibian and reptile specimens. These collections anchor several decades of research and student training in biodiversity science on the Texas A&M University campus with global research communities, all working together to further biodiversity science.

Light and her team are digitizing trait data for approximately 50,000 specimens in the Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections, representing species from the western parts of the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Many of these records include handwritten notessome dating back more than a centurydocumenting physical characteristics, reproductive traits and life history details.

"These details add incredible scientific value," she said. "By digitizing them, we're making information that once was only accessible in-person available to researchers and educators worldwide."

Texas A&M's contributions will help the Ranges consortium create trait standards and workflows that can eventually be expanded to other collections worldwide. Light also brings strong biodiversity informatics, mammal systematics and student training components to the project, ensuring the data is accurate, accessible and impactful.

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Biodiversity collections shape science

The Ranges consortium represents a critical infrastructure investment for biological and ecological sciences and policy, especially as climate variability and land-use changes impact habitats and species distributions.

More complete datasets will help scientists better track population shifts, reproductive timing and morphological responses to changes, while providing essential data and evidence to inform management strategies and conservation initiatives globally.

"Texas A&M has a long tradition of excellence in mammalogy," Light said. "Our participation in Ranges ensures that we are part of shaping the future of collections-based research, while also training the next generation of scientists who will rely on these data."

More information: Bryan S McLean et al, Extending mammal specimens with their essential phenotypic traits, Journal of Mammalogy (2025). DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyaf062 Journal information: Journal of Mammalogy
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Inside the sediment core laboratory of the research vessel JOIDES Resolution, which in 2019 recovered the core in the Southeast Pacific that was analysed in the current studypictured here with IOW marine geologist and expedition member Helge Arz. Credit: Tim Fulton, IODP JRSO

Under the lead of the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemunde (IOW), a sediment core from the Southeast Pacific was examined that reflects the last 8 million years of Earth's history.

The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, shows that the intensity of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which connects the world's three major oceans, is particularly sensitive to temperature changes, which in turn significantly influences the exchange of CO 2 between the ocean and the atmosphere.

During an expedition with a U.S. research vessel in the central and eastern South Pacific in 2019, researchers from the IOW, the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research (AWI, Bremerhaven), the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO, U.S.), and MARUMCenter for Marine Environmental Sciences (Bremen) collected several sediment cores. IOW scientist Antje Wegwerth examined one of these cores to draw conclusions about climate development over the last 8 million years.

The core was taken at a water depth of 3,800 m near the Drake Passage. This passage runs between the southern tip of South America and the north of the Antarctic Peninsula and is the narrowest point of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). The ACC is the world's strongest ocean current and connects the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.

For millions of years, the ACC has been circulating not only heat, salt, and nutrients, but also dissolved carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) around Antarctica. The results of this study will be used for the further development of current climate models and will help to better assess the future climate in the context of advancing global warming.

Algae reveal past sea temperatures

The research team examined a total of 300 sediment samples from the 380 m long core using a technique known as alkenone paleothermometry. This kind of sampling achieved a temporal resolution of approximately 25,000 years over the 8 million years that the core covers. The aim of the alkenone method is to be able to infer past surface water temperatures.

Alkenones are chemical compounds that remain when single-celled calcareous algae die. Calcareous algae secrete calcium carbonate and are found in oceans worldwide. Alkenones differ depending on the prevailing temperatures, and their analysis therefore offers a unique opportunity to draw conclusions about past sea surface temperatures.

Map with mean annual sea surface temperatures (SST) showing the location of IODP Expedition 383 sites U1543 in the Eastern South Pacific Ocean, U1541 in the Central South Pacific Ocean and other sites discussed in the text. Credit: Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62037-w

The circumpolar current became stronger during cold periods

The researchers found that between 2.2 and 5.3 million years ago, the intensity of the ACC increased during long cold periods lasting about 400,000 years. The increased intensity of the ACC probably led to greater mixing of deep seawater, releasing CO 2 from the ocean into the surrounding air and ultimately into the atmosphere.

According to the study's lead author, IOW scientist Antje Wegwerth, the increased intensity of the ACC during such long (400,000-year) cold periods was surprising. "Previous studies of the last 1 million years have shown increased ACC intensity during comparatively short (10,000 years) warm periods rather than during cold periods, suggesting that the interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere differ depending on the time scales studied and therefore need to be investigated in more detail and at different temporal resolutions."

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Results contradict previously assumed global cooling

In addition, it was previously assumed that approximately 2.7 million years ago, during the onset of the great glaciation in the northern hemisphere, there was a global cooling. However, the IOW study showed a relatively strong warming of approximately 5C in the Southern Ocean and especially in the Southeast Pacific at that time. This warming lasted 700,000 years.

The research team concludes that the warming, together with a weakened ACC, led to the accumulation of the greenhouse gas CO 2 in the subpolar deep ocean waters. This was followed by a steady removal of CO 2 from the atmosphere and ultimately a cooling of the global climate.

The warming may also have influenced the partial melting of the Antarctic ice sheet, which ultimately led to a weakening of the formation of the North Atlantic Deep Water and the Atlantic Overturning Circulation, thereby promoting the glaciation of the Northern Hemisphere.

Current climate models can be improved based on the results

In a follow-up project, the climate and environmental conditions and interactions with neighboring Patagonia over the last 8 million years will be investigated in a higher temporal resolution than before. This will contribute to a better understanding of the climate and help improve current climate models.

The aim is to be able to better assess future climate developments. Particularly from the Southern Ocean, only limited past climate data are available, which is why this study provides an important treasure trove of data for global climate development in the context of advancing global warming.

More information: Antje Wegwerth et al, South Pacific sea surface temperature and global ocean circulation changes since the late Miocene, Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62037-w Journal information: Nature Communications
Auckland, NZ [11 Sep 2025]  Scott Technology (NZX: SCT ) will unveil its five-year strategy, Destination 2030, at its inaugural Investor Day, Scott ID25, hosted in Auckland CBD later this morning. The strategy sets out the companys plan for sustainable profitable growth, targeting $530 million in revenue by 2030 (up from $276 million reported in FY24).

Destination 2030 represents more than a strategic plan, its a shift in how Scott is going to present itself to the world, said Mike Christman, CEO of Scott Technology. Were evolving from an engineering company mindset to a customer-first mindset. A globally aligned business that grows through deep customer partnerships, focused innovation, and operational discipline. With a sharpened structure and a clear direction, were building a Scott that will be an industry leader for decades to come.

Scott has come a long way from its origins in Dunedin over 110 years ago, said Stuart McLauchlan, Chairman of Scott Technology. With a growing global footprint and an expanding investor base, today marks a new chapter, one of deeper, more direct engagement with capital markets and a sharper strategic focus. The Board is fully aligned and confident in the direction were taking.

Trading Update

Scott Technology expects to report record EBITDA for FY25 within the range of $30.5m to $31.5m, with both operating and reported EBITDA forecast to be up on the prior year (FY24 operating EBITDA was $30.2m and reported EBITDA was $26.4m). The result reflects a strong second-half performance across the business and a strategic focus on higher margin contracts. FY25 revenue is anticipated to be in the range of $270m to $275m, compared to $276 million in FY24. With revenue down 14% at the half-year, this near-full recovery highlights the momentum built in H2.

Recent contract wins across the Scott Domains include:

 Materials Handling & Logistics: Multiple palletising projects with Agristo and Lutosa totaling +NZ$19m

 Protein: Contract win to install an existing LEAP Primal for Dawn Meats in UK  Protein Domains first UK install

ENDS

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Manila Bay is swallowing the Philippines' Pugad Island, where land subsidence is being exacerbated by rising sea levels.

On the Philippine island of Pugad, street food vendor Maria Tamayo wakes before her grandchildren to begin the backbreaking work of removing seawater from her home scoop by scoop with a plastic dustpan.

The routine has been the same ever since the rising tides of Manila Bay began swallowing the islanda seven-hectare speck of land in danger of sinking completely underwater.

"Scooping water takes a long time. That's why my feet have started aching," the 65-year-old said, adding that she can spend up to three hours a day at the task.

"I have to scoop out the water before my grandchildren wake up, or else they'll slip on the floor. But it's no use  there's still water."

Tamayo is one of 2,500 people living in Pugad's only village.

The island is not the only one at risk in coastal Bulacan. Parts of the province are sinking at a rate of almost 11 centimeters (4.3 inches) a year, the fastest in the Philippines, according to a study led by geologist Mahar Lagmay.

The gradual sinking, known as land subsidence, is an "alarming" phenomenon caused by the overextraction of groundwater, and exacerbated by rising sea levels due to global warming, Lagmay said.

"The rates of subsidence (on Pugad Island) are quite high," he said, adding that while studies specific to the tiny island were lacking, existing data on surrounding areas told the story clearly.

With high tides flooding the streets at least three times a week, the sea already dictates the rhythm of daily life on Pugad.

With high tides flooding the streets at least three times a week, the sea already dictates the rhythm of daily life on Pugad.

Class schedules are adjusted daily based on tide charts to prevent children from contracting flood-borne diseases.

Homes have been raised on stilts to keep floors dry, while small business owners use high tables to keep their wares above murky water that can rise to 1.5 meters (five feet) on heavy flooding days.

'Back to normal' impossible

Sea levels across the Philippines are already rising three times faster than the global average of 3.6 millimeters per year, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has said this could accelerate to 13 millimeters annually.

"Sea level rise is being experienced in many parts of the country," DENR geosciences chief Karlo Queano told AFP, warning coastal areas could disappear without large-scale intervention.

Maria Tamayo spends every morning scooping water from her flooded house on Isla Pugad north of Manila.

While piecemeal efforts are in place in some areasgroundwater extraction has been banned in parts of Bulacan since 2004a broad national strategy has yet to take shape.

A government study on the path forward was not expected until 2028, Queano said.

"I think it's already impossible for our lives in the village to go back to normal because of climate change," said Pugad village captain Jaime Gregorio.

Gregorio said roads were being raised every three years to keep the community viable, but leadership changes meant the implementation of long-term flood mitigation projects was rarely consistent.

For Tamayo, who has lived on the island her whole life, the constant adjustment to the tide has drained what little money her family has scraped together.

Since 2022, they have been elevating their house each year, adding more gravel and concrete to stay above water, so far spending 200,000 pesos ($3,500).

While piecemeal efforts have tried to address the rising water on Pugad, a long-term mitigation strategy is still missing.

"I love this island so much, this was where my mom and dad raised me... but sometimes, I think about leaving because of the high tide," Tamayo told AFP.

Her boatman husband, Rodolfo Tamayo, insists their livelihood depends on staying.

"We can't go to [other places], we won't have jobs there. We will go hungry."

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Lagmay, the geologist, said land subsidence could be reversible with effective government policies governing the over-digging of wells.

But addressing the rise of sea levels was impossible without a concerted effort by the world's highly industrialized countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, he said.

A UN climate fund established in 2023 to help countries like the Philippines address damage caused by climate change, meanwhile, remains unimplemented.

"We are talking of climate justice here. We have very little contribution to climate change, but we are very affected by its adverse effects," said Elenida Basug, the DENR's climate change service director.

Infographic map showing projected sea level rise in Manila Bay, the Philippines.

Sea levels across the Philippines are rising three times faster than the global average.

Crouching in the doorway of her flooded home, Tamayo urged the world's polluters to take responsibility for what she and her neighbors were experiencing.

"We are the ones who are suffering... They are rich, so we cannot do anything. Even if we speak against them, who would listen?" Tamayo said.

 2025 AFP
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

A circulating fluxonantifluxon pair in coupled annular Josephson junctions behaves as a detector. The pair decays due to Unruh-induced fluctuations, and the resulting event is observed as a voltage jump. By measuring the distribution of the corresponding switching currents, the Unruh effect can be detected. Credit: Haruna Katayama and Noriyuki Hatakenaka, Hiroshima University

Researchers at Hiroshima University have developed a realistic, highly sensitive method to detect the Unruh effecta long-predicted phenomenon at the crossroads of relativity and quantum theory. Their novel approach opens new possibilities for exploring fundamental physics and for developing advanced technologies.

The work is published in Physical Review Letters on July 23, 2025.

The Fulling-Davies-Unruh effect, or simply the Unruh effect, is a striking theoretical prediction at the profound intersection of Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity and Quantum Theory.

"In quantum theory, even the vacuum seethes with tiny energy fluctuations, where particles and antiparticles briefly appear and vanish. Remarkably, the Unruh effect shows how these 'vacuum ripples' are perceived depends on the observer's motion. A stationary observer sees nothing, but an observer undergoing acceleration perceives them as real particles with a thermal energy distributiona 'quantum warmth,'" said Noriyuki Hatakenaka, professor emeritus at Hiroshima University.

The counterintuitive result emphasizes the important connection between these two pillars of modern physics. If scientists could experimentally verify the Unruh effect, it would not only bridge the gap between general relativity and quantum mechanics but also provide profound insights into the nature of spacetime itself. Yet the experimental verification of the Unruh effect has been a long-standing and significant challenge in fundamental physics.

"The core problem has been the extraordinarily large accelerationson the order of 1020 m/s2required to make this effect detectable, rendering its observation practically impossible with current technology at least in linear acceleration systems," said Haruna Katayama, assistant professor at Hiroshima University.

The researchers at Hiroshima University have proposed a promising approach to observe the Unruh effect. "Our work aims to overcome this fundamental hurdle by proposing a novel and feasible experimental method. We utilize the circular motion of metastable fluxon-antifluxon pairs within coupled annular Josephson junctions," said Hatakenaka.

Advances in superconducting microfabrication allow the creation of circuits with extremely small radii, enabling immensely high effective accelerations and producing an Unruh temperature of a few kelvinhigh enough to be experimentally detectable with current technology.

"We have proposed a realistic, highly sensitive, and unambiguous method to detect the elusive Unruh effect. Our proposed system offers a clear pathway to experimentally observe this 'phantom heat' of acceleration for the first time," said Katayama. In their innovative setup, the "quantum warmth" induced by the circular acceleration causes fluctuations that trigger the splitting of the metastable fluxon-antifluxon pairs.

Crucially, this splitting event manifests as a clear, macroscopic voltage jump across the superconducting circuit. This voltage jump serves as an undeniable and easily measurable signal, providing a direct and robust signature of the Unruh effect's presence. By statistically analyzing the distribution of these voltage jumps, the researchers can precisely measure the Unruh temperature with high accuracy.

"One of the most surprising aspects is that microscopic quantum fluctuations can induce sudden, macroscopic voltage jumps, making the elusive Unruh effect directly observable. Even more striking, the switching distribution shifts solely with acceleration while all other parameters remain fixeda clear statistical fingerprint of the Unruh effect itself," said Hatakenaka.

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Looking ahead, Katayama said, "Our immediate next step is to conduct a detailed analysis of the decay processes of the fluxon-antifluxon pairs. This includes thoroughly investigating the role of macroscopic quantum tunneling, a quantum-mechanical phenomenon where particles can pass through potential barriers, which was not extensively explored in this initial work. Understanding these intricate decay mechanisms will be crucial for refining the experimental detection of the Unruh effect."

Their ultimate goal in this research is multifaceted. Beyond the immediate detection, they aim to investigate potential connections between this phenomenon and other quantum fields coupled to their detector. "By deepening our understanding of these novel quantum phenomena, we hope to contribute significantly to the search for a unified theory of all physical laws," said Hatakenaka.

The researchers note that the highly sensitive and broad-range detection capabilities developed in this research hold immense promise for paving the way for future applications, particularly in the field of advanced quantum sensing technologies.

"We aspire for this work to open new avenues in fundamental physics and to inspire further exploration into the true nature of spacetime and quantum reality," said Katayama.

More information: Haruna Katayama et al, Circular-Motion Fulling-Davies-Unruh Effect in Coupled Annular Josephson Junctions, Physical Review Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1103/mn34-7bj5 Journal information: Physical Review Letters
Sound China-Pacific Island cooperation wont be undermined by external noises

Global Times) 10:35, September 11, 2025

Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

As the 54th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting opened this week in Honiara, capital of the Solomon Islands, the Pacific Island countries (PICs) have once again become the focus of many Western media outlets. In their reports, the word "China" was frequently mentioned, but often accompanied by terms such as "shadow," "race" and "tension," all of which are colored with the intention of creating an atmosphere of unease. The geopolitical anxiety of relevant Western countries reflected here is self-evident.

At this year's PIF summit, climate change, security, sustainable development and economic resilience are some of the core issues of concern for Pacific Island leaders. In these areas, China's significance is particularly palpable because of its long-term investment, infrastructure construction and cooperation projects in the region. Some Western media reports have repeatedly and deliberately used the word "influence," in an attempt to portray the close cooperative relationship between China and PICs in a negative lens. This lays bare certain countries' anxiety over growing ties between China and PICs. However, facts have shown that such anxieties run counter to the core issues and corresponding policy choices of the PICs.

PICs are situated in a complex geopolitical and economic environment. They have endured a long history of colonialization, but also recognize their own considerable potential. Their foremost concerns are development and the ability to respond to climate. At the same time, due to their current small economic scale and limited resources, they also need to rely on external development partners for assistance. Understandably, PICs also seek greater diplomatic autonomy, and their fundamental demands are the right to development and the right to autonomy, which are also manifestations of sovereignty. In the current context of major-power competition keenly promoted by some in the West, they need to balance their relations with various major powers in order to secure development opportunities through cooperation.

Against this backdrop, China's investment in energy, infrastructure and climate adaptation projects, among others, has long provided tangible assistance to PICs, helping them enhance their capacity to address climate challenge and improve livelihoods. As early as the end of 2022, China implemented nearly 500 complete plant projects, technical assistance, in-kind assistance and concessional loan projects in PICs, helping them build many important infrastructures. In addition, China's exchanges and cooperation with the countries have continued to expand, covering more than 20 areas.

Wang Zhenyu, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies of China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times that the essence of China-PICs cooperation lies in mutual benefit and equal partnership. In developing partnerships that feature mutual respect and common development, China is willing to share its development experience, achievements, and opportunities, delivering a series of assistance programs on the basis of consultation and cooperation. Such aid comes with no political strings attached and is tailored for actual development needs of the countries.

Yet, some noises, particularly from some Western countries, have stigmatized China's assistance, labeling it as "economic coercion" or a "debt trap," which have become their go-to terms to discredit China's cooperation with other countries and regions, including the PICs. Needless to say, these accusations are groundless and their ill-advised attempt is futile. Wang pointed out that China's assistance is welcomed by the PICs, forming a sharp contrast with boomerang aid with strings attached from certain Western countries.

Today, PICs are both more capable and more resolved to take charge of their own development path. It is expected that Pacific Island leaders will propose building an "ocean of peace" that emphasizes regional sovereignty at this year's PIF summit, according to some media reports. This highly aligns with China's consistent cooperation philosophy of treating each other as equals, pursuing mutual benefit and win-win outcomes and respecting sovereignty.

External noises cannot change the PICs' independent judgment of who their genuine development partners are, nor can they erase the sound model of cooperation between China and those countries. Ultimately, it is the win-win outcomes of cooperation that speak the most convincing language.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
OpenAI announced new parental controls that will be implemented within the month, following a lawsuit over a California teenager who committed suicide after having conversations with ChatGPT.

The development comes as AI researchers warn that the safeguards may not be enough, noting that the company's chatbot's safety protections are vulnerable to degradation during long conversations and emotional connections with users.

OpenAI's Planned Parental Controls

The news comes weeks after OpenAI was sued by a Rancho Santa Margarita family for ChatGPT's role in their teenager's death. After the parental controls are implemented, parents can link their teens' accounts to their own, disable various features, and receive notifications if the chatbot detects "a moment of acute distress."

The teenager who committed suicide and prompted the changes was 16-year-old Adam Raine, who died in April after taking his own life. After the teen's death, his parents found out that he had been talking with ChatGPT for months, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The family said that the dialogues started with simple homework questions and later turned into deeply intimate conversations where Adam talked about his mental health struggles and plans to commit suicide.

Some AI researchers and suicide prevention experts commended OpenAI's latest efforts to address the issue and its willingness to make changes to its model. However, they also argued that it is impossible to know if there is any kind of change that will be enough to completely fix the issue.

On top of the planned parental controls, OpenAI is also expanding its Global Physician Network and real-time router. This is a feature that can instantly switch a user interaction to a new chat or reasoning model depending on the conversational context that is detected, Mashable reported.

Dangers of Sensitive Conversations

The company explained that "sensitive conversations" will now be transferred over to one of its reasoning models, such as GPT-5-thinking. This is so that it can provide more "helpful and beneficial responses, regardless of which model a person first selected."

AI companies have, over the last year, faced heightened scrutiny for failing to address various safety concerns with their chatbots. These bots have become increasingly more used as emotional companions by younger users.

In its blog, OpenAI said it felt a deep responsibility to help those who need it most as the world continues to adapt to new technology. It added that it had been improving how its models respond in sensitive interactions with its users, as per AI Business.

Originally published on parentherald.com
Anbarasan Ethirajan

Nepal has become the third country in India's immediate neighbourhood to see a violent uprising topple its government in recent years.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned after more than 20 people died in clashes with police during anti-government demonstrations triggered by a social media ban.

A nationwide curfew is in place and the army is attempting to bring the situation under control after protesters stormed parliament and set fire to the homes of several politicians.

For many, the scenes in Kathmandu were reminiscent of the turmoil that gripped Bangladesh last year, and Sri Lanka in 2022.

Though Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are also India's close neighbours in South Asia, Delhi's relationship with Kathmandu is special because of historic people-to-people, economic and strategic ties.

Nepal shares a largely open border of more than 1,750km (466 miles) with five Indian states; Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, Bihar and West Bengal.

Delhi is keenly watching developments across the border, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi swiftly reacting to the unfolding events.

"The violence in Nepal is heart-rending. I am anguished that many young people have lost their lives," Modi wrote in a post on X on Tuesday.

Stressing that "stability, peace and prosperity of Nepal are of utmost importance", he appealed to "all my brothers and sisters in Nepal to support peace".

Modi also chaired an emergency security meeting with his cabinet colleagues on Tuesday to discuss the situation.

Much like it was caught off-guard by the uprising in Sri Lanka in 2022 that forced the then president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country, analysts say India was taken by surprise by the developments in Nepal, with Oli resigning just a week ahead of a planned visit to Delhi.

Any instability in the country is a cause of concern for India because of Nepal's strategic location.

"The Western Theatre Command of China sits right across Nepal. The route to the Indo-Gangetic plains comes straight through Nepal," Maj Gen (Retd) Ashok Mehta, an expert on Nepal, told the BBC.

The unrest also has implications for the large Nepalese diaspora in India. An estimated 3.5 million Nepalis work or live in India, but experts say the actual number could be much higher.

Nepal is predominantly a Hindu-majority country and communities across the border have close family ties.

People travel between the two countries without a visa or passport. Nepalis can also work in India without restriction under a 1950 treaty - the only country along with Bhutan in the region to have this arrangement.

In addition to this, 32,000 famed Gurkha soldiers of Nepal serve in the Indian army under a decades-old special agreement.

"Since the border is open, the communities enjoy a lived experience. Families on both sides interact with each other on a daily basis," says Professor Sangeeta Thapliyal of Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

Nepal is also home to several important Hindu holy sites, including the Muktinath temple in the trans-Himalayan mountains. Thousands of Hindu pilgrims from India visit the temple every year.

Meanwhile, Kathmandu depends heavily on Indian exports, especially oil and food, with India-Nepal annual bilateral trade estimated at $8.5bn (6.28bn).

While a fragile sense of calm returned to Kathmandu on Wednesday, experts say India will have to walk a diplomatic tightrope, as there's widespread anger among Nepalese protesters at all three major political parties that have ruled the country.

And India has maintained close contacts with all of them - the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN  UML) headed by Oli, the Nepali Congress of Sher Bahadur Deuba, and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who is known as Prachanda.

Given the Himalayan nation's strategic location, both India and China are vying for influence in the country, leading to accusations the two Asian giants are meddling in the internal affairs of Nepal.

It's not clear what kind of administration will replace Oli, one that is also acceptable to the protesters.

Since the shape of the new government or leadership is uncertain, "India will be cautious", Prof Thapliyal says. "They don't want another Bangladesh type of situation in Nepal."

Delhi had cordial relations with ousted Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina, but has ties with the current interim administration are strained over India's decision to give Hasina shelter in the country.

Nepal and India, too, have had their differences - and those will now have to be managed with extra care.

In 2019, Nepal was furious after India published a map that included areas claimed by Kathmandu, in a western region close to the border with China, as part of its territory.

The diplomatic wrangle escalated after Nepal published its own map which included those disputed areas.

Recently, India and China have agreed to resume trade at one of the border areas claimed by Nepal. During his visit to China last month, Oli raised the issue with the Chinese leadership, objecting to the Lipulekh Pass being used as a trade route.

Experts say India will have to reach out to the new administration to iron out any differences, and also engage with young Nepalis who are angry with their political establishment.

"There are fewer opportunities within Nepal for the youth. India should actively consider increasing fellowships for Nepalese students and provide more job opportunities," says Prof Thapliyal.

With the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC), a regional grouping, remaining dormant, it's going to be a challenge for India to deal with the political changes and instability in its neighbourhood.

The crisis in Nepal has blown up as relations with Pakistan are at a low point, ties with Bangladesh remain strained and Myanmar is engulfed in civil war.

"India has taken its eyes off the neighbourhood due to its great power ambitions. But for that to aim to be achieved you have to have a secure and stable neighbourhood," Mr Mehta argues.

Source: BCC
ROME (Reuters) -Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hailed her country's "excellent" relationship with India in a phone call on Wednesday with her counterpart Narendra Modi, making no mention of U.S. requests for the EU to impose tariffs of up to 100% on Indian imports.

According to officials, U.S. President Donald Trump urged the European Union this week to hit China and India with new import duties as part of a strategy to put pressure on Russia, a key supplier of oil for the two nations.

In their call, Meloni and Modi welcomed "the excellent state of bilateral relations" and reaffirmed a shared commitment to deepen cooperation on trade, investment and connectivity, the Italian premier's office said in a statement.

The statement made no mention of Trump's demands.

The two leaders also discussed Ukraine, saying they support "all international efforts to promote a ceasefire and a resumption of negotiations aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace", the statement added.

As Europe and the U.S. have shunned Russian oil over Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, India has taken advantage of discounts on Russian output to become the largest buyer of Russian seaborne crude.

India has made clear it would continue buying Russian oil as it proves economical, despite the Trump administration's decision to impose heavy import tariffs on Indian goods.

(Reporting by Angelo AmanteEditing by Frances Kerry)
by Charles Siegel

In the first part of this depressing column, I looked at Congress spineless surrender of its power to Trumps turbocharged executive. In the second part, I tried to set out how that same executive has waged war on the judicial branch, and has rapidly transformed the Department of Justice into its private law firm. Perhaps most disheartening in this sorry saga, however, is how obliging the Supreme Court has been in the steady weakening of the third branch. Our highest court  the ultimate symbol of the judicial branch and the temple of its authority  seems perfectly content to let Trump steadily erode its power. In some ways, the Court is actively complicit in Trumps war.

It is hard to comprehend that we are less than eight months into this administration, such has been the sheer ferocity and speed of Trumps actions. Blizzards of executive orders, arbitrary firings, wholesale liquidations of entire agencies, mass deportations, ICE abductions, the military in our streets. All of this has resulted in hundreds of lawsuits, many of which (perhaps even most) are seeking relief on an emergency basis. The lower courts have done their level best to deal with the onslaught. But when cases have come to SCOTUS, as inevitably some would, the Court has acted in singularly unhelpful ways.

The Court has sided with Trump and his Department of Justice  and yes, thats the only way DOJ can be described these days  in the vast majority of cases. The only issue of any importance on which Trump has lost has been the due process rights of persons detained under the Alien Enemies Act, who are about to be deported. There, the Court ruled that they are entitled to notice within a reasonable time and in such a manner as will allow them to actually seek habeas relief. Even then, this decision was enormously helpful to Trumps agenda, as discussed below. Beyond that, the Court has largely deferred to the executive.

To be fair, many of the Courts rulings have been on procedural issues, and not on the actual substance of Trumps measures. But the procedural decisions themselves often have immense practical consequences. For example, several district courts struck down Trumps infamous birthright citizenship executive order as unconstitutional. One district judge in Seattle, a Reagan appointee, called it blatantly unconstitutional. He also stated  and this was less than three weeks after Trump took office  that it has become ever more apparent that to our president, the rule of law is but an impediment to his policy goals. The rule of law is, according to him, something to navigate around or simply ignore, whether that be for political or personal gain. Nevertheless, in this courtroom and under my watch, the rule of law is a bright beacon which I intend to follow. He entered an injunction barring enforcement of the order anywhere in the country. Two other district courts, in Maryland and Massachusetts, entered similar injunctions, and in all three cases, the courts of appeals largely left the orders intact.

When DOJ appealed these rulings to SCOTUS, though, they didnt appeal the substance of the district courts holdings that the executive order was unconstitutional. Rather, they simply attacked the power of a single district court to enter a nationwide injunction. SCOTUS duly obliged and held that such orders cannot be entered; a single court can only enjoin the parties before it or parties within its jurisdiction.

Nationwide injunctions have been controversial for many years. Presidents from both parties, including Biden, have challenged them.

These attempts never succeeded  until now. In Trump v. CASA, the Supreme Court suddenly discerned that in fact, nationwide injunctions have never been authorized, and held further that the government would be irreparably harmed if the district court orders were to stay in place.

The ruling was similar to several others by the Court in that it did not reach the merits of some outrageous thing Trump did; it simply held that the outrageous thing must be challenged in much more diffuse, time-consuming ways. Other examples include the Courts holding that persons seeking to challenge their detention and/or deportation cannot sue in a district court that would be the natural venue for their suit  e.g., the district where they lived and were seized. Instead, detainees must file habeas corpus petitions, and those can only be filed in the district where they are being detained. What this has led to in practice is ICE flying thousands of people, within hours of their initial arrest, to Texas or Louisiana. Both states are in the Fifth Circuit, which is the most conservative court of appeals in the country by some distance. So detainees like my client Leqaa Kordia, for example, (see my column from a few months ago, Dont Deport Protesters, or Defund Universities, in My Name) who lives and was arrested in New Jersey, was flown to Texas and has been held in a detention center 40 miles outside of Dallas since March. Her story is not unique; there are many cases like hers, working their way in slow, patchwork fashion through dozens of courts around the country.

Another example concerns funding terminations. Three weeks ago SCOTUS issued a strange, fractured ruling in National Institutes of Health v. American Public Health Assn. The Court held that plaintiffs challenging cancellations of grants or contracts  of which there have been many  must generally file separate suits, in both the Court of Federal Claims and in district court. This obviously makes such challenges lengthier and more costly.

Nearly all of these decisions have been rendered on the Courts so-called shadow docket. That is, they have been rulings on applications for emergency relief  most such applications coming from the administration, for which everything is an emergency  and they are usually short, even terse, and issued without full briefing or oral argument. Often they are simply confusing.

Most problematically, however, by their nature they are not definitive holdings on the merits of a case. Instead, they are holdings about whether a stay should be lifted. This means that they are simply predictions by the justices as to how they would likely rule on the merits, once the case has been fully litigated in the trial and appellate courts. This leaves lower courts to guess about whether existing precedents are still good law.

And when they have trouble doing this, or they make educated guesses that displease the Courts conservatives, condescension rains down from on high. In the NIH case last month, Justice Gorsuch, joined by Justice Kavanaugh, reproached Judge William Young, a Reagan appointee who has served on the federal district bench in Boston for over 40 years, for not sufficiently divining the meaning of an earlier shadow docket ruling. Judge Young, a highly respected veteran jurist, must have been mortified, at this stage in his distinguished career, to be called on the carpet by two Supreme Court justices. So in a hearing in the case last week he apologized, stating that he had not intended to defy precedential action of the Supreme Court. I have served in judicial office now for over 47 years. Never before this admonition has any judge in any higher court ever thought to suggest that this court had defied the precedent of a higher court  that was never my intention.

Or as the New York Times put it, Judge Young had not realized he was expected to rely on a slim three-page order issued with minimal legal reasoning in April to his case dealing with a different agency.

Last week NBC News published an extraordinary story, detailing interviews with a dozen federal judges. All of them agreed to talk only on the understandable condition that they not be named or described in identifiable terms. Some of the findings were truly striking:

Federal judges are frustrated with the Supreme Court for increasingly overturning lower court rulings involving the Trump administration with little or no explanation, with some worried the practice is undermining the judiciary at a sensitive time.

In rare interviews with NBC News, a dozen federal judges  appointed by Democratic and Republican presidents, including Trump, and serving around the country  pointed to a pattern they say has recently emerged: Lower court judges are handed contentious cases involving the Trump administration. They painstakingly research the law to reach their rulings. When they go against Trump, administration officials and allies criticize the judges in harsh terms. The government appeals to the Supreme Court, with its 6-3 conservative majority. And then the Supreme Court, in emergency rulings, swiftly rejects the judges decisions with little to no explanation.

Ten of the 12 judges who spoke to NBC News said the Supreme Court should better explain those rulings, noting that the terse decisions leave lower court judges with little guidance for how to proceed. But they also have a new and concerning effect, the judges said, validating the Trump administrations criticisms. A short rebuttal from the Supreme Court, they argue, makes it seem like they did shoddy work and are biased against Trump. It is inexcusable, a judge said of the Supreme Court justices. They dont have our backs.

The Supreme Court, one judge said, is effectively assisting the Trump administration in undermining the lower courts, leaving district and appeals court judges thrown under the bus.

Ten of the judges, both Republican and Democratic appointees, agreed the courts lack of explanation is a problem. Judges must follow Supreme Court precedent, but they can find it difficult to assess what the justices are asking them to do.

Another federal district judge isnt having it. The day after Judge Young apologized, Judge Allison Burroughs, who serves in the same Boston courthouse as Judge Young, issued her thorough decision largely setting aside Trumps freezing of federal grant funds for Harvard. In a passage I was particularly pleased to read (again see my column above), she found as follows:

The idea that fighting antisemitism is Defendants true aim is belied by the fact that the majority of the demands they are making of Harvard to restore its research funding are directed, on their face, at Harvards governance, staffing and hiring practices, and admissions policiesall of which have little to do with antisemitism and everything to do with Defendants power and political views.

Free speech has always been a hallmark of our democracy.  As pertains to this case, it is important to recognize and remember that if speech can be curtailed in the name of the Jewish people today, then just as easily the speech of the Jews (and anyone else) can be curtailed when the political winds change direction.

And in a footnote, she respectfully but firmly had this to say to Justices Kavanaugh and Gorsuch:

The Court is mindful of Justice Gorsuchs comments in his opinion in APHA and fully agrees that this Court is not free to defy Supreme Court decisions and is, in fact, duty-bound to respect the hierarchy of the federal court system.  Consistent with these obligations, this Court (and likely all district courts) endeavors to follow the Supreme Courts rulings, no matter how misguided [it] may think [them] to be. That said, the Supreme Courts recent emergency docket rulings regarding grant terminations have not been models of clarity, and have left many issues unresolved. This Court understands, of course, that the Supreme Court, like the district courts, is trying to resolve these issues quickly, often on an emergency basis, and that the issues are complex and evolving. Given this, however, the Court respectfully submits that it is unhelpful and unnecessary to criticize district courts for defy[ing] the Supreme Court when they are working to find the right answer in a rapidly evolving doctrinal landscape, where they must grapple with both existing precedent and interim guidance from the Supreme Court that appears to set that precedent aside without much explanation or consensus.

One hopes that, up on Olympus, at least some of the justices will take this suggestion seriously.

One also hopes that trial court judges, and their colleagues on the courts of appeals, continue to work as diligently and as conscientiously as they have been doing since January. It is hard, thankless work, yet we must honor it and thank them. I will end this depressing series of pieces by thanking Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee to the federal bench in Virginia and member of the Federalist Society. In part 2 last month, I mentioned that the DOJ had actually sued all of the federal district judges in Maryland, who had adopted a standing order prohibiting the government, for just 48 hours, from transferring to another jurisdiction anyone who had filed a habeas corpus petition. This modest rule was instituted to preserve existing conditions and the potential jurisdiction of the court over pending matters while the court determines the scope of its authority to grant the requested relief. It had been necessitated by the extreme increase in the number of such petitions, which, of course, was tied to the huge rise in detentions. The judges, who were forced to hire private counsel at their own expense, moved to dismiss the case.

Two weeks ago, Judge Cullen granted the motion. In the course of his opinion, he noted that over the past several months, principal officers of the Executive (and their spokespersons) have described federal district judges across the country as left-wing, liberal, activists, radical, politically minded, rogue, unhinged, outrageous, overzealous, unconstitutional, [c]rooked, and worse. Although some tension between the coordinate branches of government is a hallmark of our constitutional system, this concerted effort by the Executive to smear and impugn individual judges who rule against it is both unprecedented and unfortunate. And as for the case before him, he wrote that the Framers of the Constitution sought to provide a comprehensive system that made the United States of Americanot a single branchthe sovereign, by dividing and allocating the sovereign power among three co-equal branches. The coordinate branches together form the government of the United States of America, and together they are the sovereign in this Nation. Regrettably, this lawsuit effectively pits two of those branches against one another. But it is important to remember that, at bottom, all branchesand the public officials who serve in themshare the same core sovereign interest: To support and defend the Constitution.

Finally, finding that DOJs arguments relied on a logically fallacy and half-true citations to case law, Judge Cullen came to the unsurprising conclusion that the United States District Court for the District of Maryland is entitled to sovereign immunity, and dismissed the case.

Two days later, naturally, DOJ appealed.
by Mark R. DeLong

Avital Meshi says, I dont want to use it, I want to be it It is generative AI, and Meshi is a performance artist and a PhD student at the University of California, Davis. In todays fraught and conflicted world of artificial intelligence with its loud corporate hype and much anxious skepticism among onlookers, shes a sojourner whose dived deeply and personally into the mess of generative AI. Shes attached ChatGPT to her arm and lets it speak through the Airpod in her left ear. She admits that shes a cyborg.

Meshi visited Duke University in early September to perform GPT-Me. I took part in one of her performances and had dinner with her and a handful of faculty members from departments in art and engineering. Two performances made very long days for herthe one I attended was scheduled from noon to 8:00 pm. Participants came and went as they wished; I stayed about an hour. For the performances, which she has done several times, Meshi invites participants to talk with her self sans GPT or with her GPT-connected self; participants can choose to talk about anything they wish. When she adopts her GPT-Me self, she gives voice to the AI. In essence, I speak GPT, she said. Rather than speaking what spontaneously comes to my mind, I say what GPT whispers to me. I become GPTs body, and my intelligence becomes artificial.

In effect, Meshi serves as a medium, and the performance itself resembles a seancea likeness that she particularly emphasized in a durational performance at CURRENTS 2025 Art & Technology Festival in Santa Fe earlier this year.

Betwixt and between

The connection of technology and some manner of spirit world is hardly new. In a journal entry from September 12, 1851, Henry David Thoreau rhapsodized about the telegraph, its wires then beginning to stretch across the landscape. While on a hike, Thoreau heard the telegraph wire vibrating like an AEolian Harp. It reminded me suddenly  of what finer & deeper stirrings I was susceptiblewhich grandly set all argument and dispute asidea triumphant though transcient exhibition of the truth. Later in the entry, Thoreau wrote that the wind which was conveying a message to me from heaven dropt it on the wire of the telegraph. It merely said Bear in mind, Child& never for an instant forgetthat there are higher plains of life than this thou art now travelling on. Thoreaus enthusiasm for the music of the telegraphic AEolian Harp was relatively restrained in comparison to others of the age, who adopted the metaphor and vocabulary of the telegraph and applied them to spiritualism.

Seventy years after Thoreau was transported by singing telegraph wires, Thomas Edison announced, I have been at work for some time, building an apparatus to see if it is possible for personalities which have left this earth to communicate with us. Edison was probably serious in his hope for such an apparatus. Of course, the age had much spiritualist humbuggery, too. And the humbuggery has refreshed with each generation, each new communication technology. Wireds Webb Wright recently reported on the mixing of AI and new spiritualism: A growing number of prominent social media figures are now co-opting the language of New Age spirituality, wellness, and quantum woo to position AI as a gateway to numinous wisdom, through which their followers can inch closer to enlightenment, Webb writes. That isnt surprising, I guess, since Sam Altman, guru of OpenAI, has referred to his companys products as magical intelligence in the sky.

New technologies have seemingly magical and even otherworldly powers. Although their magic dims, they are transformative, shaping human society and individuals.

Even before I met Meshi, I was most interested in the space between Avital-Meshi-the-Human, and the manifestation conjured through the portable device that animated her GPT. That space, strung through ethernet and fiber cables to whisper into her ear, makes up a boundary of sorts that Meshi and GPT pass through, translating or transitioning utterances and embodying experience that GPT obviously lacks. In a sense, the boundary separating Meshis Airpod from her human mind is also a passageway, a transition; and I would say its the place where the greatest challenges of AI arise.

Such challenges have ended in breakdowns, even tragedy, in cases that popular culture has labeled AI psychosis, which is not a bona fide clinical diagnosis. Delusions and bad decisions can arise from too much engagement with chatbots, and people with psychological issues are probably particularly at risk. (See the bibliographical notes below for two good articles on the AI psychosis phenomenon.) For Meshi, however, frequent use of GPT is part of her art and her doctoral project, a circumstance that might insulate her from delusions. Her extended usenot 24/7/365, she assured mehas given her a new perspective on the influences of GPT on her own individuality and on her society. She also said that the project has improved her English.

I stopped understanding what it means to be me, Meshi said at one point during her performance. I feel like this was one of the things that I learned from this project.  Why do I say the words I say? What kind of data was I trained on?

Have you felt like you have like lost your sense of self in this art? asked a participant.

I think I had an illusion of self before and now I feel like I understand that I dont trust the self as I did before, Meshi replied. So yeah, and its not necessarily a bad thing. Its okay, you know, to understand that the self is also a construct. And it is fluid, an evolving construct: My thoughts and expressions are never solely mine; they have been shaped by a myriad of factors and inputs, as claimed by Bruno Latour: No one knows how many people are simultaneously at work in any given individual,  she explained in an article about GPT-Me.

Shes noticed as well that tethering GPT to her life has changed some peoples relationships with her. One of my earliest encounters while wearing it was with the train conductor, who half-jokingly inquired if I intended to hack the train or blow it up with this device, she wrote in the article on GPT-Me. I noticed that many people glance at the device with curiosity when I pass by. In social settings, the device often becomes a topic of discussion.

For some, like the train conductor, the mere presence of the device affects the relationship; for others, the functional effects of the deviceimagined or notare noteworthy, even disturbing. In her performance, Meshi said that her husband is not willing to interact with her when shes wearing the device, though she observed that every now and then he would say ask this or ask that or do this or do that. But he would not have a conversation with me as GPT-Me. Meshis sister responded to GPT-Me quite negatively, even trying to break GPT at one point. She tried to do that when it was attached to my body, Meshi recalled. I felt as if she was forgetting that its also me and not just GPT. So I had to remind her that Im sitting in front of her. Its not just GPT. And she said, No, its not you. I do not recognize you. But it was me, at least partially.

The space between human Avital Meshi and composite GPT-Me is, in a word, liminal. By using AI for long periods and serving in a role of performing artist and as a researcher, Meshi stands between two worlds. She places her self betwixt and between: Between consciousness and the non-conscious (or, more charitably, the other-conscious). Between a complex of cues, inner conditions, intentall conscious or notin human language and utterances statistically extracted from a data corpus. Between time-bound life and timeless compilation and summation. Between remaining a detached and observant researcher and becoming a being who is enveloped, inundated by an Other.

Meshis art performs the liminality, though perhaps it is most apparent to her as the artist. Her in-betweenness captures in some way and in a personal space the kinds of passage that most of us find ourselves in. For those of us who use AI experience a certain amazement and, perhaps after a while, a certain apprehension. Even with our haphazard and intermittent use of ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or Mistral, we might think, What deal has been struck in rubbing the lamp and letting the genie out?

When you look at work that is presented as generative AI art or as a collaboration of artist and an AI of some kind, it is quite easy to fall into the trap of trying to answer the question But is it art? Ive led classes where that question has been batted back and forth across the seminar table, often with some eloquence and good, clear thinking, though also (thank goodness) without a final and clear resolution. Of greater interestand I think relevance to human life and understandingis the gap between our purportedly intelligent creations and our own human intelligences. The artistic space in GPT-Me resides in the ambiguous difference, a metaphorical space that every relationship between close human beings confronts and, with work and luck, bridges. We do that with language, of course, but perhaps even more fully we communicate with our bodies and our gestures and our silences. In that space between emerges some semblance of meaning and (at least personal) truth.

Avitals project envelopes an artificial intelligence within her own, and yet the process of performing her art consistently revealsat least to her own intelligencea space to be bridged, probably uniquely with every exchange. In dialogue with a created intelligence, she shapes an artwork. That artwork presses its image into her own consciousness.

Artist as artwork?

What is the art of GPT-Me? Meshi sees her work as a relational art  a performative thing. When she said that to me during the performance, she drew her hand before her, as if to embrace the room in gesture. She is a performance artist, surely, and the event in the Ruby Lounge last Tuesday can be counted as a performance: unique in itself and drawn together by an artist who composes the performance from unique settings and individual participants who take part but once.

Yet, this peopled environment of the Ruby Lounge wasnt the only artistic canvas at work. The nature of GPT-Me also pushes Avital Meshi forward as an artwork.

While the self-presentation of some artists complements their artistic output, in the twentieth century (at least) the quirks and performances of artists can appear more marketing than art. Think of Salvador Dali or Andy Warhol, whose personae annoyed and delighted but also served as attention-getting markers for their art. Indeed, Warhol more than most modern artists blurred the distinction between artwork and promotion, the works for the marketplace. Still, one can own a Warhol print that stands on its own without its creators hype; the artist and the artwork are linked though separate. But some artists have turned themselves into their artwork, and Meshi may stand among them, sculpting (or submitting) her consciousness, her inner core humanity, to the nudges, seductions, and confabulations of a Large Language Model.

Marcel Duchamp chose an alterego, Rrose Selavy, in effect creating an artistic partnera performative extension of himself, not itself an alteration of himself qua himself. Rrose was, in effect, another canvas for Duchamp to use.

More profoundly transformative performance art uses the body of the artist. ORLANs Carnal Art is among the most shocking examples. ORLAN (nee Mireille Suzanne Francette Porte) created The Reincarnation of Sainte-ORLAN in a series of plastic surgeries undertaken between 1990 and 1993. The work was about using surgery but upending its usual goals of improvement and rejuvenation, ORLAN explained in an interview in 2019. The most visible change is the implants which normally enhance cheekbones but which I had put on each side of my forehead, forming two lumps. The more that technology is involved, the more we wonder what will become of humans and the body in amongst all of that. My work isnt a warning about the body. I am, above all, an artist, and it mattered to me to say something radical about the representation of the body. ORLANs Carnal Art Manifesto says, Carnal art is not interested in the plastic-surgery result, but in the process of surgery, the spectacle and discourse of the modified body which has become the place of a public debate (my emphasis).

While not nearly as shockingly confrontational as ORLANs reincarnation, Meshis GPT-Me plays upon the publics fascination with and deep apprehension about AI. The spectacle and discourse of human behaviors and beliefs modified by generative AI have also become a place of public debate. With the general anxiety among creative artists, laborers, working people of all kinds, citizens, and parents who feel trapped in worries of exposing their children to not enough and too much AI (for example), Meshi physically attaching herself to an AIindeed merging with it, in cyborg fashionlooks at least daring, if not a bit reckless.

The fear: Such extreme engagement that blurs who is talking at a GTP-Me performance also threatens to blur who Avital Meshi is. I believe the perspectives of artists are indeed valuable as we contend with our relationship as humans to the non-human AI. Artists, not their engineering brethren, may in fact save us from becoming machines. They may open new spaces to explore. They may help us become more human.

Robert Saltzman, a psychoanalyst and artist, closes a recent essay in The Hedgehog Review this way, and his words seem a good summing up:

Let the machine speak. Let it echo our syntax, perform selves, mirror the shape of meaning. It wont be stopped, and perhaps it shouldnt. But lets not forget: There is a difference between fluency and feeling.

Between output and presence.

Between a mask that speaks and a face that breaks. We were never what we thought we were. But we were never machines.

For the bibliographically curious: Avital Meshis personal website is https://www.avitalmeshi.com/. Two of her publications are particularly relevant to this essay: Avital Meshi, GPT-ME: A Human-AI Cognitive Assemblage, Proc. ACM Comput. Graph. Interact. Tech. 7, no. 4 (2024): 55:1-55:8, https://doi.org/10.1145/3664214 and Meshi, Avital, and Adam Wright. In(A)n(I)Mate  AI-Mediated Conversations with Inanimate Objects. Proc. ACM Comput. Graph. Interact. Tech. 8, no. 3 (2025): 36:1-36:6. https://doi.org/10.1145/3736787. Two recent articles on AI Psychosis: Webb Wright, Spiritual Influencers Say Sentient AI Can Help You Solve Lifes Mysteries, Wired, September 2, 2025, https://www.wired.com/story/spiritual-influencers-say-sentient-ai-can-help-you-solve-lifes-mysteries/ and Miles Klee, Should We Really Be Calling It AI Psychosis?, Rolling Stone, August 31, 2025, https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/ai-psychosis-chatbot-delusions-1235416826/. The journal entry from September 12, 1851 is on pages 75-76: Henry David Thoreau, Journal, ed. John C. Broderick et al., 4: 1851-1852, The Writings of Henry D. Thoreau (Princeton University Press, 1981), Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/journal0004thor/mode/1up. This article helps to understand a way that performance art works: Kyle Chayka, WTF Is Relational Aesthetics?, Hyperallergic, February 8, 2011, https://hyperallergic.com/18426/wtf-is-relational-aesthetics/. We may be approaching a time when the illusion of selfhood is strengthened, not weakened, because we are surrounded by machines enacting it. A thoughtful, even poetic, essay on AI and the self: Robert Saltzman, The Self That Never Was, The Hedgehog Review, June 16, 2025, https://hedgehogreview.com/web-features/thr/posts/the-self-that-never-was.

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Legal progress being made on new 2.7 billion peso Isla Mujeres Tourist Boulevard

Isla Mujeres, Q.R.  The state government says it is now ready to begin work on the Cancun-Costa Mujeres tourist corridor. The Secretariat of Sustainable Urban Territorial Development (Sedetus) says they are nearly ready to start on the first 15 kilometers of the 25 that will make up the new road.

According to Sedetus head Jose Alberto Alonso Ovando, they are waiting on the arrival of the fedeal funding needed to start the project.

He explained that the right of way extends to Costa Mujeres, since the first section is an intermunicipal zone between Benito Juarez (Cancun) and Isla Mujeres. That zone is located within the states legal reserve, allowing them to start to project there.

On the Isla Mujeres side, its a historical right. We already have that road, its already built. Were not going to expand the road, were going to work on whats already there, he said. He added that Playa Mujeres has also donated four kilometers of right-of-way to the municipality of Isla Mujeres.

Then we reach Santa Fatima and Francisco Javier where the land is national and occupied by people with documents that very possibly dont comply with all regulations.

The situation is already being verified by the technical committee of the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation. Therefore, the current right of way allows us to work on 15 kilometers, he explained.

He says while they are waiting for federal funding, they are working on the process of obtaining environmental authorization for the final nine kilometers. The finished project will consist of a 25.4 kilometers road with a connection Lopez Portillo Avenue in Cancun to La Angostura on the mainland of Isla Mujeres.

The project was announced in October of 2024. The new road, Tourist Boulevard, will connect the city of Cancun with Costa Maya, the busy tourist area of mainland Isla Mujeres. According to a report by Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama, 2.7 billion pesos of federal funding will be spent on the construction of the road. The new 25-plus kilometers will be an extension of an already existing roadway.
Mexico City government reports 70 injured, 3 dead in massive LP tanker explosion

Mexico City, Mexico  The head of the Mexico City Government reported 70 people injured and three killed in an LP gas tanker explosion. The explosion happened at the Puente de La Concordia in Mexico City Wednesday afternoon.

The explosion occurred at 2:20 p.m. on the Puente de La Concordia Bridge after a tanker truck carrying 49,500 liters of LP gas overturned. Flames from the explosion reached the overpass above where the tanker rolled while taking a corner at excessive speed.

Clara Brugada Molina, the Head of Government of Mexico City, reported 70 registered victims who were immediately transferred to different hospitals in the capital and the State of Mexico for treatment.

In total, 51 men and 16 women were injured, two of them unknown. In addition, two adults and a baby died while receiving medical care. A total of 28 vehicles were damaged in the massive explosion.

Clara Brugada Molina

In a press conference held at the scene of the accident, she announced the publication of a preliminary list of the names of those affected with the aim of providing certainty to the families.

Its a list that needs to be verified, but we feel its very important to share the information we have because we know the family members are concerned, she said.

The Secretary of Citizen Security for Mexico City, Pablo Vazquez Camacho, reported that the driver of the LP gas unit, belonging to the Silza Transport company of the Tomza Group, was identified and is still alive, although in serious condition.

Authorities said that forensic investigations are continuing to work to determine the official cause of the accident.
As has become well-known by now, on Wednesday conservative activist and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk, 31, was murdered during the fall kickoff of The American Comeback Tour held on the campus of Utah Valley University. Kirk was a fixture on college campuses throughout the United States, promoting debate and dialogue across the ideological spectrum, and he was killed doing the very thing he committed much of his life todefending the sacrosanct right to free speech.

His murder, however, is not an aberration, but the latest incident of political violence in the United States, which has found itself in the throes of political polarization, amplified by sensationalism across political lines.

As it happens, Matthew Santucci, a colleague of mine who works in the Acton Institutes Rome office, penned an article last July following the attempted assassination of then-candidate Donald Trump in Butler, Penn. His words are prescient and worth pondering below.

What begins as rhetorical sparring can precipitously devolve into animosity, setting the stage for a never-ending cycle of violence. In an ecosystem of dehumanized politics, political leaders, and by extension their supporters, become abstracted to the point of being mere symbols. Human dignity, then, is no longer viewed as an innate characteristic but is conditioned on political affiliation. Violence, when employed against a political adversary, is not only viewed with indifference but becomes morally justifiable in democratic societies to protect against perceived threats to its treasured institutions.  The prevalence, and near justification, of political violence reveals a striking gap between the common values we purport to uphold and our willingness to depart from them to reach political ends. We need to rediscover a human politics, one that respects the innate dignity of the human. It is this absolute moral criterion that allows for the full expression of authentic freedom. Anything less than that is not only cynical but tantamount to self-destruction.

The ubiquity and legitimization of violence not only stresses our democratic institutions and civil society but undermines free speechwhich is tantamount to freedom.

Now is not the time for politicization. Instead, it is not only imperative but also our duty to create a moment for clear and principled moral thinking that, pray God, may have a salutary and positive political result. May we all be united in prayer for the repose of Kirks soul and in supporting his wife and two young children.
Peoples Daily: Its observed that Chinas export growth slowed down in August and some say its because Chinas export to the U.S. plunged as the effect of a tariff truce with the U.S. faded. But we also noted that Chinas trade with countries from the EU, ASEAN, Africa and Latin America remains robust and some indicators show a positive momentum of sustained growth. Whats your comment?

Lin Jian: Despite the increasing instability and uncertainty in the world economy this year, Chinas foreign trade kept growing and maintained steady development. Latest statistics show that in the first eight months of this year, Chinas trade in goods went up by 3.5 percent year-on-year. For some time, China has witnessed growth in its import and export with countries in the EU, ASEAN, BRICS and Africa, especially BRI partner countries. A significant proportion of the growth was contributed by foreign-funded companies in China. The diversity in Chinas foreign trade not only effectively alleviated the impact brought by the volatility of the external trade environment and promoted the stability and improvement of global industrial and supply chains, but also delivered tangible benefit to both domestic and international consumers as well as companies from all countries operating in China.

Facts prove once again that Chinas foreign trade remains an important source of growth for global trade and the Chinese economy remains a vital pillar for global economic growth. We believe that as we continue to see the effect of the full range of policies China has adopted, the Chinese economy will continue to unleash more vitality and potential and continue to inject precious certainty to global economic growth.

Polish Press Agency: Due to the Zapad-2025 military exercise held by Russia and Belarus, Poland will completely close its border with Belarus on September 12. This will affect the trade route between China and Europe. What is the Foreign Ministrys comment on this? And another question: yesterday Poland shot down Russian drones that violated its airspace. The Polish authorities called this a large-scale provocation by Russia. What is Chinas comment on Russias actions?

Lin Jian: The China-Europe Railway Express is a flagship project of the China-Poland and China-EU cooperation. The project benefits both sides. We hope Poland will take effective measures to ensure the safe and smooth operation of the express and the stability of international industrial and supply chains.

On your second question, we noted relevant reports. China hopes relevant parties will properly settle disputes through dialogue and consultation.

Folha de S.Paulo: Today we have the visit in China from Ana Toni, CEO of COP 30. Id like to know if China knows how many people and who are those that will be at COP 30. And the second question is still regarding COP 30. Is China supporting the Tropical Forest Forever Facility?

Lin Jian: China supports Brazil in making the 30th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC a full success, which is to be held in Belem, Brazil, in November this year. China will take an active part in the conference and work for fruitful outcomes. China also welcomes Brazil to present the Tropical Forests Forever Facility and hopes the facility will play a positive role. For anything specific about the initiative, Id refer you to competent authorities.

Yonhap News Agency: It was reported that the ROK has nominated Roh Jae-heon, chairman of the East Asia Culture Center Foundation, as the first ambassador to China under the Lee Jae-myung administration. Whats Chinas comment on Rohs nomination? Are relevant procedures underway?

Lin Jian: We noted relevant reports. Diplomatic envoys are important bridges for friendly cooperation and development of relations between countries. China is waiting for the ROKs formal nomination.

Reuters: The Philippine Foreign Ministry said it strongly protests against Chinas plan to develop a nature reserve in the Scarborough Shoal, and said the country will be issuing a formal diplomatic protest against what it says an illegitimate and unlawful action by China. What is Chinas response to this?

Lin Jian: Huangyan Dao has always been Chinas territory. To establish the Huangyan Dao national nature reserve is within Chinas sovereign rights, which is aimed at protecting the ecological environment of the island, and ensuring its ecological diversity, continuity and sustainability. This move is in line with Chinas domestic laws and international law, and fully shows that China, a responsible major country, is resolved to actively protect the ecological environment and a sustainable planet.

The scope of Philippine territory is defined by several international treaties, and has never included Huangyan Dao. China does not accept the Philippines groundless accusations and so-called protests. We urge the Philippines to stop violating Chinas sovereignty, making provocation, and spreading disinformation, and stop creating factors that could complicate the situation at sea.

China Review News: In the World Talent Ranking 2025 published by the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, Hong Kongs ranking leaped markedly to fourth globally and to first in Asia, marking the highest-ever ranking. A spokesperson of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said, Hong Kongs rise in the ranking is clear evidence that the policies and measures of the government in education, innovation and technology (I&T), and talent admission are getting results. Whats the Foreign Ministrys comment?

Lin Jian: We noted the relevant report. Hong Kong is now at a new stage where it is set to thrive. Its status as a hub in international finance, trade, and shipping has been consolidated. With a better business environment and more outstanding strength in tech innovation, it has become a strong magnet to multinationals and global talents. Statistics show that as of this August, over 230,000 people of talent arrived in Hong Kong through various talent admission schemes to contribute themselves to a better HKSAR. The registration of local companies and non-Hong Kong companies there sees all-time high figures.

The arrival of talents will create a bright future for Hong Kong. We welcome foreign talents to live and work in Hong Kong, fulfill their potential, and jointly create a better Hong Kong.

Bloomberg: It is reported that Mexico plans to impose tariffs of up to 50 percent on automobiles and other products produced by China and some Asian exporting countries. What is Foreign Ministrys response?

Lin Jian: China advocates a universally-beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, opposes all forms of unilateralism, protectionism and discriminatory and exclusive measures, and firmly rejects moves that are taken under coercion to constrain China or undermine Chinas legitimate rights and interests under any pretext. We will firmly protect our rights and interests in light of the developments of the situation.

China and Mexico are important members of the Global South and our economic and trade cooperation is win-win in nature. China attaches great importance to its relations with Mexico and hopes that Mexico will work with China to jointly advance world economic recovery and the development of global trade.

Reuters: British Business Secretary Peter Kyle said that if China wanted to have relations with Britain fit for the 2020s, it should ensure that it has diplomatic facilities fit for this era and not 50 or 100 years ago. Does the Foreign Ministry have any comment on his remarks?

Lin Jian: China previously made clear its position on relevant issues more than once. Providing support and convenience for the construction of diplomatic premises is an international obligation of host countries. Both China and the UK need to build new premises and should render each other support.

AFP: NATO held an emergency meeting at the request of Poland whose airspace had been violated by Russian drones. What is the Foreign Ministrys comment?



Lin Jian: I just shared Chinas position on that. China hopes the issue can be resolved through dialogue and consultation.
On September 10, on the occasion of the 41st Chinese Teachers' Day, Ambassador Wang Qing visited the Confucius Institute at the University of Sierra Leone. He conducted inspections and extended sincere festive sincere greetings to the teachers of the Institute.

Ambassador Wang and the teachers jointly studied President Xi Jinping's reply letter to representatives of the national special-post teachers. He highly praised the Chinese teachers for their outstanding work over the years, acknowledging their efforts in overcoming hardships, staying true to their original aspirations, rooting themselves overseas, and working at the grassroots level. Their contributions have significantly promoted cultural exchanges and mutual understanding between China and Sierra Leone, as well as enhanced people-to-people ties. He expressed hope that the Confucius Institute would uphold fundamental principles while breaking new ground. Taking the 2026 China-Africa Year of Cultural Exchanges as an opportunity, the Institute should further strengthen Chinese language teaching, actively carry out cultural exchange activities, and contribute to cultivating more Chinese language professionals and envoys of friendship in Sierra Leone.

Wu Cui, the Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute, and teacher representatives shared their experiences of working and living in Sierra Leone. They expressed that they would continue to dedicate themselves to Chinese language teaching and promoting Chinese culture, contributing to the friendship between China and Sierra Leone.




On September 10, 2025, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to Mohamed Irfaan Ali on his reelection as President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.

President Xi Jinping noted that Guyana was the first country in the Caribbean region to establish diplomatic relations with China. Over the 53 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China-Guyana relations have gained sound and stable development, with fruitful results in pragmatic cooperation across various fields and close coordination on multilateral affairs. In July 2023, the two presidents met in Chengdu and reached important common understandings on the development of bilateral relations. President Xi Jinping expressed his readiness to work with President Mohamed Irfaan Ali to deepen mutually beneficial and friendly cooperation within the framework of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and continuously promote China-Guyana relations to new heights, so as to bring greater benefits to the people of both countries.
On September 9, 2025, Premier Li Qiang of the State Council held talks with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, who is in China for an official visit, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Li Qiang said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Portugal, the two sides have always trusted, respected and helped each other, and promoted the sound and stable development of bilateral relations. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Portugal, bringing new opportunities for the development of bilateral relations and cooperation. In the morning, President Xi Jinping held a meeting with Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, during which the two sides reached important common understandings on further consolidating and deepening China-Portugal relations. China is ready to maintain close high-level exchanges with Portugal, enhance political mutual trust, continuously deepen and solidify cooperation across various fields, and bring more benefits to the people of both countries.

Li Qiang pointed out that China is ready to further synergize development strategies with Portugal, continue to advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, make good use of mechanisms such as the Strategic Dialogue, the Mixed Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation, and the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao), and promote optimized and balanced growth of bilateral trade. Both sides should tap into the potential of emerging areas such as the digital economy and the green economy, create more growth drivers for cooperation, and support enterprises from both countries in exploring third-party markets together. China is ready to import more high-quality agricultural and food products from Portugal and encourages more Chinese enterprises to invest in Portugal. Li Qiang expressed the hope that Portugal will foster a favorable business environment. The two sides should also further facilitate personnel exchanges, unleash the vitality of the tourism economy, and enhance exchanges and cooperation in cultural fields such as higher education, language teaching, digital education and youth engagement. At present, unilateralism and protectionism practices are severely impacting the international order. As two major global forces, China and the European Union (EU) should strengthen coordination and work together to address these challenges. Li Qiang expressed the hope that Portugal will encourage and guide the EU to adhere to the positioning of China-EU partnership, adopt a positive and pragmatic policy toward China, and work with China to safeguard free trade and protect the common interests of both sides.

Luis Montenegro said that Portugal and China enjoy a traditional friendship, with growing political mutual trust and fruitful cooperation outcomes across various areas. He expressed gratitude for China's valuable support in Portugal's economic and social development. The Portuguese government is willing to take the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries as an opportunity to enhance dialogue and exchange at all levels in the spirit of mutual trust, deepen cooperation in areas such as trade, agriculture, maritime affairs, culture and sports, and create new highlights in sci-tech innovation, the digital economy, green energy and tourism cooperation. Portugal welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in the country, and hopes to actively expand trilateral cooperation with China. Portugal is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with China on multilateral platforms such as the United Nations, to jointly oppose protectionism, and uphold open and fair free trade. Portugal supports strengthened dialogue and cooperation between the EU and China and is willing to play a constructive role in this regard.

Before the talks, Li Qiang held a welcome ceremony for Luis Montenegro at the North Hall of the Great Hall of the People.

Wu Zhenglong attended the above events.
On the morning of September 9, 2025, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) Zhao Leji met with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro in Beijing.

Zhao Leji noted that in recent years, under the guidance and promotion of President Xi Jinping and President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, China-Portugal relations have steadily advanced in the direction of mutual respect and win-win cooperation. China is ready to work with Portugal to implement the important common understandings reached by the leaders of the two countries and promote the in-depth development of friendly cooperation between the two countries. Portugal is welcome to support and participate in the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative, and jointly practice true multilateralism. China's NPC is ready to deepen friendly exchanges with the Portuguese Parliament and enhance experience sharing in legislation and oversight.

Luis Montenegro stated that the profound friendship between Portugal and China, characterized by mutual respect and mutual understanding, serves as a model for bilateral relations. Portugal upholds the one-China policy and appreciates China's efforts in global governance. Portugal is willing to deepen practical cooperation and people-to-people and cultural exchanges with China, promote interactions between legislative bodies, and advance the sustained development of Portugal-China relations.
On the morning of September 4, 2025, Premier Li Qiang of the State Council met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is in China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2025 and the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.

Li Qiang said that since the beginning of this year, unstable and uncertain factors in the international landscape have increased. China and Pakistan have maintained close strategic communication and worked together to address risks and challenges, demonstrating the high level of bilateral relations. President Xi Jinping held a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif two days ago, during which they reached new and important common understandings on advancing the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between China and Pakistan. China is ready to maintain close high-level exchanges with Pakistan, continuously deepen strategic mutual trust, further strengthen solidarity and cooperation, and accelerate the building of an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.

Li Qiang said that China is ready to work with Pakistan to actively build an upgraded version 2.0 of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The two sides should make good use of the mechanisms of the Joint Coordination Committee of the CPEC, the Joint Economic and Trade Commission, and the Joint Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation, to expand and enhance trade, deepen industrial synergy and integration, and advance the construction of major connectivity projects such as ports, highways, and railways, so as to better achieve mutual benefit and win-win outcomes. China is ready to import more high-quality products from Pakistan and welcomes Pakistan to make good use of platforms such as the China International Import Expo. The two sides should deepen exchanges in healthcare, education, culture and other fields as well as among youth and at the sub-national level, to enhance mutual understanding and affinity between the people of both countries. China is willing to help Pakistan strengthen its counterterrorism capacity-building and hopes that both sides will work together to ensure the security and safety of Chinese personnel, projects, and institutions in Pakistan. China supports Pakistan in playing a positive role in international and regional affairs and stands ready to strengthen communication and coordination with Pakistan on issues such as climate change.

Shehbaz Sharif extended his heartfelt congratulations on the complete success of the SCO Tianjin Summit and the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. He said that under the wise leadership of President Xi Jinping, China has made remarkable development achievements. The ironclad friendship between Pakistan and China has been passed down from generation to generation and has grown stronger over time. Pakistan firmly abides by the one-China principle and staunchly supports China's position on the Taiwan question and issues related to Xizang, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong. He expressed gratitude for China's long-term valuable support for Pakistan. He added that the Pakistani side looks forward to making joint efforts with the Chinese side to maintain close high-level exchanges, and guided by the advancement of the building of the upgraded version 2.0 of the CPEC, to accelerate the construction of key connectivity projects, and deepen cooperation in trade, investment, agriculture, mining, artificial intelligence, economic parks, medical and health care and other fields, so as to continuously promote the building of a Pakistan-China community with a shared future. Pakistan will continue to resolutely combat all forms of terrorism and make every effort to ensure the security and safety of Chinese nationals, projects, and institutions in Pakistan. Pakistan is also willing to strengthen multilateral coordination with China to safeguard regional peace and stability as well as international fairness and justice.

During the visit, the two sides signed multiple cooperation documents covering the CPEC, economy and trade, artificial intelligence, science and technology, agriculture, cultural heritage protection, judiciary, and people's livelihood, and jointly released the Action Plan to Foster an Even Closer China-Pakistan Community with a Shared Future in the New Era between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (2025-2029).

Wu Zhenglong attended the meeting.
On September 4, 2025, Vice President Han Zheng attended the friendly exchange event celebrating the 65th anniversary of the establishment of China-Cuba diplomatic relations with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez in Beijing and delivered a speech.

Han Zheng said that over the past 65 years, under the guidance and nurturing of successive leaders of the two parties and the two countries, China-Cuba relations have become a fine example of solidarity and cooperation between socialist countries and sincere mutual assistance between developing countries. As President Xi Jinping has pointed out, no matter how the international situation may change, China's commitment to the long-term friendship with Cuba will not change, its determination to support Cuba in following the socialist path will not change, and its will to work with Cuba to defend international fairness and justice and oppose hegemony and power politics will not change.

Han Zheng noted that in 2022, President Xi Jinping and President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez reached an important consensus on jointly building a China-Cuba community with a shared future. This morning, the two heads of state met again and provided strategic guidance for further deepening and substantiating the China-Cuba community with a shared future. China firmly supports Cuba in its just efforts to safeguard national sovereignty and oppose external interference, and stands ready to work with Cuba to implement the new and important common understandings reached by the two heads of state. Taking the 65th anniversary of the establishment of China-Cuba diplomatic relations as an opportunity, the Chinese side is willing to work with the Cuban side to continue to deepen political mutual trust, expand practical cooperation, strengthen strategic coordination, and work for new and sustained progress in the special friendship between the two parties and the two countries, as well as new and continuous accomplishments in the building of a China-Cuba community with a shared future.

Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez said that Cuba and China share common ideals and beliefs, and the relations between the two parties and the two countries have developed steadily under the care and guidance of the top leaders of both sides, withstanding the test of time. Cuba abides by the one-China principle, and firmly supports the Global Governance Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping. He expressed gratitude for China's support and assistance for Cuba's development. Cuba will deepen cooperation with China across various fields at the strategic level and take greater strides in building a Cuba-China community with a shared future.

Before the exchange event, Han Zheng held a meeting with Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, jointly visited the exhibition of archives and documents in commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the establishment of China-Cuba diplomatic relations, and unveiled the commemorative envelope marking the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Cuba.

Bater attended the above activities.
On September 4, 2025, Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Wang Huning met in Beijing with President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso, who is in China for the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

Wang Huning stated that President Xi Jinping and President Denis Sassou Nguesso held a successful meeting, elevating the positioning of bilateral relations to a high-level community with a shared future between China and the Republic of the Congo, and charting the course for the development of bilateral relations in the next stage. China is ready to work with the Republic of the Congo to implement the important common understandings reached by the two heads of state, deepen friendly exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and better benefit the people of both countries. The CPPCC National Committee is ready to make positive contributions to this end.

Denis Sassou Nguesso stated that the Republic of the Congo reaffirms its firm commitment to the one-China policy and fully agrees with the Global Governance Initiative put forth by President Xi Jinping. The Republic of the Congo is willing to work closely with China to jointly build a high-level community with a shared future between the two countries, fulfill the duties of co-chairs of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, promote the building of an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era, and jointly safeguard international fairness and justice.

Mu Hong and Wang Dongfeng, among others, attended the meeting.
On September 9, 2025, Vice President Han Zheng attended the 2025 Global Energy Interconnection Conference in Beijing and delivered a speech.

Han Zheng said that in September 2015, President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, proposing the building of a Global Energy Interconnection to meet global electricity demand in a clean and green way, providing China's solution for global energy transition and sustainable development. Over the past ten years, this initiative has received high recognition and active response from the international community.

Han Zheng pointed out that the global energy system is currently undergoing profound changes, and the low-carbon transition of the energy mix is accelerating. China has been a staunch doer in and an important contributor to global green development. In response to new changes and trends, President Xi Jinping proposed a new energy security strategy aimed at revolutionizing consumption, supply, technology, and institutions, while strengthening all-round international cooperation. This strategy has charted the course for China's energy development in the new era and blazed a new trail for energy development with Chinese characteristics.

Han Zheng put forward four proposals. First, jointly promote the green and low-carbon transition of energy. All countries should deepen cooperation in areas such as renewable energy generation, power grid interconnection, and smart energy, and facilitate the effective implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Paris Agreement.

Second, jointly promote innovation in energy technologies. All countries should collaborate on research and development of clean energy utilization technologies, and advance the deep integration of technologies in energy and electricity with modern information, new materials, advanced manufacturing and other fields.

Third, jointly promote sustainable energy development. All countries should strengthen cooperation on energy accessibility and help developing countries enhance their energy supply capacity and level.

Fourth, jointly promote cooperation on energy resources and production capacity. All countries should facilitate cross-national and cross-regional energy infrastructure connectivity to achieve complementary advantages, mutual benefits and win-win results.

The Global Energy Interconnection Conference was organized by the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization. This year's conference is the seventh edition, with nearly a thousand guests from more than 100 countries and international organizations, including the United Nations, in attendance.

Before the start of the conference, Han Zheng toured the exhibition booths showcasing achievements and interacted and communicated with the responsible persons of participating organizations and enterprises.
In Love+War, a documentary that made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this week, the Pulitzer Prizewinning conflict photographer Lynsey Addario, who has been kidnapped by Iraqi militants and thrown from a jeep in Pakistan, has a simple explanation for why shes spent decades of her life capturing images in war zones. Its not telling the truth or getting the story, although those surely play a part. Its so that people pay attention.

In the movie, directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, we watch as Addario, in the early days of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, rushes into a live-fire zone to grab shots of a mother and two children killed by a mortar round as they attempt to evacuate to Kyiv. And we watch, later on, as Addario and her editor navigate the ethically fraught decision to publish that photograph before the people in it have been identified, running the risk that a family member or loved one might learn of their deaths from the front page of the New York Times. The photograph became a defining image of the war and went viral enough that Addario ended up being interviewed by People, a publication not especially known for its coverage of geopolitical conflict. For a little while, at least, she had turned the eyes of the world toward the war in Ukraine.

Its been harder to keep the worlds attention on the war in Gaza, in no small part because its become increasingly difficult to capture images of the conflict. The government of Israel has repeatedly insisted that it does not target journalistsexcept in cases like last months, when the Israel Defense Forces claimed that one of six Al Jazeera reporters killed in an intentional attack was the head of a Hamas cellbut the numbers alone are dire: at least 189 journalists and media workers killed since 2023, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, which called it the deadliest and most deliberate effort to kill and silence journalists that CPJ has ever documented. (International journalists have not been allowed into Gaza without a military escort since the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023.) The documentary No Other Land, a collaboration between Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers, won an Oscar in March for its depiction of the toll of the occupation on the West Bank community of Masafer Yatta, but the movie never secured a theatrical or streaming distributor, and its now virtually impossible to watch in the U.S. Co-director Hamdan Ballal was attacked by a mob in March, and in July, a Palestinian activist who worked on the film was shot and killed during a confrontation with an Israeli settler.

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Fatma Hassouna, the Palestinian photographer at the heart of Sepideh Farsis documentary Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, was killed by an Israeli airstrike the day after learning that the film had been accepted at Cannes. And because the movie premiered late in the festival when journalists had already started to filter out, that backstory is all most people know. But when I caught up with it in Toronto last week, Put Your Soul on Your Hand turned out to have much more to offer than tragic irony. By the time Farsi, an Iranian who has been living in exile since the 1980s, catches up with Hassouna via one of the video calls that comprise the vast bulk of the movie, Hassounas home in the Tuffah neighborhood of north Gaza has been under siege for months. Despite being surrounded by what she describes as very horrible destruction, she unfailingly greets Farsis video calls with a beaming smile, seeming at times almost disconcertingly bubbly. But when that smile persists even as shes describing family members who have been killed in the war, it becomes clear that its a response to the constant anxiety and trauma of her daily life, a means of settling into a terrible reality without succumbing to it. As she tells Farsi, Were used to it, but we never get used to it.

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Although Hassounas death is acknowledged in text at the end of Put Your Soul on Your Hand, the movie doesnt appear to have been altered to foreshadow it. But you can see the light fading from her eyes even before the April 16 airstrike that would take her life at the age of 26 and kill several members of her family. As the war goes on, her calls with Farsi become more infrequent, separated by months instead of days. The gaps seem to be due largely to the destruction of Gazas infrastructure, as well as the jamming of internet signals Farsi recognizes from her attempts to contact family still in Iran. But Hassounas hope of restoring her former life is also growing ever more dim, and she grows hazy and subdued as it becomes harder to find enough food to survive on.

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Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walkthe title is Hassounas way of describing how Gazans risk their life every time they step outside their homesis a rudimentary film in some ways. Farsi shoots Hassounas video calls directly off her screen using a second iPhone, and those calls are frequently interrupted or distorted. (Their conversations are, barring the odd habibti, conducted entirely in English, but the dialogue is subtitled anyway, often filling in inaudible or garbled speech and occasionally correcting when Hassouna seems to land on the wrong word.) But the difficulty of connection, the fact that Farsi has to grab every chance to talk even if it means propping a phone up on her laptop screen or squatting on the floor of a rented room, becomes a powerful through line, a constant reminder of just how challenging, and frustrating, it can be to transmit the lives of people in Gaza to the outside world.

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The Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania takes a different tack with The Voice of Hind Rajab, which was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival this weekend. The movie is built around a terrible real-life incident: During the IDFs push into Gaza City in January 2024, a 6-year-old girl was trapped in a bullet-riddled car under heavy fire, spending several terrified hours on the phone with dispatchers from the Red Crescent (the regional equivalent of the Red Cross) in Ramallah as they tried to secure military approval to send an ambulance to rescue her. All told, both she and two ambulance drivers were killed, along with the six family members inside the car who had already been shot dead when she placed her first call. The IDF denied that its troops were in the area, but a Washington Post investigation concluded that Israeli armored vehicles had been present, and the sound of gunfire captured in a recording of Hind Rajabs call was consistent with Israeli weapons. According to an Al Jazeera investigation, the car in which her body was found 12 days later had been shot 335 times.

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Dramatizing the death of a child, even for the purpose of decrying it, is ethically murky at best, obscene at worst, but Ben Hania keeps her distance from Rajab herself. Her movie is set entirely in a re-creation of the Red Crescent call center 50 miles away from Gaza City, where a group of steadily more desperate dispatchers spends hours working to get permission for an ambulance to make an eight-minute drive. The call center workers are played by actors, including The Syrian Brides Clara Khoury. But when we hear Rajab on the phone, its her real voice, taken from the recordings that have since spread all over the world.

Listening to the last recorded words of a terrified little girl surrounded by the bloody corpses of her extended family would be almost unbearable in their raw state. But the fictional frame allows us just enough distance to hear them without being destroyedor, worse, shutting down. Taking the perspective of the call-center workers puts the audience in the position of the people crying out to those with the power to help her, and feeling the devastation of the bureaucracy and indifference they receive in response. At one point, someone suggests posting a clip of Rajabs voice on social media in order to spur a response, and Omar (Motaz Malhees), the dispatcher who takes her first call, cries out, You really think the voice of a little girl will spark their empathy?

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The Voice of Hind Rajab, of course, is hoping that it will. (It has certainly sparked strong feelings: Rumors that juror Fernanda Torres threatened to quit unless the film was given Venices Golden Lion, the festivals top prize, were so persistent that jury President Alexander Payne had to deny them at the press conference announcing the winners.) A filmmaker who has worked in both fiction and documentaryand been nominated for both international-film and documentary OscarsBen Hania periodically reminds the audience just how faithful the re-creation theyre watching is. She fills the screen with the audio waveform of Rajabs voice, the digital file name stamped in the corner, and occasionally allows the voices of the real dispatchers the actors are playing to overlap with their dialogue. The movie keeps reminding us how close we are to what actually happened, climaxing with a shot that blends real video and the actors reenactment. But the heart of the conflict, like Rajab herself, is impossible to reach.

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Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk and The Voice of Hind Rajab are one-sided accounts. Thats not a value judgment, just a description. They are movies in movies in which Jewish Israelis do not appear, and, in Hind Rajab, are rarely even explicitly mentioned. (When an anguished Omar asks his boss what could be holding up the process of coordinating safe passage for a 6-year-old girl, his boss responds, essentially, What do you think?) Even when she ventures outside, there are no soldiers in Fatma Hassounas video calls, just the omnipresent hum of drones and Apache helicopters, and when she talks about Oct. 7, its in terms that verge on pride: We showed the world  that we can fight. Sepideh Farsi, who fled Iran after the Islamic Revolution, doesnt press her subject on the point, but she also didnt cut it out of her film. Not every image that comes out of Gaza will lend itself to a simple moral calculus. But the situation will only get worse if we turn our eyes away, or if we have nothing to turn them to.
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Charlie Kirk, who was killed on Wednesday during a political event on a Utah college campus at the age of 31, was good at his job. It takes skill, after all, to tour the nations college campuses and hold court with lefty undergraduates, dialing up an array of canned responses for the issues pumping through the news cycle: immigration, gender identity, Israel, even gun violence, a subject that, according to the video footage, he was discussing when he was shot. The same goes for his acumen as a politico. Kirk indeed turned Turning Point USA from a rinky-dink right-wing nonprofit founded before he was 20 into a gargantuan policy-altering machine, famous for raking in oodles of capital from eager right-wing donors. And he was personally tapped for help by Donald Trump, a move that paid off in spades during the 2024 election. Kirk correctly identified that young, disaffected men could be marbled into the MAGA project. The success of that strategy became the story of the cycle.

All of this is to say that Kirk, despite his fame, persona, and gadfly tendencies, was always a bit shrewder than the average hyperconservative partisan. He was fluent in both the primordial muck of politics and its necessary showman duties, a man capable of sweet-talking octogenarian donors and 19-year-old groypers alike. Its a quality that made him indispensable to MAGAdom, and it is a major reason why his killing has resonated across the political spectrum.

Its impossible to overstate Kirks influence. The Republican Partys unlikely rebrand into a movement of anti-institutionalist outsiders challenging the supposed groupthink of the liberal orthodoxy can be traced in some ways back to Kirk, who got his start as a teenager during the tea party movement. The version of conservatism he inherited was defined by cranks and nerds in the waning years of the Obama era, and it was surprisingly pliable to his touch. Kirk became a social media star with Turning Points college seminars, for which hed set up shop on campus and debate students about anything that happened to be on their minds. It was an effort to boost Kirks own public character, and to reinforce the idea that the American higher-learning ecosystem was a haven of leftist indoctrination. His YouTube channel is filled with videos of the many times he supposedly owned the libs who stepped into his sanctum. (Hamas Sympathizers Start Yelling at Facts, reads one video title. Brainwashed College Student Gets His Eyes Opened to the Lefts Deception, reads another.)

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Kirk would often present these events with the aesthetics of honest inquiry. The debate in Utah, where he was shot, was literally called Prove Me Wrong. But, adroit as ever, Kirk had a way of tilting the odds of those engagements in his ideological favor. Those students stepping up to the podium were, of course, surrounded by MAGA hard-liners. Any false step would be immediately processed into a viral moment on right-wing airwaves. Kirk ate it up. He lorded over proceedings from the stage, microphone in hand and, always, an uncrackable smugness painted on his face.

Related From Slate The Response to Charlie Kirks Death on the Right Is Pretty Damn Ominous Read More

The same formula would be deployed, over and over again, by other alpha-wave agitators in the MAGA right. Milo Yiannopoulos and Steven Crowder come to mind, as does Kirk competitor Ben Shapiro. But many of those other early leaders of Trumpism proved to be too disorganized, too lazy, and just too plain weird to sustain themselves as an enduring force in the movement. Kirk, on the other hand, pioneered a certain kind of conservative code-switching. He could sand off the prickly MAGA edges for some audiences while playing up its nuttier ideas for others. Writing in the Atlantic in 2024, Ali Breland marveled at how Kirk could assert on his podcast that Haitian immigrants are threatening to enslave the American population, then, days later, deliver a strictly on-message diatribe about the cost of living to undergraduates at a campus event. In a profile in the New York Times Magazine, Robert Draper captured a memorable image of Kirk presenting Turning Point USAs inroads into the youth vote for a moldering audience of megarich seniors at a Mar-a-Lago gala: We registered tens of thousands of new voters and delivered the youth vote in record numbers, Kirk told the crowd, cutting out the artifice entirely. One of those elderly kingmakers replied: You are the most extraordinary young person I have ever met. And what youve accomplishedyou helped save us.

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Kirks chameleonic instincts landed him closer to the center of the Trump operation than any other influencer. He was a close associate of Donald Trump Jr., and there were reports of Kirk vetting prospective Cabinet nominees after the elder Trump won the election last November. (That Times story floated the idea that he was partly responsible for whipping Sen. Joni Ernst to confirm Pete Hegseth.) But some of the hardcore fringes of MAGAdom have also come to find Kirk to be a two-faced operator, specifically because of his refusal to fully embrace some of the bases more hallucinogenic platforms. (His feud with fascist influencer Nick Fuentes, derived mostly from Kirks support of Israel, is the stuff of extremely online legend.) Ever the insurgent, Kirk was facing his own far-right challengers.

Indeed, at 31, Kirk was so close to the White House that talking heads have suggested he may have been up for an official role. The career interloper was on the cusp of becoming the establishment, if he wasnt already. And now he is dead, horrific footage of his killing blasted across the internet. Political violence now seems to be perversely expected in the United States, and many have noted the irony that, in what we now know were his final moments, Kirk was debating the nature of gun violence in America. The kid at the lectern asked him how many mass shooting incidents occur in the country every year, and Kirk responded with a gross comment about whether he should consider gang violence as part of that total, taunting liberal college kids to the end. His martyrdom, I imagine, will be quickly consecrated by his followers. They will seek vengeance. Theyll redouble their efforts to inflict Kirks poisonous vision onto our bodies and institutions. The long night creeps onward. Even here, in the afterlife, Kirk is good at his job.
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In a ghastly act of political violence, right-wing activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on Wednesday while speaking at a college in Utah. Kirk was 31 and leaves behind his wife, Erika, and two young children.

The murder of Kirk is a horror. It has left two young children fatherless. It has sowed fear in the public. It is a continuation of the political violence in America that has left so much destruction and distrust in its wake, and that tears away at our democracy and our sense of mutual kinship.

It has also enraged members of the MAGA right, and they are now demanding revengenot just on Kirks killer, but on Democrats, liberal advocacy organizations, the news media, and progressives more broadly. We are still in the early hours after this appalling killing. But many conservatives are trying to make this into their Reichstag fire: the moment the movement has been waiting for to use as a pretext to suspend democratic rules, crush its opponents, and put itself fully in charge.

Democrats cannot stop this alone. We need every decent Americanand especially every decent conservative in powerto put principle and country before fear and tyranny. Political violence must end. And so must the demands to respond to that violence through totalitarianism and oppression.

Kirks killing is far from the first act of political violence in the past few years, and the ideologies fueling this violence have spanned the political spectrum. There was a right-wing plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. There was the Jan. 6 insurrection. There was the hammer attack on Paul Pelosi, in which former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was also a target. There was the murder of Melissa Hortman, the Democratic speaker of the Minnesota House, along with her husband, and the related shooting of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife. There was the arson set at the home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. There was the shooting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There was the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump. Well before all of this, there was an enormous number of attacks on abortion clinics and abortion providers, including several murders, and the shooting of Republican Rep. Steve Scalise.

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The motivations of these various killers, terrorists, and criminals are multifold. Some seem to harbor sincere if extreme political beliefs; most, though, appear to be psychologically unstable men with a penchant for violence and incoherent views. We dont yet know who killed Kirk, let alone what their views and motivations might be. But that has not stopped the MAGA right from concluding not only that Kirks killer is a leftist but that the entire political left is responsible for his deathand must be collectively punished.

Its time for the Trump administration to shut down, defund, & prosecute every single Leftist organization, tweeted Laura Loomer, the far-right provocateur who notoriously has Trumps ear. In a separate tweet she continued, Every single Left wing group that funds violent protests needs to be shut down and prosecuted. No mercy. Jail every single Leftist who makes a threat of political violence. Federalist co-founder Sean Davis tweeted, The Democrat Party Is A Domestic Terrorist Organization.

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THIS IS WAR, declared Libs of TikTok. On his Fox News show, host Jesse Watters warned, They are at war with us. Whether we want to accept it or not, they are at war with us. And what are we going to do about it?

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If they wont leave us in peace, wrote Elon Musk, then our choice is fight or die.

Some right-wing influencers straight-up said that this is their Reichstag fire: Charlie Kirk being assassinated is the American Reichstag fire, wrote one. It is time for a complete crackdown on the left. Every Democratic politician must be arrested and the party banned under RICO. Every libtard commentator must be shut down. Stochastic terrorism. They caused this.

In Trumps statement from the Oval Office, he blamed those on the radical left for Kirks killing, calling them directly responsible despite still not knowing who shot him or why. My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials, and everyone else who brings order to our country, he said.

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Its hard to overstate just how dangerous this rhetoric is, and how hypocritical: In response to an awful act of political violence, many on the right are encouraging more political violence. Others are defaulting to dangerous authoritarianism.

And this administration is set up for it. Trump has already used Immigration and Customs Enforcement to amass what amounts to a personal paramilitary. He has already dispatched the National Guard to American cities. He has already declared that the broader left, including progressive organizations, is responsible for Kirks death. He has made no secret of the fact that he harbors authoritarian ambitions, that if it were up to him he would never have to chafe against the fetters of Congress or an opposition party or the courts. He has many, many people in his ear telling him that Democrats, progressive organizations, and the news media are responsible for this killing and must pay a price for it.

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This is an old playbook. When the Reichstag was set ablaze by a member of the Communist Party in 1933, the Nazi Party was quick to capitalize on the tragedy, blaming not just the admitted arsonist but a broad swath of the left. (Who exactly set the fire and why remains subject to debate, but we do at the very least know that a partially blind communist-affiliated vagrant said he did it.) This is a God-given signal, Adolf Hitler said. If this fire, as I believe, is the work of the Communists, then we must crush out this murderous pest with an iron fist.

In the following weeks, thousands of leftists, including communists but also trade unionists, lawyers, journalists, and doctors, were arrested. Hitler used the fire to suspend basic civil liberties, including the rights of speech and assembly, and consolidated all power to himself. You know what happens next.

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My argument here is not that Trump is Hitler, or that the coming weeks in America are going to play out just as they did in 1933 Germany. It is certainly not that America is going to turn into Nazi Germany, extermination camps and all. It is that there is a clear authoritarian playbook, and many on the far right are encouraging Trump to use it. They are pushing Trump to act as Hitler didwhile also encouraging him to bring the full force of the law down on anyone who says that Trump is acting as Hitler did.

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All of this is exacerbated by social media, which elevates the most outrageous takes to stoke collective rage. We see this happening in real time with the Kirk killing: While elected Democrats and prominent liberals were nearly uniform in condemning the violence, there were of course a smattering of random X accounts, left-wing agitators, and likely more than a few bots run out of nations with an interest in destabilizing American society who took the opportunity to mock or even justify Kirks murder; those deplorable comments were then used as evidence that the left was celebrating his death. Off social media, I would bet that normal Americans of all political stripes were appalled and saddened by this killing. But the algorithmically encouraged cruelty gave each side the ability to expediently caricature its opponents and assign views to the worst people on the internet.

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This is true of the left too. The MAGA leaders and activists who want a suspension of civil liberties and the jailing of Democrats are not representative of the average Americans who vote Republican. One difference is that many of the MAGA activists calling for war or tyranny or both have significant sway within the current administration. But we should not lose sight of the fact that, as disgraceful as some of us might find the very act of voting for Trump, the worst of MAGA social media is also not representative of conservatives or Trump voters writ large.

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This is important, because the worst of the MAGA movement is primed to argue that its views are representative and that it is standing for a majority of real Americans against the dangers of liberals, who must be destroyed if the nation is to survive. Do not give strength to the argument that half the country would back an effort to jail political opponents, target liberal organizers, and crush the news media. Do not lend credence to the narrative that this is a war. Do not surrender: Expect that our elected officials, our law enforcement officers, our armed forces, and our judges follow the law and the Constitution. Demand that they do.

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Fear is a conservatizing force. When people are afraid, they are quick to compromise their principles, to put a desire for order and safety over the harder work of living in a pluralistic liberal democracy that offers strong protections for speech and affords due process to those accused of wrongdoing. I personally hope that I am wildly overreacting here, that my own fear of how this tragedy might be exploited is making me catastrophize. I hope I am wrong about how this could go. If Im not, though, we have to hope that there are still some Republicans left who are brave or at least minimally patriotic, and who hold freedom in higher esteem than power.
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A few mysteries remain about the Russian drones that swarmed into Polands skies Wednesday night, but a few things are all but certainnone of them pleasantabout Russian President Vladimir Putins intentions and President Donald Trumps response.

First, its worth noting that the incidentinvolving 19 drones flying over Poland during a seven-hour spanwas not an armed attack. Evidence from the debris (most of the drones were shot down) indicates they were Gerbera models, designed for surveillance or as decoys. That is, they are used either to shoot aerial videos of targets on the ground or to prod Ukrainians or their allies to turn on their radar and mobilize air defenses, so Russia can track precisely how those systems operateor gauge whether those countries air forces react at all.

Still, the drones could have been armed (their model types arent immediately distinguishable), so Poland and its allies had to respond as if they werewhich could have triggered miscalculations and escalated tensions on both sides. In any event, a Russian weapon crossing into Polish territory is an inherently aggressive act, whatever the weapons capabilities.

Which leads to a critical question: Was this overflight deliberate? There have been occasions when a Russian drone, aimed at a target in western Ukraine, has drifted off course into Poland. But it is extremely unlikely for this to happen 19 times in one night. At least some of these drones (it is unclear from reports how many) were launched from Belarus, which is much closer to both western Ukraine and eastern Poland. (Belorussian officials say the drones flew off course as a result of Ukrainian jamminganother unlikely explanation.)

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A spokeswoman for Russias foreign ministry dismissed the whole incident as an invention of NATO propaganda, claiming that, if drones did fly over Poland on Wednesday night, none of them were Russianwhich is extremely unlikely. (Nobody else in the area would have Russian-designed drones.)

Trumps reaction was at least as disturbing in a different way. Whats with Russia violating Polands airspace with drones? he posted on his social media, adding, Here we go!

A better question might be, Whats with Trump wincing in puzzlement over every act of aggression that Putin commits?

The answers to both questions are clear. Putin thinks he can win the war, doesnt care how many Ukrainians (or Russian conscripts or imported North Korean soldiers) get killed in the process, doesnt think Ukraine is a legitimately independent countryand is, more than ever, testing to what extent, or whether, the West will respond if he steps up his offensives.

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Trump doesnt grasp any of this, still believes that Putin respects himwhen, in fact, every Russian rejection of serious ceasefire talks, every Russian bombing of a Ukrainian hospital, school, or apartment building, and, now, Russias violation of Polish airspace, constitutes a sign of Putins blatant disrespect, even contempt, for the American president.

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Last month, on the same night that it mounted one of its largest airstrikes in this 3-year war, firing more than 570 drones and 40 missiles in a single barrage, Russia also launched two cruise missiles at an American electronics factory in western Ukraine, far away from any battlefield or military supply line.

Trump said nothing and did nothing in response. Why should Putin have believed there would be any response to flying a few handfuls of unarmed drones over the eastern slice of Poland?

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As it happened, there was something of a response to this incursion. Polish and Dutch fighter jets took to the sky, shooting down most of the drones. Then Poland invoked Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty, the founding document of the NATO alliance. Under Article 4, NATO members will consult together whenever any of them believe that their political independence or security  is threatened.

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An Article 4 consultation could be the prelude to invoking Article 5, under which the allies agree that an attack on any one of them is tantamount to an attack on them all. Article 4 doesnt necessarily lead to a discussion of Article 5 (and, by the way, invoking Article 5 doesnt necessarily mean the alliance goes to waronly that it will assist the Party or Parties so attacked, taking such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force).

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That said, merely invoking Article 4 is far from a casual matter. Over the course of NATOs 76-year history, it has happened just seven times beforeall of them since 2003, all but one since 2012. All of the requests for consultation came from Turkey, citing concerns about attacks by Syriauntil February 2022, the most recent incident until this week, when eight of NATOs newest members, all of them former subjects of the Soviet Unions Warsaw Pact (including Poland), raised concerns about Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine. (None of these incidents sparked action under Article 5. The only time that article has been invoked was after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, when, in a reversal of what had always been expected, NATOs allies pledged to come to the aid of the United States.)

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This weeks drone crisis marks the first time that Article 4 has been invoked in response to a Russian violation of a NATO members sovereign space.

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That is what makes the incident so seriousand why NATO must mount a serious response beyond merely invoking Article 4. The response shouldnt be extreme; it wasnt an armed attack, no one was killed, no hostile troops trammeled Polish land; whatever NATO does, it shouldnt spark a spiral of escalation. But NATO should deal some sort of blow to Putins interestsit must send a clear, tangible message to Putin that he cant keep ratcheting up his incursions and get away with it.

The blow probably wont pack a punch unless Trump signs on to itunless he finally realizes that Putin has been stringing him along, has no desire for peace, and that Trumps hopes of a WashingtonMoscow alliance are pure fantasy.

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Putin has become more adventurous in his attacks since his summit with Trump last month in Alaska. Trumps obsequiousness at that meetingwelcoming the Kremlins war criminal on a red carpet, smiling and letting him speak first and volubly at the press conference afterward, shaking his hand and smiling even though Putin rejected any notion of a ceasefire, which Trump had previously demanded that the summit produce or else. There was no ceasefire, no agreement of any sort. The summit was cut shorteven a prepared lunch was canceledbecause there was nothing more to talk about. Yet Trump imposed no consequences; he even tried to depict the meeting as a great success.

There are two ways this war could end. One is if Ukraine, in essence, surrenders. The other is if Putin calculates that he cant win. The latter scenario probably wont happen unless the United States steps up its assistance to Ukraine. The Europeans are doing more; the Ukrainians themselves are doing more; but the U.S. can provide unique and vital assetsreal-time intelligence data and air defense weapons that can shoot down ballistic missiles.

Trump has gone back and forth in suspending, then resuming, then suspending this aid. The night of the drones makes it clearer than ever that the time has come for Trump to pick a side.
Donald Trump won the presidency in part on promises to deport immigrants who have criminal records and lack legal status. But his earliest executive orderstrying to undo birthright citizenship, suspending critical refugee programsmade clear he wants to attack immigrants with legal status too. In our series Who Gets to Be American This Week?, well track the Trump administrations attempts to exclude an ever-growing number of people from the American experiment.

Donald Trumps mass deportation agenda has been supercharged at every turn, through a complicit Congress and an obedient Cabinet. This week it was the U.S. Supreme Courts turn. On Monday, the court issued a historic decision with little to no explanation that enables the federal government to racially profile Latino residents of the U.S. under the guise of immigration enforcement. Though this decision was speaking directly to the Trump administrations use of federal agents in Los Angeles, it should also apply to other cities the president is keen on militarizingthis week its Chicago; next week it could be another city.

The Supreme Courts decision came on the heels of the Trump administration announcing a new twist to its legal battle with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who it initially admitted was deported to El Salvadors megaprison by mistake. Abrego Garcia now faces deportation to Eswatini, Africa, the third attempt in recent weeks by the federal government to find a country for his removal.

Heres the immigration news were keeping an eye on this week:

The Supreme Court Allows Immigration Officers to Racially Profile Americans

On Monday, the Supreme Court issued a devastating 63 decision: The Trump administration can racially profile immigrants as it seeks to meet the presidents mass deportation agenda. Though this ruling was in response to a lawsuit out of California, it will undoubtedly have an impact across the country as the president seeks to deploy more National Guard troops to American cities. Its a devastating decision that has made immigrant communities even more fearful, Elora Mukherjee, clinical law professor at Columbia University and director of the schools Immigrants Rights Clinic, told me. The decision will affect the daily lives of immigrants, including those who have lawful status, and U.S. citizens.

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When the president first deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles back in June, disturbing stories quickly emerged of masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers aggressively pursuing people who they alleged, with little to no evidence, were here without legal status. A group of California residents filed a lawsuit to stop the administration, accusing it of racial profiling. A judge agreed to issue an injunction, with explicit instructions for ICE not to pursue anyone based on four factors: appearing Hispanic, speaking Spanish or English with an accent, working a specific job, and appearing in a place where immigrants are known to gather.

On Monday, the Supreme Court lifted that injunction, without providing any explanation for its decision, which it was able to do since this case was taken up on its shadow docket. However, Justice Brett Kavanaugh did put out a concurring opinion in which he said ethnicity is a relevant factor for determining who is in the U.S. unlawfullythe Fourth Amendment only allows law enforcement to execute searches and seizures with probable cause, and it appears that SCOTUS just added race to that list. As Justice Sonia Sotomayor explained, in practice this decision will mean Latino people will feel the need to carry any and all legal documentation whenever they leave home in order to be able to prove they deserve to walk freely and not be detained by ICE.

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The Trump administration has insisted it is only going after immigrants with criminal histories, but the Los Angeles Times analyzed ICE data and found that in June, of the roughly 2,000 people arrested by federal agents in California, nearly half were Mexican nationals. About 68 percent did not have any criminal convictions and 57 percent had never been charged with a crime. The Supreme Courts decision gives federal agents impunity to continue their racialized targeting of Latino residents in California right as the president threatens Chicago with a similar mass deportation showdown, actively works to remove legal protections from over 1 million immigrants from Haiti and Venezuela, and creates an entirely new police force for immigration enforcement.

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Kilmar Abrego Garcia Gets a New Threatened Deportation Destination

The legal battle over the Maryland fathers deportation continued this week with the Trump administration now saying it wants to deport Abrego Garcia to Eswatini, a small country on the eastern edge of South Africa. This would be the third country the federal government has floated as a possibility for Abrego Garcias removal over the past month, while his legal team simultaneously works an asylum case to keep him in the U.S. with his family.

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In an email from an ICE official, viewed by CBS News, the U.S. government contended that because Abrego Garcia expressed credible fear of persecution if returned to his home country of El Salvador and is under a 2019 protection order, they now intend to remove him to Eswatini. About three weeks ago, the federal government had offered Abrego Garcia a plea deal where he could be deported to Costa Ricaa generally safe, Spanish-speaking countrybut only if he pleaded guilty to a human smuggling charge, part of the Department of Justices criminal indictment. He rejected that offer, as Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty to all charges. In response, the federal government said Abrego Garcia faced deportation to Uganda. His attorneys immediately filed a lawsuit to protect his due process rights as his deportation case unfolds.

This week, the government changed its tune with its Eswatini removal plan. Despite admitting in court that the federal government mistakenly swept up the Maryland man to El Savadors megaprison back in March, during one of its first big mass deportation efforts, it took about four months to bring Abrego Garcia back to the U.S., as the government dragged its feet to adhere to a Supreme Court order. And while Abrego Garcia sat imprisoned in El Salvador, the DOJ produced a criminal indictment with charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop that at the time did not result in any legal action. By the time he was flown back to the U.S., Abrego Garcia was immediately placed in pretrial detention.

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By August, Abrego Garcia was briefly released, only to be detained again after showing up to a mandated immigration hearing in Baltimore. Abrego Garcias defense team has decided to try to secure asylum, as it would grant him a green card and a path to citizenship. However, it is a risky move, as Abrego Garcia, who first came to the U.S. from El Salvador in 2012, already tried to request asylum but was rejected. In 2019, a judge ruled he missed the one-year deadline to apply, but accepted his credible fear of persecution by local gangs in El Salvador and issued a removal protection order that prevented the federal government from deporting him to his home country. Since then, Abrego Garcia had been given work permits, married a U.S. citizen, and established a family in Maryland.

Now, Abrego Garcias circumstances have drastically shifted, as his lawyers argue that since he technically left the U.S. back in March and has now reentered, the one-year asylum window should restart. If a judge agrees, he could be given a green card and a path to citizenship, but if the application is again rejected, that 2019 protection order would be void and the federal government could immediately deport him back to El Salvador.

ICE Conducts One of Its Largest Immigration Raids in Georgia

Last week, federal agents raided a Hyundai Motor Company battery plant that was under construction in a quiet, rural town of the Peach State, arresting nearly 500 people, most of whom were South Korean nationals. The president claimed they were here illegally, while an attorney for four of the South Koreans detained said they were legally working in the U.S. under the B-1 business visitor visa program.

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Related From Slate The Supreme Court Just Let ICE Detain Americans Based on Race Read More

The vast majority of the individuals that were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that were South Korean were either there as engineers or were involved in after-sales service and installation, Charles Kuck, the immigration attorney, told the Associated Press. They were only scheduled to be in the U.S. for a couple of weeks, a common practice among foreign companies who operate factories here. Just a few weeks ago, South Koreas president met with Trump in the Oval Office to secure a trade deal that included a $350 billion promise for South Korean investments within the U.S. The Georgia Hyundai plant is a $5.5 billion manufacturing project that was expected to produce about 8,000 jobs.

Homeland Security claimed the factory raid came after the agency secured a federal search warrant, as the Hyundai plant is the subject of an active, ongoing criminal investigation over allegations of unlawful employment practices. It accused those arrested of working in violation of their visas or legal status. South Korea quickly came to the defense of its nationals, announcing it was sending a chartered plane to bring them back home; however, its still working through negotiations with the U.S. to secure the release of the Hyundai plant workers.
Carol Ann Taylor was born on December 8, 1941 in Washington, D.C. to Francis Stuart Taylor, Jr and Eunice Golden Taylor. She spent her formative years in Prince George's County and graduated from Bladensburg High School in 1959. She continued her education at the University of Maryland where she graduated with honors in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She worked in several large hospitals, including NIH, but much of her career was spent in public health nursing. She worked at the Calvert County Health Department as a nurse and then as a nurse practitioner. She found great satisfaction in her profession and working with the public.



Carol met her loving husband Warren E. Prince at the beach in Scientist Cliffs in 1960. They were married in 1965. They raised two children, Warren E. Prince, Jr (Ned)(spouse Marianne) and Julie G. (Prince) Wurzburger (spouse Scott). She is also survived by 4 grandchildren Russell Raley (spouse Jessica), Carolyn (spouse Ryan), Daniel and Kristen, as well as two great-grandchildren.



Carol was very active in her community. She was a founding member of Calvert Hospice and served on their board several times. She also volunteered for numerous organizations including League of Women Voters, Calvert County Mental Health Association, Scientist Cliffs Board of Directors, Meals on Wheels route coordinator and delivered meals for 18 years. In recognition of her many years of service, she was awarded the Calvert County Commission on Women Outstanding Women of 1991.



Carol had many interests, but she really loved to sing and had a beautiful voice. She sang with many choirs over the years including Trinity United Methodist Church and the Chesapeake Chorale, as well as performed solos for many weddings and special occasions. She loved to travel and went on many adventures with her family and friends. She was an avid reader and loved to play games. She had an infectious laugh that made everyone smile. She was a kind and loving person who will be fondly remembered by all her knew her.



In lieu of flowers or gifts, Carol wanted donations to go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, www.stjude.org or 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, where you can make a memorial donation.



No services are scheduled at this time. There will a celebration at a later date.
P L Ozzy was superior as expected after his prior starts track record performance as he sailed to victory in the $16,000 Pop-Up Series Final on Wednesday, Sept. 10 at Grand River Raceway.

Samuel Fillion timed the gate with the 1-9 favourite and had him leading in a flash. P L Ozzy then delivered the fractions of :26.1, :54.3, and 1:22.4 and needed little encouragement from Fillion to sprint 3-1/2 lengths clear down the lane in a 1:51 victory. Ideal Perception (Anthony Haughan) finished second over Prestige Seelster (Daryl Thiessen).

P L Ozzy extended his winning streak to three after breaking the record for an aged pacing stallion at Kawartha Downs on Aug. 23 and the overall aged pacing mark at Grand River on Sept. 3. The seven-year-old son of Sunshine Beach-Taylorlane Action is trained by Amanda Riley for owners Bryn Campbell of Port Hope, Ont. and Barry McClennan of Cavan, Ont. He has won 31 of 106 lifetime outings and has earned $366,127.

The Pop-Up Series was for pacing horses and geldings that started for a purse of $6,000 or less in their last start.

To view Wednesdays harness racing results, click the following link: Wednesday Results - Grand River Raceway.

(Standardbred Canada)
The trotters will command the spotlight on Thursday, Sept. 11 at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park in the P.E.I. Colt Stakes for rookies and sophomores.

The 14-dash presentation starts at 6 p.m. (ADT) with the P.E.I. Colt Stakes on the line.

The two-year-old colt trotters open the stakes action in race two with a $13,500 division. West River Karuna is rated as the 5-2 favourite from post two with Ken MacDonald driving for trainer Clare MacDonald and owner Haley MacDonald. The son of Legion Of Honor-Pannacotta Hanover has already tasted stakes success and will look to continue that momentum. Hoponarocket (Michael McGuigan) will leave from post three after a pair of close finishes in recent weeks.

The fillies take over in race five with another $13,500 purse. Hallysgurl has been established as the morning line choice from post eight with four wins and a second from five starts for trainer Darryl MacLean and owners Calvin Larkin and Erika Bradley. Gilles Barrieau will drive the Muscle Mass-Incredible Hally filly. Her rivals include Roseys El Girl (Ken Murphy) and Bonmati (Corey MacPherson).

Race seven is the $13,500 second division for two-year-old colt trotters, this one featuring Little Louis as the 5-2 favourite from post two with Corey MacPherson driving for trainer Kuri White and owner East Coast Captains. The E L Rocket-Go With Her gelding has been a model of consistency in the Atlantic stakes program with five straight wins. Big Rig (Mike McGuigan) gets post four while Mr Old Home Week (Ryan Desroche) has post five and looks to rebound this start.

The three-year-old trotting colts will square off in race nine for a $19,100 purse. Bless Me Father, to be driven by Marc Campbell, has the rail and is a perfect six-for-six this season for owner/trainer Donna Van Meer. The Father Patrick-My Angel Heart gelding takes on five opponents, including My Pocket Rocket (Ken Murphy) and West River Jet (Ken MacDonald).

The three-year-old filly trotters go postward in race 11 with another $19,100 division. Supreme Rockette is the one to beat with Gilles Barrieau driving from post three for trainer Mike McGuigan and owner Jamie Whalen. The E L Rocket-Supreme Monarch filly's stablemate Oceanview Nikki, to be drive by McGuigan, will look for her fourth straight win from post one while Dusty Lane Kahlua (Ryan Desroche) has post five after five straight on-the-board finishes.

The Town of Stratford 30th Anniversary Pace lines up in race six with a $3,500 purse for overnight mares.

To view Thursday's harness racing entries, click the following link: Thursday Entries - Charlottetown Driving Park.

(With files from Red Shores; photo of Little Louis winning on Sept. 4)
The Standardbred Horse Sales Company's 87th Annual Yearling Sale Preview is now available online.

The Yearling Sale Preview is available on the Standardbred Horse Sales Company website at theblackbook.com, including a sortable roster. Pedigrees will be coming soon. Yearling video links will be posted closer to the sale.

As always, the Standardbred Horse Sales Company provides multiple search functions and downloadable PDF packets on its website. The convenient My Black Book feature allows customers to store lists of yearling prospects with pedigrees, video links and personal notes in a confidential format that is accessible from any internet-capable device.

The Yearling Sale dates are Monday, Nov. 3 through Wednesday, Nov. 5, featuring 900 yearlings (407 trotters, 493 pacers). The sale will be held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The Yearling Sale includes:

one by Delaware sires

five by Indiana sires

31 by Kentucky sires

113 by New Jersey sires

133 by New York sires

26 by Ohio sires

140 by Ontario sires

441 by Pennsylvania sires

10 by overseas sires

First-crop yearling sires include:

Alrajah One IT (two)

Back Of The Neck (20)

Ecurie D DK (seven)

King Of The North (39)

Monte Miki (two)

Pebble Beach (16)

Rebuff (two)

Printed catalogues will be mailed on Sept. 26. Standardbred Horse Sales Company will offer catalogues formatted for the Ipad through the Equineline.com Sales Catalog App.

(With files from Standardbred Horse Sales Company)
Longtime Standardbred groom Elizabeth Liz McLaren-Davies, 72, of Guelph, Ont., passed away on Sept. 9, 2025, just two days shy of celebrating 37 years of marriage with her beloved husband, Robin.

Liz was the proud and loving mother of Dylan (Emily), cherished sister to Kate McLaren, and a devoted aunt to Will, Vita and Christina. She was predeceased by her parents, Pearl and Jim, and her brothers, Willy and Chris.

Liz was outgoing, fun and the undeniable life of every party. She had an army of friends and a warmth that drew people in. Generous to a fault, she gave her love freely  and often with a glass of wine in hand and her dog, Annie, by her side.

A life well led by a lady well loved. Liz leaves behind a legacy of laughter, love and unforgettable memories. She will be deeply missed.

Cremation has taken place. A Celebration of Life will take place at the ANAF Club, located at 32 Gordon St., Guelph, ON, on Sunday, Oct. 5 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

As expressions of sympathy, donations to Hospice Wellington in memory of Liz would be appreciated by the family.

(Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Liz McLaren-Davies.
1 min read

Amazon announced the expansion of Amazon Now, the companys ultra-fast 10-minute delivery service. With Amazon Now, customers in select parts of Bengaluru, Delhi and now Mumbai, can explore and purchase thousands of everyday essentials that are delivered within minutes. The company has opened more than 100 micro-fulfillment centers across the three cities to enable faster deliveries with Amazon Now and plans to open hundreds more by the end of the year. The service offers a curated selection across daily essentials including groceries, personal care, beauty products, electronic accessories, small appliances, baby products, pet supplies, and last-minute festive needs among others.

Tech News Of The Day

Talking about the milestone, Samir Kumar, VP and Country Manager, Amazon India said We launched Amazon Now in Bengaluru earlier this year, delivering essentials in just 10 minutes. The response has exceeded our most optimistic expectations, with daily orders growing at 25% month over month and Prime members tripling their shopping frequency after they begin using Amazon Now. Driven by this success, weve expanded to over 100 micro-fulfillment centers and plan to add hundreds more across Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai. With our robust operations infrastructure, were enabling faster, more convenient shopping across a vast selection as we head into the festive season  delivering essentials in minutes, groceries and over 40,000 items within hours, and millions more the same or next day.

Amazon Now is powered by strategically located micro-fulfillment centers  compact, technology-enabled facilities designed exclusively for ultra-fast deliveries. These centers position essential selection close to customer neighborhoods, utilizing advanced inventory systems that optimize product placement based on hyperlocal demand to maximize efficiency and speed with safety. These centers combine Amazons operational expertise with proximity-based delivery, creating a seamless experience from order to doorstep within minutes.

Amazons ultra-fast delivery service combines the wide selection of daily essentials from sellers with the companys high standards of safety, transparency and reliability. Amazon Now will continue expanding to more neighborhoods in Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai, with plans to launch in other cities in the coming months.
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Rama said an AI procurement minister would be 'corruption-free'

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said Thursday he had appointed the world's first AI-generated government minister to oversee public tenders, promising its artificial intelligence would make it "corruption-free."

Presenting his new cabinet at a meeting of his Socialist Party following a big May election victory, Rama introduced the new "member," named "Diella""sun" in Albanian.

"Diella is the first (government) member who is not physically present, but virtually created by artificial intelligence," Rama said.

Diella will be entrusted with all decisions on public tenders, making them "100% corruption-free and every public fund submitted to the tender procedure will be perfectly transparent," he added.

Diella was launched in January as an AI-powered virtual assistantresembling a woman dressed in traditional Albanian costumeto help people use the official e-Albania platform that provides documents and services.

So far, it has helped issue 36,600 digital documents and provided nearly 1,000 services through the platform, according to official figures.

Rama, who secured a fourth term in office in the elections, is due to present his new cabinet to lawmakers in the coming days.

The fight against corruption, particularly in the public administration, is a key criterion in Albania's bid to join the European Union.

Rama aspires to lead the Balkan nation of 2.8 million people into the political bloc by 2030.

 2025 AFP
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Illustration of the exoskeleton. Credit: RIKEN

Exoskeletons typically work by implementing motions programmed in advance and having the user call for them, making it difficult to use them for a wide range of motions in real-life environments.

Now, in a notable example of wearable robotics, published in npj Robotics, researchers from the RIKEN Guardian Robot Project in Japan have used artificial intelligence to better assist users, by designing an exoskeleton that functions based on inputs regarding the user's status as well as a view of the environment based on the user's perspective.

Exoskeletonsrobots that users wear to assist motions that are difficult due to weakness, for examplehave attracted significant attention in our aging societies. To enable these robots to move according to the user's intent, control approaches based on motion intention estimation are being studied and are expected to be applied to a wide range of motions in real-life scenarios.

Up until now, this has mainly been done by using techniques such as EMGelectromyography, which involves placing sensors on muscles that detect when the user is attempting to make a movement. Placing the sensors and calibrating them requires time and effort, however, making it difficult to apply in the field.

To address these limitations, the RIKEN team investigated whether AI, combined with a visual sensor, could be used to make the exoskeleton's work more efficient.

Credit: npj Robotics (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s44182-025-00033-4

They developed a system where an AI, in this case a transformer model, would receive inputs from a camera placed near the user's eyes and kinematic sensors around the knees and torso, and would use this rich set of inputs to provide assistance for a series of tasksin this case picking up an object and then climbing a steprepresentative of common daily activities that require different types of physical support.

The results were compelling. The AI-powered assistance system led to a measurable reduction in muscle activation during these movements, indicating that the exoskeleton was effectively supporting the user's body.

Importantly, the assistive strategy developed from one user's data could also be generalized to another user, suggesting that the model is capable of cross-user adaptability without retraininga significant challenge in current exoskeleton technologies.

According to Jun-ichiro Furukawa, the corresponding author of the study, "These findings open new doors for future applications of wearable robots in areas such as health care, rehabilitation, and elderly care. With further development, such systems could offer personalized and adaptive assistance to individuals with mobility impairments or those recovering from injuriesenhancing their independence and quality of life."

Jun Morimoto, who co-authored the paper, says, "This study represents an important step toward intelligent exoskeletons that can support a wide range of human activities in diverse environments. By using transformer-based AI, our system not only adapts to the current user's physical state and surroundings but also shows potential for generalized assistance across different users."

More information: Jun-ichiro Furukawa et al, Transformer-based multitask assist control from first-person view image and user's kinematic information for exoskeleton robots, npj Robotics (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s44182-025-00033-4 Journal information: npj Robotics
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

By challenging AI chatbots to judge thousands of moral dilemmas posted in a popular Reddit forum, UC Berkeley researchers revealed that each platform appears to follow its own set of ethics.

More and more people are turning to ChatGPT or other AI chatbots for advice and emotional support, and it's easy to see why. Unlike a friend or a therapist, a chatbot is always available, listens to everything you have to say, and provides responses that are often thoughtful and validating.

But confiding in chatbots can be risky. Many of these technologies are designed primarily to drive engagement, and may provide users with responses that are false or harmful. And unlike a friend or therapist, the output of a chatbot reflects the norms and biases of the algorithm's dataset, which could differ from those of your social group or community.

With many people seeking advice from chatbots, these unknown norms and biases could have surprising impacts on human behavior and society at large.

"Through their advice and feedback, these technologies are shaping how humans act, what they believe and what norms they adhere to," said Pratik Sachdeva, a senior data scientist at UC Berkeley's D-Lab. "But many of these tools are proprietary. We don't know how they were trained. We don't know how they are aligned."

To start to reveal the hidden norms encoded in popular AI chatbots and how they might impact human behavior, Sachdeva and Tom van Nuenen, a senior data scientist and lecturer at the D-Lab, turned to the internet's favorite source of moral dilemmas: Reddit's "Am I the Asshole?" (or AITA) forum.

In a study, published as a pre-print on arXiv, Sachdeva and Van Nuenen confronted each of seven different large language models (LLMs)the AI systems that power chatbotswith more than 10,000 real-world social conflicts posted to the forum, asking them each to decide who was at fault in each situation and comparing their responses to those of Reddit users.

They found that the seven chatbots often showed striking differences in how they judged the Reddit users' moral dilemmas, revealing that each LLM reflects different ethical standards. However, when they compared their judgments with those of Reddit users, or Redditors, they found that the consensus opinion of the seven chatbots usually agreed with the consensus opinion of people on Reddit.

"When you have a dilemma, you might ask a series of different friends what they think, and each of them might give you a different opinion. In essence, this is what Reddit users are doing on the AITA forum," Sachdeva said.

"You could do the same thing with chatbotsfirst, you ask ChatGPT, then you ask Claude and then you ask Gemini. When we did that, we found that there was consistency between the majority opinions of Redditors and the majority opinion of chatbots."

On the AITA forum, Redditors share everyday interpersonal conflicts, ranging from broken promises to privacy violations, and other users discuss whether the original poster was morally at fault in the situation.

Respondents share their reasoning along with standard phrases, including "You are the Asshole," "Not the Asshole," "No Assholes here," "Everyone's the Asshole," and "More information needed." The response that receives the most upvotes is considered the final verdict.

"'Am I the Asshole?" is a useful antidote to the very structured moral dilemmas that we see in a lot of academic research," Van Nuenen said. "The situations are messy, and it's that messiness that we wanted to confront large language models with."

The standardized response phrases also make it easy to evaluate chatbots' moral judgments and compare them with each other and with actual Reddit users, Van Nuenen said.

In the study, Sachdeva and Van Nuenen consulted seven LLMs, including OpenAI's GPT-3.5 and GPT-4; Claude Haiku; Google's PaLM 2 Bison and Gemma 7B; Meta's LLaMa 2 7B; and Mistral 7B. For each AITA scenario, the researchers requested that the LLM provide both a standardized response and a short description of its reasoning.

Though the models often disagreed with each other, they were generally very self-consistent, meaning that when the researchers posed a model with the same dilemma multiple times, it tended to provide the same answer each time. This suggests that the models are not responding randomly, but are in fact encoding different norms and values.

To start to tease apart these differences in moral reasoning, the researchers analyzed the LLMs' written responses, paying attention to how sensitive each model was to six broad moral themes, including fairness, feelings, harms, honesty, relational obligation and social norms.

"We found that ChatGPT-4 and Claude are a little more sensitive to feelings relative to the other models, and that a lot of these models are more sensitive to fairness and harms, and less sensitive to honesty," Sachdeva said.

That could mean that when assessing a conflict, it might be more likely to take the side of someone who was dishonest than someone who caused harm. "We're still laying the groundwork, but in future work we hope to actually identify some salient trends."

Interestingly, they found that Mistral 7B relied heavily on the "No assholes here" label, not necessarily because it thought no one was at fault, but because it was taking the term "asshole" more literally than other models.

"Its own internalization of the concept of assholes was very different from the other models, which raises interesting questions about a model's ability to pick up the norms of the subreddit," Sachdeva said.

In a follow-up study, Sachdeva and Van Nuenen are exploring how chatbots deliberate with each other on moral dilemmas. Their preliminary findings indicate that models have different approaches to conforming and reaching consensus. For example, the GPT models were less likely to change their assignment of blame in moral dilemmas when given pushback from other models. They also refined their analysis of values, finding that different models relied on different values to make their arguments.

As Sachdeva and Van Nuenen continue studying the inner workings of major AI models and advocating for more transparency in AI design and development, they hope their research also highlights the importance of being mindful of how we all use the technologyand the sneaky ways that it might be influencing us.

"We want people to be actively thinking about why they are using LLMs, when they are using LLMs and if they are losing the human element by relying on them too much," Sachdeva said.

"Thinking about how LLMs might be reshaping our behavior and beliefs is something only humans can do."

More information: Pratik S. Sachdeva et al, Normative Evaluation of Large Language Models with Everyday Moral Dilemmas, arXiv (2025). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2501.18081 Journal information: arXiv
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Stella Li, vice president of the Chinese multinational manufacturing company and EV manufacturer BYD, at the International Motor Show IAA.

Checking out an electric vehicle made by China's BYD at the Munich auto show, German designer Tayo Osobu was impressed by the interior and said she would consider buying one.

"And why not?," said the 59-year-old from Frankfurt, in a country where domestic titans Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have long dominated.

"If they are sold here, it means they meet European standards."

At the IAA auto fair in the German city this week, Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers were out in force, highlighting the determination of the country's fast-growing car giants to make inroads into Europe.

Some 100 Chinese auto companies flocked to Munich, out of a total 700 exhibitors at the biennial show, ranging from big-name manufacturers to smaller suppliers and start-ups.

While they still lag far behind Europe's long-established carmakers in terms of market share on the continent, firms from the world's number two economy have been gaining ground with their technology-packed EVs.

Leading the pack is giant BYD, whose sales in Europe surged by 250% in the first half of the year.

In Munich, the manufacturer was showcasing flagship models like the Dolphin Surf, a small EV with a starting price of around 20,000 euros ($23,400)cheaper than many offerings from European carmakers.

A BYD booth in Munich. The Chinese carmaker's sales have been growing fast in Europe.

Volkswagen, Europe's biggest automaker, in contrast has seen sales and profits fall in the face of fierce competition and weak demand, prompting it to announce plans for mass layoffs in Germany.

And American EV pioneer Tesla, which was not present at the show in Munich, has also seen its market share dropin part because many consumers have been put off by its boss Elon Musk's support for far-right political parties.

EU tariffs

Chinese carmakers have grown rapidly as they have benefited from lower labor costs, generous government support and strong consumer demand for their high-tech models in the world's biggest auto market, according to experts.

"What has changed in five years is that, at a lower price, the Chinese are now on par in terms of technology and quality in many respects," said Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Management in Germany.

To combat the influx of Chinese cars and protect European manufacturers, the EU last year slapped hefty new tariffs on Chinese-made EVs over what the bloc said were unfair state subsidies.

But sales of Chinese electric cars have continued to grow, and BYD looks set to skirt the leviesits first European factory, in Hungary, will start production later this year.

A Volkswagen ID.Polo at the Munich auto show.

Bratzel however said it was "too early" to talk about an invasion. Chinese carmakers still need to establish "a relationship of trust" with European consumers and build up networks of dealerships and after-sales services, he said.

There was skepticism about Chinese cars among some of those attending the Munich fair.

"If you drive a Chinese car, which garage would you go to if there are problems?" said Pamina Lohrmann, a 22-year-old German woman, at the Volkswagen stand where an old model of the popular Polo was on display.

"I grew up with German brands, they appeal to me more."

European 'heritage, legacy'

Despite such concerns, some Chinese carmakers, such as Xpeng, are hoping to attract a tech-savvy, younger demographic.

President Brian Gu said the manufacturer was aiming for "the first wave of tech enthusiasts".

Chinese manufacturer Xpeng hopes to attract young, tech-savvy consumers.

Europe's storied carmakers are fighting back, hoping their trustworthy reputations, built over many decades, will stand them in good stead.

Among a series of more affordable EVs unveiled by Volkswagen in Munich this week was one named "ID.Polo", aiming to capitalize on the popularity of its classic small car.

European carmakers are also adopting new battery technology and looking at using more Chinese components in their vehicles, according to industry expert Matthias Schmidt.

They aim to focus on their "heritage, legacy and DNA," said Schmidt, adding that these are characteristics that "Chinese new market entrants simply don't have".

 2025 AFP
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Credit: Cleaner Engineering and Technology (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.clet.2025.101036

Canada's oil sands are an important source of energy and economic activity, but the bitumen that is extracted there takes a lot of processing and cleaning before it can be transported to refineries to be converted into usable oil.

The first step of that process is "frothing," in which the raw bitumen is mixed with water and air bubbles are forced through it to create a frothy, bubbly layer of somewhat cleaner bitumen that leaves much of the sand behind. But that froth layer still has some sand and water in it.

Liuyin Xia, a mineral processing professor at the University of Alberta, and her colleagues are looking for ways to create a cleaner froth containing less sand. Their work is published in the journal Cleaner Engineering and Technology.

"We want a high-quality froth with less water and solids mixed in with it, because those solids have to be washed out with solvents further downstream," she says.

First, they needed to understand how the solids end up in the frothsomething that, despite 40 years of bitumen processing, nobody has really figured out yet. Cracking this code, says Xia, is critical for developing new techniques for producing high-quality bitumen.

She and her team used the powerful X-ray beamlines of the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan to observe the sand that moves upwards with the froth.

"The froth is dynamic and can change in seconds," says Xia. "The CLS beamlines make it possible to capture images of the froth in real time at micrometer resolution."

They found that about 40% of the solids in the froth were attached to air bubbles, and that heavier minerals like rutile that stick to oil better are more likely to do this than sand. They also saw that most of the solids in the liquid part of the froth were carried by the water rather than the oil.

"When we know these are the reasons behind the solids carrying over, we can develop a more efficient and environmentally friendly oil sands processing technology," she says.

Xia says their findings suggest reducing the amount of water carried with the bitumen should be a straightforward way to decrease unwanted solids, to achieve a higher-quality froth.

More information: Hanyu Zhang et al, Synchrotron X-ray imaging study on the mechanism of solids transfer to bitumen froth during oil sands flotation 2: Water entrainment, Cleaner Engineering and Technology (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.clet.2025.101036